A Faded Star (2 page)

 Stokes looked over the image and attached data
displayed on the large screen. “Do you think she's a glory hound?”

 Vesper shook his head. “I don't think so. Hanlon has a
sort of character that will benefit you. Her demeanor is somewhat irreverent at
times, but she's one of the best officers I've ever seen come through command
school. No, I think she just wants to see what's outside our planetary system.”

 “Sounds good. Who else is on the command staff?”

 “Well, your assigned science department head is
Lieutenant Halford Kri. If Simmons didn't invent it, Kri did. The man is a bona
fide genius. Despite his scientific contributions, he has focused on command
duties. On the down side, his command presence score is below average. He'll
need some polishing before he's given a lot of independence, but his pros far
outweigh his cons.”

 Vesper looked at Stokes directly, “Your tactical
officer is a bit of a difficult choice. We've assigned Lieutenant Commander
Aden Patho to be department head.”

 Stokes sat bolt upright in his chair. “The Karn?”

 “That's the one. I know you fought the Karn in the
war, but Patho is easily the best choice. Out of the first tactical drone class,
he scored the highest. And when I say highest, I mean his aptitude and
demonstrated ability dwarfs that of the next closest candidate. We are
restructuring the course at this moment because of the innovations he showed us
at the school. I expect it will go through a similar restructuring once he has
made it through a year aboard the Rampart. You'll have to put any cultural
differences aside and see to it he's given as much acceptance as you can
provide.”

 Stokes nodded. Having a member of the former Karn
nation would present a challenge, especially among the officers and crew who
had fought in the war. Stokes firmed his resolve. “Yes, sir.”

 “Patho was jumped two grades upon graduation so he
would have the rank necessary for the tactical department head. He is much
younger than is usual for an officer in his position and will probably need a
lot of guidance in leadership matters as a result. He's taken three weeks leave
and isn't scheduled to report aboard for another two. That gives you plenty of
time to brief your officers and crew and see to it they're all ready to serve
with an officer from the former Karn nation.”

 Stokes rubbed his thumb along the bottom of his chin.
“I will, of course, do as you order, sir. I'm uncertain how the other officers
will react to having a Karn in such a position of authority.”

 “I understand your discomfort, Mister Stokes, but as
we are so fond of saying around here; it just isn't the navy you joined, is it?
Rolling the former Karn nationals into our overall command structure has
presented a lot of issues for us. Fortunately, we have neither the luxury of
choice in the matter nor the ability to decide how our orders are carried out.
The planetary government, which is almost forty percent Karn, has decided Karn
citizens are just as able to serve in the military as Ebrim. As such, Lashmere
has both former Ebrim and former Karn citizens, enlisted men, and officers in
uniform. Commander Patho is the highest ranking member of the Lashmere military
who is from the former Karn nation, but there are others, many others, who are
behind him. We're all going to have to get used to the idea of serving with
people we once called the enemy.”

 Stokes nodded slowly. “Yes, sir, I understand. I will
do my best to make him welcome and part of the team.”

 “Excellent, I expect nothing less. If there are no
more questions, Commodore?”

 “No, sir. Thank you for your time.”

 Vesper nodded. Both men walked to the door and shook
hands. Vesper said, “I know you will have a most successful tour of duty aboard
the Rampart, Commodore.” Stokes nodded and left the office.

 Aden strolled up the boarding ramp towards the
Rampart. He had arrived at the planetary spaceport and caught a shuttle up to
the space port in Lashmere orbit. The automated security scan had allowed him
access to the restricted area a hundred meters behind him. Aden glanced over
his assembled gear, neatly stowed in the automated luggage carrier obediently
following along behind him. He knew three years was the standard space tour but
five years, or more, was a real possibility. He hoped he had brought enough
supplies with him. He turned the corner and stopped short. Three Lashmere Space
Marines were standing at a guard post about ten meters past the turn. Resuming
his walk, he strode up to the men who eyed him with the alertness typical of
marines.

 Aden extended his order packet and said, “Good
morning, gentlemen. I am Lieutenant Commander Patho. I'm newly assigned to the Rampart.”

 The marine's eyes betrayed surprise at Aden's Karn
accent. After a short pause, he took the order packet and looked it over. “Sir,
these orders don't require you to report for an additional two weeks.”

 Aden sighed, not wanting to think about his family
problems anymore and said, “Well, I cut my leave short. Since I had nothing
else to do, I decided to come aboard.”

 “Well, that is very interesting, sir.” Aden was
surprised at the contempt the junior enlisted man showed to an officer of his
rank. The marine said, “Excuse me for a moment, please.”

 The marine ducked into the guard room and emerged a
moment later with a senior non-commissioned officer. The NCO had the crossed
swords signifying combat experience under his rank insignia. He waived the
younger Marine back to his post and addressed Patho. “Sir, give me a moment to
check your clearance.”

 “Very well, Sergeant,” Patho said.

 The NCO's expression hardened. “You're a Karn.”

 “That's correct.”

 “I didn't know we had any Karn officers,” the sergeant
said. The man's feet shifted into the basic combat stance all military officers
were taught at the academy.

 Aden tensed himself. He was more than two meters tall
and in outstanding physical condition. He was also quite adept at hand to hand
combat. Despite this, he had no illusions about winning against a single marine
in hand to hand combat, much less the standing in front of him. “I'm the
highest ranking Karn in the Lashmere Navy, Sergeant. I would advise you to be
very, very sure of your next actions. They may have a terminal effect on your
military career if you choose wrong.”

 The sergeant blinked. Patho's tone had convinced him
he should at least double check before treating Aden as an intruder,
infiltrator or saboteur. “Hold on a moment, sir.” The man disappeared back into
the guard room and came back out a few seconds later. “Sir, the exec is coming
down. She will decide what to do.”

 The four marines stood like cats eyeing a particularly
juicy mouse for the next few minutes. No one attempted conversation. The
tension only intensified with the sound of the lift behind the guard station
coming to rest. The door opened, and a tall female officer came out. She looked
the situation over and said, “So are you guys going to all club each other into
submission or start kissing? I can never tell when men get so serious like
this.” The slight curvature on her lips made it apparent she was attempting to
cut the strained stillness hanging over the guard station.

 The Marines still did not move. “Ma'am, this Karn is
trying to report aboard. There is a discrepancy with his orders.” The NCO said
formally.

 “A discrepancy, hm? Let me take a look.” The Marine
handed Aden's order packet to the executive officer. “Well, there is a
problem.” She turned to Patho and said, “Why are you reporting aboard two weeks
early?”

 “I decided to cut my leave short and report aboard
when my plans didn't work out.” Aden paused, wondering how much information the
statuesque officer would need from him.

 She took his pause as an opportunity to respond. “Very
well, Mister Patho.” She turned to the marines. “Have you authenticated his
identity?”

 “No, ma'am.” The marine sergeant said crisply.

 “Then do so.” The marine complied and within a few
seconds, Aden was recognized and approved for entry to the ship. “Well, now.
That wasn't so difficult, was it?” She shook her head slightly before
continuing. “Your vigilance is commendable, men, but your compliance with
ship's procedure is sorely lacking. I will recommend to your Lieutenant that
you all receive additional training, so this won't happen again. Carry on,
men.”

 The marines all stiffened to attention and barked, in
unison, “Yes, Ma'am!”

 Patho and the executive officer entered the lift. As
soon as the doors closed, she turned and said, “Marines,” Her eyes twinkled
with unexpressed mirth as she gauged his reaction and then went on, “I'm
Commander Linis Hanlon, your new executive officer. I'm sorry they gave you
such a hard time. If you had contacted the ship and alerted us you were coming
in early, we would've been ready for your arrival. I don't think we even have a
berth for you yet, ah.” She paused and tapped the comm button on her wrist
comp. “Quartermaster, exec. Our tactical officer has reported aboard. We need a
bunk prepared for him immediately.”

 A tinny voice came out of the wrist comp, “Yes, ma'am.
Give me about an hour, and it will be ready.” The comp chimed as the
quartermaster closed the comm channel.

 Aden tried to keep his roiling emotions in check.
Without thinking, he blurted, “Would this have been a problem if I had been an
Ebrim officer?”

 Hanlon gave him a sidelong look, and her lips curved
into a mischievous grin. She clucked her tongue at Aden and shook her head
reprovingly. “Mister Patho, surely you are aware there are no Ebrim officers
anymore.” Her eyes sparkled. “I'm afraid you've joined the wrong navy for that.
It is my regretful duty to inform you that you have actually joined the
Lashmere Navy. I hope this won't ruin your career plans.” A smirk appeared on
her face and grew until it was a grin.

 Aden blushed. “Of course, ma'am. I meant-”

 “I know exactly what you meant, Mister Patho.” Her
tone went from dry sarcasm to seriousness in the blink of an eye. “Until the
world decides to accept the artificial unity we've forced upon it, I will
delight in those who forget and those who cannot accept. They're the ones who
will stop our coming greatness as a people. Which one are you, Mister Patho?
Are you unable to accept our united planet? Or are you merely forgetful?”

 “Ah... neither, of course, ma'am. I am proud to wear
this uniform and to be a member of our united forces.” His voice sounded hollow
in his ears.

 Hanlon smiled again slightly. “Excellent. I will not
hear of you misspeaking in this manner again, will I?”

 “Certainly not, ma'am.”

 “Good. The captain is off the ship at the moment. I'll
alert him you have reported aboard. When we arrive at the ship, I'll give you a
tour. That should give the quartermaster time to have your berth prepared and
the captain time to get back from headquarters.”

 The lift stopped and opened onto a boarding concourse.
The ten meter high windows looked out into the hard vacuum of the open space
dock. Hanging there in crystal clarity was the Rampart. Like most members of
the military, he was aware of the existence of the ship and the fact that it
carried the most advanced systems ever developed by Lashmere's military, but
the sight of the ship in its entirety made his breath catch in his throat. The
ship was a long tapering hull with a series of roughly triangular bulges all
colored in various shades of dark gray. It looked utterly functional and
mercilessly lethal. Aden's eye quickly searched out and found the launching
tubes for the drones he was there to operate. Upon finding them, he had to
revise his estimate of how large the ship was. The ship must be five hundred
meters or more in length.

 Linis chuckled quietly, breaking Aden's attention.
“Quite an impressive sight, isn't she?”

 “Oh, yes, ma'am. I knew... I mean I had read about her
design, but she looks nothing like the last series of battleships from the
war.” Aden paused and drew another breath. “She is a very impressive looking
ship, ma'am.”

 “So she is. Follow me.” With that, Hanlon led Patho
through the boarding tube. “Let's get that tour out of the way. There are a lot
of people you will need to meet.”

 Hanlon led Patho on a lengthy tour of the Rampart
during which time, Commodore Stokes returned to the ship from his briefing with
Admiral Vesper. When Stokes learned Patho was already aboard the Rampart, he
sent for him immediately.

 Hanlon escorted Patho to the captain's office. As they
approached the office, she said, “The captain is a very highly decorated combat
veteran. He should be an Admiral by now, but he was promoted to the rank of
Commodore instead because the Admirals needed him to be the one to command
Rampart.” No matter what rank the commanding officer of a ship held, they were
always addressed as captain.

 Patho nodded. He had expected anyone senior enough to
command the fleet flagship to have fought in the war, no matter how badly he
wished it was otherwise. Asher's voice echoed in his ears. “Yes, ma'am. I will
keep it in mind.”

 Hanlon stopped at the door to Stokes' office. “Good.
I'll see your baggage stowed in your cabin. You can contact me on the comm when
you're done talking to the captain.”

 “Yes, ma'am.” Patho watched for a few seconds as the
executive officer strode away, her long legs making her move quickly despite
her relaxed pace. He turned and tapped the admittance chime to Stokes' office.
The door slid open almost immediately.

 “Mister Patho. Good. Please come in.” Stokes stood
behind his desk and waved the younger man inside.

 Patho made his way in and sat at one of the two chairs
Stokes indicated. “Thank you, sir.” Patho fixed his face into an expression of
patient attentiveness, waiting for whatever Stokes had to say.