The rest of the time on the troop transport had been spent in relative silence. The Flight Lieutenant checked his chronometer, confirming that the Corporal had been on the Seridian ship for over twenty minutes. Pilots were used to periods of waiting. It was not something they particularly enjoyed but the repetitive nature of their role in this war made them accustomed to it. Sharon, still a fresh faced young cadet, had not developed her coping skills for this yet. Most pilots honed this particular skill within their first few months of active duty. Sharon was still a little too wet around the ears although she would learn in time, or go insane.
The Flight Lieutenant could see the impatience growing in his co-pilot, her leg was jiggling and she continuously checked the sensor readings. It had become so obvious that the timing between each check was almost identical. Even though the Flight Lieutenant wasn't that much older than her, his time in service set them apart by years. He considered intervening to make her feel more at ease; however, he knew the importance of acclimatising to the situation. In the end, this was just something that she had to learn from and adapt.
Suddenly the audible noises of the external sensors went crazy with activity. It was an automatically generated warning of an incoming ship. The Flight Lieutenant jolted in his chair as he brought his body into a more stiff and upright position in his pilot's seat. "Give me a report Sharon," he ordered as the formality of leadership and rank re-established itself within the blink of an eye.
"Incoming ship dropping from FTL," there was a moment of pause as Sharon reconfirmed for herself what her sensor readouts where telling her. "Its one of ours sir."
The Flight Lieutenant shook his head as if he did not believe what his co-pilot was telling him. "That is impossible; the closet registered ship was at least forty minutes away by FTL."
A large military frigate suddenly appeared before them. There was no mistaking its design, it was clearly an Earth ship but its presence simply made no sense to the pilot. The Flight Lieutenant had signalled Earth Central the second after Garret had boarded the alien vessel; he assumed the Command would send out a ship, even several ships. However, they were all too far away to traverse the great distances of space in such a short time. Although they were in an area designated as human territories it wasn't exactly just a simple walk around the block. The Earth Territories stretch far into the galaxy and some parts could take weeks to travel to, even with the FTL engines stretched to their maximum output capacity.
"Sir we have a ship to ship communication signal."
"This is the Earth Central Command ship Loki to Troop Transport ship. Detach immediately from the Seridian vessel, wipe your logs of this encounter and return immediately to Earth Central for a full debriefing."
That's a bit extreme, Sharon thought to herself. She was going to voice her opinion but thought better of it as it was not her place to speak. Although she could see from the wrinkles etched into the Lieutenant's forehead that he was as confused as she was.
The Flight Lieutenant pressed a few buttons opening his end of the communication system to broadcast his own transmission. "This is Flight Lieutenant Dalton, service number six six nine nine three one. We have a Foot Soldier onboard the Seridian ship conducting recon. We are his flight home."
There was a brief moment of silence. The Lieutenant thought for a second that his information would result in a change of approach from the frigate. However, the only thing that was to change was the voice on the communication systems. The first voice had clearly been a communications officer relaying the information from the ship's Captain but it was replaced by a deeper more sinister voice. "Follow your orders Flight Lieutenant Dalton or I will open fire and destroy you." The ship-to-ship transmission terminated.
The Flight Lieutenant gave a few moments to consider his options. He had sent the Corporal over to the Seridian ship, as such he felt responsible for him. Now, though, he was being forced to abandon him. That thought made him sick to his stomach but the reality was clear; he had no other options but to follow the chain of command. "Disengage the magnetic dock."
Sharon's reply left her lips within seconds of the order, "Sir?" Sharon said. She knew it was an unwise reaction but she had given in to the emotional urge to speak.
The Flight Lieutenant snapped at her. "You heard me Cadet!" The emphasis on her rank was a clear indication of his anger. It wasn’t really directed at her, she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Aye sir." The ship quickly powered up from its standby mode, the cockpit door that led into the back cabin closed automatically as the ship disengaged from the Seridian transport.
The Flight Lieutenant breathed in deeply and started to make his manoeuvres to move away from the large Seridian vessel. He turned his head to the right looking at Sharon, noticing that she had sunk a little lower in her chair. Sometimes orders, hard orders, where necessary but he knew there was no need to snap at her like that. She was still learning her role, she was still a Cadet and the only way she could learn effectively was to ask questions. "I am sorry Sharon; I didn't mean to be so short with you. I don't know what is going on but we have been given a direct order and they are serious about it. We have no option but to follow."