E:A Vol 6 Ch 10—November 1, 2120

November 1, 2120

The kids ran towards the island home. Zy’nayth and Victoria followed, carrying bags of groceries as the dogs sniffed areas they hadn’t sniffed in weeks. When they got to the home, Ky’nayth stood on his tippy toes and reached up to the control panel; his handprint unlocked the door to let them in. He ran past the circular living room to the bedroom he shared with his sister. He took off his backpack and put it on his bed then went running to get the dog bowls filled with fresh water and food. Mik’kenna put her pack on her bed, but took out her change of clothes and set them neatly on top of the dresser so they wouldn’t get wrinkled. Meanwhile, their parents put the groceries away.

“So what is the plan for the day?” Zy’nayth asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s see what the kids want to do. I brought stuff to bake cookies and make a nice dinner.”

The door chime sounded before the first bag of groceries was emptied. Zy’nayth went to answer it. The kids, as did he, assumed it was someone welcoming the High Chancellor back to the island. But when he opened the door, he found young T’san standing there. “Hi! I saw Ky’nayth and Mik’kenna. Can they come play, please?”

“Come on in,” Zy’nayth said, standing aside as the boy ran in. The twins came running over with their dogs and they all gave each other hugs. T’san knelt and petted the two dogs, telling them that he’d missed them. Zy’nayth let them all get reacquainted while he went to tell Victoria about the boy. “I can tell him we have a family day planned,” he whispered to her.

Victoria shook her head. “They haven’t seen their friends in a long time. They can play. This is for them just as much as for me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Zy, those kids have been through hell. I want them to play with their friends if they want.”

Zy’nayth leaned down and gave her a tender kiss. “I love you.” He went back into the living room. “Ky’nayth, Mik’kenna, you can go and play, but be back at noon for lunch.”

T’san cheered and ran out. “I go get Po’var and Far’gol! Be right back!”

The kids played in the front yard, laughing, giggling, playing with the dogs, and for the first time in weeks, forgot the kidnapping and terror of hearing their mother being beaten. Meanwhile Victoria decided to check on the greenhouse and her backyard garden. Zy’nayth went with her and helped where needed, talking to the neighbors who came to welcome them home. The greenhouse was being well cared for by the islanders, and Victoria’s garden had been tended to as well, though it needed a little weeding.

“Maybe you should watch over the kids. I know you don’t like them out of your site,” Victoria said as she picked some fresh tomatoes and onions for their lunch.

“The children are fine. Everyone on the island are friends. You should take a relaxing bath or something. There is no need to weed the garden. It looks in good shape.”

“I’m happy just having time with you,” she smiled as she stood and brushed the dirt off of her knees. “How about we go sit out by the fountain and watch the kids play?”

After putting the vegetables in the kitchen, they went and sat on a bench in the courtyard where the kids were now playing kick ball. At 11:00, Zy’nayth and Victoria returned to the house to start lunch, and at noon, the kids were called in to eat. They devoured the baked chicken and roasted vegetables as they chatted up a storm about all the fun they had with their friends.

Just seeing her kids being kids, not little adults trying to help everyone, made Victoria smile. It eased her emotional state more than anything else could have. She knew they were smart, brilliant, curious, and eager to learn. She knew they loved to help people. She also knew they wanted to excel at everything. But seeing them just being three-year-old kids made her heart leap with joy.

After lunch, they all did up the dishes, and by the time they were done, the kids were clearly tired, probably from all of the food on top of hours of running and playing. The loving parents tucked them into their beds for naps, each dog cuddling up next to their guardian.

Zy’nayth pulled the door closed, leaving it slightly ajar so the dogs could get out if they needed to, then he followed his wife back to the kitchen. “What are you doing?”

“I thought I’d bake the cookies,” she replied.

“The children would love to help you with that. As would I. A family project,” he kissed her neck as he slipped his arms around her waist. “Go up and soak in a bubble bath. When the children wake, we can spend the afternoon baking cookies. They will love it.”

“They’d rather be out playing.”

“Perhaps. Let them make the choice. Go and relax.”

“No,” she turned, smiling up into his silver eyes. “Let’s go sit on the swing. I never get enough time alone with you.”

They poured themselves glasses of iced tea, then Zy’nayth took his beloved wife by the hand and settled on the backyard swing. They talked, Victoria cried a little, letting out some of the stress and pain from the kidnapping and beating. Zy’nayth held her close as the swing swayed back and forth. She could smell the salt air off of the sea and the felt the warmth of the sun on her face. She was with those she loved and she was happy.

After a quiet few minutes, Victoria let out a sigh of relaxation as Zy’nayth’s left hand rubbed the back of her neck. “You have strong hands.”

“Yes, I do,” he smiled, “and your neck is tense.”

“It’s been a tough few weeks.”

He drew her closer, “You can cry again if you need.”

“No. I’m okay now. I have this really handsome, strong guy with me.”

A short time later, the dogs came bounding out through their doggie door. Behind them by a couple of minutes, came the twins. “What we do now?” Ky’nayth stretched and yawned.

“Well, we can bake cookies, or you can go play with your friends again,” Victoria said, “or whatever you want to do.”

“What kinda cookies?” the boy asked as he climbed up on the swing and onto her lap.

“What kind would you like?”

“Peanut butter with squishy chocolate!”

“Mik’kenna, do you want to make cookies?” Zy’nayth asked his daughter who was still sleepy-eyed. He lifted her onto his lap, “Or is there something else you would like to do?”

“I make cookies,” she leaned against his chest and yawned. “I sleepy head.”

“You two ran all morning,” Zy’nayth said. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah,” she yawned again.

“Well, I brought groceries for sugar cookies, chocolate chip, and those peanut butter ones this little guy likes,” Victoria said. “And we can make different colored frostings for the sugar cookies.”

“Do you has sprinkles?” Ky’nayth looked up into her green eyes.

“Sprinkles, dots, and glitter.”

Mik’kenna brightened up. “Red?”

“Of course. And something you might enjoy,” Victoria kissed the top of Ky’nayth’s head, “I found a recipe for puppy-safe cookies.”

Mik’kenna sat up straight, her blue eyes shining, the sleepiness gone. “Cookies for Celeste and Baxter?”

“Yup. They don’t have all of the sugar and shouldn’t make them sick.”

Mik’kenna hopped off her father’s lap and went to the backdoor. “We has get started! They want cookies!”

And with that, the family was off to the kitchen. They opted to make the puppy biscuits first so they’d be cool by the time the “people cookies” were coming out of the oven. Victoria had all different shapes of cookie cutters for the sugar cookies, and a small set just for the dog biscuits. Zy’nayth participated, learning that baking was much more precise than cooking. When his wife cooked, he rarely ever saw her measure anything. But with the cookies, there was nothing that didn’t get measured before adding to the mix.

“Alan can explain it better,” Victoria told him as she measured out the ingredients for the sugar cookies. “But if you add too much of this or not enough, they either don’t get fluffy or end up huge and kinda gross tasting.”

“I will take your word for it,” he smiled as the oven buzzer went off. “I will hold the pan and you and your brother can scoop off the biscuits onto that rack your mother set up.” The kids each got pancake turners then got up on their stools. Zy’nayth stood between them, with the hot baking sheet, as they carefully moved the biscuits to the cooling rack.

“You are making quite a few of these for two dogs,” Zy’nayth said noticing there was still dough for at least two more baking sheets even with two more just put into the oven.

“I thought maybe the other dogs would like some,” Victoria smiled. “And I thought our creative little kids could make up special doggie bags for them after we get these last couple of dough batches mixed up.”

When the dough was finished, Victoria brought out a stack of brown paper bags and crayons and a printed list of names of the dogs and family members. “Bags for the dogs, then I thought we could give our family a couple of cookies, so they need bags made up, too. Make sure I remembered everyone.”

Ky’nayth scooted over to his sister and read down the list: Vince, John, Kaven, Chris and Alessa, David, Ja’val and Lutia, Becket, Amelia, Pastor Jacob and Julia, Janice, Ny’van, Kol’non and Be’atta.

“Why you no has ‘and’ with Uncle Becket and Aunt Lia?” Mik’kenna asked.

“They’re not married yet.”

“Have they set a date?” Zy’nayth asked.

“They were talking about a winter wedding since the fall wedding sort of got botched. Now they’re talking spring since Kol’non, Ja’val, and Ny’van will be taking the serum which means Becket, especially with Ja’val taking it, will need to be available.”

“Is Amelia upset with him putting it off?” Zy’nayth asked.

“Disappointed is probably a better word.”

“Do you believe that one of them is wanting to back out of the arrangement?”

“No, no, nothing like that. Becket’s been more upset than Lia about having to postpone, but both agreed that it gives them a little more time to make sure they’re doing the right thing.”

“They have doubts?” Zy’nayth raised an eyebrow.

“Well, they’ve only known each other maybe a year and a half.”

“That means nothing,” Zy’nayth said. “I knew the moment I saw you that I loved you and wanted you to be my wife.”

Victoria’s green eyes sparkled. “I know, but sometimes it takes people a while to make sure. I think they’re sure, but still…” she waved off her remark, “it’ll happen when it’s time.”

***

General Karken’al Dubasi’s office was quiet. He gazed out at the stars wondering who else was out there. Who else had technology that was superior both to his people and the Rayth? It was not a comforting train of thought. Zy’nayth won against the rebels. Was that good or bad? Were those who gave the rebels the advanced technology friends to humans and foes only to Rayth? Or just foes to Zy’nayth?

The chime on his door sounded, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Enter.”

Tel’lok walked in and waited for the door to close before he began talking. “It appears that Zy’nayth will stay in power.”

“After seeing that speech, I had no doubt about that. He’s a hero. A legend. Rayth have long memories. They haven’t forgotten what he’s done for the Empire.”

“They also ran a test on the Mythican ship. We believe there’s a problem with one of the engine mounts.”

“FTL engines?”

“Yes.”

“Is it repairable?”

“Most likely. It’s not proprietary technology and benachti will work as well as gravarium for the mount.”

“And you’re telling me this because…”

“Sir, if they need help with repairs, shall I offer it?”

“No. If that team from Earth is coming back here to Andromeda, they can ride with the High Chancellor on his flagship.”

“And leave our technology in orbit around an unstable planet? That’s why I thought we might make sure they can fix it.”

“I trust that Zy’nayth won’t leave the ship there. He’d tow it all the way back if he had to,” Karken’al replied. “He should know that if the earthlings reverse engineered that ship, they’d build more and destroy themselves or be a threat to the Rayth. No, he won’t leave it there.”

“There’s one other thing…things are still quiet…internally, I mean. No leaks. But we will have to tell the Prime Minister. We have all kinds of ships out there that are not under your command. Very soon, they’ll figure out that there was an attack on Kiva and other Raythian planets. Word will get back to the Prime Minister.”

“I know. I intend to call him in two hours. It’s still early back home.”

“What are you going to tell him?”

“The Rayth were attacked. It appears it was done by rebel Rayth. We are investigating but need to remain hidden, so it will take time to gather all of the information. All of which is true.” He took a sip of his tea then set it back down. “No one else is to know anything else that we’re doing.”

“I assumed that.”

“Nothing about Earth.”

“I assumed that as well,” Tel’lok said.

“All talk about this happens in here. I don’t want you and Jil’ana talking about it outside of this room.”

“We’re aware of that.”

Karken’al nodded then put his head in his hands. “If you were in my position, would you contact the technologically-advanced race or approach Zy’nayth?”

“For what purpose?”

“An alliance,” he looked back up at his First Officer. “This new race…I can’t determine if they’re friends or foes. Granted, we don’t have much to go on.”

“I wouldn’t do anything until we knew. But that would mean exposing ourselves to them. But Zy’nayth isn’t exactly our friend. If we had to choose the lesser of two evils, I’d choose Zy’nayth. At least he’s a known quantity. We have a full history of Rayth, especially Zy’nayth.”

“But there is a possibility that this other advanced race could be friendly to us.”

“We don’t know for certain. As you said, we don’t have much to go on. They’re unknown. They turned Rayth against Rayth and were conveniently not around for the fight that followed. That sends up warning signs. They sat back and watched the show.”

“Exactly,” Karken’al slammed his fist on his desk. “That’s what I was missing. They didn’t attack. They pulled out the prisoners with their cloaked ships and left all the fighting to the rebels. They didn’t emerge after the fight, did they?”

“Not that we’ve been able to see,” Tel’lok said. “They’re still in hiding. Waiting. They obviously had the tech to destroy the Rayth. Why hold back?”

“No idea. None. That’s my next hill to climb. Why not go after the Rayth if they had the tech to do it? If I wanted to destroy the Rayth and had the ability to do so, why would I give tech to a rebel and have success depend on those rebels? One, I wouldn’t give advanced tech to someone who could turn it against me; two, I’d want to see the job through and not hope someone else doesn’t botch the job.”

“Who would you have chosen, if I may ask?”

“Zy’nayth,” Karken’al said without hesitation. “As you said, we know about him and can, in a way, predict his response.”

Two hours later, with Chief Science Officer Jil’ana pacing outside of his office in case she was needed, Karken’al placed a call to the Prime Minister. He said nothing more than what he had mentioned to Tel’lok, though this time he presented the information in a respectful manner, couched in flattering words for the leader.

“Do you know if Zy’nayth was killed?” the Prime Minister asked at the end of the report.

“As I mentioned, Prime Minister, we cannot risk tapping into Rayth communications at this time due to them being on high alert. It would be unwise for me to guess as to Zy’nayth’s condition.”

“I want you to send scouts in. We need more information.”

“Sir, let me stress that the Rayth are on high alert. Their satellites, their ship scanners, their planet-side systems are all scanning for more rebel ships. It would be careless of us to send in scouts. Rayth technology has advanced over the years and they may have something that can detect our ships now. The last thing we want to do is to alert Rayth, and Zy’nayth if he’s alive, to our existence. We are not prepared to take on the Raythian fleet.”

The Prime Minister sighed in agreement. “In that case, do what you can to find out what you can without being detected. Keep me informed.”

“Of course, sir. And sir, it would be prudent if word of this did not get out. There are those who would want to use this to their political advantage.” Karken’al knew that the Prime Minister didn’t want to lose the power he had, and he hoped this comment would help keep the Prime Minister from mentioning the attack to anyone.

“Very astute. Yes. I hope you haven’t trusted everyone on your ship with this information.”

“No sir. Just my First Officer and Chief Science Officer.”

“Good. Good. Yes. Let’s just keep this between ourselves. I must think through the best way to deal with this.”

“We may not have to do anything, sir. The Rayth have sometimes fought among themselves in the past. This is most likely another one of those uprisings. Again, we don’t want to attract attention to ourselves since we are in no position to take on the Rayth.”

“Yes. Yes. But there might be an opening here to deal damage without being noticed.”

“Perhaps. Then again, the Rayth are cunning. If Zy’nayth is alive and well, he would use all available power at his command to determine who dealt that damage.”

“He’s old. He must be losing some of his abilities by now.”

“Perhaps,” Karken’al said again, “then again, is it worth the risk to find out?”

The Prime Minister nodded. “I will think on this. Keep this information to yourself and those two you’ve trusted. I, for my part, do not plan on talking to anyone. They, as you said, could use this to take over and ruin our people.”

“Of course, sir. Have a good day.”

The Prime Minister disconnected the video call and Karken’al sank back in his chair. “Enter,” he said and the door slid open. Jil’ana walked in. He motioned for her to sit as he got up. “Hopefully he’ll keep quiet. Monitor his communications. If he starts talking, I need to know.”

“Monitor? The Prime Minister?”

“If he tells the wrong people, which is highly likely since a good deal of those around him are corrupt, we could be looking at war. A war we’re not prepared for. We are scientists and explorers, not warriors. We don’t have a fleet capable of taking on the Raythian Empire.”

“And if he does talk…how do you propose to stop anything that transpires?”

Karken’al shook his head. “I have no idea. There are some on our Council that hold the same views as I do, but I have no power and they could be swayed by the Prime Minister.”

“All right. I’ll tap into his personal comm system and keep an eye on them.”

“Your eyes only,” Karken’al said. “Not even Tel’lok is to know.”

She eyed him but nodded. “Okay. Anything else?”

He shook his head and she took her leave.

***

“Well, you were right. It’s a disaster,” Alan said, standing at the entrance to what had been the mess hall.

John shook his head. “Sorry. No tables or chairs worth saving. We dumped them all. Storage…all the food was damaged, boxes open, bottles broken. Everything went into the trash. I don’t think anything in there is salvageable.”

“It’s amazing that we got all of the sick out of here before we were hit,” Alan said, walking into the dining area.

“One more minute, the sick and your team would have been in the rubble. I’m glad the First was able to teleport everyone out as one group. It’s okay,” he said noticing Alan’s apprehensiveness of walking into the area, “everything’s supported and sound. No walls or ceilings will cave in. Let’s start making lists of what you’ll need.”

Alan and two of his chefs, Trent and Asuka, entered with John and Simon. John’s cleanup crew was in the room next door clearing it out. Talk of expanding the mess hall was something Vince thought would be appropriate since the area would have to be completely redone anyway. John told the chefs to keep the expansion in mind as they worked on what would be needed.

John led them back to the kitchen area and suggested they start there. “Not much I can do at this point. Simon will need to know electrical and plumbing so he’ll stay with you. I’m going to check on the team next door and the shuttle bay. Call if you need me.”

“Thanks,” Alan said, hands on his hips shaking his head at the disaster before him.

John went next door to see how they were progressing. The team was putting in the last of the needed supports. The Rayth Science Officer was going over scans with Jack Burgeon to make sure nothing was missed.

“Perfect,” Jack said, “you guys have it. All right. Let’s take five then we start clearing this mess out.”

“Alan, Trent, and Asuka are in the mess. They’ll probably be a while. If you guys want to let them poke around, that’s up to you, Jack,” John said. “Though they probably just need the dimensions of the place to figure out what they’d put in here.”

“I’ll go over and talk to them now while we take a short break,” Jack said.

“Great. I’m headed to the shuttle bay.” On his way to his destination, John stopped in the infirmary where Dr. Neville Danielson and two of the shift nurses were playing cards. There wasn’t much to do with all of the equipment in place and ready to go now. The other doctor and two nurses were organizing the storage room. More supplied had come in, so they were logging everything in and shelving the items.

“You sure you can’t use us somewhere?” Neville asked.

“Too dangerous. Best if you stay here. At least it’s a quiet shift,” John smiled, “sorry. I know you’re probably bored to tears, but I can’t risk sending you guys to help clear out areas. We need our medical staff.” He gave them a nod and continue to the shuttle bay.

Two Rayth were working on one of the four damaged shuttles. A second six-person crew of John’s was clearing debris. John greeted the two Rayth, asked how things were progressing, then moved on to the team at the far end of the hangar. “Hey Philip,” John said. Philip James was one of Jack Burgeon’s civil engineers.

“Hey John, what can I do for you?”

“Everything in here stabilized?”

“Just finished that an hour ago. Our Rayth friends over there did a scan and said we’re good to go.”

“Great. I’ll bring up two more teams to help clean this place up.”

“You think we’ll be able to move people in here instead of staying on the flagship?”

John shook his head. “Not for a while. Need to get the mess up and running and that’s not going to be a quick fix. Plus, as Chris keeps reminding me every time I bring it up, only a few bathrooms available right now.”

Philip laughed. “True. Listen, if you’re bringing more up for this area, my team could go back to the main area and keep working.”

“No. Let’s stick with getting this area cleared. I don’t want to switch up the plans without talking to First Science or the High Chancellor. I need to make sure they’ve scanned for structural integrity and such. And Science is busy with the First taking the serum on Monday. The Big Guy is having a family day…which they desperately needed.” John looked around the vast area. It didn’t look like there was much to clean up, but he knew that once you got started, you realize that there was more to do than you anticipated. “With two more teams up here, how long do you think it’ll take to clear this out?”

“Two to three days, tops. That’s just clearing debris. Then we’ll need to bring in the scrubbers and moppers,” Philip smiled.

John looked overhead at the large dome, the center of which contained a bridge portal that the shuttles used to bridge to other planets. Or they could simply fly through it as if it was just an exit from the hangar. “What about cleaning up those walls and the dome? Any ideas?”

“We don’t have anything that’ll reach up that high. Nothing even remotely close. You’re going to have to talk to the Rayth about that.”

John pulled a notebook out of his pocket and made a note. “Not a priority, but it would be nice to have it clean,” he smiled. “Okay. I’ll get those other teams up here. Good job. I think you’re ahead of schedule.”