After glancing at the information on the viewpad, Jenetta said, "I've just been informed by Captain Gavin that I'm to remain in command until we reach Earth."
Ashraf smiled widely. "That's wonderful news, Captain. I'll inform the senior staff."
As the doors closed behind Ashraf, Jenetta began pacing around the office again, this time slapping the viewpad against her leg. It wasn't that she was displeased to be in command of the Song, it was just that she thought of the Prometheus as her ship, even if she wasn't its captain. Before being posted to the Prometheus, she would have delighted in being even a minor member of the Song crew; but that was before. This would be the first time that the Prometheus had embarked without her since being commissioned.
* * *
Awakened from a sound sleep by the buzzing of his bedside com unit, Gavin glanced up at the wall chronometer and saw that it was 0246. He grunted a couple of small expletives as he first rubbed his eyes, then rolled over and positioned himself to lift the com cover. As the small unit was activated, the face of Lieutenant Kerrey filled the screen. The captain's bedside com unit was set for blackout, so the command chair's right-hand monitor was only showing Lt. Kerrey a graphical simulation of the captain sitting in his office. The word ‘simulation' was printed at the bottom of the screen.
"What it is, Ensign?" the captain mumbled.
"It's Lieutenant Kerrey, sir."
"I'll decide that when I know why you've bothered me at 0300 hours."
Kerrey hesitated, swallowed nervously, and then said with a hint of desperation, "I'm sorry, Captain. I tried to put him off, but Commander Kanes is demanding to speak with you immediately. He won't tell me what it's about, but he threatened to have me arrested and court-martialed if I didn't wake you."
Gavin mumbled something and then said, "Put him on, Lieutenant."
"He's not here, sir. He said that he'll be waiting outside the door of your quarters."
"Outside my door?" Gavin asked, suddenly much more alert.
"Yes, sir."
"Very well, Lieutenant," the captain said as he pushed the cover of the com unit down.
Ten seconds later, wearing a robe over his pajamas, Gavin admitted Kanes to his sitting room.
"I assume this is most urgent, Keith?"
"Yes, Captain. Most urgent! As you're well aware, the first ship targeted by the Prometheus when we arrived here was a battleship. We've since learned that it was named the Soul Harvester, and that it served as the command vessel for this operation. Among the Raider bodies we've recovered from the Soul Harvester was that of the ship's captain. We found his seared remains in a section that contained the ship's bridge. His body was horribly burned when the vessel was destroyed, but a personal log ring he was wearing was undamaged. We discovered that it contained a number of encrypted files, and we've been working tirelessly to decode them. One of my people has just decrypted a message that you should see immediately."
Taking the proffered viewpad, Gavin read the message on the unit's display.
"Good God!" Gavin said, as he quickly lowered the view-pad. "Are you sure this was decrypted correctly?"
"I verified it personally before I made the decision to disturb you at this unholy hour."
"Send a copy of this to Captain Powers aboard the Chiron, immediately. Priority-One. Tell Powers to contact me as soon as he's read it. I'll get dressed and meet you in my briefing room in four minutes."
"Aye, Captain.
* * *
Chapter Ten
~ April 19th, 2268 ~
Awakened from a sound sleep by Lieutenant Elizi, the bridge commander on third watch, Jenetta looked up sleepily at the dimly glowing wall chronometer before lifting the cover on the tiny com unit next to her bed. It was 0344 hours.
"What is it, Lieutenant?" she asked the projected face of the young officer. Her bedside com was in blackout mode so the small monitor by Lt. Elizi's right hand as she sat in the command chair on the bridge, was displaying an animated sim of Jenetta speaking from her office. It naturally had the ‘simulation' notation at the bottom.
"We've just received a Priority-One message from the Prometheus, Captain. A second later they and the Chiron departed the area at Light-375."
Jenetta was instantly awake. No Space Command officer would dare wake their captain in the middle of the night without good cause. A Priority-One was such a cause. It was to be delivered to the commanding officer immediately, regardless of the hour received and how the captain was otherwise occupied. News that the Prometheus had left the area at its maximum FTL speed with the Chiron was likewise good cause to wake the captain. Plans had called for the Prometheus and Chiron to depart for Earth as part of the task force in just a few hours, at an established convoy speed of Light-262. And no ship left a RP at its top speed, except in emergency circumstances. It built up speed gradually until it was well away from all other ships. With DATFA temporal envelope travel there were no physical limitations to instantly engaging top speed, it was just SOP that it was never done where ships were gathering or assembled. Something serious must have occurred to change plans without prior notice and induce the two battleships to depart as they had.
"Forward the message to my queue," Jenetta said, the urgency in her voice obvious.
"Already done, Captain. Uh, should I alert anyone?"
"Notify all senior officers to be in my cabin office by 0400 hours."
"Aye, Captain."
Jenetta shoved the com panel down and flung the blanket off. "Lights," she said as she swung her feet over the edge of the bed and jumped up. Seconds later she was standing in her office, dressed only in her pajamas, as the image of Captain Gavin leapt onto the large wall monitor in response to her uttering the command to play the message.
"This Priority-One message is being sent to the captains of all ships at the Vauzlee battle site," the image of Gavin said. "Additional messages will follow in a few hours. Our intelligence officers have decrypted a communication found on the personal log ring of the dead Raider captain who commanded the convoy attack force. That message contains information about a second planned attack. There is no specific time frame mentioned, but most of the ships involved in the action here were ordered to proceed immediately to a new rendezvous point once the Peabody ships were neutralized and the freighter's cargo was secured. Four of what we believe to be their oldest, slowest, and most vulnerable warships were tasked to escort the cargo to an undisclosed location referred to only as GR, while the more powerful vessels would join a group already assembling at a location referred to as AH. We have no idea how many ships are involved in this second operation, but I suspect that they might be numerous.
"Since the Caracas and Asuncion haven't fully tested their sub-light engine and temporal envelope generator repairs, they will remain behind at the battle site to await the ships from the reclamation center. All other ships should depart as soon as possible at their maximum speed. The Dublin and Calcutta should naturally transfer all Raider prisoners in their holds to the Caracas and Asuncion before departure. Additional orders to follow. The target of the new Raider threat is Higgins Space Command Base.
"Captain Lawrence Gavin, Captain of the Prometheus, message complete."
Until the message ended, Jenetta didn't realize that she hadn't taken a breath since it began. When Gavin said ‘Higgins,' she sucked in sharply, then released it and breathed again. She glanced up at the office chronometer before running back to her bedroom to dress.
As Jenetta left her bedroom, she found Woodrow standing beside the doorway.
"Is there anything I can assist you with, Captain?" he asked.
"Uh, what are you doing up, Woodrow?"
"After passing Lt. Elizi through to your com unit, I got up to prepare a mug of coffee for you. I've served the officers who have arrived for your meeting."
"You passed Lt. Elizi through?"
"Yes, Captain. When the captain is in her quarters, all com calls go through her steward so that she's not
disturbed for trivial matters. During third watch even CT access to the captain is restricted. The XO and watch commander can contact you directly, but even their calls are routed through me unless they tell the computer to override the normal routing or if the ship is in danger."
"Yes, of course. Well, I'm sorry you were awakened." Reaching for the mug of coffee he was holding, she added, "Thank you for the coffee."
"Would you care for something to eat?"
At the mere mention of food, Jenetta's stomach grumbled loudly, her body's way of expressing a desire to be fed yet again.
"No time just now, Woodrow. You go back to bed. I'll eat at my regular time, despite what my stomach is demanding."
"Very good, Captain."
The ship's young senior staff was assembled in her office when she entered. The conference table that abutted her desk sat eleven, so with her chair behind the desk there was more than enough room. The circumstances of the meeting were so unusual that everyone was alert and anxious to learn what was going on. The concerned faces of her officers watched her anxiously as she took her seat behind her desk. She didn't waste any time with formalities.
"My information is sketchy so I know you'll have questions when I'm done. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to answer them. I just received a message from Captain Gavin. Some you probably already know that both the Prometheus and Chiron have departed the area at top speed. We're ordered to depart as well, and as soon as possible. An encrypted message, discovered on the personal log ring of a dead Raider officer, spoke of an imminent attack on Higgins. The Raider ships at this engagement had orders to leave as soon as they had completed their mission here, and rendezvous with another force assembling for the attack on Higgins.
"I suppose I can speculate a little and say that they probably intended this attack to serve two purposes. One was undoubtedly to acquire the convoy's cargo, and the second might have been to function as a diversion, figuring that it would draw every available GSC ship in the deca-sector. And while we were out here, weeks from Higgins, scouring the sector in a search for the ships that took the Mawcett relics, they'd have an almost clear shot at the station. The five ships that comprise the standard defense for Higgins would most likely be overwhelmed by a force as large as the one that attacked the convoy. The base at Higgins has been the only thing keeping the Raiders from controlling this entire deca-sector of space for years, so it's surprising they haven't tried to destroy it before now. I imagine they know just how dear their cost will be. But if we lose the station, the Raiders might be able to regain a significant foothold here before we can reestablish control. We can't allow that to happen. Other then Earth, our next nearest StatCom-1 base is two-hundred light years away.
"All ships except the Caracas and the Asuncion have been ordered to proceed to Higgins at maximum speed. We will not travel together as a task force because the smaller ships would slow us down, just as we would have slowed the Prometheus and Chiron. I need your best time estimates for our getting underway. Commander Rodriguez, how long will it take you to get the ship sealed and ready for departure?"
"Ten minutes, Captain; perhaps less. When I was awakened and informed that the battleships had departed the area, I asked if anyone was outside the ship. I learned that there was a work party adjusting a sensor on the keel. I gave orders to immediately bring them inside the ship and prepare for our departure."
"Good thinking, Commander. Does anyone else need more than ten minutes to prepare for our departure?" When no one spoke up, Jenetta said, "Good. Questions?"
"Since we destroyed thirty-four ships here," Lieutenant Elizi asked, "is it possible that the Raiders will cancel their planned attack?"
"That possibility exists, but we can't rely on it. We must treat this threat seriously. Anything else?" When no further questions were asked, Jenetta said, "Okay. We'll be underway ten minutes from now; perhaps less. Dismissed."
As the officers left the conference room, all began using their CT's to issue orders to their juniors.
Seven minutes later the Song maneuvered for open space as it built its envelope, and then disappeared from sight in an instant. With a top speed of Light-322, it was faster than any of the destroyers, and should be the third ship from the battle site to arrive at Higgins.
* * *
"Good morning, Commander," the image of Captain Gavin said. The message had been received just seconds earlier, while Jenetta was enjoying the first sips of morning coffee in her briefing room. The mug of steaming black elixir was just the first of many that she would enjoy throughout this day. "I'm sure you understand why we didn't have the luxury of a face to face meeting to plan our departure and travel to Higgins. Since we're unaware of the Raider timetable, it was necessary that we return to Higgins with all due haste. Minutes might be critical. By now the Raider hierarchy must know that their attempt to purloin the artifacts has failed. Logic would tell them that we had advance information about their attack and pre-positioned our forces in the area. Taking that one step further, they might deduce that we have advance information on their attack on Higgins. They might still hope to catch us unaware if they advance the original timetable. We have no idea how many ships they've assembled for this attack, but I'm sure they can name every ship we have in this deca-sector.
"You've done an excellent job of pulling that command together and getting the ship repaired and ready for travel, but in the event we're once more called to battle, we can't afford to have you dependent upon a staff composed entirely of inexperienced junior officers. A more experienced staff will be waiting and ready to take command of the Song when you arrive at Higgins. I hadn't taken such action already because, with the battle over, I felt that the current crew was quite able to handle the simple chore of bringing the ship to Earth as part of a task force. Space Command Headquarters would then have arranged for the permanent replacement of lost officers. You'll naturally transfer back here to the Prometheus as soon as we meet up at Higgins.
"The Prometheus and Chiron should make the trip in twenty-four days. The slightly older design of your Light Speed drive and smaller energy plant means that it will take you an extra four days. The destroyers should arrive six days after the Song, assuming everyone was able to make a hasty departure. We stripped the deca-sector clean of available ships for this last operation, so we can't expect any more help beyond the five ships presently at Higgins, and whichever of us arrives before the attack commences.
"There's nothing to do now except keep our fingers crossed that we reach Higgins before the Raiders.
"Captain Lawrence Gavin, Captain of the Prometheus, message complete."
Jenetta leaned back and soaked up the comfort of the chair while she thought. She knew that the command officers of the Song, although young, were competent and fully capable of getting the ship to Higgins without incident. But she didn't know how they would weather the pressures of a life or death situation. Who would remain calm and who would panic was something you couldn't really know until you were under fire. During the Vauzlee engagement they hadn't had the duty shift, so they hadn't really been tested.
Jenetta knew she had to start drilling her officers unmercifully if they were to be prepared to handle their responsibilities calmly during battle. Training wasn't a substitute for experience, but it was the next best thing. The officers would at least know what was required of them during an emergency, and the options available. It also built confidence in their ability to handle any situation. And the training wouldn't be wasted if a more senior crew did take command of the ship when it reached Higgins. Her thoughts were interrupted by a call on her CT.
"Captain, this is Lt. Ashraf," Jenetta heard.
Activating her carrier, Jenetta said, "Yes, Lieutenant. What is it?"
"We have a serious problem, ma'am. Could you come down to storage locker 7-222-1-Alpha?"
"I'm quite busy. What's the problem?''
"We've found a body."
"I thought everyone had been accounted for?
"
"No, Captain, it isn't a fatality from the battle. It's Petty Officer Nichols. He didn't report for his watch this morning, and he wasn't in his quarters, so we initiated a search by triangulating on his ID chip. He's just been located. It appears that he was murdered sometime last night. I've sent for a medical team."
"I'll be right there."
It took Jenetta just six minutes to reach Corridor 1, of Section Two-Twenty-Two on Deck Seven. At least a dozen crewmen were milling around the door to a storage locker, but the throng immediately parted to let their captain through. Jenetta saw the thin form of Lt. Commander Michael O'Neil, the chief medical officer, bent over the body inside the room. Lieutenant Ashraf and the ship's chief security officer, Marine Captain Russell Galont, hovered over him. Scattered on the floor around the corpse was what appeared to be a deck of playing cards. Jenetta waited patiently in the doorway until the doctor had completed his examination and stood up. The forty-eight-year-old physician turned and addressed the three officers.
"I'll have to conduct a full autopsy of course, but my initial assessment is blunt force trauma to the head, at the hands of person or persons unknown."
"You're quite sure it's murder, doctor?" Jenetta asked.
"Quite sure, Captain. His jaw is smashed and his neck broken. It's not the sort of damage that could occur from a fall. The striations on the neck indicate that Petty Officer Nichols was facing his attacker, who is probably left-handed. When he was struck, the body reacted to the mass of the weapon and it slid slightly, causing the scratches in addition to the bruise. Nichols' right arm is broken, indicating that he might have successfully warded off a first killing blow."
Jenetta shook her head. "I didn't know him real well, but he seemed like a likable crewman. Who could have done this? When was he killed, Doctor?"
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