"Lachlan? Yes, you saw? Good. The crowd is nearly hysterical right now…patch me through to the Whisperers downstairs…" There was soft tone in her ear. "Instant rumor, little mice: There is a secret Imperial archaeological mission on Jagan, seeking to steal certain artifacts…"
The Cornuelle Over The Northern Pole of Jagan
A large v-pane on the wall of Hadeishi's office displayed the threatwell feed from the bridge. A mass of ship glyphs in a variety of colors stood poised at the center of focus. The Chu-sa was only paying partial attention to the chatter on the Fleet channel; too many lists and rosters and status reports spread out on the table between him and Kosho demanded his concentration.
"Transit kick in three…two…one…" The voice of Thai-i Hayes was calm, collected and a little bored.
The threatwell convulsed as local space distorted. The cloud of lights wavered, climbing rapidly into gradient, and then vanished abruptly. A side-glyph flashed as the Cornuelle's main sensor array went active, scanning a vast empty globe around the transit point. Two minutes passed as the Chu-sa paged through readiness reports, lips pursed.
"Transit zone secure. No debris. No gravitational anomalies." Hadeishi heard the senior lieutenant straighten up in the command chair as he activated a wideband transmission channel. "Attention all ships. Imperial battle group Tecaltan has made transit. Bharat system traffic control reverting to IMN Henry R. Cornuelle. Please verify orbit and routing status…"
Hadeishi turned down the sound. Duke Villeneuve and his weekly dinner parties had departed, leaving the Cornuelle the sole Fleet presence in orbit around Jagan. For some reason, the Chu-sa felt a weight leave him. He grunted at himself, causing Kosho to look up, dark brown eyes questioning over the top of a stack of repair and maintenance requests.
"I feel," he said in answer to her silent question, "as if we've stood down from alert status."
Susan laid down a lengthy report discussing repairs to the Officer's Mess. To other eyes, she would seem perfectly composed, but Hadeishi saw a frown hiding behind her smooth features. "Chu-sa, there are persistent rumors of trouble groundside. Now we are alone again and our armaments are drawn down to almost nothing. No backup. Not even a frigate to extend our sensor range…our crew exhausted…"
"I know." Hadeishi shrugged, offering a tiny smile. "I still feel better. We're used to operating alone. I wait with interest to see if Nineteenth Fleet responds to my latest readiness report in a timely fashion, or if another battle group arrives from the direction of Keshewan with sobering news."
"You still think Villeneuve is making transit into a trap? That the Admiralty purposefully gathered every suspect captain into one group, so they could all be exterminated at one go?"
"I suspect – but I do not know – such things have happened before."
Susan frowned openly. "Chu-sa, I disagree… If those captains carried the 'black mark,' then the Mirror would disappear them one at a time. Quietly. Without anyone noticing. It's insane to let them form a battle group, complete with resupply ships, a fleet mobile repair dock, everything they'd need to flee…or fight."
Hadeishi shrugged again and put down the v-pad. He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache start to come on. "True. But something is going on…I'm getting a gitchy feeling."
"Kyo…" Kosho paused, wondering how much she should push her captain. "Have you considered going groundside with the first shore-leave contingent?"
"Should I?" Hadeishi gave her a questioning look. "Do you feel I've been cooped up on this ship for too long?"
"No one," Kosho said, after another pause, "has carried more responsibility than you for the past twenty months. Despite Isoroku's grumbling about his workload, I would feel better if you put yourself on the first rotation. Did I tell you about the musicians I heard?"
Hadeishi lifted a hand. "Sho-sa, you're avoiding the question. Do you think my ability to command has been reduced by a lack of…recreational activities?"
"I cannot say that, kyo." Susan stiffened.
"No, you cannot!" Hadeishi sounded irritated. "In some situations, that could be construed as mutinous. I will go with the last rotation, as I've already made clear. It is traditional for the captain to go last, so last I will go."
Kosho remained silent, but he could see she didn't agree.
He settled back in his chair with a sigh. "Which is not to say I haven't seen anything but bulkheads and v-displays and the same faces for too long. You think my judgment has been impaired by a too-long patrol cruise? That I'm suffering psychological effects from extended isolation in the big dark?"
That I would…mislay orders to keep my crew and ship together for just a few more months?
Kosho did not reply, but her already straight spine became even straighter.
"I see." Hadeishi looked away for a bit and thumbed his medband. Clearhead hissed into his bloodstream with a cool, tingling sensation. "I am a little tired, Sho-sa, but this grandiose suite of rooms and the ever-comfortable chair on the bridge come with unavoidable responsibilities. Our duty station here is set for seven weeks. If we rotate the crew down for three-day leaves, I will be groundside, and enjoying myself, within a week." He grimaced, feeling the medband inject a second dose automatically. "I will be very glad to do so."
"Hai, kyo." Susan politely turned her attention back to the reports in front of her. "Have you seen this request from Isoroku to replace the decking in the officer's ward-room and surrounding areas?"
"I have." Hadeishi tapped up the same report on his pad, accepting the change of subject with relief. "Those rooms haven't been the same since that fire. Who would have thought a Khaid penetrator would decide the galley was a critical system? What do you think about his use of 'alternative materials'?"
"I'm not sure Fleet would approve the modification." The stiffness in the lieutenant commander's demeanor relaxed a little. "But with metal so scarce here, it is innovative. Wooden floors, cabinetry and paneling would be a nice change from the usual Fleet grey. These samples he's provided look gorgeous."
"They do." Hadeishi considered the same set of holos. "What about fire danger? And slippage. Will nonskid stick to this material?"
Kosho plucked a stylus from out of the heavy bun of black hair behind her head. She tapped the wall v-display awake and scrolled through the system to bring up the Engineers' request. "Isoroku sent one of his department supervisors groundside to look for replacement materials – Helsdon found the locals have developed organic replacements for a wide variety of metals. These trees – well, they're not really trees the way we think of them – are designed to lay down an internal structure like a honeycomb and secrete a crystalline lattice into the interstitial membranes." An appropriate diagram appeared.
"According to Fo-san from the Imperial Development Board, the timber from this species of lohaja is fireproof and has a tensile strength approaching light steel. On pad, at least, it matches or exceeds the specifications required by safety regulations." She looked at Hadeishi and shrugged, the very tiniest lift detectable at the corners of her lips. "And it has a beautiful color."
"Better than sanity-green on enameled metal," the Chu-sa said, nodding. He scribbled on the bottom of his pad. "Let him give it a try. If it works, and we can acquire enough of the material, we can use it to repair or refurbish internal non-bulkhead walls, furniture and cabinetry. What about the rest of the repair schedule?"