Chapter Ten

"Fourteen," Jenna announced. "This is Seven. Come in, please."

Every instinct was telling her this was wrong. To contemplate offering herself up to an alien race and going over to their vessel into the unknown was bad enough; going through with it was madness. Orac had nothing to offer about the conditions she might face or where Cally might be or if she was still alive. There was no guarantee that she would be able to get back to the Liberator, even with their advantage of the teleport.

Wrong perhaps, but also the right thing to do. If there was even a slim chance that rescue was possible, then her conscience would never rest knowing they had abandoned Cally to her fate. Blake had made the suggestion, but it was her decision to go. As expected, Avon had been the most vocal in opposition, stating every objection as if she had not already thought of them for herself. She might have listened too, except for the feeling she had something to prove.

Now she had to try to convince the aliens to allow her on their ship.

"This is Fourteen," said the leader, appearing from the bright spot that blossomed into the wider view of the group. "You are the First."

"I have a request." She took a deep, steadying breath. "Take me with you."

The silver-bedecked leader was silent for the longest time. "That is not possible."

"You accepted Cally."

"Cally desired to join our Whole."

"So do I."

"Your Whole will be diminished by your loss."

What was left of them, minus Avon who had gone to get the teleport operational, were standing on the stairs, out of the range of the viewscreen. Jenna did not have to look in their direction to know what she would see. Blake gnawing away at his finger, his full concentration directed towards what was happening on the flight deck; Vila with his usual anxious expression, fretting as though his life depended on it, and Gan leaning against the wall, head bowed as he listened to what she was saying.

"My Whole is dying," she said. "Four members were afflicted by illness before we came here. Their condition has worsened. Soon I will be the only one left." She injected as much desperation into her voice as she could manage. "I fear the loneliness."

On the screen, the group stood in quiet contemplation before finally the leader spoke again. "This we understand. Our child was lost and you welcomed him into your Whole. For this, we have gratitude."

"Then help me, please. I don't want to be on my own."

"Our child is with you."

"I need the company of others like Cally. If you let me stay with you, then Zen will stay too."

"Zen's desire is to seek. You seek also. Zen has told us this."

"Once, perhaps." She tried to imagine how it felt to have that wanderlust crushed out of her. She had met other pilots like that, the ones who became afraid and a chose a life bereft of wonder and awe. She had always pitied them. Now she drew upon their memories to add utter conviction to her voice. "Without my friends, I will die too. Please, my only wish is to stay."

"This was not of our expectation." The leader seemed perplexed. "Our Whole is balanced with each part unique. We all contribute. What is it you offer us, Jenna Stannis?"

"My skills. My knowledge." She shook her head. "I offer myself. That is all I have."

"It is in our power and agreement to offer you a place in our Whole. We strive that together we may become greater than the individual components. There is no self within the Whole. Do you accept this?"

"Willingly."

"Then we will come for you."

"Come now," said Jenna. "I do not want to watch my friends die."

The leader confirmed that they would and the image shrank and vanished. Jenna breathed a sigh of relief. On the one hand, she had got want she wanted. Against that was the leader's talk of giving up the self to the Whole. Whatever that involved had driven Cally to give them her warning. The prospect of the loss of identity was terrifying.

"Well done, Jenna," said Blake, descending the steps to join her. "You made a convincing argument."

She kept her reply deliberately cool. "It needed to be done."

"Yes." His tone implied that he understood. Sending Vila and Gan away to help with the repairs, he lingered at her side. "About what I said earlier."

"I support you, Blake," she returned, trying to keep her irritation in check. "I don't ask for much in return."

"I appreciate it."

"Do you? You turned on me. I don't expect Avon to be the only one to speak in my defence."

He nodded. "I apologise. Tensions were running high and with Cally's admission... well, I hope you understand."

"I do. Doesn't mean I like it." She stepped down from her station and started away. "Excuse me, I have to get ready."

"Jenna," he called after her. She stopped and allowed him to catch up. "Promise me you'll be careful over there."

"I'll do my best."

"If you're in danger at any time, you call us and we'll get you back, with or without Cally." He gave her arm a reassuring rub. "The Liberator needs its pilot. And I need you to come back."

It felt genuine. She accepted it graciously and returned his smile. "I will, trust me."

"Oh, I do. Always. I'll be waiting at the airlock."

She left him and headed in the direction of the teleport. Entering, she found Avon seated at the console, slumped forwards with his head resting on his arms. He gave no sign that he had heard her and for a moment she assumed he was asleep. She was about to shake him awake when she saw his shoulders heave, and heard the deep breath he took and the rattle of a lingering cough as he cleared his lungs before sitting up. Confusion borne of exhaustion registered on his face as though he had not expected to find her there.

"Teleport bracelets," she said.

"Ah." They were beside him on the console. "One for you, one for Cally. I have adjusted the frequencies. According to Orac, the signal they use is extra-dimensional. By extension, so are they."

"That would explain how they crept up on us without being detected."

"It also means they could go back at any time." He paused, waiting as she fitted the bracelets to her wrists. "Do I have to tell you again that going over there is foolish?"

"I never knew you cared."

He remained stony-faced. "My concern is for the safety of this ship. Without you, our chances of escaping The Void will be based solely on the ability of the navigational computers to provide us with an astral fix. Without stars, that will be impossible."

"Purely a practical consideration then?"

"Naturally. From that perspective, there is an argument for saying that it would be better if neither of you returned."

"How do you work that out?"

"When the Thirteen realise that we have reneged on the deal, they will come for Zen."

Jenna nodded. "I had thought of that. Back to square one then."

A supercilious smile plucked at the corners of his mouth. "Not necessarily. I've got Orac analysing Zen's systems for the programming responsible for the operation of the synthetic telepathy. Break the Thirteen's external link with Zen and theoretically they will be unable to stop us leaving."

"A pity you didn't think of that before Cally left."

"I didn't bring us here," he said coldly.

"I did it with the best of intentions."

"Most mistakes usually are."

The old spark was back in his tired eyes, encouraging enough for Jenna to want to give him a taste of his own medicine.

"I'm sure we'd all do things differently, if we had our time again."

The look he gave her told her she had touched a nerve. She held his gaze defiantly before he finally turned his attention back to the teleport.

"Be careful, Jenna."

"Blake's already said that."

"It's worth repeating."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sudden cough shook him and he shut his eyes against whatever internal pain was troubling him. The hand that stole to his ribs was telling.

"Can you manage the teleport?" Jenna asked with concern. "I might need to get away quickly."

"I couldn't sleep if I wanted to," he replied. "The stimulant hasn't worn off."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'll see he stays alert." Vila's voice echoed down the corridor, followed by the sight of him running in their direction. "I'll stick pins in him if he falls asleep."

Jenna smiled despite herself. "I thought you were helping Gan with the auto-repair units."

Vila shrugged. "I need Orac. I don't know what I'm doing otherwise."

Avon gave a soft snort. "That's the first sensible thing you've said."

"Now I know you don't mean that," Vila countered confidently. "Not when you're sitting there and I'm holding this pin." Avon scowled back at him. "Anyway, I'd rather be here to see you get back, Jenna. You won't be long, will you?"

A series of hollow thuds in the distance heralded the arrival of the alien vessel.

"Not if I can help it," she answered him. "But if I don't come back―"

"Don't say that!"

"If I don't," Jenna said patiently, "set any course out of here and don't change it, no matter how long it takes to get within sight of stars. If you change the heading, you'll lose your bearings."

"And our lives if we get this wrong," Avon observed.

"Then you'd better get me back when I call, hadn't you?"

"We will," said Vila. "We'll be in trouble if we don't!"