Infinity's End: Books 4-6, page 9
“Okay, I get it.” Cas took the bottle over to his desk. “No more swiping booze. I’ll find something else.”
“What? Hydraulic fluid? The human stomach can only handle so much abuse, and you’ve pushed yours to the limit,” Box said. He stuck a finger into Cas’s soft belly. Cas jerked and swatted him away.
“Stop doing that!”
“Looks like you need gym time, chubs.”
“I’ll spend my time however I like,” Cas replied. “It’s not like I have anything else to do.”
“Is that what all this is about? Because Volf took your job? But you said you didn’t want to do it in the first place.”
Cas didn’t even bother finding a glass. Instead, he tipped the bottle back and took a swig. “I didn’t.” He wiped his mouth.
“Boss, you’re not making sense.”
“It doesn’t matter.” The alcohol didn’t taste very good going down, despite being one of his favorite brands. He shoved the bottle to the side.
“You’re still upset over Commander Blohm.” Cas glared at him. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t human attachment feelings only develop after a prolonged period of time spent together? You and the commander barely had any interactions. I don’t understand—”
“It’s not that simple, Box,” Cas replied. “There isn’t a specific formula for feelings. You of all people should know that by now.”
“But I’m not like you. Robot feelings are different than human feelings.”
Cas shook his head. “They may not be as different as you think.” Despite his resolution to help Evie, Cas still hadn’t managed to get Suzanna out of his head. It was like she was there, ready to take over any errant thoughts as soon as he stopped paying attention. Half the time he thought it was because she’d been attracted to him and he was mourning the relationship that could have been, and other times it was because of the guilt he felt over her death. He felt guilty for Grippen and Pearson too, but he didn’t obsess over them day after day. It was like something in his brain had misfired and he couldn’t figure out how to fix it.
“I know what you need,” Box said. Cas narrowed his eyes. Box pulled his entertainment device from the storage compartment in his crotch and turned it on, the image displaying against the far wall. Suddenly the entire wall was filled with the image of two humans engaged in some very graphic sex.
“Box! What the—?”
“Wait, the camera needs to pan up,” Box said, pointing to the image.
“Are you crazy? Why do you have hardcore—?”
“Shhhsh.” Box waved him down with his hand. “Okay, see here we get a good look at the man’s face.” True to his word it was a very clear shot of a man’s face, his eyes rolled back in his head as he bit his lip in ecstasy. Box paused the image. “That’s the look you need. Right there. When we get you to look like that, you’ll feel a lot better.”
Cas sat on his bed and put his head between his knees. “Oh. My. God.”
“It doesn’t even have to be with another person,” Box replied. “Have you seen some of the machines they have available? We could even build you one! Put it right here in your quarters. I’ll requisition the parts from Engineering.”
“Do it and it will be the last conscious decision you ever make,” Cas warned. “And turn that thing off!” The image was still paused on the close-up of the man, his mustache glistening with sweat. Box switched it off, depositing the device back into its original compartment. “Why do you have that?”
His yellow eyes blinked a few times. “Research.”
“Research, huh?”
“Xax told me I needed to become familiar with all types of biological functions, especially how species interact with each other. This isn’t even the good stuff. You should check out the interspecies—”
“Stop.” Cas held up his hand. “None of this is helping.”
Box crossed his arms. “It’s not my fault if you’re a prude.”
Cas sighed. He didn’t have the energy for this. He wasn’t sure what he needed, but he was pretty confident it wasn’t intercourse, of any kind. He needed a purpose, and as far as he could tell, he’d become redundant here. Box didn’t need him; Evie certainly didn’t need him and even Zenfor didn’t seem to require him around anymore. She’d been working on her own and also with the engineers, often with less and less input from Cas. It seemed she’d gotten over her phobias about being “shuffled around”. He also knew Sesster was the real reason she was on this ship. Humans did very little for her, the Claxian was the real draw.
He sat back. Maybe he’d done all he could, and his future lay elsewhere. Maybe he’d just been a transitional device; something to get everything moving in the right direction. He still had his maps and access to Tempest’s shuttles. He bet he could even convince Ryant to help give him some cover if he wanted to leave; go off on his own like he’d always planned.
“I know that face,” Box said. “It’s the same one you made every time Veena got on your nerves. The one that says: I’m tired of this shit and I’m leaving, damn the consequences.”
“No,” Cas said, feeling like a kid whose little brother had just caught him stealing. “I was just—”
“Just what? Plotting your escape? Your selfish, selfish escape?”
“It’s not selfish when I can’t do anything!” Cas yelled. “When I can’t help anybody. What good am I here?”
“What about the mission?” Box asked. “Are you just going to abandon everyone? What happens when the aliens arrive in Coalition space? Are you just going to ignore that too?”
Cas grimaced. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. All we know is we don’t know jack about them. Besides, I doubt I’d stay in Coalition space. I’d be more likely to head out to non-aligned territory.”
“Seeelllfiisshhh,” Box singsonged.
“Yeah? And what about all the people I hurt? You yourself pointed out I’m a walking time-bomb, ready to take out anyone close to me. The fact is I get people killed. Maybe if I’m by myself I can limit the damage.”
Box strode up and stood right in front of him. “I am so sick of this self-pity routine. You want to feel bad for yourself, fine. But don’t pretend like you’re the only person on this ship who gets to feel like shit because people died. You didn’t purposely send them to their graves, they knew the risks. Your crew on the Achlys knew the risks. Blackburn, Grippen, Blohm, they all took the same oath. You don’t get to use their deaths as an excuse to run away from your problems.” He poked Cas in the chest again, this time higher up. And it was hard enough to hurt.
Cas’s personal comm rang and he tapped the back of his hand without taking his eyes off Box. “Robeaux here.”
It was Evie. “Cas, could you join us in the conference room? We need to go over some strategy.” She sounded tired.
“Sure, I’ll be right there,” he replied, ending the comm.
“Can’t help anybody huh?” Box asked, taking a few steps back.
“Yeah, well. We’ll see,” he replied and left the room.
Cas approached the hypervator and waited, Box’s words echoing through his head. He wasn’t sure when he’d made the decision, if he’d made it at all. But leaving seemed like the best idea at the moment, regardless of what his friend said. Greene might even be willing to let him go willingly, though it would mean the loss of one of his shuttles. Though he’d be losing the shuttle one way or another. Cas just had to figure out a way to mask its signature. With its new advanced drive, Tempest could be in the most distant of locations in only days, as evidenced by the amount of distance they’d traveled since leaving Cypaxia. Omicron Terminus was far outside Coalition space, further out than any other ship had ever gone, though the system had been charted from the Coalition telescopes. But the trip should have taken a good season or two. At least two hundred days or more. And they’d done it in only five. Zenfor’s technology was nothing short of remarkable.
The hypervator doors opened to reveal Zenfor standing before him, staring down at him and he jumped, as if she knew he was thinking about her.
“Caspian,” she said, giving a slight nod.
“Headed to the bridge?” he asked, stepping on beside her.
“I’ve been summoned,” she replied.
“That makes two of us. How are things going down in the weapons lab?” He averted his eyes; he didn’t know how much Sil could tell by human facial expressions, but he didn’t want to risk her thinking he missed being down there.
“Slow. Your technology is limited, and I can only do so much. I need—” She sighed.
“What?”
“I’ve broken my vow to my people. When Mil’less finds out she will see to it I am removed as consul of my ship. If she doesn’t know already. I understand you spoke with Admiral Sanghvi during your interrogation.”
“It wasn’t an inter—”
“By now she must know I’ve improved your engines. She may even decide to return to Sil space without me. Though I haven’t received any messages yet.”
Cas hadn’t even thought of that. He’d spent most of the past few days in his room where the rest of the crew were glued to either their scanners or the windows of the ship, excited to see something no other human or Coalition species had seen before. He should have been right there with them, updating his star maps but instead he’d passed the time by getting drunk and little else. But because there were no communication relay stations outside Coalition space, a message would have to travel as fast as it could back along an undercurrent. They really were alone out here.
“I take it Mil’less won’t understand,” Cas replied.
“No. My people are…rigid sometimes.” She sighed again. “I just don’t know anymore.”
“You never know,” Cas replied, feeling odd he had to comfort a Sil. “Your help might be what saves all this for us. And if that’s the case I’d think your people would be more lenient. Especially since they couldn’t even make a decision regarding the matter.”
“I doubt it. But it’s a pleasant sentiment.”
The hypervator doors opened on the bridge and they walked out together as Evie and Greene turned in unison. “Seems we might have a problem,” Greene said, pointing to the screen. Cas looked to see the image of the Omicron Terminus system with its red and blue supergiant stars and smattering of planets, moons and other stellar bodies. It was obviously a long-distance image as they were still a few hours out.
“Which is?” Cas asked.
“There’s no fleet. The aliens aren’t here,” Evie replied.
Chapter Fifteen
“I don’t understand,” Cas said, taking a seat in the conference room adjacent to the bridge. He’d been joined by Zenfor, Evie, Greene, Zaal, and Uuma.
“Neither do we,” Greene replied. “And we need to figure this out because everything we’ve done has been predicated on this fleet being here. We were going to swing wide to avoid the system, observe them from afar, but when we got close enough for the scanners to pick up the system we found it was empty.”
“What does Starbase Five say? They’re the ones who first saw the fleet, right?” Cas asked.
“We’ve sent them a message, but it will take some time to get a reply,” Evie said. “Which is why we asked the two of you here. We hoped you might have some ideas about what could have happened. Or if Starbase Five’s scans were tampered with in any way. We can’t find any anomalies, but we may not be looking correctly.”
Cas’s eyes narrowed. “Looking correctly?”
“To be blunt,” Evie began, and it was only now Cas noticed how tired she looked. Her eyes had dark circles under them, and she was paler than normal. Was her father’s death having that much of an effect on her? “The two of you don’t work within Coalition protocol. You don’t have to. So maybe there’s a way you can find something we can’t. Some technique or…I don’t know. Something.”
Greene pressed his lips into a line. “I believe what the commander is saying is to use whatever resources you need. Help us figure out what’s going on here.”
The door to the conference room slid open to reveal Volf, strolling in like she owned the ship. “Sorry I’m late. Just finished analyzing the most recent scans.”
“Anything?” Greene asked.
She shook her head, taking the seat beside Cas. He had the immediate sensation to get up and leave but stayed put. “Same as the last batch. I even used a spectral analysis I haven’t used since I went up against the Sargans. They hid their ships in the gravity distortions of moons but if you knew what to look for you could find them easily.”
“You fought against the Sargans?” Cas asked, turning to her.
She smirked. “Long time ago. And just border skirmishes. Nothing serious.”
“This is maddening,” Greene said. “We came all this way to find out this all might be some sort of practical joke?”
“We should hear back from Five in about ten more hours,” Lieutenant Uuma said. “But the further we get, the longer it will take to receive a signal.”
“Until then we need to brainstorm,” Evie said. “I want every person on this that could be even the slightest bit helpful. Pull whomever you need, this is a top priority. If it turns out this is nothing but a hoax and there never was a fleet, then someone will be answering for it.”
“And if it isn’t a hoax?” Cas asked.
“Then we need to find out where they went and fast. The only advantage we had was surprise and if they saw us coming then we need to be very careful,” Greene replied. He was tense, his face strained with each word. It was possible the future of the Coalition rested on his shoulders and Cas couldn’t even imagine what he was thinking.
“And you two.” Evie pointed to him and Zenfor. “Get started.” Cas caught Volf eye him with interest. Everyone else stood along with the captain and they all exited, Cas and Zenfor headed back to the main hypervator off the bridge.
“Thoughts?” Cas asked.
“I have a few,” she replied. “And I highly doubt this is a hoax.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything in there?”
“Because I don’t know. Without evidence, a hypothesis is just that. I need to be sure before I risk my reputation.”
He scoffed as the doors opened and they stepped inside. “Are you headed back to the weapons lab?”
“That’s where all my equipment is,” she replied. “Why would—”
“Hey wait up!” Volf stuck her hand between the closing doors and they slid open again. She stepped inside. “I’m headed down to Engineering, care to share a ride?”
“Sure.” Cas shrugged.
The doors closed this time. “So what is the deal with you?” Volf asked. “I mean when they told me they had a Claxian on board I didn’t think it could get any crazier. But then to find out there’s a Sil too? It’s like I’ve hit the jackpot! I’d heard progress had been made in Sil relations, but the news channels are keeping a tight lid on everything. I had no idea you were on ships already!”
“I’m the only one,” Zenfor replied. “And this is temporary.”
“Still. It’s a long way from the war. And you’re just walking around like it’s no big deal. The rest of the crew sees you and shrugs.” Volf stared at Cas. “I mean how incredible is this?”
“Yeah, I know. I was the one who helped convince her to come along.” Volf was exhausting. It was like she took all the energy in a given space and sucked it all up for herself.
“Talk about a motley crew. Not only do we have Sesster, the only Claxian on a Coalition ship, but Zaal, Xax, a Sil and—” She winked. “You. By the way, you never did tell me what it is you’re doing on this ship. You’re a civilian now, right? So why were you in the meeting?”
He shrugged. “Maybe the commander just wanted my expertise. I used to be a Coalition officer.”
“That was a long time ago. I mean they told me you’d been pardoned, and I get it, but why are you still here? Now I’m on board they don’t need you for the bridge engineer position.”
Cas glanced at Zenfor, who remained stone-faced. “I’ve been asking myself that same question ever since you arrived,” he said. He tapped the panel beside him, and the doors opened. Cas pushed his way past, not caring about how rude it might seem.
“Will you be in the weapons lab later?” Zenfor called after him. He didn’t reply, only threw up a wave behind him as the doors closed again. What was he still doing here? Evie had called him up there as a courtesy, to keep him updated but they didn’t need him. There wasn’t anything he could do that Zenfor couldn’t down in the weapons lab, and she could probably do it better and faster. And it seemed Volf had plenty of experience with the Sargans so any advantage he might have been able to add there was already covered. He’d become completely redundant in the space of only a few days. So now what could he do?
Fuming, he didn’t even realize what level he was on until he looked at one of the bulkheads beside him in the long hallway. He’d gotten off on three, on port side. There wasn’t much over here other than a few good views outside the ship. He took a second to stop by one of the large windows to stare out at the passing stars. Suddenly the view shifted as if it had dissolved to something else and he realized they’d just micro-jumped. He’d never actually seen it in action before. He’d managed to make it out to where no other humans had ever come before, where there was nothing out there but new things to discover.
So why did he feel so alone?
Evie rubbed her temples as everyone else filed out of the conference room. She caught Greene giving her a sympathetic look from the door and she smiled in return, not wanting to alarm him. “Trouble getting rest?” he asked, entering the room again.
