Nell awoke with a start, her hand instinctively moving to silence her buzzing in-ear. She felt the empty spot next to her in the bed. Cold.
She had fallen asleep with her comms on. The clock on the wall read zero one thirty-four. She flipped open her comm pad - nothing from Odie. Instead, she had received a notification from Captain Alvarez calling her down for an emergency meeting.
Within a few minutes, she was out of bed and dressed in a fresh blue jumpsuit and wool-lined loafers. She ran a steam brush through her hair a few times and pulled it up into a bun. Once more, she checked her comm pad, hoping to have received a message from Odie. Nothing.
Nell’s brown nylon work bag, stuffed with folders, binders, and notebooks, sat against the entryway wall next to a fresh set of scrubs. Nell snatched the bag, slung it over her shoulder, then promptly threw open the door to their room and rushed down the hall in a record setting speed walk.
This meeting had better not be related to Odie’s radio silence.
Her mind was racing with possibilities. There must have been some sort of equipment failure that caused an injury. Or maybe there was a collision with a mining vessel. Perhaps part of the ship was damaged and Odie had to help fix it. If it were serious enough, it could warrant an emergency meeting like this.
But what if something happened to him? Why else wouldn’t he have said anything?
The thought was not worth considering without more information. There was also the possibility that he was being an ass and had not thought to tell his wife that he would be occupied for over nine hours longer than he said he’d be. She decided it was better to focus on the task at hand.
What is the task at hand?
She realized she had traversed half the ship without thinking about where she was going. She may have even had a brief conversation with someone on the elevator going down to the central levels. She oriented herself - the captain’s conference room was not far.
As Nell rounded a corner, she nearly collided with a crew mate. She quickly recognized the woman as Marjerie Hogan. Hogan’s grey Navy uniform was characteristically pleated with a network of wrinkles which needed to be pressed out, and her hair was a mess.
“Midge!” Nell said, straightening up a bit so her eyes were level with Hogan’s collarbone, “haven’t run into you in a while.”
Hogan clasped her hands behind her back and leaned down a bit, as if to exaggerate their height difference. “Hi ho there, Nellie. What brings you to this side of the Gryph?”
“Alvarez called me down for an emergency meeting. Don’t have any other details.”
Hogan leaned back, brow furrowed. She seemed unusually contemplative. “Why would he want you in the meeting?” She said it with a tone which indicated she made no effort to hide how she felt about Nell.
Nell stopped herself from rolling her eyes. She remembered why they hadn’t spoken much in the past few years. Nell’s thinly veiled agitation seeped through. “Yes, Hogan, he specifically asked me to come. Do you want to walk with me or shall I continue without you?”
Hogan shrugged. “Alright, Civie.”
The two started quietly down the halls together. Neither a word nor a look was exchanged between the two until Nell broke the silence. “Do you have any idea what this meeting is about?” She asked.
“Classified,” Hogan responded gruffly.
Nell groaned internally. It took a concerted effort to keep that groan internal, but she managed it. This woman really knew how to push all the right buttons (or wrong buttons, depending on whose perspective the buttons were being pushed from). Nell wondered how Mr. Hogan was faring - assuming there still was a Mr. Hogan. Nell just knew that nothing could have convinced her to make any sort of commitment which forced her into close proximity with the woman for any extended period of time. She shuddered at the memory of their time as roommates.
Thus the pair came to the captain’s conference room. Nora Hughes stood at attention by the door, usually being the person requested by the captain to stand security for important meetings which required discretion. She seemed uncharacteristically tense. Notably, the restraining strap on her impact baton was undone.
As they approached, Nell nodded to Nora. Nora did not return the nod, but allowed Nell to pass into the room. She held out a hand as Hogan attempted to follow Nell and asked for Hogan’s badge. Hogan fished in her pockets for a few seconds. Nell looked back from the doorway.
“First time coming to one of these?” She asked, trying not to sound too smug as she tapped her badge which was clipped to her breast pocket. Hogan sneered. Nell shrugged and stepped into the room, letting the door shut behind her.
Inside the conference room was unusually still. Everyone sat quietly in place around the long oval conference table, eyes fixed on their laps or the wall or the ceiling, or darting about nervously. “Weird” was the word Nell felt best described the scene. There were no pre-meeting discussions breaking out, nobody making hushed comments to each other about the situation or what they thought should be done, and nobody getting up to stretch their legs and drift about while they waited for the captain to arrive. Having no information about why they were actually there, Nell felt like she had walked into a detention hall waiting for the disciplinary council to arrive.
Nell slunk to an open chair next to a face she recognized - Dr. Daniel Ho, head of the research and innovation department. The man was a close acquaintance of Nell’s and also looked less tense than most of the other people in the room.
“What’s going on?” She whispered as she sank into her seat.
“No clue,” Daniel replied, “nobody’s said a thing since I got here.”
The door opened again and Hogan slipped into the room. Nell wondered what she was doing there. Most of the people in the room were heads of some important operation on the ship. But there was also a seemingly random assortment of lower ranking bridge crew, from what Nell could tell.
Something happened on the bridge?
This was only a hunch, but Nell figured it was the best explanation. Something serious had happened - something that required the attention of several critical disciplines, military and civilian, as well as the bridge crew who already knew something about the situation.
Nell’s stomach sank as she racked her brain for a scenario which would lead to a meeting including this exact combination of people. Each new possibility seemed worse than the last.
Three figures silently emerged through a door opened in the back of the room. First was Richard Fabian, who appeared to be in a poor mood, followed by Captain Alvarez and a man Nell did not recognize. The man was wearing a grey Navy uniform. He was about average height, standing slightly taller than Alvarez, and was paler than anyone she had ever seen before. He had a handsome face, and was well kept, but his movements were stiff and deliberate - like he was making an effort to look natural.
Perhaps he’s an analyst who’s been stuffed in a closet for four years crunching numbers, and they’ve finally let him out of his box to share some bad news.
Nell liked her theory, but it was quickly challenged when half the people at the table collectively held their breath and pulled back at the sight of the man. A few looked at him and then turned to someone else at the table, making wide-eyed faces of subdued terror and disbelief.
Nell was out of theories as to what was going on. There was clearly some terrible secret about this man to which she had not been made privy.
Captain Alvarez stepped up, leaning with his hands on the table.
“Some of you already know why we’re here,” he began, scanning the table from left to right with his eyes, pausing briefly at a few of the nervous faces looking back at him.
“Or, I should say, you know part of why we are here,” he continued, “two years ago, the higher ups at Stet Co. contacted me about what they described as a ‘delicate situation.’ If you recall, the exploration and research vessel Archimedes had vanished without a trace a few months before we started our journey, with one-hundred and thirty crew members aboard. Three years later, a distress signal was picked up bearing the Archimedes’ signature. This signal originated from the B9A4 system, which is about a dozen light years away from the vessel’s last known location.
B9A4 happens to be close enough to our route that we could make a rendezvous at very little additional cost.
If I didn’t think this mission was of the utmost importance, I would not have agreed to go along with it. Someone had to be alive on that ship to activate the distress beacon, and we just have to hope that they’ll be able to hold out until we get there. That vessel was equipped to sustain itself for approximately ten years, but there’s no telling what state it’s in. As of now, we are part of a highly critical retrieve and rescue operation. Our mission is to find the Archimedes, rescue the crew or retrieve their bodies, and collect important data and materials from the ship.”
Alvarez paused, dabbing a glove on his forehead. He looked drained, like he probably hadn’t slept in a day or two. “Now, I think it is important to introduce our guest,” he said as he motioned to Jakob. “I had orders to rendezvous with a contact at our current refuel stop. That’s why we have been waiting here for so long.”
The pieces were fitting together - the nervousness of the bridge crew, the reaction to seeing the stranger. But Nell felt there was more. The identity of the man, and his purpose for being there, was still a mystery; apparently a mystery worth billions as the Hippogryph had been sitting in place wasting valuable time and resources for months (not to mention the costs involved in hiring a second ship and crew to come after the Hippogryph).
Alvarez continued: “Nine hours ago, we were hailed by an approaching vessel; just as ordered I allowed it to dock. There was a single crew member aboard.”
As Alvarez had been sharing more details throughout his address, Nell continually updated the scenarios running through her head. Momentarily, she was thrown off by the captain’s last statement. She couldn’t figure out how a single-manned vessel could make a journey into deep space for years on end. The mental toll would have resulted in permanent psychological damage and likely death. Then, the answer hit her like a punch in the gut.
“This is Jakob,” Alvarez said, indicating the man behind him, “he was sent to aid us on our mission. He is an Andromech.”
Several uncontrollable gasps pierced the silence. One officer jumped up, sending his chair tumbling to the floor. Nell heard a few hushed expletives, then realized they were coming out of her mouth. She snapped her mouth shut and put her hands in her lap.
Alvarez’s jaw rippled as he clenched his teeth. He gave the room a moment to calm down, then nodded to the Andromech.
“Two months,” the Andromech said. His voice sounded buttery and warm, but with a tinge of distortion in the low end. “It will be two months before we reach the vessel. I am aware of the preconceived notions you all probably have about me. I hope to dispel them as best I can and assure you that I am here to help you.”
“That’s what you said on Xia IX,” a voice said from the opposite end of the room. The voice trembled as if the speaker was barely holding back his anger. Nell turned to see who it was. Fabian stood leaning against the wall furthest from the Andromech.
After entering the room he had silently made his way around the table and taken up position across from the captain and the Andromech. Now he stood against the wall, arms crossed and staring a hole through the center of the table. He looked disgusted, like someone had just served him a plate of rotting flesh.
“I was there,” he said, “when the Andromechs came to Xia IX. I remember what they said to us when they came: ‘we want to help you.’ Then what happened?”
The room was again silent. Nobody dared speak. The Andromech kept its gaze fixed on Fabian without showing any sign of emotion. Nell couldn’t tell if it was thinking or if it just didn’t have anything to say.
Fabian finally pushed off the wall and approached the table. “I want to trust you, Simon,” he said to the captain, “but this is making it hard. You knew how I’d feel about this, and you didn’t tell me.”
Alvarez was quiet. Making no effort to defend himself, he stood firm and silent. His posture now showed strength and unwavering commitment in his decision, as he stood tall with his chin up. His eyes betrayed how tired he was, but he didn’t look any less the captain than in the reels Nell had seen of the battle of Broken Wing.
“I did what I thought was right, Fabian,” Alvarez said, “we can have a conversation later - privately. Right now, we have a job to do.” He turned to the rest of the room. “We are trained to handle hard situations, make hard decisions, and follow hard orders. I hope you all feel that you do what is required not out of obligation, but because you trust me. However, I hope I don’t need to remind you that I am still your captain, and what I say goes. Any of you may come to me directly with your concerns, but I’ve made up my mind about this.”
Again, Alvarez motioned to the Andromech. “The Andromechs were the ones who found the Archimedes. They came to us with the information, and only asked that we allow an ambassador to join our rescue mission.”
“Probably because they were the ones who disappeared it…” a voice muttered. Nell couldn’t place who it was. The whole situation had sent her head spinning, and she just felt numb after a few minutes of it. It was like she was in a dream where things were happening but nothing made sense. Maybe she’d start floating around the room like a balloon. At this point nothing would surprise her.
Jakob spoke up. “We have a vested interest in the fate of the Archimedes because one of our brothers was aboard when it went missing,” he said, “we have no idea what happened on that ship or how it ended up three systems away from where it disappeared. We have thoroughly monitored those systems since the Archimedes went missing, and have found nothing until now.”
“So why come to us at all?” Fabian asked, “why not just go to the ship and get your ‘brother’ and leave us out of it? Or better yet, why not save the ship yourselves?”
“So that you could rescue your people,” Jakob replied, “joining your vessel for a rescue mission was the most efficient option for ensuring a timely rescue of survivors.”
Daniel, who thus far had remained silent next to Nell, interjected here. “As much as I’d love to listen to you two go back and forth over this for a while longer, we’re already in this mess, so I’d like to know what the plan is so that we can move on.”
Alvarez nodded to Daniel. “Of course, that’s why I called you all down here.”
Alvarez stared down Fabian, cueing him to back off. “This behavior is uncharacteristic of you, Fabian. However, given the circumstances I’m going to cut you some slack. Any further objections can be handled later.”
Alvarez hit some keys on the table in front of him, and the holo screen came to life with an image of their planned route. He pointed to a star where their path curved. “To adjust our path to intercept the Archimedes, we’re going to add a few hours to our burn coming out of this system to shift our trajectory by sixty degrees. Engineering, I’m going to need the calcs for that burn sent over to Navigation so we can get it scheduled ASAP.”
As he spoke, the graphic of their route showed their orbit open up, indicating their vessel reaching escape velocity and their path shifting outward from their current system. Alvarez continued: “that burn will set our trajectory to enter the gravity well of B9A4 in two months. Once we reach B9A4, we will perform a bi-elliptical transfer that will put us on an intercept with the Archimedes. We are more concerned about time than efficiency, so I’ll have another meeting with Engineering and Navigation closer to our arrival.”
The graphics on the projection showed how the maneuver would be completed, and eventually end with the Hippogryph and Archimedes linked together.
Alvarez continued: “Once we have reached the Archimedes and retrieved what we can - including, I hope, a living crew - it will take a few additional months to get back on track with our original route. We will be making an announcement to the entire crew about our change of course. However, Jakob’s presence on this ship must be kept a secret. He is only here until we reach the Archimedes, and then he will be departing from us promptly.”
Alvarez switched off the holoscreen. “I need a boarding crew to join me on the Archimedes once we arrive. Dr. Adamus,” Alvarez addressed Nell by her last name, “I’m going to need you on board the Archimedes. Any survivors are sure to need medical treatment. I suspect they’ll be badly malnourished. I’ll need you to assess the situation and prep medbay to accept potential survivors.”
Alvarez addressed each of the remaining discipline heads he had called in. Dr. Ho, Fabian, Nell, Jakob, and Alvarez were to make up the initial boarding crew, along with two Marines for security. Then there would be a second boarding crew made up of other disciplines which would follow after Jakob had been sent back to the Hippogryph. The remaining members of the meeting were either part of the bridge crew and would be on duty during the rendezvous with the Archimedes, or were heads of departments assigned tasks by Alvarez in preparation for the mission.
Focusing on the mission and her role distracted Nell for a moment, but once Alvarez started wrapping up the meeting, she was reminded of the Andromech which stood only a few feet away from her.
Regardless of their intentions, the reputation of the Andromechs had been long tarnished by rumors and speculation. Their technological advancement far outpaced humanity. It was irrelevant if the “incident” on Xia IX was truly their fault, as it only gave people a reason to say what they had always been thinking, and hinted at a possible ulterior motive for the mechanical race.
Though Nell had no personal reason to hate the Andromechs, she didn’t understand them, and that worried her. Any attempt to fit this new variable into a predictive scenario only led to uncertainty.
In her mind, the future was like a tree. Any possible outcome of a scenario was a branch. The more certain she was of an outcome, the thicker and more stable the branch was; and a more stable branch was something she could reach for and hang on to. With this Andromech on the ship, the future looked like a spindly dead stick with twigs sticking out of it - ready to snap under the slightest pressure.
Nell left the meeting with a heavy iron ball in her stomach. It felt like it was going to rip right through her body and fall through the floor.
