Valor At Vauzlee

by DePrima, Thomas

  Jenetta smiled. That was something else she had forgotten. The life of a chief steward revolves around his or her captain, 24/7, and they have minimal contact with the rest of the crew. They tend to prefer being addressed by their given names, rather than their rank. Jenetta supposed it was some sort of status symbol to be addressed in that personal way by the ship's commander, or perhaps it just made them feel closer to the one person they were devoting most of their waking hours to serving. "Of course, Woodrow. I need a few hours sleep right now and I prefer not sleeping on a full stomach. I'll eat when I awake at 1900. Bring sufficient food for three from the officer's mess."

  "Uh— I normally prepare most of the Captain's food right here in the galley, ma'am."

  "Very well. Prepare chicken fillets, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables. For desert, I'd like apple pie. For a beverage, coffee; Columbian, black, one sugar per eight ounces."

  "Aye, Captain."

  Jenetta turned towards what she believed to be her bedroom door, then stopped after a few paces and turned. Woodrow was immediately behind her. Looking up at him she asked, "Was there something else, Woodrow?"

  "No, ma'am. I'm just following you to help you get settled in."

  "I think I can take it from here."

  "As you wish, Captain."

  Jenetta entered her bedroom and smiled. It was going to take some getting used to, having a personal steward. It might be nice to have a personal chef, but she drew the line at having a male steward help her dress and undress.

  Before preparing for bed, she wanted to unpack her things so they wouldn't get too wrinkled, but her cases were nowhere in sight. Opening the closet door, she found all her uniforms already hanging from the clothes bar, clean and pressed. Her cases were on the closet floor, empty, and her footwear was neatly arranged. Crossing to the dresser, she found her other clothes neatly folded and organized in the drawers. The animated picture of her family was placed prominently on the dresser, and the picture of her and Zane, taken recently at Gregory's, was on the nightstand next to her bed. Apparently, whoever had packed her things on the Prometheus, sent everything she owned. She wasn't sure if she was more upset by that, or that Woodrow had apparently unpacked everything for her without permission. That was his job though, so she couldn't fault him for executing his duties with due diligence. Yes, having a personal steward was going to take some getting used to.

  The need for sleep was still uppermost in her mind, so Jenetta undressed, established the wake up time with the computer, and climbed onto the large bed after telling the computer to set the bed's grav control to one-sixth normal. The thin, gravity-shielding material that lined the bottom of the gelatin-filled mattress would block most of the ship's one g gravity, allowing her to practically float on its surface. Even at her now much reduced weight, the mattress of the gel-comfort bed was a little too firm for her tastes, so she told the computer to reduce the gel-pressure by ten percent and increase the gel-temperature by five degrees. In seconds the mattress had changed to conform to her requirements and she felt like she was resting on a cloud. The room's computer interface would now immediately apply the new specifications whenever she prepared for bed. Infinitely more comfortable than the couch in the briefing room, it felt so soft, warm, and wonderful that she was asleep in minutes.

  * * *

  Jenetta awoke as the first words of her wakeup call echoed in her head. One advantage of the CT was that no one else was disturbed by such a call, while a major disadvantage was that she couldn't simply block the voice by pulling the pillow over her head.

  "Okay, computer, I'm awake. Cancel message. Carver out."

  A glance up at the wall chronometer confirmed that it was 1900 hours, although she needn't have bothered. She had never yet been awakened at the wrong time and it was doubtful she ever would if she lived to be 5,000, which just might happen if Arneu was right about the age prolongation process that had been performed on her while she was a Raider captive. She shook off the memory and returned to the present. She still felt tired, and would love to roll over and go back to sleep. As captain of the ship, she was the one person aboard who could sleep in, if she wanted to, but as the captain of the ship, duty called, and there was still so much to do. It would probably take several days to get back into a reasonable sleep schedule where she felt rested when she awoke, and there would be plenty of time for extra sleep once they were on their way to Earth.

  She showered, dressed, and was about to head for the officer's mess when wonderful cooking aromas assailed her nostrils. They reminded her that she had a steward now, and that Woodrow probably had her food prepared. The door opened as she approached her dining room, and she saw that three places had been set at the table. She wasn't sure how to alert Woodrow that she was ready to be served, and was considering knocking on the closed galley door when it opened and Woodrow appeared.

  "Do you wish to be served now, Captain, or would you prefer to wait until the others arrive?"

  "Others?"

  "Your two guests, Captain."

  "I'll be dining alone today, Woodrow."

  He nodded respectfully, then reappeared a few seconds later with a plate of food and a steaming mug which he placed in front of Jenetta as she sat down at the head of the table. The food portion was about what a hungry woman of her size would normally consume and she dug in as Woodrow removed the other two place settings.

  Jenetta hadn't eaten since before the battle and she felt hollow inside. She polished off the serving of filleted chicken, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables, and then asked for a second full helping. When she had finished that, she asked for a third. Woodrow's eyes grew considerably larger, but he didn't dare comment. Beginning to feel somewhat sated after the three food portions, Jenetta nonetheless had room for two healthy slices of apple pie with whipped cream. It wasn't like the pie that Mom synthesized, but Jenetta complimented Woodrow before heading for the bridge. As she left her quarters, Woodrow could only stare after her and wonder how she remained so trim. He turned to the empty food pans in the galley, still shaking his head in wonder.

  Lieutenant Elizi was still on duty. Jenetta relieved her so she could get something to eat. Elizi smiled and climbed down from the bridge command chair, then quickly headed for the corridor. Jen climbed into the vacated chair and relaxed as she turned her thoughts to the day ahead.

  There really wasn't any need for a full bridge crew, except that Space Command regulations required a ship's bridge be manned 24/7, even when in port. Although they were still in hostile territory, it was most unlikely that the Raiders were in any position to launch a counter-attack against the nine armed and ready Space Command vessels, plus the twelve Peabody light destroyers. In fact, given their losses here and at Raider-One, it seemed highly unlikely that the Raiders would be launching any more attacks in this deca-sector of space for some time. It would be wonderful to enjoy a period of peace like that Jenetta had known before being awakened from stasis sleep into this nightmare of constant vigilance and life or death conflicts.

  Jenetta checked the list of battle damages and saw that items were disappearing quickly now that hull repair teams were back at work replacing the thick, self-sealing membrane packs and inner plates, and repairing the minor hull punctures. Molded pieces of tritanium were being welded over every perforation, no matter how small, when full replacement plates weren't justified.

  When Lieutenant Elizi returned from dinner to complete her duty shift, Jenetta left for the sickbay. She waited patiently until the senior doctor on duty was free.

  "What's your situation here, Doctor?"

  "All injuries have been treated and we're just tending the more seriously injured while the surgical nano-bots assist in their recovery. The others have been released, Captain, and will be treated on an outpatient basis until fully recovered and allowed to return to active duty."

  "How many do you have in the ward?"

  "Ten in this ward; sixteen more in the conference room that we temporari
ly appropriated for use as a second ward. The critical cases are all in here, of course."

  "Has someone completed the required postmortem examinations and prepared the death certificates?"

  "Lt. Commander O'Neil, the chief medical officer, will begin addressing that when he comes back on duty. The living were our first priority."

  "Of course. Can these crewmen receive visitors?"

  "Yes, but a few are under heavy sedation; and they all need their rest."

  "I won't disturb them for very long. I thought they might wish to know the outcome of the battle. I know that I certainly would, were I in their place."

  Accompanied by the doctor, Jenetta visited each patient that was awake and alert, telling him or her that she was proud of the way that the Song had come into the battle and helped the Prometheus and Chiron. She said that everyone on board was a hero and would receive recognition as such when they reached Earth. She told them that the task force had dealt a critical blow to the Raiders, destroying thirty-four Raider ships while losing only one, the Delhi. After visiting each of the ten beds in the sickbay, they visited the sixteen patients in the secondary ward.

  Jenetta next re-visited each of the places that had suffered major hull breaches. The repair work was of the same high quality as on the bridge. Satisfied with the repairs, she returned to the bridge.

  Lieutenant Ashraf was there now, along with Lieutenant Elizi whose command watch would be from midnight to 0800 once a normal duty schedule was established two days hence. Before settling in at her briefing room desk to handle the growing pile of ‘electronic' paperwork, Jenetta took another look at the battle damage list. A dozen more holes had been patched and removed from the list. It appeared that at the rate the engineers were progressing most of the hull damage repairs would be completed within twelve more hours.

  A number of medal and commendation recommendations from noncoms and officers for their subordinates who had performed ‘above and beyond' during the battle, had been forwarded to her after being reviewed and approved by Lieutenant Ashraf. After reading each report, she added her signature and forwarded them to SHQ. She spent the next several hours studying the crew personnel files. If she was going to be stuck here for at least the next two weeks, she felt it was a good idea to become familiar with the backgrounds of the people for whom she was responsible.

  * * *

  The Peabody Protection Services destroyers were also making good progress in getting their hulls sealed and pressurized. They estimated that they could continue their journey within three weeks.

  Following his report of their repair progress to Captain Gavin, Commodore Blosset said, "Captain, I've been thinking about your timely arrival here. We're grateful, you understand, but I can't help but wonder about it. Were you conducting maneuvers near here?"

  "No, Commodore. We left Higgins Space Command Base a month ago to attend the official launching ceremony of this ship and its sister ship, the Chiron, at Earth. Just after departing the station, I was notified about a possible assembly of Raider ships in this area of space. A rendezvous point was established at Vauzlee for all available ships in this deca-sector, and we altered course. The Prometheus and the Chiron were at the RP, awaiting the arrival of the other ships, when we intercepted your call for help. Only the Song had so far arrived, and we responded as quickly as we could. It was fortunate that the other ships were nearly to the RP. They locked onto your AutoTect signal and came directly here."

  "I see. Then you didn't know of the attack in advance?"

  "As far as I know, Peabody didn't trust Space Command with information regarding your course and transit schedule. Why do you suppose that was, Commodore?"

  "You know why," Commodore Blosset said defensively. "It was top secret. We couldn't afford to trust anyone outside our company with that information."

  "If you had trusted Space Command, we would have been happy to provide an escort. Chances are that the Raiders never would have tried to hijack the cargo if Space Command was involved. They've shown a marked preference for avoiding contact with us. That's beside the point, though. It appears that someone within your company leaked the information to the Raiders. I'd advise you to investigate the finances of everyone in your firm that could possibly have known about the course and timetable. Of course, I'd suggest that you use an independent investigation team since all your security people probably knew of the route."

  The commodore nodded sourly and broke off the communication link.

  Gavin smiled at the blank screen. He hadn't lied to Commodore Blosset, he'd just sidestepped the question of whether or not he knew of the ambush in advance. If Peabody wanted to pursue the issue, they would have to do it with SHQ.

  * * *

  Chapter Nine

  ~ April 2nd, 2268 ~

  Admiral Platt was panting like a long distance runner who had just completed a race. It had been two decades since she'd last commanded a warship, and never one in combat, but her palms were moist with sweat and her heart was beating wildly in her chest. The re-creation of the Battle of Vauzlee was so incredibly vivid that she felt that she was right there in the thick of battle with the task force.

  The open area in the center of the large horseshoe-shaped table in the great hall where the Admiralty Board held their regular sessions, was in fact a holo-platform. The War College's computers had created a magnificent blend of real images and computer simulations from the logs of the ships involved in the action. The final product was so incredibly detailed that you saw everything far better than eyewitnesses to the event. You could view the action from any angle, and even zoom in and slow the projection to watch torpedoes and energy weapon pulses as they struck individual ships. By positioning a laser pointer on any SC ship, you instantly moved inside that ship. Special holo-monitors, lowered from the ceiling, projected the bridge images, time synchronized with the exterior action. Since bridge logs were recorded from four points, the recreated holo-images allowed you to see the bridge activity in 3-D from any angle.

  The ten admirals of the Admiralty Board sat transfixed at this first showing of the re-creation. In the days ahead, War College analysts would examine every second of the battle in excruciating detail.

  The Board watched the battle several times before moving inside first the Prometheus, then the Chiron, the Song, and lastly the Delhi. The bridge officers of the Delhi never even knew of their imminent destruction as the Raider warship crushed them along with that entire part of the ship in a heartbeat.

  "The re-creation will be available in the holo-theatre downstairs to any member of the board following today's session," Admiral Moore said. "Does anyone wish to see any more before we open discussion?" Looking at each member of the Board until they either verbally or silently acknowledged his question, he said, "Since no one wishes further review, we're open to discussion of what we've seen."

  "The courage displayed by our people as they entered battle against such overwhelming odds is stirring," Admiral Platt, the Director of Fleet Operations said. "Captain Gavin should be especially commended for his tactics, and for his leadership."

  "It was foolhardy," Admiral Hubera immediately countered. "I'm surprised by Gavin's presumption. He should have waited until his task group was consolidated and then attacked as one force, as the War College planners outlined. And he should have followed the complete plan developed by the War College instead of this half-baked tactic. It could have cost us the entire task force, instead of just the Delhi."

  "They couldn't wait, Donald," Admiral Bradlee said. "The convoy was under fire before most our ships had reached the RP and they needed to enter the battle as soon as possible to take heat off the Peabody ships."

  "The rapid attrition of the Raider forces and disruption of their chain of command was owed solely to fact that they believed they were facing a minimal SC force," Admiral Hillaire said. "We're not talking about another military. We're talking about a criminal organization that will cut and run as soon as they believe they might
get severely hurt. The tactic was brilliant, Donald, not half-baked."

  "It cost us the Delhi, didn't it?" Hubera said.

  "It most certainly did not!" Admiral Platt responded strongly. "The Delhi was lost because a Raider captain tried to run away without waiting until he was far enough from the battle zone to be reasonably confident that he had open space ahead of him."

  "Despite the loss of the Delhi, and crewmembers on most of the other ships involved in the action," Admiral Moore said, "we can't look upon this as anything other than an outstanding success. To have destroyed thirty-four Raider warships in one battle is second only to the blow inflicted upon them by the destruction of Raider-One."

  "And for this blow," Admiral Plimley said, "like that one, we find Lt. Commander Carver with her hand firmly on the hammer."

  "I saw Carver sitting on the bridge of the Prometheus," Admiral Burke said, "but her role was only as XO to Captain Gavin. Surely she had no active role in the battle."

  "You must not have viewed the report Captain Gavin filed immediately following the battle," Admiral Plimley said. "He credited Lt. Commander Carver with developing the tactics used in this engagement. He believed in the potential of her plan so much that he made the decision to use her tactics instead of those proposed by the War College, which would have required him to launch fighters to combat the predicted force of Raider fighters. As you saw in the re-creation, the Raiders employed no fighters. Given the Prometheus' under-strength crew complement, the ship's fighting effectiveness would have been severely comprised by following the War College plan."

  "Carver conceived the tactics Gavin followed?" Admiral Hubera said. "I should have recognized her involvement in this. We should never have taken her out of that Science Officer posting. It's where she belongs; someplace where she can't do any damage."