by Ricky Sides
“I’m glad to hear it isn’t as bad as you feared.”
“So am I. It’s about time we got a lucky break.”
“You’ll set up evacuation plans, just in case the Europeans do manage to penetrate our airspace?” asked Jim.
“Of course. And you’ll arrange for pickup of the shipments you missed in the months you were in isolation?” asked Bob.
“Yes, and thank you for not holding us to the default clause because we failed to pick them up on time.”
“It’s in our interests to keep you people well supplied, especially with all these raiders pillaging the country. Thank you for getting the Detroit base back up and running. Our security forces turned back one raiding party already. I’ll feel much better with the fighter squadron back at the base. But in view of the recent developments, I hope you people consider a ship for Detroit as your next project.”
“That ship began construction two weeks ago. It should be ready in a matter of weeks. The crew is in training with Captain Cliff Barnes of the California.”
“That is great news. Thank you, Jim.” Pausing near the doorway to the corridor, Bob asked, “Are you going to resume your hunt for the raiders?”
“Yes, for another few days, but I have a feeling their base isn’t in the eastern half of the country. I think they are deliberately staging raids in that area to lure us away from the base while they build up their defenses. With the new laser technology, if they can figure out how to power them, they could conceivably design a base that we wouldn’t be able to defeat, if we give them the time to set it up properly.”
“How much power would it take to operate one of the weapons?” Bob asked. He was surprised when Jim gave him the rough figures. “That’s not so bad. Why, at those consumption rates, one of our houses would be able to supply eight or nine such weapons with power for an extended battle.”
“They generate that much power?” Jim asked in surprise.
“Oh yes. Does that surprise you? After all, the surface area of the houses is greater than your patrol ship class aircraft. Some customers don’t even want them for living quarters. The three I just sold were to a group of people out west who wanted them strictly for power generation capability for the homes in their community. They relocated to an area with no power distribution during the plague. Now they want to stay, but need power to make it work for their families.”
“I expect there are a lot of people in that situation now,” Jim said as he nodded his understanding.
“It’s funny though. You’d think they could have simply used one power line outlet per home that they were buying and then tie in several to that main line.”
“That’s all they would need,” Jim noted absently.
“That’s also what I thought, but they wanted ten dedicated outlets with each capable of handling a heavy load. I tried to tell them that the houses couldn’t possibly power ten homes, but they said that each would only use minimal energy.” Shaking his head, Bob said, “It really doesn’t make sense to me.”
“It does if you want to power lasers,” Jim stated thoughtfully. Looking at Bob with a grin, Jim asked, “Have they taken possession of those houses yet?”
“No. They are supposed to pick them up in four days. I told them it would take that long to make the requested modifications.”
“Have a seat, my friend. We need to get the engineer in here, but if I’m right, you may have just helped us find a way to locate the base we’ve been seeking ever since we came out of seclusion.”
“You’re thinking they need a dedicated line for each laser?!” Bob asked in an excited tone of voice. He had long daydreamed of someday doing something heroic for the good of the country as the peacekeepers routinely did.
“I know they do. Otherwise, they draw so much power that they’d burn out the connections, but it’s possible that I’m thinking of another of our weapons. That’s why I need the engineer.”
“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere. Not when there’s a chance I can help you solve this mystery.”
***
“All hands, hear this. You will be experiencing g-force acceleration in five minutes,” Ralph heard over the intercom. He scrambled off his bunk, sat down in his acceleration chair, and buckled his harness. Just when Ralph thought the drill was over and was reaching for his harness to disconnect it, the communications officer’s voice said, “One minute until acceleration. Face forward and sit with your back to a wall if you haven’t reached a chair yet.”
“What the hell?” Ralph wondered. “This must not be a drill. They’ve never said that in the past.” His body tensed in anticipation of the violent forces that would soon press him into the seat.
“Thank you. The drill is now over. You may resume your normal duties,” the voice said over the intercom.
Ralph realized that he’d been holding his breath and exhaled in disgust. The captain was taking the emergency acceleration drills seriously. He was even devising ways to make them more realistic. Yesterday, he had ordered one during dinner, and everyone was almost certain it had to be the real deal, because the captain never drilled during scheduled meal times, but that had also been a drill.
The crew was beginning to wonder when they would experience the full force acceleration that the ship was reputed to be able to achieve. To this point, the worst that they had experienced was no worse than the acceleration of the Valiant, and although that was saying a lot, it was a far cry from the bone crushing acceleration they had been repeatedly warned they would have to endure during an emergency in the Athens.
Ralph finished dressing and then he headed for the head. He had just entered the stall to take care of business when the intercom once more activated. “All hands, we go to full acceleration in five minutes.”
Ralph, who had gone to the bathroom because he had to urinate, had no intentions of waiting through another drill. While he did his business, he smiled at the sounds of angry cursing and shouting in the cargo bay outside the head. Apparently, the crew was none too happy about the back-to-back drills.
He took his time washing his hands, and then he exited the head and walked over to take a seat in one of the acceleration chairs.
“Come on, Sergeant. Can’t you talk to the Captain about this? I mean back-to-back drills? For God’s sake, man, give it a rest.”
“It’s the Captain’s duty to make certain we are ready, now stow it, John.”
“Okay, okay. I get the point, but...”
What John might have said was interrupted by the most violent acceleration any of them had ever felt. They were slammed into their chairs so forcefully that more than one person bit a tongue or lip. The acceleration seemed to go on for an eternity, during which time Ralph had trouble moving his head, arms, and legs. His vision began to go grey around the outer edges, as if he was looking through a tunnel, and he was afraid that he was going to suffer a blackout from the pressures.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the pressure released the crew and Ralph gasped in a breath in relief.
“Congratulations, crew. You just survived your first full acceleration aboard the Athens. Wasn’t that fun?” asked Evan over the intercom. Then his voice turned serious when he said, “Sergeant Maroney, I need a report on any injuries the crew may have suffered as a result of the test. Please see to it that any serious injuries are addressed by the medical staff.”
Getting to his feet, Ralph went to the intercom control switch on the wall and confirmed receipt of the orders, and then he examined the personnel in the cargo bay. He sent a man and a woman to the infirmary to see the doctor because the force of the acceleration had caused them to bite their lips. He then checked on the rest of the crew throughout the ship until he reached the control room and gave the captain his report.
“Thank you, Sergeant. During your next safety meeting with your men, please mention that it might be best to clench your jaws during the accelerations.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Ralph a
greed.
“What about physical damage to the ship? Were there any serious incidents of things shifting or falling?”
“On that score, I can report that all the precautions we have been implementing paid off in a major way. There were a few spills in the galley, but you really can’t prevent that sort of thing if full acceleration occurs when the cooks and his assistants are preparing a meal.”
“You did the door check too?”
“Yes, Captain. All doors are functioning flawlessly.”
“Good. If there had been any sort of structural warping, it would show there first.”
Evan noted that Ralph looked as if there was something he wanted to discuss with him, but was hesitant to speak up. He was well accustomed to the sergeant, who had turned out to be one of his best friends, despite their rocky start years earlier, and he could always tell when he wanted to discuss something with him.
“Well, Captain, several of the men want to know when we’re going to get back into the hunt for the enemy.”
“I see. I can’t say that I blame them. First, we were ordered to train for a day. Then we were sent to southern Texas to deal with a small group of raiders, and that took four days.”
“Yes, and I know that trip was important. Those raiders were making life hell for a group of survivors.”
“Yes, well they won’t be bothering them anymore. We made sure they left the area permanently. You’re right, it was an important mission.”
“Yes, sir, but...”
“But the enemy killed one of our crewmates. We owe them. I agree. And I always pay my debts,” Evan said with a cold look of determination on his face.
Looking at Ralph, he said, “Tell your men we have been ordered to join the search. We’re en route for Arkansas now. The raiders tried to attack our airbase there two hours ago. The fighters followed them, but were ordered to turn back when they came too close...” Evan stopped talking and looked around the room to ensure no one else was listening. Speaking in little more than a whisper, he continued, “The fighters came too close to the Arkansas Ark community. The Council was monitoring their reports. When they realized that the flight path would take them over the community, they ordered the fighters to turn back for the base. Dad sent word for us to handle it. He isn’t convinced that it’s time to reveal their locations, and many of our crew is already familiar with the sites because we transported the people there.”
“I understand. I’ll prep the team.”
“You do that, and plan to take the entire group. The snipers may come in handy, especially if it comes down to a hostage situation.”
“Is the no negotiation order still in effect?”
“Yes. Negotiating with the enemy is not an option. Therefore, your mission is to see to it that none is needed. Take a prisoner or two so that we can try to interrogate them about the location of their base, if you can do so without serious threat to the colonists, but the safety of Ark personnel is our primary concern.”
“Understood, but maybe it won’t come to that. Maybe it was just a coincidence that they flew in that direction.”
Evan grunted to acknowledge the comment, but he didn’t really believe it was a coincidence. “See that your men are fed, and then get them ready. We’ll be there in less than two hours. That’s why we utilized the full acceleration, and we won’t slow down until we get to the Ark region.”
“Yes, sir. We won’t let you down.”
“I never worry about that with you in charge,” Evan explained as he glanced down at his clipboard and made a notation of the injuries Ralph had reported. He didn’t see the expression of gratitude that momentarily flitted across Ralph’s face. Ralph liked serving under Evan’s command. He worked hard to make sure that neither he nor his team disappointed the captain. Evan realized and appreciated that fact, and he wasn’t reluctant to acknowledge it.
“Was that all, sir?”
Evan looked up from his clipboard and frowned. “These men are going to be dangerous. A lot more dangerous than the people we fought in the swamp. We took a beating that night. We won, but our team took several wounds in the process. All of those wounds would have been prevented by the proper equipment.”
Ralph opened his mouth to protest that they had lost their hard armor during the evacuation of the downed APC when they had been forced to choose between carrying it to dry land or their emergency provisions, but Evan held up a hand to forestall the argument. “I was there, remember? I know the circumstances that led to the armor being left behind, but that’s not the point I’m making. I want you to ensure that every man on the team is equipped with all of the appropriate armor, and that includes the headgear. I want the men to double check every piece of equipment, especially the communications gear.”
“We’ll be thorough.”
“Good. When we get close enough to make it practical, we’ll stop and send in two drones to scout the area. I’ll call you forward to join us so you can see the surveillance video.”
“Then I’d best get back to the men. Thank you, Captain.”
Chapter 10
“You’re certain no one can ferret out the devices?” Jim asked.
“Yes, Admiral,” the engineer assured Jim. “They operate on a frequency nothing in the civilian market can monitor, and they are attached to bottom of the roof inside power relay boxes. Even if someone found them, they would just think they were a part of the electronics package that directs the current. Plus, they are passive until we ping them. The only drawback is that these units aren’t very accurate. They will get a single search vehicle to within a twenty-mile radius. I recommend you have ships from a variety of locations ping them simultaneously. Then correlate the data. Where the converging tracking fields intersect will give you the location to within about a mile. I’m afraid that’s the best that we can do on short notice.”
“That’s good enough,” Jim assured the engineer.
“How will you know when they have arrived at their destination, sir?” asked the engineer. “Or did you plan to track the houses by activating the electronic tracer every few hours and maintaining a set distance from it?”
“We’ll do periodic position checks, but I plan to stay clear of them until we know for certain they have reached their destination. There’s too great a risk of encountering some of their people who could tip them off and cause them to abandon the houses and scatter. This is too good an opportunity to mishandle it by being impatient.”
***
On the sixth day of their mission in the Atlantic Ocean, the Arizona encountered the first Royal Navy vessel based on the Huxley and Bleakman technologies, which made up the backbone of the peacekeeper power base.
The Arizona was flying at her maximum altitude of one thousand feet and had just executed a turn in their search pattern when the pilot spotted the British ship, which looked remarkably like the Peacekeeper battleship module, but with sleeker lines. “Captain, we have contact,” Namid reported.
“Communications, hail the ship,” Captain Wilcox ordered. “Navigation, let’s not crowd them but I want to come alongside their ship on a parallel course so that they don’t get the idea we are targeting them.”
“Aye, sir. I’ll put them off our port bow,” Namid responded.
“Captain, I have the commander of the ship. It’s Admiral Banes. He wishes to speak with you.”
Jack sat down in his chair and activated the communications system. “Good afternoon, Admiral Banes. I am Jack Wilcox, captain of the Arizona.”
“Good afternoon, Captain. I’m pleased to see that you and your crew survived the plague,” the admiral said pleasantly enough. “Might I ask what you are doing in these waters?”
Jack knew that they were still well outside the territory controlled by the United Kingdom, so he owed the British admiral no explanation for their presence. However, he preferred the direct approach when possible, so he answered, “Frankly, Admiral, I am investigating a rumor that the Royal Navy may be about to launch
an attack on American soil.”
“Ah, yes, the radio chatter from a few weeks back no doubt. We feared you people might hear it and take it to heart. In that case, let me put your fears to rest. The Royal Navy does not intend to attack your country because of the incursions. Your people did everything you could to help us prevent it from happening. It was the civilian population attempting to flee the spread of the disease. We had our own incidents with that very thing.”
“And you, Admiral? What brings your ship out into these waters?” Jack asked.
“I’m afraid it’s a most sad duty, Captain. Unfortunately, three cruise ships were seized by panicked civilians at the height of the plague. They were trying to make it to South America, where they believed the plague had not spread. Sadly, some of the people aboard were carriers. Our airships have found two of the three. There were no survivors. Realizing that, eventually someone might board the vessels and reignite the pandemic, I ordered the two vessels scuttled. Now I seek the third.”
“We found one two days ago. I’m afraid there were no survivors. When our physician said that it would be a threat to safety, because of the presence of the plague for years to come, I ordered it sent to the bottom.”
“I commiserate with you, Captain. It’s a grave thing to make that call knowing that it is possible that some poor soul might be barricaded within the bowels of the ship. I thank you for the information. Now we can return home.”
“You’re welcome. My compliments on your ship, sir. It’s a beauty,” Jack stated.
“Thank you. We followed most of the plans that you good people delivered to us, but as you can see; our designers opted for a few alterations to the hull configuration.”
“We’ve also experimented with our designs,” Jack admitted.
“So I see. From the thickness of the ship, it appears that you opted for a two deck model. The graceful lines are aesthetically pleasing, even in such a thick-bodied design. I marveled at the advances you people have made when we noted your altitude as you approached. What a magnificent achievement.”