by Ricky Sides
“Oh, I missed the selection of the captain?” Bill asked, and Maggie laughed. Patricia giggled, and covered her mouth in her mirth. “Who’d we pick, Pete?” Bill asked in confusion.
“You, Bill,” Pete said and grinned at his friend.
Bill sat bolt upright then and said, “Now guys. I appreciate the offer but I’m not sure I’m qualified.”
“You’re one hundred times more qualified than I was when I was elected to my captain’s chair, Bill. I couldn’t operate a single system on this ship. You can operate them all, as well as the drones. You’ve also had years of leadership experience on a command level. You are the natural choice,” Jim said in a very reasonable tone of voice.
“I agree,” said Tim. “You won’t take unnecessary risks with your ship and the lives under your responsibility, but you are not afraid to act when action is imperative. You have what it takes, Bill,” Tim said this last with a quiet assurance.
“You actually said that very well,” Pete complimented Tim. Turning to Bill he said, “It’s time to do more for the peacekeepers, Bill. You are qualified. More qualified than Jim was when he was selected. You’ll be capable of taking a green crew and making it work. Oh, they’ll be trained of course, but a good commander must nurture the skill needed to operate the new ship efficiently. I can think of no one more qualified to command the most powerful ship in the fleet.”
“The most powerful ship in the fleet will always be the Peacekeeper, Pete,” Bill said with feeling. “It takes more than firepower to be powerful. It takes a skilled crew dedicated to their principles and to each other. This crew is the best. But I’ll take on the job, and thank you all for the vote of confidence,” Bill said. His voice sounded a bit emotional because of what they had said regarding him.
Pete stood and took a small black box containing the captain’s insignia from the tabletop. He walked over to Bill, removed his lieutenant’s bars, and replaced them with the captain’s rank insignia. The room erupted into spontaneous applause.
“Tomorrow you need to begin examining the volunteers’ records to select your crew, Captain Young,” Jim said easily.
“I may need a bit of advice on that score guys,” Bill said grinning.
“What are friends for?” Pete asked with a smile.
***
For a month, the crew of the Peacekeeper worked with the new crew of the forthcoming battleship. Some days they worked eighteen hours a day in the effort to see that they were as well trained as humanly possible. The control room crew all wanted Bill to have a well trained crew under his command, but they also knew that in the coming battle against the invasion armada the new ship and crew would be playing the all-important role of the main attack vessel.
With that in mind, the crew of the Peacekeeper put the new crew through one scenario after another. Some challenged the communications specialist, and some challenged the captain. Still others had left problems to be overcome by the security team led by a promising sergeant. During one such drill the control room crew trainees were instructed to vacate the ship to investigate a warehouse leaving a skeletal security team to hold the ship. The council had arranged for Lieutenant Wilcox and his strike force team to attempt to simulate taking the Peacekeeper from that security detail. The security team had detected the presence of the attackers and radioed the control room crew for backup. Lieutenant Wilcox and his men had been taken in the resulting crossfire in the mock battle using blanks. No one was happier than Lieutenant Wilcox, who had encouraged his men to bond with the new strike force team and work with them to improve their skills. He had personally taken to the young sergeant and carefully tutored the bright young man. That mentoring had paid off as the new security team blossomed under their training.
The armorer put the new men who would be responsible for reloading the conventional miniguns through their maintenance, reload, and cleaning training. The drilling didn’t stop until they reached the point that they were as proficient at the task as the original Peacekeeper team.
The navigations specialist was an extremely talented pilot. Tim drilled him incessantly on course corrections. Then he drilled him on when he should and should not override the computer controls for a maneuver. Tim stressed the importance of maintaining a nice stable flight path when either the drones or the fighters of the battleship were launching or landing. He further reminded the pilot that just because the ship could fly, didn’t mean that it would be safe to execute some maneuvers. He then went through multiple scenarios in which the ship encountered unsafe flight obstacles such as cliffs, chasms, and gorges. He explained that if the flight controls of the ship were set to fly at one hundred feet, then the ship would drop off a three hundred foot cliff and freefall two hundred feet before it even tried to recover. “Even if the ship manages to avoid impact with the ground, the results inside the crew area would be catastrophic,” Tim pointed out causing the pilot to blink in horror at the thought of such an error. He admitted that he hadn’t thought of that consequence to such a theoretical maneuver. Tim pointed out that this was why he was being trained. By the end of the training, the pilot could manipulate the controls with a finesse that even Tim admired.
Patricia worked with the communications specialist just as extensively. She taught her how to set up the system to monitor all know frequencies and automatically record pertinent messages. She also taught her how to jam known detonation frequencies and cross-reference the computer for known data. Further, she explained that all of the computer systems in the ship were redundant and taught her how to bypass one that was malfunctioning and shift to the backup in seconds. Patricia then showed her which programs she should never tamper with for any reason, and which she could edit to suit herself, with the captain’s permission of course. Very few programs should ever be edited.
Pete put the gunner through a series of tests of her skill, often conspiring with Tim to maneuver the ship poorly or in a deliberate manner trying to force her to miss targets. Pete called those drills rattle drills because they were designed to rattle the concentration of the gunner. So incessant were those rattle drills that the woman reached a point in which a decent shot was dead center one hundred percent of the time and her hit ratio during the rattle drills was ninety percent. Pete could do better, but not by much.
The cook and his two assistants trained with the duty cook of the Peacekeeper who taught them many tricks to cooking in a kitchen that tended to move about at the worst possible moments. The tips they learned from the experienced cook would prevent a myriad of minor galley catastrophes in the future.
The cook also taught them to anticipate the needs of the crew. If they were coming aboard after being out in the brutal cold, then hot drinks, such as coffee or hot cocoa were always welcome. The reverse was true for exposure to excessive heat. A pot of coffee left on the warmer for the duty watch was always welcome and the cook always delivered cups to the guards before retiring for the night. It made the crew happy, and the cook felt that anything he could do to improve morale was of benefit to the ship. He pointed out that the captain was also pleased with such small considerations. He reminded the cook and assistants that being assigned to a ship was a prime slot for cooks and assistant cooks. With a dozen people yearning for their jobs, keeping the captain happy with their performance was not a secondary consideration.
The cook taught them about the importance of menu management aboard ship and the significance of a divergent menu. He pointed out that the main difference between cooking aboard ship as opposed to on a base was food availability. “You can’t cook it if it isn’t aboard the ship, and it won’t be aboard unless you anticipated the need and requisitioned the appropriate food in advance,” the cook explained.
The experienced ship’s cook stressed the need to address things such as holiday meals and striving to cook the best possible Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners if the ship was away from the base. He reminded the cook to privately approach the captain and ask if they would be away from the base
during holidays well in advance so that he could draw the appropriate holiday foods from stores. “The captain will appreciate the thoughtfulness and will understand that missing holiday meals would be bad for morale,” the cook had explained. “But be discrete. There will be times, if the captain thinks he can trust you, when the captain tells you in advance that you may be out on a mission during a holiday, before the rest of the crew is informed. If you spread that news, the captain will know, and you’ll be replaced,” the cook warned his trainees. “Remember that he is confiding in you for the good of the moral aboard his ship. He trusts you with privileged information so that you can requisition appropriately to address the needs of his crew. Never abuse the trust of your captain.”
The drone operators were trained in shifts because the battleship would have so many drones that they couldn’t all be trained at once. It was not possible to simulate the takeoff procedures that they would utilize on the new ship. The drones of that ship would actually seal themselves to the exterior hull of the ship in two special channels. Those channels were located along the outer edge on the exterior of the ship. If the drone pilots could successfully launch their drones from inside the cargo bay of the Peacekeeper, then the system they would ultimately utilize would be far easier to manage. Testing of these drone pilots was as stringent as possible.
Pol assisted in this training when he could spare the time. Captain Bill Young taught the trainees the intricacies of the navigation systems, and battle tactics. Those tactics included collision avoidance, which would be more difficult for his crew in view of the fact that they would be utilizing ten drones. He also incorporated a wingman concept. Bill and Pol had often flown their drones utilizing that concept. It made the drones more effective to fight as a team with one distracting a target while the other moved in for the kill.
Namid worked with four pilots whose fighters would be loaded in the cargo bay of the battleship. All four were veterans of the Kansas war and experienced combat pilots. She concentrated on the takeoffs and landings inside the cargo bay of the battleship module. Namid pointed out that the cargo bay and exit were both considerably smaller than the ones, which the battleship would possess. Therefore, if the pilots were proficient at the tasks in the battleship module, then utilizing the facilities of the new battleship should be considerably easier to manage. Namid sternly warned them to let the pilot know when they had safely exited the ship or were planning to land so that the pilot would maintain a stable flight path. Otherwise, the pilot might execute a maneuver that could cause them to crash. She firmly reminded the pilots that it was their responsibility to notify the pilot that their fighters were clear of the ship, so that the pilot could execute evasive maneuvers if necessary. “Otherwise the ship is a sitting duck and that will be your fault,” Namid stated soberly.
Bill sought out Namid after the training was completed. He wanted to assign the best of the four pilots to the position of flight leader and since Namid had worked with them, he wanted her input. Namid named Melissa Falker as the top pilot. She explained to Bill that all four were about equally skilled as pilots, but Melissa was hands down the best choice when it came to leadership ability.
Jim worked with Bill on several aspects of being a good captain, not the least of which was realizing when to delegate responsibility to a crewmate and when to shoulder the responsibility himself. He also pointed out that as captain he would be the man the crew turned to with all manner of requests and that at times those requests would not be in the best interests of his ship. He added, “When that time comes, and believe me it will, then you have to weigh the options. If in your opinion granting the request is more important than the risk to the interests of the ship that results, then you have to follow your conscious. In that event, stand by your decision if something goes wrong. The crewmember who approached you with the request is not the one responsible for your decision. That falls squarely on your head as the captain of the ship. With that said, you should bear in mind that sometimes what is best for the ship isn’t necessarily what is best for the crew. As captain, you will face that choice one day.”
“I’m not sure I follow that, Jim. Can you give me an example?” Bill Young asked at that point.
Jim appeared thoughtful for a moment and then he said, “Yes I can, Bill. I think you are ready to hear this or I’d never mention it to you. Pete came to me with the suggestion that we make you the head of strike force two. I really felt it in the best interests of the ship to keep you as strictly a control room crewmember, but I pondered the decision and agreed with Pete’s assessment, because I realized that I was being selfish.”
“You? Jim, you don’t have a selfish bone in your body,” Bill said surprised.
“When it comes to the Peacekeeper, I do, Bill. I wanted the best crew possible. You were an invaluable member of this crew. You were equally qualified at any station in the control room. You don’t appreciate what an asset that is to a captain, but you will soon my friend. Oh yes you will, Captain,” Jim said smiling.
“After the change was made, I saw how happy you were with the expanded duties, and your performance in the control room improved as a result. I took the risk, and to me it was a valid risk. In return, I got a better officer. So someday, you may have a crewmember in need of more challenges. Try to remember this conversation for reference at that point. I’m not saying that you should automatically agree with such requests. Just that they deserve serious consideration,” Jim said.
“Thank you for explaining that. I think I have a better understanding now. I’ll try to live up to your standards, but you set the bar pretty high,” Bill said.
“You’re already a great officer, Bill. You’ll do fine. Just remember the junior officers will look to you for guidance. If things get really desperate, stay calm, and your calm demeanor will serve as an example for the rest of the crew.”
***
While the crew of the Peacekeeper was drilling much of the new battleship crew, Pol spent most of his time supervising the construction of the battleship. That construction was still on schedule, but it was a daily struggle to maintain that schedule.
Pol sighed and pulled the plans back across the table over to his work area. He studied them for the tenth time that day. He was looking for anything that he may have overlooked in the planning stages. He examined the plans one sheet at a time.
The battleship was the most ambitious undertaking that the peacekeepers had ever attempted. At three hundred feet long and one hundred-sixty feet wide at its widest point, it was easily the largest vessel that they had ever sought to construct. It was the size of a High School football field.
The battleship wasn’t quite as aerodynamically shaped as the battleship module of the Peacekeeper. Pol wanted to provide plenty of cabin space for the crew. He also wanted the cargo bay to be sufficiently large that the ship could house four fighters that could be launched for scouting purposes or any other mission at the discretion of the captain. This would not have been possible if the scale utilized for the original battleship module was to be maintained; therefore, the nose of the ship was one hundred feet wide. The nose of the ship curved downward to form an aerodynamic wedge.
The ship was twenty feet tall. The central eight feet of that twenty-foot thick body was the crew area. Around the crew zone was a system of layers. These layers were formed by combining several elements of material. First, there was the outer hull and next to that was a system of pleated baffle chambers made of the special alloy to which the next layer of the alloy was attached. This layer was an inner hull or bulkhead. This was the same system utilized by the prototype ship. That system was capable of withstanding small arms fire with no problem, however heavy machinegun fire could penetrate that protective layer.
The next layer was another system of baffles. These baffles were larger and after the next layer of the bulkhead was installed, they would be filled with insulating foam. When that layer of the hull had been installed, the foam was pumped into the baff
les of that hull section of the ship where it expanded and then became a solid. Theoretically, the inner hull and its insulating foam would contain any heavy caliber fire that penetrated the outer hull. That foam was not bullet proof, but if the energy was almost spent then it should aid in slowing down pieces of shrapnel. The obvious thermal benefits of the foam were a boon as well. It would make heating and cooling the interior of the ship much more energy efficient.
However, heavy arms fire wasn’t the only concern that the peacekeepers had to contend with as they fought to protect the innocent. There were also missiles to consider. Therefore, another system of baffles the size of the outer layer baffles would be installed in the hopes that it would make such a theoretical hit by a missile survivable, though to be sure the ship would sustain heavy damage. The last layer was the inner hull and deck of the ship. Beneath the majority of the deck of the ship sat the huge battery compartment that would be required to maintain its power supplies.
Above the crew zone was an identical arrangement of layered protection.
The windshield of the ship was a multi layered bulletproof glass. Pol estimated that the windshield system was at least three times stronger than that of the Peacekeeper. Tim had confided in Pol that his greatest fear was that one day the Peacekeeper would take a hit that would make it impossible to see out the windshield. Should they be fortunate enough to survive the impact, this would make navigation impossible for a human and force him to activate the autopilot of the ship, which was programmed to fly to the nearest landing spot with sufficient clearance to land. That could well land them in a bad situation if a determined foe were near.
To rectify that shortcoming Pol had determined that the ship should have a recessed camera, which the pilot could activate in an emergency. Activation of that camera would automatically activate another system that would open a panel and a monitor would emerge from the recesses of the control console. That monitor would be in front of the pilot who could then land the ship in a safe location or carry on with the mission. The recessed compartment protected the camera with a layer of the alloy that would slide aside when the system was activated.