On the command deck of the Excalibur, Head Secretary Calvin Campbell turned from his station to face Captain Barron. "They're ready for us."
"Is Rattan back?" Rolland asked from the captain's chair.
Campbell punched a command into the console. "Shuttle one has checked in," Campbell confirmed. "Jordan Rattan and his team are on board. All crew members accounted for."
"Alright." Rolland faced the viewscreen. Through it he could see the Kaax Gate just ahead. "Let them know we're comin' in."
"Yes sir."
"Riona -" Rolland turned to Sergeant Namarra "- Take us in."
Namarra tapped the console. The Excalibur drifted forward in space, making its way into the massive arches of the Kaax gate, until the ringed structure surrounded the ship. They stopped there, holding position as the gatekeepers calibrated the field. A tingling sensation ran through their bodies. In a prismatic flux of color, their surroundings morphed wildly. When the undulating colours quieted, the Kaax gate was gone. The blackness of the Apex region was replaced by a dense, starry vista of foreign constellations: Caldwell 57. While the crew looked into the stars of the foreign galaxy, the Avalon appeared by their side, melting into space from an ethereal rainbow.
"Location?" Rolland asked.
"Right on target," Sergeant Titus answered. "Perfect jump."
"Distance to next jump?"
Titus looked down to his console. "'Bout eleven days."
"Alright." Rolland turned to face the crew, his back to the alien stars of Caldwell 57 on the viewscreen. "We've got one more stop before we part ways with the Avalon. I want us on standing alert for the next eleven days: no EVA, no buffer hull maintenance, sentry stations manned at all times. There are pirates operating in this area. There's a lot of holes into this alley but none out -that makes it a nice spot for an ambush. I need everyone to keep an eye out for thruster signatures or anything suspicious. And be ready for a fight. This stretch is why the Avalon wanted a Sol escort. Let's prove they can count on us."
The crew on deck nodded their assent and went to work, setting eyes on their stations.
"Catrina -" Rolland turned to face the communication specialist. "Open up a channel to the Avalon."
Catrina entered the commands. "Pinging them now." A series of beeps followed, and Captain Mary Lloyd's face appeared on screen.
"Captain Barron." Mary Lloyd nodded towards Rolland through the viewscreen.
"Any problems with the jump?" he asked.
"None." Mary smiled. "All systems functioning properly. We're set to go."
"Great. We'll be right by your side, and we'll be launching sensor probes ahead."
"Thank you for your help, Captain. I believe I speak for the crew and guests of the Avalon when I say we all feel better knowing we've got you nearby."
Rolland bowed his head. "We're happy to help the Alliance."
Captain Lloyd's face disappeared from the viewscreen, which one again showed the stars of Caldwell 57. The Alliance vessel Avalon drifted by their side. Rolland watched as the Avalon accelerated towards their next destination: a wormhole, eleven days flight away, that would take the Avalon to their research site. The Excalibur hummed as it accelerated, keeping pace with the Avalon.
From the edge of the room, Erin Locke walked to Rolland. She stopped beside him, and joined him in watching the stars through the viewscreen. "Was she just being polite?"
"What do you mean?" Rolland asked.
"I mean being so thankful for our presence. I've seen the Avalon's defensive specs. They can handle themselves."
"We're military. They're scientists and politicians."
"All the same, I'm pretty sure they could outgun the Excalibur."
Rolland laughed. "Careful what you say about my ship." He turned to face Erin more directly. "On a strictly numbers level, you're right. They've got more firepower, more shields, more missiles. Yeah, they can take care of themselves. But we have a finely tuned warship with a hand-picked crew of military professionals. I'm sure they appreciate having us as around."
"I suppose so. Anyway," Erin glanced towards the exit. "I think I'm just getting in the way up here. I'm going to head over to the lounge."
"It's okay." Rolland smiled. "You're welcome on deck."
"Thank you, Captain," Erin nodded and started towards the door. "I'll keep it in mind."
She headed into the hall, making her way to the stairwell, across the ship, and eventually to the Excalibur's lounge. Electronic music was playing quietly within. A large viewscreen was showing an old game of laser ball. The small room was empty except for a man sitting alone at a table, his eyes on the game. Erin recognized him: Jordan Rattan, the compliance agent posted for the meeting with the Catechumen. Like Erin, he was a temporary post on the Excalibur. They had that in common. Erin grabbed an empty glass from the bar and filled it with water, then headed to Jordan's table, where he rested his chin on the palms of his hands and his elbows on the table.
"You mind if I join you?"
Jordan was startled, nearly knocking over his beer. "Oh. No, not at all." He motioned to the empty chair.
"So, how'd that compliance check on the Kaax station go?" Erin sat and set her glass down on the table.
"Heh." Jordan chuckled. "Let's just say it was a good learning experience."
"That well, huh?"
"I don't know if I'm cut out for it."
"Compliance?"
"No, compliance is easy. I mean dealing with aliens."
"I know what you mean."
"I guess you deal with them a lot? I mean, as an ambassador." Jordan took a swig of beer.
"Not as much as you might think. I wrote my Masters on the subject, though."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. What was the title again?" Erin looked up as she searched her memory. "Right" -she spoke slowly and deliberately- "Incommensurable Ethics or Morphologically Equivalent Morality?: The Application of Bridging Metaphors in Exo-Neurology to Interstellar Politics."
Jordan blinked. "That's a mouthful."
"That's academia." Erin smiled. "Anyway, I studied exo-politics and alien history before I switched to -" she paused "- a more practical enterprise. Then I found out you learn more from your first actual meeting with aliens than by reading all the books you can get your hands on."
"You think you wasted your time in the academy?"
"No. It was a necessary step. And it's still useful knowledge. But what I'm saying is the experience of actually working with them is qualitatively different. Let me tell you a story. One of my early assignments was with an envoy to the roaches. You heard of 'em?"
"Yeah. I think they're from DDO 221, right?"
"Yep -3 million light years from Sol."
"Okay."
"So anyway, I'm on a diplomatic mission to one of their hives. It's basically a giant asteroid with twisting tunnels carved all through it. No gravity generators, by the way. Me and four others are making our way down the tunnels, led by a couple roach drones. We've gotta wear EVA suits since the tunnels are just open to space."
"What?" Jordan squinted his eyes.
"Yeah. The bugs don't need to breathe for weeks, so their ships aren't environmentally contained; the bugs just suck what they need from tubes sticking out of the tunnels every now and then. Anyway, eventually we stop in a room -basically a cave- and start discussing things with these drones. I think things are going pretty well, but then, out of nowhere, one of the drones just starts walking over to us from the corner. This thing is big -imagine a cockroach the size of a couch, just lumbering for you. And the thing's mandibles are just snapping in the air, like giant shears. I can hear them grinding, and this thing is just getting closer -just a few feet away."
"So what happened?"
"Well, my guys start pulling their weapons. The bugs have no idea what's going on -they don't even know what a laser pistol is. I'm worrying about whether we're gonna start a war by blasting some innocent bug based on a stupid misunderstanding. I tell my guys to calm down. I turn to the drone and I ask him what's going on."
"And?"
"The one coming at us doesn't say anything. The one behind him speaks up. He tells me -I mean, it was the best the ULT could translate it- he tells me -" Erin leaned forward "-'He's just going to eat one of you.'"
"What?"
"Yeah. He decided he wanted to eat one of us."
"Really?"
"Yup." Erin nodded. "You can prob'ly imagine my crew is freaking out. I'm telling them not to shoot. They're yelling at me. I'm yelling orders at them. They're yelling at the bugs. My guys start running. Well, it's zero-g, so it's more like pushing themselves around the cave. The whole time this hungry bug is just slowly chasing after them, chomping the air. And the whole time I'm trying to get these things to understand that they can't just eat us."
Jordan started to laugh, then stopped himself suddenly. "You all got out okay, right?"
"Yeah," Erin said. "But that's a good example of the sort of misunderstandings that you want to watch out for."
"I guess so." Jordan chuckled. "What happened with the bugs?"
"I had to figure out what was going on -try to defuse the situation before it turned ugly. Well, uglier. Turns out they thought it would be a good idea for diplomatic relations to eat one of us."
Jordan laughed. "How's that?"
"It's like exchanging gifts, except we get to learn about each other's drones. You gotta understand their drones don't have brains -well, to be more accurate, they don't have independent sentience."
"So what did you do?"
"I told 'em that these particular 'drones' of ours have special properties and are not dispensable. I offered to provide a substitute at a later date. I think they were confused more than anything. But whatever was going on in their tiny brains, the thing backed off, and we got the hell out of there."
"That kind of sounds like what happened on the station."
"The Kaax?"
Jordan nodded. "I thought for sure we were gonna be bird food. I think I almost shat myself."
Erin laughed. "I don't think they'd risk upsetting the Federation."
"Well, I didn't either, at first. But when they're all circling around you it's pretty damn scary."
"Nobody warned you about the Kaax?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean their swarming behaviour. They cluster in packs and build on each other's emotions. A situation gets tense and they all gather around and follow the leader."
"Well, Yeah, I read up on them. But it's different being there -your adrenaline's pumping and you're wondering if you're gonna die."
"That's what I'm talking about." Erin held up her hand for emphasis. "You can do all the research you want, but there's no substitute for the experience."
"I guess not." Jordan picked up his beer. "After that particular experience I might go back to corporate."
"You'll do fine," Erin said. "It'll get easier after this one."
"Well, it's not just the aliens." He looked around the room. "It's this ship, too."
"What's wrong with the ship?"
"I'm just gonna be sitting around for weeks doing nothing."
"Worried about getting bored?"
"It's not that. I can't contribute here -I feel like dead weight."
"You've got an important job to do."
"I know." Jordan set down his drink. "But I'm going to sitting on my ass for weeks. I wasn't even supposed to check the Kaax station. I was just looking for some way to make myself useful. I guess I feel like I'm not appreciated here."
"Someone's gotta do it, and there's no shortcut. You just gotta wait. And even if some of these guys don't get what you're doing here, lots of other people do -myself included."
"But I'm used to working -to pushing myself and doing the best job I can. But out here, there's nothing for me to do but sit around. I feel like dead weight. You ever get that feeling?"
"Not really," Erin answered.
"You're used to the wait?"
"Yeah, you get used to it," Erin answered. "But I find ways to make myself useful. I'm working on something right now, as a matter of fact."
"What's that?" Jordan raised an eyebrow.
Erin took a sip of water from her glass. "I'm concerned about an Alliance Dragoon that got posted to the Avalon."
"What's the concern?"
Erin thought for a moment, and decided that Jordan didn't really need to know all the details; it was probably better if he didn't. "Just a hunch," Erin said. "The Dragoons are used for special ops -strategic and tactical military objectives. I don't know why one got posted there. It just seems suspicious."
"It's a huge ship," Jordan said. "There could be plenty of good reasons to have one board."
"Maybe. But it's unsual to have them posted. It was a big surprise to the Captain -and strange, given the last minute timing. Not to mention the unexpected delay at Delta Gate, which could be related."
Jordan squinted. "So what're you planning to do about it?"
"That's the problem. I'm tapped out. I can't get info on his orders or who sent him."
"Hmm." Jordan leaned back in his chair. "And you think it might have something to do with the Catechumen?"
"Maybe. Or the Avalon. I don't know."
"No working hypothesis?"
Erin shook her head. "Nope," she lied.
"You just need more info, then?"
"I guess that's the problem, yeah."
Jordan rubbed his chin and leaned forwards. "The Dragoons can be given orders through Alliance Senators, so you could check for any Senators on board the Avalon, and cross-check that with their public voting records. That might give you something to go on."
"That's not a bad idea. Thanks."
"No problem."
"Looks like you're contributing after all." She smiled.
Jordan laughed. "I guess so."
"Well," Erin pushed back her chair and stood up. "Thanks for the talk -I think I'll go check those records now."
"Okay," Jordan stood. "Nice talking with you."
As Erin left the lounge, Jordan sat back down at the table, and his eyes went back to the game of laser ball on the viewscreen. Erin walked down the hall, making her way to her quarters. She entered her room and turned on the computer. The screen displayed a collection of documents: the passenger manifest for the Avalon, which she had previously examined, identifying the seven Senators on board, their public votes, their factions, and homeworlds. It was a good idea, she thought. Jordan was right. There wasn't any need to tell him she'd already done it. She closed the Senator profiles and opened another package of documents: a collection of scientific research papers in theoretical physics. If the Dragoon Jovan Leeper had experimental Wormhole destroying technology on the Invictus, these documents could be the best place for her to investigate. How hard could it be? Erin thought, diving into a treatise on recent advances in wormhole dynamics.