When the Lieutenant entered, Colin said, “I can’t hide anything from you can I?”
“No Sir, you can’t. What has you so worried? What can I do to help?”
“It’s only fair that I brief you. Ensign Wills is on duty now so I can talk to her later. What about Sam, do you think he’ll be out of his rack now?”
“If he isn’t he should be soon anyway so you should wake him.”
“You’re right of course Anne. Theseus, can you find Lieutenant Commander Harland and ask him to come to my office please?”
Theseus replied, “The Lieutenant is on his way, Sir.”
“Let me see, you inferred a ninety-nine percent probability that I would want to speak to him based on our conversation here.”
“Not quite, Captain, the probability was ninety-seven-point 9 percent, and I also factored in the worried look on your face when you returned to the ship, your body language and Lieutenant Fraser’s decision to come see you as soon as she finished her shift. I also inferred the issue was somehow involved with our impending departure for Cambridge.”
Colin laughed, these AIs could be so literal sometimes. But then, sometimes they would use a literal interpretation to break a sombre mood. They really are special and add so much to a ship. A few minutes later, Colin’s door chimed again, so he opened it to let Sam in.
When they were all settled, Colin said, “In about an hour, the Captains of FNS Dolarsu, Salander, Fortitude, Sudasha, and Loki will be coming here for a full briefing. It will be lunch by then so we should feed them and I would like both of you present during the briefing. I do not want to have to repeat this briefing every five minutes. I need you two, and Ensign Wills on board for this, I think we are heading for some trouble, and I’m going to need your support.”
Both Anne and Sam replied, “You have it, Sir.”
Anne said, “I’ll go let the mess know we’ll be having guests.”
Sam continued, “I’ll ready the meeting room and arrange a suitable reception.”
“Thank you, both. Your support really is very much appreciated.”
Anne and Sam both left then to go about their duties while Colin reflected on how fortunate he was to have such support. Colin thought he should let Susan Wills know what was about to happen, so he left the office bound for the CCC. The crew of FNS Theseus already knew something was up. Of course, they all knew the ship was due to depart for Cambridge later that day. Supplies were still arriving, and they were putting stores into any place they could find a little spare space. The ship was being overloaded which told the crew that the Captain was expecting trouble along the way, a lot of trouble. They weren’t overly concerned, they trusted their Captain completely. The crew could just feel the tension that permeated the air in Theseus since Captain Gordon returned, so they knew something was about to happen.
After Colin had spoken with his Third Officer, Susan Wills, he went back to his office to look at the records for the two Destroyer Captains again. By the time the Captains of all the ships that were intended to make up his Convoy were due to arrive, Colin had decided on who should be his second in command.
When the other Captains began to come, those who hadn’t seen a Cobra before were offered a quick tour and an explanation of the Cobras capabilities. By the time the tour was finished, the visiting Captains knew the rules of the game had changed with this new ship class. Nobody told them anything about the new ships, that wasn’t widely disseminated yet. The ability Cambridge had to manufacture these new ships alone, made the System a strategic imperative the other Captains could understand.
When everyone was finally gathered in the meeting room, Colin began with a general briefing, explaining the mission, which, in a nutshell, was to take a large consignment of military supplies back to Cambridge. Of the ships that were participating, only the Super Freighter was not armed, so all of them needed to be protecting it. The Cobra’s had denser Shielding and Point-Defense than even the Destroyers so they would go through the Jump-Points first to get the attention of any Pirates who might be waiting on the other side. All ships were to enter the Jump-Point at two percent above the published maximum so they would emerge outside of any likely ambush zone. This last requirement meant the Super Freighter would need to be running up to the required speed for some time before reaching the Jump-Point. Fortitude and at least one Destroyer were to keep their velocities matched to the speed the Freighter was traveling except if they were in a fight. In that case, the five Warships would defend the Freighter while it attempted to escape.
Colin announced that his 2IC for this mission was to be Commander Ricarn Daron. Nobody complained or argued about Colin’s choice, they seemed to just accept it.
The group examined several different routes to Cambridge before deciding the one they should take. Colin explained that if they encountered any Pirate ships along the way, the Cobras would destroy them so they could not carry news of the convoy to larger forces who could then attempt an ambush. There were no complaints about this even though the Destroyer Captains wanted a chance at some action. When he realized how badly they wanted to use their ship’s full capabilities, Colin smiled and reassured them that they would see plenty of action before too many more weeks had passed.
FNS Hidacki
The Cotoni Shipyard Engineering staff had finished their survey of the damage to FNS Hidacki. That was good news as far as Captain Sydnasi was concerned. When Hidacki arrived back in Cotoni System, and Haflon saw the Reserve Fleet was here, he knew bad things had been happening. What was more worrying was that Admiral Hanadon had not summoned him to find out what happened. At least Sydnasi brought his ship back. Even though she was damaged, FNS Hidacki still had most of her teeth, and they didn’t lose too many crew. What’s more, Hidacki did a lot of damage to the Pirate force that attacked it so Sydnasi hoped he might be forgiven. Finally, the damage survey was complete. The dead and injured had been transferred to Cotoni Station when Hidacki docked before she made her way to the Shipyard. In the back of his mind, Haflon expected to lose his command, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Cotoni Station
Commander Haflon Sydnasi presented himself at the Admiral’s office as soon as he arrived at the Station. The Admirals Aide directed Sydnasi to sit till the Admiral was ready to see him. He waited for perhaps ten minutes when the Aide rose from the desk and asked Commander Sydnasi to flow him, then set off down a corridor, away from the Admiral’s office. Some minutes later, the two Officers reached a door. They proceeded through the door into a large briefing room where Sydnasi saw both Admirals waiting for him. He recognized Admiral Hanadon immediately and Admiral Dalkasan a heartbeat later. Haflon’s first thought was, ‘I’m toast.’ He did not expect this much rank in the room. Admiral Dalkasan nodded in Sydnasi’s direction but said nothing.
Admiral Hanadon said, “Take a seat Commander. Tell me, how would you rate your performance during your recent encounter with the Peschal Alliance?”
“I made mistakes, Sir. At least, I’m sure I must have made some. In the end, though, I brought Hidacki home, along with most of the crew still alive. We inflicted far more damage on the enemy than they did on us. My only concern is that I haven’t been able to work out how I could’ve done better. Every scenario I’ve thought of ends in Hidacki taking damage.”
Finally, Dalkasan spoke, “Commander, we’ve reviewed your records from the two engagement. We agree, there wasn’t much you could’ve done differently. The ship was configured for battle when you Jumped in, and you and your crew reacted extremely well. We cannot fault the way you fought or the decisions you made at the time.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Dalkasan continued, “We need you to get your ship repaired as quickly as possible. We think something big is about to happen, the Alliance has been attacking Systems in this Sector, and there are hints of a massive fleet going somewhere, but right now, we don’t know exactly where. We need you and your ship ready to fight again, and we need
that done as quickly as possible.”
“Yes Sir, am I able to have replacements for the crew I’ve lost? That will speed up the repairs a little I think.”
“Your replacements should already be there. Now, what did you think of this small ship that met you when Hidacki arrived in System?”
“They’re very fast, and hard to see on the Sensors. Somehow, I think they might be deadly.”
“Would it surprise you to know that just two of those little ships operating together would be more than a handful for a Destroyer?”
“No Sir, it wouldn’t, not really. Admittedly, some of my opinions are based on the fact that you’re asking me these questions.”
Both Dalkasan an Hanadon chuckled at Haflon’s reply before they dismissed him, telling him to get his ship repaired and ready to fight.
FNS Theseus
Colin sat at his desk working on the pre-departure paperwork. It was evident to him that they were close to being ready.
The Comm Panel lit up with an incoming call from FNS Dolarsu. When Colin accepted the call, he was confronted by a very embarrassed looking Captain Daron.
Colin asked, “What can I do for you Ricarn?”
“I’m sorry to report, Sir, my engineering staff, have just informed me that we had a serious malfunction in one of our primary drives.”
“Is it repairable?”
“Yes, Commander, it is, and we can do it en route if we can shake the parts loose from the Logistics people here.”
“Put your requisitions in as soon as you can and copy them to me. I’ll shake the parts loose, provided of course they have them here.”
“Thank you, Commander, we’ve already submitted the requisitions, and I’m sending you copies as we speak.”
“Give them one hour to respond, if they haven’t, or if the response is less than satisfactory, let me know, and I’ll take the necessary action. In the meantime, if your Engineering team aren’t doing so already, have them do as much as possible without the parts.”
“Very well, Sir.”
After the Comm channel had closed, Colin closed his eyes and rested his head on the desk, intending it to only be for a minute. Lieutenant Fraser found him like that twenty minutes later. She debated for a few minutes whether to wake him or let him sleep. In the end, Anne checked what Colin was doing and then transferred it all to her own console before going to complete it. She asked Theseus to route any incoming Comms that were for her Captain to her instead. She could decide if he needed to be woken when a call came through.
Anne had almost finished the pre-departure paperwork when a call came in from Captain Daron for Colin. Anne took the call, and Captain Daron explained the conversation he had with Colin previously. Anne nodded and told him she would deal with it immediately. When the call was completed, Anne initiated a contact with Admiral Hanadon’s office.
The Admiral appeared on the screen, and after the greetings were over, Anne said, “FNS Dolarsu has a drive problem that is currently delaying our departure. He requisitioned the parts two hours ago now, and someone in Logistics doesn’t want to release them. They’re putting roadblocks in Captain Daron’s way at every turn. Their latest is to claim they haven’t received the requisition even though we have a read receipt indicating they did. Sir, the order was copied to your office when it was originally sent so there will be proof there if someone looks.”
“Leave it with me, Lieutenant, I know just who to send on this little errand.”
Cotoni Station
After ending the call with Anne, Hanadon set his Aide to finding a copy of the requisition then made a call to a Trooper Captain called Hanada. She was someone who had worked in Logistics during a past life and knew all the games those people could play sometimes, and how they covered their butts. After the Trooper Captain had been briefed on what was required, she called a couple of platoons together to give them the good news.
Twenty minutes later, with all the evidence in hand, the Troopers swept into the Logistics office and immediately moved everyone away from their consoles while the investigation was underway. Everyone knew that most of these people were completely innocent, perhaps very inefficient but still innocent of any actual wrongdoing. A quick investigation, however, had shown that the requisition had in fact been deleted from the System. Captain Hanada found herself amused that anyone could ever believe that anything was ever truly deleted once it went onto the network. There were always footprints, tracks that an investigator could follow. All of the tools used for these investigations had been vastly improved since Colin Gordon first came to this Station and helped clean up a spy ring. Now, if a surveillance camera stopped working, it was repaired within one or at most two hours. Every keystroke on every terminal on the Station was logged and kept for up to five years in blind storage.
For the purposes of this investigation, the Troopers already knew which terminal and which login had deleted the requisition. They scooped up the person who owned the login and carted him off for interrogation. Another team was already looking at the video logs to confirm who was using the terminal at the time of the deletion.
Admiral Hanadon contacted Colin, who had woken by then, to tell him their departure would need to be delayed by a couple of hours while the Troopers isolated certain evidence. Colin felt like bashing his head against a wall but knew he could do nothing but let events run their course. Instead, he set up a call to FNS Dolarsu and told her Captain the good news. Captain Daron was very apologetic, but Colin didn’t blame him for the delay. Breakdowns happened sometimes, and many of the Reserve Fleet ships were old vessels that had been refitted and then placed in the active reserve. This meant they were kept crewed, and maintained so they could be sent to deal with any flare-ups on short notice. The entire fleet tended to operate as a single unit mostly, and they undertook a lot of exercises. As a ship was retired from one of the six main fleets, it would replace an older ship of the same class unless it had serious problems making it only suitable for the scrap yard.
On board FNS Dolarsu, Captain Daron was feeling like an abject failure. His ship broke down at a time when they could not afford the delay. He kept expecting a call to come through to censure him for not keeping his ship ready for action, but no such call came, the Comm System remained silent except for when Commander Gordon called to tell him about the delay.
On FNS Theseus, Colin was chaffing at the delays. He understood that they weren’t anyone's fault, except perhaps whoever deleted the requisition but felt a real desire to lash out in frustration. The door to Colin’s office chimed, and he opened it find Anne waiting outside. His second Officer had a way of improving his mood, so he was happy enough to see her.
Anne said, “I’ve completed all the pre-departure paperwork, Sir, and I referred that supply problem to Admiral Hanson’s office. I came to see you earlier, and you were dead to the world with your head on the desk. Sir, you’re doing it again, you’re skipping meals and sleep. You must stop that, we all need your head in the game for the trip home, and perhaps for a while, after we arrive there.”
“I know Anne. You’re right of course, I do need to learn my limitations. Thanks for taking care of things while I was out. What about you? Have you been getting enough sleep?”
“Yes, Sir, I have. There are three of us to share a job, or at least most of it, Ensign Wills is shaping up well, and in my opinion, Sam is ready for his own ship. You, on the other hand, do not have anyone to take the load off you. The buck stops with you, so to speak, so we have to keep an eye on you.”
The two of them spent the next twenty minutes chatting about the trip home. Neither of them expected it to be uneventful, too much was happening just then, but they still hoped they could make it back to Cambridge unscathed. The general feeling on all three of the ships from Cambridge was that they had already been here too long. The delay wasn’t without rewards, but they were all impatient to leave for home.
Finally, six hours later, nine hours after their planned departu
re, the parts Dolarsu needed to repair her main drives were delivered. As soon as he had them, Captain Daron began undocking procedures to minimize the delays as much as he could. Thankfully, even with one drive out, he could still easily keep up with the Super Freighter. The repairs should be long completed before they made it very far out of Cotoni System.
Colin ordered the Super Freighter Captain to start moving towards the Jump-Point indicating they would catch up long before he could reach it. Even though the Freighter could achieve very high velocities, it took a long time for them to arrive at those speeds. As the Freighter began its initial burn and started to accelerate away from orbit, Theseus, Loki, Fortitude, Salander, and Dolarsu all undocked before they too began breaking orbit and accelerating after the Freighter. Not long after departure, the Comms Panel lit up with a call for Colin. When he accepted the call, he was confronted by both Hanadon and Dalkasan.
Dalkasan said, “Good luck Captain. We both want to see you again when things settle down a little if they settle down. Take care but do what we all know you’re so good at.”
“Thank you, Sir. I’ll try to keep everyone safe, but the Pirates seem to be hell bent on stirring up trouble in the Federation. I think that before this is over, we’re going to have to aggressively pursue them.”
“You’re not the only one with that opinion Commander. I have at least three Sector Admirals nagging me to allow them to take the fight to the Alliance. I would like to turn them loose, but honestly, I don’t think we’re quite ready yet. We’re upgrading our fleets as fast as we can, but we can only do so much with the resources we have. Your Cobras are going to be critical to the effort. We need more time to prepare. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if we’re going to have the time we need. Commander, we need you, and Cambridge, safe so take care.”
“Yes, Sir, I will.”
The connection was broken then, and Colin sat back in his chair to consider the Admirals words, trying to read between the lines, to understand what Dalkasan was trying to say without explicitly saying it. After mulling the problem over Colin decided to put some feelers out to try and understand the political situation back on Sankarah. Colin considered who he should talk to for some time before deciding to contact Commander Daron his 2nd in command for this phase of the mission.
Star Man 2: Star Rise Page 35