I straightened out my uniform and glanced at the facts on my telepad one more time. I checked the time and then I checked it again. I made my way down the hallway and through the three doors that led to Commander Bell’s office. I paused in front of his door and hit the call button.
“Enter,” Bell said with that thick authority in his voice, turning the common response into a demand.
The door opened and I stepped forward.
“Lt. Smith. How can I help you today? Are the new cadets faring well?”
“Very well, Commander Bell. They are keeping me on my toes.”
“Excellent. I haven’t seen you since you argued over that point I struck off in your exams.”
“Yes, it’s been awhile. I’m here to request a field mission, a training exercise to the Sept system.”
Commander Bell leaned back. He hadn’t aged much since I was his student ten years ago. He was nondescript for a human, pale skin, brown hair cut like the rest of them. Only a gray streak, a sign of aging, stood out.
Bell punched some keys into his telepad. “The Sept system. A very calm system, but it’s a bit far out. What’s the training mission entail?”
I had this down cold. “It’s a mission involving supply chain management and to see the effects of unpredictable astroweather on a system. The planet Kryios recently encountered—”
“A solar flare that kept ships from heading there, reducing their trade. Now that it’s over, ships won’t return since contracts were broken and other systems have priced them out. What was their trade?”
“Copper, lithium, and various fuels.”
Bell looked at the screen holding all of the economic data on the planet. “Damn shame. The planet will be destitute in about ten years without a flux of trade.” He looked up at me. “And you want to show your students this—”
“Yes, sir. Leading seminars on the way there and back about discovery and solutions. How to prevent this kind of collapse.”
“And the trip’s length?”
My mind blanked. This was the question I feared. The one I couldn’t get around. Every simulation I ran, the percentages dropped when this came up. I heard a clicking and finally saw Bell snapping his fingers, “How long is the trip, Lt.”
I cleared my throat. “One month.”
Bell actually guffawed and I had never heard him slightly laugh before. It went through me like glass.
“I’m afraid I can’t authorize that. One month? All the classes and training they will miss.” He stared at me and went back to his computer. He punched in more keys and I wanted to lean over and see what he was doing, but I kept my obedient stance.
He turned back to me and said, “This isn’t a training mission. You’re conducting a rescue mission. All of your supplies you’ve requested tell me that. Can you explain that?”
Every simulation shut down my reasoning and his tone told the same story. Appealing to his better nature kept me grounded and the people on that poor planet, starving. I had intel to help them reshape their economy, but I couldn’t send it lest it possibly get intercepted. And Bell was a rules guy, a by-the-book, and he also wrote the book. Fine.
“Do you remember the question that we argued on?”
Bell folded his hands and glared, “You argued that survival of the fittest, the strongest must be completely banished under the auspice of technological advancement and that the finer qualities of the Sentients replace that. Although I agree with it, you stated that this must be adhered to at any cost, the pursuit of our ideals. I continue to disagree.”
“And if there is a limit to the pursuit of the higher ideals, such as mercy, who determines the limit? And do they have a name throughout history?”
“They do have a name, Lt. They are usually called ‘tyrants.’” He leaned back in his chair.
“One month to explore the limits of the higher ideals.”
He tapped a couple of keys and said, “Approved. Along with a 20% increase in your supply allowance.”
“Thank you sir.” I nodded and left. Now for the hard part.
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