“TacDrive ready,” Master Helmsman Okuda reported.
“Initiate,” Captain Absen – Admiral Absen again, he reminded himself – replied.
“Pulse in three, two, one,” Okuda said, and the drive field snapped on.
Absen held his head still while he thought about the rapid changes going on around him. He rode the tiger here, several tigers at once, really.
One was his own and his people’s hatred of the Meme, stoked by the savaging of Earth they had witnessed just weeks before in relativistic time, almost fifty years ago in reality. The grief seemed fresh, and making peace with the aliens who had wiped out the families of many strained the limits of their discipline.
Another tiger was the changes taking place among Earth’s populace. Fifty years ago, the few million survivors had been rousted from their shelters, enslaved and put to work rebuilding the planet’s ecosystem with the help of their new Blend masters and their biomachines. They had made startlingly rapid progress during the last five decades using sophisticated Meme terraforming techniques. They had also been forced to breed, there was no other word for it, by mandatory administration of fertility drugs, resulting in litters of babies that increased the population explosively in the first few years, then again as the generations hit puberty.
The resulting society was unrecognizable to Conquest’s crew. It operated more like a group of feudal kingdoms than the old nations. Workers served overseers, who in turn served administrators, who owed fealty to their Blends.
Absen shook his head, then regretted it as the field effects gave him violent nausea. Despite his reservations, he was glad he had smart people working for him, drawing up ways to govern now that the Meme had withdrawn from the process.
“Dropping pulse in three...two...one. Mark.” Okuda’s voice coincided with the normalization of the universe, and soon the bridge screens and holotank flickered to life. Absen saw that Conquest had arrived just where he’d directed, a million klicks above the North Pole looking down on the Earth-Moon system. This ensured that, no matter what, the Weapon could not bear on the boat, dug in to Luna’s far side equator as it was.
Eight Meme Destroyers still cruised below, gorging themselves on the many asteroids and comets in orbit, a moveable feast for the living ships. “Mister Ford, calculate engagement solutions for all of those Destroyers, just in case. Okuda, I want to be able to pulse out at the first sign of trouble. Maintain battle stations. Scoggins, do we have Roger yet?”
“Got his transponder ten thousand kay off the port bow and closing, Admiral. Should be entering the launch bay in about five minutes.”
“Good. Captain Scoggins, you have the conn.” Absen left the bridge and met Leslie Denham on the way down, escorted by Sergeant Major Repeth and a squad of Marines sealed into their battlesuits. More Marines in armor lined the launch bay deck, ready for any eventuality. The reports from Earth had made him happy, but there was still the matter of verifying Blend identities.
Bogrin stepped out of the little ship first, nodding to Absen, then moved aside for Ezekiel to advance and shake the admiral’s hand. The Blend’s face fell slightly as he touched the glove Absen wore, and then he sidestepped to allow Rae to exit. Rather than walk forward or embrace him, Rae turned to introduce the tall, shaven-headed man behind her. “Admiral Absen, this is my son Charles.”
“You’re certain?” Absen asked, looking at Ezekiel and Bogrin. Both nodded, confirming that both were who they claimed, which relieved him no end. The admiral shook Charles’ hand, though did not take off his glove, then asked the group, “I know you said Spooky is doing his thing in Australia, but where’s Trissk?”
“Decided he had enough of confined spaces and stayed on planet,” Bogrin replied. “He wishes his mate to be allowed to join him at earliest time.”
“Granted. Now...” Absen waved Leslie forward, and gestured at Ezekiel and Bogrin again.
The two put out their hands to touch palms with Leslie, and the Marines raised their weapons, even as Ezekiel hugged the Blend claiming to be his sister. “Good to see you, Lizzie.”
“Oh, I hate you!” Leslie said, hugging him even more fiercely.
“It’s her,” he said, tears coming to his eyes. “It’s good to be home.”
“Stand down,” Absen said, waving the Marines back. “Either you’re all imposters, or nobody is. I guess I have no choice than to trust you. Rae, I hate to do this to you, but I need you to go over to talk with SystemLord again and pick up the data he promised, and then drop off the schematics for the lightspeed drive.” He handed her a tiny data spike.
“Do they have something that can read it?” Rae asked, putting it into a pocket.
“Not my problem,” Absen answered. “They’re smart; they can figure it out. When you get it, come right back. I have an intel officer champing at the bit for that information. Military priority number one is finding out just what we’re up against.”
“I’ll take her over in Roger,” Ezekiel said, reentering the ship. Rae kissed Absen on the cheek and followed. Bogrin laughed uproariously.
“Shut up, you,” Absen mock-growled, and then laughed as well as he led the others off the deck.