With the immediate crisis averted they still had to deal with the unexpected presence of Melanie. Without her Ray and David could just have resumed travel as planned, but now they had to make another decision first.
The atmosphere in the lounge room had improved a little. Melanie and David sat slightly closer to each other and both had gained some of Ray’s trust. Both sides however gave of an uncertain impression.
“Returning back to charted space to drop off Melanie ourselves is too risky.” Ray opened the conversation.
Melanie sighed but her expression did not change and remained neutral.
David uncomfortably shuffled on the sofa before reluctantly agreeing, “It is also forbidden by Free Men protocol.” He gathered his thoughts and continued, “I think our best course of action is to proceed to the nearest outpost. They have ways of communicating with Home base and they would have to decide what to do with Melanie.”
“What sort of answer are you expecting from them?” Ray asked.
David hesitated, “I don’t know. As far as I’m aware there has never been a situation like this before. It is possible they will just allow her to return to her planet and even arrange transport, but they may also force her to remain on the outpost. You’ve been through the application process; you know how careful they are.”
Ray knew and if at all possible he wanted to end up in a situation that was agreeable to Melanie without compromising his own opportunity.
Melanie herself remained quiet. She looked like she had accepted that she was not in control of her immediate future.
“How are you feeling about this?” Ray turned to her.
She didn’t answer immediately and appeared to be lost in thought, “I’m sorry… I’m still feeling… overwhelmed by all of this.”
“It’s ok, don’t apologize” Ray said reassuringly. “How far is that outpost?” he turned back towards David.
“It’s on the way we had to take regardless. About a day away from where we are now.” David replied.
Ray took a short moment to think, “Seems like that’s the only real option we have. Can you help me set the coordinates?”
“Of course.”
“Let’s get the ship moving again. I’ll show you around the ship and to your rooms so you guys can get some rest after.”
No one said anything in confirmation, instead they all just got up and headed back to the bridge, silently acknowledging the decision. Ray showed David the navigation console and watched as he struggled with the FPA-2 interface. Before he could intervene and assist Amy had already picked up on their intention and opened the appropriate configuration screens for them.
“This ship’s AI is quite useful.” David remarked as he started entering the coordinates and route.
Ray just nodded in agreement, but Melanie noted something, “She talks strange though.” she said.
“Strange?” David asked.
“Yes, like she’s… a real person. I’ve never heard other AI talk like this.”
Ray chuckled, “Well that’s because she sort of is. Amy is a bit of a special case. It’s actually for the best if you just treat her like a person.”
“So, can I talk to her?” Melanie asked.
“Talk?”
“Yes, like talk, without needing to ask her to do something for me.”
Ray realized that he had not ever considered doing that during his few days he spent on the ship alone. He had interacted with Amy plenty of times, but it was always because he or in some cases the AI had a question or request. Was this something Amy would even want? He wondered.
“Of course you can.” Amy confirmed. “Just call my name and you’ll have my attention.”
“Well, there you go.” Ray said.
Melanie seemed to cheer up a little at the prospect of talking to the AI. After David finished setting the coordinates Ray showed them around the ship. He gave both one of the free bedrooms, told them to eat whatever they felt like and just call on him if they needed anything. Both of his passengers seemed to want to spend some time alone to gather their thoughts and ended up retreating into the rooms.
The following hours were uneventful. Ray stayed on the bridge, starting into space most of the time while occasionally tracking the journey’s progress on one of the monitors. After checking the clock, he was surprised how fast time went by for him. He realized it had been a long time since he had the opportunity to just think uninterrupted while admiring the universe outside. During the travel towards the rendez-vous point they had been moving too quickly to get a good view, but now that they were traversing uncharted space without warp routes, their relatively slower speed made it possible for him to get a clear look all the time. He sighed, a bit confused at his own feelings, despite the recent stressful events he felt pleased in a way that things were moving forwards for him. When the clock reached ten PM Ray grabbed a small meal from the kitchen and went to bed after. Before turning off the lights he asked Amy to check on his passengers.
“They’re doing fine, both had dinner at separate points and are in their rooms now preparing to go to sleep as you are.” she confirmed.
“Good.” Ray said relieved, “Let everyone know when we’re about to arrive at our current destination.”
***
The next day Ray didn’t see anyone else breakfast. But when he went for a walk around the ship around noon time he unexpectedly saw Melanie come up from one of the maintenance ladders in the hallway. When she looked up from the ladder she was startled by Ray watching her ascend. He patiently waited for her to fully complete her climb before asking the obvious question.
“What were you doing there?”
Melanie hesitated and despite Ray’s tone being more surprised than condemning she was still intimidated by him.
“I… uh.” Her right foot nervously tapped the floor as she tried to find her words. “I was helping Amy.” she said eventually.
“Helping Amy?” her answer didn’t clarify the situation to Ray.
“With her memory.” Melanie added.
Ray remembered now what Amy had told him during their first encounter. She claimed to have been missing all her memory due it being replaced. Despite having had the time to do so he hadn’t thought of checking it out himself.
“And what exactly were you doing down there that would help with that?” Ray questioned her further.
He had tried to sound relaxed and friendly but Melanie remained anxious. “I… uh… we. I went to write down the serial numbers of the memory modules. We thought that if we ever got access to the galaxy net again we or you or someone could look up where they were bought to maybe find who replaced them.”
Ray raised his eyebrows, while he didn’t expect to ever get access to the galaxy net again he did think the idea was quite plausible.
“Is.. is that bad?” Melanie asked.
He considered it for a moment before but realized quickly that he thought it was a good thing.
“No, no, not at all. Please continue.” Ray replied.
“Really?” Melanie sounded unsure.
“I think it’s good for yourself that you’ve found something to keep you occupied. And if it may help Amy in the future then that’s also a good thing. I just really wasn’t expecting this from you.”
The girl finally relaxed a bit and a slight smile appeared on her face. “Thank you.”
Before anyone more could be said Amy interrupted them, announcing that they were about to arrive at their destination. In response they both headed to the bridge.
David had already arrived and though his expression looked fatigued he seemed fully focused as he fiddled with some of the communication settings. He cursed quietly at the FPA-2 control scheme again but eventually seemed to achieve the desired result. He had spoken of an outpost but when Ray looked at the sensor data of their surroundings he only saw a deserted and uninhabitable planet nearby.
“We have established a communication link.” Amy confirmed, even though the display didn’t show where it was coming from.
David’s entire body shook for a moment as he straightened himself up. He took a deep breath and started speaking, “This is David Regalia, ID one-nine-seven-seven-eight-five-nine. Requesting communication with the outpost.”
After a short moment of silence the other side answered and a video link initialised, projecting the face and upper body of a middle aged man in front of the bridge. His short shaved hair and dark green uniform gave off some sort of military vibe.
“Confirmed David Regalia. Your ship is unidentified and you were not scheduled to check in, please explain yourself.” the man spoke in a dull and neutral tone.
While his body and facial expression looked nervous and uncomfortable David managed to speak in a clear and confident sounding voice. “I’m here as an escort to Ray Chelsea, a newcomer. But we’ve run into a major incident. I’d like to escalate my report immediately.”
The other man seemed unfazed, but looked briefly to the right and seemed to confirm something with a person out of sight of the video. “Escalate to which level?” he asked.
David was now nervously fiddling with his hands, “All the way up to Tritor.” he replied.
The man looked displeased and this time turned his entire body away from the camera to talk to someone else. The conversation went on for over a minute without any sound being transmitted. Eventually the man turned to face the camera again. “Request granted. Please keep the communication channel open.”
Without waiting for confirmation the video signal turned off again and the display informed them that the other side had ended their communication. But they did as instructed and kept their connection open.
“So what exactly is happening here?” Ray asked.
“I’ve thought about this for the past day.” David said, “I’ve essentially asked to speak to administrator Tritor, who is, among many things, responsible for recruitment. It’s not the normal procedure, but since we’re in this situation it would have ended up with her regardless.”
“So you’ve just asked to skip a few steps in the chain of command is that it?”
“Yes, that is essentially what it boils down to.”
A soft bell sound announced that a new connection was coming in. This time the video showed a blonde haired woman wearing a dark blue business suit. She had a serious looking and focused expression on her face.
“David.” she said, “Explain yourself.” Even if they hadn’t heard about the escalation her voice alone was so full of authority that Ray and Melanie could have easily determined she was a person of considerable power.
“Elisabeth, I’m really sorry for what happened. I’ll take full responsibility.” David replied apologetically.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“I’ll see to it you will.” the woman answered sternly, “Please continue.”
David proceeded to give a short rundown of what happened and how he came into contact with Melanie and how the three of them ended up on Ray’s ship. Despite him sometimes struggling to find his words and occasionally pausing because he was too nervous Elisabeth listened patiently and never interrupted him.
“Are they with you now?” she asked after David finished his story.
“Yes, I guess we can turn on the video on our end?”
Ray nodded and pressed the corresponding button on a nearby display. He had been aware from the start that the video on their end was disabled and had left it so on purpose. He hadn’t been sure if this had been David’s intention but his opinion of the man grew now that he had learned it was.
Elisabeth nodded as to greet the people she now saw her display. “First of all I’d like to thank you mister Chelsea for saving the life of a valued citizen.” She left a pause but continued herself, “But… the way things ended up are quite troublesome indeed. I have no doubt that the location of Free Men bases and installations are safe, but there are still many questions regarding the ship that followed you.”
“What happens next?” Ray asked.
“I’ll allow you to continue your journey to Home base.” She said, “Melanie can accompany you; she’ll be granted temporary access as we run a background check on her. Depending on the result she will either be forced to stay or be allowed a one-way ticket back to her home planet. However, we cannot allow her to communicate with her home or anyone in regular space. If needed we’ll work on a coverup story later, but for now she’ll have to be considered missing.” She then turned her face slightly, “As for David.” she said now looking straight at him, “There will be consequences for your actions.”
“I understand.” David said meekly.
“I’ll instruct the outpost to send you the necessary routes to continue. I’ll see you all soon. Elisabeth out.”
Without waiting for confirmation the communication channel closed again. Ray continued staring at the place where her face had been projected a moment earlier, trying to make up his mind on what to think of the woman. She had been quite decisive and clearly trusted David’s words. For now he felt some gratitude towards her, at least he would be able to continue. He couldn’t help but wonder what would become of David and Melanie, but for the time being his own situation took priority.
A moment later Amy confirmed that they had received detailed instructions on how to proceed. A new destination much further into unexplored space was added to the system. Ray and David reviewed the information before confirming that they would move ahead. The route was complicated but Amy could navigate with enough precision to arrive in less than two days. Ray suspected that with manual navigation it would have taken them at least twice that amount. He wasn’t sure if moving that fast would be suspicious as he considered whether or not to reveal to the Last Free Men that his ship contained a powerful AI. On the hand he didn’t want to waste any time and told Amy to proceed at the maximum speed.
Afterwards they split up again, Ray stayed on the bridge to do some more stargazing while David and Melanie went their own ways.
***
The following days passed by quietly. Despite being close together on a relatively small ship Ray barely saw his fellow passengers. On the few occasions that he did, he got the impression that they were doing better. Both of them seemingly had accepted their current situation. Melanie in particular looked more relaxed now that she could freely interact with Amy and continued exploring all parts of the ship.
About an hour ahead of their planned arrival time the AI announced that their destination was now within visual range. Everyone gathered on the bridge and Ray activated one of the large displays near the right wall to take a look at what they were heading to.
He took a close look at the bizarre structure shown to him on the display. Home did not look like any space station he had ever seen before. Stations were normally rectangular and in some cases cylindrical shaped. It made their complicated construction easier and added a sense of uniformity and familiarity when traveling between them. It was hard to describe the shape of Home. If anything Ray would have tried to describe it as tree shaped, consisting of a central trunk with many branches spreading out at seemingly irregular intervals. Scanners indicated that the main trunk of the station was about seven kilometers in length while some of the longer branches reached almost two kilometers. Near the center of the station on each side a longer and thicker part stretched out like wings of a spaceship. The large rectangular block at the far end of the station almost confirmed Ray’s suspicion, but he still looked at David for confirmation.
“That thing flies?” he asked.
David nodded, “Not very quickly, but yes I’ve been on it while it was moving.”
They couldn’t wonder for long when a call from the strange space station came in. A robotic voice delivered the message.
“Please surrender control of your ship to Home docking once the signal arrives. Manual docking is prohibited. Once you have landed you may exit your ship and an escort will be waiting for you.”
“Alright.” Ray confirmed.
Just a few seconds later Amy notified them the instructions had come in. Ray did as he was told and configured the ship to begin the docking. Giving over control of the ship to a station’s computer was a standard procedure. That way there was no room for manual error when navigating sometimes complex environments. Of course the control could always be taken back by the pilot or captain in case they noticed there was an error or if it was being used for unintended purposes such as scanning or hacking the ship.
“Landing in thirty minutes.” Amy informed everyone.
“Alright just sit down somewhere, put on your seatbelts and relax.” Ray said as he took place in the captain’s chair.
Melanie and David followed and each took a seat on opposite ends of the bridge. Through the front window they watched as they approached the massive space station.
As they got closer the chaotic nature of the Home station became clearer. Even it’s unusual branches did not consist of clean cut shapes. Within the same branch Ray could notice different shades of metal used in the outside construction. It looked very much like a structure that never had any sort of design. It was a sort of anarchy that made it seem that people had just begun building without any plans. When he noticed construction robots hovering around the edges this only reinforced Ray’s impression.
“It’s quite the station.” David remarked noticing Ray’s questioning look. “Unfortunately I can’t comment on it much but I’m sure someone in there will be able to explain to you why they build it this way.”
Melanie was also fascinated by what she saw, “This looks like everything I was taught not to do.”
Despite everyone being anxious for their own reasons the mood on the bridge felt light. No one was looking down or worried anymore as the ship kept slowing down. It first flew past the station before making a turn around and aligning itself with a dock opening on the other side.
“Starting final landing phase. Disabling back engines, engaging front brakes. Runway impact in two minutes.” Amy announced.
The ship started moving in a straight line towards the station. In the distance the camera’s showed a bulkhead opening, making an opening for the ship to enter. Much like plantery flights the braking and fully stopping the ship were critical points. The force of the brakes put noticeable pressure on everyone but modern ship design made it all easily bearable. Through the front window they could see the opening approaching. The ship slightly adjusted its height and descended a little bit. Just before connecting with the station’s interior the noise coming from the front engines increased even further as the ship was now grinding to a halt. The landing gear hit the deck and slid into a railing on the floor which put further resistance on the movement.
After entering the station it took less than thirty seconds before the Amy Dee came to a complete stop. Through the window and on the displays they could see how metallic walls rose from the ground and completely enclosed the ship. Finally the floor started to descend as the platform they had ended up on dropped to a lower level. They then entered a pressurized environment with breathable air. At the end of a process a short bell sound accompanied by a small green light on the bridge’s ceiling indicated that it was now safe to leave the ship.
Everyone got up from their seats, Melanie was first and gave the impression that she wanted to get off the ship. Ray noticed that David was more hesitant. “You don’t look so well.” he remarked as they exited the bridge and walked towards the exit.
David smiled meekly, “Before we part ways I want to thank you again for saving me. But my mistakes will have consequences.”
“You talk as if our paths can never cross again.” Ray answered somewhat surprised.
“It is possible, exile from the station is after a possible punishment.”
Melanie who had been walking too far ahead of them to hear their exchange had stopped and waited for them. Ray opened the exit and they all descended the metallic stairs in short succession.
As they observed the hangar they had landed in they immediately noticed a small group of people approaching them. There were five people in total, two were visibly armed with large black rifles and wore what resembled some kind of military uniform with a black and teal color scheme. The three others appeared to be civilians. The tall woman standing in front gave off a commanding aura. The two men which flanked her seemed much more reserved as if they were deliberately trying to make her look more important. All of them were wearing a light grey uniform with teal color finished around the edges. They halted about a meter away from stairs and waited for everyone to descend.
Melanie got down first, followed by Ray and then David.
“Welcome to Home station.” The woman was the first to speak. “My name is Elisabeth Tritor, my colleagues over here will be helping you go through the entry procedures and get you going. Please follow us.”
It was only then at close distance that Ray recognised her from the call they had two days ago. He nodded and the group started moving. They circled around the back of the ship and walked towards a large gate in the wall in front of them. Upon approach it opened automatically and they ended up in a dimly lit hallway stretching out horizontally in front of them.
“Miss Redfern, my colleague Jason over here will take care of you. He will simply ask you some questions to verify your identity and background. Afterwards you will be escorted to a temporary residence we have prepared for you. I apologize for this but the final decision on your case has not been made yet. You will be informed as soon as that is the case.”
“Ok.” Melanie confirmed briefly.
One of the men smiled gently and gestured to her to follow him, they started walking left into the hallway.
Elisabeth turned towards David. “David, you’re going to come with me.” Her voice was calm and strict. David was clearly uncomfortable but nodded he understood.
“Mister Chelsea, you are to go with Keith over here .” Elisabeth gestured towards the other civilian man in their company.
The man named Keith bowed slightly and signaled for Ray to follow him, they also went left, following some distance behind the previous pair. When Ray looked behind him he saw David and Elisabeth disappear behind a corner going the opposite direction.
Keith was a short balding white man. He had a gentle expression and
didn’t speak much, but when he did he was extremely polite. While they walked though some corridors he explained what was about to happen. Ray had already been assigned a living space in place called City Eight. But before he could go there he still needed to go through some security and medical checks. Since he wasn’t carrying any luggage with him the security check only consisted of a full body scan, identical to the process that would happen on commercial travel options. The small scanner gate he walked though almost immediately confirmed that there were no problems.
The second part of the procedure involved some medical checkups. To his surprise they were quite detailed but the entire process was automated. In a small, almost empty room Keith instructed Ray to sit down in what looked like a black leather dentist chair. As he did, his guide pressed a button somewhere that made various scanners and tools appear from a shelf that popped out of the nearby wall. A medical body scan, brain scan and blood test confirmed his physical health.
After the testing and the walking between the locations Ray found that two hours had passed and it was not evening on the station.
“We apologize for all the procedures you have to go to mister Chelsea. But we are clear to go to your new home now.”
“Good to hear.” Ray nodded.
For the first time since his arrival they exited the building and headed east on a large open road. All around them stood large other tall office buildings and the ceiling projected a clear evening sky. Combined with the presence of a mostly suit wearing crowd the area gave of the impression of a large city’s office district. About a hundred meters away on the right side of the road they entered a train station. In the large open departure hall bright colored panels floated in the air, displaying the arriving and departing trains. Keith did not even glance at them and just continued onwards. Everything inside the building was made of a dull grey material. Mostly it looked like the designers had tried to imitate the feeling of a stone construction with some kind of plastic. After only a short walk they arrived at a crowded platform. The sign in the air indicated that the next train was only a minute away.
They boarded a train and stayed on for what Ray counted as ten stops. Keith took the lead and guided him towards the exit.
Ray was surprised to find a crowd standing outside of the train station. People had gathered on the sides of the road, as if waiting for a parade or a sporting event. But quickly he realised that they had for some reason been waiting for him. Banners and signs displaying “Welcome to City Eight” were plentiful amongst the crowd.
A man emerged from the crowd and approached him.
“Greeting!” the approaching man said enthusiastically. “I’m Bart from the City Eight welcoming committee, and we’re here to welcome you to our city!”
Ray was still somewhat taken aback by the unexpected greeting but quickly composed himself. “Thank you.”
He took a moment to look at the diverse crowd of people that had gathered. Men and women of all ages, even some children stood there observing him and his interaction with Bart. All of them were smiling kindly. While scanning the crowd he noticed one face that stood out to him. He couldn’t quite make out what sort of person it was, but it was the face of a young woman who was staring at him with what he interpreted as a bewildered gaze. When she noticed him looking back the face disappeared between the other onlookers. The short moment left him wondering what it was that made her look that way but his thoughts were interrupted by Bart who proposed to show him to his apartment.
“We’ll take it from here Keith.” he said, nodding to Keith who had been quietly waiting a bit behind Ray.
“Thank you.” he replied. “Take care, mister Chelsea, you’re in good hands here.”
Bart signaled for Ray to follow him and ten minutes later they found themselves inside an apartment building facing a closed door. Ray found that he had not had the energy to pay attention to much of his surroundings while walking here. After the medical check he had started to feel tired and had mostly just focussed on following his guide.
“Here’s your key.” Bart handed him a small metallic card, “I’m sure you’ll have a lot of questions, but it’s evening and you’re tired. We’ll send someone to visit you tomorrow morning at nine. He’ll give you a tour of the city and tell you what you need to know. You’ll find everything you need inside.”
“Right, thank you.” Ray said as he accepted the card and swiped it in front of the door. Sure enough it opened. The lights inside went on automatically and revealed a small but cozy looking apartment.
“Goodnight.” Bart and waved goodbye as he started walking back towards the exit.
Ray felt a sense of relief coming over him when he was finally alone again. He took a look around and found the nearest chair in what he thought was the kitchen. Sitting down he let out a deep sigh. He let body relax and put his arms and face down on the small round table in front of him. For a few minutes he just sat there, appreciating the silence. He smiled slightly, believing that he had come to the end of his road for now. He had reached his desired destination, far away from the space and planets he knew before. After debating himself for a short moment he decided that he was tired enough to go to bed without having had dinner. He remembered that Bart mentioned someone would come pick him up a nine tomorrow, so he made sure to set an alarm. As he expected he fell asleep quickly after.