From Another Journey, Another Story: The Private Journals of Captain Gail published 25 AC (After Contact) And so we went back to Solonoid space with the Kin of the Stars at our back, our crew finally restored by their volunteers and reunited with our fleet. Together we defeated the Paranoid, drove them from our space and lived happily ever after. No, of course it wasn't that easy. The first issue was all the anger and confusion we all felt when we discovered that the Paranoid attack had originated in territories belonging to the Kin. Apparently the Kin moved too close to what was once their territory and the Paranoid attacked unreasoningly, determined to destroy the newcomers. However the Kin had made strides not only in altering themselves for long life and beauty but also in their technology and they trounced the Paranoid. The Kin thought they had wiped out the Paranoid but instead their nemesis fled... and eventually arrived in Solonoid space with a great deal of unresolved anger to release at us. Despite the tensions with some of our crew the Kin of the Stars happily assisted us and together we returned to our homeland only to find another crisis waiting for us. Both the Solonoid and Paranoid races had been building weapons that they considered absolute, and in the end they used them against each other. The fleets and populations of both races had been nearly destroyed in an orgy of mutual destruction, and only through great efforts were we able to find any survivors of either side. The leaders who had brought such destruction upon us all were gone, but that merely put the hard decisions on to our own shoulders. As the Captain who had made contact with the Kin I was made acting Governor of the Solonoid survivors, and we slowly began to rebuild our people on colony worlds bordering on the territory of the Kin of the Stars. It grated on many that we were relying on our new cousins for protection, but there was little to do about it. What to do about the surviving Paranoid worlds was another problem. They had attacked the Kin unquestioningly, and once defeated by them the Paranoid moved on to try to destroy the Solonoid instead. Ultimately the hard decision had to be made by us.. the surviving Paranoid worlds were bombarded from orbit. The cities, the population were reduced to nothing as I watched from one of the last Solonoid star destroyers. I wanted to be there, not only to confirm the destruction of the race but also to stand in the place of our own dead. I returned to a city on one of the new colony worlds and resigned my commission not long after that, despite the efforts of both the military and the Kin. The valiant officers we lost in battle haunted me, even though I knew I had done my best for them, and I wanted to try to live a normal civilian life. The home I chose in the outskirts of the city was modest, considered by all too small for the new Governor, but I found it comfortable as I tried to get a handle on my government duties. Still I must confess I kept a close eye on my old comrades. As the fleet rebuilt itself Allaine was put in charge of the Lady Grace even as many of the officers aboard jumped up in rank to command their own ships. Danielle smoothly moved to the Vigilance, bringing Major Tanya along with her for fighter command even as Karen took over the repair complex Hera. Jame, former environmental technician and now engineer followed, along with the womanizing Davies. Commander Sara retired from the military along with most of the survivors of their world... none of them able to put the memories behind them. It was visiting the Vigilance that I met a certain pilot once again... "It's you, ma'am," the faintly surprised voice said as Gail followed her military escort to her quarters. Turning Gail saw a tall, laky woman with brow hair, now a bit longer and tied back in a ponytail. She smiled in a self mocking way, "I suspect you don't remember my name?" Gail blinked then she felt a slight smile appear on her face as she asked, "Lynn, right? You were a pilot on the Grace." Lynn smiled, her face softened even more by that expression. "I'm glad you remembered," she confessed, standing there a bit awkwardly. Gail saw the insignia on her pilot’s jumpsuit and added to Lynn, "I see you've been promoted, congratulations." "Thank you," Lynn actually blushed a bit. Feeling unusually happy about such a casual meeting Gail excused herself, "I need to get back to my quarters." "Ma'am," Lynn quickly stopped her. Standing there she took a nervous breath, "I was wondering if you'd choose to join me for dinner?" "Eh?" Gail felt mildly stunned. "I would have asked you on the Grace but you were my superior officer," Lynn said in a rush, "I hope you don't mind." Gail looked at the younger woman, suddenly remembering Allaine teasing her about a pilot who had a crush on her. For a moment she was tempted to refuse, to turn away from the young woman, then she smiled as she remembered she didn't have to do that anymore. "I'd love to," Gail smiled, "would you like to eat at the cafeteria?" "You.. I didn't expect you to say yes," Lynn blurted. Recovering herself she smiled happily, "Actually there's a good restaurant in the space station we're docked at." The dinner went well, as did the one after it. Lynn and I were married later that year, and not long after she retired from the military to become a commercial pilot. I never expected to find personal happiness, not to mention the joy Lynn and I have, and occasionally I feel a little guilty for it. Still, I just remind myself that happiness is a boon we've all earned in our own ways. And what happened to Catty? Well... Ship's Log, the Exploration Vessel Vanguard, 2:12:41 AC, Captain Catty recording We've found something remarkable on a small world on the edge of the spiral arm. Back when the Lady Grace began her voyage through Paranoid space towards the Kin of the Stars we deliberately obliterated the warp trail of another Solonoid ship... but not before recording all the data on their passage. As part of our efforts to reunite and reconnect lost Solonoid peoples we followed, trying to find where they went and eventually we found them. "What is THAT?" Abrel blurted when the image came up on the screen. She was Abh, Kin of the Stars and as such usually tried to maintain absolute composure, but in this case the engineer couldn't quite manage it. Captain Catty fought back a smile. "I believe our medical officer may have some insight," she said calmly. Toki nodded, the chief medical officer looking more interested than disturbed. "Unlike our own race these beings copulate via inserting that appendage into the female's body," she explained. "So they're not Solonoid?" Jin asked, the green haired navigator looking bemused. "They were Solonoid," Toki explained, "but they've become something else due to some outside influence. They even have a chromosome we don't!" Abrel looked at Catty, seeing the inward turning look of the other officer. "You have a theory, ma'am?" she asked. "I think if you do a comparison of that extra piece of DNA with our record, you'll find it matches Paranoid organic material," Catty mused. "The protocol for merging Paranoid and Solonoid..." Jin blinked, "you think one of the Catty androids actually succeeded?" "There were thousands of Cattys deployed," their captain said with a faintly haunted look in her eyes, "why not?" "So what do we do now?" Pryde asked, the former pilot having been elevated to head of tactical. In fact she was in line for her own command, too, once a ship was built or a position became available. "Threat assessment?' Catty asked. "Technology wise they're incredibly primitive," Jin offered, "barely living out of caves. If they has Solonoid tech it didn't survive long." "And our cloaked probes could find no inherent biological threat," Toki said. "Other than their ancestry," Pryde said softly. "I guess the question is, did they inherit the aggression of the Paranoid?" "No way to know," Catty said, "I think we should send the data we do have back to home.. and establish a set of quarantine buoys at the edge of the system." "You think that Governor Gail will decide that?" Jin asked. "We can't condemn them for an accident of birth," Catty said, "containment and monitoring seems the best choice for now. If they do become a threat in the future... we'll deal with it then." The End...? Notes: Originally I planned a somewhat more extended story involving the Kin of the Stars and the Solonoid, but to be honest I've been getting a bit burned out on this fic. Therefore I'm wrapping it up at this point, and hopefully the readers will forgive any dangling plot threads. "AC" refers to years After Contact with the Kin.
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