Valor At Vauzlee (2 page)

Gagarin had been looking forward to receiving the age prolongation and recombinant DNA processes himself soon, and had been working with genetic researchers to develop a model for his new body. He would be tall and handsome, like Strauss, and his new appearance would finally make him an acceptable candidate for investiture on the Upper Council. His dream had died with the entire scientific group at Raider-One, and he couldn't let go his desire for retaliation against the individual responsible.

"Where is this woman now?" Gagarin demanded.

"Our people on Higgins tell us that Ensign Carver has been posted to an insignificant position in an obscure area of their Science Section and assigned to study recently gathered data on a globular cluster. She presents no further threat to us."

"It doesn't matter. I want you to continue your investigation. I want to know everything about her."

"How deep do you wish us to go?"

"I want to know how old she was when she cut her first tooth."

Strauss nodded. "Maximum depth then. But if you must have your pound of flesh, I suggest that you wait a while. Wait six months or a year, until the public eye is completely off this little girl, and then arrange a simple accident. I'm a firm believer in that old saying about revenge being a dish best served cold."

"Very well," Chairman Gagarin said. "I can be patient for a while since she represents no further threat. You have your six months."

"
My
six months?"

"It's your idea to wait," Gagarin said. "And in six months time, I'll either be reading about the unfortunate death of one Ensign Jenetta Carver, or we'll
all
be reading about the untimely demise of one Arthur Stephen Strauss, Deputy-Comptroller of MedZip Electronics.

Strauss effectively masked the loathing he felt towards the man. He certainly didn't underestimate the ability of Gagarin to make good on his threats. He decided that it was time to make some arrangements of his own.

~ February 20
^th
, 2268 ~

"It's about damn time they acknowledged what you did," Lt. Commander Gloria Sabella, first officer aboard the freighter Vordoth, said from the comfort of her spacious quarters aboard ship. The Vordoth was presently floating, sans cargo, in a parking orbit around Higgins Space Command Base, itself floating in geosynchronous orbit around the planet Vinnia. After a harrowing and nearly disastrous trip through an area of space dominated by the Raiders, the freighter's crew was enjoying a well-deserved liberty while its next cargo load was being assembled. "Especially after putting you through the hell of that ridiculous general court-martial for destroying an enemy base without permission," the thirty-two-year-old Merchant Services officer added.

"One of the best parts of my day was when I told off my supervisor in the Science Section," Lt. Commander Jenetta Alicia Carver said gleefully to the bedside com unit image of her best friend in this part of space. There was a definite twinkle in her azure eyes. "You should have seen the positively ridiculous look on her face. It was all I could do to keep a straight face."

"I can picture it. And I don't know why she's in the service to begin with if she's opposed to killing those murdering pirates. Doesn't she know that we're at war?"

"I think that her only interest is her astrophysics work, and Space Command offers the best opportunity to study in space."

"Maybe. Hey, we have to celebrate!"

"Okay, but not tonight."

"Why not tonight?"

"I have a date, sorta."

"What's a
sorta
date?"

"Commander Spence asked me to dinner a few days ago."

"At the mess hall?" Gloria asked jokingly.

"
No-o-o;
at a restaurant on the shopping concourse."

"So, stepping out with the handsome lawyer?" Gloria asked rhetorically in a teasing voice.

"Well, I have to eat dinner anyway."

"Of course you do, dear. You know that I'll want a full report afterwards?"

"Yes ma'am. Written or oral?"

"Oral will be sufficient."

"Want to go shopping tomorrow? I'll give you a full report then."

"Okay. What time?"

"I'll meet you at the shuttle dock at 1000 hours."

"I'll be there. And afterwards you'll come back here to the Vordoth for dinner and a little celebration with your friends."

"Okay, I look forward to it."

"Have a good time tonight, Jen."

"Thanks, Gloria. See you tomorrow."

Jenetta stabbed her right index finger lightly at the disconnect switch and then immediately recorded messages to her mom and dad, and each of her four brothers. She told them about her promotion, the medal awards, and about her new posting. She added that she hoped they would all be able to get together when she got back to Earth.

With her messages sent, Jenetta turned her attention to preparations for her date. As a result of the DNA manipulation performed on her by the Raiders while she was their captive, she continued to grow, and the dress uniform provided by Commander Spence for the court-martial had already been tailored twice to conform to strict SC regulations on length. Until a few months ago she'd been five-foot-four, but since then she'd grown almost two-inches. According to the doctors at the base hospital, her body was working overtime to complete the modifications programmed into her DNA by the Raider scientists. The genetic diagnosticians at the hospital lab predicted that she would eventually be just over five-foot eleven-inches tall.

Fifteen seconds in the InstaPress cabinet left the skirt and tunic of her dress uniform crisp and wrinkle free. She then excitedly attached her new insignia of rank to the epaulets, and her new command insignia to the collar. She took a step backward and smiled proudly at the gold inverted ‘V' that sat above a flame design of blood-red garnet on each side of her collar. All command officers wore an inverted golden ‘V' insignia, symbolic of an early spaceship blasting off from a planet, but only serving or former line officers could wear the insignia that included the scarlet flame at the base. The posting was more than she could ever have hoped for, given her dismal graduation ranking at the Academy, and it meant even more to her than the new rank. A single golden pip was attached beside the left collar insignia. A pip proclaims that the officer has been officially appointed as commanding officer of an active duty warship, destroyer or larger. No other currently serving line officer who hadn't yet attained the official Space Command rank of captain, at least as far as Jenetta knew, was permitted to wear a gold pip.

After affixing the two ribbons from her medal cases onto the ribbon bar holder that she'd picked up at Central Stores on her way back to her quarters, she attached the holder to the uniform and again stepped back to admire the tunic as it hung from the hook on the closet door. "Perfect," she murmured.

With her uniform ready, the thirty-two-year-old blonde, who would for most of an extended lifetime not look a day older than twenty-one, took a leisurely bath. As she relaxed in the tub, she snacked on first an apple, then an orange, then a pear. Hunger was gnawing at her stomach and if she didn't take the edge off she'd be nibbling on the napkin or tablecloth while they waited for their food at the restaurant. Besides, a normal restaurant portion of food wouldn't sate her. The DNA changes that were modifying her body had given her the appetite of a teenager, or perhaps the combined appetite of two teenagers. She hoped that once the changes were complete, she wouldn't feel so ravenously hungry all the time.

After finishing her bath, and polishing off two more pieces of fruit, she fixed her hair and then worked on applying her makeup. The pigmentation changes programmed into her DNA were starting to make their appearance, so it took surprisingly little makeup to achieve the subdued look she desired. As time passed, it would take even less, and then none, unless she wished to either highlight some facial feature, or make her natural coloration appear more subdued. When she was satisfied, she finished getting dressed, applied a hint of fragrance, and left for the lobby in the Bachelor Officer Quarters. The chronometer on the wall opposite the elevator indicated that it was two minutes before 1900 hours.

Lt. Commander Spence entered the lobby just as Jenetta stepped from the lift car. The handsome six-foot one-inch JAG officer spotted her, smiled, then stopped in his tracks. The smile disappeared and he hesitated for a few seconds before continuing on to greet her.

"What's going on, Ensign?" he asked as he reached her, concern clearly evident on his face. "Why are you wearing Lieutentant Commander's bars, and medal ribbons?"

Jenetta looked up into his trenchant cobalt-blue eyes and smiled innocently. "I was promoted today," she said simply.

Spence's first response was to run his right hand lightly over his short blond hair. Jenetta had observed the mannerism previously and knew it evinced a feeling of discomfort. "Promoted three grades? That's a bit— unusual."

"That's essentially what I said to Admiral Holt, but he and Admiral Margolan put the rank insigna on me anyway— personally. Admiral Holt said that since advancement from ensign to lieutenant(jg) is not really a promotion in the usual sense, but simply an upgrade at the discretion of a commanding officer when the new officer is considered deserving, it's really only a two grade promotion. He said that by promoting me two grades, Space Command was just making up for the years that the Promotions Selection Board had skipped over my name because they believed me to be deceased."

"And the two medal ribbons?"

"The SC Star was awarded posthumously following the explosion of the Hokyuu, but the record has been amended and I'm entitled to wear it in recognition for the almost eleven years that I spent asleep in the escape pod. The Purple Heart was awarded for the broken arm I suffered during the retaking of the Prometheus."

"And the collar pip?"

"For recovering the Prometheus from the Raiders and returning it to Space Command, I'm being recognized as his first commanding officer. Although largely an honorary appointment, it's nevertheless official, so I received the pip as de jure recognition of being the commanding officer of an active duty warship."

Lt. Commander Spence had dropped his arm to his side as she explained. "Congratulations, Commander," he said smiling, when she was done. "I'm sure that the pip will only be the first of many in a long and distinguished career."

"Thank you, Commander," she said smiling widely. "I hope you're right."

"You look wonderful, by the way."

"Thank you."

"I'm surprised by your choice of uniform. I thought that you didn't wear skirts and stockings?"

"I've had a change of heart. Lately I find them more comfortable than I used to."

"Shall we go?" Lt. Commander Spence asked, extending his left elbow.

"I'm ready," Jenetta said, as she slipped her right hand beneath his crooked arm.

Exiting the BOQ lobby, they turned left in the wide walkway and headed for lifts that would deliver them to the concourse level.

"What else did they have to say?" Lt. Commander Spence asked as they strolled.

"Who, the admirals?"

"Yes."

"Oh, there were a few other things. I'll tell you over dinner," Jenetta said demurely.

"Alright. I've made reservations at a little place called Gregory's for 1930. The food is always excellent and the service is without peer on the station."

"Wonderful. But what'll we do until then?"

"Let's go down and see how busy they are. Perhaps they can fit us in early."

Gregory's, located on the shopping concourse in the civilian section of the base, was only a ten minute walk from the BOQ.

"How long have you been in the service, Commander?" Jenetta asked as they walked towards the restaurant.

"Now that we're technically in a civilian area, may I suggest we use first names?"

Jenetta smiled. "Okay, Zane."

"Do you prefer Jenetta, or something else?"

"My friends call me Jen."

"Jen it is. I have seventeen years of commissioned service, Jen. I graduated from NHSA in May of 2250."

"2250? Then you must know my brother, Richie. He was in the NHSA class of 2250."

Commander Spence stopped walking and turned to face Jenetta. The look of unbridled surprise on his face made her giggle. "I don't believe it. Richie Carver is your brother? We roomed on the same floor in Wilcox Hall. I didn't even know that he had a younger sister. I only knew about his older brother, Billy, who was an upper classman while we were there, and about Andy and Jimmy who were two years behind us."

"It's understandable that he never mentioned me. Lots of older brothers would prefer to forget all about their kid sisters; and my brothers are no exception to the rule. As the baby of the family, and the only girl, I spent most of my childhood years trying to prove myself and be accepted as an equal. It was an uphill battle all the way, and I never really succeeded."

"I can appreciate that, somewhat. I have an older brother and I followed him around like a little lost puppy dog, always hoping he'd allow me to play with him and his friends. They rarely did." Commander Spence turned to continue walking and Jenetta followed his lead. "So you're one of
those
Carvers? I think that I understand you a bit better now. Your brothers never do things halfway. I'm sure you know that they were all linebackers on the football team at the Academy, but did you know that the coach at the Academy even named a play after them. It was a defensive blitz designed for situations where we expected the other team's offense to execute a pass play. It was called the Carver Charge. Your brothers are all so tall and strong that they could penetrate almost any offensive line like it wasn't there. If they couldn't go through it, they went over it. If the opposing team's quarterback was the least bit slow in getting the ball off, he either had to eat it or lose it. You take after them."