by Saxon Andrew
The woman turned to him and smiled, “I am the top-rated graduate of the academy this year and as such, I am given the command of a warship upon graduation. Since this is my first ship, I am in command. Take it up with the Admirals if you have a problem.”
Des glared at her but didn’t know if she was right or not. He sat in the passenger’s seat and tried to decide if he should refuse this mission; this woman was a real troll. The transport landed on top of the building and they exited to find Abby waiting for them. They saluted her, and she smiled, “Welcome to our home. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you down to meet the rest of the team.” Abby noticed the woman move quickly in front of the man and follow her into the elevator. Something was wrong here. She’d soon find out what it was.
They arrived in the main living room and Grady stood up. The two captains saluted, and Grady smiled, “Please sit down. Welcome to our team. Please tell me about yourselves.”
The woman interrupted the man and began speaking over him, “My name is Maranda Meadows and I’ve graduated number one in my class from the academy this year. I have a complete and thorough knowledge of the new Super Rabbit and I’m looking forward to the coming mission.”
Grady’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he turned to the man, “And you are?”
“Captain Desmond Frye. I’ve been serving in the navy for six years and I was chosen to be one of the test pilots used to develop the new rabbit warship.”
“So, you’re in command of the ship?” Taffy asked.
Maranda instantly spoke up, “No, he isn’t. I’m in command of the ship.”
Abby’s eyes narrowed, and she asked, “Why do you say that?”
“The top graduate of the academy each year is given command of a warship upon graduation. This is my first ship so that means I am in command of it.”
Abby stared at her and smiled slightly before turning to Desmond, “When were you promoted to Captain?”
“Two years ago, this month.”
Abby turned to Maranda, “And you were promoted to captain…”
“The day after I graduated.”
“When did that take place?”
“Three months ago.”
Abby started to speak but Grady interrupted her, “If that’s the case Captain Meadows, you are not in command of the ship.”
Maranda’s eyes narrowed, and she quickly asked, “Why would you say that, Sir?”
Abby immediately interjected, “Captain Meadows, am I right in saying that you attended the introductory class on fleet regulations.” Maranda turned to her and nodded with her eyes slightly narrowed. “What is the fleet regulation that deals with determining command between two officers of the same rank?” Maranda thought for a moment and her brow furrowed. “Captain, what is the regulation?” Abby prodded.
Maranda recited, “When two officers of the same rank are serving together, the one with the longest seniority date will be in command.” Maranda immediately added, “But the top graduate is always given a command of a ship upon graduation.”
Abby smiled, “That’s true, Captain. But they are always given command of a ship with no senior officers on board. It appears you are junior to Captain Fry and he is the commander of this mission.”
Maranda looked at Desmond and saw his expression. She turned and asked, “May I contact Fleet Admiral Mulvaney to confirm this?”
Abby nodded, “Go right ahead.”
Maranda punched a number into her communicator and after a moment they heard, “Captain Meadows, how may I help you?”
“Sir, I’ve just been told that I am not in command of the ship I’ve been assigned. It was my understanding that I would be given a command upon graduation.”
“Why were you told you are not in command.”
“The officer assigned to the ship with me has more seniority.”
“Then they are correct, Captain Meadows. The senior officer is in command.”
“But Sir!!”
“You were chosen for this mission due to your success at the academy and your future advancement will be greatly enhanced by going on this mission, Captain Meadows. I believe what you learn on this mission is more important than giving you your initial command.”
Maranda saw Desmond’s anger and she quickly asked, “Is it possible for me to refuse this mission and be given command of a ship, Sir?”
The Admiral’s voice turned harsh, “Yes, you can refuse the mission, however, you will be reduced one rank to lieutenant and be given command of a single pilot ship. Your future career in the Navy would be damaged by your decision. Do you still wish to refuse the assignment?”
Maranda deflated and said, “No, Sir.”
“Good. I expect you to do everything to make the mission a success.”
Desmond quickly stated, “Ask him if I can request someone else to replace you.”
Admiral Mulvaney heard Desmond and replied, “You would be replaced before her, Captain. You are both there because of your understanding of the new Super Rabbits. Do you wish another assignment Captain Frye?”
Desmond rolled his eyes, “No, Sir.”
“Admiral””
Mulvaney replied, “Yes, Colonel Henricks.”
“May I request another crew to go with us? I’m concerned that these two are not suited to work together. They could pose issues during our mission.” Des and Maranda jerked their eyes around to Grady, as Admiral Mulvaney replied, “Colonel, if they do, send them packing back to Melbourne. They have shown the highest aptitude on every test we’ve given them to command a fleet of the new rabbits. If you’re willing to wait another three months, I’ll look for another crew.”
Grady glanced at Taffy and saw her rolling her eyes. “That won’t be necessary, Admiral. I’ll send them packing if they cause any issues.”
Admiral Mulvaney smiled, “I’m sure they’re not dumb enough to cause any issues, Colonel. Good luck on your mission.”
Abby turned to Maranda and smiled, “Just so there’s no misunderstandings, Captain Meadows. Everyone on this mission has seniority on you. You will follow the orders given you by your senior officers. And Captain Fry, you are also junior to everyone. Is that clear?”
Desmond and Maranda answered, “Yes, Sir.”
Rory spoke up, “I can see that the two of you don’t like each other. If your careers mean anything to you, you’ll find a way to get along, is that clear?!”
“Yes, Sir!” they responded.
Grady stared at the two new members and said, “Ok, let’s get down to work. I’m going over how we’re going to find the location of the third colony by tracking their electronic emissions. Hold your questions until I’m done.”
Grady pulled up the recording made during their journey to Earth from Britannia and Taffy noticed that Maranda didn’t sit with Desmond. This was not good.
At the end of the presentation, Grady asked, “Does anyone have a question?” Maranda raised a hand. “Yes, Captain Meadows.”
“From what I understand, you are estimating the third colony is somewhere between sixteen and twenty thousand light years from Earth, right.”
“That’s right,” Grady replied.
“Wouldn’t it be simpler for our three ships to spread out around the Perseus Spiral Arm and move at high speed keeping the spiral arm between us?”
“Why would we do that?”
“Sir, we don’t want to run up on an advanced alien civilization. The electronic emissions left the third colony and moved out in all directions. I suspect they would be easier to detect just outside the spiral arm than inside it.”
Grady thought about the suggestion and then smiled, “That’s a good idea, Captain. That’s exactly how we’ll do it. Thank you for that insight.” Maranda nodded and fought showing her disappointment of not being in command to the others.
• • •
Desmond and Maranda left the meeting and went to the new rabbit assigned to them on the roof. Maranda walked quickly on board and Des found her sittin
g in the pilot’s chair. His expression hardened, as he ordered, “Captain Meadows, you are assigned to the weapon’s console.”
Maranda quickly stated, “My expertise is operating the pilot’s controls.”
“I don’t care what your expertise is, Captain; you are assigned to the weapon’s console.” Maranda glared at Des, stood up, and went to the weapons console. Des sat down in the pilot’s chair and turned to her, “I know you don’t like me and I must admit the feeling is mutual. You could have saved yourself the embarrassment in front of the others if you would have discussed seniority before we met with them.”
“I was told directly by the Academy Commander that I was to be given the command of a ship.”
“That was probably before Fleet decided to send you on this mission,” Des replied. “One of the iron clad regulations that Fleet does not allow any flexibility on active duty warships is seniority. However, you and I are stuck together on this mission and if the other members of our mission determine that we are a detriment to its success, both of us will be sent back to face discipline and demotion. You are aware of that, are you not?” Maranda glared at him and nodded. “It is in our best interests that when we are in contact with the other members of this mission that we act professionally toward each other, you got that?”
“I do…Sir,” Maranda replied stiffly.
“In any future meetings we will sit together and pretend that everything is fine.”
“Is that an order?”
“Yes, it is, Captain!” Des replied. Maranda’s anger was clear, but she nodded. “We’re scheduled to leave in the morning. Run a thorough check of your console and make insure everything is operating correctly.” Maranda powered up her console and began going through the systems. Des powered up his console and began running checks on the engines, scanners, power circuits, and thruster circuits. After an hour, Abby appeared on the main monitor, “Captain Frye, fleet is requesting the name of your ship. Have you chosen one?”
“I’ll get back to you in a moment, Sir.” Abby disappeared from the monitor and Des turned to Maranda, “Do you have any suggestions for a name?”
Maranda didn’t even turn to look at him, “It’s your ship, you name it!”
Desmond glared at her and shook his head. He tried to make peace with her, but she was having none of it; so be it. He activated the communicator and Abby appeared, “Sir, the ship’s name will be Brer Rabbit.”
“Brer Rabbit?” Abby asked with raised eyebrows.
“It’s an old term used on ancient Earth that meant Brother Rabbit.”
Abby shrugged, “Where did it come from?”
“An old story, Sir. Brer Rabbit was always getting into trouble and some how managed to save himself through his wits and quick thinking.”
“Brer Rabbit it is, Captain. Launch at ten in the morning.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Maranda stood up and announced, “The weapons console has checked out and is in perfect operational order. Do you have any other assignments for me, Sir?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“I’m taking one of the transports to spend the night at home with my family. I’ll be back in the morning.”
“Don’t be late.”
Maranda turned and said, “I won’t,” as she walked stiffly off the bridge.
Des watched her leave and tried to let his anger toward her roam free, but he knew how disappointed she must be from not being given command of her own ship. Well, he was stuck with her and he hoped this mission wouldn’t take very long. If he was forced to simply ignore her, he was capable of doing it. Flying a rabbit alone for years equipped him to handle it.
• • •
Taffy sighed, and Grady asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Captain Meadows just took a transport and left for her home. She’s not spending the night on the ship.”
Grady’s expression turned angry, “I should just contact Admiral Mulvaney and tell him to keep them!”
Taffy shook her head, “Grady, I pulled up their service records and both are really extraordinary. I know why they were chosen to go with us. Their problem is they are good leaders but not very good followers. Melbourne will need them in the future and we need to give them every chance to succeed.”
“But they could ruin the atmosphere we’ve cultivated working with Rory and Abby.”
“Grady, if they don’t learn to work together, they could possibly die.” Taffy replied. “I believe they would prefer that to being demoted and forced to a minor role in the service. They’ll either learn how to work together or suffer the consequences. We’ll allow them to work it out and we’ll just stay out of their issues.”
“Are you sure about this, Taffy?”
“She did come up with a great idea to find the third colony. They both are extremely talented, and I do think they’ll be an asset.”
Grady nodded slightly and sat back on the couch. He’d wait to pull the plug on them. He wasn’t willing to have them die; sending them back was preferable.
• • •
The next morning, Maranda arrived at the Brer Rabbit at nine-fifteen. Des watched her go to the weapons console and power it up. He started not to say anything but couldn’t resist, “You couldn’t find a way to get out of this mission?”
Maranda blew out a breath and replied, “No. My personal advisor at the academy made it clear that my career would be over if I refuse to go. It appears I’m stuck here.”
Des shook his head and turned back to his console. He hesitated and turned back to her, “Look, I know how disappointed you are at not being in command. I’ll try to be nice and not make things uncomfortable between us. Maybe this mission won’t take very long, and we can get on with our lives.” Maranda glanced at him and nodded. Des turned back to his console’s controls and knew he was wasting his breath.
Grady appeared on the main monitor and announced, “We’ll be launching in ten minutes and you will follow me out toward the outer arm of the Milky Way. Earth has warships scattered between Earth and the central core of the galaxy. Going toward the outer arm should allow us to avoid any accidental encounters with their ships. Stay in formation and we’ll head toward the Perseus Arm when we’re past the Orion Spur.”
The monitor went dark and Des ordered, “Lock us in with the Rex Rabbit.”
“Locked in to its navigation system,” Maranda replied.
Des had no idea how she locked in to the Rex while still parked on the roof of the building. She knew something about the navigation system he didn’t, but he wasn’t about to ask her how she did it. The three ships lifted off the building and went vertical almost immediately. They cleared orbit and the three black colored ships went to maximum speed toward the outer edge of the Milky Way. Projected time until arrival at the designated area in the Perseus Arm was six days.
• • •
The new Super Rabbits were much larger than the tiny ships they replaced. There were two bedrooms on the ship and the crews took turns controlling the ships while the other crew member slept. The six days passed quickly, and the three Rabbits arrived at the edge of the search area and came to a stop. Grady appeared on the ship’s monitors and announced, “We will start our search from here. Move into an equilateral formation around the Perseus Arm and start scanning for electronic emissions. Notify me the moment you detect anything.”
Des moved the Brer Rabbit into his assigned position and started the ship moving forward at half-speed. Four days later, they passed twenty-thousand light years from Earth and Grady stopped the ships. He opened a channel between the three ships and said, “Something should have shown up by now. We need to move in closer to the arm and move back along it.”
“Grady, the scanners developed by Melbourne are far superior to the one you used on the original Rex Rabbit to find Earth,” Abby quickly announced. “If the colony had broadcast electronic emissions, we should have detected them.”
“Could they be further out than twenty-thousan
d light years, Abby?”
“I doubt it, Grady. The three colony ships didn’t have enough food stores to travel much further than that. It’s possible the ship may have been destroyed before finding a habitable planet.”
“We have to make sure!”
Des was watching Maranda and he saw something in her expression. “You have a different idea on the colony’s location, don’t you?”
Maranda’s face showed her surprise and Grady quickly looked at her on the monitor, “Is he right? Do you have another idea on where the colony might be?” Maranda’s expression was stern, and Grady added, “Captain Meadows, if you have another idea, you need to share it. Finding the third colony is important.”
Maranda sighed, “I’m probably wrong about it, Sir.”
“Tell me what it is, and we’ll decide.”
Maranda pressed a button on her console and an image of the Milky Way appeared on the three ship’s monitors. “The America was the last colony ship to leave Earth. It knew the Britannia was headed toward the core of the galaxy and that the Australia was moving out the Perseus arm directly away from Earth in the Orion Spur.”
“That would seem to indicate the America would move in the opposite direction from the Australia on the Perseus Arm,” Taffy said softly.
Maranda shrugged, “That is what appears to be obvious but look closely at the map. Notice that the gap between the Orion Spur where Earth is located has a large gap between it and the Perseus Arm it branches off. The America would have had to cross that gap to enter the Perseus Arm in the opposite direction from the Australia.” Maranda paused and then continued, “Now notice that the Sagittarius-Carina Spiral Arm is actually closer to Earth’s location than the Perseus Arm. The America could have left for that arm and started searching for a habitable planet a lot quicker than going to the Perseus Arm. Also, it would be moving on a parallel course to the Australia. I suspect that the Commander of the America thought that one day his ancestors would go out looking for the Australia colony and taking that route would make that possible.” Maranda paused and added, “If I were commanding that colony ship, I would have taken it to the Sagittarius-Carina Arm.”