Operation Chimera (6 page)

“Yes, sir,” Teague said. She went to the communications station and instructed Ensign Blair on what to do.

Captain Nicholas Driscoll folded his arms, stood legs apart at the middle of the bridge. “You have the co-ordinates?”

The
Manhattan
’s navigator, Ensign Cochrane, confirmed that the co-ordinates provided by Command were locked in and ready to go.

“Then bring the ship to bear and take us to Jump, Lieutenant Hardy.”

“Aye,” Hardy said. The
Manhattan
turned slowly to starboard along her horizontal axis to suit their heading. “Ready.”

A barely perceptible whine emanated from below decks as the Jump Drive reached full charge.

“Proceed. Make the Jump.”

Lieutenant Hardy reached for the Jump controls and he activated the drive.

The stars seemed to shrink back momentarily, and then the mouth of the universe opened to swallow them whole.

Some people hated going to Jump

But not Driscoll.

He never felt so alive…

essage sent, sir,” Commander Teague said.

Driscoll nodded. “Good. Now go to full communication blackout. Nothing in, nothing out. As of this moment, there will be no long-range communications of any sort. That includes any Trans-Gal messages.”

“Affirmative,” Ensign Blair said.

“Good. Put me on the overheads please, Ensign. I want everyone to hear what I have to say.” Driscoll clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the main screen.

It took no time at all for Blair to patch him through to the entire ship’s intercom system. The audio pickup at the communications station isolated his voice and amplified it. No one on board could say they didn’t hear him.

“All hands, this is the Captain,” he said. “Several days ago, I received the mission parameters that define this vessel’s maiden voyage. The task ahead is a risky one, fraught with danger. But I am confident that together, we can achieve what needs to be achieved. Together, as a team, we can do what we came to do.

“This ship, the
Manhattan
, is so named not only because she is large, but because she is strong, resilient. As I need you all to be. Throughout our history, in the midst of devastation, men and women of all colors and creeds have always found a way of coming together to form a united front against dark forces of terror. We must endeavor to live up to the name of this ship, to the region of Earth she is named after. To the people of that region who, time and again, managed to show their strength and quality. We must show the same resilience as those brave souls did, centuries ago.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we embark on a mission that will test the limits of every man and woman aboard this ship. It will test the depths of our resolve, our commitment, and our technology. All of you are here because you share the same goal―to end the Draxx threat. To end over one hundred years of conflict. An end to war.”

Driscoll paused for effect.

“We make war only to end it. That has always been our purpose. Regardless of what happens from this point on, I want everybody to try and remember that. If you feel that I push this ship, if you feel that I demand too much from you, remember why we are here. My resolve will not waver in the face of adversity. I expect the same dedication in return. Driscoll out.”

“Our orders, sir?” Commander Teague asked.

Driscoll looked about at the bridge crew. “In the conference room, Commander. I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

“Shall I head there now?” she asked.

“Yes. Go ahead. I’ll be along.”

He watched her go, then turned to Lieutenant Hardy. “How long until we reach our destination?”

Hardy made a quick check of his readouts. “Two hours, sir.”

“Excellent.”

“Uh, Captain, might I ask where it is we’re going? It’s not coming up on my screen. Just the co-ordinates,” Hardy said. “I mean, the Chimera Cluster is a pretty big region of space.”

Driscoll smirked. “That’s because the route by which we are arriving there is classified. It wouldn’t do for every Tom, Dick, and Harry aboard the
Manhattan
to have access to that sort of information, would it, son?”

Lieutenant Hardy swallowed. “No, sir. No it wouldn’t.”

“Precisely. Lieutenant-Commander S’lestra, you have the bridge. Alert me if anything crops up. I’ll be in the conference room.”

Chief Dave Macintosh listened to his new CO’s speech, whilst around him the rest of engineering remained a hive of activity. Under normal circumstances, he would have ordered they pay attention. But on this occasion, with the
Manhattan
fresh out of the gate and embarking on her maiden voyage, he’d made the decision to have them continue working. Of course, he himself had stopped to hear what Captain Driscoll had to say.

All very stirring stuff, however it did little to alleviate the Chief’s concern that they had been forced to leave before the
Manhattan
had been properly broken in.

Once assembled in her basic state, the
Manhattan
had been hauled to Horizon Station to have her hull fitted. Her many systems and components were connected with the Station’s AI for a brutal gauntlet of simulations and evaluations.

Chief Macintosh had been involved from day one, from soon after approval of the
Manhattan
’s design to his official posting as Chief of Engineering.

Although he had never intended to play Chief to Driscoll…

With the Captain’s speech over, the Chief got back to work. While the
Manhattan
was at Jump, the engineering crews had their hands full monitoring every system to ensure each and every aspect of the ship operated as intended.

Driscoll… he’d not even had a face-to-face meeting with the man yet. Apparently his posting had been something of an eleventh hour event, mere days beforehand. They’d pulled him fresh from his previous command to take the
Manhattan
out. Of course, it wasn’t like Driscoll was some hot new talent trying to make his mark.

Nick Driscoll needed no introduction.

Despite his own private feelings about the man, the Chief couldn’t deny he was a veritable legend in his own right.
Of course
they’d wanted him for the Union’s latest ship…

“Chief, we’re about to disengage the polaron influx tanks. Do you want to supervise?” Lieutenant Daniels asked.

“Yes,” Macintosh said, his reverie broken. “Get to it, lad, I’ll be right there.”

Nick Driscoll. Of all the people…

Once Driscoll was off the bridge, Hardy turned to the
Manhattan
’s navigator, Ensign Tom Cochrane.

“Serious, ain’t he?” he said in a low voice.

“Guess he has to be,” Cochrane replied.

Hardy whistled through his teeth. “And that scar down his neck? D’you see that?”

Ensign Cochrane nodded. “Yeah. I know how he got it, too. The battle of Tamaka. I noticed he didn’t like the traditional stuff, either. Shot you down pretty quickly.”

“Well, I guess I walked into that one. I mean, I―”

A sudden presence loomed behind them. A voice, low and scratchy yet at the same time distinctively feminine.

“Sssomething to sssay, gentlemen?”

They both looked over their shoulder at the same time. Lieutenant-Commander S’lestra glared down. Her bright jade green eyes sparkled with an inner fire that might have been curiosity or anger.

“Uh, nothing Ma’am,” Hardy said.

“Hmm. Well, let’sss keep it that way,” she said, squinting. “Mouthsss shut and handsss firmly on joysticksss, pleassse.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Ensign Cochrane said, blushing.

Lieutenant-Commander S’lestra returned to her post at the science-tactical station. At seven feet tall and cast with golden skin, she made for an imposing figure. Dark brown dreadlocks hung to the bottom of her back. They were not merely hair, but nerves and feelers, all woven together into plaits. She was a Thriknor, renowned throughout the galaxy for their seductive abilities and tantric lovemaking.

This fact alone was enough to make every male member of the
Manhattan
nervous in her presence―which suited her just fine. As the only Thriknor aboard, it gave her the edge she needed to demand their attention and obedience. Of course, being the size she was helped too. Were she any other race, her conduct might have been called into question. Thriknor could not help their peculiar sex drives, but were known for their professional competence.