Ryk Brown - Aurora CV-01

“Yes Sir,” they responded in unison.”

“And just in case, by some horrifying twist of fate, you should have to take action without orders, I’m going to give you some right now, so there will not be any confusion.” The captain turned to Nathan, speaking to him directly. “Lieutenant. You shall follow standard flight operational protocols, without deviation, unless you are one hundred-no, make that one hundred and fifty percent sure that doing so would result in unacceptable risk to this ship or her crew. Is that understood?”

“Yes Sir!” Nathan answered.

The captain then turned his attention to Cameron. “Ensign Taylor. You are the ship’s Navigator. That means you plot her course. But it also means that you do whatever is necessary to help the helmsman fly this ship. Yes, it is your job to offer alternatives. But if the helmsman says he wants to fly this ship into the sun, you’d damned well better give him the course he asked for before you offer alternatives. Is that understood?”

“Yes Sir!” Cameron responded, swallowing hard.

“Dismissed, Ensign.”

Cameron snapped a salute, turning and exiting in proper military fashion. Nathan continued to stand, frozen, wondering what would come next. Apparently, the captain had a bit more butt chewing specifically targeted at him.

The captain waited for Ensign Taylor to leave before continuing. “Lieutenant, I think we have a bit of a misunderstanding going on here. I’m pretty sure that when I made you helmsman, I put you in command of the flight team. Granted, at least for now that only means you’re in command of Ensign Taylor, but you are in command. That’s why I made you a lieutenant in the first place. But after watching you two love birds squabbling in my flight simulator for the last few days, I’m not so sure that was the right call.” Something he had just said triggered a thought in Captain Roberts head. “Wait, you two aren’t, I mean, you’re not together, are you?”

“No Sir,” Nathan protested.

“You don’t want to be, do you?” The captain knew he was probably over-stepping his bounds, as there were no set rules against such fraternization, as long as it didn’t interfere with one’s duties. But it would’ve explained a lot.

“God no, Sir,” Nathan reassured him.

“Good.” The captain breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had just dodged a bullet. “Just make sure you keep it that way.”

“No problem, Sir.”

“Listen, Lieutenant, the most important part of being in command, is being able to make the call when it needs to be made. Now there’s nothing wrong with listening to the advice of your subordinates. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with admitting that they’re right and following that advice. But you do not debate the issue, Lieutenant. Not on the flight deck. That’s what briefing rooms are for, son. Just remember, right or wrong, any decision made too late, is a bad decision.”

The captain rose from his desk and made his way back to his chair. “Now I suggest that you go and work things out with Ensign Taylor before you turn in for the night. I don’t want to find you lying in Medical later with a knife in your back.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Now fix this, Lieutenant, or I will.”

“Yes Sir,” he assured, snapping a salute.

The Aurora’s hangar bay was only dimly light, allowing just enough light so that a person could make their way through safely. Although the facility was finished and ready for operations, the Aurora’s spacecraft and flight personnel were not due to arrive until well after the first shakedown cruise. For now, the massive space was being used as a staging area for components and supplies waiting to be installed or put into storage.

Nathan wandered between the stacks of boxes and equipment. “Taylor!” he called out. “I know you’re in here!” He was lying, as he wasn’t really sure she was there. He had gone to her quarters after leaving the captain’s ready room, looking to make peace with her. He nearly had to order her roommate to divulge her location. Even then, she was only guessing that Cameron had come here, as it was one of the few places still left on the ship where she could be alone with her thoughts.

“Come on, Cameron! We need to talk!”

“What the hell do you want?” she finally answered.

Nathan spun around, trying to locate where her voice had come from. “Where are you?”

“Back here.”

Nathan looked toward her voice. She was sitting on one of the rolling step ladders normally used for accessing the cockpit of fighters. There were a row of twelve of them neatly arranged against the far wall of the hangar. She was sitting at the top of one of the middle ones.

“What are you doing in here?” he asked as he approached.

“This is where I come to think.” Her voice had a melancholy he hadn’t heard from her before. “But you must’ve talked to my roommate to find me, so you already know that.” She was being logical, as usual.

“Why here?” Nathan asked as he reached the row of step ladders. He was trying to establish some sort of rapport with her before hashing out their differences.

“I don’t know. I guess it’s because it’s the largest open space on the ship. I mean, everywhere else is so cramped. Well, not cramped really, just no wasted space, you know? It kind of boxes you in, compartmentalizes your thinking. Here, everything is wide open.” She looked down at him, standing at the bottom of the step ladder next to the one she was sitting on. “I know, it sounds stupid.”

“Actually, it sort of makes sense when you think about it.”

“So, what do you want, Nathan?”

“We’ve got to figure out how to make this work.”

“That’s easy,” she quipped. “Resign your commission.”

Nathan was pretty sure she was joking, but decided not to test her.

“You know,” he began as he started up the step ladder, “the captain asked me if you and I were together.”

“Oh God,” she exclaimed, realizing what he meant. “I hope you set him straight!”

“Of course I did,” he assured. “I mean, come on, you and I?”

“Please, you are so not my type,” she insisted.

“Me neither,” he agreed as he sat down at the top of the step ladder next to hers. “I mean, nothing personal,” he added, realizing he might have offended her. “I mean, you’re really cute and all but…”

“…You can shut up now, Lieutenant.”

“Okay, then. Moving on.” There was an uncomfortable moment of silence, as Nathan tried to figure out what to say. “Listen, I know you hate me. But we have to find a way to work together.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. “I do hate you.”

Nathan didn’t know how to react to that. Finally, he turned towards her to say something and noticed a big grin on her face. “Oh, that was real funny,” he admitted, a bit relieved.

“And it felt really good, too,” she laughed.

“Let’s be honest with each other,” Nathan suggested. “Let’s get everything out in the open.”

“I thought that’s what I was doing,” she added. He was making it too easy for her.

“Enough, already,” Nathan objected. “Okay, fine. Tell me what you hate about me.”

“You sure you’re ready? I mean, we could be here awhile.”

“Okay, let’s make it easier. Just give me your top three reasons.”

“You’re a cocky, arrogant, pretty little rich boy, and you’ve probably always gotten by on your charm, good looks, and your daddy’s money. And I seriously doubt that you’ve ever taken anything seriously your whole life.”

Nathan paused for a moment, a little taken aback. “Well. I’m pretty sure that was more than three reasons. But, I will admit that there is probably a little truth to some of that.”