Chapter 7
Heaven’s Door
Oltuck sat on the couch of the station’s observation deck. The deck had a large observation window on one side that was faced towards the gas giant that the station was orbiting. It was meant as a place to let station personnel sit down and relax.
The station had been set up to hide in a convenient ring of debris around one of the gas giants the humans called Saturn. Whoever had chosen the location had chosen a wonderful spot. The view was incredible. The giant itself was floating off in one corner of the view as the ring of asteroids and other small celestial debris floated in a plane that curved far off into the distance, becoming nothing more than a small line th…
Chapter 7
Heaven’s Door
Oltuck sat on the couch of the station’s observation deck. The deck had a large observation window on one side that was faced towards the gas giant that the station was orbiting. It was meant as a place to let station personnel sit down and relax.
The station had been set up to hide in a convenient ring of debris around one of the gas giants the humans called Saturn. Whoever had chosen the location had chosen a wonderful spot. The view was incredible. The giant itself was floating off in one corner of the view as the ring of asteroids and other small celestial debris floated in a plane that curved far off into the distance, becoming nothing more than a small line that crossed the view screen and disappeared behind the gas giant.
The system’s star was nothing more than a dot. A very bright dot, but still only a dot in the blackness. Its light, however, hit the ring - a mix of icy comet debris and metal - and caused a colourful sparkle off of it that coated the observation deck in beautiful reflecting colors that made the entire room look like it was underwater. It was gorgeous.
The station was currently in a night time cycle, and Oltuck sat alone in the darkened room with nothing but the light of the view screen to illuminate the area.
His mind kept telling him that he should be working, should be reading up more on these strange freaks of nature. That the fate of the Drakken people, the fate of the galactic community, might be resting with his bones.
But he also knew when he was beginning to cook his own tail. He either needed to take a break or sleep. And with how his mind was running, sleep wasn’t an option. And so he stared off into the beauty of this star system. If the humans ever opened up their system to tourism this location would be perfect.
“Director?” a voice from behind him asked. Oltuck turned and saw Alnure standing in the doorway.
“There you are sir.” She said walking over to him. Her dark scales made it difficult to read her expression.
“I was wondering where you were. Your data slate was still in your office.” She said.
“Ah, sorry. I needed to sort through what I currently already know.” he said looking back at the view. There was silence for a short time before Alnure spoke.
“It’s breathtaking, isn’t it?” Alnure said. Oltuck smiled.
“That’s a human saying isn’t it? Breathtaking?” he asked. Alnure gave a snort of laughter.
“Yes. but it is an apt one. Something about views like this are, well our species would say nest worthy.” She said, “But the human term seems to imply a more physical reaction.” she stated with a smile. Oltuck could only nod as he looked at her and then back to the view.
“The Gas giant. The humans sometimes refer to them as Jovians, if my understanding of their language is correct it means ‘like Jupiter’.” Alnure said, pointing at the gas giant. Oltuck furrowed his brow ridges.
“Isn’t that the name of one of the other gas giants?” He asked. Alnure nodded, Oltuck grunted in confusion.
“You know, it has slipped past me, but I haven’t gone to look at what the names of their planets actually mean.” Oltuck said, curious.
“They’re named after a pantheon of gods from a specific culture.” Alnure said, stepping around the couch and sitting down while pointing at the window. “That one, Saturn, is named after the god of time and father of Jupiter. Jupiter was the leader of the pantheon and was a god of thunder and storms.” she said with a smile on her face.
“And the others?” Oltuck asked, wanting to hear more of the drakken woman’s soft voice. Alnure smiled.
“Sol, The name of their star, is - from what I understand - either a separate god or was another name for a god named Apollo. The naming confusion is due to some strange cultural interactions of the origin culture. But Apollo rode in a war wagon pulled by a pair of beast of burden and carried the light across the sky.” she said in wonder. Oltuck grunted with a question.
“Two names? Do Saturn and Jupiter have dual names as well?” he asked jokingly.
“Oh yes, all of their major planets do. In fact the humans know some of them better by their alternate names. Jupiter is known as Zeus, Saturn is known as Chronos. Even their own world of Earth has multiple names that are tied to the two cultures that influenced the names.” She said excitedly. Oltuck smiled and looked at her with question that encouraged her to continue.
“Earth is just what most of their people call the planet. But the world is also known as Gaia and Terra. They view her as a mother.” Alnure said whimsically.
“A very abusive mother.” Oltuck said quietly thinking back to the tectonic activity and violently aggressive weather. Alnure laughed at that.
“I have read some Human and Rothal fiction. But I think the Rothal put the two species’ sentiments into words best. ‘Each day the sun rises, our world tries to kill us like a vengeful mother might kill unwanted offspring. And every day we thank her for trying’.” Alnure said and giggled as she saw Oltuck’s face of horror.
“The two species have some strange ideas. Take the planet the humans call Pluto or Hades, he is the god of the underworld and death. It’s what they classify as a dwarf planet or what we would classify as a category five celestial body. They came up with the term dwarf planet just so that it would retain the title of ‘planet’.” the green striped drakken woman said. “And no, I don’t understand why.” she added with a smile as she looked at Oltuck’s confused face.
“Alright. What or ‘who’ is Neptune?” Oltuck asked as he shook his head.
“Neptune, or Poseidon, is the god of the Oceans.” She said with a smile.
“Uranus, which I am to understand has something humorous about it in their main mercantile language, is also known as Ouranos and is the god of the sky.” Alnure stated, and Oltuck furrowed his brow again.
“Wait? the sky itself? Why is Ouranos not the leader of the pantheon?” Oltuck asked. Alnure shrugged.
“As I understand it, at one point he was, but got overthrown.” She said with a grim smile. “Like I said, the humans have some strange ideas. For instance, the ship that they are jumping around in. Did you see what its name was?” She asked. Oltuck shook his head.
“Prometheus. Who in human mythology is similar to our god of Wyn. The one who brought fire to the mortal beings.” she said. Oltuck thought about that. Fire. Despite being absolutely essential for the creation of advanced technology, fire was not on the kingo indicator as a necessary technology. Which somehow seemed wrong now. Just another reason why the scale was a poor judge of intelligence or capabilities.
Oltuck also considered how the humans had come across the engine on the ship, thinking of the poetic nature of it and nodded.
“A fitting name.” Oltuck said confused, “what is so strange about it?” He asked, the young Drakken women gave an apologetic smile. “Prometheus was punished for it.”
“Oh.” Was Oltuck’s only response. Alnure nodded. Then smiled as she slid closer to Oltuck on the couch.
“Mercury, or Hermes, is the god of messages.” She said and his eyes locked with hers, and he could feel the Kalickick as strongly as when he’d first met her.
“The last two planets are actually an interesting pair. Mars and Venus.” she said, putting a clawed hand over his.
“Mars is known as Ares, and is the god of war and masculine energy.” she said, her voice sultry and seductive.
“Venus is also known as Aphrodite. She is the only other true planet in the system, besides Earth, named after a Goddess. She represents the feminine energy and…” Alnure leaned in very close. “Female sexuality.” she whispered. Oltuck felt his scales begin to bristle, his iridescent scales catching the light from the observation window and putting on a display of colour across the room.
“The two, Ares and Aphrodite are said to have had a son together named Eros or, as many humans know him, Cupid.” she said in a hushed tone that seemed to draw the bigger drakken in.
“Eros is very similar to our god of Arnaca, and is said to go around shooting arrows that when two people are struck cause them to fall in love, much like the Kalickick.” she said, standing and pulling Oltuck to his feet.
“At some point you will need to sleep, Director Oltuck.” Alnure said, saying his title and name without the professionalism that she usually had. “and I know the perfect way to help you achieve that.” She said now pulling him along in the direction of the private quarters section of the station. Oltuck, scales still bristled in colourful display, only nodded wide eyed as he was led by the hand by the very small drakken woman.
Maddock gave a dramatic sigh of happiness as he sat down in the captain’s chair. He looked around the bridge and nodded, his excitement evident on his face.
Each face that looked back at him was like looking at a mirror. The same look of barely contained excitement.
He glanced at Commander Roman. Despite the two’s obvious difference of opinion on who should be in command she had the barest hint of a smile on her perpetually scowling face. Maddock snorted a gentle chuckle of humor.
That woman was just about to burst with how giddy she was.
Maddock looked at the buttons on the small console in front of him and pressed the ship comm and leaned forward to the microphone.
“Hello, crew of the Prometheus. This is the Captain speaking.” He said with a big goofy smile on his face.
“You all heard the Admiral’s speech. Well it’s my turn to be just as cheesy. Understand that I have high hopes and higher expectations of all of you and myself. As the Admiral said, we are about to take a very real and physical step into the unknown. Once we step through that door we will be taking that giant leap for humanity. Where we are going, there are no maps. No pit stops. And unless we run into another space faring race, no one to ask directions.” He paused as those on the bridge chuckled and he imagined the rest of the crew doing the same. Then he continued. “Once we leave the solar system, that’s it. We will be on our own. So to every one of you I give you this, ad astra. To the stars. Mission starts now everybody, we are star bound. Captain Maddock out.” He said releasing the button and he heard a dull roar of a cheer go through the ship. His giant smile plastered on his face, he turned to his XO and gave her his best smirk.
“Commander. If you would do the honors.” He said looking at Vera who gave him a surprised look before she cracked. Her face breaking into a full grin.
“Aye sir.” She said straightening.
“Navigation, flight path.” she commanded.
“Aye ma’am, sending flight path.” The navigation officer said excitedly.
“Helm, you have flight path?” she asked with an eagerness. There was a half second as the man at the helm, a Lieutenant Commander checked his console and answered.
“Aye ma’am. I have flight path.” The helm responded with giddyness.
“Comms, send cast-off.” She said.
“Aye ma’am. Cast off commencing.” The comms officer called back excitedly.
It was half a second later when the dry dock’s roof began to slowly open, revealing a sea of stars hanging in the night sky. Maddock’s smile somehow grew wider. Soon they would be amongst those stars. The doors only took a minute to open.
“Cast off complete, we are free of the dock.” The comms officer said nearly bouncing in his chair. Commander Roman gave an acknowledgement before turning to the helm.
“Helm. You have the flight path. Take us to sea. Don’t scratch the paint.” She said humorously.
“Aye ma’am. Following the carrot. Watching the wings.” He said. A call back that no other Navy vessel ever had to say.
With that acknowledgement, the ship began to move.
Those on the bridge could see it on the view screens: the ground and structures slowly dropping below. But there was another aspect.
The alien ship had been examined very aggressively. The interior, what could be discerned, had shown a clear up and down. The team studying it had carefully taken it apart to try and figure out if it had some means of artificial gravity. Most of the ship was made from understandable materials well enough, some contraptions they couldn’t figure out the purpose of, but nothing that seemed to suggest that the ship had artificial gravity.
However, once the Prometheus made its first shake down cruise it had become apparent why. The engine itself provided everything. The artificial gravity, inertia compensation, and the movement. But one of the other things it did was give the perception that the engine was running. It was a very minor vibration that was only perceptible to the organic mind. Neither physical or electronic sensors read that there was no discernable vibration. At first it was very noticeable. But after a few moments it became nothing more than background.
For the helm it was even more bizarre.
Everyone who had been at helm, including Maddock himself, had reported the strange feeling of ‘knowing’ the ship. As if the ship itself was the Helm’s own body. It meant that the helm could feel where the wing tips were. And knew almost instinctively how fast the ship was going at any given time.
They had also figured out that spatial awareness was very necessary for the job of helm. As the sense of where one’s body was also very much tied to the sensation - an issue they had discovered after an E3 with an undiagnosed case of mild dyspraxia had accidentally nicked the docking bay when landing with one of the wings. Apparently it had felt like he’d run his hip into a metal pipe. Thankfully the ship’s engine also seemed to have an auto correction factor to it and if a person let go of the helm the ship would level itself if it was in a gravity well.
They hadn’t been able to figure out what was actually causing the sensation or even why, but it was super useful, if you had spatial awareness.
The Prometheus cleared out of its dry dock and then moved in a straight line slowly picking up speed. The maneuver wasn’t necessary from a purely mechanical standpoint. They could have shot straight up into the sky and been in space in under an hour.
The actual reason why however was a practical one. The Prometheus was not a small vessel. And even with radar absorption materials on its hull the ship showed up on radar as the size of a 747 passenger jet. Thus the standard procedure was to pretend to be a large military transport. It was simple enough. And it meant that once it got out to sea it could simply disappear and no one would be asking questions. The ship would also be traveling at the proper altitudes and speed. Anyone looking from the ground would simply see the little green and red blinking lights of a normal passenger jet and might question why the plane high in the sky wasn’t making normal jet noises but overall it wouldn’t come across as odd, especially in the dark.
The ruse had so far worked.
Or it had worked as well as it could. Unbeknownst to Captain Maddock and everyone above him, the Chinese and Russian military had spotted the Prometheus on its sixth shake down run. However, both had spotted it via satellite images and the two governments intelligence committees were still trying to puzzle out what the hell it was. Neither government wanted to even purpose or entertain the idea that the Americans had somehow built a flying submarine. As well, both had lost sight of the ship long before it left the atmosphere.
And in this particular moment the only satellite in range was a Japanese telecommunications satellite that was more interested in ensuring that the people of the world were receiving their choice of the island nation’s Vtuber talent streams than some earth shaking event of human exploration.
Which was good, it meant that there was only one other group who even cared that the Prometheus was on the move. And they weren’t even human.
Vera sighed contentedly as she made her way to her cabin. The joys of being the ship’s XO was that she didn’t have to share her cabin with anyone.
And because it would be some time before they left orbit she had taken leave to go unpack her things. She rounded the corner to the corridor that held the officers quarters and froze. She wasn’t sure what her reaction was but she glared at the open space of the door to her cabin with a rapid fire slide of emotions. Confusion, bewilderment, anger and fury.
The door to her cabin was open. She had not left it open. She had kept it closed. It was open because the fucking door was missing. She looked around, confused and uncertain of what the hell was going on. The door hadn’t fallen off. In fact the bolt for the hinges was still present. Vera grimaced, then did an about face as she turned and stormed her way back to the Con.
By the time she got there her blood had cooled enough for her not to burst in screaming. But it was clear from her demeanor that she was pissed.
Maddock looked over to her as she entered the Con and gave her one raised eyebrow.
“Sir. I’d like to speak to you in private.” She said.
“What about?” Maddock asked, a confused smirk on his face.
“In. Private. Sir.” The Commander said with emphasis on each word. The Captain nodded and handed off the Con to the next in command.
The two went to the captain’s office and Maddock sat behind his small desk as Commander Roman stood.
“Alright Commander, what is it?” Maddock asked.
“Sir. I don’t mean to raise a fuss but someone has stolen the door to my stateroom.” Vera said, barely containing her anger.
“Holy shit that was quick.” Maddock exclaimed mildly. His expression was surprised, with a dash of pride.
“Sir!?” Vera asked with a new sense of fury.
The Captain looked at her with a little confusion and then recognition dawned on his face and he smiled. He gestured to the chair across from him. The Commander gave him a glare before sitting down.
“Commander, you know that every service in the military has its own rituals and traditions. Call signs like your ‘Mimi’ for instance is a tradition of the Airforce that was simply codified.” he said with a smile and Vera frowned, not liking where this was going.
“The Navy is a much older service. Ancient really. And in that time traditions have come and gone and some have remained. One such tradition is usually messing with the XO of the boat. Normally harmless things. This is one such tradition that, if memory serves, comes from the sub-service.” Maddock gave a happy grin. “It’s now your job to find it.” He said that grin never leaving his face. Commander Roman was less amused.
“Sir, I thank you for explaining why my door is gone,” she said with an icy tone, “but I think that it’s improper to allow something like this and I will not be participating in such antics. As such I will be ordering that my door be returned and those who took it without permission be punished.” She said coldly. The Captain’s smile disappeared and he nodded slowly.
“That, Commander, would be a bad idea.” He said calmly as Vera went to stand. She looked at him with an incredulous expression.
“I’m sorry sir but this isn’t what I signed up-”
“Sit down.” Maddock said, the tone of his voice was commanding and it was the first time Vera had ever heard him sound so serious, the shock of which sat her back in her seat. Maddock breathed for a second and then looked Vera in the eyes.
“Mimi. Listen carefully. You stand at a crossroads. One of which will decide how well you and, by extension, the Space Force fits into this new service. You, by all rights, can order that your door be returned. Doing so however will piss off every single crew member on this ship, and you will not be looked at fondly. They will follow your orders and they will give you the respect your rank deserves but that will be it. They won’t respect you as a person and will go behind your back to conduct what they believe to be the correct actions rather than the orders you deliver. You already aren’t in the best books for the crew. Partly that’s because you’re an air jockey and a Spacie. The other is because you’re a woman and if you know anything about the submarine service it’s that women are not seen exactly fairly amongst the bubble heads. Currently they are giving you a chance to prove you and the Space Force belong here.” Maddock’s voice was calm and collected and Vera could see that he was trying hard to remain so. After a brief moment of silence she tentatively spoke up.
“I’m sorry Captain, but are you telling me that I should just suck it up and play along?” She asked, trying hard to keep her own voice steady. “That in order to be accepted I have to be ‘one of the boys’ or else?” She asked. She was fighting herself now. Trying not to even show her eyes wanting to water with tears. Maddock gave a single nod. One that was heavy and showed the weight of the decision she had to make.
Vera stood and took a deep breath.
“Thank you. Sir.” She said curtly. “This was a very informative coaching session. May I assume that I am dismissed?” She asked. Maddock gave her a hard stare before he gave a professional nod.
Vera turned and walked out of his office without another word.
Once she was out of his office and down the corridor a bit she stopped and looked around. Seeing no one around she slammed the meat of her fist into the bulkhead in frustration. She bit down on the scream of anger she wanted to unleash but that would definitely draw attention. She breathed deeply holding it for several seconds before she exhaled.
She wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand, she knew and understood that military traditions were important to the morale of any unit, and the Captain was right, giving a direct and formal order for her door to be returned would undermine that morale and make her an untouchable in the eyes of the crew. On the other hand, it was her door damn it. How was she supposed to have any privacy with it gone? Especially as one of the few women on the ship. And of all the traditions to have continuity into space why did it have to be this one.
She considered for a second using the fact she was a woman to go and politely ask for her door back, bat her eyelashes and give a girly little smile while asking pretty please.
She nearly vomited at the idea. She wouldn’t stoop to that level. Her pride wouldn’t let her.
She didn’t know what to do. She was stuck.
Then a thought occurred to her. She straightened, rolled her shoulders and walked down the corridor.
They had someone on board whose whole job was to give advice on situations involving dragons.
She needed to find and talk to Perseus.
“Hi, you wanted to talk to me?” Percy said as he entered the tiny room. An office of some kind.
“Yes, please sit.” Commander Roman said, indicating a chair. Percy sat and looked at the woman across the desk. He raised his eyebrows and looked at her with confusion.
Vera sighed and looked at the desk top.
“There is an issue that I don’t know how to solve. You’re on this mission to offer advisory support and this seems like the perfect opportunity to put you through your paces.” She said with a matter of fact tone that was betrayed by her conflicted expression.
“Alright. Is this personal advice or overall advice?” He asked with a furrowed brow. The question seemed to throw Vera off her thought process as she considered it.
“Both.” She said after a long pause.
“Alright, shoot.” Percy said shifting in his chair to get more comfortable. Vera sighed.
“The military has many traditions. Some of which are holdovers from previous eras, some are because they are actually helpful. And some because it creates a sense of camaraderie in the enlisted members.” She said tentatively. The young man simply nodded.
“The Navy has a lot of these. Some come and go, others are relatively new. One of these traditions is finding ways to mess with officers of the ship.” She continued. Percy gave a hum of understanding.
“Ah, and one of these traditions has targeted you.” It was framed as a question but was really a statement. Vera pursed her lips and gave Percy a hard stare, both sets of grey eyes locking in on each other. One finding humor in the situation, the other annoyed.
“Yes.” Vera said with a sigh. “I have brought it up with the Captain and he has essentially said that this is a test to see if the Space force can hack it, as well as a test for me as a woman to see if I belong here.” She said with mild annoyance. Percy frowned and his brow furrowed again.
“Did he say that specifically?” He asked. Vera looked at him.
“I don’t remember his exact wording but it’s close.” She said.
“And this was after you brought the issue to his attention?” He asked. The Commander nodded. Percy thought for a moment and shrugged.
“He’s right.” He said, and then held his hand up to stop her response.
“First, I’m not saying how he said it was okay. But he’s right in the sense that this whole voyage is a test. Not just for you but everyone. It’s the whole reason we are out here. And yes, this is to see if you personally can hack it.” Percy said with a cautious smile.
“What’s the tradition that they are pulling on you right now?” He asked. Vera gave him a look of extreme annoyance.
“They took my door.” She stated. Percy raised an eyebrow.
“They took the door to my personal quarters.” She said with an expression of consternation.
Percy nodded understanding.
“Don’t they normally replace it with the officer’s head door?” He asked. Vera looked at him surprised.
“What?” She asked curious. Percy was lost in thought for a second before he thought about it and shook his head.
“I’ve heard of this one. The submarine service usually steals the door of the XO stateroom and then replaces it with the door from the officer’s head. I just realized why they might not have replaced it.” He said.
“What?” Vera said even more annoyed.
“They probably didn’t replace it with that door because of what it would imply about you.” He said with a sheepish face. Vera stared at him for a half second.
“Okay first, what do you mean ‘what it would imply.’ And second, how do you even know this?”
“To answer your second question first. I’m a writer.” Percy said with a small, almost apologetic smile, “part of my whole shtick is to know weird and esoteric things.” He said. The Commander’s expression was unamused.
“And to answer your first question.” Percy continued with less enthusiasm. “Putting the door of a toilet on a woman’s room would be calling her a… I think the polite term would be ‘woman of poor reputation’ and a ‘dumpster for specific bodily fluids’.” he said cautiously. Vera blinked with a frown.
“I see.” Was her only response. Percy nodded.
“Seeing as they didn’t do that. I assume it’s because they knew doing that would be crossing the line from playful to harassment.” he shrugged. Vera held his gaze for a moment and then she blinked rapidly. And Percy could see the pieces click into place behind her eyes. And he smiled before he spoke again.
“The Captain only brought the fact you’re a woman to your attention after you brought this to his attention. And while they stopped at a point because you are indeed a woman, they didn’t do this because you’re a woman. They did it because you’re the XO and this is tradition.” Percy said and watched Vera nodding slowly as more of her brain clicked pieces together.
“And they are trying to include me in those traditions.” She said calmly. Percy gave her a grin.
“Essentially. The test here is less about if you’ll fit in, but more about if you want to fit in. Your decision is going to colour how XO’s in the future are going to handle the same thing. The fact you’re a woman is going to play an important role in how they handle it, woman or not.” He said. Vera frowned with consternation.
“So, what would you do in my situation?” She asked. The young man returned the frown. He looked her up and down, getting her measure. Then he gave her a Cheshire smile.
“Well, first, go steal a shower curtain or something and put it up over your door. Next, if I were you, this is how I’d play it…”
| Chapter 8 (pending)
Authors Notes
Howdy,
First, thanks for reading.
Chp7 and we are just getting into space. If you’ve read the previous authors notes you know why, the original story was conceived as a more traditional book.
I promise we will be getting to alien worlds in the next chapter. However, I also plan on taking a hiatus in December as I am also supposed to be editing an actual novel I’ve written. So this chapter, then next chapter, then a one month hiatus. And don’t worry. I have up to chapter thirteen already written. However, I like having several chapters in reserve because it allows me to rewrite entire sections or chapters without issue. Even now I think I might have to go back and add an entire chapter for coherence’s sake.
Anyway, if you’ve been enjoying the series so far leave me a comment, or up vote. It helps with motivation.