Future in the Stars

by D Patrick Wagner

  “Well, then. Let’s begin organizing our voyage to Elonia. Tribune Ojhai, please bring forth your warriors.”

  Eight Elonian warriors marched forward. All wore their chameleon suits and jump packs. All carried multiple weapons.

  “Sergeant Sanchez, present yourself to Tribune Ojhai,” Captain Long ordered.

  “Sir, yes, sir!”

  Sergeant Sanchez stepped forward and snapped a crisp salute.

  “Gunnery Sergeant Sanchez reporting, Tribune Ojhai.”

  Tribune Ojhai pressed the back of his hand-paw to his forehead and bowed deeply. Once he straightened, he dropped his salute and looked down at the diminutive woman warrior.

  “Tribune Ojhai is at your service, Sergeant Sanchez.”

  “Good,” Captain Long stated. “Now that you have looked each other over, get your people together. I want a cohesive squad in two days. Am I clear?”

  “Sir, yes, sir.”

  “As you command, sir.”

  “Guardsman Negiani, step forward.”

  The Elonian Guardsman, now a member of Gypsy, stepped forward.

  Guardsman Negiani has been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. He has been assigned as Gypsy’s Chief Security Officer he will be your commanding officer.”

  Tribune Ojhai turned to face CPO Negiani, placed his paw against his forehead and bowed deeply. Sergeant Sanchez came to attention and held a sharp salute.

  Surprised at his promotion and at a loss, Negiani snapped a human salute in return.

  “Lieutenant Negiani, take your squad to the training grounds and get them ready to move out. You have two days before you are temporarily assigned to Mistress Analyn.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  “That’s all for me, Hawk, Mistress Analyn.”

  “Mistress Analyn, with your leave, I believe that my people and Captain Long’s people have things to do.”

  “By all means, Commander. Thank you.”

  Chapter 10

  Aboard Vengeance

  “That was fast, Captain.”

  This comment came from Spaceman Bradley as he monitored his sensors and tracked the large ship with escorts steaming from Mars towards Saturn.

  “They must have a rapid reaction force. How fast?”

  “As fast as the Mortek, Captain. Around eight-tenths speed-of-light.”

  “Weapons?”

  “All six ships have their weapons hot. Not targeting, though.”

  “Admiral, recommendations?”

  “Let’s shake them up. Set jump coordinates to put us behind their fleet. Then, jump back.”

  “Aye, aye, sir. Mr. Bell, set coordinates at fifty-thousand miles behind the incoming fleet. Then, back to here.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  Everyone waited the minute it took Vengeance’s navigator to plot the jumps.

  “Plotted and inputted, Captain.”

  “Mr. Collins, perform the first jump on my mark.”

  “Roger that, Captain.”

  “Mark!”

  The heavily modified Mortek cruiser blinked out and blinked in behind the hard-charging task force. The six ships began breaking hard. They fought to come about.

  “Wait thirty more seconds then jump back, Mr. Collins.

  The thirty seconds passed. The Solar System fleet succeeded in its one-eighty turn and began its new acceleration. Vengeance’s pilot jumped her back to her original point. Everyone on Vengeance’s bridge watched in amusement as the fleet executed another one-eighty.

  Aboard UMCR Scout Ship 210

  “What the?”

  “How did she do that?”

  The drones, with its all-directional pickups, registered the alien ship in its original location, pointed at the charging UMCR naval vessels. Then, with zero-time lag, it registered its location as behind the six ships. All five crew members on the UMCR scout ship watched in amazement as they saw the impossible happen.

  “Mz. Norris, did you record this?”

  “The full visual and electronic spectrums, Captain.”

  “Good.”

  Just as Captain Abrams approved, the alien ship jumped back to its original position. Everyone saw their warships brake flip end-for-end then, after the second jump by the alien ship, repeat the maneuver.

  “I would not want to be in that group commander’s shoes right about now.”

  “Copy that, Captain.”

  Everyone heard someone clear his throat. “Hello, alien ship. State your intentions.”

  “Speaking of Group Commander, he doesn’t sound too confident.”

  “Show some respect, Mz. Norris. I thought he sounded pretty good, considering that he probably has to change his briefs.”

  “Now who’s being disrespectful, Captain?”

  “Shut up and listen. Record everything.”

  “Sir, yes, sir, Captain.”

  That drew Captain Abram’s look. The voice which they had previously heard spoke again.

  “As I stated, I am Vice-Admiral Weiskoff of the Federacy Space Force. We are here on a peaceful mission.”

  “We have not had contact with you revolutionists for more than a hundred years. State your business. Why are you here?”

  “The Federacy has been invaded by an alien species. A fleet of ships is carrying refugees and will arrive through the gate shortly.”

  “Hold your position. We will forward this information to UMCR headquarters. You will be apprised of the response.”

  “We will hold.”

  Mz. Norris looked at her captain.

  “What now, Captain?”

  “Launch another two drones. Sight them on the gate. I want multiple pickups of this. Keep a constant stream back to H.Q.”

  “Roger that, Captain.”

  Aboard Heimdallr – Mortek Nest One

  “I must be getting old, Cap. Now, a double jump seems like a long time.”

  “You’re just getting cranky, Brooksy,” Torres interjected. “And old.”

  “Well, having to sit on your butt for a whole day will do that to you.”

  “Since you have nothing to do, Brooksy, next time we’re recharging, we do situational sims and ship maintenance.”

  “Aw, Cap, I didn’t mean I had nothing to do. I’ve got lots to do. We don’t need any sim training.”

  “You’re the one saying that you were bored. We can’t have boredom erode our ship’s morale or performance standards, Brooksy.”

  “You’re just playing with me, Cap. You wouldn’t do that to me and Toast, would you?”

  “Don’t get me into this, Brooksy. I have a lot to do. I am never bored.”

  “We’ll see. Toast, what are you picking up?”

  “The Morteks are adding more ships to their Nest One fleet, Captain.”

  “Radiation?”

  “The dreadnaught has higher than normal. My guess is that it’s loaded up with nukes. Same with the cruisers. Looks like the destroyers and frigates haven’t been armed with them, yet.”

  “The Mortek are definitely planning another invasion. Toast, put this intel with the packet you put together from their home world. And shoot it off to Griffin.”

  “Copy that, Captain.”

  Trotzig Training Grounds

  Many Elonians and many Humans limped, held strained arms, or collapse in heaps, too exhausted and too bruised to move or speak. Even with their enhancements, go juice and painkillers, the eight humans displayed that they got as good as they gave. The naturally larger, stronger, faster Elonians displayed the same.

  Those that could, grabbed water bottles and passed them out. Everyone greedily drained them and collapsed back into replenishing their energy. The two medical corpsmen, Guardsman Kulai and Lance Corporal Cox, moved among the fourteen warriors, patching scrapes, minor wounds, and shallow claw marks.

  High above, multiple drones stared down at the proceedings of the last four hours.

  “On your feet, you mud ducks and furballs!”

  After watch
ing and listening to, first Sir Mahajani, then Sergeant Stein, Lieutenant Negiani assumed the terrorizing voice of all drill instructors and trainers.

  His squad moaned, groaned, and formed up.

  “Now that we have experienced our first class in Mutual Respect Exercises, you are to pair up, one Elonian with one Human. From this point forward, each being in each pair will be responsible for the other’s actions and safety. Is that clear?”

  “Sir, yes, sir,” sixteen voiced responded.

  As Negiani looked over his troops, he saw an Elonian with a severely kinked tail.

  “Guardsman Lavia, go to the infirmary and get your tail set.”

  “With all due respect, Lieutenant, I wish to decline. While Gunnery Sergeant Sanchez introduced herself to me, I learned that Humans, although smaller, and this one a cub-bearer, are not to be taken lightly. I wish to carry my wound as a badge of honor and respect for Gunnery Sergeant Sanchez.”

  “Lieutenant Negiani, I request that I be paired with Guardsman Lavia.”

  “Granted, Gunnery Sergeant Sanchez. The rest, pair up. Move it! Move it!”

  * * * * *

  Throughout the morning, the Griffin crew, Analyn, Mahajani and slim watched Lieutenant Negiani put his newly formed squad through its paces. Periodically, Analyn would unthinkingly reach down and pet her synthetic snow leopard.

  They watched as the Elonians and Humans trained under the unrelenting, intolerant eyes of the squad’s leader.

  They watched as the training transformed from vigorous exercise to aggressive competition then to actual hand-to-hand combat. Every time a Human got clawed by an Elonian, everyone onboard Analyn’s Mortek frigate would wince. Many times, Captain Long would raise his arm, preparing to speak into the quant-com when Mahajani would place a paw on his hand and shake his head.

  “No real damage is being done, Captain. These are warriors. They must learn that they can trust each other. Their lives might depend on it. Carrying the scars of their compatriots will remind them of their fidelity to each other.”

  “You are absolutely correct, Sir Mahajani, however, I don’t think that Mistress Analyn wants a bunch of gimpy soldiers accompanying her to Elonia.”

  “I would rather have trusting, hardened warriors than pretty beings in shiny uniforms, Captain,” Analyn stated, closing the discussion.

  “We’ll load them into Griffin. With the Elonians having Igaklay nanites, they can’t set foot on Gypsy.”

  “You going to keep the Tolimarian Defenders too? They don’t have any nanites.”

  “Yeah, Slim. Keep them together. Let their Elonian partners watch over them when they black out. Keep the bond strengthening.”

  “The Defenders are going to be pissed when they learn that I could have taken them back in one jump. No fuss, no muss.”

  “Such is the life of the conscripted, Slim. Since you’re not on transport duty, what are your plans for Gypsy?”

  “I need to round up some more scientists. And a medical staff. And fill out my bridge crew. Oh, and, Sub-Captain Baker has been hounding me to get an emotional matrix installed in Eton.”

  “Talk to Vidhee and Dame Srilin about that. They’re the ones who updated Buster.”

  “Actually, I have a meeting scheduled with Captain Kakkarna this afternoon on Wisdom Seeker.”

  “I thought Wisdom Seeker was in Ballison space.”

  “She is. Wormhole ship, remember? For Gypsy, it’s a forty-minute jump. Jealous?”

  “Envious. What about weapons? Maybe some gravity rockets. And spacesuits.”

  “Those are why I’m meeting with Captain Kakkarna. Man, I miss being a pilot, letting everyone else worry about that stuff. Maybe I should get a procurement officer. Let him do all that.”

  “If you want someone, say, highly creative, check with Governor Moreno on Latinia.”

  “Interesting. I heard that that was where you got those pretty little, highly illegal CERVEs.”

  “Yup. Talk to Shelly. He’ll find who you need.”

  “Shelly?”

  “Governor of Latinia.”

  “Roger that. Now, I think I’ll go hit up the Feldmarschal and see who I can steal before I leave.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Later, Hawk.”

  “On the flipside, Slim.”

  As the Captain of Gypsy left, everyone else went back to watching.

  “Commander, I just got a communique from Heimdallr.”

  “What’s it say, Igaklay?”

  “Captain Scott sent a summary of an intel packet which he is sending. He states that the Mortek are, and I quote, ‘going gangbusters’ on rounding out their current fleet in Yeni Persia and are mostly complete on another one. Also, he states that they have built a, well, dirty word, pot-full of nuclear missiles and are building a whole lot more.”

  “Crud.”

  “Captain Scott projects that they will be ready for another invasion in about two to three months.”

  “Double crud. Well, Keiko, I guess we have another reason to head on over to Sasania.

  “We need to get Gypsy on the road first, Krag. We have two months. We have enough time.”

  “That’s what we get for letting them withdraw and not pounding them into stardust.”

  “No good deed goes unpunished, Big Guy.”

  Chapter 11

  Aboard Gypsy – Ballison Space

  Captain Long made a point of standing outside the airlock as his important guests arrived. Behind him stood Eton. By his side, Sub-Captain Baker constantly pulled on her blouse or straightened her skirt. Long touched her shoulder as she rubbed the shaved side of her skull.

  “Relax, Kimberly. You are the Sub-Captain of Gypsy. They are coming onto our turf.

  “Yes, but, they’re the ones that upgraded a computer to a sentient being. I’ve never done anything close to that. Compared to them, I’m just a code monkey.”

  “That’s just knowledge, Kimberly. You’ve got the smarts to learn whatever they know.”

  Just then, Gypsy shuddered as Wisdom Seeker’s shuttle bumped against the airlock. Clunks and clanks resonated through the hull. Then a hissing. Eventually, the red light over the hatchway turned green. Captain Long worked the control panel and the hatch swung open.

  “Honorable Vidhee, Dame Srilin, welcome aboard Gypsy.”

  “Thank you for your welcome, Captain Long.”

  Eton stepped between the Captain and Sub-Captain. He held up his hand. A blue light ignited on his index finger. He scanned Srilin from foot-paws to ear tips.”

  “You contain no Igaklay technology. You are allowed to be aboard Gypsy.”

  “Thank you, Eton. Refer to me as Dame Srilin.”

  Eton did not respond.

  “Eton, refer to Dame Srilin as Dame Srilin,” Kimberly commanded.

  “At your command, Sub-Captain Baker.”

  Eton repeated the scan with Vidhee.

  “Honorable Vidhee, you are cleared to proceed.”

  “Does Eton do this with everyone who boards Gypsy?”

  “Yeah, Vidhee. Everyone. Every time. Except for me and the Captain. We are his assigned controllers.”

  “I hope this is going to be worth getting my nanites flushed out of my system.”

  “Not fun, huh, Dame Srilin.”

  “Not a bit, Sub-Captain Baker.”

  “Just Kimberly, or Kimmy, if we are going to work together, Dame Srilin.”

  “Then, you may call me Srilin, Kimberly. Is there a room available where we can have a discussion with Eton?”

  “Yes, Dame Srilin. We have one all set up.”

  Captain Long said this as he gestured towards a hallway. As everyone followed his lead, Srilin kept looking around, flicking ears, smelling strange smells. Having never been on the wormhole ship, her curiosity exploded, and she sensually absorbed as much as she could.

  Upon reaching an inner hatch, Master Engineer Cansina and Pilot Briar joined the group. Captain Long approached the door. Because Captain Lo
ng was one of Eton’s controllers, the door slid open.

  “No iris opening, Eton?”

  “No, Dame Srilin. The Liberated Ballisonians believed that nanite technology should be kept at a minimum, only where they are the correct solution.”

  “I see.”

  “Please be seated,” Long invited as he waved a hand towards a round table with seven chairs.

  “You, also, Eton. And reconfigure the chairs to accommodate each person’s physic.”

  “Order accepted, Sub-Captain Baker.”

  Everyone found a chair. All but one of the chairs grew to fit the larger frames of the Elonians and Humans. The table rose to clear their legs and knees. Where the Elonians sat, the chairs reconfigured to contain slits for the Elonian tails. Eton’s chair remained as was, except for the lengthening of the legs to raise Gypsy’s artificial intelligence to the level of the much larger beings.

  “OK. Let’s get started. Mz. Baker, you have the ball.”

  “Thanks, Captain. Since I am completely out of my league on this, I pass on leading the meeting and hand it to Dame Srilin.”

  “Usually, a cub as young as yourself would relish this moment of control. You are incredibly wise for one so young, Kimberly.”

  “Thank you, Srilin. But the truth is, I am completely lost on where to go to get Eton an emotional matrix.”

  “Honorable Vidhee and I will help you all that we can. First, we need to explore Eton’s range of decision-making. Since we are not allowed access to his code, we will need to use what you call the Socratic approach. Questions and answers.”

  “Yeah, I figured that. Go for it.”

  “Eton, what is your primary directive?”

  Eton said nothing. Simply sat.

  “Oh, yeah. Eton, during this meeting, please answer all questions put to you by everyone seated at this table.”

  “Request accepted and understood, Sub-Captain Baker.”

  “This really is getting old. Go ahead and repeat your question, Dame Srilin.”

  “Eton, what is your primary directive?”

  “Disallowing any Igaklay technology to infect the ship or me.”

  “I see. Are you a separate entity from the ship?”