The ship is full of chaos. Contrary to the cowardice suspected of the marine officers early on, it turns out many enlisted military, as well as civilians, were crammed onto the last two ships to near-bursting. The starliners are supposed to be self-sufficient for a total of 15,000 people each. But, Lt. Col. Hitch revealed the current ship to be at almost 42,000. People are packed into every open space imaginable. Children cry, men and women embrace each other, and others have quiet panic attacks.
The military personnel have already started cordoning off military-only areas to try to allow them to keep order. One such area is the hangar bay, where the stranger carefully lands the stolen alien ship. Hitch is startled by the recovered children on board, but he quickly orders, “Get them to someone who’ll look after them, please.” “Yes, Sir!” comes the reply from several marines.
A young girl cries out from behind Hitch, “You made it!”
The mysterious man smirks at her as he disembarks, beaten and bloodied to the point he almost looks alien himself. Hitch looks to see Sergeant Grey’s squad approaching with two women, and Grey holding a little girl’s hand. Hitch sighs, remarking, “Sergeant, they’re not supposed to be in here.”
Grey replies bluntly, “Who? These three marines, sir? Little Bird here helped the Stranger and Hancock take down two of the crocs.”
Hitch grimaces, but the Stranger adds, “It’s true, Lieutenant Colonel. She’s indispensable to the squad.”
Hitch sighs. “I know the squad. What I don’t know is who YOU are.”
“I… still can’t remember, sir. I just remembered what the Voyager rockets were, but I still have no idea who I am or what this thing is.”
The little girl known as ‘Little Bird’ hugs the mysterious man as he kneels to hug her. Hitch asks, “She your daughter?”
“No sir.”
Tanya says bluntly, “Alex and I will take care of her. Like he said, she’s an honorary marine. We’re her family now.”
Hitch nods. He then remarks, “So, that leaves you, Mr. ‘Stranger’.”
The stranger replies, “Car-something is all I’ve got, sir.”
Hancock sternly blurts out, “Uh, Carmine! Carmine Kane. LIEUTENANT Carmine Kane, uh, Sir. I saw it on your belt; an ID badge. Some… research base I didn’t recognize.”
Hitch looks at the rookie marine skeptically. The rookie could be making up that story to protect the Stranger, but he managed to steal an alien ship, among other things that Hitch witnessed himself. With all the chaos, it’s unlikely anyone will be able to verify rank and station officially at this point. This Stranger seems to be respectful and intelligent, and he’s dedicated to humanity. Hitch nods, “Very well, Lieutenant. Welcome to the corps. Or… you know what? Navy. We need Navy friends here.”
The newly officially dubbed Lieutenant Kane nods. Hitch turns to Sergeant Grey and says, “Sergeant…”
Grey asks seriously, “What about Little Bird? She’s been saluting you for almost a whole minute.”
Hitch looks at her. The little girl straightens under his gaze, right hand properly pressed to her hat’s brim in a crisp salute. Hitch salutes her, but he says to Grey, “You can’t be serious, Sergeant. I don’t have that kind of authority.”
Grey glares at him lightly. Hitch sighs. He looks at Little Bird again. He says proudly, “Hear ye, all present, that I, Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Hitch name you United States Marine Corps Private Recruit Little Bird; Enlisted rank E-1. From this day forth, uh… you are subject to the Uniformed Code of Military Justice and…”
The girl squeaks, “Rookie said I have to say a vow, Sir…”
Hitch pauses, surprised. Kane kneels and says softly, “You shouldn’t interrupt, either, though.”
She nods, apologizing, “Sorry, sir.”
Hitch sighs. He replies, “I’ll leave it to your squad to swear you in. Sergeant, I’ll sign whatever enlistment paperwork you doctor up for her. Don’t expect it to hold under scrutiny, though. Only reason I’m playing along is the fact that I doubt we’ll be firing any military personnel any time soon.”
Grey nods, “Thank you, sir.”
Hitch turns to Little Bird and salutes, “Thank you for your help, Recruit. Serve the Marine Corps well.”
The girl smiles, “I-I will sir!”
He nods. “Carry on, then.” They both lower their hands. Hitch then says to Grey, “Sergeant… A restructure is coming. Just…” He sighs, “Use your judgment and wisdom.”
Confused, Grey replies, “Sir?”
Hitch says nothing more about the cryptic statement. He instead says, “We’ll be catching up to the other ships soon. Keep everyone calm and things in order. Lieutenant, if you’ll come with me, we’ll be meeting with other officers.”
Kane nods, “Very well. No time like the present to learn to be a Navy officer, right?”
The two walk off, leaving Grey and his squad. Little Bird asks hopefully, “S-So I’m really a real marine now? Just like you guys?”
Grey smirks, and the weary marines chuckle. The Sergeant replies, “That’s right, little lady. We’ll have to teach you to shoot and get yelled at by officers…”
Fredericks adds, “And defuse bombs. We need a good bomb defuser.”
The small girl squeaks, “I’ll do my best!”
Grey nods, “I believe you will, marine.”
She suddenly sniffles, saying as she looks down, “I… I wish Mommy and Daddy…”
Grey and Tanya both kneel, and Tanya quickly says, “Maya, it’s okay! I KNOW they’re proud of you.”
Little Bird looks at her with watering eyes, and the woman adds tenderly, “Because WE’RE proud of you. Alex and his boys will make you the best darn marine this corps has ever seen.”
The little girl sniffles, crying as she hugs Tanya.
The marines get Tanya, Kenzie, and Little Bird situated in a safe corner of the hangar bay, where they’ll camp out. Dumas and Fredericks stay behind to protect them. There is a restlessness in the air, kept at bay by the numerous heavily armed marines who saw hell and are glad only to be alive. True, several marines have been problematic as well, but they were quickly subdued by their squadmates.
Hancock follows Grey as he leads, with Fisher behind them. Grey limps wearily, only slightly relieved of his leg injury by ointment and gauze. Walking the halls of the ship is a disheartening nightmare. The three marines have to carefully step over legs of civilians as they squeeze through others standing. Children sob endlessly. It’s a miracle Little Bird has held it together so well, but Hancock suspects she’s slipping into denial as well as trying to live up to those she’s clinging to for support; the five marines and two women managing to keep their heads.
Adults are crying too, making the hallways a disorienting mess of noise and smells. Hancock understands why the marines have sectioned off areas of the ship, but the distribution of space will be painful to fully even out. This is especially true since there are a lot of small families, couples, and single individuals. They ascend stairs to the next level, and Hancock can feel the vertigo from the rotation of the ship, which causes artificial gravity. The marines are being issued magnetic boots, which will allow the ship to function normally, but the command crew is holding off for now until the civilians are squared away. Many of them have nothing but the clothes on their backs. Dogs yap and bark, indicating several couples couldn’t obey and leave their pets behind, but the marines are dealing with the potential mutiny sparks one at a time.
The three reach the command bridge; their destination. The captain of this particular ship is a former Navy captain hired on by G-sink, and he happened to be onboard at Time Zero. Hancock looks out the windows at the stunning display. The stars are turning slowly due to the ship’s spin; but it’s a beautiful sight. The four starliners maneuver close to each other, as the humongous mobile drydock looms nearby. A few mining barges are also grouped near the starliners.
Hitch and Kane are already present, as the captain of one of the other three liners shouts via video screen, “You must be out of your mind! We’re ALREADY over capacity!”
A stalwart captain in a more elegant dress uniform replies calmly, “President’s orders, Captain. Our ship needs research space. This voyage will end quickly if the outsiders catch up to us.”
The first captain, with a silver crucifix on her shoulder and the more standard starliner uniform, retorts, “I was there when the Argonaut left dock, CAPTAIN. They have just shy of four thousand hands on board.” The captain who has yet to speak on screen squirms nervously. The captain with the crucifix continues, “And you want to offload your military personnel onto us?”
Hancock recognizes the next person to speak as the Madame President of the United States, who steps into view as she says, “Gentlemen, I understand your concerns, but Mr. Right assures me his starliners can house many more than…”
The captain with the crucifix shouts, “Eighteen thousand! That is the absolute rated maximum of these ships. We’re at forty one thousand, seven hundred. Andromeda is at forty two thousand, four hundred at final count. Even if we divided our excess across all of the ships here, we’re still looking at massive rationing.”
The President is wholly perturbed, hung up on HOW she was responded to. She says coldly and viciously, “Captain. I am the President. I am the Commander in Chief of EVERYONE on every single one of these ships. YOU would do well to remember that, Captain.”
The brunette woman says nothing. The President continues, “If there is overpopulation, this voyage will end. I recommend a lottery to determine who stays.”
Shocked, the Captain with the crucifix retorts, “And what!? We jettison them!? You CAN’T be serious!”
“This is a time for pragmatism, Captain; not hope in humanity.”
Suddenly, Lieutenant Kane, the mysterious amnesiac stranger -somewhat cleaned up from his battles- asks coldly, “Was exterminating everyone else with the Football ‘pragmatic’, Ma’am?”
The President glares. “Captains. You would do well to rein in your men.”
The captain of the Andromeda, the ship Hancock is on, finally speaks, “He brings up a good point, Madame President.”
“This is treacherous talk!” snarls one of the admirals behind her. “You will ALL be…”
“What, court martialled?” asks the female captain with the crucifix. "Name one person on any crew who would act on it.”
“You are out of line!” snaps a colonel.
All four bridges descend into yelling matches. Hancock glances at Sergeant Grey, who pulls his cigar out to chew on it. He grumbles, audible only to Fisher and Hancock, “Frickin’ officers. Drinking the brown punch and spitting at each other like cats.”
A young woman steps forward on the ship with the female captain. She’s not in uniform, but she shares many similarities with the captain. She gets attention through repeated attempts gaining a momentary respite to speak. She says calmly and gently, “Noble Captains, Madame President, other officers, I beg you; focus. We have more than eighty thousand people all scared and homeless now. If they saw you losing control like this, they would rip the ships apart in panic.”
The President sourly says, “Which is why YOUR ships should receive extra military presence. All the better to…”
The argument is just about to resume, but the young woman replies, “Ma’am… You don’t understand.” There’s a pause. She continues, “ANY way you slice it… YOU are outnumbered. Nothing you have is worth anything anymore.”
“How dare you speak to me like that! Captain…!”
The captain of the Andromeda says calmly, “You just told dozens of officers and enlisted you’re ready to jettison people on OUR ships so you can offload armed soldiers from yours. You KNOW the situation you’re in. Those are friends and family you’re talking about.” The President pales as he calls her out.
She tries to seize control, growling, “You would threaten this kind of mutiny?”
The female captain retorts, “There is no United States anymore. Mutiny implies you’re part of the chain of command.”
Hancock notices something strange. The admirals and colonels so quick to jump to the President’s aid are silently distancing themselves.
The woman shrieks, “I am the first woman President of the United States! The FIRST woman Commander in Chief.”
The female captain cuts her off; “But you weren’t. You were the second. Your campaign was all propaganda. On the bright side, though, you ARE the LAST woman President of the United States. Of course, you’re the last Potus in general, as well.”
“THIS IS MUTINY! You’re all traitors! Arrest them!”
The captain of the Andromeda starts coldly, “I, Captain John Reginald Dodge, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the surviving members of humanity against all enemies; foreign and domestic;” He pauses when the female captain mimics him, putting her right hand over her heart; “I, Captain Angelica Marie Long, do solemnly swear that I will support…”
The third captain, Captain of the Argonaut, catches up to Captain Long, and quickly, enlisted and officers on all three ships join in. The President’s face twists in horror, but she truly pales when voices repeat the first part behind her. Hancock, following Sergeant Grey’s lead, finishes in unison; “Against all enemies, foreign and domestic;”
Captain Dodge continues to lead, rewording the oath carefully on the spot to ensure no twisted logic retains any power with the woman they are declaring the first high profile enemy so soon; “That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;” He pauses, and the chorus of voices is as one; powerful and unified as they repeat.
Captain Dodge continues, “And that I will obey the orders of a body faithful to the same and the orders of the officers appointed over me;” He pauses once more, and every military voice seems to be pledging the oath word for word, even excluding the president whom they once swore to.
Captain Dodge finishes, “According to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” The many voices repeat in unison. Hancock watches the President nervously back into a group of Secret Service agents readying to protect her. Hancock wonders if Dodge’s finish was yet another jab at her, as this President was the one who abolished God from any speech or official state material.
Captain Long says sternly, “Agents of the Secret Service; your loyalty to duty is admirable, but there is NO version where that woman continues to lead. This is an unprecedented situation with atrocities of unimaginable scale on that woman’s hands. We ALL saw the destruction of EARTH. Members of the Andromeda barely escaped it. Why? Afraid memory of this fleet will come back to haunt you? That Earth might’ve survived?”
“LIES!” barks the frantic President. “I gave the Football to…” She halts, realizing that what she just said is also a crime of the highest order, no matter who it might be.
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Captain Long says sternly, “As of right now, I propose we declare a modified martial law where the military is the ruling body, helmed by officers not appointed directly by this or any other politician. We NEED to rein this crisis in and solve our priorities, and we can’t do that with an external body slowing things down.”
The captain of the Argonaut, Captain Arnoldo Francisco, replies first, “I concur.”
“YOU CAN’T DO THIS!” shrieks the President. Captain Dodge says calmly, “I concur with Captain Long.” The three shift gazes, indicating it is the Captain of the Polonia, the ship carrying the President and the other elites. He glances at the President, and then the admirals nearby. The admirals are pale and silent. The President shrieks, “Do NOT give in, Captain! They are traitors of the highest order! They will be shot for this!”
The captain sighs. He says coldly, “Captains… I… I…” He stammers nervously. He sighs again, “I… already lost everything. Do what you have to.” He does something on the command console. An alarm instantly blares; the emergency Zebra lockdown, to shut all airtight doors. The bridge locks, and before anyone can respond, the captain draws a pistol. He is inaudible over the alarms behind him, but his lips read, “{I concur…}” Long tries to scream, but his pistol fires once. All at once, the camera shakes. Bodies ragdoll across the screen in the direction of his shot as the room explosively decompresses. The noise quickly goes silent. Those few bodies visible flail slowly, trying to regain some semblance of control and save themselves. A couple manage to pull themselves to the door, frost already forming on their skins. But, the door doesn’t budge.
Captain Long shrieks, “WE HAVE TO GET PEOPLE OVER THERE!”
Lieutenant Kane volunteers, “I’ll pilot the stolen alien craft, ma’am. It has the agility to get in quickly.”
“You can fly it?” asks Captain Francisco cautiously.
Kane nods, “Yes sir. I’m… not sure why.”
Long says, “Do it. Take a squad with you and a shoring crew. Do NOT let anyone force the doors open. You’ll have to EVA in.”
“Understood.”
Sergeant Grey volunteers, “I volunteer myself, Lieutenant.” Fisher and Hancock add, “Us too.”
Long asks, “You’re the squad that captured the hostile technology, correct?”
“Yes ma’am,” replies Grey.
“Good. Resourceful and level-headed. Lieutenant… uh…” “Kane,” replies Kane politely, She continues, “Kane will drop you off in the main hangar. Get to the bridge from inside and ensure no one is damaging the doors. Lieutenant, you and the repair team will seal the hole, and we’ll tell you how to lift the lockdown and repressurize the bridge.”
Kane and Grey both state, “Understood.”
The squad quickly makes their way back to the hangar. Technicians meet up with them with a metal fiber sheet like a tarpaulin and a specialized vacuum ready epoxy that will hold the sheet almost as well as a solid weld, allowing them time to get the ship to the mobile drydock. Hancock has watched from the space station as drills were being run. He knows the breach on the Polonia will be much worse than typical because the windows on the bridge are meant to take SOME impact from the outside, but are extraordinarily brittle from the inside; a trade off in the structure of the panes.
Sergeant Grey jokes as he instantly sheds his guard belt with his magazine pouches and his boots, “You done EVA training yet, Rookie?”
Hancock replies as he sheds his belt and boots as well, “No sir.”
Fisher chuckles, “You fixin’ to learn today, Rookie!”
Kenzie, Tanya, and Little Bird appear, followed closely by Fredericks and Dumas. Little Bird squeaks, “You’re leaving!?”
Sergeant Grey kneels, replying gently, “Yes Ma’am. One of the other ships needs some help. Nothing scary, this time.”
“Pr-promise?”
He smirks, offering a pinkie. She wraps her own tiny finger around his and he says, “I promise we’ll be just fine. We took on aliens!”
“Ca-can I help?”
“Not this time, marine. I need you to guard Kenzie and Tanya. Fredericks, Dumas, and you are our backup if anything goes wrong. You never put all your eggs in one basket, and you never put all your marines in one spot. Got it?”
She nods, disappointed but complicit. “Good.”
Kenzie asks Hancock, “Everything okay?” He smiles and nods. “We’re taking over the other ship. No big deal.”
She looks at him, surprised, and he winks at her.
Grey ruins the moment, calling out, “Rookie, we ain’t got time to tango. Get your suit on.” Hancock realizes he has fallen behind, and he quickly shuffles into the bulky suit. It’s much more maneuverable than old NASA moon suits, but they’re still like putting on a HEAVY set of coveralls over his uniform. Kenzie doesn’t hesitate to step in and help tug the suit up. She helps him get his arms in and zips up the magnetic layered seal on his chest. Just before she puts his helmet on, she kisses his lips quickly. She carefully slides his helmet onto his face, which he’s secretly thankful hides his blush. She teases softly, “Don’t be gone too long, Rookie.”
Fredericks and Dumas chuckle, and Hancock can feel fumbling at his waist. He looks down to find Little Bird trying to lift his heavy belt and wrap it around his waist. Kenzie smiles at him knowingly. He takes one end of the belt from her, holding it so she can walk the whole thing around him. Something nags at the back of his mind, but he’s not sure what.
Hancock covers the breathe vent of his helmet, which allows him to breathe normally when in an atmosphere. He inhales deeply, feeling his hand suction to the vent. He holds for a moment, making sure the suit sealed correctly. He exhales against his hand for the same check.
Two things differ with the EVA suits from an SCBA, like what firefighters wear. The first is that even small leaks tend to become visible on an EVA suit, as the moisture in the air escaping freezes and makes a mist. Secondly, once his air is turned on, the helmet controls the air supply with a basic mechanical interlock that supplies air when the suit is under vacuum, but conserves air when the suit is in atmosphere. This allows the suit to enter and exit airlocks for orbital ship workers. The interlock is surprisingly simple and robust, tested by marines at the challenge of Mr. Right, and no marine could get it to fail short of puncturing the seal of the interlock.
The squad piles into the alien shocktrooper ship. Lieutenant Kane takes the helm, flying it as if it WASN’T alien, but a normal human aircraft. While he’s far from an expert, his ability to pilot a completely foreign craft is astonishing, as if the device on his arm were a gift from the gods.
Kane flies the ship to the hangar of the Polonia, where Grey and Fisher disembark. Grey orders through the radio, “Rookie, keep with the Stra- uh, Lieutenant –Apologies, sir- and make sure nothing happens. That includes any possible survivors.”
Hancock replies, “Yes Sergeant.”
Kane adds humorously, “No hard feelings, Sergeant. I’m a stranger to myself.”
The marines chuckle, and Grey replies, “Yes, sir!”
Hancock watches as Kane scans for controls. Somehow, he reads the alien glyphs as if he, himself, were an alien. The thought has crossed Hancock’s mind, but Kane bleeds human red, which is good enough for the young marine.
Kane lands the ship gingerly on the lazily spinning starliner. He activates a control, which causes the ship to lurch a small amount, suddenly locking in place. He jokes, “Huh… look at that. Aliens still use magnetism.” Hancock scoffs as the two technicians chuckle.
He states, “Equalizing.” He hits another button, and Hancock can hear all of the air being pulled out of the ship. The ambient noise slowly fades, and Hancock’s suit kicks on, illuminating a small display in his field of view denoting his remaining air. The sound of his regulator feeding him air makes a light hiss every time he inhales, and it is strangely comforting. He can also hear his suit shifting as he moves, and his own heartbeat pulses in his ears.
Kane’s voice comes through the radio, “Huh… Wish I could be more surprised by things I can’t remember.”
Hancock asks, “You think you were an astronaut, sir?”
“I dunno. I just… everything seems to just… happen.” He flexes his shoulders, redirecting, “Right then. No time for this. Everyone stay calm, minimize movements, and keep an eye on your inertial compensators. If they run out, any move you make will start a spin if your feet lose hold. Got it?”
All three reply, “Yes sir!”
Kane opens the door, and light from the sun instantly fills the ship. Hancock instinctively shields his eyes, but his helmet instantly compensated. Kane leads slowly and cautiously out onto the hull of the starliner.
Hancock is swept away by the breath-taking view. He asks through his radio as he looks at the endless void filled with the glimmering speckles of stars, “Where are we?” He’s never been able to look in every direction without a station or Earth obscuring much of it. Now, it’s only the starliner and the humongous mobile drydock.
Kane replies calmly, “We only have as fast as the engines can go, so we’re probably in deadspace a fraction of a percent to Mars’s orbit. Assuming we stayed parallel to the orbital plane.”
“Deadspace?” asks Hancock. Kane replies, “Uh… Empty space. Sorry.”
“No, no! Makes sense. I’m leaning towards astronaut, sir.”
Kane chuckles as he carefully climbs into the bridge. It’s much darker on the bridge, indicating someone must’ve hit the lights in their panicked flailing. Hancock looks quietly at the bodies floating inside. One’s an admiral, his uniform jacket ripped at the right cuff. Another is a Secret Service agent, frozen to the chair he managed to hug for dear life, only to perish shortly after. It’s a grim sight. The last three bodies on the bridge are near the door, one clutching her throat. It’s the President and two of her attachés, trying to force the door open at their last moments. Her fingernails are bloody, as if she clawed her way across anyone she could reach. It did no good, though. Her face is glassy, and her skin is frosted over.
Kane asks calmly, “Hancock, you got a flashlight?” The young marine shakes his head clear as sparks indicate the technicians are sealing the room via the window they just entered. Or at least, they’re grinding the hole clean first.
Hancock reaches instinctively to his belt on his right hip, feeling for the thin, elongated rounded pouch of his flashlight. He finds an elongated pouch and slides his hand up for the flap. His hand slips free, never feeling the flap. He tries again to the same result. Kane slowly turns to investigate. Hancock feels up and down. Kane’s chuckle, along with Hancock’s next discovery tells him all he needs to know. His belt is upside down.
The mysterious stranger asks warmly, “They’re adorable, aren’t they?”
Hancock feels his left side for his flashlight pouch, replying calmly as he pulls the light out, “She’s just a kid. Just glad it’s not combat.”
Kane replies, “I wasn’t being sarcastic. What you just said proves my point. Can’t stay mad at kids, can we?”
The young marine hands the light over, replying, “Even if I could, sir, Maya’s a marine, right? Can’t stay mad at a sister in arms.”
Kane chuckles as he inspects the panels that control the ship. He remarks, “She’s got a spark in her eyes. I can feel it. She won’t be a Little Bird forever.”
Hancock glances at the President’s body hesitantly. Her glassy eyes stare soullessly into him. He asks grimly, “Sir… does… does it not… bother you?”
Kane looks up at Hancock, and then he follows his gaze. He studies the bodies for a moment in silence. He replies after a long time, “Not really. I mean… I feel bothered, but… By the fact that I’m rather okay with their fates.” He scoffs, “Some part of me must’ve remembered her.” He resumes work. “She rubbed me the wrong way. Something tells me I’ve done the same.”
Hancock stares at the lieutenant. His aura and movements are calm and collected. He activates some controls, and the lights turn back on in the bridge. He looks at the technicians applying the patch. Sergeant Grey’s voice comes through the radio, “Delta Team to Bravo Team. Door secured. Standing by.”
Kane replies, “Acknowledged, Delta team. Bridge secured. Finishing shoring.”
The technicians activate the patch, and the gel ignites, sealing the metallic fabric in place. The technicians do some checks afterwards. They give Kane the thumbs up. He nods, announcing, “Pressurizing.” He hits some more commands, and the console blinks. Nothing seems to happen right away, but slowly, a low rushing noise slowly grows. With it come the deep hums, low beeps, and pulsing, distant sounds of machinery.
Suddenly, his regulator clicks off, and the air suddenly tastes more like stale ship air recycled several times. The intent while the starliners were under construction was that their full air reserves would be cycled out after each cruise. However, that wasn’t an option prior to the evacuation, which leaves the air stale and tasting faintly of iron and body odor.
Kane activates the communications to the other ships. The three captains appear, and the door opens, allowing Grey and Fisher in once the rooms equalize. Captain Long asks, “Can you hear us, Lieutenant?”
He nods, “Loud and clear, Captain.”
“Good. Patch us through the ship’s intercom. We’ll inform EVERYONE of what’s going on.” Kane nods and activates some more controls. He replies, “Ready.” The technicians move the bodies to a corner out of the way in the meantime.
Captain Dodge folds his hands behind his back and nods silently. Captain Francisco smiles and nods as well. He looks slightly to the side. Captain Long shifts with a start, gesturing at herself with surprise. The other two captains nod. Captain Long takes a deep breath. She starts her speech calmly.
“Attention all hands; survivors of humanity. My name is Captain Angelica Long, Commanding Officer of the starliner Honolulu.” She pauses, glancing at the other two captains, who nod again. She continues, “The former President of the United States has been declared a traitor to humanity and executed for treason. But, this execution came at a price. The President’s loyalists resisted, and the command crew of the Polonia has been lost. We are reeling from tragedy after tragedy right now, but this is no time to panic or mourn. We must come together as human beings and pool our strengths. Our adversaries will not give up the chase. We all fought to be here. Now, we must fight to keep it. These ships; the four starliners –Polonia, Argonaut, Andromeda, and Honolulu-, the mobile drydock Providence, the mining barges; these are all we have left. We must use what we have and find ways to survive. Most importantly, keep hope alive.”
She sighs silently, continuing, “As of now, the commanding officers of the starliners have agreed the best course of action is to declare martial law, giving the military full control. I realize this is a slippery slope away from democracy, but our priorities MUST come first; survival, advancement, and preparation; in that order. Your cooperation is not optional. If we don’t work together towards these goals, we die. As we establish our path forward, we will keep you up to date. In the name of humanity, I thank you in advance for your cooperation. Let’s get to work.”
Once the speech is done, Kane cuts the intercom. Long sighs, but they all look when a male’s voice says from the door of the Polonia’s bridge, “Huh… So it’s true.”
Hancock’s never met Russell Right himself, but he recognizes him. He has a skinny woman wearing a lab coat with him. She has a notebook, glasses, and a nervous expression. Mr. Right is calm and oddly chipper. He remarks brightly, “Ah! I see the shoring patches work.” He points at the screen, remarking, “Captain Long; as beautiful as you sound.”
She remarks coldly, “Mr. Right. I hope I was clear…”
He quickly says, “Crystal!” He walks to the window, craning to see the alien craft. He whispers, “Amazing…” He snaps out of it to say to Long, “I get it. Military command is best now. Shame about Linda. But, as you said, humanity depends on what we do now.”
Long explains, “We’re redistributing populations first and foremost. All four starliners will be overcrowded.”
He nods, “Mm-hmm.”
Surprised, she replies, “You’re… not upset?”
“Not at all! You said yourself, we have to come together. And, this is a perfect time for me to ask if I can move my effects to the Providence. It should be a better place for me to reverse engineer that beauty. As well as construct new designs.”
“It’s… an industrial ship,” remarks Francisco. “It won’t have the luxuries you’re used to.”
Mr. Right keeps up his chipper demeanor. “As I understand it, this ship won’t be far behind.” He suddenly turns serious, replying, “Look, I know this must seem odd to you. I know there are essentially three kinds of people on these ships right now, and two of them are fine with each other and the third equally dislikes both of them. But, I don’t care about any of that. I care about inventing in order to help humanity. Give me my own space to work with ample tools, and I’ll not only stay out of your way, but you can count on my efforts including tools of defense. I’ll even lower myself to working with someone developing tools of war.” He looks at Long again, replying, “You do what you gotta do. We brought too many people into space? Then we’ll make room for them. Because, soon enough, we’ll need room for all the kiddos that’re gonna eventually find their way into the world. You can HAVE the leading, as far as I’m concerned. But, don’t forget that life will forge its own path.” He pauses when he finally sees the bodies. After a moment, he continues, “I just want to stay among the living right now.”
Captain Long straightens her already-impressive posture, folding her hands behind her back. She replies, “Your request is reasonable, Mr. Right. I vote we grant him residence on the Providence.”
“I concur,” replies Francisco. Dodge jokes, “Should I object so it doesn’t look like we’re just agreeing on everything?” Long sighs and looks skeptically at him. Dodge chuckles lightly, replying, “I concur.”
Long nods, “Very well. Mr. Right, your request is granted. You’ll be transferred to the Providence. Captains, we should also nominate one of the executive officers to take command of the Polonia. Lieutenant Kane, you and your team hold the bridge until relieved. Activate emergency stability procedures so we can start transfers.”
“On it, Ma’am.”
Hancock watches as the Captains walk Kane through stabilizing the ship. Grey has his helmet off, chewing on his cigar. Hancock wonders if he has more than one, or if he’s just chewing on the same cigar as before.
Sergeant Grey suddenly interrupts, growling, “All this is fine and dandy, Captains, but aren’t we also assuming the crocs will be right behind us? What do we plan to do about that?”
Captain Long’s irritation fizzles into a disappointed absence of an answer. There’s a quiet pause. “Space pirates?” squeaks a familiar little girl’s voice. Grey’s cigar drops, and Captain Dodge looks over his shoulder.
Grey barks, “You brought her to the bridge!?”
Hitch sighs as he steps up, holding Little Bird’s hand. Hitch replies calmly, “She wouldn’t stop shrieking. You have a lot to teach her about military courtesy.” Hancock notices the pink coloration to Hitch’s left cheek, as if he was slapped lightly.
Little Bird squeaks, “Y-you know how to fight the monsters, S-Sargen. C-Can’t… Can’t we take more of their things like space pirates and become as strong as the monsters?”
Everyone looks at her, stunned. Hitch smirks, adding, “Also, I think your Little Bird might be a genius.”
Grey scoffs and looks at Hancock. The Rookie says softly, “She did mention some space cartoon she watched when we were walking back to base; her, Kane, and I.”
Hitch says warmly, “Whatever her source, what do the rest of you think?”
Mr. Right is the first to respond excitedly, “Genius!? She’s amazing! Captains, if your forces can capture an alien craft with whatever faster than light methods they have, I guarantee we can slip away from their vicious jaws for good!”
Francisco remarks cautiously, “Do any of our forces have boarding experience?” Dodge replies, “Not in this capacity. Those that faced our enemies only barely know what we’re up against.”
Sergeant Grey clears his throat obviously, and then he states, “Standing by.”
Kane adds, “Myself as well. I can communicate some with them if interrogation becomes required.”
Little Bird states proudly, “Standing by.”
Grey growls, “Absolutely not, Little Bird.” She disheartens, but he quickly says, “Ah! None of that. I… uh…”
Suddenly, Long says, “We need you here to keep planning for now. This is your plan, Little Bird. If the plan changes, we need your ideas. This is the best way you can help the Sergeant and his squad, and keep them safe.” She looks at the screen for reassurance.
Sergeant Grey lies confidently, but with good reason, “Yeah. That’s what I was going to say. Keep the plans coming, Little Bird. We’re counting on you.”
She blushes and tugs at the waist of her shirt, squirming nervously in place. Lieutenant Colonel Hitch chuckles, saying calmly to Grey, “Sergeant, Lieutenant, ready your squads as soon as you’re relieved. You have top priority on equipment, armor, and weapons.”
Grey smirks, replying, “Sir, yes, sir.”
“Good luck, team,” adds Captain Long.
***