question to come up earlier. Maybe the fatigue of spending 35 hours straight doing Op Force battles had blunted the curiosity of his boarders. Or maybe they simply took it for granted that they would succeed. That was the mind orientation of every special operations person he’d ever met.
“You talk to the ship mind of the Collector ship,” Bill said bluntly. “As Jane and I shared with you earlier, our ship mind is in neutrino comlink contact with the ship minds of the six Collector ships. That contact is without delay, as if you are talking the way we talk now,” he said, looking at the six of them. “While the Alien crews have blocked those ship minds from active control of the Collector ship’s major systems, leaving most ship control to the Aliens on the Command Bridge, those six ship minds can talk to our ship. They will convey any call from you to me, to Jane or to the CNO, depending on who is available. We will help you any way we can.” Bill shrugged his shoulders, causing his backpack to sit looser on his back. He tapped his chest plate. “Remember that these chest plates will only block taser beams if they hit on the plates. You get hit elsewhere and you are out for nine hours. You get hit by a laser beam and you’ll need treatment by a clamshell healer.” He blinked, meeting his boarders eye to eye. “You will survive your boarding! Short of being hit in the head by a laser, these healer units can repair any wound. They fixed my deaf ear from an IED blast. So, move fast, hit hard and overcome the five members of each ship’s crew before they realize they’re facing combat-trained boarders!”
“We will!” called Bob, the gray-haired cynic showing true enthusiasm.
“Lead us and we will fight,” said Jake, his manner SEAL calm. The man’s gray eyes were bright with eagerness.
“Follow me out of here and back to the Collector Pod Chamber,” Bill said, turning and leaving through the still open door of the Engine Chamber. “Everyone, put your vacsuit in the pod chamber’s airlock room, then head to the Food Chamber for a synthetic meal of whatever you can stomach.” Behind him came the thud of six pairs of boots. “After that, you are ordered to head to your habitat room and get at least eight hours of deep rem sleep. When you wake up, put on fresh BDUs and join me in the Command Bridge. We will be moving this ship, our transports and the subs to the vicinity of the Moon, there to face the incoming Collector ships!”
♦ ♦ ♦
Bill woke up from his own rem sleep when Jane entered the front living room. Though she moved quietly, aware he was catching his first winks in 35 hours, still, he was a SEAL. No one entered any room he was in without him knowing it, asleep or awake. She came back to the bedroom and undressed in the dark of the room, only the four green wall patches giving any illumination. She slid under the silken sheets, pumped her pillow and lay nearby.
He reached out and gripped her warm hand. “Hard day?”
She sighed. “Not really. The sub captains are smart, sharp and long deployment experienced. They handled the null gravity surprise very well. While the gravity plates will give them normal weight on their subs, I wanted them to experience what space was about.”
He chuckled. “Did they go all wavy-arm?”
“Nope,” she said, her soprano soft as she squeezed his hand. “Both of them had had parachute drop training during some mixed duty assignments. They managed to tap the floor enough to give them momentum to whichever direction they wanted to go. How did your Op Force stuff end up?”
“Very well,” he said, turning on his left side and putting his head close enough so he could smell the jasmine perfume she wore while awake. “You smell wonderful. Need a massage?”
She now chuckled. “Not the type you have in mind! But my shoulders could sure use some deep massage. Sitting stiff in that command seat for hours is a bit
“You talk to the ship mind of the Collector ship,” Bill said bluntly. “As Jane and I shared with you earlier, our ship mind is in neutrino comlink contact with the ship minds of the six Collector ships. That contact is without delay, as if you are talking the way we talk now,” he said, looking at the six of them. “While the Alien crews have blocked those ship minds from active control of the Collector ship’s major systems, leaving most ship control to the Aliens on the Command Bridge, those six ship minds can talk to our ship. They will convey any call from you to me, to Jane or to the CNO, depending on who is available. We will help you any way we can.” Bill shrugged his shoulders, causing his backpack to sit looser on his back. He tapped his chest plate. “Remember that these chest plates will only block taser beams if they hit on the plates. You get hit elsewhere and you are out for nine hours. You get hit by a laser beam and you’ll need treatment by a clamshell healer.” He blinked, meeting his boarders eye to eye. “You will survive your boarding! Short of being hit in the head by a laser, these healer units can repair any wound. They fixed my deaf ear from an IED blast. So, move fast, hit hard and overcome the five members of each ship’s crew before they realize they’re facing combat-trained boarders!”
“We will!” called Bob, the gray-haired cynic showing true enthusiasm.
“Lead us and we will fight,” said Jake, his manner SEAL calm. The man’s gray eyes were bright with eagerness.
“Follow me out of here and back to the Collector Pod Chamber,” Bill said, turning and leaving through the still open door of the Engine Chamber. “Everyone, put your vacsuit in the pod chamber’s airlock room, then head to the Food Chamber for a synthetic meal of whatever you can stomach.” Behind him came the thud of six pairs of boots. “After that, you are ordered to head to your habitat room and get at least eight hours of deep rem sleep. When you wake up, put on fresh BDUs and join me in the Command Bridge. We will be moving this ship, our transports and the subs to the vicinity of the Moon, there to face the incoming Collector ships!”
♦ ♦ ♦
Bill woke up from his own rem sleep when Jane entered the front living room. Though she moved quietly, aware he was catching his first winks in 35 hours, still, he was a SEAL. No one entered any room he was in without him knowing it, asleep or awake. She came back to the bedroom and undressed in the dark of the room, only the four green wall patches giving any illumination. She slid under the silken sheets, pumped her pillow and lay nearby.
He reached out and gripped her warm hand. “Hard day?”
She sighed. “Not really. The sub captains are smart, sharp and long deployment experienced. They handled the null gravity surprise very well. While the gravity plates will give them normal weight on their subs, I wanted them to experience what space was about.”
He chuckled. “Did they go all wavy-arm?”
“Nope,” she said, her soprano soft as she squeezed his hand. “Both of them had had parachute drop training during some mixed duty assignments. They managed to tap the floor enough to give them momentum to whichever direction they wanted to go. How did your Op Force stuff end up?”
“Very well,” he said, turning on his left side and putting his head close enough so he could smell the jasmine perfume she wore while awake. “You smell wonderful. Need a massage?”
She now chuckled. “Not the type you have in mind! But my shoulders could sure use some deep massage. Sitting stiff in that command seat for hours is a bit
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