Hawk Flight (Flight of the Hawk Book 3)

by Robert Little

  She said, “Yes sir.”

  Forty minutes later the Brezhnev exec entered the anteroom, came to attention, saluted and transferred an encrypted copy of the reports to Captain Speer.

  His cholera had dropped to his normal, a high level of irritation, and he dismissively waved his hand at her, “Return to my ship.” She stiffened to attention and said, “Sir, I have been asked to remain.”

  He had already turned away, looked back and demanded, “By whose authority?” She said, “Sir, the Admiral requested my presence.” He barked, “Why? What did he say?”

  Admiral Lee’s aide had prepped her in advance. She said, “Sir, I was told that I may have additional information not found in the report.” He frowned in concentration, “What exactly was said?” She stiffened back into a position of attention, “Sir, I was told that the admiral may want to look at earlier versions of the report, in order to determine how the Brezhnev went from the Reserve Fleet to active duty status. Sir, it was my understanding that he may be interested in the methods we use.”

  In fact, Admiral Lee suspected that she had a great deal of information not found on the report, and he was greatly interested in the methods used.

  Captain Speer ordered, “Commander, I’m countermanding that request; return to the Brezhnev. We are to conduct a training mission as soon as I return, and I want the ship prepared.”

  She said, “Yes sir. Permission to withdraw?” He waved his hand again, not even close to a salute.

  Everything was recorded.

  Typically, the relationship between ship captains and their executive officers had to be close and trusting, with the exec often but not always fulfilling the role of enforcer, the one who got his hands dirty, dealing with the messy details of lots of people living in close proximity inside typically elderly craft.

  The captain had to be able to trust that his or her orders were carried out, and the exec had to be able to trust that he or she would be backed up.

  Captain Speer had just countermanded the orders of his own admiral.

  Risky.

  Shortly before nineteen hundred hours a Marine led the captain to the admiral’s day room. The room was presently occupied by an array of enlisted and officers.

  Admiral lee entered the space right behind the captain, pointed to a vacant seat and sat down.

  As soon as everyone was settled, Admiral Lee began speaking, clearly for the record, “My name is Admiral Lee, aboard the Fleet Carrier Constitution. I have convened a formal hearing to determine the procedures utilized by Captain Speers and his staff to return the Fleet Carrier Brezhnev back to active duty status. At present, the human race faces a dire threat to its very survival, and her active duty Federal Navy does not possess the ability to counter this threat. I have initiated an effort to recall as many craft as possible from inactive status. Captain Speers is present...” He paused, “Captain, my aide commed your executive officer and asked her to join this meeting. Has she been delayed?”

  The captain seemed to have recovered his attitude, “She will not be present sir.” The admiral mildly commented, “I already knew she was not present. Is there a problem with the Brezhnev? Do you need to return to your ship?”

  The admiral’s extremely mild response relaxed Captain Speers, who said, “We have an operation planned for twenty hundred.”

  Admiral Lee cocked his head, “What sort of operation would that be? I ask as my office has not been informed of any operations.”

  Captain Speer settled into a more comfortable position, “Maintenance and pilot training.”

  Admiral Lee frowned, “Oh? An operation that is so important that it overrides the orders of the admiral of the fleet must be quite important. Therefore, I’m releasing you to immediately return to your ship. I’ll have to make my assessments based on the reports I have before me. I shall of course expect a full report on my desk tomorrow, oh eight hundred. Dismissed.”

  Captain Speer froze for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet, As he turned away, Admiral Lee asked, “Captain, is the reason that your exec is not here have to do with a breakdown or breakdowns not listed on these reports?”

  Captain Speer paused, looked back and a faint, condescending smile appeared on his face, “No.” A moment later he negligently added, “...Sir.”

  The other personnel looked anywhere but at the admiral, who smiled affably at the departing officer’s back.

  As soon as the hatch closed behind him Admiral Lee smiled, “Lieutenant, would you please bring in a coffee service, perhaps some pastries?”

  She smiled, “Yes sir. Anything else?” He grinned happily, “No, I think I’ve got everything I need. Has Captain Han arrived yet?” She said, “Yes sir, she arrived roughly twenty minutes ago.”

  He looked down at a screen, “...And the four Dresden captains?” She smiled, “On the way sir.”

  He turned to a ComTech Chief, “So, the Brezhnev?” She said, “Sir her preparedness has steadily dropped over the last two months. Her captain has given both the fighter crews and their maintenance personnel very bad marks and their efficiency ratings are the lowest of all eight carriers. Her primary systems have suffered mild to severe problems and again, they seem to be growing rather than diminishing, counter to what one would expect of a ship coming out of long-term storage.”

  He nodded, “Are there any differences between the initial reports and the final report?” She hesitated and he bluntly said, “Chief, I know there are differences – what I want to know is if those changes constitute dereliction of duty, fraud, malfeasance, treason.”

  The chief shook her head, “Sir, if you are asking for a legal answer, Commander Siri would be able to offer a qualified opinion. I can tell you that there are substantial changes, including some omissions. The routinely low ratings given by Captain Speer to his personnel are easily the lowest of any one of the forty plus ships on station, but those omissions and the changes could be due to mistakes or some other factor or factors.”

  Admiral Lee turned to the commander, “Legal opinion.” He shook his head, “I think there is no doubt that Captain Speer is mishandling his ship and her crew, but I would not particularly want to prosecute at his court martial.”

  Admiral Lee nodded, “Explain.” He took a breath, “If the court martial were held here, we’d draw from the available officers, and I would get a conviction five minutes after concluding my arguments. As soon as he returned to Earth, his conviction would be overturned and my career would be over. Sir.”

  Admiral Lee smiled faintly, “This is exactly why I have you with me.” The commander asked, “Sir?” The admiral nodded, “You’re entirely too honest, too competent. If I’d left you behind, on my return I’d have to visit you in a stockade.”

  Commander Siri smiled faintly, “In that case sir, I thank you, my wife thanks you, my children thank you.”

  Admiral Lee grinned widely, “Hell, commander, if I’d ever had a clue I wouldn’t have ended up on Aditi. Your getting sent there is a badge of honor.”

  He looked around, “Any other risk takers?” Another officer, this one a Lt. Cdr., offered, “Sir, looking at the aggregate of breakdowns, there is a pattern, very distinctive. None of them caused death or injuries, all of them were serious but minor, all of them required a report to the flagship. Well, all that we know about.”

  Admiral Lee smiled, “Drop the other shoe lieutenant.” She said, “The other ships that came up out of the inactive reserve have all gradually increased their readiness and repaired or replaced their faulty equipment. The Brezhnev’s have increased, the training tempo has gone up and morale dropped.”

  He stood, signaling the end of the meeting, “I thank all of you. This is not pleasant, but I figure, we keep shoveling manure, one day we find a pony.”

  They all stood, but once again, nobody spoke. He grinned again, “Any of you ever shovel pony shit?”

  The Chief nodded, “Sir, we don’t have many ponies in space.”

  The admiral laughed
, “And now you know why.”

  Chapter 50

  Three days later he had his aide comm the Grant and Lee, both of which had returned from ‘the Shadow Detail’, entailing operating in close proximity to a Sixth Bug incursion. The immense fleet had been decelerating for months and over the last few days its tempo of training operations had greatly increased.

  His two most junior captains shuttled over and his aide showed them to his quarters. He planned on eating supper while they brought him up to speed on the Bugs, whose fleet ought now to be close enough to be able to receive the visual evidence of the destruction of the first four Bug fleets, now an immense cloud of debris.

  On board the Constitution was Captain Speer, who he’d summoned without an explanation; also on board, a ship captain newly arrived from Earth system.

  He entered the space, finding his two most junior Dresden captains already present. He’d spent five minutes with Captain Speer, who had once again failed to provide the requested report.

  Behind him was his aide, who didn’t quite make it into the inner office before she was held up with a comm. Speaking forcefully to someone about a readiness report. She finished by saying, “Captain, the admiral wants that report on his desk by eighteen hundred hours. I should tell you that he would be in no mood for anything other than that report. Can I tell him that you will deliver it on time?”

  Everyone listened in fascination as she paused in mid stride, presumably listening to someone tap dance. After nearly thirty seconds she said, “Sir, I apologize for interrupting you, but I have an urgent comm for the admiral. He’ll expect you at eighteen hundred hours. Thank you sir.” She closed the connection and almost visibly refrained from throwing the tiny comm unit at the bulkhead.

  Admiral Lee had seated himself and was deliberately not paying attention to his aide, allowing her time to get her temper under control. When she sat he grinned at her and asked, “So, lieutenant, what did Captain Speer say?”

  His two guests were visibly surprised that the admiral would conduct business in front of them. Lieutenant Graziano had by now regained her composure and said, “Sir, Captain Speer told me that there was no way he would be able to provide the readiness report by the time requested. He said that he would, and I quote, ‘get it to the admiral as soon as I am able. Unquote.”

  Admiral Lee grinned, “Lieutenant, contact Captain Han, who happens to be currently on board this very ship, and request that she present herself here in my quarters.”

  Lieutenant Graziano stood and walked briskly out through the hatch, reappearing a couple of minutes later. She sat back down and stewards appeared with covered dishes. They were served and began eating.

  Fifteen minutes later a steward stepped over to the admiral and leaned in close. He said, “Sir Captain Han has arrived.” Admiral Lee said, “Excellent. Ask the captain to come in and please provide her with a place setting and some food.”

  The steward went to the hatch, opened it and gestured to someone presumably just outside. A moment later a short, squat vaguely Asiatic woman entered. Before she could salute, Admiral Lee stood and leaned toward her with his hand out.

  She stepped forward and firmly gripped his hand. Admiral Lee pointed to the vacant chair and said, “Welcome captain. Will you please join us for a quick meal? If you haven’t met my other guests, they are, Lieutenant Commanders Turner and Padilla, commanding the Lee and Grant, WO Kana, serving on the Grant, and my aide, Lieutenant Graziano. Gentlemen and lady, this is Captain Han, late of the inactive reserve. Captain Han last served as the commanding officer of the Invictus, one or two captains ago, as I recall.”

  Everyone nodded and Captain Han looked across the table at WO Kana. She said, “Warrant Officer Kana, please allow me to congratulate you on your recent marriage. You may not know this but Chief - well, Senior Chief Kana now - served under me on two separate tours, and I can think of no better senior chief in the Fleet. No deadlier either, come to think of it.”

  WO Kana beamed and said, “Thank you sir. The chief is looking forward to regaining her title, and I am as well. She has been using me as a sparring partner and I could really use a break. In fact, I suggested to Commander Padilla that he might wish to assist her preparations, but he discovered that his duties made that impossible.”

  The young officer grinned and said, “I couldn’t very well command that fine Dresden the admiral has seen fit to place into my hands, if I were in hospital, or um, deceased.”

  Admiral Lee joined the laughter. He added, “I’ve seen footage of Commander Padilla, and he’s right: he’s a very good brown belt who should be ready to test for his black belt, but I do believe that the senior chief would take no more than a couple of seconds to tie him up in knots.” Everyone laughed again and the admiral picked up his fork, causing everyone to do the same.

  They ate quickly and fifteen minutes later his steward had cleared the table and brought in a coffee service.

  Admiral Lee asked, his concern highly over the top, “Captain Padilla, did you get enough sugar for your coffee?” Captain Turner almost snorted, but caught himself in time. Captain Padilla smiled angelically and said, “Yes sir, just enough.” Admiral Lee grinned and said, “Can’t have my captains suffering sugar withdrawal during a battle, can I?” Captain Padilla struggled and failed to maintain a poker face and agreed, “Absolutely correct sir.”

  Admiral Lee took a sip of coffee and leaned back in his chair. He turned to Captain Han and said, “Captain, I’ve got a job for you. It won’t be pleasant, but I need you and I know you’ll do it to the best of your considerable ability. I’m relieving Captain Speer, and sending him back to Jupiter. My aide is going to find a suitable spot for him, somewhere not on Earth, but where his many skills will be fully utilized. Meanwhile, I’ve got a carrier that is falling apart and I need you to get it and its crew whipped into shape. You won’t have very long, perhaps not any time at all if we’re unlucky. Questions?”

  Captain Han stolidly showed not the slightest emotion. She asked, “Sir, what is her condition?” Admiral Lee said, “The Brezhnev has been suffering a series of equipment failures, and her flight crews are performing so poorly that if we weren’t at war I’d send the ship in. For obvious reasons, I can’t afford to lose her and so I’m giving her over into your hands. I wish you had more time, but I think the crew is a good one, it just needs the kind of leadership I know you are capable of. I want you to spend a little time here with me while we bring you up to date on our own fleet readiness and on the bug sixth fleet. Captains Turner and Padilla have just returned from another scouting expedition, and they’ve also performed a quick survey on the apparent destination of the colony ships. Commander Padilla, would you please quickly sum up for Captain Han the bug fleet order of battle?”

  He spent the next ten minutes covering the number and quality of the bug combat vessels, causing Captain Han to visibly blanch. She asked, “Seven hundred fighters?” He said, “Sir, we’ve observed seven hundred; we believe this bug fleet is capable of launching as many as eight hundred or more fighters. All of the ones we have seen appear to be superior in acceleration to those we encountered during the battles with the colony fleets. We have no data on their missile capability, but their destroyers and cruisers use targeting radar, so they’ve got them. Their mother ships are much smaller than the colony ships, but we believe that to be due to the intended purpose of this fleet, which is offensive rather than an effort to colonize a new system. Actually, it was originally two fleets that have joined together within the last fifty years.”

  Admiral Lee said, “Commander, please quickly sum up your estimate of how our fleet would go about attacking and defeating this new incursion.”

  Captain Padilla resumed, “Sir, our conventional ships, the destroyers, cruisers, the one battle ship and our carriers are, with the sole exception of the Constitution, not capable of taking on the bugs in an open engagement. We would be overwhelmed and destroyed, probably within less than half an hour of the ini
tiation of combat. However, our Dresdens, along with the Hawks and Kestrels can approach without detection to within a very short range of the alien fleet and launch approximately thirteen hundred capital missiles. We estimate that were we to attack the bug carriers with this first launch, we would be able to destroy or disable all of them. Following that, we would rearm and launch a second and possibly third attack, targeting first the mother ships and finally all their remaining ships. We believe that we would suffer very few casualties. Unfortunately, we won’t know how effective our Mark 67 missile will be unless and until we use it, but we believe it will work well enough. Meanwhile, our fleet must remain out of range of the bugs, for at least two additional reasons: first, if they see us they’ll probably attack; second, if they see us, they’ll probably wonder how this underwhelming force could possibly have defeated the colony ships, and then they’ll probably attack. We do not recommend that we permit the bugs to observe our jump capability, short of a very dire emergency, such as for example, an attack.”