"Level 19, E Ring, Section 3 secure," Private First Class Johan Legeen reported.
Private Helmi Alpassi jogged back up the corridor. "Level 19, E Ring, Section 4 secure,"
"Level 19, E Ring, Section 2 secure," Private Visa Honka said.
Corporal Satu Weilin raised her comlink to her mouth. "Squad Three reporting, 19-E two-to-three secure."
She waited for the acknowledgement and then jerked her head toward the next sector.
"Checking door-latches isn't what I thought I'd be doing when I enlisted," Alpassi grumbled as the squad followed.
"CTO says ship's security includes safety procedures, you check door latches," Honka said.
"CTO? Fancy name for a Gunny," Alpassi said.
Honka slowed his pace a little, turning to look at her. "It's not a big ship and it's not a military one. But it's a good berth."
"If you don't mind the ghost," Legeen said.
"Ghost?" Alpassi asked.
"There's no ghost," Weilin said. "Little hustle there, people. You wanna stand around talking all night and do your job in your off time?"
The three marines picked up their pace.
"What's this ghost?" Alpassi hissed to Legeen.
"Stories the crew tell," Legeen said, and shrugged. "All ships have them."
"So not a real ghost?"
"You believe in all that?" Legeen sneered.
"No, of course not!" Alpassi said.
They came to the next junction and split up again, each taking a separate corridor and jogging down it, checking the latches on every door and stowage, scanning the floor for any dropped tools, loose bolts or anything else that might have escaped a crew-member's pocket and attention and that a fluctuation in the intertials could turn into a deadly high-V missile.
Alpassi's right, Legeen thought as he finished and turned back toward the junction. This is work for maintenance patrol, not marines. But Honka's right too. It's a good berth, and there's not enough call for military work to keep us busy. And orders are orders.
"So have you seen the ghost?" Alpassi asked as they met at the junction.
"They're just stories," Legeen said. "Every ship has them."
"What do the stories say?"
Legeen shrugged. "Erin Tan down in Engineering saw a gunnery crewmember during mainday shift walk right through the reactor wall and disappear." He laughed at the look on Alpassi's face. "Erin also saw the ghost of her father playing poker in the crew mess. Erin sees something, doesn't make it true."
"So the ship isn't haunted?" Alpassi asked.
Legeen shook his head. "No way. There's no ghost."
"I've seen her." Honka's voice made them both jump and turn.
"Seeing things, Visa?" Legeen said, grinning. "You should see the doc about that."
"I've seen her." There was a quiet certainty to Honka's words that sobered Legeen. "Down on Third. Forward of D Ring."
"You've - forward of D Ring?" Legeen said. "Just past main cargo?"
"That's right."
"That's what everyone says. Forward of D Ring, just past main cargo. Where the holo-emitters are, that Pilot uses to talk to the crew sometimes?" Legeen said. "You didn't see a ghost. You saw Pilot testing the system."
"No," Honka said.
"We were on an op, right?"
"Yeah."
Legeen nodded. "Same as everyone else. No one sees it when Pilot's not in pod. You just saw her initialising the holo-address system or something."
"Wasn't Pilot," Honka said firmly. "Wasn't anybody alive."
"How do you figure that?" Alpassi asked.
Honka paused, and then whispered: "She was on fire."
"Glitch in the system. Some kind of shimmy in the buffer." Legeen's voice was less certain.
"I know what I saw."
Private Helmi Alpassi jogged back up the corridor. "Level 19, E Ring, Section 4 secure,"
"Level 19, E Ring, Section 2 secure," Private Visa Honka said.
Corporal Satu Weilin raised her comlink to her mouth. "Squad Three reporting, 19-E two-to-three secure."
She waited for the acknowledgement and then jerked her head toward the next sector.
"Checking door-latches isn't what I thought I'd be doing when I enlisted," Alpassi grumbled as the squad followed.
"CTO says ship's security includes safety procedures, you check door latches," Honka said.
"CTO? Fancy name for a Gunny," Alpassi said.
Honka slowed his pace a little, turning to look at her. "It's not a big ship and it's not a military one. But it's a good berth."
"If you don't mind the ghost," Legeen said.
"Ghost?" Alpassi asked.
"There's no ghost," Weilin said. "Little hustle there, people. You wanna stand around talking all night and do your job in your off time?"
The three marines picked up their pace.
"What's this ghost?" Alpassi hissed to Legeen.
"Stories the crew tell," Legeen said, and shrugged. "All ships have them."
"So not a real ghost?"
"You believe in all that?" Legeen sneered.
"No, of course not!" Alpassi said.
They came to the next junction and split up again, each taking a separate corridor and jogging down it, checking the latches on every door and stowage, scanning the floor for any dropped tools, loose bolts or anything else that might have escaped a crew-member's pocket and attention and that a fluctuation in the intertials could turn into a deadly high-V missile.
Alpassi's right, Legeen thought as he finished and turned back toward the junction. This is work for maintenance patrol, not marines. But Honka's right too. It's a good berth, and there's not enough call for military work to keep us busy. And orders are orders.
"So have you seen the ghost?" Alpassi asked as they met at the junction.
"They're just stories," Legeen said. "Every ship has them."
"What do the stories say?"
Legeen shrugged. "Erin Tan down in Engineering saw a gunnery crewmember during mainday shift walk right through the reactor wall and disappear." He laughed at the look on Alpassi's face. "
"So the ship isn't haunted?" Alpassi asked.
Legeen shook his head. "No way. There's no ghost."
"I've seen her." Honka's voice made them both jump and turn.
"Seeing things, Visa?" Legeen said, grinning. "You should see the doc about that."
"I've seen her." There was a quiet certainty to Honka's words that sobered Legeen. "Down on Third. Forward of D Ring."
"You've - forward of D Ring?" Legeen said. "Just past main cargo?"
"That's right."
"That's what everyone says. Forward of D Ring, just past main cargo. Where the holo-emitters are, that Pilot uses to talk to the crew sometimes?" Legeen said. "You didn't see a ghost. You saw Pilot testing the system."
"No," Honka said.
"We were on an op, right?"
"Yeah."
Legeen nodded. "Same as everyone else. No one sees it when Pilot's not in pod. You just saw her initialising the holo-address system or something."
"Wasn't Pilot," Honka said firmly. "Wasn't anybody alive."
"How do you figure that?" Alpassi asked.
Honka paused, and then whispered: "She was on fire."
"Glitch in the system. Some kind of shimmy in the buffer." Legeen's voice was less certain.
"I know what I saw."
"I know what you will be seeing if you don't quit gabbing and start walking," Weilin said. "Stars. Report."
"Level 19, E Ring, Section 5 secure."
"Level 19, E Ring, Section 7 secure."
"Level 19, E Ring, Section 6 secure."
Weilin nodded, and said into her comlink: "Squad Three - 19-E five-to-seven secure." She turned back to her squad. "You guys wanna tell ghost stories, there's a time and a - attention."
The three marines came to attention, spines straightening automatically at the order, eyes fixed straight ahead, as Weilin snapped a salute to someone in the corridor behind them.
"Oh, please," a woman's voice said, the slightly blurred consonants of her Gallente accent familiar to all of them from countless on-board announcements. "You don't need to - um, 'at ease'?"
Thump - four left feet hit the deckplating in unison. Slap - four pairs of hands locked together behind four backs.
The pilot stepped gingerly past Honka to stand in front of the marines. "Um, I'm not sure that's what I meant?" she said with an apologetic smile.
"Ma'am!" Weilin said, eyes fixed on the opposite wall. "Did you mean 'stand easy', ma'am?"
"Okay, stand easy, please?" the pilot said.
Weilin and her squad obediently loosened their posture a little and the pilot smiled in relief.
"Is everything all right down here, Satu?" she asked.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am! All secure!"
The pilot winced a little. "Well, good. Thank you. Um ... carry on?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Weilin said, saluting again.
"You really don't need to do that," the pilot mumbled, looking up at the corporal towering over her.
"Ma'am, sorry, ma'am! Force of habit, ma'am!"
The pilot patted Weilin gently on the arm. "I understand. It's okay." She ducked her head shyly, and turned back up the corridor.
The four marines watched her go until she turned a corner.
"Stand easy, please?" Alpassi said incredulously.
Weilin looked at her levelly. "You haven't had 'the talk' yet, have you?"
"'The talk'?"
"From the XO."
"No," Alpassi said. "Ordered to report to her tomorrow, matter of fact."
Weilin nodded. "Well, she'll tell you a few things. About how it works on the Fortune's Smile."
"Like?" Alpassi asked curiously.
"Like Pilot Roth doesn't like giving orders, but that doesn't mean we don't take 'em," Honka supplied.
"Doesn't like giving orders? How does the ship run, then?" Alpassi asked.
"Ship runs because she says 'please' and we hear 'on the double'," Weilin said. "She says 'if it's not too much trouble' and we hear 'RFN'." She looked at Alpassi's raised eyebrows. "Look. We all came on board the same way. I know you did because I was on the boarding party that hauled you off that transport about thirty seconds before the hull went. I'm prepared to accommodate quite a few quirks in my CO for that. Suggest you be, too."
"It's not like Pilot wants us all to sign up to the Federation militia or nothing," Legeen said. "She wants to pretend that we're all friends and all she does is offer suggestions?" He shrugged. "I'll play along."
"Funny way to run a battlecruiser," Alpassi said.
Weilin gave a thin smile. "Not the weirdest kink I've ever heard of in a podder, by a light year," she said. "Give her a year, she'll be just like the rest of 'em. Meanwhile, just don't go thinking that Pilot's 'good manners' extend past the control room doors. XO Kamajeck says jump, you don't even ask how high until you're in the air. Just a piece of advice."
Alpassi nodded. "Okay," she said.
Weilin looked her in the eye. "One more thing. Don't talk about that spirits-lost ghost, you hear? Nobody needs spooked crew when the shields are down and the armour's going."
"Sure," Alpassi said. "Sure, ma'am, I won't."
"All right, then. We've still got eighteen sections to check." Weilin started to turn, then looked back at her squad and grinned. "And dont think you'll be getting an 'if you don't mind' from me."
"Level 19, E Ring, Section 5 secure."
"Level 19, E Ring, Section 7 secure."
"Level 19, E Ring, Section 6 secure."
Weilin nodded, and said into her comlink: "Squad Three - 19-E five-to-seven secure." She turned back to her squad. "You guys wanna tell ghost stories, there's a time and a - attention."
The three marines came to attention, spines straightening automatically at the order, eyes fixed straight ahead, as Weilin snapped a salute to someone in the corridor behind them.
"Oh, please," a woman's voice said, the slightly blurred consonants of her Gallente accent familiar to all of them from countless on-board announcements. "You don't need to - um, 'at ease'?"
Thump - four left feet hit the deckplating in unison. Slap - four pairs of hands locked together behind four backs.
The pilot stepped gingerly past Honka to stand in front of the marines. "Um, I'm not sure that's what I meant?" she said with an apologetic smile.
"Ma'am!" Weilin said, eyes fixed on the opposite wall. "Did you mean 'stand easy', ma'am?"
"Okay, stand easy, please?" the pilot said.
Weilin and her squad obediently loosened their posture a little and the pilot smiled in relief.
"Is everything all right down here, Satu?" she asked.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am! All secure!"
The pilot winced a little. "Well, good. Thank you. Um ... carry on?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Weilin said, saluting again.
"You really don't need to do that," the pilot mumbled, looking up at the corporal towering over her.
"Ma'am, sorry, ma'am! Force of habit, ma'am!"
The pilot patted Weilin gently on the arm. "I understand. It's okay." She ducked her head shyly, and turned back up the corridor.
The four marines watched her go until she turned a corner.
"Stand easy, please?" Alpassi said incredulously.
Weilin looked at her levelly. "You haven't had 'the talk' yet, have you?"
"'The talk'?"
"From the XO."
"No," Alpassi said. "Ordered to report to her tomorrow, matter of fact."
Weilin nodded. "Well, she'll tell you a few things. About how it works on the Fortune's Smile."
"Like?" Alpassi asked curiously.
"Like Pilot Roth doesn't like giving orders, but that doesn't mean we don't take 'em," Honka supplied.
"Doesn't like giving orders? How does the ship run, then?" Alpassi asked.
"Ship runs because she says 'please' and we hear 'on the double'," Weilin said. "She says 'if it's not too much trouble' and we hear 'RFN'." She looked at Alpassi's raised eyebrows. "Look. We all came on board the same way. I know you did because I was on the boarding party that hauled you off that transport about thirty seconds before the hull went. I'm prepared to accommodate quite a few quirks in my CO for that. Suggest you be, too."
"It's not like Pilot wants us all to sign up to the Federation militia or nothing," Legeen said. "She wants to pretend that we're all friends and all she does is offer suggestions?" He shrugged. "I'll play along."
"Funny way to run a battlecruiser," Alpassi said.
Weilin gave a thin smile. "Not the weirdest kink I've ever heard of in a podder, by a light year," she said. "Give her a year, she'll be just like the rest of 'em. Meanwhile, just don't go thinking that Pilot's 'good manners' extend past the control room doors. XO Kamajeck says jump, you don't even ask how high until you're in the air. Just a piece of advice."
Alpassi nodded. "Okay," she said.
Weilin looked her in the eye. "One more thing. Don't talk about that spirits-lost ghost, you hear? Nobody needs spooked crew when the shields are down and the armour's going."
"Sure," Alpassi said. "Sure, ma'am, I won't."
"All right, then. We've still got eighteen sections to check." Weilin started to turn, then looked back at her squad and grinned. "And dont think you'll be getting an 'if you don't mind' from me."
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