Endeavor (The Mythrar War Book 1)

by Douglas Wayne

  "Look, I know why you did it, and I love you for it. I wish you would've talked to me first. Do you have any idea what you're expecting me to do?" Before Jason could speak, she held up a single finger and continued. "You're expecting me to wait around for you for ten years. That's more than half the time I've been alive. Ten years to spend alone, wondering if your next mission will be your last. If..." A single tear ran down her cheek, stopping when it reached the tip of her chin.

  "If?"

  "Never mind. It's not important."

  "Don't do this," he begged. "What are you trying to tell me?"

  Violet drew in a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling. She stood in silence for a moment, causing his anxiety to hit levels they'd never reached before. To make it worse, the longer she stood there in silence, the worse it got.

  "I'm pregnant?"

  "Really? Are you sure?"

  She bobbed her head. "Doctor said I'm two months along."

  "Why didn't you tell me?" The second the question left his lips he realized how stupid it was. She didn't tell him because he'd been intent on ignoring her needs to emphasize his own. Looking back on it he wanted to smack himself in the face, or let her do it for him. "Never mind," Jason replied. "Tell me what I can do."

  Chapter Sixteen

  New Earth Station

  Breezer's Lounge, NECS Endeavor

  Tegan Bradley sat in the corner of the bar, watching the other fighter jocks with renewed interest as she sipped her tonic. Most of the other jocks were drinking the same, basically just enough for them to not get kicked out of the bar.

  During their limited downtime, they were allowed to consume a beer or two if they wished, but Tegan could never bring herself to do it. She refused to have any intoxicating substance coursing through her veins in case she had to pilot her bird in an emergency. One thing she'd learned after a few years of flying a fighter was that an emergency could happen at any time. All it took was an overzealous captain or a pirate vessel to force her into a cockpit regardless of her physical ability to fly it.

  Other than the occasional fighter jock that attempted to woo her for the night, she sat at the table alone. Relationships were things she to partake in once her term of service was over. It was hard enough to deal with her own emotions without having to add the feelings of another human being into the fold.

  Besides, once she was out of shit hole of a ship and had her two feet planted on NEC controlled soil, the last type of person she wanted to see every day was another fighter jock. She wanted to get this rambunctious streak out of her system while she was young. Once it was over, she wanted to find someone else looking to settle down, not some hotshot she'd have to babysit.

  She tipped back her glass and set it on the table in time to see another brave soul approaching her corner booth. The man was tall, easily a hand or two taller than she was, with short black hair and the most amazing green eyes she'd ever seen on a man. While she wasn't looking for a relationship, the right man at the right time might convince her to have some fun for a night.

  As he closed in on the table, she turned her head to watch the view screen in the middle of the bar. They were showing live feed from the celebration inside New Earth Station. Celebrating the creation and first flight of her ship. While she hated being cooped up in the ship during the festivities, she knew she wouldn't have fit in even if she'd been invited. High society and excessive comforts were not for people like her. Her lot was to spend her life working hard to squeak out a modest living like her ancestors had done for thousands of years. Besides, being in that mess meant wearing a fancy dress and there was no way in hell anyone would catch her in one of those.

  "Never was much for fancy parties," the man said as he took the open seat across from her at the table. The first thing that caught her attention was his scent. Unlike the other jocks who smelled like a dirty locker room or smoke, he smelled like an exotic blend of citrus and treated leather.

  "Give me a beer over champagne any day of the week." She smirked, but kept her focus on the screen hoping it might be enough to drive him away.

  "You heard the lady," he said, turning his head to a waitress walking by. "Make it two."

  Great, she thought. Played right into his hand. Oh well, nothing says I have to do anything with him because I take him up on the offer. Just one beer then I'll get the hell out of here.

  With a sigh, she turned her head to face the man sitting across from her and found he was much better looking up close. The thing was, she hadn't seen him before. At least not on the fighter deck. That didn't mean much, with the ship's full complement of one hundred fighters, there was more than ample opportunity for her to have missed another pilot or two.

  Even still, this one was different, he didn't carry himself like one of the other jocks. Sure, he had an air of confidence that came with the overflowing testosterone in the room, but he didn't seem as crass.

  The server returned to the table with the two beers and the man, whoever he was, paid for it using his cred chip.

  "What's your name?" he asked as he slid a beer over to her.

  "Tegan, but most the guys in here call me Bobcat. Your call."

  "Fighter pilot? Never would've guessed that looking at you. Figured you were command."

  She let out a snort. Command? Was he serious? She couldn't stand staying cooped up on the bridge for longer than a few minutes at a time. Shit, she'd hardly been in the bar for an hour and was already growing apprehensive. Besides, she couldn't be responsible for the lives of the hundreds of people aboard the ship. It was hard enough being responsible for the three pilots in her squad.

  "What about you?"

  "Oh, I'm sorry." He offered an outstretched hand. "Brendan Richards, engineering."

  She gave him one of those 'I'm sorry' looks then took his hand. That was the only other place on the ship she couldn't see herself staying in for long periods. When they were putting the ship together, she'd taken a tour with the CAG once. Seeing how little protection the rest of the ship had from the engines was frightening. One overloaded sensor might send the whole unit critical. While that might not be enough to make it rupture, the possibility of the engineering crew being exposed to fatal amounts of radiation went through the roof.

  Sure, most of them would call her crazy for signing up to fly a fighter in a pitched star battle, but at least this way she had control. At least she'd go out doing what she loved doing the most, flying fast and hard.

  "What, you don't think us science types like to get out occasionally?" He scooted closer and took a sip of his beer.

  "Wasn't sure your crew was capable of having fun. Every time I see an engineer they seem lost in thought, like the world would end if they didn't finish what they were doing."

  "You're reading into us a little too far." He winked and smiled. "Besides, the loss of one world isn't worth losing sleep over."

  Tegan pushed her chair away from his and gave him a wry look. She felt her face fluster with anger at the thought. "One world isn't enough to worry about? Have you forgotten we lost our world to the Mythrar over one hundred years ago?"

  "And how many have we conquered or gained since then?"

  Tegan opened her mouth to respond, but found the words lacking. Not just that, she really didn't know the answer. From what she could remember from school, humanity was claiming worlds at the rate of six per year. This was just the planets officially claimed by one of the old Earth factions, not the ones claimed by pirate or smuggling ops.

  "Look, I didn't mean to come off as harsh. Yes, one world is worth worrying about. I just meant that our problems aren't as big as they seem to be from a distance. Mostly we worry about how to modify energy fluctuations to maximize ship capacity and function."

  "And this morning?"

  "Chief Vaughn wanted to make sure engine containment was at acceptable levels. Fleet has been pushing out these new ships at an alarming rate. Normally they would be thoroughly checked before they even consi
der letting it out of port. But with the increase in military spending in anticipation of an assault on Earth, the inspectors have been lax."

  "Is everything..." She said, before interrupted.

  "Yes, the Endeavor is fine. Vaughn is a picky son-of-a-bitch, but efficient. If he doesn't feel she's safe enough to depart, she isn't going anywhere. Doesn't matter who's almighty ass we are escorting to a backwater hole in the galaxy."

  Tegan gasped. "Is that what we're doing? Escorting someone?"

  "Well, shit." He tipped his beer back and drank the rest before slamming it onto the table.

  "Is that a yes?"

  He leaned across the table and brought his mouth to her ear. "Plant those gorgeous lips of yours on mine and I'll tell it all."

  That pushed her over the edge. So much she balled her hands into a fist and pushed him away. The only thing keeping her from decking him in the bar was the knowledge it would likely cost her job.

  Thankfully, Fireball swooped in to save the day. He stood between the pair, putting a hand on each of them to separate the two.

  "Problem, Bobcat?"

  "No, I think he was about to leave."

  "Indeed." The man put his empty bottle on the table, grabbed his jacket, and headed towards the door. Before he was out of sight, he turned and spoke one last time. "The offer still stands." But instead of waiting for her response, he kept walking away from her.

  "What was that about?" Fireball asked.

  "Nothing," she said, still shaken. "Just need some air." Before Fireball could protest, she pushed past him and into the hall, heading away from the engineer on her way to her quarters.

  Chapter Seventeen

  New Earth Station

  Bridge, NECS Endeavor

  "Glad you decided to join us," Wellard said as Bremerton arrived on the bridge. From what he could tell, he was one of the last to arrive, showing up near the tail end of their reprieve. As hard as it was to do so, he shrugged off the captain's remarks and made the rounds on the bridge.

  He stopped at every tactical display, making sure all the little tweaks the ship needed were done in time. For the most part, the work was minor and had been completed. There was one little matter he had yet to check on and decided now was the time.

  "Bridge to engineering," Bremerton said, pressing the button on his comm.

  "Engineering, is there a problem Commander?" the voice on the other end wasn't Vaughn's as he had expected it would be.

  "I'd like to speak to Vaughn."

  "Vaughn is getting some shuteye, Commander. He's been working all day on the repairs to the engines."

  Wellard glanced over at Bremerton. "Something you need to tell me?"

  "Just wanted to check on the status of the engines" Bremerton noted.

  "What is the current status on core containment?" said Wellard.

  "Engines are at ninety-six percent containment. Four points higher than she had this morning. We expect containment to be closer to ninety-eight by this evening."

  "Very well. Leave a note for Vaughn to fill me in with the extent of his modifications the moment he wakes up," Wellard added.

  "Aye, Captain. I'll pass the word."

  "Good man. Wellard, out." Wellard crossed the bridge and stopped a few feet in front of Bremerton. He stood there for a long moment before shaking his head and allowing a sliver of a smile to form on the corner of his lips. "You have an attention to detail. I like that."

  Bremerton nodded. "The ship's problems are my problems, and I intend to keep it that way as long as I can manage."

  "Good," Wellard said nodding. "Now perhaps you'd like to fill our crew in on the details of our mission. I'm sure they're chomping at the bit to learn where we're heading."

  Bremerton nodded to Wellard before heading to his command chair. "Open a ship-wide channel."

  "Ship-wide channel open, Commander," Lieutenant McRee said from her seat on the other side of the bridge.

  "Endeavor crew, this is Commander Bremerton. We are about to embark on this ship's maiden voyage. Our first mission is to escort an NEC VIP into, and out of, the Atroxxin sector. While we don't anticipate any problems on the outside, the first few days may be challenging on our end as none of our systems have fully been tested. Take the time to get used to her, find any bugs and problems and report them to engineering so they can get them patched at once. As always, thank you for your service. With any luck we will be on her for many years to come. Bremerton, out."

  Wellard smiled and gave the commander a curt nod. "Good speech, Commander. With enough practice you might just get good at them."

  Sensing Wellard's approval, Bremerton allowed the hint of a smile to form at the edges of his lips before returning his nod.

  "Ensign Price, bring thrusters online. I want to be ready to take off the moment the champagne bottle smashes into the hull."

  "Yes, Captain. Bringing thrusters online now."

  "Good. Be ready to depart on my mark. I expect to get the command any time."

  "New Earth Station is hailing us, Captain," Bremerton said.

  "Put it on."

  "Captain Wellard," said Admiral Flannigan. "Endeavor is go to depart. Good luck and Godspeed."

  "Thanks, Admiral." Wellard cut the transmission. "Ensign Price, you heard the admiral. Back her away from the station." He paused his words long enough to take his seat in the center of the bridge. "Oh, and Ensign. Try not to put any scratches on her yet."

  "Yes, sir. Backing away nice and slow."

  The Endeavor groaned and creaked as she pulled away from the station. Bremerton knew the noises were normal, but he couldn't help worrying about every one. With hard work, and some luck, the ship would be his to command one day. When that day came, he wanted the ship to be in the same condition it was now.

  The ship came to a stop before Wellard commanded Price to ignite the forward thrusters at sixty percent. An hour later Bremerton noticed the convoy waiting near the jump gate. They closed the distance as the first of the ships winked out of existence with two more making the jump before they could arrive.

  Wellard ordered Price to pull the ship in line behind the Providence and wait for it to jump. Once it did, he ordered another command.

  "Move the ship towards the gate and send the signal to open the wormhole."

  "Signal transmitted."

  Wellard didn't need to hear the confirmation to know it had been done as the once minute wormhole at the center of the gate opened enough to touch the mechanical sides of the gate.

  "Prepare jump initiation on my mark." Wellard counted to three in his head. "Mark."

  Chapter Eighteen

  Palades Sector

  Bridge, NECS Endeavor

  A slight sense of vertigo washed over the crew as space blinked back into existence. Through his long career Wellard had entered gates like these hundreds if not thousands of times. He'd long since given up the hope of the sickness getting better with time.

  He sat in his chair, trying best to keep the sickness from getting the best of him while watching his crew's reaction. Most of them grew up on New Earth and had never once left the planet, let alone the system, and it showed. Half the crew was bent over, heaving out the contents of their stomachs on the floor. All except Commander Bremerton. Out of the crew, including himself, he seemed as if the motion didn't sway him.

  He gave the bridge crew a few minutes to recover, not wanting to push them too fast.

  "That, my friends, was probably your first taste of jump sickness. I'd like to sit here and tell you it gets easier, but I'd be pulling your leg. Truth be told, it probably gets worse with age." He scanned the bridge crew, noting the look of disgust on many of the crew members' faces. "Now you understand why the NEC has strict regulations how often we are allowed to jump, and why we must defend these jump gates in times of war. The three minutes I gave you to recover is three minutes more than our enemies will give us, so it's vital you do what you can to recover quickly."

  Noticing most of the
crew had recovered from jump sickness, Wellard stood. "Ensign Price, set a course to the Atroxxin Gate. Match the speed of the other ships, I don't want the Endeavor in front if someone gets frisky. Commander Bremerton, you have the bridge. If anything happens..."

  "I'll call for you at once."

  "Well said, Commander."

  And with that Wellard left the bridge to the young crew to get experience working amongst themselves. Not only that, there was still the matter of the engines to deal with. He wanted to see for himself what modifications Vaughn made to the core. Vaughn was a skeptical man who had been in fleet a decade before Wellard took his first footsteps inside of a ship. To a man, he was one of the best engineers fleet had to offer, which is probably why he was on the Endeavor instead of working to keep another heap of scrap operational. On top of his duties to ensure the ship was space worthy, he also had the task of training the engineering staff on everything they would need to do the same.

  Like Wellard, Vaughn was on the Endeavor in a limited capacity. Each had full authority to do what was needed within their department, but in most cases they were expected to stand back and allow the young crew to handle things on their own.

  But while Wellard intended on paying Vaughn a visit, he needed to make another stop first.

  He reached the flight deck thirty minutes later, having taken the long casual stroll through the decks. Trusting the lifts on any starship was a risky gamble he didn't like to make often. When shit hits the fan, the last place you want to find yourself was in a lift. If operational power had to be diverted to handle other critical tasks, power to the lifts was often the first to be cut, leaving anyone inside to make the climb to the nearest deck. Sure, you could wait for the damage control crews to punch in a temporary override, but there was a risk they never would. He'd made those long climbs often enough he didn't risk them but for an emergency.