Unite the Frontier

by J Malcolm Patrick

  He examined it. Didn’t even use a medscanner.

  “It’s inflamed pretty badly. Three hundred years ago, they’d prescribe the RICE protocol. Now I’ll just put this gel-pack here,” he reached into a cabinet behind her, “like so, and in five minutes, you’re good as new. Still . . . rest it for a day.”

  She didn’t move.

  “Something else hurt?” he asked.

  “No, I—”

  “You could have used the medkit in your quarters, simple inflammation. What’s really bothering you, Rachael.” He fixed a—tell me now or else—gaze at her. His rough manner from time to time never frightened her. She saw right through to his kind soul.

  “Should I stay on, Phoenix?”

  He under looked her. It was almost fatherly. “Why in blazes not?”

  “I don’t want to be a distraction for the Commander and I don’t want to be distracted either.” She kicked her feet forward and backwards. “I’m . . . quite fond of him.”

  “My dear, it is probably obvious to even Flaps by now, that you’re fond of the Commander. You are two professionals. You’ve worked together on two missions so far, two long missions. Been cramped on this metal death-trap they call a state-of-the-art ship for weeks, has it hindered either mission yet?”

  “No but—”

  “From time immemorial, there has been much discussion about emotional compromise. Might I offer you a different or shall we say—diverging opinion?”

  She nodded.

  “It might just be, that what you have with Aaron—whatever that is—is something so special to the both of you; that it drives you to be better in ways you can’t possibly imagine or haven’t yet fully realized.

  “You galaxy hopping adventurers need something and someone every once in a while to ground you. To remind you you’re human. To remind you why you fight. What you protect. Why you explore. If you didn’t get that . . . then Earth, and society and civilization, and all the things which make us human would be forgotten. Earth would just be a round, blue ball hundreds of light-years away, and the people on it insignificant. Whatever happens between you, let it happen naturally. Have you noticed how chipper he is lately? Makes me sick to my stomach. He’s cheery . . . I can just see him skipping down the corridor whistling in a few weeks’ time.”

  She laughed.

  “Now go on. Rest your arm. I have an inventory to finish here.”

  She smiled and left.

  ***

  Engineering

  Phoenix

  A few weeks ago when Aaron had told Master Chief Mick Garrett the ship belonged to him and he was just letting Aaron borrow it—that might have been a mistake.

  “You want to do what?” Garrett’s voice rose several octaves.

  “We’ll test the starboard point defense down the firing range,” Aaron said again.

  The USS had a live firing range with old hornet missiles set up a couple hundred thousand kilometers off vector, a ship would fly down the center relative, on the same plane of alignment and deploy its point defense.

  It wasn’t really intended to be used that way, but Aaron figured the best way to test the batteries was live. How would he know for sure the point defense system was fully repaired until he flipped the switch? You could only be ninety-nine percent certain. The one hundred percent came from the flipped switch.

  He wouldn’t take the ship into battle without that additional one percent.

  “No one does that, Commander.”

  “Hardly an argument when it comes to me, Mick. I’m told no one does what I do, ever. Besides, we’ll have the micro jump drive charged and standing by. In case of the less than one percent chance the batteries are defective.”

  “The batteries and the installation are fine, sir, I fabricated those things in the shipyard myself and supervised the repairs and refitting.”

  “Good, so you should be confident in your work then.”

  Garrett was about to answer, but stopped. He couldn’t argue with his own work being sound. The engineer walked away grumbling. Something about a reckless captain blowing up his ship.

  Aaron left engineering and checked his handheld. He pinged Rachael’s location.

  Now or never I suppose.

  Chapter 14-Never Alone

  “Who said I have anything to say?” - Lieutenant Rachael Delaine

  Phoenix, Docked

  USSF HQ

  Aaron rounded the deck to the gym. He didn’t know how long Rachael was there, hopefully no one else was. As he hesitated outside the hatch, she emerged and almost knocked him over.

  She held her forehead where it bumped his. “What are you doing standing by the hatch?”

  He rubbed his chin. “Strangely enough I was looking for you.”

  “Oh?”

  That seemed to please her.

  He took notice of her skintight exercise suit. Her hair matted to her forehead and strands floated wildly out of place. She caught him staring as usual. She smiled.

  His heart pounded. “You were heading back to your quarters?”

  She brushed the hair from her forehead “I was. Going to escort me?”

  “Sure.”

  They walked in silence along the deck to the lift. After they entered Aaron keyed the lift for the crew deck.

  Both of them stared straight ahead. Aaron looked around the lift.

  She laughed. “You’ve been in the lift a hundred times, what else is there to see?”

  “What? Ah, nothing. I’m just—”

  “You said you were looking for me, did you need something?”

  She turned to look at him and he turned to face her. From this distance she might see the veins pulsing in his neck.

  She was staring at him intently. “For a starship captain you sure are a shy one.”

  “Oh?”

  “Warping through the galaxy, dodging missiles and jumping off buildings, fighting Immortals—anything I missed?”

  “Fighting through hordes of Imperial troops aboard Imperial warships?”

  “And more I’m sure. Yet, you can’t come out and say what you want to say to me.”

  His face felt hot. “I don’t see you galloping out the gates to say anything to me.”

  She tilted her head at him. “Who said I have anything to say?”

  He stared back. His mouth hung open slightly. He hadn’t considered that she might not feel the same way. Definitely, she liked him—that much was probably certain. But was that the extent to her feelings? In contrast to his bumbling head over heels fool self.

  “I . . . you don’t? It always felt like—”

  She tip-toed and kissed him. It was gentle and loving.

  She leaned back. “Like I was saying, who said I had anything to say?”

  He still just stared like an idiot.

  She smiled. “That didn’t unlock your lips? Should I try again?”

  She kissed him again.

  “I’m never letting go,” he said.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Did you know how I felt?” he asked.

  She stared into his eyes. “If you think you’ve done your best to hide it, I’m afraid you’ve only hidden it from yourself.”

  “I’ve wanted to tell you for so long. When I saw you on the hangar deck before we entered the wormhole, I wasn’t sure what I felt. I knew you were someone I could never let go. But given what I thought at the time, I wanted to purge you from my mind.”

  “So that’s what you had to get off your chest?”

  He nodded. “The biggest part of it. Lately, I’ve been so consumed with doubt.”

  She searched his eyes. “About what?”

  “About everything. This command. Our missions. You. I’m not sure what I want. And I’m not sure what I don’t. What is there for us? We’re still just lucky to be on the same ship now. What if duty separates us?”

  He took her hands and held them in his. “What I’m saying is . . . I don’t want to be apart from you, ever. But where d
o we go from here?” He regarded her for a moment. “What do you want?”

  “I requested a transfer just to be here. I won’t say I wasn’t lured by the excitement I experienced on our mission to the Border Worlds. But it wasn’t the only reason I asked for the transfer. And any ship would have been glad to have me. Instead, I asked for this one. Luckily, my service to the Supreme Commander ensured a bit of a reward.”

  “He doesn’t know does he? About how I feel?”

  “I certainly haven’t told him. I didn’t know myself for sure what was going through that head of yours. I could only guess.”

  He remained silent.

  She tilted her head. “I could always technically switch back to civilian service and just make sure I’m your Intel liaison aboard the ship, to avoid any nasty regulations.”

  “No, you’re fine where you are.” He paused. “Do you want children?”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Moving kind of fast aren’t we? You go from barely able to have this conversation, to asking if I want children?”

  “You know what I mean, Rachael!”

  “Yes . . . but teasing you is fun. I’ve never thought of the future. Or that kind of future. I wouldn’t rule out anything. I’m not dead set against it. We live much longer lives these days. Who says I can’t have a child in twenty years? There’s even the option to freeze our . . . contributions and have a surrogate if needed. Shepherd and his wife had their first child when they were seventy! You’re barely pushing thirty-six and me thirty-three.”

  Age treatments ensured people lived longer in healthier circumstances. It was more the mind which broke down before the body these days. Wrinkles, brittle bones and other aging diseases weren’t an issue any longer.

  “Just as long as it isn’t something you’re totally opposed to. I mean, I don’t want to be locked in unless we know.”

  “Then I feel the same way. Now that you’ve crossed your hurdle, why don’t we let what happens, happen naturally?”

  He smiled. “Good advice. Sounds like something Max would say.”

  “Oh? That’s good then isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” he said. “But we keep this between you and me. No one else can know. It’s not like we’re having an affair or something, but we’re still on an assignment and—”

  “We’re both professionals and both adults. We’ll manage. I won’t tell anyone. Not anyone who doesn’t already know.”

  “I can’t imagine anyone knows anything.”

  A look of amusement splayed across her features. He didn’t know why and didn’t want to know. Ignorance is bliss.

  “Our secret’s safe,” she finally said. “Can I resume the lift and get out of these wet clothes now, Commander?”

  “Certainly, Lieutenant.”

  She kissed him again quickly. The lift stopped.

  The doors parted. Max stood rigid.

  “What in blazes happened to the lift? I summoned it ever since!”

  Aaron stared straight ahead. He dared not look at Rachael. “Minor malfunction, Max. You know, there’s another lift in the section over.”

  “I don’t use that one. Ever. It makes funny noises.”

  Rachael stepped past Max. “Doctor,” she said, with a curt nod.

  He nodded. “Lieutenant.”

  Max waited till she was out of sight.

  “So, have the two of you finished behaving like forbidden teenagers in love and finally thrashed things out?

  Aaron’s eyes narrowed. “Max, you’re scheduled for EVA training. I can prolong it or I can bump it up. Choice is yours.”

  Without further comment Max entered the lift.

  Chapter 15-Nefarious Intentions

  “Sounds more like some high-speed locomotive” – Platus Scipio

  Small craft docking bay

  USSF HQ

  Aaron paced the docking bay. The shuttle carrying Platus from Earth was due to dock at any moment. Had he made a mistake allowing the Imperial to visit Earth? Shepherd would think so. Surely, Platus was too intrigued by his ancestor’s wondrous birthplace to get caught up in any attempts at espionage.

  Aaron had made a mistake. Using his own values to judge Platus. But Platus wasn’t Aaron Rayne. Platus was a loyal Imperial citizen and a career operative. He’d opt for any opportunity to gather intelligence against anyone or anything, as long as it benefited the Empire now or in the future.

  The Empire must still have operatives on Earth. Undoubtedly, Shepherd had operatives roaming on Hosque and other places of interest throughout the Empire.

  What if Platus had met with an Imperial operative on Earth? Suppose there was key intelligence awaiting transfer to Hosque, and Aaron had now provided them the means? Platus was escorted for his own safety throughout, but the Imperial wouldn’t find it difficult to mitigate that. Something as subtle as a dead drop would escape any bored security officer. And Lee might have decided that if Aaron trusted Platus, then the Imperial couldn’t be so bad.

  The shuttle touched down on the deck. Platus disembarked, followed by Lee. The Imperial spy was smiling. Shepherd was going to rip Aaron in half and blow his remains out an airlock. Only one way to find out. Aaron was no spy. A direct approach was the only approach.

  “Met up with any of your old pals while on Earth?”

  “Pals? Oh you’re suggesting I had nefarious intentions.”

  He played Aaron’s favorite game. The coy game.

  “To you, Platus, they wouldn’t be nefarious—since they benefit you. I am suggesting you perhaps engaged in activities befitting your chosen career path.”

  “I hadn’t the time. I went to your water places.”

  “Water?” Aaron asked Lee.

  “He means the beaches, Commander.”

  “Ah . . . the beach.” An image of Platus sun tanning on a beach in the Caribbean floated in his head. Aaron chuckled. “Did you wear a speedo by chance?”

  Platus held a blank expression and looked at Lee who shrugged. He didn’t know either what a speedo was.

  “It’s a form of swim-wear,” Aaron said.

  “Sounds more like a high-speed locomotive.”

  “Didn’t see any old friends then?”

  “I saw plenty, Commander Rayne. We, meaning I, would be very interested to know what this weapon you call a dark-matter bomb is.”

  Aaron had no clue what it was. The only thing he was certain of was…

  Shepherd was going to kill him.

  ***

  Supreme Commander’s office

  USSF HQ

  When the Supreme Commander had finished using every swear word Aaron had ever heard—at least ten times each—he finally thawed.

  And by thawed, that meant his face was now a bright shade of pink, instead of the deep-red color it held minutes ago, when Aaron felt the SC might overheat.

  Shepherd flipped his antique wooden desk in a grand finale to his tirade.

  “Rayne.” The SC drew in a deep breath. “Aaron Tyler Rayne.”

  That was all the SC could muster. When Aaron attempted to say more, the SC launched into more swearing tirades. Aaron cringed under the barrage of expletives.

  The SC stood facing the observation port. Hands clasped behind his back.

  “We’re going over every single piece of surveillance footage we can find. So far nothing. No clue as to who he contacted or how.”

  Aaron swallowed hard. “Si—”

  “As you bloody well were! No one gave you permission to speak.”

  Aaron clamped his mouth shut.

  “You think the galaxy is your playground? Everyone is your friend? Save a man’s life, and he loves you forever? What were you thinking?” Shepherd held up a hand. “That wasn’t a cue to respond. Do you know what this might mean for the treaty? You’ve got a heart of gold, son, but you’ve done and continue to do very senseless things and make even stranger decisions. Why didn’t you ask a question first? All you know about Platus is he saved your life on Atlas.”

&n
bsp; There was a long silence. Aaron flashed back to his inquisition after Trident. His blood boiled. “I never asked for any of this.”

  “I said keep—”

  Aaron continued, rising to his feet. “How did I even get here? One mission to Atlas Prime, save the Border Worlds, save the United Systems. I was a starship captain, not a piece on a chess board to be played. You ever thought there might be a good reason I never qualified for covert operations? Did you ever think that it might just be too delicate for me? Reckless me? You’ve put me at the center of every major galactic shift in the past year and expected I should have an answer or solution for everything.”

  Shepherd raised an eyebrow. “Is this self-pity?”

  “This is introspection,” Aaron countered.

  Shepherd’s voice softened. “Aaron. I once told you that not only starship captains keep the universe a safe place. That we have people in places, on places, you’ve never heard of who work in secret to keep our grand alliance intact, do you recall?”

  “I recall.”

  “You are a part of that now. Certainly, I am angry. You did a stupid thing. I will get past it. I hope you do too. The damage is done. This was bound to come to the fore.”

  “May I ask then, sir, what is this dark matter bomb?”

  “Dark matter is hard to extract. It’s the reason we only have six dark-matter reactors. One on Phoenix, Valiant, Endeavor and three corvettes. It took us five years to process enough of it to power one reactor. I knew we’d never have enough to construct a fleet of starships. That’s why I decided to use these ships as covert operations vessels because of their extraordinary capabilities. A plan I have to say has worked to fruition.

  “As for the dark-matter weapon, our scientists theorized the exotic matter could be weaponized. It took a long time since the discovery of our dark matter source thirty years ago, to compile enough to create the weapon.”

  “And just how powerful is this weapon?”

  “It might be powerful enough to destroy half a star system. The advantage, if you want to call it that is, it won’t tear a hole in space and time. Unlike subspace weapons.”