“So if I had just let the damn transports die and left the Battleship alone we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Yes. But then you could have moved the battleship after taking it out instead of waiting days. The Transport would never have seen it.”
“Do you know how hard it is to move a damn hulk that is still spewing Plasma out of every orifice?”
“I did not say it would have been easy or even possible. Just making a statement countering your statement that was not completely true. Fact is your decision to try to rescue the Transports was the right decision and has resulted in many beneficial results and possible outcomes. The major advantage is catching the fleet inside the maze where you could take out a good portion of the Fleet with few casualties. Something that would have been much harder to do if not impossible out in the main byways, rivers and seas of the Cloud costing most of your squadron’s ships and possibly even the Red Pepper and your own life. Even then it is possible you would not have been able to slow them down enough to save the Black Dwarf. Even if they had waited until they were scheduled to attack after TF-58 had left the Delta 7 station. With your squadron and the Red Pepper destroyed or to badly damaged to fight, it is probably that they would have caught the Task Force strung out across a half parsec of the cloud and destroyed it ship by ship or followed it back to New Home. No. You would not have attacked the fleet in the Maze without being forced to in your deluded hope that they are part of the Navy fleet and would see the light of day before they attacked TF 58. Trying to save the Transports accomplished your original task of delaying them much more efficiently and completely with the fewest casualties.”
“Aaa are you forgetting that we still have half a fleet on the other side of the Maze to deal with and that according to you, are our main threat?”
“They still have the Maze to come back through and you have reinforcements on the way. If you use your head and continue to fight smartly. You can easily prevail using the maze as one large roach motel.”
“I’ve got news for you. This next time they come out of there, they are not going to come strung out like good little sheep again. They are going to come bunched up as tight as possible shooting the shit out of every corner and crevice with fighter scouts flanking them every foot of the way to warn them if we even get near them. Taking them out is going to be like pulling teeth without Novocain. It isn’t going to be easy, casualty free or pretty.”
Jack slapped the Comm as he studied the list Zoote provided him. “Captain Murphy, I have decided to use my own pick of Earth volunteers to man your battleships from a list of Earth recruits I have just received of men that tried to enlist in the Republic Navy before the Earth Defense Force pressganged them. I am forwarding it to you now. This will give your ships full crews. You will need them. They all have spent years on The Game. You can trust them. We will be getting some on the Red Pepper as well to replace our crewmen you are taking. Gather the Earth volunteers on the list as we talked about before in a hold for me to inspect. Do you have any questions?”
“Aaa, No… aaa yes sir. How long do I have to get the new crews aboard and do I have any say so of who goes where on which ship.”
Jack looked at Zoote’s nod then frowned. “Not now. We are pressed for time. Since I am getting some of the Volunteers as well, I will be taking some of the bots and their infrastructure to see how they do but I want you off the Red as soon as I finish vetting them in the cargo hold. We still have 3 squadrons within striking distance and I need room to maneuver so get your butt in gear. Coordinate with Captain Clancy, Red’s new Captain if she doesn’t fuck up. If you can make your ships battle worthy with the full crew I gave you, I will need your help. See what you can do in the next couple of hours as you get the rest headed for New Home or the Gama 13 Station. If you have any doubts about the effectiveness of your new crews, take the hulks to New Home as originally ordered. Pass that on to the other Captains. Oh we brought a lot of foam armor and crystal gas to help repair TF-58 and upgrade their guns if we got there in time. Use it to add 20 feet of armor in the boat hangers to protect your Fusion Cores and start coating your gun barrels. Coordinate with Captain Clancy to get the upgrades on all the Earth Battleships that are in good enough shape for combat. I will talk with each of the new Captains as soon as I can. Out.”
Jack tapped the comm to the bridge to inform the Red Peppers new Captain of the change in her crew. After spending a while going over the none condition of and which battleships could possibly be used in combat without too much work then picking Captains for them, Jack tapped into the cameras showing 4 Earth crews of the first Battleships to be crewed slowly tramping in and forming up in a hold. Other screens showed the other holds forming crews at the same time at a much slower rate as most of their crews needed to be transferred from the lifeboat beacons or other hulks that had not been picked up yet. Looking out the ports of his Ready room Jack could see the first of the captured Battleships approaching to dock with Red. Three more wear lined up behind it with even more in the distance. Another 2,200 prisoners and possible volunteers would have to be unloaded before the new reduced size crews went aboard. It was a shame they did not have the time to process the original crews for the ships and allow them to return but then thinking about it; that probably would not be a good idea. Putting them on different ships would make it easier to make the change from Congressional controlled crewmen to Republic Navy crewmen. Too many memories and attachments if they were left on the same ship even though the ships were exactly alike.
A knock came and the Exec walked in. “Admiral I see you have been busy. It is going to take me a week to catch up on all the paper work. You wanted to see me?”
“Yes, I am forming crews for all our prize ships. Four are already forming in I-hold with the rest on the decks above. I need you to make sure all the paperwork gets done Asap.”
“Shit Admiral, we don’t have enough personnel for 9 new crews and the Red Pepper. Even skeleton crews.”
“Sure we do. We will be using volunteers from the Prize Crews that wish to join our little Navy and it is a few more than just 9 crews.”
The Exec’s mouth started opening and closing. Jack smiled. “Calm down Ron. Most of the Volunteers tried to join us before getting press ganged into the Congressional fleet. They will be fine. I just need you to get the basic paper work started and track who actually goes where. The paper work can be finished later. We will be trading almost half of Reds’ crew for Volunteers.”
“But saboteurs and spy’s Admiral.”
“Don’t worry I am headed down now to start vetting them. That is why I need you to process the prisoners coming aboard in a few minutes from the ships as fast as you can and get them sorted out with most of the volunteers and the prisoners in separate holds for now. That is your top priority.” A text message appeared on his desk making Jack frown as he took a breath. “Oops. Aaa. Ron, you need to take the names of the prisoners in private, one at a time. Your clerks will ask them if they wish to volunteer and according to the answer, a Hold and possibly a ship’s name will appear by each name with the new identification ring that goes around their neck and all you have to do is send the individual to that hold. Ok? I know it is different than when you took all the other prisoners aboard with them all lined up. But this will save us time in the long run. A lot of time.” Jack smiled. “We are also getting some new equipment aboard, infrastructure for the maintenance bots that will be joining the crew as a test. I am still trying to figure out who let the bots on with the prisoners in the first place but that will have to wait. Was one hell of a security risk and someone’s head is going to roll when I get time to do some lopping.” Jack shook his head. “Anyway. Any questions Ron?”
Ron frowned. “I understood why we used the new collars on the Ice Moon’s penal colony but why are you collaring the new recruits for the ships and who has the detonator buttons for them?”
Jack had simply read the text from Zoote out loud for the Exec and suddenly
wondered himself about why they needed explosive collars for the new crew? “That is a good question Ron.” Taking a deep breath and frowning. “Zoote, you want to answer Ron?”
Zoote appeared next to the desk making the Exec. Jump a little as he leaned away and stared at Zoote.
“This is Zoote Ron. The Game’s controlling AI. She has been a lot of help shorting things out around here while things are such a mess. Fact is I think she can give you a hand as well and cut down a lot of your workload. Can’t you Zoote? But for now, explain why you want our new crewmen to have collars? Why do we want to be able to blow their heads off? You expecting a mutiny?”
Zoote bowed toward Ron and then Jack with a smile. “The Collars are needed to house the microcomputer for an individual training AI to speed the assimilation of the new recruits into the Navy. But now that you mention the possibility of a mutiny since there is no way we can be 100% sure of the loyalty of all the recruits even with my incredible powers of psychological screening. I will include the tamper proof explosive wire in each collar that is controlled by the AI just in case. I will dispose of the thousand collars the ships factory has already produced and have already started manufacturing the new collar Admiral.”
“Aaa. Hold up there Zoote. Does the Collar have to be lethal? I don’t like the idea of having the head blown off of someone just because they stray into the wrong compartment accidentally. Can’t the collar just shock and immobilize them or something?”
“Captain, the Collars AI would never kill its partner for simply getting lost. They would only be executed under extreme conditions that threatened the ship or another life. The AI would inform ships security about the crewman’s questionable activities long before that in most cases. Though to meet your concerns I have added stunning to the collars abilities. Trashing the hundreds of collars from this last production run.”
“Very well Zoote.” Turning to the Exec. “Anything else Ron?”
“Not right now sir. Certainly later, I need to get to work. This is going to take hours just to get the ships unloaded if we have to interview every crewmen first. By your leave Admiral.”
“Aaa wait one. You are right. Tell you what Ron, get with Captain Clancy and have the prisoners unloaded into one of the unused Empty holds or tanks if the holds are busy and then process them from there. Just make sure the intervening hatches along the routes from the docked ship to the hold are locked down and guarded. I don’t want any stragglers getting lost and sabotaging Red. Should speed things up considerably. Well at least for getting the damn ships empty so we can get them checked for damage and hiding crewmen, then the new crew boarded and off the Red.”
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Jack walked into the Hold wearing his full Combat suit complete with ribbons and awards to impress someone at Zoote’s insistence and the Lieutenant’s demand for his own protection (walking amongst the enemy to use her words). Then with Jack feeling like a fool and to his surprise, some 500 crewmen came to attention. A hundred and forty odd new recruit crewmen for each of the 4 ships currently docked to the Red Pepper. The Republic crewman standing apart from the volunteers adding more crew. Jack walked up to Captain Murphy, his ex-First Officer and saluted. “I am just going to take a quick look at your new crewmen Captain. If you would have them all line up in a single line along the bulkhead please.”
“Shall I have the other 3 crews line up as well Admiral?” Commander Morgan said from behind Jack, giving him a bit of a start as Captain Murphy started organizing his crew along the bulkhead. He had not known the Commander was there.
Turning to look at the Commander. “Yes, that would speed things up a little, Thank you Commander.” Jack was still getting used to the new aid Clancy had given him. Half wishing he would go away.
As the Commander walked to the center of the hold and started bellowing for all to hear, Captain Murphy came back up to Jack. “Crew of the Firefly ready for your inspection Admiral.”
Jack frowned. “So you are changing the name of the ship?”
“Seemed prudent Admiral with the change of ownership.”
Chuckling as Jack noticed that the crewmen from the Red Pepper were lined up with a few feet separating them from the volunteers. “Very well Captain. Stand your crew at easy.” Jack felt very uncomfortable as he stepped up to the first of the Republic crewmen, surprised to see who it was and that they had been promoted several grades. Jack started to step up to shake the crewman’s hand but stopped several steps short when he realized that if he shook everyone’s hand, it would take forever to get through the lines. Instead he stopped and simply nodded at the crewman and then went on suddenly hoping Zoot was right about the new crew, promotions and all. But he really did not have a choice. He had to damn many ships to get manned and no time to quibble about minor details. Even the fact that the Republic crewmen had training collars on as well. The crews either worked out or they didn’t.
Finishing with the Republic crewmen, Jack slowly walked down the line looking at each of the volunteers and immediately started having problems reading each individual as the crewmen around him started to relax and gripe or talk to themselves along with all the emotions left over from watching other ships and crewmen die and then being captured only to wind up volunteering or asked to volunteer for what they were not sure. Jack finding it hard to distinguish one crewman from another in his head while just looking at them from several steps away. The bombardment in his mind from everyone around him looking his way growing by the second starting to give him a headache. Suddenly wishing he had left them at attention.
Everyone seemed to have some fear for what was happening as well as hate for something, whether it was for being pressganged, lied to and serving against their will in the Congressional fleet and its officers or hate for the Republic Navy to Jacks shock and bafflement. The problem was that emotions were running high making it almost impossible to differentiate one crewman from another simple by looking at them from several feet away. Wishing he had Pan along Jack brought up his hand to rub the bridge of his nose between his eyes trying to get rid of some of the tension and suddenly found it easy to feel and hear the individual in front of him talking to himself as well as his fear mixed with hope. Jack was not able to feel the hope before from anyone as the fear and hate flooding from everyone overwhelmed the much weaker emotion.
Then he remembered how holding up his hand seemed to focus his mind when he was scanning Admiral Ditzen’s crews on the Gama 13 Station. How it allowed him to find and focus on the individuals filled with hate and deceit and fear and pick them out of the massed ranks of thousands.
Slowly Jack held out his hand toward the crewman and the vastly increased emotions of fear, expectation, apprehension and all the other emanating from the man knowing this was a life and death turning point in his life causing his emotions to run wild as they grew stronger making it easy for Jack to know the man standing in front of him even though he was not speaking. To know without doubt that this man just wanted to fight Spiders and that having the famous Admiral Turner with the congressional medal of Honor hanging on his chest standing only feet away in the bad ass armor personally asking him to crew one of his ships was who he wanted to follow into Combat and not those pompous mouth pieces spouting slogans and platitudes and obvious lies. Sending everyone that failed to mouth every slogan at the proper time or said the wrong words, or without enough conviction, straight to reeducation classes (the brig) repeating the same old bullshit until you wanted to blow your own brains out. Not to mention the only drill they ever did was bombarding Colony planets into submission and not fighting Spiders. Jack new without a doubt in a half second and moved on leaving his hand up without thinking as he looked each crewman in the eyes briefly before moving on. Working his way down the line. Going more by the feelings and emotions emanating from each volunteer than anything they said to themselves if they said anything at all.
As Jack walked down the line he slowly realized that the fear around h
im started to subside as pride started to build in the crewmen he passed. Each crewman going from fear, apprehension, being utterly lost and alone to hope and overwhelming pride at being a part of something bigger than themselves. Of being personally chosen by a hero.
And then something hit Jack like a wrecking ball as he focused on a crewman.
Without thinking Jack lunged forward and grabbed the man by the front of his strange uniform coverall most of the Battleship crews wore and jerked him out of the line. Jack dragged him a couple of yards and threw him sliding across the deck out toward the middle of the hold and pulled his blast pistol pointing it at the man who started cursing him as his hand darted into a pocket. A bot suddenly raced away from the bulkhead the bots had been lined up against. The bot raising a weapon from a hidden opening in its side.
The man pointed a rod at Jack as the bot mimicked him and then yelled. “Fire you stupid bot! Shoot!” Jack fired blowing the man’s arm with the rod pointed at him completely off his body sending the rod clattering across the deck as the arm fell a few feet away. The bots arm dropped to its side as Jack pointed his blaster at the bot. The weapon the bot had clattered to the deck as the bot raced to the side of the man and started administering professional first aid to the stump of his arm.
Jack took a couple steps toward the center of the hold and the bot and crewman as he looked around the hold. “If there are any more wanabee spy’s or sabatours, you have exactly 30 seconds to come forward or when I find you, you will be kicked out the nearest lock with this ass hole.” Jack walked farther out into the hold stopping a few paces from the bot working on the crewman that had just tried to kill him as security and medics rushed across the hold. “Most of you have been picked because you tried to Enlist in the Republic Navy before being drafted into the Congressional Communist Elite’s Fleet. Some of you have evidentially bought into the Communist Mantra over the last year and that is fine. If you step forward now you will be treated well and sent home to rejoin them if you wish. This is a Democracy and you are allowed to join any party you wish. Even if that party wants to enslave the rest of the Republic, outlaw all other parties and murder all opposition. This offer now expires in 15 seconds.” The Lieutenant picked up the weapon the bot had dropped and returned to Jack.
Battleship Destroyer 2 (Battleship Destoryer) Page 107