Jess looked around the room, studying the fifty odd people who sat around the large table. It was actually pretty convincing at times, but at others the images of attendees flickered or froze for a few seconds.
The room wasn’t real. It was a virtual conference, linking in the leaders of the main groups in the fleet. Some of the Admiral’s techs had gone to great lengths to set it up, trying to make the environment feel as real as possible.
Of course most of the attendees were surrounded by screens to give that impression. Jess and Ali were able to experience actually being in the room, thanks to the Wanderer.
They’d deliberately left their arrival until just before the meeting was scheduled to start. Neither of them wanted to be drawn into conversations, or to be stared at by the rest of the attendees. The techs had outdone themselves, making the digital avatars turn to look at whoever the real-word person was watching on their screen. Jess wasn’t convinced that was a good thing.
He checked the time again. Admiral North was nearly five minutes late, which had meant five minutes of being stared at. He shifted uncomfortably and fought the urge to let the Wanderer adjust things so he could see but couldn’t be seen in return.
Finally the Admiral flickered into existence at the head of the table. He looked much healthier than the last time Jess had seen him. For a moment Jess wondered what had made such a difference… then he realised the image was probably being doctored.
He glanced around the room again. How many of the people in the meeting would have actually seen the Admiral in person? Hardly any, probably, so their view of the Admiral’s health would come from sessions like this. They probably had no idea how poor it had become.
Admiral North spoke, and his voice was stronger than when Jess had met him in person.
“Thank you all for coming,” boomed the Admiral. “You’ve all received the information that Jess, Sal and Clay gathered. There’s a single fleet out there responsible for creation of the Limited. There’s a single source of the Limited. That leaves us with just one option… attack!”
There was silence for several seconds after he spoke, then a surge of questions and shouts. Admiral North shut them all off with a gesture.
“You all know what the Limited are like,” he said in a quieter voice. “You know how dangerous they are. With the ability to create armies of Limited, that fleet could become too powerful to ever be challenged. We have to deal with it now, while we have a chance, or face it later when victory will be impossible. Just think about it… one more battle and the threat of the Limited could be eliminated forever.”
Jess could see quite a few people nodding, but many more were looking uncertain. Quite a few were looking his way, waiting to see whether the Wanderer would be going with them. He sighed, but didn’t say anything. Not yet. Let them all commit first.
Unfortunately the glances weren’t lost on the Admiral either.
“Jess, we need the Wanderer with us,” he said bluntly. “It gives us an edge which no other ship can, and it will give hope to everyone involved in the attack. We need you Jess. Everyone in the fleet needs you. I’m sorry to have to ask.”
“No you’re not!” shouted Ali as she surged to her feet. “If you were you’d find another way. You can’t keep asking Jess to take all the responsibility. He’s done enough! He’s exhausted! It’s not fair to ask him!”
“No. It’s not fair. Just as it’s not fair that innocent people are being snatched up and converted into Limited. It’s not fair that some of them are children. It’s not fair that entire settlements are simply being erased. The Universe isn’t fair right now. Maybe with the help of the Wanderer we can strike a huge blow toward putting things right.”
“You see? You’re doing it again! Stop trying to lay the weight of the Universe on his shoulders. Let him…”
She stopped as Jess reached out and took her hand. Neither of them were truly real, but their implants allowed direct interaction.
“I’m sorry, Admiral,” Jess said. “I can’t do it. I’m exhausted. I can’t take another set of battles. Not now and maybe never. We won’t be going.”
Conversations broke out throughout the virtual room. Jess could see many of those who’d been looking at him shaking their heads, pulling back from the table. He was certain they were choosing not to go.
Something twisted inside him — he was choosing not to go, but because he’d done so much already. How many of them could even begin to say the same thing? None! None at all! How dare they refuse to go and try to blame it on him?
But he could see they were doing exactly that. Even some of those who’d committed to going were starting to back out. Damn it!
“Quiet!” roared the Admiral.
Silence quickly fell, more because of the coughing fit he broke into than for any other reason. When it passed he took a sip of water then focused on Jess.
“I understand how you feel,” he said. “Hell, I really understand. If this was for anything else I’d… well, I’d still try to argue you around probably, but this is different. If we don’t do this, if we don’t prevent the creation of more Limited, then the Empire is going to become unstoppable.
“You’re young and you’re tired. I get that. You’ve done more than anyone could possibly have asked, and yet we’re asking you to do more. Think about it, though. What happens if we don’t stop the Limited? What happens if they keep on growing more powerful?
“Oh I’m sure you’ll be safe enough on the Wanderer, but how will you feel as there are fewer and fewer other people around? How will you feel when there’s nowhere to go that isn’t controlled by the Empire, no one that isn’t Limited?”
“Why does that have to be my problem?” replied Jess. “I’ve done my bit. It’s time for other people to step up. It’s time for someone else to be the hero.”
“It is. You’re right. And some have stepped up, but you saw what happened. Like it or not, fair or not, the success of this mission rests on your choices.”
“There are other forces out there. Other beings if it comes to it. The Empire won’t be able to beat all of them.”
“No. You’re probably right. But how many billions, how many trillions, of people will they have turned into mindless slaves by then? And what about you and Ali? What about your children?”
Jess darted a fast glance at Ali at that, his heart fluttering. Did the Admiral know something he didn’t? No… the confusion on Ali’s face, the confusion that came through their link, showed that.
The Admiral chuckled. “Oh, I know you don’t have any now, but you sure look like you’re in this for the long term. At some point you’re going to have children, and then maybe grandchildren. How many can you keep aboard the Wanderer? How many will want to stay on the Wanderer all their lives? Not all of them. What sort of a universe will you be sending them out into if you fly away now.”
Jess could feel the emotions boiling off of Ali. Anger was the most prominent but there were others… doubt, fear, confusion, and more. He sank into their link, speeding up his thoughts and inviting Ali to join him.
That bastard, she sent.
I know, he replied. Yet… he does have a point. About our children. That is… if we were… I don’t mean to…
She chuckled, and Jess could feel the amusement through the link.
Don’t panic. I hadn’t thought about it either. I mean I know I want to be with you, to stay with you forever, but at the same time I’ve been barely able to think more than a few days ahead. Children… well, that’s a long way ahead. That is… if you… do you…
Now it was Jess’s turn to chuckle. I do, I think. No. I’m sure. I hadn’t thought about it either. Hell, if we’re heading off to another battle there might not be a later for it to happen in. But if there is… well… I guess I would like children. Eventually.
Too right eventually! she replied. But… damn it, this is too big to think about in one go. We both think we’d like to have children but we need to think about it a lot more. Let’s leave it there for now. No pressure, no decisions made on the spur of the moment. But if there’s a chance we will have children the Admiral has a point.
I thought you might be angry with him for bringing it up, Jess sent.
Oh I am! I think he’s a total bastard for using it to try and pressure you, but it is something we need to consider.
Pressure us.
What?
Pressure us. He knows full well that you have an equal say. I think he’s just playing to the audience in focusing on me.
Alright, pressure us. The thing is that he’s right. If it’s just us then we could fly away, though I’m not sure either of us would be totally happy with that. Not if it means those who control the Limited win.
It’s not fair, Ali. It shouldn’t all be down to us again. The fleet is powerful enough without us. They could win.
They could. But they won’t.
So we have to go? We have to put ourselves in danger again because they’re too scared to tackle it themselves?
Yes… and no. We have to go, but that doesn’t mean we have to take all the risk. You and the Wanderer together can make a difference without exposing us to too much danger. You were right, Jess, the fleet is powerful enough to tackle the Empire. They just need to see you there. How many of them are going to have time in the middle of a battle to analyse what you’re doing and work out if you’re taking the safer option more often than the risky one?
Jess thought about it for a short while then sent his agreement.
You’re right. We do what we can without taking stupid risks. We help defeat the Empire. Then we slip away… right then. No discussions, no arguments. We just go. If you agree with the plan that is.
I can’t think of a better one. I’m still pissed off with the Admiral, but we’ll do it.
For our kids? he sent back.
Don’t even think of starting that if you want to keep the ability to have kids! she replied, the feelings accompanying it taking most of the sting out of the threat, but not all of it.
Jess allowed his mind to slow to normal. For the Admiral and the rest of those in the meeting barely a second would have passed.
“Alright Admiral, we’ll go, but only if the rest of the fleet agrees to go. And this is the last thing we help with. Once the fleet is neutralised or destroyed we’re leaving, no matter what else is happening. That’s our offer. Take it or leave it.”
“We’ll take it, of course,” said Admiral North. “Thank you Jess. And you Ali.”
Ali just nodded sharply.
The mood in the room changed almost instantly. More and more ships committed themselves to the cause, until most of the fleet had done so. A few still harboured enough reservations to hold back, but they were a very few.
Jess felt yet another weight settle onto his shoulders. Many of those who were going were only doing it because he was. Did that mean their lives, their deaths if it came to that, were his responsibility too?
He had a strong feeling that no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise the answer would be yes.
As the conference ended Clay sat back and shook his head. Technically he hadn’t been invited, and he hadn’t been visible to the others, but Jess and the Wanderer had put everything on a screen for him.
He glanced to the other sofa, where Jess and Ali were sitting without moving. It was slightly eerie, knowing their minds were somewhere else. Then Jess moved, blinking a couple of times before pulling a sour face.
“That was pretty underhanded,” said Clay. “There were other ways the Admiral could have tried to convince you without bringing children into it.”
Jess shrugged. “He made us think about it, but he didn’t make us say yes. We did that after talking through what he’d said. In this case he’s right.”
“He’ll always be right!” snapped Ali. “There’ll always be something else you could help with, some other innocent that needs your help. You can’t keep doing it.”
“I know! And I won’t be. I promise you, this is it. This is the last one. We deal with the Imperial fleet creating Limited then we slip away. Immediately. I’m not hanging around long enough to be talked into doing anything else.”
“I think you’re doing the right thing,” said Clay. “For going and for planning to leave straight after. I’ll tag along too, if that’s still alright.”
“Of course!” replied Jess. “I can’t promise total peace and quiet, we seem to have a habit of stumbling into trouble, but at least it’ll just be us. I think knowing everyone is watching me, judging me, expecting me to fix things, is the hardest part of all this.”
“You know a lot of people know what the Wanderer looks like now. And even what the two of you look like.”
“Yeah. We’ll reconfigure the Wanderer once we leave. We really don’t need all this space so we can make the ship a lot smaller. As for us… well, we’ll try to go far enough that people won’t be expecting to see us.”
“We can rename the Wanderer too,” said Ali. “Not really of course, but we can change the name we give out.”
“All we need to do is get through one last battle,” said Jess. “I hope it’s only one, at least. I’m so tired of fighting. I just want us to win, to win and go home. That’s not too much to ask, is it?”
Clay clapped a hand on Jess’s shoulder.
“No. No, it’s not. We’ll get through this together, then we get the hell out of here and enjoy the universe you managed to save!”
Jess smiled. “Deal!” he said, with real feeling.