"Light up the Comms
system, try to contact the other ships." Captain Martinez spins around,
launching himself from the comms chair, allowing the young comms officer on
duty to return to her post. "I need every department head in my ready room
in fifteen minutes." he strides away, wiping away the drying tears.
"Patch through the ships Captains as they come online. I'll be in my ready
room waiting." As he reaches the hatch leading to his private office he
spins, taking in the roomful of shocked personnel. "I don't think I have
to tell you not to spread this news. Now, more than ever we cannot afford the
people on this ship to panic."
He takes a deep breath,
pausing to allow what he is saying to sink in. "This makes no difference
in the long run, we were always going to leave. Now, we simply have to leave
sooner." He pulls himself up, standing straight. Not allowing the unconscious
hunching he can see in the others to affect him. The crew watches as he
straightens, his broad, muscular form filling out the ships uniform perfectly.
The ethnic set of his features with chocolate brown eyes and thick black hair a
palliative to the severity of the cut. "We have time yet, to save as many
people as we possibly can. Send Sergeant Pembrook to me as well."
"YES SIR." Each
person shouts as Captain Martinez retreats to his ready room, their backs
straightening with determination, each had a task to do. The confidence their
Captain was showing them, bleeding into his bridge crew. Later, they could
collapse in tears. When time was no longer of the essence.
Striding into his ready
room, Captain Martinez pauses to take in his surroundings. The teal oak wall
panelling, and the muted tones of the furniture calms him. His walk to the
dispenser is a slow and ponderous one. His hands caressing each piece of
furniture as he passes. This room is one of a few that he will call home for
the duration of the journey. A Captain
has little privacy and he cherishes every moment he can. Retrieving his coffee
he sits at the head of the table and waits.
**********
Martinez sits in silence,
sipping on a mug of coffee, staring into space. All eyes of the men and women
sat around his table, looking at him and each other in confusion, each quietly
sipping their own drinks, following the lead of their Captain. The door
suddenly whooshes open and Sergeant Pembrook walks in. Pausing at the door as
he takes in the department heads sat at the table he asks. "Did I get the
time wrong?" He looks at his chrono-patch in confusion, then back to the
room. "I'll just wait outside Captain." As he turns to leave Captain
Martinez stops him.
"You're right on time
Sergeant. Come in, grab a drink and sit down." The Captain motions towards
the empty seat as his unsmiling face takes in the entire room. Sipping at his
drink, he waits silently and patiently as Sergeant Pembrook seats himself. A
deep sigh emanates from the Captain as he sets his cup down onto the table.
Taking a deep breath he stands, pacing, hands clasped behind his back as he
considers his first words. Finally, his shoulders squaring, he turns back to
the room full of silent, curious faces.
"Minutes ago we were
contacted by the ISS. It is my sad duty to inform you that Commander Neil
Hightower is dead. he was unlucky enough to be outside doing repairs when the
meteor strike hit." here, he pauses to give them time to digest the news.
Many in this room knew the man personally, had trained under him. And
remembered the fierce, authoritarian man with both fondness and trepidation.
"There's more."
Captain Martinez says quietly as the murmurs die down. "We are finally out
of the meteor storm. However, the storm continues unrelenting on other parts of
the planet as we spin into its path." A shuddering sigh escapes from the
Captain as he continues to speak. "Missions Control is gone. Texas
is...according to the ISS Second in Command...nothing but a crater." He
bows his head as the room explodes in noise.
"How did this
happen!?"
"Do we know if rescue
efforts are going to happen?"
"Are there any
survivors?"
"How much of Texas is
gone?"
Each question melds into the
next, until one question becomes an indistinct blend of another.
"QUIET!" Sergeant
Pembrook's voice bellows over the indistinct hum of strident voices. Rising
from his chair, his hands make a resounding slapping noise as he slams them
onto the table. Sudden silence descends as every eye turns to the Sergeant.
"Have you numbskulls
quite finished with your yammering? or do I need to get the Doctor in here to
prescribe dummies to silence you like children?" He glares at each of his
superiors, catching each stare levelled at him in turn until they finally break
eye contact. Satisfied, he turns to the Captain, one of his arms sweeping
towards their leaders still bowed head. "Look! Look with your eyes damn
you. You bloody morons!" The Captain raises his head at the Sergeants
words. Every eye turns back to him in time to notice a single tear fall from
eyes showing a level of despair none had ever thought to see from their
indomitable Captain.
With a heavy sigh Sergeant
Pembrook falls back into his chair, voice hoarse and low, he whispers. "
What else has happened? What other cluster fuck has our ever loving God thrown
at us now?"
"We have to launch the
ships. All of them. No later than August 6th." The words, though quiet,
reverberated through the room. "August 12th will see earth hit by a
planetoid meteor. The force of impact will most likely destroy the
planet." The Captains shoulders slump in defeat. "You have one week
to make what finalizing details you can." He turns towards the supply
Commander with a rueful look. "The ship needs to be fully stocked by that
time. Rack em and stack em Chief. No one is to be turned away. If needs be turn
larger rooms into bunk rooms. Do anything you can to stack as many people as
you can."
Turning back to the room in
its entirety, he stares at the ghost white faces surrounding him. " We all
knew the time was coming when we would have to leave our homeland. I'm sure
every one of you, like me, hoped that our ancestors would one day come back and
reclaim a recovered earth. Knowing She
would be here and recovered in time was a balm for many of us." Straightening
up and squaring his shoulders, the Captain looks at each person. "We no
long have that option. And we do not have time to grieve. We need to save as
many people as we can."
"Captain." A
quiet, hesitant voice rises into the tense silence. He nods towards the
Lieutenant with tacit permission. "With Mission Control gone we need to
communicate directly with the other ships. I need to get the arrays fully
functioning. I'm assuming the ISS contacted us because they're directly above
us. Which means no one else knows. If you don't mind." She pauses, rising
to her feet. "I...I need to get to work. We still have some arrays under
repair after the last test."
"Of course Lieutenant.
Getting the communications functioning is imperative. You're dismissed. Keep me
informed of your progress." She nods and turns to leave, her hands visibly
shaking. "Oh, and Melissa. I'm sure I don't need to remind you not to
speak of this. We can't afford the panic."
"Yes Captain, I
understand. I don't think my crew would be able to do the work needed if I told
them. I'm...not entirely sure I wanted to know." She sighs. Captain
Martinez strides to a cabinet and pours a generous glass of whiskey.
"Drink this Melissa,
It'll help." Nodding her thanks she takes the glass and gulps the drink. A
gasping breath expels as a shudder courses through her body. "Gah! Wow
that was strong." A slight smile graces her face as she hands the glass
back to the Captain. "Thank you Sir. I needed that."
"Inform me when the
communications array is functioning Lieutenant." He says, taking the
glass.
"Yes Sir!" She
turns and leaves, her steps somehow a little lighter.
Martinez replaces the now
empty glass by the decanter. "How long until we can have all the supplies
loaded Chief Lowe?" he asks as he returns to his chair, easing his weary
body down.
Shooting upright in his
chair Chief Lowe looks surprised at the sudden question. "Oh uhm, well. As
you know, most of the supplies have already been loaded. There's just the
delivery that came in before the meteors hit. I'd say about 24 hours. But that
doesn't account for situating all the dispossessed people we have right now
with no supplies at all. No clothes, nothing but what they were wearing when
they got here." he pauses, a look of indecision passing clearly across his
face before continuing.
"Captain. I'd like
permission to head to the town to scavenge for supplies. If we're out of the
meteor path right now, this would be the perfect time to also look for any
survivors as well. But we desperately need the basic necessities that the
evacuees would have brought with them during an orderly evacuation. As it
stands the supplies onboard won't last the entire journey." He lifts his
hands and shrugs. "And yes, before you ask we'd survive. But the last year
of the journey would likely be as a nudist colony... And a smelly one at
that."
Automatic chuckles fall from
the others lips at the image and the Captain nods. "It's fairly safe right
now, seeing as we're heading into night time. We've been pounded by meteor
strikes for the last few days. I'll co-ordinate with the ISS and will contact
you as soon as they indicate it's safe. It's approved dependent on the data the
ISS can give us." He shakes his head and sighs. "Although, I'm not
entirely sure there's going to be anything left for you to find Chief."
"Well, I'm hoping the
subterranean stores are still viable. It's a gamble, but it's one we need to
make."
"Agreed. Pembrook. Do
you feel like going out again? Chief Lowe will need a protection detail, and
potentially, a digging team."
"Sure as flies eat shit
Captain!" He grins, sitting up from his slouch. "Me n my boys'll be
ready. I got me some payback coming."
The Captain shakes his head.
"Sergeant, you have a filthy mouth. And what pray tell are you going to
get payback from?"
A dry chuckle escapes
Pembrook. "That there meteor strike took some good men from me. I intend
to thumb my nose at the heavens right good and proper. God took a shit on me
and my men, so we'll take a giant dump right back! If that means plundering
resources he doesn't intend us to have, then that's what I'll do."
The Captain lets out a bark
of surprised laughter. "You certainly brighten the day Sergeant." He
barks another laugh and turns to Doctor Lewis. "How are things looking in
the med bay Doc?"
"Grim." He says.
"we've gone through more meds than expected. I estimate we'll run out at
least 6 months prior to our arrival on New Earth." Turning to Chief Lowe,
he asks. "I'd ask you search for medical supplies as well please."
"Of course Doctor. I'll
task some of my men to search the data base for subterranean locations with
medical supplies." Chief Lowe responds.
"Thank you Chief. As
for the human aspect. Our ships counsellor will have her work cut out. We have
a lot of injuries and even more emotional trauma." He sighs and shakes his
head. "There's a lot of recovery to be done. And, I might add a fair few
orphans. I've no idea what to do with them. My med bay has turned into a
crèche." he looks pointedly towards Sergeant Pembrook, who looks back at
him sheepishly.
"Hey what am I gonna do
with a preschool kid?" He asks.
"The boy is not
preschool age Pembrook, and he idolizes you. I would request you try to locate
the boy's mother while you're out there, apparently you promised to go back for
her, and it'd give the kid some closure. I'd also like permission to turn one
of the larger cabins into a dorm for the older orphans. I think they'd feel
better sticking close together for now. We can see about re homing them once
the situation has settled down." He shrugs again. "You never know, we
may even find some family members."
"Of course Doc. Chief
Lowe, if you'd task some of your crew to help with that please."
The Chief inclines his head,
making notes on his pad as the Captain rises. "I think that will do for
now. The rest of you see to it that your sections are ready for launch, and
report in once everything is stowed and online.
"Commander Moore I need
your men to check, double check and triple check the EmA Drive. She needs to be
purring as soon as you can. Okay, I know we're undermanned, with personnel on
leave and there's every chance some may make it back. But I wouldn't count on
it. As of now you are all the heads of your department, I know all of you will
do me proud. Dismissed people. Let's get this ship ready for launch."
"Not you
Pembrook." the Captain says as everyone turns to leave. "Stay behind,
you and I need to have a word."
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