Alpha One

by Chris Burton

  After the physical tests, Jake moved on the OT clinic, where his body was subjected to a complete imaging scan. This scan looked for signs of disease, infection, muscular distress, brain dysfunction, fracture, and every other type of physical abnormality in current medical practice, including signs of both physical and mental fatigue and stress. The whole process was painless and took less than five minutes. This was followed by the usual blood and urine samples.

  The results of all the OT tests were available immediately. Jake scored ninety-eight percent, which was pretty much his median score, and it had all been relatively painless and straightforward and a good chance for Jake to take some time out.

  He left the OT clinic and headed for class. He was looking forward to the next class, having missed the otherwise compulsory Parade Ground session, which he disliked immensely.

  Jake arrived at the Advanced Stellar Navigation class with a few minutes to spare and went over to Carla and a group of students gathered round a message board. The commotion related to the publishing of the Academy’s official Top Gun sponsorship list. This list of students would represent the college at the Top Gun competition. Jake and Steve’s names were both on it.

  Jake, Carla and their fellow students then entered the classroom and took their seats at their workstations and the lecturer stood up and commenced his tuition. The hour-long seminar was informative and useful. Jake enjoyed this subject and was quite knowledgeable of the cosmos and its peculiarities often overlooked by students. In years to come and when he would be considered for potential command posts, this theoretical knowledge of Stellar Navigation would serve him well.

  Jake and Carla both had a free period after Stellar Navigation and they headed for the central campus for a coffee. The sun was again extremely hot and they opted for the climate-controlled environment of the Refectory rather than outside. It was quiet, and Jake and Carla took the opportunity to grab a snack and catch up.

  Carla apologized for not being entirely clear about happened on Titan, and she took the opportunity to explain what really happened during her trip. When she finished, Jake urged her to be careful. Carla took his advice in good grace, but made it clear she found her sister and had no intention of letting her go again. Her parents agreed to fund a further trip to Titan at the end of the autumn term. Christmas on Titan was not a tantalizing prospect, thought Jake, but he offered himself as a travelling companion. Carla accepted readily. Great, Jake thought. Steve will be delighted and my parents will be decidedly unhappy when I announce that I am going to miss yet another family Christmas.

  The free period ended and they headed off for the next lesson. In Carla’s case, Colonial Political and Environment, and for Jake, it was jump ship time.

  Jake met Steve at the campus subrail station and they took the next train to the space port. The brief journey was uneventful, but Jake noted Steve was unusually quiet.

  When they reached the surface, having climbed the stairs from the subrail station. Jake asked Steve whether everything was okay.

  Steve’s response was considered, if not a little blunt. “Yes fine. It’s Monday.” He then clammed up again and they continued their silence until they reached the Academy tutorial block. They were five minutes early and they headed for a shaded spot and both took the opportunity to take refreshment from their liquid tubes.

  Steve then opened up.

  “I just had my pilot’s license revoked,” he said.

  “What, why?” asked Jake.

  “I had my monthly medical this morning. My physicals were ninety-eight percent but the head scan picked up a possible psychological issue. I am on a temporary license revoke, pending a twenty-four hours psych evaluation. The fuckers are trying to find a way to get me out of the Academy.”

  “No way Steve. The scanners are thorough and it is possible they picked up on something small. The evaluation will clear you. I am sure your suspension will last a day or two only. Anyway, you’ve been though a pretty traumatic ten days or so. You are bound to still be a little stressed and the scanners have probably picked up on that. You are still here today though?”

  “Its theory today and tomorrow. I am not worried about that,” replied Steve. “It’s the Top Gun tournament I am worried about.”

  “When does the evaluation commence?”

  “The monitor is being fitted at 5.30 p.m. in the occupational screening facility.”

  “Okay, do you want me to come with you?”

  “No, my friend, thanks for offering, but I need to clear my head. I am going straight back to my apartment and have a quiet and uneventful evening. Can you tell Carla for me?”

  “Sure, but she will wonder why you are not telling her yourself.”

  “Yes she will, but she is going to be disappointed with me once again. I need to stay clear of the stress for the next twenty-four hours.”

  “I am sure it will all be a lot clearer tomorrow.”

  With that the doors to the Academy tutorial block opened and the jump pilots entered and headed for a small lecture theatre to the rear of the building.

  Commander Teddy Taylor waited as the students entered. He shifted his papers patiently as he waited for all the students to take a seat and then stood up.

  “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Today we are going to talk about Sabre 3’s.

  Chapter Eleven

  Returning to Alpha One

  Jonathan Hoskins was relieved. It took nearly four weeks for his grief-stricken ship to be brought home, and finally this sorry episode would be put to rest.

  Everything went well until General Yoshi’s Southern Fleet appeared on the horizon. His was not the only encounter with the Southern Fleet Alpha was involved in, in recent weeks. No matter, he was not concerned with how others dealt with the Sentinels: this was about his career and what would happen next. Admiral Martin was as unforgiving as the innocent party in a partner’s extra-marital affair. He was not going to take this well.

  He turned towards Obeya and kissed her forehead. She was still fast asleep and he saw no reason to disturb her. He left the bedroom and entered his study. He opened a comm link and asked his First Officer for a status update.

  “Ten minutes to Alpha One. Shall I break out the flags?”

  “Hardly, Number One.” This was not the time for light heartedness. “I will be down in fifteen minutes.”

  He closed the comm link and dispensed a strong black coffee from his food station, then returned to his bedroom and dressed.

  Obeya Temsouri continued to sleep soundly. She was so beautiful and looked so young and innocent. He was suddenly glad that he no longer had to make the decision to send her out to what could easily lead to her death, but not for a while. He also knew the chances of her being part of his next commission was remote. They were less-than-discreet in recent weeks, and these things didn’t take long to reach the people you least wanted them to. It suddenly dawned on him that Admiral Martin may well be the least of his problems. His wife was in port and, as a staff officer, it was highly likely that news of his indiscretions reached her.

  The Aurora 5 entered the space way and slowed to sub-stellar speed. She took the journey remarkably well. In the immediate aftermath of the battle she was patched up and prepared for tow. Hoskins argued that she could create her own head of steam and, once the interim repairs were completed, she should be able to assume full control herself. In the last ten days, she was released from the tractor beams of her salvage vessel and had continued the journey without further assistance, albeit more slowly than usual. Her maximum cruising velocity was reduced to SD2. However, the Aurora 5 was still destined for decommission, and the salvage vessel followed close by, anxious to ensure their latest investment didn’t stray into trouble until the salvage assessment was completed. If they could repair her bulkheads in ‘dry dock’ she would be a saleable item, and there were elements of the APF crying out for excess Alpha stock.

  Hoskins already said his goodbyes to his ship. Not sentimentall
y, but in a respectful way. It was considered standard Alpha practice for the ship’s CO to treat his command like a ‘lady’. She served him well and that he brought her back for decommissioning would count in his favor. She would not be considered a vessel lost under his command. His crew performed well under pressure and, on reflection, the outcome was a good one. They discovered a great deal more about the mysterious Sentinel ‘Mother’ ship and her dark metal characteristics, and they had determined vulnerabilities. Yes there was loss of life, which was always regretful, but Hoskins death loss tally under his command was still under fifty: a favorable statistic.

  “Your shuttle is here, Commander.”

  His shuttle was to take him to Alpha One fleet command on Earth, while the Aurora 5 and the remaining crew were destined for Mars, where decommissioning would take place. His crew was then scheduled to be shuttled directly to Alpha One.

  Hoskins left the command bridge, headed directly to the main shuttle bay, and boarded the shuttle departing the Aurora promptly. From here he saw the considerable damage inflicted on his current commission and he briefly felt a tinge of sadness. The shuttle headed directly to Alpha One and, within thirty minutes, touched down on a command pad. He exited the ship and steadied himself as his feet touched terra firma for the first time in over four months. It always took a few hours to adjust after a long period off-world. He headed directly to the main Admiralty building and, on clearing security, headed straight to Admiral Martin’s office. He was expected. Forty-five minutes after leaving the Aurora 5, he found himself sitting opposite Admiral Conal Martin.

  “Jonathan, will you take some coffee?” Martin asked. He liked to get his subordinates in a relaxed frame of mind before he commenced his debriefing.

  Hoskins said, “Yes.”

  An assistant came over to arrange the refreshments.

  “The fact that you have brought her back is a positive; and that you were able to inflict damage on the Sentinel Flagship, that is also a positive. Loss of life is a negative and so is the fact that you have put out of commission a perfectly good space craft.”

  “I have read your report,” he continued “and the details have been verified by the commanders of the other two vessels. All in all, I think, a good job done. How is Lieutenant Temsouri by the way?”

  Typical Admiral Martin to save his ‘real’ criticism to last. Martin was a life-long friend of his father, and he had attended Jonathan Hoskins’ wedding some six years before.

  Taken aback slightly Hoskins replied, “She is a good pilot sir and one for the future.”

  “What about the rumors of your physical relationship with her?”

  “Not true, sir.” Hoskins decided he would deny and see where it got him.

  “There is no smoke without fire, Commander Hoskins. I have done my best to quash these rumors, and I believe they won’t leave this room. I presume that you will end it and cut off any further ties with Ms Temsouri. Is that clear Jonathan?”

  “Yes sir.” If the Admiral could keep this from his wife, that was great, but Hoskins didn’t cherish the prospect of not seeing Obeya. Now was not the time, and he must go with the Admiral’s stance on this. He continued his denial. “There really was nothing going on sir. I have become close to Lieutenant Temsouri, but in a professional manner only. I have taken her under my wing so to speak.”

  “Let’s cut the crap, Jonathan. You have been screwing Lieutenant Temsouri and at present, as far as I am aware, your wife doesn’t know about it. I don’t approve, but I have been a friend of the family long enough to compel me not to interfere further, as long as you commit to not seeing her again. If you can’t, I will have no choice but to throw the book at you. I have compounding evidence and I don’t expect my senior officers to lie to me, on or off the record.”

  Hoskins decided to shut up. He wanted the conversation to move on and hoped Admiral Martin would not try to close the meeting off without commenting on Hoskins’ immediate future.

  The coffee arrived, and Martin turned the conversation briefly to Jonathan’s father and a recent golf game before returning to the official issues of their meeting.

  “I am assigning you to a new commission. A Type 32 Duke-class Battle Cruiser. Same crew complement. but with thirty jump ships and an additional complement of one hundred marines. She is due to be commissioned on September 30th and will hail from Alpha Five. You can transfer your crew en masse.”

  “The command post requires a three-star rank and I am promoting you, effective immediately. This is long overdue, Commander, despite your wanton destruction of a perfectly adequate ship: your offensive skills are advanced and your capabilities as a commander are considerable. Just don’t let me down in other areas.”

  “Thank you, sir, that is excellent news.” Hoskins was overjoyed but tried his best not to show it. “Did you get a chance to look at my crew recommendations?”

  “Your recommendations are all accepted and your first officer will be promoted to commander, One Star.“ Martin stood up and gestured towards the door. “You will deal with that other matter, won’t you?”

  Hoskins took this to be the close of the meeting. He stood up, saluted and confirmed that he would speak to Obeya. He paused briefly before he said his personal goodbyes, and heaved a sigh of relief as he left the Admiral’s office. The Admiral could have easily insisted Obeya be transferred to a different command but he hadn’t. All in all, the meeting went well. He headed for the Recruitment Building. He needed to ratify his acceptance of his new command and to receive his commission papers. This day was a long time coming.

  He was pleased. He had a brand new, faster, and bigger ship, essentially; the same crew, who were competent, reliable and trustworthy; and he could keep Obeya within his command. His wife was none the wiser, and he could return to his San Francisco Bay home to spend a week with her before he needed to start work on his new commission.

  Chapter Twelve

  Alpha Independence

  Admiral Neville was tired. He was tired of the same old crap: the same people making the same argument about Alpha divorcing itself from the support of ECG. He knew his side was losing. Of the fifteen high-ranking Admirals who sat on the Senior Admiralty Bench of Alpha Fleet Command, he could count only four who definitely still supported ECG funding—and even that number was questionable. Admiral Martin expressed anxiety on this matter, and the fact of the persuasive arguments of the other side, led so resolutely and confidently by Admiral Koenig, began having an effect on Neville himself.

  Matters were deteriorating markedly. President Roslyn refused the additional ECG funding required for the Alpha’s plan to remove the ‘new’ threat from the Sentinels Southern fleet. Neville advised the senior bench of that significant development today. Neville was a traditionalist. Alpha Fleet was established to defend the interests of Earth and its colonies. This was a fundamental principle of Alpha’s incorporation and an underlying principle of its Articles. This could not be changed without a seventy-five percent majority vote in favor and that meant twelve of the Bench would need to vote in favor. He would use this as his leverage.

  Neville sat down at the large wooden conference table in the Senior Bench’s Chambers fifteen minutes before the Bench council meeting was due to convene. As he looked up, he saw that all fifteen Admirals sat there and awaited the opening of the meeting. Neville was a stickler for timekeeping and protocol and refused to start the meeting until the scheduled time of 11.00 hrs. At last he stood up and addressed the bench.

  “Fellow Admirals. I have submitted a request for additional funding from President Roslyn for the assault on the Sentinel Southern Fleet.”

  He paused briefly and continued. “This funding has been refused.”

  Silence, deathly silence. There was no response from anyone until Koenig finally stood up and responded, “This is not entirely unexpected. We must fund the campaign from a different source. I believe AFP will consider this to be in their own interests. I understand Admiral Kohn has al
ready approached them. Is that correct Admiral?”

  Admiral Kohn stood up and Admirals Koenig and Neville gave way.

  “Yes they have advised a considerable sum, in respect of additional AFP funding. This was signed off and the new funding line can be drawn on immediately.”

  Koenig jumped up and replied “Excellent, Kohn. We are funded in majority by outside benefactors. We need to move towards removal of ECG’s influence on our affairs and make appropriate amendments to our constitution. I move that we carry this out today.”

  Neville stood up, and Kohn and Koenig gave way.

  “This is not possible. It is not part of our scheduled agenda for today, and I believe that this bench will need to receive further representation from all relevant parties before we consider this again.”

  Admiral Koenig stood up again and said firmly. “It is my right to request a special motion to vote on this issue today. “ He then sat down and two other Admirals stood up and almost in unison seconded the motion. Neville knew he had no choice but to give way. He summoned up his most authoritative voice “We will vote on this motion after lunch. We will, however, take the time to consider the options this morning, and I move to propose an amendment to the special motion. Specifically that ECG will continue to be named as an ‘influencing’ factor in our decision-making process, and that Alpha should continue to meet with senior members of ECG periodically to brief them, gauge their support and seek verification, before we resolve anything other than ‘ordinary’ resolutions.”

  No one stood up in support. It was clear to Neville he had lost and even Admiral Martin was swayed by the new developments. Alpha was, in essence, no longer dependent on ECG funding, and he could no longer justify the argument that ECG should maintain any control over Alpha’s actions. Commercially, Alpha was able to stand on her own, notwithstanding the significant additional costs involved in fighting a targeted and enduring campaign against the Sentinels’ Southern fleet. Having made good use of Alpha’s port and terminal facilities in recent years for commercial activities at Alpha’s home ports and the major star bases, Alpha also leased reserve and decommissioned vessels to other AFP members and provided consultancy expertise and training to anyone who requested it. They were a large commercial organization and all parties would have to come to terms with this.