Chapter Nineteen
Before Agrippa was ready for it, it was time to depart. Anatu and Sargeant Bjorn had clashed from the first. When she’d agreed to go on the mission, he’d insisted she do as much of the physical training as she could manage in the short time they had left before the start of their mission. He’d insisted close quarter combat might save their lives during the mission. “Mrs Davies, please report early for training tomorrow morning. You have to catch up with the others.”
Anatu had stared at the marine, said, “no.” Then she’d turned around and left.
From then on there had been an icy politeness from the sergeant while Anatu seemed blithely unaware of his hostility.
The hybrid ship they’d built stood in the hanger of the rising sun. They’d gone to a lot of trouble to remain undetected from any possible clone spy devices. At Tansyn’s insistence they had called the hybrid, Little Big Ship.
When they’d all gone to the mess hall for dinner a few nights ago, Tansyn had joined them. It was doubling as a meeting as well, but no one asked the little girl to leave.
Tansyn leaned toward Anatu. “Ship like you, you know.”
“I like the ship as well.” Anatu said politely.
“Of course he likes mommy best, because she tells the bestest stories.”
Agrippa stopped eating and looked at the little girl. “Did the ship tell you he likes stories?” Could she believe what such a young child was saying. She didn’t know of any ship doing talking like that before.
“Yes, and he really likes his name.”
“Do you talk to him a lot?”
“Yes, all the time. And I talk to Little Big Ship as well.”
“Little Big Ship?”
“The one you’ve been building that no one’s supposed to know obout.”
Everyone quickly looked around, but they were mercifully alone. The marines swore, Anatu looked interested and next to Agrippa, Amelagar tensed.
“How do you know about the new ship Tansyn.” Agrippa kept her voice low and friendly.
Tansyn looked put out. As if they missed the obvious. “Big Ship told me.”
“I see.”
“Little Big Ship also talked to me and told me his name.”
The previous night she’d lain in Amukkan’s arms, trying to hide her fear.
“It will be all right,” he’d said quietly. “The marines worked harder than I thought possible for humans. We can depend on them.”
“What about Anatu?”
“She knows what to do.”
“But what if she and the sergeant murder each other?”
“I will stop them.” He lifted up on his elbow to stare down at her. “I know you are worried that you cannot do this. There is a lot of pressure on you, but I know you can do this and I will be with you every step of the way.”
She nodded and held onto him. After a while, she said, can I ask you something.”
“Yes.”
“Why do you hate your cyborg designation so much?”
He was quiet for a long time and she’d resigned herself to not getting an answer, when he said, “the clone in charge of testing my functions after I came online, said I was backwards. So instead of Cyborg 123, he called me cyborg 321. He said that way I will always remember that I am not good enough. That I did not make the cut.”
She felt her ryhov gain speed. If she ever got her hands on that clone, she’d make him sorry he was ever born.
“You are not backwards and you did make the cut. Without you, I would still be a stowaway and miserable. Without you, we would not have the perfect leader for this mission.” She clenched her fists on his chest. “Why would he make such inaccurate statements?
He stroked her fist. “When I first came online, I did not function as I should.”
She snorted. “According to some clone. We all know what they are.”
At his blank look she smiled. “It’s a joke among Tunrians, what is a clone, not an original and sterile with a small, uhm, privates.”
He was quiet for a long time and then his chest shook under her. He did not make a sound, but he was laughing. Satisfaction curled through her ryhov.
The next day, she tried not to stare at Anatu and her husband, but the way they clung to each other made her yearn for something she would never have. Did her family ever worry about her? If they ever had to be apart, would Amelagar hold her so tightly or look at her with such emotion in his eyes.
There was no fanfare or speeches. The president held Anutu against him for a long time, before letting her go. “I will miss you, my human.”
“Come back safely to me, my wife.”
Anatu turned and went into the ship.
The four marines carried large bags that looked like huge sausages to Agrippa. They saluted the president and entered the ship. At last, Amelagar and Agrippa boarded. They’d thought about training two cyborgs as tech and with their ability to upload information it would have been possible. But they couldn’t spare any cyborgs for such an uncertain mission. It took all of them to keep the Rising Sun operational. Besides, there was no way to download solutions to problems that have never occurred before. If there was one thing she’d learned, it was that the moment you figure out a problem, a new one no one knew how to solve, came along.
Agrippa and Anatu had brought their bags onboard a few days ago. For the last two weeks now, they’d mostly lived on the ship. She already desperately missed her private time with Amelagar. Last night they’d taken the time to be together in their cabin for what was probably the last time. Amelagar had claimed the bunk above hers and his bag was neatly stashed in the space allocated for it.
The ship was designed with a bridge in front that had, pilot and engineering stations, it held the cloaking device below it’s deck and two stations for Agrippa and Anatu that allowed them instant access to any of the ship’s functions.
Behind the bridge, in the middle of the room eight bunks, four on each side of the hull served as crew quarters and at the back of the ship was the engines.
Whichever of the crew was not in stasis would occupy the bunks. Anatu and Agrippa would never be in stasis at the same time. If Agrippa had her way, their journey would not be long enough for them to need to go into stasis. But she didn’t want to give the others false hope.
She picked up her heavy bag but before she could sling it over her shoulder, Amelagar took it from her. Agrippa didn’t know what to think of that.
Inside she got another surprise. She was sharing a cabin with Amelagar. She frowned at him. “Why can’t I share with Anatu?” The other woman hasn’t talked to her much, but she’d been friendly since she’d joined their group.
They went to the control room and Amelagar took the captain’s chair and the marines the pilot seats.
Agrippa activated the cloaking device from her tablet. Anatu monitored from her own tablet, ready to jump in if any problems occurred. A small shuttle exited the bay to ensure if there were any spy devices around it would look as if the hangar door opened to allow several shuttles to exit.
The hanger door opened and they shot out into space. She felt dizzy and then her system adjusted and she stared out at the blackness surrounding the control room. When she’d realized she was stranded on a space ship going who knows where, she’d felt so afraid and vulnerable. Looking at the vastness of space, she realized how small and insignificant humans and cyborgs and Tunrians were.
“I already miss my human,” Anatu said sulkily.
Sargeant Bjorn muttered something from where he sat on one of the bunks, sorting through an array of tools and weapons.
“The cloak is holding,” Anatu said, tension in her voice.
Agrippa went through the ship’s functions on her tablet. “All systems working.”
“Course laid in,” Amelagar said.
They’d decided to plot a course that would put a planet between them and the clones line of sight every time Anatu had to go into stasis. This was a test run for the ship to see if they can use the planets for the times Anatu couldn’t be awake. They would start going into stasis in shifts, when they were assured the ship performed as expected.
They reached the first planet on time and without a problem with the cloak.
Anatu went to her bunk and laid down. “I am used to sleeping with my human. I like sleeping with my human,” she muttered before she closed her eyes.
Agrippa went to stand in the door of the bridge. “She just closed her eyes and went ot sleep. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
She sighed. “I wish I could.”
He gave her a heated look that didn’t need words to translate.
They carefully adjusted the course they plotted on earth and then recloaking, they continued their journey. They all stared at the large screen in front of them. The clone ships, in their formation, looked like large beasts ready to hunt.
They tested the ship and did their drills for the next month, to be sure everything is functional before they went into cryo sleep.
Anutu was a wizard with the computers, but she was sullen and missing her president. Truthfully it was starting to flicker on Agrippa’s last ryhov.
“It’s time to go into stasis,” Agrippa said quietly, when they reached the third planet.
Anatu nodded, she’d had very little sleep and she and two of the marines will go into stasis while the next planet was between them and the clones. Even if the cloak failed, they should remain undetected.
Sergeant Bjorn tried to assist Anatu into the stasis pod and she glared at him. “Go away, you’re not my human.”
The marines exchanged glances and stepped back. They’d obviously been given instructions to look after the president’s wife.
Sergeant Bjorn gritted something that sounded like wrinkly and went to the other stasis pod.