Nancy agreed and Portia stated that she was already committed to monitoring the behavior of all crew members. That started another discussion that took the focus off of me. This time it was good to hear my first wife trying to draw the android into an argument.
I checked on Alora one more time, then settled in for reentry to real space. The girl was knocked out, but her vital signs were good. Those we could track from the bridge, but I liked seeing her for myself. I had saved her life four times already, according to her. I couldn’t let something happen to her after she had left her home to place her full confidence in my protection.
I pulled up the interior sensor analysis on my monitor and watched it carefully until the last minute. There was no reason why I couldn't keep an eye out for the strange life form, too. As Portia indicated, the only alerts so far were coming from me.
Lin's professional voice then zoned me in. Time to refocus and be the captain again. "Return jump in five, four, three, two, one."
The ship rumbled slightly. That was typical, so it didn't concern me for the first few seconds. When it didn't let up, that is when I got worried. There wasn’t supposed to be any turbulence in space. Just a tiny ripple when transitioning from one universe to the other.
"We are tethered once again," Portia announced with her sweet, smooth voice. Her lack of inflection in stressful moments was starting to get annoying.
"Tethered?" Nancy asked. I was quite sure she knew what that meant, but the look of concern on her face told me she was genuinely hoping that she didn't. Just like me.
"We have not completely left the other dimension," Lin clarified the matter.
"Fuck, not this bullshit again!" Nancy exclaimed in anger.
"Wasn't it a coupling problem last time?" I asked Portia.
"Yes, captain, that is what I suggested," she responded calmly as she stared at the rush of data across her screen. "I fear that malfunction may have been a result of the tether, instead of the cause."
"That's not what you said before!" Nancy targeted our android with her frustration. If it weren’t for the anxiety of the situation the two were becoming a well-rehearsed comedy duo.
"New evidence suggests that the previous probability calculations were less accurate than I had promoted."
"What does that mean?" Nancy asked.
Lin answered first, "It means that she was wrong."
"Yes, Lin. Yes, Nancy," Portia responded. "I was wrong. However, the new coupling seems to be holding up fine. I believe that you would refer to that little tidbit of information as good news. There is no mechanical malfunction at this time responsible for the phenomenon."
"So, it's the shadow fucker!" Nancy yelled.
"Freddy as we know him is no longer present," Portia informed her. "The only anomaly now resides inside of Joah."
All eyes turned toward me. Was I the reason for our ship tethering relentlessly to the beyond? Was this new feel-good that was going on inside of me going to get us all killed?
"Joah, relax," Lin said to me. "If you are the reason for this then maybe you can sever the bind. Calm down and visualize cutting the cord. Will us back to our own universe."
Nancy snickered, but it was a nervous reaction more so than a mocking attempt. Portia said nothing because she didn't have the answers this time around. Lin’s idea was certainly worth a try.
I did as my wife suggested. I blocked out their voices as they continued to discuss what was happening with the ship. It was hard to completely ignore information such as we are tethered to a single location in jump space while racing through real space. So, I used that to adjust my visualization.
"We need to solve this problem in the next few minutes," Lin announced. "Otherwise, we'll be approaching traffic lanes at Teegarden and raising an alarm."
I envisioned a strand connecting us to the beyond, not wanting to let go. Like the optic nerve on an eyeball that had popped out of socket. Convincing myself that was a bad analogy was challenging. We didn’t belong tethered to the other plane of existence, but part of me felt as if it was a good thing. I ignored that message from the tingle in my flesh and visually chopped the cord with a mental hatchet.
"The tethered has released," Portia announced. When asked how, she could only reply that she didn't know. There was no data to explain it.
"Did you do it, Joah?" Nancy asked, preparing to be awestruck by my new ability. At least that was how I read her expression.
"Maybe," I answered. "But now I need to concentrate on slowing this bird down before we draw attention to ourselves. I can’t do that with my mind. If anyone finds out that we are having trouble letting go of jump space we won't be permitted at any station for trade."
"It does present a significant danger," Portia supported. "However, we have a new problem. Our guest Alora has become agitated."
"Does she need another sedative?" Lin asked.
"Perhaps," our android answered. Then she turned to me and said, "Or perhaps not. There appears to be multiple life forms in her vicinity, matching Freddy's nature."
Shit!
"Nancy!" I went into crisis management mode. "You have command. Portia, you have pilot control. Flood the medical bay with light and sound that was effective before. Lin, you are with me."
My beautiful Asian wife followed me out the door and down the hall to the medical facility on our ship. The shocking sight of five shadow monsters gathered around Alora's body was downright creepy. The scene resembled an underground ritual of dark magic. Seeing her levitate
