by Saxon Andrew
“What does that have to do with what I asked you?”
“Do you trust me to handle them?”
“I do.”
“And how did I manage to do that, Sir?” Steve was silent. “I learned everything I could about how Fleet functioned and the various officers that serve in it. I made sure I understood who would call for frivolous reasons and those that actually needed assistance when they called you. The issue you have is whether or not I have what it takes to command, isn’t it?” Steve stared at her and then nodded. “Sir, how do you command our fleets?”
Steve’s eyebrows went up, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Sir, you collect information, make a decision about what should be done, and then you do what?”
“I contact the ones involved in the decision and tell them what needs to be done.”
“Do you go out to those officers and issue those orders?”
“Of course not. I contact them over my communications system.”
“So you’re very efficient at operating your communication panel.” Steve stared at her. “Sir, meaning no disrespect, I handle more issues every day than you do in a week and I’m usually communicating with superior officers. I seem to have been somewhat successful in getting things done.”
“But…”
“Admiral, pull in some of the Senior Admirals and have them operate my console for just two days and see how well they get things done.” Amy looked at Janell, “I honestly felt that you were wrong about my ability to lead by my sons pointed out to me that I do it naturally. They made me see that my handling of superior officers was clear evidence.”
“But Amy, the ones you’ll be leading aren’t superior officers, where you can use my authority to get things done.”
Amy looked at Steve, “You’re right, Sir. I’ll outrank all of them. I won’t need anyone’s authority but my own.”
“Do you seriously want to do this?”
“No, Sir. I don’t. But Admiral Dobson insists she needs me and, even though I have my doubts, she deserves my best attempt at making the effort.”
“Why?”
“Because Dillon would want me to do it for her if she needs me.”
Steve and Janell stared at her. Steve sighed and looked at Janell, who said, “She does require us to meet some conditions.”
Steve’s voice was soft, “Such as?”
“She wants us to put her brother on the payroll to come and live with her children.” Steve nodded slightly. “She also wants us to reenlist a sailor and promote him to command her Flagship?”
Steve’s eyebrows lowered as he looked at Amy, “Who is he?”
“Scott Sole. He’s currently retired.”
Steve pressed a button, “What information do you have about a retired sailor named Scott Sole?”
“Captain Sole retired to take care of his mother, Sir.”
“Captain?”
“He commanded a warship, which was rated in the top ten in overall fleet standings.”
Scott looked at Amy, “Did you know this?”
“No, Sir.”
“Yet you selected him to command your flagship?”
“I felt he had the…temperament to do it, Sir.”
“It appears your judgement concerning people is extraordinary, unlike some officers I know.”
Janell rolled her eyes, “You’re never going to let me live that down are you, Sir?”
Steve smiled slightly, “Your former boyfriend has been arrested and is in jail awaiting trial.”
“For what?”
“Burglary. However, I’ll reconsider your judgment if this works out. Is there anything else?”
Amy nodded, “Yes, Sir. If this isn’t working out, I want you to tell me and find someone to replace me. I don’t want you to ever hesitate to pull me out if you determine it’s not working; do not worry about hurting my feelings.”
Steve looked at them and shook his head, “You know that everyone will say that you were put in this position because of your connection to me, not because of your deserving it.”
“How others view me is not something I lose sleep over, Sir.”
Steve smiled and then chuckled, “No, I imagine you don’t.” He looked at Janell, “Take Amy to Personnel and process her paperwork to change her to Fleet Combat. Have them hire her brother and contact Captain Sole about reporting to Fleet Operations.”
“Sir, may I go and discuss this with Scott.”
Steve looked at her, “You haven’t done that?”
“No, Sir.”
Steve shook his head, “Then you better get it done and report to Fleet Training to start simulator training.”
“Sir, Training doesn’t have the simulators built for the new flagships. We’ll start her on advanced fleet maneuvers first and put her on the ship’s simulators when they’re built.”
“I want her to complete the simulator training on the standard warships so she understands what they’re capable of doing.”
“But…”
Amy put her hand on Janell’s arm, “I’ll have the time to do what’s needed. I want to know how my ships perform before I go out into combat.” Janell stared at her and then nodded.
“You need to get moving. You have a little less than a year to get your fleet ready.”
Amy nodded, “Yes, Sir.”
“You’re dismissed.” Steve watched them walk out of his office and stared at the door. After a moment, he pressed a button. Captain Alexander appeared on his display. “Send a directive to Fleet Personnel.”
“Recording.”
“All highly rated officers that left the service due to personal hardships will be contacted and offered the opportunity to reenlist.”
“Sir.”
“Yes.”
“It appears that Fleet Personnel has inserted a notice in every one of those officer’s file that they would not be allowed to reenlist.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed, “Under what pretext?”
“The former Admiral commanding personnel felt they were deliberately placing themselves ahead of mankind and ordered the notice placed in their records.”
“When was that done?”
“About fifteen years ago. No one has ever changed that protocol.”
“Tell Admiral Inman to report to my office.”
“Yes, Sir.”
If Admiral Inman knows about this…then he leaned back in his chair. He was pretty sure she didn’t and he wasn’t surprised when she was unaware of the policy. He wanted to meet this captain. It would tell him volumes about Amy’s judgement.
• • •
Amy arrived at the marina and walked down to the boat. Scott looked behind her, “Where are the boys?”
“They’re at home. Scott, I need you to take a short trip with me.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“There’s an issue I want to discuss with you.”
“Is someone violating the manatee zones?”
“Just get in the boat.”
Scott stared at her and saw her expression was serious. “Give me a moment to tell Shelia I’m going to be out.” He walked away and Amy closed her eyes. This was stupid. He wasn’t going to do it. He loved his job and his life. Scott came back and pushed the boat away from the dock. He jumped in and said, “What’s going on?”
“Scott, why didn’t you ever go back to the Navy after your mother died?”
Scott’s head went back. He stared at her and said, “What’s going on?”
“Please tell me why.”
“I was told when I resigned that I would never be allowed to enlist again.”
Amy’s head tilted, “What?”
“I was told that I was putting myself ahead of the planet and that there was no place in the Navy for someone that shallow.”
“Would you have gone back if you could?”
“I never really thought about it. It was a closed deal.” Scott stared at her, “What’s going on?”
“I�
�ve been moved to a new position in the Navy and I want you to reenlist and work with me.” Scott leaned back on the cushion and tilted his head as she said, “I’m going to command a fleet of warships and I need someone to command my flagship. I want you to take that position.”
Scott smiled, “You had me going there for a minute.” He looked at her and saw her expression didn’t change. His smile evaporated and he shook his head, “You’re serious?”
“I am.”
“You’ve never commanded a warship.”
“I know.”
“Why do you want me?”
“Because I believe you have what it takes to do the job.”
“Amy, there are hundreds of thousands of ship commanders that are more than qualified to do what you’re asking. I’ve not served in the Navy for more than ten years and I’m way behind on the technology currently being used. There has to be more than what you’re saying.” Amy remained silent. “If you’re serious about this, you need to tell me.”
Amy blew out a breath. She lowered her head and shook it slightly, “When I was approached to do this, I initially thought they were crazy. But as the process evolved, I decided to give it a go. However, as I thought about how my life was going to change, I realized that one of the things that I was going to miss the most was seeing you here.” Amy raised her eyes and looked at him, “I want you to be with me. I get my strength from being with you.” Scott looked at her and remained silent. “I need someone I can trust to help me make this work.”
“What about the injunction in my records?”
“I’ve cleared it with personnel. You’ll reenter at your previous rank.”
“What about my being behind on the newest warships?”
“You’ll be trained on them.”
Scott looked out at the river as she drove the boat. After ten minutes he looked at her, “I’ll do it.”
“What made you choose to do it?”
Scott tilted his head, “Two reasons; I promised Dillon before he left on his last mission that I would take care of you and make sure you were ok.”
“What’s the other one?”
Scott shrugged, “Honestly, I think I would miss you more than you would miss me if you no longer came here on a regular basis. You’ve always brightened my day.”
Amy’s smile was huge, “We’re going to be such a good team!”
“Will I be your weapons officer?”
“No. My flagship is going to have a crew of two hundred.”
“WHAT?”
“It’s about a quarter of a mile long and will be heavily armed. I’ll be commanding ten thousand warships and I’ll need you to command and fight our ship.” Scott started shaking his head and Amy smiled, “You have what it takes, Scott.”
Scott sighed, “This is unknown territory for me. Well, what happens now?”
“You need to resign here and pack your things to go back with me to Fleet Personnel.”
“Right now?”
“Right now.”
“Well, let’s go back to the marina and I’ll give the bad news.”
Amy smiled, “When you retire next time, you can come back.”
“From where I sit, not many make it back, Amy.”
“That’s something we’ll have to change.”
Scott smiled, “Indeed it is.”
Chapter Thirteen
The Royal took a shuttle to the asteroid’s surface and landed next to the portal. He walked out in a space suit and waited until the portal rose out of the ground and opened. The Lead Scientist was inside and he tilted his head as the Royal walked through the weak force field. The door closed and he took off his helmet, “I have something to discuss with you.”
Janek’s eyes narrowed, “It’s not good for you to come here.”
“I realize that. However, I felt you would prefer it if I came here rather than broadcast a message to your location. Besides, what I have to discuss shouldn’t be broadcast.”
The scientist shook his head, “Either way is dangerous if that new enemy has shown up and is scouting our civilization. What’s on your mind?”
“Something you said the last time we met has been bothering me.”
“What is that?”
“You said that you hoped you could perhaps save our species if we’re attacked again. I’ve met with the High Royals and asked if I could attempt to communicate with the ones that attacked if they return and was refused. They nearly removed me from my position for even suggesting it.”
“That’s not good.”
“I’m starting to believe you.”
“What are you thinking?”
“How many people can live on this asteroid?”
Janek’s eyes widened, “About twenty five thousand, however we don’t have anywhere near enough stores put away to feed that many. What’s going on?”
“I’m going to take one of my major fleets and assign it to the defense of this facility.”
“NO! Absolutely not! That enemy would see them.”
“I’m sorry, but I outrank you. I will not have the ships near here. They will be hidden inside the atmosphere of the giant planet in this system. They will hold their positions there with their power at minimum levels.”
The scientist calmed down, “They need to stay there no matter what happens.”
“They will. But I am going to have the families of the warriors on those ships brought here along with all the stores needed to feed them. I will also have a number of transports loaded up with the materials needed to build structures on another planet in the event we’re forced to flee.”
“I hope you’ve chosen a place to go. If our civilization is destroyed, the other enemies will fall on us and kill every one of us they can find. We’ll be outnumbered by the billions.”
“I’m working on that. However, I see this as the only way to ensure our species’ survival. We will probably have to migrate to another galaxy.”
“That will take years at our best speed. Will you bring enough provisions to make that kind of voyage?”
“I will; however, getting out of this galaxy is going to be almost impossible once our enemies close in on our domain. I’d appreciate your help in devising a way to get out without being seen. Otherwise, we’ll have to lay low and hide from being seen.”
The scientist nodded, “I’ll start looking at it after you leave. When will the families start arriving?”
“The Fleet along with the transports holding the building materials will be here in nine hours. Other transports will arrive three hours later with the families.”
“How did you get the Royals to agree to this?”
“I told them you were close to developing a defense against those ships and that your facility would have to be defended. I got them to see that this location would have to be well hidden and that taking the families would limit the need to move between the home worlds and here. They hesitated but finally relented.”
“How did you explain taking all the provisions and building materials?”
“I told them we intended to settle on the third planet in this system.”
“That planet isn’t habitable.”
“They didn’t even look to see. It was beneath them to even try.”
“What will you be doing if we’re attacked?”
“I will be here with you.”
“You are wiser than I thought.”
The Royal shook his head, “I hate that the Royals can’t see what’s coming. Arrogance is blinding.”
“They are a product of their history.”
“It’s our history as well.”
“Yes, but we won’t lose our positions if we communicate with those aliens. They will resist anything that threatens their rule and a more powerful civilization is something they will not accept. Please make sure your warships don’t use their long range communicators once they arrive.”
“They’ve been ordered to maintain silence. Please start getting ready for the families arriva
l.”
“Where are you going?”
“To see about moving more warships here without it being noticed.”
“That’s a good idea. We’ll need them to escape if our civilization’s defenses fail and our home worlds are destroyed.” The Royal nodded and went back up the portal to the asteroid’s surface. He knew which warships he could trust. His personal fleet was loyal to him and he knew they would follow his orders. Ordering them to stay out of the coming war would test their loyalty but he was confident they would follow his lead. There was so much to do and he wondered why the advanced warships had not shown up again. He hoped they delayed a little longer.
• • •
Stella leaned back in her chair and looked out at the giant black hole spinning in the distance, “This one looks larger than the one in our galaxy, Poul.”
“It is. Much larger.”
“What are those structures hanging in open space?”
“They’re a gravity weapon. They are used to destroy anything that enters this area of space.”
Stella shook her head at how large they were, “It looks to me like they’re set up to fire at anything that comes through the black hole.”
“They are. But they can also be fired at anything that enters this space from the surrounding stars. They are also mobile and can pursue any invader they detect.”
“Do you know what its range is?”
Poul hesitated, “No, but I suspect several light years is not out of the question.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. You should also be aware that every intelligent civilization has been forced out of this galaxy and now live in the outer halo that surrounds it.”
“I knew that from the records of the attacks they made on the Traugh Civilization. Are you saying that no intelligent life exists in the interior of this galaxy?”
“There are some planets that support intelligent life but they are primitive and pose no threat to this advanced civilization. I suspect if any of them develop space travel they will be destroyed or forced to leave.”
“That’s heavy handed, wouldn’t you say?”
“They could have destroyed all of them but they allowed them to live in the halo. I suppose they don’t want any interference in the event something comes through the black hole.”