balanced the energy distribution across the ship's shields and resumed fire on the fighters trying to follow them as they flipped end over end and blasted the engines at full thrust, reversing course through the obscuring barrier protecting Ossimi station.
'I read you Clever Dream. You'll be creating a wormhole as soon as you emerge,' Minh replied over the communicator. 'Everything all right Captain? You sound a little… different.'
'He's sharing a direct link with the ship. I think it has to do with the framework system.' Ayan told Minh.
'I really have to look into getting a neural link.'
'Jason had one, he had to get rid of it to save his marriage.'
'Ah, then maybe I'll talk to him first. Good shooting Sunspot.'
Ayan couldn't help but smile at the old call sign. It was chosen on a whim when she was in the academy and it stuck because of her size and temper. She'd managed to bring her temper under control since, and she had stopped seeing the use of the nickname as a derogatory comment on her size years before. Too many friends had called her Sunspot over the years for it to have any negative connotation.
They broke through the field and Ayan could hear the power systems hum as they shunted energy towards the wormhole generator. The entry point formed and Ayan began broadcasting the entry point location to the fighters over an encrypted channel. She watched as Ronin's Ramiel fighter, followed by his thirteen squadron mates entered the barely visible end of the wormhole and accelerated away so quickly it was almost as though they disappeared. The Clever Dream was the last to enter, and either Lewis or Jake, she wasn't sure which, shunted most of the energy from the shields to the engines.
The entry point to the wormhole travelled along after them like a three kilometre wake as they accelerated through compressed space, making it impossible for anyone to follow.
The information streaming to Captain Valance through his connection with Lewis was amazing. He could see all the fighters in perfect line formation, centred in the wormhole with their controls slaved to the leader's, Minh's fighter. All their vital statistics said that they were at rest, and there were sporadic communications passing between them.
'I can't believe we didn't lose anyone,' commented Finger.
'With every successful mission the likelihood that we lose anyone, or even a ship will lessen,' replied Slick, who had been reassigned as Ronin's wing man.
'Even so, we buy our minutes with our decisions. Not one second comes free. I'm proud to fly with all of you,' Ronin added. Jake was enjoying having him back.
Amidst the flow of data came something Jacob did not expect, an emotion. Lewis was glad Ronin had joined the crew of the Triton, and he expressed it emotionally. The feeling was strange, inexplicably different from any human feeling. Even still, there was only one way to comprehend the expression, and that was as a mild happy one at the presence of Ronin and after the experience of that emotion passed Jake realized that Lewis felt the same way about Ayan and himself being aboard. Lewis actually enjoyed having people on board the Clever Dream, even the people who were busy setting up fold out cots and partitions in the main cargo hold. Lewis had already informed them that they would be in transit for at least ten hours. Stephanie had given the order to rest and tend to the few minor injuries they had.
'Jake, there's an urgent message here from the Triton,' Ayan interrupted, placing a hand on his arm.
Jacob released his light grip on the flight controls. There was no reason for him to worry about them, they had been locked since they entered the wormhole. 'I didn't see it in the computer.'
'You really were in there, weren't you?' Ayan asked him, her big blue eyes looking into his warily. 'How is it?'
'Jason was right, Lewis's personality has balanced out. He seems stable, positive.'
'I don't know about that. The time stamp on this transmission is from before we entered the wormhole but the comm system didn't deliver it until now.'
'I'm sorry, I didn't think you wanted to be distracted,' Lewis explained.
'That's not your call to make Lewis. You might be the governing AI aboard, but we need access to all incoming information, we'll tell you when we need you to sort through it for us.'
'I'll keep that in mind.'
Jake's expression darkened, he looked up to the cockpit canopy as though Lewis was somehow installed there instead of deeper inside the ship, it was a common reflex. 'Don't keep it in mind, call it gospel. Keeping information intended for your command crew is a malfunction. If it can't be corrected we'll have to remove your program.'
'Yes sir,' Lewis barked.
'What's worse? A murderous Holocaust AI or one who knows how to push your buttons?' Jake grumbled as he reached over and activated the playback.
It was a report generated by Jason's communications terminal. Ayan and Jake recognized the format immediately. The Caran Enterprise destroyers had signalled their intent on executing the Galactic Warrant issued for the Triton. The warrant itself was hundreds of pages long, but the sections Jason had highlighted indicated that Regent Galactic had prompted the investigation that resulted in the issuance of the warrant itself. The cause for the warrant was exactly what they expected, but they were surprised at the absence of Sol Defence's or the Earth fleet's involvement in the issuance of the warrant.
The remaining technologies from the Triton were to be delivered to Order of Eden forces immediately after capture. 'Well, that's one thing we don't have to worry about in this. The Sol Defence Fleet isn't trying to get their ship back yet,' Jake said as he sat back in the pilot's seat.
Ayan worked the console, looking for anything else in the message. There was nothing. One of her golden curls had gotten free of her hood and swung against her cheek as she looked over the holographic display again. She looked beyond worried.
Jake mentally ordered the glove of his vacsuit to retract, it was as effortless as instinct, and reached out to stroke her cheek. That was a reflex too, brought up by how close the console seating brought them together and his concern for her.
She flinched, looked at his hand and then him. Her expression was hurt, a little frightened. Ayan started to pull herself out of the seat, pushing against the console. The chair retracted from the console and she was out of the seat and walking down the hall in one quick motion. A doorway just a few meters down slid open and she walked inside.
Jacob looked down the hallway after her for a long moment.
'I'm perfectly capable of taking care of things while we're in wormhole transit, Captain Valance,' Lewis said quietly. 'Alice entrusted me for hundreds of cumulative hours.'
Jake pressed the release for his seat under the console, ensured the controls were locked, and followed. 'Thanks Lewis.'
When he entered the room Ayan had just finished taking the enhanced armoured layer off, leaving her in the more pliable vacsuit underneath on. She had left it white, and with her hood up he was reminded of the Ayan he'd watched pass away before his eyes.
The Ayan before him, brilliant, active and alive held back tears. She drew her hood back and shook her hair loose as she looked out the side of the dome covering the prime living area in the ship. They had left it untouched, it was the Captain's quarters, Alice's personal space. He'd never seen it before, never taken the time to take a look.
There was a broad circular seat in the centre, a large bed against one side, soft, dark panelling all around the room, a transparent ceiling that extended down low enough for someone to watch the stars. That's where Ayan focused her attention.
She stood with crossed arms, looking through the transparent metal at the warped view of space outside.
Jake didn't know what to do. The door closed behind him. The quiet of the Captain's quarters pressed on him like a weight. His armour felt heavy, inappropriate. He didn't know what to do, where to start, what to say.
Her shoulders shook, it was a shudder. He could hear her quietly crying.
'I'm sorry,' he whispered.
'It's not about you,' she replied quietly, wiping tears away.
'You came here for me, everything that's happened is on my head. If anyone can say it, I can.'
