CHAPTER 23 - CONFIRMATION

DATE POINT: APRIL 19TH, 7 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION)

LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, ABOARD UTRN INDOMITABLE WILL

LIEUTENANT PAUL KARST

“Follow me, everyone.” Henry beckoned as the last of their entourage, Jenkins, stepped out of his Paladin suit. Paul smirked as Jenkins struggled to free his boot from the suit in his haste to catch up to the group.

“Hang on, guys!” Jenkins called out.

"Keep up!" Paul called back. Henry shot him a glare, which was promptly ignored as Alvarez arrived in the gunship bay, panting slightly.

“Captain! Good to see you back with us. What happened in there?” Alvarez asked.

“They told us a bunch of information that if true is going to permanently change our mission outlook. Before we go spreading around anywhere, or making plans we need to verify some intel first. They offered us a deal that we should probably take if we can determine they were telling the truth. So now we need to get to the CIC so we can focus our scopes on the inner system so we can try and disprove their claims.” Henry said.

“That tells me nothing, boss, but that’s fine, more info later, right?” Alvarez asked.

“Yeah, once I can get to the CIC and we figure this all out.” Henry replied.

“Understandable, the crew has been restive in your absence, but we held discipline well overall.”

"What happened?" Paul asked. Alvarez looked back towards him.

"I... I'll wait til we get to the CIC where I can show you. I think that would be best." Alvarez replied cryptically.

One by one, the group grabbed a loop on the downwards quick lift to head into the CIC. As his turn to exit came, Paul grabbed at the padded bar around the door to swing himself around off the cable and onto the deck. The officer of the watch turned to see the large group incoming and turned to call out.

“Captain on deck!” A cheer arose from the crew, Henry played to his crowd with graciousness, shaking hands and exchanging greetings until he made his way to his station by the systems map on the upper level of the CIC.

“Fleetwide directive, Thank you for holding the line and keeping your cool. We can report a successful first contact with the Alderei. We are in talks now, with the prospect of normalized peaceful relations on the table!” Another cheer arose from the crew.

“We will begin round two discussions tomorrow. Drone flight rotations are to continue at quarter deployment saturation, do everything to keep those C.L.A.P.P.E.Rs hidden for now, and keep our defensive screen active. Just because we had a promising outcome does not mean we turn our backs to them to be stabbed. Stay alert, but not paranoid, we don’t expect trouble but we should be prepared for it. Well done, each and all of you, Humanity is proud of us today.”

Again, more applause. What a ham.

… you are jealous… a worthless and ignoble emotional state... your skills differ... as does your responsibilities... comparison is pointless...

Stay OUT of it. Paul replied mentally.

After he shut down the comms app, Henry beckoned for Alvarez to come in close. Paul leaned in to listen.

“Alright, so the Alderei claim that we have decoupled ourselves from our original timeline, and that headache incident was the moment that occurred. They claim that based on the date of the cipher, which they had to decrypt to even read, that we have re-emerged into real space thirty two hundred years in our collective past.” Henry began, drawing Alvarez in and speaking quietly.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Alvarez said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his eyes squinched.

“No bullshit, or at least that’s the claim.” Henry replied grimly. Alvarez shook his head slowly, looking miserable.

“No, I believed you, I am referring to something else. Unfortunately their story fits the evidence we've uncovered, we just didn't have the context until now to interpret it. Here, look at this.” Alvarez brought up a series of images on the main screen in front of them. First of Jupiter and Ganymede, then of the moon and Earth orbit.

“The shipyards… where is Ganymede, Liberty station? Even looking at two year old light they would still be there, at least Ganymede station should be visible, anyway.” Paul said.

“Precisely what we've been scratching our heads about in the CIC while you were away. Sounds like you've given us our answer. They aren’t there because they haven’t been built yet.” Alvarez said in dawning horror.

“Then the Alderei told us the truth about the timelines. We know they struggled to decrypt the cipher, so we can safety assume the date given was likely accurate.” Victor said, shaking his head.

“Meaning we are trapped in the GODDAMN BRONZE AGE!?” Lucas yelled, gaining the immediate ire of everyone in the command huddle.

“We're trapped in the bronze age?” “How is that possible?” “Oh god we're never getting home!” “You owe me fifty bucks, pay up.” “Hail Mary, full of grace…”

“Remove him. Lucas, keep your goddamn cool in the future or you will be permanently removed from command circles. Outbursts like that are panic spreaders, you should know better than that.” Henry said in a tone of pure ice. Lucas froze, wide eyed, before Lance began to haul him away to the beginnings of an argument.

“It appears there was an oversight in the planning of this mission. Doctor Rousseau did not fully understand the implications of the technology he was working with; thus, it appears that we managed to detach ourselves from our home timeline during the mass migraine. We somehow have re-entered real space at the beginning of our human timeline rather than returning to our spot in it where we belong.”

Henry raised his hand to quell the murmurs.

“The Alderei claim we have two options ahead of us, we can leave and retry entering real space to see if we can eventually make it back close enough to our timeline to be happy, or we can stay and help them with their war for now while they research a way to control our re-entry point in space time. If that second route succeeds, we can therefore gain the ability to go home any time and on our own terms. If we stay, the research could take anywhere from a few months to a few years, but it would grant us the working ability to freely travel both space and time and control our exit point, effectively turning the Indomitable Will into a time machine. This is also a promise being made by the most advanced race in the galaxy, who also happen to be at war with the giants like we are.”

“Permission to speak freely, Captain?” One of the faceless bridge crew asked, Paul would have to get around to learning their names eventually. Eh.

“Granted, Thomas.” Henry said. Of course, HE knows their names.

“We fight with them for a few years against the giants while galactic super scientists try and upgrade our ship into a time machine? Or we roll the dice and hope we wind up with a better offer than that? This is insanity, Captain, how can we believe…”

Henry must have pushed the collection of pictures to every terminal because even the background whispers died in that moment.

…learn from him…use him… push them to accept the deal... there will be no better deal... do what you must to get to the surface... together we will command armies… scour our enemies… from our new world… together we will rule...

Paul smirked, the devious little bastard did have good things to say here and there.

“As you can all see, no Ganymede station, no Luna. From here we should see the superstructure of Liberty Station going up in the L1 Lagrange point. Look at that last picture. Night side Europe without a single city light. We most definitely are not in our home timeline. I had originally thought this was a psyop when they first told us, but much of this discovery came as a real time surprise to them in ways that would be near impossible to fake. Now with our own scopes we come back to see proof. I see no alternative but to accept the fact that we are trapped in the past. We have to at least learn more about and explore this alliance idea. I have the ability as Captain to force this to happen, to give the order. Before I do so, I want to speak with you as an integral part of our officer corps. So let’s talk this out, make sure we are coming together with the best combined thinking to influence me to make the right final decision.”

“Hear, hear! For the Captain!” “I say we stay and fight!” “Better to stay with a promised ally than take our chances again!” “This is not our war!” "Who cares, its been forced upon us! We don't have a choice!" "There is always a choice."

“Okay, I hear a lot of support for staying to fight. I will agree this is and is not our fight, the Alderei say that Earth in this timeline is populated by a human hybrid species called the Adamu. They are right now being ruled by the giants and are being kept in the bronze age to be exploited for labor, to extract raw materials, and to control their development. If we stay and fight, it will be to liberate an alternate reality version of our own people. Even if we never get that time machine technology to return to our home timeline, this war will have meaning for us and we will have a viable home here if we are willing to fight for it. Does anyone have a good case as to why we should abandon this and try again with a new timeline re-entry?”

“When you put it like that…” “What does command have to say?” “Why get rid of a good hand for an unknown hand?” “We should stay out of this.”

Henry listened to the chatter going around intently. Paul scrutinized him and everyone, though it was clear the crew largely supported staying. Henry clearly had control from the start and had his mind made up, but the crew seemed to love the idea of influencing him.

“It sounds like the crew has spoken, then. On such a momentous decision to see a cross section of the crew so united helps me tremendously. We will partner with the Alderei, liberate the Adamu, and this system will serve as our hidden colony. When and if we gain the ability to return to our home timeline, it will be with an armada at our back to turn the tide!”

Whoa, where did that ambition come from? The crew is going nuts over it though.

…it will be difficult… to sway influence… from that one’s grasp… far better to cultivate… your own harvest… to reap when the time is ripe...

Couldn’t agree with you more, creepy.

“Thank you, all of you, for continuing to stick with us throughout everything. Right now, you all have privileged information, information that could start a panic. Do not spread it around. I will make the announcement to the rest of the crew, but first I need to bring the section chiefs and the officer corps into this. Alvarez, assemble our leadership team on the parade deck right away.”

“Consider it done.” He said as he walked off, already tapping at his datapad.

“Paul, I need you to watch the CIC for any suspicious movements from our friends over there while I'm giving this speech. We will be vulnerable until local command and control can be restored when the meeting is over. Keep the peace for me, please.” Henry said, earnestly.

Paul nodded and gripped the rail, looking at the foreboding triangular formation of alien ships on the zoomed in view.

“I will keep things quiet for you, don’t worry. Keep them together, Henry. Consult with them, but remember you're in charge. The final decision rests with you. You walk a dangerous tightrope. We cannot afford to stoke new fires of discontent.” Paul cautioned.

“I know, damn it all, but do I know. I’ll be mindful, thank you.” Henry said before he turned to look away into empty space for a long moment.

“Oh, that’s Alvarez, looks like he’s setting things up to be ready for me to speak in about fifteen mikes. Just enough time to run over to C.L.A.P.P.E.R control to grab Chantal and Ariana, good.” Henry said, already turning to leave.

“Captain, can I come with you?” Jenkins asked, following behind. Henry just grunted and patted his shoulder before they left for the quick lift together.

SHORTLY THEREAFTER…

DATE POINT: APRIL 19TH, 7 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION)

LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, ABOARD UTRN INDOMITABLE WILL

CAPTAIN HENRY O’TOOLE

Henry slowly paced in front of the crowd, examining faces and allowing the uncomfortable, curious energy peak just a little longer. Finally, he stopped in the center, took a step back to better see everyone, and then stopped to breathe deeply.

“Greetings and thank you for dropping your important tasks to be here. I will make this brief. You have been gathered here because you represent the vast majority of high and mid-level links in the chain of command. We are about to make an announcement to the crew that will stress us all, and we will be leaning on you all to help keep the crew together.”

Henry motioned to Chantal who was playing techie for him. She winked at him and then switched the screens on the wall behind Henry to show the pictures of the empty inner solar system and of the pitch black nighttime shot of Europe.

“Some of you may have seen these pictures while I was aboard the alien vessel beginning first contact. Some of you likely helped clamp down on the spread of rumors. If so, thank you. Unfortunately, these pictures are quite real and they stand as proof of a shocking claim made by the aliens. The truth is, there was a major unforeseen problem with the inversion drive. When we passed the heliopause, we detached ourselves from our connection to our native timeline. When we re-emerged into real space, it was into a different part of the timeline than we left. The decoupling event was the cause of that mass migraine we all experienced. The reason it seems like there is no Ganymede or Liberty station, or the whole of Europe seems to be bereft of cities with electric lights is proof positive that we’re in the wrong part of the timeline.”

Henry held up his hands to calm the crowd, which took him an uncomfortably long time to accomplish.

“That is the bad news. The good news is that we can classify second contact as a success. The race we have met is called the Alderei, and they are at war with the giants, they have been for millennia now. We have begun early talks to cooperate, and they have pledged their support in helping us get back to our own timeline. They are advanced and prosperous, but they did not explore the inversion drive technology, so they do not have an immediate fix for us. They will immediately begin research using their vast resources and superior scientific knowledge and technology, but that will take time to bear fruit, even for them. In the meantime, they have made an intriguing offer.”

Curiosity seemed to hold his audience silent as he gathered his thoughts for the next phase.

“According to the Alderei, we have emerged into an alternate universe timeline where Earth has been conquered by the giants early in our history, and humans are a vassal species. We have been given the offer of their support in liberating this timeline’s Earth from the grip of the giants while the Alderei research a way to select what part of what timeline we re-emerge into with our inversion drive. That would effectively turn the Indomitable Will into a time machine, one where we can selectively graft ourselves into any point of any timeline. Right now, the system reinserts us randomly, and likely creates a new alternate timeline for us every time it gets used. Even in the best case scenario, we will likely never be able to have an effect on our original home timeline again. The best we can realistically hope for is to return to create an alternate universe version of our home timeline where we return with an armada from our secret extra-dimensional base while the original continues without us. We can either take them up on this offer or roll the dice again and see what alternate universe we arrive in next time. This one at least seems to have some potential allies willing to help us. The next time we may emerge into a hostile situation where they shoot first and ask questions later.”

Already murmurs were spreading through the crowd, he was losing them.

“Ultimately, the decision is mine as to what we do, though this decision is far to important to be made without hearing multiple opinions. I am strongly leaning towards liberating this young Earth and making this our secret colony so that we still accomplish our original goal, while standing to gain tremendously should we succeed. I want to hear dissenting opinions first, whomever has a burning thought, go!”

That seemed to instantly change the energy in the room. Most of the nervous chatter had died, it seemed that most of them agreed. Several people seemed to be alight with manic energy, Henry selected the closest with a nod.

“Captain, how do we know we can trust their word, sir?”

“John, thank you, great question! We don’t, I originally thought it was a psyop when they told us, but these are our own pictures with our own equipment which doesn’t lie. So far, everything else we have seen and heard from them appears to be truthful as well. Furthermore, we share a common enemy and they have treaties that clearly separate them on ideological grounds. We don’t have all of the same values, but we share enough key values that we can coexist well, or so it seems. We don’t know if we can trust them yet, but the small details are painting a picture that says maybe we can. Time will tell, and we should maintain cautious boundaries, and demand protection, as well as firmly delineated agreements . Next!”

Henry pointed to a woman near the back who had been raising her hand from the beginning.

“Oh, you actually picked me? Right! Thank you, sir! What guarantees are we being given that this technology they promise will ever exist? Will we be able to exit from this conflict at will? Do we keep our autonomy with this deal? I think we should make sure we are not signing up to be their new vassal species."

"Thank you, Susan, those are all great concerns that I will bring up with them. We need to formalize our own strategic autonomy of choice within this relationship and to enshrine the right to end this partnership if we so choose at our own will.”

“Get it in writing, Captain!” “What happens again if we just leave and keep going?” “Fuck them, we can’t trust a goddamn xeno! They’re going to make us their cannon fodder!” “We can’t trust them.” “We don’t owe them anything!” “No human blood for xeno wars!”

“Enough! One at a time! I can hear all of you, and I am hearing a certain amount of speciesism out there. Let’s address that. The main ideological divide in the galaxy appears to be over rights to free garden worlds without some form of intelligent life already developing on it. The Alderei believe in non-interference, and galactic uplift treaties only concern banning the teaching of advanced technology to young races. Because of this, the giants will enslave young races, guiding their development and keeping them in the bronze age or slowing their growth while still abiding by the treaty through suppressing technological uplift. Earth and her humans are trapped as that client race down there right now and the Alderei cannot dislodge them due to galactic law. We have no such restrictions, and the odds are good that we can succeed, as this system is cut off from the possibility of reinforcements. This is their problem, yes, but in many ways this is also our battle, as the presence of anatomical humans down there makes this a uniquely human problem. There are as many ideological divides in the thoughts of alien minds as there are amongst humans. We by our own nature are no better or worse than they, only our thoughts, actions and attitudes can separate us. Take care to elevate yourself above that which you hate, for the words of a hypocrite have no weight. Next! One at a time, this time, please!”

“Sir, do we know what year in history we are supposed to be in?”

“Good question Madison. No, we have not positively identified what year we are in, or even how close or recognizable this parallel universe we have been grafted into even will be. We might find a lot of similarity to the archaeological and mythological record, or everything might be different. We are going to request briefing packets on the situation on the ground as part of the second level first contact briefings we have planned with the Alderei tomorrow. Next!”

“Sir, I don’t think we should do this because it will restrict our freedom and put our people at risk for what, ultimately, is not our war.”

“Thank you Jackson, let’s address that. Our other option is to roll the dice and re enter the system again and again and again until the randomization gives us a better outcome than we have now. The outcome we have now is pretty damn optimal compared to how things could have been, this time the Alderei chose to talk. We can address issues of freedom and autonomy through the negotiations process. Supposedly, we can hire what they call a true prophet who can help isolate timelines and choose a spot within it for us to re-emerge from the surface of Earth but they are rare, so we even have a third option, even if its odds of success are minuscule. To get access to Earth we need to work with the Alderei. Out of all the available options, there are no great ones, but there is one clear good, viable option. If we have to be very careful when dealing with them, so be it, at least they aren’t shooting at us too.”

There didn’t seem to be anyone else with a burning desire to talk now, and Henry had not been swayed.

“We will be drafting a treaty with the Alderei and we will move to liberate Novo Earth with the intent to there create our secret colony. If we ever gain the ability to choose our re-entry point with the Inversion drive we can then use this colony to support the larger war within our home timeline. Until that day, we need to get used to the idea that this timeline is now home. I will make the announcement to the crew and will visit each section of the ship in turn to answer questions. Until then, please do not spread this information around until after I make the broad announcement. Thank you for your input, I know I can count on you to help keep things calm. You are dismissed and may return to your stations.”

Henry turned and left. Chantal caught up with him and gave his back a scratch, concern written across her face.

“You did good back there, they seemed to be pretty calm about taking in the news.” She said.

“Yeah, I don’t seem to have made any new enemies at least and I maintained my authority even in the face of a decision that affects all of our lives in such a fundamental way."

"Yeah, but honey, you can’t put that on your shoulders like that. You didn’t do this to them, they know that. If anyone has a target on their back its Dr. Rousseau. Even then, I didn’t catch this issue when I looked over his work either.”

“Yeah, but this kinda stuff isn’t your area of expertise anyway babe, he's the one that should have foreseen this. This is very much his specialization.” Henry replied.

“All of our testing was in system, and it conformed to models, so it seemed natural to move to manned testing and implementation in a longer inter-system trip. Everyone wanted this to work so badly, it makes sense how this could have been overlooked, not that it is excusable. I’m worried that people are going to come after me when this gets out. I’ve already been enough of a target because of our skin contrast with random comments and dirty looks. That kinda stuff I am used to, but If people think I could have seen this coming or I could have somehow prevented this…” Chantal shuddered.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe. Plus, Ariana, wherever she is…. Will be assigned to guard you all the time. You are far too precious to this mission, to me, to ever let you get hurt like that.” Henry replied cupping her hands in his and then hugging her close afterwards. A familiar form seemed to emerge from the shadows behind them.

“Right here, sorry, I stayed behind to watch the crowd disperse. I think the few detractors that were left seem to at least understand your reasoning, even if they are unhappy over the outcome. We should be in the clear amongst our leadership. I am concerned about what happens when everyone in the broader crew knows.”

“There you are! Thanks for the report. What happens is we trust our leaders to parrot back these talking points to their own people at least well enough to buy time for me to visit the section chiefs in person to put the worst remaining fears to bed. I still have a speech to write, too. This one I did more off the cuff, but I was face to face to gauge reactions. I won't have that luxury on the mass announcement later.”

“With a speech you don’t have that same benefit to quickly save things if the reaction is bad.” Ariana added in with a smile.

“Yes… Thank you. Exactly why I hedged my bets by prepping the leadership early. A mutiny can never be allowed to happen again.”

Finally, they arrived in front of Henry’s door.

“I have a speech to write, I wanted to make sure you were there to hear the update. Did you want to head up to C.L.A.P.P.E.R control to keep an eye on things or did you want to stay with me here for now?” Henry asked Chantal.

“Henry, right now I am just happy you made it out of that alien ship, I’m gonna soak up as much time with you as I can. It just went on and on and there was no word from you at all, then people started sending those pictures around. It got bad in there for a bit. You should have checked in!” Chantal shot Henry a glare.

“You’re right, I should have, but you also don’t understand how intense those negotiations got in the middle there.” Henry said.

“Don’t tell me that unless you want me to be a nervous wreck when you go back in there next. I know what you told them is the sugar coated version. Tell me the real version. What happened in there?” Chantal asked as she sat down on the corner of the bed next to Henry’s workstation.

“They flexed how advanced they were, they verbally fenced with me masterfully, they were eminently rational which made them easy to work with, but they still clearly had an alien worldview. They created some kind of distributed consciousness they called Consensus that I was speaking to that functions as their actual government. Once we proved our story was true, they passed like six resolutions in less than a minute right in front of us. It was a hell of a system.” Henry said.

“They have a gestalt consciousness for a government!?” Chantal asked in giddy excitement. Ariana groaned and rolled her eyes from her position against the wall.

“I don’t know what that means, unless it’s a billion or more beings combining their intelligence together to make a cohesive collective consciousness. What? That's just the context clues speaking.” Ariana said.

“Pretty much, close enough to the definition to work. So, they were friendly?” Chantal asked, hopefully.

“Not exactly, they trapped us in the room and were threatening to try us for espionage at one point in the middle until they cracked the encryption on the cipher and determined we were telling the truth.”

“Holy shit, really?” Ariana said, “How did Preston handle it?”

“Stoic, like a champ. He may just become something someday.” Henry replied, proudly. “Once they cracked that cipher they dated the thing as being from thirty two hundred years in the future, give or take once they converted our calendars back and forth. That moment really helped cool things down.”

“I had no idea it got that bad… I had a bad feeling, and I usually never let those bother me. Couldn’t shake this one, and here you were in danger.” Chantal mused.

“They added us to their Registry of Sophonts as an independent polity and as an endangered species so they can classify us differently from the Adamu as they call the humans of Aht’Lantis, or Earth. This way they can form treaties with us and we can take on the Adamu as our own client race in galactic law.”

“So a lot of good in with the bad is what you're saying?” Ariana added.

“Yeah, we have to think of the Alderei as inherently pragmatic and very focused on rule of law unbound by modern liberal human morality. They have to be in order to allow for a treaty on something as fundamental as uplift of species to come down to technology transfer alone.” Henry replied.

“If you think about it, that justifies the hands-off policy of the Alderei with preventing the worst abuses of the giants as they still insist on actively managing their developing races. How horribly pragmatic.” Chantal said, sounding a bit disgusted.

“So we can only trust them as far as our mutual interests align.” Ariana said.

“Precisely my read. There’s another problem that came up. This one we will not be making public.” Henry said.

“What’s that, honey?” Chantal asked, scratching his arm lightly.

“They have offered to both genetically and physically modify a dozen or so of our key personnel into super soldiers capable of fighting what they call the god-kings. They claim the procedures are safe and have been tested, but who knows. The really sticky one that I am going to have to be extra careful with is functional immortality. I don’t know how exactly they have succeeded or the technical details about it, but that one worried me. They only have fifteen vials, and everyone will want one."

“Shit, how are you going to decide who gets what?” Ariana asked, her eyes widening in alarm.

“I will need to get a full list of our key combat personnel and prioritize them first. That way we can have multiple active ground teams led by super-soldier champions capable of challenging a god. I can’t believe I'm saying all of this with a straight face. Fucking ET tech.” Henry said, slightly exasperated.

“What else did they say?” Chantal asked.

“They talked about subdermal armor, enhanced muscles, nanomachine upgrades that let you hold your breath for an hour, neural supercomputers, stuff like that.” Henry said, trying to remember everything.

“They're just offering us all of this clearly expensive tech for free? I find that suspicious.” Chantal said.

“Well, they implied that we would only get the super soldier tech if we joined their cause and decided to liberate Earth. Not exactly free, pretty standard carrot on a stick there. I didn’t really go into much detail on this but they have some means of melting the walls and floor to create doorways and even furniture on demand. When I asked about it, they said they have such an overabundance of energy that such phase transition of matter control is a joke to them.”

“Is that what they really said?” Chantal asked, her arms folded.

“Okay, I paraphrased a bit but that was the gist of it.” Henry waved her off as she chuckled, clearly having won the point.

“Alright, all jokes aside, that comment alone changes quite a lot.” Chantal said cryptically.

“How? What possibly could have changed so much?” Ariana challenged.

“We have a scale to judge the advancement level of hypothetical alien species, and that kind of technology and spare energy capacity would put them at or near a three on that scale. For reference, the giants are estimated to be a two, and humanity is trying to break through to even be a one. They say that the current pace of building LFTR desalinators and power plants back on Earth and amongst our industrial holdings in the solar system will make us K-one by fifty AU.” Chantal readjusted her glasses.

“The point is, I don’t think they are bluffing as much as I did before. The odds of them actually being able to find us a real technical solution to our problem just went up from plausible to possible in my estimation. Quite a bit has changed.” Chantal said with a smirk. “Just make sure you are extra careful in there; these are incredibly dangerous beings to have both as allies or enemies.”

“Thank you, I’ll be sure to stay on my toes. On another note, Ariana I need you to do something.” Henry said.

“What do you need?”

“I am going to make the announcement soon that we are stranded and that we will be cooperating with these friendly ET. Your first job remains to protect Chantal, for now. What I need you to do after that is decide if you want to be included in the ground combat teams and if you want to be a candidate for ET mods. I am strongly debating reserving a dose of the functional immortality for me and another for Chantal, especially since her mind is irreplaceable in maintaining the C.L.A.P.P.E.R systems. If I stop aging and start healing rapidly, then it effectively ends the mutiny threat and mankind’s first starship stays in safe hands. I cannot answer for you if you want to consider immortality or maybe other mods instead, I just ask that you think about it and have an answer ready.”

“Damn, heavy stuff. I will let you know; I think the call of adventure will be overwhelming for me, but I am not sure if I would take the immortality option. I will have to think if I wish to spend eternity ultimately having to be stuck with these thoughts and memories. There is something nice about knowing that someday it will all end whether I like it to or not.” Ariana replied, almost robotically while staring off into space..

“Dark, you know I am totally here for you if you ever want to unpack some of that, right, sweetie?” Chantal offered with apparent sincerity.

“Bite me. Bad things happen when you pull the pin on a grenade and don’t have a plan for the aftermath. You can pay for my shrink if we make it out of this mission alive, until then I have weaponized my mindstate so it instead helps keep me safe. It’s not an accident that I'm so hyper aware of danger.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll leave it alone. Just, you know I am here for you, if you ever need me. Which you don’t, I get it, but if you ever do…” Chantal said with a cute sideways smile on her face.

Ariana rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Henry wisely kept his mouth shut, long having recognized that not every conversation demanded his interaction. The silence that followed helped Henry tremendously in organizing the first draft of his speech. There was a lot of work yet to be done before they would return once again into the belly of the beast to continue negotiations.

“I’m gonna need some coffee…” Henry leaned back in his chair. It was going to be a long day.