Scrapyard Ship

by Mark Wayne McGinnis

  “At ease, men,” Carter commanded. “Let’s just settle down and take a breath. Captain, can you provide unequivocal proof of this infiltration?” Carter asked.

  Jason looked to Ricket, who in turn nodded his head and turned toward the large display screen. The conference room, now from Ricket’s distinct perspective, was displayed. Jason noticed that each person was partially transparent, as if viewed through x-ray vision. Everyone’s internal organs, blood vessels, muscular and skeletal systems—all were clearly depicted. Ricket zoomed into the form of General Bickerdike, and then zoomed in again to focus on a close-up of his torso area. General Bickerdike, as clear as day, had two hearts—one directly above the other.

  “In addition to the obvious physical abnormality, chromosomal and other markers are significantly different than those of human species—but nearly identical to those of the Craing,” Ricket said.

  Secretary Walker and the others turned their attention to Bickerdike, who merely sat back in his chair with a resigned expression on his face. The chiefs started to squirm and shift in their seats. Heads nervously turned this way and that. General Carter caught the eye of his lead security officer and gestured for him to take the general into custody. Bickerdike stood without ceremony and was quickly escorted from the mess hall. Jason’s father had warned him of the possibility of an infiltration, and why he had avoided involving the government and military all those years. But something didn’t add up—one more thing he’d have to discuss with the admiral. With a Craing fleet mere days from Earth, there could be no avoiding the sobering realization that life on planet Earth was about to dramatically change.

  General Eric Slayton, the Army Chief of Staff asked, “Ricket, can you provide some kind of test, something our own personnel could administer here on earth?” Ricket looked to Jason, who responded back with a nod.

  “Yes, with slight modifications to your standard DNA tests, the hidden chromosome markers can be flagged,” Ricket replied, in his usual even-toned voice. Again, Jason thought this was strange. Why the hell hadn’t his father offered the government this same option?

  “On a more positive note,” Jason interrupted, “I’d like to continue our discussions. There is technology here, beyond your imagination—if you’re interested to learn? We can start with a quick meal and a more in-depth look at the capabilities of the ship.”

  The visitors conferred amongst themselves for a moment and then enthusiastically nodded their heads in unison. Those in attendance were about to receive a strategic and military advantage. The opportunity to see The Lilly’s capabilities first hand was, as Jason knew it would be, impossible to resist.

  Plimpton, with the assistance of two seaman apprentices, had been waiting in the wings to start the dinner service. Callurian wine was poured, followed by leafy green and blue salads, with an assortment of dressings from distant planetary systems. The main course was similar to prime rib, but made from the tender meats of a Bamba steer from the Saram system. Dessert was simple American apple pie, a la mode, with coffee. For the most part, Jason only picked at his meal. Conversation was better than expected. Most likely, reality had set in—their need to make this relationship work was clearly at the forefront of their minds. They knew that Jason and The Lilly could have just as easily dropped in for dinner in Moscow or Beijing.

  It had been a long day and Jason missed Mollie. Using his NanoCom, Jason contacted Dira, something he hadn’t done before and felt strange doing.

  “Go ahead, Captain, what can I do for you?” Dira said, nervously.

  “I’m looking for Mollie, is she with you?”

  “Yes, we are playing a game—of course.”

  “Would you and Mollie care to help me give a tour of the ship to our guests?”

  “We’d love to. Are you still in the mess hall?” she asked.

  “Yeah. How about I meet you in Engineering—oh, and let Chief Horris know we’re on our way.”

  “Sure, see you soon. Bye Bye,” Dira replied—not using the standard military comms jargon, which Jason, for some reason, found endearing.

  Having consumed six bottles of Callurian wine, The Lilly’s guests were a tad unsteady on their feet, awestruck and loud. Ushering them out of the mess hall and into the corridor was a feat in itself. After several days on the ship, the technology was commonplace to Jason. For the visitors, it was mesmerizing. By the time they converged at the DeckPort, their facial expressions revealed child-like incredulity at what they were witnessing. Ricket, who stayed at Jason’s side, periodically looked up at him with a confused expression. It had crossed Jason’s mind more than once during their tour that it would be tough to recognize these seven men now as being among the top leaders of the free world.

  Horris greeted the distinguished visitors as they entered Engineering. From behind the group, Jason gestured with his open hand that he wanted to be out of there in five minutes. The Engineering chief nodded, and proceeded to explain the intricacies of the exotic Antimatter Drive to the best of his ability. As they stood in the middle of the main engineering room, with its open space above to multiple decks, the tour group spun and gaped at the sheer size of the propulsion systems and the advanced technological capabilities of the vessel.

  Dira and Mollie arrived within several minutes. Mollie gave her dad a hug and looked around at the group of middle-aged men. “Who are they? What’s with the costumes?” she asked, looking up at her father, slightly confused.

  “Well, they are in uniform, Mollie—just like we wear uniforms. Theirs are very dressy-type uniforms, bedecked with many medals,” Jason replied.

  Dira had moved over to the Joint Chiefs of Army and Navy and introduced herself. “Hello, my name is Dira,” she said, in what sounded like a British or Australian, accent—similar, but definitively different. “You won’t be able to pronounce my last name since I am not from your planet, as you may have noticed from my different physical appearance,” she said, smiling and pointing to her light violet skin and extended eye lashes.

  “Where you from, sweetheart?” General Carter asked her, obviously enamored with the exotic-looking crewmember. Dira’s eyes glanced over to Jason in response to the politically-improper sweetheart term. “I’m from a planet in the Altar system called Jhardon,” she replied, smiling. To the whole group, she said, “Now, if you will all follow me, I’d like to show you our medical facilities.”

  Mollie rushed forward to the head of the procession and took over the job of tour guide. “My name is Mollie Reynolds and I’m Captain Reynolds’ daughter and I work in the Zoo,” she said, very official-sounding for a little girl.

  This generated more questions.

  “How old are you, Mollie?”

  “What is the Zoo?”

  Jason hung back with Secretary Walker as the tour progressed out of Engineering into the corridor. "There's a few things I'll need your help with for everything to work out, sir," Jason said.

  “I’m not sure what I can do but I will certainly try,” the square-faced man said, and looked as though he meant it. "But you know how government red tape is."

  "We'll need to bypass the red tape; in fact, we'll need to expedite things."

  “Well, stop beating around the bush, Captain. What is it you're looking for?"

  Dira had taken over the tour again when they reached Medical. The group moved inside and stood before the five MediPod units—two were still in use by injured SEAL warriors. "These medical capsules, we call them MediPods, provide full-body diagnostic screening, as well as administer a comprehensive range of medical treatments.”

  Mollie stepped forward and put her hand on the MediPod closest to the door, "This is the MediPod capsule they put me in when Ricket shot me in the heart."

  Navy Chief of Staff said, “Well, it looks like you've recovered well, young lady. Was the process painful?”

  Mollie shrugged and said, "I don't know… not really—I was dead."

  The men began another barrage of questions targeted to her. "
What do you mean, dead? Like dead dead?" Secretary Walker asked, looking first to Dira and then to Jason for confirmation. "What is she talking about, how is that possible?"

  Jason stepped forward with his hands up. “I know you have lots of questions, but there's still much we don’t understand, gentlemen. We’ve figured out how to operate many things, such as the MediPods and the ship’s drive systems, but we are still working on fully deciphering the ship’s technology.”

  The Navy’s Chief of Staff said, "But the implications. The impact these capsules could have on everyday life—they could revolutionize the medical industry here on Earth.”

  Next stop was the bridge where the invited guests were introduced to the rest of the officers and crew. They also had the opportunity to speak with the AI. Jason noticed the group was getting a bit overwhelmed, asking fewer questions. Before ushering them off the ship, Jason had one more stop to make. He looked around for Ricket and saw his baseball-capped head at the back of the group. “Ricket, can you take us to the flight bay? I’m not entirely sure how to get there,” Jason queried.

  “We can DeckPort directly to the bay—just have everyone make a closed fist as they enter the port, like this:” Ricket held up a small fist and walked into a nearby DeckPort. Dira got everyone’s attention and instructed the men to do as Ricket had done.

  The flight bay was quiet, totally deserted and sat in near-darkness. Ricket triggered the overhead lights and the large hangar-like room came to life. The bay took up three partial decks and spanned the width of the ship. Six dark red, single-man fighter crafts lined the aft bulkhead and two shuttle crafts sat side-by-side at the forward bulkhead. Both sides of the ship could be opened to outer space via large sliding bay doors. Standing in front of the assembled Joint Chiefs of Staff and appointed Secretary of Defense, Jason knew everything came down to this: their audacious landing here at the Pentagon, the wine and dining, the tour—all of it. For Jason and his crew to have any success fighting the Craing, getting the support of these men was imperative.

  “Earlier today, we lost ten SEAL heroes at the hands of the United States government. Men who had dedicated their lives to protecting this very nation were struck down without provocation or reason.” Jason’s statement sobered the visitors as they uncomfortably squirmed and looked down at their feet. “Hopefully, you now realize our intentions are sound. So I’m asking you to step up and do the right thing.” Jason finished and looked back at each of the men.

  “What do you want us to do, Captain?” General Walker asked.

  “The Lilly currently has a complement of sixty-two crewmembers, although 200 would be optimum. We’re dangerously understaffed to conduct the type of campaign necessary to go up against the approaching Craing fleet. First of all, we have no pilots for these six fighters, or for the two shuttles. We have barely enough bridge crewmembers for a single shift, let alone a second or third. We are undermanned in virtually every department. So we need your help—and we need it tonight.” The silence in the room was deafening. The older men’s faces were impossible to read.

  Admiral Brightman cleared his throat and looked up. “By this time tomorrow you’ll have ten Navy Top-Gun pilots at your disposal. The families of the deceased Navy SEALs will be informed of their terrible loss, and the posthumous awarding of the Navy Medal of Honor will soon be issued. Your current complement of Navy SEALs will have any AWOL charges against them dismissed, and each will continue to receive full pay and benefits in accordance to their rank while on loan to The Lilly. I’ll also ensure charges are dropped for you as well, including those having to do with the Somalian pirate incident. You’ll also be officially promoted to the rank of Navy Captain. Will that suffice for a start, Captain? Personally, I can’t think of anything that is more important than this endeavor.” Admiral Brightman stood tall and at attention.

  “Yes, sir, and thank you.”

  Not to be outdone, General Carter spoke up: “Captain, I’m sure each of our military departments would be honored to have representation onboard: Navy, Army, Marines, and Air Force. We’ll get started on that immediately.”

  “Thank you, sir. Lieutenant Perkins has the roster of open crew positions. Also, please inform our sister allied nations that they too will have crew representation on The Lilly—that is, as time permits us to do so in the future.” Jason’s reply reminded his visitors that he still had every intention of keeping the mission on a multi-allied level. They nodded, although with far less enthusiasm in that regard. Jason informed them they would be lifting off within the hour and returning to Texas, and the wide-open spaces of the Chihuahuan desert.

  Chapter 11

  Jason left word with his XO to move the 0600 meeting to 0900 that morning. After a quick breakfast, Jason and Mollie left the ship, ready for some fresh air and exercise. The Lilly had been set down between two granite ridges, three miles east of their previous position in the Chihuahuan desert. He’d scrounged up his old backpack and they were exploring near-by cliffs when two large Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters approached from the east and set down behind the ridge.

  “Looks like we have company. What do you say we head back?” Jason asked Mollie, already heading down the rocky landscape.

  Mollie shielded her eyes from the bright morning sun and looked down at the helicopters. She scowled and said, “We sure get a lot a of visitors lately, Dad.”

  “Well, The Lilly is going to be pretty popular for a while,” Jason told her, not liking the looks of things below; armed soldiers, piling out the rear of both crafts, were in assault formations. The Army helicopters had tried to come in fast and quiet. Out of habit Jason held two fingers to his ear and accessed his NanoCom. “Captain to XO.”

  “Go for XO, Captain.”

  “Secure the ship and put up the shields. We’ve got assault teams approaching from behind the ridge,” Jason commanded.

  “Already done, sir. We’ve also got multiple missile locks on us coming from land and air-based vehicles. Orders, Captain?” the XO asked. Jason had a hard time connecting the actions unfolding before him with the sincerity he’d felt from General Carter and Vice-Admiral Brightman.

  Jason and Mollie quickly crouched down on a rocky ledge: a perfect perch to view the action below. “Who’s on comms this morning? I need to talk to Secretary Walker.”

  “I can patch you—give me a quick second, Captain,” the XO replied. Jason watched as four ten-man Army assault teams converged, breaking into two larger teams. They were still several hundred meters away, but he judged by their crouched, weapons held high forward movement, that they would reach the ship in just a few moments.

  “This is Walker,” the deep voice of the Secretary of Defense boomed in Jason’s ear.

  “Secretary Walker, this is Captain Reynolds, and I’m currently watching as an Army assault team converges on The Lilly, not to mention there are missile locks detected from multiple sources. I thought we had an agreement, sir.”

  “We did, Captain. What you are seeing is the U.S. military at odds with itself. Not quite a coup, but close.”

  “How is that even possible? It’s not like we’re a third-world nation.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir. For now, you’re on your own. Army Chief of Staff, General Slayton, apparently had divergent views last night. As of right now, the U.S. Army has every intention of taking that ship of yours. As far as they’re concerned, it’s just too valuable of a resource to be left in your hands. The good news is your requested Navy pilots, as well as a Company of Navy SEALs, are cooling their heels at Air Station Meridian out of Mississippi. I need to go—the President is on the line. I’ll get back to you.” The Secretary of Defense hung up.

  “Captain to XO,” Jason said, watching as the army assault crew approached his ship.

  “Go for XO, Captain”

  “Perkins, initiate a shift to several hundred miles from here. You can come back and get us later.”

  “No can do, sir. Ricket is working on it, but the p
hase-shift option and several other systems, including shields, are off line.”

  “Offline? How the hell did they go offline? The ship’s just sitting there,” Jason asked, getting nervous about the assault teams approach. Not so much for The Lilly and her crew, but for the approaching Army personnel who had no idea what they’d be up against.

  “Ricket thinks it could be sabotage,” Perkins replied.

  “Hold on, XO. Captain to Billy.”

  Go for Billy, sir. We’re locked and loaded just waiting for your orders.”

  “Energy weapons only, on stun. Is that clear?”

  “Understood. Definitely looking forward to putting the spank on the U.S. Army,” Billy said, not even trying to hide his excitement.

  “They are sixty meters out, approaching west and east of the ship. Deploy now, be careful. Captain out.”

  Jason and Mollie watched from their above perch as the scene unfolded below on the desert floor. Both gangways deployed simultaneously. Two SEAL teams rapidly moved down the ramps with weapons held high. Each SEAL was equipped with new, full-body hardened combat gear. Their helmet Heads Up Display (HUD) provided a full virtual representation of their surroundings, including the position of the approaching two Army assault teams. Jason felt a fleeting pang of jealousy. Not only would he miss out on the action, but the use of the new assault gear. Billy, in the lead, looked up at Jason’s hidden position and gave a quick salute.

  “Showoff,” Jason said. Obviously, Billy’s HUD had detected his and Mollie’s life forms along with all the others. Jason was tied into the SEAL team’s comms. But this was Billy’s operation. He was totally in his element.

  “Captain to XO,” Jason said into his NanoCom.

  “Go for XO.”

  “Can you scan for the Army comms signal and patch me in?”