The Long Way Home @page { margin-bottom: 5.000000pt; margin-top: 5.000000pt; } ----------------------------------- The Long Way Home by Darrell Bain ----------------------------------- Science Fiction Double Dragon Publishing double-dragon-ebooks.com Copyright ©2009 by DDP First published in Double Dragon Publishing, 2009 NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment. CONTENTS THE LONG WAY HOME Dedication Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One * * * * The Long Way Home Copyright © 2009 Darrell Bain All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Double Dragon eBooks, a division of Double Dragon Publishing Inc., Markham, Ontario Canada. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from Double Dragon Publishing. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. A Double Dragon eBook Published by Double Dragon Publishing, Inc. PO Box 54016 1-5762 Highway 7 East Markham, Ontario L3P 7Y4 Canada www.double-dragon-ebooks.com www.double-dragon-publishing.com A DDP First Edition July 20, 2009 ISBN-9: 1-55404-692-0 ISBN-13: 978-1-55404-692-8 Book Layout and Cover Art by Deron Douglas www.derondouglas.com * * * * * * * * THE LONG WAY HOME By Darrell Bain [Back to Table of Contents] Dedication To John Ringo, David Weber and Travis S. Taylor Not only have I gotten a tremendous amount of pleasure from their books but reading them has made me a better writer. [Back to Table of Contents] Prologue For almost a century humans expanded their domain beyond Earth. The huge exploration starships ranged outwards, staying gone sometimes for a year or more while seeking habitable planets and hoping someday to meet other star-faring species. At first Earth and its colonies armed their ships against the possibility of hostile aliens. They constructed warships to patrol the home worlds and set up extensive defenses in case of need. As time passed, and humanity remained free of competition, preparations for fighting interstellar wars lagged. A once mighty military devolved into little more than a police force for settling squabbles among the several home worlds and policing the more remote colonies. The prospect of meeting other intelligent life in the galaxy waned. Scholars began writing long tomes proving beyond doubt that humans were a singularly unique species: the only one which had managed to evolve intelligence and break the bond of their home planet. Further, they postulated that even should another intelligent species be discovered, it was certain to be friendly. Nevertheless, Mankind ranged outward, seeking new frontiers but appearing destined always to be alone. To be sure, the exploration ships still carried contact protocols designed for technically sapient species, but they had never been used. The exploration ships also still went armed, but as time passed, it was thought that the weapons would never become necessary. And even if by chance they should, it was almost universally accepted that such an event would occur by accident rather than design. It was thought that other technically advanced species would welcome a meeting. The idea that such aliens might be hostile became a laughable notion�"one that not even science fiction authors used very often as a theme. Such were the conditions when the new class of Exploration Ship Sam Johnston began its voyage. She was more than a year's travel and a thousand light years beyond the frontier worlds when the fabled technical civilization of aliens was first encountered. Contact protocols were initiated, and initiated again. By the third try at contact it was a foregone conclusion that the scholars had been wrong. Dead wrong. Disastrously wrong. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter One �śI wish it was us going instead of them,” Explorer E2 Jeremy Costa said to his companion as he looked up from his Reader and stifled a yawn. The Explorer rec room in the Sam Johnston was about half full and at this hour beginning to get noisy. They'd have to move before long if they wanted to continue perusing studies in their primary specialties: xenomicrobiology and astronomy for him and xenogeology and xenopaleontology for her. �śHuh!” Siegfrer Sorenson replied. �śYou in a hurry to die, Jer?” �śOf course not. But it's a longboat going down this time. They can fight back.” The Sam Johnston carried two large longboats with a crew of three officers and ten spacers, along with five explorer officers and fifty to sixty explorer ratings. The two boats, each as large as a wet navy frigate, alternated the completion of assignments. They were warp capable but couldn't go nearly as many light years in a single jump as the big mother ship, and weren't meant for interstellar travel at all, except in an emergency. �śThe idea is to make peace with those ... critters,” Siegfrer answered. Shoving her Reader aside, she punched for a drink, and added, �śBut they haven't shown much inclination yet, have they? They seem more geared to killing any of us that come close.” Noticing that she had ordered a drink, Jeremy did the same. He considered how to reply while he waited for the cart to arrive. He was only an Explorer Two on his first cruise�"and newly promoted scarcely a month ago at that�"while she was an Explorer Three on her second mission. Finally, he did speak. �śWhy do you think they killed the scouts, Sieg? Any idea?” It wasn't the first time by far that the question had been asked, and not only by him. �śWho knows?” The chunky but well built blond of Swedish ancestry shrugged and shifted in her seat while doing interesting things to the top of her camouflage fatigues. �śBest I can tell you is that they're alien. And if I were the Captain, I don't think I'd have come in this close, even if she is backing up Shannon.” The boat she referred to was their opposite number. Theirs was the longboat Hurricane Jack. Jeremy grinned slyly, emphasizing his young age and what he'd been told was a handsome face. �śNow you know more than the Captain does!” �śThe monkeys on that inhabited moon are the same ones that killed both scouts in the last system we were in. I bet we've stumbled onto some colony worlds of an empire, and they have orders to keep all aliens at arm's length, even if it means firing on intruders. And we're the aliens by their light.” �śWell, yeah, but couldn't they have made a mistake?” �śTwice in a row on the same planet? Get real, Jer. That's why we're here now, in a different system. The captain's trying again, but frankly, I don't give it much hope.” He couldn't argue much with her logic. The star system where the little scout ships had been lost was known only by a catalog number, but it had one inhabited planet. The sapient beings there were the first aliens discovered in all the years since humans had begun exploring the galaxy. It had yet to be named officially but was informally called Condor by the crew of E.S. Sam Johnston. No one knew yet what its permanent designation would be, but the usual practice was to allow the crew to attach a name to a newly explored planet. From orbit it was found to be thinly populated, yet the inhabitants displayed a fairly high technology. The crew of the first scout discovered just how high-tech, when their craft was shot out of the sky with an energy weapon while broadcasting contact protocols. The next was allowed to land and then was disabled. The six-man crew was slaughtered as soon as they stepped outside. �śI suppose not,” Jeremy conceded, his young face earnest beneath his dark hair, �śbut I still say they might not be so damned quick on the draw when a longboat lands, especially when they know Sammie's in orbit above them. Captain Beauchamp's been broadcasting for a week. Surely they'll know by now that Shannon is peaceful.” He looked inquiringly at his friend, but she simply shook her head. �śI don't buy it. The scouts had one of our longboats orbiting both times, and it still happened. Anyhow, there's no point in arguing. The Captain has decided. We'll find out soon enough, one way or another, so drink up and let's go study�"or find something else to do.” She touched his shoulder and winked. �śI'm for that,” he said, quite willing to forego any further discussion. Siegfrer was great even if she did move around a lot, having stated that she didn't intend to settle down yet. She had been with him for several weeks now. He had to admit she had taught him things he'd only fantasized about before she took him to her bed. Nevertheless, and despite where they were headed now, he still wished it was the crew of the Hurricane Jack longboat rather than their opposite numbers in Shannon who were landing on the inhabited moon of the gas giant. * * * * The longboat image flared briefly in atmosphere, and then the holotank blinked momentarily out of existence while it switched to a different perspective. �śWell, they're not shooting, so far,” Gordon Roxley, executive officer of Sam Johnston, remarked. Captain Beauchamp nodded. She knew she was taking a chance coming this far into the system, at such a distance away from the area of the primary's gravity well where she could warp out if necessary. But damn it, this was the first sapient species ever found, and she didn't want to let it go. Obviously, they had an empire, or at least had settled more worlds than their original home, for both Condor and this Earth-sized satellite of a gas giant were clearly colony worlds. Condor had had only two settlements of any size, and both of them had fired on her scouts with no provocation at all. She had hoped to find the Monkeyclaws’ home world, but this clearly wasn't it. It was even more sparsely settled than Condor. Perhaps that would help. This time she was sending one of her two longboats down�"the Shannon. Some of her officers thought she should have landed the boat near one of the isolated farm settlements, but she had decided against it. At any rate, it was too late to change her mind. Shannon was committed, just as the Sam Johnston was. She shivered involuntarily as she thought of the aliens. The name given them in jest before the scouts were destroyed was Monkeyclaws, because recordings sent back by the first one showed how they looked. They combined something like an armadillo's backside with a monkey's upper body, terminating in a head resembling a monkey's but with huge eyes and a slash of mouth filled with shark-like teeth. All four arms ended in sharply clawed retractable digits, the lower ones larger than the upper. They were frightening to the eye, but she knew that was only human prejudice. At least she sincerely hoped so. The holotank came back into focus, now showing a small settlement in the distance. Similar to the ones on Condor, the cluster of buildings gleamed in the sun, against a backdrop of distant blue mountains. It was a pretty world. The Monkeyclaws were oxygen breathers and used about the same proportion of carbon dioxide and oxygen and nitrogen as humans. They could be friends, if only they would listen. And this time she had instructed the crew of the longboat to broadcast the contact protocols for more than a week, in all likely bands of the spectrum, before they landed. Surely they would have had time by now to unravel the friendly intention of a first meeting with a different species. If not ... well, she had Sam Johnston to back up Shannon and her crew. �śStill no hostilities, Captain. Maybe this time it will work.” Again, she simply nodded at her XO's words, not wanting to speak for fear a tremor in her voice would show how nervous she was. The nearest point of the primary's gravity well from which a big ship like theirs could translate was hours away, and the Monkeyclaws had already shown that they weren't lightly armed, even on colony worlds. Or perhaps their colonies were meant to be armed. They employed a kind of energy pulse weapon and missiles similar to those used by humans. Or ... could it be? Maybe they were fearful of a third presence�"an enemy other than human�"and that was what made them so touchy ... so implacably hostile. It could very well be, she thought. In that case, the footage in the protocols showing the human form should keep them from being mistaken for their foes, if such existed. And why not? The galaxy was a big place, and theirs was the first ship to venture so far along the spiral arm which contained earth's sun. That left billions upon billions of unexplored planets. The primary fear preying on Captain Beauchamp's mind was the thought of a Monkeyclaw interstellar ship showing up before their intentions could be grasped by the settlers here. Judging from the weapons used on the scouts, it would likely be more than a match for Sam Johnston. �śThey're down,” Roxley announced. He was staring into a small screen separate from the holotank. It uploaded a continuous feed from inside the longboat. �śGreat. Maybe this time we'll get through to them.” The cheery voice of Joyce Chambers came to her from the astrogators's station on the other side of the control room. �śGood enough so far,” Beauchamp agreed. She moved to stand behind her XO and watch the feed there. Roxley's screen was split. One part showed the forward interior section of the longboat, looking backward from a point forward and above the longboats's XO and astrogator. Both were busy with their after-landing instrument check. Behind them, the feed showed the back of the longboat captain's head, as he looked through the open cockpit door and into the hatches of offices and officers’ cabins on each side of the passageway. Beyond that was a closed hatch. As Roxley and Beauchamp watched, the hatch opened, and the view switched to take in the length of the interior back to the airlocks on each side of the hull. Farther back lay the loading and storage bays, power plants, and recyclers. The crew bunked in single rooms overhead. Their lounge and mess was a deck below. Another upload came on line with a view of the outside area. A short double strip of scorched vegetation showed where the thrusters had been used in addition to gravity pulses to set the longboat down. Well away from there lay the alien settlement. Beauchamp squinted. �śWhat's that I see?” �śWhere?” Roxley asked. �śThere, just to the side of those smaller structures. Some of the Monkeys are pushing a device into the open. See?” �śYes, ma'am, but they're a long way off. I can't make out what it is.” Beauchamp flicked the com switch. �śMyers, com,” an enlisted tech said. �śPO Myers, Captain here. Please relay a request to Shannon for a telephoto feed of this area"�"she dropped a circle icon over the area where the Monkeyclaws were still fussing with their device�""and tell Commander Tem to keep his thrusters on standby if they aren't already.” �śYes, ma'am.” But apparently Tem was already suspicious. The image blinked and the Monkeyclaws abruptly were being viewed through a telephoto lens. His reaction was immediate. �śThat's a goddamn energy gun! Prepare to...” The sound of an explosion overpowered his voice. The screen showing the interior of the longboat jumped with the impact of an energy pulse that shook the whole boat. A blast of smoke and debris erupted from a hole blasted through the hull and into the interior. Another explosion crashed into the ship�"a deeper, unseen one from farther back. �śCaptain, both my thrusters are gone!” Tem's voice was filled with agony. It showed on his face in stark, bleak lines as he looked up to the screen feeding the view back to Sam Johnston. �śWe need�"oh, goddamn it to hell!” There was no need of explanation. The outside recording showed what had ripped the oath from him. Open ground cars were already racing toward the boat, packed with Monkeyclaws who were already firing their hand weapons. They emitted brief red flickers as tiny energy pulses erupted from the gun housings and impacted with stuttering splats on the fuselage of the longboat. They seemed not to care that the pulses were ineffective unless they went through the holes the larger gun had blasted for them�"but that was where their fire was being aimed, as well as it could be from the moving ground cars. Beauchamp closed her eyes, sharing Tem's despair with a sickened knot of horror in her chest. There was nothing she could do for him now except remind him of his duty. �śCommander Tem, protect our home worlds. Set your scuttling charge, but hold out if you can. I'll try to get some fire around your position next pass and send Hurricane Jack for you.” �śI doubt that we'll last until then, Skipper. We'll let them know how hard humans die, though.” �śThank you.” She paused to get her emotions under partial control, and then added in a strangled voice, �śGod bless and keep you.” The upload continued. Beauchamp wanted to turn away, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the scene. Both airlocks blew outward from set charges, and some of the crew began hurriedly exiting with rifles already firing, on the slim hope that they could clear an area around the boat and provide room for Sam Johnston to give them covering fire, until a way could be worked out to rescue them with the other longboat. Just as abruptly, they were forced back inside or fell to the deck as tiny but lethally deadly pulses of energy from the Monkeyclaws’ weapons cut them down. Their armored camouflage provided little protection. A cacophony of yells and screams and the noise of guns firing on automatic prevented anyone from hearing Tem's last words as the remains of the longboat were overrun. Monkeyclaws were inside, rending and tearing where their weapons hadn't already killed, and firing with brutal, overwhelming efficiency where they had clear shots. The screen where Beauchamp and Roxley watched burned a brilliant red for a microsecond, and then blanked out. It was replaced by nothing but white static, as if a memorial shroud had been drawn over the last resting place of the longboat Shannon and her crew. �śXO, Astrogator, take us out of here on our planned vector.” Beauchamp ordered. Her voice was shaky but firm. There was nothing else she could do, and she wasn't going to risk her other longboat boat or any more of her crew trying to communicate with those xenophobes. It was time to go home to Earth and report what they'd found. Even then, she intended to zigzag a bit to throw off any pursuit, in case they left noticeable traces of their passage. No sense in taking chances, and no telling when a Monkeyclaw interstellar ship might show up. Best to start for Earth while they could. �śVector is set, Captain,” Joyce Chambers said. �śWe can warp out of here in two hours to the next primary we had targeted.” �śGood. We'll get away from here, and then we can start picking the primaries to get us home,” Beauchamp responded. She felt sick inside. The loss of more than sixty men and women was her fault. She should never have sent the longboat to the surface�"not before getting a positive response. She knew now that it would never have come. These aliens were either scared shitless of contact or were so paranoid that they shot at anything coming close to them. Or maybe they were evolved for xenophobic behavior. Whatever, it made no difference to those who had died. �śXO, I'll be in my cabin for a few minutes. If I'm not...” �śContact! Vampires! Vampires!” [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Two XO Gordon Roxley's shouted warning rang through the control room. It was replaced seconds later by the urgent tones of General Quarters reverberating through the ship. Beauchamp turned her head so quickly that her loosely gathered mane of hair couldn't keep up. It brushed across her shoulders and then fell into place as she shouted the first essential command of any encounter in space. �śShields up! Thrusters on!” Her reaction was the result of hours upon hours of simulations, but never for an instant had she thought to hear the warning cry of incoming hostile missiles on an exploration voyage, or hear herself utter the defensive words with such fearful urgency. She may as well have saved her breath. Gordon Roxley was already moving, his fingers flying as he brought the shields up and asked the control computer to give them options for anti-missile fire. While his fingers and voice communicated with the computer, she stared at the holotank, fiercely willing it to be wrong. Unfortunately, there was no mistake. An alien spaceship had suddenly come into detection range. She knew it had to have been either stealthed or hidden somewhere on the other side of the big moon. Not that it mattered now. It had started shooting at them the instant it appeared, or perhaps even sooner, if its detection instruments were better than Sam Johnston's. �śFire Missiles One and Two!” Beauchamp ordered at the instant that Roxley's parameters appeared in the tank. Her words came out much more calmly than her first yell for the shields. She kept her eyes glued to the holoscreen and the two evil red icons distancing themselves from the other ship and heading toward them. She noted figures telling her that the alien ship was even larger than Sam Johnston, and that made her wonder what the enemy missiles would do to them. Their vector left no doubt of the target. They were heading for Sam Johnston, and she had no idea what their power might be or whether the shields would hold against them. Neither did she know whether her ship's defensive fire would be effective. Only seconds after she issued her order to fire anti-missiles, two clusters of green point sources appeared in the tank. Those were their own, with vectors pointing toward the hostile icons still blinking a lethal red as they advanced rapidly toward the ship. And less than a minute after that, the emblems of her defensive missiles disappeared in pinprick bursts of light while the alien missiles came on, not bothered in the least. Roxley's face was a startled mask. �śShit!” he said vehemently. �śHow in hell did they do that?” He glanced at Beauchamp with so much ire in his visage that one would have thought he was blaming the Captain for the way his anti-missiles had been destroyed. He turned back to his screen just in time to see the enemy missiles loose multiple energy pulses. The icons showing the balls of plasma energy winked rapidly as they came roiling at the Sam Johnston at twice the speed of their source. Beauchamp tensed. Her frozen features held for a moment, and then blanched. She staggered and sat down abruptly in her command chair as explosions ripped across Sam Johnston's shield walls with unexpected violence. The stern shield went down immediately. Raw energy hit the hull and bored through, tearing into the ship's thrusters. The bow and loading bay shields held, but barely. Knowing that they couldn't take another hit, she swiftly ran through her options. Her expression was controlled, but tiny muscles at her jaw line twitched�"a sign of furious thought. She was rapidly going back over all their encounters with the Monkeyclaws, hoping something would occur to her to stop this obscene horror. This was the second system in the region of space they were exploring and the third attempted contact where the aliens had attacked without warning or giving any response to their contact protocols, which were almost pleading for a peaceful meeting. Two of the previous times it had been scouts the Sam Johnston carried that were attacked, and those from two different locations on what appeared to be a thinly settled world. They had been destroyed with no warning and for no apparent reason, other than, perhaps, xenophobia on the part of the aliens. She had taken her ship out of the star system where those attacks had happened, thinking that perhaps the inhabitants of a colony world were too defense-minded to chance a meeting with unknown aliens. In this new system, against the advice of her top officers, she had gone in deep, and then sent one of their two longboats to parley while she provided backup. It also appeared to be a colony world and was inhabited by the same species. She thought it was possible that she hadn't taken enough time before initiating contact. For this encounter, there shouldn't have been a doubt�"not after a week of broadcasting. She wouldn't have come in this close had there been any sign of an interstellar ship in the system. She was merely trying to point out to the aliens that the longboat belonged to Sam Johnston. And she had ordered it to appear openly, unstealthed, so there could be no mistake. The recordings from Shannon put a horrifying end to the mistaken idea. Scenes of the action had been ... gruesome. The Monkeyclaws had swarmed over the remains of the boat after rendering it inoperable, tearing and rending the crew. Some of them had still been living. Beauchamp had shaken her head sadly after the scuttling and began retreating from the system. And now they were being fired on again. The alien starship was clearly bent on exterminating them. Or worse. �śGive it another try, Roxy,” she said, and without waiting on him to answer, she turned to Lieutenant Wesley Bonner. �śWes, get the other longboat manned and provisioned with everything it can carry. Have them ready to launch on a moment's notice. Begin downloading all the information we have on these things to the boat, and then start a general download of our data store. And hurry. I don't think we have much time.” �śWhat...?” �śIn case they manage to disable the other thrusters and try to board,” she said, nodding at the screen. �śThere! They just killed our second missile launch, and the next time they hit us we'll lose our shields completely. Even if they don't board, they're going to kill us. The longboat is going to be the only chance to tell Earth about these psychopathic bastards. Now go!” Her description fitted the aliens, at least from the human viewpoint, although their actions might be quite normal from their perspective. Whatever, she knew now that it had been a mistake to come in so far from the area of the primary's gravity well that she could use to transit from the system. Backing up the number one longboat had seemed a good idea at the time, but now she knew she should have kept the ship well back from the star, where they could escape quickly. Well ... she hadn't. There had been no sign of an enemy starship then, and now it looked as if most if not all of the crew were going to pay the price of her error. Wesley stared at the captain for a moment and then hurried away. How in hell does she know the aliens are going to board? It was only after entering the drop shaft toward the bay that the significance hit him. If they board, she'll have to scuttle! Standing orders from Exploration Headquarters required the Commanding Officer to safeguard the location of Earth and its colonies at all costs despite the prevailing opinion that an intelligent species would be friendly, should one ever be found. No one these days thought those orders would ever have to be carried out. It would be a simple matter, though. Overloading either of the fusion power plants would kill the ship and everyone on it, should it or any of its personnel be taken prisoner with no chance of rescue. �śJoy, I want you put us on a bearing of three one niner, all speed with what we have left, then leave us and join the longboat. They'll need a better astrogator than Joseph Whistler if they manage to get away. Tell them to be ready at an instant's notice to make a translation.” The captain was still speaking calmly. Only someone who knew her well would be able to distinguish the bleak resolution beneath her composed voice. Characteristically, Joyce Chambers carried out her orders before turning back to the captain. �śWhat are you planning?” Beauchamp looked as if she were studying the holotank, but it was only a method of keeping her attention focused while she decided on what to tell the control room crew. She knew to the fraction of a light second the relative positions and speed of Sam Johnston and the other ship. �śAssuming they plan on boarding rather than just killing us and be done with it, I'm going to try getting the other longboat away. We can launch it while the ship itself shields it. By the time it's loose and under thrust, we'll both be behind the Jovian planet. That should cover us another seven or eight minutes. We have too much mass for its gravity well to transit from here, but the longboat doesn't. With its momentum from us and on our present vector, and with this star in the right direction, Hurricane Jack can use the Jovian to transit farther out almost immediately. After that, they can utilize the primary's gravity well to get the hell out of this region of space. Hopefully, our friends there will let us get away with it. Also hopefully, they won't detect the longboat when it transits.” She shrugged, knowing there was no way to tell how precise or accurate the aliens’ detection and scanning systems were, although the accuracy of their missiles left little doubt that the enemy's systems were as least as good as their own. Joyce Chambers took one last look at the plot and nodded. �śThey can do it, if Joe doesn't try to argue. �śSee to it that he doesn't. We can't give them even a hint that we're from this arm or where the home worlds are located. The boat needs to get well away from this region before heading for Earth. Go now, and good luck. Get them back home, Joy.” �śI will, Skipper. Godspeed.” She brushed a stray tress of blonde hair back over her shoulder and departed before the captain could see her tears. She heard the all-ship com begin calling as she hit the drop shaft. �śHurricane Jack, man your stations! Hurricane Jack, all aboard, full kits. Five minutes. Hurricane Jack, man your stations, full kits, this is no drill! Hurricane...” The mantra continued over and over, ringing through the passages, staterooms and bays of the great starship and causing personnel of the remaining longboat to begin scrambling toward their duty stations. �śAll right, gang,” Beachamp said with a surprising smile. �śThey're not firing now, but they are coming on a bit faster than our best speed. Let's get the longboat away. Then we'll run for our transit point and see how far we get. And if we have to fight again, let's do Sam Johnston proud.” An image formed in her mind that bore no relation to fact. The gravity well that distorted spacetime near planets and stars provided means of entering hyperspace, but only at specific distances from the mass causing the distortion. She visualized the primary as a flaming ball surrounded by a multitude of transparent points that represented the specific distance from the star where hyperspace could be entered. She had no need of the complicated mathematics. Astrogators could pretty well picture the transit points simply by knowing the mass of a star and its speed of rotation, but they needed the help of computers to take a ship through one at the precise speed, direction, angle and thrust to reach their target stars. In known space they used simplified and precalculated formulas that only required entering vectors and mass figures and then adjusting them for distortions that occurred over time and for the star they wanted to reach, but out here so far from known space the tables were fairly useless. Any place on the imaginary points could be used for transits into hyperspace, but again, calculations were required to impart direction toward a target star, although distances need not be measured. Inevitably, once entering hyperspace the ship would come out near the closest mass in that direction which could be used by the ship, so long as it had sufficient power to travel that distance. In practice, that almost always meant a star. Masses much smaller than a stellar object could not be used by starships. On the other hand, Hurricane Jack was able to utilize the much smaller gravity well of the big Jovian-type planet to transit outward to the nearest greater mass of the system's star since it was in that direction at the present orbit of Sam Johnson. That would allow the longboat to put some distance from the aliens before making a second transit�"one using the star's gravity well�"to depart the system entirely. That was her intention for the longboat. If the timing and orbits she calculated in her head was correct. And if the alien ship didn't pull another surprise. * * * * Jeremy Costa bounced from his bunk even as his eyes blinked into resentful wakefulness. Damn it, I've just gotten to sleep. What was...? Then he heard the com warbling for battle stations. He dressed hurriedly but barely finished before the call for the longboat crew began, including this is no drill. The last dregs of irritation departed. In its place he felt a surge of excitement and apprehension. We're in trouble. He knew it somehow, sensed it deep in his bones as he scurried to grab whatever he could of his personal gear in the few minutes he had before launch. It was the hurried nature of the order that fretted him. Normally, longboat launchings were a study in deliberate action, one step at a time, with everyone following a checklist for the big boats that were as large as an old wet navy frigate. Not now! Five minutes would barely give all the boat crew and explorers the time to get aboard and allow the thrusters to come on line. He was suddenly glad he'd begun leaving many items of his personal gear secured in his tiny cabin on the boat. He eyed the time, grabbed his extra pair of boots, slung another set of cammies over his shoulder, picked up his go-bag and ran for the drop shaft. He turned a corner in the passageway and barreled into a woman he thought was the Chief Astrogator in his excitement. She was carrying a duffle and appeared to be in as much of a hurry as he was. He raised a hand from the arm cradling his boots in a warding gesture and it came to rest squarely on her right breast. �śOh! Excuse me, ma'am ... I'm in a hurry!” His face flamed as he tried both to withdraw his hand and weave around her with his arms full. His dual efforts caused him to drop one of his bags. The pretty astrogator caught it for him and piled it back on top of his other belongings. �śSo am I, young man. I'm going with you.” She proved it by shoving him unexpectedly into the shaft and followed behind, laughing at his surprise when he dangled helplessly for a moment, having been unprepared for being pushed into the open shaft without warning. Jeremy wondered no further about what the astrogator was up to. Hands full, he spread his feet to touch the walls of the shaft. Obediently, it slowed and propelled him through an opening into the boat bay. He was much more concerned over what Explorer Chief (EC) Casey Dugan might think (and do) if he, Jeremy, was so much as a second late settling into his seat. This was his first exploration voyage, and he was determined to come out of it with a good rating, despite the trouble they'd had with these new aliens, who were so warlike against all expectations. He came out on the opposite side of the bay where the longboat, Hurricane Jack, was normally berthed. Somehow, during the last weeks of trying to make peaceful contact with the aliens into whose empire they had apparently blundered, the berthing positions had gotten switched. Having forgotten, he took the route he had been accustomed to during innumerable drills and not a few launchings. He didn't dare take time to look at his watch again. He stumbled to his assigned seat and quickly deposited his belongings into the overhead. It was already tightly packed with his partner's gear. �śYou just barely made it,” Siegfrer Sorenson said from her place next to him. She grinned merrily, as if the summons was just a drill, but that was her normal countenance. She had been laughing happily ever since he met her and presumably since she'd been assigned to the Hurricane right out of training. He didn't answer right away. He saw Chief Dugan eyeing him as if he had been the last of the squad and two hours late. Glancing around, he let out a sigh of relief as the last two squad members slid into their seats, drawing a baleful glare from the Chief. He knew they would hear about it later and was glad he wasn't on her list this time. Dugan might be small and prettily blond and look more like a serious-minded college co-ed than the leader of an explorer squad, but she could tie any one of them in knots if provoked�"even Tiny Smith, who was almost twice her size. �śSnap in, people,” Casey ordered. �śWe'll launch in a minute.” Not even a briefing! Jeremy thought. He opened his mouth to ask why, but Siegfrer beat him to it. �śWhere to, Chief?” �śHome, if we're good and lucky and the Devil stays in hell for a while. Shut up and get ready.” Jeremy snapped the harness end into its slot and felt the tractor field close around him. Set, he stared past Siegfrer out the tiny port window. There was nothing to see, of course, not yet, but he liked launchings in deep space where he could watch the stars in their brilliance swirl to the movement of the boat. �śWhat did she mean by that?” Siegfrer whispered after she shifted into position and slotted the harness straps together, letting the tractor grab her. The field clamped bodies but left enough movement to breathe and talk if one didn't move suddenly. It left one hand free for removing the field in case the control circuit was broken. �śDamned if I know,” Jeremy answered while trying to shrug. Naturally, it didn't work, and naturally, he'd forgotten it wouldn't, as almost everyone did. If a person sat still, the tractor field wasn't even noticeable. �śWell, I hope we're not going to try talking to those ... those ... fucking Monkeyclaws again.” He chuckled. �śAs good a name for them as anything. I doubt that we're going to try the protocols again�"not after what happened to the scouts and Shannon.” The recording had been played for all of the ship's crew, not just the explorers. Nightmares had resulted from the images of the second scout, and he had no doubt that there would be more from the destruction of the other longboat. It wasn't that the aliens were so big or so scary. It was their unrelenting, implacable craving to kill any human within range that made them so offensive. They hadn't even seemed to mind how many casualties they suffered while overcoming the crew of Shannon until it exploded in a billowing gust of flame and debris, instigated by the commander scuttling the boat. He grimaced at the memory, wondering if he would have had the courage to set off a charge in the power plant and blow the boat to smithereens, along with all the crew. �śThen what did she mean? Where are we going, if not back there?” A sudden metallic whine partially overrode their conversation. �śI don't know, but get ready.” Siegfrer shut up and waited for the launch. * * * * �śRoll clockwise a little more. More, more ... hold it!” Beauchamp ordered the assistant astrogator, and then punched into the longboat com. �śHurricane Jack, launch, thirty seconds. Mark, 29 ... 28 ... 27 ... 3, 2, 1, luck, launch!” Sam Johnston shuddered the least little bit as the longboat slid off the rails and out of the boat bay into space. Now if they'll wait for just a while longer, Hurricane will have a chance, Beauchamp thought. Not much of one, and God knows they'll need a bucketful of spaceman's luck, but I've done all that was possible for them. It's up to Commander Brackett now. If anyone can chivvy a longboat a thousand light years to home, he can. She wondered if subconsciously she had picked Shannon for the last attempt at rapprochement with the aliens in order to save the best commander for this mission. Not that it mattered now, she saw. �śVampires! Vampires!” Roxley was on it immediately, fingers dancing. The numbers came up, and he launched at the same instant as the captain gave the order, but this time there was a difference. The enemy missiles took out their spread of anti-missiles the same as before, but destroying them apparently slowed their own speed to little more than that of the ship. For some reason they failed to release energy pulses as they had before. Thank God for little favors, Beauchamp thought, then said, �śAgain, Roxy. No, belay that. Try the lasers. Com, continue the download to the longboat so long as we're blocking the Monkeyclaws. We may as well give Hurricane all the data we can.” Roxley waited patiently until he had a good lock with the laser cannon. He raised his brow, and Beauchamp nodded. �śFire cannon one and two! Alternate until you kill those bastards or burn out the cannons. God damned illegitimate spawn of river slugs!” Two invisible beams of energy poured from Sam Johnston, one after the other. The missiles they targeted disappeared in blips of expanding red blotches in the holoscreen that quickly faded away. �śNow get the ship!” Beauchamp ordered. Maybe there was a chance after all! The plasma-hot lances of coherent light impacted the alien ship in bursts of violet flameless energy hotter than the nearby sun. The ship staggered and slowed but came on with little visible damage. �śWe're shaking them a little, but otherwise...” �śCease fire, Roxy. We need the power for our run.” He flipped off the firing toggle. Run we will, Beauchamp thought, and if the alien ship comes closer, maybe the missiles and cannons will be more effective. She glanced at the holoscreen. Hurricane Jack, still shielded by their presence, was just disappearing behind the big Jovian-type planet. Good. Mission accomplished. As if that were a signal, the enemy ship chasing them launched a veritable swarm of missiles. Beauchamp smiled thinly. �śI guess they're not going to board, after all. Purge the computers! All missile tubes, all cannons fire at will!” * * * * Jeremy could see the stars now, and along with their brilliant pinpricks against the blackness of space, he saw the edge of the big Jovian planet come into view. He gazed avidly at the bands of clouds�"methane and hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide and a hell's brew of other gases�"before it began to dwindle in size under the longboat's thrust. Sunlight reflected from the atmosphere was bright, but it was not bright enough to block out the brilliant flash of colored fire that erupted from just behind the rim of the planet at the last known position of Sam Johnston. �śUh oh,” he said. �śI think we just fell into a pile of shit.” A few moments later, the tingly, creepy-crawly sensation of transiting from one gravity well to another raced through his body like a jolt of electricity or a heavy shot of stimjuice. The feeling vanished almost as quickly as it had come. He could no longer see the planet they had been near, but if it were visible he knew it would be little more than a pinprick now. But why? Why transit away from the mother ship during an attack on it? He began to voice the question to Siegfrer but let it die unsaid. In his heart he knew. That flash had been the death knell of Sam Johnston and their longboat launching had been its last effective act. They were alone now�"as alone as any humans in history had been. Alone in a universe that was indifferent to their plight, neither hostile nor benign, but which held many different ways to kill if one were not careful, lucky and well trained. And even then it could kill, and probably would. He had no real idea of how many times they would have to land and renew supplies in order to get back to Earth, but it would be a lot, and every time they would run the risk of casualties from unknown dangers. A long period of many, many landings would probably be enough to kill the seventy-three persons of the longboat crew twice over. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Three �śI think we made it without being scanned,” Lisa Trammell, XO of Hurricane Jack, said to its Commander. Unlike the much larger exploration ships, the longboat had a flat screen rather than a holotank, even though it appeared to be three-dimensional. She pointed to the icon for the gas giant from which they had just transited. It seemed to be located near the primary sun, but the icon had five tiny slash marks beside it to denote that the apparent distance was a multiple of five. �śThen let's get on a vector to get the hell out of here before we are scanned, or whatever those bastards do in place of it,” Joseph Whistler, astrogator of the Hurricane, suggested in a shaky voice. �śI've got one ready.” He looked to the longboat Commander, Marlin Brackett. He had studiously avoided noting the presence of the Sam Johnston astrogator, Joyce Chambers, even when it was obviously too late for her to return to the ship. Just make sure it's not toward Earth Joyce wanted to say. �śI agree,” she said. She knew that disagreeing with Joe Whistler when she wasn't in the line of command, and in his own bailiwick, would be the start of a strained relationship between her and the other astrogator, but there was no help for it ... just not now. Captain Beauchamp's last words still echoed in her mind. Get them back home! She intended to try, although she felt out of place in her uniform, when all the others were dressed in their powered camouflage uniforms. �śThank you, but we won't get out of here at all if we bounce around very long,” Whistler replied shortly. �śWe need to transit now!” Commander Brackett placed a hand on Whistler's shoulder, calming him as best he could. �śI think so too, Joe, but I believe we have time to do it right and double check your figures. We can loop around to wind up a bit further along and get a bit above the ecliptic, too. Keep a vector we can get into quickly though.” He caught both of them with his eyes. �śJoe, get us lined up, check it good, then keep a running prep of vectors for a quick transit if need be. Joyce, I want you to watch the screen closely. If a ship of any kind, Monkeyclaw or not, paints us, we'll transit out of here by the quickest route, regardless of direction. In the meantime, let's see what they do with the debris.” �śYes, sir. We'll be ready for transit in two hours.” Whistler knew when to shut up and take orders, even if he didn't agree with the Commander. He punched in figures, got a reading, and plugged those numbers into the computer segment that controlled thrust. Their bearing began edging very slightly counter-clockwise, following the line of space curvature from the primary's gravity well that was just right for setting up an emergency vector and a thrust toward the nearest acceptable star for quickest transit. He pulled up another screen that gave a rendition of the nearest stars�"the one where they were at present and that of the nearby cosmos. It changed slowly with their position. �śThat's good, Joe. Thank you, Joyce. XO, please take Mr. Shinzyki with you to the explorer bay and explain what's going on to the troops. Gather any of the crew that hasn't been tied into the control room and let them in on it, too. Both of you try to get a gestalt of their reactions and report back.” �śOn our way, Skipper,” Lisa Trammell said and departed, moving at a normal pace in the power-induced gravity in the boat. She was followed closely by the short, brawny Chief of Boat (COB) Rufus Shinzyki, who was a warrant officer. They were almost exactly the same height, but their appearance and personalities couldn't have been more different. Lisa Trammell had bright red hair worn long enough to reach below her shoulders when unfettered, a sprinkle of freckles across her nose and cheeks that made her appear much younger than she was. She had a figure women twenty years her junior envied. COB Shinzyki, on the other hand, was almost as broad as he was tall. His face was craggy enough to compete with a granite mountain, and there wasn't an ounce of fat on his body. Where Trammell's voice was a pleasant tenor, Shinzyki's resembled a bass drum that could talk. For all that, they got along fine and worked well together. �śHow about I give them the bad news, then let you see how well you can decorate it with pretty ornaments?” Lisa said as they exited the control room and stopped momentarily in the abbreviated lounge and officer's mess. When most of the boat and explorer officers were present it was very crowded. �śHell, XO, there isn't much I can say to make our situation easier, other than we managed to get away from those PX yahoos.” �śPX?” �śPsychopathic Xenophobes.” �śOh. Can't argue with you there, Chief. But yeah, that's a good start. And you can tell them we're going home.” The chief tried to hold it in, but a stifled laugh got past his restraint. �śWell, it's true, isn't it?” Lisa said virtuously. �śYeah, right. No problem, I'll just tell �Śem the beer is on me soon as we find a bar to stop at, somewhat more than a thousand light years from here if we could go in a straight line. In a longboat, no less. But I agree. We're heading for home. It'll be a goddamn triple miracle if we get there, though. Lead on, XO.” * * * * �śAttention all crew!” Jeremy turned away from the view window with a start and focused all his attention on the XO and COB standing near the front of the seating section. Now what? �śI regret to inform you that Sam Johnston has just been lost with all hands,” Lieutenant Commander Lisa Trammel announced in a firm voice, but it was heavy with emotion. �śConfirmation came after transit. We can see the signature of a debris field where normally the icon of our ship would have been. Ship astrogator Lieutenant Commander Chambers has joined our crew. She carried Captain Beauchamp's last order to us. It was simple and meant for all of us. She said �ŚGet them back home.’ That is what we intend to do. We are returning to Earth. It will be a long and arduous voyage, longer than any longboat was ever intended to make or ever has made. Much longer. Nevertheless, I feel confident that you will join me and the rest of Hurricane's crew in carrying out Captain Beauchamp's last order.” She paused for a moment as her voice choked. Having gathered herself, she continued. �śWe will get home. We will warn Earth and our other home worlds of the threat the Monkeyclaws present to our civilization and possibly to the very existence of humanity. In fact, we can do no less and still live up to the oath of the Explorer Corps: To go where none has gone before. Certainly no longboat has ever made such a voyage as we shall, but there is nothing to prevent us from doing it, except the failure of our own courage and integrity.” She nodded while her gaze scanned the length of filled seats, and then stepped back. �śCOB Shinzyki?” The burly Senior Warrant Officer took her place. He put his hands on his hips and glared for a moment before the lines in his face softened into an expression the explorers had seldom seen. �śAll right, people, I'll answer any questions I can, if you have any.” Jeremy had no desire to ask questions. After hearing a confirmation of his suspicion that the bright flash from behind the Jovian's rim was Sam Johnston being destroyed, he was busy running through his mind the number of times explorer longboats�"no, any longboat�"had made a hyperspace jump from star to star. He couldn't think of any, other than the test trials of the current model. It left him almost breathless just to think about making not just one jump, but dozens and dozens of them. Maybe hundreds. Sam Johnston was the first of a new class of exploration starships�"one able to travel over a hundred light years with a single jump�"and it had made many. They were a long way from Earth. �śI don't know how many stops we'll have to make,” Shinzyki said in answer to a question Jeremy hadn't heard while he was busy thinking, �śbut however many it takes, that's what we'll do. Next?” �śHow long will each stop be? Can you tell us that?” another explorer asked. Jeremy tracked the voice with his eyes. The question came from Jana Waters. She was with the Tiger squad. �śLong enough to fill back up on water and to process whatever organic material we find for food. Then there's maintenance. We'll have to be very careful there. Call it a week or more each time.” �śBut ... well, how long will it take us to get back to Earth?” the same woman asked. Her voice was insistent. Like most others, she wanted, needed even, a definite figure to plug into her mind. He suspected that there wasn't one�"not for a longboat, and not for a journey this far. Shinzyki shrugged elaborately. �śNow that, I can't tell you exactly. Neither can the XO. From what the astrogators say, it will be a long time, so I hope you brought some spare undies.” Waters slumped in her seat, looking discouraged. It quickly became apparent that none of the explorer officers and few of the chiefs were asking questions that couldn't be properly answered. It kept him from voicing any of his own. He didn't want to appear stupid. He was glad he had kept silent, as it became apparent that a voyage of this scope in a longboat was all unexplored territory, both literally and figuratively. Trammel glanced at her thumbnail timepiece and closed the meeting with a secret smile. She'd given the explorer crew a little time to adjust by being present to help confront their worst fears. Now it was time to get on with the real business. She and Shinzyki would have time to get back and be seated before the dizziness of transition hit them. �śConference call for all officers ten minutes after our next transition to hyper. There will be a briefing for the chiefs immediately afterward.” She allowed Shinzyki to lead the way back toward the bow of the boat. * * * * The transit had gone normally and Commander Brackett sat at the head of the table in the main officers’ lounge while thinking that �ślounge” was a very generous description for the conference table and chairs, a few more comfortable seats and a head where Hurricane's officers could gather when off duty. It did have five work stations, though. Small ones. And a tiny wet bar. �śI see everyone's here,” he said. �śLieutenant Wong, please tell COB Shinzyki to join us, then close the door.” �śYes, sir.” The Warrant Officer eased his bulk inside, being careful not to step on any toes. He took the last chair at the end of the table and propped his Reader in front of him as the others had. Brackett nodded to his COB as he entered and granted him a small smile. He and Shinzyki were the two oldest persons aboard. Rufus’ hair was still its original dark brown, but his own lighter brown had streaks of gray. It was more of a hereditary trait than a sign of age, though. He had taken the Everlife treatments, as most spacers did. It was not only a reward for the dangerous duty. It was almost a necessity, given the long years they would spend in space. Everlife gave more than just a long life. It enhanced the immune system, and its nannites kept the repair function of the body at its full potential. The major body systems such as muscles and nerves were programmed to work at top efficiency, and even the mind had its operations reoriented to keep in tune with the new body. Nevertheless, they were still human and still subject to all the foreign world ills and the probability of accidents that a long voyage presaged. �śAll right, let's get started,” he said. �śLet me introduce our newest crew member to those who don't know her�"Lt. Commander Joyce Chambers, formerly Sam Johnston's astrogator.” He went on to acquaint the officers with the situation which had brought her aboard, and then continued. �śFirst, I don't need to tell you what a hard task Captain Beauchamp set for us. I doubt that anything like this prospective voyage has ever been thought of, much less attempted. Even Captain Bligh's remarkable feat of navigation in a wet navy longboat after the Bounty mutiny in the eighteenth century pales in comparison. We have a very, very long way to go to Earth. �śOur voyage will entail several major considerations. First is the route we take. I know it won't be the same as the way we came here, given the limitations of a longboat, but I'll let the astrogators talk about that. Next in importance is maintaining the boat and its life support functions over the time period entailed. This will be crucial, because we no longer have Sam Johnston's machine shops and its spare supplies and facilities to help us, nor do we have its big fabricators. And finally we come to the social considerations. You all know that despite its utility and sophistication, our longboat was not designed, equipped nor supplied for interstellar voyages of any length. The most that was ever envisioned was perhaps one or two jumps in a dire emergency or a few weeks away from the mother ship while exploring a system. �śWhat this means is a long, long time of working and living together in close company. We shall have to maintain strict discipline and yet allow for the ... for human nature in our personal relationships.” Brackett purposely kept this part of his briefing vague. Better not to be pinned down on this, he thought. Some regulations would be violated sooner or later. It was up to him to make sure those violations didn't get out of hand and affect the boat's discipline. He wasn't even sure what he intended to do about the infringement he knew would take place eventually. Anyway, that could wait. He glanced toward Chambers, the astrogator from the ship. She might have to plan the overall voyage, even if it did mean stepping on Joe's toes. Or would it be? Sam Johnston was gone. Chambers was actually the next most senior person here. There had been a number of rather startled looks when the Explorer officers saw her. Joe might just have to live with ruffled feathers if it became necessary. He hoped not, because he wanted to keep Chambers out of the line of command for the time being. He was already thinking well ahead. �śI'd like to hear from our astrogators first. We need to map out a rough plot back to Earth or the nearest home world, whichever is closest. Joe?” Joe Whistler brought up a gactoview on the lounge screen. He colored in Earth's approximate location in the Orion Arm, or more accurately the Orion Spur, and did likewise with the area Sam Johnston had been exploring�"the first ship to go that far into it. He enlarged the view to only their present location, and then, with the concentration evident on his face, he mapped out a rough path among the nearby stars leading in a general direction toward Earth. He looked up and said, �śThat will let us continue in the direction we started from. We can work on a path farther along, as we need to.” Brackett glanced at Chambers and quickly saw her tightened lips. A mistake? He had only the astrogational capabilities he'd learned years ago which all officers on the exploration ships were required to know, so he wasn't sure. He did know that Joe wasn't an astrogation specialist like Chambers. He was simply a boat astrogator. His knowledge, too, was limited. He was expected to pilot a longboat only among the planets of star systems, not over such distances as faced them. Brackett shrugged mentally. If he'd made a mistake, it couldn't be let go. Not when their lives depended on it. �śJoyce?” She rubbed her chin and then twisted her body around and looked at Joe. She nodded her head in the direction of the screen. �śMay I?” �śGo ahead.” Whistler said. He folded his arms over his chest in a protective manner. She had already interfaced her body comp with the boat's computer. She tapped her forearm, and then used vocal instructions for the most part to obtain a larger view. �śLieutenant Whistler, your map is well done, but I don't think we should head directly toward Earth.” �śWhy not?” His tone of voice projected a challenge. �śWell, as I said, it's a good map and good work without using a table, but you have us heading directly toward Earth on as near a straight line as possible. What if the aliens are able to follow us?” �śHow could they? We sure as hell couldn't unless we were following the exact same vector of another ship.” �śI don't know, but I've read some theory that says it might be possible to pick up traces of ships after transit. I think we should head inward but at a large angle from Sol, and then turn the corner, so to speak, back toward Earth when we're on a line across the arm from it.” �śBut ... that would add ... damn, it that would add damn near a year, and it's going to take us two years as is! We can't do that!” �śWe have to, Joe,” she said quietly. Brackett interrupted. �śJoyce, if you knew that, why did you let us start in the direction he's got plotted?” She shrugged. �śOne jump won't make that much of a difference. I didn't want to get in the way while we were running from the Monkeyclaws. Anyway, it's what we should to do. After seeing the Monkeyclaws in action, I'm certain of that much.” �śJoe?” The boat astronomer brought up his map again and studied where he'd ended it, but this time with the whole Orion Spur in the view. He enlarged and traced out the path she'd mentioned without trying to zoom in and pick out individual stars. �śSkipper, it's just too far that way. I don't think we should try it. I vote for the straightest shot and take our chances.” �śI think we should try it,” Brackett said mildly. Whistler's face reddened. �śAll right, but we can use my map to start with. We'll turn toward galactic center before we get to the edge of the spur.” Brackett shook his head before Chambers could. �śNo, we don't want even to start to go that way, just in case the Monkeys have the means to follow. Until we're pretty sure they aren't on our tail, I don't want to give them even a hint of a direction. I have no idea of their technology, other than what we learned when they killed our scouts and Shannon and Sam Johnston. I don't want Earth to find out the hard way, though.” Whistler conceded. �śYou're right, Skipper. We'll fix up a new map for you.” �śGood. You two can work on it after the conference. Let's move on.” He turned to the engineering officer. �śTerrell, how well are we fixed for spare parts?” �śPretty good so far as small boat parts go, Skipper,” Lieutenant Terrell Lee Wong told him, �śbut...” He spread his hands. �śThat tells me you'd better take good care of the power plant and the thrusters, huh?” �śAbsolutely, sir. Actually, the power plant and thrusters should do us fine. It's the environmental machinery I'm worried about. A boat wasn't meant to be lived in for so long. We've got two small fabricators, but we're short on rare elements and minerals.” �śI agree, but we'll manage. Lisa, you get with Terrell and Rufus afterward and set up a minimum use of our environmental equipment consistent with sanitation and such. No showers, for instance, unless we're down on a planet with plenty of water. You know what I mean.” �śYes, sir, we'll do it,” Lisa said. �śFine. And that brings us to the fun part. Do we have a sociologist among our crew or anything close to it?” �śWhat do we need with a sociologist?” Exploration Officer (EO) Gary Cantrell of the Coyote squad asked. �śTo keep us sane, Mr. Cantrell,” Brackett said. �śI don't want any others of the crew to realize just how long this voyage is going to take, but they're going to know it will be a long time. Anything we can do to keep them working together without friction will be an enormous help.” He didn't think he should have to explain that, but many of the explorers were lost when they got outside their specialty and backup specialties. Only the best of them were promoted into longboat or starship officer positions. When he still saw puzzlement on some faces he knew he needed to speak more directly. �śThink of it this way. When we had Sam Johnston, there were lots of opportunities for privacy and um, intimate relationships. What happens here? We can't turn off human nature. Sex is going to rear its head and we don't have a mother ship with a much larger population for outlets. In time, some of it is going to be inappropriate, between ratings and chiefs or officers. I don't want any of you forbidding it, but I also don't want any of it being flaunted. In other words, I don't want there to be a bunch of hoorahs over who's sleeping with whom, but I damn sure don't want to see those relationships affecting the efficiency and morale of the boat, either. Speak to your chiefs, and make sure they're aware that they must walk softly while still maintaining discipline. And sex is just one aspect of living so closely together. There will be conflicts of personalities. When we were in the big ship, the ones involved could separate themselves. Now it's you and your chiefs who'll have to do the separating. Am I making myself clear now?” He gazed around the table, eyeing each officer in turn and getting nods or subdued �śYes, sir,” and �śAye, aye, sir” in return. �śAny more questions?” There were none. Brackett returned to his tiny cabin. Now that he had everyone else thinking about his or her situation, he could take some time to think over what he and Joyce were going to do. He had been spending some of his off-duty time with her and lately, had spent a few nights in her cabin in Sam Johnston. What were they going to do now? Should he allow their relationship to continue, especially since some of the crew were already aware of it? He knew that whatever he did, his behavior would set the standard for everyone else. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Four There was no dining room as such on the longboat. It had been designed so that its crew would subsist on ration packs prepared by the ship's mess for a couple of weeks or the variously flavored food blocks turned out by the longboat's recycler. Jeremy had been surprised to learn that Hurricane Jack carried a two month supply of space rations, or spacerats, as they were called. He had heard of them, naturally, but had eaten them only in school as part of his training, and a few times on this voyage as a means of rotating stock. Now he was in one of the spaces where the little scout ship had lived before its destruction, helping to transfer spacerats, supplies and gear from adjacent storage alcoves in order to use the freed space for another little dayroom. It would be in addition to the one the enlisted explorers already had, giving them some more much needed room for off duty mingling. �śIt's nice to know we've got a reserve food supply,” he said to Marvin Bullock, a tall brown man and an E2, one rank lower than himself. �śI hope we don't ever have to live on spacerats for more than a day or two, though.” He grunted as he stacked one case of the rations on top of another on a dolly. The concentrates were heavy. �śYeah. Guess it depends on how long it takes to get back home,” Marvin answered. �śI'm hearing like two or three years.” Jeremy looked over at Spacer three (S3) Juanita Martinez, who was in charge of the storeroom detail. �śIs that right, �ŚNita?” He thought she might know more than Marvin. Spacers generally had less education and hung out more with the ship's crew than with the tight-knit explorer squads. They also advanced in rank through the mother ship's personnel policies, although if they were ambitious enough, they could study during voyages and eventually become explorers with only minimal time at the academy. Many tried it, because explorer pay was higher. He wondered how she felt about living with explorers for a great length of time rather than in the big ship with other spacers as she had been. He knew this situation must be quite a change for her. �śNo telling,” Juanita said and shrugged. �śIt took us eighteen months to get to where we are. Johnston could have gotten home a lot sooner, but we can't jump very far at a time and we're not going back the same way, so every new jump will have to be calculated.” �śWhat does that have to do with it? It's the same distance both ways, even if we can't jump as far at one time.” He took the opportunity the conversation gave to sit down on a cargo blanket draped over stored rations and examine the space more thoroughly. It's shaping up, he thought. Where possible, supplies had been stacked in higher piles and secured with wall brackets. Other material, like chemicals for the recycler, had been moved out and stored in another little nook that wasn't being used. He could see that once the rearrangement was finished there would be room for an improvised couch plus a few chairs and tables and several alcoves for gaming, study and simulations. It would be kind of nice to have two dayrooms and be able to leave one and go to the other if the people in the first didn't suit him, especially if they were going to be spending two years in such cramped quarters. Juanita shook a lock of her glossy, dark brown hair from her forehead and sat down beside him. He scrunched over to give her room�"not that he would really mind getting closer. She was a lot of cuteness in a small package. �śIt makes a lot of difference, Jeremy. You just said it. A longboat can't jump as far as a ship. Not nearly. We might have to go way out of the way to find stars we can make it to, going back. And besides, not being able to jump as far at a time as the big ships means we'll take longer to get back regardless, because we'll have to stop more often. See?” He nodded unhappily. �śYeah, I guess. Damn. What else do you know, �ŚNita?” Before she could answer, another person entered the room: the leader of the Coyote squad, EO Gary Cantrell, his immediate superior officer. He was accompanied by the Coyote Explorer Chief Casey Dugan who, with her blonde pigtails, looked even more like a college coed when standing next to the officer. Cantrell was a big dark-haired Irishman with a long career in the Exploration Corps, beginning at the lowest rank, as all explorers did. �śCosta, the Skipper and the astrogators want to see you. Get your top back on and come with us,” Casey said. �śHave you got your Reader with you, Costa?” Cantrell asked as he stood up. �śYes, sir. I carry it most of the time, so when I get a break, I can study.” �śGood man,” the officer remarked. �śNow let's go.” Jeremy was apprehensive. He had no idea what Commander Brackett could want with him and certainly not why an astrogator would be interested. He couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong lately�"or anything at all that might have drawn their attention. Surely no one was going to say anything about his sleeping with Siegfrer. She might be in the same squad and technically be his superior, but she was only one rank higher, and no one had seemed to mind up until now. Besides, she had already moved on, as she had told him she would to begin with. She was with Tiny Smith from the Tiger squad now. He followed the officer and chief out of the prospective new dayroom space, and then trailed behind them along the passageway separating the acceleration seats where added supplies were stacked willy-nilly, having been thrown into the boat before its launching from Sam Johnston. The seating compartments were on the middle of the three decks, not counting the gravity drive, impellers, topside thrusters and capacitors riding flush above the top deck and the upper and lower thrusters. Alternate impellers and converters rode equally flush along the keel. It was all familiar to him, but now he began looking at the boat as something other than a transportation vehicle from the starship to planets where the real exploring took place. The boat was going to be home for a long time, as was evident from the work he had been doing and tasks he saw other spacers and explorers were busy with in the boat. One crew was dismantling and folding some of the seats to make more room for living. He hoped he wouldn't be one of the unfortunates who would be left without seats and have to be closely stacked in a cargo bay and tractored into immobility during maneuvers, but he suspected he would, given his low rank. Below the deck they were on, running almost half the length of the boat, were little cabins that were lived in when the longboat was down on a surface. They weren't big, but they did have the virtue of offering a place to sleep and some privacy, albeit meager for the lower ranks. A cabin contained a narrow bunk, sink, fold-up seats and table and a bare minimum of storage space for personal gear. The spacer and explorer chiefs had marginally larger cabins farther forward, while the officers each had slightly bigger ones even closer to the control room one deck above. Commander Brackett and the XO had larger ones still. Where the cabins ended, more cargo bays began. Above the middle deck and running almost the length of the boat were other cargo bays, connections, and access spaces to the gravity drive impellers, capacitors, thrusters and compensators riding above it. The top deck also held the environmental machinery and the supplies that kept the air fresh and recycled human waste products. In addition, that deck also contained reaction mass, one of their two water reservoirs and one of the power cores. Almost everything in or on the longboat was duplicated in case of failure, including the explorers. There were at least two explorers for each major specialty, and for some there were three. His own specialties were xenomicrobiology and astronomy. The three of them entered officer country, where Cantrell halted. �śChief, I'll take him from here, but you may as well go ahead and join Mr. Shinzyki now. He's going to be calling a Chiefs meeting in a minute or two.” �śAll right, sir.” Beckoning, Cantrell led Jeremy past the officers’ dayroom, and then stopped at the Commander's office. He tabbed the door and pulled it open when he was told to enter. �śSkipper, I have Costa with me.” �śFine. Bring him on in.” �śCome on, Costa,” Cantrell ordered. To his surprise, Jeremy saw another enlisted person, E4 Jan Waters from the Tiger squad, sitting in a chair in front of the commander's desk. She kept her black hair cut short and was plain-faced but had a friendly personality. Almost everyone liked her. Sitting beside her was the pretty blond astrogator he had run into when vacating Sam Johnston on the day she was destroyed. He remembered clutching her breast when they collided during the hurried exodus before launch, and wondered if she carried a grudge over the accident. �śSit down, Costa. And before you ask, you're not in trouble. You're just going to have some new duties.” �śWhat sort of duties, sir?” he eyed Brackett warily but noted that Waters didn't seem to be upset. He relaxed slightly and then more so as the Commander answered. �śCosta, in case you haven't met, the woman here is Lieutenant Commander Joyce Chambers, astrogator from Sam Johnston.” �śCosta and I have met, Skipper,” Joyce said and winked at Jeremy. �śWe collided by a drop shaft during the rush to man the boat.” Jeremy blushed, remembering the way his hand had landed squarely on her breast when he ran into her, and the way he had squeezed it involuntarily. �śGood, I guess. Now to business. Costa, I understand your subspecialty is in astronomy. How good at it are you?” �śWell ... I can't say that I'm a real astronomer, sir, and I don't have the math yet to understand some of the more esoteric aspects, but I know how to use the scopes here on the boat and how to take measurements with the spectrograph and other instruments. I don't know much astrogation yet. I'm just getting into it, and the xenomicrobiology has to take first place. Our lives depend on that and...” his voice trailed off as he realized he might be dramatizing his work more than was justified. �śThat's not putting it too finely, I suppose, but being able to find our way home is equally dependent on the talents of our astrogators. Which is the reason why you and Waters are here.” He folded his hands together and propped his chin on them. �śI want you both to begin spending an extra hour or two a day studying astrogation under Lieutenant Commander Chambers or Lieutenant Whistler, our regular astrogaor.” Jeremy exchanged glances with Jana and saw that she was as surprised as he was. �śQuestions?” Since Jana didn't appear willing to speak, Jeremy decided to do so. �śSir, I'm all for learning. I'm just curious about why.” �śIsn't it obvious? Sam Johnston had five or six astrogators. There were plenty of replacements in case something happened to one of them. Here we have exactly two, and Lieutenant commander Chambers is here simply by our good fortune. And hers, I suppose,” he added with a chuckle. �śYou know what the casualty rate is among explorers. Ordinarily, we would have been heading home in Sam Johnston soon and been there within a few months. Now ... we have a long way to go and a lot of stops. If both astrogaters happened to be ... lost, shall we say ... we'd be out of luck. That's why I want both of you two to begin training. Not to put too fine a point on it, but both of you are going to be backups to Lieutenant Whistler and Lieutenant Commander Chambers.” �śYes, sir. When do we start?” �śI'll let the astrogators set up the classes. You'll be notified. Costa, you'll work primarily with Lieutenant Commander Chambers. Waters, you'll be assigned to Lieutenant Whistler.” Jeremy nodded, glad he'd drawn the pretty astrogator, if for no other reason than she was nice to look at and his limited experience with her made him think she would be easy to get along with. The way she smiled at him had something to do with it, too. �śThere's one more thing. When you begin practicing with the boat's instruments, you'll be in the control room and in company with most of our officers at one time or another. You may overhear conversations that aren't meant for the rest of the crew. I'm giving you an order right now: do not, do not repeat anything you hear to your crewmates. Is that clearly understood?” �śYes, sir!” Jeremy exclaimed in unison with Jana. The way the Skipper was looking at him, he decided he'd rather be keelhauled in vacuum than ever let slip what he might overhear. �śFine. That will be all for now. The astrogators will be in touch with you. Dismissed.” Jeremy walked back toward the detail he'd been on with Jana. He was pretty much speechless while thinking over what he'd been told and remembering the grim expressions on the face of the officers. They must feel as overwhelmed as he did about the prospects of getting home, he decided, but they seemed determined to be about it. And while they appeared to be very serious, not one of them looked scared. It gave him hope that they really might make it back to Earth. The new duty sounded good, too. It would be exciting to be in the control room among the officers and see how things were done there. Working with the pretty astrogator ought to be nice, too. She seemed to be a friendly sort�"not like some officers. Lieutenant Whistler, the other astrogator, came to mind. Every time he saw Whistler, the man looked as if he was mad at the world. He felt his spirits soar. Even with only a longboat, it didn't seem possible that he would never see Earth again, as some of the crew were saying. They weren't doomed. One way or another, they would make it home. * * * * �śLook over the schematics on your Readers while the coffee brews,” COB Rufus Shinzyki said to the gathered Chiefs in their dayroom. While he was a Warrant Officer of long standing, he continued to be called Chief and sometimes to function as one. �śThat's how me and the Skipper and Lieutenant Wong figure we'll get the best use of our space over the time period we're looking at before we get back to Earth or one of the other home worlds.” He scanned the room to be sure everyone was present while the assembled Chiefs examined the prospective rearrangements of the interior of Hurricane Jack. Some of them were already under way, but others were still being considered. When the coffee was ready and cups had been filled, he projected a cutaway image of the three main decks of Hurricane Jack, splitting the screen to show top and side views of each. The schematics appeared as a life-like holograph with the temporarily unadorned wall of the Chiefs’ day room for background contrast. The coffee pot had steamed the manufactured beans and condensed the vapor in record time. It now collected the residue and shuttled it back into a waste collector for recyling. It was a power hog, but if there was one thing spaceships and longboats had in excess, it was power�"so long as they had water to break down into hydrogen. �śWhat's this space here going to be used for?” Sehai Hindhi, Chief of the Dragon Squad, asked. �śIt hasn't got anything in it.” He touched the image of that part of the boat with a light pointer and then zoomed in to show exactly what he meant. �śIt will, eventually,” Shinzyki said. �śRight now, I'm proposing to use it for storage of more food, if we can manage to rig up a cooling unit.” �śYou're thinking there'll be need?” Juan Martin asked. He was chief of the Tiger Squad. He was a small man, but there was nothing feminine about him except for his liquid brown eyes. �śPossibly. It would let us make fewer trips dirtside. The Skipper says we can also use it as a brig if we have to. We could move the food out pretty easily, or maybe just make half of it into a cooler and use the other half for a brig.” �śA brig? You think we'll need one?” �śI hope not, but the Skipper reminded me again that this kind of trip in a longboat has never been attempted. There are going to be conflicts among our people sooner or later, and we'll have to have a place to let some of the hotheads cool off.” Before the silence could grow, he spoke again. �śLook, I don't want to see anyone brigged, but that's part of what this meeting is about. We're crowded as a can of sardines. It didn't matter when we had a big ship to sleep and work in, but it does now. We need to plan for the long term and give the officers our recommendations on everything from food distribution to how we plan on handling wear and tear on the boat.” �śThere's sure to be a lot of that,” Casey Dugan said. �śAnd only one fabricator working. It's gonna be tough, keeping everything going for so long.” �śLieutenant Wong says he may be able to do something about the other fabricator eventually, but don't count on it soon. He's printing some circuits to bypass the defective shunt, but in the meantime I want each of you to impress on your people how important it's going to be to report any wear they see or anything they notice not working to specs. Even the smallest variation needs to be called to the attention of me and Lieutenant Wong and his crew. I know maintenance is ordinarily the job of the boat crew, but you explorers are going to have to help now. Impress on your troops that spare parts are limited, our only working fabricator is small, and we're a long, long way from home.” �śI take it that also means don't throw anything away, either,” Casey said. She played with the end of one of the braids of her blond hair, sifting the strands through her fingers as if looking for a bothersome tangle. �śRight. Nothing, not even a broken nail file. We don't have that big a store of chemicals and elements to draw on to feed the recycler and fabricator, and you all know that some of the systems we'll likely stop at won't have anything close to compatible life.” Juan Martin looked down at his Reader and projected an image of �śCabin Row” for all to see. It ran half the length of the bottom deck of the ship, referred to as Lodeck, one word, just as the others were called Mideck and Topdeck. �śWe've got over a dozen vacant cabins from when we lost that fire team on Snyder's World and from when our guys in the scout were lost. Can we use them for something?” �śYup. Anybody got ideas here?” Shinzyki was glad to see them thinking. He intended to get everyone on the boat, spacers and explorers, officers, chiefs and enlisted all working together and concentrating on making the best home possible of the boat. He wanted them to be aware all the time of how dependent they were on Hurricane Jack and its efficient operation. The boat's name came from way back in history, so the story went, of a man who had survived a hurricane and had been buried in rubble for three weeks. The man had obviously been a survivor. Right now, Shinzyki was glad his boat had taken the name. If ever a boat needed to survive, Hurricane Jack did. �śHow about a game room or a gym?” Casey suggested. Shinzyki grinned. �śI'd bet on a gym if you made the decision, Casey.” Everyone knew how much she had worked out in the ship with exercise equipment and with sparring partners to keep up her advanced rating in hand-to-hand combat. She sparred with Juanita Martinez and one of the officers. Her expertise was one of the many reasons that not many people mentioned bedroom eyes to her face. �śWhat's wrong with a gym? We're all gonna get soft staying in the boat for so long if we don't exercise,” she replied. �śI agree, we need a gym,” he said, �śbut it would be sort of noisy being in cabin row, wouldn't it?” �śThere're other kinds of noises that go on there already, Chief.” Everyone laughed. The cabin walls weren't that well insulated, and couples had been known to use them for more than sleeping when the boat was down on a planet for more than a couple of days. �śYeah, and there'll be lots more of them now, Casey. Still, you had a good idea. How about it, the rest of you?” �śYou said something about a game room, Casey. Did you mean physical games or virtual?” �śHmmm ... either one. Both. Chances are we'll have room for both game rooms and a big gym before it's over with.” She didn't have to say anything else. Exploration was an inherently dangerous job, and new planets had almost infinite ways to kill, with or without warning. �śOkay, but right now?” �śHow about we alternate until we can shake loose more room?” Martin suggested. �śBesides, Casey doesn't have any of the exercise machines like there were in the ship.” �śCan we ... no, scratch that. Do we have the materials to fabricate some equipment, Chief?” Casey asked. �śMaybe. How about you drawing up plans for something simple and easy to tear down and set up? Something not too advanced so everyone can use it.” She grinned. �śI can probably do better than that. I suspect there are some diagrams in my Reader I can copy from.” �śOnly Casey would carry around schematics of exercise machines in her Reader!” Hindhi said with a sly smile. She raised a brow. �śShall we look in your Reader and see what you have in it?” His face reddened but he laughed. �śPoint.” �śOkay, that's done for now,” Shinzyki ruled. �śWe'll alternate at first, and then make a separate gym and game room later. You'll have to draw up a schedule for your people so everyone doesn't crowd in at once, but Casey has the right idea. We're going to need to exercise. I want you to monitor your troops and see that everyone gets a basic minimum. We'll rotate the squads. Coyote first, Dragon second, Tiger last. Let's move on.” He ranged the table with his gaze, wanting to draw them out further. They were off to a good start. �śHow about cross-training? Seems like this would be a good opportunity for those wanting to expand their minds,” Hindhi said. He smoothed his thin mustache with a thumb and finger. �śIt would keep them occupied, too.” �śGood point. Check around and find out who's willing to teach and we'll set up classes, but try to concentrate on the subjects we're likely to need most. Bear in mind the extra time we're going to spend on maintenance.” �śWhich ones, Chief?” Casey asked innocently. Shinzyki opened his mouth, and then closed it without speaking. It wasn't from being referred to as Chief instead of Mister, the correct honorific since he was a Warrant Officer. Everyone called him Chief, even the Skipper. He heard a chuckle that spread around the table. �śGood question, huh?” �śYeah, you pronged me, Casey.” There had been an ongoing debate for years on what was the most important specialty in the business of exploration and survival but never a consensus. �śAnyway, what used to be the most important when we were in the ship might not be when all we have is a longboat. Let's talk about it. Which specialties are the most important now? Anyone?” �śMicrobiology.” �śAstrogation.” �śNanotechnology.” �śWeapons.” �śMacrobiology.” �śEngineering.” Shinsyki held up his hands wand waved them. �śHold it, hold it. Hell, we all know the specialties. Let's concentrate on the boat. If it falls to pieces, we're all dead. What's the most important there?” �śEngineering, then.” �śMaterials science.” �śAstrogation. We still have to find our way home.” �śForget astrogation. The Skipper's got that covered already. It was the first thing he thought of. He's got Costa and Waters banging their Readers with the astrogators.” �śMedicine. What if we catch a plague or one of our own bugs mutates and our nannites don't work on it?” �śGood thought,” Shinzyki agreed, �śalthough that doesn't happen very often. Too bad we didn't get the surgeon aboard, but that doesn't help us now. Are any of your people into medicine at all?” �śJerry Simpson has a med specialty as his secondary, and I think Mister Dumas had a med specialty before she got the Dragon squad,” Chief Hindhi said. �śI think Simpson's is just emergency medicine. I don't know about Mr. Dumas. �śFind out how much medical literature we have in our computer and get Simpson lined up for a lot of study. I'll speak to Erica�"to Mister Dumas�"and see how far she went before taking over a squad. I think she'll probably agree to start refresher training.” All the explorer officers were called Mister and answered to as sir regardless of gender. �śThanks, Hindhi. You people are thinking now.” �śI've been working with nanotech some on this trip, Chief. Maybe I could help Mr. Wong with his repairs of the other fabricator.” �śHe could use some help. If you get it working, ask him to make us some Jamaica Blue Ridge coffee instead of this stuff.” �śI can always ask.” Everyone knew Shinzyki was joking about his coffee�"or thought he was. �śOkay, what next?” �śWhat are we going to do about laundry, Chief?” Casey asked. �śOur cammies are pretty well self cleaning, but that doesn't cover socks and underwear. I can smell Sehai's right through the cabin wall.” She grinned at him. �śThat's nothing compared to Juan's so-called deodorant. That stuff would run a rat out of a cabin.” Shinzyki let them banter for a moment, before rapping his knuckles on the table. �śI'll speak to Lieutenant Wong and see how much water we can spare. In the meantime, air your things out in a cargo bay. We've only got a few days until we come out of hyper. If we're lucky, we'll find a place with enough water to bathe and wash clothes. What else?” �śHow about promotions?” Casey asked. �śSam Johnston sure as hell can't approve them now, and longboat officers aren't authorized.” �śNow that's one I hadn't thought of,” Shinzyki admitted. �śPromotions are a morale factor, too. Suggestions?” �śHow about recommending to the Skipper that he allow brevet promotions?” Dumas said. �śOnce we're back, I'd bet that headquarters will approve them.” Nods greeted his proposal, and Shinzyki added it to his notes. He glanced at his watch. �śWe've been at this long enough for now. It's a good start though, so let's plan on a weekly get together, same day and same time unless you hear different or we're dirtside. Any last questions, comments?” �śYes,” Casey said, fingering a braid. �śWhen you talk to Lieutenant Wong, ask about fabricating some shampoo if he turns loose some water. Otherwise I'll have to cut my hair.” �śI'll try,” Shinzyki said, keeping his expression perfectly neutral. He and Casey had known each other for years, and when they'd both been Chiefs they had become rather close. They hadn't slept together, but their friendship had been trending that way, until he had finally been forced to take a promotion from Master Chief to Warrant. Theoretically, that put them off limits to each other. They had reluctantly decided to end their affair before it had really begun, but now ... hell, they were going to be living practically in each other's lap for two years and probably more. He didn't know how they were going to handle the relationship, but he was smart enough to know that it was likely to become a problem. She caught his eye as the chiefs filed out of the room, and he winked at her. It made him even more uncomfortable about what their future held. Goddamn bastard Monkeyclaws. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Five �śJoyce, it just about has to be this way. You and I can't sleep openly with each other. It would set a bad example and hurt discipline.” Brackett folded his hands nervously, dropped them to his side, and clasped them behind his back as he stood up and began to pace in such room as was available in his cabin. It limited him to three steps forward and three back. �śMarlin, please sit back down,” Joyce said after watching him a moment. He stopped and looked at her, shrugged, and took the seat behind his desk in order to keep some distance between them. �śThat won't help,” she said, smiling crookedly. �śI can still see you.” �śBut you can't touch me. Joyce ... oh, hell. When this started, it was perfectly all right. Now it isn't. What else can I say?” �śYou could tell me ... no. Never mind. You're right, but that still doesn't make me like it. And two years is a hell of a long time.” �śIt's only until we get back home, but yeah. Long time to do without. How about we table it for now and see how the crew shapes up under the conditions we have? It could be we could manage something in the future, but don't you agree that we shouldn't be that close right now?” �śDon't try softening it. If�"when�"we get back, we probably won't be assigned to the same ship again, so we won't be able to pick back up where we left off, and you know it. However, I agree with you�"for now. How about we give it six months and see where we are? It's possible the attraction won't seem quite so important after awhile.” �śSuits,” he agreed, too quickly, he thought. �śAnd I'm sorry, damn it,” he said. �śI am, too.” She stood up. �śAnd I've been in here alone with you too long as is. You're a good man, Marlin. The crew is lucky to have you. If anyone can get us back home, you can.” She looked wistfully at him for a moment, then abruptly turned and left his cabin. Brackett sat at his desk staring into space for a long time. Finally he sighed and stood up. He left his cabin and went directly to the control room while trying to put his normally placid expression back on his face. And that's one more decision out of the way, he thought sadly. The first of many I'll have to make that I won't like, before this is over. Just like it's up to me now instead of Beauchamp, when we come out of hyper near the star we're heading for in such a hurry. He hoped it would have a good planet orbiting it. It would be nice to get the long journey off to a good start. * * * * Lisa Trammell sat brushing her bright red hair in her cabin. She almost regretted having accepted the promotion to executive officer of Hurricane Jack now. If they managed to get back home�"something she had her doubts about�"it would look good on her resume. Executive officer on the longest interstellar journey ever made by a longboat would be enough to get her a command of her own. It only compounded the problem she faced now, though. She missed John. They hadn't been in love, but she had liked him well enough to spend a good deal of off-duty time in his cabin back aboard Sam Johnston. She understood herself well enough to know that his memory would fade and that she would begin thinking of other men�"in a longboat where every single one of them were off limits. It wasn't in her nature to go a long time without sex. Not that she thought of herself as promiscuous, but neither did she like to sleep alone. Just the thought of an empty bed for two or three years was more depressing than she'd ever imagined. Having put away the brush and dabbed her fingers to her tongue, she rubbed at the spray of freckles running across the bridge of her nose and speckling her cheeks. They obstinately refused to vanish. She stuck out her tongue at her reflection. Time to go and see Justin Lake, Commander of the explorers, and tell him the Skipper had approved his recommendation. He wanted the Coyote Squad for the first excursion, if a fit planet was found when they came out of hyperspace. She agreed with him. The Coyotes were the best of the three squads, and Gary Cantrell, their leader, was an impressive officer. She and Justin both wanted them to set the standard for all the subsequent landings they would face. She left her cabin and climbed the ladder to Mideck while holding to the hand rails as safety regulations prescribed. Her cabin was in officers’ country, so she had to take only a few steps to the dayroom, where she found Justin and Shirley Muser, his assistant commander. She was impressive, too, with her emerald-green eyes set in a dark-skinned face of mixed ancestry. They were dressed identically in cammies, but Justin wore the three pips of an explorer commander on his collar while Shirley sported the two of an assistant. She drew a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with them. �śHello, Lisa,” Justin greeted her informally, since neither of them was officially on duty. �śHi, Justin, hello, Shirley. Any last thoughts on the Coyotes?” �śNo, they're good to go. All I need to do is tell Cantrell and Dugan to pick the first team. Has the Old Man given the okay?” �śYup. He has. You can tell the squad to get ready and put the first team on alert, as soon as you have their names.” �śGood deal. When do we land?” Lisa grinned and shook her head. �śDamn it, Justin, you know I can't tell you that. We drop from hyper in about six hours, but when and if we land depends on what we find. If anything. You do realize we left in sort of a hurry, don't you?” �śUmm. Yeah. And I guess you don't have any charts to guide you this far from home, do you?” His strong Caucasian features were the reddish blond of Nordic ancestors, and his physique could well have derived from a Viking warrior. �śYou mean whether we can expect planets or not? Sorry, no. Oh, astronomers usually do know if a system has planets or not. They've been looking for two centuries or more with various techniques and have mapped a lot of the stars in the Orion arm, but not even close to all, by any means. And very few have been checked for what sort of planetary system they might have, if any. Too many stars, not enough telescopes of the kind that do survey work. Unfortunately, we don't have that data in the boat, either. And I guess you know that since we didn't get the astronomy download from Johnston in time, we'll also have to do a lot more calculations for each jump.” �śYou're full of good news.” �śI agree. It would have saved a lot of time and trouble if we had, but wishes won't change reality.” �śUnfortunately,” Shirley Muser said. Lisa smiled at her. She liked the assistant explorer commander. She was very quiet but knew her job well. Justin looked pensive for a moment. �śI wonder if anything like this has happened before.” �śCould be,” Lisa said. �śLots of ships have gone missing for no good reason, but I've never heard of a longboat trying anything like what we're doing. Sometimes I think we should go slower with our expansion, so we'd have a military ship near enough to try finding out the reason when ships don't come back.” �śThat's not going to happen soon,” Justin said. �śThere's too much pressure back home to open new planets for settlement. We're barely staying ahead of the pioneering wave as is.” �śWhich is why we're way out here. The Union wants to appropriate some good territory in advance, I think.” �śWhy?” Shirley asked. �śHmm? Oh, any number of reasons. There's no impetus to build a strong space fleet right now, but someone's been thinking ahead. They want to have a number of systems lined up in advance that would make good outposts for the military when the time comes, if it does. And far enough out to provide a trip line if the Union is ever attacked.” �śWhat for?” �śFor time to get some defenses in order when we finally meet another species that wants the same type of real estate we do. Like the Monkeyclaws, for instance, although I don't think they're after territory so much as extermination.” �śShe's right, Shirley,” Justin said. �śSome of my family is part of the opposition back home. They don't have a lot of funding right now, but what they do have, they're using wisely. Good thing, too. Those damn Monkyclaws may be xenophobes, but there's nothing wrong with their technology. Which means we'd better hope we make it back home and give them warning.” �śAnd not be followed,” Lisa added. �śHow could they follow us in hyperspace?” She shrugged. �śI don't know. And I hope they can't, but that doesn't mean much. If the history of science means anything, then once we visualize something, sooner or later some bright young geniuses will find a way to do it.” * * * * �śAn auspicious start,” Commander Brackett said as Lisa focused in on the planet chosen for replenishing supplies and letting the crew out of the ship for a time. It had an atmosphere similar to earth, indicative of the existence of both flora and fauna or something that functioned as such, and an abundance of lakes and small oceans. Water in the form of either ice or liquid would do for reactor mass, but liquids were much easier to work with during the process of topping off the tanks. Liquid water also gave the crew a chance to bathe thoroughly rather than use cleaning cloths. Water also didn't take up as much time as ice, since it didn't have to be melted first. Of course there was no way yet of knowing whether the air was breathable or whether the life forms were inimical or not, but the planet did look good. �śNo sign of advanced technology either, is there, Rayne?” Whistler said to the operations officer. �śNothing I'm picking up, anyway,” Lieutenant Medford said. As Operations Officer of the boat she usually handled communications, and she was scanning every wave length that a technical-minded species might use for sending messages. She was also looking for any of the byproducts of machinery functioning in some manner, such as particles from power plants. �śPick us a spot, XO,” Brackett ordered. �śA lake would be good, if you can find a spot by one to that looks defensible.” Lisa scanned the terrain while the longboat drifted in antigravity mode. Presently she focused in on a good-sized lake with a perceptible shoreline backed by a number of sparsely vegetated hillocks that blended into more luxuriant growth farther away. She dropped an icon over a spot. �śThis looks good, Skipper.” �śTake us down COB,” Brackett said. �śWhen you land, orient the boat for a quick departure if necessary.” �śAye, aye, sir,” Shinzyki said. He sat in the acceleration chair next to the commander's, his big hands playing a delicate, barely audible tune with the controls. A very discerning ear might judge progress, altitude and orientation of the boat from the melodious refrain as he eased it toward the lake with a gentle touch on the thrusters combined with a gradual lessening of gravity. Five minutes later, the boat touched down on its landing jacks with a barely discernible bump. All four landing lights blinked green. �śHurricane Jack is down, sir. Thrusters off. Planetary gravity.” �śVery good, COB. XO, tell the landing party it's their show now. COB, detail a working party to handle the probes and filters for the water. Mister Lake tells me the Tigers are the work detail, this stop, and Dragons in reserve. Let's get our tanks topped off as soon as the Coyotes tell us it's safe.” �śAye, aye, sir,” Shinzyki said. He started from the control room. �śXO, go with the Chief, and as soon as he's gotten the first working party ready to go, have him line up another detail to get the compressors on line to feed the recyclers with organics if the Coyotes tell us it's compatible. If they give it a downcheck, have Mister Cantrell and Chief Dugan report to me.” �śYes, sir. On my way.” Brackett followed her trim form with his gaze as she departed behind Shinzyki. She was probably the best looking woman on the boat, assuming that a man liked redheads with freckles, which he definitely did. But blondes were fine, too. He gave himself a mental rebuke and turned from her departing form to the view window. It really was a good-looking planet. The large lake had a few ripples on it from a light breeze, but that was the only movement. There was no tide. He thought the beach must have been formed by seasonal winds or some other natural phenomena. From the beach, a relatively clear area was covered with a thin, red-green scrub interspersed with other knobby mounds of growth. Heavier and taller vegetation began a hundred meters or so from the lake. There were no mobile life forms in view. For a little while, he simply sat and enjoyed the view, much as he always did after being in space for a time. He wanted to go out, but he felt that his duty compelled him to stay inside until the surface was declared safe. As he watched, the first of the Coyote squad made their appearance, walking cautiously forward from the bow of the boat with rifles at port arms. Several of them spread out to form a protective perimeter while two others began their analytical work. There wasn't much anyone else could do until that task was finished. * * * * Despite having been with his squad on a number of landings, Jeremy was still excited. A likely looking planet had been found when they transited from hyperspace, and the Coyotes would be out for the first time under the new regime. He already felt a subtle difference between this and other landings. The squad members were edgy but absorbed, concentrating on getting it right, just as he was. Too much depended on them now. There was no backup: no other longboat to pick up if they failed, no big starship hovering in the system for security. He felt loose and easy, unlike some others. The coyote squad had all occupied the remaining acceleration seats rather than being jammed in a cargo hold en mass and secured with wide spanning tractor fields, but it was their right, since they needed to be fresh when they ventured outside after the landing. As it happened, the atmosphere was placid and there had been little jostling as they settled down through it on what felt like a combination of thrusters and anti-grav. The weapons team went out first, of course. They always did. Like him, they wore environmental suits, even though the first air samplings from the boat's probes indicated that the air was harmless. Nevertheless, it had to be tested in more detail before they could doff their suits, and part of that was his job. He and Ivana Prosky were responsible for running air, bio and soil samples through different instruments. They had worked together before, and he liked the little Russian. Her pretty face and petite body made her look delicate, but that was only an appearance. She was as tough as they came and very competent. She was on her second cruise, despite being the same rank as he. It made him wonder if she had messed up somehow, but it seemed unlikely. Perhaps she had gotten on the bad side of a superior. There were any number of reasons the air might be bad and the organic material incompatible. He knew from his study of horrible examples that all the things that might prove fatal hadn't been encountered yet and probably never would. There were always traps waiting for the unwary or the careless. Ivana began running air samples through particle counters, checking and probing for toxic gases in quantities the boat probes might not have detected. He unfolded a camp table and set up his little array of instruments and chemicals. Within minutes, he began working on soil and what looked like, and probably was, vegetable matter. Only after he had all the processors and analyses going did he take time to look around. He hadn't bothered to check on the defenses before getting started. He knew the fire teams were already in position, armed and ready for any eventuality. Siegfrer, Buford Russell, the tall rawboned man from England, and Chiquita Luna made up the fire team to the right of where the boat was backed up to the lake. Good-looking and fair-haired Johnny Lann, Lanford N'kuma the African, and Willy �śWhitey” Whiteside were on the left. The center position was where the heavy weapons team was set up, led by Casey Dugan on the heavy plasma gun. She looked too small to man it, but only to anyone who hadn't seen her on a firing range. Danny Pronghorn and Franika Bzinski had dug in their light plasma guns on each side of her, where they could cover to the front and also lend their support to either side if needed. Others of the Coyote squad were in a smaller half-circle nearer the boat, ready to bypass the fire teams and range into the tall thick growth in the near distance should Mister Cantrell or Lake or even the Skipper decide it was needful. He was sure they were waiting on him to tell them when they could come out of their breathing masks. Permission had already been granted to doff the environmental suits. He could see nearby hills and a mountain range behind them, blue with distance. It reminded him of the Ozarks on Earth or portions of the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America. It brought on a nostalgic feeling for home, owing to his having been born in the old province of Kentucky. It had never seemed so far away as now. The protein analyzer dinged. He entered the readings in his Reader and nodded with satisfaction. Good, but he needed a larger specimen than any he'd found by grubbing in the dirt. He thumbed his speaker and used his forefinger to drop a circle over Casey's icon on his Reader. �śWhat is it, Costa?” �śI'm good so far, but I'm ready for something bigger, Chief.” �śAlready?” �śYes, Chief. This place is shaping up to be a great colony world.” �śDon't get in such a hurry, young man. Remember Tonka?” Jeremy felt his embarrassment. Tonka was a prime example of how a survey could turn from delightfully benign to a horrifying hell in the time it took to turn around. A whole squad had been infected by a rapacious fungus-like organism on Tonka, minutes after they doffed their environmental masks. They died quickly, and half of a second squad were lost before new nannites could be worked up and fabricated. �śGot it, Chief. I still need something bigger than a bug, though.” �śWe'll work on it for you.” �śThanks.” Turning back to his instruments, he saw that he needed more growth factor in one tray and a catalyst of some kind in another. It took a good half hour before he had that problem figured out. He entered the data in his Reader and forwarded it to Juanita back in the boat. She was handling the fabricator and would have it ready for him as soon as possible. A shot from one of the rifles rang out. He looked up even as his hand dropped to the holstered sidearm at his waist. His own rifle was leaning against the table in the slot he had personally carved for it. He had even suggested a change in the field table design to incorporate a rifle prop. Casey and Mister Cantrell had approved it and told him it would be sent to Exploration Headquarters upon their return. But at the moment, he wasn't worried over how to keep a rifle handy while working with survey instruments. He wanted to know where the shot came from. The source became evident as he scanned the area. Franika Bzinski was holding her plasma rifle in one hand and pointing her handgun down into the shallow hole she had evacuated to form a firing pit for the heavy weapon. She stepped back and fired again as something wriggled out of the hole. It shuddered and waved a clump of thin, flexible tentacles attached to a bulbous body. Aiming carefully, she put one more bullet into it and then used the barrel of her rifle to nudge it carefully away from her hole. �śCosta! Come get your specimen!” Casey called. He shouldered his rifle and ran forward. As he neared, he saw the tear in the leg of Franika's light environmental suit and the cammies beneath it. It said a lot about the dead creature. Nothing short of a molly knife or a high powered rifle cartridge was supposed to be able to punch through cammie cloth. A pistol bullet could kill a person wearing a cammie, but only by taking a fold of the cloth into the body with it. Before that happened, however, it was almost always deflected by the nanomaterial's microsecond hardening in reaction to shock. He avoided the life form until he got a good look at what her three shots had done to it. By all rights it should be dead. �śDid it hurt you, Fran?” �śJust a bruise where it tore the environmental suit and my cammies beneath it. Shit, Jere, have you ever heard of anything that strong? I thought a boa constrictor had hold of me when it came tunneling out of the ground and grabbed me!” �śI never heard of an animal that could tear cammies, but the hooks on those tentacles look awfully sharp. Hey, what does the air smell like?” �śHuh?” She looked at the tear again. �śYou're right. I'm already contaminated. Wait a sec, I may as well go all the way.” She touched the release tab for the hood and face plate of her E-suit, and it collapsed around her shoulders. She pulled it down to her waist, tied the sleeves around her and sniffed the air. She breathed in deeply, blew the breath out, shrugged, and grinned. �śSmells like air.” �śYou're no help.” �śI got you a specimen, didn't I?” �śSo you did,” he acknowledged. �śThanks, Fran. I'll go run it through the gumball machine.” She laughed at the comparison, but it was apt. The little tissue analyzer looked like a fist-sized ball melded to the top half of another ball the same size. When it was activated, the internal mechanism did look like tiny gumballs spouting from a little fountain. Nevertheless, he used his molly knife and a good bit of caution while carving off a piece of tentacle and a piece of the body of the thing. He took it back to his camp table and began sectioning part of it and dicing the rest. Once the sections were ready, he activated his power scope and examined the preparations under increasing magnifications. At first the tissue looked amorphous, but as he delved deeper into its anatomy he found fine lines of contrasting material running all through the rest of it. Nerves? A distribution system for nutrients? Collectors for a toxin? The possibilities were so numerous all he could do was contrast and compare to previously analyzed anatomy and physiology of creatures from a myriad of worlds that had solved the problem of existence in innumerable odd ways. Each planet where life existed had its own peculiar organization, but they all had a few things in common. Life reproduced. It took in nutrients. It reacted to its environment�"sometimes swiftly, other times very slowly indeed. And above all, life was persistent. Where it gained a foothold, it resisted incursions of other life, sometimes violently. Where that wasn't possible, it devised ways to accommodate to it�"or feed on it. All this Jeremy knew. His function was to find whether or not the life on this planet was fit for their converter and recycler. One common characteristic of life on most planets was protein formation. Chances were about even that the proteins of any particular world would be oriented so that humans could assimilate them after they went through the converter. Some were oriented so differently that even though the constituents of the molecules were the same and in the same order, the body simply couldn't absorb them. When those types were discovered it didn't necessarily make a planet unfit for colonization, because given the proper nutrients, Earth flora would flourish, and where it did, Earth fauna could in turn use it for food. Sometimes the amino acids were so different that it was hard for the converter to build ones humans could utilize to make the proper proteins. Here, he was only interested in the immediate prospects. He had to check for toxins, infective microorganisms and proper protein orientation. So far he had no answers to questions involving any of those parameters. �śHere you are, Jere,” Juanita Martinez said, handing him a small vial. �śFresh off the griddle.” �śThanks, �ŚNita. That was quick.” He smiled at her through his face mask before unscrewing the cap and distributing the organic catalyst into isolated batches of growth inducers. �śI wanted to get out of the ship for a change. Can we breathe the air?” �śFranika is, thanks to the critter I'm working on right now. It bit through her cammies and E-suit both.” �śReally? Tough little bugger, wasn't it?” �śYup, but three bullets in the kisser made it lay down and became a good little monster. Fran has her hood down, but Mister Cantrell will probably make us wait until another hour or so before the rest of us get to strip.” Juanita glanced toward the central fire team where Franika had indeed stripped down. She had removed her E-suit completely and rolled up the sleeves of her cammies. �śLucky girl. It's hot out here.” �śTell me about it,” he said while shifting his eyes from the readouts of the materials being analyzed to the microscopic view of sectioned tissue and back again. �śYou're busy, so I'll go bother someone else.” He looked up. �śYou don't have to go, �ŚNita. Soon as I figure out what this sucker does for a living I can talk.” �śUh huh, but I see my boss coming.” �śShinn?” �śChief Clare Shinn to me, Jere. I'm working for her today. See you later.” She hurried back toward the ship. Besides COB Shinzyki, there were two other spacer petty officers, CPO Shinn and PO John Silks, along with seven other spacer ratings who operated the longboat. He liked CPO Clare Shinn, but he thought PO Silks was a little full of himself, with his tall frame and good looks. Clare didn't mind getting her hands dirty while supervising a detail, but Silks usually stayed aloof and told people what to do. None of the explorers liked working for him when a detail from their ranks was necessary. He put thoughts of both of them out of his mind and bent over his table again. He went down to the highest magnification possible for field work and carefully focused the objective. �śAha,” he muttered. �śThere you are. A little symbiote, looks like. Now what could that mean?” Having studied it for a while, he left it where it was and turned to the ion detector when that instrument lit up. His attention was again called to the protein analyzer. Soon he was watching four instruments at once as they carried out their routines. Carefully, he began running the results against known forms, looking for something similar. Before he finished with that, the protein analyzer demanded his attention again. He was busy and coping happily with various problems and bantering off-handedly with Ivana when a shadow fell over his work table. He looked up, and then came to attention. �śAfternoon, sir,” he said. Brackett smiled at him. �śHow's it going, Costa, Prosky?” �śOkay so far, sir,” Jeremy answered. �śI should be able to call it one way or another in a couple more hours, but I think Ivana is about finished with the air.” �śCan we dispense with our suits, Ivana?” he asked. �śIt looks clean so far as the atmosphere goes, sir. I can't say anything about microorganisms, though. That's Jeremy's call.” �śIt's seems pretty good, sir. The few little bugs that are floating around haven't shown any inclination to grow or invade any of my cell cultures, and I've sent all the structural information I have on the proteins to �ŚNita�"uh, to Spacer Martinez,” he amended, using the correct form of the title for her rating. Brackett nodded agreeably and Jeremy relaxed. �śAll right�"good work, you two. I'll tell Chief Dugan and Mister Cantrell we can dispense with the E-suits. I don't imagine that will bother any of you, will it?” �śNo, sir!” he said and heard Ivana echoing his sentiment. �śCarry on,” Brackett said and headed toward the heavy weapons fire team. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Six Jeremy cleared the animal life for use, even though it took twisting the definition of �śanimal” in ways that would have given Earth zoologists fits had they seen it. Many of the higher life forms on the planet carried symbiotic �śplant” life in their bodies. The planet had been named Corky after one of the martyred scout pilots. Everyone had known him as Corky. Once the planet was declared fit to live on, Jeremy was free to continue studying the minute organisms that were his specialty. An explorer from the Dragons began cataloging and classifying the larger forms of life. When he was finished analyzing the microbes of Corky, he had to take his regular turn at guard duty during the day, and then spend time in the boat studying astrogation. No one was allowed out at night. Commander Brackett was being much more cautious than he normally would have been, but Jeremy thought his approach was justified. If he had been in the Commander's place, he thought he would have done exactly the same thing. Along with buttoning up for the night, no more than half the crew was allowed out at any one time. One squad guarded or gathered organics. Half of another squad took care of personal gear while relaxing for a few hours. The squads rotated. Jeremy looked forward eagerly to the times when the Coyotes were out of the boat, because that meant baths! And clean underwear and socks! �śHow did you get so many pairs of socks and shorts?” Siegfrer asked curiously as they washed clothes at the edge of the lake. The water was fresh and clean, and the newly repaired spare fabricator had plenty of material to work with, which meant detergent. And eventually, extra socks and underwear. Jeremy glanced up from where he was scrubbing two socks together. Siegfrer was as naked as he was. Nudity taboos were usually worked out of a person's system at the academy, and if not there, then on weeks-long excursions in the longboats away from the mother ships. Nevertheless, he appreciated the view of that part of her body visible above the water, and she didn't seem to mind the attention he and other males paid her. �śI started keeping some extra clothes in my boat locker,” he explained. �śWhat, you were expecting something like this?” He shook his head. �śNo. I overheard Mister Shinzyki telling PO Silks it was a good idea to keep some spare gear in the boat. It sounded like a good idea, so I started doing it.” �śI wish I'd heard it,” she said ruefully. �śI always kept my go-bag ready, but it only goes so far.” �śCount yourself lucky. A few of the guys were careless about keeping their bags up to specs. Tiny, for one. I'd give him an extra pair of socks, but none of mine would fit that big ox.” �śUh huh. You know what I didn't think of? Extra bras. I've just about decided to stop wearing one except when we're down on a planet.” �śI doubt that you'll hear any complaints,” he said with a grin. She stuck her tongue out at him and went back to washing her sparse wardrobe. �śHave you heard anything about when we leave?’ she asked a few minutes later. �śMmm, not much,” he said nonchalantly. In fact he knew exactly when they were scheduled to launch, but he wasn't about to let on that Chambers had told him it was the next day. He remembered Commander Brackett's admonition about repeating things he overheard the officers talking about in the control room. He took that to mean things he heard while studying with the astrogator, as well. He had no desire at all to incur the wrath of the Commander which bandying such information about would bring down on him. She looked at him disbelievingly but shrugged and changed the subject. The bare-breasted shrug made him long wistfully for another tryst with her. Unfortunately for him, Tiny Smith of the Tiger squad was the subject of her interest at present. �śI wonder if there're any really big critters in this lake,” she said, staring out over the water. The lake was large enough that the far shore was hidden below the horizon. �śI suspect there are. Something must eat these floaters besides us.” He pointed to one of the innumerable and aptly named creatures that had been declared safe for consumption a few days ago. They were prolific, and so far as anyone knew, harmless. Each of the squads had managed a beach cookout with floaters as the principal fare. They were circular in shape, with a diameter between twenty and thirty centimeters. They had tentacles hanging into the depths while the body floated on the surface. Curiously, they stayed in shallow water. Part of the body was muscular, but it turned flaky and tender when cooked. It had a flavor reminiscent of seasoned chicken or the delicious crannyfish discovered on Seventh Heaven and imported to Earth in quantity. �śWe haven't seen anything feeding on them.” �śDoesn't mean anything. The Old Man won't let anyone go beyond waist deep. Maybe whatever eats them lives farther out.” The conversation caused him to look toward the beach, where the gear of all the bathers was piled, and then just beyond to where several Coyotes were standing guard. �śHe's probably right. We've already lost too many of us.” �śYeah.” He remembered all too well. The very first alien world he had set foot on had been a disaster. Everything went fine at first. So well, in fact, that Beauchamp began letting some of the Sam Johnston crew do down. Then, with almost no warning, a swarm of flying carnivores the size of small dogs appeared and attacked in the fashion of wolves. A dozen or more concentrated on one person, harrying with teeth and talons and flapping wings. Before they could be driven off, three explorers and more than a dozen of Sam Johnston's crew had died. Several other explorers had been lost in one mishap or another over the last year. It's always the unexpected that gets you, he thought. �śAnd you hardly ever see it coming,” Siegfrer said. �śFrom what little I've seen, I'll take your word for it. We're short of people in every squad.” A full explorer squad consisted of eighteen persons, including an officer and a chief. None of the three had more than fifteen, and the Coyotes were down to thirteen. If they lost any more, Casey had said they would pull someone from the Tigers or Dragons�"assuming they hadn't lost some of their explorers in the meantime. �śAnd a long way to go yet. I bet ... hey! What's that?” He heard it, too. A yell ... a call for attention, he thought. He looked in the direction the sound had come from and saw explorers running out of the water. Those who had been waist deep were slower, splashing frantically to get to dry land. At first he could see nothing untoward, but then a wave of what looked like boiling water caught his attention. There was a line of it, with the closest part of the wave near the shore and the rest trailing out to deeper water, but it was all moving toward the shallows. As he watched, the line of frantic bubbling nearest the shore enveloped a man and woman who had been farther out in the water than they should have. They screamed and disappeared in a froth of blood, mixed with floaters that were somehow jumping from the water as the wave passed over them. �śHurry, you idiot! Get to shore!” Siegfrer's voice was shrill, commanding. He shook off his shocked paralysis and ran for the sand amidst shouts and the sound of pulser rifles firing on automatic. He was so scared the water felt like a thick gel holding him back as he tried to run. Only when he was well beyond the beach did he look back. The line of bubbling water had settled about ten meters from shore, interrupted only where blobs of plasma from the pulser rifles boiled it into steam. Floaters jumped from the water with wildly flailing tentacles and fell back into the bubbles. The line took on the color of floater blood and tissue, a pale salmon pink. �śCease fire! Cease fire!” By the time he heard that cry, Jeremy was back amongst the pile of gear with the others. He bent to pick up his cammies and only then noticed that he had hung onto the clothes he had been washing. �śWhat was it?” someone asked shakily. No one could answer. Nothing visible had appeared above the water. �śWho's missing? Did it get anyone?” Casey asked. �śI saw two guys go under,” Jeremy said shakily. �śWho was it?” �śOne of them was a spacer, I think. I couldn't tell who the other one was. It happened too fast.” He felt bereft, like a child with a toy snatched away by a larger playmate. He was still trembling slightly from adrenalin overload. �śAll right, fall in! Fall in for roll call!” Casey bellowed, an incongruous sound coming from such a petite source. It had been the Coyote squad's turn for relaxing, and the Dragons had been guarding or working at bringing in organics. One by one Casey ticked off the names until someone failed to answer. �śJenkins! Has anyone seen him?” No one had. The roll call continued while he stared out over the now placid water. Two explorers didn't answer to their names. Just that fast, Jeremy thought. One minute busy with washing clothes and bantering with a friend, and the next you're dead. Across from his rank, Sylvia Rothman of the Dragons tried to stifle a sob. She and Jenkins had been lovers. * * * * �śSkipper, sometimes you have to accept it and move on. There was no way anyone could have predicted trouble that close to shore.” Lisa sat across from Brackett in his office, just aft of the control room. It was where he preferred to conduct business, rather than the little day cabin that was his by dint of being commander of the boat. �śI don't care. We're going to have to be more careful. Now we're down another spacer and two more explorers. We simply can't afford to lose people every time we touch down. We were already short almost a dozen explorers and a spacer rating.” �śYou know we don't lose people at every stop, Skipper. This was just one of those things. It's in the nature of exploring. By definition, everything on an unexplored planet is new, and what's new is apt to be dangerous. There are going to be surprises, no matter what we do.” Sighing, he looked down at his clasped hands and back at her, but said nothing. Lisa wondered what was going through his mind. It wasn't as if she and everyone else in the boat didn't feel for the ones who'd died, but he seemed to be taking it personally, as if it were his fault. That wasn't good. �śWe'll make it home, Skipper. Actually, this was a good start, except for that last day. We topped off our tanks and stocked up on some good organics. Lieutenant Medford and Larry Nguyen both tell me we'll be getting better tasting meals from it.” He nodded but still didn't speak, leaving her almost desperate for something to take his attention off the missing crewmen. �śSkipper, Joyce tells me she likes the work of that young man she's training�"Costa. He'll make a good enough astrogator for a backup.” �śHow about Waters? What does Joe say about him?” �śMmm. Joe says she isn't coming along as well, but they've both barely begun the training. Give her time, and she'll work out, I think.” Privately, she suspected that Whistler simply wasn't interested in training anyone, but she didn't think it was her place to say anything. Not yet. She was performing her duty of propping up the commander and functioning as his sounding board. She didn't want to berate one of his officers�"not unless the situation was obviously endangering the boat. �śShe'd better. Astrogators are the one specialty we can't do without.” �śYes, sir, but we'll manage. Shucks, you could do it, if it came down to that.” �śIt's been a long time since the academy, and astronomy and astrogation were my weakest subjects.” �śIt would come back, if you needed it. Besides, all the data is in the computer.” �śSo it is, but we still have to compute new parameters for every jump out here in unknown space, not to mention all the other calculations and details,” he said, and then abruptly changed the subject. �śAre we all ready for the next transit?” �śRight on schedule. I thought we'd hold the ceremony on the ground, right before we lift off, if that's okay.” �śFine. Good idea. That's where they died, after all.” * * * * Jeremy was in the control room a week later for the transit out of hyperspace. He had spent only a bare minimum of time there so far�"time that was more of an introduction to the instruments than anything else. He really liked being there, even if he was frequently under the eye of the Commander. Chambers usually took the seat to the side of the one directly in front of the big screen. The astrogation station was on one side of it, and a seat for the operations officer on the other. Behind and offset from those, on each side of the crowded room, lived a simulator nook and a tactics and operations station. In a tiny alcove the com tech, usually Spacer Gerald Sparks, received and sent communications and acted as a messenger and gofer. Two pull-down seats served for him and Waters when they had a chance to sit, which wasn't often. When the other officers were all there, it crowded the room to the breaking point. He watched Lieutenant Whistler set up coordinates for the transit, while Lieutenant Commander Chambers explained. �śWe have to hit the gravity well at a precise point and designated vector and under precisely calculated speed and power, and in the correct direction for it to go right. Too soon or too late, too much or too little power, or deviate very far from the vector, and we'd either have to come back around and do it over, or we'd disappear and never be heard from again.” �śWhere would we go if we miscalculated?” Joyce smiled wryly. �śIf anyone ever comes back and tells us I'll let you know, but don't hold your breath. There are various theories, but you don't need to worry about them for now. Just be careful. Always let the computer double-check every step. And make damn certain your orientation is right, or we might wind up going only halfway to the star and be marooned. That's happened before. Once the calculated run in hyper is completed, your ship will drop out of hyperspace whether you've made it to the other gravity well or not.” Jeremy nodded. �śYes, ma'am. I'll be awful careful, if I ever have to do this.” �śYou won't, so long as I'm alive,” Whistler said disparagingly. �śAnd now let's have a little quiet, if you don't mind. I need to concentrate.” Jeremy couldn't help but notice the withering look Chambers gave Whistler, but she said nothing�"merely motioned him over toward the T&O alcove occupied by Lieutenant Medford. �śMay we borrow this screen if you're not using it?” she asked him. �śSure,” he said with a shrug. �śI'm not doing anything useful at the moment.” Joyce pulled up the star map Whistler was working with and showed Jeremy the star they would transit to and a small part of their prospective path in the Orion spur of the Sagittarius spiral arm, where stars were much thicker. �śDo those on our path all have planets?” he asked. �śWe don't know, Jeremy. They haven't all been surveyed, and we don't have the data on those which have. It was lost with Sam Johnson. To make it worse, we're not equipped for surveying, as was Sam Johnston, so it's a crap shoot every time. We're trying to pick G type stars, though. Those are more likely than not to have useful bodies orbiting them, at least as far as organics go. They've been around long enough for life to have developed if they have planets orbiting in the life zone.” �śYes, ma'am. I learned that in the basic astronomy class. Are G sequence stars more common out here or closer toward galactic center?” �śThat's a good question. A little more, likely, but not enough to make too much difference, I should think. It certainly wouldn't matter for a regular exploration ship that can make much longer jumps and jump more often without stocking up than we can in a longboat.” �śIs it just a matter of more power?” �śYes, in part, but the gravity drive and capacitors have to be a certain size, too. If ours were big enough to make longer jumps, then we'd be just another starship, albeit a smaller one. Longboats are built for getting around in star systems by utilizing the gravity wells of bodies much smaller than the average star. Which means they can't go much farther through hyperspace than about twenty light years, but that would be pushing their luck. We're sticking to no more than ten or fifteen, as a safety measure.” �śI see, I guess, but then why can't starships make jumps within a system?” �śYou're full of questions today,” she said, but she smiled. �śBecause they're so big. A starship can't use the gravity well of anything much smaller than a body about five times that of Jupiter. There's a mathematical relationship between the size of the object making a transit and the gravity well of the body it's utilizing. We'll get into that later, if you like, but the math is pretty complicated. In known, surveyed space we'd use a set of pre-calculated tables which includes all the planets and other bodies with enough mass to detect in each system. We have to find them and insert the ones big enough to affect transits into our calculations before a jump. But right now, Commander Brackett just wants you to be able to calculate and set up the coordinates for a transit in the right direction and to the correct star using the right amount of thrust at the right time.” �śI'll learn it,” he said, perhaps a little too enthusiastically, because Lieutenant Whistler glanced in his direction. �śI'm sure you will,” Joyce said quietly. �śThat's enough in here for today. Go on back and study the section on calculation of the transit point for different-sized target stars and for transits out of systems with more than one mass which affects the transit.” �śYes, ma'am. Thank you.” �śYou're welcome, Costa.” He headed back to the enlisted day room while hoping that all the study alcoves wouldn't be taken. On the way, he heard the all-hands announcement of the impending transit and hurried his steps. He had barely gotten to one of the remaining acceleration seats and sat down when he felt the sudden disorientation a transit always caused. When he could once again think rationally, he decided that the next time Chambers was teaching, he'd ask her what made it happen. Maybe she would know. * * * * On the next day, as soon as he was free of other duties, Jeremy headed to the newly rigged gym for some much needed exercise. By the time he put in the required amount of study in xenomicrobiology, maintained his testing instruments and personal equipment, went to the simulated firing range once a week, studied astronomy and the added astrogation material and performed details the Chiefs were always finding for lower ranking explorers, he found himself short on time for the gym. Casey, along with a detail she'd dragooned into helping her, had put together a workable set of tension-inducing equipment, weights and horizontal and parallel bars, as well as a passable running board. He liked the horizontal and parallel bars more than anything else. Running through a set of gymnastics on them gave almost a full body workout, and the running board exercised the legs. �śHi, Jere,” Juanita Martinez hailed him from a mat where she was sparring with Casey and getting much the worse of it. �śHow's the astrogation going?” �śI know enough now to get us thoroughly lost. How's that for starters?” But Juanita was no longer listening. She went flying through the air and hit the mat with a thump. �śNever take your attention away from your opponent,” Casey said as she held out a hand to help her back up. �śUmph. I know it now, Chief.” �śGood. That's enough for today. Go play with Jeremy for a while.” He saw Juanita look at him and quickly look away, and he wondered why. �śWant to wrestle, Jere? Chief Dugan has beaten me up enough today so you wouldn't have any problem putting me down.” �śWrestle?” �śWell, not really. I just want to spar around a little with someone who doesn't tie me in knots all the time.” He laughed. �ś'Nita, I haven't done hand-to-hand since I graduated.” �śTime to refresh your memory, then.” He glanced over at the horizontal bar, but �ŚNita looked much more attractive. �śOkay, just take it easy on me.” A half hour later he was panting, bruised and aware of just how much he'd forgotten since his days at the academy, but he was nevertheless pleased. �ŚNita was fun to be with, even if she was a spacer. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Seven Regardless of who commanded, COB Rufus Shinzyki thought of Hurricane Jack as his boat. He spent all his waking hours prowling it, looking for discrepancies and checking the work of his Chiefs and Spacers. Nothing was too large or too small to draw his attention if it was out of order or not functioning to specifications. He thought this was even more important while the boat was idled as the astrogators looked for planets orbiting the new star at which they'd arrived. With the boat at rest, he was able to verify that critical components were holding up and that gauges and test instruments were working perfectly. On this inspection tour, he had S2 Gerald Sparks and S3 Wynonna Jones along, showing them the finer details of longboat operation not covered in school. He believed in getting the youngsters off to a good start. One day they might run a boat themselves, if they lived that long. �śNow, this is the connection to the outside capacitors, as I'm sure you know, but we don't have to go outside to see how well they're functioning,” he said. �śJones, bring your inductance meter over here.” The young spacer selected the instrument from several others she was carrying and held it out to Shinzyki. �śNo, I want you to do it. Go ahead.” Nervously, she began hooking the instrument to the joint where the terminal capacitor coil riding on the outside of the boat fed into power coils inside. She connected the first lead correctly, hesitated, and glanced at Shinzyki. �śGo on, you're doing fine. Put the other lead to where the inside coil feeds power to the system.” Tentatively, she touched the other lead to a spot. Sparks jumped and she jumped. �śI think you might go a little farther down. Watch your gauge.” He had known what was going to happen and let the harmless sparks startle her into learning. Jones touched the lead to the correct site and called off the readings aloud. �śA smidgen high. Stay where you are. Spence, c'mere.” When the other spacer was beside him, he said �śTake your diacap adjuster and even out the voltages. Jones will call �Śem out for you. And take it easy, just a little at a time, mind you. Too much at once and you could ruin a spool.” He stood back and watched closely while the two young spacers put the voltages back into balance. �śGood job. Now button up the hatch, and let's move on.” When they were finished with the Topdeck checklist, Shinzyki led them down to Mideck, where they worked on one of the recyclers and checked environmental settings. On each occasion, he took time to instruct the spacers, and then had them do the bulk of the work. It was slow, but he was patient. He could have finished the whole boat in the time it took them to do one deck, but then they wouldn't have learned anything. He was surprised when they met PO John Silks after they had barely started on Mideck. Silks was supposed to be supervising and instructing Juanita Martinez and Larry Nguyen in the same fashion as he had been doing with his spacers. They had started on Lodeck. He had thought they would meet somewhere around the middle of Mideck. �śPO Silks, are you finished already?” he asked. �śYes, sir, Mister Shinzyki. We work fast.” �śAre your spacers learning anything?” �śSure thing, Mister Shinzyki.” He raised a brow but said nothing. Not then. Later that day he found Juanita in one of the study rooms. She looked up when he came in. �śHello, Mister Shinzyki.” �śHello, Martinez. Did you get your hands dirty this morning?” �śUmm. Well, not too much, sir. PO Silks did most of the work.” �śI guess he explained exactly what he was doing while he was at it?” �śUmm, uh, yes, sir. Some.” It was easy to see she that was covering, not wanting to get PO Silks on her case. That was fine. He admired loyalty, but he had been a COB for a long time before becoming a Warrant Officer. He could tell already that Silks must have hurried through the exercise and did all the adjustments or repairs himself in order to get through quicker so he could do something more interesting. �śGood. Keep at it. You may be a COB one day.” She smiled. �śYes, sir. If we get home.” �śWhen we get home, Spacer. Hear?” �śYes, sir. When.” He headed back toward the Chiefs’ day room to find PO Silks. He was there, playing cards with CPO Shin and a couple of the explorer Chiefs. �śPO Silks, might I interrupt your game for a moment?” �śUh, sure, Mister Shinzyki.” He drew Silks out of the dayroom and into the passageway. There he stood him at attention and put his face about two inches from the man. �śPO Silks, when I give you the duty of instructing spacers in proper maintenance, I expect you to teach them, not hurry through the work so you can play cards. Is that clear?” �śBut Mister...” �śI said, is that clear, PO?” �śYes, sir. Clear.” �śSee that you remember it, son. I shouldn't have to tell you how far we are from home and how some more of us are sure to die before we get there. If it happens to be the Chiefs who buy it, I want those young spacers to be able to run the boat. That's why we're teaching them. So see that you do it in the future. Every time you have a chance.” He turned and walked away, leaving Silks standing at rigid attention against the bulkhead. He didn't worry about it. Eventually Silks would come to his senses and go on about his business. Hopefully, he would act in a more professional manner from now on. * * * * �śIt's no go, Skipper,” Lieutenant Whistler said. �śNothing?” �śNot a thing.” �śHow about a Kuiper belt or an Oort cloud?” Jeremy asked. He and Jana Waters were in the control room, being taught by Whistler how to find objects orbiting a star. It wasn't a really difficult task, since longboats carried gravity detectors and were designed to ply star systems, but neither was it a simple one. Even with his background in astronomy, Jeremy could see that he would still need to learn to use the devices for astrogation, much less locating planets. Lieutenant Whistler wasn't much help. He had given the lesson with ill grace, Jeremy thought, but with Commander Brackett watching it had been fairly thorough. It had been lecture mode only, though. Whistler hadn't allowed either of the trainees to get their hands on the mechanisms he was using. And Brackett had just left the control room. �śToo far out and too hard to find.” Whistler dismissed the question. Jeremy glanced at the display. �śWhat's that, sir?” He pointed to a tiny light that flickered for a second at the very edge of the screen. �śWhat?” By the time the astrogator looked up, the object Jeremy had seen was no longer there. �śI saw something right at the edge of the screen, sir, like it was picking up a solid object right at the limits of detection.” �śI've already told you, and you've already seen that this star has no planets. Don't bother me with stupid questions.” �śBut, sir...” He broke off under the Lieutenant's disgusted glare. He wished Lieutenant Commander Chambers was in the control room. He thought she would have believed him. �śWhat do we do now?” Jana asked. �śI said, don't ask stupid questions. We go closer to the star under thrust, and then come back and make transit for the next star. What else could we do?” Jeremy wanted to ask how many transits they could make without running out of power but decided not to. Whistler was obviously in no mood for teaching today. He seldom was, for that matter. �śYou can leave now, Costa. You too, Waters,” said Lieutenant Wong, who had the watch. �śYou can come back when we're closer to making transit. I'll have someone call you.” He left with Jana and started back toward the day room. �śWhistler never seems happy to see us, does he?” she said, disgust evident in her expression. �śNo, but we don't have a choice, do we?” He glanced at her plain face framed by short black hair, and then looked away when she smiled. She had been making rather obvious overtures lately, and he had to admit that her smile was rather appealing, but then so was Juanita's. If he could ever catch the latter woman alone and could untangle his tongue in her presence, he intended to see if there was anything behind the smile she usually had for him. He hoped there was. �śAt least you have Lieutenant Commander Chambers for your private lessons. Half the time, Whistler doesn't show up for mine, and when he does, I'm scared to ask questions because he jumps all over me for being dumb.” �śYou're not dumb, Jana,” he said and knew it to be true. They studied together sometimes, and she seemed to catch on to her lessons well enough despite asking him for help occasionally. �śI know, but you couldn't prove it by him. Want to see what's doing in the day room?” she asked, appeal written large on her face. �śNo, I think I'll go and study,” he said hurriedly. To avoid hurting her feelings, he added, �śI'm on another of Mister Shinzyki's details after dinner. Now, there's a man who can teach. I don't mind working for him.” �śI had PO Silks last time. He's an asshole.” �śDon't say that too loud. The boat has ears.” It was amazing how anything unusual or anything that changed, such as partners breaking up, was quickly known to everyone in the boat. He was sure that before the day was over, someone would kid him and Jana both about asking stupid questions in the control room. �śI know. I heard PO Silks got chewed out by Mister Shinzyki for not instructing some spacers on a detail.” �śI'm not surprised. See you later. Call me if you need help with the astrogation problems.” �śI will,” she said. It sounded to him as if she didn't quite believe his excuse. He did study conscientiously for an hour, and then went to draw rations for the evening meal. The detail of two explorers broke open cartons and used tongs to hand out the blocks of food rations wrapped in edible paper. The taste was usually different each meal, but after the floater beach party none of them were particularly pleasing to his palate. Nevertheless, he ate all of it. Three days running in the gym with Juanita had given him more appetite than usual. He would miss their workout this time because of being on the evening detail schedule that Warrant Officer Shinzyki posted every day. At least, they usually proved interesting when Shinzyki supervised them himself. Maybe he'd be there this time. He made his way toward the newly opened bay where acceleration seats had been removed. Juanita was there, along with Spacer Gerald Spence, Explorer Sylvia Rothman and a spacer he didn't really know. He was surprised over Juanita's being present. Another spacer had been on the roster when he looked earlier. �śHi!” Juanita greeted him brightly. �śI got shanghaied when Jones fell off the ladder from Topdeck. She broke her leg.” �śHow in hell did she do that?” �śShe wasn't paying attention to what she was doing,” a gravelly voice said from behind the group. �śDon't let it happen to you.” Jeremy recognized the voice, just as the rest of them did. Warrant Officer Shinzyki's deep bass rumble was impossible to forget once it was heard. �śHello, Chief,” Jeremy greeted him in unison with the other three. All of them knew he didn't mind being called Chief rather than Mr. Shinzyki. �śGood evening, ladies and gentlemen. We've got a dirty job ahead of us, so let's get started.” �śWhat are we going to be doing?” Juanita asked. �śThe number one recycler overflow tank and the chemistry drains need cleaning. Let's go.” They all knew where the recyclers lived. Cleaning them was a regular, unwanted job, but it had to be done. What was surprising was that Chief Shinzyki was going to supervise the detail, but no one asked why. He was a rule unto himself, and it took a brave person to question his orders. Jeremy walked beside Juanita while thinking that it was a shame for her to get dirty and sweaty. She had her dark brown hair pinned up on her head in the same way that she wore it in the gym. Usually, she let it flow loosely over her shoulders and down her back. He decided he liked it. Her pretty face and slender neck drew all the attention, rather than her hair. He wished he could talk to her as easily as he could with Jana or Siegfrer, but other than in the gym he found himself inhibited. �śHow's the astronomy coming?” she asked. �śThe astrogation? I like it. It's nice to be able to put what I learned in astronomy to use.” �śI wish I could have gone to the academy, but Mom didn't have the money for college, so I joined the navy right out of high school.” �śWhat about your Dad?” �śHe was killed by a sabertooth when I was a little girl.” �śYou're from Seller's World?” Seller's World was almost an analogue of Earth during the late Pleistocene, including a fearsome predator that resembled the extinct saber tooth but was more than twice the size. �śUh huh. Mention a sabertooth, and everyone knows where you're from immediately.” �śI've heard it's a nice world.” �śIt is. Nicer than that overflow tank we're going to be staring at.” They had arrived, but they didn't get to work immediately. First Shinzyki lectured them on the proper relationship of chemicals and the blocks of pressed organics gathered from their last stop. He told them how the machinery worked and pointed to the valves and pipes that controlled the mixing rate. He paused to answer questions. Finally, he showed them the right order in which to close valves when shutting off the flow and the sequence in which parts were to be removed before the cleaning job began. After that, he stood by as they worked together to take part of the tubing loose. �śNow, the overflow tank gathers the organics that didn't get digested first time through. The stuff is tough and usually smelly after just one round through the �Ścycler. Disconnect the tank like I showed you, and dump the contents into the bin over there. Then scrub it down, disinfect it and hook it back up. Get it clean but don't waste water.” Jeremy got busy working beside Juanita on the tank, while the other two cleaned out the tubing with long brushes. Shinzyki rolled up his sleeves and ran tests of the circuitry while keeping an eye on the worker bees. By the time he was satisfied with the circuits and test readings, the cleaning was finished. He ran through the checks he'd just completed. After inspecting their cleaning job, he had them put everything back together. When they were finished, he ran his hands over all the connections, checking for tightness and seeing that no threads were misaligned. �śC'mere,” he pointed at Rothman. �śSee here? You didn't tighten this connection enough. It would've worked loose eventually and spilled goo all over the deck. Then somebody would have been awfully damned pissed at you. Always go back over what you've done before you leave a job. It'll pay off eventually.” �śYes, sir.” Rothman tightened the fitting until Shinzyki nodded that he was satisfied. �śOkay, you people can go get cleaned up now. Thanks for the help. I'll authorize a three minute shower if you'll pair up.” he pointed. �śThe stall's over there.” �śDo you want to? Pair up, I mean?” Juanita asked him before the others could say anything. �śUh, sure, �ŚNita.” She tucked her arm through his, and they trooped the short distance to the shower stall normally used by the Spacer who worked in recycling regularly. Most of the time at the end of a shift the smells and organics had to be washed off, or the Spacer would find little company when off duty. �śYou guys can go first,” Sylvia said. �śThanks,” Juanita said and smiled at her. Jeremy figured that she wanted to say a few words to Spence before getting into the shower with him. He stripped off his cammies and arranged them on the cleaning frame. He changed the settings slightly and flipped the switch to have them heated and blown clean. �śHang mine for me when Jeremy's are finished, Sylvia?” Juanita asked as she finished removing her outer garments. �śSure. Have fun.” Still in their undergarments, they entered the shower together so they could wash the clothes as well as themselves. Jeremy stepped out of his shorts and held them under the water for a moment, and then rolled them around in his hands. �śHere, let me show you,” Juanita said. She had removed her underpants and bra and was holding out her hand for his shorts. He handed them over while trying not to stare. He hadn't realized what a magnificent body �ŚNita had under the loose cammies. She had generous breasts and a narrow waist that flared into slim hips and long legs. �śSee, you slap them against the wall, squeeze and do it again. But he said three minutes. Hurry and wash, then do my back for me. He hurried, not the least because he wanted to help her bathe. Having scrubbed himself quickly, he did her back with his hands, as there were no washcloths�"not that he intended to complain about it. Running his hands over her skin was an erotic sensation, and he couldn't help experiencing a growing erection. In the meantime, she got the undergarments done and washed the rest of her body. When she turned around and saw his reaction, she giggled. They finished just before the water went off. �śNow put your cammies back on, but carry your undershirt and shorts back to the cabin and dry them there.” He followed her instructions, knowing that she must have done this job on a previous occasion. Sylvia was naked by that time and holding her undergarments, ready to step into the stall. He hardly looked at her, even though she was nicely built and was attractive enough. Juanita had all his attention. He wanted to ask her if she would like to come to his cabin with him but found that his tongue had somehow become frozen. She solved the problem neatly by looking at him and grinning. �śNow that we've seen each other, why not come on back to my cabin with me?” He didn't have to be asked twice. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Eight Jeremy woke with a sense of tired satisfaction but was somewhat disoriented. He glanced at his thumb and saw that it was nearing midnight by boat time. �śThat put you out just like a sleeping pill,” he heard �ŚNita's soft voice comment humorously in the darkness. She was close enough that he felt her breath in his ear. �śSorry. I guess I've been going kind of hard lately.” She laughed. �śLiterally!” He felt her shifting in the narrow bed, and a night light came on. She told the bed to make a backrest. He felt his upper body being raised. He looked over at �ŚNita. The sheet fell into her lap as the bed rose, leaving her nude from the waist down. She nudged him with her shoulder, and he took the hint. He put an arm around her. She snuggled against him with one firm breast pressed against his side. �śI noticed you right after you came aboard, you know,” she said. �śI was hanging space with Charlie Vann at the time, though.” �śYou did? I mean, you were?” �śUh huh. You're always so earnest when you're doing something. That's what a person notices first about you. And you're good looking, too.” �śReally? Uhm, I mean I'm not as good looking as you.” �śUh huh, you are. Most of the women think so. And it doesn't matter whether you're studying or working out or cleaning a recycler tank, you're always so grimly determined to do it right.” She laughed again. �śEven making love.” �śUh, is that bad?” �śNo, silly, it's good. You might try being playful some time, though.” She reached across him and tickled his ribs. He whooped. �śAha. You're ticklish. Now I know how to get you when we're working out.” �śNot fair. Besides, you get me all the time anyway.” �śAll's fair. I thought Siegfrer was never going to turn you loose. I was getting ready to trip you if you didn't say something soon. Or maybe her.” �śI wanted to.” �śI know. You should have. Look at the time we've wasted.” �śCan I make up for it?” he ventured. �śTry me and see.” He kissed her and felt the bed sliding back to level with her head resting on his arm. His hand traveled over her breasts and other parts of her body as he began doing everything he knew how to do, in order to make up for being so slow. �śMmm,” she said as she drew him close. A few moments later, she murmured in a heavy slurred voice, �śNow, now!” He moved over her and she locked her legs around his, holding him tightly while her hands roved up and down his spine. Her fingers dug into his back with a painfully pleasing hurt as they neared a climax. They reached it almost at the same time. He got very little sleep the rest of the night. * * * * �śNow stand still and don't get in the way,” Whistler said as the boat prepared to transit out of the gravity well of the planetless star. The lieutenant aggravated Jeremy because from where he and Jana stood it was impossible to see what Whistler was doing, and he was supposed to be teaching them. He knew what the astrogator must be doing, though. He was keeping the ship lined up to intersect that spot in the gravity well which would take them into hyper and let them come out of it in the gravity well of their target star. �śIt's like the tables I showed you,” Joyce said quietly to them. �śLieutenant Whistler picked the table corresponding closest to the distance from and mass of our target star. The computer sets up a vector and thrust to take us there, but he had to calculate the correct point in the gravity well to arrive at, and he had to compensate for the masses in this system. He also has to calculate the differences from the table and our measurements and plug them into the equations. That's where the art of it comes in. Our target hasn't been surveyed, or rather we don't have the data, so the calculations have to be even more precise than if we knew all about it. We also have to take into account other factors relating to that, which we'll get into later. Right now, he's keeping us in the path and at the right speed and vector to hit the right gravity well point exactly. Watch closely, because soon he'll apply the power to get us into hyper. That has to be done precisely on the tick, too.” Whistler was bent over rows of figures below the main screen. Jeremy could barely distinguish them from his position, but he could see that Whistler's forehead was wrinkled with stress lines. His hands were steady, though, as he tapped in corrections. �śThose numerals at the bottom of the screen are telling him how close to the corrections for the calculated parameters we are.” Jeremy thought of a question and whispered it. �śWith the movement of stars, how do the tables stay effective for those that have been surveyed? Wouldn't the figures change over time?” �śYou're going to make a good astrogator, Jeremy. Yes, of course they do. Distance change over time is another parameter. We take the interval from the last known date of the tables and the directional movement of both primary and target star and the computer will plug in a figure. Here, of course, it's a little more delicate. We have to do the surveys ourselves, and longboats aren't equipped with the best instruments for that. Even with the best, some exploration ships don't come back.” She gave a mirthless chuckle. �śI suspect the reason that at least a couple of the ships that have gone missing did so was because someone plugged in one or the other of the directional figures backward and didn't run a computer simulation beforehand. Or forgot about a gas giant near the vector to transit point. Always run a simulation first. Always.” �śYes, ma'am. I will.” She squeezed his shoulder and stepped over to where Jana stood. He saw her nodding as Chambers whispered to her, and knew she was repeating the explanation she'd given him. Whistler tapped his Reader, and a pre-recorded message went out to the crew. Thirty seconds to transit. Stand fast and hold on to a fixed object. Thirty seconds to transit. Mark. Thirty, twenty nine... Jeremy put his hand around one of the ubiquitous grab bars in the control room and braced himself. In a few moments the usual dizziness engulfed him. He held tightly to his bar until the sensation passed. He glanced at the screen and saw that it had changed. He watched as Whistler tapped his Reader again. A message flashed on the screen. Transit successful. Instituting search for mass objects. His gravity detector screen came alive. �śThank you, Lieutenant Whistler,” the commander said. �śXO, you have the watch. I'll be in my cabin.” �śYes, sir. I have the watch.” Once Brackett had taken his leave, Trammell said, speaking formally, �śLieutenant Whistler, you may allow Lieutenant Commander Chambers to take the astrogation watch.” He nodded with a grumpy expression and left the control room to the executive officer, Chambers, the slim, dark-haired Lieutenant Rayne Medford and the two explorer students. Also, a spacer by the name of Barker tended to something in the com alcove. Chambers looked at Jeremy and Jana. �śYou two come over here, and we'll go over the instrumentation used for transits.” Jeremy was glad. It would be the first chance either of them had to get hands-on experience with the devices. For the next two hours, as Hurricane Jack sped closer to the primary, she let each one of them try calculating a transit that had been previously recorded. It was much harder than he had anticipated, even though Jana went first, and he observed all her mistakes and the corrections the astrogator made. It was evident that the only way he or Jana were going to be able to master the technique was with practice using the real instruments. For this, a simulation was far from the reality of hands-on. He knew they weren't likely to get much of it, so long as Whistler was the designated chief astrogator. He didn't understand why Commander Brackett let him keep the position, but he had to assume there was a reason. If Whistler didn't know what he was doing, nothing else made much sense. As Jeremy stepped back from his session he glanced at the screen. A tiny red icon flashed momentarily at the very edge of the display, just as it had before. �śLook, there's that image again!” He pointed to the screen and took two steps forward, bringing him right next to Chambers, who was logging some data. She turned to look, but to Jeremy's dismay it had disappeared by then. �śWhat did you see?” she asked quietly. After he described the tiny red icon he had seen, she asked �śAre you sure you saw it, Jeremy?” She glanced directly at everyone else in the control room. �śDid anyone else see what he did?” Jeremy noticed that she very carefully did not describe what he said he had seen or mention the word �śagain". It didn't matter, though. Just as before, he was the only witness. �śAre you certain of what you saw, Costa?” Lisa Trammell asked when no one else spoke up. �śYes, ma'am, I'm certain. It was like ... I'm sorry. I don't have enough experience to say what it resembled. It was tiny and red, as if the computer was designating it as an unknown mass, though.” At that moment COB Shinzyki entered the control room. Jeremy was convinced that he had X-Ray vision. Hardly anything unusual happened without him making an appearance. It was uncanny, but the spacers and their officers seemed to take it for granted. �śProblem?” he asked in his gruff voice while studying the expressions of the people there. Jeremy thought that was what he was doing. If so, he apparently didn't like what he saw. �śSpeak up, people. I'm not a mind reader,” he said sharply. His eyes looked dangerous as a hungry shark, and the officers, including the XO, appeared subdued. �śI thought I saw something on the screen, sir. No one else did, though,” Jeremy said hurriedly. It sounded to him as if he was admitting to a hallucination, but the Chief Warrant Officer didn't act like it. His voice softened. �śTell me about it, son. Everything you remember.” He did so, including the previous time when he'd seen the same thing. �śWell, there's one sure way to find out. Let's play back the recording.” The Chief dropped into a control seat and began tapping at the console board. Within seconds he had what he wanted. �śIs this it, Costa?” Jeremy was amazed. Now why hadn't Lieutenant Whistler done that? �śThat's it, sir, just like I saw.” �śAll right, now when was that other occasion? Do you remember the date?” He thought frantically. �śUh, it was right after the last transition, Chief. A Tuesday, because I remember that's the day I study the micro-journals we downloaded from the ship.” Shinzyki brought up the display for the date and instituted a search at the approximate time Jeremy told him he had briefly seen the object on the screen. A moment later he said �śSure �Śnuff, son. There it is. Now, why didn't someone go back like I did just now and take a look?” �śI, uh, I don't know, sir.” He knew, but he didn't want to tattle on Lieutenant Whistler. No one liked a fink. �śWho had the watch then?” Trammell had been busy checking the log. �śLieutenant Whistler had the watch, Chief.” He grunted but Jeremy noticed his face harden and set in lines resembling cracks in a granite cliff. He continued tapping the controls and eventually leaned back in the chair. �śThat's the best enhancement this comp is capable of. Costa, does that look like a spaceship to you?” �śI don't know, sir. I've never seen one on this screen.” �śYeah, I guess you haven't. Still, that was good work, spotting it for as short a time as it was displayed. I wonder ... XO, how �Śbout we up the gain on the detectors and narrow it down to the area of a vector timed to our progress since then?” �śYou think it's a ship following us?” �śI don't know but ... umm, maybe we shouldn't do that. If it happened to be a Monkeyclaw, it'd know we pinged it for certain. But we could stop the search for orbiting mass for a few minutes, and that'd give us a big increase in our passive scan.” �śThat sounds good, Chief. Do it.” Shinzyki tweaked the controls very cautiously, increasing the passive detection by small increments over a period of several minutes. Trammell stood behind him, watching the screen while Jeremy and Jana eased in as close to the XO and COB as they dared. He noticed that Lieutenant Medford was keeping an eye on the other numerous readouts and gauges without having been asked. He was rapidly learning some of the intricacies of interaction in the control room. �śThere! Got him! By God, it is a ship, and unless I'm losing my eyesight, it's them fu ... them damned Monkeyclaws again!” �śLieutenant Medford, please notify Commander Brackett,” Trammell said immediately. Jeremy listened and watched with open-eyed admiration at how quickly the COB had pinned down the image he'd seen. He glanced around furtively, wondering when he and Jana would be ordered from the control room. He expected it to happen any moment, but when it did happen it was Jana who was excused. �śCosta, you stay here,” Shinzyki said. �śI want Commander Brackett to see what kind of trouble you've gotten us into. Waters, you can go now.” For a moment he was nonplussed but then saw that the Warrant Officer was allowing a hint of a smile to soften the sharp planes and lines of his face. Tentatively, he relaxed. A moment later, he snapped to attention as Commander Brackett entered. �śAs you were,” he said. �śWhat is it, XO?” �śLet the Chief tell it, sir.” �śCOB?” �śYes, sir. This young man here spotted something a week or so ago,” he began, putting a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. �śIt should have been reported at once when he spoke up, but ... circumstances ... prevented it. Then Explorer Costa spotted the same thing again and I, um, followed up on it. To make a long story short, I believe he found a Monkeyclaw ship that's following us.” He removed his hand from Jeremy's shoulder and pointed to the screen, where the faint icon was still being observed by the passive detection systems. Brackett glanced at it. �śIt doesn't look like much. How sure are you?” �śI checked it against our previous sightings of the �ŚClaws, sir. It's them or another of their ships. Judging from the vector, it came out of hyper a half hour behind us.” �śMakes sense. Otherwise, we'd have picked them up immediately. Good job, Costa. You're to be commended. Now what I'd like to know is why it wasn't reported to me the first time he saw it.” �śA word, Skipper?” It was the COB's standard tactic for requesting a private conversation. Brackett nodded, and they went off to a corner of the control room to talk without being overheard. Jeremy didn't need to hear the brief conversation. The way the commander's face changed from a composed mask to a grimace that appeared briefly and just as quickly vanished told him that Lieutenant Whistler was in trouble. Brackett motioned to Trammell and the XO joined him and COB Shinzyki. They spoke briefly and the XO left the control room. Brackett came back to stand by the screen, not deigning to take his usual seat. �śWhat have we found in this system, Rayne? Anything yet?” he asked her. �śI'm getting some readings now, sir,” Lieutenant Medford said. �śLooks like a gas giant about forty-five degrees from our vector and an earth-sized mass about six AUs farther in and thirty degrees the other side of our vector. Both are in the ecliptic, and the Earth object is just about in the middle of the life zone.” She blinked her dark brown eyes to bring the control room back in focus after staring at the small screen where she had downloaded readouts and boat data while the others had been using the main display. �śThat's good, Rayne. Any signs of water?” �śThat just came on line too, sir. The spectrograph says yes. Looks like a fair amount.” �śFine.” He nodded to Chambers. �śJoyce, please set up the coordinates and let's head for it.” �śWhat about the Monkeyclaw ship, sir?” He shrugged. �śThere's nothing we can do about it yet, but pass the word and log this order: I do not want our active detectors pinging it, not for any reason at all, unless I specifically order it. If its distance from us changes in a substantial way, or if it paints us or shows any signs of hostility, I want to be notified immediately, no matter what time it is. Log that, too.” �śYes, sir,” Medford said and got busy. �śCosta, you can go now. Don't say anything about this for the time being. Understand?” �śYes, sir. I never talk about what goes on in the control room, sir.” Brackett granted him a small smile of approval. Added to his previous commendation, it made Jeremy feel good, as if he belonged in the control room. It was totally different from the sensation that occurred under Lieutenant Whistler's watch. As he headed back toward the day room, he wondered what the commander would say to Whistler. Whatever it was, he hoped the astrogator didn't take it out on him. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Nine Commander Brackett sat at his desk, deep in thought even before Lieutenant Whistler closed the door behind him on his way out. His chastisement of the astrogator had been as harsh as he thought needful, but he doubted that it had made the impression he sought. The man seemed impervious to criticism. He wondered if he even realized how big a mistake he had made by ignoring something as important as a possible sighting, even if it was by a student astrogator. It would have taken him only moments to run the recording back and see whether or not Costa had been imagining things, but he hadn't bothered. His attitude had endangered the boat and might do so again in the future. Which made him think the training of Costa and Waters should be speeded up, especially Costa. Waters was fine, too but she wasn't quite as sharp as the young man. From all reports, he knew that Costa had a great deal of potential. Joyce said so, and when he spoke with Chief Dugan and Mr. Cantrell, he found that they thought well of Costa, too. And one thing was certain: without at least one competent astrogator, no one would make it back to Earth. The situation left no room for error, and with that thought he made his decision. He thumbed the intercom. �śControl Room, XO.” �śLisa, is Joyce still on duty?” �śYes, sir.” �śSend her to my cabin, if you will, please, and have one of the spacers find Explorers Costa and Waters and tell them to report to me, too. You can notify Lieutenant Whistler to replace Joyce in the CR.” �śYes, sir.” * * * * Jeremy sat stiffly in a chair beside Jana in Commander Brackett's day cabin. He felt excitement build inside him as he listened to Commander Brackett, Lieutenant Commander Chambers and the XO discuss his and Jana's future. �ś...so that's what I want. Push them as hard as you can. I want them to be qualified as soon as possible.” �śDid you hear that, Jeremy? Jana?” Chambers asked. Her voice was almost as stern as the Commander's. �śOh, yes, ma'am! Just tell me when you want me, and I'll be there,” Jeremy said. �śI will, too,” Jana echoed. �śI think we'll work an hour or two a day in the control room and as much time as necessary with me in my cabin to get you away from distractions. Is that satisfactory, Commander?” �śThat's fine, Joyce. I'd suggest that you use the control room during hours when you can have the instruments to yourself. I'd say take as much time as possible while we're in the early phase of each hyper for that part of their training. I'll give Lieutenant Whistler some time off then, so the control room won't be so crowded.” Whistler did get in trouble, Jeremy thought. But surely he's not going to put either of us in his place. We're just backups, like he said. * * * * �śYou're late,” Juanita said when he called her personal com much later that day. �śI've already found someone else.” �śHuh? What...” Her giggle interrupted his startled incomprehension. �śRelax, lover. Just kidding. Are you off duty now?” �śUh, yes. Can I come over?” Even after spending the night with her two days ago he found himself a bit hesitant in asking. She didn't seem to mind, though, not the way she answered. �śI'll be waiting.” He hurriedly washed and used a depilatory cloth on his face. Wistfully, he remembered the shower they'd taken together, and wished they could do it again. Maybe if they found a source of water on the planet they were approaching that was clear enough to see ... no, they had been able to see through the water before and still didn't know what had gotten two of the crew. The wildly bubbling water had concealed whatever denizens had come to the beach to feed. Maybe a waterfall? That would be nice. Kind of public, though. He shook his head and admonished himself for daydreaming as he hurried along the passageway to Juanita's cabin. He could hardly wait to tell her about his new duties. �śHey, guess what hap�"umph.” Juanita's lips pressed forcefully against his own, preventing him from completing the sentence. Not that he wanted to, just then, with her arms around his neck and his around her waist, her body firm and sensuous beneath the silken fabric of a nightgown. �śYou were saying?” she asked, smiling up at him a few moments later. �śI think you made me forget,” he said truthfully, acutely aware of his reaction to her appearance and the feel of her body under the gown. �śCome sit down and see what I have.” She took his hand and drew him the two steps to the little loveseat her cabin rated. Even lower grade spacers rated larger cabins than explorers. Once he was seated, she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and reached beside her for the glass reposing on the tiny table next to the seat. �śWhat is it?” �śTonky Juice. Ever have any?” �śNot that I know of. Where did you get it?” �śWe spacers have our ways. Here, taste. Just a little bit.” She held the tiny bottle to his lips. He sipped tentatively, taking a small amount into his mouth, and swallowed. It made a pleasant tingle at first, and then spread a warming sensation through his body. A few moments later his mind swirled with erotic images. He didn't know how long they lasted, but when he came back to Earth he found himself grinning like a fool. �śLike it?” �śWow! What a trip! And the way it hits so fast! It must burn through the stomach wall almost immediately. Is that stuff legal?” �śSo long as a person knows what they're drinking. It causes the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to open so that the active ingredient gets down to the intestines fast. That's where it's absorbed. We'll have a little more later. Right now, I hear you have a new job.” He was amazed that word had already spread. �śUm, yeah. I'm going to be studying astrogation more than I thought I would. It's going to be just about a full time job from now on.” �śWhat's wrong? Doesn't the Skipper already have two astrogators?” �śUh huh. I guess he just wants some backup.” She raised a brow. �śYou aren't telling me everything, are you?” He felt uncomfortable. �śI'm sorry, �ŚNita. There's things I just can't discuss.” �śGood for you. The whole boat knows, but don't let anyone goad you into talking about it anyway.” He saw she was serious and was glad she agreed with him. He would have felt badly if she had insisted he tell her something he had been ordered specifically not even to speak of�"even if she did think everyone already knew. He wondered how Whistler's dereliction of duty had gotten out, and if the whole story had, or just part of it. �śAnd don't look so grim. It's just the way the boat works. It's hard to keep a secret for long when we're all cooped up together like this.” She pulled his head down for a brief kiss and he felt better. The rest of the night went so well that once or twice he began to wonder if he might be in love. But looking back, he thought it more likely that the Tonky Juice made him feel that way. He didn't have a hangover the next morning, either. * * * * �śCoyote is third up for this landing,” Chief Casey Dugan announced to the gathered squad. �śWe'll relieve the Dragons at first watch, 0800 hours tomorrow morning, for guard and work details. Plan on being out of the boat for twelve hours, so bring a couple of rations. Now go and get your gear in shape. After inspection, I want you to exercise, relax and get some sleep tonight. We'll be busy the next few days. Costa, you're excused. Make certain your gear is in order first, and then report to the control room.” Jeremy opened his mouth to protest, but closed it without speaking. It wouldn't endear him to Chief Dugan to dispute an order in front of the whole squad, especially over not being allowed out of the boat with the others. He guessed that was what being excused from guard duty meant. He didn't like it, even if it did mean no work details gathering water or organics. He wanted to get out of the boat for a while! Surely the need for more qualified astrogators wasn't that great. Nothing to do but follow orders for now, though. He could always see the Chief alone later. He headed off toward his cabin with the rest of them after being dismissed. As he walked with the loose group of men and women toward their quarters, he suddenly became aware of a conversation somewhere ahead of him, loud enough that it must have been meant for him to overhear. �śThe Skipper's fair haired boy, isn't he?” �śYeah. Maybe sucking up to �ŚNita got him to the CR instead of risking his neck outside with the rest of us.” �śI bet she's the one did the sucking.” He recognized the voices as those of Johnny Lann and Buford Russell, the big rawboned Englishman. Both of them were E5s and much older than he. He didn't particularly like either one, but up until now he hadn't had anything against them, other than Lann's being �ŚNita's previous lover and Russell's being too loud and overbearing for his taste. It was Buford who'd made the first remark, but Lann had gone right along with it, implying that �ŚNita helped get him into astrogator training. He felt his neck burning and tried to tune out the remarks, but they continued until he dropped from the squad to enter his cabin. He was glad right then to be of a low rank. It meant that he was one of the first to separate from the others, since his cabin was nearer to the new dayroom than those of the higher ranking explorers and the Chiefs. It also meant that he didn't have to listen to any more of their bullshit. His only consolation before closing the hatch was hearing E5 Franika Bzinski's remark. �śYou think you're such hot shit, Lann, but your dick's about the size of your little finger and your balls wouldn't make good marbles for a two year old.” He didn't hear Lann's response, if he made one. Inside, he sat down until he stopped trembling from the surge of adrenalin. He wondered how he should handle it. Now that it was over, he could think of all kinds of cutting remarks he should have made. He imagined himself doing just that and knocking Lann head over heels when he talked back, but before long he told himself forcefully to shut off his daydreams and get busy. Lann and Russell were both his superiors, and it wouldn't do to get in a fight with either of them. Nevertheless, he still had trouble keeping his mind on business after he reported to the control room. �śWhat's wrong with you, Jere?” Jana asked in a whisper when Chambers stepped away for a moment, allowing them to practice at scanning for planetary masses by themselves. �śNothing. Just some talk I heard.” Jana chuckled. �śLet it be. If you heard it, everyone else will have heard it, too.” He felt his neck heating up again and hoped his tan coloring concealed it. But he knew it was true. What he'd heard would be repeated again and again and grow with the telling. Any gossip in the boat was news�"something to talk about and relieve the stress of their dire circumstances for a while. He knew he would have to confront Lann or Russell if either of them persisted with their untidy remarks, even if it meant getting beat to a pulp. Lann acted as if he was a tough, but Jeremy knew Russell was. He'd seen him in action. �śHow are you coming?” Chambers asked. �śOh, just fine, ma'am,” he blurted in surprise. He'd been so intent on his thoughts he hadn't noticed her coming back. �śIt appears you're a little slow solving this particular problem, Jeremy. Do you need some help?” �śUh, I think I've got it figured out now, ma'am.” �śHow about you, Jana?” �śI'm just waiting to change places with him,” she said. It was true. It was he who had been lagging, for a change. He got busy. It was a long two hours, and after that they both spent more time in Lieutenant Commander Chambers’ cabin before being dismissed. She sent them away with enough homework to keep them busy for hours more. He would have offered to study with Jana, but they had been specifically ordered to work the assigned problems on their own. He took time to fetch a ration before returning to his cabin. The work went slower than usual, but he persisted, and at last he was finished. He called Juanita but found a message stating that she was on duty for the next several hours. Lacking anything better to do, he went to bed. It hadn't been one of his better days, and that night he dreamed of fighting Johnny Lann. He lost. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Ten Early the next morning before roll call, Jeremy went down to Mideck and on to the remaining acceleration chairs. There he took a few minutes to gaze longingly out of both the port and starboard view ports. Where they had landed appeared to be a rather desolate piece of real estate, bordering on desert. Its paramount feature was the expanse of water he could see from the starboard port. Judging by the look of the tides he saw rolling in, the planet must have a fairly large moon, and he was probably looking at an ocean. Long, thin-walled, flexible hoses draped over rocks and a few peculiar spiked shrubs, and then descended to the water fifty meters or so downhill from their landing spot. From the looks of the terrain out the other port, the landing jacks must have had a time leveling the boat. It was composed mostly of small to medium-sized boulders strewn randomly across a plain that grew blurry with distance. He didn't feel so badly about having to remain with the boat and study now. Still, it would have been nice to get out and breathe some air that hadn't been recycled innumerable times since being refreshed at the last habitable planet. He checked his thumbnail and saw that it was time for the morning roll call. Before the boat had become their whole world, such gatherings had been held only once or occasionally twice a week. Otherwise, so long as the explorers kept themselves busy with studies and assigned tasks, including workouts, they were allowed to report virtually by computer. Now the routine was stricter. He knew Chief Dugan would become upset should he be late. He fell in beside Siegfrer as usual, with Whitey on his other side at the tail end of the back rank. Willy Whiteside was the only explorer in the squad more junior than he, and that was only because of his own higher standing in the same graduating class at the academy. The E5s were in the front rank with mostly E4s holding the middle. Chief Dugan hadn't arrived yet, and there was some talking going on, but thankfully none concerning him. But it's just a matter of time until it starts again, he thought. * * * * �śI'd hate to have to discipline either of them for idle gossip,” EO Gary Cantrell said from behind the desk on the Mideck compartment, where the explorer officers conducted business. COB Shinzyki and Chief Dugan were sitting opposite him in the only other chairs. �śBut is it idle, sir?” Shinzyki said. �śIt's coming pretty close to affecting the efficient functioning of the boat. We know it's just malicious gossip, but if the others begin believing it, then we have problems. No one likes it when officers play favorites, although we all know there's nothing to it in this case.” �śIt's the perception I'm worrying about,” Casey replied. �śYou know how it goes. Anything that's repeated often enough begins to be taken seriously. And this has been repeated long enough, I think.” Cantrell rubbed his chin. �śWhat would you like to do about it, Chief?” �śI want to have it stopped in a way that won't involve their superiors directly.” �śYou have an idea?” �śYes, sir, I believe I do.” �śCOB?” �śI know what she's thinking of, sir. It sounds good to me�"if it comes out like she thinks it will.” �śHmm. It wouldn't involve violence, would it?” �śOnly the kind that's authorized, sir,” Casey said. A hint of a smile played at the corners of her lips. Shinzyki gave a slow nod of approval. He and Casey had discussed the problem before ever talking to Cantrell. �śAll right, take care of it, but try to wait until we're in hyper again. Can you do that?” �śI think so, sir. We'll be keeping them so busy until we lift that they'll be too tired for much else.” �śI'll leave it with you, then.” After they departed Cantrell's office, Shinzyki stopped Casey with a tug on her arm. His powerful physique halted her dead in her tracks. �śWhat?” �śCan he really handle himself well enough?” �śHe's been working out with Martinez quite a while. Yes, I think so. And I know for certain she can, if he can't manage it.” �śGood enough.” * * * * �śAren't the Coyotes going out again tomorrow?” Joyce asked Jeremy toward the end of his and Jana's shift in the control room with her. �śYes, ma'am, they are. It'll probably be our last time this stop. The guys are saying the organics tanks are about full.” �śAnd half the Tigers will be dirtside, too, won't they?” �śYes, ma'am,” Jana said. �śWell, you two have been working hard. Why don't you take a day off from astrogation and see if your Chiefs will let you go with them tomorrow?” Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been on the verge of asking Dugan to intervene in allowing him to at least set foot on the planet once. In fact, it was in one of Commander Brackett's directives that �ŚNita had told him she'd heard�"instructing the officers to see that every person had at least a minimal amount of time off the ship. The only exception, she told him, was for reasons of discipline or the necessity of performing some duty that couldn't be delayed. He had begun to think the Commander had put astrogation in the last category, but apparently not. Chambers wouldn't have given them the time off, otherwise. He woke up early the next day and made certain all his gear was in perfect order. He certainly didn't want something like a downcheck on it to interfere with the day off from astrogation study. It almost certainly wouldn't be a real day off, though. Chief Dugan would have something for him to do�"most likely guard duty or working with the teams harvesting the scarce organic material. Even after the disaster on the last water world, they had to use hastily manufactured nets to gather sea life for most of the organics needed. There simply wasn't that much of it on any land close to available water, and he knew Commander Brackett didn't like moving the boat more than necessary, now that it was their only refuge. As he suspected, he was assigned to guard duty. He didn't know it was the favored duty until they were outside and Chief Dugan was busy talking to Mister Cantrell, giving Johnny Lann a chance to mouth off. �śShit, you must be sucking up to the Skipper and the astrogators both, Costa. How come you get guard duty, and I have to wade out in that slop and pull on nets all day and ruin my hands fooling with those fucking little wigglers?” �śThere're others with you,” Jeremy said reasonably. �śBut you aren't, are you, Cherry? Pretty damn good for someone on his first cruise. You gotta be bending over for someone.” �śScrew you, Lann. I've never asked for anything special.” �śSure you haven't. Just give �ŚNita a good fuck and she'll ask for you.” He came very near to losing his temper but managed to keep from lashing out at the big E5. Only the fact that he was pretty sure Russell put him up to mouthing off kept him from it. Instead, he turned his back without saying a word and walked away with the other guards when Dugan returned to place them. �śRight here, Costa,” she told him after the others were in position. �śKeep your eye on those rocks. You'll be looking for something like a big millipede that comes down from the boulders and feeds in the surf during daylight. That's the most likely, but don't let your guard down. We don't know much about this place.” �śI've heard about the millipedes,” he said. �śMean buggers and hard to kill.” �śRight you are, Costa. Use your hand laser if one comes your way. It works better than a rifle.” She leaned closer and added, �śYou did exactly right with Lann. Don't let anyone aggravate you. These things have a way of dying out, if you keep your cool.” �śThanks, Chief,” he said but wondered how on Earth she had overheard. Or perhaps she was talking about the previous occasion? He didn't know, but he was glad now that he hadn't started anything. Before the day was out, he found himself wanting the dirtside duty to be over and to get back inside the boat. It was hot and humid and boring. He drank most of his water and had to take an electrolyte pill. Simpson passed those out to everyone on the first day out, right after an explorer fell out from heat exhaustion. The only excitement came late in the day, or shift, rather, since the �śday” amounted to nearly fifty hours. One of the millipede things attacked the guard farthest from his own post. Even at that distance it looked big, but several pulses from the guard's laser made it roll onto its back. Its tiny stumps of legs twitched as it died. It went into the presser along with the heaps of small flopping and wriggling sea life that fed in the shallows and was its normal prey. So long as they were taking on water, everyone had been encouraged to take showers every day. It felt great to stand under the cool water, even though he'd had to wait half an hour in line and shower with two other men, one of them being Johnny Lann. He ignored Lann as best he could. They all washed socks and undergarments at the same time. This is going to become very old before it's over, he thought. The engineering officer was trying to rig something up to do laundry in batches, but so far he hadn't managed anything but a small working model that broke soon after he began testing it. His private com tingled his arm while he sluiced water from his body. �śCosta,” he said after tapping his forearm. It was Juanita. �śHey, Jere. I'm free tonight. Grab your ration and come see me.” Just the sound of her voice brightened his spirits. What with the landing, maintenance and taking on supplies she hadn't managed much time for him lately. The spacers were busier than the explorers. �śI'll be there soon as I can,” he said. �śDon't rush. She's probably giving someone else a blow job,” Lann said from behind him. He turned around and found Lann grinning slyly, as if he knew something. He stared at the tall, handsome explorer for a moment, wondering how such a numbnut could have been borne in that great body. He also wondered what �ŚNita had ever seen in him, but only for a moment. Any woman would be attracted to a hunk like him at first. He started to reply with a cutting remark, but at the last moment he remembered what Chief Dugan had told him. He turned his back and finished dressing while Lann laughed at him. It was hard to leave it at that. He managed, but couldn't keep from thinking that the slander didn't seem to be dying out as Dugan told him it would. * * * * �śYou look like you're mad at the world, Jere. What's wrong?” Juanita asked him after a long first kiss. �śJust some guys mouthing off. It's nothing to worry about.” �śYou didn't get into it with them, did you?” she said as if she knew exactly who he meant. �śI wanted to,” he said. �śHey, I had to bring my ration. D'you mind if I eat now?” �śI waited on you.” She pulled him down to the couch and picked up her own meal, still wrapped in its edible covering. He peeled off the wrapper of the ration and used some of �ŚNita's seasoning on it before folding it and bringing it to his mouth. He took a bite and wrinkled his nose at the taste, which resembled seafood slightly past its prime. Having followed suit, she said, �śDon't let those jerks bother you. It'll work out. Wait and see if it doesn't.” She seemed to know exactly what was going on. Well, it would be weird if she didn't, the way Lann and Russell talked. Still... �śIt had better die down, �ŚNita. I'm not going to take much more of their shit. I could stand it if it were just me, but they're talking about you like...” he stopped, not wanting to repeat some of the things he'd heard. �śNever mind. I know what Johnny and Buford Russell are saying. I can take care of myself, so keep your cool. Okay?” �śIf you say so.” �śI do. Finish your ration and let's go to bed. We'll be leaving early.” * * * * Hurricane Jack left the planet shortly after roll call the next morning. This time, Jeremy found himself being held with tractors in a cargo bay, along with other lower-ranking explorers. It was uncomfortable, and he was glad finally to be released. He made his way back toward his cabin, intending to stop briefly and then head for the control room. Before he arrived, his com tickled, and he received an all-squad message. All Coyotes report to exercise room. Repeat, all Coyotes report to the exercise room. Roll call in ten minutes. Now what? he thought. He had been actually looking forward to getting back into astrogator's training after spending only one day dirtside. He had found nothing interesting there, for sure. He found himself walking with Siegfrer toward the gym. �śWhat's happening, Jere. Do you know?” �śI don't have a clue, Sieg. Guess we'll find out in a few minutes.” �śAnything but hauling on nets. You got off easy.” �śHuh! I'd just as soon not have. A couple of guys implied I was being singled out for easy duty.” She glanced at him and continued walking. �śI know who you're talking about. Big mouths, small dicks, if you ask me.” He laughed, feeling a little better. It lasted only until he fell in with the others along one bulkhead of what the chiefs and officers called the exercise room and explorers and spacers had named the gym. �śAll right, I see everyone is here,” Chief Dugan said. �śNow let's get those machines moved out of the way and some mats on the deck. Most of you have been shirking on hand-to-hand, and that irks me. When I get to feeling like this, the only cure is watching some of you inept little boys and girls pair up and give each other some bruises.” Jeremy knew something was awry. To begin with, the type of exercise was usually left up to the individual explorer so long as they worked the prescribed amount of time and stayed within the parameters designated. Next, hand-to-hand was usually done in a smaller room adjacent to the gym. So far as he knew, only a few explorers used it, thinking that type of exercise wasn't likely to be used much on new worlds with no human antagonists. And finally, he couldn't remember Dugan ever telling her explorers whom to pair off with on the rare occasions when they did select hand-to-hand exercise. A tingle of apprehension coursed through his body as she continued speaking. �śListen up for your partners.” She began calling off names by twos. �śSorenson and Luna” �śWhiteside and N'Kuma” �śBzinski and Prosky” �śKaneha and Smith” �śLann and Costa” �śBruker and...” He felt his heart drop and his testicles lift as they tried to crowd into the safety of his body. Dugan must have deliberately set this up to where he and Lann could work out their differences on the mat. In front of an audience, no less. He wondered if Lann suspected. As Sorenson and Luna moved out to the center of the gym to start, he tried frantically to remember all that Juanita had taught him during their frequent sessions in the gym�"and hoping that Johnny Lann hadn't been doing any H&H, or if he had, that someone as good as �ŚNita hadn't been teaching him! [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Eleven �śWhere's Costa today?” Commander Brackett asked Joyce, soon after she reported to the control room. �śChief Dugan has had the whole squad in the exercise room since right after we lifted off, sir. I suppose they're working out or something. Costa commed to tell me he couldn't be here until after the Chief finished with them.” �śI see. Well, carry on with Waters, then. Assist Lieutenant Whistler in showing her how we start getting the boat lined up for transit.” �śYes, sir. Waters, come over here and stand beside me, so that you can see the route we're taking on a star map. When Lieutenant Whistler begins the lining up procedure, we'll step over and stand behind him and watch the details on the big screen, with his permission.” Whistler gave a bare, grudging nod. It irritated her. She would just as soon have done the lineup herself, but Brackett was still being meticulously fair in not letting an interloper like her insert herself into a position already held by one of the boat's crew. She thought it somewhat odd, but perhaps he was playing it safe by keeping Whistler mollified until she got the youngsters trained. Personally, she thought the man was unstable and should be replaced, but it wasn't her call. And of course, where would he go if he was? Hurricane Jack was it�"their whole world, until they returned. The screen she was using to show Waters the course they proposed to travel displayed an unwavering pattern of stars, unlike what was seen in hyper, where each time a ship blinked momentarily back into normal space the vista would have changed. At present it remained steadily in place, with the pinpoint of a G type star circled. It was their target. �śYou know the reason for picking stars in the G sequence, of course?” she asked. �śYes, ma'am. They're more likely to have planets with free water and the type of organics we need for the recyclers.” �śRight. What you're seeing here is our next target star. Now let's expand the map to show enough of the galaxy to include Earth's sun and our present position.” She fiddled with the keys for a moment and the display changed. It now showed part of the face of their galaxy. �śHere's Earth's approximate location, right at the edge of the Orion spur. We've traveled from there to the other side of it and along this path to where you see our present position. Now look at the scale.” Jana looked closely and made a quick estimate. �śNo wonder it's going to take so long to get home.” �śUh huh, but the Sam Johnston could have made it back in a couple of months, probably less. Now let's look at our route and you'll see another reason. On this scale we can't show the exact stars we think we'll use in the near future and we don't even know which ones we'll use as targets after another month or two, but here's our rough line of travel.” After she caused a blinking dot to appear on the star map, the dot changed to a line. It traveled up the Orion arm at an angle and arrived on the opposite side of where Earth was located, and then made a sharp turn toward the home world. �śSee? That's much farther than the way we came, isn't it? Sam Johnson could take the short way directly toward Earth, but we don't dare, until we know for certain the Monkeys aren't following us. Right now we know they are.” �śYes, ma'am.” Jana said, and frowned. �śI wonder how big their empire is? I mean, did they originate in the Orion Spur or have they made a big enough thing of expansion to have come from the Sagittarius arm?” She eyed the questioner. �śI rather doubt it, given the technology we saw, but I suppose it's possible. And they may have more in the hole than what we saw their starship do. But that's not our worry now.” �śThe hell it isn't,” she heard Whistler mutter. She didn't think he intended to be overheard. Or possibly he did. He hadn't agreed with this route to begin with, by discounting any chance of being followed by the Monkeyclaws. Surely, he'd changed his mind by now. Whatever, after Costa spotted the Monkeyclaw ship, or another like it, and proved him wrong, he had become even more surly than usual. Whistler didn't start the lineup until after Commander Brackett glanced his way more than once, and with increasing impatience each time. Finally he began the procedure, and she moved over behind him, drawing Waters with her. He spoke in a low, almost unintelligible voice as he gave incomplete explanations for what he was doing. She gritted her teeth and stood for it. She could always go over it again when Whistler wasn't around. In fact, she would have to with Costa, so Waters could sit in with him. * * * * �śOkay, Kaneha and Smith. You're up. Let's see if you can't look more alive than you did dirtside. Those Millipedes almost ate you both for lunch.” Jeremy wished that he and Lann could have gone first and gotten it over with. During the entire time he had spent watching the previous pairs, he had been thinking so much he hardly remembered who'd come out on top. He and Lann were up next, as soon as this bout was over. His pulse had slowed, but it speeded back up as he thought of the coming fight, just as it had done several times already. And as he had previously, he tried to remember all that he'd learned at the academy and all that Juanita had taught him. Each time his mind was a blank. All that came to him was her telling him that he could be really good at hand-to-hand if he practiced regularly. Had he known this was coming, he would have urged her to spar with him here more often, instead of in bed. Even so, he had been with �ŚNita frequently enough that he should have learned something, even if he couldn't remember it right now. He'd better start, though, or Johnny Lann would wipe up the mat with his battered body. �śLann, you and Costa get in your gear,” Dugan said without taking her eyes off the two figures in the center of the gym flailing at each other's cammie-clad body. The only punches that had to be pulled were ones to the head and neck. The cammies became rigid almost instantly and protected against damage from hard blows but the force of them could be felt. He held the helmet in his hand while he waited for the bout between Kaneha and Smith to be finished. He had no idea who was ahead on points. He sighed, listening to Lann laugh and talk with Russell, who was an odd man. Casey would probably take him on for a few minutes once the others had finished and demonstrate how she could plaster the ship with the skin of anyone who went to the mat with her. �śCosta, Lann. You're up.” He came back to his senses, realizing he'd been daydreaming and had not even noticed when the bout he thought he was watching was over. He slipped the helmet over his head and tightened it down. He walked slowly to the center of the gym. Lann was already there, waiting. �śGo to it,” Dugan said simply, not plying either of them with words as she'd done the others. It made him realize all the more this was a grudge match, set up by the Chief for reasons of her own. Maybe she wanted to see him get his ass kicked, although he couldn't think of any rationale for why she'd want that. He ducked back suddenly as Lann whipped a left-footed kick at him. Without even thinking about it, he stepped out of the way and countered with a kick of his own to the inside of Lann's right knee. Whirling backwards, he came in low as Lann completed his turn and threw an off-balance punch. Jeremy ducked it easily. Having captured his opponent's other arm, he bent it away from him. It made Lann have to use both knees to try flipping backward to take the tension off. It broke the hold he had, but left him in a perfect position for a kick to the head. He completed it, not hitting as hard as he really wanted to. He stepped back, surprised at how easily it had gone. Thinking about what he'd done was almost his undoing. Lann rolled and came to his feet with rage written on his face. He was cautious, though. He feinted, and Jeremy fell for it. He rolled with the punch but even against the helmet it made him dizzy. He was barely able to keep his balance and avoid the next blow. After that, he stopped thinking and let his trained reflexes take over, just as �ŚNita had taught him. He proceeded to batter Lann silly, using both hands and feet. Towards the last, when he could see his opponent was about finished, he moved in close for a grab, avoiding Lann's feeble effort to knee him in the groin. He held Lann tightly for a moment while their faces were close together. �śLay off me, or I'll catch you alone and break every fucking bone in your body!” he said through his mouthpiece. He shoved Lann away and finished him off more slowly, trying deliberately to hurt him. He didn't even realize what he was doing until he had Johnny on the ground and was preparing to punch his lights out. �śBreak! Break! The match is over!” He heard Dugan's shrill voice as through a fog but nevertheless a trained obedience to it kept him from delivering the final blow. He stood up and walked away from Lann, not deigning to wait for the formal bows. No one said a word as he prepared to pull off his helmet, but he wasn't allowed to finish. �śAll right, Russell,” Casey said. �śGet in there and see what you can do with Costa. It ought to be easy. He's tired.” And he was tired, but not so much that he couldn't defeat Russell too, when he saw the man coming in scared. Within a minute, Russell was covering up and simply trying not to get hurt too badly. �śBreak! Break! Match over!” This time he heard Dugan clearly. �śPut up your gear and fall out,” she said. �śTake an hour, and then report to the day room. Costa, you're overdue in the control room. Get a move on.” Jeremy was whistling by the time he arrived even though his cheek hurt from the one time Lann had gotten to him cleanly. * * * * Lt. Commander Chambers looked at him rather oddly when he reported in. �śI'm glad to have you back, Jeremy.” She peered more closely at him. �śIs that a bruise I see on your face?” �śUh, yes ma'am, I guess it is. Chief Dugan had all the Coyotes in the gym working on our H&H.” �śH&H?” �śYou know. Hand-to-hand combat. It's a required course at the Explorer Academy, and I guess she thought we haven't been practicing enough.” �śWe called it something different when I was there. Are you as good at it as you are astrogation?” �śUm, I guess I'm okay, ma'am. It's good exercise, anyway.” She nodded. �śIf you're ready, we'll go over how to get the boat lined up again. Waters, it won't hurt you to watch again while I explain to Jeremy. Lieutenant Whistler�"never mind.” He could imagine how little instruction Jana had gotten if Whistler had been doing it. He had passed him in the passageway leading to the control room and the man had ignored his greeting. �ś...and the gravity compensator is equally as important to lining up as the thrusters are,” Chamber said. �śCan you tell me why?” �śI ... no, ma'am. I'm sorry, I don't know why,” Jeremy answered. �śNo reason why you should, since I haven't covered it yet, so you don't have to be sorry. However, you always have to remember to set it for hyper and have the computer kick in the new settings so that it changes at the same instant we enter hyper. The compensator has to be perfectly calibrated so that it switches back and forth between the gravity in hyper and the normal one G it's set for in the boat.” �śWhat would happen if it didn't?” Chambers shuddered theatrically. �śI suspect the boat would come to pieces before we even realized it was happening. We could simply turn off the compensator, and that's been done before, but I promise you wouldn't like it. Hyper is weird enough as it is.” �śWhy does hyperspace even have gravity?” �śIt doesn't have, exactly, just as we don't have real gravity in the boat. We're getting way out of the realm of practical astrogation and into the theoretical now, though. Let's stick to basics, and then, if you're interested, we can go into the theory after you've qualified.” He nodded in unison with Jana, and the lesson continued. The more he learned of the art and science of astrogating, the more he realized what a terribly complex subject it was. There was much more to it than simply knowing the position of the bodies of mass involved in a transit. He could see why Commander Brackett wanted more of the crew capable of steering the boat, just as the starships carried more than one astrogator. He made notes as Chambers talked and demonstrated. He could see more hard study in his future. * * * * The queasy disorientation of transit passed. Jeremy stood carefully out of the way while Lieutenant Whistler used the gravity detector and telescope to begin searching for planetary masses. Whistler was still searching hours later when Jeremy and Jana were told to report back to COB Shinzyki in the big dayroom. Jeremy walked in and quickly took a seat, as it was evident that Shinzyki had been waiting on him before beginning whatever it was he had in mind. There were not only explorers there, but two spacer petty officers as well. He knew their names�"CPO Clare Shinn and PO John Silks. Juanita was there, too. �śIs that everyone?” Shinzyki asked formally. �śYes, sir,” Chief Dugan said. �śAll right. The Dragons had it last time, so it's the Coyotes’ turn. Commander Brackett has ordered that we get more explorers trained in spacesuit work. Chief PO Shinn and PO Silks and Spacer Martinez will be your instructors. Chief Dugan?” �śThank you, sir. Let's get to it. I know all of you explorers have had the training in academy, but this looks to be shaping up into a real excursion. So far, all that's been found here is a lot of junk. So much, in fact, that Mr. Shinzyki says the Commander doesn't want us going in much farther. He has ordered us to tank up on water, though, which means suited work. We'll begin practicing now, and if it turns out as I expect it to, we'll probably begin an excursion tomorrow or the next day to an ice ball of some sort. Let's split into three teams and get started.” [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twelve Jeremy had been in space suits at the academy but not since then. Those structured learning experiences proved to be much easier than what he was doing now. Starship crews ordinarily furnished most of the water and organics to their longboats, so he had little experience with excursions to asteroids. Despite having a fully fueled thruster tank on his suit, and despite knowing it was computer controlled so tightly that it was almost impossible for the suit to go out of order, he was still afraid that it would send him flying in the wrong direction. Commander Brackett had made his intentions known: no one was to do a single bit of work without first attaching safety lines. This exercise was cumbersome and different from the situation during training, where the emphasis had been on maneuvering with thrusters. It was also very tiring. He could put up with those two aspects of the job well enough. It was the com units that proved to be the hardest. �śDamn it, Costa, get the hell off the all-suits circuit and use your single!” PO Silk's exasperated voice came to him as a surprise. He thought he'd touched the right spot on the forearm of his suit with his glove-clad finger, but apparently he had not. He quickly killed the all-suits circuit and went back to listening to Silk's directions. �śPull harder, Costa. Okay, that's about right. Now keep the tension on, so it doesn't whip around when it fills and hit someone.” He was holding the big hose attached to a vacuum chipper that would feed ice into a heater attached to the armored hull of the boat. From there, water would flow into the tanks in the boat until they were topped off. Every now and then the hose had to be shifted to get the chipper away from rocks and gravel imbedded in the ice ball they'd found. Their boat now lay alongside of the mass of ice. It was boring work, just as guard duty at the last stop had been, but here he knew better than to let his attention wander. Space was an unforgiving realm: an empty eternity speckled with tiny lights so far away as to be unimaginable. The hose slackened in his grip. He took the occasion to flex the fingers of first one hand and then the other while waiting for it to fill again. �śLet's move it starboard and forward a little,” he heard CPO Shinn say, and then Silk's voice came to him right afterward. Immediately, Jeremy used his recoilless piton gun to drive in another tether�"he was just about to the end of his original one. �śHeads up, Costa, Nguyen. Move forward and starboard when CPO Shinn gives the order. Nguyen first.” There was a pause while he oriented himself. Then he heard Shinn. �śNguyen, move now.” He waited until Nguyen had completed his move and driven in another piton before he started. Carefully, he tapped his thrusters. The hose moved with him. It went very slowly as he remained mindful of what might happen should he get in a hurry. He could pull the hose loose from either the ones forward or from Nguyen. He could possibly cause the bulky ice chipper to break from the grasp of its handler and hurt someone, especially if the air supply that furnished the propelling force for the ice chips was accidentally set off before the hose was secured. Once set, he drove another piton and looped a short line back through the grommet. That provided him with a loop to push his arm through and anchor him by pulling up on it. Once settled, he kept his eyes to the front. It was easy to get mixed up on a space walk if you tried to pay attention to anything but the job in hand. Presently the order to begin chipping again was given. �śSecure hose; prepare for feed.” He put both hands on the hose and waited for it to fill with the flow of millions of tiny ice chips, propelled by an air feed and suction. From the corner of his eye he could see a white cloud billowing from the head of the hose where some ice and air always escaped backwards. The hose flexed in his hands then jerked. �śShit! Grab the damned...” CPO Shinn's surprised yell was cut off in mid-sentence. Jeremy had no idea what was happening, but com discipline went to hell in a second. Voices came to him as a bedlam of confusion, one overriding another and intermingled with screams and gasping, gurgling noises that sounded horrible. The hose flexed wildly in his hand, making it hard to hold. �śWhiteside! Belay the chipper!” Juanita's voice overrode the others but the suffocating noises were already growing quieter. �śMaintain com silence unless directed! Emergency procedures! Costa, belay the hose and move forward on the secure line to the limit of your tether.” Jeremy used his piton gun to drive a grommet. He used it to wrap a short line over the hose and clamp it loosely in place. He then moved slowly forward, letting the now slack hose slide through his hand. He felt his tether lose slack and then stop him. Automatically, he again used his recoilless gun to drive another piton grommet. He then waited for more orders. He used the time to look ahead of him and try to see what had happened. It didn't take long. Two suited figures dangled weightlessly at the end of their safety tethers�"Nguyen and Silks, judging by the designs on their suits. Nguyen's suit was ripped along the length of one leg, all the way to the hip. He shuddered. No one could survive that big a tear in his suit. Silks wasn't moving, but air was still escaping from his suit out of multiple small breaches. Even as Jeremy watched, the flow of air slowed. There was little hope for him, either. Juanita's suit had bright green markings. She was bent over a third unmoving figure, CPO Shinn, who also had multiple suit breaches. Her suit, however, was not as badly breached as were those of the other two casualties. �śCosta, move forward again. Whiteside, remain in place.” Jeremy repeated the previous maneuver. It brought him to where Juanita was trying to staunch the air loss. He hurriedly yanked a patch from the underside of his left arm and handed it to her. As quickly as she took it, he peeled off another and had it ready. Inside the clear bell of her helmet he saw �ŚNita shake her head. She smoothed the last patch in place and stood up. �śLet's get her inside,” she said. �śThe readouts look bad, but she's still breathing, I think.” Together they brought Shinn back to the airlock and cycled her through. He was unsurprised to see COB Shinzyki waiting by the inside airlock. He would have been surprised if he hadn't been there. �śI'll take her from here. You two go back and bring the others in. One at a time, mind,” he said, and then indicated the suited figure of Shinn. �śAny hope?” �śI don't know. We got her patched soon as possible, but I had to get the chipper secured first. It was flailing around.” She tapped Jeremy's shoulder. �śLet's go.” He turned back to the exit and waited while the first airlock hatch behind them began swinging shut. The last thing he saw before the closing airlock cut off his vision was Shinzyki pulling the helmet cover away. Shinn's face was unrecognizable for the bubbly red froth that covered the inside faceplate. Juanita depleted the air inside the airlock and then opened the outer door. �śCome on. There's no hurry, Jeremy, so be careful. Hear me?” Right,” he said. He would rather be out recovering bodies than have to be one of the ones opening the suits and removing the casualties. As �ŚNita said, there was no hurry. He paid close attention to what he was doing, but it still left time to wonder how hard this would hit the boat. The dead were a Spacer and a Spacer PO and probably a Spacer CPO. It had to hurt, not just the deaths, but also the loss of irreplaceable knowledge and skill with regard to the techniques of boat handling. Ironically, it was the three senior Spacers who had been killed or injured rather than the explorers. Sure, there were the manuals, and COB Shinzyki probably knew more than everyone else had forgotten, but there was only one of him. He couldn't be everywhere. Jeremy felt guilty for thinking of the dead in those terms, but he couldn't stop himself. It had been impressed on everyone how few of them there were, and how far they had to go. Any loss hurt, and losses like that of the two senior spacers and probably another hurt even worse. He remembered how �ŚNita had shaken her head. He doubted that Shinn would survive. * * * * �śLet the bodies be cast forth.” Commander Brackett finished the ceremony and motioned for air to be expelled from the airlock. It would take the bodies with it. �śCrew may return to duties. Officers, come with me.” Lisa Trammell had observed the ceremony over the control room com while she maintained a watch. She was the only officer there. Brackett's voice matched the composed demeanor he had maintained since the accident. She thought he had already had to perform this chore too many times, but he seemed to be holding up. Of course, his calm acceptance of the casualties could just be a show. She felt certain that part of it was. The captain or commander of a ship or boat had to appear that way, despite the brutality of deaths among their crew. The first hint that he was losing it would affect everyone. On the other hand, his coolness and determination in the face of calamity would go far toward keeping the crew functioning, however long their journey lasted. Brackett nodded to Lisa as he and the other boat officers, including the EOs, entered the control room. He dismissed the spacer technician and stood facing them until she was gone. �śCOB, are the tanks topped off?” �śYes, sir.” �śThen I think it's time we departed this system. Lieutenant Whistler, you'll have the astrogation watch. Begin lining the boat up for transit thirty minutes from now. The rest of you remain for a moment, please.” Lisa was prepared for a pep talk, but instead he asked simply, �śWhat happened out there?” Characteristically, he had gotten the tasks of filling the water tanks and the burial in space of the three fatalities over with before inquiring. It's noteworthy, she thought, that he's conducting a review of the accident informally, rather than having a board sit for it, as he did with prior casualties. Shinzyki answered. �śIt was an air blow. A damned big one. No one expected such a huge air pocket from that damn little ice ball.” �śHow about the equipment? Could anything there have been a factor in causing it? Or could it have had anything to do with how bad the blow was?” �śNo, sir. I've already examined the equipment and the site of the pocket. It was just damned bad luck and nothing else.” He shook his head and grimaced. �śI've also questioned Martinez and the two Explorers extensively. They had just relieved the other shift and had already cleaned out one spot and moved to the next and started the chipper. That's when it happened. The air pocket blew out and sent the chipper careening into the two nearest ones and splinters of ice got the third. No warning at all. Costa and Martinez did what they could for Shinn, but it was too late. Her suit had too many punctures and she lost too much air before they could get her sealed.” �śI see. That's going to put us awfully short in the skilled boat jobs.” �śWe're taking care of that, sir,” Lisa said. �śMister Shinzyki and I have gone over our personnel rosters. We think you should brevet Juanita Martinez to CPO and promote Wynonna Jones to PO. Lieutenant Wong and Lieutenant Medford will help them out as much as possible. It's a big jump for Martinez, in particular. That will throw more of a workload on the other boat officers, but we'll manage. Also, Mister Shinzyki believes it would be of benefit to transfer several enlisted explorers into spacer slots. We've been going over the personnel files with the Explorer officers to find some with strong engineering backgrounds or other talents that would make them suitable.” Brackett nodded genially. �śIt sounds good. Will there be any, umm, personal problems with Martinez in her new rank?” Smiling to herself, Lisa nodded to Shinzyki to answer. Brackett didn't miss much. She knew exactly to what he referred. Costa's feelings were liable to get hurt, but he could manage. And Martinez would cope with whatever she had to do. Whether she knew it or not, she had already been in line for rapid promotion. Despite not having much college other than what she'd picked up in service, she had lots of talent and a can-do attitude to go with a solid grounding in her basic education skills. She had also been studying hard to increase her knowledge since enlisting. �śThere will be no problem there, sir. We haven't quite decided on the explorers yet, but I feel certain they will volunteer for the transfer when asked.” Lisa was sure they would. No one declined a request from a COB of Shinzyki's caliber and reputation. It would be like saying no to God. �śVery well. Send me the paperwork when it's all arranged. Is there anything else we need to go over now?” �śNo, sir.” �śFine. Notify me when we're lined up. I'll be in my cabin.” The officers stood where they were until Brackett departed. Having given them leave to go, Lisa turned to watch Whistler at work. His lack of interaction with the rest of the crew really worried her. He had never been a congenial man, but since the loss of Sam Johnston he had retreated into a shell. So far it hadn't appeared to affect the caliber of his work, other than his cooperating as little as possible in the training of the two apprentice astrogators. She felt as if she could live with that, since it did give Joyce something to do and made her feel less like a fifth wheel, but it shouldn't have come to that. When all was said and done, Whistler was shirking his duty. She had brought it up once with the Commander, but he shrugged it off with the notation that Joyce could do the training. She thought he should have called Whistler to account, but it might be that he knew the astrogator better than she did. Perhaps he had a reason. If so, she thought he should have shared it with her. After all, how was she supposed to do her job if she didn't know what he wanted? As she observed Whistler getting the boat lined up for the run to transit, she noticed a tic at the corner of his mouth that she hadn't seen before. It twitched steadily as a metronome while he worked. And were the frown lines on his face deeper than usual? It was hard to tell. She made a mental note to have Joyce go back over all his calculations from now on. While he wasn't present, of course. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Thirteen After a stint in the control room, Jeremy was on his way back to his cabin to freshen up a bit. His mind buzzed with numbers, equations, star sequences, distances, impeller strength, capacitor readings and all the other factors necessary for successful transitions. He missed seeing Siegfrer until she called to him. Stopping, he watched her pull her hands out of an access panel and voice-mark the place in her Reader. It looked as if she had pulled down the circuit diagrams for the life support modules of the longboat. �śHey, Sieg. What are you doing there?” �śMy new job. You haven't heard?” �śHeard what?” �śThree other ratings and I have been pulled from explorer duty and reassigned to the boat with a promotion to Spacer Four. One of us will probably be brevetted to Chief, but they didn't say who. And what I'm doing now is trying to trace down a voltage fluctuation for the number two life support module.” �śWhen did this happen? Oh�"never mind. I can guess. How did you get picked?” �śInnate mechanical talent and good math and electronics scores, so far as I know. Plus looks and talent, of course. I worked in my Dad's tech shop while I was in school, right up to when I joined up. That's probably the real reason.” �śHm. Coyotes were already short handed. Congratulations, though. Who else got picked?” �śRothman, Smith and Wasserman.” He pictured Tiny Smith's big hands trying to adjust potentials in microcircuits and laughed. �śWhat's funny?” �śNothing, really. I just can't quite picture Tiny for delicate work.” �śI think he's with Lieutenant Medford. She's supervising all the maintenance now. And Lieutenant Wong is helping with the engineering scut work, so I hear.” �śWow. What else have I missed?” �śI heard some Spacers got promoted, but I don't know who.” �śIt shouldn't be hard to discover. There aren't that many of them left.” He wondered if Juanita was one of those chosen. She deserves it, if anyone does, he thought. He decided to go by her place first and find out. �śSee you later. Have fun.” �śYou, too, Jere.” When he tapped at Juanita's door, no one answered. Her name plate was missing, too. Strange. He went back to his cabin and tried her personal com. �śCPO Martinez.” �ś'Nita?” He recognized her voice but not the title. �śThis is Chief Petty Officer Juanita Martinez.” �śUh, �ŚNita. This is Jeremy. Where are you?” �śI'm busy right now.” �śWhen can I come see you?” �śGo to your cabin. Leave the door open, and I'll be there in a minute.” Puzzled at her abruptness, he did so. He had been waiting only a short time when she appeared. Her face was a mask, without the usual smile lines and cheerful demeanor. �śHi �ŚNita,” he said, and then saw her new insignia. �śCongratulations.” �śThanks. Jere, I'm busy and I can't stay, so I'll make it short and sweet. We can't see each other any more.” �śWe can't? Why not?” She said nothing but tapped the new insignia on the sleeves of her cammies. He could practically feel the air going out of his sails. Of course. Chief Petty Officers and Explorer ratings couldn't mix like that. �śI'm sorry, Jeremy.” She looked both ways and when she saw no one in sight she leaned forward and kissed him quickly�"a little peck. �śMe, too,” he said. He had trouble getting the words out. His heart felt about twice the size it should be, and it somehow seemed to have migrated to his throat. She winked at him and strode away. If he hadn't seen the incipient tears in her eyes he would have thought she hadn't really cared for him. * * * * The next day as they passed each other while he was again returning from the control room he managed to greet her almost normally. �śAfternoon, Chief,” he said. �śAfternoon, Costa.” She nodded in a friendly fashion, but that was all. The night after he found out about her promotion, he'd had trouble sleeping. He felt sorry for himself and thought about how unfair the universe was, but eventually he did doze off. When he woke up, he felt better. He decided he should be glad for Juanita. She had received a jump of several ranks, even if it was a brevet promotion. If they made it back, he felt sure it would become permanent. He didn't know until the next day that he had been promoted, too. Commander Brackett himself presented him with his new insignia when he reported to the control room. �śCosta.” �śSir?” Having the Commander address him was unusual enough that at first he couldn't believe he was being spoken to. �śYes, you. Come here,” he said sternly. Quivering inside but trying his best not to show it, he approached the commander's seat. Brackett came to his feet as he neared. He stopped and came to attention in front of him. �śChief Dugan and Mister Cantrell have both recommended you for promotion to Brevet Explorer Five. Congratulations.” �śUh, thank you, sir.” The whole thing happened so swiftly and so causally that he had to gather his wits to meet the commander's outstretched hand and shake it. Brackett then pasted his new insignia to the arm of his cammies. �śNow I'll expect you to work twice as hard as you have been, Costa. Lieutenant Commander Chambers is waiting on you.” �śYes, sir. I will, sir. Thank you.” He thought he saw a faint smile on Brackett's face before he turned and hurried over to where Chambers was waiting, but he thought he was probably mistaken. Commander Brackett rarely frowned, but he smiled even less frequently. Chambers congratulated him then, and Waters did as well. After that, they got to work. As the days passed, the other officers also offered him a courtesy congratulation�"all except Whistler. He never mentioned it. Jeremy thought at first that some of the crew might be offended by his promotion that skipped two grades, but he saw no sign of it. Then he figured they all knew how hard he had been working to learn astrogation and to try keeping up with work details and other crew activities. Surprisingly, Johnny Lann congratulated him, apparently sincerely. He took it as a sign that their differences were behind them. Buford Russell, on the other hand, stayed aloof. He could live with that so long as Russell kept his mouth shut. * * * * The next several transits turned out little better than the one before. The systems did have planets, but they were either completely sterile or had other factors that made them less than desirable. They kept the water tanks topped off but were forced to mine a carbonaceous asteroid for organics. It gave the food a greasy taste, but it was palatable. On the next transit, the longboat set down by a tideless sea and took on water, but there were no organics to be had. The monotony of the rations turned out by the recyclers got bad enough so that some of the emergency spacerats were issued for two days to break the cycle. Jeremy thought they tasted pretty good by comparison, but he was usually so tired by bedtime that it mattered little what he ate. He dived even further into the study of astrogation as an anodyne for not having Juanita to sleep with. His studies were increasingly interesting but also becoming more difficult. Thinking of Juanita gave him an idea. He tapped his forearm and pulled up her personal comm. �śChief Martinez.” �ś'Nita�"I mean, Chief�"I've been studying so hard that I'm falling behind on my exercise. Could I interest you in some H&H the next day or two if you have time?” He waited several endless moments until she finally answered. �śThis isn't a ploy, is it, Jere?” �śNo, Chief. I really am getting flabby, and I'd rather exercise with you than by myself, that's all.” �śUm, all right. I'm free at seven. Will that work?” �śYes, that'd be okay. I can pick up on what I'm doing afterward.” �śFine. See you.” She tapped off before he could say anything else. That evening she pounded him good for almost an hour until he finally had to call a halt to it. �śUncle! Pax! I give up!” He relaxed fully and she let him untangle himself. He got up slowly and gave the traditional bow, and then held out his hand. She took it and gave him a wry smile. �śYou're not that much out of shape, Jere. We'll have to do it again.” �śThanks, Chief. I'm glad.” She looked around, and then said, �śYou can call me �ŚNita when we're alone, Jere. Just make damn sure we are alone. And don't read anything into it. Okay?” �śSure. I need to get back. Jana will be waiting on me. She needs a little help with the transit equations.” �śYou're really getting into astrogation, aren't you? And by the way, congratulations on your promotion. I think you deserved it. Everyone knows how hard you've been working, and you haven't piped yourself up from being in the control room so much. That's good.” �śThanks, �ŚNita. I try.” �śI've heard. I wouldn't be surprised if you outrank me before it's over with. Gotta run. Next Wednesday?” �śYes. What did you mean by...” But she was already hurrying away. * * * * �śI hope we find something better this time,” Jeremy said to Chambers as they were approaching transit again. �śDon't say that!” Chambers told him sharply. �śWhy not, ma'am?” he asked with a puzzled expression. Her frown disappeared. �śOh, no reason, really. Just control room superstition. Never wish for what you'll find in a new system. It's supposed to be bad luck.” �śI'm sorry.” �śYou didn't know. Now pay attention; we're getting close.” For a change, Whistler was not managing the transition himself. Although Jeremy hadn't heard any of the contretemps, he suspected that it had taken something like a direct order to move the official astrogator out of the control room for a transit. Chambers didn't look particularly happy, and Commander Brackett sported an unusual frown. �śWatch closely, you two,” Chambers said. �śTomorrow you're going to have to do this by yourself, start to finish, on the simulator.” He watched and learned. All too soon the queasy, nauseating feeling swept through his body as they exited hyperspace into another system. �śWhew! I'm glad that's over with,” Chambers said a moment later. �śTurning inside out isn't good for these old bones.” �śWhy, you're not old!” Jeremy exclaimed before he realized how it might sound to the second highest ranking person in the boat. Fortunately, Chambers didn't seem to take it amiss. �śThank you, Costa. Everlife does wonders or us old folks, doesn't it?” �śUm, yes, ma'am. I mean, no, ma'am,” he corrected himself and then decided that didn't sound right either. �śWhat I meant was...” She held up both hands with a laugh. �śNever mind. Let's start looking for a place to get some decent food.” Jeremy knew what she meant. In a worst case scenario such as had occurred recently, starship recyclers were capable of converting carbonaceous asteroids or some comet masses into food, but Longboats couldn't assemble foodstuffs from atoms. Their converters needed organic mass grown from plants, animals or their analogs, although they could use the portion of carbonaceous material that was in heavy molecular form. Some of it. In fact, judging by the taste of the food since landing on the ice ball, he suspected that some had been scavenged from the collected ice when it was melted and run through the filters. Organics from the asteroid only made it worse. He and Jana used the instruments while Chambers observed and supervised. Jeremy was trying to determine what a faint sighting meant when Trammell spoke up. �śI see our friendly BEMS are still shadowing us.” Then he saw it, too. As always, it was right at the edge of the screen but appeared a little brighter than usual. He said so. �śCorrect, Costa,” Trammell said. �śThey're looking more confident that we can't detect them at such ranges. I wonder just how close they'll come.” �śJust don't give them reason to get any nearer,” Commander Brackett said. �śWe'll deal with them eventually, but it's important in the meantime to ignore their presence.” Jeremy wondered just how in hell the Commander intended to deal with an alien Starship that had blasted Sam Johnston to pieces, but he was afraid to ask. Trammell wasn't. �śYou have a plan, Skipper?” �śMmm, yes. I believe we can handle them under the right circumstances. We just have to wait for a good system to do it in. Seeing anything over there?” Giving a start, Jeremy realized he was being spoken to. �śNo, sir. Or rather, I have something, but it's a bit far yet to ... oh, I think it has an atmosphere. I'm getting some readings. And there's another body!” Eventually, several planets were spotted. The one Jeremy had been plotting from the first turned out to be the one they wanted. It had an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere indicative of life, and spectroscopic analysis proved that supposition correct within a few more minutes. �śSet up the coordinates and take us into orbit, Lisa. I'll be in my cabin as soon as you have an analysis for me.” �śYes, sir.” Jeremy liked being in the control room where things were happening, especially when Lieutenant Whistler wasn't present. The man was beginning to cast a pall over everyone by his presence, but it certainly wasn't Jeremy's responsibility to say anything. Brackett must know. Probably that's why he's kept Whistler from the control room this transit, Jeremy thought. Or maybe it was so Jana and I could get some experience without his surliness inhibiting us. Would the commander do that? He didn't know, but he was grateful nevertheless. The XO was friendlier when Whistler was absent, too. He had thought Chambers was attractive, but Lisa Trammell was just short of beautiful. Not that it meant anything to him, other than she was good to look at, of course. * * * * �śBe damned,” Brackett said. �śHow recent, or can you tell?” He sat with crossed legs, his chair pushed out from behind his desk so that he could talk more intimately with his executive officer. �śNo, sir, not definitely, but it was fairly recently and done deliberately. Kinetic strikes on all major population centers. There's just enough vegetation showing in the craters to say the strikes occurred some years ago, but until we land, we won't be able to determine when it happened. It could be anywhere from a decade to a century or more, depending on how prolific the vegetation is.” �śDo you think we should land, XO?” �śI'd like to take a few days in orbit before making any recommendations, sir. While it was a high tech civilization, we've seen no satellites nor any sign of space activities. It looks as if ... as if another species dropped by, killed all the cities and towns with kinetic bombardments, and went on their way. It's impossible to say yet whether they landed colonists to supplant or enslave the original residents. So far, we've only seen members of the one species picking through a few ruins.” �śI've seen the blowups. Pretty vague, but definitely not our Monkeys. We'd recognize them, even from a hundred miles up.” �śDamn right we would. I still see those vicious little monsters in my sleep.” Brackett nodded vaguely, his thoughts elsewhere. Land or not land? Was he justified in risking it? Would the natives be as hostile as the Monkeyclaws? What kind of weapons did they have? Or did they have weapons? And that damned ship that kept following them. What would its reaction be if they landed? He knew Lisa was waiting on him to say something. He nodded, to himself as much as to her. �śAll right, XO, two days of orbits, then pick us a spot away from any concentration of natives. This isn't the time to make contact. We can leave that for the diplomats after we get home. We'll stock up, and then, if the natives aren't as xenophobic as the �Śclaws, we'll take a look at one of the cities. Try to pick one where there isn't any activity.” �śAre we justified in doing that, sir?” she asked, echoing his thoughts. �śI believe we are, XO, and here's why. I haven't told anyone of these plans yet, but you need to know, in case something happens to me. If possible, we're going to look through one of those cities and see what kind of weapons we can find. Whether we do or not, though, we're going to have to fight the Monkeyclaws eventually, and here's how we'll do it.” He began outlining his plan while Lieutenant Commander Lisa Trammell listened with growing apprehension�"and admiration�"for the audacity of the surprise he planned for the Monkeyclaw ship. It might work, but more likely it would cause them to be blown into very small bits. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Fourteen Jeremy stood in the morning formation on one side of the dayroom, with the ten other explorers of the reduced Coyote Squad. He already knew that they had been gathered for briefing preparatory to landing, but he hadn't said a word to anyone else. He was still keeping to his vow to Brackett of not repeating control room conversations. He smiled to himself as Chief Dugan appeared from the direction of officer country. �śListen up,” Dugan said as she stopped in front of them. She looked at their eager faces, all anticipating a landing brief, since they'd been orbiting the planet for two days. The crew had voted to name it Bearkiller. �śWe land tomorrow. I'm sure you've all heard by now that the planet is inhabited and that the natives are not, repeat not, Monkeyclaws. What that means is that we have to be on our toes even more than usual. Our orders are to avoid contact with the natives, but we have no idea whether or not they have a central government, nor how we'll be received if we do run into any of them. After seeing how their planet has been ravaged, chances are that the most likely scenario is communication with local tribes, but for now, we don't even want that. Their civilization was smashed some years ago, either by the Monkeys or another alien race we haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet. �śNow, what this means is that you will not fire at a native Bearkiller unless it is a dire, life-threatening emergency. Those people have already seen enough death. If we meet any, we want them to think of us as friends. Understood?” There were murmurs of assent. �śWhat do they look like, Chief?” Chiquita Luna asked. �śLike apes in drag. You'll see some very poor quality recordings in a few minutes. Any other questions? All right, then, you know the Coyotes are first out for this landing. Let's get the brief finished, so you can get your gear in order and get some rest before deorbit maneuvers.” Jeremy listened closely to the briefing. Since he hadn't been excused to report to the control room, he hoped it meant that he would get to set foot on the planet. Wouldn't it be great to see what another civilization looked like, even if it was in ruins?” * * * * Jeremy felt the thumps as Hurricane Jack touched the ground on its landing jacks. The thrust died. The boat trembled while it settled a few more inches, and the jacks compensated to keep it level. They were down on another planet. Six fully armed Coyotes would go out first in environmental suits. The air had tested safe but held some minute traces of odd gases. They probably wouldn't be harmful but might give the air a distasteful tang. One of the suited Coyotes would check it first, just to be sure. The five cycled through the airlocks, carrying two mobile cams, which they intended to attach to the hull of the boat. A few minutes later, the cams gave two different panoramic views that were fed back into screens in the boat. Jeremy remained sitting in the acceleration seat he'd been allotted this time. Losses and the promotion had earned him the last available one. He could see through an open hatchway to a big screen in the bay but had a real view right beside him. His companion hadn't wanted the window seat during descent. He looked outside. All three explorers on this side were in his view, rifles at port arms and heads moving restlessly, scanning back and forth even though the scenery was pristine. Another was already checking the air. They had landed only a few kilometers from the suburbs of a ruined city, on the edge of what looked to be an artificial lake. By pressing his face to the view port he could see from the rise they occupied down to alien structures in the distance. The buildings were constructed without windows. The tops of the taller ones were broken off, as if the foundations had been so securely fixed that the structures had snapped instead of falling. On the way down, the longboat had passed near the ruined city, and he had seen domed buildings as well. Those at the edge of the crater were cracked, but others farther away still looked to be intact among broken spires. The vegetation he could make out was not distinctive, merely being short, tree-like growths with single straight trunks and short branching limbs evenly spaced every few meters. Their tops were single, pointed brown spears with bulges from which, he presumed, more branches would bud. Beneath the nearest of the �śtrees” he could see something like bushes with coiling runners beneath, which occasionally rose in spirals. The taller growth ended abruptly almost a hundred meters from the lake, as if it has once been cleared. It was replaced with knee-high to ankle-high shrubby plants with narrow stalks that grew in spirals with coils at their tops. Similar spirals grew straight from the Earth as if mimicking the other plants. He could see nothing moving. The sky had a faint orange tint. Three hours later, Jeremy was outside with his equipment, doing double duty as backup guard while analyzing the local flora. It was being brought to him. As an astrogator in training, he had been ordered to stick close to the boat. He wasn't happy with the situation. Commander Brackett was apparently very serious about making certain he had enough astrogators to get them back to civilization. As he worked, one of the explorers�"Danny Pronghorn, he thought�"detached his hood, sniffed cautiously, and took a deep breath of air. Having breathed deeply several more times, he shrugged his shoulders. He glanced back briefly toward the recorders, gave a grin and a thumbs up and turned back to watching his part of the landscape. An hour later, Jeremy doffed his E-suit, as did the others. �śThe top part of the short little bushes are good for organics, Chief,” he said to Dugan as he folded the suit and stuffed it into his kit. �śGood. I'll get the scavengers on it.” �śI haven't looked at the little spiral-shaped things growing directly from the ground yet,” he said. �śI don't know about them.” �śSome of it'll be tangled with the bushes. You'll get a chance later.” �śBut, Chief, I'm just getting started. What if it's...” She was already sending teams out to begin harvesting. He shrugged and went back to work. He'd heard the Commander say that he wanted to explore some of the ruins before moving on, so he supposed they were in a hurry. The hoses were already gulping prodigious amounts of water from the lake. The first of the spiral growths he examined under magnification appeared to be more like fauna than flora. Strange, he thought. He dialed up the magnification. The odd looking cells were interconnected like ... neurons? Nerve tissue! Whatever they were, they might grow like plants, but they weren't. But he knew that wasn't a sufficient criterion. It could be just an uncanny resemblance, as so many discoveries on new worlds proved to be. He began a chemical analysis, and a few minutes later he had a definite answer. Those spirals were part of an animal. Had to be! He looked around for Chief Dugan and as soon as he caught her eye he motioned to her. She came bounding over in the light gravity, only .87 that of Earth. �śWhat is it, Costa?” �śSomeone needs to dig beneath a couple of those spiral growths and see what's there, instead of just slicing them off with the bushes.” �śWhy?” �śBecause they aren't plants. They are almost all nerve tissue of some sort. I think the rest of whatever it is lives beneath the ground.” �śShit! What I get for hurrying. And we've got people out there!” She tapped her forearm and at the same time yelled to get the first scavenging detail back toward the boat. She ran to meet them. From where he had set up his instruments Jeremy could see her speak briefly to the scavengers. All but one retreated toward the boat where none of the coils grew. Those nearby then turned back to wait and stand guard against whatever was upsetting Chief Dugan. He also saw the dispersed guards moving back out of the terrain. Dugan held up her hand as soon as they were all free of the area where the coils grew�"or waited. Then she pointed to the nearest spring-like growth and motioned to the explorer to use his moly knife to dig into the ground beneath it. An explosion of dirt and vegetation met the probing blade. The explorer was knocked off his feet. Dugan, a few steps further away, kept her balance. Her rifle pointed at where something like a blob of brown protoplasm oozed rapidly from the Earth. A pseudopod shot from it and wrapped around one of her legs. She fired into the main blob with no apparent effect. As the pseudopod began dragging her back toward its central mass she drew her laser pistol. He saw Mister Cantrell and several others running to aid her. �śStay back!” she yelled to the advancing explorers. She very carefully burned through the pseudopod, freeing herself, but leaving a thick circle of organic material around her leg. She retreated rapidly backward. The amoeboid creature oozed back into the hole from which it had erupted. �śWatch it, explorers! Coils are danger!” Cantrell yelled, loudly enough for everyone present to hear. Dugan tapped on her forearm. He was near enough to hear her make a brief report to go with data the recorders attached to the longboat had gathered. After that, she approached Jeremy. �śAny idea how to get this goo off my leg? It's still tight enough that I can't just pull my pants down.” She poked at it with the tip of her pistol. The alien life pulsed but remained where it was. She had to yank to get the barrel of her sidearm loose. �śIs it hurting?” �śNo, not yet, but it's awful goddamned tight. It didn't wrap me up quickly enough to set off hardening nannites in the cammies.” �śLet me try something.” He fumbled with a tray of instruments and found what he wanted. He carefully inserted a probe into the mass and applied suction to remove a sample of it. He had to yank the probe loose. He deposited his sample into a chemical analyzer while Casey waited impatiently. He watched the readouts. In a moment he looked up. �śThe part that's on you doesn't have the same chemical makeup as the spirals. It's sticky as hell, too. I think what's on your leg is designed to be discarded if the prey proves too powerful for it. Maybe it can reproduce from that part. I'd bet if you were really careful, you could slide the blade of your moly knife beneath it and just slice in under the cammie material and cut the thing in two, then peel the fabric back with the flat of your blade. I'll do it from behind you, the same way. You'll lose part of the material of your pants, but I doubt if you'll get it away from you any other way. I think it's trying to digest your cammies and form a new organism.” �śLet's do it, then.” A few minutes later, a strip of cloth lay on the ground with the pseudopod of the amoeboid still attached. Jeremy bent down to get a closer look. �śIt's a good thing we got it off. It was beginning to eat the cloth. I've never seen a critter that could do that.” �śI suspect it wanted to eat me along with it. Thanks, Costa. Now analyze it and see if we can use it for organics. If so, I have an idea.” Two hours later, a method had been worked out for enticing the protean creatures out of their holes without becoming prey to them, as Casey Dugan almost had. All it took was for the engineer and his new helper, Siegfrer, to fabricate a long-handled probe and a wheelbarrow-like affair with a scoop attached. As soon as the creatures exploded from underground, they were scooped into the container and flooded with paralyzing chemicals. It was a quick and easy way of getting a lot of new organic material into the recyclers with little danger. As he continued his work, the XO came out of the boat and wandered over toward him. After pausing to look at what he was doing, she stared at the explorers at work killing blobs and taking them to the boat. While she did so, he took a surreptitious glance at her, again thinking how attractive she was. �śHow come so many of the damned things are in this one area?” Trammell asked him as she watched another capture. She and Brackett never left the boat at the same time. He had heard her several times offering to stay and let the Commander have some time outside, but he seldom ventured far from his cabin or the control room. So far as Jeremy knew, he seemed interested in planets only so far as they were suitable to stock the ship. He shrugged before remembering that it was the XO who questioned him. He thought rapidly. �śI guess maybe it was part of something to do with the lake here, ma'am. It looks as if the area on this side was cleared in the past. Maybe those who did so had a purpose at one time, but when their civilization was pounded into the ground the organisms multiplied, because no one was watching or taking care of them.” �śAs good a guess as any,” she said and began to move away. �śMa'am!” he called. She stopped. �śWhat is it?” �śUh, I just have to wonder what they feed on. There's sure lots of them, and they're pretty big.” �śGood point, Costa. Maybe something that roams at night. We'll try to finish up by then.” His question resulted in the guards being pulled back into the ship when the long thirty-four hour day ended. Night vision and infrared scopes showed that things did indeed roam at night. Some very big things. When a single amoeboid caught one of them, others came from the ground, bunching up on it. The horned and clawed beast struggled, but it was no match for the oozing life that flowed over it, entangling and sticking to it relentlessly. Digestive enzymes did the rest. Anything new and exciting was a change for the crew. Those who weren't too tired from the day's work watched the night life on a screen in the dayroom. �śDamned vicious devils when they gang up on something, aren't they?” Chiquita Luna commented. �śWhat I'd like to know is why they didn't attack any of us. Hell, we were right out there with them, and they never moved until we started aggravating them,” Franica Bzinski said. She looked at Jeremy with eyes as blue as the water of the lake. �śI'm not sure,” he admitted. �śNo idea at all?” She seemed intent on pinning him down to an answer of some kind. He shrugged. �śIt's just a guess, but maybe the way we sliced off the spirals when we harvested the bushes distorted their perception in some way. The spirals are mostly nerve tissue, you know. Remember, we started at the edge of where they grow and worked from there. Then, when Danny probed below ground with his knife, it set that one off.” He shrugged. �śShucks, maybe the spirals are disposable�"sort of like a cat's whisker.” �śHow come the others didn't jump in like they did with that big devil thing they attacked last night?” �śHeck, Fran, I don't know. Every world is different, and we just got here. Remember how fast the first one exploded out of the ground and how fast they come out when we poke at them? But when they ganged up on that big fellow, they oozed out. Quick, but not like that one that went for Chief Dugan and Danny, or like they did when we harvested them. I'd guess if something is different enough from their normal environment, the novelty inhibits the others. Or maybe they don't come out in daylight unless attacked. There could be lots of reasons. I'm just glad we caught it before someone got hurt. Or worse.” Fran nodded at him and smiled, telling him plainly that she knew as much as he did and was just making talk. She had been on several cruises. She wasn't as pretty as Juanita, but she had a pleasant enough face and figure. And her smile's enticing, he thought. She was an E5, but since his promotion there wasn't any difference in their rank. Knowing that she had been sleeping with Nguyen the spacer before his death, he wondered if she had recovered from the loss yet. He stayed in the dayroom talking with her until she told him goodnight and left. But she seemed interested, he thought. Maybe in a while. We sure aren't going to be home tomorrow. * * * * There were skeletons everywhere in the ruined city except in the crater caused by the kinetic weapon. The Tiger squad did the exploring along the edges of the ruins where most of the domed buildings were still intact, although some of them had been crushed by falling spires. Commander Brackett and Lisa Trammell followed them on the big screen in his office. It was a real-time feed provided by a recording from EO Maria Teha. Chief Martin was leading the squad with him and providing some commentary. �śSome of these skeletons don't show any sign of injury. It's like they just came outside to die,” Martin said. �śJudging from the numbers, they had a very high population density in the cities. Teha panned in close to one of them. The inhabitants had been humanoid but certainly not human. The arm and leg bones all had four joints with bulbs of brown bony growth enveloping each one. Both the hands and feet had seven digits, and those joints were bulbed, too. The skeleton they were looking at measured better than two meters as it sprawled face up, displaying a mouth with two canines top and bottom on long snouts. The forehead bulged out over three sockets, where presumably eyes or other sense organs had been. The spine had only four thin vertebrae, but it looked as if it might have had cartilage or something similar attached along its length. �śSee? Not a mark on it, Skipper,” Trammell said. Brackett nodded but didn't comment. He leaned in closer to the screen as the view shifted. It showed three more remains lying together as if on display. One of them was a smaller version of the other two. �śNothing there, either,” Trammell said. �śNo cuts or breaks on the bones. It's like they came outside to die after the kinetic weapons hit.” �śWhy do you say that? Perhaps it was a toxin ... a nerve gas ... most anything.” �śCould be, Skipper. Something that came with the bombardment, maybe? If those damn Monkeys did this, they just got a lot worse in my book.” Nodding, Brackett spoke through his com to Teha. �śMaria, is there a way into any of those intact domes?” �śNothing we've found so far, sir. They look like golden bubbles buried in the ground. Maybe the doors are down below?” �śHave you seen any stairs�"any way to go down and see?” �śNo, sir. I can try burning an entrance into one.” �śDo it, then.” �śWhat are you looking for, Skipper?” the XO asked. She noticed how intent he was. �śWeapons, primarily. Technology we can understand that would help us fight the Monkeyclaws.” �śWhatever these people might have had, it didn't seem to help them much.” �śThey had no defenses. No space travel. No satellites.” �śNo defenses that are still intact. No, you're right. We haven't seen any evidence of space flight at all. No remnants of satellites. Could they have been a species not interested in anything beyond their planet?” �śI don't know, Lisa, but they built well. It won't hurt to look. There's a lot of technology here.” �śWe're in, Skipper. No problem at all,” Teha said, interrupting them. He was standing beside a scorched opening in the dome that had been burned out with lasers. The material was thin and looked as if it had cut easily. �śIt's lit up in there, too.” �śSearch inside,” Brackett ordered. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Fifteen �śLook at that!” Charlie Vane said. He was with half of the Dragon squad inside, while the other half guarded in a loose half-circle around the side of the boat facing away from the lake. All of Tiger Squad was in the city ruins. The ones in the boat were following the Tigers from a feed to the big screen in the largest dayroom. �śWhat?” someone in the crowd asked. At first, Jeremy didn't see it, either. Then he did. The lead explorer was advancing cautiously along a path through machinery of unfamiliar shape and unknown use that appeared to grow out of the floor. He was looking all around but not above, where the ceiling was lost in darkness. �śLook out, man!” Johnnie Lann screamed a useless warning. The explorer must have received a word of caution through his com, though. He stopped abruptly and looked up just in time to see a circular disc floating down toward him. He raised his rifle and held it ready. Behind him two other explorers were in sight. They, too, halted their progress. The plate came into perspective as it floated down and came to rest near the lead man. It looked to be a bit more than a meter in diameter and was a pale pink color. It had no obvious features. �śI wonder what they'll do?” Russell said. �śWhatever the Commander orders them to,” Chief Dugan said. �śHe's on the com with them, and it's his show. I'm wondering what set that thing off.” She tapped her forearm and spoke to someone quietly. �śWhat's he looking for?” Jeremy asked, still watching the hesitant explorer. �śInformation. Weapons. Technology. Anything that will help us avoid the Monkeys and get back home.” Dugan looked up to answer sharply, and then went back to speaking to someone not present. Jeremy nodded to no one in particular. It made sense. Every time he saw the flicker of the Monkeyclaw icon on the screen, he remembered the flash of light from behind the rim of the giant planet when Sam Johnston had been destroyed. He knew it could happen to them if the aliens tired of following the Hurricane. The icon representing the alien ship on the big screen had been clearer this time. It seemed to portend a meeting sometime in the future. He wondered whether the Chief had been speaking in general or specifically. The presence of a shadowing Moneyclaw ship wasn't supposed to be known, but, as happened with most of the other information, he supposed that fact might have leaked to the crew. �śLook, he's stepping on it,” Lann said. The explorer got one foot on the disc, and then another. The disc rose a couple of inches and then settled back. Taking a small step, he moved to the center of it. Slowly it rose again, to about waist high, before it began moving forward, deeper into the maze of odd-looking machines. When the disc came to an intersection, it turned a quarter-circle, allowing Jeremy to identify who it was doing the riding. It wasn't a man at all, but Kena Basalla, the tall, dark-skinned Tiger who studied so much that she and he were now being compared. The other two followed Basalla as she rode the disc and a fourth explorer came into sight. The disc turned the corner and was concealed from sight for a moment by a tall piece of machinery with what looked like an ancient computer atop it. Lights glowed from that part of it, and E4 Marshall Binglee was examining it. Glancing back toward the explorer who had just come into view, Jeremy saw that it was Chief Martin. He was just in time to see the Chief drop screaming down a two meter circular hole that opened beneath him. The scream seemed to go on forever, diminishing in volume but not intensity. Then it abruptly ceased. There was no sound like a body landing from a long fall. A yell came from Bassalla. The disc suddenly zoomed toward the ceiling of the dome, carrying her with it until she slid free and dropped. There was the sound of a thud that time. She got up limping and recovered her dropped rifle. The disc floated back down. Two rifles pointed at it. �śGoddamn, Goddamn, Goddamn,” Russell said, a litany of helplessness at his inability to be there. Jeremy felt the same way. His teeth were clenched tightly, and his hands closed into fists. Was the place a deliberate trap, or had Binglee somehow activated machinery that was carrying out a normal but unknown function? Probably, burning the entrance cut or activated a circuit somewhere, he thought. The explorers backed off, leaving the disc in place. All of them clustered by the machine with the glowing lights, except for one who held a light probe over the hole into which Martin had dropped. Marshall was still fooling with the device, apparently acting on orders they hadn't heard. Jeremy remembered that Marshall was a mechanical and electronics specialist. Sure�"no wonder he examined the lit artifact. �śI think...” Marshall said as he looked up. The disc began drifting toward them. �śI've got it!” He caused the disc to go up and down and backwards and forwards while he grinned hugely. �śI bet he caused that hole to open, too,” Buford Russell said spitefully. Jeremy had had the same thought, but he wasn't about to voice it. Marshall would feel bad enough if he figured it out. �śAw shit, Buford, he couldn't have done�"huh! We've lost the feed!” The screen had indeed gone blank. It stayed that way for almost an hour. No one left or went to bed, no matter how tired. Their friends and comrades and in some cases their lovers were out there, inside that innocent-looking golden bubble. When the screen finally lit up again, Teha's recorder was focused on two explorers beside Martin's body, one kneeling, one standing. The others held rifles ready. �śWe lost communication for more than thirty minutes,” Teha said. �śMarshall doesn't know what caused it. While the com was down, we looked around some more. We found some other units of machinery with lights on top like the first one, but we couldn't make them do anything. For that matter, all Marshall has been able to do is play with that first disc. It was a second one that brought Juan's body back up from that hole he fell into. It looks as if he was electrocuted by something, rather than killed by the fall. The disc that brought him back up then moved over and settled over the hole ... a perfect fit. It was probably the same one that dropped away so abruptly when Juan stood on it.” He shrugged, ending his abbreviated report. �śMister Teha, look!” Marshall said. �śI've disconnected the box from the machine, but it still works the disc. Isn't that peculiar? Where's it getting its power from?” �śFrom the same place that's providing lights here after all this time. We've been here long enough, I think. I'm ready to move on.” Jeremy thought they would come out of the dome, but instead EO Teha led them farther in. They stayed for hours longer and found some machinery with lights on but nothing else that could be made to work. When they returned to where they had left Martin's body, they found that it had disappeared. Marshall brought the disc and its controller out with him. * * * * Brackett called his officers together a week after Martin's death. �śThis place needs a complete engineering and electronics science team and years of examination. We don't have time to try figuring out why the lights went on in that one dome and not in the other two we cut an opening in,” Brackett said. �śWe also have no idea yet of how Martin's body disappeared, although we suspect that some natives must have been responsible. Does anyone here or any of your people have any ideas that might pay dividends soon?” Commander Brackett gazed around the conference table in the officer's dayroom. All the officers were present except Trammell, who was standing watch in the control room and following the conference from there. �śI take it that disc of Marshall's is still working?” COB Shinzyki asked. �śYes,” Lieutenant Wong said. �śThe power appears to be inherent in the disc and the controller. I have no explanation as to why we couldn't get the others to work, nor why Martin was killed, or what happened to his body.” �śThe goddamned place is dangerous!” Whistler said. �śThe universe is dangerous, Lieutenant Whistler,” Brackett said. �śWhat else do you have for us, Terrell?” �śThat was about it, sir. Patrols have gathered what we hope is a representative sample of their technology and tools, but most of the items are inoperative or nearly so. We've found signs of the natives, but it is obvious that they are avoiding us. I suspect they think we are the ones who bombed them.” �śMakes sense. Is there anything you've seen that might be classified as a weapon?” �śNothing other than a limited amount of what Terrell believes are small arms, sir, but none of them are working. From what we've seen, I suspect that their world was either united politically, or they were a non-warlike species. At any rate, I've seen nothing we can use. I believe most of their industry and machines and instruments are, or were, self-powered.” �śWhat do you mean, Lieutenant Wong?” Shinzyki asked. A glimmer of an idea formed in his mind�"something that might help to combat the Monkeys. �śWell ... from what I can see and from what the explorers who specialize in engineering tell me, or what examining the machinery shows, we think the inhabitants of this system built all their machinery, tools and instruments with inherent power sources rather than drawing power from a central location, as we do. They use manufactured inorganic catalysts inside everything needing power. The catalysts cause power to be generated when needed, but the catalysts never get used up. We think it's an off-beat cold fusion process, but it's very difficult to determine exactly how it works because ... well, most everything seems to have used up its power and shut down for some reason�"probably just a matter of it being a long time ago.” He spread his hands and shrugged. �śNot a very elegant explanation. If we were to stay here a while, I'm sure we could find some other things still working, like the disc, or figure out how to get some machinery and tools in operation. Or we could cut up the disc we have while it's in operation and examine it, being careful to do so outside the ship. We might learn a lot like that.” �śDon't ... I mean, save the disc if you can, sir.” �śWhy, COB?” Shinzyki shrugged. �śAn idea to hinder the Monkeys, maybe, if we uh, run into them again. I need to think about it.” Curious, Brackett looked at him and said, �śI think we should keep it intact, too.” That settled the discussion so far as the disc went, but other minor issues needed to be covered. Finally Brackett brought the discussion to a halt. �śIf there are no compelling reasons to stay here, then I believe we need to set up our next transit.” He examined the faces and saw no dissent. �śVery well, the meeting is adjourned. COB, please remain. Lieutenant Wong, take the watch and send the XO to my cabin.” After the others had left, Brackett eyed Shinzyki. �śCome with me to my cabin. I think it's time to make you aware of a certain idea Lisa and I have been discussing.” The commander, XO and COB stayed together for an hour, undisturbed. * * * * �śIt seems a shame to have to leave so quickly,” Jeremy said to Franica. They were eating their evening ration together in one of the quieter dayrooms, the one without active gaming and with hush hoods for use when watching holovids, or more often, studying. �śYeah, but I want to get home one day. Don't you?” �śSure, Fran, it's just that ... well, besides humans there are only two other self-aware species known, and we've discovered both of them. I'd like to learn more about the Bearkillers. We've hardly begun exploring the cities, and the ones that didn't get killed in the bombardment are avoiding us. I really wish we could stay longer.” It was a puzzle why the inhabitants hadn't come back to the parts of the cities which hadn't been destroyed, and also why so many died without wounds. One day, one day. When we've gotten back home, whipped the Monkeys and started exploring again, he thought wryly. �śBearkillers. What a silly name for an intelligent species.” She grinned to show she wasn't blaming him for it. He laughed out loud. �śYeah, but ever since the GW drive was invented, we've been giving silly names to new life-supporting planets. Why stop now?” �śNo reason, I guess. You really think there were some alive? We never saw any signs of any, but those shots from space and they were pretty blurred.” He munched the last of his ration before answering. �śIt's a big planet, and we were there for less than two weeks. And we looked at only one city and one little area beside a lake.” �śPoint. Guess we'll never know for sure, now.” �śSomething else, we didn't discover any kind of writing. Wasn't that weird?” He enjoyed theorizing about the Bearkillers, just as did everyone else. For all the good it does, he thought. �śTelepaths, maybe?” �śMaybe they'd gone beyond writing.” �śHow so?” �śShucks, I don't know, but it didn't look to me like those mouths were shaped for making language noises. Of course, the soft parts have all decayed, so I guess that doesn't mean much. They communicated somehow, though. Just look at that stuff.” He pointed to a corner of the little dayroom where some of the smaller Bearkiller machinery was being stored. �śThey couldn't have made things like that without passing ideas back and forth.” �śWhat are they, though?” Franica asked, gesturing toward the alien artifacts. He shrugged. �śBeats me. It's not my field. We made tons of recordings, though. I bet someone figures out what all the stuff we gathered was used for, eventually. Back on earth, probably.” He was still irritated that he hadn't been allowed inside the city. None of the astrogators had. While the Coyotes were out in the ruins, he was either practicing at simulated transits or with the guards around the ship. �śYou think we'll make it?” �śHuh? Sure, we'll get back home. It's just going to take a long time.” He was surprised at her for asking such a question. Franica raised a cynical brow. �śJere, I've been doing this a lot longer than you have. Some of us may get home if that damned Monkeyclaw ship following us doesn't decide to blow us up beforehand, but it will be damned few. You'll probably be one of them, but not me. Astrogators are protected.” �śIt's not my goddamned fault,” he said, feeling guilty and irritated at the same time. �śAnd how do you know the Monkeys are following us?” �śJust a suspicion. And hush about not getting out much. No one is blaming you. Hell, you ought to be grateful.” �śWell, I'm not.” �śYou'd rather die? Because that's what the odds say is going to happen to most of us.” �śWhy do you say that?” He felt uncomfortable discussing the matter in these terms. As much as he liked astrogation and the feeling of being in on things, he hated the restrictions it imposed. He didn't like feeling inferior to the other explorers, or more accurately, like a special person being protected from danger. He knew a few of the explorers resented his status but... Franica interrupted his thoughts. �śYou ought to know. How many jumps is it going to take to get home?” �śUh ... lots, I guess.” That was one of the forbidden subjects of discussion, but he couldn't have answered it other than in very rough figures anyhow, any more than Joyce Chambers could have. They were going the long way home at present, but he supposed that could change if they could lose the alien starship. �śYeah. Lots. I'm no astronomer, but I know how far we are from home and how far longboats can jump.” He thought. �śFran ... it wouldn't be a good idea to spread those ideas around.” �śI said I'd been around a while. So have others. It's no big secret.” �śMaybe not, but you still shouldn't talk about how few of us will make it. I'm not sure I believe you anyway, no matter what the odds say.” In an idle moment he had calculated the rough number of jumps left against the casualties so far and projected the figures into the future. He had come up with a minus figure for the explorers who would be left alive at the end of their journey. �śI'm no fool, either,” Franica said. �śMaybe just a pessimist. Good night.” She got up abruptly and left without looking back. He wondered again what was going through her mind, especially whether she had heard anything about a Monkeyclaw ship following them. She seemed willing enough to talk and even flirt a little, but that was as far as it had gone. She must have really been tight with Nguyen. Or maybe he didn't appeal to her the way Nguyen had. * * * * Hurricane Jack made transits for several more months without casualties and only a few non life-threatening injuries. Jeremy stayed busy, as did all the crew. Recent deaths had left holes that had to be filled, and by the time Sam Johnston was lost they were already short-handed from previous inimical worlds. They were coming up on another transit, and this time Jeremy had been required to do all the calculations, monitor the computer and plug new figures in as necessary. It didn't help that Lieutenant Whistler stood over him frowning sourly and commenting every time a number varied from optimum the slightest bit. He felt sweat form on his forehead as he kept his attention firmly fixed on his work. He tried to ignore Whistler's nitpicking. Couldn't the man see he needed every bit of his attention concentrated on the task? He had never expected to be left on his own the whole way through a transit, and it was very close to terrifying him into immobility. Only the thought of Joyce Chambers’ reaction if he froze and the certainty that Commander Brackett would remove him from the control room if he faltered kept him going. �śThirty seconds to transit,” he said and looked up as the computer voice began counting down. �śWhat? I didn't hear you,” Whistler said, his voice overriding the com speaker. It was the same hostility he always displayed when dealing either with him or Jana. �śTwenty Five seconds to transit,” he said, raising his voice even though he was certain he'd spoken loudly enough before. Whistler didn't respond and he continued listening to the countdown. Anything he said had nothing to do with what would happen now. It was all up to the computer. It would kick them into hyper at the exact moment when conditions were optimum for a jump if his procedures had been entered correctly. Suddenly he was certain they had. He braced himself. A moment later, the creepy-crawly sensation accompanying transition took over his body. It seemed to last longer than usual, even though his watch didn't agree with his thoughts. Less than a half minute later, the dizzying feeling abated, and he found himself looking at a new, simulated sky that changed as he watched. New sightings were being taken in the microseconds in which they were out of hyper and back in normal space. He always wondered how it could happen like that. It was such a meticulous procedure to get into hyper and to go in the right direction, but once the ship was in, the computer took care of slipping in and out with gravity pulses. Almost all the time was spent in hyper, except for the microseconds between gravity pulses that allowed sights to be taken of normal space. �śVery good, Jeremy,” Chambers said, smiling at him. �śThank you, ma'am,” he replied. He felt a load of tension he hadn't been aware of leave his body. He looked around, wondering if Lieutenant Whistler would have anything good to say. But he was already gone. He'd had no necessity formally to report to Commander Brackett, since he had only been invited by Chambers to watch Jeremy perform. He could have said something nice, damn it! Jeremy silently groused. �śYes, you did well, Costa. We're right where we are supposed to be,” Brackett said. �śThank you, sir,” he replied and was glad to find his voice was steady�"that no trembling occurred. �śYou've been here long enough, now. I believe Lieutenant Commander Chambers can handle the boat for a while.” �śYes, sir.” He could hardly wait to get back and tell someone that he had made the transit by himself. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Sixteen �śAny idea how long the power will last, Lieutenant?” COB Shinzyki asked while looking at Terrell Wong. It was a week later, and they were out of hyper and in another system. The engineer had finally been brought into the discussion of a possible method with which to foil the trailing Monkeyclaw ship. �śI have no idea.” Wong idly lifted and set back down one edge of the disc taken from the Bearkiller city. The disc reposed on the deck. Judging by its solidity, he thought it should have made some kind of sound when meeting the resistance after he let it fall, but it didn't. It was as soundless as it was when moving. �śWell, are the controller and the disc separate systems, or is one dependent on the other?” Wong shrugged and grinned wryly. �śNot a clue. All I can tell you without taking both of them apart is that both of them are working now.” �śWell, shit. All right, it was only an idea, but if we can't depend on it...” �śWe'll use it anyway,” Brackett decided. �śIt won't hurt and might help. How about this star system, Joyce?” She, too, had been brought into the discussion, making five of them now. He didn't want to let anyone else know at the moment. The crew was too tense. Tales were circulating that the Monkeys were following them, that they were all going to die soon�"that they would never make it back, and the best bet was to settle on an earth-like planet. Knowing that they faced something such as he planned might kick them over the edge. �śIt's not the kind of system we want for a confrontation, but otherwise it does have what looks like an admirable planet in the life zone. And it does have life on it, although we're not getting a chlorophyll spectrum. Whatever mechanism converts sunlight may be something new.” �śNot volcanic, is it?” �śNo, sir. No more than, say, Earth is. We'll figure it out if you like, but I presume you're just interested in water and organics?” �śThat's the ticket. Long way to go, yet.” He tapped his fingers on the table at which the four of them sat. It was a rhythm, but dull and repetitive. �śHow about the weapon? Can we make more than one of them?” Wong took a long time to answer, and then shook his head. �śWe might, sir, but I wouldn't like to try it with our fabricator. As it is, we're using our only megaton range warhead for the disc and betting a lot on it. With the disc, we have some hope of getting it in range, if the controls for speed are geometric past the third setting as we're surmising ... and if it looks as much like a rock in space to them as it does to us.” He had convinced Brackett to experiment in space in order to gain enough positive data to feel some confidence in their plans for the disc and its attached bomb. �śAll right, belay that thought. We'll go with the disc and its single bomb and whatever else the boat can do. Joyce, it's going to be pretty much up to you to let me know quickly, so we can get the ball rolling immediately after you spot the right arrangement. And Terrell, I guess you had better get that disc and the warhead rigged up and ready to go, but keep it under lock and key after that. I sure as hell don't want any accidents with it inside the boat! Have it ready to roll. I guess you should be the one to handle that. Choose one of the dependable spacers as a helper, but make sure word doesn't get out. Morale is bad enough as is.” Wong hunched his shoulders defensively. He didn't even like to think about what he planned to rig. He had always been afraid of dying from explosive decompression, much less explosions. The bomb that would be attached to the disc was much more powerful than anything the longboat normally carried in its warheads. In fact, it had been fabricated to be even more potent than the warheads the Sam Johnston had carried on its missiles. He just wished he had one of their backups! �śI'll call it as quick as I can, Skipper,” Chambers said. �śBut what if I'm not on duty at the time?” And why isn't Whistler in on this? I'm pretty sure I know but better not to ask. �śHow about one of your young people? Could we trust, um, Costa, for instance?” �śYou can trust him, Skipper,” Shinzyki said, answering while Chambers was still debating with herself. �śYou sure, Rufus?” �śAs sure as I can be about anyone. Chief Dugan agrees with me. Regardless, we need to have everything covered, and that's a loose end. Unless you want to bring Lieutenant Whistler in on it?” �śNo. No, I don't think so, not at this time. Better to let Joyce handle it. I think she's the more experienced astrogator.” �śBut that bastard Monkey ship...” Wong said. �śIt's still hanging on our tail like a damn barnacle.” �śMore like a Dredger,” Joyce said. Everyone grinned with her. It was hard to picture the roly-poly, goat-sized scavenger that followed carnivores on Backwater as dangerous, unless you'd seen dredgers in action. Provoked, they became more ill-tempered than rabid wolverines and hung on to prey until they killed it or were killed themselves. �śLisa, you and Joyce talk to Costa. Tell him what we're planning and swear him to absolute silence. Be sure and give him all the details of what we want done in case ... just in case. I guess that's all for now.” The others pushed their chairs back and filed out. He remained in place, thinking. It was a poor pass when you trusted a trainee astrogator from another specialty more than the one assigned to your boat. But the universe didn't care what you thought about it. The universe was implacably neutral. You couldn't just wish for what wasn't, any more than you could wish the voyage to be over and make it so. He sighed. It was a lonely job without the officers of Sam Johnston to mingle with. The only person in the boat he felt completely at ease with was COB Shinzyki, and there were some things he couldn't discuss even with him. * * * * �śIt's a jungle out there!” Johnny Lann growled wearily as he and other Coyotes trudged into the dayroom after cleanup and weapons stowage. �śThis must be what the old rain forests on Earth were like. Creepy crawlers and carnivores and tangles of vines and every other kind of shit you can think of. I'm exhausted.” �śIs everyone safe?” Jeremy asked him. Since their unofficial fight in the gym they had come to a rapprochement that, if not exactly friendly, at least had them acting that way. Lann also treated him as an equal since Jeremy had gotten promoted. �śYeah, we all got back, but it's a wonder. Something grabbed Tiny�"just dropped down on him out of the canopy and had about forty tentacles wrapped around him before we knew what was happening. If he wasn't so damn big we might've lost him.” �śHow did you get him away from it, Johnny?” Lann grinned. �śIt squeezed so hard that Tiny's cammies inflated, and made him hard to drag. I got to it then with my moly knife and started cutting. Then some tentacles grabbed my arm and I had to be cut loose. Before it was over, it took four of us to kill the bastard-born fucking thing.” Jeremy could imagine just about anything living in the tangled growth from the feeds he'd watched. The jungle came very nearly to the beach of the small brackish ocean near which the boat had landed. As far as that went, he could imagine denizens living in the sea. It was suffused with so much life that simply cleaning the filters after taking on water gained them a good bit of valued organics. It was so bad outside that he and Jana both had been forbidden to leave the boat. He couldn't help thinking it was small of Commander Brackett, especially since no one had been killed or even hurt very badly during their stay, despite the ever-present dangers. So far. �śAre you going to get to go out?” Ivana Prosky asked him. �śI don't know,” he said despondently. �śCoyotes should have one more day of duty outside. Maybe I'll get to go then.” �śYou can take my place,” Tiny said without a hint of a smile. He looked at the big man. �śWhat did you think when that thing fell on you?” �śHmm. First I thought the top of one of those ... well, you say it can't be called a tree, so the top of whatever those things are had fallen on me. Then it's so wet in that jungle I decided it must be kin to those squiddy things we see in the ocean. And right about then is when I felt my lungs being squeezed and my cammies hardened. Shit, I just hoped there wasn't more than one of the fuckers.” �śWe're all glad of that,” Franica said. She slid down to the floor and crossed her legs. She leaned back against a bulkhead as if glad to be inside and reasonably clean. �śHey, Jere, what does it take to get into astrogation?” Laughter greeted her remark and he had to grin. �śAstronomy 101 and a bunch of psychopathic Monkeyclaws destroying your ship,” he said. He knew it wasn't him they were laughing at. They were simply joking to dispel tension built up over hours of watching alertly for danger. The �śjungle” was neither flora nor fauna. It was another kind of life entirely, unseen before. He had analyzed samples brought to him after another explorer determined that the microorganisms were no danger to humans. The basic chemistry appeared to depend upon converting sunlight to energy with organic catalysts, through a scheme much more complicated than the Krebs cycle, but which nevertheless produced oxygen and carbon dioxide in proportions similar to those on Earth. There was no discernible separation of the life forms other than from those byproducts�"carbon dioxide produced by one sexual form and oxygen by another. He thought a variant of the organisms might be useful in agriculture when�"or if, according to Fran�"they got back, and if anyone wanted to return to this area. �śAstronomy! Shit, and I took xenooceanography. That's about as far from a star as you can get!” Tiny said. �śCan I go back and start over?” �śYou can have my place,” Jeremy joked. �śAll you have to know is how to cube the square root of negative matrix equations in your head.” �śWhat's a cubic squared negative matrix equation?” �śSee? You're lost already.” �śWait a minute. I never heard of those. Jere's boosting you, Tiny,” Franica called out. �śThere's a cure for people like that,” Tiny said, flexing his biceps. �śWho wants to be an Astrogator? I'd rather settle down on the first good planet we come to. Damn crazy Commander,” E3 Marshall Binglee said in a loud voice. Dead silence greeted that remark. He looked around but saw only bland faces avoiding his gaze. �śWell, I would!” he repeated stubbornly. �śI don't give a damn! It's better than being popped by the Monkeys or dying of old age before the fucking Captain gets us back home, if he ever does.” �śMaybe, but Brackett's the boss, not you.” �śI have a cure for idle explorers,” Casey Dugan said as she entered the dayroom. �śOh. Hello, Chief,” Franica said. She got to her feet. A few moments later the dayroom was empty. * * * * Lisa sat behind her desk in the tiny office adjacent to her cabin. Other than the Commander's, hers was the only other private office in the boat. Others had to share. She used it during those times when she needed quiet to catch up on the activities of the crew. Boat operations were shared by COB Shinzyki and Lieutenant Medford. Normally, she didn't interfere. They were both intelligent enough and imbued with enough navy tradition to know when and when not to bother her. Of course, she reviewed everything they did (that she knew of) and Commander Brackett was notified of anything that went into permanent record, so that he could officially approve or disapprove if he so desired. Ordinarily, a longboat ran smoothly, but she had to admit that theirs was not in an ordinary situation. There wasn't a single instance in history where a longboat had to function like an exploration starship and at the same time had to plan on somehow stopping a much larger and much more heavily armed alien ship from following them home. While pulling up files and approving or making recommendations, she wondered idly about the promotions the skipper had suggested. Would they be made permanent if�"when, damn it�"they got back home? Maybe, but she knew there would be other jumps in grade before it was over and possibly even some of a chief's being brevetted to Warrant Officer. That happened frequently enough, and usually, but not always, it came about by going from Master Chief Petty Officer to Warrant Officer. It occurred within the Navy rankings who hadn't been through the exploration academy nor gotten enough education to gain a commission. Shinzyki was a special case�"a Chief who had more than earned a commission, but who refused to advance past Warrant. Would warrant officer be best when filling officer slots? Or if and when they did with an explorer, should the brevet rank be to Ensign? That was just one of the problems she wrestled with now in anticipation of their arising in the future. Always assuming they could defeat those damnable Monkeyclaws, of course. Brackett had ordered her to study the subject, and she had, knowing what he probably had in mind. She knew with almost certain clarity that Lieutenant Whistler was not going to complete the voyage home as the boat's astrogator. Whether he would die by suicide or be confined to quarters until he went mad (or after he went mad) or be devoured by some monster they hadn't met yet, she didn't know. The last is unlikely, she thought. He seldom ventured far from his cabin or the control room, much less set foot on a planet when opportunity presented. In his absence Joyce would be slotted into his position, but that would still leave a need for her relief. Transiting from star to star in a longboat was hard enough as it was, without having all the work loaded onto one person. The skipper had to be thinking of promoting Costa again, to Chief. She leaned back in her chair and thought of how Costa might handle that, should it come to pass. He should go to Petty Officer first, she thought. But then, Martinez had gone to chief, so perhaps not. Either way, it needed to come fairly quickly. Whistler was unstable enough that he might flip any day. So first, could Costa handle a PO's job with so little time in service? Well, sure, so long as it involved only astrogation. But as a PO he would have to supervise other duties in the boat. Could he? Be in charge over the men and women who were formerly his superiors? A smile slowly crept across her face. Had that sneaky, conniving Shinzyki had that in mind when he and Dugan set up that oh-so-unofficial little scrap between Costa and his two tormenters when he was sleeping with Juanita Martinez? Probably. It had his stamp all over it. The bout had certainly earned Costa a lot of respect. She thought she had a pretty good handle on every happening in the boat, including who was sleeping with whom, what personality conflicts were active at any given time, and all the other little details of that sort. Shinzyki beat her at it, though. No sense in trying to think otherwise. He had been around the navy for so many years he'd seen just about everything. Not only that, he appeared like magic whenever anything of importance was happening and he always thought in future terms. So Costa as Petty Officer, or Chief, then. He was holding the E5 position down acceptably. No, more than that. He was doing really well. When she'd examined his personnel file she'd found he was marked for fast promotion right out of the academy. He'd have to stay in the Coyote squad as PO, though. Or would he? The boat had a Chief's slot open, but that would be too big a jump just yet. Or would it? CPO spacer. Sure. That would be better. Recommend that to Brackett, and if he doesn't approve, we can still promote Costa to PO. He'd still wind up supervising some of his former superiors, but as a boat CPO non-commissioned officer he would carry more authority. How old was the boy, anyway? She pulled his records up again. Twenty-six. Hmm. Not too much of a boy. She'd thought him two or three years younger. He didn't look as old as he was. Handsome, too. Not that it should matter to a forty-seven-year-old executive officer, Everlife or not. Okay, that problem taken care of. She'd tell the skipper at their next conference and see if he agreed with her reasoning. On to the next item on her agenda�"one she disliked intensely but which had to be done on occasion. Discipline. Having read through the report again to be certain she had all the relevant facts in her mind, she tapped her console. �śCOB Shinzyki here.” �śRufus, I'm ready. Please bring Explorer Binglee to my cabin.” Make it short, she told herself. Shinzyki must have had Binglee waiting nearby. The hatchway opened only moments later. He entered and held the hatchway open. The explorer came in and stopped in front of her desk while Shinzyki closed the hatch behind him. �śE3 Marshall Binglee reporting, ma'am.” �śSpecial Court is in session. Stand at ease. Explorer Binglee, you've been charged with sedition while Longboat Hurricane Jack was in a state of emergency and in a state of war. Specifications of the charge are: one, making derogatory remarks in reference to the Commanding Officer, and two, incitement to mutiny in reference to advocating abandonment of the mission of Hurricane Jack. Conviction on either charge carries a maximum penalty of death. �śHow do you plead?” Binglee's mouth dropped open. He stood speechless, his eyes wild. �śBest to plead guilty, son,” Shinzyki advised. �śCommander Brackett hasn't ordered me to prepare a noose yet.” �śI ... can I have a lawyer?” �śIf you ask for someone to defend you, Commander Brackett has to call a General Court. In that case, the minimum penalty upon conviction is twenty years hard labor on one of the prison planets. You've heard of those, haven't you? And the maximum is still death. Best to let the XO handle it, son,” Shinzyki said. His voice was deep but gentle. �śDo I have to decide now?” �śAddress the court.” �śMa'am ... Lt. Commander Trammell ... do I have to decide now?” �śYes.” He looked from her to Shinzyki. The COB gave him a barely perceptible nod. �śUh, yes, ma'am. Do it now.” �śHow do you plead?” �śGuilty, ma'am.” His voice was barely audible. He closed his eyes as if waiting for an unavoidable collision. �śVery well. Your plea is accepted. Punishment is as follows: Reduction to the rank of Explorer Two. Extra duty for a period of two months, times and places to be determined by Warrant Officer Shinzyki. Court dismissed.” �śYou may leave, Binglee,” Shinzyki ordered. �śGo to the hatchway of my cabin and wait for me there.” �śYes, sir. Thank you sir. Thank you ma'am.” He saluted and left, shoulders slumped but heaving a huge sigh of apparent relief. Once he was gone, Lisa smiled at Shinzyki. �śWell, Rufus, do you think that will stifle such talk in the future?” He didn't smile in return. �śIt will once I'm finished with him.” �śDon't be too hard on him, Rufus. I wanted to set an example, but I don't want to break the boy.” �śI'll handle it, ma'am. Trust me.” [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Seventeen �śAshes to ashes, dust to dust. Let the body be cast forth.” A mumble of �śamens” and other barely audible words, acknowledging the end of another life, completed the ceremony. Tiger Kena Basalla had been killed, and Marshall Binglee, also a Tiger, had been grievously wounded a couple of months after leaving the Jungle Planet. Binglee had died shortly after liftoff. Both bodies would remain in the system; one in orbit, one in the ground. �śShit, it wasn't even a monster that got them,” Whiteside said to Danny Pronghorn as a group of Coyotes walked back to the big dayroom. There was pain in his expression. �śIt was a goddamn accident.” �śDead is dead,” Pronghorn returned. �śBinglee should have known better than to go out in a faulty environmental suit.” �śIs that what happened?” Jeremy asked. He hadn't heard the results of the formal inquiry board himself, even if he was in the control room oftener than any of the other explorers. �śThat's what I heard. I bet he was so damn glad to be shut of Mister Shinzyki he would have gone out of the ship naked to get away from him.” �śWell, fuck. If he wanted to kill himself with carelessness, he should have had the decency not to struggle when Kena tried to help him. Isn't that how she got it?” �śSo I hear,” Pronghorn repeated. �śHe pulled her hose loose while she was trying to help him and the atmosphere got into her suit, too. It was so fucking caustic it ruined her HUD and she got lost. By the time she realized it and called for help it was too late.” Two more deaths, Jeremy thought. It made Franica's prediction and his own calculation of so many deaths all too real again. He was glad no one else had voiced similar opinions. Perhaps Binglee's punishment had served a purpose in that regard. Before these latest two explorers were lost, the crew had seemed to him to be settling down for the long haul. Even Franica had stopped the mild flirtation and appeared to be getting serious. In the meantime, he and Jana had tried it together, but gave up after a couple of weeks. It was a surprise to both of them. They worked so well together that he thought they would be equally good together in more intimate ways, but it hadn't turned out like that. The problem was that no sparks flew when they were together. By mutual agreement, they had decided to break it off. �śWhy so serious, Jere?” Franica asked. She gave him a mild hip bump to move him a little more to starboard. �śMmm. Just thinking. I'm going to ... check my suit soon as I get back to my cabin.” It wasn't much of a lie. He'd done that immediately after he heard the explorers had died from complications of suit failure. �śI didn't know the whole story until now.” �śGot time for a drink?” �śYeah, I guess.” �śSuch enthusiasm.” �śOh. Sorry, Fran. Funerals always get to me.” �śUh huh. Me, too. That's why I want the drink.” Afterwards they walked back toward his cabin together. No words were spoken, as if she assumed they were going inside and he had already consented. Soon they were on the small bunk together, laughing at the contortions it took to remove each other's cammies without falling off the narrow bed. He had her top off and her bra unfastened and got one of her arms loose from it, revealing one nicely shaped breast, but she was so close it hung up at that point. �śHere. Let me...” His com dinged. �śShit. It's the XO's code.” He tapped his wrist. �śJeremy Costa here.” �śCosta, report to the XO's office ASAP.” The voice was that of Gerald Sparks, who sometimes served as either the Commander or the XO's yeoman. �śOn my way,” he said. He tapped off and sat up. �śSorry, Fran.” �śDamn it, so am I. As often as you're called to the XO's office, I'm beginning to think you two have something going.” He had to laugh. The idea was ridiculous. �śHold it where we were. I'll be back as soon as I can.” * * * * �śExplorer Costa reporting, ma'am,” Jeremy said to the XO. He was surprised to see Justin Lake, the Explorer commander, in the tiny office with the XO. �śSit down, Costa. We're going to be here a while. Would you like some coffee?” �śUh, yes, ma'am, if you are, that is.” �śI'll pour.” She did so, topping off hers and Lake's cups as well. �śThank you ma'am,” he said and waited until he saw the two officers take a sip of coffee before he did. He was becoming used to seeing the XO, but Mister Lake made him nervous. He was the commanding officer of all the explorers, but Jeremy seldom interacted with him. Mostly, he stayed in officer country and planned each excursion by explorers with Mister Muser, the assistant commander, and the chiefs. During hyper he and Muser were seen working out and at inspections. One or the other was always outside with whatever squad had the duty but again, chiefs or squad officers usually gave the orders, not them. �śCosta, the XO tells me you've done well at astrogation, and I've been pleased with your work as an explorer. Chief Casey thinks you've done well, too.” �śUh, thank you, sir. I try hard.” �śYes, from all reports, you do. XO?” �śCosta, how would you feel about working as a spacer?” �śA ... spacer, ma'am? Leave the Coyotes?” It was the last thing he would have thought the XO and Mister Lake had in mind for him. �śYou're so tied up with astrogation now that you're in the control room more than you're with the Coyotes,” Lake told him, his voice even, non-accusing. �śMore than that, it's where you're needed, Costa.” You weren't supposed to argue against orders, but ... well, it wasn't quite that. Yet. �śBut there's already...” Trammell held up a hand, and he stopped in mid-sentence. �śThere are reasons, Costa. Commander Brackett has already approved the transfer. We want you to be a spacer. And an Astrogator.” �śYes, ma'am.” There was no argument possible if it was what Commander Brackett wanted. �śThank you for your service, Costa,” Mister Lake said, rising to his feet. �śI'll take care of having the announcement made to the troops about your transfer. Keep your seat.” He nodded to the XO and departed. �śNow then, Costa, we have other issues to cover. We have a Spacer PO position open, so that's where we'll slot you in, but as a Chief PO, since you're going to be holding down an extremely technical position. Again she raised her hand as he attempted to protest. �śYes, I know, we have other spacer ratings on board, but none of them have the education yet for a Chief's position, even in our present circumstances. You don't have to worry. You've been in the control room and in astrogation long enough that you'll be respected. In fact, I'd suspect that some of the ratings have wondered why it has taken us so long to make the decision, especially after Martinez was made Chief.” �śYes, ma'am.” This voyage was certainly becoming a success so far as his career went. Now all he had to do was live through it. But ... �śWould I stay a spacer after we get home, ma'am? Or go back to explorer?” For the first time since he'd entered the room, she smiled. �śI suspect that when we return, all of us can pretty much have any position we want, wouldn't you think?” �śUm, well, looking at it that way, I suppose what you said could be true. But I'm not familiar with decisions that far up the line, ma'am.” �śNo, I wouldn't expect you to be. Now then, if you've accepted the fact of your promotion and transfer, and we'll get to the real business here.” �śMa'am?” �śMa'am indeed. Are you prepared to carry out your new duties, Costa?” �śYes, ma'am. I always want to do what's best for the boat. I'll do anything you and Commander Brackett want me to.” �śThat's a good attitude, because you may have a very important job. I suppose you've been wondering what we're going to do about the Monkeyclaw ship that's following us?” She raised an eyebrow. �śUm, yes, ma'am, I guess I have. It's not like the Hurricane is a match for the Monkeyclaw starship, is it?” �śUnder normal circumstances, no. More coffee?” �śIf you're having some, ma'am.” She nodded. He got quickly to his feet and poured while trying to keep his hand from trembling. In the meantime, he did his best to keep his inordinate interest in where she was going with this conversation from showing. Was Hurricane Jack really going to tangle with the Monkeys rather than trying to escape? It seemed like a quick way to commit suicide if they did, he thought. He sat back down and looked attentively to the XO. �śAll right, to satisfy your curiosity, yes, we're going to fight the Moneyclaw ship. Apparently, it's the only way to keep them from following us to Earth. Their ship has presumably been stocking up on water and organics occasionally, probably on the other side of the planets after we land. Commander Brackett and I believe that's the only way they could stay with us so long. At any rate, we're going to fight them. Whether we win or not is another question. You're being brought into this because it is barely possible that it would fall to you to do the calculations and run the boat during the battle. Here's what Commander Brackett has proposed. As soon as we transit into a star system that meets all his specifications, we are going to take action to initiate the fight. Here's how we're going to...” He listened carefully. The Commander's plan seemed feasible if everything went right, but he knew from bitter experience that things seldom did. He said so, and then held his breath while waiting for a rebuke. Instead Chambers laughed. �śI like you, Jeremy. You're not afraid to speak up. Yes, the confrontation could go terribly wrong, but we have little option. Unless you have a better idea?” �śOh, no ma'am! It sounds like the best possible plan, considering what we have to work with. Will that controller thingy handle the disc from a distance, though?” �śWe don't know. It's a backup, anyway. We're depending on surprise for success. And besides the bomb on the disc, Lieutenant Wong has managed to jack up the power of the warheads in the missiles some more. It will be a battle fought at close range, and we just have to hope our surprise is complete. If not ... well, no one can say we didn't try our best.” �śI understand,” he said. It was a bare-bones roll of the dice�"an all-the-eggs-in-one-basket sort of thing, anyway. When they transited into a suitable star system�"one with a life-supporting moon circling a Jovian planet�"Hurricane Jack would use the big gas giant for cover while pretending to be heading for orbit around its moon. While the Jovian planet blocked them from view, they would then reverse thrust until they were headed back the way they'd come. They would then release the disc, giving it some momentum, and once again brake just enough to be out of range when it went off. If all the vectors had been calculated correctly, including that of the alien starship, they would then fire all four missiles possessed by the longboat on vectors designed to be in the path of the enemy ship just as it rounded the Jovian planet. The two plasma pulse cannons would then begin firing continuously at it. If everything went exactly right, the alien ship would run into the converging fire before it had time to react with its own weapons. At the same time, there would be the huge bomb on the disc hopefully greeting the Monkeyclaws almost simultaneously with the missiles and pulse cannons. Jeremy leaned forward. �śMa'am, I don't want to seem ... ungrateful ... for being included in the planning, but I still don't know exactly what my role will be.” Chambers crossed her feet and sipped her coffee before answering. �śIf all goes well, you will be little more than an observer and possibly not even that, if you're off duty at the time and it all goes down quickly. However, suppose for some reason Lieutenant Commander Chambers isn't available and Lieutenant Whistler ... um, doesn't act as expeditiously as he should?” �śUh...” He thought rapidly. �śI guess I would be expected to intervene?” He hoped he wasn't going too far out on a limb with that statement. It didn't seem possible that he would be put in that position, but he couldn't think of any other reason for being included in the plan. �śExactly. To put it another way, Commander Brackett trusts you, I trust you and COB Shinzyki trusts you. Just remember, Jeremy, we are placing that trust on your head in case it becomes needful. When the ball drops, and it will, be prepared to act if necessary, and then do the best you can. That's all anyone can ask.” �śYes, ma'am. I'll do my utmost if it ever comes to that.” �śThat's fine. Now I believe you have some new chevrons to attach to your cammies, so I'll let you get to it.” Taking that as an indication that the interview was over, he got to his feet. �śThank you, ma'am. You can count on me.” She nodded, and he returned to his cabin. On the way back he had a pleasant little daydream about the pretty Executive Officer, extending from her statement saying she liked him, on into wildly improbably events. It made him laugh silently at himself. Franica was still in his cabin and now she had all her clothes off. Thoughts of Trammell disappeared immediately. He stepped inside and closed the hatch. Damn it, he thought, why couldn't we have finished before I got promoted? On second thought, perhaps it was better they hadn't. What he had to tell her would have hurt both of them all the more. �śAbout time you got back. I've been waiting.” She sat up in bed and smiled brightly at him. The sheet fell into her lap. She gazed appealingly at him, unembarrassed at her nakedness. Shit. �śUh, Fran, I have some news.” �śCan it wait?” �śUm, no. I just got another promotion and a transfer to go with it. I've been made a Chief with the Spacers.” �śWhat does that ... oh. Goddamn, can't anything go right on this stupid fucking trip?” �śI'm sorry, Fran. We can't be together this way. Not now.” �śIt's not as if it isn't already ... yes, I know. Oh, hell. I hope you have fun sleeping with ... no, sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have said anything.” Jeremy didn't answer. He knew what she must have been thinking, but he had no idea if Juanita was interested in taking up where they had left off. Probably not. Lately he had seen her in company with James Randall, the other Spacer Petty Officer. Promotions were nice, he decided, but they sure played hell with a person's love life. * * * * COB Rufus Shinzyki had his feet planted firmly in both the enlisted and the commissioned ranks of the boat. He had come up through the ranks to Master Chief and then been promoted to Warrant Officer. From there he became COB in a succession of longboats. He refused a commission and assignments to larger ships, preferring the livelier action found with the longboats, and his standing had earned him a berth on the new starship's longboat. He had to admit that he had seen a bit more action during this voyage than he'd bargained for. And sometime soon a turning point on it would come�"one that would either end the trip and all their lives or give them a chance to continue on and hope enough of them lived to warn Earth. �śSorenson, is this duty satisfactory? Can you handle it?” he asked Siegfrer in her new role as Lieutenant Wong's assistant and in particular his alternate handler of the alien disc and its cargo. �śYes, sir, Mister Shinzyki. I like new things, and this is about as new as we have on the boat. I just wish I knew what it was for, originally, and why it retained its power when hardly anything else in that city did.” �śAnother exploration can answer those problems. Our duty is to get home, and we have to go through the Monkeys to do it. Your job is to be Lieutenant Wong's backup and take over if anything happens to him, or if he can't report for duty, for some reason, when the shit hits the fan. Your secondary duty is to keep your mouth shut about this until it does happen. That's probably just as important.” �śYes, sir. No one has ever accused me of being a blabbermouth.” �śGood. There are too many people in on this little detail already, if you ask me. Do you know why you're to keep silent?” Siegfrer looked the Warrant Officer in the eye. �śYes, sir. Do you want me to say it?” �śYou'll do, Sieg. You'll do. Whenever you have time, Lieutenant Wong and you will practice with this thing on the simulator. Just make damn certain that you keep the program protected with your own personal password. He's doing the same. The crew can hoorah about the detail all they want once it's over, but until then, Commander Brackett feels like only those who have to know should be in on it.” �śYes, sir. When do you think it will happen?” �śNo telling, but probably within the next six months. Oh, I almost forgot. Congratulations. You're going to be promoted to Acting Chief.” [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Eighteen Jeremy found that his new duties left him with even less time for sleep than before, but he jumped into them with a will. He asked the COB for study material for noncommissioned officers and received the download of a manual for Chiefs. He perused it assiduously while trying to sort out all the ambiguities of the regulations. Most promotions to Chief during an exploration voyage were brevet, with the person in question assigned to NCO leadership school immediately afterward. In his case, he figured, he had about another year and a half to serve as a Chief before getting that chance, if he got it at all. It wouldn't hurt to learn all he could about a Spacer Chief's duties in the meantime. He saw the indulgent expression on Shinzyki's face when he asked for study material and received the manual, but he didn't let it put him off. As with astrogation, he knew he had to learn his new duties and responsibilities on the job and was fiercely determined to do it well. He had already seen enough incompetents in the academy washouts or the ones who barely graduated. For that matter, there were still a few in Hurricane Jack. The first time he was sent to supervise a work detail, it was one ordered to work outside the boat. He was grateful then that he'd had the previous experience in vacuum work. It went well, and afterward he found he had more respect than ever. That in turn led to an even better rapprochement with Juanita. �śIt's too bad we didn't know this would happen in advance, or I'd have waited,” she said during an exercise break in the gym. �śYeah. We still have a long way to go, though.” �śDon't borrow trouble, Jere. I wouldn't feel right, and the crew wouldn't respect me if I broke up with Randall right after you made Chief. That wouldn't be good for morale, would it?” �śNot according to the manual, it wouldn't,” he admitted. �śTo quote, �ŚPersonal relationships must be approached with care in order to preserve the respect and dignity of the rank. Actions in personal relationships leading to disruption of morale or efficiency are precluded.’ Don't you love the wording? Precluded!” Frown lines appeared between her brows. �śWhere did you hear that, Jere?” �śHuh? Shucks, right after I learned I was a Chief, I asked Mr. Shinzyki for study material for the rank. He let me download a manual. I figured he'd have one, since he was a chief before he got his Warrant.” She shook her head. �śJeremy, only you would think of something like that.” �śIs it bad?” �śNo, not in the least. In fact, I wish I had thought of it. If you'd care to share, I'd appreciate it.” �śSure. Glad to. Ready to go again?” �śYup. I'm gonna really kick your ass now. Precluded! I love it!” * * * * Lt. Whistler sat in his cabin and brooded. He was even more aggravated than usual. He knew something was going on around him from which he was excluded, and it irritated the hell out of him�"even more than that young little shit being promoted to Chief and calling himself an astrogator. It was bad enough being shoved out of his spot in the control room so the kid could practice, when he needed to go over figures and vectors and such himself. And Chambers! That bitch was looking for his job. He knew it, and she knew it, but apparently Brackett didn't. Or did he? He certainly was complicit in letting those kids into the control room and having her as their instructor. Whistler couldn't understand. He was the astrogator, and there was no need for another one. Perhaps replacing him was the objective of all the secrecy lately. He considered what to do about it and wondered if any of whatever they were up to was on the boat's computer system. Turning in his chair, he tapped into the computer and began searching. After spending hours at the chore he hadn't found anything specific, but he had found several references to subjects that were protected by passwords. He was due in the control room, but later he could return and search some more. Perhaps he could put some password-breaking algorithms to work and see what they turned up. Sooner or later, he would find out what was happening, and by God and by damned, if it had anything to do with stealing his job, he intended to confront the Commander. There were rules and procedures for replacing officers, and if Brackett didn't follow them he, Whistler, would see to it that Brackett suffered. If they ever got back, that is. Taking the long way home still rankled him. He thought if that blond-haired bitch Chambers hadn't interfered, they would be more than half way there by now. He was sure that if they had taken his route, the Monkeyclaws wouldn't be following them now. Instead, that damned ship was right on their tail, and all because of the path she had convinced Brackett to take. He hurried off to his shift in the control room. As soon as he entered, a conversation between Trammell and Chambers broke off abruptly. They had been talking about him. He just knew they must have been, or maybe gabbing over whatever little secret they were keeping from him. �śGood afternoon, Joe,” Trammell said. He mumbled something in passing and went directly to the astrogation station. He began going over the vectors, trying to find something wrong. He frowned as he worked. His face tightened even more when he saw Chambers doing some astrogation at the other station. Probably checking on me, he thought. As is he didn't know what he was doing. Presently he became absorbed in his work and barely remembered whether or not Chambers had greeted him right after the XO. He wouldn't have answered anyway. Bitch. * * * * Jeremy headed from the Chief's day room with his supervisory work assignment. Strangely, it actually felt good to get away from the control room with its secrecy and undercurrent of conflicts, for a change. It was almost like a day off, except he'd had to study flow diagrams and pipe fittings and pressures for two hours in order to acquire some semblance of knowing what he was doing and to supervise the explorers for the scheduled maintenance and cleaning of the first set of environmental tanks. He stopped by the larger crew dayroom to pick up the detail: Johnny Lann and Brandon Barker. He spotted Lann first. The explorer greeted him amiably. �śHello, Chief. Barker is waiting by the galley. We can grab him up on the way.” �śHi Johnny. Good deal.” As the walked along he decided it wouldn't hurt to say what was on his mind. After all, no one could know everything. �śSay, you may have to uh, give me a hand here. I've studied up on this stuff, but you've actually done it, haven't you?” �śUm, yeah, a few times. Sure. Glad to help.” Lann looked at him peculiarly, as if asking for help was the last thing he'd thought the new Chief would do. �śThanks. How's Barker? What does he know?” �śAh, he's still a cherry, but he's a good kid. He likes to learn.” �śGood. We can all do that while we're working.” They walked a moment is silence then Lann spoke up. �śYou know, Chief Shinn would never have admitted he didn't know all there was to a job where he was the honcho.” �śAs far as I'm concerned, we can't know enough about the boat,” Jeremy replied. We've still got a long way to go.” �śHow much longer, Chief? You ought to know, being as you're in astrogation now.” It was the type of question he'd become used to avoiding giving a direct answer to. �śI don't know, Johnny. We just have to take it as it comes. The records of which stars have planets were lost with the ship. That means all new calculations when transiting out of a system. We sort of make it up as we go.” �śThat must take a lot of smarts.” Jeremy laughed. �śIt's more a matter of keeping your nose in the books and your hands on the simulators. I've about forgotten what sleep is like.” Lann chuckled with him. Barker came into sight where he was waiting, and they picked him up. Soon all three were up to their elbows in pipes and brushes. �śWhy isn't more of this scut work automated, Chief?” Barker asked. �śIt was, once or twice, and then someone noticed how many longboats crapped out forty light years from nowhere. I don't care how many automated corrosion gauges you have installed, it takes a human eye to pick up some kinds of damage. Like right there. See it?” He was glad now that he'd read so assiduously for the job. �śThe different color?” �śAccording to the manual, that's an indication of impending damage. Isn't that right, Johnny?” �śYou bet. Here, Barker. Use this brush. Just touch it up gently and then spray a little more solvent. Wipe that off, apply the bonding gel, and we're ready to move on.” The detail used up three hours, all of it passed in harmony. All three learned some more about the innards of the boat. Lann some new theory, Jeremy now knew some practical matters that the manual didn't cover, and Barker knew some of both. �śOkay, I think that does it, guys. Know what's next?” �śI thought that was it,” Barker complained in an injured voice. Jeremy and Lann grinned at each other. �śWhat would the COB say, Barker?” he asked him. �śHuh? Oh. �ŚAlways check your work’ �ś. �śRight. Get to it. We'll watch and see that you do it right.” * * * * A few months later, after another transit into hyper, Jeremy returned to his cabin for a couple of hours sleep. He then proceeded to the eternal simulator for more practice, spent an hour on study and another hour on sleep, and then went to the control room. The first thing he always did upon arriving was look to see who was there. Most of the time, he was happy to see that Lieutenant Whistler wasn't present. Chambers and the commander must still be keeping them separated. He could only be thankful and enjoy it. Soon enough he'd have a shift where the astrogator was on duty, and that would make the time seem to drag. �śHello, Jeremy,” Chambers greeted him. �śGood evening, Ma'am,” he said. �śHi, Jana. What's on tap for today?” �śMore of the usual,” Chambers said. �śI think computer practice today. You're still a little slow off the mark converting your base calculations for corrections into the established run. Most times, it won't make a difference, but one day speed might be necessary.” �śYes, ma'am. How about an hour there, followed by an hour with the thrusters and vectors, with Jana and I checking each other's work?” �śFine. Then I'll check you both.” The period spent in hyper proved a good time to practice in the control room. He had made two more successful transits on his own, and Jana had made a rather shaky one that she nevertheless got through with only minimal assistance. He had long since forgotten how many transits they had gone through by now. He did know how long it had been since the Sam Johnston disaster, and how far along the Orion arm they'd come. Progress seemed agonizingly slow until he pulled up the map and saw how far they'd traveled. They were more than a third of the way home now, and he felt better about the number of casualties they would suffer. They had lost only one explorer in the last three months�"that one from a particularly fast and aggressive beast on a world where they couldn't go outside without breathing masks. As he worked, he found himself almost wanting to whistle, he was so happy. The only part of his life that wasn't entirely satisfactory concerned the lack of close female companionship. The only woman in his own bracket where he wouldn't be violating regulations, or who wasn't already attached, happened to be Explorer Chief Casey Dugan, and he still felt odd around her, so far as personal relationships went. He hoped it would get better. She was quite friendly with him now, but he had been so used to thinking of her as an all-powerful superior that he couldn't relax properly with her yet. Maybe someday, he thought, if she isn't tied up with another man. She reminded him of Trammell, in a way, with her petite figure, although she had blond hair while Trammell's was red. In the meantime, the only other solution he could think of was to approach the XO and ask what she would think of his having a relationship with one of the Explorer Fives, such as Franica. She was still free, so far as he knew. The only reason he even considered that solution was because he knew that some fraternization was going on. Besides that, he had inadvertently overheard COB Shinzyki and Lieutenant Commander Chambers discussing their intimate affairs and had almost jumped out of his skin, not only because of the difference in their ranks but because he still couldn't picture the burly, rough-spoken Warrant Officer and the pretty blond astrogator in bed together. Apparently, they were, though. He wondered if anyone else knew about it. Probably. He stayed so busy he knew he must miss a lot of goings on in the crew quarters, and of course he knew next to nothing about how the officers lived off duty. �śReady, Jere.” Looking up from his own figures, he punched them in and changed places with Jana. Chambers moved over behind her to supervise, while Jeremy pulled up a simulation of piloting the boat in a star system while simultaneously scanning for planetary masses. In practice, he would do one or the other. If it came down to it, COB Shinzyki could probably drive the boat through hell and back, and he was always present in the control room during transits in or out of hyper. He finished the simulation and tapped out. He saw that Chambers had departed the control room while he'd been busy, and the XO had taken her place. �śWhere did Chambers go?” he asked as he moved over to where Jana was. �śMister Shinzyki called and said he had some business or other she needed to take care of.” �śOh. Well, guess we're finished then. XO, we're finished. May we leave?” �śCertainly. Report to your supervisors.” �śThank you, ma'am.” For Jana that meant reporting to Tiny Smith, the acting chief of the Tigers. His superior was none other than Lieutenant Commander Joyce Chambers. He doubted that he should bother her at the moment, so he went by the gym and found Juanita there. They put in a good hour of hand-to-hand�"enough to send him to his cabin and to bed to catch a few hours sleep. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Nineteen �śThat looks like a good place,” Commander Brackett said with a pleased expression from his chair in the control room. The boat was in its second day of orbiting a new planet. Trammell had just dropped an icon over a pleasant-looking scene. The enhanced photo showed a long, narrow lake culminating against a rock-strewn shore at one end. Even with the varying sizes of the rocks, the shore sported a grove of tree analogues, which were individually separated enough that the ground could be seen beneath some of them. The rocky plain continued for over a kilometer before it began disappearing beneath reddish-green vegetation, portending a possible source of organics if none of the larger beasts came near enough to be killed. �śIf you're for it, I'll start the deorbit,” Shinzyki said. �śHow about letting Chief Costa set it up? He says he can do it now,” Chambers said. �śOh ho! He does, huh? All right, Costa, get over here and show me your stuff. You make a mistake, you get busted down to PO.” �śYes, sir!” Jeremy said enthusiastically. He had been waiting for a chance to do more than maneuver the boat in space. He quickly found out that there was a difference between driving a boat in space or on the simulator and actually having Hurricane Jack under his control while landing in the atmosphere of a planet. In the end he got it down, albeit not without Shinzyki hovering over him, ready to take control at the first sign of warning lights turning from amber to yellow. Once he almost let him, but his determination to master the craft kept him going, while sweat beaded his forehead and his heart thumped wildly in his chest. When the landing jacks finally touched down and four green lights appeared on the console, he cut the last bit of thrust and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked around to find Shinzyki's weathered face grinning at him. �śNot too bad for a first try. You need to practice with the simulator thrusters some more, though. You probably scared hell out of the crew. I know you did me.” �śI'm sorry, sir. It's a lot different from the simulator, isn't it?” �śThat it is, son. That it is. Your lesson here is never to let the sims think you've mastered an art. You always have to do it in real life. Now what have you forgotten?” 'What�"oh! Secure the boat for dirtside!” �śRight you are. Go ahead.” Having pulled up the schedule, Jeremy thumbed the all-hands com and tapped the pre-recorded announcement into it. All hands, boat is now secured to ground. Release tractors and prepare for dirtside routine. Tiger squad is on line, Coyotes second and Dragons reserve. �śAnd now you're finished. Good job. Come with me.” Shinzyki left the control room to begin checking the boat. Knowing that that task was always his first duty, Jeremy hurried to follow him. �śWhat we look for first is wear on the thruster feeds. I've shown you that enough times. Check with Chief Hidhi. He's got a couple of guys lined up for you.” It turned out to be Explorers Sylvia Rothman and Marvin Bullock, both originally E2 but now brevetted to E3 by Commander Brackett. He often thought if the voyage took long enough and they had enough casualties, everyone in the boat would be either a chief or an officer. * * * * With the boat safely down, Brackett ordered Lisa Trammell to take off the evening shift to rest, leaving Lieutenant Wong to stand watch. She lay in bed that night unable to sleep. She twisted and turned and finally dozed off, only to wake up an hour later more restless than ever. Part of it was caused by the erotic dream she'd just had, where Costa had played a role. She lay awake and visualized his young, serious face, and then told herself to quit being so goddamned stupid. Just because she was starving for sex didn't mean she had to think about robbing the cradle, despite what her dreams were insisting. This was the fourth or fifth time Costa had played a role in nighttime erotic adventures while she slept. It made her envy Joyce and Rufus. At least they weren't sleeping alone now, incongruous as their mating seemed. Too bad she didn't have someone she wouldn't have to break regulations to be with. There was no one for an executive officer, though. Her position was almost as sacrosanct as that of Commander Brackett. She was his visible embodiment�"his second presence everywhere in the boat. She couldn't possibly be intimate with anyone and not be thought of as playing favorites. Eventually, she took the usual course and masturbated in order to get back to sleep. It was as unsatisfactory as always�"a poor second best. For a change, Jeremy got to go out the second day. He didn't pause to wonder why. An opportunity to get out of the boat was too welcome to prompt him to ask questions when he was ordered to report to Mister Muser. He hurriedly grabbed his gear and weapons and headed for the airlock. Outside, the view was panoramic under a sun similar to Earth and a sky of deep blue. �śCan I help you, sir?” he asked Mr. Muser, the Assistant Commander of the explorers. He had always respected her. She was dark skinned and of mixed ancestry but had eyes that were a light blue color. �śI'm not sure.” She shrugged guiltily. �śI've just got an itch. When you've been in this business as long as I have, you learn to scratch them. How about going over the initial bio reports and see what you make of them?” �śI'll be glad to, sir, but Wasserman does good work.” �śI'm aware of that, Chief Costa. I still want you to check it. Then go over to that grove of trees and take a look there.” �śAny thing special I should watch for?” �śI can't tell you your business. Just do what you normally would, then report back to me.” �śYes, sir. Will do.” He set up his kit near the boat's airlock and got to work, after first tapping into the ship's computer and pulling up Judy Wasserman's results on his reader. After going over everything she had done, he could find no flaws in her analysis of the Happystop life. He had to admit that the name given to the planet seemed fitting. It looked great so far. Nothing had threatened other than a few medium-sized carnivores, which were quickly killed and sent to the converter for processing into food. Beyond the bare rocks where the red-green vegetation began, a little herd of grazers, unmindful of the alien presence since they hadn't been evolved to fear humans, had been driven closer than the few that didn't run the other way had been, and slaughtered. In only one day they had harvested nearly enough organics to fill the storage vats, and the water was already aboard. It should be a short stop, given that they now needed only to get the organic material processed. That always took longer than loading water. He set out to look at the nearest vegetable life: the grove of trees. Their anatomy had proven to be closer to vegetable than animal life, but Wasserman had no explanation of why they grew in that one spot and almost equilaterally spaced. He remembered Mister Muser's cautionary remark about an itch. He found he had one, too. The problem was figuring out what it meant. As he neared the grove, he saw that a number of explorers were taking a break by leaning against the amber-colored trunks while being shaded by an overhead of leaves shaped almost like footprints. When his progress brought him under the first tree, he looked up, thinking there might be a source of danger overhead. That made him uneasy, but nothing came to mind. The leaves were sparse enough that nothing of any size could hide among them. An analysis had determined that if no more fauna came near they could fill out the last of the organics needed. A few meters away he saw Lisa Trammell standing by herself as if in thought. She heard his footsteps crunching the myriad insect analogue shells underfoot and turned around. �śHello, Jeremy. Did Mister Muser call you out?” �śYes, ma'am. He's worried that we're missing something.” �śHow about you?” �śI ... don't know yet. Something doesn't seem right, but I can't put my finger on it.” Her countenance stiffened. �śDo you think we should pull back to the ship?” �śFrankly, I don't know. Give me just a few more minutes.” He wanted to look around some more before giving her an answer, but she stood waiting expectantly. He gazed around him while turning in a slow circle, crunching more insect shells. He looked down and saw that they formed a solid mass a couple of inches thick in some places. He dug his toe into them and found the newer ones were not decomposed, but the underlayer had begun breaking down into bits and pieces of shells. He looked farther into the grove. It was the same under all of the trees. Something�"a bit of lore he had read, a comparison with a half-remembered situation other explorers had run into, perhaps just the workings of his own mind�"finally rang a bell. �śGet everyone out from under the trees. Now!” He turned to go back to the boat but stopped halfway there when he heard a shrill hissing noise. He turned around quickly. From the depths of the grove he could see explorers falling to the ground with their bodies twitching. The phenomena progressed like a wave, the nearer ones falling then the ones still nearer collapsed. �śXO!” he called, not taking the time to use her title. �śHold your breath!” He was too late. She had already breathed a bit of whatever poison the trees were exuding in thin jets that quickly dissipated into the air. The XO fell, body twitching. An explorer ran past him. �śStop! Use your breathing mask!” He saw that it was Wasserman. She ran on past him, wanting to help. She fell near the XO. He fumbled with his mask in his hurry to get it on. Shit! I bet most of them don't even have their masks in their packs! he thought bitterly. He always carried his, no matter what, but this was the current shift's second time outside and the air had already been declared safe. He called loudly for breathing masks and for those without to hold their breaths one more time before securing his to his face and running toward the fallen figures. He blinked as he ran, trying to sort out what was happening beneath the trees. The ground was changing color, and alternate hue was spreading to the helpless explorers. He stopped by the XO and was horrified to see hordes of insects scurrying over her body. They were already covering his boots, too. Ignoring them for the moment, he leaned down to grab her recumbent form and heave her onto his shoulders. He ran back toward the ship even as he felt his legs begin to burn from the bites of dozens of the creatures chewing on him. He knew that some of the tiny carnivores must have burrowed beneath his cammies and were attacking him, but their number was minuscule compared to the ones on Trammell's body. As soon as he thought he had put enough distance between the grove of trees, he stopped, dropped her to the ground. Frantically, he brushed the insects from her arms and neck and face and flamed them with his laser while ignoring the ones on his legs. Which told him they would be underneath her clothing, too. The day was hot and humid, and as he had done, she had released the blousing of her pants and pulled her top from her pants to let air circulate beneath. Having practically ripped her top off, he began frantically brushing the dozens of bugs off her. They were under her bra, too. Not bothering to roll her over and get to the clasps, he drew his knife, slashed through it, and yanked at her cammie pants and underpants together, bringing them down around her ankles. As he brushed the last of them away from her front, pausing with each swipe to shake his hands and fling away and flame the ones he picked up in the process, he had the wildly incongruous thought of how good she looked undressed, even with bugs crawling on her body. It took long minutes to get her free of the ferocious little crawlers. By then, the pain from the ones working on his legs was so bad that he had to shuck his cammie trousers and scrape the insects off before trying to help anyone else. He burned them and a dozen or two others he had missed after cleaning them off Trammell. While he worked on himself, he stopped Shinzyki and Maria Teha, who had come running from the boat to help. �śDon't go under the trees if you don't have your masks. Someone take the XO inside right now and get her blood analyzed for a poison. Call the boat and get ... uh...” He paused, trying frantically to remember who was handling what little medicine was necessary to the Everlife-treated crew. �śGet Simpson to run the test on her, just in case her nannites can't handle whatever gas those goddamned trees shot into the air. Send anyone with masks under the trees if they have their lasers handy. Otherwise, wait at the edge to help. I'm going back in now.” He never paused to think that Shinzyki or Teha should be giving the orders. He simply rattled off what his own expertise deemed necessary, and then ran for the trees again. So few explorers had masks, and the insects were so numerous and vicious, that they were able to save only a few more of the explorers, and those would be crippled for some time. The ones with masks who ran in under the trees were also bitten and chewed on, and required treatment to help their nannites with the healing process. That included himself, for by the time he got the last person he was assisting out of the trees and cleaned of insects, it was all over except that he had more of the blasted things on his bare legs. He hadn't paused to put his pants back on. He didn't know that Jana Waters had been one of the casualties until he was released from the improvised sick bay by Simpson and stopped by the Chiefs’ dayroom. It was somber inside. As soon as he saw Juanita he went over to her. �śHow many?” he asked. He didn't have to explain further. �śSeven, including Mister Muser and Mister Dumas. Mister Muser got gassed and Teha plowed in trying to save the troops. He didn't even have a mask.” She shook her head. �śDamn it, she should have been able to see that she couldn't survive there barefaced as a baby. Your friend Waters is dead, too, along with Tiny, Jantzen and Wasserman. There're two others, but their faces are chewed up so bad they haven't got a positive ID on them. I think Chief Hindhi is one of them. He was late and didn't inspect their gear. He's been leaving some of the inspections to Vane since he started fooling around with ... never mind that. He just failed to see to it that everyone had their masks.” It was hard to comprehend. The place had looked so peaceful. �śShit, �ŚNita, didn't anyone even wonder about all the insect shells?” She shrugged sadly. �śI guess not, although in retrospect they should have.” �śYeah. It's obvious now. The trees and the insects are symbiotic. The trees gas any big animals that wander beneath them. The insects eat them, bones and all, then breed and die. Both furnish fertilizer for the trees. Crap, I guess we'll never quit running into weird life forms.” �śUh huh. And ones that kill us. What are we going to do now?” �śWhat do you think, �ŚNita? We go on. What else can we do?” �śI suspect that some of the crew won't see it that way.” �śDoesn't matter. Commander Brackett is running things, and he intends to get us home.” �śI hope there are some of us left.” �śThere will be, �ŚNita. Hang in there.” * * * * Three days later, the boat lifted off for the next transit. Jeremy felt funny without having Jana to work with and to tutor, but, as he reflected, he supposed the officers and crew were all feeling a bit strange now with friends and lovers missing. At least he hadn't lost anyone close. They were a full AU on their way when the Monkeyclaw ship made its appearance again. �śThere he is, hanging on to us like a goddamned leech,” Lieutenant Whistler said disgustedly as he pointed to the faint icon of the alien ship at the edge of the screen. �śWhy don't they give up and go home?” �śWhatever their motives are, Lieutenant Whistler, they aren't our own. In their eyes, they may be attempting to protect their empire from us vicious humans,” Commander Brackett said with faint amusement in his tone of voice. �śWell, they still ought to go away,” Whistler answered churlishly. �śYes, I would prefer that action myself, but unfortunately, the universe doesn't pay any attention to our wishes. We'll just have to take care of the cordiality-challenged creatures ourselves when the time comes.” Whistler stared at the Commander as if he were mad. �śTake care of them! What do you mean? Sir.” �śOh, just thinking ahead, Lieutenant. Keep your eye on your work. They aren't going to do anything now.” Whistler turned away, but Jeremy figured that his mind was whirling furiously. His facial tic was working at twice its normal speed. He wondered why Brackett had said anything at all about confronting the Monkeys�"not as if he had been keeping Whistler in the dark about his plans. So far as Jeremy knew, Brackett hadn't involved Whistler at all. He glanced over at the XO. She still looked a little shaky but appeared to be fully recovered. She winked at him and held up one of her arms. The sleeves of her cammie top were rolled up. He could still see faint marks on the skin of her forearm as well as on her face where the unanticipated insects had chewed on her. It caused him to wonder how the other bites were healing. He turned away to conceal the confusion of his thoughts. He remembered plainly what she looked like without clothes and felt a blush begin creeping over his face and neck. He tried desperately to think of something else before she noticed. As usual, the Monkeyclaw ship hung on their tail as they moved out toward their transit point. Of course it would follow them, even into hyper. They still had no idea what technology it was that let the aliens stay on their trail, but obviously they had it. The Monkeyclaw ship would go into transit, presumably a half hour or so behind them, and then come out lagging the same half hour, regular as clockwork. It was aggravating. A few weeks later Commander Brackett allowed him to make the transit again, much to Whistler's disgust. Jeremy didn't care. He felt as if he was coming into his own now, and while he was not a full fledged astrogator like Lieutenant Commander Chambers, he knew he could handle himself well enough. He looked up after the dizziness passed and saw Brackett, Trammell and Chambers all smiling at him. He couldn't help but grin in return. �śGood job, Costa. You're relieved. Go get some rest. You, too, XO. I'll take the watch tonight.” �śYes, sir. Thank you,” Jeremy said while thinking that Trammell was looking at the Commander rather oddly. �śNo thanks are necessary. You've earned it.” [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twenty Lisa lay in bed amid the tangled sheets: evidence of how much she had tossed and turned in the last hour since going to bed. Her mind simply wouldn't turn off. She kept remembering how she had come partially back to her senses after being gassed by the trees and realized that she was naked. She had seen Jeremy's retreating back as he ran to help someone else. She didn't find out until later that he had been the one who saved her. She also learned that he had been instrumental in keeping others from dying by his quick thinking and even quicker action. Shinzyki told her about it. �śI was proud of the boy,” he said. �śHe did everything just right, including giving me orders.” He laughed reminiscently. �śI never thought a thing about it at the time�"a young kid like that telling me what to do in an emergency. He almost certainly saved your life and at least one other, and was probably responsible for saving others by alerting us to what was happening. He was the one who diagnosed the gas-emitting trees and insect symbiosis too, but it was just a little late. I'm sorry now it wasn't him that did the first analysis. I think he would have suspected a wert in the woodwork before we lost all those people.” �śHow did he save me?” �śHell, Lisa, he ripped off your top, cut off your bra and yanked your pants down like he was going to rape you, then got those bugs off you before he took care of himself. I never saw him waste a bit of motion through the whole sorry business. If he doesn't get a boat of his own one day, I'll damn well tell the commandant at headquarters where to get off and resign from the service.” She thought now of being naked while he ministered to her and wondered what had gone through his mind. Had he thought about her body at all? Surely not under those circumstances. He couldn't have. She found herself wishing he would have, though, as insane as the thought might be. �śHell,” she said aloud and pushed the sheet away. She sat up on the side of the bed. �śTo hell with it all.” She smoothed her fingers over her breasts. She closed her eyes and lifted them in her hands. Her body was so sensitive to touch, even her own, that she felt as if she were trying to crawl out of her skin. Rising, she opened the tiny closet and pulled out her dressing gown. She shrugged it on and belted it, and began pacing. Two steps forward, two back. That was all the room there was. The sensation of her body brushing at the silken material of the robe made her shiver. She stopped pacing and hugged herself. What on Earth is happening to me? she thought. I swear, if I don't do something soon, whether it's right or not, I'll scream out loud! She resumed pacing, but that only made it worse. She sat back down on the edge of the narrow bed and put her face in her hands. She knew what she wanted, but it was wrong, wrong. �śSo it's wrong,” she whispered. �śFuck it. Goddamn it all, we'll probably die soon anyhow. What can Brackett do to me, anyway? Bust me and tell me to go home? She laughed softly at the absurdity of it all. The little laugh brought her part way back to her senses, but it didn't last. Soon enough she had the same thoughts all over again. And finally she spoke out loud again. �śTo hell with it.” She tapped her wrist. �śChief Costa,” his voice answered. It didn't sound as if he had been sleeping either. �śCosta, something has come up. Report to my cabin as soon as possible. Don't say anything, should you meet others on the way here.” Once she committed herself, or committed herself at least to seeing him, she felt a surreal calm descend, but it only overlay the tension beneath. She waited, almost unable to bear the suspense of time passing until she would hear his voice. When it came, she took a deep breath and went to open the hatch. �śCome inside, Jeremy.” She closed the hatch and turned to face him. She had kept the night light on. She knew it was bright enough for him to see the outline of her nipples limned against the thin cloth of the gown. Hell, she could glance down and see them herself. �śWhat did...” She stepped forward to close the step between them. �śDon't say anything else, Jeremy. Nothing else. Understand?” �śUh, yes, but what...” �śShush.” She moved her body against him. She put her arms around his neck and pulled his lips down to cover her own. For a moment he didn't respond, but then his lips parted for her tongue. She felt his hands come to rest on her waist. �śOh, God,” she whispered, breaking the kiss for a moment, and then returning to it with a fervor she'd never felt before. An almost uncontrollable surge of desire drove her to begin pulling at the closure of his cammie top. Her hands trembled badly, but she got it done swiftly, even while keeping her mouth more or less on his. She drove her body against him, feeling his obvious response against her belly. He began helping her with his clothes. She tugged at the belt of her robe and shrugged it off before pushing him onto the bed. She threw herself on him, her desire so urgent that she could barely control her movements. A sharply indrawn breath whistled past her lips as their bodies connected, and then she was stretched on top of him, moving her hips frantically, unable to stop grinding her body into his until she reached a gasping, shuddering orgasm. It didn't stop there, though. Jeremy was young and her lips and hands quickly had him ready again. She drew him over her and wrapped her arms and legs around him, bucking her hips to urge him to thrust into her. Her fingers dug into his back and buttocks. She knew that she must be marking him with her nails, and that her fierce grip on his buttocks would have to leave raised red welts. It made no difference. She couldn't stop, not for anything, not until she was biting his shoulder to keep from screaming and letting everyone in officers’ row know what was going on. Even that wouldn't have made a difference. �śOh, God, Jeremy, I love you, I love you,” she uttered hoarsely, her words garbled by the way her teeth were biting into the skin of his shoulder. She gave a muffled cry of despair. The words had come out of her mouth unintentionally. She hadn't intended to say that. She hadn't even known that, but in a sudden burst of renewed passion she knew the words were true. He had reached his climax, too. His movements slowed and he settled more heavily onto her. He raised himself on his elbows, but she quickly drew him back down, tightening the grasp of her legs and arms so that his weight rested fully on her. �śLisa, I...” �śNo, no,” she whispered. She knew what he wanted to tell her. �śPlease don't say anything. This is wrong, but God, I couldn't help it. I wanted you, but I didn't realize how much I wanted you. Just stay where you are for now. Let me hold you, and don't talk.” He complied, as she knew he would. Right now, he would no more go against anything she said than he would deliberately foul up a transit. She moved her hands up and down and across his back and down to his buttocks, feeling the ridges of his muscles and the smaller ridges of welts and marks from her nails. He was going to be sore tomorrow, but she doubted that he would complain. Eventually she loosened her hold on him and got up from the bed. She went to the tiny head that officers rated and moistened a cloth. She used it and brought another for him. She brushed his hands away and cleaned him herself, gently but thoroughly, and then slid back into the narrow bed and into the comfort of his shoulder. She reached up and set the alarm so that he could leave well before the morning watch, and then reset it for an hour earlier, castigating herself as she did. She left the time she had set. There couldn't be a repeat of this night, but they could enjoy it to the utmost. She slept, and then wakened well before the alarm went off. She simply lay next to him and wondered what would become of the relationship should they ever reach Earth. He was much younger than she, but with Everlife, twenty years wasn't much of a difference. Of course, they had to get home first, and she faced the fact that one or both of them might not make it. Hell, the way things had gone so far, at least one of them not making it was almost a certainty. And in that case ... She began touching and kissing him, gently at first and then more firmly as he gradually came awake. They made love, their joining a long and tenderly sensuous affair that went on and on. His hands and lips on her breasts, her body, her lips and thighs brought her to a climax before they even coupled�"something she'd not thought possible. There was another orgasm and another as he moved on her and in her a last time. She felt as if she could never be surfeited of his body, but the night had to end, much as she didn't want it to. �śYou have to go,” Jeremy,” she whispered softly. �śI don't want to.” �śHush. Just go, before the others start getting up and see you.” �śYou think they haven't heard us?” �śNever mind, just go. And never let on to anyone this happened.” �śI won't be able to forget.” �śI don't want you to, but we can't do it again. Too much depends on us. Now kiss me one more time, and then go, please.” After the hatchway closed behind him she lay in the dark until the bell calling for first watch sounded. The rest of the voyage is going to be lonely and hard, and chances are we'll be destroyed in the battle with the Monkeyclaw ship, but I have this night to carry me through it, she told herself. It will have to do. * * * * �śGood morning, Jeremy,” Lisa said to him when he entered the control room. Her face was impersonally bland, revealing nothing of what they'd been doing only a few short hours before, which told him he'd better return to thinking her as Lieutenant Commander Trammell the XO, rather than Lisa. �śUh, good morning, ma'am,” he said hesitantly. �śWill Lieutenant Commander Chambers be here today?” �śNo, this is hers and Lieutenant Whistler's day off. It's just you and I and COB Shinzyki today, with Explorer Sparks for the com. Of course, Commander Brackett will be in a bit later.” He nodded and went over to the control room simulator to begin the day's activities. �śYou're moving a little slow today, Costa. Have you hurt yourself?” Jeremy blinked and looked up from where he had pulled up a boat handling routine he wanted to go over again. COB Shinzyki was eyeing him with an amused tolerance gracing the lines and valleys of his face. �śUh, no, I'm fine, sir. Well, maybe a few bruises from my last exercise. Chief Martinez is better at H&H than I am, and she throws me around a good bit.” He hated telling untruths, but for once he felt justified. He had tried to make himself feel ashamed of what he'd done the night before, but his mind refused to cooperate, especially as the sore places on his back and the pain when he sat provided a constant reminder of how much he'd enjoyed it. And she had called him, not the other way around. Maybe she really did love him. He knew he felt as strongly about her as any woman he'd ever been with. He had fantasized about being in bed with her, but never in his wildest dreams had he thought it would ever happen. �śWell, take care of yourself. The boat needs you.” �śYes, sir. I will.” He turned back to the simulator. The way Shinzyki had looked at him made him think he knew everything that had happened during the night. In fact, after some consideration, he figured he ought to be surprised if he didn't. The man certainly appeared to know everything else going on with the crew. Well, if the COB wouldn't say anything other than making a sly dig, he certainly wasn't going to bring it up, either. As the day wore on, he managed to get back into the routine of work, study and practice, although he couldn't help but steal more glances than he ordinarily did in Lisa's direction. He couldn't stop thinking of her as Lisa, either, although he was very careful to use her title even when no one else was within hearing. He also became resigned to the fact that it might be a long time before they made love again, and possibly never. Over the next few days, all appeared to be back to normal, and the night with the XO became fixed in his mind more like a well-remembered dream than reality. It helped him to cope, but he couldn't avoid wondering what was going through her mind. And he also wondered whether she had really meant it when she told him she loved him. Life is a bitch sometimes, he thought, but then the universe never promised to be fair. * * * * �śCome on in, XO, and close the hatch behind you,” Commander Brackett said. Uh oh, Lisa thought. He's got his formal face on. �śYes, sir.” She came in, and lacking an invitation to sit, she stood in front of his desk. He stared at her for a long moment and finally his face relaxed into a semblance of its normal expression. �śSit down,” he said. �śThank you, sir. How may I help you?” He folded his hands on the desk. �śXO, what sort of punishment have you seen me recommend for first offenses by officers?” �śSir? I mean, um, so far as I can recall, you usually don't punish anyone for a first offense.” �śCorrect. I usually allow anyone a first strike. However, I don't believe in getting to strike three, so the second offense is where I draw the line. Am I making myself clear?” �śMmm, yes, sir. Perfectly.” �śSee that you remember. And perhaps you ought to talk to COB Shinzyki about putting some insulation between cabin walls if the fabricators will handle it.” �śThat might be a good idea, sir.” Lisa found herself blushing for the first time in years. �śAll right, now with that little matter out of the way, let's move on to another source of my displeasure. We lost seven good people at our last stop through simple inattention to detail. Could you possibly tell me why so many of our explorers were outside without a full kit? In particular, why they had no breathing masks on their persons?” �śYes, sir, I believe I can.” �śThen please enlighten me, XO.” She couldn't avoid it. She had failed him and she knew it. On the other hand ... no, she was responsible for what the crew did in the boat, regardless of whether they were Spacers or Explorers. �śSir, to begin with, it goes back to what you said right after we lost Sam Johnston about allowing for human nature. I believe you were purposely vague about what you meant in order not to be on record disregarding regulations.” �śAnd?” he said when she paused to get her thoughts in order. �śAnd Chief Hindhi and Erica Dumas were sleeping together. Apparently Chief Hindhi had become careless about inspections. He depended on his relationship with Dumas to protect him. Some of the troops, in turn, saw no reason to burden themselves with breathing masks once the air had been declared safe. When the trees began poisoning the air, the troops’ nannites were unable to cope with the poison in time to prevent the symbiotic insects from killing most of them.” �śDid you know the Chief was slipping? And that Dumas was allowing it?” �śI counseled Dumas on the matter not a week before.” �śAnd her reaction?” �śIt was less than optimal, sir. She seemed to be of the opinion that our best course of action would be to find a suitable planet and colonize it rather than trying to return to Earth.” �śWhat was your course of action then?” She sighed. �śI assured her that we were going home and told her she had ten days to get her squad of explorers back into shape or I would recommend that both she and Chief Hindhi be relieved and reduced in rank. I only gave her that much time because I was attempting to find out how many others she and Hindhi might have convinced that colonization was preferable to continuing our voyage. Unfortunately, the calamity happened first.” Brackett leaned back in his chair and stared into space, while she waited to see what he intended. At length she spoke before he did. �śSir, under ordinary circumstances I would have recommended her relief immediately. Our position isn't a usual one, though. In fact it is extraordinarily unusual. If we don't allow for some leeway, we'll have a mutiny on our hands.” �śYou really think so, Lisa?” �śWell, no, not really. At least, not at present. And however else you want to look at it, we have lost two of the chief dissenters in the boat.” �śHmm. Let me ask you this: without naming names, do you know of any other such arrangements among the crew which are prohibited by regulations?” �śYes, sir. However, I haven't seen the arrangements, as you put it, affecting discipline other than the case I mentioned, so I have not taken official cognizance of them. Not only do I think you intended it that way, I personally believe the boat can't survive without us allowing some give in these matters.” She felt a slight blush returning to her face. She knew it was easily seen, considering the fair skin that redheads carried�"the same skin Jeremy had so thoroughly explored. �śI see. And would you, perhaps, be one of those I should allow some give to, as you put it?” �śNo, sir,” she said regretfully. �śThe Commander and XO should be exempted, at least for the present. At some future time we might have occasion to address the matter again, but I think we need to get through our encounter with the Monkeyclaws before even thinking about such recourse.” �śI agree, XO. And speaking of that, how are the preparations coming along? �śLieutenant Wong and the new spacer, Siegfrer Sorenson, have the disc and its bomb ready to go, and either of them can command it now. The others in on the plan are simply waiting. I would almost say waiting eagerly. They want it over and done with.” �śIt's going to have to be fairly soon,” Brackett said. �śIn about six months we'll be at the point of turning the corner and heading crossways toward Earth. I'd like to see it happen before then, even if the system where we initiate the action isn't the optimal one. I don't want the Monkeys to know even as little about us as which direction we're from, so I'd like to have it behind us before we head directly toward Earth. Besides, much farther along the Spur and the Monkeys might decide to attack anyway. I certainly can't gauge their feelings but I know if it were me, I'd be getting impatient. How are the drills going?” �śThe last two went very well, sir, so I assume you want to know what the crew is saying about them.” �śYou're a mind-reader, XO.” �śPerhaps.” Lisa finally allowed herself the first smile since the confrontation had begun. �śSometimes I wish I could read the minds of the crew. At any rate, so far so good. The only real rumors are about the disc. The crew knows where it's located. The fact that Terrell and Siegfrer go there during battle drills tells them something is up with it. I doubt that they have any idea of what you're really planning, especially for the rest of us.” �śGood. So we're ready to go whenever I give the word?” Lisa shrugged minutely. �śWhenever you say, sir.” �śWhat did the crew think of the new wrinkle with you and Joyce retreating to the stern and leaving Joe and Costa and me in the control room during battle stations. Any comments there?” �śJust that the old man is a smart cookie, separating the command and astrogation staff, so if we get hit we still might be able to function and get us back to Earth. Of course, I suspect that they're thinking of collisions or a dustup with the Monkeys’ version of our longboat. I doubt that any of them are contemplating us going head to head with the same starship that waxed Sam Johnston.” �śI probably wouldn't either, in their place,” he said ruefully. �śTell the others in on the plan to be prepared and ready to go each time we come out of transit from this point on.” �śYes, sir.” �śFine. That will be all, then. Thank you, Lisa.” �śThank you, sir,” she said, very sincerely. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twenty-One �śTwo more months. That's the time limit the Skipper's put on us before the fireworks. Do you realize we might be dead after that, Rufus?” It was several months past the night he'd heard Lisa and someone whom Joy thought might be Costa making love. Somehow that had instigated the affair with Joy, and after a time it appeared that they fitted well with each other. She moved her fingers through the tangle of hair on his chest while he was thanking the stars for Everlife. He was forty years her senior, yet he had very few gray hairs and his body was almost as smoothly muscled as a youngster's. Of course, he worked out a lot when he had time, too. �śYou worry too much, Joy. The algorithms for the system the Skipper is looking for are in the computer. Soon as we find anything close to resembling it, he wants to get it on. We'll ream their Monkeyclaw asses good. Shit, I could almost feel sorry for the poor bastards.” She laughed. �śOnly from you, Rufus. Only from you. When you go to hell, you'll probably scare the Devil into arm wrestling you to see who gets to run the place.” �śI'm not planning on going to hell, sweetheart.” �śYou're not?” �śNope. I ain't planning on dying at all. But just in case we get too banged up in the dustup to fiddle for a while, why don't we get ahead of the game now?” �śThat has to be the weirdest seduction technique I've ever heard. On the other hand, I like weird.” �śHow can I seduce you when you're already naked?” �śEasy. You've talked me into making you really, really happy, you silver-tongued devil, you.” She slid down on the bed while her lips and hands roved over his body, and she made little quivering noises of pleasure to match his own. But presently she became unable to talk, and it was only his voice that marred the silence. * * * * �śI was sorry to hear about Randall, �ŚNita,” Jeremy said. They were out of transit and down on a planet that was mostly a scummy ocean heavily populated by innumerable tiny plants and creatures ranging from microscopic to the size of shrimp. It was the first time he'd had a chance to talk to her after the disaster on Happystop. �śThanks, Jere. He was a nice guy. The idiot should have taken his mask, though.” �śThey all should have, �ŚNita.” He couldn't think of much else to say. He had known Randall but had unconsciously been avoiding him simply because Randall had taken the place he had previously occupied with Juanita. �śYeah, I guess. So what are you going to do now?” �śWhat do you mean?” She looked at him curiously. �śNothing, I guess. Just that life is always about changes, isn't it?” You've got that right, �ŚNita. Hey, I've gotta go. I get to figure out which star we tackle next.” �śWell, shit, find us a good one then, okay?” �śDo my best.” He was indeed going to pick their next stop despite Whistler's objections, but it wasn't the primary reason for his lack of enthusiasm. He knew �ŚNita wasn't grieving too heavily and thought he had seen a spark of renewed interest in her eyes. He hadn't felt a spark himself, though. For the time being, Lisa had wiped thoughts of other women out of his mind. Change, he thought. How many changes have I seen since we began this voyage? Too many to count, and that was considering only the major ones. He probably wouldn't recognize the boat and crew by the time they got home. And Lisa had been the biggest change of all, even if it was on hold for the time being. * * * * Jeremy had not set foot on the ocean world, but he didn't mind. The tanks were topped off while he kept busy inside nominally supervising details but actually learning and devoting any spare hours he could wring from his schedule to studying boat manuals and astrogation charts. With the seat comfortably adjusted to his contours and with the star map open in front of him in the control room, Jeremy began his final examination of the map for the next star that would be suitable for a jump. Such a star had already been tentatively identified, since they always planned three or four transits ahead, but after each one the prospective route was reexamined. The tanks had been topped off and they would lift the next day. There were many factors he had to take into account. The first, of course, was distance, as had been pointed out to him way back when he first entered astrogation training. There was an absolute maximum jump limit for a longboat, but to be on the safe side, nothing near it would be attempted except in dire circumstances. After downloading the data from the boat's telescope and spectrographic studies, he began eliminating possible targets. All stars in sequences other than G were automatically eliminated unless they were the only ones available, which hadn't happened yet. It wasn't that stars than G spectrum couldn't have planets, but they were much less likely to have ones suitable to their purpose. Once he'd seen that he had a good selection of G spectrum stars to pick from, he ran a standard set of algorithms on the spectrographic returns, looking for signs of water. It wasn't usually possible to identify the H[2]0 molecule at such distances with the longboat's instruments, but occasionally they did get lucky. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time. He began concentrating on the G type stars closest to the path they wanted. As usual, though, there were none directly in line. He had several other vectors to choose from, but the nearest wasn't necessarily the best. He also had to plan ahead several jumps to consider which primaries would serve best in the future. There were many other factors to consider, and he was busy at the task when he was interrupted. �śBoy, that isn't right.” The surly voice was unmistakable. Lieutenant Whistler had arrived in the control room. Gritting his teeth, Jeremy slowly turned around to face him. The astrogator had become increasingly rude as Jeremy advanced in his studies. He managed to pretend that it didn't bother him, but this time the man had gone too far. He was not a boy and didn't intend to be called one by that bastard. �śSir, my title is Chief. I would appreciate it if you would use it when addressing me.” �śYou would, huh? Well, if you want to be addressed properly, then you'd better get your head out of your ass and plan a better route than the one I see there.” This was unbelievable, but Jeremy held his temper. �śSir, I've been tasked with planning our route myself. If you intend to find fault with it, please at least wait until I'm finished.” �śI'm not taking orders from some half-grown explorer brat, so don't bother to give them. Now I want you to...” �śThat will do, Lieutenant Whistler,” Lisa Trammell said in a neutral tone of voice. Whistler glared at her. He left Jeremy after directing another glare at him, and went over to the XO's alcove. There he began talking to her in tones low enough that Jeremy couldn't overhear. He tried to keep his mind disciplined and focused on the job, but it was several minutes before he dared look up, for fear that his face would show exactly what he felt: an overriding disgust at Whistler's negative attitude and unhelpful actions, which had only gotten worse since he was moved permanently into the control room as his primary duty station. A moment later Whistler departed, and Jeremy was able to get on with his work. The next time he looked around, COB Shinzyki had replaced Whistler on the watch. * * * * Jeremy's plan for the jump and his selection of the next few probable targets were accepted by Lisa with no comment other than �śThank you, Chief Costa.” He waited expectantly the rest of the day, but nothing was said about his efforts. The next morning Commander Brackett was present for liftoff. He said nothing to Jeremy other than offering his usual terse greeting, but then he spoke to Shinzyki. �śCOB, please take us up as soon as you have an orientation that will put us on a vector according to our next target.” �śYes, sir. We're fine where we are now. Initiating liftoff procedure.” The all-hands circuit played its recording, causing Jeremy to grin to himself at the thought of never again having to suffer a liftoff or landing while tractored down in a loading bay. That was a no-good way to travel so far as he was concerned, and its absence was one of the nicer rewards for all his study. He had heard nothing about what their target might be. He didn't know until after they were headed out and the big screen flickered and changed that his selection had been approved. Maybe Whistler will leave me alone now, he thought. But probably not. Whistler was the type of person who could never be satisfied with either himself or anyone else. He was doomed to sulk through life with few, if any, friends and always be on the defensive. It was sad, in a way, but Jeremy couldn't find much sympathy for him. It was a bed of Whistler's own making. * * * * Jeremy was allowed to make another transit before Brackett allowed Whistler to take over astrogation duties again. He was a little unhappy over it, but couldn't really blame the Commander. After all, Brackett had to give Whistler time at the astrogation helm, since he (Jeremy) hadn't been used to interstellar transits and still wasn't nearly as efficient or practiced as Chambers. And personally, Jeremy thought Whistler needed all the work he could get. He frequently made errors in planning their route which had to be corrected by Chambers�"something he took great pains to try concealing, but uselessly, as everyone in the control room knew exactly what went on. For the next six weeks all went well, other than the ever-present Monkeyclaw starship's hovering in their wake. Jeremy wondered if it would ever become tired or impatient following them in an attempt to learn their home world location and simply choose to close and blast them out of space. Its presence was a constant worry whenever they were out of hyper, for then he knew the ship could end all their hopes any time it chose. He knew Brackett must be thinking the same thing, for each time they came out of hyper Brackett called for battle stations right after the icon of the trailing Monkeyclaw starship appeared on their screen. Jeremy was allowed to become much more involved in astrogation duties despite Whistler's aggravation. Sometimes it felt as if Commander Brackett pushed him so hard because he thought Jeremy might really be needed soon. Perhaps he's right, Jeremy thought. They were nearing the area where it was necessary to turn toward Earth, and still Brackett hadn't seen a system to suit him. He wondered how much longer he would wait. He doubted that it would be long now. �śBattle stations!” Commander Brackett ordered as soon as the dizziness from transition had time to dissipate. Jeremy moved immediately to the gravity detector station, while Whistler stood guard as astrogator and Shinzyki stayed put in the thruster control seat. Chambers and Trammell rushed out, heading toward the stern of the ship to preserve continuity in case the control room was damaged and its crew killed. He thought if that ever happened they were unlikely to survive in any case, but contingency was the name of the game when battle was considered. He brought the gravity detector on line first and put it to scanning for planetary masses. He next put the passive scanners on alert to search for the Monkeyclaw ship. He had no doubt that it would soon pick them up. After that, he could only wait and watch his screens until the drill was over. He was proud of his expertise, now. He was certainly not as expert as Chambers, but he knew he was near the level of ability of Whistler, and he felt as if he already had better judgment than Whistler. The Monkeyclaw ship appeared as expected. Jeremy continued monitoring the gravity detector, aware that it was not only looking for planets in the life zone but was also involved in a search pattern according to a program Chambers and Shinzyki had worked up and installed in the computer months ago without Whistler's knowing anything about it. Suddenly the detector, imbued by the boat computer with the algorithms for the particular set of planetary and satellite arrangements Commander Brackett was seeking, began blinking for attention. He shut off the silent alarm and quickly checked to be sure it had found what it was supposed to. Only then did his heart almost stop in his chest, for he knew what would surely be coming next. �śCommander Brackett!” he called. �śAlpha parameters for Action Prime have been detected!” Lt. Whistler whirled to stare at him. �śBoy, what in hell do you think you're talking about!? We aren't playing a goddamned kid game here!” Of course he doesn't know what Action Prime nor Alpha parameters mean, Jeremy thought as Brackett took three rapid steps over to his station and examined the screen from over his shoulder. As Jeremy looked around at him, he nodded to himself. �śGood deal. COB! Set vectors and initiate thrust for Action Prime, bearing on Alpha parameters as per plan! Sparks! Notify battle station Alternate that this is no drill! Notify battle station Rose Toss this is no drill! Notify crew to remain at Damage Control stations! Give the all-hands no drill! COB, give me some figures on timing as soon a possible!” Brackett's voice snapped out the commands in a loud voice but it was seemingly unhurried, with every single word perfectly enunciated. Shinzyki and Sparks hurriedly obeyed. Jeremy simply stayed where he was. He had no immediate duties. Whistler now turned his gaze from Brackett to Shinzyki and back to Brackett, staring at them as if they had both gone mad. Jeremy knew that Whistler had no idea of what was going on, but he also knew he would have to know soon. They had dropped out of hyper in an almost ideal position in relationship to the Jovian planet and its life-bearing satellite and been accelerating inward from the hyper point in this star system's gravity well ever since. Shinzyki had taken almost no time to change vectors and adjust thrust to the pre-approved plan. It was a great feat of piloting, for none of them had ever expected to come out so near a favorable position. �śCommander, I make it five minutes to deceleration on my mark. Counting ... mark!” Brackett opened the circuit to the cargo bay where Wong and Siegfrer were waiting with the disc and its attached bomb. �śLieutenant Wong, initiate Rose Toss when indicated.” �śRose Toss, ready!” �śCommander! What in hell is going on!?” Whistler asked shrilly. He left his station and went to hang over Shinzyki. He studied the vectors and icons on his screen for a second then screamed. �śCommander! This is all wrong! Why are we decelerating? We'll let those aliens catch up to us!” �śLieutenant Whistler, return to your station and stand down!” Whistler looked rebellious for a moment, but went back to the astrogation station. Jeremy had no immediate task other than to watch for the appearance of the Monkeyclaws, but Brackett would be able to see them on his own screen and Shinzyki would have them on his when they appeared. He decided to keep his eye on Whistler between quick glances at his screen. The astrogator looked afraid, and the tic was working now on both sides of his mouth. His lips were compressed into a thin line. The Monkeyclaw ship was detected in its usual position, but it was a bit closer than normal. Jeremy thought it must be because they were being cautious, having been mouse-trapped near a Jovian planet with satellites like this one once before, when Hurricane Jack made its escape. He hoped the �ŚClaws didn't get too close, or everything they'd planned would turn to shit. As he watched, the ship's icon disappeared behind the bulge of the gas giant obscuring a third of his screen. �śRotating boat! Stand by for deceleration!” Shinzyki announced. Jeremy felt the sudden heavy surge of momentum before the compensators overtook the new thrust parameters. It continued for an interminable time while everyone in the control room stood frozen, waiting for the next step. Shinzyki had promised one hell of a jolt, and it was happening. He had never experienced such a powerful reverse thrust. It made him feel lightheaded at first, but the sensation soon passed. Jeremy continued to watch Whistler between glances at his screen. The astrogator kept turning his gaze to Shinzyki as if he was the culprit behind all these sudden and completely new maneuvers. Then he saw a glimmer of understanding begin to appear on the man's face. It spread. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in a silent scream of horror. It wasn't long before he broke his silence. �śNo! We can't fight them! This is suicide!” He lunged across the control room toward Shinzyki, but Jeremy had been waiting. He ran two steps forward and threw himself in front of Whistler's reaching arms in a powerful block just before the man could have grabbed the controls. �śNo! Stop it, sir!” he shouted. �śThis is all planned!” His exhortation did no good. Whistler struggled with strength amplified by madness to reach Shinzyki, while Jeremy tried just as violently to keep him away. And all the while Shinzyki hardly appeared to care. From the corner of his eye, while trying to get a good hold on Whistler without moving into other spaces, Jeremy saw the COB counting to himself, moving his lips but making no sound. Shortly, Shinzyki looked toward Brackett and said �śRotating ship. Forward thrust in twenty seconds on my mark. Counting...” Jeremy finally gained a good hold on the crazed astrogator and held him to the floor, employing a painful grip. Across the room he saw Brackett speaking, but he couldn't hear what he was saying over the sound of Whistler's screams. He seemed not to care if Jeremy broke Whistler's arm, as he was on the verge of doing. �ś...Mark!” Shinzyki yelled, the rough rumble of his voice clearly audible. For almost a minute nothing happened. �śRose Toss, initiate in ten seconds. Counting, ten, nine.... one, mark!” �śBomb is away!” Terrell announced through the com. �śBegin second deceleration!” Brackett called. Jeremy knew that was to keep the boat well back from the imminent explosion. �śRotating ship. Decceleration on my mark. Counting ... Mark!” Shinzyki called, his words running together but spoken clearly. Almost immediately, the surge of induced gravity changed again, more violently than ever. Jeremy began beating Whistler's head against the steel deck in order to get him to shut up so orders could be heard. Blood began dripping from the astrogator's face as Jeremy smashed his head into the deck again and again. Whistler's voice changed to a bubbling rasp and was finally silenced. �śRotating ship. Steady in space. Ready,” Shinzyki announced. �śWeapons!” Brackett said. �śWeapons ready!” Lieutenant Rayne Medford called back, the happiness in her voice matching the grin on her face. She was ordinarily so quiet and studious that Jeremy had trouble remembering when she was around. �śAll hands, prepare for battle against Monkeyclaw starship!” Brackett announced over the all-hands circuit. Jeremy knew he might be needed but Whistler still struggled. �śSparks, get over here and help me!” he yelled. Sparks left his post and ran over help him secure Whistler. Within a few moments, Whistler lay on the deck with his hands and feet tied behind him. He drooled and spat sprays of blood from his broken nose and cut lips and cheeks. Jeremy wiped his hands on his cammies and ran to the astrogator's station. He took a bare moment to see what the screen showed and began calling out the data. �śApproaching Jovian planet, slight vector toward satellite.” He was saying nothing that Brackett and Shinzyki didn't already know, but the gravity detectors were an additional check on the parameters their screens showed. He had an image of the alien disk controlled by Lieutenant Wong or Siegfrer approaching the Monkyclaw ship, moving silently in space on the momentum given it by Hurricane Jack and on a slightly changed course by the controller for the disc. It would come into play soon, if it worked at all. The boat would possibly be close enough to the alien ship for them actually to see the action. Jeremy waited anxiously. The encounter was getting closer. Jeremy sat tractored in his seat, watching his screen. His heart thumped excitedly in his chest. He could feel his pulse pounding on each side of his neck as blood coursed through his carotid arteries. The key maneuvers could only be calculated, not seen, for the boat had to be rotated at the precise time: seconds before they met the alien starship coming around the curve of the huge planet. Hopefully, the Monkeyclaws still thought they were heading toward its most prominent satellite. The disc bomb should go off at the same time, if everything was in order. Shinzyki still sat calmly in his seat with his hands splayed over the control board, ready to maneuver once more if that proved necessary, although it was highly unlikely that there would be time for that. The alien ship and the boat would be too close to each other. Lieutenant Medford was at the weapons station, her grin gone and her body stiff with tension. Jeremy wanted to scream at the Commander, because Brackett chose not to sit at this crucial moment and be secured in his seat by its tractor field. He stood beside his chair at the center of the control room, where he could oversee all that took place. Sparks was gone. He had dragged Whistler out of the control room and was busily tying him in place somewhere. He thought suddenly of Lisa and wished she could be present at this moment�"the culmination of so many long months of waiting. �śRotating boat two degrees ecliptic on mark. Counting ... Mark! Rotating.” Jeremy watched his screen, feeling excitement and tension build inside him. He felt a sudden need to urinate and suppressed it with difficulty. An icon bloomed suddenly on his screen right at the edge of the Jovian planet. It was the Monkeyclaw starship, abnormally bright with its nearness to them, and he knew the disc bomb must have failed. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twenty-Two �śWeapons free! Fire all!” Brackett called loudly but Lieutenant Medford hadn't waited. She already had her first two missiles on the way, and the other two followed seconds later. Behind them, the two pulse cannons trained on the alien ship shot bursts of raw concentrated energy across space. The pulses blasted furiously against the Monkeyclaw just before its shields went up. The first missiles exploded amidst the pulsing violet beams very near the same spot, and the other two added their violence seconds later. It was pistol range, like gamblers drawing and firing their derringers across a poker table. Jeremy knew immediately that the Monkeyclaws had been utterly surprised, because Medford's first missiles were away with the two others following close behind before the enemy ship became aware of its danger. The icon of the Monkeyclaw ship flared and blossomed with the massive bursts of energy, but the onslaught wasn't quite enough. The aliens managed to fire a brace of missiles through the roiling clouds of sun-hot plasma enveloping their ship. Jeremy tensed his body and waited for more to follow�"not that it would make much difference. Those two missiles were more than sufficient to destroy Hurricane Jack and everyone in it. He knew with sorrowful certainty that he was about to die. And then the disc bomb finally exploded, adding its horrendous, concentrated energy to that of the missiles and pulse cannons. The Monkeyclaw ship boiled with violent fires and exploded into pieces. The roiling clouds of energy reached out and engulfed the missiles it had fired just before blowing up. For a moment he thought they had been saved, but the enemy projectiles emerged from the hellish clouds of destruction and steered unerringly for the longboat. A moment later, a fierce rumble of force clawed at the longboat and the screen blanked. Jeremy had been watching Shinzyki. He heard him swear bloody murder and saw him shove the thrust bar to full stop. Then, his body twisted back and forth in his seat from the impact of the first enemy missile. It sounded as if it had exploded near the stern of the boat. He felt his heart tear at the thought that Lisa might be engulfed in it. Across the control room, Commander Brackett cried out as he was flung free of his grip on his chair. He careened across the control room and slammed against Jeremy's seat, just as another dreadful explosion went off. It didn't shake the boat quite as badly as the first, making Jeremy think the COB had gotten them partly clear of it with his violent maneuver from almost a dead stop, yet he didn't understand why the first one hadn't already killed them. He remembered the Sam Johnston and that ghastly flare visible even over the rim of the gas giant when it was destroyed by the Monkeyclaws. �śDamage Control teams! Report!” Shinzyki called. There was no answer. �śCosta! Head aft to Alternate One and see what's happening there. I'm showing all red from the cargo hold forward to the starboard organics tank.” �śYes, sir, COB,” Jeremy answered. He wanted to see how badly Commander Brackett was hurt. His face showed a grayish pallor where he lay unmoving on the deck beside his chair. Instead, Jeremy hurried out of the control room and headed toward the stern of the boat. As he left he heard Lieutenant Medford talking to a damage control party just reporting in about a fire. A moment later, he saw the smoke from the blaze and then the fire itself. It was coming from amidships and starboard. One of the storerooms had been punctured by debris and its contents were burning. Juanita was leading several explorers in putting it out and seemed to be getting ahead of it. �śHave you been farther aft yet, �ŚNita?” he stopped to ask. �śNo, but someone else got a look before this fire started. It's a wreck, but at least it's not burning.” �śOkay, that's where I'm headed. Can you send someone there when you have this out?” �śI will. It'll be a little while, though.” He continued on and soon saw wreckage. The deck became warped and hatchways on the starboard side had been blown open. He swallowed his gorge as he came to the first body. He barely recognized Mr. Cantrell's remains. His body lay partly atop another he couldn't identify. Several explorers were working over others. Their hands were bloody and their cammies smeared with gore. Other bodies lay crumpled against the bulkhead where they had been flung by the force of the one solid hit by a Monkeyclaw missile. �śChief Costa! Can you give us a hand here?” Spacer Wynonna Jones called. �śI've got orders to find the XO and her group. I'll send someone.” He continued on, having to climb over burst boxes of supplies and mangled hatches. As he did, he noticed a trickle of water flowing on the deck. He tapped his forearm. �śControl Room. COB.” �śMister Shinzyki, we need some help aft of the acceleration seats. We have numerous casualties and some wounded there. I'm still on my way to the alternate.” �śWill do. Continue.” He stumbled on until he was halted by even higher piles of jumbled goods and supplies in crumpled boxes and cartons and spilled wares from others. They were getting wet from more water flowing along the deck. Someone called to him. He looked back and saw Juanita. She was climbing over the same piled-up cargo he had surmounted, but she was talking over her com as she came. �śWe've got free water flowing, Lieutenant Medford. Probably from the bow starboard tank. We need a welder or some heavy duty patches and a crew to apply them.” She listened for a moment, tapped out, and caught up with him. �śWhat happened, Jere?” she asked. �śWhy aren't we dead?” �śYou didn't believe we could whip the Monkeyclaws?” �śDon't make fun, Jeremy. Too many of us are dead for that.” �śI know. Sorry.” He climbed over a fallen stack of burst boxes in what once had been a storeroom and reached down to give Juanita a hand up. Forward of it was one the small cargo bays that had served as the alternate control room. Inside was chaos. A dead explorer who had been serving as an emergency runner lay just beyond the burst hatchway and bulkhead. Further in the lower part of another body was visible. The trunk and head were crushed under a spare generator still in its storage box, where a support bar had collapsed under pressure and allowed it to fall. Jeremy's pulse pounded behind his forehead as he faced more wreckage and was forced to his hands and knees to crawl under a portion of the upper deck in order to go farther in. He began to feel sick at what he was likely to find. A bloody head with the skull caved in met his eyes. He knew it must be Joyce Chambers from the collar insignia, but otherwise he wouldn't have recognized her. Wreckage covered most of her body, but a hand stuck out from it that was too large to belong to her. He pushed some of it aside and uncovered the body of Lieutenant Terrell Wong. He wondered what he had been doing there. Maybe he had been trying to work his way forward and had come this far when the missile hit. He remembered that Siegfrer had been with him, but there was no sign of her, nor could he see Lisa anywhere. He stopped to get his bearings and heard a muffled groan from farther in. He tried to move toward it, but found he was stymied even after trying to crawl through a narrow opening only to find it blocked. �ś'Nita, I'm going to have to back up. We need to clear some of this wreckage away to get farther inside. I heard someone groan back there.” He heard Juanita calling for assistance on his way out of the dead end. They were both still struggling to move heavy machinery and goods when help arrived, led by Mister Lake. His strong Caucasian features inherited from Nordic ancestors were set in grim lines. Explorers Charley Vane and Marvin Bullock were with him, bearing cutters and pry bars. They got to work, with Jeremy lending assistance. Siegfrer was uncovered first. How she had arrived there was a puzzle, but she was still breathing and conscious, although both her legs were broken and she was trapped by the heavy beam that had fallen on them. �śThe XO is back there,” she said through pain-wracked lips. �śI think she's alive, but I don't know for sure.” Jeremy's heart leaped. He began prying and pulling at support bars with renewed vigor. Lisa's shoulder came into view first, and then her head and part of her chest. �śShe's alive, she's alive!” he called exuberantly. He didn't even stop to think that just because he saw red froth bubbling from her mouth with each labored breath only meant that she was alive. It didn't mean she was going to live. �śOver here, Bullock,” Lake said. �śI think if you get the pry bar in under this bracing and let Vane cut through the shelving there, we can drag her out. Costa, hang where you are. You pull on her shoulders when I tell you to.” Gradually they worked her free and got her onto a litter. Her head lolled alarmingly, but he could find no major wounds on her body other than an obviously broken arm and a bloody bump on her head. Both the ulna and radius poked through the skin of her forearm, but there wasn't too much blood. Apparently the fragmented bones had missed shearing an artery. �śYou two get her on back to sickbay,” Lake said. �śIt's set up across from the big stern storeroom. Costa, you stay here and help me cut this beam off Sorenson.” Jeremy thought his heart might tear out of his chest and go with Lisa when her litter was carried away. It took a conscious effort not to let it show. How did falling in love with her happen so quickly? he wondered. Or had it been building up and that night just brought it into the open? �śLet's get with it, Costa. You can daydream later.” �śSorry, sir. I've operated the cutter before. Shall I do it?” �śGo. I'll set the bracing while you cut.” It took fifteen minutes of work to get Siegfrer's legs free of the beam that lay on them. Fortunately, it was one of the ones running athwartship rather than the heavier keel beams bracing the boat forward and aft. And, like all the support beams, it was constructed of the flexible crystalline alloys that had some give built into them. Once her body was free, blood began running from the wounds where the breaks occurred. Lake produced inflatable casts from the aid kit he carried. They padded the breaks with pressure bandages and got her legs splinted while she gritted her teeth against the pain and then screamed anyway despite the injection she'd been given. �śLet's go,” Lake said. �śI'll hold her body and you take the legs. We'll have to walk crosswise so we don't injure her further. Halfway back, they met a two-man team with an empty litter. The team took Siegfrer. After that, Jeremy was put to work supervising emergency repairs. He worked with his subordinates, doing as much physical labor as they, if not more so. It helped keep his worry over Lisa at bay. Other times he took direction from COB Shinzyki or Mr. Teha. She and Lake were the only surviving explorer officers. A weary time later, he learned that Lisa's injuries weren't life-threatening and that she was expected to return to duty after a day or so of observation to rule out complications from her severe concussion and bruised lungs. Right after that came the all-hands announcement that Commander Brackett had died. His nannites hadn't been able to react fast enough to save him from a broken neck. Jeremy didn't know how to respond. When Captain Beauchamp died with the Sam Johnston he had been affected, of course, but she had been greatly removed from the affairs of a low ranking explorer. This was entirely different. Commander Brackett was the very embodiment of Hurricane Jack, his mentor and the guiding presence of his education and elevation to Astrogator and Chief Petty Officer. He was always in the control room in spirit if not materially. Jeremy had never known him to be wrong about anything, and he had no doubts that Brackett would have gotten them home. Now he didn't know. He couldn't think straight. It was as if God had died. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twenty-Three The best prescription for coping with grief is lots of work, or so Jeremy was told. The longboat remained in orbit around the inhabitable moon while the Hurricane was personally examined bow to stern by COB Shinzyki. He never stayed in one spot long, but wherever he went, the repairs speeded up and the cleaning details worked harder at removing the mess from battered compartments and bays. The crew went at it eighteen hours a day, taking time out only to eat and do such bodily maintenance as was necessary. Jeremy himself was part of two excursions outside the boat with Shinzyki in order to patch the hull and check the support columns exposed to vacuum. He marveled, not at the extent of damage, but at how little had been done by the Monkeyclaw missiles. �śI don't see how it kept from blowing us apart,” Jeremy said while pointing with his gauntleted hand to where a hole had been opened in the side of the ship for a third of its length. �śLook at what happened to us when the Sam Johnston was hit, and they had shields. All our boat has is the dinky little anti-meteor deflector, and we're still alive.” �śTheir missiles didn't explode. That's why we're still around to talk about it,” Shinzyki said. �śLook there. The warhead came in at an angle and plowed a hole in us, but must've bounced off. And right where we're standing is where the second one barely pinged us before going on its way. It bent the hull a bit, but it doesn't look as if it did any permanent damage.” �śBut why didn't they explode, sir?” �śWeren't you watching on your screen, Costa? If you weren't, I'll hang you up by the family jewels while I pound on you with a rifle butt for dereliction of duty.” �śI was watching, sir.” �śThen you must have seen how the energy from our missiles and cannons enveloped their shots as they left their ship. The way I figure it, the triggering mechanism was inactivated. All they were doing from then on was throwing rocks at us.” Jeremy gazed at the gaping furrow in the boat. �śDamn big rocks, COB.” �śYup. They go fast. Lots of kinetic energy, even though they didn't explode. If we'd been farther apart they might've killed us anyway, even after we blew them to bits.” �śI guess we were lucky,” Jeremy ventured. �śLuck, shit!” Shinzyki exploded loudly. �śSon, good preparation isn't luck. The Skipper did everything he possibly could to make sure we lived and they died, bless his evil conniving soul. You remember that, when you're commanding a boat. Hear?” �śYes, sir. I hear you!” Jeremy answered with unfeigned belief. �śGood. Now let's get this done so we can get back inside and write it up. The Skipper's called a meeting of officers and Chiefs in two hours. Take notes to download to the computer while I hook up this Allah-be-damned gizmo Sigfrer rigged to connect the grav detector back to the boat's innards. Be damned sure your sketches are exact. Someone else may have to come out here and do maintenance on it. Good woman, that Sieg. Her legs are in casts, but she's still using her hands. And mind.” �śI agree, sir,” he said as he began meticulously entering drawings of Shinzyki's connections into his Reader and recording every word he said for editing and addition to the boat manual, just as he had been taught. * * * * Lisa poured her cup full and took her place at the head of the table in the officer's lounge. It felt strange to be sitting in Commander Brackett's position, but with his death she had no choice. She was now the longboat's Commanding Officer. It was a much modified gathering from the ones which had gone before. She, Lieutenant Medford, and COB Shinzyki were the only three remaining boat officers after Whistler's suicide. He had slit his wrists with a fingernail file while covered with a sheet in his bunk in the only reinforced cabin in the boat�"the one reserved for prisoners. She didn't think it had ever been used for that purpose until his outburst in the control room during the crucial moments of the encounter with the Monkeyclaw starship. It became necessary to confine him after that episode. Justin Lake was the only surviving Explorer officer. Casey Dugan was the only permanent Chief present, but Brevet Chiefs Juanita Martinez, Sigfrer Sorenson and Jeremy Costa were at the table, as well as Acting Chiefs Johnny Lann and Sarah Goldwater. The only difference between acting and brevet was that the two acting chiefs were still nominally on probation. Brackett had hesitated for some reason of his own to give them brevet promotions, possibly thinking he was handing out too many of them. She intended to change that. Both of them had been performing admirably before the fight and even more efficiently afterward. �śLadies and gentlemen, I see everyone is here, so let's get started. Does everyone here have coffee or something to drink?” While she sipped from her own cup she looked around the table and found that all were well supplied. �śFine. To begin, I'd like Mr. Shinzyki to give us an appraisal of the condition of the boat and its fitness for interstellar travel. Rufus?” �śThank you, ma'am.” He glanced down at his Reader for a moment and then back up. The pain of Joyce Chandler's death still lingered in his facial expression, but his voice was still as rough and gravelly as ever. �śHurricane Jack is still structurally intact, but there's no denying we took some damage. The most significant was to the starboard impeller and the starboard organic compressor and mixing tank. We won't be doing any transits until the impeller is repaired, but I'm pleased to say that it can be fixed. All we need are some particular elements, which should be fairly easy to find on the satellite here. As a side note, the moon is well suited for habitation, so a longer than usual stay there while we find the ores and make the repairs shouldn't be too bad, barring inimical life forms. The same goes for the mixing tank and compressor. �śWe did have a fairly big bite taken out of our hull, but it's already being fixed. The portion that can't be repaired is simply being walled off. We may have to wait for a landing and gather materials before the job is completed, but I don't see any major problems. What we will have to watch out for is the dynamics of ship handling in atmosphere from now on. The boat is aerodynamically unstable and will have to be nursed into and out of atmospheres. That's unless you want to stay down long enough for a complete repair job, Skipper.” �śNo. If we can manage as is, I don't want to spend any unnecessary time in this system.” �śThen that's settled. The rest of the boat was banged up, but its structural integrity is intact. One of the organic tanks is down, of course, but the leaking water tank has been repaired. Transtellar Construction builds �Śem good.” He looked at the assemblage and grinned. �śBoth fabricators have been working overtime, but they'll have a rest for maintenance from now until we're dirtside and can fill the materials bin. And last, we've got the mess that first missile made pretty well cleaned up and have just about finished our inventory, but that's more Lieutenant Medford's bailiwick than mine.” �śThank you, Rufus. Rayne?” �śMa'am, we lost some organic supplies, so until we land we're being conservative with rations. I know the crew will be happy to hear that all the Spacerats came through the battle in good shape.” The laughter she expected came right on cue. �śSome of our spare parts got banged up a great deal, but we actually lost very few of them and none of the larger ones. The fabricators can replace them as soon as they have the material. �śWe did lose a lot of rations, but so long as the organics of the moon are compatible, we'll be in good shape soon. It will take a few days longer than normal to bring us back up to nominal levels because of the loss and also because we're short of personnel to top off our tanks�"shorter than usual.” She bent her head for a moment. �śI've conferred with Mr. Shinzyki. He and I both agree that our worst problem is the lack of trained people. We're short everywhere, now. He and I will do our best, and I'm sure the Chiefs will as well, but there's no getting away from it�"we're going to have to impress on the crew how meticulous they have to be with using and maintaining every piece of equipment in the boat. It's just going to take a while. Fortunately, our computers all came through, and we have manuals for everything. The problem will be getting the crew to follow the directions first instead of as a last resort.” �śAmen,” Shinzyki said. �śDo any of you have any vital concerns right now? Anything that needs taking care of that shouldn't wait?” Having met the gaze of everyone, Lisa nodded. �śSince there doesn't appear to be any urgent problems, I have a couple of announcements. First, I'd like to promote acting Explorer Chiefs Johnny Lann and Sarah Goldwater to Brevet Chiefs. They have both been doing a fine job. Johnny and Sarah, the extra pay begins now. Congratulations.” �śThank you, ma'am,” they uttered in unison. The rest of the table followed with their congratulations. �śNext, due to the acute shortage of boat officers I'm brevetting Jeremy Costa to Lieutenant Junior Grade. He's done so well in becoming a fully trained astrogator that I believe we can skip Ensign. He will immediately assume the position of Boat Astrogator. As a corollary, he shall immediately begin refreshing my memory of astrogation techniques and begin training another astrogator of his choice, so long as his choice meets with my approval and that of their superiors. Lieutenant Costa, welcome to officer's rank. Let me be the first to congratulate you.” She shook his hand and winked surreptitiously at him while their faces were close then held back while the others did the same, sans wink. Once they were all settled, she continued, pausing only a moment to take in Jeremy's countenance, which still bore traces of the startled expression that had appeared on it at her announcement. It was amusing to see how he was still trying to accustom himself to the idea of being an officer. �śThe last major item on my agenda, which I'm going to throw out for discussion, is how the boat should be organized�"or reorganized, I should say, in light of the casualties we've sustained. We began the exploration voyage with a total of seventy-one persons aboard�"four short of authorized strength. As of this moment, we number only forty-three and still have over half the trip to go. I think we shall have to reorganize the Explorers into two squads with a shift on and a shift off, but I'm open to input here if anyone has a better suggestion. Once the boat is back in shape, we can give them a day off occasionally while in hyper, but there's no getting away from how short-handed we are. We're all going to have to work harder, and that includes the spacer crew. They will also work one twelve hour shift on and one off. Comments?” �śHow about officers for the two squads? Is that being considered, ma'am?” Lake asked. Lisa knew that would come up after she promoted Jeremy, but she also knew she would have to be careful here. She couldn't have acting officers, but she also didn't intend to brevet anyone to officer if they weren't qualified for the position or capable of continuing as an officer once they were back home. It wouldn't be fair, either to them or to the rest of the crew. �śI have thought about it, but I'd like to delay consideration for a day or two yet,” she finally said, but added, �śI'd like to have your recommendations on this before I act. Can you have your thoughts ready for me by tomorrow?” He nodded, although she thought he wasn't satisfied with her answer. There was going to be more to commanding the longboat than she had originally thought possible, once she began having to make decisions. If it were not for Shinzyki, she doubted that she could handle the job. Not when they were as shy of crew as they were now�"especially trained crew. �śHow about spacers, ma'am?” Medford asked. �śWe're short again, as I'm sure you know. Can we move a couple more explorers into boat slots and get them started training?” �śYes, I agree that we need to do that. Confer with Rufus and Justin and give me the names of the ones you want. Bear in mind that we can't take all of Justin's best people. He's going to have more than enough to do already, every time we go dirtside. Be aware also that we need to preserve our astrogator, and if memory serves, our remaining qualified microbiologist other than Lieutenant Costa. Those are the two critical specialties, although others are almost as important.” �śThey are all critical, ma'am,” Shinzyki said, �śbut I recommend that Lieutenant Costa not be allowed off the boat until you and someone else are fully qualified to make transitions.” �śAgreed,” Lisa said, while thinking that her decision wasn't going to make Jeremy very happy. He would just have to live with it. He was going to busy enough anyway not to have time for going outside. �śAnything else?” There were a few other questions, which she answered as best she could. When she sensed they were becoming antsy, she called the conference to a halt. �śI think we've covered everything useful we can for now. Make plans to deorbit twenty four hours from now. I think it would be a good idea to get your people as rested as possible before we land. Tiredness causes accidents, and I believe we've had more than enough casualties. Dismissed. Lieutenant Costa, please remain seated. I need a moment of your time.” [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twenty-Four Jeremy gazed across the conference table at Lisa�"Lieutenant Commander Trammell, the Skipper, now�"and tried to sort out the baffling contradictions running through his mind like a Texas whirlwind, all mixed together. On the one hand, he hadn't fully integrated the fact that Lisa was the Skipper�"the person who held ultimate authority over him and the Hurricane. On the other hand, he was now an officer and would be associating with her and the other officers day to day in an entirely different manner. He would no longer be saying �śsir” to Mr. Shinzyki. Just the opposite, in fact. The COB would address him with the �śsir” after his remarks. In a way, it was harder to grasp that idea than to think of Trammell as their Skipper. And on the gripping hand, he couldn't rid his mind of the fact that he was in love with Lisa. There was nothing more in the world he would rather do than get up and go around the table and gather her into his arms and make love to her right here in the conference room. For that matter, he didn't have the slightest idea why she had asked him to remain behind. �śWhat's wrong, Jeremy? Cat got your tongue?” It was exactly the right thing to say to him. He began to relax, if only slightly. �śI'm sort of speechless right now, ma'am ... uh, Skipper.” A ghost of a smile crept across her face. �śI suspect you're doing a right bit of heavy thinking, though, aren't you?” �śYes, ma'am. I can't deny that. Being brevet commissioned came as a complete surprise. And if you want me to be honest, well ... Skipper, I'm still having a hard time seeing you as the Commander instead of Commander Brackett.” Realizing that she might have taken his statement the wrong way, he hurriedly tried to amend it. �śThat's no reflection on you, ma'am. I didn't mean it like...” She held up a hand, apparently amused at his backtracking. �śI know what you meant, Jeremy. In case you're wondering, I'm still feeling a bit strange about it myself. However, let's return to the business at hand, shall we?” �śMy commission?” �śYour brevet commission,” she corrected. �śBut yes, that's the matter we need to talk about.” She hesitated for a moment and he knew she was trying to think of the best way to go about what she needed to say. He was watched her, his senses very alert. �śIt is hard on both the officer and crew when an enlisted person is commissioned and remains in the same unit or the same ship. Ordinarily, there's no need of brevet commissions in exploration ships, simply because they are so huge and carry so many personnel that there are always other officers to take over when one is lost. It does happen on occasion, but a starship is big enough that the new officer can easily be transferred to a different department, so that he has a new environment and new subordinates to work with. He doesn't suddenly have to distance himself from comrades he's been associating with every day. �śA longboat is different. Here, you're going to be an officer among the very enlisted persons you've been living and working with intimately since we left Earth. It is going to be difficult, not only for you but for all of us, ratings and officers alike.” She gave him a wry, lopsided smile. �śSuch officers as we have left. Are you following me here, Jeremy?” �śUm, I believe so, ma'am. I think I can handle myself among the ratings okay. After all, I had somewhat the same problem after being promoted to Chief. Frankly, ma'am, I'm more worried about making a fool of myself while associating with the other officers than with the ratings. Yourself included, Skipper,” he added pointedly. Her smile disappeared. �śAnd what do you mean by that, Lieutenant?” she asked sharply. �śYou know what I mean, Skipper.” He didn't flinch under her stare nor while waiting for her to reply. �śJeremy ... I'm going to say this once, and then I don't want to hear it mentioned again. Neither you nor I can help it if we fell in love. Human hearts aren't computers, and there's no use trying to pretend otherwise. What matters is that I, as your superior officer, was wrong to act on my feelings and give you a chance to do the same. It was my fault, not yours. But it can't happen again. There were good reasons for me telling you that afterward, and there are even better reasons now. Commander Brackett intended to get this boat home and warn Earth of the Monkyclaws. Now that I'm in command, that is also my intention. I can't afford to have personal feelings right now. Too much depends on it. Do you understand?” He stared back at her, lips tight, but he nodded. �śI do,” he said. The words came reluctantly, she thought, but once he said them she knew he would do his best to live up to them. He was no longer a boy, or even a young man in attitude, but rather a seasoned explorer who had experienced more terror and grief on his first cruise than most explorers would in a lifetime. �śGood. The other officers will help you adjust, so long as you don't let your new rank go to your head. Just do your best, and when you have questions, see me, or even better, see Rufus Shinzyki. He's got more experience in these situations than the rest of us put together.” He smiled for the first time and nodded agreement. �śYes, ma'am, I imagine he does.” �śFine. I think that will be all for now. Go talk to Rayne. She'll help you get moved into officer's row and otherwise squared away. She's also in charge of the watch schedule, so you can find out from her when you're due in the control room next.” �śYes. ma'am. Thank you.” �śYou're welcome, Jeremy. It's no more than you deserve. I'll announce your promotion on the all-hands now so the rest of the crew will know.” After she made his and the other promotions from Acting Chief to Brevet Chief known over the com, she sat where she was for long minutes, thinking of Jeremy and wishing for what couldn't be. She felt a wetness fill her eyelashes. Having wiped the tears away, she went back to considering all the problems of commanding Hurricane Jack. Presently she thought of a solution for one of them�"the paucity of Explorer officers. Ten minutes later she had Casey Dugan and Justin Lake across the desk from her in the Commander's day cabin and was offering Dugan a brevet commission to EO, Explorer Officer. �śCertainly, I'll accept it, if you and Mr. Lake feel I'm ready for it,” she said. �śWe do, Mr. Dugan. Thank you and congratulations. Mr. Lake, does this help solve your problem of a shortage in officers?” �śThat certainly takes care of half of it, Skipper. Casey was already my first choice, and I'll have another name for your consideration shortly.” �śFine. How about you taking care of Mr. Dugan now and getting her squared away before we deorbit tomorrow?” �śWill do, ma'am. Come along, Casey.” As they departed, Lisa wished every problem was that easy to solve. * * * * Jeremy found Rayne Medford in the control room with COB Shinzyki and Gerald Sparks. He stepped inside, a little uncertain who to speak to first. Shinzyki took care of it for him. �śGood day, sir,” he said easily. �śUm, hello, Mr. Shinzyi. Uh, I guess I'll be back a little later but ... I need to see Lieutenant Medford.” �śShe's here,” he said politely, as if she weren't in plain sight. He felt color rising on his neck and went over to her. Gerald Sparks stood up from where he was monitoring the com and entering the log notations to congratulate him. �śI just heard, sir. The Skipper just announced it. Congratulations.” �śThank you, Sparks.” �śI suspect you're looking for me, aren't you, Lieutenant Costa?” Medford said. �śUh, yes, ma'am. The Skipper said you'd, uh, show me what to do.” �śRight you are. COB, you have the watch.” �śI have the watch,” Shinzyki agreed in the formal control room monotone. As soon as they were out in the passageway, Medford grabbed his arm. He stopped and looked at her inquiringly. �śJeremy, first off, we're the same rank now. You don't say ma'am to me. Unless we're on duty and you're being formal, my name is Rayne. Got it?” �śUm, okay, Rayne.” Using her first name felt peculiar, but he supposed it was going to be nothing compared to calling COB Shinzyki �śRufus.” �śDid the Skipper give you any insignia?” �śNo.” �śS'ok, I have a spare set I'll give you. I'll even take your Chief insignia off your cammies for you.” �śThanks.” Rayne went with him, to offer moral support and to help carry his belongings from his old cabin to the one formerly occupied by Erica Dumas. The hatch was still open and Rayne was standing beside it waiting on him to finish when Lake and Casey Dugan appeared. As he came back out into the corridor after stowing the last load of his belongings, he almost ran into Casey. She had already removed her insignia and was wearing EO3 Grade pips on the collar of her cammies. �śLooks like we're going to be next door neighbors, Jere,” she said with a whimsical smile. �śUm, uh huh. Congratulations ... Casey.” �śSame to you, Jeremy. If you won't misplace any decimal points I'll try not to swat you too hard the next chance we work out, if we ever have time to do it again.” �śTo learn from you, I'll make time, Casey,” he returned. �śAre you finished, Jere?” Rayne asked. �śI guess so. All I have to do is remember where I live when I come off duty so tired I can't see straight.” �śYou'll manage. Let's go. See you folks later.” Back in the control room, he sat down with Rayne and looked at the schedule she'd made out. It had him and Trammell on duty together one twelve hour shift and her and Shinzyki the other, with Sparks there only during the �śday” shift of 0700 to 1900 hours. �śNot much of a watch list, I'll admit, but I had to pair you with the Skipper, since she's going to be refreshing her astrogation techniques with you. Have you thought of anyone for a new trainee?” �śMy head is spinning so fast right now I haven't had time to think about it. The last I heard, he or she was going to be picked for me. But since you ask, if I was the one doing the choosing, I'd pick Franica Bzinski. She acts like a dumb Polish blond sometimes, but she's really smart as a whip. If she has enough math and if ... uh ... Justin will release her, I think she'd do fine.” �śUnlikely as it might seem, the Skipper also mentioned her name to me. I'll�"no, you get with Justin and see how he feels about it. If he gives the okay, tell the Skipper. May as well get it started soon as possible. Not wishing you any bad luck, but I'd feel much better with a backup on board.” �śActually, I would, too, but I suspect Lieutenant Commander Trammell has forgotten less about astrogation than she lets on. Between her and ... Rufus ... I bet they could get the boat back home if they had to.” �śMaybe, but I'd just as soon not find out!” Rayne said emphatically. * * * * By the end of the day, Jeremy was back in the control room, sitting with Lisa at the simulator and trying to discover how much astrogation theory and practice she had retained since opting for operations as her officer's specialty. He decided to treat her exactly as Chambers had done him, starting with the basics and gradually working toward a combination of theory and practice. Two hours later, he concluded that she needed quite a lot of instruction. It surprised him, until he remembered that she was twenty years older than he, notwithstanding the fact that she didn't look it, which meant it had been at least that long since she'd been through the academy. �śMa'am, we're going to have to go back and have you review and study your math before you start handling the computer for transits,” he said seriously. �śYour graphics recognition is fine, though. It's better than mine, in fact, so you shouldn't have any problems with plotting. We'll need to go over the basic stellar spectrums, though.” �śUm, Jeremy I believe I know the spectrums well enough.” �śYes, ma'am, but I don't know any other way to teach. This is how Lieutenant Commander Chambers did it with me.” She stared at him, and then dropped her gaze back to the screen. �śAll right, Jeremy. Do it your own way. I'll dig in and do some extra studying and you can test me on it.” �śThank you, ma'am. I'm sure you'll do fine.” She leaned close. �śYou don't have to ma'am me every time you open your mouth, Jere, especially while we're studying together. Eventually it would begin aggravating me.” �śWell, I wouldn't want to do that. You might throw me in the brig.” �śRight you are,” she said with a chuckle. �śLet's call it quits for now. We have a big day in front of us tomorrow.” �śYes ma�"all right,” he said. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twenty-Five The satellite of the gas giant proved to be one of the most earth-like planets yet discovered, at least so far as Jeremy could tell from where Hurricane Jack had come down. The area chosen was on the outside curve of a large river draining the eastern half of the single large continent in the northern hemisphere. The river cut through a broad sweep of plains covered by a thick mat of short, bulbous green growth less than knee high near the river but graduating to meters-tall stands of almost the same type of vegetation farther away. A range of mountains stood in the distance, overlooking one side of the river�"the one hosting the longboat�"and a rolling wave of short foothills on the other which went on and on. The hills sported groves of tall plants resembling mesquite trees mixed with even taller foliage with spikes for limbs and dangling bunches of whip-like vines depending from them. From space they had seen vast herds of beasts busily grazing the plains and packs of carnivores feeding off them. The air was warm and humid but not overly so. Jeremy thought colonists would love it, especially since the meat animals had the proteins and amino acids that were almost identical with those found on Earth. Anyone with a rifle and a means of making a fire could easily live off the land, and he had no doubt that some of the vegetation would be edible. The river teemed with fish analogues with a meat-like flavor that made fine tasty eating. The crew very nearly foundered on them, once the water tanks were topped off and they had time to cook. Justin brought a load of the filets into the boat for the off duty crew�"and Jeremy. While getting on the outside of a huge portion of the tender meat at the next meal in the officer's dayroom, he listened to Justin and Casey discussing the best way to collect some of the big herbivores to stock the organics tanks. Right upstream, the banks of the river had been torn up and nearly denuded of vegetation. �śIt's a watering hole,” Justin explained. �śWe can use a silenced rifle, pick them off from the boat, and let them float down to us.” �śThere's nothing there now,” Casey reminded him. �śJust be patient for a day or two, and you'll see,” he said to Casey, who was favoring using a bluff overlooking the river even farther away. �śA team of explorers could use firearms to wound and panic a herd so as to drive them over the cliff and into the river. Hell, they'd float right down to us�"all we could possibly use.” �śOh, I've no doubt it would work,” Justin replied, �śbut you have to admit it's dangerous. The ones going out to panic them into running off the bluff could very easily get caught in a stampede and be trampled. Let's wait. We have a silenced rifle stored somewhere, but if not, the fabricator can easily build a silencer. All we'd have to do is kill what we need when a herd comes to water.” �śOkay, I suppose we can spare a day or two,” Casey said. Three days later, their organic tanks were well stocked and the crew was happily grilling steaks. Jeremy gazed out of one of the control room viewports with a nostalgic longing, knowing he wasn't going to be allowed to set foot on the beautiful world. Or any other�"not until he got the Skipper and Franika trained. * * * * The only danger to the explorers might have been the long-legged carnivores that killed with long sharp horns jutting from their heads, but something about the human smell caused them always to run the other way. �śNot much of a challenge around here,” Justin told him on the fourth day after returning to the boat for rest. �śThe critters practically jump into the pot.” �śWhich tells me that somewhere else on the planet, they may have the means to put us in the pot,” Jeremy said. �śIsn't it usually true that there's always something dangerous to humans on every planet we've explored?” �śYup, but I like this place. The crew wants to name it Summertown.” He chuckled. �śThe names we give our discoveries. It's a wonder the xenographers don't put a price on our heads.” �śYou're right about that, Jere. I hope we don't have to stay here too long.” �śHuh? Why not, Justin? It seems the perfect environment for us to repair the boat. Haven't you found the ore Rayne was wanting for the fabricators?” �śOh, yeah. That's why we set down here, remember? It's only a few kilometers to the ore. And plenty of wood analogue for other repairs, shelving and bracing and such. That's not my concern.” �śThen what is?” He looked around even though no one else was present in the dayroom. �śThe crew's getting tired, Jeremy.” �śSo? Hell, I'm tired, for that matter, and I haven't even been out of the boat.” �śWasn't what I meant. When I say tired, I mean long-term tired�"tired of the constant struggle to get home�"tired of seeing their friends die.” He still didn't understand. �śSo? What other choice ... oh! I get you.” �śRight. The longer we stay here, the more some of the crew are going to think it would make a good permanent home.” He raised his brows. �śWe can't stay,” Jeremy exclaimed. �śWe have to warn Earth. Sooner or later, the Monkeyclaws will come looking for us. Just as sure as hell is hot, the Monkeyclaw colonists have told their home world that there's another space-faring species poking around in their back yard.” �śI'm not arguing. I'm just telling you what's on my mind.” �śHave you said anything to the Skipper about it?” �śNo, but I intend to. I'm with you. We need to warn Earth, and it doesn't matter a damn how tired we are or how much we'd like to settle down. If those goddamned Monkeys discovered Earth and the home worlds right now, we wouldn't stand a chance. Hell, the navy has been cut so drastically that we don't have anything to fight with!” * * * * �śAnother week and we should have her in as good a shape as she'll ever be,” Shinzyki said to Trammell at the informal conference in the control room right at the change of watch. �śI've worked up a set of algorithms to help stabilize the boat in atmosphere, but I sure will hate to show up on Earth with the Hurricane looking like something drug out of a salvage yard, though.” �śNever satisfied,” Rayne chuckled. �śIsn't it enough that you'll have everything repaired and the boat fully stocked? Shucks, we have more refined material in the fabricator bins now than we did to start with!” �śGreat,” Lake said. �śThe sooner we can leave, the better.” Trammell eyed him critically. �śIs the crew really agitating that much to stay?” she asked. Only officers were present in the control room at the impromptu meeting. Sparks had left with the change of watch, while Medford and Shinzyki were staying over. �śUmmm, let's just say that I'd feel much better about the situation if this hadn't been such a damn fine world. Colonists will pay a premium to settle here, once we go back and report. As is, I'm worried that some of the crew want to colonize it, and I don't mean after we get home. They're thinking of now.” �śWe'll have to see that it doesn't happen,” the Commander replied calmly. �śYou said we've got one more week, Rufus?” �śYes, ma'am, unless you want to leave now and try doing the remaining repairs in space before transit. I don't recommend it, though.” �śUnderstood. All right, I'm charging every one of you with doing whatever you can to dispel the notion of Hurricane Jack abandoning its mission and colonizing Summertime. We simply can't allow that to happen. Justin, I want you and Casey to be in charge of finding out what mood the crew is in while we finish the repairs, since you two will be mingling with them the most. Let me know two days before we're due to lift off whether or not the crew is actually serious about colonizing, or simply sounding off or using it as a means of grieving. We can live with griping and we can live with tears. Every ship or boat has a certain amount of both going on all the time. What we can't live with is what would, in effect, be a mutiny.” �śBegging your pardon, ma'am, but supposing Casey or I find out that's exactly what the majority of the crew are thinking?” �śThen I'll have to do something about it.” Jeremy had never seen her look so grim. * * * * I don't know what in hell to do, Lisa thought as she finally turned off the simulated transits. They certainly weren't helping her regain what proficiency she'd once had in astrogation. The last simulated transit had killed the boat. She stripped off her cammies while wishing for the time to come, on Earth, where she would have a regular uniform to wear. Rufus, bless his mourning heart, had managed to craft a set of pips for Jeremy and Casey to wear on the collar of their cammies. She also wished idly that they could use the fabricators for some new boots for the crew. They were still functional but beginning to look awfully ratty. She knew that a sharp appearance helped morale, but the fabricators had to be saved for crucial items. Which leads right back to where I started�"what to do about getting the crew off this damned too-good-to-be-true world? Is it my fault? she wondered. No. A low-grade colonization fever had been endemic in the crew even before the battle. This pristine world and their grieving over their losses were doing it. Too bad about Joyce, she thought. Rufus had finally found someone he thought he could really love and had only a little less than a year with her before the universe casually wiped her out of his life. And what about me? In love with a man I don't dare touch or the crew really might revolt. Shit! She removed her undergarments and used a cleansing cloth on her body, even though she really didn't need it. They had had plenty of water while down on a planet. She slipped into bed nude and lay there thinking. There just weren't many options, not for a crew who had gone through what this one had. But somehow, she knew she had to deflect that homing instinct�"either that, or channel it into something else. But what? * * * * �śWe can lift off in forty eight hours, ma'am,” Shinzyki reported when Lisa and Jeremy appeared for their watch as close together as if they had been sleeping with each other. I wish! Jeremy thought as he examined the satisfied expression on the Warrant Officer's face. He'd finished the repairs a day early, and that was while pulling his watch in the control room. He did look short of sleep, though that could just as easily be from thinking about Joyce as overwork. Work as such never seemed to bother the man. �śWonderful,” Lisa said. �śWe'll give them a day's rest and a chance to shower and wash all their garments, and then let them know.” �śThere's still talk of staying here, Ma'am,” Rayne said. �śYes, I know. I'll take care of it.” Jeremy wondered what she intended to do. He'd not only overheard a little of the talk himself, but on the prior day, Juanita had called him on his personal com. �śLieutenant Costa,” he answered. �śThis is Chief Martinez. Jeremy�"I mean Lieutenant Costa�"I need to talk to you.” �śWhat about, �ŚNita?” He purposely didn't use her title. From the tone of voice he thought it was probably something personal. �śI ... Jere, I don't want to be seen whispering in your ear. You know what the crew thinks of a fink. But this ... the Skipper needs to know.” �śGo ahead.” It had been late at night. He'd just finished studying and was ready to turn out the light. �śIt's ... well, one of the explorers has been agitating with the crew, trying to talk them into deserting. The Skipper needs to know.” �śShe knows about the talk, �ŚNita.” �śJere ... Lieutenant, I know she's aware of talk, but this is different. Remember Lieutenant Whistler?” Uh oh! �śYes, all too well. I had to ... never mind. Who is it?” When she hesitated he spoke more firmly. �ś'Nita, this is something that goes beyond being a fink. If one of the crew is going crazy, we need to know.” �śIt's ... it's Buford Russell. He'd claiming we'll all die if we don't stay here. He's also saying that more Monkeyclaw ships are after us and that the officers are in a conspiracy to promote their favorites. Just all kinds of stuff like that. I think he's gone off the deep end.” �śIs he convincing anyone?” �śI ... I'm afraid so. At the very least, some are wavering.” �śOkay, �ŚNita. Thanks. I'll see that the Skipper knows about it first thing in the morning. I don't want to wake her up. She's getting less sleep than I am, and I'm sure not in my bunk very often.” �śJust do something.” �śI will,” he said, but she had already tapped out. He had indeed told the Skipper first thing the next day. She had thanked him, but that was all. After the other two officers departed, he met her gaze. �śI suppose you're wondering what I intend to do about setting the crew right and what action I'm going to take concerning Explorer Russell, aren't you?” she said. Her expression had as much steel in it as her voice. �śI can't help wondering, ma'am. I'm always thinking of what's best for the boat.” �śI see,” she said in a softer tone. �śWell, Lieutenant, how about this? You decide what you'd do in my place. Then, after I take action to correct the situation, you tell me how close your solution would have been to what I did. How does that sound?” Jeremy was wrong-footed, but he detected the tiny, almost indiscernible upward tilt to her lips. �śAye, aye, ma'am. Will do.” �śFine. Let's get to work. I want to do a simulated transit this morning from start to finish. You take notes, but don't correct me�"just tell any place I went wrong, when I'm finished.” �śOkay,” he agreed. Working with her would be fun, except that he couldn't get close without non-professional thoughts entering his head. He would have felt worse, but he was almost certain the same scenarios were playing out in her mind, too. * * * * The next day at change of watch Lisa said, �śRufus, I can see that the crew outside is about finished bathing and washing clothes. I think this would be a good time for me to talk to them.” �śShould I bring them into the ship or take the ones in here outside?” �śI'll speak to them all outside, but I want you and Jeremy at each end of the boat with high powered rifles to guard against carnivores. Face outward, away from the crew so they don't think I'm threatening them. Rayne, you get atop the boat and face them so that nothing can come from the river either way to cause us problems.” She looked at each of them in turn then back to Shinzyki. �śAll right COB, get the rest of the crew outside with the others. You three, grab your rifles and get to your posts. Rufus, when you have them ready, com me.” * * * * Having taken a deep breath to steady herself, Lisa stepped through the airlock and stood on the top step of the extended ladder. She surveyed the waiting crew, trying to gauge their mood. If she had to guess, she would surmise that about half tended toward wanting to stay right where they were, while the rest were, if not happy about it, so enshrined with the concept of duty that they would go on as long as they were able. Buford Russell was glaring at her. She decided to take the bit in her teeth. Now where did that expression originate from? she thought incongruously. �śI've heard that some of you would like to stay here and colonize. I can understand that. I'd like nothing better than to stay myself. We're running with barely more than half a crew in a banged up longboat that should never be making this voyage in the first place. Further, I can see nothing ahead of us except more hardship and probably more deaths and injuries. Given all that, some people who have never been explorers or been in the navy would wonder why on Earth we would consider anything other than staying here and building a colony. Yes, they would certainly wonder, wouldn't they? But we don't, do we?” Buford Russell was smirking now. She ignored him and continued speaking while standing ramrod straight, hands behind her back and a stern, dignified expression complementing every word she uttered. �śWe know why we keep going, don't we? It isn't because we love danger. We aren't glory seekers. We don't love hardship for its own sake like some masochistic idiots. Hell, we don't even keep going because promotions seem to be coming so rapidly lately.” For the first time since she'd come out, she saw some smiles, heard a few chuckles. �śSo then why do we keep on?” she continued, and then paused, searching out every face and catching their eye as if speaking directly to them alone. �śWe keep going because to quit now would break faith with our dead: the ones whose sacrifices have gotten us this far. Our journey up until now�"this exploration voyage�"has been bought and paid for with the blood of your mates, your friends and sometimes your lovers. It would be a tragedy�"a blot on our very souls�"to abandon everything they gave their lives for. Could any of you really turn your backs not only your dead, but your loved ones on Earth and the home worlds? What of them? Would you quit now, and leave them helpless to resist when the Monkeyclaws inevitably discover our home worlds? Could you even live with yourselves while imagining what would happen to billions of innocents should they not have time to prepare for vicious, hostile aliens without an ounce of mercy in their bones�"aliens who would slaughter little children as quickly as they would you or I? It isn't just us at risk, or our loved ones. If we don't get back to warn the government, our entire species is at risk of elimination. �śWe can't quit. Not so long as one of is living and able to pilot Hurricane Jack and fight to the death against anyone or anything standing in the way of warning our worlds that the universe they've been preaching about is not peaceful, is not empty of other intelligent beings. The pacifists got it wrong, people. The universe may be out there waiting on us, but we won't take it by shunning battle. Not ever. The ivory tower theorists may as well pack up and look for a different profession, once we get back and tell them how wrong they were. �śSo let's go on, now. Into the boat, and on to Earth, and God help anything that gets in our way!” �śNo!” Buford Russell shouted. His face was a fiery red and his fists were clenched tightly by his side. �śWe aren't going! Don't go into that ship! She'll kill every damn one of us!” Lisa examined him as she might a stray bug that had somehow found a way into her reader. �śYou don't want to go on, Russell?” �śNo, and you can't make me!” �śVery well. You may stay. In fact, I strongly suggest that you do, because if you set so much as one foot into Hurricane Jack you will be charged with mutiny and incitement to mutiny while in a state of emergency, if not outright war. I strongly suspect you would be found guilty and sentenced to death. COB!” �śYes, ma'am!” �śHave former Explorer Russell stripped of his kit and provided with a knife and hand weapon, and then bring the rest of the crew aboard. We lift off at 0600 in the morning.” She turned and walked back into the boat and out of sight. By the time Russell had been denuded of his kit, he was frothing at the mouth but being restrained by Casey Dugan as easily as if he were a six-year-old child. In the end, she had to remove the power pack from a hand laser and toss it fifty yards away before turning him loose and entering the boat�"the last of the crew to do so. She wasn't worried about his retrieving it after she was inside. There was nothing a hand laser could do to harm the ultra-tough material of the longboat. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twenty-Six When Jeremy joined her in the control room, Lisa glanced at his face and was amused to see that he hadn't entirely erased the tear streaks on his face. God, had she been that eloquent? If so, maybe she should have tried to just talk the fucking Monkeys into quitting and going home! �śReady for work, Lieutenant Costa?” �śReady to go, ma'am. Uh, do I have to tell you how I would have handled that situation?” He looked as if he were ashamed of the solution he'd thought of. �śMmm, not unless you care to. Don't worry about it, Jere. You've only been an officer a short while. I graduated from the academy over twenty years ago. You'll learn. Now let's get the boat ready for liftoff. I wonder what Rufus would say if I asked to handle it instead of him?” �śI believe he might be just a wee bit anxious, but he's going to have to let each of us take a turn or two, just in case.” �śYou need the practice more than I do, Jeremy. I can handle the boat in-system. It's just the astrogation I'm rusty on.” �śYou're coming along fine, ma'am. You'll be up to speed soon.” �śIt helps if you've known it once. Damn. Whoever would have thought when we left Earth that a trainee from the explorer corps would be navigating a longboat from one end of the galaxy to the other?” �śThat's a bit of an exaggeration, Skipper.” �śIt's close enough. Go ahead and get the liftoff coordinates ready for Rufus. He'll calculate them again himself, but you need the practice.” He got to work. When he pulled up his final calculations, the actual liftoff worked out to 06:33 if they wanted to follow the most optimal course toward transit. While bringing the star map on line, he wondered how close to his liftoff Rufus would come. He'd been doing pretty well lately. �śDo you still want us to go with the G2 we looked at yesterday, Skipper?” �śYes. I think it's safe enough.” Shrugging, he began playing with the map. The G2 was twelve light years distant, a long jump for the boat and a tight squeeze past a G3 and a Red Giant. Possibly the tug of gravity could pull the boat out of hyper toward one of them, but he doubted it. On the other hand, the worst he thought could happen was getting scorched a little by the Red Giant. On the gripping hand ... no, she had approved the transit and that's the way he'd plan it. Transits scarier than this one had been made on this journey, and they had survived to tell of it. �śAll set, Skipper. You just have to find the groove and ride it to transit,” he said. �śMe?” �śYou. You're as ready as you can be.” �śHmm. Had I known you intended me to make this transit, I might have picked a different target!” He laughed. He liked to see her in a good mood and not worrying so much. And hadn't that been a humdinger of a spellbinding speech to the crew? It had brought tears to his eyes that he wasn't the least bit ashamed of. Besides, it worked. He doubted that his own solution would have had nearly the effect on the crew, even if it had resulted in their staying with the boat. Russell was gone, too, and that was good, despite their being so short-handed. He had been a trouble-maker even before they had encountered the Monkeys. �śWould you like to use the simulator and practice a while?” �śPerhaps I should, Jeremy, but I want to look at our map first. Move over.” He slid his chair away from the position and let her into it. She sat down and extended the view of the star map to include their next three proposed targets to where they would turn and go crosswise back through part of the Orion spur to Earth. That would just about be the halfway point. �śI'll be glad to see us turn,” he said. �śUh huh. I'll announce it when we do. It will boost morale, I'm sure.” �śWe'll still have a long way to go, Skipper.” �śBut it won't take near the time as what we've spent getting to that point. �śHuh?” Jeremy exclaimed. �śUh, I mean, it won't? Ma'am.” �śUse your head, Lieutenant. With only a little more than half the crew we started with, we won't be feeding as many people, so we won't have to gather organics as often. That's what takes the time between transits.” �śOf course!” He felt like a dunce, but at the same time he felt his heart lighten. They were better than half way home in time spent, perhaps more! He frowned as he began thinking about it. �śSkipper, may I ask why you didn't use that argument back on Summertime when the crew was getting ... uh ... restless, shall we say? �śThat's a good lesson for when you become a commander, Jeremy. Always keep something in reserve. I would have used that fact if I'd had to, but I didn't, so I still have it available for use later on if necessary. And besides keeping a reserve, you should also constantly think of something besides your own narrow specialty. You'll be amazed at how often solutions to problems pop up where and when you least expect them. Of course, the problems come along when you least expect them, too, so it sort of evens out.” * * * * �śI've made my decision, Justin,” Lisa told the explorer officer after she and Jeremy had been relieved the next evening and she had called Justin to her day cabin. �śYou can go ahead and tell Sarah Goldwater she is now an officer and a gentlewoman as well as an explorer. That will be a Brevet Promotion. And you can promote Charley Vane to Acting Chief. If he does well, we can brevet him. Let me know after you've told Goldwater and talked to her, and I'll give her my little attitude adjustment lecture, too.” �śGreat. I'd like to congratulate you on that little speech to the troops, Skipper. It was nothing less than inspired.” �śI'm sure you could have done as well, Justin, but thank you anyway. Now with these promotions out of the way, let's hope they are the last ones, other than what comes in the normal course of a voyage.” �śFrom your lips to whoever or whatever is in charge of such things. I'm ready for the rest of the voyage to be smooth as a Spanky top.” �śDon't count on it,” Lisa said. * * * * Jeremy took Lisa's advice to heart over the next transits. He began looking at the crew in a different light, not as individuals but as a group, with group thinking and group dynamics. He discovered something that had been apparent but unrecognized until now�"at least by him. The boat was akin to a microcosm of humanity under normal circumstances. Now, however, he thought it resembled what a platoon in prolonged combat did. Or so he'd read once. There was nowhere to dissipate tension outside the group ... no place where an individual could go to blow off steam. It was patently impossible for a person to depart for greener pastures when he was no longer able to tolerate the cut of another's jib. After examining that particular problem, he saw that it was being solved by the crew's pairing off, with the pair's becoming very close friends or lovers. And he suddenly realized that was what Commander Brackett had been talking about when he mentioned personal relations. He knew it would come to that after Sam Johnston was destroyed. Brackett had been prepared to look the other way in some cases of the pairing between subordinate and superior, so long as their bonding didn't affect efficiency. Just as Lisa was doing with some of the same kind of pairs. Unfortunately, it couldn't include them, but at least he could look forward to the rest of the voyage going faster than the first part. Without being able to be with Lisa other than on duty, it was going to seem an awfully long time, though. �śI miss seeing you in the control room, Rufus,” Jeremy said before Lisa arrived for the change of watch one day. �śIt doesn't have the same feel without you handling the boat.” Jeremy said that at one change of watch. They had just lifted off from a small planet that had lots of water as its only redeeming feature. �śJust think of me being there in spirit, sir. And you know you can call on me any time you feel the need, don't you?” �śOf course. The Skipper speaks of you often. She misses having you around, too, but this is the only way we can run the watches and have me tutor her.” �śI know. Sometimes you have to bear the unbearable. Hang in there, Lieutenant. We'll get home, by God, and then those fucking Monkeys will be sorry they ever heard of us.” �śYou think we can whip them?” �śShit, yes. Just give us time to gear up production of warships and raise enlistments in the navy and marines. They'll think a bazillion eight-legged zipstings are after them.” He snarled so viciously it sounded like a zipsting was actually loose in the boat. �śA good analogy, Rufus,” Lisa said as she arrived. �śI don't remember much of what we saw being too far ahead of us technologically. Once the home worlds see the footage of the scout boats and Shannon, every man and woman from sixteen to sixty will want to join up and go after them. That's without even our mentioning the record of our fight with them. �śAnd guess what, Rufus. We turn the corner after this transit and begin the crossover to Earth.” �śNow that's good news indeed. How long will that take?” �śDepends on what we find,” Jeremy said. �śThe G spectrum stars are scarcer in this part of the galaxy, but we've got enough water and organics for a number of transits. It should go pretty fast. We'll be going toward Earth, even if it is still a long way.” �śWonderful. And now I need to go inspect the boat with Chief Martinez. She's working out real well. And damned if she isn't still plugging along in her courses that give her credit toward a degree. She'll be ready to take the exam in a number of subjects once we get back. In a year she'll be an explorer. I bet the academy would sponsor her for her last year.” He was glad to hear that Juanita was still hitting the books, even after twelve hour shifts. He knew from personal experience how hard it was to get enthused over anything when your body was dead tired. Which reminded him. After receiving and checking the data from the previous watch, the others left and he turned to Lisa. �śIs this the time I handle the boat and you the transit?” �śThat it is, Jeremy. Rufus got it started, so have at it. I'll get us in the groove for the transit and call the numbers to you.” He started to say that he hoped the next target star would have a suitable planet in its life zone, but he remembered Lisa's admonition in time. Bad luck to wish in the control room! Nevertheless, several days later they were out of hyper and the gravity detector picked up a planet that appeared to be almost as earth-like as Summertime. For a moment he thought of how part of the crew had felt back then and wanted it to not be quite so appealing, but he quickly stifled the thought. The crew had bounced back after Russell's expulsion and were again working as a team. He had no fears of a potential mutiny, no matter how good the world turned out to be. He was in the process of making the landing when Shinzyki eased into the control room. Jeremy was concentrating so hard he didn't see him come in and didn't know he was there until he had the boat in atmosphere. �śJust the way I'd do it,” Shinzyki said. His rough deep voice startled Jeremy for a moment, but he didn't let it distract him from the landing. He was aiming the boat toward one of the relatively clear areas in the heavily forested, green chlorophyll planet. The landing site abutted a hundred meter granite cliff overlooking a beach. Vines trailed from the cliff all the way to the water in spots, but there was plenty of room to park the boat where water and organic mass would both be handy. �śYou might be able to do it better, but not by much, Rufus,” Lisa said once the landing jacks stabilized. �śAs much as I want to disagree with you, I can't, Skipper. He's a natural.” The compliments pleased him beyond what his ability really rated, simply because it was from the two people aboard he respected the most�"people he knew wouldn't heap him with unearned praise. He stood up and stretched. �śHi, Rufus. Glad you could make it,” he said slyly. Shinzyki shook his head. �śYoungsters. You can't control them. All you can do is go ahead and let them foul things up, then hope they can put them back together again.” �śWhy, Rufus, that was very near to a perfect landing, and you know it.” �śNever give a new officer too much praise, Skipper. It goes to their heads and makes them weak-minded.” �śUm, yes, there is that. We'll have to watch his cranium, won't we?” �śIf everyone is finished predicting where my well-deserved talents will take me, we can announce that we've made a successful landing on ... what's the name of this place, anyway?” �śYou'll laugh,” Rayne said as she arrived. It had become common practice for the four of them to meet in the control room immediately after landings and the first watch after transits. The boat had been running so smoothly that Lisa had called only one all-officers conference the last three weeks. �śSo tickle me,” he said, raising his brows expectantly. �śThe crew voted for Bellweather.” He laughed. �śTold you,” Rayne said. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twenty-Seven Jeremy was in the control room looking out the viewport when Lisa spoke to him. �śDo you miss being able to go dirtside, Jere?” He took a last look and turned around. �śI do, Skipper, but I know it's the safest way to play it. I'm sure you would do fine with the remaining transits, but suppose something happened to you? Then where would the boat be?” �śThere's always Franika.” He shook his head. �śShe's coming along, but not as quickly as I'd hoped. That's why she's not here. I'm having her go back over some things by herself with the sim downloaded to her cabin. She works better alone.” �śThat's not good.” �śI should say she studies better alone. Relax, Skipper. She'll do fine if the ball ever drops on her head. She's one of those people who just keep plugging until they get it right.” �śLike some others I could name,” she said with a chuckle. �śSeriously, Jere, I'd like to go out myself occasionally, and I've been at this for almost as long as you've been alive.” �śDid you ever think you'd be commanding a longboat when you were an explorer?” �śI thought of it, naturally. Everyone does, once they get their commission. What I really dreamed of was commanding an explorer starship, though.” �śYou'll make it yet, Skipper. After you bring the boat home headquarters might give you one right away.” �śI doubt that. They don't give starship command until an officer has served as XO on at least one cruise and usually more than one. There are other positions they like you to have held, too. Longboat commander is one, so I've got that nailed, but I'll probably need a stint in operations and logistics as well.” �śI still think you deserve it,” he assured her. �śWould you really want that, Jeremy?” she asked softly. She looked around to be sure no one else had come in. �śIt would pretty well kill the idea of us being together after we get home.” �śDo you still want that?” he asked, almost dreading what she might say but unable to keep from putting the question to her. Despite the hard work and long hours, he was having trouble sleeping. Their odd relationship was part of the reason. �śYes, more than ever. Be patient, love. And now let's drop that subject. It doesn't do either of us any good to talk about it.” �śAll right, but I can't help but think about it. Regulations don't cover thoughts yet.” �śSo they don't.” * * * * Bellweather was even more suitable for humans than Summertime, if that was possible. The axial inclination was slight and the animal life appeared to all be rather small. It tended to run from humans rather than attack. �śHello, Rufus,” Lisa said as she and Jeremy entered the control room. �śReady to be relieved?” �śYes, ma'am, but I need to talk to you.” He nodded in the direction of her day cabin. A furrow formed between her brows as she led the way, knowing it must be something unusual for him to want privacy. Once inside she wasted no time. �śWhat is it, Rufus?” �śWell, I haven't had all the time in the world, but I finally got to the gravity compensating capacitors. I've thought the transitions have been a little rough the last couple of times, and now I know why. One of them is warped and not holding all the charge it should. You know the capacitors alternate in releasing their charge to smooth the gravity compensator waves as we enter and exit hyper, and they give us microbursts all the time we're in hyper when we drop out for a microsecond to peek at the normal universe. And then...” She laughed. �śSpare me the jargon, Rufus. Just tell me, how bad is it?” �śWe're gonna have to stick around here while I tear down the capacitor and either repair the potentiometer, or more likely, be forced to fabricate a new one.” �śDon't we carry spares? We damn sure do for everything else under the sun, including crew!” �śThey aren't supposed to fail, but I guess the bright boys who designed the capacitors never met the Monkeyclaws and their warship. When we took the hit, the capacitor must have been jarred enough to make it gradually go off specs. Just be glad I found it while we were out of hyper. Had it failed while we were in...” he turned a thumb down at the deck. �śHow long?” �śA week, anyway.” He shrugged. �śThe pots are a booger to get at. Since you aren't supposed to have to repair them, they didn't make space enough to use tools with them in place. Sorry.” �śWell, I suppose the crew could use a rest anyway. We can stock up on organics here, and then get well past our halfway point with only one or two stops for water. We'll be even farther along in the amount of time left to go.” �śOkay. I'll get started. Rayne can use Sparks to fill in my spot in the control room. There's not much to do while we're down except instrument checks and maintenance.” * * * * Rufus decided to use Juanita to help him replace the capacitor potentiometer. He had found her to be very capable and smart, despite her lack of a degree. He could see a future exploration officer in her with no problem at all, and this voyage would look good on her resume. �śOkay, lift, now. Easy, easy ... got it! Let's set her down now. Good. Okay, guys, thanks. �ŚNita and I can handle it from here on out.” It had taken four of them to disconnect the capacitor and move it a few feet into the passageway so he could get into the innards of it. �śNow, �ŚNita, I'll be on top of this big bastard with my head stuck down in its guts. You'll have to hand me the tools and meters while I work.” �śI'll be here, sir. This is fun.” �śTell me about it a couple of days from now, when we're trying to squeeze this big sumbitch back in place. Okay, the hex set first�"the big ones.” As they worked he questioned her now and then on aspects of the longboat, not seeing any reason why he couldn't continue her education during the repair job. He also asked other questions. �śHow's the crew treating you, �ŚNita? Everything going okay for you?” �śOh, sure. Everyone loves it here. It's a great place for a break, and we needed one. We're all tired.” �śSo are the officers, but it's just part of the job. Keep plugging along, and before you know it we'll be home.” �śThat's what we know now. The Skipper did a good thing getting rid of Russell. He was way past unstable.” �śYup. A little birdy told me one of our chiefs might have had a hand in bringing it out in the open.” �śUh, that's good, sir.” He grunted a comment, but her response told him what he wanted to know. It was more or less what he'd suspected. She had told Jeremy, and he had passed it on to the Skipper. Good people, all of them. �śHow's your love life these days? I hope it's better than mine.” Ordinarily an officer didn't inquire into personal affairs, but Shinzyki didn't consider himself an ordinary officer. A COB never did. He learned lots of useful information from making himself a sounding board for the enlisted ranks. Besides, he had a purpose behind his question. �śOh, I suppose it could be better, Mr. Shinzyki, but it could be worse, too. You know it's like that for a lot of us. The selection isn't near as great as when we were on the ship, or even when we had a full crew.” �śTrue enough, �ŚNita, but the Skipper allows a little more leeway under circumstances like ours.” �śOh, yeah! It's a good thing, too.” Shinzyki chuckled. �śShe knows what she's doing.” �śShe sure does. It's just too bad she doesn't give herself some of that leeway.” �śHmm?” �śNever mind. I shouldn't have ... never mind, sir.” He knew she was wishing she'd never uttered those words. They had to have come out on impulse, but he knew exactly what she was referring to. He thought for a moment and decided to run with it. �śIt's all right. I'm sure you weren't trying to involve yourself with Commander Trammell's personal life.” �śOh, no, sir!” �śOn the other hand, I have to sort of agree with you, in a way.” �śYou do?” �śYeah. Here, take this, and hand me the spanner. The big one.” Juanita gave him the tool. �śYou agree and everybody knows, so why doesn't she ... well...” �śCommand is an awful responsibility, �ŚNita. She can't afford to lose the respect of the crew.” �śIf you ask me, Mr. Shinzyki, she'd gain respect. Shucks, everyone knows she and Lieutenant Costa are in love.” �śThey do? Hmm. News to me, but I'll take your word for it. You think they oughta go for it, huh?” �śI'm just a chief. What do I know?” �śA lot more than some people. Crap! This thing isn't moving a millimeter. Pass me up the medium hammer.” He let the conversation turn to other matters, but he had gotten the seed planted. Now it would be passed around, and the Commander would hear about it eventually, but with no names attached. That was all he could do about the situation for now. Chiefs of Boats sure come into strange duties, he thought with amusement as he began tapping with his hammer, which was sometimes a very useful tool when nothing else would work. * * * * Jeremy was glad to get away from Bellweather. It was such a decent place that day after day it pulled at him like a magnet, making him want to get outside under the sunlight and into some fresh air. He even broached the idea in a roundabout way to Lisa, but she shot him down with a few pithy words. �śWe can't risk you, so shut up about it, Lieutenant Costa.” �śYes, ma'am.” He had begun thinking of some way to ameliorate his moment of weakness when Shinzyki appeared in the control room. �śSkipper, that cursed Allah-be-double-damned mongrel of a potentiometer is back in place and working again. We can leave whenever you like.” She glanced over at the chronometer. �śThank you, Rufus. We're set up, so all we need to do is pick a launch time to coincide with the quickest way to the transit point. It will be sometime tomorrow, for sure. Lieutenant Costa has been doing his best to put his name on the thruster controls so he can handle it.” �śGood. I can take a nap while he does the work.” Jeremy took that conversation to mean he was forgiven. He vowed that never again would he let his emotions get in the way of his duty�"not if he could help it. He immediately took Lisa at her word and began looking forward to handling the boat during launch. It was an exhilarating experience, just as it was when he first became old enough to drive air cars. As soon as he reasonably could, without looking like an eager little boy playing at a game, he began studying the prospective launch parameters against the location of their target star. Finally, finally, they had finished turning the corner and would be heading directly toward Earth. It was still a long way, but at least they were going in that direction now. It made him feel good. * * * * The launch went well, and Lisa and Rufus allowed him to continue flying the boat within systems. A number of other transits occurred without incident, bringing the morale of the crew almost up to normal. The last planet they'd landed on had been a likely one�"perhaps worthy of colonization sometime in the future. They had stocked up on water and organics and gone on. They had just dropped out of hyperspace from the next transit, when several explorers began complaining of feeling ill. Jeremy learned of it when Casey immediately brought the news to the Commander. At the time, they were studying together in her day cabin, each learning techniques from the other. �śYou've become a very good astrogator, Jeremy,” Lisa said. �śThanks. You are too, for that matter. You know, I don't know if I've ever thanked you for giving me the commission. You didn't really have to.” �śCommander Brackett had already discussed it with me. I just carried out his wishes. He was a good man, but damned if he wasn't careless with his own safety.” Jeremy was able to avoid answering that loaded question when her com asked for attention. �śCommander here.” �śSkipper, Casey. I need to see you.” He recognized the worried tone in the new officer's voice and a moment later he found out why. She knocked at the hatch, and then stepped inside at Lisa's call to come in. �śWhat is it, Casey?” �śSeveral of the crew are ill, and several more are beginning to show symptoms. They're all in the first squad.” �śOh, Lord, we really didn't need this. Get some cabins fixed up for isolation quickly. I'd better go and see. Jeremy, you come along, too. You know something about microbiology.” �śI don't know much medicine.” �śNo one in the boat does now. Simpson was our last medical specialist.” He trailed along, feeling completely inadequate. What did he know about sickness? He'd never been ill a day in his life, and the only medicine he knew was what the academy taught for emergency treatment in the field. He did know microbiology, though. If that was the cause of the illness, he might be able to do something. He hoped. The patients were indeed sick. The worst ones were beginning to suffer from some shortness of breath, while the others just had a general feeling of listlessness. He examined them but felt helpless. However, he felt he had to do something, especially as Lisa ordered him to get busy after she called Shinzyki and told him to put the boat into orbit and find a place to land on the planet they'd already found and was nearby. While Casey got them moved into empty cabins, two to a room, Jeremy downloaded everything he could find on sickness and treatment. Explorers had to know about the dangers facing them on new worlds, and he remembered that the most common of impediments to settlements was a microorganism that liked the taste of humans. It didn't happen often, but when it did, there was always a quick scramble to find out what it was and get their nannites tailored to combat it. Usually it didn't take long, and most times the nannites did the job without even having to be programmed. Apparently this wasn't going to be one of those cases. He first drew blood specimens, fumbling with the medical autophlebotomy instrument. He treated the blood and examined the preparations visually under increasingly higher powers of magnification with various dyes tagged to show the cells in one color and foreign organisms in another. Nothing showed up except what he took to be artifacts introduced during the preparation or from the dyes. Some were always present to varying degrees, so he thought nothing of it. Next he ran the blood through an analyzer he also had to learn how to use. The sickest individuals were somewhat anemic, but that told him nothing about how to cure them. He read the manual and learned how to operate the hand imager to look inside the body. It took a couple of hours before he could use it to good effect, but it produced no clues. While he was reading, he was joined by E4 Sing Yun, the only other microbiologist left. Jeremy had sent for him to look at the original results on the organisms of every planet with life on it that they'd set foot on for the last three months, beginning with the most recent. �śI brought the data you wanted, Lieutenant Costa,” he said. �śI went back over all of it and couldn't find anything that might have caused this stuff.” �śThanks, Sing.” Something about the man's voice alerted him. �śHow are you feeling?” �śUh, actually, not so hot, sir. Not much energy.” �śGo to the isolation cabins and turn yourself in. I'll go over this again myself. Not that I think you aren't competent, but maybe different eyes might see something.” �śSure. Thanks, sir. I'll go now. I really am feeling shitty.” By this time Jeremy was well behind on sleep, but he decided to look over Sing's data before trying to get a couple of hours sleep. Hours later, he yawned and realized that he hadn't understood a thing he'd read for the last quarter hour. He tapped his forearm. �śCommander.” �śCosta here, Skipper. I'm going to have to get some sleep. I'd been awake almost a full day when this came up. I'm not making sense to myself any longer. I'm going to lie down for a couple of hours, if that's okay.” �śGo ahead. You're not feeling bad, are you?” �śNo, ma'am, just awfully tired and sleepy. Give me two hours and let my wash my face and I'll get back on it.” �śGo. Oh, is there anything you need?” �śCan't think of anything.” �śGo to bed.” [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twenty-Eight Jeremy woke with something trying to ring a bell, but it wasn't until he'd had a cup of coffee that he could pull it up out of the depths of his overworked brain. All the ones who had fallen ill to begin with were on the same watch. It wasn't until almost eighteen hours later that ones from the other watch began getting sick. He began looking back over the log book to see which shift had been on the last planet first�"the one the crew had named Tophat for the shape of one of the continents. Sure enough, the first ones ill had been on the first shift. It didn't necessarily prove anything, but it was something to concentrate on, and he hadn't had that until now. He began playing with the data, studying the log book against the time of illness, severity of symptoms and any other datum he could think of. That was when he noticed that he, Lisa and Rufus were the only three persons not showing symptoms. He called Rufus immediately. �śShinzyki here.” �śRufus, it's Jeremy. Did you leave the boat while we were on Tophat?” �śNo. Why?” �śHow about Roughroad�"the one before that?” �śYes. What are you getting at?” �śI think whatever this sickness is came from Tophat. I don't know the cause of it yet or the cure, but that's where it came from. And you, me and the Commander are the only three people not showing symptoms.” �śGood work. Now get them well.” �śWorking on it, Rufus.” He began wondering why the nannites present in everyone's bodies hadn't at least tried to fight the illness. Or maybe they had. He went around and took blood from several of the crew, then, after reading up on how to operate a nannite determinator, he put the blood samples through it. The results showed the nannites attempting symptomatic healing but nothing more. He had no idea if that was good or bad. Hadn't he read somewhere that symptoms of illness were the result of the body trying to heal itself? He couldn't remember and couldn't find a reference. At any rate, he saw no indication of hostile microorganisms in Sing's original analysis of the life on Tophat, nor had the tests he'd run on the blood turned up any. It was frustrating as hell. Something was making the people sick and he couldn't find out what it was. He went to find something to eat. No one was in the pantry, which made him wonder if everyone in the boat had taken to his bed. He was preparing to tap into Rufus’ com when he showed up in person. �śI see you had the same idea,” Rufus said. �śYeah. Is everyone too sick to eat now?” �śDamn near. Commander Trammell and I have been taking food to them and helping the real sick ones cope. What've you turned up?” �śNot a damned thing, except I know we picked it up on Tophat. You said real sick ones?” �śUh huh. A few of them are not looking good at all. I'm beginning to get worried. Our nannites can beat just about anything, but they don't seem to recognize whatever it is that's hurting us.” �śDoes everyone but us three have it now?” �śEveryone but Bullock. He's showing a few symptoms, but he's well enough to help with the others.” �śHuh? That doesn't sound right.” Rufus shrugged. �śWhat do I know? I'm just telling you what's happening.” �śWell, thanks. Maybe I'll go over his physical readouts again and see if they're any different from the others. I've got to come up with something if the crew is getting as sick as you say.” Eating made Jeremy feel sleepy and tired again. It took an effort, but he resisted it and began going over the physical and chemical exams he'd done on a number of the patients. Bullock was among them. The only difference he could see was that he had very little anemia. Lacking any other clear path to finding a treatment, he began looking at all his data again, beginning with the microscopic analysis. Still nothing. At last he simply had to sleep. During the night three explorers died. The deaths made him doubly determined to find an answer, not the least because if all the crew died, he and Trammell and Shinzyki would have an awfully hard time getting the boat home by themselves. �śJeremy, have you got anything at all we can use to help?” Lisa looked as tired as he felt. It made him wonder whether or not the sickness could be passed from person to person. �śHow are you feeling?” he asked her. �śJust tired, like you and Rufus and Bullock.” �śBullock. Damn it, there's something I'm missing. Why should the others be so sick and not him?” �śWell, you'd better find it quickly, or we won't have a crew left.” The pressure only made him try harder. He forced himself to do an autopsy as best he could to see if he could find anything internally that made sense. He didn't, other than the bladder had a residue of dark liquid in it. Urine? Could that mean anything? Again he went to the computer, but he could find only a few references and none that helped. It was frustrating in the extreme, because sickness was seen so seldom in modern times. The nannites kept a person's body healthy for several centuries, by all indications, even though the technique had only been in use for less than two. It was a rare occasion when the nannites couldn't take care of a problem. They ferreted out foreign organisms and repaired tissue better than natural defenses did. By the next day, most of the watch who had become ill first were very sick, and two were dead. The three well persons other than himself were staggering from exhaustion, but still caring for the others. He could barely keep his eyes open himself as he kept reading and going over all his reports again and again. He kept going back to Bullock. Something in his body appeared to provide a natural defense against the unknown disease. Jeremy tracked Bullock down where he was helping with those too ill to help themselves. He was holding a glass for Juanita to drink from. She looked pale and wan and had lost weight. The other person in the cabin was unmoving, either near death or already dead. Seeing Juanita like that made him almost cry. �śHel ... hello, Jere,” she said in a weak voice. He went to her and caressed her brow. �śHi �ŚNita. I'm doing my best to come up with a cure for you. Hang in there.” �śI ... I'll ... try,” she said then her head slumped back to the pillow as if the few words she'd uttered had completely enervated her. He saw that the transparent container holding her urine was very dark. If he drew more blood from her he was sure that she would be anemic, perhaps extremely so. The dark color was simply metabolites of broken-up red blood cells. Something was causing that to happen, but what? God, what he wouldn't give to have a physician on the boat, or hell, even a general medical text, but he had neither. The explorer medics were trained to care for accidents or wounds until the person's nannites were able to cope, but they were not trained to treat disease. He looked helplessly at Bullock. His earnest brown face showed how powerless he felt at not being able to do anything to help, other than wipe a brow or hold a glass. Bullock set the glass back down. Something clicked in Jeremy's mind�"something he'd read or been told about a long time ago. It had something to do with skin color, he thought, but only incidentally. �śMarvin, come back to my cabin with me. I want to talk to you.” Once there, Jeremy made fresh coffee and began quizzing Bullock on his family history, diet, what sort of chemicals he might have been exposed to and anything else he could think of. He didn't know exactly what he was after, but he had that sense of knowing the solution to a problem or the right word to finish a puzzle but not being able to think of it. �śWhy all the questions, sir? Have I done something wrong?” �śNo, no, Marvin. There's just something different about you from anyone else in the boat�"something that's protecting you from this disease.” �śBut you and Mr. Shinzyki and the Skipper aren't sick.” �śWe didn't mix with the crew very much the first couple of days. And I don't like the looks of ... never mind. What's unusual about you that keeps you from getting sick?” He shrugged. �śI had to have my nannites specially tailored when I applied to the academy, if that makes any difference.” Jeremy felt like a hunter closing in on his quarry. �śYou did? What for?” �śUh, something that runs in the family or because I have a dark skin. Something like that.” �śTry to remember, Marvin. It's important.” �śI'm trying, sir.” He screwed up his face and closed his eyes as if trying to squeeze the information out of his head. �śWait a minute, Bullock. If there was something wrong with you, why wasn't it fixed when you were a baby?” �śUh, well, my folks are New Hossana religion. They don't believe in nannites or Everlife and suchlike.” �śStill, if it was something serious, they'd have had to have you treated. It's the law.” �śYes, sir. So I guess whatever it was didn't hurt me.” �śBut what could it have been? Dark skin ... what could that mean?” �śMy ancestors came from Africa on Earth. That's what Mama told me. I'm from Newton's World, you know.” But Jeremy wasn't listening. Africa! That was it. Something about Africa. Damn it, why couldn't he remember? He was such an inveterate reader that all kinds of near-useless bits of knowledge were tucked away in the archives of his mind. This was something that needed to be retrieved, though! �śWhat else did your Mama tell you, Marvin? Did she ever say anything was wrong with you?” �śNot that I ... Well, I got sick one time. I remember that.” �śI guess you could expect it, without nannites.” �śNo, it wasn't like getting a bug in me. It was something else. I was running track in a meet in the state finals and I went all out�"I mean I gave it everything I had. Then I got real sick. I had to be taken to the hospital. Mama told me when I came home it wasn't anything to worry about unless I ran out of breath, like I did that time.” �śOut of breath? What...?” �śShe said it was something about my blood. I remember that, now.” And then he had it. �śSickle Cell! You have, or had, the Sickle Cell trait! That's why you got sick. You were deprived of oxygen and your red blood cells started sickling.” �śHuh? I don't remember all that.” �śIt doesn't matter, but it's all I can think of that's keeping you healthy. Whatever's affecting the rest of the crew is going after the hemoglobin in red blood cells, and yours is a different type! Or part of it, anyway. Even with the nannites you got when you entered the academy to keep the trait from affecting you under stress, the part of your hemoglobin that comes from the defective beta-globin gene wasn't changed! But damn it, I couldn't find a single solitary bug in anyone's blood.” Someone called for help over the com Bullock had left open from the patients’ rooms in sick bay. �śI need to go, sir.” �śGo ahead, Marvin. Thanks. I'll probably need you again, but I'll call when I do.” Bullock hurried away. Jeremy tapped into the main computer and once more pulled up the results of all his tests. He knew he must have missed something�"somewhere, somehow�"that was attacking normal hemoglobin. He had to find it before everyone in the ship except Bullock died. He tried his best to keep from hurrying, afraid he might again overlook whatever he must have missed before. All the microbiology data from Sing looked fine, or at least he couldn't see anything in it that could have caused the disease. There was a blip in one of the microorganic light pattern results that intrigued him but told him nothing that would help. He went over all the blood sample data again with negative results and finally in desperation again examined under high magnification the blood he'd drawn from the patients. Nothing except the inorganic artifacts, probably from the dye the cells were stained with or something on the slide. He was about to discard the last preparation when it suddenly hit him. The artifacts! They were of various sizes and configurations, but mixed in with them were some which were all the same size. All of those were circular. That was possible, but unlikely. Surely a precipitate such as the sort he'd been thinking it was couldn't be in bits that were all alike. But if not, what was it? He thought rapidly. Did the boat have a centrifuge? Surely it did. He pulled up the boat inventory and looked. No centrifuge, damn it, and that would be the very instrument he needed. He tapped his forearm. �śShinzyki.” �śRufus, it's Jeremy. Can you build me a centrifuge?” �śHuh? Say that again.” �śA centrifuge. Can you make one for me?” �śThat's what I thought you said. How soon do you need it and what size?” �śIt doesn't have to be big, but I need it right now, Rufus. And when that's ready, I have something else for you to make.” [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Twenty-Nine �śThis one's from blood I drew from myself right at first for a control. It shouldn't have had much of anything from the causative organism in it yet. And this one's from a very sick patient,” Jeremy said as he showed Rufus two tubes of blood. �śWhat I've done is hemolyze the red blood cells with plain water and then centrifuged them. You can see there's several layers here, representing different masses of the constituents. There will also most likely be some layers so thin we can't see them. I'm going to look at those layers under magnification to see if I find one in the patient's blood that's different from what mine was when I drew it. �śIf I do find an odd layer, that should be from the little bastards causing all our trouble. Cross your fingers or dance a jig or whatever else you can think of that this turns out like I think it will. It's about my last shot.” He suddenly felt dizzy and had to sit down. �śAnd damned if I don't think I'm coming down with what everyone else has. I guess it can be passed from person to person.” He held off the dizziness and put the tubes side by side. Under very high magnification, there were many fine layers representing substances of different molecular weight that had been spun down slower or faster than others. He very carefully compared the tubes. There was one very thin extra layer in the patient's tube of blood down near the bottom of it. �śAnd unless I miss my guess, here's our culprit, Rufus. Now I need the micropipette you made, some very gentle suction and a steady touch.” He put his face in his hands for a moment until the nausea he was suffering from passed. As soon as it did, he took the micropipette from Rufus. He had attached it to tubing that led to a simple suction apparatus with two step-down valves in it. Very cautiously, using high power, three dimensional magnification, he pushed the pipette into the sample, trying to disturb it as little as possible. Under the magnifier he could see when the tip of it found the layer he wanted. �śNow turn the dial, very slowly Rufus,” he instructed. He watched as the pipette sucked a portion of the thin layer of different matter from the tube. �śOkay, stop.” He withdrew the sample and moved the tip over to a series of very small cups glued to a support. �śBack pressure now. Gently. Good. Got it.” He blew out a breath of air. �śThanks, Rufus. Now let's see what I've got.” The first two cups were contaminated with other material but the last four looked to be relatively pure. �śGreat! Now we're gonna break this stuff into smaller bits and look at it with my microspectrograph. It's not used very often, but all the kits carry them.” �śWhat do you expect to find?” Jeremy grinned at him. �śIf we're lucky, the causative organism is going to show up here. I'm betting that it's something with an inorganic shell around a bit of organic matter that represents a very tiny organism that likes our hemoglobin. It probably zeroes in on a blood cell and sheds its shell before the nannites can catch it. A wave of sickness washed over him and the grin was wiped from his face. Abruptly he realized that he had been ill for at least two days and had been putting recognition of that fact off, owing to tiredness and lack of sleep. Which probably means Lisa is sick, too, he thought glumly. A few minutes later, his guess was confirmed. �śSee the graphs? A mix of organic and inorganic constituents. It must have an inorganic shell. That's why our nannites haven't worked. They didn't recognize these critters as a living microorganism. Besides that, the organisms must have multiplied slowly at first because it took a while before anyone showed symptoms. Then when it hits a tipping point it multiplies at a damned high rate for me to be able to isolate a layer of them from blood, even under magnification.” He breathed a great sigh of relief, and then was suddenly very sick. He grabbed a nearby trash can and vomited into it while Rufus held him. He retched again and again until the nausea finally passed, but it left him very weak. �śHang on, Jere,” Rufus said. �śWe gotta finish this up, or we all die. What next?” His head whirled, and it was hard to think. �śUh, now we have to tailor some command nannites to go after the bug and get them injected into everyone. Fortunately I've done that before, so I won't be learning on the job.” �śWhen? On this trip?” �śNo. Academy. Let's get on with it while I can. Look in Simpson's kit and find the vial labeled command nannites, untailored, and bring it and a syringe to me. I don't think I can walk.” While Rufus carried out his orders, he wondered how the COB still managed to function and barely show any symptoms of the disease. He must have the constitution of a Mountain Devil from New Germany. Hell, youngsters were supposed to be stronger and more resistant to disease, weren't they? He shook his head to get his mind back on track. When Shinzyki brought the vial and syringe back, Jeremy looked at Rufus and realized he was almost as sick as himself. It was just his indomitable will and strong body that kept him on his feet. Jeremy took the syringe and vial. �śNow we dilute our little bastard critter with some saline to give it some volume, and then we suck it up in the syringe,” he said as if lecturing a class. �śThen we inject this mixture into the vial of command nannites and give them a few minutes to recognize the little critters and kill them. After that, it's just a matter of injecting a drop or two of the tailored nannites into everybody and then waiting for them to reproduce and see what happens.” He struggled through the waiting period by laying his head on the desk in his hands. He had to force himself to wait until the solution was primed. �śOkay, let's get a pack of syringes and give the injections, Rufus. I'll start at one end of the cabins and you the other. Where's Bullock? He can help.” �śHe's caring for the crew. We can do it, but ... hey, there's only a half dozen syringes here. That's not enough.” �śDoesn't matter,” he said through a thick fog. �śWe can use them over and over. Our regular nannites will take care of any microbes that contaminate it. Let's go, an’ be sure you make each dose small �Śnough so you don’ use it up too soon.” He knew he was slurring some words but couldn't help it. His tongue felt thick, as if it were growing in his mouth. It was a nightmarish walk through the cabins on legs so weak he had to brace himself on whatever was near to keep from falling. Some of the crew were so bad off that they looked to be already dead. Hell, some probably are dead, he thought. He was too weak to tell the difference. Many had fouled themselves from being unable to move from their beds. When he saw a body, he injected it, not bothering to see if it still breathed. He came to the Commander's cabin and realized what he might see inside. He pushed the hatch open and went to Lisa's bedside. �śJer ... Jeremy. Love ... love you...” Those were the only words she could get out. �śI'm here. Gonna save you. Gonna love you,” he muttered weakly.” He injected her and sat down on the little couch. He thought he was forgetting something but couldn't figure out what it was. The syringe and vial dropped from his hand and rolled across the floor. That's it. I haven't done myself. His body slid bonelessly off the couch and onto the floor. He forced himself to crawl toward the vial and then to the syringe. He pushed himself up and leaned against a bulkhead. With trembling weak fingers and a feeble grip he fumbled, dropped the vial, regained it and used the syringe to extract the last of the nannite solution from the vial. He pulled up the leg of his cammies and plunged the syringe into his calf, using the palm of his hand to hit the plunger and inject the solution. He slid off the bulkhead to the floor with the syringe still sticking out from his leg. He rolled onto his back and for a long while remembered nothing else. * * * * �śLieutenant Costa! Jeremy! Wake up!” The voice came to him from a long way off. He thought it was familiar but couldn't tell for sure. He struggled to awaken and wiped matter from his eyes. He blinked and saw that he was still in Lisa's cabin where he had fallen. Lisa and Rufus were on their knees beside him, helping raise his body to an upright position and then to his feet. He staggered a little before regaining his sense of balance but decided to sit down anyway. �śWhat happened?” �śYou damn near killed yourself, you fool, if you'll excuse the expression, sir,” Rufus said. �śI never thought once that you'd go around giving everyone else their injection and forget about yourself, or I'd have done it for you. Idiot!” �śDon't call him that, Rufus. He saved our lives and the boat,” Lisa said. He heard her voice and looked at her. His heart grew in his chest until it almost choked him at seeing her alive. He wanted more than anything to tell her he loved her, but instead he said, �śIt ... it seems like a dream now. Sometimes I thought I was injecting people who were already dead.” �śYou probably were, Jeremy,” she told him gently. �śHow many?” �śFifteen died.” He remembered then how he had overlooked the tiny little lethal organism at first, taking it to be nothing more than an artifact. �śOh, shit! Goddamn me for a fool! Why didn't I recognize those bastard bugs when I first saw them? They looked like artifacts, and that's what I took them for!” Just the thought made him feel horrible inside. He felt tears on his cheeks but didn't bother to wipe them off. Rufus and Lisa simply looked at him with no malice or blame on their faces. �śDon't you understand? I'm responsible for everyone of the crew who died!” �śNo, you're not,” Lisa contradicted him firmly. �śRufus told me how you kept going when you were practically dead on your feet, and how hard the microorganism was to isolate. He also told me you kept working until you were practically dead yourself, until you finally discovered the cause of the sickness. That's why we recovered sooner than you. Jeremy, just from what Rufus told me, a goddamned physician probably couldn't have done more than you did! You're not to blame for anyone who died! You're a hero, if anything, and everyone on this boat except Bullock owes you their life. Him, too. He couldn't even have landed the boat by himself. And last of all, Sing did the original microbiology analysis. He missed finding that microorganism, too.” He looked back and forth at each of them. Finally, he nodded, but inside he knew he would live with those dead for a long time. Right now he didn't want to know who they were. He thought he would break down and bawl if he did. �śIt happens, Jeremy,” Lisa said. �śAn officer does his best, and that's exactly what you did. Your very best. No one can ask any more. Now go on, get cleaned up and have something to eat, and let's try to get organized again.” �śYes, ma'am,” he said and got shakily to his feet. She grabbed him and hugged him fiercely before letting him loose. �śNow go!” He went. Back in his cabin he thought how ironic it was. The microbiology techniques of three centuries past might have grown the bug in a culture but today it was all molecular manipulation and that had missed it because of the inorganic shell. * * * * Twelve hours later, after a shower, a meal and some solid, much needed sleep, Jeremy felt almost like his old self, except for a little residual weakness. That would pass, he knew. Even now, his nannites must be stimulating production of red blood cells to get their numbers back up to normal. He tapped into the command com. �śCommander.” �śLieutenant Costa here. I'm awake and ready to get to work, Skipper,” he said. �śWelcome back to the world, Jeremy. Come to the control room first. All the officers will meet there, now that you're back amongst the living.” On the way, he remembered that she had told him fifteen of the crew had died. Counting Russell as gone, that left only twenty-seven of them to run the boat. He had no idea which officers were left, other than Lisa and Rufus. He was almost afraid to enter the control room and learn who had died and who lived. He pushed through the hatchway. �śOver here, Lieutenant Costa,” Lisa said. He looked around first. There were only three officers besides himself: Lisa, Rufus and Casey. He didn't want to believe it. �śIs this all of us?” �śYes, I'm afraid this is it,” Lisa said sadly. �śWe'll just have to work with what we have. Which is why I got you together before speaking to the rest of the crew. At present, they're cleaning the cabins and preparing the bodies for burial.” She paused for a moment as if thinking of them, and then continued in a calm voice, �śWhat I propose is for Jeremy and me to run the control room with Rufus joining us as necessary, but otherwise taking care of the boat. We'll need one person to help in the control room�"someone to just watch the instruments when neither of us can be there and notify us if anything varies from what's expected. Casey, I think we can organize the explorers under your command as one squad, with such chiefs as are left to help you. Does all this sound satisfactory, or do you have other suggestions?” �śHow about when we're dirtside? Will I run one watch or two?” �śI'll leave that up to you. If you think you can handle the duties with two small squads rather than one larger one, fine, but I should let you know that there's no one left among the explorers I'd be comfortable with brevetting to officer.” �śHow about Juanita Martinez?” �śShe's surely going to be an officer eventually, but she doesn't have enough education yet.” �śHmm. May I think about this before we leave here, Skipper?” �śCertainly. How you arrange duties is up to you, but if you possibly can avoid it, I'd rather you not risk your whole squad at once. Any other questions?” �śI have one more,” Casey said. �śWhat happened? The last thing I remember I was dying. Then I woke up feeling halfway human, and a few hours later I was well.” �śJeremy happened. He diagnosed the bug and worked up some nannites to treat everyone.” �śGodalmighty! Thank you, Jeremy. What the hell was it, though?” �śIt wasn't much, except for the way it masqueraded as an inorganic substance. That's why our nannites didn't recognize it and attack. Once I figured that out, the rest was easy. I'm just sorry I didn't get it sooner.” �śHe did great, Casey. Any more questions? No? Then let's call the crew and have them meet us in the dayroom.” She smiled thinly. �śI don't want to set a precedent, but the control room ran unattended while we were all ill, so I think it will manage for a short time on its own, especially while we're dirtside. I want everyone together for this meeting and there's simply not enough room here.” * * * * Jeremy was glad to see that Juanita was alive. She smiled when his gaze stopped on her for a moment. Sadly, others weren't. Siegrer was gone. Pronghorn and others he had known and worked with, gone. He closed his eyes for a moment in silent remembrance, and then listened as Lisa spoke. �śWe've had a bad time, but we're back on our feet now and ready to continue our voyage. Before I say anything else, I want all of you to know that it is due to the efforts of Lieutenant Costa that even this many of us are here at all. He diagnosed the illness and concocted the nannites to wipe out the microorganism that that was killing us. We all owe our lives to him. I'm only sorry I can give him no other recognition except our sincere thanks. And this.” She took one step. Putting her arms around him, she hugged him fiercely, kissed him on the mouth, and stepped back. The crew cheered and clapped and whistled. She grinned despite herself. �śNow it's time to honor our dead and go on. I have no doubt that we can do it, nor do my officers. We will return home and warn of the threat against the very existence of our species. For the immediate future, Lieutenant Casey and Mr. Shinzyki will be in charge of boat operations and exploration. Lieutenant Costa and myself and Spacer Sparks will cover the control room with occasional assistance from Mr. Shinzyki. �śI know as well as you do what a tough time we've had, but that's why they pay us the big money, folks. We can take it, and we can do the job. When we leave this room, we shall all go directly to the aft airlock for burial ceremonies. Afterwards, I'm sure Lieutenant Casey and Mr. Shinzyki will have lots to say concerning the organization of the boat and how your duties will now be arranged. �śOne more thing�"and this is the good news that goes with the bad. We now number scarcely a third of our original number, yet we still have almost all of our stock of spacer rations�"enough now to feed us for almost six months. What that means, if we can survive on spacerats for that long ... �ś�"she paused for the inevitable chuckles, and then went on�""is that we'll only have to stop for organics a few times. We can make several jumps before taking our water tanks to the safety margin of half full. Even then, filling the water tanks doesn't take that long. �śIn short, if we forego harvesting organics, we can probably make it back to Earth in as little as six months, and no more than eight. That's assuming, of course, that we can avoid other problems.” She saw smiles and grins appearing on their faces and knew she had done the right thing in telling them now. �śUnless we begin showing signs of dementia from eating so many spacerats, that's what I plan on doing. We'll stock up on organics and water here, and not have to touch another planet for several more transits, and not all that many for the rest of our journey. Now let us retire to say farewell to our friends, lovers and crewpersons.” [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Thirty �śYes, Casey, what can I do for you?” It's not me, Skipper. It's Chief Martinez. She wants to see you privately.” �śHmm. Any idea what it's about?” �śYes, ma'am, I think so, but in case I'm wrong I'd rather she tell you.” �śNow, that is interesting. Tell her to come to my cabin.” Lisa tapped out and turned to Jeremy, who was busy with the control room simulator. He never stops, she thought fondly. Anything he can to better his performance and help the boat, he does. �śI'll be in my day cabin if you need me, Jeremy.” �śOkay, Skipper. I'll keep watch.” He saved his place in the simulation and moved to the Commander's chair. Lisa was curious, to say the least. It was a rare occasion when a member of the crew asked to see the Commander privately. Usually problems went through the chain of command. Such chain as we have, now, she thought. It was more than two weeks since they'd left the system where the remains of their comrades were buried. They had made two transits since then, not stopping for either water or organics, and were in hyper again. So far the crew appeared to be functioning well, considering how short handed they were at every position. Juanita arrived a few minutes after she had coffee ready, thinking she might as well make the Chief comfortable while she spoke her mind on whatever was bothering her. She hoped it wasn't anything big or bad. �śChief Martinez reporting, Ma'am.” �śHello, Juanita. Have a seat. Would you like some coffee?” �śWell ... yes, ma'am, if you're having some.” Having poured for them both, Lisa sat down across her desk from the pretty Hispanic Chief. She noted how nervous Juanita appeared and attempted to make some small talk, asking her how her duties were going and what she thought of the diet of spacerats, but she quickly discerned that Martinez wanted to get on with it. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. �śAll right, Chief Martinez, what is it that's bothering you that Mr. Casey can't take care of?” Juanita set her cup down and leaned forward. �śMa'am, I think you must be aware that a lot of pairing has been going on ever since our fight with the Monkeyclaws. And I think you must know that all the pairings aren't ... according to regulation.” �śChief Martinez, there are some things a Commander might know but might consider those to be matters best not spoken of, so that official recognizance isn't necessary.” �śI know that, ma'am. The whole crew knows that, and if they could say it, I feel certain that everyone would thank you for it. It's the one thing that has made this voyage tolerable for many of us, ever since we lost Sam Johnston and the other ... outlets ... were no longer available.” �śChief Martinez, I know that. Must we talk about it?” She spoke more sternly than she had intended to. What she was telling her simply reminded her all the more that she couldn't indulge in such practices herself. �śMa'am, the crew is all for you. We'll follow you regardless. But we'd be happier and have more confidence in your decisions if...” Her voice trailed off in despair at her disability to say what she wanted. �śIf what, Juanita?” she asked gently, wondering what on Earth was troubling her. �śIf ... well, everyone knows it already. What I'm trying to say is that the crew would have more confidence in you if they knew you weren't ... If you and Jeremy, uh, Lieutenant Costa ... were able to...” Again her voice trailed off into nothing. �śAble to what?” Lisa decided to force her into saying whatever she intended to say, since she knew what she was getting at now, anyway. �śIf you and Lieutenant Costa were sharing a cabin,” she blurted out quickly. �śSo you and he wouldn't be hurting so much.” Lisa had thought she was beyond blushing by now, but she still felt a tingling sensation on her cheeks. She couldn't see them, but she knew they must be bright red. �śLord God,” she finally said, �śwhat a Commander doesn't hear after she's been sitting in that spot very long.” Juanita simply looked at her. She was embarrassed, too. �śWas it your idea alone to come talk to me, or did someone put you up to it?” �śIt was kind of like everyone wanted to tell you, but no one wanted to take a chance on you coming down on them. I finally said I would.” �śYou told the crew you would see me about this?” �śYes, ma'am. I'm sorry if it's being disrespectful, but you look so sad sometimes. Lieutenant Costa, too.” �śI see. Well, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I shall certainly give it some deep thought.” �śYou're welcome, ma'am. That's all I wanted to say. May I go now?” �śYes, you may go,” Lisa said, barely paying attention to her. She was already mulling over what Juanita had said and wondering if she dared do as Juanita suggested. She sat for a long time, hardly moving. At length, she tapped her forearm. �śMr. Shinzyki here.” �śRufus, I wonder if you could spare the time to stand a watch in the control room for Lieutenant Costa?” �śSure, skipper. When?” �śNow, if it's convenient for you.” �śIt is.” �śGood. When you arrive, would you please send Lieutenant Costa to my cabin?” �śYes, ma'am. Your day cabin?” �śNo. Send him to my quarters, if you please.” �śYes, ma'am. I'll be in the control room shortly.” She could practically hear the smirk in his voice. Drat the man, if I didn't know better, I'd think he's the one behind the whole thing. He probably is, in some roundabout way. She walked purposely to her cabin, went inside and closed the hatch. She stripped off her cammies and underwear and freshened herself, and then slipped into her dressing gown. A moment later the cabin com told her Lieutenant Costa was outside. �śCome on in, Jeremy,” she said. Her voice was as shaky as the first time she'd agreed to have sex, way back when she was a teenager. Jeremy pushed the hatch open and stepped inside. He stopped abruptly when he saw her in the gown. She knew how well the pale green robe accented her fiery red hair and green eyes, and how the thin fabric clung to her body. �śClose the hatch, Jeremy. And close your mouth too, before you swallow a fly.” He pushed the hatch closed. She stepped close to him and said �śThe crew has determined that it would function more efficiently if we were to share a cabin. What do you think?” He didn't answer, but simply put his hands on her waist and drew her to him. She put her arms around his neck and met his descending lips with hers, mouth already open and her tongue searching. Abruptly, she began crying and couldn't stop the tears. It made no difference. Soon Jeremy was out of his cammies, and they were in her bed. Then the crying stopped and she began making other noises. I don't care if everyone in the boat hears me! she thought. It was her last coherent moment for a long time. * * * * For the next few days, Jeremy noticed that every one in the crew was smiling whenever he saw them. It made him put his worries aside, but the real reason he quit fretting about breaking regulations was in the log, signed by Lisa. In the interests of efficiency and good order by the crew, any personal relationships of a sexual nature between superiors and their subordinates are hereby suspended until the Longboat Hurricane Jack arrives on Earth. * * * * The rest of the voyage wasn't without hazards. An accident killed Johnny Lann. He was electrocuted when he failed to turn off a switch when attempting the repair of a malfunctioning organics mixer. A marine predator killed Marvin Bullock and savagely wounded Wynonna Jones and Brandon Barker while the boat was taking on water, putting the latter two out of action for weeks in one case, and two months in the other, while their nannites repaired and replaced missing appendages. There were three other deaths, leaving only twenty-two of the crew alive when it finally touched down on New Dallas, one of the home worlds. �śIt's hard to believe you came all that way in a longboat, Commander Trammell,” the Governor said to her. �śAlmost as hard as believing you found not one, but two other intelligent species.” �śI'm not sure whether or not I'd classify the Monkeyclaws as intelligent, Mr. Rankin. Oh, they are technologically proficient and probably ahead of us in some areas, but they're killers, pure and simple.” �śThat, too, is hard to believe. Why, all the experts have been telling us for almost two hundred years how other sapient species must be peaceful and would be delighted to make contact with us, should we ever discover them.” �śThey were wrong,” Lisa said flatly. �śWell, I can't argue with you, but I hope you realize you're going to have to overcome a lot of objections to that.” �śOnly until they see our downloads. Damn, I wish you had a ship heading back to Earth in the near future.” �śI'm sorry. There's one due next month, but nothing sooner. The Rings of Saturn should be showing up soon on its outward circuit. Can you wait until it arrives before going on to Earth?” �śYes, I think that will be best. We'll let you view the recordings and give them to the ship as well. It should convince anyone but the simple-minded.” The Governor looked troubled, but Lisa ignored his obvious skepticism and turned to Jeremy, who was sitting beside her. The four officers were being treated to dinner at the Governor's home. It was a modest, two-story, castle-like affair dating back to the first days of settlement on the planet, when large carnivores made fortified homes necessary. �śJeremy, what do you think? Are the Monkeyclaws intelligent?” �śThey were intelligent enough to kill two scouts and a longboat and all their personnel and then blast Sam Johnston into vapor,” he said grimly. �śMy opinion, too, Governor,” Rufus said from across the long table. The Governor's wife and several functionaries were also present. �śAnd mine,” Casey echoed. �śYou see, Governor, none of us have the least doubt.” �śPerhaps you ... inadvertently instigated the confrontation?” Mrs. Rankin suggested with a supercilious smile. �śFour times in a row, Mrs. Rankin? No, the Monkeys are stone cold killers, xenopathic to the nth degree. We need to begin immediately building up a war fleet to resist them. They know we're out here now, and they won't rest until they find us. We'll either fight them or cease to exist as a species.” The dinner deteriorated from there. By the time they were able to excuse themselves, Lisa was holding her temper in check by a thin thread, and she could see that Jeremy and the other two were in a similar state of mind. * * * * �śI wonder what the Governor will think when we spend the night together?” Jeremy asked after they had made slow, passionate love. He could hardly get enough of her, and she responded every bit as enthusiastically. �śThey can think we're playing tiddlywinks, for all I care. I'm not worried about him or those other chowderheads. I just hope the authorities back on Earth respond a bit more sensibly.” The next morning they were obliquely asked to find other quarters by Mrs. Rankin. It was fine by him. He couldn't stand her simpering air of superiority. He and Lisa went together and found a hotel that was glad to have them and the rest of the crew as guests. They stayed there until Rings of Saturn showed up. Its Captain proved to be more sensible about the aliens when he heard how far they had come in a longboat in order to bring news of hostile aliens to Earth. He invited the whole crew to a dinner aboard his ship. �śI'm providing you with the downloads,” she told him after she had showed him portions of the record of their long voyage, �śso that just in case anything happens to us, records of what we encountered will get back to Earth.” �śYou're going on after all that's happened to you?” Captain Watson asked in horror. �śI'd be glad to have your crew aboard my vessel until we get back to Earth.” �śWe made it this far, Captain, and Earth needs to be warned as quickly as possible. We'll make it the rest of the way, if the crew is in favor of going on. I feel as if I have to abide by their wishes, considering all they've been asked to bear so far.” Watson was utterly surprised when every single member of the crew stood up and shouted to continue the voyage in Hurricane Jack. �śI guess I can understand,” he said. �śMay I propose a toast?” �śCertainly, sir.” He stood up. �śTo the crew of the indomitable Hurricane Jack and to its Skipper. May you continue to sail the spaceways so long as you like!” Lisa and the crew drank. She then she put the question to them formally. �śLadies and gentlemen, we've come a long, long way. I heard you shouting to go a minute ago, but now I'll put it to you formally. Shall we continue in Hurricane Jack and arrive on Earth with our backs straight and standing tall, giving them and our loved ones warning of their mortal danger?” �śYes!” �śOnward!” �śTo Earth, to Earth!” The cries mingled together in a cacophony of enthusiastic agreement. �śYou see, Captain Watson, what a fine crew I have, and why nothing could stop them?” �śYes, I see. I really do,” he said and wiped at the wetness in his eyes with a napkin. [Back to Table of Contents] Chapter Thirty-One Jeremy uncapped the bottle at the bar and raised his brows at Lisa. �śYes, please. What a day!” �śI can only agree,” he said as he poured them each two ounces of Jack Daniels Black Label, what Lisa espoused as the only decent whiskey in the world. After sampling it with her the last few weeks following their arrival on Earth, he could appreciate her appraisal. The media storm was just now dying down a little. At first, the newscasts and Worldnet had been full of Hurricane Jack and its crew's exploits. Their encounters with the Monkeyclaws had been played so often that the public finally tired of it, but reporters were still after them for �śhuman interest” stories. They had rented the well-guarded apartment in the suburbs of White Sands spaceport, where they were now, partially in order to evade the rapacious craving of reporters for more and more comments from them, as if they hadn't already said everything under the sun already. The other reason was that their debriefing had gone on and on. Such military as Earth and the Home Worlds still possessed were adamant in having them present to answer questions from them and from senators and representatives of the United Worlds Congress, and those too, never seemed to end. They had grown almighty tired of it, but perhaps the gathering they had just left might be the end of the beginning. At least he sincerely hoped so. He brought the drinks back over and sat down beside her. �śCheers,” he said. She tapped his glass with hers and sipped at the strong drink poured over chipped ice and nothing else. �śIt could have been worse, I suppose,” he said. �śUh huh. We really shouldn't complain. We have our three months before reporting for duty again and all our back pay to spend.” �śOur next assignments aren't all that bad, either.” �śNo, so long as they keep their word, but face it, Jeremy, lots could change by the time we report in. That's if they ever let us go!” �śThe admiral said we'd be finished with the debriefing and questioning soon,” he reminded her. �śWell, we'll see. Headquarters still isn't very happy with that order I logged.” She didn't have to say which one she meant. While affairs such as theirs were known about and tolerated to a certain extent, Exploration Headquarters had qualms about their ever being acknowledged in writing. �śI suppose not. Still, we've been told we'll both be assigned to the first of the new warships. That was smart of you to ask while we're still being thought of as heroes. Heroes! The ones who deserved all the awards are those who didn't make it back. Twenty-two of us out of seventy-three. I'd give all my medals to their families, if I could.” �śSo would I, love, but don't complain. The decorations we received may help us to tie Headquarters down on their promises. It they keep them, I think I'll really like being part of the assigned crew while the ship is being built. You will, too, I bet. That rarely ever happens, you know. We'll be able to give them a lot of input.” �śIf you say so. I haven't been with the explorers long enough to know.” �śThat's another rarity�"a first assignment out of academy that turns out like yours did.” �śHell, sweetheart, it's never happened, that I know of.” �śYes, there is that. Would you like a boat of your own, love?” �śDo you think I'm qualified? Honestly?” She laughed. �śProbably not, but they're going to be building so many they won't have nearly enough qualified commanders. If that's what you truly want, you should be a shoo-in. And I suppose I'll get the slot I want, too. Tactical Officer of the new warship is another slot where there's little experience. Shit, Jeremy, the crew members from Hurricane are the only ones alive who've fought the Monkeys!” �śYou're right about that. You should get your request, too. You know, that admiral was talking about the new ships being big enough to carry a half-dozen boats as big or bigger than the old Hurricane and much better armed.” �śThey'd better be thinking about making the warship being better armed,” Lisa said. �śI'd hate like hell to have to come all the way back in a longboat again!” The End Visit double-dragon-ebooks.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.