Indomitable, p.9
Indomitable, page 9
It took half an hour to reach her cabin, and she felt her steps growing lighter as she passed several people and received nothing more than friendly nods in return. With the influx of new people, everyone had lost their suspicion of unrecognized faces. A wide grin spread across her face as she approached the assigned cabin, and waved her card over the sensor by the door.
Entering the cabin, she was greeted by the same arrangement as any other cabin she had been in on the cruiser. There was a tablet waiting on the small table between the chairs of the sitting area. She approached and the screen lit up. Welcome, Delta Smith she could see as she grabbed it up. The tablet gathered her biometric data to mark her as the owner, and she felt gratified that she had dumped her “borrowed” device before joining the line of new crew members.
“Hello,” a voice called, and she turned to see a woman reclining on one of the bunks. Late thirties, short cut blonde hair, and blue eyes that seemed more curious that Tuya liked. “I guess you’re my roommate. I’m Mabel Harris.”
“Delta Smith. What department are you in?”
“I am privileged to be one of the finest barmaids in the fleet,” the woman replied with a sardonic grin. “But I guess they don’t call us that anymore, thankfully. I’m assigned to work as hostess and bartender at some hole in the wall place two decks up.”
Tuya raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I thought that kind of thing was done by the ship’s AI. No offense.”
“None taken, I assure you. Apparently, the Military Committee decided that crew members serving on an elite ship like our new home the Indomitable should be graced with better comforts than those usually afforded to them.”
“In other words, the officers need to be pampered.”
The blonde woman grinned wider. “Got it in one. I think I’m gonna like you, Delta Smith. What’s your posting?”
“Bay Three, sounds like I’ll be a shuttle mechanic.”
“Ah, keeping the oil fresh and the gas topped up in case an officer feels like going out for a drive. Sounds fun.”
Tuya furrowed her brows as she tried to keep up with the old-fashioned terms. “You have a thing for history, don’t you?”
“Yep, sure do. I actually spent three years of my life studying Earth’s history, with a focus on the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”
“So you’re an historian, and ended up working in a bar on a military warship?” Tuya walked over to sit on the bunk opposite the woman. “How did something like that happen?”
“My parents had crushing debts, my scholarship was canceled before I graduated with my degree, and joining the Navy was my best option for getting a paycheck. Plus, they’ll pay for my last year of college if I serve for at least six years. I’m in my fourth.” She shrugged with her elbows, hands trapped under her head on the pillow. “The recruiter promised my training would be put to great use. Which apparently meant learning how to mix old cocktails behind a bar in the officer’s club of a handful of bases before they plucked me up, put me on a frigate, and I ended up here.”
“Wow, that’s a harsh reality check.” Tuya chuckled along with the other woman. “I guess you get to know all of the officers, though, seeing them in the clubs and talking to them as you mix drinks.”
“Oh yes, it’s a glamorous position. I have been hit on and propositioned by every single rank it’s possible to achieve in the Syndicate military. Both sexes of each rank, too, which makes it even more special.”
Tuya relaxed back onto the softness of the bunk, smiling secretively as she thought of ways to use her new roommate. “Well, don’t take offence if I wait a while before I hit on you. Maybe I’ll sneak into the fancy officer’s bar one night and give it a shot.”
Mabel turned her head to look across with glinting eyes. “You’ll be my special guest, any time you want to get an old-fashioned drink. Just don’t be surprised if I accept your proposition to return to your quarters.” She winked, and both women burst into laughter. “I definitely like you, Delta Smith. I’m glad you got assigned to my cabin.”
Tuya reported for her first shift in the shuttle bay the next morning, still getting used to being able to walk openly along the Indomitable’s corridors without having to keep her eyes open for places to duck into and hide. The third frigate was spilling even more people into the increasingly busy hallways as she reported for duty, with three more on the way to add to the numbers of crew and Marines on board.
Entering Docking Bay Three, called the shuttle bay since that was all that the smaller bay held, she found a handful of other crew milling around. She found the man she had been partnered with, a crusty and gray old veteran that reminded her of Fynn, and greeted him with an outstretched hand.
“Delta Smith. I guess you’ll be my partner in here.”
The man eyed her hand for a moment before shaking it, looking her up and down. “How much experience do you have with shuttle maintenance?”
“Little enough that I’m sure I’ll be bugging you with questions a lot more than you’d like,” she replied with a slight smile.
He frowned at her and sighed heavily. “Twenty years with the Navy, and this is what I end up with. Training some young newbie.” He shook his head in disgust and turned away as an officer in a sharply pressed uniform arrived.
“Welcome to Bay Three,” the man said, his single red rank slash marking him as an ensign. His youthful looks told her that he was probably not long from the academy. “I’m looking forward to getting to know each of you in the days to come. We’re on a grand mission, and I’m sure you’re all as proud to serve on the Indomitable as I am. Let’s keep our standards high, and be ready for anything in the weeks to come.”
Turning to gesture around the space that occupied three decks and was half the size of a frigate’s single docking bay, the ensign continued. “As you can see, most of our charges are the assault shuttles that Marines will use against enemy frigates, or to land on colonies or Earth. It is imperative that we keep these shuttles in top condition, because the slightest malfunction could lead to disaster for our brave men and women.
“Now, you have all been assigned partners and allocated a shuttle to work on for today. Get to know the machines you will spending at least the next six months with, and don’t hesitate to ask questions. I’ll be by to meet each of you individually throughout the day.”
Dismissed, Tuya and her grumbling partner approached one of the black shuttles. It was sleek and deadly looking, with short stabilizing wings at the rear that could be extended for atmospheric flight. As her partner showed her how to remove the engine casing and began pointing out the vital parts of that needed to be checked and maintained on a regular basis, she couldn’t help but let a wicked grin spread across her face. With a bit of luck and some hard work, she could make sure the Syndicate war effort suffered a few unexpected setbacks. The opportunity for sabotage was a nice side benefit of her plan to reach her brother.
Tuya found herself enjoying the time she spent in her new role. Mabel proved to be the ideal roommate, since their schedules were different enough to give both of them plenty of time alone in the cabin. When she was around, they shared stories about coworkers and always ended up in laughing fits. On the third night, Tuya accepted an invitation to visit the officer’s club two decks up. Mabel had her name added to the guest list, so that her ID card could get her past the door, and mixed drinks like a Moscow Mule and an Old-Fashioned.
“I told you I make old-fashioned drinks,” the woman said with a smirk as she set the latter on the bar.
“I didn’t think you were being so literal.” Taking a hesitant sip, Tuya sampled the drink and then looked up with a smile. “If they all taste as good as this, I’ll even put up with your puns.”
She spent an hour in the club, looking at the officers who shared the bar and those who had chosen to sit at tables. The variety of rank stripes across the men and women made her think of Davis, the officer who’d been aboard the Vagabond. Her hand tightened dangerously around the glass, and she started looking more closely at the officers. Finding the man who had pretended to be their friend, only to have them taken prisoner and spend most of a night beating on her to try and get the freighter’s cargo bay unsealed, would be worth having to go into hiding again.
As she was thanking Mabel for the drinks and preparing to leave, the doors slid open to allow entry for a large man who took up most of the doorway as he passed into the room. She recognized Commander Guildersen from when he boarded her old ship with a couple of Marines, ostensibly to greet them. Tuya kept her face turned away from him as he passed, watching him from the corner of narrow eyes.
“Ugh,” Mabel groaned. “Guildersen. I was warned about him by the day shift bartender. Apparently, the man will only drink the cheapest swill, and waters it down so much the alcohol practically disappears.” She glared at the wide back of the man as he waddled to the back of the room. “A little too free with the hands, too.”
“Better you than me,” Tuya grumbled. “I’d snap his fat fingers if he tried to touch me.”
Mabel laughed, reaching across to tap her on the arm. “I bet you would, too. Then I’d have to go down to the brig to visit you for the rest of my tour.”
Tuya was quick to leave as her roommate went to take the commander’s order, not wanting to risk being recognized. It had been a fruitful evening for her, having flirted with a few young officers who might prove to be susceptible to her sparse charms, enough to be used in her plans. She would wait a few days and ask Mabel to get her into the officers’ club again.
Her work in the shuttle bay was enjoyable for different reasons. The old maintenance crewman she was paired with, Will something-or-other that she couldn’t be bothered to remember, continued treating her like a nuisance sent to punish him. And she happily embraced the role, making him show her how to do things over and over until he exploded in anger. When that happened, she started shouting back with a surge of joy as she finally had a chance to release some of the stress, anger, and frustration that had been building up for months. She was always left breathless by the time the man gave up in disgust and stalked away, but the relief she felt gave her a smile that had made others in the shuttle bay look at her askance more than a few times.
The ensign in charge of Docking Bay Three had tried to bring her and Will together to have them hash out their differences, telling them that the shouting matches were causing disruptions in the work. That had not gone well for anyone but Tuya, as she got in the faces of both men and accused them of treating her like a lost little lamb, a young woman who had no place in their greasy men’s world of shuttle maintenance. She didn’t believe a word of it, but both men had wild looks as they rushed to deny any such feelings about her. The meeting ended with Will promising to be less overbearing, and Tuya promising to take his criticisms less personally. She knew that neither of them really meant it.
Outside of work, she spent hours walking through the corridors of the cruiser completing the map in her head that had been forming since she was trapped on board. There were a few sections of the ship that were barred to those who did not work there, like the bridge and engine rooms, but for the most part she had the run of the ship. She was careful not to pass by the holding cells again, in case her stance was recognized from the times she had been there wearing the old Marine armor.
It took several days, but she worked out a plan for accessing the cells through service tunnels and an empty storage room. She would need to gather a few tools to cut through bulkheads, but she felt confident it could be carried out quietly enough to not be noticed during the three or four hours the process would take.
The biggest hindrance was that she had no idea what the extent of the security would be. Were the Marine guards and cameras obsessively watching the corridors around the holding cells the only obstacle, or would she find stun fields built into the walls that would prevent her plan to cut through them? It was a calculated risk, since encountering such a field would incapacitate her long enough for soldiers to find her and slap restraints on her. She could only hope that the high energy expenditure needed for that level of security had not been deemed worthwhile during construction of the cruiser.
Over a couple of shifts in the shuttle bay, she managed to isolate a metal cutting torch and disassemble it into a handful of pieces small enough to smuggle out at the end of her shifts. She had two parts of it already stashed in the storage room she planned to start her rescue attempt from, and hoped to get the rest out within a week. With the Indomitable fast approaching Mars, she knew the activity in the shuttle bay would increase and it would be easier for her to smuggle components out. The last piece, the power source and fuel supply for the cutting tool, was large enough that she would have to choose the perfect moment to slip it out.
Tuya’s sixth shift working in the bay began like any other, as she joined the other crew members at their lockers to store items and check on the schedules for the day. Half a dozen assault shuttles were already sitting on the floor of the bay, and she felt her eyes drawn to the dull matte black shuttle that stood out in comparison to the sleek and glossy others. The lines of this shuttle were more angular, and it looked much more deadly and dangerous. She was happy to find that she and her partner were assigned to maintenance duties on a Marine shuttle on the far side of the bay.
Hours passed as she worked, unscrewing and removing panels to reach each part of the engines and shuttle workings. The Syndicate was strict about every shuttle being thoroughly checked before missions, and everyone was harried and stressed with so much to get ready for the ground assault. Tuya glanced around a few times to make sure she was unobserved before loosening some wires and sabotaging a power relay so that it would fail at some point in flight. She chuckled softly at the minor acts of defiance, enjoying her visions of the panic the pilots would experience. She wanted to do more, but knew it was too dangerous when she was so close to being able to effect a rescue of Altan.
Marines filed into the shuttle bay as she worked, and she glared at the squad that stood nearby and seemed to watch her every move. It put her in a bad mood already when Will approached and started to inquire about the progress of the checks.
“Are you still working on that engine, girl? You should’ve been done half an hour ago!”
Raising a grease-stained middle finger to scratch the cheek facing him, she bent down and shuffled deeper into the compartment to get at a stubborn power coupling that had shifted and needed to be put back into its proper place. “I’ll finish when I finish, old man. If you’re so fired up about it, why don’t you do some actual work and handle this for me?”
“Listen here, you insolent whelp. I finished the same work on the other side of this shuttle, and I’ve done it faster and better than you can ever hope to. I don’t know why they haven’t shifted you into a job you can actually handle. Maybe cleaning heads, though even that seems above your comprehension sometimes.”
Growling, Tuya jerked the coupling into place and then pulled back to exit the compartment and turn to face Will. She raised a finger to stab at him viciously. “I comprehend just fine that you’re a pig of a man who couldn’t find shit in a sewer if they showed you pictures beforehand.”
“That’s it,” Will yelled, raising his hands in indignation. “I’ve had all I’ll take out of you. I don’t know how you managed to survive the trip out from Earth with that mouth of yours.”
“Fantasizing about my mouth now, huh? I always knew you were an old pervert, but now the proof is revealed.”
“I’ll tell you what I’d do with that mouth. First, I’d pull that foul tongue of yours….” Will broke off suddenly, turning to look behind her with an expression of surprise.
Tuya was about to heckle him for not being able to think of anything to say, and glanced back to see what he was looking at. Behind her were four soldiers in armor that matched the lethal shuttle in color. Two of the soldiers were helmeted, with weapons pointed in her direction. The other two were standing between them with faces exposed, one of them causing her to go white as the blood drained from her face.
Fourteen
“You wanted to see me, sir?” Davis stood at attention in front of Commander Guildersen’s desk yet again, resisting the temptation to look down and see if his feet were beginning to create imprints in the floor from repeated visits. This time he was in a for a surprise, as the overweight officer greeted him with a smug smile instead of the dire frown that usually preceded one of the dressing downs he still received every few days.
“Well, Lieutenant, the time has finally come to see just how good your assault team really is.” He pressed a button on the desk, and a holographic display of Mars and its two moons appeared between them. “The Indomitable will be in orbit around Mars in two days. Marine squads will drop to the planet to round up Coalition scientists. Ghost Squad will drop to Deimos to take control of the small colony there. Your orders are to contain all colonists, prevent any damage to the systems, and separate out the Coalition citizens.”
“How many colonists on the moon, sir? Can we expect armed resistance?”
“It’s a small outpost of little more than one hundred people, mostly serving as a supply point for the scientific missions on the planet itself. Keeps the Guild’s precious freighters from having to enter the thin atmosphere in their junk heaps.” A wry twist of the officer’s mouth showed his disdain for the independent ships. “As to armed resistance, there may be a few stun weapons on the colony. Our latest reports show two security officers, and that is the extent of their protection.”
“Very good, Commander. Once we have the Coalition people singled out, what are our orders?”
