Jed stepped forward, “I have had military background, why me? Why am I picked? There are so many things you don’t know about me.”
“Captain Jedidiah Fitz,” Malcom answered, “You will be the captain of this vessel. You have so very much to offer this cause. We understand the struggles you have had due to the loss of your wife five years earlier. However, that event will be the defining quality that will ultimately lead your people to victory in the coming months.”
“Are you saying that my wife’s death serves some useful purpose? How do you know this about me? Have you been knocking around inside my head without me knowing it?”
“We only gather information as part of the selection process, like a background check. The survival of your planet is at stake, after all. However, we have done our research during our selection process. This is how we know of your situation. This is how we know of all your situations,” Malcom explained to the gathering. “Now...Admiral Gilmore will explain the roster, I must take my leave and rest.”
Malcom’s image faded away as if it were a dream.
“That was just weird,” Race nodded, “Cool, but weird.”
Jed turned to his friend, “Are you up for this?”
“Hell yeah! I’ve dreamt about something like this for many years...hey, wait a minute. Those dreams I used to have. I wonder if they were planted by Malcom to prepare me for this,” Race pondered.
“Now’s not the time to have your mind wandering all over the place,” Admiral Gilmore interrupted. “Attention! Captain Fitz will command this vessel, the Rocinante. I will be put in charge of the space fleet and will command the Agamemnon. Captain Fitz, the list of your officers is as follows: Commander Jameson will be your first officer. Lieutenant Collins will be in charge of Tactical. Navigation and helm control will be provided by Lieutenants John Foster and Erica Payne. Your top fighter pilots will be Major Kurt Phillips, Captain Eric Jones, and Captain Rene Simon. Phillips will be your Commander Air Group. The CAG will be responsible for every fighter pilot on your ship.”
“Excuse me, Admiral,” Race asked, raising his hand, “Where do I fit in all of this?”
“Race Jennings, you will be the military advisor to all CAG’s”
“Wow, that’s a pretty cool responsibility.”
“Don’t screw it up, Jennings. You are being commissioned at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps, against my better judgment. However, in the interests of saving humanity, I am keeping an open mind.”
“Thank you, Admiral. You won’t be disappointed, I promise you that.”
“All right,” Gilmore said, “The remaining assignments will be provided to you via email. Just be here tomorrow morning for your flight briefing.”
________________________
Antares
Corsair Scout Operation
________________________
Thelix settled into the plush leather chair at the command station. A crewman stood at attention on each side of the corvette’s command station. The helm and weapons stations were situated forward and slightly below the captain’s.
“Remove docking clamps.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Tornado, the helmsman acknowledged. “Docking clamps retracted.”
“Fire maneuvering thrusters and back away from the station.” Thelix ordered.
“Yes, my Lord. Firing maneuvering thruster. We’re free of the station.”
“Helm! Full power to engines. Plot course to the Betelgeuse system.”
“Yes, my Lord, full power to engines for escape velocity. Course plotted and laid in.”
“Tactical! Set shields to minimum safe running protocol.”
Darnash, Thelix’s tactical officer, entered the settings on his console. “Shields set for navigation minimums only. Standing ready, my Lord.”
“Prepare to leave orbit. Helm, ahead one-third.”
“Ahead one-third, yes my Lord.”
“Prepare jump procedure. When we’re at our safe range from Lebencha, begin jump procedure.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Tornado nodded, “We will be at safe jump distance in two minutes.”
“My Lord,” Darnash asked, “What is it you spoke to the Emperor about?”
“Silence yourself on that matter, Darnash!”
“My Lord, we should know what our mission is. That is all.”
“Answering your questions would break my blood oath with the Emperor. I will only tell you we are scouting for a stable conduit that may lead us to new raiding grounds. Now, I forbid you to speak of this again!”
“I’m sorry, my Lord. I meant no disrespect.”
“Then see to it you follow my directive on this matter!”
“We are at safe jump distance, my Lord. We are clear of Lebencha,” Tornado reported.
“Begin jump prep.”
“Jump prep initiated.”
“Set course for the Betelgeuse system. Spool jump drive.”
“Course set to the Betelgeuse system. Spooling jump drive.”
The whine of the jump engine spooling up smothered their voices.
“Helm!”
“Go.”
“NAV!”
“Go.”
“Tactical!”
“Ready!”
“Jump resolution check!”
“Resolution settings confirmed, my Lord.”
“Generate negative energy densities!”
“Negative energy densities confirmed.”
“Check full power to FTL!”
“Jump drive reads fully spooled.”
“Go for jump, my Lord!”
“Initiate jump!”
The sleek four person corsair raced across the blackness of space and vanished from Antares in an instant.
“All stop!”
“Powering down engines, my Lord.”
“Position report!”
“We are within the event horizon of the former star, Betelgeuse, my Lord,” Tornado reported with a smile.
“Excellent!” Thelix praised, “Begin scanning the anomaly. Find out where this conduit leads.”
“Scanning the conduit now, my Lord,” Darnash nodded.
Thelix waited impatiently for several minutes, “Any data on those scans yet?”
“Yes, my Lord. I am receiving telemetry now.”
“Really! Were you going to enlighten me with this information in this lifetime, or the next one? I’m waiting!”
“Sorry, my Lord. It does appear that the conduit passes through Eridonian space, continuing on at least ten plus light years past it.”
“Can you tell me if this conduit is stable enough to travel?”
“It reads as stable, my Lord. It appears to be bi-directional.”
“Excellent! The Emperor will be most pleased!”
“Shall I plot our return course to Antares so we may report our findings?”
“Understand, Tornado, that an incompetent and presumptuous gorech will quickly test the edge of my sword with its neck! We are not returning to Antares until we have completed our mission. And our mission is to traverse the conduit.”
“Sorry, my Lord,” Tornado answered, “I will plot our entry sequence into the conduit.”
“Better!”
“My Lord,” Darnash reported, “I have confirmed that five saucer ship signatures had entered the corridor’s event horizon a few hours ago.”
“Confirm ship origin.”
“By the wakes, they were Eridonian, my Lord.”
“Helm, continue course to the event horizon. Enter at once.”
“Yes, my Lord. Inertial dampeners off-line, we are heading in, Sir!”
“Enable telepathic inhibitor and arm all weapons! Shields to maximum!”
“We are crossing the event horizon now, my Lord. We are inside the corridor. We exit in three days.”
“Very well, keep me posted if we encounter any other ships within this corridor.”
“Yes, my Lord. I have enabled the inhibitor. Shields are at maximum
.”
“Tornado, can we jump within a conduit?”
“I do not think that has ever been attempted, my Lord.”
“I did not ask if it’s ever been done! Can it be done?”
“I will have to run some calculations to see if we are able to manipulate negative energy densities within the conduit.”
“Do so then!”
“Yes, my Lord. I will begin programming the simulations.”
“Call me when you have your answers. I will be in my quarters...and don’t take all day!”
“Yes, my Lord. I will let you know the moment I have completed the simulations.”
Thelix stood, stared out at the gleaming lights of the wormhole. Then he turned and exited the command deck.
CHAPTER SIX
________________________
Earth
John F. Kennedy Space Center
________________________
“Good afternoon, Captain,” the gate security guard saluted before taking the ID Jed held out for him.
“Good day.”
“Race,” the guard leaned down and glanced at the passenger. He handed Jed his ID back, then reached into the open window for the one Race offered.
“That’s Colonel Jennings now,” Race pointed to his silver oak leaf on his shoulder.
“Oh, sorry Sir,” the guard looked up from inspecting the paperwork long enough to snap off another salute.
“No worries,” Raced said, returning the man’s gesture.
“You’re expected at the center, Sirs.” The guard handed Race his ID. “They’re opening the hanger to prepare for your launch.”
“Thank you, my good man,” Jed nodded, and then stepped on the gas.
“Jed,” Race said, leaning over in his seat, “pull over to the side when we turn the next corner.”
“Why? What’s up, Race?”
“Oh, nothing much.”
“Raaace?”
“Jed, don’t make me pull rank on ya now.”
“Oh, come on, Race. You know a Navy Captain outranks a Marine Lieutenant Colonel.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You are commanding the air group, I’m commanding the ship. That means I command the air group as well.”
Jed turned the corner, and then Race tugged on his steering wheel, “Hey! Watch it, now.” Jed recovered and pulled over to the side of the road.
“There, that’s better now.”
“This better be good, Mister!”
“Pop the trunk.”
“Pop the what?”
“The trunk, pop the damn trunk already!”
Jed pushed the button and the trunk opened. A woman climbed out, shut the trunk, and ran over to Race’s side. She leaned down and gave him an affectionate smack on his cheek.
“Hi baby!” Race smiled.
“What the hell, Race? Why is there a woman in my trunk?”
“Jed, err, Cap’n’ Fitz, this is Danielle. Danielle, Cap’n’ Fitz.”
Jed looked at the voluptuous woman, “Nice to meet you...Race, what the hell? Smuggling a woman past security is a serious breech...”
“...Danielle...”
“...smuggling Danielle on base is a major security violation!”
“Relax...”
“Relax?! You want me to relax?”
Race grabbed a duffle bag from the back seat and handed it to Danielle, “Here, put on the overalls. You’re now Private First Class Cooper,” Race pointed to the single stripe on the sleeve.
“Private First Class? Race! Really? Now you’re going to have her impersonating an enlisted...”
“Jed, it’s okay. She’s with me. Danielle is my assistant. She’s coming with me on our first voyage.”
“Beg pardon, miss,” Jed’s eyes followed the shirt and skirt Danielle tossed into the back seat, “but do you really know where he’s about to take you?” Jed couldn’t help but glance at the woman unconcernedly unrolling the overalls next to his Mustang while clad only in her bra and panties.
“Yes, Captain. I sure do,” she shivered a little as punctuation, “and it’s so exciting!” Danielle smiled at Jed as she stepped into the overalls.
“The Admiral isn’t going to like this, not going to like this one bit, Race.” Now that the overalls were zipped up, Jed could send a stern look at Race.
“What the Admiral doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
“How’s he not going to know?”
“It’s all fixed, Cap’n’. I’ve even had an ID badge made. Danielle, go ahead and hang that around your neck.”
“I can’t believe you’re actually going to do this,” Jed said, shaking his head.
“By the time he does figure it out, it’ll be too late.”
“Might be too late already, here come the MP’s.”
Danielle hopped over the side of the convertible Mustang and plopped into the back seat. The jeep pulled up next to the Mustang, the MP jumping out to stand next to Jed’s door.
“Afternoon, Sirs.” The MP’s eyes scanned Jed and then Race. His eyes got big as he scanned the back seat. “Is, um, is there a problem?”
“No problem at all. We were just stretching our legs, Sergeant.”
“Well, I’m going to have to ask you to move along,” Jed almost laughed out loud as the MP’s eyes moved down to Danielle’s overall-covered legs. “This is a restricted access area. You wouldn’t want to attract any attention now, would you?” The MP now had an elbow planted on the Mustang’s fender. He raised the brim of his helmet and smiled at the back seat.
“Nope, wouldn’t want that at all,” Jed said, grinning at Race, “Would we?”
The Sergeant stood up and turned back to Jed, his face back in full ‘serious’ mode. “The Admiral is waiting. They’ll be commissioning the new ships shortly. You’d better hurry,” He snapped a quick salute before turning towards the jeep.
“You mind giving us an escort?”
“Not at all, Sir. Follow me,” the Sergeant jumped back into his jeep and circled around it before speeding off.
Jed popped the ‘stang into gear, easily catching up to the jeep.
A few minutes later the Mustang was parked in front of the large hanger. The MP waved as he sped off in the jeep.
The hanger was retracting, revealing the two battle ship hulls that had been constructed underground.
Race whistled, “Will you just look at the size of those two ships?”
“They are a mighty sight, that’s for sure,” Jed climbed out of his car, folded his seat forward, and held a hand out for Danielle.
A clean cut, dark haired man approached, wearing flight deck overalls with several pockets, “Sirs,” he saluted, “Chief Petty Officer, Kelly, reporting!”
“Chief,” Race said, returning the salute.
“At ease, Chief Kelly,” Jed said, snapping a quick salute in return, “You’re my new flight deck operations Chief, right?”
“Yes, Sir! And might I say, she’s a beaut.”
“Where’s Admiral Gilmore?”
“The Admiral is on the Aga getting ready for preflight take-off, Sir.” Addressing Race, “That’s where you should be, Sir. Admiral Gilmore is waiting for you to perform you flight check out.”
“I thought my support ship would be assigned to Cap’n’ Fitz’s command?”
“It was. He had the ship and your personnel transferred to his command; said something about wanting to keep a close eye on ya.”
“Chief, do you have a link to the Admiral?”
The Chief reached in his back overall pocket and held out what appeared to be a communication device, “Yes, Sir. Right here, but I don’t think he’s of any mind to change this assignment.”
“I’ll worry about that, Chief.” Jed reached his hand out, “Get him on the horn, will ya.”
“Yes, Sir. Right away, Sir.”
Chief Kelly tapped a few buttons on the device and held it up to his ear, “Yeah, gimme a comm link to Agamemnon actual...yes, that’s right, I
need the Admiral. Okay, I’ll hold.” The Chief cupped the mic, “Comm is connecting me now, Sir.”
The four continued to walk toward the upper deck to the Rocinante. They walked along a gangway that was level with the tarmac. A railing separated them from the vast expanse of the underground construction pit. The greatest bulk of the vessel, still below ground level, was now revealed as the huge hanger structure slowly rolled open.
Kelly spoke into the device, “Chief Petty Officer Kelly, Sir. Thank you for your time, Sir. Stand by, I have Captain Fitz for you.”
Jed took the device and held it to his ear, “Admiral?”
“This is Agamemnon actual. What is it, Captain Fitz?”
“Sir, it’s about Colonel Jennings’ assignment. I thought he was to be under my command?”
“What about Race’s assignment? I need him on my ship, Fitz,” Jed could sense a bit of self-satisfaction through the communication device.
“Sir, he needs to be on my ship where I can keep an eye on him for you.”
“Captain, it’s not up for debate. He remains on my ship. At least until we are in orbit. The flag ship is where his support vessel should be launched from; at least for the media. Once the dog and pony show is over, I’ll transfer him back to your ship since you will be the first to travel the conduit. The Aga will have the three other ships fall into formation and will proceed once we have the all clear from you.”
“My ship, Sir? I’m going in first?”
“Yes, that’s right, Jed. All eyes will be on you and your gracious offer to cross the event horizon first.”
“My offer?”
“Yes, that’s right, Captain.”
“I never...”
“Well, as far at the media is concerned, you did. Trust me on this, Jed,” the Admiral’s voice lowered a bit, “you want this ‘prestigious opportunity,’ Captain Fitz. I don’t think I could pass it up if it was handed to me. It will go a long way in boosting support for you and your team.”
“Well, I am flattered, Sir, but why me? Why does my team need to be ‘boosted’?”
“This is not the time, the place, nor the medium for us to go into that now, Captain.”
“Yes Sir, Admiral. And thank you, Sir.”
“Good! Now get to your ship and begin pre-flight checks. The Eridonians’ will be here in a couple of hours. Gilmore out.”
Warlords Saga Page 5
