by A. C. Ellas
The Scarlet Dragon was limping toward the seventh planet and it looked like the enemy was taking the bait, for the round ship was following. In fact, the round ship was gaining on them, and the fighters were in dire straits indeed, for the other ship had fighters, too, and had launched them.
“Lem, can we shoot any missiles back at them?”
“Those tubes were warped in the first missile salvo. It’s as if they knew exactly how to disable me.”
That thought was more than slightly chilling. An unknown alien that already has advanced knowledge of our ships’ capabilities? We are so fucked, Nick thought, but he shook himself and reminded himself that the battle was far from over. “Can you give us a little more speed? At this rate, they’ll overtake us halfway to our target.”
“I can try.”
The Scarlet Dragon’s speed increased, but at the same time, so did the subliminal whine that was setting Nick’s teeth on edge. The ion engines, he realized. They were beyond redlined. He phoned down to engineering.
“Not now,” snarled Commander Mackley without giving Nick a chance to say anything. “I don’t have time to be yapping while I’m trying to keep our precious engines from flying apart.” He hung up.
Nick blinked at the handset for a moment then moved on, checking on each section, each department, making notes of the damage and the casualties. If the computer system had been up, this data would have been collected automatically. But nevertheless, Nick had a good grasp of what the ship’s problems were by the time they approached the moon of the seventh planet.
They reached the gaseous moon, a Venus analogue in orbit around a giant Jupiter. Lem dipped them low, scraping the ship’s belly against the upper atmosphere and the enemy accelerated, trying to close with them before they could sink into the stygian gloom.
The Golden Hydra appeared out of the murk already firing. A split second later, the Scarlet Dragon fired also, the guns having been carefully targeted on the trailing spherical ship as they approached the moon. The enemy stopped dead, fires erupting along its equators. The combined fighters of the two human ships wiped out the enemy fighters within a short time. The Golden Hydra took the disabled enemy in tow, hauling it out of the moon’s gravity well.
With the fighting over, it wasn’t long before the captain of the Golden Hydra called Nick. Captain Muller’s visage appeared on the small screen before Nick. The balding, brown-eyed, brown-skinned man studied Nick for a long moment then said, “Well done, Captain Steele. You did extraordinarily well under extraordinarily difficult conditions. It is my hope that Admiralty also sees the bald heroism of your actions.”
“I’m not a captain,” Nick protested.
“Yes, you are. The commanding officer of a Space Corps ship is, by definition, a captain. When you took command and saved your ship, your ‘Gator and your crew from certain death, you earned the right to be called captain. Don’t ever forget that.”
“Ah, yes, sir.”
Muller smiled briefly. “Now, Captain, your orders. The Scarlet Dragon will fly tandem with us to Hevertich. There is a repair dock standing by for you. A courier speedboat is also standing by to take you, and all relevant data and reports, to Space Corps Command.”
“Yes, sir, orders received and understood.”
“Golden Hydra out.” The screen went dark.
Nick sat back in the chair, staring at the blue-tinted bulkhead. He hadn’t considered his actions to be heroic. He’d done what he had to do to survive. And turning the tables on the attacking ship—that had just made tactical sense. He had a feeling, though, that he’d better be very thorough in his report. Admiralty wouldn’t want to jump him, a lieutenant with less than six months experience, to captain of a starship.
Chapter Eighteen: Cai
Cai woke up abruptly with the sense of something being wrong. He felt the same as always, so he reached out with his mind, touching his six. No, they were the same as ever, too. Then, he opened his eyes and discovered that he was no longer in his familiar, bare room. He was in a much larger room with soft green-tinted walls. Blinking, Cai sat up.
Ortat was standing at the carved oak footboard of the wide, plush bed, clearly watching him. Seeing that he had Cai’s attention, he said quietly, “We are on the light cruiser Laughing Owl. If you pass your final exam, this ship will be yours.”
“Trainer, can you tell me what the test will be?”
“Astrogator-elect, all you must do is determine where you are and return this ship safely to Earth orbit.”
Cai licked his lips, still groggy—from drugs, he realized, wondering how long he’d been unconscious. “Trainer, when do I begin?”
“Whenever.” Ortat smiled mirthlessly. “Not right this minute, obviously, you’ve still got to finish waking up. This isn’t a timed test by any means, so I would suggest that you wait until you’re fully awake and alert.”
“How many are aboard, Trainer?” Cai rubbed his neck. Groggy didn’t begin to cover it. He acknowledged a deep need for coffee.
“Just us. It’s bad enough to risk a ship on an untried Astrogator. No need to risk lives as well.”
Cai felt his eyes widen at that. “What about you, Trainer? Aren’t you risking yourself?”
“I won’t be here when you jump, Cai, it’s not allowed. I wouldn’t mind, since I’ve perfect trust in your abilities, but the Guild won’t permit it. I will be following you and monitoring you from the Questral. If you manage to park the Laughing Owl in Earth orbit, then you graduate. If you don’t…well, we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.”
Cai wandered the empty corridors of the cruiser. Laughing Owl was a warship, and the layout reflected that. The bridge, for example, was in the center of the ship, near his chambers, not at the bow or near the double hull. He was doing one last walk through of his new home to clear his mind before entering the chamber for the beginning of his final exam. Ortat had left for Questral hours ago, leaving him alone in this large, empty spaceship.
Cai finally entered the chamber, a full dose of Synde making him feel light and airy. He linked with his six and the neurologics of the ship. He integrated the ship’s systems into himself, becoming the ship. He was so interfaced with the spaceship that he could feel the solar wind brushing over his hull/skin. He looked out at the stars with his sensors/eyes as he tasted the power of his engines for the first time. He began to check himself from bow to stern, looking for surprises. He found three, two obvious data snarls designed to trap him if ignored—or not noticed—and one subtle block on one of the leads of engine two, which could have caused a jump to fail.
Paranoid now, Cai ran a full diagnostic on every system. He found and corrected two additional problems, which while too minor to affect the jump, still bothered him. Eventually, the ship checked out in the green. Cai turned his attention outward again, trying to determine his location. The system analysis didn’t take long. Six planets, one occupied, which he was orbiting. Sol-type star and three asteroid belts. He took views of the star fields as he ran the star’s spectrum through his databanks. It took only moments to determine that he was in orbit at Hevertich, which made sense, being as it was the Space Corps main repair yard.
He pulsed his location to the Questral and requested permission to depart. His exit was low power, but once he was clear of local traffic, he applied his maximum acceleration, reveling in the power coursing through his system. He began to model his jump options, searching for a routing that would be both quick and efficient. He made a bold choice, picking the Tarasch system as a midpoint. Tarasch wasn’t inhabited, but it had so many hardpoints that over half his possible routes included it. The problem was that the points moved at random due to the system’s mechanics. The system’s multiple asteroid belts were under constant gravitational turmoil. The trinary suns, one supergiant and two dwarfs, were locked in a solar battle, with flares and solar storms being commonplace. The huge gas giants in orbit around the three stars only added to the mess t
hat was Tarasch. The Tarasch system was deemed to be dangerous, and most ‘Gators steered well clear of it, even if it added five or more jumps to their route.
But by going from Hevertich to Galston to Tarasch to Sol, he could do in only three jumps what would otherwise take seven. He left the chamber since it would be a full day before the outer markers were reached. He was tired but happy.
As he relaxed in bed, luxuriating in the space and privacy, three of his six entered the room. He gasped as he sensed their purpose. Not tonight, he sent desperately. He was so tired, this was the very last thing he wanted, he wasn’t sure he could endure it.
We must, the three replied as one, advancing toward him with purpose.
No, you must not. Please, not tonight.
We must, the three repeated. They reached out and ruthlessly took control of Cai’s body. When at last they were all sated, they released their hold on Cai. They waited silently, for usually Cai would reciprocate, but not this night.
Out! Cai snapped at them. Now you’ve had your fun, get OUT and leave me be!
The three bowed before they exited the room.
Cai curled up, sobbing quietly into his pillow. When the six had first started their little games with him, he had actually enjoyed it. Lately, it had become something that he merely endured, reciprocating only because he felt that if he didn’t, the situation would deteriorate further. Tonight, however, had been pure torture for him. He was only grateful in that he’d only had to service three, as opposed to the full six that usually made use of him.
* * * *
On the Questral, Sra turned to Ortat. “Why hasn’t the sex subroutine been cancelled in Cai’s six, as is customary?”
“I don’t know, I thought that it had been. But then, up until tonight, he’s always enjoyed what they did to him. Up until tonight, he always turned around and used them once they’d finished.”
“I don’t like it,” Sra said. “How can he have the self-respect and confidence necessary to deal with a crew and a captain if his six are raping him nightly?”
“I don’t know why it’s continuing, Sra. At least he only had to service three of them, not the full six.”
“A full Astrogator shouldn’t be servicing any of them!” Sra snapped. “I intend to do something about this!”
“Feel free, Sra. I happen to agree with you fully, especially after what we saw tonight.”
* * * *
Cai didn’t send his first jump destination until he was nearly at the marker. He sent it in a databurst with no voice comments, the only form of subtle protest that he could make.
Ortat came in on the Astrogator’s comm channel immediately, Galston? Cai, have you lost your mind? Tarasch is bloody dangerous!
Cai burst back, mental tone savage, This is my test, my choice. Unless I am specifically forbidden it, my routing includes Tarasch!
You’re a young fool! You’re risking yourself for no good reason! No, Tarasch is not forbidden, but as not only your Trainer, but also your friend, I strongly advise against it!
Friend? You dare to call yourself my friend after last night? I’m not stupid, Trainer Ortat, I know who enables my six to do that to me.
Ortat sent back a wave of sorrow. You’re wrong. Yes, the Guild enabled it at first, and I was required to permit it, but I had nothing to do with last night. The subroutine should have been cancelled, and we’re looking into it, okay?
I’m sorry, Cai said, mental voice quiet, but I’m still angling for Tarasch. It shaves a week or more off the trip.
Ortat conceded the argument with a sigh. It’s your test, Cai.
The jump to Galston was, in a word, perfect. Cai exited the jump with only a point one percent variance from his target point. Beat that, Questral! he trumpeted, but of course, the Questral wasn’t in-system yet. Cai rapidly developed his course, plotting a rapid transit which required slingshoting the ship around the huge sixth planet. The exit point he needed was only a third of the way around the system’s perimeter, so he could save time by not going further in-system. Questral came out of jump a good distance away from Cai, who sent his jump log at Ortat’s request.
Ortat took his time, reviewing the data while Raz brought the Questral onto a course convergence line with the Laughing Owl, paralleling the smaller cruiser’s journey. Ortat eventually told Cai, Very nice jump, textbook, even. But Tarasch won’t be nearly so easy.
Cai exited the chamber to eat and rest. That night, three of his six again forced him to serve their pleasure. When they finished, Cai ignored them utterly. He got up, put on his clothes, and stalked out of his own chambers. He wandered about the silent corridors for hours, the empty ship a match for how he felt inside. He was exhausted but unable to bear the thought of lying down on that bed. In the end, he napped in the captain’s chair on the bridge.
* * * *
Unbeknownst to him, Ortat and Sra had watched his every move with concern and some alarm. “It needs to stop,” Sra said softly. “I think we’re dangerously close to damaging him permanently. I think his choosing the Tarasch route is a form of protest at his treatment. What they’re doing to him is wrong, Ortat.”
“I know, I agree. But what can I do?”
“Cancel the subroutine,” Sra said. “I’ll even make it an official order. That way, I’ll be called to task for it, not you.”
“But I did cancel the subroutine, Sra, yet they continue to use him.”
“The subroutine was reinstated from higher up. You weren’t told. I managed to find out about it, however, and I don’t agree. Cai doesn’t need humbling, he needs rest. Cancel it.”
Ortat smiled warmly. “Consider it done, sir.”
* * * *
The next day, Cai jumped to Tarasch. Getting there was the easy part, really. Once there, however, he’d have to find the hardpoint leading to Sol. In most systems, the hardpoints were long-since mapped and plotted, their locations easy to find in his databanks. But in Tarasch, they’d never been mapped due their constant shifting, so he would have to find the hardpoint he needed on his own.
Cai took his readings as Questral joined him. The Tarasch system was even messier than he’d thought. He was inundated with the data from the eight gas planets in their odd elliptical orbits and the dozen asteroid belts that might have once been rocky planets that had been pulled apart by the titanic gravitational forces of the three suns. Cai used the data as he started calculating where the hardpoint he needed was, allowing Laughing Owl to drift near his entry point under no acceleration. He wasn’t going to move any further in-system until he knew where he was going.
Hardpoints were definable as an area of local space free of major gravitational influence, created by the interplay of local and distant forces. So by mapping the current local force patterns of the Tarasch system, Cai could overlay them against the larger galactic stress lines to find the hardpoints. With work and care, he should be able to determine which hardpoint was tied to Sol by the galactic forces. He entered a number storm, equations flashing as all of his mind and all of his computers bent toward the task, with continual updates on local conditions. Cai not only mapped out every force effect in the system, he analyzed the patterns behind them, searching for a deeper understanding of the mechanics of the chaos that was Tarasch. It took him hours, but he didn’t really notice the passage of real time, his perception of time was expanded fully, so it really felt more like days to him.
He found the Sol hardpoint a full hour before he stopped his analysis. He’d continued with the mappings because he thought that he had discovered something that fully explained the Tarasch system mechanics. But, eventually, he realized that he needed rest as well, so he let it be for a time. H plotted his course now, but with great care, since the hardpoint he needed was on the far side of the system’s disk from him, forcing him to cross the entire system. The Sol hardpoint couldn’t have been any further from his present position, actually. He chose to go deeper in-system, again prefe
rring to save time as opposed to the slow journey around the perimeter that Ortat would doubtless prefer. Cai sent his jump data and course plan in a single burst and pointedly exited the chamber before they could even begin to reply.
Cai sat before his console, shunting all comm bands to the automated system. Let Ortat bitch at the AI to his heart’s content, Cai didn’t want to hear it. He carefully rechecked his course, the necessary maneuvers and the timing of it. He would be in the chamber more frequently than advisable but still within the hard limits…barely. He devised his schedule for sleeping, Chambering and everything else before he stood and strode out of his chambers.
Ortat found Cai on the bridge, once again napping in the captain’s chair. Cai, he pathed, you should sleep in your bed. It’s much more comfortable, and you’ll need your rest to keep this schedule you’ve planned.
I need rest, Trainer, Cai replied bitterly. Rest that I don’t get in my own bed.
Go to your bed, Cai. That’s an order. Nothing will happen to you if you do. I promise.
Cai sent a wave of bitter disbelief, but he complied with the direct order, nearly stumbling as walked back to his chambers. He collapsed on his bed and fell deeply asleep. Nothing disturbed him that night. One of his six did enter his room but only to attach the cylinder that drained off the converted Synde, a necessary task that prevented the overdoses of the raw drug from harming the Astrogator. Cai didn’t even stir during this procedure, and the adjunct left without even touching the young ‘Gator in a manner that could be called improper.
Cai woke, ate, Chambered and slung the Laughing Owl around a gas giant toward the next in line. As he worked, he reanalyzed the system dynamics, adding everything he found to a database he’d started for this very purpose. Tarasch was a nut that he fully intended to crack. There had to be to be an underlying pattern, and he’d find it no matter how long it took. He knew from his own databanks that the system was so lightly explored that most of the data he was gathering was probably completely new. Most Astrogators who had jumped into Tarasch had taken one good look and jumped right back out. Avoidance of Tarasch was a habit, not a necessity. Cai was determined to map the system fully.