The Exxar Chronicles: Book 01 - The Erayan

by Neal Jones

  So why hadn't he delivered the news last night? Karri must have known somehow that he wanted to end the relationship, and she had provided him the perfect opportunity. But Marc hadn't been able to say the words. He kept steering the conversation toward station business or crew gossip, and at one point had awkwardly brought up the latest game from the Essver Cup Series. He had even begun digressing about some irrelevant human-interest story that he had seen on one of the news feeds on his way home from opcon. By the end of the night the gigantic elephant in the room had successfully been ignored and was most likely now joining with its mate to create a herd.

  Another late night and another empty of bottle of Scotch for the reclamator to neatly vaporize in the morning.

  The doors opened, and the senior staff – along with the honor guard – snapped to attention. President Enkaro crossed the threshold, his wife at his side, and the Vice President followed. A handful of staff brought up the rear, along with five secret service agents, and everyone waited as Gabriel stepped forward to greet the most important man in the Interstellar Federation of Peace.

  "Mister president," Gabriel said, "I'm Commodore Marcus Gabriel. On behalf of myself and my crew, I welcome you to Exxar-One." When the saluting was finished, the commodore bowed to Enkaro and folded his hands into a traditional Indravian greeting.

  The president was pleasantly surprised by the gesture and returned the greeting. "Thank you, commodore. I'd like to present my wife, Narra."

  "Pleased to meet you." The First Lady was prim and regal. Like Vorik's wife, Narra knew her role and she played it with precisely measured grace and agility.

  "The pleasure is mine," Gabriel replied.

  Enkaro proceeded to introduce the rest of his staff, then Gabriel introduced his, and, finally, the ambassadors stepped forward to deliver their salutations. When the formalities were complete, Gabriel stepped forward once more.

  "Mister President, at this time we can show you to your quarters if you wish, or I can take you on a tour of the station."

  "Thank you, commodore, for your invitation, but I would prefer to postpone the tour until tomorrow morning. I'd like to spend this time to prepare for this afternoon's ceremony. Please show us to our quarters."

  "Right this way."

  Gabriel led them into the PTL, followed by Brouchard, the chief of staff, and the press secretary. Enkaro filled the silence by chattering about how much he was looking forward the ceremony on the quarterdeck and the dinner that evening.

  "Have you ever tasted Indravian cuisine, commodore?"

  "Uh, no," Gabriel replied. "I don't believe that I have."

  "You're in for a treat then," Narra said, beaming. "I have personally selected three of the main courses which will be served tonight."

  "I can hardly wait." Gabriel's smile was so plastic that he was sure his face was going to splinter beneath the strain. Only twenty-four hours, he told himself. Only twenty-four hours.

  ( 4 )

  The pilot's ready room was buzzing with banter and conversation when Commander Andrew Scoletti entered. The EarthCorps airman took a moment to peruse his compad before stepping behind the podium that stood at the center of the platform in the front of the large room. Occupying the seats that fanned upward and out from the stage, like those in a theater, were the two hundred pilots that formed Exxar-One's Air Group Command. Only a third of the pilots were EarthCorps. The rest were a mixed bag of a dozen different species from various member worlds of the Federation. Scoletti was the CAG, Commander of the Air Group.

  He sounded a chime from the podium's com panel, and waited for the various conversations to wane. "All right, everyone, listen up. Here's the rundown. Alpha and Beta squads will be doing the flyby for today's ceremony. There's been a change to the CAP schedule." CAP was short for Combat Air Patrol. Ever since the first Haal'Chai attack, a rotating CAP had been on constant patrol around the station. "India and Zulu squads are swapping shifts."

  A chorus of complaints and cheering arose from the middle of the crowd, and Lieutenant Neva "Foxfire" Corwin's voice soared above the rest. "Looks like your date is going to get postponed, Chesser! Hey, commander, we're not allowed to jerk off in the cockpits are we?"

  "All right, enough!" Scoletti rapped his compad on the side of the podium to restore order. "Foxfire, you're taking lead on today's flyby. And if you move your stinger so much as a millimeter out of the prescribed formation, I will make sure that you never climb into the cockpit again. Is that clear?"

  "Yes, sir!" The pilot gave a mock salute and resumed chomping on her cigar. "You won't get any shenanigans from me, sir."

  "Oooh, Foxy, you stay up all night practicing that big word?" Tedyn, an Arristhian, was Beta squad team leader.

  "Only the few extra minutes after I got bored with your skinny ass."

  This elicited another chorus of whooping and one-liners, as well as high-fives from Corwin's fellow alpha squad members. Scoletti allowed the commotion to run its natural momentum and then rapped on the podium once more.

  "I'm glad you brought up last night, Tedyn, because according to the duty log you came in a little too hot once you hit the landing mark. In fact, as I looked back through the logs for the last three weeks, you've been coming in too hot on a regular basis."

  "Tiahata's the only one who complains, commander," the pilot replied in his usual swaggering tone. Lnik Tiahata was the AGC's deck chief. "I've been flying for six years. I know when too far is too far."

  "Oh, my apologies then, lieutenant. Forgive me for my assumption that you enjoy being a jackass show-off and don't know how to control yourself." Scoletti walked around the podium and stood in front of the first row to get closer to his subordinate's face. "If you come in hot one more time, lieutenant, I will revoke your flight status and assign you to one of Commander Garrett's cleaning crews. You'll be scouring the inside of the reactor manifolds for thirty days. With a toothbrush. By yourself." Tedyn's smile disappeared. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Scoletti stepped back and surveyed his crew one last time. "That's all I've got, people. Dismissed. Foxfire, you have a moment?"

  Lieutenant Corwin smiled as she stood, knowing exactly why she was being singled out. When the room was empty, Scoletti asked, "Rumor has it that alpha squad is going to attempt a starburst maneuver during today's flyby."

  Neva looked astonished. "What? Alpha squad, sir? Are you sure?"

  "Cut the bullshit, lieutenant. Spread the word to your team that under no circumstances will you be performing such a risky maneuver on my watch." As he spoke, the CAG slowly circled the pilot, brushing a finger along the waist of her flight suit. "I wasn't joking earlier when I said not a millimeter out of prescribed formation. If your squad attempts a starburst, all of you will be joining Tedyn in the reactor manifolds." He was very close to Corwin now, and his entire hand was caressing the small of her back. His lips were inches from hers and his brown eyes held her gaze. "Is that clear?"

  "Yes, sir." The lieutenant had her own hands busy. One was behind her, her fingers intertwined with Scoletti's. The other was unzipping his uniform jacket.

  The CAG reached up with his free hand and stopped hers. "Not now. You know the rules."

  "Like the cliché says, commander, rules were made to be broken."

  Scoletti abruptly pulled away and walked towards the exit. "See you on the flight deck, lieutenant. I'll be joining your squad for the flyby."

  "I look forward to it, sir," Foxfire replied. Her gaze was fixed on the commander's ass. He filled out his uniform pants quite nicely, and Corwin couldn't wait until their appointed rendezvous this evening. Scoletti was going to get the fucking of his life.

  ( 5 )

  Every military vessel and starbase contained a quarterdeck, a place where all the best pomp and circumstance of military tradition could be performed in front an audience that was usually composed of more junior officers than senior ones, if only because the senior officers were typically involved in the ceremony which was taking place on the s
tage. Exxar-One's quarterdeck was three times the size of the command deck and located seven decks below it. It spanned two levels, and a large portion of its wall and sloped ceiling was composed of the same glass and framework structure that the observation dome contained. The station's senior command staff - along with that of the Dauntless' – was seated in the first two rows of the right side of the central aisle. On the left side, the first row was occupied by the President and his entourage, as well as Ambassadors Vorik and Zar. The rest of the auditorium-style seating was filled with five hundred members of Exxar-One's crew - an even mix of Chrisarii, EarthCorps, DrayH'M, Murdohn and two dozen other species. A crowd of civilian reporters stood along the rear wall, their remote cameras hovering about the auditorium like mechanical bees, and a dozen secret service agents were also scattered throughout the massive room.

  Lieutenant Jeffrey Allen Ritano had asked to be on the security detail that would follow President Enkaro whenever he set foot outside his personal quarters. At the moment, Ritano was standing against the rear wall of the quarterdeck, near one of the two primary entrances, and he scanned the crowd with a practiced eye. So far, nothing unusual caught his attention, but he was pleased to see that Lieutenant Hargrove and Ensign Marfield weren't sitting together. It was no secret that the pair was on the outs with each other, and though a breakup wasn't official, it was only a matter of time, and Ritano had had his eye on Hargrove for a couple weeks now. Jeff's shift ended in three hours, and he wondered if he should stop by the lieutenant's quarters and invite him to the rec deck for a round of tennis, or maybe hoverball.

  "Selinitz to Ritano. Report."

  Jeff tapped his commlink. "My sector is clear." He resumed scanning the crowd, and his gaze landed on the president's entourage. The security officer turned to his companion, Ensign Markovitz. "Hey, Marky, who's the guy in the gray suit sitting next to the vice president?"

  "That's Enkaro's chief of staff, Henri Comstock."

  "Chief of staff?? He doesn't look older than thirty."

  "He's probably had Wolcott's therapy. I think I read somewhere that he's in his late forties." Markovitz noticed the change in Ritano's expression. "Forget it, Jeff. He's waaayyy out of your league."

  "I know, and there's nothing I love more than a good challenge."

  "How do you know he's gay?"

  Jeff grinned. "That's part of the fun, isn't it? There were lots of guys at the academy who weren't gay until they met me."

  The ensign snorted and turned his gaze to the rest of the crowd. Ritano reluctantly turned his eyes away from Comstock and resumed his observation. A chime rang through the auditorium, signaling the start of the ceremony. The murmured buzz of a hundred different conversations fell silent as Commodore Gabriel rose and walked to the podium. He took a few moments to compose himself before he lifted his eyes to the audience.

  "My fellow officers, Mister President, Mister Vice President, members of the press - I welcome you all to this ceremony. The change of command is an honored military ritual, and I am especially humbled today to be able to share this tradition with President Enkaro. I am also pleased to have as witnesses Ambassador Zar and Ambassador Vorik." Gabriel looked at them as he spoke, addressing them directly with his next words. "This starbase is the accomplishment of the three of you, and without your tireless efforts in this regard, it's very likely that Chrisarii and Federation soldiers would be fighting one another instead of seated here side by side as allies and friends." He gave a slight cough and cleared his throat. "So without further ado, I invite you, Mister President, to join me on stage for the change of command recitation."

  The audience put forth a thunderous applause as Enkaro stood and walked the few steps to the podium. He grasped Gabriel's hand, shaking it long enough for the cameras to snap some choice photos. Gabriel stood to one side, folding his hands behind his back, and waited with the rest of the crowd for the president to speak. Enkaro activated his compad, but then he paused, his gaze fixed upon the screen and the introductory paragraph of the speech on which he'd worked so hard during his voyage here. He shut off the pad, pushed it to one side of the pulpit, and lifted his gaze to the congregation.

  "I had a speech prepared for this occasion, a piece of oration which took me a very long time to write, but now I find it inappropriate. It's a fine speech, one worthy of this ceremony, but you have all heard it before. I have delivered the same theme to you, to the people of the Federation, numerous times since my election ten years ago. You all are very familiar by now of the symbol of this station, of what it represents to this new alliance. And while that theme is an important one, I don't feel compelled to reiterate it to you one more time.

  "Instead, I wish to remind everyone of a simple truth which I believe has been lost in all of the rhetoric and reasoning for why this alliance was forged in the first place. It is not enough that we fight only to survive, that we fight to win without any regard for the cost of victory. Nor is it enough that we simply end the conflict. We must be worthy of survival. Compassion and mercy are not signs of weakness. Rather, they are examples of strength and honor. To embrace one's enemy, to sit at the table of peace and be willing to swallow one's pride and one's need to for vengeance in favor of the greater good, is a trait of one who is worthy of survival. We must look past the horizon to the next generation. The choices that we make now will impact our children and their children."

  Enkaro paused, sweeping one last gaze over the crowd before turning to Gabriel. The president picked up his compad. "From Fleet Admiral Joseph Piller, EarthCorps Naval Command, to Commodore Marcus Gabriel, EarthCorps Naval Command, galactic standard date thirty-eight-dash-twenty-two-five-hundred-forty-eight-point-one-three. Commodore, you are hereby ordered to report to starbase Exxar-One and take upon yourself the duties and responsibilities of its commanding officer in the service of the EarthCorps Navy and the Interstellar Federation of Peace. End of orders." Enkaro lowered the compad and extended his hand.

  Gabriel shook it. "Thank you, mister president."

  The two men faced the crowd as the cameras snapped more photos, and the audience stood to their feet, applauding for a second time. Enkaro walked off the stage and Gabriel motioned for everyone to sit. The applause faded, and the commodore cleared his throat.

  "At this time, if you'll direct your attention to the viewport behind me, a squadron of pilots from our Air Group Command will perform a traditional flyby."

  Gabriel returned to his seat in the front row, and an excited hush fell over the quarterdeck. All eyes were fixed on the sprawling viewport, and, after a couple minutes, twenty gray specs suddenly bloomed on the horizon. The mark nine hornets zoomed towards the glass, breaking away at the last possible second. As each sped upward and out, they fired a burst from their forward weapons. The fireworks exploded in brilliant hues of orange, red, green, blue and gold. They filled the entire viewport, lighting up the sky like a cosmic flower garden. The crowd was properly amazed and entertained, and Gabriel lent his own clapping to everyone else's applause. When the last petal of light had faded, the commodore returned to the podium.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to introduce the 176th Garozald Battalion Symphony."

  He gestured stage right where a large group of officers were seated in a semi-circle. Like Exxar-One's crew, there was a mix of Murdohn, DrayH'M, EarthCorps, and a dozen other species, and only a few of the instruments were familiar to Gabriel. He took his seat as the band struck up a traditional marching tune, and the commodore recognized it as one of the president's favorites. After three more selections it was time for Ambassador Zar's speech. The DrayH'M took up far more time and words than the president had, and then it was two more songs from the band. Ambassador Vorik's oration was as long and as repetitive as Zar's, and part of his closing paragraph involved Gabriel and Saveck joining him on stage. They stood to either side of Vorik while he praised their courage at accepting their assignment to Exxar-One.

  "These two men represent this new al
liance in action. Ambassador Zar and I plan to work closely with Commodore Gabriel and Major Saveck to ensure that this station will always stand as a symbol of unity and peace. As the president stated so eloquently a few minutes ago, it is time for us to look past the horizon. We must embrace a new era. This is the future, ladies and gentlemen, and I am proud to be a part of this - as should all of you. Mister president, Ambassador Zar, would you both join me up here?"

  This was it. This was the moment that the press and the audience – and probably the whole damn Federation - had been waiting for. This was the Kodak moment. Zar and Enkaro were more than happy to oblige Vorik, and all five stood side by side, the cameras snapping away, the reporters recording every last word. It was all Gabriel could do to keep his lunch from making an encore appearance. He didn't even hear Vorik's final statement. The standing ovation from the audience lasted far longer than it should have, and Gabriel waited patiently for the other four to return to their seats.

  He was supposed to have prepared a speech for this occasion, per military tradition, but the commodore had refused to write one. He had swallowed his pride and accepted his orders, but he would be damned if he was going to stand behind this podium and lie through his teeth. His closing remarks were going to be short, sweet and to the point.

  "My fellows officers, mister president, mister vice president, members of the press, esteemed ambassadors. This concludes the change-of-command ceremony. Thank you for your attendance. Dismissed."

  The president and his entourage stood and walked up the center aisle while the symphony played the Federation's national anthem. The entire audience stood as well, and only after Enkaro and Brouchard had left the quarterdeck did the crowd break up, disappearing through the exits in small groups. Gabriel remained behind the podium, watching everyone leave, dreading the next event of this very long day. The president's chief of staff had arranged a reception, and the senior command staff was expected to attend. The remainder of the guest list was composed of politicians, the press, a handful of celebrities, and perhaps two or three senators from Parliament. And, of course, the esteemed Ambassadors Zar and Vorik.