by Tony Healey
“Approximately nineteen hours from now, we will drop out of jump space and be in the Chimera Cluster. Our initial plan is to remain dark to minimize chances of detection. Upon our initial departure from FTL, all fighter wings will launch into a defensive formation around The Manhattan and run through a shakedown routine.”
The star-map zoomed in tight, close enough to see a theoretical model of the carrier amid the shifting peach-hued vapors. Cyan hexagons appeared around ten fighter groups as they spread out into a ring formation. Each hexagon bore the name of one of the squadrons. Green wing was on the far left.
“You will conduct sector patrol at this perimeter for three hours, provided we receive no contact from Draxx vessels.” Shaded circles filled in over the hexagons, overlapping in a Venn diagram to indicate zones-of-responsibility. “At this time, command does not anticipate our arrival will be noticed. Nav has targeted a point of significant electrical anomalies for our arrival. It is our hope that this will mask our signature from detection until we can bring all of our systems online post-jump.”
“Oh that sounds like a wonderful idea,” whispered Aaron. “Leap right into some unknown part of space, going straight for an anomaly. Hopefully the carrier won’t beer-can on the way out of jump.”
Emma cringed.
“Do you have something to add, Lieutenant Vorys?” asked Cmdr. Grey.
Michael covered a smile with his hand, acting as if his nose itched.
“Sir,” replied Aaron. “I was just wondering about the wisdom of jump space egress so close to an unknown signal anomaly.”
“Perhaps you should head on up to the bridge and share your concerns with Nav? They’ve only been doing it for nine years, I’m sure they completely forgot to consider what effect the field would have on transiting out of jump space.” Cmdr. Grey gestured at the door.
Murmuring chuckles spread over the room, from those brave enough to laugh.
Liam flashed two thumbs-up at Aaron, out of sight from the podium.
“My apologies, sir. I’m sure they know what they are doing.” Aaron shifted.
Emma inherited Michael’s smile. Some of the bomber crew glanced at Aaron, evidently sharing his worry.
Commander Ellison Grey waved his arm at the star-map, returning it to a nonspecific view of stars. “Squadron leaders are required to familiarize themselves with Module 357-R, it contains the latest intelligence we have on Draxx operations in this part of the black. Everyone should read up on the cluster and get something to eat”―he leaned on the podium, losing the barking military voice and falling into a more fatherly tone―“and get some rest. You’re going to need it. Reassemble on the flight deck for pre-launch checks in sixteen hours.”
s Commander Robin Teague left the bridge and made her way to the conference room, she reflected on just how far she had come in so little time.
Her results at the Academy put her on a fast-track to a leadership role aboard the Robinson Crusoe and her eventual posting as Lieutenant on the Starbuck. Captain Waters had seen something in her―a part of her that made her outshine the others. When the position of Lieutenant-Commander opened up, Waters had wasted no time in asking her if she’d like it.
In a few short years, Commander Teague had proven herself time and time again. And now here she was, on the Manhattan… one step away from Captain of her own vessel.
A far cry from her childhood on Mufesta Prime. Once a beautiful Union settlement, it had ultimately been left to its own devices once the Terran-Draxx war started to take its toll on resources. The Union forgot about them, out there on the far reaches of known space. And whilst humanity fought its alien nemesis light years away, the Draxx came calling.
Weeks of fighting later and Robin, then only eight years old, was interred in a prisoner camp, the settlers herded in like cattle. The men were executed almost instantly. Her Father…
But she and her Mother survived. They were allowed to live. The Draxx used the women and children as bargaining chips in a brief mediation with the Terran Union, in which the Union did what they could to get them back.
They let her Mother go first. But the children they released later. It was years until they were reunited with their parents.
By then, the children they had been were changed forever.
Commander Teague decided there was time to head to the Officer’s Mess before her meeting with Captain Driscoll. As she walked, she passed a viewport. She stared out through her own reflection at the stars. A strong, confident woman with her career in front of her.
You’re not that girl anymore. You’re stronger now. They made you that way.
It was true. None of the children were the same, but they were all tougher than most. It was assumed they would arrive in Union hands, scarred beyond recognition. However, they had adapted to their situation, to the brutality of their reptilian captors.
You’re a survivor.
She’d come a long way, and though she had some help in getting her promotions so quickly, she really had herself to thank. Her Commanding Officers saw something in her that had always been there, right from the beginning. Something hard, sharp. Something they could hone, could perfect into something truly awe-inspiring.
In short, Robin Teague was what the Terran Defense Force happened to be looking for: Command material. The next generation of intrepid leaders for its vast fleet of starships.
They were looking for survivors…
The Officer’s Conference Room was a blend of soft greys and blacks, with subdued lighting from above.
“I took the liberty of getting you a coffee, sir,” Commander Teague said as Captain Driscoll walked in. The room was brightened momentarily by the outside corridor, then became dim again as the door closed behind him.
“Thank you, Commander. Though I did have one before coming aboard, I’ll never say no to coffee,” Driscoll said. He sat a few seats down from her at the big table. It seemed almost absurd to be using the room for such a small meeting. Just the two of them. At least twenty personnel could fit around the table, not counting standing room. The head of every department aboard could attend any meeting there if needed.
There was a reason for Driscoll choosing it; the conference room was the one place on the Manhattan guaranteed to be free of any bugging equipment. It was completely sealed. If his many years of service had taught him anything, it was to never trust anywhere on a starship to be free of devices listening in on your every word. Not even your own quarters. The Draxx had spies everywhere.
He took a sip of his coffee. “Ah, yeah. Just the way I like it. Cream, and plenty of sugar. How d’you know? Lucky guess?”
Teague stifled a laugh. “Actually, I did some research before I arrived at Horizon Station. Got in touch with your previous Executive Officer. Commander Hathi’i was it?”
The Captain nodded. “Yes. Hathi’i. Good man. Well, Jihir to be exact. What did he tell you about me? Anything incriminating?”
“Nothing I can’t read anywhere else. Apart from how you like your coffee that is,” Commander Teague said. “Oh, and that you like to make surprise inspections from time to time. I’ve made a point of not relating that to anyone.”
Now it was Driscoll’s turn to laugh. “He’s right. I do like to do that. I find it keeps people sharp. Now then, I want to get a few things out in the air first, Commander. If that’s okay with you…”
“Yes,” Teague said.
“When it’s just you and I, nobody else around, I’m not Captain. I’m not Driscoll. I’m Nick. That’s it. If we’re to work together, I want us to relax a bit. But only when we’re away from the crew, right? I mean, you’re my XO for Christ’s sake. If we can’t be on first name terms behind closed doors…”
“Sure.”
“The other thing you may be aware of… I hand-picked all of you. The Manhattan wasn’t meant to launch on such a shortened timetable. But we have. And with the exception of the Chief―who I need to get around to seeing―I decided who was assigned here. I d
idn’t have long, and nearly all of you I’ve never met before.”
A frown crossed Teague’s face. “Don’t mind my asking, but how did you know who to pick?”
“Word of mouth. I went on what I heard. A small handful of people I’ve worked with in the past. Commander Grey, for example. We go way back. But mostly, you’re all new faces. Yourself, for example. Captain Waters had nothing but praise for you. Said you were one step away from being promoted to Commander and given the lead as Executive Officer. I decided to make that happen. Throw you in the deep end.” Driscoll smiled. “By the way, how are you adjusting to the promotion?”
“Fine,” Robin Teague told him. “It’s not much different to my role on the Starbuck. Just a bigger ship. And we didn’t have an AI…”
Driscoll drained his coffee. It’d been piping hot, and yet he’d swilled it as if he had a cast iron mouth. “Goddamn thing. I don’t know. I hear it’s good, but you never can be sure. I trust buttons and levers, Robin. I trust men and women. Does that make me old fashioned, do you think?”
She smiled. “If it does, then that’s two of us.”
“Well, I think we have an understanding,” Driscoll said. He accessed a data tablet and a holo-display at the centre of the table burst into life. It showed a moving point of light, travelling through one star system after another. Like an airliner from a bygone era, hopping from one exotic island to the next.
“This is our course?” Teague asked. She studied the display. “And here’s our destination.”
She pointed to a cloudy area. It was huge, and she didn’t need to be told what it was.
“The Chimera Cluster,” Driscoll said. “We’re headed right for the hornet’s nest.”
“Why? There have been expeditions to the Cluster before, but it’s always been deemed too damn dangerous,” Teague said. “Why now?”
“As I said to the whole ship, we make war to end it. Our mission is to do what we can to turn the tide of this conflict, by whatever means necessary. I don’t know if you’re fully aware of this or not, but we’re not winning the battle. Not by a long shot.”
“I heard about the losses at Cablan…” Robin said. Her voice faded away. The Draxx had gone there and bombarded the planet’s surface from orbit until it was a smoldering cinder. Nothing had escaped.
Why had they done it? For no good reason―simply because they could. And because Cablan had been a Terran Union colonial world. The Union expanded by peaceful co-operation and settlement. The Draxx did the opposite. They spread throughout the galaxy like a tumor.
“Yes, there are losses on a planetary scale, too, but I’m referring to the burden on our fleet. Our manpower. We can’t continue to fight them the way we have been. If we’re going to gain the upper hand we need to get dirty. Take the fight to them.”
“So that’s our mission. We’re troublemakers, sent in to disrupt them in any way possible,” Teague said. “Try and cause them as much grief as we can manage?”
“In a nutshell―almost. As you’re aware, we know from telemetry and astrological data that there is a vast Draxx presence within the Cluster. We also know that the area disrupts sensors, communications. It’s unstable in there. Dangerous,” Driscoll said.
“So we’ve sent our biggest, most powerful vessel in the hope it’ll be able to withstand the rigors of the Cluster itself…”
“As well as carry enough muscle to give the Draxx a shock or two. Yes,” Driscoll said. He pushed himself away from the conference table, crossed his arms. “There’s another side to our mission though, Robin. They’re up to something in there. We just don’t know what.”
“What do you mean?”
“Our intelligence reports have picked up on a whiff of something happening in there,” Driscoll said, jabbing a finger in the direction of the holographic Chimera Cluster floating over the table. “A construction of some kind. It’s worried top brass enough that they’ve sent us to investigate. As you know, probes can’t penetrate very far into the Cluster. They needed a ship. That’s us. I want to know what it is they’re building in there. And more importantly, if it’s something we can destroy.”
“Who knows about this, sir?” Teague asked.
“High-ranking Admiralty, myself, you… that’s about it. We didn’t want anyone untrustworthy to get a hint of it prior to reaching the Cluster. After all, once we’re inside, it’s highly unlikely we’ll be able to make contact with Command. We’ll be on our own, unless we can concoct some way of breaking through the communication disruption. So once we’re in there, if there’s a Draxx sympathizer aboard, they’ll be plain out of luck.”
“Funny you say that. Before coming aboard, I did some research on the Cluster. There’s been a lot of work around identifying the exact nature of the blanketing effect the region has on our comm systems,” she said. “I believe there may be a way of going around it. Just something I’ve been trying to wrap my head around.”
“Be sure to discuss it with the communications officer at some point, see if you both can’t work something out. Get S’lestra in on it, too,” Driscoll said. “The Union has never developed anything to counter the effects of the Cluster because there’s never been cause to go in there… until now.”
Commander Teague peered up at him. The deep green glow from the holo-display made him look like a gargoyle. And yet, still his eyes shone.
“I want you to relay our orders to each department head in turn. By the time they tell their own people, we’ll already be inside the Cluster. If we do have anyone untrustworthy aboard the news won’t do them much good.”
“Agreed,” Robin said.
Driscoll regarded the empty coffee cup, as if he regretted dispatching it so quickly. “Okay, Commander. Let’s get on it.”
Teague stood, saluted, and set off on her rounds among the ship’s departments to brief the section chiefs.
As soon as Driscoll entered the bridge, Frank’s voice flooded the air.
“Captain, we are approaching the Union-Dominion border.”
Driscoll cleared his throat. “Understood, Frank. Thanks for the heads up.”
“Sir, is that where we’re headed? Enemy territory?” Lieutenant Hardy asked.
“Yes. To get to where we’re going, it’s a necessity. When it comes to this mission, the usual regulations don’t apply,” Driscoll said. “Keep her steady, Lieutenant. We’ll be giving any systems occupied by the Draxx a wide berth.”
“And if we run across a Draxx ship along the way?” S’lestra asked.
“We do not engage. Not until we reach our destination. I don’t think we will come across any, however. We’d have to be crazy to travel at Jump speed through enemy territory, the size we are. Even though we are fitted with the latest sensor-scrambling technology. They’ll never suspect us, much less be actively looking for us.”
S’lestra grinned from ear to ear. “Sssometimesss a little crazy isss good. The Draxx don’t underssstand it.”
“Precisely. By the time we’ve been and gone, those cold-blooded devils will be scrambling to know what it was that shot through the sector. With the Manhattan’s new design affording us a level of stealth never before seen on a Union vessel, we should appear as a phantom on their screens.”
Teague arrived on the bridge.
“Hardy, how long until we arrive at the end point?” Driscoll asked.
He checked the readout at his station. “Another ten minutes, sir.”
“Good. Now the Commander’s re-joined us, it’s time I bring you up to speed on our mission. As of this moment, Commander Grey is briefing the flyboys downstairs as to where we’re headed and what to expect. Our destination lies deep within the Chimera Cluster.”
“Inssside the Chimera Clussster?” S’lestra said, eyes widening. A ripple ran the length of her sensory strands.
“Yes. We are the first mission to penetrate further than ten million kilometers in over forty years. Helm, be aware that Command has made the exit point of our second Jump an area o
f significant electrical anomalies. With any luck, this will mask our signature from detection and let us slip in there. I trust you’ll take the necessary precautions.”
“Aye, Captain,” Lieutenant Hardy said.
Prior to enlisting, Hardy had been a freighter pilot for nearly seven years. He’d been in the Union fleet for just under two years now. Fastest graduate from the Academy on record.
Hardy turned to face navigator Cochrane. “Hope I don’t mess this up. Otherwise we end up as scrambled egg―”
“As per the spec, we exit the Jump prior to entering the Cluster. Once inside, we initiate a second Jump to our co-ordinates,” Commander Teague told them firmly.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Hardy said.
“Sir,” Ensign Blair addressed Captain Driscoll. “The Chief wishes to speak to you in private. He says it’s urgent.”
Driscoll’s lips pressed into a tight line. “Tell him to meet me in my quarters, Ensign.”
“Captain?” Commander Teague asked, curious what would pull him from the bridge at such a critical phase of their mission.
“This won’t take long, Commander,” Driscoll said. “You know where to reach me if we encounter any trouble. You have the reins”
Driscoll was ready for him. The buzzer sounded from the other side of the door.
“Come in,” he called. The door to his quarters opened. Chief Macintosh stood there, not much different to how he’d looked eight years before when they’d served together aboard the Resolute.
“Chief. Come in,” Driscoll said.
The door closed behind him. The Captain’s quarters were filled with shadow, save for a few lamps here and there turned low. Driscoll could still smell the antiseptic tang of the atmospheric systems. It would be a while before the Captain’s quarters smelled like somewhere a man slept and rested.
