by Bob Mauldin
Both men, one twice her age, demurred.
“We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of eleven voices,” Lucy said as she tore her eyes away from the somber crowd before her and looked down at two agonizing days’ worth of notes. “Voices belonging to people we have come to respect, cherish, and even, to some extent, love. Eleven people whom we will never be able to turn to again to share good times or bad. Eleven people who have passed beyond the need for our help. These eleven people were taken from us maliciously—four by greedy men who sought to take what we were going to freely give to the people of Earth, and seven by unknowns from outside our solar system.”
She stumbled through the worst twenty minutes of her life, talking about the four people killed in the fighting at Camp David and the seven others, saying something about each of their lives and detailing their deaths. The situation wasn’t made easier by the fact that she had insisted on making this a live broadcast to the world below. She’d rehearsed it fifty times if she’d done it once, and she still felt like she had a mouthful of rocks. It wasn’t until she began speaking of the future that she became a little more comfortable standing where she was.
“We are a young group,” she said, “not quite three years old, so we don’t have many traditions. Today we start one. These eleven martyrs,” she hesitated after the word to give it more strength, “are returning to the planet of their birth as shining symbols of what men and women can achieve if given a free hand. We of the Terran Alliance urge you all over the world to join us now in paying homage to these fallen souls.”
As Lucy spoke, she turned to watch the side doors of the projects deck slide open, leaving only the force fields between the mourners and the emptiness beyond. With Earth as a backdrop and eleven Mambas standing by, the eleven coffins were trundled to the force field where the internal capture fields picked them up one by one and gently slid them out to the waiting ships. Each Mamba moved forward and took charge of a coffin, then moved back into place. Turning in a synchronized movement, the eleven ships moved off into the night. As the door slid shut on the sight, Lucy turned back to the crowd of mourners before her.
“We invite the people of Earth to step outside in about ten minutes and look to the north. Mourn with us the passing of the sons and daughters of Earth and rejoice in their homecoming.”
Lucy looked at the camera, positioned near the back of the crowd of mourners, without speaking for a long minute. “I’d like to end these services at this point by introducing Marsha Kane, Captain of the Terran Alliance Ship Robert A. Heinlein, and Jerry Chapman, Captain of the Terran Alliance Ship Anne McCaffrey.”
Standing to one side, she beckoned to the two captains to come onto the dais. Marsha, looking like she’d like to be anywhere but in front of an entire planet, stepped forward. “Ladies, and gentlemen, I am Marsha Kane of the Terran Alliance. By unanimous consent of the ranking officers, we have promoted Lucy Grimes to the position and rank of First Captain of the Terran Alliance. This act places her in command of all Alliance forces and personnel, and grants her the power to make treaties with or war upon any group of her choosing.” Turning to Lucy, she said, “Congratulations, First Captain.” Nodding slightly for Jerry to follow her, she stepped off the dais and melted into the crowd.
Lucy stood for a long second, then spoke a final time into the camera. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time. Watch the skies, mourn their loss as we do, and good night.”
The monitors in the ready room showed eleven streaks of light as eleven Mamba pilots reported missions accomplished.
“Well, that’s that then. Time to be getting back into action,” Lucy said.
“Before you do that, Lucy, you should think about something,” Marsha said. “This is the captain’s ready room, the captain of the Galileo, that is. And you aren’t that person. We, that is the ‘Advisory Council,’ thought you should have more appropriate quarters, so we...”
Gayle broke her uncommon silence. “What Marsha is trying to say is that we have a surprise for you. Let’s go for a walk, okay?”
Lucy followed curiously down the hall past the elevator and down deck three to an otherwise anonymous room. Then she saw a plaque affixed to the wall. Its two lines of print said simply, “Fleet Headquarters. Lucy Grimes, Commanding.”
“No!” she exclaimed. “You’re not doing this to me!”
Stephen, seemingly alarmed, said “Can we get out of the corridor? Let’s go inside and talk about this rationally.”
“Oh, talk we shall,” Lucy vowed. “But rational? Someone else will be the judge of that.”
Stepping through the door, she came to a complete stop. Standing up from behind a desk at one side of the room, Lt. Commander Kimura said, “Captain on deck!”
The only other door in the room opened, and a man she knew by sight walked in. “Commander Lloyd Pike, ma’am. Mamba pilot off the Heinlein. When Captain Kane put out the word that she was looking for staff officers for you, it turned out that I was the least unqualified.” A crooked smile crossed his lips. “Or most qualified, or whatever. By virtue of my parents having money and flaunting it, I happen to have picked up a bit about how to anticipate the wishes and needs of others. Most often from the other side, I’ll grant you, but then, I’ll be back there someday.”
“And that makes you my...?”
“Aide, ma’am.”
Looking at Commander Kimura, Lucy asked, “And you?”
“Your personal secretary, ma’am. And I already have messages for you.”
“Messages? Already?” Lucy was beginning to know what the term ‘shell-shocked’ meant.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Kimura said. “The captain of Orion and the commanders of Gemini and Libra send their congratulations, as well as the captains of the McCaffrey and the Heinlein.”
“Get Agent Daniels in here, Commander,” Lucy said self-consciously. She was still reeling from the shock of finding out what her new position entailed, and she smelled a rat. This trick smacked of Simon’s doing, but he was dead, so she shifted her attention to Stephen.
He had a hand in this, she thought. Could Simon have told him to engineer an outcome like this, if worse came to worst?
Her consternation was at her new duties. As overall commander of three stations—very soon to be four—and three ships, she’d been removed from personal command of any particular vessel. Sure, if she wanted the Galileo to do something, it would get done but under the command of someone else. And the same held true of any ship in their slowly expanding fleet. And they gave her a staff? She also had suite of rooms specially prepared as her personal quarters, along with a dining room big enough to serve as a banquet room, two aide’s quarters, and a small gym.
I have an “aide,” she thought. And a valet, personal secretary, and two gophers! Well, if I’m in charge, I guess I’d better get at it.
She picked up her commlink and said, “Commander Kimura, please call Dr. Walker and Captain Kane. I want to see them first. And find Agent Daniels.”
Lucy read the paper in her hand for about the twentieth time. They tried to think like lawyers, but they didn’t take into account just how vindictive I can be. The paper she perused held her operating instructions, so to speak. She could only be removed from office by a unanimous decision of all the captains, and she could appoint her advisers carte blanche.
This is where I got ‘em, she thought.
She was jerked out of her reverie by the sound of her commlink.
“Ma’am, Dr. Walker and Captain Kane are here.”
“Well, send them in.” God, don’t let me come off as pompous, she prayed. Unable to sit behind her desk, Lucy paced nervously.
“Do I ask, ‘What’s up, Lucy?’ or do I say, ‘Captain Kane reporting as ordered, ma’am,’ Marsha quipped as she strode into the office, Stephen at her heels.
“I don’t know, and right now I don’t care, Marsha. I just wanted to let the two of you know how much ‘help’
you’ve given me recently.”
Eyes darting in Stephen’s direction, Marsha said, “That’s nice of you to say, Lucy.”
“The point I want to make is that I appreciate it so much that I want to do something for you in return.”
Stephen’s eyes narrowed at being included in Lucy’s expansive wave. “What do you have in mind?”
“Well, this for example,” she said, waving the paper she was still holding. “It says here ‘... no limitations on appointing advisers as deemed necessary by the First Captain.’” She sat down on one of the couches in the more informal area of the office. “I really think I have too much room here. I need to fill it with something. I know what! Advisers! Guess what, guys? You’re appointed.”
Stephen began to protest. “I have enough to do! It seems I’ve inherited some kind of ‘senior scientist’ status. People come to me to solve problems I’m not even associated with.”
“And how do you handle things like that?” Lucy wanted to know.
“Well, usually I know who to turn the problem over to for the best results. I can only be in so many places.”
“There you go! My new technical adviser!” Turning to Marsha, she asked sweetly, “And just how do you plan to weasel out of this? Let me guess. Senior line captain is best suited to advise from the command perspective?”
“Uh, something like that,” Marsha said and looked down, an unreadable look on her face.
“Something like that,” Lucy mimicked. “Sit down and talk to me. I want to send the Heinlein and the McCaffrey out to bring in the two new ships ASAP. I’m thinking micro-jumps both ways to shorten time, properly crew them, and send them out of here on their trials. Any objections?” When neither Stephen nor Marsha responded, she went on, “If both ships go out as stuffed as their environmental systems will handle, we can have four ships in orbit. Allowing two days to transfer crew and do a full systems check, we could accomplish that in about eight days. Comments?”
“That many people crammed into one ship will take some innovation. But if it’s not for more than a week, I think we can handle it,” Marsha said.
When he became the target of Lucy’s cool gaze, Stephen said guardedly, “I don’t see a technical reason not to. Actually, I really don’t see any reason not to, but I’d like to know what you have planned for the Galileo while they’re gone.”
“Good. Marsha, tell Jerry to find a way to load an extra hundred aboard and you do the same. I want the Heinlein to go to Orion with your second in charge. Jerry goes to Gemini. You’ll stay here and help me out as part of my new Advisory Council. See that both ships are under way within forty-eight hours, that is after getting the crews aboard and familiar with their duty stations, if possible. Okay?”
At Marsha’s stunned nod, Lucy turned to Stephen. “The Galileo will sit right here bringing new volunteers aboard and getting them acquainted with living and working aboard ship. When the new ships arrive, I hope to have crews ready for each of them that will at least know their way around a spaceship.”
“And...” Stephen prompted. “What about you? Are you planning to retaliate?”
“Retaliate? Who would I retaliate against? Whoever’s responsible will have covered their tracks too well by now. I’d thought of moving our North American embassy to Canada. Kind of a snub at the U.S., don’t you think? But I also realize the advantages of having a base in the greatest country in the free world. But the U.S. no longer speaks for us—that will be their punishment. I have a couple of thoughts on people to work out a proposal with the Swiss and others to work on someplace in a Far East country. Which one, I don’t know yet. I’m going to let the U.S. stew for a while. For now, though, I’m going to look toward convincing the United Nations that it’s best for all parties to work with us. Which is why I want to see agent Daniels, now.”
Picking up her commlink, Lucy called Commander Kimura. “Do you have Agent Daniels for me, Commander?”
“Captain, it seems that Agent Daniels isn’t aboard. I called both the Heinlein and the McCaffrey, and he also doesn’t appear to be aboard either of those vessels.”
After four days of intense discussion, Lucy’s shuttle landed in Zurich. Chosen for this meeting due to their well-known neutrality, the Swiss had gone all out to make the Alliance delegation welcome. Security was tighter than she would have imagined, but never having been in a situation like this, she really had no frame of reference.
The crowd was unbelievable to a person who hadn’t seen more than a few thousand at one time in her life. There must have been fifty thousand spectators on hand when her shuttle landed at the airport, accompanied by a four-ship flight of Mambas, the newly named Hawke Flight. It wasn’t until twenty nerve-wracking minutes later that the near riot was under control.
“Ma’am, Zurich Tower reports all clear and requests that we expedite debarkation. Message ends, ‘Welcome to Earth.’” The pilot fairly glowed with suppressed glee. “We got ‘em!”
“Don’t go jumping to conclusions, Lieutenant, but it is a good sign.” Lucy stepped out of the shuttle with a feeling of dread. The last time this happened, people had died. But the attempt must be made. This time she was walking into the fire and taking with her the people she’d come to know and trust. Marsha, Stephen, and Gayle were along as the newly formed Fleet Advisory Council, and they were accompanied by half dozen well-armed security personnel.
Flanked by her staff, Lucy walked toward the delegation waiting a safe distance from the shuttle. After the introductions, she was left standing with the assistant to the Secretary General of the United Nations and Vice-chairman of the UN Security Council.
“Please permit me to welcome you to Earth, Captain Grimes. I am Heinrich Juergens, special attaché to the Secretary General. I apologize for our unseemly haste, but it would be better if we continued our introduction in a more... secure... location. The penthouse has been made available in one of Zurich’s oldest and most prestigious hotels.” He waved grandiloquently toward the waiting motorcade, and a bottleneck immediately presented itself. Separating Lucy from her security detail was out of the question.
Lucy felt utterly alone and stupid as she stood there and let her aide argue over protocol, for God’s sake, with a total stranger as if she wasn’t even there. Feeling like a chess piece, Lucy grimaced when her personal aide, Commander Pike, turned to her and asked, “Stephen and Gayle in the lead car, Marsha and myself in the rear, each with one guard, and yourself in the middle with the other four. Will that be acceptable, ma’am?”
Relegating each person to their place, the two men finally got the motorcade under way. The attaché himself rode with Lucy and her four guards as the trio of cars sped away from the airport. “I assure you, all three vehicles will stay together, and you’ll be delivered to your hotel momentarily. The council will be in session at nine a.m. tomorrow morning and extends an invitation to attend.”
“You appear to have things well in hand, Herr Juergens. I have every confidence that our stay here will be a pleasant one as long as we have you to look after the details.” Lucy smiled at the slightly older man.
About Simon’s age, actually, she thought. And where does Mr. and Mrs. Grimes’ little girl get off sounding that pompous?
“Don’t you get a feeling of sheer age here?” Lucy asked. “To think that this place is over three hundred years old... and look at the furniture! Antiques, all of it.”
“And bugged to the hilt, too, I’ll bet,” added Lloyd Pike. “There will be two guards outside your room tonight and one inside.” Forestalling any comment from Lucy, he went on, “I have it on good authority that if anything happens to you, my ass is grass. So much for a cushy assignment!”
The next morning, after a lavish extravaganza called breakfast and served by liveried footmen, the attaché was led into the room by Commander Kimura. “Ma’am, Special Attaché Juergens is here.”
“I see that, Rukia. Thank you. Coffee, Herr Juergens?”
“Yes, thank you. Black, bitter.” He looked toward Rukia as she left the room. “You aren’t used to this are you, Captain? Or should I call you ‘First Captain?’”
“Wha... what do you mean, Herr Juergens?” Lucy stammered.
“Being waited on. Having someone to do your bidding. Being in charge.”
Praying that Rukia was just outside the open door, Lucy said, “A spy. I should have known. And ‘captain’ will do.”
“Not at all, Captain. Just connections. We, that is, the Security Council, know that you are Lucille Angelina Grimes, born of John and Darla Grimes of Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 12th of October 1988. Placed third in your last high school long jump, and just missed being on the honor roll. Satisfactory grades at Colorado State University until you dropped out. All of this is a matter of public record, Captain. And, of course, now you’re the supreme commander of a group of people who have control of the most advanced technology in human history. Quite a jump, Captain.”
“Quite a jump, yes, Herr Juergens,” Lucy said as Rukia walked back in with two cups of coffee. Facing away from the diplomat, she raised her eyebrows questioningly. Lucy shook her head slightly. “But not what it seems,” she continued as Rukia left the room. “Just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. After all, I’m not the one who found the ship, just one of the first volunteers. And I still don’t appreciate being investigated.”
“There’s an old German saying, Captain, ‘If not your enemies, then your friends.’ It means that somebody is going to do it, so why not your friends? Besides, don’t you think your own country has done much worse? And I’m not even counting that whole Camp David affair. Please excuse me if I offend you with the memories of recent losses.”
“And are you my friend, Herr Juergens?” Lucy asked, pointedly ignoring the remarks about how her own country had treated her people.