by James Palmer
“Aye, Captain. Altering course and speed.”
“Thank you. Also, at your earliest convenience, have a call placed to Captain Virginia Harmon on the Pegasus. I believe you will find her docked at Bridger Station.”
“Yes, sir.” A pause, and then the commander added, “Anything else, Captain?”
“Secure channel please, Mr. Maddox. I’d like to chat with her off the record.”
“Understood.”
After the communications channel clicked off, he said to the blank screen, “I have a very difficult duty to attend to.”
The Ulysis altered course on a direct line toward the Sol sector.
And the planet Earth.
12
Alliance Starship Pegasus
Virginia Harmon was in the gym when the call finally came in from the Ulysis.
She had decided this would be the best time for a workout. With half of her crew yet to report for active duty and she with too much time and worry on her hands to do anything constructive she needed something to keep her mind occupied.
In an attempt to burn away the pain and aggravation she had been feeling since hearing of her friends death, she made her way to the gymnasium on deck four. Not only was Franklin Thorne a friend, but also her mentor as well. News of his death had been a crushing blow, but as she had been trained to handle a crisis, she let the captain aspect of her persona out of its shell to handle it.
But that was not the hardest part.
Naturally, she had inquired after the death of her soon to be Chief Engineer as any good captain would. Unfortunately, all she had been able to get from office of UPA official military records were clinical facts, vague replies, and half answered double talk. It was, to say the least, frustrating.
In her eagerness to uncover the truth, she had stepped over a couple of individual’s heads. While she was aware that such actions could possibly cause problems later, at the moment she really could not give a damn about her career or anything else aside from finding the truth about her friend’s murder.
That part had been conclusive from the beginning. Franklin Thorne was dead because someone out there wanted to kill someone. There were no hidden reasons or agendas, nor were there cries of vengeance. No one had stepped forward to claim that they had committed this cowardly act. No one to step forward to take responsibility for this life that, to them was little more than a senseless target. To Captain Harmon and Chief Thorne’s family he was the most important treasure in the cosmos. A treasure that could not bear a price tag.
As a last ditch maneuver she had contacted the commanding officer of the Ulysis, Captain William Andrews, directly for answers.
What she got was the first officer, a Commander Jonathon Maddox, a man with impeccable skills of deflection. He had terminated the transmission with a promise that Captain Andrews would get back to her at his earliest convenience. After all, the captain of the flagship of the United Planetary Alliance was undoubtedly a very busy man.
Or else he simply didn’t want to talk to a rookie captain her first day on the job.
Whatever the reason, she had waited patiently for the first hour, then she paced her way through the second hour. After that she felt a deep desire to hit something, so after a quick change of clothes and a brief stop at communications, Harmon was off to the gym.
And there she remained until the call came in.
Her body has already begun to ache, but she forced herself to press on. She channeled the pain, allowing it to push her further and further until her arms threatened to tear themselves from their sockets. The only thing that she planned to stop for would be--
“Captain Harmon?”
--a summons from communications. Perfect timing.
“Harmon here,” she answered between gasps for air.
“I have a secure channel communiqué from Captain William Andrews of the Ulysis.” The junior officer maintaining the comm board seemed almost nervous as she spoke. Not surprising since communications was not the officer’s regular duty, but Harmon needed someone to man the station and she was the first person the captain saw. A quick training lesson and the junior officer was able to accept and transfer the incoming transmission. Harmon made a mental note to thank this officer later.
“I believe this is the call you were waiting for, ma’am.”
“Secure channel? Captain’s eyes only.” Harmon looked up almost as if it is possible for her to see through the decks above her to the bridge. “Why the security?”
“I do not know, Captain.” She paused and Harmon could hear a clacking of keys over the speaker. “Where would you like me to route the message, Captain? The gym?”
“My office,” she said. “Tell them I’ll be there in two minutes.” The last thing Harmon wanted was to have this conversation in workout clothes and dripping sweat.
“Yes, sir.”
It took almost the entire two minutes to get from the gym to her office just off to the right of the bridge. The secure elevator lift to her office expedited the trip. The private elevator also insured that the captain did not have to stroll across the bridge in her sweaty workout clothes.
She entered her six-digit code and the door to her new office slid open. There was still a good bit of unpacking to do. She should have been in there attending to setting up shop instead of ‘hitting something.’
The secure channel indicator blinked steadily on her desk. As she entered the room she leaned over and entered her six-digit code again. The captain waited impatiently as the thumb scan verified her identity. Seconds after confirmation, the blank screen was replaced by the image of an older gentleman in a UPA military uniform. The blue jacket was buttoned to the neckline, which she found terribly uncomfortable.
“Captain Andrews?”
The older man shot her a sideways smile. “One moment please, Captain Harmon.” The screen reverted once again to black and she found herself waiting again. The older man had apparently been on communications duty and was not the captain.
After what seems an eternity, the black screen was once again replaced. This time the image was of a middle-aged man with a very defined receding hairline. The part of his head that was home to hair was graying. He looked to her as if he were carrying the weight of the galaxy on his broad shoulders. She assumed this was the Ulysis’ captain.
“Captain Andrews?” she asked again.
The man on the screen nodded. “Captain Harmon. A pleasure to finally meet you. Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, but you know how hectic things can get out here in the middle of nowhere.”
“Yes sir,” she agreed. “Have you any news for me about my… er… Chief Thorne?”
If Andrews noticed the slip in her formality, he did not acknowledge it. That earned him two more points of respect in her book.
“I’m afraid I don’t have much in the way of news for you.” He told her, looking apologetic. “I can tell you what I know for a certainty. It’s not much I’m afraid, but a little news is better than none, I would think.”
And the two captains began talking.
For well over two hours the two of them discussed many things, not the least of which was the loss of a regarded UPA Engineer or the thrill of Harmon’s first command. They talked about any subject that happened to come up. When all was said and done, they had gotten to know one another fairly well. Captain Harmon had been worried about how other flag officers would respond to her now that she was technically a peer by virtue of rank, but still a novice in experience, but after talking with Captain Andrews, she felt a little more at ease.
After signing off, Harmon stood and stretched out the sore muscles her workout had produced. Walking around the luxurious office that had been assigned to her she let herself smile. For the first time since she heard the terrible news about her friend, she allowed herself to be happy. She would miss Franklin Thorne. No matter what else happened she would always wish he could be there to see her as a starship captain.
He would have
been proud.
Of that she had no doubt.
The man had been her friend, a surrogate father, a staunch supporter, a shoulder to cry on, a counselor, and at times he could be the swift kick in the butt that she needed to complete what she had started. He was the great motivator. There was no doubt all that knew him would miss him.
In the darkness of her office, Captain Virginia Harmon said farewell to her best friend and cried.
“I must look a sight,” she said quietly to the empty office after a few minutes. It was true. She was sweaty and puffy around the eyes from the tears. Plus, she was still wearing her workout clothes. Her close cropped black hair clung to her head from the sweat of the workout, all matted and tangled. Waves of remorse washed over her as the realization sat in that she had been talking to a very influential UPA officer via subspace communiqué. And she looked like this the whole time.
And to his credit, the captain of the Ulysis had not said one word about her appearance, bless the man. He seemed a good, caring soul. She hoped that one day she and he could meet face to face. That meeting would, of course, be in better attire. Something more suited for the captain of a starship in the UPA military.
She had been crying and was tired, which led to slouching. Everything a captain of an Alliance starship was not supposed to be.
She flopped back into her comfortable chair, staring out her window at Space Lab in orbit around the Earth. It was truly a beautiful sight hanging there in the darkness, surrounded by stars. It reminded her of a shimmering beacon against the inky backdrop of space. Relaxed, she absorbed the intricacy of the space station.
For just a brief moment all of the details were in perfect focus. Then, as if by magic, there was nothing but stars as the space station turned once more on its axis. She watched the station rotate several more times. It came into view then vanished in succession three more times before exhaustion tugged at her eyelids.
Surrounded by darkness, Virginia Harmon slept.
13
Alliance Starship Pegasus
Ronald Mowen was nervous.
The first officer of the starship Pegasus was just getting ready to go off duty when the call from the Ulysis arrived for the captain. He paid careful attention as the young lady at the communications station routed the high priority call to Captain Harmon. After a brief chat with Harmon, the temporary comm officer then dispatched the message directly to the captain’s office as per her orders.
The officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade Dagmar Andersen had been the model of efficiency since being summoned to the bridge to take over a station she had not been trained to operate. Despite the unorthodox position change, she was handling her new duties well. Even more impressive was the fact that Lt. Andersen was not a communications rated officer, but a certified diagnostic technician. Harmon had picked her out of a group of officers for what she had called ‘a bit of cross training.’ While not uncommon, it was highly unusual while in dry dock.
Mowen gave her a quick smile as he passed her on his way to the elevator. He stopped, waiting for the door on the lift to open. “If the captain, or anyone, needs me,” he said, turning back to face her. “I’ll be in the docking bay. I’m expecting a package and I’m not sure I trust the shuttle pilots to be careful enough with my personal belongings.”
“I understand, sir,” Lt. Andersen said.
“Good. I’m on comms if you need me,” he said with a nod as the lift doors opened and he stepped inside. He was still smiling when the doors closed.
Once alone in the lift, however, the commander’s smile faded, only to be replaced by an awkward grimace. He depressed the button that identified his intended destination. It was exactly as he told the junior lieutenant on the bridge. He was headed for the docking level, more specifically, docking bay one.
He had left that little tidbit of information out of his statement to the communication’s officer. Docking bay one had been completely stocked. As far as everyone was concerned, it was finished, completely packed, and ready for launch. There would be no one around, which suited Mowen just fine. What he had to do now required secrecy and quiet planning away from prying eyes. He understood his duty, what he needed to do forward and backward. The plan had been proceeding apace until today.
“We have a problem,” he said aloud once the docking bay doors closed behind him, sealing him inside the cavernous room.
He had not expected his new commanding officer to report for duty ahead of schedule. That one unexpected factor had made the plan more difficult, but still manageable. Mowen was a master of improvisation. With only a few minor adjustments, he had everything was back on schedule.
As a precaution he had run the captain’s record after she had arrived earlier than planned. He had been nervous, to be certain, but after reading her service file the first officer of the Pegasus was down right petrified.
“She’s a damned pilot,” he called out to the shadows. If anyone had seen the commander, they would simply think the man was talking to himself. Another good reason to visit the empty docking bay.
When no one answered him, he began to pace.
“Did you hear what I said?” the first officer shouted to the room.
“I heard you.”
“Where the hell have you been?” Mowen barked, his face flushed with anger.
“Calm yourself my friend,” a voice answered from the darkness.
“That’s easy for you to say,” Mowen countered. “You’re not the one who...”
“I’d advise you not to finish that statement, Commander.”
“I-- I’m sorry,” Mowen said nervously. “I’m just a little on edge.”
His partner slowly walked forward from behind a stack of plasticine crates until they each could barely make out the other’s features in the low illumination of the closed and darkened space of the fully stocked docking bay. “Don’t be nervous,” the newcomer advised.
“But this throws the plan off!”
“Do you honestly think we wouldn’t have contingencies in place in case something went awry?”
“Awry? Oh, I think we’ve gone well past awry!”
“Calm down, Ronald.”
“Stop telling me to calm down!” he yelled. “I am calm!” Realizing that someone might hear despite the sealed pressure door, Commander Mowen lowered his voice to a high whisper. “At this very moment she is having an ‘eyes only’ chat with Captain Andrews of the Ulysis via subspace communications.”
“Really?” Mowen’s co-conspirator said as if it wasn’t all that important a detail. “That’s interesting.”
“Interesting? Is that all you’ve got to say?”
“What would you like me to say, Ronald?”
“Could they know?”
“Doubtful,” his co-conspirator answered, quickly growing tired of Mowen’s whining. “Captain Harmon is useless to the plan. However, her piloting skills do, as you say, throw the plan off balance.”
“So what do we do?”
“We restore balance.”
“And just how do you propose we do that?”
“With you and the captain being the only pilots aboard ship she can send you out to stop the plan. We can’t have that. I… we need control of this ship. Am I understood?” his partner asked, voice lowered in volume. The intensity of the message came through loud and clear.
As did the threat it contained.
“You’re going to kill her?” Ronald asked the question, but decided he really didn’t want to know the answer. He noticed for the first time that he was sweating profusely, which was unusual for him. Plus, his hands, normal steady, had started to shake. Why? he wondered. He certainly he had nothing to fear from his comrade in arms.
Or did he? Mowen was starting to realize that he could just as easily become a loose end that his comrade would need to tie up. He had his own reasons for going along with the plan, but at the end of the day he really didn’t know a lot about his newfound friends. He was beginning to wonder if he cou
ld actually trust them.
“Relax, Ronald,” his co-conspirator said, stepping closer. The first officer couldn’t help but notice the predatory smile, which only added to his nervousness. “I can’t just murder the captain of an Alliance starship now can I?”
“N… no. I guess not.”
“Of course I can’t, Ronald. Don’t be stupid.”
“Sorry.”
“Besides, killing a starship captain would bring the accursed marshal’s office into this. In a matter of hours this entire quadrant would be locked down. That would end our little coup real quick, now wouldn’t it?”
“Yes. I guess so,” the commander said, his throat suddenly very dry. “So what do we do?”
“Well,” his mysterious contact seemed to think it over. “I guess I’ll just have to get rid of you and move on to Plan B.”
A silent second passed between them. Mowen’s throat tightened as he waited for the punch line although some small part of him knew this was no joke. “I’m sorry... what?” he managed to choke out.
“I told you. We have contingencies. This is one of them.”
“But I’m on your side,” Mowen sputtered.
“And we appreciate your loyalty, but we can’t allow our personal feelings to jeopardize the plan, Ronald. You know this is bigger than any one of us.”
“No!” Mowen pleaded. “No! You can’t!”
His co-conspirator moved with a speed that the first officer found astounding. Were he not the intended target of the attack, he would probably have been impressed. He tried to scream, but a hand clamped down on his throat like a vice, cutting off much needed oxygen to the brain.
Commander Ronald Mowen heard a loud SNAP! as his neck was broken, but oddly there was no pain. There was nothing left at all except the darkness.
“No hard feelings eh, Ronald?” Mowen’s killer said softly while watching the lifeless body of the Pegasus’ first officer slump to the floor.
Of course there was no answer.