Free Fleet Box Set 1

by Michael Chatfield

“Sounds like a lot of moving around.”

  “It’s a friggin’ headache.” Rick rolled his eyes.

  Hun couldn’t help but smirk. “Well, after we’re all checked over by the yard, we’ll start back for Parnmal and grab some more people for you.”

  “Sounds good. We’ll also have people rotating out, visiting Earth. All people, including those from other planets, are allowed.”

  Hun nodded to Rick’s words. “I’ll figure out a rota for my ships and personnel and pass it over for your confirmation.”

  “Giving me more work, are ya?” Rick put his hands on his hips as Hun looked unsure. Rick laughed as he patted the commander. “I’m joking. Yeah, that’ll be fine. First, let’s grab some food.”

  Rations were still the same crap the Syndicate had given them, which made real food worth its weight in gold.

  “Lead on, COS!” Hun said.

  They spoke less about work after that and more about themselves and the people they were starting to meet, people they were really starting to know. It was invigorating in a way that some wounds from the past, though not necessarily healed, could be filled with other people. They could be very different from the friends they lost but still easily just as important.

  ***

  After four days of shuttling around Earth, I finally got a shuttle back to Hachiro. I spent most of my time helping to get the ships back to battle readiness. The rest of the time, I was in one of the holo-rooms that had been finished in Hachiro for the Syndicate’s personal pleasure. We’d turned them into training facilities.

  The rooms didn’t have gravity, so I floated there. My battle suit’s sensors and nerve taps allowed me to manipulate what was projected in front of me. On one side, I had constant streaming updates from Earth and from Nancy. In front of me, I watched information packets from every ship we’d stolen, every recreated battle in three dimensions.

  I watched battles. I played them. I had my crews’ part of the recreation within their ships sitting in dock. Watching these images, I couldn’t help but feel a fire burn within me. A slow burn it was, but very present. We had one advantage over the Syndicate: it wasn’t our ships, it wasn’t our numbers—it was our skill. We had to become the best damn fleet in the known sector to defeat the Syndicate. We needed to exploit every weakness, use every trick we could think of. Everyone was drilled. Everyone would wake up for the daily games. Sometimes they could last as long as three days, sometimes I would make them watch games as we worked, but every single one of them learned and grew.

  I moved back onto the Resilient and we moved toward Nancy, our hull filled with resources.

  We went through a continuous series of simulations as we traveled and continued them as we got there, changing from single ship to entire fleet simulations.

  “Game complete,” I said as the latest battle ended. “Good work. Go over AAR.”

  Commandos’ HUDs cleared and they found themselves in mid-space when they had thought they were inside of a ship. The first time it had happened it had been...interesting when the Commandos realized they were hanging above the deck of the shipyard instead of firmly attached to metal. Now they returned to the deck with the use of their Mechas’ maneuvering thrusters, magnetically clamping themselves to the floor.

  It filtered up so that smaller groups talked over their problems, then the leaders of these smaller groups talked about the larger picture. With me, I talked to the captains on how they worked their ships. Though, more often than not, everyone tuned in for my AAR. It kept me on my toes and scrambling for military-sounding words, but after my share of games, I was getting rather good at it.

  “All right, that was a great formation drill. The synchronization of PD weaponry was great. Captain Ishtar, that was great intuition on your part, moving to cover Captain Kim while communicating with your battle group and having them move over so that you could execute the maneuver.”

  Captain Ishtar, my newest Sarenmenti captain, nodded his head. I thought back to the time when I met my first Sarenmenti, Taleel, how I’d been truly terrified and scared, thinking that Taleel only wanted to kill me and my people. Not how he was hardening us up so that once we were in a battle it would seem easier than our easiest training.

  “Everything else was good. I didn’t see any problems. Comments? Questions?” One person raised their hand. “Captain Geroud?”

  “Thank you, Commander Salchar. I was wondering why we don’t practice with full weaponry and our ships in full fighting trim?”

  It was a good question but I was prepared for it. “Our ships aren’t at that level. I want us to be ready to deal with a threat with what we’ve got, not what we might have. If an enemy jumped in right now, would simulations with fully refurbished warships help?”

  “No, Commander,” Captain Geroud said, looking shame-faced.

  “Good question, though, and hopefully we’ll be simulating with fully ready warships soon enough.” This brought more than one grin to the faces of the captains projected in the conference room and doubtlessly around the warships.

  “Okay, back to what you were doing, then. And let’s show up back at Parnmal with a fully repaired fleet.” I grinned, nodding slightly before cutting the channel. I left the conference room, finding Shrift outside.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “My brother wants to know if you would like a tour of the dock and a talk over what he’s thinking of.”

  My eyebrow rose in piqued interest. “I thought we had everything ironed out, and yeah, I’d love to have a wander around.”

  “Well, it’s more like he has a few suggestions to make the process faster, but he’d need you to okay it before he went ahead.”

  “Okay...” I said, feeling a little lost.

  “I’ll let him explain. Follow me.” Shrift walked me out as Krom and Calerd settled behind me.

  “How’s engineering treating you? I heard you got a transfer,” I asked.

  “Yeah, had enough time in the armory. I’ll double up if I need to, but I was finding I had less and less work because every damned Commando is qualified enough to be armorers themselves.”

  “Well, that’s good. I want them to know their kit well enough that they can fix it when need be.”

  “I agree, but I missed wandering around, fixing so many systems. Sometimes it makes my head spin. But I can’t complain—working on them in the Resilient is a charm.” He tapped a bulkhead fondly as we entered the main air lock which cycled, letting us into the dockyard.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Well, she has a maintenance system that makes it easier to access even the smallest areas, and the ducts have ladders in them! Then there’s the color-coded wiring!”

  I stopped him a second before he could continue rambling on about his list. “So who made the Resilient?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Don’t know? Doesn’t she have logs?”

  He puzzled for a moment. His manipulators in what would be his chest moved in thought. “Well, yes, but it seems that the Resilient was found just on main drive, flying outside the jump point of a system, completely empty. The data was corrupt. Though, everything was fine with her and she was like a factory-fresh ship.”

  “So, the damage came from battle? Damn, I didn’t think much could harm her.”

  “The damage came from the Syndicate captain peeling off parts and selling them to settle debts.”

  I stopped, my face an angry ball.

  “Yes, he wasn’t the smartest.”

  “That’s apparent.” I growled. “Eddie said that the Resilient is the only one of her class.”

  “She’s a super dreadnought battleship, the biggest damned warship that isn’t a carrier. While the Resilient is one-point-two kilometers long and eight hundred meters wide, a carrier is at least two kilometers long and one and a half wide. Then the biggest dreadnought below the Resilient is eight hundred meters long and five hundred wide.”

  “Damn, I never really realize just how damned big
she was.” I scratched my head. Being in her, the distances were minimized by elevator and transport lifts.

  “Yeah, and she’s going to be a hell of a lot deadlier than she is when we’re done with her overhaul!” Shrift rubbed his hands in glee as we entered a machine shop.

  Silly was a normal Kuruvian. His stubby legs worked into his exoskeleton that covered his body instead of residing inside it like humans. It was a bronze color, speckled with black burns and marks of his trade. Four manipulators twitched in his chest cavity, while two large arms rested at shoulder height.

  His face was two feelers, two holes for breathing, a small mouth, and big black eyes. There wasn’t a hair on him, but his coveralls identified him as Silly.

  “You’re damned right she will be. I’ve only heard of the Resilient three times. To be fixing up such an elegant and powerful girl will give my crew goose bumps,” Silly said, overhearing mine and Shrift’s conversation.

  “Hope you’ve been doing well Silly.” I put forward a hand.

  “Likewise, Commander Salchar.” He accepted it quickly and pumped it twice. I felt the power behind his arm. He was a squatter, wider version of Shrift, with mass behind him. “Now, talking about my crew—I need more of them.”

  “We have shortages of people everywhere. I can’t give you people off my ships as you know I’m only at two full shifts, if I’m lucky, per ship.”

  “Yes, I wouldn’t want to take them away from the ships either. Dockyard and ship engineers are two different birds of the same nest.”

  “So I can’t get you more people, as you see.”

  “But you can,” he said, a light in his eyes.

  “I’ll bite. How?”

  “Earth.”

  “And? None of them are trained in, well, anything. Plus, alliances and the like are changing.”

  “Yes. It’s the best time to strike. Open up a training-on-the-job option and apprenticeship. Train them at Hachiro how to survive in space and all the basics, then send them to us. We’ll train them on how to get a ship back into shape and how to build one from the keel up.”

  “But all personnel in the Free Fleet need to have Commando training before they change to a trade.”

  “Make them civilian contractors. Then give options for joining up. The higher positions can be taken over by Free Fleet personnel, but the general stuff like power lines and the like can be made by civilians. Have the Free Fleet work on weapon systems and the like.”

  “It would give us a possible supply of engineers for multiple trades within the Free Fleet and also bring Earth into the present faster.”

  “Ye-up! I asked Shrift beforehand, so I wrote up a plan. It will need changes, but I also added in the suggestion of possibly hiring groups such as those that work for shipbuilders on Earth and bringing those who have a slightly better idea of what to expect into space.”

  “You’ve done your homework. Please send it to me.” I pulled out my data pad, checking I got the message before I put it away. “Now, I was promised a tour, so let’s have a look around at our newest acquisition.”

  “No need to ask twice!” Silly beamed with pride at the dockyard he’d built as he took off.

  “We have three through yards proper, meaning you can have a ship come in from any end and then out of the other. They can be used to house ships up to the size of a battle cruiser. Smaller ships can be doubled or even tripled up. There are eight attached hangars for inter-system ships, such as fighters and shuttles. Please, put on a suit.” He waved to space suits on racks before an air lock.

  I looked to Shrift, who nodded appreciatively. When we’d been waiting in Chaleel, the suppliers at Parnmal had been pumping out the improved battle suits, which could now double as a space suit and not just an inner layer for a Mecha.

  I activated the space suit shroud. My suit sealed and a clear hood came over my face. Shrift did the same.

  Silly watched in jealous awe. “Damn, I have to get some of those,” Silly said, studying it.

  “We should have some in storage. If not, we have the plans for them, so you can get some made up quickly,” Shrift said.

  “Well, for now I’ll do it the old-fashioned way.” He took a few minutes getting into his space suit. Shrift checked his seals. Krom had already checked mine and Shrift’s. He went with Silly out first, with Calerd coming into the air lock with me and Shrift.

  The air lock rotated open as I whistled. We were on top of the central command center for the shipyard, which stretched kilometers in every direction. I could pick out ships within the docks and the others attached to the sides, waiting for their turn. I looked at the Resilient, her massive bulk waiting patiently. My improved eyes let me pick out the missing weaponry and the deep scars in her plating. She looked like a true dog of war. Seeing her repaired would be a dream come true.

  “We’ve come pretty far, haven’t we, Shrift,” I said absently as I looked at the military might all around me. I won’t lie; it excited me as much as it scared me. The power being massed here was like a drug.

  “Yes, we have, James, all because of you.”

  I snorted and looked at Shrift. “Gah, don’t you go saying that. It was all of us who got us here, not just me.”

  Shrift looked into my eyes. “Yes, we did all work together, but we wouldn’t have if you didn’t pull everyone together in training and then come up with a plan to help us escape. We all owe you more than we can repay in a lifetime.” He bowed his head.

  “Oh, stop that. I need you all to keep me in check too. Look at all that we have.”

  “Yes, but we trust you’ll always do what is right for us. You believe in the people under your command as we believe in you.”

  I felt like scratching my head in embarrassment. “Thanks.” I cleared my throat, a small smile on my face as I looked back out to the yards around me. “So, what else have we got here?” I asked Silly on a general channel.

  “The battle cruiser dock has five workshops for parts and the like—three large, two small. They are connected to two foundries that take in raw material. They refine it, and then process it. The other yards are slated to have the same complement, but that is for later development. Currently, we’re using the factory ships to supplement parts needed to bring the dock fully online, with added repairs whenever necessary. They’re also building parts for their expansion as the other two docks can only fit a cruiser and below. Dock two is slated to be expanded to battle cruiser length. Though none of these yards will fit the Resilient or a dreadnought, so plans have been created to add dock four. We will plan for it to be a super carrier dock but when it is half completed, we will be able to dock the Resilient there, or make a sister ship for her.”

  My eyes drifted to the Resilient. Thinking of having two behemoths stunned me. Through my sleep training and what I’d read, I had come to truly understand how damned deadly the Resilient was. Two of them and moving to have a super carrier? Things were moving faster than I ever thought. It could mean that my fleet could maybe have shuttles that weren’t taken from others but made by ourselves. I was stunned. Yes, I had known intellectually that it was possible, even doable, but thinking that and actually having it put in my face that it would and could happen, seeing the deadly machine it would create was something else entirely.

  “Damn, that’s exciting,” I said, feeling giddy.

  “Yes, it is! It will take three years for us to get dock three done and dock four halfway to fit the Resilient, by my estimates. Depending on resources and manpower, we could cut it to two and a half years. Plus, using this...factory method of producing things could make it faster still.” Silly was more than a little bit giddy at the prospect.

  “How long to get the yard to super carrier standards?”

  “Not sure. I haven’t built a yard that big. I have some who have in my staff. I think it would be at least...five years? I’m not too sure.” He shrugged.

  “Well, it’s something to think about in the future. She looks damned good.”


  “Yes, sir. They’re all a great sight to see—especially in our hands and not the Syndicate’s.”

  I nodded, making a noise of agreement. We all looked out over the yards, picking out people who looked like ants moving across ships, pulling off the old and replacing it with the new. It was a massive undertaking, but I had faith in my people.

  “I’ll go with him to help out with the human and military recruiters as well.”

  I waved Shrift off. “All right, shoo. I’m just going to enjoy the view some more.” I looked back out to the shipyard and sat on the edge of the command tower, magnetically clamping myself down as I watched people working on the ships of the fleet. I was lost in my own thoughts when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

  “Huh?” I shook myself out of my reverie and looked up at Yasu. “Oh, hey.” I tapped the metal beside me and she sat down. “It’s quite the sight.”

  “It’s quite the undertaking.” She smiled. “I’m proud of you.”

  I grinned. “Ha. Remember that time you tried to beat me up in the middle of our first fight of squad against squad?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “At the time, I was furious, but all I could think of was how good you looked in a sports bra and leggings.”

  She tried to look unimpressed as the corners of her mouth tugged upward. “Who would’ve thought we’d go from that to not only taking over Hachiro, the Earth, a pirate station, another planet, plus—”

  “I get the idea. Aish,” I said, exasperated as she gave me a tap on the shoulder and I grinned. She rested her head on my shoulder. We sat like that together for a long while, just being in each other’s company. Her hand found my own and she supported me while I supported her. For now, it was just us. We sat there in companionable silence, just letting the universe go by.

  I sighed after a few minutes. “I don’t know how I’ve been able to keep it going. The leaders of Earth were right about one thing: I should step aside and have someone else take over.”

  “What was all of that you said then?”

  “It was also the truth. They don’t have the people who should take over the fleet either.”