Children of the Old Star (25 page)

Raton stroked Fire's silver-black hair, his breath growing heavy. “I know, Fire-cita. Let's make the most of this night."

"We might not get much sleep,” chided Fire, holding Manuel as much for security as out of passion.

"Who the hell cares?” Manuel pressed his mouth to Fire's. The two fell to the floor together.

That night, aboard the
Sanson
, Ellis slept off the effects of the alcohol. He awoke the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed. Ordering coffee and a roll from the kitchen, he showered and dressed unhurriedly. With a deliberate force of will, he shaved his beard. Looking at the result in the mirror, he was vaguely disappointed. He remembered his jaw looking stronger than what he saw. “Is this who I am?” he asked himself. Shrugging it off as best he could, he stepped back out to the living quarters and began calling up the data files on globular clusters.

The information he found was not particularly surprising. As an officer graduated from the Academy, he had long known that the globulars made long elliptical orbits around the galaxy. Many times those orbits took the globulars through the plane of the galaxy itself. He rubbed his naked chin in wonder as he read that the clusters took between fifteen and thirty million years to complete their orbits.

Ellis turned his attention to the gravitational interaction of the globulars with the stars of the galaxy when Clyde McClintlock knocked on the door.

"Wow!” exclaimed the evangelist as he looked at Ellis’ newly clean face. “I've never seen you that well shaved."

Ellis smiled and motioned for Clyde to take the seat opposite him. “I imagine I was pretty scruffy when I first showed up on Sufiro."

McClintlock nodded and laid the captain's breakfast out for him. The evangelist sat back to sip his own coffee. “The governor almost had me evict you from the planet,” laughed McClintlock. The former colonel set his coffee down and looked at his feet as he thought of Governor Hill, the friend he betrayed. After a moment, he returned his attention to Ellis. “What are you reading up on?"

Ellis shook his head, while reaching for the sweet roll. “It's some stuff G'Liat recommended. Do you know there are theories that suggest those deep space nodes are caused by clusters?"

"Really!” Clyde McClintlock shifted to the edge of his seat.

"I mean globular clusters,” corrected the captain. “It's suspected that as the globulars pass through or near the plane of the galaxy, the tidal interactions cause the nodes we've been seeing."

"What does that have to do with the Cluster?” McClintlock settled back in the chair.

Ellis read on in silence for a few minutes. “It's possible it holds part of the answer. Did you know that there's a globular in close approach now? It's passing through the plane of the galaxy even as we speak. The last time it was here was thirty million years ago."

Clyde McClintlock shook his head. “Are you trying to tell me that the Cluster is coming from some globular?” He set the coffee down and grabbed his wrist to stop his trembling hand. “Mark, if the Cluster came from that globular, then that means that Ezekiel couldn't have seen it."

"What?” Ellis peered over the display he was reading.

"The prophet Ezekiel, in the bible. He saw the Cluster only six thousand years ago,” stammered Clyde.

"I'm afraid I'm not much of a Bible scholar,” admitted Ellis, returning his attention to the display.

The evangelist and the captain sat in silence for a time. Ellis ate his sweet roll while reading. At last, the plate and coffee cup were empty. Standing silently, trembling slightly, Clyde McClintlock gathered the dishes and left without further comment.

"Did you know that there's no evidence of any civilization on Titan before thirty million years ago?” Ellis continued to read. When he didn't get a response, he looked up and saw that the evangelist had gone. Like Clyde McClintlock, however, Ellis found himself trembling. He stepped to the window over his bunk and looked out at the stars.

At last he began to understand G'Liat's fears and see them as more than paranoia. There was evidence to suggest that the Titans—the benevolent leaders of the Confederation, virtually the founders of civilization itself—had first appeared the last time the Cluster visited the galaxy. Deep and disturbing questions filled the captain's mind. Taking a deep breath, Ellis wasn't sure he wanted to know the answers.

Instead of returning to the kitchen, Clyde McClintlock went back to his quarters. Since he had not been able to return to his home on Earth, he brought few personal effects aboard the
Sanson
. McClintlock fell listlessly into his bunk. He felt betrayed by the other man who had heard the words of the Cluster. How could Ellis, of all people, believe the Cluster was anything but God?

Clyde McClintlock closed his eyes tight. He tried, momentarily, to feel his way through the trail of logic that led him to believe the Cluster was God. The more he tried, the guiltier he felt of betraying his faith and those back on Earth who were relying on him to bring teachings from the Cluster. He also thought of the fact that it was Ellis who had defeated him on Sufiro. Revenge could be sweet. Deep down, Clyde knew what had to be done to blasphemers. He remembered from the teachings of his youth. If he died trying to kill the infidel, he would be invited into the Cluster realm.

Burying his head in the hard pillow, McClintlock cursed at the fact that he was not aboard a military ship. There he would have weapons. He felt the pillow grow damp as tears flowed. However, his spirits lightened slightly when he realized that he had an entire kitchen to his disposal. With his military background, he could make any weapon he chose. The only question was when to use it.

Sitting up in bed, a low moan escaped his throat. In the last few weeks, Ellis had become a friend. How could he think of killing a friend for an ideal? The idea made him shiver. He shook his head, trying to clear it. “Let Ellis do what he wants,” mumbled McClintlock. “I'll be there to talk to the Cluster with the reverence it deserves. Let the captain beware if he tries to betray us."

A lone male guard stood watch over the airlock that led to the surface of Titan. Suki Ellis unbuttoned her blouse revealing ample cleavage. She wore tight shorts that accentuated her hips. Manuel Raton had worn tight pants just in case the guard had proven to be female. Fire took a deep breath then strutted out to the guard. She leaned on the door. “Must be lonely here?” she commented.

The guard turned. “Yes ma'am, it is.” He licked his lips.

"Not many women on Titan duty?” she asked.

"Plenty of women,” said the guard. “Just not that many interested in me.” The guard looked down, almost sad. Manuel eased up and hit the guard on the back of the head. The guard crumpled to the floor.

Fire quickly attached her de-scrambler to the first door of the airlock. Within moments, the door slid aside. “It won't be long before they figure out we're here,” she said. They pulled the guard inside.

After a brief search, they located the environment suit lockers. They stripped out of their tight-fitting clothes and pulled on the environment suits. Fire applied her descrambler to the outer door. Shortly, Manuel Raton and Suki Ellis found themselves on the surface of Titan. Fire was surprised that no alarms had sounded when she used the descrambler. She figured that no one must have been monitoring the doors remotely; assuming an attack would be rare. Their mistake, she thought and shrugged.

Fire and Manuel found the hover transport. It required no password to start. Apparently it was ready to go quickly in case of a crisis. The two set off across the ruddy surface of the moon, following Fire's map. She looked up in time to catch a brief break in the clouds. Fire caught her breath as she saw Saturn shining down from above.

Captain John Mark Ellis took several deep breaths as he rode the elevator to the
Sanson's
command deck. He was determined to regain his hold on both his life and his command. Putting his hands behind his back, he whistled the Battle Hymn of the Republic to help strengthen his resolve and to remind himself that he was, indeed, the captain. His heart skipped a beat when he felt the elevator stop.

The captain strode onto the deck as the doors opened. The crewmembers were all at their stations. Natalie Papadraxis stared at holographic flowers growing from her brightly colored console. Laura Peters was alert and working at her simply functional touch-pad. Simon Yermakov blew his nose into a handkerchief, then adjusted one of the brass control knobs on his holo-interface.

"Simon,” called Ellis with confidence, rather than strength. “I was just down at the engineering deck. The crew there seems to be getting a little lax."

"What do you want me to do about it, Skipper?” asked Yermakov. As he turned to face Ellis, his jaw dropped open. He shut it quickly. “What happened to your beard?"

Ellis strode forward. Laura Peters nodded her approval at the captain's new look. Natalie Papadraxis seemed somewhat disappointed. “As to the latter question,” stated Ellis, “it's none of your business. As to the former, your last report showed some instability in EQ engine number four. I want you to confirm that it's fixed properly. I don't want it failing while we're in jump.” The captain stepped close to the mate, putting his hand on Yermakov's shoulder. “Tell Mr. Mahuk and the techs that they're doing a good job while you're down there.” He patted Yermakov's shoulder and nodded.

Yermakov smiled sheepishly. He started to say something but decided against it. Instead, he stepped to the elevator and went below.

"Natalie, how well do your communications skills work during jump?” Ellis sat down, but kept his back straight.

"I sense a lot of things during jump,” she said. “I often sense other telepaths and other ships that are with us in the beyond. Usually they're only there for a short time.” She looked down at the floor and toyed with the end of her braid.

Ellis nodded. “Have you ever sensed Cluster ships out there?"

She thought about it. “Sometimes I feel a vast coldness. I've never been near a Cluster ship in normal space. Is that what it feels like?"

Ellis wasn't sure how to answer that question. He supposed the Cluster could be perceived as cold. However, he had always sensed warmth from it. Instead of answering, he asked another question. “Have you felt that coldness recently?"

"Not during this voyage,” she said airily.

"Let me know if you do, please,” he said. Ellis stood and patted Laura Peters on the shoulder. “Keep up the good work,” he said as he left the command deck.

Fire and Manuel pulled up to the Titan dome. There was no airlock; not even a locked door. They simply pushed a button next to a bear-sized door and the door slid aside. The two looked at each other and nodded. They walked through the corridors, seeing few of the Teddy Bear-like creatures. When they did see a Titan, they ducked into a side corridor and waited for it to pass. It was believed that most of the Titans lived in caves, well away from the domes.

After a looking in a few rooms, they finally located the central computer room. The room was empty. There were no consoles or controls. There was only a simple star pattern on the floor. Fire and Manuel stepped inside and closed the door. They performed the dance they hoped would call the records of Cluster attacks on Titan ships.

A set of words written in the Titan language began to scroll through the middle of the room. Fire and Manuel held hands and turned in a circle, performing the translation algorithm to Terro-generic. Manuel whistled when he read the reports. Every Titan ship that had spotted the Cluster had avoided contact. False reports of destruction were filed.

"You were right,” whispered Manuel. “They did lie."

"Let's find out what they know about the Cluster,” said Fire. They danced another dance, awkward in their environment suits. They simply saw a report on globular clusters. “I think we need a little more shoulder shimmy,” said Fire. Manuel giggled self-consciously, but stopped when he saw Fire's earnest look. They tried the dance again.

This time they were greeted with an animated presentation. They were looking at the heart of a globular cluster. Gasses, dust and plasma coalesced. From the center emerged first one, then a second Cluster. A third appeared from the primordial soup.

"It says here,” said Fire, “that the Cluster is presumed to be an ancient lifeform. It formed from the extreme heat and pressure of the center of the globular cluster."

"When did it form?” asked Manuel, his eyebrows knitted.

Fire nodded. “According to this, it's believed that it might be the most ancient lifeform of all. It started as something like an amoeba—very primitive life. However, it has lived so long that it has acquired knowledge and self-awareness."

"How could that be?” Manuel folded his arms.

Fire's shrug was barely perceptible in the environment suit. “Plasma can fire off electrical impulses, not unlike an organic brain. If it lived long enough, if it was ordered properly in a matrix of sorts, I suppose plasma could become intelligent like a brain."

"Where do the Titans fit in?” Manuel started watching the door nervously.

Fire's arms swayed back and forth over her head. A new hologram formed showing a Titan next to a Cluster. Words began to scroll through the air. Once again, Fire and Manuel performed the translation algorithm and then read together. Fire's mouth dropped open. “The Titans and the Cluster are symbionts!” she exclaimed.

They turned at the whoosh of a door opening. A Titan filled the immense doorway, barring teeth and brandishing claws. “That is quite enough,” growled the Titan. “I believe Teklar would like to have a word with you."

COMING TO TERMS

As Captain Ellis stepped into his office, the
Sanson
lurched. The captain swayed gently into the lurch and moved toward his desk and sat down. For the first time in the past several weeks he actually felt in control of his ship. Putting his palms on the desk, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt in-tune with all that was around him. While in the Navy he always sensed the watchful eye of the admiralty. Even though Kirsten Smart had an office next door, she was most interested in getting her work done. If anything, the captain was bothered by a sense that he had not done his job to the best of his ability. But that worry was easy to brush aside.