No Home on This Journey: TimeSaga C4 (All 5 Chapters)

No Home on This Journey
TimeSaga:  The Society Story Four
Chapter One

As Mary and I went over one of the battles we had in the simulation, I had to admit, "I am not someone who goes around battling aliens.  All my great excitement has been in laboratory settings."

Seeing the girl look at me, I could not help but agree with others about the amount of intelligence she had.  I had never met her until now, but from the point in time where my husband admitted to creating her I had read the reports.  Joseph had bragged on the intelligence of our artificial daughter.  The statements from those who provided details of her abduction spoke of how smart Mary had been in handling certain situations.  The quality of the androids created by the Straw Sapien Corporation verified that even without having to damage their captive they were able to acquire very good information from her.  Since being freed the reports about her and the conversations with her stated that she was adaptable and clever.  Looking at this girl with pink hair and a body almost completely comprised of machines and electronics, I had to admit that my genes had produced a very intelligent daughter.

"Mommy, I will stay with you."

"No, Mary.  That is not what I am saying.  What I am saying is that you are doing things I could not even dream of doing.  I am saying that I am proud of what you are doing, and actually envious of you.  All I can claim is that my science gave you all these opportunities and my genes are there in your humanity.  You have faced some tough times.  I recognize that, but you are even more wonderful of a person from the way you survived them.  You need to stay with Debra."

"Well, she and the other ladies speak of finding a man and having a life with a family."

Those words came softly as if Mary had a deeper issue.  I honestly felt that her life up to now would have sent most people into therapy.  Hoping to get my daughter to talk about some of her deeper issues, I presented some information that I knew.

"I doubt Debra will marry.  I knew Jimmy very well.  Debra loved him very much, and he did love her.  They had years of history behind them, so easily worked with each other and planned their life with each other.  I do not see how any other man will ever be able to fill that place in her heart."

I could not help but smile, if not laugh at times, listening to Mary speak of those occasions when Debra went out to socialize.  Not just my pleasure in knowing that she was attempting to allow that another relationship might develop, but in knowing that Mary was allowed to tag along.  My daughter was not a creature that could be considered fully human, but I had to smile in hearing how she was treated as a complete person by those she associated with.

Her eyes jumped to the door.  It was something knowing the range of senses that my daughter possessed.  I had some direct knowledge with the Annapolis series, which was the production model of the girl my husband had made.  Having just experienced a simulation only a creation such as Mary could manage, I found myself having to realize just how much information she was constantly having to process.  I also looked to the door wondering who was arriving.

Seeing it open, I was not surprised to find Rudy coming to kiss me.  We were a couple, even though romance was not something either of us desired from the other.  He was homosexual, but even when I was a man our relationship had not been something sexual.  Rudy and I worked too closely to allow us to get intimate, although it also made us extremely close friends.

After kissing us both, Rudy said, "All right, Leanna.  I want you going with me.  Mary, we will need you as well."

She replied, "I fully expected to go."

Feeling out of the loop, I asked, "And where are we going?"

My daughter looked at me strangely, then answered, "Why on the Engendered – it is the spaceship that you were requesting from RayWeight."

Rudy said, "Darling, you were not the only one requesting the ship.  I mean, we deal with some fantastic technology.  Having our people out here doing things with other people's equipment only opens up the opportunities for technology theft.  If Debra and her people find something really amazing, or more importantly become inspired and realize something completely new and fantastic, it would help if they were able to keep those ideas to themselves until RayWeight could fully develop it."

Curious, not realizing that the ship was anywhere near completion, I had to ask, "Rudy, how much did you work on it?"

"What?  None.  Besides our Rothman Tube technology, there really is not anything new about spaceships.  What we have out there however are dozens of derelict spaceships left by the Nerisus Federation.  No telling what they had figured out.  If anyone can figure out the workings of that alien technology, it is me.  Of course, sweet Mary can identify things before I completely dismantle it.  As for you, my darling physicist, you also can figure out things simply by looking at it.  Thus, we have work to do."

I had to admit, "I'm not looking forward to a prolonged period of weightlessness."

"That is one of the major things we are looking for.  The okagaki and verikiy have artificial gravity.  There is every reason to assume that the Nerisus Federation had it as well.  Thus, let's go find it."

I looked to Mary to ask, "How much time do we have?"

She replied, "The Kayla is still checking their supplies.  We are to go on it.  There is a fear that korlocks will attack, and the weaponry on board the Engendered has yet to be tested.  The Kayla is definitely not an attack vessel, but it and its crew have been in a number of situations.  It is thus expected that they can deal with any situation while waiting for the Engendered to arrive and put its weapons through certain tests."

"And they expect us to sit on the Kayla during this?"

"With the korlocks things are usually calm until a Rothman Tube is again opened.  It is thus best if we are present once the korlocks are dealt with."

What I was hearing did not please me, but I knew that it was standard procedure in our space program.  With the discovery of the Rothman Tubes, mankind had been beset by the semi-material monsters.  I had been contacted in that first attack, and was given credit for recognizing their weakness.  Since then a number of methods of harming the korlocks had been developed.  Learning that we were not fighting a truly noble or sentient group of creatures, mankind advanced feeling no remorse for our eradication policy to those who attempted to disrupt our intentions.  Finding other races that did have qualities we could admire, mankind further lost concern for the harm inflicted upon the korlocks.  Our space program had grown even with the threat of the monsters, and I calmed myself understanding that it was best to agree to their procedures.

Rudy stayed to go over specifics of our mission.  The coordinates of the portal found on this planet led us to the middle of what was considered a space graveyard.  The okagaki, who had a world in the system, had not disturbed it.  We had to assume from what we had discovered so far that there would be another portal somewhere in the derelicts.  Further, we hoped to find a number of things that would help us humans advance.  Rudy brought up things that everyone considered to have a high probability of being discovered among the wrecks, and Mary and I did our best to make plans to help us gain the goals.

I found Mary to enjoy the discussion.  She could speak with clear knowledge on facts, displaying her ability to make use of data that had previously passed through her mind.  Unlike other factually smart people I knew, she also proved herself to be able to speculate on things beyond her ability to specifically know about.  I found myself enjoying the discussion realizing that my daughter was truly a smart girl and not just a source of information.

After a period of us laughing at some silly things we conceived to be found in the alien spaceships, Mary went silent.  I believe that Rudy noticed her change in attitude, because he tried to have her bring out some more information.  The face of Mary however just showed more and more stress, but she finally broke her silence.

"Mommy, I want to stay with you.  I cannot grow up.  I will ever be a girl, so you can always be my mommy."

I replied, "I will be your Mommy anyway, Mary.  Still, you are growing up – you have grown up.  You have a wonderful life out here.  They need you out here, Mary.  While he knew nothing of what was going to happen, your father made you into someone who had a place in the future of mankind.  You love your father for that, and you go forward as someone who has the blessing of knowing their place in this universe."

"I just – I just never had a childhood with a mommy and daddy.  As I grew up I listened to my father, but he was not a father like I see in all the media.  He helped guide me.  He loved me.  He however was not what I feel was truly a father.  In all my time locked away, I always hoped to be rescued and brought to my mommy where I could experience a normal life."

Rudy said, "Oh, come on, Mary.  What did you learn about your mother that said she had a normal life?"

Mary had tears form in her eyes as she replied, "She was my mommy."

I had to confess, "But I am not a normal lady.  Well, I am, but not in the normal fashion.  Still, my life has been just as convoluted as yours.  Neither of my girls were created in a normal fashion.  While it could be argued in the case of Sally, there is nothing in your history to claim you were normal.  However, that makes me feel that you can better understand me.  That makes me glad to have you in my life, Mary, but also has me believing that I will continue to be proud of you when we separate back in our own directions."

"I need this time with you."

She was crying now.  I held her not feeling the mechanical nature of her body, but the horrors that Mary had to have been bottling up inside her.  Her abnormal childhood had ended with the death of her father and being abducted as a prototype machine.  I thought back to all the efforts I made to locate her, and what I had since learned in handling multiple lawsuits against the Straw Sapien Corporation for the methods they used to gain their technology.  While I had been proud of the reports about her since being freed, I allowed Mary to cry and finally release some of the anguish that she had been keeping inside her.

Finally, I asked, "Mary, have I ever done anything to deny that you were my daughter?"

"No."

Sobs came with that simple answer, so I continued to hold my daughter as I said some more.  "Okay, so you trust that I do love you.  Both us have separate paths.  I however follow everything about you.  I am more than glad to finally meet you.  I agree that a child needs their parents.  Your father however is dead, and your mother is a very busy person.  You are going to have to accept that.  Still, when our paths cross, you are my daughter.  Yes, we should spend time with each other."

"That's all I'm asking."

I guess that Rudy noticed that the tears were drying up, as he chose that moment to remind us that he was present.  "Glad that is settled.  Now, you two get ready.  We are about to go back into space."

TimeSaga:  The Development, the first 12 stories edited, is now available on Kindle.
TimeSaga:  The Advance, the following 8 stories, is presently being edited.

No Home on This Journey
TimeSaga: The Society Story Four
Chapter Two

There were a number of us arriving at the landing area for the spaceships. Considering what I had experienced in the message, I could not help but look around attempting to see this city as it was meant to be. Considering that Roy, Debra, and Perry were with my daughter and me, I had people would could directly relate to what I was attempting to view. While waiting for the spaceship to finish its preparations, a number of us spoke of what we could determine of the world around us.

The buildings were not single family dwellings, but multi-storied edifices. While none actually appeared the same architecturally, inside they were relatively similar in layout. Most of those who came to this planet were able to adapt the rooms to where they felt comfortable. My team had special requirements that demanded they do some modifications, and it was their work that revealed some of the inner features of the buildings. From that knowledge others had sought their own alterations in the structures that made them better fit the intended purposes of those coming to the planet. While the Flags of Freedom were bringing people to make homes on Mission, none of them were looking to the buildings as single family dwellings, so it was assumed human architecture would soon cover the planet.

The roads were clearly not finished. Like the buildings, there was enough done to fit a purpose, but not enough to truly be a finished project. We looked at the large expanse of cleared pavement that was being used as our spaceport, and debated whether it was to have been the foundation to another building or a parking lot. We spoke of the type of vehicles we saw in the simulation, and wondered if the roads would have supplied power or done something to aid some other capability of the machines traveling upon them.

Our first stop in space was to dock at the Roland. Understanding that RayWeight should soon have its own ship coming, Roy had been called back to his ship. I noticed the sweet moment as the young man parted between him and Mary. While he had shown some concern for my daughter, I had not felt it indicated any romance. Seeing the actions of Mary toward Roy as he left to the Roland I however felt a need to check on things later.

My focus changed from my daughter to Debra as she declared, "What are you doing here?"

I did not immediately recognize the man that came to the doorway. My hope in seeing him was that this was a possible candidate of romance with Debra. His smile made his rather gaunt appearance seem kindly. His black hair appeared a little long for a military man. I thought he had pleasant blue eyes. His words to Debra however caused me to recognize that he had a long history with her and was not a recent addition to her life.

"I am here to protect you."

"The mercenaries have been hired for that purpose."

His smile let me know that he was used to such statements of independence from her, which had me accept that this was her brother. "And they have proven themselves, so I will not challenge them. It however is a rather large collection of destroyed spacecraft, Debra. My squad will be patrolling the area."

"I am supposed to have a RayWeight vessel coming."

"I have seen the specs on that ship, Debra. It might be a threat to the korlocks, but their weapons are untested. They in fact have requested assistance in assuring the quality of their armaments."

I appreciated that her expression declared that she would not disagree with those words. "I would say that my team could do that, but I hope they are going to be busy."

"I am hoping the same. Let me say that I will helping map the graveyard. There is also the matter of an okagaki world being present, so there might be a need to do some diplomacy."

"You can be diplomatic?"

I heard laughter from some men behind him. While Clyde was large enough to fill the doorway, I could make others in military uniforms behind him. The laughter let me know that such exchanges between Debra and her brother were common.

"Yes, I can be diplomatic. Considering that I am special forces, I am often sent in without regular backup. I thus have to be qualified in a number of possible situations, which includes having to be nice to locals."

"Well, just remember that I out-rank you."

"Yes, Queen Debra, I know that I am just a lowly major." Again there was laughter from the military personnel. "However, I am also one of your loyal subjects. You can depend on me and my squad to protect your position from getting beyond the ability of your immediate subjects to do their jobs. Ain't that right?"

Clyde raised his voice on that question. The cheers that sounded brought an even wider smile to his face. I felt relieved to see Debra smile as she replied to the question.

"I got good people with me, so it will take a rather drastic situation to overcome them. I wonder if your team is that good."

"We are still here just like they are, Queen Debra." Voices of strong agreement sounded from the military personnel. "You do your job and we will do ours."

I could not help but smile seeing Debra now move up to share a moment of affection with her brother. It helped me understand some of the complexities of her personality. Jimmy surely understood them, as he had known her from a young age. I found myself comprehending that someone desiring to get close to her would have a number of levels to pass through before reaching her true personality.

It was cute how both then spun barking orders. The similarities in their personalities became very evident. I found it even more apparent in the manner of those who served beneath them. While each group obeyed the orders, they smiled, chatted, and displayed a joy in their work.

Since I was with the group going with Queen Debra, I got to see more of her style of leadership. She displayed a very strong trust in what her people were doing. She spent time speaking to Captain Iwasaki of the Engendered. Her first questions concerned gaining an appropriate estimation of their arrival. She then asked about what would be necessary to bring his weapons into operation. I could make out that the captain did not want to challenge someone with the rank of queen in his guarded reply.

"Ma'am, the weapons are functional. They are however the best that could be appropriated by RayWeight, then tweaked by our people developing the plant to produce the robots to be built from your prototype. We thus are just not certain."

Debra did not sound satisfied as she replied, "You will be in space, Captain Iwasaki. I do not see why you just cannot fire them."

"Because we will be in friendly territory. We do not want to alarm the okagaki, much less fire in the direction of their planet or any of their vessels. That could also include any asteroid, comet, or who knows what might be considered debris by us. We do not want to harm any of the vessels remaining from the Nerisus Federation. I have been given strict orders that it should be treated as a place of the honored dead. Beside that fact, Queen Debra, you and your team will be in that area. Thus, I am sorry to say, being unsure of our weapons will have us not wanting to use them."

"How about testing them before you move through the portal?"

"We will be moving from our location directly to you. Distance truthfully is not a major factor in our use of Rothman Tubes. That is actually a detriment, in that we have learned that minute changes in our coordinates sends a boat or ship to places we have no way of knowing. Also, there is the fact that the coordinates for Earth has us appearing about two hundred miles over our planet even though the portal is near the Indian and Iranian border. How the technology knows the difference, even though the coordinates seem to be the same, even Dr. Beyonce or Dr. Ryan is unable to explain, and it is their technology. We now have coordinates for the graveyard, but no idea how to make minute changes in that."

I actually heard her mumble a curse, then she said, "Captain Iwasaki, I understand. I however must stress that there might be a need for your weapons. If such a situation does develop, I want to trust that you will work with me, the okagaki, and just basic survival instincts to use those weapons."

"That I can assure, Queen Debra."

No sooner did the conversation end, than I said, "Frances, I want a copy of that transmission sent to Ted Chemill with the instructions to assure Captain Iwasaki has the orders to fire his weapons should Queen Debra authorize."

I saw Debra smile at me, then softly say, "I don't need to copy the transmission, as I had the okagaki listening in." She then spoke in a strong voice, "Mary, any response from the okagaki?"

My daughter answered, "Just an approval. They will work with us to have an adequate map of their system to assure that we do not fire in the direction of anything they would rather us not hit."

"That's what I wanted to hear. She then activated a microphone before asking, "Captain Burbank, you have my authorization to leave."

From the speaker came the voice of the captain. "I believe that I can comply, Miss RayWeight. Let me assure everyone is in their seat."

I found Debra to turn her eyes in the same direction that I did. It seemed that we were both wanting to assure that Mary was secure in a seat. My daughter giggled with the sight of both of us focusing on her. Nodding as if in acceptance that I could care for my daughter, Debra turned her eyes toward her robot.

"FER-RON you have been in this situation numerous times in the past. Any differences in this time and those previous?"

The robot answered, "That would be best answered by Mary, Debra."

A confused expression showed on Debra's face as she turned back to my daughter. "Mary?"

She answered, "The okagaki are concerned about anything coming into their system. That does not disturb me, considering our conversations with them, but just has me concerned that their concern could be due to more threats than simply whatever historic problems they had with the Nerisus Federation or even the verikiy."

"I have been doing my best to keep the okagaki aware."

"I am not noticing any resistance or even a threat level. Just a concern. If I felt anything more than a concern, I would have voiced it. Let me remind you that I cannot relate everything that passes through my head, so you should assume some editing."

"Well I am glad that I asked. FER-RON, I am glad that you spoke as you did."

Before either could respond, we felt the engines of the Kayla propel us away from the Roland. The next feeling was of weightlessness. Before I could look to a monitor to provide some information about our location, I felt the engines again roar into life as conversations erupted on the speakers about us facing a mass of korlocks.

TimeSaga: The Development, the first 12 stories edited, is now available on Kindle.
TimeSaga: The Advance, the following 8 stories, is presently being edited.

No Home on This Journey
TimeSaga: The Society Story Four
Chapter Three

Debra showed that she had been in weightless environments as she easily released herself from her seat to move while saying, "Mary, I will need you. FER-RON, I will trust you. Orders may change, but I need to get to the bridge."

I had to release my straps, as I wanted to stay with my daughter. My movements did not have the grace of the other two ladies, but I found it strange to suddenly feel the grip of a very strong hand. I looked to see FER-RON, and her words to me let me know that she would not simply release her hold.

"I will assure that you make it to the bridge, Dr. Beyonce."

Amazed that she would even consider such an act, I let her escort me. Little jets could be seen coming from her body enabling her to move very precisely. My weight did not trouble her, but without any incidents she brought me behind Debra and Mary then set me next to the wall near Frances' station.

While the Annapolis series worked to assure that Butch had all the information he would need for plotting the maneuvers of the boat, Debra worked with Mary to determine where they would start their work. I moved enough to look at the monitors around Frances' station helping me understand what was visible through the clear front of the bridge. I found it interesting that the derelict vessels were not that large, even though I knew the forms of some korlocks were over twice the size of humans. The choice Debra and Mary agreed upon however had nothing to do with size, but from where there was some detection of a remaining power source.

As soon as Butch received the coordinates of our objective, he exclaimed, "Damn! Completely out of position for that."

Debra replied, "Well, it would not hurt if you could just work a closer flyby so we could maybe determine a good place to drop us off."

Captain Burbank said, "There is a lot of enemies in our area. Are you certain you want us to let you out?"

"All of our weapons are fully charged. We should be able to at least survive until reinforcements arrive."

Butch commented, "I believe she said, 'Yes,' Captain."

The captain replied, "Yeah, I heard her. You heard them as well, Dick. Get these ladies to where they want to go."

The helmsman returned, "I see the course. You ladies might want to hold on."

I asked softly, intending my words to just be for Debra, "Do we need to get into our spacesuits?"

Debra kept her eyes on the monitors while answering, "You can go ahead. I want to make certain we find a good place to get on that craft."

The captain said, "You ladies go ahead. With the amount of opposition presently around us, there will not be time for us to give you a good look. You get off the ship ready to deal with korlocks, and only once things get quiet around you will you really get to inspect your surroundings."

Mary replied, "He is right, Debra. There is too much that we do not know about what is around us. We could spend weeks simply studying the things around us, but the presence of the korlocks will force us to just work with things as we find them."

Suddenly, another voice came over the speakers. "Kayla, hold your course. We have some weapons to test."

I saw Frances's monitors light up as Mary sent her hands to her head. I did not know what my daughter was sensing, but could tell from the images on the screens that the Engendered had released a number of small missiles. The view of the front of the bridge lit up as a multitude of explosions went off in the space around us. I saw Mary smile and nod as the voice of Captain Iwasaki again sounded over the speakers.

"Okay, the damn things work. Kayla, what is your objective?"

The girl at the station replied, "This is Frances, Annapolis ser –"

"I know who and what you are, Frances. Have some Annapolis units over here, and we are presently deciding what to name them. Now, what is your objective?"

The white-haired girl sent the details to the Engendered. Not only was the destination stated, but she accessed Butch's system to gain the flight path. There was some exchange after which she whispered to Mary that she was speaking to eleven with forty-nine also serving on the ship. I saw my daughter only smile and nod. When the Engendered sent some of their proposed maneuvers back, it was Mary who activated a microphone to reply.

"This is Mary. The sonic defense is effective, but does not remove the threat. It is also disconcerting to us who have internals that work on the time-loop technology. The verikiy make use of that defense, but only at a personal level. It keeps a korlock from the specific verikiy that uses it, although also prevents it from bothering others and allows for it to be turned off."

The sound of Captain Iwasaki came back over the speaker, "So we cannot keep it active while you are inside."

"Please, do not. I will be needed to access the systems, and the music is most disturbing to me."

"What about if we focus on the target while you do your flyby? It should send the korlocks out, then we can deal with them while you maneuver for the approach. It should give you a clean ship."

I whispered to my daughter, "It should at least be clean enough for us to get some sense of our surroundings."

Mary smiled, then again spoke into the microphone. "Nothing is perfect, but it does sound like a nice gesture."

"You got it. Kayla, your plan is approved."

Glances passed among the crew of the boat. I gained the distinct impression that they really did not care if the Engendered approved their plan or not. Support for my belief came when Captain Burbank glanced at Debra and spoke.

"Miss RayWeight, don't let your people get too uppity."

Debra replied, "They are new to this, and trying to help. We can let it slide for the moment, although I will mention a need for a change of attitude should it persist."

I then saw Captain Burbank look to me, and he said, "Did not mean to slight you, Dr. Beyonce."

I replied, "Debra has the status she has because of her ability to lead in the direction I want her to go. All you did was show that she was worth the money she is paid."

"Glad you saw it that way. All right people, we have our flight path. Let's execute it."

Dick replied, "Already doing it, Captain. Ladies, get ready to make your observation, as we are coming upon your chosen target."

Our flyby did enable a scan resulting in a full 3D image of the craft. It was not whole, but I listened as Mary indicated some things she felt was intriguing. She also pointed out the feature of what appeared to be a blown airlock that could be the best manner of entering the wreck. With a nod from each of us ladies, an updated approach plan to the craft was sent to Butch.

I saw Mary again send her hands to hold her head as the Engendered made their attack around our destination. Frances also turned her head in a disturbed fashion. A camera on the outside of the Kayla had been set to keep the target in view. While the maneuvers of the boat did not always allow the best image, I watched as korlocks came from our destination and were attacked by the RayWeight vessel. Suddenly, both Mary and Frances lifted their heads to point to the 3D representation of our target.

It was Mary that said, "There is a portal there."

Debra voiced her surprise by saying, "You girls are good."

"I think it is protected." Her face tensed, then she said, "I think by a powerful korlock and just some active defenses."

I had to ask, "Why would they have a portal? Don't they have the capabilities to create their own Rothman Tubes?"

Debra suggested, "Mission was not yet finished, and Earth was barely influenced by the Nerisus Federation. Maybe the portals were the syncing devices with established places to regulate the coordinates until the planets became fully integrated into their system."

Captain Burbank said, "Only one way to know for certain. Get ready Miss RayWeight, Mary, and Dr. Beyonce, as we are coming upon your chosen destination."

I noticed someone missing, so activated a microphone to say, "Rudy, you will be needed."

Over the speaker came the voice of my friend, "Of course, Leanna. I have been here checking on Perry. You ladies are the ones not properly dressed."

We did not let his words disturb us. While we mumbled comments about needing to get into our spacesuits, we went over what information we had speaking of certain preparations. Finally, we turned to leave the bridge as Mary said some words of accepting that we could not predetermine everything.

"I have the schematics of the vessel in my head, so can direct us. There however is a lot that we can only identify by being there."

Nodding that we needed to get out and see things for ourselves, we went down to where the spacesuits were stored. As we had been told, Rudy and Perry were there waiting on us. We ladies allowed the men to do what they could in helping us With all our of our spacesuits showing the ability to keep us alive, we went to the airlock ready to see what there was to be discovered.

We floated over to the opening Mary said would be there. Also as she had stated, the evidence was that an airlock had been blown. What she however had not said was that there would be bodies. We entered the ship to find in our way the mummified remains of korlocks. As we floated forward checking the corpses, the voice of Captain Iwasaki let us know that he was intercepting the signals from our suits.

"I am sending a team over to gain those bodies. Those are the first physical korlocks for us to study."

I replied, "This is a graveyard. They died in the line of duty, and we should honor their memory."

"That airlock was blown out. They did it to themselves. They did not die from combat."

"We have no way of knowing what went on. One of our goals is to gain actual information of what caused this graveyard."

"I would still like specimens to tell us things of the korlocks."

I looked around the room, then decided upon a compromise. "Let us finish our mission. You keep us safe. Once we have found what is here to be found, then we can discuss with the okagaki what can be done with this graveyard."

There was a moment of silence, then Captain Iwasaki let it be known that other events had worked in favor of my decision. "Seeing korlock movement, so we are going to be busy. Stay at your mission, Dr. Beyonce. Look forward to discussing this further at a later time."

TimeSaga: The Development, the first 12 stories edited, is now available on Kindle.
TimeSaga: The Advance, the following 8 stories, is presently being edited.

No Home on This Journey
TimeSaga: The Society Story Four
Chapter Four

Considering the number of bodies in the room, we expected to find more. The first problem was however in simply leaving the chamber. As would be a part of our own spaceship design, bulkheads had been closed to contain any damage. I believe Rudy expected to have to physically manipulate the electronics to the seals, but asked a question seeing Mary simply punch a set of symbols.

"You know the language?"

"Honestly, no. The okagaki and verikiy did allow me to understand their languages along with what they had deciphered of the Nerisus Federation. Since they were not competing for the same worlds, the cultures really never merged. I believe the Nerisus Federation had some strange mentalities, as how we are relating to the okagaki and verikiy do not match with the history they had with the Nerisus Federation. Still, the bulkheads were built to seal for safety reasons, and not to be actual barriers to prevent passage. They could be overridden with the method of doing so easily accessed. The only real difference in these keypads and those we build is that these require more than one symbol to be pressed at one time."

I believe what stopped Rudy from discussing the electronics was the bulkhead being released. I had tensed myself up preparing to see korlocks or simply more corpses. I had to believe others did as well when I heard FER-RON issue a statement.

"I will go ahead."

Mary said, "There are four rooms: two on the left and two on the right. Check those as well, FER-RON."

"Yes, Mary. I am detecting korlocks, although cannot locate them. Stay alert."

Debra instructed, "FER-RON, if we are engaged in combat, you stay to your mission. I do not want you risking some maneuver that might cause damage to our spacesuits. Do what you can to protect yourself and wait further instructions to have you come to our aid. Trust me that I know your purpose is as a weapon, so you will be allowed to do your job if at all possible."

"I will not place anyone in my range of fire, Debra."

"What I am saying, FER-RON, is that you should trust some of us to handle our own combats with korlocks. You have not been the only one fighting them, and should trust in our capabilities to handle ourselves."

There was a pause, then the robot said, "Yes, Debra, I understand. Moving to check the rooms."

It seemed that all the rooms had korlocks. One did not, but none of us could propose a reason for that room being free from the monsters. Once FER-RON declared the rooms as clear, Debra gave instructions for her robot to help watch the corridor with Perry while the rest of us checked the rooms.

Seeing almost a clean space I believe disturbed all of us. We entered almost with the philosophy of spotting invisible objects we felt must be in existence. All of turned hoping for some revelation of the reason the room was clean when Mary made a statement.

"Rudy, that panel is something we are interested in." When he moved to the wall and identified a panel at chest level, my daughter explained, "That controls the artificial gravity."

"Do we have power, and do you know the commands?"

"The commands are probably verbal as they are in the buildings on Mission. Since we released the atmosphere when the bulkheads were opened, they probably cannot be activated. As for power, probably not enough to activate the gravity plates."

I listened to the conversation between them, as it was basically the two speaking of what knowledge they did not possess. Humanity did want to gain the secret to artificial gravity, as our physiologies did not respond well in space. While we could live and work without gravity, certain parts, primarily our skeletal and muscular systems, would digress. Not wanting to become solely space-faring creatures, we wanted the ability to operate in a gravity even when not on a planet. Mary could confirm to Rudy that there were instruments for creating an artificial field pulling one to a floor, but nothing about how they looked or truly operated. Having knowledge of Rudy, I interrupted their conversation to state a basic fact.

"We can deal with artificial gravity once we have secured an understanding of this fleet." Seeing the two go quiet, I had to ask, "What was this room used for?"

Mary answered, "Relaxation."

She moved to basically work an open-hand slap on the floor. A couple of panels released. She moved to allow help in separating the panels to show a blanket covered mattress along with a couple of pillows while pointing out something in the wall.

"That is basically a simple information device. A television and message center. I say that because I cannot detect the main network for the ship. There is a circuit open, but it only gives access to a single signal. It is not one that I can recognize."

Debra asked, "Are you saying this was a very regulated society, almost a hive mind?"

I watched as the face of my daughter displayed some uncertainty before answering, "Maybe it was just how things were done on this ship."

Perry voiced his conclusion from listening to the conversation, "We are not learning anything, are we?"

"Nothing definite, but we are learning things."

The rest of us agreed with those words. The other three rooms were in the same manner. Hoping to learn more, we advanced to the next bulkheads speaking words of what we would see beyond.

Entering the wide corridor, Perry asked, "Mary, the bulkhead did seal behind us. I believe the korlocks breathed the same air we did, so would it be possible to refresh the atmosphere?"

She replied, "We will be entering atmosphere as we advance, but the air is stale. It is best to stay in our suits. There does seem to be some power, but I doubt enough to activate the central air."

I asked, "They are not central to each room?"

"No. Everything is set up to be dependent upon authorization."

We came upon a bank of panels that almost all of us recognized as being the front of vending machines. Products were clearly displayed. We thought it strange that these machines would still have power, but tried to gain some samples of the korlock products. When Mary stated that the machines would work, but would not because there was no connection to the accounts to deduct payment. She then gasped before stating what fact she did recognize.

"The signal being sent to them is the same one as in the rooms. I did not recognize it, because it is rather complex, but I can now recognize the signal from the vending machines as the same that would be coming from the speakers."

Rudy asked if he could gain the signal only to hear the girl ask FER-RON if she could detect it. We watched as the robot floated up to a speaker, then put a hand on it. The response from her had Rudy work to secure himself near the device.

FER-RON said, "It is active, but outside my range of hearing."

As Rudy worked, Debra replied, "FER-RON, you have exceptional hearing."

"My range can handle up to thirty-eight thousand hertz, but this has components clearly over forty thousand."

Perry said, "That is a very good speaker."

Debra asked, "Could the korlocks hear such frequencies?"

Instead of an answer, Rudy said, "Oh, no, we don't want to hear this. Leanna, come here."

My own inexperience with weightlessness showed as I moved to my friend. I found it strange to have FER-RON help me. Her body did have jets to enable her to maneuver without gravity, but having so much control that she could catch me and secure my form without hurting me surprised me. I looked at her impressed with her capabilities, but became alarmed when I turned to Rudy and saw something that I had a lot of experience with.

This future was basically my fault. While Barry Rothman would have probably still found the portal device and activated it, the science of my technology enabled us to make sense of it. The techniques to fight the korlocks were from my conversation with Floyd Kuliak. While I might have still been able to recognize the clues, I would not have been considered important enough to call without the reputation from my science. I had given this future a possibility by enabling people to affect the past, so it shocked me about what future the korlocks had sought in using their own development of my discoveries.

I stammered almost not believing what I was seeing on Rudy's device. "That is my time signal. In sound?"

He replied, "Sound is physical. This is not to generate a pulse in the past, but to affect the present."

"Is it possible?"

"I believe what we know of the korlocks says that it is."

"Oh my God."

Rudy commanded, "We need to blow every atmosphere seal. We cannot let this signal build in strength in our presence. We also need to get to where this signal is coming from, and stop it."

Roy asked, "Isn't that a little strong?"

"We know those we called korlocks are made up of various races. We have seen various furniture on board this vessel saying that those with different forms were to be accommodated. The complexities of this signal can thus be assumed to not be species specific, although even that would be extremely complex in my opinion."

Over our speakers came the voice of Captain Iwasaki, "Away team, we have okagaki movement."

Rudy replied, "Well, let them know that it is too damn late. They should have vaporized this graveyard of alien invasion vessels long ago."

I guess the captain felt that the best reply was to allow the okagaki to speak for themselves. "Humans, we have recognized your transmissions speaking of danger. We cannot have a threat existing in one of our systems. Leave. As soon as our ships can get in formation, those vessels you are examining will be destroyed."

Roy said, "I guess they feel that there is no time like the present."

I replied, "Hell, no. They have let things sit this damn long. They might as well face the trouble they have been living with all this time. Captain Iwasaki, I am giving you authorization to fire back."

TimeSaga: The Development, the first 12 stories edited, is now available on Kindle.
TimeSaga: The Advance, the following 8 stories, is presently being edited.

No Home on This Journey
TimeSaga: The Society Story Four
Chapter Five

Again I received a transmission that I could only accept as Captain Iwasaki relaying the signal from the okagaki to us. "Humans, we accept our error in not dealing with this mess previously. We do not wish to include you in our actions."

I replied, "Okagaki, I don't believe you understand how deadly we humans are. All we need is the idea, the knowledge of a working system, for us to get to work on developing a destructive invention. We have seen this. We have recognized it. Further, we are in contact with our society, and they will know. Now, do you want to be our enemies or not?"

Debra took Mary aside and put their helmets together. I did not hear what was being said, so I had to assume they had turned off their microphones. I could hear Roy and Perry, and they were determining the best method of reaching the detected source of the signal. Rudy was intently working on his personal device I assumed making notes. I simply waited for the next message to come across the speaker in my helmet.

The electronic voice of an okagaki asked, "Dr. Leanna Beyonce, what would you suggest?"

I replied, "Let me first point out that we humans are not self-destructive. While we have similar technology to the Nerisus Federation, we have not done with ourselves what they did to themselves. Further, we did not advance into the previous planet destroying things and battling among ourselves. You should thus be able to realize that we are not irrational."

"That is accepted."

That response came faster than I expected, but I knew not to lose the momentum. "Second, let me point out that we entered your system not on our determination to confront you. We had no knowledge of where the portal we found went. We are here simply because this was the destination we found. Our earlier meeting with those of the okagaki was not unfriendly, and our reason for coming here did not have unfriendly motives."

"That is also accepted."

"Finally, we came seeking another portal to take us to another world of the Nerisus Federation. While here among these vessels, we did hope to gain data on other ideas. You should not doubt that the Nerisus Federation had some dangerous technology. The presence of their semi-physical presences would have been enough evidence of that. Still, you did not destroy this graveyard. Thus, you are either really, really stupid, or did not consider this graveyard or the monsters here to be a true threat. Let us continue until we find that portal."

This time there was a pause, then what I sensed was another okagaki being electronically translated said, "Dr. Leanna Beyonce, that graveyard we had been using as an example of stupidity. The Nerisus Federation came here, we assume to attack, then used their own weapon on themselves. It is our fear that you humans will now use the weapon on us."

I thought for a moment before replying, "I cannot believe that. Nothing in what we have found of the Nerisus Federation has been in support of them being a militaristic threat. They were advancing through the cosmos, but on worlds that luckily we humans also find to support our bodies. What we have found in dealing with you, the okagaki, your worlds would not be comfortable to us or those of the Nerisus Federation. Now, I do not know the history between you and the Nerisus Federation, but what history I have learned speaks of the Nerisus Federation as not feeling themselves a military threat. This vessel I am on right now does not give me the impression of being a military vessel. You, the okagaki, have not felt these ships as being a threat in all this time. Now, if you fear us humans using the information we find to wage war on you, you were really, really stupid in warning us about your attack."

I again gained the impression that another okagaki speaker was being translated, although I appreciated that this speaker identified himself. "Dr. Leanna Beyonce, this is Governor Fausnip of the world in this system, which we call Percusha. I apologize for the circumstances making us appear really, really stupid. Please, accept that we have survived having better minds on the whole. Continue with your mission. General Mogitar, stand down. You may certainly maintain your surveillance of the humans, but do try to keep our relations positive."

After going through the usual statements of allowing others to save face, I turned to Roy and Perry to ask, "You have a plan?"

Debra activated her speaker, then said, "Mary and I have a conclusion. Allow the okagaki to keep this graveyard. They have had it in their system long enough to have rights to it. Once we have found the portal, all we need are the coordinates. Let us move on."

Perry asked, "What about that internal transmission?"

"It has been here and active who knows how long. We have to assume the okagaki got it in their database, if not actually have an entire branch of their sciences devoted to the technology like we are developing. In the same manner, whatever else we might find here we should assume will be discoverable as we advance into the remains of the Nerisus Federation. We thus can leave this graveyard to the okagaki. Let us get what we came for and leave."

The voice of Captain Iwasaki said, "Dr. Beyonce, let me speak my support for what Queen Debra just said."

Perry stated, "Dr. Beyonce, if Mary will support the ship layout that Roy and I have been using, we can blow the seals and get on to our objective."

Of course things were not that easy. We had some attacks by korlocks, and some assumed routes were found to be through ducts that we could not use due to the bulk of our spacesuits. We however managed to keep ourselves safe and navigate to what we assumed was the communications center of the vessel. It really hurt us having to leave behind a portal where we could access the internal components. Rudy took pictures, although we all understood that there was a lot of miniaturized devices. Still, the words of Debra stating that we should find further portals had us stay with our agreements. It was not easy to activate the portal, as this one operated in a manner we were not accustom, but with the help of Mary and Rudy we soon had sent through a probe and gained the coordinates.

The Kayla took us to the Engendered, and upon arriving we had to take a tour. It was different than the Roland. Roy's ship was built along a more social design with separate areas for the different functions along with a park enabling those on board to have a sense of getting away from one situation and finding peace before returning. The Engendered was built to enable those on board to feel their lives were complete. Most could do their jobs in their own compartment with their desk able to multitask with others on board. Supposedly there would be a greater sense of the people being connected and not isolated in space. It was an interesting design, and I found my own room to actually be something I could feel comfortable in while working.

I had to tell Captain Iwasaki, "I think I could like this ship over the others I have spent time on."

He replied, "Glad to hear it. Of course, I see all of our ships as just initial vehicles. Once we figure out artificial gravity, I believe a whole new set of vessels will be built."

Mary said, "Yeah. The Roland was built with high ceilings expecting to put artificial gravity plates in the floor, but there is no telling whether we will have enough power or what other modifications will be necessary."

We did not rush our visit. There were a number of considerations to take into account before making the next jump. One of the first things we learned about moving through Rothman Tubes was the vastness of the universe. Even a minor alteration in the data could send us into lonely sections of space where nothing habitable could be found even after lifetimes of travel. With me and those I considered friends being the leaders of the various sciences enabling mankind to advance through the universe, we did work with the crew of the ship to assure that everything would be ready for the jump. We however also took time to eat and visit with each other.

After the Roland sent out a probe and verified that there was a world at the coordinates detected, we started the process to move to it. The Kayla was given instructions to act as a mediator between the world of Mission and our next planet that the Islamic component of the Flags of Freedom wanted to call Divecca. While we assured the okagaki that we were capable of moving directly from Earth or Mission to this new world, at the moment we were still uncertain of the actual science. I found myself working with Mary as she stayed in contact with the various Annapolis series androids and I kept directing Rudy who stayed in contact with those assuring the computer and machines would work properly. Once the Roland verified that they could make the jump with the Engendered, we paused to give everyone a break before taking on the challenge of whatever korlocks would attack and gathering the information on the other planet.

I told Mary to relax while speaking of getting a drink, but turned hearing her say, "I cannot turn it off, Mommy. Daddy did not make me in a manner that I could turn it off."

I had to counter, "But all of us have ways of turning it off, Mary. My ears do always work, but I can find myself not hearing things because I am asleep or focused on other things."

"I believe Daddy thought I would be able to do that as well. I remember him managing to ease my torment as I fought to deal with all the information. It must have been rough on him. When I gained the ability to recognize video signals and translate them, I found myself amused. I then looked down seeing Daddy collapsed, what I now know to have been seriously fatigued. Even mentally and physically worn out, he had a hand on me and was mumbling for me to keep my focus and that things would get better. It did, but what I learned with him was not ways of turning it off, but just of ways to enjoy all the information. Even with all the information that constantly pours into my mind, I however found myself wanting to hear my daddy, feel my daddy, and see my daddy. He's dead. I accept that, but I also knew that I had a mommy. I have enjoyed hearing you, seeing you, and feeling you. I don't want you to leave me."

It hurt me to admit, "Mary, I was not always there for Sally either."

"I know. I also know that I cannot turn it off. I cannot just stay home and relax about the house. Getting all this information and not being able to do anything with it is horrible. That was what made all that time being abducted so bad. I understand that I should stay out here, but I still feel myself young enough to still want my parents with me."

I moved to sit down next to Mary and hold her. With my arms around her body I could sense its inhumanity. The flesh did not have the depth of a regular person. There was a rigidness in her form that did not feel right. She had more mass than a girl her size should have had. I however sat with Mary and accepted her as my daughter.

I said, "I like the fact that you have good memories of Joseph. I have good memories of him as well. I want you to have good memories of me. Still, Mary, at some point they can only be memories. All that information that flows into your head becomes just that, memories. Learn to filter those, and I think you will survive whatever situation you find yourself in."

"You're not leaving though? I mean, now?"

"No, Mary. I am finally out here in space, so I will enjoy myself. Rudy is excited about all the alien technology. He is a fantastic electrician, but cannot do much without some guidance. He thus wants me with him, and you want me with you, and the two of you are the most important people in my life. I am thus staying."

"Then I am happy."

I could not ask for better words. Glad to finally have this strange creation of my husband that he made from what I could give him in my life, I found that I was happy as well. Feeling that I could not ask for things to be better in my life, I looked forward to what would come.

TimeSaga: The Development, the first 12 stories edited, is now available on Kindle.
TimeSaga: The Advance, the following 8 stories, is presently being edited.