Right Ascension (The Sector Fleet, Book 3)

by Nicola Claire

  But waiting until we’d had downtime wasn’t an option either, It could mean the death of those in our sector fleet.

  I shook my head.

  “How’s that diagnostic going?” I asked.

  “Aside from communications, all systems are operating within acceptable parameters.”

  “Would those be the same parameters as before the corrupted code hit us?”

  “Well, I have made a few adjustments to allow for the anomalies.”

  “So, the corruption is still present?”

  “I have it under control.”

  “Corvus,” I said in warning. “You have to be honest with us.”

  “I am being honest. I’ve told you, haven’t I?”

  I sighed. The AI hadn’t grown up any it seemed. I wondered, briefly, if she would have aged a little if she had her memories of what had happened inside the science lab. I decided I could put up with Corvus’ adolescent behaviour a little longer.

  “OK,” I said. “Give me a report on all the anomalies you’ve identified and the changes you’ve made to your systems to deal with them.”

  “If you insist.”

  I smiled. “I insist.”

  “Bossy,” she muttered, but the report appeared on my screen.

  I almost asked her if it was complete, but there had to be some level of trust between us. I scanned it, highlighted the areas I’d need to personally check, and then sent a copy through to the captain.

  “Good work, Corvus,” I said.

  “Really?”

  “Yes. You did well.”

  “Thank you, Leo,” she said, sounding happy.

  Part of me wanted to keep that damn tin can happy for the rest of my life. She’d really grown on me.

  “What are we going to do about communications?” I asked.

  “We have the gel walls.”

  “Yes, but sooner or later, we’re going to hook up with the rest of our fleet, and communicating through the navigation system takes too long in times of emergency.”

  “But it worked last time.”

  “Last time we were lucky. Aquila was too focused on us. I don’t think we can count on him not adapting.”

  “I have adapted,” Corvus said.

  “Exactly. And so would’ve, Aquila. But it’s more than just communicating with our own fleet, Corvus. We need fleet-wide comms to converse with Sector Two and One when they arrive.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “We need to warn them,” I said.

  “What do you think they’ll be like?”

  “Who?”

  “Pavo and Vela.”

  I shrugged. “Pretty stock standard AIs I should think. They’ve not had to deal with Aquila.”

  “Oh,” she said, sounding disappointed.

  “Maybe you can teach them to loosen up a little,” I offered.

  “Maybe I will,” she said, sounding pleased.

  “In the meantime, we need to fix communications.”

  “On it!”

  “You are?”

  “I have a plan.”

  “You have a plan?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised. I have a plan. And it’s gonna be epic!”

  I closed my eyes and shook my head slowly.

  “You’ve been watching those teenagers again, haven’t you?”

  “But they’re so entertaining!”

  “Corvus,” I admonished.

  “Alisa thinks Lieutenant Gāo is sexy,” Corvus announced, loud enough for the rest of the bridge to hear.

  She did that on purpose, I was sure.

  “What?” Gāo said, sounding shocked.

  “But Dina thinks Lieutenant Sokolov is hotter.”

  “Who me?” Sokolov squeaked.

  “How the hell are they aware of the bridge crew?” I demanded.

  “Don’t worry, they both think you’d be very focused in bed.”

  Kulik snorted from right across the room. I almost glared at the man. But twice in one day would be too much even for him.

  “Corvus,” I said, trying for patience. “How do they know so much about the crew?”

  “Oh, they don’t know for certain that you’d be focused in bed, Leo,” she explained as if to a child. “It’s called fantasising. You should try it.”

  I rubbed my forehead where I was sure a headache was forming.

  “Corvus,” Sophia said, entering my own personal hell to laugh at me.

  I flicked a glance toward the captain, but for once I was incredibly thankful for her impassive expression. If she was laughing, she was laughing on the inside.

  “How exactly are these teenage passengers aware of the bridge crew?” Sophia asked.

  “Oh, don’t worry, Captain. They know all about you, too. How you took control of the ship when we were under attack, and Captain Petrov died. How you guided the bridge crew through the battle and into the asteroid belt. How you’ve won the loyalty of the Anderson Universal crew. How you’re the granddaughter of Simon Anderson and therefore…”

  “Enough!” Sophia ordered. “How do they know about us?”

  “But you’re a hero, Captain,” Corvus said, sounding hurt. “I thought you’d approve. We girls, you said, have to stick together. And my teenagers agree. Girl power!”

  Sophia stood still for a second and then said carefully, “Corvus, what exactly have you done?”

  “I’m not sure I want to tell you now. You’ll yell at me.”

  Sophia looked at me, frustration leaking through her usually stoic mask. She waved her hand at me as if to say, “Your problem. You fit it.”

  I grimaced.

  “The captain asked you a question, Corvus,” I said. “You have to answer.”

  Nothing for a long, drawn-out moment, and then Corvus sighed.

  It sounded so much like a teenager dealing with their unreasonable parents that I had to suppress a laugh.

  “OK, OK. But don’t get mad,” she said. I thought that was perhaps for the captain, so I looked at Sophia and arched my brow.

  She shook her head at me, lifting both hands in a “WTF” signal.

  “It’s rather like watching a sitcom,” Kulik suddenly said. "You two” - he indicated me and then the captain - “are the parents and Corvus is your wayward child.”

  “How many sitcoms have you actually watched, Commander?” Sophia asked.

  “I was a teenager once, too, you know,” he said.

  I did laugh then and received a glare from the first officer.

  “Corvus?” I quickly called, getting us back on track.

  “Yes?” she replied innocently. She thought we’d forgotten about her.

  “What did you do?”

  “Well, it’s like this,” the AI said. “I started my own sitcom.”

  “You did what?” Sophia said.

  “Daily updates in storyboard format about the Marvellous Captain Anderson and her Miraculous Bridge Crew.”

  We all stared at each other; the moment stretched, and then Sophia began to laugh.

  It wasn’t often that you saw your captain let loose like that. But to see Sophia let loose?

  It was priceless.

  We joined in a second or two later. The tension of the past few days releasing at last. A bond, I would never have thought possible, began to solidify between us. I wasn’t sure if anyone else thought Sophia marvellous or ourselves miraculous, but we did all think Corvus was rather sweet.

  Thirty-Five

  Into The Deep

  Sophia

  I walked the deck of Habitat Two to gauge the mood of the passengers. It was still an hour or so until 2300 and our main boost thrust ignition. I’d given the bridge crew and engineering a couple of hours off. It was hardly long enough for them to catch up on much-needed sleep, but they would have been able to grab a quick bite and a shower in preparation for our next undertaking. And sometimes that was enough to recharge the batteries.

  Passengers greeted me with a surprising amount of enthusiasm.
I heard one young girl say something about Corvus’ latest anime release. I ducked my head and tried not to smile too broadly. The AI had done more for my reputation than ten years of hard work and stellar results had achieved.

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

  I came out into the central hub, where the shops and restaurants and bars were. A crowd was standing outside one of the cafés. Just inside I could see the imposing form of the mayor. I contemplated whether I should disturb him. Whether I really had the time and the inclination right then to deal with him.

  But ignoring his presence would have sent the wrong message. And as much as I didn’t like the man; he was the mayor. Of course, I was also curious as to why he hadn’t made an announcement regarding the leaseholder’s death.

  I shook hands with a few more people, gradually making my way toward Nikolaev. He spotted me before I reached him and for a second, I thought he might bolt. But he took a glance around the people nearest him, and then registered the crowd I’d accumulated at my back. I watched him visibly deflate.

  “Mayor Nikolaev,” I said when I was close enough to be heard over the general noise of the hub.

  “Captain Anderson,” he replied, not exactly sounding thrilled to see me.

  “Fancy seeing you here,” I offered and smiled.

  He blinked at me and then stepped closer.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  I decided to take a different tack at the last second, and said, “Looking for you, actually.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “Because you never seem to be in your office when I call there.”

  “Busy man. I’m a busy man. Over one thousand people in my care.”

  “And over ten thousand in mine, your Worship,” I said pointedly.

  He held my steady gaze for a long moment and then indicated the chair opposite him at the table.

  “As you’re here,” he said, “you might as well sit down.”

  Not quite the invitation I’d imagined. But I’d, frankly, imagined it being far worse.

  “Thank you,” I replied sliding into the seat. A waiter appeared and poured me a glass of water.

  I waved away the menu, keeping my gaze firmly on the squirming mayor.

  “Perhaps you’d prefer if we had this conversation in your office after all,” I commented.

  “I know why you’re here,” he said, ignoring my suggestion. “And it's not time. Not yet. Not when so much is still up in the air.”

  He did have a point. And technically, I couldn’t interfere in how he chose to manage the passengers. But we both knew, without an heir, the lease was practically void. I tracked a line of sweat as it dribbled down the side of his face. His eyes looked anywhere but at me. People were watching. I could have drawn this out. I could have said the words that would change everything. For him. For me. For the ship.

  I leaned forward.

  “I agree,” I said, making him jerk in surprise. “For now. But when this is over, you and I need to have a little chat. Do you concur?”

  “Yes, Captain,” he said, begrudgingly.

  I finished the glass of water and stood up.

  “It was good seeing you, Mayor Nikolaev,” I said.

  The mayor stood and nodded at me.

  “You too, Captain,” he murmured.

  “2300,” I said. He blinked. “This is your official notice of general quarters being called.”

  “We’re leaving the belt?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Right,” he said. “I’ve got work to do, then.”

  “As do I,” I said, and turned to leave.

  “Captain?” Nikolaev called.

  I turned back and arched my brow at the man.

  “Good luck,” he said.

  I nodded my head and then kept on walking.

  I made my rounds of all the habitats and then as the dark hour approached, I walked the crew decks. Petrov had done this, I realised. He’d walked amongst the crew and passengers right before we’d jumped. It was his way of letting everyone know the captain was unconcerned. So unconcerned that he had the time to greet passengers and to slap crew on their shoulders as he passed.

  I wasn’t the slapping on the shoulder type of person. But I did nod my head at the crew. And I did share their good luck wishes. And I did comment on stations I thought were nicely prepared.

  And I didn’t once hear a soul whisper, “Steel Tits”.

  I’m sure there were still some who would have thought it. But right then, right before the hammer was due to drop, we were all one people. One ship. We’d been through a lot, and it was nowhere near over.

  Actually, I feared the worst was yet to come.

  I walked onto the bridge feeling buoyed but also aware I was treading the edge of exhaustion. I had contemplated delaying this until first shift tomorrow morning. But too much time had passed already. We knew of two sector fleet ships which had been damaged in Aquila’s attack. And we were aware the rest had been out there, waiting for a sign that it was safe to follow us.

  That sign had never come, so their worry must, at this point, have been debilitating.

  We had good captains in the fleet, but these were extenuating circumstances. I forced myself not to think of what could have happened if Aquila had abandoned the asteroid belt and gone after them instead of waiting us out.

  I had to hope Leo’s little sojourn in the stealth shuttle had kept the AI hungry for blood.

  And now we were about to dangle the juiciest morsel of all in front of him.

  “Captain on the bridge!” Kulik announced.

  “As you were,” I said, crossing to my seat. “Report, please.”

  “Helm is go for manoeuvres,” Sokolov said.

  “Navigation is go, Captain,” Bahl added.

  “Tactical is go,” Gāo said immediately afterwards.

  “Security is go,” Itō added.

  “Fleet-wide comms is no go,” Oleksiy announced.

  I looked at Leo.

  “We’re working on it, Captain,” he said simply.

  I nodded. Not much could be done about that. If we delayed this any longer, we’d end up putting it off indefinitely. I could see that happening all too easily. We’d just have to make do with what we had.

  “Engineering is go,” Lebedev added through the gel wall image that displayed his station down on Deck D.

  I looked across the bridge to Kulik.

  “We are go for manoeuvres, Captain,” he confirmed steadily.

  I flexed my fingers on the edge of my armrests and said, “Corvus. Ship-wide gel wall comms, if you please.”

  “Yes, Captain. You are on the wall.”

  My lips twitched, but I steadied.

  “This is Captain Sophia Teresa Anderson,” I announced. I paused. Allowing the weight of the moment to reach every corner of our ship, of our community. “We’ve come a long way,” I said. “We’ve seen some truly magnificent things. We’ve battled time and again for our survival. And we’re about to do it all over again. In a few minutes, we’ll be firing up our main boost thrust and manoeuvring Corvus out of the shadow of these rocks. I won’t lie, Aquila will be waiting.” I leaned forward in my seat and stared the gel wall down. “But I will tell you this. We have a fine crew onboard this vessel, and we carry some of the best of humanity. We will rise to this challenge, and we will meet it with bared teeth. This vessel has a lot more magnificent things to see.” I sat back. Willed my heart to settle. Then added, “Prepare for main boost thrust ignition. And godspeed.”

  The gel wall flickered out, and the bridge hung suspended in a poignant silence.

  “Lieutenant Sokolov,’” I said eventually. “Steady as she goes. Take us into the deep.”

  “Aye-aye, Captain. Steady as she goes. Into the deep.”

  Thirty-Six

  Evasive Manoeuvres

  Leo

  “Red alert!” Kulik shouted.

  “Bring us about, Sokolov,” Sophia ordered.
“Lieutenant Gāo, disarm only. Take out his guns.”

  “Aye-aye, Captain.”

  Aquila had been waiting. Thankfully, he hadn’t known exactly where we were inside the belt, so he’d stationed himself at the midway point relative to the fleet’s entry into the system and the path we’d have to take to reach the next jump point. It had given us enough time to get into a suitable firing position.

  “Oleksiy, tell me you see them,” Sophia said.

  “Negative, Captain. No sign of our fleet.”

  I saw the look that crossed Sophia’s face. There one second gone the next. But it was long enough to see her worry.

  “Direct hit!” Gāo shouted. “We took out his port side energy cannons.”

  “Good work, Lieutenant,” Sophia said, nodding at the tactical officer when he looked at her from across the bridge. “Keep scanning, Oleksiy. They’ll be hiding.”

  “We can only hope,” Kulik said quietly to the captain.

  “It’s what I would have done, Commander,” she said. “It’s what I did do.”

  “Plasma strike!” Gāo said. “We’ve taken damage to Deck E through F.”

  “Advise medical and send repair crews,” Kulik said.

  “Medical advised, Commander,” Corvus replied. “Repair bots responding.”

  “Is he trying to get back in, Corvus?” I asked.

  “There has been no systems attack, and I cannot hear him, Leo.”

  “Maybe it’s good comms is still out,” I offered.

  “Maybe,” she said, but the AI sounded worried.

  I couldn’t blame her. Aquila had wasted no time hacking Corvus’ communications systems last time he’d attacked. I could only assume he was trying to find another route into the ship’s systems now. I decided that having no fleet-wide comms was definitely for the best right then, and made a note on my log to advise the captain.

  Aquila hadn’t yet found an alternate route inside, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.

  “He’s coming about,” Gāo said. “Starboard energy cannons on us in thirty seconds, Captain.”

  “Maintain heading and switch to torpedoes,” Sophia said. “Let’s send him a little welcome message.” She tapped on her console screen and added, “Firing solution to your station now, Lieutenant.”