by M. D. Cooper
“Can’t say I blame them.” Terrance nodded his agreement.
“Right now we’re following up on all of those leads and should know more for our next briefing.”
“Very good, Major.” Admiral Sanderson nodded. “You’re dismissed.”
Tanis rose and saluted the men before she left the conference room.
“Quite the laundry list of suspects.” Captain Andrews steepled his fingers as Tanis walked to the exit. “Though considering all of the possibilities it is a fairly succinct tally.”
“Well, I hope we find out who is behind this sooner or later. With those critical engine tests coming up I have enough on my mind,” Terrance said.
INTERLUDE
STELLAR DATE: 3227213 / 09.17.4123 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Stellar Comm Hub #129.A.236.B.945.C-294
CHAPTER 14
STELLAR DATE: 3227216 / 09.20.4123 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: GSS Intrepid, Mars Outer Shipyards (MOS) REGION: Mars Protectorate, Sol Space Federation
Tanis was wrapping up some administrative logs before the end of the second shift when Ouri poked her head into her office.
“Evening, Major.”
Tanis looked up at the commander. The last week or so had seen a change in Ouri. Her commander’s bars had given her an increased sense of authority and her job performance had gone from great to excellent. The added clarity to the chain of command was also improving the efficiency of the units under her; as a result, the entire security organization was vastly improved.
The best part of all was the visible improvement in Ouri’s character. Tanis wasn’t certain if it was the smaller gap in rank between the two of them, or the lower stress level from having a smooth-running operation, but the end result was a much more personable subordinate.
“Commander, good to see you. How are things?”
Ouri smiled and Tanis returned it in kind. “Quite well; I’ve got all the reports filed and up to date.”
“I never worry that you won’t,” Tanis said.
“So, I was wondering if you’d want to come down to my cabin for dinner.”
“What? I’m being invited to one of the infamous Ouri cookouts I’ve heard so much about?”
“Well, sir, I would have invited you before, but a lot of enlisted and junior officers come down. I didn’t think you’d really want to mingle—separation of rank and all that.”
“Rules and regs, I wouldn’t want anyone thinking they’re all chummy with me and that I’ll let things slide,” Tanis replied with a grin.
Ouri chuckled. “I think you have absolutely nothing to worry about on that front.”
“So what warrants the invite now?” Tanis asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“Well, sir, now that I’ve also moved up the chain it doesn’t seem quite right to be spending too much time with the people under me, at least in the smaller gatherings. I’ve just invited officers, or civilian department heads from around the ship. I thought maybe you’d like to come. Mostly it’s people from here at the SOC.”
Tanis looked down at the plas on her desk and considered all of the work she had to do, but decided that the irony of going to a log cabin on a lake that happened to be inside one of the most advanced starships ever built was something she couldn’t miss out on.
“Real cookout with fire and everything?”
“Big fire, sir.”
Tanis grinned. “Call me Tanis when we’re off duty.”
The cabin was just as Tanis had pictured it.
It sat at the edge of a lake, not a large one, just a half mile across or so. A young forest was growing up around the waters. The trees had been accelerated and were perhaps ten meters in height. A slip with a canoe tied to it jutted into the water. Up a small path was a clearing with a thick lawn and set back against the trees a homey cabin.
“This is really your quarters?” Tanis asked.
“Yup, I go to bed here and wake up here in the morning.” Ouri nodded.
“How on earth did you swing this? I mean, aren’t there millions of people lining up to be on the botany side of this mission?”
“I know a guy who knows a guy.” Ouri paused, a mischievous smile playing at her lips. “That and I spent over a hundred years on various terraforming ventures. I’ll be co-managing the north continent’s stage 3a terraforming when we get to New Eden.”
Tanis stopped, regarding Ouri with a calculating look. “I’ve read your file. There’s no mention of any of this in it.”
“Well, I have two separate registered identities. There’s no link between them.”
“That’s… unusual.” Tanis ran a hand through her hair, stopping when she realized she was doing it. If Ouri wasn’t being so casual about it she would have been very suspicious.
“The short version is that I was at the wrong end of the pointy stick a few times when I was managing terraforming projects. GSS pulled me into their protective custody and I found I really enjoyed that line of work as well. I enlisted and well…here I am.”
“So now you can kick ass and terraform planets.” Tanis laughed. “That’s quite the unusual combination.”
Ouri chuckled. “It certainly wasn’t what my career advisor mapped out for me.”
No one else had arrived yet, and Ouri led Tanis into the small cabin. Inside was a dichotomy of clutter that matched what she now knew about Ouri’s dual life.
“This is both everything and nothing like what I expected,” Tanis said.
“I live to be an enigma,” Ouri grinned. “Would you mind taking those two baskets out to the fire pit? I’ve got to change out of this uniform.”
Tanis looked down at her own dress uniform and sighed. She should have stopped off at her quarters to change. After carrying out the baskets she came back in to see Ouri running a brush through her hair. She was wearing a red and yellow sundress that looked quite stunning on her. It was always amazing how much better people looked in civilian clothing.
“You’re going to get all the boys.” Tanis laughed.
Ouri looked down at herself and then over at Tanis. “Sorry, I guess I didn’t think you’d have anything else. You know how it is with us juniors; we figure the SOs must have been born in their uniforms.”
“You realize you’re a senior officer now too.” Tanis smiled.
“Damn…just when I thought I’d gotten used to it, my subconscious reminds me I haven’t.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“I do have a few autofit dresses you could look at.” Ouri led Tanis into her bedroom and after a few minutes they picked out a sedate blue sleeveless dress that came down just past Tanis’s knees. It snugged up to her body and she examined herself in the mirror.
After borrowing Ouri’s brush Tanis helped carry the last loads out to the fire pit—platters of meat for the night’s feast.
“Real meat?” Tanis asked.
“Yup, from right here in Old Sam. First generation; we’ve been testing out the protocols for herbivore initialization.”
“Where do you get the time for all of this?” Tanis asked as they laid condiments out on a wooden table. “I mean…I work you to the bone.”
Ouri smiled as she lit the grill. “Well, I make time for the things I love. I’m pretty good at this stuff, but I also seem to be pretty good at keeping people from blow
ing the ship up. They’re kinda interconnected.”
Tanis laughed. “So they are.”
“I also offload a lot of stuff onto Amy Lee.” Ouri chuckled as the grill came to life.
“God does she ever.” Amy Lee came strolling down the path with Terry Chang in tow. They had several baskets full of beverages, which appeared to be mostly of the alcoholic variety. “I’d complain to her boss, but that she-devil would probably figure if I had time to complain I must have time for more work.” Amy Lee grinned, but then stopped short, her face turning red as she realized who she had just spoken to. “Uh…er…Major. I didn’t recognize you out of uniform.”
Tanis smiled at the second lieutenant. “We’re informal here, Amy Lee. Besides, I’ve got a really thick skin.”
“It’s actually true.” Joseph arrived with a few others. “I’ve needled her both physically and verbally to prove it—as you can see I survived to tell the tale.”
Tanis felt a small jolt of elation that Joseph had shown up. She had been hopeful, but didn’t want to come right out and ask Ouri.
“Yeah, but only just barely.” Tanis cast Joseph a stern look. “Amy Lee’s one of the ladies, she gets special dispensation. You’ve about used up all of your get out of jail free cards.”
Joseph put on an innocent face. “Me? I’m a paragon of cooperation and agreement. I have to be. I saw what happened to all the other men under you who didn’t toe the line.” He winked at Tanis as he stepped past her to put his load of bread down on the table.
Her gaze lingered on him a moment too long and he brushed against her shoulder at the same time. Tanis looked away and caught fleeting moments of recognition on the faces of Terry and Ouri. It would appear the attraction growing between her and Joseph wasn’t going unnoticed.
Their thoughts were obvious on their faces: so the major was human after all—and apparently falling for the dashing young commander. Too bad they were in the same chain of command.
Ouri began her hosting duties, greeting and introducing all the visitors as they arrived. A few assistant heads from the SOC that Tanis knew came down the path next, as well as the division head for stage three terraforming on the colony roster. The chief New Eden 1 station engineer came a bit later; she would be the woman in charge of taking the two habitation cylinders and mounting them to a space station when the Intrepid reached its destination. Her escort was the head of habitat environmental systems, a large-framed man with an easy smile and the biggest moustache Tanis had ever seen in person.
“A damn fine job you’ve done with your neck of the woods,” he said to Ouri as he surveyed the area around them. “You’ve turned what was little more than dirt two years ago into a very nice place indeed.” He turned to Tanis and gave her a hearty clap on the shoulder. “And you’re the lassie I understand we owe being in one piece to.”
“I’m just happy to be here.”
“Believe us when we say we’re happy too,” said Erin, the station engineer. “You’re doing a fantastic job.”
“I want to get out of here as much as the next person. Just doing my part.” Tanis hated all the compliments.
“Not here here, I hope,” Ouri said with a smile as she handed out drinks.
“Only in as much as here is still in the Sol system.” Tanis accepted the offered beverage. She looked up at the arching landscape overhead, just beginning to be draped in the shadows of dusk. “Once we get outsystem, here is a place I can see myself frequenting in the future.”
Later in the evening, Tanis found herself sitting with Ouri and Joseph around a fire that had been made by some of the revelers for the purpose of roasting marshmallows.
“So I’ve been looking over the proposed duty schedules and I realized something odd.” Ouri slowly rotated her marshmallow over the fire.
“Mmmm?” Tanis said around a mouthful of sticky goo.
“Well, I don’t have a debarkation date for Abby and Earnest,” Ouri said. “I think they’re staying on.”
“Huh? That can’t be right. What would people like them be doing on a colony mission?” Joseph asked.
“I know.” Ouri nodded. “That’s what’s so strange.”
Tanis gave momentary debate to telling the truth and decided to do so. “They’re trying to keep it hush hush,” She said after finally managing to swallow the three marshmallows in her mouth. She erected a security barrier around them and put a hand over her mouth to mask her lip movement. “From what I can tell they’re coming along. Even stranger, I think Terrance is coming too.”
“What? Why’s he coming? Doesn’t he have some big multiworld corporation to look after?” Joseph asked.
“More than one.” Tanis nodded. “But he’s coming nonetheless. There’s something afoot here, something else. Think about it. Andrews is one of the best, one of the most qualified starship captains alive. Terrance is the owner of one of the largest private corporations in history and Earnest and Abby are two of the most important scientific minds of all time. Couple that with the fact that Admiral Sanderson is nowhere near retirement and you have a very interesting set of circumstances.”
“Interesting doesn’t even begin to cover how weird all of that is,” Ouri agreed.
“No kidding. When you consider all of that together...” Joseph nodded.
“Even more,” Tanis continued. “Why does the Intrepid have an AI that could manage a dozen planets—possibly the most advanced AI ever—and why are we taking over twice the personnel and equipment than any other colony has ever before?”
“You’re making me nervous,” Ouri said. “What do you think it all means?”
“Damned if I know.” Tanis prepared another marshmallow. “But one thing is for sure. Something very interesting is planned for New Eden. Something that someone else doesn’t want to happen, and even our own benefactors don’t want us to know about.”
“So you’re saying that we shouldn’t be speculating amongst ourselves.” Joseph couldn’t help but cast an eye around him.
“I think we’re best off not knowing what the underlying elements are here.” Tanis nodded in agreement. “At least not for now. Terrance is a bit shifty, but I’d trust Captain Andrews with my life. Sanderson may be a dick, but he’s a by-the-book dick who wouldn’t be involved in something subversive.”
“Damn, I hope you’re right,” Joseph said.
“When haven’t I been?” Tanis smiled as she dropped the security shield and proceeded to roast her next marshmallow, signaling the end to the conversation.
The gathering lasted long into the night. Some visitors left early, but others arrived late; a few of Ouri’s neighbors around the lake came by to visit as the evening progressed. It was nice; it was a hint of what their lives would be like when they arrived at New Eden.
Until then, before they could be on their way, the work of completing the ship had to be done; the schedule had to be maintained. The GSS Dakota was meeting all of its milestones early, and with the recent security issues, no one was feeling as confident as they had several years ago.
But tonight for a few hours everyone forgot those concerns; everyone pretended they had arrived at New Eden and were living the life they had always dreamed about. Tanis wasn’t sure when her dream had begun, but she knew now where it would end.
CHAPTER 15
STELLAR DATE: 3227223 / 09.27.4123 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Mars Outer Shipyards (MOS)
REGION: Mars Protectorate, Sol Space Federation
“How is it, Commander that you seem to end up a part of my security detail so often?” Tanis asked Joseph. “Don’t you have a fighter to fly or something?”
Joseph laughed his deep chuckle that Tanis found herself liking more and more every day. “I’ve got plenty of flyboys and flygirls now to handle that end of things. My main concern is keeping you alive so they don’t force me to do your job again.”
It was Tanis’s turn to laugh. A more common occurrence in Joseph’s company—perhaps a connection
existed… “I’m glad you have such an altruistic motivation for keeping me safe.”
“I’m all altruism. So where are we going today?” Joseph asked.
“To meet with some mercs that want to capture or kill me.”
“Pardon?” Joseph nearly tripped. “Don’t have enough trouble in your life as it is? Do you always have to go running toward it?”
PFC Lauder chuckled at that and earned a glare from Corporal Peters.
“It’s OK.” Tanis glanced at the four members of squad one/fireteam one from Forsythe’s platoon—her usual security detail. “We’re meeting with Lieutenant Grenwald first. He’s got tactical on the situation. Besides,”—she gave Joseph a playful look—“if you’d known there would be danger would you have passed on joining me?”
Joseph coughed and stammered, “Of course not.”
She explained the situation to her companions as they boarded a maglev. Some mercs had set up what they must have thought would be a great lure; after somehow taking control of a cargo ship that ran tech goods to the Intrepid from Ceres, they slipped some contraband into a shipment. Not enough to set off all the alarms, but enough to get Tanis down there in person.
“So then why are you going down yourself?” Joseph asked. “Couldn’t you have Grenwald take them without you?”
“Perhaps, but there’s a possibility they may have rigged the ship to blow. I have the best AI and highest-grade nano available at the moment, so I’m the best one to run point.”
A cross corridor away from the dock, they slipped through a nondescript doorway and came face to face with Grenwald’s platoon.
“Is everything in readiness, Lieutenant?” Tanis asked.
“It is, sir. We’ve got one/two on the dock, four remote sniping units in the ducts, and the rest of the team is ready to move in if needed. I’ve also got a direct line to engineering in case anything goes wrong.”
“Excellent.” Tanis nodded. “Commander Evans and my detail are with me. Don’t shoot unless I give the word; the more live bodies, the better.”