Impulse (10 page)

At this Zander raised himself up, barely coming up to my chest. When he spoke his voice was even louder than before. “And so you refuse to honor this vessel and those who built and man her, those who toiled with your countrymen in a crisis, by wearing the uniform of
Impulse
?” That shook me up. I had expected a private conversation and now this seemed more a confrontation designed to embarrass me. I stiffened both physically and in my resolve.

“The uniform I wear honors those countrymen and their sacrifice, Captain. I do not wear it to dishonor you or Carinthia. I do it out of respect for my forebears, my brother, who was lost in Union Navy service, and my oath.”

“That is unacceptable,” said Zander flatly. “We must all wear the same uniform, Commander. If you do not comply your name will see the bottom of my report on a daily basis. You will accumulate enough fleet demerits that you will never see a promotion, or for that matter even shore leave.”

This time I didn't hesitate in my response. “If you so choose, Captain, I cannot argue with you. But I cannot change a stand I have taken on principle.” I was rigid as a bulkhead now, my whole body tense. Zander sighed and placed his hands behind his back.

“Is there no compromise in you, boy?” he said. I hesitated.

“There is, sir, I believe,” I responded. Now Zander crossed his arms in front of him.

“Well go ahead, I can't wait to hear this,” he said.

“We could all wear the standard issue Union Navy whites, sir. Then there would be uniformity among the crew, sir.”

“Navy whites?” Zander boomed. “Navy whites?” He stepped forward to the deck rail and yelled out to the crew below. “Does anyone here want to wear those damnably ugly navy whites?”

“No, sir!” came the chorus from the bridge crew. I also noticed a good deal of snickering now and hushed conversations. I began to relax as it dawned on me: I'd been had. Again.

“No damnable whites!” Zander screeched in his gravel tones. This was greeted with cheers and clapping all around. Commander Kierkopf nudged me with her elbow.

Zander turned back to me. “The crew is having nothing of the damned whites, Mr. Cochrane,” he said. “And since you won't wear the green of Carinthia, then I guess your current uniform will have to do.” This was greeted with a smattering of cheers. “As has always been the policy of this vessel under my command!”

The crew roared with laughter and whooping in my direction, and I could feel the flush of my skin. Commander Kierkopf patted me on the back patronizingly.

“Well done, young lad! You've succeeded in maintaining standard ship's policy!” she said. I began to smile.

“Mr. Poulsen!” said Zander to Claus Poulsen, stationed at Propulsion. “We've had our fun, now I believe you owe me twenty crowns!” The crew broke into laughter again. Poulsen pulled the coin from his pocket and passed it to Zander, who held it up to me.

“He bet me he could get you into the greens,” he said, laughing. “But I knew better! You're a stubborn one!” Now I laughed with the rest.

“Duly noted, Captain, Commander,” I said, nodding to each in turn, then stepped forward to the rail myself and pointed at the rabble. “But the rest of you lot just remember, I'll have duty station on this deck often enough, and plenty of you will be serving shifts under me!” There were good-natured jeers at this. Zander waved the crew back to their duty stations.

“Commander Cochrane,” he said, “the XO and I will be having lunch in the officers' lounge. In the meantime, Commander, you have the con. Don't break anything.”

“Acknowledged, sir. I have the con, sir,” I said. It was hard to contain my excitement. Less than an hour on duty and I'd already run my first longscope sequence and now was about to get the con. It was more than I could have hoped for. “Thank you, sir,” I said as he departed with Commander Kierkopf.

I looked down on the nav and con stations, my hands on the rail of the captain's deck. The crew looked up at me expectantly.

“Let's look alive now!” I said, then barked out my first orders in command of a Lightship.

Underway

A
t 0700 the next morning I stood on the captain's deck next to Dobrina as Zander held court from the center seat. We were untethered from Candle and moving slowly away from the station on a general heading for Quantar's outer-system jump point for the crossing to Levant.

“Commander Kierkopf, please set our course for the shuttles and prepare to load them in the landing bay for the traverse to the jump point. And activate the Hoagland Field,” said Zander to Dobrina, but loud enough for the entire bridge crew to hear. This was clearly a man who loved the pomp of command. Commander Kierkopf turned to me.

“Execute, Lieutenant Commander Cochrane,” she said.

“Aye, XO,” I responded. I was curious about the request to activate the Hoagland Field. Usually at sub-light speed in friendly territory the field was off. I stepped forward and put my hands on the railing, looking down to George Layton. “Helm officer, set course one-one-eight, mark four. Propulsion officer,” I said, turning to see my adjutant Claus Poulsen on duty, “engage the impellers and charge the forward Hoagland Field. Take us out at zero-point zero-seven-five light.”

“Zero-point zero-seven-five light, aye, sir!” snapped Poulsen. The sub-light impellers were useful for any travel under one-tenth light speed. Beyond that the Hoagland Drive was far more efficient, even if it did demand that we use the accompanying field to cut a swath through normal space.

I stood at the railing acting as if I expected my orders to be carried out swiftly and flawlessly. In reality I was as excited as any officer on his maiden voyage into deep space would be. I looked to the longscope, wishing I could be under the hood, calculating time and distance to some forgotten First Empire world, or a relic like an Imperial Dreadnought, or some other fascinating discovery. But for now all I could do was watch and wait for my next opportunity.

“Main display forward,” commanded Dobrina.

“Display forward, aye, sir,” responded Layton. I sighed as the main plasma display switched on to show us nothing but dark space sprinkled with crystal stars ahead. Now the adventure truly began.

“Lieutenant Commander, may I have a word?” It was Zander, and it broke my momentary reverie. I was at his station in a few short strides and sat in my duty chair when I saw Dobrina do the same.

“Yes, sir?” I said. Zander shifted in his seat and put down his ever-present coffee cup. He spoke quietly, almost in a whisper.

“I'm calling the staff together at 1000 hours,” he said. “I expect you and Commander Kierkopf to keep my bridge in suitable shape and get those shuttles stowed by then. From here on out I believe it's critical that we move with both pace and deliberate intent, without any advance notice of our next move. Do you understand?”

I looked to Commander Kierkopf. She was clearly already in the loop on these operating instructions. “I do, sir,” I said. “Are we expecting trouble
before
we reach the jump point?” Zander looked put out at my question, but answered it nonetheless.

“I expect nothing, but I suspect everything, Commander. Now carry out my orders, and be on time for the staff.” With that he was up in a flash and headed for the lifter. “I'll be in my cabin, XO. You have the con,” he said loud enough for the whole bridge to hear.

“Acknowledged,” said Kierkopf, “I have the con, sir.” And with that, Zander was gone, Commander Kierkopf moved to the center seat, and I was left with more questions than answers.

A few minutes later, once things on the bridge had progressed to my satisfaction, I joined Kierkopf as she sat in the captain's chair.

“What did Zander mean about ‘pace and deliberate intent'?” I asked while pretending to scan reports on my tablet display. “And what's with the Hoagland Field?”

“If he had wanted you to know that rather than just carry out his orders, don't you think he would have told you?” she said without taking her eyes from the main display.

“I'm just trying to get a handle on him,” I said. “He's not the easiest man to understand.”

“I will give you that,” she replied. “But I also know he won't tell you anything until he's ready to.”

“Obviously you trust him fully.” I stated.

“I do,” she said. “He recruited me from
Minerva
to
Impulse
based solely on the recommendation of my former captain. When I got here he tested me in multiple roles and kept advancing me. I owe him a great debt for my career, but I also respect him as military man. He knows what he's doing and he cares for everyone aboard
Impulse
.”

“I understand that. It's just I haven't learned his . . . idiosyncrasies yet.”

“One thing I will say, Cochrane. If he didn't believe in you, you wouldn't be sitting here.”

“I'll keep that in mind in the future,” I replied, letting a smile of satisfaction touch the corner of my mouth. “Thank you, Commander.”

Impulse
's Historian stepped off the lifter. Commander Kierkopf rose to greet him.

“You aren't on my schedule today, Mr. Tralfane,” she said. He stopped and looked at her distastefully.

“My station requires upgrades. I've already cleared them with the captain.” He started toward his station again. Her voice stopped him a second time.

“Then you'll have no problem if I clear it with him?” she said. He looked at me, then continued to his station and started it up.

“I take it that's a yes?” she added after a few moments. He sat in his chair and swiveled to face her, his expression angry.

“
You
may do whatever you like, Miss Kierkopf. I don't need your clearance to proceed, only the captain's,” he said. I stood and leaned in close to her.

“He did tell me yesterday that he had upgrades to install,” I said, trying to assuage her. She seemed upset that he refused to use her rank when addressing her. She looked to me and then back at Tralfane.

“I assume you'll have no objections if Lieutenant Commander Cochrane here assists you, Mr. Tralfane? He could benefit from time on the 'scope,” she said.

“I've no doubt of that,” replied Tralfane without looking over at either of us. Now we were both insulted. With a nod from Commander Kierkopf I stood and took my position at the longscope station, going under the hood and activating the displays. I monitored his activities for a few minutes. It seemed as though he was installing new subroutines in the astrogation, propulsion, and weapons systems. I couldn't monitor what he was doing nor was he willing to communicate directly with me through the com. After about twenty minutes he rebooted the 'scope from his station, essentially kicking me out. I emerged from under the hood and went back to my duty station as he shut down his workstation and started for the lifter.

“Please don't interfere with the 'scope while it's loading the new routines, Lieutenant Commander,” he said to me, then left without acknowledging Kierkopf again.

“What was he doing?” she asked me after he was gone. I shrugged.

“From what I could tell, adding new subroutines to some of the base systems. Does it concern you?” I asked. She looked away from me for a few seconds.

“Concern? Everything the Historians do concerns me, Cochrane. But ultimately it just comes down to one thing. I don't like him,” she said.

I chuckled. “Me either.” She crossed her arms. I was unsure what she was thinking.

“Let's get ready for the staff,” she finally said, bringing the conversation to an end. I turned back to my plasma, running down the list of my duties one more time, unable to shake a growing sense of unease that had fallen over me.

Nothing could have prepared me for the shock I was in for at the command staff meeting.

I arrived ten minutes early and took my coffee to the third chair. A few minutes later the full staff was there, minus Zander. He entered two minutes after the hour, unusual for him, to make us a full twelve.

Zander looked to Kierkopf. “Report, Exec,” he said. She cleared her throat before beginning.

“Both shuttles have been retrieved and stored in the landing bay. It's pretty cramped in there with the two of them and the Downship as well, sir.”

“I'm sure we'll manage, XO. Mr. Cochrane, I understand there were to be upgrades to the longscope today,” he said.

“Yes, sir. Mr. Tralfane began the installation this morning. Updates to some of the base systems as far as I could tell, sir,” I replied.

“Well he'll not get the whole day. I've informed him he has until 1200 to verify his installations. We jump at 1400. No excuses,” he said. Then he set down his coffee cup and sat forward, his hands clasped in front of him, an intense look in his eyes. I'd never seen him look like this before in my brief time with him, and it made me uncomfortable.

“Once we're in Levant space we will follow our game plan exactly, no deviations. I will remind everyone here we are trying to recreate the exact conditions at the time of the incident, but without the same results. The bulwark shuttle will launch first, at 1430 hours. It will be followed by the light shuttle fourteen minutes later. We will follow the exact course set out in the plan,” he said. This set off alarms for me. I hadn't seen details on any sort of formal plan.

“Captain,” I said, “I've seen no plan, nor been informed of one. As a senior officer—”

“Commander Kierkopf and I have discussed it at length,” Zander said, cutting me off. “The rest of you are being informed of it now and a full composite has been downloaded to each of your workstations, personal plasmas, and coms,” he said, glancing around the table for any sign of dissent. I chose to provide that myself.

“But, sir, we've had no time for a review,” I protested.

“Noted, Mr. Cochrane,” he snapped. “Now if you'll allow me to continue?” His tone indicated there was no compromise in the offing. I nodded my acknowledgment but said nothing. Zander continued.

“Commander Kierkopf will command the light shuttle with a single pilot. The bulwark shuttle will carry a complement of ten volunteer crew, plus one pilot and one commander. Mr. Cochrane, you will man the longscope and scan for unwanted activity of any kind, but most especially rogue hyperdimensional displacement waves, understood?”

“Aye, sir,” I said. “Who will command the bulwark shuttle?”

“I will,” Zander replied.

The staff exploded in protests, except for Commander Kierkopf. I noted this, even as I let the others calm down before speaking again.

“Captain, this is unacceptable. Our most experienced officer must remain on the bridge,” I insisted emphatically. Zander waved me off.

“That's where I was last time while I watched my crew burn. I will
not
let that happen again.” I noted the use of the words “my crew.” Zander took the losses personally, even if they weren't his countrymen. I wondered if it was guilt about the last attack that made him want to take this irrational action. I thought about my orders from Wesley, then put those thoughts aside for the moment while Zander continued.

“Besides, Mr. Cochrane, if you do your job at the 'scope correctly, we will have plenty of time to activate our shielding,” he said.

I protested again. “But, sir, you'll be leaving the ship—”

“In your capable hands, Commander. You're third now and you can handle it, otherwise Wesley wouldn't have selected you for this assignment and you wouldn't be here. This is not a debate, sir, it's an order,” he finished emphatically. And that was that. He proceeded to explain logistics and other details. I was pleased to find that he had selected Claus Poulsen for his pilot, at least. A few more minutes and then he rose and left for his cabin. I lingered until Kierkopf and I were the only ones left in the room.

“This is insane!” I said. “The captain off the ship in the most exposed position! The XO right behind! And me? An over-promoted newbie officer fresh out of cadet school on my first tour, hell, my first few
days
in space, left in command? It's insane!” I repeated.