by Jake Bible
“You have to be in the shit to know,” Chomps said and shrugged.
“Anyway, this is Chief Mechanic Stony Locke and his wife, Second Chief Mechanic Hawker Meegat,” Parveet said, indicating the lesson was over.
Chomps looked around the hangar. “Where’s Pang? He was scheduled to clear Roar today, yeah?”
“He’s done for the day,” Stony said. “Dropped a span-hammer on his foot and I sent him to sick bay.”
“Anything serious?” Parveet asked.
“It was a span-hammer, Boss,” Hawker said.
“His boot protected him for the most part,” Stony said and shrugged. “But he’ll need foam for at least a week. Hella said anything after that and he’s faking it.”
“Good to know,” Parveet said.
“You need anything special or is this a meet and greet, Boss?” Hawker asked.
“Thought we’d show the ambassador why our mechs don’t have armaments built in,” Parveet said.
“You’re gonna love this,” Chomps said and smiled at Torn. “I love it every time I see it.”
“You sure, Boss?” Stony asked.
“I’m sure,” Parveet said.
“Okay,” Stony replied and took the tablet back from Hawker. “Hold Tina.”
Hawker took the wrench and rolled her eyes as Stony executed a series of code entries then nodded at the center of the hangar. Red lights began to flash and a loud klaxon rang out. All work ceased and the mechanics and techs stood ready off to the sides of the hangar as a series of panels in the center of the floor began to slide apart.
Six huge gun racks lifted from the floor and locked into place, each holding a variety weapons from massive-looking rifles to even more massive rocket launchers.
“Those are…really big,” Torn said.
“KYAG class weaponry is all our mechs use,” Chomps said.
Torn sighed and gave Parveet then Chomps a helpless smile.
“Kiss Your Ass Goodbye,” Chomps said. “Specially built here on the Jethro for our mechs only.”
“You can thank me,” Hawker and Stony said at the same time.
“Don’t start,” Parveet snapped and pointed at each of them in turn. “You both get credit, so do not even begin to argue over who did what and how much.”
“Incredible,” Torn said. “Why isn’t this tech spread to all the MEUs?”
“Budget,” Parveet said, a smirk on her face.
“Oh,” Torn responded. “That pesky budget.”
“That pesky budget,” Parveet said. “And on that note, I think we should get you into conditioning.”
“What’s she in for?” Stony asked.
“Six-hour puke ride,” Chomps said.
Stony and Hawker froze.
“Shit,” Hawker said finally.
“Bloody hell,” Stony muttered then looked at Parveet. “What we flying into, Boss?”
“It ain’t good is about all I can tell you,” Parveet said.
***
Parveet led Torn out of the hangar, leaving Chomps behind with the other pilots. They walked silently down several passageways until they reached the end lift, Parveet nodding to and greeting the few crew members they encountered. When the lift arrived, Parveet ushered Torn onto it and made it clear to the couple of crew members hurrying down the passageway to catch it that they should get the next one.
“How scared should I be?” Torn asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” Parveet said.
“This six-hour puke ride is shocking even your people and they don’t strike me as ones that shock easy,” Torn said.
“No, me and mine don’t shock easy,” Parveet said. “And it isn’t so much that they are shocked at the severity of what you’re about to go through as they are worried about the timeframe it implies.”
“Which is?” Torn said.
“We’ll be pushing a two-week trip into one week,” Parveet said. “Me and mine are conditioned well enough that we can handle the strain it will cause on our bodies. Bodies can be repaired and strengthened in sick bay.”
“But you’re worried about your ship,” Torn stated.
“The Jethro is a beast of a ship,” Parveet said. “It can handle the stress. We’ll get to the wormhole and through without a problem. But we’ll be weak when we reach the other system and Hrouska. None of us like to be in a position of weakness when we’re about to get into the shit.”
“But you said the Jethro can handle it,” Torn said.
“It can. It will,” Parveet replied, nodding. “But shit happens, Bee.”
“Why are we pushing it so hard?” Torn asked. “Why not take it slower and get there in the usual two weeks?”
Parveet regarded Torn for a couple of seconds then frowned. “The Dorso is in trouble. That final transmission made that clear. One day could mean the difference between us finding survivors or not. An extra week? We should prepare the body bags now.”
“No, no, I understand that,” Torn said.
“Then why ask?”
“Because you are risking your people’s safety for the unknown,” Torn said. “The Dorso could already be lost. Why weaken your position when you may not be able to rescue anyone?”
“That right there is the difference in who we are,” Parveet said. “You see time as a given whereas I see it as a luxury. The fact that it’ll still take us a week to get there is the weakness, not the possible damages done to the Jethro. Me and mine are the best in the biz, Bee. We can handle some ruptured valves and scorched blast shielding. What we can’t handle is knowing we could have saved even one life, but didn’t because we took our time.”
“I’m sorry,” Torn said. “I’m not trying to sound privileged. This is all new to me.”
“Which is why I haven’t launched you out into space,” Parveet said.
“Funny,” Torn replied and chuckled. Parveet didn’t. “Jay? You are joking, yes?”
***
They reached the hatch to the conditioning bay. Parveet took a deep breath then spun the wheel and shoved the hatch inward.
“Follow me,” she said gravely.
Torn simply nodded and followed.
The conditioning bay was an empty bay about one hundred meters square. In the center was a single seat. A seat with a vast assortment of straps and bindings.
“Sit,” Parveet said.
“This conditioning is for the force my body will endure when the Jethro accelerates?” Torn asked. “Because I have been on hyper-pushed travels before.”
“It is also because the wormhole portal is new and not the most stable in the galaxy,” Parveet said. “Probes have recorded some anomalies that could make normal biological functions…uncomfortable. A six-hour puke ride will minimize the severity of those anomalies. If they occur. We could encounter zero issues and breeze through the portal without a hitch.”
“So putting me through this is just in case,” Torn said.
“Everything we do this far out is just in case, Bee,” Parveet said. “You die unless you eat, drink, and breathe just in case.”
“Understood,” Torn said as she crossed the bay and took her seat.
Parveet began strapping the ambassador in, taking great care to make sure every latch and binding was tight and secure. When she finished, she stood back and looked Torn directly in the eye.
“Do not fight it,” Parveet said. “You go with your gut. Literally. The second you feel nauseous, puke. The second you feel any other bodily urges, let them happen. This bay can be hosed down and so can you. If you fight, it will only get worse as the conditioning progresses. Give in at first and the ride will be a lot less torturous.”
“Torturous,” Torn said. “Delightful.”
“That word doesn’t exist in this space,” Parveet said and pressed her forehead to Torn’s. “But you will get through this. Godspeed.”
Parveet gave Torn one last smile then turned and left. The hatch clanged shut and Torn was all alone, secured to a very uncomfortable chair by close
to two dozen rough, scratchy straps.
Only a second went by before a high-pitched whining filled her ears and pain stabbed directly into the center of her forehead. Six more seconds went by before she started to scream.
8.
“Jethro, this is SBE, you are clear to disengage,” a flight controller said. “Clamps are released. Safe journeys.”
“Thank you, flight control,” Lieutenant Dean Axson replied. “I have the stick and am taking the Jethro out in three, two, one.”
There was the slightest of shudders in the floor of the bridge followed by a far-off clanging.
“And we are clear,” Axson said. “See you in a few weeks, SBE.”
“Be safe out there and come back in one piece, Jethro,” the flight controller responded.
“Will do, SBE,” Axson replied. “Jethro gone.”
He keyed in three codes then adjusted the angle of the Jethro’s bow. He slowly engaged the throttle until it was halfway, waited one minute, then engaged it fully. The press of the gravity from the engine thrust weighed on everyone on the bridge. It would be even greater for those in other areas of the ship.
“Give me a full burn once we are fifty kilometers from SBE,” Parveet ordered from her seat on the bridge.
“Yes, Boss,” Axson replied.
The seconds ticked off then Axson pulled back on the throttle and engaged the hyper-travel drives. The bridge crew gasped in unison as the intense pressure made each of them feel like they were being crushed by a hundred tons of water. Then the pressure began to ease until two minutes had passed and the level of discomfort became tolerable.
Parveet cleared her throat, stretched her arms, then looked over at Torn and smiled.
“You good?” Parveet asked.
“Anything is better than what I endured last night,” Torn said.
“You should be in your cabin sleeping the conditioning session off,” Parveet said. “You don’t have anything to prove to me or mine.”
“I plan on being present for everything,” Torn said. “I’ll sleep later.”
“Oh, I know you will,” Parveet said. “We have a pool going.”
“A pool?” Torn asked.
“I have you for two hours in,” Lucky said as he got up and stretched his back. “I have faith you can handle this.”
“You call two hours faith?” Torn asked. “Jay? I mean, Colonel Parveet, what do you have me down for, if I may ask?”
“You can ask, but you ain’t gonna like the answer,” Parveet said. “I have you for forty-five minutes.”
“Fifteen,” Corporal Bali Stegson said from her seat at the weapons console.
“Thirty-two,” Corporal Jai Flay said from his seat at the navigation console.
“Thirty-two?” Corporal Lilly Wan said from comms. “You had to add two minutes on just to be a jerk, didn’t you, Flay?”
“We all get to pick our number, Wan,” Flay replied. “Mine is thirty-two.”
“Thirty,” Wan said to Torn.
“I am not going to pass out in thirty minutes,” Torn said. “Nor am I going to pass out in two hours. I slept for three hours between the conditioning and now. I feel fine.”
“Get back to work, people,” Parveet said. “I want all systems monitored around the clock from here on out.”
“That’s how we do it anyway, Boss,” Stegson said.
“Hey!” Lucky barked. “Cram the backtalk, Corporal!”
“Backtalk you,” Stegson muttered.
“The Jethro is staggeringly different than any ship I’ve been on,” Torn said.
“Told ya,” Parveet replied. “You hungry? I know Hella pumped you with fluids and made you suck down some gel packs, but you’ve got to be starving.”
“Hella?” Torn asked.
“Dr. Meyers,” Parveet said.
“Oh, yes, Dr. Meyers,” Torn said. “Is her first name Hella? I thought it was Helga?”
“It is, but ships and nicknames,” Parveet said. “Hella has been on the Jethro as long as I have.”
Parveet waited then scrunched her shoulders.
“So…food?”
“Oh, yes, I should probably eat,” Torn said. “I doubt I’ll eat much, but I will try. Need to keep my strength up. That’s what Dr. Meyers…That’s what Hella said.”
“Now you’re catching on,” Parveet said. “Let’s get you down to the mess. Lucky?”
“Yes, Boss?” Lucky replied.
“You have the con, XO,” Parveet said. “Anyone want me to bring something back?”
“Cheese snaps,” Wan said.
“Yeah, totally, cheesy snaps,” Flay said.
“Funny,” Parveet said. “Stegson?”
“All good, Boss, thanks,” Stegson said.
“Axson?”
“Just ate, Boss, but I appreciate it,” Axson said, his eyes locked onto the view shield that showed nothing but open space ahead.
“Come on,” Parveet said to Torn. “Grub time.”
***
Parveet set her full tray onto the table, taking a seat on the bench attached. The food was various shapes, but all the same gray color.
Torn stared down at her tray then slowly pushed it away.
“I’m not sure I can handle this right at the moment,” Torn said.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Parveet responded before shoving her mouth full of a triangular slice of gray. “They used to add food coloring to it to make it more appetizing, but it didn’t help. It wasn’t like red tasted anything similar to a food that was red.”
“Myco based?” Torn asked.
“Myco based as well as algae,” Parveet said. “Flavoring is from different yeasts and bacterial cultures. Life on ships is hard on your gut. You have to keep the probiotic biome as healthy as possible down there or your health goes south fast.”
“Yes, that is what I’ve heard,” Torn said. “I’ve never been out long enough for that to be an issue. I guess now I will.”
“No doubt there,” Parveet said, slicing off some rectangle and chewing that before giving Torn a knowing smile.
“What?” Torn asked.
“What are your questions?” Parveet asked. “You’ve seen some of the ship and you’ve seen the mechs, but I know you, Bee. You are dying for more intel.”
“Well, since you brought it up,” Torn said. “I am curious about the MEU structure. I spent time on a general infantry ship, similar to the Dorso I would assume, but the MEUs have always puzzled me.”
“How so?”
“Well, if you have the firepower of the mechs, then why do you need the infantry units that you have?”
“First, they aren’t general infantry,” Parveet said. “In MEUs, and more so here on the Jethro than any other ship, we have Special Combat infantry. Less numbers, but ten times the skill set. I’d trust any one of those soldiers with my life.”
“Yes, but what purpose do they serve?” Torn asked. “Why not partner with general infantry?”
“SpecCom can get into places the mechs can’t,” Parveet said. “They can also get back out. You send in general infantry and you run the risk of escalating something from innocuous to shit show in five seconds. Don’t get me wrong, general infantry have their uses, but I need SpecCom. I need surgical precision coupled with superior firepower. That’s the dance SpecCom and the mechs have. Perfect partners.”
“Interesting,” Torn said. “Will I get to meet any of the SpecCom folks?”
“Of course,” Parveet said. “We have a week of travel before we get to the Dorso and Hrouska. I expect you to meet most of them.”
“Good,” Torn said. “Also, there is something we should discuss.”
“Which is?” Parveet asked, failing at cutting a piece of circle free. She gave up, stabbed the entire piece with her fork, and began to gnaw on it. “Shoot.”
“I would like to contribute to the duties on this ship,” Torn said. “Nothing crucial, but I would like to do something where I don’t feel like a drain on
resources.”
“But you are a drain on resources,” Parveet said.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do and my answer is no,” Parveet said. “I appreciate where you’re going with this, Bee, but me and mine are me and mine for a reason. You can’t just slip into that and find a place. Every single person on the Jethro has earned where they are. Even the rookies we picked up after our last mission. I vetted them all and know that when they take a shit, they are contributing.”
“I can contribute my shit,” Torn said and grinned.
“You’re gonna be asleep in minutes,” Parveet said. “Not much you can do while you’re asleep.”
“Jay, I am asking nicely,” Torn said, some steel back in her voice.
“Oh, are you now?” Parveet replied. “What happens when you stop asking nicely?”
“I don’t want to get to that point,” Torn said. “But I still have connections.”
“Okay, you got me there,” Parveet said. “So, I’ll make you a deal.”
“Yes?”
“You learn to breathe in a vacuum and I’ll take your sad little attempt at throwing your weight around seriously,” Parveet said. “Until then, ya got nothing, Bee. Zip. Zilch. Zero.”
“Breathe in a vacuum?”
“Breathe in a vacuum. You know. Space.”
“Did you just threaten to throw me off your ship?”
“Nope. I showed you how little power you have. Talk all you want. Pretend you have the authority of UEC connections, or whoever, behind you. At the end of the day, it’s only me and mine that stands between safety on the Jethro and floating in the cold and dark.”
Torn gulped. “Well, that’s blunt.”
“Huh. I was trying to sound poetic.” Torn didn’t smile. “Sorry. Listen, I appreciate that you want to help, but the best way you can do that is by not helping. Stay out of everyone’s way and let me and mine do our jobs. Got it?”
“You’re the boss,” Torn said and yawned.
“Eat a couple bites,” Parveet said.
“Not going to happen, Jay,” Torn said and yawned again. Her eyes began to close and her head drooped.
Parveet slowly reached out and caught her chin before Torn could fall face first in her tray of gray food.
