by S. H. Jucha
“We get the idea. Thank you, Lieutenant,” Adrianna replied.
Alphons signaled the chief’s report to continue.
“If my trainee has replied properly, and I know she has, she’s demonstrated her awareness of the dangers of working in an active beam hull,” Teddy said. “Of the individuals I train in these hulls, less than twenty percent become crew chiefs who are given the responsibility to maintain our warships’ precious armament. Lieutenants Nata and Neffess have the skills to become two excellent crew chiefs. If they ever want the jobs, I’ll be happy to recommend them.”
As with most fleets, crew chiefs’ opinions carried weight, and Teddy Lassiter was known to be among the best.
“Captain Draken’s report is next,” Alphons said, and he initiated the playback.
Nata readied herself for the worst.
“My report will be brief, Admirals,” Petite said. “I thought taking on Lieutenant Nata for the trip to federacy space was a mistake, but I’m a captain not an admiral ... yet,” she added, with a grin. “My first impression of Lieutenant Nata was that she was arrogant, willful, and not likely to obey orders under pressure. I assigned her to Chief Lassiter as instructed and was happy to have her out of my hair for the trip’s duration. Surprisingly, Chief Lassiter took a liking to the lieutenant. Events have rapidly unfolded in the Talus system, and we’ve needed every available pilot. During these actions, Lieutenant Nata has performed adequately. I have to admit that I’m nervous every time I send her out.”
Nata released the breath that she’d been holding. She’d expected the worst. Instead, the temperature of the captain’s report turned out to be lukewarm.
Senior Captain Étienne de Long spoke after Captain Draken. He said, “I’ve not had much time with Lieutenant Nata. We know her to be a stellar pilot, who’s proven her abilities in many war games. Beyond that, her recent performance is best reported by others. However, I’d like the board to consider two things regarding the lieutenant. First, none of us have suffered as children as did the wild ones. They endured great hardships, struggling to survive. They can’t even say that they’ve had parents in the traditional sense. They’re copies of some long lost Earther colonists. These are difficult emotional challenges to overcome, and they must be taken into consideration. Second, borrowing a phrase from our overly large co-leader, I’ll lay you odds that Lieutenant Neffess has accompanied Lieutenant Nata to the review board hearing. I needn’t remind the admirals that Neffess is a queen’s heir. She’s been raised by Omnia’s dominant queen and the planet’s most successful wasat. Her judgment is crucial, and she’s remained a steadfast friend of Lieutenant Nata. I thank the admirals for listening.”
“That concludes the testimony of your superiors and associates, Lieutenant,” Ellie said. “Do you have anything to say before the board makes its recommendations?”
Nata rose from her seat, came to parade rest, and cleared her throat. “I realize my actions at Sawa were ill-considered,” she said. She wanted to point out that she didn’t ignore orders, but her friend had told her to drop that line of argument. “If given a second chance, I’ll seek approval from my superior before deviating from general directives. I hope I’ve demonstrated that through my work with Chief Lassiter and on assignments in the Talus system that I can be an asset to the fleet. Thank you.”
Nata started to sit, but she was interrupted by Ellie, who said, “One moment, Lieutenant.”
“Admiral?” Nata queried, while she stood and assumed a parade-rest stance.
“Who did we just hear?” Ellie asked. “You or Lieutenant Neffess?”
“My friend,” Nata admitted. “I find it difficult to come up with things like that.”
“I thought so,” Ellie said. “What do you want to say to the review board?”
“Apologies, Admiral, but I’ve been told by several others to keep my opinions to myself,” Nata replied.
“Do these individuals outrank me?” Ellie asked, with a lift of an eyebrow.
“No, Admiral, but I’d like to decline the invitation,” Nata responded.
“Too late, Lieutenant. You had the chance to remain silent, but you spoke and chose to quote your friend,” Ellie reminded Nata. “Now, we would like to hear your thoughts.”
Nata found her throat dry, but she managed to summon some saliva and swallow. Then she said, “I can’t promise that I won’t do something that disappoints my commanding officers. Sometimes, I don’t understand why you do things ... your strict adherence to orders and directives.”
After collecting her thoughts, Nata continued. “My time with Chief Lassiter confirmed one thing for me. When it counts, you’d better know what you’re doing. In combat, that’s the way I am. Meeting Ude helped me understand my temper. Thank you for arranging our meetings, Admiral Thompson. Ude’s changed so much. I would have thought his accident and subsequent disability would have made him angrier, but it hasn’t. I’m trying to learn from him. I know I’m a risk to the fleet. I accept that it’s my problem. If you believe I’m not worth the risk, then I’ve no one to blame but myself.”
Not knowing whether a response was forthcoming, Nata remained standing rather than take a seat. Finally, she heard from Admiral Thompson, who said, “Lieutenants, you may step into the corridor.”
When the door slid closed behind Nata and Neffess, Ellie leaned back in her chair. She stretched her legs, crossed them, folded her arms, and muttered, “That was unexpected.”
“Do you mean her honesty?” Alphons queried.
“Yes,” Ellie replied absentmindedly.
“If you two have differing recommendations, I’ll throw in my opinion,” Adrianna said. “Otherwise, I think I’m least qualified to comment on the lieutenant’s fitness.”
“Perhaps today, Adrianna,” Ellie said thoughtfully. “What if one day she’s a Trident captain or commodore in your command?”
“If she made it to one of those ranks, she’ll have proven herself, and I’d welcome her,” Adrianna replied.
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Alphons said. “We know she’s an exceptional fighter pilot. Somehow, I don’t think that’ll be enough for her. But if we think she’s not worthy of promotion, then we should cut her loose, while she’s young. It’ll maximize her opportunity to train in some other field.”
“Like tuning our Trident beams?” Adrianna asked, with a lift of an eyebrow.
“True,” Alphons agreed. “Can we afford a disgruntled ex-pilot in our beam hulls?”
“I’m thinking of Étienne’s words,” Ellie said. “What will it mean to the wild ones on Omnia if the first of them to reach pilot status is dismissed?”
“But is that our responsibility?” Alphons asked. “Should we take on the risks of keeping Nata for the sake of the wild ones?”
“You sound as if you’ve made up your mind,” Ellie said, turning her head to regard Alphons.
“I have,” Alphons replied. “I want to keep her.”
“Then what have been the numerous objections? A prosecutor’s advocacies?” Ellie asked.
“Yes,” Alphons replied, with a grin.
“Well, I share your opinion,” Ellie replied. “That’s not what’s been on my mind.”
“You’re wondering how to keep her on the track that she’s recently discovered,” Adrianna surmised.
“Yes,” Ellie replied. “I think the key is the present environment.”
“Petite and Teddy,” Alphons volunteered.
“Yes,” Ellie replied again. “Restore Nata to flight duty, but when she’s not flying, she’s working for Teddy.”
“Petite is going to love us,” Alphons pointed out.
“That’s the idea, isn’t it?” Ellie, said, winking at Alphons.
* * * * *
In the corridor, Nata was beaming. She didn’t care that she had been assigned split duties. Her f
light status had been restored. Until it happened, she hadn’t realized how badly she wanted to be forgiven and to fly again for the fleet.
Nata linked to the city-ship’s controller. She located Ude. He was still in the grand park, and she considered that he was probably waiting to hear the outcome of her review.
“Quick,” Nata said to Neffess, and she sprinted down the corridor for the nearest lift.
Neffess loped behind Nata. She was happy and concerned for her friend, but now wasn’t the time to share her graver thoughts.
Lift doors slid quietly aside, and Nata turned sharply to enter the lift.
Lydia detected Nata’s approach. She calculated the force of imminent impact, reached out her arms, and caught the lieutenant. They spun in a full circle to decelerate Nata’s speed.
“Congratulations on being restored to duty, Lieutenant,” Lydia said. She released Nata and exited the lift.
“Nice move,” Neffess commented, as the lift doors slid closed.
“It could have been worse,” Nata commented. “I could have run into a senior commander.”
When the lift doors opened on the grand park deck, Nata walked casually into the corridor, and Neffess chuffed in amusement.
Nata and Neffess found Ude playing with children. More correctly, the children were playing with him. He was on his knees and slowly changing the configuration of his avatar for their enjoyment.
When Ude detected Nata’s presence, he whispered to the children that it was time for them to go. Although disappointed, they hurriedly patted him and ran off.
As Ude stood, Nata gleefully cried, “Incoming.” Then she ran, jumped, and flung her arms around Ude’s solid metal shoulders. It hurt; and it didn’t.
For a moment, Nata was confused. She wondered if Ude was asking about his avatar, but that seemed too simplistic.
Nata’s elation faded.
Watching from a few meters away, Neffess saw Nata’s smile fade. She realized that someone else was asking her friend the tough questions.
Holding onto Ude’s forearms, Nata sent,
Nata deflated. Then she sat heavily on the grass.
Ude knelt beside Nata, and he signaled Neffess to join them.
“Ude is asking me about the admirals’ decision,” Nata said.
“You want to feel that you were exonerated, but you weren’t,” Neffess said.
“Yes,” Nata replied, glancing guiltily at Neffess and then Ude.
“What does the review board decision mean?” Ude prompted.
“I don’t know,” Nata replied, throwing up her hands in exasperation. “Sometimes, I don’t understand humans. Dischnya make more sense to me.”
“You’re a fighter pilot now, Nata. Is that all you want to be?” Neffess asked.
“For now, yes. Why? What do you want?” Nata asked.
“Fleet admiral,” Neffess quickly declared. She chortled at Nata’s shocked expression.
“So, what do you want, Nata?” Ude pressed.
“I was so desperate to fly a traveler and engage in combat that I never thought about afterward,” Nata replied.
“Do you think the admirals considered your future?” Neffess asked.
“Yes, they probably did,” Nata replied.
Ude laughed, and Neffess chuffed in scorn.
“Probably?” Ude queried, with a touch of sarcasm.
“Okay, they did,” Nata replied. “You’re saying their decision wasn’t about the events on Sawa, but whether I was of value to the fleet’s future.” She looked into Ude’s eyes and then Neffess’s. Neither spoke to her. Then simply nodded once.
“And they believe you have value,” Ude said. Then after a pause, he added, “Maybe.”
“Maybe,” Neffess echoed, “but the choice is up to you. It’s the difference between waiting your turn to enter a lift or dashing head long into a SADE.” She shared with Ude the image of Nata crashing into Lydia.
Ude politely refrained from laughing. Neffess and he had Nata thinking about her future, and that was what they wanted.
“You two know how to kill an emotional high,” Nata said. Her comment sounded sour, but her eyes reflected the pain of realization and the appreciation of friends.
Nata stood and kissed Ude’s cheek. When she turned toward Neffess, the Dischnya said decisively, “Don’t you dare,” and Nata and Ude laughed.
28: Final Discussion
While Nata and Neffess returned to their stations against the Kirmler battleship, Ude took Ellie at her word. He connected to the city-ship’s controller and requested the next transport planetside. He received a link to the bay and a notification that a traveler pilot would be waiting for him.
When Ude squeezed through the airlock, he was thankful to see the traveler was the cargo model.
“As if I have to notify a controller that the request is coming from me in my present circumstances,” Ude muttered. He’d been told repeatedly that a controller was one order below a SADE, only lacking the aspect of sentience.
Ude boarded the traveler via the rear ramp, took a position against the hull, and locked his avatar.
Instead of the pilot responding, a slender Méridien female exited the cockpit and stalked down the aisle toward him. She was less than two meters high, but that didn’t stop her from stepping purposely into Ude’s personal space and staring up at him.
“Are you attempting to make me look less than competent, Ser?” Petra, the pilot, asked. “You possess elevated transport status. That makes you important to the admiral, who indirectly is my superior.”
Ude couldn’t help but smile. He liked Petra’s fierce personality.
“Let me tell how this works, Ser,” Petra declared. “You tell me what’s your heart’s desire, and I make that happen. Are we clear?”
“I’ll try to be more appreciative of my status, Lieutenant,” Ude replied.
“Good,” Petra replied, backing off a bit. “Now, Ser, where would you like to go?”
“Take me to the polar region. I want to talk to Artifice,” Ude requested.
“Would you like me to wait while you converse with that ugly entity?” Petra asked.
“Yes, please,” Ude replied. “It would be a half hour at most.”
“Now, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” Petra inquired sweetly, although that wasn’t the sentiment in her green eyes. She spun on her heels and made for the cockpit.
Ude grinned widely. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed humans. His hatred of Artifice had consumed him and blinded him to the advantages offered by his rescuers, the Omnians.
Petra landed the traveler inside the dome at the polar region, and Ude followed the familiar route below.
pointed out.
Artifice replied.
Ude chuckled at the insidious game that Artifice played. The entity might take annuals, decades, or centuries, but eventually, the sisters would be convinced that Artifice was reformed.
Ude realized that his presence had been a small lifeline to Artifice. He was the only biological to visit the entity. The Toralians couldn’t communicate with Artifice. Ude wondered if and when they possessed implants whether they would even want to converse with the entity. As for the sisters, they were dedicated to their work, the replacement of Artifice’s memory banks.
Artifice sent Ude several more remarks and questions. The entity hung on Ude’s implant connection, knowing it meant he was still present in the cavern and hoping to entreat him to speak.
