Clidepp Requital (36 page)

The SO team clapped as she turned and left the quarters area. As she opened the door to her office, she realized Major Blade was behind her.

"May I come in for a minute, Captain?"

"Of course, Major," she said as she entered the office.

As the door closed, he said, "It's time for me to thank
you
. I know I was pretty rough on you early on. In the past, I've always believed I had to be that way with SC officers— especially junior officers. The day we completed the snatch on Yolongus, I learned what you were really made of. It's been a long time since I've been impressed by a Space Command officer, but I've been impressed by you. Thank you for taking on the responsibility for getting us to Yolongus, and thank you for getting us back safely. No one could have performed their duties in a more exemplary manner."

"It's been an honor to work with you, Major. I wish you continued success with all your missions."

As the door closed behind the Major, Sydnee smiled. Thinking back to the day Blade had pulled his pistol and aimed it at her, it was hard to believe he had uttered the words she just heard.

There was no end of stares from people standing at the viewing ports when the
Justice
docked at Simmons SCB. They had never seen a ship configuration like that of the
Justice
before and might not see one again for some time. The military people, and probably most of the civilians, immediately knew the outer surface must be Dakinium, and what that meant— the ship was faster than most ships in outer space and almost indestructible.

As the airlock seal between MAT-Two and the station was tested and certified, the SO Marines began filing out. Their prisoner had been loaded onto an oh-gee stretcher and strapped down after being stunned for about the twentieth time. There was an opaque cover over him so no one could see who was on the stretcher, and the stun was necessary so he couldn't cause any commotion as they passed through the crowds trying to get a look at the ship.

Sydnee was anxious to return to the
Denver
so she intended to depart as soon as her passengers were offloaded, but as the last Marine passed through the airlock ramp, a Space Command officer entered the ship. He waved off the other Space Command personnel with him so he could speak to the captain alone. Sydnee immediately braced to attention.

"Lieutenant(jg) Marcola, I presume," the officer said. "I'm Rear Admiral Ramos."

"Yes, sir. I'm Lieutenant Marcola."

"I imagine you're in a hurry to return to your ship, but I have a different destination for you. You're to proceed directly to the Mars shipyard, where you will turn over the generator you were using when you achieved the claimed Light-12241speed. Additionally, all bridge logs and records will likewise be turned over, as well as any and all supporting documents and/or materials related to the generator work. Is that clear, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir, Admiral."

"Good. Then you're cleared to depart as soon as you can seal the ship, unless you have other business on the station."

"No, sir. I have no other business on the station."

"Very well. Safe trip, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, sir."

Sydnee raised her hand in salute and held it until the Admiral returned it. As he left the ship, someone on the airlock ramp closed the MAT's hatch. When the lock had cycled, Sydnee turned and passed through the hatch on the opposite side to enter the
Justice
.

~ July 25
^th
, 2286 ~

"I just received new orders from Admiral Ramos," Sydnee said as she stepped onto the bridge. "We're to proceed directly to the Mars shipyard where we're to turn over the damaged generator for study, along with all bridge logs, records, and all supporting documentation and materials. So I guess we'll be spending another six weeks aboard the
Justice
. I'd better inform the Marines. Com, the admiral said we're cleared— but let's do it by the book and get permission from departure control anyway."

"Aye, Captain," Caruthers said.

Sydnee lifted the small cover by her right hand and pressed a couple of buttons, then said, "Attention all hands. I've just received new orders from the commanding officer of Simmons SCB. We're to proceed directly to the Mars shipyard. It appears they're hot to begin investigating how we established a new galactic speed record. So, our return to the
Denver
will be delayed by at least six more weeks. Carry on."

"Departure control says we're cleared to depart, Captain," the com chief said.

"Tac, are we clear on AutoTect and Detect?"

"The board is green, Captain."

"Okay, helm, take us out."

Kelly MacDonald was on the bridge within two minutes from the time the announcement ended. "Can't you swing by the
Denver
and drop me and my people off? We're going stir crazy after almost seven months cooped up on this small ship."

"I'd like to, but the Admiral's orders are to proceed
directly
to the Mars shipyard. There's no ambiguity there to exploit." Lowering her voice, she added, "I understand. Believe me. I've been dying to run until I drop ever since my legs fully healed. It won't be much longer, Kel. And we're in GA space now so the danger is all behind us."

"Okay, Syd. I know you're just following orders."

"It should be an easy time now. The SO team has moved on, and our mission was successfully completed. Let's just relax and look forward to the day we can try out the new Marine range aboard the
Denver
."

"Okay," MacDonald said with a smile. "I'll see you at dinner, Syd."

"Right."

* * *

The three-week trip to Mars at Light-9790, while a bit dull, was actually a welcome time after the stress of the mission. Still, Sydnee wished they could have made the run at Light-12241 so they could already be on their way back to the
Denver
, but it might be a long time before anyone traveled that fast again. However, simply knowing that such a speed was possible meant it should one day be available. When scientists accepted that seemingly unscalable barriers existed, most stopped trying to scale them— until someone came along to show them that, except for the one in their mind, there had been no real barrier to begin with.

As the
Justice
was given clearance to enter the Mars shipyard, it was immediately routed to an area of enclosed docks only large enough to accommodate ships of Scout-Destroyer size or smaller. When two yard tugs approached the
Justice
and began to hook up, Sydnee had the com chief contact the yard office to report that the
Justice
was only there to deliver a broken envelope generator. The dispatcher replied that there was no mistake, and that they had been ordered to bring the ship into a slip. While the small yard tugs continued their task, Sydnee began her efforts to learn what was going on, but by the time she reached someone who had some responsibility for yard operations, the
Justice
had already been brought inside and was being secured in place as the doors began to close.

"I don't understand," Sydnee said to an assistant yard manager. "Admiral Ramos at Simmons SCB ordered us here to drop off an envelope generator. That's all."

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. We've only done what we were told to do. SHQ arranged for this enclosed slip and ordered us to put the CPS-14 inside and secure it in place as soon as you arrived. Beyond that, I'm as much in the dark as you are. We haven't even received the work order yet. Everything has been verbal."

"Who should I speak to about this?"

"I suggest you contact the First Fleet Administration office at SHQ. They're the ones who ordered a slip be made ready to take your ship when you arrived and to bring you inside."

"Very well. Thank you."

"Good luck, Lieutenant. Welcome back to Mars."

With the ship secured inside the dock, there was nothing to do on the bridge except monitor communications. Space Command protocol required that the bridge of any active-duty warship always be fully manned 24/7. But the
Justice
wasn't really a warship, at least not in the usual sense because no one had been assigned to her, and there was no regulation stating that tugs or shuttles be manned 24/7. And then there was the fact that they were sealed inside a pressurized shipyard dock. That seemed to further diminish any requirement that the bridge be manned, but Sydnee decided to play it safe and required that at least one of the four command officers be on duty at all times. The com chief would rotate his watch with the Marine who had been sharing the duty since the beginning.

Sydnee spent an hour trying to find someone at the First Fleet Administration office who could tell her what was going on, but she kept being passed from office to office until she found herself back where she started. Frustrated that she could get no answers, she went to get a cup of coffee and a snack.

"The dock is fully pressurized, Lieutenant," the work foreman told Sydnee the next day, "so we're going to begin work on the ship."

"What work— exactly— are you going to start?"

"We have orders to replace the repository hatch cover and install sensors that detect the presence of water in the repository. All new ships are receiving the redesigned hatch cover as part of their construction, and all completed CPS-14's are being recalled and retrofitted. The first ship to get the new hatch was tested to a depth of two hundred meters and passed with flying colors."

"That's good to hear. How long will this take?"

"Seven work days. The hatch is an integral component in the construction of the ship, so we literally have to cut away a large section of the hull, and Dakinium is difficult to work with."

"Do we have to vacate the ship?"

"That's not necessary since the dock is pressurized, but if you wish to do so, I can arrange quarters at the Mars-Three housing complex."

"If our remaining aboard doesn't slow the work in any way, we'd prefer to remain aboard."

"Not a problem. Technicians must have access to the bridge and engineering areas though to modify systems software for the new sensors."

"Your people may have access to the ship any time, at any hour."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

"We have the original generator that was damaged by water in our engineering section, and we have no spare. Can you swap a new generator for the one that was shorted out?"

"Of course, Lieutenant."

"Thank you."

At least Sydnee understood the reason for being pushed into the dock in such an expedited manner. The yard had to perform the retrofit whenever it could get any of the CPS-14s back to the yard. There were still two more ships in the
Denver
, but it was unlikely either would need to submerge in water in the near term, so their retrofit would wait until it was more convenient.

The yard workmen were already hard at work the next day when an SC officer and a work team of two arrived at the
Justice
.

"Good morning, Lieutenant, I'm Commander Cardona from Weapons R&D. I've come to collect your broken envelope generator and whatever materials, logs, and statements are available."

"Good morning, Commander. I have everything prepared. The generator is in the starboard MAT. It can be taken out through the airlock there."

"Do you have any theories as to how you were able to achieve a record-breaking speed?"

"None. I'm neither a physicist nor an engineer. All I know is that we were only able to achieve Light-75 when we installed the used generator and then traveled just three light-years with it before it stopped working. My engineering chief and two Marines discovered that the induction coil was broken. They epoxied the two halves back together, very precisely, and we were all delighted that it worked and then astounded by the speed we achieved. It seems that the generator burned out because it was from a commercial freighter and wasn't able to handle the heat created as a result of generating new envelopes so rapidly. The induction coil appears to still be intact and might still work if the rest of the generator components are replaced. We have image logs of all the work that was done because the chief was laid up in sick bay and had to give instructions to the Marines remotely."

"Excellent, Lieutenant. If you'll have someone show these workmen where the generator is, we'll get out of your hair."

"Yes, sir."

In late afternoon, the dock manager contacted Sydnee. "Lieutenant, there's an SC Commander here to see you. I sent him over."

"Thank you, Mr. Vogel. I'll meet him at the airlock."

A few minutes later, the airlock cycled and the SC officer stepped into the
Justice
. Sydnee saluted as he entered the ship.

"Welcome, Commander. I'm Lieutenant(jg) Sydnee Marcola."

"I'm Commander Bockman from Weapons R&D. I've come to get your broken generator."

"I don't understand, sir. The generator was picked up this morning."

"Picked up? By whom?"

"A Commander Cardona from Weapons R&D and a work party of two men."

"I know of no Commander Cardona associated with Weapons R&D. What did he or she look like?"

"Commander Cardona is male. I'd put his height at about six feet. He has brown hair, brown eyes, and a medium complexion. I'm sure we captured his image on one or more security logs."

"Did you verify his identity with the security office here in the yard?"

"Um— no, sir."

"Did he present any credentials?"

"Um— no, sir, other than he was wearing a Space Command uniform on a Space Command base, and he was already in a high security area."

Bockman scowled and said, "Send that vid log of the perpetrator to the security office here in the yard as quickly as possible, Lieutenant. I'll be back after I notify SCI and check on a few things."

Bockman then turned and reentered the airlock without another word.

Sydnee stood there staring at the airlock hatch for a few seconds. She had turned over the generator to the first person to ask for it because he was wearing a Space Command uniform.

"I messed up, Kel," Sydnee said to MacDonald later that day in the privacy of her office. "I gave the generator to someone using a false identity."