The Course Is Set
"Okaaaaaaaayyyyy" Jennifer gasped in astonishment as she gazed out of the cockpit at the orbiting drydock that held the Sera in its protective clutches. She marvelled over the sheer size and the power it radiated as David brought his Gunstar along one side of the ship and down the other on a visual inspection.
"You like it?"
"Sure"
"Sera to Captain Freeman – Fighter Bay 1 is ready to accept your ship"
"Copy, Sera – Beginning approach now" and David lined up the Gunstar and gently brought it to a rest on the deck. A few seconds later, the pair saw Tammy bring hers in to land a little distance apart. Once they had a positive atmosphere outside the ship, David and Tammy popped the cockpit lids and the trio took the short lifts to stand on the Sera. The corridor doors opened and some Phaelons came in to check the Gunstars and download the computer records to spot any issues that might have arisen during the flights.
"Welcome back, David and Tammy. Greetings, Jennifer" MAX's voice flooded from hidden speakers overhead.
"What…?" Jennifer blinked.
"That's Max – the insane AI"
"Hey, less of the insane, Davey"
"Max, do we have any empty quarters on the command level?" David shook his head in resignation.
"The quarters that would be assigned to the Chief Weapons Officer are currently vacant" MAX replied after a moment.
"Great – those are yours then"
"Really?"
"Yeah – didn't think you were going to sleep on the floor, did you?" and the two humans laughed.
"Is there any place I can get some clothes?" Jennifer asked as they left the Fighter Bay and walked along the corridors.
"All quarters come with uniforms" MAX put in.
"In my size?"
"We have a replication device that can create almost anything" Tammy said, "So it would not take long to make you whatever you want. Because of David and his Earth nature, the memory banks contain a lot of Human fashion scanned in from books and archival footage"
"Great – I like those uniform jackets, but those trousers are SO not me" and the three talked casually before they entered the Bridge.
"CAPTAIN ON DECK!"
"As you were" and the Phaelons continued their work. "I've not been able to get them to stop that" David shrugged.
"Captain, repairs have proceeded faster then what we expected them to be" a Phaelon engineer came over and gave him a tablet. "We can leave dock as early as tomorrow afternoon, should you wish it" and David nodded.
"We'll wait a few days more. This is Commander Bradley and she'll be taking the position of Second Officer once she has settled in to the ship"
"Understood" and the Phaelon turned and walked away to conduct more repairs.
"Commander?" Jennifer raised an eyebrow.
"They think that anybody on a ship has a military rank. Phaelons are a somewhat military first people, and they're confused by civilians" David said.
"By calling you a Commander, the rest of my people will accept any orders from you without question… Most of the time" Tammy finished.
"Cool… Say, any place I can get something to eat around here?" Jennifer asked, "I haven't eaten in over a hundred years" and David glanced at the watch on his wrist.
"Mess hall on the drydock should still be open" he said. "After you're done stuffing yourself, perhaps we can show you to your quarters"
"Sweet"
#
A week later, after letting his crew take some time off to relax after the extensive repairs needed, the Sera was ready to leave drydock.
"Report!" David spoke as he sat in the Command Chair. He liked it so much that he childishly gave it capital letters on both words.
"The last of the supplies have been loaded, Captain" came the reply from the Operations post.
"Very well – right ship for departure… All hands on deck"
"Aye" the female Phaelon opened the intracom. "Now hear this – all hands on deck. Rig ship for departure! Rig ship for departure!" and extra crew filtered onto the Bridge and took posts up.
"Very well" David said as Tammy and Jennifer strolled onto the Bridge. They had spent some time together since the human's arrival getting to know each other and swapping views on a religious stand point.
"David"
"Captain" Jennifer grinned at David who smiled at both of his friends. Where Tammy wore the full Phaelon uniform from head to toe, Jennifer wore jeans with uniform boots and jacket as well as a pale blue cotton t-shirt underneath. Like David and Tammy, she wore a laser pistol in a holster on her right hip but had a smaller one hidden in her jacket. She'd adjusted quickly to her new situation and was checked out on the small arms range, given tests in the Gunstars and tried out on the weapons – simulated, naturally.
"All decks reporting in… All decks and divisions manned and ready"
"Anybody got any objections to our leaving drydock? All departments, give me a 'Go' or 'No Go' to leave. Helm?"
"Go"
"Science?"
"Go" Tammy called out
"Flight Ops?"
"Go"
"Tactical?"
"Go"
"Weapons?"
"Go"
"Engineering?"
"Go"
"All stations report ready, David" Jennifer said, trying to sound helpful.
"Close exterior hatches, depressurise the airlock. Detach umbilicals, clear all moorings" David ordered. "Yellow Alert" he added. David was not going to take any chances that something might happen and preferred to have the crew ready.
"Hatches sealed and airlocks depressurised" Operations replied. "Yellow alert" they added.
"Umbilicals are detached from the ship. All moorings cleared" Helm reported. "Thrusters are at station keeping"
"Are all the worker pods cleared?"
"Aye"
"Good… Helm, ahead one quarter power"
"Aye, Aye" and the Helm officer slowly brought the ship out of the dock it had called home for months.
"We are clear and free to navigate" Tammy said.
"Mmm… Navigation, plot us a course to meet with the rest of the fleet" David retook his place. "Communications, send my compliments to them and say we'll meet them in…"
"Fourteen earth minutes"
"Fourteen minutes. Unless there is any issues, we'll get underway shortly after meeting up and taking on the Destroyers"
"Aye"
"Course plotted and laid in" Helm reported.
"Engage at one half sublight"
"David, I am picking up faint readings on the edge of sensor range" Tammy said with an air of curiosity evident her voice.
"Any ideas what they might be?"
"No – sensors and scanners have no clear fix. All I can tell you is that something is there"
"Hmm" David rubbed his chin in thought. "Contact the Daring and the Indefatigable and see if they can pick it up"
"Their equipment is not as powerful as ours is" Tammy said. "Besides, they would be well outside the range"
"Where is it?"
"Bearing 189 mark 221. I am now reading a slight power increase, but it is not enough to identify it. I can however tell you it is a ship of some kind and that it is moving towards us"
"Launch a couple of Gunstars to investigate" David said. "You know, Jenny, you might get a live target after all – that bother you?"
"Yes and no"
"I understand – the same for me" Tammy said before David could reply. "I'd never taken a life before I met David, but I knew that I was capable of doing so"
"Gunstars are away – estimate five minutes until intercept" Flight ops said.
"All stations Yellow Alert" Jennifer knew what David was going to ask and called it out. "Raise shields"
"Helm, maintain current course and speed. Communications, have the fleet head towards us"
"Safety in numbers?" asked Tammy.
"What I'm hoping" David said.
"Message received and understood" the Communications officer reported.
"David, judging from the size of the object being intercepted by the Gunstars, it appears to be a small probe ship" Tammy said, looking back at her sensors.
"Like Max was?"
"I'd like that" said the AI. It had been quiet up until that point.
"I think so, but it appears as if the ship is almost out of power"
"Out of power?" David got up and walked over – Jennifer joining him as he did so.
"The power output is low compared to Max's original self, it seems to be in atmospheric flight mode for some reason and appears to be slightly upgraded in terms of size and abilities"
"Well with all the time travel and getting stuck in black holes, its not surprising really" David said.
"What if its been stuck like that since the battle?" suggested Jennifer. "Maybe it was left there as a fast scout of some sort but got damaged"
"Scan for life signs" David ordered.
"Gunstars have reached the craft and have confirmed the Commander's reports" said Flight Ops. "It is visually confirmed to be a Trimaxion Drone Ship of the Quaesitor subclass"
"That's a new one"
"It was developed after you first took the Sera, Captain. It is slightly longer and heavier compared to the one you originally had"
"Describe it" Tammy ordered. "David, I can not get a reading from inside" she whispered.
"It is more or less the same except for the size increase to take into account limited weapons, increased fuel capacity and a few crew amenities such as a food bank and a minimum of three bunks. In addition, it carries more powerful sensors and scanners"
"A spy trawler" Jennifer said. "Like the Russians had"
"If I understand the term correctly, yes, Commander. It could stay on station under the cloaking device for upwards of five months"
"So why now…?" David rubbed his chin in thought. "Is there any damage to it?" he asked.
"The Gunstars report no visual damage, but it is moving very slowly as if the controls are malfunctioning"
"Can they contact it?" asked Tammy.
"Unknown"
"Order the fighters to attempt contact and put them up on the speakers"
"Compliance"
"That's my line" MAX said with a bit of hurt pride.
"Hail, this is Gunstar 1. Hail, this is Gunstar 1. Do you read me? This is Gunstar 1" they heard the Phaelon pilot in the lead Gunstar attempt to call several times. After several minutes of flying past it and attempting to call, Flight Ops and Communications both reported that a reply was being sent via a data link.
#
The vessel, calling itself the Joshua, claimed to have no crew members aboard and so David ordered the Gunstars to tow it back to the Sera and had a number of security people stand ready to board it. David went down with Tammy, leaving Jennifer in command, as MAX theorised that it might not open up except in the presence of a Navigator. Very carefully, the Gunstars released the towing cables and allowed the Joshua to drift in and be captured by the tractor beams to be set on the deck.
"I detect no radiation, no harmful emissions… It appears safe to enter" Tammy said. David trusted his lover to double check the readings on the display in the control room. She opened the Hanger Bay doors and the soldiers and security poured in and covered it with an assortment of plasma weapons, laser pistols and machine guns. "Now its very safe to go in" she smirked.
"Right…" David withdrew his laser pistol and walked inside and around to the back. If MAX had been anything to go by, he thought about the flowing portal and one quickly appeared and he stepped inside with a couple of the 58th close behind. There was the faint smell of burning wires, so he called back outside for a fire and damage control party to be ready as he tried to activate manual controls. "Ship, show yourself" he commanded, and the forward section opened up and an eye on a stalk edged slowly towards the small group.
"Greetings, Navigator" it said.
"Greetings. Ship, status report! Damage report!" he ordered.
"Ship status is non operational. Damage report is as follows:- sublight drive is offline, hyperlight drive is offline, artificial gravity is offline, life support is at minimal power, communications systems are at minimum power through major internal damage, main and auxiliary power systems are offline"
"What about your memory and data banks?" asked David.
"Intact"
"Very well… I hereby assume command of you by virtue of my rank as Navigator"
"Understood"
"Can you interface with the Sera?"
"Yes"
"Then download all of your navigational records, memory and data banks to the Sera and then power down all systems except those needed to interact with repair crews"
"Compliance" and David gestured to Tammy. The pair of them stepped out of the craft and into the control room.
"You suspect something is wrong?" she asked him.
"Internal damage and yet there is no damage?" David shrugged. "You worked with these craft before – any chance it could happen?"
"Only if the self destruct packages had been activated, but the level of structural integrity inside the vessel discounts that. I will be able to work out what has actually happened when I start going through the logs. If anything happens, I can simply have Max override the Joshua's AI system and assume complete control"
"I'm going back up to the Bridge" David yawned. He and Tammy at been up all night going over plans for leaving drydock and then the cruise to Phaelon. "Can you handle things down here?"
"Of course – why think otherwise?"
"Because of the baby"
"Are you bothered by it?" Tammy sounded somewhat awkward and concerned.
"No… I know you must be going through memories of what your Uncle did to you, but I am not like that monster" David stepped closer and hugged his lover and held her closely as she sobbed into his uniform jacket.
"Bridge to Hanger Bay" Jennifer's voice filtered through the comm unit on the wall.
"Go ahead" David said as he held Tammy close and gentle.
"We've reached the meeting point. The fleet ships want to all talk to you as soon as possible"
"I'll be righ- standby" he looked around the control room, then at Tammy who had pulled back and then smiled to himself. "Tell them I am a little tied up and I'll be with them in twenty minutes"
"Understood – out"
"Twenty minutes, David?" Tammy was confused.
"We can do it in twenty" he replied as he closed and locked the doors.
#
David left Tammy wiping her mouth as he returned to the Bridge and took over from Jennifer.
"How was the big girl's chair?" he asked.
"Needs a cupcake holder and some fluffy cushions" she replied. "The other ships are waiting for your signal"
"Right"
"By the way…" the girl dropped her voice, "I hope you left Tammy able to walk" and she skipped away as David went a very deep shade of red. The main screen activated and split to show the fleet Captains as well as Admiral Ali. The number of ships that could attempt the journey had actually been increased so a sizeable fleet of fifteen warships had been assembled. Apart from the Sera, Indefatigable, Daring and the Dauntless, four Frigates, two more Destroyers and five Cruisers had all joined up in order to go to Phaelon and launch an invasion. The Frigates and the Destroyers would not be able to keep up with the rest of the fleet, so they would be docked inside the Sera's gigantic bays – the decision having been made after careful examination and extensive computer simulations. They discussed the docking procedures and then spent the next four hours very slowly securing each ship inside the Sera and running yet more computations and simulations on every possible calculations. Some of the fleet was too big to fit inside and so would have to hitch a lift inside the FTL jump drive field created by the Sera.
#
That evening, David, Tammy and Jennifer walked onto the Bridge.
"Report!"
"All vessels docked or in position" MAX said.
"Navigation, plot us a course direct to Phaelon"
"Aye, Captain – plotting now"
"Tammy, are we clear of all ships apart from those we're taking with us?"
"Yes. The nearest vessel is by Earth's orbit"
"Very good. Jennifer, Battlestations"
"Aye, Aye, Sir" and she switched to the intraship channel. "All hands, stand to Battlestations… This is no drill. All hands, stand to Battlestations… This is no drill!" and within minutes, every department was manned and ready.
"Sir, course plotted and passed to the helm"
"Understood" David took a deep breath. "All ships, Sera. Standby for Jump Drive in five, four, three, two, one…" and with a flash of blue, the ships went faster than light and sped towards Phaelon.
"All ships have made the jump" said Tammy.
"Engineering reports that the drive is at one hundred and fifty percent of rated power and is coping perfectly" the officer at Engineering reported.
"Estimated time to Phaelon at currant speeds?" asked David, getting out of the centre seat and examining each station.
"Three months and seven days" MAX replied instantly.
"Very well, all stations stand down from Battlestations" and David joined his two friends as they looked at the viewer that displayed a swirling pattern of light that marked vessels going through faster than light travel. "Helm?"
"Sir?"
"Maintain course and speed"
"Aye"
"Steady as she goes…"
A/N:
Well, there it is…
Hope you will review this and the Harry Potter fic I uploaded last night
Regards
Pixel