You are to Command this mission: there is to be no contact with any possibly encountered alien species as this is an intelligence gathering operation only. Your second-in-command shall be Leading Physics Officer Duarte: your main pilot shall be Leading Pilot Officer Hidson and I shall be responsible for the Biohibernation units. All logistical information will be given to you by Mission Command once we are on board as is normal practice. The vessel that we shall be using is of the new Subluminal Surveillance class, therefore there are no armaments and this will be her maiden voyage.”
She regarded Rachmel for a moment and went on. “I feel you have questions.”
Rachmel wasted no time. “It is customary for the mission Commander to be consulted as to who should be Second officer and I would not have chosen Duarte, for she has neither the relevant experience nor service tenure.”
Andretta clasped her hands together and rested them on the desk in front of her.
“I am perfectly aware that Leading engineer Miles would have been your choice and under normal circumstances I would be inclined to agree, but in this instance the decision rests with me for reasons that I am not prepared to disclose at this time.
And in answer to your next question I shall be operating the Biohibernation units as a specialist who has been seconded by the Bureau to a civilian company who have a vested interest in this venture; at least this is what you may tell the rest of the crew when they ask you why they have an Administrator on board.”
The Agent smiled as she said these last few words: Rachmel did not return the gesture, but looked directly at the woman sitting opposite. If this Administrator was attempting to generate some kind of sisterly camaraderie, she was going to be very disappointed.
Andretta looked down at the table for a moment as if in thought and then back to
Rachmel. In a low voice, she said “Leading Officer, circumstances have determined that we must live and work together inside what is, in effect, a glorified metal tube for a minimum of six months and it is feasible that at some point in our journey one of us may need the assistance of the other for their survival. Therefore, I feel it would be prudent for all of us to put aside our prejudices and regard each other as professional colleagues with professional tasks to perform.
I shall not interfere in any way with your mission and you shall not interfere with mine; instead, we shall all be working toward one goal.”
Rachmel leaned back in her seat, her eyes never leaving Andretta’s face: there was silence for a moment and then she replied “Very well: what title shall you be known by?”
“Agent Andretta will be fine: but please, only use the term Ghost amongst yourselves, for we regard the name to be unflattering and disrespectful.”
Rachmel felt she needed to have the last word.
“Agent Andretta, on a personal level I don’t like you: I am not comfortable in the presence of a Bureau agent and nor will my crew be.”
Andretta met her stare and in a calm voice said “Leading Officer Rachmel, I don’t doubt it for one moment.”
Rising from her seat, she instructed “Accommodation central system please.”
“Engaged.”
“Re-instate communications to Leading Officer Rachmel’s quarters.”
“Re-instated.”
Deep in thought, Rachmel gazed at the door through which Andretta had left. She did not want a Bureau agent on board her vessel: especially this agent.
Throughout their conversation Rachmel had the uncanny sensation that she was being scrutinised; as though the woman had the power to read the secrets that were hidden deep in her subconscious, causing her to experience a feeling of guilt. Did the agents somehow possess that kind of power? Or was it merely a practised art that relied heavily on their reputation preceding them, designed to make their suspects feel vulnerable? If that were the case then it had been successful on this occasion. Rachmel decided that, with this agent, she would have to keep her wits about her, as would they all.
Next day everyone was on board their new vessel, which would become their home for at least the next six months, for the customary 24 hour familiarisation period; this was considered ample time for them to get used to the new craft as all deep space vessels were now constructed to the same design. Depending upon the purpose of the mission all controls could be modified to operate weapons, surveillance, surveying or any other operational equipment; unlike the Arrowline class which were purpose-built interstellar armed vessels.
The latest Subluminal nucleonic particle pulsation drive meant that these subluminal giants could attain speeds approaching 75 per cent the speed of light for short periods and 50 per cent speed of light indefinitely.
Rachmel would be last to board the vessel, as was customary for the mission Commander, in order to inspect her charge which was now docked in one of the three main external bays.
Utilising one of the station buggy’s she had to admire the sleek lines of the new ship, preferring this relatively new horseshoe shape to the old fashioned cylindrical model that had been phased out of service ten years before, when it was found that they could not stand up to the pressures of the then newly discovered Jameson Law.
This was the theory that had been formulated fifty years earlier by the great mathematician Marianne Jameson, which, in layman’s terms, stated that space vehicles of a particular volume travelling at a minimum of 25% the speed of light could, in effect, create their own internal gravitational field. But, having no means of propulsion that was capable of such speeds at that time her theory had to wait for almost forty years until the Pulsation drive had been invented.
There were no external viewing ports to be seen; instead, optical sensors had been built into the fabric of these vessels, with internal screens which gave the illusion that one was looking out through a window along certain points of the vessel. From the bow of the vessel, which was secured inside the station by docking locks, to the double stern, which protruded from the edge of the docking bay out into space for almost half of its length, was a distance of one thousand metres; this being the same distance across the central width of the vessel; with the internal volume of the craft being found to be the optimum in gaining gravitational stability at ultra-high speed. These were purely space vehicles; their sheer size and weight making it impossible for them to land on any planet that possessed even the lightest of atmosphere.
As the buggy progressed, silently, along the length towards the rear of the craft, the newly appointed Commander found herself drawn to her earlier discussion with Andretta.
The idea of the agent’s suspicions disturbed her more than she had at first realised; how had Andretta gained all of this knowledge about the aliens? And why hadn’t she made her move before now by arresting her suspect? Or was she playing some weird kind of cat and mouse game? Pouncing only when she was absolutely certain of her target? She considered confronting the Missions Commander with a view to gaining more information, but immediately dismissed this as a pointless exercise for Andretta would have revealed to him only what she considered necessary; which meant that she (Rachmel) probably knew more about the Agent’s true mission than he did.
With the inspection completed, Rachmel returned into the station to pick up her belongings and then she boarded her new command.
Once aboard, Rachmel made her way to the Commanders’ quarters to receive logistical instructions. Upon reaching the quarters she placed her hand onto the entry recognition cover that was situated on the bulkhead at the side of the doorway.
The soft, androgynous voice greeted her. “Welcome Commander” as the door immediately slid open whisper-silent and closed equally as silently behind her once she had entered.
All accommodations in these vessels were octagonal in shape and seemingly empty, being furnished only upon demand.
Standing in the centre of the room she requested “Work station please.”
The item appeared from the bulkhead opposite the door, with the Holo-link already in place on the
desk and awaiting her arrival. Sitting at the station Rachmel placed her hand on the recognition pad and the holo-link responded immediately.
“Identification is acknowledged Commander Rachmel. I am Mainframe Awareance and Integrated Life Support System Control: I am commonly referred to as MAC: I am programmed specifically for this mission and can only be re-programmed by you, the mission Commander: should life terminate for this crew I shall abort mission and return to Missions control: do you have questions?’
“Yes, what is the life expectancy of the crew on this mission?”
“I do not have the relevant information to answer that question.”
After a short pause to determine that there were no further questions the computer resumed.
“We shall leave the space station in twenty one hours and eighteen minutes: we shall achieve and maintain a speed of 25 per cent speed of light to attain internal gravitational stability and we shall reach our rendezvous point in 28 days Earth time.
Before entering the wormhole all crew members shall conform to pre-hibernation procedure under the direction of the on board Medical Officer before placing themselves into their respective Biohibernation units: our passage through the wormhole shall take approximately 28 days Earth time but which shall be related as 60 years wormhole time, during which we shall achieve and maintain a velocity of 70 per cent speed of light.
When we are clear of the wormhole it is my responsibility to restore everyone from Biohibernation for them to commence their duties: once we are through the wormhole there is no time-set for this stage of the mission; that is for you, as mission Commander, to determine once we are there: upon return, the journey to the space station shall take 28 days from exiting the wormhole.
There are provisions to sustain 6 people for a period of 5 years Earth time.
There is a nano-replication unit on board which is accessible to Leading Physics Officer Duarte, Leading Physics Officer Kamul and Leading Medical officer Coles.
Logistical information ends: do you have questions?’
Rachmel leaned back in her seat whilst forming the question in her mind.
“Yes, as Commander of this mission I need to know why it is necessary for us to have an Internal Administrator on board, notwithstanding her expertise in Biohibernation or her ability as a Pilot.”
There was the briefest of pauses before the computer replied “I do not have the relevant information to answer that question.”
Rachmel countered immediately. “Why did you find it necessary to pause before you answered?”
“I was researching all relevant files, internal and external including Central Mainframe System on Earth.”
Rachmel was uneasy, for these latest MAC systems were instantaneous and usually had the information to hand before the question had been finished; she was worried that someone may have tampered with Macs’ program.
“Display priority access codes” she ordered.
“Rachmel, master control code 1.
Duarte, systems control code 2/ code 1 regulated.
Hidson, systems control code 3/ code 2 regulated.
Miles, engineering control code 3/ code 2 regulated.
Coles, medical control code 3.
Kamul, laboratory systems control code 3.
Andretta, life support systems code 3.”
The codes were as they should be. Regulated, meant that should anything happen to her as Commander then Duarte, as 2 I.C, would automatically be allotted master control code 1 thus making her Commander and Hidson being the main pilot would assume position of 2 I.C, sharing the responsibility with Miles who would also move up to systems control code 2. She had suspected that Andretta may have gained access to monitor all levels, but code 3 would allow her access only to that specified area. But still, she was not satisfied.
“Are there proviso instructions for any crew member to be allowed access outwith their allotted codes and regulated codes or with access to configuration change of the MAC system?”
“Commander Rachmel, master control code 1: Directive of pilot’s discretion to abort mission.”
The pilot’s directive maintained that whoever was appointed as chief pilot at the time could use his or her discretion to abort the mission; this seen as a precaution should there occur any kind of breakdown in the vessel’s command structure.
“Discounting vessel internal and external systems are there any surveillance devices on board?”
“Scanning.”
After a moment the reply came back. “No surveillance devices detected: request permission to scan personnel and personal belongings.”
“Approved.”
The answer was given almost immediately. “Internal Administrator Andretta is wearing standard issue mainframe remote interface on her left forearm which also conceals a life form detection device with a range not exceeding 20 metres inside this vessel and not exceeding a range of 100 metres outside: no other devices were found.”
“Are there weapons of any kind on this vessel?”
“No weapons, Commander.”
Finally, Rachmel was satisfied. She didn’t mind Andretta’s detector; it was probably a Ghosts equivalent of a comfort blanket anyway, and it did suggest a certain amount of Agency paranoia, giving Andretta an air of human vulnerability which afforded Rachmel a mild form of sadistic pleasure.
Andretta entered the galley and proceeded to place her personal meal preferences into the mainframe sub interface that was part of the service counter and although there were two other members of the crew sitting at a nearby table there was silence, as all verbal interaction had ceased when she had walked through the door; Hidson and Duarte were staring at each other like a pair of statues. Andretta was long used to this reaction from people; it was what Administrators’ referred to as The Medusa phenomenon and was a sure sign that they, the Administrators, had been the topic of conversation before they had arrived.
The dining area of the galley was fairly large, as these vessels had been designed to accommodate up to 12 crew members, depending on their particular mission, and 80 passengers. Because of the small number of people on this mission there were just 7 tables, which were fitted to the surrounding bulkhead; each table accommodating 2 seats. This arrangement had been deemed the best for this mission as it allowed individuals to choose companionship or privacy as the mood took them.
Andretta chose a table at the centre of the line and began her meal: after a few moments, the low murmur of conversation resumed; the subject matter having been exchanged for something of a less personal nature.
In his quarters Miles was a deeply worried man; in all of his service he had never flown a mission with an Administrator on board, nor had he heard of anyone else enjoying such a privilege. A few minutes ago he had attempted to gain some insight as to the Agent’s true mission through the MAC system, but all he could get back was “No data.” During his personal orders he had been informed, no doubt as had everyone else, that the Agent was on board to look after the interests of some civilian company back on Earth, but he just wasn’t buying that; Agents dealt with people and certainly never with business. To his way of thinking, someone on this vessel was in deep crap and he needed to know who; everyone had their dark little secrets and he was no different to anyone else, but did such secrets warrant the presence of a Bureau Agent? Was he the target? Or was he being paranoid?
Ten minutes before departure time MAC gave out the general announcement.
“All crew prepare for vehicle release: mission start in nine minutes and fifty seven seconds.”
At this point the flight preparation warning sounded in each accommodation.
“Securing facility in process: securing facility in process” as the securing console rose slowly from the deck at the centre of each room.
The consoles resembled a downsized version of the ULiSS pods but without the facility of either Biohibernation nor of the internal power system. Built specifically for the purpose of diminishing velocity accele
ration and deceleration they were merely a pressurised system built to protect the person within.
Hidson, being the pilot, however, was afforded no such luxury and had to don his body-formed space suit as his protection, after which he secured himself in place at the controls of the pilots’ bridge and awaited clearance to manually pilot the vessel from the docking area of the space station: the rest of the crew having secured in their quarters.
Once they were ten thousand miles distant from the station Hidson would hand over control to MAC system which would then accelerate the vehicle to 25% speed of light; thus achieving internal gravity and allowing everyone inside to move around freely once more.
Hidson surveyed the screens before him, checking that all conditions were ready for launch; satisfied, he began his flight procedure.
“Control, Leading Pilot Officer Hidson of the Manned Exploration probe Delta Sierra One awaiting launch affirmation: I have confirmation of all onboard systems.”
The reply was immediate. “Confirmed Delta Sierra One, you are clear to go.
Release procedure in 30 seconds...20 seconds...10 seconds...5...4...3...2...1...release administered. Good luck to you D.S.1.
The vessel reversed slowly as the docking locks released their hold and the tiny jets of compressed air pushed it gently out into open space. Once clear of the station, Hidson turned the vessel 180 degrees and headed for the 10000 mile designated area: his body weight now at zero after the disassociation of the space stations’ internal gravitational influence, with only the electro-magnetic harness to hold him steady in the pilots’ seat.
10000 miles had been found to be the necessary minimum distance from the space station before any vessel could safely transfer to subluminal velocity; any closer than this could create possible non-dissipated turbulence to the station, which would cause effect to other vehicles approaching or leaving.
INTERVENTION Page 3
