Chapter 5

Amulius and Captain Jackson sat around the table in the briefing room. The captain was yelling and screaming about the fail mission as he saw it. Lydia entered the room. Captain Jackson turned his focus on her.

“You have a big problem young lady,” the captain hollered. “Where do you get off talking to me like that?”

“Is it true that you threaten to kill the captain?” Amulius asked in his typical calm tone.

“Yes,” Lydia answered. “He was being an ass.”

“That’s not wise,” the captain said.

“You have to remember, Captain Jackson,” Lydia explained. “Faith is not a soldier. She doesn’t have to follow your orders. She doesn’t have to give you respect. She doesn’t like you and she doesn’t trust you. On the other hand, Faith likes and trusts me. Going after you, was perfect. I did more in building her trust than any of your damn methods.”

“Lydia does have a point, captain,” said Amulius. “Making her fight for us is different than her wanting to fight for us.” He looked at Lydia. “You will be handling Faith for now on. The missions will still come from the captain and me, but you will make the final call. If any new information pops up like the Frautfom, we will trust your judgment.”

The captain shook his head. “We could use that against the Drilli.”

“And we would have been charged with war crimes,” replied Lydia. “Every member in Association’s space will turn on us. Humans will be outcast. We will have no influence in interstellar policies.”

The captain rolled his eyes. “We don’t need policies. We need bigger guns.”

“Captain,” interjected Amulius. “I have to agree with Lydia. Humanity can’t survive by itself out here. We have to play nice.”

The captain leaned back in his chair. “I understand your view. The main question is?” He pointed his finger at Lydia. “Why didn’t she listen to you?”

“Faith is not an idiot,” Lydia said. “She knew why we wanted Alessio alive, to get our hands on Frautfom. Maybe she has some sense of a moral code. She wanted no part of the ‘Golden Slumber.’”

“Where was her moral code when she was stomping the faces of Alessio’s men? Or the soldiers she killed at the prison camp.” The captain sneered trying to get under Lydia’s skin. “You didn’t expect that much brutality.”

Lydia sat down at the table and put her hand on her cheek. “I admit. I did find her actions disturbing, but necessary to get the job done.”

“She is deadly,” Amulius said. “But can we always control her?”

“She will listen to me.” Lydia tried to assure him. She didn’t want the Amulius or the captain to take hard measures against Faith.

“But would she always?” the captain asked. “What happens if she turns on us? I think we need a plan if that happens.”

Lydia looked at the captain. She was still angry with him and questioned any of his motives. But she did humor him listen to what he had to say. “Like what?”

“I thought you would never ask.” The captain reached into his breast pocket of his uniform. He pulled out a small metallic ball about six millimeters in diameter. He placed it on the table. He reached into his other breast pocket. He pulled out a small square clicker about two centimeters wide and two centimeters long.

“Stay back,” he said. He pushed the clicker and the metallic ball burst into a loud and controlled explosion.

A startled Lydia shot up from her chair. “What the hell?”

The captain laughed. “A pretty big bang for such a small ball, I got the boys in the lab to develop it, when we started this project. It’s a kill switch. All we have to do is place it at the base of Faith’s skull. If she ever goes rogue, Boom!” He used his hands to emphasize the explosion. “She’s will no longer be a problem.”

“I’m not putting that inside of her,” Lydia shouted. And stared at the captain. “Are you fucking crazy?”

The captain smiled and stayed calm. “It just a backup plan, sweetie.”

“No,” said Lydia. “I will keep her under control and don’t call me sweetie. You fat son of a bitch!”

“Why must I babysit you two?” Amulius asked. “For now, the switch is just a backup. It will not be planted in Faith.”

“Thank you.” Lydia let out a sigh.

“I think it is a big mistake,” the captain said. “But I will trust your judgment, for now.”

“Good,” Amulius said. “Now we have another matter to address. A science station on Uma has recently been attacked. We need to investigate.”

“Uma is in Shavili’s space,” Lydia questioned. “Why are we looking into it?”

“I see it as an opportunity to get a closer look at Shavili’s technology.”

“What are we looking for?” Lydia asked.

“First,” Amulius said, “Let me give you some details.” He pulled up a holographic monitor. With a simple wave of his hand, the space chart of the region appeared. With more hand gestures, he enlarged the imaged of the planet Uma. “It is deep in Shavili’s space, but Shavili’s government denied that the base even exists.”

“So,” Lydia interjected. “A lot of governments have secret bases. Hell, we are a secret organization ourselves. What is so important about this base?”

“Biotech,” Amulius replied. “This base had made great strides in the field. They might have broken some ethics. They conducted experiments that even turn my stomach, but the results are promising. We might be able to use the tech to improve the bonding of AMPED with future candidates.”

The captain smiled. “So we can build an army.”

“Exactly,” Amulius said. “Image an army of thousand Faiths.” He stroked his goatee. “Why think small?” Tens of thousands on the battlefield. We will have the most powerful army in the galaxy. We will be able to dictate terms in the interstellar arena for a millennium. This was the purpose of Project AMPED to make humans superior.”

“To grant human superiority,” Lydia said, “we must steal alien technology. Do you see the irony?”

“There is an old saying on Earth,” the captain said. “I don’t care how the sausage is made.”

“How are we going to get into Shavili’s space?” Lydia asked Amulius. “The Hannibal is too slow and too big to sneak into Shavili’s space and not get detected.”

“I have a plan.”

A ship pulled up next to the Hannibal. It was an escort class spacecraft, about one fifth the size of the Hannibal. A voice came over the intercom in the briefing room. “Amulius, there is a small spacecraft on our port bow?”

“Thank you,” Amulius answered. “It’s right on schedule.”

“There wasn’t a scheduled rendezvous,” a baffled Lydia said.

“This is part of my plan,” Amulius said. He waved his hand in front of the monitor again and pulled up the image of the small spacecraft.

“It’s an escort ship,” Lydia said. “Why is it here?”

“It is not just an escort ship, Lydia,” Amulius said. “It was five times the size of an executive shuttle, but it maneuvers like a fighter.” Amulius provided more details about the spacecraft. “The ship was designed to do recon missions, but it has enough firepower to get you out of any jam. Two plasma cannons, which could fire in three hundred sixty degrees and one launcher, which could fire antimatter torpedoes. It has a polarized hull and multiple force screens for defense.” Amulius waived his had and pulled up the engine room of the craft. “It has a sub-light engine that can reach three forth of light speed. It is the smallest ship to have a Jump Drive Core.”

“It’s a nice ship,” Lydia said as she stared at the monitor.

“It yours,” Amulius said with a smile. “Your crew is already aboard.”

“What?”

“This is how you and Faith are going to Uma.”

Captain Jackson shook his head in disbelief. “You are giving her a ship! Are you out of your mind? She’s not ready for that.” He walked closer to her. “The only one way you got that ship was on your back.”

Lydia slapped him across the face and kneed him in the groin. She elbowed him in the face, knocking him down to the floor. The captain instinctively reached for his gun. But before he could pull it out of its holster, Lydia already had her firearm out and pointing at the captain’s head.

“Will you two behave yourselves,” Amulius ordered in a composed tone.

Captain Jackson laughed. He knew he hit a nerve. He heard rumors about her and did not know if they were true or not. But they weren’t true. Lydia earned her rank within SINDRI. She worked harder and smarter than everybody. She understood the politics one must play within this organization. The captain was jealous of her and her achievements. Deep down inside, he knew she was his better.

Lydia holstered her weapon. “Please tell me he is not part of my crew.”

“He’s not,” Amulius said. “The ship can hold up to twenty crew members, but only four has been assigned. You and Faith will make it six. The mission briefing is already on your ship. You might want to inform Faith. I heard that she is not fond of flying.”

“Thank you,” Lydia said.

Lydia didn’t want the captain or Amulius to know how excited she was about getting her own ship. She still preferred to work on the Hannibal, but needed to get away. More importantly, to get away from Captain Jackson. Lydia didn’t understand why the captain had it in for her, but that wasn’t her concern. She went to hers and Faith’s quarters and pack two duffel bags. Lydia went to the medical bay to check in on Faith.

“How are you feeling?” Lydia asked.

“Still sore.” Faith winced as she stood up from the bed. “But will be ready in a few. Why you ask?”

“We are going on another mission,” Lydia said.

“I thought Captain Jackson wasn’t happy with my performance.” Faith arched her back to loosen up her body.”

“Captain Jackson doesn’t call the shots around here.” Lydia dropped one of the duffels by Faith’s feet. “I already pack some clothes, mostly workout gear and maybe a couple of dresses.”

Faith blushed. “Don’t see many missions were a dress would come in handy.” Faith bent over and pick up the bag.

“There might be some downtime,” Lydia said. “We can’t work all the time.” A huge smile came to Lydia’s face. “I do have a present for you?”

“Really?” Faith smiled matched that of Lydia. “Why is it?” Faith’s body tensed up as Amulius walked in the room carrying a package wrapped in a blanket.

“Hello, my dear,” Amulius greeted the little warrior. “Lydia asked if you could get this back.” Faith dropped her duffle as she received the package.

Faith unwrapped her present and screeched when she saw what it was, Faith’s katrat. It was one of the first items that Roat-At-Tat gave her. Faith thought she would never see it again. Katrat was a huge sword. Its blade was eighteen centimeters wide and little over a meter long. The blade resembled a cleaver than a sword. Like a cleaver, its blade was razor sharp on the bottom. But it was also razor-sharp on the front. So, the user could not only cut, but stab with it as well.

“It is a cruel, but effective weapon,” Amulius said. “It would serve better being in your hands, than collecting dust in storage. It was Lydia’s idea to give it to you. I would have ejected into the coldest of space.”

Faith swung the katrat around and practiced some moves. Since AMPED increase her strength, the katrat felt lighter to her. Her speed and strength made the katrat even more deadly, but her body still healing from the fight with the Prime. She would practice later when she was at full strength. Faith placed the katrat in her duffel until she got a proper sleeve for it.

“You two and your crew will make us proud,” Amulius said.

“Crew?” Faith questioned and looked at Lydia. “What is he talking about?”

“It is a long story,” Lydia answered. “I will tell you on the ship.”

“Ship?” Faith questioned again. “You have a ship?”

“Come on,” Lydia said. “Let go to the docking bay.”

The two walked through the Hannibal. All eyes focused on the pair as they made their way to the lower levels. Faith heard the murmured of the crew as she walked by, none of the comments were nice, most were sexually natures, which Faith found funny.

“Minus the large amount of body hair,” Faith whispered to Lydia. “There is no real difference between human and drilli.”

“Male members of all species are pigs,” Lydia said.

Faith flashed her smile. “As long as they don’t try to feed off of my trough.” Faith glared at one of the men making rude comments. “Everything will be fine.”

“You don’t have to worry, Faith,” Lydia said. “They are too scare to mess with you.”

“Are they afraid I will rip off their little penises?”

“To be honest with you,” Lydia said. “Yes.”

“Good.”

They made it to the docking bay and walked over to the docking tubing, waiting to aboard Lydia’s ship. Lydia and Faith pulled out their datapad and both looked over the layout of the ship.

“Does it have a name?” Faith asked as she scanned over the schematic the ship.

“Enigma,” Lydia answered.

“Clever,” Faith said. “I would have named it Roat-At-Tat, but it isn’t my ship.”

“True.” Lydia put her finger to her ear. “Pressurized the tube,” she ordered. The trademark hissed sound of the pressurized process continued until the series of three beeps and a green light appeared over the docking bay “Pressurized procedure completed,” a voice came over the speakers. “You may enter the docking tube.”

Lydia looked at Faith. “It is time to tear down the old galaxy and built a new galaxy.”

“When do we start?” Faith replied.

“After you go to your quarters and take some time to heal,” Lydia explained. “I need you at full strength.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Using the ship schematics, Faith made it to her quarters. It was a lot smaller than the one she had on the Hannibal but cozy. It had a bunk, a bathroom with a small shower and a small sitting area with a table and a chair. Faith didn’t care much about being comfortable, she didn’t want to lose her edge. She laid on the bunk and crossed her hands over her chest, practicing the breathing techniques of that Roat-At Tat taught her. The nervous energy subdued as she laid on the bunk in a complete relaxed state.

Lydia toured the bridge, she could see her quarters later. The bridge was small but practical. It was an octagon shaped room. At the front was a three meters long and three meters tall monitor, nickname Jumbo. At the center of the bridge was the Captain’s chair. It was on a raised platform so that she had a clear view of the Jumbo. It also gave her clear view of the four workstations: tactical, engineering, communication and flight control. Tactical and communication workstations were on the right side of the bridge. The engineering was on the left side. The flight control or the helm was two and a half meters in front if the captain’s chair.

A woman with a long Auburn hair pulled into a tight bun stood up from her post. “Captain on the bridge!” She stood about 1.7 meters and her black SINDRI issued uniform showed off her athletic built.

“A little formal for a SINDRI,” Lydia said.

“Sorry, Ma’am.” The woman shook Lydia’s hand. “Eight years in Star Force is a hard habit to break. I’m Simona Pierno. Your tactical officer and weapon specialist.” Simona behaved like a Star Force officer. She addressed Lydia by saying ‘yes, ma’am’ or no, ma’am. ′ The other crew members, Simona would call them by name.

“Dr. Lydia Carson,” Lydia replied.

“I’m quite aware of you, ma’am.”

“Please, call me Lydia.”

“That might take some doing.”

“Fine, ‘ma’am’ it is.”

“It is safe to assume the other one is in her quarters?”

“Yes,” Lydia answered. “She needs to rest up before the mission.”

Simona leaned in closer to Lydia and whispered. “Is it true what they say about her? She is deadly.”

“Yes.” Lydia didn’t want to share too much information about Faith. “You served with Star Force?” Lydia changing the subject.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Simona answered. “Eight years, I rose to the rank of lieutenant and served under Captain Jackson. I resigned my commission about a year ago. I thought that joining SINDRI would help to dissolve conflicts before they turn into wars. I know you reviewed my dossier. You are aware that I have been trained many forms of martial arts and served as a hand to hand combat instructor with Star Force.”

“Your Star Force’s record is impressive.” Lydia crossed her arms on her chest. “How you like serving under Captain Jackson?”

“He’s an asshole,” Simona said. “A disgrace to his uniform.”

“Sounds like you have stories to share.”

“I have some.”

“Welcome aboard,” Lydia said with a smile.

Lydia sat in the captain’s chair. Her father would have been proud if it was a Star Force ship. Lydia scanned over the crew’s dossiers as they introduced themselves. They were all wearing SINDRI issued uniform. They were black in color with no insignia or symbols.

Zain Samara, the ship engineer. He was a tall man, standing nearly two meters and had an athletic built. Lydia joked that he might have to duck every time he entered the bridge. At forty-five, he was the oldest, but he looked young for his age. He had dark hair which he kept closely shaved. He was born on African Union region of Earth, but spent the last forty years on the colonies and on space ships. He worked as an engineer all type of spacecraft, serving on ships felt at home.

Vlad Petrov was the pilot and an arrogant prick. He thought that he was the best pilot in the galaxy, but he wasn’t even the best pilot on the ship, Lydia had that honor. He had dirty blonde hair and a slight athletic built. He was a good looking man, fair skin and dark blue eyes. At the age of twenty-two, he was the second youngest on the ship, Faith was the youngest. The pilot considered himself a ladies’ man and liked to flirt. No woman on the ship would be spared. Vlad was a Star Force brat. He lived in many different stations throughout Association’s space, never really had a place called home. He never served in Star Force; he didn’t have the discipline or the grades for it. When SINDRI recruited him, he jumped at the chance. He liked SINDRI because there were few rules and regulations.

Piet Alwin was the medic and also served as the communication officer considering that sickbay might only be used during and after combat. There was no need to pay two people when one person could do both. He was in his late thirties had a slight belly, but not fat. His dark hair was always in a messy state. He served as a doctor on some of the colonies and had connections throughout Association space, some were questionable. He could get crew members anything they wanted, for a price of course. He was the type of person that every crew needed. He had no problem bending the rules and some cases flat out break them.

“Prepare to depart,” Lydia ordered. “Disengage the docking tube.”

The crew followed her commands without hesitation. They operated with the proficiency of a seasoned crew. The ship pulled away from the Hannibal. Lydia ordered Vlad to plot a course to the nearest jump point, which would be the first step to get to Uma. Jump points were designated spots that starships could enter the Jump stream. The jump stream made it possible for starships to travel vast distances in a short period of time. While in the jump stream, a ship would travel ten times the speed of light. The Nessians were the first to discover the jump stream. They shared that knowledge with other species that they made contact with, including humans.

Once the ship got to the jump point, Vlad engaged the NavComputer. It calculated the Uma was about five light-years away from their present location.

“Disengaging the sub-light engine and prepare to make a jump.” He looked back at Lydia. “It will take about three hours to reach Uma.”

“Are you sure the coordinates are correct?” Lydia asked. “I don’t want to jump into a star.”

“Trust me,” Vlad replied. “The coordinates are correct.”

“You know how many babies were born on the words ‘Trust me?’” said Lydia. “Engage the Jump Drive.”

Vlad followed Lydia’s order. A bright white light flashed and it went dark as the ship entered the jump stream. While the ship was in jump, weapons would go offline and would remain offline until the ship exit the jump. The shields would still be online. They protected the ship from any space debris that entered the jump stream. Vlad helped the ship to maintain the jump by making necessary adjustments. Lydia was impressed with his skills. He made the adjustments flawlessly even before the ship’s alert would warn him.

“Good job, team,” Lydia said. She looked over to Simona. “Let me know when we reach Uma.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lydia walked out of the bridge. She could use a couple of hours of sleep, but before she retired, Lydia wanted to check on Faith.

The door of Faith’s quarter hissed open and Lydia walked into the room. Faith was sitting on the bunk staring at the wall.

“If you are going to make a jump,” Faith said. “Could you give a girl a warning?”

“You been through jumps before,” Lydia said with a slight smirk on her face.

“On the Hannibal,” Faith answered. “You don’t feel it on a big ship, but these little ships. You feel everything.”

“I will get Zain to adjust the inertia dampeners.” Lydia let out a small chuckled. “Next time, I will give you a proper warning.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Yeah.”

Lydia took out her datapad and sat down next to Faith and when over the details of the upcoming mission. Faith comprehend what Lydia explained, but not the why? Why were they flying deep into Shavili’s space and what was SINDRI’s interest in the base? Lydia informed Faith that it would improve humankind efforts against the Drilli. Faith wasn’t buying Lydia’s story, but Faith trusted the doctor and wanted to please the redhead.

“May I ask you a question?” Faith asked with a little reluctance in her voice.

“Sure.”

“Do you even like me?”

“What?” A stunned Lydia responded. “Why would you ask that?”

“Nevermind.” Faith tried to change the subject. “The Shavili are ---”

“No,” Lydia interrupted. “You are not getting off that easy. What is your concern?”

“Am I just a project to you? A tool or a weapon for you to control.” Faith got up from the bunk rubbing her hands together. “I know my methods can be messy and could be disturbing to people. You can’t like the person you see in front of you?”

“Are you serious?” Lydia stood up and held Faith’s hand. “If you were just a project to me, I would just keep you in cryogenic stasis and crack you open when I need you. If you were just a project, I wouldn’t have been by your bedside as you heal. I like you. I admire you. You’re smart. You’re pretty. You’re a survivor. You might have some anger issues.”

Faith snickered and blushed. “I know I have to work on that.”

“Your methods are harsh.” Lydia continued. “But you had a job to do and you did your job well. You are the strongest person I know, even before the AMPED and I’m not talking about your raw strength. Your strong will and constitution were already ingrained in you before AMPED was.” This was the first time Lydia was honest with Faith. This wasn’t an effort to manipulate the raven-haired woman. Lydia meant every word. The doctor stepped closer and caressed the side of Faith’s face.

Faith loved the warm, soft touch of Lydia’s hand. Faith developed an attraction to Lydia. A tickle in young woman’s stomach and the sweaty palm every time Lydia came around. It was the first time Faith felt like this and it wasn’t the side effects of the AMPED. Faith wasn’t sure if Lydia felt the same way, but there was nothing wrong with a little crush.