Solomon Family Warriors II

by Robert H. Cherny

She thought for a second. “What happened to your captain when you got busted? Surely he knew what was going on.”

  “He quietly took early retirement.”

  “And what happens when we get caught?”

  “Since we likely won’t be back in this area for years, we’ve got some time to figure that out. Besides, I suspect between Admiral Stonebridge and Commodore McGuire, we’ll keep you out of trouble. Of course, being your parents’ daughter won’t hurt matters. You are war heroes after all.”

  Rachel shook her head in resignation and backed up to the other question she had meant to ask earlier. “What do you know about my reputation? I’ve made some pretty dumb moves.”

  “What, like losing a quarter of your squadron in battle when every other captain I know would have lost all of it? Still brooding? Hmmm? Losing ships in battle is an occupational hazard. I feel the loss of my comrades who have fallen in battle as much as anyone, but you did the right thing.”

  “Maybe.”

  He grinned. “You’re not a kid anymore. You need to think like the sharp commanding officer you are. You have an excellent track record. For one thing, there’s the brilliant way you handled yourself when you found those nukes on your cargo ship. Nicely done. You are Greg and Avi’s kid and there is nothing you can do to change that. Own up to it and be who you are meant to be.”

  “Right now, I am a little overwhelmed.”

  “Understandable. Most other people would be completely overwhelmed and not just a little. Ah, before we go on, I have one more thing to give you.” He handed her a data module. “Play it now.”

  Rachel plugged the data module into her personal data assistant. Commodore McGuire’s image appeared on the display.

  “Captain Solomon, I am glad that you have decided to take my recommendation and add Captain Curra to your staff. He is an experienced hand and you have much to learn from him. You will need three types of people on your staff. The first type is the person who knows you and trusts you. These are the people who are loyal to you and will follow you wherever you go and whatever you do. The second type is the person who shares your vision of the mission and is prepared to do what ever they can to support it and therefore support you. The Captain is of the third type. He is proud of himself and of his work. He will not fail you or your mission, not so much because he believes in it, but because he believes in himself and his ability to do whatever needs to be done. He will not always follow the rule book, but he will always get the job done. He is the right person for the job you need to have done for your mission to succeed. Take care of yourself and our ship.”

  Rachel turned to Captain Curra. “Do you agree with all that?”

  “Yes. I do.”

  “Please have Lt. Swanson over at SAD fill out the necessary documentation. Then, when you are done, make a complete and thorough examination of the ship and report with any concerns you might have that would need my attention. In addition, focus carefully on those areas where your special skills will come into play. Do you have quarters here on the station?”

  “No.”

  “Then you might as well settle into the executive officer’s quarters in the executive suite such as it is. Until my husband returns from Earth, you and I will be the ship’s only crew. I moved here from the VOQ two days ago. The ship has been certified for habitation.”

  “Very good. When do the Marines arrive?”

  “Soon, I hope.”

  “Good. I will need their assistance. I understand that you have a squad of Marines who are your personal friends and fit in the first group Commodore McGuire mentioned.”

  “Yes, it will be good to be all back together again. I miss them.”

  Captain Curra floated off in the direction of the staffing office complex.

  Less than an hour later Rachel’s personal comm unit sounded for her attention. She had barely acknowledged the call when Commodore Burkhalter from Staffing Allocation screamed, “Are you out of your mind? Captain Curra is a felon! He belongs in the brig not on the bridge of a battleship!”

  “According to the proceedings of the Courts Marshal, the lawyers would disagree.”

  “The man is a thief!”

  “According to the proceedings of the Courts Marshal which I have in front of me, Captain Curra did not take personal gain from the material he is accused of having taken. In fact, even the prosecutor acknowledged that had he not taken matters into his own hands, the mission to which he was assigned would have failed for lack of adequate supplies with considerable loss of life.”

  “I guess I should have expected as much from Greg Solomon’s daughter.”

  “Glad to not disappoint you. You seem very familiar with my father. Are you a notch on his gun belt? I heard there were many in the time when he and my mother were not seeing each other.”

  “How dare you speak to me like that!”

  “I’ll take that as an affirmation.”

  “You insolent, insubordinate minx!”

  “Commodore Burkhalter, I may be insolent, but I am not insubordinate. You have the authority to reject my choices for my crew. That is why I sent Captain Curra to you for your approval. You could reject any of my candidates, but I suggest that you do so at your own risk.”

  “You will regret having spoken to me this way.”

  “Commodore, I record all my official conversations. We will let Commodore McGuire be the judge of that.” The comm unit display indicated the call terminated.

  The comm unit sounded again with Wendy’s special tone. “Hey, did you really get permission for me to fly with you?”

  “Did you get orders?”

  “Yup. Can I bring my crew?”

  “Are they any good?”

  “Of course!”

  “Send me their files so I can run it by SAD. I don’t see why not. Actually send it directly to Lt. Swanson in SAD. She’ll handle the documentation. Copy me on anything you send her.”

  “Got it! See you in a couple of days!”

  “The sooner you and your crew are on board, the happier it will make me.”

  “The cavalry is coming!”

  Reuben called in an hour later. “Hey, Rachel, I got orders for your ship. Is this real?”

  “Yes, did Suwanee get orders, too?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll check when I see her tonight.”

  “She should have orders, too.”

  “How did you do that?”

  “Commodore McGuire and Admiral Stonebridge did it. I’m just riding the wave.”

  “What about the rest of the gang?”

  “I requested them. We’ll see who shows.”

  “Just like old times.”

  “Almost, David is not coming.”

  “Why?”

  “I want him to finish law school.”

  “I’ll miss him, but we need him more in legal than we’ll need him on this mission. I know a good legal officer here I could probably convince to join us.”

  “I asked Commodore McGuire to find one, but if you have a good one, send the file to Lt. Swanson in SAD.”

  “See you in a couple of days.”

  Rashi called in almost as soon as Reuben hung up.

  “Rachel, I just got my orders. Esther is away delivering a new yacht. As soon as she gets back, we’ll be there.”

  Isaac and Joshua had immediately left for Boston to try and recruit medical staff from their former colleagues. For two weeks they pounded the pavement ferreting out available members of New England’s medical community. Meeting with limited success, they expanded their search and traveled from medical school to medical school trying to find people willing to uproot themselves on short notice and join this risky venture. After the third week of bouncing from city to city, they packed it in. When they returned to the ship, with one week left before departure, they had less than ten percent of the staff needed to properly operate the ship. Disheartened, they reported to Rachel.

  “I know the plan was to use only civilian medical staff, but w
hy can’t we use military personnel?” Rachel asked.

  “Will they take orders from a civilian?”

  “Most will.”

  “I don’t know. What we’re doing is pretty radical medicine,” Isaac said.

  “No more radical than what goes on in a ship that has taken enemy fire. We’ll put the word out for anyone that wants to join us to meet us in New St. Louis.”

  “That will be good. I only hope we can find the rest of the people we need in New Boston.”

  Exactly 178 hours before the ship was scheduled to depart, Rachel felt a familiar thump radiate along the ship’s structure. Rachel smiled and waited for the call. She felt a second thump like the first a moment later.

  “Hey, Rachel! The gang requests permission to come aboard.”

  Other than Captain Curra, Rachel, Isaac and Joshua, Wendy and the crews from the two destroyers were the first inhabitants of the assembled ships now known as the F S F H S 28 Albert Schweitzer. When the ships were up to full staff, the battleship would have a military crew of two hundred. Rachel’s first command had been three ships and a score of people. Her second command had been sixteen ships and sixty-eight people of which she had lost four ships and sixteen people. This newest command would include a military compliment of two hundred under her direct chain of command. The civilian component under Isaac’s command would be as large. The battleship had originally supported a crew of five hundred, but with the automation and computer controls that had been added in the last year, it was fully operational with a crew a fifth of that size. The remainder of Rachel’s command was made up of the flight crews and their support. The original battleship had never traveled without escort. The smaller vessels that protected the battleship were supported on tenders and other vessels in the convoy. In its new configuration, Rachel’s ship was intended to travel alone and be self sufficient with everything it needed somehow bolted to the massive extended space frame.

  Within six hours of Wendy’s arrival, all of Rachel’s original team who were coming had assembled. Reuben and Suwanee arrived not long after Wendy and her crews. Rashi and Esther arrived shortly thereafter. Faye Anne showed up with a stunningly handsome blond young man who she had recommended for science officer, Lt. Dale Hammersmith.

  Rachel’s sparring partner in the Marine summer programs had been Marine Lt. Suwanee Baxter who had married Space Force Lt. (Engineering) Reuben Abrams following his graduation from the Space Force Academy. Gunnery Sergeant Patricia Hefner had been Wendy’s sparring partner. She arrived with Faye Anne’s sparring partner, Gunnery Sergeant Janet Rivers. Reuben’s sparring partner, Gunnery Sergeant Darius Black, tracked Reuben down in the engineering department not even taking time to unpack before digging into his duties. Rashi’s sparring partner, Gunnery Sergeant Lionel Sanford and David’s sparring partner Gunnery Sergeant Luther Townsend covered the group’s rear dragging a squad of eighteen space trained Marines straight out of school at Parris Island in tow.

  Rachel smiled to see the Marines who had so quickly changed from green recruits themselves and metamorphosed into veterans of more than a few campaigns. It was not so long ago that she and Suwanee had raced across the parade field that first day of summer training after her freshman year at the Academy. She hoped that she had grown enough to be their commander.

  Captain Curra greeted each of the new arrivals and pointed them in the direction of their quarters. In the battleship’s previous configuration, the plan for living quarters had called for the enlisted personnel to bunk up in quads, junior officers in doubles and senior officers in singles. Command staff, which included himself, flight ops, engineering, tactical, combat info (intelligence) and science were assigned two room suites. Rachel had a two room suite with a conference room attached. The remainder of the officers would normally be assigned to single rooms. With a fraction of the crew the ship was designed to accommodate, no one need be cramped. The ship would be departing with a quarter of its intended military crew and a tenth of its intended civilian crew so living space, at least for now, was simply not an issue. Those people that wanted to live together could and those that wanted to live alone could do that, too.

  Captain Curra was especially happy to see the Marines. He immediately pulled Suwanee aside to talk to her. As the commander of the Marine contingent, he needed her cooperation.

  At the end of the nominal “day” shift, Rachel gathered everyone in the battleship’s galley for a dinner of individually packaged flight rations designed to be consumed in weightlessness. Everyone was excited about the opportunity of seeing action. The few civilians who had arrived that day sensed the mood and quickly became part of the euphoria.

  Captain Curra called for everyone’s attention as he floated upside down relative to everyone else in the room.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, I think our Captain should make a speech on this auspicious occasion.”

  Rachel gathered her thoughts. She welcomed them by name and expressed her gratitude at their joining her crew. “The moral of this story is to be careful of what you wish for. You just might get it. I suggested that a good use for aging battleships might be as hospital ships. The thought of creating an armed hospital ship seemed like a contradiction, but at the same time it made sense. We are about to find out how much sense it really makes. Ladies and Gentlemen, from the depth of my heart I thank you for being willing to experiment with me. I can’t promise this will work, but I can promise you…”

  Isaac interrupted, “Life with Rachel is never dull!”

  The room erupted with laughter.

  Isaac continued, “Folks, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Mister Captain Rachel Solomon Cohen.” He grinned at her. “And she is Missus Doctor Isaac Cohen. This grand experiment is not without risk. I thank you for being here and I hope that you will find the experience rewarding. In the meantime, I understand Captain Curra has some work for us. Captain?”

  “Thanks Doc! Yes, folks we are about to play one of my favorite games. It’s called midnight requisition. As you probably noticed, the ship is bare of such amenities as mattresses on the bunks or fresh food in the galley. We will split into teams and procure what we need. When we leave port we will be as well equipped as we can be given the resources at hand.”

  Captain Curra divided the crew into small groups. Each group included at least one Marine. He sent them on their way with instructions where to find what they needed and how to bring it back. When everyone else was gone, Rachel, Isaac, Wendy and Joshua were left in the galley.

  “Grant,” Rachel said, “shouldn’t we be doing something?”

  He turned to her. “You ladies have been apart from your husbands for a while. Once we get started, you will be hard pressed to find quiet time to be together. You go hide somewhere and let me run things for the next few days. Oh, by the way, as you suspected, your father did spend some time with the wicked witch from SAD, the infamous then Lt. Burkhalter. The rumor is that he was seen fleeing from her quarters carrying his shoes. Whatever was going on must have been real ugly for him to do that. He did not have a reputation for running out on women in the middle of the night. Now, you all get out of here, you need to be fresh in the morning because no one else will be.”

  They didn’t need to be told twice.

  DEPLOYMENT - CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE FINAL WEEK OF PREPARATIONS was a frenzy of activity. No one on the ship slept more than four hours a night. New arrivals were put to work as soon as they tossed their luggage into their quarters. There was some question as to whether Captain Curra slept at all that week. His “procurement” teams ranged the length and breadth of the shipyard. Badly needed items rapidly filled storage areas and food lockers. When Rachel thought the old cargo ship’s hold could take no more, the battleship’s munitions magazines were filled with even more material than Rachel thought possible. At the end of every shift Captain Curra brought manifests and procurement forms for Rachel to sign. As he explained it, this was the difference between “midnight proc
urement” and theft. He would drop off the completed forms with the appropriate offices moments before the ship departed. This way they would keep what they took and still keep it in Federation possession.

  Rachel understood the motivation behind most of what Captain Curra had collected. The one piece she did not understand was the nonfunctional cargo shuttle he rescued from the bone yard. It was identical to the ones she remembered from her childhood on Homestead.

  “Why do we need that?”

  “I don’t really know. Call it a hunch. It was there. It was free. So I took it.”

  Two hours before their scheduled departure, Captain Curra found Rachel, Wendy, Reuben, Rashi, Faye Anne, Science Officer Lt. Dale Hammersmith, Space Frame Specialist Lt. Richard Trucks and Propulsion Specialist Dag Halliburton on the bridge running through their departure check lists.

  “Captain, are we ready for departure on schedule?” Captain Curra asked.

  “We are indeed. I should ask you the same question,” Rachel said.

  “Yes, we are. I will go make my document run. If I might suggest, you might wish to gather all the passengers and crew together for a briefing before we pull out.”

  “Sort of like a life boat drill?”

  “In a sense. Might I suggest the galley in the passenger liner? It’s the only space large enough to gather everyone together.”

  “Should we wait for you to get back?”

  “No, I will be back in one hour and fifty-nine minutes. When I hit the deck, you slam the air lock doors tight and light the candle.” He grinned a wide toothy grin.

  “Got it!”

  Fifty military personnel, twenty medical and support staff and twenty civilians who had decided that risking passage on this untested ship was better than waiting two more weeks for the next ship headed to New St. Louis gathered in the galley. Since the ship was still orbiting at the shipyard, it was weightless. Some of the passengers were not dealing with the weightlessness very well and the military personnel who had experience with weightlessness were tending to them. Rachel and Wendy floated at one end of the room with their husbands by their sides.