Trampship Wars 2

by L. D. Roberts

  Edwards took a deep breath before continuing as the Supreme Admiral stared at him. “We don’t need a lot of th e e 6 , 48inch gunned short battleships though we should finish the 16 on the ways since they can be finished within a year as the short battleships I have suggested. But a hell of a lot of very fast heavy cruisers , each with a couple of the battlecruiser’s 48 inch guns that we can use for patrols as well as spread in pockets across the state that can, when massed, run down and take out the few Pirate Battleships that pop up when needed according to the Captain.”

  Taking a breath as the Supreme Admiral’s face turned sour. “Let me take those sets of long leads items for the BC's. The engines and 48inch guns and such in storage around the station and at the factories across the State ’s planets and build a Pocket Battle cruiser shi p with them or basically a Heavy Cruiser with a pair of battleship guns and engines. Using those 50 Heavy Cruiser hulls sitting abandoned on the ways at the Asteroid Belt yard station that you have been arguing with the parliament over whether to scrap or finish for the last year. ”

  Taking a breath and expecting the Admiral to butt in then quickly continuing before he did. “ I can reopen the line as a fast Pocket Battle cruiser ship line. The 1,000 foot long horizontal armored hull that is 100 foot wide by 50 feet tall , has the strength for two of the 48inch main guns to be fixed to the sides of the hull in addition to say half of the 8 inch gun turrets they already have and two B.C. engines for each ship replacing each ship’s the 4 heavy cruiser engines, which will make them faster than even the fast pirate scouts. Though still a little slower than the li ttle ght high speed curriers of the Pirates we have just been made aware of , that they are using to communicate to mass ships and squadrons from long distance onto targets. Which though the Cap tain Summers tain already knew about , I might add .”

  The Admiral looked at Edwards a bit skeptical. “Pocket Battlecruiser ?”

  “You know I was a ships design engineer before the war and I became a Flag Officer Admiral. ” The Rear Admiral smiled. “ I already have the plans completely drawn up for the conversion and can have the first dozen built from the parts in storage in 4 to 6 months with the rest of the 50 hulls launched within a year. Then as we ramp up new hull production , it is simply waiting for the guns and engines from the factories for more Fast Pocket Battle cruiser ships Admiral.”

  Taking another breath trying to control himself from showing any excitement. “Fact is sir I think that the Fast Pocket Battle cruiser ship maybe a better ship for what we need than the big Battle Cruisers even when you get turrets perfected for them. We should be able to produce hundreds of fast Pocket Battle criuisers ships a year at a fraction of the cost of 12 of the big B.C.'s even if we could manage to produce one a month.” Edwards leaned forward in his excitement. “The Pocket Battle Cruisers Captain Summers says are the right size with the right weapons with the right speed we need to reinforce our forces when they get ambushed and help win this war win this Pirate war ." Taking a breath. “That is with the help of the Armed Tramp Program Admiral as well as a new fast light cruiser for general patrols.”

  The Supreme Admiral's eyes grew big with interest. "A Fast Pocket Battle cruiser ship . Which would give us the number of hulls we need so desperately with what I fear has happened to our mothball fleet on the 3rd moon is a reality. At least we will have something. So add that to your list . T t hough I have already restarted the Heavy Cruiser production line but your , “ Fast Pocket Battle cruiser ship conversion now has priority. ” Taking another candy. “ But that brings up the need for something to replace the Light Heavy Cruisers that are needed just as badly for patrol work to replace the destroyers and frigates that normally do the patrols that we now know are suicide missions . You did say a new light fast cruiser didn’t you? U nless we can g ive the surviving de stroyers the legs to go with their speed to out run the ambushes . Though no matter what we do in that department , we are looking at a year to start a new production line and is no help to us now. ”

  The S upreme Admiral tossed another flattened round chocolate candy in his mouth. “ Ok then. We just need more hulls that aren’t worthless destroyers or the conventional light cruiser that has no teeth s . How about restarting the light Cruiser line with fewer but heavier weapons that can take on the average pirate ship while leaving enough room for the marines the Captain insists they need t o hat make them worth the cost. Not to mention bigger engines so they can run if they are ambushed. I hate the thought of making running from battle navy policy but like the Captain says, most of our casualties against the P irates are from ambushes we cannot hope to win or they would not bother to ambush the ships.”

  Catching another little flattened round candy in his mouth after tossing it high into the air. “You can use two of the Heavy cruiser engines replacing on t t he light cruiser ’ s 4 smaller engines since the y are being replaced since and I managed to keep the production line hot hoping to restart the Heavy Cruiser line again. T t hen see what guns you can mount on them that will do a decent job on the pirate ships." Thinking for a few seconds. “But then the 6 inch guns most already have is probably large enough since they can run with them equipped with the heavy cruiser’s engines when they get over their heads . That is if we strap include a couple of few bombers that can also support the marines the cruiser’s need. Talking about crowded little ships.

  "Very well Admiral. ” The Rear Admiral sat back and thought for a few seconds . “ It is obvious the 8's would be the best and easiest. The 4, Four, 8 inch turrets would put the original 8, 6 inch turrets to shame. It would also open up space for the marines and even a couple of scout bombers replacing the turrets we take off Hell . Getting rid of half the turrets and their armor and magazines will give us a couple hundred feet of hull and enough extra weight to let us add a nother hundred feet of light weight hull that is little better than cargo holds that would open up space for plenty of marines , their assault equipment and even a hanger for a full section of torpedo bombers . I never liked strapping fighters or scout bombers on the outside of DD’s and Cruisers anyway . "

  Sitting back in his chair again the Rear Admiral smiled. “Yes I like that arrangement very much Admiral. One of the failings I have noticed in battles with the pirates is that most of our hits are wasted on their cargo hol ds far from anything worth damaging except for a few troops they always seem to have plenty of. We might as well as have the same advantage as well. Empty hangers and troop bays can absorb damage as well as c argo holds . Better in fact since we can design them to absorb the damage and reseal the hull automatically . ” Smiling with satisfaction. “ Big powerful engines, a squadron of torpedo bombers and four 8 inch turrets will make our light cruisers damn near unstoppable .

  "Sorry Edwards but your Pocket B.C.'s have priority for the 8 inch turrets. Find something else until we get the 8 inch gun turret production line producing enough which is going to take time. The parliament insisted on closing it down completely. ” Taking a deep breath as his eyes lit up. “Fact is, we may have to get the Russians producing weapons again. The one thing they were great at. Couldn’t build a decent ship to save them selves but their weapons were the best. Though I hate the thought of them producing weapons again but if done right, it could help unify the new provinces into the new English State." The Admiral tossed another candy into his mouth as he thought. “Yes I think I know just the person to send.” Chewing the little candy for a few seconds before swallowing. “What do you think of the Russian 8.2 inch gun for your new Fast Light Cruisers? It was damn devastating during the war and it came in twin gunned turrets your light cruisers should mount 4 of easily with a little reinforcing . G g iving them 8 guns again making them something for the pirates to fear. And we have a couple hundred in storage we took from the Russian factory just to get them out of Russian hands. That should give you something to work with until we can get Russian production going again.”

  "Very well. Ah, what about the Tramp Ship program Admiral?"

&n
bsp; "What? Oh yes." The Admiral smiled as he bent forward taking another hand full of candies knowing he was going to have to put in a lot more time in the Gym that night working all the calories off. But the little candies seemed to help him think. "Looks like you are going to be a busy Admiral, Edwards. Now get down to the hospital and get that boy to the warehouse to pick out a few weapons started while Captain Summers is called back in and I will have your orders cut as well as another Star. You're going to need the added weight. Congratulations Vice Admiral Edwards. Damn, I am going to hate breaking in a new aid.”

  Letting a candy melt in his mouth for a few seconds. “I want you to start at Deep Space 9 and the new Fast Pocket Battleship line as you make the rounds of the construction basses around the State. You can also hit the Delta Asteroid light cruiser construction yard station that still ha s a bunch of hulls the last time I looked, before heading to Mercury and the Battleship yards. I want the The heavy and light cruiser lines kicking should be able to ge t the first ships out of the graving docks in a month. See to it. I expect daily progress reports. Keep them simple one paragraph. Just so I know what to expect and what buttons I need to push on this end. You just get me as many new ships as fast as you can to replace what we have lost and was evidentially scrapped on the damn 3rd moon. Hopfully the 3rd moon can provide enough hulls to tide us over until you come through."

  Tapping his screen , the Supreme Admiral almost grawled growled as he frowned studying what the screen showed. “Looks like I am going to have to go out to the 3rd moon myself and knock some heads together and get us the surviving ships reactivated. I am going to enjoy sending that asshole to Hells Gate if I can’t arrest him because of his damn connections with the Prime Minister. See how much damage he can do trying to survive at the research station on the surface of a Black Dwarf surrounded by molten metal with gravity at a hundred times normal. Let him sabotage something there and get his ass killed.” Chuckling as he shook his head. “ It would be my luck he would figure out how to mine the molten metal from the dwarf and become more untouchable. At least that would be beneficial to England. ” Smiling the Supreme Adm iral chuckled. “It would make scr apping the rest of the fleet , cost more than the metals were worth making the stockpile they have built up worthless .”

  Looking up at the new Vice Admiral , the Supreme Adm i ral of England frowned. “You know that I took a huge risk sending the Home Fleet across the void tryin g to save the French home system and State. We have about a month before the local pirates find out that we are defenseless in our home system with not nearly enough ships across England’s original Systems to protect them . As soon as they figure that out all hell is going to cut loose . But that is not your worry Edwards. You just get those production lines going with the ships we need to put an end to this damn pirate menace once and for all. You let me worry about keeping the Pirates at bay until then. ”

  Tapping his desk’s screen , the main screen alongside his desk came to life showing the mothballed ships in the crater of the third moon’s reserve base from orbit . The Admiral started stud ying the ships lined up for miles across the crater. “ We can’t count on the home fleet making it back here by then . Nor can we strip enough ships from our new Russian provinces to make a differ ence without creating even more problems . Even worse , your report shows that we can only count on a dozen cruisers and battleships being react ivated from the 3 rd moon ’s airdocks by then. Which is shocking . ” Shaking his head as he started turning red . “ I was expecting to be able to take my pick of hundreds of main line ships . But now, i nstead of battleships and carriers , I am looking at mostly destroyer hulls with all the damn battleships and carriers little better than skeletons . Which is why I am not concerned about new DD construction . It looks like I should be able to get se veral hundred s destroyers operational in a month or two . ”

  Taking another candy the Supreme Admiral looked at his new Vice Admiral and smiled. “ It is going to be up to you to get me enough new construction battlecruiser, pocket cruiser and light or aaa fast cruiser s , into operation to stop the pirates before I lose all the destroyers in holding patrols , in time to keep us from losing this war .”

  De stroyers were fast but were short ranged needing to fue l from tankers or the battleships and carriers to keep up with the fleet between systems. They could patrol between systems without refueling but if they had to run at high acceleration, they quickly ran out of fuel allowing a pira te squadron made up of armed transports with extra reaction mass, to catch them . While being able to take on most pirates singly , ( if they were not well armed or armored ) , they were quickly out gunned by some pirate ships and against multiple ships . Destroyers were basic bare weapons systems built for speed not duration. Even the crew s accommodations were barely bearable for its crews with weapons and fuel taking precedence making any long cruises torture . Adding fuel or more weapons took even more room and mass from the crew that was already as small as possible, relying mostly on dockside maintenance. Another reason Destroyers were limited in cruising range.

  Shaking his head as he took a deep breath . Then closing his eyes as he sat back in his chair.

  Thinking he was dismissed , the new Vice Admiral got up to leave.

  “Hold on Edwards.” The Admiral sat up putting the wreck back on his screen for a second before the tramp ship Star Queen 52 appeared . “What about this new Engine of this tramp kid that put a junk car into orbit? Is there really something there? How many months before we get it into production if it does work? It s range at high thust would give our destroyers a chance. ”

  The new Vice Admiral smiled at the Supreme Admiral.

  Chapter 10: Toys are us

  113

  Tom and Mark were taken to the base hospital under close guard for a checkup , where after a slow half hour, Admiral Edwards met them dismissing the guard . Sitting in the emergency room Mark looked up as the Vice Admiral walked in. Mark immediately recognized him as the Chief that he had met on the Civilian O o rbital S s tation when his ex-girlfriend Dian and him had gone up to have dinner before the disastrous flight back down to the Spaceport that almost got her killed. “Oh it’s the Chief? No. Now you are a n Vice Admiral? How are things going on the station?”

  “That is Vice Admiral Edwards and I don’t have a clue about the station. We left after you did Ace. Quite a show you put on during re-entry and then just now. I don‘t believe I know of anyone that could have survived either incident let alone both. The bounty just came through on the pirate boats you destroyed as well as the beacon and nerve gas discovery in your hold, but there is a stipulation on the credits. You have to spend them in the Government surplus warehouse. Since you are done here, you can come with me and take a look at our inventory.” The Admiral did not have a clue what weapons a Tramp ship needed to survive so he would let the Captain worry about that when she arrived.

  “Sounds good Admiral sir , but I really don’t need a thousand green uniforms.” The last thing he wanted to do was wonder around a military junk warehouse looking at boots and uniforms and pots and tents and boring. “I need to give the ship a call and report on the destruction of truck number 9. And by the way. Do you think you could find my friend a clean change of clothes? After all you probably have a million in that warehouse you want to take me to.”

  Tom sat on the next bed over in a hospital gown with his soiled tramp cloths in a biohazard bag next to the bed. Raising his arm and wavi ng his hand toward the Admiral. “Something other than green if you don’t mind Admiral.”

  Mark smiled. “And how much bounty are we talking about Credit wise Admiral? . ”

  “That depends Commander on what you decide to buy along with a set of new coveralls for your mechanic. Yes we have a few to pick from. You can even choose your color.” Noticing Marks less than thrilled look, the Admiral smiled. “I have talked to your Captain and she knows about the truck and the bounty. She says your original orders are still in effect.” Shaking his head. “I still don�
��t believe , your ship is classified as a Queen’s Reserve Ship but we can take advantage of that fact giving you a steep discount , so give me a chance. We have more than just a few uniforms and pots and pans. You can come with me now and as soon as the coveralls arrive , your mechanic will rejoin you.”

  Mark fallowed him out to a grav-jeep where he was told to drive as the Admiral climbed in the passenger side. Reaching over and flicking a switch under the middle of the dash.

  Jumping behind the simplified controls , Mark felt right at home after flying the fighter even though its controls looked a lot simpler than the normal Aircar . And then he froze for a few seconds before telling himself that coils where solid state and no spinning parts to fail so he did not have to worry about fans spinning at 30,000 RPM falling apart again. Then sitting there to buy more time he asked the Admiral where to go and was told to just have some fun and get to know it for a few minutes. After the truck falling apart on him, he needed a few minutes to relax and get back in the sky.

  The grav-jeep proved a lot simpler different to drive than his old aircar let alone the airtruck he had just crashed in. Any moron could fly the little je ep though it took Mark a few minutes to get the feel of the little vehicle. the fight er or the fan truck and t T he Admiral spent most of the first half of the flight giving Mark suggestions. Just when Mark was starting to have fun and relax , the Admiral told him to land in front of a huge miles long warehouse that looked much too long with Mark fantasizing about rows of billions of uniforms and pots and pans and tents. The last thing he wanted to do was waste his time in there. But Mark landed anyway following orders hoping he could tak e a quick look in what was probably a gloomy old hanger with dusty shelves as far as his eyes could see and get the hell out . Figuring he would grab a clean coverall for Tom and get the hell out of there and back to the Star Queen so he could get to work putting together and organi zing his new bomber squadron and forget about trying to buy a bunch of stupid trade goods . Upon landing the Admiral showed him the auto pilot switch telling him that it would normally start in auto pilot so a child could fly it but that he at least was not too bad at driving it on manual. Then got out of the grav-jeep.