by Saxon Andrew
The portrait appeared on the monitor and they stared at it for several minutes, before Tal squinted and said, “There is a small metal bar on the bottom of the frame; see if you can enlarge it.” Indie turned to the console and the metal bar began growing larger. Finally, it resolved, and they read, ‘Phase Field Pioneer’. Tal shook his head, “Indie, if this is right, you are going to be the spitting image of Nordstrum Haliday.”
Indie’s head jerked back as Ka and Tal stared at him. Ka turned to Tal and quipped, “I imagine our Indie is just as smart as the original. It looks like destiny has sent us another genius.”
Tal glanced at Ka, as Indie immediately shook his head, “I am nowhere close to his intellect.”
Tal chuckled, “He developed the phase field when he was fifty-four-years old. Give yourself some time. However, you came up with a good choice. Let’s take a break and see if we can make the change.”
• • •
An hour later, after Tal had given Indie the genetic shot, and taught him how to use his new talent, Nordstrum Haliday was standing in front of them. Tal began to seriously consider Ka’s philosophy about destiny. This was…what? This just couldn’t be Nordstrum reincarnated…could it?”
Ka turned to Indie, “Go back to Duncan’s office and have him change the picture on your ID. Once that’s done, come back here and we’ll resume our training.”
“He won’t believe it’s me,” Indie replied.
“I’ll contact him and make him understand, Indie. Go and get your ID changed,” Tal replied.
“Yes, Sir.” Indie turned and walked off the bridge.
Tal turned to Ka with raised eyebrows and tight lips, “This is very, very, spooky!”
Ka smiled, “Destiny has a way of doing that, Tal. Trust me, I know.”
Tal stared at her and then asked, “Ka, will you consider moving into my quarters?”
“You should have asked that question last night.”
“Why?” Tal asked with a worried expression.
“We wouldn’t have wasted last night.” Tal’s smile was huge as he turned back to his console. Ka turned to her console and had to wait until her eyes dried up enough for her to see the monitor.
• • •
Tal contacted Duncan to explain the changes to Indie Wolfe and ten minutes before Indie arrived back on the Zak’s Jil, Duncan called him, “Tal, I just learned a very valuable lesson.”
“What is that, Duncan?”
“I judged Captain Wolfe solely on his appearance. You’re right, he’s a lot more than I allowed myself to see. I hate that I allowed myself to fall into that trap.”
“You were listening to him instead of staring at his appearance this time, weren’t you?” Tal asked.
“I was. I won’t allow that to happen again, Tal.”
“Don’t promise what you can’t deliver, Duncan. Humans are tied up with both visual and verbal sensory apparatus. It’s almost impossible to avoid it.”
“I know. But at least I now know to consider that in the future. By the way, how’s the training going?”
“Captain Wolfe is an incredible trainer, Duncan. I suspect my ship is going to be the most powerful warship in my fleet with the enhancements he made to our systems.”
“Tal…”
“Sir, I know to stay out of trouble,” Tal interrupted.
Duncan was silent for a moment, before saying, “Just use your best judgement; I trust you to do the right thing. Don’t allow my fears to prevent you from doing what must be done.”
“Thank you, Duncan. That means a lot.”
“Your crews have been chosen and will be arriving in four-days.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Duncan disappeared, and Ka smiled, “He is one remarkable person, Tal.”
“I’m glad you stopped me from killing him on the cruise ship.” Ka raised her eyebrows with a slight smile and Tal rolled his eyes, “Don’t go and try to mark that up to destiny! Soon everything will be tied up in this destiny thing you’re espousing.”
Ka turned back to her console and said under her breath loud enough for him to hear, “How do you know it isn’t?”
Tal looked to the left, blew out a breath, and shook his head and thought, how can you argue with this logic? But he could have insisted on killing Duncan, but something had made him stop; what was that something?
• • •
On the third-day of training, Indie activated all of Tal’s monitors and a babble of talk came out of the speakers. Images of twenty-four ships were on the small monitors on his console and Tal turned to Indie, “How do I make sense of this?”
“Sir, just listen to the whole of what you’re hearing. Don’t focus on any one ship but listen to the…noise. Put on your helmet and focus on nothing. One of the ships on your monitor is going to experience a…problem. See if you can determine which ship it is.”
“That’s not possible!”
“Sir, you can do this. You may not be hearing everything consciously, but your subconscious is. It will alert you if it hears something important. I’m making it easier to start with and it will be more difficult as you get better.”
Tal sighed, “Tell me what to do.”
“Put on your helmet and press the black button on the left side of your helmet if you hear something important. Look at each of the monitors until you hear the conversation that’s important. If you don’t hear it, the monitor will go silent as you move your attention to the next one.”
“And the red button on the other side?”
“Turns all the monitors back on,” Indie answered.
Tal nodded, closed his eyes, and focused on the roar of multiple voices. Suddenly, he heard, “I don’t know where they…” He opened his eyes and looked at the left monitor and swept his eyes to the next monitor. Fifteen monitors later, he heard, “They must have been hiding behind the planet.” He swept his vision across the remaining monitors and went back to the monitor he was focused on. Indie was standing next to him and clapped, “Bravo, Admiral. Let’s do it again.”
Tal spent the next four-hours listening and finding the monitors with an issue. He noticed that the more he did it, the more his mind seemed to hear through the roar and find the phrases that were important.
Then…he heard a phrase and began sweeping across the monitors but heard another issue on one of the other monitors. He knew it wasn’t the one that captured his attention and he made a guess. He pressed the red button on the side of his helmet as he focused on the new issue and then continued sweeping across the other monitors until he found the one with the original problem. Both monitors were issuing conversations and he remarkably could keep both of them clear in his mind. He looked at Indie and saw him smiling, “Very good, Sir.”
“How do I listen to only one of them?” Tal asked.
“Press the black button while looking at one of them. It will eliminate it and only the other conversation will be heard.”
“And if I want to communicate with the ship?” Tal inquired.
“Look at the monitor and press the green button on the arm of your chair.”
“Is that true for any of the ships?”
“It is,” Indie replied. “Your helmet will allow you to communicate with any monitor you focus on.”
“And if I want to communicate with any ship while listening to another ship?”
“Touch the monitor and you’ll be connected to that ship, Sir.”
Tal stared at the monitors and turned back to Indie, “And if I want to talk to multiple ships, I just touch the appropriate monitors?” Indie nodded. “What if I want to communicate with every ship?”
“Press the green button down on your chair arm and hold it down until it illuminates. You’ll be connected to every ship when that happens, Sir.”
Tal smiled. This new system was amazing. Indie was amazing.
Chapter Five
Mila Anand showed up on Zak’s Jil a day early. She entered the bridge and Tal smiled, “You�
�re early Captain Anand.”
“Sir, I just couldn’t stand waiting any longer. I’m about tired of my family offering advice and I’m reasonably sure they’re tired of me rejecting it.”
“What sort of advice?” Ka inquired.
“They want me to resign from the service and settle down with a young rich man and raise a family. They insist that my new fame will make it easy.”
Ka laughed, “I guess all families are the same.”
Mila noticed Indie sitting at the scanning console, “Pardon me, but who are you?”
Tal interrupted, “Sorry about that. This is Captain Indie Wolfe and he will be our trainer as well as our sensor officer.”
“Did you say he’s a captain, Sir.”
“Yes, he is and he’s third in command on this ship?”
“I thought I was the ship’s commander, Sir,” Mila responded.
Tal saw her disappointment, “You will have the other members of the crew reporting to you, Captain. However, before you pass judgment on this, you need to take some time and see why I’ve structured the command this way.”
Mila turned back to Indie, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir.”
“I do hope your disappointment will fade shortly, Captain. However, are you ready to start your training?”
Mila shrugged, “I guess.”
“Then let’s go to your console and start going over the new systems you’ll need to learn.”
Tal watched them move to Mila’s console; she was going to have to get over it. An hour later, Tal saw she was coming around.
Indie started Mila off by showing her the controls to fly the ship. They went over them numerous times until Mila could manage going to the controls where Indie directed her instantly. At that point, Indie said, “Captain, your panel also has an automatic override built into it.” Mila’s eyes narrowed slightly as Indie continued. “Intelligence believes that the Brotherhood warships will crash into our vessels if all else fails and they’ll be moving at a speed faster than your reflexes can handle. If my scanners detect a suicide ship rushing in on us, it will send a signal to your console and the lower gravity drives will instantly push the ship at maximum speed directly vertical. If there are enemy vessels above us, the upper gravity drives will push the ship into an immediate dive. Understand?” Mila nodded, as Indie continued with a smile, “I’ve been looking forward to your arrival because you and Commodore Stevens are going to have to work together to attack and defend the ship against any possible target. I’m sending a simulation to your console and when you complete it, you, the Commodore…”
Ka interrupted, “Call me Ka.”
Indie nodded, “Yes, Sir. You, Ka, and I will be joined in a simulation and you’re going to learn how to fly this vessel in dangerous situations depending on the scans sent to your console. You may start your initial simulations now.”
Mila turned around to face her console and began to wish she hadn’t come early. Everyone else was going to command their ships, except for her. Twenty-minutes into the first-simulation she found she was not able to avoid concentrations of enemy ships and her monitor went white over and over. She finally threw up her hands and Indie turned her chair around to look her directly in the eyes, “Mila, I know you can do this. You have to pay attention to the tactical monitor on your console and ignore the large monitor in front of the ship. The tactical will show you enemy ships and their direction of travel along with any missiles that have been fired at us. Don’t look at the thruster controls or anything else on your panel. Keep your hands on the steering wheel and thruster handle, as you focus on the tactical and move the ship away from large concentrations of enemy ships and toward one or two-enemy vessels. Now, try again, focus on the tactical, and allow your mind to show you where you need to go. Your hands will operate the controls without your thinking about it.” Mila stared into Indie’s eyes and nodded hesitantly. She turned back to her console and started the simulation again.
Mila lost track of time and suddenly, the monitor turned dark and read, “Simulation One complete.” Mila shouted, and Indie turned her chair again, “What did you learn?”
“You’re right, Sir. I can’t try to think while doing this.”
“And I will be shouting information to you while you’re flying the ship and you’ll have to react to it immediately. Simulation Two will have both of us involved in finding a route through enemy vessels and we need to learn how to work together. Are you ready?” Mila nodded, and Indie took his seat in front of the scanner console. “Start the simulation, Mila.”
“They failed within one minute and Indie said softly, “When you hear me, don’t think, just move where I tell you.”
Mila nodded again and focused on the tactical. She heard Indie shout out directions and she immediately turned the ship. They failed again but Indie calmly said, “That was my fault, Mila. I was slow getting you information.”
Mila smile showed her enthusiasm, “Let’s give it another go, Sir.” Indie smiled, and she started the simulation again. Within an hour, Mila was flying the ship through enemy formations without the attackers getting close enough to launch an attack.
Tal and Ka watched them and were amazed at how quickly they learned to mesh together. Something about Indie made it impossible to get angry at him when he made corrections.
Mila quickly discovered that this new Captain was light years ahead of her in his understanding of space maneuvers. She was thankful she wasn’t responsible for flying alone. Indie looked up with a reassuring smile, “They get tougher from here. Are you ready?”
Mila nodded and focused on the tactical. What greeted her was impossible, but she moved the ship without thinking and reacted instantly when Indie shouted directions. It took three tries, but they finished the simulation. Indie shouted victoriously and then turned to Mila, “Let’s take a break before we take on the next one.”
“Is it worse than the last one?” Mila asked.
“Yes, very much so.”
Mila sighed, “I think I need a break.”
“Captain, you’ve done better on these simulations than anyone that attempted them during their development. Your eye-hand coordination is excellent, and you have an instinctive sense of where you are in space. You’re going to be a great pilot.”
“Thank you, Sir. I couldn’t do this without your help.”
Indie smiled, “Wait until Ka joins in the fun.”
Mila started laughing and Tal knew he didn’t have anything to worry about; Mila would be fine. He suddenly had a thought, “Indie, who is training the other ships?”
“Sir, every ship has been assigned a trainer.”
“How did you end up with my ship?”
“I was rated number one in understanding and knowledge about the new ship, Sir.”
“And the other admirals?”
“They’ll get the two through four highest-ranked trainers.”
“Does that mean that one of my ships will be given the lowest ranking trainer?” Tal asked with a grimace.
“Sir, the trainers that made the cut were the best twenty-one out of more than two-hundred candidates. None of them are lacking in ability, Sir.”
Tal saw Mila looking at Indie with a new expression. She now realized he was something special. “If any of my crews are lacking the skills needed, you will assist them, will you not?”
“Of course, Admiral,” Indie replied. “I’m here to be used in any way you deem necessary. I would request one thing.”
“What is that?”
“That you allow Mila and Ka to go with me to work with them. I believe this crew is far ahead of where the others will be by the end of training.”
Tal nodded and thought about how to determine where his fleet was in their readiness and smiled, until Indie added, “I still have to train your missile operators and coverage officer. It would also be of help if Ka and Mila would work with the coverage operator to teach her how to use their systems.”
“I thought Ka was
the only one that could use her console.”
“She’s the only one that can use it to its best effect, but the coverage officer can operate it in a pinch until Ka can relieve her.”
Tal realized that there was still a great deal of work to be done to get his fleet battle ready. He would help his admirals learn how to use their command systems.
The next day, Indie added Ka into the simulations and their shouting was too distracting for Tal to focus on his monitors. He finally lost his patience and shouted, “ENOUGH!!” The bridge instantly grew silent and Tal shook his head, “I can’t hear my monitors with all the shouting!”
Ka saw his frustration and stood up, “Hold on just a moment. Let me see if I can’t do something about this.”
As Ka left the bridge, Indie began apologizing, “I’m sorry, Sir, but we have to be in constant communication to operate these systems together.”
Tal sighed, “I know, it’s just frustrating trying to focus on my other ships with all the additional noise.”
Ka walked back on the bridge with a large glass of water. She walked up to Indie and handed him a small transparent device, “Swallow this.”
“What is it?”
“Follow your orders, Captain!” Indie took the item out of her hand and swallowed it with a sip of water. Ka walked up to Mila, “You do the same.” Mila took the object and swallowed it. Ka looked at them in silence and both Mila and Indie’s heads went back as Ka spoke to them subvocally. Ka smiled, “You’ve just swallowed a subvocal communicator. You use it by saying words softly in your throat without moving your lips. Give it a try, Indie.”
“I’m not sure if this is working,” Indie replied without moving his lips.
Mila immediately replied, “I can hear you.”
Ka smiled, “Now pay attention, this is important. If you speak in a normal voice, the subvocal won’t activate. It will only transmit if you’re talking quietly inside your throat. Try it.” Indie and Mila quickly learned how to switch back and forth between normal speech and the subvocal module. Ka nodded and then continued, “If you want to shut it off, subvocal the command ‘Deactivate’.” “If you want to turn it on, the command is ‘Activate’ got it?” Both nodded.
