again as he ran further and found those unmarked spaces. In seafaring day they would have drawn monsters and serpents. He floated the cursor and saw stars with numerical names, stars that hadn’t been explored yet. He felt a tug, a wish to be out exploring.
Before he realized he browsed to Redmond. The data was sparse. Celestials, and a brief paragraph on recent contact. One of the three grav points around Redmond was highlighted in red as a “potential hazard.”
He snapped out of the daydreaming and began to work on the tablet. Captain Khan would be expecting some details and he’d have to get on it .
The day -to-day workings of the Malta was mostly preordained. The United Colonies Navy laid forth the basics. Watches, rotations, and methods were standardized. The Captain had the power to override these, but it was rare. Watches were rotated every six hours. The ship contained three watches of fourteen per watch.
William focused his energy on approving menus, exercise schedules, and billets. The Malta was functioning before he arrived so he decided to stick with the current setup. One spot of interest was the entertainment ration. The Captain had forbidden nanite narcotics but allowed alcohol.
“Where’d you come from last , XO?” the petty officer asked William. It took him a moment to acknowledge, he wasn’t used to being called XO.
“Hmm? Last duty station was the Lawrence , though I’ve been on Earth a bit.” William decided not to get into the story, he had the watch rotation on his mind. There were a few changes he’d like the Captain to approve.
“Not familiar with that one. I started out on the Horn and from there came to the Malta. ” The petty officer looked quite proud of himself. He tapped at his console and turned back to William. “I was there at Tunis.”
William looked up and smiled. “Career then?”
“Oh hell no sir. I’m gaining points for my veteran’s preference. Then I’ll run a nice barge and make my money hauling.”
William nodded. Most men who wanted to serve came for the preference. It allowed for colony points, or preference in contracts and bidding. Each year earned more points. Enough points could get you a prime plot on a new colony, or early bids on Naval salvage.
“XO, we’ll be ready to make the blink in fifteen minutes.”
William nodded and tabbed over to the comms system. “Ma’am, we’ll be transiting in fifteen.”
“Very well Mr. Grace, announce final data drop, beam it out. I’ll be up.”
William relayed the message to all hands and watched as the incoming data packet swelled. Before the blink out of the solar system every starship made, and received, a final data dump. The golden age of letter writing had returned.
Captain Khan walked onto the bridge quietly and nodded to William. “Call the ship to stations , please, Mr. Grace.”
In a short minute every weapon was primed, grav fields were placed online and damage control crews spread out. The sound of bulkheads locking thudded through the ship. Marines appeared as if from nowhere in full body armor and stood watch in the corners. William was impressed how quickly it happened.
The blink was just that, a subtle shift and the starfield was different. The passive scans slowly ticked in as minutes passed by. They were now well past the comet and ice belt known as the Oort Cloud. The ship stood down and they began crossing the first of many interstellar grav peaks.
“Mr. Grace, do you have recommendations?” Captain Khan asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” William stood and walked over with the slate.
“Send them to my console, I’ll review them when I have time,” she said dismissively. Her hands danced on the console.
William nodded slowly. “Very well, ma’am.”
“Your watch is on in four hours , Mr. Grace,” she said without looking back.
He waited a moment and passed off the bridge , stewing silently.
CHAPTER FIVE
Profile
The Malta settled into a routine of subtle boredom, also
Before he realized he browsed to Redmond. The data was sparse. Celestials, and a brief paragraph on recent contact. One of the three grav points around Redmond was highlighted in red as a “potential hazard.”
He snapped out of the daydreaming and began to work on the tablet. Captain Khan would be expecting some details and he’d have to get on it .
The day -to-day workings of the Malta was mostly preordained. The United Colonies Navy laid forth the basics. Watches, rotations, and methods were standardized. The Captain had the power to override these, but it was rare. Watches were rotated every six hours. The ship contained three watches of fourteen per watch.
William focused his energy on approving menus, exercise schedules, and billets. The Malta was functioning before he arrived so he decided to stick with the current setup. One spot of interest was the entertainment ration. The Captain had forbidden nanite narcotics but allowed alcohol.
“Where’d you come from last , XO?” the petty officer asked William. It took him a moment to acknowledge, he wasn’t used to being called XO.
“Hmm? Last duty station was the Lawrence , though I’ve been on Earth a bit.” William decided not to get into the story, he had the watch rotation on his mind. There were a few changes he’d like the Captain to approve.
“Not familiar with that one. I started out on the Horn and from there came to the Malta. ” The petty officer looked quite proud of himself. He tapped at his console and turned back to William. “I was there at Tunis.”
William looked up and smiled. “Career then?”
“Oh hell no sir. I’m gaining points for my veteran’s preference. Then I’ll run a nice barge and make my money hauling.”
William nodded. Most men who wanted to serve came for the preference. It allowed for colony points, or preference in contracts and bidding. Each year earned more points. Enough points could get you a prime plot on a new colony, or early bids on Naval salvage.
“XO, we’ll be ready to make the blink in fifteen minutes.”
William nodded and tabbed over to the comms system. “Ma’am, we’ll be transiting in fifteen.”
“Very well Mr. Grace, announce final data drop, beam it out. I’ll be up.”
William relayed the message to all hands and watched as the incoming data packet swelled. Before the blink out of the solar system every starship made, and received, a final data dump. The golden age of letter writing had returned.
Captain Khan walked onto the bridge quietly and nodded to William. “Call the ship to stations , please, Mr. Grace.”
In a short minute every weapon was primed, grav fields were placed online and damage control crews spread out. The sound of bulkheads locking thudded through the ship. Marines appeared as if from nowhere in full body armor and stood watch in the corners. William was impressed how quickly it happened.
The blink was just that, a subtle shift and the starfield was different. The passive scans slowly ticked in as minutes passed by. They were now well past the comet and ice belt known as the Oort Cloud. The ship stood down and they began crossing the first of many interstellar grav peaks.
“Mr. Grace, do you have recommendations?” Captain Khan asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” William stood and walked over with the slate.
“Send them to my console, I’ll review them when I have time,” she said dismissively. Her hands danced on the console.
William nodded slowly. “Very well, ma’am.”
“Your watch is on in four hours , Mr. Grace,” she said without looking back.
He waited a moment and passed off the bridge , stewing silently.
CHAPTER FIVE
Profile
The Malta settled into a routine of subtle boredom, also
Similar Books
