Scrapyard Ship Read online

  Perkins took the phone from Jason and looked through the contacts.

  “Lilly, activate the forward section display. Transfer the contents of this device to the ship’s database and post the first and last names so we can see them. Oh, and let’s number them as well.” The names appeared in three columns alphabetized and numbered. The lieutenant looked over to Jason. “So who stays and who goes?”

  Jason reviewed the list of military personnel one by one, instructing AI to scratch anyone who was married, had children, or had other compelling reasons to stay on planet Earth. By the time he was finished, the names of sixty-three navy SEALs remained. Jason nodded to Perkins and stood. “Lilly, please transfer this list to my ready room and prepare to initiate communications via their cell phone numbers.”

  When Jason arrived back at the captain’s suite, Dira was in his ready room working at his desk, a virtual terminal hovering in the air.

  “Good evening, Captain,” she said, a bit startled by his presence.

  “Evening, Dira. Mollie in bed?”

  “Yeah, she fell asleep about an hour ago. She was pretty worn out.”

  “Well, I wanted to thank you for all the time you’re spending with her. I know it’s not in your job description to play babysitter to the captain’s kid.”

  “No, it’s my pleasure. There’s nothing going on in Medical right now, and Mollie’s just plain fun to be around. I feel like a kid again.” Looking at Dira sitting there, he wondered about her and her own life. What had she’d given up to be here on The Lilly? He’d have to make more of a point to talk to her. She was interesting, and those eyelashes were a bit captivating.

  “I have a few more things to tie up before I turn in myself,” Jason said. “Oh, and I’ve called for a 0600 staff meeting.”

  “Yes, sir. I’m assuming it will be held here in your ready room?” Dira asked, getting up and heading for the door.

  “Yes, right here—and thank you again, Dira. Perhaps after the meeting we can bring in Mollie and discuss this whole Zoo situation.”

  “That would be fine, Captain.” Dira left and Jason immediately took her seat at the desk. “Lilly, initiate a phone call to Billy Hernandez.”

  * * *

  Jason was the last to arrive in his ready room. By the time he’d gotten Mollie up and they’d shared a quick breakfast together, he was already running late. The small conference room was filled, leaving only one opening at the head of the table. Jason took his seat and looked around the room. Ricket sat directly to his right and Lieutenant Perkins to his left. Others in the room included Chief Horris, representing Engineering, Dira for Medical, Orion for Gunnery, Jack from the Zoo, and McBride for Helm and Navigation.

  “Thank you all for attending,” Jason said, making eye contact with each of them around the table. “Unless notified to the contrary, this meeting will take place every morning. Today, I’d like to start off with something positive.” Jason stood up and looked down at Lieutenant Perkins. “Please stand up, Lieutenant.” Perkins, confused, stood up and nervously pushed his hair away from his forehead. “Lieutenant Perkins, as Captain of the United Planetary Alliance vessel, The Lilly, I hereby congratulate you on your promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and, subsequently, XO of this vessel.” Jason smiled and held out his hand. Stunned, Perkins shook the captain’s hand and acknowledged the applause from his friends and fellow officers. “Until we can get you a brand new set, please accept my own, previously worn, lieutenant commander clusters.” Jason handed them to his new XO. Perkins looked down at the clusters in his hand. “XO, I’ll be asking a lot of you over the next few weeks. Hope you’re up for it.”

  “I’m up for it, Captain, and thank you for your trust in me.”

  Taking their seats, Jason moved on to the next order of business. “Now, I’d like each of you to report on the status of your individual departments. It is my intention to depart within six hours. Everyone in this room was contacted by the XO yesterday. Subsequently, I know all of you were up late last night writing your departmental reports. This morning you’ll be speaking about your department’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Over time you’ll become more accustomed to writing comprehensive reports of this type and how to get the most out of the information they provide. With limited staffing on The Lilly, we’ll each be doing more than one job—including me. These reports are the first step toward us becoming better prepared, which will lead to more effective organization and strategic decision-making skills. Understood?”

  Jason could see from the frowning looks on his staff’s faces that they were less than thrilled. Well, they’d just have to get used to it. If the crew were to be successful in battle, then their current lack of discipline, non-existent cross-departmental communications, and overall laziness would have to be eliminated. Jason tapped twice and then once more on the tabletop, which brought up a virtual tablet—the others around the table followed suit. “Okay, looks like I have everyone’s SWOT report except for yours, Jack.”

  Jack, the Zoo caretaker, was wearing the same stained overalls. He looked as unkempt as he had yesterday and was also the only one who’d not brought up a virtual tablet.

  “Sir, my computer skills are not—” Embarrassed, Jack looked down, almost childlike. “I can audio-interface just fine and the droids, well, they can communicate like everyone else. But writing reports and such, I’m not very good in that regard.” The others in the room kept their eyes on their tablets.

  “Jack, we each have a unique skill-set here. No one in this room, or anywhere else on this ship, can effectively do the things you do. We’ll work out the report writing aspects; perhaps Ricket can come up with an alternative approach.” Ricket looked up towards Jack and nodded.

  “What I would ask of you, as well as the rest of the officers in this room, is to ensure you are presentable and wearing a proper uniform denoting your rank or position on this ship. Again, I want to be airborne later this afternoon, so let’s move on with our reports. Only the highlights. I’ll read the details later.”

  One by one the officers discussed their department issues using the SWOT analysis format. At the end of the meeting, Jason asked Jack, Dira, and Ricket to stay behind. For the last ten minutes of the meeting, Jason had seen Mollie walk by the doorway several times—her not so subtle way of reminding him to not forget about their Zoo meeting.

  “Mollie, why don’t you come in here and sit down?” The rambunctious eight-year old rushed in and sat between Dira and Jack. Jason winked at her and couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “Mollie, I know you are excited about the Zoo and working with Jack, but I first need to have a better understanding of what the area is all about and the various safety aspects.” Jason looked over at Ricket.

  “The Zoo operates independently of the AI,” said Ricket, looking over to Jack for confirmation. “In fact, we now believe it was designed to be shared between multiple vessels.”

  Jason shook his head and frowned. “What does that mean, shared?”

  “Perhaps a whole fleet of Lilly-type ships would be able to access the Zoo the same as we do,” said Ricket. “And activation of the Zoo chamber has only come online within the last year. Yet animal care still took place while the ship lay dormant, prior to being discovered by Gus and the admiral fifteen years ago.”

  “Also,” said Jack, “The Lilly has DeckPort-type access to each of the natural habitats, but it is only the animals we ourselves have contributed to the Zoo that we are responsible for, and for their continued upkeep.”

  Jason’s brow furrowed. “Wait, so who’s taking care of the other animals if it’s not us? What other ships are currently sharing the Zoo? And more important, is that a potential security issue? What’s keeping crewmembers from other vessels from infiltrating the ship, via the Zoo?”

  “All good questions,” Ricket replied. “Those issues, and others, were my initial concern as well. As we have long surmised, the indigenous inhabitants of this ship, an
d possibly others like them have long ceased to exist. There are no other active vessel port systems, like our own to the Zoo here on The Lilly, accessing the natural habitats.”

  “So who’s been taking care of all these animals?” Jason asked, still confused.

  “Their natural habitats are in a reality physically located on another planet or planets, probably a world with similar environmental characteristics to that of Earth. But animal care here is completely automated. Whatever is needed in the way of food stores, or anything else for that matter, is handled similarly to how we’ve discovered weapon armaments are handled here on the ship—utilizing that JIT-type process used in conjunction with the manufacturing phase synthesizer.”

  “Bottom line, no one can access The Lilly via the natural habitats—you’re absolutely sure about that?” Jason asked, emphatically, looking first at Ricket, and then at Jack.

  “The security protocols for accessing the ship are independently controlled. It would be impossible to bypass the encrypted access codes. Codes that I’ve personally configured.”

  Jason looked over to Mollie and Dira. Both had been following along with interest. “What is it you’d be doing, Mollie? How would you be helping Jack?”

  “Some animals are all alone in their havitats.” Mollie said, with a quick glance over to Jack for approval.

  “Habitats,” he said, then nodded for her to continue.

  “Yeah, habitats, and some of these lonely animals need human contact. Some of these animals hate the droids and do bad things to them.” Mollie looked again to Dira and Jack, making sure she had said everything correctly. Dira had covered her mouth, doing a poor job of holding back a giggle. Jack was shaking his head.

  “There are only a few of these special cases—most have mates or other same-species cohabitants in their environments. But animals such as Raja, pine for physical contact. Others, some that are too dangerous to come into actual contact with humans, enjoy having a living being visibly close by—even if standing outside of their habitat.”

  Mollie nodded her head at Jack’s explanation.

  Dira chimed in. “Mollie’s already made several new friends. Of course Raja, but also the Drapple, and the saber-toothed tiger, and even the cute little brine hog.”

  “I love the brine hog, Dad! But he looks so sad. I think it’s because he’s missing an ear.”

  Jason nodded, and thought for a moment. “What’s a Drapple?” he asked everyone, having trouble keeping a straight face.

  Dira answered first. “That’s that big worm thing you saw jump out of the aquatic habitat.”

  “Oh yeah, I think it smiled at me,” Jason said, quietly considering everything he’d heard. “Okay, here are my conditions for Mollie working with Jack in the Zoo. They are non-negotiable.”

  “What is non-netopial?” Mollie asked, confused.

  “Non-negotiable. And that means you have to agree to my terms,” replied Jason. “First, I want a printed list made of the various animals presently in the zoo—including their quantities. On that list I want to know which ones are dangerous, poisonous, or anything else that could be harmful to humans. Second, while inside the Zoo area, Mollie needs to be supervised…”

  “Well, I’ll always be around,” Jack interrupted.

  “No, someone other than you, Jack. No offense, but if you’re working or preoccupied with your duties, then Mollie’s not being watched.”

  “If I’m not needed in Medical, I may be able to watch her. Just maybe,” Dira said, smiling over at Mollie.

  “Yes!” Mollie said, with two little fists raised in the air in triumph.

  “I’m not through yet,” Jason said, admonishing her with another wink. “Third, I will be informed when Mollie is entering and leaving the Zoo.” Jason looked over to Dira and she nodded back, silently acknowledging she would ensure all his conditions would be met. Jason sat there and considered it all. The pregnant pause lingered longer than Mollie could stand.

  “Oh, come on, Dad! Are you going to just sit there like that all day? I’ve got work to do,” Mollie questioned, exasperated.

  “Okay, get out of here. And don’t forget my conditions.”

  * * *

  It was mere minutes before the scheduled time to embark. Jason wondered if he had been avoiding this moment. Perhaps he should have done what his father requested, and gotten the ship quickly airborne and heading toward the Altar system. But doing so, he knew, would have been a recipe for failure. He’d just have to deal with the admiral and any admonishments, if and when they met. If what the admiral described in his latest text was true, the dire situation with the Craing, then the last few days they’d spent preparing could go a long way towards making a real difference. Over the last few hours the crew had really come together and acted with more professionalism then he had witnessed in the past.

  The Lilly was all buttoned up, with the ramp secured and all external connections terminated. Several small maintenance drones would remain behind to watch over the underground aquifer base. Jason looked around the now-bustling bridge. Perkins was seated next to him; McBride was at the helm at the most forward console. Ricket was one level up, seated at the console directly in front of Jason. Both Chief and Gunny were manning stations at the side consoles.

  “Lilly, I’d like to address the ship.”

  “Ship-wide channel is now open.”

  “Attention. This is the Captain. Momentarily, we will be disembarking from our underground base. You have all worked hard over the last few days to prepare the ship as well as yourselves for what lies ahead. Understand—shortly we will be tested in battle. The Lilly will be tested in battle. There’s a Craing cruiser in Earth’s upper orbit. We’ll intersect with that ship later today. But first we have a quick stop to make. Secure your areas and prepare for immediate departure. Captain out.”

  “Helm, initiate 100 percent phase-shift configuration and plot an outpoint directly topside.”

  “Phase-shift initiated and plot outpoint locked.” McBride looked back over his shoulder towards the Captain. Jason took one more look around and nodded to the young pilot. “OK. Let’s go.”

  McBride smiled and turned back forward. He tapped a combination onto the pressure sensitive keys at his virtual console. The ship shifted. “We’re stationary, 200 feet above ground, sir,” McBride reported. Ricket had explained the phase-shift process in more detail that morning: It required tremendous amounts of power—too much for it to be used during FTL or even standard sub-light travel. But for small leaps through virtually any material, solid or otherwise, up to several miles—it worked like a charm.

  The command center’s 360-degree display indicated that the ship was hovering directly over the scrapyard. In the distance, Jason could see his small ranch-style home, which still seemed to be intact. His eyes were drawn to the smoldering, burnt-out remains of Nan’s minivan.

  “Status?”

  “No contacts, sir. Sky’s are clear,” Orion reported from the coms station.

  “Take us into sub-orbit and then back down to the provided coordinates.”

  The ship moved away from the scrapyard and quickly gained altitude. The ground disappeared in a blur replaced by the approaching darker blue stratosphere. The Lilly leveled off and soon began to descend back towards Earth.

  “We’ll be in range in thirty seconds, sir.”

  “Multiple contact. Twelve F-18 Fighters have been deployed,” Orion said, surprisingly calm-voiced.

  “Location?” Jason prompted.

  “They’re already wheels up—and pretty much right where we’re heading, Air Station Meridian, East Central Mississippi.”

  “Ricket, can they lock missiles?” Jason barked—louder than he’d intended and nervous that he’d already made a crucial error.

  “No, we are jamming their radar, infrared, and any of their other signaling capabilities,” Ricket replied, “but they can fire their on-board projectile weapons. Seems right now they are just taking pictures.”
r />   “Gunny, can our comms talk to them?” Jason asked, with the hint of a smile.

  “No problem, Captain. Channel’s open.”

  Several of the F-18 fighters were clearly visible on the display. On the closest, its external missiles could be seen, including 2000-pound JDAM warheads, Sidewinders, and AMRAAMs. Jason knew from experience the pilots would be following predetermined courses of action. After what had happened in San Bernardino, these boys would be more than a little nervous.

  “Attention, deployed F-18 Fighter squadron and centralized command unit of Air Station Meridian, Greetings. We’re a non-hostile, repeat non-hostile craft dropping by to take advantage of some of your famous southern hospitality. We’ll be gone before you know it.”

  “Lots of chatter out there, sir—they’re being ordered to engage,” Orion said, looking over to Jason.

  “We’re in position, sir,” said McBride, “based on the GPS coordinates provided.” They were now stationary, hovering fifty feet above the eastern-most airbase runway.

  “Lilly, initiate a phone call to Billy Hernandez.”

  “Dialing now, sir,” Lilly’s somewhat unfriendly voice responded, followed by the sound of a ringing phone line. Jason looked to his right and saw Perkins, as well as several others on the bridge, holding back chuckles.

  “Speak to me,” the deep voice answered.

  “We’re here, Billy.”

  “Hey, Lieutenant Commander—Welcome! Yeah, come on in, we’re ready as we’ll ever be.”

  Jason commanded McBride to initiate the phase-shift process. Within the blink of an eye The Lilly shifted again. The wrap-around virtual display instantly changed from a bright sunlit afternoon to a dark interior location—bands of light filtered through small gaps around a large double door at the front of the hangar.