Cruz motioned for Dani to hand him a box and she complied. He then passed it off to Zadria, who passed it to either Cassia or Howard depending on the contents. It only took a few minutes to empty the contents of the cruiser.
When Dani finally climbed out, everything was neatly sorted and stacked. “Nice work, team. Do you mind storing all of this while I hit the showers? It’s for everyone’s benefit... trust me.”
“I better go, too,” Jag said, following Dani before stopping and turning to Zadria. “I mean, to shower, alone, by myself, in a different stall of course.”
Dani rolled her eyes and shook her head, proceeding up to the main deck.
Once they reached the bathroom, Dani stepped into a private stall and turned on the water. The facilities in their cell on the Houston had provided the ability for them to clean themselves up a bit, but they hadn’t had access to the bathing facilities.
Advances in technology offered a variety of shower options on Osirion, but Dani still preferred a good old-fashioned water shower. There was something so soothing about the steady stream of warm water that helped her relax. She often did a lot of thinking in the shower and enjoyed the alone time.
As Jag started belting out a song in his own separate stall, Dani’s mind snaked back around to her strange dream. Not only did a complete stranger and a mysterious crewmember want her to visit that specific area of space, but now her own subconscious did as well. Dani stepped further into the water, letting it run down her face as she thought.
Dani had been to S802-P825-C1106-66d once, not long after the incident. Seeing the wreckage was enough to ensure she’d never return. As a result, she had spent the better part of her life avoiding that location, but now her curiosity was piqued once more. Since the scans hadn’t been updated, the only way to know for sure what was out there was to visit the area itself. However, it was so remote that any venture that direction would surely raise red flags.
Dani quickly washed, rinsing the conditioner from her hair just as the water clicked off. She dried her face and shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the coordinates. For all she knew, it could be a trap anyway.
Moments later, she was dried, dressed, and entering the bridge.
“Captain on the bridge,” Zadria announced, standing.
“Please,” Dani said, raising a hand. “That’s not necessary.”
She was thankful that she had broken the rest of the crew of their traditional GC formality training early on and hoped Zadria would soon follow suit. Dani always viewed her crew as her equals more than her subordinates, despite warnings that they would walk all over her. They never disobeyed a direct order without good reason, and Dani believed that was due to a mutual respect among them. When they had hesitated in the past, they’d typically had sound reasoning against her decision; however, they also trusted her to do what she believed was right.
Jag had already beaten her to the bridge and was fiddling with the controls on the holographic display, randomly shrinking and expanding the Houston as though it were a holographic yo-yo. Dani’s cocked eyebrow eventually caught his attention, and his hands slinked back from the controls.
“What’s next on the agenda?” Dani asked as she and Jag took their seats, her eyes glancing around the bridge.
“While you were in quarantine, they made a few improvements to the trackers,” Howard began. “They’ve adjusted the launch settings so the trackers will stay closer to Osirion, within the shields. They also amplified their signal considerably.”
Dani nodded. “Seems like good news.”
“The amplified signals now have the potential to get picked up by other ships, however.”
“I see.” Dani pursed her lips. “Well, if that’s a problem, we’ll handle it then. What else?”
Howard grinned. “They also gave us a drone to—”
“A drone, you say?” Jag perked up.
Howard glared at him for interrupting, then continued, “The drone will help us place the stabilization units. The idea is that together they’ll stabilize the entrance or exit of the wormhole, while acting as a door.”
“A door?” Dani wrinkled her brow in an attempt to wrap her mind around the science behind their function.
“If I may?” Howard had approached the display podium.
Dani nodded and leaned forward.
Howard brought up a holographic image of the wormhole they’d emerged from the previous day. “We’ll fly the drone around the perimeter of the wormhole’s entrance to place the SUs.”
“Wait.” Jag held his hands up and grinned. “Who will fly the drone?”
Howard sighed. “Me. I’ll fly the drone.”
“Oh.” Jag sunk back down in his chair, clearly unpleased with the answer.
“Go on.” Dani nodded back to the display.
“Anyway...” Howard hesitated, eyeing Jag momentarily before turning back to the display. “I’ll place the SUs around the mouth of the wormhole. The energy field they create will prevent the wormhole from collapsing in on itself while generating a conic shield. Only ships with the standard GC shielding frequency will be able to pass through. All others will simply be deflected around the entrance, hence the outward cone shape. Don’t want anyone slamming into it.”
“But, the GC shielding frequency changes often.” Cassia had her stylus and tablet out, jotting down notes.
“Yes, these will update the same way GC ships do.”
Cassia nodded, doodling wildly with one hand and absentmindedly scratching Carl between the ears with the other.
“They want us to place these on each end of the wormhole.” Howard blipped off the display as he finished.
“So, if I’m understanding this correctly...” Dani folded her arms over her chest, watching Howard return to his seat. “They’re wanting us to limit access to the wormholes for others?”
“Yes,” Zadria chimed in. “Wormholes are notoriously unstable, and we don’t know how long the SUs will be able to counteract that. We wouldn’t want a civilian ship to travel into a wormhole and get stuck... or worse. They also allow us to monitor which ships are using which wormholes, which is important on many levels.”
Dani’s eyes shot around to her, Cassia, then Jag, and finally landing on Cruz’s worried face. Her eyes lingered on his a moment and he quickly signed, “Later.”
Dani nodded and looked back toward Zadria. “When do we start the new protocol?”
Zadria smiled. “Now, actually. They want us to stabilize this end of the wormhole, then fly back through and do the other end with the improved trackers. Houston will be leaving as soon as I give them the green light. They’re going to use their FTL drive to try to meet or beat us to the other end.”
Dani smiled. “Sounds like a challenge. Wormhole versus a GC faster-than-light drive. I can see why they want us to succeed. Stable wormhole travel will be extremely beneficial to the GC, saving time and money spent on fuel as well as engine wear and tear.”
“Alright!” Jag hollered from his seat. “The race is on!”
Regret and worry spread across Zadria’s face at Jag’s enthusiasm before she nodded and wordlessly lowered herself into her chair.
Dani navigated Osirion closer to the wormhole as the bright flash of Houston’s departure filled the aft cam. “Alright, Howard, you’re up.”
Howard rose from his seat, retrieving the drone’s control interface from a cupboard.
Jag craned in his chair, attempting to get a better look at the device as Howard sat once more, locking the interface onto his console.
Once Howard was locked in, Dani focused her attention on the wormhole ahead. She absentmindedly watched the drone approach the mouth as she ran through the obstacles she remembered from her first pass. With the asteroid and the Raleigh out of the picture, she was confident that their journey would run smoothly.
As Howard carefully placed the SUs around the mouth of the wormhole, a red laser ran from device to device. Once they were all in place, they emitt
ed a second red beam out toward Osirion, casting a red, glowing cone. Dani was impressed with the technology and turned to Jag to find him still pouting. She shook her head with a smirk before looking back toward the red, web-like structure of lasers.
“So, what’s to keep someone from just taking one of those out and disrupting the whole system?” She flopped her wrist backward, finger extended toward the screen.
“The net can function with as few as three SUs. If someone were to take one or more of them out, the wormhole would become significantly less stable. If a ship were to attempt to enter the wormhole after disabling the net, then there’s a ninety-eight percent chance that it will collapse immediately.”
Dani nodded, trying to hide her concern with the system. It seemed like there were too many things that could go wrong. Hopefully, since Alaska’s Vengeance was still the only known spacecraft to survive a wormhole, attempts for wormhole travel would be minimal.
“SUs in place and the net is activated,” Howard stated with pride.
“Alright team.” Dani took one more look around the bridge. “Who’s ready to head back in?”
Chapter 3
“Jag, get those new trackers out there,” Dani ordered as she eyed the net of lasers wearily.
He grinned and took aim with his controls. However, rather than a burst and the deployment of a high-speed tracker orb, the ball merely exited and floated slightly away from Osirion. “Wait, that’s it?”
Howard snickered at his disappointment.
“Don’t forget the one in the back,” Zadria added.
“Already done.” Jag sighed and slumped into his chair.
“What?” Zadria looked at her console. “Oh, I didn’t notice.”
A deep chuckle rolled out of Howard, and Jag looked even more hurt.
Dani shook her head, trying to rid the smirk from her face. “I’m heading in.”
She slowly guided Osirion into the net of lasers and held her breath. Thankfully, the ship passed through them easily, the lasers acting as a mere lightshow on Osirion’s shields. Once the better part of the ship was inside the wormhole, the current took hold.
The second time through was much less challenging. Dani had a keen memory for where the obstacles lay. There was no blob, no Raleigh, and no difficulties on their journey back through. In fact, the crew seemed bored with the journey. Dani focused on the course ahead, but could see Jag spinning in his chair out of the corner of her eye. Cruz and Cassia seemed to be signing back and forth, but Dani didn’t want to eavesdrop and kept her eyes on the road.
They emerged from the other side with both tracking orbs intact.
“Looks like the adjustments to the trackers worked like a charm,” Zadria beamed.
Dani nodded. “Well done, but I don’t see the Houston.”
“Guess that means we won,” Jag said.
“By my calculations, it will arrive shortly,” Cruz signed.
“Alright, well, in the meantime, Howard... do your thing.”
Dani set the thrusters to hold them in place at the mouth of the wormhole so Howard could install the SUs on this end. “Zadria, keep an eye on things. Notify me immediately if anything changes. I’m running to the galley.”
“Yes, Captain,” Zadria said, standing and taking the captain’s chair.
Dani caught Jag’s puzzled eye and nodded for him to join her.
“Trying to keep me away from the helm?” Jag sounded annoyed as soon as the door to the bridge slid shut behind them.
“Of course not. I just want to hear your opinion on all of this.” Dani gestured over her shoulder to the bridge as they walked toward the kitchen.
“Well, I mean, the trackers aren’t as exciting now,” he complained as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
“What about the nets?”
Jag shrugged and poured a second cup, passing it to Dani. “Makes sense that they wouldn’t want anyone getting in there and getting hurt.”
“Maybe.” Dani nodded a quick thanks. “I just don’t know about this. The GC already controls so much. It just seems like another way to hold power over the people.”
“Don’t forget that we’re in the middle of a war. A quickly shifting war at that. They wouldn’t want civilians flying into the middle of a battle. You know how quickly the Vaerians moved into PS683.”
Dani cringed at the mention of PS683.
“Can’t say that I blame you, honestly. The GC ran you through the ringer,” he continued as he put his arm around her shoulders, giving a reassuring squeeze. “You’re bound to be a little paranoid, right?”
Dani sighed. “I guess.”
Jag immediately dropped his arm from around her as they heard footsteps approaching.
Dani rolled her eyes and grabbed a third cup, filling it as Cruz walked into the room.
“We have to talk,” he signed after taking a swig of coffee and setting the mug on the table. “I patched into the GC news transmissions while you were in quarantine. There have been some developments.”
“Go on,” Dani said, sliding into a seat at the table.
“The ship responsible for the destruction of PS683 was traced back to the rebel sector.”
Dani stared at him a moment, allowing the words to sink in.
“Wait,” Jag interrupted with a hushed voice. “So, it wasn’t Vaerian forces then?”
“No, it was a Vaerian ship, but it turns out it was stolen by the GC rebels.”
“How’d they piece that together?” Dani whispered.
“They caught a rebel spy who confessed.”
“How... convenient.” Jag’s eyes met Dani’s.
“So, let me get this straight,” Dani started. “The rebel sector has existed as long as I remember. They’ve never done anything like this before. Usually they’re just sabotaging ships and space stations, mildly annoying stuff. So how do they go from being a nuisance to destroying an entire planetary system and millions of innocents, not to mention a rebel refugee planet? That’s quite a leap.”
“Wait, there was a rebel planet in PS683? Why do you know this and I don’t?” Jag furrowed his brow.
“You learn things in prison.” Dani shrugged. “I don’t think the rebels would do this.”
Cruz shrugged. “I only know what was being reported. But, there’s more. They said Dani had joined the rebel sector and was working with them for the destruction of PS683.”
“Well, as far as they know, we’re all dead now. So, no harm done, right?” Jag grinned.
“Not exactly. As far as they knew, Cassia and I were still around, and Howard is off being ‘officially’ retired.”
“I can already see where this is going.” Dani rubbed her temples.
“Reports say we’re being brought in for questioning.”
“I guess we better have a chat with Patrick when he shows up then.”
Zadria’s voice rang out on the comm system, “The Houston has arrived.”
“Talk about timing,” Dani said as the three of them stood.
She briskly made her way back to the bridge after finishing her coffee, Jag and Cruz trailing behind.
“Net looks good, Howard,” Dani praised him as she took the captain’s seat once more. Zadria scuttled back to her station.
“Incoming transmission,” Cassia announced.
“Alright, half-screen please.” Dani sat up straight in her chair, waiting.
Patrick’s face filled the screen. “We need you to dock for immediate transport to the next mission location.” His face blipped away just as quickly as it had appeared.
Confused glances bounced from crewmember to crewmember as they all strapped in.
Dani maneuvered Osirion to effortlessly glide into its original docking bay. The launch propulsion system caught the ship as it gently slid in and lowered to the floor just before Dani engaged the localized gravity. As soon as Osirion was parked, Houston crewmembers flooded the hangar. Storage doors were opened, consoles rolled out, and lifts extracted crates and
approached Osirion.
Dani raised her eyebrows, visibly impressed with the pit crew–like choreography.
“Alright, crew, let’s go stretch our legs.” Dani stood and led the way off the ship through the loading ramp. As soon as she did, workers filled the ship and began checking their inventory with tablets in hand.
“Kind of nice that we don’t have to restock ourselves, but didn’t we just do this? Do we really need more stuff already?” Jag folded his arms over his chest and surveyed the activity.
Dani caught sight of the stars outside of the bay’s hatch as they streaked and blurred. The Houston was making a jump.
“Well done on securing your first target.” Patrick approached the group, arms out as a welcome.
“In a bit of a hurry, are we?” Dani nodded toward her ship.
“The next distance to the next wormhole exceeds Osirion’s jump capabilities. It’s more efficient for us to take you there, while we restock your ship.”
“We’re pretty well stocked already,” Jag mentioned as he watched another crate roll by.
“Yes, well, we want to make sure you have plenty of supplies in case you aren’t able to get back to us in a timely manner.”
Jag hesitated and studied Patrick’s face. “Planning for the worst, are we?”
“You know, you could just throw a better jump drive in there.” Dani folded her arms over her chest. “It’d solve the problem of us waiting around for you to find us.”
Patrick just stared at her in response before turning on his heel and walking away.
“So, do you suppose that’s a ‘yes’?” Jag asked from behind her.
“Highly unlikely,” Howard countered.
“I still don’t trust that guy,” Jag announced with a sigh.
Dani expected to have her idea shot down, especially with the recent developments of the alleged rebel ties; still, she had to ask. She also shared Jag’s sentiments about the suspicious overloading of supplies. She reached out and snatched a tablet out of the hands of a worker as he walked by.
“I need to make a few adjustments to the supply list,” she said as she glanced over the items.
The worker pointed her in the direction of his supervisor before going about his tasks.
The Complete First Season - Episodes 1-5 Page 21
