“The ship is life,” Kalinda quoted.
“Save the ship, save yourselves,” the captain replied.
“So where is Cain now?” Kalinda asked innocently.
“Now that is a good question,” Rand dodged. “He missed our departure along with Ensigns Peekaless and Black Leaper. That means we are down seven people before we look at staffing any of the new positions. We are short twenty-five percent of our crew, Ensign. Each one of us is going to carry a little extra weight on this trip.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. There’s no way to go get them? This ship is the best in the fleet! We’re racing up and down the gravity well. If I get a vote, I say we go get them,” she said firmly. Rand couldn’t tell if she was acting, trying to goad him into revealing something.
“I think we would, if we knew where they were. But that’s nothing to worry about right now. We have work to do, more work than we can do, but we’ll give it our best effort. Last stop is the hangar deck and then we better get back to the bridge.”
Two flights of stairs later, they entered the corridor outside the hangar bay to find two men in a vicious argument. Rand yelled and strode briskly to them, interposing his body.
“What the hell is going on here?” the captain asked brusquely.
“Our new ensign believes we should skip this deck on our maintenance rounds, because in his words, there’s too much to do,” Lieutenant Commander Garinst growled, glaring at his young charge.
“That’s crap, Garinst. You were the one who said skip this deck. I think you’re incompetent!” the ensign retorted. Captain Rand raised his hands, calling for silence.
He looked at Ensign Masson. “I don’t care who suggested it. We don’t skip anything here. Checklists are there for a reason. Every item on the list belongs there and deserves our attention. At some point in time, Ensign, you’ll be on your own to make these rounds. What will I expect to see at that time?”
“Good work! Everything broken will get fixed. That’s what I do,” the ensign said defensively. “It’s like you don’t believe me!”
“I know Garinst, three cruises’ worth. He’s made sure that stuff doesn’t break in the first place. That’s the sign of a good mechanic. When nothing in your areas breaks for an entire cruise, you will have earned my respect and praise. Until then, you’re a trainee.” The man stamped a foot as he ground his teeth together. His face turned bright red.
“What’s next on the checklist?” Rand asked, trying to defuse the tension.
“Power couplings and sluice in the access port right up there,” Garinst said.
“Your show, Masson. Show me what you have,” the captain challenged.
The young man grabbed the pad from the lieutenant commander’s hand and stormed down the corridor. He stopped at the panel and tried to pop it open, but it stayed sealed. He worked the twist-locks, but it wouldn’t play. He pulled a wedge from his tool kit and started working it into the seam when Garinst yelled. “Stop! You’re killing me and you’re hurting my ship!”
The man grumbled. “See what I have to put up with? All criticism and no help. This ship sucks!”
Captain Rand found that he’d clenched his hands into fists. He shook them out and steepled his fingers. “Report to wastewater. Open your implant and do whatever Jolly tells you to do. Dismissed,” the captain commanded. The ensign looked at him, then crossed his arms. “I said report to wastewater,” the captain ordered again, in a louder voice. The man dropped the wedge on the floor and kicked his toolbox, mumbling under his breath when he passed them on his way to the stairs.
Ensign Kalinda’s distaste was clear on her face.
“There we are, Garinst. Do your best, my friend,” the captain offered his hand before leaving his maintenance chief behind to continue the checklist for that level.
“Back to the bridge,” Rand said, much happier than he felt.
‘Jolly, make sure that idiot doesn’t break anything, please. My only other option is to put him into cryosleep for the remainder of the trip,’ the captain told the AI via his neural implant.
“How did the likes of that guy get here? I know what I had to go through and there’s no way he jumped through those same hoops,” Kalinda said, both disgusted and surprised.
“No idea, Ensign. And he’s the reason we’re short seven, and not eight. Almost makes you want to be short eight, doesn’t it?” the captain laughed, hanging on for a ride over which he had little to no control.
Finding Your Way
They spent two days in the forest because they could eat and drink, but most importantly, they had a defensible position.
“You think it will take three days to get there? It might be only a few kilometers away. We are forward and all we have to do is find the port side that we rotate past, what, once every few minutes?” Pickles said, his vocalization device reflecting his deadpan humor.
“Come on, Pickles, this is me! When have I ever made anything easy?” Cain joked. The Lizard Man nodded. “Stinky, how do we figure out which side is port?”
“Look out the window?” the Wolfoid suggested.
“We won’t have a window until we cross the transition room into zero-g. That’s why I’m giving us three days. If we come out on the wrong side, then it’s going to take a while to pull ourselves hand over hand along the wires. That could be more than twenty kilometers. That is a long way to crawl. Three days,” Cain said.
“How about this. When we’re in the transit room and we enter zero-g, what do you say we look out. If we aren’t close to where we want to be, we don’t get out. We spin a little more, then stop for a look-see.” The Lizard Man’s expression never changed.
“Did you just say ‘look-see’? Pickles! You are becoming more and more human every day,” Cain joked.
“You don’t have to be insulting, Major!” the lieutenant replied in equally good humor.
“That’s genius, Pickles. We’ll do just that. We stay here for two more days, then we move like we mean it. We’ll take the elevator right in front of us to the shell. Three movements, with me going last. If something happens, you can still get on the ship. No arguments!”
“We have a couple more days to kill. Options?” he asked those present, the lieutenants, the sergeant, the four corporals, Brutus, Lutheann, Tobiah, and a few other ‘cats whose names he didn’t know.
“Tactical movement across the forest,” Stalker offered.
“Let’s go between decks and hunt us some Androids,” Stinky suggested, snarling.
“We dig in and wait,” Pickles said.
“Risk versus gain. There’s nothing I would like more than to take the platoon Android hunting, but it would gain us nothing. Revenge doesn’t make for a sound strategy. Right now, we are at war. The Androids are an enemy, but our mission is to get to The Olive Branch and protect that ship, that crew. The Traveler is irrelevant except as a stepping stone to reach our spaceship. Never forget the mission, Marines. If we run across any Androids when we move to the port-side dock, we will terminate them at that time, not before. So, the command is we dig in and wait.” Cain looked at his people to see if they understood. Most did.
Stinky was still angry. He had been since Fang’s death, but they couldn’t afford to execute personal vendettas. Cain’s deep secret was that he harbored the same thoughts for the Concordians. He wanted to make them pay, but wouldn’t and couldn’t tell anyone.
‘Except me, and you tell me everything even if I don’t want to hear it!’ Brutus complained.
“Sorry, little man, but that’s what you get with me. I’m an open book, so to speak.”
‘You suck at keeping secrets,’ Brutus stated.
“There shouldn’t be any between us, like what’s your real name?” Cain prodded.
‘Wouldn’t you like to know!?’ the ‘cat parried.
“Fair enough, Bee. What do you think we should do?”
‘Get the hell off this ship. Someone who can control the Androids is out to get you. Anyon
e next to you isn’t safe and unfortunately, that’s usually me, so, dumbass, take the target off your chest by getting away from the Androids.’ Brutus slapped his paw to make his point.
“Laying low, aye, aye, sir!” he told the ‘cat, petting him. Brutus purred, which Cain didn’t mistake for weakness. His bond with Brutus was everything he expected from bonding with a Hillcat.
The next two days took forever to pass. There was too much of nothing and no one would let Cain do anything except remain hidden, but that was the plan that he’d agreed to.
When the last day came, every single one of the Marines and the ‘cats were ready to go, with the sole exception of Ascenti who enjoyed being in the aviary. So many birds to keep him company, but he was dedicated to the Marines and with a final look, he flew the catwalks a long way in each direction, making sure that Androids weren’t hiding behind closed doors. When he returned, they moved out in small groups. It would take five iterations to get everyone to the transition room, so they started with First Squad, then Second, and so on. Cain was with the fourth group to go. Leaving him mostly unprotected would invite an attack, they reasoned, so they sent him while there was still firepower remaining.
They gathered on the platform outside the elevator doors and waited for the last group. When they arrived, without incident, the platoon entered the transition area. The door closed and it slowed until it was detached from the spinning core. The Marines and the ‘cats floated free. Each ‘cat found someone to hang on to. When they opened the outer door, they looked straight at the sun. They were on the port side of the ship.
“That was anti-climactic,” Cain told Pickles as Stinky and Stalker led them out, pulling themselves hand over hand along one of the guide wires. Nearly every Marine had a ‘cat clinging somewhere to their body, except for Spence, who looked more like the ‘cat was wearing him. The small man had proven resourceful and a competent leader. He never seemed to tire, which Cain found amazing since the major always seemed to be tired.
‘Where’s the docking port?’ Cain asked Stinky over the mindlink.
‘Still looking for it, boss,’ the Wolfoid replied, holding his hand up to halt the platoon. ‘Stalker and I will scout the area. We’ll find it and report back.’ Sergeant Stalker pulled herself one way while Black Leaper went the other. They followed the curve of the structure both upward and downward.
‘This way,’ Stalker said. ‘It appears that a ship is already docked.’
Cain worked his way past the platoon and pulled himself in the direction he’d seen Stalker go. The cryopods that made up the external structure of the hull made him feel uncomfortable, but he could never put his finger on why.
‘Pick up the pace, people. That’s our ride,’ Cain said, smiling broadly. He wanted to fly forward, but the lieutenants wouldn’t let him.
“You’re with Third Squad,” Pickles told him, making it sound like an order. He didn't argue because they were right. He fell in behind Corporal Grace, in front of Private Starsgard, as they pulled themselves across the structure, one hand at a time. The ship had looked close, but it was a big ship and that meant it wasn’t that close. Since they seemed to have a great deal of time, Cain ran through some calculations in his head and realized that they had two kilometers to travel.
‘Faster, people. The last thing we want is to be left behind!’
‘Cain?’ Ellie’s thought voice came through loud and clear.
‘Ellie! We’re on our way to the dock. You have to wait for us!’ he begged.
‘They weren’t going anywhere without me. Carnesto was standing by to wreak havoc if they tried,’ Lutheann added to the conversation.
‘I was, my pretty! New lovelies joining us soon. I can’t wait,’ Carnesto drawled.
‘Am I going to have to beat him up?’ Brutus asked.
“Probably, although the Rabbits made him cry like a baby, so I don’t think it will be much of a challenge,” Cain panted out loud as he pulled himself rapidly after the Wolfoid squad leader. The ‘cat chuckled into Cain’s mind while the human worked diligently crawling toward the ship.
‘We’ll be here for the rest of the day, Cain. Stores are en route. The Traveler said someone submitted a request for ten full water buffalo? What else are you bringing?’ she asked.
‘A bunch of hungry ‘cats and even hungrier Marines. Be there soon, lover,’ Cain told everyone in the platoon and on the spaceship.
‘You really need to work on that,’ Brutus advised.
Docked with the Traveler
“They accepted our order for extra food supplies and then you declared a flight emergency to use this dock?” Daksha asked the captain, who was quite pleased with himself.
“The supplies were reasonable but requesting to marry up with the forward dock was not. So as we approached, we flushed a little refuse from the airlocks, declared an in-flight emergency, and here we are. The only ones in on it are Ellie, Garinst, and Pace,” Rand replied, hanging on to the chair to keep from floating away.
“Not Briz?”
“No. He’s always linked with Jolly. I’m sure we can trust both of them, but they share freely with Holly, and I don’t trust that Holly has not been compromised,” the captain explained. “It will be nice to not have secrets once we get Cain and his people on board.”
The commander’s computer buzzed, signaling an urgent call from within the ship, from Ensign Ellie.
“Daksha,” the Tortoid answered.
“Cain is on his way and he’s got a small army with him. He’s the one who ordered the extra provisions, especially the meat,” she said with a smile.
“That’s great news, Ensign. We will hold the door for him.” She signed off. “Well done, Captain Rand. Knowing Cain, I expect that he’s surrounded himself with good people. I hope they will be able to help us staff the ship and keep us flying.”
“I’ll make sure they feel welcome. Do we have numbers so that I can finalize quarters and such?” Rand asked.
“I’ll ask,” the commander replied. He opened his mind and looked beyond the ship.
‘Cain, welcome back. It’ll be good to have you home. How many are you bringing with you?’ the Tortoid asked in his thought voice.
‘One less than we had a week ago, Commander. I’m sorry, but the Androids are putting up a bit of resistance, but we’ve held our own. We have twenty-one Hillcats, two Lizard Men, one Hawkoid, ten humans, and twelve Wolfoids. Those numbers include, Leaper, Peekaless, and me. We don’t have much gear, but we are heavily armed, just for reference.’ Cain didn’t know why he added that last part. Master Daksha should have expected that a combat unit modeled after old Earth’s Marines would be armed.
‘Androids. It’s been over a century since they last stirred up trouble. How can that be? No matter, just get on board, and we’ll sort things out once we’re under way. And, Cain, thank you for bringing my aide back to me. I didn’t realize how much I’d miss him. I must be getting old or something,’ Master Daksha joked.
‘You’re only as old as you feel, Commander, which puts you and me at about the same age. I look forward to being home, too, and watching the Traveler fade to a pinpoint in our aft view screen.’
The commander shared the numbers with Captain Rand.
“Twenty-three Hillcats. The nightmare begins. Am I going to have to move to the garden deck just to keep the peace? No…” The captain was visibly distraught. “Cain said twelve. He was going for twelve and what do the numbers add up to? Forty-four?”
“Relax, Rand,” Daksha said, knowing that no one ever relaxed simply because they were instructed to. “We’re going back to Concordia. The ‘cats will give us an advantage, no matter where we meet their leadership. This time, it will be different. We need the ‘cats on our side.”
“It’ll be different as long as they don’t change anything they do. They are just like us. They will have looked at everything that happened and they’ll adjust. We need to figure out what they’ve changed, so we can react more quick
ly, stay in front of them. But we do have the advantage of the AI. Graham is our secret weapon. With him, I think we’ll accomplish what we set out to do.” Rand’s tone was positive, hopeful.
“And the ‘cats will be a big part of that. I better let you go so you can make the arrangements, calm the stormy seas and all that,” the Tortoid added for flare.
The captain appreciated the effort, but the commander was right. More than doubling the number of creatures on board would take its toll on the ship and her crew. They also had to figure out chain of command. Who would the newcomers answer to?
So many questions. They’d figure it out once they were under way, until then, they were taking on the biggest load of foodstuffs they’d ever received.
The captain swam down the hallway, kicking himself in a zig zag from one bulkhead to the other. He’d found that he could propel himself more quickly that way, but occasionally, it led to minor mishaps, like crashing into Tandry when she exited her sensor space to join the others who were managing the incoming additions to the ship’s stores.
“Whoa!” she exclaimed, catching the captain as he drove both of them into the bulkhead. Mixial flailed as she went floating away.
Cygnus Expanding: Humanity Fights for Freedom (Cygnus Space Opera Book 2) Page 27