Lost: No Return: Space Rogue, #6

By Jay Toney

The fleet of battle-hardened refugees, led by Nathaniel Roberts has made it through the wormhole, but not without a part of the fleet being left behind. After restoring power and making repairs, he is ready to choose a path for his search for the Sol system and the ancestral home of his people, Earth.

The first beings the fleet encounters are the Drax. Great, more lizards. They are inhospitable and greedy. Given a chance, they will cheat anyone to get their gold. The Drax are overdue for a lesson in humility, and Nathaniel intends to give it.

There is a gathering of people happening on a space station. The fleet arrives just in time for the event. Leery after a recent battle, the fleet stays hidden in deep space doing repairs, while Nathaniel and Persephone take an assault shuttle to the space station to see what it is about.

The fleet has found the Alliance and the Crimson Tide. Choosing either side will lead to his biggest battle yet. Will the fleet survive it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jay Toney
• Release date: Oct 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781386097808

Jay Toney

I got hooked on reading early in life, reading nearly everything I could get my hands on including the Encyclopedia Britannica. As well as being an avid reader I enjoyed bicycling, skateboarding, fishing, and building models and puzzles. As far back as I can remember, I loved anything to do with aircraft. I joined the USAF as an aircraft mechanic working on the F-4, T-38, F-117. and the F-16. A knee injury stopped me from working on aircraft. My knee couldn't support me on the odd angles and slick surfaces anylonger. While in the USAF I attended college. My second love was tormenting my English teacher. I found out she had a fear of death, then she was at my mercy. Anything she said not to do I did just to show her I could. Every essay or theme I wrote dealt with the topic of death, from a first person perspective of a person under going an autopsy, being buried alive, and rising from the grave. She was glad when I graduated. Some authors who inspired me are Robert Heinlein, Harry Harrison, Alan Dean Foster, Piers Anthony, and much more.

Book preview

Dedications

Ann Attwood, Editing and Proofreading Services

Introduction

The fleet of battle -hardened refugees, led by Nathaniel Roberts has made it through the wormhole, but not without a part of the fleet being left behind. After restoring power and making repairs, he is ready to choose a path for his search for the Sol system and the ancestral home of his people, Earth.

The first beings the fleet encounters are the Drax. Great, more lizards. They are inhospitable and greedy. Given a chance, they will cheat anyone to get their gold. The Drax are overdue for a lesson in humility, and Nathaniel intends to give it.

There is a gathering of people happening on a space station. The fleet arrives just in time for the event. Leery after a recent battle, the fleet stays hidden in deep space doing repairs, while Nathaniel and Persephone take an assault shuttle to the space station to see what it is about. 

The fleet has found the Alliance and the Crimson Tide. Choosing either side will lead to his biggest battle yet. Will the fleet survive it?

The Other Side

I think I’m going to be sick! Persephone says, followed by the sound of vomiting. My cybernetic eye enables me to see in the dark. There are some things that are best left unseen. The sight of Persephone vomiting is one of them. Amber and Jewel told her to cut back on the number of pancakes she eats. She uses the excuse that she is eating for two now to justify a third helping at breakfast. Maybe after this she will listen to their advice, but I doubt it.

Both main and auxiliary power are out. The Carpacia is drifting without maneuverability or sensors. I am able to see in the dark, so I get off the command chair and go to the nearest control console. I turn on the emergency lights. Dim red light illuminates the bridge, making Persephone and the vomit covering her look more grotesque.

Amber says, Nathaniel, we have a problem.

I know, I see her.

Not Persephone, me. My water just broke.

Lord of Creation! What else can go wrong? She is three weeks early.

Do not call upon him unless you are prepared to deal with the consequences, Persephone says to me. Your words have power now. You need to watch what you say."

My water just broke too! Jewel says.

See, I told you. Let’s hope that he is satisfied with Jewel and Amber delivering their babies early. Do not anger any him further, Persephone says to me.

The Lord of Creation has nothing to do with this. Their water breaking was from the strain of going through the wormhole. I’m surprised you didn’t pop too, I say.

The ship’s comms are out, but I have my personal comm unit. I remove it from my pocket and use it to call my Aunt Jane. I ask, How much longer before power is restored? Without, at least, auxiliary power, it will take Doc and Miranda over an hour to get here from sick bay, providing they get the comm message.

Learning how to deliver babies the hard way is not on the top of my list of things to do. I am sure that Doc and Miranda will be available to handle it, when it happens. Even Jane can deliver the babies if needed, but she is further from the bridge than Doc and Miranda are. The timing couldn't have been any worse.

It shouldn't take long to restore auxiliary power, maybe an hour or two, Jane says.

Amber and Jewel may not be able to wait that long. Their water just broke.

I’ll tell Doc and Miranda to hurry.

Persephone says, My mother can help. She tries drawing in power to summon her mother and fails. You will have to do it, she says to me.

How? There isn’t any power for me to tap into.

There is plenty of life-force energy going to waste, just will it into yourself, and release it while calling my mother’s name. She will hear your call.

I close my eyes and reach out to the energy surrounding me. Taking it feels wrong, almost like I am a vampire drawing the lifeblood from my victims. I concentrate on taking in as little as I can, so as not to disturb anyone. Then I release it while saying, Demeter!

Who summoned me and what is that smell? Demeter says. She sees me gawking at her. Except for how she is dressed and that she is a good twenty-five centimeters shorter than her daughter, she is Persephone’s identical twin. Oh, it’s you. I was sure Hades killed you and dragged you to his pit, but here you are.

Persephone says, Be nice to him, he is your granddaughter’s father.

Demeter turns around to face her daughter, and says, I can barely see you. She raises her arms, and the bridge lighting turns on. That’s better, no it isn’t. I thought the smell was coming from Nathaniel. What happened? You should be long past morning sickness.

Goddesses don’t get sick!

Then what is that all over your dress, and why are you still wearing it? Demeter waves her right hand. The vomit is gone, Persephone has been clean up and is wearing a clean stola. That’s better.

I need your help.

Is it that time already? I thought you were still a month or two away. But then, you are a lot fatter than I was when I had you.

It is not me that needs your help. It is—

Are you sure? There is something different about you, other than your belly. It’s your aura. It is hard to see the changes to it. It is barely perceptible. It looks like it is slightly out of phase. Demeter turns to look at me, and says, So does yours. What have you done to my daughter?

He has done nothing to me, Persephone says.

Then how is it that you are carrying his child? Wait... I can see it. What the two of you have done goes beyond merging together to mate. Both of you have been sharing unity. Several times from the looks of it. You know it is forbidden to do it.

Neither one of us has gone mad as did Lyssa and Maniae. When we are together, we are complete. We are one. The things we can do together are unimaginable, Persephone tells her mother.

I can’t wait to tell your father. When Hades finds out, he will be so mad that he will make the Sea of Souls boil.

Must you tell father?

I can’t help gossiping any more than you can. If you didn’t call me here to help you, why did you call me?

My friends, Jewel and Amber, it is time for them to have their babies. The ship is without power, so they can’t get the help they need.

They are mortals, childbirth is natural for them. They have been doing it since the beginning of their history.

Mother! There is no need for them to suffer.

Oh, very well. Demeter claps her hands.

Nugget says, Auxiliary power is restored. Doc and Miranda are on the way.

Demeter says to me, There are consequences, other than going mad, for what you and my daughter have done. Two becoming one is what you two have truly done. Both of you are now inseparable.

Now I know why Persephone and I have to stay together. It is because we have shared unity. I ask Demeter, For how long?

Not long, it will only last until Hades kills you. Until then, you and my daughter are as good as married.

But I already have two wives.

Not for long. Demeter vanishes.

With partial power restored, the aspect of Persephone that functions as the ship's AI starts scanning our surroundings with the Carpacia’s sensors. She adds the tactical display to the main viewscreen. So far, The Vengeance, Valkyrie, Sequoia, Falcon, Griffin, and the Daedalus, Defiant and Victory from the Crimson Tide have arrived on this side of the wormhole. Like us, they have arrived without main power, but the Vengeance and two of three Crimson Tide destroyers have auxiliary power.

Persephone says, Captain, the wormhole is destabilizing.

The wormhole that has brought us here has been stable for thousands of years. It suddenly collapses and vanishes without a trace. The rest of the fleet is cut off from us, stuck in the Andromeda Galaxy. There is no going back now, not that I want to. There may be other wormholes that connect between the Milky Way Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy, but I could spend a life time searching for one and never find it. Now, I can put all my efforts into finding the Sol system and Earth.

The first thing we have to do is restore power to the ships of the fleet, and treat any injuries. That includes Amber and Jewel who have chosen this minute to go into labor. My luck can’t get any worse. Next, we have to figure out where we are, then work on a course plot that will take us to Earth.

The Milky Way Galaxy is one point nine million light-years in diameter. Most of it is dust and gas. The portion that contains the stars and planets is only a fraction of its size at one hundred and twenty light-years in diameter. It is half the size of the Andromeda Galaxy, but it is still a lot to search. In the forty-two hundred years that humans have been in the Andromeda Galaxy, only about one and a half percent of it has been explored. 

If not for the astrogation journal I purchased and the log books I checked out of the library on Aldebaran II, I would not have any idea of where to begin my search. The AI is using the information contained within them, and sightings from the stars to update our navigation computer and the navigation computers in the rest of the fleet.

Doc and Miranda arrive on the bridge in time to hear Amber’s and Jewel’s first screams. The medical team they bring with them, help my wives onto gurneys, and take them to the waiting maglev transport car. They will be in sickbay and safely inside autodoc units in a few minutes.

Nugget laughs, then he says, If you think the worst is over now that your wives are having their babies, you are wrong. Your troubles have just begun. Between the crying and the need for constant care, you can forget about sleeping for the next year, and that is just with one of them. You have four coming.

I take it, you are talking from experience?

You might say that. Having had seven wives, six of which I had children with, I’ve had my share and then some. Because I am a royal Keshian, I couldn’t do it the easy way.

There is an easy way?

Most Keshian fathers opt for a fifty-year hitch in the military while their children are being raised. You don’t have that option.

When I go down to my cabin, Jewel and Amber are already here with their children. They have moved into two of the spare rooms to better care for our children. They are full-time mothers now, and part-time, bridge officers—maybe. The AI, Nugget, and I are going to have to pick up the slack. There is no one else to do it.

Amber is in the first room with her two daughters. I bet Jewel is pissed. Both have red hair and bright-green eyes like their mother. Amber says, Ruby, Jade, this is your daddy. I see the empty cup on the nightstand and feel sorry for Amber. Nanite shakes taste horrible. She will probably have to drink two more of them while the nanobots do their work. In two days, she will be as good as new and no one will be able to tell that she just delivered twins.

I leave Amber to check on Jewel in the next room. Like Amber’s room, her room also has an empty nanite shake cup. Jewel says, I had two perfect names picked out, Crystal and Jasmine. I can’t use either one of them. It’s bad luck not to name your children on their birthday.

They are boys. I’d laugh, but the pain it would cause me isn’t worth it. My sons have bright blue eyes like their mother and the few locks of hair on their heads are blond. One look in their eyes is enough to assure me that they are going to take after me. They are going to be troublesome at best, and they will definitely grow to become pirates. I say, How about Jett and Slate?

They do have their father’s eyes and his attitude. They have already peed on me twice. Jett and Slate it is.

Persephone walks into the room carrying a plate with three half-eaten pancakes on it. She sets it down on the nightstand next to Jewel’s bed, grabs her stomach, and says, Jewel and Amber are right. I eat too many pancakes. The cramps in my belly are getting worse. I would be worried if I didn’t know that I am not due for another six weeks and that when goddesses have their babies, we lie down and go to sleep. When we wake, we wake with our babies next to us or in our arms.

I say, Maybe we should go to sick bay and have Miranda have a look at you just in case.

I am a goddess. There is no need for me to go to sick bay.

I notice the puddle of water spreading out from beneath her dress, hear what sounds like she is peeing, and say, Famous last words! I wish your mother was here.

Demeter scares the hell out of me when she says, Most mortals have the sense not to call upon me twice in their lifetime, much less, twice the same day.

Persephone says, Mother, something is wrong with me.

Nothing is wrong. It is time to have your baby.

But I am not sleepy.

That myth again? When I had you, I was in labor for twenty-three hours before you were born. Then she says to me, You are the father, do something!

I remove my comm unit from my belt, use it to call Doc, and say, Medical emergency, my cabin! Persephone is having our baby. And I thought my day couldn’t get any worse. To Persephone, I say, Time to go. I pick her up, and carry her to the transport car stop.

The maglev car arrives a few minutes later and settles on the deck. The doors open and Doc and Miranda exit the car. Miranda sees that Persephone’s dress is wet and says, Oh, you poor dear. We are going to take good care of you.

Doc gives her an injection of terbutaline to slow the contractions. Then he says, Get her on the transport car. He holds the door open while I carry Persephone into the car and lay her down across the bench seat. Demeter follows behind me and sits next to her daughter. Doc says, Who is she?

Demeter, I am Persephone’s mother. I am here to see to it that there are no complications with my granddaughter’s birth.

You can’t be her mother. You look young enough to be her younger sister.

Thank you, you look handsome too.  

Doc enters our destination in the car’s control console and uses his code to prioritize the trip as a medical emergency. The car rises on its magnetic field and accelerates down the track before entering the tunnel network. It bypasses all of the passenger stops and goes non-stop to the closest stop to sick bay before coming to a stop, lowering to the deck, and opening the doors.

A medical team is here waiting at the stop with a gurney. I lay Persephone on it. She sits up and says, I’m not having my baby yet, it is just the pancakes. I shouldn’t have eaten any so soon after going through the wormhole. I still have motion sickness.

Miranda, gently pushes her back down, and says, We are just going to take a look. If it’s not time for you to have your baby, we will bring you back to your cabin.

Okay, but I am not in the least bit sleepy, it isn’t time. Persephone says.

Do as they say, I want to see how far mortal technology has come, Demeter says to her daughter.

The med techs wheel the gurney, with Persephone on it, to sickbay. They take her straight to the operating room where the autodocs are waiting for patients. They remove her straps and help her to stand before moving the gurney aside.

Miranda says to Persephone, The dress has to come off, I’ll help you with it.

For an examination? Persephone says.

Yes, it’s in the way.

Oh, very well, do it.

Good luck with that. It’s probably stuck. Demeter says.

Miranda tries lifting the dress and says, It’s awfully tight, try inhaling,

I was inhaling.

Doc hand me the shears. I’m going to have to loosen the dress up a bit.

I’m sorry, It’s the pancakes. Amber and Jewel told me I was eating too many.

It’s not the pancakes. It’ the size of the bun in the oven. You are going to have a big baby.

But it’s early.

I doubt it, my son isn’t entirely human. He is part Iniguar. The baby is probably a month late. It would account for the size of your belly. You should have come for an examination sooner, Doc says.

Hold still, I’ll have this dress off you in a jiff. You will feel a lot better with it off.

Miranda uses the shears to slice down the back of the dress until it is cut below the waist. Then she slips the sleeves off of Persephone’s shoulders. The dress falls to the floor. Persephone steps out of it and Miranda helps her into the autodoc unit. She says, I am going to close the lid. In a moment, you are going to feel sleepy. Don’t fight it. When you wake up, everything will be over and your daughter will be with you.

I thought, you said you were just doing an examination. The lid closes, then the chamber is filled with an anesthetic gas. Persephone’s eyes close and she relaxes. Miranda manually enters, ‘patient female, condition pregnant, procedure—cesarean delivery,’ into the autodoc’s controls.

Demeter says, How interesting, we haven't used technological devices to deliver our children for thousands of years. This, what did you call it—an autodoc? It is much more advanced than the equipment we used before we gave up using machines and refined our use of power. She continues to watch, fascinated by the procedure.

The autodoc makes its first incision low on Persephone's belly. A second incision follows the first, opening her uterus. The autodoc uses robotic arms to reach inside Persephone and gently ease the infant out of her. Two clamps are placed on the umbilical cord. Then the cord is cut between the clamps. The autodoc finishes the delivery by removing the amniotic sac, the umbilical cord, and the placenta. The uterus is stitched closed, then the abdominal wall and skin are closed. Nanites programmed for tissue repair are injected into the wound. They immediately begin mending the incisions. Miranda says, In twenty-four hours all signs of the cesarean delivery will be gone. Within seventy-two hours there will be no signs that she was ever pregnant, and all swelling, excess fat, and her stretch marks will be gone.

The anesthetic gas is pumped out of the autodoc. It is replaced with fresh air. The lid is opened. Miranda takes the baby, cleans her, and wraps it in a blanket. I pick Persephone up and carry her to a bed in the recovery area, and lay her on the bed. Miranda covers her with a blanket and lays our baby in her arms. Then she says, Persephone, it is time to wake up.

Demeter says, That was incredible. Your technology is more advanced than I realized. Did my daughter feel any pain during the procedure?

None whatsoever. All she will remember is getting sleepy, then waking with her baby in her arms, Miranda says, then to me, she says, Have you and Persephone decided on a name?

Yes, Persephone wants to name our daughter Demi, after her mother.

I hate to leave in a rush, but I simply can’t wait to spread the news about my granddaughter’s birth and her name. Demeter vanishes.

Persephone wakes and sees her daughter sleeping in her arms. She says to me, See, I told you. All I had to do was go to sleep and I would wake with my baby in my arms when it was time. I hope she likes pancakes. When can I leave? I feel much better now.

Doc says, You have a clean bill of health, you can leave whenever you feel ready.

Persephone removes the blanket, stands, and says, My dress, I can’t go back to my room like this.

Miranda says, The anesthesia, you don’t remember. I’m sorry, I had to cut your dress off of you. I’ll get you a gown to use.

It’s alright, I’ll summon a new dress. Persephone envisions the dress she wants to wear. Then she tries putting power behind her vision and fails. "I can’t do it. I’m stuck dressing the mortal way. Miranda brings her a gown and helps her put it on. Then she ties the straps for her. Doc brings a wheelchair for her to sit on. Persephone holds our daughter, while she is taken to the stop for the transport car.

When the car arrives, I help her off of the wheelchair and into the passenger compartment. I set the destination for our stop. Then I sit with Persephone and admire my daughter. She is as beautiful as her mother.

It has been over seven months since I last slept in my bed. Tonight, I am going to celebrate by sleeping in it. Persephone puts Demi in her bassinet, removes the hospital gown, neatly folds it and puts it on the dresser. Then she lies on the bed next to me. She snuggles up to me, then says, Hold me.

I put my arms around her and hold her close to me. I feel her heat against my body. It has been too long since I last slept with my wives. They are in adjoining rooms with their babies and unlikely to walk in on us. I say, Persephone—

She whispers, I want to share unity with you, but I can’t. I don’t have my powers.

There is another way, the mortal way. I’ll be gentile.

When we are finished, she says, Laying with Hades was never like this. Let’s do it again.

In the morning Amber and Jewel are both wearing their Iniguar pendants. I had forgotten that we can feel each other’s emotions. They know what Persephone and I did together last night. Jewel says, We’ll work something out.

Amber says, Jewel and I can’t have sex with you for a couple of months. Our bodies have to adjust to not being pregnant before we can activate our implants.

Jewel says, Amber and I talked this morning while you two were still asleep. Persephone is family now, so I guess it’s okay for you to sleep with her. Amber and I had her to ourselves for the past seven months. I guess it is your turn now.

Persephone and I take the elevator up to the bridge. She is carrying Demi with her in her bassinet. Amber and Jewel are quickly recovering and feel as if they can resume their duties, but they do not argue when I tell them they can stay in our cabin