A Faded Star (10 page)

 Stokes saluted back and then said, “Mister Kri step
forward.”

 Halford Kri stepped forward and saluted. “Sir,
Lieutenant Commander Kri reporting.”

 Stokes returned the salute and then said, “Mister Kri,
you are hereby promoted to the rank of Commander.” Stokes and Vesper stepped
forward and pinned the new rank insignia on Kri's collar. The three tiny silver
stars glinted in the light. “You have been relieved as science officer aboard
the Rampart. You are hereby directed to report aboard the Rampart to assume the
duties of executive officer. Your order packet contains the specifics of your
assignment.” Stokes saluted Kri. After Kri returned the salute and re-seated
himself, Stokes turned to address the crew. “First I want to thank you all for
the exceptionally hard work over the last few weeks. The ship has been
recovering from battle damage at an extraordinary pace. Well done.

 “As many of you have speculated, the Rampart has been
given orders to search out and discover the nature of what is being called the
origin signal. Due to the urgency of our assignment, no one in the crew will be
eligible to volunteer for the expeditionary force. I know many of you want to
go, but we need Rampart fully crewed and trained to begin this mission. The
admiralty has designated our mission to be highly time sensitive. Our
politicians have finalized the non-aggression and mutual aid pact between the
people of Lashmere and the alien alliance.

 “Rampart will jump out of this solar system in nine
days. Her departure will mark the beginning of a new era for humanity. Once
more, we travel beyond our home star system to join the greater community of
interstellar space. We hope to find friends and allies.” Stokes' face grew
grim. “If we find enemies, we will be alone and without the possibility of
rescue. Rook, the second ship of Rampart's class, is still months from
completion. We will succeed at our mission and return, having solved the
mystery of the origin signal. I thank all of you, again, for all of your hard
work, and I look forward to leading you through the mission that lies before
us.” Stokes turned and looked at Admiral Vesper, who nodded. “Crew, fall out
and enjoy the afternoon socializing. I encourage you to take a moment to
congratulate Captain Hanlon on her promotion and to wish her and Admiral Drogue
luck leading the expeditionary force.”

 Aden Patho watched the group from the stage break up
and begin moving through the assembled crew. He approached Stokes and said,
“Sir, who will be replacing Mister Kri as science officer?”

 “A newly assigned officer. I tried to promote one of
the division officers, but none of them have the experience needed.”

 “I see, sir. When is Hal's replacement arriving?”

 “Tomorrow morning. Since Mister Kri is still settling
in to his role as executive officer, I would appreciate it if you would take
charge of getting the new science officer orientated to Rampart.”

 “Yes, sir.”

 “Very good, Mister Patho. I'll forward the pertinent
information to your data node once the ceremony is over.”

 Patho nodded, and as Stokes walked away, Patho turned
and nearly collided with Admiral Drogue. Patho felt his spine go stiff. Of all
the people currently in uniform, there was no one he would rather less meet
than Admiral Drogue. Drogue had commanded the forces that defeated the Karn
nation. Patho started to simply step around the man, but Drogue began to speak,
halting Aden with his voice.

 “Mister Patho, I am glad to have the opportunity to
meet you here.” Drogue caught the expression on Patho's face. “Commander, I'm
sure you would likely rather not talk to me, but it's important I say this.
You, and your career, are symbols of unity for our people. Without men of
courage like you to join and serve, our military would undoubtedly seem nothing
more than an occupying force. We need you and everyone like you to help our
people stay united in the cause of safety and the well-being of everyone on
Lashmere.”

 Patho stared at the admiral, speechless for a moment.
Admiral Drogue was not a young man. There were heavy wrinkles around his watery
blue eyes and gray peppered his dark brown hair. The admiral's eyes took on a
light of disappointment, and he began to turn away when Patho said, “My father
died in the war, sir.”

 Drogue held Patho's gaze for a long moment before
looking down. He said, “I'm sorry, Commander. I didn't know.” The admiral
strode away.

 Patho watched him go and just stood, trying to get
control of his emotions for a few moments. He walked, almost in a stupor, to a
chair and sat down, staring, unseeing, at the floor in front of him until
Simmons came to him.

 “Hey, Aden. It looks like the party is starting to
break up. Want to go back to your cabin?”

 Patho jumped at the sound of her voice and then stood
abruptly. He looked down at her brown eyes, staring up, waiting for an answer.
He considered her question and rolled it back and forth in his mind for some
time, pondering her voice and posture. Simmons started to get a concerned look
on her face when Patho just stared at her without responding.

 “Aden, are you okay?”

 “Marli...” Aden looked down at the floor before
responding. “I ran into Admiral Drogue a few minutes ago. It made me think of
the war is all.”

 “Did you have any family in the war?”

 Aden looked up and stared into her eyes. She looked
genuinely concerned for him. “My father died in the war. He was in the final
stand just before the surrender. If the Karn government had just acknowledged
the Ebrim superiority before that last battle, my father would be here today.”

 “Aden, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Why didn't you
tell me earlier?”

 “I try not to think about it. My whole family despises
the fact I joined the Lashmere military. They believe I sold out the Karn
people, but all I ever wanted to do was serve in space. When I discovered I was
so good at drone command and got my meritorious promotion, no one in my family
was happy. They all told me to stop helping the enemy.” Aden sighed heavily. “I
usually try not to talk about it because it's such a depressing topic. I'm
proud of the fact I can serve the people of Lashmere.”

 “Sounds like you have the right attitude, Aden.
Sometimes the past can be really hard to let go of.”

 “Yeah.”

 Marli took Aden's chin in her hand and tilted his face
up. She looked at him for a long moment before letting go. “Come on, Aden.
Let's get out of here before you depress everyone else.” She smiled and gave
him a suggestive wink. “Besides, I know just the thing to take your mind off
the past.” With that, she took his hand and practically dragged him out of the
boarding concourse.

 Stokes watched the pair depart. He turned to Hanlon
and said, “How long has that been going on?”

 Linis said, “About five weeks now, sir. I was pretty
surprised. Patho isn't who I would have pegged as her type.”

 “Well, she'll have to put a stop to it once she is
officially assigned as our science officer tomorrow morning. I suppose we can
let them have one last night together before I surprise her with her new
orders. I was going to present them to her informally this evening.”

 “Sir, I never knew... you're a romantic.”

 Stokes chuckled quietly, almost to himself. “Since you
are shortly headed to a system at least a hundred light years from here, I can
assume my secret is safe?”

 “I am the reigning queen of discretion, sir,” Hanlon
grinned at Stokes.

 “Things won't be the same without you here, Linis.”

 “I'll miss you too, sir.”

 The pair quietly contemplated the moment for a few
seconds and then nodded to one another and strode off to their separate duties.
Hanlon went to clean out her cabin so Kri could move in, and Stokes set out to
begin driving the shipyard with Hanlon's schedule.

 The expeditionary force departed in an alliance troop
transport seven days later. The cavernous ship, originally designed to haul
massive loads of consumer goods and raw materials from one side of the alliance
to another, housed the entire force easily. The ship had been retrofitted with
expanded life support and a warren of crew quarters. Most of the crew of
Rampart came to cheer and support those who were leaving.

 Cobb joined the other member of the scientific team,
an actual archaeologist, Dr. Stapeley, who was a long-time expert in the study
of mankind's origins and arrival on Lashmere. The two man team reported to
Stokes and Kri before being assigned guest quarters.

 Stokes had not relished telling Simmons she was
assigned to the Rampart. She had frequently been a problem with discipline, and
he had his doubts as to whether or not she would follow protocol and break off
her relationship with Patho now that they were assigned to the same command. So
far, no one had reported any questionable behavior to him, and Kri had taken a
strangely intense interest in ensuring the pair was actually following the
rules. Vesper had assured Stokes that Simmons would be transferred back off the
Rampart once their exploration of Buckman's star was over.

 Rampart was ready to depart the Lashmere system two
days later, a full eleven days ahead of schedule. Hanlon's organizational
abilities were still bearing fruit. The morning of departure, all stations were
manned for maneuvering out of space dock. Stokes entered the newly repaired
main bridge and settled himself into the thickly padded gray command chair at
its center.

 “Mister Kri are departure stations manned?”

 “Yes, sir. The ship is fully manned. All crew members
are present and accounted for. The ship is ready for departure.”

 “Very well. Release all docking clamps and engage
engines. Back us out of dock and into open space.”

 “Aye, sir.” Kri turned and began giving relevant
orders. The ship shuddered slightly as the moorings were retracted and the ship
floated free in the massive shipyard. Slowly, Rampart slid out of the berth
where she had undergone refit and moved into open space. The shipyard facility
stretched both port and starboard for nearly a kilometer, lined with similar
docks for ship construction and refit. Kri said, “Sir we are clear of the
shipyard. All stations report ready to navigate.”

 “Very well. Plot a jump to the cometary shield at
these coordinates,” Stokes said and sent a series of numbers to Kri's station.

 This was an expected order. The Rampart would first
make a several light hour jump to prove her faster than light system and to
verify her ability to operate away from the support structures that existed
around Lashmere.

 Kri punched the coordinates into the executive officer
station and then he said, “Plot jump to coordinates displayed on screen.”

 Simmons said, “Aye sir.” She relayed the order to the
helm, and the litany of repeated orders went back and forth across the bridge
as the jump plot was verified and the engines spooled up for the jump.

 The Rampart left Lashmere orbit and arrived at the
comet shield less than an hour after her moorings had been retracted. Her
arrival was equally anticlimactic.

 “All systems report normal, Captain,” Kri said. “The
point to point drive functioned perfectly.”

 “Very well. Miss Simmons, do you see any indication of
any kind of problem with us plotting a five light year jump?”

 “No, sir. The power consumption curve is exactly as
expected. We have plenty of fuel for the trip.” Fuel, in this case, was a
controlled mass of highly energetic isotopes that formed in the radiation belts
of most gas giant planets. The isotopes were sifted from the belts with huge
electromagnetic scoops that then passed them into holding tanks that held them
'compressed' between magnetic fields and prevented their decay until it could
be used to fuel the massive energy requirement the point to point drive needed
to function. Fortunately, Lashmere had two gas giants, both of which could be
used to harvest the isotopes. The remaining power systems, including the main
gun, were powered by a pair of fusion reactors situated along the central axis
of the ship.

 Stokes said, “Position report.”

 “Sir, it looks like we have arrived within five
hundred meters of our expected arrival coordinates,” Simmons said. She tapped
at her console a bit more before continuing. “Sir, our orientation is oddly
deflected.”

 “Define oddly deflected, Miss Simmons,” Stokes said.

 “The specifics are that we are pointed twenty-six
degrees relative to the plane of the ecliptic. I'm trying to run through the
possible interactions with our point to point drive.”

 “Very well. While you work that out, we will spend
some time exploring the area. Mister Kri, engage sublight engines and begin
moving towards the cometary cluster just off the port beam. Also, shift from
system bearings and coordinates to galactic bearings and coordinates.”

 “Aye, sir. Shifting coordinate system now. Helm engage
engines and make for two-five-five by zero-one-eight.” The system for
navigation used by most Lashmere ships was originally based on a system that
placed the Lashmere star at the center of all plots and as such was relative to
the Lashmere system only. Since they were traveling outside the Lashmere
system, the Rampart had adopted a system that placed the center of galactic
rotation as the center point of all their navigational coordinates.

 The Rampart took several hours to arrive at the
cometary cluster. Careful sensor scans revealed the comets to be nothing more
than balls of frozen water, gas and rocks. In that time, Marli Simmons was
unable to work out the issue with the point to point drive. She reported her
failure to Commodore Stokes.

 “Miss Simmons, are you sure there is no explanation
for out orientation change?”

 “It bears no measurable resemblance to any unaccounted
for interaction. There were a number of interactions with our faster than light
transit I have corrected for. Although I am hesitant to say so, I believe it
may have been a random confluence of seemingly unrelated factors. “