Age of Lies (Original Version)

Chapter 13

Upon the bridge of the Prince, Markelium gazed out of the large windows in wonder. Through the viewing windows Markelium could see the starport that sat above Levalos which shone with dazzling brilliance as the station rotated revealing the large ships located on the outer docking ring. The large central spire reveled an assortment of bay doors for the smaller ships and holo-advertisement boards shone with brilliance as they competed for attention from the passing space craft. Merchant ships waited in a holding pattern for their turn to unload their goods and civilian ships went zooming about doing their normal everyday activities.

Behind the magnificent star-port a large naval ship yard sat bustling with activity as several ships sat within the space-docks being repaired and refit. Several of the corvette class ships that were patrolling the area around the yard headed towards the Prince to escort her on the final leg of the journey to the star-dock. They entered into a Zulu formation, which was more ceremonial than anything. As the convoy reached the outer security zone of the star-dock the corvettes began to peel off one by one until only one remained. The helmsmen of the Prince held the ship in position with the rotating station as the crew began receiving their docking info.

The navigation officer finished plotting a course using the docking data which he then sent to the helmsmen and the captain. The communication station was continuously monitoring communications being made within the system and the weapon officers and damage control teams sat by ready to help any of the other sections if the need arose.

Sitting in the command chair, Kelly gave the order to proceed with docking. At this the helmsmen began moving the Prince into the docking pattern for bay A-8 of the star-dock. The two men slowly maneuvered the large ship towards the bay, with the help of their neural implants they could monitor the inertial velocity on every angle and counter any unnecessary motions. The hull of the Prince lit up as her maneuvering thrusters flared to compensate for the gravity fluctuations that the massive station gave off. Crew who were off duty lines the viewing decks as they watched as the stardock loomed closer and closer filling their visions.

Back on the bridge the helmsmen carefully brought the great ship into the dock and let the dock's A.I shift them with tractor beams which then held them in place while the rest of the docking procedures were taken care of. Out of the stardock, thirty giant twenty meter wide magnetic clamps slide out of their holding beds and connected to the Prince to hold her in place. While this process was being completed, several of the external cargo bays opened up and supplies began streaming into the Prince while all the broken equipment was off loaded.

After the docking clamps were secure and activated the tractor beams were tuned down until the magnetic clamps were the only thing holding the Prince. Moments later the lines were linked and fuel raced through the tubes and into the enormous fuel tanks of the Prince. Soon airtight cat walks stretched their sturdy frames across the gap between the station and the Prince. Once the pressure stabilized between the two, the doors slid open and crewmen exited the ship heading out on their errands.

Meanwhile back on the bridge, Captain Kelly issued the bridge to start cleaning the station consoles that were getting upgraded and fixed. The helmsmen gave a final check on the engines as they continued to power down, and they then began clearing their station as well in preparation for their new equipment. Markelium and the communication officers began cleaning their stations while continuing to monitor the systemwide communications taking place.

Markelium sorted the papers on station-1 and placed them in the corresponding file box. After sorting the rest of the papers, the communications team resumed their monitoring of the system chatter. Moments later the ship A.I gave an announcement over the ship wide comms. "Attention all hands. Attention all hands. The main reactors will be powered off and we will connect with the stations power grid. I repeat the reactors will be off momentarily."

The crew began preparing their stations for the power switch and soon the crew felt the slight shudder of the fuel lines unhooking and then the slight nudge of power cables snapping into place all along the hull. After all of the connections were made, the ships A.I counted down to the power swap.

As the count reached zero the lights went to emergency lighting so that the consoles had constant power as the swap was made. A moment later, one could feel the hum dissipate as the engines and reactors powered down. The lights dimmed and the air stilled as the reactors disconnected from the ship. A minute later hum of electricity returned and the ship powered up and the systems returned to normal.

Markelium looked up as the lights powered back up and ship activities returned to normal. He then returned his attention to the monitor in front of him. Crystal placed a hand on her headset that she wore, listening closely to some message. She looked up and over towards Captain Kelly and called out, "Sir, I have Telliu Greva on channel 153.91, what do you want me to do Sir?

Kelly looked over and said, "Patch him through to my personal unit." Kelly chuckled and activated his comm unit on his personal holopad. After a moment he got up and motioned for Markelium to come with him. Markelium was a little perplexed but he did as Kelly wanted and followed him off of the bridge. They entered the security corridor of the bridge and were waved passed as the guards cleared them. As they walked down the corridor Markelium began wondering when Kelly would speak to Telliu. Finally Captain Kelly directed his attention to the Puzzled Markelium. "Head to your cabin and get your dress uniform. We are heading to the station to meet Greva. He will be very interested in meeting you." Markelium looked up at Kelly surprised.

Kelly chuckled and said, "I'll explain it there. We are meeting him for dinner in an hour or so, and boy will he be surprised. Well, go get ready and meet me at my quarters at 1800 hours. We will head over to the station from there and have lunch with Greva. Markelium acknowledged the order and made his way to his quarters.

Navigating his way to the lower half deck of deck B where the lower officers were berthed, he ran into the first and second lieutenants who blocked his path. Markelium stopped and looked at them and feel the chilled silence settle around them. Lieutenant Thompson made the first move by walking up to Markelium. He looked coldly into his eyes with seething hatred that seemed to permeate the narrow metallic corridor. He started talking with his strange voice that seemed to be on the verge of cracking. "So why does the captain favor you? Are you some political son? Are you some government official?" Thompson paused for a moment, "No one knows why you are here, who you are or why the Captain even likes you."

Markelium looked into Thompson's eyes with a hint of annoyance. "Please move. I have to get to my cabin."

Thompson looked at Markelium with disgust and jabbed his finger into Markelium's shoulder, "Do you not hear what I am saying? Do you not understand? I am demanding answers here."

At that moment Takomaya stepped forward and placed his hand on Thompson's shoulder and pulled him to the side of the corridor. "Go on your way, sorry for the interuption." Markelium looked at Takomaya for a moment, and then proceeded to slip past the protesting Thompson.

After Markelium rounded the corner he could hear Thompson fussing about letting him go. A moment later he heard Takomaya start talking in a hushed tone with Thompson as they walked down the corridor. Markelium continued on down the corridor to his quarters where he keyed the door open and walked in. He closed the door and grabbed a quick shower and got dressed all within half an hour. His uniform was blue based with white highlights and looked similar to the dress uniforms of his day but different colors. It brought back memories from his days in naval academy back on Earth before he was shipped out. Clearing his head of such thoughts he grabbed his cap and headed out to meet the captain.