CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle Two: A Captain's Journey

84 ∞ A Crazy All of Its Own

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to GaryGarner. Thank you for the votes, it was a pleasure to watch them come in. They make all the work worthwhile. Only ten days to catch up too, not bad.

... Also ...

As per GueHead9's request for "Give me more!", here is a chapter to enjoy. Buckle up! 

Shortlisted – Day 0005

They'd left the hospital in the dark, but along the way, the sun had risen, a painful brightness in Gareth's eyes. They arrived after an otherwise uneventful trip at Harlin's office, and Gareth headed straight for the visitor's chair. Harlin took his seat behind the desk and reached into a drawer. He pulled out a laptop computer, and after opening it, swiveled it around to face Gareth.

Harlin stood up. "Just hit the key. He's expecting you." He walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Gareth consolidated his thoughts before he took a deep breath and hit the activation key. Numbers scrolled up the screen, and then the message, <<SYNCHRONIZING ENCRYPTION KEY>> appeared.

A moment later, the blank screen changed to display Mayfine's image. The lack of sleep under his eyes was obvious, but a keen intellect looked out at Gareth.

"You have absolutely no idea the chaos you've created for me, Captain Levant."

"It was not my intention, sir."

"I know—Harlin has kept me informed. It's also not entirely your fault. We had no idea an LS could acquire these capabilities at this early stage of development. It's remarkable that my difficult child could do what she did so easily. She skirted our communications barrier to keep an eye on you. Even enlisting the help of Maat to do so. Out of all the people in the know, half of them are alarmed. The other half wants to know what the hell did you do to sabotage the program?"

"I would never knowingly do that, sir."

Mayfine let out a heavy sigh, relaxing his features. Gareth could see the toll the Living Ships program was taking on his aged face.

"I know that, son. I've reviewed every piece of data we have on you. But right now, I have a Living Ship that is borderline out of control, and she hasn't even ascended yet. Do you have any idea how many people are screaming for me to pull the plug right now? Believe me, your stepping on the Command Hierarchy bonding hasn't helped any.

"I'm smoothing things over right now by saying that this is part of my plan to get this ship to accept a captain. I'm sorry for the circumstances that brought you to this point, and I'm saying prayers for your wife. But I need to get my girl back on track with the program. Otherwise, I lose her, and you're not a captain—if you survive the ENS, that is. Are you certain this is the right choice for you?"

Gareth took a moment to answer as he looked at the hardness in Mayfine's eyes. "There is no choice for me, sir. Only what must be done."

A small twitch of a smile touched Mayfine's lips before he answered, "You still haven't let me down, son. I think you're the best choice my girl could have, and I will pray for you. I'll let Harlin know. Just sit tight."

The screen went blank, and Gareth stood up to wait. Moments later, Harlin came in through the office door with a huge, evil grin on his face.

"What's going on?" asked Gareth, suspicious of the glint in Harlin's eyes.

"We've just been assigned to the military courier service. We have an urgent package that needs to be delivered to Mayfine personally. You're even cleared to pilot the shuttle... but I'm flying us to the base. Let's go."