Authors: Thomas DePrima
"Navigator, do you have a recently added training mission chart?" Milty asked.
"Aye, Captain."
"Pass the suggested course to the helm. Helm, build the envelope and take us out at maximum speed if the AutoTect board is green."
"Aye, Captain, building our envelope." Two minutes later, the helmsman said, "Engaging FTL at maximum speed."
Milty sat back in the command chair and relaxed as the image on the front monitor shifted from an optical view to an electronic composite created from sensor data. There would be little to do over the next twelve hours except watch the digital representations of stars.
* * *
"Captain," the tac officer said, "there's a ship coming this way. I didn't see it at first. It was apparently traveling dark. I spotted it when it began broadcasting an AutoTect signal."
"Did it alter course to intercept, or was it coming this way from the time it first appeared on the AutoTect screen?"
"From the time it first appeared."
"Is it coming directly at us?"
"No, ma'am. It should pass us on our larboard side with about a two-million-kilometer separation."
"Then it's probably an unintentional encounter. But why was it traveling dark?"
"Should I prepare weapons just in case?"
"Negative. Let's stay buttoned up and they might not even see us. I don't want to start a shooting war out here unless we have no choice, and if we open a weapons platform we lose the Dakinium's ability to absorb radar waves."
The seconds crawled by as the bridge crew waited to see what the other ship would do, if anything. As demonstrated with the Clidepp destroyer, the
Justice
was practically invisible if it didn't have a sun or star cluster behind it. So the best thing to do was let their Dakinium coloration work for them. They were flying ballistically, so there was no telltale ion trail behind them, and the generator was fully retracted into the repository.
"Captain," the com chief said, "I'm receiving what I think is a hail from a ship calling itself
Lifeguard
."
"
Lifeguard
? For us?"
"Yes, ma'am. They seem to be hailing the
Justice
."
"Let's hear it, chief."
The com chief pressed a couple of spots on his console and a message replayed through the overhead speakers on the bridge. "This is
Lifeguard,
seeking a little
Justice
."
"That's all they keep saying. Captain. I might be wrong, but it sounds like Chief Tanzetti's voice. There's a peculiar sort of drawl with the word 'lifeguard.'"
"Respond to the message, Chief. Tell them
Justice
is a dish best served cold."
The chief sent the message and then listened before saying, "They say any dish will get cold if you don't keep a lidden on it."
Sydnee smiled.
"The ship has changed direction slightly, Captain," the tac officer said. "It's coming directly at us now. They must be tracking our outbound signal."
"Tac, are there any other ships on the DeTect screen?"
"Negative. All I see is the one ship."
"Helm, turn on our running lights. We don't want them running into us."
"Aye, Captain," Caruthers said. All around the outside perimeter of the ship, small Dakinium covers rolled back and lights protruded from small pockets before illuminating.
* * *
"I have a firm fix on them, Captain," the tac officer aboard the CPS calling itself
Lifeguard
said. "And it appears they've just turned on running lights."
"Tac, are there any other ships on the DeTect grid?"
"Negative, Captain. Except for the
Justice
, we're all alone out here."
"That's the way I like it. Helm, turn on our running lights as well."
"Aye, Captain."
When the
Lifeguard
reached the
Justice
, it used a laser signal to communicate so no one else could possibly pick up the broadcast. The
Justice
did the same.
"Hello,
Justice
," Milty said. "I heard you folks need a little help. The
Lifeguard
is here to provide it."
"Hello
Lifeguard
," Sydnee said, "Did you bring us a generator?"
"We have a spare generator on board, but I sort of figured it's more important we get out of this neighborhood as quickly as possible. We'll link up and create an envelope, then travel home."
"You won't get any argument from me."
"Is your generator retracted?"
"That's affirmative. We have a nice flat surface topside."
"Roger. Better retract your sub-light engines before we attempt to link up, just to be safe. I'll contact you when we're ready to head home."
"Roger," Sydnee said.
"Helm, link us to the
Justice
."
"Aye, Captain," Lieutenant(jg) Balarro said.
In minutes, the
Lifeguard
was positioned directly over the
Justice
. The
Justice's
sub-light engines had been retracted into their storage positions inside the ship. They weren't being used anyway and wouldn't be needed any time soon. And the
Justice
had also closed her hydrogen collector to prevent possible damage.
As the helmsman lowered the
Lifeguard
slowly towards its sister ship, he realized the alignment was off. He was trying to match speed, course, and attitude to a ship traveling at forty-five thousand kilometers per second, so it was a bit more difficult than it sounded at first.
On the second try, the alignment was even further off than the first time, so the helmsman lifted up, repositioned, and tried again.
Milty gave the helmsman five tries before interceding.
"Lieutenant, I think you need a bit more practice in the simulator. When we return to the
Denver
, try to spend some time on the Linkup routines."
"Sorry, sir."
"Lieutenant Redding," Milty said to the navigator, who was also an experienced pilot and helmsman, "would you care to give it a go?"
"Aye, sir," Redding said as she changed places with the helmsman.
It took Redding four tries, but the two ships were finally linked.
"Good job, Lieutenant. But I think you also need a bit more time with the Linkup routines in the simulators."
"Aye, sir. I'll concentrate on that after we get home."
"Com, connect me with the
Justice
."
"You're connected, sir."
"
Justice
, this is
Lifeguard
. We're linked up and ready to go. Shut down your running lights and anything else that might attract unwanted attention. We should clear this space in a bit over seven hours. During that time I ask that you purge any reference to this encounter from your bridge logs and communication logs. We were never here."
"Understood,
Lifeguard
. You were never here."
To Lieutenant Redding, he said, "Helm, build our envelope and take us home at top speed."
"Aye, Captain."
* * *
"What does he mean, 'We were never here?'" Caruthers asked Sydnee. Since the
Justice
was now just along for the ride, they had shut down most of the bridge functions and begun to relax in a less formal environment.
"This entire mission has been dark," she said, "but because of all the difficulties we've had, we may not be able to deny that a GA ship entered Clidepp space to arrest a terrorist without the permission of the Clidepp government after they refused to take action. Perhaps SHQ doesn't want any record of a
second
ship violating Clidepp space. Let's do as he asks and erase any record of contact with a ship calling itself
Lifeguard
. I really doubt that's a registered name anyway."
* * *
Eight hours later, the two linked CPS-14 ships were almost half a light-year inside GA space.
"Captain, we're being hailed by Lt. Milton on wideband," the com chief said.
"I guess this is for public consumption. Put him on the overhead, Chief."
"Lt. Milton, this is Lt. Marcola."
"Hello, Lieutenant. We're on a training mission. We were passing by and noticed that you're traveling at sub-light speeds. Do you require assistance?"
"Affirmative, Lieutenant. We've developed a problem with our envelope generator. Do you have a spare generator aboard?"
"Yes, we do. But we could just link up and take you back to the ship."
"We haven't completed our mission yet, Lieutenant. It would save time if we could simply borrow your spare generator. I have a couple of people aboard who have gotten very adept at swapping them in and out."
"Okay, Lieutenant Marcola. We'll dig it out of the engineering locker and hand it over as we come alongside. Give us fifteen minutes."
"That's perfect, Lieutenant. I'll have my people suited up and outside to accept it."
"Milton, out."
"Marcola, out."
"Chief, notify Padu and Addams that I want them to suit up and be ready to swap the generator."
"Aye, Captain."
Over the next ten minutes, the
Lifeguard
unlinked from the
Justice
and positioned itself for the generator transfer. When Padu and Addams were topside and ready, a small automated tug delivered the generator from the second CPS. After securing it to the Justice so it didn't drift away, the two Marines began removal of the burned-out unit. Chief Luscome was closely watching every move from the sickbay.
The work progressed swiftly, owing to the number of times the pair had worked on the generator, including several removals and installations.
"All done, Captain," the com chief said. "They're coming in."
"Tac. Let me know when the ship is closed and sealed."
"Aye, Captain."
"Chief, put me in touch with Lt. Milton."
"Go ahead, Captain."
"Milty?"
"Yes, Syd."
"Thanks."
"We were happy to do it. What now?"
"Once our people are back inside, we're heading to Simmons to deliver a package."
"Great. I guess I'll see you back at the ship."
"You bet. Thanks again, Milty. Marcola out."
"Milton, out."
Ten minutes later, the
Justice
built an envelope and disappeared from view in an instant. The second CPS waited until it was gone, then built its own envelope and disappeared.
As the second CPS came to rest inside the
Denver's
maintenance bay and all power systems and recording devices were shut down, Lt. Milton addressed his team.
"Guys and gals, thank you. I think we've made a small down payment on the debt we all owe Lt. Marcola. I know she wouldn't have hesitated to do what we did today, were the positions reversed. Watching each other's back is what keeps us so strong that no one can ever break the bonds between us.
"Remember, ours was just a routine training mission. We encountered the
Justice
in GA space and assisted her repairs. We never entered Clidepp space, even for an instant. Dismissed."
As Milton left the ship and walked towards the exit, he received a CT message. "Lt. Milton, report to the captain's quarters."
Milton touched his ring and said, "Understood. Milton, out."
According to the chronometer in the corridor as he walked towards the captain's quarters, the time was 0438. The Marine guard at the Captain's quarters stepped away from the doors, which opened to admit Milton. The Captain was standing there in a robe and slippers, holding two drinks. Lidden extended one towards Milton.
"How was your training session, Lieutenant?"
"Very productive, sir," Milton said as he accepted the drink. "I've recommended that two of my officers spend a bit more time in the simulators. They performed very well, but I think there's a little bit of room for improvement."
"So, all in all, it was just another dull flight?"
"Actually, we had a little bit of— diversion. We came across the
Justice
, commanded by Lt. Marcola. It seems her envelope generator failed about a light-year this side of the Clidepp border."
"Yet you returned alone?"
"Yes, sir. Lt. Marcola reported that she hadn't yet completed her mission. We gave her our spare generator, which her people swapped out with the broken unit while we watched. When they were done and the
Justice
had left for Simmons SCB, we completed our training mission and then returned here."
"Excellent, Milty. Thank you for lending an assist to the
Justice
."
"It was our honor and privilege, sir."
"Well, I think I can sleep now."
Milton tossed the drink down and winced slightly at the strength of the Scotch. He rarely drank and never took it straight up when he did. "Good night, Captain," Milton said as he turned towards the door.
"Good night, Milty."
As the door closed behind Milton, Lidden sipped from his glass and moved to the sofa. He was glad he had violated SHQ's orders and helped save Marcola and her people but sad for the loss of a crewmember and wondered how SHQ was going to explain the death of Lt. Barron. They'd probably attribute it to a training accident or perhaps an engineering mishap. Perhaps one day he'd be able to tell the Barron family the truth, that Lt. Barron had died bravely on a distant planet while working to bring justice for the people who had died in the Trade Show bombing.
* * *
The SO Marines would not be returning to the
Denver
, so Sydnee took some time to go down to Marine Country before they arrived at Simmons to congratulate them on a successful mission and thank them for their service and support during a difficult time.
After addressing the team as a whole, she addressed Padu personally. "The extra work you performed with the generator, Staff Sergeant, made it possible for all of us to be back in GA space today. Lance Corporal Addams credits you solely with the idea for using the epoxy. Without the repair you and Addams performed on the induction coil, we'd probably still be stuck near Yolongus."
Taking a step back, she said, "It's been an honor and a privilege to work with all of you. I wish you the very best in the years ahead as you continue to serve the GA with the same dedication and effort I've seen over the past months. Good luck."