Kaine's Sanction

by D. M. Pruden

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Pavlovich

  HAYDEN DECIDED WORK would be the balm for sorrow. Though he spent most of the trip dreading his new assignment, it was time to do what Iris would tell him to do. The fitting way to remember and honour her was to put forth his best effort in whatever personal hell Admiral Thomas had prepared for him.

  After locating an information synth, he learned the berth number of Scimitar and made his way through several security stations into the military wing of the aging facility.

  Holding his small bag, he stood before airlock door 563 and tried to, if not stop the butterflies in his stomach, at least persuade them to fly in formation.

  Hayden was shocked from his thoughts by a woman’s voice.

  “The inside of the ship smells a lot better than out here.”

  He turned to see a petite young blonde woman wearing filthy coveralls. The left side of her head was shaved, and an elaborate glyph of some kind was tattooed on the exposed scalp. Her remaining hair was long and pulled back into a semblance of a military-approved ponytail.

  “You are looking for the Scimitar, aren’t you?”

  “Uh, yes,” he stammered. “I’m Second Lieutenant Kaine.”

  She broke into a grin. “Ooo, the brand new officer, straight from the factory.”

  She wiped her right hand on her coverall and extended it to him. “I’m Midshipman Cora Symes, Engineer’s Mate, though there isn’t actually an official engineer. I guess that makes me one, though I’m not commissioned, so they can’t give me that title. Not that titles matter much on this ship.”

  He couldn’t help but smile at her, and, with only a slight hesitation, took her offered hand and they shook.

  “I’m pleased to meet you, Midshipman Symes.”

  “Oh, everyone calls me Cora.”

  He grinned even wider at her rapid speech. “That sounds good. You can call me Hayden.”

  She seized his bag from his other hand. Before he could object, she walked past him and opened the airlock door.

  “The cap’n will be mighty glad to see you. We’ve been waiting three days and were beginning to think you wouldn’t arrive. Headquarters often doesn’t follow through with what they tell us.”

  “They sent me by the slow boat.”

  “Oh, no worries. You’re here now, and that’s what counts. We are a bit understaffed in the officer department. Actually, we pretty much need more people everywhere, though I was lucky enough to get two additional junior engineering techs last month.”

  Was she pulling his leg? Why would HQ allow a ship of the line to be neglected like this?

  She smiled at the look of shock on his face. “Not too many want to serve a tour on the frontier. Things aren’t nearly as exciting or civilized as the inner systems, but I like it.”

  “I’m afraid they didn’t give me a choice.”

  “Your first assignment. I get it. Don’t worry, I doubt the cap’n would leave you behind, no matter what he threatened. Only his bark is mean, and he hardly ever bites. Besides, there are still repairs to make on the gravity plating and some tuning of the light-gate drive, so we won’t be going anywhere for another day anyway.”

  She grinned at him while Hayden remained in the airlock, fascinated by how she could fit so much speech into a single breath.

  “He’s waiting for you now.”

  “Who?”

  “Cap’n Pavlovich. He’s on the bridge.” She pointed to her left. “Just go that way, through three hatches and down the last ladder. I put the sign back up yesterday. If you get lost, ask anyone.”

  Hayden looked at his bag in her hand.

  “Unless you want me to take you there?” she said.

  “Uh, no, that’s okay. I’m sure I’ll find my way.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You look like a smart one. I’m heading past your quarters on my way to engineering, so I’ll drop your kit off. See you at meal time.”

  She abruptly turned and disappeared through a hatchway.

  Shaking his head, he turned in the opposite direction, and, with little difficulty, found himself outside the hatch to the command hub. He was debating if he should knock first or simply enter when it swung open on its own.

  Standing, hunched over in the doorway, was a startled bear of a man. He was easily over two metres tall, and his rumpled uniform couldn’t conceal a muscular body. His pale, lined face was covered in an unkempt jet-black beard, while his head was shorn. Dark brown eyes glared from beneath bushy black eyebrows.

  “Who the hell are you?” His voice was loud and threatening.

  Hayden noted the rank epaulette on the man’s collar and realized this was Yegor Pavlovich, commanding officer of the Scimitar. He snapped to attention and saluted.

  “Second Lieutenant Kaine reporting for duty as ordered, sir.”

  The captain stared at him, betraying no emotion. “Well, it’s about time. Come in.” He retreated through the hatchway.

  Hayden self-consciously ended his salute and followed.

  Pavlovich towered beside him and gave him several seconds to take in the scene of the small, cramped bridge of the ship. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gawked at him.

  “Attention! Our new monkey from Central Command has arrived. Mister...er...”

  “Kaine, sir.”

  “Right. Anyway, he is your new first officer. Fill him in.”

  “Sir?”

  Annoyance clouded Pavlovich’s brow. “Some of my crew are in the station’s stockade, making us more understaffed than normal. You are now the second ranking officer aboard, and, by default, my XO. I am going to take a dump, so these fine people will bring you up to speed on your duties. I will see you in the ship’s mess in one hour, where we will share a meal and open our orders.”

  He started to depart but abruptly reconsidered and moved closer to Hayden. Speaking quietly, he said, “You stink. Get a shower before supper.”

  Without waiting for a response, Pavlovich exited and slammed the hatchway shut behind him. The newly minted executive officer turned back to the bridge crew, who had resumed their previous activities.

  What the hell kind of ship am I assigned to?

  CHAPTER NINE

  The Mission

  DEBRIEFED ON HIS general duties and operational procedure, meaning how the captain liked things done, Hayden retreated to his quarters to clean up properly for the first time in almost a week.

  His cabin was small but had its own tiny shower. As the tepid waters ran over him, he reflected on what he had gotten himself into. With the exception of the travel arrangements, this didn’t feel like a punitive assignment. Perhaps the news about Iris had coloured his perception.

  As he dried himself, he resolved to take a more positive view of his situation and put his best foot forward. It was the most fitting way he could honour her. This posting was not how his father imagined Hayden’s career might begin, but it could be a significant step in the right direction, if he played it right.

  He dressed in his clean uniform and found his way to the mess hall. Pavlovich insisted that the crew dine together every evening while in space dock. On reflection, he could see the wisdom in building camaraderie that way. He might learn a lot before the end of the mission.

  The door opened to reveal what he presumed was the ship’s complement. Sixty-two men and women, with untouched plates piled with food before them, stared at him with barely concealed resentment behind their eyes; everyone except for Cora, who regarded him with pity and shook her head, as if embarrassed for him.

  Checking his LINK, he noted he was thirty-five seconds late and wondered what the problem could be. Under everyone’s gaze, he self-consciously proceeded to the serving station and piled random items on his tray. With every eye in the room following, he took the only remaining seat across from the captain. As soon as he sat, Pavlovich seized his fork and dove into his meal like a man who hadn’t eaten in a week. Everyone else followed suit, and the room was filled
with the sounds of scraped plates and noisy chewing. Every person was focused on the plate in front of them. Hayden spooned food into his mouth, unsure if a social penalty existed for being the last to finish.

  As he chewed the final mouthful, he became aware he was again being watched. He looked up to see Pavlovich sternly gazing at him. His plate was empty and his utensils lay on it. Hayden roughly swallowed and placed his cutlery down. He glanced about to note that every other person appeared to be finished as well, and all waited for him.

  Seeming satisfied that everyone was done, Pavlovich stood to address the assembled crew. “I’m glad that you all could make it for supper.” He shot a glance at Hayden. “As I’m sure you are all aware, we will be running a bit light on personnel, as Commander Pierce and Lieutenant Watkins and a few others elected to remain behind and enjoy the hospitality of the docking station security forces.”

  Chuckles rose from the back of the room, and the captain tried to suppress a smile.

  “Regardless of their inconsiderate absence from the family, we are graced with a new arrival. Some of you met Lieutenant Kaine earlier, and the rest of you will get to know him and form your own opinion as he assumes the role of first officer. I expect you to give him the same degree of respect that you accorded Mister Pierce.”

  He raised a data pad and read from it. “Effective immediately, Scimitar is ordered to proceed by fastest practical jump sequence to the Mu Arae system. There we are to locate and recover Doctor Ishmael Gabriel and return him and his accumulated research to Earth, posthaste.”

  Pavlovich raised his eyes and scowled at the mumbling crew. “Is there something anyone would like to share?” He scanned the now quiet room and pointed at a young crewman near the back wall who was trying to avoid his gaze.

  “You, Brennen. You seemed particularly talkative a moment ago while I was speaking. What do you wish to say?”

  The man sitting beside Cora hesitantly stood and addressed Pavlovich. “Cap’n, Mu Arae has been off the light grid for the past forty years. We don’t know if the light-gate even works anymore.”

  “I heard it does,” interrupted another voice. “Raiders hacked it and use it for smuggling. They’re in league with the aliens who destroyed the colony and will attack any ship that attempts to enter the system. The Odin barely made it back when they tried to go in ten years ago.”

  A rumble of assent rose in the room. Pavlovich scowled at his assembled crew.

  “What the hell is the matter with you pansies? Who pays attention to any of the crap that is floating around the OM-NET? You all have too much recreation time. Odin was a class two scout ship with no weapons and was attacked before they could make the jump. My grandmother’s knitting circle could have commandeered it.”

  He glared at the crowd. “The rumours about Mu Arae are just that. There are no alien bogeymen. The colony failed due to nothing more sinister than a natural disaster. Forget what other crap you may have heard. “As far as raiders are concerned, need I remind everyone that Scimitar is an armed cruiser with a trained fighting crew? At least, that is what I say in the reports I file. We’ve taken on our fair share of pirates, and they always came out the worse for it. What is really going on here?”

  The room fell silent, and several people glanced at Hayden, who felt increasingly uncomfortable with their attention. Pavlovich noticed the dynamic in the room. His eyes widened mockingly.

  “Oh, I see what the problem is. You lot don’t feel confident about going into a potential conflict situation with our crew complement down and a green XO.”

  The murmurs in the room grew, and a few heads nodded.

  “Listen up, you whiners! Yes, we are an out-of-date ship on crap duty at the rump end of the Confederation. Yes, most of you are here because I was the last commander prepared to accept you, and some of you may even think that I am out of favour with the powers that be. Get over it. Despite what you think of this vessel, your crew mates, or me, this is still a ship of the line and you are all enlisted and paid by the United Earth Forces to defend its goddamned territories and interests.”

  Buzzing from the overhead light seemed to boom in Hayden’s ears. Somebody coughed.

  “I am appointing Lieutenant Kaine as XO. That should be good enough for you. Mister Pierce broke the law and is in jail at the moment, so unless you want to jump ship, my advice is to stow the mumbling and prepare to depart at 0600. Dismissed!”

  Everyone filed past the recycling unit, where they dumped their plates as they exited the mess hall. Not a word was spoken.

  Pavlovich regarded his still seated first officer. “The crew does not appear to trust you yet, Mister Kaine. I don’t know if I do either, but you’re all Command gave me, so I am willing to give you enough rope to hang yourself. I assigned you a provisional field promotion to full lieutenant. I don’t know if you’re worthy of it, and frankly, I don’t care. I did it to piss off the Old Man. It’s up to you to keep it.”

  After a beat to see if he would reply, the captain continued. “It would appear you have some work to do, XO. Oversee preparations for departure.”

  Hayden stood and saluted. “Aye-aye, sir!”

  Pavlovich shook his head with a pained expression. “Knock off the saluting. Wake me at 0500.”

  Discarding his plate in the recycling unit, he stomped out, leaving Hayden more confused than ever.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Scimitar

  HAYDEN WAS SURE Pavlovich was trying to kill him on the Old Man’s orders. The demands of his position were exhausting. The captain claimed the punishing schedule was necessary because of the reduced crew complement and the number of jumps required to get them to their objective. Only when the aging engines failed on the approach to the final gate did he reluctantly agree everyone was exhausted and ordered most of them to bed.

  Hayden wondered if that order had included Cora. The young engineer seemed to thrive on the pressure. As far as he knew, she took no downtime. He suspected she kept a supply of stimms and considered asking if she would share with him.

  No sooner would she and her team put one thing back online than another system would fail. Artificial gravity went out three times, and they lost life support in half the lower decks at one point.

  Hayden worried they would never make it back to Earth, marooned somewhere or dying in an explosion when something critical failed.

  One jump-gate remained to be traversed. It was perhaps fortuitous that they now had some time to put the ship in good order before making the final FTL leap into the unknown.

  Still exhausted, despite a brief opportunity for sleep, he arrived for his shift on the bridge thirty seconds ahead of schedule. He even had enough time to grab a cup of strong coffee from the mess hall.

  Pavlovich looked up from the command chair to acknowledge his arrival. Hayden noted two officers were already at their posts and well into preparations for activation of the light-gate drive. Ensign Bates, a rail-thin albino man of indeterminate age, was at the sensor and communications console. Ensign Kwok, a petite Asian woman of about forty years, occupied the helm/navigation station.

  Two stations remained unoccupied: engineering control and the tactical alcove, an isolated booth for the ship’s gunnery commander. That bridge position alone dated the vessel to a time before all ship defences became managed by synths.

  Hayden immediately logged himself in, and, one by one, verified his interlink with each system. It had taken him a couple of days beyond his initial orientation to become comfortable with Scimitar’s archaic interfaces.

  “Engineer, report please?” Pavlovich spoke into an ancient headset. It was another anachronism Hayden needed to get used to.

  He glanced up and noted the engineering station was empty.

  “Well, get it finished and haul your ass up here.” The captain removed the apparatus and as an afterthought addressed Kaine. “She’s patching a coolant leak and will be right up.”

  He nodded his thanks and silently wondered how the
ship had survived so long out at the fringes.

  Eight minutes later, Cora breezed in, unfazed, and assumed her station. After logging in, she announced, almost incidentally, “All systems are green for FTL jump, Cap’n.”

  “About bloody time.” He regarded the still open hatchway.

  “Where the hell is Gunney?”

  She smiled at Pavlovich. “He’s coming, sir. Don’t worry.”

  “I thought I met the entire bridge crew,” said Hayden.

  “He is our tactical officer, Kaine. He doesn’t much like hanging out with the rest of us.”

  “He’s been down in engineering getting updated,” added Cora.

  “He’s a synth?”

  The captain laughed. “Don’t ever let him hear you call him that.”

  “He’s a cyborg,” Cora said. “Gunney doesn’t like people much.”

  Hayden was dumbfounded. It figured that the Scimitar had an outdated gunnery officer. Before he could say anything, a rhythmic clanking echoed through the open hatch and an enormous hulk of a man lurched through it. He slammed the door shut and made his way to his station.

  “Gunney, how many times do I have to tell you to take it easy on my ship? We just fixed that,” said Pavlovich, not unkindly, to the man’s back.

  A raspy voice that sounded like sandpaper being scraped across a microphone responded, “Sorry, Cap’n.”

  The cyborg assumed his position inside the alcove.

  Kaine caught himself staring and broke off his gaze. He’d never met a cybernetic enhanced person before and only knew of them through his history class. Gunney showed few external signs of his prosthesis, and Hayden couldn’t tell how much of the man was still human. He assumed from the awkward clanking of his gait that his lower body was synthetic and reinforced to military specs. Aside from that, except for the metallic voice and an obvious artificial left eye, he appeared to be an unusually large man.

  Pavlovich settled in to his command chair. “I believe we are now all present and ready. Initiate the jump, Mister Kaine.”

  “Aye, sir. Helm, bring us to full zero motion relative to the light-gate.”