Slipspace: Harbinger Read online

  As the press took their seats, Cody took his position at the podium. The correspondents had just sat down before they shot to their feet in competition for the first question.

  “Katherine!” Cody called, having found his first mark.

  The woman remained standing as the rest took their seats. “Thank you, Captain. Katherine Micow, Terran Civil News Network. Sir, TCNN has received unconfirmed reports that there was a glitch during the final engine check of the Mjöllnir. Can you confirm and do you have any comment?”

  “A technical glitch did occur during the final engine check. It was quickly identified and addressed. The test was restarted and all checkpoints surpassed expectations. As such, we were able to remain on schedule. Next question.”

  The next uproar for attention exploded and Cody pointed out a Halite with his appendage raised and antennae twitching.

  “Captain.” The Halite’s high pitched insectoid voice buzzed and chirped, clipping his words as though being interfered with by static. “Can you comment on the nature of the glitch?”

  “No. For matters of ship’s security, I cannot.” He shook his head. “Next.”

  The third question came from an older Inkar reporter. “Captain, you’ve chosen your sister as ship’s executive officer and your wife as ship’s Medical Chief of Staff. The Alliance’s stance on family members serving with one another notwithstanding, how do you respond to critics who argue that you’re creating a circle of ‘yes men’ who will rubber stamp your decisions?”

  Captain Amado cleared his throat. “Obviously, you’ve never met my family.” Cody paused as his joke fell on deaf ears. A moment of silence passed before he continued, “My wife and I have discussed at length the potential issues. But, Alliance policy of using civilians for medical services is long standing and has its merits. Because she is a civilian, I have no direct authority within the chain of command to compel Doctor Fen to perform any medical function save for the ones vital to ship’s security. As a civilian, Doctor Fen has no authority to tell me how to command this vessel, though she does retain the authority to remove any member of this crew, myself included, if they are deemed medically unfit for duty.”

  He paused for a few moments to allow the press to take their notes before he continued.

  “Were Commander Amado unqualified and unfit for the role, I would share your concerns. However, her duty jacket shows a well-qualified officer more than capable of executing her assignment aboard this ship. Further, any commanding officer relies on a counterpoint from their executives and I have every confidence the commander will bring her concerns to my attention. Additionally, she came highly recommended to me by my superiors, which tells me that my assessment of her abilities is not as biased as your question implies. Final question, please.”

  The final question came from a human whose name Amado didn’t yet know. “Captain, what is the Mjöllnir’s current mission?”

  “At the moment,” Amado began, “we are completing the vessel’s initial shakedown. Primarily, we’re in the process of confirming our mass calibrations so the engines and stabilization systems can provide the best ride possible. We’re in docking procedures now and once we secure the ship, we’ll analyze our data and perform whatever modification we need. We will remain here until we are ready to continue our shakedown tour of Alliance space. Thank you.”

  He stepped away from the podium and down off the platform and exited the conference room. The Media Relations officer met him at the hatch.

  “Tell me I’m not going to have to do this every single day.”

  She stepped behind him as he moved. “No, sir. We will be offloading the reporters once we dock up. They’re here just for the launch.”

  “Glad to hear it. Please make sure they stay out of the way until they disembark.”

  He stepped away, making his way to the gym for a swim.

  October 12, 2832

  12:45

  Lumo Fleet Station - Mjöllnir

  HE BROKE his streamlined form and pulled another stroke as his body breached the surface of the water. Through the pain in his calves, the burn in his lungs, and throbbing of his biceps, he found relaxation in the swim, one that transcended the normal fatigue he experienced as his body came down from the heightened activity of the work out. There was an element of mental relaxation. The worries of the ship, the crew, and saboteurs ebbed through his consciousness. He could swim focusing on nothing but the wall markings in front of him. His mind focused, came into tune, found its center, its balance and remained that way for a time after every workout. He continued his swim to the far side and executed another turn. Five hundred fifty meters.

  Despite the problems with the engine test, and Melor's suspicion of sabotage, the launch had gone without any issues. The mass calibration of the slip drive had also been successful and Melor estimated a less than one percent variance in the calibration results. He only wished he could see the smile on his own face when he announced the results to the press corps. But then again, he had seen himself on the intraship vid feeds and he hated how he looked on camera. He executed another turn and transitioned into the backstroke. Six hundred meters.

  The cruise between Lyros and Sol and then to Lumo revealed a few anomalies and items that needed to be addressed. Now that the ship was touring the Alliance on shakedown, the issues could be ironed out before putting the ship on active duty. Six hundred fifty meters.

  The water drowned out all other sounds. He opened his eyes and watched as the ceiling passed over him. His arms and legs burned and his mind cleared. All was serene.

  Cody transitioned back into freestyle at seven hundred meters, but his arm slapped against something floating in the water, a pair of pull buoys. He stopped and stood.

  “What the...”

  “Hey!”

  Cody turned in the water to see someone standing on the pool deck. He removed his goggles, allowing his eyes to focus. Cassie stood on the deck, glaring at him.

  “I’ve been calling your name for the past five damn minutes,” she spat.

  “Sorry. I can’t hear anything underwater.”

  “They make headsets for that, you know.”.

  “What? Be on call and let you interrupt my work out on a whim?”

  Cassie scowled and threw another pair of buoys at him. They landed in the water just in front of him, splashing in his face. “I trust I have your attention now?”

  Cody treaded water and shrugged. “And...”

  “...and there’s a call on fleet comm. channel three alpha. Secure orders. Can the great hero of the Siege of Sol stop his exercise long enough to authorize receipt of the transmission?”

  Instead of snapping back at her, he put his goggles back on, and dove under the water. Brief though it was, the swim to the pool’s edge put enough pause in the conversation to push the anger back. Cassie held out a towel as he pulled himself out of the water.

  “Thank you for the towel, now lose the attitude, Commander.” He paused as he toweled off his legs. “Any clues as to what’s about to come our way?” He pulled on a pair of white trimmed black warm ups.

  “No idea. No one’s saying anything and the transmission is eyes only. I think they’re spooked about something.”

  Cody pulled on an undershirt followed by a warm up jacket matching the pants. He ran the towel through his hair, and combed it. Once ready, they moved to the nearest communications console. Cody slid his identification card in and keyed his access code. The Alliance logo was replaced by the face of a human Admiral. The silver streaks in his hair and beard as well as the pock marks on his cheeks betrayed his older age. His gray eyes fixed on Cody.

  “Admiral Marr,” Cody began.

  “Did I catch you at a bad time, Captain Amado?”

  “Not at all, Admiral. I was just in the middle of a swim. I hear we have orders. What’s the word, sir?”

  Marr sighed, “We don’t know.”

  October 12, 2832

  13:00

  Lumo Fl
eet Station - Mjöllnir

  THE DECKS of the Mjöllnir were relatively quiet; far more so than Commander Amado would have expected. Granted, the ship had just docked up. But no leave had been announced, and the crew had enough work to do after the shakedown. But gone were the construction crews and the endless teams of engineers and technicians. The crew could handle it from here. She took in the silence as she made her way to OpCom. Things were about to get very lively and she suspected this lull would be the last the ship would see for some time. The Marine Entry Control Point guard snapped to his duties as she approached; he opened the hatch for her, and closed it behind her as she stepped through.

  She paused, as though taking it in for the first time. Built around a central holographic display, the Mjöllnir's Operations Control center had been divided into four main sections separated by four short gangways: one in each corner. Each provided access to and from the rest of the ship. To her left, two flight pods attached to the aft wall faced forward, into the room--- starboard for the pilot, port for the navigator. The port wing of the compartment had been designated for tactical and strategic operations. Three transparent partitions separated the sub center from the rest of the compartment. Behind those partitions, four people worked around a table projector and its holographic display. Aler stood at his post in front of the partition.

  Three rows of stations extended aft, each row sitting higher than the one in front of it. Two seats on deck level had been reserved for her and Cody. The remaining stations set in the second and third row were reserved for other ship functions including communications, sensors, flight deck operations.

  To her right, on the starboard side was another sub-wing much like the tactical wing, this one reserved for engineering. Instead of tactical scenarios, it currently projected a model display of the ship’s exterior. Two people stood over the projector, pointing at various sections. Like tactical control, the engineering side was also isolated by a transparent partition and a station reserved for Melor had been placed in front.

  Cassie took her place in the middle of the room in front of the central holographic master display. From here, Cody and Cassie could see, in real time, anything the ship’s sensors could see. Every post in OpCom faced this display, allowing them to not only see it for themselves, but also to make it easy to address the Captain and First officer directly.

  “Commander on deck!” Melor called.

  Although not demanding as much pomp and circumstance as a similar announcement for the ship’s commanding officer, most of the duty officers paused their work long enough to acknowledge her presence before returning their attention to their duties. She stepped forward to the central display and entered a test sequence. It responded to her inputs with no noticeable delay and displayed the requested information with a level of detail and clarity she had never seen in a holo-display. The resolution was amazing and had it not been a military tool, she would have enjoyed using it to watch the space around the ship in real time.

  “We’ve received priority orders. Communications,” she began, “if you have not already, you should be receiving priority clearance for departure as well as immediate access to outbound gate alpha. Helm, Navigation, when those orders arrive, get us under way immediately. Plot a course through the slip-network to the gate at the Artez Colony. As soon as that course is plotted, take us into Slipspace along that route.” She paused. “Aler, Melor, make the ship ready for combat. Set condition three throughout.”

  She took her station at the central display as the orders were relayed, the lights oscillated, and the alarm klaxons sounded.

  AS THE DAY progressed and the ship sped through Slipspace towards the Artez colony, Aler’s tactical staff ran weapon simulations and battle drills designed to ensure the ship’s weapons and defensive grids would respond as specified. Power-up sequences were adjusted, and durations diminished.

  For her part, Melor’s personnel had little to do, but to hear Melor tell it, the entire ship needed an overhaul. By the time the dinner hour approached, Melor had replaced, rebuilt, or otherwise modified close to fifteen percent of the ship’s primary circuit panels, all brand- new prior to the launch. The sole saving grace for the overworked engineering staff was that their movement throughout the ship was continually slowed down by the marines under the command of Colonel Marcus Foster as they charged down the corridors in the middle of their deployment drills. A man known for his hardcore attitude even in the simplest of exercises, Foster ran his veteran battalion as hard as a drill sergeant running basic training. Over the years, the men and women under his command had developed the reputation of being the toughest the service had to offer, and by the time the four-hour drills had completed, Foster’s unit could navigate the seventy-plus decks of the ship with ease as they prepared to respond to any boarding action.

  They did steer clear of the flight deck where Labonne’s pilots and mechanics tinkered with their fighters, making sure all were ready to scramble on a moment’s notice. Much like Melor, Labonne demanded continued re-work on components which had been reputed as brand-new. When the pilots were off the flight deck, they were in the simulators running the full range of combat training scenarios.

  Despite the hustle and bustle around them, Nira Fen and her staff kept to themselves. Aside from the main medical deck, the medical staff finished setting up and equipping the dozens of aid and triage centers throughout the ship. They ran through simulations, reviewed treatment protocols, and inventoried their supplies. As, the day wound to a close, Nira submitted a readiness report to Operations Control where Cody and Cassie reviewed it, along with those from each of the other four department heads, all stating the same thing - all systems go.

  October 12, 2832

  18:00

  Mjöllnir - Captains Quarters

  THE END of the duty shift could not have come soon enough for Nira Fen. She yawned and stretched, the effort almost resulting in her hitting a passing crewman. The med decks were ready, as the mobile units they had set up on dropship palettes. A makeshift ward had been set up in each pair of launch and recovery bays. She rubbed her aching neck, finding no relief. Perhaps Cody would give her a massage if she asked nicely.

  She paused at the cross junction. The decks were all running together and despite the directions she had been given, she had no idea where she was going. Was it a left or a right? Had she gone too far? She turned around in the intersection trying to get her bearings. The bulkhead on her right had a stenciled alphanumeric line reading “D17S31”. Section thirty-one on deck seventeen. That placed their cabin six sections away in twenty- five. Knowing her location on board ship was half the battle. The other half, figuring out how the hell to get where she was going, seemed even more daunting. It had only taken two days for this monster to swallow her.

  Instinct spoke and she continued forward along her original direction. The sections descended as she traveled. Taking this as a good sign, she continued into section twenty-five and on to hatch number 251701.

  Save for the biometric thumb sensor and two short electrodes protruding from one of the ends, the key card was not much different from her identification card. She inserted it into the slot. In a span of time too short to measure, the featureless, gray card transmitted Nira’s, name, fingerprint, and biometric data, as well as the card’s embedded security code. Just as fast, the security network compared the transmitted data to the control data. It matched within a reasonable variance and less than a second after first inserting the card, the system beeped and the door slid open.

  She slid the card in her breast pocket and stepped into her cabin. It was not as she had left it this morning. The couches had been moved against the far wall just above the window. She took a moment and gazed out at Slipspace as the walls of the slip line streaked past. She paused, her mind locked on her previous thought. The window. A window that had not been there before but seemed to be there now.

  She jumped as the loud clang of pots and pans startled her out of her thought.
That had come from the kitchen. Water ran, providing a white noise under tone to the sounds of food preparation. Cody appeared on the other side of the pass through, his hands caked in breading as a piece of raw meat dangled from his fingertips.

  Cody poured something into the pan, which that flared up and sizzled. He stepped away towards the counter.

  “Hey! How are you?” he called, his voice rising from his usual bass to a pitch more suited to a tenor. He turned his attention to her, his grin widening until the liquid in the pan popped and he winced. “Dammit.”

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Just the oil getting hot.” He set the meat into the pan and grabbed a dishtowel to address the red mark on his cheek. “I’ll be fine. How are you?”

  Her medical training urged her to treat the burn. But over the years she had learned that when Cody said he was all right, he did not want her fussing over him.

  She motioned back to the living room and the window that had not been there this morning. “What’s that?” she asked.

  “It’s a view port, darling. What does it look like?”

  “I thought you said this was a warship,” her voice shifted into a playful mock of his voice. “That it didn’t have windows and that even if it did, our quarters were on the inside of the ship and wouldn’t have windows anyways.”

  Cody turned down the heat on the stove and stepped out to her. He pulled the pack off her shoulder and tossed it on the couch. “I did. In fact, I said all of those things. Guilty as charged.”

  “So, how did this...how did you...”

  Cody stepped forward and embraced her as she continued to stand there, stupefied. “When I was a cadet, my first training cruise was on board the Triton. It was much smaller and a lot more people on board relative to its size and I found myself suffering a similar claustrophobia. I got over eventually but until I did, I found myself in the officer’s common room looking out the holo- display of the starscape. It helped me, and I’m hoping it will help you.”