The Jumpgate

by Robert Stadnik

  David recalled how they always talked about how self-serving TERRA officers were. They promised each other never to become such officers. It seemed that Billy and John turned out to be typical TERRA officers. They got what they wanted. To hell with everyone else, even their former friends. David’s heart grew heavy, realizing that his two best friends had become exactly what they promised each other they would never be: self-centered officers.

  No, he was done feeling depressed. David dropped the picture into the trash, grabbed his suitcase, and left the apartment. Less than an hour later, he was on a transport to Luna.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Captain Dewis stepped off the docking tube at the Luna shipyard and onto the SOLARA. Waiting for him was a contingent of security officers. It was customary for a security detail to greet the ship commander after a long absence from the ship. The captain prided himself on instilling the importance of protocols to his crew.

  Waiting along with the security detail was the chief engineer, Lieutenant Jonas Walters. He was fiddling with two DATs. The captain looked around in confusion. Someone was missing. “Lieutenant, where’s Commander Ali?”

  “She sends her apologies,” Jonas started. “The commander was unexpectedly recalled to Mars just twenty minutes ago.”

  The captain wasn’t pleased to hear this. He expected his executive officer to be here to give him a tour of the ship. Given all the upgrades done to the SOLARA, the captain wanted a breakdown of everything that was installed. It was the responsibility of the executive officer to give him that tour.

  “When will she be back?”

  “She isn’t. She’s officially relieved of her duties here. She detailed all the information in a message to you.”

  The captain hadn’t had time to check his personal inbox. Ali wasn’t supposed to assume her new post for another couple of days. She had served as Dewis’s executive officer for six years, and he had great respect for her. He was looking forward to one final dinner with her so he could impart some advice and recall some of their better times together.

  “They must really need her at the new alien diplomatic core to have her start early,” Dewis remarked. If Ali started her new assignment, that meant TERRA had assigned a new executive officer to the SOLARA. The captain was anxious to learn who would be reporting to him. He had shot down several prospects with Admiral Vargas, but the last time they talked the admiral made it clear that the captain’s opinion would have little impact on who was assigned. As the admiral said, “Times have changed, and you’re lucky to still be a ship commander. Don’t push your luck.”

  The captain looked at his engineer. “I take it you’ll be giving me the tour.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ve compiled a list of everything new on the SOLARA. We can start with engineering.”

  Dewis took the DAT Jonas handed him. “Let’s get on with it then.” Both men proceeded down the dark gray corridor.

  ********

  SOLARA had been in service for twenty-five years and was the youngest ship in the fleet. TERRA never saw the need to add additional vessels to the five they had in service for fear of antagonizing the Screen. The alien race had kept humanity contained within the solar system for nearly a century. The military believed building up their fleet could anger them. SOLARA’s design wasn’t elaborate but served its purpose. Just as the PHOENIX was rounded and organic-looking, almost like a living thing, the SOLARA was angled and blocky, not too different from an industrial cargo ship. There was a beauty to the design, especially in its silver hull color. The ship comprised thirteen decks and had a standard crew complement of 532 officers. In an emergency, the ship’s life support could accommodate over 2,000 people. Only the JORDAN was smaller than the SOLARA, whereas the AURORA was the largest ship in the fleet.

  When it was decided that all the capital ships would be upgraded with the same alien technology that was put into PHOENIX, TERRA engineers voiced their concerns that it may not be possible. A capital ship’s systems were fully integrated. A refit meant ripping out the old systems, which routinely included new bulkheads and structural supports. But the council was adamant that all capital ships be upgraded with alliance technology. The ship commanders of the AURORA, SYRIA, GENESIS, and JORDAN went to the council and argued why their ships should be upgraded first. All they managed to accomplish was angering the council with their self-serving arguments. In the end, SOLARA was selected first for a refit.

  Captain Dewis marveled at the new engine core pulsating in the center of the SOLARA’s engineering area. He reviewed the specs on his DAT as Lieutenant Walters consulted with some of his staff. After the Screen were defeated, the moratorium on the construction of hyperdrive engines was lifted. Engineering corporations wasted no time designing and building the latest generation of engines. TERRA selected TriCON Corporation to supply engines for TERRA’s existing five capital ships. The SOLARA’s engineering section was never designed with the thought that a hyperdrive would someday be installed. It took a lot of creative thinking to get the engine squeezed into the engineering section.

  The captain saw something on the specs that got his attention. “Lieutenant,” he called to Jonas. “This shows the engine isn’t interfaced with the ship’s power distribution network.”

  “That’s correct,” the chief engineer confirmed as he joined the captain by the engine. “We haven’t been able to resolve the incompatibility issue with the n’quadrin network that’s powering the ship.”

  That didn’t resonate with the captain. “I thought the engineering bureau resolved it.”

  “They’re still working on it. The hyperdrive is strictly human design. The rep from TriCON told me they’re still trying to figure out how to incorporate Onixin engine designs. Until they figure that out, we’ll have to resupply periodically when the ship’s n’quadrin runs low.”

  Dewis brought up an obvious solution. “We can’t install a generator?”

  Jonas shook his head. “There’s simply no room. I’ve gone over the specs with the engineering bureau and TriCON countless times. We’ll have to wait until they figure a way for the engine to interface with the n’quadrin network. The only solution would be to add another deck to build a generator large enough to handle our network. That could take up to a year to complete.”

  Dewis didn’t like the notion of SOLARA being tied to returning to the solar system so often to fuel up. Even though they would be only conducting patrols of the sector, the captain considered his ship the best in the fleet. He was even bold enough to think the SOLARA could outclass PHOENIX, even though TERRA’s flagship was far bigger and brimming with more advanced technologies. SOLARA’s crew of 500 paled compared to PHOENIX, which could hold up to 50,000 people.

  Jonas did have some good news to give to the captain. “I’ve optimized the utilization of our power systems. N’quadrin will power our ruialon emitters, life support, and all auxiliary systems. The hyperdrive will power our shields, particle emitters, and torpedo tubes.”

  Jonas’s comment about the particle emitters caught the captain’s attention. “How come the particle beam weapons haven’t been removed?”

  “We couldn’t remove the plasma network without tearing the ship apart. It was easier to lay the new n’quadrin network parallel to it. Since the plasma network is pretty much acting like a backup now, it made sense to keep the particle beams in place.”

  Captain Dewis nodded in agreement. He liked the idea of SOLARA brimming with its old armaments along with the new weapons. It would certainly give the ship an edge in battle. “What about the starburst system?”

  Jonas brought up the starburst design specifications on his DAT as reference. “Still having issues with it. I’m keeping it offline until we can fix it.” He could see the frustration in the captain’s face. “Sir, it’s natural we’d be running into these problems. SOLARA wasn’t designed for these alien systems. It’s going to take time to work them out.”

  “Maybe that alien engineer who’s joining our crew c
an help you,” Dewis suggested.

  “Yes, sir. I’ll consult with her as soon as she comes on board.” Jonas was a little surprised the captain made that suggestion. He made it clear he wasn’t happy having an alien coming to serve on SOLARA. The chief engineer was pretty sure the captain took those concerns all the way up to the command council. If he did, they didn’t listen as her name was still on the incoming crew roster. Jonas was sure the captain was further incensed that the alien was coming to serve as a senior officer on the ship.

  “Let’s continue the tour,” Dewis instructed. He was anxious to get up to the command deck. He wanted to access his personal message box. Although he wasn’t about to say anything to the crew, he had been out of the loop on the ship’s refit while on Luna. It was only a few days before that he got confirmation he’d be returning to the SOLARA. He needed to get up to speed on current events.

  ********

  Captain Dewis and Lieutenant Walters entered the captain’s office from the command deck. They finished going over the rest of the new systems during the tour. The captain was satisfied with everything he read and saw. It seemed the improvements installed on SOLARA would greatly enhance its capabilities. As usual, his chief engineer did an exemplary job of facilitating the refit.

  “Have a seat, lieutenant,” Dewis invited as he took a seat behind his desk. The office was small, with only room to accommodate maybe five people. The only decorations were medals the captain earned in his twenty-three years in TERRA. He was proud of his accomplishments and had no qualms showing his achievements off to his staff. To him, showcasing his medals was a way to motivate his crew to be the best officers they could be.

  “There are two items I’d like to discuss,” Jonas said as he sat down.

  “Go ahead.”

  “The first are the fighter ports. I’d like you to reconsider and have the launch bays reconfigured to accommodate fighter bots.”

  “I’ve read through your proposal, but my decision stands. Most of our pilots have served faithfully on SOLARA for years. I’m not willing to replace them with bots who I’m not convinced can do a better job.”

  “The other capital ships will be putting them in,” Jonas pointed out.

  Dewis wasn’t interested in what the other capital ships were doing. “At the captains’ discretions. Our fighter group is the best in the fleet. We’ll stick with them. Next item.”

  Jonas wasn’t about to press the issue. When the captain made up his mind, there was no changing it. The engineer wasn’t thrilled about putting their fighter pilots out of a job, but he couldn’t ignore the advantages fighter bots provided. Why risk the lives of good officers when bots could easily handle such duties? The pilots could always be retrained in new skills. But the captain was adamant in his decision and Jonas had to respect him.

  Jonas cleared his throat before continuing. “It’s our DATs. I’d like the ship to move over to holographic versions.”

  Dewis wasn't surprised that Jonas was making this recommendation. “As an engineer, you love new technology. We’ve had quite a bit thrown our way since the Screen’s defeat. But I’m not about to abandon something that’s worked so well for us. I see no reason to switch to these holograms. I like holding something physical when I read reports. We’ll continue to use standard DATs.”

  “Understood.” Jonas was disappointed. He loved his post on the SOLARA, having served here for seven years, but it came with a price. Captain Dewis was hesitant to change. Jonas and the engineering bureau had to sit with the captain and go over every new system they wanted to install on the ship to get his approval.

  Jonas had tried to get a position on the PHOENIX, but his application was summarily rejected. His only motivation to serve on the flagship was to learn all about the new technologies the ship possessed. Beyond that, he was happy to continue serving on the SOLARA. He planned on climbing up the ranks to become a ship commander someday. His chances of accomplishing that had greatly improved. Word was that TERRA planned to build over thirty starships in their first wave. It was an ambitious target, as they were still building new shipyard facilities around Earth, Luna, and Mars. There was even word that a large space station would be built around Mars.

  “Anything else?” Dewis asked Jonas as he pulled up his unread messages on his DAT.

  Jonas double-checked his own DAT. “I think we’ve covered everything. All our maintenance bots have been downloaded with the specs of the new technologies we’ve installed. Commander Ali already debriefed the staff on our joint patrol mission with the Quix. They’re getting up to speed on Quix protocol.”

  The joint patrol mission was something else the captain wasn’t happy about having to do. He would have preferred conducting it with another capital ship, but the council insisted that joint operations with the alliance become a regular thing. The government was fully committed to making the alliance with the Quix, Senfo, and Onixins work. The council made it clear that there was no room in TERRA for anyone who didn’t agree. It was around the time of that alliance building that Dewis saw many of his colleagues forced out, replaced by officers from Earth Security.

  “Make sure the crew knows we don’t need to learn the actual names of the Quix we’ll be working with,” the captain reminded Jonas. “We can address them by their much shorter military titles.”

  Jonas breathed a sigh of relief. “They’ll be relieved to hear that.” Quix names tended to be paragraph-long phrases. Going by their military titles would be much less of a tongue-twisting challenge for the crew.

  Dewis found a message from Admiral Vargas and brought it up. The content of the message was something the captain didn’t expect, and he was not happy about it. He was ready to contact the admiral, but the message was clear that Vargas’s decision was final. Any further discussions about it would not be tolerated. There was even a notation stating any attempts to bring this issue to the command council would certainly result in Captain Dewis finding himself forcefully retired from TERRA immediately. It was the same threat made to the captain in his previous conversation with the admiral.

  Lieutenant Walters saw the angry look on the captain’s face. He knew from experience that when Dewis got mad, he tended to take it out on the crew. The best thing to do was to leave and let the captain stew.

  Jonas quickly got up to make his exit. “I’ll finalize our remaining preparations. I’ll have a detailed report for you and our new executive officer.”

  “Just send me the report,” Dewis clarified. “I don’t want you wasting your time with our new executive officer until I know for sure he’ll be staying here.”

  Jonas found that to be an odd statement. “Uh, yes sir. I’ll have it to you by 1700 hours.” The engineer left without waiting for the captain to say anything more.

  Dewis read Admiral Vargas’s message again. It was crystal clear. He was stuck with this new executive officer. The captain got up and poured himself a glass of water from the decanter on the side table. The last thing he wanted was a former crewmember of the PHOENIX serving on his ship. He still harbored bad feelings from when that Onixin ship disabled the SOLARA on orders from PHOENIX’s executive officer. It was humiliating to be taken out so quickly. No, if he had it his way, Dewis wouldn’t allow anyone from PHOENIX to step foot on his ship. Unfortunately, he had no say in the matter. It appeared TERRA was intent on implementing these new changes, regardless of what their experienced officers thought.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jacob approached the security officer at the docking bay door and handed his identification card to him. The guard quickly scanned it and checked the credentials on his station terminal.

  “Commander Diego, I’m showing you’re not scheduled to arrive for another six hours. They won’t have your welcoming committee ready.”

  Jacob took his ID back. “It’s okay. The formality isn’t necessary.”

  “Shall I notify them you’re coming on board?” the guard asked.

  Jacob shook his head. “I’m plan
ning on going to the captain directly.”

  “Very well.” The guard accessed his controls and opened the docking bay doors. “Welcome to the SOLARA, commander.”

  Jacob stepped through the doors and made his way down the tube that was connected to the capital ship. Waiting for him on the other side was a security guard who had already received notification that the commander was coming through. As soon as the executive officer stepped onto the SOLARA, the guard saluted him.

  “Welcome aboard the TCS SOLARA, Commander Diego.”

  “At ease,” Jacob replied. The commander was not a fan of these formal protocols.

  The guard quickly felt the need to apologize. “I’m sorry, sir, but we weren’t notified that you were coming early.”

  Jacob held his hand up. “It was a last-minute decision on my part. Where’s Captain Dewis?”

  “He’s on the command deck. Shall I have an escort take you there?”

  “I know the way.” The commander headed down the corridor. He had familiarized himself with the ship’s layout and knew which lift to take to get to the command deck. Jacob also wanted the time alone to prepare for what he expected to be an unpleasant welcome from the captain. From everything the commander read about him, Captain Dewis was your typical by-the-book TERRA officer. To Jacob, that meant that the captain harbored bad feelings towards anyone who served on PHOENIX during the Screen mission. Well, it wasn’t anything the commander hadn’t already dealt with during his time since leaving PHOENIX. The officers who Diego worked with at the bureau made it very clear his presence was not welcomed. He almost got into a fight with a group of them at a local bar at Infinity City frequented by officers. It was only the presence of several Earth Security officers that kept things from spiraling out of control. Despite what they thought of those who served on PHOENIX, TERRA officers weren’t about to degrade themselves by fighting with a fellow officer in front of ES people. They were better than that.