Fiction Fragment Friday
I do not have strong feelings about this week’s story. I wanted to do something onboard a spaceship again, but didn’t really have a strong grasp of what I wanted to accomplish. I don’t really see this story being one that I return to.
Jump drives are by far the most reliable method of travel that mankind has ever invented. I know this, understand the science behind them, and have personally experienced almost a thousand jumps over the course of my career. Logic tells me that there is nothing to worry about when we jump. Of course, my brain doesn’t always listen to logic. I have never made a jump without having to push down my anxiety in the moments just before. As captain I can’t let my crew see this weakness though. I need to be the rock they can rely on.
“Jump complete. Systems show a variance of .62% long.”
“Excellent work Mr. Henderson. Your new navigation program is going to make you famous if these results continue.” I tried to make sure pride showed in my voice. Jump variance between 1 and 2 percent is considered normal. Anything under one percent is seen as either a lucky fluke or an extremely skilled navigator. Our last four jumps have all had a variance under .75% and it was all thanks to the customs code Henderson had written. He is far too skilled to be on a cargo vessel.
“Thanks Captain, but I still think I can get us under .5%.” It tells you everything you need to know about Jacob Henderson that he had developed the most accurate navigation software ever written and it still wasn’t good enough for him.
“Captain, I think we have a problem,” my systems administrator chimed in. I was not happy to hear the concern in her voice but tried to keep my own anxiety from jumping to conclusions without any information.
“What kind of problem Ms. Jeffries?”
“Well sir, I’m getting flooded by system communications and there are some conflicting reports. The L1 Hub Station is either in civil war, being invaded, or is having massive system failures.”
“Well seeing as that is where our cargo is heading I don’t I care for any of those options.”
She nodded at me. “I don’t think I do either sir. It’s going to take a while to sort through all these.”
“Consider it your number one priority. We can’t make plans if we don’t know what we’re flying into. Speaking of which, Mrs. Yamato please feel free to take the scenic route to the station. A nice stroll instead of a jog.”
“Yes sir, slow and steady.”
I hit the communications button on my chair for engineering. “Chief we are going to take it nice and slow, but I need you ready to pour on the speed. We’re heading into an unknown situation, and I want to be ready to run for either the outer system or above the ecliptic plane. Whichever is the closest for a jump at the time.”
The reply came over the comms a moment later. “We’ll be ready down here. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that though.”
“Incoming message. It’s jamming all other communications in the system.” Ms. Jeffries could not keep the concern out of her voice.
“I didn’t think that was possible.”
“It shouldn’t be and to make things worse there is no identifier in the message. I have no idea who sent it.”
I debated internally for a few moments whether to have her play it or to head to my office and listen in private. Controlling the flow of information and how much to share is one of the most important and least documented parts of command. In this case the entire bridge knew there was an incoming message and my leaving the bridge to listen would send an even stronger message than anything on the broadcast. With that in mind I made my decision. “Play the message.”
The raspy sound that came over the system speakers hurt my ears for a moment before it settled into a voice. Even though it was in English the natural echo made the words difficult to understand. They reverberated in an inhuman manner. “This system and all its resources are now under the control of the Foline Empire. You have two of your standard days to evacuate or likewise become our property.” The message then started to repeat in a loop.
“Ok, shut that thing off. First contact with another intelligent species and they want one of our systems.”
“What are we going to do captain?” Henderson looked back at me with an expression I couldn’t place. I suspected it was a mixture of fear and anticipation.
“We’re going to leave. Without any weapons we don’t really have another option. I want to gather as much intel as we possibly can before jumping though. I want sensor readings, and I need a way around that jamming so we can get reports from the system stations. This is top priority for every department.”
I pulled up my tablet and shot off commands to all my senior staff. Then I started creating the framework for my report. I couldn’t be sure what the other ships in the system would do, but I wasn’t going to run until I had something useful to take back with us. At that point we only had one message and no actual information on our new enemies.
I tried to stay out of the way of my people and let them work, but it was difficult not to micromanage them. I trust my crew, but the need to know right down to the second what our progress was weighed on me. Some of the crew had family in the system and leaving didn’t sit well with them. It didn’t sit well with me either, but I had a duty to ensure that our defense forces got the most complete reports of what happened I could provide. It was the only way to ensure other systems didn’t fall and perhaps this one could eventually be liberated. The crew could worry about their loved ones and the outrage they felt, but I had to have the bigger picture in mind. I needed to be concerned with our entire civilization.
With only an hour to spare before the Foline deadline my crew performed a miracle. We were able to break through the communication jamming and open communications with one of the planetary orbitals. They informed us that the hub station was destroyed, but before it went, they had transmitted deep scan readings of three enemy ships. The orbital had been consolidating reports and performing analysis of the enemy weapon signatures before the jamming went into effect. I had the intel I was looking for so with a heavy heart I gave my order. “Mr. Henderson. Please calculate and initiate the jump home.”
“Yes sir.” I knew it was difficult for him to obey my order. His husband was on the third planet of the system and jumping meant leaving him to the enemy. He did his duty though and I pretended not to see the tear run down his face as we jumped out of the system.
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