What Ever it Takes
Chapter 1.
Having spent his entire working life in space, it was a bit off a surprise to find Owen, packing for a four week cruise aboard the Space Odyssey. It was quite simple really, Owen missed life in Space, he missed looking out the window at the vastness of space. He knew that a trip on a cruise ship would be no substitute to his working life, cruise ships are, by design, large, slow and luxurious. Nothing like his life on board military ships, no one could describe a Frigate or Destroyer as being luxurious.
Owen was in his early forties, fit for his age, not tall but not short, he was very much the produce of his job, shore of himself, decisive, a person you could count on in an emergency, he lived alone never married.
The Space Odyssey was a brand new Commit class cruise ship, this trip would be her maiden voyage. It was very modern with all the up to date technology but it was anything but modern to look at. It was the fashion of the day to make things look, ‘all Old World,’ even though under the skin it would be very modern. So the Space Odyssey looked like a cruise ship from a bye gone era, like something you might see sailing the oceans of the Home World some thousand years ago. To Owen’s eyes it looked a bit silly, completely out of place with its environment. When looking at historic pictures of a cruise ship on an ocean, you could only see that part of the ship that was above the water line. But in space you could see all the ship and it didn’t look right, but who can argue with fashion.
If Owen had learnt anything from all his years in the military it was how to pack for a trip and how to pack lightly. He had only just finished his check list when the space taxi arrived and it was time to go.
Owen lived a long way out of town in his family home, which had been built by his great, great, great, grandfather. He had moved there after leaving the military, before that he lived in military housing when on the planet but that was not that often. Most of his adult life was spent on board one ship or another, in his early years he shared a cabin with a fellow junior officers but once he started climbing through the ranks he got his own cabin. The family home was luxurious in comparison to life on a war ship but Owen was struggling to get use to life on the planet.
The family home had been empty for many years and needed some repair which Owen had been doing since moving in but that work was now complete. The house was modern for its time but was now out of date from a style point of view, but it was comfortable and did what houses were meant to do, that being, keep the weather out. The weather mostly being the heat and sometimes, the wind, it had not rained in this part of the planet in some years. It was very much a rocky, desert landscape, but it had a certain beauty to it.
Owens great, great, great, grandfather was somewhat eccentric, as living so far out of the big city in a house located on the ground was not something most people would do. But post military, it suited Owen to be away from it all for a while, to have some time to himself, to think about the future. After six months of life on the planet, six months of thinking, it was time to get back into space, ever though it was only for a month.
The space taxi landed outside Owens house, much to the irritation of the driver, going outside the city and having to land was not something the driver was use to doing. In fact he had never been outside the city or landed on the ground before, mostly he landed on the top of building, or sometimes he would dock onto the side of building. The space taxi kicked up a cloud of dust as it landed total enveloping it, to the point that Owen could not see it. Like the cruise ship, the space taxi was, ‘old school’, by design, it looked like a bus from a time way back in history, it even had wheels, but they were only for show.
Owen walked towards the space taxi carrying a small suit case, he handed it to the waiting driver who placed it in a storage compartment before they both climbed aboard. Owen found a seat and sat down, the space taxi was not quite full but close to it. All the other passengers looked at Owen in bewilderment as the man one seat over from Owen asked, “do you live out here”?
Owen, not wishing to be taken as some sort of nut, replied, “no, I was on an adventure holiday.” That seemed to please the other passengers as they smiled and went back to looking out the window or reading from their pads.
“That was our last pick up,” said the driver over the intercom, before continuing with, “fasten your seat beats and prepare to leave the atmosphere, next stop the cruise ship the Space Odyssey.”
The space taxi accelerated and climbed away from the planet, shaking and vibrating as it passed through the sound barer and then again a few moments later as it crossed over into space. Everything became weightless for a moment before the artificial gravity cut in.
“We will be passing the military station on our left for those interested in things military,” said the driver over the intercom.
Owen looked out the window at what was for him a very familiar sight, it was somewhere he had spent a lot of time over the years, Space Port Gagarin. Which had been named after the first man to orbit the planet, over a thousand year ago. It was also the place Owen called, ‘home base,’ during his time as Captain of the Frigate, ‘Regret.’ The ‘Regret’ was Owens last command and it held a soft spot in his heart, may be because it was his last command or may be because he served on it for so long.
As the space taxi continued travelling past Space Port Gagarin, memories off Owens time there flooded back to him, both good and bad. Those memories were broken by the sight of the Regret, looking unloved, moored with two other ships, decommissioned, and waiting to be scraped. The Regret was a type thirty two guided missile Frigate, and now somewhat out of date, and being replaced by the type thirty three. It was a majestic looking ship with classic lines, it main hull was long and angular, like a box on its edge, it had two power supplies attached to the hull by wing like pylons. It had a menacing look to it that radiated danger, it could intimidate an opponent without firing a shot. It was a sad sight to see a once proud warship just waiting for its end. Owen saw himself in that ship.
Owens thoughts were interrupted by the intercom, “In a few minutes we will be docking at Space Port Adventure, from there you can find your way to the Space Cruiser of your choice, thanks for using space taxi exec,” said the driver.
The passengers became restless as the space taxi made a sharp turn and lined up with the docking port, it slowed and with a hard thud, it was docked. The passengers hurried to disembarked but Owen just sat there waiting for everyone to get off, before he made his way to the exit.
“I hope you have a nice holiday,” said the driver as he handed Owen his suit case.”
“Thanks,” replied Owen, he then asked, “do you know which way to the Space Odyssey?”
“Just follow the blue line to your left,” said the driver while pointing in the direction of the passenger way.
“Thanks again mate,” replied Owen, as he walked off following the blue line which was painted on the floor as well as the walls and ceiling. It turned out to be quite a long way, walking long distances in artificial gravity was hard going unless you were use to it and after the last six months on the planet, Owen was not use to it.
Finally Owen arrived at the end of the passenger way, where he was greeted by an overly enthusiastic crew member, who welcomed him with, “welcome to the experience of your life time.”
The crew member handed him a small pad screen and said, “everything you need to know is on that, enjoy,” he then asked, “what is your name?
“Owen,” but before he could say his last name the crew members replied. “Hello Owen, you’re in cabin twenty seven, on ‘B’ deck, just follow the green line.”
Owen walked along the corridor following the green line, every now and then looking at the door numbers. As he walked along he found himself questioning whether his decision to take this trip was the correct one, as so far he was not enjoying it. Eventually he found room twenty seven, he touched the panel next to the door and it opened.
The room was large and plush but Owen did not pay much attention to it, his eyes were drawn to the large window at the far end. He could not help himself, he walked over and sat in the large arm chair situated in front of the window and just looked out into space. A sense of peace came over him, he felt save for the first time in a while, any doubt about taking this trip evaporated away as he sat there looking out into space.
Half an hour passed before Owen reached for the pad screen given to him on boarding, he scrolled through it, looking at what was on offer during the cruise. The usual things, like a Casino, or a number of musical entertainments, computer generated games rooms as well as many places to eat. Owen was no gambler, so the Casino had no attraction, he was not a gamer so the game rooms also had no interest to him. He did like some forms of music so he thought he might give some of them a go. His taste in food was pretty bland, due to all those years of military food, so exotic restaurants also held no attraction. There was something that did catch Owens eye, and that was a tour of the ships technical side, he booked himself onto that tour.
The ship was stoping along the way, at a number of planets, as well as a few space stations. Some of the planets would be interesting, Owen had been to all of them but that was as a Captain of a warship, this time he would be able to have a closer look. One of them, Yak, had an archaeological dig on it that is said to be the only place that proves the existence of aliens.
As Owen continued to scroll through the screen looking for things of interest, an invitation popped up, it was an invitation to dinner at the Captains table. This puzzled Owen as to why he would get an invite, given the number of people on the cruise, may be it just random. He accepted the invitation even though he did not have the appropriate cloths to wear, the Captain would just have to except him the way he was.
Owen made his way to the Dining Room feeling a bit self conscious about his dress, he had been too many Captain Table Dinners over the years but those were with him as the Captain. On entering the Dining Room the Concierge asked him, if he had and invitation, he showed him his pad screen and was directed towards the Captains Table.
As he got close to the Captains Table another Concierge appeared and asked for I.D., Owen handed him the pad screen and the Concierge looked at it before saying, “welcome to the Captains Table, follow me.”
Owen followed the Concierge to a large table off to one side of the Dining Room, it was fenced off by glass walls and sat around twelve people. Owen sat down at his allotted place and waited, he felt a bit silly sitting there by himself, but it was not long before he was joined by another guest.
“May I introduce, Helen Phillips,” said the Concierge, he then continued, “and this is Captain Owen Mathews.”
Helen was around Owens age, she was about Owens height, but she was wearing high heels, she had long red hair and had an air about her that radiated confidence.
Helen sat down next to Owen and said, “your not in uniform?”
“I’m not Captain of this ship, I use to be in the military,” replied Owen.
“But you still call yourself Captain,” said Helen.
“No I don’t, I have no idea why he introduced me as Captain, I don’t know how he even knew I was once a Captain,” replied Owen.
“They know everything here,” said Helen.
More guess started arriving and before long the Captain arrived and sat opposite Owen.
“Welcome to the Space Odyssey and our month long cruise, I’m Captain William Harris, I hope you enjoy your time with us,” said Captain Harris.
Owen did not envy Captain Harris, as he always found this part of the job to be difficult, luckily it was not a big part of a military Captain’s job, it only on ceremonial occasions and they were not that often.
As the night wore on Captain Harris moved around the room, chatting to each of his guess in turn, until he got to Owen.
“I understand you were the Captain of a Warship,” said Captain Harris.
“Yes,” replied Owen.
“Court Martial out,” said the Captain Harris.
“That is correct, you know Captain, the buck stops here, whatever happens on your ship is, ‘your reasonability,’ what happened to me could happen to you, right now. If something was to happen to this ship while you are sitting here talking to me, it would be your fault, your responsibility, and all you could do would be to, ‘take it on the chin,’ and fade away.” Replied Owen.
“It is the price we pay, if we want to be a Captain,” said Captain Harris.
“Is that what happened to you?” asked Helen.
“I was eating dinner, number one was in charge of the ship and we hit a small meteor, about the size of my fist and it did a lot of damage, we only just got back to base,” replied Owen.
“That’s not fair,” said Helen.
“Being fair has nothing to do with it, it is the way the military works,” replied Owen.
“Not just the military,” said Captain Harris, as he stood up and walked away.
“There but the grace of God, Captain,” replied Owen.
Captain Harris turned for a moment but did not say anything, he just nodded.
“Are you bitter?” asked Helen.
“No, but I am struggling to find what to do next, the military was my life,” replied Owen, then adding as he stood up and walked away, “I might see you around during the cruise.”
“I’d like that,” said Helen.
Overnight the Space Odyssey slipped her dockings and headed off into space, towards her first destination, the Space Station, Harvey, a station that only had one purpose, gambling.
Space Station Harvey was originally built as a science station to study the near bye asteroid field, known as, ‘the field of dreams,’ due to the many failed attempts to mine its resources. After years of scientific study that yielded nothing new about the field, the funding dried up. A gambling syndicate then took over and it has been a Casino every since, for over a hundred years.
It would take a few days to get to Space Station Harvey travelling through mostly empty space. They did a fly bye of the wreck of the Space Traveller, which was a Meteor Class cruise ship that was lost over a hundred years ago. It’s thought that it suffered a total decompression, there were no survivors. It now drifts in space and has become quite the tourist attraction. The Space Odyssey did a slow fly bye around the wreck but did not be stop.
Owen had be part of a team that did a close survey of the wreck way back when he was a junior officer. He remembered it well, it was an eerie place, like a time capsule in space.
Owen sat in the observation deck while the Space Odyssey did its slow fly bye of the wreck of the Space Traveller. Not much had changed over the years, it still sent shivers up his spin. There is something about ship wrecks, they reminded Owen of just how fragile we were. Helen walked over and asked, “can I sit here?”
“Yes, of course,” replied Owen, he paused for a moment before adding, “I haven’t seen you around.”
“No, I’ve been space sick and have not left my cabin since I last saw you,” said Helen.
“That’s no good, it takes time, I’ve know people who never get use to it,” relied Owen.
“Thanks, that’s reassuring,” said Helen.
“You’re welcome,” replied Owen.
“Do you know anything about this wreck?” asked Helen.
“Yes, I was part of a team that surveyed it many years ago, a friend of mine was killed during that survey, if you look close you can see a plaque on the bow,” replied Owen.
“What happened,” asked Helen.
“He got trapped and ran out of air,” replied Owen.
“That’s sad,” said Helen.
“It was a long time ago, but yes, it was sad,” replied Owen.
“Is it known what happened to the ship?” asked Helen.
“The official report is total decompression,” replied Owen.
“You’re not convinced?” said Helen.
“I don’t know, it was a long time ago, but there are some unanswered questions, we will probably never know,” replied Owen.
“Are you looking forward to our next destination?” asked Helen.
“My goodness no, I’m not a gambler, I want be leaving the ship,” replied Owen.
“Neither will I, I don’t get it,” said Helen, she paused for a moment before asking, “have you ever been there?”
“After surveying the Space Traveller we stopped there for shore leave, I didn’t like the place, not just the gambling, there was something off about the place. I never took my ship there for shore leave,” replied Owen.
The ship completed its slow fly bye of the wreck of the Space Traveller and headed off towards Space Station Harvey, still a day away.
The Space Odyssey slowed as it approached Space Station Harvey and after a few manoeuvres, it docked with the Station. They would stay for a full day while most of the passengers spent their time on the Station. Owen stayed on the Space Odyssey, sat on the observation deck just looking out the window into space. As he was about to head back to his cabin, Helen arrived and invited him to dinner, which he was happy to accept.
Owen and Helen dinning together became a regular part of their daily routine, something Owen found himself looking forward too.
“We have the dining room to ourselves tonight,” said Helen.
“Staff outnumber the patrons tonight,” replied Owen.
“Not even a Captain’s table tonight,” said Helen.
“He is probably on the Station,” replied Owen, he then continued, “you know, last time I was here, I chased a Pirate ship who had robbed the Station. They headed into the asteroid field to try to get away and we followed, it was tricky navigating our way through the field and we started to lose contact with the pirates. Then there was an explosion and it was all over, they hit an asteroid. Now there was a chance that they had set of a charge to make us thing that, but going by the debris field, I don’t think so.”
“Do you miss that life?” asked Helen.
“A little,” replied Owen.
After dinner, Owen walked Helen back to her cabin and said his good nights.
Early the next morning the Space Odyssey slipped her dockings and set course for Yak, a small desert planet about two day away. Yak had a breathable atmosphere but only just, it was very thin, only about one hundred metres above the service. There were no animal life to speak off, there were some birds, but only three types, two of those were flightless. There were some plant life, mostly scrubby bushes called Macky bushes and grass type plants but they were not wide spread.
Owen spent the next few days reading up on the planet Yak and the archaeological dig that took place there some fifty years ago. There was a lot of literature dedicated to trying to disprove the archaeologist original findings, but it was not very convincing. It’s hard to disprove the existence of fossilised aliens.
Owen had been to Yak many times but only in the line of duty, it was part of his patrol area for many years. Even though he had been to the planet many times, he had only been on the surface once, and that was a fleeting visit. The opportunity to inspect the archaeological dig and to see the Alien Fossils was something Owen was looking forward to.
Owen and Helen boarded the shuttle for the short trip down to the surface of Yak but unlike the stopover at Space Station Harvey only a small number of people would be venturing off the ship. Only two shuttles were needed to take everyone down to the planet and the stay would not be for very long.
It was a smooth ride down to the planet where they landed a short distance from the visitors centre. The thinness of the atmosphere hit everyone as soon as the shuttle doors opened, zapping everyone of strength. As they walked towards the visitors centre a number of people had to return to the shuttles for breathing devises.
The visitors centre was a large building constructed over the archaeological dig, there was a walled in four court at the entrance with tables and chairs. A Cafe that served coffee, tea and cake as well as a souvenir shop. The centre itself had an artificial atmosphere generator so once in the building everyone found it a lot easier to breath. A guide gave a brief talk covering the dig and weather it was real or a hoax.
The Alien fossils and the reproductions were impressive, the Aliens stood two and a half metres tall with long limbs, they were very different. Most believed them to be an elaborate hoax, including the guide. Owen, with a life time in space was less shore, he had see some strange things in his time so it was not much of a stretch to believe that these were real. Helen did not know what to make of it, they seemed real, but.
Their time on Yak passed quickly and before they knew it, it was time to go. The walk back to the shuttles were hard going, the air seemed thinner, so by the time the shuttle doors closed both Owen and Helen were struggling to breath.
The trip back to the Space Odyssey was a bit rougher than the trip down, they experienced some buffeting on the approach to the Space Odyssey which when added to the effects of the thin atmosphere made a few people sick, including Helen.
Once back on the Space Odyssey, Helen headed to her cabin to relax and get over the space sickness while Owen went to his cabin for the same reason, but he would never admit to it.
The Space Odyssey left orbit and set a course to the asteroid Landow. Landow was the largest asteroid in a group of asteroids about a day away, there was nothing there but the view from just the right spot was spectacular. With all the asteroids lined up and the star in the back ground it was a sight to be seen, a photographers dream. Many people on this cruise were on the cruise just to take photos of the Landow view, for many, this part of the trip would be the highlight.
Landow was a good two days away and it was the furthest point away from home that this cruise would be before turning back. Owen and Helen spent the next few days relaxing and spending time together. For the first time in Owns life he was letting his guard down, he was less the military man, more the romantic man, he was enjoying himself.
On arriving at the asteroid Landow, the Space Odyssey took some time to navigate itself into just the right spot to take advantage of the Landow view. Once in position the Space Odyssey would stay on station for two full days, to take advantage of all the movement where the asteroids and star line up. You could feel the tension on the ship as all the photographers tried to find just the right spot to get just the right picture.
As the Space Odyssey waited for the star to rise over Landow, something else appeared from behind Landow, it was a type thirty two Frigate. Owens cabin was on the correct side of the Space Odyssey for the Landow view, and that is where Owen and Helen were when the warship appeared from behind Landow.
“My goodness, that is not what I was expecting to see,” said Owen.
“What is it?” asked Helen.
Owen, looking through his camera adjusted the zoom and said, “that is the Frigate, Artemis.”
“Oh, is that the type of ship that you use to serve on?” asked Helen.
“Yes,” replied Owen.
“What would it be doing out here,” asked Helen.
“It’s probably just patrolling in this area,” said Owen.
“It’s getting closer,” said Helen.
“If I had to guess I would say that it will dock with use so the crew can enjoy some shore leave,” said Owen.
The warship continued its slow approach, passing under the Space Odyssey, then manoeuvring and docking.
Both Owens and Helens pad screens lit up with a notice that read;
‘The warship Artemis will be docking with use and the crew will be enjoying some well earned shore leave. The Artemis will be open for tours over the next two days.’
“Well there you go, I might go on a tour of the Artemis, just for old time sake,” said, Owen.
“I’ll come with you, I would like to see where you use to work,” replied Helen.
The next morning Owen and Helen made their way down to the docking port where they found a small group waiting for the tour. They were made up of a middle aged couple, three young men and a young woman. A young crewman was standing next to the closed hatchway, he looked like he was on his first deployment, all fresh faced, wearing a nice new uniform.
“Does he remind you of your younger days?” asked Helen.
“I was never that young,” replied Owen.
An alarm sounded and lights started flashing as the hatchway started to open, another young crewman appeared, followed by an older non commissioned officer. He looked like he had been in the military all his life, in the way he walked and just the way he carried himself, but he also looked tired, not so much like he needed a good night’s sleep, more in the sense of being tired of it all.
“Welcome to today’s tour of the Frigate ‘Artemis,’ my name is Chief Tony Williams, you can call me, Chief,” said the Chief in a loud military tone, before continuing with, “I will be conducting,” he stopped suddenly, paused as he looked at Owen, he stood to attention, saluted, and said, “Captain Sir.”
Owen saluted back, “Not any more, Chief,” replied Owen, as he shook the Chief by the hand.
“It’s good to see you Captain,” said the Chief.
“You to Chief, it’s been a while,” replied Owen, as he turned his head indicating to the Chief, that he needed to get on with things.
“Sorry everyone, this is my former Commander, Captain Owen Mathews,” said the Chief, before continuing with, “I will be conducting the tour of the Frigate Artemis today, can everyone please follow me.”
Everyone followed the Chief through the hatchway, Owen and Helen being the last of the group, with the two young crew members bring up the rear. The warning sounded and the lights flashed as the hatchway closed behind them.
“I take it that you know the Chief,” said Helen.
“Yes we go back a very long time, he was my Chief Engineer for many years,” replied Owen.
“This way everyone,” called out the Chief, as they walked along the passageway.
Then suddenly, without any warning the ship shuddered and lurched violently, followed by a large explosion. Everyone was throne across the passageway crashing into the bulkhead, with everyone ending up sprawled all over the place. Then the ship turned sharply through ninety degrees and accelerated away at high speed, coursing everyone to slide along the floor crashing into the hatchway and each other.
Owen got to his feet and said, “Chief with me,” as he walked down the passageway a few metres.
The Chief struggled to his feet and followed him.
“What’s the crew complement?” asked Owen, his voice betraying the stress he was feeling.
“The bridge is fully crewed but other than us, that all,” replied the Chief.
“We need to get to the bridge,” said Owen.
Owen turned and said, “crewman.”
He then looked at the Chief who said, “Jones and Turner sir.”
Owen continued, “Jones, Turner, take these people to the Ward Room and strap then in, stay with them and keep them save, their your responsibility.”
Jones and Turner looked at the Chief in confusion, “go on, do what the officer said,” barked the Chief.
Owen looked at Helen, she looked scared, he gave her a little wave and she waved back, before he and the Chief turned and ran down the passageway. They made their way along the passageway, through a hatchway and up a ladder to the next deck. Once on the next deck they followed the passageway that lead to the Bridge. Owen stopped at a computer station, pressed a few buttons, the screen came on, he pressed another button that gave him the rear view from the ship.
“Chief, look at this,” said Owen, puzzled at what he was looking at.
The Chief looked at the screen, it showed the Space Odyssey under attack, from may be, twenty small space craft.
“Why are we on a heading away?” asked Owen.
“I don’t know, we need to get to the Bridge,” replied the Chief.
They ran down the passageway to a hatchway, the Chief touched the panel to open the hatchway, but nothing happened. He then accessed the camera on the Bridge, the view screen showed the Bridge open to space, everyone was dead.
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