Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  She stares back and says, “I did, he just happened to be a soldier, one whose duty to our country outweighed everything else.”

  Radclyf stares at the ground in abashed silence. Polly gently lifts his chin with her hand, nods at the waiting shuttle and says, “So how long can you stay this time?”

  With a twinge of regret, he slowly replies, “We launch today.”

  “Oh, I see,” Polly replies in disappointment.

  Radclyf frowns as his mind replays his disturbing dreams. He turns to the shuttle, and as he waves John off, yells, “I will contact you when I need to be picked up.”

  John waves back and shouts, “No problem.”

  Polly puts an arm around Radclyf’s waist as they watch the shuttle depart. She gazes up at him and says, “So what’s on your mind?”

  Radclyf gazes at the homes that make up the small village and says, “Of all the dangerous missions, and close calls in my life, I never felt as though I was going to die.”

  Polly frowns at him, deeply concerned. She fearfully asks, “So what’s different this time?”

  He sighs and says, “When I think about you, I wonder whatever became of you.”

  “Don’t change the subject Mister,” Polly chastises firmly.

  Radclyf gulps, then replies, “I am being selfish coming here.” He stares at the cloudy sky for a few seconds, gathers his thoughts, and then says, “I just don’t think I’m coming home from this one.”

  Polly frowns, then tugs on his arm and says, “Well come inside then. I shall prepare some tea and crumpets.”

  The hours pass quickly for some, and slowly for others. On the bridge of the Terran, Cindy taps her fingers on her chair’s armrests and says, “John, did Radclyf give any indication when he would be contacting us?”

  John cringes, then slumps his shoulders. He had only told the bridge crew the barest of facts, and now reluctantly relays everything he witnessed.

  While Cindy ponders the news, the bridge speakers activate, “Ah, Terran, this is ground control. When are you departing? We’re all waiting.”

  Cindy sighs, then replies, “I am a man down, so we will wait.”

  “A man down,” comes the confused reply, “can’t you just leave without him? What difference can one man make?”

  “We will wait,” Cindy replies bluntly. She turns to the bridge crew and says, “if he needs time to say goodbye, then he gets the time.”

  George smiles at Cindy’s words. He knows she has a soft side, and has also benefitted from her understanding.

  Hayato shrugs his shoulders as the rest of the bridge crew glances at him. He says defensively, “Don’t look at me, I had no idea he was leaving the ship.”

  John lowers his head a little and remains quiet, all the while feeling Cindy’s eyes boring into the back of his head.

  With little else he can do, Joe rechecks the ship’s power systems, then throttles everything down to a low output.

  Cindy considers what to do, then comes to a decision and taps her chair’s small console activating the ship wide communication. With a confidence she does not feel, she says, “All departments stand down from launch test preparation. This is your last chance to requisition supplies for the mission. Bridge out.”

  Throughout the ship rumors quickly spread about the test launch. A few people actually do place some final requests for additional supplies. The night drags on, and still there is no word from Radclyf.

  The following morning, shortly after breakfast, John receives word that Radclyf is ready to be picked up. He quickly gets to a shuttle and wastes no time in locating the small hamlet.

  The second they step on the bridge Radclyf opens his mouth to speak, but stops when he spots Cindy’s raised hand. She smiles kindly and says, “Is everything okay? Or do you need more time?”

  Radclyf stares at the bridge crew then smiles at their warm reception. His smile broadens as he recalls Polly’s parting words. ‘You just come home and retire. You deserve a life too!’ He nods respectfully to Cindy, then while staring outside at the Australian desert, says, “I thank you all for indulging me.” He acknowledges each of the bridge crew, then adds, “I am ready now.”

  Robert McKnight stares at Radclyf with the keen interest of the reporter he is. He knows there is a story or two about the man, but will press him at another time. Robert feels the excitement building and begins to record the day’s events. He smiles inwardly as he thinks of the five other reporters on board, each one assigned to record events as they happen in various parts of the ship during the launch.

  Cindy stands, then says, “Let’s go and make history.” She taps her console, activating the ship’s internal speakers, and says. “Attention all crew. Today marks the beginning of our new mission. We are to study the Oglan farming world, and to investigate the derelict Gamin spacecraft for technology that may benefit our exploration and colonization efforts.” Her excitement builds as she orders, “Prepare for launch.”

  Sitting down again Cindy motions to John and says, “Get us off the ground, and into space where we belong.”

  “Yes ma’am,” John replies happily as he expertly taps a number of symbols on his console.

  Joe begins to monitor the ship’s power levels and proudly reports, “Fifty-two percent capacity, more power than we will ever need.” He contacts reactor control on his private channel and then says, “We should not require the reactors, but get your crews ready, just in case.”

  “Understood,” comes the simple reply.

  George and Patrick connect their suits to wall panels and begin to monitor the ship’s systems. The two men give each other a thumbs-up, and wait.

  Peter and Emma exchange a quick glance and smile. While Emma monitors the ship’s life support systems, Peter sits back and does what he does best, he observes his surroundings.

  Radclyf and Hayato, dressed in full combat gear, occupy their usual seats. Their men are surreptitiously stationed in crucial parts of the ship. Henry is in the upgraded medical facility, his weapon at the ready. Paul stands near reactor control, while Chokichi stands guard near GUS. David with his sixty-one mercenaries cover every level that accesses the hangar deck.

  Cindy considers Peters seemingly paranoid defensive posture, then recalls their issues in the past. Gazing forward she watches the landscape fall away as the Terran rises up from the ground. The lift off is even smoother than their landing, further proof that the additional power unit was needed after all.

  John lifts the Terran vertically, then activates whole banks of thrusters to propel them forward. They climb through the clouds, then quickly rise above them. The bright blue skies soon give away to a star filled view. Five minutes after launch the Terran is in orbit above Earth.

  Hayato and Radclyf exchange whispered words, then Hayato stands up. He surprises everyone when he says, “Cindy, I want the crew to assemble in the hangar deck, all except for those in reactor control, GUS, and the medical bay.”

  Cindy stares at him for a moment as she recalls their private conversation from earlier, then replies questioningly, “Now?”

  “Correct,” he replies, then adds, “None of us want any surprises this time.”

  Cindy nods in agreement, and taps her chair’s small console, “Attention all crew, we are now in orbit, and require everyone to assemble in the hangar deck.”

  Just as the pair exit the bridge Hayato points to Joe and says, “Get ready to close off sections of the ship.”

  “No worries mate,” Joe replies automatically.

  Peter stretches, then activates the cameras which are mounted on every sentry gun throughout the ship. He glances at Radclyf and Hayato as they leave the bridge, then begins to monitor the numerous cameras.

  Cindy glances to Joe and says, “Seal the bridge.”

  Joe tap his console. They all stare in silence as, for the first time ever, the doorway to the bridge closes off.

  Robert watches the bridge crew’s reactions with interest and says, “I didn’t k
now it could do that.” Based on their stares he can see that most of them are equally impressed.

  Joe replies with a grin, “During the ship’s refit, I spent some time learning more about these consoles. I had been reluctant to test opening and closing sections while we were in space.”

  Robert replies with a confused frown, “Why would you be worried? They’re all internal panels. Right?”

  Joe scratches his head and answers slowly, “Well, for starters the ship was never finished by the Gamin, all we did was patch up the holes.” He shrugs his shoulders as if that were a sufficient answer.

  Robert stares at Joe with narrowing his eyes. The reporter in him knows there is more. He points to the metallic wall that blocks the bridge, and with mild concern says, “But this room was finished. Right?”

  Cindy stands, then steps toward Joe. Putting a hand on his shoulder she replies for him, “The longer we’re on board this ship, the more we learn, besides I am glad Joe waited until we were on Earth to test the opening and closing of the ship’s panels.”

  Wanting to change the subject, Joe looks down at the floor near his feet and finds what he is looking for. He picks it up, turns around and says, “George, you can have this back.”

  Joe stands, walks to George and hands him the three-pronged claw that is a replica of a Gamin hand, and says, “I had no idea that this has actual live cells.”

  “It is amazing what these bodysuits can craft,” replies George with admiration.

  “Well, thanks to you, we have a new security system for the doorways into both main engine rooms.” Joe states with pride.

  George shakes his head and replies, “You give me too much credit. You’re the one who figured out how to install a console which accepts our hand prints instead of this.” He holds up the replica of the Gamin hand and waves it around.

  Joe shrugs his shoulders, smiles, and asks, “Apart from the bridge crew, who else do you think should have access?”

  “I think that is enough, for now,” George replies, “besides, we can always add more people later if we need to.”

  “Oh, another thing,” Joe adds with a grin expanding across his face, “we can conduct the engine calibrations from the bridge now.”

  George’s eyebrows lift in surprise as he asks curiously, “How did you do that?”

  “We have always had the ability to, we just didn’t know where to look,” Joe responds earnestly.

  George frowns, then says, “Or perhaps Regent Voknor is still helping us?” He glances around and says, “Because I have trouble believing that both of us did not notice that feature before.”

  Joe stares at George in stunned silence for a moment, and then slowly says, “All the bridge stations have a series of utility icons for sealing off sections, life support, gravity systems, and the engine controls.”

  George nods, and says, “I am pretty sure the engine controls were not there before.”

  Joe blinks in surprise at the revelation, and then says, “You think he is still helping us?”

  “Well, he seems to like us,” George says, then adds, “He did make sure we got this ship back!”

  Cindy listens with mounting curiosity, then returns her focus to the task at hand. She contacts reactor control and speaks to Paul, one of Radclyf’s men. “Is the area secure?”

  Paul replies almost instantly, “All forty controllers are here and accounted for.”

  “Understood.” Cindy replies, “Sealing you in.” She turns to Joe and says, “Close off reactor control, and isolate all other reactors.”

  Joe lifts an eyebrow, then taps on his console as he complies. Less than a minute later he turns back and says, “The reactor rooms are sealed.”

  The bridge crew, under the direction of Radclyf and Hayato, continue to isolate the Terran’s vital systems. One by one they seal off the command levels, the super computer GUS, and the medical facility. Next, the twenty levels that access the hangar deck are closed off one by one.

  Radclyf contacts the bridge and says, “We are in the hydroponics area, seal us in Joe.”

  Within thirty minutes the bulk of the ship becomes an isolated tomb.

  Cindy sits back in her chair, then activates the internal communications but she does not speak, instead she listens to the microphone feeds from the areas which are sealed off. She glances at Joe and says, “Reduce life support in all vacated areas to fifty percent.

  Hayato grins as he makes his request, “Joe, I want you to shut the lighting off to all levels in the forward section of the ship, then slowly extend the blackout towards the hangar deck.”

  Six young men and women not only find themselves having difficulty breathing, the lights in their hideout go out, leaving them in the dark. One of the young men says in alarm, “Oh crap. I never thought they would conserve power by shutting things down.”

  One of the women shouts out in fear, “Hey! There are people in here.”

  “Shhh,” says another of the young men, “We don’t want to be found do we?”

  The first woman is almost hysterical as she shouts back, “I would rather be found alive, than dead, you moron.”

  Cindy smiles at the comments that feed through to the bridge speakers. She grins as she says, “Hayato was correct, we do have stowaways.”

  Joe isolates their location, then grins with pride, “Got ‘em!” He busily taps on his console for a moment, then says proudly. “Forward section level five, there is not much there. GUS, the mess hall, the medical bay, and reactor control, are all on level four. The twenty reactors extend through that level, but they still leave a lot of vacant space.”

  Cindy nods as she replies, “We left much of that area vacant in case of radiation issues. Not a bad place to hide actually,” she adds with admiration.

  “Hello,” says a fear filled voice, “Can anyone hear me?”

  Cindy does not answer the stowaways, but instead contacts Hayato and Radclyf, and informs them of the situation.

  Forty minutes later, six teenagers stumble sheepishly onto the bridge. The three young men and women look quite abashed. Apparently the two combat veterans barging in with raised weapons was enough to intimidate the strongest of their souls.

  Joe grins as he returns the ship’s systems to normal.

  Cindy taps her fingers on her chair’s arm rest, then points to one the girls and demands, “What were you thinking?”

  The girl gulps, then hesitantly responds, “We thought it would be fun.”

  “Fun,” Cindy replies, then with a mischievous grin says, “Captain Thompson, will you please return these children to Earth.”

  “Yes ma’am,” John replies.

  Under escort from Radclyf and Hayato, the group makes its way to the hangar deck. Once there, John takes one of the larger shuttles and flies them all to the Australian facility. The flight is fast and rough as John gives the young men and women a ride they will not forget. Once on the ground, the shaken stowaways are handed over to General Hayes.

  While they are gone, Peter and Cindy review the crew roster one more time.

  Robert is putting together a report on the stowaways, so he only half listens to the pair as they sound off each section and tally the numbers. Catching the final count, he exclaims in surprise, “Three thousand, one hundred and thirty-four people. That’s a lot!” He adds, diverting his attention from his report.

  Cindy responds casually, “Well, we had more on board when we went to New Earth. Besides,” she adds, “almost twenty-five hundred are the Army Corps of Engineers. Then we have Emma’s team of three hundred and sixty-four and David with his sixty mercenaries, so our actual crew is...” She pauses and reviews the numbers before her, and then continues, “A mere two hundred twenty-four.”

  Peter grins cheekily at the mentioning of David’s men, and says, “I am sure the mercenaries won’t be happy to know we had stowaways right under their noses.”

  Cindy nods in agreement.

  John returns to the Terran, and while he makes hi
s way to the bridge, Radclyf and Hayato find David to discuss future operations.

  As soon as John steps onto the bridge Cindy takes a deep breath, then says, “Well, now that’s out of the way. Let’s get going. John, take us to the asteroid belt.”

  John grins and replies jokingly, “I wonder if anything else could possibly delay us?” As soon as the words leave his lips he feels awful, he had not meant to direct his words at Radclyf’s actions. He quickly taps a series of symbols on his console.

  The Terran accelerates away from Earth, bringing more of it into view as they move away. Johns stares with pride as America swings into view. His smile freezes when he observes the California coast line. He shudders at the sight, he had forgotten about the massive earthquakes that turned the long coastline into numerous small islands.

  Robert catches John’s focus and says, “I was there when the explosion set off the San Andreas Fault.”

  “The California Isles, is their name now, isn’t it?” Joe asks, although he is pretty certain that he is right.

  “Yes.” John replies, then adds, “They’re made up of almost one hundred islands.”

  Tapping a few more controls, John engages the Terran’s sub-light engines, then slides the controller to eighty percent. He does not like to be reminded of the calamity that befell America, and is much happier when the Terran leaps forward.

  It does not take them long to reach the fringes of the asteroid belt that exists between Mars and Jupiter. Cindy leans forward and says, “Slow us down. I want to test the rail guns.”

  Joe feels a slight buzz as his adrenaline kicks in. He glances to John, then Peter, with trepidation. The guns have never been fired, but will do so, in theory. While John searches for a suitable target, Peter recalls the procedure he has memorized. He imagines the cables that trail all the way to bridge, then glances at the doorway where a bundle of thick cables snake their way through newly added ports above the doorway. Most of these cables connect the Gamin computers, with their specialized adapter circuits, to GUS. His eyes follow one of these cables all the way to a control box which hangs from a mount on the ceiling. He stands, reaches up, and swings the box down so that it rests within easy reach, without blocking access to his console.