by C. R. Daems
Thalia laughed, much to my chagrin, although it relaxed me enough to walk up forward without embarrassing myself. The stage seemed larger than it did from my seat in front with the other officers. I wondered how Gebauer was taking this. He didn’t look distressed, but then he’d looked calm while the Peregrine was being blown apart.
“At ease, Lieutenant. Vice Admiral Zann would be proud of you and Thalia. The Riss have taken a step towards recognition by your combined actions.”
I couldn’t believe that the Admiral knew Thalia’s name and that he’d recognize her in this forum.
“Lieutenant Reese is awarded the Silver Star for distinguishing herself during the engagement with the raiders at Tamerland. Her actions were instrumental in destroying the Sidewinder, avoiding the raider’s assault on Tamerland, and loss of the SAS’s new anti-missiles.”
“On behalf of Thalia and myself, I thank you, Sir.” I saluted and left the stage.
* * * *
Over the next week those retiring were released. The rest of us waited for our new assignments. Everyone remained anxious to hear where he or she would be assigned.
The next morning I was called to the assignment room. I should have been apprehensive, but it didn’t really matter. With the Peregrine destroyed, there was no chance I’d be assigned with people who knew me. I would be starting over no matter the assignment. I only hoped the new Captain wouldn’t hate me before he met me.
“Lieutenant Reese, you’re to report to Admiral Plimson at the SAS Air Defense building. He has your new assignment. There will be a car here tomorrow at 0900 hours. You’re to be packed and ready.”
* * * *
I reflected back on my journey to the Riss Project six years ago. A lot had changed since then. Today I was a Riss-human, a Lieutenant, and had been in combat. I hardly noticed the buildings I’d viewed with awe that day, instead wondering what the Admiral wanted with me. Lieutenants didn’t visit Admirals to chat. I wondered what I could have done wrong. For the life of me, I didn’t have a clue. Of course, that didn’t preclude the Admiral from having something. After all, Captain Gebauer had found plenty of reasons.
It took a minute for me to realize the car has stopped and the driver waited for me to exit. The steps to the Air Defense building were intimidating. They were white and black streaked granite, stretching fifty people wide and at least twenty-five steps up to the entrance. The building looked to be a mixture of a stone matrix and glass, rising fifty stories. Special navy police stood guard inside the entrance. I presented my ID, which they scanned and compared to my fingerprints and retina. When my identity had been verified, they sent me to another desk where my appointment with Admiral Plimson was confirmed. There I was given directions to his office and given an elevator ride to the fiftieth floor. I exited onto a plush blue rug. A desk with a sergeant and two Special navy police faced the elevator.
“Lieutenant Reese, if you’ll have a seat in the lounge to your left, someone will escort you to the Admiral’s office when he’s free.” The lounge was a large room with ten cushioned chairs in navy blue. As I sat, a young Petty Officer appeared.
“Ma’am, can I get you something to drink or a light snack?”
“Kaffa, if you have it, Petty Officer,” I wasn’t really thirsty but didn’t know how long the Admiral would be and needed something to do. The Petty Officer disappeared as quietly as he’d arrived. I sat and clicked on the reader next to the chair, scanned magazines, newscasts—and worried. The Petty Officer returned with a small table and a cup of kaffa.”
“Anything else, Ma’am?”
“No, thank you.”
“If you need anything, I’ll be just outside.”
Thalia’s gentle smile flowed through me. A feeling I treasured. The kaffa was a particularly tasty blend with a hint of chocolate, or I thought it was chocolate. I’d only tasted chocolate once.
“Ma’am, the Admiral will see you now. If you would follow me.” The same Petty Officer led me down a long hallway past office after office, each with a navy secretary at a desk. At the end of the hallway sat a Lieutenant.
“Lieutenant Reese, the Admiral will see you now.” He stood and knocked on the mahogany door. When he heard ‘Come,’ he gestured for me to enter.
“Lieutenant Reese, Sir,” he announced and closed the door behind me. The Admiral sat behind a massive wooden desk in a brown leather-like chair. The wall behind him was solid glass and gave a view of Eden beyond description. The Admiral was the same one who’d been at the medals ceremony. He was a little above normal height, had a good build for a middle-aged man, wavy-silver hair, and a round face with a broad nose. A Captain sat in a chair off to my right—a younger man of average height and build, black hair cut short, and a hawk-like nose on a narrow face. I braced to attention and saluted.
“Sir, Lieutenant Reese reporting as ordered.”
“At ease, Lieutenant. Have a seat.” The Admiral waved to the chair on my left. “Would you like something to drink?” He leaned back in his chair and took a sip from his cup, while waiting for me to sit.
“No thank you, Sir.”
“The SAS has mixed feelings about you, Reese. They realize now that your tattoo has made you a lightening rod and put you at a disadvantage. In a sense skewing the results of the project evaluation. Mind you, they aren’t considering having it removed. Although we consider Gebauer to be an excellent Captain, assigning you to another ship with a Captain like him would be unfair. He admits you disgust him and he didn’t treat you fairly.” Plimson paused, watching me. When I remained silent, he continued. “I’ve interviewed four Captains over the past five days and have concluded Gebauer isn’t alone in his opinion, although he may be the most extreme. One was openly repulsed by the project and two clearly prejudiced against Riss-humans. After interviewing them, I can understand the problems you’ve been having and compliment you on the way you’ve conducted yourself.” He took another sip from his cup and nodded to the Captain, who began to speak.
“Lieutenant Reese, I’m Captain Jordanno. Talking with Captain Gebauer, it was obvious that you put him in his place on several occasions.”
It wasn’t a question, but the Captain seemed to be waiting for a response. “No, Sir. I think in each case the Captain realized a mistake had been made and admitted it.” I knew Lieutenants didn’t back down Captains, if same Lieutenants wanted a career in the navy.
“On your arrival, he informed you that you weren’t qualified to give orders to anyone. Since you were put in charge of Shuttle maintenance, I’d say he backed down. Wouldn’t you?”
I wasn’t sure how to interrupt the small twitch of his lip. “The order was illegal and a violation of my contract. When the Captain realized that, he changed his mind.”
The Admiral and the Captain smiled.
“When he brought you up on charges?”
“When the Captain realized the charges weren’t founded, he cleared me of them and fined those who initiated them.”
“When he wanted to court martial you for ruining the environmental system?”
“I pointed out that he should be looking for the person who caused the explosion. He agreed.”
“Thalia, the high-Riss inside me, will be my companion until the day I die. Yes, I would love to retire to Saipha to live in peace, to let Thalia visit her and my Sisters, but the purpose of the Riss project is to demonstrate that the Riss would make a valuable partner. For Thalia’s sake, I’ll do whatever it takes to finish the project, Sir.”
Jordanno leaned back and sat quietly for a while. “Does that include using your contract to intimidate your superiors?”
“Thalia is high-Riss. She’s willing to help the SAS in any way she’s capable. She’s proved that.” I pointed to my Silver Star. “However, she won’t allow me to submit to illegal orders or to be abused for someone’s amusement, Sir.”
“Fair enough,” Jordanno said. “I’m considering you for assignment to my ship. Do you’ve any questions for me?”
“No, Sir. That wouldn’t be appropriate.”
He turned to his superior. “Admiral she’s acceptable. My concern was that she thought herself special and used the Riss-project as a weapon against her superiors. I sense that she has merely been defending herself from people who think they’ve a right to abuse her. I’ve reviewed her record and talked to some of the people she’s worked with. They agree her performance has been outstanding. Yes, she’s a lighting rod. That has the potential for problems, but that’s more the fault of the genius who tattooed her.”
The Admiral stood, but waved the Captain and me to remain seated. “Fine. During my interviews, I never mentioned anything about ships. You made the assumption that it would be your current ship. I intentionally let everyone believe that; otherwise, they would have lied. The current line of Raptors, Light cruisers, is more than adequate for taking on normal pirates, transporting VIPs, and delivering equipment to the colonies. Our Heavy cruisers would discourage an invasion; however, I don’t know if we could survive a war. The recent information about the raider’s ships appears to indicate them as equivalent with our cruisers. We only survived the assault on Tamerland because of Lieutenant Reese.” He stopped and smiled at me.
“Sir, I don’t mean to interrupt, but what did she do? The citation was rather vague.” The Captain looked from the Admiral to me.
“She and Thalia executed a skip to within one kilometer of the enemy cruiser. That enabled the Peregrine, which was barely functional, to blow it to pieces. The Heavy cruiser accompanying it decided to leave, either because they’d lost their window of opportunity or because they were no longer sure of the situation on the ground or potential SAS support.”
“A kilometer?”
“Yes. Commander Riddler, the XO, said he never wanted to be that close to another spacecraft again. We’ve kept it a secret because we’re developing software for the computer to duplicate skips of that precision. It would give us a huge advantage.
“Anyway, we’ve just completed construction of a new class of Hunter spacecraft. They’re configured in between a Heavy and a Light cruiser; however, they have armament equivalent to a Heavy. You’re to be the first Captain of the newly commissioned Tiger.”
Jordanno sat there speechless. His face went through confusion, shock, and finally excitement.
The Admiral continued. “I’m afraid there are only a few slots available for you to fill. To minimize problems, we’ve selected crew who’ve worked with Lieutenant Reese before and who wanted to be on the same crew. You don’t have to worry, they’re outstanding people.”
* * * *
The shuttle ride to Hercules was packed. I sat in the third row behind several high-ranking officers, including Commanders Riddler and Wang. Gunny Valk sat a row behind me. He wore a black uniform with an arm patch of a Black Scorpion on a red background. It was deadly-looking with its tail curled, ready to strike. At the top was written First Company, and across the bottom, Black Scorpions.
Although talking quietly, everyone appeared in a good mood. The Lieutenant next to me didn’t seem like he wanted to talk and had intentionally ignored me.
He looked a few years older than me, had straight brown-hair cut short, a round face, small nose, and thick lips. Overall, he looked nondescript.
“Lieutenant? I’m Lieutenant Reese. Are you assigned to the Tiger?” I decided that I had to take the initiative. One person, one day at a time, I mused.
“Lieutenant Bakku. Yes.” Our conversation was cautious, until he found that I had been assigned to shuttle maintenance on the Peregrine. He was being assigned to shuttle maintenance on the Tiger and interested in my experience, and the Peregrine’s encounter with the raiders. By the time the shuttle docked, he’d relaxed. I exited and found guards stationed at the shuttle bay exit checking IDs. They directed non-Tiger traffic to the left, and right for the Tiger. A little further along I encountered several more guards in black uniforms doing another ID check. After I’d been verified as assigned to the Tiger, a sergeant gave me a folder with directions to my quarters. I waited for Valk to clear the checkpoint.
“Gunny, I see you’ve been assigned to the Tiger. I like the new uniform.”
“Thank you, Ma’am. We’ve been commissioned, Scorpion Company One. Each of us has completed a rigorous month-long trial to qualify. Because Hunter class ships will be chasing raiders and have limited space, they wanted the best of the army’s airborne commandos available. One hundred were selected of the four hundred tested. Others will be tested over time and join Scorpions companies to accompany the new Hunters coming out of production.”
“Can I still work out with you?” I was delighted Valk was part of the army contingent and wanted to continue my training.
“Yes, you’re still my student. The rest of the group also passed the trial. I would like to think you’d have passed.” He smiled.
My quarters weren’t spacious but adequate. A metal chair, pull-down shelf to act as a desk, a single bed, and a cabinet for storing clothes. It didn’t matter. Except to sleep, I spent little time in there.
Chapter 22
The auditorium accommodated well over six hundred people. That was lucky because the Tiger’s compliment included four hundred navy and one hundred army personnel. Admiral Plimson spoke first. He talked about the Hunter class ships and congratulated us on being the first to crew one. The navy personnel had been hand-picked from over two thousand available candidates, and the army personnel had passed a special training course.
Next came a Commander who explained that each of us would undergo training and familiarization courses designed to produce a functional crew. The next several hours we spent reviewing the general layout of the ship, and how to get from one point to another. The Tiger had two levels while the Heavy cruisers had three; however, the Hunter’s levels were larger and supported more weapons, missiles, and the Sharks, which replaced the old Strikers. The new attack fighters had more powerful missiles and lasers, larger engines, and were harder to detect, because of their shape and outer covering.
Level one had three concentric rings providing better protection for critical systems, functions, and storage. Heavy cruisers had only two rings.
“The packet you received, when you checked in, has your class schedules.”
* * * *
My first class included all of the officers assigned to the Tiger. The room was small but adequate for the forty in the class. The room comfortable but plain—steelplex walls with a few pictures of different ships with a short history, a podium, and three large screens. One positioned in front, and one on each side for easy viewing. The chairs were padded in
a plain blue synthetic fabric and the only concession to comfort. It surprised me to find that one of the pictures was of the Peregrine with a condensed version of our encounter with the raiders.
Later that day, we toured the ship. We spent most of the time on the bridge, as many of the officers would have duty there due to the limited number of officers on the Tiger. The next day was free. I decided to join one of the crew specialty classes. As I approached the door for the Shuttle Maintenance class, the Senior Chief standing next to the Petty Officer checking passes stopped me.
“Ma’am, I’m Senior Chief Petty Officer Olsen. I’d rather you didn’t attend this class. It would make the seamen nervous and restrict their questions. I’d be glad to give you a private tour after mess this evening, if that would be all right with you.”
“Yes, Senior Chief. That would be most satisfactory.”
For the next two nights Olsen gave me a detailed tour of the shuttle bays and the shuttles and the attack fighters, Sharks, the Tiger would be carrying. We looked at engines, weapons, and cargo bays.
“Ma’am, Master Chief Valk will be waiting tomorrow to give you a tour of the Scorpions’ area, if you’re interested.” He smiled. “Master Chief Rucker and Valk warned...advised us that you would want to know how things worked. All the Chiefs have agreed to give you a private tour.”
“I’m reminded again, that it’s the Chiefs that run the spacecraft. Thank you for your time, Chief. It was a very interesting and informative tour.”
* * * *
The next night I met with Gunny Valk and got a detailed tour of the Scorpions’ area, and an opportunity to work out with the class. Because Valk introduced me, I received a cordial reception.
During the days, I attended the officer sessions, where we were each given a new System Interface Device—SID. They were small enough to carry on our person. They replaced our personal computers, enabled us to talk to anyone on ship, and connected to the ship’s computer, to the extent a person had access. For individual communications there were two channels: one for navy and army business and one for personal calls. The SID was voice-activated, could create a hologram of the screen, and be manipulated by voice.