Suddenly the interior of the cabinet glowed with an intense white light that made the Terrans wince. Then it returned to normal, but as the light dimmed, everyone was astounded to see an individual wearing a Space Command EVA suit standing inside the cabinet. The EVA suit sun visor was down so they couldn't see who or what was inside.
The EVA-suited individual looked at the four individuals outside the cabinet without moving. Christa, Mollago, Lucky, and the Marine stood equally transfixed.
At least thirty seconds passed before anyone moved. The person in the EVA suit was first, and the Marine was second as he pulled his handgun from the holster and pointed it at the chest of the EVA suit. The person in the EVA suit froze, then very slowly raised his hands. He was carrying some sort of a large viewpad, but no weapons were in evidence.
Christa gestured towards the helmet, trying to indicate that the individual should raise the sun visor. The individual responded by removing the helmet completely. It was a Terran so the four outside the cabinet breathed a little easier. The individual stepped out of the cabinet.
"Who are you?" Christa asked.
"Uh, Admiral? Is that you?"
"I'm a Commander. The insignia of rank is quite a bit different."
"Yes, ma'am. That's why I'm confused. You look just like Admiral Carver."
"Admiral of the Fleet Carver is my sister. I'm Commander Christa Carver."
"Commander Christa Carver? You can't be. You're not supposed to be here."
"What do you mean? Who are you?"
"Sorry, Commander. I'm Chief Petty Officer Dorithy. Franklin Dorithy."
"I don't recognize you. Which ship are you posted to?"
"Uh, no ship, ma'am. I'm assigned to the maintenance section of the shipyard."
"Shipyard? What shipyard?"
"This shipyard— at Lorense-Three. Actually we're at Lorense-Four right now because that's where all the scrap is being brought."
"Lorense-Three and Four are in Region Two."
"Yes, ma'am. Right here in Region Two."
"Tell me, Chief, what's the last thing you remember before seeing us?"
"Well— I was examining this cabinet here at the scrap yard. We have orders to collect all the cabinets like this one we could find in the scrap and prepare a condition report on each."
"At the scrap yard?"
"Aye, Commander. I apologize for my confusion a minute ago. I wasn't aware the Koshi had returned from Region Three. Welcome back, ma'am. Everyone is talking about your great victory over the Denubbewa. Anyway, as I always do, I turned on the light inside the cabinet to better see the condition of the interior and had started to make notes when the cabinet suddenly shifted slightly. That happens a lot during salvage operations. I put out my hand to steady myself. Then the interior glowed so bright I had to lower the sun visor in my helmet. When the light returned to normal, I saw all of you standing there. Uh— this room looks completely different now. It looked like a disaster scene before, and now it looks brand new."
"What did you touch when you put out your hand to steady yourself?"
"I guess I touched the display panel inside the cabinet."
"Why are you wearing an EVA suit?"
"We have to. Because this cabinet is inside a part of a damaged ship that's open to space. But— uh— uh— where are your EVA suits? And just how are we able to breathe in here now?"
Christa chuckled and said, "It's because you're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy."
"It's Dorithy, ma'am."
"Not today," Christa said with a grin. "Today it's Dorothy and you've just soared over the rainbow." Gesturing to XO Mollago and then the Marine, she said, "This is our Lion, and our— Scarecrow. Next to him is our Tin Man. So I guess that makes me the Wizard. Welcome to the Land of Oz. Or if you prefer, Region Three."
~ finis ~
*** The exciting adventures of the Carver sisters will continue ***
A Message To My Readers
I hope you've enjoyed this installment of the AGU series.
Watch for new books on the websites of online booksellers, in local book stores around the world, check my website- www.deprima.com
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sign up for my free newsletter to receive email announcements about future book releases.
Thank you
* * *
Appendix
This chart is offered to assist readers who may be unfamiliar with military rank and the reporting structure. Newly commissioned officers begin at either ensign or second lieutenant rank.
Space Command Officer Hierarchy:
Admiral of the Fleet (5 Star)
Admiral (4 Star)
Vice-Admiral (3 Star)
Rear Admiral – Upper (2 Star)
Rear Admiral – Lower (1 Star)
Captain
Commander
Lt. Commander
Lieutenant
Lieutenant(jg) "Junior Grade"
Ensign
Space Marine Officer Hierarchy:
General (4 Star)
Lt. General (3 Star)
Major General (2 Star)
Brigadier General (1 Star)
Colonel
Lt. Colonel
Major
Captain
First Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
The commanding officer on a ship is always referred to as Captain, regardless of his or her official military rank. Even an Ensign could be a Captain of the Ship, although that would only occur as the result of an unusual situation or emergency where no senior officers survive.
On Space Command ships and bases, time is measured according to a twenty-four-hour clock, normally referred to as military time. For example, 8:42 PM would be referred to as 2042 hours. Chronometers are set to always agree with the date and time at Space Command Supreme Headquarters on Earth. This is known as GST, or Galactic System Time.
Admiralty Board:
Carver, Jenetta Alicia - Admiral of the Fleet
Bradlee, Roger T. - Admiral - Director of Intelligence (SCI)
Ressler, Shana E. - Admiral - Director of Budget & Accounting
Hillaire, Arnold H. - Admiral - Director of Academies
Burke, Raymond A. - Vice-Admiral - Director of GSC Base Management
Ahmed, Raihana L. - Vice-Admiral - Dir. of Quartermaster Supply
Woo, Lon C. - Vice-Admiral - Dir. of Scientific & Expeditionary Forces
Holt, Brian D. - Vice-Admiral - Deputy Commander of Fleet Two Operations
Plimley, Loretta J. - Rear Admiral (U) - Dir. of Weapons R&D
Yuthkotl , Lesbolh - Rear Admiral (U) - Dir. of Nordakian Forces Integration
Hyper-Space Factors:
IDS Communications Band - .0513 light years each minute (8.09 billion kps)
DeTect Range - 4 billion kilometers
Ship Speed Terminology:
Plus-1 - 1 kps
Sub-Light-1 - 1,000 kps
Light-1 - 299,792.458 kps or (c) (speed of light in a vacuum)
Light-150 or 150 c - 150 times the speed of light
Light-450 - 134,906,606.1 kps
Dbl. Envelope - Light-9790 (9793.48) = 2,936,011,441.57384 kps
26.81308692711052 light-years per day
Marc-1 – Light-14,685.7 = 380,390,005,478,931.8 kps
40.2072553045859 light-years per day
Sample Distances:
Earth to Mars (Mean) - 78 million kilometers
Nearest star to our Sun - 4 light-years (Proxima Centauri)
Milky Way Galaxy diameter - 100,000 light-years
Thickness of M'Way at Sun - 2,000 light-years
Stars in Milky Way - 200 billion (est.)
Nearest galaxy (Andromeda) - 2 million light-years from M'Way
A light-year - 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometers (in vacuum)
A light-second - 299,792.458 km (in vacuum)
Grid Unit - 1,000 Light Yrs² (1,000,000 Sq. LY)
Deca-Sector - 100 Light Years² (10,000 Sq.
LY)
Sector - 10 Light Years² (100 Sq. LY)
Section - 94,607,304,725 km²
Sub-section - 946,073,047 km²
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TOC
This map shows Galactic Alliance space when maps were redrawn following the end of hostilities with the Milori, and the war with the Uthlaro, Tsgardi, Gondusan, and Hudeerac. Unclaimed territories between the three regions were claimed in order to have one contiguous area. Regions Two and Three are so vast that exercising control and maintaining law and order has been largely impossible to this date.
* * *
The only purpose of this two-dimensional representation is to provide the reader with a basic feel for the spatial distances involved, and the reader must remember that G.A. territory extends through the entire depth of the Milky Way galaxy.
* * *
.jpg and .pdf versions of the maps created for this series are available for downloading at : http://www.deprima.com/ancillary/maps.html
should the names be unreadable in your printed or electronic media, or if you simply wish to gain a better overall perspective.
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Changing of the Guard (A Galaxy Unknown - Book 11) Page 34