Scrapyard Ship (9 page)

“Time for Raja’s dinner, little one,” the man said, gesturing for Mollie to come down. Dira climbed halfway up the ladder to assist Mollie, who now seemed a little more nervous of the height. Mollie slid down on her belly and Dira caught her and led her down to the floor. Mollie gave Dira a hug and then one to Jason. Dira crossed her arms under her breasts and looked over to Jason. “Mollie would like to ask you a question, but I think she’s afraid to ask.”

Embarrassed, Mollie blushed, and for once was tongue-tied.

”Well, what is it, kiddo. What do you want to ask me?” Jason queried, crouching down to Mollie’s height.

Mollie smiled and then quickly glanced at Dira and the older man. “I want a job, Dad. I want to work in the Zoo, helping Jack take care of the animals.” She gestured to the man with the step ladder.

Jason sobered a bit. “I don’t know Mollie—the animals here are dangerous. That’s a saber-toothed tiger standing fifty feet from us, for God’s sake!”

“The animals do not cross over into the ship itself. Raja here is an exception. She’s a good old girl and needs human contact.” Jack scratched his beard and shrugged. “Even I don’t cross over into the habitats—we have droids do the heavy lifting in that regard. Pen maintenance, feeding, medical support, it’s all automated.”

“That’s all fine and good, but I can’t help thinking of that movie
Jurassic Park
—yes, all good intentions but what about when the
chaos theory
raises its ugly head?” Jason saw Mollie’s face fall, then tears welled-up in her eyes. It had been wonderful seeing Mollie so happy sitting up there on the elephant—a nice diversion from the stress over her mother’s abduction.

“How about I give it some more thought?” Jason said, with a smile. “Dira, Jack and I, and uh…maybe Ricket, will meet tomorrow and go over all the details; what you would and wouldn’t be doing at the Zoo. How’s that sound?” Jason looked over at Dira and Jack who nodded their heads in unison. Mollie, tears turning into a wide smile, squealed with delight and hugged her father. Leaving Jack to his duties, they walked out of the Zoo.

Jason wondered why he hadn’t already known about this area of the ship. Had his HyperLearning session been incomplete? He realized there was a growing list of things pertaining to The Lilly that he needed to ask Ricket about. He also needed to talk to the Gunny and whoever was in charge of ship security—there was nothing in his memory about that. Mollie and Dira disappeared into a nearby DeckPort. Jason turned to Perkins.

“Who maintains ship security, Lieutenant?”

“I guess I do, for the interim,” the lieutenant replied. “One of those positions we weren’t able to fill prior to leaving the Altar system.”

“Let’s talk about that later. I have some ideas.”

* * *

Jason found the Gunnery section of the ship, but it was secured and didn’t allow access. Jason used his NanoCom to locate Orion and discovered she was on her way back from the gymnasium. Jason heard her coming before he actually saw her. Twenty yards down the corridor she was running and dressed similarly to what athletes on earth wore—some kind of form-fitting Lycra outfit, white athletic shoes, and a matching headband. She was humanoid as far as Jason could tell, with a complex and somewhat confusing mixture of both feminine and masculine characteristics.

“Sorry, boss…didn’t know you’d be stopping by today,” Orion said, slowing and coming to a stop in front of Jason. Up close he noticed her dark skin was actually an intricate pattern of geometric tattooed symbols. She pulled a small towel from around her neck, emphasizing her protruding large biceps, which any male body builder would surely envy.

“I’m just making my rounds, getting to know everyone as best I can,” Jason said, following her into the Gunnery. He figured she had unlocked the entrance through her own NanoCom—and then was aware he could have done the same thing himself. “I’d like to spend some time with you discussing the ship’s armaments and defenses.” Jason noticed several racks of weapons including an assortment of energy-type side arms and rifles. Like the garment replicator in his suite, there was a similar device here, yet on a much larger scale. Orion gestured toward the device.

“We’ll need to get you a combat suit fabricated. The AI has already taken your body measurements, so I’ll put that into the works.”

As Orion settled in behind a desk, similar to his own but smaller, she quickly logged into her computer system. Not unlike the lieutenant’s tablet, everything here was virtual. A light blue and glowing outline of a large display console hovered above the surface of her desk. She tapped at it and it spun several degrees on its axis allowing them both to better see the display. She typed several keystrokes onto a virtual keyboard and a 3D representation of The Lilly appeared. Jason thought it looked similar to Mollie’s game.

“OK. Here we have a representation of the ship, yes?”

Jason nodded, and waited for her to continue.

“Not sure how aware you are on our progression at bringing various dormant systems online. When the ship was first discovered, some fifteen years ago, her AI was basically wiped clean; pretty much everything still worked, but anything specific to her previous or original crew had been stripped out. Probably why there are still significant holes in what we know and don’t know concerning the ship’s operation. Ricket has had to painstakingly recode much of her access parameters. I think Ricket and The Lilly Artificial Intelligence have a love-hate relationship, but that’s just me. The last three weeks have been remarkable in regards to what we’ve—mostly Ricket— have uncovered. Not only the discovery of sub-Deck 4B and that phase synthesizer contraption, but some kind of JIT utilization for ordinances.”

“JIT?” Jason repeated.

“Yeah, like companies or manufacturers, they have a
Just In Time
process where they only build what they need and avoid having to stockpile massive quantities. As you’ll see in a moment, this vessel has a full complement of energy weapons, including four powerful plasma cannons. The problem’s with our non-energy weaponry. I couldn’t find any ammunition stores on the ship. A gun without bullets is pretty much useless, yes?”

“Seems to me the phase synthesizer would have to churn out ordnances at incredible speed. Missiles and such are complex multi-faceted devices,” Jason said. “How close is Ricket to bringing this online?”

“Hmm, well, let’s find out,” Orion said, biting her lip. “Lilly, connect an audible com request to Ricket, please.”

“Hold one moment while I see if he can join your conversation,” Lilly AI replied, in a definitive, matter of fact tone. Orion rolled her eyes, much the same as Mollie would do. Jason smiled, but it was yet another example of his crew in serious need of less personality and more discipline.

“Go for Ricket,” the mechanical voice replied.

“I’m here with the captain in Gunnery, Ricket. He has a few questions for you.”

“Good afternoon, Captain, how may I assist you?”

“Orion’s the second person who’s informed me about the phase synthesizer device. What can you tell me about it? What’s your progress in getting it to work? Is that even the right terminology?”

“Apparently it was never
not
working. An amazing device. Virtually every system on the ship is tied into the phase synthesizer. What I hadn’t discovered until recently, is that it utilizes hundreds of micro-ports, which are similar to DeckPorts. Why Lilly wouldn’t automatically inform me of their connection, I’m not quite sure—but I suppose she has her reasons.”

Jason realized that Ricket, like others on the ship, had a cautiously respectful relationship with the AI. Almost as if the AI had loyalties elsewhere.

“Have you been able to configure the phase synthesizer for weapon ordnances?”

“Have not tried, Captain, but now that I have coded the missing interface, I see all ship systems have come online.” Ricket sounded more excited than Jason had previously heard. Seemingly, getting the phase synthesizer to work must have been quite an accomplishment—the missing puzzle piece that would allow The Lilly, fifteen years later, to become fully operational again.

“Thank you, Ricket, Orion out.”

“Lilly, please run through your weaponry. Both offense and defense capabilities for the captain.”

“Of course, and good afternoon, Captain Reynolds.” Jason recognized the voice as the one he’d heard on the bridge.

“Good afternoon to you as well, Lilly,” Jason said. He’d never had to consider the social and operational dynamics of a virtual crewmember. The virtual 3-dimensional representation of the ship came alive on the display. Lilly’s voice, distinctly feminine, slightly authoritarian, perhaps even bossy, proceeded to describe her defensive as well as offensive systems. Jason watched as the various hidden weaponry, highlighted in shades of red, could be deployed from virtually every section of the ship. Then, when each of the two massive rail-gun assemblies snapped down, one forward and one aft, Jason noticed Orion’s concentration had become even more intense.

“This parts all new, Captain,” Orion said, excitedly. “Whatever Ricket did with his coding efforts, the ship is now capable of so much more. Look how the rail gun systems can now access needed munitions automatically through their individual phase-shift feeder ports.”

Jason moved closer toward the display to see exactly what Orion was pointing at.

The AI continued on—talking about a wide array of missile systems, some of which were standard aim-and-fire dumb missiles; others had complex tracking algorithms, and some were packaged with nuclear and fusion warheads. It seemed to Jason they had a virtual cornucopia of missile and tracking capability that could be custom-configured on the fly. Only time would tell how Lilly’s diverse arsenal would impact their ability to come up against the Craing. The AI completed her presentation on the ship’s various shielding technologies, also configurable on the fly. Jason was mentally and physically exhausted. It seemed the ship was nearly ready for what he had in mind. He thanked Orion for her time and headed back to the bridge.

Chapter 6

Jason arrived on the bridge at the same time as Lieutenant Perkins. He suspected it wasn’t an accident, which was fine. Jason sat in the command chair for the first time. No one else was on the bridge.

“Any word from the admiral?” Jason queried.

“We try every hour on the hour according to a pre-arranged contingency such as this. But there’s nothing: no signal, no FTL transmission indicators—” Perkins shook his head, looking sadder than Jason felt himself.

“You’re close to my father,” Jason remarked, not sure if it was a question or statement.

“He’s an amazing man, Captain. He’s been more than my captain over the years—more like a—” Perkins stopped.

“He’s been like a father to you,” Jason said, completing his sentence. “It’s alright, Lieutenant, it seems I may have viewed my father poorly. I’ve always thought the worst of him, when in actuality, it seems he’s sacrificed much more than I could imagine.”

The lieutenant simply nodded his head and smiled. Jason needed to change the subject. He’d need Lieutenant Perkin’s help, especially over the next twenty-four hours. “Do we have the capability to connect outside, via cellphone signal from The Lilly?”

“Sure, what did you have in mind?” Lieutenant Perkins asked, curiously.

“Lieutenant, the crewmembers on this vessel are unprepared for what is about to ensue.”

“And what is that, sir? Our standing orders are to make haste to the Altar System. To be honest, we should have headed out several days ago.”

“When we reunite with the admiral, back at the Altar System, my intent is to show up there holding a big stick. From now on, we’re going to be the schoolyard bully. To do that, we’re going to have to orchestrate differently from the admiral’s way of doing things. Are you OK with that?”

Perkins seemed to mull this over a while before answering. “I’m with you, sir. Just tell me—tell all of us what you want us to do—we’re all more than ready to get the hell back into the fight.”

Jason smiled, and mentally ran through everything he’d thought about over the past few days. He pulled out his iPhone and scrolled through his many contacts. “There’s close to one hundred men and women listed here. Many of them are single and have limited family ties. I’d like to recruit them into the Alliance. Starting with this one here, Billy Hernandez.” Jason held up his cell phone to the lieutenant.

Perkins took the phone from Jason and looked through the contacts.

“Lilly, activate the forward section display. Transfer the contents of this device to the ship’s database and post the first and last names so we can see them. Oh, and let’s number them as well.” The names appeared in three columns alphabetized and numbered. The lieutenant looked over to Jason. “So who stays and who goes?”

Jason reviewed the list of military personnel one by one, instructing AI to scratch anyone who was married, had children, or had other compelling reasons to stay on planet Earth. By the time he was finished, the names of sixty-three navy SEALs remained. Jason nodded to Perkins and stood. “Lilly, please transfer this list to my ready room and prepare to initiate communications via their cell phone numbers.”

When Jason arrived back at the captain’s suite, Dira was in his ready room working at his desk, a virtual terminal hovering in the air.

“Good evening, Captain,” she said, a bit startled by his presence.

“Evening, Dira. Mollie in bed?”

“Yeah, she fell asleep about an hour ago. She was pretty worn out.”

“Well, I wanted to thank you for all the time you’re spending with her. I know it’s not in your job description to play babysitter to the captain’s kid.”

“No, it’s my pleasure. There’s nothing going on in Medical right now, and Mollie’s just plain fun to be around. I feel like a kid again.” Looking at Dira sitting there, he wondered about her and her own life. What had she’d given up to be here on The Lilly? He’d have to make more of a point to talk to her. She was interesting, and those eyelashes were a bit captivating.