He moved to the basin in the ensuite, splashed some water onto his face and then some more into the corners of his eyes, flushing the sleep away. The stubble was there again to greet him and remind him of another chore. He used to grow a beard but gave that away when he thought it made him look old. After brushing his hair he changed into his trackies and sat for meditation.
Thoughts about the action yesterday kept flooding in. He knew they would. It’s the nature of the mind to think, he told himself, and each time he found himself thinking he would take a deep breath in and start repeating the mantra. Eventually his mind was tamed and he found himself in the place of stillness. First there was the velvet black of the void followed by the soft electric blue twinkle. Mostly that was as far as he got but this morning he was rewarded with the Blue Pearl as the blue lights coalesced into the divine orb. With it came a wave of contentment, nourishment for the soul. He sat there for what seemed like ages but which in fact was barely a few minutes. No thoughts, no emotions. He just was.
A few seconds later his mind kicked in with another thought, a powerful thought. If there was another race making a play for the human systems then how would it be possible for them to have a traitor on board his ship? Surely that was not possible.
He brought his consciousness back into the cabin, said his opening mantras and stood up. The thought was still there. He needed time to digest it. Exercise time. He started to head for the gym. But then he remembered. He went back and locked the door. He could not afford to relax his guard.
He exercised for ten minutes. Sure he should be getting in more than that but he was a busy man on a mission. Besides he was still feeling a little stiff from yesterday’s exertions.
After shaving he dressed in his ship’s uniform – short sleeves and light trousers. He looked at his badge of rank and recalled how pleased he was two years ago when he got promoted and given command of the Hermes. Amy was so proud of him. He tried to hold back the thought that it was his promotion that had killed her. How he missed her. “Yes be careful what you wish for Dave” he said to himself softly.
Then he recalled the excitement he had felt with Rihan in the Engineering compartments. Part of him felt guilty. He still felt like a married man. But he shook his head. No, that was in the past. I am no longer a husband… I am no longer a father. He couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. He sat on the bed and cried silently to himself. He took a few deep breaths, wiped the moisture from his face and once again stepped out to a brand new day.
Chapter 15. Hermes 0800, 22 April.
By the time he returned to his cabin Commander Dave Warner had polished off a light breakfast, checked in with the officer of the watch, Chase Hanlon, inspected the log for the previous 24 hours and called in to see how Sue Chalker was. No change. He was just checking his mail when Rihan arrived.
She said “sleep well?”
“Like a baby” he said as he motioned her back out, locked the door and marched off to the elevator. They made the journey in silence.
On the way they passed Private Angie Popendreous. She was a slip of a lass who could glide through a room of people like a swan, which was in part due to her natural grace but also to her daily service in the Senior NCO’s mess. Her young face couldn’t hold back a smile of recognition as they passed.
“Looks like it has started” noted Rihan in a soft voice.
“Collateral damage” responded Warner in an equally soft tone.
Once they arrived back in the central crumple compartment, Rihan began “I’ve been thinking about those possibilities for the attack on New Hammersley. Even if it is some unknown race that attacked us there, they can’t have anything to do with our traitor here.”
Warner smiled. “Great minds think alike! Good to see you’re as sharp as ever.”
“Why thank you Sir.”
“Look Rihan, I reckon you can call me Dave when we are alone. Let’s keep things formal elsewhere but when there’s just the two of us I’m happy with first names. Is that OK with you?”
“Sure Sir…I mean…Dave.”
Warner smiled. “Good then I’m glad we have that settled. First order of business ticked!” Rihan smiled back.
Warner continued. “I agree with you. It’s exceedingly unlikely that anyone on this vessel has anything to do with our unknown fourth power. For want of a better name let’s call them the ‘fourth’. So what? Well if the fourth power did make the attack then there is some other agenda at play involving one of the other three powers. Do you agree?
“Yes I do. It could still be an Alliance traitor.”
“Most likely. We should be able to ascertain that once we know where the signals went.
“I can’t sit on the information from Manger. I will have to report back today. Again it will be another 48 hours before we get instructions from Fleet.”
“What do you think they will do?”
“It’s too big for Fleet. It will have to go to Council.”
For the first time in her career, Rihan was starting to doubt her faith in the institutions she was sworn to uphold. She was starting to open her eyes to the possibility that someone within their own military, Government or corporations could be prepared to use their influence and have them killed. “What if it doesn’t get to Council?”
“Oh boy” sighed Dave in a resigned manner. After a long pause he said “Well we need to make sure it does. I can arrange that.”
“How?”
“Better that you don’t know. I have a few mates in the right places.”
“I thought we’re in this together. We either trust each other or we don’t.” Rihan’s eyes bored into Dave’s. He fully realised her concern and would have done the same in her place. But he also knew the risks.
“You’ve got to realise the risks we will be running. It’s better…”
Before he could get another word out, Rihan interjected. “That’s bullshit and you know it. If you expect me to support you in this then you better reciprocate. Who knows, if you get taken down I will need to know exactly what’s in play and what isn’t.”
Dave nodded his head. “For better or worse…”
“Till death do us part” she quipped. Her dander was up. “Who are you going to contact?”
“A guy by the name of Jose Ramon. We went to the Academy together. He dropped out after the first year, joined a law firm and ended up in the diplomatic service. He’s a deputy section head in the State Department.”
“Does he have access to Council?”
“If not directly, then indirectly.”
“Why would he take the risk?”
“He owes me…big time. I covered for him while at the Academy. He was involved in …an incident. It was part of the reason he left.”
“What. You made sure he didn’t get a bad rep?”
“Something like that. You don’t need to know any more.”
Rihan understood not to press further. He was right she didn’t need to know any more.
“OK that’s our military covered but how are we going to check up on the rest of the government let alone any one of the thousands of corporations?”
“We can’t. We have to accept the limits of our power and pray that things unfold in such a way that we have to time to react.”
“I don’t like the sound of that” said Rihan. She ran her fingers through her hair.
“Well for now that will have to do. I have a debriefing to attend.”
“Yes, Sir…I mean Dave.” Warner smiled at her embarrassment.
Chapter 16. Hermes 0900, 22 April.
2nd Lt Chase Hanlon was chairing the debriefing. Normally it would have been done by Warner himself, but he was one of the team members so he handed the duties over to his Ops Officer. The battle-lab was pretty full including all of Bravo team and the ships ops staff. Rihan was not there. She was standing watch for Chase.
Chase began by asking Warner if he had any opening remarks. Warner declined. This was the usual custom for War
ner in such circumstances. He preferred neither to preempt nor to prevent any comments others might make. He took the view that it was best to have all views out on the table.
Chase then went on to outline the purpose of the mission and the events as they unfolded phase by phase. The aim was to highlight what worked and what didn’t. Blame was not the focus, rather it was to make everyone aware of the lessons to be learnt and to hone best practice.
When Chase came to a point that a particular team member was responsible for he would invite them to elaborate or comment. He quickly moved through the insertion phase and the deployment to Tindel.
“So far so good” he said. “Sgt Chalker then made contact with Manger and after a brief conversation they made their way across the street. Were they followed?”
Since Chalker wasn’t there, Warner spoke up. “I was looking across the street right up to the time they entered the lane. I saw no evidence of anyone following them at that stage.”
“Me neither” piped in Trooper Bridgewater “and I was on the corner upstairs window overlooking the tavern until I was called away.”
Chase then asked “Was this a mistake - moving Bridgewater to the back to cover the enemy flanking move?”
Emilio began to speak “Well…”
But Warner didn’t want anyone else to answer this so he quickly cut him off. “I believe Sgt Shavez made the right call. The enemy flanking attack was the only known threat at that time. It was real and underway. Something had to be done to block it. The mistake was in not assigning another resource to guard that approach and that was my responsibility. All other resources were committed to other tasks. We could have done with another trooper but as you know we were down seven after Josker and stretched thin.”
“Noted” said Chase. “Was the RV east of the town the right choice for the extraction?”
This time Emilio spoke up quickly. “A closer RV would have been good. Firing and moving all that way took a long time and we may have been able to get clear before those fighters arrived.” Then he added “but we all knew that spot having stopped there on the way in, so from that point it was a good location.”
Chase then worked through the main points of the extraction, noting the successful interception of the enemy missiles. “Way to go Cpl Puket” he said.
“You mean Sgt Puket” chimed in Alain Favre. This set off a few background cheers.
“Any other comments?” asked Chase.
“How did the enemy get tipped off again?” asked Sgt Jake Shriver. Jake worked in Chase’s ops team. He was the older wise counsel for the young subaltern. He leaned forward his chiselled jaw jutting out even further than normal. His light blues eyes were boring into Dave’s.
“This is the second time we have suffered casualties trying to meet Agent Manger. Where is he anyway?” he asked.
“He was still sleeping five minutes before the start” chimed in Brian Riley. “Snoring like all hell. All night he was. And why does he have to be in the room next to mine?”
“Alright” said Warner, standing now so all could see him. “Agent Manger has been through hell these past months. He is exhausted. I don’t believe he betrayed us on Josker nor at Tindel. I have my reasons. On that you are going to have to trust me. Yes, someone did betray us and we are going to get to the bottom of that. Who and why are yet to be determined. I want you to leave it at that for now. Is that understood?”
Everyone acknowledged either with a soft “yes Sir” or nodded their heads. Jake Shriver wasn’t satisfied with the response but he knew well enough to drop it for now.
“OK” continued Warner “I want to have it formally recorded that all members of the team performed their duties in a commendable manner. For particular mention I want to cite Cpl now acting Sgt Puket for her coolness under extreme pressure and for her skill in evading the enemy fighters. And Sgt Puket I note you are not correctly dressed. See to it that an extra stripe is affixed by 1200 hours.”
“Yes Sir” replied Parinya. Her emotions were a mix of pride and embarrassment as her colleagues cheered. Warner was beaming at her. He loved these moments. They were a time in which his limited powers could bring a measure of pleasure to everyone involved. They all enjoyed the moment.
Warner then continued in a more serious tone. “I also want to commend Sgt Chalker for her bravery. She willingly shouldered the greatest risks of this mission. We all owe her a debt of gratitude. Please offer up your prayers for her safe and speedy recovery.”
The tone in the room had changed to one of sombre reflection. Warner turned and caught Chase’s eye.
“This concludes the debriefing. Dismissed” said Chase.
As everyone started filing out Chase called out to Warner “Sir, can I have a word please?”
Chase waited until the room was clear and then said “I reckon Sgt Shriver is right. Manger is a real risk. We lost seven on Josker and we could have lost Bravo team and yourself yesterday.”
Aware that the battle-room was most likely bugged, Warner didn’t want to discuss this issue there and then. He didn’t want to just brush off Chase. He trusted him and was going to have to bring him into the fold shortly. “Chase, are you free right now or do you have to get back to the bridge?”
“I am supposed to go back on watch straight after the debriefing.”
“Go and see Kiralenko. Give him my compliments and ask him to stand in for you for the rest of your watch. Then meet me in Engineering.”
“OK but what about Manger?”
“Leave Manger to me. You need to get going.”
“Right Sir!”
Chapter 17. Hermes 1000, 22 April.
Ten minutes later Warner was down in Engineering speaking with Rapperberg. He had pulled him aside into the central crumple zone compartment. It was fast becoming the unofficial command centre. He’d have to watch that.
Chase Hanlon opened the bulkhead door expecting to meet no one on his way to the main Engineering bay. He was surprised to see his skipper there with the Engineering chief. Warner pulled him over.
He then briefed them both on the state of play and the need to decrypt the unauthorised signals.
Chase was initially shocked at the revelation that the traitor was actually one of the crew. He hadn’t seen that coming. His mind began racing with all the possibilities.
Chief Gunter Rapperberg was less surprised. He took it in his stride. He’d been in the service now for over 15 years. He was not what you would normally expect from an engineering crew. With his sandy hair, parted on the left and swept back and his average height and build, he looked like he would be more at home teaching at the Academy than in charge of a hands-on section aboard a space frigate. But his looks were deceiving. Yes he was a techno boffin with a keen analytical mind. But he had a practical side and surprisingly he had proved his ability to motivate and manage what the service still referred to as the grease monkeys, despite the fact that grease and Orpon warp drives had nothing in common.
“You know Sir that it’s been over eight years since I was in encryption. I’m a bit rusty. How fast do you want this done? I’m reckoning yesterday?”
Warner nodded.
“I’ll give it a go and call you when I have something.”
“Some precautions. Apart from the XO, myself and you two, no one else knows about this. Keep it that way. Assume the area you are in is bugged. I have already found two in my cabin.”
The shocks just kept coming for Chase. Warner ignored his open mouth. “Ensure you are armed at all times. Trust no one. If you need assistance, see me first.”
“Oh and one other thing Chief. We’re going to have to find the communicator being used to send these signals. Got any ideas?”
“Yeh, can you leave that one with me.”
Again Warner nodded. Gunter added “I better get onto it.”
“Yes thanks Chief.”
Gunter turned and exited back to engineering via the bulkhead door. It made its customary clang. As the sound ech
oed off the walls Warner could still see Chase’s mind churning things over.
“Chase. Try not to let this spin you out. You have to remain calm and you have to appear calm. The traitor must not suspect we’re onto them. So far the only suspicions voiced have been at Agent Manger. Let’s leave it that way. Another thing, I will let the XO know that you have been briefed on this. Without being obvious, keep an eye out for her safety. Got it?”
“Sure.” Chase was nodding his head. “Thanks for trusting me Sir. I won’t let you down.”
“Good. Time to go. I’ll contact you once the Chief has made some progress.”
With that Warner led the way back to the elevator.
He decided to call in to sickbay and see if there was any change in Sue’s condition. Mary Chernside saw him coming and came over to him. “No change, Sir” she said in a soft voice.
Warner could see the lights were out in the section of the ward where Sgt Chalker lay. “Mary, let me know when things do change” and then adding after a short pause “either way”.
Mary appreciated that Warner understood the possible outcomes. On first joining the Hermes four months ago she had her reservations about him. She wasn’t sure how he would handle the casualties, the deaths. So far he had impressed. He genuinely seemed concerned but he was a realist. Maybe this time she had found a commander she could respect. That would be a change. “Will do, Sir” she replied.
Part 2
Attraction
You are drawn to the other as the other is to you
You exchange looks, feelings and words spoken true.
Lust rises strongly and passions unite
The Awakening: Book 1 of Warner's World Page 8
