by Saxon Andrew
The room was silent, as the officers looked at each other before turning their attention back to Rachael. Rachael continued, “We don’t have data yet on the speed of this new warship, but we believe it is considerably faster than the older model; we won’t have that information until we take one on. I know that most of your training in preparing you to come here was built around attacking the alien warships with our pulse cannons. That option has been taken off the table, for the most part. There’s only ten or fifteen miles difference in the range of our cannons versus their blasters and that’s too small to risk a major engagement and expect to win. So, today we’re going to discuss how we’re going to go about making a nuisance of ourselves. Forget what you learned in training and focus on what you’re going to have to do to survive.”
Racheal paused and asked, “Raise your hands if you’re familiar with the military history of ancient Earth.” A number of hands went up and Rachael smiled, “I’m referring to two events that happened in the Twentieth Century. They were called the First and Second World Wars.” Every hand was lowered.
Rachael began, “At that time, air flight was just beginning to develop, and the weapons of war underwent a massive improvement. However, before that the nations that were the most powerful had the most powerful navies. Whoever controlled the oceans, were able to impose their will on other nations. The most dangerous ships were the giant battleships with their thirty-inch guns and armored-plated hulls. Giant fleets were built around these ships and used by nations to defend them against any aggressor.” Rachael saw she had their undivided attention.
“One nation, Germany to be exact, perfected land war to the point where it conquered most of Europe and was close to dominating the world. However, Germany didn’t have a powerful navy. Nor did they have the economic means of building one large enough to confront the nations that were aligned against them. So, they improvised. They built an inexpensive, small, vessel called a submarine. This vessel was pretty basic in that it could only stay underwater for brief periods and had to remain on the surface to recharge its batteries for underwater maneuvers. These ships were invisible to surface ships and they would sneak up on enemy ships and fire a Torpedo at them, think of a torpedo as an underwater missile that is very similar to the appearance of the missiles we’re currently using to fire at an enemy ship. The torpedo had a high explosive warhead and these small German warships could sink the armored battleships.
However, to attack, the submarines had to raise a periscope to spot the ships they were attacking. That periscope moving through the water could be seen and the submarine would instantly be attacked by surface ships specifically built to destroy them. The torpedoes had a limited range and the submarines were forced to move in close to their targets to fire them. It took a high level of courage for a submarine commander to move in close enough to attack.”
Rachael walked back around her desk and sat down, “I’ve found a video made during the Second World War that is a documentary on the effectiveness of the German U-Boats, as they were called. I want you to watch it and be able to tell me how this ancient video relates to us in present time.”
Jan watched the documentary and was astounded at the savagery she was witnessing. The numbers of ships destroyed, and lives lost was stunning. Where did Rachael get this? And what message was she trying to get across to her class?
• • •
The video ended, and Rachael asked, “What did you ascertain from this documentary?”
An officer raised his hand, “Yes, Lt. Earoth.”
“If the allies had not bombed the facilities building those submarines, Germany might have won the war.”
“Very good. Anyone else?” Another officer raised their hand, “Yes, Lt. Kassem.
“The amount of damage that could be inflicted by one of those submarines was incredible.”
Rachael smiled, “Very good, Lieutenant. Anyone else. Go ahead Lt. Momani.”
“They forced the Allies to change their plans.”
Rachael leaned forward, “Explain what you mean.”
“The only thing that could effectively stop a wolfpack of submarines from attacking was using aircraft to fly above the convoys searching for their presence. The only way to do that was to change the route across the oceans to a more northerly route which was a much longer distance.”
“Very good!” Rachael paused before continuing, “How does what you’ve seen here relate to your job now?” Everyone was silent, and Rachael prodded them, “Look at our ships as if they were a German U-Boats.”
“We’re going to have to sneak in on the ships we intend to attack.”
Rachael clapped her hands, “Excellent, Lt. Crandon! Why are we going to have to do that?”
“The latest intel on the aliens says they have staggered their ships and have overlapping scanner coverage,” Crandon answered.
Rachael’s expression turned serious, “I’ve been out fighting against the alien’s older model warships and the speed that they can react to our attacks has improved dramatically since we first started. With this new model entering the fight, that speed will be faster than you can conceive. Our ships are going out looking for this newer model and take them out as quickly as possible.” Racheal looked around the class, “Why would we target them first?”
Lt. Franklin answered, “If we can eliminate them, we’ll have the initial advantages we enjoyed at the beginning; we can use our pulse cannons to attack the older model from a distance.”
“Exactly right, Lt. Franklin.” Rachael stood up, “Your job is to find the new model of warship among their formations and target it with your weapons tracking system. It will be up to the scanning officer to find a route into your selected target avoiding the alien’s scanner coverage, and your ship commander will be charged with getting you close enough to fire at your target. Like the ancient submarines, our ships are going to have to sneak in undetected, launch an attack, and get the hell out of there!”
The room was silent, and Rachael had a twinkle in her eye, “I’ve made a small wager with Admiral Talent that I will be the first one that finds a way to determine if an alien ship is an older or new model inside their phase field. Prove me wrong!”
“That sounds doable!” Lt. Anand stated.
Rachael turned to her, “That will be the easy part, Lieutenant Anand. Launching the missile at your target ends the offensive use of your weapons. The moment you launch, you will immediately become defensive in attempting to defend your ship from attack. The Ship Commander will be running the moment you launch the missile and it will be your responsibility to counter any possible danger to your ship.” All eyes were on Rachael as she continued to explain their duties, “You’re going to need eyes in the back of your head and any alien warship that comes rushing in is going to have to be hit and knocked out of its phase field before it moves into the range of its blasters. Further, you’re going to have to simultaneously use the pulse cannons to take out any alien missiles fired at your fleeing ship before they get close enough for their proximity fuses to go off detonating the missile close to your ship’s hull. Ordinarily, the alien missiles would simply pass through the ship, but the aliens are now exploding them close to our ships’ hulls. The blasts are large enough to rock the ship and degrade its phase field. The only way to prevent that is to activate the force field if any alien missiles make it by your pulse cannons.”
Rachael paused, and the weapon officers were struck silent by her comments. Rachael tilted her head, “It doesn’t stop there. If you activate the ship’s force field, then every alien warship within a third of a light-year will see it on their phase scanners. They will all rush toward your location at their fastest speed. Your pilot will be forced to radically change course and the communication officer will have to use their scanners to find another route out to escape.” Rachael then sat back on the desk. “I know some of you think that you’ll only use the force field if you must and not upset the other officers on board. That would b
e a bad mistake. If you don’t use the force field when it’s called for, you run the risk of having your ship lose its phase field ability with hundreds of alien warships flashing toward you at a speed you can’t match. It could very well lead to your ship being destroyed.” Rachael looked at each officer and added, “It’s not enough to know what your weapons can do; you must learn the time and place to use them.”
• • •
Jan listened to Rachael and wondered if she was the same person. She used the names of the weapons officers without making a mistake. Hell, Rachael just scared the crap out of her and she knew the new officers were probably frozen in fear. Lt. Mamani broke the silence, “Well! This sounds like fun!”
The entire room burst out laughing and Rachael laughed along with them. Rachael smiled and announced to the gathering, “For the remainder of this class, we’re going to examine numerous recordings we’ve made fighting these aliens. We’ll dissect the videos and you will tell me what you would do when I stop the videos. I expect you to be knowledgeable and proficient in operating your consoles by the time you complete this class and maybe we’ll learn a lot from each other.”
Jan stood up, “Thank you, Lieutenant Meadows; I’m taking the Communication Officers to start their training. You’ve been very informative.”
“Thank you, Admiral.” Jan gave her a smile and a thumbs up.
Chapter Fifteen
“How’s it going, Jeremy?” Tal asked.
“Well, good and bad.”
“Start with the bad news first.”
“The new missiles will not be able to damage the new warship with its pulse cannon.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve studied the recording Greg made of the new warship and its blasters are twice as fast as the older model. They swivel faster and lock on a target almost instantly after it’s detected.”
“Go on.”
“The missile will hit the alien’s phase field thirty miles out from the ship and both the ship’s and missile’s phase fields will be degraded instantly. The missile is going to be forced to fire a large concentration of energy pulses ahead of it to defeat the blaster beams being fired at it. That will deplete the energy used by the pulse cannon and it will not operate after the barrage.”
“What’s the good news?” Tal asked.
“The new chronide shell around the missile should be able to withstand any remaining blaster beams until it hits the alien warship. It will also hit before the alien vessel can reactivate its phase field.”
“That’s more than we can hope for.”
“Yes, but I’m concerned that it may just blow a hole through the ship and not cause much damage.”
“Doesn’t it still have an explosive warhead?”
“Yes, Tal, but it may be moving too fast for it to ignite it.”
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. How long before you reprogram the missiles?”
“I’ve just completed the software transfer.”
“Excellent, Jeremy.”
“I’ve met the new weapon’s operators and it appears Rachael is doing an excellent job training them.”
“Jan told me the same thing. You can join her if you want.”
“I think I’d rather meet with the new ship commanders and hear what you have to say about properly commanding the ships.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll leave it up to Rachael to get the weapons operators up to speed and you can sit in on my meetings.”
Jeremy nodded and left to check the data transfers. Tal sighed knowing Jeremy wasn’t going to like his orders.
• • •
Jeremy returned to his quarters after leaving Ka with Jan and sat down on his bed. He was exhausted from the long hours writing the new software for the missiles and his neck and shoulders ached from sitting so long at his computer. He glanced over at a picture of Allison on his bedside table. After staring at it for a while, he began to miss her. He went to his computer and pulled up the local time in Orlando. Umm…it was only six pm. He picked up the communicator and pressed a number, “Yes, Admiral.”
“I want you to place a call to Allison Anders on Earth. She’s located in Orlando and works in the main lab.”
“Connecting your call, Sir.”
Jeremy waited and felt his excitement start to grow. Allison appeared on the monitor and he smiled, “Allison! I’m so sorry I’ve not contacted you before now!”
Jeremy expected her to be excited, but her expression was anything but. He heard a man’s voice off screen ask, “Who is it, Dear?”
Allison looked away and said, “Someone from work.” Allison turned back to Jeremy and saw his smile disappear. “What’s going on, Allison?”
“Jeremy, I’ve tried to contact you, numerous times but was not allowed by Security to do it; they said it would pose a danger to you and your crew if I did.” She paused, and Jeremy remained silent. “Jeremy, my former husband returned and begged me to take him back. I initially told him no, but my son remembers him and was beyond excitement at seeing him. John says that we owe it to our baby to put our family back together. He’s shown that he’s sincere and I finally decided I owed it to JJ to make the effort. I’m sorry. I never expected this.” Allison paused and then asked, “Are you ok?”
Jeremy sighed, ‘Yes. I understand. I wanted to call you and let you know I’ve been promoted to Admiral.”
“Did you say, Admiral?”
Jeremy’s eyes narrowed, “Yes.”
“Let me reconsider this decision.”
Jeremy stared at Allison’s image on the monitor and realized she didn’t care about his or her husband’s feelings. She was only interested in insuring her son’s future. He couldn’t really blame her but knew he had made a mistake. “Allison, your decision is made. You’re right about putting your family back together and I wish you the best.”
Allison shouted, “Wait!” just before Jeremy ended the call.
Allison stared at the dark display and knew she had blown it. She saw in Jeremy’s expression that whatever they had was dead. She smiled at her husband in the other room and stood up from the desk. She was so stupid!
• • •
Jeremy fell back on the bed and realized Tal was right. he gave his heart too quickly without really knowing the one he gave it to. Now he felt hurt, bothered, and betrayed. He was certain Allison was the ‘one’ and she just demonstrated that she didn’t have the same feelings. Allison wasn’t looking for a soulmate; she was looking for support. Knowing the truth didn’t make the pain any less and he forced his eyes shut. He finally sat up and contacted Jan on his communicator, “Are you still with Mom.”
“No, she just left for her quarters.”
“Do you have a minute?”
“What’s wrong, Jeremy?”
“How do you know something’s wrong?”
“I can see it all over your face. What’s wrong!?”
“Allison just broke up with me.”
Jan’s eyes softened, “I’m so sorry. I know you really cared for her.”
“She went back with her ex.”
“That happens a lot, Jeremy. And you’ve been absent for a long time.”
“I told her about my promotion and she tried to back track on her decision.”
Jan’s eyes hardened, “I hope you didn’t fall for that.”
“No, I saw she’s only concerned about her son. She only saw me as someone to help support them. I really hate the way I’ve deceived myself in every relationship I’ve been in.”
“You need to listen to what Tal told you and take things slow. It’s better you found out now than later.”
‘I suppose.” Jeremy paused before asking, “Jan, did you see her as a gold-digger?” Jan was silent, and Jeremy pressed, “Did you?!”
“She didn’t really fight to stop you coming out here; she gave in too easily. I suspected she believed you would be promoted if you came with us; it would make you a good choice to financially su
pport her. If you died, I suspect she believed you would have assigned your death benefits to her…did you?” Jeremy exhaled sharply and rolled his eyes. “You did, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Jeremy answered sullenly. Jeremy looked at Jan on the display, “Jan, promise me you won’t keep your opinion from me in the future!”
“Jeremy, it could only come between us if you’ve mentally committed to someone.”
“I promise not to allow that to happen, Sis. Please help me.”
“I’ll give you my opinion but you’re going to have to ask for it.”
“That’s fair. I need to get some sleep.”
“I’m sorry, Jee.”
“Like most injuries, I’ll get over this one in time.” Jan nodded, and Jeremy ended the call. He fell on the bed and closed his eyes. He was thankful he called Jan. He had to look at what happened as a gift saving himself from himself. He closed his eyes and fell asleep from exhaustion a few minutes later.
• • •
Rachael went back to the classroom after hours to pick up her lesson plan from her desk and found Lt. Mamani sitting in her desk staring at the wall monitor. Rachael smiled, “You’re up late, Lieutenant.”
Rachael’s voice startled Mamani and she jumped straight up in her desk, “Oh! Sorry, you startled me.”
“What are you doing?” Rachael asked.
“I’ve been thinking about what you told us the first day of class and I’ve been thinking about everything we’re going to have to do to carry out our duties.”
Rachael went to her desk, took the lesson plan out of the top-drawer, and asked, “What have you decided?”
“Well, deciding on a target is, like you said, the simple part of our job. However, having to keep track of every alien warship rushing in on my ship, as well as keeping track of any missiles fired at my ship, can cause sensory overload. It would be easy to miss something critical.”