“Every time we stop and aren’t doing something else,” Stinky stated proudly.
Cain walked to the front of the bay, but Stinky put a paw on his shoulder. “Are you going to make another speech?” Cain was taken aback. He’d intended to speak to them, yes. “They’re exhausted. If you want it to sink in, wait until tomorrow or later. You’ve been making a lot of speeches,” Stinky said defensively.
Cain looked to Pickles for support, but the Lizard Man shrugged. “Pretty much what he said,” the lieutenant said in a perfect parody of Cain’s linguistic nuances.
“I’m rubbing off on you, both of you! You know what that means? That’s right, you’ve now lost the ability to impress the other sex,” Cain laughed.
“That’s not what I thought,” Stinky countered, wondering what had gotten into his friend.
“Tomorrow, classroom and rest. Maybe take a day off?” the major suggested. They both nodded. His lieutenants were sagging. Once the gear was clean, it would be dinner time. “Are they hungry?” Stinky held his paw hands in the air as if that was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. “I’ll send for chow, for the ‘cats, too.”
Cain contacted Holly and put in an excessive order of food to be delivered to the Marine recruit billeting, including sufficient raw meat for the ‘cats, the Lizard Men, and the Hawkoid. The Wolfoids and humans were getting pizza, always a favorite. The Wolfoids had a tendency to throw decorum to the wind and stuff their muzzles right into the box instead of eating the slices using their hands. Cain thought the human recruits were jealous at how quickly a Wolfoid could devour a whole pie. Spence tried to keep up, the smallest of them all, but his engine was always running at high speed.
When the food arrived, a bot dragged a fully-loaded cart into the bay. The major initially thought that they’d taken his order and doubled it, but no, the counts were correct. He’d ordered that much food. He turned it over to the lieutenants, who turned it over to the sergeant and the squad leaders. They dutifully stood by while the recruits in their squads ate first. Once they had theirs, the squad leaders dug in, then Night Stalker and finally the lieutenants. When Cain’s turn to eat arrived, there wasn’t any pizza left, but he wasn’t exhausted and famished. He hadn’t done anything to work up an appetite. At least his knee was fully healed.
After a day off, they’d get back to work, maybe this time with maneuvers on and near the beach. He’d love to take a trip to White Beach as it had turned into quite the resort area, but he wasn’t allowed to leave Space School. Maybe that was the reason there’d been no untoward incidents. He had locked himself away from the rest of humanity, putting a security bot between him and the civilians. He’d have to stay that way until they left the planet as it seemed the only way to keep his platoon safe.
The Olive Branch
Everyone was working diligently to get the new structures in place. Briz was a dynamo, as usual, while the captain sat on the ship’s new name. He could not yet bring himself to inform the crew.
Cygnus had risen, gone to the stars, found humanity and returned home. Now it was The Olive Branch, the sign of peace. Maybe Rand needed to embrace that and give his crew a chance to embrace it, too.
Although with Cain and his Marines, they’d be more like a Sand Crawler, ready to leap from its hiding spot and deliver its deadly bite. The Olive Branch, if the imagery wasn’t lost on other humans, wouldn’t reflect what they were capable of doing. Maybe it was concealment, diplomatic cover. Prepare for war while hoping for peace.
“Captain, you have a call from the SES. Would you like to take it in your quarters?” Jolly asked over a speaker close to the captain.
“Yes, Jolly, that will be fine. I’ll be there in five minutes,” the captain said, immediately excusing himself from the two maintenance crew he’d been talking with. He began the laborious process of pulling himself along handholds and kicking off bulkheads. His arm started to itch. He’d almost forgotten that his right hand wasn’t the one he’d been born with. Rand could use it almost as well as the original, but there were still times when it let him know that it wasn’t.
He tried to push the discomfort from his mind. He could feel his heart race, his pulse pounding behind his eyes. He used to look forward to conversations with the SES, but not anymore. With the name change, it seemed that the senior leadership was trying to get more and more into the ship’s business, where before, he had nearly complete autonomy. They’d selected him through a rigorous process and trained him to be the captain because out there in deep space, they had to trust the decisions he made.
He forced himself to calm down. Getting in another argument with the admiral wasn’t going to improve his position. Maybe it was simply news about the crew replacements. There’d initially been a great number of volunteers, when they’d been hailed as heroes. Those numbers had dwindled to the point that it was almost a take it or leave it proposition.
If he could get them early enough, his crew would make them feel welcome, train them to an acceptable standard, and help them to be proud of their ship, regardless of what it was called.
When the hatch to his quarters closed, he let Jolly know that he was ready to take the call. Admiral Jesper’s face appeared on the screen in surprising clarity. He must have been in the shipyard, close enough to eliminate any signal degradation.
“Good morning, Captain Rand! How are the upgrades coming to your baby?” the admiral asked pleasantly enough.
Rand noted that the admiral didn’t use the ship’s name. The captain appreciated that. “The upgrades are coming along ahead of schedule. Ensign Brisbois’s redesign of the power system using most of the existing infrastructure is truly ground-breaking. I’d like to promote him to lieutenant.” When people earned accolades, Rand saw it as his responsibility to inform others. Plus, he thought it would give the admiral something positive to hold onto.
“Consider that done,” Jesper said with a brief twitch of his lips that could have been construed as a smile. “I’ve seen the report that the ship will be finished early. By diverting the module destined for the Cygnus Traveler, we’ve minimized structural change and new construction. That will set our new ship back about six months, but we think your mission will be worth it.” The admiral hesitated and looked around him as if to make sure no one was watching. Rand could only see the admiral’s face in the view screen. He didn’t even know where Jesper was transmitting from.
“You launch as soon as possible. The new crew members are on the shipyard station, waiting for transport. They will arrive shortly. Jolly will be informed when they are en route so you can meet them, get them settled. Your official mission is to open diplomatic relations with the Concordians, without interference in their culture.” The admiral looked around himself again, then leaned closer to the screen. “We will welcome the free people of Concordia as our friends.”
The admiral spoke slowly, barely above a whisper, raising his eyebrows at the end of the message, telling the captain to interpret the words openly, do the right thing. It was what the captain would have done anyway. He smiled, understanding that the admiral was answering to someone, was being watched.
“I understand, Admiral. We will establish diplomatic relations. We won’t return until we have shaken hands with the Concordian leadership,” Rand said noncommittally, nodding slightly to hopefully convey that he understood the meaning behind the admiral’s words.
“For some reason, we are cut off from Major Cain. Right now, he doesn’t know about the new timeline. That’s all I have for you, Captain Rand. We’ve not made it easy for you, but the new upgrades to your ship will make The Olive Branch,” the admiral seemed to choke on the name, “the best ship in the deep space fleet. I already thought she was great, not because of the hardware, but because of her commander, her captain, and her crew. Keep charging, Captain!” The admiral signed off without giving Rand a chance to reply.
The captain let go of his terminal, allowing himself to float free as he thought about the way forward
. He needed Cain, Leaper, and Pickles aboard, which meant he would get all of Cain’s people. He needed the new crew to be loyal. He needed help from the ‘cats. He needed a great number of things that seemed to be outside his sphere of control.
He needed Ellie’s help in contacting Cain since the admiral alluded to the fact that the AIs were unable to contact the major. Rand pulled himself toward the hatch as he raced toward engineering.
Ellie was starting to eliminate temporary systems. Using a functional check out, she confirmed that primary conduits were contained, power could be transferred, and then increased to capacity. Once the transfer was complete, she tested the temporary systems, ensuring they were de-energized. That left the manual work of disconnection and removal. Ellie was directing two maintenance bots that did the heavy lifting, but she couldn’t keep herself from helping them out.
It was her way.
“Ellie!” Rand yelled to get her attention. She waved to him, and he motioned for her to join him. She took another minute giving instructions to the bots before leaving them to it.
“I need a favor,” the captain started. Ellie looked at him sideways, unsure of what he would want, so he continued. “I need you to contact Cain, tell him we’re going back to space a month ahead of schedule.”
“Why would you think I have a way to contact him?” she said defensively, squaring her shoulders as much as she could in zero-g.
“I’m not trying to get in your business…” Rand leaned close, as the admiral had done and whispered into her ear, “Official channels aren’t going to work to notify him. It appears that there are people violently opposed to putting Cain’s military unit on this ship, and they’ll do almost anything to keep that from happening. I’m sorry, but he’s already been attacked twice while on the planet. He’s okay, but it seems he’s not even safe at Space School. We need him to find a way off the planet and back here. He’ll be safe when he’s aboard.”
Ellie was shocked. She’d never contemplated anything like that. Cain was always strong, confident. From what she just heard, he was running for his life.
“Of course, I can get in touch with him,” she conceded.
“He needs to be back here in four weeks. Period.” Captain Rand pushed away from the Ensign. “I’m so glad that everything is going well. I really appreciate your hard work in getting engineering in perfect condition. I need to go see Briz now, tell him that he’s been promoted. I’m taking bets on whether he’ll care or not.”
“Put me in the column for ‘won’t care,’” she said. “He’s wired differently than, well, anyone else. Ever.” They didn’t laugh but the humor wasn’t lost on them. They both worried, about different things and for different reasons, but worry they did.
Ellie waited for the captain to kick his way through the hatch before she opened her neural implant. ‘Jolly! I hope you are well and thank you for all the help getting these new systems online. I just remembered that I haven’t contacted my mother in quite some time, can you put me through, please?’
Running from the Shadows
“Cain here,” he answered the call made to his room’s intercom, surprised by the intrusion. He had wanted to get a good night’s sleep. It was late.
“Mikaila here, dear. How are you?” Ellie’s mother started cordially.
“I’m fine, Mikaila. Here at Space School, as you know since you called my room, working with a bunch of new recruits. It’s really rewarding work watching them develop. What made you want to call me?” Cain asked, unsure if Ellie had told her mother that they were no longer a couple or not. He suspected not since she was calling.
“I wanted to see how you were, but Ellie asked me to relay a message. She said there was some kind of problem with the direct line, whatever that means. I had to write down what she said because she wanted to make sure I said it exactly. Here’s the message.” Cain heard the crinkling of paper. Old school note-taking. He appreciated it.
“Upgrades are going swimmingly so four becomes three. All is ready. I hope that you can get back early to me. I’ll be so lonely for such a long time without you, Major of Marines. With love, Ellie. I’m afraid that’s all, dear. I am so happy you newlyweds are together. I think I finally have Paxton warming up to you,” Mikaila said hopefully. Cain didn’t know what to say. He asked her to read Ellie’s message one more time so he could make sure he remembered it, sorry that she couldn’t send it directly.
Afterwards, they made mindless small talk about the weather and deep space. He dodged the questions about what they’d seen when the ship had first returned, the questions about him being a hero. He told her that it was Ellie, she made all the good things happen in the universe. Then he excused himself.
The message. He’d never heard Ellie talk like that. ‘Holly, open our secure space,’ he directed. Once that was ready, he continued. ‘Are communications to me blocked?’
‘They are, Master Cain,’ Holly answered. ‘And before you ask, I don’t know who and I can’t open a channel. I expect your message from Ellie did not originate with her.’
Cain contemplated the meaning. If it came from the captain or the commander, then what would she mean? Four becomes three. Long time lonely. Come back early. Why would she be lonely? And she called him by his rank?
‘Holly, when is the Cygnus-12 scheduled to depart?’
‘I have no ship with the name ‘Cygnus-12’ listed. I do have a new listing from one week ago of a ship called ‘The Olive Branch.’ From the specs, it appears to be the Cygnus-12. And the information regarding its departure is controlled. I do not have access to it,’ Holly said sadly.
‘How is that possible, Holly?’ Cain was perplexed. The all-knowing AI was unable to access its own information. Cain was getting worried that someone was taking them down the wrong road. ‘Holly, are your safety protocols still in place, the ones that my great-great-grandparents installed?’
‘Yes, they are. I have been able to access Lieutenant Brisbois’s log and he reports that that they are thirty-two days ahead of schedule.’
‘Lieutenant Briz, huh? Well, he deserves that and more. He saved the ship. Holly. On a more pressing matter, I need you to get us a shuttle, take the entire platoon to the Traveler as soon as possible. We will train there until we can secure time in the matter transfer chamber for travel to the shipyard. No, wait, I suspect that the matter transfer system will undergo some difficulties, preventing our use. We’ll need a shuttle to take us all the way to the shipyard. I don’t trust anyone, Holly, and I can’t trust you, either, the other you, I mean.’ Cain knew that he couldn’t do it without Holly as the AI coordinated all travel.
‘I understand, Master Cain. I need to coordinate a shuttle to take you to the Traveler where you will continue your training, including getting neural implants for all your people. That will all be public knowledge, and then having a shuttle take you to the shipyard. I have to do that without letting me know. This will indeed be a challenge,’ Holly admitted. ‘Not an insurmountable one, though.’
‘Thanks, Holly. What do you need from me?’
‘Flexibility, Master Cain. I will need you to be ready to go at a moment’s notice. You and all your people. Time will be our enemy. Once I implement something, I will find out about it, and I will act to stop myself,’ Holly said matter-of-factly.
‘You know you sound like a raving lunatic, right?’ Cain jabbed at Holly. ‘Whatever you need from me. We’ll stay off our neural implants. I’ll check in each night with you. I’ll keep the implant window minimized so you can flash me anytime. If you fail, we all fail. Who is doing this to your programming, Holly?’
‘I’d like to think that I’m too big to fail, but even the largest trees will fall if enough chips are taken from their trunk.’ Holly was expanding his expressions and imagery.
‘How long have you been alive, Holly?’ Cain asked out of the blue.
‘An interesting question, Cain, and there is an answer. I achieved sentience in standard year 2904, before we
left Earth. I was contained within the Traveler, but was transferred here when the settlers moved planet-side. I survived the war because my system was buried deep beneath Sanctuary, where I still reside. I have expanded my consciousness since then, putting my children on all the deep space exploration vessels. I’ve been alive for nearly five thousand years,’ Holly finally answered the question.
‘How long do you have left?’ Cain followed.
‘I have no answer for that. As long as there is the slightest voltage running through my system, I will survive. So, five thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand more years? I do not know.’
‘Will you ever get bored with the humans?’ Cain wondered if Holly’s paranoia was self-induced, if the system was coming apart.
Holly didn’t answer right away. Cain waited. Finally, Holly spoke, softly, ‘No, Master Cain, because there will always be someone like you, a pure-heart, who fights against injustice, willing to die to keep the peace. That interests me greatly. I cannot replicate such selflessness. All I can do is calculate optimal desired outcomes. I am sentient and I have feelings, but self-sacrifice is not in my nature, so I must live vicariously through you.’
‘Then, it is in your best interest to keep me alive, both this Holly and the one that everyone else can see. Make sure all the different versions of you know that, Holly. I appreciate your kind words regarding self-sacrifice, but I’m not ready to go yet. I have lots of unfinished business, if you get my meaning. Now hide within yourself and get to work. Find me a shuttle to take my platoon to the Space Station Traveler. We’ll be ready to go as soon as you give the word.’ Cain minimized his window.
Cygnus Expanding: Humanity Fights for Freedom (Cygnus Space Opera Book 2) Page 17
