Chapter 6 or 7 maybe
I've skipped a good bt of time here. This is where my two main protangoists finally meet. There will be more to this chapter. Lots more. Will post as I finish it.
Deep Space - UPS Unity Space Date 2419.10.24
Captain Haver was drinking coffee, reviewing the departmental logs from the night shift. Nothing unusual except the Engineering log. They’d logged a problem with gas levels in main life support at 0200, but he didn’t see a log entry closing out the issue. Mark wasn’t really worried. Life support was a triply redundant system. They could shut down main life support altogether, if necessary. Still, it was unusual for a problem like that to still be unresolved 6 hours later. Just as he was started to call Engineering, his com buzzed.
"Captain, I just wanted to get you up to speed on this life support problem."
Mark laughed internally; sometimes he swore that Commander Premal could read his mind. There was just no other logical explanation for the man’s incredible timing.
But the Captain was no longer amused after talking to Khuram Premal. His carefree engineer was unusually worried about this problem. They were unable to track down exactly what was causing it, but it seemed to be in the software than ran the new gas mixers. That was bad because the backup systems ran on the same software. And they couldn’t return to the older software because the equipment was new. It wouldn’t work at all on the old software. Buggy software running his ship’s life support was not something he wanted to contemplate. "Might be best to return to Space Dock Epsilon until they could give us more thoroughly tested software," he thought. "Who knows what other bugs this version might have, if something this major has slipped in?."
"Captain, we have a transport vessel on the sensors. Do you want us to send out an inspection team?"
Mark considered his options. They were out here to patrol and one of their main tasks was safety inspections. These Colonial types tended to run without the proper safety controls and get in trouble. Then the UP would have to rescue them or, worse, find the dead hulk floating around. And the life support problem was serious, but not critical. And the powers that be wouldn’t be too thrilled if he ordered a return to base before the engineer could actually prove they had buggy software. The inspection might delay their return by a hour or so, not really a significant time difference. And who knows, maybe an inspection would be just what was needed to fix a problem that would save the lives of those civilians.
"Go ahead and send an inspection team. Put Ensign Fa in charge. He could use some more experience dealing with civilians."
Deep Space - GEM
It was another boring day in space. The biggest excitement all week had been when the fire suppression system developed a leak in the crew lounge. That had happened last night during the poker game. The cards had gotten a little damp, but at least the foam hadn’t gotten into anybody’s beer. Kate had taped the leak and all was fine now, but they couldn’t replace the leaky gasket til they made port. It was the third leak this trip and they’d already used the one spare gasket they had.
Rob was thinking about the fire suppression system as he went over the accounts with Ylana. He asked what they could afford to buy once they sold their current cargo. He knew he should have Kate replace all the gaskets. But after the money they’d lost on that last venture, he just didn’t have the cash right now. And the current cargo didn’t have a real high profit margin either. As usual, the best jobs had gone to those ships which didn’t have a former Rebel as their Captain. The war had been over for 8 years and still his war record was more important than his reputation for honest dealing and reliable delivery.
So when they got to Diamato in two days, Ylana suggested they buy just enough gaskets to fix what was jury-rigged and three spares. That absolutely all they could afford and still buy supplies and pay salaries and bills. In Rob’s mind, it wasn’t a big deal anyway because Kate was good at taping and the system was running at full pressure. He had no doubt the system would work in the unlikely event that they had a fire.
"Hey Rob, could you get up here, Captain, sir, please?"
"Sure kiddo, what’s up?"
"We have an incoming message from a UP cruiser."
"Crap, be right there."
As soon as Rob sat in his chair on the bridge, Sara routed the message over to his computer. She also shot him a worried glance. He winked at her, more to give her reassurance than out of any real feeling of confidence. A message from a UP ship couldn’t be good for GEM and her crew; he knew that. An ensign appeared on his screen.
"Captain Michaels, I’m Ensign Fa from the United Planets Cruiser, Unity. Your vessel has been selected for a safety inspection. My team and I will be docking with your ship in 20 minutes. Ensign Fa out."
Stevan wandered on to the bridge as the message started and grimaced. "We’re humped."
"Yeah, I know," Rob replied. "We sure as hell aren’t gonna pass a safety inspection with the fire suppression system all taped together. Hey, kiddo, call the doc and see what he can provide me for the massive headache I just got."
"Yeah, kiddo, get some for all of us."
"He’s allowed to call me that. Not you, buddy boy. I’ll have the doc give you something to make you sick if you keep that up." Sara reached out and swatted Stev on the backside. He grabbed her kissed her thoroughly.
"Hey, Stev, unhand my pilot; she’s working. Save that for your off time."
****
Rob stared unhappily at the UP ensign. "God, was I EVER been that young," he thought. Knowing there was no way he could pass the inspection was bad enough, but did he have to deal with a child? And, from the looks of it, a petulant, spoiled child at that.
"Captain Michaels, I am here to inform you that this vessel is not fit to fly. You will dock with the UPS Unity where you face an administrative hearing and then will be fined and the ship towed to a repair dock. You will, of course, also be liable for the tow charges."
"Yeah, right. Do you mind telling me what specifically you found wrong with my ship? And what happened to that innocent until found guilty stuff? Why bother with a hearing if I’m already guilty?"
"I’m sure Captain Haver will inform you of all the pertinent charges at the time of the hearing. And as you are obviously unfit to command this vessel, I will take command until we dock with the Unity."
"No, you won’t."
"Of course I will. You are a criminal and a rebel and god knows what else. There is no way that you are capable of commanding this vessel. Anyway, you are under arrest."
"I might point out that I am also the owner of the vessel in question and there is no way in hell that I would let you command it. You want to arrest me, fine. Then my first officer takes over. Not some pathetic puppy of an ensign who doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground."
"Why.. Uh, …you can’t say … that’s insulting."
"What are you going to do about it, arrest me again? Stev, you’re in command. I’ll be in my quarters."
"Sure, boss." Stev meanders over to the com and punches up the all ship channel. "Hey all, Rob put me in charge of this bucket of bolts, so gorgeous, what say you meander over to that big ole UP ship over there and dock. Try not to dent it too bad, OK? We can’t afford to pay for repairs. Kate, slow speed, no need to rush. Gelb, man those guns just in case they get testy over there." On that note, he headed for the bridge.
The ensign scurried after him yelling, "Guns! What guns? You can’t have guns on a merchant ship." As he went by, Ylana stuck out her foot and tripped him. "Oops, sorry."
****
Deep Space - UPS Unity
Mark Haver was not in a good mood. The life support system problem was not getting resolved and now he had a problem with the safety inspection, too. Apparently Ensign Fa had still not learned the slightest amount of tact or judgment. Not even after the little chat they’d had after the last debacle. From the somewhat garbled reports he’d gotten from both GEM’s First Officer and the Ensign himself, he had overstepped his authority by a good bit, arresting the captain for a safety violation, refusing to tell him what he was charged with, and then trying to take command of the ship.
And since the good ensign was a junior member of the royal family, he could look forward to yet another pointless session of trying to explain how to properly handle the situation. And still the ensign wouldn’t see that he had done anything wrong and would continue to believe that Mark was being especially hard on him for being in the royal family. On the other hand, the kid had improved some, as nobody on THIS ship had tried to shoot him. Mark would have given a lot to see the expression on Ensign’s Fa’s face when that girl tripped him though. Just because he was stuck with the sanctimonious prig in his command didn’t mean Mark had to like him.
He supposed he’d better go meet this ship when it docked and try to smooth the crew’s ruffled feathers and assure the Captain that he really wasn’t under arrest. At least it took his mind off the fact that his main life support was down and the best engineer in the fleet had no idea how to fix it.
There was just the faintest bump as the merchant ship docked with Unity. Captain Haver was impressed. Very few merchant pilots had the skill to dock so smoothly. When the airlock door opened, he immediately identified the Captain because he was the one in handcuffs. And he saw at least one reason why the ensign had overreacted. The Captain of GEM was wearing an old Rebellion uniform shirt. That must have gone over well with his royal ensign. Who, now that Mark looked at him, had turned a rather vivid shade of royal purple. Mark wondered what the king would do to him if a royal cousin had a stroke while assigned to his ship. Well, solving messes like this was what they paid him the big money for.
Mark walked forward. "Captain Michaels, I’m Captain Haver..."
Ensign Fa broke into the conversation. "I want them all arrested, every one of the rebel bastards. I want them put away for the rest of their miserable little lives. How dare they treat royalty that way."
A slight blond man wearing a Rebel flight suit grabbed the ensign and picked him up off the floor. "Hell, if we’d have known you were ROYALTY, we’d have spaced your ass."
"Put him down Stev" Captain Michael’s spoke in a quiet, but firm tone.
"But Rob…"
"Now. And apologize."
"Rob, you know what those bastards did to my family."
"That was 10 years ago, Stev, and this one doesn’t look old enough to have been a part of it, so put him the hell down."
"Fine." Stev dropped the ensign who, with his usual lack of coordination, landed on his butt. Stev looked down at him. "Sorry. There, Rob, you satisfied now?" He stomped to the back of the cargo bay. A truly stunning young woman with hip length red hair came down the ladder from the bridge, put her arms around him and glared at Captain Michaels.
The ensign looked as if he was about to start on another rant, so Mark forestalled it. "Ensign, I want you to go to your quarters and write up a report on the inspection, sticking strictly to the facts. And I will remind you that while you are on MY ship, you are NOT royalty. Now move."
"Captain Haver, do you suppose we could unlock these before he leaves?" Rob held out his handcuffed arms.
At just that moment, there was a tremendous boom and Unity and GEM both shook. Every alarm on Unity went off simultaneously and the airlock door started to automatically shut. Rob grabbed Captain Haver and pulled him into GEM to keep him from getting smashed in the airlock or stuck between the two ships.
"Sara, back us off from that ship now. Stev, break out the pressure suits, we’re gonna need them for rescue operations.. And get the doc down here with his full emergency kit. Oh yeah, have Gelb and Joam warm up the shuttles. Captain, this way to the bridge. I’m sure you want to talk to your ship about what happened. And whatever help we can provide, you got it." Hands still handcuffed, Rob started for the bridge.
Mark looked at the ensign still sitting on the deck. "Keys." He held out his hand. The Ensign tossed him the handcuff keys. "Now just stay out of everybody’s way until I get back. That’s an order." Taking the steps two at a time, he followed Rob to the bridge.
*****
Bridge - GEM
"Cdr. Mika, this is Captain Haver. I’m over on the merchant ship with Ensign Fa. What happened?"
"Sir, main life support blew up. Damage Control reports are not yet complete, but I know it took out Sick Bay 2, part of crew quarters, the nursery and main hydroponics. There’s a hell of a fire here and at least 700 people are confirmed dead including Cdr. Preval and most of the senior Engineering staff and half our medical personnel. About 2700 personnel have not yet reported to Damage Control, so there are probably more dead. 6189 have already reported as injured and the medical staff hasn’t been able to assess them all or start treatment on most of them. 37 people are known to be trapped in one of the classrooms near the nursery and I’ve sent a team in to get them out."
Deep Space - UPS Unity Space Date 2419.10.24
Captain Haver was drinking coffee, reviewing the departmental logs from the night shift. Nothing unusual except the Engineering log. They’d logged a problem with gas levels in main life support at 0200, but he didn’t see a log entry closing out the issue. Mark wasn’t really worried. Life support was a triply redundant system. They could shut down main life support altogether, if necessary. Still, it was unusual for a problem like that to still be unresolved 6 hours later. Just as he was started to call Engineering, his com buzzed.
"Captain, I just wanted to get you up to speed on this life support problem."
Mark laughed internally; sometimes he swore that Commander Premal could read his mind. There was just no other logical explanation for the man’s incredible timing.
But the Captain was no longer amused after talking to Khuram Premal. His carefree engineer was unusually worried about this problem. They were unable to track down exactly what was causing it, but it seemed to be in the software than ran the new gas mixers. That was bad because the backup systems ran on the same software. And they couldn’t return to the older software because the equipment was new. It wouldn’t work at all on the old software. Buggy software running his ship’s life support was not something he wanted to contemplate. "Might be best to return to Space Dock Epsilon until they could give us more thoroughly tested software," he thought. "Who knows what other bugs this version might have, if something this major has slipped in?."
"Captain, we have a transport vessel on the sensors. Do you want us to send out an inspection team?"
Mark considered his options. They were out here to patrol and one of their main tasks was safety inspections. These Colonial types tended to run without the proper safety controls and get in trouble. Then the UP would have to rescue them or, worse, find the dead hulk floating around. And the life support problem was serious, but not critical. And the powers that be wouldn’t be too thrilled if he ordered a return to base before the engineer could actually prove they had buggy software. The inspection might delay their return by a hour or so, not really a significant time difference. And who knows, maybe an inspection would be just what was needed to fix a problem that would save the lives of those civilians.
"Go ahead and send an inspection team. Put Ensign Fa in charge. He could use some more experience dealing with civilians."
Deep Space - GEM
It was another boring day in space. The biggest excitement all week had been when the fire suppression system developed a leak in the crew lounge. That had happened last night during the poker game. The cards had gotten a little damp, but at least the foam hadn’t gotten into anybody’s beer. Kate had taped the leak and all was fine now, but they couldn’t replace the leaky gasket til they made port. It was the third leak this trip and they’d already used the one spare gasket they had.
Rob was thinking about the fire suppression system as he went over the accounts with Ylana. He asked what they could afford to buy once they sold their current cargo. He knew he should have Kate replace all the gaskets. But after the money they’d lost on that last venture, he just didn’t have the cash right now. And the current cargo didn’t have a real high profit margin either. As usual, the best jobs had gone to those ships which didn’t have a former Rebel as their Captain. The war had been over for 8 years and still his war record was more important than his reputation for honest dealing and reliable delivery.
So when they got to Diamato in two days, Ylana suggested they buy just enough gaskets to fix what was jury-rigged and three spares. That absolutely all they could afford and still buy supplies and pay salaries and bills. In Rob’s mind, it wasn’t a big deal anyway because Kate was good at taping and the system was running at full pressure. He had no doubt the system would work in the unlikely event that they had a fire.
"Hey Rob, could you get up here, Captain, sir, please?"
"Sure kiddo, what’s up?"
"We have an incoming message from a UP cruiser."
"Crap, be right there."
As soon as Rob sat in his chair on the bridge, Sara routed the message over to his computer. She also shot him a worried glance. He winked at her, more to give her reassurance than out of any real feeling of confidence. A message from a UP ship couldn’t be good for GEM and her crew; he knew that. An ensign appeared on his screen.
"Captain Michaels, I’m Ensign Fa from the United Planets Cruiser, Unity. Your vessel has been selected for a safety inspection. My team and I will be docking with your ship in 20 minutes. Ensign Fa out."
Stevan wandered on to the bridge as the message started and grimaced. "We’re humped."
"Yeah, I know," Rob replied. "We sure as hell aren’t gonna pass a safety inspection with the fire suppression system all taped together. Hey, kiddo, call the doc and see what he can provide me for the massive headache I just got."
"Yeah, kiddo, get some for all of us."
"He’s allowed to call me that. Not you, buddy boy. I’ll have the doc give you something to make you sick if you keep that up." Sara reached out and swatted Stev on the backside. He grabbed her kissed her thoroughly.
"Hey, Stev, unhand my pilot; she’s working. Save that for your off time."
****
Rob stared unhappily at the UP ensign. "God, was I EVER been that young," he thought. Knowing there was no way he could pass the inspection was bad enough, but did he have to deal with a child? And, from the looks of it, a petulant, spoiled child at that.
"Captain Michaels, I am here to inform you that this vessel is not fit to fly. You will dock with the UPS Unity where you face an administrative hearing and then will be fined and the ship towed to a repair dock. You will, of course, also be liable for the tow charges."
"Yeah, right. Do you mind telling me what specifically you found wrong with my ship? And what happened to that innocent until found guilty stuff? Why bother with a hearing if I’m already guilty?"
"I’m sure Captain Haver will inform you of all the pertinent charges at the time of the hearing. And as you are obviously unfit to command this vessel, I will take command until we dock with the Unity."
"No, you won’t."
"Of course I will. You are a criminal and a rebel and god knows what else. There is no way that you are capable of commanding this vessel. Anyway, you are under arrest."
"I might point out that I am also the owner of the vessel in question and there is no way in hell that I would let you command it. You want to arrest me, fine. Then my first officer takes over. Not some pathetic puppy of an ensign who doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground."
"Why.. Uh, …you can’t say … that’s insulting."
"What are you going to do about it, arrest me again? Stev, you’re in command. I’ll be in my quarters."
"Sure, boss." Stev meanders over to the com and punches up the all ship channel. "Hey all, Rob put me in charge of this bucket of bolts, so gorgeous, what say you meander over to that big ole UP ship over there and dock. Try not to dent it too bad, OK? We can’t afford to pay for repairs. Kate, slow speed, no need to rush. Gelb, man those guns just in case they get testy over there." On that note, he headed for the bridge.
The ensign scurried after him yelling, "Guns! What guns? You can’t have guns on a merchant ship." As he went by, Ylana stuck out her foot and tripped him. "Oops, sorry."
****
Deep Space - UPS Unity
Mark Haver was not in a good mood. The life support system problem was not getting resolved and now he had a problem with the safety inspection, too. Apparently Ensign Fa had still not learned the slightest amount of tact or judgment. Not even after the little chat they’d had after the last debacle. From the somewhat garbled reports he’d gotten from both GEM’s First Officer and the Ensign himself, he had overstepped his authority by a good bit, arresting the captain for a safety violation, refusing to tell him what he was charged with, and then trying to take command of the ship.
And since the good ensign was a junior member of the royal family, he could look forward to yet another pointless session of trying to explain how to properly handle the situation. And still the ensign wouldn’t see that he had done anything wrong and would continue to believe that Mark was being especially hard on him for being in the royal family. On the other hand, the kid had improved some, as nobody on THIS ship had tried to shoot him. Mark would have given a lot to see the expression on Ensign’s Fa’s face when that girl tripped him though. Just because he was stuck with the sanctimonious prig in his command didn’t mean Mark had to like him.
He supposed he’d better go meet this ship when it docked and try to smooth the crew’s ruffled feathers and assure the Captain that he really wasn’t under arrest. At least it took his mind off the fact that his main life support was down and the best engineer in the fleet had no idea how to fix it.
There was just the faintest bump as the merchant ship docked with Unity. Captain Haver was impressed. Very few merchant pilots had the skill to dock so smoothly. When the airlock door opened, he immediately identified the Captain because he was the one in handcuffs. And he saw at least one reason why the ensign had overreacted. The Captain of GEM was wearing an old Rebellion uniform shirt. That must have gone over well with his royal ensign. Who, now that Mark looked at him, had turned a rather vivid shade of royal purple. Mark wondered what the king would do to him if a royal cousin had a stroke while assigned to his ship. Well, solving messes like this was what they paid him the big money for.
Mark walked forward. "Captain Michaels, I’m Captain Haver..."
Ensign Fa broke into the conversation. "I want them all arrested, every one of the rebel bastards. I want them put away for the rest of their miserable little lives. How dare they treat royalty that way."
A slight blond man wearing a Rebel flight suit grabbed the ensign and picked him up off the floor. "Hell, if we’d have known you were ROYALTY, we’d have spaced your ass."
"Put him down Stev" Captain Michael’s spoke in a quiet, but firm tone.
"But Rob…"
"Now. And apologize."
"Rob, you know what those bastards did to my family."
"That was 10 years ago, Stev, and this one doesn’t look old enough to have been a part of it, so put him the hell down."
"Fine." Stev dropped the ensign who, with his usual lack of coordination, landed on his butt. Stev looked down at him. "Sorry. There, Rob, you satisfied now?" He stomped to the back of the cargo bay. A truly stunning young woman with hip length red hair came down the ladder from the bridge, put her arms around him and glared at Captain Michaels.
The ensign looked as if he was about to start on another rant, so Mark forestalled it. "Ensign, I want you to go to your quarters and write up a report on the inspection, sticking strictly to the facts. And I will remind you that while you are on MY ship, you are NOT royalty. Now move."
"Captain Haver, do you suppose we could unlock these before he leaves?" Rob held out his handcuffed arms.
At just that moment, there was a tremendous boom and Unity and GEM both shook. Every alarm on Unity went off simultaneously and the airlock door started to automatically shut. Rob grabbed Captain Haver and pulled him into GEM to keep him from getting smashed in the airlock or stuck between the two ships.
"Sara, back us off from that ship now. Stev, break out the pressure suits, we’re gonna need them for rescue operations.. And get the doc down here with his full emergency kit. Oh yeah, have Gelb and Joam warm up the shuttles. Captain, this way to the bridge. I’m sure you want to talk to your ship about what happened. And whatever help we can provide, you got it." Hands still handcuffed, Rob started for the bridge.
Mark looked at the ensign still sitting on the deck. "Keys." He held out his hand. The Ensign tossed him the handcuff keys. "Now just stay out of everybody’s way until I get back. That’s an order." Taking the steps two at a time, he followed Rob to the bridge.
*****
Bridge - GEM
"Cdr. Mika, this is Captain Haver. I’m over on the merchant ship with Ensign Fa. What happened?"
"Sir, main life support blew up. Damage Control reports are not yet complete, but I know it took out Sick Bay 2, part of crew quarters, the nursery and main hydroponics. There’s a hell of a fire here and at least 700 people are confirmed dead including Cdr. Preval and most of the senior Engineering staff and half our medical personnel. About 2700 personnel have not yet reported to Damage Control, so there are probably more dead. 6189 have already reported as injured and the medical staff hasn’t been able to assess them all or start treatment on most of them. 37 people are known to be trapped in one of the classrooms near the nursery and I’ve sent a team in to get them out."