Delphi League (Delphi in Space Book 10)

by Bob Blanton

  “Look, there is no way to exclude all unsavory people from any population. Someone who’s been here a few years might just decide that they could do better getting involved with illegal activity. It happens all the time in any sizable population. It happens here. Kal’s team is pretty good at identifying them early, but for some people, morality is an option. They’re going to do whatever gets them ahead. We can’t screen them all out.”

  “So we just have to accept it?”

  “No, we have to accept the risk of it happening. We have Kal and Chief Nawal to keep an eye on things and root them out. People are just flawed; you have to accept that. You’re going to have some flawed people on your ships. There were probably a few on the Sakira when you commanded her. The only thing you can do is create an environment where everyone knows that they can get help if one of these flawed people tries to take advantage of them.”

  Catie grimaced and Blake laughed a little. “It’s just life. You’ll get used to it.”

  “I hope not!”

  “You will. That doesn’t mean you should get jaded. It’s always a disappointment to find someone like that. But if you pretend they don’t exist, then you make it easy for them to get away with it. If you accept the reality of it, then you’ll more likely pick up the warning signs.”

  “Thanks,” Catie said, still frowning. “I guess I still have a lot to learn about people.”

  “Yes, despite all of your adventures, you’ve lived a sheltered life. Most of the people you’ve associated with have been successful. It’s tougher on the margins. Here in Delphi, we try to avoid having too many people in the margins, but there are always some.”

  “But we have the barracks for people to restart. They’re not that bad.”

  “No, they’re not. But some people just don’t want to do more than the minimum. Do you know that thirty percent of the people who live in the barracks are permanent residents?”

  “No way!”

  “Yep. They just do enough to stay out of trouble, but they refuse to do enough to get their own place. Some of them actually do pretty well, but they seem to be stuck in place. Like teenagers, they like living someplace where they are not responsible for anything. We had to start a cleaning service there. Of course, it’s the residents that do the job, but if we didn’t institute the service, some of them would never have cleaned their rooms.”

  “Gross!”

  “Flawed people.”

  “Thanks, I guess,” Catie said.

  “No problem. Now back to work, are you ready to head out?”

  “We leave tomorrow.”

  “Good luck. Should be simple, but any sign of trouble, you head for the fringe and jump out.”

  “Yeah, you already told me.”

  “And I’ll probably tell you again. Now, I’ve got to go if I’m going to make my dinner date.”

  “Say high to Jackie for me.”

  “I will.”

  Chapter 13

  A Ride Home

  The Roebuck was sitting at one of the bays in the docking ring. It nestled right in with the Oryxes that were docked. Even the Sakira would fit. It was only the carriers that were so big that you couldn’t get two of them in adjacent bays. But if you spaced them out, anything as small as the Sakira could fit in next to them.

  “Welcome aboard,” Catie said to the Onisiwoen group. They still looked skeptical, but they were happy to be going home. “As soon as you’re settled into your cabins, we’ll push back. We’ll have gravity ten minutes later. Please call the steward if you have any issues getting settled in.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Charlie said. “We are very happy that you’re going to take us home.”

  “Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you. I’ll see you tomorrow at dinner,” Catie said. She’d invited the Onisiwoen group to dine with her in her cabin. Samantha wanted her to do as much as she could to butter them up, hoping it would lead to a better relationship with the Onisiwo system.

  “We look forward to it.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  First Mate Koko Suzuki had been finalizing the details of their departure with the Delphi Station crew. Catie saw her coming up the gangway and decided to wait for her.

  “Good morning, Princess,” Suzuki said as she made her way onto the Roebuck. The spacer that was stationed at the entry barely suppressed his snicker. Catie was shocked at being referred to as Princess instead of captain.

  “Good morning First Mate, would you join me in my cabin before we depart,” Catie said.

  “I need to get to the bridge and input our departure parameters.”

  “I’m sure it can wait five minutes.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Once the hatch was closed, Catie led the way to her cabin.

  “Have a seat,” Catie said as she sat down behind her desk. Catie knew that First Mate Suzuki hadn’t been happy when Catie had taken over as captain of the Roebuck. Suzuki had been acting captain ever since Lieutenant Payne had finished his tour. Obviously, she had been hoping for the position to be made permanent.

  Catie left Suzuki hanging for a few minutes, specifically to create tension.

  “Was there something you wanted to say to me, ma’am?” Suzuki asked.

  “Yes there is. I was just trying to make a decision first. But I think I’m ready. First Mate Suzuki, you will address me as Cer, Ma’am, or Captain while you are aboard my ship, do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Suzuki answered, feigning confusion.

  “To be clear, if you ever address me in any other way, specifically as princess, you will be spending the rest of the trip in your cabin. And if I find you making comments to the crew that undermine my position or authority, you will also be spending the rest of the trip in your cabin as well as being brought up on charges when we make it back to Earth. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am, I just heard one of the Onisiwoens calling you princess, I guess it just slipped out.”

  “We both know that is not true. And if you ever lie to me again, we’ll use the same remedy,” Catie said.

  “Yes, ma’am. I apologize.”

  “Enough said. Please get us prepared to push back.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Suzuki said. She stood up and made a crisp about-face and left the cabin. Catie hated being so heavy-handed, but she couldn’t afford to allow Suzuki to imply to the crew that the only reason she was captain was because she was Princess Catie.

  Suzuki slammed her palm into the bulkhead opposite Catie’s cabin. “Damn her,” she hissed. “I should challenge her to a sparring match!”

  “Are you alright, ma’am?” Morgan asked.

  “Oh, sorry, I’m fine,” Suzuki said.

  “She can be trying.”

  “Who?”

  “The captain. If you decide to challenge her to spar with you, give me a day or two to lay down bets.”

  “You would bet on the match?”

  “Oh, I’m sure the whole crew would.” Morgan gave First Mate Suzuki a reassuring nod.

  “Maybe I will,” Suzuki said as she straightened out her uniform and headed toward the bridge.

  Catie gave Suzuki five minutes before she followed her to the bridge. When she arrived, everyone was at their stations, preparing for the push back.

  “First Mate, you parked her here, I’ll let you do the honors of getting us underway,” Catie said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Suzuki said.

  Catie noticed a knowing glance between the second mate at the communication console and the navigator. She wondered if he was implying that she might not be competent to issue the correct orders to get the ship out of the dock. She grimaced; she’d have to figure out how to undo any damage that Suzuki might have done in the past week.

  Once the Roebuck was free of the dock, Catie looked at the navigator. “Do you have the course laid in for our jump point?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “First Mate, you have the bridge. Make an annou
ncement before we accelerate so the Onisiwoen will know to expect gravity. I’ll be in my office.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “I’ll take the conn,” Catie said as she arrived on the bridge. They’d been underway for three days, and the tension between her and Suzuki was still palpable. Catie had tried to find a way to bridge the gap, but Suzuki was maintaining an ice-cold demeanor.

  “You have the conn,” Suzuki said.

  “Anything to report?”

  “No, ma’am. Everything is running smoothly. I’m going to head to the gym and get a workout in before lunch.”

  Catie smiled. This was the first time Suzuki had said anything personal since they started the voyage. “I like to get a run in first thing in the morning.”

  “Oh, you run. I prefer doing a few katas,” Suzuki said.

  “Oh, you practice Aikido?”

  “Yes, do you know it?”

  “I’ve had some training,” Catie said.

  “Maybe we could do a sparring session together. I’m always looking for a new sparring partner,” Suzuki said with a smile.

  “Sure. Let me know when a good time would be.”

  “How about tomorrow afternoon. We both have the third watch off.”

  “Sounds good,” Catie said as she brought up the ship’s log on her display and started to enter the change of command.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  The next afternoon, Catie met Suzuki in the gym. “Kind of crowded,” she said as she looked around. About one-third of the crew was crammed into the space, just leaving room in the middle for the sparring ring and a half meter safety zone around it.

  “Some of the crew thought it would be instructional to observe your technique,” Suzuki said.

  Catie was wearing grey yoga pants with a loose white blouse. Suzuki was wearing a white gi with a black hakama, a huge billowing pair of pants, over it. Catie slipped out of her sandals as she stepped into the ring. She did a few stretches as she looked around at the crowd. Apparently, Suzuki was planning on showing her up. So, she was still mad about losing command.

  Suzuki stepped into the ring and started doing a slow warmup. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

  “Any time,” Catie said, shaking her head. She grabbed her headgear and put it on.

  “Headgear?”

  “A requirement,” Catie said. “Either of us can do our jobs while healing from anything except a brain injury. I don’t want to risk losing you for two weeks.”

  Suzuki smiled as she went to the rack and grabbed her headgear. “I don’t think you need to worry about losing me.”

  “Of course not, but accidents do happen.”

  Morgan stepped into the ring and asked the two women to square off and bow to each other.

  “Did you get some bets laid on?” Catie messaged.

  “Lots of bets,” Morgan whispered. “Okay, no strikes to the eyes. If one of you hits the ground and cannot get up before the count of eight the match is over. If one of you is pinned to the ground by the other for more than a count of ten, the match is over. You may begin!”

  Catie relaxed and started circling Suzuki. When Suzuki stepped in, Catie threw a soft punch at her. Suzuki blocked it easily and tried to grasp Catie’s arm to get her into an armlock. Catie circled out of it and stepped back. Suzuki stepped in, throwing a three combination punch series. Catie blocked the punches and kept circling.

  Suzuki started moving faster, punching harder, using a more complex series of punches and blocks. Catie kept blocking the strikes, but her blocks were coming later and later. Suzuki got in a couple of glancing blows as Catie continued to back up and circle away from her.

  The noise from the crowd grew louder and Suzuki became even more aggressive. Catie kept blocking and circling away. Occasionally she would throw a combination at Suzuki, but Suzuki would easily block it. Suzuki became even more confident and aggressive. She attacked Catie almost constantly. Catie’s blocks continued to lag. Suzuki couldn’t get in a solid hit, nor was she able to grasp Catie’s arms or shoulders when Catie launched one of her infrequent counter attacks.

  Suddenly Catie stepped in, throwing a hard right at Suzuki’s head. Suzuki sidestepped it and grabbed Catie’s arm. She slid her arm along Catie’s until it was pressed against Catie’s armpit. Catie flailed and twisted her body. Suzuki stepped forward with her right leg coming behind Catie’s legs. Catie lurched and circled her arm from Suzuki’s grasp and fell backward on Suzuki’s leg. Suzuki thrust her weight forward trying to push Catie’s body to the floor. Catie continued to flail and threw her weight backward, spinning her body on top of Suzuki’s leg, her head angling toward the floor. Catie kicked out with her left leg which Suzuki easily blocked upward. As Catie was falling toward the floor she kicked out desperately with her right leg. Her heel caught Suzuki right in the solar plexus. Suzuki collapsed to the floor as Catie rolled back into an upright stance.

  “One . . . Two . . .,” Morgan counted. Suzuki tried to stand up, but she was almost paralyzed by the blow. “Six . . . Seven . . . Eight!” Morgan finished the count. “The captain is the winner!” Morgan shouted.

  Catie walked over and helped Suzuki to her feet. “Are you all right?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Suzuki gasped. “Lucky shot!”

  “Better lucky than good,” Catie said as she helped Suzuki over to the bench. The gym was emptying quickly. “You’ll be fine in a minute. Morgan will stay with you until you’ve recovered.”

  Catie left the gym, followed by the stragglers. Soon there was only Morgan and Suzuki in the gym. Suzuki’s coloring was returning and her breathing was becoming easier.

  “Sorry about that,” Suzuki said. “Lucky shot.”

  “Why are you sorry?” Morgan asked.

  “I cost you money.”

  “Nope, I made eight thousand Aurora.”

  “You bet on the captain?”

  “Of course,” Morgan said.

  “But I nearly beat her. If it wasn’t for that crazy kick, I would have won.”

  “You think? She used to pull that trick on me all the time. It took me six months before I could train myself not to go for that move.”

  “She did that on purpose?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “But she was barely blocking my strikes.”

  “Barely is still good enough. Did you ever tag her? If you did, I didn’t see it.”

  “No way!” Suzuki jumped up, clearly almost fully recovered.

  “She suckers you in by letting you think you’re winning.”

  “I don’t believe you!”

  “Kaia!” Morgan shouted.

  Suzuki stepped back and blocked Morgan’s strike. Morgan launched another combo tagging Suzuki on the head, not too hard, but hard enough that she knew she’d been hit. In four more exchanges, Morgan tagged Suzuki twice more and then got her in a shoulder lock, releasing her just before Suzuki would have hit the floor.

  “So you’re her sensei.”

  “No, I’m her sparring partner. When we spar, the captain usually crushes me,” Morgan said. “She let you save face this time. If you challenge her again, she’ll humiliate you.”

  “You think?”

  “I know. You’ve got two strikes. Catie doesn’t give anyone a pass after the third.”

  “Thanks for the heads up,” Suzuki said. “I think I’ll go sit in the jacuzzi and meditate.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “We’ve reached the fringe, Captain,” the navigator reported.

  “Are you ready to open the wormhole?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Then start the cascade,” Catie ordered. Using the preplaced probes, the navigator opened a wormhole one jump away, then continued to open one from the next system back to the last one, allowing the wormholes to merge. Finally, the last wormhole from Onisiwo was opened. When it merged with the previous wormhole, there was a single wormhole snaking from Earth to Onisiwo.

  “Cascade complete.
”

  “Prepare for transition,” blared on the ship’s speakers.

  Catie gave everyone one minute to prepare. “Take us through,” she ordered.

  The Roebuck adjusted its jump engines so the wormhole became stationary instead of being projected in front of the Roebuck. “Entering wormhole now.”

  “And welcome to Onisiwo,” Catie announced as the Roebuck exited the wormhole seconds later.

  “Flipping the ship in one minute,” the pilot announced.

  “Navigator, plot a course that brings us to the edge of their asteroid belt. I want us to orbit outside of their farthest space station. We’ll start contacting them once we’re inside the second gas giant.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Chapter 14

  We Have a Problem

  “The wormhole has just appeared in the Onisiwoen system!” ADI alerted Catie. They were just two days into their journey to the Onisiwoens’ planet.

  “Put the ship on yellow alert,” Catie ordered as she made her way to the bridge. Yellow alert put the Roebuck into active military status.

  “Captain on the bridge,” the ship AI announced as Catie entered.

  “Oh, I wanted to say that,” ADI said.

  “I can’t believe you let the AI beat you,” Catie messaged back. “First Officer, please bring up the weapons station,” Catie ordered. First Officer Suzuki got out of the captain’s chair and moved to the weapons station.

  Catie sat in the captain’s chair and brought up the navigation screen; after a few strokes and calculations, she sent the data to the navigator. “Navigator, execute the turn I just sent you. Comms, announce we’ll go to max acceleration in one hour.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the comm officer and navigator announced together.

  “Admiral McCormack is on the Comm.”

  “Put him on the main display. . . . Admiral.”

  “Captain, I hear the wormhole has opened. Are you moving back to the fringe?”

  “Yes, it’ll take us three days to get back to the fringe. The wormhole has been stable for two minutes; I suggest we push our probe through.”

  “I agree.”

  “ADI.”

  “Moving the probe,” ADI replied.