Earth itself as it rotated below.
After a few moments gazing out the viewer, Nathan moved over to inspect the bunks, noticing that each of them also had a viewport built into the wall. The bunks had additional storage compartments above and below, and were equipped with a roll-down privacy door that also enabled the bunks to seal and pressurize in an emergency. In the event of a sudden decompression of the entire section, the occupant could survive inside their bunk for days while they awaited rescue.
The room was spartan and cramped, and had obviously been designed so that nothing would get tossed about during abrupt maneuvers. But the designers had been thoughtful enough to make it as comfortable a space as possible.
Nathan saw that someone else’s duffel bag was already on the bunk nearest the door, so he tossed his duffel onto the empty one against the opposite wall.
“You must be my new roommie!” a voice boomed from behind.
Nathan turned to see the same dark haired man from the hallway. He had a full head of thick, wavy hair, and steely blue eyes. He was a bit taller than Nathan and was obviously stronger. “Yeah, I guess so. Nathan Scott,” he introduced, extending his hand.
“Vladimir Kamenetskiy,” he announced proudly in what Nathan recognized as a Russian accent. The animated Russian shook Nathan’s hand vigorously as he continued. “I am engineer, first class. And, I am computer systems specialist,” he added proudly.
“Well from what I’ve seen so far, you’re going to be busy for the next few weeks.”
“Yes, yes. It is wonderful. This ship has so many interesting systems,” he exclaimed. “I am like kid in candy store, yes?”
“Yeah, I can see how you would be.”
“Yes, yes. This is true. Did you know this ship has four antimatter reactors? And the engines? Oh, they are incredible!”
“Really?”
“Yes! But do not get me started on this,” he warned. “What is it that you do, Nathan?”
“Helm and Navigation.”
“Great! I fix it, you fly it!” he announced, slapping Nathan on his shoulder. “We will make a good team, you and I!”
“I guess so,” Nathan agreed, as he turned to start unpacking his bag.
“No time for that, my friend. We must report to the quartermaster, for we are not properly dressed for this ship.” Vladimir pointed to the Fleet Academy patches they still sported on their sleeves.
Nathan followed his new roommate’s suggestion, leaving his bag on his bunk. “Lead the way, roommie.”
“Excellent!” he exclaimed as they exited the cabin.
Nathan followed him out of their cabin and down the corridor, his excitable new roommate rambling on about the engines as they walked. This is going to be interesting.
The main briefing room was filled with the sounds of conversation, as the newest members of the Aurora’s crew talked amongst themselves as they waited for orientation to begin. A good sized room, it had several rows of chairs in order to accommodate the fifty people in attendance.
“Attention!” the Officer of the Deck ordered. Everyone in the room quickly stood tall and straight, with eyes fixed forward, as Commander Montero, the ship’s Executive Officer and second in command entered the room.
“At ease,” he ordered as he stepped up to the podium. “Be seated.” The commander paused to allow everyone a moment to get situated, scanning the faces in the room. He was a tall, lanky man with a rugged face and strong dark eyes. On the way to the briefing, Vladimir had told Nathan that the commander had a reputation as a stickler for details, and had probably read all of their personnel records prior to their arrival.
“Good afternoon everyone. I’m Commander Montero, your Executive Officer, and I’d like to welcome all of you aboard. The Aurora is the first of the fleet’s new Explorer class ships, which means that she will have plenty of bugs to work out. But she is also a state of the art design, based upon the most advanced concepts and technologies yet found in the Data Ark.”
The commander picked up a remote and dimmed the lights. An image of the ship’s design faded-in on the view screen built into the wall behind him, replacing the ship’s shoulder patch design that had been there only moments before. As he spoke, the display faded from one image to the next, revealing the Aurora’s overall design and layout through a series of perfectly crafted schematics and illustrations.
“As you all probably know, the Explorer class was conceived for an entirely new mission profile. Unlike her predecessors who were designed to stand their ground and slug it out with an enemy, the Aurora is built to move. She is very fast and highly maneuverable. She can strike quick and strike hard, and then make a quick escape. Her designers like to say that she can get out of trouble faster than she can get into it. On the surface, she is a ship of exploration and diplomacy. But at her heart, she is a considerable tactical platform that can be used in just about any combat role. And she will be the Fleet’s first ship with faster than light capabilities.”
Until that moment, rumors of the Explorer class ships getting FTL capabilities had been just that, rumors. Now that her executive officer had just confirmed it, an excited murmur began to rise in the briefing room. The commander expected this reaction, pausing for a moment to let the whispers die down before continuing.
“The Aurora is primarily a carrier vessel, and thus is designed around and in support of her flight decks. I will not be reviewing any specifics during this briefing, as I expect that each of you will be spending quite a bit of time getting to know her over the next few weeks.”
The lights came back up, and the display on the wall faded back to the Aurora’s shoulder patch design. Commander Montero looked around the room again, observing their reactions before continuing.
“Normally, it would be another couple of months before this ship would be starting her shakedown cruise. Hell, we weren’t even scheduled to start taking on crew until next month. But Fleet Command, in all their infinite wisdom, has decided to step up our launch date by a good two months. Exactly why, I do not know, so don’t bother asking. What I do know is that we’ve got two months of work to do, and only two weeks to do it in. And on top of that, I have to find the time to train all of you, so that we don’t crash and burn this baby on our first lap around the Solar System.”
“Now, I’m going to turn you over to Lieutenant Commander Kaguchi, who will call out your section assignments.”
Lieutenant Commander Kaguchi, a stout Japanese officer in his late thirties stepped up to the podium and began calling out names and duty assignments. Vladimir watched for every person called, as if he wanted to connect names with faces. Nathan just sat quietly, waiting to hear his own name.
“Kamenetskiy, Vladimir!”
“Yes, Sir!” Vladimir answered.
“Engineering, Main Propulsion amp; Power. Report to Lieutenant Commander Patel.”
“That’s what you wanted, right?” Nathan whispered, as the lieutenant commander continued calling out assignments.
“Yes,” Vladimir answered, hiding his excitement.
“Then you’re happy, right?” Nathan was a bit confused by his new roommates lack of emotion.
“Of course.”
“Sure couldn’t tell by looking.”
“Believe me, inside, I am very happy. I am overjoyed.” A grin came across Vladimir’s face as he looked sideways at Nathan and winked.
“Nash, Jessica!”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Special Operations and Intelligence! Report to Master Chief Johansen.”
Nathan turned his head in the direction of the woman’s voice, as it struck him as familiar. He had just about given up trying to see her face when suddenly the ensign blocking his view leaned back, revealing the same brunette he had met at the party the night before. Only this time she wasn’t wearing a tight little evening dress. She was in a duty uniform sporting Aurora shoulder patches, just like everyone else in the room.
“Oh shit,” Nathan whispered as he slumped back in his seat, trying to avoid being spotted.
“What is wrong?”
