This is an idea that bounced around in my head through most of 98, I wrote
this in bits an spurts over the course of 99 and now that its 2000, I thought
I'd share it with all of you. Its incomplete, and I thought maybe some C&C
might help.
Over to you. . .
-Komodo
A hypothetical paradox:
What would happen in a battle between an Enterprise security team, who
always get killed soon after appearing, and a squad of Imperial
Stormtroopers, who can't hit the broad side of a planet?
-- Tom Galloway
*********************
The space station Olympus , built from a medium sized planetoid, orbited
a sun so far from Earth, it didn’t even have a name. Only a serial number. It
didn’t even have habitable planets. In fact, it had only two redeeming
qualities.
One was that the planets that were there, were rich in minerals and
metals. Which made it an absolute heaven for the metal-hungry shipyards of
the Olympus. The Second was that the system lay along some of the major trade
routes that united the myriad worlds of the Star Imperium.
But my account of the war against the Dark Queen begins onboard one of
the many small monorail pods that crisscrosses the Olympus......
Captain Serena Tuziniko blanked the screen of her reader and tucked the
book sized device back into her briefcase.
Rereading about the Olympus did no good in stilling the storm of nerves
that had her stomach tied in knots.
Her hand strayed her jacket and pressed against the two red rectangles
that marked her rank and felt, rather then heard, the soft crinkle of the
paper that bore her orders, folded in her inside pocket. Orders to take
command of the Magellan, one of the long-range exploratory supercarriers that
ranged beyond the boundaries of the Imperium, doing preliminary mapping work,
scouting planets, and, one day, it was hoped, making first contact with
another alien species, besides the snakecats.
She looked down at the black scaled creature curled up on her lap. It
resembled a Terran house cat in size and shape, but the similarities ended
there. House cats, for example, didn't have telepathy, or the ability to walk
up vertical and upside down surfaces. It was called a Snakecat, for want of
a better term due to its scales and its resemblance to a regular cat.
Serena reached down and rubbed the two bumps on its head. The bumps,
which passed for the snakecat's ears, caused it to open its eyes and yawn,
showing a full half inch of pointy teeth, capable of rendering flesh or
vegetables equally.
You're being to nervous Serena. The voice in her head said. We both know
you wouldn't have been assigned the Magellan unless they felt you were
ready. Serena looked down at the snakecat and smiled. Luna's "voice" had
always sounded like that of a mature old lady to her. It was deep, rich, and
warm, even when she had been scolding her.
"That's the part that bothers me Luna." She admitted. "Ready for what? We
both know that no one who commands an exploratory supercarrier starts out by
simply taking command. They start out in the astrophysics lab, or
xenobiology.
I all but failed astrophysics, and I couldn't tell you the most basic
facts about your own biology if my life depended on it." She pressed the
orders again. "My degree is in computers and all my tactical training is in
in-system defense."
Well, you did command the Bradbury. Serena rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, 18 months doing mop up mapping work of a nebula and the
surrounding sector. That doesn't qualify me to command any kind of
exploratory vessel and it sure as hell doesn't make me qualified for
something like the Magellan."
You worry to much Serena. Luna chided. Now try to relax. You still have
to take command and that's going to take your full attention. As though to
take her own advice, Luna yawned and went back to sleep.
Serena laid her head against the seat back and tried to relax as the pod
sped through the tunnel, taking her to her new assignment, and unbeknownst to
her, her destiny.
Serena exited the pod and withdrew the white beret, the privilege of
wearing it belonging only to a captain, from under the epaulet of her jacket.
She turned it over in her hands and then set it on her head, taking a
final look in the reflective surface of the exit tunnel wall, she draped Luna
around her shoulders, took a firm grip on her briefcase, and set out for the
exploratory section of the hanger bay that took up the entire middle section
of the Olympus, trying to use the walk to eat up the nervous tension in her
gut and focusing her attention straight ahead on the gate that marked the
boundary between the civilian sector of the hanger bay, and the military one.
Everyone passing that gate had to show ID and submit to a hand print check.
Everyone. Even the Queen.
Putting on her best command face, Serena got in line and took out her ID
and Luna's papers, which certified that the snakecat had been trained in
shipboard etiquette and procedures.
When her turn came, she handed them over and set her briefcase on the
weapons scanner. While the guard ran a check on her ID to make sure she was
who she said she was, she looked past the gate to the military side of the
hanger bay where her ship was.
Her ship.
Her nervousness began to double.
"Ma'am?" The guard said, breaking her train of thought. "May I see your
security clearance card and orders?" Serena was taken back by his request but
managed to cover her surprise and reached into her briefcase and withdrew the
small slab of integrated circuits and the folded sheath of papers from her
jacket and handed them over. "Thank you Ma'am." He said, and walked to the
small bunker where the head of the gate security detail kept his office.
Serena clasped her hands behind her back and put on her best parade ground
face.
It seemed like an eternity but was actually only a few minutes before the
guard returned with her papers, ID, security clearance and orders.
"Sorry about the delay Ma'am. Just a glitch in the system." He saluted
and opened the doors. Serena accepted the salute with a nod and passed
through.
"System glitch my ass." She grumbled to Luna. "Something's wrong." She
pulled out her orders.
To: Captain Serena Ann Tuziniko
July 23, 2345
Captain Tuziniko:
By order of her Majesty, Queen Usagi of the House of
Takeuchi, you are hereby requested and required to proceed
to Starbase Olympus to take command of Her Majesty's
Exploratory Supercarrier Magellan and all duties and
responsibilities that this entails.
Fail not in this charge at your peril.
Signed,
Admiral Bonjour Perrion,
Chief of Staff,
Bearau of Personnel,
Starbase Jupiter.
"And there's nothing there about what I'm supposed to do once I'm in
command of the Magellan." Serena muttered as she refolded the orders and
pulled out her reader.
"Map." she ordered. Within moments, the reader's screen displayed a map
of the Hanger bay with a red dot to show her current position and a list of
ships currently docked. She took the light pen and tapped the indicator for
the Magellan. It was the docking slip straight ahead. Serena put the reader
away and started walking, wrapping her rank about her like a cloak.
By the time she reached the Magellan's docking slip, she walked straight
and tall, every inch a woman who has been entrusted with the sacred duty and
responsibility of Command.
Ignoring the Marine Sentries, she stepped to the windows to take in her
first sight of the Magellan.
Her new command stretched out before her. A wedged shaped behemoth
thirty kilometers long, fifteen kilometers wide and ten tall. Fully Armed.
Fully Armored. A self contained city complete with factories, shops, and
other such nescessities.
The topside rose in a set of blocks, each sitting on the other,
culminating in the elongated dome with a huge row of windows that marked the
bridge towards the rear of the ship. Crews swarmed over it, getting the last
bits of matinence work done, loading cargo, doing sensor checks.
Nodding once to herself, Serena stepped back from the windows and headed
towards the slip entrance.
The Marines accepted her ID, checked her handprint and saluted, signaling
her to go through. Other then that, they gave no sign that their new mistress
after God had arrived. Serena entered the lift and turned as the door closed,
just in time to see the senior Marine, a corporal, lift his wrist com to
inform Magellan's bridge that the captain had arrived.
As the lift descended and spun so the doors would face the Magellan,
Serena took the moment to pray that everything would go smoothly and then
pasted her command face back on.
The doors hissed open and she exited the lift as soon as she had room. As
she approached the doors that were the entrance to the Magellan itself, they
opened and a squad of Marines marched out and formed two neat lines on either
side of the boarding ramp.
In command of the side party was a tall amazonian Marine, with brown hair
tied up in a ponytail.
"Colonel Lita Kino." She said by way of introduction.
"Colonel." Serena said, "Permission to come aboard?"
"Granted." Kino saluted and then stepped aside, allowing Serena to pass
her by before following her in.
"Commander Anio sends her apologies for not being here but the commander
is buried up to her armpits in a vivisected fire control station and fielding
complaints from the civilian scientists that the cargo mechs haven't gotten
all their equipment delivered either to the right labs, or not at all." Kino
said as they walked across the Magellan's loading bay. Serena nodded, the
only outward sign that she had heard the other woman. While it was normally
considered an insult for the executive officer not to be present when the new
captain arrived, Serena could forgive it as she remembered the scientists
from her time aboard the Bradbury. It had been the only dark cloud over the
18 months she had spent there.
Scientists, as a general rule for most navy personnel, tended to be
stubborn, and totally devoted to their work to the point of excluding everythi
ng else. A classic example was the story of a ship doing preliminary mapping
work when it came under attack by pirates.
The Cartographers had flatly refused to leave their labs, dismissing the
attack as a "minor inconvenience", and insisting the captain ignore them.
The tale had been told many a time and the name of the and class of the
ship always seemed to change with the ship the person telling the story was
assigned to.
Captains of exploratory ships faced even bigger problems.
Due to their size, crews of exploratory ships could bring their immediate
families along, as could the handful of civilians that would be aboard.
Serena made a mental note to have a talk with the civilians as soon as
possible to avoid future problems.
The paused in front of a lift tube, and Kino pressed the button that
would summon the lift.
As the capsule arrived, Serena entered it, dismissing the Major with a
nod.
"Bridge." She said.
Anticipation made the trip take to long and nerves made it far too short,
but that's the way it always was with new commands and Serena strode out onto
the command deck radiating confidence and control.
The bridge was divided into three levels. The ten by ten meter deck which
Serena stood on was called the command deck for good reason. The only thing
on it was the lone chair in the middle.
To her right, a set of stairs leading up to the flight deck where helm
and navigation, the massive holotank, Tatical, Executive Officer's station,
and the door to the captain's office.
To her left, a set of curving stairs near the lift led down into the main
part of the bridge where the crew stations made two neat rows along the
center walkway towards the set of windows at the front.
By now, all activity on the bridge had ceased and all eyes were on her.
In slow, measured steps, she crossed the command deck and set her
briefcase down, coaxing Luna off her shoulder and onto the far arm of the
chair before taking out her orders.
Taking a deep breath, she pressed the com key and stood still as the all
hands signal sounded.
Then she unfolded her orders. Although a formality, it was a very real
one, and Serena was not officially captain until she had read herself aboard.
"To: Captain Serena Ann Tuziniko, July twenty third, of the year
twenty-three forty five. Captain Tuziniko: By order of her Majesty, Queen
Usagi of the House of Takeuchi, you are hereby requested and required to
proceed to Starbase Olympus to take command of Her Majesty's Exploratory
Supercarrier Magellan and all duties and responsibilities that this entails.
Fail not in this charge at your peril. Signed, Admiral Bonjour Perrion, Chief
of Staff, Bearau of Personnel, Starbase Jupiter." She refolded her orders and
put them away.
"Magellan." She said, raising her voice and addressing the AI. "Voice
Print Check. Serena Ann Tuziniko."
"Confirmed. The AI's voice was a rich bass.
"Transfer Command Codes. Authorization; Cee Twenty Three. Alpha Five.
Bunny. oh oh one eight."
"Command codes transferred."
Serena looked back at the intercom pickup.
"I'm sure you all have something more interesting and vital to do then
listen to me, carry on." She closed down the intercom and sat in the command
chair.
As she did, the deck officer, the most senior noncommissioned officer on
the bridge at any given time, seemingly materialized next to her chair, a
reader tucked under one arm.
"Chief Chibichiba, I trust the log will reflect that Commander Anio and I
did our parts?"
The deck officer nodded.
"Yes Ma'am."
"Good. See if you can't get some orders for us. I doubt the Magellan is
supposed to be sitting here in the docking slip." Serena stood up, Luna
flowing up to her shoulder." I'll be in my office, you have the bridge
Chief." Serena picked up her briefcase and headed up the stairs to the flight
deck. She stepped around the giant tactical holotank and towards the door at
the back. Pausing for just a moment, she pressed the entry key.
The door slid aside.
The office was spacious, as benefited the captain of a ship that might
spend years exploring newly discovered systems and sectors. She walked down
the short set of stairs to where her desk was and laid her briefcase on it.
>From there, she crossed the sunken area and back up to where a couch
stretched out underneath the picture window, currently covered by blast
shields. For a moment she thought about opening them, and then decided
against it. She would only see the walls of the slip anyway.
Damn it all, what was she doing here? As though in answer, the com
sounded. Crossing to her desk she hit the button.
"Yes?" She snapped, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.
"Admiral Haruna on subspace holocom for you captain. She says she has
your orders." About time, Serena thought as she sank down into her chair.
"Route it through to my office."
The lights dimmed and Admiral Patricia Haruna, her fourth form tac
instructor when she had been at the Academy, materialized before her.
"Hello Serena."
"Admiral." Serena replied, her use of the other woman's title conveying
volumes.
"I take it you're upset."
"Upset?" Serena ground out the word between her teeth. "Upset is not the
word for it. Try royally pissed and you'll be much closer."
"I'm sure." Haruna said dryly.
"Pat, what was Personnel thinking? I'm an in-system defense expert. My
tactical training was focused on taking advantage of planets,
asteroids...solar flares!"
"You've had external system tactical training." Haruna replied calmly.
"Yes. Training I've never used. Now I'm not only commanding an
exploratory supercarrier, but three other ships and a full complement of
Light Attack Craft." Serena was referring to the two superdrednaughts, heavy
cruiser and sixteen multipurpose fighters that sat in the Magellan's main
hanger. The topic of the other ships that the Magellan carried did not come
up.
"You'll find a way Serena. I have faith in you." Serena pinched the
bridge of her nose.
"I'm assuming you have orders for me."
"Yes, but only the first half."
"The first half?"
"You're to take the Magellan to Sector Cue Vee Cee four twenty-one."
"And when I get there?"
"I'm not allowed to say. One of the civilians on board has the rest."
"Who is it?"
"I'm not allowed to say."
"What are you allowed to say?" Serena snarled, fast losing patience.
"Good luck." With that, Haruna vanished. As much as she felt like
breaking something, Serena reigned in her temper and stood. Picking up Luna,
she left her office and walked down to the command deck. For a long moment,
she stood there, scratching the spot between Luna's shoulder blades.
"Chief Chibichbi." The deck officer straightened.
"Ma'am?"
"If this ship isn't ready to launch, make it ready." She turned to face
the Helm and navigation stations and read the navigation officer's badge from
across the bridge "Ensign Kinoue, I want to be sitting at spitting distance
this side of the sector Cue Vee Cee four twenty-one border by oh seven
hundred tomorrow morning."
"Aye. Aye." Said Kinoue, a woman with sea-green hair and even greener
eyes. Since the opportunity had presented itself, she glanced at the Helmswoma
n's badge. H. Tenoh.
Nodding to herself to fix the names in her mind, the Magellan's new
mistress walked to the command chair and sat, crossing her legs as Luna
perched on the chair back.
"Captain," Chibichbi stood at the top of the stairs, com in hand. "we're
almost ready to go."
"Almost?" Serena gazed mildly at her, causing her to gulp.
"Engineering reports that the number five fire control room for the
habitat decks still has its innards spread out across three levels."
"Can it be routed around and fixed in flight?"
"Yes ma'am. But--" Serena cut her off.
"Then they are to do so, and inform Commander Anio and the senior
officers that I expect them in the conference room by," she checked her
chrono. "sixteen hundred hours, where I expect a complete and full briefing
on the Magellan's status."
"Aye Ma'am." Chibichiba paused for a moment to listen to a report. "All
sections report ready. Olympus Control has cleared us for immediate
departure."
"Then depressurize the slip." She said calmly.
"Depressuized." The young PO at Ops reported. Serena acknowledged the
report with a nod
"Let go fore and aft mooring lines." She said crisply. "Helm, take us out
at thirty percent power. Manuerving thrusters only."
The Magellan moved forward. Serena kept her eyes on the windows,
watching as the walls of the docking slip began to move past them.
"Slip cleared ma'am. Control has us on the number five exit lane in the
main shaft."
"Then take us out Ms Tenoh. Steady as she goes."
"Aye Aye Ma'am. Steady as she goes." Slowly, the Magellan passed into the
main tube, a single shaft, almost a hundred kilometers wide that passed
through the center of the Olympus. Outside, Serena could see shuttles,
yachts, at least one Passenger liner, and far ahead, the massive circle that
marked the Olympus's exit
"Go to sixty percent power. Com, transmit my thanks to Olympus Control."
Moments later, Magellan had left the Olympus and was in open space.
"We're clear Ma'am." Tenoh reported.
"Light the main engine." A hum, more felt then heard, raced through the
ship as Magellan's powerful Ion Fusion drive, to powerful to be used in a
closed environment, roared to life. "Navigation, do you have the course laid
in?"
"Laid in and fed to the helm." Kinoue reported.
"Very Good." Serena said. "Ms. Tenoh, put us on vector for sector Cue Vee
Cee four twenty-one. Full Power."
"Aye Aye. Full Power." While it was possible to use the Tachyon drive
within the gravitational pull of the star, it was not advised and a tactic
used only in wartime. After nearly ten minutes, Magellan passed the outermost
planet, clearing the star's gravitational pull.
"We're clear." Tenoh said.
"Then engage the Tachyon drive." Tenoh nodded, grasping the switch,
pulling it towards her and Magellan vanished from normal space as it was
seized by forces answering to the highest laws of FTL physics, and propelled
towards the frontier.
Part 2
The Garden lay amidships, a four square kilometer section of green that
not only provided a relaxing environment for the crew, but was part of the
life support system that kept the air inside the Magellan fresh and
breathable.
Serena turned away from the windows of the conference room, which
overlooked the end of the garden closest to the bridge, or the North end.
She normally found looking at the Garden on any ship relaxing, but not
today. Within moments, the Senior officers of the Magellan, the captains of
the Romulus and Remus, the two superdrednaughts, and the captain of the Star
Knight, the Magellan's heavy cruiser, would walk through the door. She turned
back to gaze out at the Garden once more.
"Hey Girlfriend." Serena turned. Standing the doorway, arms crossed under
breasts, stood a woman, her brown hair tied back, and an impish smile on her
lips.
"Molly?" Serena said, scarcely able to believe her eyes. "What are you
doing here?"
"I'm captain of the Romulus." Molly said, walking in and bowing
melodramatically. "Captain Molly Naru, of the H.M.S. Romulus, at your humble
service Captain." Serena laughed and pulled the other woman into a rough
embrace.
"I can't believe it!" Serena said, stepping back to get a look at her
best friend from both high school and later the Academy. "How have you been?"
"Just great." Molly said, walking back to the conference room table and
dropping her reader on the table. "Slept my way to the top, kissed a few
asses, got my captain's insignia, and then came aboard to make your time as
captain a living hell." Serena nodded, keeping her face neutral.
"Uh-huh." She said sarcastically. "Tell me another one."
"Aright, I'm a half alien superhero named Sailor-" Serena cut her friend
off with a wave, given half the chance, Molly could easily spend an hour
coming up with an endless stream of excuses and tall tales.
"Moll, suppose you skip the crap and tell me the real truth."
"Alright. I graduated as a Lt., worked my way up on the Columbus, scored
the exec position on the Romulus, and became Captain when Captain Marcus
retired. You?"
Serena shrugged. "What's to tell? I made Lt. right out of the Academy,
achieved Lt. Commander after saving lives in the forward missile chamber of
the Justice, and time and a few foolish risks did the rest, and now, here I
am." She paused as a new thought hit her. "Moll? Who's in charge of the
Remus?" Molly giggled and held up her left hand, showing off the band of
wrought gold around her finger.
"Mel is. The Admiralty teamed us together."
"So you finally landed him?" Serena asked, all grins now. Molly nodded,
exaggerating the motion so it appeared as though her head was mounted on a
gimble.
"Yep, just last month. When we heard you were going to be on the
Magellan, we got Haruna to pull strings so we could serve here." Her face
lost all jocularity. "Serena, just so you know. Melvin and I talked it over.
First and foremost, we're soldiers, we know the risks. We agreed to put our
duty to the crown before our hearts." Serena nodded.
"Thanks Moll." She looked up as the door hissed open, revealing a lanky
brown haired young man.
"Hi Serena." He said, his voice deeper, and devoid of the nasal quality
that had been his trademark throughout their school days. He saluted and then
walked over to Molly, kissing her cheek before sitting down.
The door hissed open again, ushering in a woman in a white lab coat, her
dark blue hair a contrast to her pale skin. Molly took it upon herself to
make the introductions.
"Doctor Anderson, this is Captain Serena Tuziniko. Captain, this is
Doctor Amy Anderson, Chief Medical Officer." Anderson stared at Serena for a
moment.
"Captain." She said softly, inclining her head before sitting down and
immersing herself in her reader.
The next entrant was a young woman, barely out of her early twenties, her
hair done up in two pink ponytails, reminding Serena of when she had worn her
hair in Odangos, before maturity and frustration of stuffing her hair into a
vacsuit helmet convinced her to cut her hair into the more military style she
now wore.
"Rind Mizuno, Captain of the Star Knight, your heavy cruiser. Rini,
Captain Tuziniko." Mizuno saluted, disturbing the gray snakecat around her
neck. The snakecat yawned and opened its eyes. Spying Luna, it bleeked and
hopped off Mizuno's shoulders, and began walking the length of the table
towards Luna.
Luna bleeked back, as she too started towards the other cat, meeting her
at the table's midpoint.
Mizuno watched them for a moment and then looked at Serena.
"Captain." She said simply before claiming the seat across from Melvin.
The door hissed open again, revealing a slim young man wearing a Hawaiian
shirt over his uniform undershirt, and his uniform trousers and boots. He
carried a reader and a portacomp and his brown hair was tied back into a
ponytail.
"Lt. Commander Conrad Howard." Molly Whispered in Serena's ear. "He's
probably out of his mind, but he's the best engineer in the fleet. Just
ignore his eccenitries, let him do his job, and don't ask how he got it done."
"Why?" Serena asked.
"He might tell you." Molly replied.
"Evening Cap." Howard said breezily, flopping into the chair behind
Muzino. "Lovely Night for a briefing isn't it?"
"Yes. It is." Serena said, keeping her voice neutral. "A nice night." She
looked up as the door ushered in a velociraptor.
"Lt. Commander Turocis." Molly murmured. "Your tactical officer." Serena
nodded, mostly to cover her surprise.
Raptors were the offspring of an attempt to create the next breed of
super soldier by crossing human DNA with dinosaur DNA. The result had been an
entire race of intelligent reptiles.
Choosing diplomacy, Queen Nako the 3rd had chosen to recognize the
Saurians as a fellow intelligent species, and had invited them to share
humanity's journey to the stars.
A few had accepted, most joining the Marines, very few had joined the
Navy.
"Commander Turocis." Serena said, inclining her head.
"Captain." Turocis said, inclining his head in return.
The door opened again, ushering in a tall, sandy haired young man, a
tall, striking asian woman, and a shorter blond haired woman, a white
snakecat around her neck, which immediately joined the party in the middle of
the table.
"The hunk is Commander Andrew Motoki, your squadron commander, the
brunette is Raye Hino, your second officer, head of environmental, and ship's
counselor, the blond is Commander Mina Anio, your first officer." Molly
grinned. "Good luck." She said and slipped into her seat.
Serena glared at her friend's back and then turned her attention to her
officers.
"Well." She said, letting the word hang in the hair as she leaned back
into her seat. "Shall we begin?" She turned her gaze on Howard. "Report."
"Well, aside from the fact that we have the innards to a fire control
room spread out across five decks," He paused to look sidelong at Anio before
fixing his eyes on her again. "and that's blocking the path to the only
dispenser on the ship that makes a decent hot fudge sundae, we're fine. The
Engines are running at peak efficiency, and--" He broke off as Colonel Kino
entered and took a seat.
"Sorry Ma'am." She apologized. "Training drill went into overtime."
Serena nodded and looked back at Howard. "What else?"
"We're low on Trinitrateium." He said, referring to the element that
powered the tachyon drive. "Survey records by the original sensor probes show
an asteroid field enroute to the sector with a few hundred tons of
Trinateium." He manipulated controls and a hologram appeared over the table
showing their route. "If we return to the sublight drive at time index Thirty
four two, we'll be in a perfect position to mine the field for the
trinatetirum we need."
"Why don't we have a full supply?" Howard made a face.
"The fuel readouts were misread ma'am." He said. "Sorry about that. It
was a rushed resupply run." He shrugged. "It happens."
"Not on my ship."
"Yes ma'am."
"Tuziniko to Bridge."
"Bridge here." Came Chibichibi's voice.
"Chief, we need to do some mining. There's an asteroid field at Time
index thirty four point two. Take us to sublight at thirty three point nine."
"Aye aye."
"Now then." Serena looked back at her officers. "Anything else?"
"Well, Ma'am," Howard said, while we're mining I'd like to-"
That was when I showed up.
Serena looked up at the sound of the door hissing open, standing there
was a woman. Tall, her face was beautiful, graceful, and a trace of more
years then it seemed should be there was present on her face. Beside her, a
young girl, scarcely more then twelve, but with the hard edge that marks a
bodyguard. The woman looked at each of them.
"I am Setsuna of the Plutonian House of Meiou." She said, her voice had
an accent but it was unplaceable.
"This is Hotaru Tomoe." She said, gesturing at the girl beside her.
"Darien Shields." A third voice said and a man stepped into the room. He
was tall, with neatly trimmed black hair and piercing black eyes.
Serena and her officers immediately stood and saluted.
Shields you see, had four red rectangles over his heart. Which meant he
was Admiral Shields, the youngest and most highly decorated Admiral in the
fleet. Shields returned the salute.
"Sit." He said simply. Everyone sat. "Lady Meiou please." He stepped
aside as Meiou stepped forward and showed them two data pens.
"This one is for Captain Tuziniko, her eyes only." She laid the first one
on the table. "And this one," She brandished the second data pen. "is the
ships orders." She plugged it into the input socket. "Play." The room
darkened as the screens slid down over the windows and the face of Admiral
Perrion appeared.
"Captain Tuziniko." He said, his voice was rich and warm. "By now, you
are probably halfway to Sector Cue Vee Cee four twenty one.
Your orders are standard; you are to complete a map of all systems within
the sector and document all life forms you encounter.
Lady Meiou and Admiral Shields will handle any and all diplomatic
entanglements, but final decision concerning combat situations and maneuvers
are yours." He leaned forward. "Put simply, for the remainder of this
mission, you outrank Admiral Shields. Lady Meiou will finish the briefing.
That is all." The face winked out. Serena looked at Meiou and made a get on
with it gesture. Setsuna nodded and plugged in a new data pen which showed a
map of a section of space.
"Sector Cue Vee Cee is divided into five hundred areas each numbering
one hundred thousand square light years. Our destination is area four
twenty-one...."
The rest of the meeting bore very few surprises, and after three hours,
Serena called a halt.
"I think Lady Meiou, that this will cover everything we need to know for
now." Meiou bowed.
"Of course Captain." Serena nodded.
"We'll be going to sublight to mine the asteroid field around oh two
hundred hours. Commander Howard," The engineer looked up.
"Captain?"
"Begin mining operations at oh seven hundred. You have four hours."
"I would prefer to spend a whole day. Mining is a tricky bisnuess."
"You have four hours. I want to have the outer planets of the first
system in four twenty one mapped before the end of the shipboard day. Any
questions?" She looked around. "Then lets be about it. Dismissed."
"Good evening captain." said the young man in the steward's uniform. Serena
nodded.
"You must be my steward."
"Yes Ma'am." Serena handed him her uniform jacket. "Thank you ma'am. Your
dinner is waiting in the study."
"Thank you..."
"Greg Morgan Ma'am." He smiled.
"Thank you Greg." Serena said and went to dinner
Magellan's number three hanger bay was a network of lift platforms,
catwalks and stairs strung together by a maze of pumatic chutes, more
catwalks, matter transporters and status repeaters. Luna on her shoulder, a
cup of coffee in hand, Serena followed her chief engineer onto a small lift
platform.
"Launch bay." Howard said. As the platform began to descend, Howard
turned to her.
"Ever done any time on a mining installation Ma'am?"
"No." Serena admitted. "Anything I should know?"
"No." He said, as the lift came to a stop and both stepped off.
"Tell me chief," Serena said, gazing upwards at the rising bulk of the
Remus, "If there is another sentient spices out there, one with a form of
space travel, how do you think they do it." Howard paused for a moment.
"Well, they almost certainly use the same principle of Tachyon Warps."
"Why?"
"Well Ma'am, when we use the Tachyon Drive, we don't so much use it for
propulsion as use it to open a trapdoor into what is known as Fifth space. As
you know ma'am, everything exists in four basic dimensions. Height, Depth,
Width, and Time." He paused as an ensign handed him something to sign. "The
problem with going Faster Then Light is that when you go FTL, you move
essentially out of time, which means that what might be twenty minutes for a
ship in a state of FTL, could be twenty, or even two thousand years for the
rest of the universe." Serena nodded.
"Einstein's Relativity Theory."
"Precisely." Howard gestured at the rear of the Remus. "Any decently long
journey would cause the rest of universe to forget the travelers by simple
virtue of time, making it extremely impractical. Therefore, the trick is to
cut through space, but not time."
"Which is where the Tachyon drive comes in." Serena said. Howard nodded
approvingly.
"While what Fifth space exactly is is still a mystery, we do know that by
encasing a ship in a sort of Tachyon field, we can open a trapdoor into it
and then surf Fifth space to the intended destination, provided we make
extensive and precise calculations."
'I see." Serena said, sipping her coffee.
"The potential benefits are mind boggling Captain. Provided we could
generate a Tachyon field at the proper frequency, we could time travel, place
wounded men and women into a state of true stasis, where time doesn't move,
enabling us to keep them alive until we reach proper medical facilities, and
perfect the art of organ cloning, enabling us to grow new organs in seconds
or minutes rather then hours. Then there's the farming potential. Hunger
could end. Why, we could even study evolution!"
"What about the consequences? Alteration of time, over aging unprotected
people, and other abuses."
There's always consequences of new inventions. The question is, do they
outweigh the benefits?" Serena had no ready answer for that and she was
silent until they reached the launch bay.
"And there it is Captain," He said, gesturing at a long cylinder that sat
in the middle of the bay. "The mining ship Gibraltar."
"Impressive." Serena said, meaning it as she descended the steps and
began slowly circling Gibraltar's thousand meter length.
"This will get what we need?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Then get to it."
One of the joys of having dignitaries on one's ship was making sure they
were properly entertained. Lady Meiou was a biologist and had found a friend
and intellectual equal in Doctor Anderson.
Admiral Shields on the other hand, required a bit more pacification.
Trailed by a pair of marines, he and Serena were taking an inspection
tour of Motoki's fighters conducted by Motoki himself.
"....And the engines are three fifty-six kay bee self refueling cold
fusion drives which allows for maximum versatility and thrust power." Motoki
finished, patting the fuselage lovingly. "Is there anything else the Admiral
would like to see?" Shields opened his mouth to answer when Serena's com
bleeped.
"Hino to Captain Tuzinko." Serena snatched the com off her belt and
flipped it open.
"Tuziniko here."
"You're needed on the bridge captain. There's something funny on the mid
range sensors."
Serena leaned on the edge of the holotank and studied what it showed.
Somewhere in the asteroid field at about three million klicks off of
Magellan's starboard side was an energy blip.
"Any idea what it is?" She asked looking at Chibichiba. The Chief shook
her head.
"None. It appears at random times but never more then four or five times
per hour." Serena looked at the chief.
"How long...exactly, have you been watching this...blip before you
thought to call me?"
"Since oh five hundred. The Duty officer, luitenent Marquez, didn't think
it was anything to worry about, Luitenent Commander Hino agreed with Marquez
at first when she came on duty, but then she had second thoughts." Serena
studied the display.
"Launch the fighters. Have them circle the area its coming from. If they
see any kind of craft, they're to hightail it back to the Magellan. Launch
the Star Knight to cover their return in case whatever it is decides to chase
them. Hino. Marquez. My office. Now."
Having finished reprimanding Marquez, Serena rested her elbows on the
desk and looked at her Second Officer. "Suppose you tell me what kind of
officer doesn't inform her captain about an energy blip that has no known
source and could be a ship?"
"It didn't seem to be important Ma'am." Hino said, her eyes focused on a
point just over Serena's head.
"Not important?"
"No Ma'am. It struck me as simply a piece of space phenomena and
unimportant."
"Unimportant? This is an exploration vessel Commander. We have no maps or
charts of this sector. The sublight mapping probes won't be at Cue Vee Cee
Four Twenty One for another few months. Distress calls to Olympus will take
time to send. That means all phenomena must be recorded and I informed. Is
that clear?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"There will be a reprimand in your file. Dismissed." Hino saluted, turned
on her heel and left.
Lord General Jadeite, loyal member of Clan Mettalia, watched as the alien
fighters left their mother ship, circled their position several times and
then went back. The Aliens also deployed another ship. Much larger then the
fighters but still bug size beside the main craft. For the next hour or so, a
single cylindrical craft roamed one of the asteroids, like a worm across the
grass.
"Lord General?" Ventured an aide, "Perhaps we should make contact?"
"No." Jeddite's voice was soft. "We will watch them. I wish to know the
type of people who build such magnificent craft." He poured himself a goblet
of wine. "There is also the matter of that pass by those fighter craft.
Something is wrong with the cloaking device. Check it."
"Yes Lord General!"
Serena twirled her stylus in her fingers, the other hand absently petting
Luna. Before her, Muzino and Motoki stood as they delivered their reports.
Beside her, Anio listened attentively as Chad Yunchiro, the Captain's Yeoman,
took careful notes.
"And you're sure you didn't pick up anything?"
"No Ma'am." Motoki shook his head. "We didn't see anything, and neither
did the sensors." Muzino nodded agreement.
"Nor did I." Her voice was very soft, yet laced with a hard-edged
authority. "My sensors only picked up the energy trace, whatever it was."
"All right." Serena absently drummed her fingers on her desk. "Good work
Motoki. Muzino, watch that energy blip. If it makes any move towards the
Gibraltar, open fire."
"Ma'am." They said in unison. Motoki saluted and turned, exiting the
office. Muzino flickered and vanished as the holographic communication was
terminated.
Once they were gone, Serena turned her chair to look at Anio.
"What do you think?"
"I don't know about opening fire if that blip moves towards us. Ma'am.
Speaking strictly for myself, I would hail it first."
"Normally, so would I. But my instincts tell me otherwise." Serena lifted
Luna to the desk and stood, crossing to the window and studying the stars.
"Mister Yunchiro, draw up a quick and dirty report of what we've encountered
here and have it on my desk before we leave this field. Advise Fleet Command
that I believe the blip to be Alien in nature, possibly of artificial origin
and may be hostile. However, I intend to follow through with my orders and
continue on to Cue Vee Cee Four Twenty One."
"Ma'am." He said, straightening in a salute.
"That will be all Yeoman. Dismissed." Yunchiro nodded and left. As soon
as the doors closed, Anio stood.
"Ma'am? Permission to speak freely."
"Granted."
"Ma'am, I think you were too hard on Hino. True, she was wrong not to
inform you, but putting a formal reprimand in her file was too extreme."
"Was it?" Serena turned to look at her first officer. "Perhaps, but the
safty of this crew may depend on our being able to shoot first. We can't take
too many chances. Hino overstretched her authority. The reprimand stays."
"Yes Ma'am." There was a pause. "Ma'am? May I ask a personal question?"
"Depends." Anio took that as a yes.
"Ma'am? Have you ever actually done any exploratory work?"
"Does it show that much?" Serena asked with a smile.
"Just a little Ma'am. " Anio replied. "Ma'am? Would you accept some
advice?" Serena nodded. "Right now you're doing okay, but you need to relax
just a bit." Anio flashed her captain a grin. "Exploratory crews are a lot
more relaxed then patrol crews. We're pretty much at the beck and call of
the civvies once we get to Cue Vee Cee so you need to learn to grit your
teeth and let things happen naturally." Serena nodded. "I'll run interference
for you as best I can, but there's only so much I can do."
"Thanks." Serena said. "Anything else?"
"Yeah." The head of the civvies is one of the senior officers which means
she'll get to sit in on meetings and such. But I wouldn't worry, in my
experience, once the research gets started, they never bother."
As it turned out, Lady Meiou was the head cilvian scientist. A senior
xenobiologist and linguist, she had little interest in the running of the
ship and said as much when Serena met with her privately in her quarters over
tea.
"I'm not a soldier Captain Tuziniko. I couldn't fly the Magellan if my
life depended on it and I have little interest in doing so if it did." She
set her tea aside. "My meeting with Death is many years away Captain." She
said simply. It was a statement that would stick with Serena for the rest of
her life due to the simple and straightforward way she had uttered it
"Status?" Serena said, getting right to the point as the meeting opened.
"Magellan is presently holding position thirty three point eight million
kilometers galactic east of Cue Vee Cee Four Twenty One." Ensign Kinou said,
plugging in a data pen. "As you all know, Four Twenty One contains fifty-two
systems. I have plotted a spiral course that should allow us to hit each
system in the most efficient manner as well as maximize our cartography
sensors."
"Ensign," Meiou said. "Considering that we are among the first Terrans in
Cue Vee Cee, a less efficient course might be prudent."
"Milady..." Kinou trailed off. Meiou turned to Serena.
"With your permission Captain, I'll consult with the Ensign and work out
some courses that are more...leisurely." Serena nodded.
"Take your time. We'll be holding position here for a day or so."
"Captain?" Anio asked.
"Start Sensor sweeps of the sector Commander. I want some kind of map
before we go in."
"But you-" Serena cut her officer off with a gesture.
"Sensor sweeps. Full range. This Meeting is adjourned." With that, Serena
picked up Luna and stood.
Was it really unessacary to come down on them like that? Asked Luna
after the doors to the conference room closed.
"No, but Meiou knows something I don't about this sector and so do some
of the others. I don't like it." Serena absently rubbed Luna's ears. "I just
wish I knew what it was."
***************
"We almost didn't see 'em." Said the operations officer, a petty officer
named Kohl. "They show up only on long range gravtics, but they're definitely
subspace com signals." Serena studied the image in the holo tank. To her
left, a small triangle represented the Magellan. to her right, a series of
swirls represented the systems Magellan's sensors could pick up and like a
spider's web, a series of lines represented the com signals that connected
them. Between them, the yellow line that marked the boundary of Cue Vee Cee
Four Twenty One.
"Launch a standard sublight probe towards the nearest system, then sound
general quarters and launch all ships."
"Launched." Turocis growled as the buzz of general quarters sounded
"Now what?" Anio asked." Serena didn't answer, her eyes were on the small
blue dot that was about to cross the boundary. Then abruptly, the com signals
vanished as the blue dot crossed the sector line.
"Intensify all sensor sweeps Commander, then have the probe self
destruct."
"Ma'am?" Anio said, not understanding.
"We rang the doorbell, let's see who answers." Serena said, moving to her
command chair.
It was almost three hours later when the com signals reappeared, one at a
time.
"Interesting." Turocis said. "Like frightened animals poking their heads
out of their burrow." Serena, however, was studying her repeater screens.
"Tactical. Fire a single particle laser across the boundary. Ops. Watch
those com signals."
"Firing."
"No change in com signals." Ops reported.
Serena was silent for a very long time before speaking. "Send all the
data to Lady Meiou's team. I want their conclusions by tomorrow morning.
Based on that, I will decide the proper course of action." She stood. "You
have the conn Exec."
"Aye Aye Ma'am, I have the conn." Anio said as Serena strode to the lift
and entered.
"Habitait. Deck A." Serena said as the lift doors closed...
Serena. What is the matter with you? You're behaving very strangely.
"That's because there's something fishy going on Luna. Subspace com
signals do not show up on gravtics. So either someone has been playing with
the laws of FTL communications or..."
Or somebody is being less then truthful.
"Exactly."
Serena stared at the blinking cursor on the monitor. She had been
attempting to go through the ship's books and see if she could uncover some
answers, but her mind kept wandering back to the meeting. Meiou had said they
were among the first Terrans in Cue Vee Cee. But how was that possible? The
first manned ship into an unknown sector was always an exploratory
supercarrier. Always.
She felt her teeth grind. There was something here she wasn't seeing.
Something she probably wasn't supposed to see until it was to late. Tearing
her eyes away from the monitor, she got up to pace.
"DAMN!" She shouted at the empty air.
"My team has been through the sensor logs with a fine tooth comb Captain,
and have drawn up two conclusions." Meiou leaned back in her chair. "One. The
Sensor boundry sits on some sort of net. Any material object meeting a
certain critera that crosses it triggers either some sort of cloak, or shuts
down their com net completly. However, anything beyond that line is unseen.
Two. They know we're here,"
"And the stunt with the com signals is some kind of show for our
benifit." Kino finished.
"Exactly." Meiou said. "Should we continue with the mission, I would
advise caution.
"I would agree with Lady Meiou." Shields said. "I reccomend deploying the
Romulus, Remus, Star Knight and Motoki's fighters and entering the sector in
a Convoy formation." Serena frowned.
"Anyone else?"
"I do Captain." Motoki replied. "We have a sub on board. The crew is a
trio of cons with Death wishes. I reccomend sending them in to scout the
situation."
"Negative. I'm not sending a lone ship into an unknown region." She stood
up and walked to the window to look out at the Garden.
"Commander Howard. Is there some way you can reconfigure the Magellan's
shields to reflect that of a Particle beam?"
"Ma'am?"
"What I mean is," Serena turned away from the window to look at her chief
engineer. "Can you make the Magellan look like a giant particle beam?"
"Well yes, I imagine I can if we swap the generator matrix-"
"Don't tell me how, just do it." Serena snapped. "Naru, Umino, Muzino and
Motoki. Prep your ships for launch. I want you to be able to leave Magellan
at a moment's notice. The rest of you are to secure your departments for
battle. We cross the boundry as soon as Howard works his magic and we will be
on red alert until I am satisfied that there is no immedite threat. The
Magellan will remain however, at General Qaurters until further notice. Any
questions?" Nobody spoke up. "Then lets be about our duties. Dismissed."
Conrad Howard sipped his coffee as he watched his crew manuever the massive
backup shield generator matrix into place. Resembling a pair of inverted
funnels, the matrix generated a bubble of pure force that would protect the
Magellan and anything in it from attack while allowing the Magellen's own
weapons grid to return fire. The Magellan had six such generators, each one
creating a slightly smaller bubble. The effect was not unlike wrapping layers
of clothing around one's self for protection against the elements. The
difference here was that the matrix for the generator that would create the
biggest bubble had been replaced by a backup which would generate a particle
field around the ship and hopefully render the ship invisible to whatever
sensor net was watching the boundry.
Course if they had this the last time-he pushed such thoughts away. They
had it now and it would work. Everything he created always worked.
Always.
Doctor Amy Anderson bit her lower lip with distaste as she watched her staff
scramble to stock against whatever might be thrown at them. They hadn't been
here, the captain hadn't been here. Tuzinko had no idea what was lurking
here. None.
None at all.
Colonel Lita Kino watched as the ship's top sargent, a heavily musceled brute
who went by the nickname Tarus run the ship's Marine Company through their
drills, encouraging them with a few well timed obcenities and insults. She
hadn't been with the ship for very long, but there was something about this
sector that had all the old timers scared stiff. She could feel it on board.
It was a papable thing you could almost see it.
Muttering to herself, she went back to her office.
The ship's first and second officers sat together in the operations room of
the ship's hydroponics bay. Down below in the bay they could see techs
securing the waterlines and plants from being shaken apart or knocked over.
Others scurried along catwalks overhead placing protective plates over the
lights which would protect the plants from shattering glass.
"I still think we should tell her." The first officer's voice was almost
planitive though it came out as more of a grumble.
"No." Came the reply from the second officer, her black hair waving as she
shook her head. "We took an oath. We can never tell anyone what happened
here. It will all come out soon enough." She took the bottle of saki and
drained it one gulp. "Now get out of here. I got work to do."
Anio sighed as the door to the hydroponics bay slid shut behind her. She
should have overruled Hino. She should have but deep down she knew she
couldn't. The captain wasn't brainless and Personell had dropped full
authority into her hands. Tuzinko would find out soon enough and then she
would lose all faith in her crew.
She couldn't even go over Tuzinko's head. She looked over at the security men
who were setting traps for any curious boarding parties as her thoughts
drifted back to the current situation and mentally offered up a prayer to
whoever might be listening that the captain knew what she was doing.
Luna yowled as Serena made the plumbing connections for the Snakecat's
survival suit.
Not only is it cold, but it hurts! Luna cried.
"I know." Serena said, offering her an aplogetic smile. "But it can't be
helped."
It doesn't make it hurt any less.
"I suppose not." Serena replied and reached for the suit itself.
Deck Officer Nagami Chibichiba made a note on her board and moved to the next
bridge station. Unlike the others, she refused to allow herself to think about
the last time the Magellan had been here. There was little point in it and
Captain Tuzinko seemed very capable.
So did Captain McDaniel. her common sense pointed out. Chibichibi ignored
that voice.
The briefing room seemed less open this time, though that may have been
because everyone present was wearing their combat suits. Fully armed and
armored spacesuits designed for a wide variety of situations.
"...and last, but not least, the civilans are in the emergency shelter and
have been given survival suits along with enough food and water to get them
back to Imperial Space." Serena nodded. The emergency shelter was a heavily
armored cargo shuttle that had been fitted with a Tachyon Drive and
preprogrammed to head for imperial space once it had been launched.
"Very good." Serena said. "Kino, Turocis, I want you to select a sqaud from
the Marines and Security officers on board, they will be in the shelter under
the command of Admiral Shields. The Admiral will have a portacomp linked to
the log. That portacomp will be continiously updated by the log." She tapped
her stylus on the table. "After crossing the boundry, the Magellan will
engage its Tachyon Drive just long enough to go here." She tapped her Stylus
at the image of the solar system nearest the border. "At that point, we will
enter into orbit around the middle planet and remain there at Red Alert for
four hours. If at that point we have encountered no hostiles we will stand
down to General Qaurters and remain that way until further notice. Questions?"
"Yes Ma'am" Motoki said. "Why not just engage the Tachyon Drive now instead
of going through this trouble of sneaking across the border?"
"We have no choice." Serena replied. "This is a science vessel and phenomena
such as the sensor system at the border falls under our primary duty to
explore, observe and record." Serena looked around the room. "Any other
questions?" Nobody said anything.
"Very well then. Report to your stations."