Talosian Chronicles 3: Talosian Alliance Page 26

  "He hasn't been sleeping well," Jenny said. This business with the Talosians, and then this mess came up. He's been pretty stressed," Jenny admitted.

  "I could tell he wasn't doing well." She bit her lower lip. "I think I might know of something that would help him, but I don't know how to suggest it."

  "What is it, maybe I can help you?" Jenny offered.

  "I had a very difficult childhood. My parents felt the need to make sure I knew how to defend myself, and enrolled me in martial arts classes. I did learn to defend myself, but I also learned how to deal with the stress of being shunned and reviled. Master Hohiro Kwan taught me how to control my mental state and emotions so the overload didn't kill me. I think the Admiral could really use those skills right now," Mel finished.

  Jenny nodded. "I've heard a lot of that sort of thing about martial arts. Tell you what, find out if we have someone like your Master Kwan either on board, or at least recruited. If he's already on the ship, work it out with the teacher for Ian and him to get together during Ian's work-out time."

  "Shouldn't I talk to the Admiral about it first?" Mel asked.

  Jenny grinned. "Mel, you'll learn that when it comes to Ian, it's far easier to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission. If he needs it, then we need to make sure he gets it."

  "I understand, Sir. I'll get it taken care of right away," Mel replied. "Thank you for helping me."

  Jenny shook her head. "By helping you, I am helping him. Besides, I might ask you to see if I can take classes too!"

  Seeing how tired Jenny was, Mel got up and went to the replicator. She sat a warm drink down on the desk Jenny shared with Ian. "You need to rest as well, Sir. Drink this, it'll help."

  Jenny sniffed it, and her eyes lit up. "It smells wonderful, what is it?"

  "Basically, just warm milk, but it has a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon, with a little sugar," Mel replied. "My Grandmother called it a homeopathic sleeping potion. It works! I've yet to actually finish a cup!"

  "If it works that well, I better hold off for a few minutes. I want to see how Ian's doing, and getting to my own bed would be good!" Jenny replied, as the door to the hallway opened to admit Beth.

  "I didn't think you'd come yourself, Beth!" Jenny said.

  The older woman shrugged. "It's Ian, so I came. All the stuff going on down there is just space sickness from that rough translation anyway. I'll be heading home with you after this." She sighed, "Any idea how we're gonna get him back to our quarters?"

  "Well, we could just leave him here, but if he wakes up, he's likely to stay up and work more, when he should be sleeping. You're the CMO, think you can borrow a litter or something to get him home?" Jenny asked.

  "Hm, let me check him over first. I might just send his ass down to MainMed for exhaustion." Beth replied. "I know he hasn't been sleeping, and I did warn him about it."

  "I don't know if that would be a good idea right now, Beth. We do need him up and around," Jenny said.

  Beth looked back at her. "I'm sure we do, Jen, but sooner or later, his body will simply shut down if it hasn't already. At that point, it would be best to just let him sleep it out."

  "What will happen to him if he keeps pushing it even past that point?" Jenny asked, worried now.

  "Nothing good. Memory and cognitive failure, emotional control, the chemical imbalance would eventually cause irreparable damage to his brain and or motor function. Strokes are possible, and not the mild ones either. We simply cannot let him get to that point. I'm going to implement a new medical protocol that will automatically remove someone from duty if they have not slept for 36 hours. There'll be more to it than that, but that's the gist of it. If he gets this bad again, I'll relieve him of duty and lock him in a room in MainMed until he gets enough rest," Beth said, not liking what her scanner was telling her. "I had no idea it was this bad, Jen, I should really do that now. But if he stays asleep for at least twelve hours, I'll let him sleep at home."

  Jenny nodded. "Okay Beth, let's get him back to our quarters, and get him tucked in."

  "That goes for you as well, Miss Commander, Sir. You better have your pretty ass lying right next to his, or I'll put you both in MainMed and let John get us home, understand?" Beth said in her full on 'mother' mode.

  "I will Beth, I promise. I just need to tell the Council we are on our way back, check on Chief Dommer, and I'm for bed," Jenny explained. "Look, Mel even got some of her grandmother's special sleeping potion for me!"

  Beth came over to the desk, sniffed the drink, and took a small sip. "Hm, good choice. Mel, your grandmother was a smart lady, but I think I should increase the tryptophan slightly in order to counter the sugar."

  "I know it works pretty well on me as it is, Doctor," Mel replied. "I get some of that, and I better be near my bed."

  Beth nodded. "I'm sure it does. It's been a longtime aide to counter the effects of insomnia. By adding the nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar, it made it more palatable without messing with the effects that much." She sighed and called for a litter and a stout orderly to help them move Ian. Looking back at Jenny, she said. "Major Dommer is still in surgery. He sustained considerable injury as a result of the hyperdrive housing fragmenting when it exploded. He will be in the medical center for at least two weeks, probably longer since we have to replace his right forearm, three ribs and both eyes. Of all the engineers injured, he was the hardest hit. He's damn lucky to be alive, by all rights that explosion should have killed him."

  "I was told he'd been injured, but I had no idea it was that bad!" Jenny said. "How many others on his staff got hit?"

  "Eight people were injured, but only the Chief and three others needed to be taken to medical. Shrapnel wounds, burns, and broken bones. Two people will need replacement eyes, but neither lost both eyes like the Chief did," Beth sighed. "Was it really necessary for them to do that?"

  "If they hadn't, we would all be learning how to speak Imperial right now," Jenny said.

  Beth nodded. "Well, at least we can fix them up. Now, make your report, so you can keep Ian in bed."

  Jenny grinned at her friend. "Yes, Ma'am!"

  "Bite me!" Beth said, and stuck her tongue out at Jenny.

  Phoenix Base

  Admiral Goya's Quarters

  Selene, Earth's Moon

  Sol System, Sol Sector

  "Is it a bad thing to dread going back to Talos?" Goya asked, rhetorically.

  "Are you having problems, Goya?" Noren asked.

  "The thrice-damned house ships are giving me heartburn over the orders I issued. They are refusing to move to the front because they claim I will be leaving Talos under-defended, and have refused to move. The problem is, I need those other ships to join the ARC fleet to push the Empire out of the Beta Hydri system," Goya explained. "I had one Commander refuse to leave because, and I quote, 'This isn't our problem, let those lazy blarks in ARC deal with it!' I swear to Hyera I would can the lot of them if it wouldn't create an even worse problem!"

  Noren nodded. "If you fired the Commanders of the house ships, it could very well trigger the war we're trying to stop. I think we need to be getting home as soon as we can leave here, my friend."

  Goya nodded. "I asked that the Adonis be made ready for departure as soon possible. Noren, I need to speak to the Terran Council on a request from the Alliance Command."

  "I'll call Luke, but if you need to talk to all of them, we'll need to go back to Centauri. May I ask what ARC wants to ask them?" Noren asked.

  "Admiral Hjoles would like me to inquire if the forces that will be attacking the Beta Hydri system could use the Pleiades Station as a support base for this operation. He didn't come right out and say it, but I got the feeling that he will be pushing for more formal accords between ARC and the Terrans," Goya said.

  "The last I heard from the Alliance Council was that they considered the Terran issue unimportant, and mostly our problem," Noren replied.

  Goya chuckled. "Hjoles watched Ian in action at the Beta Hydri s
ystem. Star Dancer destroyed a full shipyard and an Imperial battleship that was docked with it, while they seeded the system with surveillance drones."

  "What? You're talking about one of the small portable repair gantries right?" Noren asked.

  "Nope, a fully functional, full sized shipyard. That crazy Terran jumped next to the station and maneuvered like it was docking! The Imperial stations have autodocking protocols and it opened up to let them in. They jettisoned some kind of demolition charge and jumped. They jumped while docking! They were so close that the gravitational tide effect tore the gantry completely off the station, and stripped off the armor protecting it; the charge just floated into the superstructure and blew the whole mess into a pile of scrap! There was a battleship they had damaged in an earlier encounter docked on the far side of the station when it blew. The battleship had no shields up, and was hooked into the station for power. When the station blew, it shredded the warship!" Goya said, amazed. "Hjoles told me that he was very happy that Admiral Williams considers himself an ally to us, because he would be a devastating enemy!"

  "You are talking about that big Siminoid Admiral from ARC High Command, right? The same one that thinks our forces are only fit for guard duty?" Noren asked.

  "Yep, he's the one," Goya nodded.

  "That would certainly explain a few things, I guess. I just thought it was because they saved the High Priestess," Noren said to herself.

  "Huh? What things does that explain?" Goya asked.

  "The Benesian Ambassador to the Alliance, T'dran Cyree, sent me a very flowery, yet formally worded request for information about the Terrans. She also requested that I formally contact them on behalf of the peoples of the Alliance of Races to request diplomatic contact," Noren explained. "These folks have impressed the hell out of some very important beings in the Alliance of Races Council."

  "Well, it looks like our visit here is coming to an end, either way. Brekka," he turned to his aide. "Could you please inquire about getting us transport back to Centauri? Once you have that, I'll want to schedule a vid conference with all of our trusted Commanders. Please include Commander Egran of the Pegasus, but not Commander Blathe of the Zephyr."

  "Do you want me to see if Commander Serena can attend in person, Sir?" Brekka asked.

  Goya nodded. "That would be good, thank you for the suggestion. Admiral Pan will also need to be there since I'm going to be shuffling some people around."

  Brekka nodded her head, because she was already carrying out his orders. While Goya had been talking to Brekka, Noren had been speaking to her aide as well, the young woman was now on the vid arranging a meeting with Luke Belden and the rest of the Terran Council.

  "I'm starting to wish I hadn't let Belirus join the Terrans, I could really use another Commander I could trust," Goya said to Noren.

  "I thought you didn't like Belirus and that was why you let him go?" Noren replied.

  "Oh, I really dislike the man, but he is loyal, and has command experience, and that's really what we need the most right now," Goya replied. "I just really hope that we have enough people among our loyal crews to take over the house ships. The problem there is going to be the AI; most, if not all, of them have probably deactivated their AI, and that means the ship cannot accept a new commander."

  "But, even if we could get loyal commanders on those ships, what would you do about the crew? How many of them are completely against us?" Noren asked.

  "We have no way of knowing. From what we've learned from Belirus, there is a strong possibility that they've been fed the same story he had been. Most folks would trust their own house elders over the High Council. Especially if they've been told the High Council has been the ones lying to them," Goya replied. "No matter how we turn this, it isn't going to be pretty."

  "Goya, if the rebels decide to attack, how badly is this going to hurt us?" Noren asked. "Worst case, please."

  "It really depends on how they do it. If the attack is confined to space, most of our people should be safe while we fight it out. However, if they attack the federal building in Talos city, there will be fighting on the ground. If that happens, we could see heavy civilian casualties. If they have convinced the population to overthrow the High Council, then we will again see high civilian casualties.

  "Either way, we will be forced to recall our ships from the main fight with the Empire, and that will weaken ARC forces across the board. It could weaken them to the point where they will be forced to pull back. We could lose the sector, maybe even the quadrant. No matter what happens, if the separatists decide to use force, we are going to get hurt, and hurt badly," Goya finished.

  "Perhaps I should record a message to our people, whether they believe it or not, at least we tried," Noren said.

  "The separatists would use that as an excuse to pull the Terrans into the fight, and it's not their fight." Goya said.

  "No, it isn't. But if they did enter into the fight, that could certainly help us could it not?" Noren asked.

  "Yes, it would help us, but these folks have enough on their plate right now," Goya said. "The Imperial forces that took the Beta Hydri system are not all that far away, and Ian simply does not have the resources to help us and adequately defend this sector from Imperial invasion at the same time. If he tried, he could lose everything."

  TDF Star Dancer

  Pleiades one starship repair gantry six

  Sol sector, Centauri system

  Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

  "John, contact Pleiades control, and get us a parking spot, please," Jenny asked, grinning at her executive officer.

  "Why do I feel like you have something up your sleeve Commander?" John asked.

  "Because I'm going to let you bring us in. You need the experience, remember?" Jenny said, reminding him he was in training.

  "Fabulous!" John said, rolling his eyes. "Comms, please get me Pleiades Control."

  "Pleiades Control, go ahead Star Dancer!" a young female voice could be heard.

  "Thank you, control. We are requesting approach and docking instructions," John said.

  "Understood, Star Dancer. Please turn to one-nine-four by seven-seven. You are cleared to dock in gantry six. We show you as seventy-five thousand klicks out and closing, please reduce speed to point zero-zero-one for closure."

  "Helm, turn to one-niner-four by seven-seven degrees true, reduce speed to point zero-zero-one," John echoed. "Pleiades Control, we are on approach for gantry six, ETA now zero-six minutes."

  "Confirmed, Star Dancer. Reduce speed to five hundred mps at the outer marker," The controller replied.

  "Navigation, deploy the nav drones for docking." John opened the ship-wide comm. "All stations, this is the bridge, prepare for docking. Welcome home everyone!"

  "Nav Drones away, Colonel. Speed now two thousand mps and dropping," Ensign Hayes reported. Chekhov was off duty. "Outer marker in two minutes."

  "Reverse thrusters point one for ten seconds, we're coming in too hot," John said. His eyes were glued to the main view screen which showed all the data he would need to manually dock with the station. "Helm adjust yaw four degrees, bow negative three."

  "Speed now seven hundred mps, sir. Outer marker in twenty seconds," Hayes reported.

  John nodded, but kept watching the screen. "Thrusters to station keeping, let momentum take is in."

  "We've reached the outer marker, speed four-ninety and dropping."

  "Secure all flight systems, drop our shields, and turn on our navigation lights. Helm make moorings ready. Reverse thusters point one." John said. The ship was inside the gantry now, gently sliding into position in the birth.

  "Kill forward momentum." John ordered.

  "Speed now, zero point zero. Thrusters to station-keeping," Hayes reported, grinning.

  "Lock us in, Helm," John ordered. "Engines to stand-by, main reactor to station mode. Recall the nav drones." He reopened the channel to the station. "Pleiades Control, Star Dancer is home and docked."

 
; "Star Dancer, this is station control, welcome home!" echoed through the great ship.

  The bridge crew clapped for John's handling of the docking, and he bowed slightly to them. "Thank you, folks. Secure all stations! Stand down from combat operations, set repair conditions. Station control; fill 'er up, and please check the oil."

  "Good work, John," Jenny said. "I hate to ask you this, but I need to go make nice with the dignitaries, can you hold down the fort for a while?"

  "Sure, nothing to do really, just sit here and look foreboding," John replied. "When the requests come in, is there anything you don't want to let them get started on?"

  "Well, they'll need to take the main reactor offline to replace the hyperdrive unit, so as long as they can finish a project during that time, allow it. Anything longer, and we'll have to talk about it," Jenny said as she got up from her chair. "You have the con."

  John nodded and took her seat. "I have the con. Have fun."

  "Oh yeah, loads," Jenny said as she left the bridge through the ready room.

  As the door closed behind her, a team of engineers arrived to begin tearing down the bridge stations.

  "How are you feeling, Admiral?" Goya said when Ian and Jenny met him in the debarkation lounge. Admiral Goya, Commander Serena, and another man Ian faintly recognized had been in the lounge waiting for him. The strange man was wearing Talosian Commander Rank, and suddenly Ian remembered the man.

  "Better, I guess I really needed the sleep," Ian replied. "I thought Beth was going to tear off chunks of skin when she chewed me out." He looked at the new Commander. "Commander Egran, it is good to see you again! Welcome back!"

  Egran bowed to Ian. "It is very good to be back, Admiral. I see you have made some improvements in my absence."

  "A few, we heard a rumor that there were some very unfriendly folks about, so we thought we should address that before it became an issue," Ian replied.

  "Indeed, they are very unfriendly, I've been briefed on the situation in Beta Hydri, that is not a good situation," Egran replied.