Blood of the Scarecrow: Book 3: Solstice 31 Saga Read online

  They moved into the base. Their breaths came out in clouds.

  “She is a witch,” Cook said, just slightly more than a whisper.

  “What did she mean?” Shaw asked, looking up at him. He was as tall as Worthington.

  “My sister is planning to get pregnant next year. She can no longer afford the cost of the permits. It will be her third, and she wants the baby born on Freedom Station,” Cook replied.

  “Shaw, I should be asking you that.” Worthington was serious now.

  “How could she know?” Shaw asked.

  “Let's make some coffee, and I will tell you,” Hagan said.

  ***

  Po and Wex sat in chairs on either side of Barcus's bed. They were wrapped in blankets, and they still saw their breaths. The cool room and the low gravity seemed to help. He looked much improved.

  Heat rose from his body through the sheet. They had cut his ruined clothes away and cleaned him up, as best they could. Cine and Jude flanked the open door, allowing people to look in but not to enter.

  “These are not like other nanites, are they?” Po asked, over the bed.

  “No. They replace damaged flesh with new, more durable flesh. They will never stop working, even when there is nothing left to do,” Wex said, in low tones.

  “How old are you?” Po stared at her. “Seriously. The truth.”

  “I was born, on Earth, in 1861. I think I'm about 770 years old. I came here about 120 years ago, to find Miles Baytirus. It's his planet, you know. He made it,” Wex said, casually.

  “What do you mean, made it?”

  Po was puzzled.

  “It's what they do. Or, used to do. Before this war. The Scarecrows, I mean. They make planets. They take a long time. Thousands of years. Tens of thousands. Millions. I don't know, really. Now, I don't want to know, I’m beginning to suspect.”

  “I don't care about any of this. I just want him to live,” Po said.

  “He will. I promise.”

  For some reason, she could not explain, Po believed her.

  Barcus stirred.

  “I had a dream,” he whispered. “It was of a great ship. And trees.”

  Po brought water to his lips. He drank more than she thought he should.

  “I will take you there,” Wex said to him. “Miles told me where it is. The last of the great seed ships.”

  Barcus fell asleep again.

  Jude said, from the doorway, “They come.”

  She and Cine stepped aside, making no attempt to block Worthington and Hagan from entering.

  “How is he?” Worthington asked, looking down at Barcus from the foot of the bed.

  Po looked up, and said, “Durable.”

  Worthington smiled, and then turned to Wex.

  “We need to talk.”

  She stood and left the blanket on the chair.

  As they walked down the wide corridor, back toward the hangar, she spoke to them.

  “I will save you a lot of time. Hagan met Ralta on the surface. The actual surface. She was trapped there for decades. She told you about the long white.”

  They reached the ramp of the Memphis, and Hagan stopped them. “How do you know all this?”

  “Because I remember, for lack of a better word.”

  CHAPTER TEN: The Long White

  “Perception. The collection of data via our senses depends completely on the type and fidelity of the sensors involved. We now know there are more than five senses. Far more.”

  --Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: General Patricia Chase, senior member of the Earth Defense Coalition.

  <<<>>>

  “It's the end. It's also a lie. It has to be. The long white, I mean,” Wex said, looking at a framed photo of Jimbo and his family—his wife and two daughters.

  “They are safe.”

  She looked over her shoulder at him.

  “They are on Freedom Station. You will be with them soon enough. After...all this.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Worthington was calm.

  Jude had followed them into Jimbo's private quarters, unnoticed. She stood in the corner when she spoke. Hagan was seated and became startled when she spoke.

  “Tell him about the bacon,” Jude said, as if it was not out of the blue.

  “Bacon?” Hagan asked.

  “I have spent my whole life hiding who I am, and what I am, Captain.”

  She sat at the second chair in front of Worthington’s desk.

  He waited for her to continue.

  “Do you like bacon, Captain?”

  He nodded but didn't interrupt.

  “When I make bacon, it is very rich in sensory input. All my senses come into play. I can hear it sizzle as it cooks. I can see it when it's perfectly done. I can smell it and taste it and feel how hot it is with my fingers.”

  Everyone in the room nodded.

  “And I can do all those things, at the same time, easily. And more than that, I can remember all those things after I am done. Do you know why?”

  “Memory,” Jimbo said.

  “Yes. But what is memory? It is actually another sense. It is how you perceive time.”

  She leaned forward.

  “Did you know that there are life forms that only experience the now? Even though now is just the intersection between the past and the future. More advanced life forms have temporal senses. Memory. Some even experience precognition. Have you ever heard the term, My life flashed before my eyes?”

  She was intense now.

  “You know how other senses work. Some animals can see heat. Some can use echoes to locate things in the dark or in the water. Some can perceive density or mass or variations in gravity.”

  She now paused.

  “And some can perceive the passing of time. Or the approach of time.”

  She let it settle in, for a minute.

  “I can close my eyes and it is like I am remembering the future. The things that will happen to me.”

  She knew they would remain silent.

  “It's how I know that your youngest daughter got nine stitches in her mouth because she fell and hit the coffee table. You will tell that story to the crew, one night at dinner.”

  She looked over to Hagan.

  “You are thinking of your favorite number, 91019. It's your favorite because it is prime and the same backward and forward. A palindrome. You people and primes.”

  She sighed and continued, “You will tell me the other details later, but I won't mention them now as it's super personal.”

  She smiled and averted her eyes as Hagan blushed.

  “Captain, I am telling you this because you asked me to tell you. You also asked me to keep a few details to myself. You also want me to tell Wes about the long white. And the lie of it...”

  ***

  Po could tell when the corner was turned. Barcus fell into a natural sleep; she saw it. While he still had a fever, he was not hot, like before.

  She was cold, so she climbed into bed with him. Cine quietly closed the door.

  She slept.

  She woke a long time later with her back to Barcus, as he spooned her, snoring softly. She smiled wide, and then tears flowed freely. They were alive. They were safe.

  His snoring stopped. She tried to be still and pretended to sleep, but he knew her too well.

  “Good morning, you.”

  She spun to face him. His eyes were open and bright. She could swear his beard had grown dramatically, overnight.

  “I don't know what to say, anymore,” Po whispered. “My frame of reference to…everything is gone. I'm afraid to take my eyes off you, because everything else I would see is totally strange to me.”

  She ran her hand down his chest, over old scars to his new wound.

  It was gone.

  She brushed away black, thin dust from the fresh, pink skin below. He kissed the top of her head as she examined him.

  “I'm thirsty,” he murmured.

  P
o realized she was also thirsty and hungry. She slowly sat up, unsure if the movement would hurt him.

  “How do you feel?”

  “I feel like I have slept for a month. My arms and legs and back are all stiff. And, I have this strange feeling of déjà vu, all the time.”

  She handed him a glass of water. He first sipped and then gulped it.

  “Kuss is coming.”

  A moment later, there was a soft knock on the door.

  “Come.”

  Barcus sat up now. The sheet provided modesty.

  “You done sleeping yet, you lazy cow?”

  Kuss smiled, seeing him upright.

  “Hagan says I have wait for you. Done waiting. Move ass.”

  And she was gone. With her accent echoing, the door settled closed.

  “Any idea where I can get some clothes?”

  ***

  The main hangar buzzed with activity. People laughed and talked over each other while they worked. Several people worked on top of the Memphis with floodlights.

  “It's a good thing you didn't try to fly this thing, Cook. This would have never held for those maneuvers,” Hagan said, from the floodlights above. “All balls, no brains.”

  He laughed. Others laughed, too.

  “Just how I like my men,” Kuss shouted, and the laughter got louder.

  A hand holding a large cup, or a small pitcher, was thrust in front of Barcus. It was Beth Shaw’s hand.

  “Here, drink this. If you don't puke, maybe we will try some mashed potatoes, in a few hours,” she said.

  She waited, watching him.

  He was starving. The drink was some kind of smoothie. Probably the same type he used on his long maintenance runs in his suit.

  He finished the drink. He didn't puke. Somehow, he knew he wouldn't. Po stood next to Dr. Shaw, watching him as if he might keel over again, any second.

  Worthington stood at the top of the ramp, talking to Wex. Jimbo looked over at Barcus and then gave him a quick nod to come over.

  “How are you feeling, Bro?” Worthington asked, looking him up and down. “You look pretty good for a guy that was dead three days ago.”

  “I feel...different.”

  He looked at Po, for a second, before continuing.

  “I'm horribly stiff. It feels like every muscle and joint has been pounded.”

  He shook his head.

  “I'm...I can't focus. It's like everything distracts me, and I lose my train of thought all the time. It's odd. It's like I can see more colors. Not colors really. Details. Like I can tell that gravity is higher on this ramp, by just looking at it.”

  He scrubbed his face, like he was trying to wake up.

  “A lot has happened while you took your nap,” he started, but Barcus interrupted.

  “And that. I can feel exactly how much time has passed.”

  He ran his fingers through his hair and stretched.

  Across the hangar, Elkin, Beary, Jude, and Cine pushed the fabricator down the ramp and out of the STU. Barcus inhaled a mighty breath and blew it out.

  “OK. What's the plan?” Barcus sighed.

  “You still need to rest.”

  Pointing at Po, Shaw said, “She will make sure you don't overdo it.” Then, he looked at Wex. “Wex wants to go look for the Scarecrow’s ship. If it's still operable, it may be useful.”

  He stared at Wex, saying nothing.

  “It will only take a few days, if we take the STU. If we don't find it in that time, we will just come back,” Wex lied.

  Barcus knew Wex was lying.

  “Ben, the AI in the Memphis, is keeping us on track. Not as well as Em used to, but good enough. If this pans out, it may save a lot of time.”

  Worthington spoke as if the decision was already made. No one argued. Jimbo nodded and went into the Memphis.

  “We will go as soon as Stu is ready. I want Ash as well. Po, will you please check everything? I'll be OK, out of your sight, for a few minutes.”

  Barcus smiled wide at her. Filled with purpose, she ran across the hangar, past the Sedna to the STU.

  Barcus was alone with Wex on the ramp, then.

  “You know exactly where it is. So do I, for some reason. I remember being there before. It's like a dream I haven't had yet.”

  “We needed extra time,” she said.

  Barcus pointed at the bullet holes in the belly of her dress.

  “Change your clothes, at least.”

  ***

  Barcus was surprised Cine and Jude didn't go along. It turned out, they were superb with the cutting torches and easily climbed the huge machines in the back of the hangar. They needed raw materials to feed the fabricator, and that giant machine was it.

  Work had to stop to cycle the airlock. When they were through it and leaving the moon, Barcus finally spoke.

  “Where are we going?”

  He was in the pilot’s seat. Po was across the aisle from him in the front right, the co-pilot’s seat. The dome was on full canopy, and the moon fell away at a rapid rate as they moved away from the planet.

  “This system has five planets, including Baytirus. One of them is a gas giant in the outermost orbit. Head there,” Wex said.

  Po replied, “Do it, Stu.”

  With that word, they smoothly sped away.

  “It will be a while before we get there. I recommend we get some rest. We all could use it,” Barcus said.

  The canopy dimmed, a bit, and the various status windows minimized. He reclined his seat fully and was asleep in less than a minute.

  Po watched Barcus for a few minutes, and then turned to Wex.

  “Do the thing. With me. What do you know about me?”

  “I know very little. I do know one thing.”

  She looked at Barcus, deeply sleeping.

  “All the world will believe he is the greatest mass murderer of all time.”

  Then she looked at Po.

  “But he will not care. Because you will know the truth.”

  They sat, in silence, awhile.

  “We'll all live then?” Po asked.

  “No. Not all. But you and Barcus will survive. Knowing this will make you mighty. You will need to be.”

  Wex stood and moved to the ladder.

  “He might save the world. But you will have to save him.”

  “What about you?” Po asked, just before she went down.

  “It's lies and the long white for me.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: Flutes and Genomes

  “Those two, no three, would have been evidence enough to remove Chancellor Dalton decades ago. All we ever found was their blood and medical scans.”

  --Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: General Patricia Chase, senior member of the Earth Defense Coalition.

  <<<>>>

  “Why wear that clothes?” Kuss said in her thick polish accent.

  She was scolding Jude as if the black habit she wore offended her.

  “You're not slave here. Beside, you need pockets.”

  Jude froze for a moment, and looked over at Cine—who also wore the habit—and smiled. Cine had the veil up as well as the habit. Jude and Kuss saw the smile in her dark eyes without the benefit of seeing her mouth.

  She set down the cutting torch she was about to light. Cine lowered her veil, showing the very white teeth of her smile. She reached up and drew the veil and headpiece off in one swath motion.

  Jude followed. Cine's smile was contagious. Kuss and Jude had them as well.

  They reached behind their necks and freed a single button, and the habits fell to the floor. They both wore sleeveless, skintight jumpsuits. These suits were full of tight pockets. Kuss recognized the flutes that ran along their left thighs. She was surprised to see how many knives they were sporting.

  They both had long, black braids that began as three separate ones. One began at each temple and another at their crowns. They scooped up their plasma torches and went up the side of the derelict machine, like monkeys in t
he low gravity.

  Soon hunks of metal clunked to the floor.

  They laughed.

  ***

  “Moon base, come in. Tyrrell here with an update.”

  The comms on the Memphis’s bridge came to life.

  “You guys miss us already?” Jimbo replied, looking up from the repair schedule. Tyrell, Ibenez, Elkin, Weston and Shea were bringing the Salterkirk hangar base back into service as a backup base of operations.

  “Be advised. Ibenez and Elkin have released the hounds. They already have a zeppelin on High Keeper Ronan's schedule. Weston and Shea are going to have a shopping list for you, if we ever begin regular trade with the outside. And, Rand has not killed anyone yet, even though Ronan's security forces are like first graders to her.”

  “The politics settle down yet?” Jimbo asked.

  “Not even close, man. It's why I called, really.”

  Tyrrell spoke to someone in whispers as an aside.

  “We wanted to ask if we could keep some more of the weapons. Maybe even a couple Warmarks.”

  “I think it's a good idea,” Jimbo replied, immediately. “I think Rand should come up with Cook and go over the inventory. The drop ship had a massive amount of gear.”

  “It will also be a good test run for the Limo,” Tyrrell answered.

  “We will have the garage airlock open when the Limo gets here,” Jimbo answered. “It will be a lot faster than cycling the main hangar.”

  “Roger that.”

  ***

  “Barcus, wake up. I think we are there,” Po said, as he came back awake. “Here, drink this. Shaw said it was good for you, if you didn't puke.”

  She handed him a thermos.

  He looked over his right shoulder just then. Wex stood just behind them. He knew she would be there. She wore a black many-pocketed flight suit. RAND was written on the name patch.

  He screwed off the top, and the cabin filled with the smell of chicken soup.

  Wex inhaled deeply, and said, “Ahh. Bone broth. Your doctor is smarter than you know.”

  Barcus poured some into the top that also served as a large cup. He breathed deeply from the steam and sipped as they approached the gas giant.