Warrior One - Fleet Action Pt. 01

Copyright © 2015 - 2019 - This is an original work by Zeb Carter and is protected under copyright by U.S. copyright law. It is only submitted at Literotica.Com and any submission to any other site has not been authorized by the Author. This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Author's Note: Just a note to those who care or are looking for sex in a Sci-Fi setting. There is no sex in this story as told. No tentacle sex or normal human sex. Sorry, that's the way these things go. Have fun. Oh, also this is kind of long, 42,000 words. You have been warned. ;)

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Chapter 1

The room was dark and cool, air circulating, causes a slight echo deep in the darkness. Slowly, lights flicker to life. Small red, green and white spots glowing all around the great room, start to dispel the darkness that drapes it. Then, suddenly, great overhead lights flash into existence, accompanied by a buzzing sound, banishing the darkness to the furthest reaches of the large room. The odd shapes, barely visible in the darkness, now become solid forms, consisting of large padded chairs and control boards, studded with buttons, dials, levers, telltales, and switches.

All surfaces gleam whitely, the gray chair cushions, appear soft and comfortable. Above each chair, monitors hang, just now coming to life, showing various functions and parameters. One huge screen on the wall, facing the consoles, flickers to life, luminescent letters scrolling across its surface. Then as the letters and numbers coalesce into words, other sounds occur, somewhere deep below the great room. Clicks, bumps, whirring sounds, loud clunks, and kerchunks echo through the passageways as the waking of some great, huge beast, continues.

"Warrior on... " static interrupts the sound of a voice blaring from the speakers on the walls. "... or one, Warrior One... " more static blurs the voice.

Somewhere below the great room a drawer slides silently open revealing a capsule. The top of the capsule is clear, but frost covers the inside as if it was extremely cold. Lights wink on in sequence at the end of the capsule. Two more capsules slide out of the wall, down the aisle from the first. They too are frost covered and opaque. Lights flash in sequence on their ends. Farther below, almost at the bottom of the great machine, two more capsules emerge from a wall, inside their tops crusted with frost.

In a small cubicle, a body stirs; a frosty capsule does not surround this form. Its eyes flicker open to stare into the shadowy gloom in which it finds itself. It is instantly alert to its situation. Its hand comes up to press some buttons on the panel before its face. The little cubical is flooded with light as the panel before the body slowly opens.

Candle Steel's senses are flooded with the sounds and sights of the great ship waking around him. Candle Steel, comes fully awake within seconds. Candle Steel, shakes his head in a gesture he has come to mimic. Candle Steel wants very much not to stand out among his fellow crewmen. Stepping from his cubicle, Candle, turns right, bending over the console and the monitors there. He watches as the hibernation pods slide out of the wall in the main hibernation section of the ship. He also notices two pods open on the engineering deck. Straightening up, Candle turns and leaves his cubicle heading to the bridge.

In another small cubicle on the primary hibernation deck, lights flicker to life and a panel slides open. The body inside the cubicle stirs to life. Rebecca "Becky" Gold, opens her eyes. Becky is one of the ship's nurses. Stepping out of the cubicle, Becky turns to peer at the monitors to her right. Nodding she turns and heads down the aisle to the two capsules that are now protruding from the wall.

Bending over the first capsule, Becky glances at the readouts on the panel. Smiling, she moves to the second capsule reading its status on the panel at its end. Smiling once more, Becky moves to another capsule, reaches out and presses a series of buttons in sequence. Standing aside, she watches as the capsule slides out of the wall. Nodding to herself, she performs the same routine on four more capsules, before returning to the first two and reading the status of them both.

Pleased with what she reads, Becky turns heading to an elevator at the far end of the aisle. Pressing the button to the side of the closed door in front of her, Becky waits. Within seconds, the doors slide open and Becky steps inside.

"Engineering deck," Becky said, her voice, a soft soubrette, echoes down the aisle behind her.

The doors close and the lift begins to move. Seconds later, it opens and Becky steps out and turns to her right moving along the corridor. At the first junction, she turns left into the hibernation space of engineering. Bending over the display panels at the end of the capsules, Becky presses the sequence, which would open each capsule, into the keypad.

Turning, she walks down three capsules and presses the button to start the defrost sequence on three more capsules. From the information flowing through Becky's cybernetic brain, this is to be a full call-up of the ship's personnel. At the same time, Becky also taps a sequence that will awake the other nurse androids.

Chapter 2

"Mister Steel, report," Captain Nichols says, to his ship's android, as he enters the bridge.

"Sir, all systems are nominal. Weapons are at the ready," Candle Steel says loudly and clearly as his programming requires.

"Very well," the Captain replies settling into his couch just abaft of the pilot and navigator's seats, "estimated time on when the full crew is out of hibernation."

"Two hours, fifteen minutes, sir," Candle calls out.

"Very good, course and speed?"

"Course one-eight-five, six degrees off the plane, speed, point oh-oh-nine of light speed. According to the program, we will drop out of hyperspace in four hours," Candle replies.

"Very good, Mister Steel," Captain Nichols tells him.

As Candle and the Captain wait, more and more crew flow onto the bridge and take their places at their stations. Captain Nichols gazes at his readouts, as each station checks in lights change from red to green on his display panel. As the couches fill, Candle Steel moves out of the pilot's place to stand just behind and to the right of the Captain. In front of Candle is a waist-high console with display panels and controls.

"Mister Steel, is Doctor Collins awake? His capsule was out, but its door had yet to open."

"Yes, sir, he is at work helping those coming out of cold sleep."

"Very good Candle," Captain Nichols replies.

"Thank you, sir," Candle says.

Becky is standing over the capsule as the top flips up and out of the way. She smiles down at the man now visible in the capsule. His eyelids flutter as the fresh air floods the compartment. When his eyes are fully open he looks up at Becky and smiles.

"Aye, girl, it went off without a hitch, just like you said it would," Connor MacDonald wheezes in his heavy Irish brogue.

"Now don't you talk just yet, not until you have finished drinking this," Becky scolds the feisty engineer as she hands him a container of restorative.

"Aye lass," MacDonald coughs hurriedly placing the drinking tube to his lips.

Smiling as he sucks the cooling liquid, Connor watches as Becky moves to the capsule next to his. When the top lifts up and back, he can see his first assistant as she wakes from her long sleep. Becky hands Assistant Chief Engineer Sean O'Connor a container from which to drink. Both take their time climbing out of their capsules.

Major Lafferty Owens stumbles down the corridor on his way to the bridge. He knew he climbed out of the capsule too soon, but the effects of cold sleep would only be temporary. At least he hoped they were. He would hate to feel like he does for any longer than he had to. As he approaches the bridge, Laff, as most of his friends and family call him, stops to take in the spectacle. The lights and noises of the bridge never fail to fascinate him. Shaking his head, Laff strides to the Captain's chair and stands at attention, waiting for the Captain to notice him.

"Report Major," Captain Nichols says.

"Major Owens reports that he is alive, sir and with the Captains, permission will retire to ensure that his troops are alive also, sir."

"Permission granted," Captain Nichols responds, a smile on his face.

Owens salutes, turns and strides back out the door he just entered. His duty complete, he hurries down a deck to the hibernation compartment that holds his two hundred and thirty-seven Marines. His company is comprised of two heavy weapons platoons and two rifle platoons along with the command element. He and his men are responsible for the safety of the crew and the ship.

As he enters the hibernation compartment, Captain Joyce Tanner, Laff's second in command, greets him with a weak wave from her capsule. Knowing exactly how she feels, Laff waves back taking a seat on the empty bench along the blank wall across from the hibernation capsules.

"What's the word, Major?" Nancy Silver asks Laff.

"My head still hurts," Laff tells the ship's nurse android.

"Keep drinking that restorative and I'll get you an analgesic.

"Thanks, Nanc," Laff replies putting the drinking tube to his lips watching Nancy stride away down the rank of capsules.

Three hours later the bridge and all sections are manned and ready. Those who didn't have the duty gather in the lounges scattered around the ship. The Marines not on duty gather in their ready bay, checking equipment and duty rosters. The ships nurse androids are checking over the last few sleepers. Some are having trouble, others just headaches like Major Owens. The latter are given analgesics to counter the hangover of cold sleep. The former are taken to sickbay to be cared for by the doctors and nurses awakened from cold sleep. A few of the sleepers would never recover from the effects of cold sleep. For them, the only kindness was to slip them back in the capsules and let them take that last long sleep.

Chapter 3

Four hours on the mark, Warrior One dropped out of hyperspace. It took six more days to build up sub-light speed to make their pass. On the seventh day, the great ship slides into the gravity well around Pryocon III. The blaring of klaxons throughout the ship signals the call to battle stations.

"Mister Steel, enough with the alarms, I think everyone knows by now," Captain Nichols yells to be heard over the cacophony.

"Aye, aye sir," Candle said more to himself than to the Captain as his fingers tapped out the alarm shutdown sequence on his console.

"Thank you, Mister Steel. Sensors report," Captain Nichols calls out.

"They know we're here... " The ship shook violently. "Ion burst up from the planet. Starboard reactor is scramming. No casualties reported."

"Thank you Mister Carlson, keep me informed. Countermeasures," Captain Nichols queried.

"Chaff is being deployed; there should be no more ion strikes."

"Thank you. Weapons?"

"Ready and standing by for your orders, sir."

"Begin bombardment."

"Aye, aye, sir," the weapons officer acknowledges tapping out the sequence on his console.

The ship shakes, as one missile after another, drops from the ship headed to the planet below. Hundreds and hundreds of missiles, all aimed at the planet below, drifted, then accelerated away from the ship.

"Sensors... five... no ten missiles on an intercept course," Ensign Carlson reported.

"Countermeasures!"

"Active," Lieutenant Byers shouted.

"Loadout," shouted Ensign Smith.

"Helm, accelerate to new course, it should be in the NavComp."

"Aye, aye," the pilot responds as he taps out the sequence to begin the journey to their next target.

"Target assessment Mister Steel?"

"Prediction is ninety-eight percent, sir."

"Keep an eye on it until we are out of range."

"Aye, aye sir."

"Sensors, any pursuit?"

"No sir, none detected."

"I want full scans all around us, I don't want any surprises."

"Aye, aye, sir."

For the next three hours, the men and women in the control room, wait to see if anyone pursues them. Once the ship reaches point zero-two-five percent of light speed, they relax.

Chapter 4

For thousands of years, the Gar have dominated the inner clusters of the Galaxy, expanding their sphere of control outward toward the rim. For a thousand years, humankind has been expanding throughout the quadrant of the galaxy where Earth resides on the furthest reaches of the rim. The meeting was inevitable.

When that first meeting of the two races was over, the humans were retreating in defeat and the Gar were, from then on, ever watchful. After that first clash, it was another fifty years until the Gar encountered humankind again. When they did, they found themselves sorely outgunned. In fifty years, humankind had learned from their defeat and they had learned well.

That first encounter with the Gar had been a mistake, a fluke. The Space Ship Odyssey was way off course. Odyssey was a science research vessel, although it was armed, it was for defense only. When Odyssey met that first Gar ship in the far reaches of space, the captain of the Odyssey should have turned and run, he knew the Gar ship outgunned Odyssey. Instead, he signaled the Gar. Until that signal the Gar were ignoring the Odyssey, their sensors having determined Odyssey was no threat.

To the Gar, that signal, was a challenge, a challenge that they must accept. A battle ensued, the Odyssey was almost destroyed, but the Gar left, what was left of the Odyssey, as a message to the race of humans, never challenge them again.

Fifty years after that first meeting, the Gar encountered another human ship. This time the humans didn't bother to signal. They destroyed the Gar ship, completely. The humans left no warning, no message to alert the Gar, just wreckage of the Gar spaceship drifting in space.

When the Gar discovered the debris of their destroyed ship, they had no idea who had been so bold. For all races the Gar encountered, until now, had been their inferior, races to be subjugated or if subjugation was impossible, annihilated.

They now had a foe that was a match for their technology and a foe who gave no quarter.

Chapter 5

"Come in Mister Steel," Captain Nichols said when Candle knocked on his cabin doorjamb.

"Sir, as we were coming out of hibernation we received a message from Central."

"Why wasn't I informed?"

"It was marked low priority, sir, and was placed in with the personal messages."

"I see. Well, what was the message?"

"It has been transferred to your console, sir, along with the target assessments."

"Thank you Candle," Captain Nichols said turning to his console and tapping out the sequence to list his messages. "That will be all."

"Yes, sir," Candle replied, turned and left the cabin.

The message started to play as Ezra leaned back into his chair.

"Warrior One... Warrior One... " Static filled the speakers as the voice faded in and out. "Warrior One, this is a blue priority message. You are to rendezvous with Fleet One at the following coordinates, Alpha one-three declination five by Beta nine-five by Gamma-three. You have twenty-two days. Good luck and Central out."

Captain Nichols slumped in his chair. Blue priority was the lowest priority, but if Central wanted them to rendezvous with Fleet in twenty-two days, then they were going to meet Fleet One in twenty-two days.

Ezra Nichols was twenty-three years old. There were men under his command who were twice his age. Ezra had no illusions that some thought they could do a better job. Yet they had enthusiastically volunteered to join him aboard Warrior One. Leaning forward in his chair, Ezra pressed the intercom button.

"Chief Engineer MacDonald, please see the captain in his quarters."

"MacDonald aye," came the answer after a few seconds.

Five minutes later Chief Engineer MacDonald rapped his knuckles on the doorjamb of the Captain's quarters.

"Come in Commander," Ezra told him.

"Commander MacDonald reporting as requested, sir."

"Relax Connor, please. Have a seat."

"Aye sir," Connor said sitting in the chair in front of the Captain's desk.

"Con, we have eighteen days to make it to these coordinates," Ezra said handing Connor a piece of paper. "Can we do it?"

Connor peered at the paper for several seconds before answering. "Aye, Captain, we can, with time to spare."

"Good," Ezra said.

"Is there anything else Captain?"

"Yes please extend my compliments to your department and make all possible speed to these coordinates."

"Aye sir," Connor stood, snapping to attention. Turning on his heels Connor left the Captain's cabin.

The Captain went back to scanning the target assessments. Fifteen minutes later, the ship-wide intercom blared.

"All hands prepare for course correction in two minutes."

Ezra smiled, the course correction was a three-degree shift from their present course. The delta-vee required was small, but there would be a bump as the ships thrusters pushed it sideways onto the new course.

Chapter 6

Connor MacDonald strode into engineering, his eyes searching for his assistant Sean. His lips bent into a smile when he spotted her, lying on her back, waist deep in a conduit hatch. Warning horns blared as the ship jolted with thrust onto its new course. Connor spread his legs, one foot ahead of the other and took the shock with his knees bent. Right before his eyes, three of his engineering crew dropped to the floor, knocked off their feet by the maneuver. Well, there were always a few. Walking to the conduit hatch where Lt. Commander O'Connor lay, Commander MacDonald stood over his assistant. He tapped her foot with his.

"Finish that up Sean, we have to get the ship into hyperspace as quick as we can," Connor said as Sean pushed herself out of the hatchway.

"Aye, aye sir, I'll be finished in a couple of minutes," she said ducking back into the hatchway.

Connor left, striding to the engineering console. Scanning the readouts and instruments, Connor now knew everything there was to know about his domain. He stood watching the course readout. He watched as the heading numbers changed and then held steady on the prescribed course. Pressing a button on the console Connor reached up and pulled a microphone down to his lips.

"Attention all hands prepare for the jump to hyperspace in three minutes," Connor said.

Sean was now standing beside him as Connor flipped switches and turned dials in preparation for the jump to hyperspace.

"Two minutes thirty seconds, sir," Sean whispered.

Connor continued to prepare for the jump. Buttons pushed, handles pulled and keys tapped. He could have just as easily performed this operation on the bridge but preferred doing it at the engineering console where he could watch the reactor in person. The reactor stood thirty feet high, just in front of his console. It pulsed a pleasant iridescent green.

"One minute forty-five seconds," Sean said softly.

Now Connor was still as a statue, his forefinger poised over a large red button in the center of the console.

"One minute," Sean said.

Connor smiled, for most of the crew, this would be the first time for them being awake during a jump, he hoped the medical section had enough mops and buckets.