Ghosts from the Past (The Wandering engineer Book 7)

by Chris Hechtl

  The admiral turned to the governor. "And don't forget, sir, a courier with the right augmented crew can hit the high notes of the Epsilon or Theta bands. In theory they could make the run from here to Agnosta in as little as three months. Two and a half if they jump across systems."

  "It would take one hell of a hyper-navigator to do that," Daffyd Bruneski replied. “But the ansible network will make such things redundant yes?”

  "Which we will eventually have. Once they are trained," the Admiral replied. “And yes, it will make long runs redundant, but they can be stationed to make short system to system hops too,” he explained. The chief of staff nodded. “But even now we're hitting the delta band. Note the courier that just came through here recently. They were in the seventh octave of delta throughout most of their journey here.” The governor silently whistled. "I'd love to shoot for a Kappa band, with a Ssislli or other water being in the navigator's slot they could direct jump to any nearby system in as little as week, in some cases days or even hours."

  "My word."

  "Sprit of space!"

  "It's doable folks, but we have got to lay the ground work now,” the admiral said determinedly, stabbing a finger onto the tabletop for emphasis. “Captain Logan will transfer a dozen or so hulls to Agnosta, he's got the shorter turn around. A midpoint would be better but we don't have a safe system so Agnosta is it. In the meantime I've already got the fabricators fabricating parts he can't make on his end. I have to make the rounds for each but that's okay for now.”

  The governor nodded.

  “We'll stockpile enough for a short time to see to need here then the overflow will be packed into ships so we can then send a convoy out."

  "A ship," the chief of staff asked.

  The admiral recognized the ploy, the bid to cut down the exposure to a minimum. He wasn't going to bite however. "Several actually. Medium to large freighters as well as the transport ships. We captured several, Firefly caught eighteen here, remember? They are running regular convoys of goods and people now,” he said. They nodded. He knew they didn't like losing anything to Pyrax; that was too bad. That was what trade was about. “I've got several of the ships here waiting for refit. Once they are sorted out we'll stock them up and send them out."

  "What if the pirates intercept them?" T'rel'n asked with second degree concern.

  The admiral exhaled slowly. "That is a valid concern. I am planning on sending an escort," Irons mused. “A heavy one. Heavier than Xavier alone was for the last convoy.” He saw faces close around the table. These people weren't happy about drawing down their, hell his forces. They didn't understand that sometimes you needed to risk something to gain a lot.

  "If we can get one of the newly built corvettes out of the yard and through her builders’ trials and working up trials we'll send her with the Xavier and Mary Apple,” he stated in a flat tone that broke no argument. “Heart of the Tiger would be better, she's got the legs, but I'd rather keep her here to cover a jump point with the other frigates and Hecate,” he stated. They nodded.

  “If the god Murphy hasn't put in an appearance on the other end, we will hopefully be able to see the freighters pick up two or more hulls to bring back in their cargo holds. That will more than make up for the absence of the corvette," he explained. “And once those ships are here we'll add them to the production line and send the convoy out again,” he stated.

  The faces on the other side of the table cleared slowly. Grudgingly the Lieutenant governor nodded. For most of the conversation she had just scowled. She'd let the others take the lead on it.

  "We will also be laying additional hulls here in Antigua of course. We'll start small and grow as fast as we are able to do so. The main problem is trained manpower to man the ships. But with people flowing in through the convoys, that will hopefully not be an issue."

  "So, what do you need from me. Other than manpower and financing?" the treasurer asked.

  "Integrating your taxation system along the Federation model would help. It would take a major overhaul of your tax code," the Admiral replied looking directly at the Veraxin, and then to the others in the room. He ended looking directly at the governor. The governor nodded slowly.

  "Recruiting, and supporting our efforts is a big help. Encouraging partially trained or young flexible people to sign up, even in a reservist capacity will go a long way to helping our manning tables. If you can offer additional incentives that might also help," Sprite said from the holo projection.

  "I doubt you'll have trouble on that score, Admiral," Mrs. Mitrian said dryly. “Just about everyone wants a crack at the pirates.”

  The admiral smiled. "Good. Eventually they'll get their chance."

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Captain Samuel patted the arms of her chair with a proprietary air. She no longer thought she didn't belong there, she'd settled in nicely. Maine was shaping up, though shake ups in the ship's crew were annoying. Losses in enlisted were inevitable, and bringing a smurf up to date was annoying. Lobsterman was learning how to train them with Mia, but it was apparently a long learning process for them both. Mia was a quiet woman, getting her to interact with the subordinates regularly had kept her from going into her shell. Especially when Meia had finally defected.

  Her new TACO First Lieutenant Braknaa had a chip on his shoulder for anyone without academy training. That was tough for him. She didn't have the experience either, though she had given the occasional lecture there. The admiral was planning on sending personnel back to Pyrax aboard the transports to take mustang classes in small lots. For now he needed them where they were. She fully understood that.

  The Satyre had been one of the passengers in the convoy she'd recently escorted in. There had been so many personnel she hadn't gotten to know him. But he had a good record, and he certainly knew his business. She was glad he did. He could be a little less abrasive with the tactical department however. He also couldn't help his bioform. His large eyes and perpetual scowl seemed to make him a terminal grump. She'd tried to get to know him but he hadn't been interested in a formal dinner so far. Perhaps she'd try a different avenue. She hadn't worked with one of his species before so it was a new experience. She made another mental note to brush up on them again when she had the chance. Veraxins she could handle any time.

  Loosing Meia was tough, but the girl just didn't have her heart in her job Naomi thought, with a mental wave to the other woman. She wished her well, she'd done a good job nurturing Mia along and managing the ship's tactical department. She was a born pilot and leader though and Naomi had come to recognize that rare talent. She may not need a tactical department the way things were going she thought. She wondered briefly if the ship would go on the offensive or be like Bismark, trapped in an anchor watch to protect the star system and growing yard. She felt a pang. Most likely they would be anchored in place. The yard was vital to the admiral's future plans and Maine was their most powerful unit. He couldn't send her out like he had Firefly, either on the offensive or on patrol. So she could understand his need to not cater to a certain ship captain's urge to get going.

  She smiled slightly. She wasn't the only one with that urge, she'd talked to Ian, Joey, and Randy. All three were also itching to get moving. She was fairly certain they were stuck however. Randy and Joey would probably be stuck together on convoy escort duty while the grapevine said the admiral had something special planned for Ian and Bounty.

  She shook her head. She was still breaking in her new Veraxin XO First Lieutenant Ch'n'thl. He was a good sort, apparently he knew Braknaa and had gone to the academy with him. He had the Satyre by date of rank though, a full six months ahead of the TACO.

  She was also getting used to having a large ship and a ship AI to manage it all. She'd never had an AI before so the experience was new. He seemed to have eyes everywhere, though he was still learning how to use them properly. She glanced at Lobsterman. The ensign was okay she thought, and getting better the longer he was online and interacting with th
e crew. He still had a few rough spots to iron out, but he was getting there as a junior officer.

  She briefly considered sending for her family but then rejected the idea. She didn't want to risk them on the golden road until it was made safe. Her lips puckered in a slightly sour line. It sucked being so far away from the kids. She was missing so much. Her eyes closed in pain briefly. It was just something she was going to have to endure.

  “Captain, DCC is ready to run their drill,” Lobsterman reported.

  Naomi opened her eyes and nodded, glancing at her number 5 repeater. “Very well then,” she said, settling herself. Duty would help distract her from her maudlin thoughts she noted. At least for a while.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Mairi Jersey was amused by one of the admiral's projects as she patiently waited in her tug. It was a soft asteroid one that had been carefully towed into the dock. Work crews and mechs were already hard at work. They were hitting the outside of the gravel asteroid with grasers and microwave beams to heat it molten and then allowing it to cool into a shell in the shade. There were always problems however; they had to take care to keep the asteroid rotating to keep columnar jointing from occurring while also distributing some of the heat more evenly to keep the exterior from turning to glass. An even heat and the rotation allowed the more dense materials to rise to the exterior surface where they would eventually cool.

  There was also some concern over wave propagation in the gravel and in the molten metal. They had been forced to run additional sims after two false starts but the latest version looked promising. If the process failed, they can always tow the rock out to the smelters and start over.

  While work crews were doing that another crew had started to dig out the interior of fortress 4 to create the main bay. The soft empty center made the digging easy.

  They'd thrown in a twist by using force emitters as well. The force emitters, tractors and depressors, could push and pull the molten rock and shape it as needed. Mairi was getting good at that, even making locks, missile ports, and other areas for future expansion. They had even figured out how to create slopping armor. Each surface was sloped thirty to forty-five degrees to help shed kinetic impacts while also providing the maximum amount of protection.

  The entire process was going on in record time. In a week they'd gotten more done than the work crews had done in months on the Triang fortress. It was insane and gratifying to see it all come together.

  The process wasn't perfect, it relied on the warships and tugs to properly net a soft gravel asteroid in a giant balloon and then tow it to the slips to be worked on, but it was quicker than digging the rock out of a hard asteroid for the same sized facilities. And everything they did dig out, plus the slag from the melting process, was passed on to the molecular furnaces for processing into components. They were making a good profit just from that alone. Mairi the tug pilot was tired but loving every minute of her job.

  That was just one of the projects the admiral their company working on. They had two other side contracts as well as a half a dozen small projects going on with Antigua Prime, and another six projects on the books. The company had expanded explosively, in less than a month they had quadrupled their ranks and the expansion didn't look like it was going to slow down anytime soon. Spark's insistence on hiring only those who had EVA and space training was keeping safety incidents to a minimum too. She shook her head. It was all going too well; she was expecting something to go wrong soon.

  Alice and Petunia wanted her to move into the command center, or out to one of the belt mining freighter’s command centers to run the tugs. Bollix that. She was where she wanted to be, even if it made her job of overseeing all the company tugs harder to do. And she didn't need the woman nagging at her that she needed a love life. She snorted to herself. She was a teen yes, but damned busy. She wasn't some love struck twit. She'd take some time off eventually, she wasn't a prude. But for now, she wanted to see the next step. Things were really getting interesting.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Whenever possible Sprite held side discussions to iron out the details of their agreements without the admiral present. He had to remain focused on playing keymaster she thought.

  Some of the side meetings were productive, others were informative to the organics. She knew they didn't like the admiral's apparent dictate of terms, but kept their resentment to a minimum. She did her best to smooth over any resentment and tried to throw them a bone whenever possible.

  “When are you going to set up an academy? We have thousands of people wanting to join up,” T'rel'n the Veraxin Treasurer said. “Many want to move to space.”

  “For now the admiral wants to focus on the yard. We are going to send people to Pyrax and Agnosta since they have the facilities and trainers there,” Sprite replied carefully. “Those with training are being processed as quickly as we can so we can provide on the job training until they can be shipped out.”

  “I ... okay ... but if you just sent them here ...” the lieutenant governor said stubbornly.

  “Then they'd have to start over from ground zero. And they have the facilities there as I said. Everything is set up there. The transports will make regular runs on what we are starting to call the golden road. The convoy route between Antigua and Pyrax.”

  “But our people ...”

  “Are naval personnel. They will go where they are told and serve where they are needed. And people from other worlds will do the same, serving on ships here or elsewhere,” she explained.

  “We need to protect our home system,” the Veraxin treasurer said doggedly.

  “That is laudable. But if we just protect Antigua then the enemy will pick off the surrounding star systems and will be able to choose the timing and direction of their attacks here. They can wear us down eventually. Or they could jump in from multiple axis points at once and cause all sorts of havoc. The admiral wishes to push the perimeter out as soon as possible. To secure the avenues of approach to this star system. That means ships, personnel, and equipment. Eventually we're going to go on the offensive.”

  There was a growl of approval over that bit.

  “When?”

  “When we are ready.”

  “Back to the facilities ...”

  “We are going to make training facilities once his immediate priorities in the yard are finished,” Sprite explained. “You have graciously deeded over the island chain for the navy to use. Very laudable and we will endeavor to use it soon. Eventually we will have facilities there, I believe we are going to relocate the planned hospital complex there, as well as a basic training facility and land base.”

  “All right. What about logistics? And defending it?”

  “Are you asking if we're going to employ contractors to supply the base?”

  “Of course,” the lieutenant governor said.

  Sprite nodded. “Yes,” she said. “And there will be a space port there too.”

  “So a water port will be needed. I suppose a space port can double as an airport?”

  “You suppose correctly,” Sprite said. She could practically see the wheels turning in the woman's mind. She was trying to find angles to exploit. Most likely she would be quietly telling friends in the investment community to start buying up the ports in that area. The AI didn't care.

  “When will all this be started?”

  “That I don't know. As soon as we are finished phase one at least. I understand we will need ground and water facilities soon,” Sprite stated. She knew the Ssilli were in orbit in stasis. They would remain in stasis until they had proper facilities groundside for their survival.

  “Water facilities?”

  “It's classified,” Sprite said with a moue. “Sorry, I can't go into it further at this time.”

  “Oh.” the woman blinked then nodded. She seemed to settle herself then nodded again. “I see. So, changing the subject then. About the defenses, I assume you'll need a mountain nearby ...”

  Sprite did a qui
ck check and then snorted. Someone had recently purchased a great deal of real estate on the largest mountain near the future military base. That would mean they could name their own price to get the military to buy it.

  “Well, if you have real estate in mind that would be fine. I don't know if the admiral was planning additional planetary defenses, it isn't in any of his phase one through three plans. If you wish to turn over the mountain we can certainly explore that ...”

  The lieutenant governor blinked in surprise then shook her head vehemently no. Sprite was amused by that instant rejection. That answered that question she thought. “No, certainly not! We have already turned over the islands after all, and the mining rights in the system!”

  “Well then, for the time being we'll have to be reliant on the defenses at the jump points and the growing fleet for defense. Though the admiral might make a concession and build some orbital defensive platforms eventually,” she said.

  “He ...” the woman pursed her lips thoughtfully as she parsed that idea out.

  “He might,” Sprite said, emphasizing the qualifier carefully. “Again, it's not in any of his current plans, but those plans can change with time.”

  “I see ...”

  “Moving on,” the treasurer clacked, waving an upper arm to get their attention. “We have a lot more on the agenda to iron out.”

  “Of course,” Sprite said, nodding politely.

  Chapter 24

  Other reporters were trying to score interviews with the admiral and governor. They covered the daily progress report by the governor's publicist. Toni Chambers had landed a couple good interviews, but April knew she had the inside track. The problem was she couldn't use it without compromising her special relationship with John.

  Toni was a hack. She was gaining the sympathy vote because of what had happened to Kiev 221 and her parents. But no one said she wasn't a smart cookie; the little witch was milking it for all it was worth. The more she said she wanted to move on the more others wanted to sympathize with her. That was why she was being called more often with stories.