Far From Home: The Complete Second Series (Far From Home 13-15) (41 page)

43.

The air was dry, still. Old. Jessica peered out, not noticing the figure emerging from within the building until he was well on his way toward them.

"Gentlemen. We have company," Jessica said. She didn't have to look to know that Hawk's hand already hovered over his holster.

She recognised the outfit the man wore. The bland white overalls of the science division. He was middle aged, had thin red hair and a wide smile.

"Greetings," he said as he drew near. "I am Doctor Caise."

Jessica shook his hand. "Captain Jessica King. This is Captain Dolarhyde and Doctor Wilfred Gentry."

Even here, in the hind end of space, King stuck with calling Hawk by his new name. In case questions were asked later, and the name Gerard 'Hawk' Nowlan came up. It was more trouble than it was worth. The people who deserved to know, did. That was all that mattered.

He greeted them in turn, his smile never faltering. "Would you care to follow me inside? The weather is permissible at the moment, but we are prone to quite dangerous sand storms. Best not to get caught out in the open in one of those."

"Of course. That's what we're here for. Please lead the way," she said.

Caise bowed his head slightly. "With pleasure."

*

The building was huge, filled with endless corridors and a plethora of doors that led to who knew where. Their host, for his part, seemed to know exactly where to go. Lights flickered on and off as they walked past them.

"Ah. Here we are," Dr. Caise said. They'd arrived at a door with a sign on the front that read ADMINISTRATOR.

Caise pressed the buzzer. The door opened from within to reveal an office.

Behind the desk inside sat a similarly middle aged woman, blonde hair turning to silver at the sides. But she remained beautiful, quite youthful in her way. Startling blue eyes that seemed to burn with a cool, inner fire.

"Administrator Kingston, our visitors have arrived," Caise said, showing them into the office. "This is Captain Jessica King of the starship
Defiant
and two members of her crew. Captain Dolarhyde and Doctor Gentry."

Kingston stood. "Welcome."

Jessica's heart thumped in her chest. She'd thought of all the things she would say when she came face to face with the doctor. Yet now she stood in front of Kingston, everything bled away. All anger left her. There was only the same sadness that had swung back and forth within her for her whole life. A cold metal weight, in itself an endless reminder of all she'd not had, not known, not felt because she was an orphan – or had been until recently. A lot had changed.

Jessica suddenly realised that she had her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She made a concerted effort to loosen up.

"Nice to see you again," Gentry said, stepping forward to shake her hand.

"Likewise, Wilf," Kingston said. "It's been too long."

"Yes indeed."

Kingston glanced to the side. She registered something on Jessica's face. "Uh, Doctor Caise. Why don't you escort Mister Dolarhyde and Doctor Gentry around the facility. Allow me to talk to Captain King in confidence."

Caise didn't hesitate. He opened his arms, palms up. "Friends. Shall we?"

The two men looked to Jessica for guidance, but she merely waved them on. "Go ahead."

"Come on Doc," Hawk said, following Caise back out of the room.

Gentry followed suit. He turned back around on his way out. "Bye for now."

The door closed behind them. Jessica watched Kingston settle back into her seat, a reflective look on her face. "So."

"So."

"We have much to discuss," Kingston said.

"Yeah," Jessica said, face set. Again that anger, bubbling up. Breaking the surface. "Yeah, we do."

44.

Dr. Caise led them from one room to another, excitedly describing the various experiments and equipment on display. For his part, Dr. Gentry took a genuine interest in most of what Caise showed them, though it struck Hawk that they were being babysat while the Captain and Kingston had their conversation.

So it was to Hawk's relief when a shrill chirp came from Caise's wristband. When he checked it , his entire demeanour changed within an instant.

"Excuse me gentlemen, but I must leave you here to attend to another matter," he said.

"Sure, pal, don't mind us," Hawk said.

Dr. Caise started to walk away, obviously thought better of it, and turned back. "Please don't wander. Some of the experiments are . . . dangerous."

"We won't go anywhere we're not meant to," Gentry assured him.

Caise smiled and left them.

"Bless the stars for that!" Hawk said. "I was bored to tears."

"I've found his tour quite stimulating," Gentry said. "But I do feel we've been kept out of the way."

"Yup," Hawk said.

He started for the door on the other side of the room, directly opposite the one Caise had exited through.

"Where are you going?" Gentry asked.

"No. Where are
we
going," Hawk corrected him. He opened the door a crack and looked out. It was empty outside. As it had been since the moment they arrived. "There's people at work here. Lots of 'em. And we're gonna go look, see where the hell they are. Cause they ain't in these rooms."

"We shouldn't really be wandering around," Gentry said, worried. "Doctor Caise said –"

Hawk waved a hand at him. "Nah! To hell with Doc Suitcase. Come on son, let's hustle." He grabbed him by the arm and left the room. Dr. Gentry huffed and puffed as he got pulled along for the ride.

"Oh dear. Out of the frying pan . . ." he mumbled.

45.

"Anything happening down there?" Selena Walker asked.

Chang monitored from her station. "Nothing. They went in, and that's about it."

"There's been no further communication from the surface," Rayne said.

"God it's so painful sitting up here, not knowing," Walker said.

Chang looked up at the viewscreen. A bland planet, unremarkable but for its breathable atmosphere and comfortable temperatures. No life. Hardly any water down there apart from what was trapped in the atmosphere in the form of scant moisture.

The perfect planet to hide a secret experiment
.

"Well if it's to be found," she said. "It'll be here."

"What makes you and the Captain so sure?" Banks asked.

Dr. Clayton stood at the back, arms folded. "Cause it's a pit."

"Doctor?"

"Remember, the hybrids were trained on a similarly backwater planet. A bit like this. A dustbowl. Only that was a colonial world. Towns, a starport. You name it. But still, a dry ball of baked earth," Clayton said. "The Union seems to choose these places because they're so harsh."

"So the worse they are, the better," Banks said.

Clayton nodded. "Something like that, yeah."

Commander Chang looked over to Rayne. "Anything coming in from command? Orders to turn ourselves in and the like?"

"Not yet. But there will be."

"What about that weather formation?" Selena asked, pointing to a region at the bottom of the viewscreen.

"Some kind of storm, it'll be a few hours before it reaches them yet," Chang said.

Storm on the horizon. Sky full of portents. Trouble coming
, she thought.
Don't I know it . . .

46.

Silence
.

Kingston regarded her with a relaxed expression, seemingly at ease with her fingers steepled in front of her mouth.

"So," Jessica said, breaking the quiet. "You know why I'm here."

"You've learned the truth," Kingston said. She sat back in her chair. "I thought it may happen one day. But, although it goes against my better judgement, I decided to push the matter to the back of my mind."

"Well, here I am. In the flesh," Jessica said.

"Indeed. And . . . dare I say, it is good to see you."

"All these years I thought I was an orphan. Then I learned Andrew Singh was my biological Father. And now . . ." she looked away. "Clayton told me."

"I never wanted to be a Mother," Dr. Kingston said, showing emotion for the first time since they'd met. "I wasn't made for it. And in my line of work . . . I couldn't have a daughter to worry about. Couldn't have you exposed to what I do."

"You're my Mother. You should have been there. I grew up thinking I didn't have parents," Jessica said.

She couldn't help it. The tears were there. Flooding hot, down her cheeks. She wiped at them absently, not caring what it looked like. Self respect seemed a long way away when you found yourself face to face with a parent you didn't know existed.

Kingston offered her a box of tissues. "Here. Wipe your face. Please."

She took them grudgingly. "How could you do that to me?"

Her Mother closed her eyes, sighed heavily as though she couldn't answer her with her eyes open. It was easier to not have to look at the little girl she'd abandoned decades before. Abandoned – and forgot about.

"Jess, there is a lot you don't understand. It was a dangerous time. The work I did for the Union . . . one of many projects of ours I believe Andrew and yourself came into direct contact with. An awful device. But not the worst by a long shot. I did not want my offspring around that lifestyle. And unlike you, I am an orphan. I had no family to fall back on," Kingston explained.

"Did Dad know all along?"

Kingston opened her eyes. There were bloodshot. "Not straight away, no. How did Clayton learn the truth?" she asked.

"Dad told him. But the Doctor kept it from me until a short while ago. Apparently he swore not to tell me. He said –"

"Go on," Kingston urged her.

"He said you were a bad woman. A monster."

"And I was. I've lived a life of mistakes and cruelty in many ways," Kingston said. "Many of those things I cannot make amends for. But now, perhaps . . ."

Jessica shook her head. "You will never fix what you broke when you left me to continue your work. Never. Clayton's right. You're some kind of monster. I couldn't abandon any child of mine."

"I'm sorry," Kingston said. "Truly, I am."

Jessica daubed at her eyes with a ball of tissue. The tears had stopped for a moment, replaced by the anger again. "I could have lived my whole life and not known."

"Would it have been better if you had?"

Jessica's voice lodged in her throat. She couldn't think of any way to answer her. None at all.

"I chose your name, you know. Your Father didn't have a say in it. Though I knew the Kingston part was far too easy to trace. So I shortened it to King."

Jessica took a deep breath. "I have wondered how I got my name."

"There you go. Mystery solved."

"You know what they say about mysteries. They're like hydra. Deal with one and two more pop up in its place."

"You must have a lifetime of questions," Kingston said.

More than you could know,
Jessica thought.
The thing is, do you have the answers?

47.

"How did you even end up in this line of work? You're obviously a talented scientist," Jessica said.

Kingston shrugged. "I just did. You know yourself, sometimes your vocation chooses you and not the other way around. Andrew pursued a military career. I went the other way and buried my head in books and papers. It wasn't until later that I was talent spotted by the science division and offered employment on their latest project."

"I take it you were pregnant already at that point," Jessica said. "Why didn't you just terminate me?"

"It wasn't something I could consider. I am responsible, in an indirect fashion, for the deaths of a great many people through my work," Kingston said. "However I have never murdered anyone. There's no way I could terminate an unborn child. Especially my own. I'd never have lived with myself."

"I have to admit, I don't think I could either," Jessica said.

"Conscience. It's a fickle thing. The difference between the things we can live with and the things we can't is not always so glaringly large. It's a thin line, but not one that I was willing to cross. Not then, not ever. A person should have to live with, and deal with, their mistakes."

Jessica's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, so I'm a mistake now? You're actually coming out in the open and admitting it."

She got up. Kingston waved her hands. "No, no, no. That's not what I meant. Please sit back down."

Jessica considered for a moment, then slowly lowered herself back into her seat. "Go on."

"I meant, you were my responsibility, planned or not. But I wasn't cut out for motherhood. And I was about to go and work on top secret projects for the science division. I was not naive, Jessica. I knew the kind of things I might end up getting involved with. So I hid the pregnancy until the time was right, then had you in secret. That was when Andrew got involved," Kingston explained.

"He didn't know all along?"

"No. I was always going to tell him, but I couldn't find a way of breaking the news. However, when I started to show too much, I requested a leave of absence. Thankfully it was granted without question. I waited out the last few months of my pregnancy, then made contact with him. He was very understanding," Kingston said.

"He was a good man."

"The best. And he understood what I was telling. The lab is no place for a child to grow up . . . nor is the bridge of a starship. He agreed it was in your best interest to seek another home for you. So that's what we did."

It had been enough knowing Singh kept his true identity secret from her for years, but to know he'd played a part in her growing up without parents all seemed too much for her to handle. At least for the time being.

She cleared her throat. "So how did you two meet, anyway?"

Kingston got up. She walked to a cabinet on the other side of the room, opened it up to reveal bottles of drink. "I don't know about you, but I could use one of these right about now."

Jessica watched her pour two short glasses with a light pink liquid. She handed her one, then held her glass out for a toast.

"To the ghosts of the past," Kingston said.

"I'll drink to that," Jessica said.

The pink stuff didn't burn as it went down, but it had fire. Soon she felt as if her insides were going to start smouldering. It left a distinct aniseed aftertaste on her tongue but was not unpleasant. Far from it. The liquor of an academic.

"Another one?"

"Sure," Jessica handed her the glass and watched her Mother fix them another. "So did you ever think about me over the years?"

"I did. And I eventually looked you up," Kingston said. "I have to admit to feeling pleased you take after your Father more than I. He always said he had command in his blood."

Kingston handed her another glass full of the pink liquid, then sat back down on the other side of the desk.

"You were going to tell me about him," Jessica said.

"Yes," Kingston said. She took a sip of the liquor. "He had thick black hair back then . . ."