When Salido heard a chuckle, he looked around until he found the source. Then he said, "You find this amusing, Captain?"
"Yes, I do, Captain," Lidden said with a grin.
Salido smiled and said, "As do I." Returning his gaze to Sydnee, he said, "While we were busy strategizing on how we might locate X and capture him, you caught him and had him in custody. But why did you wait until now to inform us you had the suspected Citizen X under lock and key?"
"I didn't want to risk anyone else aboard ship learning about it before I had a face-to-face meeting with my captain, so I never told anyone aboard the Justice what I had learned from the encrypted message to SCI or what I suspected regarding Plelillo's secret identity. My Marines believe he's just a gunrunner. I felt that SCI should be the one to break the news and respond to questions when news of his capture is released— if it's to be released."
"If it's to be released?" Salido said with a questioning look.
"I've never heard anything in the news about the package being collected from Yolongus on my first mission into Clidepp space. I know it occurred only because I was there and in command of the mission."
"That was because we later learned he was innocent. We didn't want to publicly tarnish his name."
"It's not my position to praise or condemn the actions of the SCI, sir. I simply felt the decision would be better left to you."
"But you didn't even mention it to Winston after you recovered him the second time?"
"He had previously informed me he was a lieutenant commander in Space Command. Although I was the officially appointed captain of the ship, I didn't want to deny a senior officer from SCI access to a suspected terrorist. Especially not Citizen X. However, I believed he would have demanded access if he'd known about Plelillo being aboard. I felt that Plelillo's repeated interrogation would raise questions among my crew. You know how it is aboard small ships, sir. It's usually impossible to keep a secret. I believed this one was far too important to risk spreading while we were in Clidepp space. Now that we're back in the GA, you can interrogate the prisoner using all of the resources at your disposal. Other pressing problems aboard the Justice placed increased demands on my time and required my full attention, so I've had limited contact with Winston on the return voyage. I was the commanding officer of a ship designed around a crew of just twenty-five individuals, and yet I had almost one thousand five hundred persons under my care and protection. I was a bit busy."
Salido smiled and nodded. "One thousand five hundred. That's almost three times the crew size of this destroyer, and you were doing it with limited staff. I would guess you were a bit busy. Well, all I can say is you've done an incredible job, Lieutenant, and the people of the GA owe you more than just a pat on the back. Would you be interested in coming to work for me at SCI?"
"Me? An agent? No, sir. But thank you."
"You're too old and too well known to become an agent, but we have many other positions in SCI for highly intelligent people with the other skills you possess that don't involve field work. I've never been a field agent, and neither has Commander Knight nor Commander Brookstein."
Sydnee looked over at Captain Lidden.
"I would hate you lose you, Lieutenant," Lidden said, "but I have no right to interfere with your decision."
Looking back at Salido, she said, "Thank you for the job offer, sir, but I want to be in space. I think I'm going to remain aboard the Denver for now."
"Okay, Lieutenant. I understand. Would you be willing to go back into the Clidepp Empire and complete the original mission? We still have to return the package. And we still might need more ears over there. That may change if we can verify that Plelillo really is Citizen X and whether or not there's anyone ready to pick up the reins of the Rebellion now that he's our guest here. I'm sure you remember that the purpose of the project was to monitor all transmissions on all frequencies from every planet until we identified the Rebel leaders, then act to take down the leadership responsible for the attack on our space station. We should know if the satellite distribution part of the mission is still desired before you reach Yolongus and release the package."
"If Captain Lidden wishes me to return to Clidepp space and complete that mission, I will. I do hate not finishing jobs I've begun."
"You would be my first choice, Lieutenant," Lidden said.
Sydnee looked over at him and smiled but said nothing.
~ finis ~
*** Sydnee's exciting adventures will continue ***
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Appendix
This chart is offered to assist readers who may be unfamiliar with military rank and the reporting structure. Newly commissioned officers begin at either ensign or second lieutenant rank.
Space Command Officer Hierarchy:
Admiral of the Fleet (5 Star)
Admiral (4 Star)
Vice-Admiral (3 Star)
Rear Admiral – Upper (2 Star)
Rear Admiral – Lower (1 Star)
Captain
Commander
Lt. Commander
Lieutenant
Lieutenant(jg) "Junior Grade"
Ensign
Space Marine Officer Hierarchy:
General (4 Star)
Lt. General (3 Star)
Major General (2 Star)
Brigadier General (1 Star)
Colonel
Lt. Colonel
Major
Captain
First Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
The commanding officer on a ship is always referred to as Captain, regardless of his or her official military rank. Even an Ensign could be a Captain of the Ship, although that would only occur as the result of an unusual situation or emergency where no senior officers survive.
On Space Command ships and bases, time is measured according to a twenty-four-hour clock, normally referred to as military time. For example, 8:42 PM would be referred to as 2042 hours. Chronometers are set to always agree with the date and time at Space Command Supreme Headquarters on Earth. This is known as GST, or Galactic System Time.
Admiralty Board:
Moore, Richard E - Admiral of the Fleet
Platt, Evelyn S. - Admiral - Director of Fleet Operations
Bradlee, Roger T. - Admiral - Director of Intelligence (SCI)
Ressler, Shana E. - Admiral - Director of Budget & Accounting
Hillaire, Arnold H. - Admiral - Director of Academies
Burke, Raymond A. - Vice-Admiral - Director of GSC Base Management
Ahmed, Raihana L. - Vice-Admiral - Dir. of Quartermaster Supply
Woo, Lon C. - Vice-Admiral - Dir. of Scientific & Expeditionary Forces
Plimley, Loretta J. - Rear Admiral (U) - Dir. of Weapons R&D
Yuthkotl , Lesbolh - Rear Admiral (U) - Dir. of Nordakian Forces Integration
Ship Speed Terminology:
Plus-1 - 1 kps
Sub-Light-1 - 1,000 kps
Light-1 - 299,792.458 kps or (c) (speed of light in a vacuum)
Light-150 or 150 c - 150 times the speed of light
Hyper-Space Factors:
IDS Communications Band - .0513 light years each minute (8.09 billion kps)
DeTect Range - 4 billion kilometers
Sample Distances:
Earth to Mars (Mean) - 78 million kilometers
Nearest star
to our Sun - 4 light-years (Proxima Centauri)
Milky Way Galaxy diameter - 100,000 light-years
Thickness of M'Way at Sun - 2,000 light-years
Stars in Milky Way - 200 billion (est.)
Nearest galaxy (Andromeda) - 2 million light-years from M'Way
A light-year - 9,460,730,472,580.8 kilometers (in vacuum)
A light-second - 299,792.458 km (in vacuum)
Grid Unit - 1,000 Light Yrs² (1,000,000 Sq. LY)
Deca-Sector - 100 Light Years² (10,000 Sq. LY)
Sector - 10 Light Years² (100 Sq. LY)
Section - 94,607,304,725 km²
Sub-section - 946,073,047 km²
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TOC
This map shows Galactic Alliance space after maps were redrawn following the end of hostilities with the Milori, and the war with the Tsgardi, Hudeerac, Uthlaro, and Gondusans. Unclaimed territories between the three regions were claimed in order to have one contiguous area. Regions Two and Three are so vast that exercising control and maintaining law and order has been largely impossible to this date.
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The only purpose of this two-dimensional representation is to provide the reader with a basic feel for the spatial distances involved, and the reader must remember that GA territory extends through the entire depth of the Milky Way galaxy when the galaxy is viewed on edge.
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.jpg and .pdf versions of the maps created for this series are available for downloading at : http://www.deprima.com/ancillary/maps.html
should the names be unreadable in your printed or electronic media, or if you simply wish to gain a better overall perspective.
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Clidepp Deja Vu Page 32