Condition Evolution 4 by Kevin Sinclair (parable of the sower read online .txt) 📗

fine by me, if they want to come,” I replied, still in shock at Ember's U-turn on William, and the inclusion of Roger.

I contacted Calparr first. “Hay Cal, we’re taking the Uprising out on a bit of a high-risk mission. Can I interest you?”

“I’ll head straight there, Captain. Is there anything else I need to know or bring?”

“Just yourself, pal.”

“I’ll see you when you arrive,” he replied, then ended the communication in his usual no frills manner.

I shrugged and contacted William next. “Hey William, we’re gonna take the Uprising out for an extremely dangerous mission. Are you up for it?”

“Och for sure, Captain. A’ll see ye when ye get ‘ere.”

“What do you mean, William?” I asked, though a part of me already knew.

“It’s the only bloody place a can get a damn drink, man! That whole massive ship, ‘n not a drop in sight! Thank fuck for the Uprising, that’s what I say.”

“I don’t even know what to say to you, William. I’ll see you soon. I need to contact Roger now. Ember told me you work well together.”

“Och no need, Captain. Eee’s sitting right next te me. A’ll let him know.”

“Thanks, William,” I said, ending the conversation. I looked over to Ember. “They’re already on Uprising, drunk.” My expression showed dismay at their antics, while secretly I wished I was getting drunk with them.

Chapter 24

The Message

We met Calparr at the access ramp. Stoic as usual, standing with his arms folded, he waited patiently. With a quick greeting, we moved onto the ship. I hadn’t thought that I would be back on my baby so soon, but what can you do? Heading straight to the canteen to make contact with William and Roger, we heard them long before we saw them. Raucous laughter echoed down the corridor, the party still in full flow.

As we entered the canteen, all of William’s Flying Scotsman crew were present, including their Torax and Veilitian crew members. I knew Amnarr but was at a loss for the Veiletian’s name. What I did know was that they were both drunk.

“I hope you’ve all enjoyed yourselves because it’ll be your last drink for a while with William and Roger. We're gonna play cat and mouse with the entire Fystr fleet.”

“What ‘appened te just their scouts?” William asked, slamming his cup down on the table.

“As far as we can tell, they’ve rejoined the fleet, so now we have to hail the fleet directly.” I gave them my best impression of a confident smile. “If we did that on the Haven, we’d get swamped by their Hunter ships and probably the whole fleet, as a matter of course.”

“Och, righto. How long till we reach them?”

“If they’re where they’re supposed to be, then in one jump and one day's travel to reset the folding drive. Then we’ll jump right back to the Haven. We're going now, so your crew needs to get off the ship so we can leave.”

“I would like to come,” Amnarr insisted.

“I knew you’d say that.” Ember chuckled. “Ever loyal, Amnarr.”

I gave her a questioning look, which she ignored. She’d obviously bonded with the Torax on the station, I thought, as the other members of William’s team all demanded to come too.

“Well hell, I won’t stop you guys. Hopefully it’s just a little fly out and jump back and none of us will be needed. What do you say, Ember?”

“Fine by me, but just don’t get too far gone with the drinking in case anything happens. And if you puke when we jump, it’s on you to clean it up!” She grinned at them all. “Shaun and I will come back and join you for a couple once we’ve jumped.”

My eyebrow raised at her of its own accord.

She ignored me.

As we left the canteen, Calparr opted to sit amongst the revelers.

“We’re gonna have a drink?” I said into Ember’s mind.

“Damn right, I think we deserve some kinda celebration.”

“What about mind-altering chemicals?”

“I think I’m ready to be human again. I trust myself, and you, to not go too far. If I decide to go on a crazy, year-long binge, I expect you to stop me.”

“Ha-ha! Yeah, of course, but I think we should be okay. Now, let’s get this done and get back. I don’t want to be away from the Haven for a minute longer than needed. I feel like we’re all much safer there. Oh, and sorry for dragging you along.”

She smiled, putting her hand on my arm as we took our seats on the bridge. “You don’t have to apologize, you daft sod. It had to be us, really.”

“I agree, but still, it’s a daunting job to fly headlong toward the Fystr fleet.”

“I know, right? Why am I not terrified like I should be?” she said as Elyek came up to us and answered the question for me.

“I think we’re all becoming a little desensitized to danger, Ember. The coordinates are set, are you ready to make the first jump?”

“Probably,” I answered with a smile. Elyek nodded and returned to the folding drive terminal.

Once the disorientation of the jump had cleared, Elyek, Calegg and Koparr remained on the bridge, while we joined everyone else in the canteen. I only just managed to keep a straight face when I saw one of William’s teammates mopping the floor. The smell of vomit mixed with cleaning chemicals hung in the air, just like a real bar.

“Right then, what does the FSU offer to drink? And what do you recommend, William?” Ember asked.

“I know there’s lager and whisky. Beyond that…”

“I’ll go check myself,” she said.

I saw that Calparr was drinking a pint of lager. I don’t know why it looked so funny, but it did. I decided there and then that we needed an Irish bar on the Haven.

Ember picked champagne, which lost some of its charm, having to be served in a tumbler. I picked lager. It had been so long, and I wanted to neck the lot as soon as soon as the first drop