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“You’re sending us where?” Al Jecks, who’d been on leave after a successful post-refit operational readiness evaluation, asked with more than a hint of incredulity when Admiral Norum announced their mission.
Jecks, a tall, wiry man in his early forties with a shaved head, black mustache, and intelligent dark eyes, studied his superior intently as if searching for signs Norum was joking. He, Commander Edith Leung of Provider, and Lieutenant Commander Yannick Petrov of Defiant had been summoned to join the Chief of the Defense Staff in the Lannion Base Officers Mess private dining room for a last-minute lunch meeting.
It was fortuitous the three starship captains were on the ground and available that day. Leung was on ship’s business at Navy HQ while Petrov’s Defiant sat on the Lannion Base tarmac alongside another Frater class corvette, and Jecks lived a quick aircar hop further up the coast.
“It’s just another survey mission, Al. One that merely has Earth as a turnaround point.”
While Norum recounted Seeker’s discovery and an edited version of the discussion around the cabinet table, Jecks’ eyes wandered to the far wall. There, the portraits of each Chief of the Defense Staff hung in what was commonly known as a rogue’s gallery, beginning with that of the Lyonesse Defense Force founder, Jonas Morane. Since the private dining room was, in practice if not officially so, reserved for the incumbent, two centuries of admirals and generals staring at them felt apt.
When Norum noticed Jecks’ gaze, he correctly divined the younger man’s thoughts and chuckled.
“No, you won’t be retracing Admiral Morane’s route.”
“Thank the Almighty. If I recall correctly, they passed through at least one rogue wormhole. Who knows how many of them are out there by now?”
“It’ll be the direct route as per the old imperial sailing instructions. Of course, you might face a detour or two, and, if in your judgment, Al, the safety of the ships and crews call for a turnaround before reaching Earth, then so be it.”
“Meaning I’ll be in command?”
“Yes, and by President Hecht's decree, your promotion to captain is effective now, not once you’re back from your last cruise in Serenity. I can come aboard and present your new rank in front of the ship’s company, or we can do it in my office.”
“What’s your preference, sir?”
“In Serenity. That way, I can speak with the crew in person before your departure. I’ll hop over to Provider afterward and speak with Edith’s people. And I’ll be visiting Defiant before you lift, Yannick.”
Lieutenant Commander Petrov, dark-complexioned, with thick black hair and a lean, youthful face that belied his age, nodded. “We’ll be glad to pipe you aboard, sir.”
“As will we,” Leung said. Of an age with Jecks — they’d been Academy classmates — and just as rangy, she wore her dark hair in a short bob that framed a narrow elfin face with prominent cheekbones.
“Good. The President will make the announcement on the public newsnet stream at fifteen hundred, which gives you time to get word to your crews before the mission becomes public knowledge. A full set of orders will come through in the next day. You can start taking on extra supplies right away. Starbase Lyonesse and Base Lannion logistics departments will be told you have priority right after the President speaks. Load your holds until there’s not a cubic centimeter of space left. And now, let’s eat.”
Moments later, mess personnel carrying cold lunch plates entered the private dining room, proof Norum’s aide had been listening in on the conversation from his perch outside the closed door.
After the servers had left, the conversation naturally turned to the survey mission, and Norum was pleased that the three captains displayed growing enthusiasm after their initial hesitation. The discussion eventually touched on the socio-political aspects and Sister Elana’s visions. And though they understood the reasons behind President Hecht’s decision to finally authorize the expedition, none of them were believers.
Nor did they think a symbolic claim on Earth could give Lyonesse an edge over the Wyvern Hegemony in any way, shape, or fashion. But then, naval officers were realists who understood the universe was harsh, and impersonal. Norum didn’t think any of them, nor many in the entire Defense Force, were Lyonesse supremacists.
They didn’t linger over dessert. Norum understood they were impatient to speak with their first officers and get word of the expedition spread among the crews before it became public knowledge. He climbed to his feet, immediately imitated by Jecks, Leung, and Petrov as the dining-room door opened again and his aide appeared.
“The car is waiting, sir. We have just enough time to get back.”
“Thank you.” Norum looked at each of the captains in turn. “And you’re no doubt impatient to get moving as well. Thanks for joining me at the last minute. We’ll speak again soon.”
“Sir.” Jecks, as senior among them, snapped to attention, imitated by his colleagues.
When Norum was gone, a crooked smile cracked his previously serious mien.
“I can’t tell if it’ll be an epic voyage of rediscovery, but as my last outing in Serenity, I couldn’t have asked for more interesting.”
Leung nodded. “Ain’t that the truth? By the way, congrats on the fourth stripe. Well deserved.”
“Yes, congratulations, sir.” Petrov held out his hand. “If you don’t want to deal with the base’s communications section to call your ships, Defiant is just a short walk down the runway.”
“We’ll take you up on that, Yannick. Thanks. It’ll allow us to chat on the way without being overheard. We might as well use the time to discuss standard operating procedures.”
Leung chuckled. “Should I be frightened by how fast you’ve slipped into task force commander mode, Al?”
Jecks leered at her.
“Oh, be terrified. Once we’re out of subspace radio range, I’ll be the sole authority after the Almighty.”
“Maybe I should ask the admiral to move my posting out of Provider up by a year.”
Jecks nodded at the door.
“And miss the fun? Let’s give Defiant’s signals chief something to talk about in the mess tonight.”
***
“I can’t believe Sister Elana’s sibylline pronouncements, and those of every other mystic sister before her, finally found traction with the republic’s government. I’m sure the shard of Sister Marta that lurks behind Elana’s consciousness is thrilled.”
Jecks looked up from his cup at Sister Bree, Serenity’s counselor, and chief medical officer.
“What was that?”
Bree, an athletic, late forties brunette with shoulder-length hair, a soft round face dusted with freckles and mischievous green eyes, had cut her leave short and rejoined the ship along with everyone else who’d been enjoying liberty. Her first stop after dropping her bag off in her quarters was Jecks’ day cabin, where she’d spent many an hour enjoying tea and discussing various subjects with him while the ship was in hyperspace.
“You never heard the story of our mystics? I’m surprised. Your mind generally is a fount of oddball knowledge.”
“Not so much about the Order. You keep secrets better than Defense Force Intelligence.”
She grimaced.
“We don’t actually keep secrets, but there are things we simply won’t discuss with outsiders lest we appear a little too fey for the republic’s good.”
Jecks winked at her.
“That ship sailed two hundred years ago.”
“And yet here we are, sailing aboard the Navy’s ships.” Bree sat back and took a sip of tea. “Anyway, there are some sisters whose talent surpasses the others. Those are the ones whose third eye is at least partially open.”
She tapped her forehead with a slender index finger.
“An inner eye that can see matters of the mind and the soul. We can only open it briefly and catch glimpses of what hides from normal sight, like that which lives in our subconscious. Apparently, when a sister with the ability dies, she can leave a small shard of herself in the subconscious of another.”
She sipped her tea again.
“The first recorded instance since the fall of the empire was Sister Heloise who touched Abbess Marta moments before her death at the hands of Admiral Zahar on Yotai. At the time, she was merely Marta Norum, the ancestor of your current Chief of the Defense Staff, but she became one of the most powerful and mystical sisters ever. Marta could unerringly find other sisters with the potential to be like her and trained them herself, even after she became Summus Abbatissa of the Order.
“When Marta died, she was holding the hand of a younger sister with a partially open third eye, and a shard of Marta’s essence — including a bit of the shard Heloise left — took up residence in her subconscious. That sister eventually passed a bit of herself and the cumulative bits of her two predecessors to the next in line at death, and so on until today.”
Jecks pursed his lips in thought.
“You’re saying there are what? Half a dozen or more dead mystics living in Elana’s attic, having a grand old time sending her visions? But if those bits of dead sisters inhabit the subconscious, how would Elana and the previous leading mystics know?”
“Because when a sister like Elana opens her third eye, she can see the bits of mental energy her predecessors imprinted on each successive generation’s subconscious. Briefly, as I mentioned, just enough to see part of them never really died. It’s also that third eye which supposedly gives our mystics their visions.”
“And do you believe this is true?”
Bree shrugged.
“Even after over a thousand years of work by the Order’s best researchers, we still understand only a fraction of what the human mind can do, so anything is possible. That we sisters are, to one degree or another, empaths is beyond doubt. Our friars have a bit of our abilities as well. We can’t read minds, but we can sense moods, anguish, pain, joy, and hesitation — the things of the soul that differentiate us from intelligent machines. And we can use our talent to heal, teach, protect, and help.
“Besides, the idea of a third eye has existed for millennia. It’s not something the Order invented, so I think it probably exists as those who’ve opened theirs claim. But with visions and prophecies, let’s just say I’m as skeptical as the next person. The mystics don’t have a track record that proves they’re prescient. Yet, since the visions aren’t clear, perhaps we simply don’t interpret most of them correctly.”
“Why did I never hear of the third eye before?”
Bree gave him a mysterious smile.
“Because it’s one thing we don’t discuss, not even among ourselves, mainly because the vast majority of us cannot open our third eye, me included. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be serving aboard a Navy ship. We keep those who can close to home where they help with research and treating people who suffer from serious mental disorders.”
Jecks nodded with understanding.
“Like those exiled to the Windy Isles for life — the incurable criminal sociopaths, for instance.”
“Just so. Sister Marta was among the first who worked intensively with them and developed approaches still in use today. More importantly, she discovered what didn’t work or made things worse and imposed a list of forbidden techniques. For example, she discovered that pushing a sister to open her third eye when she wasn’t ready could utterly destroy mind and soul.”
“I see.” Jecks studied her for a few seconds. “Out of curiosity, why are you so open with me about this?”
“Because I feel we might stir up ghosts of the past and it’s perhaps best you realize what some of them are.”
“Based on Elana’s visions?”
She grimaced again.
“Something about what she said after hearing of Torrinos and our expedition’s goal left many of us at the Lannion Abbey wondering about the future.”
Jecks’ eyebrows shot up. “Do I want to hear?”
“Probably not. Besides, Abbess Gwendolyn has placed an embargo on Elana’s latest pronouncements. They’re getting a little too eerie.”
“Aha! You do have secrets, after all.”
A wry smile lit up Bree’s face. “It seems so.”
“Well, I’m glad you made it back before Admiral Norum’s visit.”
“Ah yes. Should I congratulate you on your promotion now or when he pins on your new rank insignia?”
“Since I’m already being paid as a post captain, whenever you wish.”
“In that case, congratulations. It is well deserved. Once our upcoming cruise is over, do you know where you’re headed?”
“Defense Force HQ as Director, Future Naval Capabilities under the Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff.”
She must have read something in his tone or expression. “Is that a good assignment?”
“Not bad, but still a desk job. I consider it my penance for five years as a Void Ship captain, the most sought-after command assignment in the Lyonesse Navy. So long as I don’t trip over my own feet, chances are good I’ll get command of a squadron in one of our outlying star systems after three or four years shuffling projects, proposals, and anything else dropped on my desk by the good idea fairy. If I'm lucky, maybe I’ll take over from Lucas Morane at Hatshepsut.”
Bree let out a soft chuckle. “Why do I think you prefer spending your life away from Lyonesse?”
“This is a new age of exploration, or rather of rediscovery. I’d rather be out there doing my part in it than riding a desk in Lannion.”
“Someone must.” Bree’s eyes crinkled with mirth at Jecks’ vehemence.
“Then someone should be posted to HQ instead of me.”
Before she could reply, the day cabin’s communicator chimed. “Bridge to the captain.”
“Jecks.”
“Admiral Norum’s shuttle just landed on the starbase. I’ve warned the side party to assemble in the main airlock and will send the crew to the hangar in a moment.”
“Thanks. I’m on my way. Jecks, out.” He downed the rest of his tea and stood. “You’re welcome to join me.”
“I’ll join the rest of the crew, if you don’t mind.”
At that moment, the public address system came to life.
“All hands, now hear this. The Chief of the Defense Staff will arrive shortly. Except for those designated to remain at their posts, crew members will now form up on the hangar deck. That is all.”
Jecks put on his sky blue beret with the Navy’s double-headed condor and anchor insignia.
“See you later, Sister.”
Surprising him not in the least, Jecks found his cox’n, Chief Petty Officer First Class Lara Fast, a thin, tough, gray-haired veteran of Void Ships waiting for him, her cane of office, a silver-tipped, highly polished length of tough Lyonesse wood tucked under her left arm.
Since this was a working rather than a ceremonial visit, Jecks, Fast, and the side party wore Navy blue shipboard uniforms like the rest of the crew — trousers tucked into calf-high boots, high collared, waist-length tunic over a white sweater, and the ubiquitous Defense Force beret. Other than gold rank insignia at the collar, the only adornments were qualification badges and the ship’s crest on the right breast, over the name tape. That crest showed a stylized, eight-winged Lyonesse lightning fly in silver surrounded by a circle of gold, eight-pointed stars, and Serenity’s motto, Lead the Way. It symbolized a Void Ship’s mission — to lead the republic back into the old empire.
When they reached the spacious main starboard airlock, they found the eighteen spacers under the combat systems chief petty officer, CPO2 Garnet Gill, and the bosun, CPO2 Reed Ahane, already in formation, prepared to receive their visitor. The spacers were armed with standard plasma carbines, while Chief Gill also carried a cane of office tucked under his left arm, but one slightly less ornate than Chief Fast’s. Ahane, as befit his duties of the moment, held a silver bosun’s call hanging from a silver chain around his neck in his right hand.
A few minutes later, Admiral Norum’s aide, wearing a toned-down version of the gold braid cord over his battledress tunic’s left shoulder, appeared in the gangway tube. Gill called the side party to attention and had them shoulder arms while Chief Ahane raised his call to his lips. Jecks and Fast came to attention in unison at the former’s whispered command. Seconds later, Norum came around the corner five paces behind his aide, who stopped on the station side of the airlock to let his admiral step aboard.
Chief Gill ordered a present arms while the bosun’s whistle trilled the appropriate call for a Chief of the Defense Staff boarding a Republic of Lyonesse warship. Jecks had raised his hand to salute in synchronization with the side party and held it there until the whistle stopped as the chief called the shoulder arms.
“Welcome aboard, Admiral,” Jecks said, taking one step forward. “Would you care to inspect the side party?”
“With pleasure, Captain.”
“The rest of the crew, or at least those not standing watch at designated positions, is assembled on the hangar deck, sir. We set up a small dais for you if you wish to address them.”
“Excellent.” Norum halted in front of Chief Gill and returned the latter’s salute, then slowly walked down one rank and up the other, stopping a few times to exchange brief words with crew members. At the end, he and Gill exchanged salutes, then Norum fell into step beside Jecks, with the aide and the cox’n following them as they made their way aft to the main hangar deck.
As soon as they appeared in the hangar’s starboard inner airlock, the first officer, Lieutenant Commander Yulia Salmin — tall, muscular, with short sandy hair and intense blue eyes — called the ship’s company to attention. Under Jecks’ guidance, Norum headed for the improvised dais, climbed it, and faced the formation.
“Ship’s company, to the Chief of the Defense Staff, general salute.” Salmin and the officers raised their hands to their brows in a crisp, snappy movement that made the cox’n nod to himself in satisfaction. Norum returned the gesture and held it for a few seconds until Salmin called attention.
“Let’s get on with the formal part first, since you’re already in the right position for the occasion. Captain Jecks, front, and center.” Norum stepped off the dais.
“Sir.” Jecks marched up and halted to face Norum
“Attention to orders. Commander Allan Ricardo Jecks is hereby promoted to the rank of post captain. He will remain as commanding officer of the Republic of Lyonesse Void Ship Serenity.” Norum stepped forward and removed the metallic commander’s rank insignia from Jecks’ uniform collar. “Hand.”
When Jecks held out his left hand, Norum gave it to him, either as a souvenir or to present to his first officer at the end of the cruise when her promotion to commander was due. Then, he reached into his tunic pocket, produced a rank badge with four stripes topped by the Navy’s executive loop, and pinned it on Jeck’s collar.
“Congratulations, Captain. Well deserved.” They shook hands while Serenity’s crew, led by Salmin, applauded. When the cheers died away, Norum jumped on the dais again. “Please stand the crew easy, Commander.”
Once she’d done so, he let his eyes roam over the assembled men and women, the Navy’s best because only the best earned much-coveted Void Ship billets.
“I won’t ask if you’re ready for the cruise of a lifetime because I know you are.” Norum’s voice carried across the vast space, echoing off serried ranks of cargo shuttles, personnel transporters, and combat dropships. “Your post-refit readiness evaluation score is all the proof I need. Well done. In a few days, Serenity, Provider, and Defiant will spearhead a new survey mission into the heart of what was once humanity’s greatest empire and the Commonwealth before it. And when I say heart, I mean what was once the Home Sector, with our species’ world of origin at its center — Earth. But you already knew that from your divisional officers’ briefings over the last few days.”
Norum paused for effect, meeting many a gaze.
“I envy each and every one of you. This will be the longest, most exciting voyage of rediscovery since Lyonesse returned to the galaxy and began making President Morane’s dream a reality. You’ll be mapping wormhole branches that haven’t seen a starship in over two centuries and passing worlds cut off from the rest of humanity since the empire’s collapse. And if you reach Earth, you’ll be the first people from Lyonesse to do so in a very long time. No one can tell what awaits you out there, but whatever that may be, I know you’ll prevail and return with a wealth of data that’ll keep astrographers busy for years to come. Fair winds and following seas, my friends. Lead the Way.” He let the sound of the ship’s motto fade, then said in a conversational tone, smiling, “I’ll answer any questions you may have for the next few minutes, then I’m off to speak with your comrades in Provider.”
