Turning Point
Beyond the Divide Book 2
Available from Amazon.com
Against the backdrop of Known-space, 17,000 years after the epic collapse of the Second Interstellar Empire, there are growing signs of trouble.
Trisha Cadwalder, a covert operative of the Solarian League, goes where she’s ordered to keep the League safe. Her cover is captain of the free-trader Hell Bent. Her current assignment is to locate and connect with her mysterious boyfriend, Captain Conrad Gordon.
Who is Conrad Gordon? She thought she knew the answer at the end of book 1 in this series. Now she’s sure. He’s the only person who stands a chance of saving the star nations of Known-space from the hostile alien civilization from Beyond the Divide.
Turning Point — Chapter 1 Through the Divide
Frankly, the fewer people who saw her like this, the happier she’d be. It was a mistake to agree to having this obscenity done to her no matter what the rationale. When she looked at herself in a mirror she felt slightly sick to her stomach. Her new tattoos were colorful, to say the least. The makeup artists at headquarters may have gone a bit overboard in their efforts to make the beautiful Colonel Trisha Cadwalder, a covert ops specialist in the service of the Solarian League look, well, different was a good, emotionally neutral word. Ghastly, less neutral, was a fair description of her new “different” look as well. Her wardrobe was updated to match her new appearance. Fortunately, while on her ship, she could dress normally. And, well, when not on her ship, she was technically undercover and this persona was supposed to be slutty.
It was what it had to be. Trisha Cadwalder, like her ship, Hell’s Fury, had become too well known for a covert operative. She dyed her blond hair a flaming red but hadn’t allowed changes to be made to her face, although she switched to using a bronzer and a different makeup palette. She was now Terri Morgan, the sleazy captain of the tramp freighter Hell Bent. Hell’s Fury, as her ship was previously name, had also suffered through cosmetic changes to disguise her previous existence. From the outside, she was far more rundown than Hell’s Fury. Not as well maintained. Yes, she could have done a more imaginative job choosing her ship’s new name, but she liked her choice. Then again, if you searched ship registries for ships with ‘hell’ in their names, you got hundreds of hits. Life in space had its downsides and the choice of naming a ship ‘hell’ this or ‘hell’ that reflected that truism. On the inside, Hell Bent was as neat and clean as ever with some rather spectacular upgrades.
There was nothing covert about her current mission, so the disturbing tattoo job may have been for naught other than its entertainment value for her crew when she used the gym. So far at least, this assignment was purely military in nature. When she was given the assignment, she had her choice of which ship to make her office on. She chose the ship she loved, the one she commanded for the last several years. Her decision made it awkward for Hell Bent’s captain, newly promoted Rick Wu, the man who had served as her executive officer on Hell’s Fury for over two years. He was more than mollified when she arranged to have him transferred as captain of one of the new Solarian League battleships. She was still surprised she was able to swing that. There was a list of people, already captains of lesser ships, vying for the job. She knew Rick well. She harbored no doubts he would be excellent in that position.
Bending military protocol, she took the captain’s position on Hell Bent for herself. Command was letting her get away with more than was entirely reasonable. She wasn’t sure why. On the other hand, she was grateful and didn’t question it.
At the moment, her newly promoted executive officer, Jake Hosta sat in her office. He was another officer she had been impressed with since Trisha first met him. As a lieutenant, he had served as her communications officer, her tactical officer, and her navigator. She assigned him a short stint in engineering as well. She expected to recommend his promotion to captain within the next year. When she thought about it, she realized her bridge crew were all overachievers. Jake said, “We’re about to breach the Divide. Will you be joining us on the bridge?”
She nodded. “Of course. Let’s talk about that a moment, XO.”
“Ma’am?”
“In confidence, Jake, I should not be captain of this ship. You know that. I know that. It was supposed to be Rick’s job. I should be on one of the battleships.”
He nodded. “I’ve spoken to him. He’s over-the-top thrilled with getting command of that battleship. Anyone would be.”
“I know. What you may not know is that people who significantly outrank me deferred to me on his reassignment. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep Hell Bent for much beyond our current mission. Once we meet Captain Gordon, things are going to change rapidly and drastically.”
Jake looked puzzled. “Do you care to explain that, Captain?”
“Captain Gordon is situated in the middle of something big. You know my, our, current orders. Those orders may not go far enough. I may wind up resigning my League commission to support him.” She paused. “I will be on the bridge today, in your seat, as an observer only. I want you in the captain’s chair. You may not feel ready. I understand that. I am, however, comfortable with my decision. Between you and me, by the time I leave this ship, whether to be with Gordon or not, I want all of my officers ready to step up to the next rung.”
The Divide had been fascinating astrologers for centuries. To human eyes, it was invisible. To sensor arrays, there was clearly something there. It appeared as a rippling curtain in hyperspace. No matter what angle it was viewed from, it appeared to be two-dimensional, but it also seemed to have depth. It stretched further than any ship had ever explored. It didn’t seem to have any edges. You couldn’t go around it. In the early days of its discovery, the Divide destroyed ships trying to cross through it. Shields on modern ships usually protected them. They still experienced a rough and tumble transition from one side of the curtain to the other, a transition that could last anywhere from minutes to days. There was no physics or mathematics that explained the phenomena. It just was.
They walked onto the bridge together, Trisha taking the XO’s seat as promised. Commander Hosta stated, “I have the bridge,” thereby relieving Commander Anderson, who generally ran the night shift.
As Anderson took over the navigation console, relieving the ensign on duty there, Jake flipped on the all-ship comm and announced, “Could I have everyone’s attention, please. We are minutes from entering the Divide. We’re not really sure what to expect. Please prepare yourselves for a rough transition. XO out.”
To his bridge crew, he said, “Take us through. Slowly please.”
Turning Point is available from Amazon.com