“Do they know we’re here, sir?” Alessia asked, listening to his answering thoughts moments before he spoke.
“Most likely.” Ungarn shrugged. “I imagine they’re monitoring us even now. But no one will bother you, so go ahead and take a look around. We’ll find you by your communication frequency or send you a message on your intra-crancial communicator when you’re expected back here–or wherever it is they decide to meet you. Or, if you go too far away, I’ll have your internal cerebral direction sensor re-direct you to where we are.”
“Yes, sir.” Alessia didn’t want to tell him that her mind had not been programmed the way the others’ had with as many nano-implants since birth. She was unaware that she had been “chipped” the way most of the population had been.
Alessia waited for the others to leave the Great Cargo Bay and stared around at the gleaming, half-metallic, half-organic looking Valerian fighters a few moments before heading off to other parts of the ship with curious eyes.
She wandered for the better part of an hour among the maze of newly completed corridors. She had heard that a great effort had been made to purify the tons of metallic and crystalloid alloys used in the ship's construction, a fact which was born out by her investigations. The beauty of the interior struck her as wondrous.
There were other things to occupy her thoughts. What would the other explorers think of her when she met them? Would they be anything like her? Certainly far more experienced, but would they consider her an outsider?
A group of nearby minds interrupted her thoughts, their telepathic signals rife in the air as the people whose thoughts she heard worked on something in the other corridor. There were various scraping sounds of metal on metal and heavy objects and instruments being dropped onto the hard floor.
Alessia halted around the corridor, listening to their mindspeech. She froze, her back pressed into the wall, her breathing stopped. Their thoughts did not acknowledge her presence.
Honestly, you two are always either arguing with each other or agreeing with each other! Lierva said, in a tone that managed to be amused and exasperated at the same time. What is it with you two?
Well, you see, either is a sign of respect, Kiel laughed. They were speaking informally, as friends, not as commander and subordinate.
How so? Lierva demanded, responding to Kiel.
I wouldn’t argue with Kellar if I thought it was a waste of time, nor would I agree with a fool, even if he were my friend. Kiel laughed.
Just accept it, Lierva, Celekar advised, with an air of indifference. They’ll never change.
So who do you think she really is–the young woman the Martial Scientific Force sent to join us? Does anyone know? a woman known as Mindra asked.
I heard that she was Hinev's assistant. Kiel offered. But Hinev never said much about her before she was transferred to us. Kellar, could you hand me that belt there?
This one? There was a pause. Did any one notice how young she was? Kellar teased, with a hint of disbelief.
Kellar makes a study of every female on this ship, Lierva laughed. But he’s right. She really is too young for this kind of mission.
Perhaps not, Kellar threw out. Why do you suppose the Elders authorized her metamorphosis to take place separate from ours? Kellar wondered.
Has anyone seen her in person? Lierva asked. I had heard she is a half-race child, like Hinev, but she didn't look half-race to me in the transmissions we saw.
I didn’t even notice that, Celekar thought.
I thought she looked remarkably pretty—a sweet girl from the looks of her. Kellar commented. But I suppose we’ll find out more soon enough.
Still, I think we know why Hinev chose her as his assistant. Lierva added with a complacent certainty. Of course he’d recruit a half-race girl, like himself—
Lierva–Kiel said in a warning tone.
Maybe now that Hinev has been retired from active duty, the Council wanted rid of her and sent her to us. Celekar took up the argument where Lierva had left it.
How good of them, Mirna laughed. Just our luck to get saddled with a cadet with no practical experience. She’ll have to learn fast.
That's enough, Kiel admonished, with a flash of anger. No more conjectures about Hinev’s motives. This Lieutenant Enassa wouldn't be here if she didn’t deserve to be. And for whatever reason she’s here, she’s here to stay. Anyway, we’ve wasted enough time talking. We’re already late for the meeting, so hurry up and get everything loaded.
Long after the group had left, Alessia remained sitting in the corridor where she had stood, hugging her knees to her chest, unmoving. She lost track of the time.
Hope was holding out somewhere in her thoughts. She decided to be bright, positive, and happy despite the conversation she had just heard. There was plenty of time to change their opinions of her. She wandered around the ship for another hour, and then was located by one of the technicians on her communicator.
"Alessia," he relayed to her. "Commander Ungarn is looking for you. They finished with the reports an hour ago. He's ready to continue your tour. But you'll have to hurry. Hinev's explorers are waiting to meet you."
* * * * *
Alessia hurried down several corridors that led her further into the interior. Finally she stopped outside a wide entrance that split in the center of the doorway. The door panels retracted; beyond it lay Firien, or so she thought. The same fragrant smell of the lyra trees permeated the air, and the sound of distant waters rushing down a rocky stream mingled with the song of a breeze in the upper branches.
But hadn’t it been twilight several hours ago outside the ship?
"There's another entrance on the far side," a technician who had been standing just inside the forest, waiting for her, explained. She was reading his mind even as he spoke, and knew what he would say a moment before he even spoke. But he had no way of knowing this. "This hold stretches all the way to the outer hull. But this is the only internal access door," he gestured as they entered a cavern filled with bright light.
“We’re still inside the ship,” Alessia said with a note of incredulity as she looked around at an entire forest that had been brought into the ship to fill the enormous hold. Just ahead on the path, she could see Commander Ungarn, immersed in conversation with one of the explorer guides.
"Isn't it remarkable?" Ungarn enthused, half-turning aside as Alessia joined them. "This forest was only installed a few tendays ago, if I'm not mistaken." He looked at the explorer guide, who nodded his assent.
"That's correct. We had a team remove an entire section of the landscape near the ship and bring it through the outer hull before the last hull plates were installed."
Alessia found the explorer’s voice pleasant and his clear, blue-grey eyes were bright with kindness at the present moment. He appeared several years older than she, middle-aged, with a nice rugged, face. His dark hair had streaks of white already by the temples, which seemed to highlight his heart-shaped face. He was a thin man, but not gangly, with a jaunty kind of walk.
"Is that a sherin tree?" Alessia's keen eyes descried a smaller tree among the others, far in the distance ahead.
"Yes," the explorer nodded, obviously pleased. "One of our cultivated species of sherin, though I understand wild sherin fruit is by far the best, rare as it is to find wild sherin trees these days.”
“Ah, wild sherin trees!” Alessia said. “Yes, they are lovely—and such delicious fruit.”
“Yes, but as you can see, the rest are mostly lyra trees, rare as they are—we’ve raped the local landscape for them.” The explorer said, with a trace of sadness. “We will enjoy them, though. They will flourish here without constant care and help us to regulate the atmosphere. And so will the sherin trees.”
“Can’t understand how you’ll all manage to survive,” Ungarn commented, shaking his
head. “I didn’t see anywhere near enough foodstuffs on board.”
“We’ll make do,” the explorer guide said, and we do have the ability to grow food aboard ship if we need more. “Welcome–" he extended a hand to Alessia.
“And you’re?” she asked. His mind was closed to her telepathy, and Ungarn was present, so they spoke out loud.
"Gerryls. Rikhsehr Gerryls. Unlike most of the crew, I still prefer to be addressed by my family name. I spent many long years in the Martial Scientific Force." Gerryls shrugged.
"Gerryls was one of our best doctors before being transferred to this post." Ungarn explained. “Every ship in the fleet has at least three.” Ungarn continued. "I still think you should ask for doctor Nikol to accompany you.”
“Yes, Ungarn. We’ll take it under advisement.” Said Gerryls, without any serious intent.
“Confound it! I knew you’d say that, man. But even with such a small crew, you may end up with space radiation fever or some unknown new alien diseases and then who will keep the rest of you alive?”
Gerryls laughed nervously. “I guess I’ll just have to train an assistant on board, Ungarn.”
“Promise you will. I don’t want anything to happen to one of the brightest cadets I’ve managed to turn out in years.”
Gerryls nodded. “We’ll take care of her. You have my word.”
“You’re not a medical doctor anymore.” Alessia asked, though it was more an observation.
“Not really,” Gerryls admitted. “I’ve returned to my first vocation in life.”
“You were a botanist?” Alessia asked.
Gerryls agreed. “Do you find that dull?”
“No, I like plants. Very much.”
“You two already seem to have something in common, then. I hope you adjust soon to the life here, Alessia,” Ungarn put in, hardly able to keep up with the unusual conversation; he had been surprised by Alessia’s guess. “But—I didn’t know you had studied the crew’s files—or, how did you know Gerryls was a botanist?”
Alessia winked at Ungarn. “Women’s intuition.”
“Balderdash,” Ungarn said.
“Alessia?” Gerryls repeated. “You’ll forgive me, but I think this is the first time any one has ever remembered to mention your name–to me, at any rate." Gerryls was looking at her with a deceptively innocent smile; he had been trying but had not been able to read her mind.
"Yes, it’s Alessia," Alessia said, clasping his proffered hand. “Biology Specialist Alessia Enassa.”
"Well, Alessia, you will find some of our crew not far ahead, busy installing the atmospheric generator. The ship is finished, functionally speaking, but some of us have volunteered to put on–well, the final touches. As a matter of fact we were going to meet them in a moment, but Ungarn here insisted we wait until you got here."
"I should have figured that Kiel was up to something when he didn’t show up to meet us. Is that really a breeze then?" Ungarn lifted his palms. After a moment, a cool wind reached them. Ungarn shook his head.
"Yes, but it seems more like a gale now," Gerryls laughed. "I guess they've finally got it running," he said, and led them through the Seynorynaelian lyra forest, past a river and over an dirt-paved stone bridge. Turning left, they continued about ten minutes and came to one side of the hold where the forest ended.
A small circle of men and women had come away from the wall and now gathered their equipment. They turned around at the sound of approaching footsteps and saluted Gerryls with smiles and an uproar of voices.
“You’ve lost, old man, admit it,” Kiel said, a twinkle of mischief in his eye.
“All right, all right. I concede defeat.” Gerryls held up his palms.
“It’s finished, and with two hours to spare.” Lierva added, with a hint of a smile. “Kiel finished well before the allotted time of the bet.”
“Lierva, you said you weren’t interested in taking sides.” Gerryls accused.
“I know,” she shrugged. “But Kiel found Kellar and me on the bridge and I decided to watch from a distance.”
“Ungarn!” Kiel said suddenly, heading over to them. “You never change. Everyone, I’d like you to meet Commander Ungarn, my former commander.”
“Yes.” Ungarn said with a laugh. “Hard to believe that he left my unit–seven years ago, wasn’t it? He was just a reckless headstrong boy, then–” Ungarn said. “But the finest engineer my trainers ever turned out.” Ungarn added, with an approving smile.
“Good to see you,” Kiel said, smiling.
“And you.” Ungarn returned with equal mirth. “Well, Commander Kiel, before I leave you, I’ve brought the last explorer candidate with me for your mission. Lieutenant Kiel, leader of our newest expedition of Seynorynaelian explorers, this is Biology Specialist Alessia Enassa.”
Ungarn turned aside; the explorers angled their heads in curiosity to get a better look at Hinev’s former assistant.
It was Kiel, however, who had captured Alessia’s attention. Of all the explorers, his face was the most familiar to her from her last days among Hinev, from her first mindlink. Here was the man whom Hinev had visited in Lake Firien, the engineer who had begun to build the starship called Selesta seven years ago out of ruins buried by the shores of the lake. He was younger than Hinev appeared to be, but not as young as some of the other explorers; however, to her mind his face was unmistakable, perhaps even unusual.
At the moment his dark blue eyes were calm, but with a radiant glare of intelligence and perception illuminating them with the strength of character and intellect.
Meanwhile, Kiel ran a steady, critical eye over her, then held out a hand. "Welcome to Selesta, Alessia," he said pleasantly, and following his example the others came forward to greet her.
* * * * *
"All systems are functional then?" Ungarn asked, lingering as the group headed back out of the forest and towards the bridge, where the last few explorers waited to meet them.
"Yes–we leave within the present tenday." Kiel said, equally somber. Both were painfully aware that the partings made on this day would be forever.
"And the engines–I heard some time back that they had to be redesigned–but I trust they are complete?" Ungarn asked.
"Yes–the preliminary tests show that the engines are operating better than we hoped." Kiel answered, walking beside him. Alessia and Gerryls stood behind them, and the rest followed further behind. She listened attentively to Gerryls' anecdotes, but also intent upon the conversation ahead. Gerryls grew silent, aware of Alessia's mental preoccupation with Kiel's news, even though she divided her thoughts well between them. He shrugged in amusement.
Shortly after passing into an elevation device, they arrived on the bridge.
"Don't worry," Gerryls whispered to her as they stepped forward. “You’ll survive.”
Alessia counted sixteen male and fifteen female explorers in all once the entire crew had been assembled. Aside from Alessia, the crew were all full Seynorynaelians, with pale grey skin and hair that was grey or white. She saw that unlike her black uniform which Hinev had given her, they all wore the new silvery blue uniforms of explorers, with triangular symbols that represented their number and rank, and an insignia that bore the name of their mission and personal name. Aside from the color, the uniforms were identical to the white ones worn by the Martial Scientific Force.
"You’ll receive a case of standard uniforms, too," Gerryls assured her, and she realized that he had been with her, listening to her last thoughts. "Yes, we were all members of the Martial Scientific Force–but in the past few years we trained most of the time at the Federation Science Building. Hinev thought to distinguish us by issuing new uniforms–they don’t look much the ones his crew wore on the last mission, do they? Except the explorers’ insignias are the same design. Hinev liked that. You see, we are
n't really Martial Scientific Force Officers anymore–the Council is calling us 'Hinev's explorers'."
From the tentative reception she received, Alessia guessed that "Hinev's explorers" had been told little about her by him or anyone else. They had no idea of her connection with him, only that she had been his assistant before the serum project.
And though many of them had tried to read her mind for more details, they found that they could not.
After a brief meeting and without forming a mindlink with their newest member, the explorers returned to their heavy load of duties. Alessia returned to the Great Cargo Bay to say good-bye to Ungarn. He would not be returning before the mission was launched, and most likely she would never see her former commander again.
"One more thing, Alessia," Ungarn said, hesitating on the steps up to the transport. "Gerryls tells me you’ve already been assigned to be his assistant, after letting me go on! Well, don’t let him work you too hard.”
“Why should he?”
Ungarn laughed. “You don’t know Gerryls, pleasant as he seems to be. He said he was a doctor, but he failed to mention that he was head of the Biological Research Division at Ariyalsynai for more than six years. He was the first to work with the returning explorers in their documentation and is an expert on alien biochemistry–a great friend of Hinev's, too. He's not likely to extol his own merits, but he’s a genius, and not very tolerant of any assistants who can’t keep up with him. I fear there have been but a few who could."
"Thank you–I'll remember," Alessia said, nodding. Ungarn still didn't know that Hinev's explorers needed no such introductions, that telepathy had opened barriers he couldn’t even perceive. She wondered if Ungarn had actually understood the fact that she herself had been given the serum. She looked further and saw more clearly. There was some ambiguity in his mind, yet he did know. What exactly the serum had done to them all, however, he didn’t know, except that it had been devised to somehow help prepare them for this explorer mission.
"Good-bye, Ungarn," Alessia reached forward to hug him for the very first time.