Deep

Chapter 73 Back to the grind.

Alice and I did not have a long period of silence together. Within moments, each of us got called into action. Alice got the call first.

'Captain, they need me elsewhere, so I need to leave.' She looked disappointed. I was also, as there was much I wanted to ask her. Well, it would need to wait, she's a busy AI, and I have reports to read.

'Understood Alice. Dismissed,' I said. She stood, gave me a salute, which I returned, and she vanished. Immediately after Alice left, I received a call. It was from Major Huruuse.

'Yes, Major?'

'I saw you're back in command. I wanted to ask when you would be available for a demonstration?' He still looked tired, poor guy.

'I am available now. Where do you want me to be?' He looked surprised by my response. He should not. The ship's defence was top priority, so anything associated with that could not wait.

'The training range.'

 I checked the ETA from my current location to Spec marine range. It was forty minutes away.

'I can be there in approximately forty-five minutes.' I gave myself some leeway, just in case. At that moment, I wished I could use the service lines, because If I could, it would be a twenty-minute trip. 'Will that be sufficient time for you to prepare your demo?'

'More than enough.'

'I will see you in about forty-five minutes then.'

'Great. See you then.' He said and disconnected. I told the pod where I wanted to go, and it changed direction. With a forty-five-minute trip ahead of me, I went through my inbox. It took me thirty minutes to read it all.

The only notable highlight was SG's plan to repurpose equipment from their two hundred metre optical telescope to observe the inner solar system. Seki already approved the project while she was in charge. The proposal only used SG's resources and equipment, and added no burden to Alice's systems, and was an excellent decision. It had a ninety-six-hour completion estimate, which I thought was overly ambitious; time will tell.

Dang, I hate working blind, but there is much information we don't have.

Other than that, Tama Maru hummed along just fine. The state of its personnel was another matter. All things considered, the crews' performance was stellar, so far, but things were about to change.

With all reports read, I tried to enjoy the quiet moment. It was a battle I lost before it even started. I just could not relax. How could I? We had a sword of extinction raised over our head, and if that did not kill us, the uncertainty would. I was about to go stir crazy when Su called. 

'Hello CMC. How may I help you?'

'I called to see how you were, so how are you?'

'I was about to exit this pod and walk.' The moment the words left my mouth, I felt stupid.

'Why? Will walking get you there faster?' Su was a pragmatist. A brutal pragmatist.

Way to rub it in, Su. She was right, though.

'No.' Now I felt like a petulant child screaming for their mother's attention.

'The XO said you get restless easily.'

The XO has a big mouth.

'Not this easy, CMC. The uncertainty is murder.' 

'Captain, I am sure everybody is in the same boat, so don't beat yourself up.'

'Thanks CMC. How are things on your end?'

'Great. Jorge is a miracle worker. He fixed many design flaws in the plan, and he cut the implementation time in half. We'll finish it in a few hours, with luck.' 

Jorge, huh? Su spoke of Lt Cmdr with a smile on her face. She sounded a little smitten by him, and she was right, to be. Haberkorn was an amazing engineer, a fantastic person to be around, and an even better friend. If it was not for him and Deepak, I don't know if I'd still be here. 

You two would make a delightful couple. Whoa, since when did I become a matchmaker?

'You are right. He is a miracle worker. And I'll be glad to see its features.' We both laughed at my bad Jorge's joke.

'Well. I better get back to it.'

'Understood and thanks.'

'Don't mention it.' She ended the call. I still had a few minutes to kill, so I meditated.