ground and the ship was not in action Yamaguchi was. But not always.
William didn’t want to step in and tell the man what to do. He had no right regardless of his time after the crash of the Lawrence .
Time passed quickly. William tabbed through the operations manual. Much of it was familiar and the sections that weren’t made sense enough. He began typing out his plan for the Captain ’s approval.
The chime jolted him out of his thoughts. He snapped his eyes up from the tablet and saw a Marine standing at ease in front of his door. “Yes?”
“The Captain requires you on the bridge , sir.”
*
The Captain was peering at the main nav console when William walked on the bridge. She turned her head and regarded him for a moment before returning to the view. He stood at a respectful distance with the tablet tucked under his arm.
“Mr. Grace, you made an impression in the cargo hold,” Captain Khan said. She patted the Navigator on the shoulder and walked over to William. “We’re having a briefing in ten minutes, all hands, I need you to take the bridge.”
“Yes, ma’am.” William nodded. He could handle the bridge, according to the schedule they had a blink coming up soon. “May I inquire to the briefing?”
Captain Khan began to walk out. “It’ll be on the screen.”
William nodded to himself and turned to the rest of the bridge. Heads snapped back to the consoles. Maybe she was being brief, not wanting to repeat herself, but he was feeling left out.
He sat down in an unused chair at the weapons console and looked down at the Captain ’s chair. He had no urge to sit there yet, not ‘til he knew more about Captain Khan. The console popped on and he tabbed it across to show a feed of the commons area.
The alarm chimed. “All hands not on essential duty please report to the commons.”
The room seemed even smaller on the console screen. It looked to be far past overflowing by the time the Captain began. The wide angle view made the room appear circular like they were in a miniature stadium.
“Two days ago the docking stations across the Lagrange points suffered a grievous assault. Nanite weapons were activated inside seven of our major Naval installations. Four of the major Naval stations around the solar system were hit simultaneously. Two stations survived because the nanites failed to reach critical mass. We have not, as of yet, determined the origin.”
Chins raised and arms crossed. There was a shift of posture among the crew as the news settled in.
“Besides the stations, the losses were minimal. The frigates Agamemnon, Trident, Sao Paulo and Omaha were destroyed, along with the Cruiser Brie . The heavy drop ship Chicago was heavily damaged, but the nanites were contained.”
William leaned in closer to the console. He looked at the screen for reactions and saw nothing but stone. The thought that this was a coordinated attack solidified his thoughts on war. This wasn’t just posturing, it was a surprise attack.
“The mission will continue. Life will go on, people. As you can imagine there is a lot happening, most of which I don’t even know.” Captain Khan set the tablet down. She placed her foot on a bench and leaned forward onto her knee. “This will not go unpunished.”
Heads nodded and the commons room relaxed. The tension had been released. Even watching from the bridge William could tell that a shift had occurred. He had sensed the tension, the worry, the unknown.
“Ain’t that da shit,” the petty officer at the nav station murmured.
William looked up. The meager bridge crew were all watching the same thing. He tabbed over and scanned the local readout.
The display was like a spoked wheel. Ships trajectories were spindly strands of light coming or going. The delicate tracks led to either planets, or one of the remaining Lagrange stations. Wide orbital tracks traced the residences of the asteroid mines. The solar system teemed with life.
The view shifted
William didn’t want to step in and tell the man what to do. He had no right regardless of his time after the crash of the Lawrence .
Time passed quickly. William tabbed through the operations manual. Much of it was familiar and the sections that weren’t made sense enough. He began typing out his plan for the Captain ’s approval.
The chime jolted him out of his thoughts. He snapped his eyes up from the tablet and saw a Marine standing at ease in front of his door. “Yes?”
“The Captain requires you on the bridge , sir.”
*
The Captain was peering at the main nav console when William walked on the bridge. She turned her head and regarded him for a moment before returning to the view. He stood at a respectful distance with the tablet tucked under his arm.
“Mr. Grace, you made an impression in the cargo hold,” Captain Khan said. She patted the Navigator on the shoulder and walked over to William. “We’re having a briefing in ten minutes, all hands, I need you to take the bridge.”
“Yes, ma’am.” William nodded. He could handle the bridge, according to the schedule they had a blink coming up soon. “May I inquire to the briefing?”
Captain Khan began to walk out. “It’ll be on the screen.”
William nodded to himself and turned to the rest of the bridge. Heads snapped back to the consoles. Maybe she was being brief, not wanting to repeat herself, but he was feeling left out.
He sat down in an unused chair at the weapons console and looked down at the Captain ’s chair. He had no urge to sit there yet, not ‘til he knew more about Captain Khan. The console popped on and he tabbed it across to show a feed of the commons area.
The alarm chimed. “All hands not on essential duty please report to the commons.”
The room seemed even smaller on the console screen. It looked to be far past overflowing by the time the Captain began. The wide angle view made the room appear circular like they were in a miniature stadium.
“Two days ago the docking stations across the Lagrange points suffered a grievous assault. Nanite weapons were activated inside seven of our major Naval installations. Four of the major Naval stations around the solar system were hit simultaneously. Two stations survived because the nanites failed to reach critical mass. We have not, as of yet, determined the origin.”
Chins raised and arms crossed. There was a shift of posture among the crew as the news settled in.
“Besides the stations, the losses were minimal. The frigates Agamemnon, Trident, Sao Paulo and Omaha were destroyed, along with the Cruiser Brie . The heavy drop ship Chicago was heavily damaged, but the nanites were contained.”
William leaned in closer to the console. He looked at the screen for reactions and saw nothing but stone. The thought that this was a coordinated attack solidified his thoughts on war. This wasn’t just posturing, it was a surprise attack.
“The mission will continue. Life will go on, people. As you can imagine there is a lot happening, most of which I don’t even know.” Captain Khan set the tablet down. She placed her foot on a bench and leaned forward onto her knee. “This will not go unpunished.”
Heads nodded and the commons room relaxed. The tension had been released. Even watching from the bridge William could tell that a shift had occurred. He had sensed the tension, the worry, the unknown.
“Ain’t that da shit,” the petty officer at the nav station murmured.
William looked up. The meager bridge crew were all watching the same thing. He tabbed over and scanned the local readout.
The display was like a spoked wheel. Ships trajectories were spindly strands of light coming or going. The delicate tracks led to either planets, or one of the remaining Lagrange stations. Wide orbital tracks traced the residences of the asteroid mines. The solar system teemed with life.
The view shifted
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