Within a minute, they were in space and nearing the practice targets. As soon as they came into sight, the guns on board fired. Gail stopped a second timer and looked at it. She smiled and looked around.
"Helm, bring us about and take a second pass at the targets." Gail pressed her intercom and announced, "That's the best damn time you all ever did. I'm proud. Now take some more shots at the targets before we move to the test area."
***
Five minutes later, her destroyer was fitted into the shell of a Malakin warship. Around her ship, five other warships acted as an escort to make sure that no one accidentally fired on the disguised destroyer.
As soon as the shell was in place, the destroyer moved about with its escort while the crew of the destroyer became accustomed to the extra bulk. They needed to know exactly what it would do to their maneuverability and speed. Each shift in the crew took a turn, practicing for an hour, before they finally activated the device that would strip the shell from the destroyer, permitting them to attack.
The shell parted and drifted clear of the destroyer as its engines powered it away and clear for action. The gunners were ready and fired at more targets. Meanwhile, the escorts kept the area clear and waited for a salvage team to pick up the shell.
"Great work, crew!" Gail said over the intercom. "Helm, take us back and land."
***
The second test failed. So did the third and fourth. The fifth test worked again even as work began on finding the reasons for three failures.
"Admiral, we're fairly certain that the second test should have worked. It appears to be a misunderstanding among the crew about what to do," the engineer said.
Admiral Oden asked, "What about the other two failures?"
The engineer answered, "Number three is our fault. No getting around that. We're still investigating test four. We'll recheck every ship for the problem we caused on test two and make sure that it doesn't put anyone at risk. I hope to have an answer on the other failure by tomorrow, Admiral."
"Tonight, I want it by tonight," Admiral Oden said.
"I'll try, sir," the engineer replied.
"No, you will succeed. I'll visit you tonight and look over your results," Admiral Oden stated simply and flatly.
***
The engineer said to his gathered team, "We've got to have the solutions by tonight, everyone. No one leaves when quitting time comes. You all know your assignments. Let's get to them!"
"That was old Rust Bucket, himself, talking to you, wasn't it, Butch?"
"Yes," the engineer replied.
"Hell, I thought he was a lot older. He didn't look over fifty."
"He isn't, Anson. I think that he's only about forty-five," Butch replied.
"Shit! He's awfully young then to be an admiral."
"He's not just an admiral, he's a Rear Admiral. I wouldn't doubt for a moment that he'll make Fleet Admiral before another year is out," Butch said.
"Well, I know he was the hero of the Ape-oids' War, but Rear Admiral by forty-five? He must be damn good," Anson said.
"He is and I'm just glad that he's on our side," Butch said. "Let me have that plan for test four. We must be overlooking something."
***
"We found the problem, Admiral Oden. You were right. We could find it by tonight," Butch said.
"Good work, Butch. How long before the problem is fixed?" Admiral Oden asked.
"How long will you give us? We'll try to have it fixed on all the ships by then."
"Two days and nights. Make that deadline and I'll be satisfied. Then I want another test sequence. Same conditions as before," Admiral Oden said.
"Right, Admiral. We'll get started, though some of the crew are already working on the problem," Butch replied.
"Excellent to hear that. We depend heavily on your people and the shipyards. Your efforts are truly appreciated whether you know it or not. I'll see you at the tests," Admiral Oden said.
***
The second set of tests went off the way that Dave wanted to see them go. The smile and warm handshake that he gave Butch and his crew made a lasting impression on them. Before he left, he took them to meet with a few veterans who were grateful for the chance to meet with some of the men and women whose work had saved their lives before in combat. There was little doubt about what Butch and his crew talked about later. It was the sincere compliments and heartfelt thanks from the veterans over having well-built warships that kept them alive during crucial moments.
***
Another test area was set up and kept clear. After what seemed like hours of waiting, a Malakin ship was remotely piloted into the area and steered among some targets. It exploded with a force that ripped it apart and tossed chunks of it outward in every direction, mangling many of the targets.
Admiral Oden nodded to Admiral Wund upon viewing the results.
"That should help even the odds," Benz remarked.
"Yes, but the Trojan ships might have to go in first. I don't want the enemy shooting at the Bomb ships and triggering them too soon."
"Then the Bomb ships will have to be almost on the tails of the Trojans," said Benz.
"Probably so. The crews will have to know that so they can slam their ships through quickly and get out of the danger zone," Dave said. "That will put some of our fleet on both sides of the enemy. Our destroyers will be at the enemy's rear where they should have a field day."
"What about the ships we use for transporting the marines?" asked Nicky.
"They'll be right in front of the Trojans and running for the surface while the destroyers keep the Malakins from pursuing," Dave answered.
***
The first of the newly-designed warships arrived with new crews trained to use them. Dave boarded one of each new model and looked around.
The new fighter-destroyer with its single-fighter bay would have an advantage that the old destroyers never had. Dave looked at the ship, comparing it with the dreadnaught Rust Bucket he commanded in the second half of the Ape-oids' War. Like it, these new ships had indicators to let the captain of the ship know almost instantly the status and integrity of every gun station and section of the ship.
Aboard a fighter-cruiser, Dave looked at the fighter bay that would house an entire wing of fighters. This was raw firepower and versatility that he wished he had during that other war. Dave went through the entire ship, doing as he always did with any ship he inspected. He crawled into places where someone might not have thought to check or clean. He came out of one cranny with dust on his hands. He looked at his hands and frowned. Dave remarked, "You've got enough dust in there to farm with."
The captain looked with alarm at Dave's hands. "Sir, I'll get you something to clean your hands with."
"It's a ranch," one crewman muttered to someone else, unaware that Admiral Oden's sense of hearing was quite acute.
"Ranch?" exclaimed the admiral somewhat indignantly with a puzzled look on his face as he turned and focused his gaze on the individual who spoke.
"I'm sorry, sir. Didn't mean for it to sound that way," the crewman said.
"I'm curious, Specialist. Why did you call it a ranch?" Dave asked.
"My mother always called them dust bunny breeding ranches," the crewman explained.
Dave laughed momentarily. "Okay, then. Now I understand. Be sure that someone gets to that ranch before you get into combat. You don't want dust bunnies getting into your electronics and breeding havoc at the wrong time."
"I'll take care of the bunnies myself, sir," the crewman said.
Dave nodded acknowledgement as he accepted cleansing tissues and removed the dust bunny remains from his hands.
On his way out, Dave laughed again as he thanked the captain for permitting him aboard her ship. "I thought I'd heard just about everything, but I was definitely wrong today. I'm going to remember this one and tell it to my friends. They'll get a kick out of it like I did. First time I ever inspected a ranch, a dust bunny breeding ranch at that."
<
br /> The captain smiled weakly. She was grateful that the admiral wasn't too upset with her ship and embarrassed that she'd missed anything.
"By the way, you've got a good crew. I can see that they're already building up a good attitude and personality. You can be proud of them. I wish you luck and success, Captain Blith."
"Thank you, sir. Has the Navy decided what they're naming these new ships after?" she asked.
"Birds of prey, I believe. Or would you rather be called the Dust Bunny Breeding Ranch?" Dave replied with a grin. "Maybe that's too long. You could just call her the Dust Bunny."
"We'll wait for our name, sir, if it's all the same," she replied.
"Sorry, I just couldn't resist teasing a bit. My own first ship was called the Rust Bucket, even though it had another name."
Captain Blith said, "Oh? I thought the Rust Bucket was your first ship."
"No, it was actually named the Thurman, but she had a coat of rust on her hull that made her look ineffective and almost decrepit. We called her the Rust Bucket because of that. Then the company I worked for, before I entered the Navy, commissioned a new ship that they actually named the Rust Bucket. Plus there was some deliberate deception going on in the second half of the Ape-oids' War with a number of ships mis-identifying themselves as the Rust Bucket to throw the enemy off guard," Dave explained.
"Oh? I guess the media never got that clear."
"No, they didn't and we didn't take the time to correct them in case we wanted to try the same trick again. Mind you, your crew might just take to calling your ship the Dust Bunny, but it's usually a sign of faith and affection, kind of a bonding that makes the crew stronger, so I wouldn't take offense if they do. Even I called the Thurman a Rust Bucket until the day I left her."
"I'll remember that, sir. Maybe you are right. Maybe we should call ourselves, unofficially, the Dust Bunny. It has, uh, personality to it," she said unconvincingly.
Chapter 10
Another month passed as more new ships joined the fleet. Reassignments were made to place experienced officers on board them while other less experienced officers got their first command, even though it was usually on the older ships. With each passing day, another ship or two joined the fleet as the buildup continued. Slowly, at first, the fleet rebuilt to it pre-Malakin War strength. Then it began exceeding it as new squadrons were formed. Some of the new warships were assigned to the old squadrons to give them all built-in fighter strength. The carriers themselves were reassigned again so that each squadron would have at least one.
More temporary officers arrived and went through their paces as they were sized up and assigned to ships where experienced officers acted as mentors to them. Enlisted personnel arrived as well to fill positions on some of the ships that were undermanned.
More of the wrecked Malakin warships were repaired enough so that they could make the trip and make the invasion more successful as decoys, transports, Trojan ships, or bomb ships.
Still more squadrons arrived at Beulah as the invasion force readied itself for action. Meanwhile, the asteroids being thrown at the Malakin home worlds were beginning to bear results. Sensors reported on each hit. The accuracy went up as more asteroids were sent at the Malakins, giving the launching crews more experience.
A second phase began as marine gunners, already experienced in remotely piloting outrigger drones, were trained in remotely piloting the bomb ships. Some even practiced at landing them by remote control. Those would become the very first ships to be slipped in, but not to the Malakin home worlds. Those would be sent to any discovered hidden bases in an attempt to take out as many Malakin warships as possible while they were on the ground and helpless.
More academy graduates, having had their training accelerated, reported in for duty. The task force slowly began to reach critical mass.
***
Captain Diane Blith ran through the passageways to arrive where one of her sergeants was keeping two men away from each other. A woman stood off to one side. All three were naked. Blith asked, "What's the problem, Sergeant?"
"These two men couldn't agree on making it a threesome like the young woman wanted it to be. They got to scuffling and I broke it up, Captain," he answered.
"Are all three of you off duty?" Captain Blith asked as she sternly eyed the two men and one woman.
Each nodded.
"Well, that's good to know. Now you all better know this. I'm not putting up with any fighting on board this ship unless it's directed against the enemy. Looking at you, I can see that none of you appear injured, so I'm going to go lightly on you for now. Next time will be different. Next time you're going to think I'm a real bitch. Next time, I'll find so many dirty jobs for you three to pull that you'll be too tired to fight when you're off duty, much less enjoy any passion. Now do the three of you get my drift or not?" she said with a hard stare at each of them.
Each answered that he or she understood.
"Fine, now all three of you keep away from each other for the rest of the day. I don't want any of you rekindling this argument." Captain Blith watched the three go different ways as they left. "Sergeant, keep an eye on them today. Let me know if any of them fail my orders."
"Yes ma'am," he replied.
Captain Blith returned to her quarters and looked over the dispatches, one of which informed her of her ship's new name. Her cruiser was now the Northern Hawk. It was a serious improvement over Dust Bunny which had caused her some embarrassment. After all, she had conducted a pre-inspection herself, yet somehow managed to miss that one spot that the admiral hadn't missed. However, most of the crew were informally using Dust Bunny as their ship's name, probably because Dust Bunny Breeding Ranch was a bit long and awkward to say as the admiral had suggested. Diane began to realize that her crew needed something to ease the constant training, other than informal sex in the unused passageways to pass the time. They needed to win something they wanted.
With all those thoughts in mind, she realized that she might have been too hard on the crew in drilling them. She walked out of her quarters and onto the bridge. After reaching down for the communications headset, she placed a call to headquarters and then waited to see if she would be put through.
"Admiral Oden speaking."
She was momentarily startled to reach him directly and so easily. "This is Captain Blith. I have a request to make, sir."
"Captain Blith? Uh, what kind of request?"
"Sir, I'd like permission to have my ship named Dust Bunny instead of Northern Hawk. It appears that you were right about the crew and others picking up on the name. They use it all the time now," Gail explained.
"Ah! Yes, I remember you quite well now, Captain Blith. You sound like you have some problems."
"Nothing out of the ordinary. I just think that it might be a morale booster if the ship had that name instead. Or at least a challenge for the crew to live up to. I hope that you can help make that possible."
"Seeing as I'm probably responsible for some of your problems, I'll get back with you later and let you know the result of your request. First I have to track down the naming committee. All right?" Admiral Oden replied
"Yes, thank you, Admiral Oden."
Diane was glad that she didn't request Dust Bunny Breeding Ranch or Bunny Hutch. It was going to be somewhat difficult and embarrassing for her to explain the official origin of the name to some of her peers, not that many on Beulah hadn't heard of the informal title already. The story had made the sweep of the base quickly on the day it happened. It was too cute to stop. Not many military personnel hadn't heard of the incident already. Now she was determined not to fight it anymore and to accept it gracefully while making it into a respected and dignified name, such as Rust Bucket became. No one called his or her ship a Rust Bucket any longer as a slur. Anymore, for a ship to be compared to or called a Rust Bucket was a compliment of the highest order. She hoped this would give her crew a similar challenge to live up to.
***
"Captai
n to the communications section!" came over the intercom.
Diane hurried onto the bridge from the shower. She dripped soapy water as she tried not to slip or fall. "Have someone take care of that water I trailed," she said as she took the communications headset. "Captain Blith speaking."
"Captain Blith, Admiral Oden here. Your request is approved. I hope you know what you're in for."
"I think I do. Thank you for all you've done, sir."
Captain Diane Blith looked at the time. Then she walked to the dining room where close to a quarter of the crew or more would be. She was still covered in soap suds over a goodly part of her body and still leaving a trail that one of her crew was cleaning up. She entered the dining room where her strange appearance caused almost everyone to quickly hush in expectation of what she had to say. "I have just been informed that our cruiser is officially renamed the Dust Bunny as of now. So many of you have called this cruiser by that name, I went ahead and honored your decision and requested the name. Now we all have to live up to our standards and make Dust Bunny a name that everyone respects for her accomplishments. Thank you for your attention, go on back to your meals."
Diane walked back out of the dining room, then back to the shower room where she entered with a man just about to get his own shower and shut the hatch closed. She paid him no attention since the two of them had seen each other many times before as both went about their duties while nude.
***
The following morning, Dust Bunny was stenciled on the nose of the warship. Before noon, all five fighters inside the cruiser's fighter hangar had been given names to show their heritage. They were named Vampyre Bunny, Chargin' Rabbit, Easter Bunny, Desperado Rabbit, and Sabertooth Bunny by fighter crews with a flair for inventiveness and drawing. Vampyre Bunny had fangs and a cape. Between its fangs was an image of a Malakin warship. Sabertooth Bunny also had fangs and claws while appearing to be growling. Chargin' Rabbit clutched a sword and appeared to be running on its hind legs. Desperado Rabbit held and fired a Mark VI charged-particle gun in its paws. Easter Bunny carried a basket full of old style bombs and was pictured tossing them about.
Dust Bunny (Rust Bucket Universe) Page 14