The four-four-three's icon was the most evil-looking human skull Sydnee had ever seen. And the image wasn't fixed; it was an animated 3D vid. Steam rose from the top of the skull, and the eye sockets glowed brightly with a luminescent green color. Every couple of seconds, small flames emanated from the rhinal openings to simulate exhaling while the skull appeared to laugh maniacally. This icon wasn't for ordinary inspections. The Marines usually left their helmet fronts blank for those. This was a game mask for when the unit went into battle. Its presentation showed that she had been officially accepted as one of the team rather than simply being viewed as just another stick jockey. The presentation represented a great honor and she was appropriately pleased for having received it.
Sydnee had just started to peel off the padded suit she wore under the armor when she received a call via her CT.
"Marcola," she said after touching her ring.
"Lieutenant," she heard the fourth officer say in his capacity as acting first watch officer, "report to the Captain's briefing room on the double."
"Understood. Marcola out."
Sydnee peeled off the rest of the padded suit and pulled on her uniform. She took a few seconds to make sure she was presentable enough for a visit to see the Captain and then hurried to the bridge.
The briefing room door opened when she arrived without her even having to request admittance. It was not a good sign. Sydnee walked to the Captain's desk and braced to attention.
"Lieutenant(jg) Marcola reporting to the Captain, as ordered," she said.
Lidden looked up from his com screen and stood up. He came out from behind the desk and stood on Sydnee's right side.
"Lieutenant," he said loudly into her right ear, "you're lucky."
Sydnee didn't reply.
"You're lucky because if there was a worse place to land than this one, you'd already be on your way there."
Sydnee remained quiet but couldn't help thinking that already being posted to the worst ship in the fleet wasn't much of a consolation.
The Captain continued, this time even louder. "You were privileged to attend a meeting with an ambassador from a foreign nation, and what do you do? You shoot the Ambassador's bodyguards and make him and the Captain of the ship believe they're next. I've never been so ashamed of the actions of any officer in my command. I've filed a full report on the incident. Once SHQ reviews it, you might find yourself sitting dirt-side on some obscure moon for the rest of your time in Space Command. In any event, it's unlikely you'll ever get either promoted or posted to any ship other than the Perry. That's all, Lieutenant. Dismissed."
Sydnee saluted, turned on her left heel, and left the office. She didn't make eye contact with anyone on the bridge and went straight to her quarters. It was likely that the entire crew already knew the story and the bridge crew probably deduced that she had just been reamed out by the Captain. Within a few hours, everyone aboard would know.
Once back in her quarters, she stripped down to her underwear and climbed into her rack. She felt that perhaps sleep would help take the edge off what had just transpired.
* * *
Sydnee awoke two hours before her watch. She didn't feel any better than when she had gone to sleep, but she got up, showered, and walked to the officers' mess to get a meal before it was time to go on duty.
After selecting her food from the available assortment, Sydnee looked for a free table where she could eat alone. There were none to be had, but the bulkhead-mounted counter with several stools was empty, so she headed for that.
"Lieutenant, take a load off," a voice said as she passed a table occupied by one Marine officer. Sydnee looked down and saw Marine First Lieutenant Kelly MacDonald gesturing to the chair across from where she was sitting. Sydnee hesitated for a second, then sat down.
"Bad day, eh?" MacDonald said as Sydnee began eating.
"You could say that."
"I hear the Captain probably leveled both barrels."
"Yeah," Sydnee said with a grimace. "And then reloaded for another round."
"Don't let it bother you. He does that to everyone occasionally. It doesn't mean too much. He's trying to keep us on the straight and narrow."
"It might mean more this time. He told me that after SHQ reads his report I might wind up dirt-side, permanently, for shooting the two guards."
"As I heard it, they deserved it."
"Yeah, they did, but you're not supposed to give it to them because they were on a diplomatic yacht."
"I would have made sure the bastards never got up again," MacDonald said. "What's the Captain going to do about the Raider slaves?"
"He says there's nothing he can do. Inside the dip ship is considered Clidepp Empire space."
"It ain't right."
"No, it isn't. I wish Admiral Carver were here. She'd know what to do."
"Sounds like you've met her."
"Not personally. She gave a speech at NHSA when I was a senior."
"Wish I'd been there. She talked at SHSA also, but I had already graduated the previous year and was at the Marine Officer Institute."
"I have a recording of the NHSA speech on a data wafer," Sydnee said. "You're welcome to come view it sometime."
"Thanks. I will. So what are we going to do about the slaves?"
"What can we do?"
"I heard there were six of them."
"The woman who asked the Captain for help and got zapped by one of the guards said the Ambassador has eighteen female slaves."
"The pig."
"Yeah, but he's a diplomat so he's untouchable."
"The women aren't diplomats. They're not untouchable."
"But they're stuck inside what's defined as Clidepp space," Sydnee said.
"If we could get them to abandon ship, they'd be back in GA space."
"Yeah, but how do you get the Yolongi to abandon ship without firing on them and starting a war?"
"It might be worth it to get all our people back."
"There must be a way without starting a war."
"If you find one, I guarantee you won't have to look far for support. Every Marine on this ship will back your play."
"Thanks. I don't have a clue right now. But we have five days to come up with something. That's the minimum time they think they'll need to complete their repairs."
"Even if they can't fix their temporal drive generator, they won't leave their ship. They'll simply wait for another Clidepp ship to come get them."
"It's too bad the rebels didn't damage the ship just enough to force them into life pods. If we picked them up and brought them into the Perry, they'd be in GA space."
"Yeah."
"Well, I'd better get up to the bridge. Third watch will be starting soon. Goodnight, Lieutenant."
"It's Kel. Or Mac if you prefer."
Sydnee smiled. "Thanks, Kel. I'm Syd."
"Syd, you should come down to the Combat Range sometime."
"That's 'Marines Only,' isn't it?"
"Usually, but certain Spaccs have been welcomed there at times. You have a standing invite anytime you want to see how we train."
"Thanks, Kel. I will."
"Have a better one, Syd."
The third watch was quiet. Talk was subdued, no doubt because of Sydnee's censure by the Captain. In all likelihood, everyone supported her actions, but they couldn't say that on the bridge without it becoming part of the official bridge log record, so everyone remained mum on the subject.
Sydnee, as navigator, had nothing to do as the Perry simply stood guard over the damaged Clidepp ship in case the rebels came back. Usually she was assigned to a tac station once the ship came to a halt unless she was required to act as shuttle pilot, but perhaps Lidden felt she might lose control and fire on the dip ship if she was seated at a weapons console.
The yacht was brightly illuminated while work parties of engineers in EVA suits toiled to repair the generator. Since there was no nearby sun, the lights would remain on twenty-four hours a day GST until the wo
rk was complete. It made the ship an easy focus for Sydnee's attention on the huge monitor at the front of the bridge. Try as she might to develop a strategy for freeing the Terran women slaves, she continued to come up dry.
* * *
Two days following the incident on the Darrapralis, Kelly MacDonald contacted Sydnee just after she came off watch.
"Hi Syd, the range is currently available if you want to give it a go."
"I'd love to."
"Great. Slip into your armor and come on down. I'll be waiting for you.
Sydnee hurried to her quarters and donned her personal body armor before heading down to deck two, frame section twelve. She didn't bring any of her weapons.
The sign on the door said 'Marine Personnel ONLY,' but Sydnee stepped up to the door without seeking additional authorization. As the door slid open, she saw Kelly sitting on a wide padded bench just inside the room, talking to another Marine officer.
"Hi, Syd," Kelly said. "Come on in. Meet Lieutenant Aguilo. He functions as our range officer down here."
Aguilo extended his hand and said, "Martin."
Syd took the hand, smiled, and said, "Syd."
"Welcome Syd. We have the range set up for 'recruit level.'"
"Is that the lowest level?"
"Well, actually we have one lower, but we reserve that for visiting flag officers."
"Ever have one use it?"
"No, we don't see many flag officers on the Perry. But if we ever do get one, he or she is guaranteed to get a fantastic score on our range."
Sydnee smiled and nodded. "What's the usual average score for recruits?"
"First timers typically score in the one-hundred point range."
"Out of a possible…?"
"One thousand. It's just the newness of it all. First timers don't know what to expect and are slower to react until they get a few games under their belt and know what to look for."
"Here's your pistol, Syd," Kelly said as she held out a laser pistol.
As Sydnee took the weapon, she said, "You use live pistols?"
"It's a real pistol that's been modified. The laser pulse looks real, but it wouldn't cut through a sheet of paper. The internal circuitry has been modified to make it completely harmless. There's a red 'X' under the bottom of the grip so we can ensure someone isn't using a real pistol by mistake. Of course, if they did, alarms would sound from ten different points on the range. Come on, I'll show you the course."
Kelly led the way to an area that looked large enough to house a dozen full-sized shuttles. It was divided into two separate combat courses. The first resembled a bombed out town and the other resembled two acres of jungle. Some sort of polymer-ceramic molding process had been used to fashion buildings, trees, boulders, terrain formations, and even the enemy combatant dummies.
Noticing the expression on Sydnee's face, Kelly said, "The ship's engineers helped us remove a number of bulkheads between old storage holds that weren't being used and reinforce the frame sections so they were as strong as before. I'll put the courses into 'exhibit' mode and we can do a walk-through."
Once in exhibit mode, all targets appeared in the open as someone approached their location. In the two-acre town, assailants appeared on rooftops, in windows, behind vehicles, and could even pop up from sewer openings. In the jungle course, they appeared from behind trees, up in the trees, from behind fallen logs or boulders, from a watery swamp pit, and even from camouflaged holes dug in the ground.
"For each hit, you get points. If you hit a vital area, you get the max points and the target drops. It won't appear again. If you don't hit a vital area, it'll drop and may or may not pop up again. You get fewer points for the non-vital hits based on the place where the beam strikes. Targets move around, so you can't depend on them appearing where you see them now. And this course differs from the old-style courses in one important way. Here, the targets shoot back."
"With real weapons?" Sydnee asked jokingly.
"Of course not," Kelly said with a chuckle. "We'd lose far too many recruits if it was that realistic. Their lasers do emit a beam, but it's as non-lethal as the one from your weapon. There are cameras mounted all over the course, and a computer scores any hits the targets make on your armor according to the location of the hit. The weapon is fixed in the target so the entire target has to change position to fire unless it's waiting for you to move into its sights, so you have a good chance to avoid being struck if you notice the movement or see it before it fires. Each time the target hits you, you lose points."
"So you can actually have a negative score?"
"Sure, if you're slow or a lousy shot. I don't think you're either."
"Thanks."
"If you think you're ready, we'll return to the starting line and see how you do as a first timer. Of course, you have a slight edge over new recruits."
"Do I? What is it?"
"You're familiar with wearing your armor from having been on a number of interdiction runs."
"That's true. At first I felt really clunky. But now, I don't even think about it. How come you don't use holographic projections for the enemy combatants?"
"Mainly because the projectors can give away the location. Also, the bodies of holographic images always have that sort of translucent, vapory look. We prefer the solid appearance, even if the dummy's mobility is more limited. It seems much more lifelike and realistic."
"Okay, that makes sense."
"Ready to start?"
"I'm set. Oh, wait! How much time do I have to complete the course?"
"As much as you want— up to an hour. There's a points penalty for going too slow, and it gives your enemies more time to arrange ambushes. Enemies that you only wound can move ahead to meet you again at a different place. That's all controlled by the computers based on established algorithms. But if you go too fast, you might take more hits because of rushing. It's just something you have to work out for yourself."
Kelly walked to a console table and began entering some parameters for the contest as Sydnee looked on. "The time of day is automatically set to noon for this level of play." Lightly pressing a large green button, she said, "Okay, the clock will begin as soon as you move into the range, Syd. Have at it."
Sydnee smiled and pulled on her helmet. As soon as it self-sealed to her body armor, she moved forward into the bombed-out town. She hadn't gone more than five steps when a gunman popped up on the roof of a two-story building. She caught the movement with her peripheral vision and had a bead on him before he could fire. When she fired, he either dropped or fell backwards out of sight. Sydnee was fairly confident that it was the latter. She felt really good about her first 'kill,' but things went downhill a bit fast after that. It always seemed like there were two or more gunmen jumping up at the same instant and she was kept busy firing and dodging fire. Often one gunman would hit her while she was dispatching the other.
The course ended back where it started. Kelly was at the console, waiting for Sydnee.
"Well, how did it go?" Kelly asked.
"You tell me."
"I mean, did you have fun?"
"Um, yeah, it was exciting. And challenging."
"You haven't seen anything yet. You were only getting the recruit-level combat."
"How much worse can it get?"
"You'll see."
"Come on. Give me a clue."
"Okay. There are tiny holes in the deck that eject streams of dirt while buried speakers provide noise and lights flash to simulate explosions. It gets pretty intense when you're trying to watch for assailants."
"Wow. Um, how bad was my score?"
"Your score was great. At three hundred forty-six, it's way above the average first-timer. Have you ever used a combat range before?"
"No, not a combat range. But I used to spend a lot of time on the firing ranges at NHSA and the WCI. The targets were always stationary, but I practiced my marksmanship religiously. One of my instructors at the Academy was a devotee of the quick-draw tacti
cs and had won several competitions. He taught me everything I know, such as how to shoot from the hip. Most Space Command personnel raise the weapon to eye level before firing, but that wastes a lot of time."
"So that's how you beat those guards to the draw?"
"I'm sure it helped. The standard issue flap holster of the uniform makes it difficult. I prefer just a narrow strip that snaps down to hold the pistol in the holster, then moves out of the way when you need to draw your weapon quickly."
"But you managed it anyway."
"I guess I was motivated. You should have seen that poor woman and the way she was writhing in pain on the floor."
"I wish I had been there— with a real laser pistol. Those guards would never have attacked an innocent again."
"No you don't. It would mean you never get off the Perry. Or you might wind up dirt-side like me."
"Trust me. It would have been worth it."
Chapter Nine
~ Feb. 1st, 2285 ~
"The report from the Captain of the Perry is next," Admiral Moore said to the other admirals sitting around the large table in Admiralty Hall. "As far as I know, the Clidepp Empire hasn't filed a complaint with the GA Council. At least not yet."
"Nor will they, I believe." Admiral Bradlee said. "The Clidepp Empire has always denied that any of their citizens have purchased slaves from the Raiders. Now we learn firsthand that not only have those denials been false, but that at least one high-ranking member of the government has owned Terran slaves for decades. Perhaps the Ambassador felt that the Captain would fail to report a breach of protocol by one of his crew in order to avoid possible censure. Captain Lidden has always been a by-the-book officer, so he would report it even if he had been personally responsible."
"I wish we had a vid of the episode," Admiral Plimley said. "It's too bad it took place on the Clidepp ship instead of inside a conference room on one of our ships."
"The report is pretty complete," Admiral Moore said, "but a log vid from a perspective that allows us to see all participants to this event would ensure that we are basing our decision on precise information. However, we do have the feed from the helmet cam of the young officer involved in the shooting incident. After the Terran slaves carried food and beverages to the meeting, one broke ranks and appealed to Captain Lidden as a Space Command officer to help her regain her freedom. The guards immediately punished the woman for speaking out by shocking her through the Raider detention collar that was locked around her neck. The lieutenant accompanying the Captain shouted for them to stop their torture. The Ambassador's guards took the shout as a hostile act and started to draw their weapons. The lieutenant was faster and dropped them both before they could fire."
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