House Cleaning
Exeter - Equinox - February 14th, 2524
Docked with PDF Decatur
Beggar was the first to board Equinox when it was docked. It was cold and the air was stale, but it was still home. He decided to give it a once over from stem to stern. He had a hunch that Rina might not be up to it. The ship had taken some damage from the initial encounter with the Amenoukihashi, but nothing serious. There had been a quick bit of “looting” by the crew before they set her off on her decoy mission, and the evidence of that was still apparent. His companion on this trip was Jahn, who like most cats seemed unaffected by the incidents of the last few days. He set her down and she skittered off to do her own reconnaissance. He walked from one end of the ship to another, top to bottom, and then set up a series of tasks for himself he hoped to accomplish before the others arrived.
He went first to the ship’s galley, where their hastily prepared “last supper” aboard the ship had been left, only partially cleaned. And he set about the mundane task of washing the dishes. This was a job he frequently had as Joshua and Kiera did most of the cooking. It was easy enough to see their lingering traces on the knives, the utensils, pans and such. A bottle a brown whiskey stood half finished on the pass through, a regional make from Athens, not great, but not Blue Sun. Kiera pretended not to be sentimental, or partisan, but he was able to trace change through the alcohol she purchased. In the beginning she intentionally bought Core brands, even Blue Sun, probably just to tweak the crew. But by the end, her tastes seemed to run to the small batch local distillations, often poured into used bottles and sealed amateurishly. He smiled wondering where her tastes would go now that this was over. He ran the large chef’s knife under the tap, and scratched at the caked on food matter left to dry on it for days. It came off, and rinsed it, and looked at the drying rack. He smiled holding the knife. “Always hand dry them!” Joshua used to say. And so he did, before returning it to its place. He continued until the dishes were dry and put away. He then went through the cooler units, and hanging baskets, and disposed of the fruits and vegetables that had gone bad, into the waste unit. They’d provide food for the bacteria that gave them oxygen.
Once the galley was in reasonable shape, he did a clean sweep of the crew lounge. It was in pretty good shape, though it looked as though someone other than the crew had gone through it looking for something. He remembered that, for a time, Blue Sun had possession of the vessel. There was a chess game, half finished on the coffee table. A few of its pieces had tipped over or been scattered despite their magnetic bases. He rarely beat Arden. And this game was no exception, Arden had him in a few moves. Arden with his genetically enhanced brain could see a dozen moves into the future. Beggar would “cheat” by running through a history of famous gambits he’d learned of in university and on his own. He didn’t seem himself as losing, instead Arden beat Krushnev, Higani, Valesquez and other grand masters. He wondered if Arden’s last great gambit, the sacrifice move, was thought of in the same cold logic, or borne of his love for the crew and its captain. Maybe both.
He proceeded to the workshop. He saw the piles of electronics and power supplies he had run through to build his little EMP device. He had always seen himself as an aide, an observer to the crew on their heroic missions, but this time, he contributed more tangibly. He was happy to think it would be the last EMP device he would make. He looked over at the remains of the Topio robot he scavenged to get the essential parts of the device, and wondered how Joshua ever managed to buy it, and why? They never really let the robot do its duties except for the occasions when it sat in the passenger lounge holding a drink tray. He didn’t spend much time organizing this room. He picked up the biggest mess and dumped the contents into a junk bin. He put away the tools carefully and worked his way back to the engine room.
“I have me doubts you’d pass an inspection me lovely.” He said noting the various bypasses and kludges designed to pump power into the thrusters, or bypass the capacitors to provide a tiny bit more energy. The tangle of wires he and Rina tried to use to re-configure the port control pods, was a hopeless mess. But he sat down on the dusty deck plates and took his time, after a half hour with little success, he traced the cables from the mess and got out some labeling tape and a pen. He labeled the wires and slowly began to cut right through the Gordian Knot, until it fell to the deck, like a tumor. He fixed the wires back into their proper order. He’d need to go into the duct work to find the break where they lost control before, but it would be easier with the cables joined properly. He picked up the tangled knot of wires and took it to the junk bin, and hesitated. He retrieved it and set it on work bench. He’d take that with him as a memento of his time as junior engineer.
Working forward, he when to his own quarters. There wasn’t much there he’d need. His small telescope, a change of clothes. His bible and picture of Rosalie were on him at all times. He did collect his databook with his calculations used to find Amenoukihashi, though it seemed somewhat irrelevant now. Everything he needed would fit into the same duffle he brought on board back in Blue Sun. There was actually more space. He didn’t pack it up, just checked on it. He went to Kiera’s room next. She had be swooped away by her father, too fast to bring everything. She grabbed what she thought was important, but left much. He sincerely doubted she would have much need for a lot of the stuff in here, furniture, linens and such. But he carefully rolled up her artwork, and packed her remaining clothes into a few boxes salvaged from the cargo deck. As he packed he came across the dress she had worn to the barn dance on Boros where they danced up a storm, and she tried to steal a kiss. Beggar blushed again at the thought. He was, on occasion, envious of their playful sexual antics. They were able to pass the long boring stretches in space in the arms of another, or forget the violence and darkness of the bad time in the bliss of passion. But, he was glad he had been keeping his vows back then, it made him appreciate what he had with Rosalie even more. Still, it didn’t mean he didn’t think about it.
He left Rina and Joshua’s room alone, except to check quickly that nothing was amiss. It seemed homey and welcoming. It reminded him a bit of his parents’ room back on Valentine. There was something about it, alien and familiar at the same time. He wasn’t much younger than the rest of the crew, though they treated him as some sort of man-child on occasion. But Joshua and Rina seemed like parents of sorts. Their love for each other provided a kind of anchor in the tough times. He shut their door and went to the other side.
He wasn’t sure if Nika would want first crack at Arden’s room, but he check in anyway. He found Jahn curled up on the pillow. Arden had rigged the door to recognize Jahn and let him in, pretty ingenious really. The stale smell in the room meant the litter needed changing, a few fresh droppings next to the older ones. He did that, and straightened up a bit. He decided to not to let his curiosity guide him. Having the room next to Arden’s meant he had heard some of the thing that went on there. And honestly, he preferred not to know. The Verse had all kinds of people, and whatever eccentricities his crew had, they were singular in their goodness. He had witnessed first hand the perversions and evil that man could muster. The crew’s basic goodness, courage, and willingness to sacrifice always gave him hope, when the Verse did everything it could to destroy it.
Sickbay was ransacked as they hastened to gather what supplies they could last time they were here. He picked up what could be salvaged, and carefully discarded what could not. He walked into the medicine closet, stocked with such drugs your typical pharmacist would puzzle out. A small supply of Flomoxipan, a recreational drug used to control and limit Joshua. Drugs to manage the effects of the Halcyon the crew was exposed to on Pericles. Chempliant kept in ready to use tabs, presumably to enhance Arden’s speed. In a cooler were tissue and blood samples. Some labeled for the crew at various times. When they were exposed to Prion disease on Shepherds Moon. Samples taken on Miranda. Samples taken on Namira, and High Gate. A forensic pathologist could probably chart the adventures of the crew using this evidence alone. He locked up the closet, and set the door mechanism to admit the crew, though he wondered who that might be in a few weeks.
The hydroponics room was a bit unkempt. There were rotting fruits and tomatoes in the bed giving the room a pungent smell. Some foliage had died, but the by in large the plants survived, thrived. “Some die that others may live.” He said to himself as he pruned back the dead leaves and branches and restored some, but not complete, order to the place.
He zipped through Nika’s quarters quickly. He felt uncomfortable there. It was her sanctuary, and it was where she could be retreat when the responsibilities of command got too much. Some were welcome there, but she rarely invited people in. He spied a carafe of coffee on her desk and two brown stained cups. The dregs of coffee lined the bottoms, there were circles on the desk from many more. Her small liquor cabinet had a piece of strapping tape pulled across it. Not much of a lock, maybe more of a reminder. He picked up the coffee tray and put the various cups and such on it. He went into the washroom and wet a washcloth to wipe down the desk. He noted the tissues over flowing the small trash bin, from crying. He felt suddenly like an invader, and hastened out taking the coffee stuff back to the galley.
The bridge needed little more than a dusting, and was quick work. He rarely spent much time on the bridge. He sat in the navigator’s chair, the pilots, and the tactical station, just to get a feel. They didn’t feel right. Even the engineer’s chair, with its familiar displays (mirrored in engineering) seemed wrong. He didn’t belong on a bridge. He would treasure his time on the ships, with the crew, but if they weren’t here, it wouldn’t be a home to him either.
His last trip of the day was up to the Shuttle bay. His telescope was still secured in some cargo netting in the corner. He’d retrieve that eventually. The shuttle there sat still in its space, the fuel hoses and power lines still connected. It had the markings of the Merchant Marines, and it didn’t seems like their old shuttle, though ironically Langiappe was an old military craft, and this a converted civilian model. Looking where it once stood, he remembered flying the then blind Nika through the canyons of her home world. She had confidence in him, and it was exciting, but terrifying too. He’d miss the shuttle, but he never felt comfortable piloting. He knew how well enough. But he also knew enough about how the engines, and electronics, and avionics, and all worked. Too much. A real pilot just knew how to fly, treated the craft like a single organism. He saw it as a million parts, each one straining against a hundred forces trying to rip it apart. Better to be back in engineering keeping it flying.
He sat of a bit watching out the large picture windows in the vast chamber. To one side, the hull of massive cruiser Decatur filled the whole view. He could just see the struts and gangway that held Equinox in its embrace. To the other, the black. He tried to recognize the other suns of the Verse and the planets of the system. He could count the millions of people in this system, or the billions they had saved across the Verse. The plague had done one thing, it sapped the strength to fight from everyone. People were not so much moved to peace, but just desperate for hope. And if things worked out as Arden planned, they would have it. Beggar remembered Arden’s simple desires, to help people. He was mostly concerned about the people on the Rim who had so little. And children, everywhere they went, he’d sneak off to assist at a clinic or orphanage. Beggar occasionally bumped into him when on payday he took his earnings to help where they could (Beggar had no need for the pay, as the ship provided most everything). They would acknowledge each other, and go on with their tasks, neither speaking of it to each other, or to the crew. They knew they crew did enough not to be made feel guilty over charity. Arden would be glad to be remembered for dying to save the Verse, but recognition wasn’t something he craved, or much cared about. His death, saving Kiera, saving the Verse, was a good one, and fitting. It was thought out, it was for the greatest good, and it was private, much like the man. Beggar would always think fondly of Arden, but not with sadness.
It was here that Joshua fought his rival to the end. But even then, Joshua tried his best to save the man, or what had become of the man. Joshua would have sacrificed himself for his worst enemy. He was forced so many times to use violence when he didn’t want to. Beggar rubbed the back of his head where it had been knocked into the airlock by the man he and Joshua helped detoxify. Joshua didn’t die fighting in anger, though he did die fighting. He died saving his mother’s life, he died knowing he was dead already, and that made it different.
Their deaths, Arden and Joshua were tragic, but there was a sense that they were necessary. The Verse had become something alien, and that alienation was a cancer that was killing it from the inside out. The BT’s, the Elect, the Reavers and yes, the Readers and people like Arden were all part of that. The latter were able to retain their humanity til the end. Humanity wasn’t in our DNA or flesh. But, in the mindset. Blue Sun, and the people like them saw humanity as the problem. They saw us as we are, weak, fragile, self interested, vicious and mortal. This is the human condition. Their error was that they thought they could do better. Augment us, give us better minds, better bodies, or make us more docile, less fractious, more obedient. Either was doomed. Arden and Joshua showed the best of us. It wasn’t technological. It wasn’t intellectual. It wasn’t their powers, for in the end, none of those things prevailed. In the end it was their capacity for self sacrifice. Beggar gripped his crucifix in his hand. The lesson of Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t that he was good, or that he was god. It was that a man, for cast in flesh that is what he was, a man could sacrifice himself for the good of others, and in doing so save us all.
