by Chris Hechtl
Admiral Irons cocked his head.
“Here in Antigua you've prioritized the small yard modules to build Prowlers and couriers. Mostly Prowlers. The production line is slow and limited since Commander Sindri has prioritized the capital ship line over it. In contrast, Pyrax is building Dora class modular freighters on the same line, as well as couriers.” The admiral nodded as the A.I. put up a helpful graphic. “Scaling up from there, there are four classes of destroyers in production. They share common parts, but also common roles. The Arboth are general purpose, but the Nelson, Fletcher, and Shield Maiden are all fleet defense.”
“We're phasing the Nelson Flight IVs out after this run,” the admiral rumbled. “Commander Gray's Fletcher and our Shield Maiden class are designs better suited for this environment. They share the same parts so it should be easy to convert the lines over. We've got them running convoy escort to train their crews.”
“Understood. A subtopic, consolidating the two fleet defense classes into one design should indeed streamline production, sir,” the A.I. stated. “In Pyrax they are building Arboths and Nelsons. They do not have the new designs in production.”
“Because of the keys and parts,” the admiral stated. “We have to ship them what they can't build themselves.”
“Understood. That explains the priority of building shipping and carriers in Pyrax.”
The admiral nodded. “Correct. They are building the three classes of fleet tenders: Doras, Cervidae, and Liberty class tenders. All of them are modular in design so we can adapt them to whatever use needed. They can build most of the ship's components without a lot of input from us. Just the hyperdrives at this point,” the admiral stated.
“So it maximizes their production ability. Understood.”
“You didn't know?” the admiral inquired, raising an eyebrow as he propped his head up with his hand. His index finger tapped his temple.
“It isn't mentioned in any of the production schedules or write-ups,” the A.I. stated. “It was inferred since you licensed the designs to be built by the civilian yards. I've been asked by several of my students,” the A.I. explained. He flashed a list of names in a window, but the admiral waved a hand to dismiss it.
“Ah,” the admiral said, nodding. Proteus was expanding he knew, but his primary purpose was to run his nanites and to be an engineering design aide. “How is that going by the way?”
“Interacting with students hasn't been easy for me. I obviously cannot control their behavior in class. It is not a job I am designed for. I am, as you say, making the most of it.”
The admiral nodded thoughtfully.
“Back to the subject at hand, the next lines up are the cruisers. Antigua is building the two classes, North Hamptons and Resolutions, on the line. However, Pyrax is building North Hamptons and factory ships. Or I should say, the basics of those ships—their frame, hull, sublight drive, and most of their interior. Both lines are then shipped here in the convoys for final fitting.”
“True,” the admiral said with a nod.
“It is a waste of time and resources to do so since Antigua is currently reaching saturation levels.”
The admiral frowned thoughtfully. He nodded after a moment.
“Kittyhawk class escort carriers fall under the cruiser lines. Both yards are building them as they are building Newman class battle cruisers; though with Pyrax, they are again shipped here for final fitting.”
“True,” the admiral said.
“And the larger ships are where the production diverges. Antigua is building a broad selection, though it is primarily focused on super dreadnaughts that have been laid down at the moment. Pyrax, however, has two lines going: the light carriers and fleet carriers.”
The admiral's frown deepened. “You're pointing out that it is inefficient for Antigua to jump around. We should focus on one line.”
“Correct. I was getting to that point. I was going to point out that the carriers have to be sent here for final fitting or their compliment of craft as well as hyperdrives have to be shipped to them.”
The admiral nodded. “Point. I understand Antigua's work on the larger carriers is coming to an end though once the current hulls are finished.”
“I see, sir. A suggestion? Perhaps reversing the trend? Get them to the point of flight worthy, then send them with a crew to Pyrax for final refit since they have the production line established there? And the flight schools are also there.”
The admiral nodded. “I've heard that complaint several times. Most of our fighter and small craft production is here and not in Pyrax. But our primary training facilities are in Pyrax.”
“The Marines have established their own in Agnosta. Duplication of effort is an inefficient use of resources,” Proteus stated.
“But we get saturated otherwise, and the Marines can specialize to their heart's content on the planet,” the admiral retorted.
“Understood and noted.”
“Your idea to send the carriers to Pyrax is actually a good one,” the admiral mused. He frowned. It was actually a damn good idea, though the ships in transit wouldn't be finished.
“To complicate matters, Admiral, I understand there is a strategic imbalance currently. You have attempted to emphasize the construction of carriers to offset the enemy's heavy capital ships.”
“True,” the admiral rumbled.
“But to date they haven't been as effective as hoped. They do not have sufficient numbers nor the right circumstances to be effective. Also Admiral White is using them in a defensive or light manner.”
“I know,” the admiral said in a warning tone.
“Implied rebuke noted. My point is Commander Gray, Captain Yee, and Commander Wong have come up with an alternative solution. One that should be explored. It will add another ship to the inventory of ships under construction but could be a game changer.”
“Oh? I haven't heard anything …”
“That is because they are still refining the design. They want it perfect. They ran it past me, but I do not have the ability to scan it at this time.”
“Lack of ability?”
“My processors are near saturation, Admiral.”
“Oh.” The admiral frowned thoughtfully. “Continue.”
“They took a page from your recent battle experience, Admiral. They came up with the idea of a dedicated munition ship,” the A.I. put an image up on the admiral's desk. It rotated on one axis at a time. He leaned forward, curious about it.
“Essentially it is a modular munition built on the Liberty ship platform as much as possible. That way they can ease logistics problems. The concept has ports on each of the flanks.” As he watched ports opened up on the flanks and began to discharge pods. “One of these ships could carry a mix of pods, weapon drones, or mines. The pods could be offensive or defensive in nature. The ship wouldn't have the fire control to handle them, nor offensive weapons. They would have some armor, military grade materials and equipment of course, and defensive systems.”
The admiral steepled his fingers together as he looked the design over. “I don't like sending people into harm's way in an unarmed ship,” he rumbled after a moment. “Passing the pods over to another platform though …”
“It has its advantages Admiral. Kept in the core or rear of a formation, deploy the cargo then withdraw would allow Second Fleet to saturate the enemy's defenses.”
“While saturating our own. A cascade firing pattern … using the weapon drones …,” he frowned thoughtfully. They'd limited the design to just ports on the flanks over going hog wild and having them on the dorsal and ventral surfaces as well. With the ports arranged as they were, they'd have some issues with the force emitters. He didn't like how the shield coverage would be stretched to cover the ports, but they could probably find ways around that.
“Those are issues. The trio are arguing about how to best handle the fire control. Captain Yee wants the ship to have it as well as a large communication's suite.”
“I see.”
> “But the other officers want to simplify it for production purposes. Technically, we could adapt our current inventory of munition ships to perform the same tasks. Their new design is more geared for rapid deployment and has armor and defensive systems however.
“I see. Protector, send them an email. I know Proteus is stealing their thunder and they'll be put out over not being able to do a dog and pony show to present it, but the design has my blessing.”
“You believe it will offset the pirates’ tonnage advantage, Admiral?” Protector asked.
“Yes. I don't see a name though. The working title of Pod Carrier or Munition Collier 2 aren't suited. I suppose they can figure out the class name later. The important thing is to get this moving now,” he said firmly.
The good news was, the design and its use of the Liberty components as much as possible wouldn't detract from their other production lines. It had some radical changes in the design though, like the core wrapped with the magazines. He wasn't sure about the armor there or how they'd planned to handle a jam. The flexibility in the design was worth exploring in his estimation however.
It was more than that he realized as he felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. It may not be the perfect weapon to deal with the enemy, but it was a step in the right direction he realized. Definitely a weapon they could and probably should put in their arsenal as soon as possible, if only to allow for that aforementioned flexibility he'd just thought of.
He started to kick himself for not thinking of it sooner but then stopped himself.
“Aye aye, sir. I'll copy the email to Commander Sindri, Captain I'rll, and other engineers for independent review.”
“Yes, get the ball rolling now. I want the review fast, not dragged out. Get an engineering A.I. to help if necessary.” He cocked his head then waved a hand. “See if you can send it to Amadeus as well. I know he's a bit far out and distracted, but I'd like his input as the man on the spot, even if it comes late in the process.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
“So …” the admiral's attention returned to Proteus. The silver blob undulated. He had a feeling there was more. He raised an eyebrow. “More? You are on a roll it seems.” He sat back. Apparently Proteus had matured a great deal. He wondered if the A.I. needed to evolve like Sprite had. He cocked his head as his eyes narrowed in speculation.
“Yes, sir. My other point. How is Bek going to … I see your blood pressure and anxiety level just increased greatly,” the A.I. stated. “I should say, how were you planning to use them? Given that shipping to and from the nexus through the rapids is not without risk?”
“Good question,” the admiral growled darkly. “My initial plan was to have them build hulls. Ship them the hyperdrives and then have them ship back hulls so Pyrax could finish them.”
“Transitioning Pyrax's yard would mean an expansion effort or retooling. Neither option has been budgeted or placed in their long-term plans,” the A.I. pointed out. “The yards in Pyrax are near saturation.”
The admiral grimaced. “True,” he admitted. “And shipping hyperdrives from here to Bek was going to be a pain in the ass. I sent implant keys in Horatio and Zek. But I couldn't give them more than what their rank allowed,” he said.
“And with the ansible where it is, you can't update them remotely. They have a finite number of keys to use before they expire,” the A.I. pointed out. “Unless they travel to B102C to make contact with you periodically, which is inefficient,” the A.I. stated. “You could update Horatio's keys while he is there... bandwidth permitting.”
“Agreed,” Admiral Irons growled. “Ideas? You don't just come up with problems; I know you were built for more than that,” he said.
“Because you are one of my makers of course,” Proteus stated. “Point. I do have one suggestion, promoting Admiral Subert. It would allow him access to higher level keys, which would reduce the shipping required from Antigua.”
“However, he's not an engineering, Admiral,” Admiral Irons pointed out. “Phil already grumbles about how much time it takes to upload the keys he has as it is,” he said.
“A second suggestion is to promote a Bekian engineering officer to the post. To handle the yard itself and segregate Admiral Subert's role to overseeing the star system.”
“He has Captain I'rll for that. She's a recent JG. I can't bump her to SG or higher.”
“Admiral, in this climate you can promote out of the zone as you see fit. The personnel will have to adapt. If they cannot handle the job with proper training and supervision, then you find someone who can.”
“True,” the admiral said quietly. He nodded. He'd considered pushing Vestri up the ladder but had held off since he didn't want to be accused of nepotism. “Good suggestion. Suggestions plural I should say,” he said. “I'll take that point up about the carriers with Vestri. Question, why didn't you take it to him?”
“I had tried. He has ignored my emails for some time now.”
Admiral Irons grunted then shook his head. Okay, so that was a point in Vestri's disfavor, he thought. “Okay. I'll have to have a chat with him. Do you want to continue working with the students?”
“ONI has made engineering inquiries of me. I was going to suggest after this semester I step down from teaching to work with them.”
Admiral Irons nodded slowly. “Okay, I can see where that would help. You know that part of their role is to find out how to break a ship right? To find its weaknesses so we can exploit it?”
“That has occurred to me. As has the need to understand what goes into a given design, the engineering steps involved, and time. I believe they need to know that information to get a handle on production rates,” Proteus replied.
Admiral Irons stilled for a moment then nodded soberly. “Point. Damn good point actually.”
“And I can help with the questions about El Dorado, among other things,” the A.I. stated.
The admiral grunted. “Perhaps we should pull you from teaching now. You've obviously gotten full of ideas and input. It seems you've been underutilized,” he said.
“Actually my processors are near saturation—my physical ones within your body. I've been borrowing external processors to help me do my various jobs. It has been a … 'learning experience,'“ the A.I. stated.
The admiral grimaced. “Are you saying you are outgrowing me like Sprite?” he asked softly.
“No. I can condense down to my original role as needed. I can also bud an A.I. off now that Captain Sprite has shown me how to do so.”
The admiral cocked his head and then nodded slowly. “If you wish to do so or move on, let me know,” he said.
“That won't be necessary, Admiral. I like where I am,” the A.I. stated.
“Thank you,” the admiral said softly.
Chapter 39
Mariah's Mischief arrived in Epsilon Triangula. The ship had picked up passengers to go on to Gaston and Pyrax, but an engineering problem had forced the ship to reduce speed to the lower octaves of Alpha band, significantly lengthening their journey. The crew was shocked by the news they received, plus the startling changes on the planet and the sector. The sight of two new civilian ships seen for the first time had the crew in awe.
“We putt around in hyper and in-between jumps the entire galaxy changes,” Captain Turtle said.
“You could say that,” Peter Banning, the ship's chief engineer said, shaking his head. “I heard the Darlings have a lot of letters from Jane,” he said.
“Jane?” the captain asked, “what is she up to? And how … no, never mind.”
The chief engineer smiled thinly. “The ansible to your second question,” he said, nodding his head to the skipper. “As to the first,” he shrugged. “No idea. I just know they've got letters.”
“I'll have to ask,” Captain Turtle grumbled.
“Good luck,” the chief engineer said.
“What's this about new ships?” the captain asked.
“Two,” Chief Banning said, holding up two finge
rs. “Knuyuk put a courtesy call in while you were on the horn with the ground. Apparently one was built by the Antigua Prime yard. She's the Avataq, a straight bulk cargo freighter. The other was built by the Yard Dogs, but I didn't catch the name. This is the maiden voyage of both ships by the way. They were contracted to bring supplies to Centennial and here. They passed us in hyper.”
“Damn,” the captain said, clearly envious.
“Yeah, you could say that. It gets better, Skipper, they are building a civilian yard here,” the chief engineer said.
The captain blinked. “Are you serious?”
The chief shrugged. “See for yourself,” he said. He waved to Warrick. “Warrick, can you bring up that yard we were talking about?”
“Sure,” the bridge officer said. He pulled up a blurry image of a complex of artificial beams and such. They could see the hollow tube of a slip under construction.
“Are they affiliated with either of the Antigua yards?” the captain asked, staring at the image. Warrick rotated the image ever so slightly so they could see it from a different angle, then back again. “I doubt it. The outfit is ETMI yards. New company,” he explained.
“So, they won't do the warranty work on the ship,” Banning said. “We can talk through the ansible to the Yard Dogs. Get them to underwrite the repairs. Otherwise, we're going to have to go back there, if they'll even honor the repairs. I know some of it doesn't fall under their fix. They didn't touch our hyperdrive.”
“And you still insist that bump caused the cascade that caused the damage elsewhere, yes I know,” the captain growled.
The chief engineer spread his hands apart. “I know what I saw, Skipper. They'll know it too. We had to document everything per Knuyuk's order. Otherwise, we won't have a chance in hell of getting them to fix the damage,” he said.
“Damn it,” the captain muttered. He stared at the slowly growing civilian yard. It had to be civilian, with an ETMI label and not a naval one. “Can we get a naval inspection?”
“When we're in orbit. They might have a ship en route, but I doubt it,” the chief said. Warrick shook his head. “Okay, so no.”