by Chris Hechtl
“And the others?”
“Apparently Admiral Creator of Things has already met with Vestri. They are getting along well, or so I've been told. The rest are still being cleared by medical and looking at their new commands.”
“Ah.”
“It will be interesting,” Admiral Irons sighed. “Anyone I don't have a place for I'll sic on one of the neighboring sectors or the academy. So, how are the kids?” he asked, changing the subject.
Jeff blinked and then snorted. “Well, if you must know, the girls are starting to take an interest in boys, and well …”
The admiral smiled in sympathy. “Yeah, daddy issues,” he said.
“Overprotective daddy issues apparently,” Jeff drawled. “I've already gotten the lectures and the testy 'daaadddyyy' complaints when I ask minor questions like who he is, where they are going and stuff like that.” He snorted in amusement. “I'm almost tempted to sic planet security on each of these boys just to put the fear of me in them.”
“Ah the joys of parenting,” the admiral said with a broad smile as he sat back and relaxed. “And how are you dealing with it?”
“One day at a time. I haven't wrung any necks yet,” Jeff mock growled. That earned a chuckle from his guest. He finally started to relax and settle down as they continued to chat.
:::{)(}:::
When Admiral Irons returned to the growing Executive Capital Station, he found there was news. The Neochimp Communications Secretary Iab reported fresh news from the ansible. Another division of heavy cruisers and a division of battle cruisers from Bek had arrived in B-102c while the admiral had been shuttling up from the planet. Also, the first two HCs that had been sent had survived their trip through the rapids. They had sustained minor damage, so the crews were working on that and the yard would finish the job once they were in Pyrax.
The four ships carried news from Bek. The ansible transport had yet to arrive, but that was expected. They had sighted her trail along the way to the star system though. Apparently, the shipyards were throwing everything they had into the new ships. The first carriers were a month ahead of schedule, though the fighters and small craft production lines were still getting up to speed. He hadn't passed on a lot of keys there, so that might be a problem in the future he thought.
Or, they'd man the ships once they got to Pyrax he reminded himself. He made a note to look into that later.
Admiral Irons made certain to pass on a personal welcome to the ships and crew. “It is good to see you.”
He was also made aware that the ship helm teams had demanded some time off. Several had put in for liberty when they'd temporarily transferred to the station in B101a1. One of them had demanded a new assignment and had even threatened to resign.
It was a problem; they were getting short stints between each trip through the rapids. Some were given two days liberty before helming the next ship through the rapids. One group had gotten a bare twelve hours. Their efficiency reports were low. The station commander had put in a request for a water habitat on the station.
As he read the report, he noted another request for leave and for time with their family. Apparently, it had been bucked up the chain of command until it gotten to him. He considered the problem and then agreed to the habitat. “Sprite,” he said and waited a beat as Protector put a call through to her.
“You rang?”
“I'm looking at the helm team problem. I agree with them; we need the habitat. One on either end,” he said.
“There is a small aquarium in the harbor station that they've been using in B-102c. But I believe they want something more elaborate,” she replied.
“I agree with them. And I agree they deserve some minimum time off between assignments since it is so stressful. They are doing a hell of a job. Keeping them comfortable is important. Besides, they deserve it.” He shook his head. “I'm kicking myself about it now. We should have thought of it.”
“Well, now that someone has, we can do something about it. Better late than never,” Sprite replied.
“Pass on the order to get the details on what they need. Make it expandable.”
“Aye aye, sir. And the families?”
“I'm reminded of an old saying. I'm a bit fuzzy, something about a guy and a mountain?”
“Close enough. You are considering allowing some of the family to relocate to the station?” she asked.
He shrugged. “We have families in base housing.”
“That is true, but B101a1 is on the edge of the war zone, sir. An enemy raid could come through to hit it. Navy policy is not to put civilian dependents in harm's way.”
“Point. So, we already authorized it on the other end. I'll sign off on one or more families there. And if any want to emigrate to Nuevo or Bek, I'll allow naval shipping. Non-priority of course.”
“Understood. I'll write it up,” Sprite replied.
“Anything else?”
“Not at the moment. You have that meeting with the Admiralty in the afternoon though.”
“Okay,” he replied with a nod.
:::{)(}:::
Admiral Irons was just settling in when he got an urgent call from Sprite. “What is it?” he demanded, annoyed at the interruption. He had been discussing long-range plans with the senior Admiralty.
“A courier arrived in Dd0lns with orders to set the ansible back up. It’s bad, Admiral,” Sprite said grimly.
“Bad?” he asked, sitting up straight. “How bad?”
“Bad. They didn't lose any ships as of the time the courier left the fleet, but they were running out of the system with a lot of metal behind them. De Gaulte has been reinforced, heavily reinforced with a dreadnought squadron as well as other ships.”
“Did you say a dreadnought squadron?” Admiral Champion asked very carefully. She looked over to Admiral Irons and then to Admiral Pashenkov. A single DN squadron might not seem like a lot to some but she knew the Federation's inventory and especially Second Fleet's inventory intimately. They were seriously outgunned.
“Yes. Along with another squadron of battle cruisers, the fleet carrier Courageous with their elite Skull Squadron, plus screen and supports. They chewed them up but not enough. They are running now,” Sprite stated flatly.
“Frack,” Admiral Irons said, jaw flexing as he imagined the scene.
“It looks like you got back just in time, sir,” Yorgi stated, looking at him directly.
“It looks like we've got our hands full,” Admiral Irons said with a shake of his head. “Get me that report. But put the alert out. The worst part is Admiral V'r'z'll has no idea what she's walking into …”
Author's Afterward:
Well! This was fun.
It was also a bit of a struggle. I wanted to finish this in the middle of July, not a couple days before the end of it. That's what I get for dealing with summer plus some unnamed people underfoot. You know the type, the whiny “I'm bored …” type. GRR. When he retires, we're both going to be climbing the walls. >:P
If any of you noticed a few things with the timeline, for instance the ansible getting to the Bek nexus early, yeah, I goofed. What I meant was it was supposed to take a year to get to Bek itself, not to the nexus. Oops? I also retconned where the transport was when it was mentioned in CM chapter 29. I'm going to fix that. Honest.
That's just one thing among many that Wayne Gaskin and the other Betas have kept me honest about. Thanks, fellas.
I'd also like to thank all of the participants in the ship-naming contest on the FB group. If I didn't get to a ship name, I will eventually. I tucked a few in there, plus my usual fun and games. :D
This was supposed to be a longer book. Like, by twenty more chapters. But, I had to draw a line somewhere. So yeah, I left it at a little bit of a cliffhanger. Sorry. :)
The good news is everything I didn't get to got kicked into the next book, The Turning Tide. And yeah, there is a lot already. That should be interesting to write. Next year people, next.
Oh, for tho
se of you wondering, I am going to work on a Space Marine short story book next. It is tentatively titled Semper Fidelis. It will have the stories I couldn't fully work in here. Like Valenko, Quinn, Lewis and Clark, Harley, Forth, Pendeckle, Schultz, etc. Right now, there are six, maybe seven stories on the drawing board. We'll see how it goes.
On another front, I've made some progress with the figurines. I've primed most of the group. I need to reprint Asazi and Miles though. I have started to paint the two Jethro in uniform figures. You'll be able to see the finished product on my blog. (If I remember to put the pictures up!)
As usual you can read more of my missives and see what's coming, see some art, and other projects on my blog.
Cast
Federation government:
Fleet Admiral John Henry Irons: Cyborg acting president of the New Federation.
Captain JG Sprite: Admiral Irons' A.I. chief of staff.
Lieutenant Commander Protector: Sprite and Defender's replacement within Admiral Irons' cybernetics.
Proteus: Engineering and nanotech hive mind A.I. within the admiral.
Secretary of state's office:
Chief of staff: Nadine Neuwirth
Assistant: Blake Beregen (BB)
Press coordinator: Petina Grant-Neo
Speech writer: Geoffery Mahoney
Policy advisor: Sebastian Whitman
Federation military personnel:
Captain later Commodore John Montgomery: acting head of ONI under Vice Admiral Yorgi Sienkov.
Vice Admiral -Fleet Admiral Yorgi Sienkov. Former CNO of Bek navy. Frocked to Fleet Admiral By Admiral Irons. Intelligence cabinet secretary. A.I. midshipman Geni, female human dumb A.I.
Commander Lake. ONI
PO Leia. ONI technician Latimer facility.
Commodore Samese -commander in charge of Protodon. (in transit)
Second Fleet:
Vice Admiral Amadeus White: Neochimp sleeper from Lemnos.
Commander Ch'v'tt: Veraxin male chief of staff, replacement for Jojo who was transferred back to Antigua for reassignment.
1st LT Jojo -Admiral's chief of staff. Neochimp -promoted to LtCMDR and transferred.
CMDR Kyle Offenger -Ops officer
Lieutenant commander Garfield the 3346 -Neocat, orange. Tactical officer
1st Lieutenant Kelly Guadino -neogorilla -intelligence officer
2nd Lieutenant Aleck Rowland -navigational officer -promoted to 1st lt.
C'v'll -Veraxin steward to the admiral
Yeoman Berkowitz -yeoman for the admiral
Antigua:
Agent Alan Carter: Undercover agent acting as a steward at Latimer house (mansion)
April O'Neill: Anchor and head of Antigua affiliate of Knox News. Love interest to admiral Irons.
Toni Chambers: Anchor of Galactic Spotlight News. Rival to April.
Mrs. "Cookie" Garrett: Personal steward of the admiral.
Federation 1: Modified Sojourner class dispatch ship.
Captain: Lieutenant Commander Alana Pong female Neochimp
4 water dweller helm team.
Coral -female Selkie Agnosta
Martha Bubbles: ET pican female
Jamie Glitter: ET pican female
Rish: Agnosta Selkie Male
Pyrax:
Captain JG I'rll, Veraxin. Deputy to Horatio, replacement.
Pete Knox: head of Knox News Media Empire (conglomerate?)
Commodore Samese former fortress commander. Transferred to Protodon to command there.
Commodore Hector Ortiz: Fortress commander. Bekian human male. Married to navy captain female.
Commodore X'll'rr Veraxin female who refused to go with Eastern Front. In command of the fleet side of Pyrax. Lemnos sleeper.
Eastern Front:
Rear Admiral V'r'z'll Veraxin, Bekian. Carrier admiral.
Commander Sunil Pizey Chief of staff. Human male, Indian.
Commander T'rll: Staff TAO.
Commander Chi'th: T'clock quartermaster
Lieutenant JG Amhelia Lately: Staff officer of Admiral V'r'z'll.
Captain Liota Chavez: Female captain of Righteous Swarm. Bekian.
Ensign Dana Truepath: sole elf survivor on Deianira. Hid in the ducts of Deianira for year. Elf female child. Grew into a teenager and became a middy when she was old enough to be accepted.
Lieutenant Commander Doctor Sayed Hasad: former civilian doctor from New Horizon. He was pressed into slavery service by the Horathians on Bounty. Went with Hoshi instead of with Bounty. Got off the ship and returned to the Navy. Bounced around the service. Loner due to past. White hair, muttonchops. On Righteous Swarm.
Captain JG Purple Thorn: Captain of Defiant 74205.
Ensign Dana Truepath: Former Bounty survivor. Young. On Defiant.
Destria:
Lieutenant Colonel Harley: Human female Marine commander.
Major Church. (Recently promoted)
BEK:
People going back to Pyrax with Admiral Irons
Vice Admiral Creator of Things -T'clock admiral in charge of Buships. A silent supporter of Logan and Zek -A.I. Builds Carefully
Vice Admiral Georgi Pashenkov: Neowolf/mutt. -senior most officer in the fleet. -Forced out by Childress and Draken. -goes on extended leave. -goes with admiral Irons back to Pyrax. A.I. Shilo.
Vice Admiral Soar and Strike: Delquir admiral. Rarity in Navy. JAG -Female, old. Forced to medically retire. Reactivated, A.I. Far Seeing.
Vice Admiral Odette Champion: Chimera female head of fourth fleet. Gloss black skin, white hair and eyebrows. Long pointed ears. Red eye whites. Tactical track, apolitical. A hard person to work since she expected the best for but well respected. Goes with Admiral Irons to Pyrax. A.I. Queenie.
Captain Toby: Admiral Champion's chief of staff.
6 other Rear Admirals, 4 formerly retired Generals or Colonels.
Lunzie Mespoil -human medic. Chimera. Martial arts. Not her first stint in stasis.
Lieutenant Colonel Nuevo Army
4 Army officers, 4 noncoms, plus 5 family members.
4 aides and other personnel from Nuevo.
Nuevo:
Governor Tribek
Lt Governor -female
Lieutenant General Henrick Anheuser. -stocky, graying General. Former weight lifter. Getting a bit of a gut. Reservist. Getting ready to retire. Married to Gabriella
Colonel Fredrick Spot -Neomutt. Chocolate mix. Male
Major Miller -breeds draft animals
Lt Colonel Busch
Captain Corona -lime yellow Neotiger
Horathians government:
Emperor: (formerly Supreme secretary) Pyotr (Peter) Ramichov 'Peter the Great'
Royal family:
Empress: Irazabeth (red queen) Jabberwocky Ramichov
Dowager Empress: Jezebel Pardoll Ramichov (reference biblical name) -mother of Pyotr.
Note: Pyotr is only surviving child due to court intrigue
Fiona- First wife of Pyotr. Mother of the twins. Assassinated by Jezebel.
Meredith - former consort of Pyotr. Died in a suspicious air car accident.
Crown Prince: Adam-twin to eldest princess (predate by 5 min) Naval officer home fleet Command -First Battlecruiser squadron -Commander, Arkangel.
Crown princess consort: Marina (white queen) Stuart -youthful, pale, white hair, black nails and lips. Graceful, soft spoken, seemingly sweet but actually very sadistic under the surface. Highly motivated to become empress.
-younger sister Vashti Stuart
Princess: Catherine Ramichov -Naval officer (Commander) Home fleet staff operational officer to Admiral De Gaulte -on Executioner. Returned to the empire.
Prince consort: None currently
Prince: Mason Ramichov -Marine officer lieutenant. Transferred to Star Mauler -Mother died prior to marriage
Princess consort: Dominitia Knowles.
Prince: -Marine Joseph Ramichov -blood brother to Mason. Mother died prior to marriage.
; Princess consort: Annia Wong
Prince: -teenager in academy Kevin Ramichov -son of Irazebeth
Princess consort to be: Agnes Rico
Princess: Khali youngest child by second marriage (10) -Khali Judith Ramichov -daughter of Irazebeth
Prince consort to be: KIA now none
Cabinet Ministers:
Prime Minister: -Duke Franklin Lloyd Tucket -Duke of Garth
Duchess Glennis Pardoll Tucket (wife of Prime Minister, XO and true ruler of Garth)
Deputy Prime Minister: -Roland Markov Count of Montycelo
Home Secretary: (minister of internal affairs): -Duke Zilo Pardoll