Clidepp Requital (12 page)

"So you'll be right back in a dangerous situation?"

"Yes, we're going back to our patrol sector very soon, but it's doubtful we'll run into any more Clidepp destroyers out there. The most recent patrol was extremely unusual. From now on all we'll face will be illegal aliens and smugglers."

* * *

The shuttle flight to the
Denver
, which was docked at an open framework in the enormous shipyard that orbited Mars, was uneventful. As on the trip down to Earth from the
Babbage
, Sydnee was just a passenger. For safety reasons, shuttles only had windows on the flight deck, and the large monitor at the front of the main cabin hadn't been activated, so Sydnee was unable to see an outside view of the
Denver
. It didn't really make much difference. Once she'd seen the outside of one SC destroyer, she'd pretty much seen them all.

All SC warships had a similar exterior appearance, with length and beam being the main difference. They were long, and essentially cylindrical, with concealed openings from which laser arrays and torpedoes could emerge on a moment's notice. All had side-mounted engines in rotating nacelles that retracted into recessed areas when not in use. The stern engines provided all the thrust for normal sub-light travel, with the side-mounted engines only used to assist in fast maneuvering. For FTL travel, a DATFA generator would extend from a protected repository in the sail area to build the envelope.

Warships in centuries past had been sheathed with titanium, and then later with Tritanium, but all new warships were currently being sheathed with Dakinium. The Tritanium outer surface of the
Perry
had been scarred, pitted, and dented even before the collision with the
Glassama
. Decades of contact with space junk and micrometeorites had taken its toll. The outer surface of the
Denver
would never exhibit such damage because it was nearly impregnable. Since being discovered on Dakistee, where it had been used to cover the outer surface of an underground facility created by an ancient civilization, the alloy known as Dakinium had been the focus of the largest scientific program in the history of Space Command. They had sought to replicate the material, but had never quite been able to match it exactly. As it turned out, that failure had been fortuitous because the new alloy produced the DATFA double-envelope that made Light-9790 possible. The original material discovered on Dakistee, while slightly more resistant to damage than SC's Dakinium, was unable to produce the resonance required for the amazing speed improvement. The scientists had continued to work on the alloy, and had even managed to improve their version slightly while still producing an alloy that could establish the necessary double-envelope resonance.

When viewed from outside, Tritanium-sheathed ships appeared bright bronze in color, while Dakinium-sheathed ships were jet-black. The color was naturally occurring but almost seemed like an intentional statement of increased lethality.

Sydnee spent her short time aboard the shuttle reflecting on her recent visit home. Her mother never seemed to stop dropping hints that Sydnee's life would be so much better if she wasn't in the military. After the first day, Sydnee hadn't even responded. She simply tuned the messages out whenever her mother started. She'd really enjoyed the time spent with her sister Sheree, even if Sheree was becoming just like Momma. But at least Sheree never once tried to convince Sydnee to resign her commission as soon as possible.

Sydnee wished Sterling had been able to come home while she was there, but he was involved in a very complex business deal for Curtis in South Africa and couldn't get away for a few weeks. By then, Sydnee would be aboard her new ship and might even be out of the solar system as space trials in the
Denver
began. She'd have to be satisfied with vidMails. Now that they'd reconnected, she and Sterling exchanged vidMails at least once every two weeks.

Since the shuttle would be immediately returning to Earth, it didn't enter a shuttle bay. Rather, it simply docked with a larboard airlock. As soon as the connection was made and verified air-tight, the eight occupants of the shuttle rose, collected their personal items, and moved into the
Denver
. Sydnee, as the only officer aboard, was allowed to exit the small ship before the other passengers.

"Welcome aboard the
Denver
, Syd," Lt. Carstairs said as she stepped over the threshold and into the ship. Security protocol required that at least one SC officer and one Marine be posted at any open access point in the ship. Lieutenant(jg) Elton Carstairs had been the OD on the day she had first reported aboard the
Perry
.

"Thank you, El. What do you think of him?"

"He's first rate. What a difference from our old
Perry
. So far almost everything has worked to perfection. I've only had to call Engineering once when there was no hot water in my head the first day. They fixed it in seconds. They said a 'tee' valve inside the bulkhead was still closed from a system test. Since then everything's been perfect."

"Great. I'm looking forward to seeing my quarters."

"Do you have your assigned quarter's info?"

"Not yet."

"Hold on." Carstairs used his CT to acquire the frame-section, deck and compartment number, then gave the information to Sydnee.

"Thanks, El. I'll see you later."

"After you settle in, take a tour of the ship, Syd."

"I will." Turning towards the Marine on the other side of the door, Sydnee said, "Hello, Rogers. How are you doing?"

"Hi, Lieutenant, I'm doing great. Welcome aboard."

"Thanks."

Using the ship layout charts available on monitors mounted on corridor bulkheads throughout the ship, Sydnee was able to find lift locations and the access points for transport cars. It was a lot easier to navigate her way through the
Denver
than it had been through the
Perry
. The door to her quarters opened immediately as she stopped in front of it, and as she stepped inside, the lights came up to half intensity. Her new quarters, like those of everyone else on board, were incredibly spacious when compared to those on the
Perry
. Her space chest and smaller cases had already been delivered, so after a few minutes spent exploring the three rooms, she unpacked and stowed her gear, then stacked the empty cases one inside the other and placed the large space chest on the deck in her wardrobe locker.

Sydnee was reading though her schedule for the next day when the visitor announcement system said, "Lt. Kelly MacDonald is at the door."

"Open," Sydnee said. As the door slid into its pocket, Sydnee said, "Hi, Kel. Come on in. Welcome to my new quarters. Where are yours located?"

"Hi, Syd," MacDonald said as she entered. "I'm one deck down and three frame-sections back. Corporal Rogers reported that he'd seen you come aboard earlier, so I decided to come up and say hi. It's about time you showed up. When you didn't show up yesterday, we began to wonder if you'd been transferred."

"I didn't get any leave until the BOI finished its investigation, issued its reports, and they were voted on by the AB, so Captain Lidden gave me an extra day of weekend leave."

"No other leave at all?"

"Nope. Captain Lidden, Commander Bryant, and I had to be available for questioning every single day until the investigation was completed and filed."

"So you only got a few days at home?"

"Yeah, but that was enough. I've told you how my mom is about my being in the military. I love her, and I know she wants the best for me, but sometimes she drives me
crazy
."

"I think a lot of moms are like that. They have trouble letting go and remembering you're all grown up and need to make your own decisions."

"I guess. So how was your leave?"

"Great. I got to see my two brothers and three sisters, as well as all the spouses and nieces and nephews, plus my folks, aunts, and uncles."

"I've always wondered what it must be like to have a big family. My dad's folks never approved of his marriage to my mom and cut off all contact before they were even married, so I've never met anyone from his side of the family. My mom was orphaned when she was nine and raised by an aunt who passed a few years ago, and there's no other family on her side."

"You got to see your sister and brother, didn't you?"

"I spent almost the entire three days with my sister. My brother was away on business, so he couldn't get home over the weekend. Curtis has him involved is some big deal in South Africa."

"A big deal? With dolls?"

"No, his company is trying to expand into sports equipment now."

"Sounds exciting," Kelly said, with a bored expression.

"Yeah, it's lay-awake-at-night-dreaming-about-big-orders-for-footballs kind of stuff," Sydnee said with a matching expression.

"Well, I've got something exciting to tell you. The Marine complement aboard ship has been doubled in size to a full company. After our little foray on Diabolisto, I guess they figured we have to be equally ready to handle both refugees and rebels."

"Have you seen their files and evaluated them yet?"

"No, not yet. Why?"

"I'm just wondering if Space Command and the Corps will continue past practices. The
Perry
was always the dumping ground where everyone in the military sent screw-up's, malcontents, and undesirables that they didn't have justification for booting from the service or even posting dirt-side. Speaking of which, poor Bronson will probably never have a post aboard ship again. So, the question now is— will the
Denver
become the new dumping ground?"

"You've spent quite a bit of time with our Marines, and you've even commanded a platoon on two occasions. Do you feel that any of them are screw-ups?"

"Not that I experienced. I've found every one of them to be dedicated, hard working, and hard fighting members of the Corps. I've been proud to serve alongside them and to lead them."

"So maybe the people sent to the
Perry
for being screw-ups weren't really screw-ups at all. Maybe the people who sent them were the screw-ups. Rhett was allegedly sent to the
Perry
because he bumped into a general and the general was splashed with coffee. Who's to say the general wasn't at fault? Maybe he wasn't watching where he was walking and bumped into Rhett. But nobody could ever suggest such a thing openly because he was a general. And what about Carstairs? All he did was pass on a joke about his captain to someone he trusted. I'll concede that he shouldn't have done it, but it had nothing to do with his competence in performing his duties or his dedication to SC. The trusted friend who ratted him out was more a screw-up, if you ask me, and I won't even comment on the captain if it happened the way Carstairs said it did."

"I guess you have a point."

"Damn straight. But if we do occasionally get saddled with a genuine screw-up, it's our job as officers to get that individual toeing the mark. And if we need help— well, that's why we have noncoms. Sergeants and petty officers have been keeping the enlisted men and women under them in line and properly trained for hundreds of years."

"You're right. I guess I was just wondering if what we accomplished against the Clidepp rebels was going to show others we're not just a ship of misfits."

"Is this post-leave blues I'm hearing?"

"No, it's a genuine concern. I think we've proved that we deserve a second chance to be viewed as something other than a dumping ground. Will we get it?"

"I don't know. But I have news that will excite you. Drum roll please— an area twice the size of the one we had on the
Perry
has been set aside for the Marine Practice Range. We can begin setting it up as soon as the space trials are over and we leave for our posting sector."

"
That
is great news. I can hardly wait until it's ready for use."

"Martin Aguilo is already working up a new design. He says it'll blow our minds when we see it and test our skills like never before. In addition to the city combat range and the jungle combat range, we're going to have a shipboard combat range in a reconfigurable alien vessel."

"Wow, that's great. Everything has been so wonderful lately. First the news from the BOI, then learning that we were getting this incredible new ship, and now this."

"What did the BOI tell you?"

"Nothing directly. Captain Lidden briefed me with some highlights, such as the medals awards and our getting the
Denver
to replace the
Perry
."

"That's all?"

"All?"

"I mean, nothing about what they intend to do with the rebels? They killed three of our people."

"I don't think the BOI gets involved with that end of things. They were just charged with determining if
our
actions were just and proper. The GA Senate will probably have to decide what justice the rebels will face."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Hold on." Touching her Space Marine ring, she said, "MacDonald." After listening for a few seconds, she said, "Yes, sir. MacDonald out." To Sydnee she said, "Gotta go. The Major wants to see me."

"Coming back?"

"I don't know how long I'll be. I'll see you tomorrow."

"At breakfast?"

"Sure. The usual time? See you then."

"Bye."

Sydnee finished her preparations for the next day and decided to forego a tour of the ship. She was tired and expected to be on the ship for a long time, so she began preparing for bed. After setting the controls of the gel-comfort bed she smiled and slipped between the sheets for the first time. It was just as wonderful as she'd expected it to be. The lights dimmed on her vocal command and she began to sink into a deep sleep.

~ September 11
^th
, 2285 ~

"Good morning," the Space Command officer standing before the large monitor at the front of the bridge said to the others arrayed around the
Denver's
control consoles. "I'm Commander Nassat. This gentleman standing on my left is Dr. Edward Galton. He's the chief design engineer for the new bridge consoles, so pay careful attention because you're going to learn how to operate this equipment from the very best authority." Turning towards the civilian, he said, "Dr. Galton?"