The Forever Quest (The Forever Series Book 4) Read online

  “So you favor enslaving the intellectuals on a worldship based on a governmental whim? How, exactly, is your position different than that of Stuart Marshall? Hmm? He sequestered fertile women; you would sequester smart people.” Amanda spoke coolly, evenly.

  “How dare—”

  “I move this session ends in the interest of inter-worldship harmony.” Li didn’t want to have the two women start a catfight on his watch.

  “Bin, she just compared me to the evilest man who ever lived. I will not sit here and be insulted in such a manner.”

  “You can stand up if you want,” Amanda said as snidely as she could. “Or lay down on the floor, if it’s more to your liking. I don’t want to dictate your cultural preferences.”

  “That is quite enough.” said Li more forcefully than he’d intended. “I will ask President Walker to join me in my office immediately to discuss unrelated yet critically urgent matters.”

  Li stormed out without another word, forcing Amanda to walk after him quickly. She did, however, stare at Supti over her shoulder as she exited. For her part, Supti protested loudly to the person next to her while pointing toward Amanda.

  Once they were both seated in his office, Li asked, “I suppose you’re proud of that little spectacle you just put on.”

  “No, but it sure felt good,” replied Amanda with a huge smile..

  “I’m certain you know how counterproductive that was?”

  “Absolutely. Did I mention the part about how good it felt?” She gestured in the direction of the assembly hall. “That woman has belittled and insulted me personally on the floor and in the media. She has energetically undermined all my efforts to guarantee personal freedoms. She had it coming.”

  Li twiddled his thumbs in silence a few seconds. “Are you done?”

  “Yes, I’m done. So what did you want to talk about?”

  “Not a single thing. I just didn’t want you two strangling each other. You are, of course, free to do so whenever you like. I just don’t want to be seen in the background of those holos. Bad for the UN’s image.”

  “Why, Bin, I didn’t know you had a sense of humor. Where’ve you been hiding it, and why?”

  “Political hacks can’t afford to display humor. That’s a thing you should consider learning.”

  “If I wish to become a hack, I’ll keep your words in mind.”

  “Mock me if you will. Please recall it’s my job to appear impartial and welcoming. I cannot achieve those goals by engaging in my baser desires.”

  “Another of the many reasons I could never fill your shoes.”

  “Now that we have resolved our passions, I must ask how Jonathan is doing. Is he two years old now?”

  “Jon is a wonder and a blessing, and he’s almost eighteen months, thanks for asking.”

  “Mine are teenagers.” Bin held up four fingers. “Can you imagine? Four teenage daughters in space? I may cast myself into the void before they’re married off.”

  “I’ll say a prayer for you and your wife. No, I’ll say four prayers, one for each challenge.”

  “I’ll take all the help I can get.”

  “Well, I suppose my adversary has left the scene. I’ll be going.”

  He pointed to the phone on his desk. “The flashing light indicates your supposition is correct. I can now permit you to leave.”

  “Why you sneaky bastard. You arranged all this at the spur of the moment?”

  “No. Never. I arranged the spotters and signal days ago. I knew you two would be at it.”

  “I hate that I’m so predictable.”

  “Me too. Now go. I have a species to keep from killing itself off.”

  EIGHT

  I had myself a stateroom, tiny as it was, all to myself. I also had one mortal enemy in Fontelpo and one less ardent enemy in Gatly. Life was always easier without enemies, but, hey, I’d gotten used to compiling them. It took us a couple days to tear down the engine. Then came the fun part. Ejecting a large amount of plasma into space was so cool. It was an explosion and a light show all rolled into one. When it came time to pull the final panel, I alerted Karnean, and he joined us. Sure enough, when I exposed the seal, there was a significant gash in it. I underestimated the danger. It would have blown in less than a week if I hadn’t acted. I could see in Karnean’s eyes that he recognized the significance of the defect too.

  “Well, Jon, it seems you just cost me a tidy little sum.”

  “Sorry. How do you figure that?”

  “I bet my sister that you were a scam-artist buying time and that the seal would be fine. She took your side, based on the odds I gave her.”

  “Will not blowing up ease your pain sufficiently?”

  “It was a fairly large wager. I’m still unsure.”

  “I’ll try and make it up to you.”

  “You can start by getting this engine up and running quickly. There’s no profit to be had drifting in space.”

  Since my promotion, I was expected to eat at the officer’s table. There were only a handful of us, so meals were never very crowded. As a result, whoever was there had to pull their weight in making conversation. I’d never been real chatty, but I tried to hold my own. The night I proved the seal was defective provided me an opportunity to speak with Kayla. Even though I was no longer invisible to her, my impression was that she saw me as mostly transparent.

  “So, Kayla, you’re welcome,” I said while mixing around my soup.

  “Oh? So I’m to thank you for doing your job adequately?” She was startled that I addressed her directly.

  “No, for the money you made betting on my honesty and technical prowess.”

  She almost grinned. “Again, am I to start thanking each crew member for doing their job adequately?”

  “It wouldn’t hurt.”

  That brought the smallest of smiles to her lips.

  “I’ll take that under advisement, Chief Engineer.”

  “So, where do you and your brother call home?” I knew asking a personal question might be unwelcome, but I wanted to see if I could melt the surface of this ice princess.

  She rocked in her chair before answering. “You’re aboard our home.”

  “That’s it?” I shot a glance around the room. “Here, floating in a tin can?”

  “In all its glory.”

  “But, don’t you guys ever stop and spend time on some planet?”

  “No.”

  Okay, that was a terse answer.

  “How about you, Jon? What or where do you call home?”

  Hey, I got her to be sociable. Cool.

  “Lots of places and nowhere. Same as you, I guess, come to think of it.”

  “There. See, we do share one thing in common.”

  “Two. We share confidence in my ability as an engineer.”

  “Only one. I have no confidence in you at all. You’ve not earned that yet.”

  “I was right about the seals. Your home wasn’t blow to tiny little pieces by a plasma fireball.”

  She looked up at me, something she had yet to do in our conversation.

  “That is true. I’m still processing what that information signifies.”

  “Wow, you’re a tough woman to please. Most folks are glad to not be incinerated.”

  “I’m not ungrateful. I am, however, the first officer on this ship. My only concerns are with its safety and the completion of our mission. As someone still alive in a very hazardous trade, I’m cautious to a fault. Therefore, I’m still deciding what the miracle of Jon Ryan represents. You may be a blessing. My experience dictates you’re more likely a curse.”

  “Why would you say that? We just met. In the past, people usually get to know me before realizing I’m a curse.”

  There it was again, an almost smile. “Because in my years of successful survival, I’ve never run across a blessing.”

  “You’ll see,” I said pointing my spoon at her. “I’m as good as they come and always great to have around.”

  She
set her utensils down, folded her hands on the table, and looked at me very seriously. “Let us hope that is not the case. If my brother chanced to shanghai an outstanding pilot, engineer, and all around stellar fellow, I’d know something was wrong. Supermen are neither found slumming it in a dive bar nor so easily captured.”

  She had a point there. I let the others take over the conversation. Inevitably, as it does aboard ship, it degenerated into tales of wine, women, and violent sports. Since no other person present even knew what football was, I clammed up. Kayla’s words were helpful. I didn’t want to seem too good to be true, and that was easy enough to fix. I knew the skills required of a leader: integrity, courage, strategic vision, decisiveness, and leadership. A little deconstruction too.

  The next day, I called a meeting of my staff, such as it was. I’d mentioned earlier they were the opposite of the cream of the crop. While still in the sanitation service department, I referred to them as bottom dwellers with not enough brain cells between them to form one good thought. After having the opportunity to work closely with them, my opinion plummeted even further.. There were three assistant engineers. Boabdle, Russ, and Wenright. Boabdle went by BB. He was a Yortorina, from a planet orbiting Capella. I mentioned that a lot of the people I’d seen on my quest were humanoid. BB was also, but less human looking than most. He appeared more Neanderthal. Acted like it too. He clumsily banged into things often, grunted frequently, and farted continuously. His grasp of technical matters fell quite short of rudimentary.

  Russ and Wenright looked very human, though definitely not the poster children of our species. Russ was thin, beady-eyed, and sneaky. Wenright was of average build and smiled a lot, but there was no way around it: he was dumb as a ham sandwich. I think of the three losers I was saddled with, he was the only one who intended to work. So, Wenright was off limits to me. The other two would perform their only useful service to me or the ship by helping prove to Kayla that I was significantly short of being too good to be true.

  I began the meeting by asking BB if he’d checked the pressures and capacities of the engine components and the life support systems.

  “Wuh-uh-uh-uh? That not part of my job. BB no told do job, so BB not do it. Oomph.” Yes, then he farted. Lovely soul.

  I walked up to BB and made it a point to touch noses with him. He was roughly my height but was way stockier. “I assigned you to do it three days ago. You calling me a liar?”

  He was decisive, I had to give him that. “Yes you lie. Hu-hu-hu.”

  I kicked him squarely where I hoped his testicles were. I believe my guess was correct. He crumbled to the floor moaning like a man whose nuts were just scrambled.

  “Hey, you can’t do that,” Russ protested.

  “You want a piece of that action, little man?” I yelled at him loud enough to be heard quite some distance away, which was, of course, my plan.

  Russ initially straightened his back in defiance but quickly lowered his head and said nothing.

  BB staggered to his feet, one hand covering his groin. He raised the other over his head. “I kill you for that. Er-ar-argh!”

  He charged me like a bull. The timing was perfect. Kayla, who I knew had the watch, came around the corner to see what the commotion was. I let BB slam into me like we were playing rugby. He drove me into a bulkhead. I broke his bear hug and kicked him backward. BB threw my foot to one side and roared back at me. He punched me in the chops, and I made a show of recoiling.

  “Enough!” Kayla shouted.

  BB either didn’t hear her or, more likely, ignored her order. He came at me with his hands knitted together to form a club. As he swung them down, I slammed a fist into his gut hard enough to kill most men. He fell to the floor and, this time, did not get up.

  “What the hell is going on here, Ryan?” demanded Kayla.

  I pretended to gasp for breath. “Nothing. Just a difference of opinion. We were talking something through.”

  “That’s a lie,” Russ howled in protest. “Mr. Ryan here baited BB then kicked him in the nuts without provocation or warning.” Russ pointed at me from a good distance. “He started it, ma’am.”

  Kayla spun on Russ. “Did I address you, crewman?”

  He cowered. “Nuh, no you didn’t, ma’am, but—”

  “Then I suggest you hold your tongue or I’ll hold it for you. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He backed away.

  She turned back to me. “My quarters. Now. Wenright, you have the engineering watch. Russ, take BB to sick bay then confine yourself to quarters.”

  With that, she stormed out the door. She didn’t wait for either man’s belated acknowledgement.

  I knocked on Kayla’s doorframe, not that I needed to since the door was wide open.

  “Come in and shut the door,” she said angrily. Once inside, I stood at ease. “Sit down,” she pointed to a chair. When I was seated, she tore into me. “What just happened? Please know I will take reports from all concerned parties, so do not attempt to lie to me.”

  “That would never occur to me, K,” I said in my best jackass tone.

  She was clearly uncertain. She didn’t know which act to tear me a new one for, flagrant disrespect or dereliction of duty.

  “You are walking on very thin ice, Jon. Be mindful.” There was a soft knock on the door. Kayla was instantly annoyed. “Come, but this had better be good.”

  “No one’s ever accused me of being good, little sister. May I join the party?” Karnean responded, sticking his head in.

  She waved him in. “Shut the damn door,” she said.

  “What seems to be the problem?” Karnean asked.

  “There was a disturbance in engineering.” She gestured at me without looking at me. “Ryan here seems to have cold-cocked BB and then put him in sick bay.”

  “Sent BB to sick bay?” Karnean said with a thoughtful nod. “Perhaps I underestimated you, Jon. What’s left of the last man foolish enough to fight BB is floating somewhere in cold, dark space.”

  “This is serious, Karnean,” said Kayla. “Please don’t undermine me with flippancy.”

  Yeah, flippancy. We were birds of a feather, Karnean and I.

  “I shall remain as silent as the dead,” he said, drawing an imaginary zipper across his mouth.

  “Did you strike your subordinate without provocation?” She stared at me impassively as she asked.

  “Depends on what you call provocation. I’d assigned him a task, he failed to perform it, and I expressed my frustration to him.”

  “By kicking him in the groin and then knocking him out, possibly fatally wounding him?”

  “Again, depends on definitions here.”

  “Jon, I am growing to like you against my better judgement,” said Karnean. “But don’t think my sister and I won’t punish you severely if you give us cause. Is that perfectly clear?”

  “Yes,” I said with an inappropriate smile. “Is that all, ma’am?” I said to Kayla.

  “For now, yes. But my inquiry is far from complete. You may resume your duties for now. We will, I promise, speak again very soon.”

  “I’ll clear my social calendar so I’m free.”

  There, one black mark on my otherwise too-good-to-be-true record. One more ought to just about do it.

  NINE

  The next few days I laid low and behaved myself. Russ only received a reprimand. His record was so ugly that he read a simple slap on the wrist as a positive thing. BB recovered in a couple days and was back in engineering. The weirdest part was that now he and I were the best of friends. In his culture, giving someone a good ass kicking was a bonding experience. Whereas before, he was sullen and threatening, now he was convivial, cooperative, and deferential. Go figure. He still knew next to nothing about the ship’s system and was as useless as a technician, but at least he was pleasant to be around. When Russ observed BB’s transformation, he dropped any grudge he might have held against me. He was outnumbered, and he was a coward. His path was the
one of least resistance.

  The reassembled engine worked better than it had before I took it apart, so Karnean was pleased. Kayla? I don’t think anything about me pleased her. Maybe she was just a happiness-challenged individual, nothing ever rising to her lofty level of expectation. Oh well. There were several years left in our voyage, and she was the prettiest girl onboard, which wasn’t hard because the three other women onboard were from BB’s home planet. In my favor was the fact that history showed I grew on people, despite how they felt about me initially. Hopefully I’d grow on her. The trip would be more enjoyable if I did.

  I’d violated the rules of command by demonstrating a lack of integrity and leadership. I’d struck a subordinate and was disrespectful to a superior officer. My next trick would be to demonstrate indecision. I didn’t want to be as flagrant as with my first screw ups. There was no need to tempt fate excessively. I started out by not filing some periodic reports. Nothing critical, just supply requests and maintenance checks. It took Karnean several weeks to notice some minor reports were overdue. He asked why, and I hesitantly explained that I was holding off for this task or that report because I was uncertain what the department needed. I also claimed I was unsure if all the routine checks were necessary. That earned me a good chewing out. Perfect. All I wanted to do was place a seed of doubt in their minds. A spy, which of course I was, wouldn’t be as sloppy as I’d been. No, I was a demonstrable screw up. Screw-ups were never duplicitous. They were too dumb to be.

  After that, we had several months of smooth sailing onboard. The only hitch in my life was watching out for Fontelpo. He hadn’t retaliated for getting him busted, but I knew it was coming. I knew Kaljaxians way too well to doubt it. Every now and then, I’d see him cleaning something disgusting. He pretended not to notice me, but I knew he was seething mad. He had to know that any revenge he extracted on me would lead to severe punishment. Turns out, he was a smarter than I’d given him credit for. He figured out he wouldn’t be a suspect if my death was an accident. Too bad he was only a few percent smarter and not actually intelligent enough to pull off a caper successfully. I’d always hated stupid people, especially the stupid people who actually thought themselves clever. It was trouble on the doorstep, every time.