Chapter 18

..[ JACY ]..

With the constant training and reprogramming of her nanobots that she was going through, her time had been pretty much booked up. Add working on her bioaugments and the four Months just flew by without her noticing.

It had been fun too. At least for the six of them. Mondhe had developed something of a feud with Pink, and Sylvia didn’t like the intensity of their fights. She still gave the simulator a chance after Mativo allowed her guest privileges. She fared well, though she complained the whole time about how the sims didn’t tire like they were supposed to. Also, they were too aggressive, she claimed.

Somehow, Pink seemed to remember about her bouts with Mondhe. And her slow to recover braid wasn’t helping matters at all. Jacy suspected that was Mativo’s doing. All sims usually reverted back to full health at the end of each simulation. In contrast, Pink’s hair took over three Months to fully grow back. So, each time she met Mondhe, she was already fuming.

When she asked, Mondhe claimed that she used krypton as her gas of choice for the air blade. She claimed it was because it was the heaviest stable gas she fully understood. And with an air blade, precision and control was everything. The heavy gas was easy for her to control, so she used it.

With Mativo using helium, Jacy had first thought the secret was using an inert gas. But Mondhe’s explanation just confused her more than it helped. If she was using it for its weight, then why did Mativo use the lightest of them?

The more she tried to understand how the air blade worked, the less she understood. It was beginning to look like she might never be able to get the air blade working for her.

Per Mativo’s opinion, Mondhe wasn’t a fast finisher. Whatever reason had made him to come to that decision, he never shared. But Jacy had to agree to a certain extent. Mondhe’s bouts, especially with Pink, were long lasting. Periods of intense fighting interspersed by periods of little to no fighting at all. Even Jacy would be considered fast in comparison. They would have to train that out of her. Or at the very least, teach her how not to prolong the fights.

Frea and Kacy had joined her on the expedition. They had joined the expedition, not her. Frea had been considering going on the ship with Cindy as Commander. Her reasoning was that the two ships had an equal chance of meeting even more advanced alien civilizations. If they split up, it increased the chances of the group, the three of them, making contact.

When Kacy had asked where she would be going after the supposed split up, Frea had proposed they use darts while blind-folded with a map of the Milky Way on the dart board. Frea and Jacy’s darts had landed on approximately where they would end up in the split up. Frea’s towards nine o’clock in between the Norma Arm and the Perseus Arm; and Jacy at three o’clock, smackdab in the Sagittarius Arm. Kacy’s had landed dead center of the Milk Way. She had quickly said there would be no splitting. Frea hadn’t argued. Jacy wasn’t sure whether it had been a good idea not to warn the ship heading towards the center of the Milk Way that they should careful. It might not be easy getting sucked by a blackhole accidently, but Kacy’s dart had suggested one never knows what could happen.

Her and Kacy were still working on their relationship, taking things slow. For the four Months, they had gone on dates at least once every Week. That had been a lot of dates. They had gotten to know each other a whole lot more. A little bit too much if Jacy was being honest. The wine had made her honest. But like Mativo always said, she couldn’t blame the wine.

The visits to colonies along the way returned the age-old awe of visiting something new. And the explorations got more members the farther out they went. Jacy was just glad that only one of the more intelligent species had been on their flight path. The news from that planet had been the most intriguing. Enough that she a little bit regretted not paying it a visit. It was the last planet they had visited before turning back in the previous expedition.

The Taremans, well, they had males and females in their ranks. But the most surprising thing had been the sexes in between that the species boosted. They made up for two thirds of the population. From what she could understand, any individual within that group could perform any duty involved in the creation, carrying to term, birthing and taking care of the baby. Just how they could do that was what Jacy wished she had gone to check. If only she had gone. Evolution was sneaky, instead of having just two, it had decided to have all of them capable of breeding with each other. It took away the risk of one sex ever dying out. As long as there were two healthy individuals, the species could live on.

The ship slowed down to a cruising speed when they passed the ten thousand light-Year mark. And the first exploration teams left. Like always, Jacy was among them. Ever since the expeditions began, she had either placed herself or found herself in the first Exploration Team of the expedition.

When they arrived at their destination, they found the planet inhabited. But none of the inhabitants were even land-bound. It was one of those planets that Mativo liked to call a waste of time for explorers, something to be left for the colonizers. They still spend two Days there before heading back.

Unlike the previous expedition, they were not allowed to stay on a planet for long if it didn’t have a civilized species on it. And even the degree of civilization could determine whether the planet was worth a two-Day visit or a Month long visit. Civilizations had been divided into six classes; from Zero to Five. Zero being more advanced than they were; One being roughly at the same level of advancement; Two before the discovery of interstellar travel; Three before or immediately after computers; Four, industrialization and Five anything beyond that.

Any Class Five civilization didn’t deserve any more than two Days from them, Mativo had said. The only exceptions were those showing signs of industrialization. The only reason for the two Days she had gotten from Mativo was that it was to learn their language enough to tell them, ‘we are coming to colonize you’. Short of killing themselves, there was nothing they could do to stop that from happening.

There was a contingent of other Explorer Class ships following up behind them. Unlike the lead ship in each duodecant, the follow up ships would explore the stars and planets thoroughly, collecting all the data the colonists right on their heels would need to do their job. Their job as the lead ship was geared towards creating a map, and starting up a dialogue with the more advanced civilizations they managed to come into contact. The follow up Explorer Class ships were actually doing a much better job exploring than the lead ships were doing. But they were so slow that by the time the lead ships made it to the recommended thirty thousand light-Years from the Ũsumbĩ System for those with room to go that far out, the nearest follow up ship would be just past the fifteen thousand light-Year mark. Their ship being the fastest in the fleet and their duodecant having the room, they were allowed to cross the forty thousand light-Year mark, but not forty-five.

..[ MATIVO ]..

The hopping around we had been doing was getting us no new civilizations worth spending time with, trying to colonize them. I just had this feeling like I wasn’t ready; I wasn’t doing enough. That I needed to prepare better than I already had. Every time I could get, I spent Hours in the simulation room going through bouts with sims, making them as dangerous as I could without posing a risk to my life. And it still felt like I was not doing it right. If getting stronger wasn’t the answer, what was?

Putting Mondhe through the same rigorous training seemed to ease it somewhat. But that didn’t make any sense, was she the one who would be doing my battles for me? Why her? I wanted to be the one doing the battles. That had been the whole point of putting my body through the tortures of my late twenties. If I wasn’t a leader and I wasn’t a soldier, then what was I? I sure as hell wasn’t going to sit around and let others do everything for me. All this was supposed to be my territory, things I earned with my own two hands. Or through people who were life-bound to me.

When I felt the same ease when Jacy was training in a near death simulation, it finally made a little sense. But first, what was wrong with that woman? I got that she was trying to catch up with me; but was it worth dying over? If I ever asked her, I could guess what answer I would get, so I didn’t bother.

Back to the bigger problem. It wasn’t me that needed to get powerful, it was those I was taking with me. But there were twelve ships hurtling through space at speeds not safe to think about. Were they also part of it? My gut told me yes, my head told me maybe, and I was just glad that my heart was a black void. But I told myself not to worry. The chosen Commanders were smart people, they would know when a situation got too much for them and it was time to turn tail and run. Better wounded but alive than dead.

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But judging by the level of training needed to ease my worries, there was no way I would be ready in time. So I called for a council meeting.

“Why are we here?” someone asked after the conference room was sealed shut.

“Why is there always someone that asks that?” I asked as the table settled down. It was near full with all Chiefs, members of the Bridge, the elected Representatives and my personal scientists.

“Because it’s always a valid question,” Strom replied to a near silent conference room. Everyone quieted down after. They kept shooting glances all around, but they all ended up on me.

“What is the fighting expertize of the crew?” I asked.

“I think we are the best the galaxy has ever seen,” Mũsango quickly replied.

“Even with the hybrids getting the nanobots?” I asked the whole table, but I still gave her a reproachful look.

“I’ve seen those. If you’re quick and smart, you can still win,” Xhalo answered.

“What about the bioaugments?”

The table was silent for near a minute, everyone looking at everyone. Were they hoping that would answer so they wouldn’t?

“In a physical fight, they have a substantial advantage. Otherwise, I think it would be fair game,” Pellet finally said.

“All fights are physical,” Kalũki pointed out.

“Cyberwarfare isn’t,” Park said.

“And when someone hacks your personal devices and does unspeakable things with your information. If you find them, what do you do?” she asked him in turn.

“What if you never find them?” Mũsonde asked her.

“So you’re just going to sit back and say its okay because it was cyberwar and you’re defenseless against that?”

“There is also guns. With guns you can shoot someone from a far and you never have to get physical with them,” Mũsango said immediately after Kalũki’s follow up question. She managed to steer the conversation from the argument it had been about to descent to.

“Guns need ammunition. That isn’t limitless. Soon you’re going to run out before all your enemies are dead,” Dominic pointed out.

“I’ll sue for peace,” Mũsango said. Maybe she had been serious about the whole guns thing.

“What if they aren’t that interested in your peace terms?” Dominic asked her.

“What are you getting at?”

“If there is war, it’s going to get physical.”

“Our Tag Teams are great. They can make up for what the individual members lack.”

“Those are teams. I think Mativo was asking in terms of individuals, right?” Strom pulled the conversation along, bringing me into attention.

“Yes.”

“Individual strength matters too. There is a saying; a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”

“So, if we are a thousand strong army with one weakling, we are only as strong as that weakling? That doesn’t make sense,” Mũsonde said.

“Yeah,” Mũsango latched onto that argument. “The weakling dies first, then we become an unstoppable force, nine ninety-nine strong.”

“The question here is, are we an unstoppable force nine ninety-nine strong?” Jacy asked the table.

“Yes.” Several people chorused, but not all. There were still a few nos.

“That is what I wanted to find out. In four Weeks-time, the ship will stop dead in space for a whole Week. We will hold a fight to knockout or submission for Grade Three and above crew. Participation is mandatory. Each and every one of you is combat certified, I’ll receive no excuses. Anyone below Grade Three who wants to participate is welcome to. There will be knockout sessions until only hundred or so remain. Then a random round robin of seventy matches for each of the remaining hundred. Repeat fights might happen. After all is said and done, the security personnel will analyze all fights and determine what the combat level of the ship is. A new training regime will be build based on their report. There will be rewards for the top ten ranked.”

“You didn’t call us here to discus, you called us to tell us what to do. What is the—” Pellet began arguing.

“Don’t finish that sentence. The news don’t affect those you represent unless they chose to participate. And if they do, they no longer belong in your purview. Any other questions?” I asked.

“All personnel. Does that mean the hybrids and the bioaugments too?” Mũsonde asked.

“Yes.” I said.

“That is unfair. The bioaugments will have an advantage over us, and the hybrids are barely even teenagers,” X commented.

“You think the fights you will be in will be fair? The opponents will see you weak and say, ‘oh fight them, they are the weakest we have’,” Xhalo asked him.

“I didn’t say that. This is a competition, not a real fight,” X quickly defended himself.

“Make no mistake. This is not a competition. It is a test, same as the Grade Tests you all took. Should I add that those who perform poorly will lose their Grades?” I asked.

“No. Everyone will fight like their life depends on it.” Mũsango added as if someone had questioned her status.

“What about you? Will you participate?” Pellet asked.

“No.” I said.

“May ask why?”

In lieu of an answer, I slowly pointed my hand at him and released an air punch. It was the most effective in terms of intimidation. Being attacked by something no one could see was always frightening. But nothing happened.

I switched and released a fireball instead. Fire, the flashiest. And it didn’t disappoint. A large fireball filled the whole table for a second before it collapsed into itself. And then disappeared.

“Any more questions?” I asked.

…

“Sylvia,” I called her as the others started to clear the room. “Bring Mondhe to the lab.”

She left quick to do her duty. I got up as the last of the Officers left the conference room, and hurried to the door in hopes of sighting Jacy. I had forgotten to ask her to the lab too. I saw her nowhere in the Deck corridors; she must have left in a hurry. To do what, I didn’t know. But normally, she would wait with me till the end. Maybe something was wrong and she had to take care of it. I decided a short message text was better than a call. No huge disruption if she was busy.

After sending the message, I made my way to the stairs. I slow climb was what I needed. Due to some members of the General Ship Council not been Senior Officers, the General Council Meetings were held on Deck 9. It housed all the Junior Officers.

When I arrived at the lab, I found everyone else there. Mondhe was the first to approach me.

“Is it true? There is going to be a fight competition?” she asked, nearly jumping up and down in excitement.

“Do I ever get this excited about fights?” I asked the rest of the group, ignoring that she called it a competition.

“No,” Jacy said.

“Whew! I thought I was teaching her such unsightly behavior.”

“But you do smile maniacally,” Jacy just couldn’t let me have a win.

“Like this,” Mondhe said as she made a face I was appalled by.

“Eww! Stop doing that.” I made to slap her, but she ducked in time.

“I heard there will be rewards. What will they be?” she asked.

“There will be no rewards.”

“What? But…” she trailed off and turned to look at Sylvia.

“Don’t look at me. He said there will be rewards,” Sylvia said, shifting the blame to me.

“I heard something in those lines too,” Dominic added.

“One, two…” I counted with my fingers as I looked at them, then turned to my hand as I continued counting in my head until I reached ten. I count still go on, but I had what I needed. “I know the top ten rankers and they will be fine when I tell them that there is no reward.”

I looked at the group again, “Well most of them.”

“Wait, you counted two here. Does that mean you don’t think the others will not make it to top ten?” Park asked.

“Can you beat her?” I asked him while holding Mondhe by the head. He didn’t answer, and he didn’t have to. “There are over two hundred hybrids on the ship, with at least a considerable amount of training in using the Energy. And that’s not including the older ones that joined us on this expedition. And then there are over three thousand bioaugments on the ship. You might not even make it past the first round if you are not careful.”

Then I turned to the two who were the reason for the whole meeting. “Jacy, I want you at sixty percent. Mondhe, eighty.”

“What?” Mondhe asked, at first confused. Then offended, “What if I meet her?”

“You will not meet her,” I strongly told her, but she wasn’t convinced. Maybe it had nothing to do with meeting Jacy in a fight.

“What about when we meet the other hybrids and augments?” I noticed she had not used the bio in front of bioaugments before her question finally registered.

“That was for them. With the normal squishy humans, I want you both nowhere above forty. And Mondhe, no claws.”

“But—”

“Uh-uh. No claws means no claws.”

I made to leave before turning back, “On second thought, don’t go above seventy.”

“You’re crippling me,” Mondhe complained. “Some of those people are big and strong.”

She pointedly looked at Andrew before adding, “Not to mention well trained.”

“Then let this be a lesson on how to fight when you are handicapped.”

“Does she even know the difference between seventy and eighty?” I heard Dominic ask as I walked out of the conference room. The idiot, he had just given her an excuse.

…

I decided the best way of covering such a wide area with the limited resources we had was to have the shuttles act as ships in their own right. With a contingent of one-twelve Class Seven shuttles capable of accommodating a crew of one-fifty for six months, I had room to try some crazy things.

I also had two-ten Class Four shuttles capable of supporting a crew of twenty-four for two months, one hundred Class Two shuttles for six people for three weeks. The rest were racers, it would be an insult to use them for exploration purposes. There was also the escape-pods, but those were useless for exploration.

My idea was, since the Class Seven shuttles had the sensors with the capability to detect habitable planets within fifty light-Years of them and well, any radio signals that could reach them; the Class Seven shuttles could spread out in both sides of the ship with hundred light-Years between them. They would each carry a Class Two shuttle with them. They didn’t have a Shuttle Bay, but the loading and unloading area was big enough that a good pilot could land there.

There would be four shuttles held back in the main ship for resupply missions and crew rotation. Every month, one of the net shuttles would be pulled back and a new one would replace it.

They would only give glazing visits to all habitable planets they found. Unless it’s a civilization worth visiting; then the net would close in on it depending on how much assistance was needed.

The idea wasn’t the best, but I wanted to explore the galaxy as fast as I possibly could. It started becoming clear I had stretched myself too far. And the complaints from my financial advisors weren’t helping. I had a lot of citizens who weren’t paying taxes, and that needed to change. I had left that mandate with my family back at Ũsumbĩ IV before I embarked on the expedition. They needed to stop being nice. Not that they were being any nice to begin with. But I needed the tax and they hadn’t established a system of creating and collecting it. They wanted to govern, let them govern then.

The proposal went through a lot of iterations before the Operations Council deemed it usable. It was agreed that implementation would commence immediately after the fights.