Mission Origin View (Final Days Trilogy) (9 page)

“
The stars, Captain. They’re just so many of ‘em, and they’re all kinds of colors.” He paused, deep in thought for a second, and said, “You know, Captain, it’s funny, but it makes me feel good to be so small and be able to see such a big universe full of stars.”

They talked for a while longer about his job and what he liked to do in his spare time. He told her he loved fixing things and really didn
’t have a hobby other than reading. Mary thought it odd that he enjoyed reading.

“
I think we’re done here, Petty Officer. It was good talking with you,” Mary said as she looked at the time on her desk’s holographic display.

“
I enjoyed talking with you too, Captain,” he said with a big grin.

“
Do you have any questions for me?” Mary asked.

“
No, Captain, none that I can think of.”

“
You’re dismissed then.”

Joseph stood at attention, saluted, turned
, and walked to the cabin door. The door opened, but instead of leaving, Joseph stopped and turned to face Mary.

“
Captain, I do have one question,” Joseph said, then looked down, put his hands in his pockets and moved his right foot along the deck as if he were pushing around an invisible object.

“
What is it, Petty Officer?”

“
I…I…I haven’t been able to make any friends on the ship yet,” he said, paused, then continued. “Is it okay for me to be friends with an officer aboard ship?”

N
ot sure how to respond, Mary hesitated and then asked, “Do you have any particular officer in mind?”

“
Yes, Captain, Lieutenant Klaxton. I’ve talked with him several times. We’re both orphans, and I think he’s my friend.”

“
Yes, Petty Officer, that’s okay. But never forget to treat him as an officer and give him the respect he deserves,” Mary said, relieved it wasn’t her he had in mind.

“
Yes, ma’am!” he said with a big smile and left.

Mary shot up from her seat as he exited
; she was going to call him back and remind him her title was “Captain” or “sir.” She opened her mouth to speak but closed it and sat back down, shook her head, and smiled. She liked the way he addressed a lady.

SRS
Stephen Hawking

1445
—February 16, 2372

The crew spent the day training. The ship
’s main AI computer, named Stephen, was based on quantum physics technology, and created flight simulations for the bridge crew and sailors. The crew learned to fly and operate the
Stephen Hawking
along with repairing problems and defending themselves in battle. Mary tweaked Stephen’s simulations, based on how the crew responded to a specific situation, and ran them over and over again until she was comfortable with her crew’s reactions.

***

Dr. Harper and Dr. Jones spent the day in the mission control center (MCC), which was set up especially for the scientific equipment that would be used to view the origin of life on Earth. The MCC was packed with consoles, a wall-size holographic display, and the QMAC communications device. Stephen would double as the ship’s computer and the mission’s scientific computer responsible for interfacing the advanced long-range sensor arrays with the ship’s many functions, such as navigation and engineering. This interfacing and control would give the scientists a real-time view of Earth as it was at a specific point in the past. From this, they could perform analysis on the sensor data and hopefully determine the origin of life on Earth.

“
Stephen, please simulate the ship’s location at three hundred light-years from Earth for a calibration test,” Dr. Harper said.

“
Simulation completed and is ready for analysis,” Stephen said over the MCC intercom system. The quantum computer then displayed, on the holographic display, what Earth had looked like three hundred years ago.

D
r. Harper, sitting at a sensor console, selected the simulated object as input and started an analysis on the object using the advanced spectroscopy sensors. A few seconds later, the main holographic display sprang to life, creating a display of Earth as it analyzed the simulated data.

Starting as an unfocused display of a planet, its focus improved as reports of the analysis began displaying below the holographic image.
The reports included types and quantity of gases, mass, radial velocity, and so forth. Seconds later the main holographic display and calibration display began to blink simultaneously, indicating a match.

“
Calibration test completed with one hundred percent accuracy,” Stephen
said in his calm, humanlike male voice.

“
Thank you, Stephen,” Dr. Harper said.

“
I suggest that I continue with a series of calibration tests notating any irregularities,” Stephen offered.

“
Very well. Continue calibration testing using parameters at your discretion and prepare a report for me to review,” Dr. Harper said while smiling at himself for not coming up with the idea earlier.

***

The marines spend the afternoon in the armory being briefed by Captain Neubauer. He told his marines they may be ordered to “rescue” the remaining three scientists, who would join the mission, and wanted his marines to be familiar with all three planets’ governments, social structures, military capabilities, and climates.

“
We’ll extract the first scientist, Doctor Aaron Kastriva, from Gliese,” Captain
Neubauer said while a three-dimensional display of the planet emerged from a wall holographic unit.

“
This is a cold planet ruled by the Communal Tribal Union. The CTU is a global totalitarian regime that took power twenty years ago after a bloody civil war. The United States supported the fourteen independent nations with military equipment to augment the Gliese United Nations military force. Even with our assistance, after six months of fighting the CTU took control.

“W
e don’t have a picture of Doctor Kastriva yet.”

Neubauer paused as
Gliese disappeared and
the next planet appeared. “This is the Planet Corot and Doctor
Rachel Bailey
.” The display showed a planet covered with a network of mountain ranges colored with various shades of red with level plains colored yellow and green. Next to the planet hologram, a picture of the doctor appeared. She looked to be in her late twenties, with blonde hair and a pretty, round face.

“
Corot is a hot planet,
rich in rare minerals like gold, platinum, and palladium. Its
mountain ranges provide natural borders for its eight separate nations.
Unfortunately, Dr. Bailey lives in New Kalgoorlie, a nation currently not friendly with the United States.

“
Finally, Doctor Vashni Qasim,” Neubauer
said as the holographic picture of the doctor replaced information about Corot. The doctor was female and in her forties, with dark hair and olive skin; she looked slightly overweight.

“
She is on Leonis.”
Neubauer
paused as all the marines sighed. The United States had been at war with Leonis four times over the last two hundred years.

“
You already know about this planet, which is ruled by the Council of Czars and has the military capability to not only defend itself but also attack other planets. We’ve been at peace with them for twenty years, and I don’t plan on causing an incident that might start another war.”
Neubauer
paused, looked at everyone, and continued. “This will be our toughest assignment.”  

Captain’s Quarters,
SRS
Stephen Hawking

1605
—February 16, 2372

“
Sir,
Lieutenant
Klaxton reporting as ordered!” Gideon said.

“
At ease, and please take a seat, Lieutenant,” Mary said. “As you probably already know,
Lieutenant, I’ve been meeting with the crew and marines to get to know them a little better.”

“
Yes, sir,” he responded.

“
I reviewed your records and found yours very interesting,” she said. “Remember our meeting when I called you a genius? I didn’t know at the time that you really are a genius.”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
Have you ever thought about applying for an engineering position in the navy or marines?” Mary asked, trying to get Gideon to talk openly and not just sit there, saying, “Yes, sir.”

“
No, sir,” he responded.

“
Why?” she asked, hoping he’d have to talk more.

“
I’ve never been interested in science and engineering, sir. I like excitement, and being a combat marine suits me.”

“
Your grades at Annapolis were outstanding,
Lieutenant. D
idn’t anyone try and talk you into a research job?”

“
Yes, sir. Several instructors and even the commandant of the academy recommended that I pursue a more challenging career.”

“
But you wanted marine combat infantry?”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
Do you really remember everything you read, see, and hear?” Mary asked with an expression of awe.

“
Yes. sir.”

Mary, wanting to change the tone and mood of the conversation
, decided to move on.

“
Your records state why you joined the marines; tell me more about your childhood.”

Gideon told Mary about being an orphan and moving from foster home to foster home and then finally striking out on his own.

“Why did you finally leave the foster care system? Was it because you didn’t like to be disciplined by your foster parents?” Mary asked, hoping that she hadn’t gone too far with her personal questions.

Gideon thought for a second and answered.
“No. Discipline wasn’t a problem. As a matter of fact, I went out of my way to please my foster parents. I was the one who asked to be moved from one foster home to another.” Gideon hesitated for a second and continued. “To answer your question, sir, I ran away from the foster care system because I never found what I was looking for in any of the foster homes, and I simply gave up.”

“
And what were you looking for?” Mary asked, still probing.

“
Love…love from a mother, a father, a family,” Gideon answered.

Taken off guard by the answer, Mary didn’t know what to say next. She hoped that she hadn’t made Gideon uncomfortable.

“
Captain, I’m fine,” Gideon said. “I’ve accepted my past and concluded that I was simply a statistic. At the time, one out of every thirty-five kids didn’t have or even know their parents.”

“
I’m glad you’re fine,” Mary said, having to clear her throat as she spoke, not knowing how to respond.

“
It didn’t take me long to figure it out and accept my childhood as it was.” He paused, “After all, I’m a genius.”

Mary looked at her clock
, “That’ll be all,
Lieutenant. We’re out of time, and I have one more meeting before chow.”

“
Yes, sir,” Gideon said. Stood at attention, and saluted.

“
I understand you have a friend onboard,” Mary remarked as she returned his salute.

“
Sir?” Gideon asked confused.

“
Petty Officer Sipes,” she answered. “He’s under the impression that you’re friends.”

“
Yes, sir. We talked on our way to
Phobos
.” Gideon said with a smile.

“
You could do worse,
Lieutenant
,” Mary remarked.

“
Yes, sir,” Gideon said, performed an about-face, and left.

Warehouse Section, Phobos Naval Station

0945
—February 17, 2372

“
LT, I detect two armed hostiles at the end of the corridor,” Corporal Gault said as he studied the heads-up display generated by his combat helmet.”

“
Moving?” Gideon asked.

“
No, sir.”

“
Is there a door nearby?”

“
Looks like it, sir. I’ll pull up a structural display to verify.” Before making the request for the display, the corporal’s Anna had already pulled it up. Gault looked at it and smiled. “Sir, there’s a door, and it’s definitely being guarded. The target must be inside.”

“
Understood. Stand by,” Gideon told Gault and then changed the communication frequency.