The burden of command, p.2
The Burden of Command, page 2
part #14 of Empire Rising Series
Gonzalez and the Petty officers laughed. “There’s no chance of that, lad. You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out. Or at least, get yourself thrown out.” With a hand, Gonzales gestured for Jake to go first into the area of the ship reserved for Resolute’s marines. As Jake passed, Gonzales gave him a conciliatory pat on the shoulder. “Just don’t trip over your own two feet.”
Jake tried to think of a snarky reply, but when the hatch opened to reveal a crowd of people standing chatting in the marine barracks foyer, he lost his nerve. At least thirty of Resolute’s officers and crew were there. Jake turned to Gonzales. “How many have come to watch?” He asked in trepidation.
Gonzales laughed again. “It’s pretty much everyone who is off-duty or not asleep.” His grin widened. “And it’s going to be recorded. No one wants to miss it.”
Jake let out a sigh of exasperation as he shook his head. He knew he was going to lose. That went without saying. It was also going to hurt, that too was unavoidable. Both were concerning, of course. Yet, he was far more worried about what would come after. He had joined Resolute four weeks ago after transferring from the battleship Hercules. He was still trying to find his way with the cruiser’s crew and his fellow officers. Getting his butt kicked by a marine was going to evaporate whatever small measure of respect he had been starting to gain. There was nothing he could do about it now though. Squaring his shoulders, he headed towards the hatch to the sparring ring. Unsurprisingly, as he stepped in, the place was already thronging with marines and more crew members. They were jostling for space as they sought to get the best place to watch from. At first, Jake had to push through them, but as more recognized him, they parted and allowed him to approach the ring.
His last shred of confidence evaporated when he saw his opponent was already in the ring, warming up with a sparring partner. Jake swallowed hard as he watched her muscled arms flex as she threw punch after punch into her sparring partner. Jake’s mind was momentarily taken to the many stories he had heard growing up about the duel Emperor Somerville had fought against the Karacknids’ last Imperator. Though he knew the comparison was silly, he couldn’t help but feel he understood a little bit about how Somerville must have felt stepping into the combat ring with Taranaki. Of course, Jake had seen many images of Karacknid warriors. He knew how dangerous and ferocious they were. Still, at this very minute, special forces marine Sergeant Becca Samuels looked just as intimidating.
When she saw him, she stopped sparring with her partner. Gracefully, she moved over to face him through the ring’s translucent protective barrier. “You came,” she said with a nod. “It’s good. I wasn’t sure you’d have the guts.” Becca gestured to several Marines who had parted to let Jake through. “I thought I’d have to send them to go and drag you down here.” Her words brought chuckles from those around Jake.
Jake raised his chin. “I’m here. A naval officer never refuses a challenge from a marine.”
Becca grinned. “And he’s got a little spunk,” she said even louder as she looked around at fellow marines. She then looked back at Jake. “Good, that will make this even more fun.” With a hand, she gestured towards the entrance into the ring. “Come on, let’s get started, unless you need a warmup?”
Jake shook his head. He had already stretched in his quarters. Over the last few weeks, he had tried to eke out a half an hour here and there to practice some of the moves he had been taught as a teenager. He had gone over them again after his stretches. He knew it would count for little, but it was the best he could do. Nothing more could help him now. “Let’s just get this over with so I can get back to my duties.”
As Jake made his way around the ring, another Lieutenant pushed her way through the marines that were around the outer edge of the ring. “Good luck Lieutenant,” Fourth Lieutenant Lydia Morrison said as she squeezed his forearm. “Don’t worry, she’ll go easy on you.” Jake glanced at Becca. The marine Sergeant was jumping from foot to foot as she went through a few final warmup exercises. Each leap propelled her more than a meter into the air. Lydia’s head turned and followed Jake’s glance. Her eyebrows rose at the site. “Well… Good luck anyway. Don’t let her beat you up too badly.”
Jake rolled his eyes at Lydia. “Thanks, I think.” Moving past Lydia, Jake stepped through the entrance into the ring. Becca’s sparring partner nodded to him and stepped out. The marine then tapped a few buttons on the sparring ring’s control panel and the entrance sealed itself shut. Jake rolled his shoulders and then moved to the center of the ring where Becca was now standing waiting.
“Are you ready?” She asked. Jake nodded. Becca raised both her hands to silence the crowd who had come to watch. “The rules are simple,” she called out to them all. “No blows to the head, our Lieutenant has requested that, and I am inclined to agree. Though I don’t know what he is worried about, I’m the only one whose good looks are on the line. Beyond that, the first one to tap out is the loser. And the loser buys everyone drinks at McGinty’s.” The crowd cheered at her words. “After all,” Becket continued when they quietened down again. “If our Lieutenant can afford special forces marine grade implants, he can afford to buy us all a drink or two. Isn’t that right, Lieutenant?”
Jake did his best to put on a genuine smile and raised his voice to match Becca’s. “I thought I was just going to get the pleasure of dumping a marine on her backside. But now, I’m going to get a drink at your expense as well. This day is getting better and better.” The crowd roared even louder at his words. Glancing around at them, Jake was sure most were rooting for Becca, but there were others like Lydia who seemed to be on his side. She gave him a little courage. Not that he expected to win, but as long as he didn’t completely make a fool of himself, he might not lose all the respect he had been trying to build up. And buying everyone a drink won’t hurt either, he thought as he glanced again at Becca. Is that what she intended? It would hurt his bank account more than Becca probably imagined, but it would be worth it.
Raising her fists, Becca moved towards Jake. She leaned towards him as Jake raised his. “You’re going to regret that Lieutenant,” she said as she gave him a wink. Then she tapped Jake’s fists with hers.
Immediately, Jake sprang back. Along with the enhancements, his father had insisted he do some training as a teenager. That had been before he joined the Naval Academy. His enhancements had allowed him to excel in the few hand-to-hand classes at the Academy, yet since then, Jake had let his training slip. As Becca circled around him, he knew he was going to regret that decision. Like a flash, she suddenly rushed at him. Cheers and roars erupted from the watching crowd. Both her fists flew out in dummy punches, then she flung a foot at his chest. Jake tried to dodge, but was too slow. It caught him right on his hip and sent him spiraling to the floor. As pain shot up through his left side, he contemplated tapping out there and then. A sudden spurt of shame made him grit his teeth and push himself back to his feet. Watch her eyes, he told himself. That was what he had been taught. Real attacks always came from the eyes. Taking a deep breath, Jake exhaled and forced his body to relax. Raising his arms into a defensive stance, he waited for Becca to approach once again.
This time, she moved in more slowly. Faking a punch, she threw a right hook at Jake. He managed to duck back just in time. Then as her foot came swinging at him again, he blocked it with his forearm. The crack as her shin hit his arm filled the sparring ring. Immediately, Jake’s arm began to feel numb. Becca spun away as if nothing had happened.
“You know what you’re doing,” she said as she nodded towards Jake’s arm. “At least you know how to use the speed your augments give you. Good, that will make this more fun.” And as she advanced on him again, Jake sensed something was different. She threw two punches that were slower than the ones before. Both times he dodged, though slower, they still almost landed. She wants me to block, he realized. The one part of his training Jake had hated the most was grappling. He remembered it well enough now. On many occasions, his instructor had used a block from Jake to pin Jake in place, move in close and put him into some kind of submission hold.
As Becca moved in again, Jake’s eyes widened. She was speeding up her attacks again, trying to force him to block. In his mind, he could now see how things were going to go. She’d keep wearing down his stamina until he couldn’t dodge, and then she would have him tapping out within seconds. There was only one thing he could do. Raising a hand, he blocked Becca’s next punch. Then with his other hand, he slammed a punch into her stomach. His attack struck just as Becca was moving in to grapple him. The force from his augmented muscles drove her back a couple of steps. The roaring from the Marines all around the ring suddenly stopped. Becca looked down at her stomach. A hand came up and rubbed where Jake had landed his blow. Though when she looked up, she was grinning. “I’m glad someone has taught you well,” she said. Before Jake could reply, she was on the attack again. Now she moved with a speed Jake could hardly follow. Punches and kicks began to rain down on him. At most, he dodged half. The rest were only partially blocked, or managed to land on unprotected spots. Within seconds, Jake’s legs, arms, and most of his chest and back began to throb as blow after blow struck them. All thought of attempting to land another punch left his mind. All he could do was try and keep track of Becca as she danced around him nipping in to strike and then spring back.
In quick succession, two blows to Jake’s thigh caused him to stumble and crumple to the ground. At once, Becca was on him. She wrapped her arms and legs around him in a way Jake couldn’t follow, nor did he understand. He suddenly found his back being arched and stretched in a manner that sent electric shock waves of agony down his spine. The pain caused him to forget to breathe for several seconds. He felt his face going flush and his eyes bulging. Through the agony, he could still hear the howls and whistles of delight from the marines. They made Jake angry. He hadn’t wanted to fight Becca. He had nothing to prove. Clenching his fists and teeth, he closed his eyes as Becca stretched him more and the pain intensified. None of his training had prepared him for this. He knew there was nothing he could do to escape. And yet, he didn’t tap out. He wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. The howls turned to shouts for him to give up. The pain deepened even further. Still Jake didn’t relent.
“Just do it,” Becca whispered in his ear. “You made your point.” As much as Becca’s hold allowed him to, Jake shook his head. He cried out as Becca increased pressure even more. He felt his vision begin to close as the pain overwhelmed him. Then, everything went black.
Groggily, Jake opened his eyes. Relief washed over him. The pain was gone. Moving slightly, he realized he was lying on his back. Opening his eyes, he saw Becca peering over him. Concern was written across her face. A hand came up from somewhere and slapped him on the cheek a couple of times. Jake quickly raised a hand to protect himself. Instantly, Becca’s concern disappeared. She broke into a grin. “He’s okay,” she said as she jumped to her feet. “Far too stubborn by half, but okay.” Bending over, she held out a hand. Jake hesitated. “The fight is over,” she assured him. “You blacked out. I won.”
Reluctantly, Jake allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. As fresh pain shot up and down his back, he let out a groan. It brought laughter from the marines and navy crew. Becca put an arm around his shoulder and led Jake towards the exit of the sparring ring. “You did well, for a squishy navy Lieutenant. You could do with some practice though. There’s no point paying for those augments and not knowing how to use them.”
Jake blinked as he stared at Becca. She was actually being nice to him. “I didn’t pay for them myself. My father insisted on them.”
“Insisted? That’s quite the expense,” Becca said as they stopped at the edge of the ring.
Jake nodded. “Tell me about it. I’d much rather have had the credits. It was his one condition. If I wanted to join the Navy, I had to let him pay for the augments.”
Becca laughed as she shook her head. “Parents. I suppose he wanted you to be a doctor or something?”
Jake found himself smiling. “That would be my mother. Dad’s idea was a CEO or at worst a freighter Captain. Eventually, we came to a compromise.”
“Well, I have a deal for you,” Becca said. “How about we arrange a weekly training session? I can help you use your augments better, teach you how to get out of that hold. Then maybe next time a lowly marine Sergeant challenges you, you won’t embarrass yourself quite so much. What do you say?”
Jake knew what he wanted to say, yet given the beating he had just taken, he found the opposite coming out. “That would be good. Assuming I can find the time.”
Becca grinned and slapped him on the back, eliciting another groan. “Excellent. I’ll schedule you in during one of your off shifts. I’m sure you’ll be able to rearrange things if need be.”
Before James could reply, the lighting in the sparring chamber suddenly shifted. An alarm began to blare, and a voice called out through their room speakers. ‘Battle stations. Battle stations,’ it repeated.
The jovial atmosphere in the sparring ring dissipated immediately. Marines and Navy personnel sprang for the exits. Jake glanced at Becca. “I’ll have to buy you that drink another time, Sergeant.”
Becca nodded and gestured for him to leave the ring first. “You’re a bridge officer, don’t let me get in your way.” With a nod, Jake turned and moved as fast as he could out of the ring and across the chamber. Every muscle in his body groaned in protest, but he ignored it as best he could.
Chapter 2
I sit down to begin this, my second great work examining the history of the Empire twelve years after completing the first. Much has happened in the intervening years. When I began work on Empire Rising, I thought its completion would signal my retirement from the Imperial Fleet. Instead, out of nowhere, the Ca’casiadans invasion thrust war upon the Empire once again. The many lessons I learned from my historical studies proved invaluable during our long war against this new enemy. I only hope this new work will prove just as helpful to future generations of aspiring Imperial Fleet commanders.
-Excerpt from Empire Ascendant 3015 AD.
Becca hesitated for a few seconds as she watched Jake go. She hadn’t known his father had paid for his augments, but she had guessed. As soon as he had come aboard, she had looked him up. His father supposedly ran a shipping company based on Excalibur in the Void. He was a moderately wealthy individual. Not the type that you would expect to pay for his son to have such an invasive medical procedure. Nor the one who would be willing to pay for him to be trained, she added. She was still trying to trace where exactly the message and payments had come from. But someone had contacted her and requested that she encourage Jake to train with her. The money was more than good enough that she had no problem adding an extra hour or two to her training sessions each week. Though she had needed to find an inventive way to convince Jake that he needed them too. Maybe it won’t be so bad, she thought as Jake disappeared from sight. He wasn’t as snotty and stuck up as she had feared.
*
Jogging to the nearest turbo lift, Jake joined the other bridge officers who had come out to watch his fight. Lydia shot him a smile, but the rest ignored him. A call to battle stations was serious. No one was in the mood to joke around. When the turbo lift stopped at the deck Resolute’s bridge was on, Jake let everyone get off first. As they went ahead of him, he began to roll his shoulders and rub his sore arms and legs. If he wasn’t already, he was certain he would be covered in bruises by the end of the day. Within a minute of the call to battle stations being issued, he stepped onto the bridge and quickly moved over to his tactical console. The Sub Lieutenant who had been manning it nodded to him and then moved out of his way. At once, his eyes scanned the readout. An anomaly had been detected, Resolute was moving to investigate.
“I want an update as soon as we have a firmer reading on the anomaly,” Captain Domingo requested when all of her bridge officers were present. Then, she turned to Jake. “I hear you got your ass handed to you, Lieutenant. Are you fit for duty?”
“Of course, Captain. I’m a bit stiff and sore, but that won’t prevent me from performing my duties to the best of my ability.”
“Very well, carry on then,” Domingo said as her eyes passed over Jake.
Jake glanced at Lydia. She was manning Resolute’s sensor console. Leaving her to focus on the anomaly, he concentrated on the rest of the system. Since boarding Resolute at Britannia, the cruiser had been carrying out a patrol of the other systems along the eastern edge of the Empire. The Cambria system was their third stop. Without any habitable worlds, the only other contacts being picked up by Resolute’s passive sensors were from a small mining operation in one of the system’s outer asteroid fields. The anomaly was nowhere near there, however. So whatever it was, it was likely to be something else. The captain must think it could be a pirate, Jake concluded. Resolute was moving towards the anomaly at just fifteen percent of her maximum thrust. With her reactors and engines powered down, she would be very hard to detect. Once he was certain the passive sensors weren’t picking up any other potential dangers, Jake began to run weapons checks on all of Resolute’s fifty-two missile tubes. Then he worked through her energy weapons and point defenses. Everything was operating within their optimal ranges. If there was to be a fight, the cruiser was ready.
“We’re getting a clear reading now, Captain,” Lydia reported half an hour later. “The anomaly still hasn’t moved. The initial readings we detected are actually fading. I believe they were the last vestiges of heat from a breached reactor. We’re starting to get softer reflections on small metallic pieces. They’re consistent with debris from a damaged ship.”
Domingo sat forward in her command chair. “Take us out of stealth. I want full military power. Begin active scans. And contact the Teal Trading Industries mining station. Enquire if their sensors detected anything from this sector of the star system.”
