Chapter 23
When Summers took over the command position from the Second Officer, Mister Rose, she encountered no more resistance than surprised faces. When no one objected to her orders, she dismissed her Special Forces escort who left with a salute.
Every person on the ship had heard the Major's announcement and, like she’d expected, many were in shock. They’d admired Calvin and his loss of command was a much needed wake-up-call. A first step in restoring discipline.
Her first order was to re-open all communication. This was possible now that the Major had overruled Calvin's lockout. The ops officer, Cassidy Dupont, handled it in only a few seconds. Satisfied, Summers turned her attention to the man at the helm.
"What is your name, Second Lieutenant?" She noticed the insignia on his collar.
"Me?" He pointed at himself.
"Yes, you."
"Jay."
"What is your full name."
"I don't like my full name, I prefer Jay," he said very casually. Summers shook her head realizing that even though she had command of the ship, it would still be a long uphill battle before she had a ship worth commanding. Again she told herself this crew could be retrained. It would just take time and a firm hand.
"I asked you a question and I expect an answer immediately. Do you understand?" she snapped.
"Yes, sir."
"Now, what is your name and rank, mister?"
"Second Lieutenant Jay Cox, sir."
"Sit up straight, Mister Cox."
His face reddened but he did as ordered. Summers nodded approvingly. Then she turned her attention to the young man at the defense post. He was just a boy, maybe eighteen or nineteen. It felt strange to trust someone so young with something so vital. But, despite his youth, his black-and-silver uniform boasted the white bar of midshipman. He was an officer and Summers would treat him as such.
"And what is your name, mister?"
"Midshipman Patrick O’Conner, Commander."
She knew everyone else's names already.
"All right, Mister Cox, set a new course. Heading, Xerxes System."
"Aye, Commander," he input the new course. To adjust quickly, the ship had to slow down to basic speeds, stars once again filled the windows as the ship turned.
"New course plotted, engaging primary engines and commencing alteredspace jump in forty-five seconds. Standard jump depth. Estimated time of arrival… eight hours."
"Good," Summers stood up. "Lieutenant Commander Rose, you may resume command of your shift."
He saluted and Summers left the bridge.
Next she'd put in an order to have the illicit drugs seized from Calvin's quarters. Then she hoped to get some sleep without thinking of him, and what had happened between them.
***
"It's all set up."
"Good. Where and when?"
"One hour. Observation deck."
"We're not all getting there at the same time are we?"
"No, no, of course not. Everyone arrives at different times, at least ten minutes apart. Don't worry, I got it."
"I hope it isn't too much time. I don't want anyone to notice people are missing."
"It's still Red Shift for another few hours, I doubt anyone will notice."
"They'd better not."
***
Summers tried for all of thirty-five minutes to sleep.
Her bed just wasn't soft enough and she couldn't get the temperature exactly right. But that wasn't unusual. The real problem, she knew, was her racing thoughts. She had command now and that meant many more responsibilities. In the quiet darkness she picked through everything she knew about the ship and tried to plan how she'd restructure it. She wanted to streamline everything so they could catch Raidan as soon as possible. That meant getting to know the crew's capabilities better.
She toyed around with different configurations, imagining which personnel she'd move where and what the new shifts would look like. But it wasn't just logistics that kept her awake.
The encounter with Calvin bothered her. She was certain she'd done the right thing. Or, at least, the necessary thing. Everything had come to a head. Calvin had to lose command. And the only way to do that, that she could think of, was to do what she'd done. It hadn't been her first choice. And it sickened her to think about it. But it was what she’d had to do. And now everything was back on track.
So… why did it still upset her?
After tossing and turning for some time, she sat up and forced thoughts of Calvin out of her head. She dressed herself, deciding if she wasn't going to sleep then her time could be better spent in the CO's office … her office.
***
On the way to the elevator, Summers ran into Calvin.
He didn't make eye contact for more than a second and when they reached each other he veered away. Summers couldn't guess where he was going, but since he really had nowhere to go, she didn't blame him for wandering aimlessly. She could understand that. He must be dealing with a lot of complex thoughts and emotions, and she understood how being cooped up in one's quarters might feel like torture under those circumstances.
"Calvin," she said.
He didn't stop walking. Simply acknowledged her with a cold word, "Commander." He didn't even look at her.
Seeing him reduced to this bothered her. "Calvin, stop," she'd meant it as a command but it came out as more of a plea. He stopped but didn't look up.
"What?" There was no edge to his voice but no softness either. More like apathy.
"About what happened earlier..." she searched for the right words but couldn't find them. "I hope I didn't give you the wrong idea or anything." She didn't want him to think it was personal between them, nor did she want him to think they had, or ever could have, the romantic spark he seemed to have wanted. "We will keep things professional from here on out."
He looked at her finally but said nothing. And his eyes betrayed no emotion. She didn't see seething hatred in them but there was no compassion there either.
"What I did was necessary, the ship was off mission, I had to do it," she couldn't help but explain. He didn't move or reply. It made her feel even more uncomfortable.
"No hard feelings?" she asked.
"No hard feelings," he said. His voice was quiet, like a ghost's whisper, and carried no more emotion than a stone. No sarcasm. No bitterness. Not even resentment. Just... emptiness.
"Well, okay then," she said and straightened her uniform. She hadn't expected him to be so cooperative. Perhaps acceptance had set in and he too realized he was defeated. And now that there was nothing more he could do, his eyes were distant and thoughts introspective.
She saluted but he didn't salute back. Instead he turned around and continued on his way. Like a zombie. A sad, pitiful zombie.
"I hope you get the help you need," she whispered, watching him go. "I truly do."
***
Calvin entered the observation deck and saw five people waiting for him, chatting nervously. Some looked more anxious than others. Only Monte seemed perfectly calm.
"Thanks for coming," said Calvin, after the door closed. Everyone clustered around.
"What the hell happened?" asked Shen. "Summers is CO of the Nighthawk?"
"It's a long story—" said Calvin, hoping to dismiss the question.
"So what's the plan?" asked Miles.
"I'm not going to lie," said Andre, the chief engineer. "I'm a bit nervous about this whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I want to help you if I can. But I'm just not sure how."
"Same here," said Shen. "But I owe it to you to hear you out—we all do."
Sarah nodded. "What can we do for you?”
Calvin looked each of them in the eyes before responding. "You can help me by retaking the ship."
Their reaction was about what he’d expected. Surprise and skepticism. Miles flashed a big toothy grin.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this," said Andre, perhaps the most trepidatious of the bunch.
"I... don't know what to say," said Shen.
"Then just listen," Calvin knew he had their complete attention. "Summers only has command as long as the people aboard this ship think she's been given command. But since the good doctor here never officially declared me unfit," he waved toward Monte who bowed slightly, looking smug, "then everyone on this ship is just taking Summers' word for it. We need to challenge that claim.”
“How?” asked Sarah. “We can’t possibly fight Special Forces.”
“Sure we can!” bellowed Miles. “We outnumber them forty-six to twenty-four."
"Actually it's forty-six to twenty-three,” said Shen. “We lost a soldier on Aleator One."
"Excellent," said Miles. Then, when he realized what he'd said, he added. "Um... Bless his soul."
“Yeah—that’s out of the question,” said Calvin. “Even if we could rally the entire crew, which is… doubtful, we’d still get our asses kicked. That’s why my plan is about deception. If we get the crew to go along with us, or at least not get in our way, we could probably seal off both the bridge and engineering. After that, Special Forces can beat against the doors all they want while we take the ship anywhere we want to go.”
“So how do we deceive the crew into not opposing you?” asked Andre, clearly uncomfortable with the idea.
“We fake a message. Make the computer think it recorded a message when it didn’t. It’ll be text only and state that I have command. Sent, ostensibly, by Director Edwards, and we display it on every station and in everyone’s quarters.”
Shen looked intrigued. “Yes, that would be possible. With a little work. But once they get that message someone is going to contact Intel Wing and see if Director Edwards actually sent it. And he can deny its authenticity.”
“Which brings me to my second idea,” said Calvin. “Remember what we did to the Brimm servers? Made them think they were busier than they really were, causing them to crash.”
Shen nodded. “Yes, that’s roughly correct.”
“Can we do the same thing here? Make the comms system overload because it’s being bombarded by countless ghost hails that don’t connect to anything?”
Shen sighed. “Theoretically possible though practically difficult, but I can try.”
“After that we simply take back command. Hell, if we contain Summers the Major might not even know any transition happened.”
Shen nodded. “I think this might work.”
“Everyone good with this?” Calvin looked at each of them. No one objected.
“Okay, let’s get to it.”
“Wait,” said Andre, now finding his voice. “What if this doesn’t work?”
“Then I’ll take credit for deceiving you and anyone who believed our fake message. You were just following orders as best you understood them. I’ll take the fall for everyone.”
"Just like Raidan," said Sarah.
"Exactly like Raidan."
***
Vincent Rose sat at the command position. He'd been on the ship for five months and he still felt like he was wearing shoes that were too big.
It wasn't bad when he didn't have the deck. He had full confidence in Calvin and the XO—at least when it had been Anand—but since Rose had command a third of the time, he knew he had a one third chance of being in that chair when a major crisis happened. And, knowing that all life on the ship depended on him during such a moment, he felt uncomfortable.
It didn’t help that Calvin had been replaced by someone who was, more or less, a complete stranger. She wasn't even part of Intel Wing, she was a Navy officer! Rose didn't know Summers well, but he already didn't like her. She was uptight, rigid, condescending, and dispassionate. Like a machine.
He especially hated how his eyes would sometimes flick to her. And notice aspects of her beauty. And she was beautiful. Even around other beautiful women she would stand out like a rose among daisies, and here... in the middle of space... she contrasted the grey bolts and grim metal of a starship like light against darkness. He couldn't help noticing that. And he hated it. So, whenever he realized he was looking at her that way, he'd think of his lovely wife and child back home. That strategy worked most of the time. But he held it against Summers when it didn’t.
And now she was CO! The whole change in power felt wrong. Everybody sensed it. If a two-time silver star recipient like Calvin could get the axe, no one was safe. Which only added to his anxiety.
"Status?" he asked, wanting to break the silence.
"Flight controls normal," Jay reported from the helm.
"Defense Systems operational," said Patrick, flashing a youthful smile.
"And... all internal systems are good," Cassidy said from the ops station.
"Good," said Rose.
Several more minutes passed in silence and he did what he always did. Thought about home. Anne cooking his favorite meal, pleased to see him after a long deployment. And little Selene rushing down the apartment steps as fast as her tiny legs could carry her, screaming ecstatically "Papa, papa!" How cute she was... he hadn't seen either of them for almost three months, and wouldn't for at least another three. He'd miss Selene's birthday again... if only he could explain in small enough words for her to understand.
"I've got something here, sir," said Jay with a hand on his headset's speaker. He looked confused. "Message coming in on all stations and all decks."
"Display it," Rose said casually.
"I... can't."
"Then on speakers."
"It's text only... for some reason."
Rose sat forward. "What?"
"Yeah, priority one message from Intel Wing, Office of the Director."
"I see it too," said Patrick, eyes fixed on his monitors.
"Something seems... odd about it," Cassidy said from operations. Rose agreed that it seemed unusual, but not unheard of for Intel Wing to broadcast a text-only message. Its reasons could be any, and probably not worth speculating about. Orders were orders.
"Can you confirm the message is from Intel Wing?" Rose asked.
"That's what the computer says..." Cassidy replied, a whiff of skepticism in her voice.
"Then read it," Rose sat back again.
Jay cleared his throat. "Attention all hands of the IWS Nighthawk. This is Director Jack Edwards regarding an order from Fleet Command to terminate the current mission and change command. You are to disregard that order. Intel Wing has command of the Nighthawk, not Fleet Command. Lieutenant Commander Cross is the active CO of the Nighthawk and his orders stand. End Message."
"Well that was short and sweet," said Rose, scratching his head.
"Intel Wing contradicting the Fleet... and in such an unusual way?” asked Cassidy. "Doesn't that seem odd to you?"
"A little," Rose agreed.
"Even though the computer said the message came in with the proper encryption from Intel Wing," Cassidy spoke, "that doesn't mean it couldn't be a fabrication. I suggest we contact Intel Wing, just in case."
Rose nodded. He didn't want to think of it as a possible fabrication, but it was his job to be sure. "Very well," he said. "Send a message to Capital World. Hail Intel Wing, priority one."
"Yes, sir," said Jay and then, a moment later, he looked dumbfounded. "Something's not right here."
"What now?"
Jay looked even more flustered. "I'm not picking up any audio but the computer says we're receiving sixteen thousand hails. No... twenty-nine million hails increasing exponentially. Now it's well over a billion."
Rose became alarmed. "What are you talking about?"
"I don't know," Jay said, looking completely bewildered as he scrambled over his controls.
"Where are these hails coming from?"
"Beats the hell out of me, the system just crashed. It's completely offline. I have no contact outside the ship period," he slapped his computer station, teeth clenched in frustration.
"Can you bring any of those hails over the speaker? Patch us through to one of them."
"No, I can't," Jay said. "The kataspace connector is offline. But before it crashed all I got from them was white noise. Not sure what to make of it."
Rose nodded, his mind racing to control the situation. "Patrick, are there any ships or structures nearby?"
"Negative."
"So outside communication is dead, but we still have inside communications, right?"
"Correct."
Rose was completely clueless. "We need to get the CO in here," he said.
"Which one?" asked Jay.
Rose didn't know the answer to that. He instinctively tapped his line to the CO's office, because of its proximity. "Commander," he said. "We've got a situation here."
"On my way," Summers voice crackled over the speaker. And, not more than five seconds later, she was there.
"What's the situation, Mister Rose?" She asked as he relinquished the command position.
"A moment ago the ship received a message from Intel Wing, broadcast on every deck. Have you seen it?"
"No."
Cassidy pointed to her screen and Summers read the message. "This is wrong," she said, ice in her tone.
Rose continued, "after that, the ship received billions of hails and now we can't send or receive outside communication."
"Why not?" Summers looked to Cassidy who was more than busy at the ops station. "I'm doing a diagnostic now."
"Try again to contact the Fleet," Summers ordered Jay.
"It won't do any good."
"I gave you an order, mister!"
After an exaggerated display of trying, he turned back to the center of the bridge and waved his hands. "Voila, nothing."
Summers looked perplexed. She glanced at Rose. "What's your opinion?"
She was asking him? He almost laughed. "I have no idea what's wrong."
"I've restarted the system a few times," Cassidy said. "But it just times out because it's overloaded and then crashes again. Oh wait, my diagnostic just finished."
"What does it say?" Summers again stared over Cassidy's shoulder.
"It... " Cassidy paused, looking stunned. "I don't know. All systems operating normally." She scratched her head. "Maybe... I think I could make this happen if I wanted to, if someone tampered with—"
The elevator door whisked open and Calvin, Miles, Sarah, and Shen stormed the bridge looking pleased.
"Make way," said Miles as they moved to their stations. Rose looked from them to Summers—whose confusion had only intensified.
"This isn't White Shift," said Summers. "And Calvin, you can't be here."
"Not according to the latest message from Intel Wing," he said as he took the command position and sat down. Summers was on him like a hawk, standing over him and glaring. Like an invader had just squatted her nest. Calvin's only reaction was to look up at her and grin.
"It's true," said Shen. "The official word is that the Fleet's decision to revoke Calvin's command was illegitimate and has been reversed by the proper authority, Intel Wing. Since this is, after all, an Intel Wing ship."
She gave Shen a menacing glare. "There's no way that message came from Intel Wing."
He shrugged. "Could have fooled me," he glanced briefly at Calvin. "Cassidy, did the computer verify the message’s authenticity stamp?”
“Yes—” she said, unconvinced.
"There you see!" said Miles. "Now move over ex-bosslady." He moved closer to Summers and she shifted her attention from Calvin to him, taking up a defensive posture, as if thinking Miles would strike her. But Miles stopped a few feet away and they just glared at each other.
"And we can't call Intel Wing to confirm this because, conveniently, outside communication is offline," said Cassidy.
"That's technology for you,” said Calvin.
"Right, now move over," said Miles again, inching closer. Summers looked like a cat trapped in an alleyway full of dogs.
"What I find interesting," said Summers, refusing to back down, "is that we haven't heard anything from Special Forces yet," she dared a quick glance at Calvin.
Calvin ignored her comment. “As CO of this ship, I order you to go to my office and remain there until I say otherwise."
"Since you are not legitimately the CO of this ship and I am," said Summers, "I refuse."
"Well you heard her," said Miles. "You all heard her."
"For disobeying a direct order from your superior officer," said Calvin. "I arrest you for insubordination and you are now a prisoner on this ship until we make port and you are transferred to the proper authority." He stood up.
"Insubordination?” she said the word like she’d never heard it before
"Lock her in my office," he waved to Miles.
"With pleasure." He closed in.
She took up a defensive stance.
He charged her but relied too much on size and brute strength and Summers used his momentum against him. She deflected his hands and darted aside as he passed, giving him a firm shove in the direction he was headed. Unable to stop, he crashed into the CO's chair. Calvin darted aside in the nick of time.
Before anyone could stop her, Summers ran for the elevator.
Miles scrambled to his feet and charged her way, almost overtaking her, but the door closed before he could snatch her. He slammed his hands flat against the elevator door to keep his head from crashing into it.
"That slippery witch!" he said, looking more embarrassed than angry. He turned to face Calvin. "I'm sorry."
Calvin said nothing for a few seconds. "This does present a problem."
Shen moved to the center of the bridge, looking nervous. "We needed to keep her here so she wouldn't contact the Major. I was going to disable the office's comm and everything."
"I said I was sorry."
"That's not our only problem," said Calvin. "The beacon."
"Oh right," said Shen.
"Is there anything we can do about that?" Calvin asked. "Block it somehow?"
"No. Not unless you have a room with tungsten walls a hundred meters thick. We'd do better to capture it. If we had it, we could keep it from being turned on."
"What are you talking about?" asked Miles.
"The emergency beacon. A silent signal that can only be picked up by Imperial Military starships," said Shen. "It's a Fleet standard, it came aboard when Summers did. And she’s the only one here who’s been trained how to use it. How do you not know this stuff?"
Miles shrugged. "I dunno. I'm a government employee. I don't have to know everything."
“Even when your business is all about acquiring information?”
While they discussed it, Rose's eyes moved from them to the other Red Shift members, who seemed equally confused and quiet. They too weren't sure what to make of it all.
"So what do we do?" asked Shen.
"We have to seal off the bridge and engineering.”
The whole thing felt suspicious to Rose who saw that feeling in the eyes of his fellow Red Shift officers. But none of them spoke. Calvin seemed to pick up on this.
"I have command," Calvin insisted. "Legitimately. But I'm afraid there really is a fight going on between Intel Wing and Fleet Command. And Summers, an agent of the Fleet, will try and trick the Major into thinking the Fleet has control of the ship and not Intel Wing."
"How could they be fighting?" asked Patrick. "They're on the same side!"
"You have a lot to learn now that you're in Intel Wing," said Calvin. "But let's just say, it's no secret the Fleet and Intel Wing don't see eye to eye on this investigation. Now the Fleet is making a play for control of the ship, but it isn't going to work. Because we won’t let it. Set a new heading—Abia System. Let's do a deep jump, maybe ninety-five percent potential. Miles take your station. Sarah, give engineering the order to seal themselves off. Red Shift, you're relieved. Shen, put up those defense walls once Red Shift is gone.”