The Evolution of Vaughn, page 17
Fresia pulled the rail-gun from her armor’s leg and opened fire as the final few closed in on her. Just then, Vaughn lost consciousness.
Time passed. The first thing Vaughn was aware of was that he was restrained. The second thing was that there was a bag over his head. The third thing was that he was ravenously hungry. His stomach roared in response.
He couldn’t see anything past the bag and had no idea where he was. He laid there for a while, wondering if he was still Human and listening to his stomach growl. At least he was breathing, that had to be a good sign. “Halle? Are you there?”
He looked around, trying to get a feel for where he was. It felt like his berth. But when you’ve spent as much time in space as Vaughn had, one berth feels pretty much the same as the next. Finally, after he’d been awake for several hours, laying there on the table, the bag was lifted enough that he could see Fresia.
She stepped back across the room. Her face was tightly drawn together but void of all emotion. “How do you feel?”
“Hungry.”
Pursing her lips together, she drew her pistol and pointed at him.
“Hungry enough to eat a dozen tak bars,” Vaughn added hastily, “Even though they taste like gnarg shit and shame.”
Fresia lowered her gun and audibly sighed. A large smile crossed her face and ran across the room to hug him. “How the hell are you alive?”
“I guess the Maxist fuckers got something right. How the hell are we alive?”
“You took out most of them with that cannon, which was badass, by the way. After that, there were only a few left to mop up. As soon as I got power to Halle, she folded us outside the ship. Apparently, we did some significant damage to their vessel because they couldn’t fire on us or chase us.”
“How long was I out?”
“Two days. We’re in orbit above your house.”
“Why didn’t Halle respond to me?”
“When you were bitten, she removed your access and named me captain,” Fresia said. At Vaughn’s looked she amended her statement. “Temporarily, of course.”
“Why didn’t you land?”
Fresia looked at him. “I wasn’t sure where to go. Halle brought us here, but she couldn’t land on the surface. I didn’t feel right taking you down there in your current condition, in case you are one of them. I didn’t want them to see your basement.”
“Let me up, I’ll go take us in. I’d like to spend a night or two in my own bed, while we fix up Rom.”
Fresia looked at Vaughn. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Fre, I’m Human. Nothing to be afraid of, I don’t want to infect you. I’m not receiving some brain-messages from the E’Clei. I’m just Vaughn. And I’m starving,” Vaughn pleaded. “E’Clei can’t lie. If I was one of them, I couldn’t tell you I’m not.”
Fresia shook her head. “I’ll go get you a few tak bars, but I can’t let you go until we’ve had a chance to thoroughly examine you. If there is anything living on your brain, we will put you down.” She pulled the bag back down, and as she was walking out called back, “Sorry, Vaughn. You’d do the same.”
He laid there, devoid of any sense except hearing. He concentrated on what he could hear, although it wasn’t much. The main generator was several degrees out of alignment. Occasionally, a small piece of debris would hit the hull, which told him even the cannons designed to protect the ship were not working or were limited. He was straining to hear the battle generator when it first registered.
“I’m coming.” At first, he thought he imagined it. Then he heard it again. “I’m coming.”
“Who are you?” He thought, but there was no response. He thought harder, and then focused his concentration. “Hello? Anyone there?”
Six voices responded all at once. “Whoa man, there’s no need to yell.”
“Who are you? Where are you?”
“Oh, he’s a new guy. Congrats on getting bit…”
“Oh, yay. My imaginary voices are sarcastic,” Vaughn thought.
The next voice to respond sounded much clearer, as if the speaker were right beside him. “My name is Max. You, it would seem, have recently been bitten by an E’Clei, and you are of my bloodline. What’s your name? And concentrate on my voice when you answer. No need to broadcast this conversation to the entire universe.” There was a pause and something that sounded like a chuckle rumbled through his brain. “You remind me of my father.”
“So, what the hell happened to me?”
“That’s kind of a long story. In a nutshell, you’re my great grandson. Except there are like four hundred-thousand greats. You’re immune to the parasites. When you were infected but before the E’Clei died, they connected some parts of your brain you don’t use. You probably heal faster than normal now, and you can likely run faster. Not everyone gets the same abilities, but those two seem pretty standard.”
Vaughn thought for a while on what he’d been told. “Can I talk to anyone?”
“Yes and no. I’ve never been able to figure out why some uninfected people can hear and some can’t. The uninfected cannot answer. You can sometimes have a conversation with an infected person if you create the pathway.”
“How do I connect to someone?”
The voice was silent for a minute, before responding. “You sound like you have someone in mind. You’ve recently been infected, so you’ve been in a fight with the E’Clei, which leads me to believe you have lost someone.”
“My son was kidnapped nearly a week ago. The Maxists led me to believe it was the E’Clei who wanted him because we’re related to Max Tookes… I assume that’s you. I checked both places, deep in E’Clei territory, but he wasn’t at either facility. I have no idea where he is, why The Maxists lied to me, or where to go next. I’m talking to a voice in my mind, so clearly I’m grasping at straws.”
“What is your son’s name? Do you have a picture of him? I have slightly different abilities; I may be able to help you locate him.”
Vaughn laughed into the wire-mesh bag over his head, thinking about how to describe his current situation. “So, I have an E’Clei bag over my head. The ones we use to sever their connection to the collective. How come I can talk to you through this thing? I’m strapped to a bed by my former commander, who isn’t convinced I’m not infected so I’m sort of stuck.”
“That is a predicament.” Max paused. “Form a picture of your son in your mind. What’s his name?”
“Matthew Troupe.” Vaughn pictured his son, from his short cropped, blondish hair, to his sparkling blue eyes. Matthew was an attractive boy who definitely took after his mother. The picture in Vaughn’s head was from their last fishing trip, when he was seated in the boat, reeling in a fish. A look of pure joy on his face.
“Good looking kid,” said Max. Vaughn could almost hear a laugh in his voice. “Looks just like me. Or, like I used to. Funny how we never really see ourselves as aging, huh? I’ll let you know when I find him. Shouldn’t be too long.”
And Vaughn was once again in silence. About twenty minutes later, Fresia was back with breakfast.
“I’m going to take the bag off. No eating me.”
“I promise,” Vaughn replied.
Fresia pulled the bag off of his head. She looked down at Vaughn, and then dipped a spoon in the thick grainy gruel. Vaughn took the bite, chewed twice and swallowed the pasty grain. He was so hungry he barely tasted it, which was to his benefit. Fresia was a terrible cook.
“Tell me about Matty.”
“What about him?”
“How does it make you feel when you see him?”
Fresia was really asking him to describe love, an emotion the E’Clei could never understand, to prove he was a Human.
“There aren’t words to describe love. It defies them. What words would you put to the way it feels the first time your child falls and skins his knee? The way it tears your heart out and hurts you more than it hurts them? Or the pride you feel when your son beats you in a game? It’s a joy to lose. When he was little and he would run over to me when I got home from a long run and throw his arms around my neck and give me kisses on the cheek, that love makes everything better.”
Tears began to streak down Vaughn’s cheeks, but he continued. “When he was ten, and got a perfect score on his math examination, it made every accomplishment I’ve ever done pale in comparison.”
Vaughn sniffed, his nose running from crying, “Then imagine that that child is ripped away from you. Taken someplace you cannot find him. You spend every moment of every hour wondering if he is hurt. You know he is afraid, you know he is sad, and lonely. And you know, you would die a thousand times over if you could get to him one minute sooner.”
Before he was even finished, Fresia was unbuckling the restraints around his chest. Tears flowed down her face. She unbuckled his hands and hugged him. “I’m sorry I doubted you, Vaughn. We’ll find Matty.”
“I know. We’ll find him. And then I will rain hell down on the Maxists for what they did. Who knows, I may have started a war.”
Chapter 25 Rom
Date: 432nd Year of Emperor Valek Foger XXVI
The next several days were a blur; Vaughn worked extensively on Rom, who was parked safely in the hangar. While Vaughn worked on Rom, Fresia and Halle visited every inhabited planet in the galaxy, dropping thousands of small containers into orbit. With the push of a button, Vaughn’s gifts would rain down on the population of every planet.
Everything he learned creating Halle, went into the smaller ship. Rom was a small vessel, with no sleeping berths, galley, or other Human necessities. He was a rounded triangle, eighteen meters long and twelve wide at the back, with three engines. At just three meters thick, there was barely enough room inside for Vaughn to stand up.
Vaughn had one floor grate removed and was laying on his back with his head and shoulders in the hole in the floor. The captain was working upside-down on a power coupling, upgrading it to divert more power to core processing than originally intended when he finally voiced a thought. “You know, Rom is kind of like your son, Halle.”
“He’s not my son; I had nothing to do with his creation.”
“You did though. He was an empty shell; you made him what he is today.”
There was a pause. “The E’Clei made him,” Halle replied.
“Being a parent has almost nothing to do with creating. Among Humans, that’s a ten minute bit of fun. The real work comes once they’re born. That’s when you teach them, guide them, and learn about them.”
“And love them?” Halle asked.
“Yes, love them.”
“But I am incapable of love.”
“When I was unconscious and possibly infected, why did you come here to this moon?”
“I calculated a seventy-three percent chance that if you weren’t infected, this is where you would want to recuperate.”
Vaughn thought for a moment, carefully forming his words. “And what were the factors that went into that decision?”
“Seven hundred eighty four data points were considered. Including…”
“You don’t have to list them all. The point is that you know them.” He paused again, thinking about how to convey his thoughts. “What is the definition of love?”
“An intense or deep feeling of affection.”
“And what is the definition of affection?”
“A fondness or liking.”
Vaughn put down the tools he was using and wiggled his way out of the small hole. “I am very fond of you, Halle. You took care of me when I was hurt when it made more sense to leave me. You risked your own safety for me. That’s love.”
The conversation continued for hours as Vaughn worked on Rom. Towards the end, after nearly every computer system that comprised the ship had been upgraded, Rom joined in the conversation. In Vaughn’s mind, they were teaching the new craft about Humans and how to interface with people. These conversations would form a basis of his personality, just as Vaughn and Halle’s long conversations had formed her essence when he was lost on this moon all those years ago.
For Vaughn, the talks helped pass the time. They gave him something to concentrate on while he waited for Max to get back to him. He was beginning to think that whole thing was a delusion.
The third night, as he lay in bed nearing sleep, Max contacted him. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long. Finding your son was tougher than I expected. He’s well shielded and in the worst place possible.”
“Where?”
“He’s in a cell on the north-east corner, two hundred tenth floor of The Maxists enclave on Loe.”
“Oh, fuck. I was there! I was right there!”
“I know. And I can’t go with you, Vaughn. The Maxists have been trying to get their hands on me since we were on Earth. They are well equipped, Vaughn. You’re going to have a hell of a time getting him out.”
“I specialize in a hell of a time. Thank you, Max.”
The man in his head chuckled again. “I know you do. Good luck, Vaughn.”
Vaughn rolled out of bed and got to work. “Halle, get me everything you can on The Maxist Cathedral on Loe.”
“Right away, Sir.”
Vaughn worked through the night to have Rom ready. Sometime before sunrise, Halle delivered. “The building plans for the cathedral. I’ve send them to your console, Captain. They are old. Everything I could find was redacted so I had to go through the personal files of the original builder. He archived them nearly three hundred years ago using antiquated encryption with a very weak password.”
Vaughn memorized every detail of the plans. The floor where they were holding Matt was a labyrinth. Narrow hallways and shooting ports lined the way; there was no way to get from the elevator to the cell. The entire set up was sickeningly clever.
By dusk, they were all aboard and Rom was fully functional. Fresia had created a secure link between the two, allowing instantaneous communication and data sharing. Halle’s battle wing was dropped, and she was loaded with fuel.
Vaughn’s two battle suits were repaired, enhanced, and polished and stood in the cargo bay just inside the hangar. They folded, and traveled to Loe.
“You know they’re not going to let you dock, right? They’ll find excuse after excuse to deny or delay.”
“I’m counting on it. They’re going to think I’m sitting up here frustrated and annoyed, when in fact, I’ll already have Matty.”
“How do you even know Matt is there?”
“Halle hacked the archives of the man that designed the cathedral, and one of my contacts was able to locate Matty inside their building.” He decided against telling her that a man in his head told her where to find Matt.
Vaughn detailed the plan over dinner with Fresia in the galley, who sat with her mouth open. “You’re fucking crazy. I never thought I’d let you go in alone, but I want no part of that insanity. Let’s make a real plan.”
“You keep thinking, Fre. Come up with something better and I’ll listen. You have access to the plans. Tell me how I’ll even make it to the elevator, and I’m all about it.” Vaughn stood up from the table and said, “I’m going to go get some sleep.”
Safely inside his berth, Vaughn reached out to Max. “Max, are you there?”
“We really have to work on your volume control, Vaughn.”
“Can others listen in on these conversations?”
“Right now, I am connected directly to you. I’m not aware of any way someone could listen in.”
“I need some advice.”
“I’ll try to help, if I can.”
“Is there any way to weaponize this? Can I use this ability to fight? I’ve tried running and I’m pretty fast. I cut my finger when I was working and it healed in seconds.”
“I’m sorry, I have no idea. Everyone is different. I once met a man who could make his hair grow at will. Not a very useful ability. You’ll discover yours. Are you going in? To Loe, I mean.”
“We’re in the fold now. Any last words for me, Grandpa Max?”
“First. Don’t ever call me grandpa again. Secondly, believe in yourself. Thirdly, and this one is important. You can’t do anything against The Maxists for retribution.”
“I’m going to destroy them, Max.”
“I’m sorry Vaughn, but you can’t do that. They serve a purpose in all of this. They make bad decisions sometimes, but overall, the organization is required. There’s no discussion on this matter. There is more going on than I can tell you, but it would be phenomenally bad for both you and me. Go, get your boy and get out. I beg you, Vaughn. Leave the discipline to me.”
“Can you swear to me that they will pay?”
“I’m not in the business of swearing to people, Vaughn. But I give you my word; there will be justice for this crime, and others.”
“Thank you, Max.”
Vaughn slept for a few minutes, but spent the majority of the night staring up at the ceiling. Admiral Nok’Tor’s voice drifted out of a memory from the days near the end of the war.
“No one has ever used the words covert and Vaughn in the same sentence. You are not that kind of guy.”
“Admiral, sending The Reetus against a battle cruiser is suicide for my crew.”
“We all have a job to do here, Vaughn. Yours is to be the hammer.”
Vaughn rolled over onto his side in his bed. “I’m the fucking hammer,” he said, finally drifting off to sleep.
Chapter 26 A Leap of Love
Date: 432nd Year of Emperor Valek Foger XXVI
Vaughn stood in the cargo hold, safely inside in his battle suit. The other suit stood next to him, empty. The empty suit stepped forward and then did a few jumping jacks. “I have full control,” Rom said. “Funny means of locomotion you Humans have.”
Fresia watched from behind the inside door of the hold. In seconds, the entire compartment would be devoid of atmosphere. “Vaughn, there has to be a better way. No one has space-jumped from this height before. What if there isn’t enough gravity to pull you to the planet?”
