Blake stared intently into his targeting device. “Five seconds.”

It was certainly the longest five seconds in my lifetime. I sat frozen in my seat staring out the observation window. The vapor trail of the incoming missile was clearly visible. And while I know nothing about missiles and stuff, it was obvious this missile was definitely large enough to take out the whole ship.

Sweating profusely from his forehead, Blake shouted, “Fire!” and he pulled the trigger. If the weapons on the Texas fired laser-like energy, you wouldn’t see anything coming from the barrels. But these former fourteen inch guns now fired something Blake had called Flex-energy. The blinding blue-white streams of raw power left from both the forward facing gun emplacements. Curiously, the beams of energy braided after leaving both barrels of each emplacement.

A heartbeat later, there was an incredibly bright, mammoth explosion that rocked the ship. We all sat at our stations in stunned silence. I couldn’t help but wonder if we were all dead or not. Clouds of smoke obscured the forward view.

I pulled my goggles off and threw them at Blake. “Could you have waited any longer!?”

Trying to look calm, the admiral said quietly, “Good work, lieutenant. Let’s avoid the dramatic pauses in the future though.”

Blake frowned at me before turning towards the admiral. “Sorry, admiral. I had to wait until the weapons system was fully charged.”

I heard more beeping in my headset. Dutifully I said, “Incoming transmission.”

“On audio.” I pressed the switch again.

Sounding agitated, the voice over the communications link said, “I see you managed to obtain all the Flex technology. No matter. You have a long trip ahead of you. No more warnings from me.” And then the signal dropped.

The admiral looked calm. He said, “Take us into space, lieutenant.”

Blake said, “Aye, sir.” He turned to face his console again and slowly moved a large lever forward. There was a loud ‘thunk’ sound as the drive engaged and the ship started to rise in the air. The inertial damping kicked in and we no longer felt the sensation of moving.

I stared in awe through the observation window, watching the curvature of the Earth drop away. Oh my God! I’m actually in space!

Not looking up from her computer screen, Captain Jennings said quietly, “All sections report no damage from missile attack, admiral.”

Studying his monitors, Blake said, “We have left Earth’s atmosphere. Course to destination already laid in. The jumps are being calculated now.” Apparently, calculating jumps consumed a great deal of the computers resources.

Not only was the ship outfitted with the Flex engine, which propelled the ship forward much like a rocket, but much more powerful, it was also equipped with a jump coil. The jump coil allowed the ship to cover great distances without actually having to travel through them. Without the jump coil, the trip would take centuries.

Blake pushed another lever forward. “We are enroute. Engines are full thrust. First destination is Jupiter for slingshot course correction.”

The navigator, the girl sitting next to Blake, sighed, sounding irritated. “Bogies on intercept trajectory, admiral.”

The admiral nodded. “They had to wait until we started moving to calculate an intercept. Bring shielding to max and set the defensive systems to automatic targeting.”

The navigator nodded, “Aye admiral.”

Thick steel was still the ship’s skin, but it had been covered with a reactive armor that would absorb the energy from energy weapons and deflect projectile weapons. The shell of the ship was also had its strength enhanced by the inertial dampening system that keeps the structural integrity of the ship in place.

Blake called me over to him. When I stood next to him, he turned and motioned that I lean down. He said quietly, “Since you didn’t get any training, you’re probably wondering why we’re not sending any interceptors to greet the attacking ships. Space battles aren’t like the exciting dog fights you see in the dramas you watched as a kid. At best it’s like a deadly ballet. They plot an intercept course, fire their salvos and watch if they have any hits. We just pass them by. If they want to attack again, they have to plot another intercept.”

I whispered to him, “That sounds boring.”

Blake chucked. “Yeah, kinda. Unless you’re being hit. We can only target the fighters, not what they shooting at us.”

The navigator announced, “Automatic defenses engaged.” I could hear some muffled sounds vibrating the walls of the ship.

The ship’s defenses were mini-Flex guns, firing rapidly. They take much less time to recharge. Through the forward observation window, I watched several attacking ships explode. Several managed to launch missiles at us. We couldn’t use the main guns on those missiles and the defensive guns couldn’t track the missiles fast enough.

Blake shooed me back to my seat. He announced, “Brace for multiple impacts.”

The attacking ships were targeting our main guns, but our shielding managed to deflect the incoming missiles away from the ship. Some of the missiles were set to explode before impact and the shielding absorbed the energy. A few more attacking ships exploded from the fire of our defense systems. I smiled to myself. This is just too easy.

We passed the remaining enemy ships. They didn’t try to attack again and so we went on our way to Jupiter without further incident.

A young man, not much older than me walked up and stood in front of me. “I’m your relief.”

I sighed heavily. “Thank God! I could use some relief!” I stood up and let him take my seat. I only noticed then how tense all my muscles were. A woman relieved Blake and I started to follow him off the bridge.

“What are we going to do, Blake?” I asked breathless after the elevator doors closed. “I can’t keep pretending I’m a member of the crew! I can’t keep pretending to be a girl!”

Blake looked quickly around as we exited the bridge elevator. “Let’s go to my quarters. We need to figure something out for sure.”

Blake took my hand and quickly led me through the twisty passageways. I was annoyed he was holding my hand, but I admit, I’d be completely lost if we got separated.

We came to a less crowded part of the ship. “As a bridge officer, I get a private berth, such as it is.” He started to open the door to his berth when an ensign came down the passage.

“Excuse me, sir,” said the ensign in a whiny voice. “Did you forget that these are not co-ed berthing areas? You can’t bring a woman in here.”

Blake gave a quick salute and smiled nervously. “Thank you ensign. In the excitement, I guess I forgot.”

The ensign smartly returned the salute and grinned. “You’re welcome, sir!”

Blake took my hand again and snarled, “Come this way to the mess hall. Maybe we can talk there.”

I looked behind me. “Can we toss that asshole out the airlock?”

Blake shook his head. “I’ll do it later.”

We exited the passageway into a wide, open common area. The mess hall looked more like a school cafeteria and was open twenty-four hours a day. The officer’s mess was separated and was mostly vacant.

Pointing with his free hand, Blake said, “Let’s go in there.” He let go of my hand and straightened his uniform a bit. We walked to the far end of the room and sat down.

Blake looked at me for a moment. He asked, “Did you want something to drink?”

Raising my eyebrow, I asked, “They serve alcohol on the ship?”

Blake frowned. “What? No. Don’t be stupid. Alcohol isn’t allowed on the ship. Your choice is water, milk and Dr. Pepper.”

I laughed. “Dr. Pepper?”

Blake shrugged. “This is the Battleship Texas after all.”

Still chuckling at the idea, I replied, “Dr. Pepper. Do they have diet?”

Blake grinned back at me. “Of course.” He selected two cans of soda and sat back down.

I looked around at all the exposed plumbing running along the ceiling and walls. “I’m sure on a ship this size there are places I can hide. You can bring me food and water every day or so.”

Blake shook his head. “What about when you have to take a shit?”

I shrugged. “You can bring me a bucket or your space helmet or something.”

Blake looked down at his hands. “No. Hiding is not a good idea. You’ll be found and then there’ll be an inquiry and then we’re all in trouble. No. We need to hide you in plain sight. The big problem in hiding is that you’ve already been seen as a crew member and female to boot.”

I frowned. “Just get me a men’s uniform. No one will remember me.”

Blake suddenly looked to one side and started to stand.

Captain Jennings waved him down. “Please remain seated. I’ve been looking for you two since you left the bridge.” She pointed at me. “Has she been added to the system’s roster yet?”

Blake glanced over to me and then back to the captain. “Not yet, ma’am. The emergency was a big interruption.”

The captain smiled. “It certainly was.” She pointed at Blake. “The admiral wants you to attend the debriefing about that emergency. I’ll take… what was your name again?”

Looking sheepish. We hadn’t had time to come up with any good alias for me. So I just looked at the captain. “Tyler, ma’am. Tyler McAdams.”

Captain Jennings nodded. “Come along with me, miss. I’ll leave you at the infirmary. The doctor can add you to the roster as she checks your health.”

Blake quickly stood up. “Is that really necessary captain? I mean, look at her. She’s the very picture of health.”

The captain looked from Blake to me and back to Blake. She smiled knowingly to Blake. “It all has to be official, lieutenant. You better double-time it. The admiral is waiting in his ready room.”

Blake nodded. “Aye, ma’am.”

As Blake turned away, the captain gave me a curious look when I said, “Been nice knowing you.”

Captain Jennings led me through the bowels of the ship without holding my hand. I didn’t expect her to, but I didn’t want to get lost either. Needless to say, I was absolutely terrified at the idea of seeing the ship’s doctor. Our ruse would be up and my fate would be completely unclear at this point. The ship didn’t have any yardarms to hang me from, but I was sure it had a brig.

We finally stopped at a large office area that had three hospital type beds and all types of medical equipment scattered about. It looked like a cross between a doctor’s office and a hospital room… which I guess it was.

Captain Jennings knocked on the door to the infirmary. The doctor, a woman, was seemingly startled and fumble with something she was trying to avoid dropping. She managed to slide it onto the shelf before turning nervously around.

Captain Jennings looked concerned. “Dr. Lujan? I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

The doctor composed herself. “I’m afraid the activity this morning left me a bit shaken. How can I help you, captain?”

The captain pointed at me. “This is a last minute recruit and she’s not on the ship’s roster. We’re shorthanded at the moment, so would you add her to the roster while you’re giving her a physical?”

Still acting a bit nervous, the doctor took a step towards me. “Of course, captain. It shouldn’t take long.”

Stick a fork in me. I was done.