by Jeff Sims
Perhaps better stated, Jack was one of the few beings in the galaxy that knew exactly what a marine was because he had been to Earth. Jack used to be part of a team that secretly monitored Earth’s communications from high in Earth’s orbit. However, the Alliance ended the monitoring program when the hyperspace lane between Earth and Conron became corrupted.
Jack was traversing the hyperspace lane from Earth to Conron when it was ‘accidentally’ corrupted by a large chunk of a moon. The gravity fluctuation forced Jack out of hyperspace and stranded him. Fortunately, he was able to save himself by manually plotting a path to Solaria.
Jack soon realized that the lane closure was not accidental; meaning that the Alliance had intentionally stranded him in the middle of a hyperspace lane and left him for dead. He had never forgiven them. Nor had he forgiven the Alliance for laying him off when they ended the monitoring program.
“That is the worst thing I have ever heard,” Jack cooed. Jack kept his voice soft and calm and said, “You fell down in the line of duty and the Alliance left you for dead. Further, an Alliance doctor literally stepped over your body and didn’t even pause to check your pulse.”
Jack sympathized, “I know how you feel. It happened to me as well.”
Jack looked at her closely. He could see that she was exhausted and was about to pass out. Jack knew that once she slept and regained her composure, the story would become more dignified. He patted her shoulder and said, “It is important to tell the story another time so that you can remember it correctly. Please, tell it to me again.”
Ella responded, “Jack, I’m tired. I need to sleep.”
Jack smiled sweetly and said, “Just once more, you can tell the story again while I make your bed. Then you can sleep all the way to Opron.”
Ella: “We launched a stolen Hiriculan transport from the Sunflower, pretended to be Netos from the destroyed frigate Bloodlust, and landed on the Spindle Station. The soldiers…”
Jack interrupted as softly as possible, “Marines?”
Ella: “Yes, the 5 marines and I walked to the prisoner holding area. They killed 13 HAS units and 5 unarmored soldiers in a matter of seconds. I was hit multiple times and my AAU shorted out and I fell down and passed out. Someone tried to pry me out of the suit, but stopped for some reason. The blast from the hanger woke me up and I walked to your ship.”
The bed was ready and Jack helped Ella lie down. Jack gently moved her hair out of her face and said, “Sleep now. When we reach Opron you can call the Sunflower and tell them that you are still alive.”
Ella was almost asleep. She ever so slightly slurred her words, “I don’t want to talk to them. I just want to go home.”
Jack replied, “Ella, they are your friends and shipmates. I am positive that there are extenuating circumstances surrounding why they abandoned you. They will be thrilled to know you are alive.”
Ella replied, “You’re probably right. Good night.”
Jack knew that he was right. Well, he knew that he desperately wanted Ella to contact the Sunflower when they reached Opron.
Jack had spent the last decade of his life monitoring Earth’s communications. Before that, he had spent 5 years as a communications officer in the Alliance Navy. If there was one thing that he knew how to do, it was monitor communications. And Ella’s upcoming call to the Sunflower was one communication that he intended to monitor.
She would want total privacy, so Jack would offer her the workstation in his entertainment area. This used to be the Earth communication recording room, but Jack had repurposed it after the Earth monitoring program ended. Then she would activate a privacy screen and tell the computer not to record the conversation.
Jack started with the latter. He reconnected an autonomic recording device that he used to use to record Earth communications. He probably should have dumped the thing a while ago, but he figured it was still valuable.
Jack hardwired the recorder directly to the communications console. Now, it would automatically record everything that the console receives. It was not part of the ship’s central communications system; therefore, the computer could turn it on or off.
The privacy screen would prevent Jack from hearing her conversation live, but that really didn’t matter with the recording device in place. He could listen to it at his leisure when Ella wasn’t watching him. Or hopefully, when Ella transferred back to the Sunflower.
Jack sat down at the station and wrote a communications program. It took him nearly an hour to complete and verify. Jack smiled at his inventiveness. He considered it a work of pure genius.
The program was subtle, it barely did anything. However, it should be effective for his needs. When Ella makes contact with the ship and they confirm that she is an officer stationed aboard it, Jack’s program will send a system status request to Sunflower’s computer. The report is considered non-essential, so the computer will not alert the crew of the request unless it has been specifically ordered to do so.
That computer should respond with the status of the hyperdrive, ion cannon, life support, shield strength, and other all other relevant, low level clearance information. The computer’s response will also include the status of the crew. The program will then divert the computer’s response away from Ella’s work station and directly to the recorder.
The ship’s status was irrelevant. Jack was only interested in the status of the crew. The program completed, Jack stood up and returned to the control room.
Jack pulled back the curtain and checked on the two beings in the cryostasis tubes. The stasis tubes contained two Solarian officers, named Robert Eaglefly and Anna Foxprowl. According to the readouts, they were doing fine.
He contemplated his next big decision. Just before the Alliance attack, the Hiriculans contacted Jack and told him that there were two Solarians in the Alliance naval fleet that attacked the Spindle Station. They offered Jack a sizeable contract to return the two officers to Solaria.
The Hiriculans had meant it as a gesture of goodwill since Solaria had recently awarded Hiricula a large construction project. However, that deal was made before all of the other prisoners escaped. Jack said, “Computer, repeat exactly what the Hiriculan said.”
…gjial lrjwei ngskla…
Jack supposed he deserved that. He tried again, “Computer, stop playback. Repeat what the Hiriculan said and translate it to Alliance Basic.”
…We would like to release the two Solarians. They would be free to return to Solaria with you. Further, there will be no stipulations placed upon their return…
Jack thought about the statement for a moment. ‘They are free to return with me,’ not they must return with me. Further, there are no stipulations. Jack realized that he had enough information to make his decision.
Ella managed to sleep the entire 7 hour journey through hyperspace. Just before they reached Opron, Jack decided to wake her. He wanted her fully alert and thinking clearly before having her (semi) private conversation with the Sunflower. Hopefully, the extra time would allow her to get angry and say something interesting.
He walked into her room and gently shook her until she awoke. Jack said, “You have been asleep for nearly 7 hours. We will arrive in Opron soon. You have just enough time to take a sonic shower and clean your uniform.”
The uniform was smart material and really didn’t need to be cleaned; but hey, Jack could be magnanimous with an offer he doubted Ella would take. Jack retreated to the control room and waited for them to reach Opron.
Ella joined him in the control room just as they exited hyperspace. Jack activated both the active and passive scanners.
He looked over at her and smiled and said, “You look nice.” He realized that the complement may be a little over the top so added, “And refreshed. I think the rest did you some good.”
Ella nodded in agreement.
Jack said, “Before you went to bed, you mentioned that you aren’t going back. How are you going to do that? You are an officer in the Allianc
e Navy. You have a two year commitment to complete.”
Ella yawned and replied, “I have 8 months of actual time served. Then, I get 5 months of bonus time for hazardous duty such as participating in a battle or acting as a secret agent. As you know, I served in the battle of Opron, the battle of Hepitila, the secret mission to the Spindle Station, the battle of Trilon, and finally the 3rd battle of Influenla.”
Jack did some quick math and realized that she had 33 months of service. She certainly could retire if she chose. However, something else in her statement seemed odd to him. Jack asked, “How many total battles have there been between the Alliance and Hiricula?”
Ella replied, “Six.”
“You have been in 4 of the 6 battles. That is amazing, if you think about it,” Jack replied. “Remind me what happened during the first battle on Influenla. I don’t remember hearing about that one.”
Ella: “The cruiser Justice exchanged a missile salvo with a Hiriculan cruiser. No one was injured, but the Justice was forced to retreat.”
Jack said, “Okay. Switching subjects, we need to discuss something before you contact the Sunflower.”
Ella gave him a distasteful look and responded, “What?”
Jack pulled the curtain back and revealed the two Solarian officers in hibernation. Jack said, “Before the attack, the Hiriculans released these two officers to me with the stipulation that I freeze dry them and return them to Solaria. I think it was a gesture of goodwill.”
Ella turned, looked at the stasis tubes, turned back and said, “So return them to Solaria. Why are you telling me about it?”
Well, that wasn’t quite the response Jack was hoping for. He had thought that Ella would immediately demand that they be released and sent back to the fleet. That way he could tell the Hiriculans that he tried to deliver his cargo according to his contract, but was ordered to break it by the Alliance military.
Jack responded, “Perhaps you should mention them when you call the fleet in a few minutes.”
Ella responded, “I don’t want to call them. I may as well just stay dead.”
Jack thought for a moment and said, “The news of your death will reach Solaria before we do. You don’t want your friends and relatives needlessly grieving over you if you can prevent it, do you?”
Finally, that seemed to work. Ella responded, “You are right, Jack. I would like some privacy for the call though, if that’s okay.”
“No problem,” said Jack as soothingly as possible. “You can use the workstation in the entertainment area. It will meet the requirements nicely.”
The passive scanner beeped and Jack sent the results to the main monitor. It drew a circle that represented the Opron system. It placed the Jackal at the northeast corner, or at the 45 degree mark of the circle. It then placed the Alliance fleet on the plot and indicated that it was 17 minutes ahead of them.
Ella said, “It appears that they increased their speed to .12 light and are planning to traverse the system in real time.”
Jack replied, “At that speed it will take the fleet 2.7 days to reach the Opron - Conron hyperspace lane.”
Ella asked, “And us?”
Jack replied, “The mini-freighter is fully loaded and has a commercial drive. The best we can maintain is .06 light.”
Ella finished for him, “Meaning that it will take us just over 4 days if we follow them.”
Jack started to plot a course to micro-jump around the outskirts of the system, but Ella forced him out of the way and completed it. She said, “That is much better. We can make a series of three jumps around the Opron system. We will be able to reach the Opron – Conron hyperspace lane in 2.8 days.”
Jack said, “Ella, go make the call. We will jump as soon as you finish.”
Ella walked into the entertainment area and sat at Jack’s workstation. She activated the privacy screen and instructed the computer not to record the conversation. Since there was a 2 minute and 33 second delay, she recorded a message instead of trying to establish contact. She actually preferred the delay because she had plenty of time to compose her thoughts before speaking.
She said, “Hello Sunflower. This is Ella Birdsong. My AAU was damaged and I was knocked unconscious. The hangar explosion woke me up and I was able to escape before the Hiriculan reinforcements arrived.”
Ella stopped there. She really didn’t want to say any more. However, she took Jack’s advice and added, “There are two other Solarian officers aboard, Robert Eaglefly and Anna Foxprowl. The Hiriculans released them to Jack Dogbarks as an apparent gesture of goodwill with the orders to return them to Solaria. I am officially retiring from the Alliance Navy when we reach Conron.”
She left Jack’s quarters and returned to the control room. She verified the coordinates were correctly entered into the hyperspace navigation system and ran a simulation. She pressed the button to jump without waiting for a response to her message.
Jack saw what she was about to do and blocked her by putting his hand over the hyperspace button. He said, “Ella, you know that we have to wait for the response. It is important, if only for closure. Besides, it has already been 3 minutes. I think you can wait another couple of minutes for a response.”
Jack gently, but firmly guided her back to the workstation. He verified that she was sitting and waiting and said, “I will leave you to it.”
A minute later Ella received a reply. Solear, Lexxi, Clowy, and even Putat crowded around the monitor. Clowy was visibly crying and smiling at the same time.
Solear said, “Ella, we are all thrilled that you are alive. The marines want you to know they feel terrible that they left you behind and that it wasn’t their decision to do so. Congratulations on your planned retirement. You should know that both Clowy and Lexxi are also retiring. Please join us for a ceremony when we reach Conron. The crew will be thrilled to see you one last time.”
The sentiment made Ella tear up slightly. She replied, “Thank you. I will rendezvous with you in Conron.”
She returned to the control room and said, “Jack, if it isn’t too much trouble, I would like to rendezvous with the Sunflower for a few minutes when we reach Conron.”
Jack responded, “I will be happy to accompany you.”
Ella shook her head and said, “No. This is something that I have to do alone.”
Jack thought, in other words there is something amiss aboard the Sunflower. Jack retreated back into his quarters and started searching his room. After a couple of minutes he found a flashdrive cube that contained with six human movies from Earth.
These movies were the big guns in his arsenal and this was the first time that he had broken them out. Each movie was a romantic love story about a down-on-her-luck human female who somehow became a princess. Jack personally could not stand these movies, but he knew that they should entertain Ella for hours.
Jack returned to the control room and said, “You’ve had such an emotional day; you should relax and take your mind off of the battle for a little while.”
Ella replied, “I don’t think I can.”
Jack smiled politely and handed the flashdrive cube to Ella. He said, “Here are some Human movies that I forgot I had. Let’s go watch them on the monitor in your bedroom. I think you will like these.”
“I have had enough of Humans for a while,” Ella responded.
Odd response, thought Jack. She didn’t say human movies, she said humans. He was more certain than before that there must be a group of human marines on the Sunflower. He really wanted to review the data from the computer request and listen to Ella’s message.
Jack replied, “Trust me, I think you will really like these.”
He led her back into her bedroom, inserted the cube into the corresponding slot on the monitor, and started one of the movies. He struggled, but managed to watch the first scene with her. Well, he was basically watching her, not the movie. As soon as he was certain that she would watch it to completion, he left and returned to his workstation.
/> Jack reviewed Ella’s conversation. She hadn’t revealed much. The return response wasn’t enlightening either. Even the beings on the ship called the rescuers marines. Perhaps they had simply added the word to their vocabulary.
Jack reviewed the computer’s response to Ella’s unwitting query. These results, however, were intriguing. The computer sent the name, rank, function, and origin number of everyone currently aboard. It also gave the date when each crew member was stationed on the ship. Jack parsed the origin numbers by race – the list included three Advranki, one Altian, and 64 Solarians.
Jack was stunned at the last number. He now realized how the Navy had kept the presence of the humans a secret. They had given them Solarian visas. He doubted there were 64 Solarians in the entire Alliance Navy.
Further, their names were clearly human, not Solarian. Jack now understood why Ella wasn’t initially curious about humans. According to the ship’s logs, she was on board when the first 20 pilots entered. She must have interacted with them before their secret mission to the Spindle Station.
The list showed that the humans filled the roles of fighter pilots, engineers, and maintenance crew members. It also showed 5 members with the designation of marine.
Jack theorized that the Alliance Navy probably kidnapped a group of humans and were testing them to determine what roles they could perform. He assumed that the 64 on the Sunflower were only ones the Alliance had because the hyperspace lane was closed.
Wait a minute.
Jack double checked the dates of the humans’ embarkation. Clearly there were two groups, one of 20 and one of 50. Both dates were later than the hyperspace lane’s closure date. One was shortly after the closure and closely corresponded to Lorano’s trip to Earth.
However, the second date was months later. That meant that someone had been to Earth well after the Conron – Earth hyperspace lane was corrupted.
