Return to Dakistee (38 page)

"Eliza, what are you doing here? How did you get here?" Jenetta said.

"Eliza? Sis, I'm Christa," the officer said.

"But you're…"

"I know, I know, I've been in a coma. But I woke up this morning and I feel great. The doctor told me I've been out of it for months, so I guess my brain kinda shut down to concentrate on healing my body. I can't argue with the results. My face and ear are as good as new, and you'd never know I was shot in the shoulder or the stomach. Boy, did that ever hurt. Ya know, I really thought I was dead when that Raider archeologist shot me. But my injuries are all healed, I'm as good as new, and I'm ready to go back to work. And you're not going to
believe
the things I'm going to tell you about Mikel Arneu and the events that have taken place on Dakistee."

"Uh, Christa," Admiral Holt said rising to his feet, "Would you wait in the outer office until your sister and I have concluded some other business?"

"Of course, sir. I'll be waiting outside for you, sis."

Jenetta turned back to Admiral Holt as Christa left the office. "She doesn't know, does she?"

"No, she doesn't."

Jenetta sank back down into the chair as Admiral Holt did the same.

"Did you intend to tell her?" Jenetta asked.

"I figured I'd leave that choice up to you."

"Tell me how."

"How to tell her?"

"You know what I mean."

Holt grinned. "It was thanks to a lot of people, none of whom know anything about this."

"I'm listening."

"Admiral Moore authorized a black project fifteen years ago after you brought us the cloning equipment. He wanted us to learn everything we could about the process and also explore other possibilities."

"Other possibilities?" Jenetta said, nodding. "Totally black?"

"Blacker than black. I doubt that even half of the Admiralty Board members know about it. After the Admiral Elersey court-martial, things that were hush-hush went almost dead silent. Richard didn't want to take a chance on leaks because the project represented such a potential bombshell. Evelyn Platt and Roger Bradley know, and Shana Ressler probably knows because she's the budget person, but no one else had a need to know and probably weren't included in discussions."

"Just four members of the Admiralty Board?" Jenetta said.

Holt nodded. "The project was named Springboard. I have no idea how many people were on the inside track on this one, but I'm sure it wasn't more than a handful, other than the scientists who actually worked the project."

"And this black project is still underway?"

"No, it was wrapped up about four years ago after the funding ended but not before they accomplished their goal. They documented exactly how the clones are produced by the Dakistee equipment and how the clones acquire all the knowledge and memories of the host. And, they found one more thing. They discovered that if they can get to a host within one hour of death, they can replace him and provide all the memories he had at the time of his death."

"But Dakistee is at least four days from here. That's well beyond the time which you say was required to recover Christa and all of her memories."

"Yes, but the first physician on the scene had the good sense to put Christa into one of the stasis beds used by the Dakistians. Those beds are far superior to anything we have, or ever envisioned, because they preserve the subject in virtually the same condition they were in when they entered the chamber."

"The attending physician on Dakistee knew of Project Springboard?"

"No, but he'd heard the stories about your incredible physiology and wanted to get Christa to us in the same condition in which he found her in case it was possible for us to heal her."

"So, bottom line, how many people are in the know on this use of the equipment?"

"Only half a dozen know the whole story. A dozen more know that something important required them to perform certain tasks in complete secrecy but not what was involved."

"For example?"

"The two pilots who took Christa's body in a sealed container and ejected it so it would burn up in the star we orbit. They had no idea what was in the container. They were told it presented a possible environmental threat to the station and had to be disposed of in a permanent fashion."

"So Christa's original body is gone and we have a clone who doesn't know she's a clone."

"Well, she was a clone before, so she knows she's a clone. Her memories are complete up to the minute she blacked out from loss of blood."

"You've put me in a tough spot, Brian."

"I know. But if our places were reversed I would have wanted you to do it for me— and for the GA. The people of the GA and Space Command need their heroes, Jen, and Christa
is
a hero. She saved most of those Loudescott people and discovered the thousands of sleepers who were entombed in the bowels of the planet."

"Yes, but you know how I feel about cloning. It's a slippery slope when you start justifying 'just one' and then 'just one more.'"

"We'll have to see that doesn't happen— except in extreme cases like this one. Look at it this way— Christa was already a clone, so we didn't create another clone. We just replaced the body she previously occupied because it was damaged."

Jenetta breathed in deeply and released it before saying, "I wonder what I would have said if you had asked me before you authorized it."

"Maybe that's why I didn't ask. You can be a bit stubborn at times where moral issues are concerned."

"Is this a moral issue or simply a psychological one?" Jenetta asked.

"It shouldn't be an issue at all. We send people into the hospital to fix them, right? We use prosthetic devices to return their mobility and functionality. In this case, we're just using the resources we have on hand to repair a damaged body."

"But where does it stop? Instead of replacing a damaged and useless limb, why not just create a clone with 100% functionality and dispose of the old body?"

"Because we would have to kill the person with the damaged limb so there was only one unique individual. There was no decision like that with Christa because her body was already dead. We just restored her life force to a replacement body— what the Milori call a 'husk.'"

"You knew that no matter how I felt about this, there's nothing I can do now. I can't order her to be killed to restore balance to the equation."

"Ordering her death wouldn't restore anything, Jen. It would just rob us of an incredible human being."

Jenetta nodded and stood up, facing Holt's desk. Holt rose to his feet as well and came out from behind his desk to stand facing Jenetta.

"You knew all along I would object," she said, "but that I would give in."

"I
hoped
it would work out that way."

Jenetta suddenly turned and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Stretching just slightly, she planted a kiss on his cheek and continued to hold him for a few more seconds. As she pulled back, he saw that both her checks were wet from tears.

"Thank you, Brian," she said. "Thank you for everything. Thank you for giving Christa back to me, and thank you for sparing me the agony of making that decision."

"That's what friends are for," he said with a kindly smile.

~ finis ~

*** The adventures of the Carver sisters will continue ***

Watch for new books on Amazon,
check my website at
www.deprima.com
,
or sign up for my free newsletter to receive email announcements about future book releases.

A Message To My Readers

If you've enjoyed this novel, I hope that you'll take just a few minutes to leave a review on the Amazon site. They are much appreciated, as they often assist purchasing decisions by other readers.

Thank you        

Appendix

This chart is offered to assist readers who may be unfamiliar with military rank and the reporting structure. Newly commissioned officers begin at either ensign or second lieutenant rank.

Space Command Officer Hierarchy:

Admiral of the Fleet (5 Star)
Admiral (4 Star)
Vice-Admiral (3 Star)
Rear Admiral – Upper (2 Star)
Rear Admiral – Lower (1 Star)

Captain
Commander
Lt. Commander
Lieutenant
Lieutenant(jg) "Junior Grade"
Ensign

Space Marine Officer Hierarchy:

General (4 Star)
Lt. General (3 Star)
Major General (2 Star)
Brigadier General (1 Star)

Colonel
Lt. Colonel
Major
Captain
First Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant

The commanding officer on a ship is always referred to as Captain, regardless of his or her official military rank. Even an Ensign could be a Captain of the Ship, although that would only occur as the result of an unusual situation or emergency where no senior officers survive.

On Space Command ships and bases, time is measured according to a twenty-four clock, normally referred to as military time. For example, 8:42 PM would be referred to as 2042 hours. Chronometers are set to always agree with the date and time at Space Command Supreme Headquarters on Earth. This is known as GST, or Galactic System Time.

Admiralty Board:

Moore, Richard E -
Admiral of the Fleet

Platt, Evelyn S. -
Admiral - Director of Fleet Operations

Bradlee, Roger T. -
Admiral - Director of Intelligence (SCI)

Ressler, Shana E. -
Admiral - Director of Budget & Accounting

Hillaire, Arnold H. -
Admiral - Director of Academies

Burke, Raymond A. -
Vice-Admiral - Director of GSC Base Management

Ahmed, Raihana L. -
Vice-Admiral - Dir. of Quartermaster Supply

Woo, Lon C. -
Vice-Admiral - Dir. of Scientific & Expeditionary Forces

Plimley, Loretta J. -
Rear-Admiral, (U) - Dir. of Weapons R&D

Hubera, Donald M. -
Rear-Admiral, (U) - Dir. of Academy Curricula

Ship Speed Terminology:

Plus-1
- 1 kps

Sub-Light-1 -
1,000 kps

Light-1 -
299,792.458 kps or (
c
)
(
speed of light in a vacuum)

Light-150
or
150 c -
150 times the speed of light

Hyper-Space Factors:

IDS Communications Band -
.0513 light years each minute (8.09 billion kps)

DeTect Range -
4 billion kilometers

Sample Distances:

Earth to Mars (Mean) -
78 million kilometers

Nearest star to our Sun -
4 light-years (Proxima Centauri)

Milky Way Galaxy diameter -
100,000 light-years

Thickness of M'Way at Sun -
2,000 light-years

Stars in Milky Way -
200 billion (est.)

Nearest galaxy (Andromeda) -
2 million light-years from M'Way

A light-year
- 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometers (in vacuum)

A light-second -
299,792.458 km (in vacuum)

Grid Unit -
1,000 Light Yrs² (1,000,000 Sq. LY)

Deca-Sector -
100 Light Years² (10,000 Sq. LY)

Sector -
10 Light Years² (100 Sq. LY)

Section
- 94,607,304,725 km²

Sub-section
- 946,073,047 km²

Mission Descriptions for Strategic Command Bases:

Strat Com 1 – Base - Location establishes it as a critical component of Space Command Operations - Serves as home-port to multiple warships that also serve in base's defense. All sections of Space Command maintain an active office at the base. Base Commander establishes all patrol routes and is authorized to override SHQ orders to ships within the sector(s) designated part of the base's operating territory.
Recommended rank of Commanding Officer: Rear Admiral (U)

Strat Com 2 – Base - Location establishes it as a crucial component of Space Command Operations - Serves as home-port to multiple warships that also serve in base's defense. All sections of Space Command maintain an active office at the base. Patrol routes established by SHQ.
Recommended rank of Commanding Officer: Rear Admiral (L)

Strat Com 3 – Base - Location establishes it as an important component of Space Command Operations - Serves as homeport to multiple warships that also serve in base's defense. Patrol routes established by SHQ.
Recommended rank of Commanding Officer: Captain

Strat Com 4 – Station - Location establishes it as an important terminal for Space Command personnel engaged in travel to/from postings, and for re-supply of vessels and outposts.
Recommended rank of Commanding Officer: Commander

Strat Com 5 – Outpost - Location makes it important for observation purposes and collection of information.
Recommended rank of Commanding Officer: Lt. Commander