“Okay … I got it, Bristol. But can we deal with one problem at a time here? I’m on a bit of a time crunch. As I told you, the Omni said this particular habitat was causing ship-wide problems.”
Bristol, thinking about that, asked, “Did he give you any specifics … like shitters getting clogged up … or DeckPorts closing down … that sort of thing?”
“Um … yeah, wait, let me recheck my virtual notebook.”
Bristol stepped back in front of the portal window, moving his face right up to its surface. He saw something glitter off in the distance. He cupped his hands around his eyes to see inside better. Maybe it was a distant lake, or a stream, or something. What the …
“Cap … sorry, but I’m seeing something shiny or metallic off in the distance.” But whatever was there suddenly disappeared from sight. “Never mind … it’s gone now.”
“Okay. The Omni says the Parcical’s deflection shields have failed twice; the phase-synthesizer went offline three times. Food replicators throughout the ship are still acting up — a Seaman … Chang, I think it was, found a fully intact eyeball in his miso soup. His words, not mine. Oh … and four crewmembers who were utilizing DeckPorts were arbitrarily sent to the wrong deck.”
Bristol continued to stare intently into the portal at Porlus9. “Well, I won’t be able to fix anything, just standing here holding my dick—”
The captain cut him off: “Hang tight … stay where you are. Let me talk to the Omni again.”
* * *
Jason cut the connection with Bristol, sighing heavily, as Dira came out of the head, her hair still shower-damp. Rubbing moisturizing cream into her hands, she leaned over and kissed him on the lips.
“Grab a bite with me?” he asked.
“Not this morning. I have to get into Medical early. New recruits circulating through MediPod treatments.”
“Sharks?”
“Yeah. Billy’s got fifteen new guys coming right out of boot camp.”
Dira kissed him again, this time longer. He breathed her in—she smelled wonderful.
“Will I see you before you and Michael take off for the wilderness?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Something’s come up.”
She made a concerned face. “You can’t do that. You gotta spend time with your son, or Nan’s going to be on the warpath.”
“I know … I know. Let me talk to my father. He’s got a bug up his backside about swapping ships, although that still might not screw up our plans.”
Dira smiled, tussling his hair, and left.
Jason finished dressing. After putting on his shoes, he exited the Jumelle’s captain quarters. He hesitated within the narrow passageway to peer into the next compartment down. A messy tuft of brown hair could be seen, sticking out beneath the covers. Michael was fast asleep and that was at least something. His son had just turned six and this was his first longer stay aboard the ship. They were supposed to leave today—go camping and fishing on Alantia Dastile for ten days. Nan, his ex-wife, had called it a good way for a workaholic father to reconnect with his only son.
Continuing further on to the captain’s ready room, he took a seat at the desk and noticed a message waiting for him on the holographic display. It was from his father—the fleet Omni. Instead of calling it up, he hailed him.
The virtual three-dimensional representation of his father took form in front of him.
“What did you find out?” he bellowed.
“Good morning to you, too, Dad …”
“Yes, good morning, Jason. I’m in a hurry. What did Bristol come up with? Can he fix my ship?”
“Maybe. In time. It sounds complicated, though. Undoubtedly, Ricket will need to get involved.”
“Shit on a shingle!” the old man barked.
For someone who had become more and more intolerant of profanity coming from his crew and junior officers, he sure didn’t let that hinder his own old-sailor vocabulary. Jason waited for his father to continue.
“Well, it’s good Star Watch has two Caldurian warships at its disposal within this planetary system.”
Jason clenched his jaw, afraid of this happening. The Star Watch fleet of ten advanced Caldurian warships was split up several years back. Each ship disseminated out to deep Alliance space to support groupings of pre-defined planetary systems—districts. For the most part, it worked—Star Watch was better able to serve the particular needs of local Alliance planetary systems. The sector that contained the Sol System was the only one that maintained two Star Watch vessels—the Parcical and the Jumelle.
The Omni continued, “One way or another, I’m leaving for the Sommis of Adriark in two hours.” On the Parcical display the Omni stared flatly back at Jason. “And I’m not going to arrive there, meeting King Gallderaunt, rolling up in an old, beat to shit, Craing heavy cruiser. No … that’s not happening!”
King Gallderaunt was the reigning monarch of the Sommis of Adriark—a massive star system collective, nearly twice the size of the Alliance. Relations between the two mega-systems were rocky at best, and the Omni had worked tirelessly over the last two years to avert further bad blood and, god forbid, war. Jason knew the Omni was scheduled for the final stages of negotiations all week.
Seeing Jason’s sour expression, the Omni asked, “So what’s the big deal? We’ll swap ships … I’m giving the Parcical’s crew a well-needed shore leave.”
“So you’re taking the Jumelle’s crew as well?”
“Hey … it’s just ten days. Take a minimum team over to the Parcical. It’s not like the ship’s going anywhere. Look, this is the most advanced vessel within the galaxy. You’ll get it up and running in no time.”
Jason was well aware of the Parcical’s capabilities. When he was the fleet Omni, the ship had been his. One he’d personally captured from the Caldurians. But it was a cold and impersonal craft—much of its makeup virtual. He far preferred the Jumelle’s environment—at one time, she was sister ship to The Lilly.
“It’s more than that, Dad … I’m officially on vacation. I have your grandson on board and we’re taking a shuttle, going camping on Alantia Dastile for ten days.”
His father’s expression brightened. “How is that little ruckus-maker? Still hell on wheels?” He started to laugh, shaking his head.
Jason laughed too. Michael was an enigma. He’d never known anyone who could get himself into trouble so quickly. It was his curiosity—about all things, both big and small. Nan said the apple didn’t roll far from the tree, but Jason didn’t remember ever being quite so rambunctious.
Jason said, “I’m not so sure it’s a good idea just leaving the Parcical here in deep space … in the state she’s in. We may end up needing to drag her into a space-dock. Who knows? From what Bristol tells me, this whole HAB problem is pretty bad. There may be … other implications.”
“What the hell does that mean … other implications?”
“Let us dig further into it, Dad. I’ll keep you up-to-date on what we find.”
“Sorry if I screwed up your vacation plans, son.” For the first time, his father looked guilty.
“Maybe we’ll still be able to grab a few days. I better inform Jumelle’s crew commanders what’s happening, then get a team together to head over to the Parcical. When do you want to do the switcheroo?”
“Soon … I’m already late,” the Omni said.
Chapter 2
Jason entered the Jumelle’s bridge and found Gunny Orion pacing—two fingers up to her ear. He caught her eye and she nodded, rolling her eyes.
“Yes, sir.”
He took a seat in the captain’s chair and waited for her NanoCom communiqué to end.
“Yes, sir, consider it done.” She brought her hand away from her ear. Jason stared back at his second-in-command.
“What is this BS about the Omni taking the Jumelle?” she asked.
She heard the connection erupt into a flurry of loud static. “Hold on, Cap … can you repeat that?”
&
nbsp; “I said, he was supposed to wait for me to speak with you first.”
“Well, he didn’t, Cap. You know … it’s a vacation for the crew, too, when the Cap goes off-ship. We had … plans.”
“Plans? What kind of plans?”
Orion loomed standing over him, her hands on hips. Jason’s thoughts flashed back to the first time he’d seen her, some twelve years before. Over six feet tall, Orion was toned and muscled. Ripped. She was The Lilly’s gunnery chief way back then. Originally a Marine with the United Planetary Alliance, she was from the planet Tarkin—had been a well-known sports figure there. Her skin looked almost black in color, although in reality it was a tight, intricate, tattooing of symbols—placed all over her body—that had altered her natural skin tone. Her on-again, off-again relationship with Jason’s best friend, Billy Hernandez, who commanded the Star Watch Shark forces, was a continual topic of gossip among the crew. At present, Jason wasn’t sure if they were together or not.
“Leave it to say, Cap, this will screw up a lot of well laid plans …”
“Oh really? You mean like while the cat is away …” He smirked.
“Yeah … the mice will play,” she added, finishing the sentence.
She moved back to her post at the tactical board and, sitting down, asked, “Who will you be taking with you?”
“You mean over to the Parcical?”
Orion nodded.
“I guess all resident brainiacs … Ricket … Bristol. Anyone who can get things moving along—”
“Don’t forget Two-ton,” Orion threw in.
They both chuckled at that. Two-ton was an amazing artificial intelligence unit, housed within a ridiculously large, seven-foot-tall mecher robotic body. The owner of Two-ton was a newly added crewmember, Ryan Chase, who currently was rotating helm duty, on board the Jumelle, with Army Ranger Sergeant Gail Stone.
* * *
Having previously set a Sol intersect course with the Parcical, it took less than fifteen minutes for the Jumelle to rendezvous with the newer, more advanced, Caldurian spacecraft. Together, Jason, Michael, and Dira entered the Jumelle’s flight deck. Jason spotted the Omni’s personal craft, just now settling down onto the deck.
Jason eyed the Elegante, a luxurious commercial Range Rover. Sleek and expensive-looking. Not so different from Jason’s former personal craft—a Mercedes called the Stellar.
Jason mused about the ship. His brief foray in owning an exotic luxury craft was fairly short-lived. During a mission gone bad, the Stellar was pretty banged up, losing much of her luster. But it was still good enough for Mollie and Boomer to get around in.
The Omni, along with an entourage of five senior officers, was now currently hurrying down the Elegante’s gangway.
Jason felt Michael trying to pull his hand away from his.
“Let go, Dad … I see Grandpa!”
Jason released his grasp on Michael’s small hand and watched the boy dart off in the direction of the barrel-chested silver-haired man wearing a bold red cape.
By the time Jason and Dira reached the group of officers, Michael was already up in the Omni’s arms, talking non-stop.
Jason waited for the Omni’s entourage to move away.
“Do you have a replicator on your ship? Does it make ice cream? I don’t like the one in Dad’s quarters … vanilla tastes like bacon. It’s disgusting, Grandpa. Dad always says he’s going to fix it, but he never does.”
The Omni, nodding his head enthusiastically, showed an overly dramatic expression of concern. “That sounds like a gross dereliction of duty; someone should have a talk with the captain of this vessel.”
Michael glanced over to Jason, then scowled. “You’re his boss, Grandpa. Why don’t you tell him to get the stupid thing fixed?”
The Omni did his best to look stern. “Captain Reynolds, I order you to get that food replicator in the captain’s quarter repaired … at once!”
Jason put on a pained smile. “Yeah … I’ll get right on that, Omni. Just as soon as I get my ship back from you.”
His father put the little boy down. “Do you want to take a look around inside the Elegante, Michael?”
Jason waited for Michael to scamper up the gangway before speaking. He gestured toward the Omni’s formal attire. “I wasn’t aware capes had become part of the official fleet officer attire,” Jason remarked, gesturing toward the long red garment.
“It’s called a cloak. Batman wears a cape.”
The Omni turned his attention to Dira. “Are you ready for the time of your life, my dear?” the Omni asked. He held out his own elbow. Dira politely slid her arm into it.
Jason inwardly groaned.
“Whatever … why all the frills? I didn’t think your meeting with King Gallderaunt required such pomp and circumstance. Aren’t you meeting to negotiate territorial trade routes?”
“That and other things …”
“Well, I’m sure your grand cape will have him duly impressed,” Jason said, his attention back now on the open hatch on the Elegante. “You know, it’s probably best if we don’t let Michael run around in there.”
“He’s fine! A young boy like that needs to explore … to find adventure!”
“Uh huh. Just the same, I’m going to check up on him.” Jason hurried up the fancy spacecraft’s ramp and was instantly impressed with the interior of the intergalactic Range Rover. It was certainly plush, with an abundance of wide, fawn-colored leather seating stations, and more glass accents than Jason thought practical on a spacecraft of that nature. He heard his father move into the open cabin behind him. Hearing another sound, he followed it toward the expansive Elegante’s galley. He stood in the entranceway, unable to move, mesmerized by the sight before him. The Omni, joining Jason’s side, was speechless too. Both men stared down at the youngest of the Reynolds clan. It was obvious Michael had found the galley food replicator. He had found the cabinet where the parfait glasses were stored, the drawer with the silverware, even little glass saucers that sat beneath the parfaits. Three ice cream hot-fudge sundaes were sitting on a glistening countertop—each a work of art, in its own right. Perfectly dripped hot fudge cascaded down generous scoops of vanilla ice cream. Plump, bright red cherries perched on top of each mouthwatering indulgence. Michael reached up and selected one of the desserts, then drove his long-handled spoon deep into the ice cream.
Jason and his father watched with bemused expressions as the boy sat down on the deck and began to consume his creation. Within seconds, his face was covered in a mixture of brown fudge and vanilla ice cream. Dira joined the two men and stared speechless down at the six-year-old. “He’s your son,” she said with a smile and headed off.
Michael giggled and then, gesturing with his sticky gooey spoon, said, “I made those ones for you guys.”
* * *
In the end, Michael finished up what remained of both his father’s and grandfather’s ice cream parfaits. After saying goodbye to Dira in the Elegante, both Jason and the Omni descended back down the ramp. Michael was fast asleep in Jason’s arms.
Jason saw his away-team had assembled and were now waiting for him within the Jumelle’s flight bay.
“Listen, Dad, if things go upside-down with King Gallderaunt in the Sommis of Adriark, get the hell out of there. Also, keep in mind that the Jumelle has a full complement of Sharks on board.”
The Omni impatiently waved a hand through the air. “Oh for goodness sakes, Jason, this strictly will be a diplomatic meeting. Two leaders getting to know each other. No … this partnership could be very good for the Alliance.”
“One more thing, Dad …” Jason’s expression turned serious. “My wife is on board this ship. She is your most important cargo.”
“Dira will be fine. And thank you for allowing her to come along with me. The fact that she is of royal blood … well, I’m sure that will not go unnoticed by the king.”
The Omni was referring to the fact that Dira Caparri Reynolds was, in fact, a princess back o
n her home planet of Jhardon. Jason had never seen his father so concerned before about making an impression. Typically, it was just the opposite.
“I’ll keep you up-to-date on the Parcical’s repairs. She should be good as new by the time you return in ten days. If I don’t see you then, it’s because I’m off with Michael … fishing.”
The Omni, eyeing the odd-looking group, huddled together about midpoint on the bay, made a distasteful expression as he took in the seven-foot-tall robotic mecher standing next to Ricket. Jason watched as Billy Hernandez entered the compartment and nodded at him as he approached.
“Hey Cap … Omni …” Billy said, giving the older man a casual salute, taking in his red cloak.
“Commander,” the Omni replied.
“What’s up, Billy?” Jason asked.
“I guess there’s a change of plans. Dira wants my group of newbies to rotate through the MediPods on the Parcical, instead of the ones here on the Jumelle, for HyperLearning and nano-treatments.”
“Sorry, Billy. I’m not going to have time to babysit while on the Parcical …” Jason said.
“No, I’ll need to go along with the new recruits … if that’s okay with you, sir?” Billy said, looking at the Omni. “Master Sergeant Gillroy Blatt will keep the Jumelle’s Sharks in line.”
“Fine with me, Commander. But we need to immediately get underway.” The Omni then placed a fond hand on his grandson’s still-sticky right cheek and Michael’s eyes momentarily fluttered. “I’ll see you in ten days, Captain.”
Billy and Jason watched as the Omni strode away. He veered left as a collection of fifteen gawky-looking young men stumbled to a stop and saluted the Alliance’s supreme commander. The Omni gave them a half-hearted salute and left the flight bay.
Scrapyard LEGACY (Star Watch Book 6) Page 2
