Gliese Chronicles: Thin Margin Ch. 03

"Captain, do you have a better idea? I don't see our getting a definitive answer any other way. If the two humans we have selected for revival don't make it, chances are none of them will. They represent a sample of the remaining healthy individuals with the best chance of surviving. At least we would know if the admiral elects to attack their fleet he probably wouldn't be killing viable humans."

My mind was working overtime evaluating what we knew. It didn't take all that long to see the logic Morgan was using, and I had to admit I couldn't come up with anything better. The problem was it would mean leaving him where there was no guarantee of his safety. Then I realized if we were ordered to attack the vessels of the enemy fleet and the robots thought their humans were still viable they would defend them—Avenger would be in the midst of the battle and all of the other Gliese crews would be in jeopardy too. If Morgan remained behind he might actually be in a safer place than we would be. Perhaps I should leave our shuttle with him, then realized he would nix that idea anyway.

"You have my permission Commander, but I want you to know I don't like it. I'll have rations for three placed in the hangar bay for Zenn or Robb to pick up, enough for three days just in case something happens. I'll be calling Prescott with an update in half an hour and I expect he will remind me of our orders to return to the fleet on the time schedule he set."

"I understand the situation. I'll keep Robb with me and have Zenn return to Avenger, after he has delivered the meals he can return, go through decontamination, and assume Robb's position on the bridge."

"Morgan, I don't think the admiral is going to like this at all. I want you to know I support this decision as it makes the most sense. But, I don't want you to take any more chances than necessary. I want you to find the nearest escape pod location and make sure it's in good operating condition. Is that understood?"

"Captain, already done. I have no intention of leaving you to face Prescott alone. As soon as I find anything out I'll be in contact with you so you can relay it to the admiral."

I smiled to myself, we really did make a good team, he almost thought like an engineer—something he wouldn't like me to tell him I was sure. It made me feel a little better, but I was still anxious about leaving him behind knowing I had a part to play if something happened to him.

As expected, the time passed quickly and just before it was time for us to leave for the fleet the admiral called for an update. I told him what we had found and as expected, it did nothing to influence him in a way that changed his orders for Avenger to return to the fleet. I didn't tell him I was leaving Commander Stanford aboard the enemy ship to interview humans we hoped had survived their extended stay in the cryo-units. It was our ace in the hole.

It was several minutes later when we received another message that confused me. He ordered the two remaining Space Force ships to leave immediately for the fleet, leaving Avenger alone with the enemy vessel. It was about ten minutes later when I prepared Avenger for departure that he sent an encrypted message: "Captain Casperson; ADS 136. You are hereby ordered to destroy the remaining enemy vessel before rejoining the fleet. Admiral James P. Prescott, Commander, Joint Strike Force, Space Command."

I had watched as ADS 29 and 89 left their station and quickly disappeared from sight minutes before and now wondered what to do. I would have to disobey a direct order to save Morgan and any other humans on board. The admiral had apparently not missed the fact we had inflicted the damage on the enemy fleet when Morgan let it slip.

I had been prepared to quickly return to retrieve Morgan and Robb when I received another message, this time from Morgan. "Captain, I have an update for you. It's good news as the vital signs of the captain and commander of the ship have gotten stronger with each passing minute. It appears they are going to make it and I should be able to debrief them in perhaps two or three hours."

"It was good news. Now it was time to inform the admiral. I quickly turned and sent an encrypted message to Admiral Prescott informing him we expected to able to speak to members of the human crew of the vessel and asked for permission to linger longer to do so. I fully expected him to give me an extension of at least several hours. It would take Avenger about two hours to return to the fleet, it didn't seem an outrageous request."

Several minutes passed before I received a reply, one that defied explanation. It was terse: "Captain Casperson, ADS 136. You have your orders. Comply."

I stood stunned, now what? He obviously thought we were exaggerating about the human crew or were being duped. There didn't seem to be any way but to inform the admiral we had crew left on the board the enemy vessel we would need to retrieve before destroying the ship—which I knew I wasn't going to do now that I knew there were humans aboard that would survive their stay in the cryo-units. My mind made up I pushed the button to open the channel to Morgan.

"Morgan, the admiral will not give us an extension and has ordered me to destroy their ship and return to the fleet. I want you to request they formally surrender their ship to you. Do you understand what I want you to do?"

"Yes, Captain, I do. It changes the terms of our engagement. I'll be in contact with you when I have an update on our situation, I'll use tactical channel three. You know Prescott isn't going to like this, but we have no choice. Morgan out."

I was disobeying a direct order, yet in my view, I wasn't if human lives could be saved on both sides. I could argue the tactical situation had changed and it was my decision on how best to respond—it might be flimsy, but it was the best I had in terms of justifying my command decisions.

"Helm, plot our course to the fleet. Comm, inform the admiral we're on our way."

I heard the confirmation of my orders in the background, but my thoughts were on Morgan. I hoped the decision we had made hadn't ended our careers, but I knew it really didn't matter. We had made the right decision for both of us based upon our responsibility to those who could not speak for themselves—they lay silent in cryo-units.

I had ordered the crew to rest while we returned to the fleet knowing having them mentally sharp would be best given the uncertainty of what lay ahead. I had the rear monitors on full magnification to see if Morgan was behind us, but so far there was no indication the ship was in trail formation behind us. At our last transmission, we had agreed he would remain silent with all but the most essential sensors offline to avoid spooking the admiral. I had ordered our cloak removed and all of our sensors activated. I wanted the admiral to see me coming this time. It would also allow me to see how focused our ships were on the enemy fleet and if they were keeping watch of all quadrants.

The forward monitor showed a collection of lighter colored objects that steadily grew larger as our fleet came into view. There had been no further communication from the admiral, and I ordered Comm to send a message to signal our approach—this was answered seconds later as a junior officer's face appeared on the monitor.

"Captain Casperson, this is Lieutenant April. Admiral Prescott is reviewing battle plans at the present time and these will be sent to you shortly. The enemy fleet appears to have completed their external repairs, and their comm traffic has increased over the last few hours. We expect they will be advancing on us at any time. We are at general quarters and suggest you do the same."

"Thank you, lieutenant, we will await the receipt of our orders and will remain at station here unless we are instructed otherwise." I mused that the lieutenant looked very young, I guessed she was probably just recently commissioned and it took me back to my days at the academy, then her voice brought me back to the present.

"Understood, Captain," as the screen went dark.

Battle plans—he was intent on engaging. I was sure he had waited on our arrival to bring his forces to full strength before commencing his attack. I had a sick feeling in my stomach. There had to be a way of delaying him. I was just about to leave my chair when a chime signaled a message from Morgan indicating he had intercepted the exchange of messages between the admiral's ship and Avenger. His message read simply: "Watch the enemy fleet."

The enemy fleet was visible in the far distance at three-quarters magnification, the admiral having stood out of effective range of their laser cannons. At least he wasn't a complete idiot, though the thought didn't bring a lot of consolation with it. If he was going to use Avenger to his advantage, he should be asking me to shuttle to his ship so I could explain our capabilities more fully—it would also buy some time for me to think of a solution to this mess.

It was then I noticed the size of the ships in the enemy fleet begin to grow smaller. I stood watching for a few seconds before I began to understand—Morgan had ordered the fleet to distance themselves from our fleet to show they weren't going to attack, or perhaps to signal they would leave entirely. That would give the admiral pause, or at least it should.

It was about five minutes later when a message arrived from the admiral's ship stating they were reevaluating the tactical situation. I smiled, it had worked--Morgan had thrown the admiral off-balance buying time for him to reconsider his plans. Now was the time to apply additional pressure to the admiral—it was payback time.

I opened a channel to the admiral's ship. "Please ask Admiral Prescott if Avenger should gather additional intelligence from near or within the enemy fleet."

It took another five minutes before there was a reply indicating the admiral was considering his options. I was smiling, sure he was, now if he was really smart he would attempt to communicate with the enemy fleet to gauge their intentions. I glanced at the rear monitors and saw a large vessel as a mere speck at our stern—it was Morgan, and so far no one in the fleet had detected his approach—all eyes were on the enemy fleet. It was a stroke of genius—he had used the enemy fleet to not only delay an attack and sow confusion in the admiral's mind, but he also used it to distract their attention from his approach in a ship that dwarfed any of our fleet's ships. This was going to be physical intimidation at its best when he was discovered!

I sent another message to the admiral suggesting an attempt at communication with the commander of the enemy fleet. I knew who the message would be directed to if he elected to follow my suggestion.

The admiral's face showed up on my monitor, his face looked a bit pasty with a hint of confusion—not a becoming look for a man in charge of an entire fleet of ships. We had now been with the fleet for almost two hours and his crews at been at general quarters the entire time while I had rested my crew by not doing the same. I looked about the bridge and saw the crew calm and business-like despite the fact they were privy to what was showing on the screens and had heard the audio communications between our fleet; only my direct communication on the tactical channel with Morgan was hidden from them.

"Captain Casperson, do you think they would communicate with us now? They never have in the past, it seems a long-shot."

"Admiral, I don't see a downside to trying as we really don't have anything to lose if they don't respond. That still leaves you in a position to make your own decision. But if they tell us they are preparing to leave it takes some of the pressure off the crews of our ships."

I watched as his face contorted, then grew into a frown. Finally, he looked a bit more confident.

"Very well, Captain. It makes sense to try and determine their intentions."

The admiral's image disappeared from the screen for a few seconds and then reappeared a minute later. He was opening a channel to all of the ships in our fleet and on multiple channels to the enemy fleet.

"To the commander of the unknown enemy fleet. This is Admiral Prescott of Space Command. Please state your intentions in regard to your destination."

It was a tense minute or two, the increase in comm traffic within the enemy fleet was detectable on our sensors and surely was on all of our vessels as well. When the image of the enemy commander appeared on the screen I gasped—this despite the fact I knew who it would be—Morgan!

I watched Admiral Prescott's face as he viewed the response—it was of total shock. He stood there not saying a word, the junior officers beside him were likewise silent, with questioning looks between them.

"Admiral Prescott, this is Commander Stanford, of Space Command. The enemy fleet has surrendered to me and I am in command of their fleet. They no longer pose a military threat to our system and our fleet can stand down. Now, if you would wait another hour I should be able to present to you the commander of their fleet. He is just out of a cryo-unit and in need of nourishment and a change of clothes to make himself presentable. Is that acceptable to you sir?"

"Yes...yes...of...course. Commander, how did you get onto their ship without our seeing you?"

Oh, this was going to be good! I could hardly wait to see the expression on the admiral's face I thought to myself with satisfaction. I turned my attention to our stern monitors and watched as the ship Morgan was on grew to fill the entire screen even as the magnification was reduced to the minimum. The huge ship came over the top of Avenger making us look like a small insect next to a whale.

"Admiral, I suggest you look behind and above you. I'm in the vessel you can see approaching your flagship," the message from Morgan announced.

It was indeed impressive as I watched Morgan's ship pass us and approach the fleet. The admiral's ship was but a quarter the size of the enemy vessel—only now it wasn't an enemy any longer. My attention turned to the admiral's face on the screen where it showed utter awe. He was speechless, and for once I couldn't blame him, as it was one of the most impressive things I had ever seen myself.

"Admiral, I request Avenger come aboard to ferry myself, Captain James Duris, of the ship New Frontiers and his first officer, Ada Caprinol, to brief you on what happened to their ship and crew and how they came to be in our system. We can explain more of this later."

"Yes, of course, that would be fine. We will make preparations for your arrival."

The screen went dark as the transmission ended with the admiral and was replaced with Morgan's image on our tactical channel, his face wore a broad smile.

"Captain Casperson, we could use a ride if you would be so kind. You will find the hangar bay of New Frontiers is fully operational on the port side. We'll provide guidance to you upon entering as to when it is fully pressurized."

I was amazed the robot crews had over the past four hours managed to repair the hangar bay so it was capable of being pressurized. I could only imagine how well coordinated the effort must have been to repair the hull plating and then the hangar doors in such a short period. Of course, if they had finished the bridge reconstruction they must have only had to take care of the external structural work, but that represented a significant achievement in engineering by itself.

"Commander Stanford, we will be happy to come aboard. We can use our shuttle and take you to Admiral Prescott's ship. Casperson out."

I knew we had things to talk about. It was difficult to know what, if anything, Prescott was going to say at this point. The appearance of the ship told the admiral in no uncertain terms I had not obeyed his order to destroy the ship Morgan now commanded. I now hoped the admiral would be more interested in preserving his reputation than in seeking retribution from Morgan and myself for having to make decisions based upon our understanding of the tactical situation. At least, that was the way we would frame it; we had also fully understood the strategic implications, perhaps better than the admiral did.

When we landed in the hangar bay ten minutes later I was impressed with how the hangar doors came down to seal the hull, then I gazed at the monitors and watched as a robot crew continued to clear debris from a portion of the hangar with large machines lifting parts of a spacecraft that had been torn into large pieces by our torpedo.

When the large green light indicated the hangar deck was pressurized, we confirmed the signal indication verbally and later stepped out of our ship without space suits. I had never been on a vessel this large before, and it was an incredible feeling as I walked towards the airlock with Robb leading the way. When inside we took an enclosed transportation car in a tube to the bridge, another feature that had been repaired and put into operation according to Zenn as we traveled along smoothly with the tube.

When we stepped out onto the large bridge with dimly lit control panels, it seemed well organized with a layout similar to our own ships—in fact it felt comfortable. It was then I saw Morgan standing with an older man and woman wearing dress uniforms I didn't recognize. I was introduced to Captain Duris and his first officer, Commander Caprinol, a very distinguished-looking woman with dark brown hair hanging down to her shoulders. She and the captain appeared to be in their late thirties or early forties and I got the impression they were very comfortable with each other—just my intuition, but if there were cryo-units built for two I could see them occupying it together.

Captain Duris turned to me with a smile after the introductions were made I got the impression they were very pleased to meet me.

Commander Caprinol smiled and added. "According to what Commander Stanford has told us, you disobeyed a direct order from your admiral to destroy our ship. The members of this crew and the colonists aboard have suffered a great deal since we departed from Earth. I hope our arrival here will be received well despite what has transpired with the loss of life by your people upon our arrival. I hope due recognition will be given to the degradation and interpretation of our orders by the humanoid robots we left in charge. They were simply trying to protect us from what we and they had experienced before.

"Captain, I hope after the full story is known you will be given all due consideration by the leaders of our people. But first, we need to introduce you to Admiral Prescott. He will be responsible for what happens next and for communicating with the leadership of our worlds. I know you have a lot to learn about our civilization, but I think you can tell already we share a great deal in common. Humans after all are designed to be social animals, a that thread binds us all."

I hoped Admiral Prescott would be capable of understanding their predicament, and our own, when the time came. Morgan and I had gone against his orders and our best defense for doing so were the two officers that stood before us. I hoped it wouldn't get ugly in private when Morgan and I met him in a debriefing.

"Captain Casperson, I want you to know it was a tough decision to make in regards to finding your solar system in order to survive. One made out of desperation to be honest, as we had planned to go to a nearby planetary system. We very much appreciate the fact we have survived by only the slimmest margin of error thanks to you and Commander Stanford."