I have a bridge to look after here.

“I have a bridge to look after here.” is a flash-fiction story included in the Halo Wars: Official Strategy Guide. It is about Captain James Cutter and his thoughts before the rendezvous with the UNSC Prophecy and join the fleet en route to Harvest.

Story
Cutter looked out over the bridge and took in the view. Slipspace always reflected and lit the exterior of the ship in an unnatural and unwelcoming light. The vast size of Spirit of Fire stretched out serenely in this odd sea. The orders were quite specific: rendezvous with The Prophecy and join the fleet en route to Harvest. He had always liked the word “rendezvous” ever since he got it right on Mrs. Ash’s sixth-grade spelling test. He unconsciously sounded it out and Serina flickered on.

“The Prophecy is a good ship—could have been your ship if you had taken them up on the chair,” Serina quipped. She said it loudly enough that Blake looked up from his console.

“I’m happy with the seat I have, Serina.” Cutter glared back.

And in truth he was. Spirit of Fire was the largest operational ship in the fleet, and while it wasn’t the fastest and didn’t boast the best weaponry or military complement, it was the one ship every other captain in the fleet was happy to see. Spirit of Fire brought supplies, water, fuel—and ground support to the field. More importantly for Cutter, Spirit of Fire was stationed at Reach and generally wasn’t part of long tours of duty. Cutter thought of his daughter and wondered if she had a spelling test today or not. He also knew that by passing on The Prophecy command that his chances of being offered something as prestigious again were slim. In fact, he had already heard rumor to that effect. The choice had been easy, though, and he had no regrets.

“Hello! Ship AI on deck!” Serina brought him out of the moment and back to the bridge. “Well, I would have hated to break in a new captain anyway; took me long enough to get you where I want you.”

“Thank you, Serina. I think. How are we doing?”

Serina could get under his skin, and she knew it. The AI was necessary to run the ship, and her sometimes flippant character didn’t betray the complexity of her second-to-second duties. However, sometimes Cutter thought he could do without the running commentary.

“Loaded for bear, sir. We should exit Slipspace in thirty-two hours, twelve minutes. Professor Anders has requested better quarters and insists on seeing you. Apparently you must know the ship layout better than me because I told her—”

Cutter interrupted, “Mister Blake, please go see to our guest. I have a bridge to look after here.”

Blake looked around the largely empty bridge. Lieutenant Green peered up from the flight control; he was sure Serina was looking at him smugly.

“Yes, sir!” Blake barked as he made for the door. He thought to himself that he would never be babysitting civilians if he was on The Prophecy.

Serina paused, waiting for Blake to leave. “So, Mr. Captain, sir, what do you think ‘loaded for bear’ actually means?”

Cutter sat down and pushed back in the chair. His mind fixated on the empty seat Blake had vacated, and he thought back to his long days as an Ensign in the fleet. His father had pushed him to get his degree and was furious that he had signed up for the UN Colony logistics office and even more furious when he applied to flight school. “Nothing more than a trucker!” He could still hear the words echo.

Piloting colony ships was mind-numbing work, but it gave him experience and eventually earned him command of the Glasgow, a colony freighter vessel. It wasn’t special, but he pulled his runs, and after an incident with insurgents in the Epsilon Eridani system, he gained the attention of UNSC command.

His mind moved to his father again and the redeeming words he later said when he toured the ship with his son—the new captain on the Spirit of Fire. “I guess you knew something, after all. Your mom would be proud.” This was all he said, but it was enough.

Cutter sighed. “Serina, it means that tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

Characters

 * Captain James Cutter
 * Serina
 * Officer Blake
 * Lieutenant Green
 * Ellen Anders
 * James Cutter's daughter and parents