"What's that, sir?" He asks.
"No. I don't have one for you. I am just asking if, you can keep one." I chuckle.
"I like to think so, sir." He responds.
"Good David. We shall see. I don't want my stewards to have to leave a room when I am talking to senior staff; unless, I ask. I want all of you to be able to complete anything you have started. I will immediately demote and replace anyone passing on anything they hear in my office or quarters. Is that understood, Crewman?"
"Yes sir, perfectly." Angstrom responds with a bit of a shudder.
"Pass that on to the other stewards; and, to the stewards of the Senior Staff. There is an old saying from Earth's second World War that goes: "Loose lips sink ships." But, it's not just the security issues I'm worried about. Loose lips can cause a lot of disruption. No one talks out of turn on this ship or they may find themselves maintaining the heating system at one of the Academies. Tell me now if, you can't live with that. If you can, I will make you my senior steward and promote you to Petty Officer." I explain.
"Yes sir, I can handle it." David answers.
"Good. So, all the other stewards will work under your direction. I will post the promotion, right now. But, you make sure that, they all understand the rules; because, as their boss, you can catch hell, if they screw up. Understand?"
"Yes sir. I'll make sure they get it.” He says as I punch in the announcement. I open the safe and acquire nine sets of PO’s embroidered cloth chevrons and three jewelry sets. I hand them to the young man.
"This announcement won't appear until seventeen hundred hours. I am not officially in Command, until after sixteen hundred. However, you may tell the other stewards of the promotion and give them your orders regarding this matter. Get those insignia on your uniforms.' I explain; then continue. 'I need you to put this office into some kind of order. In the box, you will find pictures, awards and other paraphernalia that would go on the walls, table, desk and credenza. There is also a group of items in a separate box inside the big one marked - safe. That one should be left untouched and sealed; except to leave it inside the credenza. I must put those items away, myself. I also need my quarters put together. Half my belongings are aboard the Midgard for the next two weeks; but, I need my quarters put together; allowing for the additional wardrobe and personal items that will show up in two weeks. This is all stuff I would normally do, myself; but, I have numerous meetings and a Theatre Nine ceremony to attend to. You are the boss, now; so, you can have the other first shift steward take on some of this. Make sure he understands the rules, first. During my upcoming meeting, neither of you will be required to leave this office; until, you’re finished anything you’ve started. Just keep on working quietly. You may not interrupt. If you have a question, go on to something else. Ask it when the meeting is over. Is that all clear?" I ask.
"Yes sir." He answers; then, turns to activate his personal communications as he calls for his shift-one partner.
When the other appears, there is a whispered five-minute discussion during which the new PO holds out a hand to display the new insignia; and, the other Crewman looks up at me - I nod. The new PO begins working on the office while the other disappears.
Officers begin showing up at the door. I welcome them in and ask them to sit. In the end, there are nine guests, in the room. The couches, arm chairs and office chairs are filled. I pull my desk chair over to the conversation pit. I turn on my office recorder.
"We will be on a first name basis, in this office; but, because I am new, I will ask you to introduce yourselves the first time you need to speak. I am Captain Kurt Brubacher the new Commander of the Loki; and, you may all call me Kurt; after, the initial formalities have been observed. However, you may only be that relaxed in a private setting. I am sir or Captain, out there.’ I point out the window. ‘I will also tell you that, this meeting is being recorded. A transcript will go to Admiral Leeds, immediately after we adjourn.
The first order of business is that; I do not officially take command of the Loki until sixteen hundred hours. At that time, all command codes will be deactivated. We do not want to be dead in the water; so, I will send you a Senior Staff wide memo; so, you all have my mailing address. You will send back your name rank and assignment. When the codes are deactivated, I will issue new ones to you electronically. These will be prepared ahead. All I will have to do is hit "send" and all nine of you will get your new codes. Enter them immediately. Then, generate new ones for those subordinates you have who require them. Make sure you issue them at the correct level. We should have control of everything five minutes after I enter my codes.
The second order of business is security. What goes on between you and me remains between us. You do not discuss it outside in the presence of people not privy to it, in the first place. I will replace any officer that breaks that rule. You all know the OESA Rules and Regulations. If I am fomenting rebellion or being unpatriotic, it is your responsibility to report it, to my superior. Otherwise, what goes on between us is for no one else; unless, it goes out as a posting. David, I need you to stay after this meeting. We need to get the Marine Colonel in here. The navigation bridge should have a security contingent. No one should get on this bridge unless cleared and checked. Anyone not belonging here, has to be invited onto the bridge. The Exec will be cleared for access by me. The Shift Commanders will be cleared for access, by the Exec; and they must give the security people a list of those on their shifts who are permitted on the bridge. The same goes for the Flag Bridge and the Flight Control Tower. An old world war two expression was; ‘The value of security is self-evident. It wins the war and the peace'. I want you all to remember that. When it comes to our common surety, we will operate this ship as if we are at war, at all times. Does everyone understand? Can you live by these requirements? If you can't, let me know now. I will transfer you to a less sensitive position and find a replacement if you can't comply.' I pause to give time for responses. I see nods of assent from everyone; so, I continue.
'I am glad you all agree.
The third order of business is the testing and shakedown of this vessel; which has not even begun. I went back to the shipyard log for the construction of the Loki. They never did one. I checked the ship’s logs; since, she was attached to Phoenix. We have never completed it. The OESA requires proofing of each and every vessel; before, it is put into service. More important than that, I don’t want the deck under my feet to suddenly disappear when, the ship blows up. Each and every engineering, tactical and the medical installation has equipment that must function correctly or someone may die. Even the galleys can become a hazard in battle situations. For example, if we lose a reactor and have to run another at one hundred and ten percent of maximum, we do not want to blow up the ship. We do the testing to ensure that, the ship and its systems will not fail us. We do the shakedown to be able to predict how much the vessel can take. All the while, we are trying to find her failure limits; so, we can employ the maximums, if needed. All the while, we are also tuning the staff to the vessel. The two aspects must work as a unit.
I have had experience at this. My last command was the ESS Shenzhen; and, I took her right from dry dock. I can tell you from that operation that, you don't find the problems; unless, you look hard for them. From that and Admiral Nichols records, I have developed a manual for this procedure. It is seventy-five pages long plus appendices including testing parameters and performance reports. You will receive the entire manual, now.' I click send on my data pad to forward the document to all nine. 'Read it all - not just the parts concerning your area. You need to know what others are doing; in case, they need to ask you for assistance to facilitate their operations. The ship is an integrated unit. No one works in a vacuum.
For the first two weeks, El will take command of the process. That phase is all testing except the last step, in about ten days. That is the first light shakedown cruise. Of course the implied schedule only applies if you don't find anything major. Something tha
t stops the whole ship for days, or requires docking at a facility, will cause a major hiccup in the timing. The timing is only a guideline. Even a stubborn minor problem can delay you; if that assembly is needed in the next stage of testing. You cannot go on; if, things are already out of whack. If you need to make a major repair, stop and do it. Do not try to continue on with the testing if there is a major issue, in any system. Timeline is less important than safety. No one cares if we take a little longer; as long as it means, the ship won't kill anyone.
You must accurately complete the reports required, at each step. If El does not receive a report from someone during a phase of testing, he cannot go on to the next. The report must be handed to him personally. The person handing it in will sit with the Exec as he inserts the results into the Failure Mode Testing software that will extrapolate the failure limits of the tested area. If a test falls below the recommended failure limit, the part or system has failed. If it is up to or exceeds the limit, the test was successful. We are trying to project a point where a system will fail; even if, it passes today. Testing and shakedown are progressive. They take the vessel through increasingly difficult requirements; so, it doesn't make sense to go on to the more stressful one if the one before isn't done successfully.
During testing and shakedown, you will be graded, too. El will be looking at your performance and reporting; as will I when I return. You must pass this phase, too. If you do not, you will be reassigned and someone else will fill the more senior role. This is life and death stuff, people. After this, we can work at becoming friends and shipmates. But, for now, you must prove yourselves. This ship cannot be taken into regular patrols or battle without certification from her first Captain and that Captain's Executive Officer that; she is sound. It's not just the ship and her crew. We may fail our Group or Fleet; if, we don't do this task with motivation and professionalism. Everything else depends on this.
Once I return, we will take a day for me to go over all the reports, failure mode analysis and crew evaluations. This may sound like a lot during a day; but, El will be keeping me up to date throughout the testing. After that day, we will disembark about fifty-five to sixty percent of the crew, at Theatre Command. This phase is done with a two shift skeleton crew. If we blow up the ship, we don't want to kill the entire crew. The next two to four weeks will be spent taking the ship through more and more stressful shakedown jaunts that will tax her. We will return to the Theatre to exchange some personnel or take on more, on each trip; depending on the systems we are tasking. When we are sure, the entire crew will return and we will continue with longer and more difficult cruises; until, we complete the whole program.
During the first phase of testing, the CAG should have the fighter maintenance teams powering and testing all systems on each and every Raptor. During shakedowns, time will be allotted for the CAG to launch groups of vessels for stress testing. At the same time, medical should be testing all its diagnostic and treatment equipment. During the shakedowns they attend, they should be running intense emergency response drills. When I say the ship operates as a unit, I mean the whole vessel and all of its crew.
Once the shakedowns are complete, I will take a day to go over them with my XO. When we are certain we have acceptable results, we will sign off on the Loki's fitness. We will also complete any transfer, reassignment and promotion recommendations, at that time. The following day, we will present the documentation to Admiral Leeds, together. She will order the ship into service - or not.
When everything is certified, the Admiral will probably order a series of drills. Some will be independent; some will be in a Group; some will be in a Task Force and the last ones will be Fleet wide. This is to sharpen our skills within the environments the Loki will function. It's up to Admiral Leeds; but, these could take from two weeks to a month. So you will all be very tired two or three months from now. I will ask her for ship-wide rotating leaves, at that point.
Does anyone want to opt out? If you don't feel you can make the cut, you should go now.' I pause for a response. 'Does anyone have any questions?"
"Lt. Commander Laura Brent Chief Medical Officer asking; what happens if, the ship blows up during testing or shakedown."
"Everyone aboard would all die, of course. - But, let me say that, the manual establishes a means of testing each part of the ship a little harder at each phase. Ninety-nine point nine percent of all failures can be stopped and the system shut down. Failure mode is used at each step; so, we can determine if a system might fail at the next step; allowing us to complete preventative repairs and modify the procedure to take more care. The likelihood of a ship wide catastrophic failure is almost non-existent; if, we follow the plan exactly. Using this mode on the Shenzhen, we were able to find seventy-four failures and potential ones without risking the ship or its crew. In the end, it took us two weeks longer than projected; but, the ship was as safe as we could make it. I ran it for the next year under some pretty stressful situations without even coming close to a breakdown or failure. There is a second benefit to the procedure. If, the crew that does it is the one that operates the ship; it helps them gain confidence in their vessel and their abilities to know and operate it." I explain to her.
"Thank you, Captain. You are saying that because it is progressive, the testing and shakedown are relatively safe procedures." She asks.
"Yes Commander. Each step is secured by the one before it. That's why there can be no shortcuts. Anyone not doing their job at one hundred percent can endanger the whole ship and crew. The greatest risk is of people not being professional or not staying motivated. I will tell you that, it is tedious, demanding and sometimes boring work. It can cause people's attention to wander. That is why I stress that, they must stay motivated and professional. Everyone's lives depend on everyone else being at one hundred percent, during the whole time. And, I must tell you all that, you must impress on your people that; if, they are having a bad day, they should ask for relief; and, you should listen to them. Relieve anyone that feels they cannot remain focused, at any time. The hardest time will be the first four days of shakedown; when, we run on a skeleton crew. It's hard to relieve people when your short staffed. If you run into that and cannot resolve it, report to El or me. We will find a way to resolve it; even if, it means we have to stop for a day. We must not let an accident happen; because, someone wasn't relieved, when they should have been. A side note to that point is that, anyone needing to be relieved on two or more days of the procedure should be sent to Medical. There may be something wrong with them. For example, a simple shortage of iron can make a person feel so tired they cannot remain focused or attentive. Am I right, doctor?" I ask Laura.
"...One hundred percent right, Captain. I can issue an outline, to all the Senior Officers, of signs of fatigue to watch for that can have a number of causes, if you'd like, sir." She offers.
"That would be great doctor. Does anyone have any other questions or observations? I ask. There are no takers; so, I go on.
'I know I sound like a serious hard-ass, right now. And, the XO will seem like one, too. But, its only because we have a brand new ship that probably has a lot of bugs hiding in it. We'll work hard at coming together as a crew, after this is out of the way. Good luck everyone. Everyone except El is dismissed." I end the meeting. Everyone rises and leaves.
"Office Recorder - cease recording. Convert voice recording to text and send to my data pad.' I order the system, then. What did you think, El?" I ask.
"I don't think anyone thought of you as a hard-ass. I think that none of us ever thought of the problems you could have aboard a new ship; and, we're probably all thankful we have a new Captain who knows what to do. All we ever saw was its shiny newness. No one wants to die unnecessarily. I think it went well. Do you want me to call in the Colonel now, Kurt?” I nod my assent as he finishes.
When Colonel Siskalis arrives, there are none of the usual formalities. We are both level six officers.
"You wanted to see me Captain Br
ubacher? I am Colonel Siskalis." The massive man explains.
"Yes Colonel. We need to talk. I am concerned, at the moment. May I ask if this is your first Regimental Command." I ask.
"Yes Captain. I was promoted from a Battalion Command on the Espanola." He responds.
"What a small world. I spent a year on the Espanola as Second Officer. Anyway, I ask because the security requirements are different at the Regimental level. The Regimental Commander is responsible for Group wide security. This includes security on the Bridges and Flight Control Tower. We would not want an intruder taking command of our ship; or, taking Admiral Leeds hostage. Regulations require you to post security at the entrances to each of the spaces I mentioned. They stipulate two per shift minimum. However, from experience, I recommend half shifts of two. It is boring work. Half a shift is about all anyone can take before being bored out of their mind. Don't misunderstand me. I do not mean to intrude in your area of responsibility. I just wanted to make sure that, you just hadn't gotten around to it, yet. It is not regulation; but, I would also ask that, you post security at engineering areas like the reactors and the environmental oxygen generators; so, no unwanted intruders can get at them. It's just a thought." I use my most ambassadorial tone.
"As a matter of fact, I was just in the process of writing the orders for bridge security, when your Exec called. And later on the Midgard, I was going to ask for a meeting with you about your thought on securing other sensitive areas. I am glad we agree." Colonel Siskalis responds sheepishly unconvincing as he rises.
"Thank you Colonel. I am sure the Admiral will be relieved when, she sees what you've done." I respond as I offer my hand to the departing officer.
I turn to my system and send out a communiqué.
MEMO
To: Vice Admiral Helena Leeds
From: Captain Kurt Brubacher
Re: Meeting
Date: Oct. 3 2255
Righteous Reign Page 35