Jenetta received the usual looks as she walked to the Prometheus. She and the cats had actually become a fairly common sight since she had begun taking them to the base gym every morning for her workout. The big cats would sit and watch as she exercised or practiced her kickboxing, and then lope alongside her as she ran or jogged on the exercise track.
The two marine sentries and the duty officer at the entrance ramp smartened their stance and saluted Jenetta as she reached the ship.
"Permission to come aboard?" Jenetta said the young lieutenant as she returned the salutes.
"Granted, Commander," the duty officer said. "Welcome back, ma'am."
"Thank you, Lieutenant Nivan. Congratulations on your promotion."
"Thank you, ma'am. Congratulations on your promotion also. I haven't seen you since you became base commander at Dixon."
"Seems like a very long time ago, but it's only been two years. It's good to be home. Carry on, Lieutenant."
"Yes, ma'am."
Jenetta headed for the bridge, but she ran into a number of friends along the way and stopped to chat for a few minutes with each, offering congratulations to a couple of them that had been promoted since they last met. The two Marine sentries, one at the entrance to the bridge corridor, and the other next to the door of the captain's quarters, braced to attention as she approached and passed. Neither challenged her for being accompanied by the two large cats. Arriving on the bridge, she was greeted by a Lieutenant Commander that she only knew by name. She hadn't looked over his personnel file yet, but she estimated that he was in his early forties. He stood about five-foot-ten and wore his wavy black hair as long as regulations permitted.
"Good morning, Commander Eaton," Jenetta said smiling. "I'm Commander Carver."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, returning her smile. "I recognized you immediately. It's a pleasure to meet you at last."
"Likewise. How's your friend Lieutenant Flores?"
"He's fine, ma'am," Eaton said, obviously surprised by the question. "I didn't think you'd remember him. He's still on the San Francisco. He's made it to the Selection List for Lieutenant Commander and he's hoping that something might open up this year."
"I remember him and our conversation in my dining room on Dixon very well. There's a very good chance that a lot of new positions will be created over the next few years. Wish him luck for me when you speak to him."
"I will, ma'am. Are you here to take your position as executive officer?"
"Yes, I am. Is the Captain about?"
"He's in his briefing room."
Thank you, Commander, I'll see if he's free. You and I can talk again later."
"Yes, ma'am."
Walking to the captain's briefing room, the large office on the larboard side of the bridge, Jenetta waited while the computer announced her presence. When the door opened in response to the Captain's directive to 'come', she entered with her cats. Memories of her months as the first captain of this battleship flooded into her consciousness as she again saw the richly furnished interior.
Coming to attention in front of a wooden desk seemingly large enough to alternate as a landing pad for a space tug, she said, "Commander Carver reporting for duty, sir."
The SimWindow behind Captain Gavin was presently displaying a live exterior view of a section of the docking ring at Higgins. A long, comfortable-looking sofa, covered with the same deliciously-soft dark brown leather used for the room's three 'oh-gee' chairs, sat patiently waiting for occupants against one wall. The walls of the four-meter square room were paneled with real oak finished in a light honey color, not the synthetic products that only simulated wood, and the topaz carpeting gave the impression of being ten centimeters deep.
"At ease, Jen," Gavin said. Gesturing towards one of the overstuffed chairs, he added "Have a seat. We've missed you while you were away."
Gavin's hair was still a dark brown, with a touch of grey at the temples. Just shy of six-foot tall, he had a strong face with good features. He was approaching his mid-sixties, but a strong exercise regimen kept his body fit.
Jenetta relaxed and sat down. "And I've missed everyone here, sir. I'm very happy to be back aboard."
Looking down with a bemused look at the two enormous animals at her sides, Captain Gavin asked, "Are these the two pussycats that Admiral Holt spoke to me about?"
Jenetta smiled at his expression. "I expect so, sir. He said that the decision to exempt me from the regulation allowing only one pet per crewmember was entirely up to you."
"Yes, he said that he had no objection in this instance, but I'm always concerned about setting precedents in such matters."
"Yes sir, I understand. I don't want to break them up because they rely on each other for companionship when I'm out of my quarters. I'm afraid that one might get into mischief if left alone."
"What would you do with them if I don't waive the rule?"
"I'll see if Captain Powers of the Chiron will permit them, and if so, I'll ask Christa to take them with her."
"I read about the assassination attempt on your life while you were on Dixon. I understand that your pets made short work of the attacker. Have they ever attacked anyone else?"
"No sir. They would only do that if I were assaulted, or if they were attacked or tormented. They're normally as gentle and playful as pussycats."
"I can't imagine anyone being foolhardy enough to torment this pair."
Jenetta grinned. "It wouldn't be the smartest thing to do. They won't cause any trouble, sir. I give you my word."
Captain Gavin hesitated for a few seconds. "I don't want you to be deprived of your pets, Jen. You may keep both onboard, as long as they remain in your quarters. I can't have such large animals roaming the ship freely."
"Yes sir. They'll stay in my quarters if I tell them to, even if I left the corridor doors wide open. But I need to take them to the gym each day when I exercise. They need exercise also."
"That's acceptable. Commander Tighe, the officer who was filling in for you while you were assigned to Dixon and then to Headquarters, has already left the ship. You can move into your quarters immediately."
"Thank you, sir. I was informed that the ship would be leaving port tomorrow?"
"Yes, our scheduled departure time is 2000 hours."
"Isn't that a bit unusual? The crew hasn't had a chance for liberty."
"We had two months of liberty while the ship was in spacedock."
"Spacedock? Was there a problem, sir?"
"We were outfitted with a special docking collar; it was added to the keel. It's for docking a prototype scout ship that's been assigned to us."
"Why couldn't the scout ship simply use one of the existing flight bays?"
"It's far too large. Only the top portion of the ship is enclosed when it's docked in the new collar."
"How large is it, sir?"
"The specs are in the computer, but it's roughly a third the length of a light destroyer."
Jenetta's eyes opened wider. "That would make it about a hundred fifteen meters in length. I've never heard of a scout ship being over thirty meters."
"It's a new design. The Chiron has also been fitted with a docking collar, but there's only the one prototype scout ship ready right now. Ours was delivered just hours before we left the space dock. The Chiron will receive theirs when it's completed."
"Each battleship in the fleet will be getting such a scout ship?"
"Eventually. If we'd had one at Dakistee, the Tsgardi would never have been able to terrorize the planet while we went to answer the distress call. We could have separated and left the scout ship in orbit over the planet."
"It's armed?"
"It has almost as much armament as a light destroyer. In fact, if you look at the exterior, it looks like a smaller version of one. It has phased array lasers, torpedo tubes, and a flight bay large enough for three fighters and a shuttle. But that's where the similarity ends. Its revolutionary new engine design will let it dance circles around the fleet's destroyers. It'
ll even outdistance the Prometheus and Chiron in a race."
"It can beat the Prometheus? A ship that small is faster than Light-412?"
"I was told that the engines are rated at Light-450, and that they could possibly exceed Light-487 at full power, but that's top secret for now. The helmsman can only bring it to Light-225, the official speed, and that appears to be the top speed to anyone visiting the bridge, but the commanding officer can override the speed governor from the command chair on the bridge and have the ship perform at more than twice the rated speed."
"What protection does it have?"
"The inner hull plating is tritanium, and there's a self-sealing membrane between the two hull layers. The outer plating is a new material developed during Space Command's attempts to reproduce the material that we found on Dakistee."
"That's wonderful. The ship will be almost indestructible."
"Not quite. They haven't exactly been able to reproduce the Dakistee material yet, but this stuff is many times denser and more durable than tritanium so they decided to go ahead with its use on the prototype. It can't be damaged by laser fire, but could sustain damage from a torpedo strike. The amount of damage will depend on the size of the torpedo, casing strength, velocity at impact, the type of warhead, and the structural integrity of the location where the strike occurs. A nuclear warhead that explodes immediately next to the hull can damage it, but bomb-pumped laser or high-explosive warheads that don't penetrate should have negligible effect. They're calling the new material Dakinium."
"Does the ship have an official designation?"
"It's GSC-SD001 and has been named the Colorado."
"After the state?"
"The river."
Jenetta smiled and nodded. "I like that. Like the river, it can be slow and peaceful, or fast and dangerous."
"As soon as we're underway, you'll have an opportunity to become familiar with it. By the time we reach the current Frontier Zone, I want my senior officers to know that ship as well as they know the Prometheus. It's your job to see that they do."
"Yes sir. I can see where the new ship adds an entirely new dimension of effectiveness."
"Why don't you get settled in, Jen. We can talk more about it later. Have you met Commander Eaton?"
"I stopped and spoke with him for a few minutes while I was on my way to see you, sir. I wanted to resolve the issue of my cats as soon as possible. I told him that we'd speak again later."
"You'll find that we have a number of new crewmen on board since you were my second officer."
"Yes sir. I'll go through the personnel roster as soon as I have a chance. What's our mission for this trip, sir?"
"So far I've only been told that we're to enforce the laws of the Galactic Alliance, concentrating our efforts in the expanded territory. I believe they want as many ships as possible performing interdiction activities against ships that are trying to get out of the formerly lawless space. But by the time we get there, the criminal element will have had months to get into the new Frontier Zone, so things might be fairly peaceful. You'll have second watch, and Commander Eaton will have the third."
"Yes sir."
"If that's all, you're dismissed, Commander."
"Yes sir."
"And––" Captain Gavin began, softening his tone from his normal laconic military demeanor, "welcome back, Jen. I'm really glad to have you back with us."
Jenetta smiled warmly. "Thank you, sir. I can't adequately express how happy I am to be back, and still maintain proper military decorum."
Captain Gavin grinned.
Jenetta stood and turned to leave, the cats rising without being told and staying by her sides as she left the briefing room and walked through the bridge. Her quarters were just down the corridor, and her door opened as she approached it.
As executive officer, Jenetta's quarters were second in size only to the captain's. Her sitting room, bedroom, and bath were as large as the ones she'd had as captain aboard the cruiser Song, but she didn't have the private dining room, galley, conference-room sized office, and attached steward's quarters afforded to captains of large warships. The cats seemed to recognize immediately that this would be their new home, probably because they had watched as Jenetta packed her things in the BOQ, and they left her side now to explore the suite. Her large sitting room and office had a connecting door and doors onto the corridor, and the centrally-situated bathroom was accessible from either the sitting room or the bedroom. All four rooms had been thoroughly cleaned by housekeeping bots since Commander Tighe had vacated the quarters. While she was there, the laundry robot came in to see if any clean sheets or towels were needed and then checked to see if there was any dirty laundry to be picked up. The cats sniffed briefly at the bot and then ignored it, being quite used to laundry and housekeeping bots. The bot stopped briefly, until they finished their inspection, then continued with its assigned tasks. Jenetta called the base housing office to make sure that her bags would be brought to the ship as soon as possible, and then checked her duty schedule on the computer in her office.
After telling the cats to remain in her quarters, Jenetta left to begin her workday. Unlike the first time she functioned as first officer, when the Prometheus was newly commissioned, the ship's personnel knew their jobs, and their daily tasks had become routine. Jenetta had time to look through the personnel files to see who had been promoted, who had left the ship, and who had joined the crew. She even had time to visit the new scout ship.
The Colorado was impressive. The bridge was cramped when compared to that of the Prometheus, but positively enormous when compared to that of a normal scout ship. There were regular stations for helm, navigation, communications, tactical, and weapons fire control, in addition to the captain's and first officer's chairs. The stations were spacious, and the bridge reminded Jenetta of the bridge on the freighter Vordoth, her first command. The captain's briefing room was austere compared to that of the Prometheus, but most briefing rooms would have to be described as such. Naturally smaller, it had a standard sized desk, several chairs, and a sofa, but lacked the rich, real wood paneling and deep pile rug.
After thoroughly examining the bridge, Jenetta began checking out the rest of the ship. It seemed as though she had only just begun when it was time for her to report to the bridge for her watch.
Although they were in port and there was little to do, regulations required that the Prometheus' bridge be fully staffed around the clock. It gave Jenetta a chance to talk with the watch personnel and to begin to develop a relationship with the ones that she didn't know from her previous time aboard ship. One that she did know from her previous duty aboard the Prometheus was Lieutenant Kerrey, the helmsman. At five-foot eight-inches, Kerrey was three-inches shorter than Jenetta, but she had known him since he was four-inches taller.
"Hello, Lieutenant. How have you been?" Jenetta asked as she looked into the smiling chestnut eyes of the curly haired officer as he arrived on the bridge for his watch.
"Great, Commander. Welcome back. It hasn't been the same without you."
"Thank you. I'm happy to be back. How did you wind up on my watch? I seem to remember seeing your name listed as helmsman with the first watch crew."
"I traded with Lieutenant Osawa. The Captain approved our swapping duty watches."
Jenetta nodded. "I'm happy to have you on my watch, Don. Have you had a chance to look over the Colorado yet?"
"Not yet, Commander. Access has been restricted ever since it was brought aboard."
"Once we've left port and things have settled down, I'll see that you're granted access. I'll be setting up a training schedule for crewmen to man the ship. Would you be interested?"
"Yes, ma'am!" he said enthusiastically.
"Okay, I'll put your name on the training schedule."
"Thank you, Commander."
"You're welcome. You've earned the right to be a part of the first team."
"What's the purpose of the ship, Commander?"
"To increase our effectiveness as we perform the duties assigned to us. When we launch the Colorado, we become a multi-ship force."
"You're saying that it's armed? I thought that it was like an oversized shuttle."
"It's only similarity to a shuttle is that it's housed in a bay on the Prometheus, if you can call its docking collar a bay. Once it's launched, it becomes a lightweight destroyer, although significantly smaller than a normal light destroyer. The designation is GSC-SD001. It stands for Scout Destroyer 001."
"Now I'm really excited. I can't wait to see it."
"Be patient for a couple of days, and you'll have an opportunity for a close inspection."
When Lieutenant Commander Eaton reported for third watch, Jenetta invited him to sit down to talk.
After briefing him on the status of the ship, Jenetta said, "You've been the second officer for some time, so I'm sure there's nothing beyond normal instructions that I need to relate in preparation for your watch. Do you have any questions for me?"
"No, ma'am. At least nothing pertaining to the ship's operation. As you say, I've been a watch officer for some time."
"What is it that you'd like to know?"
"I was curious about your cats, and how you came to have a pair of jaguars."
Jenetta smiled. "Actually, they're Taurentlus-Thur Jumakas, not Terran Jaguars, although they look very similar. Jumakas are about a hundred pounds lighter than jaguars. My pets are fully grown, but only weigh in at about a hundred and sixty pounds each. You're probably aware that Jumakas were domesticated on Taurentlus-Thur hundreds of years ago, and are frequently used as nighttime security animals for businesses, much as canines are used in Terran businesses. Their appearance and physiology is like that of Terran cats, but they're actually much more like Terran dogs in temperament. Mine came as part of the inventory from a precious stones store that had been liquidated after the owner passed away. An Alyysian that I had to arrest asked me to sell off his inventory. I sold everything for him and deposited the money into an account that will be turned over to him when he's freed from prison in about a year. I kept the cats as my commission. That occurred while I was the Base Commander at Dixon. They've been with me ever since."
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