Warrior Chronicles 3: Warrior's Realm (3 page)

Verne nodded and thanked Rand for his candor before ending the meeting.

System S-102, Near the Galactic Center

“Doctor Black, come to the bridge immediately” The sound of the ship’s intercom woke Wynn Black from a deep sleep. He had been dreaming of the woman whose voice woke him. She was out of his league, of course, but that fact had no effect on his desire for her. He struggled to sit up in his bed and activated his bedside lamp. His back was sore from its perpetual hunch. That and his large eyes gave him the look of a Tolkien antagonist. As a young man, a fall in a cave did more damage to his spine than his previous metallic synthetics could mend. Truth be told, not even the new style bio-synthetics that Cort’s eleventh great-granddaughter had developed could have saved Wynn Black’s body. As it was, knowing he would never rate with a woman like Captain Jones, he threw himself into his work. The knowledge that she was in a class all her own didn’t stop him from doing his best to look presentable for the
Remington’s
captain. He washed his face and combed his thinning hair before leaving his quarters to head for the bridge of the ship. He forgot to change out of his night clothes.

As he stepped onto the ship’s bridge, he didn’t notice the sidelong glances of the officers and crewmembers on duty. “Yes, Captain Jones? What is it?”

If JJ noticed his attire she did not show it. Turning to him she said, “Doctor, we are at System S-102. I thought you should see this.”

“S-102, Captain? Where is that?”

“It is currently the closest stable system to Saggitarius-A, and its second planet is believed to be the first planet infected by the crystal. The other three planets in the system were also infected.”

“I see, Captain. I did not…” Black looked down and realized what he was wearing. “Oh my. I am very sorry, Captain.”

“It is quite all right, Doctor," JJ smiled. “I truly appreciate your promptness.”

“Uh, er, yes, sir," Black said. “I did not realize that we were going to jump so far. I thought we were headed back to Mars.”

“I had not planned on coming here, but General Addison’s paranoia seems to be catching. At our last system, my astrogator told me that he could calculate a safe jump to this system, so I decided to order it. We arrived just before I called you to the bridge. There lies the problem.” She waved her hand toward the main viewscreen. “Does that look like a crystal planet to you, Doctor? Before you say anything, I assure you we are at the correct planet.”

“Oh my,” Doctor Black responded. “We have to notify the general. Immediately. This changes everything.”

“Agreed, Doctor.”

Solitude

“How big is it, hon?” Cort asked Kim Point. They were standing just inside the upper ring of a huge stockade structure that was built with geodesic triangles. The bottom row of triangles was almost two meters high, carbon black, and nearly impenetrable except at planned openings. Each triangle had a Formvar-M center that allowed light to pass through, but nothing else. The second two meter row of triangles used the same kind of camouflage as Cort’s FALCON suit. With microfiber optic thread woven into their structure, both the suits and the carbon nanotube triangles allowed some light to pass through, giving them the ability to blend into their surroundings. That layer of triangles was filled a fine, high strength molecular wire mesh that let the wind pass through while protecting both Kim’s guests from the fauna, and the fauna from Kim’s guests. Since being deeded the planet, Kim had set about turning it into both a vacation paradise for species from across the galactic arm, and a refuge for both its own wildlife and the displaced animal species of other planets.

“This ring is two kilometers in diameter.” The walkway that was attached to the top row of triangles, gave them a magnificent view both inside and outside of the barrier. Outside, there there were small dinosaurs and a few mammals grazing or competing for territory. The inside was a flurry of human and alien activity, building structures that would house visitors, as well the buildings of Kim’s administration. “There will be more rings in other ecosystems on the planet, and I plan on adding gravity plates in some areas to support plants and animals that require higher gravity. There will also be some underwater structures for species like the octopods, too. I want to turn it into a self-sustainable refuge. I am not going to protect the animals within their own habitats, but neither will I allow them to come to anything but natural harm. Lap is sending me experts from some of the crystal-affected planets. The goal is to restore as many of their species here as possible.”

Cort turned to Kim and pulled her into his arms. “I’m proud of you, Kim.” Casually, he lifted her body to kiss her. She felt just a bit of vertigo as his nearly transparent form lifted her into the air.

After they finally pulled apart she said, “I have a place picked out for us. It is near the isthmus. We will be able to watch the migrations from our own, small dome. There is one species or another migrating nearly all the time.”

Cort was still looking at her when his comm activated. He tapped his ear to show Kim he was getting a message. “Yes, Captain.”

“General, we are transitioning to Solitude within the hour. We need you to make some time for us.”

“Is it that bad, JJ?” Cort put Kim down and placed his hands on the catwalk rail. Looking out over the forest in front of him, he listened to Captain Jones and pondered her words.
Why can’t there ever be peace for me?
As if she heard his thought, Kim wrapped his right arm with her left and looked outward with him, wishing she could hear what was being said. Cort said little as he listened to the captain’s brief report, asking only a few questions. As the conversation stretched on, Kim felt his body become more tense. The muscles in his arms that were so tender just moments before, even through the external musculature FALCON suit, were now like granite. “Let Lap know. I want the representatives from the Collaborative here, too. I’ll send Speral to get Dr. Verne.” Cort paused before adding, “JJ, you showed good initiative. I appreciate that, thank you. I’ll see you when you get here.”

“What is it, baby?” Kim asked as she ran her hand over his.

Cort was silent for several moments before answering. “Plot twist.”

--

It took six hours to gather everyone at Solitude. Cort and Kim met Bazal’s transport last. As his containment tank emerged, Kim said, “Welcome to Solitude, Bazal.”

“Thank you, Kimberly,” Bazal responded.

“Kimberly?” Kim asked.

“Yes. Is Kim not short for Kimberly?” Bazal asked.

Kim smiled. “Oh, I see. Yes it is, however our people have not used multi-syllable names for sometime, Bazal.”

“That is a shame, Kim.
Kimberly
is a lovely name. Its aural effect is very pleasing.
Kim
is rather brusque. Almost like an unfinished thought.”

Cort spoke before Kim could reply. “Bazal, this is Bergh Station, the main facility on Solitude.”

“Why is it called ‘Bergh Station’, Cortland?”

“Long ago on Earth, there was a human named Henry Bergh. He founded an organization that had the purpose of helping animals. Since Kim wants the same thing for Solitude, she named the station in honor of Mr. Bergh.”

Within his tank, Bazal lowered himself until his head was below Kim’s. “That is a fine way to honor Henry Bergh’s tradition, Kim. You are an honorable female. The Collaboration was correct in deeding the planet to you. Thank you for welcoming me to your world.”

“It is my honor, Bazal,” Kim inclined her head to the cephalopod. “Perhaps after the meeting, you would like to see my plans for the aquatic species that have been displaced by the crystal.”

“That would be wonderful, Kim. I will arrange to spend time with you after the meeting.”

“Bazal,” Cort said, “If you will follow me, the others have already arrived. We should join them. Kim, I want you to join us as well.” They passed onto a walkway that led around the perimeter of the stockade as a small bipedal dinosaur approached the barrier.  Coke stepped between the creature and Bazal, who was on the outside of the trio. Zandra kept her place in front of the group.

“Cortland, is this an example of the wolves you brought with you to this stream?” Bazal indicated with one of his appendages.

“Yes, it is Bazal.”

“The species is beautiful.” Neither wolf paid heed to the dinosaur but Coke kept himself between it and the rest of his party. “And clearly very protective of its charges. I understand your original was killed, Cort. Do you miss him?”

Cort was uneasy about how casual discussion with Bazal was, but he couldn’t seem to prevent himself from opening up to him. “Yes, I do miss him. Every day. He had become attached to one of my descendants, and died defending her.” Remembering the explosion that vaporized the man who killed Sköll, Cort also remembered crawling to Kay, a great wound in her abdomen and the cold stare of her eyes. “That was a horrible day, Bazal.”

“I am sure. I suppose the memories of such things are a by-product of your profession.” Bazal stopped and turned to Cort. “Cortland. May I speak freely?”

“Bazal, I don’t know how you speak at all. But yes, you may speak freely.”

They began moving around the path again. Kim turned them toward a structure as Bazal continued, “Cortland, you are special. Your fate is tied to that of the Collaboration. In fact, the Collaboration’s fate depends on you. Your actions will lead us into the future. In many ways, that future will be less than it might have been. But without you, it will not exist. Not for us, anyway. I say this Cortland because I want you to know that I appreciate the burden you carry to defend us, especially when we choose not to do so ourselves.”

“Thank you, Bazal,” was all Cort could say.

Kim raised her arm to direct the octopod into a large room. “This way, Bazal.”

“Thank you, Kim.”

“Please,” she said touching his tank, “Call me Kimberly.”
Thank you, Bazal. Cort needed that.
she thought.

You’re welcome, Kimberly.
It wasn’t until much later that Kim realized Bazal had answered her thoughts.

--

The large room was lined with tables. A dining hall in normal circumstances, the twelve beings in the room were arrayed around three tables, at the center of which was a makeshift viewscreen. As Cort, Bazal, Kim and the wolves entered the room, the occupants turned. Cort noticed that Verne’s wolf was not with the prime minister. The non-human species genuflected to Bazal, while the humans in uniform saluted their general. Prime Minister Miles Verne simply stood from his seat. Only Doctor Black ignored the newcomers. Captain Jones tapped his shoulder, causing him to jump and turn. “Cort, I am so glad you are here. It is amazing. absolutely amazing.”

“Slow down, Doc,” Cort said as he took the bent man’s hand and shook it. “Let’s do this by the numbers for the benefit of the others and their translators, okay?”

Black turned and looked around the room before replying, “Of course. I’m sorry. It is just very exciting.”

Cort began with saying, “Everyone settle in, please. We have a new problem. In regards to the crystallization of inhabited planets, we have a solution. We can prevent planets from being crystallized, and we can destroy planets that have been already. However, we now have more information. I ask that you all hold any questions or discussion until the end of our presentation. Then I will offer my input. After that, we will open it up for everyone to weigh in. On my orders, Captain Jones took the
Remington
down the galactic arm to the source of the crystal infection.” In reality, Jones had made that decision on her own, but Cort wasn’t about to give Verne any reason to question her ability, command of the
Remington
, or her future. In this case, the captain had made a good call, but even if it had ended in disaster, Cort would have protected her.

Captain Jones understood exactly what General Addison had just done, as did every member of her bridge crew who was with her. Most of them had to fight the same impulse to look at the prime minister and judge his reaction. The urge passed as General Addison pointed at a star map projected into the middle of the group of tables. It was zoomed in to a star system orbiting the singularity at the center of the galaxy. “I don’t know what the Collaboration designates this system, but the Ares Federation designates it as S-102. 102-b, its second planet, is believed to be the first planet infected by the crystal. Rather than give you second hand information, I’m going to turn it over to Captain Jones and Doctor Black now.”