By SilvyrWing
Somewhere along the line, her story faded out. Perhaps her mind was troubled by the memory. It had been years… Why did she remember it so clearly? The sensation of fire on bare skin, the cries of her crewmates. It only lasted mere seconds, of course, and though Christa did not recall any of the physical pain, she clearly recalled those last few moments of mental anguish…
You silly girl. You'll never see them again.
Stupid child. Stupid! You knew the risks.
Why are you crying, girl? It's your own fault that you're here.
…Why was I crying?
The lines between human and machine crossed, only momentarily, as Thelma projected her usual report into the Christa's memory. The android seemed detached somehow, though, again, Christa couldn't place it…
"Hey… You're crying."
A hand rested on her shoulder, drawing her out of her reverie. Shaking her head a bit as if to clear it, Christa turned her own pale eyes to meet Rosie's, which wore an expression of concern.
"What happened next?" Harlan asked. Suzee elbowed him, though Christa smiled. The boy did have compassion… He just had his own way of showing it.
She drew the back of her hand across her eyes to clear the tears away. "Well, then I and my crew, and my sister ships, the Dh'I, and the Ryst, set off for the Sol system…"
***
"Christa seems lonely," Thelma idly mused, as she stood next to Esk on the bridge. The Lumanian looked up at her… One of his finest creations, built from the Christa's memories. A human emulating machine… Able to project emotions as well as being quite intelligent, Thelma was both a friend and a confidant to much of The Christa's crew. It was a shame, Esk thought, that things would eventually happen as they were destined to. Yes… A true shame that Thelma's mind would eventually have to be scrambled.
But then again, it was to protect her crew.
"She has her crew," Esk answered quietly, "But she wishes for companionship of her own kind. Soon, though, I think. Very soon."
Like many of his kind, Esk was an oracle. He could foresee, and though sometimes it was hazy, he could clearly see the seven people in Christa's future. Or was it eight? Sometimes there was another shadowy person in his predictions, but he couldn't quite tell who it was. There was, too, from time to time, the green lizard people that called themselves Spung… A horrible race, their desire for dominance overrode their desire to live in harmony with each other. A need to see into the future, to determine the outcome of their various conquests and wars – even with each other – had led them to create a weapon that could, like the Lumanians, see into the future. Though worried about that, Esk could sense compassion from this weapon.
"They've stolen so much from us already…" the Lumanian whispered to himself. Years had already gone by, and their encounters with the Spung had been many. Each time, they'd escaped – sometimes only barely. Each time in seemed like the Spung escaped with just a little bit more… Ten years ago, they'd captured a Lumanian female.
"You are thinking about her," Thelma said.
"Intelligence tells us that she was tortured before one of the Spung captains took pity on her and killed her." He paused, catching his reflection in the monitor. Had he really gotten old? His hair, once downy and white, and fallen out years ago… Perhaps from stress… Or maybe… Maybe he finally had to admit that he was languishing. "They know about our abilities, Thelma, and there is already one pawn. They call her Elmira. They raised her as the Warlord's own daughter… I doubt she'll ever know the truth of her origins. How many more will there be?"
"You did say that her presence will affect the Christa's future."
"Yes, but I do not know if it will be positively or negatively. There are several possibilities, of course… No one path is ever set in stone."
Thelma tilted her head, craning it slightly to look up at Esk. "…But she will meet the seven people from the Sol system."
"…Or eight. I do not know yet. But yes."
There was a pause.
"You are frightened for them," Thelma observed.
"Yes… I have never met them, and yet I look at them as members of my own crew. So many times have they appeared in my dreams, so many times have I longed to reach out to them and speak with them." A smile spread across Esk's beak-like face. "One of them, I think, is slightly telepathic. I sense something from him."
"Commander…"
Esk paid a sidelong glance to whomever it was that had addressed him.
"…Chief engineer and Tactical Officer, Si'if, reporting, Sir. We are in range of the Sol System. Our directives are to…"
"Yes, Si'if, I know." Esk's tone was quite sad. Almost fourty years in space, traveling with the Christa, watching older crewmembers age and die. Watching younger crewmembers fall in love and have children… Children who aged and eventually became part of the crew themselves. Esk himself would never make it back home… Nearing his age limit, he could only be glad that he'd been able to see Christa to her home...
"Your orders, Sir?" Si'if asked.
"Evacuate the ship as directed. Rendezvous with the Ryst within the next three hours as practiced." He turned golden eyes to look at the engineer. Young, intelligent, Si'if had spent his whole like aboard a Starship. He'd be old by the time he returned home… Sometimes Esk wondered if it was fair, then he reminded himself of the Christa's powerful spirit. A spirit that stood out even among the great Lumanians… And he couldn't help but think that what they were doing was right. The Lumanian government hadn't agreed, of course… A horrible waste of resources, they'd said. Eventually, Esk was able to convince them.
Convincing the righteous of the right, he thought.
"You are coming, Father, right?"
Esk continued looking into the monitor, at the solar system that was slowly but surely becoming larger on their viewscreens. Fourty years of his life. Many more to go… Perhaps he could…
I will be fine, Esk, Christa said.
"The Christa says she will be fine," Thelma said, placing a comforting hand on the Lumanian's shoulder.
"Begin preparations, Si'if. I still have many things I must do."
Si'if saluted, nodding once and smiling. He had only ever known this side of his father… The commander of a Starship with an alien soul… He was stern, yet fair. Compassionate, yet discerning. Never would they together stand outside on the Lumanian homeworld's brightly colored grasses, and watch the two suns set. Both had accepted it, yet there was a bittersweetness to it. They were doing what everyone on the mission believed needed to be done, yet entire generations were living and dying on this ship. The journey left a huge grey area. Something to be wanted, yet at the same time, something to be shunned…
Si'if turned away, began shouting orders to the others. Things were immediately set into motion, as Esk himself stood as still as he'd been standing for the past hour. To his internal clock, the past three and a half hours… But they'd been using Christa's system of measuring time for years. No reason to change that now, so close to the end.
"It is time, Sir," Thelma vocally encouraged.
"Are you ready, Thelma?" Esk asked, looking down into the android's eyes. She had been a good friend. Esk would miss her terribly.
"I exist to do the will of the crew that I am serving," Thelma replied.
The Command Post was empty now, except for the Commander and the android. The lights had been dimmed, the consoles cleaned and reset. A small yellow sun was becoming more apparent.
Voices in the halls, heading for the landing bay. There were several escape vessels there, which the crew would use to safely board the Ryst.
The remaining vessels would be named Starlings by the next crew. An interesting name.
Leaning over the Helm, Esk gently, reverently rearranged the crystals into their default positions. "She's yours, Christa…" Esk whispered.
The Christa released the crew. She would have another to bond with soon enough.
Esk turned to Thelma.
"I am prepared to power down, Sir," she said, sitting next to the tactical console. She smiled that mechanical smile, that wasn't really so mechanical after all.
"You are a good friend, Thelma," he said. Then he smiled at her, and hesitantly removed her crystal.
***
"The last thing Esk did was transfer Thelma's memory to a data disk," Christa said. "Well… just before cracking the crystal. Just enough so that—"
"Wait. So it wasn't me?"
Everyone looked at Harlan.
"What?" Suzee asked.
Caught red-handed, Harlan averted his eyes. "Well, when we boarded the ship, I… I stepped on the crystal while I was exploring. Funny story."
Miss Davenport fixed him with a totally furious expression. All that time she'd been putting up with Thelma's more 'interesting' personality quirks, and all along, they could have been prevented?
"No, Harlan," Christa said. "It was not your fault. I don't know why Esk felt it necessary to break the crystal; he would not tell me. I only felt as if he had foreseen that it had to happen, so I listened."
Radu shook his head. "…Didn't you ever question it? Didn't you ever think that it might have been… well… wrong?"
Christa nodded, reaching up to the still-present headplate to touch the cracked crystal. Interestingly enough, the contact brought numbness… An almost painful sensation. There was that troubled feeling again, as she dizzily slumped against the Helm. Harlan reached out to steady her.
She could sense Radu's eyes on her.
"I want to know what's happened to Thelma," Radu said. His tone was not accusatory, but it carried a good deal of concern. He had truly grown in character over the years… No longer was he the scared Andromedan boy that he was when they had first boarded. He'd taken his insecurities and turned them into insight. His fear had transformed into caution, and others of the crew did well to listen to him. When one of the crew was unable to respond or help when help was required, Radu took over for them. He became the optimist sometimes, or the leader. Sometimes, even, he could take over for Suzee if necessary. He could also be the devil's advocate… And since Bova was missing…
"And I want to know why Miss Davenport and Commander Goddard were able to pilot the ship…" he finished.
The surprise that registered on Christa's face was not any sort of comfort for anyone present. Seth's eyes narrowed a bit, graying brows shadowing his eyes. "…We assumed you'd given us control," he said.
"…I didn't. And I wouldn't." Christa regretted what she'd said almost as soon as the words left her mouth.
"And why not?" T.J. snapped indignantly.
Despite her confusion, Christa smiled. "I am a teacher. I live to teach. You've already been taught, Miss Davenport… Commander Goddard. Seth…" She turned to the Commander, and he straightened as he was addressed. "…A STARDOG. Reliable, you'd already been in service. You've seen wars, you've seen people die. You're a counselor, and a mentor for the children. I saw no need to allow you to be able to control the ship." When she turned, Davenport's expression became even more serious than it was. "Theresa," Christa began, smiling. "You are a teacher. A future version of myself… Your job on the ship was to teach the children, and I allowed you access to my Infocore for that purpose. Them…" She turned to each of the others in turn… Harlan, Radu, Rosie, Suzee… And then, Suzee noted, she looked right where Catalina was standing. "It was your job to be taught."
Harlan rolled his eyes, breaking the moment. "Gee. Thanks."
"…But Catalina says that still doesn't answer why the Commander and Miss D. were able to pilot the ship," Suzee blurted, ignoring the stares she got from the others.
A call for help. A detachment. Thelma? Thelma!! Are you there? Thelma!
Christa paled, considerably. Already dizzy from touching the crystal earlier, she finally allowed her knees to buckle under her… Harlan was unable to hold the weight of the half-android, and Christa fell to the Command Post's floor.
Suzee leaned over her, confusion in her eyes.
Trembling, the former earth teacher barely managed to eke out: "Suzee, I think you need to check the engines. Now."
***
It was getting darker. Colder. Almost as if this particular segment of the ship was being closed off from the rest. Like he was being kept here.
Bova looked back down the jumptube. The climb was steep, but he'd make it, eventually. After all, he'd climbed through the jumptube network several times before. He'd be able to figure out where he was going. Maybe.
His antennae sparked, lighting the jumptube momentarily so he could see where he was. There was a fork coming up, and he had absolutely no idea which way to go… Left? Right? Straight? Attempting to think of which way he'd come was useless. At the time, he hadn't exactly been paying attention. And what was worse…
He was hungry.
"You know, just one time in my life, I'd like to be wrong," he said to himself, deciding at last to head left.