Unity

Chapter 24

I jerked awake when my alarm went off, feeling disoriented and foggy. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what. I stripped and stepped in the shower, hoping that a cold shower would wake me up. Shortly after the water hit me, it all came flooding back. I kept on hoping it was a nightmare, but I knew it wasn't. I quickly finished my shower and put on a clean uniform. I had slept for four hours, which meant I had less than an hour until Shahae arrived to help us prepare for our royal visitor.

I walked onto the bridge and greeted the third watch which had been on for about two hours. Andrew looked drained. I walked up and said, "I'll call up the Orion and instruct Miyako to take over. Before you go, can you send me the details for the meeting? Thanks." Andrew mumbled something before trudging off. I sat down and removed his access to my chair. I sent a reminder to his tablet telling him it was no longer safe to sit here. After sending a message asking Miyako to come to the bridge, I made sure to give her temporary permission before she got to the bridge. I was engrossed in status reports when she arrived.

"What can I do for ya commander?" Miyako asked.

"I have a meeting to go to, and I need somebody to keep an eye on the ship," I answered. "Andrew was helping, but he needed a break. Would you mind taking over for a while?"

"No problem," she answered cheerfully. "I just woke up from a nap, so I should be good for several hours."

I gave her a quick tutorial on using the chair and made my way to the center of the ship, where the largest of the Unity's conference rooms were located. Even with the use of the transport tubes it took me several minutes to get there. After inspecting the room, and making sure there were plenty of translation devices, I made my way to the hangar. I had enough sense to grab a couple of the translators this time. I was so engrossed in reading the details for the meeting, that I didn't notice I was on a collision course until it was too late. I heard a girlish yelp as we both crashed to the floor.

As I struggled to get up, I heard her yell, "Watch where you're going, you clumsy..." She stopped as she realized who I was, and all color drained from her face. She had red hair, and I knew I recognized her, but I was struggling to put a name with the face though.

"Are you alright?" I asked as we both stood up.

"I'm fine Commander, I mean Captain, but you forgot my name again, didn't you?" she asked accusingly. It all came back.

"Believe it or not, I do remember your name, Lisa. I will admit it took me a minute." She laughed. Lisa had been part of my first squadron in the Academy. I hadn't seen or talked with her in what felt like an eternity. "As much as I would like to catch up, I really need to be going." She looked disappointed as I took off, but I really didn't have time. Deep down I knew that was an excuse but speaking of old times would open wounds that were too fresh. There was too much going on that needed my full attention.

I arrived in the viewing area outside the hangar just as Shahae's ship entered the depressurized hangar. I waited patiently with a contingent of marines that seemed poised to strike at a moment's notice. The indicator light above the airlock switched to green, indicating the hangar was pressurized. I followed the marines into the hangar and watched them take their place next to their brethren who were already waiting in the hangar in pressurized combat suits.

Shahea exited her ship in a much less formal manner than her previous visit. She smiled at me as we approached each other, and once she was close, she surprised me by bowing and said, "Hello Captain Ryan." She spoke with an alien accent that could not be found anywhere on Earth. "Did I say that correctly?" she asked after an awkward moment of silence.