Star Thrust ch. 7

Close Approach

The scan finished right on schedule.

Hawke leaned forward in his chair, studying the data streaming across his display. Twenty minutes of high-resolution sensor sweeps had given them a comprehensive picture of Norad III—population centers, agricultural patterns, technological markers, everything they needed for a basic anthropological report.

Moxie’s voice broke the silence. “Captain, initial analysis is complete. I’m transmitting to all stations now.”

The main viewscreen shifted, displaying a topographical map of the planet’s surface. Red dots marked population centers, green highlighted agricultural zones, and blue traced what looked like primitive road networks.

“Fourteen million inhabitants,” Moxie continued, her antennae swaying gently as she read from her console. “There are seven major population centers, with the largest containing approximately one hundred thousand individuals. Technology level is consistent with pre-industrial civilization. We’re seeing no evidence of metallurgy beyond basic iron forging, and nothing that suggests they’ve developed gunpowder or steam power.”

Galadria stood, hands clasped behind her back. “What’s your recommendation, Captain?”

“We’re going to need closer observation.” Hawke pulled up the drone specifications on his screen. “The orbital scans give us the broad strokes, but Star Force is going to want behavioral data—social structures, cultural practices, that sort of thing. Which means we need to get the drone down to street level.”

Shayden cracked her knuckles from her tactical station. “So we’re talking about a cloaked drone at low altitude, then.”

“That’s the idea,” Hawke said, “but the issue is control range. If we deploy from this orbit, we’re going to have significant signal lag. The drone could drift off course or fail to respond to an emergency recall.”

Darla spun her chair around to face him. “What if we take a shuttle down to low orbit? That would get us within optimal control range.”

“My thinking exactly.” Hawke stood and gestured toward the turbolift. “I’m going to need our science officer with me to operate the drone and analyze the data in real time.”

Moxie’s antennae shot straight up. She looked at Galadria, then back at him with surprise and alarm.

Galadria’s eyebrow raised slightly. “A logical choice. Lieutenant Moxani is certainly the most qualified for sensor analysis.”

“Then we’re settled.” Hawke moved toward the turbolift. “Lieutenant, you’re with me.”

Moxie stood slowly, her fingers trailing along her console like she was reluctant to leave it. “Yes, sir.”

They crossed the bridge together. Hawke noticed the way she kept glancing at him sideways, her antennae drooping and perking up in nervous intervals. When they reached the turbolift and the doors closed behind them, she pressed herself into the far corner.

Hawke hit the button for the shuttle bay. “You can relax, Lieutenant. This is just a routine survey mission.”

“I know, sir.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “It’s just that I’m not really used to working one-on-one with senior officers. Especially human ones.”

“Is that because you can’t read me as well?”

Her antennae perked up in surprise. “You know about that?”

“I read your file. Tribbs are empathic, right? It must be frustrating when you can’t sense what someone’s feeling.”

She touched one of her black braids, running her fingers along the intricate weaving. “It’s more than frustrating, honestly. Human emotions are so... loud. Intense. But they’re all garbled, like trying to have a conversation with someone while wearing earplugs. I can tell you’re feeling something strongly, I can see your mouth moving and I understand the words, but the emotional signal itself is just noise. I’m missing half the information I’d normally have access to.”

The lift arrived at the shuttle bay, and they walked across the deck to where the shuttle sat waiting. It was a small, sleek craft designed for short-range operations, roughly twice the size of a standard cargo pod. Hawke opened the hatch and climbed in, with Moxie following close behind, ducking her head as she entered.

The interior was cramped but functional enough, with two seats up front, a small cargo area in back, and all the sensors and controls they would need for the mission. Hawke dropped into the pilot’s seat and started running pre-flight checks while Moxie settled into the co-pilot station. Her hands moved across the science console naturally enough that Hawke suspected she’d been aboard a similar vessel before.

“Bruce Campbell, this is Shuttle One requesting departure clearance,” Hawke said into the comm.

Galadria’s voice came back immediately. “Clearance is granted, Captain. Please maintain communication protocol and report any anomalies.”

“Acknowledged. Shuttle One is departing now.”

The shuttle lifted off smoothly, and Hawke guided them through the bay doors and out into open space. The planet Norad III filled the viewport ahead of them, looking beautiful and blue-green against the black void.

Hawke adjusted their course, bringing them down into a lower orbit. The planet grew larger in the viewport, and he could make out continents now, along with mountain ranges and rivers cutting through green valleys.

“I’m taking us down to five hundred kilometers,” he said. “How close are you going to need to be?”

Moxie studied her displays, her antennae swaying in concentration. “Five hundred should be sufficient. Any closer than that and we risk detection even with the cloak engaged.”

The shuttle settled into position, and through the viewport, Hawke could see one of the continents rotating slowly beneath them.

Moxie’s fingers tapped at her controls. “I’m launching the drone now. Cloak is engaged and we’re descending to survey altitude.”

A small screen on the console showed the drone’s camera feed as it dropped through the atmosphere, falling through wisps of cloud. The surface came into sharper focus, revealing fields and forests and a cluster of buildings that had to be one of the villages.

“That’s some good image quality,” Hawke said.

“Very good. I’m picking up clear biosigns as well.” Moxie leaned closer to her screen. “Humanoid, bipedal. Their body structure is similar to humans, though they appear to be slightly shorter on average. The technology is definitely pre-industrial—I’m seeing what appears to be agriculture with draft animals and stone construction.”

“What about social structure?”

“That’s hard to say from this altitude. I’m going to need to get the drone closer if we want to observe behavior patterns.” She adjusted the drone’s course. “Taking it down to five hundred meters.”

They worked in silence for a few minutes while the drone moved over the village, capturing footage of the inhabitants going about their daily lives. They wore simple clothing, with some working in fields and others tending to animals that looked vaguely like cattle. Children played in a central square, chasing each other around a stone fountain.

Hawke watched them on the screen. “They look peaceful enough.”

“The population centers aren’t showing any evidence of fortification or military presence.” Moxie’s antennae swayed gently. “I’m picking up emotions from the surface too. Curiosity, contentment, some anxiety, but that’s pretty normal background noise.”

“You can actually sense them from up here?”

“Just barely. Only the strong emotions, and only when there are large groups.” She glanced at him. “It’s actually kind of nice. Human emotions tend to be so loud and chaotic—intensity without clarity. These people are calmer, and their emotions read much more clearly to me.”

“Is that why you volunteered for our mission? To get away from ships crowded with mostly human officers?”

Her antennae drooped. “That’s not a very flattering way to put it, sir.”

“I’m not judging you, Lieutenant. I’m just trying to understand.”

She was quiet for a moment, her antennae swaying gently. “My last posting was on a station with three thousand crew members, most of them human. The emotional noise was absolutely overwhelming. Every single day I’d go to work and just be bombarded by all this intense, garbled static—everyone’s stress, everyone’s anger, everyone’s fear, all of it loud but incomprehensible. I learned to block most of it out eventually, as most Tribbs in Star Force do, but it was utterly exhausting.”

“And this ship only has fifteen people.”

She nodded. “Exactly. Plus, the mission parameters meant I’d be working with people who had been psychologically screened, people who were comfortable with intimacy and physical contact. That’s really important for Tribbs. We need touch to feel grounded.”

“What about the other part of the mission? The biological component?”

Her face went paler. “I... yes. That part too.”

“You don’t have to explain it if you don’t want to.”

“No, I should. You deserve to know.” She took a breath. “Tribbs have a very low birth rate. We’ve been trying to figure out why for generations now. Some of our scientists think it’s because we only reproduce within our own species, and that our gene pool has become too limited. The idea of interspecies fertility solutions… if it actually worked, it could potentially save my people.”

“That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself.”

“I know it is. But I had to at least try.” She laughed, though it sounded shaky. “Even if I’m absolutely terrified of the whole thing. I’ve never even been with one of my own kind, and here I am agreeing to mate with an alien.”

Hawke kept his eyes on the drone feed. “We’ll take it slow. I meant what I said on the bridge earlier. You’re not required to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

“I really appreciate that, sir.” She touched one of her black braids again. “It’s just that Commander Rem seemed very satisfied with your performance. And she’s not exactly easy to please.”

His face went warm. “She told you about that?”

“She told all of us, actually. In detail. She was extremely thorough in her report.”

“Of course she was.”

Moxie’s antennae twitched as she smirked lightly. “She said your technique was far preferable to self-stimulation with toys. For a Vultarian, that’s apparently very high praise.”

“That’s good to know, I suppose.”

An alert beeped on Moxie’s console. She leaned forward, her antennae straightening. “Wait, that’s odd.”

Hawke looked over. “What is it?”

“The drone’s cloak is fluctuating. Power readings are becoming unstable.” Her fingers flew across the controls. “I’m trying to compensate, but it seems like something in the atmosphere is interfering with the field generator.”

“Can you boost the power?”

She tapped frantically at her console. “I’m trying, but it’s not responding properly.”

Another alert sounded, this one more urgent. Her antennae flattened against her head.

“Captain, the cloak just failed completely.”

“Pull it back immediately.”

“I’m trying!” Her voice went higher with stress. “The controls aren’t responding. It’s stuck in a hover pattern right over the village square.”

Hawke pulled up the drone feed on his own screen. The villagers had definitely noticed it now. People were pointing up at the sky, some were running, while others stood frozen in place, staring at the strange object hovering above them.

“We need to get it out of there before this turns into a full-scale panic.”

Moxie’s hands moved frantically across her console. “I can’t regain control remotely. The interference is too strong. I would need to input commands directly into the drone’s system to override it.”

“Can you do that from here?”

“Only if we get significantly closer. I’d need to be within fifty meters of it.”

Hawke gripped the controls tighter. “That’s going to put us in visual range.”

“I know that.” Her antennae were still flat against her head, which he believed was a sign of distress. “But it’s the only option we have.”

“All right, hold on.”

He angled the shuttle down sharply, diving toward the planet’s surface. The atmospheric entry was rough, and the shuttle shook and rattled around them. Moxie gripped her armrests hard enough that her knuckles went white against her pale skin.

They broke through the clouds, and the village appeared below them, growing larger every second. Hawke could see the drone clearly now, still hovering in place like some bizarre metal bird. The villagers had formed a crowd in the square below, and all of them were staring upward.

“I’m taking us down to fifty meters. Can you reach it from there?”

Moxie’s hands moved frantically across her console. “I’m establishing a direct connection now. Come on, come on...”

The shuttle descended rapidly. Forty meters. Thirty. The villagers scattered in all directions, running for cover, though some brave souls stood their ground and watched the shuttle approach like suicidal lemmings.

Moxie’s voice cut through the tension. “I’ve got it! I have control. Sending the return command now.”

The drone lurched awkwardly in the air, then shot upward. It streaked past the shuttle, heading for orbit at maximum speed.

“Excellent work. Now let’s get out of here before—”

Something cracked hard against the shuttle’s hull. Then another impact, and another.

Hawke looked down through the viewport. A group of villagers were hurling rocks and what looked like spears at them. “Well, they’re throwing things at us now. Can’t say I really blame them.”

He pulled back hard on the controls, taking them up as fast as the shuttle would allow. They climbed rapidly, leaving the village far behind. Within seconds they were back in the upper atmosphere, then above it completely, with the welcoming blackness of space surrounding them once more.

Hawke let out a long breath. “Bruce Campbell, this is Shuttle One. We’re clear and the drone is secured.”

“Captain, what exactly happened down there?” Galadria’s voice was clipped and sharp. “We lost telemetry on both the drone and the shuttle.”

“Atmospheric interference caused the drone’s cloak to fail. Lieutenant Moxani managed to regain control and recall it, but we had to get close to the surface to do it. The natives definitely saw us.”

“Did you make any kind of contact with them?”

“Negative. They threw rocks at us, but that’s the extent of our interaction. In a few generations, we’ll probably be nothing more than a bedtime story to them. We’re headed back now.”

“Acknowledged. I will need to prepare a full incident report for Star Force.”

“Understood. The atmospheric readings should clear the air, but I think we’ll all be a bit more cautious in the future.”

Hawke closed the channel and slumped back in his seat. His heart was still racing hard. “Well, that was certainly more exciting than I expected.”

Moxie was staring down at her hands. They were shaking. “I almost caused a major diplomatic incident. The First Directive—”

“What? You saved the situation,” Hawke interrupted, keeping his voice firm. “If you hadn’t regained control of that drone when you did, this could have been much worse.”

“But I should have anticipated the atmospheric interference. I should have run more thorough tests before deploying.”

“How could you possibly have known? The planetary scan didn’t show anything unusual about the atmosphere. It wasn’t until we hit the lower atmosphere that we were exposed to whatever caused the disturbance.”

She looked at him, her antennae drooping low. “I still should have been more careful—”

“Lieutenant.” He turned in his seat to face her directly. “You did good work down there. You stayed calm under pressure and you found a solution when we needed one. That’s what matters.”

Her antennae rose slightly. “Do you really think so?”

“I know so.”

They sat there for a momen, quietly looking at one another as the shuttle glided smoothly through space toward the Bruce Campbell. Hawke watched as Moxie’s hands gradually stopped shaking. Her breathing evened out and her antennae lifted back to their normal position.

She spoke up softly. “Sir? Thank you for not panicking back there. When the drone malfunctioned, I could actually feel your emotions clearly for once. The proximity and the high stress—it was like the signal finally cut through all the static. You were steady and focused. It really helped me stay calm.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t read humans very well.”

“Usually I can’t. Human emotions are normally just... loud noise to me. But when there’s physical proximity combined with high stress, sometimes the signal becomes clear enough to actually understand.” She turned to look at him. “You genuinely care about your crew. I could feel that. You were worried about me as a person, not just about the success of the mission.”

“Of course I was worried about you.”

Her voice went softer. “Not all captains would be, you know. My last captain barely even knew my name.”

“Then he was an idiot.”

Her antennae perked all the way up, and a small smile crossed her face. “That’s very kind of you to say, sir. And a little improper,” she added with a giggle.

“You can call me Hawke when we’re alone. All the formality gets exhausting after a while.”

She tested out the name quietly. “Hawke. I think I like that better. Does Galadria call you that, too?”

Hawke winced. “I don’t think she would if I gave her a direct order.”

“No, probably not,” Moxie snickered impishly.

The Bruce Campbell loomed ahead of them now. Hawke guided the shuttle smoothly into the bay and set it down gently on the deck. The engines powered down with a low whine. He popped the hatch and climbed out.

Moxie stumbled slightly as she stepped onto the deck, and Hawke caught her arm automatically and helped to steady her. The moment they made contact, her antennae went rigid.

He pulled his hand back quickly. “Sorry. I should have asked first.”

“No, it’s okay. It was just surprising, that’s all.” She looked up at him with her solid black eyes. “Tribbs feel emotions much more strongly through physical contact. When you touched me just now, I felt everything you were feeling in that moment.”

“And what was I feeling?”

Her voice dropped to barely a whisper. “Concern. Attraction. Desire.”

They stood there, only inches apart. Her eyes reflected his face back at him, and her antennae trembled slightly.

Hawke spoke softly. “Moxie. Can I kiss you?”

Her breath caught audibly. “I... yes. I think I’d really like that.”

He cupped her face gently with one hand. Her skin was cool and incredibly soft. He leaned down slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away if she wanted to. She didn’t move.

Their lips met in a kiss that was gentle and tentative. Her mouth was soft and she tasted faintly sweet. Her antennae brushed against his forehead with a feather-light touch. When he pulled back, she had her eyes closed and her antennae were swaying in slow, lazy circles.

She opened her eyes slowly. “That was nice.”

“Just nice?”

“Very nice. Extremely nice.” She was smiling openly now. “Can we maybe do it again sometime?”

He laughed. “Eventually, yes. But maybe not here in the shuttle bay where literally anyone could walk in on us.”

“Right. Yes. That would be completely inappropriate.” But she was still smiling as she said it.

They walked to the turbolift together. This time, Moxie didn’t press herself against the far wall. She stood close to him instead, her arm almost touching his.

She spoke up as the lift started moving. “So what happens now?”

“Now we go back to the bridge and explain what happened to Commander Rem. She’s going to want a full and detailed debrief.”

“I meant with us. What happens with us?”

Hawke looked at her. Her antennae were perked up attentively, almost hopefully.

“I’d like to spend more time with you, if you’re interested. Get to know you better. Maybe we could do another mission together, or have dinner, or whatever you’re comfortable with.”

She nodded, her antennae swaying gently. “I’d like that too. I’m still pretty nervous about the physical part of our mission parameters. But I’m definitely less nervous than I was before today.”

Hawke nodded. “Well, that’s a good start.”

The lift doors opened onto the bridge. Galadria stood up from her station immediately, her eyebrow already raised in that characteristic expression.

“Captain. Lieutenant. I am soothed to see you uninjured and in good spirits. I am equally eager to hear the details of how our crew managed to violate the First Directive on our very first mission.”

Hawke exchanged a quick glance with Moxie. She gave him a small nod, her antennae twitching with what might have been amusement.

He turned back to Galadria with a slight smile. "Indeed. It's actually quite a story, Number One."