Hello Readers.
A quick warning about this chapter. It does not have a full ending as it was written to marry up the Lawson storyline with the main one. Do not read it unless you are okay with waiting for the following chapter.
My apologies for taking so long to write this. I had to work out quite a few issues. Plus, my personal life suffered a tragedy.
Anyway. I hope you enjoy this chapter as it is. More will follow. Hopefully, a lot quicker than this took (2 years). As always, please comment or give feedback.
Thanks for reading.
Felicity G.
A New Beginning Chapter 10.
Two weeks had passed since Jennifer Lawson had first encountered Jerry Rawlings and the former HC crews.
On the small bridge of her altered Corvette, Jennifer sat in the command chair and listened attentively to an oriental looking man she had made into her XO. He was efficient and kept things simple while hitting all the relevant points to give her the latest information. In clipped sentences, he outlined their current situation.
"We are left with Forty-Eight people to crew the ship." He finished his report and then looked up from his info pad.
"So, how long will it take to train those who have decided to stay?" Jenny asked with a sigh.
She had thought the Reachers offer was good. Until the moment had come to ask those she had rescued if they wanted to go planet side. To her surprise. A great many had decided to give Reacher life a try.
"Half are without fleet training. Some are scientists, botanists and service personnel. Two weeks to get them a basic understanding of proper protocols. Luckily, most have skill sets we can work with. But... At least ten weeks before I could say they are good enough to pass the fleet exam for basic competency." Albert Xing told her.
Jenny shook her head in slight annoyance that was mixed with resignation. She could not begrudge the survivors of Heaven five a chance to have a new life. With no hope of a HC repatriation ship arriving. Many of the people had made a hard but sensible choice.
A small number had chosen to join with Rawlings though and that hurt her more. Mainly because she could not understand why they would wish to leave the Holy Company to join deserters.
"It's not as bad as it sounds." Albert said as he noted her disappointed face. "You DO have some good crew already and we CAN remain on station for a long time. Much of this ship has automated systems. At a push, we could fight a delaying action using hit and run tactics. Which are what Corvettes are built for." He pointed out with a small shrug. "Those that were in the Cadet program have opted to stay with us. Plus, you have two good engineers... you will have to choose one to be chief though." He added.
Jenny gave him a smile of thanks that showed her gratitude for trying to be positive.
"I know my father altered this ship a great deal. Have we worked out how to utilize that yet?" she asked hopefully.
Albert lips twitched upwards a fraction. Like most of those Singaporean Asian's that he was descended from, he only gave tiny indications of his mood. Unlike the Chinese economic empire that had dominated much of the east and a massive slice of Africa. Singapore had remained apart and distinctive, with financial investments and dealings that had seen it through the corporate wars almost fully intact.
Unique amongst the Holy Company. Those that were descendants of Singapore still had a partially autonomous and separate community within the HC. They all proudly wore a Merlion emblem on their lapel that showed that heritage.
As an enthusiastic scientist with a deep wish to see the edges of the universe. Albert Xing had joined the HC fleet, passed the standard courses easily, and then completed the science officer training before joining one of the few HC's exploratory ships. There was little doubt that he could have had his pick of assignments before choosing Heaven Five. His record showed an impressive list of abilities. Including an academy notation for excellence in small ship warfare and utilization. On top of his brilliant science record.
"Good news on that. Your father made comprehensive notations in the ships log and I have made up a small info tablet for the required areas. Gunnery, Nav and Defensive capabilities are all listed for the crew that are deployed in those areas." He replied as he handed her an info tablet that was loaded with a well-made report on the adjustments.
Jenny knew some of the things her father had played around with. She had been on the corvette often as a child. She was not overly surprised to see that Albert had rated the defensive capabilities as the same as a Destroyer class ship. A quick glance also showed a side notation about the advanced multi phasic shielding, something that Corvettes did not normally have.
"Light bending applications of the shield emitters?" she asked curiously.
Albert nodded.
"Stealth without stealth. An odd addition that allows for the ship to be invisible to the human eye. But without anti scanner tech." He gave a small shrug. "We would have to shut all systems down to be close to undetectable, and even then, it would be doubtful as the hull isn't made of stealth tech." he told her. "I honestly can't see a use for it." He added.
Jennifer was a bright young girl and thought she might. She had been reading her father's journals for a week now and had found out that he had never stopped loving her mother. The Alterations he had made to the Corvette, just might, have been a desperate attempt to steal her back from the Reachers.
While the invisibility cloak without stealth tech on the hull was almost useless in space, it would have worked to hide a landing ship. A hidden getaway vessel for a man who wanted to raid Kellos. That could have been her father's plan since Kellos did not have the advanced scanner tech of the HC. Or so everyone believed.
She was not sure, but it felt right and fitted with what she now knew. Perhaps he had abandoned the plan as Jenny grew up and he heaped his love upon her. Yet it was an answer that made a good deal of sense to her.
"Thank you for the analysis number two. Has the shuttle returned?" she said and asked. Closing the subject and changing it to those that had decided to accept the Reacher offer.
"Not yet. But Captain Rawlings has requested to speak with you again." Xing replied.
Jennifer frowned as she looked away.
She felt betrayed by Rawlings and the other deserting Fleet Captains she had met. At the same time, she respected Rawlings from his reputation and the way he had treated her so respectfully. He had given her good advice on organizing her crew despite declaring himself free of the Holy Company. He had shown no anger or judgement when she told him she was still loyal to the Holy Company.
Jennifer was tempted to ignore the request but decided she could not. Rawlings had only made one demand of her so far and it had been easy to acquiesce. Sending her PGs to the Jean-Paul seemed a good deal better than dealing with them herself. She had no need of such creatures on her ship.
"Fine. I'll take the spare shuttle to his ship." She said after a small pause.
Xing shook his head. "He's on Kellos again. You will have to wait for that shuttle to get back." He informed.
Jenny sighed again. Having only one pilot capable of planetfall was getting to be annoying.
***
On the surface of Kellos.
Melody Hawes shaded her eyes as she watched the shuttle take off and lift into an almost cloudless sky. Heat haze blurred the shuttle's shape as it rose higher and higher at a steady pace. The pilot keeping to strict ascension protocols. She was inexperienced and had not yet finished cadet training but was qualified enough to do a planetary drop.
Desert heat and hot sand billowed around Melody as she stopped looking upwards and let her eyes find a Reacher Guardian. A diminutive female stood next to him with an info pad in one hand and a smile on her face as she directed the Heaven Five refugees towards a sandstone square. It held two tables, and each had a Reacher in official garb behind it.
The Reacher's generous offer of a new life had been taken up by quite a few. Melody was not alone.
There were conditions. But the prospect of a year or more onboard a cramped Corvette with, what many perceived as, a child as its commander had not been welcomed by all. So, Melody hid herself amongst the crowd. She had her own reasons for getting off the Corvette as soon as possible and had jumped at the offer to go planet side.
"Welcome to New Athens. This is the second largest city on Kellos and will be your staging area to your new homes. Some of you may decide to go into the desert, but for now, we welcome you to our New Athens." Announced the smiling Reacher who stood next to the Guardian. She wore an off the shoulder white smock that looked like a take on Greco Roman attire.
To the HC people that had lived under HC rule and in its draconian society. The white smock was scandalously small. It left the small woman's arms and shoulders bare, the hem only just reached below her buttocks and its pleats barely covered the woman's upper thighs. Belted at the waist, it was also clear that the woman was naked beneath it. There were no side panels to the 'dress' and the women's hips and sides were also exposed. Braless for sure as the curve of naked breast flesh could be seen.
More than a few of the HC people felt their faces redden at the sight and avoided looking at the scantily clad woman. Melody took it in and mentally noted how the Reacher men did not seem affected. Indeed, some of the men wore something similar. Melody considered the heat and decided the outfits seemed understandable.
Slowly. The refugees were sorted. One by one, they sat in front of the desks and gave their details before being given a street address and house number in return. They would be housed among the Reacher populous for now and attend orientation classes later.
Melody was one of the few that knew a bit more than the foolish gossip about Reachers. She understood why they were going to have these classes and had a good idea what they would entail. The Reachers had always had an open-door policy for those that wanted to join them. One that also entailed some strict provisos to ensure an applicant was suitable to become a Reacher.
Having been Brace's wife meant that Melody got a better knowledge of the Reachers. Brace had researched them carefully and almost always had had Reachers brought to him when they traded on Heaven Five. She was aware that she would be required to state a religious preference and that she would have to disavow the HC.
She waited her turn and kept observing.
