by Ricky Sides
“The guys in the ditch are out and advancing to the front of the house. Rifle fire from an upper window. Count three of the attackers as dead,” Pete instructed. A moment later the men threw several smoke grenades through windows and Pete said, “Count the front room right as dead. Two grenades entered the room. The middle room a kill as well. The left is not a kill. Dead man threw that smoke.”
Heavy gunfire erupted from the upper story windows. “Count the rest of the attackers from the ditch as dead,” Pete instructed. A heavy volley of return fire came from what was apparently the largest concentration of attackers facing the front of the house. “Count the upper front rooms as kills please,” Pete said.
“Noted, check the side window please,” said the lieutenant as he struggled to catch up on his notations.
“Three men went in the side window. No way to judge what happens inside. The attackers seem to be way ahead anyway, so let’s err on the side of the defenders and count the three attackers as dead,” Pete said. He was trying to be as fair as humanly possible.
“Noted, Pete. The defenders are down to four men. Should we call the game?” asked the lieutenant.
Pete picked up a wireless microphone and switched it to on. “Cease fire. Cease fire. This exercise is over. Well done, people. Make sure the smoke grenades didn’t start a fire and then gather in front of the house to hear the scoring,” Pete said. A large speaker mounted on the exterior of the house broadcast the orders and moments later, the drill ended.
***
On the trip back to Base 1, most of the men were in a cheerful mood. They had been victorious in the exercise, winning against even odds by a heavy margin. Ramon Marino did not share that joy. They had won yes. They had even managed to free the women but at what cost? He had lost eighteen men in the exercise. He was taking this much too seriously to enjoy the victory.
“You look sad, Sergeant, but your men seem quite happy,” Captain Cliff Barnes said.
Sergeant Marino jumped to his feet and saluted. “Sorry, sir. I didn’t notice your approach,” he explained.
“At ease, Sergeant,” the captain said. “Now why is it that you are sad yet your men are jubilant?”
“Captain, our unit won, that’s true, but look at the losses we took against equal odds. In the battle to come we may be outnumbered three or four to one,” Ramon explained.
“I see, and this is disturbing to you because you were the leader, but bear in mind that this was just a drill. You were not fully equipped nor were Lieutenant Wilcox and his strike force team present to assist you, as they will be during the real battle. But that aside let me reassure you that you and your men performed much better than anticipated,” the captain said.
“We did?” asked Ramon.
“Yes you did, Sergeant,” the captain reassured Ramon. “You were going up against experienced peacekeepers. You had to cross an open stretch of land to take the fight to them in the house, but you did so successfully, and you successfully rescued the women.”
“But we lost so many men,” Ramon countered.
“Sergeant, I was fully briefed on the battle by Pete and the lieutenant. I understand what happened and what went wrong. Your men made some mistakes, but this is why we did the drill. You and the men will be receiving further training. Rest assured that your concerns will be addressed during the course of that training. Meanwhile I suggest that you relax. You performed well and made no major errors,” the captain assured the sergeant. “And you should bear in mind that during the real mission you’ll have Lieutenant Wilcox and his men, this ship and a squadron of fighters as backup to soften up hardened targets. However, this wasn’t a test of our systems. This was a test of your unit, and your unit performed well. Frankly, that would have been the case had you ended the drill with just a tie. Sergeant, your men are right to be happy with the outcome of the drill. I suggest that you bear that in mind.”
Chapter 13
There was a sense of anticipation in the air in the early morning hours as the crew of the new battleship lined up in formation to prepare to board the ship for her maiden voyage. They were to leave at 6:00 A.M., but that didn’t mean they would be leaving the base with little notice. As Captain Bill Young looked out toward the crowd of peacekeepers rapidly assembling in the open space between the airfield and the residential section of the base, he noted that parents were bringing even their youngest children to witness the launch of the new battleship.
Bill turned his eyes back to that ship and once more admired her superstructure. She wasn’t the sleekest beauty in the fleet, but she was the strongest and most definitely the largest. At three hundred feet in length, the ship was easily six times longer than the prototype ship the Peacekeeper.
“Captain.” Bill heard a voice say to his right. Turning in the direction of the voice, he saw his mentor and friend Pete Damroyal. “I said good luck on your voyage, my friend,” Pete said and stepped forward to shake Bill’s hand. Speaking softly so that only Bill could hear him, Pete said, “You were the best right hand man that a man could wish for, Bill. I’m going to miss you.”
Speaking just as softly Bill replied, “It’s not too late for me to back out, Pete. I can stay with you aboard the Peacekeeper.”
Pete could see the conflict in his friend. The man wanted this position more than he had ever wanted anything in the peacekeepers. Yet, Pete understood that Bill was torn between his loyalty to him and his desire to pursue the dream of captaining his own ship. “We need you on the new ship my friend. There isn’t time to train a new man for the job and none are as qualified as you.” Then Pete asked, “Do you really want to turn your crew over to another? They respect you. You do know that don’t you?”
Frowning, Bill said, “No I don’t want to do that, Pete.”
“The others are waiting. I just wanted to speak to you before you left,” Pete said and impulsively hugged Bill. Pete then turned and walked away to rejoin the assembled crew of the Peacekeeper who were all standing on the field to his right. Bill was touched by Pete’s open display of affection. Pete wasn’t a hugger. In fact, he wasn’t a touchy-feely person and almost never touched another living soul with the exceptions of his wife and adopted daughter.
Bill walked solemnly to the microphone that would carry his words to the people of Base 1. He was supposed to make a brief statement before the crew boarded and they left for their shakedown mission. He had labored diligently over what he wanted to say and he was hoping that he remembered everything. Activating the microphone he said, “Peacekeepers, on behalf of my crew I want to thank everyone who has labored so hard the past months to build the battleship.” Turning to his crew of thirty-nine personnel, Bill said, “Let’s show our appreciation to everyone involved.” Bill then led his crew in a round of applause and many in the crowd smiled in pleasure at the recognition.
Facing the assembled peacekeepers once more Bill said, “I especially want to thank Pol and his assistants. I swear I don’t think those three men slept more than an hour a day for the past two weeks.” Again, his crew gave a rousing applause and this time most of the other assembled peacekeepers joined in. Pol looked embarrassed but his assistants beamed with pleasure at the recognition of their contributions.
“I would be remiss, if I did not thank the crew of the Peacekeeper who struggled to teach my new crew to become the best crew that they are capable of becoming. If things run smoothly aboard my ship, it will be due in no small part to the efforts of the crew of the Peacekeeper,” Bill said and then he led his people in another round of applause.
“I thank the peacekeeper council for their faith in me, and granting me the captain’s chair,” Bill stated. “When they granted me permission to name the ship I was concerned that I’d not select the appropriate name. So, I went to the computer and researched the names of ships. Surprisingly I found the appropriate name early in that search, though to be sure I’d made the correct decision, I continued the research to verify that it was the most appropriate name
,” Bill said and paused a moment to gather the nerve to announce his decision. He was fearful that some might think he had chosen poorly. Not even the council was aware of the name he had chosen.
Taking a deep breath Bill said, “Ladies and gentlemen, since the founding of our nation, the Constitution has served to protect Americans. One of the first ships, ordered built by George Washington, was named the Constitution. At the time that she was built, she was one of the most heavily armed vessels ever built and also the toughest.”
Turning and pointing at the huge battleship awaiting its crew, Captain Bill Young said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Constitution. May she protect us as well as the original document, and last as long as the original ship,” Bill said in summation. The crowd cheered and a thunderous applause erupted. So strong was the emotion that Bill had generated by his speech that more than one peacekeeper was teary eyed.
Looking in the direction of the peacekeeper council, Bill was happy to see that they approved. They were all smiling broadly and applauding as vigorously as were the rest of the assembled peacekeepers. Noting the construction crew, Bill was very pleased to see that the men and women who had worked so very hard on the battleship were equally moved by his selection. He noted that fathers among them were lifting their children onto their shoulders to behold the ship they had recently completed.
Turning his gaze toward Pol, he saw the scientist approaching him. The teary-eyed scientist stopped before Bill and hugged him. He thanked Bill for the honor that he had bestowed upon the battleship and then Pol returned to his place among the crew of the Peacekeeper.
Turning to the crew Bill said, “Crew. Man your stations. We leave in five minutes.”
Pete nodded his head toward a technician and all over the base; speakers carried the musical version of Anchors Aweigh. The music prompted spontaneous cheering from the crowd as the crew of the Constitution marched past the heavily armed guard detail and boarded their vessel.
Outside the ship, the crowd waited in anticipation. Most had seen the ship fly before during its testing phase, but this was different. Now the ship had her crew, and they were joining the ranks of the other ships that defended the good and decent people of America from any threat. Soon the ship rose majestically into the still morning sky. Hovering at three hundred feet, the Constitution turned on her axis and the crowd watched as the bay door unsealed and began to open. The crowd cheered as, one by one, the fighters of the ship emerged from the cargo bay door and flew up to their ceiling cap to fly escort. Jim smiled at the show that Bill was putting on for the crowd. He didn’t blame him one bit.
The cargo bay door closed, and the seam disappeared as the door was resealed. Both access doors of the ship had that capability, as did the bomb bay doors.
In the control room cabin of the Constitution, Bill said, “Navigator set a course for Saginaw, Michigan.”
“Aye, Captain,” the navigator said. A moment later, he said, “Course set, Captain,” and then the man paused. Bill looked to the navigator quizzically, “Sir, this is our maiden flight so I was wondering how you wanted to leave?” He hurriedly clarified when he said, “I mean do you want to leave slow or fast?”
Bill noted the crewmembers staring in his direction and he knew that they were all hoping for the fast departure to put on a show for the waiting crowd. “Communications specialist, please inform the crew that they should prepare for maximum acceleration.”
With a smile on her lips the Communications specialist said, “Aye, Captain.” She made the announcement and all over the ship, the crew braced for the few seconds that it would take them to go from zero to three hundred miles per hour. All hands faced forward to minimize the stresses of the G-forces on their bodies. They either sat in chairs facing forward or backed up against a wall facing forward.
The captain said, “Zero to three hundred if you please pilot. But do not go beyond three hundred. Increasing to our full speed from a dead stop would cause grey-outs,” Bill reminded.
“Aye, Captain,” responded the pilot.
On the ground, the crowd saw the ship accelerate away at an incredible rate of speed. The escort pilots in their fighters pursued and soon caught up with their ship. The crowd cheered and watched the show until the battleship and her escorts disappeared in the distance.
Laughing Tim said, “I’d have bet Bill would have had them move out sedately, and not with one of those G-force accelerations.”
***
The shakedown cruise to Saginaw, Michigan, went without incident. Two hours prior to their arrival in Saginaw, Bill ordered communications officer, Holly Baxter, to contact the Reager Industries company president. She informed the man that the new ship would be arriving at the Brentworth Steel facility in two hours and with Bob’s permission, they would like to be able to land and permit the workers to see what their overtime had made possible. Just as the council suspected, Bob Reager was pleased that the peacekeepers were going to the effort to visit so that his employees could see the ship. It was a good will gesture on behalf of the peacekeepers. They would also be stopping by the Detroit auto facility on the way back south for the same reason.
When they arrived at the steel factory, the employees were just assembling in the parking area to watch them land. Bill exited the ship with the leader of his strike force teams, Sergeant Maxwell Carter and his engineer, named Peter Boyd.
Bob Reager greeted them. Bill noted that the board of directors was also present. Bob said, “What a magnificent ship! It is so huge. I had no idea it would look so impressive.”
Bill smiled warmly. He was pleased by the praise for his ship. He said, “I’m glad you like her. She is indeed a marvel. After I give your employees our thanks I’d be happy to give you and the board of directors a tour of the ship.”
“I was hoping you’d offer. I’m dieing to see what she looks like on the inside,” Bob admitted. Then he said, “We have the arrangements made that you requested and you can begin when you are ready.”
Thanking Bob, the captain asked the engineer to prep the video while he addressed the crowd. Bill then walked over to the microphone and spoke into it saying, “Ladies and gentlemen the peacekeepers thank you for your contributions to our efforts to defend America. The ship that you see before you is the ship that your overtime aided in constructing. Her name is the Constitution,” Bill said.
“We helped make the Constitution?” a woman near the front row asked. Bill recognized her from the last trip to the facility. She was the same woman who’d declared that she was, “in for the duration.”
“You sure did Ma’am,” Bill replied smiling broadly and then he added, “We feel that you good people have earned the right to see her with your own eyes. We have also prepared a video tour for you to see. Please watch the screen,” Bill said in conclusion and nodded to the engineer who started the fifteen-minute video they had prepared in flight. The video was a guided tour through the ship narrated by one of the drone pilots who had shot the video. The film contained nothing of a sensitive nature, but did cover the interior of the ship thoroughly.
The crowd stood motionless and in rapt attention as they watched the video from beginning to end. When it ended, there was a round of applause. Now all of the workers knew precisely what they had worked such long hours to help create. Bill approached the microphone again and said, “I just wanted to stop by to thank you and let you see the ship. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time.”
Bob dismissed the workers so that they could return to their workstations and then he entered the ship with his board of directors. The visitors were given a tour of the vessel. The board of directors left feeling that they had done a very good thing when they had helped the peacekeepers. They assured Bill that should the peacekeepers ever again need their services then they would do everything that they could to help them. Bill was pleased. That was precisely the response that the council was hoping for as a result of the visit. The continued good will of the people who supplied
their raw materials was of critical importance to the peacekeepers.
The trip to the Detroit auto manufacturing facility was equally successful.
***
The Constitution was on a southerly heading flying at a leisurely fifty miles per hour at a flight level of two hundred feet. The drone operators were practicing takeoff and landing sequences. Pol had advised Captain Young that such maneuvers would not be safe at full velocity due to the air currents passing over the airframe of the ship. Pol hadn’t been certain what the top speed limitations would be for this procedure, but he had pointed out that at some point the airflow over the ship would make takeoffs and landing as difficult as they would be in hurricane force winds. One of the tasks that the crew had to accomplish on the shakedown cruise was to establish safe parameters for the procedure. Preferably, without losing a drone.
Bill Young was a cautious man. He decided to attempt the maneuvers at fifty miles per hour first. If the operators reported no difficulty, then the speed would be increased by ten miles per hour. Each subsequent test would increase by a similar amount.
Bill’s engineer had assured him that such things as humidity, rain, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, and temperature could and would play roles in this procedure. For the sake of the discussion on the topic, Peter referred to those features as negative elements of the atmosphere. He recommended finding the safest top speed on a nice day and then reducing that safe speed a bit for every negative element of the atmosphere present. Just how much they would need to reduce the speed they would have to learn by trial and error to establish a reliable protocol.
It was a critically important field test. Launching the drones above the proper safe speeds could and probably would, result in the loss of several drones. Therefore, Peter recommended a delay between the first launch and the launching of other drones. Once it was established that one drone could take off and land safely then the rest of the drones should be tested at that speed. This limited the risk of loss to one drone.