The Fifth Civilization: A Novel (24 page)

“I am sorry that this door is locked. I rarely go up here,
you see.”

“Do you
ever
go up
here?” Kel asked.

The door sighed open, a sound Duvurn echoed. “No.”

“That’s what I thought.”
 
A blast of cool air greeted them, a sign
of the cool front that had moved in from the nearby Weeden Sea, twenty
kilometers to the north. Past antennae and turbines, as well as a few dead
birds, they saw the
Colobus
doing its
best to gently land itself on the roof. Rooftop waste whirled in a vortex as
the aft thrusters kept the ship floating.

A gangplank on the ship’s side gently rolled down, and Moira
and some Bauxens were at the other end. The Bauxens were holding what appeared
to be heavy rifles, ready to deal with any threat. As the group ran toward
them, the Bauxens aimed their weapons around the roof, itching for something to
shoot.

Roan waited at the roof door for everyone to run out,
holding his weapon and watching the interior staircase for signs of trouble.
Duvurn and the Bauxens were the slowest, but once they were out of the
threshold Roan gave one last listen inside the door for any pursuers. There
were shouts and footsteps, probably several floors down, of what were no doubt
a few Kotaran jackboots. Any one of them could blast them all in the back as
they ran to the
Colobus
.

Always have a backup plan.

The Kotaran grenade Roan had picked up in the bedroom looked
simple enough to use. It was a cylinder, about the size or your average can of
booze, with several bands running across the top and bottom. Lines bisected the
bands and various intervals A switch was stuck along one of the bands and Roan
figured sliding it across would activate the grenade, with the lines indicating
the amount of time until it exploded. He told himself some equivalent of “here
goes nothing,” then slid the switch to one of the middle intervals on the band.
The grenade lit up and started rumbling. He quickly tossed it over the balcony,
ran outside, shut the door, and sprinted toward the open cargo door.

***

Halfway up the staircase, Grinek happened to spot the grenade
as it made its way down the rotunda. A moment later he realized what it was and
called for his men to stop. “Take cover!” he screamed. The order must have come
out as panicked to his men. He really had to do better to control his
outbursts.

Roh was right behind him, so he managed to duck in a nearby
bedroom along with Grinek. The others didn’t see what he saw, and remained
confused on the balcony. They would be remembered as martyrs, Grinek told
himself as he covered his ears.

The grenade exploded.

A shower of marble and platinum shredded the room. Grinek
and Roh were safe, but Grinek heard the grunts and screams of the men outside.
Then he remembered the explosives they set up the dining room. When those went
off, Grinek hoped he hadn’t dove into the bedroom right over them.

***

Roan jumped on the ramp as one explosion rocked the palace,
shattering the windows of the skylight behind them. Kel grabbed onto his arms
as some Bauxens steadied her. She hoisted him up as the
second
, and larger, explosion, visibly swayed the roof under their
feet. As the
Colobus
rose farther
from the palace, a bubble of flame shot up from the skylight. While the whole
building didn’t explode, the rotunda collapsed, pancaking in on itself until it
was only a cloud of dust.

Duvurn buried his head in his big palms, no doubt weeping
for the treasures and riches lost in the explosion. He probably didn’t even
have insurance.

Whoever was following them wasn’t going to be doing
that
anymore, Roan thought, brushing off
some dirt from his clothes. He held onto a railing as the
Colobus
turned its nose up and headed for the atmosphere. It felt
somewhat comforting to be on a ship again, with a clear direction in mind. It
was just like the old times.

Only now he could help change history.

***

Once again, it was Roh that helped Grinek to his feet. The
commander coughed. Dust and heat choked the room. Grinek ached whenever he
moved, and a ringing swirled in his ears: the explosion might as well have been
someone setting off a gunpowder cracker right next to his head. To make sure he
didn’t collapse from all the spinning, he sat down on the plush bed to collect
himself.

“Is there anything you request, Commander?” Roh asked,
standing to attention before his superior. Despite the pain Roh was surely in,
he still retained his composure.

“Yes, Specialist. For the love of Bar’Hail, get the
Hanyek
over here.”

Bauxa Control cleared the
Colobus
to leave and in moments they had entered orbit, another anonymous freighter
among the hundreds milling about the planet. According to their sensors, there
wasn’t anyone following them, no ships hugging their tail in an effort to catch
up. They were safe. Before jumping into FTL, Kel had the
Colobus
veer back in the direction of Earth with the intention of
throwing off any pursuers. After an hour, they would return to the heading
indicated by Vertulfo’s coordinates.

Here they were, a ship of fools: Roan, Kel, David, Moira,
Sundar Kher, Joseph, Duvurn, and ten Bauxens. A ship of seventeen, a little
less than ideal but adequate to get them to where they needed to go and back. Much
better than the nine they had when they landed on Bauxa.

Even better was the fact that Duvurn’s men
had
done a good job in repairing the
ship, if not exactly a thorough one. In one day, they’d scrubbed and recharged
the Alcubierre drive so that it was back at full capacity. Most of the battery
backup systems, including the computer core, had also been fully charged,
making nearly all essential systems available for use. Waste had been cleared,
and there now was a weapon for everyone on board—except that one person
could have an extra gun, because David refused to pick one up. The Bauxens had
also supplied the freezers with enough meat to last two months, and though it
was Bauxen-style meat, it would still be nutritious. Duvurn’s head servant got
to work immediately preparing the food, working with Moira (who could cook) to
mix Earth and Bauxen dishes. Smells simmered and sizzled down the hallways.

Based on Aaron’s calculations, it would take another five
weeks from Bauxa to reach the location where this panspermia comet originated.
They’d probably be searching for it for a few days, but if they came across a
planet, hopefully they could find another haven there. Maybe a civilization was
flourishing there, as civilizations are always described as doing. This one had
a few million years head start after all, before Nydens, or Bauxens, or
Kotarans.

Perhaps this civilization could help them send a message
back to Earth announcing first contact. Maybe they’d be treated as heroes on
this planet, as the first emissaries of an alien race.

All this potential in a tiny pad, Roan thought, cradling
Aaron’s gift as he walked the corridors of the ship. It was downtime before
dinner, where they were going to discuss what happened next, and how to proceed
from Bauxa. Roan knew he needed to do something first, and winding through the
ship he found the room he sought. He knocked on the door to avoid using the
buzzer that its occupant so hated. After a few moments, the door opened.

“Hello, Mr. Roan,” David said.

“I wanted to give you this,” Roan said, and held out Aaron’s
pad. The Nyden took it and stared at it, as if lost in thought.

“But Aaron gave this to you, Mr. Roan.”

“You should take it. Please. I’ve looked through it enough.”

David held the pad out for Roan to take. “Really, there’s
nothing in here that’s new to me, Mr. Roan. Having worked with Aaron for many
years, the research he did—”

Roan held up his hand to stop him. “David, it’s a gift. I
don’t care if you only think of it as a symbolic one. I don’t want the weight
of that thing on me any longer.”

“Oh.”
 
David gave
the pad a once-over, then put it behind him, along with his hands. A silence
hung between them in the doorway. “Would you care to come in? Usually there’s
tea before dinner.”

Roan looked into the room beyond. David’s room was small and
spare, with few of the decorations that furnished some of the other quarters.
There were, however, several potted Bauxen plants placed around the floor.

“No thanks, I’m got things to do before I eat. I just wanted
to drop that off.”

“Oh,” David said again. Roan sensed confusion in his manner,
and his head was blinking purple.

“But we should get together and do something soon,” Roan hastily
added. “We’re going to be flying close to Nydaya on the way to Planet X. I’m
sure we’ll pick up some broadcasts in a few weeks. Maybe when that happens we
can set up a BV and watch those nature programs you guys beam out.”

“Perhaps,” David said. Still, the Nyden’s head flashed
purple. Roan had yet to decipher what that color meant.

“One other thing, David. I…I wanted you to know that you’re
not a stupid pigeon. I hate to use that word, but right now I think it’s
necessary. To show I don’t think you are one, I mean. Look, what I’m trying to
say is, you’re probably one of the most intelligent, uh, people, I know. We
couldn’t have gotten through this without you.”

“Do you value that quality? Intelligence?”

“Well, I know it’s not always a quality of a decent person.
But it can make someone easier to get along with. Make them rational.”

“Thank you, Mr. Roan.”
 
The feathers on both sides of David now ruffled, and Roan wondered if
this was a sign that he felt touched by his comments. His head had changed to
an effulgent gold, and it was enchanting.

“You probably don’t think much of me, David. I’m a violent
and boorish man. Always impulsive, always confusing.”

“Yes.”
 
David was
never one to lie. “But, I think there are some things about you that are good.
You care about your friends. You do have compassion, at least to those that
show it to you. That makes you more than a typical human male.”

Some of his women friends would be surprised to hear that.
“Oh, thanks.”

David laughed, something he rarely did. That was probably
for the best, because it sounded like a croak. “That’s a compliment, Nick Roan.
If you were but a typical human male, I might be frightened of you. But you
have compassion. You have ethics. That is something I admire. The killing you
have done is something is a flaw you will have to remedy. At least you have not
lowered yourself to murder.”

Roan thought about the Kotaran prisoner in the engine room.
Part of him wished he had murdered the guy.

“I have to admit I haven’t always been the easiest person to
get along with.”

“I know.”

“Don’t think that all humans act the same way I do.”

“I don’t, Mr. Roan.”

Roan was heartened to hear David viewed his race in
enlightened terms.

“Well, thanks.”
 
They said nothing for a while, as was typical in doorway situations.

“We’ve both lost a friend on this journey. And we have seen
so much disregard for life. Sometimes I ask myself if the knowledge we seek was
worth the trouble. I think the answer must be that yes, it was the worth the
trouble. But the path we took was one with lots of death. There must have been
a better way to find this planet.”

“I don’t think the killing was up to us, David. But I want
to believe there was another way, too.”

“Are you sure you can’t come in?”
 
David gestured to the room, the pad in
his right hand, beckoning like a staff for him to enjoy David’s company. But
Roan put his hands in his pockets and shook his head. He didn’t want to admit
it to David, but he still felt a lingering sense of unease around the Nyden.
Like he knew more about yourself than you did. Like he could tell what you were
thinking.

“I really need to rest, but thank you, David. I’ll see you
at dinner?”

“Of course.”
 
There
was a hint of disappointment on David’s face as Roan turned to leave, the door
shutting on the possibilities of sharing a room, or tea, or conversation.

Or more.

***

Roan had more one person to see before dinner. He knocked on
the door of Kel’s quarters, heard a “come in,” and opened the door. The lights
were low, and Roan reflexively went for the light switch.

“Leave it off,” he heard Kel say.

He did as he was told and let the door close behind him. His
eyes slowly adjusted to the light: Kel was on a mat in front of him, palms and
feet flat on the surface and back leg thrust in the air. She looked like an
upside-down
V
. Roan took the sight
in. It’d been a long time since he’d seen her do yoga. At least a year or two.

“You wanted to see me, Captain?”

“Give me a minute,” Kel said. The leg came down. With the
grace of a ballerina, or at least the ones Roan had seen in holofilms, Kel
forced herself back into a standing position using her muscular leg muscles.
Roan remembered those muscles. If anything, they were the source of her
flexibility.

Kel turned to Roan. She was panting, a film of sweat on her
brow. Dressed in black pants and a violet tank top, Kel looked far better now
than when she strutted around in her usual Company overalls.

“You should try this out, Nick. Relieves the stress like
nothing else in the world. And it gets you in shape.”

“I seem to recall Earth once thinking it was a menace to
world order.”

“Ah, Earth bans stupid things from time to time.” She walked
over to a nightstand. Took a swig from a thermos there. Roan admired her room:
it was laid out like Roan’s, just a little better-maintained. The bed was made.
No tangled cables snaked around the floor by the desk.

“I called you here because of
us
.” Kel set the thermos down. Looked back to her bed, made sure
she had a good angle, and sat on top of it. “Come on, take a seat.”

“I want to get dinner soon, Captain.”

“Dinner can wait. And what happened to ‘Kel?’ ”

She was right. Roan moved a little closer, but didn’t sit
down. Kel was energized, in one of her excited moods. He hadn’t seen her like
this for a long time. Not since they were together. He decided that whatever
she had to say, it couldn’t be all bad.

“Nick, I’ve decided you’re not crazy.”

There, it wasn’t bad. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“Or rather…maybe we’re all a little crazy. We did travel all
the way to Bauxa. And now we’re on our way to Planet X.” She laughed. Stared
into Roan’s eyes, her hair bobbing up and down. “All the early explorers are
crazy. They’re mad to go off into the unknown. But that’s what makes them
great. That’s what makes them remembered.”

“You know, that’s absolutely right. I’ve certainly questioned
my own sanity a number of times. But I know my goals are noble.”

“And those are, Nick?”

Roan wanted to say,
you
.
But even he couldn’t believe that. Not entirely.

“I’ve never one for wanting to prove others right. Only
myself. But with Aaron, it’s different. I knew the man for ten years.” Roan
came over to her, sat down on the bed. The mattress was soft, unlike the slab
in his room. Ah, to be captain.

“Aaron was an honest person. He was virtuous, never worried
about himself. And he believed in things. Things greater than anything petty,
greater than even mankind. Oh sure, I think he was a dreamer. And he could be
infuriatingly obtuse. But I think that made me love him all the more.”

Kel squeezed Roan’s hand.

“So yeah, maybe I have the space madness. I can live with
that. But I couldn’t live without knowing if Aaron is right. If we find the
Fifth Civilization, I’m doing it for him. Not for some grand idea of bringing
the species of the galaxy together.”

The two sat there for a moment. Listened to the hum of the
ship. Roan was glad the lighting was low, so Kel couldn’t see his eyes were a
little wet.

“So you do care about some people, Nick Roan.”

She caresssed the tops of his hand. He liked the way it
felt.

“I care about you, Kel.”

Kel moved. Put her legs on the bed, crossed them and sat
upright. She was beaming. Her eagerness was almost childlike. “I never really
had time to think, you know. Not when we had all those corpses on the ship. Not
when the Kotarans were on our tail, not when we had one prisoner. Now that all
that is behind us…I think I know what I want. Funny how a few light years will
do that to you.”

“So you don’t think I’m a brute?”

“No.”

“You don’t think we’re incompatible?”

“We both want adventure, Nick. Now we’re on one together.”

“Kel, if we ever get back to Earth—”

“What’s with all the talking, Roan? You want me or not?” She
leaned in and kissed Roan on the lips. Held it there. He remembered the angelic
manna that were her lips, how full they were. A familiar feeling warmed his
lower body.

Roan broke the kiss.

“Do you feel safe?” Roan asked.

“Yes, finally,” Kel said.

“Then let me ask you a question. Don’t stop me. Kel, when we
get back to Earth, will you marry me?”

He’d always pictured proposing at a low-end Japanese dive. They’d
eat
natto
at a smoke-filled joint
downtown and Roan would come back from the lavatory and get down on one knee.
Well, he couldn’t wait for a dive like that. A cramped room on a Type-B
freighter would have to do.

Kel held her smile for a while. Then her eyes went big. She
chuckled, a chuckle that said,
You
finally did it
.

“Only if you take my name,” Kel said.

“Fair enough.”

She continued, “We’ll need to look respectable when we
announce our find to the world. When we give interviews beamed across the
galaxy. We can be Marie and Pierre. Carl and Ann. Godwin and Tamara.”

“Who are those people, again?

“Shhh.”
 
And
then, suddenly, Kel collapsed to the mattress. Pulled Roan down with her.

Kel kissed him and began unzipping his jacket. As she worked
her way down, Roan cupped her breasts and his fingers remembered their warmth.
Kel reached the end of the zipper and tore the jacket off, throwing it to the
side of the room. She snaked her arms under Roan’s undershirt and worked that
off, too.