Terms of Service
© 2021 by Walter Reimer

Thumbnail art by  ahro



ColMilComNet
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Classification: CONFIDENTIAL
From: Transcosm HQ, God’s Armpit
To: All Transcosm Captains and Crews
1. The Colonial Military Command has been informed of a cease-fire between the Colonies and the Terran Confederate Union, brokered by and supported by the Kashlani. All Colonial military units have taken defensive positions as negotiations are ongoing.
2. All Transcosm assets will be returned to corporate control after completing any present assignments. Any repairs or replacements will be paid for by the Provisional Government.
3. Pay and benefits are unaffected by this directive. Combat bonuses will be calculated based on ColMilComm records.
4. My personal thanks to you all for your patience and your service.
Signed:
Khosrau Lavrent, Transcosm Chief Executive Officer
Mira Fikset, Admiral, Colonial Military Command


***


The message, like the one that had taken all civilian freighters into military service, had come while Meredith was aboard the A Quiet Life. The crew was aboard, loading cargo before the support element it was part of left This Far for Indawo.

Hot coffee sprayed across the glossy surface of the padd as the golden palomino mare read the memo, and she wiped it with a swipe of her paw as finished coughing and read it again. It was authentic, judging by the originator headings, and she read it a third time before it finally sank in. She started to grin exultantly.

But as quickly as it started, the grin faded into a pensive frown.

A touch of one finger opened the intercom to the ship’s bridge. “Jax?”

“Yes, Captain?” the rat replied.

“Could you come to my office, please.” She finished wiping up the spilled coffee, and was getting another mug when the day shift helmsfur (and the ship’s Executive Officer) came in. “Take a look at my padd, please,” the mare said as she finished stirring sweetener into the drink.

When she sat back down, Jax was sitting back in his seat, looking stunned. Meredith blew across her coffee and the rat blinked, his reverie broken, and he said, “I – Is this - ?”

“It says it’s genuine,” she replied, pointing at the message’s header. “I had to read it three times myself. I’m showing it to you and not the rest of the crew – “

“Why not?”

“Because I want to send a message to God’s Armpit and confirm it first,” the mare said. She sipped at her coffee. “Think about it, and you’ll realize I’m right.”

Jax put a paw to his chin. “I think I see,” he said. “The Confed sends a fake message, and the Colonial Navy loses part of their supply.”

“More like all of the civilian ships. I’ll bet you that Interstel and all the others have gotten similar messages.”

“That’s scary.”

Meredith nodded. “Yeah, although I don’t know what’s worse – that it’s possible, or that I thought of it.” She took a long drink of her coffee, her ears flattened against her head.

“I think that’s a good sign,” Jax said, and the mare blinked at him. “If you’re suspicious, we can avoid trouble.”

“Thanks. I think.”

The rat grinned, and the two shared a laugh. “My paranoia aside,” Meredith said, “how are we doing?”

“Cargo loading’s underway, should be finished in another hour or so,” Jax replied. “Engines are good, and Commodore Bury advises that we’ll be leaving This Far by seventeen hours.”

“Great. I’ll send that message off,” the golden palomino mare said, “and then I’ll be doing an inspection before we undock. Just remember not to tell anyone about this, okay?”

“Sure thing, Captain,” and Jax got to his feet and left the office.

Meredith took her time finishing her coffee as she mentally composed her message, then picked up a stylus and started to write.


***


“Hey Boss!” Christina said as the mare entered the cargo area. The cow waved her over to the supervisor’s station, sending Hui off with a swat to the bear’s rear. The bear laughed and joined the other cargo supervisor, Burton, in making final checks on the pods secured in the ship’s holds. “One last look before we clear dock, huh?”

“Yeah,” Meredith replied. “Anything I need to know about? Any issues?”

“Nah, it’s the usual, pretty much,” the heavily-built femme replied. She reached out and flipped through a few pages on the monitor screen. "Ration packs, refrigerated stores, medicine, Markellan whisky – I think the shlani at Indawo would appreciate that – nothing radioactive or explosive.”

“Thank Deus for that,” the mare said feelingly, causing the others in the compartment to laugh. As she left the room, she winked at Fuji in passing. The monitor was busy, both paws working a set of manipulators, but he winked back at her and smiled before returning to what he was doing.

Jax was talking to Jemel as Meredith entered the bridge and sat down in her seat. “That’s basically it,” the rat told the wolf. “Questions?”

The wolf shook his head. “We clear dock in an hour, and we all inphase on time. Go get some dinner, Dashufenke.”

“Is there any left, Jemel?” the rat asked with a grin, and he and the two day shift engineers left.

“Done your walk, Boss?” Jemel asked as he sat and logged into the ship’s navputer before turning partway in his seat to look at her.

Meredith nodded. “Everything in order,” the mare said. “After that, it’s in Deus’ paws.”

“I didn’t think you were religious.”

She chuckled. “Don’t you think we need all the help we can get?” Ginny started laughing, and Jemel and Elroy merely nodded sagely while chuckling.

At seventeen hours, the A Quiet Life separated from its dock and moved away, slowly at first but faster as it cleared the local traffic, to join the other members and escorts of the combat support element. The ships in the convoy began maneuvering to the inphase point, and Jemel glanced at his console. “Message for you, Boss, personal.”

“My repeater, please.” The screen displayed the message, and she read it.

Sometimes she hated being right.