The blinking, buzzing of Captain Valance's command and control unit forced it to roll off the bedside table. He sat up and swung his legs over the side. “Captain Valance here,” he said aloud. His subdermal jaw implant relayed his response to his control unit, which passed it on to the bridge.
“This is Price, sir.”
“You're Lieutenant Commander Price now, Agameg. Don't be afraid to take pride in that. What's going on?” Jake asked as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes. What time is it? I swear I just closed my eyes a minute ago. He thought.
“We've received an emergency transmission. Someone sent it straight into our wormhole from our projected arrival point.”
“Have you reviewed it?”
“It's addressed to you, sir.”
“I'll access it from here.” Jake picked up his command and control unit and shook his head. Four AM. Four hours sleep. It'll have to be enough. “Make me aware of any other developments, I'm up for the day.”
“I will sir.”
The channel closed. Jake stood and accessed the emergency message. The header noted that it was sent from a ship called the Palamo, registered with the Royal Acquisition and Distribution Salvage Company. The rest of the usual information was missing. There was no Captain or First Officer listed, no port of call, and no government flag. Jake couldn't help but think about how closely the Triton’s status matched what he was seeing. They didn't run under a flag, weren't registered with any company and their port of call was so out of date it wouldn't show up on most navigational networks.
He started for the bathroom, the governor program in control of the environment in his quarters increased the light level just enough for him to see. Grabbing a denta tab from the dispenser and popping it into his mouth, he played the message.
The agonized, high pitched scream of a young woman filled his quarters. Jake flinched, bit his cheek and dropped his comm unit into the shower. He shook off the initial shock and muttered; “If I wasn't awake before…” Jake snatched the arm command unit from the floor and strapped it on. It covered from wrist to the middle of his forearm.
Emitters vibrated the air, scrubbing his skin free of dirt and debris. Fans pulled the air through the stall. The screaming message stopped and a passive male voice assigned to read his text messages replaced it. “This is a scanning officer on the Palamo. The Palamo is a carrier crewed by slaves. We are about to raid Ossimi Ring Station. The scream you just heard was recorded moments ago as the Captain tortured his Cabin Girl. It is a routine event here. I am told you have saved slaves before and we appeal for your help. We are all implanted with control devices. I don't know much about the Ossimi raid, only that the crew have been forced to jury rig their enviro suits so they're ready for heavy gravity. Please help.”
Jake scrolled through the message from one end to the other, viewed the raw code version and even replayed the scream at a lesser volume. There was no more information.
The cleansing chamber fell silent. All this time and I haven't had time to have a proper wet shower. Some day I'll take advantage of the finer things Triton has to offer. Jake thought as he looked at the bone dry shower nozzles in the walls of the stall. He stepped out and made his way to the bedroom, replaying the transmission, scream included as he pulled his control unit off.
The cabin girl sounded young, small. He'd heard someone scream just like that before when they were caught in a highly charged field and electrocuted. It was years ago when they had landed the Samson for repairs. No one was watching James, one of their new repair people. He had gotten under the main mass reactor, thinking it was completely powered down. While he was making fine adjustments inside the machine his aligner bridged two connections and he was burned bone deep. It took over a minute, he was alive for most of the incident. They couldn't get to his body until the mass reactor's capacitors had finished discharging. All James left behind was a charred husk. James' screams were so piercing, so loud that people came running from eight docks down.
That's what the cabin girl's screams sounded like, someone who was in so much pain they weren't conscious of the sounds they were making. Jake's mood darkened, his temper started to rise. He shook it off as best he could as he closed the front of his new, heavily armoured vacsuit and transferred all activity and access to the command and control unit built into it. The unit he had tossed onto the bed locked and deactivated.
Jake brought up the status screen. Minh was still asleep, due to wake in half an hour, he'd gone to sleep six hours beforehand. His last report indicated that his fighter wing was ready for combat. A squadron was on standby, ready to launch as soon as the Triton arrived on the edge of the Ossimi Ring.
Jake checked the load and safety on his side arm and locked it into his thigh holster then snatched his black long coat off the hanger. He was out the door and down the private hallway for the Officer's ready quarters before the lights finished coming on. The command level concourse was quiet, only a few security guards passed by as he made his way to the main lifts. It was rare to ride the express car alone, especially all the way to medical. On the way he checked on Alice's status. Still unconscious. Not quite a coma, not quite dreaming.
Instead of visiting her he turned in the other direction and stopped in the largest of the family rooms. They were comfortable spaces reserved for friends and family waiting on news from the infirmary. They were all empty, a good sign.
Jake looked at the broad two dimensional screen. The image was so high quality that it was indistinguishable from a transparent section of hull. It was even laid out the same way as many of the observation points, starting half way up the wall and stretching the entire length of the room. The warped view of space outside, with stretched stars and light gossamer haze of the wormhole they were traversing filled his view. The countdown clock on his command and control unit told him that they were to emerge from the wormhole in seconds.
Crewcast, the new personnel tracking and networking software Jason had installed told him that everyone was waking up early, even Minh, who had somehow managed to get ready for duty in the time he'd spent in the lift.
The field of distorted stars became clear as they emerged from the wormhole. A few larger, wayward asteroids hung in the space outside of the Ossimi ring's rapidly rotating perimeter, catching the sun's light on their icy surface.
It's decision time. Jake mused. He played the scream back in his subdermal earpiece as he looked out over the rapidly moving field of asteroids. Triton was turning and accelerating along the edge of the field so it could keep pace with the whirling expanse of rock and ice. It stretched on like a horizon of blue, black and white with no visible end.
Jake closed his eyes and listened one more time as the wail played back in his ears. For over five years he operated under the assumption that Alice was his biological daughter. He looked for her as he made his way across entire sectors on the Samson, earning his way across the stars with bounty hunting and retrieval work. When he discovered that they weren't blood relations, that she was actually his personal artificial intelligence made flesh, it changed very little. If that cabin girl was her, if it was his daughter being tortured, he would go to any length to get her back, make her safe and punish the ones responsible.
There was nothing he hated more than slavery. In some cases it was worse than murder. He remembered being a captive himself. The result of some personality bending, information retrieval experiment. The playback ended. This isn't how good decisions are made. I don't have a clear head on this and I'm making it worse. He deleted the playback of the scream and looked at the broad display. On the left side was the edge of the asteroid field, so large it looked like a straight line stretching out into space. On the right was the open blackness of the universe.
There were other ports. Busy solar systems with dozens of planets and asteroid belts to hide in while they made repairs. They could disappear into another wormhole and limp their way to another hiding place where they could activate their new hypertransmitter and try to find an ally. There had to be someone in reach who opposed the Order of Eden or would at least buy ill gotten cargo if they started raiding supply routes and capturing ships.
Slave ship. The term conjured images of filthy accommodations, barely edible food, brutal discipline and the stripping of one's identity. It took a special type of person to Captain such a ship. He had run into people with implants before. Neutralized them before. He knew how to deal with them. I've never had the chance to take on an entire ship until now. Triton might not be fast or manoeuvrable right now, but she's powerful, and we've got fighter squadrons ready to go. I have five commanders I trust. Two weeks of solid practice and preparation for multi aspect engagements. We're ready, the crew is burning to get into some kind of action. If I leave these people on that ship without trying I'll never live it down.
“Busiest two weeks of my life,” Oz said as he stepped into the family room. He stepped up beside him to take in the view offered by the faux family room window.
"Good morning."
"You look like you've got something on your mind."
"Straight to it. You've been in the military too long."
Oz shrugged. "Guilty as charged. You can take the malcontent out of the military but you'll never get the military out of the malcontent. "
The pair watched as seven two seater Uriel starfighters flew ahead of the Triton in formation along the edge of the asteroid field. They were impressive ships, with eight engine pods and two main bidirectional thrusters. Small gunships in their own right, capable of carrying a vast array of weaponry as well as modules specialized for extra power, wormhole generation, rescue, troop delivery and many other purposes. They looked on silently as they disappeared from sight. "What do you think of Triton?" Jake asked as he used his command unit to cancel all fabrication and ordered the staff to wake immediately and begin producing heavily armoured gravity outfits. They would fit over the crew's regular vacsuits and compensate for extreme environmental conditions. He added a new design as he completed the order; a Triton skull would be printed on the protective plates mounted on the suit's faces.
"The ship is incredible. She puts everything I've seen to shame. Your people have done a good job at getting her in shape."
"What about her people? What do you think of her crew?"
"Aside from a few who've found their way to the brig, they've fallen in line. Most seem to like what they're doing well enough, whoever doesn't is offered the opportunity to train for something else and try qualifying. A lot of them follow through. A few of them are still a bit of a mess, but there's a chain of command, people are falling in line. Why do you ask?"
"I've lost objectivity. They're refugees to me Oz, and I have trouble sending people I'm trying to protect into battle."
"It happens."
"Ever happen to you?"
Oz thought a moment before answering. "I got to know the crew on the Roi De Ceil very well, Jake. Every time we took on a Vindyne ship there was a chance some of us would be killed. We got better at our jobs as time went by, but those renegade captains got more desperate. Some of them fought us until there was nothing left for the boarding teams."
"For Vindyne? I've never seen a more soulless corp."
"That's what I thought at first. Then I realized they were fighting for the way of life Vindyne provided. Their ships didn't look like much compared to what we were running. Close quarters, thin hulls, few creature comforts, but they were more secure than being on the ground. Vindyne controlled systems were collapsing, crime bosses were becoming barons. Sheriffs were becoming Presidents, and civil wars were breaking out everywhere. Lorander managed to take control on a few worlds, so life got better there, but that still left hundreds of major cities, worlds, and stations without an upper government. People left aboard ships had weapons, structure, leadership and mobility. They took what they could and moved on unless their Captain had some misguided idea of raiding colonies or taking territory for themselves. A lot of them did. For a while we were the ones who were supposed to stand in their way. When the fighting got too hot, when Vindyne territory had really gone to hell, Freeground ships were relegated to keeping a lane of retreat protected for the few refugee ships that were cleared to enter our territory. You wouldn't believe how many former Vindyne ships tried to sneak or fight their way through."
"Now we're the renegades."
"Chief Grady doesn't think so. He calls Triton a city. After spending the night in one of the botanical gallery apartments I'm starting to agree. I woke up to an artificial pre-dawn so convincing I thought I was on a planet somewhere. Now I'm here, in an infirmary so well built it looks more like a full on hospital. Thanks to these," he gestured at the display, "it feels like there are windows everywhere, more like we're walking from one tower to the next on some sort of tall space station. Most people feel at home here now. They have full time jobs, food rations, credits for extra materialization shopping, neighbours and friends. It's not all sunshine and smooth sailing, Security Chief Vega conducted her first raid on black market trading a few days ago, but things are pretty good."
"I heard about that. We're putting that bunch off at the next port."
"Good, I was wondering what you'd decided. There was nothing on report."
"It was Stephanie's suggestion. She thought punishing them aboard would be a blow to morale."
"Getting put off is bad enough. It's hell out there."
Jake nodded and sighed. "How do you feel about being aboard?"
Oz looked at Jake. His black and crimson vacsuit and long coat made him an imposing figure. His expression was difficult to read. There was a great deal the man wasn't saying, whatever he had to express would come at his own pace. "Honest? I'd rather be no where else. Taking control of off ship operations is a perfect fit, even in simulations. Minh, Ayan and Jason are the same way. They've all found their places, though I suspect Ayan wants something more, I don't think she knows what yet."
"Having you all here has been surreal. I'm not used to having people who know what they're doing so well."
"What about Finn, Ashley, Stephanie or Liam?"
"They're fantastic, but all still learning. If they're not learning their jobs, they're learning how to work with me or the other way around."
"But with us we just take a post and work it." Oz nodded. "We're all military, Jake. Not just military, but from the same military, and being here has a little of the same spirit as the First Light."
"Not the same though."
"No, not the same. We've all been places, seen a few new things, had more seasoning. Where's this going Jake?"
"We're going into combat. Not after repairs. Today."
"Something wrong with Alice's destination?"
"Raiders. They're attacking Ossimi station right now according to the message we received right before emerging."
"There's no way Alice could have known that when she programmed the course in two weeks ago."
"You're right. According to the logs on the Clever Dream it was the perfect place to stop for repairs, raw materials and a bit of trade. Even has an obscuring field protecting the entire centre of the asteroid field. Pretty well established."
"The raiding party must be huge."
"They're slavers, running at least one large slave ship, a carrier called the Palamo."
Oz sucked air in through his teeth, cringing a little. "Complicated. I've never run into this."
"I have, but I've never had the means to do anything about it. This is going to be hard, very hard. We can't tell anyone they're slaves. If we do, they'll pull punches during the initial fight and it'll get people killed."
Oz thought for a moment. "I don't see any way around it. You're right. Is there anything in particular I should know about?"
"First thing; the dead man's switch is normally an urban myth. No one wants their entire stable or crew of slaves to die if they're put into stasis or out of commission for a minute."
"That makes sense."
Jake hesitated before continuing. When he did so it was in a whisper; "Most of these outfits have a crude version of a Vindyne chemical remote destruct system built into their slave's implants."
"You mean they can turn their slaves into explosives?"
"Exactly. You don't find that much in higher class stock. Ashley didn't have one because she was considered well bred, but in this kind of crew, in raiders…"
"They're more likely to be used as weapons if they're cornered. We have to tell someone else about this. The boarding captains at least."
"No. If they have extra sympathy while they're in the fight they might hesitate when they have to make difficult decisions. You know it just as well as I do."
Oz stared at Jake, his expression unchanging for long moments until he nodded tersely. "I hate it, but you're right. We tell our people everything and we could lose more lives than we save."
“I've been on the rough edge for a while. Life is cold out here," Jake replied quietly.
“The ex-military will understand when it's said and done, even Alaka'll get it. Do you think we can save the Palamo crew?”
"Unless the Captain blows everyone instead of surrendering at the last minute, yes." It was almost eerie having Oz aboard. The tall, blond fellow was more confidant and competent than Jake remembered from the First Light by far. There were times, however, when the old humour, the feeling of being connected to a second in command returned. In those moments it really was like he was on the bridge of the First Light and even though he'd only been working with him for ten days he trusted Oz completely.
“How's Alice?”
“Stable. From what Iloona says she's in a coma but the monitors look like she's dreaming. The old brain damage they repaired was from before the Overlord Two, before Alice was downloaded into her human body. Iloona tells me the new healthy tissue hasn't been used yet so she's starting neural therapy later today.”
“What are her chances like?”
“Good, over ninety percent.”
Oz looked at Jake for a moment. He had toughened up and gained so much bearing since he'd known him on the First Light, but then, this wasn't the man he'd known there. That was Jonas Valent, who was the first owner of the memories that partially made Jake who he was. Looking at Jake wasn't like seeing a copy. It was more like seeing an old friend after years of absence. He knew people changed over time and it was more noticeable when you didn't see them day after day and Jake was like Jonas enough for Oz to accept him quickly. Faster than he expected. It was a welcome trick of the mind, as though Jonas had been away for a while and returned as a seasoned, more practical and experienced man with a slightly different name. His smile was the same, though it was much rarer than Jonas's.
Jake stared off into space the same as Jonas used to when he was deep in thought, and when he looked at Ayan and didn't think she noticed he admired her the same way. Oz's old friend had lived on, and though he missed Jonas at times, he had already grown to like and admire Jacob Valance. “You have doubts about the therapy.”
Jake nodded slowly. “I can't help but think the brain damage Iloona repaired is what allowed Alice to imprint herself on that body in the first place. She told me it was the only viable body on the Overlord Two when she was trying to escape, she couldn't make a connection with the others. I hope she's been in there long enough for the therapy to work. If her thoughts are more human than software she might have a chance.”
“Keep thinking positive. From what the crew tell me she's a strong one.”
“No doubts there. If anyone can pull through this it'll be her. I saw the visitor's log, by the way. She gets more visits than anyone. I think she was alone for all of two hours. Iloona said she's never seen so many people visit a coma patient.”
“She made a pretty heavy impression. People respect her like a commander and miss her like a friend. If you weren't here this ship would be lost.”
“I don't know about that. You took charge pretty well while I was out of it after Pandem. All the Chiefs are impressed, especially Angelo.”
“Now that's a man who knows how to work his people. He's had the manufacturing centre and hangar crews humming like a well oiled machine since I got on. Most of your crew knows their business. Even your Security Chief has shown me a few tricks I never thought of.”
“Stephanie's good at what she does. She was my best boarding captain when we were on the Samson.”
“Everyone who served on that boat seems to miss it. I made the mistake of asking Ashley about it my second day on the bridge. She and Agameg went on for over two hours.”
“Funny how that is. The Samson was a hard ship to serve on. She always ran lean on supplies and low on opportunity. People miss it anyway, I know Minh has looked over the Samson’s bones a few times.”
“I heard. He said he'd never seen a ship get so beat up and make it back, I believe it. Ayan started making plans to restore it, by the way.”
“I didn't see that on the job list.”
“She's got an assessment report finished and twenty three volunteers are signed up. After the Triton’s main engines are repaired they'll be putting the Samson back together.”
“I should tell her it's not a priority. We have more important things to worry about.”
“I think you should let her. Join her volunteer work gang if you're concerned.”
“I'm not concerned, I just don't know why she'd go to the trouble. The Samson’s main beams are twisted. That alone makes it more trouble than it's worth.”
Oz smiled and sighed. “This is why everyone should grow up with a sister or three. You just don't get it.”
Jake was taken aback, it had been a very long time since anyone had come right out and told him he was missing something. It was like being splashed with freezing water, like snapping out of a trance. He stared at Oz, unsure of what to say.
“That ship was your home for what, five years?”
“Closer to six.”
“Well, whether she realizes it or not she's using it as a way to find out about you.”
“She doesn't have to rebuild a wreck to do that, she could just ask.”
“Not with you avoiding her.”
“Avoiding her? We sat side by side for two shifts on the bridge yesterday.”
“You were busy the whole time. You even ate in the command seat while you were reviewing security records looking for the vigilante crew member who keeps killing Order of Eden agents aboard ship. Think about it; you work eighteen hours a day, pass out for six and do it all over again. If you're not on the bridge you're somewhere lending a hand with specialist's work.”
“It's just like you said; busiest two weeks of your life, only I was knocked out for the first three days so I had to play catch up. Besides, some of that specialist's work won't get done unless one of the few people who are qualified get to it. Ayan was busy in the fabrication plant for over a week working on the replacement engines too, it's not like I'm making myself unavailable.”
Oz shook his head, frustration bubbling to the surface. “Jake, you know what it's like aboard any ship when there's a lot to be done. Most of the time there is no time. You have to make an effort if you want to get anything outside of regular duties done. Do you want to get to know Ayan? I know there's something there, but do you want to try and follow through?”
Jake looked over his shoulder to check for anyone overhearing. It was early. Day shift wouldn't start for an hour and the hallway outside was dead silent. Oz had struck a nerve. Things with Ayan hadn't been going badly, they just weren't going. He looked at her, was glad she was there but didn't know what to say. She was different, it had been years since he'd seen her and after the initial relief and joy at being reunited it became plain that she'd grown since he'd last known her. He'd grown as well, learned to shut away his feelings and separate himself from the daily decisions he had to make as Captain. Having someone poke at that from out of nowhere, especially someone like Oz was aggravating, especially since he was right. “I don't know how to talk to her. She asks about people on the ship, systems and what's going on aboard and that's not a problem but the moment I just try to talk to her I'm at a loss.”
“You're nervous,” Oz smiled, amused.
“I don't think so.”
“Really?” Oz raised an eyebrow.
“Fine, yes, I'm nervous but there's more to it, at least Liam thinks so.”
“He would.”
Jake nodded. “He said it's probably expectations getting in the way. She crossed several quadrants and survived Pandem to be here. I don't agree, I mean you, Jason and Minh did the same thing and even though I can't believe you and Jason left careers behind it doesn't get in the way of us getting on.”
“But things are different with Ayan. You two had torches lit for each other before you met on the First Light. I remember talking about the sparks with Minh in simulations ten years ago.”
“God, has it been that long?”
“Almost. I think Chief Grady's right. Then again, when isn't he? Anyway, the expectations are pretty hefty, she made the trip twice in two different bodies. You watched her die once and from what Laura told me you handled it well. With all due respect to Ayan's first go at life, watching her live is a lot harder. I spent years watching her fall apart and I'm still getting used to seeing her in the flesh. I mean, she looks a little different, but it's Ayan for sure. One of my best mates is back and it's great to see her in fit form but I'm still getting used to it. The only problem I have when I'm talking to her is reminding myself that she doesn't remember the last few years, other than that she's a gift.”
“I know, and she's here, I can't believe it either.”
“And that makes it harder, I get it. Think about what she's going through though. You sacrificed yourself so she and everyone else on the First Light could be free right when things were really starting to get good between you two.”
“That was Jonas.”
“Don't you have all his memories? Do you remember doing it?”
Memories of being submerged in thick stasis fluid, of seeing General Collins and being helpless and determined to find freedom again regardless of the odds ran though Jake's mind. The emotions evoked by the memories were strong. The feeling of being helpless was unforgettable, terrifying, infuriating. Despite all the negative emotions he remembered the satisfaction of knowing that his ship, her crew and Ayan were all safely on their way home, that he had sacrificed his freedom for a reason. He knew the memories and emotions were copies. Jonas Valent had lived through those events, made those decisions and the copy was imprinted perfectly onto him. The distinction was only logical, however. Knowledge of their origin didn't dull the images, didn't rob the emotions of their teeth. “I remember.”
“Then stop making the distinction between you and Jonas and move on. You're the only one who makes it. Look at Ayan, you see her as the one and only, not like some second generation afterthought. We see you the same way; as the one and only Jonas with some time out here and a new name. Laura was even saying the other day that it was hard not to call you Jonas because, even under the serious veneer you keep up she could see the Captain she knew on the First Light. You've had some hard years since we last knew you, but hell, everyone's had years since the First Light. I barely recognized Minh the first time I saw him. I remembered a scrawny, hyper little man, not a long haired, muscled little wise man. It didn't take a body switch for him to change, and in some ways he's grown more than anyone, even you.”
No one had put it that way. As the captain of the Samson he'd always focused on projecting an image of strength, of confidence and that had carried through to Triton. Regardless of what tricks his memory was playing on him, of how Jonas's experiences changed how he thought and felt he maintained that image. Pandem was the hardening, the blending experience he needed to reconcile with the personality of Jonas Valent and who he knew himself to be; Jacob Valance, and it made being that visibly confident, knowledgeable captain figure easier. He wasn't aware that anyone else could see how much had changed beneath the surface or that he could be compared to Ayan, that in some way they had taken the parallel roads. For him taking Jonas' memories on was a force of great change, but to everyone who had known Jonas it was what made him familiar.
Jake sat down on one of the plush sofas and nodded. “When I think back to my time on the Samson it's like everything was cold. The days lasted forever and taking on hunting jobs was just something I had to do while I looked for Alice.”
“The man I saw on holovid didn't look like he hated his job.”
“You're right, some days there was nothing I'd rather do but then, I didn't know who I was really meant to be. When Jonas's memories kicked in everything took on a whole new dimension. By the time we had taken Triton on it was all starting to come back so fast I didn't know what was going on but it was like the difference between seeing the universe in black and white for years then seeing it in colour.”
“Like you discovered you had a soul,” Oz smiled.
Jake pointed a black clad finger at him and nodded. “Exactly. Now it's like I'm back.”
“Like you're finally a real boy,” Minh added from the doorway with a smirk.
“Sneaky monkey,” Oz smiled back.
Minh wore the black, lightly armoured vacsuit assigned to all pilots under a gun belt and old earth style imitation leather bomber jacket. The jacket was armoured, had inertial dampeners and an entire survival kit built in. Thanks to work done by Alice, Minh and ideas taken from Jake's long coat it had become a very practical garment. Without a moment's hesitation he dropped himself into an armchair. “Welcome to the Doctor McPatrick show. Today we're talking about identity crisis and how to talk to women.”
“How long have you been listening in?” Oz laughed.
“Oh, since you didn't notice my comm squawk when I tuned in about fifteen minutes ago. Sounded like you guys were talking through something pretty heavy so I thought I'd just come down.”
“While listening in.”
“How else am I supposed to know what's going on before I walk into a room?” Minh swept his black shoulder length hair out of his face and looked Jake over. Even sitting at ease in an infirmary family room he looked like he was under a hundred pounds of armour. Not stiff, but ready for anything and hard enough to repel direct weapon's fire. He made a show of his inspection, squinting his eyes, shifting in his seat as if to get a better view of different sides until he finally nodded. “You two make it sound so complicated when anyone can see that it's Jacob Valance sitting right there. How could I see anyone else? There he is; older, wiser, a littler gloomier but my old friend was broody and wise too. Questioned the important things just like this one. Yup, it's him,” he shrugged and commented simply as though he was pointing out the most obvious thing in the universe. “Oh and Ayan sees the same thing. She doesn't much know what to say either so you'd better get busy not talking at the same time in the same place.”
Oz glanced at both of them and laughed.
Jake's quizzical expression was disarmed by laughter as well for a moment before he blurted; “What?”
“If you two can't talk to each other, then do something together. She's got the right idea, rebuilding the Samson. It's your ship and she's just falling back on something she knows best; how to build. So you be there when she starts working on it and whatever is meant to happen will happen. I bet you'll be swapping stories before the first day's over.”
“He's right, you know.”
Jake nodded. “I've been avoiding the Samson because I didn't want to see it out of commission. Maybe she has the right idea.”
“She'd probably have some good ideas on improvements,” Minh added.
An expression of mild alarm crossed Jake's face. “Okay now I know I have to be there.”
"So, raiders?"
Jake nodded. "We got a message before we emerged. There's at least one carrier. You're going in first as a scouting patrol, stay under cover, scan whatever's hiding behind the obscuring field so we know what we're dealing with and try to get them to follow you out."
"Gotcha, get the lay of the land and piss them off enough to come out and play," Minh confirmed with a wink.
Jake's command and control unit blinked and vibrated momentarily, informing him that a priority message was incoming. “Good morning Stephanie,” he answered.
“Do you know why Ashley's in the pilot's berth?”
“I have no idea. She might still be having trouble getting used to her quarters.”
“All right, I'm on my way to wake her up early for the hypertransmitter activation. How is everything up there?”
“Good, I'm just about to head to the bridge. The internal repairs finished up late last night.”
“All right, see you there.”
The channel closed with a faint beep. “This is going to be one hell of a day,” Jake said quietly.
“I couldn't sleep. I can't wait to take the squadron out for the first time,” Minh added.
“Just remember, the only person with experience in this system is Alice, so make sure you've taken in every bit of data we have on it and keep checking in with flight control.”
“Yes sir, Commander McPatrick, sir,” Minh saluted exaggeratedly. “No worries, we went through the brief last night, did a simulation and I'll be taking them through it again this morning in briefing. That is, as soon as I dig out two more pilots from the red shift. Clutcher and Gomer couldn't hack the briefing simulation yesterday so they're out.”
“Clutcher couldn't hack it?”
“It was the asteroid field, triggered vertigo. If we had a psyche on board we could help him, but we don't so he'll have to get over it on his own before he sees a real cockpit.”
“Too bad, tell me if there's anything I can do.” Oz sympathized. “Is Ashley okay, by the way? She seemed fine on the bridge but if she's having trouble sleeping someone might want to look into that.”
“She seems better than I've seen her since we took the Triton. Ashley grew up in close quarters though. I bet she's been sleeping pretty well in the pilot berths. Besides, she was the youngest Samson crew member for a long time and from what I've seen the crowd down there isn't much older.”
“Yup, there are a lot of young pilots down there. Some of them are pretty good too. Ashley's overall scores put her in third on the sim leaderboard, she's pretty amazing.”
“Have you gotten around to introducing yourself yet?” Oz asked with an impish grin.
Minh cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “I haven't had time. Between qualifying, learning everything there is to know about flying off this ship, the fighters, and Paula following me around I've barely seen my rack, let alone the bridge.”
“Paula's been following you?” Captain Valance asked.
“Oh just showing me around and making sure my pilots and I don't miss anything on preflight inspection,” Minh stood and was on his way out of the room in one hasty, fluid motion. “Speaking of which, I have to get going. Good luck today.”
“Good hunting,” Oz called after him. “He's in his glory here Jake. Making him Wing Commander after he qualified and placed at the top was the best move you could have made.”
“I've never seen him this alive,” Jake agreed. He stood and straightened his long coat. It was an unnecessary gesture since the weight of it drew it back down into shape. “There was no better choice though. After qualifying he managed to kick the crap out of every pilot's scores then lead them on more successful simulated strike and defence missions than all the score leaders combined. All that practice while he was adrift worked out for him.”
“I know, now he just has to prove himself in the field. He's not the only one. This'll be my first real turn at running the flight control deck.”
“I'd rather have you no where else. You have experience and training at commanding a carrier. Besides, I noticed you staring at the flight control deck, I know it's where you want to be.”
“Still reading my mind after all these years. I missed working with you Jake.”
“You know, commanding this ship felt like work until you came aboard. If there's anything you ever want to do here, just say the word.” They shook hands firmly, a spontaneous gesture that expressed the feeling of camaraderie that had been growing ever since the pair began working together aboard the Triton. “Let's get to the bridge.”