"No sweat," Matt whispered. "I've seen worse; as long as we got the suits on we'll be OK. Heck, this should kick up the solar wind I bet Uncle Dan will have all sails out for this storm."
"As soon as this meeting is over you are all to don your anti-radiation suits," Doctor Zhing continued. "No personnel are to go aft of Bulkhead Four. All personnel housed aft of that position are to double up with personnel forward; room assignments will be posted. The hydroponics deck, which is completely unshielded, is strictly off-limits. The air circulation system that runs aft through the hydroponics deck already has extra baffle shielding inside the air ducts, so we don't have to worry about any contaminated dust particles. The filters are not to be touched, though, until this ship docks and properly shielded and trained personnel remove them. The rest of the lower deck is off-limits as well except for short visits to gather necessary supplies.
"We're going to position the ship so that its long axis is pointed directly back at the sun. The reactor engines and their shields should absorb most of the blow, but radiation inside the ship is expected to rise to a potentially dangerous level. Any questions?"
"How long is this expected to last, sir?" Tanya asked.
"Not sure, maybe for the duration of the run out to Mars. At least we're outbound rather than running in, so that will help somewhat. The interference level is significant, though. We've already lost all communications except on our primary dish, and even that signal's rapidly degrading. The forward edge of the storm is expected to wash over Earth orbit later today, and all communication will most likely be lost except for a few high-powered stations with strong directional focus. That means we're cut off. We're heading into a dead zone anyhow between Mars and Earth, no relay stations, no colonies out here, so skipping signals from high-gain systems aboard large ships is out. I guess we'll be out of touch for a while once the storm hits."
"No Academy assignments," Matt whispered with a smile. "Can't give us homework now."
"Anything else?"
Justin watched as Zhing scanned the group. He had heard a rumor the night before that Zhing had a reputation for getting into the "medicinal alcohol." Because there was so much money to be made aboard an orbital colony or even in the mining camps it was hard to find enough doctors for a flight; sometimes less than the best were recruited and given the rank of Lt. Commander. Either they were straight out of school and looking for a few adventures before settling into a practice, or they were at the tail end of a downwardly spiraling career. I haven't seen any indication of a problem, though, and he does seem kindly enough, Justin thought.
"If there are no further questions, you are dismissed. I'll be around within the hour to check that all of you are in your protective gear. You should know the drill. Avoid exterior walls, keep a sharp eye on your rad — dose meters, and suits should only be removed four times a day, ten minutes at most for going to the bathroom and sorry, that doesn't include time for showers."
Zhing nodded as if in dismissal, but the forward door opened and the assembly snapped to attention as Captain MacKenzie came into the room.
He stood silent for a moment, dark eyes darting back and forth.
"If Doctor Zhing has done his job correctly you've all been informed of our situation," MacKenzie began. "All ship's routines will continue as normal, except where there are safety considerations. The aft engine room has been sealed, the door bolted and secured and engine watch will be run forward in the secondary control center. There is, however, one further announcement.
"An incident occurred on the day of our departure. I felt it best not to discuss it with you for obvious reasons, but circumstances have changed."
Justin shifted uncomfortably. Everybody already knew what had happened from their contacts with Uncle aboard the Academy. Now they were going to hear it officially.
"Yesterday a group of terrorists claiming allegiance to the Mars separatist movement seized a USMC ship in orbit above that planet. A number of civilians are being held hostage with the claim that they had violated certain laws on Mars and as such were to be detained for a local judge and jury to decide their fate.
"Those individuals were engaged in a legitimate business operation chartered by the United Nations, and as such they do not fall under any so-called 'local control.' Besides, such claims are totally without merit. No violation of generally accepted law had occurred. Thus these raiders are no better than pirates and should be treated accordingly and without mercy for that fact alone.
"It is reported as well that an officer aboard the ship allowed these pirates to gain access. There was a report of casualties on both sides. It is disgusting to realize that someone wearing the uniform of the Fleet has turned traitor. This should not come as a surprise, though, to those of us who are loyal and who are at times forced to associate with such scum hiding behind our uniform."
He fell silent for a moment. "Yes, there are traitors in our service, and it is time they were rooted out and smashed like the vermin they are."
He slammed a clenched fist into an open palm as if he were actually performing the act of annihilation, and Justin winced at the sound of the blow.
"This, gentlemen, was an act of mutiny and piracy and as such the regulations are well known execution."
He spat out the last word as if the sound had a certain pleasant ring to it.
"This is not the Academy, it is a ship of the line. There are no kid gloves here like your Thorsson wears. I expect all of you to do your duty.
"The last communication I received from USMC headquarters before communications failed indicates that a full and formal Declaration of Emergency is about to be announced."
Justin took that information in, not sure how to react. It had been nearly ten years since the last Declaration of Emergency had been enacted. The situation had been far worse then, a group of religious extremists in South Central Asia, the Thugees, managed to secretly manufacture and deploy a dozen thermonuclear devices with the intent of destroying the newly created Skyhook tower, claiming that it was an offense against God. It was the last time a nuclear device had been used when a USMC strike force had gone in to destroy the stockpile, the extremists had set a weapon off in an act of self-destruction that had also killed over two hundred strike marines.
"Since we are now out of contact with all higher authority, the rules and regulations regarding the behavior of ship's personnel in time of emergency are now in force."
For the first time Justin suddenly realized that there was something different about MacKenzie. It wasnt just that he was wearing a full anti-radiation suit it was that he had a sidearm strapped to his waist.
"Ship's company dismissed."
Without another word MacKenzie retreated back into the forward section. Zhing, eyes wide, watched the Captain depart and then turned back to the cadets.
"Go on, now," he said quietly. "Run along and get yourselves suited up. Go on!"
With a very unmilitary gesture he waved the cadets off as if they were so many children on a playground. Heading into their room, Justin slid the door shut after his three other roommates came in.
"Hey, a full blown storm," Madison said excitedly. She unstuck one foot and started to slide into her suit.
Going over to the wall Justin turned the ship's computer on, punched in for some music and turned the volume up.
"Come on, Bell, Wagner's a little heavy-handed for all this," Tanya said. "At least put a good Russian composer on."
"Listen up, all of you," he whispered.
Justin turned the volume up even louder and motioned for his three friends to draw in closer. Leonov smiled warily as if he were planning some sort of trick.