Dangerous Evolution (30 page)

There was no doubt that she’d deeply bonded with the child; she
and I were growing closer as well. Even in the middle of all this chaos, we’d found
a few meaningful moments to share. In fact, except for some brief meetings with
the other Special Inquisitors, I never left her side.

Stinson pointed out as much.

During a conversation about allowing Sentient delegates aboard our
ships delivering the cure, he’d caught me looking over at her…again.

“I think she likes you too, Commander,” he chuckled.     

“Wha..oh,” I mumbled, “sorry.”

“Don’t be, Ben. You know…you would be stupid not to pursue her, to
make something out of this opportunity.” His face turned serious, “Why
do
you keep doing this job? You've done your time. Surely no one expects anything
more from you, especially after this. Relax...retire.”

“And do what?” I asked.

He pointed at my ring...
her
ring; the symbol of my promise
to Natasha.

"Move on, Ben. Live."

I gazed over and saw Val leaning over the child, once again in his
improvised crèche. She was speaking to him in calm, reassuring tones, and the
baby was drifting off to sleep. Stinson was right; I would be stupid not to
take this chance at happiness. I felt the ring on my finger, maybe 114 years of
grieving
was
enough. Maybe it was okay to be happy again.

But what if I failed her too? What if
she
died?

Then I remembered what Rroske had done to us. She
was
dying, and so was I, but not now—not for at least another twenty years. We
could have a life in that time, a life together.

And I
was
ready to live again.

*****

After two harried days of production and loading, every ship in
orbit sped away on the life saving mission; the local space now as empty as it
was silent. I strode through Val’s garden outside the main house, treading carefully
so as not to trample any of the beautiful flowers. After so much activity and tension
over the last week or so, I was having a hard time adjusting to the quiet of my
new surroundings. I thought a walk might do me some good.

Before leaving, Doctor Sa asked Val if it could return in the
future—so they might collaborate on some other projects it had in mind. She had
heartily agreed, and given the doctor an open invitation to come to the dome
whenever it wished. For now though, Sa was leading the effort to spread the cure,
along with the newly appointed Ambassador Thov. The Consensus deciding that an open
line of communication would be preferable to a continued pattern of silence.

Misunderstandings could be fatal after all.

Captain Prescott returned to the fleet—still holding position in
the Vrent system—to mop up everything and make sure no further incidents occurred.
Thompson and the other inquisitors also left, to file their respective reports
to security and governmental entities throughout the Sectors.

The SIs opted not to take Lesa with them, finding her guilty only of
bad judgment. Breth was relieved, and Lesa couldn’t stop apologizing to Val for
actions. For her part, Val pledged to make the aging antigen available to anyone
that wanted it, hopeful that it would relieve some of the suffering caused by
virtual immortality.

The household was at peace.

I stopped at the base of a large tree. It was the tallest one in
the dome, sitting at the end of a meandering walkway of pavers carefully placed
through the garden. Just past where its hungry roots leached the soil of
nutrients, flowers spread out in a blaze of color. It was a beautiful spot.

Perfect in fact.

I removed the ring from my finger, taking it off for the first
time in over a hundred years; since first being placed there by her delicate,
trembling fingers—in that simple ceremony so long ago. At first, it didn’t want
to come off, as if the past was struggling to hold on to me, but gently,
slowly, I twisted it until it finally came free. I placed it in my palm and
stared.

It was a simple gold band, but had defined my life for ages.

I squatted down and hollowed out a hole between two large roots at
the base of the tree. The smell of fresh earth rose from the ground, mixing
with the scent of flowers. I could feel a brisk, artificial breeze coming from
the dome’s ventilation system. It moved across my face, and made the plants in
the garden softly sway.

“Goodbye, Natasha,” I said, and placed the ring in the hole, pressing
it firmly into the moist soil.

I looked at it one last time before covering it up with the loose
dirt, then patted the earth down with the palm of my hand…firmly…finally. I
reached over and picked the bulb off a yellow flower and placed it on top of
the small earthen mound. Yellow had always been her favorite color.

I stood up awkwardly, feeling a stiffening pain in my knees and
back—my body rebelling against the rigors of recent events. I heard a voice
call out behind me.

“There you are.”

I turned around and saw Val shuffling down the walkway, one hand
holding the baby’s outstretched arm as it hobbled along, trying hard not to
tumble over.

“He’s walking?” I exclaimed.

“Uhm…maybe more like me holding him up, but he’s not nearly as
atrophied as I would have thought. He is one remarkable little bugger.”

“Yes he is,” I said, smiling at the little guy.
What kind of
life will you have young man? A good one if I can help it.

I walked up to the two of them, giving her a kiss and placing the
baby’s other hand in my own.

“Let’s go for a walk, shall we?” I suggested, banishing every ache
and pain from my body.

Val leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, “Let’s.”

“Have you thought of a name for him yet?”

“I was thinking Del,” she said, and I smiled in agreement.

“Evans?” I asked.

“Malik…actually.”

“My, you
are
progressive,” I laughed.

As far as proposals went, it wasn’t very elaborate. But I didn’t
care.
It was still magnificent.
 We spent a few more minutes strolling
through the garden, then I picked up the baby and put my arm around Val.

And I took my family home.

Epilogue

We left Del in Breth’s capable hands, waving goodbye as we boarded
the shuttle sent by Ambassador Thov. It’d been almost three months since I’d
last seen the Sentient, but we spoke often via broadlink, coordinating the ongoing
effort to cure the Sentients, and working together to establish permanent
diplomatic ties.

Following a quick ride into orbit, we docked with the
Na’ardeen
,
then Val and I walked hand in hand through the ship and into the Central Hub.

“Commander…Doctor Malik,” Thov said, “It is good to see you both again.
I wish I could have attended the wedding but…”

Val held up her hand. “We understand completely, Ambassador.”

I nodded in agreement; Thov had bigger concerns. Stinson made it
to the small service, as had a healthy and newly promoted Mendoza—even Captain
Prescott showed up. But Ambassador Thov was spearheading the dispersal of the
cure, while Doctor Sa attended to its manufacture. Val and I knew what they
were up against.

“What’s the latest news?” I asked.

“No new cases have been reported, and all of the survivors have now
been treated. Most are recovering. This frees us…finally, to perform the
ceremony tomorrow.”

“We’ve all done our best, Ambassador, I’m sure Del would have
approved.”

“I think you’re right, Commander.”

Gos entered the hub, and Thov waved it over saying, “Please relax
in your quarters during Transit. I will send for you when it’s time for the
ceremony.”

“Of course,” I replied, and we followed Gos out. I knew Thov had
important duties to perform, and that the entire Sentient race would be
watching.

The next day we gathered again in the central hub, where the
blue-green orb of Seveq loomed large on the viewscreen. The planet was shown at
extreme magnification; obvious from the small amount of distortion occasionally
twisting the image. A tiny, fast moving blip darted across the viewer—depicting
the heavily armored probe’s position as it arched towards the system’s sun.

“Getting approval from The Consensus wasn’t easy,” Thov said. “But
in the end, the plan gained widespread support; especially after we offered to
inter everyone killed by the virus on the planet.”

The little vessel dove into the sun, and less than a minute later,
the Mass Nullifier detonated. For a moment it appeared as if nothing had happened,
but then the sun began collapsing in on itself—visibly shrinking in size.

Then the explosion came.

The word supernova didn’t do it justice. No word could. At this
distance, even over broadlink, I knew that these events had already occurred, but
it still felt intense and immediate. The system was gone. Seveq had been
consumed by the blast—reduced to tiny fragments destined to roam the cosmos.

And so had the Sentient dead, their souls now free.

Speeding toward enlightenment.