The Epherium Chronicles: Embrace (12 page)

Hood drank the rest of his coffee and placed the mug on his desk. “I would like to think we are much better prepared than we were then. This new particle cannon should really even the odds, and our fighters and other systems are far more advanced than the ones during our last encounters in the war. The Cilik’ti are very methodical in their movements, but they are not the best at force deployments for swift skirmish style engagements. If we do encounter them, it shouldn’t be anything on the scale we saw in the war. With those odds, I am confident we can match them.”

“I agree, sir, and thanks for trusting me with your story,” Sanchez said as he moved to the door.

“You’re welcome, Commander. See you on the Command Deck.”

Sanchez promptly saluted Hood and exited his quarters to oversee the preparation for the ship’s departure.

Chapter Nine

EDF Armstrong
Sunday
,
January 19
Earth Year 2155
2 Hours to First Jump

Hood entered the Command Deck of the
Armstrong
very quietly and moved just inside the door of the dimly lit room. The general lighting on the Command Deck was kept at a minimal level, and this allowed each station to have higher visibility of their station consoles and prevented image ghosting on screens. Sanchez noticed him enter and immediately announced to the room in a firm voice. “Captain on deck!”

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and quickly snapped to attention. “As you were,” Hood said. As the crew returned to their duties, Hood took some time to survey the crew on the Command Deck. He was no master at reading people’s behavior, but he was able to catch glimpses on faces that confirmed the sense of apprehension Lieutenant Greywalker had informed him of earlier in the day. It was the same feeling he could sense growing within himself, and now was not the time to waver. He straightened his jacket, rolled his head slightly to loosen the tension, and began to tour the room.

Lieutenant Sienna Aldridge sat calmly at her station and occasionally stroked her black hair with her index finger as she looked over the tactical system readouts. Her ebony skin looked almost bronze in the Command Deck’s lighting, and it was enhanced by her dark navy uniform. She pretended not to notice Hood as he walked up next to her and looked over her shoulder.

“That Bogo-Indian feint and defend strategy with your knights isn’t going to work. I’m on to you.” Hood whispered to her.

“We’ll see sir,” she replied with a smile. “Good to see you, Captain.”

“Same here, Lieutenant. Anything interesting happening?” Hood asked.

“Just monitoring a search and rescue of a disabled freighter near the asteroid belt. She left the gate and her stabilizers blew. Repair ships have arrived, and a med ship is assisting her wounded. Other than that, a quiet afternoon.”

“No pirate activity? Most of the more well-known groups have bases in the belt. Why haven’t they gone after that kind of target?” Hood asked.

“I think that our presence is having a profound impact on their activities. I agree that the freighter would have been a juicy target for them, but any pirate activity or even private conflicts seem to have been put on hold as long as we are on station. While we are in the area, standard EDF assets are more available to move and respond,” Aldridge explained. A new icon appeared on her screen, and Aldridge pointed to the new arrival. “The frigate
Elsenor
just arrived on the scene and is providing cover for the repair operation.”

Hood nodded in agreement. “Keep me informed if there are any developments.”

“If anything happens, you’ll be the first to know, Captain.”

Hood smiled at his protégé and turned to continue his tour of the Command Deck. He walked past several of the stations, stopping briefly to review status screens and chat briefly with crew members, until he arrived at the one designated for helm and navigational control. Sitting in the primary helmsman station was a young male lieutenant who was calmly performing system checks on his station. Hood paused and watched the young, dark-haired man work diligently through each checklist. The helmsman reminded Hood of himself all those years ago, sitting at his station, running system analysis, not afraid of anything, back before everything changed.

Hood walked closer to the station. “Lieutenant, what’s our helm status?” he asked.

The helmsman looked back at Hood, and his eyes grew wide in surprise. He immediately responded nervously, “All systems are fully operational, Captain. Helm response and navigational control operating above required levels.”

“You’re Lieutenant Sparks, correct?”

“Yes, sir. George Sparks, Lieutenant First Class.”

Hood smiled. The Lieutenant seemed to relax just a bit, but Hood could still see him fidgeting in his seat. “Your instructor at the academy is an old friend. She says you’re the best student to ever come out of her navigational theory program. That’s quite a compliment.”

Sparks placed his hands down the arms of his seat. His palms were sweating, and he calmly wiped them on his legs as he spoke. “Professor Martin is a great instructor, sir. I really learned a great deal in her classes, and she was my advisor in my final two years. I hope to live up to her expectations,” he said.

“Is this your first assignment, Lieutenant?” Hood asked.

“No, sir. I served on the frigate
Calidon
right after I graduated. We did several transport escort runs to Proxima. Mostly small jumps or gate accelerated missions. Once we arrived back at Mars, I was transferred here. I had some studying to do to get used to the Armstrong’s new systems, but I have a good handle on them now.”

Sanchez motioned to Hood, and he nodded in return. “Looks like I’m up, Lieutenant. Carry on.” Hood moved over to the center Command Station and took his seat. At his own console, Sanchez keyed in the code for a ship-wide broadcast, and a small camera from the ceiling angled toward Hood. The lighting over the central Command Station increased as he leaned over to Hood. “Everything is in order, sir. You can begin whenever you’re ready.”

Hood stood, keyed the ship-wide comm channel open, a brief alternating tone sounded announcing the broadcast. Everyone on the Command Deck stood and assumed an attentive at ease stance. Hood started out with his traditional greeting to a new crew, but then he paused and looked at his console where his speech was displayed. “I had planned to dazzle you all this afternoon with a story of this ship’s glory, but rather than boring you with the glitzy details, I’ll get right to the heart of what we are about to do.” Some of the crew around the Command Deck grinned and shared some quiet laughs.

Hood paused again to clear his throat, and his expression turned very serious. “I know that many of you believe we are planning to reinforce the efforts to develop a forward base at Barnard’s Star. I am sorry to inform you that this is not the case. Most of you here are aware of the history made twenty-five years ago, when three colony ships, engineered by the Epherium corporation, left Earth for distant worlds in an effort to develop new and thriving colonies for our people in nearby star systems. It seems those efforts were not wasted. EDF Command received and identified two distinct signals from those potential colonies indicating that the ships have indeed arrived and landed safely.”

Several of the crew on the Command Deck began look at each other in mild surprise and murmurs and whispers began to fill the room. Hood put up his hands to quell the noise, and the whispering subsided. “I was surprised as you all are today, when I first heard of the development, but it doesn’t change our duty as members of the EDF military. Command has given us a clear and concrete set of directives. Our mission is to venture to these planets, ascertain the situation of the colonists, assist in the development of the colony until a supply lifeline can be established, and protect them from harm. If the situation demands it, we may need to evacuate the colonists.

“Those colony ships took several years to reach their destination without the aid of space-fold drives. Today, we can reach those planets in roughly a week, given our current recharge times. Based on our orders, we are to proceed as quickly as possible to our first planetary system, but with full jump capabilities. That means the ship will maintain standard recharge times for all batteries. I know this will take longer, but it is with good reason.”

Hood pressed a button on his console, and an image of an insectoid creature with dark armor was displayed on screens throughout the ship. “Our old enemies, the Cilik’ti, are still out there somewhere. I know that we’ve not encountered them in several years, but it doesn’t mean that we won’t. As part of their mission, each of the colony ships left a series of hyper beacons that transmitted their signals back to Earth. It is quite possible the Cilik’ti have also detected these signals, and in such case, we may be walking into a trap.”

Hood paused again and added a slight bit of strength to his tone to pick up the crew’s spirit. “These are our people out there ladies and gentlemen. This is what we do. Our forces are better trained, better equipped than ever, and this ship and its crew are the best suited to complete this mission successfully. If the Cilik’ti are out there, I’m fully confident that this ship can defend itself and the colonists against any aggressive act. I don’t intend to let those people suffer at the hands of the Cilik’ti, while we stand by and do nothing, and I fully expect that my crew would feel the same.”

Hood scanned the room and caught glimpse of each of his Command staff. Sanchez, Greywalker, McGregor, Aldridge and Wells all stood around the central Command Station and nodded in agreement, as did the rest of the Command Deck crew.

Hood toggled the screen on his console, and the image of a star system replaced the Cilik’ti warrior visage. “This is the Cygni system, and it was the destination of the colony ship
Magellan
. The fourth planet in the system was identified as a near Earth target world, and that is where we should find the first group of colonists. EDF stellar-cartography experts have determined the planet is slightly larger than the size of Earth and has two orbiting moons, so gravity on the planet shouldn’t be an issue. When we arrive, our teams will make contact with the colonists, assess the situation and provide any assistance necessary until Command instructs us to head to our next objective.”

Hood keyed in a new sequence of buttons on his console. Several red icons became visible on the screen in a synchronous orbit around the planet. “To provide the most accurate intelligence on the planet, we will deploy a series of satellites in orbit. These satellites will also provide us with planetary system data and monitor for any hostiles or gravitational displacements that could be construed as a space-fold event.”

Hood turned off the display and began to circle the central Command Station. “Make no mistake people. Utmost vigilance is required. After each jump, we will initiate full deployment of our tactical units and maintain that pattern even after we arrive at Cygni. To use an old phrase, ‘Fasten your seat belts ladies and gentlemen!’ First jump is in two hours. Hood out.”

Hood turned off the comm channel and walked over to Sanchez who was wearing a wide smile. “What did you think, Raf?” Hood said quietly.

“Extemporaneous. Tough. I liked it, and I think it got everyone’s attention,” Sanchez replied. “I think Lieutenant Wells might have a beef with you throwing out the script, but it got the point across.”

“I am sure she’ll get over it. I’ll be in my quarters until it’s time to jump. Comm me if you need anything,” Hood said.

Sanchez nodded and Hood exited the Command Deck, heading down the hall.

EDF Armstrong
Sunday
,
January 19
Earth Year 2155
10 Minutes to First Jump

The Command Deck of the
Armstrong
was engrossed in low level conversations at each station as ship personnel ran through final checklists before departure. Like many of the crew, Hood took the opportunity to write a message home to his family. The messages wouldn’t be delivered until they reached Cygni, but Hood encouraged the entire crew to take the time to say something to their loved ones. They may not get a chance again for some time.

Hood stood near his Command Station and watched Sanchez confer with the Weapons Station on the ship weapons stockpile. The overall status screen at his station has separate indicators for each individual major ship function. The Weapons Station status turned green, and Sanchez turned back to Hood and offered a ‘thumbs up.’

A young ensign from the Engineering Section walked over to Hood. “Captain, Mr. Whitaker wanted me to inform you that all fighter bays are now de-pressurized and all gunships are docked and prepared for departure. For some reason, statuses are not being properly reported to the Command Station. The team is working on the problem, and I will keep you updated on any Engineering status until the problem is fixed.”

“Very good, Ensign,” Hood replied and turned to the helmsman station. “Helm, it’s time for us to depart. Move us away from the station one quarter speed.”

Ensign Sparks replied, “Aye, sir. Vectoring away at one quarter speed.” Sparks placed his right hand onto a modified joystick on the right side of his console. A light on the top of the joystick flashed yellow as the system scanned his DNA and synced the neural interface to his saved pattern. Once the sync was complete, the light became a solid green, and a three dimensional sphere appeared on his screen with the
Armstrong
at its center. Sparks keyed a sequence on his console, and the proposed vector for the ship to follow was displayed in red, leading away from the station.

Everyone on the Command Deck could feel a slight tug as the
Armstrong’s
engines activated and the ship began to move, but the inertial dampening for the ship minimized the acceleration effect.

Hood watched on his station monitor as the
Armstrong
moved out of synchronous orbit and entered open space. “Helm, increase speed three quarters. Engineering, lock jump coordinates and begin jump countdown of two minutes on my mark.” Hood waited until the ship speed had increased to his desired level. “Mark.”

A countdown display was now visible on all the Command Station consoles, SPACE-FOLD ACTIVATION IN 02:00.

The
Armstrong
reached safe distance from the station at the thirty second mark. Hood ordered an all stop to the Helm and after the checking the status board one final time, he gave Sanchez the go ahead to proceed.

Sanchez nodded and keyed the comm system again. “All hands, final jump sequence engaged. Engineering, begin space-fold field expansion. Twenty seconds to jump.”

The Command Deck shuddered as the space-fold drive initiated its jump field and the field began to slowly grow and encompass the entire ship. Sanchez monitored the size of the field and was slightly impressed as it reached ship wide coverage at the ten second mark.