The Clones of Mawcett (28 page)

“Aye, ma'am.”

Jenetta settled into the command chair and adjusted the right-hand command console viewscreen in front of her as LaSalle left the bridge. She knew now that there would probably never be anything more than a formal relationship with the first officer since LaSalle was clearly jealous of her. Jenetta was grateful beyond words that LaSalle hadn't been the one put in charge on the planet. One LaSalle to deal with was quite enough, thank you. Of course, with LaSalle in charge, things could have turned out very differently. She didn't speak Dakis, but she may have realized that Doctor Vlashsku would have switched to Dakis when tired or frustrated. She could have even employed his help in learning to interface with the computer. But if she had blundered ahead, not wanting to involve him so he couldn't share in the credit for solving the problem, the equipment and all of the personnel could have been lost. As far as the jealousy went, Jenetta felt that LaSalle's paranoia was her own biggest problem.

Responsibility for safeguarding the planet and staffing the base established by Jenetta fell to the captain of the cruiser Mentuhotep when Space Command SHQ ordered the Prometheus to proceed immediately to Higgins Space Base. Jenetta made one more trip down to the surface to visit the facility and say goodbye to the scientists before the Prometheus left orbit.

Arriving at the Mawcett base, Jenetta saw that it had been restored to reasonably good order. The perimeter sensor network had been reestablished and marines were patrolling again. The tunnel leading to the facility had been cleared of debris, making the damage to the walls outside the facility entrance that much more obvious. The roof had been reinforced to prevent collapse. Jenetta smiled when she saw that someone had erected a crude makeshift sign above the entrance declaring it to be 'Fort Carver.'

Walking though the facility, she made sure that all the materials prepared for shipping had been moved out. She also noted that the stores had been restocked in preparation for turning the base over to the Mentuhotep staff. A Marine stood guard over the sewer entrance now, even though a locking tritanium hatch cover had been installed below the marble slab. Motion sensors in the tunnel below made passage without detection impossible. Alarms would sound if anything larger than a sewer rat tried to breach the tunnel now.

Before returning to the Prometheus, Jenetta stopped by the archeological staff's camp. Doctor Peterson actually greeted her with a smile. It was probably because he was so glad to see her leave, she thought.

“Ahh, Commander Carver. Getting ready to leave for your home port I understand?”

“Yes, Doctor. We'll be leaving orbit this evening.”

“Well, good luck and thank you for everything. I realize that I was a bit rough on you for the first few weeks, and I apologize.”

“I accept your apology, and I understood your resentment. I would have felt the same way if I had discovered something significant only to have someone else come in and push me out of the way. We really had no choice though. I shudder to think what would have happened if the Raiders had gotten their hands on the cloning technology.”

“I shudder to think what would have happened to us if you hadn't been here. I also want to thank you again for providing the complete list of symbols that you prepared. I've circulated copies to all the other camps on the planet and sent a copy to our warehouse on Anthius. When do you think you might have a basic dictionary available? I'm sure it will prove to be of immense value to the researchers once we can begin to develop translations beyond those you were able to ascertain.”

“I'm glad I was able to help. I can't give you a date on the dictionary just yet, but I'll forward a copy as soon as I can. My sister, Eliza, and I are working on a report that will present the history of the planet from what we've been able to piece together during our stay here.”

“Eliza?”

“You knew her as Three. She's decided to take the name of Eliza Kathleen, our great grandmother's name.”

“I see. And where did your research information come from.”

“The facility's computer contained some historical documents, reference information, and media reports. Once we were able to communicate verbally with the computer, we were able to examine the contents.”

“You established complete interlingual communication?” Doctor Peterson asked excitedly and clearly in awe. “Commander, we must have access to that information! It will help us translate all the textual matter we've uncovered during our years of effort on this world.”

“You will, Doctor. After Space Command SHQ has approved its release, I'll forward a phonetic analysis of the symbols and a complete dictionary with text translation documentation. The original files will naturally be made available to you and anyone else interested in researching them once Space Command ascertains that no other banned technology is included.”

“You mean that we have to wait?”

“Doctor, the planet has been deserted for almost twenty thousand years, and you're facing the prospect of a lifetime of work here. Another year, more or less, isn't really going to make that much difference, is it?”

Doctor Peterson mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, then said, “No, I guess not.”

Jenetta decided to leave before Doctor Peterson had a chance to get excited again. “Doctor, good luck with your archeological endeavors. Goodbye.”

“Good-bye, Commander.”

Turning to walk back to the shuttle, Jenetta was stopped by Doctor Dakshiku Vlashsku, his assistant Glawth Djetch, and their fourteen clones. All touched their closed hands to their chests and dropped to one knee as they bowed their heads.

“Please stand and raise your heads, Gentlemen.”

Doctor Vlashsku stepped forward and said, “My associates and I heard that you were in the camp and we wished to thank you once again before you left.”

“You're very welcome, Doctor. I wish all of you success in your endeavors here on the planet.”

“We're most sorry for the loss of your clone, Azula.”

“Thank you. We haven't given up hope of recovering her yet. I'm referring to her as my sister now, rather than as a clone. Her new name is Christa Marie Carver. It gives her more of an identity that way.”

“I see. A wise decision,” Doctor Vlashsku said as he glanced over at his own clone group.

“Gentlemen, it's time for me to leave. Goodbye.”

In one voice the group said, “Goodbye, My Lady.”

* * *

Christa sat up on the foul smelling cot in the brig aboard the Tsgardi ship and looked around at the dingy grey steel walls. She believed that she'd been aboard the ship for about six weeks now. She couldn't be more sure of the time because Tsgardi days are just shy of thirty-three earth hours long and she was trying to keep track of the days in GST time. So far, she'd only been able to learn that the ship's name was Boshdyte.

Despite daily interrogation visits from the captain, she had divulged very little. Her uniform was cut in places, and clotted with blood from daily whippings. She had begun to suspect that the visits from the baboon-like alien were just an excuse for the captain to fulfill his sadistic proclivities. She also suspected that the ship had left planetary orbit, because the meal routine had changed more than a week ago and the captain was no longer interrupted with messages during the interrogation sessions.

The Tsgardi didn't use the prisoner restraint bands that were employed in the Raider detention center where Jenetta had been held. Instead, they used plain old-fashioned steel handcuffs and leg irons, and Christa's wrists and ankles ached continuously where the steel gripped her tightly. A short length of chain attached between her leg irons and the rear wall further restricted her movement in the brig. At least her clothes hadn't been taken away from her, and the mind conditioning that the Raiders had performed on Jenetta enabled her to easily withstand the pain inflicted by the Captain. The DNA modification performed by the Raider doctors had her wounds healing almost as quickly as they were imposed. The gruel she was served daily tasted terrible, but since the Tsgardi themselves had healthy appetites, the quantity was adequate to keep her sated.

Christa knew that the Tsgardi captain expected her to be wearing down so she pretended that her strength was almost gone, despite the fact that she felt fine and exercised each day to the limits allowed by the shackles. Since he arrived each day at exactly the same time, Christa finished up her exercises just before then. The fatigue that she genuinely felt added to the effect that she was trying to convey. She had just completed a long series of pushups and was resting when the Captain entered the brig. Christa sat up on the edge of the cot, and hung her head in pretense of weariness as he entered her cell.

“So, Commander, are you ready to talk to me today?”

Christa just sat there looking down at the floor.

“No smart answers today?”

“What's the use? You never go where I tell you,” Christa said.

She heard the swish of the whip a full half-second before she felt the blow on her left arm.

“Perhaps you're not telling me the right things. I want you to tell me how the cloning equipment works.”

“I've told you before. It works very well.”

Swish went the whip again and a blow landed on her right arm. “I want to know how the process makes the clones. Smart remarks will only earn you more pain.”

“I don't know how it works. I'm an astrophysicist, not a medical doctor or researcher.”

“You spent weeks working on the equipment. I know that you know more than you're saying. You were left on the planet to disassemble the equipment for transportation.”

“I don't know anything about how the equipment functions.”

Swish; another blow landed on Christa. This time the whip curled around her and the pain was felt on her back. With the third lash, her pain receptors deadened and the ache faded quickly. She would actually feel better with each new lash after this. Pain made her stronger, thanks to the mind conditioning that the Raiders had performed when they were brainwashing Jenetta to be a masochistic slave at one of their kinky resorts. Christa had acquired the same mind conditioning as a result of the cloning process. The attempt by the Space Command psychiatrist to remove the conditioning hadn't been completely successful, fortunately, but he had removed enough so that she didn't experience any sexual urges as a result of the torture.

The interrogation went on for the usual hour with Christa saying little more than usual. By the end of the session she had again told the Tsgardi captain several times where he could conceal his whip on his person between torture sessions, and repeatedly suggested a reportedly warm place where he should plan a permanent stay.

As soon as the captain had gone, Christa reclined on the cot. She could feel the whip marks and cuts already beginning to heal, and there was virtually no pain. In fact, she was feeling mildly euphoric from the beating. Despite the sense of well-being, she knew that she had to get out of the brig. As a prisoner of the Tsgardi, she would eventually be turned over to the Raiders, and she knew that Mikel Arneu would delight in wiping her mind and sending her off to one of the company's whore palaces as quickly as possible. She wasn't at all sure that her incredibly recuperative body could restore her knowledge and memories.

The_Clones_of_Mawcett

Chapter Fourteen

~ April 19th, 2270 ~

During the month long trip to Vinnia, Jenetta and Eliza continued to work on the Mawcett history, and by the time they reached Higgins SCB, the digest that had become a treatise, had evolved to become a book. All mention of cloning and advanced medical testing had been omitted, of course, as they concentrated on the planet's societal evolution with emphasis on religious overtones, and the increasing separation of the population along fundamental canonical precepts.

By linking the retrieved computer core to the ship's main system, Jenetta produced a complete dictionary of the language used on Mawcett at the time its population perished. The file would reside in her computer until she felt the time was appropriate for its dissemination.

Jenetta had also recorded and sent a personal vidMail message to the family of each Marine killed on Mawcett. Although it was Marine Captain Greene's job, and Jenetta knew that he had sent his messages, she felt an obligation to do so as well because they had been under her overall command at the time they died. Although Space Command personnel and Space Marines had died at the Battle of Vauzlee, while she was the acting XO of the Prometheus, this was the first time that people died while exclusively under orders issued by her. It saddened her enormously to think that she had sent them to their deaths, and even more so that if the war with the Raiders continued, many more under her command might perish. She did her best to put those feelings aside for now as she recorded the messages to the families. In each, she spoke about how the company had been on a routine assignment when attacked by the Tsgardi Raiders and how the Marine had fought bravely in defense of comrades, the civilian scientists, and the dig site laborers. Through it all, Christa's fate was never far from her immediate thoughts.

* * *

Higgins Space Command Base, a massive space station floating in synchronous orbit above the planet Vinnia, dwarfed the enormous battleship sidling up to the assigned docking pier. The station, easily visible to the naked eye from the planet below, resembled an oval-cut, blue opal gemstone, surrounded by a huge silver necklace. The necklace was the station's docking ring, where numerous ships of Prometheus' nearly two-kilometer long length could dock with the station simultaneously. Access tunnels, connecting the base to the docking ring, appeared like spokes in a wheel.

During the Battle for Higgins, the station had been seriously damaged. When Jenetta had last been here, the docking ring had been left almost useless, and great sections of the station had been open to space. They'd had enough of a warning to evacuate all civilians and non-combatant military personnel, but casualties had still been high. Although work continued inside almost two years later, the station was fully pressurized again and the exterior of the base had been returned to its previous magnificent appearance.

After docking, all crewmembers assigned to the base on Mawcett were ordered to report to the hospital for complete physical examinations. The doctors aboard the Prometheus had already completed full examinations of all personnel, but orders are orders. Eliza was included in the group, although her status in Space Command was still undefined.

Driverless transports were standing by in the docking ring when the Mawcett personnel emerged from the ship. The base hospital was a short, five minute ride from the ship and waiting orderlies escorted everyone to rooms where their examinations would be conducted.

As expected, everyone was declared fit for duty, except the three Marines who were still recovering from wounds received in action against the Tsgardi. Jenetta and Eliza were held overnight for additional testing, but at least they were permitted to stay in the same room. Jenetta was determined to see that no 'special' testing was performed on Eliza.

The women were not restricted from watching the vid news or reading newspapers, as had been the case preceding Jenetta's court-martial, and they were also permitted to have visitors. Their first visitor arrived on their first evening in port.

Lt. Commander Zane Spence had been waiting anxiously for the workday to end, and hurried over to the hospital as soon as he could. The handsome six-foot one-inch JAG officer walked into the room smiling but froze upon seeing two Jenettas. The two women were dressed in hospital gowns that gave no indication of their identity. Sitting on the same bed at the time, they laughed at the expression of dismay on his face as he looked from girl to girl.

“Jen?” he said uncertainly.

Jenetta and Eliza glanced at one another before both beamed brightly and answered, “Yes, Zane?”

“Wha–– what is this?” Spence said as he ran his right hand lightly over his short blond hair, a sure indication that he was feeling some discomfort.

Both girls said simultaneously, “What is what?”

Zane just stood there looking from one girl to the other.

Finally the women took pity on him and Jenetta said, “I'm here, Zane. This is Eliza, my sister.”

“Sister? You don't have a sister. Do you?”

“I do now; two in fact.”

“I don't understand,” he said as he moved closer to the bed.

“The secret will be out soon so I'll tell you. While responding to a distress call from archeologists on Mawcett, I was cloned— twice. The process created two identical copies of me, and Eliza is the second copy. Christa, the first, was captured by Tsgardi Raiders and is their prisoner at present.”

Spence just shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. “Why is it you always have the most fantastic stories that I've ever heard in my life. I'd think that you'd injured your head if Eliza wasn't sitting there in front of me. You say you have another copy; one that's been captured by Raiders?”

“Yes, we've named her Christa, and she was captured by Tsgardi Raiders while acting as a decoy to help us accomplish our mission. I'm glad that you're here. I need a lawyer to help me protect Eliza.”

“Protect her? Protect her from whom?”

“Protect her from whoever would try to take her away. We need to establish her identity and rights under Galactic Law.”

Zane looked at Eliza as he thought. “Where did you get your name, Eliza?”

“I named myself, after my great grandmother.”

“Your great grandmother?”

“Yes–– well, Jen's great grandmother, who is also my great grandmother.”

“I'll have to look into this. Since human cloning has been outlawed for more than two-hundred years, I'm real fuzzy on that area of law.”

“It's nice having a friend in the Judge Advocate General's office,” Jenetta said, smiling as she looked up into his penetrating blue-green eyes.

“Don't feel too glad. I suspect this is going to get real messy before it gets better. It will probably have to be decided by the Galactic Alliance Council. There're only the two clones, right?”

“No. The archeological group on Mawcett accidentally activated the machine months ago. They have seventy-seven clones on the planet; seven each of the eleven scientists. There are sixty-three Terran clones and fourteen Nordakian clones, in addition to Christa and Eliza.”

“Seventy-seven others? Two different species? Oh my God. Change messy to catastrophic. Uh, are they still making them?”

“No, that was my mission; to turn off the equipment and dismantle it.”

Zane scowled. “But you felt obligated to test it out on yourself?”

“I did not!” Jenetta said indignantly. “I was drugged, and cloned without my consent while I was unconscious. I was opposed to the process, but–– I'm not unhappy now that I've experienced what it's like to have sisters. My brothers each have three brothers, but I was an only girl. It's wonderful to have two sisters.”

“I'll start reading up on it tomorrow.” Zane's scowl changed to a smile. “Right now I want to hear all about your trips to Earth and Nordakia.”

Zane spent the next three hours with Jenetta and Eliza. He didn't leave until visiting hours were over and the nursing staff passed through the rooms clearing stragglers. The nurse refused to accept his story that he needed more time there because he was counsel to the two women and was taking depositions and collecting important information. He promised to start investigating the legal situation first thing in the morning, as the nurse gently pushed him out the door.

The following afternoon, Jenetta and Eliza were released from the hospital. Ordered to report to the base commander's office, they sat and stared at the austere off-white walls in the uninspiring outer office of Admiral Holt until the Admiral's aide told them to go in.

As they approached the admiral's office, the doors opened to reveal the enormous, lavishly decorated room. A SimWindow, currently displaying an animated panoramic view of the ship building docks in orbit around Mars, filled the wall behind an ornately carved desk that appeared to come from a different era. Admiral Holt, Admiral Margolan, and Captains Gavin and Kanes were sitting at the Admiral's magnificent oak conference table. Both Jenetta and Eliza walked up to the table and came to attention.

The Admirals looked back and forth between the women for a full minute, scrutinizing their faces closely, before Admiral Holt said calmly, “At ease, ladies. Welcome back, Commander. I could tell you were here because my com line hasn't stopped buzzing for an instant.”

“Good afternoon, sirs. I'm sorry, Admiral. It wasn't my decision to clone myself, but I don't regret having two new sisters and I support them one hundred percent. One has even sacrificed her freedom, and perhaps her life, to prevent the cloning technology from falling into Raider hands.”

“Rest easy, Commander. Captain Gavin has explained how it came about and no responsibility for the act is being directed your way. Our problem is how to handle this matter and what to do about Eliza. The Galactic Alliance Council is already discussing the matter in closed door sessions. They don't have just the problem of your two clones, Commander, but also the seventy-seven other clones from Mawcett.”

“Yes sir,” Jenetta said.

“For the time being, Eliza will be housed in the Bachelor Officer Quarters,” Admiral Holt said. “She'll remain here on Higgins until the matter of her status and citizenship is settled. Eliza, you're excused for today. My aide will give you your BOQ room assignment. For the present, you're to continue wearing a Space Command officer's uniform, without insignia. That's all.”

Eliza braced to attention and said, “Yes sir,” before turning and leaving the room.

“Captain Kanes is trying to pick up the trail of the Tsgardi Raiders,” Admiral Holt said to Jenetta, “and the Prometheus will follow up on any leads. We're not going to let Raiders get away with kidnapping our people, even those whose status is in doubt.”

“Yes sir,” Jenetta said.

“Commander, Captain Gavin has passed on your request that the computer core be turned over to the Nordakian Royal Family. An engineering examination has reveled that the core itself doesn't contain any technology beyond current levels so I've approved its presentation to the Nordakians, once all cloning and advanced technological information files have been expunged.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I understand that you've written a manuscript about the sociological evolution of the original society on–– Dakistee?”

“Yes sir. Eliza and I compiled it from the historical information and media reports that we found in the computer.”

“As long as it doesn't contain any classified technological information, I'll approve its release. Captain Kanes' people will look it over and then you can release it when you're ready.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I've read through your reports on the actions of your people at the base on Mawcett and approved the medals and commendations that you've recommended.”