I trust that you will use the skills you brought on board with you, what you've learned since, and that you will have faith in me. We go now to do something else that I haven't done often. Help the helpless. There are two people unaware of what awaits them in the Enreega system, they are defenceless, helpless. If we don't take them aboard, give them refuge, Regent Galactic will capture them, interrogate them, and pick them apart until they are sure they have taken all their knowledge.
I hope we do not have to fight our way out of this system, but I am confident that we can. The Triton is a steady, hard ship. She is named after the son of a God who could send giants running in all directions with a blow of his horn. I say that if we are forced to fight our way out, we leave such a mark that they will know why the giants fled at the very sound of Triton's horn. Triton!” h is holographic image called from everywhere in the ship.
In Engineering, on the flight deck, the gunnery deck and all places in between everyone raised their fists into the air, armour clad and otherwise and shouted the response; “Deploy, Dominate, Disappear!”
“That is faith. That is what our enemies will never understand. That is how we will burn them to cinders and scatter their ashes across the galaxy,” Captain Valance said through a grin that most could only describe as malicious.
He cut the channel using his command and control unit then returned to the command chair.
“You better give us somethin' to shoot at after that Captain, my boys are on fire up here,” Frost said through his communicator. The Chiefs were all tied into one encrypted channel.
“I think we're all on edge Gunnery Chief. We're just waiting to play catch down here,” added Deck Chief Vercelli.
“I don't envy a boarding party if they manage to get close enough,” Stephanie said. “We're set in strategic positions all across the ship, sir. Some of my people are actually hoping someone boards us, they're spoiling for a fight.”
“Good. Three minutes and we'll arrive in the Enreega system. Then we'll find out if our cloaking device is working,” Captain Valance said calmly.
“Don't worry about that Captain, just watch your sensors for that lost ship of yours. Everything's as it should be down here, probably for the first time in decades,” Engineering Chief Grady replied.
The bridge was busy, everyone was rechecking systems, getting ready for the power shift that would take place as soon as they arrived. The tactical station crew were white knuckled nervous. They were responsible for finding the Silkstream IV as soon as they arrived. They had support personnel from communications and intelligence who would be checking scan results as well, and they would forward any important finds to Agameg, who glanced at his main monitoring displays one after another, over and over again to satisfy a nervous need to do everything just right. Alice and Jake checked and rechecked status reports from across the ship. Everything was ready, all unnecessary sections of the ship were closed off and locked down completely. The Botanical Gallery and civilian quarters were sealed behind many layers of internal and external armour, they were in the safest section of the ship.
They watched the counter drop from 00:02:00 to 00:01:59 and it seemed like another eternity was yet to pass before they arrived. “Is lower gunnery and torpedo control ready?” Captain Valance asked Price.
“Aye sir, tactical is ready across the board.”
“Thank you. Ashley, as soon as we emerge, fly us into a position that will give the nearest ship the smallest possible target.”
“Yes sir. I'll show them our side profile.” Ashley said as she unlocked the controls, making final preparations for their arrival.
“Any special instructions for me Captain?” Alice asked in a whisper.
“Catch everything I miss,” he smiled back quietly.
“Should I nap here or in the ready room?”
The countdown rolled from 00:01:00 to 00:00:59:00, and started to count in milliseconds.
Captain Valance brought up his command display, a ring of eye level holograms that projected in front of the command chair. Alice did the same. “I wouldn't have thought in a million years that we'd end up as the first and second on the same ship, especially not on a Sol Defence Close Combat Carrier.”
“You think you're surprised?” Alice said with a smirk. “this whole thing redefines the term; 'keep it in the family.'”
“You have a point. No turning back now either. Any regrets?”
“I'd do it all again,” she whispered back with a grin. She could see his displays were set to focus on the tactical and security aspects of the ship, along with a display for power systems, shield and weapon statuses. Using that as a guide, she focused her display to keep a keen eye on their course, status of the hangar decks, engines, reactors, computer systems and damage control.
There was a great deal for them to keep their eyes on, and the point was not to micromanage, but to let the occurrences inside and outside of the ship to inform their general orders. Catching something that wasn't being taken care of was important as well, though in their position it wasn't something they could afford to focus on constantly.
The Triton, having a crew of near the optimal size and being in fairly good shape, still wasn't perfect. Some quick and dirty solutions were necessary to get her ready in time. There had also been some modifications done by Wheeler and his crew that made some systems more brittle than they should have been.
There was work left to be done, a great deal of work, and they were going into a potential combat situation without finishing the job or having a chance to explore the entire ship. Who knew what unexpected issues could come up if they actually had to engage in a firefight.
Alice brought up a general status display of the ship on one of the bridge main holoprojectors, a tactical view on the center most projector and left the third one unset.
They decelerated out of hyperspace and all the lighting in the ship dimmed. Systems across the entire vessel were reduced to minimal power except for the energy shielding and cloaking systems.
Tactical screens and holograms started to populate themselves with targets and details. They had come out over three quarters of a million kilometres away from the planet Seneschal. Between them was the octagonal base ship, many many times their size.
“Systems are quiet across the ship sir. Reading no wireless noise or emissions reflected back at us from outside surfaces,” reported Price. “I love these systems,” he whispered.
“In a minute we'll know whether or not I love them.” Captain Valance whispered as he started to help the tactical team pick through the sensor data, looking for the Silkstream IV. “Turn us around just in case Ash.”
Ashley flipped the ship upside down using thrusters only, so if they had to make a quick getaway they could do so under full thrust. “We're ready for the worst, hoping for the best,” she said back.
“Nothing is reacting to our presence sir. It looks like our cloaking systems are doing their job,” reported another tactical officer.
“That's step one. Anyone see the Silkstream?” asked Captain Valance.
“Not on my displays,” said one tactical crewman.
“The filter keeps on coming up with nothing. I'll adjust it,” said another.
“Don't. If the filter hasn't highlighted it, then it's either not there or we cannot detect it yet,” Price corrected.
“Aye sir.”
Captain Valance scanned and devised a quick filter of his own and set it to run over and over again, running through the names of the thousands of ships in the area so it could be highlighted on their tactical displays as soon as it was found. “Move us in closer Ash.”
“You're clear to use main engines. Our cloaking systems can handle it,” Chief Grady informed command.
“All right, speed at your discretion Ashley. Let's head for the half million kilometre mark,” Captain Valance ordered quietly.
They started moving and the navigational holograms in front of the helm lit up, projecting the courses of all the ships on their scanners, marking those that could come close to, or collide with the Triton. There were also gravitational markers, energy field outlines that highlighted areas of strong magnetic influence such as the energy collector from the Regent Galactic base ship. If the Triton were to come too close to any of those fields, whether they were from natural or technological sources, it would interfere with them and any competent tactical or science crew member working for the other side would notice it.
