The Epherium Chronicles: Embrace (4 page)

Hood stopped dead in his tracks then spun to face the admiral. “Sir, with all due respect, there are far better candidates for this command than me. To be honest, I’m surprised my name ever made the short list.”

“Poppycock!” Admiral Tramp exclaimed and a few of the guests looked toward them. The admiral grabbed Hood by his sleeve and ushered him to a much less populated area of the Command Deck. Finding a small niche next to a the stack of supplies for one of the bars, the admiral stopped, quickly looked around to verify that no one was listening in, reached up to grab Hood’s shoulder, and drew his taller counterpart down to eye level. “Listen up, Captain!” he said shortly. “Half the puff shirts and glory grabbers in this room would kill for this command. None of them, James, have the experience, the dedication and the balls to do this job, except you. We looked at a lot of candidates and even met with some. The fact is they all pointed us back to you.” Tramp let go Hood’s shoulder and calmed himself. “Even if you don’t see it, James, your colleagues do.”

“But—” Hood interjected.

The admiral cut him off quickly. “No excuses and no buts, Captain. You think that your command record has issues, that you made too many mistakes? Here is some clarity for you. We all make mistakes, often made by imperfect information and horrible timing. It is how we deal with them and put those mistakes to good use that make us stronger leaders.” Tramp didn’t give Hood time to react. “If we wallow in doubt and self-pity, we’ll just get our people killed. I’ve kept my eye on you for several years, and I’ve seen the highs and lows of a great military career. If you think that the Command staff hasn’t fully looked at all your command decisions, then you’re an idiot and I, for certain, am sure that you’re not.” The admiral slapped Hood hard on the arm. “James, it’s time for you to step up. The EDF needs you.”

Hesitating, Hood answered, “I, uh...don’t know what to say, Admiral.”

“‘Yes, I’ll do it, sir.’ That’s the appropriate response.” The admiral winked at him.

Hood smiled back. “Thank you, Admiral. I won’t let you down.”

“I’m sure you won’t.” The admiral waved to one of the servers. “I don’t know about you, but I need another drink.” One of the servers moved to the two men, and the admiral snatched a glass of wine from his tray. “Let’s take a walk, James.” He led Hood to the Command Deck elevator lift, and the doors hissed open.

A slightly startled group of three men in very expensive business suits stood on the other side of the entryway to the elevator lift. The one in front, a red-haired, red-bearded man, who was nearly six inches taller than his counterparts, stepped forward to introduce himself. “Admiral Tramp, so good to see you. I just finished showing some of my co-workers the Engineering section and we came up here to join the party.” He turned to Hood and extended his hand. “Henry McCraken. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Captain Hood. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the briefing.”

Hood shook McCraken’s hand firmly, “You have me at a bit of disadvantage, Mr. McCraken.”

“Sorry, Captain. I’m Epherium’s Program Manager on the Akita Class Dreadnaught and the official liaison to the EDF. I was informed yesterday of your new appointment by Admiral Grant. He mentioned you would be attending the Command briefing.”

Hood turned and stared at Admiral Tramp with a hint of amusement. “I take it Admiral Grant was sure I would be taking this command?”

The admiral faked a slight cough. “He asked me the possibility and I told him one hundred percent.” Admiral Tramp smiled at Hood. “I stand by my assessment.”

Hood shook his head and turned back to McCraken. “Very well, then. See you tomorrow Mr. McCraken. Enjoy the rest of the party.”

“Thank you, Captain. I will. And if I may, our CEO, Mr. Ulera, sends his congratulations.”

“There’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. Give Felix my regards would you. Tell him not to be a stranger and comm me from time to time.” Hood extended his hand to McCraken again, and McCraken responded in kind. “Good night.” McCraken responded with the same and motioned for his two co-workers to follow him.

As McCraken led his two counterparts toward the center of the Command Deck, Hood waited by the doors while the admiral got into the elevator lift.

“So when does the official transfer take place?” Hood asked.

“As McCraken said, there is a special meeting tomorrow afternoon at the station with the EDF Command staff. We’ll formally brief you there and get you ready for this assignment.”

Hood looked a little surprised and lifted a questioning eyebrow. “Tomorrow? Isn’t this moving a little fast, sir?”

“The fact is, James, we need this ship in service soon and there’s a lot of work to do to make that happen.” The admiral sipped his wine and tapped Hood on the shoulder. “Relax, son. Enjoy yourself tonight and we’ll see you at the briefing tomorrow.” The older man motioned Hood into the lift. “Walk me to the shuttle bay, would you? I think I’m going to head back to the station and turn in for the night.”

Admiral Tramp pressed the button for the aft shuttle bay and looked at Hood. “You know, James, if you’re interested, I’m sure Vicky has lots of friends with daughters your age. If you like, I can have her put in a good word for you.”

Hood sighed again, looked upward and slowly shook his head.

* * *

It took nearly two hours for the crowds on the main promenade near the large viewports of the Mars Orbital Station to disperse. The arrival of the new EDF Dreadnaught continued to be a strong topic amongst most of the personnel on the station and would be so for days to come. After the area had cleared of onlookers, one person still remained. The man was standing next to a viewport that offered the closest vantage point for observing the
Armstrong
and simply stood motionless in a constant stare at the new vessel.

One of the passersby was a male equipment technician who had just come off his shift and hadn’t had time to catch a glimpse of the new ship outside. The man at the viewport was clothed in an off duty EDF jumpsuit and paid no attention at all as the technician walked by. Curious about the ship outside, the technician moved closer to get a look at what was so captivating. He looked out the viewport for a few moments, took in the impressive visage then looked over at the man still standing silently beside him.

The technician noticed immediately that the admirer’s hands were gripped so tightly to the bar beneath the viewport that they were white with strain. The individual made no movement, but the technician looked closer, the man was breathing in shallow rapid breaths. The technician looked at the man’s face and stared at what he saw. The man’s pupils were fully dilated and his eyes moved rapidly as if reacting to some powerful external stimuli.

Carefully, the technician reached out and touched the man’s arm and gently shook it. “Hey, are you alright?” he asked.

Almost immediately, the onlooker’s body relaxed and he slowly moved back from the rail. The man shook his head and looked up at the technician. “Whoa... Whew... Almost blacked out there for a second.”

“It looked like you had a seizure of some kind. Do you need me get you to medical?” the technician asked while trying to get a better look at the person’s hands and face.

“I’ve had some minor epileptic issues a while back,” the man replied, starting to move down the promenade toward the living quarters. “I’m going to go to my quarters and lay down. I’ll check with the med bay in the morning. Thanks for your help.”

The technician had had a bout with spatial distortion sickness in the past. His concern fueled him to accompany the man to the station’s apartments. “Do you need help back to your quarters?” he asked.

“No, I’m fine now. Thanks again.”

Realizing the man was going to continue to refuse any offer of help, the technician backed away and moved back down the promenade to restaurant row.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, the man in the blue EDF jumpsuit arrived at a third level apartment, keyed open the door, and entered. He removed the top part of his jumpsuit and just let it hang from his waist. Slowly, he moved to the mirror in the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his head up to look directly into the mirror. The green eyes of the man quickly dilated, began to move in rapid motion, and the trance that began at the promenade viewport started anew.

Chapter Two

Mars Orbital Station
Tuesday
,
January 14
Earth Year 2155

Hood arrived at the door to the briefing room and paused. It had been a long night reviewing personnel records for his new command crew, but it was Admiral Tramp’s words that kept him awake. The
Armstrong
was needed soon. That meant trouble. Admiral Tramp never joked when it came to putting resources in the field.

Hood’s heart was racing. Closing his eyes, he took a few long deep breaths to calm himself. He had been to hundreds of command briefings before, but he could tell this one was different. Still tense, he opened his eyes, and as he adjusted his captain’s uniform, he heard footsteps behind him.

Admiral Tramp’s greeting made Hood smile. “I see you made it, James. Did you get any sleep?”

Hood turned around with a quick about face and promptly saluted the admiral. “Just enough, sir. Reporting as ordered.”

Admiral Tramp smirked. “You’re a real comedian, Captain.” He returned Hood’s salute non-chalantly and motioned Hood out of the doorway. “No sense in waiting for a grand entrance, James. Let’s get this show on the road.” He could sense Hood’s anxiety. “Will you relax? This room has a lot of brass, but this isn’t a court martial, son. There aren’t any sharks in there looking for the kill. You’re here to listen and absorb. You can make your comments when you’re ready.”

Hood, now a bit more relaxed, looked down at the admiral. “Aye, aye, sir,” he said smartly.

“Show off,” Tramp responded and keyed open the door to the briefing room. The admiral stiffened up slightly in what he called a “stuffed shirt” posture and led Hood into the room.

The briefing room was set up much like a small scale classroom, which reminded Hood of his days at the academy. The base of the room contained a speaking podium, a few tables, and a trio of three large display screens. Around the base of the room in a near semi-circle were six rows of tiered comfortable seating with adjustable desks. Each desk contained a personal display screen that doubled as an electronic tablet.

As Hood entered the room with Admiral Tramp, all eyes in the room turned to greet him. He recognized many of the faces. Most of the attendees Hood had seen at previous Command briefings, including a few he recognized from his days at the academy. There were very few of his academy class left now. Time and the war had exacted a heavy toll on his colleagues, but Hood was glad to see that his friends had elevated up the chain of command.

Hood caught sight of Admiral Randall Grant and two of his aides standing next to the podium at the base of the room. Admiral Grant was one of Hood’s instructors back at the academy and had taken overall command of the EDF fleet operations the previous summer. He glanced in the direction of Hood and Admiral Tramp, smiled and went back to reviewing his notes.

Standing near the seats in the front row was Henry McCraken and several obvious members of the Epherium Corporation, all sporting very expensive suits. McCraken offered a curt wave in Hood’s direction and whispered a “Congratulations.” Before Hood could respond, the Epherium executive had already looked away and began to furtively search the contents of his briefcase.

Hood let Admiral Tramp continue down the steps to greet Admiral Grant and stopped at the third row of seats from the top. Nearly thirty people were still milling about the room, and most of the seats in the rows were free of any data pads or jackets and considered freely available. Moving into the row, Hood sat down in a chair closer to the middle, and next to the only other attendee that had chosen a seat in that row.

Hood nearly sank into the surprisingly comfortable chair and swiveled it to face the desk. Next to Hood, a lady with shoulder length brown hair was intently reviewing her data pad. Getting the feel of the seat, Hood looked over to his right at the only other row occupant. “Good afternoon. James Hood.”

Raising her head from her data pad, the EDF Marine officer slowly turned and glared at Hood. “What’s good about it, Captain?” she said with a German accent.

Taken a little off guard, Hood changed tactics. “Need any coffee? I was about to get some.”

The Marine officer sat up in her chair and stretched. “No thanks. I already had my infusion of the day. Sorry about that. Colonel Regina Becker, nice to meet you, Captain.”

“Likewise, Colonel. Which command are you from?”

“This one actually,” Becker responded. “I’m the new commander in charge of Mars Orbital. I took over last week, and in my opinion, this place is already a serious pain in my ass.” She sat down her data pad and leaned closer to Hood. “The last commander couldn’t have run out of here faster and now because of his ineffectiveness, I have got a major logistics mess on my hands. But despite all the current issues, Command felt it would be good exposure for me, and I was ‘requested’ to attend this meeting.”

“I fully understand, Colonel. I encountered some of the same type of issues when I took command of the Orion, but after making a few attitude adjustments, we turned it around. I’m sure you’ll get the upper hand on it.”

Becker nodded. “I got here and forgot even what this briefing was for.” She looked down at the lower podium. “Lots of brass though.”

“Command transition for the new Akita, the
Armstrong
, I believe,” Hood said almost whispering.

Becker replied, “Really, some of the guys up front were talking, and I thought...”

Admiral Grant interrupted their discussion as he asked everyone to take their seats. The admiral waited a few moments for all the attendees to get situated. During the brief pause, Hood plugged his personal key card into the desk data pad. The computer screen made a request for his authentication, and Hood responded by placing his right palm on the desktop. The data pad analyzed his fingerprints and requested his secondary authentication code. Hood typed his ten digit password on the panel, and the system acknowledged his identity. The details of the screen then changed to reveal his personal data pad, and Hood removed the desk stylus pen from its holder on the top of the pad. He glanced periodically around the room to see where key personnel were seated and with the stylus, selected his saved notes on the
Armstrong
and potential staff profiles. Moving the profiles to the side of the screen, Hood opened up the notes section as Admiral Grant began the briefing.

“Good afternoon everyone and thank you for coming,” Admiral Grant said, his gruff voice carrying easily across the room. “I hope that everyone here had a chance to enjoy the festivities last night on board the
Armstrong
, but now it’s time to get down to business. I wanted to start this briefing by discussing a few of the recent updates for the new Dreadnaughts then we will move on to the rest of the agenda. With that said, Admiral Tellerin, the floor is yours.”

The tall, white-haired admiral stepped up to the podium and scanned the crowd briefly before he started speaking. Tellerin’s voice was quite stoic, but his Russian accent that was present in his early career had faded over time. “Thank you, Admiral Grant.” Tellerin pressed a button on the large displays remote, and a revolving 3-D image of the
Armstrong
came into view. “I would like you to pay attention to two areas of interest on this diagram of the newest Akita class. The first is here, just aft of amidships along the superstructure. As was initially intended, the Akitas were designed with the ability to carry four gunships attached to the hull.”

Hood noted the location of the docking collars on his data pad. He had reviewed the combat test vids of the Armisteads before. Fighters could engage several drones at once, but the gunships provided an effective screen against the multitudes the Cilik’ti normally deployed.

Hood’s attention wandered from the briefing back to his personnel files on his data pad, but it was only a cover for what continued to weigh on his mind. He woke twice after he finally went to sleep to place comms to old friends in the fleet looking for even a hint of enemy activity; including Captain Jack Reynolds aboard the
Akita
. Hood was sure that if any movements were discovered, it would be at the
Akita’s
patrol zone near Proxima, but there was nothing. He ran a few scenarios again in his head, until something from Admiral Tellerin’s briefing caught his attention.

“All current Akita class commands have already been informed of the essential need to verify the jump field superstructure integrity before jumping with these gunships attached,” Admiral Tellerin stated. The additional mass will require the full field to enable a proper jump. Any limitation to the integrity of the jump field superstructure could result in a jump failure and may expend the energy necessary to generate the field. Even with the gunships attached, the maximum space-fold range of the Akitas is still two point five light years per jump. Full details on the Armistead gunships and the Akita class docking procedures have been uploaded to your data pads.

“Any questions?” Admiral Tellerin asked as he scanned the room. The admiral cleared his throat, sipped some water from his glass and continued with his briefing. He pressed another button on the remote and two images came into view. The first image Hood recognized immediately as a Cilik’ti heavy cruiser, and the second was a large ground assault vehicle. “Over the past several years, EDF vessels and some ground forces have experimented with different versions of larger particle weapon technologies. During the conflict with the Cilik’ti, some of the invaders’ equipment was captured following the occupation of Mars. Included in this equipment were three undamaged assault tanks similar to this one that were equipped with the Cilik’ti’s larger particle projection cannon technology. These cannons were highly effective, and it was unfortunate that a ship based weapon was never captured intact. However, Epherium engineers, along with top scientists from several other companies, have managed to reverse engineer the weapon for use with our own weapons systems.

“The past several months have been fruitful and Command has approved a ship-based version for field deployment. This new cannon will be installed on the
Armstrong
this week, and it will be ready when she gets underway.”

The
Armstrong’s
image returned to the briefing screen, and as Tellerin pressed a key on the podium, an enhanced view of the weapon was super-imposed on the screen. The huge cannon then moved to show its placement on the
Armstrong’s
superstructure. Attached on top of the ship’s midsection, in front of the space-fold energy pocket, the cannon was nearly one hundred meters in length and fitted to a rotating turret. The cannon, if it performed as advertised, would provide significant additional firepower to the
Armstrong’s
arsenal across the forward one hundred eighty degree firing arc.

“The Akitas have fitting capability for two of these weapons, but the sheer power draw required to activate them has limited us to a single deployment at this time,” Admiral Tellerin stated. “Captain Reynolds on the
Akita
and Captain Hunara on the
Gagarin
have already been briefed on these modifications, and their ships will be updated in the next few weeks. If there are no questions, I will return the briefing to Admiral Grant.”

Several members of the crowd shook their heads, and Tellerin waited for Admiral Grant to return to the podium. He thanked him, shook his hand and slowly walked back to his seat.

Admiral Grant walked behind the podium and opened his notes. “Thank you, Yuri. Updating the technology of our ships is just as important as the creation of new ships to defend us. However, both of these pale in comparison to the development of sound leadership to command them and lead our brave young men and women. Without them, our ships are empty shells waiting to be crushed by our enemies.”

Becker leaned over to Hood as the admiral spoke. “Why does the brass always have to be so long winded on this stuff? Can’t they just tell us what stiff shirt they found to take over their new toy?”

Hood muffled a cough as the admiral continued. “It is my pleasure to introduce the new commander of the
Armstrong
, Captain James Hood.” Almost everyone in attendance began to applaud as Hood stood to accept their congratulations. The only exception was Colonel Becker who just seemed to glare at him. Hood looked at her, shrugged his shoulders and silently mouthed a “Sorry about that.”

Becker shook her head, sank back into her seat and mockingly joined the crowd in applause.

The applause subsided and Admiral Grant continued. “Normally as part of protocol, I would invite Captain Hood up here to say a few words, but I want to move that to the end of this meeting. I believe he may want to alter his remarks once we conclude our next agenda item. With that, I would like to invite Mr. Henry McCraken from the Epherium Corporation to the podium.”

Mr. McCraken sprang from his seat and energetically moved behind the podium. He looked back at the admiral for a moment then offered a faint smile to crowd. “Good afternoon, everyone. First, I would like to thank Admiral Grant for the opportunity to speak to you on the day the newest Akita Dreadnaught comes into service, but the topic I wish to cover is of a different concern. For that, I want to bring you back slightly to my company’s origin.”

Hood returned to his seat and watched the Epherium executive spin through his presentation like a gifted salesman. Nostalgia was his weapon of choice and he used it well; from the Apollo 11 landing on the moon to the creation of the first orbital station around Mars.

Hood was no stranger to many of the mega-corporations that developed technologies for the EDF. Despite the increase in funding for NASA and various other nations’ space agencies after the near-miss asteroid event of 2018, hundreds of private corporations, like Epherium, were founded to spearhead colonization of the solar system. Many people believed Epherium and their ilk wielded too much power and influence. Perhaps it was true, but Hood had to admit that without them, mankind would still be struggling to get a base on Mars, or worse, on the brink of extinction.