One week later…
"Hell. YES." Valette exclaimed as the four of us stood at the port hole of Cairo station. The great metallic superstructure stretched for miles out towards earth. Below us, she sat obscured by the UNSC Song of the East, she was a fine ship. Quick, in her day, packed a decent punch, and complimented by a fine staff that had been quite accommodating to me when they boarded my ship all those years ago.
"UNSC Song of the East" I replied, grinning.
"You've heard of her?" Brettman asked, grinning.
"She shot at me a few years back. Took my sublight out."
"What a wonderful irony" Britney said, dryly.
She sat resplendent in the viewing window, her black hull glistening as the rays of the sun sparked across the Titanium-B plating. I looked to Brit, who had a cheeky grin on her face as she'd finished lifting a chocolate ration from Valette's bag. For her part, Valette was smushed against the window like sardines in a can, reeling off facts about the Charon-Class' MAC gun, its crew, and its role in the battle of Psi Serpentis.
"Psi Serpentis?" Brettman asked, scratching his beard, "Cole's last stand? That Psi Serpentis?"
"The very same!" Valette beamed, ignoring the loud groan that Brit made, before leaning forward, "also, I found out that one of her old Captain's, the Captain on the day of the battle, was Captain Hannah Kohli."
I blinked. "What?"
"Yep. Kohli was in command of that ship the day Cole went missing."
"Why don't I know this?" I asked, aloud.
"Because you're an outlaw, or a bumpkin, or because you just aren't that bright." came Brit's sardonic reply.
"Gee, thanks Brit." I replied, laughing, "anything else you want to add?"
"I'll let you fill in the blank, babes." she said, flashing a smile cut from the mouth of a serpent.
"No," Valette said, shaking her head, "You don't know because ONI don't want you to know. Seems like our model Commander went off the reservation. I'd heard about it years ago from a guy, her old first officer, back on the Xanthium but I didn't make the connection until Admiral Harper gave her the cold shoulder back in the bar."
"V, that was weeks ago, why didn't you tell us?" I asked, folding my arms. It would have been good to dig something up on Kohli whilst we were still at the academy.
Valette's lips went taught. "Well, everyone seemed a bit down, then I realised they were mad at you for risking their careers. I waited because I thought it would just blow over."
Britney reacted exactly as I had, casting a long piercing glare over towards the rest of our bridge crew, standing half a mile down the docks with the secondary officers and ship hands. We shared a look, one of concern, before Britney shrugged. Her face returned to the normal, strained, and slightly bitchy look it usually did when she was thinking of something playfully mean to say. As far as I was aware, neither Mei, nor Drip had spoken to any of us since the test. Seemingly content to take the passing grade we were begrudgingly awarded by Admiral Harper; they were keen to cut ties and run together into a good commission. Brettman was the only one of us who maintained any sort of friendship with them, mainly because he was simply a likeable guy.
"So, why'd she loses her Captaincy?" Brettman asked, keen to move on from the subject of our fellow cadets.
"Bad reaction to Cole's orders."
"She disobeyed orders?" I sputtered, ready to boil over and accuse the old bint of hypocrisy.
Valette shook her head, "No, after the battle she became obsessed with finding her brother. She believed he had been killed by ONI. Some kind of psychotic break, apparently."
"Jesus." Brettman replied, sucking air through his teeth, "Psi Serpentis was an ugly one, if my UEG sanctioned education is serving me right."
Britney laughed at that, "you'd be the first if it does." she said, earning a fist bump from me.
"And she's supposed to be our CO?" I asked, knowing it was pointless to ask it. As a general rule, sowing discontent and mistrust amongst the crew was a big red flag for any member of the crew. A psychotic break though… it seemed to me that old Kohli should have been put out to pasture rather than given a new command.
"Ollie…" Valette pouted, as a child of the Xanthium, she was by far the most pro-UNSC of the lot of us, whether that was good or not was sure to be seen soon enough. She opened her mouth to speak but the words didn't come. She smartened her back and saluted, triggering the rest of us to turn around, only to be greeted by Admiral Harper, Drip, Mei, Kohli, Curran, Fujikawa. There was another man stood there, too.
His hair was cropped neatly and he stood proudly, taller than anyone else in the docking bay by almost a half-foot. His jaw was tight, as though straining to pull the muscle in his face away from a smile. The Admiral grimaced as he approached, as though being close to my person's strained him physically.
"At ease, cadets." He said, his voice taught like the unnamed man's face. "Congratulations on passing the sims but this is your final tasking. A rite of passage for all Naval Cadets, specifically those on the bridge crews, is your first combat deployment. You will be attached to my fleet operating out of Meridian." He said, pausing to let that sink in. Drip buzzed nervously in place and Kohli glared at him as the Admiral cast an eye over the rest of us. "It's standard fare, fleet support, patrols, probably some holding actions and supporting fire but you've met the standards set out by the academy, begrudgingly." He said that last part looking at me with those unfeeling eyes of his.
"I scored the highest, so I shall command the destroyer" Fujikawa said, matter-of-factly. "The squadron will be commanded from the Song of the East, however."
Curran nodded, "as I scored lowest, my crews' role will be minimal" He shrugged, still exasperated by Kohli's betrayal a week ago.
"Which leaves us with the lead." Kohli said, proudly stating it in front of the Admiral, like bait on a hook.
"Indeed." The Admiral said bitterly. I won't lie, I loving every minute of this. The old coot would be internally seething at Kohli and I but he was trying his best not to show it. There was a moment where Kohli met my eyes and they glittered with a mischievousness that I didn't expect. It was almost odd, given she was such a hardass. "However, all cohorts are overseen by a seasoned Captain and you will be no different. As such, I would like you all to get acquainted with the captain here, as you will be his bridge crew for the next few weeks. Captain?" He said nodding. The tall man stepped forth and nodded to the Admiral with an uncanny similarity to the man. There was a reverence in his gesture, filled with respect and admiration. It made me feel sick, in truth.
The Admiral took his lead and Kohli's eyes followed him, his authoritative gait drawing attention from across the rest of the docking bay.
The captain cleared his throat and spoke with a voice not too dissimilar to the Admiral. "Right. Shall we begin?" He paused, waiting for us to nod. "Good. I am Captain Harper; the Admiral is my grandfather. I have worked hard to separate myself from his office but he asked that I take this assignment as a personal favour to him. It seems he has a personal interest in your training, which strikes me as more than a little suspect. I'm sure you can fill me in on the details later."
We glanced around, each of them was wondering how such nepotism could stand in the UNSC. Naturally it made a lot of sense to me, corruption breeds in the pillows of power.
"It's a pleasure to work with you, Sir" Drip said, loudly, stepping forward. "I've followed your career, I'm excited to serve under you."
Britney groaned at the blatant bootlicking and it took more than a little effort to stop myself from giggling back at her.
"Something amusing you, Cadet?" Harper asked, his eyes boring deep into my head.
I swallowed, put off only briefly before I felt my composure return. "I just like seeing young Drippier so eager to please. It's easy, when you're older, to become jaded."
He said nothing, letting me stew in my own eagerness. Clearly the man wasn't an idiot. That bode well for our chances of survival at least.
"You probably could tone it down a little, Cadet Drippier. The ships A.I. Will grade your performance, I'm just here to put a human face on things, and show you how an experienced officer operates."
Kohli's lip curled at that, which was pretty funny, what with her being ten years my senior and me being even older than the captain by the looks of it. He had wrinkles around his eyes but they were stress induced. There was a hint of youth somewhere in his eyes, it raged against the darkness of the skin around his eyes, darkened by sleepless nights, stress, and the reality of the war.
"Our mission is fairly simple. Fly with the fleet. Don't mess up too much. Bring her home." He said, motioning towards the Song of the East and her crew. "They're all green, so don't worry about being judged by them. Worry about impressing me. There's a big commission to be won from this evaluation, so stay sharp."
"Question, sir?" Brit asked, rather bluntly, even for her.
"Yes, Cadet Fetch?" The captain replied, without taking a breath.
"I feel compelled to tell you that half our bridge crew believes the Admiral is likely to fail us for associating with the helmsman."
Oh, brother.
Now he did pause. The tall, handsome, tired looking Captain stood almost motionless before sweeping his eyes over our sharply pressed uniforms. He passed Drip, who looked sweaty, Mei, who looked as though she might pop a section of her skull from her head like a ruptured bulkhead, and the rest of our crew, who just looked like they no longer wanted to be there. Even Curran and Fujikawa, who had been waiting for dismissal paused, eying me and the captain. Eventually, he landed on me with those deadly sharp eyes.
"Step forward, Cadet."
I did as he asked, there was no sense upsetting the man for no reason, and it seemed as though the Admiral hadn't fully explained why he wanted his grandson on this ship in particular. He said nothing, rather, he orbited my body like a moon, silently tugging and pushing on the silent energy of the space around me. I felt like a carcass, hung out to dry on the hook by a butcher. Back home on the commune, we'd had all manner of tastes to cater for but the preppers, the ones hanging around until doomsday, were who stuck in my mind now. They'd revel in a kill, a bit like the captain seemed to. He stepped back when he completed his rotation and I found myself swallowing.
There was a twinge of his muscles at the edge of his lip. A smile? Perhaps it was just my imagination, but something about him seemed almost friendly. Sure, I had to get passed the hawkish attention to detail, the predatory glare, and those tired and weary eyes but there was a deeply rooted flash of emotion there, a sort of knowing that I found searching. It reached out, like a comet amongst the stars and my face matched him, signalling loudly, and in plain view of all the staff around us that I had seen that tiny, seemingly errant smile.
Now, I couldn't say what it meant, but I knew it was more than a twitch, more than an accident. He stepped back and rock slightly on his heel.
"All right, fall out. Kohli, I would like a report on the crews operating capacity in my office next to the bridge ASAP. The rest of you, find your bunks, and get settled in. Mission clock starts in three hours."
Everyone stood at ease and began to leave but the captain turned to me and spoke, "naturally that doesn't include you, helmsman, we're leaving dock in ten minutes. Stow your gear and meet me in the bridge."
I saluted and he nodded, whirling away with Kohli in tow. Just like that, I was left alone on the rapidly quieting deck. I sighed, taking a deep lungful of recycled air and bid Cairo adieu, bowing mockingly as I boarded the Song and grinned. The memory of my arrest stood clearly in the forefront of my mind as I walked its metal halls. Each creak of the bulkhead was like the jeer of a bully and I found myself relishing the fact that I was back in the belly of a beast such as this. Quickly, I caught Britney and Brettman, who walked giddily through the halls. It was surprising to see Brit smile, she usually reserved that for when she'd put me in an uncomfortable spot.
"You're such an ass, Brit." Brettman said as I followed them.
"What?"
"Airing our dirty laundry like that."
She laughed, "well he'd find out sooner or later. Plus, I, like, really can't be bothered with all this pretending like half our team doesn't exist, she shrugged."
Ahead of them, Mei wheeled around on her heel and stomped towards Britney as she halted in her tracks. For a slight woman, Cadet Liang really did cast an impressive shadow over the corridor. I, of course, stayed put. I figured I'd be in the thick of all the drama soon enough and Britney was doing a fine job on her own. The woman was a one-woman ass kicking machine. Far be it for me to tell her how to solve a problem.
"You're as disrespectful as he is." She spat. I winced at the reference to me, it wasn't wrong but you hear anyone talk like that about and I guarantee ya'll get a little defensive.
"You haven't earned my respect," Brit said, flatly.
"I'm not talking about me, idiot. I'm talking about the Captain and the Admiral."
"I respect the captain enough to tell him you and Drip are causing problems, you mean."
"Drip and I are following orders. Brettman, too, despite his association."
"You're sycophants. Surprising how you can breathe with those boots you're chewing on."
"Respecting the chain of command is not-"
"Cadets!" Came a loud growl. I winced as Kohli began down the hall towards them. "Can the chatter and get to your goddamn rooms. You are supposed to be senior officers on this ship so you will act like it! Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes ma'am!" We replied, before falling out.
The corridor descended into silence and I continued forward towards Kohli, who eyed me suspiciously.
"Ma'am" I said, straightening.
"Come with me." She sighed, turning towards the bridge. "You should know your role by now. State it in full to me before we enter the bridge."
"Pilot the ship, keep everyone safe-"
"Exactly." She growled, "despite my issues with you, Van Graff, you've proven yourself capable at the very least. Maybe military life is sorting you out, maybe you got here by luck but from here on out there are lives on the line, okay? Not scum and murderers. No pirates or gun runners, here there are no rogue ideologies or cowboys with MACs. We're the frontline. We're the metal coffins arms with enough firepower to take out a few of those freaks and save a few extra lives. So next time you come up with a brilliant and ingenious stunt to save the day, try to remember there are ordinary people on this ship now, okay?"
She looked almost pleasingly at me. I wanted to be mad, to push and prod at her like I would usually but the look in her eyes and the happiness I felt at piloting this gorgeous piece of engineering warmed my calloused heart.
"Look, Ma'am, my only desire has been to fly a girl like this and to bring her home safely with a few stories to tell any little Van Graff's I might have if I survive this war. You don't have to believe me but my past…" I paused, weighing up whether to tell the truth or not. "It wasn't what I would have chosen. Being here with Brit, Valette and the others has been the closest thing I've had to a stable family in thirty years. I'm not going to put that at risk just to show boat." I said, settling on the honest approach.
For her part, Kohli simply nodded and continued forth towards the bridge. That left me alone at last, with moments to stow my gear before joining her and the captain.