Shadow of the Blue Ring (19 page)

“I am not at liberty to say, captain Tavarez,” said Kalmar, “the leaders of our race have forbidden us to reveal any of the sensitive information surrounding our role on this region. However… due to the recent presence of your people within this region and the casualties you have suffered at the hands of the Hunters, the leaders of the senate of Adean have invited you and your crew to come and speak with them at our homeworld.”

“Why? What do they want with us?” James asked.

“I cannot predict what the senate will or wont do,” said Kalmar, “I was simply asked to make contact with you and to bring you to Adean so that you may meet with the leader of the senate. I am transmitting the coordinates of our world to you now, you should head there as soon as possible. Until then… Kalmar out.”

He didn’t even give James a chance to reply, he cut the channel and his ship turned away and began to head off, activating it’s cloak as it went, becoming undetectable and invisible once more. The Evening Star was left on its own, leaving the crew to ponder over their unexpected encounter.

“Well that was helpful,” Melina said sarcastically, “he tracked us down all the way out here just to tell us that he can’t actually tell us anything.”

“Not entirely,” said James, “if the leaders of the Adean race wanted us destroyed they could have done it already but instead they have invited us to their home planet so that their leaders can speak to us. This is what we have been waiting for, a chance to find out exactly who we’re dealing with and learn about the region and what Artennes might have been looking for out here. We can’t pass up this opportunity.”

“You want me to set a course for Adean, captain?” Daniels asked.

“Yes, set a course and get us underway, maximum speed,” said James, “I want to hear what Adean senate has to say to us.”

He had absolutely no hesitation in accepting Kalmar’s invitation to his homeworld. If they had been sharing this region of the galaxy with these Hunters then they must have at least known how to defend against them and how to counter their attacks and that knowledge could be invaluable. The Evening Star shot forward into hyperspace and, for the first time since entering the sector, James felt like they were on the right track and that they might finally get some real answers.

“I’m not sure about this Kalmar guy,” said Isha, “we saw Adeans at the scene of the derelict cruiser, how do we know they aren’t responsible for all of this.”

“We don’t,” said James, “we have no idea who these people really are but out of the two factions in this region, one has attacked us, one hasn’t. If Kalmar had wanted to destroy us, he could have done so, instead he decided to give us the location of his homeworld and invite us to speak to the senate. I think the offer is genuine.”

“If you say so,” said Isha, “I’m still not sure about this. I would be very cautious once we arrive, we have no idea what will be waiting for us.”

“We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we left the Valoran sector,” said James, “just go along with it and see how it plays out. I think this could be just what we have been looking for. The Adeans might be able to help us out and we might even be able to help them in some way.”

It was far more likely that they would be the ones needing help though. They had been very lucky to survive their first encounter with the Hunters and a second one would more than likely be terminal for their mission. There was no way they would know the actual nature of the meeting until they arrived though. Whether the Adeans wanted to help them, needed their help or simply wanted to warn them of the dangers they faced, they would soon find out just what this enigmatic race wanted from them.

Adean was not an overly long trip from the Evening Star’s position, less than ninety minutes away at maximum speed. The Evening Star dropped out of warp once more into yet another unknown system, only this time they were actually entering an occupied system, the first one they had come across in the region. Adean was a fairly small world, lush, green and fairly unspoiled, similar in many ways to worlds like Voronia and Suros back in alliance space. Surrounding the planet was the Adean fleet, and it was a truly formidable sight.

“Wow, they must have a couple of hundred ships at least,” Ansare noted, almost in awe of the size of the Adean armada, “no wonder they have survived in the same region as the Hunters this long. I imagine any hostile force in the galaxy would want to keep their distance from this place.”

In addition to probably three dozen of those enormous ray-like ships, there were a considerable number of cruiser class ships in between them. Several hundred of the same small scout class vessels that they had encountered when they first arrived were also dotted among the place. These were simply the ships posted around the Adean homeworld, who knew how many more they had scouting the region to watch for Hunter attacks?

“Well they aren’t attacking,” said Saavoy, “thats one good sign.”

“No welcoming party yet though,” said James, “I thought they might at least be here to greet us… aha, this looks like them now.”

James recognised Kalmar’s ship coming toward them, the subtle differences in the markings on the Adean cruisers making them just about distinguishable from one another. Just as before, Kalmar’s ship hailed them and Elena opened a channel for them.

“Glad to see that you accepted our invitation, captain Tavarez,” Kalmar greeted him, “welcome to the Esharin system and my home planet Adean.”

“We appreciate the invite,” said James, “so where do we go from here? Where are we meeting the senate?”

“I’m sending you landing coordinates for the senate now,” said Kalmar, “I will head down and meet you at the landing site now. I look forward to meeting you and your crew in person.”

He cut the channel there, not making any effort to draw out their conversation. He was very clearly keen to get straight down to business.

“I guess we had better get down there then,” said James, “Kasha, Kaldun, Loca, you three come with me. Isha, would you like to…”

“Actually, I would kind of like to stay here for now,” Isha said awkwardly, “just until I’m back to my best, I don’t want to go out on a mission until I’m sure I’m one hundred percent, not after last time.”

James was not buying it though, not at all.

“You said you were feeling better already,” James huffed, “if you’re still not feeling right, please just tell me.”

“I’m sorry, I just need a few hours,” Isha grimaced, “I’ll be back to my best soon, I swear, I would just like to stay on the ship for a while, just to make sure it doesn’t come back.”

“Fine, you can stay,” James sighed, almost dismissive of her, “but I need you back to your best soon, I can’t afford you to be off your game like this. Those of you who are coming to the surface, lets get going.”

James could tell that something was still not right with Isha even if she had previously insisted that she was Ok to return to duty. He was going to find out exactly what was going on when he got back to the ship but for the time being, he had an important appointment with the Adeans and he needed to focus on them for a while. He, Saavoy, Morelli and Ansare made their way to the shuttle bay and the Mantis flyer.

“What’s up with Isha?” Morelli asked him, “she’s acting a little unusually, it looks like something is really bothering her.”

“I don’t know, she wont talk to me about it,” James sighed, “I know she’s hiding something though, she doesn’t look well and there is definitely something going on with her. I just wish she would tell me what it is.”

“Just find some time and talk things over with her,” said Morelli, “I’m sure there is nothing to worry about.”

“I know, I just hope she’s Ok,” said James. He wondered what could possibly be up with her at such an important time in the middle of such a vital mission.

*     *     *     *     *

The moment James had left for Adean on the Mantis flyer, Melina made her way down to the medical bay and to the ship’s medical store room. She wasn’t any kind of expert on the subject but Isha was showing all the signs of being pregnant and she herself seemed to think it was definitely the case. There was only one way to be sure, Isha needed to take a pregnancy test and she would also need some anti-sickness medicine to hide the symptoms and ensure that she could continue to fulfil her duties for the duration of the mission. Eventually, after a few minutes of rummaging around, she found what she needed and crept back out of the store room.

“Excuse me, miss!” Came a sudden exclamation from behind her as she tried to sneak out, “do you have permission to be going in there?”

Melina swung around to see the chief medical officer Anastasia Markova stood there behind her, not looking impressed at having caught her sneaking around in a private room

“Oh this…” she said awkwardly, “. . . I’ve just been feeling under the weather recently thats all, I just needed something to make me feel better.”

“Oh really?” Markova snapped, grabbing the items from out of her hand, “a pregnancy testing kit and some anti-sickness medication?”

“Well… I… I think I might be… you know…” “Well thats funny because you don’t look pregnant and you’re in excellent health as far as I can see.”

She really hadn’t thought of what she might say if she was caught, she had hoped to do this without anyone finding out. It was a difficult position, one she would not easily get herself out of.

“So how far along is she?” Markova asked.

“Who?”

“Don’t play stupid with me miss,” Markova said aggressively, “Isha, how far along is she?”

“Oh… I… wait, how did you know?”

“The signs are unmissable, I knew as soon as she came onto the ship. I’m assuming from the way that you’re sneaking around that James doesn’t know about this yet and that you two are trying to keep it a secret?”

“Look… she’s just a little freaked, thats all,” said Melina, “James is in a high pressure situation and if he finds out that his wife is pregnant, it could jeopardise the mission. You know he takes risks and acts rashly to protect people he cares about, we just want him to be able to focus on the mission and not do anything stupid. I’m sure you understand.”

“Yes, I understand,” Markova said with a hint of resignation, “I know all too well what our fabled captain is like when people he cares about are put in danger. Ok then young lady, I’ll keep your secret, if only to stop James from having to hear about it from someone other than Isha. Any sign of complications and I want you to bring her straight to me.”

“Thank you, and I will do.”

That went better than she had anticipated, she had thought the secret would be out as soon as Markova had spotted her but she had lucked out this time. Isha was not too far along so the obvious signs would not show for a few more weeks but with Andurian women showing the symptoms of pregnancy earlier than with Human women, there would be clearly noticeable signs for everyone to see. Exiting the medical bay, Melina made her way up to Isha in the captain’s quarters to hand over the test.

“It’s positive,” Isha sighed as she stared at the two lines on the stick that she was holding, “you were right, I’m six weeks along.”

“Your medical chief knows too,” said Melina, “she said she saw the signs as soon as you came aboard. She hasn’t told anyone yet though.”

“This is bad,” Isha said with her head in her hands, “there is no way James wont find out, I just don’t know how to tell him without endangering the mission. We’ve seen the lengths he went to to get Amario back from Valdor that time, imagine what he would do if he saw the same threat against his wife and unborn child.”

“I dread to think,” Melina shuddered, “I would definitely wait until we get back to Valoran space before telling him though. If these Hunters attack us again, he will act recklessly to protect you and that could put everyone at risk.”

She had a very good point, it was either tell James now and endanger the mission or hold off on telling him and risk him finding out from someone else. It was not an easy choice. James’s greatest attributes could sometimes be his greatest weakness and others had used them to their own advantage before. That said, Isha would not have had him any other way.

“So then…” Melina began, “. . . I guess we need to start picking out names. Have you though about what you’re going to call her? Or him?”

“I really haven’t thought about it,” said Isha, “this all happened so suddenly I really wasn’t prepared for it.”

“But will you choose an Andurian name or a Human name?” Melina asked, “remember, your son or daughter will be a child of two worlds and that has never been an easy thing for anyone.”

“I don’t know, maybe one of both,” said Isha, “I guess Earth names aren’t all so different from our own really.”

“I guess not,” said Melina, “well anyway, I got your anti-sickness meds, they should keep you in top shape for a few weeks until the pregnancy starts to advance. Hopefully we’ll back back home by the time things get that far.”

She would be well enough to carry out her duties and make herself of some use on the mission, at least for a while anyway. Once things began to progress, she would be out of action for a long time, she would have to take a leave of absence from the fleet and it would affect James and his captaincy too. There was no going back though, Isha had absolutely no intention of terminating. This baby was going to happen, it was what she had been wanting for a long time now.

*     *     *     *     *

James had never seen a city like the Adean capital before. It reminded him of some kind of medieval city, all constructed out out reddish-grey stone and with old-style architecture. While the many transports, shuttle bays and vehicles around them told them that they were indeed in the middle of a very technologically advanced culture, it was very much like a clash of the time zones. Adean was a very unspoiled world too, there were lush forests and large oceans made up of clear and unpolluted water. The locals had done a good job of keeping their world in a very pleasant condition. The air was also very fresh and cool. It was a refreshing change from some of the overly warm alliance worlds.