Where No One Has Gone Before Pt. 03

"Did I do okay?" she asked.

"You were marvelous," I told her. I keyed the microphone and called Alice.

"Enemy shuttle destroyed," I reported.

"Good job, Commander," Alice said. "Rejoin the formation." I made my way back between the Armstrong and the John Glenn. Alice came back on the radio. "All enemy vessels destroyed. Orion Flight 2375 secure. Commander, prepare to dock with the Orion flight. Captain Scott will secure the shuttle and transport it to Huygens. Well done, everyone."

"Thank you, Captain, Preparing to dock with the Orion ship," I said. A half-hour or so later, we caught up with the Orion passenger ship. The Sally Ride was close by. The Armstrong and the John Glenn also came to a stop. After Alice briefed Alan on the short battle, he spoke to all of us.

"Excellent job, everyone," he said. "Thank you. I expect to see all of you at Huygens when you get here."

We all acknowledged his order and I prepared to dock with the passenger ship. It had been a while since I had done this, so I took my time to make sure I got it right. When I confirmed a good lock, I shut the vessel down and escorted a shaken Kyra onto the commercial ship.

When we stepped onto the Orion flight, we were met with cheers and applause. The captain of the ship came over to us and shook our hands.

"Thank you so much," he said. "I thought we were goners."

"You're welcome, Captain. Just doing our jobs," I said. The flight attendant led us back to our cabin. Along the way, passengers shook our hands and thanked us profusely. We collapsed on the bed as soon as we got in the room.

"I'm sorry," a shaking Kyra said as she lay in my arms.

"For what?" I asked.

"For questioning you like I did earlier. I was so scared. I've never actually killed anyone before. I know it sometimes happens, but I never thought it would happen to me. I hope you're not mad at me."

"Mad? Hell, I'm not mad at you. I'm damn proud of you," I said. I took her hand in mine. "There's nothing more stressful than combat. None of us knows for sure how we'll react. I was scared as hell myself. The thought of losing you was just too much for me to bear. But you pulled through. We may be two separate individuals, but together, we're unstoppable. Don't ever forget that. I love you so damn much."

"I love you, too," she said as she snuggled close to me.

The rest of the trip to Mars was uneventful -- fortunately. We finally calmed down after the experience and even made love a couple times before landed at Huygens. Unknown to us, news of the battle went viral. It turned out that Duncan Wyoming, correspondent with XNN Interplanetary, was on that flight with members of his crew.

When we landed at Huygens, we were met by a representative of Orion Spaceway, who informed us that we would be reimbursed for our flight expenses.

"I can't accept that," I said.

"We insist, Commander," the blonde woman said. "You save the lives of our crew and passengers and corporate feels they owe you a debt of gratitude."

"Well, thank you," I said. Alan met us with Leesa, who came down from Galileo Station.

"I see you had a bit of excitement on your way back," she said.

"Just a little, Captain," I said. "It's good to be back, though."

"It's good to see you back," she said. "We've still got a bit of work to do on the Enterprise, but it's coming along quite nicely."

"In the meantime, we're having a bit of a celebration over at the main venue," Alan said. "All of the crews are getting together for a bit. Why don't the two of you join us?"

"Sure," I said. "I'll just need to get our bags."

"That won't be necessary, sir," a steward with Orion said from behind us. "I'll personally take care of your things and see they get delivered to your quarters on the Enterprise."

"Well, thank you," I told him. Alan led us to his vehicle and we got inside. When we got to the venue, it was already crowded as members of the three crews gathered together. Alan got up and addressed everyone, thanking them for what they had done. Then the music started and the celebration began.

About an hour or so into the celebration, Alice and Avery stood up on a table and held up a glass and got everyone's attention.

"Where's the pipes and drums?" Avery boomed. We heard some pounding and the sounds of bagpipes from somewhere near the stage. "Ah, there ye are. Everyone on the John Glenn already knows this little ditty, so the rest of ye pay attention and join in when you can." He poured some liquor into his glass and held it high.

"Let's drink whiskey all night long," he bellowed.

"Aye, Aye, Capt'n," his crew shouted in response. Then the music began. It was a tune I had never heard before, but it had a nice beat and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Before long, everyone in the room, including Alan and Alice were singing along.

Just say aye, aye, Capt'n.

Just say aye, aye, Capt'n

When yer captain calls

Just say aye, aye, Capt'n

At one point, I was so moved by the tune that I grabbed Kyra and we began clapping and dancing. Everyone around us began clapping as well. I had never heard bagpipes played with guitars like this, and I had to admit, it sounded really good and I enjoyed it.

Let's sing this song, all night long

Aye, aye, Capt'n!

We sang and danced until we couldn't sing or dance any more. At one point, Avery sidled up to me and handed me a glass of... something.

"What is this?" I asked. He looked at it carefully, then looked back at me.

"It's uh... green," he said. "Drink up, laddie!"

By the time the celebration was over, both Kyra and I felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from us. We made our way back to Enterprise, where I almost entered my old cabin.

"Uh, Commander, you don't live there anymore, remember?" Leesa said. She gave us our new key cards and pointed to the First Officer's cabin door. "You two live here, now."

"Thanks for the reminder, Captain," I said.

"Don't worry, all your stuff has already been moved, and your guitars are in good shape," she said. "Get some sleep. You're going back to work tomorrow."

We entered the cabin and I was stunned at how much bigger it was than my old cabin. The cabin once occupied by Myra, Commander Hurbi's companion, was set up as our bedroom and the main cabin was set up as a living and dining area. We undressed and fell into bed.

The next morning, I met our new Operations Officer, Lt. Commander Decker. He seemed to be an affable character and we hit it off right away. From what I learned, he graduated first in his Advanced Operations class. I set about making the shift schedules and getting caught up.

The next two months went fast for us. Preparations were well underway for our next voyage. We were set to visit Tau Ceti, a yellow star that sat 11.89 light years from Earth. According to scientists, five planets orbited the star, and two of them were reportedly inside the habitable zone of the star.

Leesa briefed me on the upgrades made to the ship, which included new engines that could cruise at just over six times the speed of light, with bursts up to seven times the speed of light. That meant we could theoretically get there in less than two years. There had also been significant improvements made in the warp bubble and in our communications array.

Meanwhile, both Kyra and I had been extensively debriefed about our encounter with Tabitha and her pirates. From what I could gather, the authorities had no idea how they managed to scrape up the vessels they used nor did they know how the pirates managed to get a nuclear device. I had a sick feeling that we hadn't heard the last from them.

Alan informed me through Leesa that he had put both of us up for a medal. I had mixed feelings about it, but I felt Kyra deserved something for what she did. We had managed to speak to both our parents since returning, and they were relieved to hear we were okay. Kyra's father bubbled with pride as he spoke to her, and even Gloria seemed to have softened her stance toward her daughter's chosen career path.

Finally, the day came when Enterprise set out for her next mission. We held a bon voyage party the same way we did when we went to Alpha Centauri, and of course, Leesa tapped me for the entertainment, which I happily provided, much to the crew's delight.

We pulled out of Galileo Station and made our way to the Q-point, where we would make the jump to light speed. This time, I sat in the First Officer's chair, next to Leesa. As we approached the point where we would make the jump, Leesa turned to me.

"Would you like to give the word, Commander?" she asked. For a moment, I was speechless, but I accepted.

"Yes, Captain. I'd be honored," I told her.

"Very well. Make it so, Number One," she said.

"Helm, at my command," I said.

"Aye, aye, sir," the female pilot, Lt. Jacobs, said.

"Approaching Q-point, ETA 15 seconds," the navigator said.

"Warp bubble formed. Light speed at your command, Captain," the engineer said.

"Stand by, helm," I said.

5...4...3...2...1...

"Engage."

...

Fade to black...

...

Note: The song, "Aye, Aye, Capt'n" was recorded by Celtica -- Pipes Rock!

There may be more to this story, so stay tuned...