***
Written by
Michael Gray
***
Chapter 1 – Old Friends
Captain Jack McCall took a long breath as
he finished the last report for the day. He didn’t understand why Starfleet
needed to know how many joules of energy were used by the Chamberlain’s
replicator system, but the report was finished. Now the rest of the day
belonged to him.
He turned to see the planet Kel-j’na out the forward window of his ready room. Jack fought
the desire to hurry to the bridge given what his ship would do within the next
few minutes. Instead, he decided to
watch with his own eyes rather than view what was filtered through the display
of the main viewscreen on the bridge.
Jack walked toward the forward windows of the room. He stood
waiting for about a minute. A flash of light filled the view. His ship
shuddered a bit, but after thirty seconds, stars filled the view again.
Jack let out a breath he hadn’t realized
he’d been holding. He smiled.
Loftus had brought his ship through the
Tartarus Wormhole just fine. He’d never doubted her ability to do so, but it
was the first time he hadn’t been on the bridge as they traversed thirty
thousand light years in thirty seconds.
Jack had been letting Loftus take charge
of the bridge more the last several months, giving her the feel of the chair
solo. She’d be ready for her own command soon, and Jack was going to be sorry
to see her go, yet happy for her.
He shook his head.
That was if he hadn’t ruined her career
and that of nearly every other officer serving under him.
Jack hadn’t heard a peep from Starfleet
since he had told Commodore Dameron where he could
put the Omega Directive three weeks earlier. He knew there was still a shoe to
drop, and it would be a heavy one.
But so far, silence. He fought the
notion Dameron might let it go. However, that was
probably the best play on his part. He could ruin Jack’s career through more
subtle ways, and perhaps the careers of his officers. Jack just couldn’t
imagine Starfleet allowing a court-martial involving the Omega Directive to go
very far. Sure they’d bust his chops over it for a
while, but they couldn’t go much further, could they? He was sure they wouldn’t
allow it to become public knowledge.
Jack let his gaze focus on the
ever-growing Tartarus station in the path of his ship. They’d check in for an
hour or two per standard procedure, and then be on their way.
He turned and walked back to his desk,
scanned it a moment, then nodded.
No, they couldn’t make a big deal of it.
The Omega Directive was a secret, and Starfleet wanted to keep it that way.
***
Jack stood in the turbolift,
halfway along the route to his quarters when the intercom chimed.
“Captain,” Loftus’s voice called out
over the speaker. “We have a flag officer asking to come aboard.”
Oh shit, Jack thought. Maybe they were
going to make a big deal of it after all.
He almost shut off the intercom in a
desperate attempt to stall for just a few more seconds, but he knew that was
pointless.
“What do they want?” Jack asked.
“They asked if we are headed to Yed Post IV.”
They were, but Jack hoped…
“I haven’t answered them yet, sir,”
Loftus said.
Jack grinned. God he was going to miss
her ability to read him so well.
“They say why?”
“No.”
He thought a moment. “See what it is
they’re up to.”
“Aye, sir.”
Jack touched the control to the turbolift, stopping it in place for the moment.
He waited.
A minute later, Loftus came back.
“The admiral is asking if we can give
her a lift,” Loftus said. “She’s headed to Earth by shuttle, and was seeking a
faster method of getting there.”
Jack chuckled. “Let her know she can
come aboard.”
“Aye, Captain.”
The intercom went silent.
Jack started the lift again.
But after a minute, he reconsidered.
“Shuttlebay
one,” he ordered the turbolift.
***
Jack stepped into the bay just as the type
six shuttle landed.
“Nervous?” a woman’s voice asked behind
him.
Jack turned to see his wife, Melissa
Vargas, stroll up to him.
“A little,” he said with a grin that
faded quickly. “Dameron isn’t the kind of man to let
this go.”
Melissa nodded. “It’s not like he can
really push for a court-martial. Waiting to stab you in the back, is more his
style anyway.”
“That sounds like a much more pleasant
alternative,” Jack said as he rolled his eyes.
“You’d win a court-martial,” Melissa
said. “He ordered you to commit genocide. That’s about as extreme as it gets.”
“I guess I’ll find out shortly.”
The shuttle’s door opened, and an
average height, dark-skinned woman, wearing one of the new style
of admiral uniforms stepped out of the small craft. She turned and smiled at
Jack.
“I’ll be damned,” Jack murmured.
“You know the admiral?” Melissa asked.
“She graduated from the Academy the same
year I did.”
“See?” Melissa said. “Making admiral at
your age isn’t that outlandish.” Melissa turned and stared at Jack. “How well
did you know her?”
Jack hesitated a moment. “We were…
involved my first year.”
“Oh,” Melissa said, a wide grin forming
on her face. “I don’t think you’ve mentioned her before.”
“Sorry,” he replied. “It only lasted a
couple of months.”
“End badly?”
“No,” Jack said. “We remained friends,
but we didn’t stay in touch after graduation. Besides, I was involved with
Larissa by then and…”
Melissa placed her hand on his shoulder.
“You should catch up with her.”
“That is assuming she isn’t here to
bring an axe down on my neck.”
The admiral stopped in front of them.
She smiled. “Hello, Jack!”
“Marie… Sorry, Admiral.”
“I’ve only been an admiral for three
days. Can’t say I’m used to all the standing at attention and saluting fuss
people make over me.” She threw her arms wide. “I’ve missed you!”
Jack followed suit, and embraced her.
“It’s good to see you again.”
“You too,” she said.
They parted, and turned to Melissa.
“Melissa, this is… Admiral Marie
Alanni.”
Alanni extended her hand to Melissa. “A
pleasure to meet you, Commander.”
“And Marie, this is Melissa Vargas,”
Jack said. “Our operations officer, and my wife.”
Marie’s eyes widened. “I’d heard you’d
married again.” She turned to Melissa. “You’re a lucky woman.”
“I think so,” Melissa said with a grin.
“So what’s up?”
Jack asked. “Or is this purely a social visit?”
“Partly that,” she replied. “I saw the Chamberlain
was scheduled to come back this way, and I thought since it had been years…”
She smiled. “But more importantly, I need a ride as far as you can take me.
I’ve just been appointed the Director of Strategic Planning, and am on my way
to Earth.”
“Congratulations!” Jack said with a wide
smile. “How’d they get Turgidson to quit?”
“A number of the Starfleet old guard
moving out, or being moved out.” Marie grinned a moment. “I hear they’re about
to promote you to admiral as well.”
“They’ve offered,” Jack said.
“You thinking of turning it down?”
“They may change their minds.”
Marie frowned. “What kind of mess have
you gotten yourself into this time?”
“How about we talk about it over
dinner?” Jack asked. “That is if you don’t mind coming to our quarters say
around eighteen hundred.”
Marie nodded. “That sounds great. I’m
starved.”
