Running With Argentine

by William Lee Gordon

  ΔΔΔ

  "So why do you want to serve on the Roosevelt?" Lieutenant Stark asked the applicant in front of him.

  "Are you kidding?" the young man replied. "She's the most modern ship to come through here in… Forever! You're all over the holovids; the news faxes can't stop showing images of your ship!"

  This is exactly why we can’t afford to stay in one place too long, the lieutenant thought to himself.

  They'd picked up over a hundred and twenty experienced spacers over the last fifty days. They’d gather another dozen here and then move on to the next system.

  They had decided that a complement of one hundred and eighty would work for their purposes. He'd like it even better if they had another forty or so that had some type of combat experience, but that didn't look like it was going to be a problem; roughly a third of all the spacers that applied met that criterion.

  "And why do you want to serve on the Roosevelt?" he asked the next applicant.

  "I don't know that I do," was the reply. "Where are you headed?"

  As far as Lieutenant Stark was concerned, that response was an immediate disqualification…

  "We’ll be going wherever the Captain directs us," he responded. And he couldn't help but ask, "Why? Are you trying to get some place in particular?"

  "Get away, more like it," was the response.

  "Are you on the run?"

  "Yeah, you might say that. And if you were smart, you would be too."

  When the lieutenant didn't reply, the man went on…

  "Look, if you're headed down spiral I'm all in. I've got plenty of experience and a great record, but that's the only direction I'm going. So, how about it?"

  "I think we’ve filled all our positions," he replied.

  "Suit yourself," the man said. "But if you're headed where I think you are you won't be coming back!"

  And with that, the man stood up from the table and walked off.

  ΔΔΔ

  "Captain Argentine? Can we have a word?" Barry asked as soon as he and the chief walked onto the bridge.

  He and Sami had been engrossed in conversation at her station. As Argentine took the captain's chair the chief made way for both of them to gather around…

  "What is it?" he asked, anxious to get back to his conversation with the chief.

  Barry glanced at Sami…

  "We've been plotting our next few destinations," she explained. "There are a lot of options but the further we get up spiral the more challenging it's getting."

  Argentine was used to Sami's awkwardness, so he gave her a little time to explain…

  "We've been trying to target what, according to the charts, would be the most heavily trafficked systems. If we're looking for crew, we figured that these would be the best places to look for…"

  "Yes, I get that," Argentine said kindly. "So what's the problem?"

  "The problem is they're the ones blacking out the fastest," Barry butted in. "The more heavily trafficked a system is supposed to be, the more bloody likely it is we're finding that nobody's heard from them in a while."

  Argentine exchanged glances with the chief.

  "Sami, are you saying that the systems ahead of us are going dark?"

  When she nodded the chief said, "Dammit! We've stumbled upon another war!"

  "No, that's just it," insisted Barry. "Sami has told me all about when the People's Republic imploded, about how it just fell apart… But this isn't the same. It's all random! Different governments, different spheres of influence… We've even heard reports of transmissions being cut off in mid-sentence. And then, of course, there are the wonky rumors…"

  "Rumors?"

  "Yeah, it's barmy… Nothing reliable," Barry said with a smile.

  Sami jumped in immediately…

  "Some are saying it's an interstellar plague!"

  Barry gave a short condescending laugh… Or was it a nervous laugh?

  The chief was saying something to Barry but Argentine wasn't registering a word of it.

  This had to be a coincidence; there had to be a rational explanation for this.

  Just then, Lieutenant Stark walked onto the bridge…

  "Captain, we need to talk…"

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE

  Full Disclosure

  Aboard the Roosevelt

  "And you didn't think that was something we might want to know about?" Doctor Amaya asked sarcastically.

  She'd been the first in the stunned room to speak after his revelatory pronouncements.

  The lieutenant had earlier confirmed to Argentine that a number of applicants, especially from recently arrived ships, were carrying rumors of massive disasters up spiral.

  They had nothing specific; it was mostly just loss of contact with friends, loved ones and business associates. But one thing they all agreed on, anyone who traveled up spiral wasn't coming back…

  Argentine, to his credit, had taken only a few minutes to come to a decision. He'd issued an emergency recall; everyone, including the new-hires, had two hours to return to the ship.

  The Roosevelt would be leaving orbit immediately.

  He had instructed Sami and Barry to retrace their steps down spiral, and once they were in Dreamspace he had, reluctantly, called for this meeting.

  They'd all been together for over an hour and the Officer's Mess was near capacity. It now held the entire one hundred and fifty odd members of the Roosevelt's crew…

  "That will be enough of that!" Lieutenant Stark boomed with authority. "The Captain is telling us what we need to know, when we need to know it.

  "I'll remind everyone that it would've been easy to leave many of us behind, especially the recent hires. We all owe the captain a debt of gratitude, and will repay it by being respectful and following his orders!"

  Argentine was actually surprised, and grateful, that the crew accepted the lieutenant's rebuke as well as they did. Except for a few muttered grumbles here or there, they remained mostly silent…

  "As I was saying," Argentine continued. "This ship was originally designed to identify, study and possibly even thwart the extinction events."

  Argentine let his gaze roam over the crowd. Without exception, all eyes were upon him…

  "As some of you have already guessed, we are not the original crew of the ship. We are not obligated to fulfill its mission."

  This brought a fair amount of mumbling from the crowd. Some of it was born of relief, others… concern?

  "Even if we wanted to…" Argentine raised his voice slightly until the crowd quieted… "We don't have the scientific personnel to even begin to understand what we're facing. We do, however, have a fast ship that can let us stay ahead of it.

  "You can be assured that your immediate survival is not in question.

  "To ensure our long-term survival, however, I need each of you to take your tutorials seriously and learn your jobs. If you do that, I will commit to not keeping you in the dark and share what we learn about our situation as soon as is feasible."

  ΔΔΔ

  "If you ever withhold critical information like that from me again, I'll break your arm."

  The lieutenant had said it calmly, quietly and without emotion… And Argentine knew he meant every word of it.

  "You should've told us," the chief said in response to his look.

  Even Sami was slowly nodding her head.

  Argentine knew they were right. He hadn't really believed it, hadn't wanted to believe it…

  Besides, the odds were overwhelmingly in their favor that they'd never have to face it in their lifetime. It wasn't that he'd planned on never telling them, he just hadn't realized that there was any sense of urgency for it.

  The bottom line, though, was that he'd lost their trust. It was something that he was only now realizing the full value of…

  "You're right," he said to the core officers gathered in his day cabin. "There is no excuse and I'm not going to make any. I made a bad decision. Believe it or not, I do feel that we’re all i
n this together."

  He paused and gave silent thanks that Mandi didn't choose that moment to come out with one of her patented sarcastic quips…

  "I can't change the past, but I'll reiterate the commitment I made in the Officer's Mess… As much is possible, and unless it poses a danger to the ship, I'll keep all of you in the loop. And even if I don't have the right to ask it, I will expect the same from all of you."

  He made it a point to look everyone in the eye and hold their gaze for a moment. Everyone met his gaze…

  Some gave him a quick nod in reply; some held it and either frowned or smiled.

  To his surprise, Mandi had nodded in agreement.

  The lieutenant, however, gave no reaction whatsoever.

  ΔΔΔ

  "You can never do that again," he said.

  Doctor Amaya remained silent and felt her cheeks flush.

  She knew he was right, but didn't want to acknowledge it. Especially to the likes of this… warrior in front of her.

  "I know you've never served on a ship before," the lieutenant continued calmly. "And I know when there were just a few of us we kept everything very informal… But with a large crew, authority and discipline must be maintained – and that includes giving respect to those that outrank you."

  “Oh, yes…" she heard herself say. "March to the drumbeat, salute and all that… Yes sir, captain… I've listened to hundreds of people say those things – usually right before I'm stitching them up or trying to keep their intestines from falling out onto the floor."

  She didn't know why she was being so obstinate about this. The lieutenant was right; she should've known better.

  In that same maddeningly even tone of his he said, "There's a reason for it. There are a lot more new crewmembers than there are of us. Ask yourself this, What keeps them from deciding to take over the ship?"

  The doctor looked up sharply…

  "Discipline and respect for authority is what keeps everyone in line. It's what keeps us safe. You've been a leader all your life, Susan. All I'm asking is that you set the right example here.

  "Our very survival may depend on it."

  Once the lieutenant had left her office she couldn't help but wondering…

  How does he know my first name?

  ΔΔΔ

  "I think it's all a bunch of crap!" Jewell declared.

  "Keep your voice down!" her fellow new-hire answered back. "You don't have any reason to complain; the ship’s headed in the right direction and any record of your previous bad luck is looking to be erased."

  "Shut up, Benson," she said tiredly. "I told you I don't ever want to talk about that again. But this… Do these jerks have any idea what they're doing? This isn’t even their ship! They wear the uniforms and act all high and mighty, but…"

  "Yeah, well… We'll find out soon enough, I expect. In the meantime, you need to keep your head down and your mouth shut. I don't want you getting us into trouble like you did on Vesper VI."

  Jewell snorted.

  "I mean it," Benson reiterated. "Let's bide our time until we have a better understanding of what’s going on here. Then, if we see an opportunity…"

  For the first time that day, Jewell smiled.

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO

  Lucid Insanity

  In Orbit At Asperia

  The night before the Roosevelt was to enter the Asperian system Argentine again tried something he dreaded…

  Over the preceding week or so as they had retraced their steps, Argentine had gone back and forth in his own mind… Was this really the extinction event? Was such a thing really possible?

  What if he was overreacting? What if this was something relatively minor, like a war or something?

  For a number of evenings he’d tried querying Paula, but as eager as she was, she was little help. She simply didn't have the knowledge base to answer his questions.

  That didn't mean, however, that she hadn't given good advice. Her one consistent suggestion was… Talk to Captain Ramires.

  He had actually tried it on a number of occasions, but in the Captain's calmest states he seemed disinterested; and when he was most conversational he was angry and paranoid.

  So far he had never, however, been lucid…

  So here Argentine was, trying it again…

  This time, when he reached out, Captain Ramires' holographic projection materialized with him setting at the dining table, calmly reading a data pad.

  Captain Ramires, Argentine said after mentally clearing his throat.

  To his surprise the Captain looked up and held his gaze…

  I am Acting Captain Argentine, and I need your help.

  Something happened, mumbled Ramires with a confused look on his face. The mission…

  Yes sir, your ship was boarded and your crew… was retired. But I need to ask you about your mission. If you can access the ship's logs you can see that something is happening. We're running away from… Something. Systems are going dark behind us and I need to know… Is this what you were looking for?

  Is this really the extinction event?

  Ramires looked him in the eye, and screamed…

  ΔΔΔ

  They killed us! Ramires exclaimed. We were here to save them and they… My crew… Those people don't deserve to live…

  Captain Ramires, Argentine pleaded. You have to help me. How do we fight this? What is it?

  It's the wrath of God! Don't you see? It's the final judgment and they deserve to burn… We all deserve to burn…

  Does Paula deserve to burn? Argentine asked in frustration. Does Paula Silva deserve to be judged?

  Paula? he responded.

  Yes, Paula. You have to help me protect Paula. Surely you people have some idea of what's causing the extinction? You must've had some thoughts on how to fight it?

  We never had the chance to fight it. Our own race turned on us… We were never even given the chance to use the Halperin Protocol… Humanity doesn't… deserve… to… live…

  Captain Ramires screamed again.

  ΔΔΔ

  "System traffic is heavier than the last time we were here, but other than that everything seems smashing."

  The last few weeks may have involved some sleepless nights for Argentine, but his officers had slowly transformed the new-hires into something that actually resembled a crew.

  It was a good thing, too… They had just reached the Asperian system and Argentine didn't want to waste any time.

  He still wasn't sure how he’d been talked into it, and he was 100% sure that Mandi had other hidden motives, but she had somehow talked them into taking a large contingent of Asperian scientists on board…

  "We need them," she had said.

  "Bollocks!" was Barry's reply. "We only need them if we intend to carry out the ship's original mission. And that's barmy! We've reached no such decision."

  "That's right!" Mandi insisted. "We haven't reached any decision so stop trying to force us into one!"

  "What? I'm not forcing anything…"

  "Oh yes you are! Not picking up those scientists ensures that we can't pursue the mission – you're trying to push us into a corner where we have no options!"

  "Are you having a laugh? I'm not pushing anything. You've totally lost the plot…"

  "Children!" Argentine intervened.

  He then looked to the chief…

  "She does have a point…"

  "Oh rubbish…"

  "No one else needs to be at risk, Captain," Mandi concluded. "I'll be the one that goes and collects them."

  "Sami, are we outrunning the event?" Argentine asked.

  "It's hard to tell, Captain. The chatter I pick up sounds just like it did on the last planet; everyone knows the systems are going dark, but they don't know why. There also seems to be some confusion about whether it's all up spiral or not…

  "If I had to guess I'd say we’re still well out in front of it, but I don't think we’re gaining any ground."