Combat patrols were very boring, as it turned out. They were exactly like the sims, just a lot of long boring shifts on the bridge doing basic movements, scanning routines and weapons drills. Captain Harper were keeping us real busy making sure we found Fujikawa, who had some kind of issue with his Slip jump. Chances are he was dead and we were doing a third strength before contact with the enemy but as the Admiral needed our section of space patrolled, we were assigned to make sure the ship couldn't fall into enemy hands.
That meant that off duty was just as much of a grind, albeit for different reasons. All the cadets wanted to know the fate of their friends; they were all too young to know just how unlikely it was that Fujikawa had survived the anomaly. All we were here to do was enact the Cole protocol and put a MAC round through its black box - if it even had one. All of this was why I was sitting looking a bit grim in the officer's lounge, nursing a drink coloured far too brightly for my mood.
"Is that a cocktail?" Brit asked, laughing loudly as she sat on the stool besides me. As per the usual, she remained unaffected by the morale on the ship.
"Is orange juice and vodka a cocktail?"
"Maybe if you're twelve." she shrugged. "That shift was totally exhausting, though, so drink what you want."
"Don't tell me you lack the energy to mock me, Fetch."
She faked a yawn, which turned into a real one moment later. I smiled and yawned too, knowing that I'd follow suit. "Got any plans besides that drink?"
"Not much to do. No family to write to, no friends who aren't aboard this ship, no one who hates me that I can go and smack for something to do."
"I can see why you were so popular at school." she said, dryly. "Still, there's always Mei and Drip" she added, winking.
I leaned back on the stool and sucked air through my teeth, "Yeah, that's not a good idea."
"Maybe not but it's, you know, cathartic."
"I'm not so sure. Mei's been quiet since I let it slip to Kohli that I knew why she was side-lined."
Britney snorted, "She wants a leg up, I expect. Some kind of leverage."
"She wants a good commission, that's it" I replied, gulping from the glass, "ah, and anyway, we both know it wouldn't be much competition."
Britney smiled, recalling fondly the time that Mei had given the Pit a try back at the academy. She had lasted all of three seconds before she was on the floor with a broken wrist and while she and I had been friends, I'd made sure to avoid joining the chorus of people mocking her prowess in the ring. Since then, however, I saw no reason to spare her that embarrassment. It was especially funny to me that it was a stain on her reputation because Mei's reputation was as important to her as her own beating heart.
"Well, if it's a competition you want, you should go for Drip he's more your size."
I winced and she laughed, "Same build. Constitution is totally different."
"Sure thing, cowboy." Brit laughed, "I'll let him know you wanna go a few rounds when he gets out the captain's office."
"It's his turn, then?"
Brit nodded, "Yeah, was called after shift ended, surprised you didn't notice the request over the speakers."
"I went for a nap" I shrugged, "so it's me last."
"Yep."
"You think that's a coincidence?"
"Nope," she laughed, "Cap's sizing you up, kiddo."
"Kiddo? I'm five years older than you."
She smiled and patted my shoulder, "If you acted your age I wouldn't say it, now, would I?"
"Say what?" came a new voice.
I turned, seeing Valette beaming down at me with cheerful eyes. Her mood also contrasted the ships morale but in a way that seemed to defy logic. Britney was just indifferent and unaffected but Valette was perpetually optimistic. It was honestly quite insufferable.
"That-" I began.
"That Ollie should act his age if he wants to be treated like the miserable, approaching-middle-age coot that he is."
Valette laughed, "I mean I'm not even twenty yet and we get on so well. I think that says a lot."
As if to accentuate the point, the girl put a Vodka orange juice down on the bar next to me, eliciting laughter from the two girls and a groan from myself.
"Drip and Mei don't bust my balls like this" I groaned.
"That's because they don't like you." Valette remarked, swirling the ice about her glass with a stirrer. She sighed, "I get why they haven't made amends, but you'd think they might have tried. We got on well in those first few weeks"
"Some people make their beds and are happy to lie in them. If commissions and career is all they care about, then good luck to them. I just wanna fly. Nothing beats the hum of a trillion horsepower beneath your feet, I'll tell you that."
"Not even the most powerful weapon ever developed by man?" Valette replied. Her voice was almost whimsical as she fluttered her eyelashes into empty space. It made me shudder a bit. The girl was a bit of a psycho when it came to her MAC guns and Havok nukes.
"Naw, destruction is spectacle. Flying is an art."
Britney groaned, "I, like totally, expect dick measuring from Ollie but you?" she said, pointing at Valette, "I thought better of you."
"I'm not… measuring anything" Valette stammered, "I just think guns are better than flying."
They bickered as I lifted my drink for another gulp, only to feel an ice cube graze my lip. Put out by the lack of alcohol, I felt my mood drop and, as the two girls continued to chat, I found myself growing a little drowsy. I forced myself to my feet and smiled at Brit as she paused her conversation.
"Off for more shut-eye?" she asked.
"Yeah, these shifts are killing me." I said, turning to leave.
"Old man" I heard Valette say.
I chuckled and turned, "Fuck you, Savatier!" I grinned. Then, my face dropped as her smile dropped like an anvil from a rooftop. My throat tightened as I willed myself to turn.
"Enjoying your time off, eh Van Graff?" said Captain Harper, a wry smile on his lips.
"I er, was just gonna get some re-"
"Something else to drink? What a good idea." he replied, his expression of civility hid a kind of menace beneath the smile.
"Well, actually-" I stuttered.
"I'll have a scotch. What about you, Cadet, what's your poison?" he said, ignoring me. He placed a firm hand on my shoulder and ushered me back to the bar. A few of the others took the opportunity to leave and I was pushed back into the chair, next to a very nervous Valette, who's cheeks were flushing red from her juice. We were now almost alone in the officer's lounge and I looked about, hoping to God this wasn't some kind of mind game.
"I'll have a beer. Something cold."
"What about a cocktail?" he asked, moving behind the bar and dismissing the tender for a little while.
"Uh, sure?"
"I used to love mixing drinks back in high school" he said, his eyes scanning the reserves of alcohol and juices. "Never was much good at conversation, so getting everyone absolutely ragged was the best way to make friends."
"Did it work?" Brit asked, her expression as unfazed by the captain's presence as you'd expect it to be. For my part, I just kept my mouth shut. He let my cursing slide but that didn't mean there wasn't something going on. I'd been in a UNSC detention facility long enough to know that there were strings attached to everyone in a bureaucracy the size of the UEG.
"Sorta, I was great at parties. Sports carried me the rest of the way."
"What did you play?"
He laughed, slipping a shot of coffee, some liqueur, and some vodka into a tumbler and slamming it shut with a powerful smack. "My planet was weird. Cricket was massive there."
"Really?" Brit laughed, "you struck me as more of a boxer or a soccer player."
"Ha! No, definitely not a boxer, I know basic defence and that's it. As for soccer, I have two left feet and I'm right footed, let's leave it at that." he smiled, pouring the liquid into a martini glass, placing a thin layer of foam on top. "Usually, I'd garnish it with a coffee bean but the quartermaster goes ballistic if you waste his coffee."
I took the glass and tried to smile. Judging by the look the girls gave me, it must have been more of a grimace than a smile. "Trying to keep me awake, sir? I won't be much use if I don't get any sleep."
He smiled, warmly, "No, but I don't often get much R and R. There's something I wanted to talk about with you, off the record."
"What about, Sir?" Valette asked, leaning forward.
"Lieutenant Commander Kohli." I blinked. I'd expected him to turn to me and had mentally prepared myself for that. "You are aware of her history, yes?"
We nodded, "Yeah, side-lined after reacting badly to surviving Psi Serpentis." Brit said, chewing on a strawberry she'd brazenly taken from Valette's glass.
"Something like that. This assignment isn't sitting right with me, there are too many expendable people in one place, and a strange set of orders sent from a source high up in the UNSC under the codename ATLAS. I mean, we have an untrained teenager, an ex-con, a First officer who's spent the last few years behind a desk. Not to mention the fact you were all allowed to pass the Kobayashi. That never happens."
"If we're expendable, why are you here?" I asked, bitterly. I was well aware of the fact that I was expendable but only I was allowed to admit that. Hearing others say it made it too real for my liking.
"I wasn't supposed to be here. It was going to be Commander Grant but the guy was so old he couldn't make it because of a hip-replacement operation." Valette snorted with laughter, then stopped herself, remembering where she was and who she was with. "Admiral Harper sensed something was up and stepped in to oversee your cohort. Some kind of power play among the Admiralty."
"That or a black op." Brit said, shrugging, "what's the odds that ATLAS is some spook?"
"Probably quite high, I'd imagine." Harper replied.
"That still doesn't explain why he'd put you in the firing line if we'd been set up to fail."
"You weren't set up to fail, I don't think." he said, scratching his five o'clock shadow, "You're all too capable for that. You guys would get a spot in any bridge crew I've worked.
"It's about discrediting us if we were to talk." I said, drooping my head, "We'll do the job and get cut loose." I shook my head in disgust, "I was stupid to think they were actually gonna let me fly." Even Valette, who was usually so chipper, seemed a little dejected as she pawed at her now empty glass. "As for me, I'm here because the Admiral wants to salvage some of his credibility among the Admiralty." I added, dejectedly.
"His credibility is beyond reproach, isn't it?" Valette asked, thoughtfully, "Everyone who serves under him says he's a bit of a stickler for the regs but an incredible tactician and leader."
"He is, but the Admiral's think he's a bit of a puppet for ONI." Harper sighed. There was a look in his eye, maybe it was just some distant star twinkling in its reflection, or maybe it was something more; Captain Harper was thinking fondly as he paused to continue.
"Well… is he?" Britney asked, cocking her head with interest.
Harper sipped his scotch, "Truthfully? Yes. There was an incident with a member of the family a few years back."
"Oooh, the Viper!" Valette squealed, "We've seen her fight in the pit."
The captain smiled with pride, "Yeah, my sister caused him a lot of trouble. Not that he minds of course, he's just tired of playing bootlicker."
Shouldn't have signed up in the first place then.
"And you think Kohli has something to do with this mission? Or ONI?"
"Not sure about Kohli, but this has Black Op written all over it. My A.I. will have the orders decrypted in a few hours or so but I expect trouble will follow regardless."
"Best be well rested then" I yawned.
For the first time, he glared at me. It seems I had pushed the line a little too far that time, and I retreated to the safety of my Espresso Martini as I caught Valette shaking her head in disbelief. "What about Fujikawa, Sir?" she asked, trying to save the mood.
"Sent ahead to scout, I'd imagine. Curran's power outage might have put us back in the timeline but we were supposed to wait here and decrypt the file, it seems." the captain replied, never taking his eyes from me. "Anyway, you should all get some sleep. Tomorrow will be another long day. As for you, Van Graff, I expect you on the bridge thirty minutes ahead of schedule for a debrief. Understood?"
"Crystal, Sir." I said.
"Good." he said, leaning back in his chair, "We should get some sleep, that file will be decrypted by the time your shifts start. Could be a busy day."
I looked at my Espresso Martini and shook my head. "Aye sir. I'll be ready.