Titan Fleet: The Invictus

by Jason J Black

  “I don't mind telling you, no secrets we said. We lived on Dalgen 9, as did millions of people as you know, but when the meteors hit, that was a horrendous thing to experience. I was young and my sister younger, and the last thing I remember was being shoved into one pod and my sister into another, and seeing my parents get smaller as I blasted up into orbit. Many ships were destroyed by the meteors and eventually the planet was obliterated beyond recognition. So I became an orphan and was settled on Foloss. The rescuers never found my sisters pod, so I was put into care with the engineer academy, where I learned my trade, and here I am now, remembering Mum’s stew. It’s a funny life when you think of it, and how we carry on when things get bad.” Pace finishes his beer and gets another two out of the fridge. “Let’s go down stairs and fire up Anc shall we, and toast the ship too.” Megan not knowing what to say next stays quiet and just nods to Pace, and follows him in the lift and down and outside the ship.

  Before Megan and Pace stands a gleaming silver robot. It is eight foot tall and looking menacingly tough.

  “That’s not that pile of rust from before is it?” Walking towards the metal giant, Megan thinks, wow he is good with machines too.

  Pace reaches into the back panel and flicks a switch and then secures the hatch over it, and then the back panel slides shut on its own. There is no buzzing this time, but there is a yellow glow as the gyron reactor pumps life into the wires and servos and other devices. The head lifts up and the glow in Anc’s eyes is just a sight to be seen. Anc moves his arms and looks at his new body, flawless and all shiny and new, and is thankful that Pace has covered his internals with new armour. He has never been better, and not bad for a salvo robot from old.

  “Sir, what do you need? I am at your disposal. I thank you for my new beginning.”

  Pace looks up at Anc and smiles at him, “Your name from now on will be Anc. You are my Anchor and your job is to protect me and the first officer only. You will have other duties also, but we will be having more crew on board the Invictus and I want to make sure my orders are carried out in full.”

  “Aye aye, sir.” Anc is ready for his duty list and so Pace uploads the list to Anc, and Anc then walks off with a resounding thud, thud, thud.

  “Now that is a piece of engineering, Pace. Wow!” Megan is blown away with the new Anc. He is so different from before and she feels more relaxed now, knowing she has a bodyguard should anything go wrong.

  “He is not bad at all is he? I also fitted a booster pack, so he can fly too should he be lost out in space.” Pace looks over to Padley, who is now busy taking med supplies into the ship, and things seem good. “So, we have our medic and bodyguard, we now need an engineer, a pilot and a science officer. I have a top pilot in mind, so that is taken care of. Do you have anyone in mind for the other spots?”

  Scratching her head, Megan thinks for a few seconds. “Yes, I do actually. Samuel Blake is a first class science officer whom I have worked with before. Totally in a platonic way.” She adds quickly as she notices the look that Pace darts at her. “He is the best in my book. As for the engineer, I can’t help, I’m afraid. I know it would be cheeky, but could you poach the engineer from the Robur?”

  Laughing with Megan, Pace replies, “I don’t want to push my luck too far today. Actually, a good friend of mine would suit the engineer job, I just don’t think he would come along, mainly due to the ‘no contraband’ rule on board the ship, and he does like a tipple or five.”

  Megan turns to face Pace with a confused look on her face. “Hmm, no contraband on the ship, I think I remember we just drank a beer on board sooo ...”

  Laughing once again with a sparkle in his eyes, Pace leans in close, “Ah yes, but Captain’s privilege says he can change the rules when he is in space with no government around.” Pace winks and taps a container, on the lid of which is marked ‘Captain’s Jollies’. He lifts the container up and carries it into the ship. “You sleeping on board tonight, Megan?” he asks. “I have to go and find a few people, that’s all, but I will be back later tonight. I did not want to startle you at all.”

  Lifting a crate herself, Megan joins Pace at the lift. “Yes, thought I would try it out. It is bound to be better that home, although I will go home and get my things. So I will maybe see you later, and if not in the morning for coffee.” The doors shut and they both travel up to the living quarters, a short walk and they are soon going up the spiral stairs again.

  “Ok, a must in the future, tea and coffee in the morning, a new ship rule, and if you need anything in the night, just buzz.” Pace gives Megan a quick kiss and then enters his room, puts his container down, and then he turns and leaves the ship once again.

  Chapter Ten

  Pace leaves Dock One and heads towards the tavern district. Walking briskly along, looking at the shops and people, Pace feels slightly sad that he may not ever see his home again or the people or every day routine, but then again his life will be full of adventure now, that’s for certain, and no more noisy aircon in the mornings all alone. Arriving at The Shattered Moon Tavern, Pace is sure he will find his friend here. Probably under a table would be the best place to look first, he thinks. It just takes a few moments to spot his old mate. Bright ginger hair, five foot eleven-ish tall, singing at the top of his voice and trying to dance with a woman – badly. The man’s eyes find Pace’s smile.

  “Well, well. If it ain’t my old pal Joseph Pace. Come to rub it in again about being a big-shot engineer. Well good for you, big-shot. Have a fun life leaving your friend to rot his life away.”

  Pace approaches the man a small crowd watching now. “Come on, Rusty. How long have we known each other? We both know you passed your engineering test with distinction. You can't blame me for your drinking.”

  Rusty sways towards Pace, almost falling over a table. He eventually stands face to face with his old friend. “Yes, yes. It’s true I passed, and I missed my chance to be aboard the Forge when it left for space and the great unknown. My chance to be a hero amongst men. One man and one engine, powering through the stars, off this dust-hole of a planet, and all because we both drank too much and got in a fight with the Dozer brothers. Well, I think I owe you a little something for your trouble of finding me.” Rusty takes a swing at Pace’s jaw, totally missing him and the momentum spinning him around so violently he falls flat on his face on the sticky beer floor. “See that’s what ya get, Pacy baby.” Rusty passes out on the floor and Pace hoists him up with his robotic arm easily, and throws him over his shoulder like a wet towel. He apologises to every one before leaving quietly out the door.

  Swoosh! A freezing bucket of water hits Rusty in the face full pelt.

  “What the.....” Before Rusty says another word a second bucket hits home.

  “That’s your wake-up call, Rusty, and the next time you ever take a swing at me you will find yourself floating in space. Do I make myself clear?” Pace is nose to nose with a dripping and bewildered Rusty, and yelling in his face. “I have responsibilities now, beyond your expectations of me, so listen up. This is the only chance you are ever likely to get.” Pace picks up Rusty, who is now slumped on a bench in the tunnel, and sits him up straight. Kneeling down in front of him, he clicks his fingers in front of his eyes to make sure he is awake.

  “What happened to your arm, man?”

  “Never mind my arm, Rusty; I have a job for you. It is a chief engineer job, leaving for space in just a few days, maybe never to return. It is a top secret job of great importance, and I need a yes or no from you. That’s all plain and simple. This is a second chance for you, but no drink this time. A fresh start, Rusty.” Pace waves his hand in front of the drunken Rusty. “Rusty, if you want it, 1000 hours, Dock One, to meet your boss.” Pace leaves Rusty pondering on the bench, half hoping to see him in the morning and half not expecting him in one piece. It was the worst he had ever seen him.

  Chapter Eleven

  The dock was now dimly lit to conserve power. The lights were still on
in the ship, but the ramp was closed. Pace scans his gauntlet and a hatch door opens in the ramp and as he enters, it closes behind him. It is getting late and there is no sign of Megan in the kitchen or living room, so Pace climbs the stairs to be confronted by Anc, who is stood outside Megan’s door.

  “Who goes there?” Anc says in a deep angry voice.

  “Just me, Anc. Why don’t you go and power down for the night, buddy. Why are you here anyway?”

  “Megan needed to feel safe, sir,” is the reply. Anc moves down the stairs, and Pace stands looking at Megan’s door. Should he buzz her and make her feel safe by him being there, or should he just see her in the morning, he thinks to himself. He waits a few moments, his hand hovering before the door, before turning and entering his own room, and the hatch swishes quietly closed behind him.

  Megan turns away from her own door, sensing he was outside, and a little disappointed that he did not buzz. She climbs into bed and turns out her light.

  Chapter Twelve

  The lights suddenly come on in Paces room. It is 0700 hours. He wakes up with an unusual jolt, expecting to hear the aircon, and for once he misses it for a few seconds until he gets his bearings. Ah it’s the alarm I set before I went to sleep, he remembers. He slips out of bed and washes and shaves and puts on his clothes. He wants to surprise Megan with breakfast today, so he creeps slowly down past her door, all the time keeping his eyes on it, and opens the hatch to the kitchen. The door slides open so quietly he enters without being noticed by Megan, who has already beaten him to it, and is preparing a full cooked fried breakfast, fit for kings and queens. He also could not help but notice that she was wearing a very short pair of shorts with a dressing gown over the top, and boy did she have a great set of legs. Not noticing his jaw drop, Pace stands stunned at her beauty once more, before Megan turns with a little jump.

  “Oh, I didn’t see you there, Pace. I thought I would treat you this morning to breakfast, seeing as you cooked yesterday for me.” Suddenly remembering that she was just wearing shorts and a dressing gown to cover her naked body underneath, she turns red in the face. “Umm, err, I better go put something on,” she mumbles, and runs out the room and is back in a few minutes, fully dressed, this time in tight black shorts and a short cropped top, looking ready for the gym with her hair tied back in a ponytail flapping around in the air. Pace thinks to himself, she is probably showing me more skin now than she was in her nightwear, I will never understand women.

  “Breakfast looks great and smells as good as it looks, but you didn’t have to do all this for me.”

  Megan puts his meal down in front of Pace and sits herself down next to him once more. “I wanted to do it before more crew turned up on the ship. A little bit of time together is nice, and we will be so busy when we go up there.” She hooks her thumb towards the sky. They both tuck into their hearty meal and are well fed. Twenty five minutes have gone by and they have been busy nattering about what needs to be done. One of the topics was about having a brig for prisoners. They had both decided to construct a couple of cells down in the loading bay area for easy access on and off the ship, if need be. They both also had not yet looked at the engine room which was on the same level as the loading bay, at the front of the ship just under the bridge. An odd place to be, but it allowed more room for salvage on this type of ship.

  With a list a mile long of things to do, Pace and Megan decide to contact the rest of the crew on their gauntlet transmitters. They knew that Rusty may or may not be along soon, so without delay they both got to work, and still sitting next to each other at the table they began to make the calls. Megan contacts Samuel Blake, the science officer, and Pace calls Nova Lee, the soon-to-be pilot. Megan’s conversation with Samuel was straight and to the point, and a yes was obtained in under five minutes, whereas the laughing and talking off topic was still going on when Megan turns to face Pace and starts to listen in to his conversation.

  Pace laughs, “Yeah I remember that so well, almost like yesterday, Nova. Stop it; you are making me blush now. Good times, eh?” Catching the now furious eyes of Megan, Pace felt the laser sharp pain of jealousy burning in to his skull and thought it was best to end the conversation soon. “So what do you say, you in? Ah, that’s great, never doubted it for a second. I will see you later today then, and I’ll show you around.”

  The screen goes black and before he can utter a single word Megan repeats what he had said, “Good times and making you blush? Is there something I should know about this woman, Nova or is she going to be your bit on the side to have fun with, because you seemed to be very cosy just then.”

  Pace goes red in the cheeks and stands up, brushing bread crumbs off himself, onto the floor. He is starting to feel angry at Megan’s insinuations. “She is just a kid for one, and for two, she is the daughter of a good friend of mine, who I looked out for when she was young. She sees me as a brother, so in answer to your question, no, I won’t be having that sort of fun with her, but I was hoping to share that type of hoo-hah with you some day, when you feel ready. Walking off in a huff, Pace shuts the kitchen door and is gone. Megan is left contemplating on how she handled that. Probably not well at all, but at least she knows that he did want to spend a night with her. He is a gentleman after all, and those are few and far between these days. Remembering for a second the way she met Deacon, and not wanting to repeat that mistake again, she rushes after Pace.

  When she catches up with him, just outside the ship, he is talking to someone. The man is in his thirties, she would guess, a bit scruffy looking wearing a boiler suit, and with a woolly hat trying and failing she might add, to hide a mop of bright ginger hair. As she walks towards them, she knows it is Rusty from Pace’s description of him.

  Holding out her hand she greets Rusty. “Welcome, Rusty is it?”

  Standing to attention, Rusty salutes and replies, “Thank you, Captain, a pleasure to be welcomed aboard, and eager to see her.”

  Frowning a little, Megan looks baffled. “I’m Megan Frost, First Officer, not the captain, Rusty, and who is her?”

  Rusty lifts his hat up from his eyes a little so he can see better. “Oh, sorry. I need to report to the Captain, a.s.a.p., and her is the engine. What type is she?” Without waiting for an answer, he lifts a heavy looking sack up onto one shoulder and looks around. “So where is the Captain then?”

  Pace says in a stern voice “You are looking at him, and just remember what I said to you last night. I want you to be nice to people, and we will have women on board too, so mind your manners.” Slapping Rusty on the back, Pace walks towards the ship. “This way. I’ll show you around.”

  Pace and Rusty walk onto the ship. Pace is still a little bit disappointed with Megan, and leaving her outside to her own devices, he shows Rusty the engine room. As soon as Rusty enters the room he drops his bag in shock. He was staring at the Hyper Gyron Four, an amazing engine indeed and thanking his lucky stars at the same time, he wastes no time in taking a closer look at the beauty.

  “Awe wow, she is a darling isn’t she. I’ll call her Higgy from now on, because its bad luck not to name an engine you know.” Hanging his tool belt and an oily rag on a pipe protruding from the engine he feels at home. This is indeed a great chance he has been offered and he will not let drink have its way anymore. Realising what he has been given, he feels it is the right time to be honest with Pace.

  “Pace, I mean Captain, I must be honest with you. I thought you were having me on and so I am handing in my drink that I was going to try to smuggle on board.” Rusty opens the large heavy bag and hands Pace several bottles of hard liquor, which Pace puts into a container outside the ship.

  “Rusty, I appreciate your honesty. We will leave it here for when we return home one day. I knew you would love the engine, and the chance to be aboard, and I don’t know anyone I would trust more with the heart of my ship. Come on, I’ll show you to your room, which you’ll be sharing with Samuel, our science officer, and remember, play nice.”
>
  Chapter Thirteen

  Outside, Megan takes a shipment of food and supplies and is busy organising Padley with her medical supplies and at the same time getting Anc to take aboard the food, when the dock door to the hanger opens and a grinning smile is seen from afar. The two friends run to meet each other with a hug, under watchful eyes from the bridge, where Pace is looking out the window at the exact moment.

  “Wow! You look fantastic Megan. How long has it been? Red hair now too, I see.”

  Megan, liking the complement, stands back a little, posing a little and taking a good look at her friend. “Oh, a while, Samuel. You know, it will be great to catch up and work together again. So how have you been? How is the good lady? Is she not here? The invite was for the two of you, as we may be in space a long time, or may not return.” Megan is looking around Samuel for his wife, Chrissy.

  Samuel looks down at the floor and then back at Megan. “Sorry to tell you, Chrissy fell ill and died from a terrible virus a short time ago. I survived it, just, but I guess that’s why I’m here. No ties now and no coming back.” Megan rubs Samuel on his back and comforts him as they walk in. They head up in the lift and Megan shows him to his room where a happy Rusty greets them both with a smile.

  “So you’re Sam then. I have taken this bed, if that’s ok, next to the window, it helps me to sleep.” Not arguing, Sam nods and puts his things on another bed and says goodbye to Megan.

  “Sorry again, Sam. Feel free to come and go. I’m sure I will see you at the lab, which is the level above, adjoined to the med lab. We will be leaving on Saturday, so not long now. We will all have dinner together later I’m sure.” Megan walks out the door and Sam begins to put his things away, and finds a little spot for his picture of his wife.