Clidepp Requital (11 page)

"I hope he never succeeds, unless you really want it. You're a fine officer, and I'm confident you'll eventually be a superior warship captain."

"Um, thank you, sir."

"I just wish you would stop 'umming' me all the time."

Sydnee looked at his face closely before speaking. She believed he was only half-serious. "I'm trying to break myself of that annoying habit, sir, but it slips out when I'm nervous."

"You're nervous now?"

"U—, yes sir."

"Don't be. You're a valued member of my crew, and you've done nothing wrong. The only time you should be nervous around me is when I'm screaming in your face like a Marine DI, or perhaps just scowling at you."

Sydnee allowed herself a small grin. "Yes, sir."

"Okay, Sydnee, that's all. Remember not to discuss anything that's been said here today until the BOI officially releases its report, and don't say anything to anybody about the new ship designs. That's still classified information, although I'm sure the secret was leaked some time ago when construction actually began and workers realized the changes."

"Yes, sir. I'll keep it confidential."

"Good. Now go pack your things and go home for a visit, but be aboard the
Denver
for first watch Tuesday."

"Aye, sir," Sydnee said as she stood. She then braced to attention, turned on her left heel, and left the office.

* * *

Riding the tube from Nebraska to New York City didn't take much longer than taking an airborne shuttle, owing to the extreme, never-ending traffic congestion over the NYC area. The Express train trip through the vacuum tube to Chicago took twenty minutes. Then it was just another thirty minutes to the recently completed uptown station in NYC. The enormous new station occupied a substantial part of the land where Harlem had stood until the big earthquake in the mid twenty-third century. A wide split centered on the 125
^th
Street earthquake fault line created a new water connection between the Hudson River and the East River when a three-hundred-foot-wide swath of Manhattan sank below sea level. The result was six boroughs instead of just five.

The final leg of the twenty-four-hundred kilometer trip was completed via oh-gee cab. The ride to Park Central Towers added just five minutes to the trip once Sydnee was able to find an available taxi in the train station. A landing pad on the ninety-fourth floor of the towering building left only a short walk from the cab to the front door of the family's co-op.

Sydnee had left almost all of her personal possessions at home when she entered NHSA, so she didn't have her master key with her, and the door wasn't accepting her handprint. After five minutes of waiting for someone to open the door, she slumped down against the wall. She had no sooner reached the floor when the door opened and her sister Sheree peered out.

"What are you doing on the floor?"

"Waiting for someone to open the door."

"Sorry. I'm the only one home and I was in the shower. Where's your key?"

"I left it here when I went to the Academy. This is my first time home, and my palm print wouldn't open the door."

"The control unit burned out last year. We had a new one installed and had to reload our prints and voices."

"Voices?"

"Yeah, it's also voice activated now. Curtis wanted to set it up so it would only respond to an eye scan because he said it's the most secure, but Mom and I put our foot down. We told him we weren't going to stick our faces up against some sensor in the hallway when we got home. There's no telling who could have touched it while we were out, and God only knows what kind of germs they might have left on it."

"How do I set it up for my voice and handprint?"

"Come on inside. We can do it from in here. I'm half naked and I'm not coming out into the hallway dressed like this."

From her position, Sydnee had only been able to see Sheree's head. She stood up and entered the apartment, only then realizing Sheree was naked except for the large towel wrapped around her and knotted above her bosom. "You mean
undressed
like this. But what's the big deal? That's ten times more cloth than you wear when you go to the beach."

"It's a towel, not a swim suit."

"The last bikini I saw you wear had less cloth than it takes to cover my palm."

"On the beach everyone is almost naked, so I don't feel out of place. Standing next to you in your uniform and boots I feel naked even with this towel. Do you always have to wear so much clothing? I can see why your love life is so dismal."

"How do you know my love life is dismal?"

"It must be. Look at yourself in a mirror."

"I see myself like this every day."

"That's another thing. You not only dress like the boys, you're starting to look more like them every day. No wonder you can't find a guy."

"Who says I can't find a guy?" Sydnee said with feigned indignation.

"You've found somebody?"

"Maybe," she said coyly.

"Who is it?"

"Um, he's a shipmate."

"Why the 'um?' You only do that when you're nervous."

"I'm not nervous. It's just that— well— nothing is settled yet. We're still learning about one another."

"Have you had sex?"

"That's one of the things that's not settled yet."

"Don't you know?"

"Of course I know. The answer is no. And I don't know if we should. We have to work together— a lot. It could get awkward."

"Doesn't he want to?"

"He's sort of made a few minor overtures."

"Overtures? Are you talking about having sex or listening to Beethoven?"

"Having sex."

"The way you talk about it, listening to Beethoven sounds more exciting."

"Funny." Pointing to the control panel for the security system, Sydnee said, "Show me how to use this thing to record my voice and palm print."

"I wasn't kidding about germs before. If you can, use the voice activation only. Use the palm print in the hall as a
last
resort."

"What's going on? You never used to be worried like this, and you never mentioned anything in your vidMails."

"We don't know. There have been a number of unexplained deaths in the building recently. Everyone is nervous. I've been showering four or five times every day, and Curtis just installed a new internal environmental system after sealing off the building's air-purification vents inside the co-op. He had air samples taken and they were negative for any harmful airborne bacteria, but he decided to separate us from the rest of the building as a precaution until they discover why so many people are dying."

"How many?"

"I've lost count. Somewhere around twenty-six I think."

"Oh my God! Twenty-six co-op residents in one of the most exclusive buildings in the city? I can tell I'm going to sleep well tonight."

"Sorry, sis, but I thought you should know. Here, just place your right hand on the palm plate and enter AJ8-2Emc2. After it accepts your print, tell it your name. Then leave your hand on the glass and talk about anything until the machine tells you it has an adequate sample. The instructions suggest you assist the unit by saying something like, "Open the door, Jeeves."

"Jeeves?" Sydnee said with a giggle.

"Curtis named it."

"Nuff said," Sydnee said with a grin.

~ September 7
^th
, 2285 ~

"Sweetheart, why didn't you tell me you were coming today?" Kathee Deleone said as she arrived home and saw her two daughters sitting on the living room sofa."I would have stayed home so I was here to greet you."

Sydnee rose as her mother hurried over with outstretched arms to embrace her. After their hug and cheek kiss, Kathee stepped back to give her daughter the once-over. "You look thin. Are they feeding you enough?'

"Momma, I'm four pounds heavier now than when I entered the Academy."

"Well— you
look
thin."

"Perhaps it's because I'm in better physical condition than I was back then. You know, more muscle, less fat. I run every day and work out."

"Men prefer their women with a little fat, sweetheart. They want a few curves. You should put on a few pounds— in the right places of course. I know a great surgeon who can change your whole life in just a two-hour visit."

"Big boobs and hips are what
some
men want. Others want a sharp mind and a healthy body."

"None that I've ever met."

"You were never in the military."

"No, I wasn't. And I wish you weren't either."

"Momma, don't start. I love my job. I love being in the military. I can't imagine a life of simply living for the next party or social event. If that's what you want for yourself, that's fine. But I want more."

"You're going to get yourself killed out in space, and I won't even know you're gone for several months. We never did get your father's body back. They told me the area of the ship where he was fighting at the Battle for Higgins was totally destroyed and open to space. They never found anything they could identify as coming from him."

"That was true of many good people, Momma. According to the logs, the last contact they had with dad indicated he was doing his job and making a difference. That's all I want people to be able to say about me— that I did my job and my efforts made a difference."

"Well, I'm just glad they sent you out where you'd be safe instead of shipping you off to Region Two to die in that terrible war."

"Um— Momma, I have a confession."

Kathee Deleone's face instantly reflected shock. "You're not going to tell me you've been in Region Two all this time, are you?"

"Um— no."

"That's a relief. I was afraid you were going to tell me you've been in extreme danger during that time when we couldn't contact you."

"Um— that's sort of what I have to tell you. I haven't been entirely truthful in my vidMails because I knew you'd worry. But everything will come out now, as soon as the Board of Inquiry findings are released to the press."

"What do Board of Inquiry findings have to do with you? You said you weren't even on the
Perry
when it suffered the damage."

"The BOI is why I haven't been able to come home since we arrived back on Earth. I had to be available for the hearings."

"Hearings for what? Did you do something illegal?"

"Um— no. But it's complicated. Come into the living room and sit down. I'll tell you everything."

Seventy-two minutes later, Sydnee wrapped up her story. Her mother had listened attentively to every word and somehow refrained from asking any questions until she was done.

"So, you shot two men aboard a diplomatic ship that had been attacked by rebels and disabled. Then you landed on a planet where rebels were living and attacked them in order to destroy their weapons. Then you fought them in a ground battle when they came after you, but in doing that, they killed the Marine in charge. Then you had to take command, and two more Marines were killed. Then you killed a rebel officer who was trying to kill you with a missile, you stole a Clidepp tug, and two fighters pursued you and tried to kill you. Then after reporting to your ship, you returned to the planet and were attacked by a giant sea monster. After that, you took command of a rebel destroyer and attacked another rebel destroyer that was attacking the
Perry
. Then aboard the
Babbage
, you put down an insurrection by rebels that broke out of their prison hold. Is that about it?"

"Pretty much. Except— I, um, injured my arm when we collided with the rebel ship."

"How bad?" her mother asked anxiously.

"Nothing to worry about. It's all healed now. It was just a dislocation at the shoulder joint. But they're going to give me a Purple Heart because it happened during battle. And, um, they're also going to give me an SC Star and a Bronze Comet medal for the other stuff I did."

Kathee Deleone sighed and shook her head sadly. "And here I thought you'd been safe and sound during the past year. You told me all you were doing was checking passports and inspecting cargo."

"That's the way it began. It all changed when a rebellion broke out in the Clidepp Empire. Until then I thought I'd die of boredom."

"You can't die of boredom, sweetheart, but you can die if someone shoots you or blows you up." Her mother sighed loudly before adding, "I'm almost sorry I begged Curtis to make sure you didn't go to Region Two. You were probably in more danger in that backwater sector."

"What? You begged Curtis to change my posting? Momma, how could you?"

"I'm sorry, honey. I was so fearful you might be killed in Admiral Carver's war that I couldn't stop myself."

"It wasn't Admiral Carver's war, Momma. She didn't want it any more than you."

"You can say that, but she's always
right
in the middle of any fight."

"That's because she's the best military strategist and commander we have. Smart political and military leaders have always put their best people in charge when war is forced upon us. I can't believe you begged Curtis to change my assignment."

"I did it for you, honey."

"Well, please don't do it for me again, Momma. I'm not a child anymore."

"I'm sorry, dear. I won't do it again. Are you going back out to that same border area, or are you going to try to get posted to Admiral Carver's command?"

"I can be more useful at the Clidepp border than in Region Two. I believe we're about to get overrun with war refugees. The GA Senate has ordered us to turn them back if they haven't been issued visas."

"That's inhumane. They're only trying to escape the war."

"We don't make the rules. I understand their plight and sympathize, but I can also see the plight of the planetary leaders who fear they won't be able to assimilate millions and millions of new immigrants. Immigrants need jobs, which in turn establishes incredible competition for available positions and lowers the wages of the entire workforce. A flood of immigrants
always
brings a flood of new or previously eradicated diseases that the planet is unprepared to fight, and most of the immigrants will have to be cared for by the taxpayers of the planets for decades at a time when wages are falling due to the influx of too many new job seekers. It's a complex situation. Try to act humane, and you place an incredible burden on yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your nation. The GA Senate has made the very tough decision that only people with official visas will be allowed in. Our difficulty will be in stemming the tide of illegals and turning them back to their home nation."