Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  A red four door sedan, with sleek lines, occupies the middle of the spacious area. The walls are lined with all kinds of weapons, from hand guns to massive rifles. Unopened boxes rest in a pile nearby, while another section is set up with more tools than most workshops ever see.

  He gazes at the car curiously for a moment, then steps to it, “You look pretty ordinary,” he says quietly to himself.

  Getting inside, he grins like a kid in a candy store. The controls are more like those of an aircraft, than a car. In addition, the entire dash area is one wide touch screen. He taps the screen, starts the car, then begins to learn all he can about its special features. Thirty minutes later he shuts the engine off, steps out, and whistles in admiration.

  Akardy gets out and while he walks around the impressive car mutters to himself, “Gamin plating, twelve hundred horsepower, positive pressure bio hazard protection system, and a limited use gravity drive that draws power from a modified Gamin capacitor.” He shakes his head in awe, then says to himself, “Petrovich, you have outdone yourself this time old friend. There are world leaders who have less protection.”

  He spends the rest of the day unpacking surveillance equipment and combat gear, along with numerous other bits and pieces. He stares at a crate of military ration packs for a moment, then tosses a few packs into the trunk of the car. His mind races ahead as he considers dozens of ‘worst case’ scenarios. With these in mind, he packs more equipment into the trunk and cabin of the car, but he leaves enough space for three passengers.

  Later that evening, he takes the car out for a drive, and begins to explore the streets around the villas. As the days roll by, Akardy extends his drives until he has memorized all the streets in the area, and the main roads leading to and from the mountain range he lives on. By the time the Terran is ready to depart, he has even tested the car’s gravity drive, and quickly discovers its short comings.

  Preparations Underway

  Emma stares at the Terran’s new hydroponics bay with pride. The massive area has not only been set up to provide supplements to the crew’s food, there are twenty sealed bays designed for the testing of alien plant life. Each of the sealed bays is equipped with its own independent climate control system, and a specialized entryway to prevent contamination. In addition, each entryway connects to a central corridor, which also has its own climate controls.

  Joe walks up to Emma, and interrupts her thoughts when he says with equal pride, “Damn amazing piece of engineering isn’t it?”

  “Sure is,” she replies without taking her eyes off the spectacle.

  “I came down to ask you how many scientists you’re bringing on board.” Joe states, checking the notepad in his hand.

  Emma frowns slightly at the question, then recalls an earlier conversation between them. She glances at the ceiling while she thinks. After a few moments, she finally says, “Couple of hundred, maybe three.”

  Joe shakes his head and sighs, “I need a more precise number that that!” He states in exasperation.

  “Three hundred then.” She turns to Joe, shrugs her shoulders, and says, “I sent invitations to four hundred and fifty-three people, but so far, less than two hundred have agreed to come.”

  Joe stares at her incredulously and says, “I can’t believe that folks don’t want to come with us.” He shakes his head, then with annoyance building in his voice says, “Seriously! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to study another culture on an alien world.”

  “I know,” Emma replies with disappointment creeping into her voice.

  Joe puts a hand to the stubble that is growing on his chin, then says, “I will allocate the lowest level of the command decks to them, and tell George we will need three hundred more units.”

  Emma nods, and catches what he just said. She frowns, then turns to him and asks curiously, “Three hundred units of what?”

  “Oh,” he says, suddenly realizing that she has no idea what he is referring to. He smiles a little sheepishly then adds, “George is able to replicate the Kord implants, and to an extent, the translation computers that they gave us.”

  A smile spreads across her face as she says, “I was wondering how everyone was going to be able to communicate with the Oglans.”

  Joe winks, then says, “We gotcha covered.”

  “Thank you,” she replies, then quickly adds, “Hey if you see Peter, tell him to quit messing around and come find me.

  “No worries,” he replies, then laughs as he walks away.

  Emma turns her attention back to her work while Joe heads off to his next stop. Fifteen minutes later he arrives at Reactor Control, and hunts down the man in charge of the Terran’s twenty nuclear reactors.

  Joe stares at the man’s back for a few moments, then says, “G’day mate.”

  The man turns around, and having misunderstood Joe’s comment, says, “It’s Ken, not Mike!”

  “I know,” Joe says, a little perplexed at his comment. After a few seconds of silence, he asks, “Is there anything you need, to keep these buggers running?”

  Ken shakes his head as he replies, “Nah, I’m not even sure why we’re keeping them.” With narrowing eyes, he states more than asks, “Aren’t we getting a second Gamin Power unit?”

  Joe nods, then replies excitedly, “Yes we are.”

  “So why have this crap? The output of each of the Gamin units is over one hundred times more power than all twenty of these put together?” He motions a thumb behind him to the main console.

  Joe lifts a hand, then replies, “This crap, as you call it, got us a long way.” He stares at the man for a few seconds, then adds defiantly “It stays, but if you don’t want this assignment, you can leave.”

  Ken stares back at Joe, then says defensively, “Hey, I didn’t mean to step on your toes.” He stares at Joe then adds, “You have to admit though, these reactors don’t add much. It’s like pissing on a fire.” He shrugs his shoulders, and then adds, “I mean, what difference do these things even make?”

  Joe grins, leans closer, and says, “Two percent! Now, is there anything you will need for this mission?”

  Ken shakes his head as he responds, “Who am I to argue. The amount of money you’re paying for me to babysit ‘em is crazy.”

  Joe steps back, then with a stunned expression says, “You’re getting paid?”

  Ken stares back, unsure whether Joe is joking or not. Finally, he says, “I will run over our inventory one more time. Okay?”

  “You know what they say, better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it!” Joe replies earnestly. He turns and walks away before Ken can respond.

  While Joe makes his way to GUS he ponders Ken’s words. I wonder if I am getting paid? He ponders the issue indifferently, then stops midstride when a new thought comes to mind. I have no need for money on this ship and I never plan to leave it. The hairs on the back of his neck raise at his last thought, but it is the truth, he does not plan on leaving the Terran, ever. Joe touches the wall next to him, smiles, then continues on.

  A short while later, Joe arrives at the room which houses GUS, the Terran’s computer interface to the Gamin systems. He stops and smiles when he observes the dozen or so technicians, busily working in the area. He recalls his long debate explaining that the system was not needed anymore. He finally conceded, that at the very least, GUS could be used to store data collected by the crew. One of the technicians almost walks into him, bringing him back to the present. The technician mumbles an apology of sorts, then wanders off absentmindedly.

  Another technician, a tall attractive woman, strides toward Joe and says. “My team will have the upgrades finished in four days, well before your scheduled departure.”

  Joe stares at her for a few seconds, her accent sounds a lot like Walker’s, and it throws him off for a few seconds. He replies, “It looks like you folks gutted the whole room.”

  She turns back to look at her team’s handiwork, and says with pride. “Yes we did, and in
doing so, more than tripled your storage space, and quadrupled your computational speed.”

  Joe performs a few rough calculations in his head, then replies with delight. “Almost fast enough.” He pauses as other considerations come to mind, then with a slight frown building, adds softly, “Not quite, but almost.” He finishes his ramblings with a grin.

  She glances at him, and frowns curiously as she asks, “Almost fast enough for what?”

  “Oh,” Joe says, and then adds, “The Liberty’s computer systems were too slow to control the ship’s various systems during speed changes.” He pauses as he tries to summarize what happened to the Liberty. Giving up, he simply says, “This shortcoming caused considerable damage and grounded the ship.”

  “Too slow!” She says in awe. Then looking at the computer systems they are installing, states with pride. “The computers we build today are so much more powerful than the antiques we used before the Gamin visited.” She stares at him for a few moments, making him suddenly aware of her sparkling blue eyes, long fair hair, and overall beauty. His eyes drift downward to her name tag.

  Busted staring, Joe stammers a little as he brings his drifting thoughts back to the task at hand. He quickly lifts his gaze and says. “Yes. Ah, Suzanne,” he says recovering poorly. “We still don’t know enough about Gamin computer technology to replicate it.” He decides to focus his attention on the other technicians, and watches them work for a few moments. He feels as though he is blushing, and hopes she does not notice.

  Suzanne sighs in agreement, and then turns back to look at Joe. She takes his distraction as an opportunity to run her gaze over him, appraising him. She is slightly taller than him, but not much, and though he is a little stocky, he seems fit. His short brown hair is fairly unkempt, while his light brown eyes blaze with energy. She smiles approvingly, and then asks, “Australian?”

  “Huh,” Joe says, momentarily caught off guard, and then catching her question, replies, “Ah, yes.”

  Suzanne nods, “I thought that’s where you’re from.”

  Joe frowns as he replays her words in his mind. A few moments later he says, “American?”

  Suzanne scoffs and puts her hands on her hips, “Where else?” She responds arrogantly.

  Joe shakes his head, and says, “Well, I don’t know. Our crew comes from everywhere.”

  Suzanne sighs as she gazes around the room, and then says. “We will be out of your way in a few days.”

  “You’re not staying?” Joe remarks, a little surprised.

  Suzanne shakes her head and says, “Nope. My contract is to install this system, that’s all.”

  “Did you want to stay?” Joe inquires curiously, and a little too quickly.

  “Hmm,” Suzanne says, thinking that his offer is simply a flirtatious jest. She tilts her head and asks. “But what would I do? You already have more than enough people to monitor this supercomputer.”

  Joe recalls his excitement when he first joined the Terran and replies, “Well, you’re a computer scientist, and we don’t have the Gamin computers fully figured out yet. Don’t get me wrong, we have learned how to use them, just not how to build more.” He grins and waves his arms as he adds teasingly, “And this ship happens to have a whole bunch of Gamin computers, as does the derelict we’re going to salvage.”

  “Are you serious? I could work with real Gamin technology?” Suzanne’s eyes widen with excitement. Her mind races, damn, flirting or not, he is serious!

  Joe nods his head, smiles, then replies, “If you want to stay, we could certainly put your expertise to good use.”

  Suzanne has put her career ahead of everything else, thus she has no children, nor a man in her life. These last few years have seen her career stall though, and at thirty-five, she is well aware that her biological clock is ticking away. The very idea of working directly with an alien computer system is exhilarating to her, but it would probably mean the end of her dreams of having a family. She spends scant seconds pondering her dilemma, then responds excitedly, “You can just invite anyone? How do the contracts work here?”

  Joe grins, then recalls his earlier conversation in reactor control. His smile broadens as he replies, “Oh, it’s simple. The core crew members of this ship do not get paid, so there are no contracts. You either come, or you don’t.”

  She blinks at him in stunned silence, then finally says, “But how do you pay for things you want?”

  He opens his arms wide and asks earnestly, “What do you want?”

  Suzanne stares at him as she realizes that for her whole life she had been thinking that a house in the suburbs, and a family, was her destiny. The realization that her entire outlook on her future could change with a single word, is quite daunting. She asks slowly, “But what do you do for entertainment?” She frowns then adds, “After work.”

  “There is no ‘after work’.” Joe responds with honesty, then watches her expression change to one of total shock. He then adds, “Most of us hang around our stations, or go to the mess hall.”

  Suzanne asks incredulously, “With everyone just doing what they want, how does Cindy maintain discipline?”

  Joe understands her thinking and responds candidly, “During travel times we rest, and do whatever we feel like doing. I usually study this ship’s technology,” he adds excitedly, then continues. “Once we arrive at our destination, we just stay at our duty stations, or go where we have to.” He shrugs his shoulders and says, “I have lost track of how many eighteen hour days we’ve all done.”

  Her jaw drops as she gets it. She responds doubtingly, “So you don’t get paid, yet you work nonstop, just to be on this ship?”

  Joe nods his head earnestly, “That’s pretty much it. You want in?” he asks with a grin, then says. “Your life will never be the same again, that I can promise you!”

  Suzanne stares at Joe for a few moments while her mind races. She finally answers, “Yes.”

  Joe nods happily, then replies, “Good. Let’s find Cindy and get her approval, allocate a cabin to you, then we can see about some space for your research.”

  The pair finds Cindy on the bridge, with Radclyf, Hayato, and Peter. Joe steps onto the bridge and unintentionally interrupts their deep conversation.

  Cindy turns to look at Joe. Her eyes narrow when she sees the woman following him onto the bridge, and asks directly, “A sightseeing tour?”

  Joe frowns in confusion over Cindy’s statement. He glances at Suzanne, then noticing her reaction, it becomes clear she has never been to the bridge. He stammers, “No, not at all.” He quickly relays his request.

  Cindy listens to Joe’s proposal, then leans back in her chair while she considers it. She glances at Peter, who shrugs a shoulder then nods. The others are equally non-committal.

  Suzanne steps forward and begins to say, “I have credentials in...” Her voice fades then stops when Cindy lifts a hand in the air. Suzanne glances around uncertainly, waiting nervously.

  Cindy chews on her lower lip for a few moments, then replies, “I think that this is a great idea.”

  Suzanne stares at Cindy blankly, then slowly asks, “That’s it?”

  Joe grins, then answers for Cindy, “Yes! Now let’s leave so these folks can continue their discussion.”

  The pair exits the bridge in silence. As they walk down the wide corridor, a man dressed in combat fatigues passes them. Joe glances up at the tall man, then quickly looks away. The soldier’s battle scared appearance is intimidating. His bald head and face is marred with scars and pock marks. His nose has obviously been broken, and probably more than once, as it now lays twisted to one side. Joe shudders involuntarily at the sight, then he turns to watch the man’s back as he strides purposefully toward the bridge. Suzanne frowns but says nothing, she is still reeling from the shock that she is now a member of the Terran’s crew. Her mind replays all the rumors and stories she had heard about how impossible it is to get assigned to the ship.

  Cindy sits in her command chair and taps
her fingers as she waits. Radclyf, Hayato, and Peter are waiting with her. She sighs, then just as she is about to speak, the man dressed in combat gear strides into the room.

  The soldier’s dark blue eyes quickly evaluate the room. When they come to rest on Radclyf, he pauses, nods slightly, then continues to examine the room.

  Cindy glances at Radclyf, then recalling his military brief says, “Master Sergeant David Freeman, welcome to the...”

  “Dog,” David replies, interrupting her planned speech as he continues to scrutinize the bridge.

  “What did you just say?” Cindy demands hotly. With growing annoyance, she takes in the man’s appearance. She appraises Radclyf’s recommendation with distaste. Damn he is ugly, tall, and muscular, I wouldn’t like to run into him in a dark alley, that’s for sure.

  David’s turns his attention to Cindy. His unwavering gaze pierces hers, as they stare at each other. He then replies coolly, “Just call me Dog.”

  Cindy flicks a gaze at Radclyf in annoyance, then she continues in an authoritative tone. “Your name and rank is how you shall be addressed, Mister.”

  The soldier turns his attention to Radclyf for a moment. He sighs, then looks back at Cindy and says condescendingly. “Listen lady, I don’t give a rat’s arse about rank. Just tell me where the grunts are, and I’ll whip ‘em into shape for ya.”

  Cindy quickly stands, but before she can say anything Radclyf speaks up, “Dog! I respect this woman. Trust me, she is one of us.”

  David’s scared face seems to twitch for a few seconds. He offers Cindy a slight nod, then says. “No disrespect intended, lady. I thought you were one of those prissy pencil pushers, and I hate them with a passion.” He almost spits out the last words.

  Cindy turns to Radclyf and asks bluntly, “You want this man on board?”