1 year later. October 27th, 2266. 12:00 St. Mary’s Station – Military Docking Ring
John was the last of the crew to walk down the umbilical to the Waukesha. It was a very productive three months. The shipyard had worked some sort of voodoo or magic, very likely both, to get her back to combat-ready as quickly as they had. Despite missing two deployments John’s task force had claimed the most pirate kills since the beginning of the campaign.
Going out was great for John’s mental health. While he was exceptionally adept at processing data and directing squadrons around, he had no passion for that kind of work. Ironic since his career aspirations weren’t that different from that line of work.
Their last deployment was a bit different. Lieutenant Cohen and his ship were replaced with another. Though that was to the surprise of no one. John was heartened to hear that Brady seemingly had learned a bit of humility after the fact. But their shared history meant the two officers would never work with one another again.
John paused halfway down the umbilical and looked out the viewports to see his large ship. He smiled before turning back and heading to the security checkpoint. ‘A job well done,’ he thought as he continued to walk onto the station’s docking ring. He wondered what their next mission would be. That could wait though, it was time to get home and see his wife whom he so adored.
The security checkpoint was a formality, as it usually is. His gear was scanned and then handed back to him. John always grinned both at the scans and how much swag the security officers had confiscated. Every time they docked here there’d be two tables full of random shit the crew tried to smuggle home. Thankfully none of it was harmful, but that did raise many questions. Questions that would gnaw in his psyche for weeks at a time. ‘Why the hell would anyone want a meal tray from the mess?’ was the current question bugging him.
John’s destination was his condo. He walked with an increased pace and focus than he normally had. He so desperately wanted Alice in his arms. To kiss and do other consenting adult things with her. His excitement would be dampened when he arrived home to a quiet and very Alice-less condo. She left a note on the digital whiteboard.
‘Love you and welcome home, John. I got called in for an unexpected shift. Should be back by 16:00-17:00.’
“Fuck me,” John sighed as he dropped his backpack and seabag in the entryway, “That’s disappointing.”
John then walked into the living room, but as soon as he did so the primary display screen turned on and displayed an incoming message. He shrugged and found one of the many remotes for it and accepted it. He was surprised to see Kristin in it.
“Hey First Lieutenant,” Kristin smiled, “Kill a bunch of pirates?”
John rolled his eyes, “You know I’ve told all of y’all that off hours it’s OK to just call me John. We’re running low on the availability of targets.”
“The military says otherwise. We learned that lesson well in the academy,” Kristin grinned, “Well, some of us did at least. Pirates seem to be bugging out of our systems too.”
“Touché.”
“Did you hear what happened to my former captain?”
John shook his head.
“Seriously? You don’t know?”
“After I had a conversation with his dad, I let it go. To be blunt, I didn’t really give a rat’s ass what NI did with the guy. Plus, I literally just got back home after being gone for three months. Was too busy killing pirates and time to notice anything really.”
“Well, he ultimately accepted the separation agreement NI was offering,” Kristin rolled her eyes, “What Dwayne relayed to me was that the only thing changing his mind were drafts of criminal charges that they were prepared to bring against him.”
John nodded, “Don’t roll your eyes at that, the degree of arrogance exhibited doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.”
Kristin did in fact roll her eyes, “Well, he’s now being charged with four counts of sexual harassment. It seems that he didn’t learn his lesson in the civilian world. Those ladies have brought a civil case against him too. Daddy’s going to be spending a pretty penny.”
John grinned as he pulled up his tablet and scanned for news. Laughter erupted shortly thereafter by him. He sat down on his recliner and shared the news.
“As of twenty minutes ago, his dad has been removed as CEO and chairman of the board. The board and he agreed to a massive reduction in his golden parachute. He won’t be ruined but his kid will cost him literally a billion dollars over the remainder of his lifetime. Since he took his company public there ain’t much he can do but whine and complain about it.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. Jacob says hi. He told me this morning that he wishes he didn’t have to work today. The big lug also says we need to meet up someplace again soon.”
John smiled, “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me at all that he’d say something like that. But I agree, that is something we ought to do. The problem is that I’m off for a week, then it’s prepping for another deployment in three weeks.”
“So, in other words, not anytime soon.”
“You know how it is,” John sighed as he shook his head, “I will be basically deployed for three months at a time no less than three times a year, and probably start a fourth deployment in the coming year. When I am home I have effectively no social life since Alice has a ton of honey-do things around the condo.”
“I do not trust Jacob to hang a picture without making a hole in the wall.”
John laughed, “I don’t think he’s ever been called handy. Hey, how were the pirate ops for you lot?”
“Our pirate hunting was pretty routine. We didn’t get anything heavy like you got. Four hundred pirate ships though? Good lord, you were busy,” Kristin could hardly believe the number.
“Four hundred eighty-three, we were one engagement away from cracking five hundred,” John smiled as he leaned back in his recliner, “Pirate reports in our systems have effectively been eliminated. The same holds true for our part of the inner core.”
“Only two of our squadrons crossed the century mark in Second Fleet. Could that have been because the pirates had migrated so deep into the core worlds?”
“More than likely, they go where the money is. Void traffic in the core worlds is substantially higher than in the more distant colonies. That means the demand for illicit goods is higher as well. I can’t really blame the pirates for wanting to make a dime that way, but they really should find honest work.”
“They are bugging out to a more accepting place now. That is presuming our intelligence reports are accurate,” Kristin said, “But we’re due for another anti-pirate hunt during my next time out. I think the other fleets are gearing up for a focus on that too.”
“I had heard the outer fleets are starting early next year,” John grinned, “It’s a shitty time to be a pirate. Just as they find a safe haven the military begins to move in fresher systems. Though if they are smart, they might get overlooked.”
The two continued to talk about their pirate-hunting escapades. Kristin was very eager to understand the hows and why John made the decisions he did. She was fascinated with how overly aggressive his squadron was, which given their kill tally shouldn’t have come to her as much surprise. She was eager to estimate how many pirate vessels they were leaving behind.
John changed the subject after a while, “When are getting a captain’s seat?”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Well, it should have been before my last deployment. A better-connected lieutenant got the nod instead. I’m next up for the big seat.”
“Sorry to hear about the delay. You’ll do well when you get the opportunity.”
“Thanks. Well, I’ve taken enough time of yours. Thanks for the assistance.”
“It’s all good, you and Andern take care.”
John waived as he shut the display off. He crossed his legs and shut his eyes. He fell asleep quickly in that comfortable chair of his. It was good to be home, even if it was for a brief time. John didn’t know what kind of mission would come next. It was unlikely to have anything to do with pirates. That was fine with him, something new couldn’t hurt to experience.
One day later. October 28th, 2266. 09:06 St. Mary’s Station – First Fleet Auditorium
John walked into the auditorium for a last-minute meeting. Alice wasn’t wrong, he looked dashing in his Navy whites. Despite that, the timing of it was piss poor, his beautiful wife was sadly accustomed to last-second changes to their schedules. John hated being the last one to arrive for a meeting, it never felt good. All those eyes stared at him when he entered the room.
“Good morning, Lieutenant,” Admiral Dufresne said politely, “Once again, apologies are due to you for the last-second nature of this meeting.”
“Thank you, sir. My wife wanted to visit a museum and go shopping on the coast down on the surface. I’m not exactly opposed to missing that part of our itinerary.”
The bespectacled man sitting across from him chuckled quietly. Admiral Dickinson and Dufresne grinned at the sarcasm. The pair of admirals understood immediately that John was both cautious and curious about why he was brought here. It didn’t escape him that the noticed John size up the man across from him.
“This is Doctor Frank Hamelin,” Admiral Dickinson, “And you will be escorting him on your next mission. We don’t expect it to last a standard deployment, but that’s alright given the current situation. Besides, your squadron killed all the bloody pirates, so we don’t have that much real work for you at the moment.”
John grinned when he heard that. He never took his eyes off the scholar. In fact, he was counting the number of ways he could kill or beat the man up. That number was incredibly high as he didn’t give off any vibes that he had ever been in a fight.
“You had best show him what you’d like to do. He’s not going to stop doing whatever it is that he’s doing now,” Admiral Dufresne said dismissively to the scientist.
“I find it fascinating that I’d ever interact, much less put my life in the hands of someone so bloodthirsty. That gaze of yours is just frightening,” Dr. Hamelin said with the utmost sincerity and honesty, “But yes, where are my manners? To put it briefly and frankly, we have discovered evidence of intelligent life, though it seems that the race has since gone extinct.”
Dr. Hamelin activated the holographic display from his terminal. A black orb with a sickeningly green light is shown. Alien characters could be easily seen in the piece of rubble. Characters that John was acquainted with.
“You don’t seem surprised by this?” Dr. Hamelin noticed John’s reaction and was taken aback by it, “This was not the reaction I’d expected from you, in fact, I’d say you were nonplused about such a momentous discovery.”
“It’s foolhardy to believe that we’re the only intelligent life in the universe. Or that there weren’t precursor races.”
“We’re calling them the Predecessors.”
John looked like he was in pain hearing that name.
“You don’t agree with the name we gave them?”
John shook his head, “Why not something cooler? Forerunners, Ancients, Old Ones, Engineers, galaxy seeders?”
“Clever as some of those names, many are trademarked and rooted in science fiction. We are dealing with science fact.”
“That’s a…” John stopped and paused for a moment, “An acceptable, but dumb, reason for eschewing a cooler name. So, what’s the mission?”
“We’re going to Apus Minor. There’s an Earth-sized moon orbiting the gas giant. The specific ruins we’re heading to are here.”
The picture in the holographic display changed. John closed his eyes quickly and sighed. The doctor wanted to explore alien ruins that were under a mountain. Ruins that had a tendency to just disappear on a whim, at least according to the data John had kept well hidden. John didn’t know whether or not the doctor knew that fact, but he had to presume he was aware of that.
“Alien ruins in a mountain. What could go wrong?” John said sarcastically.
“A lot. Which is why we’re bringing you on board,” Admiral Dickinson answered, “The scientists will do as you order.”
“That means I’ll be going into the ruins with them then, or am I mistaken on that assumption?”
Admiral Dufresne leaned forward and rested his arms on the table, “Why would the captain of our starship go with them?”
“You said the scientists will do as I order. Even with relays our communication devices don’t work great under that much earth. How else am I to order them to not do something without being physically there?”
“It’s not normal, but far from the first time, a captain’s prerogative was used during a mission. If you see fit to need to be there with the scientific team then that is acceptable to me,” Admiral Dickinson said, “I’d not simply urge you but order you to utilize a significant amount of caution to be exhibited. Anything and everything that is seen is classified beyond top secret. We are not prepared at this time to publicly disclose this information at this time.”
“When do we leave?”
“Your shore leave’s been cut short, along with your crew’s,” Admiral Dufresne said, “The recall order has already been sent to the crew. You’ll leave in five days. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for the interruption.”
“Congrats doctor, you and your team aren’t going to be making many friends on the ship,” John’s quip dripped in resentment, “Where are going to house them?”
“The starboard hangar is being used to house their gear and the teams. Technicians are installing the temporary barracks structure in there as we speak,” Admiral Dufresne said, “Lieutenant, why don’t you take the time to get to know your new crewmate? We have another crew to disappoint.”
“The Waukesha is going out by her lonesome?”
Admiral Dickinson nodded, “Apus Minor is firmly in the core world region. The moon itself is sparsely populated aside from some agricultural startups in the northern continent. Apus Major has nearly a billion people living there now.”
“Understood, we’ll be up to the task.”
John stood and saluted the admirals. He quickly sat back down and stared down at the doctor. It was highly annoying that his leave was being canceled as suddenly as it was. He not only wanted but needed some proper downtime.
“You needn’t give me this death glare. I’m not at fault for this.”
“Oh, I’m aware. I’m just annoyed that this meeting got me out of looking at some art pieces painted or built by some dead artists that I have no clue who they were. Now I’m being asked to play babysitter to a bunch of eggheads under a fucking mountain.”
“This is a momentous occasion. We’ve discovered…”
“Tell me, doctor, what happened to this relic after it was activated,” John stared at the doctor.
“What? How…” Doctor Hamelin cocked his head and stared at the cocky officer, “What do you mean?”
“Where is that relic now? Do you have a chipping of the material?”
“No, but why would you ask that? How would you know the device disappeared upon activation? No one’s been told that. You couldn’t possibly know that.”
“Unless I do. You didn’t discover that device. Someone else did. If I’m not mistaken, the uncut video shows a green scanning pulse before the device atomized itself. And left a stadium-sized depression in prime farmland. Indicating that something much larger existed there at one time.”
“A dear colleague and friend of mine discovered it. He had an unnamed benefactor that was bankrolling his research. He found dozens of locations. He died in an attack on his campsite by bandits. This site was one he had wanted to go to but he was hesitant to go there because of the aforementioned disappearing act they performed.”
“That benefactor of your friend was a madman. He made me look like a fucking boy scout,” John’s face wore a puzzled look, “I am not a boy scout.”
“Sometimes in the pursuit of scientific knowledge, we have to ally ourselves, however temporarily, with an unsavory cast. That is the price of progress some of us are willing to pay.”
“And what if that price involves doing immoral or unethical things? Such as transforming a portion of the population or annihilating some of it? What then?”
“This discovery is so much more valuable than you can think. Our level of technology could increase exponentially. The risks are worth it. Especially now, since we believe we now know why the structures disappear.”
“What makes you think you’ve cracked that code?” John asked dismissively.
“I’m looking at him.”
John sighed loudly before closing his eyes, “You cannot be fucking serious.”
Dr. Hamelin then began typing at his terminal before showing a repeating pattern, “This is what the scanner was looking for. We’ve been able to translate part of the flash of data. When we extrapolate what those numbers mean we find out they are grid coordinates. To this.”
He then changed the screen to display a portion of a human’s genetic code, “Wouldn’t you be surprised that this portion of the code is an exact match to you? What’s absolutely fascinating is how your genetic code shifted into this. Genetic adjustments, on the scale you went through, are incredibly deadly for adults.”
“It almost killed me. That it didn’t remains a mystery for me as well. So you think if I’m in the presence of the team then when the scanning beam goes out it’ll delay or otherwise stop this atomization program the alien tech has?”
“That’s my running theory.”
“Do you have any other sites besides this one?”
“Why do you ask?” Dr. Hamelin asked curiously.
“I’d rather you not be wrong and then be buried under a fucking mountain due to scientific malfeasance,” John said sarcastically.
“There’s a small structure on the moon a few miles away that we can test your theory.”
“Very well,” John said, “What else do you know about these aliens?”
Dr. Hamelin smiled as he leaned forward. The two men continued their conversation. Five hours had flashed in but a blink of an eye. John had learned a great deal from the doctor. The new information he was eager to plug into Eve and see if their translations and assumptions from Dr. Norman’s stash had proven accurate.
John was still treading cautiously. His desire to learn more was obviously there, but this whole situation wreaked of something. Something that he couldn’t quite put a finger on. He didn’t trust this scientist, and it was likely that the rest of his team would be just as untrustworthy, but orders were orders. He had to follow through with them, but John was bound and determined to do so while not allowing these foreigners to get him and his crew killed.