ShipCore - Book 3: Chapter 150: Fire and Rescue (1)

USD: 1 Day Since Comm Failure

Location: Nu Crateris, Outer System, Hades Orbit, A3123Y Mobile Base, Recreation Deck Five

Lavigne leaned back in his chair, the dimly lit recreation deck enveloping him and the others with the low hum of environmental machinery. Across the floor, a few other members of the Grazzy’s crew were off duty, taking advantage of whatever free entertainment caught their fancy. The scent of sweat and synthetic tobacco smoke mingled with the faint aroma of their drinks and the fabric of the game table.

Lavigne’s gaze passed over the three men seated around the table with him, each engrossed in the card game as Morrison shuffled the cards for the third time.

Daniel nursed his drink, taking a slow sip, causing the ice cubes to clink softly against the glass. He and Morrison had chosen one of the whiskeys the station carried. From what Lavigne understood, the man had spent an entire day working with the station’s NAI, developing a proper distillation process for the drink that met his satisfaction.

Lavigne had chosen a cheap wine for himself, rather than accept the stronger beverage.

Morrison, a gruff but reliable man, had assumed a critical role for Lavigne as the senior-most NCO of the Grazzy’s surviving crew. Without him, Lavigne was sure no one would have made it off the ship alive during the Battle for Dedia IV.

As the cards flashed between the NCO’s fingers, a sly grin spread across his face. Logan took a gulp of his orange juice, his eyes sparkling with excitement as Morrison began to slide each player their cards.

“So, who’s ready to lose this round?” The words hung in the air, a playful challenge that made the others chuckle.

“You got lucky earlier, kid,” Morrison warned as he set the deck down.

Lavigne played with the edges of his cards, not looking at them right away.

Being rescued by a member of an intelligent alien species—that also happened to be a NAI Avatar—hadn’t been on his list of expectations when they had crash-landed in their escape pod on Dedia’s surface.

If they had been arrested or killed by the colonists, or even devoured by the planet’s notorious wildlife, those would have met his definition of the most probable outcomes. He didn’t think the admiralty would believe him at his court-martial when he relayed what had happened.

Glancing at his cards, he suppressed a grin as Two Aces and three Kings looked back at him. His heart raced with anticipation as he tried to maintain a poker face. He tossed in his standard call as he declined to swap any cards out.

No one took any cards as the play went around the table, and then Logan raised as the first round of betting began. Daniel raised again without hesitation.

The table had been loose with bets since they began. Credits didn’t hold much value when A31 provided everyone onboard with a regular 50,000 credit stipend, regardless of status. It essentially paid for all living expenses and was more than any of the Solarians had ever earned in the navy, including him as an officer.

It was perhaps not that strange of a system to them. The concept of a universal basic income that took care of a person’s basic needs was ensured by the Solarian government, but this went far beyond that.

Still, a bit of unease poked at Lavigne. A full house was a good hand, but it wasn’t the best. He bit his lower lip and stole a glance at the others as he called.

Morrison chuckled and then pushed his pile of chits into the center. “All-in.”

Lavigne shared a look with the others, before the three of them all called. The pot was just too tempting.

“Well, I guess that’s the end of game night. Shall we see how things settle out?” Daniel said as he leaned back in his chair.

Lavigne flipped his cards on the table, revealing his full house: AAKKK. He couldn’t help but smile as he reached out to take the pot.

Daniel’s hand forestalled him. “Not so fast.”

Daniel displayed his four of a kind: QQQQ. Lavigne’s eyes widened, and he groaned in defeat.

Daniel winked at him and reached out to take the pile, but Logan, who had remained quiet, interjected. “Wait.” He spread out his cards revealing a straight flush, Hearts Jack-High. Logan’s mouth curved into a smug smile.

“WHAT?!” Daniel shouted, while Morrison burst into laughter, his whole body shaking. Lavigne couldn’t help but join in, chuckling at the turn of events.

“This means I win again, right?” He reached for the pile of chits, but Morrison’s hand came down on them, halting Logan’s attempt.

“Not so fast, boy-o,” Morrison warned.

With a confident grin, the NCO revealed his cards—a Royal Flush.

Logan sank back into his seat, confusion etched on his face. Daniel groaned, clearly frustrated, while Lavigne crossed his arms and glared at Morrison.

“Ignoring the improbability of these hands all appearing at once, there are five queens showing here, Morrison!”

Morrison burst into laughter, clearly enjoying the chaos.

Suddenly, a hologram of Abbey materialized on the table. “Sorry to interrupt your game,” she said, her voice steady, “but I’ll be resetting your credits to their original values since cheating seems to have occurred. Also, there is a serious matter that requires all of you to come to the bridge at once.”

Suddenly, the table fell silent, and Lavigne blinked in surprise at the preadolescent NAI’s command.

Abbey’s gaze lingered on Lavigne for a moment before finishing. “That includes Lieutenant Lavigne and Sergeant Morrison.”

The girl’s image winked out as quickly as it had appeared, but Lavigne was left with a knot of confusion in his stomach. What serious matter would the NAI need to discuss with them? Morrison usually kept a tight leash on the crew and they had been relatively well-behaved. There hadn’t been a single disciplinary action taken since they had settled in on A3123Y.

They were in a comfortable situation, one that the admiralty probably wouldn’t appreciate hearing about.

As they emerged from the recreation deck, the cool scent of recycled air filled Lavigne’s senses. As they headed down the concourse’s main path toward the center of the station, he couldn’t help but notice multiple groups of humanoid combat bots patrolling the corridors. Their precisely coordinated movements heightened his sense of unease.

As they passed by an open auditorium, he caught sight of an entire platoon of the drones standing at attention, their gunmetal gray forms armed with combat gear and assault rifles. The sight sent a chill down his spine, reminding him of some of the holovids he’d seen at home.

Collapse War-era holovids often dramatized the battles of the time period, depicting NAI-commanded combat drones fighting each other in massive engagements that ravaged entire planets, reducing once-thriving cities and populations to ash and rubble. They always reminded viewers that it was the rise in power of NAI Solaria and her sisters that had ultimately put an end to the devastating wars, ushering in an era of uneasy peace.

A troubling thought crossed Lavigne’s mind—he and his crew were now helping a rogue group with their own NAIs. If they developed into a terrible threat that could plunge civilization back into a new Collapse era…

He quickly dismissed the idea. There was no way that could happen. At worst, the major NAIs would come to put Starlight Revolution under control and simply turn the system into a properly monitored and legal core system with its new NAI in charge.

Even if the population would be considered tiny, he didn’t see why Dedia and the systems on the frontier couldn’t become a popular new core world given some years of immigration and development.

As they reached the command deck, Lavigne glanced at the others, who’d been mostly silent along the way. “Anyone have an idea what this is about?” he asked, trying to gauge their thoughts.

Daniel shrugged, his face a mixture of curiosity and concern. “No clue, but it must be important if she’s calling us over to command.”

Logan nodded. “Normally, she can take care of anything on her own. She mostly just asks for advice or ideas now.”

They found Abbey waiting for them inside as the door to the CIC slid open. She stood in front of the primary command console, clad in a custom-made power armor suit, helmet tucked under one arm. Lavigne couldn’t help but find it bizarre that a fully functional, Federation-Era quality power armor suit had been designed for someone who’d outgrow it in a year or two.

Abbey turned to them with a frown on her face. “Thank you all for coming,” she began, her usual cheerful voice flat and emotionless. Lavigne noted her tense posture and the way she gripped her helmet, indicating how serious the situation might be.

“It has been over 24 hours since I lost contact with the expedition team. Unfortunately, due to ongoing communication issues, information is sparse, and I don’t know exactly what happened,” Abbey said.

Lavigne furrowed his brow, concerned. “What have you been able to find out?”

“Reports suggest that the organic contingent of the expedition, including the Rexxor units, had been experiencing hallucinations and possible psychotic breaks.”

Morrison raised an eyebrow. “What could cause something like that?”

Abbey hesitated before answering, “It could be EMF or some kind of biological exposure… Before we lost connection, Heeler was investigating, but he had no answer.”

“We’ve constantly had issues with low-band and high-band transmissions, especially when the tunnel points misaligned and the transceivers drifted apart. Still, we shouldn’t be having so much difficulty, especially with lower frequency communications.”

The young NAI frowned and looked at the display that was flashing red. An unhappy icon showing a broken line had the label “Connection Failure” written in white underneath it.

“Despite the expedition team’s efforts, we didn’t manage to open a transit path through the D-field. The Heaven’s Fire had been repaired and reinforced for an exodus flight if evacuation became necessary, but now that we are out of communications…”

Logan spoke up, his voice shaking with concern. “What about my sister? How is she? Do you know?”

Abbey smiled slightly, but it was a weak reassurance. “She’s been experiencing symptoms, but at a lower degree than some of the other MilTech personnel.”

Daniel frowned and moved to look at the screens and read them himself. “I knew there were issues, but not how serious they had become. What’s being done to mount a rescue effort?”

Abbey seemed to perk up, raising her hand excitedly. “Yes! A recovery vessel is being prepared. I’ve designed one that should be more capable than even the Heaven’s Fire at traversing the D-field, with its own very powerful field generator for its size! I have also activated the auxiliary combat drone plant and begun to load the ship with an expeditionary force to mount a rescue effort!”

Lavigne raised an eyebrow. “You expect hostile action?”

Abbey frowned. “I don’t know. The team had some injuries due to a firing incident where the forward team thought they came under attack by unknowns. I think it’s a good idea to send a full-strength detachment.”

Morrison shared a look with Lavigne before asking, “What do you consider ‘full strength’, then?”

Abbey raised another hand. “A ten thousand unit combat group should fit inside the rescue ship! I’m calling it SR Hot Rescue!”

Logan facepalmed, “Didn’t we talk about getting help before naming things?”

Abbey tilted her head. “But I like this name.”

Lavigne coughed, regaining their attention. “I understand the need to send a rescue ship for the expedition, but why did you call me and Morrison?”

Abbey smiled. “I want you and your crew to man the ship. Almost all our human crew went with the Expedition…”

Morrison frowned. “If you are sending more people, how can you guarantee that they won’t have the same issues?”

Abbey nodded enthusiastically. “I already prepared all of that! Every biological member of the crew being sent will receive their own custom-made power armor suit! Each one is fully equipped with its own I-Field generator, which should prevent any electromagnetic infiltration, as well as a full NBC environmental suite with easy-swap packs!”

“You can’t be serious,” Lavigne blurted out. “We’re prisoners of war. You can’t give us power armor, weapons, and a FedTech-styled warship to do a mission in!”

Abbey tilted her head the other way. “Why not? If you go help the expeditionary team, I will let you keep the ship and power armor. I’ll even promise to make sure you can go home without interference by Starlight Revolution!”

Lavigne ran his hand through his hair, unable to control the incredulity filling him. You were not supposed to aid your captor; doing so was treason. But… but you also had a duty to attempt escape as long as it wouldn’t cause undue harm and suffering to your men.

The chance to return to Solarian space and report back to command was a duty that couldn’t be understated.

To do so with all the intelligence they had gathered just by being present, with equipment and a ship that showed the possible capabilities of the enemy? It would help those in charge make informed decisions and might even save the lives of countless other service members before they plunged into something they weren’t prepared to handle.

But if the admiralty and the naval board disagreed, it would be a brief walk to the execution chamber for treason when they made it back. If they made it back. The mission the SR NAI proposed to them was very much one that could place him and his crew in peril. Just for that alone threatened to tilt the calculation against agreeing to help.

Abbey turned her attention to Daniel. “You and Logan will be in charge of the combat drone teams. The ship can be left to the Solarian crew. The new tunnel that will place you in the same zone as the expedition will be ready by tomorrow!”

Lavigne looked at Morrison, who shrugged. The lieutenant’s bar on his collar and officer stripes on his jacket cuffs had never felt so burdensome before.

What it came down to… was could he trust the young girl in front of him to keep her word about letting them go?

In the end, she had trusted his word that the crew wouldn’t try to escape in return for being treated as guests and not prisoners.

Despite their incredible differences, Lavigne felt he could trust the Starlight Revolution members he had met to keep their promises.

And from what he’d seen and learned, they weren’t bad people, either.

Even if their existence was breaking a half dozen interstellar laws.

He let out a deep breath. “Alright. We’ll help. Sitting here idle playing cards while people need rescuing goes against the grain.”