by Ricky Sides
Utilizing the material acquired through the trade deal, the patrol class vessel was developed, and additional fighters were created. The patrol class ship closely mimicked the design of the original prototype the Peacekeeper. The two main differences were in the overall size, and the quality of the support systems onboard the ships. Pol wanted the cargo bay area to be larger to accommodate the need for troop transports so they were designed twice the size of the cargo bay of the Peacekeeper. This increased the overall length of the ship, but the other dimensions matched those of the Peacekeeper. Since the appliances aboard the prototype had all been prototypes in their own rights, it was impossible to install similar units in the patrol ships. Standard units had to be employed. The patrol ships were named after the states where they would be based. The California was the first patrol ship, and her captain Cliff Barnes was the second captain in the peacekeeper organization. Other states were represented. Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, California, and Nevada, all had patrol class ships.
Pol also conceived a new design, and with Patricia’s input, the two scientists came up with a plan to build an additional section onto the battleship drone. This permitted the Peacekeeper to dock and detach at will with the larger more heavily armed battleship drone. This additional space cured the chronic bunk shortage for the crew. It also gave them larger facilities, such as a proper infirmary and a larger mess hall, so that most of the crew could eat together when the situation was deemed sufficiently safe. It also provided an additional several layers of the alloy between the crew and potential enemies, unless they were in the control room of the Peacekeeper. The front fifteen feet of the ship sat outside the docking alcove, and was therefore exposed, with the exception of the bottom of the ship, which rested on the battleship drone superstructure. When separated, that battleship module was still utilized as a drone. There were also times when all non-essential personnel were evacuated to the drone module and the two ships separated for hazardous missions such as dealing with biohazards.
One year after the reopening of the Saginaw facility that manufactured the Huxley alloy, which was the backbone of the peacekeeper’s technology, a ship of the dead and the dying washed ashore in Louisiana. One of the men from the boat made his way through several small cities on his way east to New Orleans. That man carried with him a dread disease that infected a large segment of the population. The smaller communities were decimated. There were no survivors. Almost three quarters of the population of New Orleans succumbed to the disease but it was contained. The peacekeepers cleaned up the smaller cities while the citizens of New Orleans dealt with the crisis there.
Later, a lone man was spotted off the coast of Florida and rescued by flight leader Jeff Brown of the Alabama based fighters. That man revealed the source of the plague. He also warned that the South American drug cartel responsible for the attack was aware that the plague had been contained. In addition, he warned that the cartel was planning to send more boats laden with plague infected Cubans. The cartel had easily conquered the Cubans by unleashing the plague in Cuba prior to the invasion.
The construction of patrol ships for the remaining states was interrupted by the need to build the most ambitious ship to date, which was a full sized battleship. In actuality, the battleship was a hybrid vessel. It would be able to carry a crew of forty, each of whom had a private cabin. Inside those cabins, five beds were mounted to the walls on frames constructed of the special alloy and permanently attached. When the personnel were needed, the ship would be able to transport two hundred additional peacekeepers into battle. Those peacekeepers would sleep in the wall-mounted bunks, so in effect the ship was also a troop transport. In her massive cargo bay, needed to deploy large groups of peacekeepers, the ship housed the four fighters that would accompany the Constitution on her missions. Therefore, the battleship that doubled as a troop transport was also an aircraft carrier. Ten drones were assigned to the ship. Those drones were situated in two channels that ran the length of the top of the ship along her outer edges.
Bill Young was selected as captain of the battleship, and the crew of the Peacekeeper trained Bill’s crew aboard the Peacekeeper. The day that this battleship left on her maiden voyage Bill named her the Constitution.
During the battle with the cartel, the Constitution was struck by numerous shoulder-fired missiles and took massive damage. Her outer hull was also riddled with fifty-caliber fire, as the Constitution fought to eliminate as many of those deadly weapons as possible. Though the special alloy was bullet resistant, there was a limit to that protection. Fifty-caliber ammunition was sufficiently strong to penetrate the hull. During the hours long sea battle, the outer hull of the Constitution was damaged to such an extent as to render it beyond the ability of the ship construction crew to repair. The outer hull would have to be removed and completely replaced. But the peacekeepers had used all of their remaining alloy in the construction of the vessel. Her repair would have to wait until such time as the peacekeepers could save enough of their monthly shipments of alloy from the Saginaw factory to complete the repairs.
However, at the request of Bob Reager, Patricia had sent a video feed of the sea battle to his factory in Saginaw, Michigan. The employees, who’d worked overtime to deliver the alloy the construction team needed to complete the ship, had requested information regarding the damage she took in the battle. Those employees watched the live video feed of the battle in rapt attention, and when they saw the condition of the Constitution in the wake of the battle they became overwhelmed with the desire to assist the crippled ship. They volunteered their time if the factory would supply the material to repair the vessel. Bob Reager and the board of directors had agreed and delivered the materials needed to get that ship back in the air. They were patriotic Americans. They respected what the peacekeepers had done; the dangers that they had braved to stop the invasion.
The battle with the South American drug cartel had been the biggest challenge that the peacekeepers had met to date. Never since their formation in post-disaster America had the peacekeepers faced a situation in which their failure could lead to the loss of millions of their fellow Americans.
Chapter 1
Captain Bill Young was
summoned to a meeting with the council aboard the Peacekeeper. That meeting concerned the report he had made in the aftermath of the maiden flight of the Constitution. The peacekeepers had been forced to put that matter on hold during the buildup to the war with the cartel, but now the time had come to address the matter.
Meeting with Bill, the council explained that in the aftermath of the report they had instructed Patricia to enter several new keywords into the system that monitored all radio traffic the Peacekeeper could pick up. If the system detected those keywords, then it automatically recorded the associated messages. There had been no incidents triggering that automatic system.
The council informed Bill that they had also asked the Detroit based fighter group to begin routine patrols of the region in the hopes of discouraging further incidents of people reverting to cannibalism and further attacks on isolated groups of survivors. They explained that using this method they had located several pockets of survivors in relative seclusion and now had them on a routine patrol schedule.
Jim summed it up for the council when he said, “Everything that can be done regarding the case, has been done.”
Bill nodded his head and said, “I knew it was probably not a matter that we could resolve. I just wanted to report the incident because it was so odd.”
“It was indeed odd. Patricia even tried to locate a similar blood sample based on the information provided by Michael, but she had no more luck than he did on that score. She was able to find other samples of hair that apparently match, but they had never been positively identified or categorized. They were from suspected Bigfoot encounters,” Jim said in a neutral manner. Jim personally believed that if the legendary Bigfoot really existed, it was likely a here-to-fore unidentified primate
of some sort.
Bill soberly nodded his head in acceptance of the information.
At that point, Pete spoke up, saying, “I reviewed your report to the council regarding the investigation, Bill.” He paused and studied his friend’s face for a moment and Bill had a momentary pang of self-doubt wondering if he’d somehow made a critical error. Pete’s next words didn’t help when he said, “You’ve had time to think about that incident and all of the orders that you issued as your crew conducted the investigation. Tell me, Bill, do you believe you made any serious mistakes?”
Bill answered immediately when he replied, “I do think I made a judgmental error when I ordered the cargo bay door left open in that situation. I wanted the men to have access to enter should they get into trouble.”
Pete shook his head and said, “That was a judgment call, Bill. You had your fighters flying cover. Maybe you should have ordered one fighter to guard the door in addition to the men you stationed, or possibly launched a couple of drones to hover near the door. No, Bill, I think you made the right call in leaving the door open. And you did order the guard doubled.”
“I’d have done the same thing in both those instances,” Jim admitted, but then he added, “But I would have also put a drone or pilot near the entrance to back up the guards.” Jim smiled, and said, “Actually you did splendidly on that first real emergency.”
Tim nodded his agreement. He said, “You admitted to the oversight concerning the full armor for your strike team, but that is standing orders for all strike teams out in hostile territory investigating murders, so what you forgot to do was order your sergeant to follow protocols. As captain, you have to demonstrate a respect for the professionalism of your crew, Bill, and in my opinion you aced that investigation.”
Bill nodded and thanked the council for their vote of confidence, and then he said, “The Constitution is ready to be released from the shipyard, or will be in a few more minutes. What are our orders?”
Jim said, “Bill, it’s been better than four years since the night of the quakes. We think it’s time we sent a ship to see what became of the capital in Washington, and possibly some other areas of the northeast where we have had no contact.” The other council members frowned and nodded. “We want you fly to Washington, and give us the best information and documentation that you can. Take along a lot of video tapes for your eagle squadron. We’ll want extensive documentation of Washington, and possibly other locations as well.”
Bill nodded. He knew that the council had wanted to investigate Washington, long ago. However, it seemed that every time they turned their attention in that direction some emergency came up. “Are we to investigate any abandoned military bases as well?” He asked.
“Not this trip, though by all means have a fighter do a flyby or two, and document what they see, if the bases are near your course,” Pete responded.
“Make them take a wingman to watch their back,” Tim admonished protectively causing Bill to smile.
“They have standing orders to fly in pairs, but I’ll remind them,” Bill stated.
“Are we to land and make contact?” Bill asked.
“That is a tricky question to answer,” Pete stated. “We won’t be on the scene so you’ll have to exercise your best judgment in that matter.”
“I’d say listen to your instincts, Bill. You have a wonderful instinct about situations. If your instinct is saying no, then you should beware. But if you do land to make contact, remember the protocols,” Tim said.
“I’ve ordered several crates of extra water for your crew, Bill. I want that water loaded aboard and used to supplement your tanks. Try to avoid replenishing your tanks in water you aren’t certain is safe,” Jim cautioned and Bill thanked him for that consideration.
“Have all of your supplies been accounted for,” asked Jim.
“They have and are sitting in place waiting to be loaded as soon as the shipyard releases our ship. The men are actually waiting to load the supplies now,” said Bill with a grin.
“Oh? You plan to leave today?” asked Jim with a smile of his own.
“Well yeah, if that’s alright,” Bill said, and then he added, “The crew is anxious to get back aboard our ship.”
“I understand,” Jim said and he did. He knew he’d be anxious to get back aboard his ship if it had been out of service for weeks. “Well you’re the Captain, and the Constitution is your ship. The moment the shipyard releases her, she is yours to command,” he said.
“Then we’ll load the ship and head out today. We won’t get far before we stop for the night, but we’ll be back aboard our ship,” Bill said happily.
“And be in position to make great time tomorrow,” Tim pointed out.
“I think we should visit the Saginaw factory first. I feel an obligation to the factory workers in Saginaw, and I would like to offer them that tour and dinner I mentioned to Bob. Tomorrow is Sunday. We can arrive there early and conclude our visit in time to make it south to Ohio before stopping for the night,” Bill stated.
“We do owe the folks of Saginaw a lot,” Pete readily agreed, as did both Jim and Tim.
Pol entered the mess hall and stopped before the council. “Please forgive the intrusion, but Bill wanted to know the moment that his ship was ready to be released. His Pilot is taking her to be loaded,” Pol explained.
“That’s great news, Pol. Please tell the shipyard crew I owe them a lot for repairing the ship,” Bill said smiling.
“It was our pleasure, Captain. Be sure to monitor your power readings carefully this trip. The new connections all seem fine according to our tests, but the real proof will be under normal ship operational loads. I wish you a safe journey,” Pol stated and he departed.
Bill stood to leave but Pete stopped him. “There is one matter regarding your report that needs clarification, Bill. I saw no mention of you equipping your hard armor before exiting.”
Bill sat back down and frowned. “Well, Pete, it’s like this. I was going to equip my armor, but that’s when I remembered that I had forgotten to order Sergeant Carter to have the men wear theirs. I immediately rushed to the bay door. I was in a hurry to make certain that the men were properly equipped.”
Pete nodded and said, “I assumed that was the situation, and I’ll accept that answer. This time,” he added pointedly.
“Remember that a captain must lead by example,” Jim said grinning. If you don’t wear the armor you can’t expect the men to do so.”
“This is payback for the times I reminded you not to leave without your armor isn’t it, Jim?” Bill asked smiling.
“Now, Bill. Would I do that to you?” asked Jim, affecting an air of innocence.
“Yes,” Bill said and then he laughed and shook hands with the three council members, and headed for the door.
“Make certain the extra water and video tapes get loaded too, Captain,” Jim cautioned and Bill waved that he’d heard the instructions.
Pete laughed and said, “Bill’s eager to get back aboard his ship.”
“I don’t blame him a bit,” Jim said.
***
The Constitution lifted into the air above the base and departed, to the cheering of the peacekeepers on the ground below. Inside the ship, Bill asked, “Are the drones all properly secured?”
“Aye, Captain,” replied the chief drone operator whose job it was to ensure that all drones were properly secured prior to flight. The prefabricated drone shells had been shipped to the base by one of the new flying trucks. While the experienced shipyard crew had gone about replacing the outer hull of the Constitution, Pol and his assistants had worked hard to replace the twenty-four drones lost in the recent war with the cartel, ten of which had been assigned to the Constitution.
The new drones all had the improved formula alloy that was supposed to withstand the fifty-caliber ammunition. The council had discretely had that claim certified by their team of technicians, under Pete and Pol’s supervision. They used a scrap piece of the
alloy left from replacing the outer hull of the Constitution. The claim was true provided that the hits were spaced out over the space of seconds, but if the target were taking rapid fire hits the alloy could be punctured. It was the same scenario as the fighter cockpit windows. They could take a hit from a 7.62 minigun round just fine, but not if they were being slammed into the canopy by a concentrated burst from a minigun. Still the upgrade was welcome and the engineering team at the Saginaw facility was working on a means to treat existing surfaces, such as the cars that had already been produced at the Detroit, plant. If that endeavor panned out, then the peacekeepers would acquire a supply to treat their fleet of ships, drones, and fighters.
“Pilot, take us to Saginaw, at an airspeed of two hundred. Peter, please commence your observations of the power flow. I’d like you to send Pol a detailed report in an hour. If I know Pol, he’ll be pacing the floor,” Bill said. He added, “Oh and, Peter, make it very technical. Pol loves that technical language when he is dealing with energy transfers.”
“Aye, Captain,” said Peter with an answering smile. He knew that Pol tended to leave most laymen thoroughly confused during such discussions.
The trip proved uneventful. The system was functioning flawlessly. Bill had never been concerned about the power flows. Pol had personally made the most critical connections, and Bill trusted Pol’s work implicitly. He ordered the ship stopped for the night over Kentucky at the same field where they had stopped for the night to bury the dead victims that they had found in Indiana on their maiden voyage. The Constitution landed briefly, and Bill exited the ship with a security detail to place some flowers on the graves of the four victims. He thought that everyone should have flowers on their graves at least once. He noted sadly that it was becoming difficult to spot that anyone had been buried there, and thought that sad. He said as much to Sergeant Carter who replied, “We have wood aboard, sir. The boys and I will make some markers of a sort tonight, and you can place them here tomorrow before we leave.”