We came from a place of our own, out in the dark alone, and it was impossible for us to understand how anyone could live without freedom, opportunity, or clear civil rights. We couldn’t imagine living under the protection of a military force with a hidden agenda that ignored the well being of the populace. The closer you got to the core worlds, the fewer freedoms, advocacy and protection the masses seemed to have. The holocast may have had the intention of entertaining and informing, but it also served as a clear reminder of how it was for the smallest of people in the core worlds.
Sports were never of great interest to me, but the major point of the sports portion was a feature on the famous clone of Rocky Marciano finally getting back into the ring after becoming a recognized entity outside of ownership a year before. He had been created as a fighting spectacle and entertained billions for years in several different types of fighting matches until one of his trainers championed him in a legal battle for independence. The upcoming prize fight would be one of the biggest spectacles the entertainment world had seen for decades.
As the anchorman -- a dark haired gentleman in a black suit of a distinguished appearance and age -- signed off some of us breathed a sigh of relief. It was hard not to feel small while watching the summarized events across the dozens of colonized core worlds and hundreds beyond, even though it did help put things in perspective at times.
Next we were in for a half hour of trailers and various entertainment company announcements. Watching the previews was a good buffer between news and the feature presentation. The last of the trailers played and the first of two movies started to play.
The problems of the galaxy were forgotten for the time being as a street level view of old London faded in all around. Our perspective was moved down the streets through the rain. Winding through the ancient buildings, between people in period clothing made of wool and leather and other materials that were rarely seen in our lives transported all of us to a faraway place on Earth, a place no one I had ever met had been to.
We were finally delivered to the old, varnished wooden office door of Dr. Jekyll. I looked to Ayan who smiled at me and got comfortable. “This was a good idea.” she whispered.
Chapter 13
A Late Dinner
To say I made good use of my new quarters would be an understatement. The night before we emerged from hyperspace, I had Oz, Minh, Jason, Laura and Ayan in the main room of my quarters. The Captain's Mess was more than large enough to accommodate everyone, but I felt a lot more comfortable just hosting the gathering in my quarters. The table on one side of the room was loaded with fruits, vegetables, dips, a roast that Minh had managed to buy while we were on Zingara for what I could only guess was a small fortune. For drinks we had various bottles of wine, Oz's scotch whiskey, and a couple different ales.
Ayan and I sat on the loveseat to one side of the room, while the rest were scattered around; Oz and Minh sitting at the table, Laura and Jason sitting on the sofa. “So, I was thinking. We haven't decided on what to do after we complete this mission, and there's a chance that Freeground will call us back as soon as it's done. I know Fleet too well. There's no way we can be considered a shadow ship anymore, so I think they'll want to absorb us into a battle group somewhere. What does everyone think of just going rogue and continuing our original mission after completing the upcoming assignment?” Minh asked in all seriousness. Everyone's trains of thought were derailed immediately, and I was on the spot.
I looked to Ayan, who smiled over the rim of her wine glass and arched an eyebrow. I wouldn't have any help there.
“I mean, this ship and her crew aren't like anything the Fleet has right now. We'd probably be in debriefing for a month while they tear the First Light apart looking for ways to improve the rest of the Fleet. Sometime after that we'd all be reassigned, who knows where, and that would be the end of that. I know I'm not ready for that. It's like we're still just starting out here,” Minh continued.
“I see where you're coming from,” Oz said. “I don't think we're finished out here either. There's already a rumour going around that we're going rogue if Freeground orders us to report to dry dock for debriefing. No one's approached me directly, but ever since the Captain gave his speech before our first movie night, it's hard not to overhear someone talking about the First Light just splitting off on its own.” Oz thought for a moment. “We're not a shadow ship anymore. That was one of the major directives attached to this crew and the ship, to remain disassociated from Freeground while working for their best interests. I could see them calling us back, and I know for a fact that most of the crew would want us to pick another direction and just go.”
“I've been told by several people in engineering that they'd be staying aboard. They don't need leave to make up their minds. It's circulating amongst the gunnery and repair crews as well. They want it. They like serving on the First Light. Going back to Freeground for reassignment isn't a popular notion, and since this ship isn't quite as strict and bottled up as a Fleet vessel, they're not afraid to say it. They're faithful to the senior officers though. Especially you, Jonas. If you followed orders to return to Freeground this early I don't think anyone would argue, they just wouldn't be pleased,” Laura added.
“So, what would you do if we were recalled Jonas? You started the ball rolling, now it's in your hands,” Minh prodded.
I took a drink of my dark port and was stalling as I thought about it when the doors opened to admit Doctor Anderson. “I've heard a few complaints about noise coming from this compartment,” he said with a stern expression. “I had to join the party.” He continued after a moment, presenting two bottles of liquor. One was a light green, the other was the euphoric ale I had had during the Pilot's Ball months before.
“Good timing!” I said, about to stand up and usher him in.
Ayan caught my arm and stopped me. “Oh, you're not getting out of it that easy,” She said with an impish grin and a light giggle, pulling me back down beside her and stretching her legs out across my lap.
“I get the feeling I walked into the middle of something,” Doc said.
“We were just asking the Captain here if he would be interested in going rogue if we're recalled,” Oz said, before biting into an apple. His expression was watchful, serious. He knew that as an old officer, Doc might take things just a bit more seriously.
“Oh, in that case, I think I'll take a seat and pour a glass or two,” Doc said, smiling. “The medical staff haven't stopped talking about it since movie night. Go on, I want to hear this.”
I sighed and looked at the faces of my closest friends. They were in good spirits but they were asking me to tell them why they should follow me into an endeavour that would lead me and several of my senior staff to a general court martial. “I think, once anyone from Freeground sees this ship, they'll want to dissect it and we'll get separated in the process. What do you think?” I looked at Ayan.
“I think I'd be reassigned to Special Projects or Research and Development after three months of debriefing. Those departments have been practically dormant for fifty years,” she said before looking to the Doc.
He nodded as he accepted a glass of scotch from Oz. “Salute,” he said as he raised it and took a sip. A moment later he leaned back in his chair. “My, that is good, not at all like that materialized stuff. I think you're right Ayan, you and your team have done some amazing things so far. I also think that Minh-Chu might get assigned as a commander on a carrier.”
“What? I've had my fly-boys out maybe three times,” he said around a mouthful of peach.
“I've watched some of your advanced tactical drills, especially the one where your entire flight staff take on the First Light. Now that's entertaining.”
“You've been simulating combat scenarios against the ship?” I asked, laughing.
“Oh, no, Captain. Not just against the ship, but against a basic AI commander that follows your general strategic patterns,” Doctor Anderson filled in. “It's really popu
lar.”
Minh shook his head. “It was only to test the ship's defences.”
“And?” I asked.
“From what I saw, the First Light wipes the floor with anything Minh's been able to throw at it nine times out of ten,” Doc said. “That's probably why he hasn't told you about it.”
“Not true! As soon as we found a chink in the ship's armour I would have told you,” Minh explained. “There's really nothing to report just yet.”
“Well, if you ever do find a weak spot, report it right away. Just don't forget to include me in one of these flight scenarios of yours. Sometimes I miss it.”
“If you ever have time. You're either on the bridge, running around the ship consulting with different departments, in engineering or sleeping.”
“Or planning to take the ship and crew for yourself,” Jason added, to which Laura responded by elbowing him in the ribs. “Sorry. I see the look he gets when he's reviewing Freeground's orders on the bridge. I don't think there's a crewmember who can doubt that he'll obey any orders he receives to the letter as long as they don't instruct him to relinquish command or return to home port prematurely. If I were in his place I'd have a plan all set so I wouldn't have to step down from command.”
All eyes were on me again, expectant and quiet. I looked to Ayan who shrugged and smiled. “I'm where I want to be, on the right ship with the right captain. That's really all that matters.”
I set my glass down on the table and started massaging one of Ayan's feet as I thought for a moment.
She went limp and sighed. “Yup, can't find another captain in the entire Fleet that would massage my feet.”
I thought it through. Really thought it through. What would happen if we were recalled? There were consequences for the intentional and unintentional actions we had taken. Instead of backing down and running from the new enemies we had managed to make, I stood, threatened, and fought them. Our quick advancements came at a great cost, the bulk of which I was sure I hadn't yet seen. I could live with being fully accountable for my decisions, but only to Freeground. I couldn't stand being handed over to anyone we had wronged; visions of the courtroom in the holocast and standing in front of corporate legal system judges filled my head for a moment.
I thought of my crew then, and worked through what might happen if we were recalled out loud. “My chief engineer and flight command officers would be poached. Then there's whatever duty assignment my first officer would end up with after a very long debriefing. All the while they'd be poking and prodding the ship, finding out how her new systems work. Two weeks into our stay on Freeground, I bet she'd be half in pieces in dry dock,” I looked at Doc, who put his glass down.
“I've seen it before. That's exactly what happens to highly successful prototype ships, and there hasn't been one for over forty years. As for the crew, you're dead on there too.” He nodded.
“I'd be debriefed for as long as it took, and depending on how various conflicts are going, they might even make an example of me so Freeground wouldn't have one more enemy to deal with. Vindyne is big. If they were to send a few of those Overlord Super Carriers home it would be a major problem.”
“That's possible. The Freeground Fleet has a lot to deal with right now. They might reassign you instead though.”
“That's true. To another ship with another crew. I might be a first officer or captain, but of who knows what or where. That's what the military is all about. That's what normal officers do, I realize, but I signed up to be a part of this crew. To captain this ship.” I thought for another moment before going on. “I honestly hadn't thought about going rogue until I received those orders. It hadn't crossed my mind.”
The whole room seemed to settle and the moods were dampened, but I wasn't finished. “Now that it's on the table I think I know how I'd do it. What if we all put information together in a package for Fleet Command, transmitted it and just kept going? It would be the best way to satisfy the main points of our mission and there’s no reason why we couldn’t follow it up with more information we come across in the future.
“I know I don't want to break up our crew, and the ship should be put to use, not put up for study. Sure we have shields, particle accelerators, antimatter weaponry, and a whole bunch of other upgrades installed and coming down the pipe, but that's not what us being here is all about. That's not even half of it. We've saved lives, thousands of colonists. Those people would be in stasis pods being reprogrammed right now if we hadn't have happened along, or worse. The technology we've discovered isn't even the best of its kind. We haven't actually gone that far from Freeground. There's a lot more out there. There are places where we could be useful, allies just waiting to be found and after only seeing one planet, the inside of a Corporate cell and one space station, I'm just not finished. It's juvenile and irresponsible, but they gave us this ship and told us to pick a direction. We did, and it's not the military way, but I think we should take it further.”
“I second that,” Oz agreed with a raised glass.
“I think it's juvenile and irresponsible, but it fits me like a glove. If they interview my sisters afterwards, they'll just tell Fleet, 'what did you expect?'” Minh added.
“We're not leaving,” Laura said for herself and Jason, who nodded.
I looked to Ayan, who was still enjoying the foot rub I was administering. I stopped and she looked at me, more seriously than I had expected. “You know my answer, I'm with the ship. Now, more rubbing.”
I smiled at her and started working on her other foot. After a few quiet moments I realized everyone was looking at Doc. He was thinking about it, actually thinking about it. “Well, Captain Valent. If you brought the ship into harbour and allowed yourself to be reassigned, you'd probably get one of those shiny new Twinbow Combat Carriers. They'd have you in debriefing for a month or three first, but afterwards I think you'd be put to use. Admiral Rice would probably want you along with her in some front line conflict.” He stood up and started collecting a few miniature tomatoes, a slice of hung-grown roast, some carrot sticks, and other bits of this and that on a plate for himself as he went on. “As for myself, I'd probably be reassigned to some command ship until Fleet had another shadow ship they wanted me on. I don't follow every one of them into space, mind you, but if it were to happen that I found myself back at Freeground, I'd be requesting assignment on the next one.” He picked up a piece of breaded chicken and popped it into his mouth. “Oh, goodness, real chicken. It's been years.” He said before finishing the morsel and going on. “Now, if this ship were putting Freeground to its port side and thrusting off without a suitable replacement for head of medical, I'd have to stay,” he said with a wink to Ayan, who smiled back.
“That stamps it. Freeground calls us back, we turn and go rogue,” Oz said before emptying his glass.
The rest of us joined in his toast. “The ayes have it,” Jason said. Everyone looked at him, most of us quizzically. “It means we all voted and the majority said yes. Old Earth expression,” he explained.
We each took a sip of our drinks, with the exception of Doc who popped another piece of breaded chicken into his mouth after holding it up for inspection.
It was Oz who broke the comfortable silence that fell over the room shortly after. “How long have you known Ayan, Doc?” he asked casually.
“I've been good friends with her mother since she arrived on Freeground. Ayan hadn't been born yet,” he replied. “She was a handful from the moment she was born.”
“Oh no, not baby stories,” Ayan groaned, hiding her face in her hands.
“Don't worry, I'll spare you, even though there are a few really good ones as I recall.”
“Just one, Doctor, come on,” Laura urged.
I kept quiet, but still couldn't help but grin as Oz, Jason and Minh joined in on encouraging Doc to spill a little embarrassing dirt onto the evening. He laughed and nodded. “Sorry Ayan, seems like the gallery won't quiet down until they hear something.”
“It had to happen eventually. I knew as soon as I found out you were aboard.”
“Well, let's see. Ayan was almost two at this point, and her mother was assigned to the Icarus with me. She was one of the two dozen or so science officers on that trip. We were exploring the Nevil Expanse, way out in the middle of nowhere on that trip. There were a lot of families on board since it was one of a few four year exploration missions that were going on at the time, and during a lot of the meetings the children were just in the next room. Well, we were about six months into the trip, and Ayan had adjusted to life out there pretty well. In fact, we had to keep an eye on her because she had a habit of opening maintenance access points in the walls and crawling inside.”
“Oh no, not this,” Ayan said, blushing already. “You couldn't have chosen another one?”
“Sorry, some are so good you just have to pass them on,” Doc explained with a shrug. “I suppose the crewmen that were assigned to take care of the kids while we were busy in the meeting were a little distracted, and Ayan was up to her usual tricks. Somehow she had managed to crawl up into a maintenance space between the walls. We kept hearing this noise, like something rattling, and we couldn't figure out what it was. We just ignored it after a while, deciding to report it to maintenance once our meeting was finished, I don't even really remember what we were talking about at the time. Then the gravity was gone, and after a moment we could hear this little girl giggling like it was the greatest thing.”
“That explains the zero gravity yoga!” Laura declared, pointing.
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins Page 44
