The Epherium Chronicles: Embrace

by Wilson, T. D.

  “Yes, sir,” Walsh answered and ushered the two pilots back toward the Training Room.

  Sanchez jogged to catch up to Hood. “Sir, I remember that scenario. A couple of real nasty Cilik’ti drones were hiding on one of the asteroids. If you didn’t pick them up fast, you were vapor.”

  “It’s a good test of our pilots’ abilities, Raf, and where we’re headed, I need them sharp.”

  The Armstrong’s new XO chuckled. “I must have run that mission five or six times at the academy before I made it through. How many times did it take you?”

  “I never ran it, Raf,” Hood said and smiled at Sanchez. “I wrote it.”

  * * *

  Commander Sanchez rubbed his neck hard as he tried to relieve the stiffness from his last meeting. Spending three hours discussing safety protocols and worker rights with the maintenance technician supervisor was not what he had planned, but they were finally able to come to an understanding that the men involved had screwed up. Sanchez was convinced that their supervisor was just stalling as a method of payback, but he was glad that they were able to put the matter to rest.

  Sanchez eased up and rotated his head to stretch out his discomfort, as he exited the elevator and entered the engineering section. Even at twenty hundred hours, the area was still a flurry of activity. Shifts had been reduced from three to two, since the Armstrong’s Chief Engineer had announced that the new particle cannon had been installed, and diagnostics showed it fully functional. But the place still looked like a tornado had struck the area, as sparks flew from open panels, and parts littered the corridors.

  The Armstrong’s XO snaked his way down through the maze of technicians, welders and equipment until he reached the space-fold drive control room located near the very heart of Engineering.

  Terrance Whitaker was a tall and very thin man, and his EDF Engineering work uniform fit loosely on his frame. Unfortunately for him, the uniform sleeves ran long in his size, and he was forced to cuff the sleeves on his jacket to keep his hands uncovered. Sanchez watched the young Chief Engineer completely engross himself in a set of schematics that were hanging on the back wall of the control room. Several different spare parts littered the control room desks, and he reached over to examine one.

  “Ahh! Don’t touch!” Whitaker exclaimed not taking his eyes of the schematics.

  Sanchez froze.

  “Those parts are in a particular order. If you move one, I’ll forget where it is.”

  “Sorry, just curious,” replied Sanchez, as he walked over to stand by the new Chief Engineer. He extended his hand toward the man. “Commander Rafael Sanchez. I am the boat’s new XO.”

  Whitaker looked at Sanchez, performed what Sanchez thought was a quick once-over glance then went back to his schematics. “I asked the captain to come down to hear what I have to say. What happened to him?”

  Slightly miffed at Whitaker’s attitude, Sanchez lowered his hand back to his side. “Captain Hood is involved in a meeting with EDF Command at the moment concerning our Marine contingent, and he asked me to meet with you. He wants a liaison to Engineering. Since I have experience with a variety of systems and the space-fold drives of several classes of EDF ships, the captain—”

  “Uh-huh,” Whitaker interrupted dryly. “Well, Mr. Sanchez, let’s see if you can keep up.” He pointed to the next desk over. “Grab that chair over there and take a seat. What I have to say requires your full attention, and no wandering off.”

  Sanchez offered a slight chuckle, retrieved the chair and took a position directly in front of the schematics and Whitaker. Sanchez gestured toward Whitaker. “I’m all ears.”

  “Our space-fold drive technology works on a principle of creating subspace windows between two points in space. Our drives generate a temporary pocket of subspace particles around a ship, and when it reaches an optimum level of gravimetric potential, the field can warp real space to create a bridge or window to another location that could be a few light years away.” Whitaker stopped and looked back at Sanchez. “Do you follow me?” he asked with a slight air of contempt.

  “I’m familiar with space-fold theory and our drive implementations, Mr. Whitaker.”

  Whitaker raised an eyebrow of suspicion and continued. “I have studied the potential sub benefits of what our space-fold drives offer, and I have found an interesting breakthrough that can provide a level of defensive strength to a vessel of this size.”

  Whitaker started to wave his hands at the schematics behind him. “After careful study, I have been able to identify certain characteristics of the intensive gravimetric fields that our space-fold drives create. By isolating those key factors, I have devised a system that can generate a lower strength subspace particle field that is extremely effective against particle weapons, and has the capability to repel kinetic ones as well.”

  Sanchez rubbed his neck again. “Where would this new system need to be installed?”

  Whitaker glared at Sanchez until he finished massaging his neck then continued. “The new system will be a slave component to the current space-fold drive’s redundant array, but can function during combat operations when the actual drive is not needed. This new field generator can present a defensive barrier to augment our ships armor and point defense systems. When in use, the system does require a great deal of power, but the Akitas provide that in abundance. The power needed will come primarily from the redundant space-fold drive array and reserve batteries for emergency jumps.”

  Sanchez leaned forward in his chair and looked intrigued by Whitaker’s statements. “If this system works, it would provide us with a great tactical defensive capability. However, it seems extremely risky to me and presents several issues. The first one is that messing around with the space-fold drive, no matter how ingenious it may be, can be very dangerous. Secondly, if we’re in the middle of a battle and need to jump fast, would the system need to be disengaged for us to escape? Not to mention that utilizing our reserve space-fold batteries to power it, our jump capability is limited and recharge times will be through the roof.”

  “I must admit that this system is not without limitations. I understand the risks involved with this implementation, and to answer your second concern first, the system would have to be disengaged before the Armstrong could jump.” Whitaker started pacing in front of the schematic now and made several gestures with his hands as he attempted to explain. “I have had this design in concept phases for awhile now, but until the Akitas came along, I didn’t have a ship capable of fielding it. I understand that there are risks, and it will limit theater tactical operations, but those command decisions I will leave to you and Captain Hood.”

  Whitaker pulled up another chair, sat down next to Sanchez and pointed back to the schematic. “Commander, this system could provide us with a unique advantage against any Cilik’ti we may encounter and, to my knowledge, no defensive system like this has been seen on their vessels during any engagements.”

  Sanchez sat back in his chair and stared at Whitaker’s designs. “Have you done any prototype tests?”

  “I have developed three separate prototypes, and all have worked smoothly in simulations,” Whitaker replied.

  “Simulations like that don’t take into account variances in battle conditions. It needs more proofing.”

  “Understood, but I firmly believe that the Armstrong is the best option to test it. We can run combat drills to test effectiveness well before we get into deep space.”

  “How long will it take to install it and would it be ready to test before we get underway?”

  Whitaker rubbed his chin with his right hand. “Hmm. I can have the modifications to the redundant array done by tomorrow evening. We can run some tests any time after that.”

  “Once it is installed, can you undo the changes if the system fails?” Sanchez asked and looked closely at Whitaker for his reaction.<
br />
  Whitaker sprang up from his chair and moved to the schematics again. “Any alterations to the secondary array are not permanent, and can be undone. However, this system will work, and I for one would like to make you a wager on that, Commander.”

  “A bet, huh. Alright, but before we get to that point, I need to run this by the captain. If he gives the go ahead, you can install it. But I expect the system to be fully operational before we jump out of the system.”

  “And what should we wager on then, Commander?” Whitaker asked. “I would think a real steak dinner cooked by the loser should suffice.”

  Sanchez stood from his chair and looked hard at the schematics of Whitaker’s system again. “A steak dinner it is. I’ll speak to Captain Hood as soon as he’s available and will let you know of his decision.”

  Sanchez started to walk out of the Engineering control room, but stopped and picked up the small part on the desk that he examined when he first arrived. “Mr. Whitaker.” Sanchez tossed the part to the now frazzled Chief Engineer. “In regards to our little wager, I hope you know what you’re getting into. When it comes to cooking, I’ve been known to burn water.” Sanchez smiled, gave Whitaker a curt mock salute then headed back into the busy corridor.

  * * *

  Whitaker waited until Sanchez was out of sight and earshot, then started to laugh. He reoriented the part in his hands and carefully placed it back into its proper place on the desk. He’d underestimated Commander Sanchez, and now he knew that this man understood how he thought. He quickly scanned the desks around the room and moved to the one on the far left. He keenly assembled three of the parts into a larger piece and once completed, he set that one down next to the remaining two on the desk.

  Whitaker had full confidence that Captain Hood would give the go ahead for his new system. In his mind, the clock was already ticking to get the new system operational, and the various modules for the alteration needed to be assembled and tested.

  Whitaker grabbed his large coffee mug from the desk to his right and walked over to the coffee pot he had installed in the control room. He filled the mug almost to the brim of the cup and took a few quick sips to get used to the temperature.

  “All-night jobs are where genius is born,” he said. He took a larger swig of his coffee, rubbed his hands together vigorously and went back to assembling the remaining piece on the first desk.

  Chapter Seven

  EDF Armstrong

  Saturday, January 18

  Earth Year 2155

  Captain Hood left his quarters and after a quick trip in the nearest elevator lift he arrived at the upper level crew deck. Hood walked down the primary corridor until he came to a door that was now marked with the words “Epherium Corporate Office.” Hood frowned as he opened the door and whispered under his breath, “This is a military vessel, not an office building.”

  The office was aligned with two small desks near the front of the room and a larger desk closer to the back. Two doors on either side of the office led to additional rooms. Normally, the three-room set was configured for crew living quarters, with the front room designated as shared or common living space. The other two rooms would be occupied by either higher enlisted personnel or younger officers. Hood shook his head as he surveyed Epherium’s updates to the shared area décor.

  Three men in business attire, complete with ties, sat in chairs near the closest desks to the door. Hood looked past them to the man sitting behind the larger desk in the back. Henry McCraken’s attention was completely focused on something on his data pad and he didn’t seem to notice his arrival.

  One of the other three men, obviously an aide to McCraken, quickly stood and moved to greet the Armstrong’s captain. “Captain Hood. So glad to see you. Mr. McCraken will be with you in a moment. Can I get you something to drink while you wait?”

  “No, I’m fine. Just not used to waiting for something on my own ship,” Hood replied sourly.

  McCraken looked up from his data pad, smiled at Hood and stood. “Thank you, Riley. I can take it from here.” Riley nodded back to McCraken and took his own seat at his desk.

  McCraken moved around his desk and jogged up to Hood. “James, so good to see you. How are things progressing?”

  “Quite well, actually. We are on schedule, and I expect us to be ready to leave in the next two days. Our final gunship arrived early this morning, and our Marines will be boarding this afternoon.” Hood scanned the office again and looked back at McCraken. “I wanted to apologize for not meeting you personally, when you came on board last night. I was tied up with EDF Command, so I came to see if you had managed to get settled in. I see you have made yourself quite a home.”

  “We like to move quickly, Captain. We wanted to get adjusted and be ready to assist you as soon as possible.”

  “About that particular point, Henry. I had these quarters assigned to you and your people as a courtesy. I didn’t expect you to set up shop.”

  McCraken nodded his head in agreement. “I understand, Captain. However, Admiral Grant gave us explicit permission to place a small satellite office on board. With that in mind, we wanted to create an operating environment here that can work with your crew and with the colonists when we arrive.” McCraken turned up a pseudo smile. “I could have the name taken off the door if you would like.”

  Hood could see where this conversation was going, and he didn’t like it. “It’s a start.” He stared hard at McCraken. “I’ve known your company for a long time, Henry. They have provided the EDF and our people with so much over the last few decades. But this...this I don’t get. I just don’t understand your angle in all of it? Why did you of all people ‘volunteer’ to come with us?”

  McCraken lowered his head and chuckled. “Like you, Captain, I go where I am needed most. My company needs me here, and Epherium has a strong vested interested in this ship and the colonists out there.” He walked back to his desk, reclined in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “Besides, our collaboration has already spurned some great upsides into some new technological breakthroughs. I am sure you of all people, Captain, can recognize that benefit.”

  “Yes.” Hood answered. “Mr. Whitaker has excelled tremendously since he arrived. Getting the new particle cannon installed ahead of schedule was testament to his ability, and I’m very interested to see how this new defensive system he is installing will function.”

  Hood moved over to a point directly in front of McCraken’s desk. He placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward toward the Epherium liaison. “This is an EDF military vessel. You are here to observe and interact only with interests related to Mr. Whitaker and the colonists. This mission is under EDF jurisdiction and any undue interference from you or your people will result in you and your team being the first to be packed on a shuttle for a very, very long trip home. Do I make myself clear?”

  Any sense of smile disappeared from McCraken’s face, and he sat up to meet Hood’s stare. “Understood, Captain Hood. There will not be a problem.”

  Hood straightened and moved to the office exit to the main corridor. “I want the office sign removed from this door within the hour.”

  McCraken nodded in capitulation, and Hood left the office in an almost worse mood than when he arrived.

  Standing in the corridor about ten feet from the door was Sanchez. “That went well,” he said, almost not sure of what exactly to say.

  Hood walked over to his XO. “At least I escaped from there without stepping into a slime trail,” Hood replied. “I’ve had several engagements with representatives from Epherium over the years, but why does he just make me feel dirty? I don’t like it.”

  “In my experience, these corporate types all have their own agendas. Do you need me to have one of our security staff keep tabs on them?”

  Hood and Sanchez started to walk down the hall back toward the elevato
r lift. “No, Commander. If we start poking around in their company business, it’s going to get us all in a lot of hot water with the brass. I prefer to let them have enough rope to move around but not hang themselves with it.”

  They entered the elevator lift and Hood instructed the computer to head toward the command quarters level. “McCraken’s admission, that he goes where his company needs him, tells me that Epherium must be expecting something of great return in this mission, and it’s not just PR back home. I also don’t think he would be willing to come along on a trip like this one unless he was promised a stake in whatever Epherium stands to gain. We have a real puzzle to solve, Commander, one wrapped in corporate schemes, and it all points to those colony ships. Should be interesting.”

  “Sorry, sir, I am not a fan of puzzles, I like my fights straight up and direct,” Sanchez said.

  The officers exited the elevator and proceeded to Hood’s quarters on the left of the corridor. “Don’t worry, Raf. McCraken is an enigma, but not an unsolvable one. I’m sure we can unravel what he is up to soon enough.”

  They stopped at the door. “The final remnants of the crew arrive tonight. Have you coordinated a ship-wide broadcast?”

  “Lieutenant Wells and I have it scheduled for late afternoon tomorrow. I assume you wish to jump out that evening?”

  “We need some fine tuning of the crew and some systems, but the faster we get moving the better.”

  Hood opened the door and both entered the captain’s quarters.

  “You have one new message,” the computer announced as the door closed. Hood looked at Sanchez, raised an eyebrow, and moved to the other side of his desk to access his computer terminal.

  Opening his messages, the only new message in his inbox was text based and consisted of a single phrase, “Pawn to E-4.”

  “Ah-hah,” Hood exclaimed, and he stood from the desk. “I see our new Tactical Officer has arrived.” He walked over to a set of drawers set into the wall, opened the third one from the top and removed a small wooden box.