by Daniel Gibbs
“At ease, Master Chief.”
“How are you this morning, sir?”
“Honestly, I can’t tell you the last time I felt this energized. Even with all the emotional trauma of the last few weeks, the concept that we might be on the verge of pasting the League all over space…that’s enough to get me up and going in the morning.”
Tinetariro broke into a large grin. “I couldn’t say it any better, sir. Have you had breakfast already?”
“I have not, Master Chief.”
“Perhaps you would care to join me in the chief’s mess, sir?”
David smiled. “I would be honored.” Technically, David could go into any mess or any part of the ship he wanted, as he was its commanding officer. However, tradition was that only chiefs, or those they invited, could enter the chief’s mess.
“Then follow me, sir. We have something prepared for you.”
David fell in behind her, wondering what on earth they had come up with. After a brisk walk through the ship, they arrived at the chief’s mess. Even though the ship had technically only been a commissioned warship again for the better part of two weeks, the chiefs had already made the space their own. There was a stylized drawing of a goat in a spacesuit adorning the hatch, which David chuckled at. “The Goat Locker, eh?”
Tinetariro laughed as she opened the door. “I thought that was a nice touch myself.”
Striding into the large mess area, David’s eyes were immediately drawn to a buffet of food around the central section of the room. “All the food today is kosher, sir,” Tinetariro continued.
David walked over to the buffet and immediately realized the buffet was an Israeli breakfast. He got a plate and put a generous helping of eggs and root vegetables on it, along with some smoked fish.
“I tried some of that fish.”
“Oh?” David said.
“It was… interesting.”
David grinned. “Well, it’s pareve. Even a kosher sausage can’t be consumed with the rest of this food.”
“I’m just a gentile, sir. It’s Greek to me.”
“Pareve means a food is neither meat nor dairy. We can’t mix the two types of food.”
“Who decides all that anyway?”
“Various rabbis throughout the ages, interpreting the Torah.”
“I don’t think I could give up my bacon, sir.”
“Never had it, so I don’t know what I’m missing,” David said, laughing.
After both of them had finished heaping their plates, they walked to a nearby table and sat down. David took out his napkin, leaving his silverware on the table. “Would you care to join me in blessing our food, Master Chief?” he asked.
“Gladly, sir.”
David bowed his head. “God, creator of the universe and all that is within it, bless this food to us today, and give us wisdom to do Your will.”
Lifting his head, he dug into the eggs. They were very fresh and tasted amazing. “Where did you guys get all this fresh food, Master Chief?”
Tinetariro grinned. “Well, we do control the food budget after all,” she replied with a twinkle in her eyes. “That and the quartermaster corps were unusually willing to send some really good stuff our way. We’ll eat well for at least the next month.”
“Count me in. I’ve spent so much time in space, I’ve forgotten what basic staples taste like.”
“We will be having this breakfast buffet every third day we’re underway until the supplies run out. You’re welcome to join us on any of those days.”
David again broke into a smile. “Well, thank you, Master Chief. I’m pretty sure I’m going to take you up on that offer for as long as I can.”
“On a more serious note, Colonel, I don’t expect the next six months to be easy. But I want you to know that everyone on this ship will give whatever it takes to secure victory, including the ultimate sacrifice.”
David set his fork down, looking at her intently. “I’d much rather our friends in the League pay the ultimate price rather than us, Master Chief.”
“Agreed, Colonel.”
After both of them finished their meals, David stood. “Join me on the bridge, Master Chief? We’re to depart Canaan spacedock in half an hour.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for anything in the galaxy, Colonel.”
David smiled, realizing as he did that for perhaps the first time in many years, he was actually happy. Even in the midst of all the terror, sadness, and the unending war, he was for the first time in many, many years, perhaps ever, a happy warrior. Not happy that he had to fight, or that they’d have to kill a lot of Leaguers in the coming months, but happy in the sense that his cause was just, and he was glad to fight for it. “I’ll see you up there, Master Chief. Thanks again for the great meal.”
“Anytime, Colonel.”
David walked out of the chief’s mess and made his way to the bridge of the Lion. He exchanged salutes with the armed Marines that guarded the door to the combined bridge and combat information center. Ducking under the hatch, he pulled on his cover and saw Tinetariro. How’d she get up here faster than me? Perhaps it was some super-secret master chief ability.
“Colonel on the bridge!” Tinetariro said formally.
“As you were,” David said as the enlisted personnel and officers that weren’t buckled in to their stations braced to attention and saluted. He returned their salutes with a crisp one of his own.
Aibek sat in the XO’s chair and David slid in next to him. This was something he’d have to get used to: no Sheila on the bridge.
Turning to Aibek, David asked, “Are we ready to depart, XO?”
“Yes, sir. All stations report ready, and we are cleared to depart from Canaan space control.”
“Communications, please tie 1MC into my console.”
“1MC tied in, sir. You’re online,” Taylor said from his station.
“Attention, all hands, this is the commanding officer. Just a week ago, we were heading out to secure peace for the Terran Coalition. I know that, like me, all of you were bitterly disappointed when that peace agreement turned out to be yet another ruse by the League. However, thanks to the dedication, bravery, and tenacity of this crew and the grace of God, we defeated the League. Today, we stand united as ever, and with our new allies.” David glanced at Aibek as he spoke. “We will prevail. This ship has already earned its stripes in battle, and you have acquitted yourselves as well as I could have ever hoped. It is an honor to lead you, and in the coming weeks and months, we will drive the League from our space. We will take the fight to them, and God willing, we’ll finish this war once and for all. Stand by for departure and man your stations. Colonel Cohen out.”
David glanced around the bridge, seeing energized and smiling crewmen and officers. Allowing a grin to crease his face, he turned toward Hammond. “Navigation, disengage all moorings and umbilicals.”
“All moorings and umbilicals disengaged, sir.”
“Navigation, take us out, all ahead, dead slow.”
“All ahead, dead slow, aye aye, sir.”
As the mighty vessel slowly began to move, David saw the shipyard bay they occupied start to disappear behind them. Aibek interrupted his thoughts. “Colonel, what does the star that was painted on our hull yesterday signify?” he asked.
“It’s a battle star.”
“What is that exactly, sir?”
“In the CDF, any ship in a major fleet engagement whose participation was meritorious is awarded a battle star for that engagement. Some, especially our older carriers, have dozens.” David smiled. “But the first one is always the one of which the crew is most proud.”
“I see,” Aibek said thoughtfully. “So many customs and oddities you humans have.”
“We like to remember things.”
“I am looking forward to learning from you, Colonel. You and the rest of your crew.”
“I hope we can learn something from you as well.”
“Oh, I’m sure we can both teach each oth
er a few things,” Aibek said with a chuckle.
David’s eyes went back forward, watching as the stars moved as the Lion adjusted course. Standing watch for the next four hours, the ship began its journey to the proving ground, and he found himself thinking through tactics they could use against the League. After that, it was time for him to grab a quick lunch, and then retire to his office to handle paperwork and to prepare for the meeting he requested with Ruth.
Later that day, Ruth swung open the hatch to David’s office and walked in. “Come in, Ruth,” he said, the use of her first name indicating that it wasn’t a formal exchange. She made her way to a chair in front of his desk.
“How are you holding up?” she asked.
“Better now than I was,” he said truthfully. “I still can’t believe she’s gone. I keep expecting her to walk through the door to the bridge and tell us it was all a big joke.”
A smile crossed her face. “I know what you mean. She was a big inspiration to me, you know.”
“I know she had been mentoring you.”
Ruth closed her eyes for a moment. “She wanted me to try the command track. She also wanted me to let go of some of my hate for the League.”
“I actually wanted to talk to you about that.”
Ruth opened her eyes, looking at him. “It’s under control, sir.”
“I’m not so sure of that,” David said, his tone direct. “Something I’ve learned, and am still trying to learn, is that hating the enemy does nothing for me except harm me. It doesn’t hurt them; it only makes me more like them.”
“That sounds like Sheila speaking.”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
“I don’t know. I’m still not sure how she managed to not end up hating every member of the League.”
“Ruth, when we give in to hate, it hollows us out. Trust me, I know this from experience. Don’t give in to it.”
Ruth swallowed hard. “I’m trying. It’s harder without her.” Wanting to change the subject, she said, “You should come to the non-denominational church service this week. Sheila is the subject of the sermon.”
David raised an eyebrow. “I would have expected to see you at shul instead.”
Ruth gave a nervous smile. “I’d gone a few times with Sheila over the last few months. I wanted to go again.”
David laughed. “What’s next, converting and making your parents roll over in their graves?”
Ruth scowled. David realized his comment, while made in jest, had hurt. “No…” she said. “I’ve just felt at home there.”
“Don’t you feel more at home at the shul?” David said, softening his expression.
Ruth seemed to struggle to explain herself. “There’s something about the idea of a personal connection with God. I can’t quite explain it, but Sheila made that seem like a special experience. With all that goes on around us, this war, the death of our friends, I want something more than reading prayers.”
“Judaism is about a lot more than reading prayers, Ruth.”
Ruth spoke before David could continue. “I know that, but what if God really did sacrifice his own son for us? Wouldn’t that be an amazing thing? What if we all lived by the ideals that Jesus espoused? Wouldn’t this galaxy be a better place?”
“Ruth, I… I think we all agree that Jesus was a good man,” he said, repeating something he had heard a rabbi say many years ago. “But we Jews don’t hold him to be the son of God. To us, he was just a good man that went off the rails.”
“But what if he wasn’t? Christians have survived repeated attempts to annihilate them. They endured in the face of that oppression, even when it would have been to their benefit to renounce their beliefs. In and of itself, that points to the idea that there was something to the basis of Christianity.”
“Ruth, we’ve endured repeated and systematic attempts to erase us from the universe too,” David began. “That’s not the litmus test for a religion being the one true gospel. We’re Jews and we have a rich history and culture. I’m proud to be a Jew.”
“As am I,” Ruth said emphatically. “But I think there’s something out there beyond the law. I go around wanting to judge everyone by the law, especially the League. What if it’s not my place to judge? What if there’s something more?”
“Then that’s something you will have to figure out. I’m not here to tell you that you’re right or wrong. All I will say is you need to remember you’re hurting right now. Don’t make any hasty choices.”
“You know me.”
David laughed out loud. “Yes, exactly. I know you pretty well after six months. Don’t make any hasty choices.” He recalled the old line about the only thing two Jews could agree on was what a third should give to charity.
“I won’t. I had my first one-on-one meeting with Colonel Aibek.”
David, glad she decided to switch topics, nodded. “He’s a very interesting individual.”
“I don’t think I’ve encountered a Saurian that’s as jovial as he is before.”
“I would have to agree. That said, he seems to know his business, and I think he’s a good man, well, Saurian,” David said, laughing as he did.
“Do they really eat live rodents? I heard one of the mess cooks talking about that.”
David rolled his eyes. “No. It’s interesting, honestly; they’re very much like us, except we believe they’re more based off a reptilian form of life.”
“I find it interesting that almost all of them are Christians. It’s fascinating to me that many of the cultures we’ve encountered have a religion that closely mimics Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. You would think that would lend some credence to the idea of God in someone like Doctor Hayworth.”
Many years ago, it had been discovered by Christian missionaries that the Saurian religion was centered around the belief that God had sent his son to die for their sins. It hadn’t taken long for comparisons to be made between human Christianity and the Saurian religion. Not all Saurians cared for the comparison, and there was some level of belief that humans were inferior among the Saurians. Still, there were enough direct similarities that David found the argument compelling.
“I remember reading a quote somewhere that atheism is the most dogmatic of all religions,” David said. “Men like Hayworth drive that sentiment home in spades. However, Dr. Hayworth is entitled to his beliefs and opinions, just as you and I are.”
Ruth quirked her face. “There are times I wish we could suppress people like him.”
That comment drew a sharp look from David. “Ruth, don’t go down that path. You can’t force people to believe something. They have to come upon it on their own. The end of that path is the League, except we’d be a theocracy that executes its citizens if they don’t toe the line. We left those guys behind on Earth, and I pray they never come back.”
“You’re telling me it doesn’t bother you when he insults God and insults the rest of us by saying he believes in the flying spaghetti monster?”
David laughed. “It does and it doesn’t. Someday, we will all stand in front of God, and we will be judged. Or… Hayworth is right and there’s nothing else beyond this existence. The doctor is not representative of most atheists I’ve known. I have a few friends that are agnostic or atheist, and they don’t make a sport out of insulting my beliefs. Regardless, it’s not our job to judge him. As long as all respect our traditions and don’t try to force their viewpoint onto the rest of us by demanding that we stop referencing our trust in God, for instance as a nation, they can do whatever they want. That’s one of our founding principles. Everyone has the right to believe whatever they so desire without interference from the government. That goes both ways, regardless of beliefs.”
Ruth smiled. “Point taken.”
David looked toward the clock. “It’s about time for dinner. Care to join me on the way to the wardroom?” he asked, referencing that the senior officers generally ate together onboard while underway in the ship’s wardroom.
“Of course, sir.”
Standing up from his desk, he walked around it as Ruth stood, falling in behind. David looked forward to the meal, the first time he would break bread with Lt. Colonel Aibek. The man’s jovial manner seemed to be infectious, and hopefully, he would integrate well into the rest of the senior staff. Regardless, the Saurian would be invaluable going forward as a liaison with the Saurian ships assigned to their battlegroup.
David’s mind raced as quickly as he was walking. Endless possibilities now branched out from what had seemed like a dead end only a few weeks ago.
47
Admiral Pierre Seville sat in his new stateroom on board his new flagship, the LSS Annihilator. The last two weeks had been interesting, he reflected, looking around the walls festooned with portraits of past League leaders. I still have a hard time believing that Strappi didn’t leave me to die when he could’ve. Especially the way I’ve treated him over the years. After his evacuation from the Destruction, he’d been informed by a doctor onboard the cruiser he ended up on that he’d lose his other eye. Now he had two bionic eyes. Strangely enough, thanks to the technology level of the League, his artificial eyes were actually better than the real thing; but they still felt odd, like there was a foreign object in his brain.
The blame game has started, Seville thought bitterly. It was about the only thing the Social and Public Safety Committee was good at, assigning blame and executing traitors after the fact. Seville had played the game long enough to pin the tail as it were on everyone but him, namely those that were dead, including his flag captain. It pained him for a moment that the man’s family would be reassigned to a work camp, but the moment was brief. In the end, only Seville’s continued existence and success was a factor in his decision-making. To that end, he had successfully convinced the committee to keep him in place as the leader of the military expedition against the Terran Coalition.
