by Saxon Andrew
“If he really loves her, this is the only opportunity to do it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Fleet informed me that Candy is going to be promoted to take command of a warship upon her return.”
“Uh-oh! How do you think that is going to work out?”
“Candy will have to choose between RJ and command of a ship.”
“Candy’s been hoping to command her own ship since she was ten years old.”
Grady nodded, “I know. Maybe Abby and Rory are wrong about RJ being in love with Candy.”
“I really hope you’re right about that, Grady.”
“Me, too.”
• • •
Candy called RJ to the bridge and as he took his chair she announced, “Fleet has sent us orders to try and get a reading on how large the stealth warships are that are attacking the aliens. Once we get that reading, we’re ordered to leave and report back to fleet for debriefing.”
RJ nodded and looked at the core of the galaxy. “We need to move out in front of the alien lines confronting the alien civilization sending those stealth ships. It’s only a matter of time until they launch an attack.”
Candy turned to her console, “I’m moving the Endeavor out to the side of the course the stealth ships will be taking to the Britannia Aliens’ defensive lines.”
“That’s a good idea. I don’t think they would move head on into them.” Candy powered up the gravity drives and went to first-stage thruster and moved toward the core of the galaxy.
• • •
Candy moved the ship a light minute out from the alien’s defenses and RJ turned to her, “Don’t you think this is a little close?”
“It will still take our optical scanner a minute to receive anything that happens, RJ.”
“We don’t have to use the optical scanner. We can use our passive scanners from a lot further out.”
“We don’t know if the stealth aliens are capable of detecting our passive scanners, RJ.”
“Candy, the passive scanners don’t emit anything. And we know our ship can’t be detected by the Britannia Aliens. However, they can detect us with their mass detection systems.”
“Not if we shut down our gravity system and remain in place. I believe this is the safest way. I moved to this location by avoiding all of the scouts they have out from their territory. We should be fine.”
RJ stared at her and changed the gravity drives to standby. Candy’s brow furrowed, and RJ said, “I’m not taking any chances.” Candy huffed out a breath and turned back to her console. A week passed, and they slept in their chairs. RJ was suddenly woken by Candy saying loudly, “A LARGE FORMATION OF BRITANNIA ALIEN WARSHIPS ARE LEAVING THEIR LINES AND MOVING OUT IN OUR GENERAL DIRECTION!” Candy stared at her faceplate and added, “I don’t think they’ve detected us. They appear to be moving toward something out from our location.”
RJ watched the tactical display in his helmet and suddenly saw the Britannia Alien formation turn on a course closer to their position. “CANDY! MOVE THE SHIP VERTICAL NOW!”
Candy turned to him, “We need to move in closer to get a good view of a stealth ship…”
RJ hit the button transferring the pilot’s controls to his console, punched the passive scanners on, and pushed the vertical thruster handle upward as he shoved the thruster control to first-stage. The Endeavor shot away from the position it was holding and Candy’s expression showed immediate anger.
Suddenly, the computer announced, “Two-hundred large missiles are homing in on our ship.” Candy looked at the passive scanner monitor and saw it was filled with blips moving toward them at an incredible closing speed. RJ calmly moved the vertical-thruster control to second-stage gravity drive and the missiles began falling away. Candy’s expression showed her surprise as explosions filled the passive scanner. RJ continued moving away from Britannia Alien territory and after a few moments the computer announced, “The missiles pursuing us are self-destructing. We’ve moved outside of their range.”
RJ brought the Endeavor to a stop and saw explosions still taking place on the passive monitor. “Computer, have we gotten a good image of one of those stealth warships being destroyed.”
“Yes, Commander. I’ve recorded more than fifty of them being hit.”
RJ looked at Candy as she released her harness and put her face in her hands as she slumped forward and started trembling. RJ came out of his chair, rushed over to her, and took her hands in his. Candy’s eyes were moist as she said, “I would have gotten us killed…”
“Shhhhhh…” RJ said softly. “It’s alright. We’re safe now.”
Candy was shaking her head and trembling as the computer announced, “From the analysis of the explosions those missiles produced, if the ship was hit by forty or more of them, critical damage would have taken place.”
Candy put her arms around RJ’s neck and started weeping as he lifted her out of her chair and held her tightly. He closed his eyes and held her for a very long moment. Finally, Candy stopped trembling and tried to back away, but RJ refused to release her. Candy said, “I’m Ok. You can let me go.”
“I’ve dreamed of holding you like this for such a very long time.”
Candy’s brow furrowed, and she pushed him away. “What are you saying, RJ?”
RJ stood in front of her as she fell back in her chair. He turned, walked back to his chair and turned to his console. Candy stared at him and then demanded, “What did you mean by that?!”
RJ blew out a breath, lowered his head slightly…then turned to her, “Candy, I’ve been in love with you for most of my life.”
“WHAT?”
RJ raised his shoulders, “I’ve dreamed about you and I being together for so many years.”
“RJ, you’re like a brother to me! Why haven’t you ever told me about your feelings?!”
RJ blew out another breath and said softly, “Mostly because I feared this would be your response.”
Candy started shaking her head, “I love you, but not like that! You’re like family to me.”
“Are you sure you can’t have feelings for me, Candy?”
“Absolutely.”
RJ sighed and returned the pilot’s controls to Candy’s console, “We’ve completed our mission. Take us home.”
“RJ…”
He held up his hand interrupting her, “Just forget I said anything. Please, take us home. I’m going to take a break and get some rest.”
RJ left the bridge and Candy watched him leave. This was ludicrous! She turned the ship and pushed the thruster handle forward. The Endeavor leapt away and moved over the top of the galactic core. Candy had the computer send the recordings of the stealth warships to fleet operations and was congratulated. They informed her that upon her return, she would be given command of a King Hare Warship. Candy’s heart beat faster and her joy was instantaneous, but… then she thought about RJ. He remained in his quarters until she called him to come and relieve her. She told him about getting her own command and he smiled with her. She tried to open a conversation about what happened, but he refused to do it. RJ was hard to read, and this time was no different. She finally left the bridge and RJ increased the Endeavor’s speed. He needed to get away.
• • •
Candy went to her bed fell on it. She thought about how she could have missed how RJ felt. He just didn’t show much emotionally. She tried to focus on it but getting command of a new warship kept entering her thoughts. All that she had hoped, prayed, and planned for was finally happening. She fell asleep thinking about what she was going to name it.
• • •
They finally arrived in orbit above New Britannia and RJ turned to Candy, “We’re ordered to report to fleet operation tomorrow morning at ten for debriefing. I know you’ve missed your parents, so you can go ahead and go; I’ll take care of getting the ship serviced.”
“RJ…”
He interrupted her, “Candy, are you certain you don’t want to stay on
the Endeavor with me?”
“RJ, I’ve just been given the command of my own warship!”
RJ stared at her and said, “You’ve said enough.”
“I don’t want to lose my only brother, RJ!”
“You won’t. I’ll be at every family gathering and we’ll just pretend this didn’t happen.”
RJ stared at her showing nothing on his face and she sighed, turned, and walked off the bridge to take a shuttle to the planet’s surface. RJ finally had the time to break down and release his sorrow. After a few hours, he finally gathered his emotions. Later in the afternoon he saw a communication come in on his display, “Captain Dunhan.”
“Good Day, Admiral Alexander.”
“You’ve done an excellent job of carrying out your mission. The Senior Fleet Officers have agreed to promote you to Wing Commander and you’ll be commanding fifty King Hare Warships. You will be transferring from your current vessel to a command Hare and you’ll need to choose who will be your second-in-command.”
“What rank will they be given, Sir?”
“They will be a Senior Captain. Do you want us to select someone for you?”
RJ’s expression was stoic, and he shook his head, “I trained in the Academy with cadet Angelica Coronado. Would you see if she’s willing to accept the position, Sir?”
“I’ll contact her and see, RJ. Congratulations on a job well done.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Wade ended the call and wondered why RJ showed no joy at his new promotion. He turned to his XO and gave him instructions to find Lt. Angelica Coronado and offer her the position on RJ’s new ship. He further ordered that if she refused to contact him immediately.
• • •
Abby and Rory contacted RJ and he begged off going home. “I’m moving to a new command ship, Mom. I’ve been promoted to Wing Commander and I have to get everything organized and packed to move. I’ll come by and see you after debriefing tomorrow morning.”
“Are you ok, RJ?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Abby ended the call and Rory looked at her, “She turned him down, Rory.”
“How do you know?”
“I know my son! I just pray we can help him through this.”
Rory took Abby in his arms, “We just need to be here for him, Sweet Heart. Time is the only thing that will heal this.” Abby nodded and put her head into his chest.
• • •
The next morning, RJ lifted his duffle bag and looked around the bridge. Well, he just didn’t have the necessary romantic skills to make it happen. He turned to go and heard his console beep. He went to it and pressed the button on an incoming call. Angel appeared on the central wall monitor and he sat down in his chair. “What’s going on, RJ?”
“I asked Admiral Alexander to check and see if you were interested in being my second-in-command.”
Angel rolled her eyes, “I’m aware of that! What else is going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. You told me you were working on an ultimate goal by graduating early and being number one in your class. If I were a part of your plan, you would have asked me to join you when you were given command of your ship. Something has changed, and I’d like to know what it is.” RJ stared at her in silence and Angel took a deep breath and blew it out, “Candy Henricks turned you down.” RJ’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t think I’m a dummy, RJ. I’ve kept track of you and when I saw she was chosen to be on your ship it all became clear. She’s older than you and that’s why you worked so hard to graduate early. You wanted to be with her; sort of like her parents were together on a ship.”
“My parents were also together on a ship, Angel.”
Angel waved a hand, “Am I wrong?”
RJ glanced up at the ceiling and then turned back to Angel, “No, you’re not.”
“Well, what kind of existence would it be for me trapped on a warship with someone moping around acting sad all the time?”
“Then say no! You’ll be promoted to Senior Captain to do this and we do work well together; if you want more than that, look elsewhere.”
Angel stared at RJ and asked, “Is it really over?” RJ nodded. “You won’t be getting back together?”
“NO!”
“Alright, I’ll accept the position. But I’m counting on you to not be the walking dead on our ship, can you do that?”
“I guess.”
“So, what’s the next goal you have for yourself?”
“Angel, I’ve not even thought about that. I’m just making it through one day at a time.”
“Then start! You’re at your best working to accomplishing something.”
Angel disappeared from the display and RJ mumbled, “So much for sympathy.” He turned and left the ship.
• • •
He arrived at Fleet Intelligence and found a gathering of Admirals and Fleet Intelligence officers. Candy arrived two minutes later and took an empty chair at the table. She glanced at RJ sitting across from her, but he didn’t look her way. The questions started and went on for several hours. Candy answered many of the questions, but it was RJ that managed to give enough details to satisfy their questioners. They went through the hours of video recordings and at the end, Admiral McArdle turned to Candy and asked, “Why was your ship so close to the Britannia Alien attack at the end? You barely managed to escape.”
Admiral Alexander added, “That was not a good decision, Lt. Henricks. It causes us to question if you’re ready to command a warship.”
Candy felt her heart go into her throat and RJ quickly interjected, “Sir, I was in command of the ship and I approved the plan we followed. If you have issues with what we did, I am the one you should be questioning.” The two admirals turned to RJ and he continued, “We needed to find out what role the new optical system would play in future encounters with the aliens. Captain Henricks followed her orders, Sir.”
Candy saw RJ staring down the admirals and she knew he had just saved her again. Finally, Admiral Alexander looked around the room and announced, “Well, we now know using the optical scanner in close combat is a liability.” He turned to Candy and smiled, “Congratulations on your new command and I know you’ll do an outstanding job. You should go to personnel, sign your promotion papers, and then go to Fleet Operations to be given a ship.”
Candy stood up, “Yes, Sir. And thank you.” She glanced at RJ and he nodded slightly. She left the room with an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach. Their ship would have been destroyed but for RJ’s fast thinking. The Admirals must have known that from the recording of what happened, but they decided not to push it. She should feel happy but just couldn’t pull it off.
• • •
Admiral McArdle turned to RJ after Candy exited the room, “Wing Commander, is Lt. Henricks ready to command a warship?”
RJ said in a firm voice, “Sir, with the experiences she had during our mission, she’s far more prepared than any other pilot in the fleet.”
McArdle stared at RJ for a long moment and realized he really didn’t answer his question. But that was the best he was going to get so he turned to Admiral Alexander, “Is his wing ready?”
“It will be in five days, Sir.”
McArdle nodded and turned back to RJ, “Take three days off and plan to meet with the pilots under your command in five days.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You’re dismissed, Wing Commander.” RJ stood up and left the briefing room. McArdle turned to Wade, “I hope he’s right about Henricks.”
“Aren’t you being a little hard on her, Sir? She’s as competent as any other academy graduate. Just give her some time and I’m sure she’ll do fine.”
McArdle smiled, “I’m glad you feel that way. Have her assigned to one of your units.”
Wade forced himself to smile, “Yes Sir. And thank you.”
RJ left the meeting and immediately contacted his mother, “Mom, I
’m stopping by my new ship for a moment to get my Second organized on what needs to be done and then I’m coming home.”
“Good! I’ll see you later this afternoon.”
RJ nodded and went to a ground shuttle. It took him to a new king Hare Warship and RJ immediately saw it was shaped differently from the Endeavor. The bow wasn’t nearly as pointed and there was a slight swelling in the area of the bridge. He entered through the open port and arrived on the bridge to find Angel sitting in a chair twenty feet back from the pilot and weapon controls. His eyes narrowed, and she rolled her eyes, “Tell me you didn’t know about this!”
“What is going on?”
“It appears you are going to be assigned a new pilot and weapons operator. You and I will be in command chairs directing the ships under your command.”
“NO WAY!”
“I guess this is what happens when you move up the chain-of-command. Have you ever seen an admiral piloting a ship?”
“Grady and Taffy Henricks along with my parents did!”
“Well, that was then, this is now,” Angel responded. “We’ve got to go through the simulations that teach us how to use our new systems. From what I’ve been able to ascertain, your chair is the one that will issue orders to your ships and my chair is designed to make sure your orders are transmitted accurately.”
“I don’t know if I like this, Angel.”
“Well, I can tell you for certain I don’t!” Angel paused, sighed, and then added, “But if either of us intends to move up in command, this is what it will lead to. You and I are going to have to learn to depend on the three crewmen.”
“Three? I thought you said a pilot and weapon’s officer?”
“There’s also an electronics officer that will be controlling all the scanning and optical arrays on the ship. They will provide you with what you need to make good command decisions. Are you ready to get started?”
“I promised my mother I’d come by and see her this afternoon. I’ve already put her off once and she will blow a fuse if I try again. I was given three days off, but I’ll come back here this evening to start working on our new consoles.” RJ shrugged, “I guess this is a good thing; I need to stay busy.”