by Ryk Brown
“Beg your pardon, sir, but the procedures stink,” Ensign Walsh stated.
“Is that right?” Commander Bastyan looked at the ensign. “I didn’t realize you had become such an expert in the operation of a Cobra gunship, in such a surprisingly short amount of time. On what vast experience do you base this claim?”
“None, sir,” Ensign Walsh admitted. “But if you look at all the flight logs and transcriptions of past combat actions, you’ll see that these ships are capable of so much more…”
“The procedures exist to provide an operational baseline against which all flight crews can be measured,” the commander stated in matter-of-fact fashion. “While I appreciate your enthusiasm, if you hope to ever fly a Cobra gunship the way that you believe it can be flown, you must first prove that you are capable of operating one in accordance with established protocols. That is the system. If you are unable to follow it, I suggest that you resign from the program. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir,” both ensigns replied in unison.
“You have one week before graduation,” the commander continued. “Assuming you two manage to pass your final sim checks, you will be given an eight-hundred-million-credit gunship and a crew, all of which will be your responsibility. Those procedures in which you put so little faith in are not there to limit you, but to help you keep your ship and your crew safe. Try to keep that in mind, gentlemen.”
“Yes, sir,” the two of them replied.
“Then I won’t be seeing either of you in this office again, will I,” the commander stated.
“No, sir,” they answered.
“Excellent. Ensign Lowen, you’re dismissed.”
“Yes, sir,” the ensign replied, saluting then turning and exiting.
Commander Bastyan leaned back in her chair, waiting for Ensign Lowen to close the door behind him on the way out. Finally, she turned her attention back to Ensign Walsh. “Ensign Lowen is a good man.”
“The best,” Ensign Walsh agreed without hesitation.
“I trust you and he have become friends?”
“Very much so, sir.”
“Then perhaps you should show him some respect and not put his career in jeopardy with your reckless disregard of Alliance regulations.”
“That was not my intent, sir,” Ensign Walsh defended.
“Your intent is irrelevant, Ensign,” the commander explained. “That’s what you don’t seem to understand.”
“Sir?”
The commander paused. “Why do you want to fly your gunship so far outside the established performance envelope?”
“I just want to be the most effective ship out there, sir,” the ensign replied with some enthusiasm.
“Have you heard the expression, ‘walk before you run’?” the commander asked.
“Not in those words, exactly, but yes, sir.”
“Show the Alliance that you can walk, then, in time, you can start running. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That will be all, Ensign.”
Ensign Walsh looked confused.
“Something on your mind, Ensign?” the commander asked, noticing the look on the young man’s face.
“No, sir,” he replied, unconvincingly.
“You’re a bad liar. Spit it out.”
Ensign Walsh hesitated for a moment. “As you said, this is my third time in your office for pretty much the same thing. Yet, you have never even raised your voice.”
“Would it help?” the commander asked.
“I don’t know,” Ensign Walsh admitted. “Maybe.”
“Sorry, not my style,” the commander explained. “If you can’t understand simple logic or follow orders, then I’d just as soon boot you than graduate you. It makes no difference to me. So I see no reason to raise my blood pressure to get you to do your job.” She looked at him for a moment. “Anything else?”
“No, sir.” Ensign Walsh snapped to attention, raising his hand in salute. “Thank you, sir.” Ensign Walsh turned smartly and exited the commander’s office, closing the door behind him. He continued down the corridor, crossing the lobby and exiting the building into the Koharan sunshine. He stood at the top of the steps, looking across the yard, spotting Ensign Lowen sitting on a bench with three other ensigns from their class.
“I don’t get it,” Ensign Wabash said as Ensign Walsh approached. “Both of you still have asses.”
“If Gerlach was still in charge, you’d be on the train back to town,” Ensign Tegg insisted.
“She just doesn’t want to lose the best pilot in the class,” Ensign Walsh bragged.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Ensign Tegg replied, rising to her feet. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starved and the mess hall closes in thirty minutes.” She looked at Ensign Walsh. “Are you coming, Aiden?”
“I’ll catch up to you, Char,” Aiden replied. He glanced at Ensign Lowen.
“Alright, but I can’t promise there will be anything left,” Ensign Tegg teased as she and the others departed.
“Ken, you got a moment?” Aiden asked.
Ensign Lowen rolled his eyes, turning to face his friend.
“Listen, Ken…”
“Don’t even start,” Ken interrupted.
“I’m trying to apologize.”
“You don’t need to,” Ken explained. “I could’ve stopped you, but I didn’t. I thought that maneuver was a better choice, too. I should be apologizing to you.”
“But, it was my idea.”
“It usually is,” Ken replied, smiling. “But it’s my job to reel you in when you lose sight of the big picture. We check each other. That’s what we do.”
Aiden nodded his head. “It’s not going to happen again.”
Ken turned further, squaring himself to his friend. “Let’s just follow the rules, kiss their asses, and get our ship and crew. Then we can tear up the sky.”
“You got a deal,” Aiden said, smiling.
* * *
Marcus sat in the pilot’s seat of the Seiiki, monitoring the flight displays as the ship came out of its final jump in the series.
“Jump complete,” Neli reported.
“Why did you teach her that?” Josh complained from behind Marcus.
Loki stood behind the copilot’s seat, ignoring Josh as he watched over Neli’s shoulder. “Now, select the arrival point nearest Rakuen,” he instructed.
“Shouldn’t I wait for Rakuen control to clear me to an arrival point first?” Neli asked.
“Procedurally, yes. But Rakuen only has two,” Loki explained, “above and below its poles. They always use the one above the southern pole for arrivals coming from our direction.”
“Nothing along the ecliptic?” Marcus asked.
“Most systems save the system ecliptic for interplanetary jump traffic,” Loki said. “Rakuen is no different.”
“How do you know so much about Rakuen?” Neli asked.
“I did my flight training here,” Loki replied.
The sensor screen beeped, displaying a number of fast-moving targets deep within the system.
“What the hell are those?” Marcus wondered, pointing at the sensor display.
“I’m not sure,” Josh admitted, “but whatever they are, they’re moving pretty fast.”
“Gunyoki racers,” Loki explained. “They fly a circuit that snakes between Rakuen and Neramese.”
“Uh, they’re firing weapons, Lok,” Josh pointed out.
“Gunyoki races include defending against attack and taking out targets at various points along the course. It’s supposed to simulate the old water wars.”
“Why would anyone want to simulate a war?” Neli commented.
“It’s
mostly a Rakuen thing,” Loki explained. “During the war, members of the upper class financed the construction of their own fighters to help defend Rakuen. Once the war was over, the Gunyoki fighters who survived began racing for fun. Over the centuries, it turned into a really big deal. Vid-drones chase the racers around the course and everything. It’s fun to watch, actually. There’s about twenty races per year, I think. People even bet on them, especially the championship round.”
“Now that sounds like the kind of flying I’d be good at,” Josh exclaimed.
“I don’t know, Josh,” Loki said. “The Gunyoki races are dangerous. Five or six crews die every year.”
“And fighting the Dusahn is totally safe,” Josh commented.
The navigation computer beeped, alerting them of an incoming navigation instruction. Neli leaned forward slightly, reading the message. “You were right. They cleared us to the arrival point over the south pole.”
“Go ahead and start the jump plot,” Loki instructed.
“You remember how to transfer from a polar orbit to a standard orbit?” Josh asked Marcus.
“Yeah. You select standard orbit and press execute,” Marcus replied. “Real tough pilot stuff that is.”
“How do we watch those races?” Josh asked Loki. “Can we pick them up from here?”
“Probably.”
“Maybe we should concentrate on getting the ship on the ground, first?” Neli suggested.
“Relax,” Josh said. “As soon as we jump to the arrival point, Rakuen will take control of our auto-flight systems.”
“Humor me, will you?” Neli insisted.
Josh rolled his eyes.
“Don’t worry, the races are pretty long,” Loki assured him. “And based on the number of ships still in the race, I’d say it just started.”
“Jump to the arrival point is plotted and loaded,” Neli announced.
Loki looked over her shoulder, double-checking the jump plot for himself. “Looks good. Go ahead and activate the jump sequencer.”
“I don’t have to change course or speed, or anything?” Marcus asked.
“The jump sequencer and auto-flight systems will take care of it,” Loki assured him. “And it can do it far more precisely than we can.”
“Just as I thought,” Marcus mumbled.
“What?” Josh wondered.
“All this time you’ve been making out like flying this thing requires some kinda special talent or something. Turns out all you gotta do is push a few buttons and the ship does the rest.”
“Try jumping it into a cave, old man,” Josh said.
“How’s it going up here?” Nathan asked as he climbed up onto the Seiiki’s flight deck. “Our new pilots getting the hang of things?”
“I’m pushing buttons like a pro,” Marcus remarked.
“We’re about to jump to the southern arrival point, Captain,” Loki reported. “We should be on the ground in about thirty minutes.”
“I’ll let the others know,” Nathan said, turning to head back down the ladder.
“Hey, Cap’n, how long are we going to be on Rakuen, anyway?” Josh asked.
“A few hours, I believe. Just long enough to deposit the funds we collected from the Pentaurus sector into a few of Rakuen’s banks and for Deliza to talk to the manager of the Ranni shuttle plant.”
“Any chance we could check out the Gunyoki races while we’re here?”
“The what?” Nathan wondered.
“Some kind of simulated combat races with old fighters.”
“They’re not old,” Loki corrected. “Gunyoki racers are cutting-edge technology around here.”
“Really?” Nathan looked at Loki. “Where would we have to go to see them?”
“We?” Josh wondered.
“It sounds interesting.”
“You can watch them just about anywhere,” Loki explained. “We could probably even pickup the broadcast on the ship’s comm-systems.”
“What’s the best way to see them?” Nathan asked.
“Well, the best way is to go to the racing platform. You get to see the ships close-up when they come in for service in between heats,” Loki told him. “But you usually need special passes for that, and they are not cheap.”
“Well, we’re carrying a ton of credits,” Nathan said.
“Actually, Deliza may have some contacts on Rakuen,” Loki realized. “You might want to ask her if she can pull any strings. She’s got quite a bit of influence on Rakuen.”
“Jumping in twenty seconds,” Neli announced.
Loki turned his attention back to the forward consoles, peering over Neli’s shoulder again to make sure the jump drive’s auto-sequencer was working properly, and that the Seiiki’s auto-flight system had the ship on the correct heading and at the correct speed. “Everything looks good,” he decided.
“Looks like we’re going to the races,” Josh exclaimed, clapping his hands together with excitement.
* * *
“We received requests from two more ships,” Cameron told General Telles as he entered the bridge. “A mining ship called the Jagaron and a tanker ship called the Villanueva.”
“Well, we can certainly use the mining ship,” General Telles said, taking a seat across the desk from Cameron.
“We’ll need some sort of refining capabilities, as well.”
“Most mining ships have basic ore separation capabilities,” General Telles said. “It increases their profitability. And we can fabricate whatever systems we need to further refine those raw ores into something the fabricators can utilize.”
Cameron nodded. “The Villanueva is carrying several types of propellant.”
“Any idea why they are asking to join?” the general wondered.
“The Glendanon checked their registry database. Both ships are owner-operated. The Jagaron is out of Haydon and the Villanueva operates out of Norwitt. Statements from both ships’ captains indicate that they would rather fly with us than hand their ships over to the Dusahn.”
“Where are they?” General Telles asked.
“They’re holding position about halfway between Yaratru and Korak, a few light years off the shipping lanes, running cold,” Cameron explained. “They are waiting for our response.”
“How did the message reach us?” General Telles inquired.
“Through Captain Gullen’s contacts on Yaratru.”
General Telles tilted his head slightly, thinking. “We’re getting volunteers faster than I had anticipated.”
“Is that a problem?” Cameron wondered.
“No, I suppose not. But it does present additional logistical concerns. More ships and crew to support. More security issues.”
“Nothing my people can’t handle,” Cameron assured him.
“We will need to send a team to intercept and guide them to us,” General Telles said.
“I’ll dispatch them immediately.”
General Telles nodded. “Any reply from Captain Nash?”
“No, but our comm only arrived at the comm-point a couple of hours ago,” Cameron replied.
“Have your people come up with any recommendations?”
Cameron leaned back in her chair. “The Cobra plant on Earth is underground, with only three entry and exit points. One for vehicles, one for cargo trains, and the launch ramps for the gunships. It would be nearly impossible to get in there, let alone get out with gunships. Besides, the gunships there rarely spend more than a few days in the inspection yard before launch. Even if we could get our hands on them, we’d probably only get two or three at the most.”
“We will only get one chance at this, so we must get as many ships as possible,” the general reminded her.
“Agreed. The plants on K
appa Ceti and 82 Eridani have a much lower production rate and also rarely have more than a few ships in the yard, so those are out, as well. That leaves Tau Ceti.”
“How many ships do they keep in the yard?”
“Normally, according to my people, the Cetians keep the finished gunships on the ground and have the crews who are going to fly them do the pre-launch inspections, as well as the subsequent shakedown trails. Since their flight crew training program takes three months to complete and the plant produces one ship per week, there can be as many as twelve ships on the ground, if we time it right.”
“I assume the Koharan facility is also well guarded,” General Telles said.
“Yes, but it is out in the open. Perhaps we should wait for word from Captain Nash? He could have more specific information for us.”
“I’d prefer that we move our teams into position closer to the target, even if that means waiting for the right time to execute our plan,” General Telles said. “Any ideas on where our teams could safely lay in wait?”
Cameron thought for a moment. “Yes,” she finally replied, “but I don’t think they’re going to like it.”
* * *
“What’s that?” Marcus asked, pointing at the flashing yellow light in the middle of the Seiiki’s console.
“Rakuen Control is querying our auto-flight system, looking for a connection,” Loki explained.
“What do I do?” Marcus wondered.
“You accept the control request,” Josh chuckled, “unless you want to land the ship on your own.”
Marcus cast a menacing glance at Josh.
“Press ‘accept remote control’ on the auto-flight console,” Josh instructed.
Marcus searched the auto-flight section of the center console for a moment, then pushed the appropriate button as instructed. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“That’s all you do up here?” Marcus laughed.
“Well, we don’t always use auto-flight, you know,” Josh defended.
“It can’t possibly be that easy,” Neli said.