Victory in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 6) Read online

  “Every bit.” Shar looked over the group as it looked back. Checking on her help, Shar saw that the seating had been set up.

  “Everyone grab a seat. I’ll send my waitresses over to take some orders.”

  Shar watched as the group of almost thirty, the captains and the crews of the eleven remaining Stingers, futzed around, forming clicks and taking seats. The younger spacers ended huddling at one end. Jean and the rest of Gazelle’s crew commandeered the other. The remaining adults clustered around table corners and edges, based upon familiarity and friendship.

  Both waitresses hustled about, getting the first round of orders, all drinks, mostly adult beverages with sweetened drinks for those too young. That began the evening.

  As the evening progressed, more people arrived, residents of Trotzig. One group of six men, all wearing military clothing and sporting the Tolimar Defense Force patches, entered, paused to look over the table of captains, pilots and crewmates then took their table in the corner.

  While her waitress handled the Stinger table, Shar handled the militia men. In short order, the people at both tables received their drink orders and proceeded to sample, then slurp, their particular choices.

  Jesse gave a chin-nod to Mandy. Getting eye contact, she then cocked her head towards the table of militia.

  “That is one ugly table. I think that we need to add some beauty.”

  “I don’t know any of them.”

  “That’s the fun part.”

  “I’ve never really hung out with boys before. Mom and Dad, they kept a pretty good eye on me.”

  “Well, now it’s time you did. Don’t be a wuss. You’re this hotshot pilot, fighting for all that is good. If you can do that, you can stand up to a table of testosterone-drenched military types.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Mandy.”

  “Yes, Captain?”

  “Get your butt over there and party. That’s an order.”

  “Really?”

  “You see Jesse?”

  Mandy eyed the stocky Marine sergeant.

  “Yes?”

  “Do you think that she would let anything happen to you?”

  “Um, no.”

  “You heard me. Go. Enjoy.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Jesse grabbed Mandy’s wrist and dragged her over to the table of six Tolimar Defenders.

  “Hey, boys. Buy a couple of ladies a drink?”

  With her team ensured of a pleasant evening, Captain Forsythe turned her attention back to the table, the ten captains, their families and their crews. She partook when addressed, but mostly, she just watched, learning her people, learning how they interacted.

  Multiple rounds of food and drink came and were consumed. During the meal, the band arrived. Shar had a space cleared to become a dance floor. Husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons danced. As the evening wore on, Jean saw Mandy and Jesse with men on the dance floor. At first, Mandy looked clumsy, out of place. But a patient, young man took his time and helped her learn. The two spent the rest of the evening together.

  Jean saw Jesse work the field. The gunny sergeant picked her targets, took aim and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

  By closing time, everyone had too much food, too much drink and a great deal of song and dance. They all went back to their homes or ships, not thinking about the hangovers they would be having in the morning.

  v v v

  Morning on Tolimar arrived. Gazelle’s ding, ding, ding sounded. Jean got out of her bunk slowly. Reaching her vanity sink, she downed a couple of painkillers and stared at the bedraggled, forty-something woman in the mirror.

  “I am getting too old for this,” she mumbled as she shuffled into the shower. After returning somewhat back to normal, she headed to Gazelle’s small galley, ordered up a cup of strong coffee and took her usual seat at the small table.

  Just as she took her first sip, Mandy and Jesse almost skipped in.

  “Good morning, Captain. Sleep well?”

  “Please, not so loud.”

  “Morning, Cap,” Mandy stated, more quietly.

  Both of them repeated Jean’s actions of ordering coffee. Jesse added a pastry. Once they collected their victuals, they joined their captain at the small table.

  “You two don’t look the worse for wear.”

  “Nah. Those Tolimar boys are lightweights. I drank all of them under the table.”

  “You too, Mandy?”

  Jesse butted in. “She didn’t drink that much. Maybe two or three for the whole night. She found a beau.”

  “No, I didn’t!”

  “So, let’s see. A table of hard bodies, all single. You spend the entire evening with one guy.”

  “Well, he was nice.”

  “Uh huh. What’s his name?”

  “Christian,” Molly haltingly replied.

  “Last name?”

  “Diaz.”

  “Did you give him your name?”

  “Um, yes.”

  “Now, here’s the hard question. Did you give Chris boy your contact I.P.?”

  “Um, yes.”

  “And you got his.”

  “Yes.”

  “See, Captain? Molly’s found a beau.”

  “Quit picking on her, Sergeant.”

  “I’m not, Captain. I just want her to fess up. She found a beau.”

  “I did not!”

  “And, what about you, Jesse. Did you find a beau?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say that. After I got our young pilot all home and safe from those lecherous ne’er-do-wells, I headed back for a dip in the pool, if you know what I mean.”

  “I know exactly what you mean. Have you gotten to bed, yet? No, let me rephrase that. Have you gotten any sleep, yet?”

  “A couple of hours. I’m good to go.”

  Just then, Gazelle’s com pinged.

  “What? Is your Christian calling already? He can’t stay away?”

  “Sergeant, can it. We’re back on the clock.”

  “Copy that, Captain.”

  Gazelle’s Captain grabbed her cup then headed to the cockpit.

  “Gazelle, Actual,” Jean spoke into the com.”

  “Griffin, here. Hello, Hornet. How’s your R and R?”

  “As you would expect, Hawk.”

  “Can you get you and your Stingers ready? We’ve got a plan in the works to go get Cencore.”

  “How soon?”

  “One more day here on Ballison. One day to make two jumps to Cencore. Two days. I need you and your Stingers to fly cover.”

  “We’re ready. We’ve all topped off our munitions and supplies. Our dark matter tanks are full.”

  “The crews?”

  “Probably hung over and dragging.”

  “Give everyone one more day. But, then, get back to Arium.”

  “Roger, that, Captain. We’ll be in Arium by day-after-tomorrow. You said that you want us to fly cover. What’s the plan?”

  ”You’re going to love it. When you all get to Arium, we’ll have a session. See you then.”

  As Jean finished her communication with Griffin, Mandy sheepishly came in and took her pilot’s chair.

  “Um, Captain. I have a favour to ask.”

  “What is it? Whatever you want, if I can do it, the answer is ‘yes’.”

  “Uh, well, uh, I showed Christian my wrist quant-com. He really likes it.”

  “And?”

  “And, well, he wants to stay in touch with me.”

  “You want to give him one of our extra ones.”

  “Only if it’s okay. I mean, if it’s against the rules, or anything, then, you don’t have to.”

  “You like him?”

  “He’s really nice. He is one of the security people that used the jump harnesses when the Mortek invaded Tolimar. He’s really smart. A demolition expert.”

  “We can’t go around and give these quant-coms to just everybody.”

  ‘I know. If you don’t think
that it is right, then I understand.”

  “Preceptor Igaklay, are you listening?”

  “Always, Captain Forsythe.”

  “Do you mind if we give a wrist quant-com to one of the Tolimar Defenders?”

  “No! absolutely not! In fact, maybe we should give everyone on Tolimar one.”

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Preceptor. For now, just the one. Would that be okay with you?”

  “Yes, Captain. It would be okay with me.”

  “Go ahead, Mandy. Pull one from stores. But, if you two break up, it’s up to you to get it back.”

  “I will, Captain. Thank you, Captain.”

  “You do know that Jesse will never let you live this down, right?”

  “Yeah, I know. That’s what she does.”

  “Just so you know. You get to tell Jesse what you’re doing. And, let her know that, come tomorrow morning, you and she need to be at the top of your games. In two days we’re going back to war.”

  Chapter 15

  The Deep Dark, First Jump

  Nothing can describe how dark, how black space is in between star systems. The darkness is so black that it seems to swallow up any light which dares to invade its realm. Within that void of darkness, three sparks of life and light deigned to challenge the Deep Dark’s realm.

  Griffin blinked into existence first. Before anyone on board had time to think a worrying thought, Jewel of the Stars joined her. Materializing off Griffin’s port, the massive cruise liner dwarfed the executive transport so greatly that the smaller ship seemed nothing more than a flea on a dog. As though to reassert its dominance, the little ship extended its dark matter sails, quadrupling its size while it prepared to collect its needed energy source for the next leg of their journey.

  “Griffin Actual contacting Jewel of the Stars Actual.”

  “Jewel of the Stars here, Hawk.”

  “You sound in good spirits. I take it that you didn’t have any problems with the jump?”

  “Not a bit, Commander. You were right. Preceptor Igaklay did right by us. If we didn’t go from a star system to the Deep Dark, none of us would have known that we had jumped.”

  “No health issues?”

  “I’ve got everyone checking in now, but, so far, none have cropped up.”

  “Where are Mack and Sue?”

  “Mz. Benton has found her little corner of heaven in Environmental Control. She’s commandeered the console there. With her master security access, it’s as good as if she were sitting in the Command Pod.”

  “Sorry about you having to use the pods. We’ll get you gravity chairs the next time you’re in Ballison.”

  “I’ll tell you, having real, artificial gravity is something else. I don’t see how we ever lived without it.”

  “It is addicting. What about Mack?”

  “I think he’s still in sanitation.”

  “I’ll bet he loves that. Could you switch me down there?”

  “Will do, Hawk.”

  “Mack?”

  “I dinna want to talk right now, Cap.”

  “Having fun, are we?”

  “At first, I thought there were just a few plugged waste disposals. But then I found out those were only symptoms. I get down to the bilge and I find that the processor is busted.”

  “That doesn’t sound good. Or smell good.”

  ‘Don’t laugh, Cap. You have no idea what I have washing against me knees. And, I haven’t even gotten to the recycler.”

  “Why not use a robot?”

  “This isn’t grunt work. That’s all they’re good for. This is figuring work. So, I gotta be the one slogging around in the muck.”

  “Yuck. I’ll leave you to it.”

  “You are all heart, Cap.”

  After Krag broke the connection, he turned to Igaklay’s avatar.

  “Have you and Buster run diagnostics on Jewel?”

  “We began as soon as we completed our jump, Captain. We are evaluating the results, now.”

  “How does she look?”

  “Like a three-hundred-year-old ship, Captain.”

  “Is she still space worthy?”

  “Yes, Captain. Not much more than that. Once you get her back to Ballison, I can return her to her former self.”

  “With upgrades.”

  “Of course.”

  “How is she doing, collecting dark matter?”

  “Ahead of schedule. Jewel won’t need the full twenty-four hours. She should be ready to jump in nineteen hours.”

  “Buster, how are we doing with our dark matter collection?”

  “At the nineteen-hour mark, we won’t have full tanks. But we will have enough to jump to Arium.”

  “Limpet Actual contacting Griffin.”

  “Marston here. Go ahead, Limpet.”

  “Incredible, Commander. It’s like sitting on my porch back home.”

  “We aim to please, Lieutenant Tillerson.”

  “Call me ‘digger’.”

  “Digger?”

  “Yeah. You know, ‘tiller’. And I like to work in my garden when I’m not trucking around the stars.”

  “Okay, Digger. How are things there?”

  “Squared away, Commander. Everyone’s up and steady.”

  “Good. Jewel and Griffin will be ready for our next jump in nineteen hours.”

  “We’ve already expanded our sails, Commander. We’ll be ready, too.”

  “Okay. Let’s plan on that. Captain Overman, Lieutenant Tillerman, prepare to jump in nineteen hours.”

  Krag heard affirmatives from both and cut the link.

  Keiko, Gopai, let’s take a break.”

  “What about Tribune Ambakai, Guardsman Suraya and Corporal Faheem?”

  “You’re right, Gopai. Have them stand down and meet us in the galley. You two, head on over. I’ll be right behind you. I need to give Jean a com and get her updated.”

  Aboard Jewel of the Stars, Cencore

  As Buster predicted, Jewel of the Stars topped off her dark matter tanks within the nineteen hours. As Buster also predicted, Griffin had collected enough dark matter to also make the jump to Cencore. After pulling in her massive collectors, Griffin waited for Jewel of the Stars and Limpet to jump to the outskirts of the Cencore system. Then, under Keiko’s piloting, Griffin followed.

  Mack heard Krag’s voice over his wrist quant-com

  “Mack, how’s it going?”

  “Everything critical that needs fixing is fixed, Cap. Now, we just need to make this big girl comfy and new.”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear. Grab Sue. I want you two back on Griffin before we engage.”

  “Ya, Cap. I like that. Lassie will too. No need to send the shuttle. Just get close. Sweet Sue wants to try out her new suit.”

  “You’re sure it’s safe?”

  ‘Ya, Cap. I’ve been in and out of mine for the last two days. It’s gotten so that I just keep my jump pack on all the time. Anytime I needed to enter a new section and there wasn’t any atmo or pressure or the smell was ripe, I fired her up. Iggy did fine by us.”

  “Wait for Buster to come over. He’ll follow you two back.”

  “I know you’re the Griffin mother hen, or father rooster, Cap. So, I won’t say that it’s not needed. Me and Sweet Sue, we’ll be ready.”

  “You’re learning, Mack.”

  After Krag broke the connection, Mack took one final reading on the panel he’d been repairing and headed to the environmental control room. There he found Sue, so focused on her console that she didn’t even know that he had entered.

  By now being used to Sue’s ability to totally immerse herself into her universe of bits and bytes, he circled around and moved into her line of sight. Not until she pulled her focus from her monitor and looked at her lover, did he place an affectionate hand on her shoulder.

  “Oy, Love. Cap wants us back on Griffin. He says that the fireworks are about to begin.”

  “Okay. Let me tag my spot and save my work.”
<
br />   “Ay.”

  Sue didn’t take long. Upon her rising, Mack grabbed the handle on Sue’s rebreather-jump pack. Then he took her hand and, together, they walked to the pressure lock.

  Mack held up Sue’s power pack and helped her step into the harness, push her arms through the straps, get the unit adjusted on her back and latch the buckles on her chest.

  “Quit being so handsy, you letch.”

  “Aw, Love. I was just helping out.”

  Mack watched as Sue pressed the fourth button on her pouch belt. He watched as more nanites crawled out of the pouch resting on the small of her back.

  Sue’s nanite-formed, one-piece jump suit grew gloves and booties. Nanites crawled up her neck, enclosed her head and reshaped to become a form-fitting helmet. Lastly, a section became clear, forming a window over her eyes.

  “Your turn.”

  “Sue watched Mack go through the same procedure she had just finished.

  “Ready, Love?”

  “Yes, Dearie.”

  “Don’t be nervous. You’ve already done this twice.”

  “Third time’s the charm.”

  “Ya, Love. I see Buster through the portal. Let’s go.”

  Aboard Griffin – Cencore

  Keiko waited at Griffin’s pressure lock. She watched as the outer hatch opened then Mack, Sue and Buster entered. After a minute, the light turned green and Keiko opened the inner hatch.

  Both Mack and Sue pressed the second buttons on their pouch belts. The helmets, gloves and booties crawled back into their belt pouches.

  “Welcome back, Mack, Sue.”

  “I love this suit, Keiko. I may wear this for the rest of my life.”

  “On board ship, maybe, Sue. There are times that we may want to dress up.”

  “Good idea. I’ll talk with Igaklay. He did mention that we could come up with a casual wear line of nanites.”

  “Ya, Love. We could turn it into a business. Sweet Sue’s Clothing, Incorporated.”

  “There you go, thinking about credits, again, Wrenchy.”

  “Credits make the stars shine, Love.”

  “Krag’s on the bridge. He needs you all at your stations.”

  “Now the fun starts.”

  The four, Keiko, Mack, Sue and Buster, passed the two Elonian Guardsmen and one Marine practicing, headed over to the gangway and climbed to the bridge. Once there, they each took their positions. Just as they sat or stood, they heard Griffin’s Captain speaking into the com.