by Tony Healey
"Roll with the punches, Gary. This job's ad hoc all the way. That's how I work; you know that. Anyway, are you gonna come help me or stay there looking pretty?"
"Coming," Belcher said. He followed her into one of the maintenance access shafts. "Hey Chief, do we need to tell anyone we're doing this?"
"Bah," she said dismissively. "They're not going to fuss over an hour or so of downtime on the cameras. I mean, we're docked. What could possibly happen right now?"
Belcher sighed. "Sorry to question your orders, Chief."
"That's all right Gary. I'd worry if you didn't."
*
"Thank you," Jessica said. She watched the Ensign place the tray of coffee and refreshments on the table then leave. Her quarters were half lit to make them more cosy, more comfortable. An inviting space in which to have a friendly cup of coffee with her new boss.
Kerrick helped himself to sugar, ladling it in as he spoke. "From what I've seen, you've all done an admirable job, Captain. You're to be commended."
"I'd take credit, but most of it is down to the Chief, sir. She really does hold this ship together sometimes."
"Indeed. I'll be sure to put her in for a commendation," Kerrick said.
Sure you will, you son of a bitch.
He dunked a biscuit into his coffee, bit it clean in half and spoke as he chewed, no regard for etiquette or manners whatsoever. She could see the soggy biscuit swirling around his mouth, coating his teeth. "So tell me, Captain. What are your plans concerning your career?"
"Sir?"
Kerrick swallowed. "Admiral Grimshaw must have told you that we intend on scrapping the Defiant. She's more than past her prime," he said.
"Scrapping her?" Jessica asked, shocked.
"Why, yes. Of course. What did you think we'd do with her? Put her in a museum?"
Well actually I did, she thought. "I hadn't considered it, sir, to be honest."
He shrugged, lifted his cup and took a sip. "High time you did. Sooner rather than later, I will be assessing the needs of the fleet in posting you to another vessel. One in need of your quality, Captain."
"But Admiral –"
He gave her a sharp look. "It's not up for discussion," he snapped. "It's an inevitability."
"Understood," she said through gritted teeth.
"You don't want to leave this ship, do you Captain?" he asked, a weird smile on his face. It made him look ghoulish. The glint in his eyes, coupled with the thin smile on his lips . . . it was enough to make her shiver.
"No."
"I suppose you see it as your inheritance," he mused. "I read your file. I know that Andrew Singh was your father. Unfortunately, assets of the Terran Defence Force are not simply handed down, from one family member to another."
"I never said they were," Jessica said. "I've come to like this ship and her crew. To me, they are my family sir. When you take the Defiant away, you're breaking that family apart."
Kerrick shrugged. "That's how it must be. And they're not your real family, Captain. I find it a cause for concern that you think so."
She watched him drain his drink. The anger threatened to boil over, but she kept it pegged. You don't care about any of us, she thought. It's your agenda and nothing else. This ship will be broken down. My crew will be split up, sent to different ships all over the galaxy. And me? Probably put in command of some tub and forgotten about.
The Admiral rose. "Shall we continue with the inspection? I have a lot to do, and so little time in which to do it."
As do I, she thought.
"Of course. I'll lead the way," she said, politely enough. But what she actually thought was: The sooner I walk you around this ship, the sooner I get to kick your wrinkly butt out the nearest exit. And the sooner I can get on.
A starship should never set sail carrying unnecessary trash.
11.
"Here he comes," Dollar said. "Doctor Strange."
King cleared her throat. "Captain . . ."
"Sorry. But lookit him," he whispered as they watched Dr. Gentry step through the airlock, looking every bit the mad professor Dollar considered him to be. "The kid's like a cross between a hairbrush and a cattle prod. Nah, scratch that. He's more like the offspring of Albert Einstein and Jack the Ripper."
She frowned at him, and was about to ask just what he'd meant when the doctor came bounding over. There was no way Gentry could pass for a 'kid.' "Ah! There you are!"
"We were just about to ask ya the same thing," Dollar muttered.
"Eh?" Gentry asked.
Jessica steered him away. "Don't mind him, Doctor. Please make your way to your guest quarters and settle in. We'll be going shortly."
"Oh really? How splendid. I hoped we wouldn't wait around."
Jessica glanced back at Nowlan. "There's not likely to be much of that . . ."
"Hey Doc, don't forget, when you hear the alarms, just ignore 'em," Dollar said. "Don't go jumpin' outta an airlock or nothin'."
Gentry tapped his nose. "Mum's the word."
He wandered off. Jessica shook her head. "A complete mystery, that man. Sometimes he seems completely lucid and others . . . like the escapee from an asylum."
Dollar chuckled. "Yer right on that score."
King went to the nearest comm. unit and opened a line to the engineering section.
"Gunn here."
"Chief, Gentry is aboard. He's the last. Everyone else is here and at the ready," she said. "We just need some noise."
"Right. Do I take it you give the order to ring the bells?" Gunn asked.
Jessica smiled. "I give the order. Ring them. Loud and clear."
"Understood."
Dollar grinned from ear to ear.
"What're you smiling about? You're about to be made a criminal."
He shrugged. "Ah, what the hell. We'll all be criminals together."
At that moment, alarms went off all over the Defiant, so loud as to be almost unbearable. She winced at the sound. Like clockwork, the Chief's voice boomed across the speakers in every part of the ship.
"This is the Chief. Evacuate. All hands evacuate. We have a coolant leak that has reached the ventilation system. All decks compromised. Repeat, evacuate immediately."
"Whaddaya want me to do?" Hawk yelled as people started to run through the airlock to the station side.
"Stay here. Make sure nobody lingers," she shouted back.
"Where will you be?"
"Breaking the law," she said. Then she was off, red lights flashing all around her, the air filled with the screaming alarms . . . and feeling a strange sense of exhilaration.
12.
As chaos rang out all over the ship, Jessica went to her quarters and accessed her comm. unit. She found the registry of Grimshaw's transport and connected to the ship ferrying him across space.
"Jessica?" he asked.
"Admiral. I didn't want you to leave without saying goodbye."
"The whole reason I didn't permit anyone to see me off," Grimshaw groaned. "I didn't want goodbyes. They're not my style, I'm afraid."
She sighed. "Admiral, this may be my last chance to talk to you. I'm about to leave the station, sir. And I'm taking the Defiant with me."
There was silence on the other end. It seemed to stretch out for an excruciatingly long time before Grimshaw spoke again. "I'm sorry to hear that, Captain. You understand I'm required to report your actions to Admiral Kerrick . . ."
She'd expected him to say such a thing. Their conversation would be played back after the fact and scrutinized. "Understood sir. I just couldn't rest. I must know what all of this is about. This is the only way."
"I don't know what to say, Captain," Grimshaw said.
"Just wish me luck, Admiral. I'll need it. It's been a pleasure, sir."
"For what it's worth, Jessica, I think your Father would have been proud of how you've turned out. Despite everything . . . you're a straight arrow."
"Thank you."
"Now I must go and report your actions.
Sorry Captain."
"Understood sir. You have to do what you have to do. As do I."
"Best of luck. Grimshaw out," he said and cut the channel.
Now the clock is ticking, she thought. There was no telling just how much time he would give her. She got up and left her quarters at a near run.
*
Crew members fled past her, racing to the airlock. Trying to get off the Defiant as fast as they could. When Jessica got to the Secondary Command Deck, all stations were still active around her, albeit in standby mode. Servers still chattered to the Defiant's central computer, the ship's systems making minute adjustments to the Defiant, despite her being docked to Station 6. A vessel her size needed only to shift a few millimetres in either direction and she'd take the docking collar with her. So the automated monitors kept her in check, ensuring she stayed just where she needed to be.
Jessica walked around the room, turning the different consoles on one by one. They came alive, rows of green lights, screens glowing. The viewscreen at the front of the Command Deck flickered into life to show a view of the station in front of the Defiant. There were several other ships docked, one directly before them.
Jessica was careful not to access any of the engine controls. Not yet. That would alert station control far too early, showing their hand.
She accessed the internal sensors and took note of the number of personnel still present in the Defiant.
Nearly there. We nearly have an empty ship. She continued to prime the Defiant for departure as around her, throughout the ship, her crew fled from inevitable disaster.
*
Chief Gunn urged them all out. Only Lieutenant Belcher gave her significant trouble.
"But Chief, it doesn't make sense. It has to be a sensor malfunction –"
She gently pushed him out of the engineering section. "We can determine that later, Gary. Right now, we have to follow protocol."
He frowned. She got him as far as the doors to engineering before he stopped, resisting her. "Chief . . ."
She shook her head. "I don't want to hear it. Right now this ship is filling with toxins that will kill you within seconds if you get a good whiff of 'em. Are you ready to bet your life on there not being any?"
"I guess not," Belcher said. Crewmen filed past him on either side.
The Chief stood with her hands on her hips. "It's my duty to clear this deck, Lieutenant. That includes getting your sorry butt out of here. Now get a move on."
Reluctantly, he did as he was told and left. "Chief, I'll wait for you station side."
"You don't have to do that," she said, feeling a pang of guilt.
I won't be there.
"But I will wait anyway," Belcher said, a soppy smile on his face.
She put a hand on his shoulder. The alarms and klaxons faded away. "I really appreciate your friendship, Gary. You've been my rock after . . . well, you know. I won't forget it. Ever."
He smiled again, visibly miffed at her sudden show of emotion. "Don't mention it Chief."
"Go on. Shift it. I'll see you soon," Gunn said. She watched him go, then let loose a big sigh. The alarms returned, along with the gravity of what was about to happen.
See you soon? If only that were true, kid. If only that were true . . .
*
Commander Chang arrived on the Command Deck with Olivia Rayne in tow.
"Ah, you both came. You know, I have to admit I had my doubts," Jessica said.
The doors closed behind them, blocking out the noise from the hall. King had had the foresight to disable the alarms inside the Command Deck itself. It was blissfully silent in there, save for the hum of the many systems around them.
"You actually doubted us, Captain?" Rayne asked.
She shrugged. "It's a big ask. That's all I'm saying. I wouldn't have thought less of anyone if they'd decided against it."
"I never would've considered it," Chang said. "It was a straightforward yes."
"I'm glad to have you both with me. Did either of you see Banks on your way up here? We have Doctor Gentry, the Chief, you two . . ."
As if to answer her question both Kyle Banks and Doctor Clayton arrived.
"Captain," Banks said curtly. "Am I late?"
She laughed. "No. Not at all," she looked to Dr. Clayton. "Doctor, I didn't expect you to come along."
"Someone's gotta be the responsible adult of this field trip," Clayton quipped.
"Chang, Rayne, and Banks. If you wouldn't mind taking your usual stations. I will go with the Doctor and check on the evac. We should be nearly there. I think we're waiting on a few stragglers."
"She'll be along," Chang assured her. "Selena wouldn't let him go without her. No matter what the price."
Jessica looked from one to the other. "I promise you all, it will be worth it. I would not risk this if it were not."
Rayne smiled. "We know Captain. We know."
"Doctor, shall we?" Jessica asked. Clayton nodded.
She turned on her heels and left them to settle in.
*
While Admiral Grimshaw had busied himself with handing over to Admiral Kerrick, Jessica had been similarly busy herself.
When she walked into the conference room aboard the Defiant that evening, they'd all been there waiting for her. Just as she'd asked.
All sitting around the table – Commander Chang, Ensign Rayne, Lieutenant Banks, the two Doctors, Dollar, Selena Walker, the Chief, even Eisenhower. Any other time she might not have been sure about trusting Eisenhower. The man had served in the Terran Defence Force for a long time. But he'd also served under her for over a year, and that meant a lot. She'd got a feel for the old timer, and the impression that he could be trusted to at least keep his mouth shut, even if he disapproved with what she was about to propose to them.
"Thanks for coming, all of you," she said. They waited patiently for her to continue, no doubt eager to learn what it was, exactly, that had been so pressing as to call for a secret meeting. "I've asked my most trusted members of staff here tonight, because I have the unspeakable to ask of you."
She pressed upon them the need to keep everything she said top secret, then proceeded to tell them all she'd learned.
Jessica pointed to Dr. Gentry. "Doctor Gentry can explain the next part. If you wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all," he said. He didn't get out of his seat. There was no point – they could see and hear him perfectly well from where they were. "From what I have read, from what data we have at hand, it appears there was a mission to rendezvous with the Enigma, prior to our own. And that mission was top secret. So much so, that not even Admiral Grimshaw was aware of it. That's why we went in there blind, only to find the Enigma had already been accessed."
"And crew stolen," Walker cut in.
"Exactly, my dear, exactly," Gentry said. "Whoever it was, gave the order to go in there and, upon discovery of the crew, remove several living specimens. What happened after, we can only guess."
"So where's the connection?" the Chief asked. "I'm not seeing it."
"Well, it just so happens that a member of that team, one Doctor Kingston, was also a significant component of the team responsible for a project you may all be familiar with. The 'Sun Hammer.'"
There were several stunned looks, some sharp intakes of breath at the mention of the device. "You don't mean . . ." Clayton said.
Jessica nodded slowly. "Indeed, the very same. It would seem that Doctor Gentry here excavated an old Namarian power source, only to have it confiscated by Admiral Kerrick."
"Thought he was Captain Kerrick back then," Gentry said.
"Yes. Captain Kerrick. That same power source was used to develop the Sun Hammer itself."
"And later on, Doctor Kingston's name appears on the itinerary for something called Project Prometheus," Gentry explained. "It's all too much of a coincidence."
"Very," Chief Gunn said. "I smell something rotten."
Dollar looked around, made a show of sniffing his armpit. "It ain't m
e, sweetheart."
The Chief laughed.
"Are we to investigate this Doctor Kingston?" Chang asked.
Jessica looked them all in the eye one by one. "The Doctor currently resides on Zac'u IX, at a remote facility. I have asked permission to take the Defiant there. My request has been denied. So I will be taking her anyway . . . and any of you who care to come with me, are welcome to do so."
Silence fell over the room like a curtain.
"I will be completely honest here," Jessica continued, not sure if she was winning or losing the room. "I can't do it without you. And I am certain the answers to the Enigma, the deaths of Commander Greene, Lieutenant Jackson, the others . . . all of it awaits us on Zac'u IX."
Chang stood. "All those in favour," she said, then raised her hand.
Everyone in the room raised theirs to join her. Jessica felt so much relief wash over her that she could have wept.
"Thank you. Each and every one of you. Of course, if you should change your minds, do not fret over it. I will think nothing less of you. I don't expect anyone to risk their lives, or their careers, to do this," Jessica said.
"I think I can safely speak for all in attendance when I say this," Chang said. "We stand together. We're family."
Jessica grinned from ear to ear.
Lisa Chang sat back down. Dollar cleared his throat.
"I got one thing to say, Cap," he said. "Somethin' that should be cleared up before we do this."
"Are you sure you want to?" Jessica asked him. "Last chance to get out of it."
"Do what?" Selena Walker asked, looking from the Captain and back to Dollar again.
He took her hand in his. "Darlin' I ain't called Dolarhyde. Or Dollar. Or any other name. Commander, you know."
Chang turned to Walker. "I found out by accident, I swear. His name is Gerard Nowlan. Otherwise called Hawk."
"What?" Walker asked. "I don't understand."
"I'm a lot older than ya think, babe," Hawk said. "It's a long story I can tell ya later on, but the short version is –"
"– a secret," Jessica cut in. "But since we're all on the same page here, Hawk here comes from an alternate timeline. I'm sure he'll fill you all in on the details at some point, but suffice it to say we had to hide his real identity as he is a temporal anomaly. For the sake of keeping the status quo, it was easier to integrate him into the Defiant's crew under a new identity."