Multiverse 8 Snippet 3

 Sitrep: Starting to ramp up on writing Shelby 10.

This snippet is from the story The Tour, a Federation story:

Agnosta

 

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nohar Yellow Tiger Rajestan was nervous but did his best to fight the jitters down. He’s been in stasis pods before; this would be no different.

He just didn’t like confined spaces. The pod was bad. But the coffin was a temporary evil; it meant he’d be asleep for the journey ahead.

He still wasn’t certain what possessed him to take on the journey. Orders obviously, though with his rank he could have gotten out of them had he wished. General Anhueser’s personal request and reminder that it could help him with his ongoing fear of travel too. His therapist Maddy had also been on that wagon.

He glanced at the nurse. She looked impatient.

“I’m going,” he muttered.

She indicated the pod.

“Okay, okay,” he muttered as he climbed in.

“It’s like taking a nap, sir.”

“I’m a warrant. Don’t call me sir.”

“Sorry, Warrant … ah, Chief Warrant Officer … um …”

“Chief is fine. Not that we’ll know each other long,” he growled. The nurse smiled and began to hook him up. A jack was attached to his implants to plug him in and monitor his vital signs. Additional sensors were attached for backup purposes.

“Can you leave the door open until I’m asleep?”

“That’s against protocol,” the nurse said with a frown. A doctor out of his range of view cleared his throat. She looked up. “… But I guess so, Chief.”

“I know; I sound like a kid,” the cat muttered, ears back. His fur was up. He knew he was anxious.

“Just try to relax, sir. The drugs can’t take hold until you relax,” the nurse said, voice dropping into a calming lilt.

He growled something but she kept moving. He could smell her since she was so close. Humans tended to like perfume and this one liked jasmine. It was a bit cloying, clogging his nostrils. He fought the urge to sneeze.

“Just close your eyes and picture a nice sunny day. Taking a nap in a hammock on a porch maybe …”

He let his eyes droop and then close.

“That’s good. Now, I’m attaching a Somnetic Delta Wave Inducer,” the nurse said. “It will help you fall asleep.”

Nohar grimaced but didn’t reject that. He had used the device a few times when anxiety had gotten the better of him and he’d needed to sleep. It was better and safer than drinking himself to sleep to avoid the nightmares. He felt the device being placed on his forehead. After a moment, there was a slight click sound and then he started to feel lethargic.

He heard the nurse say something in an approving voice and then nothing more.

---#---

Major General Pasha 101001 looked out the window as the shuttle continued to climb to orbit. As missions went, this one was better than most. It was also long overdue. He just wasn’t certain about it.

He had pitched the idea of an inspection tour to the Admiralty several years ago. He had thought it had been forgotten until a decision on high had come up. He’d been a bit wistful about seeing home again and had hinted about taking an assignment there or retiring. Apparently, that had made certain parties volunteer him for the mission.

His basic inspection tour had been bloated. The navy had provided one of their super fast couriers but they’d tagged their own IG inspector onto the mission. He’d been fine with that until the Marines had coughed up two of their own IG officers.

His staff had been pared down from seven to five including his AI Jack. One of his staff was First Lieutenant Angie Samara from the army AG office too, replacing his adjunct. That had been irritating. Not that he really needed someone to hold his bag.

Officers from Inspector General’s office from any branch of government were generally not well received. They were very much into nitpicking down to spot-checking the number of nuts and bolts in containers.

Pasha thought of his mission as showing the flag, going around and showing off to the public as well as the military personnel that the military did care about the individual bases and so on.

Of course before each arrival and supposed colonoscopy, the commanders of the AO would be busy scrambling to get everything neat and tidy. The rank and file might complain about such antics but it served a purpose. Well, correction, several purposes, Pasha thought. One was to put everyone on notice that they were checking in and cared about getting shit right. The second concept tied into the first; it was that if they were going to try something stupid, think twice, big brother was watching.

The third they all knew about already was for publicity and morale. The troops felt better when they knew that the bosses actually cared about them and their welfare. Listening to some of the troops and seeing them show off their skills was also important.

The senate Military Affairs Committee had gotten wind of the mission and sent their own representative from the senate IG office. He had yet to meet her.

He’d put his foot down at any additional people when he’d heard the mutterings about other government departments wanting to tag their own people in. The last thing he needed was a love boat with a couple dozen petty bureaucrats. Besides, the little courier could only handle eight passengers. Going with more people would have meant a bigger ship, which would have been slower and would have defeated the purpose of doing it fast.

Fast hell, he thought as the shuttle’s main engines cut off and they drifted to the station in orbit of the moon. He’d be lucky if the mission was completed in four years. He was expecting delays that would run them to five easy he mused darkly. He glanced over to his crew. They were all looking out the windows. He snorted to himself and then closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. Better to meditate than get drawn into some last-minute paperwork or some such nonsense.

---#---