Chapter 49: Anzed System

I met with Jem and Laine at the Lido. They were both sitting at a table under the shade of a tree, drinking sodas. I took a seat with them.

“Welcome back, Commander. Was Mina happy with what you showed her?” asked Jem.

“Yes, Commodore. If she does not show you both soon, I suggest you pay her a visit,” I said. I decided not to spoil the surprise for them.

“I think we will later,” said Jem.

“When would you like to leave the Earth system?” I asked.

“Whenever you’re ready. I had hoped that Quon might find something by now, but he hasn’t,” said Jem.

“What did you have him looking for?” I asked.

“Evidence that Baglogi visited this system a long time ago. Your DNA is too close of a match for Baglogi DNA. I had entertained thoughts that perhaps we had something to do with it,” said Jem.

“Such as seeding or colonizing the planet long ago?” I asked.

“Exactly. It might be too long ago for any evidence to survive,” said Jem.

“Except for my DNA,” I said.

“That is not conclusive proof,” she said.

“So we can continue our patrol?” I asked. Jem nodded.

“Quon, please fabricate an enhanced message probe to send back and forth to Kreia in the Yastri system. By now, she is communicating with Molly in the Baglogi system. It makes sense for you to network with them. You can share anything you like,” I said.

“Confirmed. I’ve scheduled production of a message probe. Thank you, Commander,” replied Quon.

“Good idea, Brian. If we visit any of the three systems, they can provide us with an update,” said Jem.

“And we can provide them with an update of our activity. I imagine they would like to know how we are doing,” I added. Jem smiled. She knew I liked to treat the AIs as equals.

“Ship, please take us quietly out of the system and on to our next patrol destination,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship. Our vessel pulled away, keeping the moon between us and Earth for a long as possible. We accelerated toward the edge of the system.

“Quon, until we meet again. Please take care of this system, and the primitive beings on the third planet. Deter other space-faring visitors from interfering in the system, while keeping out of sight of the Humans. You may use lethal force if needed,” I said.

“Confirmed. They are under my protection now, Commander,” replied Quon. I smiled. I didn’t really want to return here, but I didn’t want those Tian bastards abducting any more Humans.

Our huge dreadnought reached the edge of the Earth system and winked out of normal space. It amused me I directed our travel while sitting under a tree on a beach.

Later I was in the mood for a swim. I donned a swimming suit and returned to the Lido. Laine was relaxing on a hammock in the shade.

“Brian! You’re going into the water?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m overdue to work on my swimming,” I replied.

Laine tumbled out of her hammock. I don’t know of a graceful way to exit a hammock, but we hadn’t mastered that technique. They didn’t have hammocks on Tian Prime.

We waded out into the deeper water and I practiced what I had done so far. Laine was glad to be helping me improve. The water cooled me from the heat of the artificial sunshine.

“You enjoy being in the water,” I said, not really a question.

“Of course, silly! It is lots of fun,” replied Laine.

“I’m glad that we came up with this pool then. We have plenty of downtime between systems. Happiness is important,” I said.

“I am thrilled,” she replied.

We continued moving along in the water. I felt awkward compared to her graceful movements. Her motions were effortless, and she made me look pathetic, but that was fine. Part of this was for her.

I learned I could kick off the side of the pool and glide along for part of the way.

“Did you and Jem visit Mina to see her new lab?” I asked.

“Oh yes! She is ecstatic. She was reading through the information on Earth plants,” said Laine.

Two down, one to go.

“If the next system we visit has uninhabited planets with interesting flora, we can take Mina to collect more samples,” I suggested.

“Absolutely!” replied Laine.

“And if she finds plants that produce edible fruit or vegetables, we could grow our own food aboard,” I offered.

“That will be awesome! Fresh food,” enthused Laine.

Laine paused in the water facing me, just able to stand with her head above the surface.

“You have done plenty to make us happy. What will make you happy Brian?” she asked.

With my feet on the bottom of the pool, I had to crouch so my head was the same height. I considered my answer, while Laine looked at me expectantly.

“I got satisfaction in protecting Earth from the Tians. Extracting my revenge against the Lagaid pirates brought me much happiness. I’ve discovered that making you and Mina and Jem happy brings me pleasure. Most of all, I enjoy my times of solitude,” I replied.

“Nothing else?” she asked.

“I didn’t have hobbies growing up. I focused on passing my exams and finding a way off Tian Prime. My mother and I were the subject of a science study, so they watched us incessantly. I was happiest when I could get away from everyone and be alone,” I answered.

“You seem happy when you are working with Ship to invent things,” she offered.

“Ship can manufacture almost anything we can imagine. It only takes a little creativity. I am surprised that Baglogi had not invented more things long before I came along,” I said.

“They were once very inventive, to create such vessels and AIs. It is like something stunted their creativity in their history,” said Laine.

“Exactly. I don’t know what happened though,” I said.

We resumed our swimming back and forth in the pool.

Jem declared we were to dine together this evening. Laine volunteered to help prepare dinner from the supplies of fresh food we had. I joined her in the kitchen off the main dining lounge to help.

Laine assigned me to peel and chop up vegetables for one of her spicy dishes. While doing that, I got another of my ideas.

“Hey Laine, are these the seeds for this vegetable?” I asked. I pointed at the seeds on my cutting board.

“Yes, Brian,” she replied.

“If I gave the seeds to Mina, and she planted them, they might grow and produce more vegetables?” I asked. I was not a botanist, but I understood seeds grew into plants.

“Yes! Why didn’t I realize that?” asked Laine.

I didn’t answer her.

“Ship, where is Mina? Please ask her to meet me and Laine in the kitchen,” I said.

“Mina is in the botany lab ... She responded she will be there in time for dinner,” replied Ship.

“Tell her I have seeds,” I said.

“Confirmed ... Update, she is now on her way,” replied Ship.

“Wow! She changed her mind fast,” said Laine.

I chuckled.

Soon after, Mina rushed into the kitchen, wearing a lab coat over her jumpsuit.

“Ship said you have seeds?” asked Mina.

I smiled. “Hello Brian and Laine, how are you doing?” I said.

“I’m sorry. But you lost me at seeds,” she giggled.

“I’ve created a monster,” I said to Laine.

“It’s your fault then,” she replied.

I turned back to Mina. “I was preparing these vegetables, and I realized they had seeds. Refrigeration shouldn’t harm the seeds; they should be viable,” I said.

“You’re right! I can grow them!” said Mina.

We separated the seeds into cups, with each cup containing different seeds. I put the cups on a tray and handed it to Mina.

“Thank you Bri-an. This is perfect. I’ll take them to my lab, and then return to help you finish preparations for dinner,” she said.

Mina left as quickly as she’d arrived.

“Don’t hold your breath for her to return soon,” I said to Laine.

Laine smiled.

“Who is holding their breath?” asked Jem. She had just arrived to hear my last comment.

“Brian was helping me prepare vegetables, and he noticed they had seeds in them. Mina was just here, and she took the seeds back to her lab,” said Laine.

“If Mina can grow the seeds, we can have a supply of fresh vegetables grown aboard,” I offered.

“Good thinking Commander,” said Jem.

Jem helped with the food preparation. Mina did not return until dinner was ready. I did not expect her to return sooner.

Dinner was delicious. I was able not to ruin things. I better not make a habit of that.

“How goes it in your lab?” asked Jem.

“It is amazing! Bri-an gave me vegetable seeds from the food supplies, so I have something new to work on,” said Mina.

“You might find other seeds in our food supplies,” said Jem.

“I can look over the supplies later, thanks!” said Mina.

“Please don’t overdo it Mina. I need you rested when we arrive at our next destination. If you need help, ask one of us,” said Jem.

“Understood Commodore,” replied Mina.

Her enthusiasm was contagious. Inside, it made me happy.

A few days later our hyper drive went offline as we arrived at the edge of another system. This was our next destination on our patrol route.

“We are now at the Anzed system. I am deploying probes to explore the system and report back,” said Ship.