Snippet #2396878

Grand Admiral McCart waited patiently for his subordinates to respond, but he didn’t have to be too patient. He noticed quietly that Dr. Lana’s hollowed, blue figure of light was the only hologram in attendance. He noted to himself the next available time for a court-martial. In the meanwhile, Captain McCoy was the first to bolt up:

If I may, Admiral, I would like to suggest that our destination be Kepler-62." Out of respect, his eyes were to the Admiral during this part, but as he took a step forward to assume the central position for his argument, he turned his eyes towards the holograms of the other captains. "As the Admiral said before, there are two planets here that lie within the habitable zone and have all encompassing atmospheres. It is the farthest trip, but I think it will pay off the most. Not only does it have two of the best candidates for extra terrestrial life, but reports show that the minerals there could be easily mineable. Even if we do not find life, we could find a very profitable trading post.

"Gliese 581 would be the least beneficial destination in my opinion for a couple of reasons. Number one is that we have never before been able to take this far a leap into our unknown universe. I don't think we should squander the opportunity on a trip so short. Number two, of the planets that seem to be within the habitable zone here, Gliese 581 c d and g, only e seems to have any real potential for life. It is thought that c has a green house gas problem, making it too hot much like Venus. D is thought to be rather similar to Mars and, as we all know, Mars only has life on it because we brought life to the planet. G is a potentially good candidate, but it's existence is still disputed. I would hate to show up at the planetary system and realize that the planet that seems the most worthy of exploration doesn't even exist."

"As for KOI-1686, it is probably the most average of the two... but I've always been a go big or go home kind of man myself. I say that as the first humans ever to leave our solar system, we forever stamp our names into human history."

The captain was well spoken and strong, albeit a bit too much. Still, McCart couldn’t help but be felt compelled by the captain’s encompassing argument. The Admiral didn’t expect any less from the captain; McCart watched the kid grow up back in Texas. They came from the same county and McCoy’s father served on the same ship as McCart in the U.S. Navy. In the Second Korean War, they both saved each others’ lives more than a several times. As such, McCart felt eternally indebted to the McCoys, especially his “nephew.” But the “boy” who was now almost a middle-aged man had earned this post without McCart’s assistance. McCoy had probably been the single most potential prodigy of the UNSA that astronautical warfare had ever seen.

Dr. Lana stepped up just shortly after McCoy finished his argument. She was obviously anxious in front of two captains, but that was to expected. She was quite a fine-looking young girl, especially for being one of the world’s most recognized researchers. McCart noticed McCoy making googly-eyes with her, poor boy. McCoy always hated being on ships separate from the beautiful women. McCart also noticed another, more unfamiliar figure materialize in the holo-module; definitely not Speirs but definitely someone from Thunderchild. Lana seemed determined to assert her own points:

"Admiral, in my opinion I think I will have to agree with Captain McCoy on the matter of Kepler-62. Yes it is the farthest system but who knows what we can find? Like the Captain said, the planets there are rich with minerals. Yes there is the chance of extraterrestrial life already inhabiting the planets, but that will give us the chance of learning. Gaining the knowledge they have gained, gaining allies and friends. I have opinions of Gliese 581 and KOI-1686 but I must stick to Kepler-62." Completing what she had to say, Lana stepped back to her position. She seemed rather proud of herself. McCoy seemed to slightly smile, aware that he just won the vote. Maybe he was smiling for an additional reason, as well.
After the doctor spoke, McCart shifted his eyes toward the latecomer in the holo-conference, a rather young man with a bit of a sparkle in his eyes. But his youth wasn’t terribly surprising. Grand Admiral McCart and Admiral Maybourne were perhaps the oldest men in the whole UNSA, relics from the hay days of the U.S. Navy. The latecomer stepped and nervously spoke.

"Uh... hi, Admiral. I know you were expecting Captain Speirs, but I took it as my responsibility to report..." He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid he's gone missing while on a last visit to Earth. I'm the new captain. I've gone over Captain Speirs' notes, however. He seemed to thinking hitting KOI-1686 was the best option. I agree with his judgment, and want to honor it."

The Grand Admiral nodded and scratched his beard, shifting his stare from one to another of the three over several small moments. He was deep in thought, and reassessed every word that he just heard. Finally, he lowered his hands and spoke, ”It escapes me whether the Thunderchild is on Fleet Command Appointment or is Private Commissioning. Did Secretary Maybourne appoint you, son, or did the ship elect you? That would answer that. Either way, I’m glad to have you aboard. Have your ship’s AI send your Nautical File and Officer Serial.

“As for the votes, lady and gentlemen, we have two Kepler and one KOI. I myself was going for Gliese, though I’ve been mostly convinced. It doesn’t matter. A fair vote is a fair vote. Kepler-62 it is. Captain McCoy, g’head and hit the Bridge and start the processes for the Hyperion’s departure. Dr. Marietta, please send Veris a report upon the completion of the civilians’ boarding. Captain, uhh… whatever your name is, remember to send the information over.

“Comm-room 3 AI – Terminate holo-conference function. Grand Admiral McCart out.”

With that, McCart saluted to the fading holograms, and then to McCoy. After that, he left to the Relay and barked several compulsory commands at the executive officers. Mostly making sure the trajectories were correct, or alignment of the fleet’s comm-units were correct. Various blue and orange screens screamed and beeped. The Relay was a very noisy place; of course, very few places on a ship were quiet. And the few that WERE quiet were probably lavatories, cabins and places of sexual secrecy.

Admiral McCart took his chair at the FCC and lit his pipe. The test draws and the false light took about 5 minutes or so. Pretty typical for pipe-smoking, a dying art in those days. Finally he got it lit and puffed himself into deep thought. It was a ritual he had to change sometime shortly after his breakfast every morning, otherwise he just might loose his cool.

”Veris, bring up all unread messages onto my holo-module. Any sound-bites, please transcribe them, as well. I’m not in the mood to listen, just to read.

The messages cascaded on his holo-module.

"Greetings Admiral McCart. This is Admiral Stone of the Inner System Vanguard Fleet. I've been given orders to escort you to the edge of the Kaiper Belt when you go to perform your 'hyperjump', as they call them. This order was given by the Secretary of the UNSA Navy, out of fear of possible KLF rebel interference with this event. Chances of this are low, but I am personally looking forward to seeing the event, anyway. My fleet will take position around yours at 0700 tomorrow. Please let me know if you need anything."

”Holo-module Executive Suite 303, initiate keyboard function.” The holo-keys were then projected just in front of the Admiral’s chest, in an updated QWERTY format. Although in the 2030s, there had been a popular movement to replace QWERTY with TICSL, McCart’s generation generally stayed true to their upbringings. He typed out the following response:

”Greetings Admiral Stone. This is Grand Admiral McCoy of the First Expeditionary Fleet. Roger that. We’ll be glad to see your firepower in the KBelt. I doubt the KLF will be stupid enough to take on the two most capable flag officers in the UNSA, but they have done dumber things in the past. Please note the time is currently 0733 hours Hyperion time, approximately 1630 hours Central Standard Time. We will not reach the Kaiper until 0300 hours CST tomorrow. McCart over and out.”

"The United Nations Research and Development Unit requests to be given direct access to any data found by the fleet via remote computer access. Secretary Maybourne is leaving the decision of whether or not to do this as up to you. If so, the techies expect a two week lag time if you were to choose your furthest destination when accessing computer systems, and will expose your systems to them. However, allowing them this option could bring forth information that could help us on the home front more easily. Again, the choice is yours."

”Ahoy UNRDU! This is Grand Admiral McCart. I hereby confirm and allow access to data via remote computer access. Keep us informed. Over and out.

Admiral. This is Secretary Maybourne. Thank you for your prompt response to my message. Sorry about not doing the same, but honestly, I'd rather be digging into a real mountain than through this mountain of paperwork I'm dealing with. However, I needed confirmation that I wouldn't be shooting hot air at you before giving you this information.

The CIA, working in conjunction with the KGB and other intelligence agencies has officially determined there is a high risk that the fleet has been infiltrated by a numerous amount of third party groups. Most of these people are just there for the money, as you can say, but some may have more sinister motives. This includes members of the known terrorist organizations: 'Gaia's Hold', 'The Red Fist', and 'God's Hand.' The former's interests lying in preventing 'humanity from contaminating the rest of the universe', and may go after your hyperdrive. The Red Fist simply hates the UNSA, and will likely be the most dangerous of the groups. God's Hand is a xenophobic religious group who believe all other sentient life is an afront to god. They've been linked to a number of Chimera murders.

On top of this, as you know, there's a possibility that the KLF may interfere. This could be through one of three means: an ambush before you make the jump to hyperspace (the least likely), an attack from within, or an attack from beyond. That's right: it's believed the KLF may have access to faster than light propulsion systems, likely stolen from us.

It's funny, everyone seems to be worried of alien interference. I, however, think this is the least of our problems. We are our own worst enemy in the end.

Keep this information in mind, but don't let it hold you back. Keeping a stern resolve is the best weapon against these idiots.

With best regards,
- Secretary of the UNSA Navy, Harry Maybourne.

”This is Grand Admiral McCart. Secretary Maybourne. I have determined a destination for the fleet earlier than expected. I will not await confirmation from Fleet Command. Within the hour, I will be setting all navigations to the destination and then we shall depart from the Lunar gravity towards the KBelt.

I will keep your information in mind. We have apparently experienced the third disappearance of the Thunderchild’s captains. I will, however, take precautionary efforts to protect the life of the ship’s new captain. I am also preparing several precautionary orders for the fleet in general to avoid… ‘safety issues.’

We’ll keep you updated, friend. McCart over and out.

The relationship between McCart and Maybourne was an interesting one. Maybourne was McCart’s immediate commanding officer back in the Navy, back when McCart was just a Lieutenant and Maybourne was a Lt. Commander. They’ve had a hot-and-cold relationship ever since. The two men together represented such massive power, however, that when they were in agreement, not a living soul could stop them. Maybourne was the Secretary of the Fleet, an office which amounted to Prime Minister for the UNSA had it been a sovereign nation. Secretary Maybourne, a Fleet Admiral in principle, had been appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations for his seniority and experience; his office was one of administration, PR and paperwork. McCart, however, was the Grand Admiral, a more… strategic position. Although McCart technically outranked Maybourne by one star, Maybourne was in charge of McCart’s assignments, rations and commands. Although Maybourne technically was in charge of the whole UNSA, McCart’s senior rank meant that he was the boss in wartime. It was a fun dynamic, however, and they scarcely stepped over each others’ toes.


"Hello Admiral. You may not remember me, or even know who I am, but I certainly remember you. From where? From when? Well... let's just say it was my darkest hour. The hour when the KLF should have gotten what they deserved. Make no mistake, however: I'm just as bad as you, if not worse, but that isn't the only thing we have in common. We're both human. We both have emotions. And we've both held them at bay all of our lives for the better of us.

I'm through with this. I'm done holding back the flood. I will be quite frank: I respect you, and for that, I will give you a quick death, hehehe, or perhaps not, I'm debating it. I know your control over this fleet is limited... but your control over your own emotions are not. But we'll see how long that lasts. You know the old saying: keep your friends close but your enemies closer? Well, in this day in age, the line between the two is as thin as paper. You never know who's hiding in plain sight. HOOOOHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!

SEE YOU AGAIN SOON, MY FRIEND, HAHAHAHAHAHA!
- Randall Flagg, AKA the 'Walkin' Dude.'[i]

Randall Flagg was a name that registered a few bells, but McCart couldn’t quite put his finger on it. And the message itself was ridiculous. It was quickly deleted.

[i]"Relay this message to the Admiral Immediately! A major security breach in Fleet Command took place only one hour ago! We're currently sweeping the base, yet no perpetrators have been found. Our best, and only guess is that the infiltrator used some form of new holographic technology to cloak himself in conjunction with heat-dampening armor. Yet the UNSA has no such technological that can render a user invisible. None that aren't still in the cradle when it comes to their development, that is. The most unusual thing is that the infiltrator conducted no malicious activities other than the use of our transmissions. However, whether he did more is still to be determined. It could take weeks."

Keep your senses open, Admiral, and be prepared for anything.
- Vice-Admiral Lockheart

McCart noted the message and closed his inbox.

”Veris. Record and transmit the following message to the intercom systems of all three ships. Transmission time should be at 0930 hours Hyperion time. Make sure every public function cell in all three ships can tap into the following audio.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the First Expeditionary Fleet,

This is your commanding-officer, Grand Admiral Joseph McCart, speaking. Each and every one of you is in my fleet for a specific reason. Some of you were chosen by the Crew Selection Committee of Fleet Command. Some of you were appointed to be representatives of several different sovereignties back home. Some of you I hand-picked myself. However way you’re on this mission don’t matter. You’re aboard and you’ve each got an important task at hand. WE have an important task at hand.

We are all bound in a fraternal thread that is this mission. It is a sacred mission entrusted to us by our home, Earth, and all her peoples. Any contingent elements of this fleet which put our mission in detriment will be swiftly eliminated. If you plan on endangering this mission, I will have you court-martialed and executed quicker than you can call out for your mama.

I, with the aid of my immediate subordinates, have determined the first destination for this fleet. In approximately 22 days, ladies and gentlemen, we shall all be enjoying the wonderful vista of Kepler-62. I will not let us fail. This is my oath to you.
May many of you excuse this old man for being so emphatic in saying…

May God protect us.

McCart over and out.

End transmission.

Veris. I also need you to send the following order to the ships’ AI security protocols.
Commanding officers will no longer be able to be in the same place at the same time without my command.

Veris. Notify the Captains we are lifting off for the Kaiper Belt at 1000 hours Hyperion time. Thank you.

Also, Veris. Sorry for bombarding you with commands.”

With that, McCart looked out over the portals of the bridge towards the Lunar Base. Departures always made him nervous.