Leon took another bite of his rice and beans. It wasn't his first choice for breakfast, but he had been wanting to use up the leftovers from two nights before. They were decent, if a little chewy.
Leon took a deep breath. They had made significant progress on fixing the ship since their encounter with the strange neutron star just over two months before. Some of the subsystems on the ship still had small issues from time to time, the massive electromagnetic fields had messed with the ship's electronics pretty badly.
He wasn't an engineer by any means, but he had been pitching in as much as he could to get the ship put back together. That on top of the other major issue he had taken care of. Making sure the cognition limiters on Henry stayed rock solid.
He still got shivers thinking about how close they had all come to damnation. The thing that made his skin crawl the worst about it however was the fact that nobody else would know. Everyone back on Earth was not expecting them back for at least another seventeen years. They were only about two and a half years into their twenty-year mission by this point, eight hundred and six days to be exact.
That was a long time to be stuck in the same ship with others, but the engineers who had constructed the UNSS Leif Erikson had taken that into account. The ship had plenty of room to retreat to if one found themselves a bit overwhelmed.
Leon smiled. He of course had two favorite places to retreat to, the first was the observation bridge. The large armoured windows allowed an unobstructed view into the depths of the cosmos when the ship wasn't at warp. The second was the lawn. The large patch of grass that Natalia and Myung kept in the hydroponics ring. It was a surreal experience to walk into that small jungle from the relatively clinical passages of the ship.
His thoughts were disturbed at that point by a cough from behind him, looking over his shoulder curiously he saw Joice standing there. The tall woman smiled thinly and pointed at the place next to him while asking “May I sit?”
Leon frowned slightly and said “Of course you can.” He could tell from the slightly apprehensive way she sat and the way she had asked that she likely had something important to discuss. Clearing his throat, he turned to her and asked “Ok. What do you need?”
She shook her head as she responded “I don't need anything per-se. I was a bit curious about something however…”. She trailed off a bit.
Leon just looked at her. She seemed a bit skittish and so he sighed and said “Joice. I made you my second because you never hold back your thoughts. What has gotten you so clammed up?”
She hung her head and closed her eyes momentarily. “It's just. Well, you know why I joined this mission right?” He nodded and she continued “I had been everywhere on Earth. From the hottest deserts to the coldest tundra. The ocean to the tips of the Himalayas, and through it all I classified hundreds of species never before seen. New niches filled with life that evolved after the collapse. That was my mission, my purpose in life.” She stopped and looked to the middle distance. “Till it wasn't.” She said a little sadly.
Leon remained silent. He had never heard her whole story, the way she had been recruited.
Joice seemed to come back to the present and said “I'm a biologist on a ship that has, so far at least, prohibited me from doing the one task I was born to do.” She finished a little heatedly.
Leon was a bit taken aback at that. She was always so positive and together, he never would have pegged her as the resentful type. But here she was, telling him that she was regretting her position on the ship, in his crew.
Leon opened his mouth and spoke “Joice I… I wish you had come to me with this earlier. You know that we have…” he tried to defend his position but was cut off.
“No. Not good enough Leon. You know the mission, you know why those assholes in the UN sent us out here in the first place. This was never a scientific mission, this was always about money. If we discovered habitable planets then they could claim them for their own, exploit their natural resources for their own gain. I would bet they never once thought about the ramifications of such an undertaking on the science community. They sent me here knowing that I would be wasted, I am just a PR stunt to them. Cover for their game!” She finished by slamming a clenched fist on the tabletop.
Leon felt for her, he really did. But he also knew from experience that it would be best to let her calm down slightly before saying anything.
She looked him in the face, her eyes misty and her expression sour. “Did you know Leon? I remember that first meeting. They had already briefed you, you weren’t surprised at all when they told us about the probe. You already knew…” Joice trailed off again, her shoulders untensing as the anger slowly drained from her.
He thought hard and fast. The right spoken words would see her spirit revived, and her trust restored, the wrong words could likely spell disaster. But then he thought again, what right did he have to hide the truth from her.
He growled suddenly, his own temper turning sour as he said “Fuck it. I might as well tell you the truth, Joice.” She straightened and her eyes widened. She had not expected him to say that it seemed. “Yes I was briefed before I ever entered the complex. I was handpicked for the command position for three reasons. My previous experience in command, my impeccable service record, and the fact that I am adept at keeping the peace in difficult situations. I won’t pretend that my reasons for agreeing to the mission were based on some grand ideal for science or humanity. They were entirely selfish, just like the bureaucrats who approved the mission.”
Leon could see her face turn from surprise to anger and then to confused. She butted in and asked suddenly “Wait? They briefed you outside of the complex? You knew before you even entered the building?” She couldn't keep the hurt from her voice. Leon wasn't entirely sure why she was upset by that, it seemed like standard military practice to him. But she was a civilian, always had been.
Leon waved a hand in the air as he said “Yes. That is the only reason I left retirement. But hold on.” He said quickly as she tried to speak. “Let me continue please.” She furrowed her brow but nodded. “Yes, I did join the mission for selfish reasons. And yes, I did know ahead of time the real reasons behind the mission. But that all changed when we discovered the Glimmer Drorns. It was one thing to see a planet with life like Sludge. But to see that life with my own eyes. To see it there impossibly alive? My perspective changed, my heart was pierced with the realization of where we were. Not just us but our whole species, humanity in general.” He said, the feelings he had felt at the time coming back to the front of his mind. The wonder and excitement of the discovery.
Joice remained silent as he looked at her. Leon poked at his breakfast as he waited for her verdict. Would she forgive his selfish acts and see that he truly had changed in his approach to their mission? Or would she continue to remain upset that they were not fulfilling her own expectations of the mission?
He was about to find out as Joice sighed heavily and spoke once more. “Leon. I understand. Truly I do. The thought of becoming the first person to categorize undiscovered alien creatures drew me in when I realised the mission as well. But the mission was not what I expected. I believe you, you had no reason to tell me that but you did, I appreciate the blunt honesty.” She seemed to pause to gather her thoughts before she continued.
“Leon, we have been through a lot. All of us have, and to show for it all we have are scars and worries. It may be selfish of me to ask for more, but what else can I do? Without visiting the life we came to discover, what can we really learn about it? How it acts, yes, how it lives maybe? But not how it works, nor how it came to be.” Joice said with a certain vigor. Her face lit once more with excitement as she talked about her passion.
She looked at him and asked “I know why we have not, but will you make more efforts to explore in the future Leon?”
Leon nodded and confirmed “Yes I will. I am truly sorry that I didn't see your distress sooner Joice. You should know, you are far from useless here.” He paused and then smiled widely “Your cooking alone…” He said with a chuckle.
She couldn't help but smile too. Joice was probably the best cook on the ship, more than once she had managed a miracle in the kitchen with the limited ingredients they could grow. “That's not why I'm here and you know it.” She said trying to sound upset, but he could tell she was just being petty now.
He nodded and said “Nevertheless. You have just as much right to be here as any of us do. Natalia isn't a scientist but I'm sure even she can see the importance of your work. You help Myung and her in hydroponics and Aquaponics all the time. Making sure our food supply is healthy and well maintained. I know this isn't what you signed up for, but I assure you. I do have the best wishes of the entire crew in mind at all times. I promise you that when an opportunity to safely explore an alien biosphere comes up, you will be first in line. Right behind me of course.” He finished with another small laugh.
Joice smiled, her previous bad mood all but gone by that point. She stood from the table and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Leon, I want to apologize.” He tried to tell her it wasn't needed but she waved him silent. “Yes. You might have started off as less than a friend to my scientific dreams, but I will never again say that you don't have the right intentions. Time and time again you impress me with your willingness to listen and your heart. I know you will keep us safe. And I know you will get us home again.” She said.
Leon swallowed heavily, the sudden emotional turn of the conversation hitting him in a way it would not have earlier. “Ehemm…” He cleared his throat. “Thanks for talking to me about this Joice. And thanks for understanding. I was right to pick you as co-commander.” He finished.
She nodded and patted his shoulder before walking away out of the mess hall.
“Well, that was a trip.” he muttered to himself when she was clear. He wouldn't ever admit it out loud, but while he was pretty good at solving conflicts, he didn't much like listening to everyone’s personal issues. He had his own problems. His thoughts caused him to wince as a phantom pang stabbed through his cybernetics. “As if.” he muttered again.
“As if what?” A new voice asked from behind him.
Leon jumped in surprise with a short yelp. Turning he saw Taylor’s smiling face. The young communications specialist smiling like he had just been told he was the president of the lollipop guild.
“What the hell. Don't sneak up on a man like that Taylor. I could have had a heart attack.” he said, only partially joking.
Taylor snorted and replied “Surely not. You aren't as old as Chris and Dr. Kimathi would have warned us if you were that high of a risk.”
Leon snorted. Likely true, the Chaddian woman was always trying to keep them as healthy as possible. It was due to her that their exercise regimes and such were never missed. Nobody wanted to have to tell the stern woman why they had missed their mandated exercise.
Leon grabbed his plate, now virtually empty, and took it to the dish bin. The leftovers he scraped into the micro composting unit nearby. The ship was a closed system for the most part and they tried to recycle as much as possible, lest they find they have some sort of mineral deficiency.
Turning back to the still smiling man, he asked him “Taylor, what do you need?”
The communications specialist motioned him to follow and began speaking as they exited the room. “Well, we are on approach to the next system, should be there in about six hours. But I felt like I should tell you, Terry said there was an anomaly.” he said before falling silent. His face now less mirthful and much more serious.
“An anomaly, like what? What is wrong this time?” Leon asked incredulously. He was starting to think they were cursed.
Taylor seemed to look around then at him again, they were walking up the curving hall that was one of the habitat rings. The slope was great enough that somebody could have been a mere twenty-five meters away and would have been largely obscured by the curvature of the ring.
Taylor seemed to come to a decision and said “Well, she didn't want this to get out prematurely. But she thinks that the system is probably destroyed.”
Leon tilted his head. That was it? He had been expecting her to find some great rip in spacetime or something. “Well, I can't exactly say I'm all that surprised to hear that. The data we have is several tens of thousands of years out of date after all. And the best view we get before we jump is still incredibly indistinct.” He paused as they reached one of the four main spokes that contained access ladders to the ship’s core. The only way to travel between the various counter rotating rings.
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Leon grabbed a rung but stopped as Taylor asked “What do you mean?”
Leon let go of the rung and made a waving gesture towards the younger man as he said. “Well, think about it. The data comes from an ancient alien race that was destroyed by some hostile force. It would make sense that their ruins had been vaporised or otherwise destroyed entirely. The fact we found the station at all was pure unfettered luck. I mean, c'mon Taylor. If you were some terrible alien race hell bent on the total annihilation of an enemy, would you want to leave them any technology at all that could potentially be used against you?”
Taylor shook his head slightly and Leon nodded saying “So that's my point. We probably won't find alien civilizations using the data core’s information. And that's why not every stop we have planned currently is to one of those systems.” He said before starting up the ladder.
It made sense to him after all with his military background. Destroy the enemy, then make sure they are unable to mount a counteroffensive by crippling their infrastructure. Perhaps they would still find ruins of a sort, but he was not optimistic about their odds of finding intact technologies like on the defunct station.
The ladder climb was as swift as it always was now, he swung into the core and grabbed a handhold near the wall to keep from flying into the opposite wall. The core of the ship was a microgravity environment. This ensured a stable platform to observe their surroundings.
Taylor entered the narrow center space just after him and together they made their way towards the front of the ship. The habitat ring was designated to the third ring of the Leif Erikson while the main research section was on the first. The only way to transfer between rings being the ladder spokes meant that the crew had become adept climbers.
Leon and Taylor moved through the core of the ship quickly, the numerous handholds along the walls making the process simple enough. As they reached the first section, they made their way into the ladder well. Leon pulled himself along in the microgravity, slowly he started to feel the familiar pull of the ship’s seventy percent simulated gravity. The slow rotation of the ship’s massive rings affording them a measure of normality that would have otherwise been impossible.
He reached the top, or the bottom depending on one’s perspective, of the ladder shaft quickly. Taylor plopping down to the padded floor just behind him. Without a word he started down the gently sloping hallway.
“She is in the observation room. Nothing to see yet, but she is setting up the telescopes. They are all fixed up now. For the most part.” Taylor added almost under his breath.
Leon just kept walking. The curving flooring of the ring affording him precious little warning of what lay ahead. Almost surprisingly quickly they were there, the single door already opened. The doors were airtight and double sealed, they would close in the event of an emergency but were generally left open when the rooms were in use. No sense making them any stuffier than they had too.
As he walked through the door he noticed the large racks of computerized equipment layered along the near wall. The center of the room was dominated by a large computer setup that had been designed specifically for computing the astronomical data gathered by the UNSS Leif Erikson’s many telescopes and sensors.
It was by this mass of electrical components that Terry stood, her attention wholly occupied by the small tablet she held. As they entered the room and made a noise she twitched and looked up. “Oh Taylor, you brought him. Good.” she said.
Leon walked closer and asked “So what did you need to tell me about the system? Nothing too terrible I hope.” he said with false enthusiasm.
Terry shook her head and walked over towards them with the tablet. She poked at it a bit and said “Well, looking at the observations there appears to be a discrepancy in the star’s wobble.”
Leon just shrugged. “And what does that mean?”
“Well, it could mean a lot of things. But the observations are showing that the wobble has increased, and rather drastically too. My current theory is that the system has picked up some sort of rogue object.” Terry said.
Leon frowned. Another dead system likely then, a massive rogue object would have destroyed the orbital paths of the inner planets for sure, or at least altered them enough to lead to unfavorable conditions.
Leon asked her “What is the likelihood that the inner system survived the invading object?”
She shook her head. “It's not likely. Though we aren't sure yet. We would have to take an actual look to be sure. My observations are based on limited data after all.”
Leon didn't like the sound of that. If she wasn't sure then the variables must be too radical. They were planning to exit a full twenty four light hours from the system’s center anyways. He looked to Terry and said “Well it seems like the only way to know for sure is to make our preplanned stop in the system anyways.”
Terry asked “Surely there is enough precedent here to halt the mission early? We don't want a repeat of…”. Leon waved a hand to quiet her remark.
Taylor seemed to want to speak up as well but Leon just said “I have already accounted for hazards. We are stopping a full twenty-four light hours from the inner system. That should be more than far enough out of the system to make some secondary observations.” He paused but then continued before either could speak. “Then, if the system seems safe, we will continue into the inner system for a closer inspection. This happens only if it is deemed safe by your observations Terry. I still command this mission, I will have the final say. But I will not ignore your recommendations, is that satisfactory?” He asked both of them.
Taylor and Terry nodded as Taylor asked “But how can we be sure that we will notice anything wrong from that far away?”
This time Terry patted her husband's arm and reassured him “The telescopes and radio antenna on the ship are more than sensitive enough for that love. Leon, I agree with your proposal, though I must again urge caution. I still don't have a clear picture of the inner system and what’s happening.” She said to Leon.
Leon nodded. “Well, then we shall proceed as planned. Make your way to the bridge half an hour before warp translation then?” He said with a raised eyebrow.
Terry confirmed she would be there while Taylor nodded. Leon clapped his hands and spoke again “Well, thank you both for bringing this to my attention, I will meet you on the bridge.” A final wave and courteous farewell and he walked from the room, his tempo slow as he thought about the new information he had.
He tapped his cams and messaged Samuel with a short text. ‘There is potential for the jump to have hazards. Be prepared for a quick departure.’ He left it at that. No need to be too explicit just yet.
He checked his cams, there was only about five hours till they reached their destination now. He would have to try to squeeze a quick workout in and then a shower before they got too close.
**********
Leon sat in his command throne with the other bridge crew, his muscles a little sore but feeling better overall. Joice sat next to him with Terry and Taylor in front of him. Samuel and Sabine were across the room. Everyone was wearing their protective suits just in case of emergency, and after the last few jumps, he had heard no complaints about the need to wear them.
He looked at Sabine and she smiled. Leon smiled back and gave her a head nod, she seemed to be in a good mood today. She and Chad had been working around the clock to fix all the small issues that kept cropping up, and they had nearly pinned them all down by this point. He supposed she was feeling pretty accomplished about it.
He scratched his chin with his right hand, the thin salt and pepper stubble there making him think of his military days. He liked to keep himself clean shaven, but sometimes it was nice to not have to worry about it every time. Chris was growing out a beard, the older man’s facial hair looking like a fuzzy gray cloud in the microgravity when they crossed paths.
Samuel spoke up “Arriving at destination, five minutes.” And he pressed the yellow alert. A slow yellow pulsing filled the room as the jump warning lights turned on. It was in their best interests to let people know well in advance when the ship was about to translate out of a warp.
Leon shook his head slowly, he hated warp jumps. The miracle of faster than light travel had come with a great cost, the fact that the transition from one state to another caused much distress was still a mystery to them. But it was a fact as true as pure water was clear, when they moved from one state to the other strange things manifested. Only for a second, but more than long enough to leave scars upon the conscious mind.
His cams device pinged him and he raised an eyebrow, who was trying to get his attention this close to a jump? Looking at the small screen on his suit that interfaced with his wrist device he saw it was Oliver, the Australian man was always a joy to speak with.
He opened the link and said “Yes Oliver? What is it? We are about to make a warp translation.”
Oliver’s gruff voice exited from his headset speakers, the man asked “Well, I was in the medical bay helping Blessing with some inventory items. Well, we found a discrepancy in the opioid stocks. I don't want to assume the worst, but there is the slight chance that we might have a problem.” He said quietly.
Leon’s eyebrows rose at that. Someone on the ship stealing medical supplies? That would definitely be something to get to the bottom of, it would have to wait for the moment, but as soon as they were stable he would look into it.
He asked Oliver “Ok, I understand. Who else have you told?” He asked quickly.
Dr. Kimathi’s measured voice spoke over the link at the question. “Nobody else. We were sure it wasn't you as you already have a painkiller prescription for your… condition.” She said slowly.
Leon grimaced but nodded slowly and advised “Keep this quiet. I don't want anyone getting hurt but I can't afford to let the perpetrator go. Not here, there is far too much at stake.” He hated to keep secrets from Joice and the crew, but if they indeed had an addict among them, then it would be in everyone's best interest for the afflicted individual to get the help they needed as soon as was possible. No fighting, no fuss, just understanding.
Oliver muttered something that didn't come through the speaker and then said louder “Okay. I don't like it, but I understand why. Leon? Please find out who, they need help. Soon.” The man said pleadingly.
Leon reassured the man as gently as he could “Don't worry Oliver. I would never let harm come to this crew. We are closer than family by this point. I will find out who it is soon, this I promise you.”
Oliver cut the link. There was nothing more to be said at this time, especially while they had only about a minute till they exited warp. Discussing potentially compromised crew was the last thing he wanted on his mind when the floodgates opened.
“Alright, get ready everyone, there is the chance we are entering into a dangerous situation.” Leon said as he looked around the bridge. Terry and Taylor seemed to huddle a little as they knew what was coming. Samuel just nodded to Sabine who gave him a thumbs up, Joice looked at Leon and gave him a smile as the countdown started.
“We are going to be fine. Nothing we couldn't handle right?” Joice said to him confidently.
Leon smiled and nodded his head. They would face this challenge like all the others before. He hoped that they would exit to find a system as perfectly normal as home, but from what Terry had said the likelihood of that was low. The countdown neared zero and he closed his eyes, this was the part he hated.
Leon prepared himself for anything, a kaleidoscope of impossible colors again or perhaps the mind melting glimpse of infinity. That one time he had seen inside himself to the tiniest portion had been especially disconcerting. What terrible form would the warp translation take upon him this time he wondered.
The countdown hit zero and for a brief moment he hoped that nothing had happened. And then everything went silver and gold inside his mind, the horizons of his imagination stretched out to the farthest ends of space and time before rebounding and folding into a coffin around his consciousness. He willed his eyes to open but they would not, in the distance a window opened and he looked through it, movement in the darkness and then a single molten orange eye opened. Staring at him, filling him with a sense of hate and ancient malice that almost made his heart stop.
And then it was gone.
Leon looked around, everything slow and the sound of silence ringing heavy in his mind. He blinked, and things seemed to return to normal. The sounds of the ship and his crew slamming back to his awareness with a crash that caused him to jerk in shock. He let out a small yell that caused several of the others to look at him worriedly but he took a deep breath and waved their concern away.
“Where are we? Are we on target?” He grunted, ignoring the strange vision that still burned like a hot coal in the back of his mind. Something tickled his remembrance but he pushed it down, now wasn't the time to try and puzzle it out.
Samuel raised a hand and stretched before he answered, his voice strained but steady as he replied “Yes. We are precisely where we had intended to exit. The star is approximately one hundred and seventy-three AU away. No chance that we are in range of any CME’s here.” He added.
Leon nodded to Joice as she was still giving him a concerned look. He asked “Terry, what can you see?” Terry was messing with her instruments but seemed to shake her head a bit. “What is it? Is there something there?” He asked her again.
“That's just it. There isn't. There’s nothing, just the star. No planets, no gas giants. Nothing.” She said incredulously. “It's like they vanished.” She added.
She put up a magnified view of the system on the main viewscreen above the small armored glass windows. On it was a picture of a small glowing point, to him it looked normal enough but something in his mind was screaming danger signals. He couldn't put his finger on it, but part of him knew something was wrong.
“We need to take a closer look.” He said quietly. That was the last thing he wanted to do. His first instinct was to jump back into warp immediately and leave this system to its own eternal devices, but that was not the point of their mission. Their mission was to explore and discover. There might yet be information to be gleaned from study of this system.
Sabine snorted and then said “Well, looks like it's wide open then.”
Joice asked “So? What's the plan then Leon? We moving in? It's all so far away still.”
Terry asked “I'm not sure that's the best idea, Leon what are we doing?”
Leon swallowed the small lump of fear in his throat and said “We need to get closer. Samuel, take us to about ninety AU from the center. That should be close enough to get a better idea of what's going on.”
Samuel nodded after a second and started plotting the jump. Terry shook her head and muttered something about vanishing planets but he ignored it. This system had once been inhabited by an advanced alien species. A species that had found itself at war with an even more powerful force. He knew that anything they discovered about either race could help infinitely, but they had to be very careful. They had absolutely no idea what kind of forces they were toying with here.
He settled himself into his chair, this was going to be a long day.