Valkyrie Reborn, S1 E2 (redoux)

[Esplandia]

There was a flash of light and then space opened up, a blue eye peaking out from another dimension. A dark spot, like a pupil, came out, taking form as it crossed through. A starship, its hull glowing purple, as it materialized fully. And then the eye closed leaving the ship alone, it’s hull now a shimmery bright green, catching the light from the nearest star. Powerful engines roared to life and the ship picked up speed, making its way towards a large planet dead ahead.

Valentine yawned loudly, his ears giving a satisfying pop, releasing the pressure. Phase shifting back into real space always left his head feeling light and fragile. The feeling would pass in due time.

“Phase reentry successful,” his navigation officer informed him, looking up from her console. “Lamplight in twenty minutes.”

He yawned again, releasing more pressure and feeling more like normal. “Thank you, Sariah,” he responded. He took a moment to get some water, the best cure for phase weariness. He looked around the bridge, it’s half dozen stations, and blinking monitors providing information on the ship’s status. With just himself and Sariah manning the bridge it felt really empty, something he’d really never get used to. He had to personally check the various readouts, especially the status on the phase drive, since he had no one else and Sariah was still required to manually input course corrections as needed.

The bridge door opened and Og Novadek came climbing up the ladder to the command deck. “Phase buffers are acting up again,” he reported, dropping into the chair at the engineering station. He looked comically large sitting in a chair made for a human on average half his size. “We’re dropping charge somewhere in the invertors but I can’t find where that is.”

Valentine finished up checking shield and weapons statuses (this far out it was best to be cautious), and then he stepped over to Og and looked over his enormous shoulders to look at the readings. A dozen different bars showed power usage and reserves for the phase drive, but most of them were in the red. Not out of the ordinary for a ship that had just finished a lengthy phase jump, but the numbers on the bars showing charge rate and reserve, were flashing up and down randomly.

“That kind of power draw should be starting fires somewhere,” Valentine said, he glanced over to internal sensors, but nothing was out of the ordinary.

“I’ve been checking,” Og reassured the captain. He looked up, as if praying to a higher being, a habit everyone seemed to pick up when they needed to address the ship. “Abby, any signs of fire anywhere in the ship?”

Abby’s voice came across the ship’s comms, emotionless but inviting. “Negative. No fire alarms have been triggered.”

“What about any electrical discharges?” Valentine asked, stepping around to stand in front of the console.

“Negative.”

Valentine scrunched his brow. He looked at Og and raised his hands questioningly.

“It means the system has to be sinking the charge somewhere. Energy just can’t disappear.”

“Well get Drel on it. He’s the closest thing to a mechanic we have.”

Og clicked his tongue, a Trivanion gesture of acknowledgement, and rapidly began imputing commands into the station. Before he walked away, Valentine saw all the bars drop to zero as his engineer started to shut down the phase drive.

The great gas giant now loomed fully in their viewport, taking up the ship’s whole field of view. A kaleidoscope of oranges and burgundies, and every shade of red swirled across the planet’s atmosphere, every now and then punctuated by lightning from storms deep down in its cloud cover.

He couldn’t see the station yet, still thousands of kilometers ahead of them, but he could read their relative positions on the console and saw that they were closing the distance rapidly. Sariah was already on the comms with the station’s docking authority, letting them know who was coming in and requesting a place to dock. The voice coming through was mechanical, but underneath the mechanical voice was organic buzzes and clicks being rendered into an approximation of Terranid.

“You will dock on arm three,” the mechanical translated voice informed them. “Surrender controls over to us.”

Sariah complied and entered a command into the navigation console. As soon as she was satisfied that everything was okay, she relaxed and leaned back in her chair. “It’s good to be home,” she said cheerfully.

“This isn’t really home though,” Valentine said.

“Closest thing I’ve ever had. Aside from the Valkyrie.”

Though she said it in her usual cheery way, Valentine now felt like an ass. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You’re right,” he said. “It’s nice having a home port to return to.”

But as the station finally came into view, Valentine felt trepidation. Numerous vessels were now orbiting around the station, mostly transports and a few cargo haulers. And while he had known this would happen, had planned for it, it was still odd to see so many Terranid ships in one place so far from homespace.

---

Short Change Hero by The Heavy

 

[Esplandia]

Allan Gray watched absentmindedly as Hamberstrand disappeared behind the ship, dwindling to only a bright spec in the sky. The planet had been good to him, at least until recently. He could still see the angry but concerned look on the sheriff’s face as he gave Allan the ultimatum.

“You’re a good man, doc,” he’d said, his palm brushing across the butt of his weapon. “Hell, you saved my sister from the Denz Pox. But if you stick around there’ll be blood. People can’t forget you fought on the wrong side.”

And so he’d packed up in a hurry, grabbing only his most basic medical equipment and caught the first transport offworld. He was headed towards the Outer Colonies. He was sure to find work out there. Many of the world’s were still just above lawlessness, but if the Cralizar broke their truce than his skills would be needed and in high demand.

He’d thought about heading into the Core, or maybe head back home to Sanctuary, but he realized there was nothing to go back to. And he had no desire to deal with the ever more authoritarian New Terranov Order.

He left the window as the transport powered up its phase drive and lurched out of one space time into another. He went looking for a drink.

There wasn’t much in the way of a lounge on the ship, but they did have whiskey and a lot of cheap beer. Allan intended to be drunk by time he got to Sekluva, the last stop on the line.

There was a large crowd in the lounge, and since it was a small space it was standing room only. Allan pushed his way to the bar, avoiding pushing anyone too hard. He was looking to get drunk, not tossed into the brig for starting a fight.

An elderly Trivanion gave him a shot of whiskey and left the bottle after Allan ordered. He downed a shot, pouring another before he even felt the warm burn in his stomach. He took another shot, and chased it down with a third. He hesitated only a moment before pouring himself another.

“Drowning your sorrows, stranger?” He was asked by a female voice.

He downed the fourth before answering. “Just getting drunk.”

The woman laughed. He was taken aback by her appearance. She was a tall woman, muscular, with short cropped blonde hair. She stood at least two heads taller than him.

He thought she was pretty, in an Amazonian kind of way, but reminded himself he’d just rapid fired four whiskeys and might not be thinking straight. She was dressed in a plain blue uniform, white stripes around the collar and the sleeves. On her left shoulder was a patch, depicting the transports name and registry number.

“You part of the crew?” he asked. A stupid question.

“Short term security contract,” was the answer. “Just here to keep you colonials in line until I jump ship at Sekluva.”

Allan felt annoyed at being called a colonial. “I’m a doctor actually,” he said. “Not some muckraker.”

She smiled disarmingly. She raised her glass in a toast. “My mistake. Where you headed?”

“Sekluva,” he answered, downing his fifth drink. “Maybe further out after. I dunno yet.”

“That’s my plan too. I’m heading way out though. As far from NTO space as possible.”

“Don’t like them much?”

She shook her head. “Bunch of jingoistic fascists. I’d rather find my own path than live under their ‘Glorious New Dawn’ crap.”

He smiled, probably for the first time since the sheriff had come to see him off. It was nice to find someone who agreed with him on this ship. Maybe this long passage wouldn’t be so bad. “Do you know where you’ll go?”

She leaned in close and spoke in a hushed voice. “Have you heard of Lamplight?”

He shook his head. “It’s supposed to be some kind of haven,” she continued. “Where all the Resistance fighters who didn’t take the NTO’s amnesty went. Rumor has it they’re building a new colony out there.”

Allan was skeptical. But the alcohol was making him feel good so he wanted to know more. “How far out is it?”

She shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe two sectors away.”

Allan whistled at the distance. “That’s certainly far from here. I wouldn’t mind putting distance between myself and the New Order.”

“Well if it’s out there you should tag along. I’m sure they could use doctors.”

Allan took another shot and was now feeling very tipsy. He decided to return to his birth, and finish up the bottle there. “Thanks for the advice,” he said. He then paused. “What was your name by the way? I don’t think I asked.”

“Amanda,” she answered, offering her hand.

He shook it vigorously. “Nice to meet you Amanda. I’m Allan. Goodnight.” And then he stumbled back out through the crowd, soliciting a few angry ‘Heys!’ as he pushed someone too hard.

 

[Esplandia]

The passenger had been traveling its course across the Asteron Cluster from the Trivanion Verge across the Core Worlds and beyond into the Outer Colonies for about two weeks now. There was only one final phase jump before they’d arrive safe and sound at Sekluva. Halfway between the planet Ethidox, the last port of call, and the Cryanic Frontier, the ship had stopped to recharge its drive at a NavBuoy, placed here for ships to target as a destination instead of making a blind jump. An hour after their arrival, a Terranov Cruiser also arrived.

Allen Gray had been, for the most part, true to his word and had spent the intervening weeks drinking. However he had begun to find the task to be too much effort and in an effort to sober up before the final stop he had put down the bottle and made his way to the commissary in search of coffee.

He found Amanda having breakfast with a handful of uniformed ship guards, though she herself was in civilian clothes. He had bumped into her a couple times throughout the voyage and had joined her in conversation a few times. She’d continued to talk about her plans while he just drank himself into a stupor. When she saw him grab some coffee she got up from the table she was at and waved him to an empty one near the portside entrance.

“You look more alive today than usual,” she said pleasantly, no hint of reproach in her voice.

He gulped down the entire cup of bitter coffee, wishing it had been hot instead of lukewarm. “Trying to sober up before Sekluva,” he answered honestly.

“Have you thought about what I said?”

He stared forlornly at his empty cup wondering if he should get more or pass on the nasty tasting drink. He put the cup down on the table and then leaned back in his chair. “you mean heading out to find this Lamplight?”

“It’s gotta be out there. Too many stories not to be.”

“Do you even know where it is?”

She shrugged, as if that was only a minor detail. “I’m sure someone does.”

“Someone on Sekluva?” he asked with cynicism.

“As good a place as any to ask around.”

He wasn’t convinced in the slightest of this place’s existence. He’d heard enough stories and legends about the leaders of the resistance heading out into deep space and building up a new colony and a base from which to return and liberate the republic. As far as he was concerned it was all bull. But he liked Amanda, and so he wasn’t about to stomp on her optimism. “Listen, I’m gonna try to find work, try to make a new place for myself. I think you should too. But if you do find some concrete proof that Lamplight exists, then come find me and I’ll reconsider.”

She nodded, satisfied with his answer. “Where are you thinking about finding work?”

He sighed, clasping his hands together behind his head. “I could probably find something in the capital, or maybe in one of the newer settlements near Hakorat.”

She began to say something else when a commotion from the door behind him cut her off. “Shit,” she said.

He turned and looked, seeing about a dozen NTO soldiers enter the room. “Attention passengers, this is an inspection under authority of the INDF. Have your flight passes out and ready.”

Allan cursed the inconvenience before digging out his pass. Amanda sat stiffly, a look of panic growing on her face. He leaned in as the soldiers started checking the passes of the people at the nearest table to the door. “you alright,” he asked.

He startled her and she looked at him in shock. “Yeah,” she said. “I just wasn’t expecting to see their types aboard.” She pulled her own pass out, setting it down on the table in front of her.

Allan watched the soldiers as they finished up at the first table. “Looks like the commander of that cruiser got bored and has decided to harass us.”

Amanda didn’t answer and so he fell into his own silence. They eventually made their way to their table and demanded to see their passes. Amanda handed hers over first, giving Allan a glimpse of the information on it, which solicited a smirk from him.

The soldier who was leading the inspection, a sergeant by the bars on his arm, handed it back with no interest. Allan passed his over. The sergeant looked over it, his eyes darting from the document to Allan’s face.

“Lieutenant?” the Sergeant queried.

“Not anymore,” Allan assured him.

“Strange you gave up your commission. The INDF could use good officers.”

Allan tried to put on a charming smile. “I wasn’t a very good officer though. They just gave me the rank because I was a doctor.”

The Sergeant curled his lip in disgust. “Sorry to bother you then…doctor.” They then moved on to the next table.

Amanda looked at him intently. “You were military?”

“Yep,” he said. “For six years during the war.”

“Which side?” He didn’t like the tone she asked it in. It was a tone he’d heard from dozens of people after they’d learned of his service. Most the time he would lie, but he was just so tired of that.

“The wrong one,” he answered.

“And which one was the wrong side?”

He nodded his head towards the soldiers. “Their’s.”

She relaxed a little. “Were you at Syfax?” she asked.

“No. My last action was at Ethidox. After that I left the service.” He found himself looking at her, wondering what side she had been on. He’d already guessed that she’d been military, likely a grunt, and from the hatred she had towards the NTO, that she had been a part of the resistance. He hoped she didn’t hate him now that she knew they’d been on opposite sides.

“I was at Syfax,” she said, her voice dropping low, her face looked pained. “My side lost.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, sincerely.

She reached over and squeezed his hand, smiling thankfully at him. He was flooded by relief and appreciation. She didn’t think less of him for having once fought for the NTO.

“Damn, looks like we might have trouble,” he said. The sergeant was now angrily demanding a flight pass from a man sitting in the far corner. He was wearing what appeared to be vestments, but the had no holy symbols on them. He spoke calmly, but his voice carried clearly.

“I do not have them,” the priest said. “I took a vow of poverty and thus could not afford travel permits. But the ships quartermaster is a godly man and arranged passage for me so that I might spread the Song of Anhallo to the people of the Frontier.”

The sergeant was having none of that. “Traveling without papers is a violation of the Interstellar Travel Commission. You will be taken into custody.”

Allan stood up. “What are you doing?” Amanda asked, grabbing his arm to stop him.

“Interfering it looks like,” he answered.

“They’ll arrest you to.”

He looked down at her, his smirk returning. “Too bad we don’t have a hacked pass that could generate a profile.” And he was satisfied to see the look of absolute shock on her face.

“How did you know?”

He leaned in and whispered, “the picture on your document changed to your face right before you passed it to the sergeant.”

She hung her head. “It will take a second to load up a profile. He has to touch it first.”

He waved his hand for her to hand it over and she complied. The priest was being pulled to his feet and Allan was amused to see the man seemed neither angry nor startled by the soldiers actions.

Taking the document he hurried over. “Father,” he called. “I believe you left your pass at our table when you shared your blessing.”

The soldiers looked confused, and the sergeant looked skeptical. But the priest didn’t miss a thing. “Oh did I, my child?” He pulled his arm from the hand of the soldier holding him and grabbed the pass from Allan before anyone could react.

The sergeant stepped forward. “What is this?” He grabbed the hacked pass and looked at it with suspicion. “I thought you said you didn’t have one.”

The priest just spread his hands. “I thought you would not believe that I misplaced it.”

The sergeant studied the pass, his brow furrowed. “What kind of name is Johnny Quick?”

“Mine,” the priest answered with polite exasperation.

The Sergeant passed the document back and then stormed off to the next table.

“Thank you,” the priest said, retaking his seat. “I’ll give this back when the inspection is over,” he whispered.

“Anything to stick it to the NTO.” Allan laughed.

The priest nodded. “It’s a good thing they’re ignorant of the Adherents of Anhallo or else they’d have known they do not give out blessings.”

“They? Are you not a priest?”

“Not of Anhallo.”

“That’s even better than. Sticking it double to them. I’m Allan, by the way. And you are?”

The fake-priest smiled a flat and humorless smile. “Johnny Quick. Apparently.”

 

[Esplandia]

“Barbara Bishop?” The voice asked over the hubbub of the market, drowning out the hundreds of different voices calling for their orders.

“Yes?” The woman asked, looking up. She’d been on Lamplight now for six months, one of the first Terranid arrivals on the station. She’d hoped to find work on a mining ship but as of yet there weren’t enough jobs in that sector. So now she was working a produce stall on the stations central market ring.

The man who knew her name was tall with a scraggly beard that hadn’t been trimmed very recently. He was wearing a brown coat, nothing fancy, but it was in better condition than any of her own wardrobe. “I wanted to discuss a job opportunity with you.”

“Do I know you?” she asked. She didn’t have time for time wasters. That he knew her name meant very little. There were so few Terranids on the station it would be weirder that he didn’t know it. Most Terranids had moved on to settle at New Terranov where there was more work. But she wasn't interested in farming or construction, or being stuck groundside.

“We’ve not met before,” he said, pushing closer to the produce counter as a scaly denizen of the station grabbed his order and scurried away. “We do have a mutual friend. Gwynn Segorio.”

She looked at the man more intensely. He was definitely not a time waster. She now noticed he carried himself like an officer, someone who was used to commanding a starship. “And who are you?”

“James Morrison of the Valkyrie…”

“No need to tell me more. I know who you are. It’s the beard that threw me off.” She turned to her employer, an eight eyed insectoid who was busy helping three customers at once. “I’m taking my break,” she told him and then stepped away as he chittered something at her. She didn’t listen.

She followed the captain a few stalls down to a place that sold roasted meats (she dared not consider what kind of meats) and sat at an open table, ordering a drink for herself.

“Make it two,” he said taking a seat across from her. He looked directly at her and she got the feeling that he was sizing her up. It was a similar look to how her former commanding officer had looked at her.

“Have you seen the admiral recently?” she asked.

“Not since Syfax,” he said with an obvious twinge of regret at the planets name. They’d both been there, fighting on the same side. A moment of mutual understanding passed between them.

The waiter brought them their drinks. Captain Morrison sniffed it. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and then downed it in one shot. He grimaced slightly and coughed deep in his throat. She chuckled and downed her own. She’d come to enjoy the rancid concoction. It was just so unterranid, alien, in its flavors

“What’s this job opportunity?” she asked, after a quick cough from the drink.

He met her gaze once again. “The Valkyrie finds itself in need of a new second officer. You served under Gwynn for the entirety of the resistance war, and she spoke highly of you. And I heard you were looking for work on a ship.”

“Look Captain…” she paused. “Can I call you James?”

“Call me Valentine. Only my mother called me James.”

“Ok. Valentine. I’m not looking to get involved in any new resistance. One crushing defeat is enough for me and the NTO have had almost a decade to rebuild. Freedom is a lost cause.”

“I’m not involved with any resistance. Though I do like causing trouble for the NTO from time-to-time. I've been helping set up a the New Terranov colony out here when they're willing to pay, but at the moment I’m just picking up what work I can out here.”

“What kind of work?”

“Honestly, a lot or merc work. Some odd jobs here and there. Some illegal one’s when necessary.”

“Illegal? The captain of the Valkyrie breaking the law?”

“I prefer eating to honor these days.”

She laughed deep and hard. “Okay, yeah, I get that. What’s it pay?”

“Eight percent.”

She leaned back. “Ten.”

“Merc work isn’t exactly steady work. And I’ve got a ship to keep in working order. Nine.”

“Nine and a half,” she said flatly. She squared her shoulders in defiance.

He nodded. “Nine and a half.”

“I assume there’s a job lined up if you’re gonna cave that quickly?”

He smiled warmly at her. “I see why Gwynn kept you around. Yeah there’s a job. Or, hopefully, this meeting I’ll be headed to will lead to a job. Either way, I’d made up my mind to hire you before I came here.” He stood up and gave her a casual salute, the smile staying on his face. “Welcome aboard, Commander.”

 

[Esplandia]

Mercelina, the capital city of Sekluva, was a dirty port and a disordered city. The last point on the long trip across Terranid space, and Allan’s impression of it was as a place people didn’t come to stay.

He had bid farewell to Amanda shortly after touchdown. She gave him a hug and also a small com chip so if he needed her he just had to plug it in at a public terminal and he’d be able to call her anywhere on the planet. She then walked away with the priest, who had taken to his new name of Johnny Quick. Amanda had agreed to look out for him until they were settled in, and while Allan was unsure about the man (he still didn’t believe he was an actual priest), but he felt that Amanda was perfectly capable of looking out for herself. More so than he was.

He immediately headed for a public terminal and logged in, looking to see what hospitals or medical facilities were around, and then saving the information to his own personal device. He wasn’t looking forward to job hunting.

But first he needed lodging and after finding a place that he could rent a room for reasonable rates, and that didn’t seem shady, he headed out from the spaceport into the new city that would be his new home.

---

After two weeks of searching he had received only one job offer. As a head physician at a small clinic, in a tiny fishing town, on the planet’s northernmost continent, just below their arctic circle. But his savings were running low and he needed employment. So packing his few belongings, and hopping a quick transport, he accepted the offer and headed north.

The fishing village, a place ironically named Greendale, was built on a rocky coastline surrounded by tundra grasslands. The clinic was a small two story building at the center of town. It had been painted white once but the sea and the sun had turned the paint gray and started to peel.

The mayor greeted him warmly. He was a fat man with a whisky beard and a face weathered from the harsh climate.

“You don’t know how wonderful it is you agreed to move here,” the mayor said. “We haven’t had a physician since ol’ Abner drowned.”

Allan blinked at the casual dismissal of drowning. “Well I don’t intend to go out on the water,” he said.

The mayor laughed. “As long as no one gets hurt on their boat you shouldn’t have to.” But he said it in a way that Allan presumed that it was a very common occurrence. The Mayor unlocked the door to the clinic and ushered Allan inside.

It was very bare bones. He didn’t see much equipment and when showed the medicine lock up there was hardly anything there. The mayor assured him they’d do everything in his power to get him what he needed.

“There’s three exam rooms on the main floor as well as a reception area and a surgical suite,” the mayor said leading him from room to room. “The surgical suite is small but there is one of those automated doctor machines and that’s probably our best stocked as far as equipment goes.”

At least that was looking up. “Thank you, mister Smurt.”

“It’s Smort,” the mayor corrected. “But just call me John. Were a small community and don’t stand on formality.”

“Thank you, John.” Allan looked around and had to say he wasn’t that unpleased with the setup. He’d need to hire some assistants, and hoped a few people in the village at least had some experience. He’d probably have to train.

He looked at the elevator to the upper floor. “What’s up stairs?”

“Oh, there’s two offices as well as your apartment.”

“My apartment?”

“Oh yes, and it’s fully furnished. Though you’ll probably want to redecorate. It’s been untouched since Abner’s death, except by the cleaning bots.”

Allan tried not to think about the death of the man he was replacing, and he found he was excited to have his own place, even if living above the clinic turned him off. But he felt that things were finally looking up.

 

[Esplandia]

Amanda walked into the little place she’d rented and found Johnny packing up his few belongings. He’d ditched the priest robes and purchased a plain outfit and a black leather coat.

She put down the fixings she’d bought at the market. “So you’re leaving?”

“I came here to do something and it’s time I got to it.” He turned around hefting the bag onto his shoulder. He saw the bags with food, enough for two, and his eyes apologized. “I could stay for dinner if you’d like.”

“Don’t bother on my account,” Amanda said, turning away from him and stepping into the tiny kitchen. “I’d help you out, but you won’t tell me what your here for.”

“Amanda,” he said softly, pleadingly.

She gave him an angry look, pulling a dented pan from the cupboard. “I know you could use it,” she said. “I have a feeling you need a soldier right now. Because I’ve seen that look in your eyes before. You’re planning on killing someone. What kind of priest kills people anyway?” She began to angrily cut vegetables.

Johnny reluctantly put his bag down. He walked over to the groceries and began unpacking them. “I was a priest once,” he said. “But I put that life behind me.”

“And now you’re a killer?” She asked, dropping cut vegetables into the pan.

“Some people deserve to die,” he responded.

“Who?”

Johnny didn’t answer, instead he unwrapped a cut of meat and grabbed some salt from the table and begun seasoning it.

Amanda moved by him and took his hand. “I want to help you.”

Johnny slumped his shoulders. “There’s a man,” he said. His voice was firm when he spoke. “He killed people I knew. Good people. Took everything from them. I’m going to make him pay.”

Amanda smiled at him, the priest who might not be a priest. “Then let me help you,” she said.

Johnny gave no response but she saw that the look in his eyes had softened, and that was good enough for her.

 

[Esplandia]

Weeks had passed in the little fishing village of Greendale and Allen found himself getting into the swing of things. Most of what he had to deal with was sickness from the wet and cold, and injuries received on one of the fishing ships. It was quite peaceful.

In the mornings he’d hike out into the plains around the town, watching the wildlife, before returning to town in the afternoon for his scheduled appointments.

Today the usual grey clouds had parted and a warm sun shone down on the ground, and Allen walked blissfully through the town towards the clinic. The stress of having to cross the stars to find a new home had finally left him. He was content.

A man came running up to him, one of the villagers he’d hired to help him out at the clinic.

“Doctor,” he called. “There’s an emergency. We’ve got someone who’s really hurt.”

“Did another fisher get caught in the nets?”

“No. Two out of towners. One of them’s shot up really bad. The other says she knows you and to hurry up and bring you.”

Allen quickened his pace, rushing down the street. Rushing inside he saw Amanda, blood covering her shirt and a bloody wound across her cheek. Johnny Quick was already sprawled on a bed, his eyes closed, blood everywhere. Amanda was trying to stop the bleeding.

“What happened?” Allen asked.

“He was shot. You’ve gotta do something doc.”

Allen started barking orders at his assistants, while checking Johnny’s wounds. “Alright, we’re gonna need to get him into surgery. Just like I’ve shown you.” His assistants started to get things ready. He turned to Amanda. “What about you?”

“Nothing serious. Just a couple cuts and bruises.” She watched worriedly as Johnny was pushed off towards their small surgery suite. “Is he going to be alright?”

“I don’t know. What happened?”

“I’ll tell you later, doc. Just help him.”

Allen squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “I’ll have someone bandage you up. But I promise, I’ll do my best.”

 

[Esplandia]

Allen came out of surgery, shouldering off his blood covered smock, and tossing it in a bin. He washed up and headed out to the tiny waiting area where Amanda waited, worriedly.

She looked up at him expectantly. “He’ll live,” Allen said, a little too callous.

“Can I see him?” She asked.

Allen shook his head. “He’s not conscious yet. Probably won’t be for a while. I’ll give you some time to see him later.”

She resigned to his suggestion and covered her face with her hands. Allen softened his attitude. He had no idea what had happened, so being mad at her for getting injured not long after arriving was pointless. And truthfully he didn’t know her that well.

“You’re probably hungry,” he said. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

He couldn’t tell if she really wanted something to eat, but she wordlessly followed nonetheless. He lead her from the clinic, down towards the waterfront. Near the largest and oldest of the piers was a little ramshackle cafe. In the mornings it would be packed with fishermen preparing to head out for the day. But now it was quiet, as most the town was already out on the water.

The proprietor of the cafe came scurrying over to help them find a seat and give them a menu. The Jehrlambra female chattered happily at them, glad to see Allen who rarely come down to eat.

“Do you want an ale?” She asked him with a twinkle in her eye.

“It’s the middle of the afternoon, Maridzy,” Allen answered while hiding a grin.

“I’ll take one,” Amanda interjected.

Allen shrugged at her. “Just water for me.”

Maridzy hurried away to get the drinks. Allen didn’t even glance at the menu, knowing already what was on it. Amanda held hers open but stared out the window at the ocean and the gloomy weather.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” He finally asked.

She lowered her head and finally looked at her menu, perusing the selection. It didn’t take her long to realize what the majority of the selections available were. “I guess I’ll take the fucking fish.”

He felt a moment of irritation at her attitude, but he figured she was having trouble processing what had happened. “Amanda,” he said her name softly.

“What do you want from me?” She barked at him, startling Maridzy as she delivered their drinks. She quickly put on a pleasant smile and took their orders. Both of them ordered a fried fish basket, and the proprietor returned to the back to give the order to the cook.

It had been enough time for Amanda to cool off a bit. “He was coming here to kill someone,” she said, finally opening up after a hearty drink of ale. “He’d destroyed an orphanage, killed some kids, so Johnny had come to settle the score.”

It made sense to Allen, and even made him like Quick a bit more knowing he’d come for justice. “Did you find this guy?”

“Yeah,” she answered, bitterness. “But he’s a big time local thug and a small time Tech Baron.”

“Ah shit, a Trivanion?”

“Worse than that, his pappy has a seat on the Eidolon Council, so he’s got connections. Didn’t stop Johnny though. We laid out a plan, we prepped, we knew what we were doing. We hit him in transit to do a big trade deal. Out in the country, very little traffic. He had only a handful of guards. It went off without a hitch.”

“But something went wrong,” Allen guessed, alluding to the surgery he’d just performed.

“Yeah,” she said pausing long enough to take another long drink of ale. “Then his trade partners showed up looking for him and hit us with our pants down. Two dozen Cralizar under a local brood-witch who was running drugs across the system. A real bitch named Shaika-Garkz.”

As the name left her lips their as a panicked squeal and a crash. Maridzy had dropped the tray holding their order and was covering her eyes. “Oh no, no, no, no, no...” she wailed.

Allen rushed over to help her out. “It’s alright,” he soothed. “Accidents happen.”

“No, no, no,” Maridzy said, lowering her hands. Abject fear leaped from her eyes and she trembled. “Shaika-Garkz is big trouble. She’s bloodthirsty and cruel. She’ll come looking for you and burn this whole town down.”

 

[Esplandia]

Og Novadek peered down between two large conduits at the small passage ahead of him. He could hear angry chittering coming up from the darkness, letting him know that the problem hadn’t yet been solved.

“See anything, Drez?” He asked loudly.

A few choice words were hollered back at him, not that he’d understand whatever Drez said in his own language, and then scurrying as he came towards Og up the passageway.

“Why don’t you squeeze down here and look for yourself,” he said coming out into the gloomy light of the engine room. A small, rodent-like ball of fluffy rage. “You’d know better what to look for. You designed the damn thing.”

Og rocked back, absently moving away from Drez’s irritation. “You know I can’t fit,” he answered, getting a disgusted snort from the Jehrlambra. “And design is a bit of a stretch. I drew up the initial layout and the Terranids preceded to do whatever they pleased during construction.”

Drez scratched absently at one of his fangs, a habit he had when thinking. “Whatever’s draining the power isn’t electrical,” he informed Og. “There’s no sign of shorting out, and no burned out fuses or wires. Nothing.”

Og rubbed his knees with his lower arms, while one of the upper ones scratched at his ear. “So what’s draining the power?”

“I don’t think it’s being drained at all,” Drez mused. “I’m not a mechanic but I’d say the system is sinking it somewhere.”

“But where?”

“I feel only a Terranid would know. Only they can make sense of their own systems. We’ve really gotta hire a mechanic.”

 

[Esplandia]

“How do you know about Shaika-Garkz?” Amanda asked the little terrified rodentoid.

“Do you think I’d be running a dump like this if I already hadn’t run into her and her kind before?” Maridzy wailed. “I thought she was still on Hamberstrand. The syndicate must have put her in charge of Sekluva.” She covered her eyes with her clawed hands and wailed.

“What did you do?” Amanda asked her.

But Allen had heard enough to know they were in trouble. “Forget that,” he interrupted. “We need to get out of town. Head out onto the tundra and lay low for a while.” He then looked pityingly at Maridzy. “You’re free to come along with us.”

Maridzy wailed again. “That won’t save the town. She’ll burn it and kill everyone here just to prove a point.”

Allen rubbed his temples, feeling really screwed. He’d come to Sekluva to avoid trouble, but damned if it hadn’t come looking for him. That’s what he got for being friendly. “Alright then,” he said, trying to think through the situation. “If what Maridzy says is true, then we need to let the town’s folk know what’s coming for them. Looks like we might have a fight on our hands. Are you in?”

Amanda nodded. “There’s no running from this as long as Johnny’s wounded.” She saw Allen’s disappointed look and then smiled sheepishly. “And I can’t forget about you…or saving this town, too, I suppose.”

---

It didn’t take Allen long to verify what Maridzy had said. Shaika-Garkz had a reputation for brutality and mayhem. She was high up in one of the Cralizar crime syndicates. He then informed the mayor of what was coming. He was understandably, not very happy. First he demanded that Allen and his friends get out, but then realizing that wouldn’t work, he decided that the town would need to be abandoned.

“We have enough boats to get most of us to safety, and some of us can hide out on the tundra. There’s a couple of hunting cabins out there that we can lay low in.” He paced back and forth across his office, his words coming out in a rush of agitation. “we can’t count on the authorities. They don’t care about a small town like us. No, we’ll be better of just getting away first.”

“So you’ll just abandon the town?” Allen asked.

The mayor barely glanced his way to answer. “Not the first time we’d have to rebuild. Storms and harsh winters we’ve dealt with. Yeah, we can weather this too.”

Allen sighed in relief. He really didn’t want to be the one fighting off thugs. He’d seen enough bloodshed during his time as an NTO surgeon. “I’ll see to it that my hospital is moved onto one of the boats. I have only one patient, so it shouldn’t be to long.”

The mayor stopped pacing and turned to Allen. The look on his face was cold and unfriendly. “Not you,” he said. “You and your friends can stay here. We don’t have the room for you. And don’t think of following us onto the tundra either. Because if these thugs don’t kill you, I can guarantee we will.”

 

[Esplandia]

The Valkyrie had sat docked at Lamplight for the last few weeks, Og and Drez had continued to try and find where the power charge for the Phase Drive was disappearing to, but nothing had come up. The captain had agreed to hire on a mechanic, but surprisingly no Terranid ones had made it out to Lamplight yet. So without any idea what the problem was and a job finally having come down the pipeline, Valentine met with them both and asked if the ship could still make jumps.

“Sure,” Drez answered, “but we’ll need to calculate the power loss into our jump calculations.”

Og gave a dismissive agreement. The captain wasn’t particularly pleased with his lack of enthusiasm. “Tell me what you think, Og.”

The Trivanion spread his lower hands. “Something is eating power. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be jumping the ship until we know for sure what’s causing it.”

Valentine nodded, scratching at his cheek. “Normally I’d agree with you. But there’s no mechanic with the skills we need here, and if we don’t take this job then we won’t be able to afford one anyways. We’re heading down galaxy, towards Ryujek. And that’s closer to Terranov than here. Maybe we’ll find someone to hire there.” He turned to head towards the bridge. “We’ve gotta risk it Og.”

They were underway within the hour. The Valkyrie made its way to the edge of the system. The captain summoned the crew to the bridge. “Alright, here’s our job. The colony on New Terranov is in need of a whole lot of heavy machinery. A lot of what they need is hard to get your hands on, most of it is heavily controlled by the NTO. So we’re talking big denominations for this stuff. We have a buyer, and they have a seller. So all we’re doing is getting it from one place to another without the NTO stopping us. Easy as can be.”

The Valkyrie jumped soon after, turning transparent and then stretching away as the ship left real space and entered phase space.

 

[Esplandia]

“You can get out of bed, but take it easy.” Allen helped Johnny into a sitting position. Johnny groaned in pain but said nothing. “The medicine will only make you feel better, but you still need a lot of rest.”

“The town looks empty,” he said, staring out the window at the street.

“That’s because it is,” Allen replied. He then sighed, realizing he was too tense and shouldn’t be taking it out on anyone. “I found a small boat. We can all fit in it, and hopefully we can make it down the coast before this Cralizar shows up.”

Johnny nodded. He carefully stood up on his own and began to dress. “Do you have my pistol?” he asked.

Allen went to his medicine cabinet, unlocked it, then tossed the weapon and its holster onto the bed next to the priest. He then started packing up the more expensive medicines into a bag. Best not to let the thugs get their hands on any of this stuff.

Maridzy came scurrying into the room, out of breath and panicky. “Three big crafts are headed this way, coming from the ocean.”

Allen swore. He shoved as many bottles and vials into a bag as would fit, then tied it shut. He slung it over his shoulder and helped Johnny fasten his weapon on. “Looks like the boat plan is off the table.”

With Johnny leaning on Allen, they walked out of the hospital and into the street. Allen could hear the roar of the approaching vessels. “Did you see what they looked like?” he asked the Jehrlambra.

“One transport and two smaller interceptors.”

Made sense to Allen. The carrier would land and offload troops, while the two interceptors would provide air support.

“Amanda should be in position. No way she’d miss them coming in.” Just then the first interceptor buzzed low over the town, passing only a few blocks away from them. “Get to the dockyards and keep a low profile. That’s where they’ll land.”

Maridzy obeyed and headed off in that direction. “Thanks for sticking with us,” Allen said to her. “You could have headed for safety with the other townsfolks.”

She just turned and gave a fanged smile. “Not with those cowards I wouldn’t.”

Allen and Johnny made their way towards their own position. It was time for plan b. If they couldn’t get out before the thugs came, they’d just need to do it after they landed and were searching the town. First they’d need to take care of the interceptors.

They headed down a narrow alley way with steep steps leading down towards the harbor and the docks. The first interceptor buzzed by overhead again and then they heard, but didn’t see the second one pass by as well. An even loader engine roar came up from the open area near the docks as the landing craft put down.

Allen and Johnny came nearly to the bottom of the stairs and then entered through the back door of one of the houses overlooking the docks. They were on the upper floor. Allen helped Johnny sit down in a chair near a window so they could see the transport as it was putting down. Two rifles had already been placed on a table nearby.

“You can shoot one of those?” Allen asked.

“I’m better with a pistol but I know my way around a rifle.”

Allen patted his shoulder. “Don’t shoot until the first interceptor go down.”

Johnny just nodded. They could now see a dozen or so Cralizar coming out of the transport, weapons at the ready. Allen picked up one of the riffles.

Allen tossed the bag of medicines down and then returned through the door, back outside. He latched the door behind him, then sprinted up the stairs. He then made his way down another street, before doubling back and coming to a stop behind a garden wall. From here he was looking down the main street leading from the docks to the center of town.

The Cralizar were fanning out, heading out into the town down different streets, kicking in doors as they went. He needed them away from the transport. He just had to wait on Amanda. But she was right on schedule, a great commotion of noise from near the hospital rose up.

Using an expensive music sound system she’d commandeered from the mayor's office, she’d started to play a military marching tune. Allen smiled when he recognized it as an NTO song about loyalty and honor. The Cralizar would probably miss the irony, but the commotion had gotten their attention.

They were now all running straight up the street, led by a lithe battle scarred female of their species. He guessed that was Shaika-Garkz. He ducked down behind a rose bush and listened as they rushed by. Stage one of their backup plan was going great.

One of the interceptors passed overhead, flying low to give cover as their friends on the ground rushed to investigate. He watched as it slowed down, drifting sideways to keep its guns pointed at the hospital. It’s tail passed in front of a three story house and from out of its top window a rocket was fired, striking the interceptor and causing it to go up in flames almost instantly.

Chaos erupted. The interceptor dropped straight through the hospital, sending it up in smoke and fire. The Cralizar started firing at the window where the rocket had come from. Allen, who could see the back of the building, watched Amnda jump from the rear window, landing on the roof of the house behind, and then swinging down through another window, a rocket launcher slung across her back.

Allen readied his rifle, sighted up the biggest and meanest looking Cralizar, and shot him through the head. He’d expected to get off one more shot, but the other Cralizar had already spotted his location, and he ducked behind the garden wall as projectile fire crashed into the stone. Time for him to move. Rolling to the side behind the house, he then stood up and ran, using the building as cover. He headed for the dockyard.

As he ran down the street he heard the second interceptor come roaring up behind him. He crashed through a door as a massive hail of fire tore away the street. He didn’t stop running, dashing through the front room, into the kitchen and out the back door as the interceptor blasted the house into rubble.

Allen was already halfway down the next block as the interceptor banked to bring its guns to bear. He saw amanda step out onto the second floor balcony of a house up ahead, launcher already pointed towards the craft. Everything slowed down for Allen as he raced to get behind another house. The interceptor fired and Allen could feel the ground behind him getting kicked up by the projectiles. Then Amanda launched her rocket and it soared over his head. He felt a blastwave hit him from behind as the interceptor went up in flames. He disappeared behind the next house as the ship crashed into houses back up the street behind him.

He took a moment to take a breath, putting his hands on his knees, breathing deeply for air. Amanda jumped down from the roof above him, a wicked grin on her face. “Phase two went splendidly.”

“Shut the hell up,” he said, but with a wide grin on his face. They then heard the cries of the Cralizars coming closer. They both looked at each other and wordlessly turned and ran towards the dock. It was time for phase three.

After the first interceptor had gone down, Johnny had started picking of the four Cralizars left to guard the transport. He got the one closest to the vessels ramp first, and then shot the other three as they tried to run back to the safety of the rampway.

Maridzy, who had been hiding nearby then dashed out from cover, and ran up to the rampway, quickly disabling the door so it couldn’t be shut. Johnny shot two more Cralizar as they came out to stop Maridzy.

As Allen and Amanda approached the transport, she took off to where Johnny was holed up. “I’ll get our wounded,” she joked wryly.

Allen hurried over to the transport. Maridzy was hiding to the side of the ramp, holding a pistol at the ready.

“Anyone still in there?” he asked her as he approached.

She shook her head, trying to peak up the ramp without moving out from cover. “Can’t say, but none of these look like a pilot.”

Allen looked at the Cralizar bodies and then at the transport. “Yeah, this is a Terranid vessel and the Cralizar aren’t known for flying them very well if at all.” He stopped to think what to do next. They’d need to hurry. He figured it wouldn’t take long for Shaika-Garkz to realise what was going on. “They probably have a Terranid pilot then. Alright, stick close behind me.”

He then stepped onto the ramp and dashed up inside. He expected to be hit with a hale of weaponfire any second, but he made it to the top off the ramp without any incident. He crouched low, pointing his rifle aft then swung it fore. The whole transport’s hold was empty. A passageway led forward towards the cockpit.

Maridzy came up behind him. He turned to her. “Get the ramp working again and once Johnny and Amanda are aboard, close it.”

Without waiting for a reply he headed towards the cockpit. He kept his rifle pointed ahead as he worked his way silently forward. If he hadn’t been listening so intently he might have missed it. He heard the click of a plasma pistol charge being released. He came to a stop and called out, “Do you really want to kill us all?”

“I’d rather not kill anyone,” a woman’s voice responded. “But you aren’t gonna kill me and take my ship.”

“I have no intentions of killing you if I don’t have to. But I’m afraid I’m gonna have to take this ship. I’d rather not get murdered by Cralizars today.”

“Yeah, I’m not fond of them myself. It was either fly them out here or end up in a bog somewhere as a rotting corpse.”

“So what do you say we all use this opportunity to just get the hell out of here.”

There was a moment of silence as he assumed the woman was weighing her options. “You really aint gonna shoot me?”

“Prefer not to.”

He heard the hiss as the plasma charge cooled. The pistol was then tossed out of the cockpit and clattered on the floor of the passageway.

He stepped into the cockpit. A young woman stood there, her hands raised non-threateningly. He kept his rifle pointed at the floor. Maridzy then called from the aft. “Johnny and Amanda are aboard.”

Allen could also see the Cralizar running towards them, Shaika-Garkz pointing and yelling something. It was now or never.

“What do you say we get out of here,” he told the woman.

She sat down in her seat and started flipping switches. The transport’s engines roared to life and within just a few seconds she was pulling up and away from the town below. The transport sped away across the ocean, land soon disappearing behind them. Allen sighed in relief and collapsed into the copilots chair.

“Looks like it’s time to get off this planet,” he said. “I don’t suppose you have a space worthy ship we could borrow.”

She shook her head. “If I did I wouldn’t be flying for the Cralizar.”

“One thing at a time I guess.” He wiped sweat from his forhead. “I’m Allen, by the way.”

“Cat,” she said.

“Nice to meet you, Cat.”

---

Enterprising Young Men --Michael Giacchino

 

[Esplandia]

Since the wait before the next jump would require two hours for the Phase Drive to cool and then recharge, the crew of the Valkyrie took the time to get some rest, or just kill time with any activity that interested them.

Sariah had hoped to win some of her crewmate’s money at a game she’d learned on Lamplight, but no one was interested in playing against her. She’d already won so much at other gambling games that they’d learned their lesson.

So instead she made her way to the bridge. Maybe she’d play some chess against Abby.

She found the new XO, Barbara Bishop, pacing the bridge, moving from one station to another, checking read outs and inputting new commands from time to time.

“Oh, hello,” Sariah said, stepping onto the bridge. “I didn’t think anyone would be up here.”

Barbara Bishop gave Sariah and friendly smile. “I’m just trying to learn this ship. Doing the routine operations can be the best way to get a feel for a vessel.”

“Abby can do most routine stuff without any input.” She wasn’t sure about the new XO yet. She seemed like a competent woman, and Sariah trusted the Captain’s choice.

Bishop typed another command into the sensor controls. “I don’t doubt it. But doing it myself will keep my mind busy.” She read something from a monitor, than stepped over to the command chair and tapped a readout, bringing up additional information.

Sariah smiled, thinking maybe she could hustle some money of the new commander. “Maybe you’d like to play some Holdax?”

Bishop shook her head. “Thanks, but I don’t gamble.”

Sariah wrinkles her nose at the comment. She stepped up next to the screen the commander was looking at. It showed the power consumption of the ship’s reactors, as well as the charge level of the Phase Drive. “See anything interesting?”

Bishop stood up strait and stretched her back. “Just that the system is syphoning the Phase charge off somewhere.”

“We’ve been trying to find the cause for some time.”

“That’s what Valentine told me.” She gave Sariah a frustrated look. “I thought maybe a fresh pair of eyes would find something you missed.”

“A different perspective?”

“Something like that.” She tapped the screen again and returned to the main screen which showed power consumption across the whole ship. “But I’ve come up with nothing.”

“We’re going to hire a mechanic when we return to the cluster. It’s beyond our skill.”

“I don’t think it’s mechanical. I’d put my guess in something software....” she trailed off, frowning at the screen.

“What is it?” Sariah asked. She was looking at the same screen and saw nothing out of the ordinary, as far as the readings went.

Bishop tapped on the screen and brought up the passive sensors. They read background radiation levels and recorded any sort of signal or anomaly. The commander said nothing, just watching the sensor readings, displayed as graph bars of varying colors, go up and down. She rewound the data backwards then, checking to before their phase jump. The phase jump could easily be noticed as everything dropped to the bottom for about nine seconds as sensors didn’t work in Phase space.

The commander played the recording readings forward a few seconds, then rewound back again and played it forward, going past the phase jump. She then wound it back to a minute before the jump.

“What’s that reading?” She pointed at one of the bars, colored a deep purple.

“Sub space frequencies,” Sariah answered. “Many civilizations use them for long range communication...”

“I know that, but what is that spike?”

Sariah watched the recording play forward, saw the purple bar spike up and down rapidly for a few seconds, and then stop. It did it again a couple more times at even intervals.

“Those spikes are too low to a signal so it’s probably just random subspace bursts. They happen randomly all the time.”

“What would happen if we changed locations?”

Sariah shrugged. “The readings would change. The bursts would come at different intervals, or disappear all together.”

Bishop forwarded it to after their phase jump and then let it play. After a few seconds the burst reappeared, exactly as they looked before.

“That’s not possible,” Sariah said. “We jump over 200 lightyears from our previous position.”

“Unless it is a signal. Hold on.” Bishop then returned to the main screen before keying up the power readings for the phase drive. She brought the readings back to the exact time as one of the subspace bursts they’d seen. She let it play. Sariah’s eyes widened as the power levels drained inversely to the subspace spike.

“Oh no,” she said. Bishop looked at her questioningly. But Sariah was already worried that her hunch was true. She changed stations, moving over to the one where she could directly access the core relay, the piece of alien technology that ran the ship.

“Abby.” She called up the ship’s intelligence.

“Yes, Sariah.” The ship answered promptly.

“Are you running any programs outside of the basic functionalities of the Valkyrie.

“I am not.”

Sariah types a number of commands into the station, bringing up the diagnostics on the core relay.

“Is the Hyug core running any programs that you are unfamiliar with?”

There was a three second pause as Abby ran her own checks on the system before answering the query. “Yes. There appears to be an unknown program, related to navigation, that the core is running. I did not notice it before.”

Sariah shared a glance with Bishop. The XO still seemed confused, but also intensely interested in what Sariah was doing. “How bad is it?”

“That depends on what a two million year old computer is doing that we don’t know about.” She picked up the ships internal comms and called the captain’s quarters.

“This is the captain,” the captain answered.

“This is the bridge. I think we’ve discovered the cause of our energy sink...”

Sariah felt the familiar stomach twisting, the feeling of being stretched out. The ship stretched out ahead and for just a second Sariah could see stars through the bulkhead and then the ship phase jumped.

It was like feeling static, a thousand tiny little pricks of energy tingling the skin. There was nothing else. No sight, sound, smell, or touch. Complete sensory deprivation except for the tingling feeling. It lasted for only a few seconds and then it was like waking up to the universe. Sound returned and her ears rang. The lights from the screens seemed too bright now. The ship had returned to real space.

“Why did we just jump.” The captain’s voice came from the comm set that Sariah was still holding in her hand.

“That wasn’t us,” she answered, her mouth feeling like it was full of cotton.

A proximity alarm blared to life. Bishop staggered over to the sensor stations. “Looks like there’s a ship a hundred kilometers off our port. The Valkyrie is matching it’s speed.”

“I’m on my way up,” Valentine said. There was a click as he turned off his comm set. Sariah got up, feeling more woozy than she’d ever felt after a phase jump.

“Abby, can you identify that ship?”

“Negative. I am running it through the core’s data banks.”

Sariah looked at the sensor readings. The ship was a simple geometric shape, a wedge. It was traveling fast but appeared to be under no form of propulsion.

“I have found a match in the core’s archive,” Abby came back over the ship’s comms.

“And what is it?” Captain Valentine stepped onto the bridge. “What are we looking at Abby?”

“It’s a Hyug science vessel. It’s design dates back to just before the Hyug society collapsed. Approximately 1.5 million years ago.”