"Captain's
log: supplemental—" the First Officer verbally recorded the day's events
by speaking to a book-shaped voice recorder, and then handed the device to a
female Yeoman of almost twenty years, standing just below the command platform.
The Yeoman closed the device and then promptly left the bridge.
Aaen knelt
next to Roul. "You're going to be alright, Roul. You're safe,
now." Roul had almost completely stopped trembling.
"The Panou's gone. The wormhole is closed."
Roul opened
his eyes, and then cautiously started looking around the bridge.
"Can
you believe what happened today, Aaen?" asked the First Officer.
"We'll
get you some food and a place to sleep. Don't worry. Just take slow, deep
breaths. You're free." Aaen returned to his seat on the command
platform. Aaen shifted his attention on the long streams of stars
passing by, displayed on the main viewscreen. "It was a good day,
sir. I'm just glad everyone lived to tell about it. Long-Range, any response to
our request for assistance for the Montgomery crew?"
"Not
yet, sir."
"Navigation,
how long until we arrive at Starbase One?"
"Ten
minutes, sir."
We
just rescued, and freed. . .a slave! Aaen thought.
"Shield
generators have been repaired, and are back online." said Left Damage
Control.
"Confirmed,"
said Tactical. "Shield strength at ten percent."
The
bridge crew clapped.
Aaen turned
to security. "Status of the intruders?"
The
Chief of Security replied."Stunned, and unconscious. They should be awake
and alert by the time we reach Starbase One."
The
bridge crew breathed a sigh of relief.
The
bridge was abuzz with crew members relaying messages, reports and other
important documents pertaining to otherwise routine ship business between
various bridge crew members for the next four minutes.
The
sensor station flashed.
"Approaching Starbase
One, Captain."
"All
stop."
The
stars gradually slowed.
Aaen breathed
deeply. "It's good to see home, again."
The
First Officer nodded.
Docking
proceeded as usual. The entirety of the crew followed normal offloading
procedure. Aaen remained in his seat as the rest of the bridge
departed. A Starbase security force quickly marched up the spiral staircase,
stopping to face Aaen.
"This
boy needs to be taken to Starbase, immediately, for medical attention. There are
also multiple intruders in the brig." Aaen gestured the contingent's
next destination, and then did like the rest of the crew did by putting his
poncho-style uniform on his chair, and then stepped off the command platform to
follow the rest of the bridge crew. Aaen approached the airlock to
the jet bridge that would take the crew to Starbase. Commodore Houston stood to
the left of the airlock door and greeted the crew with a smile as they stepped
off.
"Aaen!"
Aaen stood
at attention.
"At
ease. How did your crew's mission go? The Voyager looked
pretty banged up as you were entering the docking bay–worse than when you and
the rest of the crew were rescuing those people from the planet in that solar
system."
"Well,
there are no casualties. We were boarded by some intruders who tried to take
someone we rescued from the object that the Ranger found near the opening of
that wormhole. Security was able to stop the intruders from accomplishing their
objective. I'm just glad things went as well as they did in the
end."
"Well,
Spacefleet Command has taken notice of the Voyager crew's
recent efforts. They'll be interested in reviewing the command crews' report on
how your mission went, this time."
"Thank
you, Commodore."
"Go
ahead and go to the mess hall with the rest of your crew."
Aaen and
the Commodore exchanged a salute, and then Aaen walked to the mess
hall. The crowd size was quadruple what it was during lunch–Aaen
guessed in the hundreds of thousands of cadets. The dinner menu was similar to
lunch. Aaen found a seat with the majority of the Voyager crew
and sat down; the assigned captain was nowhere to be found.
"It's
hard to believe that commencement is next year!" said Sensors, three seats
to Aaen's right.
"We're
supposed to find out if we are going to be promoted at commencement, aren't
we?" Aaen asked the rest of the table. No one answered.
"I
submitted my report of the mission to Fleet Admiral Williamson. Everyone's been
mentioned at least once. Should be helpful at commencement." said the
First Officer.
"Does
anyone know where the Captain is?" Aaen asked.
"He
hasn't been seen since we got back." the First Officer replied.
"Is
he okay?" asked the Bridge Engineer.
"There's
been no word yet."
"What
about Roul?" Aaen asked.
"No
word yet."
"Are
they sending us out again soon?" Aaen asked.
"As
far as I know, we're all off duty for at least twelve hours. All current
assignments are already being handled by ships not undergoing repairs.
The Voyager's not going anywhere for at least a few hours because
of the extensive repairs that have to be made, first."
"Are
they keeping us all together for the Voyager's next
deployment?"
"No
clue, Aaen. It's possible—but I don't know." said the First Officer.
"Whatever the case, everyone performed their duties admirably. I
recommended everyone for a promotion."
"I
hope I make at least Lieutenant." said the Chief of Security.
"You'd
probably make Ensign!" said Sensors Cadet jokingly. The bridge crew
laughed.
"Take
you to the range any day!" the table was quickly surrounded by 'Woah!'
echoes.
"I
hope I get a command. Maybe the Odyssey,—" Aaen's gut
sank, "or the Magellan."
"The
Magellan?" said Left Damage Control. "You think you're gonna get a
space station after two missions?"
"The
Magellan's a fortress. I think you have to be at least the rank of Commander
before they even consider you for a chair that big." Aaen said.
"You never know. Maybe they'll move you up that far after everything
that's happened today."
"Thanks, Aaen."
Left Damage Control grinned. Aaen grinned, nodded.
Maybe
not, but there's always hope. Aaen thought, taking a bite of his thin
slice of pepperoni pizza.
"So, Aaen,
have they told you where you're going in a week?" the Ambassador
asked.
"Not
yet. There's a whole year to go before commencement. I'd like to think they're
going to keep this crew together on the Voyager for wherever
she's going next."
"Yeah!
Seriously!" the First Officer said.
"Has
anyone heard about where the Galileo's at?" Long-Range asked.
"I
haven't heard anything," said Deputy Security. The same response,
reworded, came from other crew members.
"What
was her last known heading?" Aaen asked the Sensors Cadet.
"To
some unknown area of space." Suddenly, the entire table focused on the
Sensors Cadet for several seconds. "No. Seriously. I have no idea where
they went. They might have change cour–"
"I
think there are other subjects you can be discussing, Cadets." a voice
said from over Aaen's left shoulder. "A six-foot-nothing white
male officer said over Aaen's left shoulder. The officer's duty
uniform collar had captain's insignia on the right and a second plain gold
rectangular insignia that Aaen found himself dumbfounded
by. Aaen looked around the table, briefly, and found the same look on
the other cadets' faces.
"Yes,
sir. Sorry, sir." the First Officer said.
The
taller officer maintained stern eye contact with random cadets at the table for
several seconds until he was about twenty feet away, and then he turned sharply
for the door–out of sight in five seconds.
Aaen turned
sharply right. "Does anyone know who that guy was?" The rest of the
crew turned their heads, some displaying a look of fear and anxiety. "Aaen looked
left, towards the doorway, and then back at his food. He took
another, much larger bite of his pizza. Halfway done. All that was
left after the pizza slice was an eight-ounce glass of water, and a modest
four-ounce candy bar. He set the pizza slice down and bent the candy bar in
half. Good, he thought, remarking at the dessert's ingredients.
"Well,
whatever their reasons, I'm hoping to be assigned to. . .that ship, at some point—but
the Odyssey's my career's
endgame." Aaen said.
"Man,
what-is-so-special, to you. .about the Odyssey?" asked Helm,
looking at Aaen, while chewing on some food. "–You haven't stopped
talking about that ship since the first year."
"She's
mine, for pretty much the same reason as the Enterprise was Admiral
Kirk's."
"You
almost sound like you want to marry it," said Short-Range. The rest
of the crew laughed. Aaen could tell the cadet was joking.
Grinning, Aaen replied,
"No. I'll just command her, some day."
"Don't
you ever plan to retire, Aaen?" asked Left Damage Control.
"Not.
.for a good long while. ." Aaen swallowed. "Has anyone seen
that crew, yet?"
"Nope."
the rest of the crew replied or turned their head if they were chewing on
food.
"They're
probably alright. If the Voyager's short and long-range
sensors can't track them, odds are no one else's are, either," said
Sensors Cadet.
"You
sound like you know something about the–" Aaen paused,
discretely looking around for signs of eavesdropping, "ship."
"I
wish!"
Aaen finished
his lunch but chose to stay seated to let what he had just eaten
settle. No sense in trying to start walking when digestion was in progress. He
started eating the candy bar and slowly sipped at his water. What little grease
the pizza had left a less-than-ideal aftertaste in his mouth. He was eager
to get rid of the cause of that taste.
"Don't
we all!" Aaen laughed. The rest of the crew did the same.
Left
Damage Control Cadet took a sip of water and then started coughing
aggressively.
"Woah!" Aaen said,
looking surprised. "You ok?"
The
Cadet nodded, putting his left arm in front of his mouth. "Swallowed
wrong. . ." two hard coughs later, "I'm okay."
Aaen forgot
what the conversation was about. He drank the last of his eight remaining
ounces of water over the course of ten seconds, and then put the container back
on his tray. I wonder what's going to happen to Roul and
those Panou? Were they Panou?–Or were they other Panae? Aaen found
himself trying to recall if he found a similar mark on the intruders' faces
that Roul had on his when the bridge security team were bringing the
intruders to the bridge. Think! Think, Aaen!. . . They
did! Ha! Spacefleet will process the intruders as hostile aliens,
initially. They'll probably be detained for a short time, but after the
authorities learn that the intruders are the same race of alien as Roul,
and were acting against their will, Command'll most likely help
them to learn that they are free, now. Aaen felt
tears starting to swell–tears of joy. Never to answer to an
oppressive demand, ever again. Aaen grinned.
Food
had settled, Aaen grabbed his tray. "Good work,
today."
"Hey,
man, you, too!" said the Bridge Engineer. The other remaining cadets
offered similar praise in return. Aaen smiled, glad to see his
shipmates in good spirits.
Aaen looked
around, most of the other tables in the mess hall had been vacated.
There was fewer than fifty personnel in the mess hall, and the
majority were part of the class.
"Attention
on deck!" A thundering call echoed through the mess hall. Everyone in the
room snapped to attention in near unison. Aaen shifted his eyes left
towards the main mess hall entrance. He could see in his left peripheral a
flag officer and two aides. Aaen shifted his view forward, the
sound of tapping shoes was the only sound, and it echoed through the hall.
Someone's in trouble, Aaen guessed.
"As
you were." a second voice said. Familiar, female. The sound of tapping
boots got louder, as did the chatter of the remaining crowd of cadets.
The
tapping stopped. . .two feet inside the main mess hall entrance.
"Cadets,
your transport shuttles have arrived to take you back to Highlight, on Earth.
Make sure your eating areas are clean, and then form two lines," said
Commodore Houston.
The
class quickly responded to the order–two lines formed in less than a minute.
Not bad, Aaen thought. By the time the class is given a commissioned
rank, that response time will be more like thirty seconds or less. All in good
time. Aaen was at the front of the line on the right, and already
feeling a great deal of remorse about having to leave Starbase. No. I don't
want to leave. Aaen was at the front of the line on the right. Both
lines were silent.
Commodore
Houston led the two lines to the transport shuttles' docking ports. Mr. Shelco
stood waiting for the two lines to arrive. Shelco gestured for the crew to
follow him. Aaen followed down the corridor to the first shuttle,
quickly navigating the sole central aisle, taking a seat three or four
rows from the back of the transport—window seat. The other cadets finished picking
their seats in a modest fifteen seconds. The cabin was abuzz with echoing
chatter about the day's events. Aaen was looking out his view window,
lost in thought about having helped rescue an entire planet's population from
disaster, and rescuing a slave—maybe three or four salves—from captivity. Good.
They'll live now as free members of a larger galactic community. Maybe they'll
choose to enlist in Spacefleet? Who knows. If the Panou really wanted
to retrieve the Panae, it enslaved, it would have to figure out a way
to reopen the wormhole and then search the entire Alpha
Quadrant. That's assuming the wormhole was natural and reoccurring, not to
mention both ends would have to lead to the same places every time. Fat
chance, Aaen though skeptically. I doubt the Alpha Quadrant will have
any further dealings with the Panou. Good riddance. Maybe someday
Spacefleet will figure out how to get the Panae back home, safely,
without fear of having to deal with the Panou ever again. Aaen grinned
lightly.
After
the pilot had completed pre-launch procedures, the cabin seating vibrated and
rattled as the transport shuttle was freed from the jet bridge, drifting
forward. Aaen's attention shifted to port—an Excelsior-class ship's
exterior lights had just come to life; the ship's main deflector dish gradually
lit to a bold light blue. Aaen grinned, imagining the day he would
have the center seat on the Odyssey, going through similar steps
before launching in a command of his own, as he had trained for the last
five years. He imagined himself in silence turning to face different parts of
the bridge to give the necessary orders to launch, and then get underway. Someday.
. .
The
transport's cabin speakers relayed radio communication chatter as the transport
shuttle accelerated out of the docking bay, veering to port, accelerating
towards Earth. Aaen again looked to port: the twin launch doors for
the neighboring docking bay started to part. The Excelsior-class ship was
preparing to start its slow reverse to duty.
Watching
the Earth get bigger in the windows felt like a collision course was imminent.
The transport's bow gradually dipped by fifteen degrees. Reentry–most
cadets' favorite part of the day, Aaen though
jokingly. Aaen observed most of the front left and right of the cabin
leaning forward in their seats, pressing their heads against the back of the
seat in front of them as though holding on for dear
life. Aaen grinned, looking at the fiery, raging atmosphere engulfing
the outer hull. The flame quickly blinded the cabin from seeing the earth. The
hull rattled hard enough for about a minute, Aaen estimated, and then
calmed as the hull was surrounded by dense white cloud cover.
"Alright,
cadets, we're almost at home base. Standby for landing." the Pilot
said.
Aaen checked
the clock at the front of the transport: 15:30 hours, or 3:30 in the afternoon,
local time. What a day!
Aaen turned
left to look astern. The other transports were in perfect flight formation. The
descent to the Highlight landing pads took thirty seconds. Aaen watched
as the transport slowed gradually and significantly, coasting over the school's
roof, and then gently set down on the same landing pad as it departed.
"Welcome
home, Cadets." said Mr. Shelco.
Home was
a couple blocks away, on foot. Aaen silently corrected
Shelco. The loading door opened. Mr. Shelco stood up and stood at the top of
the two-piece metal staircase.
"Cadets!
Stand up! Follow me off the transport. When you step off, form a line
outside!"
The
class followed the order. Mr. Shelco proceeded to the other transports and
delivered a similar order. Once both lines were established, Mr. Shelco started
passing out the class's respective boarding passes. Once finished, he led the
class back to the classroom. The class collected their belongings, and then the
class dismissed, proceeded to the pickup zone to be picked up by their
respective family chaperones.
Aaen looked
left at the pickup entrance. His ride hadn't shown up yet. He looked down at
his pamphlet to find that the inside-right page had a signature on
it–apparently by a Spacefleet Lieutenant. Aaen felt someone pat his right
shoulder. He looked right; it was the First Officer.
"Did
someone sign your pamphlet?"
"Yeah.
Not sure who. But apparently, we've all been awarded a couple of flight
and class hours. Maybe that will translate into promotions for members of the
class?" Aaen knew the answer.
"Maybe,
if any of the crew opt in for continuing to go up there. Are you?"
"Absolutely!
As soon as possible!" Aaen smiled.
"Good
luck. My ride's here. See ya later!"
"See
ya!"
Aaen's ride
arrived two minutes later. Aaen rode in the front passenger seat.
After a brief ride home, Aaen swelled with excitement for the Summer.
He couldn't stop thinking about the excitement and fun of the day's field trip.
Dinner was at seven. Five or six hours later, Aaen changed his
sleeping attire and then was off to bed. The end of year five at Highlight.
Summer was just hours away.
.
. .Aaen couldn't wait! He had a gut feeling—his next space mission was
right around the corner. Yeah!
*****
Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."
DANIEL STORM, a Jordan Foutin eBook, is available for $8.99 at any of these fine online retailers:
Make sure to buy your copy today, and like and share!
Make sure to like the official StormTeam Simulations Facebook page for the latest, including when DANIEL STORM will be available on Amazon.com for Kindle eBook and softcover! Coming soon!
