by Saxon Andrew
Louisa stepped up and embraced Maranda in a huge hug, “Thank you, Maranda. You thought of us when no one else did!”
Maranda returned Louisa’s hug and said softly, “Take care of him.” Louisa stepped back and saw Maranda staring into her eyes. She returned the stare and then said quietly, “I will.” Maranda leaned forward and kissed Louisa on the cheek. She handed Kendal to her and walked out of the room, just as Desmond arrived.
“What was that about?”
Louisa turned from watching Maranda leave and answered, “She wished us good luck.”
Desmond nodded and turned to watch Maranda exit the room. Then it hit him, and he turned back to Louisa, “Did she say, us?” Louisa nodded, went up on her toes, and gently kissed Desmond on the lips. He stared into Louisa’s eyes and knew that Taffy and Grady were extremely wise. He was right where he wanted to be.
Taffy suddenly appeared beside them and grabbed both by the arm, “Louisa, you will report to Fleet Training immediately and start training on how to operate the weapon’s console.”
Louisa turned to Taffy and shook her head, “I don’t know anything about technology…I can barely read with what minimum education my parents managed to teach me.”
Taffy waved a hand, “I knew nothing about ships, weapons, or anything else military when Grady saved my life on Britannia. But he taught me, and I learned quickly. It’s just like operating a stove, dishwasher, or any other appliance. If you intend to stay with Desmond, you’ll need to learn how to operate his weapon console.”
Louisa glared at Taffy and then turned to Des, “I guess I need to get started.”
Desmond nodded and turned to Taffy, “Why is she being sent to training?”
“I’m talking about you flying Rory and Abby’s first ship, Desmond. You’re also going to have to learn how to pilot it. So, get moving!”
Des’s expression turned confused, “Why are we using those old model ships?”
Taffy raised a shoulder as she walked away, “We want to make sure the Fagan can detect it. It’s the only way they can attack us.”
Desmond and Louisa watched Taffy walk away and Louisa said to Desmond, “Did she say it’s the only way for them to attack us?” Desmond nodded. “That doesn’t sound good.” Desmond nodded and left the meeting for a transport to take them back to the roof of the Spring Hill Building. They had six weeks to get ready.
Chapter Eleven
Maranda walked out of the conference room and saw Rory motioning her over. She turned and walked over to them and Abby said, “Rory is checking on getting time on the command simulators for the carriers. We have to get to work to learn how our new commands function.”
Maranda shook her head, “I should have thought of that, but I’m still stunned by what just happened. I don’t understand why Grady chose me to command a carrier.”
Abby tapped an index finger on Maranda’s head, “You have everything you need up here to do it, Maranda.” Abby then tapped her chest with her index finger, “It’s what you have in here that will determine your success.”
Maranda looked into Abby’s eyes and asked, “You’ve been around me long enough to know if I can cut it; what’s your opinion?”
Abby rolled her eyes and huffed out a breath, “When I first met you, I thought you were not cut out to command anything.”
“Ouch!” Maranda responded.
Abby shrugged, “Maranda, I will never lie or deceive you. You asked a question and you deserve an honest answer.”
“Go ahead, Abby. I can handle it.”
“Your insights during our mission revealed to me just how intelligent you are, and I hate to admit it but you’re the smartest person I’ve ever run across. Your intelligence will be your biggest asset in commanding a carrier.”
Abby stopped, and Maranda said, “But…”
“Intelligence isn’t enough. There may come a moment where your mind tells you that the best thing to do is run and your fear will be filling you down to your core. But if you do, you’ll lose hundreds of thousands of Rabbits that depend on your ship for support. I don’t know if you have it in you to put your life in danger to defend those under your command. I hate to say it, but the jury is still out on that issue.” Maranda lowered her eyes and Abby said, “I must say that I was rather surprised that you decided to run from that Fagan formation surrounding your ship; why did you do it?”
“I heard Kendal wailing behind me in fear. I guess I just couldn’t take the risk of not being seen if it would lead to her death.”
Abby smiled, “Maybe you do have what it takes. But know that you will face your Britannia moment and how you survive it will depend on your courage and the skill of your sailors. Oh, there’s one more thing.”
“What is that?”
“You might be the youngest Admiral to ever serve in the Navy. Most of your junior officers will be older than you and decide they know more about what to do than you. You need to knock some sense into them without alienating them.”
Maranda’s expression showed her confusion, “How would I do that?”
“Certainly not by using your holier than thou attitude. You can’t destroy their self-confidence without damaging their value to you. Just keep that in mind and I’m sure you’re smart enough to come up with a way.”
“I don’t know about that, Abby! I can just order them to do what I want.”
“There’s only one good time to use orders, Maranda.” Maranda looked at her with her head tilted and Abby continued, “In an emergency where your ship’s survival is on the line. Persuasion is far more effective than issuing direct orders in every other instance.”
Maranda thought about Abby’s remark and nodded, “I think I understand.”
“You have to keep in mind that you’ve seen the Fagan and your crew hasn’t. Use that to your benefit.” Maranda nodded and entered a transport with Rory and Abby.
• • •
The Fagan Leader listened to the Fleet Manager on his monitor and asked, “Are you certain about this, Fleet Manager?”
“Yes, High Leader. My fleet detected a gravity anomaly and I managed to surround the source with my fleet. We formed a globe around it and started moving in. An invisible ship suddenly activated its thrusters and managed to escape my formation. It destroyed three of my ships in the process of breaking through my lines.”
“Did you get a look at this invisible ship?”
“No, High Leader. Once it broke through my lines, it disappeared.”
The High Leader stared at the Fleet Manager and lowered his eyes, “Have any of our fleets detected gravity anomalies?”
“None have been reported.”
“I’m going to issue orders for our fleets to spread out and start searching for anomalies. If there’s one, there must be others.”
“High Leader, finding one in our space won’t be easy. Our territory covers a huge area.”
“If the ones in that ship are here to scout us, they’ll focus their attention around our most densely occupied areas. Focus your search there.”
“Yes, High Leader.”
The High Leader thought about where that ship could have originated. He would have questioned the fleet manager’s sanity but the recording of the three warships exploding made it clear they were attacked by…something. An invisible ship? That was beyond their current technology and the use of gravity was also beyond them. Where did it originate is the question that had to be answered? He decided to wait and see if any others were detected. That would possibly offer a clue to where they came from. Ummm…could they have come from further out the spiral arm from areas not conquered? Or could they have come from another spiral arm? Could a civilization in the spiral arm they were planning to invade have sent the scouts…or another spiral arm? There just wasn’t enough data to support any conclusion. Should he delay the invasion? If this ship was a scout from that spiral arm…then the invasion was called for. He’d get the home fleets to start searching and wait to make a final decis
ion.
• • •
Maranda sat at her console on the fabricated carrier bridge in the huge training center. The room was an exact duplicate of the bridge on her ship and all of her bridge crew were working at their stations going through computer simulations teaching them how to use their consoles. She had arrived a month earlier and was introduced to the crew. She encouraged them to work hard to learn their duties and stated she knew they would be ready to make the ship an excellent fighting vessel. Since that time four weeks earlier, she had dived in and started learning her console. The other members of the bridge crew had been working for more than eight months on their consoles and she had a late start. But she was close to completing her instruction while most of the others still had work to do. She knew the long work after hours had paid off and she was amazed at the fighting capabilities of possibly the most powerful warship ever built by humanity. It did have some weak points, but it was a formidable instrument of war. She glanced at her second-in-command sitting twenty feet from her chair working at his console and knew he was going to be an issue. Senior Captain Andrew Connor didn’t hide his contempt for her. She went back to work and completed a simulation as a loud claxon sounded, indicating a fifteen-minute break should be taken by all the trainees.
Andrew Connor sat back in his chair and stared at Maranda sitting in the command chair. He resented her presence and felt that this kid didn’t deserve to be in command. This ship should have been given to him. He had been training on it for close to a year and Fleet put this wet-behind-the-ears woman in command over him. She wasn’t anything special!
Maranda saw Andrew glaring at her and she asked, “Do you have something to say, Captain?”
Andrew couldn’t resist, and he spoke up, “Admiral, I was wondering if you’ve ever commanded a ship in actual combat?”
The rest of the bridge crew stopped talking and the room became very still. “No, Captain Connor. This is my first command.”
“I thought I might suggest that you leave the battle and command strategy for me to handle, Sir.”
Maranda knew the answer but asked anyway, “Have you ever commanded a ship in combat, Captain?”
“As a matter of fact, I have.”
“And?” Maranda asked.
“My ship destroyed two alien scouts when the inhabitants of Britannia were moved to Melbourne.”
“And you think destroying two scouts qualifies you to direct the ship during combat operations?”
“It’s two more than you, Admiral.”
The bridge crew burst out laughing and then grew silent as Maranda kept her attention on Captain Connor. Most of them wondered if she was going to bust the captain’s chops for his disrespect. Maranda was thankful she was able to keep her expression neutral and remembered what Abby had told her prior to training. Captain Connor was a good officer and she couldn’t really blame him for being disappointed at not being given command of the carrier. She felt the same way when Des was put in command of the Brer Rabbit.
The silence continued for a very long time and even Captain Connor began to worry about overstepping his bounds. Maranda finally said in a neutral tone, “Perhaps your skill should be tested to see if you’re right about it, Captain. I’m scheduling the first combat simulation in the morning at nine hundred hours. All the command controls will be routed to your console and you will command the ship during the simulation. I will not participate during the simulation and you will have complete control of the ship.” The room was silent, and Maranda looked around, “We’re entering the last two weeks of training and we’re scheduled to start attack simulations in two days. Moving them up one day won’t really make a difference.” She turned to Andrew, “Good luck, Captain and I know you’ll make us proud.”
Andrew stared at Maranda trying to read something in her expression, but she was giving nothing away. His pride filled him, and he replied, “Thank you, Sir. I know I will.”
The claxon sounded again ending the break and everyone went back to their consoles. Everyone felt nervous about the confrontation but felt Andrew would show this young admiral a thing or two. An hour later, Maranda’s console issued a loud gong and the bridge crew heard, “Training has been completed.” Maranda stood up, looked around the bridge, and saw everyone staring at her. She walked off the bridge and out of the door. Andrew was shocked. There was no way she could have completed her training in four weeks! There was no way! Andrew paused his simulation and walked up to Maranda’s console. His training consisted of seven hundred units. He looked at the display on Maranda’s console and saw, Twelve hundred units complete. Training completed.
Millie yelled from across the bridge, “What does it say?”
Andrew looked up at the faces of the bridge crew staring at him, “It says she’s completed twelve hundred units.”
The room was shocked by his announcement and he said, “Get back to work! We have to be ready in the morning.” Andrew sat down and tried to focus on his console. Just who was this young admiral? But he knew more about this ship than she could have learned in four weeks; he’d show her a thing or two.
• • •
The next morning, Maranda entered and went to her command chair. She began pressing buttons transferring the control of the ship to Captain Connor’s console. She looked up and smiled, “I know you’ve been working hard to master your duties and I expect you to perform admirably. Captain Connor, the simulation will begin in five minutes and you will be given your instructions by the gaming computer. Good luck.”
“Thank you, Admiral.”
Five minutes later, the wall speakers activated, and the words being said also appeared on the central wall monitor. “You will be given ten minutes to prepare the ship to enter enemy territory. After that time, the simulation will commence with possible combat situations.”
Andrew began issuing orders, “Launch the defense Rabbits and activate the thruster covers. Scanning unit only use passive scans and report anything that appears. We will go to standby combat and be prepared to go to full battle stations at a moment’s notice.” Andrew turned to First Lieutenant Tyers and ordered the pilot, “Half-speed ahead.” Lt. Tyers pushed the thruster handles forward and the crew felt the acceleration. This room was an amazing creation.
Nothing happened for fifteen minutes and Andrew was starting to get worried. He kept glancing at Lt. Stahl and Todd shook his head; nothing had appeared on the scanners. Andrew looked up at the large central monitor and nothing appeared on it. Suddenly, he saw a huge cloud of red blips appear far above the carrier as the claxons began wailing and orange lights began flashing, “Battle stations, all hands to battle stations,” Kept repeating and Andrew began issuing orders. Maranda leaned forward and said loudly, “YOU MIGHT WHAT TO TURN OFF THE CLAXONS, CAPTAIN.”
Andrew hit the button shutting them down and ordered, “Launch wings one through ten to move out and meet those vessels.” The tactical monitor showed hundreds of Super Rabbits launching from the carrier and moving at high speed toward the blips on the monitor. Andrew watched the monitor closely and suddenly Todd yelled, “CAPTAIN, I HAVE THOUSANDS OF SHIPS SURROUNDING US POWERING UP!”
Andrew yelled turn the ship! All weapons are free to engage!”
Lt. Tyers replied loudly, “Captain, the mass of ships in front of us is too close to turn and avoid!”
Andrew jerked his eyes to the tactical monitor and saw tens of thousands of enemy warships moving head on at high speed. The carrier’s defenses opened fire and huge explosions erupted around the carrier as it tried to escape the trap. Andrew stared at the monitor and saw the carrier was totally surrounded and there was no clear route out of the enemy’s formation. His eyes grew wider as the mass of explosions around the carrier increased in intensity and numbers, and they blocked the tactical scanner from seeing through them. Suddenly, ten enemy warships broke through the massive defensive barrage and flew into the open landing bay doors and crashed into the Rabbits lined up for launch. The carrier went
up in a massive explosion and the central monitor went dark. Large white letters appeared on it saying, “SIMULATION LOST, SHIP DESTROYED, NO SURVIVORS.”
• • •
Andrew stood up and walked closer to the huge monitor, “Computer, replay the simulation.” Maranda was surprised by his request. Showing his dismal failure again would only add to his embarrassment. The bridge crew watched the simulation until it ended, and the room was silent. Andrew turned to Maranda, “What did I miss?”
Maranda sat in her chair with her legs crossed and her fingers steepled on her midsection. She continued lying back and answered, “Before I answer your question, why don’t you tell me what you’ve learned from this exercise?”
Andrew was standing at attention and he hesitated before saying, “The ship was lost because I wasn’t prepared, Sir.”
Maranda nodded, “Go on, what else?”
“I launched an attack on the first enemy ships without thinking that they probably didn’t see the carrier from that far out.” Maranda nodded. “I should have turned the ship first to use our superior speed to maneuver out of their path. That would have led to the enemy being forced to show their hand before they were ready, and we might have been able to fight our way through their ranks.”
“What else?”
“That probably wouldn’t have happened, as I think about it. The ship was just moving to battle stations and we would have been in the middle of a large enemy formation without our weapons being on line and active.”
“Anything else?” Maranda asked.
“There are too many things to list, Admiral. The attack happened so fast that I didn’t even think to launch the rest of our rabbits. They were destroyed in the landing bay.” Andrew looked at her and asked, “What have I missed?”
Maranda ordered, “Computer, record my following statements on the main monitor.”
“Recording, Admiral.”
“First, you didn’t have a good understanding of what we’re going to face in the Sagittarius Arm, Captain. You’ve seen the data that they have more than six-hundred thousand warships at the edge of the arm. It’s also estimated they have a larger number still inside the arm.” Maranda looked up, “Computer, estimate on how many enemy ships attacked during the simulation.”