Operation Hammerhead - 11. Chance

Saratoga

Labs

The Physical Sciences Labs were located forward above the launch tubes with access to the probe bay and near the forward and lateral sensor equipment bays. A deck below the labs were several large storage rooms filled with spare parts and heavy equipment in crates.

Danny was astonished by the space and equipment that were set aside for the Science Section. He had at his disposal well-stocked labs for physical and chemical analysis. There were mass spectrometers, gas chromatographs, a glove chamber, an artificial environment chamber and even some things that he wasn’t exactly sure about. The Bio-Sciences fell under the purview of the Medical department. Danny could tell that Dr. May’s department even more space, personnel and equipment.

The pièce de résistance from Danny’s standpoint was the lab's computer network. All the lab equipment was smart and connected to the network, which was anchored by a powerful server. All the lab equipment could be operated from six state of the art scientific computer workstations. As soon as he saw the master workstation, Danny said, “Mine!”

With a big grin, he sat down at the workstation, logged in and began working. His very first software installation was his personal artificial intelligence. He had purchased it several years before, but had paid double and gotten the source code. It had evolved so far with Danny’s modifications, it was completely unrecognizable from the AIs off the shelf origins.

Danny had named his AI Albert and had taught him a great deal. Albert was instrumental in reducing the jump equations to a more manageable algorithm. Albert was a force multiplier for Danny's work. The AI could work on things while Danny was busy with other projects, so he was given the task of looking at the intelligence data to look for the patterns human eyes might have missed.

“Computer: open three research project folders. First: open project Enemy Analysis and link to master computer. Attach Albert to this analysis. Search for all information available for the planets occupied by enemy forces. I want to see early exploration, planetology information and surveys - anything and everything on file. Then go back, collate and summarize.

Second: open project for Hyper-space Projector Precision Targeting. Link to manuals and specifications for the equipment itself and the control interface. I will be attending to this one personally.”

Danny stopped and though for a moment. Was this a can of worms he really wanted to open? Something told him that it might be the most important project of the three. “Link to code word project CRYPTIC on the mainframe. Download data files and encrypt.”

He linked his pad computer to the workstation and ran down a list of files until he came to science sections personnel. As the Saratoga was part of a battle fleet, the science section was folded into the rest of the crew, but it still existed. Danny had access to ten people, but he had to share them with other departments.

Danny ran down the personnel roster and found that he had a programmer with big time skills, two people with advanced degrees in astronomy and astrophysics, an expert with drones and several other very useful specialists. He wasn’t sure what he would do with the archaeologist, but what the heck. The answers sometimes came from unexpected places. He composed a brief message and requested that the science staff meet the next day. He then began to familiarize himself with the intricacies of hyper-space projectors.

New Turin

St. Adrian's Preserve

Sebastian Beck was sorry to be leaving their home base. The icy, dead moon that would be their new base was a far cry from the lush wine country on New Turin. The operational phase of the Bishop’s plan was beginning, and the organization’s operators needed all the privacy that they could get. Over the next three weeks, an older cargo ship owned by a dummy corporation would quietly make the run from New Turin to their new base SK 67-6c several times.

SK 67-6c, imaginatively named for the third moon of the sixth planet of the SK67 star system, was an abandoned mining complex. No one had set foot in the system in decades, and its location well off commercial jump routes. Now the hundreds of square miles of excavated tunnels miles underground would become their base and hiding place.

The move was the least of Becks worries. The first two operations on the Bishop’s agenda were planned and ready to go. Their ship, a converted free trader named the Argus, was loaded and ready to go.

The two operations were easily within his operatives’ skill sets, but Beck still worried. He had trained these young men for several years and had grown attached to them. As an old soldier himself, Beck knew that even the best plan could go sideways so fast that it would make your head spin.

Five of the genetically enhanced pairs of twins had been assigned to the mission sequence. Because of the critical nature of the missions, Beck himself was acting as the mission commander.

John and James were his acting flight crew. Kerry and Terry were acting as technical support. Sean and Seth, Frank and Francois and Tim and Kim would serve as the operatives.

His intercom beeped and John’s voice announced, “We are prepped and ready for takeoff, Commander.”

Beck replied, “Good. File our flight plan and take off as soon as we are cleared. Once we get to the Scorpius Cluster, we’ll turn off the transponder and disappear.”

John replied, “Excellent, sir. We should make the first jump in twenty minutes. Our ETA will be 16 hours.”

Scorpius Sector
Evergreen, Agricultural Colony
Evergreen University Campus
Student Union

Jeff Mason looked across the chessboard at his opponent. It was rare that anyone could give him a good game. This kid wasn’t it. Mason's genetically engineered intellect could see twenty moves ahead.

His bishops and knights slashed into his opponent’s flanks, his rooks smashed straight ahead, and his queen powered her way deep into enemy territory. Checkmate.

The freshman sighed and said, “I like to play against strong players. It makes me better, but every time I play against you, I seem to get worse.”

Jeff said, “That’s because you are getting worse.”

The kid asked, “What am I doing wrong?”

Jeff said, “Most people fall into patterns. It’s perfectly natural to use the strategy and tactics that you’ve had success with. The problem is that pattern fails you when you play the pattern and not your opponent.”

“How do I learn to do that?”

Jeff replied, “You’ve got to play a lot and with many players.”

The freshman nodded and took his leave.

Jeff remembered the only person that could consistently beat him and wondered what had happened to his old nemesis. It had galled him so when that quiet little red-headed kid could so thoroughly frustrate and defeat him. He had learned much and remembered many of those games as the best he had ever played, even in defeat.

So much had happened in just a few years. He picked up his tablet computer and headed back to his apartment. As he was walking across the quad, his computer chimed that he had an incoming message. He looked to see an unfamiliar email address with the subject line “heads up”.

He stopped and read the message:

Jeff-

You will have two visitors late tonight. They are OK. Listen to what they have to say.

The New People live!

-Marion

He stood looking at the message like he had seen a ghost. As far as he knew, when the Ministry of Justice thugs had arrested him and his friends, Marion was the only one that had gotten away free and clear.

The New People were Jeff’s creation. A group of illegally genetically engineered kids, for a few short months they had made headlines all over the Alliance as they fought for their rights. They had used non-violent pranks and tricks to make a horrible nuisance of themselves to local system authorities that oppressed genetically enhanced persons on Mars and other backwards planets. The authorities hadn’t seen the humor in their pranks. Their group had been labeled terrorists and hunted down ruthlessly by the Ministry of Justice. Of the original six, only Marion had gotten away. They had all been split up and sent to the far corners of the Alliance, forbidden ever contact each other as a condition of their parole.

The authorities had sentenced him to probation, given him a fine he might be able to pay off before retirement, and sent him away to a cow college on Evergreen to study Environmental Engineering. He would be sent further into the frontier on long term terraforming projects. They wanted to safely stash him away from the core worlds to keep him and his cause out of sight and out of mind.

Many illegals suffered no discrimination at all, while others were hunted and murdered by religious fanatics. His native Mars had been a hellhole. On a horrible night almost a decade before, Jeff and several of his friends’ parents had been murdered protecting their children from an angry mob. He and the other kids had never forgotten it.

He continued walking to his apartment with his head spinning from the abrupt reminder of the life that he thought that he had left light years behind.

Saratoga

Pilots Ready Room

Dozens of officers and crewmen gathered in the pilots’ briefing room for Master Chief Jenco’s orientation lecture. Danny was a little surprised to see that Tom was attending. Tom read Danny’s expression as he sat down and said, “It’s my first time to ship out on a fleet carrier.”

They had just gotten settled when a Marine guard in the compartment announced, “Officer on deck!”

All the assembled officers and men stood and the ship's Executive Officer (XO) Commander Haley entered the room and approached the podium.

As soon as Haley got behind the podium, he clicked the microphone on and said, “At ease, gentlemen. Please be seated. I want to welcome all of our new shipmates aboard the Saratoga. I’m excited about this ship. We’ve got the best technology the Alliance has to offer and one of the best crews I’ve ever seen. We are less than a month out of shake down, and we’ve already earned two science stars.”

The assembled group clapped, but Commander Haley continued.

“To begin our orientation, I want to introduce an invaluable member of our team. Senior Master Chief Karl Jenco is the Saratoga’s most senior enlisted man. He is responsible for crew training and certification. With thirty-two years in the Alliance fleet, he had served on almost every type of ship in the fleet. Listen and learn.”

Chief Jenco nodded to the XO as he stepped behind the podium. He began speaking in a strong, calm voice resonating with authority: “Welcome aboard. I agree with the XO. We do appear to have an outstanding crew. Since we shipped out of Capella Anchorage, we have set records for jumps and earned science stars, largely because of our new science officer, Lt. Commander Sokolsky.”

There was another round of applause, and Danny turned a strange color red and tried to sink into his chair.

Jenco continued speaking, “This guy is remarkable. He rewrote the equations that navigators use to calculate jumps. We can jump further, do micro-jumps and the equations run faster, cutting the turn-around time between jumps. He has to be one of the best mathematicians in the Alliance, and do you know what he did on his first day aboard?”

The assembly was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop as Jenco paused for dramatic effect. Danny wanted to bolt and run.

The Master Chief said, “He proved to me that he was one of the smartest guys in the Alliance. He came to me to learn more about the ship. Mr. Sokolsky, what’s rule number one on a carrier?”

Danny said, “Stay off the flight and hanger decks unless you belong there.”

Jenco grinned slightly and said, “Thank you, Commander Sokolsky. That’s absolutely correct. Nothing good can happen there if you don’t know what you are doing on in the hanger or on the flight deck.”

“My point is that the smartest guy in the room knows that he has got a lot to learn. Gentlemen: no one can know all there is to know about these ships. That’s why we train all the time. Not knowing can kill. If you don’t know, ask. If we don’t know, we know whom to ask or how to figure it out.”

“Because of the highly technical requirements of the fleet, most of us are specialists. Crewmen are trained for eight weeks with the basics, and then we spend six months learning a specialty. Reserve and line officers are similar - it just takes a lot longer. One of the problems that we have is that most of us suffer from tunnel vision and don’t know the big picture. That’s where we’re going to start.”

Jenco stood and walked to the main hatch. He said, “If you gentlemen will follow me, I’ll introduce you to Sister Sara.”

For the next four hours, Jenco lead the group on an extensive tour of the Saratoga starting in engineering working through the reactor rooms, jump drive, ion engines, Marine armory, weapons magazines, ordinance workshops, fire control the hanger deck, primary flight control, the auxiliary bridge - every critical system and space on the ship. He gave special attention to the ship's damage control and firefighting capabilities. The Chief gave a running commentary that made him sound less like the hard-nosed NCO and more like a teacher.

Danny learned about the trio of weapons systems that powered the Alliance fleet: mag-guns, missiles and fighters. He learned that Fleet ships were not equipped with weapons to assault surface targets on planets with atmospheres. Only Marine assault ships could do that, and only as part of a unified command- a separation of powers that had existed since the Alliance Fleet and Marine Corps were authorized by the Alliance Charter.

By the end of the tour, Danny saw Master Chief Jenco as a teacher: a tough teacher that wouldn’t stand for any foolishness, demanded the best and required your full attention. It was clear that the man was in his element. He was proud of his ship and was getting a kick out of showing her off.

Danny knew that his afternoon had been well spent.

Scorpius Sector
Evergreen, Agricultural Colony
Evergreen University Campus

Student Housing

Jeff was almost dozing when the knock came at his apartment door at a little before one in the morning. He knew that he was under surveillance by the Ministry of Justice. Why had Marion been so reckless to try to contact him this way?

He opened the door to his apartment and found a set of identical twins waiting. They appeared to be around twenty and were tall, muscular and exceptionally fit. Their faces were tan, and they had long straight jet black hair. Both were dressed and carrying backpacks like students, but their bearing was entirely different. Their eyes said something else that gave him pause.

One was carrying a pizza box and the other had a six-pack. The one with a six-pack said, "I'm Sean and this is my brother Seth. Marion asked you to expect us."

Jeff said, "Come in and pull up a chair. How is she?"

The two brothers entered the apartment and closed the door. Seth produced some kind of electronic device from his backpack and swept the room. He looked at his brother and nodded his head. He then took out another gadget and turned it on. A red LED indicator light started pulsing on the device, and he placed it on the coffee table. He said, "The jammer is active. We can talk."

Sean said, "You've been out of touch for a long time. You got shipped off of Mars as soon as you got arrested. Marion sent us to fill you in."

There had to be some way to authenticate these people. They made Jeff nervous. They looked like Ministry agents or maybe the military. He asked, "What is Marion's cat's name?"

Sean answered, "Pouncer." He opened the pizza box and handed Jeff a beer. “He is a nice cat with a mean streak if you ignore him.”

Jeff grinned and said, “That’s Pouncer, all right.”

Seth opened up a data crystal reader and a holographic image of Marion appeared:

Jeff, you've been out of touch for a long time. The Alliance hid you away very well, and we've only just been able to find you. You started something with the New People who shook the Alliance to its core. When I got away from Mars, I thought it was all over, but nothing could be further from the truth. Illegals exist in vast numbers all over the Alliance. They live in fear and hiding. My two messengers were originally genetically engineered to be soldiers for a corporation in the Succession War of a little more than a decade ago - just another example of an Alliance lie of omission that you need to hear about.

Things really have changed. We are no longer a group of kids playing pranks. There are thousands of us now with cells all over the core worlds and many of the colonies.

We need you back. No one has the moral authority to lead us like you do. Sean and Seth can get you on a starship that we have waiting off planet.

Now is our time. We need you.

As the message ended, Mason realized that he had been holding his breath. His heart was racing. He stuttered, "Me? Why me?"

Sean said, "It's your writings. They've been put together in a pamphlet. It has been banned by the Alliance, but that only makes more people curious. When they do read it, they feel the same outrage that we do for being branded like cattle and tracked like criminals just because of the way we were born."

As Seth put the data crystal reader back in its case, Jeff asked, "When do we leave?"

Sean looked at the computer pad on his wrist and said, "After we eat. We will be busy and might not get another chance for a while."

Saratoga

Sick Bay

The sick bay was quiet in the evening. The Saratoga’s Chief Surgeon, Dr. Rebecca May, kept a corpsman and a nurse on duty for minor issues throughout the night, and the rest of the doctors on her staff were always on call.

Unless someone was hospitalized, the sick bay was empty after evening mess. May used the time from just after 18:00 to 20:00 hours to do her paperwork and any catching up if necessary. Adding about sixty new officers and men had made catching up necessary. She had scheduled a few officers working the day shift to come by for the mandatory physicals.

The vast majority of the physicals were strictly pro forma. Most of the fleet's officers and men were young and healthy as a herd of horses. There were a few notable exceptions. Commander McDonald’s radiation exposure and orthopedic problems required ongoing monitoring. The doctors at Capella Anchorage had done a good job. Stem cell therapy had regenerated his bone marrow, but numerous deadly complications could emerge with little warning.

As she closed McDonald’s file, she asked, “Computer, who are our last two appointments?”

The computer displayed two icons: Lt. Com. Daniel Sokolsky 1900, Lt. Thomas Rivers 1915.

She said, “Computer, let’s see Commander Sokolsky’s file.”

The data on Sokolsky popped up on her screen. She was a little intrigued by the Admiral’s new wunderkind. All the standard forms were stamped with the Argos Transit company logo. A casual scan of his medical file gave her little insight into the ship's new science officer other than he is healthy and the youngest Commander, light or otherwise, that she had ever heard of.

The corpsman on duty buzzed her intercom, “Dr. May, your 1900 appointment is here.”

She replied, “Send him in.”

She stood and went to her office door to greet Danny and overheard him speaking to the nurse and corpsman on duty in the sick bay. “Look at the bars on the collar. When a Commander gives you a suggestion, be smart and take it. Go. Grab some coffee and be back in twenty minutes. The Doctor and I have some business to discuss.”

A moment later, the inner door to her medical office and labs opened. Sokolsky said, “Hello, Doctor. I’m reporting for my mandatory physical.”

The doctor pulled a test unit off of the table and said, “There’s really nothing too it. This device takes a little blood and a sample of your DNA. There’s nothing particularly clandestine about it.”

Sokolsky held out his arm as she put the test unit on his arm and activated it. As the device began its cycle, she asked, “So… you mind telling me why you sent Buzz and Cindy to an early coffee break?”

Danny grinned and said, “Sorry about that, Doc, but we needed to talk privately.”

The Doctor said, “I’m all ears.”

Sokolsky grimaced as the test device pricked his arm. He used his computer pad to page Tom and Jeff to join him and said, “It’s not just me. When all three of us are here, it will be a lot easier to explain.”

The doctor watched as the test device signal its completion and said as she removed it, “Why do I feel like I am being recruited into a dark conspiracy Commander?”

Danny heard the outer hatch open and Tom and Jeff appeared. Seeing all three of them together in the same room, the doctor gasped. He said, “It’s not about joining a dark conspiracy doctor. We want to solve one.”

Doctor May spent the next hour doing exams on all three of the young men. With the single exception of their hair color, all three were genetically identical. She asked all the same questions that they had asked each other, plus a few that they had not thought of.

When she was done, she had them sit around a table and the said, “Standard pre-natal genetic screening did not produce you three. You have been engineered. Your parents supplied the base chromosomes, but that's where it stops. There is a genetic template that overlays your parental DNA. There has been a great deal of modifications and tweaks.”

She pulled up their DNA profiles and put all three side by side. She pointed to a pair of chromosomes and said, “This is a standard genetic mod. It jacks up your immune system and makes you resist infection and edits out autoimmune problems. It goes way beyond what is generally done. This one I don’t have a clue about, or this one, or this one, or the score over here. Somebody who knew a lot more about the human genome than I do designed you.”

Jeff said, “If I understand what you are saying, we are all three like the same class or model, like a ship or a fighter? If we’re all genetically identical, why is our hair color different?”

The Doctor nodded. “That is essentially correct. I don’t need to tell you how illegal it is for anyone to do something like this. One of the reasons for the Genome Protection Act was to keep people from experimenting on human subjects. Genetic modifications like this could have just as easily gone horribly wrong. Whoever did it is a certifiable genius. I suspect that the difference in hair color was strictly to make you look different enough to avoid questions.”

Tom’s face hardened, and he growled, “My parents just wanted their kids to be able to survive cosmic rays, and they got three freaks?”

Doctor May shook her head and said, “No. That’s not it at all. All three of you are exceptionally gifted in some way. Danny is a mathematical virtuoso. Jeff’s spatial perceptions are off the chart. Tom - you graduated third in your class at the Academy and are on a fast track to a command. Take it for what it is.”

“And what is that doctor”, Danny asked?

She said, “A gift. You all have the ability and the talents to make a significant impact.”

Danny said, “If that’s so, then we aren’t the only ones so gifted. Computer: link to Science workstation 1. Access project Cryptic.”

The data file that Danny had downloaded from his query on the fleet personnel files appeared on the Doctor’s workstation and began to scroll down the screen.

He said, “From what I can tell, there are thirty-two models and anywhere from a dozen to twenty-five people from each model. They are all spread out around the fleet so that each ship may have several people of different models, but no two people of the same model are on the same ship. Altogether, there are five hundred and forty-four of us in the fleet.”

The Doctor watched as the data scrolled by and said, “If that is the case, someone had to organize it that way. This did not just happen. How did the three of you end up on the same ship?”

Tom laughed and said, “No one could have seen that one coming. I went aboard the Burke at Titan Station to install TacCom upgrades and met Danny. Our assignment to Saratoga was pure chance.”

Jeff mused, “A chance that took place outside normal channels.”

Doctor May said, “This is something that we need to investigate thoroughly before we take it to anyone in authority. I like a good mystery. I’m in.”

Tom said, “One stipulation, Doctor: before we go public, we all have to agree.”

“Gentlemen, I’m your doctor. I wouldn’t think of violating your confidence. That would be… just plain rude.”