Lines Crossed Chapter Seven
GRID Traveler Trinity: Lines Crossed
Author: J Carrell Jones
Table of Content
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Sean and Dawn watched the steady stream of new recruits and transfers, all one hundred fifty two passed through the main hangar bay doors. Stations were set up just inside to receive everyone, a nice neat row of tables with the sets of letters above them, last names beginning with A-Da to the first table, De-F on another. So on until W-Z on the last.
Loggar was in the lab with Collins looking over the last batch of data. Sean had learned how to direct the nanobots effectively enough. He felt better and accepted the nanobots as his now. As he was watching the stream of bodies he felt a smart pinch just inside his right ear. “What the?”
Dawn looked over, “Something wrong?”
“Yeah I just felt this sharp pain in my ear. Strange,” then he looked out to the mass of bodies and saw her. At least he thought it was her. “Dawn, there!”
Dawn spotted the young woman. She looked younger than her vid still.
The two watched from the mid deck platform as a particular recruit made her way to the table marked Ne – P. It took several minutes for the young transfer to get logged into the ship, assigned quarters, and given a meal card. She was given a map of the Johnson and pointed to a Lift. She fell into place with a dozen other transfers. They all walked in a lift and were gone.
Sean turned to Dawn. “When’s orientation scheduled?”
“Four bells afternoon watch. You want to give the welcome orientation?”
Sean smiled, “I do. It’s been a long time, but I think I can manage without embarrassing myself.”
Dawn nodded, “I’ll have Kirkland start several pools.”
Sean laughed out loud.
Thompson in Maintenance won a week’s pay.
Adriana sat in the first row. She finally made it and now she would see The Sean. The man she was destined to meet. Her entire life had been worked up for this moment and she was prepared. Her Mom told her that Sean Blakemore would need special counsel. This day would mark the beginning of Sean’s new life. Her Mom even told her the exact time she would see him. Adriana, of course, would laugh and thought her Mom foolish sometimes, but more often than not she was spot on. She worked hard and applied herself. Top of her class, she had the pick of any GRID ship. Johnson was not the ship she chose first. Her Mom told her that she would have to crew two other ships before the Johnson. She stressed that it had to be so. Everything depended on her following her advice to the letter. So she did. And now here she was, waiting for Captain Blakemore to give the orientation speech.
Sean had Kirkland conduct a background check of Adriana. Everything in her files could be all a coincidence. But, it could also be the doings of the Necronians. What can’t you do when you control space and time? He walked into the auditorium and immediately spotted Adriana. She was seated in the front row. She had the issued female mid skirt with Engineering Blue colors along the side. Her hair was short and she was cute young. Her skin was light brown and looked soft and smooth from his vantage point. She looked very much like Adruqu, but more human of course.
Someone yelled, “Captain on deck!”
All attendees stood at attention.
Sean walked to the podium, “As you were, people.” He toggled on Ship wide intercom. The orientation would be heard throughout the Johnson.
Everyone in the auditorium sat.
Sean cleared his throat. “I don’t normally do orientation but since we are no longer at war or rushing off to right some wrong I have some me time.”
The entire room erupted into laughter.
“I’d like to personally welcome everyone here. Some of you have taken a long journey to reach this destination. Some of you had doors opened for you. And yet, still others, probably just rolled out of bed this morning and decided to find the lunch line. And here you are.”
More laughter.
“What I’d like to stress is that The Reginald L. Johnson is not just any ship of the line. The Johnson is of the old guard. A semi-aware vessel that had the misfortune of being a semi-aware vessel. During the SI war many Johnson class ships, yes – The Johnson was the first, were compromised. That’s why all vessels built afterward are dumbed down. Most of you, if not all, already know this. As a result of the compromise all Johnson class ships have to toggle the semi-aware off during normal runs and toggle semi-aware back on during extreme long and war jumps. Fortunately for you the Johnson has been upgraded to the newer class of engines not requiring Tranking. Unfortunately for the Johnson, and all that have served aboard for so long, will not be needed as often. Probably not ever. That is as long as the SI are still out there. I say this to you so that when you walk the halls of the Johnson, when you travel the lifts or enter into a room, to remember that the Johnson is a good ship. It has served us very well as we will return the favor. We have too. It’s important.”
Sean stepped away from the podium and started walking down the aisles. He felt relaxed and alive. Today he would announce their new mission. “Today marks another important event. The Johnson has been reclassified as an Explorer Cruiser, hence our mission is no longer to seek and destroy or seek and protect. It’s seek and find. It’s seek and gain. It’s seek and discover. In the past half year things have occurred that has told us Humans are not alone in the galaxy. We really are part of a greater picture and as such we are now going to contact others into the far unknown and beyond. We are going to do extremely long jumps going forward, but with the new upgrades we’ll remain sane. I have no idea what new things we’ll find or discover, but as some of you have heard through scuttlebutt it is amazing and absolutely true the things we have found or discovered so far. A lot of it will remain classified for security reasons, but some things just can’t be kept secret.” Sean paused, now he had their attention.
There was murmur throughout the room.
Cookie sat at his desk and listened. His eye’s moist with happiness. He was also frightened like most of the crew. “. . . into the far unknown and beyond” the Captain said. Cookie shivered from excitement.
Pulse had his back to the monitor when the Captain said, “. . . it is amazing and absolutely true . . .” God man, Pulse thought, this is for real. He looked at his console. ‘Alien tech,’ he thought, ‘with some tweaking we could really make the Johnson something to envy.’
Loggar and Collins stopped working as did the Med Staff. Everyone listened. “ . . . In the past half year things have occurred that has told us Humans are not alone in the galaxy. We really are part of a greater picture and as such we are now going to contact others into the far unknown and beyond . . . “ They both looked at one another and smiled.
Sean continued, “GRID Command has redefined our mission as completely and utterly scientific. We are an explorer vessel now. We are explorers. Dr. Katherine Loggar, has been charged with guiding us along our new path. Our mission, with her counsel, is to search for new intelligent life-forms. We are to find our lost cousins and establish a new alliance. I’m certain we will be met with questions and suspicion. We may even meet with aggression and hostility, but no matter, we will push forward and learn more about ourselves through discovering others. I am extremely confident that we will meet this mission, as we have with others, with professionalism, honor, and integrity. I hereby welcome each and every one of you to the Explorer Cruiser Reginald L. Johnson.”
Dawn yelled, “On your feet!”
Everyone stood up.
“Dismissed!” And the room emptied out quickly.
Cookie smiled. He heard the scuttle about Cap’n having special abilities he got from their last mission. Kelley from Engineering said that Mason told him Barnes saw the Cap’n blow the doors off one of the DeCom chambers. He said it was like real magick but with Alien technology. Word was that the Goddess and some of her staff could do it too but only on that strange planet and maybe certain worlds, which seemed to make sense now. Cookie decided he had to make something special for the Cap’n. Maybe a Cali cut with his Lobster Thermidor. He also had been saving a bottle of Louis XIII cognac. The substance was practically priceless. His grandfather saved three bottles during the Purge and gave two to his father. Cookie left the unopened bottle on Earth in a safe deposit box. The other bottle was in his quarters. It survived a war and the run in with the Webster. He figured he had 250 ml left, which was more than enough.
As Adriana filed out with the others she finally understood. Her Mom knew this day would come and thus prepared her as best she could. This was the day the Johnson would go into the beyond. Today the Johnson transformed from War vessel to Explorer. Today, the Johnson crossed the line.