by Tobias Roote
Jimmi wondered for a second, but knew it would be improper to ask, if he could have time to visit his father. He would ask Vasha later.
“The Reaver is designed as a super-fast attack ship. On its own, it’s more than a match for a Shadowship. However, we believe we are being patrolled by small fleets of them in the outer regions. They’re preparing for a new invasion and monitoring our progress from a distance.”
In response to a tap on his console several red lights blinked at the outer ranges of Saturn and Jupiter and one further in behind the moon.
Pennington pointed directly at the blinking lights with his finger. “Your job is to go out there and using intel available, patrol the likely locations for their arrivals. When you find them, ‘engage and destroy’. We want no eyes on our latest efforts to defend Earth.
Now, because it takes a while to train up teams like yourselves, we have come to the unfortunate part of this mission. Normally you would be out there no longer than fourteen days, but because there will be no other coverage available until new crews are trained up, your patrol will be six weeks in space before you are relieved. You will then have a week stand-down before hopefully relieving the next team after two weeks. Beyond that time frame we would hope to have multiple teams coming on-stream with the new implants and your patrols will be scaled down to sectors and durations of a week.”
“Any questions?” He looked around at the three pilots gauging them ready by the look in their eyes.
Jimmi’s hand went up a little to indicate he had one. “When do we take over the ships, sir?”
“Immediately. Your AIs are already loaded. They have been under strict instructions not to open communications with you until after your briefing.”
“What if we meet opposition greater than our ability to handle it, General?” asked Flapjack.
“You are not there to win the war for us, gentlemen. If you come across opposition likely to overcome you, then get back here and let the local defences cover you. On no account are you to allow your AIs, or these new ships to fall into enemy hands. The AIs are under specific orders to assess threat levels and direct you accordingly. No heroes required here, gentlemen, you’re valuable alive and with a ship. You’re no use to me dead,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“That’s fine, sir,” Flapjack said.
Pennington smiled. He knew these boys were going to do well, despite his own misgivings over the AI links. He thought there was now good cause to put humans in charge, even if it was an equal partnership - that was more than it had been until now. They were going to change the way this war was fought.
“Good luck, lads.” He shook their hands formally as they prepared to leave, with eager looks on their faces.
“Dismissed. Proceed to hangar bay and collect your ships and gear. You will go through simulations for the rest of the day to familiarise yourselves, but your AIs pretty much know the ropes already seeing as they did a lot of the design work.”
They saluted and headed excitedly for the hangars.
***
Jimmi sat in the cockpit deep in thought. He didn’t notice the senior captain walk up to the ship and into the cabin. Vasha hadn’t warned him and was suspiciously quiet.
“Hello? Where can I find Squadron Leader Patterson?”
“Here. Dang!... DAD.. Great to see you! Hang on while I get out of this ‘body hugging’ pit.”
Leaping out of the cockpit and following his father back down to the hangar apron, Jimmi forgot protocol and gave his old man a big hug. “I was wondering if I would get a chance to see you before I went on patrol, but I’m shipping first thing in the morning.”
“Yes, I know. Your AI, Vasha, sent me a warning that you will be going on a long and perilous patrol, and you had worries. I had a lull in my duties and wangled a 4 hour stop over from a security meeting.”
“It’s great to see you, Dad. I’ve not had a chance to request any leave and what with this war...”
“Yes, don’t worry about that now. Let’s walk, I don’t have long.”
They walked off from the hangar and used the large open space where the Marauders had been parked up until recently. Now they were all in space on patrol. The apron was clear of air and space craft.
“So, you have had surgery?” his father asked, concern showing on his face.
“Yes, are you in the loop, then?”
“Not officially,” he nudged the side of his nose in the time honoured manner. “John Pennington kept me posted. He and I go way back to the days of the Fortress. We keep in close touch. So, when Vasha told my AI in the ARK pit that you were on a new mission, I enquired. Pennington was good enough to give me access to the base to see you.”
“He’s a decent commander. Always seems to be watching out for his men. We’re very lucky to have him,” Jimmi confirmed.
“I will pass that on, son. He will be pleased to know his efforts are appreciated.”
“But, listen, I’m not here to talk about him or anything. This mission of yours is going to take us very close to the expected invasion date, and the project I’m on means that when that happens I will be lifting off with the ARKs.” He looked into his son’s eyes and put his arms on his shoulders. “At that point it is highly unlikely that I will ever see anyone from Earth again,” his hands clamped onto Jimmi’s shoulders tight.
“Geezuz, this friggin war!” Jimmi’s eyes watered. He knew exactly what his dad was saying. The chances of Jimmi surviving, or of having a planet left to land on was slim. By the same token something about the ARKs mission meant his dad would have similar problems.
“Will you be in danger?” Jimmi asked.
“No, not really. There are risks involved, but our mission will keep us away from Earth while the war is being fought. Depending on the outcome my orders have yet to be unsealed. I can’t say more than that, there is too much at stake,” his father offered as explanation.
It helped knowing his dad would be relatively safe. “Will you be able to contact me through the AIs when things get to that stage?”
“You know what SCN regulations are like, and my mission is secret and cannot be revealed to the Nubl – ever. IF there IS a way I can do it, I will,” he answered.
“Dad - the AIs have a complete comms network that is not accessible to the SCN, or anyone. I am able to tap into it with my implant. I will be able to talk to your AI if I know his name and designation.”
“Oh? I didn’t know that. OK, it’s the Curator, designation is ARK1. C’mon, I have time for a bite to eat and some coffee. Let’s go grab something and catch up.”
- 6 -
Kelly’s Graduation
Kelly awoke immediately springing from her bed. Today was the culmination of all her efforts to join the scientific crew of the Space Station. She had been through months of training and in her final exams last week she had passed all sections with distinction.
Now, she was excited to be on the cusp of her new life, one she had striven hard to achieve without cheating. It would have been so easy to do it that way, but she was enthusiastic to experience life without her inbuilt advantages, so had worked hard alongside her classmates and trained for working in space in the normal way.
Kelly could have just hacked the computers and imprinted her bio, history and qualifications on the SC computer systems and then just walked onto Alpha Station and impressed everyone with her skills and abilities. Instead, she had chosen to enlist in the SCST, the newly formed Space Council Science Team, pass their entrance exams and qualify for the job on merit. It gave her a sense of achievement she had never felt before. She liked it.
She showered, a little too long perhaps, enjoying what she knew was going to be less enjoyable on the asteroid station. When her quota of hot water was used up, she sighed and hit the body dryer button. She would never tire of the tingle of hot water on her skin, it was sensual and exhilarating to feel the elements directly on her body.
As her skin dried in the warm blast she felt the t
iny hairs on her arms and lower body vibrate from the air pressure When her long blonde hair began to blow around her head she decided she was ready. She padded barefoot across the apartment floor to her new uniform which was laid out on the chair by the bed. The white naval officer jacket was adorned with her newly earned insignia, the microscope and double helix which indicated she was a genetic scientist. She was actually much more than that, but her specialist skills in Bio Genetics gave her the edge she needed to do the research she wanted.
She wasn’t really an officer either, but all scientists that earned her level of distinction in their chosen field were automatically upgraded to officer status to ensure they weren’t pulled into less qualified laboratory tasks when their skill-set required them to innovate and advance science directly. This was her dream, to advance genetics beyond Earth and map alien DNA.
She had cheated slightly in that she had put her own name forward to the SC position of Science Officer for Alpha Station. Then she had ensured it was short-listed, but this was only a small cheat because Kelly knew she would have her choice of positions once her passing out parade was completed today.
As it was, her visit to the parade was going to be cut short because the director had asked to meet with her today on the station. She was keen to meet this Dr Osbourne who, along with his teams, had managed to thwart the Nubl attacks on Earth so far. He was as much a hero as Zeke Callaghan, who was held in awe by the media and government institutions. She had read all about the man who had befriended an alien and pulled him onto Earth’s side, getting them access to science technology that was so far advanced it had spring-boarded humanity into a new Nanotech age.
Outside her apartment block, Kelly called up an AG-taxi that had replaced the traditional wheeled cars that used to belch fumes out their back and block all the main streets of the city. She told the AI to take her to the Naval Institutes’s main building and sat back while the pilot-less craft rose up to level six, the free way level for out-of-city-limits access. She was happy to watch the majority of buildings fall below her flightpath as the AI eased the craft into the proper zone.
It took thirty minutes for the vehicle to traverse the route via the authorised lanes. A direct flight would have made it in ten minutes, but cities still had to conform to strange planning regulations. There were banned fly-over zones, limited proximity laws for privacy and the rich amongst the population had ‘free sky’ rules that disallowed AG-Craft in their line of sight within so many hundreds of metres. Even so, it was a lot quicker than a trip by road used to be, at least so the AI informed her, as it went through its programmed routine of chatting up customers, most of whom were still very scared of being so far off the ground with nothing but a robot flying the machine.
Kelly quickly skipped the whole tourist routine, but you can’t keep a good AI down, so she put up with the harmless banter. It advised her when they were one minute from destination as it smoothly dropped from level six to the lower levels, changing speed and direction to meet local conditions and the traffic patterns.
By the time they reached level one, the taxi was pulling up at the main entrance to the Institute where a throng of people were gathering as cars landed and took off again.
She saw her classmates congregating at the top of the steps and rushed to join them. There were three that Kelly got on with well, and one particular girl that Kelly had roomed with for part of the graduate course while they were on field trips. Jasmin was part of the Chinese contingent that were included in all degree courses; there were also other nationalities, all represented to ensure the Space Council government provided equal opportunities to all member countries.
New York was the most sought-after officer academy in the world – bar none. To train here meant you were being groomed for greater things. It was the most prestigious qualification to have on your personnel record.
After the usual excited hugs, they moved off to take their places in the hall. As Kelly stepped into the main foyer, she was approached by a uniformed guard who, after identifying her fully, gave her a red plastic disk with the SCN logo emblazoned on its face. She hoped it was a message from her new employer.
She found a quiet place to insert the disk in her wrist communicator and as the glow of the communicator turned green, it resolved to show a face she recognised, Director Osbourne.
“Congratulations, Science Officer Moon. You are the highest qualifying officer turned out from the academy since it began. You’re a credit to the SCST and an asset to the service. Unfortunately, you don’t have time to celebrate, we are short on manpower and time, so you are to collect your awards and then, I’m afraid, you must join us without delay. If it’s any consolation you won’t be alone. Please read the attached document prior to arrival at Alpha Station. I look forward to welcoming you and your colleagues. Osbourne out.”
So she had her orders! They had already succeeded in enlisting the recruits they wanted and she was to proceed to the SCN shuttle pad as soon as her awards had been presented. There would be an SCN AG to take the new additions immediately to the navy’s Space port for transfer to Alpha Station.
Her destination was Alpha, and although not under military control like Beta Station, it was secured by them and they had jurisdiction over all space within the solar system. No spacecraft could fly without their express permission, which wasn’t really an issue seeing as all of the cargo flights were contracted by the SCN to handle commercial activities.
The order of the ceremony had been altered to allow all those who had to catch the shuttle to proceed as a single group, so it wasn’t long before Kelly was on her way to the space port. She looked out through the 360 degree view screens at the city she was leaving behind. She couldn’t remember anything other than living here and was soon distracted by the space port which swung into view as the AI changed course.
***
Space Island’s port was small, belying the amount and frequency of traffic ‘on’ and ‘off’ the island. The actual acreage needed to launch a ship into Space was now little more than the space to take off and land vertically, whereas a considerable area was needed for the economically important factories and assembly yards that took up the large portion of Space Island’s resources. The AG technology allowed immediate lift-off while the electronic motors driven by the new fusion power drives needed only to be big enough to manage the payload. Once in the upper atmosphere the thrust of the space drives took over. It was a highly efficient and pollution free solution that ensured the island remained a central hub in global politics and commerce.
The new recruits disembarked from the shuttle and were transferred directly to the spaceship. Sleek and wide, it housed four engines, two of which were space drives that only showed as streamlined bulges at the rear. The AG boosters underneath doubled up as stubby legs that extended beneath the ship that retracted in flight.
Like the shuttle there were no windows, but this was no failure of design, the inner hull was a continuous vidscreen that could show the external view, or as much of it as you would want to see. Kelly had read of people getting vertigo and space sick from exposure to the view. She didn’t anticipate any problems, her training had dealt with that.
Once seated, she opened up the presentation box handed to her by the commander of the faculty. She wasn’t surprised to see the two silver bars with an ‘S’ raised across them, reminiscent of the old American dollar. She was a lieutenant, a science officer. She had plenty of time so removed her jacket, and taking the epaulettes, placed the bars on each.
Replacing her jacket, Kelly sat back just as the seat belt warning light came on. She smiled reassuringly at the girl opposite, one of the graduates that had sat with her on the shuttle. Kelly remembered her name, Jenna Dickinson, she was heading for Alpha Station too. Jenna looked apprehensive, but something told Kelly that the young officer was going to be fine. She had handled all the training well, not a shining light, but very capable in a quiet way.
The nervous looking
girl had a single bar on her shoulder which made her an ensign, if Kelly’s memory served her correctly. It was then that she realised she hadn’t seen Jasmin and wondered what had become of her. She hadn’t been around when Kelly went to the presentation which was hurried and chaotic, as the Academy tried to re-roster the roll call to suit the early departure of some of the graduates. The coming war meant that recruits were being pushed straight into important roles and demand was high, outstripping the universities and academies ability to provide sufficient trained and qualified recruits.
Kelly consulted her communicator, it showed a blackout was in progress. She remembered something about non-military approved devices in the document downloaded to her from Osbourne. It contained a wide range of information which she recalled included a section marked, ‘Non-approved for use in all military installations: All devices that are automatically barred are in the following list.’ Halfway down the list she saw her NT420C. How did she miss that? Now she couldn’t communicate at all until she purchased a replacement. This might be serious, or it might not. Kelly would have to find an issue station as soon as she arrived at the station.
Jenna leaned over towards her, “You can upgrade your communicator if you plug it into the console behind your seat,” she said, fumbling in her small trip bag for an interface cable. “For security reasons they won’t allow a wireless upgrade, you have to plug it in manually, I’m afraid.”
“Wow! I can’t believe I missed that in my briefings, I just never thought about it until now. Thanks, Jenna,” Kelly said and was rewarded with a beaming smile from the girl opposite who seemed as pleased at being remembered as being able to show the star of the graduation something.
Kelly plugged in the communicator and watched as it first came up as ‘UNAPPROVED’ then quickly flashed as ‘UPGRADE APPROVED’ and proceeded to blank out and be replaced with a slow spinning SCN logo. After about five minutes the logo was replaced with an ‘UPGRADE COMPLETE’ message and an instruction to remove the cable.