Ragnarok-ARC

by Patrick A. Vanner

  Alex didn't give the woman time to object as she began go around the table, introducing her officers. She was pleased to see that each of them was openly polite and friendly, though Alex caught the tightening of eyes and fists from a few of them.

  Once the introductions were complete, Alex leaned back in her chair and asked the director to voice her concerns.

  "It's simple, Captain McLaughlin." The woman's voice was already beginning to grate on Alex's nerves. With a supreme force of will, she kept an interested look on her face while she maintained a firm grip on her temper.

  "Your captain here and his marines were rude, vulgar, and almost totally barbaric in their treatment of me and my people. I don't see any reason for that kind of behavior, and I want them reprimanded for it. In fact, I don't see why they dragged us up to this ship in the first place. You will obviously have to return us to Hugin just as soon as you finish removing any alien presence there."

  Alex watched Optika's face as the director went on. Not once did even a flicker of emotion pass over it. In fact, he didn't even seem to be blinking as he continued to stare straight ahead, eyes unfocused.

  "I see, ma'am. I believe I can alleviate some of your concerns. First, you may not be aware of it, but the Xan-Sskarn now effectively control this system."

  "Preposterous. That could never happen."

  "Preposterous or not, Director, that doesn't change the fact that it has happened."

  "How?" the director demanded.

  Alex thought that the woman was looking for any piece of information she could use to argue her point, and there was no time for that. Alex decided on what she thought to be the safest course of action.

  "That doesn't matter right now. What matters is that it has happened. You and your people will be safe on board the Valhalla. We, your people and mine, are going to have to work together to ensure our mutual survival."

  "What is that supposed to mean?"

  "Exactly what I said. But now is not the time to go into it. There are more pressing matters to which we must attend." Alex gave her a look that any of her crew would have immediately recognized as a dismissal.

  "Are you telling me that we are going to have to stay on this ship?" Her voice rose several octaves.

  "I'm afraid so, ma'am," Alex sighed, her temper firmly under control; it was her annoyance that was now fighting to be expressed. "And before you ask, no, I don't know for how long."

  "In that case, I demand that you return us to the station to collect our personal effects. And, more importantly, our research data."

  "I'm afraid that's not possible, ma'am." Alex couldn't believe how someone who was supposed to be so smart could be so fucking stupid.

  "Why not?"

  "Because there's nothing to return to." Captain Optika's hard voice cut across the room.

  "What?!" the director screeched. Alex was interested in the answer herself, but didn't say anything.

  "I said, there is no facility to return to." Optika turned to face the director, and an evil grin spread across his scarred face. "It's been vaporized."

  "What! H-how?" she sputtered. "Captain McLaughlin, do you know what this idiot just destroyed? Do you? There was years of irreplaceable research data down there, and now it's all gone. I demand to know what you plan to do about it?"

  The word "demand" raised Alex's hackles, and she forced herself to remain silent for a moment before responding. She saw that she wasn't the only one affected by the director's words. The other officers around the table were now staring at her with open hostility.

  All except the chief engineer, Commander Denton. She had her eyes on Alex, making sure her friend didn't repeat her actions from the week before and launch herself across the table at the infuriating woman.

  "Rest assured, Director Richardson," Alex finally ground out, "that I will take the appropriate action in regard to the captain's behavior and actions."

  Alex touched a control on the tables' surface, and the hatch cycled open. The marine private stepped through.

  "Private, please escort Director Richardson back to her quarters."

  "Yes, ma'am." The private stepped up beside the woman. "Director, if you please."

  "Captain McLaughlin—" she began.

  "I'm sorry, Director, but as I said earlier, there are more pressing matters that we must attend to." With that, she nodded to the marine, who took the sputtering director by the arm and guided her from the room.

  * * *

  Silence hung in the wardroom for several long minutes after the director's departure. Finally, Alex spoke.

  "You were right, Tony."

  "About what, ma'am?"

  "She is a bitch."

  The rest of the officers began to chuckle, then to laugh out loud—all except Captain Optika.

  "Okay, Captain, first I want you to know that I don't put an ounce of consideration in the opinions or complaints of the director. The fact that every civilian was evacuated from the facility without so much as a single casualty speaks for itself." Alex smiled at the marine. "Now, that being said, can you please tell me what you meant by the facility being vaporized? I don't recall that being one of the mission objectives."

  "Yes, ma'am." Optika shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "As we burned from orbit, three leveling charges were triggered. Their detonation caused the facility's reactors to lose containment."

  "I see. And who do I have to thank for this?"

  "I take full responsibility for it, Captain."

  Alex could tell by his statement that it had not been his idea, but he had supported it.

  "I'm sure you do, Captain, but that does not answer my question." She watched the captain return to staring at the bulkhead. She could see the conflict on his face: whether to obey his commanding officer or to protect his marines. Alex was sure what the outcome of that battle would be and decided to save the captain the agony associated with disobeying a direct order. "Whoever did it saved us a trip and a KEW. I was going to level that facility on our way out of the system anyway, Captain. So I would like to know who to thank for it."

  "That would be Corporal Clark," Optika said in a voice mixed with relief and pride.

  "I remember seeing her and Lewis with you on the hangar deck." She shuddered at the memory. "Looks like they ran into some serious resistance. I'm very impressed they still managed to retrieve the module."

  "I didn't have time to get the full details from them, ma'am, but you're right, they did run into some serious resistance. In fact, on the shuttle they both discommended hand-to-hand combat with Xan-Sskarns, quite adamantly."

  Alex joined the rest of the naval officers around the table in their shock at hearing this.

  "Captain, after hearing only that much of their exploits, I hope you consider a promotion for both of them. I think they've earned it," Alex said.

  "I couldn't agree more, ma'am."

  "Now that that's out of the way, I would appreciate a quick overview of your mission. Specifically, why Director Richardson seems to be so pissed off at you."

  "Yes, ma'am." The captain's face lost all expression again as he began to briefly describe his actions in the facility.

  "And then, once we had the civilians, I performed a fighting withdrawal to the hangar bay. I had my platoons spread out, covering all possible avenues of attack while keeping the civilians in the middle. I admit to forcing them to move faster than they initially wanted to, and my choice of language was probably inappropriate, but I couldn't think of any other way to get them out safely. When we reached the hangar, I loaded them on the shuttles and deployed a perimeter, waiting for Clark and Lewis. Once they arrived, the last of the company boarded the shuttles and we burned for orbit."

  The marine leaned back in his chair once he finished speaking.

  "What were your casualties, Captain?" Alex asked softly.

  "Nineteen dead, seven wounded, four seriously." Combat within a ship or facility was up close and extremely brutal and rarely left wounded. "Here's the
list."

  Alex accepted the folded slip of paper from him.

  "I'm sorry for your losses, Captain. Please inform me when the memorial service will be held. I would be honored to attend."

  Captain Optika only nodded.

  "Very well." Alex sat forward, leaning her arms on the table, and slowly looked around at her command staff. "The reason I called you all here, besides hearing about Captain Optika's mission, was to inform you of what I intend to do about our current situation."

  She waited for a moment, collecting her thoughts before continuing.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my intention to take the Valhalla out-system and carry out Admiral Greco's final order."

  "What order is that, ma'am?" Tony asked interestedly.

  "To ensure the survival of the human race."

  "You know, Captain," Optika said after the shock of her announcement began to wear off, "I wish Corporal Clark were here."

  "Why's that Captain?"

  "Because she would know exactly what to say right now. I'm at a loss."

  His comment broke the mood around the table, and Alex chuckled along with the others.

  "From what little I've seen of the estimable corporal, I have no doubt about that," she agreed with the marine.

  "Excuse me, Captain?" Barbie spoke up, seated between the marine and the CAG. "But are you saying we're going to go out and be like Adam and Eve or something like that? Make our own little world?"

  Alex saw that the wing commander's concern was shared by most of the others.

  "No, Barbie, I'm not planning on 'making our own little world,' as you put it. This is a warship, not a floating Garden of Eden." She gave the pilot a wan smile. "Besides, I think some of you know me well enough to realize that I definitely do not have the temperament to oversee the construction of a new civilization."

  That elicited a few smiles from her old crew, and a few from her new as well.

  "Then what, ma'am?" Commander Fain asked in his quiet, rasping voice.

  "Let me ask you something, all of you." She looked around at them, waiting for their acknowledgment. "In nature, when two species come into conflict over territory and resources, do you know what happens?"

  "I know, ma'am." Lieutenant Commander Albers sang out, raising her hand in the air as if she were still in school, almost squirming in her chair.

  "Very well, Commander, please tell us." Alex hoped that she wouldn't regret letting Lea take center stage. It might be too hard to get it back once she got going verbally.

  "Yes, ma'am." Albers took a deep breath and began. "Well, in nature, when the two species in question come into contact with each other, they begin to fight over the territory and resources they both want. This can go on for years and years, or even generations, but eventually the outcome is always the same. One of them wins."

  "Well, of course one of them wins." Commander Kaufman snorted derisively. "Nobody can fight forever."

  "Tell them how one side wins, Lea," Alex prompted Albers, leaning back into her chair to gauge the reactions of the faces around her when the last bit of information was revealed.

  "By exterminating the other side," Albers said quickly.

  Alex watched as, after a few moments, the communications officer's mind caught up with what she had just said. Eyes going wide, Lea turned to stare at her. The reactions of the rest were pretty much the same, though it was Tony who voiced what they were all thinking.

  "You're talking about genocide."

  "Yes, Commander, I am."

  "Alex, you can't be serious," Commander Denton whispered, shock making her forget honorifics.

  "I've never been so serious in my life, Heron," Alex snapped. "What other options do we have? Every peace overture has been rejected, if not outright attacked. We've lost all of the outlying systems. Or if we haven't, we will have soon enough, as there's no way for them to maintain an offensive without Sol as a base of support. So you tell me—what else can we do?"

  "Nothing, I guess. It's just the thought of wiping a species from the universe. It seems wrong to me. I know there's no other option—it's either them or us."

  "Heron, the idea disgusts me, too, but you're right." Alex laid her hand on Heron's arm. "It's them or us. I choose us.

  "Okay, are there any more objections? Does anyone feel like they'll be unable to perform their duties in good conscience? If so, please let me know now—there won't be any recriminations." Alex fixed each of them with her deep blue eyes, trying to read their thoughts.

  As each of them nodded, she felt the pressure on her chest lessen. They all agreed to follow her, to accept her reasoning, and the wave of relief that she was not alone warred with the weight of responsibility she had just assumed for herself.

  "Thank you, all of you, for your trust and faith in me."

  Feeling a swell of pride in her chest, Alex picked up her pad and began to scroll through the information. It was time to get started.

  "CAG, Barbie, I want a full squadron of Valkyries ready to launch at a moment's notice, four-hour rotations per."

  "Yes, ma'am," both replied as one.

  "Captain Optika, I want you to reorganize your battalion at your discretion, but when that is finished, begin training in boarding actions, both repelling and initiating."

  "Roger that, ma'am."

  "Commander Tucholski, how many simultaneous jump calculations can you run?"

  "Depends, ma'am," Tucholski said slowly. "If we're going for a zero-zero insertion, I can handle five at once. If we're going to be carrying any kind of delta-vee over the wall, then the number of plots drops as our velocity increases."

  "Very well. When we're finished here, I want you to begin your calculations for five jump plots. Pick the destination at random, assuming we'll be heading out-system perpendicular to the Xan-Sskarns' translation point, on the same plane."

  "Yes, ma'am. No problem."

  "Commander Albers, have you managed to track down our transmission problem yet?"

  "No, ma'am. I'm sorry." She cast her eyes downward and continued on in a morose tone. "Every time we think we've got the fault isolated, another relay goes down. It's like the glitch is staying one step ahead of us. Though I do have some good news, ma'am. Whatever the problem is, it's not affecting the battle nets. We can still talk to the shuttles or the Valkyries."

  "That's something, anyway. Are you picking anything up from High Command or anyone else?"

  "No, ma'am, but our receivers are working perfectly. I would guess that the Sallys have put up a jamming field around Earth."

  "Keep working on getting those transmitters operational, and keep an ear out for any comms traffic."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "How about your sensors, Lieutenant—everything in working order? Any bogies out there?"

  "The sensors are working fine, ma'am, and there's nothing out there that I can see while we stay passive," Lieutenant Green informed her.

  "Remain passive for now. I don't want to give away our position too soon."

  "Aye, aye, ma'am."

  "Commander Fain," she said.

  "All weapon systems are in the green, Captain." Fain gave her a predatory smile. "The Valhalla's ready for a fight."

  "Excellent. Commander Denton?"

  "The engines are purring like kittens, ma'am. The Humptys are good to go as well. Also, I've got my best diagnostician, Petty Officer Third Class Pratt, assigned to Commander Albers' techs to help in tracking down that communications problem. If anyone can track down the problem, it's her."

  "Good."

  She turned to face the far end of the table.

  "Commander Ruggs, how's the crew handling the news?"

  "Well, ma'am, it's about what I'd expect." Tony shrugged. "Most are still in shock over the destruction of Home Fleet and the fact that the Sallys are in-system. The ones that aren't, well, they're looking for a little payback. Some of the department heads have told me a few members of the crew are wondering why we're here and not out attacking
the Sallys, but they think that's just reactionary talk, and I agree. Overall, I think the crew is up for whatever you decide to do, though I do suggest you plan on telling them your general intentions at some point in the near future. Give them a goal to work toward. If they just think we're running away that'll kill their morale."

  "I agree with that, and I'd planned on informing the crew about my overall plan once we found a place to hole up and hammer out a few more details about it." In truth, Alex didn't have anything more than a few rough ideas, but the Valhalla couldn't stay in this system, and without a goal, the crew would fall apart in a very short time. She was fairly confident that she could come up with a plan, even one with a decent chance of succeeding. All she needed was time. Alex took one last look around the table before speaking again. "Once more, I just want to thank you for your support. I don't doubt that we'll have a difficult road ahead of us, but I'm just as confident that together we will be able to find our way along it. Now, you all have your assignments. Let's get to them."