Revolution: The Ship Series // Book Two (13 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Permission
to speak freely, sir?

Imair
bolted up to assist the Boss. “Sir—with all due respect you really need to rest
for another forty-five mins. If the protective matrix doesn’t have a chance to
completely gel, you’re just going to start bleeding all over again.”

The civilian tried to guide the officer towards a nearby
chair, but he brushed her aside. She stood back only to pounce once more when
he stumbled and nearly toppled to the ground. He accepted her assistance the
second time it was offered and wobbled his way to the chair.

“Damn sedatives—they get me every time. If anything else
happens and you need to use that thing on me again, make sure you instruct it
to skip the anesthetic.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Boss looked at Sergeant Bailee who had stood when the
Omega stirred but had remained a few meters away and kept a close eye on
Imair’s interactions with him. “Sergeant—sitrep?”

“Situation is exactly what you see, sir. The medkit
patched you up and we’ve been waiting for you to wake. Unless the boy has managed
to eat them all, there are nutripellets if you’re hungry enough to eat those.
Otherwise, we’ve got another forty-three mins until the medkit says you’re
cleared for action.”

The Boss made a sour face at the suggestion he eat a
nutripellet. “How’s your arm, Sergeant? Did you get that patched up while you
were waiting on me?”

Imair started to open her mouth, but the Marine shot her
a glance and she changed her mind. He replied to the Boss.

“I’m fine, sir. Thank you for asking. What’s the plan
once you’re mobile, sir?”

“I’m thinking that through, Sergeant. Give me a few more
mins to gather my thoughts, and then I’ll be looking for your input.”

Imair went to sit down, but stopped and addressed the
Boss instead.

“Sir—I’m assuming this is your first chance to visit
Waste Systems. I’m curious to hear your thoughts about it.”

The Omega stared at the civilian for a long moment. Zax
assumed the man would react with displeasure about the woman trying to start a
conversation with him, but he must have been still suffering from the
aftereffects of the sedative because he eventually smiled instead.

“It sounds like there might be an ulterior motive behind
that question. Is there something you would like to say to me?”

“Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“By all means. I suppose I can entertain a frank
conversation in exchange for you telling us about the medkit.”

Imair paused for a moment and appeared to gather her
thoughts.

“Sir, please take a good, long look around you.
Accompany it with a deep breath. When we walked into this cavern, the two
officers over there who are responsible for it immediately puked on their
shoes. A group of civilians risked the severe punishment involved with stealing
that medkit because this work area is so dangerous and toxic they felt they were
left with no choice. Too many of their coworkers had died needlessly. Don’t you
think an awful lot about this cavern would be different if it was Crew who
spent their lives working here instead of civilians?”

It took all of his focus for Zax to prevent his mouth
from dropping open in shock. Imair was outright challenging the second highest
ranking officer on the Ship about her perceived slights around civilian working
conditions. Sergeant Bailee tensed substantially, and the Marine’s finger
tapped next to the trigger of his blaster. Kalare wore an expression which
signaled she was struggling to stifle an inappropriate laughing fit. Aleron and
the Waste System’s officers had pointedly turned away and were pretending to
ignore the conversation. Nolly smacked his lips in blissful ignorance as he
chomped on yet another nutripellet. The Boss’s eyes narrowed as Imair’s words
sunk in.

“Those are some tough observations, but I appreciate
hearing that feedback from you. The Omegas are always thinking about how we can
make life on board the Ship as good as we possibly can for everyone—Crew and
civilians alike. Unfortunately, we’re always faced with the challenge of
balancing those desires against our precious and limited resources. Every gram
of consumable mass we spend making the equipment here safer means one less gram
which can be used for the fighters and ammo which protect the Ship. Every
moment we spend improving this facility is one less moment we can spend caring
for others which are more critical and often in even more dire need of
maintenance.”

“I understand, sir, but it sure seems like the balance
of those resources is tipped mightily towards the needs of the Crew. You should
have seen the look on your face when the Marine suggested you eat a
nutripellet. To you that is a disgusting fate not worth contemplating, while
for Nolly and me it is a rare treat beyond measure. The boy would probably have
been even more ecstatic about them if he didn’t already have an apple in his
belly given to him by Cadet Zax earlier today. The cadet thought nothing about
gifting a piece of fruit and was genuinely shocked to hear it was the first the
child had ever seen in his entire life.”

Kalare gasped at that last line, and it also managed to
catch the full attention of Aleron, Westerick, and Salmea. Apparently Zax
wasn’t the only member of the Crew surprised to learn the civilians’ food
situation was so different than their own. The Boss smiled, and Zax once again
saw the full threat of the man behind the expression.

“Would you have us treat everyone on board equally? Who
is more important to the Ship and its Mission—the lowliest cadet who is still
wet behind the ears, or the most senior civilian in Waste Systems? The cadet,
and it’s not even close. What good would be served if the Omegas degraded the
effectiveness of the Crew one bit in an effort to make life more comfortable
for you civilians? The next alien threat we encounter might finally be the one
which overwhelms our ability to defend ourselves, and then we’re all dead. Or
worse.

“The Crew is the Crew because
we
are the people
who are best suited to command this Ship and fulfill its mission. We cannot let
anything
get in the way of that. Would things be better for civilians if
we decided it was more effective to develop automation for all of the work you
do and put the whole lot of you into cryosleep? Do you know how much time and
energy is spent on the care and feeding of ten million civilians? An awful lot.
And in return we’re thanked with behavior like what we’re dealing with today.
Like what we’ve been dealing with for the past year. And countless years past
when other civilian agitators stood up and tried to question the way things are
done. The best and brightest minds on this Ship, descended from the best and
brightest of Earth, have been running things just fine for five thousand years.
That civilian who keeps getting on the vidscreen to blather at us—what gives
him the nerve to think somehow he knows better? Why would any civilian in his
right mind have the temerity to think anything like that?”

Imair was unfazed by either the man’s words or his tone
and pushed ahead.

“You say things are running fine, sir? Look around us.
Does this place look like it’s fine? Everywhere I go around the Ship it seems
critical systems are nearing the end of their useful lifespan. You want to
consider automating all of the work civilians do? We could pull
another
ten
million people out of cryosleep, put them to work tomorrow, and the maintenance
teams would still not be able to fix everything already broken—much less stay
on top of the new breakdowns which happen every day. And you think you can
somehow automate all of that away with the resources and technology we have
available? The best and brightest of Earth may have designed this Ship, sir,
but they weren’t smart enough to foresee its Mission would be measured in
thousands of years rather than hundreds.”

Imair had crossed the line. The Boss tolerated her
initial barbs, but his expression revealed she had finally pushed him past the
breaking point. Having once experienced the officer’s full wrath, Zax feared
for the civilian. Especially given the current circumstances where nearly any
reaction by the Boss, up to and including ordering Bailee to just shoot her,
could be easily rationalized. Before the Omega could speak, the image on the
vidscreens around the cavern was replaced by a picture of Earth and a
civilian’s voice emanated from them once more.

“Greetings to the Crew and my fellow civilians. I’ve
come back to you with promising news.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Peace
is at hand.

“Since
we last spoke, I’ve connected with the Captain to work on an agreement that
would allow us to move foward in peace. Although our discussions are not yet
finalized, I’m confident they will soon be complete.”

Although the voice coming across the vidscreen was
disguised to match the earlier one and the person was speaking as if he or she
was indeed the same person, Zax was convinced it was someone different.
Something about the vocal patterns was unfamiliar and didn’t match the earlier
announcements. In the end, it didn’t matter who was talking on behalf of the
civilians as long as
someone
was trying to put an end to the conflict.

“The Captain has requested access to the
communication systems so her Crew can hear from her firsthand. Although we’ve
blocked her ability to broadcast up until now, as a sign of good faith I’m
going to open up a channel for the Captain now. But I will take a moment to
remind her that if the statement strays from the parameters we’ve discussed,
I’ll be forced to shut her down. Of course, such action on her part would also
represent a serious setback to the negotiations we’ve all worked so hard to
move forwards.”

The picture of Earth on the vidscreens faded away and was
replaced with the Captain. Zax thought she looked as unflappable as always,
though the scar on her throat seemed to be a little more vivid today than he
generally remembered.

“I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to the
civilians who my team and I have been speaking with in an effort to come to an
agreement which will end this conflict.

“I’m pleased to announce that peace is at hand. Our
negotiations are at least halfway complete, and I fully expect they’ll be
completely wrapped up within the next 240 mins. During this time, I implore the
Crew to avoid any conflict with the civilians. Get to a safe place and stay
there.

“Though I’ll be very frank and say I disagree with
their methods, after a great deal of discussion with their leader I have a far
greater appreciation for the position the civilians have adopted. This does not
excuse the violence which has occurred, but it sufficiently explains it.

“Where do we stand? The good news is that although
there was significant destruction and loss of life in the period which
immediately followed the FTL jump, there has been very little since. This has
been a painful detour on the long path of the Ship’s Mission, but I believe
we’ll come out the other end stronger for having experienced it.

“In closing, I would like to reiterate one more time.
Peace is at hand.”

The Captain faded out and her image was once again
replaced with that of the human spacecraft. Zax looked around and almost
everyone seemed quite pleased at the news their ordeal would soon be over. The
notable exception was the Boss who appeared troubled as he stood to speak.

“I need to speak with Sergeant Bailee, Zax, and Kalare,
in private. The rest of you, please move over near the workstations.”

Aleron and the Waste Systems officers stood and walked
away without question. Imair looked confused, but she gathered up Nolly and his
box of nutripellets and followed the Omega’s instruction. Once she was well out
of hearing range, the Boss spoke.

“The Captain just announced she will vent the Ship to
clear out all of the civilians and end this uprising. We have 120 mins to reach
a compartment near Primary Grav Control. The Omega safe room hidden there is
the closest location we should be able to reach which will be among those
spared from the venting.”

There was stunned silence after the Flight Boss stopped
speaking. Zax worried about the officer’s mental state after his injury and the
anesthesia, but there was zero chance of him questioning the man. Kalare
eventually worked up the courage to speak up.

“I’m sorry, sir, but is there any chance you’re still
feeling side effects from the sedatives? That’s the opposite of what the
Captain just said.”

The Boss smiled. “I understand your hesitancy, Kalare.
Yes, the Captain’s words were very different from what I just described, but I
have accurately conveyed their true meaning. Civilians have mutinied in the
Ship’s past, so the Omegas have long established contingencies for handling a
situation like this. A key component of those plans is to warn the Omegas to
move the Crew to safety if at all possible, and the civilian leader was kind
enough to provide the Captain with that opportunity. She twice stated her clear
intention to forcibly halt the revolt.

“In 119 mins the Bridge will utilize their emergency
overrides to disable primary and secondary life support throughout the Ship.
They will disable the emergency bulkhead system, override the local controls to
force open all of the interior hatches, and then bypass the safeties to prop
open every exterior airlock. Everyone and everything which is not secured will
get sucked through the massive vacuum that is created and expelled into space.
Once that is done, the Marines will fan out across the Ship to dispose of
anyone who survived all of that.”

Zax was amazed such a plan was even possible and could
be put into motion by a handful of Crew working from the Bridge. Then he
remembered the stack of cases carefully arranged around the Engineering
compartment.

“Sir, what about all of the civilians’ bombs?”

“You’re right, Zax, the bombs will cause some
problems—particularly since they’ve been coupled to dead man switches. Maybe
we’ll be lucky enough that a lot of the explosives will get expelled from the
Ship along with the civilians they’re rigged to before they go off. Even in the
best outcome, there will be a lot of Crew casualties as a result of this plan.
With all of the bombs in the mix, we’ll likely face a lot of catastrophic
damage as well. Regardless, the Captain has determined this is our only chance
to end this uprising, and I know she would never make that decision lightly. We
now have 118 mins to get to the safe room. The rest of the group can join us as
well, but I wanted to keep the reason we’re leaving secret. Bailee—gather the
officers and cadet and make up some story about why we are moving out. Zax—you
do the same with the civilians. As much as I would prefer to leave them here, I
have no choice but to bring them in order to prevent anyone from learning I’m
still around.”

Zax stood and watched as Sergeant Bailee approached and
said something quietly to the Boss. The Omega nodded in reply, and the Marine
turned and walked away while mumbling. Talking to himself was extremely
uncharacteristic of the Marine, but perhaps it was a sign that he was human
after all and finally exhibiting the effects of fatigue and injury.

Zax called out for Imair and Nolly and gestured for the
two to rush back. Imair apparently made a game out of it as they both came
running up to Zax giggling like it had been a race. Imair leaned in to talk to
Zax quietly.

“Sir—where’s everyone going? Shouldn’t we wait here
based on what the Captain just announced? Especially since the Flight Boss
shouldn’t even be up and moving yet?”

“That’s what I thought too, Imair, but the Boss has a
different idea.” Zax sighed exaggeratedly to help sell the story he was
spinning. “He thinks we’ll be safer in a different compartment. I think he’s
just sick of smelling and looking at all of the crap. Doesn’t matter. I gave up
trying to understand officers years ago.”

Imair smiled and bent down to explain to the boy how
they would be heading elsewhere. Zax turned and saw the Boss was watching him.
The officer caught his eye and motioned for Zax to come over.

“What did you tell her?”

“I gave her a line about how crazy officers can be,
sir.”

The Boss genuinely smiled at Zax. “That’s good, Zax.
Really good. I’m guessing it isn’t actually too far from what you see as the
truth.”

“No comment, sir.”

The officer laughed, but then became serious. “Our
destination is one level above Primary Grav Control. Can you describe for me
the route you’re going to take to get us there.”

Zax closed his eyes as he visualized the journey and
described it to the Omega.

“The first part will be similar to when we made our way
up to Waste Systems Control, sir. When we get into the level where we found
Nolly, we’ll have to leave the maintenance network for a short period so we can
get into another network of tunnels. We can stay in that second network to
reach the destination.”

When Zax opened his eyes, he saw the Boss was looking
thoughtful. “Will we go by that ladder where the boy got upset?”

“Yes, sir, but we won’t have to go anywhere near that
group of civilians he was worried about. Assuming they really existed and were
actually in the place he thought they were.”

The Omega was quiet for a moment. “Thank you, Zax. That
sounds like a good plan. I need you to stay focused on the end game here.
Remember—keep doing what you’re doing to protect me, and I’m going to make sure
you get taken care of when it’s all over. OK?”

After all of the time he had spent choking back vomit in
the treatment cavern, Zax had warmed up tremendously to the notion of saving
the Boss and getting his career back on track. He nodded and said, “Yes, sir.”

The Boss raised his voice. “Same formation as earlier,
people. Move out.”