Moon 514- Blaze and the White Griffon Page 13

  “Vardn. I need you to remember three very important instructions and to report back to me within an hour,” Dr. Boyd began.

  “Yes sir,” Vardn habitually responded without considering that he hadn’t received all of his orders yet.

  “First, survey the area to see how far away the incoming natives are.”

  “Yes sir.” The response was confident but betrayed an element of surprise and his eyes subtly shifted towards the canopy of trees not far behind Dr. Boyd.

  “Second, after everyone has been accounted for – excepting the team that left with me – set all power generators to fully charge before morning and then raise the shields.”

  “Yes sir!” His responses were growing louder. The glaring omission of what would happen to the missing team found an echo in Vardn’s eyes. Those eyes seemed genuinely concerned over what might happen to the missing team but Vardn said nothing as only good soldiers know how to do. Blaze noticed a grey star on Vardn’s uniform – not black – and made a mental note of it.

  “Third,” Dr. Boyd paused as if he was having some difficulty in giving the final order, “third – and you must pay very strict attention to this last order soldier.”

  Vardn’s eyes stared intently into Dr. Boyd’s eyes, listening very carefully but saying nothing.

  “No matter what contrary orders either I or anyone else seems to give, do not change the course of this ship from moon 514. Our course will not deviate from area 8, sector 5, planet 16 unless Blaze or Evelia tell you otherwise. Do you understand?”

  Uncertain as to why he would be receiving such odd instructions, the soldier responded in the affirmative but the confidence in his voice seemed lacking.

  “Vardn,” Dr. Boyd repeated. “If I give you any orders to change course, you ignore me, understand? If any member of our crew tells you that I gave orders to change course, you ignore them – even if they obtain a higher rank than you. Get it?” Vardn nodded, perhaps nervously, and forgot to offer an audible response.

  “But if Blaze comes to you or if Evelia comes to you and says we’re heading some other direction, you follow their orders okay? Blaze is second in command now. Evelia is third. Have someone prepare leadership insignia for their uniforms post haste. Got it?”

  “YES SIR!” and off he went, clicking his heels and racing up the stairs to the main deck.

  “Looks like we just got an unexpected promotion,” Evelia beamed, smiling up at Blaze with that irresistible smile that caught his attention years before. Looking down at Elayuh who was still cuddled in the crook of Blaze’s left arm, he smiled and nodded in agreement.

  “I am not … in the habit of giving orders though,” he confessed.

  You’ll do just fine, the magic woman assured them both.

  No contractions, Blaze intuitively echoed.

  But for the first time in his life, he seriously questioned whether or not that really mattered. His entire education was open to question now. Everything he had ever learned was up for reconsideration.

  No words exchanged, the magic woman flashed that mesmerizing smile where her iridescent eyes momentarily flashed green and her countenance screamed happiness. It made everyone feel more relaxed.

  This is going to work.

  Nothing more needed to be said.

  SHE COULDN’T SLEEP. Despite the lack of rest the last two nights and despite the smothering humidity that left her feeling fatigued and worn, she was too excited to keep her eyes closed. No later than 3:00 a.m., she rested on her bed in her familiar night clothes taken from her private chambers in the Order before it was destroyed and stared around her new room. Comfortably and dimly lit by a dark blue luminescent plant, it was easy to see things in the middle of the night but wasn’t so bright that you were left squinting until your pupils adjusted. Whoever came up with the idea to use bio-luminescent plants for night lighting was brilliant, she determined with excited enthusiasm. It must have been Robin. Evelia’s eyes made their thousandth tour of the room. It was evident that Robin was involved in other aspects of designing the rooms so she guessed that it had been her idea.

  Robin held the same responsibilities over the database as Evelia, only Robin was from a different Order and she was much older and more experienced. Before Evelia was directed to her room, a friendly young girl had shown her a file on the database where you could find individual histories and personal profiles for each member of the crew. Evelia had been more than a little embarrassed to discover that Dr. Boyd had kept track of her achievements during her lifetime, taking images of her artwork, noting specific contributions she made to the database, documenting her personal strengths and challenges in life, and preserving every image that had ever been taken of her. While her history and profile had been flattering overall, it left her feeling a little violated – like she had been stalked her entire life but had been completely unaware of her stalker.

  The feeling was meritless. Dr. Boyd documented everyone’s life. He was a scientist and that meant he was a record keeper. But when Evelia came to that realization, it didn’t make her feel much better – that’s just how feelings are: sometimes, they don’t have to have any foundation in reality to hauntingly linger. Perhaps, she considered, I feel that way about him because of all of the awful things he has done. She barely blinked away tears and forced her thoughts away from the loss of her parents and her older sister. Her emotions brimmed over every time she remembered her recent losses but she didn’t want to cry anymore. She had cried enough the past few days. So, she mastered her feelings the best she could and focused her thoughts on something else.

  Elayuh fussed a little as Evelia shifted position slightly. She is so peaceful, Evelia noticed with a smile. The child cried only rarely and that seemed remarkable to the young artist as she considered her traumatic life so far. Fatherless before she was born, motherless soon thereafter, and taken from her entire extended family before she was a few moons old, the child would be the only person representing her native race on this ship – and perhaps forever. Undoubtedly, she would not be told of her village’s plans to sacrifice her to local deity until she grew to sufficient maturity to learn that sad truth and since no one really knew anything about her culture, she would never know anything about her own people – except that they had somehow survived the Third Holocaust.

  The only vestige of Elayuh’s physical heritage she would ever have would be stories that she was nourished from mush made from a local plant. She probably needs a more well rounded diet, Evelia considered as she pondered over this detail. She silently determined to speak to whoever was in charge of nutrition and health – was it Saraliah or Sarlaya? It was a hard name to remember. Either way, she would help Evelia ensure the child would have a balanced diet. On the other hand, she already looks healthy, she debated with herself.

  No one asked Evelia to care for the baby. No one discussed whether or not the parties would take turns holding her or watching her. It just seemed the natural thing for Evelia to do. She was drawn to the child and already, she felt a strong bond with it. It was a life changing thing to do – to become a surrogate mother – and there were so many other life changing things happening to Evelia that one would expect that she might balk at this burden. But she didn’t. Somehow, this seemed easy – easier than being third in charge. Evelia didn’t even really understand what that might entail but whatever it was, it seemed a bigger challenge than taking care of this precious child. Probably, Blaze feels the opposite, she guessed before deciding he was well suited to be a leader. Despite his recent failings, she knew him well enough to believe that he would be a better leader than anyone else in the Older - their old Order. Besides, she understood his anger. She understood his feelings of betrayal. She understood his heartache.

  Mentally changing topics every few heartbeats as people are prone to do in times of stress, Evelia quickly decided for the third time that she liked Robin’s design work – a lot. Some of her sketches were odd but her designs were innovative and fabulous �
� down to every detail of every room. There were few flat walls. Most were curved, some in luxurious “s” shapes and some with very strong, almost angular curves. Plant life in each room was abundant but unobtrusive. Natural, fresh fragrances filled the air exactly the opposite of what you might expect aboard a space ship. And the floors were not perfectly flat. They were made to resemble natural terrain and somehow, that helped Evelia feel more comfortable. Her Order had no flooring like that – except in the simulator – but she immediately got used to it and she immediately appreciated this designer’s touch. There were no sleek furniture designs either. Tables, chairs, sofas – everything had an organic touch that somehow helped Evelia feel more like she was returning home rather than leaving it. Perhaps that is the very purpose behind this design, she cheerily concluded.

  And then there were her art supplies. It appeared that everything she had left behind in her private chambers had been moved to this room – but aboard this ship, not only did she have an extensive room where she could do art to her heart’s content, she had many times more supplies than she ever had back home – and her art room could be custom lit to mimic any lighting that occurred in any natural or manmade environment imaginable, including shadows created from artificial, holographic vegetation or custom objects – all this would allow her to make any scenery she might imagine perfectly life-like.

  The room was set up so that she could synchronize the database’s models with the lighting system to create a three dimensional setting exactly as she might desire to artistically depict. She had multiple models of every species known to mankind – excepting the alien woman. She was new. And despite her humanoid appearance, her glowing, shimmering skin, her feathery eyelashes, her somewhat extended torso, her petite build, her gills, her relatively tough skin, her extendable claws, her large iridescent eyes, her dual vocal chords, and her active tail that continually wagged – these all marked her as very different from humans – even after genetic enhancements that followed the Second Holocaust. The magic woman was unique in every way and the artist inside Evelia craved the opportunity to sketch her, to three dimensionally image her.

  The thought turned her attention to something she had thought about a number of times but hadn’t been able to do. She gently removed her arm from under Elayah, got up out of bed, and found her linatech cube. Swathing through several controls, she found the image generator, adjusted the settings, and quietly walked over to where the magic woman was resting.

  Refusing a room of her own, the alien woman requested that she stay with Evelia and the infant. Between her eccentricities and her determined methods of debate, no one bothered to try to persuade her otherwise. Even refusing to have a bed of her own, the little alien preferred to sleep on the floor – specifically, the most uneven portion of the floor that seemed the most like a natural, outdoor environment. Setting the linatech cube next to the alien woman, Evelia watched the cube rapidly flash a three dimensional cloud around the woman to record her precise dimensions and coloring. She hoped that the holographic image would effectively replicate the alien’s vocal chords so that Evelia could make the images sing with the magic woman’s harmonious voices as well. But if not, she would record a conversation with the magic woman some other time and that would allow the holographic recording system to replicate her intonations and accent.

  After this portion of the imaging was finished, Evelia moved into her art room, magnified the size of the holographic image of the magic woman to her natural dimensions, and began adjusting her figure to various positions that she thought might be interesting.

  Evelia was looking for something that captured the many dimensions of the magic woman’s personality. The lithe alien was graceful and calming, peaceful and cheerful, mysterious and dangerous. Capturing all of these characteristics in one image would prove challenging but after several adjustments to her holographic figure, Evelia found the perfect pose: the magic woman, oddly crawling on all fours in the middle of tall, marshy vegetation but raised upon a large stone so that she was more visible. Claws extended and tail curved as if twitching from anxiety, she moved the magic woman’s facial features to show both inquisitiveness, slight distrust, and hope. Opting for flexibility with her artistic license, she slightly increased the size of the magic woman’s eyes and eyelashes for dramatic effect. When she finished with the pose, Evelia determined that she was too tired to prepare the settings any further so she saved them and then laid back in her bed, looking towards the magic woman for some time, wondering what she might really be like once she got to know her better, and imagining how she might move forward with her plan to peacefully take control over this space ship.

  Well, not precisely, Evelia thought, correcting herself. The magic woman was planning to help Blaze peacefully gain control over the space ship. But the petite alien hadn’t given very helpful answers to questions Blaze and Evelia had about how that might happen. She offered only generic answers like: “Dr. Boyd will do everything I ask of him. He will make adjustments to ship administrations and military rankings. He will turn control over to Blaze as I direct – all so he can focus his efforts on something he is more interested in. Then, at the right time, we will explain what Dr. Boyd did back on earth and let everyone determine the most appropriate way of dealing with him and the most appropriate way of setting up a new government by which your society will be run – undoubtedly similar to what you had before.”

  With these and other vague responses, the magic woman had convinced Blaze and Evelia to accept her plan. In some ways, it made more sense to allow the transition to happen peacefully. In other ways, it seemed entirely unnatural to Evelia – wouldn’t a confrontation be better than controlling someone’s mind? Wouldn’t it be better to let everyone make educated decisions about how they would live their lives with this new worldview from the very beginning? Maybe not. They are all suffering the same as me, Evelia considered. They just watched all of their families die too. Maybe they need time to heal first – but will they not resent following the man who killed all of their family and friends? I do. But then, Evelia wasn’t really following Dr. Boyd. She was following a puppet of the magic woman and that detail made all of the difference in the world.

  These and a great many other issues plagued Evelia’s mind but she lacked solutions – there were no easy solutions anyway. At least the earth had told the magic woman things that were guiding her plan so they were not left without any direction. But trusting the alien didn’t resolve all of Evelia’s feelings either – she felt like an open wound – raw, extra sensitive, and subject to constant pain.

  And the strategy was stressful to her. She had seen the alien woman angry and that made her more than a little intimidating to Evelia – even if she liked her enough to choose her as a roommate for a season. Thus, while the magic woman was the most incredibly charming, graceful, and peaceful individual Evelia could even imagine, she was also the most intense, terrifying being Evelia had ever met. Even Blaze would be powerless against her, she mused. What could he do to her if she controlled his mind? Who is this alien – really – deep down inside? she wondered. The uncertain answer was almost more than she could handle.

  Evelia’s mind wandered like this for at least another hour before the magic woman woke up, making that now familiar hissing sound where she blew air through a “k” consonant. “FOOL!” she airily whispered with great emotion and intensity. Her dual vocal chords rumbled as if warming up to say something. “All he had to do was leave the shields up. All he had to do was sit and watch the primitive natives attack a space ship with the help of mutant creatures designed for primitive warfare. Even if the scientists armed them with pistols, this ship would remain relatively unharmed. Why does he risk the lives of his men?”

  The question lingered in the air like a soft down feather, unable to fall because of its buoyancy and near weightlessness. The magic woman’s eyes were closed as if she was carefully listening to something inside of her head. After several moments of silenc
e passed, the petite alien growled in dissonant harmony.

  “No,” she blurted. “My control over his mind is limited. He’s testing Blaze.” With that thought expressed, the magic woman quickly left Evelia’s chambers and raced down the hallway towards the main deck.

  Evelia felt trapped. Untrained in warfare, unable to leave an infant unattended, and relatively undressed, there was nothing she could do to help – yet.

  THIS WAS OVER THE TOP. This was surreal. This is crazy!

  Beyond anything Blaze had seen in the simulator, this place looked like something Jim might dream up for a hologram game. There were literally hundreds of mutant beasts carrying thousands of natives towards the ship. While there were only about four different species of mutant beasts, they varied in size and coloring so much that Blaze’s initial observation suggested something much more diverse and intimidating.

  Dr. Boyd’s first legion of soldiers were already engaged in long range sniping, shooting down natives from various concealed locations as they approached. A second group of soldiers waited to engage the survivors with weaponry developed by the various Orders. Blaze was in charge of this second group of warriors. He gripped his staff tightly. The panel covering was open, the fingerprint identification screen was activated, and all necessary functionality was engaged. All he had to do was press a confirmation button that allowed him to switch to vocal commands if he wanted to make any modifications during the battle. His stomach churned as he considered the scene of carnage that would result from this battle.

  But duty called and as always, he was game.

  Using standard issue bino-glasses, Blaze carefully tracked the invading army’s mounting casualties. He watched the splotchy glows on the bodies of the beasts to see which hits were ineffective and which hits were debilitating. The results were occasionally surprising. After about twenty minutes of observations, Blaze finally determined that there were probably only four species of beasts approaching.