Cuddy looked down at Rufus and saw what she saw. He was gone. Rufus was gone.
He heard the orb’s words in his head.
Cuddy… you need to get the Evermore into the air. Hurry now. Have someone put the dog down below… he’ll be safe and secure there. I’m very sorry.
Cuddy found Kyle’s eyes. “Take him to the lower sub-deck.” He carefully transferred the dog into Kyle’s now open arms.
“Okay, Cuddy… I’ll take him right now.”
Cuddy saw the tears in Kyle’s eyes and briefly wondered why he himself felt nothing but anger… an internal rage building to an almost uncontrollable level.
He hurried forward—back to the bridge. Tony, right behind him, moved to the side windows. He said, “Sorry man… about Rufus.” He glanced out the window. “Um… those guys out there don’t look happy.”
Cuddy listened to the orb in his head.
Cuddy, you must energize the Evermore’s thrusters. Using the three, in-line slide controls, slowly bring the thrust levels up, in equal amounts, to the mid-way point. Do so now!
Cuddy found the three sliders off to the left and quickly did as told, repositioning the controls at the mid-point. The Evermore lurched, both up and forward, throwing Kyle and Tony to the deck. Cuddy grabbed on to the console for support. Hearing someone else curse from the main cabin, Cuddy figured it must be Brian.
Not only had he brought the thrust levels up too fast, he hadn’t done so evenly. As Cuddy readjusted the controls, equally lining them up at the mid-point, the ship leveled out and continued to ascend into air space above. He pushed any thoughts about Rufus aside. This was not the time to grieve.
A flood of visual images suddenly filled Cuddy’s consciousness—vectors, coordinates, and calculations of spatial distances. He bent over, as if he’d been gut punched, feeling dizzy. His head hurt. Orb… stop! That’s too much information… I can’t process it all… I don’t understand everything…
You will, Cuddy… the information is now there for you… and you will remember when the time is right.
But how…
Human DNA… 5.5 petabits of data… around 700 terabytes… in a single gram of DNA. The human brain has a remarkable untapped memory storage capacity. Where others, those who have not had multiple sessions within a wellness chamber, do not have the capability to sequence the DNA to retrieve this information… you do.
“Hey, you okay, Cuddy?” Kyle asked, looking concerned. He’d returned from the sub-deck and, like Cuddy, his arms were stained with Rufus’s blood.
Almost as quickly as the pain had struck—it vanished. Cuddy stood up and took in a deep breath. “I’m fine, Kyle.” The spaceship had already reached an altitude of several thousand feet.
“Wicked! I can see the whole town below us,” Tony said.
Kyle threw in, “I’m only sorry we didn’t tell Momma… didn’t say goodbye to her.” Cuddy, glancing over at him, said, “We’ll be back.”
“We’d better come back. I didn’t sign up for any one-way trip,” Brian said, still standing at the entrance to the bridge.
No one replied to his comment.
Cuddy only knew he was mentally directed to perform the job at hand—getting the Evermore ever deeper into space. Now, as he became more and more familiar with the board—the controls, the information dump he’d last received from the orb not only became crucial—but relevant. As if inwardly glancing, not dissimilar to looking at a computer’s hard drive file system—Cuddy saw the type of information that had been transmitted in to his brain… into his very DNA. Certainly every aspect of how to pilot this ship as well as what would be required for its maintenance—it was all there.
The others had now moved away from the windows and were staring at the Viewscape display. Looking over his shoulder, he saw them studying both him and the display. He leaned over and pulled on the diagonal ends—increasing the virtual display size—making it easier for them to view. The nearly transparent outline of the Revenge let them know that it too was ascending, and was close by.
“So why don’t you tell us what you’re doing… what’s going on?” Jackie asked.
He wasn’t aware she’d moved, was now standing so close to him. He smelled the faint scent of strawberries—probably from the shampoo she used.
“I’m being guided by the orb, doing what it instructs me to do.”
“You mean… like mentally… psychically?” Brian sneered cynically. He stepped up close behind Jackie, cupping his hands on her shoulders. A possessive gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Cuddy.
“Yes, the orb mentally… speaks to me; provides me with mental images. That sort of thing.”
“That’s impossible. Take it from me. I’m a doctor… a neurosurgeon, to be more specific. I’m sorry, big guy, but humans simply aren’t capable of doing something like that.”
Jackie shrugged Brian’s hands away from her shoulders and glared up at him. “Well, maybe he’s not entirely just human… did you ever consider that? There’s a lot you don’t know, Brian. Being a pompous ass is only going to alienate you more from everyone here.”
Brian raised his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, easy does it, there… just getting the lay of the land around here.”
Cuddy, scanning the Viewscape, noted multiple icons now making their way off the surface, heading toward the Evermore. “That’s not good. Incoming missiles! Best everyone sit down and strap in.” Cuddy then looked over to Kyle and said, “Um… can you get everyone out of the bridge… have them strap in out there? I need to concentrate.”
“Sure.” As Cuddy watched Kyle usher everyone off the bridge, he knew they weren’t really interfering with his concentration—except for Brian, who was already getting under his skin. He really didn’t like the guy.
The orb again was communicating within his mind.
Cuddy… I need to break away for a while. It seems my makeshift repairs to the cloaking system on the Revenge have failed. Added to that, the one remaining functioning drive is becoming problematic, as well. My sensors tell me there are numerous incoming projectiles… missiles… coming from various strategic land, sea, and air locations around the planet. It’s a full-on attack, Cuddy. They have locked on to this spacecraft. Unfortunately, without functioning shields, I now need to separate from the Evermore and fend off the attack on my own. Fortunately, the Evermore is fully functional; its shields and propulsion readings are optimal. Cuddy, you have everything you need to progress to the upper atmosphere then beyond into distant space. Increase your rate of ascent, Cuddy… do that now!
Before Cuddy could object, the Revenge was banking away. He tried reaching out to the orb with his mind but knew the physical distance apart was already too great. He suddenly felt alone and vulnerable, but doing as the orb instructed, he increased their rate of ascent. His eyes stayed locked onto the Viewscape display, helplessly watching as numerous missiles approached the Revenge. The Howsh ship took decisive evasive action—spinning off to the right then reversing its direction—then going into a spiraling downward roll. The Revenge next fired off its plasma weapons and two missiles exploded simultaneously.
“There’s… too many!”
Cuddy glanced back over his shoulder to see Kyle standing there. He’d come back in.
“Can’t we do something? He’s being overwhelmed,” Kyle groaned.