Ruins of Talamar (Syrax Wars Book 2) Page 5

  "Thanks, Chief." McCann grabbed the tray and jerked his thumb in Chen's direction. "You got another back there?"

  The man noticed her for the first time, and his mouth dropped open in surprise. "Lieutenant Chen? Damn good to have you back, ma'am." He pulled out another tray and spooned out another ample plate before handing it to her. "Love what you done with the hair, ma'am."

  Chen took the tray and couldn't help the faint smile that crept across her lips. "Thanks, Jacobson, good to see you, too." It was nice to almost feel like she was back to normal for a brief moment, but then the clamor from the masses of thoughts and emotions around her pressed back in, and Chen felt a rising sense of anxiety.

  McCann seemed to sense something was amiss and guided her toward a small table in the far back corner—about as secluded as they could get in the open space. Several crewmembers gave Chen polite smiles and greetings while they wove through the crowd, and she did her best to return them, but by the time they sat down, her breathing was rapid and the familiar dull ache in her temples had returned.

  Chen placed her tray down on the table and closed her eyes. She tried to shut out the noise and control her breathing. Errant thoughts bombarded her, the sheer quantity making it difficult to focus on the limited techniques she'd discovered for calming down.

  ~Why is she back here?~

  ~What's up with her hair?~

  Her fists clenched on the table, Chen could feel a breakdown on its way. All she could think of was how badly Bennett would punish her if she hurt anyone. Moments away from leaping up and fleeing the room, she felt a large hand envelop hers, and her eyes snapped open.

  McCann stared at her, concern etched across his freckled face. "Auri, are you okay?"

  "Of course, I'm not okay," Chen snapped. She waved a hand around her head. "All their thoughts are swirling through my brain, all their judgment..." She pulled her hand away from his. "And you're obviously suspicious of me, probably afraid—and rightly so."

  McCann's head jerked back as though slapped, and he frowned. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

  "Oh, please." Chen folded her arms. "I could practically taste the suspicion coming off you when you met us yesterday."

  After a moment of confusion, a smile broke out on McCann's face. "Really? Auri, I was suspicious at the random Naval Intelligence goons showing up on our ship, not you." He laughed. "The captain doesn't trust them one bit."

  Chen didn't know what to say. She had been certain his feelings had been directed at her. "But this morning, you were uncomfortable as hell when you came to pick me up."

  The smile weakened. "Yeah, because I thought it was you who'd be upset at me."

  Chen sat in silence for a moment and tried to digest that information. "But why? I was the one who screwed everything up." His statement didn't make a bit of sense to her.

  McCann leaned on the table, clasping his hands in front of him. "Auri, you made the best of a bad situation and then got punished for it. I thought you'd be mad at me for not being able to get you out of the clutches of NI." He sighed. "After they picked you up on our return, I tried to get any information about where they took you, but they stonewalled me at every turn. We couldn't find any trace of you."

  He snorted and stared at the far wall, holding up a finger and thumb. "I was about this close to doing something really damn stupid when Admiral Wilde asked me to stop. In-person. He said you were safe, and that's the best we could hope for right now."

  Chen felt a prickle of moisture forming at the corners of her eyes. The fact that McCann had even tried to get her out—no matter how unsuccessful—meant the world to her. She leaned forward and tentatively reached out a hand. Her fingers slipped under his, and she gave them a squeeze. "Wally, thank you."

  He met her gaze and smiled. "What, you're choosing now to get all mushy on me? Have I even seen you shedding tears before?"

  "Oh, shut up." Chen laughed and swatted at her friend's shoulder with the other hand.

  With the tension broken, they dug into their breakfast, shoveling down eggs and hash browns. Halfway through a bite, McCann laughed.

  "What is it?" Chen took a sip of orange juice.

  "I forgot to mention, the other reason I was a bit nervous this morning..." McCann paused, looking around the room.

  Chen narrowed her eyes. "...Yes?"

  "Yeah, I sort of didn't actually clear bringing you here with Bennett."

  "Jesus, Wally, you're going to get me in so much trouble." Chen groaned.

  He flashed her a cheeky grin. "Aye, makes a change from normal, huh?"

  Not able to argue that point, Chen finished off the rest of her eggs. "So, what about this new captain? They taking good care of my ship?"

  McCann nodded as he swallowed a mouthful of potatoes. "Captain Arnesen's a good guy. Firm, but fair. Definitely knows what he's doing." He put down his fork. "I don't know if you'll entirely like the guy, but I think you'll respect him. He's not happy about this whole mission, though, thinks Naval Intelligence is forcing Fleet to do too much without letting us in on hardly any information about what or why."

  "How much does he know about what happened before?"

  McCann pushed his plate away and leaned back in his chair. "He's read all the reports, questioned me pretty hard about everything. I think he has as good an understanding of it as anyone could who wasn't there."

  "I'm still trying to make sense of it all myself." Chen sighed. "All the implications, all the people we lost..."

  McCann smiled sadly. "Yeah, I know." He closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath. "I met Bauer's family, the others, too. After they whisked you off so fast, I was the highest-ranking officer who had been there, you know? Seemed only right."

  The mention of her name made Chen's throat thicken up, her voice catching as she replied. "How did that go?"

  "About as well as could be expected." McCann gazed down at the table. "Bauer knew what she signed up for, and they supported her fully."

  The pair lapsed into silence. The thought of Alex quickened Chen's breath, and the mental noise of the surrounding crew increased again to break through the barrier of comfort that easy conversation with McCann had blanketed her mind with.

  Her discomfort must have been noticeable because McCann stood. "Come on, let's get out of here. Time for you to meet the captain."

  - 11 -

  2208.10.16 // 07:56

  UVS Valiant, Callisto orbit

  McCann led her through the familiar worn metal passages of the Valiant, dodging crew members engaged in the hustle of readying a warship for departure.

  "Is it just me or is the crew much bigger than when I was last here?" Chen asked when a pair of eager ensigns jogged past. Her eye twitched at the nervous anticipation that radiated off them.

  "Yep." McCann nodded. He pulled open a hatch and took the narrow ladder up to the next deck. "Fleet gave us back Valiant's full complement, plus a whole load of Marines."

  Chen was confused. "I thought nobody believed what we found out there."

  "That's the story they're running with, but someone must be keeping an eye on us because Fleet have funneled a lot of resources our way all of a sudden."

  "I guess it's still cheaper to upgrade one ship nobody will miss than mobilize the fleet," Chen grumbled. "Someone's hedging their bets."

  McCann laughed from ahead. "Yeah, the captain will fill you in on all the changes, I'm sure. They've gone all out for such an old ship."

  Two more decks up, they approached the bridge, the hexagonal access hallway filled with open hatches while engineers made last-minute upgrades and adjustments to the ship's systems.

  "Where the hell have you been?"

  Chen spun around to face the angry question from Bennett, who now marched toward her, face thunderous. The two NI guards dutifully trailed behind him.

  He drew up before her, jaw clenched while he waited for an answer. "Well, Lieutenant?"

  Hand raised, McCann stepped in to try to defuse the man's
anger. "My fault, sir. I thought I'd take the lieutenant here to get some breakfast."

  Bennett whirled to face the Valiant's first officer, lip curling in a sneer. "That was a very poor decision, McCann. This woman is highly dangerous and needs to be monitored at all times."

  McCann shrugged. "I was with her, and everything was fine, sir."

  Bennett looked like he was about to explode at McCann when a calm, deep voice emanated from the entrance of the bridge. "Is there a problem here?"

  Chen turned to face the source of the question. A short, heavyset man with flecks of gray in his cropped hair and a hawk-like nose stood in the entryway. "Captain Arnesen?" When he nodded, expectantly, Chen continued. "Lieutenant McCann was just explaining my whereabouts to Lieutenant Commander Bennett."

  Stepping forward, Bennett raised a warning finger toward Arnesen. "Your first officer removed Lieutenant Chen from my supervision without permission. If she had—"

  Arnesen spread his broad hands wide. "Well, she's here now, isn't she?"

  "Yes, but—" Bennett tried to continue his protest.

  The captain cut him off again and nodded. "Then all is settled. Lieutenant Chen, welcome aboard—or back aboard, perhaps I should say."

  Chen had to fight to keep a grin from her face. This was the first time she'd seen Bennett overridden since he first stepped in her cell. "Thank you, sir."

  Arnesen waved a hand toward the bridge. "Please, join me in my ready room."

  Chen followed him through the bridge doors and Bennett moved to join them, but McCann stepped in the way, shaking his head. "You already had your brief yesterday, sir. This is for Lieutenant Chen."

  Bennett's fist clenched. "She is under my care and needs to be supervised."

  McCann cleared his throat. "Sir, Lieutenant Chen is a Fleet officer aboard a Fleet starship—"

  "She has been stripped of her duty status!" Bennett snapped.

  "By Naval Intelligence, not Fleet," McCann countered. "If the captain wishes to speak with her, that is not for you to contest. Sir." He didn't wait for a response and spun on his heels, ushering Chen through the door into the bridge. Chen glanced over her shoulder at the fuming man and allowed herself to be guided into the small room off one side of the command deck.

  The ready room was almost exactly how Chen remembered it, down to the small model of the Valiant sitting on the desk. She imagined Arnesen probably didn't have a bottle of Martian whiskey in the drawer, though—hopefully McCann had thought to remove that before they had made it back to Earth...

  "Lieutenant Chen, please sit." Arnesen gestured to the chairs opposite his small desk, and he settled into his own seat. Chen sat and had the uncomfortable sensation of being brought before a stern teacher—one who could see through any bullshit she might feed them. Oddly enough, Arnesen had a similarly closed-off mind to Bennett. Chen couldn't get a good read off what was going on inside his head, unlike most other people she'd been forced into close confines with. She couldn't help but wonder what it was that closed them off to her.

  "I'm going to be frank, Lieutenant," Arnesen started while McCann took the other chair. "I don't know why you're on this ship, nor was it even up to me. Decisions were made far above my head regarding this matter."

  Chen bit back a grimace. This was off to a great start.

  "However," Arnesen relaxed a little and leaned back into his seat, some of the stern visage slipping away, "given what you've experienced, I'm more than happy to gain any insight from you on what we may encounter during this voyage."

  "Thank you, Captain." Chen smiled cautiously. "It's a little strange to be back, but I hope I can be of some use."

  Arnesen waved to the seat next to her. "McCann's brought me up to speed with what happened—both on the mission and to you, personally." He clasped his hands to his weathered chin and stared her down, blue eyes piercing into Chen's. "Are you fit to be on this mission?"

  Well, McCann was definitely right about him being to the point. "Yes, sir." Chen nodded. "Regardless of what NI might say, I'm ready to get back to work."

  "Good, that's what I like to hear." He paused and took a deep breath. "I'm guessing from our encounter that your Naval Intelligence handlers have been...difficult?"

  It took a lot for Chen not to snort derisively. "You could say that, sir."

  Arnesen clucked his tongue and shook his head. "Bennett's not a good officer, but you didn't hear that from me. I have my reservations about NI foisting this whole thing upon us, but it's out of my hands." His eyes narrowed. "Plainly put, I don't trust them. Naval Intelligence always has another angle, one that those of us in the line of fire don't find out about until it's too late."

  "I agree, sir." It was nice to hear such reservations from a higher-ranked officer than just thoughts of her own. "I believe they know far more about this whole situation than they've let on, although I don't have a whole lot of proof."

  Arnesen nodded thoughtfully and drummed a finger against the desk. He gazed out the small window. "You're Fleet, Chen. I'm inclined to believe you, but unfortunately, we have to play this by their rulebook right now—see how things work out."

  "I understand, sir." Chen focused on the model of the Valiant. She pointed toward it and changed the subject. "I saw a lot of changes to the ship on the approach. Fleet finally decided to make some upgrades?"

  "Funny what a giant spotlight on one ship will do." A dry rasp escaped Arnesen, something Chen assumed was a laugh. "For an old girl, they're definitely treating her right."

  "There have been some major weapons and armor upgrades going on," McCann cut in.

  Arnesen tapped on the recessed screen in his desk to bring up a rotating hologram of the Valiant. "Newest spec armor from the Martian foundries being installed across critical systems. Some sort of advanced alloy they cooked up." Panels flashed blue on the image, expanding to show detail. He flicked them away, then zoomed on the weapons turrets that sprouted from the emplacements each side of the ship. "Rail-cannon complement reinstated to maximum wartime load, fully loaded ammunition magazines for both them and the torpedo arrays." Chen thought she saw his eyes light up as he focused on the dorsal spine of the ship. "Best of all? Mark three plasma cannon, pulled straight off one of the new Avenger-class battleships that's still under construction."

  Chen's eyebrows raised. "Whoa." That certainly explained all the changes to the center of the ship. The plasma cannons were ultra-modern tech. Huge weapons, they fired a concentrated energy beam that was utterly devastating. To pull one off a battleship five times her size was a major upgrade to the Valiant's arsenal.

  "Of course," Arnesen continued, "an old vessel like the Valiant doesn't have the same reactor capacity as an Avenger, so we're limited on the number and frequency of shots it can deal out—plus as a fixed emplacement, it requires careful maneuvering—but it could really give us an edge out there if we run into any of these...things."

  "Plus, like I mentioned before," McCann grinned, "we have a maxed-out crew complement, as well as a bunch of Marines."

  "Forty-two Marines, including four light combat mechs and advanced heavy combat shuttles," Arnesen listed off the manifest before him. "Their commander, Lieutenant Scott, is a helluva leader."

  Chen's attitude sobered at the mention of the Marine commander. It felt like just yesterday that Bauer had held that position, whipping her troops into shape down in the shuttle bay while Chen watched. "That's great, sir."

  Arnesen's eyes searched her. Chen sensed he could tell how glum she'd turned. "Look, Lieutenant, I'm going to do my best to keep those NI goons off you—it is my ship after all—but you are technically under their jurisdiction, so there's only so much I can do."

  Picking at her cuffs, Chen met his gaze. "I understand, sir."

  "Okay." Arnesen stood and straightened his uniform jacket. "How about we get this show on the road?"

  Chen and McCann stood and followed him back out onto the bridge. A prickle of anxiety rippled through her chest as she felt the
gaze of the crew focused upon her. She couldn't help but wonder what judgment they must harbor.

  The chair at the pilot's station swiveled, and Ensign Vega threw her a jaunty wave before he turned back to his screens. Chen scanned the rest of the bridge crew, and her gaze stopped on the tactical station where Ensign Moreau talked to another officer. The way she instructed them was filled with quiet confidence—quite the opposite of how she'd been when they first launched in the Valiant. Moreau noticed Chen, and her aquamarine eyes lit up, but she was too busy to leave her station.

  Chen shuffled to the back of the bridge and tried to ignore the icy glare that Bennett shot her way.

  Arnesen strode to his command chair, eased into it, and pulled up the screen. "All right, boys and girls. The mission we've been given is simple—find out what happened to the colonies that broadcast emergency messages. We have all the technical upgrades the ship can handle, and I know we have the best damn crew in the fleet. I expect the utmost from all of you." He motioned to Vega in the pilot's seat. "Ensign Vega, please take us out."

  "Aye, aye, sir," the ensign replied with relish. He tapped on the console ahead of him and threw a trajectory overlay onto the viewscreen at the front of the bridge. "Callisto control, this is the UVS Valiant, requesting clearance to depart."

  "Valiant, Callisto control. Clearance granted, good luck."

  "Roger that." Vega cut the transmission and activated the vessel's maneuvering thrusters. Chen felt the energy of the ship shift when it eased forward and carefully cleared the spindly cradle of the spacedock that surrounded them. The moment they were clear, with the vast shadow of Jupiter hanging in the background, Vega engaged the main drives, and the hum of the engine's vibrations subtly changed.

  Before long, they were cruising outside of Jupiter's immense gravity well. Vega called back over his shoulder. "Course laid in, rift drives engaging."

  A low-pitched whine turned into a tremendous howl of machinery, and space ripped apart in front of them. Chen felt the momentary disorientation of the translation to rift-space, and then, they were on their way.