by M. D. Cooper
Mira stepped to the side and gestured in toward the bow. “They are indeed. Get settled and meet me on the bridge in thirty minutes. Our departure slot is in five hours, and I’d like to have everything in order well before that.”
“Or course, ma’am,” Aqua said.
Mira shook each of their hands as they walked past, and was surprised at how warm Lorra’s was, given that the dolphin was wearing a bipedal environmental suit.
She’d never served in space with a dolphin before, though a few orcas were friends of the family. She made a mental note to ensure the pool’s pH balance was to Lorra’s preference.
Once the newcomers were on their way, she turned and climbed the ladder to the command deck. This was the one level she’d not explored, though other than a small office for herself and a closet that passed as a secondary galley, the bridge was the only noteworthy room.
She stepped inside to see Emma and Brock at their assigned consoles, though both rose and saluted when she entered.
Mira returned the salute and gestured for them to sit. “Alright, from now on, we won’t need to do that when I come on the bridge. As far as I’m concerned, this ship is always in the field, which means we don’t stand on ceremony once aboard.”
“Understood,” Emma replied while Brock nodded as he settled back behind the weapons and scan console.
“The others are aboard and will be joining us shortly. How are we looking?”
Emma spoke first. “We’re on schedule for our tug in eight hours, and I have our course plotted and ready to file once you review it, ma’am.”
“All scan systems are green, and weapons are on standby,” Brock added. “We’re fully stocked on munitions, and all the superconductor batteries have been put through test charge-discharge cycles.”
Mira nodded while pulling up Emma’s plot. “So a lot of sitting around and waiting is what you’re saying.”
“Maybe,” Brock replied. “We are expecting a few final shipments, plus a message just came in regarding some sort of systems upgrade.”
Mira glanced at the comm display next to her command seat and brought up the message Brock had referenced.
“Well, that’s odd,” she muttered while checking the system codes for the upgrade. “It’s a change order for our aft node chamber’s configuration.”
Emma spun in her seat. “What sort of change?”
“Type 99 network interface,” she said. “High bandwidth for anything we’d be doing here.”
“But not for an AI,” the ensign responded.
A frown settled on Mira’s brow. “I don’t have any crew roster changes on file, and the origination of the order is from some NSAI in procurement. I’m going to see what the colonel knows about this.”
Brock shrugged. “I doubt he’s behind it. Subtlety really isn’t dad’s thing.”
Mira knew that all too well, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have information for her.
There was a brief pause followed by the mental equivalent of a grunt.
Mira waited, sifting through the other messages in her queue and those waiting for the others aboard the ship. Nothing she found offered any clues.
A laugh came into her mind from her uncle.
Colonel Perez disconnected, and Mira drew in a slow breath, steadying herself for a conversation with her father. Chatting with him was rarely unpleasant, but this felt like personal matters interfering with the proper chain of command, and she wasn’t certain how to address it.
The sensation of her father smiling settled in Mira’s mind.
Tension settled at the base of her neck, and she rolled her shoulders.
Her father’s mental tone shifted.
A snort came to her.
He stopped short.
It hadn’t occurred to Mira that her father might have stopped her from taking the Inquiry out of the Bysmark System. Her first reaction was to be upset, but then she considered that he was only doing what any commander would—ensuring that their people had the best resources possible in the time available.
Mira laughed and shook her head. The centuries-old back and forth between her father and uncle was so well-known in the colonies, it might as well be in the constitution.
Mira could only imagine.
A smile tugged at the corners of Mira’s lips.
Mira shrugged.
Mira cut the connection and refocused on the bridge to see Emma and Brock staring at her.
“So…?” Emma prompted. “Are
we getting an AI?”
“It’s not like it’s a pet,” a voice growled from behind Mira, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Chief Aqua standing on the bridge’s threshold.
“Chief, welcome,” Mira said, gesturing at a nearby station. “Pick whichever you’d like to use for the engineering console.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Emma said a little defensively as Aqua selected a seat. “I just meant as a teammate.”
Mira nodded. “I took it that way. And yes. I don’t have anything on who it’ll be, but that’s why we’re getting the network upgrade.”
“Makes sense,” Aqua said. “We’re going interstellar, patrolling the outer systems. Good to have an AI aboard in case things get hairy.”
“Permission to enter the bridge?”
The voice was clearly Lorra’s, and Mira turned to see the warrant office with Technical Sergeant Greg behind her. “Yes, please. Take an empty station.”
The pair entered, Lorra sitting in the back where her larger mech frame fit better, while Greg settled in at a station on Mira’s right.
“Alright, everyone,” the commander said as she rose and walked to the front of the bridge, standing with the small holotank at her back. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind day, and other than the twins, I don’t know that anyone woke up today expecting to be working with anyone else here. I imagine you all know who I am, and I hope that my parentage isn’t something that affects our working relationship one way or another. On my ship, everyone is judged by their own actions and merits, which means I expect the best from each of you, and you should expect the best from me.
“Based on the patrol route we’ve been handed, we’ll be in the black together for at least forty days. Long enough for us to get to know one another, and certainly long enough to get on one another’s nerves. Luckily for us, we have a good-sized ship to rattle around on, and plenty of space for each of us to call our own. Lorra, there’s a pool in the rec room—you can set it up however you please. Everyone, respect her preferences.
“There is, however, one thing we need to suss out before we leave port.” Mira spoke the last with a more serious voice, her gaze moving from one member of the crew to the next.
When the silence had pervaded for half a minute, and Emma was visibly squirming, she continued.
“Who wants to have cooking duty?”
Greg barked a laugh, while Aqua and Lorra shared surprised expressions. Emma shook her head while Brock chuckled.
“I feel like we have inside information,” he said. “I certainly don’t want it.”
“Uhh…I mean, I’m handy with a coffee maker, ma’am,” Greg offered with a deferential nod.
Lorra nodded. “I can really make some excellent popcorn in a pinch. Anything more than that, and I think folks will regret asking me to serve in the galley.”
“Don’t we have automated systems for food prep?” Aqua asked. “I mean, I appreciate a well-made meal as much as anyone, but this isn’t a duty we need to assign, is it, Commander?”
“No.” Mira shook her head. “It’s more to ensure that everyone understands that the galley is my domain. Crew-wide meals will be a regular thing on this ship, and you’re expected to tell me how good they are.”
Brock snorted a laugh. “No issue here. Your cooking is half the reason I took this assignment.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “As if you had a choice either way.”
“Alright, everyone,” Mira said after a moment of silence stretched out across the bridge. “We’re just a few hours from disembarking. I want your status reports in my queue in two, and everything ship-shape and locked down in three. Sergeant Greg, you have three more deliveries, and Chief Aqua, it looks like our seventh crewmember is due to arrive any moment now. Let’s head down to the airlock to greet them.”
Aqua rose, the suggestion of a smile on her lips. “Absolutely, ma’am. Looking forward to it.” She glanced at Lorra. “Warrant Officer, I want a visual inspection of the entire fuel delivery system by the time we’re done with the node chamber.”
“You got it, Chief,” Lorra said, walking off the bridge before the others.
“Looks like our T99 interface is here, too,” Greg said. “They’re at the engineering airlock. I’ll let them in and get them working.”
“Excellent,” Mira said as she gestured for the others to precede her. “We’ve all got our work cut out.”
“Uh, ma’am?” Emma said in an apologetic tone. “Don’t forget about the route approval.”
“Shit, yeah.” Mira shook her head. “I’ll check that over while we walk to the ‘lock.”
“Thanks. Then I can get the STC off my back. OO sure likes this shit filed well in advance.”
Mira nodded and walked off the bridge, following Aqua down the ladder to the main deck, where the airlock was cycling.
“Know who it is yet?” the engineer asked.
“No,” Mira shook her head. “Which is odd, but I mean, what about today is normal?”
“Got me there,” Aqua replied. “Probably the general or colonel messing with you.”
Mira shrugged, eager to sidestep a conversation about her relatives and her assignments. “There’s only one person in the airlock. I guess our AI is walking themself here.”
A moment later, the airlock cycled open to reveal a slender woman in her dress reds, rucksack thrown over one shoulder.
“Lieutenant Janice reporting for duty,” she announced, while dropping her bag and performing a precise salute.
“Lieutenant,” Mira said, returning the salute. “Welcome aboard the Inquiry. I have to say, I wasn’t expecting anyone in such a bio-accurate frame.”
“Really?” Janice’s brow furrowed. “I’ve had one my entire time in the service. Will it be a problem?”
“Oh no.” Mira held up a hand. “Of course not. We just have a team here to upgrade our aft node with a T99 interface, so I was expecting someone who would mount their core back there.”
“Oh, yeah, I can see why that would add confusion,” Janice said with a nod. “From what I gather, there was a sort of last-minute rush to get an AI for this ship. It was going to be a friend of mine, Lorne, but he was due for leave and opted to take it, so here I am. You never know, though. Having a T99 back there could be useful in case I ever need to jack in on a hard Link with full bandwidth.”
“Makes sense,” Aqua said, offering her hand. “I’m Chief Aqua, though I imagine you know that.”
Mira felt like the engineer was giving her a slight dig for not introducing her—which was not something she was required to do, especially with an AI who had probably pulled and consumed full dossiers on each of them a second after she got the assignment.
“I do,” Janice said with a sweet smile as she shook Aqua’s hand. “You know us AIs, we do our homework.”
“I’ve assigned you a cabin, Lieutenant,” Mira said. “Please see me in my office when you’re settled.”
“Of course, won’t take me but a moment.”
“Well, since we don’t have to worry about a node interface, I’ll be on my way,” Aqua said with a nod to Mira. “Commander.”
“Of course, Chief.” There was definitely an annoyed vibe coming off Aqua, but Mira decided to ignore it. It could be from a thousand things, many of which had nothing to do with the Inquiry and its crew. “Let me know if you need anything before we disembark.”
“You can count on it, Commander.”
Aqua turned and walked away, leaving Mira with the lieutenant.
“I’ll be on my way as well,” the AI said. “I should be ready in ten minutes, does that work for you?”
“It does,” Mira replied. “See you then.”
Alone in the passage, the commander paused to give thought to the crew dynamics on her small ship. It occurred to her that with a lieutenant aboard, she was probably expected to assign Janice the XO’s duties.
Could be useful, she considered. Would make it easier to manage the shifts.
> Granted, there was the issue of Aqua’s recalcitrance. The chief had originally been glad for the presence of an AI, but as soon as she’d met Janice, that had evaporated.
I guess this is the fun part of being in charge. I get to play psychologist for my crew in order to keep them happy for our voyage.
“Thank the stars it’s a short tour.”
CHAPTER 2 - KRAI
GALACTIC DATE: 412.12.138
LOCATION: Far Patrol Shell, XI Phrysi
REGION: Blackest Depths, nearing Mass Conformity Qa-Loar
Krai shifted in kes restraints, reviewing the knowledge threads flowing from the eyes on Phrysi’s skin. They revealed little at the moment, only hints of attraction between masses in the deep black. Soon that would change. Phrysi was nearing the transition point, the place where the blackest depths were no longer safe, and the travelshell would return to the orb-speckled void.
It was an event Krai awaited eagerly. Je had been in the deep black for nearly twenty-seven cycles, and the travelshell felt more like a prison than the vehicle for grand adventure.
Krai heaved out a jet of the life-flux, letting the cool methane pass over kes gills. A one must soothe kes mind, Kria. Be still. This mass conformity is rarely visited; a one never knows what kes might find.
Je practiced kes calming techniques, slowly drawing in the life-flux, holding it, then letting it all escape kes body before taking another draught.
The solitary explorer’s limbs slackened, the tension running out of them, suction cups attaching to the control arcs, ready to take active control of the travelshell’s jets.
Krai shifted, gazing at the holoprojection before kes, watching as the cycle-segment count indicator slid down to zero. When it reached its terminus, the travelshell rose from the depths, returning to the denser regions of emptiness—a touch of irony that was never lost on kes—mottled orbs gleaming in the distance.
One light source was much brighter, and je shifted the shell’s direction of travel, angling directly into the depths of the mass field.
With the shell’s engines propelling it via the mass flow, Krai turned kes attention to the knowledge threads that fed distant light through Phrysi’s skin and into the display floating before kes.