Warrior One

Chapter 1

The room was dark and cool, air circulating, causes a slight echo deep in the darkness. Slowly, lights flicker to life. Small red, green and white spots glowing all around the great room, start to dispel the darkness that drapes it. Then, suddenly, great overhead lights flash into existence, accompanied by a buzzing sound, banishing the darkness to the furthest reaches of the large room. The odd shapes, barely visible in the darkness, now become solid forms, consisting of couches and control boards, studded with buttons, dials, levers, telltales and switches.

All surfaces gleam whitely, the gray couch cushions, appear soft and comfortable. Above each couch, monitors hang, just now coming to life, showing various functions and parameters. One huge screen on the wall, facing the couches flickers to life, luminescent letters scrolling across its surface. Then as the letters and numbers coalesce into words, other sounds occur, somewhere deep below the great room. Clicks, bumps, whirring sounds, loud clunks, and kerchunks echo through the passageways as the waking of some great, huge beast, continues.

Warrior on… static interrupts the sound of a voice blaring from the speakers on the walls. …or one, Warrior One… more static blurs the voice.

Somewhere below the great room a drawer slides silently open revealing a capsule. The top of the capsule is clear, but frost covers the inside as if it was extremely cold. Lights wink on in sequence at the end of the capsule. Two more capsules slide out of the wall, down the aisle from the first. They too are frost covered and opaque. Lights flash in sequence on their ends. Farther below, almost at the bottom of the great machine, two more capsules emerge from a wall, inside their tops crusted with frost.

In a small cubicle, a body stirs; a frosty capsule does not surround this form. Its eyes flicker open to stare into the shadowy gloom in which it finds itself. It is instantly alert to its situation. It's hand comes up to press some buttons on the panel before its face. The little cubical is flooded with light as the panel before the body slowly opens.

Candle Steel’s senses are flooded with the sounds and sights of the great ship waking around him. Candle Steel, comes fully awake within seconds. Candle Steel, shakes his head in a gesture he has come to mimic. Candle Steel wants very much not to stand out among his fellow crewmen. Stepping from his cubicle, Candle, turns right, bending over the console and the monitors there. He watches as the hibernation pods slide out of the wall in the main hibernation section of the ship. He also notices two pods open on the engineering deck. Straightening up, Candle turns and leaves his cubicle heading to the bridge.

In another small cubicle on the primary hibernation deck, lights flicker to life and a panel slides open. The body inside the cubicle stirs to life. Rebecca Becky Gold, opens her eyes. Becky is one of the ship's nurses. Stepping out of the cubicle, Becky turns to peer at the monitors to her right. Nodding she turns and heads down the aisle to the two capsules that are now protruding from the wall.

Bending over the first capsule, Becky glances at the readouts on the panel. Smiling, she moves to the second capsule reading its status on the panel at its end. Smiling once more, Becky moves to another capsule, reaches out and presses a series of buttons in sequence. Standing aside, she watches as the capsule slides out of the wall. Nodding to herself, she performs the same routine on four more capsules, before returning to the first two and reading the status of them both.

Pleased with what she reads, Becky turns heading to an elevator at the far end of the aisle. Pressing the button to the side of the closed door in front of her, Becky waits. Within seconds, the doors slide open and Becky steps inside.

Engineering deck, Becky said, her voice, a soft soubrette, echoes down the aisle behind her.

The doors close and the lift begins to move. Seconds later, it opens and Becky steps out and turns to her right moving along the corridor. At the first junction, she turns left into the hibernation space of engineering. Bending over the display panels at the end of the capsules, Becky presses the sequence, which would open each capsule, into the keypad.

Turning, she walks down three capsules and presses the button to start the defrost sequence on three more capsules. From the information flowing through Becky’s cybernetic brain, this is to be a full call-up of the ship's personnel. At the same time, Becky also taps a sequence that will awake the other nurse androids.

Chapter 2

Mister Steel, report, Captain Nichols says, to his ship's android, as he enters the bridge.

Sir, all systems are nominal. Weapons are at the ready, Candle Steel says loudly and clearly as his programming requires.

Very well, the Captain replies settling into his couch just abaft of the pilot and navigator’s seats, estimated time on when the full crew is out of hibernation.

Two hours, fifteen minutes, sir, Candle calls out.

Very good, course and speed?

Course one-eight-five, six degrees off the plane, speed, point oh-oh-nine of light speed. According to the program, we will drop out of hyperspace in four hours, Candle replies.

Very good, Mister Steel, Captain Nichols tells him.

As Candle and the Captain wait, more and more crew flow onto the bridge and take their places at their stations. Captain Nichols gazes at his readouts, as each station checks in lights change from red to green on his display panel. As the couches fill, Candle Steel moves out of the pilot's place to stand just behind and to the right of the Captain. In front of Candle is a waist high console with display panels and controls.

Mister Steel, is Doctor Collins awake? His capsule was out, but its door had yet to open.

Yes, sir, he is at work helping those coming out of cold sleep.

Very good Candle, Captain Nichols replies.

Thank you, sir, Candle says.

Becky is standing over the capsule as the top flips up and out of the way. She smiles down at the man now visible in the capsule. His eyelids flutter as the fresh air floods the compartment. When his eyes are fully open he looks up at Becky and smiles.

Aye, girl, it went off without a hitch, just like you said it would, Connor MacDonald wheezes in his heavy Irish brogue.

Now don’t you talk just yet, not until you have finished drinking this, Becky scolds the feisty engineer as she hands him a container of restorative.

Aye lass, MacDonald coughs hurriedly placing the drinking tube to his lips.

Smiling as he sucks the cooling liquid, Connor watches as Becky moves to the capsule next to his. When the top lifts up and back, he can see his first assistant as she wakes from her long sleep. Becky hands Assistant Chief Engineer Sean O’Connor a container from which to drink. Both take their time in climbing out of their capsules.

Major Lafferty Owens stumbles down the corridor on his way to the bridge. He knew he climbed out of the capsule too soon, but the effects of cold sleep would only be temporary. At least he hoped they were. He would hate to feel like he does for any longer than he had to. As he approaches the bridge, Laff, as most of his friends and family call him, stops to take in the spectacle. The lights and noises of the bridge never fail to fascinate him. Shaking his head, Laff strides to the Captain’s chair and stands at attention, waiting for the Captain to notice him.

Report Major, Captain Nichols says.

Major Owens reports that he is alive, sir and with the Captains, permission will retire to ensure that his troops are alive also, sir.

Permission granted, Captain Nichols responds, a smile on his face.

Owens salutes, turns and strides back out the door he just entered. His duty complete, he hurries down a deck to the hibernation compartment that holds his two hundred and thirty-seven Marines. His company is comprised of two heavy weapons platoons and two rifle platoons along with the command element. He and his men are responsible for the safety of the crew and the ship.

As he enters the hibernation compartment, Captain Joyce Tanner, Laff’s second in command, greets him with a weak wave from her capsule. Knowing exactly how she feels, Laff waves back taking a seat on the empty bench along the blank wall across from the hibernation capsules.

What’s the word, Major? Nancy Silver asks Laff.

My head still hurts, Laff tells the ship's nurse android.

"Keep drinking that restorative and I’ll get you an analgesic.

Thanks, Nanc, Laff replies putting the drinking tube to his lips watching Nancy stride away down the rank of capsules.

Three hours later the bridge and all sections are manned and ready. Those who didn’t have the duty gather in the lounges scattered around the ship. The Marines not on duty gather in their ready bay, checking equipment and duty rosters. The ships nurse androids are checking over the last few sleepers. Some are having trouble, others just headaches like Major Owens. The later are given analgesics to counter the hangover of cold sleep. The former are taken to sickbay to be cared for by the doctors and nurses awakened from cold sleep. A few of the sleepers would never recover from the effects of cold sleep. For them, the only kindness was to slip them back in the capsules and let them take that last long sleep.

Chapter 3

Four hours on the mark, Warrior One dropped out of hyperspace. It took six more days to build up sub-light speed to make their pass. On the seventh day, the great ship slides into the gravity well around Pryocon III. The blaring of klaxons throughout the ship signal the call to battle stations.

Mister Steel, enough with the alarms, I think everyone knows by now, Captain Nichols yells to be heard over the cacophony.

Aye, aye sir, Candle said more to himself than to the Captain as his fingers tapped out the alarm shutdown sequence on his console.

Thank you, Mister Steel. Sensors report, Captain Nichols calls out.

They know we’re here… The ship shook violently. Ion burst up from the planet. Starboard reactor is scramming. No casualties reported.

Thank you Mister Carlson, keep me informed. Countermeasures, Captain Nichols queried.

Chaff is being deployed; there should be no more ion strikes.

Thank you. Weapons?

Ready and standing by for your orders, sir.

Begin bombardment.

Aye, aye, sir, the weapons officer acknowledges tapping out the sequence on his console.

The ship shakes, as one missile after another, drops from the ship headed to the planet below. Hundreds and hundreds of missiles, all aimed at the planet below, drifted, then accelerated away from the ship.

Sensors…five…no ten missiles on an intercept course, Ensign Carlson reported.

Countermeasures!

Active, Lieutenant Byers shouted.

Load out, shouted Ensign Smith.

Helm, accelerate to new course, it should be in the NavComp.

Aye, aye, the pilot responds as he taps out the sequence to begin the journey to their next target.

Target assessment Mister Steel?

Prediction is ninety-eight percent, sir.

Keep an eye on it until we are out of range.

Aye, aye sir.

Sensors, any pursuit?

No sir, none detected.

I want full scans all around us, I don’t want any surprises.

Aye, aye, sir.

For the next three hours, the men and women in the control room wait to see if anyone pursues them. Once the ship reaches point zero-two-five percent of light speed, they relax.

Chapter 4

For thousands of years, the Gar have dominated the inner clusters of the Galaxy, expanding their sphere of control outward toward the rim. For a thousand years, humankind has been expanding throughout the quadrant of the galaxy where Earth resides on the furthest reaches of the rim. The meeting was inevitable.

When that first meeting of the two races was over, the humans were retreating in defeat and the Gar were, from then on, ever watchful. After that first clash, it was another fifty years until the Gar encountered humankind again. When they did, they found themselves sorely outgunned. In fifty years, humankind had learned from their defeat and they had learned well.

That first encounter with the Gar had been a mistake, a fluke. The Space Ship Odyssey was way off