CROSSFIRE - Atlantis DSV - New Cape Quest

...Captain Corinn Roderick stared in to the mirror, and her hand slipped up to her
collar to find the two tridents wrapped in golden laurel leaves. She smiled as she unfastened
the rank pins and set them down on the dresser next to the old blue deltas. Picking up the
black, velvet box, she set the two old rank insignias inside carefully and closed the lid. It was
probably the last time she‟d ever do so.
Sighing, she unzipped the jumpsuit half-way, and put the small black box in to the
draw before walking back to the basin to splash her face with water. The computer on her
desk started chirping an alert for her VOIP intercom, and she quickly grabbed the towel from
the basin and went over to hit the receiver. The screen switched from the default, spinning
screensaver of the ship‟s crest to an office over two thousand miles away. She grinned again
in surprise as she recognised the familiar, mischievous beard, and sat down with a laugh.
“Well, it took you long enough!” she said.
Fleet Captain Gabriel Hitchcock smiled in return. He still didn‟t look any older than
when she‟d last seen him in person, but grey was visibly creeping in to the man‟s temples.
She recognised the view out the windows behind him as being the central courtyard of Cape
Cortez‟s administration complex. There we still students milling there, and for a moment, she
had to check the clock on her wall to remind herself of the time. “I pulled Commonwealth‟s
flight roster from the battlenet,” Hitchcock grinned, leaning forward. “Your routine‟s
reasonably predictable, Quinn. I hope no one in the Alliance has that one worked out, or else
you‟re in trouble.”
She laughed again. “You always were a bastard, Gabe.”
“Congratulations, Quinn,” he said with sincerity. “And at the same time – you have my
condolences.”
“A desk can‟t be that bad, surely,” she said, frowning. “You‟ve managed.”
Hitchcock smiled, and ran a hand through his greying temples. “My father didn‟t go
grey until he was 50. I‟m still 42, Quinn.”
Roderick shrugged. “I didn‟t tell you to become the Commandant of the Cape. You
have no one to blame but yourself for that one.” Hitchcock laughed, but Roderick frowned.
“Speaking of promotions – when did they make you a Fleet Captain?”
“Last month,” he replied. “They‟ve given me a new job, too. That‟s why I‟m calling.”
“New job?” she repeated.
“Yeah, I‟m still running things at Cortez, but they‟ve got me attached to Fighter
Command. Seems something‟s going on that they‟ve called in a lot of staff for. No one‟s
saying anything, but... I haven‟t seen such a big shift in fighter activities since I was still on
the Atlantis.”
“Anything I can help with?”
He seemed uncomfortable. “I got your new orders this morning. I can‟t say I‟m
surprised, but I have no idea what it‟s about.”
Roderick frowned. “Gabe, my orders for the Constellation were signed last month.”
“No, I meant these ones,” he said, holding up a piece of paper that Roderick could
see bore the seal of the UEO‟s fighter command. “Why are the cancelling the transfer?”
Roderick straightened. Whatever Hitchcock had been told, she knew nothing about it.
“What do you mean cancelled? Gabe, I have no idea what you‟re talking about.”
“This was just sent through Fighter Command,” he said. “They‟ve rescinded the order
for you to report to the Constellation. Further orders pending.”
Roderick‟s face twisted in to a confused grimace. “When? This is the first I‟ve heard
of it.”
Now it was Hitchcock‟s turn to be confused. “I assumed you knew?”
“No, I didn‟t. What‟s going on, Gabe?”
“I was hoping you could tell me, Quinn. But there‟s something else... Last week you
sent a message to ONI asking for information about a fighter attack south of the border.
Macaw bank.”
“How did you get it?” she asked, almost accusingly.
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