The Hawks began returning, reporting nothing but empty space, lots and lots of empty space. Unfortunately for them, Captain Speer had developed a tempo of operations that would exhaust those crews within two weeks. Captain Speer didn’t ask for input, and didn’t get it.
On the other hand, he used the Dresdens more like fixed emplacements than the extremely fast destroyers they actually were. He knew, or should have known, that they were stealthy and fast, and they had bunks.
Two Hawks were sent forward to pinpoint the location of the flotilla. They returned four days later. They’d found it and placed four of the long endurance and highly stealthy drones in close proximity to the bug formation. As long as the bugs didn’t decide to accelerate, the drones would be OK.
I knew that Admiral Lee would have shit a brick if he knew how close to the bug fleet the Hawks had had to get to emplace those incredibly expensive drones. The possibility for their discovery, and a large transfer of technology was very real.
I tasked my exec with doing some research on the solar systems that lay approximately in its course. The report took approximately fifteen minutes of research, and yielded the chilling fact that the solar system that lay closest to the bug course was nearly perfectly suited to their needs. Chief Kana said, “Sir, with all respect to your highly developed paranoia, the possibility that these beings know this and headed straight for it are slim. Sir.”
Elian asked him, “Is it not true that the fact that we know about this system indicates humanity possesses the ability to glean stellar information utilizing highly sophisticated instruments? And, is it not also possible that while our new friends have been dogging along they have been taking a gander at yonder suns with their very own sensors?”
Master Chief Kana grinned and I grinned back. At the time, we were alone, and relaxed. The chief was careful to demonstrate perfect respect when he was in the presence of others. I said, “Yeah, but here’s the question I try to ask when I can come down with a severe case of dead: to wit, what is the down side of planning for the worst on the basis that the bugs do in fact know about that misbegotten solar system?”
For perhaps the first time that I could remember, the chief was brought up short. He said, “Sir, I have to agree with you. I don’t want to agree with you, but I do.” I said, “Now is the time to find out what the Captain is made of.”
I commed Captain Speer, and after going through two layers of interference, I came face to face with my captain for the first time. Electronically face-to-face that is.
Captain Speer asked, brusquely, “Well lieutenant, what can I do for you?” I said, “Sir according to my understanding of the orders given to this task force, if the bug flotilla deviates from its course and heads toward a solar system, we are to act. At my orders, my exec did some research on the solar systems that lay along the bug course. The solar system closest to their course is G59216. That system fits the bug needs to a T, sir.”
Captain Speer looked at me for several seconds without replying. He said, “And, lieutenant, what do you think that signifies?” I said, “Sir, I know of no possible way that they could have known about the characteristics of this solar system unless they have been utilizing long range scanners, which scanners would be relatively useless at the half C they typically travel, but which would work perfectly well at the reduced velocity they have been at for the last year, approximately. If the bugs are looking to colonize a system, they could hardly find one more suited to their needs. At their present rate of progress, it would take approximately six months before they would be close enough to that system to send scouts. One method of confirming that they are looking to colonize would be to seed that system with a drone, or drones, sir.”
Captain Speer said, “Lieutenant, are you going to continue to have these, um, bursts of inspiration?” I was actually brought up short, but said, “As you wish, sir. I believe in preparing for success and preventing disaster. If I have over stepped my bounds sir, I apologize.”
Captain Speer said, carelessly, “Lieutenant, you were not my choice for this mission. Nevertheless, you are here and I have to put up with you. I believe that your apparent successes to date are the result of good fortune more than any other factor. Additionally, you have also been, um, known to play hard and fast with regulations. Don’t count on that luck continuing. I am watching you.”
I hesitated for just a moment, then said, “Sir, the fact that my ship and my crew are still alive is the result of careful preparation and hard work. I will continue to work hard to change your negative attitudes concerning me, sir.”
I made my pitch in the belief that it would tell me more about the captain than the captain could learn about me. I waited calmly. My career was important to me, but not so important that I would be forced to turn into a seeker of favor instead of a warrior.
Captain Speer said, “Lieutenant, I expect you to work hard for me. That’s a given, rather than something special, an extra. In future, I will communicate my orders to you through the normal channels and you will carry out my orders precisely. Do you need anything else from me?”
I said, “No sir.” The screen blanked a second later.
I immediately commed Elian and passed on the bad news. We had an unprepared captain who would not ask for help, or even accept help.
Over the next week, the consequences to the Hawk crews of the tempo of operations began to become evident to both Elian and I. I knew that even if Captain Speer was aware of the toll his schedule was taking on his Hawk crews, I wasn’t so sure that he would do anything to ameliorate it.
I commed Elian and said, “OK Alien, we need to plan for the collapse of our Hawk crews, followed closely behind by the Hawks themselves. What will that do to our ability to track the bugs?” Elian grimaced and said, “The better question is, ‘what will the bugs be able to do to us?” I was silent for nearly ten seconds, then asked, “Is your insurance policy paid up?”
The drones that fleet had provided to our task force were carried, for the most part, on board the FFC, but were not being used, save for those four, which were now nearing the end of their endurance. I knew from experience that the drones were invaluable and could give us up to an hour’s worth of precious time to prepare for an attack. Elian asked, ‘All right, first question. First practical question that is: how do we learn if or when the bugs ascertain our current and very fixed location?” I said, “Easy: we die. However, I’m guessing that you are looking for something a little less traumatic to your wife.”
I thought for a few seconds then continued, “I would look for changes in their operational tempo or procedures. Docking of a lot of destroyers, cruisers and those battle cruisers could be evidence of preparations for war. Any change in their scouting patterns. For example, I would look for destroyers to be seen in close proximity to a clot of fighters. Those things could indicate that an attack is imminent.
Elian asked, “If memory serves me, and it usually does, isn’t it true that we take it in the keister every time we get attacked?” I said, “Not merely the keister, my intelligent yet homely sidekick.” Elian said, “It might be possible for us to open up a line of communication with the Hawkies, perhaps through our wily Master Chief.”
I grinned and said, “I believe that Chief Kana has a need to take our shuttle over yonder. It seems to be in need of something or other. I believe that Chief Kana will know precisely what that problem is. Problems, I mean.”
I passed the word for the chief to come up to my cabin. Five minutes later he knocked and entered.
I explained the situation, not sugar coating it. The chief looked down at the deck while I talked. When I finished he said, “Sir, I hate this chicken shit branch of the Fleet we seem to have woken up with. Why the fuck should we have to sneak around like this?”
I said, “Chief, Captain Speer seems to hate my guts and my hands are tied up so tight I can’t feel them. We have to know if that huge bug hammer is poised to come crashing down on our heads. We have to hav
e a way of knowing if they are preparing for an attack. Bug fighters attaching themselves to destroyers are one ominous signal that we have a stinking pile of hurt in our immediate future. Unfortunately, as I am an untouchable I don’t have any direct way of learning anything. You can slide around and talk to those brothers and sisters of yours, exchange those secret hand shakes and such.”
Chief Kana came to his feet and looked directly at me, “Sir, if I haven’t said this before, I want you to know that it has been a pleasure serving with you. I’m coming to see that you have the makings of a seriously devious mind, which trait I happen to value.”
He came fully erect and tossed off a perfect salute. I smiled and said, “Chief, we’re going to hold each others’ grand children in our arms. I promise you. However, on the off chance that we die, I give you permission to kick the shit out of me for dragging you way out here.”
Chief Kana said, “Thanks sir. I don’t think that I’ll have to take you up on that offer, but I promise you that I’ll remember it. I surely will, sir.”
I said, “Crap, you probably will.”
Thirty minutes later the shuttle cycled out of the tiny hold of the Grant and moved over to the carrier. The shuttle received some urgent and much needed work to its power systems, and left four hours later for the return trip.
After the shuttle docked, the chief came directly to my cabin and knocked. He waited for permission to enter and stepped through the hatch.
I was in my sack, reading some intelligence that Captain Speer had passed around to his ships. It was full of facts but very little useful information. I was genuinely frightened by what I was seeing, which was the nearly total lack of wartime leadership.
I waved to the chief to sit and waited. Chief Kana said, “Sir, as you suspected, the Hawk crews are wearing down. We’ve been here for thirty days and they haven’t had one entire twenty-four hour period off in that time. We’re starting to see little mistakes and errors, and Captain Speer has come down on them. He blames them. This is bad, sir. The Hawks are going to begin to suffer malfunctions, either real or imagined, just so the crews can get some sack time.”
I asked, “Is there any way we can get access to the Hawks’ data downloads?” Chief Kana said, “No sir, I don’t see any possible way for us to get that without tipping our hand and getting us in very deep and very smelly trouble. However, I’ve set up an informal communication loop. Nearly all the Hawk crews have served under you at one time or another, and they are going to look very carefully for anything out of the ordinary. They will report that information up the chain in the usual fashion, and they will shout if they see any of those signs. But they will also casually pass it along through a channel I would rather you don’t know anything about sir, and we’ll get it just about as fast as their own intelligence officers, if that is a term one can use to describe a team of men and women with their heads up their own offal distribution outlets. Sir.”
I said, “Thank you chief. I hope this will come to nothing, but....” The chief nodded and asked, “Anything else, sir?” I shook my head and the chief rose to his feet and left, closing the hatch behind him.
I immediately commed Elian and brought him up to date. We briefly discussed tactics and decided to work on carrier defense procedures the next day.
Two days later two relatively new Abernathy class destroyers hailed the flotilla and slowly approached its position. Both the Grant and Lee ran tracking and targeting exercises simulating the approaching destroyers as bugs. Elian’s crew got the first sniff of the destroyers at a distance of four hundred thousand kilometers, despite their snail-like progress. Their approach vector brought them in at an angle of approach that would have passed them near the bug fleet and given the bugs several hours to detect and locate the destroyers. They were unaccompanied by the promised-FFC.
Two hours after their arrival I was commed and ordered to shuttle over to the Brezhnev. As I stepped down onto the flight deck of the carrier I saw the much-anticipated Kestrel. It was now pitch black. I noted several changes to its exterior, including a large number of antennas. Its internal weapons bays were open and a missile crew was loading missiles.
I didn’t have time to gawk – Captain Speer was a stickler for details, to the detriment of pretty much everything else.
I reported to the admiral’s suite of offices and was told to sit and wait. Not very nicely. I waited as ordered and after a thirty minute delay was admitted to the captain’s day cabin.
I saluted and held it until an irritated Captain Speer returned it. The captain said, “Lieutenant we have just taken delivery of a prototype fighter, called the Kestrel. What do you know, if anything, about this craft?” I said, “Sir, I spent a week at the factory, just before we departed earth space. I’m quite familiar with it.”
Captain Speer said, “Well, that explains a lot. It seems that Admiral Lee sent the one and only prototype out to our task force with the intention of field-testing it, a highly unusual procedure. He has ordered that you take it aboard your destroyer. I’ve looked carefully at the orders, and it seems that for whatever reason, the admiral’s intent was that you perform the workups on it. He says that he wants you to ‘wring it out’, to use his colorful language.” I tensed at this sideways criticism of the admiral. The Captain continued, “You will have to leave your shuttle here for the duration of these unspecified tests. Do you have the certifications to pilot it?”
I almost lost my poker face at this last question, but managed, barely to hold back. I said, “Yes sir.” The captain waved his hand in dismissal and that was that.
I walked back down to the flight deck and approached the Kestrel. It was now fully loaded with twenty-four internal missiles. I palmed the small hatch open and wriggled up into the flight deck. It was a two man ship but the flight deck was actually larger than that found on the Hawk. I pulled down on a flexible strap and a narrow bunk folded out from the bulkhead. I grinned, thinking about all those seemingly endless hours spent on the pilot’s couch.
I heard a noise and another pilot squeezed up into the ship. He grinned at me and held out his hand. We shook and introduced ourselves. Lieutenant commander Khalil said, “Lieutenant Padilla? I have a large download for you. It’s from Admiral Lee, although there are a number of personal messages as well. Admiral Lee came out personally to see this craft and seemed to really like it. He told me to tell you, and this is a quote, “If you break this pretty new toy, I’m going to dock your salary for the next ten years, and I’ll tell, um Nastya. I don’t know who Admiral Nastya is, sir, but I suggest that you don’t screw the pooch on this particular assignment.”
I grinned delightedly and said, “Thank you sir, I’ll try and return it.” I grinned at my wit and he smiled, although he may not have thought it was terribly humorous.
The pilot sat down at the other station and walked me through the very familiar systems. Some of the electronics were far better than those found on the Hawk, but for the most part the Kestrel was a very rugged and fairly simple craft. Not simple as in low tech, but simple as in what appeared to be a brilliant design that was stealthy, extremely fast, and very rugged. It held twenty-four missiles internally, and up to eight externally.
After an hour of familiarization the shuttle pilot shook my hand and exited through the tiny hatch. I asked for and received permission to power up the Kestrel, and fifteen minutes later I was being ejected from the carrier.
After getting pushed away from the Brezhnev I slowly added in power to my propulsion plant and the Kestrel began moving on its own. I badly wanted to play with it, but first I wanted to go over it with a fine-tooth comb.
I docked the ship in the relatively tiny shuttle bay. Shuttles were designed to carry as many as twenty passengers, and could be easily reconfigured to carry cargo, as long as it fit inside their small fuselage. The Kestrel was just about as long as a shuttle, but fatter, with stubby winglets. It had been designed from the outset to fit the dimensions of a destroyer bay, and it did
, just.
Elian shuttled over from the Grant to have a look. His pilot docked it to the side of the Lee and we put out a flexible tunnel so that the crew could pass between the shuttle and the destroyer without having to don suits. Too bad we couldn’t do the same thing with the Hawks. They were generations too old to possess such a feature.
We met in the shuttle bay and walked around, looking carefully for anything that resembled a future problem. We were happily surprised to find almost nothing to complain about.
We climbed up into the cabin and spent several hours going through the flight deck consoles, with the chief and some of his crew snooping around as well. They brought up the relevant flight and maintenance manuals on the console and studied them in order to familiarize themselves with its operation and maintenance.
Every few minutes someone would find something interesting and we would gather to discuss it. In every case, the ‘something’ was good. This was a beautiful craft.
Hawk Seven (Flight of the Hawk) Page 66