Jahrae hurried through the ship’s corridors and stairwells, half running and half walking, as if her pace would melt away the lost minutes. She was fifteen minutes late for her meeting with Admiral M’lensa, and her only excuse was absorption in her work.
While Jahrae was efficient in management, at times, she could be a tad carefree with her schedule. Most often, this was not an issue, but dealing with an admiral, one whose command she effectively usurped, and aboard his ship… she did not wish to annoy him or flaunt the ceded authority in so cavalier and irresponsible a way. Moreover, she represented her team, and her conduct reflected upon the entire team.
Bursting into the room in which they usually met, Jahrae found I’Isahra patiently reading on his personal electronic tablet, quite engrossed in whatever subject lie before him.
“Admiral, I am so sorry for my tardiness!” Jahrae blurted out.
The Admiral laughed, and graciously blew off her lateness. “No worries, Jahrae. I too sometimes get bogged down in things that distract, which is why I have an entire crew ready to remind me when a meeting time approaches – as they just did today!”
“You are a gracious host, Admiral. This incident will not repeat itself in the future. I will set all manner of bells and whistles to trigger 15 minutes prior to our next scheduled meeting! Now on to other things – shall we discuss the matters at hand? What is our current location, I’Isahra?”
“We are making great time, relatively speaking, and we are ahead of schedule. In open space, we are safe in increasing speed. Once we near the Arrkarhara system, we must by necessity slow down, as hazards will lie ahead.
Presently, I estimate our arrival at the edge of the Arrkarhara system at just about 32 days. It will take another week to navigate from there to the third planet.”
“What sort of hazards might we encounter?”
“In deep space, there are no solid body masses; once in system, we have to contend with all manner of debris, and it can be a serious threat to the safety of the ship.”
“Gotcha! Just making certain I understand our status – we are roughly 39 days out from orbit, which is a whole lot better than the 90 plus days of when we set out for Arrkarhara! Thank you for all you have done to get us this far so quickly!”
“That, my dear Jahrae, is my job. Now for other ship’s business…” The Admiral went on to bring Jahrae up to speed on various issues on the ship, from technical issues to those currently ill and unable to work. Once he finished that report, Jahrae began to share the results of their last week of work, and a few other items.
“I’Isahra, the Chsen and Jesn wedding will take place this weekend. Although we have an informal work schedule, my team has worked every day for the past 9 weeks, and so I am declaring that day a no-work day for the team. Would you mind if I give Chsen and Jesn an additional day of non-work togetherness?”
“It is your call, Jahrae,” the Admiral responded, characteristically diplomatic. “You have to get used to this command business! I know you do not wish to step on my toes, and trust me, if you did, I would let you know, just as I expect you to let me know if I cross some unacceptable line. In this case, I agree wholeheartedly!”
“In that case, the entire ship is on holiday as of right now; let the beer flow for everyone!” Jahrae teased.
“Returning to the subject of those two, you agree that Jesn is permanently reassigned to my team, and no longer officially part of your crew – though she remains in the Service.” Jahrae wished to make sure they were on the same page.
“Agreed, and I believe that is an excellent use of her skill set, Jahrae. She will prove a most able member of your team on world, and it is an excellent learning environment. I suspect that her future path will be in the diplomatic area, and one cannot gain better experience than what she is about to undertake.
You will be there for a year before we return, and I have a hunch you all will be quite busy in that year. You mentioned previously that you anticipate llhaesa will return to activism. Do you still feel this way?”
“Yes I do Admiral. The issues of that world are different than ours were, and in some ways, the challenge is even more formidable. The mere strength of a challenge or obstacle will not deter the llhaesa I married. She takes the measure of an issue, and finds a way to speak in an encouraging way for change, sharing her vision of what can be, if only we try.
There will be resistance to her message at first, but it will not take much time for her to win people over to her point of view.”
“Her music is certainly an asset,” I’Isahra offered. “I own every last recording she released, and to this day her work astounds, and to this day it brings me great joy.
Since we are on the subject, this is a great segue into this ‘L’il Ms Fantasy’ thing…”
“What?” Jahrae looked at the Admiral, not quite believing she just heard him mention ‘L’il Ms Fantasy.’ The Admiral watched with glee as Jahrae turned beet red. While Jahrae’s face readily revealed her initial embarrassment, her eyes reflected astonishment, and both facial colour and eye contortions changed rapidly as she burst out laughing.
“You were there! You saw the show at Hrensa!” Jahrae exclaimed, knowing either he was there, or someone shared the story with I’Isahra. Jahrae bet on the former.
“Yes, I was there. That was an incredible show, and llhaesa really got you with that opening number!”
“Are you forgetting intermission, I’Isahra?”
“That was fun as well, but llhaesa is well practised at being in front of a crowd, so she handled it professionally… but you…you! Your face was as red then as it was moments ago, and it showed clear across the theatre!”
“I cannot believe you remember this, almost as if you prayed for the day you could spring this upon me! You wait, I’Isahra… what you should know is that llhaesa and I constantly spoofed and teased one another, so I offer friendly advice… beware those who set out to even the score, especially when they carry overall command of the ship on which you serve!”
“Ohhhhhh, I forgot about that part, oops! Seriously Jahrae, it would be fun to have such lively exchanges on board, given the monotony of the traversing. It would be good for crew morale, if we do this openly and as good sports. Are you game?”
“You do not have to ask twice, I’Isahra, but all is fair from here on out – only rule is nothing mean-spirited, all in friendship and in good taste. After all, your crew looks up to you, as it should be.”
“They look up to you as well, Jahrae. We all do. Now back to that concert. Llhaesa was incredible, and I lament not having seen her play other than that one time. I was away during Nenseru Woods; otherwise, you can bet I would have gone to watch.
Meeting you, Jahrae, was the biggest thrill of my life, and meeting llhaesa will match that thrill. It is an honour to be on this voyage, which reminds me, mind if I share a little secret?” The Admiral wore a mischievous look, exemplified by the twinkle in his eye.
“By all means, share away!” Jahrae offered, sensing the games were underway. She was wrong in her assumption.
“I requested this assignment.”
Jahrae did not expect this comment, and it again showed on her face. “You requested the assignment? How did you know of the mission?”
“Chief Admiral K’azhre was with Chief of Government Gl’nsiel when the news came forth on what was found in the records. The CoG mentioned she intended to send a mission led by you to find llhaesa, though at that time it was a recovery mission, not a rescue mission. The Chief Admiral mentioned it to me later in the day, and I asked for the assignment, and he readily assented.”
“I thank you for the request I’Isahra, and I am certain one day llhaesa will thank you as well.
Now if you will excuse me, my team and work awaits!” Jahrae took her leave, and while she returned to the team room, spent her time on non-work activity.
Every now and then, Jahrae would snicker, leaving her team curious as to what drew her attention. She quietly placed calls to a few others on the ship, who quickly pledged cooperation.
Later in the day, Jahrae asked the Admiral to stop by to meet with the team. After being in the room for a half hour, an urgent call came from the bridge, requesting his immediate presence. “We have a message coming in from an unidentified ship, Admiral. And from the sounds of the message, they are not at all happy with our passage.”
The Admiral called out he was on his way, and he hurriedly made for the bridge. Reaching his command post, he asked his team to brief on what they had for information. The message replayed, with the translation sounding quite raspy, throaty, and squeaky. Whoever this was, they were unhappy that AISV Equality passed through their space, and the Admiral thought through how he would diplomatically handle this incident once two-way contact was established.
The Admiral, all business now, ordered the on screen display of the unidentified ship.
An ensign dutifully brought the image up on the large screen, which formed into a picture of a bright, yellow, synthetic and quite squeaky k’lakazhra – to those on earth that would translate as ‘duck.’ The synthetic k’lakazhra sat in a field of stars on black, with faux lights as if portals glowed along the length of its sides.
The games were on.
