by Chris Hechtl
...*...*...*...*...
The admiral stripped off his skinsuit and racked it carefully. Things were coming together nicely he thought. Months of planning were coming together, if not exactly as he'd hoped then close enough. The schedule had slipped a few times but he'd expected it. Sindri's efforts had brought them back on track before they'd been completely thrown off schedule. All three of the warships were buttoned up now. He'd just finished overseeing the last force emitter pod installation on the bow. They might have to go out to do a few tweaks here and there, but the ship was looking good.
Sindri even had EVA mechs out on the hull cleaning and repainting the ship. The new components had all been coated in layers of smart paint before they'd been installed but there were sections that had been left alone. They had been pitted and ablated by the centuries of exposure to space and its hostile environment. Now that was being corrected.
Heart of the Tiger, he thought with mixed bemusement and annoyance. They were serious about naming that damn dinky ship that. Did they realize a tiger was a major predator? He shook his head. He had to hand it to the frigate's crew, they were consistent and were behind their ship. He pursed his lips.
“Thinking deep thoughts again, Admiral?” Sprite asked.
He looked up, then cocked his head as her avatar appeared on his HUD. “Something like that.”
“I see. You have a staff meeting in a few minutes, Admiral,” she reminded him.
“Which is why I came in instead of running another hull survey,” he said.
“You always did like to play tourist in the black,” Sprite teased. He shrugged that dig off. Sure, he liked to see the ships floating in the void, lit by their running lights and the work lights of crews and mechs still out on the hulls. And the nebula out there was rather spectacular.
“Anything I should be aware of?”
“Yeah. A decree if you will. Heart of the Tiger. Change the name of the frigate.”
“You are giving in, Admiral?” Sprite asked, now amused.
“Let's just say I know when to pick my fights and when not to. If the crew is 100 percent behind it, why not. It beats naming her as an alpha numeric,” he said.
“True,” the AI said. “I'll have the paperwork adjusted. I've already drawn up the necessary papers for you to sign off on for the name change,” Sprite said.
“Figures,” he grumbled. “Make sure you give copies to her captain and crew to fill out too,” he said maliciously.
“Misery loves company, Admiral?” Sprite replied with a chuckle. “Done and done. Well, as soon as you sign off on your copies,” she reminded him.
“Stick em in my inbox. With the other gigs of stuff that's come in today,” he sighed.
“Oh not gigs, hundreds of megs definitely,” Sprite replied with a grin in her voice.
He couldn't help it, he groaned. She knew how he was; if he had a choice between digging into the refit or juggling paperwork, he'd play hooky every waking moment. Fortunately for the both of them she didn't let him get away with it too often. “You're not helping,” he sing songed as he walked through the companionways to the wardroom. It was a measure of their progress that the meeting would take place in the flag wardroom, not the captain's wardroom.
His thoughts strayed back to going on the offensive. The idea was so seductive, but he knew the problems in it. Not only would he be outnumbered and outgunned, he'd be fighting on the enemy's home turf. Their space with little Intel about the system. They could walk right into a minefield and not even know it until it was too late.
Besides, most of his ships were civilian ships, almost useless in a real battle. Lassie's contributions in Beta 101a1 was not to be forgotten, but he doubted a repeat performance would do so well against a properly prepared foe. For the umpteenth time since they had left B101a1, he put the thought reluctantly aside.
He entered the lift, punched in his destination, then nodded to a pair of ratings as they rushed in past the closing doors. “Sorry sir,” one said. The other, Jax had to turn his broad frame sideways to get through the closing doors.
“Not a problem,” he said mildly, stepping to one side for the pair. “How is it going?”
“Good, sir,” one said, glancing at him. Both were in engineering coveralls that were a bit worn and stained. He nodded with approval and made a mental note to have Sprite do another clothing issue before they jumped out. It would go a long way to crew morale he thought.
“Headed to the flag bridge too, sir?” One of the ratings asked, hefting a tool kit. His free hand went up to run through the purple tinted fur on his bullet shaped head.
“Wardroom,” Irons replied. “Another staff meeting, otherwise I'd be right alongside you, Jax,” he said.
The young gorilla chuffed. “It's okay, sir; we know these things happen,” he said. Irons smiled ever so slightly in the patented patient approval in the ape's voice. “It's good news that we've got those sections buttoned up now. At least we don't have to be in suits to work in there anymore,” he said.
“True,” his partner said. “It never ends does it?” he asked fatalistically.
“Oh, I think we're getting somewhere. She's coming along nicely,” Jax said poking his partner. His partner grunted.
Admiral Irons nodded as the lift doors opened. A lot had been done in the past several months. Massive improvements to the ships and crews even if they didn't see it. The two ratings stepped aside to allow him to go out first then followed in his wake. He paused at the door to the wardroom. He glanced around the corridor. It was clean, fully restored and felt good he thought. Maine was coming to life he thought with approval.
“We'll be in CIC after this if you need us, Admiral,” Jax said in passing. Irons nodded and keyed the door open.
“Admiral on the deck!” Lobsterman intoned as the admiral entered the room.
Irons looked left and right and then nodded to the officers in the room. Since he didn't have a senior staff, many of the bridge officers were still doing double duty as such. Mary Apple's captain was Lieutenant Marion "Randy" Randolf, a neo bonobo/chimp. She was a good sort, perfect on duty. He nodded to her and the others as they rose out of their seats or turned to him.
“As you were,” Irons said. He smiled politely as a bot carrying a cup of coffee came up to him and held it up on a tray. He took the cup and then took a sip. “Ah,” he murmured. That earned a soft chuckle.
“Unfortunately Captain Sirex and most of the other ship captains are out of range for this conference,” the admiral said. “That's fine, it's just one among many,” he said, smiling at Sindri's rolling eyes.
“Sadist,” Sprite teased. That earned another chuckle.
“Not at all, Commander,” Irons said, saluting her with his cup as he pulled his chair out at the head of the table and took a seat. “I'm a realist. And I think everyone here knows who's really pulling the strings to bring us here,” he said as the others took their seats.
“Tattle tale,” Sprite muttered, sparking another soft chuckle of amusement.
“Not that we don't all have jobs to do, but can we get this going? I'm hoping we're not going to be all day about this,” Sindri said.
“Perish the thought, Commander,” Sprite replied, turning her holographic form to the chief engineer. “But we do need to clear the air on a few points,” she said turning expectantly to the admiral.
The admiral took another sip of coffee then gently set the coffee mug down. The tap of it on the table top was enough to stop the occasional murmur from the other officers. All eyes turned expectantly to him.
“First off, I'd like to welcome Lieutenant Nobeki back to duty,” he said, nodding to her. The woman flushed slightly and bobbed a nod. He smiled politely as the other officers murmured their welcome backs as well.
“I know a lot of you have an idea. I've toyed with it a few times myself,” the admiral said, smiling as he brought his hands together in front of him. “Okay, here it is. The answer is no. We're not going to go on t
he offense, not to Horath,” he said shaking his head.
There was a sudden coolness in the compartment. A few people's expressions read disappointment.
“Yet,” he said, adding the qualifier. That got a bushy eyebrow raise from the dwarf.
“Yet, sir?” Randy asked, beating the dwarf out.
“For the time being, we're taking a strategic position of defense. We're going to take back Kathy's World and Protodon, but from there it's pure defense. At least for the time being,” he said.
“So, that's it? We're going to stand on the defense?” Sindri asked, sounding disappointed.
“We're going to surrender the initiative? Let them choose the time and place to attack sir?” Lieutenant Meia asked, sounding disappointed.
“I know, the best defense is a good offense. In this case yes. At least for now. Remember what Firefly did in Antigua and 101? And what we just did in B101a1?”
“Yes, sir?”
“We took a fully functional, fully restored group of ships in against an enemy fleet task force. One that outmatched us by over ten to one. More like twelve to one. And we cleaned their clocks. We were lucky though, lucky that we had a last minute save by Firefly and that the AI did as much damage as they did. We can't count on that again,” he said flatly.
“They have a lot of ships according to the Intel our people have gathered,” he nodded to Sprite's avatar and then to the other officers who had been involved in the Intel effort. “A lot more. Some of those ships are sublight, lacking hyperdrives. And some are downright scary. I for one don't want to tangle with a battleship, dreadnaught, or that super-dreadnaught they are reported to have. If that is confirmed ... and if they get it hyper capable, it will be juggernaut.”
“So if we can't stand up to her ... what do we do, sir?” Lieutenant Nobeki asked carefully.
“We get to Antigua, then bust our tails getting these ships and the other ships there restored and manned. We'll train as we go, and train when we get there. I know you are all tired and overworked. Well, now you have a goal. Once we are in Antigua, then you'll be tired and overworked there.”
That got a chuckle.
“Each of you are our future. Most of you will end up in higher positions when we get to Antigua. Some of you may even be captains shortly. Don't let the power go to your heads.”
Sindri grimaced and nodded. “It's not all fun and games,” the dwarf rumbled. “Damn bitch to do. I'll stick to engineering country if you don't mind,” he said, cracking his short thick fingers.
Irons smiled. “Right. But others might be able to handle the load with a bit more training and seasoning,” he said, now looking around the hopeful faces. “We'll see.”
“Sir, crew? We're spread thin as it is ... with more ships?” Ensign Patters wrinkled his nose.
“Yes more ships. Ships with skeleton crews of their own. But, we'll have help. Help, and industry. Hopefully.”
“Hopefully,” Irina said, wrinkling her nose at that qualifier.
“I know it's there, but we don't know the political status. We have good indicators that the population and Governor Randall have woken up and are now on our side, but ... we'll see when we get there.”
“Aye, sir,” Miss Nobeki said. She looked around the room and smiled slightly. “I guess we will.”
“Damn straight we will,” Sprite vowed. That got another chuckle.
...*...*...*...*...
At first Irina went slow, easing into her job once more, feeling it out as she went. Some of the crew thought her trauma would cause some changes and problems. Honestly, she had a little fine motor control issues, but as she started to get back into harness, her hands steadied and she started to pick up on lost time.
The crew were still feeling the situation out, unsure how she was taking the demotion. Even Commander Sindri was. He'd pulled her aside briefly to talk about it, but a problem in power room 2 had interrupted the talk before he'd gotten in two sentences. She shook her head. Some of her friends and comrades were unsure if she wanted to be on the ship anymore. She wasn't sure herself. The ship was changing, and it was ... strange not being the boss in engineering. She knew she'd never hold the job forever but finding out she was that easily replaceable ... yes, it did add a little niggling doubt to the back of her mind from time to time.
To get a change of scenery she took on more bridge duties at the OPS station, swapping shifts with CPO Re'mon or Hr'tz. That freed up the Veraxins to focus on the various ship repairs or even go EVA to oversee hull repairs as needed. Since the chief petty officer was also a coder, he was doing triple duty with a select few other coders like Commander Sprite.
“Settling in, Lieutenant?” Admiral Irons asked from behind her. She turned to see him standing there. She smiled.
“Everyone keeps asking that, sir. Like I haven't been here before. I'm fine. Just ... checking things out. Exploring my horizons,” she said, tapping at her controls. She logged a change in reactor 2's temperature as well as the completion of an EPS install on deck 1.
“So, that's it?” the admiral asked.
“That's it,” she said whimsically, tapping at her station controls. “I'm getting back on the horse in my own way.”
“Good,” the admiral said, sliding in to sit on the edge of her station. She turned her full attention to him. He smiled again. “I think you know I'm one of the few people that's seen a lot of what you've been through. Sometimes it changes you. Sometimes it changes how people see you,” he said.
“I don't know if it changed me, sir. It's made me a bit more, um, cautious let's say,” she admitted, “and I did notice everyone checking in on me. That's getting old. I mean, it's nice they care and all, but I just want things to get back to normal,” she insisted.
“Roger that,” the admiral said, patting her on the shoulder as she returned her attention to her duties. He got back up and straightened. “Keep up the good work, Lieutenant,” he said gruffly.
“Sir?” she said, turning to him. He paused and turned back, raising an eyebrow.
“I know Commander Sindri wants to have a heart to heart. If you see him, can you let him know I'm cool with it? He's got ...” She frowned and then collected her thoughts again. “He's got a lot more experience than me. He's a good boss. I get it. I'm not complaining,” she said.
He nodded. “Good to hear. Sometimes that happens, Lieutenant. I'm glad you understand,” he said and then left.
She blew out a breath slowly, then inhaled and exhaled, clearing her mind. She returned her attention to the screens around her. Yes she knew it. She had a little resentment, but he had been right to replace her. The safety of the crew came first. They needed a chief engineer. The question was, did she want to stay in engineering? Apparently she didn't have to. She had been Maine's first TACO after all; she could relieve Meia. Only ... Meia was doing a good job there, she thought. She didn't want to do that. She liked engineering. Besides, the chief and the admiral needed her. Needed all the experienced engineers on deck so to speak. She'd have to figure something out, she had time. But not now.
Chapter 7
Once the ships were buttoned up, the admiral had them move out to stage near the Beta 99 jump point. He was about to order their departure when, three months almost to the day since her departure Bounty returned with the tanker, Deianira, and Collier 2 and surprisingly, a courier derelict attached to the destroyer's side like a limpet.
Ian reported on what happened in the star system as he transmitted Lieutenant Lewis's report along with his own. All of the ships were stuffed with goods and volunteers for the fleet. There were six hundred volunteers of various species including six precious Neo sea lion pups.
Major Gustov was sobered over the deaths among his marine recruits. Thirty men and women had gone in to invade the planet against a Horathian battalion. They had been backed by an assortment of mechs and drones along with the ships that would remain in orbit. Twenty-four of the marines had survived. He'd gotten back eight, six of them critica
lly injured and in stasis pods. He'd known it would be bad; what he hadn't expected was that sixteen of the marines would have insisted on staying to finish the job. Four marines from Bounty's marine compliment had stayed with them. He was proud of them, proud of Craig for staying groundside and fighting the good fight.
“I wish I had stayed now, sir,” Ensign Xe said in a canned video e-mail to the senior officer. “Sir, if, when we return, I want to volunteer. I am pretty sure most of the other marines here will say the same sir,” he said.
When Bounty arrived at the Beta 99 jump point with them she transmitted the detailed files. After a quick review Sprite assembled a digest and placed it in the admiral's inbox for review. He read it quickly then signed off on it. She then dumped it into the ship's news report cycle.
The report seemed to slow activity in the fleet as people stopped to watch or read the reports. The grapevine had already gotten a lot of the general story right but seeing was believing. Seeing what a runty half-trained marine platoon could do to a Horathian battalion sent cheers throughout all the ships. It was savage in some ways; many put up the KEW strikes as their wallpaper for a short time. They were sobered though when they saw images and video of what the pirates had done before the marines had landed.
A few mourned the loss of friends and comrades that had died in battle. The general mood was pride though, pride that they'd died fighting what they believed in, saving those who needed the help desperately. They'd died saving a world from conquest. The admiral made it clear in his weekly address to the fleet that each of the marines would be suitably decorated and given full military honors.
The Horathian's had been scattered by the counter invasion, but over 160 were still unaccounted for. That troubled a lot of people. A group put out a petition for the admiral to send another relief expedition or even the entire fleet. He denied the request. It was tempting but no, they had to move on. He had to keep a firm eye on the big picture not get bogged down in small conflicts.