Obe’s expression shifted back toward what Aibek remembered most—a half frown, marked by seriousness. “S’stro has repeatedly expressed a desire to let the humans deal with their mess. I believe she would sabotage this mission through poor command or lack of obedience of General Cohen’s orders.”
The mere whiff of such behavior from a fellow Saurian outraged Aibek to his core. For him, adherence to their shared beliefs in showing glory to God through honorable combat was sacrosanct. “Is this why you wish me to replace her?”
“Partially. You also have a deep bond with General Cohen. You know how he fights, and I believe you would be better suited to help him win this battle. It is an extreme risk, but the reward would be worth it.”
Aibek mulled it over in his mind. To leave David’s side now seems wrong. But to add the firepower of the Resit Kartal to the fleet and ensure it does as instructed… that would be a powerful addition to what the humans call force lethality. “I will obey, Chief Minister. But I must be the one to tell General Cohen. It would be improper to come from anyone but me.”
“I agree. Alert me as soon as you have spoken to him. Walk with the Prophet, warrior.”
After the vidlink image of Obe disappeared from his tablet, Aibek was left to ponder the conversation in his quarters. Torn between his duty to the war effort and his oath to David, he found rest to be complicated.
* * *
An intercom tone awakened David from the middle of a dream he briefly remembered as fighting for his life against a horde of League soldiers with bloodshot eyes, screaming for brains. Great, zombie Leaguers. Here’s to hoping that dream doesn’t come true. He blinked a few times in an attempt to focus his eyes. The clock read 0130. Again, the intercom chimed.
“This is Cohen,” he mumbled.
“Sir, I apologize for disturbing your rest,” Aibek’s voice said from the speaker. “Your presence is required on the bridge.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” David replied. The intercom turned off with an audible click as he stood up and started throwing on his duty uniform. He was barely awake as he checked his rank insignia and name tag before taking off at a jog to the nearest gravlift. Ten minutes later, he exited the lift onto deck one. The two Marine sentries stood watch as always. He exchanged salutes with them as he entered the bridge and pulled on his cover—still a Lion of Judah emblemed ballcap.
“General on the bridge!” a senior petty officer standing watch announced, and immediately, those not manning stations came to attention and saluted.
“As you were,” David replied, crisply returning those salutes as well. “This is General Cohen. I have the conn.”
“General Cohen has the conn,” Aibek said, the turn of phrase now deeply ingrained after years of serving with the CDF.
David sat in the CO’s chair and glanced at his XO. “Okay, it’s 0145, and I’m grumpy. What’s so important?”
“The CSV Ark Royal jumped in twenty minutes ago, sir.”
What? The flagship of the first fleet? “Okay. You got my attention.”
Aibek’s mouth opened wide in a toothy Saurian grin. “I thought it might, sir. Her commanding officer wants to speak to you.”
“Communications, please reply with my compliments to the Ark Royal and signal we’re ready to talk,” David ordered with a glance toward the comms station.
“Aye aye, sir,” Lieutenant Bell, who had the third watch, answered.
It took a few moments for the monitor above David’s head to snap on, with a video image of a middle-aged woman wearing a CDF uniform. Like him, she too had one star on her shoulder—a brigadier general. “Greetings,” she began, tone taut and businesslike. “General Cohen, I presume?”
“Guilty as charged, General?”
“Tabitha Hale, commanding officer, CSV Ark Royal. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, sir,” she said quickly with an accent best described as American. Her dark brown eyes held a certain amount of tiredness in them.
“Ah, the joy of being so well known,” David said, sleep deprivation making his tongue engage before his brain.
“Not quite like that, sir. The Lion of Judah saved the ship I was on a few months ago. The Shadow Wolf.”
Then it clicked for David. She was that General Hale. What’s she doing out here, commanding a fleet carrier, for that matter? “I see,” he said with a trace of a smile. “Glad we were there.”
“I understand you’re planning to head out tomorrow morning at 0700?”
“Correct.”
“I have orders from General MacIntosh and President Spencer to delay that a day. Can we meet first thing so I can explain the situation?”
And this couldn’t have waited until the morning? “Absolutely, General Hale. My communications officer will schedule a time with you. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going back to bed.”
A frown passed over Hale’s face before quickly disappearing. “Of course, sir.”
“Good night, General.” The screen flicked off, and David sighed. “Okay, XO. You have the conn.”
“Sir, do you have a moment? I realize it is late, but I was going to speak to you about an urgent matter in the morning. It would be better to discuss it now.”
David stared at Aibek. Annoyance crept up inside of him, but he pushed it down. “Of course, XO. Day cabin?” I need some sleep. I’m cranky.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Lieutenant Kelsey,” David began, addressing the TAO on duty. “You have the conn. Don’t scratch the paint,” he finished with a grin.
Kelsey glanced back and stood. “Aye aye, sir. This is Lieutenant Kelsey. I have the conn.” She smoothed her uniform and had the appearance of nervousness written all over her face. “No paint scratching planned, sir.”
“Good,” David replied in a dry tone before he gestured toward the hatch to the corridor. Thirty seconds later, he and Aibek were taking their respective seats in his small day cabin, just a few steps away from the bridge. It had his desk and a small bunk for emergencies or forward deployments—times as the CO, he couldn’t be more than a few seconds away. “Okay. What’s so important it can’t wait until morning?”
Aibek’s gaze shifted from side to side, and there was a pregnant pause before he spoke. “I was contacted by Chief Minister Obe this evening, before I came on watch.” He stared down at the desk. “He had a request for me, one I cannot easily set aside.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this. David glanced over his friend. If he were a human, he’d be sweating. “Talgat, we’ve been shipmates for years and friends too. Whatever’s going on here, tell me.”
“He requests that I take command of the RNV Resit Kartal.”
Whatever David thought might be troubling his XO, this wasn’t it. “That’s great!” he exclaimed. “About time you get command of something. You’ve earned it.”
“I feel shame for leaving your side at this dire hour.”
“That ship’s coming with the fleet, right?”
“Yes. The Chief Minister felt I would be better suited to ensure our flagship participated boldly in the battles to come. Her current CO is of a different opinion about the war.”
David snickered. “Saurians play politics too, eh?”
“I find it most distasteful. Truly, you are not angry at me for leaving you?”
“Not at all. Yeah, you’ve got some big shoes to fill, figuratively as well as literally. But I’m proud of you,” David replied, allowing a smile to show through on his face.
“I am glad for this. It is only a temporary assignment. As I said, vital to ensure we behave as honorable warriors.” Aibek’s tone was stilted, as if he was still ashamed.
There was silence in the room for a few seconds, as David thought about how to make his friend feel better. He stood and walked around his desk. “Let’s drop the ranks for a minute. Listen, you’re one of the most honorable beings I know.” He made eye contact with Aibek. “It’s an honor to have you on this crew, and to serve with you. There�
�s no dishonor in taking a job to help this offensive succeed. Okay?” I will miss you sitting next to me. More than you know.
The Saurian stood and extended his arm. “Thank you.”
David took his forearm and gripped it in the Saurian manner. “You’re welcome. Now, I’m going back to bed.” He broke into a broad grin. “You have a watch to sit, or else young Lieutenant Kelsey will scuff the paint and I’ll be even grumpier in the morning.”
* * *
Merriweather tried to time her visits to the officers’ mess to not coincide with the morning rush between 0600 and 0700. If for no other reason than I feel like an imposter here. I’ve worked for civilians for most of my career. Most of the others, she pondered, had spent a career on the front line. She ordered a plate of wheat pancakes with a side of a Saurian meat—its name was unpronounceable. During the wait for a steward to bring it to her table, she drank from a large cup of CDF coffee. Lost in the scene visible outside of the transparent alloy window she sat in front of, the voice of Arthur Hanson surprised her.
“Major Merriweather?”
She jumped in her seat, startled by his sudden appearance.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “I’ll leave you be.”
Merriweather’s face turned blood red. “No, please. I was thinking. What can I do for you?”
“Could we talk?”
In the two weeks since they’d left Canaan, she realized there hadn’t been a single word shared outside of the engine spaces. “Of course. Please, tons of chairs.” She gestured to the three open seats at the table.
Hanson slid into one of them with a spill-proof container of coffee emblazoned with the Lion of Judah’s logo and motto—Semper Atticus. “Thanks. Uh. Well, er. I want to apologize for what I said before we got going on this new adventure. I didn’t say what I meant. Well, that’s to say, my delivery model sucked.”
She couldn’t help but grin at his stammering and obvious discomfort, which was endearing to her. “Arthur, it’s fine. That was a lifetime ago, okay? For what it’s worth, I’m sorry too. My reaction was out of line, and—” She sighed. “Something’s been wrong this entire campaign. Everyone has been aggressive and overly charged up.”
“Yeah. I can’t stand it. I’ve never seen people screaming at one another over politics or threatening fistfights. So, we’re still friends?”
“Yes,” Merriweather replied and smiled. “Enough about politics. How have you been?”
“Busy. Really busy. Colonel,” he began, before correcting himself. “No, General Cohen—still getting used to that—has us working around the clock with the contractors.”
“Doctor Hayworth has busied himself with double-checking the anti-matter performance metrics on the new advanced heavy cruisers. I haven’t seen much of him outside of the lab in days.” Merriweather once again glanced out the alloy window and stared at Freedom. “Has it been difficult for you, coming back here? I mean, we’ve passed through. But somehow it's different, sitting here staring at the place that cost us so much.”
“Yeah. A couple of good engineers got killed here. I still remember them.”
“That’s important, you know? We can’t forget.”
Hanson took a deep breath. “No. So, you have given any thought to what you’re doing after the war?”
She shrugged. “I’m a CDF lifer at this point. At least another eight years to make my twenty. I guess I could retire then and go into contracting. Maybe something else, though.”
“Like what? If you could be anything, what would it be?”
“Promise you won’t laugh at me?”
“You realize that’s a dead giveaway it's going to be funny, right?” Hanson replied as a huge grin broke out across his face.
“A teacher,” she replied and rolled her eyes.
“Hey, nothing funny about training young minds.”
“Really? You don’t think that’s a waste?”
Hanson sat back in his chair as his mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide. “How could you ever think that? Teachers shape and mold children for eight hours a day. I think you’d be good at it.”
“Thanks.” At least that was better than how my father took it when I told him.
One of the mess stewards appeared at the table, bearing heaping plates of food. He quickly set them down and scurried off. Before another word could be said, Kenneth Lowe walked up. “Hey, mind if I join you guys?”
“Sure,” Merriweather replied. “The more, the merrier.”
Kenneth sat his plate consisting of fruit and a biscuit down, along with a mug of coffee. “Oh, a name pun. I like it.”
All three of them laughed before Hanson spoke. “Who wants to pray?”
An awkward silence broke out before Kenneth interjected himself. “I’ll do it.” They all held hands after he reached his out. “Dear Lord, we thank you for this food and ask You to bless it to us. Bless our hands, our minds, and our efforts this day. Help us to do good and act in Your will. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.”
“Amen,” Merriweather cheerfully replied.
Hanson took a bite of eggs. “Amen to that. General give you mess hall privileges again?” he asked, staring at Kenneth.
“Yup. Only ship I get to eat in the officer’s mess on,” Kenneth said as he stuffed a piece of fruit into his mouth.
“I heard you were out at Churchill, working on the mothball fleet,” Hanson said.
“That was my assignment for the last six months, at least until getting called back to the Lion. I like it here a lot more than a giant space station, that’s for sure.”
Merriweather glanced at him. “Why?”
“I think all of us on the team feel like we’re a part of something larger than ourselves here. I like the feeling, personally.” Kenneth smiled between bites.
“You could experience it full time and rejoin the military,” Hanson deadpanned. “Then you wouldn’t be a slimy contractor.”
“Arthur,” she snapped, her tone one of playful reproach. “Mind your manners. Or did you forget them in OCS?”
Hanson’s face turned bright red as he continued to eat. “Hey, almost all of us take shots at contractors. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“It’s okay,” Kenneth interjected before she could speak. “The Major is right. Marines are the worst for the ribbing. You guys are fine. Say, where’s the doc? I was hoping to run into him. I wanted to pick his brain on some ideas for expanding the AI support for these new drones we’re installing on the fighters.”
Merriweather snorted. “Locked away in his lab. Good luck getting him out.”
“Oh well, a shame.”
Silence fell over the table as the three of them shoveled food in and drank coffee. Hanson finished up first and pushed his plate back. “Well, I’d better get back to engineering. Another fun day of field upgrades in front of me.” He stood. “Good day, Major, Kenneth.”
“Seeya around!” Kenneth called as he walked off.
There was more silence until Merriweather spoke again. “For what it’s worth, I value the contributions your team makes. All of you have always been a big help to Doctor Hayworth and me.”
Kenneth inclined his head. “Thank you. We’re just trying to do our jobs.” He polished off the last piece of fruit on his plate. “Time for me to head out too. Good seeing you, Major Merriweather.”
“I do have a first name,” she said dryly.
“In that case, good day, Elizabeth.”
She grinned as he stood. “You too, Kenneth.” He’s kind of cute once you get past the always on work mode. It took a few minutes to finish up her food before she too steeled herself for another day.
7
Sleep hadn’t come easily once David returned to his quarters. After a few more hours of tossing and turning, he got up and went through the usual morning rituals, starting with reciting the Shema as soon as he awoke. An hour later after exercise, a shower, and break, he was sitting back in his day cabin, awaiting the arrival of Gener
al Hale. She was punctual—arriving at 0730 on the dot. He took stock of her as she walked in. There were wisps of gray hair on her head, and frown lines that spoke to the stress of service. Her face held a confident yet severe expression.
“Brigadier General Tabitha Hale reports as ordered, sir.”
David cracked a grin in return. “I’m not used to flag officers reporting to me, General Hale. Though we appear to have the same rank.”
A small smile spread across her face. “I suppose so, sir. However, I was specifically instructed that for the duration of this mission, I’m under your command.”
“Come again?” David replied, almost doing a double-take.
“This is extremely sensitive, but the Ark Royal was secretly refitted with an anti-matter reactor over the last few months.”
David’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Wow, that’s huge. The pride of the fleet, able to traverse the distance between the arms at the same speed as us? Okay, Spencer’s pulling out all the stops. “You’ve got my attention, but please, have a seat first.”
Hale sat in the chair closest to his desk and stared straight ahead. Her posture was ramrod straight. “Thank you,” she began. “It surprised me too. The CDF swore the crew to secrecy and had a random lie detector exam scheduled on a weekly basis. Treason charges if it leaked. Everyone got the message and played ball. The end result is one highly upgraded fleet carrier. She’s as fast as the Lion, with equal shielding, if not better.”
“But still a carrier.” With all the positives and negatives that entails. He chose his words carefully, not wishing to offend her so soon in their professional relationship. “The Ark Royal isn’t designed for a slugging match. It has to sit back and let its fighters do the heavy lifting.”
“I’m fine with directness, General. We’re not here to get up front and trade blows with the League. We’re here as a force multiplier. We embarked fifty percent more fighters and bombers than normal, along with their crews, before we left Canaan. There’s over four hundred and fifty combat spacecraft on my ship right now. They’ve all got those fancy drone upgrades too.”
Run the Gauntlet: Echoes of War Book Six Page 8
