Alien Shore Chapter Eleven
GRID Traveler Trinity: Alien Shores
Author: J Carrell Jones
Table of Content
Chapter 11
If you should want to know my name, My name it is young Johnson. I’ve got permission from the king To court young girls and handsome. I said: My dear, what will you do? Here’s ale and wine and brandy too; Besides a pair of new silk shoes, To travel with a rambling sailor.
- (The Rambling Sailor, variation of The Rambling Suiler, a song about James V of Scotland’s travels)
Chapter 11
Loggar sat in the observer’s chair. She looked around the room and noted how busy everyone was. She was getting use to the constant chatter surrounding her. She was beginning to make sense of the whole thing and she liked that. Loggar took the hypo-spray marked “1” on it. Collins had instructed her and the others on what to do. Loggar pressed the head of the hypo against her arm. She shivered as the sedative washed over her entire body. She felt a sloppy sleepiness start to take hold. She relaxed and let it happen. She looked over to Sean and blew him a kiss.
Sean looked over and saw Loggar. She had the hooded eye look of a junkie about to take a journey. ‘Kathy’s first trip.’ He smiled at her and she blew him a kiss. He grinned, but not too broadly. The crew can’t have the Captain blowing kisses across Top Deck. He said, “Dawn, you have the conn. Let’s get started.” He took his hypo-spray and pressed it into his left arm. He relaxed and just let it all happen. He heard Dawn in his peripheral consciousness.
Dawn had just placed her spent hypo back in her pocket. She tapped on her CRT. “All hands, all hands ten seconds to jump, repeat, ten seconds to jump. Johnson is aware and in control. Trank up now, First Officer out.” Dawn looked over to Sean. “Just like old times, huh?”
Sean laughed lightly, “Yeah, old-times. Did I ever tell you I hated War jumps?”
Dawn laughed herself. She and Sean played this game each time the Johnson War jumped. In a small superstitious sense, it was their way to make sure each jump was a success. She never denied that GRID Command was a very superstitious lot and had many strange quirks and rituals. The first and last time they didn’t go through their skit, the Johnson overshot its destination due to a freaky encounter with a class twelve string and just missed emerging into a Red Giant by ten thousand kilometers. That was one scary situation. “Did I ever disagree with you?”
And the jump began. Loggar winked out of consciousness and dreamt – something. Dr. Collins told her that not everyone had the same experience. Some dreamed others didn’t. She explained that ship’s like the Johnson traveled on long GRID waves, which played havoc with the human central nervous system and inner ear. Untranked individuals would suffer from violent motion sickness lasting days, if not weeks. What Loggar realized is that she was having lucid dreams. She decided to dream of her and Sean together and alone – no care in all the Universe. This was her special place and she would often visit it. Now she would have two days to spend there. What more could a Goddess ask for?
Robin received a message from Command deck. The insider had transmitted coordinates using normal communications but with the Level 9 code piggy backing. It was aimed at Earth. The Webster’s Communications Officer picked it up as a routine backup transmission relay. Robin straightened her uniform as she stood up. She walked out of her quarters and headed for Command Deck. She was determined that the Johnson would pay, it and the Captain. ‘Get off my ship,’ she thought. ‘Get off my ship.’ She laughed. She entered Command Deck and sat in her chair and said, “Navigation?”
Ensign Lenior spoke up. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Calculate minimum time to these coordinates.” She tapped on her Command screen.
Lenior retrieved the data and typed on her keypad. After a minute she said, “two-four hours at eight-zero percent engine capacity.”
She tapped on the Command Screen. “Engineering?”
A voice came through, “Yes, ma’am?”
“Give me everything you got on those engines. We are going to War Jump for at least two-four hours. I need nine-zero percent mister, understand?”
There was several seconds of silence. Then, “Yes, ma’am. Nine-zero percent.”
Robin tapped on her Screen. “All hands, all hands, prepare for War jump. Repeat, prepare for War jump.” She sat back. ‘Get off my ship.’