Chapter 4
Jon was awake, staring at the ceiling when Loxy came back online. Lilith was still asleep.
“Wow,” Loxy said. She sat on the bed and drew her legs up, facing Jon. “That was interesting.”
Jon sat up, and put his back to the wall. He put a pillow in his lap. Loxy was amused by his modesty but didn’t comment on it.
“It amazes me how we can be so similar and so different at the same time,” Jon said, trying to whisper.
Lilith responded with a smile and crept up so she could be next to Jon. She sat up, and leaned against his arms.
“You’re not disappointed, are you?” Lilith asked.
“No,” Jon and Loxy said.
Her smile broadened. Her eyes drifted shut. She held his right hand with both of her hands.
“Were you?” Jon asked.
Her eyes opened wide and she met his gaze. “No! You were brilliant,” she assured him.
“And you, Loxy.”
“Well, this interface has its advantages,” Loxy said.
“You’re not as big as an elf,” Lilith said to Jon.
“Big how?” Jon asked.
Lilith bit her lower lip. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything,” she said.
“It’s okay, Lilith. Penises come in all sizes. We love the person, not the penis,” Loxy said.
“Is something wrong with my penis?” Jon asked.
“No,” Lilith and Loxy assured him.
“Seriously, Jon, you’re fine,” Loxy said. “It’s actually the perfect porn penis. It could model if you wanted.”
“Please. I don’t want to penis pics floating around in space-time,” Jon said.
“And most females don’t want to receive penis pics,” Loxy said.
“Telepathically, we transmit and are bombarded with sexual imagery, daily,” Lilith said. “Sorry,” Jon said.
“I welcome anything you transmit to me,” Lilith said, hugging his arm. Her hand slipped under the pillow. “Yours is longer than an elf’s but elves have wider girth,” Lilith explained, and noticed a confusing look on Jon’s face. It was mixed between stimulation and sorting the nature of the conversation. “Oh, I am so sorry. I forget how insecure men are about their sexuality.”
“He’s okay,” Loxy said. “That’s a fake pout. He doesn’t really think he is his penis.” “It’s not a fake pout,” Jon pouted.
“OMG, Jon, we have been in this universe for what, not quite a month, and the first time we go somewhere you hook up with a hot babe and get laid,” Loxy said. “I’d say, there’s nothing wrong with you.”
“You’re new this Universe?” Lilith asked.
“We bounce a lot,” Loxy said.
“Really?” Lilith asked.
“Oh!” Jon said. “Our ship is alive. Maybe this is the Farscape Universe.” “Because you want to sleep with Claudia Black?” Loxy asked.
“I’ve considered the possibility,” Jon admitted.
“Have you considered Crichton might kick your ass?” Loxy asked.
“Yeah, that’s why I am focused on the blue chick,” Jon said. “Chiana?” Loxy asked. “You want to die by the hand of Ka D’Argo?” “Please, he’s just a Klingon want to be,” Jon said.
“Who will kill you,” Loxy said.
“Probably,” Jon said. “Oh! Maybe we’re in the Lexx Universe. They also had a live ship.”
“Oh!” Loxy said. She and Jon both said ‘Xenia Seeberg’ together.
“And Eva! I liked her, too,” Jon said.
“Oh, Ellin Dubin,” Loxy agreed.
“You two have a lot of love interests,” Lilith said.
“Oh, just crushes,” Loxy said. “Don’t you have a celebrity list?” “What’s a celebrity?” Lilith asked.
“Um, someone who is well loved and respected in the community, and if they were to hit on you, you would likely agree to sleep with them without feigning protest,” Jon said.
“I would never sleep with someone who hits me,” Lilith said. “I would hit them back.”
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Loxy said. “Oh, I was thinking. Lilith, if you would like to get a message to your family, I think we can do it without putting you in harm’s way.”
“The probes!” Jon said. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Jon got up from bed, headed for the box of probes, but then decided he would get dressed. He didn’t need to. It was his ship and he could be naked and his shipmates wouldn’t mind. Because he dressed, Lilith dressed, too.
“We’re going to need to buy clothes, aren’t we,” Jon said.
“I am making a list,” Loxy said. “You should get us in the air before we launch one.
Practice flying from here.”
Jon concentrated. Antigravity was online, but it took some thrust to break the surface tension of the water. They lifted away from the ocean. With the nanites in her system, Lilith quickly learned how to see what Jon saw. The system allowed her to see, but the ship would not allow her to pilot.
“I am usually very good with animals,” Lilith pouted. “The ship is bonded with Jon,” Loxy explained.
“Oh, kind of like me,” Lilith said.
“Only, I don’t sleep with the ship,” Jon said. He gave Loxy a look. “Do I?” “You sleep in the ship,” Loxy said.
“I love your playful banter,” Lilith said.
Jon opened the compartment that contained the probes. They all lit up and began chanting, “Pick me, pick me, oh, pick me.”
“Stop that!” Jon said, snapping his fingers at them.
The probes fell silent. One of them vibrated, as if scared.
“Shh,” Jon said. The one became still.
“Dog whisper of probes?” Loxy asked.
“What’s a dog?” Lilith asked.
Jon selected a probe. The chosen one became jubilant, while the other lamented.
“I am ready to be deployed,” the probe said.
“Yeah, I got a mission for you,” Jon said.
“Great! Love to serve. Eject me out into space,” it said.
“Yeah, you’re not going into space,” Jon said. “We’re planet bound…” “I would like to return to the dispensary,” the probe said.
“They can fly in gravity, right?” Jon asked Loxy.
“No,” it said.
“Yes,” Loxy said.
“May I?” Lilith said, taking the orb. “Hello, probe. Do you have a name?”
“My serial number is available through virtual identification…” “I need you to take a message to my family,” Lilith said.
“No,” it said. “Deliver it yourself. My function is to be launched into space to serve as buoy.”
“Loxy, can you override its function?” Jon asked.
“Sure,” Loxy said.
“No, nooooo…” It began to protest. It went silent.
Jon took the probe and put it into the launch tube. It was ejected from the ship. Loxy piloted it down to the tree level and brought it towards the beach. Lilith directed her, and after a moment, Loxy decided to give her control of it, and sure enough, she quickly learned how to pilot the probe.
“I feel like a bird!” Lilith said, stretching her arms out.
Her people were emerging from a cave into the night. A shepherd was delivering his flock even as the people were waking. Children ran and played under the stars. A man approached the shepherd and asked if he had seen Lilith. Jon and Loxy were now able to understand, which suggested they had both learned Lilith’s language the same way she had learned theirs. The shepherd said he had not seen her. He relieved the flock to the people and gave the staff of wandering to the next shepherd. Lilith explained that a flock could be gone for a week or two at a time, as it required a large roaming area for the flock to feed. They were basically herbivores, crazy looking sheep. They had the bizarre habit of fainting at the sound of loud noises, like fainting goats. It was comical to watch, but explained how one shepherd could coral so many animals. It was a bred trait that allowed the shepherd or shepherdess the ability to stop them on demand in order to protect them.
Lilith directed the probe closer. Sheep fainted. People gathered and bowed.
“Please, stand,” Lilith said. “It is I, Lilith.”
“Lilith?” her father asked.
“Yes, Papa. It is I,” Lilith asked.
“Have you died?” he asked.
“No, I am alive, but I have changed. I cannot return home,” Lilith said.
“I demand that you return home this instance,” he said.
“If I did, you would be force to execute me,” Lilith said.
“I would not! There is nothing in this world you could do that would ever cause me to injure you,” he assured her.
“Father, the people of the western range took my flock and left me to the water people as a sacrifice,” Lilith said.
“I will kill them,” her father said.
“No. They are too many. I would have you consult with our friends to the north. Perhaps they have a better solution,” Lilith said. “All of our tribes have done well over the last hundred years. We have grown in numbers. We will have more confrontations if we do not figure this out. The people who took my flock were merely boys, looking for a name. I doubt that they acted with the authority of their speaker.”
“Come home, and you can point out those who harmed you,” he said.
“Father, I cannot return. Please do not ask again,” Lilith said.
“Tell him, we can return sometimes, and you will speak to him from the clouds,” Jon offered. “He can keep the probe.”
Lilith took Jon’s hand, thanking him.
“Father, where I am at, I am safe. I have access to high tech. I know you understand this.
You taught me about this. This ball of light will go dark shortly,” Lilith explained. “When it does, keep it with you, and should I return it will light and you will know I am near and I will speak to you again. That is the best I can offer at this time.”
“At least tell me where these others are,” her father said.
Jon blinked. He could see for miles through the ship’s eyes. Even at night, he could make out the dais that he had found Lilith. People lit up like dots. Jon showed Lilith where her people were and where the nearest others were. There were people to the North, West, and east. There were people on an island South of the bay. There were people in the great forest.
“All of these are people?” Lilith asked.
“Who are you speaking with?”
“There are so many more people than we ever imagined,” Lilith said. “Go south, to Onuk Bay. Walk west until you come upon a pit with five pillars. Proceed north and west to come to the Maid’s sister. Their cave is at the top of a cul-de-sac, and they will see you coming long before you arrive. You will likely find my flock, north, in the plain. They took my cloak and my staff. One of the boys will have a bruise on his right eye, as I injured him before I succumbed. I am so sorry, father. Your world is going to change. I am sorry, I won’t be there with you.”
“You say you are safe?” he asked.
“I am very safe. I have made some friends,” Lilith said.
“Are you sure?”
“One risked his life for me,” Lilith said.
“You must let me reward this person,” her father said.
“I have compensated him well,” Lilith said.
“Him?” a new comer stepped up to the light of the probe. “I have allowed this to be about family, but this is outrageous. You are my betrothed!”
“He gave his life to save me, I gave him mine,” Lilith said.
“Then I will meet him,” the man said.
“I will contact you when I can. Please, remember, I love you all. Thank you for all of my life,” Lilith said. She closed off the probe and it fell dead to the ground. She immediately turned to Loxy to hug her and cry, and found she couldn’t hug her, and so, turned to Jon and hugged him instead, crying on his shoulder.
Loxy frowned at Jon and directed his hands to her shoulder and told him to pat her. She pulled away and wiped her eyes. “Thank you,” she said. “I am okay.” “Are you sure?” Loxy asked.
“I am alive, safe, and with friends,” Lilith said. “That is more than any of us can ask for.”
“So, would you like to see your world from orbit?” Jon asked. Lilith nodded.
They withdrew to the flight deck. The chair was big enough for three, and Jon sat center. He had to teach her about orbits, and Loxy offered virtual graphs that explained it. From orbit, they found an orange-ish red moon, which required magnification to see due to their distance from it. As they proceeded out away from the planet, remaining in the shadow, Loxy identified four planets. They could hear the haunting sounds of a gas giant, radio-bursts that clicked and moaned. Space is not silent, if you know how to listen, and Jon thought the gas giant was actually signs of intelligence. Even Lilith’s planet had a radio signature, the planet’s magnetosphere interacting with the sun made a noise, and it was peppered with the sound of lightening flaring in the atmosphere. An intelligent radio burst drew their attention. This was clearly different from the other sounds they were listening to.
“Republic ship, this system has been claimed in the name of the Kelindy Protectorate.
You are trespassing,” it said. It was a ‘standing’ sentinel. It was basically a satellite that remained in the langrage point of the gas giant. There would be a traveling Sentinel that could bounce between systems, exchanging information with the standing, updating jump coordinates. Any ship authorized to interact with the Sentinel could receive an updated live jump coordinates, as well as share their information.
“This is BSI 426972,” Loxy said. “This is our first outing from nest, blind jump. I am sending our telemetry and the status of our quantum drive so you can confirm.”
“You information has been validated,” the standing sentinel said. “Your jump drive will be charged in 2 days, 16 hours. I expect you to be gone within fifteen minutes of that time. Meanwhile, I request you depart this system at maximum velocity. Failure to do so will be considered a hostile act.”
“We will depart now,” Loxy said, frowning at Jon.
“Is this normal?” Lilith said.
“I don’t know,” Jon said, shrugging. “Loxy?”
“Kelindy are in competition with the Republic for colonizing systems, and though they recognize sometimes blind jumps result in intrusion into each other’s space, the Kelindy have not always been nice about it,” Loxy said. “I think we are getting off lightly. They have definitely logged our identifier code and we will be scrutinized with greater intensity with each violation of their space. They don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Oh, well, neither do we,” Jon said. He deployed the quantum sail in increments. It was basically an energy field that extended into a nearby dimension. As soon as the ‘virtual’ shield was large enough to meet resistance, their ship turned in the direction of the current and accelerated. Once they were in the stream, Jon deployed the sail full out. The only evidence they were moving was that Lilith’s planet fell away. It fell away and was gone in the blink of an eye, which was so impressive that Jon gripped the seat with both hands. The star shrunk as well.
Lilith touched his hands, sensing his concerned, but seemed otherwise unimpressed.
“You okay?” Lilith asked.
“Do you know how fast we’re going?” Jon asked.
“No,” Lilith said.
Jon showed her the rate which was roughly 120 kilometers per second, and accelerating.
Lilith was definitely unimpressed. “I don’t sense anything.”
“You didn’t feel your planet moving, either, but its going around its sun at 100,000 km per hour,” Jon said. “While also maintaining an orbit around its star that is going 922,450 km per hour in its trajectory around galactic center. And then if we add our speed from the galaxy as we head towards the Great Attractor, well, we’re traveling like 2 million kilometers per hour…” “You’re really excited about these numbers,” Lilith said.
“How is we feel stuck in life when we’re never in ever in the same place?!” Jon asked. Loxy kissed his cheek.
“Space travel seems rather boring,” Lilith said.
Jon sighed. They had two days of exactly this, analyzing data. Looking at stars from a distance. He had a spaceship. He wanted to be up close and personal. And he could be with the Quantum Jump Drive, but it needed to recharge, and so he had to plan his jumps and use it expeditiously. His second fastest acceleration would always be with the ‘local’ quantum wind, which varied in speed. He could tack into the wind by changing the quantum sails angle. Loxy was doing the brunt of the data collecting, and the virtual representations were her translations of her observation. Jon understood some of the raw data, but preferred the visual spectrum that we accustomed seeing. Seeing in the other spectrums was interesting but took effort.
“Yeah, this part is really boring,” Jon said. “Loxy, do you have any clue where we are?” “Actually,” Loxy said. “If I am not mistaken, Lilith’s star is Proxima Centauri.” “You say that because?” Jon said.
“I am detecting radio signals from Earth,” Loxy said. “By tomorrow we will have traveled far enough I could triangulate. If this is Proxima Centauri, then we are about four and half light years from Earth.”
“Can we get there from here?” Jon asked.
“By quantum sail? If the winds are favorable, maybe five thousand years,” Loxy said. “Using the Quantum Drive, we can jump to any location within one year. It takes our drive three days to recharge. So, we could arrive at Earth in fifteen days.”
“Oh, sweet,” Jon said. “Let’s do that.”
“Um, Jon,” Loxy said. “The Solar System is in the Kelindy Protectorate. Earth is part of the Protectorate.”
“Seriously?” Jon said.
“Is that bad?” Lilith said.
“We’re flying for the Republic,” Loxy said. “If we show up at Earth after being told the leave Kelindy space, they will likely shoot at us.”
“Not cool,” Jon said. “What if we told them I live there?” “They’d probably shoot at you,” Loxy said.
“No questions first?” Jon asked.
“They’d probably be curious why a slave from Earth is flying a Republic ship,” Loxy said. “But they’re going to shoot first.” Jon crossed his arms, angry.
“What? You really want to go to Earth?” Loxy asked.
“In a spaceship? Yeah. I want to roll up on the ISS and see if they cut the live camera feed,” Jon said.
“You just want to make a scene,” Loxy said.
“Yes, I do,” Jon said. “And I want to go check out the moon and see if we really went there and look for the aliens on Mars.”
“Jon,” Loxy said. “Our ship has no shields. We have no weapons. We’re a scout ship. The Kelindy will not hesitate to kill us.”
“These Kelindy people, they own my world? My sun?” Lilith asked.