by Garion Swann
He sat in his usual seat that he was glad had been kept free. He'd hadn't taken his painkillers in a while, and it was getting harder to move around, that was next on his priority list.
"Doc's been looking for you," Jenny said, she was mocking him.
"I bet she has, she was pretty pissed I just upped and left, started ranting about taking the wrong doses and needing time to heal. I told her she could either come with me or stop ranting." Grey scooped up a large mouthful of his pasta meal making sure to get extra hot sauce and put it in his mouth. He hadn't realised how hungry he actually was.
"I'm glad she came with you, you don't realise how much you miss someone until they're gone, the doc's certainly left a hole in the heart of the ship." Mark said, "I hope they find someone who fills more than just the Doctor role." he added.
"You could never replace Doctor Tamber, she's just so," Jenny paused to find the right word, "lovely." She smiled and ate some more of her own meal.
"That's very kind of you Jenny, I don't, however, see any vegetables with that meal of yours," Doctor Tamber had entered the room without them realising.
"Painkillers are next on my list Doc, promise," Grey said mimicking a child when he said promise.
"Oh I give up, you're a lost cause Grey," she said smiling. They all laughed at Grey's expense, although he did find it funny as well. "I have to eat as well, I'm not here to nag." she chuckled.
"Pull up a chair Doc!" Jenny said loudly. Grey watched as the crew interacted, if you didn't know otherwise it would seem like nothing had happened, they were carrying on, but they'd all lost friends today, and they would all mourn in their own way. Being on such a small crew meant you were a part of a community, a very close-knit community who spend most of their time in close proximity to each other. When someone in the community leaves or dies, it has a lasting effect, but one of the benefits is that everyone comes together to help each other through the mourning process. The captain was the one person who didn't fully commit himself to the community, Grey thought, he was always reclusive, rarely ever came to crew functions unless he needed to announce something. The crew had got used to it, some think he is depressed whereas others believe he didn't want to be close to people who worked for him. Grey was his close friend, and he knew that the real reason was that he just didn't like socialising, he was happy to be by himself, he wanted to be alone. It was not the best trait for a Captain to have, but Alex had found the right balance. Grey knew this would need to change, Alex needed to support of the crew no more than ever.
"Has anyone spoken to the Captain?" Grey asked.
"Just for sorting out crew assignments and seeing where we have gaps," Jenny replied. Everyone else shook their heads except Doctor Tamber.
"The Captain has been through a terrible ordeal, he will talk to you when he's ready, he won't need to do any commanding for a while so he can have a chance to sort himself out and approach people when he wants. I have advised him to that sooner rather than later, you as his friends and co-workers need to be there for him when he needs it." She spoke openly and again in her motherly tone. Grey knew she was right, but he had other ideas, it involved lots of alcohol and a good old heart to heart.
Chapter Twelve
Alex, Grey, Jenny and Mark were all on the bridge as the ship was pulled into a dock by the tug. Trulen had certain docks set up so a tug ship could fly through the dock to bring the towed vessel into the right position. Jenny had a headset on and was listening to instructions from the tug ship as to when to fire the breaking thrusters, one of the things on the Michelangelo that actually worked. They all felt the ship slow down as the thrusters engaged.
"All hands this is the Captain, we are about to dock at Trulen. This has been a difficult few days, and you all deserve a break, we're going to leave the ship in the capable hands on the Trulen engineers, I want all of you to rest until the ship is ready, you're all on paid leave until then. We will be holding a memorial service to those who gave their lives for the ship, I will forward details to all crew. Thank you for protecting this ship, thank you for protecting our home." Alex finished the quick speech and heard the sound of the docking clamps engaging, a status light came on to say they were on station power.
"Core is shutting down," Grey said. The lights dimmed a little as they switched from core power to station power.
"Enjoy the time off, all of you," Alex said, he remained seated as most the crew left the bridge.
"Bar?" Grey suggested. There were nods from Mark and Jenny, they were always up for a drink.
"I've got to check in with Dean, I may join you later," Alex said without looking up, he just stared at the bandages on his left hand.
"Alex," Grey said. He was about to say more, but Alex cut him off.
"I'm fine, Grey. Go, enjoy yourselves," he said looking up.
"You need to enjoy yourself as well," Jenny said.
"Thank you, I will, but duty calls," Alex replied.
They all smiled and left the bridge, Grey tapping him a few times on the shoulder. Alex took in the quiet of the bridge, most of the screens had turned off as the ship systems powered down when the station took over them. Repair work would have already begun, he hadn't seen the list of repairs yet, he did not like to think how much it would be costing. If Alex had to pay for it himself, he would have had to sell the ship. Before the explosion, it would have been fine but just one engine replacement was huge, Grey was saying they'd probably have to replace all three as the damage was more extensive than he first thought.
Alex rose to his feet, he locked his station and allowed it to go into standby mode. Before he left the bridge he took it in, the quiet of the bridge once more, something that was quite rare, he liked it like this. He saw the scorch marks from Grant's accident, they would soon be gone. The ship was also having all the interior decor replaced, it would be difficult to remove all evidence of the dead that had been left around the ship.
After gathering some belongings from his quarters, he made his way off the ship and entered one of the claustrophobic travel pods. He wanted to check into his room first that Trulen had provided all the crew.
Alex found the place they were staying quickly and asked the pod to take him there, it took less than two minutes. Entering the accommodation building it reminded him of something from section one of Europa, to stay here for one night would cost more than most of his crew earnt from one mission.
He was shown to his room, which was more of an apartment. There was a large seating area with a window overlooking the artificial gardens, he could see over the top as his room was on the thirteenth floor. He put his bag away without unpacking, he didn't like to think he would be here for a long time regardless of how incredible it was. He sat down in the chair on the balcony over the gardens and closed his eyes. For the first time he allowed the terrifying thoughts of the torture overwhelm him, he remembered vividly what the truth seeker had done to him, felt every wound as it was fresh. Alex couldn't comprehend how much pain he had been in, he was too weak to register most the pain at the time. He remembered the feeling of hope when the power came back on, focussing on the little hints of hope helped him get through it. When he heard Jenny's voice screaming at Dylan he knew he could be free. But could he? He felt like the truth seeker had imprinted himself onto his mind, he felt like he could never escape and never let go of the pain.
*
It had been eight days since the Michelangelo had been towed back to the dock, Grey had been catching up on the latest overnight reports from the ship. The Trulen engineers had made excellent progress, the ship was able to fly under again now that its new engines had been fitted. Grey, even though he had been told to rest, had been overseeing most the work himself. He wasn't going to leave his engine room in the hands of station engineers who have probably never served on a ship. He was perhaps being a little unfair as he did admit they were doing an excellent job. He was on his way to meet with Alex and Jenny, they were having catch up meetings to talk abou
t the ships progress and what their next plans were next. Alex was adamant he would not leave spacedock until they had a permanent security chief and Doctor. It was a fair point especially as when they thought they'd be safe to fly without either of those posts filled they lost ten people and nearly lost the ship. Jenny was not against the idea of a security chief but wanted the position for herself, Alex was not happy with the idea of her doing both jobs while still trying to fly the ship. He allowed her to keep two, she chose XO and pilot.
Grey joined Alex and Jenny who had already sat at a table in Jamie's bar. Jenny had already ordered a beer, it was nine in the morning station time.
"Starting early?" he asked as he took his seat.
"Never too early," she raised her glass and took a large gulp.
"Morning Grey," Alex said, he only had water.
"Mornin'"
"So, the repairs are ahead of schedule and due to be finished in the next couple of days. We need to choose a colour for the areas of the ship that are having new decor." Alex said showing colour options on his pad.
"Oh what a great use of our time, why can't we just have the same colour it is now," Grey moaned.
"You happy with that Jenny?"
"I really don't care about what colour the ship is,"
"Then it's settled, whatever is closest to the rest of the ship," Alex said replying to a message from the Trulen administrator overseeing the repairs. Grey noticed Alex seemed more depressed than he had been recently.
"What's up, Alex?" he asked.
"I'm fed up of being on the station, I want to be actually earning money, not using up Trulen's," he said. It was a fair point, and Grey suspected that most of the crew felt the same way.
"As you said two more days and we're all good," Jenny said, hoping to cheer Alex up, "Have we got any contracts?"
"Dean said he would sort one of out for us, and apparently we are getting an escort until Lady Jean is no longer a threat. We would need to stick to Trulen's internal missions though," Alex replied.
"Is that a bad thing," Grey asked.
"I suppose not, it would give us enough money to keep the ship ticking over and the crew paid. I'd be able to rebuild the ships contingency fund slowly. It does feel like all we're doing is getting the ship repaired." Alex trailed off.
"In the short term that should be fine, yeah it's not exciting, but at least we'll have money come in. I doubt Lady Jean would try anything at Trulen, she'd have to bring her whole fleet, and I doubt she's that pissed with you," Grey said. He thought he'd made a good point, but Alex was distracted by his comms device notifying him of an incoming call.
"It's Dean, hang on," Alex said accepting the call. "Dean, what can I do for you?" he asked. Grey wondered what Dean was saying, but by the look on Alex's face, they were about to find out.
Alex hung up the device.
"We'll have to cut this one short, there's a Yventi battle fleet at the edge of the system, they need me in Trulen command for some reason. Before Grey or Jenny could say anything, Alex was running to the nearest travel pod station.
Trulen command was impressive, it was a huge saucer section towards the top of Trulens central spire in the centre of the station. It had windows going all the way around allowing stunning views of nearly the whole station. There were nine floors in the disk, that was the nickname given to the command centre. Most of the floors were office-like spaces with monitoring stations, keeping an eye on Trulen itself and the space around it. Anything that happened here was monitored by someone at one these terminals. Alex found his way to the top floor, the disk was wider at the top allowing the command staff to have an uninterrupted view. Dean caught him admiring the view.
"Alex," he called over, "no time for that, unfortunately, follow me." Dean turned back around and jogged towards the central command area. There was a meeting table in the middle which looked like it had various screens in it displaying data. Projected onto large screens surrounding the central command area were the star charts for Trulen space. They could be changed to focus on a group of ships or one particular area. When you zoomed in on a ship, it would show basic information about the ship. Any ship that didn't have enough information would be flagged up.
Alex spotted two people standing in the command centre, one he knew was Ashley Trulen, the head of the Trulen family, he took care of the administration side of Trulen and was effectively in charge. The other was Ashleen Trulen, she was Ashley Trulen's eldest daughter and was also in command of Trulen's military. Alex had heard that her father had made sure she'd served a few years in each military branch before even being considered for the role.
"Mr Trulen, this is Alex Harper, Captain of the Michelangelo," Dean introduced him. The near one-hundred-year-old man held didn't look up to acknowledge Alex or Dean.
"Mr Harper, a Yventi fleet has turned up on my doorstep with a significant enough force to make me worried about my station. They are chasing a tiny craft travelling at exceptional speed, the pilot of the craft is asking for one your crew, who I believe is currently comatose in our infirmary." He said, still not looking up from the console. He pressed a button which played the recorded audio from an earlier transmission.
"This is Janie Phillips, I am requesting asylum on Trulen station. I have a fleet in pursuit. In return for Asylum, I can provide intelligence. Grant McDonald of the Michelangelo can vouch for me."
"Later you can explain to me why a Yventi security chief can name your crew Mr Harper, but for know can you vouch for her on behalf of your crewman. My forces are standing ready to protect or destroy. I'd really like that information, but I need to know someone trusts her." Ashley Trulen had now looked up. Alex thought fast, he didn't know if he trusted her, it could all be some elaborate ploy to plant a sly in Trulen although would the Yventi risk a large scale conflict by sending their fleet to Trulen? Grant would trust her, and if he were here, he'd vouch.
"Protect her," Alex responded. Ashley did not say anything he just opened communications.
"Ms Phillips, there's a destroyer, registry T-C-319 coming up to you, please dock with it, and it will protect you. You'll be treated well." He was also transmitting to the Captain of the destroyer.
"Thank you," Janie replied, "the Yventi fleet won't let me go without a fight. I've managed to plant a bug in their systems. I will trigger it once I'm safely onboard the destroyer."
"Ms Phillips if you try anything the soldiers aboard the Destroyer have ordered to shoot on sight," Ashley warned.
"Well, we are just going to have to trust each other," Janie replied. Ashley didn't respond.
"Well Mr Harper, let's hope your trust is well placed. Trulen has impressive defences, but I don't plan on using them today" Ashley said moving away from the central command. Alex said nothing but watched the man walk away, he was in good shape for his age, he was certainly rich enough to afford life-extending treatment.
Alex turned to watch the screens, he could see the small craft making contact with the destroyer which was named Phoenix.
"They're stopping," a crew member said, "The Yventi ships have come to a full stop. They're powering down." he continued. Alex watched as Ashleen checked for herself, he could see that the ships power signatures were very low.
"Now they're moving," Alex said looking back at the screen. They were turning around, all at the same time. The Yventi ships were flying away from Trulen at full speed.
"Heck of a bug," Alex remarked.
"I'll say," Ashleen said. Alex reckoned she was in her early sixties a similar age to Doctor Tamber.
"Confirmed no more Yventi ships in the system, they've jumped." The crew member said turning to look at Ashleen.
"Send a recon ship to track their jump, make sure they're not going to return. The first and second fleet shall remain on alert until we hear back from the recon ship." Ashleen ordered.
Alex was not sure what to do, could he leave? He looked for Dean who was in a conversation with Ashley he couldn't tell what about. He de
cided just to wait and admire the efficiency of the Trulen command centre.
Grant opened his eyes, all he could see was a bright light, his vision was blurred. As his eyes started to adjust to the light he saw movement, there were people around him. Muffled sounds that confused him became clearer as voices. It took him a few minutes to realise he was in a hospital. He was on a ward with seven others, some were being tended to by medical staff, others were asleep. Grant tried to recall why he was here, but nothing come to his mind. His earliest memory was starting a mission to one of Trulen's perimeter stations.
He heard a louder voice, it seemed much closer than all the others. After a few minutes, the voice became more recognizable. His vision was no longer blurry, and he was able to make out the face of the person whose voice he could hear.
"Grant," the voice said.
"Janie," he said weakly. His focus had returned, and he was now seeing clearly, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Am I dreaming?" he asked. Janie chuckled.
"No, I'm definitely here," she replied smiling.
"Why am I here? I don't remember much," he said.
"Your Captain filled me in on what happened on your ship, what's the last thing you remember?" Janie asked.
"We were on a resupply mission," Grant thought hard. "We didn't get to our destination though." Slowly things started to come back to Grant, he remembered the ship losing power, he remembered feeling helpless on the bridge. As he thought harder, he recalled a bit more.
