What Love Began - Part II

24 Years Before the Launch of the starship Salient


******** Twenter Rift – Mining Platform Pluberous, J D Droomers Sector of Space ********

The moons of Jupiter were hung above the giant swirling clouds of the planet like marbles. On this side of the orbit sunlight made them sparkle and almost dance. Visor down to protect his eyesight the pilot of the dark red dart ship Taunter 6 eased into its small narrow slip on the side of the larger orbiting mining platform. Hitting the button to disengage the energized shielding, he paused for a moment listening to grinding sounds as numerous clamps grabbed a hold of the small transport ship and numerous tubes attached to its side.

As the canopy slide back he climbed out and lifted himself up through the exit tube. Behind him he could here a mechanized device grabbing his cargo. Actually it was probably highly illegal drugs, but Twenter Rift didn’t ask and no one bothered to tell him.

“Twenter!” the high pitched nasal sound of Twenters father brought bile and rage up in Twenter's throat.

“You no good son of scoundrel what are you doing here? How many deliveries you made now?” Twenter's father continued as though they were best of buddies.

Even at sixteen Twenter was one of the best couriers around. There was only one reason this conversation was happening, and Twenter knew it.

“Got a cargo you want delivered?” with some effort Twenter kept his voice cold and calm.

“Maybe. Word is you got a score to settle though,“ Twenter's father said it evenly as though it didn't bother him in the least.

"And that's a problem?" Twenter said it as sarcastically as he could manage.

“Revenge won’t get my job done.” the older mans reply was almost a laugh.

Shrugging Twenter headed for the pursers office, “It’s your dime. It’s all just business to me.”

“It involves Andrei” the ugly white haired man replied.

Twenter paused in mid step, his heart thumping.

“What does she have to do with this?”

“Look son… “ the older man began

Before he could continue Twenter pulled a null-grav knife activating it with his thumb and turned around in one swift fluid moment. The only thing that stayed his hand was the crackle of a zapper in his father’s hand. For a moment they both teetered on the edge of violence.

“Is that what you want?” the older man said softly, “Damn you and your ego! Its not about you, it was never about you.”

Tears flowed down Twenter’s young face but he knew now wasn’t the time, “Don’t call me son. “ Though gritted teeth he continued “You are not my father.”

“Fine. But your mother is aboard a ship that has something my boss wants collected. You want to ignore me okay. If you take the job maybe you can get both Andrei and the other person off that ship. If not she is going to die, do you hear me Twenter? If someone else takes the job your mother will stay on that ship and die!” His father spoke with great intensity but Twenter noticed that his eyes never left the knife.

The sound of footsteps behind him was the only warning Twenter got as a zapper discharged into his back. The null grav knife deactivated and toppled to the ground and then Twenter fell near it his muscles twitching uncontrollably. Mentally Twenter berated himself, of course his father wouldn’t go anywhere without muscle.

“Thanks for the backup” He heard his father thank someone.

“Anytime… want me to take him to a cell?” The unknown muscle responded.

“Naw, I just got to deliver a message.” His father laughed, “This at least makes certain he listens.” Kneeling down so that Twenter could see his face, “There will be a coded transmission to your ship in 2 hours, if you acknowledge receipt of that transmission then you’ve accepted the mission and it will be followed by a location. The pay will be standard for a personal courier job. At least enough to keep your ship running and food in your belly.” The face disappeared and Twenter heard footsteps receding into the background.

****************** Commander Garrett aboard the crippled Barmellow, J D Droomers Sector of Space, Upper Deck Corridor ******

“Commander, I don’t think we should attempt to utilize the bridge at all. I think I can rig up a control room of sorts in the engine section.” Andrei told him quietly as they walked along a flame scorched corridor.

“I want the bridge.” Garrett told her.

“Why?” Andrei asked.

Garrett turned towards her and stared into her eyes, placing a hand on the scorched bulkhead behind her head. In other circumstances he might have been tempted to kiss her, but right now he knew that was a real bad idea.

“I don’t intend to abandon ship.” Garrett responded evenly, “And you and I both know that long before a week is up some one of the local mining platforms will have salvaged this ship and left us for dead. From the engine room we might be able to help someone tow us but we can’t control this ship fully. We can’t just wait for help, no matter what the Navy thinks.”

Andrei just shook her head singed red hair flying back and forth. Exhaustion washed over Garrett’s body and he nearly collapsed to the floor. Sinking to his knees he tried to wave Andrei away but it was no use, getting under his armpit she helped him stand again.

“You’re running on adrenaline and drugs” Andrei frowned at him “Your going back to the mess hall… and then I’ll try to figure out if there is some way for us to get power and some resemblance of control back to the bridge.”

Together they began working their way back to the Mess hall.

******************* Sirons Glaudistro aboard the crippled Barmellow, J D Droomer Sector of Space, Medical Lab **********

The delicate features of Yai Dandell reminded Siron's of a china doll. He could never remember seeing a woman that looked so perfect. Every feature, every part of her was perfect. No flaws, no blemishes. Even her measurements worked out to exactly even metric numbers. Stretched out on the exam table covered by scanning equipment he could only hope that no one noticed how unprofessionally he kept looking at her. He didn’t want to. Part of him was ashamed that he was doing it. But every time he looked away his eyes were drawn back to her body like a magnet.

“Where are you from?” It wasn’t the first time he’d asked her but he kept hoping for a different answer.

“I don’t know.” Came her bewildered reply.

“What do you know?” The scans were not telling him anything useful. “Why are there differences in your DNA from a normal human.. outside of normal variations.”

“What is your name?” She asked him in return.

“Sirons Glaudistro “ he answered automatically without even thinking about it, “But I need you to answer.”

“I know you” She whispered in return.

“How?” Curiosity got the better of him.

Opening her mouth she began talking and Sirons just listened as she recited off his linage going back fourteen generations.

When she finished a perplexed Sirons asked her “Who else do you know?”

The bewildered look returned. This wasn’t working very well. It was time to report his findings, such as they were, to Garrett. Leaving her covered in the scanning equipment he exited the medical lab and headed towards the mess hall. Unless he missed his guess the Commander would need additional help by now.

************************ Yai Dandell, aboard the crippled Barmellow, J D Droomer Sector of Space, Medical Lab ************ *****************

Yai Dandell felt empty. Disoriented she had no clue where she was, or why she was there. Confusion gripped her soul. Naked except for a thin gown of some sort, the equipment pressed at her body from every angle. Every once in awhile panic threatened to overwhelm her sense of well being, but she resisted the urge to just start screaming. Fighting it she waited for the urge to pass and then mercifully after awhile it would.

Part of her wished, desperately wished that Sirons hadn’t left. Any company was better than being alone. But though she couldn’t explain why, even as she had recited off his history other facts had flittered at the edge of remembering, things that seemed incredibly important. Somehow he was the key, he was a big part of the reason she was here. Silently she wished that she could just put it together, but nothing came to her. Underneath the cold equipment, she waited some more.

************* ************ Twenter Rift – Mining Platform Pluberous, J D Droomers Sector of Space ***************** *******************

Staring at his spacecraft Twenter could feel cold rage building in his spirit. It had been hard, too hard and it had been all because of his dad. He wasn’t sure how yet, but when he got back he’d kill his dad. Climbing into the tube the decision seemed to calm his anger. There are some things that just shouldn’t be done and what his dad had done was inexcusable.

Quickly logging into the com system he saw the message from his dad scrolling by. Triggering the receipt of the mission he waited for the coordinates of the pickup. Even as he waited, a diabolical plan began to form in his mind. The only way to get his dad was to get his employer first. And this time he would settle the score, and maybe in a more spectacular way than anyone had yet guessed.

Running pickup jobs for all these years had lead him to some interesting discoveries. And if he wasn’t mistaken the old United Nations Space Navy had intelligence operatives and spies located on a nearby mining platform. Most adults didn’t pay much attention to an eight year old and when he had arrived there he had learned a lot of important secrets. Later when he had managed to convince an enterprising dart pilot to teach him the ropes, things had begun to change. But he had never forgotten what he had heard and seen. And in the following years he had learned even more, without ever asking questions or being nosy.

Selecting certain files from his ships computer he encrypted then and sent in a quick com burst. Feeling satisfied he prepared to launch. All hell would shortly break lose, of that he was certain.

****************** Commander Garrett aboard the crippled Barmellow, J D Droomers Sector of Space, Mess Hall ******

Looking at Sirons dark features Garrett fought the pain that was trying to turn his mind into pure mush. Sirons had tried to explain something about the alien they had found but at the moment he had no clue what been said. It was just too hard to concentrate.

“Keep me going” Garrett ordered him.

The disagreement was obvious on Sirons face.

“You can’t live on adrenaline and pain suppressants.” Sirons voice grated deeply on Garretts nerves, “Your entire frame has been subjected to severe stress and it needs time to heal. Not to mention pulled muscles and bruising throughout your body.”

“We do what we have to“ Garrett retorted though teeth clenched in pain.

Seated on the stool Garrett felt a sea of nausea sweep over him but he fought it back. Right now might be the time to see if any communications had come in at the com address he had left, but to do that he was going to need help. So who did he trust more Sirons or Andrei? Odd to say but neither one of them inspired his confidence. As soon as Andrei had gotten him to the Mess hall she had dumped him on a small stool near the side and disappeared back into the corridors. That is where Sirons had found him a few moments later when he had walked in.

Feeling like he was about to topple off the stool, Garrett reached out and grabbed the injector in Sirons hand. Looking at it briefly he noted what it was and then injected himself. The relief was nearly immediate. But then the world began titling and Garret slide off the stool and hit the floor with a dull thud.

“Please note sir, that I did not inject you.. you did that yourself.” Sirons kept talking but Garrett could no longer follow him. The last thing he noted was the large grin on Sirons face.

******************* Sirons Glaudistro aboard the crippled Barmellow, J D Droomer Sector of Space, just outside Commander Garretts qaurters **********

Standing outside of Garretts quarters Sirons paused for a second as he saw Andrei moving up to him. Noting the look in her eyes he waited for her to get there.

“That perverts got a big surprise coming” Andrei told him somewhat smugly.

Raising an eyebrow, Sirons responded “Oh? You mean that your pregnant and haven’t told him?”

Irritated Andrei snapped “No! Stay out of my business Sirons” then she continued in a somewhat more even tone “Garrett wants the bridge back, and that I can’t do. I don’t think the bridges connectors are stable though it appears to be holding atmosphere for the moment. But I’m working on cutting through the deck bulkheads on either side of it so that I can jury rig a real control room beneath where the old bridge was located. It won’t be as good, but it should be fully functional.”

“Look” Sirons told her gently and passed her a transcript of a message he had just picked up off of the Commander com station, “It was addressed to the Barmellow from Navy Operations Center, Lunar Base 6.”

Her face took on a look of shock as she read it, “How in the hell do they expect us to do that?”

“They are way out of touch with what’s happening here, but apparently something big is going down. You read it. Navy intelligence believes that J D Droomers is about to complete a manufacturing base on Ganymede that will tip the balance of power out here permanently in his favor. Our orders are to prevent this occurring at all costs. One frigate is already on its way to meet us here. Another three that are further out have also been ordered to meet us in the vicinity as well.”

“It’s impossible.” Andrei was clearly uncertain of how to respond to all this “What do we do?”

“For the moment I guess that’s Garrett’s problem, or will be when he wakes anyways.” Sirons wasn’t going to tell her everything he thought. After all the women had been sleeping with Garrett and that made her a lot of things that Sirons didn’t like.

“Garrett won’t follow orders just for the sake of orders” Andrei said thoughtfully, “But in any case having any luck with that woman that he found?”

At that second Sirons felt his intuition kick into overdrive. Danger was nearby. That’s how it always worked.

“Nope. Nothing.” He responded, “Whoever she is, she doesn’t have a clue.” Then he added casually watching her for any reaction, “Garrett also has a personally encrypted message from J D Droomers. One that I can’t read.”

Andrei seemed to ignore that and he noted that her face betrayed nothing. But even that was telling. If she had nothing to hide, Garrets dual messages would have seemed surprising. Especially since it was J D Droomers that had called for help for their ship in the first place. On the other hand given everything that had taken place, maybe he was just getting paranoid.

“Alright, I’m heading back to the medical lab. Who knows I might even sleep there for a while. After all this I think I need some sleep my self.” Leaving her standing there, Sirons walked off down the corridor.

************************ Yai Dandell, aboard the crippled Barmellow, J D Droomer Sector of Space, Medical Lab ************ *****************

It was hard to say how much time had passed when Sirons came back in again. Her heart sort of jumped when she heard him walking in. The truth was she wanted to cooperate. There was no reason that she could think of to not cooperate. And it meant she had someone to talk to and listen to.

“Yai” he began gently, “We need to figure out who you are very quickly. I have noted that you might be compatible with a device and procedure we have to tap into your neurological functions. The procedure is seldom dangerous though it is uncomfortable. Basically it allows me to pick information up off your memory though it is still somewhat scrambled. “ Sirons voice paused and Yai thought about it.

She wanted to know what was going on just as much as he did, “That will help me get out of here?”

It wasn’t that she wanted to leave Sirons, but she didn’t want to spend any more time locked up in the machines then she could possibly help.

“I’m not sure” Sirons said thoughtfully, “I am not really qualified to do it. But, it is my belief that I can.”

If anything Yai noted that he looked very guilty when he said that. Based on his facial expressions she guessed that he really considered what he was about to do unethical. And she was guessing that really bothered him.

“Okay” Yai responded.

“Very well” Sirons took a deep breath, “Just hold on a second, when you wake up it’ll all be done.”

******************* Sirons Glaudistro aboard the crippled Barmellow, J D Droomer Sector of Space, Medical Lab **********

As the hours wore on, and the neurological analyzer feed information into the jury-rigged neurological interpreter Sirons got increasingly nervous. When he began looking over images and memories uncovered, it took him a moment to even believe what he had found. Mouth gapping he just sat down on the floor and thought about it. How could she possibly have memories from events that were yet hundreds of years in the future? It was possible that they were fake, inserted into her head for reasons yet undetermined. But what was more how could she have this much knowledge of what was occurring in the here and now. Inside her memories were detailed diagrams of the Barmellow and the damage it had just taken. At the same time the holes in her memory were truly astounding as well. She had a name but no past. She had a sense of identity, but no identity to anchor who she was. And she had memories of the earth being destroyed in about 26 years. How was that even possible?

*********************** To Be Continued in: What Love Began – Part III ***********************

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