Jewel of The Stars: Season 1 Episode 1: Earth's Remnant

Chapter 2

Braxton White took a quick glance over his shoulder. No familiar faces. Good. The last thing he needed was to bump into someone from the old days. The chances of that were low enough in the civilian terminal, but you never knew. All would be fine if he could make it to his gate undetected. The sooner he teleported up to the ship, the better.

Braxton gave a long low whistle. Fancy being here in Sydney spaceport again. It hadn't changed much in the last few years. Of course, this was the civilian terminal. The military areas were off limits. Now. Good riddance, too. It wasn't like they deserved him.

Something hard collided with Braxton's shin, sending pain up through his leg. A fat man in a Hawaiian shirt hefted a hard plastic suitcase.

"Sorry 'bout that mate."

Braxton glared.

"In a hurry to get to my gate. Y'know."

"Be more careful in future."

The bloke scurried off, his shoes clacking on the plastic floor. Moments later, he had another near miss. The idiot was gonna kill someone with that case.

Braxton's bare scalp tingled in the cool air. They could establish a stable warp field around a ship but they still couldn't comfortably heat a room of this size. The floor-to-ceiling windows in this terminal let in a bucket load of light. He squinted, and made out the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, monuments from two centuries past, behind the smaller spacecraft sitting on the concrete. Sunlight was one of the few things he missed about Earth when he was in space, but he'd had his fill lately. Bring on the darkness.

A baby cried. Braxton rubbed his forehead. Oh, for the days when spaceports were filled with nothing but the hushed conversations of fellow soldiers. Here it was all mums and babies and granddads and young lovers. No wonder he'd avoided civilian areas in the past.

He glanced at his boarding pass. Gate 23. That's where he'd find the teleport chamber to Jewel of the Stars. Hopefully the ship would live up to her name.

Braxton shook his head. How had it come to this? Taking a holiday on a cruise ship just so he could be in space? Well, it was better than nothing. It'd been too long.

He reached a travelator and moved to the side. Most people stood motionless on these things. He could move quicker walking next to it.

He looked behind him. He wasn't the only one who'd opted to walk. A teenage girl with bright green eyes ambled along behind him. She met his gaze with a scowl. Her face might have been pretty if she could find the effort to crack a smile. Wasn't the spaceport meant to be a happy place? She was on her way to a cruise ship, not the gallows. Braxton snorted. Teenagers. Good thing he'd always had the sense to stay single and childless.

He touched his wristband, and a small digital clock appeared, floating before him. There was still plenty of time but he wanted to get out of the spaceport. Why was everyone dawdling today? Surely they'd be eager to get where they were going, especially those joining him on the cruise.

Braxton dismissed the clock as he reached the end of the travelator. The gate was up ahead.

"Braxton White." There wasn't a hint of friendliness in the voice.

Braxton's heart seized. He'd been recognised. He stopped walking and looked up. Lieutenant-Commander Campbell. Hold on, according to the insignia on the man's shoulders it was now Commander Campbell. Surely Stokes hadn't promoted this bloody idiot to XO? What an insult.

And how humiliating to be seen taking a cruise. He'd once led men into battle among the stars. Now he was playing in them.

"Commander." Braxton nodded.

"I didn't expect to see you at the spaceport again."

"Just a relaxing cruise. Nothing for you to be concerned about."

Campbell looked him up and down. His face frozen in stone.

"Well, try to stay out of trouble. Mr White."

Braxton's jaw clamped down. He clenched his hands into fists but forced them to relax. "As always, Commander."

Campbell turned and headed towards the heavy security doors that would take him into the military terminal. Braxton let out a long hard sigh. Stars, what a mongrel.

He looked back towards his gate. Thanks to Campbell's interruption he was now stuck behind the green-eyed girl who was ambling through the crowd slower than ever. Perfect. Maybe this cruise had been a bad idea.

#

Braxton tossed his bag onto the bed. The mattress sagged under the impact but it'd be fine. Much better than anything he'd slept on in the military.

For better or worse he was here now. Time to make the most of it, and maybe even enjoy it.

"Will that be all, sir?" The porter asked.

"Yep. Thanks, mate."

The porter nodded and retreated from the room.

Would he expect a tip? Probably. Braxton tapped his wristband and transmitted the tip from the menu displayed by his eye lenses. Silly American tradition. Or was it European? He wasn't sure. Either way, it seemed just another way to get money out of people. Not that money was a huge problem at the moment. At least his honourable discharge provided him with a decent pension.

Braxton strolled over to the porthole. Nobody could tire of seeing Earth from orbit. Seeing new planets was great, of course, but there was something about humanity's home world that couldn't be matched.

His finger still lingered over his wristband. Might as well check for messages. He hadn't done so in a few days.

He scrolled through the list projected by his eye lenses. Most of it was junk. Hold on. There was a message from Jane, one of the few crew mates from the Hobart who still kept in touch. He opened the message.

Braxton.

Sorry to inform you that the HMAS Adelaide was lost yesterday along with all hands. We had a lot of good mates on that ship. Can't believe they're gone.

There's something bad out here, Braxton. Can't say any more. I wish you were still with us.

Jane

Braxton's mouth went dry. Lost. All hands. The Royal Australian Space Navy only had four ships, so the crews were all tight. Too many good men and women. Who'd done this? Not pirates. They couldn't get the better of a warship. Something bad, Jane had said. What could that mean?

Braxton shook his head. He wasn't part of that world any more. He needed to forget about it, leave it in the hands of those still in active service. Still, all those good men and women lost.

Braxton turned towards the door. Time to take his mind off everything.

#

The paperwork was done. Les closed the document, stood, and strode onto the bridge. Maya stood at ease, keeping watch. She could be a bit stiff, but that came from her history in the military.

"How's it all holding together?" Les asked.

"All passengers are present and accounted for. Ship is in position for launch. Warp ring energised and ready. We're clear of Earth orbit."

"And our course?"

"Locked in for Helix Nebula view."

"Very good." Les smiled and turned to the navigator. "Take us to warp."

The navigator nodded and pressed a control. A slight vibration tickled Les's feet through his thin soles. The bridge dimmed for a moment. A blurry white orb glowed through the front window. They were at warp.

Les's smile faded.

"Now, time to face the music." He pressed a control on his wristband, patching his voice ship-wide.

"This is Captain Les Miller speaking."