Her left leg was wrapped around the thick rigging rope, but she wasn't worried about falling as she leaned against the line above the sail. Her right, bare foot gripped the worn wood of the beam holding the sail's riggings. With her eyes closed, she could sense all about her: the heave and roll of the vessel as in a mother's rocking arm, and the warmth of the summer sun on her tanned skin as the wind pulled at her long, red, braided hair. Salted winds refreshed her as she stood over sixty feet above the tossing surface of the ocean. This was home. She was on her beloved Specter and it was good to be asea.
The lone gull, that had been following them for days, called forlorn. It kept close to its only food source since it lost sight of land. She opened her eyes and watched the bright gull dip lazily in the currents of the air. So content was she to just be, that if she could suspend this moment in time forever, she would happily. To be aboard her ship, sailing into the wind, on a lazy, sunny day, was all she could ever hope for. It was the best of days to be alive.
Ahead, a blotch with smoke billowing, caught her attention. She pulled her segmented glass from her side and extended it. Through the glass she could make out the line of two ships. It must be a pirate vessel attaching some hapless frigate or some such that traveled these dangerous waters unwary. She could see, with further study, the colors of the attacking vessel. "Ahoy!" She alerted her crew. "Ahead there be trouble!" She collapsed the glass and descended the riggings. "Quarter Master! Prepare the men for battle!" She ordered, proceeding to her quarters to collect her cutlass and pistols.
"Ahead Straight. Full Wind!" She handed the spy-glass to the Quarter Master who was barking out orders to the crew. The cannons were being hauled into place and primed for the first fusillade. The archers were notched with a barrel of fire close at hand. The riflemen set themselves with balls and powder. The sails were stretched taught as the Specter closed on the battling vessels.
As her ship drew closer, she could see the spanish seal and designation of the ship under attack. It was the Santa Maria Rose being devastated by the pirate ship wearing the colors of Grey Wolf. "It looks like Grey's ship: The Bloody Wolf." She called. She had met Grey Wolf a few years back. He was a vile beast of a man. His crew served him only until they could escape his cruel and brutal reach. He was cruel and heartless, controlling only through the fear of death. None were ever truly loyal to the cur, and she knew that as soon as they got to Grey, the battle would be won.
"Aye, Captain. Bloody bastard - the Gray." The Quarter Master agreed. "We are ready."
"Good! Good work men!" She smiled at her Quarter Master. Today is a good day to die, is it not?"
"Aye, Captain!!" The crew called at once.
Just as they were drawing aside, they dropped sail and fired on the Bloody Wolf. Between cannon blasts the archers rained fiery volleys of arrows on the pirate vessel, who had been too involved in its battle to notice the Specter's approach. It was the fourth pelting before the Wolf could turn some of the crew to battle the Specter's. She stood between the wings of the dragon that decorated the front of the Specter, watching the efficacy at which her crew executed their deadly orders. The high point at the front of the vessel, between the great wooden wings offered her a perfect vantage of all that ensued. She barked out order and pointed out weaknesses. It wouldn't be long before her crew would take the Wolf. The Grey must have seen this, for his ship was making way to flee. It would do not good. She would take the ship and make the Wolf's cargo her own and set the broken hull adrift with its crew alive and the Grey hanging from he mast. "Board!" She screamed, her voice beginning to fail. With her men, she boarded the other ship, battling her way to the frigate. She did not have to look; she knew that Aaston was at her side, protecting her. She didn't really think she needed protecting, being an accomplished fighter, but Aaston had taken it upon himself to be her personal guard.
Over the fray of battle, she heard the voice of Dace. His was the cry of victory, as he stood on the navigation's deck with his cutlass to Grey Wolf's throat. Many others heard - then saw - and as a wave rolls, the battle stopped. Her men held the Grey captive and she leapt to the frigate's deck. "Who Commands?" She called as her foot hit the bloody deck.
"The Captain is dead, as is the First Officer. I suppose it would be 'em." A wary ship's mate pointed. "He is Senior Gastone."
"Senior!" She strode to the bloodied man. He held his arm, but was not too worse for the battle. "I am the Captain of the Specter. Your ship is safe."
"You are a pirate!"
"Names, names." She grinned. "Pirate or not, I just saved your ship from sure death. Deal treacherously with me now, and your death will be swift." She put away her cutlass after wiping it on a dead pirate. "But I do not come here to rob you. Today I do not play pirate, but rescuer." She made a grandiose bow. "You need give me nothing for my kindness, but if you do have, perhaps some of your fine spanish coffee, a pond would be appreciated. It has been a long while since I've had a good cup of coffee." She smiled.
He wasn't sure what to make of her. She looked barely older than his sister and stood nearly a head shorter than himself. Pirates were not known for generosity. What did this girl really want, he wondered. "I believe there is some in the former Captain's quarters."
She watched as he called a crew member over and spoke in a badly, french-accented spanish for a moment. The man nodded after a moment's thought and left. The new captain of the Princeton returned his attention to her. "Assess the damage to your vessel while my men collect the Bloody Wolf's booty. If you need repairs to make your way to shore, my men will assist. The Wolf can be used as salvage. See to your arm." She said in closing as the man returned with a fragrant bundle. "I will return when we are ready to sail, to see if you need any assistance." She tipped her head and spun on one heel, almost colliding with a tall gentleman.
"Mademoiselle." He tipped himself to the woman he nearly ran down. "Please forgive me, m'Lady." He was the cutlass at her side as well as the pistol tucked in her waistband. There was blood on her blouse. "Are you injured, m'Lady?"
"Injured?" She looked and saw the blood. Another Frenchmen, she noted. "Not my blood, Monsieur."
"This is the Captain of the Specter." Gastone stated.
"The vessel which came to our rescue? You captain the vessel?" He didn't even try to hide his amazement. How did a beautiful creature such as this manage such a ship and crew? "But permit me to introduce myself. I am Stephen leDuc."
She was only a little annoyed at his surprise. He was tall and broad of shoulder. His hair shown like wheat ripe in the field and his eyes were the color of the sea. "The Specter is the finest ship to sail. And my crew the bravest. Now, do excuse me, I have to see to the stowing of my new wealth." She sidestepped and headed toward her ship.
"But, m'Lady, what is your name?"
She paused, turning to answer.
.
.
"Captain!"
She struggled with the voice she now heard. There was pounding also. "What?" For several moments she was disoriented as salted air became reconditioned, purified air. Slowly she realized she wasn't aboard a wooden vessel, but a steel one: in her quarters in her bed and the voice of the person pounding on the door must belong to Terrance. "What?"
"You said to wake you when we entered the Oppios sector." Terrance answered his captain. He leaned against the wall, waiting.
"Yes, yes. Thank you." She rolled out of her bunk. It was the dream again. So real, she could taste the salt of the air. She had the dream off and on. The adventure varied, but location remained on a planet on an ocean aboard a great wooden ship. Images lingered as she stretched and put on her uniform. She washed her face and fastened her hair back.
Terrance was still standing outside her door when she stepped into the corridor. He smiled a greeting. "Hello, Terrance. Status?" Terrance never had subordinates do the things that involved her. If she wanted to be woke, he would do it instead of sending a lowling. She suspected there was something more behind his eyes sometimes, but he never gave an indication by his actions. He was an excellent First. She was glad to have him as hers.
"Everything is satisfactory. Did you sleep well?" He asked as they walked toward the com. "Dress? Just how important are these emissaries? Should I change?"
"I slept fine. You don't have to change. Standard uniform is fine. I just want to slightly impress them." She smiled slyly. "Actually, I've dealt with these people before. The dress uniform keeps me uncomfortable and reminds me that I shouldn't be fooled by them." She informed. "They can be beguiling."
As she walked beside Terrance she felt a pang for the openness of the ship in her dream. The vessel she was on now as roomy for a space cruiser, but nothing like the wooden vessel. The space cruiser was the latest in technology. Her hull was made of a composite alloy that was light yet stronger than any other known material. She was proud of her vessel and honored to be her captain, but the confining metal walls did make her long for fresh sea breezes.
The meeting with the council for the Second Gnassians was going to be taxing. She didn't trust the humanoid race of the council. They were a self seeing lot that even cut each other's hamstrings to climb over and gain a prize that looked enticing. They would smile and flatter while twisting a knife between an unsuspecting's ribs, and she needed to stay on her toes in all dealings with them.
"Captain, do you wish me to accompany you?" Terrance asked as they stepped onto the bridge. "I can make arrangements."
"Captain on deck!" An ensign alerted and everyone snapped to attention as soon as she entered the room.
"At ease." She said instantly. "No, Terrance. I need your sharp eyes on the ship. I can handle them. I have before." The main bridge was grandly lit. It was roomy for a bridge, with various panels of lights and controls. She was always impressed by her ships intricate beauty. Truly, she mused, there was no better ship in the galaxy, or any galaxy, than her Specter.
"What are they trying to 'sell' now?" Terrance asked looking over the navigator's shoulder.
"Sell?"
"Well, ever since we ventured from Earth's galaxy and happened upon the Gnassian race, they have been like used junk sellers. They try to get us to adopt this or try that or procure something." He answered. "I always want to take a shower after I spend any time whatsoever with them. What are they trying to 'sell' us on now?" He smiled at his captain. "Interracial breeding?" She couldn't contain the laugh. "Ugh! I sincerely hope not!!" She protested, controlling her self again. "I certainly hope not. They may be humanoid, but they definitely are not Earth-human. I don't think they find us any more attractive." She returned Terrance's sly grin.
"Captain, approaching Second Gnass." The navigator informed.
"Very well, I'll go down to the shuttle bay. Commander Mordiccai, you have command." She moved for him to take her chair.
"Yes, Captain." Terrance saluted as his captain left. "Enter shuttle orbit and hold."
She descended the stairs and entered the shuttle bay. A shuttle to take her planetside awaited. This was her sixth meeting with the strange race. Terrance had been correct in his analysis of the people. The inhabitants of Gnass were the first sentient race they met after leaving Earth. It appeared the Gnassians traveled about looking for fledglings. She couldn't be sure why, but she never liked them much. She tried not to be racist, and felt that it wasn't what they looked like that bothered her, it was their manner. She knew they could only be trusted to be true to what they were, and that was such to not expect dependability or staid behavior.
"Captain." The pilot greeted and bit his captain sit.
She sat down and strapped in the chair beside the pilot. As she watched the shuttle bay doors open and felt the familiar pull as the compartment became a vacuum, she longed again for breezes of wild air. Even on the planet below, she would not leave the safe, environmentally controlled and conditioned meeting areas. Gnass' atmosphere was not compatible with human lungs. Where the Gnassians could adapt to breathe her air, she could not breathe theirs.
The Specter had entered the atmosphere so the shuttle could merely transport to the surface. The craft lurched out of the bay and spiraled lazily down. The landscape of Gnass was similar to many she had seen over her fifteen years in the Tellurian Corp. She had seen many life-supporting planets, but few sentient races. The city grew as they coasted down.
The Tellurian Corp had been everything she knew since her parents were killed in an accident when she was thirteen. As an orphan, she was taken in by the Corp and trained as a soldier. Showing promise, she was offered officer training and advanced rapidly. She was the youngest Captain in the Corp, having made Captain and given command of the Specter just before her twenty-seventh birthday.
The shuttle craft set down with a bone-jarring landing inside the designated hanger. She wasn't upset with her pilot. It was difficult to land space crafts on land, with varying gravitational pulls. She unbuckled and stood. Straightening her dress uniform, she exited the craft.
"Greetings to you, Captain Bloodgood."
She nodded to the greeter. The Gnassians had learned the human language rather easily, which was just another point that made her uneasy. "It is good to stand on Gnass." She stated in a fair pronunciation of the Gnassian language. She knew her accent was good when the greeter raised brows and a toothy smile appeared.
"Please follow me." The greeter bowed extravagantly. The terran captain honored the people of Gnass by speaking in the difficult tongue and saying it was good to stand here. She must know more of Gnassian customs than suspected. The captain was a young of the feminine gender of the species, which had a very long life span. The greeter wonder just how much the captain knew. "The Council is honored you stand to meet us."
"Their needs are my needs." She responded as she was escorted into a large room. A massive table with couches surrounding it took up most of the room. The Gnassian bodies couldn't sit in a typical chair so they lounged on couches. Peculiar foods were decoratively arranged in the center of the table. Gnassians ate almost constantly, so food was always available. She had tried a few of the odd foods, to be polite, but didn't find anything palatable.
She waited in the room alone only moments, before the Council members began filing in. Each took a prearranged couch and made itself comfortable on the plushly padded couches. When everyone was comfortable, she approached the table. Everyone stood to greet her. She bowed. "It is good to stand to meet." She stated in the native tongue of Gnass.
The Council made joyful noises and seated themselves again. She sat. Her dress uniform was a little confining, a constant reminder she was not here for pleasure and that she must remain on her guard. The Gnassian's ethics were not terran. To them it was not improper to cozen another out of something that was enticing. To them it was not wrong to detriment another's belongings if it served a personal purpose. To them there was no such things as jealously or envy, and if death was induced because of direct or indirect action or inaction then it was just the way things were and no insult to be taken.
It was the way they had lived for many generations. They could not understand the qualms the Terrans had. It worked nicely for them for hundreds of years.
It was an average, yet even more drawn-out, meeting than any she had had to endure in the Councils company before. She kept having the strange feeling that she was being detained. But then, she reminded herself, she always felt that way. The Council spoke of borders and agreements and embargoes and a myriad of issues that held little to no meaning to her. She dutifully nodded and raised an expected brow and played her part, but was barely aware of all that took place. She was recording the entire session and would review it later, knowing well that Gnassians had the ability to lull Terrans into a stupor. She could only keep herself aware enough as to not to agree to something she shouldn't.
"We will adjourn until tomorrow. You will stand to meet us tomorrow, Captain Bloodgood?" The Primary asked, standing.
"I wish that I were able, Primary." She replied. "I have been called to important business. But, I was honored to stand and meet this day. Your needs are mine." She stood and bowed to each of the Council. "I bid you all long health and that many stand for you." She said in their native tongue and walked back to the shuttle. Fifteen hours was quite enough, she growled to herself, there was no way she would do it again the next day and the next, for she knew that was how meetings went. If she agreed to return the next day, then she would be obligated to see the entire meeting out. Often the meetings went on for weeks. She entered the shuttle and strapped in. "Lets get home." She said, waking the pilot who was dozing.
"Yes, Captain." Shaking the sleep from a tired mind, the pilot powered up and took the shuttle back to the Specter's bay. "Will you be returning to the surface?"
"No. Stow the shuttle, we'll be leaving immediately." She said as the shuttle gently set down in the bay. "Thank you." She said as she unstrapped and left the shuttle. She went directly to the bridge.
"Captain on deck!" The ensign on sentry called as she stepped into the room.
"At ease." She said to everyone who had immediately snapped to attention, including her First. "Report, Mr. Mordiccai."
"Everything has been quiet. All is satisfactory."
"Then let us make way, Sir." She stated rubbing her temples. Her head pounded. "Set a heading toward Naguar. I will be in my quarters."
"Yes, Captain." Terrance Mordiccai took seat in the command chair again. "Navigator, plot course toward Naguar and engage." In his thirty-one years in the Corp, he served with several commanding officers. Captain Bloodgood was by far the youngest but none the less, and excellent Captain. He had always been hesitant to serve a female captain, in fear that they would choke or be too sympathetic in the heat of battle. Females were known for compassion toward their crew, but he was afraid that when chaos stormed, they would come up lacking. This, he found, was not so with Captain Bloodgood. He had been the First Officer when she took command of the Specter and during her command, found her to be a most competent and puissant captain. In all of the ominous situations they had encountered, she had proven her prowess and equipoise. He was honored to serve her.
She opened the door to her quarters. She couldn't begin to describe how wonderful it felt to step into her room. She disrobed and stepped into the bio-sanitizer. She longed for a long hot shower, but the bio-sanitizer would have to do. Clean, she grabbed a tranquillity tab and slipped into her bed. The tab should relieve the tension in her temples and allow her to rest. She considered what she could remember of the meeting. There was something that was nagging at her consciousness, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Something that had been said or not said boded ill.
Her head throbbed. She knew that she had to get out of the sun or her headache would never go away. She finished fastening the riggings and wound the excess robe neatly. The huge cords felt familiar and reliable in her hands. She knew she didn't have to do such menial tasks, she was after all, Captain, but she enjoyed the rapport of her hands on the ship. She felt a part of the Specter or was it an extension of her? She smiled, looking up at her crew working sanguine.
A cool breeze tossed her hair. She pulled it away from her face and tied it with a bit of leather. A wonderful day to be alive, she mused as she watched the horizon. It would be clear for a few days and the waters calm. She rubbed her hands, they were callused and strong. Taking in a lung full of fresh salt air, she was suddenly confused at a noise she could not immediately identify.
The noise again.
"What?!" She was awake and the noise that had so ugly ripped her from the sea was a buzzer.
She depressed the button. "What is it?"
"Captain. There is a message for you on a secure channel."
"Route it to my viewer." She answered the voice from the small box.
"Yes, Captain." A pop and the com was dead.
She drug herself out of her bed and wrapped herself in a black, silk robe. She ran a brush through her think hair and sat down in front of her viewer. The screen blinked. She touched it. "Open." As the pixels formed an image she shook the sleep from her mind. "Captain, Bloodgood here."
"Edna, its me." Admiral Talmon saw that she was in a robe. "I'm sorry I woke you."
"Its alright. What's up, that you called me on a secure channel?" She asked her mentor. The admiral had befriended her in the academy. He had always been her strictest critic and strongest encourager. "You look grave."
"Edna, I wish it was a social call. There's rumors flying like darts."
"What rumors?" He looked very tired, she thought.
"I need you to go to the Naguar sector. Don't look like you've been sent there. Make up some reason to be there, but get there and snoop around - you know, without looking like your snooping."
"Naguar? That's where I've set our heading right now." She frowned, rubbing her finger tips together. "What's up, Isaac?"
"I can't say for sure." He hated to send her into such unknown territory, but she was the only one he knew, without a shadow of doubt, he could trust. He thought of her as the daughter he never took the time to have. The military had been his life, until she entered and showed him there was so very much more possible. "There's rumors and half rumors of some sort of device to fold space or something..... I just know that there is something very strange going on and I need eyes that I can trust."
"We're on our way. I'll find out what's going on and get back to you as soon as I can." She touched the screen - an act of affection.
"Watch your back." He warned touching the spot where she touched and the screen went blank.
