by Ricky Sides
Lina’s eyes grew wide in surprise. “She did?” Lina asked.
“Oh yes. I can see you’re surprised by that. So was I, but Lacey explained that despite the years that had passed, she knew Jim still had feelings for you. Feelings he’d never act upon, nevertheless they were there. By then, Lacey truly understood what a good man she had in Jim Wilison. That’s why I’m telling you this today. I want to help you understand what it took Lacey several years to learn from experience. You’re getting one hell of a good man, and Lacey would have approved, but not while he was hers,” Maggie said.
“Maggie, I’ve had feelings for Jim for years, but he was married, so I moved on with my life, but after Robert, I lost interest in romance. Hell, I lost interest in life, but you know that,” Lina said.
Maggie nodded her understanding, but Lisa was the one who responded. She said, “I’m glad you decided to live, Lina. Jim is a good man, just as Mom said. He deserves to be happy, and I think he’ll make you happy.”
“I have you to thank for that, Lisa,” Lina said and she hugged the young woman in gratitude.
“We’d better go or Pete will come charging in here to see what’s keeping us,” Maggie said.
Pete was about to do just that when the three women emerged from the ship. The Valiant began playing the wedding march, which was broadcast through the external speakers. The guests were all peacekeepers. Three drones hovered nearby. They were filming the wedding from three different angles. All three feeds were being sent to the Peacekeeper, which was en route to the Florida Keys, so that Tim, Patricia, and Pol could see the wedding. Patricia could switch to whichever of the three feeds they were viewing, but was recording all three.
After Jim took Lina’s arm in his and turned to face the minister, Pete took Maggie’s arm and she stood beside him to Jim’s right. Evan took Lisa’s arm and stood to Lina’s left. Evan was surprised at how extraordinarily pretty Lisa was in her formal attire with her hair up.
During the wedding, Evan had a brief moment of sadness that Jim was moving past the life he had shared with his mother, but deep down, Evan knew that it was what his mom wanted for Jim. She had touched on that briefly in the letter she had left for him with his Uncle Tim.
After the wedding, there was a one-hour reception, and then the peacekeepers went back to work. They had done all they could to preserve the national treasures contained in the capital, but they had only scratched the surface of that monumental task. Now it was time to begin working on the defenses of the city in earnest.
Jim and Lina would share a few hours of privacy in one of the local abandoned hotels with armed guards nearby watching to make certain no one attacked them. Pete had insisted on that precaution after what had happened to Lacey the previous year. The newlyweds would return to duty the next morning.
Maggie and Lisa spoke at length with Pete, but he steadfastly refused to leave Washington. Lisa changed the subject when she asked, “Are you going to be based out of the Valiant during the fight, Dad?”
“Yes, I am, but I’ll probably be leaving the ship to lead the men on the ground when the pirates make a landing,” he responded.
“Alright, Dad. Then I’m going to stay aboard the Valiant as well,” said Lisa in a tone of voice that suggested she had made up her mind and nothing was going to change it.
“You’re going back to the citadel with your mother aboard the Nevada,” Pete said stubbornly.
“We’re staying, dear. There’s no sense debating the matter with us. You just made a statement to the effect that no one has the right to tell you how to live or die. Well that works both ways, Pete Damroyal. If you stay, we all stay, and that’s final.”
“Maggie, you can’t. You know you are needed back at the citadel. It’s the best stocked medical facility in that region of the country. You’ll be needed to treat the wounded there,” Pete said in an attempt to get Maggie to see the reason behind his argument.
“There are other doctors who can serve there. With one radio contact, I can have three replacements en route to the citadel.” Shaking her head, Maggie added, “And from what I’m hearing, there will be plenty of casualties who need me here.”
“I know for a fact that we are short of well trained drone operators here,” Lisa stated. “Someone cooked up a surprise involving dozens of drones, and I was asked if I’d be staying to help.”
“What about Evan, honey. How’s he going to feel about you staying here? You know Jim won’t let him stay,” Pete said in the hopes that thoughts of Evan might dissuade her.
“Evan’s staying too, Dad. He would have stayed even if we returned to the citadel. He was with me when I was asked if I would be staying. He was asked the same question. He went straight to Jim and told him he wanted to stay and help,” Lisa responded.
“And Jim said yes?!” asked Pete incredulously.
“Yes, Dad. I was with Evan at the time. Jim looked thoughtful before he answered. He told Evan that he had recently learned that a man doesn’t have the right to dictate such matters to another man. He then told Evan that in his eyes, he was a man now, and he had the right to make his own decision.”
Pete cursed then and Maggie said, “It would seem you taught Jim well, dear. He shares your philosophy.”
“Yeah, I taught him well. Maybe too damned well,” Pete said morosely. With a sigh, Pete said, “You’d better make the calls to the Nevada and your replacements, Maggie. The Nevada will be ready to take off soon, so they need to know you’ll be staying. I’m going out to check on the progress on the battlements.”
“In your tuxedo?” asked Maggie. Laughing, she kissed her husband and said. “You look splendid, dear. I’ll call the Nevada and get my replacements on the way to the citadel. But I need your help to get out of this dress, so you can wait before you leave to check on the battlements.”
Pete replied, “You look lovely yourself, Maggie. In fact, I’ve never seen you looking better.” Noting the look in his wife’s eyes, Pete smiled and added, “The battlements can wait for a little while.”
“I think Evan thought I was pretty and I know he looked dreamy,” Lisa observed.
“He’d be right to think you were beautiful,” Pete stated. “Both my girls are beauties,” he added proudly.
“I saw the way he looked at you, sweetheart. You took his breath away,” Maggie said with a wink that caused Lisa to smile coquettishly. “And your father is right. You are indeed a beauty. Evan may soon find that he’s got a lot of competition for your attention,” she added thoughtfully.
“No one’s taking his place,” Lisa said with such assurance that Pete believed her.
Chapter 10
Captain Ramon Marino of the Havana leaned back in his seat and studied the ocean thoughtfully. The Havana was flying a night patrol between Cuba and the southern tip of Florida. Normally, the Cubans tried to avoid flying at night, but with the impending invasion of their waters by thousands of pirate ships, they were forced to do so. The patrol tonight was a drill. The Havana was flying with the majority of the Cuban fighters during the drill, just in case one of the pilots was forced down for any reason. In that unlikely event, the Havana would be on hand to affect a rescue.
The Cubans had already experienced what happened when a fleet of ships invaded their island. A powerful drug cartel had unleashed a biological weapon in order to conquer Cuba. When much of their population had died because of the plague that followed, the cartel had easily conquered the survivors.
Captain Ramon Marino had braved the shark-infested waters to make his way to Florida, where he was picked up by peacekeepers. He had warned the Americans that the cartel planned to unleash that same plague in America. Ramon had been instrumental in stopping that plot. Also, he had undergone peacekeeper training and led a group of one hundred Cuban Americans on an assault on the cartel stronghold in Havana. He had gone on to become the first Cuban peacekeeper base commander, and when it was ready, he became the captain of the Havana and turned over the base commander
position to another man.
Now, Ramon was sitting in his seat, expecting nothing more significant than another night-flight training drill, similar to the one he had flown the previous night. Soon the Havana flew within sight of a supply ship named the Brittany. The mid-sized cargo vessel was a regular in these waters. Ramon had spotted it upon several occasions as it ferried supplies from Miami to the oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship was family owned and operated. It was also prone to occasional breakdowns, so when Ramon spotted the Brittany he flew close enough to check and be certain that all was well with her.
A crewmember on deck waved as the Havana hovered nearby. The pilot of the peacekeeper aircraft returned the wave and at Ramon’s orders, he resumed the patrol.
Moments later, the fighters reported sighting five ships sailing into the Gulf. The pilot reported that the decks of all five of the ships were bristling with deck guns, and that they had sighted the Brittany and were altering their courses in an apparent attempt to intercept her.
Ramon knew that it could be a coincidence that five heavily armed ships were entering the Gulf, but he felt it unlikely. He had the communications officer to contact the Brittany and report possible pirates closing in on their position. The peacekeepers requested the cargo vessel adjust course to a right angle heading. Now if the other vessels adjusted their course to maintain an intercept course, there could be little doubt as to their intentions. The captain of the Brittany thanked the Havana for the warning. As his ship altered course, he ordered all hands to the deck to prepare to defend the ship should the need arise.
Almost immediately, the five-ship battle group altered their courses to maintain an intercept course. The Havana launched a drone, which flew down to a position near the wheelhouse of the lead ship. Ramon spoke to the occupants of the vessel via the drone. He said, “You have twice changed course to intercept the Brittany. Please state your identity and your intentions.”
The ship responded by opening fire on the drone. The drone operator managed to get clear of the area before the little aircraft could be destroyed. “Sink the battle group,” Ramon instructed the fighter pilots. “Use battle plan Alpha,” he further instructed them.
That plan called for the fighters to form a corridor bracketing the course the ships were taking. The Havana would assume a position facing the oncoming armada at the end of that corridor. She would fire first, thus signaling the rest of the peacekeeper air group to open fire.
As the peacekeepers prepared to utilize that attack plan, another message was sent to the Brittany informing the captain that the approaching ships were indeed hostile and had fired upon the peacekeepers. The captain was advised to sail away at the best speed his vessel could manage, and not to return to the area while the battle was raging.
Two minutes later, the lead ship opened fire on the Havana, which they had just spotted hovering at the end of the corridor. The Havana responded with a prolonged shot at the wheelhouse with her main laser. Under the cloak of darkness on both sides of the corridor, the fighters opened fire at the fleet. Some targeted the wheelhouses, while others targeted the waterlines. The Havana had to break off her attack and take evasive action when the deck guns of two of the pirate ships zeroed in on her position. By the time she returned to the fight, two of the pirate ships were already sinking. The rest followed suit in seven minutes.
The opening battle of the war in the North American theatre lasted a total of twelve minutes. Two fighters were hit and suffered extensive damage during the battle. One splashed into the Gulf waters as the air group made for Havana, Cuba. The patrol ship Havana rescued the pilot. The other damaged fighter made it back to the base.
During the flight home, Ramon reported the news of the battle in the peacekeeper council channel.
***
Tim awoke to an insistent knocking on the door to his quarters. “Captain, I’m sorry to wake you, sir, but there was a radio contact on the council channel that our communications officer said you should know about at once,” Sergeant Thompson said on the other side of the closed door.
“I’ll be right there, Sergeant. Thank you,” Tim responded.
“Will you need me?” Patricia asked sleepily from her side of the bed.
“You go back to sleep, baby. If I need you, I’ll come get you, but I believe the duty officer can handle any communications I may need to send,” Tim said. He kissed her, and then hurriedly dressed. By the time he exited their room, Patricia was sound asleep. He was thinking about how much he envied his wife’s ability to go back to sleep after being awakened as he strode into the control room. Ramon’s message drove all such thoughts from his mind.
Tim responded by contacting Ramon via radio for a full debriefing. He then put in a call to the Valiant to see if Jim and Pete were available. He spoke with Pete who had been informed by the night watch about the incident. The two of them decided that they would handle the situation, since it was Jim’s wedding night. The men agreed that in all probability, the small fleet had been an advance unit of the main pirate armada. Tim suggested that they order half of the Miami based fighter wing to move further south than they were currently patrolling. He requested reinforcements for the fighters stationed in Miami for the duration of the emergency. Pete promised an additional ten fighters would be sent from the citadel. “They are already on the way east,” Pete explained. “I was just waiting for word from you as to where they are most needed. I’ll get the location sent to them at once.”
“What about patrol ships?” asked Tim.
“Let’s not step on Jim’s toes on that one,” Pete said thoughtfully. “He’ll be here early in the morning. He said he would be back on the Valiant by 8:00 A.M. at the latest, but what we need is actionable intelligence. I’m inclined to say we need a patrol ship or two out scouting the enemy, but let’s wait and get Jim’s opinions. He’s the admiral, so that’s definitely his specialty.”
“Yes, and he’s most familiar with the mainline ships of the fleet as a result. Alright, Pete. I’ll see to redirecting those fighters and inform them replacements are on the way to fill in the gaps,” Tim said.
“By the way, Tim, you were right about Jack Wilcox. The man’s a superb captain. The Arizona gave them hell out in the Atlantic. If we’d had ten such ships and captains to send against that fleet, they’d all be on the bottom of the sea now,” Pete explained.
“I’m right about you too, Pete. You’d make a fantastic captain of a ship, but I’ll settle for you being the commander of the citadel for now. Once the battle fortress is ready, I intend to nominate you for its commander. You’re the perfect man for the job.”
Pete frowned. “Not you too,” he thought. He sighed, keyed the microphone, and wished Tim good luck without deigning to comment on the matter of changing jobs.
***
Captain Wilcox surveyed the hull in astonishment. He was certain that the Arizona would need extensive repairs after the beating she had taken at sea. However, he was unable to find a single spot on the hull that had been penetrated. The worst of the damage seemed to be three spots where fist sized depressions gave evidence that the ship had survived major impacts by heavy caliber projectiles. He watched in amazement as the experienced repair team fixed those depressions in short order. They did so by running an electrical charge at a specific voltage through the hull. Once the current was flowing through the hull, they slapped strong suction cups to the depressed areas, and then pulled the dents out at just a fraction of an inch at a time. Twice, they had to adjust the voltage, which affectively altered the resistance to the suction devices. In less than an hour, those repairs were completed.
The ship was resupplied, and her water tanks were topped off. Water had been an issue during the mission. They had been forced to ration water early on due to the need to stay in the field for such an extended period of time. They had made it back to the base with plenty of food to spare, but the water tanks had been nearly empty.
There were plenty of spare drones
at the base, so Jack asked for replacements for his lost drones and an additional set. That request had to go through Pol, who was in charge of the drone program. Pol approved Jack’s request, but he said, “I’ve studied the footage of the battle in which the drones were lost. I can tell you what your operators are doing wrong. They are flying the new drones the way they learned to fly the first generation drones. They are not utilizing the ability of the drones to make right angle turns at full speed.”
Pol pointed out that it wasn’t the drone operators’ fault. The drones were so new that the operators hadn’t been properly trained in utilizing all of their capabilities. He added, “But during the film footage, I saw one of the drones fly into a barrage, despite a three second warning that the projectiles were a threat. In three seconds, the drone could have executed a ninety degree right angle turn and escaped harm.”
Captain Wilcox promised Pol that he would drill his team on properly utilizing the drones. He thanked Pol for having the replacement fighter laminated so that Rufus could keep it in the air against the firepower the enemy had at their disposal.
Before they signed off on their radio communication, Pol requested that Jack get the word out to the other patrol ship captains about the need to retrain operators on the utilization of the full potential of the new drones. That led to a call to the patrol ship California. Captain Cliff Barnes listened with interest as Jack explained what had happened to his drones and Pol’s investigation of their loss. He promised to get the word to the other captains in the fleet. As president of the captains’ council, Cliff could more readily influence the captains. Being the newest captain in the fleet, Jack was all too aware that some of the captains would be hesitant to take advice from a junior captain.