by Max Jager
As the shuttle door closed, Aaron took one last look over his shoulder at the spaceport, knowing that it would probably be a long time before he saw his homeworld again.
Chapter 4
Anvil hung in space like a massive crystal structure, all spires and spikes with vessels nestled carefully into berths at the tips. There seemed to be an army of ants swarming over the surface of the station with streams of them breaking off, heading in all different directions. The shuttle on which they rode, joined one of those cues and moved steadily toward the station. All of the occupants began to strain to see if they could catch a glimpse of the ship which awaited them at the end of this journey.
The pilot carefully set them down in one of the station's massive boat bays and they began to disembark in the reverse order in which they had boarded, most senior first. Aaron stepped out into the perceived chaos of the crowded boat bay and set off without waiting for the rest of his officers, who followed in his wake. They arrived at the lift and waited patiently in line for their turn. As they waited, Aaron took in the hive of activity which surrounded him. He had been here many times before, either at the end of a deployment or at the beginning of one, but never had he seen it so packed with people coming and going.
"It's quite something how quickly we have managed to spin up production and activity out here." Coren' voice cut through his reverie. "I was here three days ago, but it wasn't quite this busy, even then."
"They must have had contingency plans already in place before the Orindians pulled the trigger. I was contacted and ordered back to active duty within hours of the news reaching Admiralty House." Aaron responded thoughtfully. "They knew this was coming and had begun to plan for it. It seems as though they hadn't quite fully fleshed the plans yet when it all started. It will be interesting to see how they try to fill in the gaps."
Just then their turn for the lift arrived and they all stepped carefully into it, negotiating space as they went. Someone keyed in the appropriate berth and the lift whisked them away. The ride took about 15 minutes which passed in complete silence. As the door to the lift opened, and they caught their first sight of Mission there was a collective intake of breath.
The long sleek, slightly flattened candle flame of the modern warship was brought to a work of art in this new class of ship. She hung like a blade in space nestled carefully in the construction cradle which currently housed her, with her silver-white paint gleaming. The only things which marred her smooth lines were the sensor aerials which branched out from her centre like needles. Her weapons were tucked safely away at this moment, but the porthole covers which hid them were just barely visible on her flanks. The slight swell at her rear which housed her enormous Cherenkov drives communicated a muscular speed. She was 550m from bow to stern 110m from keel to top and 160m from port to starboard at her centre of mass.
Coren was the first one to speak. "Well, at least her looks won't put us to shame when we call in ports."
"I'm sure the rest of her will be just as beautiful." Aaron smiled as he looked at his command for the first time.
They moved down the passage way to the access tube which would allow them access to the vessel. The marine sentry posted there snapped to attention and threw Aaron a salute. Aaron turned to the group behind him and collected their anachronistic paper orders and handed them to the marine.
"They should all be in order. And if they are not the Officer of Personnel has made a mistake." Aaron said as the marine perused them.
"They all seem to be in order, sir. You may proceed."
Aaron moved past the marine and swung himself into the zero gravity of the companion tube. As he sailed down the tube he saw the side party settle into its final organisation. They snapped to attention as the ensign in charge announced in a loud voice over the bosun's pipes, "Mission arriving!"
As Aaron swung from the zero gravity tube to the artificial gravity of the ship, the welcome for the other officers rang in his ears.
As the others began to form up behind him, the Ensign stepped forward and held out his hand. "Welcome aboard, Captain Hawthrone."
"Thank you, Ensign Jyong. It's good to see you again. Who is the senior officer aboard?"
"Commander Erstwhile is currently in engineering, sir. But Lieutenant Commander Kim currently has the watch on the bridge."
"Again, thank you ensign."
"You're most welcome. And sir? Welcome back."
Aaron nodded and turned to the group of officers who had come up with him. "Well people, don't let me keep you from your responsibilities. You're dismissed until 1800 when I expect all of you to be in my dining cabin for a working meal. Bring your thinking caps and first impressions. But for now, go get settled in."
The officers dispersed except for Darnelle and Coren who stayed, waiting for Aaron to move in the direction of the bridge. Aaron cocked an eyebrow at Coren who smiled back at him.
"You know how I am, sir, settled in my quarters within fifteen minutes. I want to see what kind of set up I will be working with." His response was flippant and easy, which if you didn't know him, would have masked his base uneasiness with leaving Aaron alone with Darnelle.
Aaron simply nodded and headed for the bridge. Surprisingly, Darnelle began to engage Coren in conversation as they moved along.
"Where was your last deployment Commander?" her question must have been a polite fiction, as if she had read his file, she most certainly would have known.
"I just finished a tour on the Archon as Guns. Good ship, if a little slow. Lots of toys for us whiz bang types ma'am. Captain Tremaine is a good officer, very capable. I was just about to be assigned to Horatio Nelson as XO, but got pulled and placed here instead. To be honest, while I thoroughly enjoy the ship, three tours onboard seems a little excessive to me. I had begun to wonder if they were trying to make me a part of the bulkheads." Coren' genial nature was slowly taking hold as he continued to speak. Despite his unease, he was a fundamentally cheerful sort.
"You don't mind being shunted from a position where you would have been XO on a heavy cruiser back to tactical, even if it is on a battle cruiser?" Her question sounded genuinely curious.
"Venerable and honoured though the Nelson may be, the only way that she avoids being broken up for scrap within the next two years is if she gets shot out from under the poor sod who has command at the time. She has had a long and successful career, but it is coming to a close. My choice was basically between being XO of a ship which was out of date on the brink of war, or being handed the newest, shiniest tools in the tool kit and told to go wild in the tactical officers slot. It really wasn't much of a choice. Besides, it meant that I got to serve with the inimitable Captain Aaron Hawthrone again. And, as annoying as his hidebound sense of duty can be, he really is very good at what we do." Coren had a cheeky grin on his face as they stepped over the threshold of the bridge.
The bridge of Mission was large for a warship, a testament to the new levels of efficiency which modern building technologies allowed. In the centre of the room was a slightly raised dais on which sat the command chair, currently occupied by a dark haired, dark skinned lieutenant commander. From that chair, the occupant had a clear view of all of the sections on the bridge. Tactical section was to the right in a pit five consoles organised around a holographic emitter which projected a representation of the immediate area around Mission. It currently was filled with a swarm of green lights representing friendly units, each marked with an identification code. Directly ahead was the helm and navigation with it's own, smaller holo emitter. To the left was communications with three stations facing the chair. Behind the chair environmental control and damage control stations. The command chair itself had several displays which provided summaries of the other stations which were suspended from the ceiling and was capable of rotating a complete 360o.
Lieutenant Commander Kim looked up as the three of them entered, stood and braced to attention. "Welcome aboard Sirs, ma'am. Captain Eagles Reach, I request relief
."
"Lieutenant Commander Soren Kim, you are relieved."
"Aye, sir, I am relieved."
"Communications, please give me a ship wide channel." Aaron spoke to the young ensign sitting at the comms desk.
"You have a ship wide channel sir."
Aaron straightened and unfolded his paper orders and began to read aloud. "To Captain Lord Aaron Hawthrone 23rd Marquis Eagles Reach, from Admiral Lady Maxine Le Blanc 12th Baroness Highgate Moor, First Lady of the Admiralty. Captain Hawthrone, you are hereby invited and required to make your way to Anvil where you will locate His Majesty's Ship Mission. You are there invited and required to repair aboard and take command and responsibility of and for the operation and disposition of said ship Mission. Fail in this charge at your peril. By order of the Office the Admiralty in lieu of His Imperial Majesty Richard Alexander XII Emperor of the New Solarian Empire."
The silence which followed was profound. Aaron had just officially taken command of HMS Mission. He was now master after God of one of the Emperor's ships again. At last he spoke. "Well ladies and gentlemen, I am not much one for speeches, so I'll keep this short. I am very proud to be given command of this ship and honoured to be given the opportunity to serve with such a fine crew as you are. Now let's be about our business. Hawthrone out."
He turned to Lieutenant Commander Kim and smiled. "You are of course invited to a working dinner tonight at 1800. I would like to get to know the staff a little better and get a better appreciation of where we stand with regards to the ship and being ready to go about our duties. Commander Darnelle? Why don't you go get settled in. I can peruse the ships books and records in the ready room. Commander Chant, you too. I will see you both at 1800. Lieutenant Commander Kim, why don't you keep an eye on the store."
"Of course, sir."
Aaron then stepped down from the slightly raised dais and walked through the door which led to the ready room.
–
Aaron entered his own quarters with sigh. The ship was in good shape and all things were in order. The only snag so far appeared to be who his lords and masters at Admiralty House had decided should be his XO.
"Good Afternoon Captain Hawthrone."
A clear, musical contralto voice broke through the fog of fatigue which had begun to set in. He looked up to see whom it belonged to. Standing in the middle of the well appointed room was a woman who appeared to be in her mid 20s. She was short, fair haired and slim. Aaron's immediate thought was that she looked like she was young enough to be someone's kid sister. The only thing that stopped him from asking what she thought she was doing in his quarters was the fact that she wore an immaculately turned out Steward's uniform and an expression of the deepest disappointment.
"Good afternoon. May I assume you are Chief Steward Jennifer Weinstein?" Aaron asked, trying to hide his smile at the amusing picture she painted, standing in his quarters, arms akimbo.
"You would be correct, sir. Is there any particular reason why you saw fit to not come straight here after taking command officially? Lieutenant Commander Kim was perfectly capable of making sure the ship didn't spontaneously explode while you settled in. As a matter of fact, he was quite ably doing just that before you arrived." Her demand for information was accompanied by a critical examination of the state of his uniform and general personal appearance.
"I am afraid I am more than a little eager to take up my responsibilities. I have missed being in the service and I fear in my zealous desire to see my duty done I have neglected my person." Aaron's sardonic smile finally managed to break through his self control.
Her responding sigh of frustration made evident what she felt about that particular excuse. "Well, you're here now and I suppose that counts for something. I have an hour to re-energize you and make sure you look something approaching presentable before 1800. I suppose it's something that you at least had the forethought to send a message ahead that you would want to dine with your officers tonight. Come, sit while I go and lay out a fresh uniform for you. I wasn't sure if you were a coffee or tea person. Which are you?"
Her speech was accompanied by her herding him into a soft chair Aaron was fairly sure was more to Marissa's taste than his. She disappeared into the sleeping compartment still talking over her shoulder.
"Your sister-in-law says to let you know the furniture is a gift from her and Andrew. They were going to supply you with the bog standard stuff, but when she commed me to let me know they wanted to surprise you with something, I let her know what you needed most." She spoke through the open hatch, accompanied by the sounds of the rustling of fabric. Reappearing, she continued. "I had already acquired all the necessary foodstuffs and other connected things and your official wardrober at the estate was kind enough to provide me with the necessary uniforms, even if your measurements with them were a little out of date. I can make alterations as necessary. Tea or coffee?"
Smiling, now thoroughly amused, Aaron responded at last. "Coffee. Black if you please."
Nodding she disappeared into her small kitchen and returned moments later with a French press, ready to be depressed and a cup and saucer in the Navy's official pattern.
"We'll have to replace the dishes later, when a better opportunity presents itself," she said as she set them down. "The standard Navy ones will serve for now, but eventually it won't do to continue to use them. Can I offer you anything else, sir?"
The sudden switch back to military formality caught Aaron slightly off guard. She appeared to be able to switch from irate mother mode straight to military staffer without a blink. "No, I don't think so. Thank you, very much. I appreciate your efforts on my behalf."
"Wait at least another fifteen minutes before changing and make sure you report to me before you head to the dinning compartment so that I can recheck your appearance. After the coffee you may want a shower." Smiling, she disappeared back into the kitchen only to reappear with a plate containing a sticky bun. After setting it down on the table to Aaron's right, she vanished again and Aaron was at last alone.
–
Aaron stepped cautiously into the kitchen looking about for the little ball of energy which was his steward. She looked up from the salad she was currently tossing with some vigour and set it down. Walking over to him she gestured without speaking to him to return to the main room.
"The kitchen is my domain, sir. If you have need of me, simply buzz me on the intercom. Well, the shower and new uniform have done you a world of good. You look like a new man." She brushed an invisible piece of fluff off of his shoulder and continued her critical appraisal of his appearance. "Your uniforms will require a few alterations, not large ones, but your shoulders are wider than they were at 24 and you've gained a little more mass overall."
"But I pass muster for now?"
"For now, or at least until I have had the time to make the necessary alterations. Now off you trot. Go meet with your officers."
Aaron left the living compartment with a smile and passed into the dining compartment where he found Eva already waiting for him. "You're early."
"Maybe. Maybe as your doctor I came to check on your health before you dive in to your work head long." Eva's response was typical of her, both caring and slightly sarcastic at the same time.
"I'm in my right mind, if that's what you're wondering. Though I think if I acquire any more mothers in the near future, I may go crazy. My steward seems to believe that I am completely incapable of taking care of myself and that should I ever come near a sharp object I will immediately and recklessly fall on it and severely injure myself." Aaron said with patent amusement.
"Smart woman, she is." Eva smiled back.
"She's barred me from the kitchen."
"She's a demon from hell and must be exorcised."
Eva's reaction was exactly what Aaron had predicted. "It's all right, she appears to be at least competent in the kitchen."
"How would you know?" Doubt was manifest in Eva's voice.
"She may have given me a st
icky bun when I arrived in my quarters. Along with a very thorough dressing down for not coming home earlier, a very frank appraisal of my general cleanliness and explanation of where all this lovely furniture has come from." As he said this he gestured to illustrate his point, the last one with an expansive gesture toward the dining set in the room.
"I was wondering where those had come from. I thought they didn't look like your usual utilitarian taste. Your steward's?" she asked.
"Marissa's I think. Apparently, she contacted my steward to ask her what she thought I needed. Evidently I needed furniture. It's downright comfortable if I'm honest. The chairs back through there are lovely." Pleased his distraction was working, Aaron slid into his seat at the head of the table.
"So, what's on the menu tonight?"
"You know, I have no idea." They sat in companionable silence for a few moments until the hatch opened to admit Commander Darnelle.