by Saxon Andrew
* * *
RV lifted the Ninja and accelerated into the upper atmosphere. He located the Jukebox and turned on the speed. He had a job to do and cleaning up after Auto Maddit wasn’t going to be easy. He flew the Ninja into the landing bay and Lt. Wheatly announced, “Crew, Attennnshun!” Wheatly saluted RV as he stepped out of the port and RV returned it. “Where are the pilots?”
“They’re in the simulator going over yesterday’s mission results.”
“Take me there, Lt.”
RV followed Wheatly to the simulator room and as he quietly entered the darkened room he saw Captain Maddit standing in front of the class dressing down one of the pilots. The Captain was pointing to a recording where a ship had left the one in front to go and attack four other ships. “What possessed you to leave your wingman!?! You know the rules of engagement. It led to your wingman being knocked out of the maneuver. I will not tolerate incompetence.”
The pilot stood at attention and said, “Those ships were moving in to attack the Jukebox.”
“I don’t care if they were moving in to attack your mother; you will not leave your wingman.”
RV said from the back of the room, “I would think you would be congratulating him on his quick thinking.”
The room grew silent and Maddit turned and looked at the back of the room and saw Arvolo striding toward the front of the room. Maddit smirked, “Well if it isn’t the great Cuban. I see you still ignore the uniform regulations.”
RV looked down at the island shirt he was wearing and said, “I’m off duty for the moment. I just wanted to come see how the training was going.”
Maddit knew he had seniority on Arvolo and said, “I haven’t approved you to be in this class. You may leave now.”
Arvolo stood there slowly shaking his head, “You haven’t changed at all.”
“If you don’t want to end up in the brig, you’ll leave immediately.”
Lt. Wheatly stepped in and came up to Arvolo with a clipboard and saluted, “Admiral, you need to sign these orders.” Maddit heard the Lt. and his face showed his shock. Arvolo signed and Wheatly said, “Thank you, Admiral.”
Arvolo looked at Maddit and barked, “You will come to attention, Captain.” Maddit snapped to attention along with the other twenty pilots. Arvolo walked up and looked him in the eyes from two inches away, “You sanctimonious piece of lizard crap. Using a wingman went out with jets. You don’t know anything about space tactics and you are ruining these pilots’ chances of survival. You will report directly to the naval base in Guantanamo where you assume command of the janitorial services. The base Commander will be inspecting your work to determine whether or not you have a place in this modern Navy.” Arvolo keyed his com, “Major Lundgren, please report to the simulator immediately.”
Arvolo continued to stare in Maddit’s eyes until the Marine Major arrived. “Yes Sir, Admiral.”
“Take this lousy excuse of an officer to Colonel Gomez in Cuba. Confine him to quarters until he receives his orders.”
“Yes Sir. Come with me Captain.” Maddit turned and left the room.
RV looked at the nervous pilots and said, “Take a chair and let’s look at the exercises.” The pilots sat down and RV rewound the recording. “Before we begin, you need to know just one rule. Your only mission is to protect the mother ship. Say it!”
“The only rule is to protect the mother ship.”
“Louder!”
“THE ONLY RULE IS TO PROTECT THE MOTHER SHIP!!!”
“Now let’s look at the recording. We’ll start with the one Maddit was discussing and I want you to keep in mind that one rule while we look at it.” The recording showed the two Needles chasing a Red Team Needle. “How many Needles does the other force have?”
The pilots yelled, “Twenty, Sir.”
“And how many do we have?”
“Twenty, Sir.”
Arvolo ran through the recording and showed the ten teams of two Needles each chasing a single ship away from the Jukebox. “How many ships does the opposing force now have to attack the mother ship?”
The pilots were silent and Arvolo yelled, “How many!?!”
“Ten, Sir.”
Arvolo turned to the pilot that was chasing the single ship when their wingman left, “That ship you were chasing was flying at high speed away from the mother ship. You saw your wingman turn to attack the four ships moving in on the Jukebox. Why did you continue that chase and I want you to keep the only rule in mind before you answer?”
“To make the kill, Sir.”
“In other words, you put personal glory over the lives of your ship mates.” Arvolo stared at the pilots and said, “You should have broken off your attack to defend your brothers and sisters on your base ship.”
Arvolo put an insert into the computer and said, “I’m going to show you how three ships defended the Jukebox during actual combat at the Moet’s planet.” The pilots sat up straight in their chairs and RV saw their excitement. He replayed the recording of the fleet’s battle against the Alliance fleet and they watched how the three ships coordinated their actions to protect the huge ship as it moved by the Alliance fleet. “I want you to notice the attack craft that were attacking the battleships in the Alliance formations. Most of them became Aces that day.”
Arvolo turned on the lights and stared at the twenty pilots, “If you want to be an Ace, tell me now.”
A female pilot in the second row raised her hand, “Do you want to be an Ace?”
“Before I answer, I want to know what you’ll do if I say yes.”
RV stared at the pilot and tried to maintain his stern expression but couldn’t. He laughed and said, “Now that is a question that needs answering. If you want to be an Ace, I will transfer you off this ship so fast you’ll not even know you left.”
She held her hand up again and RV nodded, “Sir, the three of you actually killed more ships than the ones attacking the fleet.”
RV stared at the young woman and asked, “What is your name, Pilot?”
“Lt. Cyanna Hardy, Sir.”
“You were able to make that determination by what you just saw?”
“Yes Sir, it’s obvious.”
“No it isn’t, Lt. You are the first one to have been able to make that determination just from viewing the recording. You are now the second in Command of this Wing and are promoted to the rank of Captain.” RV looked at the others, “The cold hard truth of space combat is that if you know the enemy has to come to you to attack, you have the advantage. When you move away from the mother ship you expand the area to be controlled, you lose the support of your fellow pilots, and the covering fire of the mother ship. That’s why you’ve been getting your asses handed to you in these maneuvers.” RV paused and said, “I’m going to replay the maneuvers and I want you to examine your actions keeping rule number one in mind and tell me at the end if you would have done something different.”
RV replayed the recording and watched as the pilots squirmed in their chairs and winced at their tactics. After the recording ended the pilots sat in their chairs silent. “Do I need to go over what happened?” All of them shook their head. “Good, I prefer to spend this time developing a strategy to defend the mother ship against attackers. I am going to divide you into six three ship teams with one ship at the front of the Jukebox and one at the rear. The one at the front will be flying above the ship and the one at the rear will be flying below the ship. You will form six triangles around the Jukebox and you will support the ships immediately in front and behind you. Let me show you how it’s done.”
Three hours later the pilots knew their assignments and Cyanna asked, “Where is my assignment?”
“You will be the ship in front and will evaluate the incoming Needle’s formation to activate the rotation of the triangles. I don’t expect you to be perfect the first time but what will get you latrine detail is if I see any of you attacking an opposing ship alone. Do you understand?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Now go out there and make your shipmates proud.”
Jillian had the monitor in the Simulator Room feeding to her display and smiled. She waited until Arvolo arrived on the Bridge and said, “Do you have any tactics you’d like the mother ship to use?”
Arvolo smiled, “You’ve been watching.” Jillian nodded, “I would like to fly the ship if it meets with your approval.”
Jillian smiled, “By all means.”
“I’d also like you to do something for me once the maneuver starts.”
“What is that?”
Arvolo told her and she laughed out loud.
* * *
Kenny Anders looked at Jillian on his display and smiled, “Are you ready for today’s engagement, Sir?”
“Yes, I am.”
“We will commence in ten seconds.”
“I’m counting it down. By the way, my new Wing Commander wants to say hello.”
Kenny’s display changed and he saw Arvolo smiling at him, “Hello, I hope you’ve rewired your communication panel.”
Jillian and Arvolo saw Kenny’s shock and then Jillian pushed the communication console and the speakers blasted Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine at high volume: “Come on Baby can’t you hear the Conga, I know you can’t control yourself any longer…” Kenny’s orders to his Needles couldn’t be heard over the din. Arvolo’s Needles had the music filtered out.
* * *
“Well, that didn’t take long.”
Jillian was smiling so hard her face hurt, “No, and with the winning time we are now back in first place.” She looked over at her display, “That’s Admiral Anders.”
“Let me take it, please.” Jillian nodded and Arvolo smiled, “Good afternoon, Sir.”
“Arvolo, you broke the rules of engagement.”
“Which one are you referring to, Sir?”
Kenny stared at the large Cuban wearing his reading glasses and burst out laughing. “That was a great idea. We’ll have to write that in to the new rules that communication disruption is a no-no.”
“We’ll do it tomorrow without it.”
“No, that would be a waste of time. I reviewed the tactics of your Needles and I can see that we would have lost either way. I’ll give up the effort to take the mission if you will come and instruct my pilots on that new formation they used. Every one of my Needles was knocked out of the simulation within thirty minutes. You are the difference.”
“I was initially but my second in command is the one that directed the Needles, not me. She seems to understand the tactics as easily as I do.”
“Would you consider transferring her to my ship?”
Jillian came on the channel and said, “We’ll talk about it after the mission but I suspect once your pilots are trained they will be proficient if they practice.”
“Why are you taking just one ship, Sir?”
Jillian paused and looked at Arvolo who shrugged and she said, “I don’t know. Let me discuss it with Chris and I’ll get back to you.”
Kenny nodded and smiled, “It’s good to see you again, RV.”
Arvolo smiled, “Where’s an Alpha when you need one.”
“Closer than you think, my friend.”
Arvolo saw the display go dark and thought for a moment, “Sir, could you do me a favor.”
Jillian looked at Arvolo, “What do you want?”
“I want you to send the recording of the pilots training session before the war games along with the recording of the action just completed to Captain Maddit and order him to write a report on it for your personal attention.”
Jillian stared at RV and asked, “Why would you want that?”
“He’s not a bad person. He’s just inexperienced. I think the exposure to Cuba and the recordings might help him.”
“Oh, so now he’s infected with Cuba.”
Arvolo smiled, “Something like that.”
“Consider it done, Admiral.”
“You can call me Captain, Sir. I like that rank better.”
Jillian laughed and nodded. She had a lot to discuss with Chris.
Chapter Thirteen
Arvolo went to the communications room and sat down in front of a George Communicator. He released the frequency control and set the system to search for a frequency that was being transmitted in Sierra Space. He waited for twenty minutes and then the frequency locked on a signal. He listened to it and saw thousands of messages being transmitted on the display. He reached into his pocket and took out a round metallic disc and placed it on his forehead with the attached headband. He focused the communicator on one of the communications and leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He remained in the chair for more than three hours and started moving the selector to other communications.
* * *
Chris arrived at the Jukebox in a Fleet Shuttle and immediately went to the bridge. Jillian waited for his arrival and greeted him with a big kiss, “You’re violating protocols.”
Jillian laughed, “So send me to the brig. How did your meeting go?”
Chris sat down in the command chair and sighed heavily, “I’ll let you know in a moment. Have you made the changes to the bridge we discussed?”
“The new Chair is being installed in the morning. The connections have already been run.”
“Good, I suspect your idea is a good one.”
“We have also received a request from Commodore Roselli.”
“What is that?”
“She and the Jenze want to be assigned to the Jukebox.”
“How do you think that will affect the Cuban?”
“I think it’s a good idea. She’ll be assigned to the weapons operators and the Jenze will just be an observer.”
“Train him to be a Needle Pilot. It will give him something to do and keep him from thinking too much about the destruction of his civilization.”
“Now that is a good idea. I’ll notify George to send them here as soon as he finishes with them. Admiral Anders also inquired about why we’re only taking one ship?”
“I thought the Jukebox would be the only one ready to go. I’d take ten if we had them ready.”
“You look worried.”
Chris ran his hand through his hair and stood up from the command chair, “I am, Jillian. We’re going to be going into some very dangerous places. I’ve done some examination of M87 and I now believe that most of the attacks on the civilizations in our galaxy have originated there. The ships that wiped out the Jenze are now four million years further along in development and I firmly believe they are coming back. Maybe not in our lifetime, though it could be tomorrow, and they will be even more powerful. I was going there first but I’ve changed my mind and think we should go visit the Blue Giants first.”
Jillian sat down and asked, “What changed your mind?”
“We can’t start trouble in M87 as long as we’re faced with the Blue Giants invading again. We must see what they’re doing and how long before they return.” Chris looked at his panel and said, “Admiral Arvolo, report to the bridge.”
“What are you thinking?”
Chris took a deep breath, “I’m not experienced enough to fight this ship. Arvolo is going to have to command in combat operations. Before I go jumping away into trouble, I want to know what he thinks we need to take with us.” Jillian nodded.
* * *
RV moved rapidly down the corridors of the Jukebox and came to attention as he entered the Bridge. He saluted and said, “Admiral Arvolo reporting as ordered, Sir.”
Chris returned his salute and said, “Pull up a chair and let’s have a discussion, RV.”
Arvolo smiled at Chris’s use of his name and pulled a chair over from the map table.
“RV, you are now the Commander of the Jukebox and will fight the ship in any combat operations.” Chris saw RV frown and said, “Unless you can recommend a better Pilot for this ship.”
RV thought about it and said, “I can’t, Sir. I just hate to leave the
Needle Pilots. They’re making great progress.”
“I expect you to continue your work with them as your duties allow but I am not qualified to handle the ship in combat. You should know that.”
“No, you’re not.”
Chris stared at Arvolo and said, “Speak freely, Admiral and tell me why you say that.”
“You moved the Jukebox over the top of the Alliance formation to the Moet Planet. You should have jumped there instead. You also only had the Ninja for defense. It was President Suh that ordered the other two ships to join me. Those ships were needed and the Jukebox would have been in danger if they weren’t there. You risked the most important leaders of the Fleet in making that move and it was not good tactics.”
Chris slowly shook his head, “You’re right. In hindsight, it was not a good move. That’s why you’re needed to command.” Chris said, “Pull up a view of the Andromeda Galaxy.” The main display changed and showed a beautiful spiral galaxy that looked very similar to the Milky Way. “That is where the Blue Giants live. I’m planning to go there and determine their capabilities and see if we can uncover their plans for a future invasion. I need you to tell me what we need to do to be prepared when we arrive?”
RV looked at the display and then said, “First, I need the two of you to go to the communications room and spend some time learning the Blue Giant’s language.”
Jillian said, “How are we going to do that?”
RV took out the Jenze translator and said, “Zack loaned me this Jenze translator and I’ve been listening to the Blue Giant’s communications. I can now speak and understand their language. It will take about three hours for the bulk of it to be done but after eight hours you should be fluent.”
Chris looked at Jillian then said to RV, “Can we duplicate that device?”
“I don’t know but before we attempt it I want the two of you to use it. It may be damaged in the duplication.”
“We will start that process immediately. What else do we need?”