G2M: Chapter 3

Chapter 31

The next day, when Myrtha went down to the flight deck, Captain Monarch looked conflicted: torn between concern and the indifference he had shown towards the nugget, “Feeling better?” he finally asked coldly. 2

“Yes sir,” replied Myrtha, as she saluted. 3

“Good, we’re flying today and I want you at the top of your game. The plan is ready to go, so hop in.” Myrtha put on her helmet and climbed into the plane, which looked so perfect to her that it should have been bathed in a spotlight. She grabbed the glass roof of the cockpit and pulled it towards her so it slid into place with a thud and a click. The platform her plane was on, quickly lowered and the plan was left in a separate, isolated chamber. 4

“Ready?” asked Captain Monarch over the intercom.5

“Ready,” said Myrtha, focusing more on keeping the voices contained then on how she was going to fly. 6

[You’ll be fine.] said a voice. 7

“Uh thanks.” Said Myrtha in response to the female voice. Suddenly, the voices withdrew and were restricted to hushed whispers. Suddenly, Myrtha felt herself being shot forward like she was on a roller coaster. She was propelled forward faster and faster and faster until she found herself in the black void of space. She flicked on her engines, yanked the flight stick towards her to engage manual control. 8

“Not bad.” Said El as she passed by on the CAP. Myrtha looked up for the first time and looked in wonder. 9

“It just keeps going.” She said in reference to the eternal spread of sparkling velvet. Seeing it all around was a lot different then she had imagined it in her head. It was also a lot scarier to have absolutely no boundaries: to be able to go absolutely anywhere.10

“Hey! Stay focused,” said Captain Monarch into the intercom, “We’re going to head away from the Godspeed and work on some basic flight patterns. Myrtha acknowledged, pressed the wheel into the steering column to accelerate and proceeded forward. Captain Monarch flew by her side, “For now we focus on figures. Try a right turn, nice and easy.” He moved his plane to face Myrtha’s who placed her hand on the wheel, turning it gently while being careful not to tilt the wheel or steering column. The plane responded quickly, turning at the slightest touch. She flew a circle then stopped in front of the Captain. She followed his instructions, as she flew a left circle, then a figure eight with no altitude change, and finally a figure eight, which crossed under and above the Captain’s plane. They ran through more figures: triangles, serpentines and spirals. Finally they started on barrel rolls and other things involving the rotation of the plane before finally conquering a flip and loops. 11

They finished about three hours later, and started flying towards the landing pods just in time for dinner. The landing pods were two ‘c’ shaped structures, which emerged from the Godspeed and retracted once all planes had landed inside. This time there was no workout, but Myrtha ran through one anyway. 12

Lewis was surprised, “Aren’t you sore?” he asked as she cycled her legs in the air.13

“No, I am,” she replied, resting for a minute, “Just an overachiever I guess.” 14

Lewis shrugged, “You’re doing well, Ensign,” he said after a pause, “Honestly.” 15

Myrtha stopped and rested on her elbows, “Thank you.” 16

“But make sure to avoid making your turns too tight. Make them nice and even, got it?” Captain Monarch was back. 17

“Yes sir. I’ll work on that.” He gave a curt nod then left as El walked in and started to watch Myrtha. 18

“Don’t let him get to you. He’s got a lot on his mind. But you are doing well.” 19

“Thanks,” she said. “Hey have you… have you been hearing voices? Or heard anyone else talking about voices?” 20

“Not really. Are you feeling alright?” asked El.21

“Yeah, I guess my head still hurts from the pulses I sent, first time experience and all.” 22

“What you’d never done it before?” Myrtha realized that her small justification had opened the door to a room in her mind that had always been locked, guarded and hidden in a maze similar to the Minotaur’s labyrinth. But now she had given Eleanor Williams Ariadne’s thread. 23

“I thought pulsing was an Andromedian’s version of terrible two’s, a basic sort of skill.” 24

“Oh yeah, I just… uh… I was always the odd ball.” Said Myrtha with an awkwardly nervous smile. El decided not to push the matter, especially since Captain Monarch was standing outside obeying the Commander’s orders. 25

“Just make sure to take care of yourself.” Suddenly another voice cut into Myrtha’s head, but it wasn’t directed at her.26

[Don’t worry. It’s okay to mourn.] The voice seemed to come from out in the locker area. 27

“I will.” Said Myrtha, absent-mindedly. El smiled and then exited, elbowing Lewis hard to send a ‘back-off’ message. Myrtha left the exercise room after a few minutes, tired and in serious pain both from the exercise and also from trying to control the voices. She left, determined to learn how to control her ability, how to filter the voices and figure out what exactly she was capable of. She changed out of her flight suit and then headed down to the off-duty area. On the way over she ran into Kat.28

“You on your way to the Lounge?” asked Kat. 29

“Uh… Yes sir.” 30

The other woman laughed slightly, “Off duty it’s Kat, okay? I’m not obnoxiously rigid.” 31

“Oh, okay.” Said Myrtha with a more relaxed smile as the pair walked to their destination. 32

The Lounge itself wasn’t a particularly large room. Crowded with tables, chairs and people it was full of bustling fun. At the end of the room was a bar, with bottles of liquor, shot glasses and bear mugs. Myrtha looked around for Rylan, but he was on shift. 33

“Myrtha, come on.” Said Kat, tapping her shoulder and gesturing for her to join her table. At the round table were El, Captain Monarch, and two empty chairs. One of the chairs had a helmet on the seat, and over the back of the chair hung a white cloth embroidered with the insignia of Elementaris. 34

“Why is there a cloth on the chair?” she asked, looking around for a chair she could use. As her eyes scanned the room, Myrtha noticed that a few of the other chairs also had cloths over them, every one with an insignia embroidered in it. 35

Captain Monarch glared at her, “Fallen comrades,” he said simply, “and this one isn’t settled yet.” His stony unblinking glare turned to Kat next. 36

“Oh,” said Myrtha, she turned to the two women but they only studied the table. 37

[Stand up to him!] declared a voice from somewhere in the room. 38

“I can’t do that!” hissed Myrtha, causing the other three pilots to raise their eyebrows, “I mean, I can deal with that,” she said, recovering quickly. She glanced over the room again and found two familiar orange uniforms: Logan and Knox. She walked over to them, waving shyly as she made her way across the room. Knox smiled widely as she approached. She reached for a chair, but it saved her the trouble by flying to her hand. She sat down as if it was no big deal when in reality her heart was pounding. 39

“My head’s been out of whack since… I got here.” She explained. 40

“No worries, Rylan was saying you haven’t been feeling great recently.” Said Logan. 41

“Logan, you’re Libreris, right? Do you know about any sickness or conditions where people hear… voices in their head?” 42

“I think that’s called insanity.” Said Knock, chuckling. 43

“I’m being serious,” she said, not laughing at the joke.44

“Well isn’t that part of the whole Andromedian package?” 45

“Well… not…” Myrtha could have kicked herself, “Not quite. I guess what I’m asking is, do powers ever change in a person? Or manifest later then normal?” Myrtha was trying to tread carefully, everyone had abilities and now so did she, but it wasn’t what she had expected and it definitely wasn’t anything she’d heard of on Andromeda.46

“It’s never been recorded, but that doesn’t it’s not possible,” said Logan.47

Knox made fake snoring noises, “Enough talking, time for some fun,” he said, pulling out a deck of cards. 48

“I don’t have any money,” said Myrtha, starting to get up.49

“Not that kind of card game,” said Knox, shuffling the cards, “The person with the best hand gets to ask the person with the worst hand any question they want, and they have to get an honest answer or…there will be consequences.” He raised his eyebrows mischievously. 50

“Oh,” said Myrtha, thinking that this didn’t sound anything like the card games her father had described to her; those involved a lot of liquor. But this seemed okay: just a game of truth. Part of her was raising red flags, trying to warn her, but she ignored it, “Deal me in,” she said not wanting to seem like she was hiding something. For a few rounds, she stayed in the middle, getting neither the lowest or highest hand. But on the third, her luck ran out. She got the lowest hand, and Logan got to ask her a question. 51

“Can you do a split?” he asked. 52

“Of all the things to ask…” said Knox. 53

“No, I read somewhere that Andromedians have limited flexibility.” Before they could continue arguing, Myrtha got out of her chair. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, jumped up and landed in a perfect split. She bent forward and backwards, touching her toes on both sides. Out of the corner of her eye, Myrtha saw Captain Monarch take in a sharp breath. She ignored him, leaning over on her side and jumping back up to a standing position without using her hands. 54

“I stand corrected,” said Logan with a smile. 55

“Truth or Dare Poker,” said Rylan, smiling in the hatch. Captain Monarch stood up from the table and walked quickly out the door. Rylan stepped quickly out of his way and took the seat next to Logan and Knox, across from Myrtha, “What was that all about?” he asked. 56

“Myrtha just did a full split and the Captain’s had a little too much to drink.” Said Knox. The two Andromedians met eyes for a moment and Rylan’s eyes clearly told her to be careful. She shrugged him off, what harm was a simple trick? 57

***58

Captain Monarch walked with long purposeful strides towards the sick bay. He had just seen an Andromedian demonstrate immense flexibility. Something that he had heard was impossible. 59

“What can I do for you Captain?” asked the doctor as he walked in. “The leg still hurting?” 60

“It stopped hurting awhile ago.” 61

“Never hurts to ask.”62

“I have a question for you,” he said, trying to cut to the chase. The doctor leaned back in his chair, placing his feet on his desk. 63

“Ask away.” 64

“Andromedian flexibility, are all those rumors true?” 65

“Physical flexibility? Nigh on nonexistent,” he leaned forward, “You didn’t think all that mental flexibility came from nowhere did you? As their mental capabilities expanded, they’re physical flexibility shrank: it all got rearranged. It doesn’t make much sense medically, but then again none of it did.” 66

Captain Monarch scratched his head slightly, “So if I found a gymnast or someone who could do a full split without even thinking about it, on Andromeda?”67

“If that happened, they’d be on a deportation vehicle about to be tried for violating Post Earth Migration Ability Division Laws,” said the Doctor. He nodded, thinking about the laws which made sure that each ability was kept on its designated planet. 68

“Well thank you Doctor.” 69

“Any time.” The Captain headed towards the CIC: he had to figure this out. First he would report to Commander Carthos, the man who had sent him on this trail in the first place. After that, he’d have to keep his guard up to make sure that they didn’t try and mess with his head. [As if it wasn’t bad enough: she died for two lying traitors. But it won’t wash with me.]70

Back at the Lounge, Myrtha was still playing cards, except now she was focused on how to avoid drinking the liquor that Knox had pulled out. So it was no surprise that they he stopped asking her questions and instead had her down a couple shots. 71

“How is it you’ve never drank before?” he asked, seeing her face contort as the alcohol slipped down her throat. 72

“Just never had occasion to,” she replied. 73

“Rylan’s got the same thing. He says it makes him feel weird.”74

“No, Knox, I told you. It makes me lose control of my ability.” 75

“Same for you, Myrtha?” 76

“Sort of,” she said, noticing that the small quantity she had consumed was already amplifying the voices in her head. Before they had been whispered murmurs, but now she could hear them clearly. 77

[There’s no way!] said one. 78

[But she spoke to me! I swear it!] They bickered unintelligibly for a bit before another voice cut through the others. 79

[Fine! Let’s say she can, but the question is what kind of Speaker is she? This has never happened before and we need to be sure that she isn’t some sort of nut job!] 80

[She’s not like that. She’s not even that familiar with her ability.]81

[But she can control us. Eventually she’ll figure that out and her sporadic telekinesis will be used against us. It would be better if we took care of her now, before she learns.] Myrtha stood up suddenly. The phrase ‘take care of her’ didn’t exactly sound friendly. 82

“Are you okay?” asked Rylan, she turned her head trying to hear, but the shot was starting to wear off. Myrtha cleared her throat, and downed three shots before anyone could react. 83

“Yeah,” she said, trying to keep her breaths even as drinks kicked in. “Deal me out: I’m going to turn in.” 84

“You sure?” asked Rylan, sensing that she was keeping something from him.85

“I’m fine,” she said sharply. “I’ll see you guys later. Thanks for the games, and the shots,” she paused for a moment and then walked out of the room. She buried her head in her hands as she walked, not even acknowledging Captain Monarch as she passed him. 86

Myrtha made her way to the barracks and sat down on her bunk. The alcohol was still pumping as the voices continued their argument:87

[We should corner her and then just electrocute her.] 88

“Wait!” she said. The voices fell silent and she felt somewhat ridiculous shouting at the air. “Please, I don’t want to hurt you. Can’t we talk? Who are you?” she asked. 89

[She might as well know.] said one of the voices. 90

[We’re what you usually call ‘inanimate objects.] said one, [You’re a speaker.]91

“But that’s not possible. I don’t have an ability, never have. That’s why I had a name even before my Myriad Nombrus.”92

[Whatever that is, you’re still stuck with us.]93

“Inanimate objects huh?”94

[And animals.] added another voice which was unmistakably younger then any of the others.95

“So I can speak to you guys.”96

“Of course you can, but that’s not the issue here.” Myrtha jumped up at the sudden sound of Knox’s voice. She turned around and saw Knox and Logan supporting Rylan’s weight. 97

“Is he alright?” asked Myrtha, her eyes not leaving Rylan’s pain stricken face. 98

“Been better,” he replied, leaning his head back in pain. 99

She looked at Knox expectantly, and he held up his free hand in innocence, “Okay okay, I gave him gin instead of water. But he only had a sip! You can’t get drunk off of a sip!” he insisted. 100

“I’m going to kill you,” said Rylan through gritted teeth.101

“He’s not drunk,” explained Myrtha, “Alcohol amplifies our abilities even only a sip screws us over. Logan help me get him to the bathroom, Knox go find a tube or straw in the storerooms.” 102

In the bathroom, Myrtha filled one of the sinks up with water and Rylan immediately dunked his head in it. Knox came up with the straw and Myrtha gave it to Rylan to breathe with. He took a deep breath and clenched it in his teeth while keeping his head submerged in the water. 103

“I’m sorry, I should have known,” said Logan.104

“It’s not you’re fault. Andromedians don’t exactly broadcast that all you need to do to overwhelm us is spike our drinks.” She turned back to Rylan, his head still buried in water.105

“How long does he have to stay under?” asked Knox, looking concerned and repentant, at least for the moment. 106

“Until he’s ready: the water isn’t a cure, it’s just a way to block the extra thoughts and sounds so he won’t be overwhelmed. Preferably it would be a swim or something because right now the rest of his body is still receiving touch based thoughts and feelings. Even then this isn’t the best solution.” She turned to the straw, “How’s he doing?” she asked.107

“I’m not sure,” replied Logan.108

“Not you,” replied Myrtha listening in her head.109

[Breathing is steadier.] it replied, choosing not to comment further on Rylan’s breath. She tapped him on the shoulder lightly. He took one last breath before spitting out the straw and pulling his head out of the sink. 110

“What’s going on here?” asked another voice from the hatch. “I certainly hope, Mr. Contall, that we haven’t let this night of revels get away from us.” 111

The four snapped to attention as Captain Monarch stepped into the room, his eyes resting on Rylan’s dripping face. 112

“No sir.” 113

“Because that’s certainly what it looks like. Exactly how much have you had to drink tonight.”114

“Just a sip, sir.”115

“It wasn’t more then a shot,” said Logan.116

“Oh really? Somehow I doubt that.”117

“Sir, it’s my fault,” said Myrtha. “I spiked Rylan’s drink as a joke. It wasn’t his fault or either of theirs.” 118

Captain Monarch arced his eyebrows as if to say, ‘oh really’, but the only thing he said was, “A word with you in private.” Myrtha followed Captain Monarch outside of the bathroom and into the hallway. She could feel her heart pounding in time to the slight echoes of her steps on the metal floor. By the time she took the few steps out into the hall, she could barely block out the voices in her head. 119

“Ensign, as you can probably tell, so far I’m not impressed with your conduct aboard this ship,” said the Captain. “Your behavior directly led to the harm of Ensign Contall, and had this ship been under attack there’s no telling what would have been the result of his incapacitation. I here by suspend you until further notice. You are confined to quarters. Are we clear?” 120

Myrtha swallowed hard, and saluted, “Yes, sir.” Captain Monarch walked away and as she opened the hatch to the bathroom, she saw El and Kat pass by. 121