She kisses my father soundly on the mouth, then hugs him tightly. She turns to me
and practically picks me up (though I'm seven-and-a-half and too old for such things), squeezing
me so tight I can hardly breathe. When she finally lets me go, she wipes the tears from my eyes
and stares into them for a moment with a look I don't recognize.
"Please don't go, Mommy," I beg one last time.
"I have to, Dearling. You know that. We all must do what we are destined to do."
Father takes her hand. "Be safe, Ambassador. We'll miss you every second that you're
gone."
He smiles, and she smiles sadly back, with an expression I will spend an eternity trying to
analyze. Her voice breaking with emotion, she says, "Take care of Hary, and of yourself. I love
you both--never, ever forget that." She kisses him lightly on the cheek, then turns and leaves my
life forever.
--Taken from Stardog textbook, History 101--
Chapter 35--After the Second Spung War: Section 2.1
"Ambassador Elmira was killed en-route to Arcatia, where she was to mediate a treaty
between the UPP and the Independent Spung Coalition(a largely peaceful group recently split
from the Empire). Though the peace agreement was nearly destroyed by strong distrust on both
sides, they were able to agree with an almost unanimous vote to the choice in mediator. The
ambassador's transport was destroyed en-route by agents of the Spung Empire, in the hope that
this would terminate the treaty.
Fortunately, rather than destroy it, it brought the two sides together. The ambassador
was seen as a martyr, one greatly respected by both parties. The treaty was sealed four days
later, after a short public memorial.
Ambassador Elmira is still looked upon as one of the great heroes of the United
Populated Planets, for both her diplomatic and wartime achievements. She has been called a
pioneer, the first Spung to aid the Stardog corps, and to reach out in hopes of peace. It was her
greatest desire to see her people living in harmony with the UPP, and considered a great irony
that she was not able to witness this goal, though it may never have been achieved without her
guidance. (Refer to Chapter 32--Adventures of the Christa, for further details.)"
--End transmission--
My mom was a Great Hero--martyr to a just cause, legendary seeress, Mother of the
Alliance. But she was my mom, too. She was my mom, and she just walked out of my life.
She had to have known that she was going to die on that ship, but she went anyway. She did it
because she was noble, and brave, and good, but that doesn't change the fact that she's dead. I
don't blame her for it, most of the time. She did what she had to do; she fulfilled her destiny. But
that doesn't change the fact that I miss her so much it hurts.
My name is Hary. My full name is Harlan 781, but no one ever calls me that. I'm twelve
Earth years old(Or sixteen Andromedan hatchings, or eleven Spung cycles). My father, as I'm
sure you've already deduced, is Radu 386, and my mom was Ambassador Elmira. Which makes
me the only Spung/Andromedan in the known universe. It's not always easy. I realized a long
time ago that the way I look will set some people against me right away. If they don't have a
Spung prejudice, then they have an Andromedan one, or an interspecies marriage bias, or some
other stupid hatred. But I deal with it the best way I know (usually blushing furiously and acting
like an idiot). It's not all bad. Actually, life's usually rather good. I live on a starship, so I can go
weeks at a time without running into morons. There are good (if unusual) people on this ship,
and life's always interesting on the Christa. Sometimes too interesting.
Mom had been dead five years. Five years exactly, as a matter of fact, which is why we
were on our way to Arcatia. There was this big celebration there, in honor of the
Coalition/UPP/Andromedan treaty anniversary. "Five Years of Peace." A momentous occasion
to be sure. They wanted us there to represent Elmira; they were going to give Dadu some sort of
a medal in her absence. I thought the whole thing was a waste of time, but the parents were
rather insistent about it.
So that's how I wound up at a ridiculously boring banquet, shaking hands with people I'd
never met. And of course, all of them had been Mom's closest friend. And they'd all been
devastated when they heard what happened to her; and all of them were glad to see what a
handsome young man I'd turned out to be. Not that they were sucking up or anything.
I looked around the immense marble hall, at the elegant party gowns and dignified
Stardog officers and delicious looking food. I watched Earthers chatting politely with
Andromedans and Spung laughing at Uranusian jokes. I wondered how soon I could escape to
the side room my friends had vanished into half an hour ago.
Distracted by this though, I barely noticed the human who came next to shake my hand.
My mistake very nearly cost me my life.
The man muttered a bland pleasantry and moved to turn to my father. That was when I
really looked at him, into his eyes. They stared soulless back at me as a thousand things rang
through my head in a single moment. Later on, I would try very hard to analyze those few
seconds, but in that instant my destiny stood out with startling clarity.
"DAAAAD!!!" My voice broke with intensity as I tackled my father. I
caught a glimpse of his surprised face as we fell hard and fast to the ground.
And then the world blew up.
My vision spun and rubble rained down all around us and distantly I heard screams as
the room went around and around and around... "Momma," I heard myself moan, and then
everything went black and I knew no more.
"He's coming around!" I heard someone say distantly, and no matter how hard I tried I
couldn't seem to see the speaker. That's odd, I though, I wondered why? I
puzzled over this for a few moments before realizing something. Ahh, my eyes are shut! I
opened them.
"Hey sleepyhead," Rosie's smiling face greeted me warmly.
"Wha--?" I squawked.
"You're safe, honey; you're back on the Christa." She turned and called softly over her
shoulder, "Radu! Hary's awake!"
My father's face joined hers above me a moment later. "Geez, kiddo, you--you had us
worried!" I could tell from the waver in Dad's voice that he was far less composed than he was
letting on. He picked up my hand and squeezed it. I squeezed back, hard.
"What happened?"
They glanced at each other. "We were sort of hoping you'd tell us."
I stared at them blankly.
Dad sighed. "Hary, the Earther who shook your hand before the explosion wasn't
precisely what he seemed. From what Cat and Suzee and the base's security team has been
able to analyze from the-- the remains, he wasn't even human. He was an android."
"Like Thelma?" No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't picture her doing anything like
this.
"Sort of, " Rosie answered, " but the technology involved was a lot less advanced. He--
it didn't have much artificial intelligence. It was designed simply to look human, act more or less
normally, come in--"
"And blow us to kingdom come!"
"Precisely," replied a voice from the doorway. A tall Earth woman strode in and
continued, "From what we can figure, the perpetrator was supposed to blow while in contact with
your father. The blast was very controlled; it would have killed only Radu and any one unlucky
enough to be standing within three or four meters."
"It was a miracle no one was hurt!" Rosie interjected.
"Not a miracle," the woman said, turning to stare at me with a critical eye. She seemed
to be sizing me up, determining my worth. Her gaze roved over my extensive red-blond hair, my
short stature and green-tinted skin. I blushed and looked down, then with great effort resisted
my timid nature and returned her gaze. She was perhaps forty or fifty years old, with graying
blond hair pulled into a tight braid. She was trim and muscular, with a warrior's stance.
She smiled suddenly, as if, after careful inspection, she'd found me worthy. "Commander
Kero Wyn, head of base security," she introduced herself. "That was very brave of you, back
there."
"Well I um... thanks."
"How did you do it?"
"I guess I just... I saw the bomb go off and I grabbed Dad--"
"You were in motion long before the bomb blew. I was there, I saw it. How did you
know?"
"Hary." Dad bit his lip. "Is it possible--after all this time--that you might have your
mother's gift?"
I feigned tiredness and they left me to rest. My head spinning, I knew that sleep would
be completely impossible. It couldn't be true. No, not after all this time.
UPP experts had run all the tests on me a few years ago. Everybody wanted to see if
the child of the Oracle would inherit any of her greatness. Well, I didn't. Son of two living
legends, and I couldn't even manage to do a little fortune telling. This failure might have scarred
me for life, but for the fact that my parents actually seemed a little relieved.
And now it would begin all over again. They would run all of their tests again and
discover that I was just as much a failure now as back then. Unless... was it possible that they
really could have a point? Could I really be a seer? I allowed myself to consider it for a few
minutes and then discarded it. No, that somehow felt wrong. I hadn't acted because I'd seen the
future, it was something else entirely. I just had to figure out what.
I must have actually dozed off at some point, because the next thing I knew, I was being
rudely shaken to wakefulness.
Someone was muttering, "Oh, no, why would I need to see him? Not like I might
be a little concerned. Hary, wake up already!"
At the command, I opened my eyes. "Suzan?"
"Hary!" She was hugging me rather enthusiastically before I could stop her. Although
truthfully, I didn't want to stop her. "Are you okay? They wouldn't let any of us in to see you."
Unconvinced by my claims of health, she began to check for herself.
"Suz, chill!" I started to laugh. Despite my words, I was touched by her
concern.
"You get yourself nearly blown to bits, manage to suffer a concussion, go dead to the
world for hours, and you expect me to chill! Grozit!" Only Suzan could blame me for receiving a
concussion while saving my father from a terrorist attack.
"Do you think you can handle a little more company?"
I nodded, and it was all the encouragement that she needed. She ran to the door and
whispered out, "C'mon in, guys. It's clear!"
The rest of my friends slipped quietly into the room. Aiden, our leader. Myra, our
resident comedian. Rell, Suzan's irritable younger brother, who's constant companion was a girl
from another dimension.
By that time, I'd risen to a sitting position on the medlab bed, so Suzan joined me there
while the others made themselves comfortable at various positions around the room.
"We heard what happened, Hary." Myra seemed slightly uncomfortable. "Or--or at least
what people are saying."
I felt odd, suddenly. My friends were all looking at me as if I'd suddenly grown an extra
head. Did they actually think there was any truth to the rumors? "Don't believe everything you
hear." I explained what had really happened (or at least, as much as I knew).
"You're sure you don't understand how you knew it?"
"Yes, I'm sure! I'm so sick of people asking me that! If I didn't know five seconds ago, I
certainly don't know now!"
Rell apologized sheepishly, and I immediately regretted my outburst. Still, the others seemed to have realized that I hadn't mutated into a stranger overnight.
"Guys, we're missing the important part here," Aiden finally spoke up, in his steady
timbre. "Somebody's out to get Radu. And we can't let that happen."
"What can we do? We're just kids."
"Hary, you were able to see past that android's disguise once. Do you think you could
do it again?"
"I-- I don't know. Maybe."
"We have to try." Myra looked unusually sober.
"She's right," Suzan added. "Let's look at this objectively. Why would anyone want to
hurt Dadu?"
Complete silence for a moment, then Aiden said darkly, "It would definitely make a lot of
people upset. To kill an Andromedan Stardog at treaty headquarters... people would be pointing
fingers all over the place. The UPP would blame the Spung, the Spung would blame the
Andromedans--yeah, it'd be real bad. It could mean the end of the treaty, another war,
anything."
"Who would do such a thing? I mean, a third Spung war isn't exactly my idea of a rousing good time."
"I don't know, Myra. But it's obviously someone's."
"The Spung Empire?" I suggested reluctantly. The Coalition accounted for less that five
percent of the total population, and we had yet to make peace with the Empire.
"Could be, but it doesn't make sense. If they were going to initiate a war, strategically this isn't a great way to go about it. It'd make more sense to launch a major offensive, give yourself the element of surprise."
"Luff rebels?"
"UPP citizens still against allying with the Spung?"
"Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick!"
We all stopped and stared at Myra for a few moments, then Aiden shook his head in
bemusement and said, "It could be anyone. Maybe some completely new power. Worst case
scenario, a war is fought and whichever side wins is weakened and ripe for conquest. Best
case, the treaty dissolves and everyone is weaker without their allies."
"So the question remains," I said thoughtfully, "what are we going to do now?"
"...So he says 'that's not my tentacle!" Myra finished, then promptly burst into laughter.
I forcibly brought myself back to the present, smiled and snickered politely, then allowed my mind
to drift again. We were taking yet another turn around the banquet hall, looking for "suspicious
characters".
It had been three days since the assassination attempt, and after much discussion my
friends and I had decided upon a plan of action. I was to walk around the conference grounds,
trying to identify another android. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I was
beginning to wonder if it would ever yield results. To be honest, I was getting intensely
bored.
The others were taking turns keeping me company on my little stroll. In the past few
days, I'd heard all about the newest starship designs from Aiden, VR winning tactics from Suzan,
a heated one-sided conversation discoursing the benefits of dutronium ore over dilithium from
(you guessed it) Rell. Now it was Myra's turn. She was using me as a sort of captive audience
for her latest jokes and funny stories. That is, they would have been funny if I hadn't know
virtually every joke in her repertoire.
I breathed deeply and opened my ears to the surrounding area, listening for anything out
of place. I'd inherited a great deal of powerful Andromedan strength and hearing, although I
wasn't as proficient in either area as Dad. I heard all the ordinary sounds--footsteps, quiet
conversation, diplomats arguing politely. Nothing unusual.
I did hear the almost noiseless tread of the security guards following me, however.
They, or similar personnel, had been escorting me everywhere I went for days. I'd argued
against the necessity, but the parents and base security were extremely insistent about it. I
suppose I could consider myself lucky; Dad had three times as many. After three days, I was
almost getting used to them. Almost.
"C'mon, Myra, I think it's time to call it...a...day..." I trailed off, suddenly distracted by an
Andromedan woman marching swiftly towards the Great Hall. Without really understanding why,
I began walking, then running to intercept her.
She picked up her pace as well, perhaps realizing that I was onto her.
I was dimly aware of Myra jogging along beside me, pulling on my arm and begging me
to tell her what I was doing, but I couldn't spare the breath to answer. I had soon outdistanced
her and the security duo behind me.
"Excuse me, Ma'am," I said breathlessly as I finally caught up to the woman, "But I..."
But I what? I was just wondering if you were an android bomber intent on murdering my
father? Oh yeah, that'll work. "Could you tell me where the mess hall is?"
She stared at me blankly for a moment, then replied with irritation, "It's that big building
behind you with the words 'Mess Hall' displayed over the door. Excuse me."
Blushing furiously, I allowed her to go. But as she turned away, something clicked into
place. Andromedans have two hearts, and both should have been hard at work pumping
oxygen-rich blood to her extremities. I couldn't hear either of them. "Hold on one second,
Ma'am." I seized her arm to keep her from leaving.
"Let go of me! Help, someone, this boy is attacking me!" Her voice had risen to a
scream, and several people were already on their way.
"Security!" I yelped and my guards, making themselves useful for once, came to my aid.
"What seems to be the problem, Hary?"
"Let that woman go! She's done nothing to you!" an Andromedan diplomat accused.
He, like the rest of the small circle that had formed around us, had responded to the woman's
call. I heard the words "Crazy Spung!" echoing through the crowd, and I tightened my jaw. I
wouldn't discredit my people.
"Listen to me. Even better, listen to her! She has no heartbeats!"
"The boy's right!" he said after a moment. "I never would have noticed." The other
Andromedans in the crowd nodded in acquiescence. "She's one of those androids!"
"Uh, guys," Myra politely prodded the security guards, "perhaps now would be a good
time to arrest the assasin!" Urged to action, they advanced.
Then the woman seemed to burst from within, exploding in a spectacular display of
electricity. When it was over, the only proof that she had existed at all was a charred spot on the
pavement.
