Crystal Deception (12 page)

She readied herself for the ride of her life and was mildly disappointed
when she found the takeoff to be as smooth and easy as regular air travel. “Look
at that crowd,” she said, curious about the mass of people collected near the Fleet
launch site. She waved, even though she knew they couldn’t see her through the
image display she was watching.

Sid took the scout into orbit and worked with Criss to test
each of the ship’s modifications. Criss adopted Sid’s technical jargon, and
they chattered back and forth as they methodically worked through a checklist
of items.

Juice listened to the exchange between Sid and Criss. As
time passed, she could see that Sid hesitated less between the crystal’s
suggestions and his actions. She could not deny her sense of maternal pride as
she watched the two become work buddies.

It took several hours for Sid and Criss to declare a “checklist
complete” status. They then aimed the scout on a course to catch a convoy of
freight ships heading toward the moon. The convoy was on a regular route and,
as such, its presence wouldn’t raise any suspicion. There were only two
differences from its otherwise standard routine. One was that the convoy was
traveling slightly slower than normal, so they could stay near Earth longer.

The other was that a burst of communications established
that necessary medical supplies that should have been included in the cargo
somehow were left off the manifest. As far as the world was concerned, the
scout had been dispatched to catch up to the convoy, transfer the medical
supplies, and then return home. With luck, the Kardish would believe this as
well.

Chapter 15

Cheryl was to return to the
Alliance
a few days ahead of the arrival of Jack and Defecto. Prior to her departure, she
arranged to meet Jack for drinks at Shrubs, a quiet tavern near the base, to
discuss what she believed was a sensitive issue. Jack held the rank of captain,
or so she thought, and she feared that having two captains on board might introduce
some confusion in the new ship’s command structure. But she wanted to be
sensitive to his ego. A discussion might produce a solution.

They sat at a table and sipped their drinks. “Suppose you could
start with a clean slate,” Jack said, “and create a rank and title for me that would
best serve the goals of the mission. What would that look like?”

“I imagine we’ll be talking often and privately, which is normal
behavior between a captain and her first officer. But a first officer is
normally filled by someone with the rank of commander.”

“Let me explore some options,” Jack said. “We’ll be able to resolve
this.” He stood up and gave her a hug. “Have a safe trip up, and I’ll see you
in a couple of days.”

The hug took Cheryl by surprise. Jack didn’t seem like the
touchy-feely type, and she’d learned at a young age to be on guard when it came
to the intentions of men. After a moment of steadily decreasing suspicion, she
concluded that, given that Jack and Sid were friends and partners, she was
ascribing too much to an innocent gesture.

An hour later, her com relayed a message from Admiral Keys
informing her that Commander Jack Sparrow would be her first officer for the
shakedown cruise of the
Alliance
.

“Who are these people?” she asked out loud. Her only
response was a quizzical glance from a nearby stranger.

* * *

Wes Putti, the president of the
Union, was excited when an aide suggested he host a commissioning ceremony for
the
Alliance
. He immediately took ownership of the idea.

“It is important that every citizen in the Union see our
great achievements,” he declared.

Unlike the traditions of generations past, Putti didn’t seek
a ceremony that called upon the gods to protect the vessel, nor did he care to
cast blessings of safety and good fortune on the crew. He wasn’t even
interested in a naming ritual. Rather, his focus was on using the event as a
means of gaining publicity and attracting votes. “It must be a day of grand
celebration. We will broadcast it live to the world!”

The ship was huge by Union standards. It had to be built in
orbit because, had it been constructed on Earth, such a large and unwieldy
craft would simply shake itself apart on takeoff. Passengers and crew were
ferried to and from the ship on shuttles.

To maximize viewership and cement a positive impression in
the minds of voters, Putti sought a carnival-like spectacle. One aide had suggested
that the affair take place in orbit, but Putti quickly vetoed the idea. He gave
enthusiastic support when another proposed having the event take place on a
stage placed in front of a Fleet launch site.

The event was timed to match the launch of a newly upgraded
scout ship. The president beamed as the crowd
oohed
and
aahed
at
the appropriate moment. He generously shared the stage with his supporters, and
a stream of politicians took to the dais and spoke of how the ship symbolized
the power and success of the Union. Each talked of the battles they had personally
waged against the doubters—who also happened to be their political opponents—so
this day of triumph could come to pass.

Some lauded the amazing technology that had made it all
happen, though they kept this part brief, as none were confident of the
specifics. And they finished by praising the voters for their foresight and
intelligence in electing such effective and visionary leaders.

Near the end of the fanfare, Brady Sheldon and a woman
introduced as Dr. Jessica Tallette were presented to the crowd. The politician
charged with this task praised the new crystal technology developed at the
behest of the Union. This introduction was necessary because it was followed by
an image, projected to the world, of the Juice look-alike as she carried the
four-gen onto the shuttle. She stopped to smile and wave, held the four-gen
carrying case high in the air, waited for the crowd to cheer and wave back, and
then stepped aboard the shuttle and disappeared from view.

As soon as the shuttle hatch was sealed, she handed Defecto
to a Fleet crew member. She then removed her wig, wiped off the makeup, and
returned to being Ensign Cait Young. She placed Juice’s com in a courier pouch
for its return to its rightful owner, and retrieved her own.

* * *

Victoria Wellstone attended the commissioning
ceremony. She stood in the crowd, and waited through the long and wretched
event because she wanted to see everything with her own eyes. The speeches
dragged on, and she wondered why the people standing around her considered this
to be a sensible use of their time. She didn’t quite appreciate the allure that
“free fun and food” held for the masses.

With the ceremony mercifully drawing to a close, she watched
like an eagle tracking its prey as Juice and the four-gen clambered aboard the shuttle.
She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding when the craft launched
without mishap and flew straight and true until it disappeared from sight.

* * *

Cheryl welcomed the shuttle and its passengers
to the
Alliance
. “Nice job, Ensign,” she said as Cait stepped aboard. “I
watched the event, and you even had me convinced.”

“Thank you, Captain.” The crew member’s arms were piled high
with equipment, and she bit her lip as she concentrated on balancing her load.
“We should have the four-gen ready for testing soon.” She inched down the
passage as she made her way to the operations bay.

Jack followed Cait and stopped to face Cheryl. “First Officer
Jack Sparrow reporting for duty, ma’am.” He gave her a smart salute.

“Welcome aboard, Commander,” Cheryl said, eyeing the two
large packs at his feet. “You’re this way.” She led him down a passage and
stopped three doors short of the command bridge. “Here’s your home. My quarters
are next door. And that one’s the command muster.” She pointed to the door
closest to the command bridge.

Jack slung the two packs off his shoulders and onto the
floor of his cabin. He immediately returned to the shuttle and moments later
emerged hefting two more packs. One was a traditional Fleet issue designed to carry
his clothes and personal items. The second was smaller and seemed to shimmer as
he walked by her.

“Traveling a little heavy, are we?” she said as he ducked
into his cabin.

He leaned back so his head poked into the passageway.
“Before the fact, it always feels heavy. Once the action starts, I find myself
wishing I’d brought more.”

Back in his cabin, he stowed his two large DSA toy-master
packs under his bunk and wedged the smaller ghost pack between them. He left the
Fleet pack sitting on top of his bed.

Cait installed the four-gen without incident. She didn’t
know it was a flawed crystal, and since she’d never worked with a four-gen, she
had no foreknowledge of signs that would indicate any shortcomings. When it powered
up, the crystal confirmed that its internal operations were functioning
properly.

Defecto, though flawed, was still a powerful unit. It had
the combined capability of twenty three-gens, and all of that potential was
trained at Crystal Fab to excel at ship operations. Defecto integrated smoothly
with the ship systems and proved quite effective at running the equipment and operations
throughout.

The
Alliance
was designed for a standard crew of nineteen
and could comfortably carry an additional eight passengers. With the arrival of
the shuttle, they were at their full mission’s complement of seven people,
including Cheryl and Jack. Cheryl had decided that it didn’t make sense to put
any more people at risk while waiting for the Kardish to reveal their intentions,
and this skeleton crew was all there would be for the shakedown maneuvers. After
the shuttle undocked from the
Alliance
and departed for Earth, the crew was
summoned to the command muster. The entire ship’s population fit around the small
conference table.

“Welcome, everybody,” said Cheryl. “Let me start by repeating
what I told you individually when I recruited you. This is a high-risk,
high-profile mission. Each of you was chosen for the abilities you offer in
support of our assignment.” She looked at certain individuals as she continued.
“At this table we have advanced skills in communications, diplomacy, technology,
and combat. We may need to draw on all of these skills, perhaps on short
notice.

“As I explained before, high-risk means this mission can go
bad. There might be injury or even loss of life. You may have noticed there’s
no medic at the table. I couldn’t rationalize risking yet another life on the
chance that it might save one of ours.”

None of the crew members broke eye contact, giving Cheryl
added confidence in the people she’d chosen. They all were mentally and
emotionally prepared and appeared anxious to learn more about the details of the
operation.

“As I’m sure you’ve deduced, this is more than a shakedown
cruise. We’re a team of seven who together have the skills to operate this ship
in an almost normal fashion.”

There was some nervous laughter in response to this
admission. Cheryl nodded to let them know it was appropriate for them to
express their feelings in this setting.

“Our mission is simple. We are to proceed through ship testing
procedures as developed by Fleet, and in the process, we serve as bait for the
Kardish. They’ve taken some provocative actions toward the Union in recent
months, and we’re here to give them the opportunity to reveal their intentions.
We will go about our business as usual and see if they choose to continue down
a path to confrontation. It’s a game of waiting. From my experience, that’s a
game of high stress.”

Cheryl looked at Cait. “We’re working shorthanded, but we do
have a new crystal to help us run the ship. Cait, what’s the status in
operations?”

“We lit up the four-gen about two hours ago,” Cait said. “The
crystal’s internal checks show that it’s operating normally, so we’ve transitioned
now to checking out the ship. This crystal is amazing.” She looked around the
table as she spoke, her enthusiasm clear. “It’s already run a full diagnostic
on the four benches and the subsystems they manage.”

Since the ship was new to everyone at the table, Cheryl spoke
up. “So that’s the navigation, engineering, security, and communications
benches on the command bridge.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Cait. “The crystal found something like a
hundred glitches in the first few minutes and was able to resolve most of them
by itself. There’s still a long way to go, but we’re making good progress
already.”

“Does the crystal show any signs of consciousness or
self-awareness?” Cheryl asked.

“No, ma’am,” said Cait, shaking her head slowly. Her creased
brow hinted that the question was not something she’d expected.

Cheryl was relieved to hear this. Without its own identity,
there would be no concerns of duplicity or ulterior motives. She had long since
concluded that the idea of negotiating with a crystal if it disagreed with
instructions, and having to second guess a crystal’s motives and execution, wasn’t
a reasonable proposition in a Fleet ship command structure.

Everyone returned to their stations, and Cheryl commanded the
Alliance
to assume a mirror-image orbit with the Kardish vessel. The two
ships would chase each other around the planet, with Earth always positioned right
between them. Having a planet-sized shield would provide a sense of comfort to
the crew, she reasoned. But it was largely a psychological benefit. Either ship
was capable of catching the other with only modest effort.

In the first hours, when it was at its most vulnerable, this
arrangement did offer breathing room to the
Alliance
. If the Kardish were
to make a move to approach, it would require that they break a years-long pattern.
If that happened, it would be a clear signal that the game was afoot. Cheryl would
use what time she had available to ready the crew for a showdown.

Fleet’s shakedown protocol for a new ship had two stages.
The first was to test the individual capabilities of the ship one by one. Everything
was checked, from propulsion, power, and navigation, to communications, life
support, and waste disposal. When faults or flaws were uncovered, the crew made
repairs and the unit was retested.

Fleet provided a comprehensive plan to guide the group in
setting priorities and testing subsystems in a methodical fashion. Not
surprisingly, the plan was discarded almost immediately as the mad scramble of
reality took over. Priority for tweaks and fixes was determined by whatever wasn’t
working when the crew needed to use it.

Defecto proved to be a great asset in this effort, helping
them develop a pattern where, if it couldn’t fix a problem on its own, the
crystal would identify the source of the trouble and dispatch the appropriate
person to effect repairs. Everyone was kept hopping for hours as they worked to
address glitches in all corners of the ship.

Over the course of the first day, the pace progressed from
frantic to hectic to busy. The debugging of individual subsystems neared completion,
and to everyone’s relief, the shakedown protocol moved to the second stage.
This was the testing of the ship itself as an integral unit. After a
well-deserved but brief period of sleep, Cheryl directed the crew to practice
as a team as they put the ship through a series of ever more challenging
maneuvers.