A Just Determination by John G. Hemry Read Free Book Online Page B

laughed. "Jen, to be perfectly honest, one of the few faults I can't lay claim to is a roving eye."
    "Not a Don Juan, huh?"
    "Nope."
    "Good for you. That'll make life onboard easier for you. And if you really need some photos for your locker, you could do what Yarrow does. He's got pictures of his sports car posted."
    "You're kidding."
    "Take a look when you get a chance." Ensign Shen clapped Paul on the shoulder. "I have to get back to pleading with my bosses for sanity to prevail. Vainly pleading, no doubt, but I have to try so I can scream 'I told you so' with my dying breath. Hang in there, Paul."
    "Thanks, Jen."
    "You're feeling lost and overwhelmed, right?"
    "Does it show?" The thought alarmed Paul, already worried over his performance onboard the ship so far.
    But Jen shook her head. "No. You're doing a good enough job of projecting confidence. But it wasn't all that long ago that I was new to the ship. I remember. Boy, do I remember. A lot of things don't get easier, but that part does. Trust me."
    "I sure hope you're right. Are you going out with the others tonight?"
    "I wish. I've got duty, and even if I didn't I'd be fussing over that damned osmosis device. You?"
    "Nope. I'm sort of voluntarily confined to the ship while I reflect on the error of my ways."
    "A wise man. See you around. Maybe we can catch a flick after dinner." She smiled again. "My treat."
    "I thought movies in the ship's entertainment system were free."
    "They are." Laughing, Ensign Shen headed out into the passageway.
     

Chapter Three
    Paul sat, rechecking his seat harness and hoping his nervousness wasn't apparent to every other person on the Michaelson's bridge. He couldn't decide whether his assignment as Junior Officer of The Deck while the Michaelson got underway had been the result of malice or chance, but as he scanned the displays around him Paul was acutely aware that a major screw-up right now could cause extensive damage and cost lives. Not that it seemed likely he would be given such a responsibility right off the bat. However, Paul's discovery of the assignment when he read the underway watch bill had done nothing for his peace of mind. Nor had learning who would be supervising him in that assignment.
    He looked over at Lieutenant Tweed, occupying the Officer of the Deck position, outwardly calm as she ran down checklists. Outwardly calm, but Paul thought he detected tension in her movements. On either side of the bridge, the Captain and XO sat in elevated chairs, surveying all the activity around them.
    Paul reviewed his own checklist for the third time, then studied the maneuvering display. This close in to the station, it displayed a representation of the Michaelson in her berth along with details of Franklin Station itself. The station resembled a huge disc with a hollow center. That disc, Paul knew from his brief stay on-station, held everything from living quarters and administrative offices to repair facilities and bars. Above and below the disc were the dry-docks and berths for the ships the station existed to serve. The whole arrangement rotated just fast enough to generate a feeling of normal gravity in the mid-sections of the disc. When ships berthed at docks along the top or bottom of the disc, facing bow in toward the center and stern out, they joined in that rotation and gained the same feeling of gravity along the same axis that their main drives would accelerate in space. It was all extremely simple, except the part about actually berthing to the station and then leaving it without slamming into anything.
    Tweed looked over at Paul, smiled thinly with her lips sealed shut, then made a small thumbs-up gesture. Turning, she faced Captain Wakeman. "Captain, all departments report they are ready for getting underway. We have received clearance from station control to get underway."
    Wakeman peered around the bridge, as if suspicious of her report, then nodded. "Very well. Get the ship underway."
    "Aye, aye, sir." Tweed