Weight of Gravity

by Sheron Wood McCartha

  Adrian led the way, still communicating on his headset. Merek took Sam. Deuce herded Henry along while simultaneously monitoring the station’s frequency.

  Elise followed in the rear, focused on how she might sway her captains.

  Chapter 29

  Preparations

  The two Terran captains stood shuffling their feet, wide eyes roaming the walls and corners. Neither had ever visited her personal quarters, so they naturally were curious as to what it looked like.

  On the other hand, Adrian showed no such interest. Instead, he glared at her through narrowed eyes, his jaw clenching and unclenching. The man had always given the impression that he never thought of her as an alien, nor a powerful Fleet Commander, rather more the small-statured wife of the infamous Director Richard Steele. She was still trying to figure out what it was her husband directed. Someday she would learn, but for now, she needed to stay on track.

  She cleared her throat. “You all might want to sit … except for you, Merek. You can release their restraints.”

  Adrian pulled out an office chair and sat while the others perched self-consciously on the side of her bed.

  After everyone was settled, she said, “Henry, Sam, you remember a planet the fleet flew past that was extremely hot and had high radiation levels in the atmosphere?”

  Two nods answered her.

  Sam shifted unconsciously on the bed’s edge. “We didn’t spend much time investigating it because of the toxic atmosphere and barren landscape.”

  Henry twisted in his seat. “We thought we could find something more habitable farther out.”

  She hesitated. “But we didn’t.”

  Next to Henry, Sam said, “It looked desolate, but there were indications of life underground. We didn’t want to stir up the indigenes species if there were any, so we left. Later, you said they might be connected to the attack.”

  “I still think that’s the case. Richard confirmed that his brother also engaged with them. He lost a ship and crew due to that battle.”

  “Five,” muttered Sam. “We lost five ships, and I lost my best friend, my family … so many.” He glanced away.

  Henry patted his friend’s shoulder. “We all lost good people.” His eyes rose to meet hers.

  Trajan… She blinked back rising tears and didn’t dare look at Merek… his clone. Her captains did, then gazed away.

  Merek stood still as stone, not hardly breathing.

  Stay on topic or you’ll lose it.

  She took a deep breath and continued, “Richard recently received a warning that they have targeted this solar system and are headed our way.”

  Adrian slammed a fist on the desk, causing the captains to jump. “I knew it. I knew having him on board would mean trouble.” He glared at her as if it were her fault.

  Sam leaned forward. “Are you absolutely sure?”

  She shrugged. “Nothing is absolute. Richard’s concerned enough to want to take precautions.”

  Sam stood and paced along the bed. He glanced at Henry. “Commander, they could be playing us. You may be as much a fool about this as we were about the station.”

  Her shoulders slumped. She’d considered it but had discarded the notion. The Enjelise didn’t lie, and they’d collaborated Braden’s story.

  She had to sit down to tell them the rest of what she knew. Adrian saw her dilemma and swung the chair toward her. Merek caught it and slid it to her.

  Adrian leaned on her desk, bracing himself.

  She smiled a “thanks” at him, sat, and nervously brushed a hand through her hair. “To begin, I’m going to tell you something that’s hard to believe… for some of you. Perhaps for those more religious, not so much. There is an ancient alien race that guards the universes.”

  “Universes? Plural?” Sam’s voice quavered.

  “Yes, there are thousands of universes, maybe more. Alysians call these guardians the Enjelise. They resemble the Earth idea of angels. Not only have I met one, but he’s taken on a mission to protect me.”

  “Really?” Henry squinted at her.

  “Already, he has saved my life more than once.”

  Sam plunked down on the bed as Henry put his head in his hands, then looked up, his hair disheveled, his eyes blinking in disbelief.

  “I’ve met two others of his kind who told me that the creatures who attacked us are,” here she struggled to find the correct term, “a related species they call the Fallen.”

  Adrian sighed audibly.

  She ignored him and continued. “They’re hostile and want revenge for what was done to them.”

  Henry’s eyes narrowed. “What was done?”

  “They were transported from their world and banished to that hellish planet as punishment for … certain indiscretions.”

  “Elise…” Adrian shook his head at her.

  “I know this is hard to believe…”

  “You think?” Adrian snorted and straightened up. He pushed away from the desk.

  She spun around in the chair and glared at him. “I saw these Enjelise with my own eyes. I heard what they said with my own ears, and I believe them.”

  Absolute silence filled the room. No one knew what to say. Then the entrance softly whooshed. All eyes riveted on the opening panel as Angel stepped into the room, enveloping it in a brilliant light and a tingling presence.

  “Believe her,” he uttered.

  Everyone stared in stunned silence as she whispered, “Angel!”

  Finally, Adrian broke the tension and crossed to collapse on the end of the bed. “Okay,” he choked, staring at Angel. “I believe you. What do we have to do?”

  “First off, don’t tell anyone.”

  “So glad to hear that,” he said, rubbing his face.

  She focused on her captains. “Sam, Henry.”

  They gazed at her warily. “Yes?”

  “We need captains like you who can pilot and understand the layout of spaceships. Richard is organizing a worldwide program that will build a small fleet. Not only do we need pilots, we need engineers who know how to build them. Your recruits will come from any Terran willing to work with Alysians. We plan to blend Terran with Alysian. Richard said long term we may learn to get along. We’ll offer you a major role because of your experience and influence.”

  Backs straightened in her captains. Their worried faces changed to more thoughtful ones.

  “We can fight each other and lose this planet, or we can work together to protect it. What say you?”

  Both set their eyes on Angel. Sam slanted his head toward Henry who raised an eyebrow.

  Sam cleared his throat. “We’re on board, Commander.”

  She found herself blinking rapidly, eyes tearing up. “Then let’s get this done,” she said.

  Chapter 30

  Getting Along

  “Are you the idiot responsible for this mess?”

  Four men and a woman stood next to a workbench in a lab at Tygel Space Center. Scattered blueprints and two models of spaceships sat on its white laminate top.

  Across the table, Richard shifted uneasily. “Now, Captain Spencer, everyone here deserves equal respect. We are working together to achieve the best design possible.” He glanced over at the glowering Alysian who appeared ready to explode due to the insulting comments directed at his preliminary starship model and blueprint.

  Henry jabbed his fellow Terran with an elbow. “Sam, be courteous.”

  As he studied the model of a starship sitting on the table in front of him, Sam Spencer put up a conciliatory hand and muttered, “All right. I get it. I’ll play nice. But seriously, folks, this won’t get off the ground.”

  “It won’t need to. We build it in space,” interjected the wounded designer, his petulant tone apparent.

  Using a soothing voice, Richard said, “Tell us what you would change, Captain Spencer.”

  Sam raised his head to glower at Richard. “Oh, just call me Sam. I’m not a captain. I don’t captain a ship.” He paused. “I d
on’t even have a ship. My ship left with the fleet and in a brilliant move, I stayed behind.” He closed his eyes.

  Next to him, Henry patted him on the shoulder. “You don’t have one yet. But if we cooperate with these fine Alysians, you’ll be flying your own personally designed space-faring warship before you know it.”

  With a head shake, Sam said, “I’m not good at systems integration.”

  Relieved by his more conciliatory attitude, Richard said, “We already have a man for that. He was in charge of all the systems on Braden’s ship, so systems won’t be a problem.” He smiled. “But we do need your cooperative input for the overall layout, especially the bridge. Furthermore, we expect to make changes and improve on our preliminary designs. Right, Tyler?” Richard stared down the designer.

  The Alysian wrinkled his nose then pursed his lips. After some hesitation, he nodded. “Yeah, sure. I can adapt.”

  Richard reached over and slid one of the blueprints towards Sam. He tossed a look at the woman next to him.

  “Yeah, that’s how it needs to be, everyone.” She pointed at the two Terrans. “We’re not familiar with a functional bridge like these captains are.”

  Richard clapped his hands. “Most astute, Kare.”

  Sam tapped the blueprint with his fingertip. “I’ve always wanted a white leather captain’s chair with nearby coffee dispenser and …”

  Richard grabbed his arm. “Whoa there, fella. I said we can get funds for construction, but I also have a budget. Let’s rein in everything not essential to keeping us alive.”

  Harry’s fingers smoothed the blueprint. “Besides, all the white leather needed to accommodate your generous backside would show too much blood splatter if you’re hit.”

  With a jerk upright, Sam said, “You’re not funny, Henry.” His mouth set in a hard line as he bent over to study the schematic, and the paper shook when he picked it up.

  Seeing his friend’s reaction, Henry said, “Aw, Sam, I’m only kidding.” He offered a wry smile. “You took out two of them suckers at the jump gate. With you at the helm, all the invaders will turn tail and run as soon as they see you coming. Easy Peasy.”

  Sam straightened. “Don’t kid me, Henry. We’ll need heavy virtual time to knock the rust off our tactical skills. And even then, it won’t be your Easy Peasy.”

  Henry gave him a shoulder bump. “But we can do this if we put our minds to it. Right?”

  Richard nodded. That’s the attitude he wanted. That’s the attitude he would need … if any of this was going to work.

  ***

  “Your father will explode when he hears you plan to pass up getting your business degree and transfer to Sunpointe. Gads, Deane, you’re in for it.”

  “Let me deal with my father.”

  “What about your athletic scholarship?”

  “Frankly, I’m tired of playing sports.”

  Garrett stared in disbelief at him. The two young men were lounging under a tree on Tygel University’s campus. The shorter one rubbed a head full of dark curly hair and shifted his backpack. A frown etched itself onto his paler face. “You need to be appointed to that place. No one waltzes into Sunpointe Academy because he wants to be an astronaut. They’re very selective. Slots are severely limited.”

  Taller by more than a head, his lanky companion grinned. “I have connections, my friend. Uncle Adrian lives up on the space station, and he agreed to sponsor me.”

  “Your uncle lives on the Alysian space station?”

  Deane winked at him. “Correction. My uncle runs the Alysian space station.”

  That gave his doubter pause. “I’ve always wanted to be an astronaut,” Garrett paused, “but no one in my family has enough clout to even qualify me as janitor of that place. Because the environment is in such a mess, all the attention has been here on Alysia and not much on space exploration. With all the government cutbacks, enrollment is limited.”

  “Well, I heard that’s changing.” Deane put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Maybe I can get Uncle Adrian to negotiate a package deal … you and me. If he agrees, would you want to go explore the stars with me?”

  Garrett’s dark eyes lit up. “More than anything.”

  “Let me see what I can work out.”

  “Coach will kill you if I go too.”

  “Not to mention your parent’s reaction.” Deane’s green eyes sparkled with mischief. Giving his leather jacket a tug, he pushed off from the tree. “I’d love to be there to see coach’s face when he gets the news.”

  “And watch his dream of a national championship go up in smoke.”

  “Ha! Come on, let’s go stir up a few people.”

  Garrett laughed. “Yes, let’s.”

  ***

  They managed to upset quite a number of folks. With Deane’s uncle running interference for them, they worked out a package deal for the two of them. Finally, they convinced their parents to let them attend. The pair packed their bags and headed for the western coast of the Democratic Union where the campus of Sunpointe Academy soon sprawled out before them.

  At first, the excitement of exploring space fueled enthusiasm, but gradually the heavy load of homework, the limited number of females, and the grueling classwork took its toll.

  Several terms in, Deane and Garrett were sitting at the local student bar, sipping cool drinks, and blearily observing cadets passing in front of them on their way to various classes.

  “My professors are working me to death.” Garrett stirred his straw around in his drink and looked over at Deane. “Especially those on the astronaut track.”

  Deane rubbed his nose. “I started with fifty in my class, now it’s down to twenty-five. The pace is murder, and my competition is falling out faster than an exploding nova. Even I’m struggling, and I always excelled in school.”

  “My astrophysics professor is cramming several courses all into one. The rule seems to be work faster or get kicked out.” Garrett sipped some more of his drink. “The classes are harder than I imagined they would be.”

  “My professors are doing the same thing in navigation, but the simulators are all antiques they’ve had for ages.” Deane’s fingers flexed. “I want to get my hands on a real ship, not just some simulator’s outdated joystick.”

  Garrett gazed out onto the campus. “Yeah, and where would they find such a functioning ship?”

  Deane slumped in his seat as his eyes idly followed a female cadet walking past. “Terrans have one attached to their station.”

  "Hmmm... Garrett sipped on his drink and eyed Deane. “This training is hard. I’ve whirled around in that fragging accelerator so many times I’m walking sideways."

  “They tried to drown me in the buoyancy pool.”

  “Is that the new tank where you can’t tell whether you’re upside down or right-side up? Everything appears the same? Feels like there’s no gravity?” Garrett ran a hand through his hair. “I’m taking that lab next term.”

  Rolling his eyes, Deane said, “Take it from me, that lab is a nightmare. You can’t tell which direction is which. They had to pull me out once when I got too disoriented.”

  Garrett sighed. “This is worse than the grueling drills coach used to make us do.”

  Deane squinted into the distance. “By light years.”

  ***

  Upon entering their lab, the cadets found something unexpected. “Wow!” Deane stroked the cowling of a new simulator. “She a beaut.” He sighed and peered in. “At last.”

  Behind him, Garrett exclaimed, “Fate, look at it!”

  Three obviously important committee members stood off to one side. Next to the familiar Director Steele, stood a small-statured female. Her pale skin and blazing violet eyes indicated she was Terran. Next to her, stood a male who turned to mutter something at her. He also was Terran but had a short, blocky build with blond hair and a jutting chin that gave him a slightly belligerent appearance.

  “Cadets Wood and Townsend, I’m Director Richard Steele. This
is my wife, Elise Fujeint Steele, and one of her captains, Sam Spencer. Captain Spencer is taking the lead on our spaceflight program.”

  The two students gulped. They recognized the names, at least Director Steele’s and Elise Fujeint’s. She was ex-Commander of the Terran Fleet. Not knowing how to respond to the civilians, they merely nodded at them.

  “Do you like it?” Richard asked, patting the simulator.

  “Can we try it out?” Deane stepped forward eagerly.

  “Absolutely.” Richard waved a hand forward. “Captain, show them how the simulator works.”

  Both students stared at the elegant cockpit.

  “This is only a section of a much larger bridge,” said Sam, sliding into the captain’s seat. He motioned at three other positions before him. “On my far right is the communication consul, on my near right is the navigator’s board, and ahead on my left is the helm position.” He leaned forward to tap, right to left, three seats in front of him.

  Deane scrambled into the helm’s chair while Garrett found the navigator’s. Sitting in the Captain’s chair, Sam touched an overhead screen, and everything lit up.

  All four positions held vertical rows of panels with touch screens, in addition to various monitors that displayed flashing numbers and graphs. Overhead, still more electronics accompanied by video screens covered the cockpit’s ceiling.

  “Today won’t be a class on flying a spaceship. Your instructors will do that later. Simply be aware that piloting a ship out there is far different from anything you have ever done before. There’s very little friction in space, so maneuvers can get tricky.”

  “Like steering a sled on ice?” Deane asked as he stroked the board and lightly touched a monitor.

  “Worse,” Sam answered. “The pilot has six axes of directions to consider with very few markers to guide him. Plus, he flies at incredibly high speeds with lots of kinetic energy. Maneuvering takes skill. With ships smaller and lighter than The New Found Hope, the weapons’ recoil could thrust a ship backward if not for the inertial dampers.”

  Deane stopped his exploration of the board. “Weapons? Will the ships be carrying weapons?”