Black Dawn by Morgan Brautigan

to the others. “Your comrade has just died in a hostile takeover.
It’s up to you two to save the rest of us.” He gave them a cold glare.
“I, for one, expect to live this time.” Turning to go, he gave a nod to
Bon.
The engineer stifled a smile and proceeded to set up another
exercise.
Lamont turned off the vid and waited, knowing what was coming.
Butler reached the command deck just as Devyu Aziza, hair
still damp from the gym, relieved Lamont at communications.
“Sweggert just blew the ship to pieces again,” the commander
announced. “We’re all floating debris.”
“I saw. What’s Bon’s opinion?”
“Skipper, the man was smiling . Like they were doing good!”
Lamont shrugged. “Perhaps they are. It’s his domain. He
knows what he’s seeing.” Coy made a quick tour of the stations,
manned and unmanned, then motioned for Ken to follow out into the
corridor. “Schiff said Rebel and Knepp were both shaping up great.
Potential officers there.”
“Officers over who?”
“Whom.”
Ken scowled. “Whatever. The issue is manpower. Not
grammar.”
Lamont paused and looked at him a moment at that. “Would
you like a cup of tea, Commander? It’s great for stress.”
“We’d better start serving it by the gallon, then,” Butler
growled, gave a half-hearted salute and turned back towards the bridge.
“There’s an old Earth saying,” Coy said to his back. “It’s always darkest....”
The hatch shut behind him.
“.....right before the dawn,” Coy finished thoughtfully to itself.
* * * * *
    A shrill scream jerked Lamont awake. It lurched to a sitting
position and looked wildly around the dark room. But the only sound
breaking the silence was Coy’s own adrenaline fed heartbeat.
    Coy raised its wrist and spoke into the com link that was always strapped there. “Lamont to Bridge.”
“Bridge. Go ahead, Captain.”
The voice sounded calm. The only emotion was perhaps surprise at the middle of the “night” call. In a second, Coy realized where
the scream had come from and felt like a fool.
The person on the other end was still waiting. But then, there
was no way for the bridge crew to know if this was an actual emergency, a drill, an inspection … or a bad dream.
“Status report,” Coy said in its best inspection voice.
“All quiet , sir. No reports since shift change. No incoming
communications. Cpl. Rebel is on Watch.”
“Very good. Carry on. Lamont out.”
As the adrenaline rush passed and Coy’s heart rate slowed to
normal, it tried to blot out the memory of the scream. Of the whole
nightmare. The same one that had been plaguing its sleep more and
more often these past few weeks.
Now that the initial flurry of activity surrounding owning a
ship and planning her future was settling into routine, the possibility of
actually leading a raid was becoming a reality.
Coy lay back against the pillows, tired, but unwilling to let
sleep, hence dreams, take it back to the scene of its greatest failure.
After a few minutes, it got up to make a gallon of tea.
* * * * *
    Lamont fell heavily into the chair at the galley table the next
day and looked at the food sitting there on the tray. Nothing appeared
terribly appetizing, but it had been quite awhile since meals had been
anything but
nutri-bars, coffee and of course the occasional cup of tea. A real dinner was probably in order.
    Besides, Ceal Byars would be checking around to see if her
commander was eating right.
“Is this a private party, or can anyone join?”
Lamont looked up to see Ken and Ceal hovering, trays in
hand. Coy waved a hand at the empty seats around the table, inviting
them to sit.
Ceal eyed Coy’s plate approvingly. “I’m glad to see that.”
Without replying, Coy took a bite and forced it down.
Ignoring their interplay, Butler gazed around the large mess
hall, peopled at present with only a handful of BlackFleet crew. He
opened his mouth, but Coy cut across whatever remarks he was about
to make.
“I know we’re down