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Military Attaché
The Confederacy: Sydney Chambers
Sydney
Chambers:
Military
Attaché
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"Ms. Frye."
Sydney’s call was answered instantly by Cami Frye’s appearance at her door. “Ma’am?”
The military attaché leveled her gaze at her assistant. “I’ve just been notified that AHI has done all that they can with the Morrigan,” the captain said levelly, “which means that the ship will be translocating to the Confederate repair barge for a week while the engines are repaired — or more likely, replaced. It’ll be a lot simpler for you to manage passage to Outpost Station from the Whirligig than it will be to obtain it from here. Apparently, there’s a pretty regular shuttle service. I’ve looked into it for my own passage, so I’m fairly well informed.
“I guess what I’m saying is,” she continued as she straightened, “gear up, we’re leaving.”
Cami’s eyes widened slightly at her boss’s change in tone. “I get to ride on the Morrigan? Yes, Ma’am!”
“And get the AHI people down here with their paperwork, so I can close the deal before we leave.”
“Of course, Ma’am.” Cami scuttled back to her desk as soon as Sydney had finished; she wanted any delay to be on AHI’s part and not hers. Grabbing the handset that permanently graced her desk, she rang through immediately to the headquarters of Arega Heavy Industries.
“This is Doug,” came a young sounding voice.
“I’m given to understand that Cahan Morrigan is ready to be released,” Cami began.
“Ah …” the person on the other end hedged and Cami could hear computer keys clicking. “Yes, Ma’am,” the young man finally admitted.
Cami unconsciously nodded at the news. “Captain Chambers would like a visit on the double by whoever has the release forms to be signed.”
“Ma’am, ah,” her young contact said, “we generally just have the owner sign off onscreen …”
“This is TSM,” Cami reminded her correspondent, her voice assuming a ring of authority. “The owner of that ship is the government, and documentation of the release has to be sent to Earth. Do you really think that they don’t want paper?” The adjutant’s voice modulated and could have induced a diabetic coma by the time she was finished.
“Ah … no, Ma’am,” the young AHI representative acceded. “I’ll … ah, I will have someone down with papers to sign as soon as I can get them printed.”
“Thank you Doug,” Cami agreed, her voice now all forgiveness. “The sooner the better. The captain is ready to go.”
“Well, ah …” Doug hemmed, “you might tell your captain that we’ve just now contacted Whirligig about her arrival. They say they’ll be ready to take the ship whenever she gets there.”
“Oh,” Cami replied, somewhat mollified. “Great. I’ll let her know.”
“Whenever we get there? Those were his exact words?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Cami told Sydney as they double-time walked from Sydney’s temporary offices to the dock where Cahan Morrigan waited. “He had all the particulars pulled up on his computer, so I have to believe that he knew what he was talking about.”
Cami hesitated a beat. “They actually wanted you to do a virtual sign-off on a computer screen.”
“I see.” Sydney had spent the previous half-hour affixing her name to more paper documents than AHI had seen in years, documents which the frontier corporation would now forward through TSM channels and await payment. Along the way AHI’s representative, Mark Duggan, had commended the captain on her foresight in ordering so many parts in advance … parts which had exponentially speeded up Morrigan’s repair.
“Is that so,” Sydney had asked, offhandedly.
“Absolutely,” Duggan had asserted. “We only had to forge less than a quarter of what was needed. You were not only smart in having the bank but in what you chose to have in it.”
“Huh.” Sydney had looked up from signing documents at that juncture. “So the bank will be restocked?”
“Already being done,” Duggan had assured her, “and augmented a bit on orders from your chief engineer. Smart woman, that one,” Duggan had added, his voice sounding as though his mind was wandering. “Kinda wish we had her working for us.”
“Not happening,” Sydney had said flatly, returning her attention to the paper in front of her. “I’ve got a lock on Ms. Kristoff’s contract for the forseeable future.”
“Huh? Uh yeah, of course you do,” Duggan had responded. “Just wishful thinking on my part.”
“Huh,” Sydney had repeated, as she signed the last document with a flourish and shoved the whole pile Duggan’s way. “Now, what do I need to do take the ship out of here?”
There had been little in the way of security requirements, a fact which became fully apparent as Sydney and her adjutant mounted to Morrigan’s entry hatch to be greeted by only the ship’s own Officer of the Deck, Ensign Sean Grelkin.
Sydney threw the OOD a picture-perfect salute. “Captain Sydney Chambers, requesting permission to board.” She handed Grelkin her ID folder, which the ensign examined with all required thoroughness before handing it back to his captain.
“Permission granted,” Grelkin allowed, even as he initiated another salute. “And welcome back, Captain. Your absence from the ship has been duly noted.”
“Yes,” Sydney allowed. “Well, I’m back long enough to get us to the next drydock, anyway. Pack up your station for departure as soon as I and my adjutant are aboard.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Grelkin acknowledged, then went through a similar ritual with Cami before granting the Outpost Station lieutenant boarding as well. No sooner had Frye marched past him and aboard the Cahan Morrigan than Grelkin grabbed the portable OOD stand he was using and transferred it inside the Morrigan. He then dogged the exterior hatch behind him, as Morrigan’s entire complement was aboard.
“Captain aboard, sir,” he reported over the ship intercom to First Officer Steve Garvey, sitting in temporary command of the Morrigan and, literally, keeping the captain’s chair warm in her absence … a fact which Sydney noted as she pulled up to her office a moment later.
“Commander,” the captain acknowledged as Garvey hastily vacated the command seat on Sydney’s entrance.
“Captain,” Garvey said as he sidestepped away from Sydney’s desk, leaving just enough room for her to push past him and claim the seat for herself.
“All repairs save engines are completed, Captain,” he continued, as Sydney sank into her chair and her command. “Ship is primed and ready to go on your orders.”
“The command is given,” Sydney ordered, even before logging herself into the computer terminal on her desk. “AHI is eager to see our pending departure. Best speed to Whirligig. The yard dogs are awaiting our arrival.”
Cami Frye stepped into Sydney’s office a moment after Garvey swept out. “Where do you want me,” she asked her boss from the office doorway, causing Sydney to glance up.
“Huh? Oh, it won’t take up long to get to Whirligig,” she said after a moment of thought. “Why don’t you just sit here? Pleasant to have the company, anyway.” The captain indicated the two guest chairs that faced her desk; Frye chose one with obvious delight and sat, though she groaned as she did.
“That was a pretty loud groan,” Sydney noted once her adjutant was seated. “Something wrong?”
Cami sighed. “Not really, Ma’am,” she finally said. “Not physically, anyway. It’s just … well, I’ve been away from Director Rudolph for quite a while now, Ma’am, and his safety is still my primary duty.”
Sydney smiled and chuckled quietly. “I’ll try not to take that personally,” she said dryly.
“Oh, no!” Cami turned red as she sat, staring at the captain. “It’s not that your safety isn’t important as well. It’s just that —”
“I’m quite aware that Director Rudolph is your foster father, Cami,” Sydney said gently, “and that your primary mission for Station Security is his health and well being. Just remember that as long as you are my aide you are technically a TSM officer, as well.
“That said, we’ll get you back to Outpost Station as quickly as possible. I’m told that shuttles run between Whirligig and the station on the hour.” She smiled reassuringly. “Like I told you, they’re fairly frequent. Remember, I have to get to Outpost Station, too. Something about re-activating the MA office there … or activating it for the first time, more likely.”
Cami winced. “I want to be there when you do that,” she said steadfastly. “Not that I’m worried about your safety, but — well, that part if the station has been abandoned for as long as I can remember. I’m anxious to see it. I just … can I check in with Director Rudolph, first?”
“We’ll both stop in to see him, yes,” Sydney reassured her adjutant. “I rather suspect that he’ll want to see ‘that part of the station’ as well.”
“Ms. Frye.”
Sydney’s call was answered instantly by Cami Frye’s appearance at her door. “Ma’am?”
The military attaché leveled her gaze at her assistant. “I’ve just been notified that AHI has done all that they can with the Morrigan,” the captain said levelly, “which means that the ship will be translocating to the Confederate repair barge for a week while the engines are repaired — or more likely, replaced. It’ll be a lot simpler for you to manage passage to Outpost Station from the Whirligig than it will be to obtain it from here. Apparently, there’s a pretty regular shuttle service. I’ve looked into it for my own passage, so I’m fairly well informed.
“I guess what I’m saying is,” she continued as she straightened, “gear up, we’re leaving.”
Cami’s eyes widened slightly at her boss’s change in tone. “I get to ride on the Morrigan? Yes, Ma’am!”
“And get the AHI people down here with their paperwork, so I can close the deal before we leave.”
“Of course, Ma’am.” Cami scuttled back to her desk as soon as Sydney had finished; she wanted any delay to be on AHI’s part and not hers. Grabbing the handset that permanently graced her desk, she rang through immediately to the headquarters of Arega Heavy Industries.
“This is Doug,” came a young sounding voice.
“I’m given to understand that Cahan Morrigan is ready to be released,” Cami began.
“Ah …” the person on the other end hedged and Cami could hear computer keys clicking. “Yes, Ma’am,” the young man finally admitted.
Cami unconsciously nodded at the news. “Captain Chambers would like a visit on the double by whoever has the release forms to be signed.”
“Ma’am, ah,” her young contact said, “we generally just have the owner sign off onscreen …”
“This is TSM,” Cami reminded her correspondent, her voice assuming a ring of authority. “The owner of that ship is the government, and documentation of the release has to be sent to Earth. Do you really think that they don’t want paper?” The adjutant’s voice modulated and could have induced a diabetic coma by the time she was finished.
“Ah … no, Ma’am,” the young AHI representative acceded. “I’ll … ah, I will have someone down with papers to sign as soon as I can get them printed.”
“Thank you Doug,” Cami agreed, her voice now all forgiveness. “The sooner the better. The captain is ready to go.”
“Well, ah …” Doug hemmed, “you might tell your captain that we’ve just now contacted Whirligig about her arrival. They say they’ll be ready to take the ship whenever she gets there.”
“Oh,” Cami replied, somewhat mollified. “Great. I’ll let her know.”
“Whenever we get there? Those were his exact words?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Cami told Sydney as they double-time walked from Sydney’s temporary offices to the dock where Cahan Morrigan waited. “He had all the particulars pulled up on his computer, so I have to believe that he knew what he was talking about.”
Cami hesitated a beat. “They actually wanted you to do a virtual sign-off on a computer screen.”
“I see.” Sydney had spent the previous half-hour affixing her name to more paper documents than AHI had seen in years, documents which the frontier corporation would now forward through TSM channels and await payment. Along the way AHI’s representative, Mark Duggan, had commended the captain on her foresight in ordering so many parts in advance … parts which had exponentially speeded up Morrigan’s repair.
“Is that so,” Sydney had asked, offhandedly.
“Absolutely,” Duggan had asserted. “We only had to forge less than a quarter of what was needed. You were not only smart in having the bank but in what you chose to have in it.”
“Huh.” Sydney had looked up from signing documents at that juncture. “So the bank will be restocked?”
“Already being done,” Duggan had assured her, “and augmented a bit on orders from your chief engineer. Smart woman, that one,” Duggan had added, his voice sounding as though his mind was wandering. “Kinda wish we had her working for us.”
“Not happening,” Sydney had said flatly, returning her attention to the paper in front of her. “I’ve got a lock on Ms. Kristoff’s contract for the forseeable future.”
“Huh? Uh yeah, of course you do,” Duggan had responded. “Just wishful thinking on my part.”
“Huh,” Sydney had repeated, as she signed the last document with a flourish and shoved the whole pile Duggan’s way. “Now, what do I need to do take the ship out of here?”
There had been little in the way of security requirements, a fact which became fully apparent as Sydney and her adjutant mounted to Morrigan’s entry hatch to be greeted by only the ship’s own Officer of the Deck, Ensign Sean Grelkin.
Sydney threw the OOD a picture-perfect salute. “Captain Sydney Chambers, requesting permission to board.” She handed Grelkin her ID folder, which the ensign examined with all required thoroughness before handing it back to his captain.
“Permission granted,” Grelkin allowed, even as he initiated another salute. “And welcome back, Captain. Your absence from the ship has been duly noted.”
“Yes,” Sydney allowed. “Well, I’m back long enough to get us to the next drydock, anyway. Pack up your station for departure as soon as I and my adjutant are aboard.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Grelkin acknowledged, then went through a similar ritual with Cami before granting the Outpost Station lieutenant boarding as well. No sooner had Frye marched past him and aboard the Cahan Morrigan than Grelkin grabbed the portable OOD stand he was using and transferred it inside the Morrigan. He then dogged the exterior hatch behind him, as Morrigan’s entire complement was aboard.
“Captain aboard, sir,” he reported over the ship intercom to First Officer Steve Garvey, sitting in temporary command of the Morrigan and, literally, keeping the captain’s chair warm in her absence … a fact which Sydney noted as she pulled up to her office a moment later.
“Commander,” the captain acknowledged as Garvey hastily vacated the command seat on Sydney’s entrance.
“Captain,” Garvey said as he sidestepped away from Sydney’s desk, leaving just enough room for her to push past him and claim the seat for herself.
“All repairs save engines are completed, Captain,” he continued, as Sydney sank into her chair and her command. “Ship is primed and ready to go on your orders.”
“The command is given,” Sydney ordered, even before logging herself into the computer terminal on her desk. “AHI is eager to see our pending departure. Best speed to Whirligig. The yard dogs are awaiting our arrival.”
Cami Frye stepped into Sydney’s office a moment after Garvey swept out. “Where do you want me,” she asked her boss from the office doorway, causing Sydney to glance up.
“Huh? Oh, it won’t take up long to get to Whirligig,” she said after a moment of thought. “Why don’t you just sit here? Pleasant to have the company, anyway.” The captain indicated the two guest chairs that faced her desk; Frye chose one with obvious delight and sat, though she groaned as she did.
“That was a pretty loud groan,” Sydney noted once her adjutant was seated. “Something wrong?”
Cami sighed. “Not really, Ma’am,” she finally said. “Not physically, anyway. It’s just … well, I’ve been away from Director Rudolph for quite a while now, Ma’am, and his safety is still my primary duty.”
Sydney smiled and chuckled quietly. “I’ll try not to take that personally,” she said dryly.
“Oh, no!” Cami turned red as she sat, staring at the captain. “It’s not that your safety isn’t important as well. It’s just that —”
“I’m quite aware that Director Rudolph is your foster father, Cami,” Sydney said gently, “and that your primary mission for Station Security is his health and well being. Just remember that as long as you are my aide you are technically a TSM officer, as well.
“That said, we’ll get you back to Outpost Station as quickly as possible. I’m told that shuttles run between Whirligig and the station on the hour.” She smiled reassuringly. “Like I told you, they’re fairly frequent. Remember, I have to get to Outpost Station, too. Something about re-activating the MA office there … or activating it for the first time, more likely.”
Cami winced. “I want to be there when you do that,” she said steadfastly. “Not that I’m worried about your safety, but — well, that part if the station has been abandoned for as long as I can remember. I’m anxious to see it. I just … can I check in with Director Rudolph, first?”
“We’ll both stop in to see him, yes,” Sydney reassured her adjutant. “I rather suspect that he’ll want to see ‘that part of the station’ as well.”
