Read Online The Pathfinder Project by Todd M. Stockert - Free Book Online

their faces.” He looked at his Dad, who responded by smiling
warmly back at him.
    “I know, son,” Dennis said
firmly but gently. “That’s because a lot of scary things happened all at once.
Everybody’s been running their tails off making sure their jobs are done and
their families are safe.” He reached across his son’s lap and turned the
workstation back on. “And…” he said, grinning, “Everybody needs to relax a little
bit. So the first thing that you and I are going to do tonight before people
start going to bed is to cheer them up a little bit.” He pointed at the words
on his screen. “Read that for me please, and let’s see how well you do
as a temporary Captain, my boy.”
    *    
* * *     *
    Mary was on her way back to her
quarters after spending time in the Livestock wing with friends, just as Glen
had suggested. The activity had cheered her up some, and she sure had enjoyed
seeing horses again. If their stay on the ship lasted long enough, she had
decided to make a point of scheduling time to actually grab a saddle and go
riding.
    There certainly was enough room
on the vast interior of the Livestock wing’s inner surface. And – if she got
bored with the limited riding area – all she’d have to do would be to walk
across the catwalk to the opposite side of the wing where the gravity
was reversed and the rest of the animals were stored. She was nearly to
her door when a soft chime sounded.
    “ Attention everybody ,”
said a nervous voice erupting unexpectedly from a nearby wall speaker. “ This
is acting Captain Joseph Kaufield speaking .”
    Mary couldn’t help it, she
giggled out loud as she realized that the Captain’s son was using the all-call.
    “ My Dad wants… uhm… asked me
to let you know that everything is okay ,” Joseph continued. “ We haven’t
heard anything further from Earth, but the Pathfinder is in good shape.
He says he has a lot of faith in all of the talented people assigned to this project,
and we’re going to find a way out of this. So we’ve decided that everyone who’s
currently off duty should get their butts to bed and get some rest… ” There
was a brief pause, and Mary could hear Dennis laughing in the background. “ And
that’s a direct order from your temporary Captain .” The wall speaker
promptly went silent.
    Mary laughed out loud as she
opened the door to her quarters. After all the things that had happened today,
she wouldn’t have thought anything else could possibly catch her by surprise.
But that little trick from father and son had certainly done just that. She
made a mental note to stop criticizing Kaufield for reading up on Psychology in
his spare time.
    *    
* * *     *
    Promptly at 7:00 a.m. the next
morning, Captain Kaufield and his senior officers gathered for a status meeting
in one of the Pathfinder ’s observation domes. Adam Roh was the last to
arrive, since he had been assigned to gather each division’s status reports and
organize them into an overall summary. He ignored the smell of coffee – man,
what he wouldn’t give for a donut right about now – and sat down next to Mary.
Among the other officers present she also recognized Colonel Neeland and Dr.
Simmons.
    “For the purposes of rumor
control,” Dennis stated, “This will be an open forum. At the conclusion of our
discussion, transcripts of this meeting will be distributed to any interested
party.” He took a sip of coffee. “That being said, is it good news or bad,
Adam?”
    “Mostly good, sir,” Adam
replied. “All Project Team members and their families have been assigned to
quarters.” He glanced at the hastily printed list in front of him. “Total head
count is 897, with 72 of those assigned to Colonel Neeland’s company of
Marines.”
    “That’s the really good news,”
Murray spoke up. “I can have my troops maintain around the clock security on
all of the ship’s critical areas. The crew and passengers will see us…