Battlenaut Crucible

Chapter 6-1

6Moments after the shuttle landed in the docking bay of the Sun Tzu, the hatch dropped open, and the passengers filed out.

Scott was the last one down the stairs, pulling his wheeled duffel along behind him. When he got clear of the shuttle and took a look around, he was surprised; the docking bay, which was located in the fore section of the central shaft, was bigger than he'd guessed on approach. The ceiling was easily eighty meters away, more than high enough to house the two destroyers parked at one end and the small fleet of fighters stacked on racks at the other.

Men and women in red jumpsuits rushed in all directions, hurrying on foot or aboard motorized carts. Everyone seemed to be shouting or dropping gear or banging on things at the same time, filling the place with echoing clamor.

As on any wartime ship or base, there was a feeling of barely controlled chaos in the air--but there was something else, too. Scott felt sharper somehow, his mind clearer, his senses keener. He'd been on the tired side when he'd boarded the shuttle back on Ovid; now he felt completely energized and alert, as if someone had dosed him with stimulants.

Was it his imagination? Was he just charged up because of the excitement of starting the new mission? Or was there another explanation?

"Well now." Perseid, who'd marched over to talk to a female corporal, returned to Scott. "Here you are on my ship. What do you have to say for yourself, Corporal?"

Scott snapped to attention and saluted. "Permission to come aboard, sir."

Perseid returned the salute. "Permission granted. Welcome aboard."

"Thank you, sir." Scott lowered his arm.

"Let's get you situated." Perseid waved at the female non-com he'd been talking to, and she hurried over. "Corporal Solomon Scott, this is Corporal Donna Perihelion. She'll show you to your billet."

Donna was a petite young blonde with a bright, friendly smile. "Good to meet you, Corporal. Welcome to the Sun Tzu."

"Good to meet you, too," said Scott.

"After you get him settled, bring him to the Command Deck," said Perseid.

Donna saluted. "Yes, sir."

"We're still launching at oh-four hundred as scheduled," said Perseid, and then he marched off across the vast deck of the docking bay.

"This way." Donna smiled again and gestured for Scott to come with her. Then she started across the deck in the opposite direction from the one Perseid had taken.

Scott followed along beside her, taking in the hectic surroundings. "How long have you been with the Diamondbacks?" he asked, feeling at ease enough to make small talk.

She flashed her smile in his direction. "This is my fifth tour."

Five tours was a long time with a high-pressure group like CORE. "Are you re-upping for more?" said Scott. "Or do you have other plans?"

Donna stopped and gave him a look like she thought he was crazy. "I've never wanted to be anything other than CORE. I still don't." She spread her arms to encompass the bay. "Everyone here will tell you the same thing."

With that, she dropped her arms back to her sides and resumed walking, heading straight for a transport tube along a wall to her right.

Scott decided to change the subject. "So where are you from?"

"Archibald," said Donna. "Quillid City in District Seven."

The CORE Academy was on Archibald, but Scott didn't bring it up. "I've been to Archibald a few times, but never Quillid City. Pretty place, from what I saw."

"It is, isn't it?" The transport tube doors slid open when Donna held up her I.D. "What about you, Solomon? Where do you call home?"

Scott entered the passenger cabin in the tube after her. "Tack. The town of Tisserie, near Vast, to be exact."

Donna pressed a button, and the cabin launched upward through the tube. "Never been there. What's it like?"

"Beautiful." Scott's stomach lurched, then calmed as the cabin reached the limit of its climb and shot into a perpendicular tube, moving horizontally. "Jeweled mountains, lavender skies, illuminated forests, and golden seas. Fields of coppery glow-grain stretching as far as the eye can see."

"Sounds nice." Donna smiled again. "Sounds like you love it there."

Scott shrugged. "I guess I do."

"You'll love it here more." Donna nodded. "You'll see."

"You think so?" said Scott.

The cabin stopped moving, and the doors slid open. Donna paused and gave him a meaningful look before stepping out. "CORE gets in your blood like nothing else, Solomon. It'll change you."

Scott followed her out into a metal-walled corridor. "The Marines already did that," he said.

"You only think so because you've never been CORE before," said Donna.

"I'm not CORE now, either."

Suddenly, she spun and pointed an index finger at him. "Not yet." Then, she gave him a wink and spun away again, zipping off down the corridor. "Billet's this way!" she shouted over her shoulder. "How about getting a move on?"