Chaz, the new boy (he's actually a bit older than us, only known him a few weeks), said he'd spar with Enrique when they both got some free time, but Estelle soon put a stop to that. Think she's getting paranoid that one of them would hurt each other and then not be able to compete efficiently.
I'm still not too sure about Chaz. When he first turned up he introduced himself and dispensed all the normal pleasantries, but wasn't too keen on giving anything else away. He keeps his cards very close to his chest. As far as I can tell it was Commodore Parks' idea to assign him to our team. We, of course, didn't get any say in the matter and Estelle was quite concerned. But during the routine flight exercises before our transfer here he seemed to be a good fit. He's quiet though and seems to spend a lot of his time reading. He doesn't smile a lot either. I don't honestly imagine I'd have too much to do with him if he had not been assigned to the White Knights. He seems to be somewh...
As Dodds entered the room he saw Kelly Taylor stop writing in her digital journal, and look up.
“Dodds!” Kelly said. Dodds had changed out of his uniform for the medical examination. He now wore a blue naval shirt and dark slacks. The smart uniform that his mother had pressed and ironed in preparation for his meeting with three of the CSN's top brass now lay crumpled somewhere at the bottom of his bag. He had worn it twice in the space of six months, for the purpose of formal meetings, and was not keen on putting back on again any time soon.
“Hi, everyone,” Dodds said, slinging his bag onto a nearby bed.
“Hey, Dodds!” A tall, sandy blonde-haired man over the other side of the room got up and strode over to greet his friend. Dodds noticed when he entered the dormitory that Enrique had been propped up against the back wall, doing press ups on his head. He was dressed down in a white vest and thin trousers and Dodds guessed that he was doing the exercises to let off some steam. Another man, whom Dodds did not recognise, lowered the book he was reading to get a look at the long absent team member.
“Hey, Enrique, how you doing?” Dodds said, extending a hand.
“They said we should expect one more person to join the team, but I didn't expect to see your ugly face around here any time soon,” Enrique said with a chuckle, greeting his friend with a shake of hands, an embrace and a hearty slap on the back. “Made it back okay then?”
“Just,” Dodds smiled. “I think I would have been on the next shuttle to Earth if Hawke had had his way. Hadn't been back hardly five minutes before he was on my back.”
“Don't let him wind you up, mate,” Enrique said. He, too, had suffered his fair share of encounters with the commodore in the past, though in most cases on account of Dodds, one way or another. If Hawke possessed a list of personnel in the CSN that he most disliked, the pair could be certain that they would be tied for the top spot.
“Hey, how you doing, Kelly?” Dodds asked of the young woman who was untangling her legs and crawling off the bed she occupied. Kelly Taylor was a girl of average height, with a short face, long brown hair and brown eyes. Dodds often found her quite cute.
“I'm well, thanks,” Kelly said embracing him and giving him an affectionate kiss on the cheek. “Nice to have you back.”
If things had changed a lot within the Navy during Dodds' absence, then at least he could take comfort in the fact that his friends had remained the same; although the team had shrunk from its initial ten members down to five, and there was now a new addition.
“Where's Estelle?” Dodds asked.
“She'll be back in a minute. Think she went to check the simulation stats or something,” Kelly said, rolling her eyes.
“Oh, this is Chaz, the latest addition to the White Knights,” Enrique indicated the dark-skinned man who still lay on his bed at the far end of the room, reading. After briefly acknowledging the appearance of Dodds, he had turned his attention back to his book, looking quite uninterested in what was going on. Now, he put the book down and jumped from the top bunk. Dodds saw that Chaz was not only very tall, but built with it. He also appeared to prefer to shave his head.
“Pleased to finally meet you, Dodds,” he said, joining the others. “My name's Koonan; Chaz Koonan. Only been with the team for a few weeks, but I've heard a lot about you.”
“Nothing good, I hope,” Dodds replied with a wry smile, shaking the massive hand that Chaz extended towards him.
“Estelle assures me that you're a fine pilot,” Chaz said, dodging Dodds' attempt to engage him in some comedic banter. There was something in the man's voice that Dodds could not put his finger on. It was not unfriendly, but somehow neutral and a little indifferent.
“Where have you been transferred from?” Dodds asked.
“That's a long story...”
“Yes, and not one we currently have time for,” a voice came from the doorway. A slender woman with long, jet black hair that fell over her shoulders stood at the entrance to the dormitory. Her attire was a close match to that of Enrique's, a small white vest and black trousers. In her hands, she clasped a number of sheets of paper.
“Hi, Estelle. How are you?” Dodds said.
“I'm well,” she answered, somewhat pertly.
“Good...”
“Uh huh. Could I have a word with you out here?” she indicated out the door and then left the dormitory. Dodds looked at the others, who shrugged and then dispersed back to what they were doing before he arrived. Frowning, Dodds followed Estelle out of the small housing block they had been assigned to, incensed at the way she had spoken to him within the first minute of being reunited.
“Hey...” Dodds called after her, stepping out into the warm morning sun. Estelle turned around to meet his confused expression, her own a picture of happiness. She walked back to him and put her arms around the man, giving him a tight hug.
“I've missed you,” she said. “I didn't think you were ever going to come back.”
Dodds didn't know what to do, though a few moments later he hugged her back.
“After you were suspended from duty, I figured you'd give it a couple of months and then hang up your boots. You've not been in touch at all.” Estelle broke their embrace, looking up into his face with a warm genuine smile, her dimples showing up as she did so.
Dodds said nothing.
“Did you miss me?”
“Well... sure I did.”
“So why haven't you been in touch?” She swept some of the hair that had fallen over her face out of the way.
“I needed time to think. I just wanted to get a clear perspective on my life. What was all that about?” Dodds asked her, referring to the way she had yanked him away from the others whilst they were in the process of catching up.
“Sorry,” Estelle said. “Right now I want everyone to stay focused on what we're doing here, and not get caught up in emotional reunions that could have a negative effect on our progress and training. But it is good to see you,” she added as Dodds pulled a face. Estelle had a tendency to put her career before her friends, something that appeared to not have waned at all during his absence.
“Let's walk,” Estelle said. “I'll show you around and bring you up to speed.” The pair started down the brick path that led to their housing block, the walkway splitting and snaking its away all about the research campus to other buildings and areas contained within.
“Good to be back?” Estelle asked.
“It is, actually,” Dodds said with a bit of a sigh. “I spent five months on Earth with my parents, picking apples.”
“How's the business?”
“Steady. They think they'll have a good harvest this year,” Dodds stopped short of telling Estelle about how his parents had suggested he consider a career change to work their fields, instead of returning to the Navy.
They made their way down a set of wide stone steps, leading down to the lower areas of the campus and towards the main research buildings. The vast majority of the construction was made up of tall glass buildings. Small trees and lamp posts lined the paths they walked,
complimented by grass.
Men and women dressed in everything from suits to casual attire and white lab coats walked past them, chatting to one another, drinking from polystyrene cups and going about their business.
“How's it going here?” Dodds asked. Parks had not been too forthcoming with details, only to let him know of the briefing that afternoon and the start of the program the following day.
“A little better than I expected, although there's still room for improvement,” Estelle said as she leafed through the sheets of paper she was carrying. Dodds saw that the pages were packed full of graphs, pie charts and other statistical information, each headed with a different pilot's name. He noticed she had already attacked them with a red pen, circling various numbers and writing scruffy and hurried notes. “We've only been here for a few days, but the training starts first thing tomorrow morning. You'll have to get into a simulator for the rest of the day to get back up to speed.”
Dodds frowned. “I'm not sure I'll be as bad as all that.”
“No, Dodds, you will be,” Estelle said. “There was a guy a few years back who broke both his legs. When he eventually got back into the seat it took him weeks to get used to it again. It's not like riding a bike.”
Dodds wasn't so sure. He had doubts that his time out of the cockpit, and away from the stick, would have impacted his flying standard as much as Estelle was suggesting.
“What did you think when they picked us to come here?” Dodds asked, changing the subject.
Estelle gave a small chuckle. “When they first told us that we were being transferred, I was worried we were going to get posted to border patrol duty.”
“That wouldn't exactly have been much fun.”
“Yeah. I couldn't think of anything worse. They've been shifting people over to the Temper system a lot lately. When did you actually get back?”
“Just this morning. I received a request from Commodore Parks to return to duty yesterday.”
“That was quick,” Estelle said. “You must have been pretty keen to get back here.”
Dodds started to saying something, then stopped walking.
Estelle studied him for a moment as he looked about. “What?”
Dodds sighed, then shook his head. “But I had to, didn't I? I have to make amends.”
“Hmmmmm,” Estelle scowled for a moment.
“I'm being serious, Estelle. Hardly a day goes by where I don't think about what happened.”
Estelle said nothing, but looked about the campus. She soon turned back to him, now appearing a little sympathetic. “How do you plan to do it?”
“I don't know,” Dodds shook his head again. “I'll find a way.”
“Well, if you ask me you could try just following orders.”
So I keep being told, Dodds thought.
Estelle said nothing more on the subject and the pair continued walking. They both knew that, whilst he was a good pilot, Dodds had a tendency to be reckless, and it was that recklessness which from time to time led to undesirable consequences.
Estelle began to point out some of the buildings on the campus: the housing blocks for the on site staff; a number of research buildings that they were not authorised to enter; a large lecture theatre, where they would attend the ATAF presentation; and a few large, square buildings that housed the simulators.
“Anything interesting happen whilst I've been away?” Dodds asked.
Estelle chuckled. “You mean aside from what happened to Dragon?”
“What happened to it?”
Estelle stopped walking. “You mean no-one's told you?”
Dodds' initial belief that Estelle was about to regale him with some useless trivia about the enormous battleship was quashed by the look on the woman's face. “Told me what?”
“It's been stolen! It hasn't been seen or heard from for months!”
“Dragon? The battleship?” he looked at her sceptically for a moment. “You're being serious, aren't you?”
Estelle nodded. “Didn't Parks tell you?”
“He seemed... distracted,” Dodds said, remembering how, after the two had departed the waiting room, Parks had seemed eager to return to other business, saying very little. “He didn't speak to me about anything other than getting through my medical and getting me down here. What happened?”
“It disappeared a few weeks after your court-mar... after you left,” Estelle said. Dodds noted how she doubled back and skirted around the touchy subject of his court-martial. Though she had not been on trial herself, he knew the many hours sitting in the courtroom, delivering evidence and being cross examined, was not an experience she had relished, wanted reminding of, or ever wanted to go through again.
“It just disappeared?” Dodds said. “That ship's not exactly small or defenceless. Did someone just take it out of dry dock?”
“It happened in Independent space, near the Independent-Imperial border. From what I've heard it was a hijacking.”
“What the hell was it doing all the way out there?” Dodds asked.
“No-one knows. Seems that information is classified,” Estelle said.
They came to a tall, circular fountain, water spraying out of the top. Estelle and Dodds joined a few people sat around it, enjoying a mid-morning break from their work, reading and chatting to one another. The two CSN pilots made sure they put a good amount of space either side of them so they could talk with a little more privacy.
“How do they know Dragon was hijacked and nothing else happened to it? Were there any witnesses or survivors?” Dodds asked.
“Only one: Commodore Hawke. He was captain at the time. And no, Dodds, he wasn't involved,” Estelle put in, as Dodds roll his eyes at the mention of the man's name. “They found him drifting through Confederation space in an escape pod, a week after they lost contact with the ship. The pod didn't have any food, water or medical supplies, and the stasis capsules had been smashed up. Hawke himself had been badly wounded and suffering from blood loss. He was lucky to be alive.”
“No-one else survived?” Dodds asked, mystified. Though he had never laid eyes on the vessel himself, having only seen it in archive footage and photographs, he knew enough about the Confederation Stellar Navy's flagship to know that the event of its theft was quite worrisome. Dragon was the largest and most powerful starship in existence, second to none. Owing to its size, firepower, starfighter and troop capacities, its mere arrival within a battle zone had been known to cause the opposing forces to make a hasty retreat or even surrender. Attempting to fight it was usually never worthwhile. It was so heavily armoured and shielded that the best defence against it was to be nowhere near it. If a battle was unavoidable, other capital ships, such as frigates and carriers, stood a much better chance of survival due to their own increased capabilities, though it would still be a somewhat one-sided battle. Dodds knew of only one other ship that stood a chance of taking on Dragon: Minotaur, flagship of the Imperial Naval Forces.
“No, there weren't any other survivors, he was the only one,” Estelle said, keeping her voice low.
“Did Hawke tell anyone what happened?”
“He says he can't remember much before waking up in the escape pod. He recalls a large boarding party appearing out of nowhere and storming all the major divisions simultaneously. Dragon was operating with a full complement, but they were completely overcome. Hawke believes they were in jump space at the time, so no-one is sure just how accurate his story is.”
“They were in jump? No, that's... well, it's not impossible, but it's extremely dangerous. They could have stranded both themselves and Dragon in the middle of nowhere.”
Estelle nodded. “I find some of it hard to believe.”
“You're not the only one. Exactly how did they get aboard in the first place? Who were these people?” They spoke for a while, discussing the possibilities, none of which Estelle had not already considered herself. They concluded that it may have been a faction from the Imperial civil war, though given Dragon
's almost legendary status throughout the galaxy, even that seemed rather far-fetched.
After sometime, Estelle suggested to Dodds that they should leave the fountain. They started walking along the brick pathways, Dodds noting the sizeable wall that ran the entire perimeter of the campus, effectively shutting it off from the outside world. Though he had only been at the research centre a little under an hour, Dodds had counted no less than ten pairs of armed personnel patrolling the grounds. The young pilot said nothing as they continued to walk, still trying to put together the pieces of a large and complicated puzzle.
“Would have made your day if Commodore Hawke hadn't returned either, wouldn't it?” Estelle commented.
“You can't say you're very fond of the man yourself,” Dodds replied. Estelle had had her own brushes with Hawke, either as a result of her own actions or because of those under her command. Owing to her nature she was much more adept at handling such meetings, although those methods quite often came under many variations of “Yes, sir!”, “No, sir!”, “Sorry, sir!”, and “It won't happen again, sir!”.
“I find it's best to try and stay on the right side of him,” Estelle said.
“Which side would that be?” Dodds enquired.
“Just follow the chain of command, Dodds.” Estelle's voice was close to taking on a tired and irritable tone. “And please; don't either you or Enrique start leading each other astray. This is a fantastic opportunity we've been granted and we should all act like true professionals.”
Dodds decided it was time to let the topic lie. “So, what's the new guy like?”
“Chaz?”
“Yeah. I spoke to him before you arrived. He seems a little... distant?”
“He's very quiet,” Estelle mused. Dodds got the impression she was still trying to figure the man out for herself. “He's a good pilot, not as good as you or Kelly, but he still gels well with the team. He used to fly with a group called the Copper Beetles. His team have been shuffled around. They assigned him to the Knights and the others were transferred to Earth.”
“Guess I'll get to know him better during the training then,” Dodds remarked.