“No, there is no need for that.” Peggy smiled widely, and then added, “In fact, I would feel safer if you stayed.”
Linda smiled at the confusing expression that came across her mother’s face. “It’s okay Mom. Peggy has a favor to ask that she thinks I’m not going to like.”
“Really? What is it you want to ask her?” Donna asked while taking a seat in the lounge chair. She leaned forward as if to coax the question from Peggy.
Peggy took a breath and let it out, as if she was building up courage. After another intake, she said, “Okay. Linda, do you remember that white device I brought back from the alien ship just before we left Kracks?”
Linda recalled seeing Peggy toting around a shiny, white object like it was her baby after returning to the Auspicious. In fact, she thought it looked like an oversized compact used when applying blush. “Yeah, you sure were proud of it, as I recall.”
“Well, and this part if strictly confidential…”
“Yeah, when isn’t it,” Linda interrupted.
Peggy frowned slightly, and continued, “Like I was saying, it’s strictly confidential. That alien device is one highly advanced AI module for controlling the ship. It is way beyond anything we could even dream of, trust me.”
“AI?” Donna interrupted.
“Artificial Intelligence, Mom. It was all the rave back in the twenty-first century, but the term isn’t used much anymore. Except in the science community, I would guess.”
“That’s correct. What we learned from this device is that the ship is still capable of flying, and the device will fly it if the right person is aboard.” Peggy cocked her head slightly when she ended her sentence.
“Oh crap, I know where this is heading. You were right to be scared,” Linda said.
“What?” Donna asked.
“I have a feeling that Peggy is going to try conning me into going with her to get that ship and bring it back. Am I right?” Linda’s narrowing eyes never left Peggy.
“Close. The device will only respond to someone it deems appropriately qualified to command the vessel. When we had the device, called a TR17, by the way, run through a list of Guild bridge-licensed pilots, it selected you personally.” Peggy raised her eyebrows at Linda.
“What do you mean it picked me? How the hell could it do something like that?” Linda felt that Peggy was pulling her leg now.
“The TR17 uplinked to the Governments’ supercomputer and created a hosted connection with it. The device has been able to access information, translate between Kuracks and Human languages, and interact with me.”
“Wait! Did you just say Kuracks? What’s a Kuracks? Did you mean Kracks?” Linda struggled to follow along with Peggy.
“That is the big mystery we have yet to resolve. The TR17 refers to the race that made it as Kuracks. When I tried to associate that species to the Kracks, it didn’t know who the Kracks were. There is more to this than we can get at right now.”
“Why did it pick Linda?” Donna asked.
Peggy sat back and took a drink from the glass. She then answered, “I asked it that very same question. The TR17 told me that she had already commanded the Auspicious once, which is the ship that will be returning to Kracks. It also noticed she had been back to Kracks twice now. Lastly, it noted that she was no longer obligated through a contract. I think it likes you, Linda.” Peggy smiled before taking another sip.
“Great, I get to have a relationship with an oversized compact.” Linda picked up her coffee cup and took a sip. Am I stupid enough to get talked into going back to Kracks, yet again? It was bad enough to be conned by military officers, but now she was the target of an alien machine. I must have sucker tattooed somewhere on my forehead. “So, what am I being asked to do, really?”
“We hop aboard the Auspicious, make a quick jump to Kracks, and pluck the ship from the surface. With you on board the Brontum, which is what the ship is called, the device will lift off and head wherever you tell it to go. You direct it to fly over to the Auspicious and put it into the hold for the journey back here. We will even have a destroyer escort just in case.”
Linda saw one flaw in the plan. “How do you plan on getting past that minefield of theirs?”
Peggy shrugged, and then answered, “Once we come into Kracks’ space, we will reestablish communications with their Council Leader.”
“What if they tell you to get lost?” Linda didn’t have much faith in the Kracks.
“We’ll wing it from there.” Peggy gave her a shrug of uncertainty.
“I’m going to say yes for only two reasons, Peggy. One is that I trust you know what you’re doing. Secondly, I’d love to be in that alien ship when it takes off. If it is as advanced as you told me it was while returning on the Auspicious, I have to see it for myself.”
“Are you sure you want to do this, Dear?” Donna asked.
“If Peggy is right about the advanced culture of those that built that ship, who wouldn’t want to be a part of it? For the first time in my lengthy career, I’ll be commanding a ship for my own reasons. I have to experience this ship. Besides, it’ll be a quick trip; two months tops.” Linda looked at Peggy. “When do we go?”
“The Auspicious is scheduled to depart in four days,” Peggy answered.
“That soon, huh? You were that positive I would say yes?”
“They don’t call me smart for no reason, you know. Besides. I knew you couldn’t resist getting your hands on that ship.”
Chapter Nine
Plon watched from his seat on the control deck as the pounders dropped bomb after bomb on the hillside where the aliens had taken refuge. While he may not be able to get at them, he would make sure they couldn’t get back out anytime soon—if ever. He observed the multiple flashes that symbolized the impacts as the laser-guided bombs found their marks.
Looking over at the tactical map, he could see the feedback from the markers that outlined the edges of the target hill. The pounders were focusing on the entire area inside of those markers set by the Ground Master. Once they were done, which wouldn’t be long now, he would take his fleet home. The trap had not worked, so he failed to see any reason to sit here and wait. He had another idea, anyway.
“Ten ticks to bombardment end, Plon,” Jime said.
Looking down at her, Plon could see her looking up at him to make sure he got the message. When they made eye contact, she turned away. Her long black hair swayed out as if wanting to go left as Jime turned right. The length of her hair reminded him of Supreme Kold’s and how it nearly touched the floor. Unlike Kold, though, Jime didn’t have a host of servants to make sure her hair was always perfectly groomed. The slightly greasy shine to her hair confirmed that fact clearly enough.
Activating the communication circuits, Plon said, “Control to all Pounders, cease fire. Report your readiness to depart.”
He watched the final series of bombs leave the launchers to give the planet’s surface a goodbye message. With the landing forces having already been extracted before the bombardment got underway, it would not take long before his fleet could depart.
Selecting the internal communication circuit to the command deck below, he said, “Jime.”
Observing the deck through the transparent floor, he waited for her to return to the communication control to activate her end of the circuit. She finally appeared with her hair flowing behind her like a flag softly swaying in the breeze. She hit the circuit control. “Yes, Plon.”
“As my fleet prepares to depart, I want you to oversee the placement of the remote rebounder personally.”
“Yes, Plon. I’m going to have it placed within the debris from the destroyed ships where it will not be easily detected.”
“Sound thinking,” Plon said. “Get on with it.”
When Jime turned away, her hair swept outward and caused Plon to be drawn to it. For a reason he couldn’t explain to himself, he suddenly desired her. It was as if the swinging motion of her hair was signaling him to come an
d get her. Even though he did not consider her desirable, he couldn’t help himself.
“Ciat to Kero. You are cleared to deposit the rebounder in the debris field. Report back to me upon completion.”
Jime’s order played over the speakers, and he even found her voice suddenly attracting him to her. Shaking his head, he tried to decide what was going on in his mind. Turning his attention onto the monitors in front of him, he watched the fast attack, Kero, race forward to place the rebounder. He never tired of observing the impressive speed of the small ships.
The Kero was slated to remain behind to monitor the rebounder signal to report any activity it may detect. It would take up position outside detection range of any incoming ships but be close enough to pick up any activity through the rebounder. Nodding, he knew that its commander, Denc, would get the job done.
“Ciat, this is Denc. The rebounder has been set. I will be moving on to our assigned location to monitor it.”
“Message received and good hunting.” Jime responded.
As the Kero turned and rapidly came up to speed to race off to where they would finally position themselves to maintain contact with the rebounder, Jime’s voice had once again stirred his longing for her.
“All ships reporting readiness for stage-two, Plon,”
Looking down at the ever-efficient commander of his flag ship, Plon stared into her black eyes as she stared up at him awaiting his response. Yes, he had to have her, and he would. If nothing else, it would help to get her out of his mind. As he stared at her, he wondered if she would be receptive to his advances. He suspected she would. Who else did she have chasing after her?
“Very good, Jime,” Plon responded. “Oh, and Jime?” Jime had begun to turn away from the communicator when she hesitated. Plon said, “I want to see you in my square when your shift ends.
For a brief moment, the two stared at each other again. Jime frowned, which he took as her trying to decide what he wanted to see her for, and then her eyes slowly widened, and she put on a crooked smile.
Yes, she would be receptive. Plon gave her a wicked smile of his own before returning his attention to his duties. A quick glance below showed him that Jime had moved off. Looking out the glass dome at all the ships around him, he hit the communication link, and ordered, “Control to all ships, prepare for stage-two engagement. We will exit in the same sequence as we entered. It’s time to go home.”
◆◆◆
Linda always felt uncomfortable as a passenger aboard a ship. It made her antsy without anything to do. To resolve it, she made her way toward the bridge even though technically she was not authorized to be there. When she commanded the Auspicious on her prior mission to Kracks, Silvia Palmer was her XO. Silvia was now in command and had invited Linda to visit the bridge anytime she felt the need. Linda was surely not going to pass up that opportunity.
Of all the recommendations that Linda had made in her career, she was most proud of two of them. The first was getting Commander Bill Launtra, her weapons and security officer on the Privateer, a command of his own. The second one was in recommending Silvia for promotion to the rank of commander, and to command the Auspicious. The Maritime Review Board had approved the recommendation, and the Guild made it official when they renewed Silvia’s service contract with the new responsibilities. Silvia was returning a little of that favor by giving her free roam of the ship.
Dropping off the lift landing onto the upper section of the two-tier bridge, the memories instantly flowed through her. It seemed a Captain never forgot the ships they commanded regardless of how long ago or for what duration of time. Coming forward, he found Sylvia sitting in a command chair staring ahead.
“Good morning, Captain,” Linda said as she took a seat next to her. Regardless of her actual rank, she was a captain, as long as she commanded a ship. Linda extended that courtesy to her.
“Captain Eccles, thank you for joining me this morning. I see you managed to get your coffee already. I told the stewards to make sure it would remove paint from the bulkhead, remembering that was how you liked it.”
Linda smiled at the coffee comment. It was true she drank it overly strong. “Call me Linda, Captain. I’m retired now, remember?”
“No can do, Captain. Once a captain, always a captain. You will simply become Captain Linda Eccles, Retired. Did you need anything or are you taking up my offer to stop by to enjoy the view?”
“Just visiting, Captain,” Linda said. She looked around the bridge to recapture the memory of being in command.
“This mission has been under such secrecy that I didn’t get my destination orders until after I left Earth,” Sylvia said. She then glanced at Linda, smiled, and added, “They might as well make you an ambassador to Kracks as often as you’ve been in contact with them.”
Linda had to laugh. “Somehow, I seriously doubt anyone would want to make me an envoy to anyone. I’ve never been known for my diplomacy.”
Now it was Silvia’s turn to chuckle. “I suppose the folks running Universal Mercantile Unlimited would agree with you on that one.”
“That’s true. UMU couldn’t release me fast enough. I suppose they have my picture in every building and on every ship they own, with a big red X through my face to make sure no one ever makes the mistake of hiring me again.”
“What was that CEO’s name again?”
“Mister Ernest T. Leander. That man will haunt my dreams forever.”
“I bet Mr. Leander has your picture pasted over his dart board wherever he landed after they gave him the boot.”
Linda laughed again. Silvia was probably spot-on with that statement. The last she had heard about the company was that they had to turn all shipping rights over to the Guild. That had to sting a little. They lost some of the leverage they had over their competitors in selecting and hiring their own crews. Linda didn’t feel sorry for them. It was that idiot Leander that nearly got her killed by sending her into uncharted space in the first place. The Kracks sure didn’t take too kindly to her being there. They spent a lot of energy trying to put her ship out of commission, and nearly succeeded.
“In talking with Peggy this morning, she told me you were along to fly that alien craft from the planet into the hold of my ship. How exactly are you planning on doing that?”
“I have no idea. I am just as much in the dark about this as you are,” Linda shrugged. “If Peggy is right in her assumption, I guess I just point and say go.”
“Isn’t that all we ever do anyway? We point, and our crew does the actual flying.” Silvia swept her hand to indicate her bridge crew residing at their various stations.
After giving the lower bridge a quick scan, Linda responded, “Sure, but you can yell at them if they screw up. How in the world do I yell at an alien ship if it accidentally rams into your ship? The damn thing might eject me into space.”
“I recall a certain Captain telling me that captains don’t yell at their crew. They yell at their XO and let the XO yell at the crew. Wasn’t that you?” Silvia looked sideways at her while presenting a crooked smile.
“That does sound like something I would say. I was right, too. Peggy will be coming along, so I can yell at her and let her yell at the alien device.”
“Now that’s the Captain Eccles I know and respect.”
Linda returned a crooked smile of her own, and said, “I have a sneaking suspicion I may have trained you too well.”
“It’s all in the way you look at it, I suppose.”
Turning serious, Linda looked at the tactical display to see the countdown to coming out of warp. They were 528 hours out yet. Quickly doing the math in her head, she wondered what in the world she was going to do with herself for another 22 days.
“I’ll go crazy sitting around here for twenty-two days. My bridge license is still active. What’s the chance of my working into the watch rotation? I’m sure your officers would love to have the additional four hours between shifts,” Linda asked.
“Are you sure
you want to do that?”
“I’ll die of boredom if I don’t.”
“I think I can work you into the schedule. No one can argue that you aren’t qualified for the duties,” Sylvia said.
◆◆◆
Linda sat in command of the bridge at the start of her first shift. Sylvia worked her into the noon-to-four slot. As she sat in the command chair, Linda thought over how considerate that had been. The shift was ideal. It didn’t cause her to have to get up early, even though she routinely did anyway, and it allowed her to get an uninterrupted night’s sleep. It was even between meals. She could grab lunch at 11:30 and be off shift well before dinner that was served starting at five.
After sliding the control arm into place beside her chair, Linda ran her hand along its smooth surface. The coolness of the bridge transferred into the black surface of the arm and felt cold upon her fingers. The touch provided a strong mental reminder of all the commands she gave out over her long career.
Looking at the crew below her attending their stations with sloth-like movements of boredom, she couldn’t believe her command days were coming to an end. Could she really give it up? Could she truly follow through retiring for good? Too many years aboard a ship made it extremely hard for her to imagine life without it.
Linda felt conflicted between two worlds. She had her love of command, and she had her love for her parents. The strong desire for both seemed to be playing tug-a-war with her. Perhaps it was a bad idea to come along in this venture. Being back on the ship only inserted the desires she tried to suppress while on Earth.
“You look like a woman in deep thought, Captain,” Sylvia said as she came around in front of Linda to take the other seat.
“What’s the matter, Captain?” Linda asked with a smile. “Were you afraid I would commandeer your ship while in command of the bridge?”
“Something like that. Now quit evading the question and tell me what has you thinking so hard.”
“I’m trying to convince myself I won’t miss commanding a ship again.”
The Curanian Dominance: The Linda Eccles Series - Volume Three Page 6