by Dave Bara
We walked through the station together, attracting paparazzi, well-wishes from businessmen and women, and firm salutes from Carinthian and Quantar sailors alike. This caused the five-minute walk to stretch to fifteen, and I had to answer plenty of questions about where we were going (Impulse II), what our mission was (classified), and, of course, when we were having children (no comment).
Once we were cleared to board Impulse II, we gladly made our way to her service lifter, which ran a direct line to and from officer country. When we were inside the lifter and the doors were shut, Karina turned to me and took me by the arm.
“I want you to know that I am over my disagreement with you,” she said. “I won’t bring up the idea of having a child again until it’s time. You offered a year, and I will take that year.”
I smiled, then bent down and kissed her, which I loved doing. “I’m glad,” I said, then took her by the hand as the lifter doors opened. We walked down a short hall to the captain’s stateroom. The door was open, and servants greeted us at the threshold. I glanced inside. It was every inch the marvel Zander’s cabin had been aboard the original Impulse, done in the heavy baroque style the Carinthians favored, but it was different in that it had a distinctly feminine touch to it.
“Captain and Mrs. Cochrane,” announced the head servant. At that we stepped through the door.
Dobrina greeted us both with a hello, handshakes, and a smile. She seemed different to me. I had known her primarily as a tough-minded commander, as competitive as any man I’d served with in the line of duty. She was more settled now as a full-rank captain—more tempered, it seemed to me—and the change was both encouraging and enlightening. I wondered how much this new man in her life had to do with the change.
“Please, let’s have a drink before dinner,” she said as she gestured to matching sofas near the stateroom’s fireplace, where a servant held champagne glasses for the three of us. We each took a flute and clinked glasses, then drank. The Carinthian champagne was surprisingly good, and I complimented her on it, then got on to other things.
“So, I understand you and my wife had a bit of an outing today?” I asked casually. Dobrina and Karina exchanged glances and then laughed together—or more precisely, giggled. “I’m sorry if I don’t get what’s so funny, and my guess is this isn’t the first drink you two ladies have had today.”
“You’d be right,” said Dobrina with a wink. I sighed.
“So, what did you do besides shop? Exchange notes on me? Tell secrets at my expense?” I asked. They drank and giggled together again without answering. “What? What’s so funny?”
Karina took me by the hand. “There are secrets, dear, and then there are secrets,” she said. This only made me more curious. I decided to change tactics.
“I was wondering when I get to see this new man in your life?” I asked, anxious to meet Dobrina’s new beau for a variety of reasons. They both laughed full-on this time. Then Dobrina stood up and nodded toward the closed door to her private quarters.
“In just a moment now, I think,” she said.
At that the door to Dobrina’s private apartment opened, and a beautiful but very familiar woman stepped out, smoothing her dinner dress and smiling as she came.
The Princess Janaan of Levant.
I looked to Karina, who looked up at me and smiled. Then I looked to Dobrina, who smirked and took another sip of her champagne. Janaan took the offered champagne from the servant as she passed and came to join us.
“I’d make introductions,” said Dobrina, laughing again, “but I think we already all know each other.”
“If only for a brief time today,” finished Karina, reaching out a hand in greeting toward Janaan. “A pleasure again, Princess.” The two princesses shook hands while I watched, feeling helpless. Then all three of the ladies laughed, no doubt at my expense, and drank again.
I drained my champagne glass and motioned the servant over for another drink. This had the makings of a long night.
“Pleased to see you again, Princess,” I said, taking Janaan’s hand from Karina and trying to change the direction of the evening. She turned to me and smiled back, her dark eyes still showing that smoldering fire I had experienced on her home world.
“And you, Captain,” she replied, briefly taking my hand before releasing me. At Dobrina’s suggestion we all sat down, Janaan next to Dobrina on one sofa and Karina next to me on the other.
“Surprised?” Dobrina asked me, still smirking. I should never have underestimated her.
“Of course,” I said. I hadn’t considered that Dobrina’s new “man” could be a woman, and certainly not a princess of my acquaintance from a very conservative world.
“Disappointed?” Now she was probing me.
I shook my head. “You know as well as I do that the Union Navy regards personal relationships as personal and not the Navy’s business. I just . . . I didn’t expect that the two of you would find each other in . . . such a way.”
“It’s really your fault,” said Janaan, smiling. “I came to Carinthia to lead an aid team from Levant. The good captain and I found ourselves consoling each other over something we had in common. Losing you, of course.”
“Of course,” I replied. Karina slid her free hand into mine.
“I was surprised when Dobrina told me about their relationship,” said Karina. “Mostly in that I expected a princess of Levant would have had a difficult time carrying off such a relationship, especially with the more conservative societal elements you have to deal with back home.”
“I find that the farther out in space I go, the less influence those elements seem to have. But really, Peter, you should be flattered. Here you sit with three beautiful, accomplished women who spent the day together, and none of us has had cause that whole time to complain about you as a lover,” Janaan said. I blushed at that and laughed uncomfortably. What could I say to that? I quickly asked for more champagne.
“Well, thank God for that,” I said. “Perhaps, ladies, this isn’t the best time for these discussions? Defiant does have a First Contact mission beginning tomorrow with a trip to Pendax,” I reminded them.
“The captain is right,” said Dobrina, standing abruptly. “This is not the time. And at any rate, dinner is served.” She motioned us toward the finely set table.
Janaan and Karina walked off together, chatting quietly, but I wanted a private word with the captain of Impulse II. I trained my eyes on Dobrina as we lagged behind the two princesses. When I got her isolated enough, I opened fire.
“For God’s sake, Dobrina, why?” I asked her quietly. She laughed just a bit as the servant handed me my new drink.
“I’m sorry, Peter. I had no idea any of this would happen, but the fact is that the princess and I found each other on Carinthia, and as often happens, one thing led to another. I find her company enthralling, frankly. She’s a renaissance woman trying to reform her world, and I found that compelling,” Dobrina said.
“And as a lover?” Dobrina smiled and put her hand over my mouth.
“Dinner,” she said, and she gently pushed me toward the table and my wife. I went, resigned to my fate.
Dinner was formal and polite with no further discussions of private matters, to my delight.
Afterward, Dobrina and I needed to get down to business, and so we did. Janaan and Karina wandered back to the fireplace with glasses of sherry firmly in hand, conversing quietly.
“And so we meet to negotiate, Captain,” I said. Dobrina smiled.
“And so we do.”
I leaned back in my chair. “So, what do you want for this talented but nameless astrogation officer?” I asked. She leaned forward, all business now.
“Three cases of Quantar shiraz. And your junior Propulsion officer. What’s his name again?” she asked.
“Ensign Mancino,” I replied. “I hate to lose him. G
raded out A-1 at the academy in the class of 2769.”
“I know. He was on my list until you stole him out from under me. Fact is that I need more Quantar sailors to balance things out. He’ll do just fine,” she said.
“And what’s your hotshot astrogator’s name?” I asked.
“Lieutenant Ezhil Arasan. One of the best I’ve got in any department. But he’s blocked from advancing. Too many young senior officers aboard.”
I nodded. “I can offer him a straight transfer as a lieutenant with an upgrade to lieutenant commander in six months, once I have Layton’s promotion paperwork complete,” I said.
She smiled. “I will convey those terms. I’m sure he’ll accept.”
But I wasn’t finished.
“There was also a case of schnapps for Maclintock involved, if I remember correctly,” I said. “And that shiraz will be half my stores.”
“The schnapps was delivered an hour ago. It should be in your stateroom by now. As for the shiraz and Ensign Mancino, just the cost of doing business, my friend.”
I smiled and we shook on it. “Just don’t get him killed,” I said of Mancino.
“I won’t,” she replied, “and I expect the same consideration for Arasan.”
“You’ve got it,” I said, and went to get up. Her hand on my arm moved me back to my chair.
“There is one more thing,” she said.
“As always.”
Her face got grim. “The Princess Janaan. I don’t know whether you know this or not, but she’s accepted a position as Admar Harrington’s Special Secretary for Union Negotiations. She’ll be joining you on your mission to Sandosa, and she’ll need a lift to Pendax.”
I had a ready reply. “Please inform the princess and Lieutenant Arasan that they must be aboard Defiant by 0800 hours tomorrow. We leave at 1000 hours. A suitable cabin will be provided for the princess, but I ask that she remain discreetly out of the way until her duties call for her to be seen aboard ship. Will you convey my instructions?” I said.
Dobrina nodded. “I will,” she said. And with that we shook hands, and I joined Karina by the fireplace. We quickly said our goodbyes to Dobrina and Janaan, with a reminder for the princess to be prompt tomorrow, and then we made our way once again to the lifter.
In the brief quiet of the service lifter, Karina turned and kissed me firmly on the lips. “Let’s go home, Captain, sir. I have a bit more than a case of schnapps to surprise you with,” she said. I smiled.
“Why, Lieutenant, I do believe you were shopping for more than just sauerbraten and rauchkäse,” I replied, returning her kiss.
“Umm,” she said, smiling at me. “You may be right.”
Then I had to convey the news about Janaan coming along for the ride.
“I’m fine with it if you two are. We’re all adults here, I believe,” she said. With that she reached out and hit the stall button on the lifter, then turned to face me.
“I want to ask you something very important,” she said. I nodded assent but said nothing. “Would you have made a different choice than marrying me if you’d had the chance? I mean, about Janaan.” She was asking me the question I had been dreading. There was no good answer.
“I’m happy with the choice I made,” I said to her.
“That’s not an answer,” she said, shaking her head. I thought about that for a second.
“Karina, the circumstances under which we were married weren’t ideal, obviously. But in the last year I have come to love you, respect you, and admire you, and I realize now how important you are to me and to Defiant. You’re my wife, my confidante, the future mother of our children. No woman could give me more than that,” I said.
“She could. She’s everything that I am and more. We both know it. She’s statuesque, more beautiful, dark, and exotic. Everything I’m not. The fact is that I was just the right girl at the right time, and by pure luck she was out of the picture. I have no doubt you would have chosen her if the circumstances had been different,” she said, pulling back from me. I thought about what she had said very carefully before answering.
“You’re right,” I replied. Her face quickly flushed with anger. “I would have chosen her if I had never met you. If we had never been put together by circumstances beyond our control. If I had never known you or kissed you. But the fact is, being here with you now is all I want, all I could think of wanting, and my future with you is all I can hope for or dream of.” It was a gamble, a high-stakes one for sure, but I meant every word of it.
She looked up at me, her face still flushed red. I didn’t know if I had quelled her anger or enflamed it. Then she came at me, pushing me back against the lifter wall and kissing me passionately before pulling away again.
“You’re mine, Peter Cochrane. And don’t ever forget it,” she said. Then she covered my mouth with hers one last time before setting the lifter to resume its descent path.
And with that the lifter doors opened, and we faced the onslaught of paparazzi again all the way home.
To Pendax
I called the staff together at 0900, and Lieutenant Arasan was there on time. He was a dark-skinned and lanky lad, likely of predominantly Indian descent. I introduced him to the group around the table, which included my XO, Babayan, my master chief, John Marker, George Layton, Duane Longer, Ensign Lynne Layton (George’s younger sister), Karina, and Defiant’s resident Earth Historian, Gracel. She had joined us just as we were commissioned, coming over from her former assignment with Dobrina and Impulse II. She was a matronly woman in what appeared to be her late forties (though actual age was always up for debate with the Historians), with shoulder-length, predominantly gray hair and a pleasant face. She seemed to favor little to no makeup, and her tone was almost always all business. This would be our first mission outside of the local Union worlds, and her presence would be essential if we ran into any sort of Imperial trouble. I hadn’t gotten a good feel for her yet, at least nothing like the rapport I’d had with my former mentor Serosian, who had chosen to remain ship’s Historian aboard Starbound, serving with Maclintock. He and I had had a falling out during the Battle of Pendax, and it was a rift I didn’t see healing any time soon. In any case, I felt my relationship to Gracel was better off as formal and distant, and that’s how I tried to keep it.
After the introductions, I started right in on the day’s business. “XO, would you please give your morning update?” I asked of Commander Babayan. She cleared her throat.
“All systems green. Ship’s telemetry is topping out near 100 percent,” she said. I turned to my second-in-command.
“Near 100 percent, XO?” I asked.
Babayan gave a slight shrug. “Two of the hybrid drive plasma inducers are running at about 97 percent efficiency. It’s not a major issue and shouldn’t affect performance in any significant way. We do have fourteen other inducers topping out at 100 percent. All in all it’s less than three percent anomalous on overall impeller systems, sir,” she replied.
“We have one hour to launch and almost two hours travel to the Carinthia egress jump point, Commander. Let’s see if we can get them all to 100 percent?” I said. She seemed annoyed at this, but she gave me an “Aye, sir,” and we moved on to Duane Longer of Propulsion. Longer held the field rank of Super-Lieutenant, which George Layton formerly held aboard Starbound. I liked Duane, but I wanted to see him operate a bit more under pressure before I made his rank upgrade permanent. If he continued to improve he would eventually be the senior department head reporting directly to Layton, who was filling the role of third officer that I formally held on Starbound. The one thing I had no doubt about with Longer was his stalwart work at the Propulsion station.
“Duane?” I prompted him. He was ready with his report.
“All propulsion systems are at max preparedness, sir, sparing the hybrid drive plasma inducers, but all the drives themselves are working fine.
Chemical impellers, sub-light HD drive, Hoagland hyperdimensional drive, traverse jump generators, all at full max, sir. Give the orders, and we’ll get you where you need Defiant to be, sir.”
“And this trouble with the hybrid drive infusers?” I asked. He looked to Babayan and then shook his head.
“Negligible, Captain. The XO and I will have the bugs worked out within the hour,” he said. I smiled at his confidence.
“Thank you, Duane,” I replied, then turned to the other side of the table and our new Lieutenant Arasan. “Astrogation?” He looked down to his plasma, then addressed the table in general rather than me directly.
“Carinthia egress point and Pendax ingress jump points calculated and locked per the latest readings from the Historian ansible network. The jump should be uneventful,” he said.
“And the traverse jump from Pendax to Sandosa?” I asked. This time he turned to me.
“Also calculated. I estimate 34.2 hours in traverse space, sir,” he reported. And there it was again, the seemingly random time in traverse space between two star systems. No two places were the same, and none of the times seemed to relate to the normal space distances between any two stars. The time required to travel between one star and another in traverse space changed with every trip, and calculating it was tricky, but from what Dobrina had told me, Lieutenant Arasan was up to the task. The Historians could never quite explain the time anomaly adequately. I supposed it had something to do with the constant movement of planets, stars, and galaxies throughout the universe. You were never truly in the same place twice in this space-time dimension, no matter that the distances seemed to be constant to the untrained eye.
Now I turned to Gracel. “What do we know of Sandosa, Historian?” I asked. She leaned forward and addressed the room in her usual formal manner.
“The colony on Sandosa was founded in the First Colonization Wave of the 2150s, primarily by colonists from the Iberian Peninsula of Earth. Mainly Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Basque, and Andalusian settlers with small minority groups of Moroccan Muslims and Sephardic Jews. The colony thrived mainly on a maritime economy richly seeded from Old Earth and supplemented with biomodified indigenous ocean species. After a century, though, the colony stagnated, and population was stuck at around two million. Just as the Second Wave of Colonization opened up on Earth, a discovery was made of large-scale mineral deposits in the high mountains, 2400 meters above sea level. This set off a second colonization period that brought in mine workers recruited from various other colonies looking for financial opportunities. Within two decades the new immigrants outnumbered the original colonists. This led to an imbalance of power between the ruling founding families and the working-class minorities. This tension has persisted for centuries, and from the communications we have received, there was an open revolt—probably not the first—about twenty years ago, following a planet-wide famine. The government there now wants their world known as the People’s Republic of Sandosa, according to our survey teams.”