Fortitude (Terranus Book Three) by J. S. Crouch

Author:J. S. Crouch [Crouch, J. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-05-15T22:00:00+00:00

14

GHOSTS FROM THE PAST

Sean wandered on the bridge of the Fortitude. It was at half-staff as others prepared the ship for its return to Terranus. He circled the perimeter, looking over his officer’s shoulder at what they worked on. There was nothing of interest, so instead, he strolled towards the Captain’s chair and eyed it up.

He ran a hand over its smooth, black leather finish. Felt the cold of its chrome frame, recoiling at its touch. It called to him, lured him in. Gently, he lowered back into the seat, letting out a relaxed breath as the cushioned material moulded to his body.

For a moment he felt powerful, he looked towards those that worked around him, distant dreams of him barking orders mid-fight with a Xuron cruiser flooded his mind. His daydream ran wild, so wild in fact he didn’t notice his father enter the bridge and stand over him, watching his starry-eyed son.

“It could be yours one day,” Zach said, “not this ship I mean, but one of the ones in their design stage right now, wait a few years and you’ll be Captain, I know it.”

Sean scoffed. He stood from the Captain’s chair, waving for Zach to replace him. “So, how long until we leave Caladrius?” asked Sean.

“Tactical, what’s the status of our Veterum friends?” asked Zach.

“One moment, Captain.”

The atmosphere on the bridge was relaxed. Preparations were almost complete across the Fortitude and now they waited for the Veterum to be ready for their first voyage outside the system.

“I bet the Veterum are going to be so frustrated,” said Sean, allowing himself a private chuckle.

“Why?” asked Zach.

“Our FTL is so inferior to theirs, they’re going to be operating at one-tenth speed with their jump drives.”

“Well, they do have conventional slip drives, too,” added Zach, “but its ancient tech to them, that’s how they retrofit so fast, it's just plug and play to them at this point with their ships being so modular.”

“Veterum ships reporting green, Captain.”

“Very good.” Zach leaned over to his dangling communicator and made a ship-wide announcement. “All personnel, we will be entering slip space within thirty minutes, ensure that you are at your stations.”

The time passed quickly while the ship was a hive of activity. Crates were stowed away, and people were strapped into their stations, ready for the violent initial slide into slip space.

Before long, Sean was sat alone at a console towards the rear of the bridge. Everyone, including the Veterum, was prepped and ready to leave Caladrius. Final checks were made on the Fortitude’s systems and receiving the all clear, the FTL officer spooled up the drives. Then, with a deep, resonating boom that rattled the ship, they entered slip space on a direct course for Terranus.

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