Eric Olafson: Space Pirate

by Vanessa Ravencroft

  One afternoon, I was standing outside at the bottom of the extended IST shaft and had a little chat with the Marines guarding it as I waited for the latest additions to the crew. Cherubim had called and announced more to arrive. She said I would be surprised again.

  Two Attikans stepped through the energy curtain at the end of the slide belt tunnel. One was wearing Fleet black and the other Marine green. One was striped and the other had dots all over its exposed fur. Even though they could have been any Attikans, I recognized them. Fective and Pure.

  They both saluted, and striped Fective said, “Ensign Fective Ka and Lieutenant First Class Pure reporting, ma’am.”

  I forgot that I was the captain for a moment and supposed to be dignified and all that. “At ease, you two. How good it is to see you again!”

  Fective flared his black nostrils. “You smell a whole lot different than I remember, but the base scent is still there. I never forget a scent, Eric!”

  He embraced me out of impulse, and Pure curled his chops and revealed his long rows of sharp canine teeth. “Yes, you smell like a human female, lots of soaps and scents, but I, too, remember.”

  Fective released me suddenly. “Oh, I am so sorry, ma’am; this is not how I should greet my new captain!”

  I said, “Forget the captain bit for a moment. It is me, although I have changed my appearance somewhat. What a pleasant surprise to see you here.”

  Fective revealed his teeth as well and then said, “When Admiral McElligott personally called me and offered me a posting aboard a secret mission ship, he told me I would be surprised to see who the captain would be. I never expected you, Eric. Even though I knew you would go far, I can’t believe you made captain already!”

  He handed me his orders and personal file chip and said, “You would never guess it, but I specialized in weapons engineering, and I am a certified Translocator tech. I was told you, I mean the captain, had the final say if I would get the posting. Please say you still need a Weapon Systems Specialist.”

  I said to him, “Of course, I need one, and I am very glad it is you. Before I become your captain officially, however, let’s finish that greeting.”

  He and Pure embraced me one again and I said, “Welcome, you two; welcome aboard the Tigershark.”

  Pure, who never talked much, said, “You feel a whole lot softer now and you do smell nice.” He then said, “I am here to report to your Marine detachment.”

  I wanted to show them around, but another new crewmember came from the slide belt tunnel. It was a Non-Corp and the suited energy being saluted and said, “Ensign 3452-991 reporting as ordered, ma’am.”

  In my mind, I thanked McElligott for sending me my first-year friends and said, “Is that you, Three-Four?”

  “Yes, and I recognize you, too. You’re Eric.”

  Fective, Pure, Three-Four, and I went inside, and I showed them the ship and their quarters. Then I introduced them to the others, and I realized how blessed I was to have even more friends of mine aboard. Beings I could trust. I also realized I was no longer just their friend. I was also their captain, and I knew there could be situations in which I would have to put them in harm’s way.

  We sat in the ship's officers mess, and Fective was just telling my other friends the story when Three-Four infused me with bio-electric energies during an Academy dinner.

  Fective was cackling with laughter as he wiped his yellowish eyes. “…and then Eric asked the instructor if all Nogoll had goatees.”

  Har-Hi coughed, and the water he was drinking came out of his nose as he started laughing.

  Elfi covered her mouth and flashed her big dark eyes. “You can’t be serious!”

  Shea explained to Krabbel why that would be funny as Nogoll resembled somewhat Terran goats and that a certain type of beard was called a goatee. Hans demonstrated his considerable artistic skill in sketching a goat for the Y’All, using a graphic interface Ship had projected for him. Shaka and the Seenian woman watched as well and commented on Hans’ drawing. Three-Four was in a deep conversation with Narth, and I leaned back and looked over my friends talking to the newcomers. It filled my heart with a very special kind of pride.

  One of our Marines came over and saluted. Behind him was a woman with flaming red hair, who wore a female Union officers’ skirt suit. The Marine said, “Ma’am, this officer just arrived, and she wanted to report to you directly.”

  I said, “Thank you, Corporal.” Then I got up and said to the redhead, “I am Captain Olafson; what can I do for you?”

  “Ma’am, I am Ensign Lilith O’Connell; I am from the JAG office on Lorman’s Starbase, and I was sent here by orders of Commander Hollow.”

  She talked with a slight lisp and looked shyly at me while she spoke and then handed me her Order chip. “I am permanently attached to your command as JAG Liaison Officer and legal advisor, should one be needed during this mission. While there are no legal cases, ma’am, I am to take the post of Yeoman.”

  “Welcome aboard then, Ensign O’Connell.”

  She said with a quiet voice, “It is a great honor to serve you, and I wanted to let you know I am from Coven. We have met before, but I was not in this form and you might not recognize me. The Oldest and the Circle send you greetings and so does Gwenn.”

  The three-month training period was almost over; four more days to our deadline. The crew had swollen to 301 members and 50 Marines. We ran drills and exercises daily and the time was filled with reading manuals, learning systems, and more exercises. I ran daily battle station drills, sometimes twice a day, after Har-Hi and I had worked out where everyone’s battle station was. I had them take almost everything there was apart and put it back together. We did intruder alert drills, damage, and fire control exercises and took the ship almost daily around the system.

  It was exactly 0800 hrs, and I stepped onto the bridge to begin my forenoon watch. Pure, who stood guard with another Marine, bellowed a crisp, “Captain on the bridge.”

  The huge Y’All got up from the command seat, as he had the morning watch at the Conn. He saluted and gave me a brief report of what happened during the morning watch. I relieved him and sat down. A yeoman appeared silently at my right side and handed me my coffee mug.

  Har-Hi had been right behind me and said, “Good morning, Captain.” Then he handed me a clipboard. “Thanks to the fast IST and the crew getting used to it and the ship, we are now at exactly fifty-nine seconds until everyone reports Battle Stations reached. I am confident I will be able to shave another two or three seconds off with a few more drills.”

  I thanked him and signed off on his training and exercise schedule.

  Elfi interrupted and said, “Captain, we are being hailed on Secure-Comm. It is the Fleet Admiral.”

  I put my cup down. “Lieutenant Pure, secure the bridge. Narth, please activate all anti-listening devices. Elfi, please put him on the main viewer.”

  The grizzled face of the ancient admiral appeared. “Good morning, Tigershark; good morning, Captain Olafson. I have just read your last report, and I think you’ve drilled and exercised enough. It’s time to get your show on the road.”

  A tingle went down my spine and I said, “We are as ready as we can be, but we still have things missing and the crew is not complete.”

  He sat behind his desk at Annapolis towers as he looked at us and said, “Yes, I know there are still things missing, like your small craft and the parts for the Narth time shield. However, I cannot authorize the Wolfcraft at the base, as you need special craft modified and unidentifiable as Terran fighter craft. The new fighter and auxiliary craft intended for the Wolfcraft are not ready yet, but I hope I can send them in two or three months to Richter Base. However, further upgrades must wait until your next scheduled upgrade and supply interval.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “I wish I could give you more time to train, but today is the day and your mission must commence. Two officers we suspected to have ties to the Worm have stolen a Barracuda d
estroyer two days ago in Corri-Door system after they managed to escape the agents closing in on them. The Barracuda is armed with a translocator cannon and Loki torpedoes. While we did send the special destruct pulse code and are fairly sure they lost the use of the cannon, it is not certain.

  “One of the officers is also in possession of Maintenance Manual 15. Your first mission is to find the Barracuda and either capture or eliminate the deserters. You are hereby ordered to eliminate anyone who you suspect to have seen or might be in possession of Manual 15. I am transmitting all data we have on these two and the last Intel reports where they might be. Find and recover that Union ship if you can, destroy it if you can’t. Again, I repeat, you are under direct assembly orders to execute and eliminate anyone you even suspect of having seen the Translocator Cannons or the manual. God’s speed to you all and return safely!”

  I acknowledged, and he cut the transmission.

  I got up from my seat and said to Har-Hi, “Please assemble the crew in the empty Hangar A in ten minutes.”

  I inspected my dress uniform carefully and tugged at my sleeves and made sure the gloves did not throw any wrinkles. I tried to focus and stepped behind the lectern; before me stood a crew of three hundred, a contingent of fifty Ultra Marines, and my friends.

  Only Har-Hi stood with me on the little raised platform and he said, “Attention, Captain on deck!” It was a proud moment to see them snap into attention but also a sobering and scary realization that I was responsible for each and every one of them.

  “At ease!” I gave them a moment and then began. “Some of you have been briefed about our mission and others have not. I understand that you are all handpicked volunteers and you know that this is a very secretive mission. Before I get into details, let me say a few words about me and what I expect from you and what you can expect from me.

  “First of all, my door is always open for anyone, regardless of rank or position. You can come to me with everything; complaints, ideas, suggestions, or problems. When I was a midshipman, I often wondered where the ship was heading and what our orders were and what went on in general. It won’t be like this on the Tigershark. I want you all to know what is going on. There will be a dedicated inter-ship channel where you can listen in on what is going o on the bridge and Ship is allowed to tell you where we going and all that. Unless I am ordered by higher authority or the situation really leaves me no other choice, there won’t be any secrets. I want us to grow into a unit where we can trust each other and rank and position means little.

  “To this effect, I won’t be a stickler on regulations and, in general, if it doesn’t interfere with your job it is allowed. I simply trust you to be professional enough to know where the limits are. Being intoxicated while on duty, for example, would be a grave misuse of my trust. I will never judge without knowing all the facts but if I learn that someone thinks I am a push around or takes advantage of this, you will find that I will not hesitate to act. There will be not second chance and no grace period. I will treat each of you with the respect and dignity you deserve, but I expect the same from you.

  “When I come to a decision and issue an order, I expect it to be executed without hesitation and discussion. Now, if there is something I did that bugs you or you think I should have done differently, you are welcome to tell me. Under no circumstance will an open word of honest critique lead to reprimand or punishment if it is brought to me in an adult and respectful way. And if you really want to call me an asshole for something I deserve, seek me out after duty, and if any way possible in a private fashion, and it won’t end up in anyone’s file.”

  The crew laughed at that.

  I let them settle down again and continued, “Now, let me tell you what this ship is all about, why everything is so hush-hush and secret. We are going to hunt pirates and similar derelicts and criminals in Free Space. We are going to do that disguised as pirates ourselves. Every one of you received a second identity, which is detailed in the sealed part of your order chip. You only need those when outside the ship if we interact with others. All identities have a real background and can be checked by whoever wants to check on it. You are also allowed to dress as pirates if you can grow beards and so forth, but I still expect you to be Union military inside the ship and under your costumes.

  “We received our first orders today and we will lift off shortly. Are there any questions?”

  A brown-furred Garbini raised his tentacles.

  “You got a question, Petty Officer?” The Garbini wore the uniform of an Engineering Specialist.

  “Petty Officer Brush here, Captain. I am an Engineering Specialist, but I would much rather be a Med Tech. It’s a long story, but they always make Garbinis into engineers without ever really asking. My mother wants me to be an engineer and so does my father, but I am interested in Med Tech and not engineering. Now it happens to be that your crew has a famous Shail Med Tech, as Shail are always sent to med school, but he would much rather be an engineer.”

  As the Garbini explained his completely mission-unrelated question, a Shail on the other side floating by the med personnel raised his Grav Sled a little higher and waved his stalk eyes at me.

  I shrugged. “I see no reason why you can’t switch. It is okay by me. But I want you to both talk to your department leaders and make this a proper switch. It also means you got a whole lot to catch up on and learn in your new fields. You must be tested as well, of course.”

  The Garbini looked happy. “We are already studying, and we will be ready for the monthly performance tests!”

  I smiled and said, “Well, this effectively ends my address to you. Are there any other questions? Perhaps mission related?”

  They simply looked at me without raising any questions. Har-Hi dismissed them.

  Now they actually cheered me and gave me a hooray that constricted my throat and filled me with humility and pride at the same time, something that should, of course, not be possible but it was.

  Richter Four sank away beneath us as the Tigershark left behind the last traces of atmosphere and entered the medium she was made for and for our first real mission.

  I said, “Mr. Krabbel, take her to a point five light years past the system. Coordinate with Mr. Narth and his sensors to make sure we are really alone out there. Mr. Shaka, engage Trans light as soon as you can.”

  They answered with a crisp, “Aye, Captain,” to my orders and the stars suddenly turned to long lines for the duration of a heartbeat then the viewer went dark. It took almost a second and they returned. Narth turned and apologized, “Captain, the ship accelerates so fast the optical software that compensates for quasi-space could not keep up.”

  Unlike other computronics, which never initiated conversation, Ship said, “Captain, I believe I can adjust that software somewhat and reduce the lag approximately fifty percent.”

  Shea, who, when on duty wore her mask again, as she felt more comfortable with it, said, “If we write a subroutine with Shaka’s neural impulse as focus, at the same time he kicks the accelerator it should be possible to completely eliminate the lag.”

  “Brilliant!” Narth and Ship agreed simultaneously.

  I rolled my eyes and looked at Har-Hi. “Most ships have one nerd. We got three!”

  The Dai giggled. “We’re lucky Cirruit is busy downstairs or we could start our own Tech Geek convention.”

  Shea turned. “The term nerd became quite fashionable along with the term geek in the early 21st century. Cultural reference work shows that—”

  Krabbel raised one of his legs. “Hate to interrupt, but we are going to drop out of quasi-space in four seconds as we approach the requested five LY mark, Captain!”

  “All right, OPS stand by for Janus Device. Science, assist OPS at sensors and make sure we are alone. Har-Hi, take one of our Gazelles and check us out with your sensors and your eyes. I want to make sure it works.”

  Narth turned his seat, so he faced the special console that was part of his station and his fing
ers touched a series of keys and contacts, then he said, “Standing by on Janus System; all indicators are green. Janus Image selected and ready to be deployed.”

  Shea confirmed, “We are the only object within five light years, artificial or otherwise, and there are no ships of any kind beyond this sphere within sensor range”

  “Thank you, Ms. Schwartz!”

  Har-Hi had already left the bridge and was on his way to pilot one of our two Gazelle long-range recon craft, the only auxiliary craft we had in our otherwise empty hangars.

  So I leaned over the left side of my command chair a little to get a glimpse of the special console as I said, “Mr. Narth, activate the Janus Device.”

  He pushed a single contact and said, “Pattern Disguise program, ‘Kartanian Destroyer Merchant’ accepted and loaded. Simulated Matter sequencing in progress, Mask specific engine and sensor signature in place, transformation commenced and will be completed in twelve seconds.”

  On the main screen, we watched a Gazelle speed away. Elfi established remote sensor link and communications, so we would see what Har-Hi saw.

  Har-Hi pulled the fast craft in a tight loop and lined its optical sensors up with the Tigershark. Where our ship supposed to be was indeed a worn-out coffin-shaped Kartanian.

  Shea and Narth worked together on the science console and after two minutes she turned, “We slaved the Gazelle sensors and tried every scanning trick in the book and a few that are not recommended or in the book. We still get nothing but data about a Kartanian Armed Trader with strong but old-fashioned and a tad misaligned engines and 150 life signatures. Even the Psionic analysis shows only 150 active minds.”

  Har-Hi’s voice came on and he sounded deeply impressed. “That is the most wicked technology I have ever seen. What could we Dai do with something like that?”