Doldine smiled back at him. “I would take it with honor. Maybe when we get back I’ll even treat you to that rematch you’ve been wanting in the simulators”

  Kaim ran up. “You’ll need a second officer right?”

  Zithe and Doldine exchanged pitying looks before Zithe turned back to the smaller man. “I’m sorry, but no. I will make a decision on a second officer later. However, it is the custom to select them from the engineering or survey teams.”

  Doldine nodded in agreement, and Kaim turned silently away.

  Zithe watched him go, and turned back to the crew. Accessing his micomm, he sent out notices to each of them. Macomms all about the room beeped in response. “I’ve just sent you all your crew positions.” I will have to thank Blazer for that again soon. “Please attend to them and if you have any issues, come see me. I expect everyone to be at their stations within the hect. Commander Tadeh Qudas, I have some duties I wish to discuss with you. My first officer will accompany us if that’s all right with you?”

  Tadeh Qudas nodded. He’s probably reading my duty assignments as well, but I would like his advice on certain shifts.

  Command Bridge, UCSBTS-27413

  Zithe couldn’t mask his pride while he sat in the bridge’s command chair. He looked about at his crew at their stations. The cramped bridge was exactly like the one on his family transport, each seat gimbaled to rotate depending on the ship’s acceleration. When at normal gravity or less, they would sit flush with the floor. Under higher thrust, they would tilt back with their consoles to lessen the effects on the crew should the acceleration compensators fail. At the same time, the overhead dome, in the nose of the ship, would become the view screen. “All stations, status?”

  From the engineering station abeam of Zithe, Gokhead monitored the data coming in from throughout the ship as the crew prepared for departure. “Engines are almost ready. Chris and the other engineers are just about finished adjusting the plasma conduits in subsection three of the lower engine.”

  Zithe nodded, noting the reports that the orbs fed him after his appointment as captain. No one seemed sure how long those conduits would last, so he’d ordered Chris and the other engineers to fabricate new ones as soon as possible.

  From the tactical console, Trevis turned to Zithe. “Rudjick be reporting that all weapons systems be up and fully functional.”

  Their delayed launch irritated Zithe. They’d had to spend the last several hects correcting over a dozen systems failures already. The two ship’s orbs had raced throughout the craft, pointing out other minor faults which still needed repair. Zithe grimaced at the thought of leaving with a ship that needed work, but knew that time was of the essence. Failure to explore and catalog the three systems would result in failure for the whole crew. The minor faults which still persisted could wait until they were underway.

  “Sensor arrays be up in just a few pulses,” Telsh reported. “They finally be tracking down the problem.”

  Zithe sighed in relief. The crew had spent the last three hects tracking down an intermittent ground in the main sensor array that kept tripping the command DC breakers.

  “Gavit reports that the fighters and shuttles are good to go,” Porc reported with a scowl.

  Zithe looked at him but said nothing. Porc’s attitude was wearing thin. He was one of the crew who had to wear two hats. Unfortunately, in his mind he was 100% a fighter pilot. He clearly resented his additional station on the bridge.

  “Life support and medical bays are a go,” Marda announced over the intercom. “We are fully stocked and ready for any emergency.”

  “Shields are active and stable,” Blazer added a moment later, the sound of humming electrical equipment behind him coming through over the intercom.

  “Navigation systems are ready to go. All jump codes confirmed and star charts updated,” Matt stated from his station. He was examining the map of the first system they were going to visit. Zithe assigned Kaim as the second shift navigator.

  “We’re ready to go on your order,” Mikle reported a moment later, from the helm.

  Zithe turned towards Bichard. “Comm, signal the academy we are ready to depart.”

  “As Ordered. UCSBA-13 Control, this is Training Ship Two Seven Four One Three, all systems are blue and we are ready to depart,” Bichard reported, his hum-click voice filled with anticipation.

  “Confirmed Training Ship Two Seven Four One Three. Your flight path is open, clear stars to you.”

  Bichard’s antennae twitched and he gave a thumbs up to Zithe. “Training Ship Two Seven Four One Three copies,”

  “Mikle takes us out, one G of thrust until we clear the shell,” Zithe commanded. Leaning forward like an expectant father, he activated the ship’s intercom. “All hands, this is your captain, we have been given clearance to depart. Secure for acceleration at one standard gravity and make ready for slipstream.”

  The gravity pressed down on Zithe until he felt his normal weight return. He turned towards the engineering station. On Gokhead’s display, the spin habitats slowed, rotating the eight segments to place their floors aftwards before locking into position.

  Smiling, he looked up through the dome as they approached the hole in the asteroid shell. Two ships were ahead of them and one more had already slipstreamed out to the jump point. Zithe gave his crew a knowing smile. In this competition being first to the start didn’t matter, but making it to the final gate did.

  Zithe observed the other two ships slipstream away. He commanded his chair to tilt back as Mikle signaled that they were clear of the asteroid shell. Zithe activated the intercom as the navigation markers on the holographic display in the dome neared. “All hands perform your checklist and report when ready for slipstream.”

  All across the ship, the cadets ran checklists to verify the readiness of their stations for the first of many slipstream entries. Mikle guided them away from the asteroid shell and into the slipstream entry corridor that Matt had prescribed. Steering them through the navigation beacons set out, the first ready reports came in to the bridge. Gokhead maintained the status board at his station as each section reported blue. Before they’d even cleared the final turn, the last sections reported ready and Mikle drove on.

  “UCSBA-13 Control, Training Ship Two Seven Four One Three, we are free and preparing to enter slipstream,” Bichard reported approaching the entry vector.

  “Confirmed Two Seven Four One Three, you are clear to slipstream, good luck and see you in a few tridecs.”

  “Thank you control, Two Seven Four One Three out.”

  “All hands prepare for slipstream,” Zithe called out.

  “Transitioning to slipstream in five, four, ready, steady, go,” Matt counted down as the ship reached the slipstream point. Deep within the bowels of the ship the captured hyperspace bubble exerted its influence on the local dark matter, state-changing it to dark energy. The pulsing energy field lowered the ship’s effective mass. The engines flared and they rocketed away at point six light speed towards the jump point.

  “All hands this is your captain. We are away,” Zithe announced and a cheer resounded throughout the ship.

  UCSB DATE: 1003.031

  Bridge, UCSBTS-27413, System: T-18-E-36

  Zithe stared at the latest reports from their allies while his ship prepared for their first away mission. He shook his head at the numbers. The Factions that arose between the transports seemed solid now. It had happened much more quickly than he’d anticipated. The hatch behind his seat opened and Zithe turned to find Doldine float through, his macomm in hand

  Doldine shook his head and held the macomm up. The same report as Zithe’s was on the screen. “So you saw it too?”

  Zithe nodded. “Yes, Red Lance squadron’s transport has now officially thrown in with Chertsin’s Red Force. I wonder what Chertsin and the Moglis’ leader said to convince them.”

  Doldine shrugged. “To be honest I figured we would lose them. It’s not a huge loss though. At least we have the Black Vises in system with us should those two units start any trouble.”

  Zithe considered that. It put them on equal terms with the Red Force ships in the system to have the Black Vices as their allies. That left one more ship in the system that had yet to declare an allegiance. “I need to try and talk Teflin into having Pogrin’s Payback join us.”

  “You know Jeg better than I do, but he’s been screaming neutrality since the start of the semester.”

  “He’s too independent. He’s of the type that doesn’t look for help from anyone else; doesn’t even share class notes. So I’m not surprised. He doesn’t want to even join up for the data share aspect.”

  “I just hope he doesn’t run afoul of any Red Force commanders. Oh, I got a stitch from the Nip Tails in the next system over. They had a run in with another Red Force ship. Nothing came of it but some dirty looks from what I understand.”

  Zithe considered that. Deniv’s a Nip Tail now. Blazer, Arion and Bichard will rush to his aid if anything happens to them. “I’ll set up a link with them later. We all need to discuss strategy should people decide to start shooting.”

  Doldine nodded and looked about the bridge. Zithe suppressed a smile; his bridge ran with almost mechanical efficiency. This was no party cruise after all, they were here to explore. Doldine turned his attention to the navigational hologram showing the positions of all the craft in-system. The Red Lance’s ship sat in low orbit over the first planet, while the Moglis and Pogrin’s Payback hung near opposite poles of the eighth planet. Their only ally, the Black Vises surveyed the distant gas giant. The Observer Corvette from the academy was in orbit there as well. The Monstero Nach orbited around the fourth of the system’s twelve planets, the azure orb glowing in the void. “Have we got a good location on that probe?”

  Zithe nodded with a relieved smile and touched a control on his command chair. The hologram zoomed in on the planet. Oceans covered over 90% of its surface with a thin line of islands tracing its equator. As the image resolved further, Zithe pointed out the steadily blinking light of a probe’s locator beacon on one of the islands. “Just a few kilometra off and it would be in the water.”

  “It would have been totally unrecoverable then. Fortune favored us this cycle.”

  Zithe agreed. A light on his armrest drew his attention. “Bridge. Go ahead launch control.”

  Blazer’s excited voice rang out over the intercom a moment later. “Copy that Bridge. We have the survey team assembled and ready to depart.”

  Zithe checked the status of the drop shuttle on his console. “All cargo is loaded and secured?”

  “Confirmed, Mikle and Acknit are powering up now. We have an extra seat aboard, are you sure you don’t want to come along?” Blazer asked.

  Zithe caught a smirk forming on Doldine’s face and shook his head. “Blazer you know better than to ask that. Captains only leave their ship to lead survey missions on hokey vids.”

  A few chuckles echoed across the bridge in response.

  “We just got a stitch from the Black Vises. The Moglis might come around our way. I need to be here in case anyone starts trouble.”

  “Copy that. We’ll see you in a couple cycles then. Are we clear to launch?”

  Zithe glanced over to Chris at the launch control station. She nodded. “You are clear, good luck, and stay out of trouble.”

  “Yeah I’ll bet the fish down there are real partiers. Launch bay signing off.”

  Drop-Shuttle-27413-D, Orbit, 4th Planet, System: T-18-E-36

  Blazer was glad Zithe was in charge of the ship. He preferred the hands-on leadership of the smaller away team. Managing the forty-one crew members and all the duty assignments aboard ship involved way too much administration. He and Zithe had had their differences in the past, but he made a good team vice-commander. His performance as a ship’s captain had been outstanding. The diplomacy the Lycan displayed had been totally unexpected. He knew that he wouldn’t have been as effective in resolving some of the conflicts that had arisen.

  Climbing into the drop shuttle, he grabbed the handrail between the two rows of seats and swung himself into the empty acceleration couch next to Marda. She shook her head at him as he began to strap in. “You know better than to antagonize him like that.”

  Blazer shrugged. It was all innocent teasing and he was sure Zithe understood that. “Its fine, he’s actually relaxed a lot since he took command.” Blazer leaned forward to look at the flight crew as they cycled the hatch and made ready to launch. “We’re clear for launch whenever you guys are ready.”

  Acknit flashed him a quick thumbs up.

  Their earlier scan of the planet had revealed that it was habitable for them. It also featured a wide variety of native fauna and they would need to determine if the animals posed any danger. Blazer, Marda, Kink and Ller rode along as a security contingent to protect the shuttle and recovery crew. “Get your head on straight people,” Blazer ordered.

  Mikle looked back from the cockpit. “Countdown timer is live. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.”

  Everyone rechecked their harnesses as the timer floating in the air behind the cockpit counted down to zero. Blazer braced himself as the sound of disengaging docking latches reverberated through the shuttle. With a noticeable thump, the docking claw kicked the drop shuttle out of its recess. Blazer’s inner ear tumbled as the shuttle rotated to present its belly to the planet, the sunlight reflecting off the oceans filling the cockpit.

  Blazer took Marda’s hand as the dropship fell towards the planet. She turned to him and smiled. He couldn’t wait to get her planetside. The holograms of their landing site looked beautiful, and he planned to make use of the beach for some intimate time with Marda. Blazer leaned in close to tell her when the drop shuttle bucked from contact with the atmosphere, interrupting him.

  “We are cleared for atmosphere,” Acknit reported and Blazer looked forward as the silica-steel viewport beneath the crew began to heat up. “Escorts are in position, assuming wide spread. We have some inclement weather below folks, hold on.”

  The shuttle bucked again as the dive shield activated and Blazer looked out the rear window to watch flames licking the tail. “You’re bringing it in kind of hot Mikle. This isn’t a combat drop.”

  “Just having a bit of fun boss. They don’t let you make drops like this anyplace civilized.”

  Blazer shook his head. “Yeah well you’ve got souls aboard, so take it easy.”

  Marda patted Blazer’s hand and smiled up at him. “Take it easy honey. Let them have a little fun.”

  Blazer gritted his teeth but nodded. Who knows when we’ll be able to take a joy ride like this again.

  After a few pulses, the air thickened and the ride smoothed out as they reached the lower atmosphere. Blazer unstrapped, stepped up towards the cockpit and looked out. Nothing but blue ocean met his gaze at first. But as he looked about, he spotted their two escorting Splicer 5000s and the islands of the equatorial chain. In the distance, dark clouds of a storm loomed.

  “There’s our destination,” Acknit reported.

  Blazer followed his finger and spotted the crescent-shaped island ahead of the storm. It was as inviting as anything he’d seen in a long time. An extinct volcano, the southern wall of the caldera looked to have collapsed long ago. The ocean flooded the crater and formed a lagoon large enough to swallow the remaining landmass above water level. Plant life covered the island, while thick trees reached for the sky around the beach, and Blazer spotted a set of secluded tide pools not far from their proposed landing site.

  He continued to watch as their escorts pulled ahead to reconnoiter the island. Porc and Nash took high cover, soaring over the island to try and put eyes on the downed probe as Gavit and Matt went in low. Blazer smiled as the water parted in Gavit’s wake. He can’t be more than a few metra above the surface. The steaming rooster tail emerging from the water behind him was sure to scare away any native fish. The fighter streaked between the inviting arms of the island and into the lagoon where its reverse thrusters fired and it hovered over the crystal blue waters. Dark shapes swam out of the lagoon in response as the degrav generators rippled the water below.

  “Shuttle Delt, Nach Six. Area is free of hostile fauna,” Matt reported over the link. “We spotted a few herbivores running into the woods, nothing too big, but be careful just in case.”

  “Five here. The skies are clear. But that storm’s coming straight at you. Better set up camp quick.”

  “Drop reads and we are inbound,” Acknit replied.

  Blazer nodded and headed back to his seat as Mikle edged the throttle forward and dove for the lagoon. Blazer retook his seat as Mikle leveled out. A quick look out the back revealed that he was copying Gavit’s approach. Blazer shook his head at the great gout of water spraying up in their wake. He felt the drop shuttle lurch as the engines rotated and the craft skidded into a hover near the beach. Looking forward, he felt the undercarriage cycle down and braced for landing.

  “Standby for landing folks,” Mikle called out moments before the drop shuttle set down on the twin skids with a soft bump. “We’re down. Escorts take your scans and get yourselves back in the black. We’ll link in if we need anything.”

  “Copy that. See you in a few cycles,” Matt replied.

  Blazer jumped to his feet and grabbed his over and under dual-natured combat rifle from the overhead compartment. The gravity was lighter than standard but still more than they had on the ship. It felt good. “Security team. On me!” The approach should have scared pretty much everything away, but he kept to protocol. Leading the way, he check the mass driver magazine forward that fed the lower barrel of his rifle and flicked off the safety on the upper plaser barrel. Weapon armed, he slapped the ramp control and watched it cycle to the ground as the other three members of the security team readied their weapons and took position behind him.