First Draft
Silence. Charlie loved the silence of the bridge once she
had it to herself. Both of her pilots were sleeping after pulling two nineteen
hour shifts. Whilst she didn’t have their skillset, Charlie could certainly
operate the basic commands if need be.
Green eyes landed
on the asteroid belt before the front window of her ship, the Valhalla.
It wasn’t a big vessel. Just a couple of hundred metres nose to tail and maybe
half of that across. But it was hers.
A content sigh
escaped her as she slumped into the pilots seat just that little bit further. The
blinking stars that sat on the blanket of black space attracted her attention. Maybe
one day we’ll be out there. The thought made her smile with imagination.
Wondering what was out there, beyond the asteroid belt, beyond Mars and all of
the other space stations. The faint thought of aliens came to mind and she
chuckled at that idea. Until she saw a living breathing alien, she wouldn’t
believe in such a thing.
An uneasy feeling
settled itself in the pit of her stomach, making her shuffle in her seat. A
frown started to form. Her eyes went back to the lumps of rock the lumps of
free floating rocks four hundred metres in front of them that circled in zero
gravity. Nothing to hold them in place and nothing to stop them from advancing.
Two stray rocks collided and the larger of the two began a tumbling dive
towards the ship. On the sensor screen she watched as the rock got closer. 350
metres. 300 metres. 250 metres. 200 metres. 150 metres. There was a low hum
that reverberated around the bridge. The corner of her mouth tugged up as she
listened to the automated tracking array take aim at the rock. 100 metres. A
set of white streams marked a path that split the rock into tiny, miniscule
pieces. No longer a threat.
That was what they
were doing there among the rocks that made up the asteroid belt. Making sure
none of them made their way back to Mars, Earth or the space stations that held
human life. Every ship had to endure the border patrol, the maintaining of the
belt.
But something still felt off. Her stomach
twisted again, almost expecting something to happen. Waiting.
A yawn escaped her
and she stretched, grabbed the mug that sat on the console in front of her and
pouted at the empty sight. Pushing herself up from her seat she checked that
everything was on automatic, checked that every sensor was working and the
alarm set for any emergencies before she moved up the short flight of stairs
that led off the bridge.
A blue eyed man in
the doorway stopped her in her tracks. Zachary Chamberlin. Her pilot.
“Captain,” he greeted with a sleepy nod.
“Zach,” she nodded
back. “What happened to the mandatory ten hour sleep I gave you?”
“Fuck that,” he
started onto the landing. “I’d feel better if me or Sokoloff were up here.”
Charlie shook her
head. Every person had a comfort zone and there were times when those comforts
were not to be pushed. This was one of them. “Well when she’s finished her shut
eye you catch up on yours.”
“Aye, Aye ma’am.”
She rolled her
eyes and made it to the doorway before she turned back, “Wake me if there’s an
emergency.”
“Sure thing.”
The hallway led
straight to the mess hall where she found one of her engineers, Wes Eliot, sat
cradling a cup of coffee. “Can’t sleep?” She offered the Kenyan man.
Rows of white
teeth appeared, “Just keeping the engine running. I saw Zach.”
“Yeah. Well don’t
stay up too long. McCallister’s going to run the morning routine.”
“He know that
yet?”
“Nope.”
The dark man
chuckled. “He’s not going to be happy with that.”
Charlie smirked.
McCallister was a man who enjoyed being in charge, if it wasn’t first thing in
the morning. The morning routine she was talking about was a five kilometre jog
around the ship, followed by a sparring session in the on ship gym that sat in
the belly of the ship. Then they would finish with another two kilometre jog
and be allowed an hours rest before breakfast was served. Just because they
were on a ship in space didn’t mean they had to become lazy with physical
exercise. The Captain enjoyed riling McCallister up every now and then, if only
to show him she was still in charge, but everybody knew McCallister was not a
morning person. He was often the last to be ready for the morning run.
“And he’ll be
taking it out on you lot.”
That turned the
man’s smirk around. “Captain.”
“You guys have
been lacking a bit. Maybe this will kick your asses into gear.” She left after
that, eager to get her own shut eye in before breakfast tomorrow. As she passed
McCallister’s room, and Patrick Nelson’s, one of the ships doctors, she put in
the command for a five thirty alarm with instructions to his duties that
morning. Satisfied she turned down the corridor once more.
The Captain’s
quarters were just past the crew’s quarters having a little more space for
private, serious conversations with members of the crew if they were needed. It
was roomy enough for a desk, a conference screen, an en suite which had
everything crammed in, and a bed with enough room left to stretch her legs out
in the mornings. She threw her dirty uniform, a black singlet, dark green over
shirt and black cargo pants, into the clothes chute and pulled herself into
bed. The clock next to the door read in bright green numbers that it was just
past one in the morning.
The feeling in her
stomach was back and she couldn’t fathom why. It was a standard routine trip to
the belt, hang around for a couple of weeks then head back to the UNC – United
Nations Confederation – an island that sat in the Atlantic Ocean, a
conglomerate which made up the entirety of the Earth’s military defence.
Everything had
gone smoothly since they’d departed from the main docking stations. They’d
gotten past the atmosphere, past Mars, which had been terra formed to
accommodate the growing population, and had reached the belt with no trouble. Nothing
out of the ordinary. She twisted in her bed sheets, getting comfortable as the
feeling sunk itself into the core of her body. By the time she managed to get
any sleep the clock had already read two thirty.
Silence.
Charlie loved the
silence of the bridge once she had it to herself. Nothing but the blanket of
space and the low humming of machines to keep her company. She settled into her
seat and let her green eyes drift over the blinking stars that stared back with enigma.
Silence. A welcome change to the constant noise that was outside of that room
and beyond. No voices. No yelling. No screaming. No laughing. Nothing to
interrupt her.
Both of her pilots
were sleeping. She’d relieved them to give them a break and to regulate their
sleeping pattern for going back home. Two more days and they would be hitting
fresh air and landing on solid ground on Earth. Everybody was excited. After the
six weeks of patrol with nothing but reheated rations and each other to keep
them company, the idea of solid ground was making everyone chipper. The idea of
fresh air, compared to the recycled air they breathed, was making Charlie eager
to get home.
A beep on the console
drew her forward. She stared at the tiny yellow flashing bulb for twelve flashes
before it disappeared. Just a sign that the day on Earth had started again. A
standard procedure put into all ships to keep their routine in check with Earth’s.
It made the transition from space to ground easier.
She settled back
into the seat and closed her eyes. She hoped that the next two days would run
smoothly. She hoped that there would be no reason to pull the ship, Valhalla
out of its current position. Their job was to make sure there were no pirate ships
on the fringes of space. They were a common occurrence, ‘freeing the enslaved’
and stealing from Command ships. Every ship in Commands fleet had to endure six
weeks of patrol to arrest any pirates they spotted. She herself couldn’t
understand these crews. They resembled pirates in lore, raiding and pilfering
what they can, selling their stolen goods to those that will buy it on the
black market, but they had an apparent cause.
A snort echoed and
she stifled it with her teeth on the inside of her bottom lip.
That was when a
moment of worry passed through her mind unannounced. She frowned and stared at
the controls in front of her. Her stomach twisted and she wriggled in her seat.
There was something bitter in the air and it left the back of her throat dry. She
pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth and stared at the stars. The air
she tried to take in was heavy and it was heavier when she released it. Something
was off. But she couldn’t place her finger on it.
A sigh escaped her.
She shook her head and she reached forward for her mug. A pout formed at the
empty sight and she turned her eyes to the controls in front of her. She didn’t
have a pilots form when it came to control of the ship but she knew enough to operate
the basest commands and controls. She checked the auto pilot was still running
and turned on the automated alarm system in case of emergencies. If something
got too close to the ship an internal ship wide alarm would go off, waking everybody
up.
Satisfied she got
up, let a yawn free and turned. The bridge consisted of a large viewing window
with two seats behind a series of controls. Just four feet behind these seats
sat three seats spaced close together. The Captain’s seat, hers, sat in the
middle with the First Mate’s seat on the left and the Second Officer’s on the
right. Behind these was a small flight of five steps that led up to the corridor
that led straight to the mess hall.
Her eyes travelled
to the open doorway at the sound of feet that stumbled and shuffled their way
along. A few seconds passed until Warrant Officer Zachary Chamberlin appeared in
the doorway, one hand scrunched up in his face. “Captain,” the German greeted
with a tired nod.
“Zach,” she nodded
back. “What happened to the mandatory sleep I gave you?”
“Fuck that,” he
muttered. His feet carried him down the flight of stairs to meet her. “No
offence
Captain but I’d feel better if me or Soko were up here.”
Captain but I’d feel better if me or Soko were up here.”
Charlie couldn’t
argue. Every person had a comfort zone. When it came to her pilots she didn’t
want to intrude. “Well when she’s awake I want you to catch up on yours. That’s
an order.” She started past him. “We’re home in two days. Let’s not forget
that.”
“Aye, Aye Ma’am.”
She rolled her eyes at the term of address. One thing she’d made clear with
everybody was to not call her ‘Ma’am’. It made her feel old. Many still enjoyed
pressing her buttons now and again. For some it was ingrained and it would take
a lot for her to un-ingrain it.
Her feet touched
the boundary between hallway and bridge before she turned. “Wake me if there’s
an emergency.”
“Sure thing.”
She turned and
left then. The hallway was a tunnel of dull grey metal with dim lights situated
three feet apart. It led straight to the mess hall where she found one of her
engineers, Sergeant Wes Eliot. The Kenyan man had a freshly brewed coffee cradled
in two large hands. “Can’t sleep?” she offered.
Rows of white teeth appeared. “Just keeping
the engine running. I saw Zach.” The pilot didn’t go by rank or surname like
other soldiers. The man hated his name and it hadn’t taken everyone long to
adopt to calling him ‘Zach’. Even the officers in Command referred to him as
Zach when it wasn’t going on the official records.
“Yeah well don’t
stay up too long. McCallister’s going to run the morning routine.”
“He know that yet?”
“Nope.”
The dark man
chuckled. “He’s not going to be happy with that.”
Charlie smirked and
set her cup in the sink. McCallister was a man who enjoyed being in charge on
the condition that it wasn’t first thing in the morning. The morning routine
she talked about was a five kilometre run around the ship, followed by a
sparring session in the on-ship gym that sat in the belly of the ship. They
would finish with a two kilometre jog. After that they would be allowed an hour
of rest before breakfast was served. Being on a ship in space and away from
Earth didn’t justify laziness. Which by the end of the standard six weeks her
crew were showing signs of.
But everybody knew
McCallister was not a morning person. He was often the last to be ready when
Charlie was in charge. “And he’ll be taking it out on you lot.”
That turned the
man’s smirk around. “Captain,” he whined.
“You guys have
been getting lazy. Maybe this will kick your asses into gear.” She left after that,
eager to get her own shut eye in before breakfast tomorrow. The crew’s quarters
were nestled along the opposite corridor to the bridge and they were usually
bunked in two’s or three’s depending upon crew size. As she passed McCallister’s
room she put in a command for a five thirty alarm on the control panel outside
the door along with a quick list of instructions for his duties that morning. Once
satisfied she turned down the corridor once again.
The Captain’s
quarters sat at the end of the hall. It was a door that sat next to the stairs
that led down. Inside, the space was a small office with enough room to fit
five or six people with her behind the desk and conference screen. A door led
off to the right which housed her bed and en-suite. Every crew’s quarters had a
bathroom attached, but she didn’t have to share hers. It had what few
belongings she’d brought with her and enough space to stretch her legs in the mornings.
She threw her
dirty uniform, a black singlet, dark green over shirt and black cargo pants,
into the clothes chute and pulled herself into bed. The clock next to the door,
spread across the control panel, read in bright green numbers that it was half
twelve. The light was knocked off from a switch next to her bed and she rolled
over.
The feeling in her
stomach was back. It made her uncomfortable and wriggled itself within her
chest. She couldn’t fathom why it was making her so on edge. Their mission was
a standard routine trip that was almost over. Not a hitch. Departure had been
routine. They lingered on the edge of explored space, in the standard waiting
post, and nothing spectacular had happened. The most exciting thing to have
happened outside the ship was a stray asteroid just fifty metres in length. The
automated targeting array had taken care of that.
But nothing was
out of place.
She twisted in the
bed sheets, desperate to get comfortable as the uneasy feeling spread itself
into the core of her body. It sat like a lead weight, cold against her flesh and
sharp against her ribs. By the time slumber sucked her under the clock had read
two thirty.
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I know it's a really long post but I want to show you how my editing is going on. And it's the first chapter. So here you go. And feedback would be appreciated. Be as harsh as you like.
Happy Writing.
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