DARKEST BEYOND (CHANCERIAN Book 1) Read online

  DARKEST

  BEYOND

  DREW AVERA

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY DREW AVERA 2017

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  Chapter 1

  The engines on the transport ship hummed quietly as the passengers waited for takeoff. Commander Calibri Reese folded her hands in her lap, her heart hammering in her chest as fear of the unknown coursed through her body. I can't believe I'm doing this, she thought as she adjusted the collar of her uniform, nervous sweat beneath the stiff fabric making her feel more uncomfortable than her anxiety about interstellar space travel. Her uneventful fifteen-year tenure as a junior officer in the Chancerian Navy had shown her that any chance of making captain would include having to deploy.

  The transport ship lifted from its dock, and, despite the vacuum of space, she could feel the pitch and roll of the transport ship as it left its port. Across from her were three junior sailors, none of them looking over the age of twenty-three. Their fresh faces and wide eyes reminded her of herself when she was their age, it reminded her of what it felt like to have the whole universe spread out before her. She was a dreamer back then. She once longed to have a family, a husband and child to come home to. But growing tension in the slowly growing systems forced laws into place that prevented intimate human interaction for military personnel and severely restricted procreation for civilian couples. At first, the new laws made her feel imprisoned, confined to be something other than human and somehow less alive. But soon she experienced a new sense of normalcy, losing herself to her career and shunning those primal parts of herself that craved human interaction at a less than professional level. Yet her dedication to duty did make her feel left behind. That was why she agreed to take the orders to the Krylex despite never wanting to serve on a ship so far away from home. But the ship waited, somewhere out in the darkness, unable to be seen by the naked eye and only detectable by military grade sensory arrays. It’s a long way from home.

  "Is this your first time flying?" Calibri asked. The young man looked at her with fear in his eyes and it took her a few moments to realize he had probably never spoken to an officer of her rank before.

  "This is my first time flying in years and my first time leaving this system."

  The sailor in the center smiled at her. "This is my first time in space," he said. His green eyes went wide as the transport ship rolled to port unexpectedly.

  "I understand, but eventually you get used to it. These transport ships are designed to provide a sense of gravity by always being under thrust, but we are probably miles away from any hazards so I assure you that you have nothing to worry about."

  "I graduated from the Academy fifteen years ago," she said. Their eyes widened when she said the word “Academy” and she knew they understood what that meant, that she came from a family who violated ethics in some way. When it came down to precisely what ethics were violated, it was in the eye of the beholder whether anyone cast their gaze down upon her, and she didn’t let that bother her. Besides, these young men were her subordinates and she was far from the child tossed into military school at a young age. She hardly thought of it anymore unless someone brought it up. She looked up and noticed he was speaking again, but she hardly heard him. “Excuse me?” She asked courteously.

  "How many ships have you been on?" The young man asked again.

  Her brow furrowed, not thinking that the question was unreasonable to ask, but ashamed of the fact that this was going to be her first tour on a fleet ship. "The Krylex will be my first."

  All three of the men look back at her with puzzled looks. If she had to guess, she would assume they felt cheated by having just enlisted and immediately being sent into the far reaches of space. She knew they were afraid, being so young and so far away from home, but part of her envied them their experience.

  "What is your job going to be?" The first sailor asked.

  Calibri smiled. "I'm reporting for the executive officer position on the ship," she said. She had a hard time maintaining her excitement and trepidation for her future position, but, knowing that these young men would be serving under her, she didn't feel that it would be right to discuss how she felt about her new position.

  "What do you think it will be like?" The sailor to her left asked, finally breaking his silence.

  Calibri shrugged. "I honestly have no idea, but I’m sure it will take some getting used to and it will be an experience unlike any that we would ever experience outside of the Navy.” A part of her hoped that her words were encouraging even though she had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. If nothing else, she needed to say them to encourage herself as she entered into the unknown.

  "I heard we will never get any sleep while we’re out there, especially with By the Book Bob as a captain” the first sailor said. He had a sly grin on his face as if there were some inside joke that she was unaware of.

  "You're so full of shit." The Earther looked annoyed at his friend. "You can't believe everything that you hear from the senior classmen."

  "But how do you know?"

  Calibri grinned, remembering the banter she had with her fellow classmen at the Academy and all the ways that they thought life in the Navy was going to be. If anything, they were all fucking wrong. The Navy tended to be an unruly beast at its best and a nightmare at its worst. But service always came at a cost. “What are your names?” She asked.

  The man in the center answered first. “my name’s Jackson.”

  “I’m Stevens,” the one on the right said.

  “My name is Brazie, sir,” said the man on the left.

  “My name is Commander Reese.” She wondered if it was appropriate to extend her hand for handshake, but she didn’t want to seem to forward and it was typically a better idea to keep one’s hands to oneself to cut down on sickness, especially under such circumstances. “What will you gentlemen be doing on the ship?”

  “We’re electricians,” Jackson answered.

  “Ah, technical ratings, I see. I’m assuming you were in school for a very long time.”

  “About nine Earth months, sir.”

  “What department do you see yourselves working in?”

  Stevens chimed in first, “Hopefully not aviation. I hear those guys get it the worst.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Never mind him, sir. He believes anything,” Jackson said with a nudge to his friend’s side. It was clear to Calibri that their banter was friendly and she could appreciate how close of a bond they had formed while starting out in the Navy. Part of her wished she knew someone on the ship before getting there. She imagined how lonely an existence it would be, at least for the first few weeks. That reminds me, she thought, I need to call Carter and let him know when I arrive. She knew how much he might worry about her leaving the system despite their awkward relationship and even though the worrying was supposed to be her job as the older sibling.

  Their flight was scheduled to be four hours, with two jumps along the way. Calibri had never experienced jumps through space, but the technology was sound, and accidental jumping into hazards was a minimal risk. In fact, they were more at risk of a ruptured hull due to a rogue asteroid strike and all the breathable air escaping the transport ship than they were of colliding with anything post-jump. The last accident report she had seen was three years prior and involved a merchant vessel whose pilot was high on crank. She felt confident that they were in much safer hands on a military vessel than they would be otherwise. She swallowed hard and tried to force the thought from her head, instead focusing on the new topic of discussion from the young men.

  “I hear we can go up to eight Earth months withou
t hitting any ports,” Jackson said. Calibri couldn’t help but feel he was a bit of a know it all, since she heard similar rumors. In reality, those rumors were probably true because where would you port when exploring beyond the currently inhabited systems?

  “I’m sure we won’t go that long,” she replied, “hopefully.” The man looked at her as if she intruded upon their conversation, and perhaps she had after her long silence and being lost in her own thoughts.

  “That’s what they told us at indoctrination, sir,” he replied.

  Her heart rate quickened at the thought of a long period of time being confined in such a small vessel. What was I thinking? “Perhaps we should keep an open mind,” she replied, forcing a smile.

  The man to her right, Stevens, interjected, “I’m pretty excited. I’ve wanted to go to the outer reaches beyond our system since I was in middle school and I finally have the opportunity, thanks to the Navy.”

  Calibri smiled at his enthusiasm. “The Navy does afford us a lot of opportunities,” she said. But sometimes it’s what they take from us that is more valuable.

  Chapter 2

  The screens brightened as they approached the Krylex. Calibri could only assume it was because the lights on the sensor arrays were reflecting off the shiny surface of the battle cruiser. As she beheld its magnificent glory, her heart beat harder in her chest. “Oh my God,” she said without realizing it.

  “Have you ever seen anything like this before?” One of the men said from behind her. His question drew her attention to the fact she was standing up despite the warning light ordering her to sit down and get strapped in as preparation for docking. She quickly turned and took her seat, pulling the straps over her shoulders and buckling herself into place.

  “I didn’t expect it to be so big,” she said. Their gawking gaze made her realize how naive it must’ve been to assume that a ship this far into the darkness would be minuscule in size. “I mean, the pictures didn’t do it justice.”

  Stevens shrugged, “The Krylex is the second largest ship in our fleet, sir.”

  Calibri suddenly felt ignorant, and the last thing she wanted was to look weak and stupid in front of her junior sailors. She was about to open her mouth and say she was aware of that fact, but she stopped herself, thinking that such a claim would make her look defensive. “Do you know how much it cost the Chancerian Navy the last time she was in the yards for overhaul?”

  A chorus of no’s was precisely the response she was looking for.

  “Four billion dollars,” she answered.

  “Holy shit,” Jackson said. If not for the limited gravity his jaw would have hit the deck, she thought with a smirk. “How do you know that?”

  Calibri shrugged, “that was part of my job for the last three years,” she said. “My primary job was to do with finances for the shipyard so I got to see the bill for every ship coming through the docks.”

  “That sounds kind of stressful,” Stevens said.

  “It wasn’t all that bad, at least not when all the money was available. The sequestration a couple of years back was troubling, though.”

  “What did you have to do about the lack of money?”

  “There wasn’t much I could do,” she replied. “We just fumbled around the schedule, floating payments until we could get all the ships repaired. I wish I could say was more exciting than that, but it really was just a lot of hurry up and wait.”

  The men looked at her as if she was letting slip some type of government secret, but anyone paying attention to the news could figure out that the Navy was operating on a fixed budget which was a fraction of what it needed.

  “Has it always been that way?” Brazie asked.

  “Not my first few years in the Navy, but a lot of this is cyclical. I’m sure the economy will improve and then go into another recession and keep repeating that process over and over again. I suppose it doesn’t help that our population keeps growing and the government is under a lot of strain to take care of everyone.”

  “Is that why you went to the Academy?”

  Calibri looked at the man, her heart beating faster as if he had uncovered some deep secret she was keeping. The truth was, she didn’t want to talk about it. It wasn’t that she was ashamed. Though, it wasn’t part of her past that she took pleasure in thinking about. “I—”

  The intercom of the transport ship interrupted what she was about to say. “This is the captain speaking. We’re on final approach and will be docking with Krylex in approximately sixty seconds. If you’re not currently strapped into your seat, please do so at this time and sit back and enjoy the ride.” The cabin was once again filled with awkward silence after the captain spoke, but the men were now looking at the monitor, watching as the transport ship drifted close enough to the warship that she had the sensation she could reach out and touch it if she wanted to. The jarring sensation of their transport ship docking with the Krylex made her stomach turn as the sound of metal grinding against metal echoed through the tin-can vessel. Calibri held onto her restraints with a white-knuckled grip. She hadn’t expected to be afraid after getting used to being on the transport for the duration of the flight, but, now that she was here, her heart raced and her self-confidence felt as if it was getting kicked in the chest.

  “Welcome to the CNN Krylex,” the pilot said over the intercom system. “The airlock is venting and you will be able to disembark momentarily. We appreciate your patience. Captain out.”

  A part of her wondered what the captain meant by “we appreciate your patience” when the transport ship was a single-pilot craft. The entire flight manifest was nothing more than Calibri and the three junior sailor sitting across from her. Perhaps it’s just some script they all use, she thought as she unbuckled her restraints and slowly stood to disembark.

  “I can’t believe we’re here,” Brazie said as he stood. He wore his nervous energy outwardly by rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. His friends, Jackson and Stevens, seemed to be a few shades paler now that they were at their final destination. The airlock cycled open to the right and four sets of eyeballs looked in its direction. It was far from a welcome mat, and Calibri hardly expected such. This was the real fleet, not some desk job counting invisible money or shifting around dates on the calendar. This was where military civilization came in contact with pockets of humanity living outside the law. This was where shit often hit the fan.

  “After you, sir,” Stevens said, gesturing towards the open airlock waiting for them in silence.

  She swallowed hard, pausing before taking the first step towards her future. “Thank you,” she replied. It seemed like too little of a response for the courtesy, but her mind was elsewhere, pondering what she was about to step into. As she walked towards the airlock, the LED lighting shone through the small passageway leading into the larger warship. The bulkheads glistened white under the bright glow of the overhead lighting and the tile deck was blinding at first after spending a few hours in the dimly lit transport. She walked slowly at first, noticing that the gravity differential as she came onto the ship made her feel heavier than usual. She knew it was because the ship was under constant thrust, shooting towards some invisible line drawn out on a star map in the open expanse and blanketing darkness. She could hear the faint footsteps of the three sailors fall in behind her, but what really drew her attention was the figure of a man standing before her, his hands behind his back as he gently swayed from left to right. The silver spread eagle on his collar let her know it was her new commanding officer.

  “Good morning, sir. Commander Reese reporting for duty,” she said. She felt guilty for not checking the time first, for all she knew it was the middle of the night where they were, but the captain didn’t seem to mind if she was wrong.

  “Welcome aboard,” he said before the three junior sailors stopped behind Calibri, stood at attention and waited for orders. “Commander Reese, give me just one moment please,” he said as he turned his attention to the younger men. “The Chie
f of the Boat is waiting for you three in the mess hall,” he said. Commander Reese looked behind her and smiled, partly because she was amused at how straight they were standing while also looking like they wanted to pass out at seeing a full-bird captain for the first time.

  “Yes sir!” They chimed simultaneously with over exaggerated salutes. All three of them jetted off single file towards where the captain pointed.

  “I love when we get the young ones,” he said with a smile. “They’re always the most motivated ones.”

  “I imagine so, sir.”

  “How was your flight?”

  “It was fine. It was my first flight of its kind, having never been off world before,” she replied.

  He nodded, the lines on his forehead becoming more prominent. “My name is Captain Tyrone and I’ve been waiting for you.” From her point of view it looked as if he was forcing his face to look welcoming with a crooked smile that accompanied his extended hands, and she could see the lifetime in deep space was taking its toll on him. His years in the dark were most evident as she glanced into his cold gray eyes.

  “Thank you, sir,” she said, taking his hand and matching his grip. She was surprised to notice that his large hands were callused, which meant that he worked with his hands often. It was motivating to her to see the only captain in the Chancerian Fleet to survive four decades in space without touching ground on any Terra under Chancerian control. She began to wonder just how many alien worlds he sniffed the soil of before her thoughts were interrupted by his next words.

  “Strong handshake for a female.” His gruff voice held no mockery. Perhaps he expected as much from someone arriving after a fifteen-year stint on Ukrainias, she thought. The gravity there is enough to lay you flat on your ass if you aren’t prepared for it. Or maybe he hasn’t experienced enough females in the Navy to overcome ancient stereotypes. Either way, she was pleased that she was able to make an impression. To answer his question she gave him nothing more than a smile.