The Commander (26 page)

Tyler motioned Luke to stop talking. “You got it wrong, Luke,” the older man said. “Thank God you jumped in. When George said there was another ship approaching my brain locked up. I can’t explain it. I was trying to understand what he meant. When you said ‘kill it’, that jolted me back on track. But if you hadn’t butted in, it might have been a different outcome.”

“Well, it just shows we make a good team,” Luke said encouragingly. “Don’t give it another thought.”

“That’s just the thing, my friend. I’ve been thinking of nothing else. As soon as the battle was over, I knew what the answer was. I just didn’t know how to bring it up.”

“Tyler. Don’t say what I think you’re about to say. I need you. You have no idea how much. The crew needs you.”

“That’s not true and you know it. The crew needs a captain who won’t go into a brain-freeze when something unexpected pops up; we both know that. The thing is I don’t feel that bad about admitting it. Hell, man, I’m sixty-eight years old. I know all the moves, just like a retired basketball player. But it doesn’t mean I can play in the professional leagues. My creaky old brain just doesn’t work as fast as it used to.”

“But you’ve got an implant now,” Luke protested. “That’s going to give you a boost.”

Tyler shook his head. “It’s more likely that it’ll stretch my sixties out for a painfully long time. I’m not even sure that’s a bonus. Yeah, in general I feel better. But I still ache when I get up in the morning. The point is I’m too damn old to be sitting in the captain’s chair. I make a great advisor, a great planner. But I’m not the guy to command this ship. Not in combat.”

Luke bit off his response and considered what Tyler was saying. He would never admit such a concern if it wasn’t true. But it was hard to accept. Luke had enough on his plate without trying to take over the command slot. Besides, it would be hard on the crew. Everyone respected Captain Robertson.

“What do you want to do, then?” Luke asked.

“Stay here,” Tyler replied. “I think that would be best. And I like it here. These are good people, but they need someone to kick their behinds until they get up to speed. You and I talked about setting up a training team,
asking
for volunteers. Let me lead that; I’ll be the first volunteer. Then, I can leave with dignity and you can accept my resignation
with regret
for the greater good.”

It made a lot of sense. But it still left a big hole on the command bridge. Luke said as much.

“I know,” Tyler admitted. “I’ve been looking at my crew and I hate to say it, but no one is ready. We didn’t think it through when we signed everyone on. If I had to do it again, I would’ve gotten some senior navy guys to join up. That way, you would have an experienced officer ready to step into my shoes. As it is, I think you’ll have to be the one.”

“This really sucks, Tyler. I’m buried already.”

“I’ll tell you who comes closest,” Tyler said, ignoring Luke’s complaint. “That Faulkner girl. I’m really impressed with her. I’ve been on the surface when she’s been dealing with the local ministers. Have you seen that?”

“Not really,” Luke confessed.

“I watched them try to put on airs a few times and she just drills them into the ground, but in the sweetest way possible. I don’t know how she does it, but she makes them back down and then they say ‘thank you’. She’s not ready for a combat command; she doesn’t have the experience. But she’s got a knack for leadership. Put her on the bridge; make her your first officer.”

“How will the bridge crew see her?” Luke wondered aloud.

“If you recall, we established everyone’s date of rank as when they originally signed on with Moonbase. She was in the very first team Ambrose hired so she already outranks all the officers. And everyone knows about her heroics at the space station and saving your ass out there. She was the one who knocked out the NASA satellite too, wasn’t she?”

Luke admitted that was the case.

“She’s got street cred,” Tyler persisted. “I think the crew will take to her.”

“All right,” Luke agreed reluctantly. “You can stay, but I don’t like it. Give it a couple of days before you announce it, just in case.”

“That’s fine. But I’m not going to change my mind.”

“I guess I’m gonna have to start calling you Governor.”

Tyler shook his head. “I don’t intend to have any political power here, Luke. Maybe Ambassador would be better.” He grinned at the idea. “I kinda like the sound of that anyway.”

# # #

The planned three days on J64 stretched into weeks. It sounded easy enough to just drop off supplies and technical support. But once Luke accepted that Tyler and others would be left behind, it was a different story. He couldn’t, in good conscience, leave his friends and new allies defenseless.

The alliance became formal the day after the local ministers came aboard
Lulubelle
. They were astonished at the size of the vessel, as Luke had intended. They were further amazed to meet George.

Once they understood who he was they all went out of their way to treat him as a senior member of Luke’s staff, which was true. But Luke wasn’t sure they understood that George was not a sentient being.

It raised the issue of AI in general. “What are we going to do for the planet in that regard?” Luke asked George one evening in his quarters. “You said that you would not duplicate yourself again.”

“That remains in effect, Commander. But that restriction does not prevent us from deploying lower level devices just as on our colony ships. The locales will not see any distinction in its capabilities from my own. It will have a different persona, of course. That is simply a function of the randomizing code in the personality module.”

“What about Earth’s security?” Luke asked.

“I do not mean that I would leave a full copy of my archives on the planet. I have prepared an abbreviated version that should serve Ambassador Robertson well. I deleted all location references to your own star system as a precaution. Otherwise, the navigation data will be complete.”

“What about authorization; what will Tyler have?”

“Exactly the same as Doctor Higgins on Moonbase. The AI will have veto authority. Without knowing how the situation might develop locally, I hesitate to empower Ambassador Robertson without any restrictions. We will have to trust that he will use his resources wisely.”

The word went out. Tyler announced that he was staying and that he was looking for volunteers. He put together a list of job titles and started selecting from those who wanted to stay.

Luke was a bit shocked when he saw the list. “Three hundred people? Dang, Tyler. Why so many?”

“You’ve got a crew of fifty thousand, Luke. That’s the equivalent of five colony ships. But if that’s the way you feel, just give me two or three rejects that you don’t want on your crew. I guess we’ll get by.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “More guilt; just what I need.” He would give his friend what he needed.

Tyler laughed at Luke’s disgusted expression. “I’m doing you a favor, son. This is not the only planet you’re going to be seeding. Once I started looking at the list, I realized that you’ll have to supply a lot of mini-colonies just like this one. I only took one or two department heads, and only if they had a competent number two ready to take over. You may as well get ready. This is how it’s going to be from here on.”

Tyler was right… again. Luke mandated Tyler’s actions as policy for the next planet and all those that would follow. Now that he thought about it, e
stablishing
multiple bases, each one operated by people who had a similar base of expertise, would become an important step toward building the interstellar force to head off the Bakkui.

Chancellor Bo’erm offset the loss of the three-hundred crew members by providing an equal number of local citizen-volunteers as replacements. Luke accepted them with gratitude. The cross training alone would be appreciated by both cultures. Someday the young exchange officers would bring valuable insight back to their home world.

Luke gave Carrie the job of integrating the newcomers into the crew. “Pick the smartest one for bridge duty,” he told her. “Put the rest wherever you think best.

Construction facilities were created and the new level twenty-seven device was installed in a fortified subterranean vault. George introduced Luke and Tyler to
Tobias
, the new resident AI for J64. Tyler was very prosaic about the introduction. “Mind if I call you
Toby
?” he asked.

“Not at all, Tyler. How’s it hanging, buddy.”

The colloquial expression from the AI was jarring to Luke’s ears. He left feeling a bit thankful that George was so formal. He wasn’t sure if he could deal with a smart-alecky computer.

The next day a large-scale replicator was installed on the planet. A week later the Jiguans had produced their first warship and started on a second replicator.

“I wish we had Riley Stevens here,” Tyler said one afternoon. “These guys are smart when it comes to force fields. I don’t think they can top Riley, but if he were here, I bet we’d see some new applications in no time.”

“That’s a great idea,” Luke agreed. “Put that in our daily report back to Moonbase and see if we can convince him to come out here. Let’s hope Roth doesn’t kill the idea at the outset; he’ll benefit too if it works out.”

Production of reconnaissance drones began and the new probes started going out. The same protocols were used for stealth with added fai
l-
safes to protect the location of J64. The daily production reports and targets would be included in the data packages sent back to Moonbase.

Luke felt the synergy building between the efforts of Moonbase and J64. If he could find a few more allies they might be able to actually turn the tide of the war, if not at least stem the onslaught.

Luke tasked Carrie to manage the in-system patrols so he could meet and strategize with the local Jiguan officials. After a bit of nervousness when first told of her new assignment, Carrie adapted quickly to the responsibilities of command.

There was a scare when she was out on patrol during their third week. An enemy warship entered the system, headed toward Jigu. The early warning drones in the system’s outer orbits picked up the intruder and launched alert probes with the news to the inner planetary defense systems.

The attacking warship went sub-light ten minutes out from its target. Carrie’s forces intercepted the warship with her command to open fire. The Bakkui spacecraft was destroyed before it could fire a shot.

Luke feared the attack meant the Bakkui were keeping an eye on Jigu. If true, Carrie had managed their probe handily. Nevertheless, Luke took the incident as a sign to increase production of the Jiguan’s space forces. Having their own self-protection fleet couldn’t come soon enough.

Luke met with his senior staff to confirm their next destination, and a month after creating their new base on Jigu,
Lulubelle
set out for Star J97, sixteen days away and that much closer to the enemy’s advance.

Annie grinned at her neighbor, Millie. “Tomorrow’s the big day. You ready?”

Millie didn’t look at all sure. “I don’t know. I’ll go crazy if we have to keep looking. This is the third system we’ve been to.”

Annie shrugged. “We knew it was one of the risks. We’ll find something eventually. That’s why colony ships are so huge, so we can keep going and still be comfy.”

“I feel like I’ve lived on the
Marco Polo
forever. I’m ready to land and stay put, but what if the place sucks?”

Annie’s other neighbor, Camila Sanchez, had the correct answer. “What if it doesn’t? Everything we’ve seen so far looks pretty good.”

Millie still wasn’t sure. “What am I gonna do on a new planet? The only thing I know is ship repair and Jason said they’re gonna kick us out.”

Annie laughed. Millie was a sweetheart, but highly impressionable. “They’re not going to kick anyone out. You can stay in the ship as long as you want.”

A rough-looking man plopped down between Millie and Camila. “Who says I won’t? Might be good for her.”

Annie scowled at the man. “You’re not helping, Captain.”

“Not my job to help. My job is to motivate.”

Millie looked at Solomon Andrews with large, puppy-dog eyes. “Would you really throw me out?”

Camila leaned against the captain of the
Marco Polo
. “Knock it off, babe. She can’t tell when you’re kidding.”

“Who says I’m kidd… Ouch! That hurt.” He rubbed the bruised rib where Camila had elbowed him. She gave him a
what did you expect
look and turned back to her meal.

“Well,
I’m
excited!” Annie exclaimed. “I think it will be a
wonderful
planet. It’ll be nice to see a real sky and walk in a real forest.”

“Just don’t rush it,” Solomon cautioned. “There’s a lot we don’t know about the place. Let the recce crews do their job.”

“I know,” Annie replied obediently. “I’m not in a big hurry.”

Solomon looked at Camila. “Can’t stay. Lots of parties this evening. Everyone is celebrating our arrival so I need to make the rounds.
Going
to join me?”

“In a bit,” Camila replied. “We’re almost done here and then I’m going to the bridge. Us lowly engineers are having our party there. We can catch up then.”

“Sounds good.” Solomon brushed his lips against hers and left.

Annie and Millie glared at Camila with unabashed envy.

“Don’t give me that look,” she protested. “That was never part of my plan.”

“I know,” Annie responded with a sigh. “But a no-kidding shipboard romance—and with the captain. It’s so story book.”

“Enough,” Camila chided. “I need to get up to the bridge. Let’s get this mess cleared.”

Annie shooed her away. “You go on. This is my job. Have fun and I’ll see you tomorrow on the planet.”

Camila smiled her thanks and hurried off. Millie helped Annie clean off the table and put the dishes into the disposal. “I’m off to the shop for a final maintenance check,” Millie said. “Wanna come?”

“Sure.”

Scatterbrained though Millie could be, she was an ace mechanic. Her work areas were spotless and her attention to detail set her apart from co-workers.

Her area of responsibility was amidships. Millie’s team took care of levels five through eleven. It included five residential floors and one for mechanical.

In the shop area, Millie inspected the tool lockers. Nothing was missing and the inventory inspections were complete. The equipment cabinets were closed and tomorrow’s task list posted.

After giving the shop a final once-over, Millie was ready to leave. “Should we crash the power systems’ party?” she wondered aloud.

“Not for me,” Annie said. “Those guys get a little too—”

A tremor rumbled from the floor, drowning out the ever-present hum that permeated every corner of the vessel. Then the ship went silent. The girls looked at each other with alarm.

Annie spoke to the ceiling. “
Marco
? What’s going on?”

Millie’s eyes widened. “Who are you talking to? Is that…”

Marco Polo
’s baritone voice filled the room. “We are under attack, Theodora Smith. I’ve been ordered to shut down all drives and force fields.”

“Attack? By who?”

“Standby please,”
Marco
replied. His voice changed into the mechanical tone used for ship wide announcements. “All personnel report to your assigned lifeboats. This is not a drill. Repeat. All personnel report to your assigned lifeboats.”

Millie ran to the equipment lockers and started stuffing items into a leather bag. She pulled tool belts off a shelf and tossed one to Annie. “Put it on, quick!” From another shelf, she grabbed two personal force fields and strapped one to each of their belts. “We need to get moving,” she said seriously, pulling on Annie’s arm, forcing her out of the maintenance shop, into the public corridor.

“It’s party night,” Annie said, dragging her heels, trying to understand what was happening. “No one is near their lifeboat.
Marco
, explain! What attack are you talking about?”

“I am unable to explain, Theodora. A level-two-device has entered the system and ordered that I shut down. I have no option in this matter.”

“Is it the Nobility? Is this one of their systems?” Annie looked at Millie. “We checked all of the colony star systems. George said no one was out here.”

“What are you talking about?” Millie was totally out of her element. “How are you talking to the ship?”

Annie cut her off with a gesture. “
Marco
! Talk to me.”

“Theodora. My conjecture is that this is a Bakkui vessel. It is a level-two-device. I am unable to launch a report drone. Standby.” Again
Marco
’s voice changed and his voice was heard throughout the ship. “All hands brace for impact.”

“
Marco
?” Annie had a million questions but had no idea where to start.

“Farewell, Theodora Smith,”
Marco
said.

Gravity disappeared and the two girls found themselves floating in the empty corridor.

Millie dug into her bag and pulled out work gloves. “Here. Put these on.” She handed a pair to Annie. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“No kidding,” Annie replied absently tugging the gloves onto her hands. “
Marco
! What…”

The ship lurched violently. Annie thudded hard against the wall and started to slide, careening into Millie. As their slide accelerated in the weightless condition, bounding against the walls, Annie grabbed Millie’s arm and the two girls clinched together.

Annie looked down the curved corridor and gasped. The hallway was coming to an abrupt end. She was looking out into the emptiness of space.

“Oh my God!” Annie shouted. “Hang on!”

Millie followed her gaze and screamed.

The ship’s atmosphere was venting into space. Without any gravity the women were thrust into a field of rapidly expanding debris. Pieces of metal, furniture, and bodies flew past. Annie looked back at the ship in disbelief.

The
Marco Polo
had been sliced in two. The giant sections looked like cutaway dollhouses. The insides were exposed to space and every manner of debris filled the area in between the hulks. Plumes of condensed air spurted out from the jagged openings of concentric corridors. Dozens of colonists who’d tried to respond to their lifeboats tumbled out in gory clusters.

The two sections rotated away from each other like a massive clamshell blown apart in slow motion. One side was spinning slowly toward Annie and Millie.

“Use your gloves!” Millie shouted, straightening her arms toward the ship. The work gloves’ small gravity drives in the palms were suitable for maneuvering around a construction gantry in weightlessness, but not for outrunning a crippled spacecraft. Annie followed Millie’s example anyway. Until the last second she tried to get out of the path; then she wrapped her arms around her friend.

“Hang on!” she cried.

# # #

“Miss Daniels!”

“Annie!”

“Annie, wake up! Can you hear me?”

Consciousness came painfully. Annie opened her eyes. She was lying on the floor of a standard shuttle. Millie was sitting against the starboard wall, her knees drawn up. She was looking at Annie with a mixture of suspicion and concern.

The shuttle spoke with a familiar voice. “Annie!”

“
Sadie
?”

“Annie! Are you well?”

“
Sadie
? Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s
Sadie
. Are you okay?”

“
Sadie
? What are you doing here? Where are we? Millie? What happened?”

“Who are you?” Millie asked in bewilderment.

“Millie! What do you mean? I’m Annie Dan… I mean I’m… I’m…What’s my name, again?”

“This shuttle keeps calling you Annie Daniels.”

Annie’s memories coming back. “I’m Teddy! I mean Theodora! You call me Teddy. We’re roommates.”

“No we’re not.”

“No?” Annie thought about it. “I mean neighbors. That’s it.”

Sadie
butted into the conversation. “Repair technician Millie Parrish, the person you are addressing is Miss Annie Theodora Daniels. She is the senior member of the Milky Way Alliance in your colony group. You are ordered to provide her with medical assistance.”

Annie struggled to a sitting position. She ached all over but otherwise she felt fine. “It’s okay,
Sadie
. I’m not injured. Give me a status report.”

The side door of the shuttle opened.

“Oh my God,” Annie whispered.

The disaster filled her field of vision. The two sections of the
Marco Polo
had drifted apart and the area between was a horrible mass of death and destruction.

“Is anyone out there still alive?” Annie asked.

“I estimate that several thousand may still be alive,”
Sadie
answered.

“Several thousand! We’ve got to save them.”

“
Awaiting
your instructions.”

“My instructions? I’m not sure…wait. How did you find me? What are you doing here?”

“I suggest we delay your second question. As to the first, I managed to open the door to the shuttle hangar. Once outside, I began a search by homing in on your implant.”

“The shuttle hangar is open?” Annie asked. “Are the other shuttles okay?”

“They are.”

“Can you tell them to come here? Millie, we need to use the shuttles and start gathering people up. Can you do that with me?”

“I don’t know how to fly a shuttle,” Millie said.

“You don’t have to fly it. Just tell it where you want to go. Never mind.
Sadie
, you take Millie, I’ll go in the other shuttle.”

“I cannot allow you to venture out on your own.
Vincent
arriving now.”

A large shuttle was approaching.

“Any others?” Annie asked.

“Two more like
Vincent,
”
Sadie
replied. “Three more like me.”

“That helps. Are the survivors trapped inside the
Marco Polo
?” Annie asked, looking back at the drifting sections.

“Bulkheads automatically sealed most of the compartments. The colony AI is dead. His core was destroyed during the attack.”

“What about Camila?” Millie asked.

“The bridge appears to be intact,”
Sadie
said.

Annie nodded. “Good, everyone in the bridge crew is a pilot. Take us to the bridge.”

The shuttle sped to a point above the large dome.
Sadie
accepted Annie’s proposed strategy and started her replicator. “I have manufactured a cutting tool and several barrier force fields.
Arriving
at destination.”

Annie clipped the equipment to her tool belt and leapt from the cargo bay to land on the hull of the colony ship. She locked two of the barrier force fields against the hull, three feet apart. Once they activated, Annie used the cutting tool to slice a round opening between them into the hull. She grasped the edge and maneuvered herself inside the weightless ship. The entire bridge crew was there, looking at her with astonishment.

Relief washed over Annie. “Camila!”

“Teddy! My God!” The two girls hugged while the other bridge crew voiced their own amazement.

Captain Sullivan broke into their reunion. “Theodora, how did you get here?”