by Jake Bible
The private just gave a weak smile in response then pressed her wrist and pretended to scan a generic report on the demographic makeup of the latest batch of incoming recruits. After a couple of seconds, the lift stopped and the private gave a short salute then hurried off.
North watched her go and rubbed at the bridge of his nose as the lift doors closed again.
“Medical bay,” North said.
“State the level, please,” a computerized voice responded.
“Whichever one Doctor Jagath is on,” North said.
“Medical Bay Nine, Level Five,” the voice said.
North steadied himself as the lift ascended. He pressed his wrist and waited for an image to come up.
“Interface, please,” he said when nothing happened.
No image appeared.
“Interface, please,” North snapped.
Still no image.
“Son of a bitch,” North growled. “Cancel request. I’m going to the server tower.”
“Doctor Jagath is not in the server tower, Major North,” the voice stated.
“No shit,” North replied. “I’m changing my mind. Take me to the server tower.”
“Doctor Jagath is not in the server tower, Major North,” the voice stated once more.
“Right, got that, thanks,” North snapped. “I’m not going to see Doctor Jag-.”
“You have an appointment with Doctor Jagath,” the voice said. “Doctor Jagath is expecting you, Major North.”
“Doctor Jagath is just going to have to wait,” North said. “I’m going to go find Lieutenant Linklater first. Reroute the lift, please.”
The voice did not answer.
“Hello? Reroute the lift, damnit!” North shouted.
“Corporal Ngyuen has authorized medical appointment rescheduling,” the voice said. “Rerouting lift to server tower.”
“Are you shitting me?” North growled. He pressed his wrist then growled louder when nothing happened. “Fucking Ngyuen. Approve my schedule. Approve me going to the server tower. Fuck that fucking bitch!”
The lift doors opened just as his last words came out and a group of techs all took a couple of steps back at the venom they encountered.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” North asked.
They did not respond.
“Fucking interface is on the fritz,” North growled as he stepped from the lift and pushed through the group of techs. “Damn chip is out.”
“Fucking doubleganger,” a tech muttered.
North whirled on the man and grabbed him by the neck. “What was that?”
“Nothing,” the tech choked.
“Right,” North said and tossed the tech aside.
A couple of the other techs gasped, but covered their mouths quickly. North glared at them then looked down the corridor.
“Which way to the server tower?” North asked. “Damn, what fucking level am I on?”
“That way, sir,” a tech said, pointing to the left. “Two junctions down.”
“Good. Thanks,” North said.
The techs hurried into the lift as North stalked off. Just as the doors to the lift closed, North heard the words “report to Metzger.” North spun about, but the lift doors had already closed and the techs were gone.
“Fuck them,” he muttered.
Two junctions later and he was staring at the hatch to the server tower. He placed his wrist in front of the panel, but nothing happened. Luckily it was an older panel, so he pressed it manually and the hatch opened instantly. But there was no lift. Instead, the hatchway was crisscrossed with holograms stating “Caution! Caution! Open space! Caution!”
“I can see that,” North said as he peered into the server tower and saw the empty space before him.
He grabbed onto the handles on each side of the hatch and leaned in, looking down first then up. Far above him he could see the bottom of the lift.
“Hey!” North shouted. “Link? You up there?”
“Major?” a voice asked behind North, causing the major to jump and almost lose his hold on the safety handles. “You looking for Lieutenant Linklater?”
North turned on the voice and came face to face with Hal Wendt.
“Do I know you?” North asked as a stabbing pain shot from the middle of his forehead, up over his scalp, and lodged right at the base of his neck. “Oh…shit…”
Wendt dropped the packs he was holding and grabbed North’s uniform just as the man started to fall backwards. He pulled the major in to the corridor and helped him to sit down on the floor next to the hatch.
“Whoa there, Major,” Wendt said. “Whoa. Take a load off, sir. You almost took a tumble that you wouldn’t have liked.”
“What’s your name?” North whispered.
“Wendt, sir,” Wendt replied. “You know that. We play poker each month.”
“Wendt? Right, right. Poker,” North smiled then frowned then smiled then frowned. “Fuck. My head is killing me.” North reached out and gripped Wendt’s uniform. “You have any pharma on you? Any injectors?”
“No, sir, sorry,” Wendt said. “None on me.” He grabbed up one of the packs and opened it then pulled out a small tube. “I have some hydration, though. That may be what you need. I heard down at the mess that you were there when that DG blew himself up. You’re probably in shock, sir. The bruises on your face don’t look like they are helping, either.”
“Are you a fucking doctor?” North snapped.
“Well, no, sir, but-.”
“Then shut your fucking mouth,” North said, his hands gripping Wendt’s uniform even tighter. “You shut your damned mouth, do you hear?”
“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir,” Wendt said and let the pack and hydration tube go so he could try to get North’s fingers from his uniform. “Sir? Do you mind?”
“What the hell, North?” Linklater asked as he swung out of the hatch and into the corridor. “You trying to kiss Wendt or something?”
“Link?” North asked, turning his attention to the lieutenant.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Linklater said, giving Wendt a worried glance. “I heard your lame ass calling me. I guess Ngyuen finally told you I’ve been calling.”
“I was supposed to go see Jagath, but I came to see you,” North said. “Not sure why. It all hurts way too much. Should it hurt? I just need some pharma. You got any, Link?”
“Well, this is a bit dramatic,” Linklater said. He looked to Wendt. “He been like this the whole time.”
“Yeah,” Wendt nodded as he got North’s fingers from his uniform and took a couple steps back. “Says his head is killing him.”
“Really?” Linklater replied. “Give me your interface scanner.”
“Shouldn’t we get him to a medical bay?” Wendt asked. “I don’t think this is tech related.”
“Only one way to find out,” Linklater snapped. “Give me your interface scanner.”
Wendt shrugged and pulled his scanner from his belt and handed it over. Linklater knelt down next to North and placed the scanner to the base of North’s skull.
“Hey,” North mumbled. “Fuck you, Estelian trash.”
“Really?” Linklater sighed. “Shut the fuck up and let me do my job, North.”
The scanner beeped shrilly and Linklater frowned.
“What the hell?” Linklater said as he handed the scanner over to Wendt. “You seeing what I’m seeing?”
Wendt took the scanner and his eyes widened. “He’s got a jam. No outside transmission showing, though.”
“So it’s on him,” Linklater said. “Great. Just what I need. Like the servers aren’t enough, now I got to scan his whole body.”
“I still think we should get him to a medical bay,” Wendt said.
“You know why you aren’t an officer, Wendt?” Linklater asked as he pulled a different scanner from his belt and started running it up and down North’s body. “Because you aren’t a duplicitous prick. I am. I know when something ain’t right.”
&
nbsp; Linklater’s scanner beeped and he stopped, hovering over one of North’s pockets.
“What have we got here?” Linklater asked then reached into North’s pocket. He pulled out Terlinger’s medal. “Weird.”
He scanned the medal then stuffed it into his own pocket.
“Was that it?” Wendt asked.
“No,” Linklater said. “Not sure what it is.”
“Looks like a medal,” Wendt said.
“Yeah, it looks like it,” Linklater said. “But it’s not.”
“So, it isn’t the jammer?” Wendt asked.
“I just said it wasn’t,” Linklater snapped. “Keep up, Wendt.”
Linklater scanned down to North’s toes then started back up. When he got all the way to North’s forehead the scanner beeped again.
“Hold him,” Linklater said as he set the scanner aside.
“What?” Wendt asked. “Why?”
“Because I found it,” Linklater said. “Just hold him.”
Wendt held North by the shoulders as Linklater pressed his thumbs against North’s forehead.
“Ow! Fuck!” North shouted as blood started to pour from a small slit in his skin. “What the hell, Link?”
“Shut up and be still,” Linklater said.
North was not still. His whole body began to shake and shudder as Linklater pressed harder. Then North started to scream.
“Got it!” Linklater said. “Subcutaneous motherfucker. How the hell did that get in there?”
Linklater held a small piece of metal between his thumb and forefinger then tossed it quickly to the ground as it sparked and sent a small wisp of smoke up into the air.
“Oh, man, that feels better,” North said. “My head doesn’t hurt as much.” North turned and focused on Linklater. “Don’t have a craving for pharma anymore, either.”
“Bullshit,” Linklater said. “I know you.”
“Okay, but the craving doesn’t make me want to kick your ass for an injector,” North said. “What the fuck just happened?”
“I squeezed a jammer out of your forehead,” Linklater said. “How’s your chip feel?”
North realized he was getting direct downloads and paused before answering.
“Jesus,” North said as he stood up. “How long have we been on alert?”
“What?”Wendt asked. “We’re not on alert.”
“We sure as hell should be!” North snapped. “I just received an alert of Estelian warships just passing Neptune and coming our way fast!”
North stood up, swayed a little, then shook it off.
“I need to get to the bridge,” North said. He pressed his wrist and an image of Ngyuen came up.
“I see you have your chip back online, sir,” Ngyuen said. “Despite not seeing Doctor Jagath. I assume you are calling because of the alert.”
“You think?” North said. “Why the hell hasn’t a station wide alert gone up?”
“CSC orders, sir,” Ngyuen said. “Training is to continue on schedule. They will be handling the Estelian threat, sir. Quads have been dispatched from Titan Base. Cruisers and destroyers on are standby. They do not expect the Estelian warships to get far.”
“Meet me on the bridge, Corporal,” North said. “We need to sound general quarters.”
“That would directly counter the CSC’s directives, sir,” Ngyuen said. “But I will meet you on the bridge. Should I get General Birmingham on line?”
“Not until I get there,” North said. “But let Metzger know what is happening. I want security ready.”
“Yes, sir,” Ngyuen said. “I will see to that right away.”
North pressed his wrist and Ngyuen’s image vanished. He looked down at the blackened speck of metal on the floor.
“Find out where that came from,” North said to Linklater.
“I’ll add it to my list of shit to do,” Linklater said. “Which is getting longer and longer. Oh, here.” He pulled Terlinger’s medal out of his pocket and handed it to North. “Something special?”
“I don’t know,” North said. “Maybe. Hey, do me a favor.” He looked at Wendt with suspicion.
“He’s good,” Linklater said. “What’s the favor?”
“Don’t mention that jammer to anyone, alright?” North requested. “I want to sort a few things out first.”
“Blabbing about this thing wasn’t on my list,” Linklater said. “But I do need to speak to you about what is.”
“Not the time,” North said. “I’ll get with you once I have a handle on the Estelian situation.”
“There’re really Estelian warships heading our way?” Wendt asked.
“Yes, but that’s not general knowledge until I make the announcement,” North said. “Keep that under wraps as well.”
“Yeah, sure,” Wendt nodded.
North started to jog away then stopped and turned. “Hey, Link?”
“What?”
“Thanks for fixing my head,” North said.
“Someone has to,” Linklater said. “And come see me the second you can get away. This is serious.”
“Will do,” North nodded then took off running towards the lift.
Twenty-Six
“Looking better!” Valencio called out. “But still not even close to good!”
She flew her fighter skiff around a sixteen, causing several cadet pilots to panic and almost lose control.
“See that? That’s what I mean!” Valencio shouted. “A small distraction and you get all wobbly!”
“Hey, Captain?” London asked over the comm. “Have you heard anything from the Perpetuity?”
“No,” Valencio said. “I’m on intracomm, remember? You’re supposed to be monitoring communications.”
“Yeah, I am,” London said. “I thought I caught some chatter about Estelian warships then the chatter stopped. Just wondering if you got an override communication from the station that I wasn’t privy to.”
“Just tell me what’s going on, London,” Valencio ordered. “I don’t have time for this conversation.”
“I told you. Estelian warships,” London said. “The chatter cut off before I could get specifics.”
“That’s all you have for me? Estelian warships?” Valencio asked. “That was probably flight control jabbering and a supervisor told them to can it.”
“I don’t think so,” London replied. “It sounded a lot more urgent than that.”
“Then call in for clarification,” Valencio said.
“I have and they won’t confirm or deny,” London replied.
“They what?” Valencio asked. “What do you mean they won’t confirm or deny? They have to do one or the other.”
“I’m just telling you what I was told,” London said. “They refuse to confirm or deny that I heard what I heard.”
“They’re messing with you,” Zenobia interrupted.
“Pay attention to your cadet pilots, Demon,” Valencio said. “I have this.”
“I’m just saying I think they are messing with London, is all,” Zenobia responded. “It’s because of that thing with Hurley’s lady friend in the mess.”
“Jesus, that was months ago,” London said. “And that chick was nailing anything that looked at her. I was hardly the only offender.”
“Just saying,” Zenobia said.
“Do we have to have this conversation?” Richtoff asked. “I am trying to instruct some highly incompetent cadet pilots.”
“Richtoff is right,” Valencio said. “Can the crap and get back to work. London? Patch me through to the Perpetuity. I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“You got it, boss,” London replied. “Your comm is open.”
“Flight control? This is Captain Valencio,” Valencio called. “I am hearing rumors of possible Estelian warships. Is this correct?”
“Sorry, Captain,” a woman responded. “But we cannot confirm nor deny that rumor. All information regarding Estelian warships will have to come from Major North.”
“Then pu
t me through to Major North,” Valencio ordered. She switched the comm to intra. “Demon? Take my cadets. I’m not letting flight control off until I get to the bottom of this.”
“Roger,” Zenobia said. “Come on, morons! Move your asses over to me! NOW!”
Valencio watched as her sixteens flew off in ragged formation and over to Zenobia’s groupings.
“Flight control? You still there?” Valencio asked.
“Yes, Captain,” the same woman replied. “We cannot patch you through to Major North at this time. We have been told he is occupied currently.”
“Occupied? With what?” Valencio asked.
“Not our place to know or our place to say,” the woman answered.
“Then give me a long range scan reading,” Valencio said. “You can’t deny me that. Not while I’m running flight drills in the vacuum.”
There was a pause. “I’ll have to check with my supervisor.”
“What is your rank?” Valencio asked.
“Corporal, sir,” the woman replied.
“And I’m a captain,” Valencio said. “Is your supervisor ranked above me?”
“No, sir,” the woman replied.
“Then give me long range scan readings,” Valencio snapped. “That is an order, Corporal! Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir,” the woman said. “Sending long range scan readings to you now. I apologize for the hesitation, Captain. I was under general orders to keep things buttoned up.”
“Understood, Corporal,” Valencio said as she waited for the scan readings to appear on her screen. “I’ll be sure and mention that if I am questioned about how I received these scans. I can certainly… What the hell?”
“May I go now, Captain?” the woman asked, her voice displaying severe anxiety as raised voices could be heard off comm. “I have other duties to attend to.”
“Yes, of course,” Valencio said. “Thank you for the scans.”
Valencio focused her attention on what was scrolling across her screen. She tapped at the interface and the scroll transformed from raw data and into a three-dimensional representation of what was coming towards Perpetuity and Earth.