Shadow of the Blue Ring (11 page)

“Oh my… admiral, is this what I think it is?”

“Yes, James, it is exactly what you think it is.”

There it lay… a ship unlike any other in the fleet, a sleek and light silver construction, about five hundred meters in length and seven hundred wide with a wonderfully ornate construction. It was also supporting two rather large and very intimidating guns on it’s dorsal side, ones that James imagined could pack some serious firepower. He could not wait to take a closer look at this ship. The admirals had indeed been telling the truth, this was something he was going to enjoy all right.

Chapter
Five

Th
e
Evenin
g
Star

“James, let me introduce you to your new ship… the Evening Star.”

“So this is the big secret project you guys have been working on this whole time?” James said, remembering that he had heard a few rumours over the years about a new and experimental type of warship that the admirals had proposed. He had no idea that the project was already complete though. They quite honestly could not have timed it’s completion any better.

“How long have you guys been building this thing?” Isha asked, clearly also in awe of the wonderful new battlecruiser that they were now heading towards.

“We started construction about four years ago,” said Davidson, “we sent a team of our best engineers and scientists to Raylia to recover as much technology and as much data as we possibly could so that we could incorporate it into our new ship designs. We used Jaiytid technology to make a few improvements to our standard cruiser ships but this ship is built almost exclusively from it. We’ve been keeping it a secret because a few people on the council were a little hesitant to rush in and use it before we could properly understand it.”

“But it looks as if you found a way to make it work?”

“Yes, after a painstaking couple of years, we finally managed to properly replicate the technology and construct a unique cruiser that is more far advanced that anything else we currently have. I can also bet you that this ship is far more advanced than many of the leading warships in all of the other fleets too. If you take a look you’ll note that the armour and the weapons on the ship are a cut above the rest, in fact every one of the ship’s systems have been build to perfection. It might be less than half the size of the Titan but I can assure you, it packs one hell of a punch and it has far superior defensive and offensive capabilities to any other cruiser class ship in the alliance. The ship wasn’t actually due to be unveiled for another few weeks, we actually brought it forward a bit so you could make use of it for your mission.”

“I’m assuming the ship is in full working condition then?” Morelli asked, “I hope you haven’t missed out any important safety checks just so you could throw it into the mission.”

“Not at all, the ship has been subjected to every manner of safety check possible and has passed with flying colours,” Davidson said proudly, “it has performed every function we could possibly ask of it at one hundred percent capacity. You could not find a better equipped ship anywhere in the fleet. I can assure you it will serve you very well out there in the Blue Ring and in every mission beyond that.”

“So you were actually planning to give me this ship all along then?” James asked, “why not just tell me about it before? It would have saved a lot of hassle.”

“Admiral Jamerson felt it would spoil the surprise,” said Davidson, “even with your record with the other admirals, everyone agrees that as you are the most proven captain among us after your exploits against the Vulians that you should have this ship as your own. Jamerson did suggest calling it the Morning Star mark two but I felt it would be an insult to the memory of your old ship. The Evening Star is more fitting I think.”

“I guess so,” said James, “I only hope it’s as grand on the inside as it is on the outside.”

He was not to be disappointed. As soon as the rear shuttle bay doors opened to allow their shuttle access to the ship, James caught his first glance of the gleaming white interior of the ship and he was not disappointed by what he saw.

“This is amazing,” Melina said in awe, “if you happen to be in need of a pilot, I wouldn’t mind flying this thing you know.”

“The ship has a full crew in place,” said Davidson, “all the old crew of the Centaur have been transferred here too and we have been settling them in for the past few hours. I know it’s all short notice but I think they’ve taken to it rather well. I’ll be sure to give you all a quick tour before you get underway, it can’t hurt to get you all familiar with your new surroundings.”

James wasn’t about to disagree there, he couldn’t wait to have a look around and check in on his crew. As the shuttle landed in the hangar bay, the team was quick to follow behind Davidson as he lead them through the hangar’s interior doors and into the ship’s corridors. If there had been any doubts among the crew regarding their impending mission, many of them had been silenced by the sight of this magnificent new vessel. The admirals must have had to work incredibly hard to keep the construction of this ship as quiet as they had, a project such as this would surely have been attracting masses of attention all over the Earth.

“I have to admit, I’m impressed,” Saavoy said as the group made their way towards the engineering deck, “I guess we can no longer deny that the Human race really is an up and coming power within the Freedom Alliance.”

“It has always been our ambition to stand alongside the rest of you,” said Davidson, “I believe we have gone some way to achieving that with our work here. If you will follow me, I will show you to the engine room.”

As with the rest of the ship, the engine room lived up to expectations. Even Morelli seemed in awe of the technology that they had in place and James had a feeling she would be itching to examine it at the first possible opportunity. James recognised a few of the faces among his engineering teams as well as plenty of new ones, they had likely needed a few extra hands on the ship and James assumed that they would be members of the teams that had helped to build the ship and who were familiar with how everything worked. The man leading them was a familiar face though though, James recognised a rather scruffy looking man in his mid thirties with grey-black hair making his way toward them. This man was George Connolly, James’s chief engineer from back on the Centaur.

“Lieutenant Connolly, good to see you here.”

“Likewise, captain Tavarez,” Connolly said excitedly, “it’s good to be part of your crew once again, I was a bit worried that they might be reassigning me to another commander but I’m happy to see that they’ve kept us all together. I can’t wait to see what this thing can do, I have never seen such a magnificent ship in my life.”

“Enthusiastic as ever, always good to see,” said James, “but you might change your tone once you’ve seen where we’re headed.”

“Oh we’ve all been briefed, don’t you worry,” Connolly said confidently, “we know exactly what we’re getting ourselves into. Don’t you worry captain, I’ll keep this thing together no matter what comes at us. I will keep her in top condition, you can be sure of that.”

Good old Connolly, always excitable and passionate about his job, just how James liked his crew. He was as dependable as officers came too, he could certainly rely on him to keep everything ticking over behind the scenes while he and the team focused on what they needed to do.

Next up Davidson took them to the crew deck to show them what leisure facilities the ship had to offer. No powerful warship would be complete without somewhere for officers to unwind between missions and the Evening Star was continuing to live up to the hype.

“You have two crew lounges on this deck…” Davidson was explaining, “. . . there is a games room where you can blow off some steam when you get a free moment, there is a also gym and a sparring ring so you can keep yourselves in shape when you need. I did suggest adding a sauna too but admiral Sytchev thought it was a step too far.”

Following on from the crew lounge was the medical bay, run by none other than James’s old medical officer Anastasia Markova, a very eccentric presence to say the least but a reliable one nonetheless.

“Captain Tavarez, welcome to the medical bay,” Markova said with a more welcoming tone that she usually carried, she was not one to mess about, that was for sure, “I trust you like your new ship?”

“I’ll admit, I’m very impressed,” said James, “how are the medical facilities? I trust it is to your liking?”

“Oh very much so,” said Markova, “we’re very well equipped and very well stocked up on medical supplies. We have cutting-edge medical technology throughout the bay and knowing you, we’re probably going to need it.”

James’s history with Markova went a long way back. When he was still a student back at Greenwich academy in his younger days, Markova had been a leading general surgeon at one of London’s major hospitals so when the Vulians had attacked the academy, it was fair to say that she had been overworked for the days following the battle. James had certainly done a good job of keeping her busy during his time in London too. Every time a fight broke out between the rebel factions and the Vulian forces, Markova was the one with all the work to do afterwards. Fortunately, despite her sometimes short temper, she respected his abilities as a captain and his efforts to help free the planet from the occupation. The odd reminder of his actions and the excessive work that she had been forced to deal with as a result of his actions was fairly commonplace though.

“We’ll do our best not to work you too hard,” James laughed, “I don’t plan on having anyone killed out there.”

Safe in the knowledge that his crew were in good hands medically, Davidson continued the tour of the ship, now leading them in the direction of the command deck.

“James, there are a few more things I want to introduce you to before we head for the bridge,” said Davidson, “first I want to show you to the armoury and the war room. If you will follow me, I would like to introduce you to someone I am sure you will want to meet.”

As far as he knew, everyone from his old crew back on the Centaur had been accounted for, he was interested to see who they could possibly have that could top it all off. The answer was waiting for him just beyond the doors to the armoury. No sooner had he taken a step inside he felt the colour drain from his cheeks, it was as if he had just seen a ghost.

“Well hello there James,” said the figure of Lucy Maguire, “it’s been a long time has it not?”

He couldn’t believe it… Lucy Maguire, part of his old team back from when he had been on the run from Valdor back on Earth. James had no idea that she was still alive, the last time he had seen her was when the Vulians had ambushed them and broken up the team. After that, she had been thrown in jail and no word of what had happened to her afterwards had ever reached his ears. James had cared for Lucy very much back in those days, she had been like a sister to him. To have her back here now as part of his team… it was a strange feeling.

Lucy would now have been in her early thirties but she was still quite baby-faced. She was of an average height and build with shoulder length brown hair.

“I can’t believe it,” James could still not quite believe his eyes, “Lucy… it’s great to see you again, I’ve missed having you around.”

“An old friend of yours?” Saavoy asked.

“Lucy and I go back a fair way,” said James, “she was part of my team that I lead while the Vulians were in control of Earth. We fought side by side for over a year under some of the most extreme circumstances you could possibly find yourself in. We made quite the team.”

James could still not quite believe it was really her. He never thought he would ever see Lucy again after that fateful day where his team was broken by Valdor. Still, it was yet one more person he could trust who was along for the ride. As far as he was concerned, the more the merrier.

“It’s going to be just like old times, eh?” Said Lucy, “you and me fighting against the impossible odds with our backs to the wall, just how it used to be.”

“I’m sure you two will have plenty to catch up on over the course of the mission,” said Davidson, “and I’m sure Lucy will want to introduce you to another new feature we have on the ship, one we have also given her responsibility for.”

“Oh yes, I think you might like this,” Lucy said excitedly, “follow me to the war room and I will show you.”

Lucy lead the group into the war room. It looked very similar to the old cartography room from the Morning Star with several holographic projectors and a massive screen on one side which was where Lucy was leading them. Starting it up, the screen was filled with a projection of a city, a city ready for war by the looks of things.

“Hey, that’s Edassa!” Morelli noticed the familiar settings of her home city, “may I ask why you have a virtual readout of my home city on your screens?”

“I will show you,” said Davidson, heading for the panel and fiddling with a few of the controls for a few seconds, “as well as being the war room, it is also a simulation room and it uses a modified version of the program Alliance in Chaos.”

“Alliance in Chaos? Isn’t that the strategy game that was banned by the alliance council last year?” James asked.

“Yes and no,” said Davidson, “it was frowned upon by some who didn’t like the content and the scenarios the game included but it was never actually banned. However, a few months ago, admiral Shenji of the Japanese division of the fleet saw his son playing a copy of it and when he saw just how realistic it was, he had the idea of converting it from a game to an actual tool of war. You see, the game would pit two warring factions against one another over a city or in orbit around one of our worlds and the player would have to command his force to win the battle against the computerised opponent as a major test of strategy and military skill. See here…”