Chapter 34: To Ori

Laine and I were in the main bridge, watching the activity on the tactical display when Jem returned. She looked improved.

“Quon, has the message probe to Quard gone out?” asked Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Quon.

On the tactical display, we saw that the probe sent to the asteroid belt arrived at its destination and began destroying the Lagaid main ship building facility. Vessels under our remote control were causing mayhem throughout the Lagaid system. There was no reason to remain longer.

“Set a course for Ori Major,” said Jem.

“Confirmed. Recalling defensive probes,” replied Quon.

Our vessel accelerated to the outer limit of the Lagaid system, the hyper drive cut in and we winked out of normal space. I hoped we never had to return.

“As per usual, the next two days are for rest. We need it!” said Jem. That was an understatement.

Suddenly, all the stress caught up to me. It had been a long time without sleep, and the sense of urgency lifted. I had an urgent need to sleep. I got up without talking to anyone and left for my cabin. As soon as I got there, I collapsed on the bed and fell into a dark sleep.

I awoke lying on my back, in a strange forest. A fine mist in the air above me diffused the light and made it hard to tell the time. Despite the mist, I felt warm and dry.

I tried to recall what happened before I got here. My memory was rather vague, like the mist.

It took a while before I sat up and then stood up on my feet. My sense of balance was off in this surreal environment and I had to be careful if I wanted to stay vertical. The whole place gave off vibes that disoriented me.

I heard no sounds which was disturbing. Not somewhere from my memory. I think I should be aboard a space vessel. This seemed wrong to me.

“You are still aboard Quon, on your way to Ori Major,” said a voice. Koluna’s voice.

“Koluna?” I asked.

“I am here Bri-an,” she said. I looked for, but I didn’t find her.

“I’m so sorry I failed you,” I said.

“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a failure. That is life,” she replied.

“But you died,” I said.

“And Jem lives. Given the circumstances, you did not fail. Without your intervention, she would have been the next to die,” she said.

“But I don’t want to be doing this. I was better when I was on my own,” I said.

“We are each a part of you. Without you, we die. You are that which saved us, many times over. They need you,” she replied.

“I can’t continue this way. I’m tired. They won’t let me alone,” I said.

“If you are tired, rest. Take a vacation. But you can’t give up on them. We are your family. A part of me will always be with you. Jem and Laine depend on you,” she said.

I was not totally convinced, but I knew better than to argue with her. I grinned. Here I was, afraid of arguing with a dead being.

“So, what are you? Are you a ghost?” I asked.

“Perhaps. It depends on how you define a ghost. Consider me an echo of one who loves you. I am bound to you by an irrevocable bond,” she replied.

“I thought I had lost you,” I said.

“No. I will always be with you Bri-an,” she said. Her voice faded. Then the trees faded.

I awoke to discover that Laine was shaking me.

“Time to wake up,” she said.

“Whaa?? What happened?” I asked.

“You fell asleep and we let you rest. It is a long journey to the Ori Confederation, so not a problem,” replied Laine.

I was in bed in my cabin. I don’t remember how I got here. I had a headache.

I got up and did my morning ritual, ending with a cup of coffee. That helped.

“Better?” asked Laine.

“Yes. How about you?” I replied.

“I am good. Jem could use some of your attention. She is feeling bad,” said Laine.

“Understood. How should I handle it?” I asked.

“I don’t know. First she was worried about you, and now she won’t talk much at all,” said Laine.

“I’m not much of a therapist, but I will try my best,” I said.

I found Jem in the main bridge. She was watching videos of the Lagaid interrogator as he tortured Koluna to death. Quon downloaded it from the detention facility, but I deliberately did not look at it. I should have ordered Quon to hide it.

I sat beside Jem and put an arm tentatively around her. She did not react negatively, but the warmth was missing.

“Quon, stop playback,” I said. Now she responded.

“Brian, you are back. You worried us,” she said.

“Yes, I’m back. I just needed to rest. I had a busy day rescuing you and exacting revenge on the Lagaid. It left me feeling drained.” I tried to sound funny. She didn’t laugh. I tried another approach.

“Koluna was right,” I said. She turned to look at me.

“Right about what?” asked Jem.

“We are family. We need each other. Losing one of us is devastating,” I said with a straight face. Jem nodded.

“There is more,” I said. I had her attention.

“More?” asked Jem.

“Koluna is not dead. A part of her lives on in each of us. She will always be with you,” I said. I tapped my chest.

“She is?” asked Jem.

“Yes. Every time you choose a course of action, you will include her wishes. Whenever I eat spicy food, I will think of her.” I smiled. Jem smiled back for the first time.

“Don’t look at that video again. She would not want you to remember her that way,” I said.

“You’re right. Thank you, Brian,” said Jem. We hugged.

“Go get cleaned up and get some rest,” I said, “and give Laine a hug when you see her. She has been through a lot too.”

“Yes, commander. You have the bridge,” said Jem. She got up and left.

Once Jem left, I spoke to Quon. “Quon, please lock out access to that video of Koluna. Watching it is not good for the health of the crew.”

“Confirmed,” replied Quon.

“When we arrive at Ori Major, I will need a data dump of evidence to share with minister Tarron. Please do not include that video of Koluna,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Quon.

“Thank you,” I said.

We didn’t see Jem for about a day. She slept in her cabin, and the sleep would do her good. We all had to go through our own grieving process. For me, I knew a part of her was still alive.

I spent most of the day hanging out with Laine in the main bridge. The clone of Ship had all its huge memory cores, which fortunately included movies. We enjoyed snuggling up and enjoyed some movies on the tactical display.

I looked at the time and figured it was time for dinner.

“Laine, do you have any of the Quard food left? It might be just the thing to tempt Jem out of hiding,” I said.

“I think so. Do you want me to prepare?” replied Laine.

“Please do. Quon, please send a message to the captain. Laine and I request the pleasure of her company for dinner in the main dining lounge, followed by a movie. Also note that Laine will prepare Quard specialities,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Quon.

Laine left for the main dining lounge. A few minutes later, I got a response.

“Attention, response from the captain. She will meet you there soon,” said Quon.

“Thank you,” I replied. I left for the main dining lounge.

When I arrived, Laine was working on her preparation.

“Do you need any help?” I asked.

“No, I got it almost done,” replied Laine.

Jem arrived, she looked more her normal self. I opened my arms, and she came into my hug. While we hugged, I looked at Laine who smiled at me.

“Dinner is ready,” said Laine. We arranged it so we sat close together to eat.

After dinner, we moved to the large sofa to watch a movie. It seemed fitting that we picked an Ori comedy. It was one of Koluna’s favourites. We snuggled together and watched movies until we got tired, then we all retired to our cabin.

We’d reached the turning point in our recovery. Jem was more like before the disaster that lost Ship and Koluna. Because Quon was a clone of Ship, it was not like we lost Ship. The real loss was Koluna.

I had to prepare for our visit to Ori Major. How do we tell her parents? How do Ori handle death of a loved one? I promised her father I would look out for her.

After many days, Quon announced our arrival in Ori space. We activated the transponder code that identified us as allies.

“Sensors show an Ori patrol vessel has detected our presence and is changing course to intercept.” Said Quon.

“What is the estimated arrival time?” Asked Jem.

“Estimate they will be in range in eleven minutes.”

Soon we got the incoming hail we expected. “Baglogi vessel, welcome back to Ori space.”

“Thank you for the welcome. I am captain Jem, and this is commander Brian. We are both crew aboard this vessel.”

“Please state the purpose of your visit to Ori space.” Said the patrol vessel.

“We seek passage to Ori Major, to meet with minister Tarron. Also, we are returning the body of lieutenant Koluna, who died recently. She is an Ori citizen,” said Jem.

“Baglogi vessel, it will be our honour to escort you to Ori Major. I remember watching the speech by commander Brian. Many of our crew lost friends or family aboard vessels destroyed by the pirates. Please follow us.”

“Thank you. We will follow you,” said Jem. The Ori patrol vessel turned toward Ori Major and Quon followed.

I was thinking at this point that Koluna would be excited to be returning home. I just wished it was under more pleasant circumstances.