First Command (15 page)

Petty Officer Glen Yower, the first watch helmsman, rose and looked at the Captain.

“Sir ?” Yower said, “Permission to lead the crew in the Spacer’s prayer.”

Jonathan looked at Yower resting his head on a hand. It was tradition for the senior believer of the Stellanauta present on the bridge of any ship about to make transit to say a few words. Some ships disallowed such the practice, others discouraged it, mostly because some busybodies felt that such practices were unfair to other religions or non-believers. The Solarian Navy was far too practical to worry about such whiners beside the Stellanauta wasn’t really a faith, but rather an amalgamation of beliefs. The Constitutional Court had upheld the Navy’s argument less out of respect for the constitution, but more because the Solarian Navy recruited from a wide variety of client worlds, expatriates, and across all Solarian classes. The Navy's Judge advocate had argued quite successfully that banning any mention of religion from the passageways or confining it to non-denominational chapels would most likely insight a mutiny at best, and open revolt at worst.  Still, some captains would forbid some more public practices because of personal beliefs or simple pig headedness. Jonathan gave Petty Officer Yower a glib smile, and withdrew the iron coin from his pocket.

“I believe it is the duty of the senior man to give the prayer Mr. Yower. Please resume your station.”

Petty Officer Yower’s eyes went wide for a second. Then he nodded and resumed his post.

The other crew on the bridge seemed to ignore the byplay, but the Officers Gopal, Krishna, and Halman. All of them were surprised. Officers who followed the Stellanauta were rare in the Navy because most thought of it as a below decks superstition.

Activating the PA system Jonathan spoke.

“Fellow Spacers, Men and Women of the good ship
Titan
, a prayer to whatever Gods may be.” Then Jonathan and every other man and women who had ever learned the prayer spoke it. Including every enlisted man and NCO on the bridge.

“By whatever name you ask to be called, hear us.

We ask that you calm the storms of wroth.
That you make passage smooth, and protect us in the empty places, the between places. Where Angels fear to tread
,
and only men dare venture.
We ask not for grace nor mercy, but that the luck of the Spacer be with us this day.”

Individually Jonathan spoke now, “I, Jonathan Pavel, a poor mortal soul carry a token in the likeness of Michael the Archangel of War let him favor us.”

In unison the crew responded, “Favor Us.”

Placing the coin in his pocket, Jonathan resumed giving orders as if nothing had happened.

“Mr. Yower, all ahead three fourths. Mr. Halman begin transit clock.”

“Um…Aye sir,” Halman responded. “Mark eleven hours and fifty eight minutes to transit.”

“Mr. Krishna?” Jonathan asked. “What's the weather report today?”

Krishna looked up from his panel. “Station
Guardia”
, the tiny three man outpost which monitored the Ring, so armored in radioactive shielding it could take a direct hit from a nuke and not notice, “Reports no temporal activity. Merchant ship making transit from Kaplan system reported smooth sailing.”

“Aye,” Jonathan replied. “Mr. Yower proceed on course, all hands stand ready at transit stations, and try to get some sleep. We’ll wake you when we're through.”

Twelve hours later,
Titan
flew through the great Ring. The stars blurred the visual scopes filled with a plethora of colors -oranges, red, pinks, and purples in shades indescribable. Time seemed to stand still while the transit clock ran forward and back. The dimensions of the ship shifted and distorted. Then in the blink of an eye, which seemed to last an eternity, it was over. The star field had changed, and a great, red giant Kaplan now burned in
Titan’s
view rather than the warm yellow sun of Solaria Prime.

Jonathan stretched in his chair reacquainting himself with his limbs and their proper function. Transit left you with the oddest tingles and itches.

Activating the private com channel Jonathan signaled Master Chief Hartic.

“Boats,” Jonathan said. “Double grog rations of all hands even those on punishment to celebrate
Titan’s
first transit under a new CO. Also, keep the Radback celebration well in hand. I don't want to be dealing with any discipline problems if Old Jupiter gets drunk and frisky understood?”

Hartic signaled back his acknowledgement. Jonathan and the other officers went to their bunks to get some well-earned rest, leaving Sandra Chan who had slept through most of the passage as Officer of the Watch. It was somewhat of an unwritten rule that the least senior officer to be on duty in the hours immediately following a ship’s first transit of a new cruise. This was provided if that transit had been into friendly territory not hostile space. For practical reasons, it allowed the more senior officers who had been at their stations through the whole process much needed rest. For another, it provided the junior officer with much needed training being on watch with no one looking over their shoulder except the ship’s senior NCO who could wake a more senior member of command staff if needed. It also guaranteed a bit of plausible deniability as the crew released from 12 hours of confinement made merry with the traditional post transit ceremonies.
Titan
had four transits left - Verge, New Teja, Chaucer’s Gap, and finally into New Helsinki itself. All of those post transits except for the final one into New Helsinki, where Jonathan intended to have the ship on war footing, would be accompanied by drinking, games of chance, and a line for the biological recreation tubes. The first post transit of the cruise though would be special because in addition to the revelry, Great Jupiter would grace the ship with his presence to accept the homage offered by all those Gophers who had just made their first transit. On Earth, Jonathan had read in one of his military history classes that it had been a tradition for sailors who crossed the equator to offer homage to Neptune in a farcical ceremony. After the wormways had been discovered, the tradition had continued aboard star faring vessels only instead of the god of the sea, spacer offered homage to the god of the heavens. It wasn't a serious ceremony. In fact, many ground huggers considered it a form of hazing, which it was. On
Titan,
Jupiter would be played by Cook Assistant Miles Templeton, a man as overweight as regulation would allow and then some, and a native of the Casspia Colony where it was said it was so cold even the women had beards. Those who had made the transit before like Jonathan, were called Radbacks because they had flown through the radiation storm and had their backs to it now. Those who had not made a transit before were referred to as Gophers. By making the transit all men and women aboard were now Radbacks, but a good Radback offers up his homage to mighty Jupiter and forsakes his brother Neptune.
Titan
was chock full of new enlistees many of whom had never made transit before, so that meant all former Gophers stripped to their skivvies or less, kissing old Jupiter’s belly. This was followed by drinking, dancing, and as much horseplay as could still be considered legal. Jonathan had endured the ceremony twice. Once on
Wanderer
with Donald Philmore one of the engineers playing Jupiter, and once as a newly minted ensign. One of the final tests for ensigns was to participate in the ceremony, even if they had made transit before. Since no true navy man would follow an officer who had kissed Jupiter’s belly as a civilian. Personally, Jonathan thought the ensign tradition had more to do with giving senior officers one final opportunity to torment doe-eyed ensigns before they were commissioned. At any rate, Jonathan wasn't worried. Hartic would keep things in hand. On some civilian ships, post transit celebrations could get truly out of hand, but in the Solarian Navy any man who stepped too far out of line could expect military justice, which was a powerful deterrent. Listening as the revelry began, Jonathan saluted the Marine guard outside his quarters, closed the door behind him stripped off his uniform, and fell dead asleep. Down the corridors and through the bulkheads an old spacer song echoed.

Oh Come Away, Come Away

Come Away with me My Lad…

Oh Come Away, Come Away With Me

As We Laugh and Sing and Ply our trade

In the Empty Places In between.

On board
RSNS Titan
DD-0023 Kaplan System, Solarian Republic,

February 5th  841 AE  (2802 AD) 3:00hrs

As it turned out, Jonathan did have to dispense military justice to a handful of miscreants who couldn't handle their liquor, and stepped a bit too far over the line. Most weren't serious. A flogging for the two who had vandalized another crewman’s cabin, flogging and confinement for the three idiots who had the brilliant plan to raid the Ward Room liquor stores. One issue though was quite a bit more serious. Jonathan was seated in the brig behind the desk usually occupied by the ship’s master at arms, a position that entailed being the ship’s policeman -cum jailer- cum security guard, and the only man beside the Captain and the XO with a key to the small arms locker. Currently, Master at Arms Lawrence Hun-Chi with two Spacers wearing shore patrol armbands were standing behind a very scared and rather bruised Able Spacer Ben Wood. Bosun Hartic was also in attendance as was Able Spacer 1st Maria Wu sporting a black eye and bruised knuckles.

“From the top Able Spacer 1st Wu what happened?” Jonathan asked.

Wu sat up straight and kept eye contact with Jonathan “Sir, this rat bastard here put his hands on me after I expressly told him not to.” She had a thick Steader accent from the southwest lowlands, but her voice was calm and level. The handcuffed Able Spacer Ben Wood tried to talk, but received a billy club in the kidney for his trouble.

“Well aimed Mr. Hun-Chi,” Jonathan said.

“It’s all in the wrist sir,”  Hun-Chi replied.

“You were saying Able Spacer 1st?” Jonathan said cuing her to continue.

“Right, any way sir I told him I wasn't having it least not with him, but he was well and truly plastered, and he grabbed my tits so I cocked him. Usually that gets um off little. A love tap to remind um of their manners. But that ass he done clocked me back and give me this,” She said gesturing to her black eye.

“At that point, the crew round us tackled him to the ground.”

“Beggin ya pardon bout his teeth sir. That was on me. Forgot to pull my kick,” Bosun Hartic said.

Jonathan looked at Hartic with a raised eyebrow to which Hartic shrugged. Jonathan knew as well as he did, if Hartic hadn't pulled his kick Able Spacer Wood would be a corpse. Instead, all he had were three broken teeth.

“Able Spacer 1st Wu?” Jonathan asked his tone level “I judge that the body of proof is enough to charge Able Spacer Wood with attempted rape. Do you wish to accuse him of such?” Wood looked ready to soil himself at those words. The Navy and Solarian society in general took a very, very dim view on rape. Far dimmer than most other crimes, in fact, except perhaps murder. Solaria with it cultural roots in traditional gender roles may have fewer women in the military, in politics, or in factories as was the norm elsewhere, but a part of that culture was also a bone deep sense in most Solarians that women, their wives, mothers and daughters needed to be respected and protected. As a result, the burden of proof for what constituted rape in Solarian courts was very, very low. In a he-said/ she-said, the court ruled with her 90% of the time, and any man convicted of laying hands on a woman was looking at a hard sentence. In civilian courts, there was a three strikes policy depending on the severity of the case. For the first offense, where there could be reasonable doubt, five years no parole. For the second offense, hard labor again if reasonable doubt could be established. Fifteen years hard labor for the third offense, even with reasonable doubt, two previous convictions was evidence enough to establish a pattern of behavior. Thus, if there was a fourth conviction the result was death by public hanging.  It was straight to the noose. The Navy system was even more elegantly simple. If it was a confirmed rape, hanging if in port spacing. If on deployment, accused rape the exact same sentence if the Commanding officer felt the burden of proof had been met. Of course it was all up to the alleged victim. In many ways they held the fate of their attacker in their hands.

Able Spacer 1st Wu liked her lips, “Sir, he did lay hands on me and maybe he had bad intentions, but he was drunk and I don’t want to condemn a man to the black for that.”