Free The Pathfinder Project by Todd M. Stockert

unconditionally. So I for one am glad we’ve got a
full complement of Marines aboard,” Kaufield stated confidently. “The tampering
with our support vessel computer systems was completed quite some time ago, so
obviously our government has been infiltrated at the highest level. That means
we might even have one or more enemies within Pathfinder ’s crew.”
    “You’re certain you want
to release an unedited transcript of this meeting?” inquired Adam. “We could
have a large scale panic on our hands… or at the very least – paranoid
passengers.”
    “That’s exactly why I want
everyone to know what’s going on,” the Captain replied. “As I said, telling
people the truth and controlling rumors is very important in a situation like
this. Let our security people do their jobs.” He pointed at Adam. “If
someone notices you didn’t use mouthwash this morning, I really don’t care.
However, if one of our passengers sees somebody tampering with any of our
computer systems – that we will need to know about.”
    “I used mouthwash this
morning,” Adam stated hesitantly. Again, the officers at the table laughed in
response.
    “Karen, what’s our Medical
status?”
    “Excellent, for now,” Dr.
Simmons replied. “I have a staff of fourteen doctors and dozens of the best
nurses I could ever hope to work with. In addition, a lot of the technical
specialists working on the Roh brothers’ CAS system have experience working
with heavy duty medical hardware. So our Medical Ward is ready for action.”
    They continued discussing their
situation for another half hour. The meeting had to adjourn unexpectedly when
two of the shuttles on patrol suddenly flashed into view, back from their
survey. The Captain quickly ended the meeting and dismissed everyone.
    With Mary at his side, they
returned to the Command Dome. Both took their seats, and Mary activated an
exterior visual on one of the monitors. Both of the shuttles were visible,
flying side by side as they floated gracefully back toward the Pathfinder .
    One of them was trailing debris
from its Starboard flank and seriously shook the Pathfinder upon landing
in the hangar bay. The Captain immediately ordered everyone back to their
stations before activating an intercom terminal on the conference table.
    “What’s going on down there?”
he asked.
    “ The shuttles are back on
board, sir ,” an on duty deckhand replied. “ One of the shuttles left some
serious debris behind on its initial touchdown, but everyone in the flight crew
is okay .” He sounded almost annoyed. “ I think they dented the
hangar floor! ”
    “I’m glad they’re all right,”
the Captain said. “Please have them report to the Command Dome as soon as
they’ve completed their post-flight protocol.”
    “ Acknowledged .”
    *    
* * *     *
    It didn’t take long for
Kaufield to get his wish. He was sitting quietly in his seat wondering about
the status of the other two shuttles still out on patrol when the door behind
him opened. Two men walked in, both with their faces flushed from sweat and
combat fatigue.
    “Earth has been completely
devastated by the Brotherhood, sir,” one of the two pilots said, saluting the
Captain briskly. “There are dozens of fighters patrolling every major planet,
moon, and space station. I also counted at least eight capital warships
spreading out in preparation to conduct a more detailed sweep of the solar
system. They’ve got us, sir. There’s absolutely no fighting going on
anymore, and as soon as we turn on our motion sensors to count the ships in the
area their missiles start flying at us.”
    “What’s your name, son?”
    “Terry, sir. Lieutenant Terry
‘Dashboard’ Benson.”
    “And you were unable to
determine if any of our people survived?”
    “No sir. You should see how many enemy ships are patrolling the system already… with more transiting in
all the time. We spent the last part of our trip dodging missiles, and one