The Pathfinder Project (46 page)

Dandridge fell awkwardly
against the corridor wall while the crowd surrounding him became absolutely
silent. “You video tape his
quarters
…” Jack said slowly with obvious
disbelief.

“…24 hours a day. That’s
correct. And from what the Colonel tells me it’s not the
first
time
you’ve been in there without his permission while he’s not at home.”

“
You
did this, Jack?”
asked one of the female hangar workers. “
You did this
?”

“Patrick agreed to let us
monitor his activities in order to
guarantee
to the Council that he
would not continue the Brotherhood’s agenda of violence against our people,”
continued Kaufield. “Jack planted the stones, Jack tried to frame him, and Jack
tried to work you all into a feeding frenzy so that he could form a lynch mob
to execute Patrick without a trial. He did it because, despite everything he
claims to stand for, he doesn’t give a damn about something as simple as
justice. All he cares about is revenge… and in this case the revenge should be
directed at the Brotherhood Triumvirate we left behind in the Milky Way, not
the man standing before you. Patrick is voluntarily cooperating with us, and we
still
badly need his help to learn more about our mysterious Earth
enemy.”

“Take this man into custody,”
Neeland said, pointing at Dandridge. Two of the guards moved over and each of
them grabbed an arm.

“Wait…” Jack said nervously,
holding up a hand. “I beg you – I have responsibilities in the hangar bay. I
have to go to work in an hour.”

“That’s right,” Kaufield said,
still holding the mineral stones in his right hand. “You
do
have to go
to work… but
not
in the hangar bay. As of this moment your security
clearance is revoked and you will be reassigned to work side by side with Mr.
Warren in the restaurant.”

“What?”

“I’m serious. Go grab an apron
and get to work.”

“Captain, you can’t…”

“
Don’t
tell me what I
can and can’t do,” Kaufield snarled, his fist closing around the three small
stones with sudden, burning rage. “Not after what you’ve pulled. We’re in
enough trouble drifting along helplessly in this gravity river, and you call
out most of our Security personnel and have me pulled off my shift in the
Command Dome for what – to come down here for
this
?”

Dandridge rallied up what
remained of his courage. “Suppose I refuse? I have that right.”

“No you don’t actually,” the
Captain disagreed. “You’re so fond of pronouncing summary judgment against
someone – fine. Here’s a decision for you.
You’re
the one who decided
that stealing fuel ore is a capital crime and now we’ve learned that
you
stole some of them yourself. Breaking the law is no way to enforce the law, not
to mention that the entire crew is just plain sick of listening to you bitch
about the conditions on this ship. So I
order
you to work in the
restaurant with Mr. Warren. If you decline to do so then the sentence you chose
for him applies – we’ll have
you
thrown out the nearest airlock.”

“Captain, please… you don’t
understand… show some mercy, for God’s sake.”

“I understand perfectly,”
Dennis growled furiously. “Now all of a sudden – when it’s
you
who’s
guilty of the same crime that you accused Patrick of – the word
mercy
is
suddenly available in your vocabulary. Get to work in the restaurant or take a
close-up tour of the gravity river… it really makes no difference to me.”

“I deserve a trial…” Jack
objected. “Captain, I deserve a trial – you
said
I do.”

“And you’ll get one,” Kaufield
promised. “We’ll give you a really nice trial with a judge and jury and
video-taped evidence that clearly shows your guilt.” He handed the rocks back
to the Colonel. “But as Captain I get to make a recommendation to the Council
as to your sentence if you’re found guilty, and – just so you know – they
haven’t overruled any of my suggestions yet.” He turned and walked angrily
through the crowd and headed off down the corridor toward the lifts at the
front of the
Pathfinder
.

“All right everybody, we’re
done here,” Colonel Neeland said loudly. “Let’s get back to your quarters or on
to your jobs or wherever you’re supposed to be.” He began motioning sharply for
compliance and the crowd immediately began to break up and disperse. “You!” he
said, pointing at Dandridge, “Come with me. I’m personally going to escort both
you and Mr. Warren back to the restaurant.” He noticed the look of shame that
came over Dandridge’s face as he glanced nervously at Patrick – the man had
remained quiet and said absolutely nothing in his own defense through the
entire affair. “Well what do you know,” grinned Neeland with wonder. “Is that a
hint of remorse, perhaps? And here I thought I’d seen everything already this
morning…”

*    
* * *     *

Evening found Kaufield in the
Livestock wing near one of the newly constructed barns. Off in the distance he
could see Mary out horseback riding – Joseph was sitting behind her and
clinging tightly to her waist. The beautiful brown and white horse paused, whinnied,
and then continued trotting happily around the empty fenced-off field. Next to
the barn were a series of benches and he could see Adam, Noriana and Thomas
seated casually together. A half empty pitcher of lemonade sat next to Adam and
the ice cubes in it tinkled lightly as he noticed the Captain’s approach and
quickly poured him a cup.

“I see that Mary has made good
on her promise to go riding,” Dennis grinned, sitting down next to them and
taking a sip of the lemonade. He looked first at the cup and then at Adam.
“Just out of curiosity, where did you manage to get cold beverages?”

“There’s a small refrigerator
back in the barn,” Adam said, waving a hand over his shoulder. “There are some
other
choices also, if you want something a little bit stronger.”

“No thanks,” Kaufield decided.
“If today proved anything it’s that you never know when something weird and
unexpected is going to rear its ugly head. I’d better keep control of my
faculties, at least for the time being.” He glanced casually back at the barn
and noticed a large brown dog in front, lying on his side and sleeping heavily
in the simulated sunlight. It was a very relaxing scene, to say the least. “But
there will come a day…”

“There are always holidays and
other special occasions that you can look forward to,” Nori decided cheerfully
as they clinked their plastic cups together in a mock toast. Her curly,
cinnamon-frosted hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and Dennis grinned at
her freckled expression as he carefully patted her swelling belly.

“How is our junior pilot
doing?” he asked.

“He’s very well, actually,”
grinned Nori. “And we’re not the only happy couple as it turns out. Dr. Simmons
commented that there are at least two dozen other expectant mothers currently
on board the
Pathfinder
.”

“
Two dozen
?” Kaufield
gasped. “Holy Hannah… I knew lots of people had made the decision to start a
family but that’s a
lot
of kids! This ship is going to be a floating
kindergarten before too long!” He sat back and watched Nori and Joseph continue
with their horseback ride. The trail that they were using was, for the most
part, circular. It wasn’t the lengthiest riding trail he had ever seen but it
was sufficient for the handsome steed to alternate between a prance and a full
gallop. He listened to the sound of the horse’s hooves and Joseph’s laughter
with pure delight, extremely grateful that it had been within his power to keep
his son and the rest of the people on board the ship safe.

“Thomas, would you like another
round?” offered Adam politely, holding up the frosted pitcher of lemonade. He
waved it back and forth, noticing that his younger brother was sitting very
quietly lost in thought. “Hey Thomas, are you in there?” he asked a little more
loudly.

“Hmm?” asked Thomas, glancing
uncomfortably at his brother.

“What’s
up
with you
today?” inquired Adam. “You’ve been all quiet and creepy. Is there something
going on in that head of yours that we should know about?”

“Nothing really,” Thomas
insisted, smiling politely. “Just trying to figure out how we’re going to
generate a stable singularity while inside Poseidon’s grasp, that’s all.” He
glanced down at the dirt, frustrated. “There’s just too much matter in here…
light, dark, you name it.”

“This is our relaxation time…
emphasis on the word
relaxation
. You’re not supposed to be thinking
about work,” commented Adam. “Smell the fresh air or bask in the fake sunlight.
But say something once in a while – you’re making me nervous.” He watched
Thomas smile weakly and begin to blush. He continued to wonder just what his
kid brother was spending so much time thinking about, then remembered how well
he knew Thomas and decided there was a 90 percent chance that it had something
to do with Kari.

“Thanks for picking up Joseph
after school,” Dennis said to Adam and Nori. “One of my Lieutenants is ill, so
I had to stay a little longer than normal and help cover the next shift.”

“It’s no problem at all,”
responded Nori. “Your son is welcome to join us any time we’re off-shift. He
told me this afternoon that he can’t wait to hold our baby when he arrives.”

“Well, for that matter… neither
can I!” Kaufield grinned. “For all the progress we’ve made and all the galaxies
we’ve charted, there’s still nothing more miraculous than our children. I love
watching them observe us, imitate us, and repeat everything that they
shouldn’t.”

The horse pulled up next to the
fence in front of them, and Mary waved as she and Joseph climbed down from the
saddle. “That was great Mary!” Joseph said gleefully. “Thanks a lot!”

“You’ve got riding in your
blood, young man,” Mary said, patting him on the shoulder. “I think you should
talk to Jeff about taking lessons. They have some older horses in one of the
other barns… they’re very gentle and just right for new riders.” Joseph came
over and accepted a cup of lemonade from Adam. He quickly drained his glass,
obviously thirsty from the activity.

“Are you ready to go, kid?”
Dennis asked, standing up and tossing his plastic cup in a nearby wastebasket.
“I don’t know about you, but I could use some supper.”

“Yeah, I’m hungry too,” Joseph
replied happily. “Can we eat in the Asian restaurant on deck three? They have
great
food.”

“And they also have video
games,” Kaufield commented idly, winking at Adam. “You and your friend Ryan
aren’t satisfied unless you both ring up all the high scores – are you?” He
thought the matter over for a moment. “Sure, Joseph – let’s eat out tonight.
But then we go straight back to our quarters so you can get your homework done.
Horseback riding was a nice middle of the week treat, but don’t get too used to
it now that the new school season is starting.”

“I know, I know,” he said,
running ahead on the walking path toward the exits. He turned and waved
cheerfully. “Thanks Adam, Nori and Thomas. And thank you
thank you
Mary!”

“You’re most welcome, Joseph,”
she replied as she began unhooking the saddle from the horse. She stroked the
animal softly along his white furry mane and the horse snorted, playfully
pawing at the ground with his hooves. She smiled warmly, watching Dennis slowly
following his son for a few moments, then grabbed the animal by the collar and
carefully led it toward the barn.

He didn’t know exactly what
time in the early a.m. it was, but Dennis woke up the next morning with the
distinct feeling something was not quite right. He tossed aside the blankets on
his bed and got up, moving toward the bedroom doorway. He stepped out into the
main living area of the quarters that he shared with his son and checked
Joseph’s bedroom. The kid’s door was slightly ajar and he could see his son
inside, curled up and safely asleep on the bed. As usual, the kid had taken the
pillow and was sleeping with his head at the foot of the bed and his feet stretched
out toward the headboard. Kaufield had no idea why Joseph did this, but the boy
had been sleeping backwards that way since he was a small child.

The Captain walked slowly
across the living room in his pajamas and into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator
and poured himself a glass of chilled water. The feeling that something was not
totally right persisted and he sat down on a barstool next to his kitchen
countertop, deep in thought. That was when he noticed the image of his dead
wife Elizabeth sitting quietly on the sofa in the living room area. She hadn’t
changed at all… still the gorgeous blonde with the beautifully long hair and
not a curl to be seen. A petite woman, she was barely over 5 foot 2 inches but
still a powerful presence to him. She sat comfortably and was wearing a lovely
white cotton dress with colored flowers on it – the same dress that she had on
in the family picture that sat on his desk.

“
Hello Dennis
,” she said
softly, glancing up at him with her beautiful blue eyes. “
I’ve really missed
being with you and Joseph these past years. But even when you can’t see me, I’m
here. I’ll always be a part of your life
.”

“I see,” Kaufield replied,
glancing curiously at his hand where he had held the fuel ore stones early in
the morning of the previous day. There was a soft red blotch on his palm,
almost undetectable, but definitely present. “Again our quarantine has been
compromised, this time by someone who claims to be the walking, talking
solution to religious extremism.”

“
You don’t have to worry,
Dennis. The Mirzion your Doctor has prescribed is working perfectly. The reason
you’re having a reaction is simply a result of the direct exposure you had.
You’re in absolutely no danger
.”