This Corner of the Universe Read online

  Heskan had such problems earlier in his career. As a lieutenant, junior grade (jg), a petty officer second class had constantly undermined his authority in the weapons section aboard BRS Fearless and Heskan had been too inexperienced to put the hammer down early to stifle it. Yes, he had finally come around and corrected the situation but not before months of problems and low morale in his section. I won’t make that mistake again. Hopefully, I’ll never have the chance to. Promotions past petty officer first class were difficult to come by and self-serving people such as that PO2 were usually “weeded out” before attaining the higher rank. I wish the same were true of officers, Heskan thought ruefully. It seems the more politics enter into promotion consideration, the more successful the “me-first” officer crowd is in achieving promotion… and there’s a lot of politics in field and flag rank promotions.

  Heskan knew he had plenty of time before he had to worry about such things since he was a mere lieutenant. A long way to go and besides, I don’t care about the rank, I just want to be a good ship’s captain. His thought process had come full circle as he re-opened Anelace’s crew files once again on his datapad.

  Chapter 2

  The Brevic Republic classified the Narvi star system as an outlying system. It was developed but only enough to support the sole habitable planet’s main economic activity, agriculture. The actual star of Narvi was an orange dwarf more properly known as a K2V, an orange sun two-tenths toward a red main sequence star. With slightly less mass than the Terran sun, it also produced less heat and emitted less light. As a result, the habitable zone of the Narvi system was closer to its star than was the case in the Terran system. The first planet in the system, Narvi-1, was actually hotter and drier than Terra but still environmentally habitable for humans. Since Narvi-1 could sustain human life without extensive terraforming or domed cities, it was assigned a name by the Brevic government, Hulda. The two other, more distant planets in the system, Narvi-2 and -3, were too cold and without breathable atmospheres and, hence, proper names.

  The civilian Model D11 transport Heskan traveled in exited the tunnel point and entered the Narvi system. The brief sensation as time and space re-oriented from tunnel space to normal space was nauseating even to the most experienced spacefarer. Seconds elapsed as the nausea passed and the ship’s computers rebalanced for n-space. A chime rang through the ship’s quarters and the transport captain’s voice came over the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Narvi. We are currently two point four light-hours from Hulda and accelerating to our cruising speed of point one-five light. That makes our estimated docking time at her orbital sixteen hours.”

  Heskan slept for half of those hours and then rose to eat a hearty breakfast and look over his uniform. While Lieutenant Durmont shared the same rank as Heskan, he would have command authority over him by virtue of his position as a planet-side commander. It’s a good thing Durmont’s a sharp officer because he’s going to have to make do with a lot less now that he’s losing nearly half of his system fleet. He can’t be happy about that and hopefully he won’t take it out on me.

  The atmospheric craft ride from the orbital station down to the surface of Hulda was uneventful and the craft touched down at the port of the planet’s largest city. Heskan began sweating immediately as he stepped out of the artificially regulated environment of the shuttle and into the blazingly hot sun. Walking quickly to the spaceport, relief washed over Heskan as he was once again introduced to air conditioning. How the hell do they work outside in that heat? Who in their right mind would come here to farm?

  Heskan’s trip through the port took twenty minutes. Fortunately, a passageway connected the civilian port to the military port so he was spared another walk under the brutal, orange sun. Experiencing a quick feeling of déjà vu, Heskan paused at the door to the office that would undoubtedly hold Durmont’s secretary. Let’s not let the door slam this time, Heskan, he thought as he entered quietly with what he hoped was a confident stride.

  The secretary’s office proved empty. Heskan quickly checked his watch to confirm that he had arrived during the duty day and began to step toward a chair when he heard a woman’s laugh from behind another door. Puzzled, Heskan sat and then tried his best not to eavesdrop. The laughter died down and was followed by low conversation between a male and a female voice. Minutes later, the door opened and a female lieutenant walked out of the room tucking her dress shirt into her skirt. “Bye, Shane, see you la—” the attractive lieutenant stopped short upon seeing Heskan. Immediately she dropped her arms to her side and looked toward the exit, quickly moving to depart.

  What the hell? Did that just happen? Heskan stood and then moved toward Durmont’s open door. “Hello?” he queried as he poked his head into the office. He watched as a male lieutenant quickly moved around his desk to seat himself. Were his shoes off? “Uh, Lieutenant Durmont?”

  “Yes. What is it? Who are you?” Durmont barked.

  Heskan slowly entered the office. “I’m Lieutenant Heskan, Anelace’s new captain.”

  “Why don’t you try again, Lieutenant Heskan.”

  What? Try again? Dumbfounded, he stated flatly, “Um, Lieutenant Heskan, reports for duty, sir?” refusing to believe that someone equal in rank wanted him to report in formally.

  “Has the Brevic navy decided it’s no longer customary to salute when reporting in to a commanding officer, Lieutenant?” A smug smile slowly appeared across Durmont’s face.

  Okay, jerk, I can play this game. Heskan braced to rigid attention and snapped a perfect salute. “Sir, Lieutenant Garrett Heskan reports as ordered.” Heskan precisely held the tip of his middle finger so it just brushed the corner of his right eyebrow.

  Slowly, Durmont returned the salute and only then did Heskan allow his salute to drop. “You know it’s courteous to make an appointment and not just drop in on a station commander, Lieutenant. You interrupted a very important meeting with another ship’s captain. I don’t expect to see you again without a proper appointment.”

  Annoyed but remaining at attention, Heskan said, “Of course, sir. I could tell by the look on her face the meeting must have been a vigorous one. I bet it was quite the affair.” Heskan watched as Durmont’s face flushed an angry red.

  “Well, since you are here, we can discuss your operational orders. Sit down, Lieutenant.”

  Durmont motioned Heskan to a seat. Smallest chair in the room and right in front of his desk. Why not just put a child’s chair here? “As I said, my orders are to take command of Anelace and depart to Skathi with Whip.” Heskan was about to continue but closed his mouth as he saw Durmont’s head shaking.

  “No, no, no,” Durmont said in the tone of an adult lecturing a child. “I’m changing your orders. Whip will remain in Narvi.”

  “I wasn’t aware that Admiral McMurray had changed…” Heskan trailed off seeing Durmont’s head shake once more.

  “I,” Durmont stated and tapped his chest to emphasize his point, “am changing your orders, Lieutenant. The situation in Narvi has changed and I can’t spare two ‘vettes to babysit a mining operation. Whip stays put. As planet-side commander, I have authority to adapt orders from headquarters to the existing situation. Whip is too valuable where she is.”

  Ten guesses who commands Whip, Heskan thought irritably. “Yes, sir, I’m sure her position under you is quite important.”

  Durmont flushed again, opened his mouth and then closed it as if reconsidering what he was about to say. After a few seconds of pause, he started again. “Lieutenant, this is your first command, isn’t it?”

  Heskan bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from saying more and merely nodded.

  Durmont swiveled around in his chair to face the wall screen behind him. The current view was set to display what a normal window would show. With his back to Heskan, he spoke, “Let me explain how things work out here, son.”

  Son? I’m your age, you ass!

  Durmont continued, “I own this corner of the univ
erse. Pretty soon, I’ll be promoted and own an even larger corner. I keep regular correspondence with Commander Davis on Tarvos and I have Admiral McMurray’s ear. Both count on me to keep them informed of how my ship captains are performing. Of course, any negative report usually results in the end of said captain’s command. Are you reading me, Lieutenant?”

  Heskan exhaled slowly. Don’t say it, Heskan. “Yes, sir, you like to stay on top of your commanders while continually judging their performance.” Oh well, it’s not as if he’s going to like me anyway.

  * * *

  After leaving Durmont’s office, Heskan had two hours before his shuttle would return to Hulda’s orbiting station. The local time was approaching early afternoon and the temperature was an alarming one hundred twenty degrees Fahrenheit. As he meandered through the military portion of the spaceport, Heskan’s stomach began to growl, forcing him to search for a suitable place to grab some local food and drink.

  Although the majority of the crowd was military, a good portion was civilian and Heskan was unsurprised to see that local fashion leaned toward long sleeves and pants. The variety of colors was great but almost all of the material looked to be highly reflective. I guess living this close to the sun must be terrible for the skin, he thought. He entered a restaurant called High Noon and was seated at a booth near a large, polarized window. The hostess linked the menu to his datapad and retreated through double doors into the kitchen. What the hell is a hamburger made from “real Fattle,” Heskan wondered as he browsed the local cuisine. While deliberating between a Fattle Burger and homemade Sand Soup, his datapad chirped. Flashing on the screen was a voice comm request from someone named Lieutenant Kelly Gary. He opened the request with the flick of his finger.

  “Heskan,” he said simply.

  A friendly soprano voice answered, “Hello, Lieutenant Heskan, my name is Kelly. I’m the commander of Stylet, one of the other corvettes in Narvi. I happen to be on Hulda and was wondering if you had time for a late lunch?”

  Heskan continued to scan the menu as he chatted. “I’m glad you called, Kelly. Lieutenant Durmont didn’t give me much information on the other ‘vette captains and I was wondering about you guys. I happen to be ordering lunch right now. I’m at the mil-port in a place called High Noon.” Durmont really should have given me some contact information for the other captains. I know a lot of commanders actually assign someone of approximately the same rank to help new personnel get situated, make introductions to peers and answer basic questions. Even if I am banished to Skathi for half a year, I’ll eventually be back here and us ship captains will be working together closely then. A sponsor would have been nice.

  Gary’s voice answered back without hesitation, “I can be there in about ten minutes. A word of advice, the Sand Soup is about as appetizing as it sounds.”

  Heskan laughed and started to reply but found that Gary had already ended the transmission.

  He studied the menu for a few more minutes before deciding upon the Fattle Burger but told the server that a companion would be joining him. He then pulled up the general personnel file for the current captain of BRS Stylet. His datapad chugged for a couple of seconds retrieving the data and then produced a service photo of an attractive brunette lieutenant. Resting under the photo was her full name, Kelly Elizabeth Gary, her rank, lieutenant, and her dates of promotion; she had been a full lieutenant almost three years now and the datapad listed her current and previous assignments. Hmmm, a sight-sprite, he thought. Lots of posts in sensor sections, a little time in operations like me, then as a first officer and now her first command. Heskan then tapped on his datapad to call up the specifications for Stylet. BRS Stylet was a Chaperone class corvette, currently undergoing three weeks of maintenance at the orbital. I guess that explains what she’s doing planet-side.

  A voice from across the booth spoke, “She’s a good ship although a little nearsighted compared to Anelace.”

  Startled, Heskan nearly dropped his datapad. Looking up, he saw Lieutenant Gary sitting across from him. “Is Stylet as stealthy as you? You nearly gave me a heart attack.” Heskan smiled and tried not to blush as he thought, thank God she didn’t see me staring at her photo. “How long have you been here?”

  “About four days. Long enough for the hangover to wear off from the alcohol binge necessary after spending time with Durmont.”

  Did she intentionally avoid my question to spare me some embarrassment? “That’s a relief to hear. I thought I was the only one that held a special place in his heart.”

  Gary smiled playfully, “Oh no, another ‘vette captain already holds that position… and probably a few others.”

  Heskan struggled to avoid spraying the ice water he was drinking. “Yeah, I think I met her… tall lieutenant, dark hair, has trouble keeping her shirt tucked in?”

  “That would be her, Lieutenant Stephanie Moore. She and Durmont,” Gary paused to straighten her back and lower her voice an octave before adding, “have important counseling sessions necessary for the strategic administration of the security of this system.” Gary relaxed and finished, “I’m sure the entire Narvi system is grateful for their sacrifices.”

  Heskan leaned back in the booth and listened. He liked Gary immediately with her easy manner and sense of humor. She seemed like a kindred spirit out here on the frontier and he hoped that they’d become trusted sounding boards for each other and fast friends. Just my luck that I’m leaving the system for six months, he thought sourly. “Well, that explains why Anelace is on her own in Skathi. Whip was supposed to travel with her,” Heskan shrugged.

  Gary nodded, “Yes, there was great consternation when the orders came through that would separate those two. I just knew Durmont would find a way to keep Whip in-system.” She rolled her brown eyes and then continued, “Frankly, I wish I could go, but one of Stylet’s converter couplings blew making her not only blind but walk with a limp.” Located in a ship’s drive assembly, a converter coupling was one of the more important pieces of equipment that converted the power generated from the ship’s power plant and fuel cells into the thrust created by the drive system.

  “That must have been fun,” Heskan stated dryly. A converter failure could result in a dangerous power feedback to the power plant, which could easily result in visiting several parts of a star system all at once, as the ship exploded.

  “We caught it early,” Gary gestured dismissively. “I tried to get poor Stylet in a couple months earlier but Durmont denied the request. It would have meant Whip covering the outer system while he was on leave.”

  The server appeared at the booth, bringing a glass of water and linking the menu for Gary, which she promptly closed as she ordered the Sand Soup. Heskan shot her a puzzled look, which was rewarded with a sly smile from Gary. “Acquired taste.”

  Chapter 3

  Lunch went quickly, too quickly for Heskan’s liking. Relieved that he had found at least one normal person in the system, he boarded the shuttle with a smile on his lips. The ride to orbit was uneventful and Heskan was happy to be out in space once again. I guess I’m just not a homebody. It’s so much better up here, he thought as he walked the narrow corridor on the orbital station. His destination was the berthing bay that held Renard Tug 17, the flatbed tug owned by the mining enterprise. As Heskan approached the civilian standing near the airlock that separated the orbital station and the tug, he flashed his datapad to the airlock’s wall screen and then pressed his thumb against the screen. The wall screen turned green and the civilian greeted him, “Hello, Captain Heskan, welcome aboard. I’ll have a liaison over right away.”

  Ever since the ages of ships that crossed the oceans of Terra, the commander of each ship was always called “Captain” regardless of that person’s true rank. A salute to the power entrusted to that person, the word Captain held a special place in the very soul of every Terran navy, regardless if one was in the Brevic Republic or the Solarian Federation. Heskan tried his hardest to suppress a smile as he heard the uni
on of the rank and his name before he grimly remembered the nightmare of the first instance he was addressed as such.

  Crossing through the airlock, Heskan moved through the orbital station’s retractable passageway that connected to the airlock of RT-17. The tug’s onboard computers, sensing Heskan’s approach and calculating the pressure differential between the passageway and its own ship pressure while also validating the access granted by the orbital’s wall panel, opened the airlock door when Heskan was within one meter of it. Stepping through to the vestibule that sealed the tug’s interior from the passageway, the door slid closed behind him and the next airlock door opened.

  “Welcome aboard, sir, I’m Navigator Collingsworth. Captain Darmer sends his compliments and his apologies for his failure to greet you personally. He’s tied up on the bridge but would like to dine with you this evening. I’ve also given you passenger access to RT Seventeen’s net for the duration of the trip.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Collingsworth; I’d be delighted to accept Captain Darmer’s invitation. Can you take me to the airlock attached to Anelace, please?” Since living space was limited on the flatbed tug, the crew of Anelace would be staying on the corvette for the duration of the trip to Skathi.

  “This way, please.” The tall man gestured down the passage. “Anelace is fully secured to the tug, sir. She’s an atypical load but we were able to sync the airlocks because everything is standardized.”

  I guess when you’re used to securing small space orbitals like a mining station, a tiny corvette must be child’s play, Heskan thought. “Well I certainly appreciate the lift you guys are giving us,” he said as he followed his guide. They walked along the spine of the tug, down one narrow passage after another. Finally, they arrived at a sealed door labeled “MAIN STB AIRLOCK.”