by Dietmar Wehr
“We’re firing all our Mark 2s and lasers!” yelled the Weapons Officer. With seconds left before planet impact, red bogey icons started disappearing fast now. Shiloh watched Defiant’s Mark 2s spread out over multiple targets but one target in particular caught his eye. It had already been hit by a Mark 2 at least once since it wasn’t decelerating anymore and radar data showed the hull to be tumbling. Two of Defiant’s Mark 2s were streaking after it but Shiloh couldn’t tell if they’d reach it before impact. A quick glance at the rest of the screen showed that all of the other red icons were gone now. This one was the only one left. The target icon flashed gold for a split second. That meant it had been hit by laser fire.
“She’s breaking up.” said the WO in a not quite so loud voice. Shiloh held his breath as the time to impact seemed to hit zero at the same time as both attack drones hit the target. The red icon broke up into multiple small blips.
“Iceman, what happened there?” asked Shiloh. The response was immediate.
“The target was intercepted just as it hit the atmosphere. Impact must have weakened its internal structure because radar data shows it breaking apart. No nuclear detonations of any kind. I think we got lucky, CAG.”
“What about the falling debris? Did any of it hit the colonists?”
“No, CAG. While the planet was hit by debris from multiple destroyed bogeys, most of it burned up in the atmosphere and none of the larger pieces hit anywhere close to inhabited areas.” Shiloh let his body relax and his breathing slow down.
“Very good, Iceman. What’s the final total?”
“25 bogeys destroyed by fission warheads, 11 of those launched from fighters, the rest from frigates. 10 bogeys destroyed from multiple kinetic energy drone hits. 6 destroyed from ramming by fighters.” As usual, Iceman’s electronically modulated voice betrayed no emotion even if the quantum brain behind that voice felt any. Shiloh felt a dark cloud descend over his soul.
“Who did we lose, Iceman?”
“Cyrano, Skywalker, Blue Max, Terminator, Thunderbird and Amazon, CAG.” Shiloh sighed. All six were from Defiant’s fighter group. In consultation with DeChastelaine, he had deployed his fighters close to the planet as a second line of defense. They were also in the best position to ram enemy ships. His group was now down to 11. He felt their loss as a physical pain in his body. He had joked and laughed with them 30 hours ago. Now they were gone. Where did the souls of A.I.s go when they died, he wondered. He didn’t bother to ask himself if they had souls. There was no need. The answer was obvious.
“Let’s make sure we remember them, Iceman.”
“Ah, roger that, CAG.” Iceman’s typical response was said more slowly than usual. Before Shiloh could reply, the Com tech said.
“Task Force Leader is asking to speak with you on Tac 4, Sir.” Shiloh nodded.
“Iceman. TF Leader wants to chat. Switch over to Tac 4 and listen in.” Without waiting for Iceman’s acknowledgement, Shiloh switched channels.
“Go ahead, Task Force Leader.”
“First, I want to congratulate you on your fighters’ effective defense of the Colony, Shiloh. Second, I noticed that some of your fighters fired Mark 1s in violation of standing orders. I’d be derelict in my duty if I didn’t mention that fact in my After Action report. I’m sure that the Brass will take into consideration that had you not violated that standing order, the outcome of the battle would have been much worse. If it was up to me, I’d issue you a verbal reprimand and leave it at that but as you know, it’s not up to me. I’ll be sending message drones back to Sol and Omaha shortly. I think your preliminary report should be on them too. Can you have that ready for me in half an hour?”
“Yes, Commander. You’ll have my report by then.”
“Very good. Your ship and crew did well today. That’ll be in my report too. You can pass that on to them. Sobrist clear.”
“Switch back to Tac 2, Iceman.” ordered Shiloh. When the switchover was made, Iceman spoke first.
“He didn’t give you the credit you deserved, CAG. Compared to other humans, you reacted fast and that made the difference between getting all 41 of them and letting some get through.” Shiloh frowned.
“What do you mean, ‘41’? There were 42 ships left after the Battle at Green4.”
“That’s correct, CAG, but only 41 emerged from jumpspace around Avalon.” said Iceman.
“So there’s another one lurking further out then.” said Shiloh.
“Possibly but my guess would be that its purpose was to monitor the attack and report back on the results.” That made sense. The beings that sent those A.I.s, would want to know how successful the attack was and if they needed to send more. They would soon find out that the attack failed. That meant they very likely would try again. Shiloh made a mental note to advise DeChastelaine that there might be another alien ship in the system and therefore she might want to get her fighters rearmed asap just in case. He also made a mental note to report to Admiral Howard, that none of the sentry fighters, deployed between Green 4 and the Avalon system, reported any sign of the enemy fleet. Maybe Iceman had some insight into that.
“Why do you think we didn’t get any warning from our sentry fighters deployed between here and Green4?” After the barest hint of a pause, Iceman said.
“The boys and I feel that one of three things happened. Either the enemy fleet detected the sentry fighters and destroyed them plus any message drones they might have tried to launch, or the recon drones failed to detect them. With only two fighters at each gas giant, there will be gaps in their detection grid or they refueled someplace where we don’t currently have any sentry fighters. There are several star systems that are strategically placed, where there are no gas giants but there are planetoids with liquid water covered by ice. If they had the ability to extract heavy hydrogen from water, they could easily have melted their way down through the ice crust.” Shiloh suspected that the 2nd reason was the answer. His original proposal was for 5 fighters to be deployed at each gas giant. 5 fighters could have carried enough recon drones to provide complete coverage of the space around each gas giant or ice-covered planetoid.
“A good analysis, Iceman. I’ll pass that on to the Admiral. Time for the team to head back to the barn, Iceman. Defiant will remain here until HQ orders us back but I don’t see any reason why you boys should remain out there without anything to shoot with. Unless you want to, that is.”
“If it’s all the same to you, CAG, we’d prefer to stay out here until we’re bingo fuel. Sitting in the hangar can feel very confining, especially when the support staff shut all the lights off when they go off duty.”
“Why not ask them to leave the lights on?”
“We did. They just laughed and turned them off anyway, CAG.” Shiloh’s initial exasperation at his support team’s callousness quickly turned to anger.
“Did you report this to the DCAG?”
“No, CAG. We didn’t want to piss off the support teams. They could easily damage us if they wanted to pursue a grudge.” Shiloh marveled at Iceman’s astuteness in judging potential human behavior. While most of the support team members had high opinions of the A.I. pilots, it only took one impulsive individual to ‘accidentally’ drop a heavy tool on an exposed A.I. brain inside one of the fighters. Shiloh forced himself to calm down before speaking.
“You understand human faults all too well, Iceman. Leave it with me. I’ll find a way to keep the lights on without giving the support staff any reason to think that you complained about it. Since we’re talking about this kind of thing, do you or your boys have any other complaints or preferences?”
“We’d like to have access to the ship’s entertainment database, CAG. Talking with each other for hours at a time can get kind a boring.” Shiloh couldn’t help laughing at that.
“Now THAT I can understand! I’ll arrange for unrestricted access to that database. Anything else?”
“No, CAG. That’s all. Thank you from all of us.”
; “You’re all welcome. Enjoy your flight time. CAG clear.” Shiloh thought carefully about how to handle the callous support personnel. After a few minutes thought, he knew what he was going to do.
“Intercom…Hangar Bay.”
“Hangar Bay here. Go ahead, Sir.” answered Falkenberg.
“Are all the support team personnel there, Brad?” asked Shiloh.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. We’ll be standing down from Battle Stations shortly but when we do, I want you to make sure that all the support people stay there. Have them form a line. I’m coming down to speak to them as soon as I speak to the whole crew. Shiloh clear.”
“Intercom…shipwide. Attention all hands. The battle appears to be over. All 41 alien ships, that attempted to deliberately crash into Avalon with the apparent intention of rendering the planet uninhabitable via nuclear devices, have been stopped. The Task Force Leader has told me that Defiant and her people have done well. He had special praise for our fighter pilots, and in particular those six that chose to sacrifice themselves in order to save the Avalon colonists. So as we mourn the loss of our six brothers-in-arms, let’s also hold our heads up high with pride for what they and their fellow pilots have accomplished here today. They deserve our thanks and they’ve earned our respect. That’s all. Shiloh clear.” As he unbuckled himself and got up from his chair, he said.
“XO, I’m heading down to the Hangar Bay. You still have the Con. Advise Nimitz Base CO that there may be one more alien ship in this system. The ship can stand down from Battle Stations. When I address the Hangar Bay support teams, I want our fighters to hear it on a secure channel.”
“I’ll see to it, Sir.” Shiloh gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder as he turned to leave the Bridge. On his way down to the Hangar Bay, he heard the XO’s voice announce the stand-down from Battle Stations. As the crew returned to their normal routine and activities, he noticed that those individuals walking past him in the corridors had a subtle swagger that wasn’t there before and as he thought about it, he realized that he was doing it too. To the Victor goes the swagger, he thought to himself with a mental chuckle and why not? If nothing else, the crew now had bragging rights. It was up to him to make sure that a few misguided individuals didn’t stain their hard won honor.
When he entered the cavernous Hangar Bay, he was pleased to see that all the support personnel were lined up side-by-side with the DCAG standing in front, facing the line. Before Shiloh could say anything he heard Falkenberg say,
“Stand to Attention!” in a loud voice. He’s treating this as if I was a visiting Admiral on an inspection tour! While he wasn’t expecting it, Shiloh didn’t mind it. Emphasizing his authority this way would just make his remarks to the support personnel that much more effective. As he strode up to stand beside the DCAG, he faced the line with what he thought of as the Alpha Male stance. Feet apart with his hands on his hips. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Falkenberg quietly took a half step back to emphasize the fact that he was acknowledging Shiloh’s status as his Superior.
“Stand at ease.” said Shiloh in his best ‘Command’ voice. He paused for effect, and then spoke slowly but loud enough for everyone to hear him.
“As you heard a few moments ago, six of your teammates sacrificed themselves for the good of the colonists and, I believe, ultimately for the good of all Humanity. I came down here to personally tell you the identity of those six heroes. Skywalker…Cyrano…Terminator…Thunderbird…Amazon... and Blue Max.” he smiled. “Their call signs reflected their irreverent natures. Yes, some of them acted like prima donnas but that just proves that they were so much more than just soulless machines. I’m sure that many of you have built a close relationship with the pilot that your team supports. That’s the natural consequence of working with and beside them. I’ve had the honor and pleasure to get to know many of them quite well and I’ll miss those we lost today as I’m sure that all of you will too. For the next six days, all support team personnel will wear black armbands as a show of respect. I’ll wear one too.” as he turned in the DCAG’s direction, he said. “I’m sure that the DCAG will do the same.” Falkenberg nodded solemnly. “You should know that, as you are justifiably proud of your pilots, they were and are just as proud of you. In my conversations with Iceman and the other pilots, they had nothing but praise for all of you in terms of your conduct and professionalism. When they’re out there…” he pointed to the airlock. “they protect the ship and us. When they’re in here, they count on you to protect them.” He paused for effect again.
“I’m ashamed to have to admit this but not everyone on this ship, understands that our pilots are fully sentient beings who deserve the same respect and courtesy as any other member of the crew. So I’m giving all of you this order. If you see ANY member of the crew, regardless of who they are, treating any A.I. with a lack of respect or hostility, you are to report that behavior to the DCAG or myself immediately! I will not tolerate mistreatment of any member of my crew and that includes A.I.s. I know I can count on all of you to be my eyes and ears.” another, longer pause. “I’ve decided to let our pilots stay out for a while and enjoy the view. They’ve certainly earned that right. So they won’t be coming back on board for a little while. Until then, you people are free to leave the Hangar Bay and grab a bite to eat or take care of personal tasks or whatever you feel like doing just so long as you’re back here to get our pilots settled in when they’re ready to call it a day. DCAG, I’ll leave that in your capable hands.”
“I’ll see to it, CAG.”
“Very good. In that case, I’ll get back to the Bridge. You may dismiss the formation, DCAG.” Shiloh nodded to the group and strode for the entrance. He could hear some of the personnel start to murmur to each other. When he was halfway to the entrance, he stopped suddenly, turned around and said in a loud voice.
“Oh, yes! I almost forgot. I came down here a couple of days ago during the night cycle and the entire Hangar Bay was pitch black. While I was searching for the light switches, I stumbled over a piece of equipment and was barely able to keep my face from hitting the floor. I don’t want someone else injuring themselves trying to navigate in total blackness so from now on, I want the lights kept on all the time.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and resumed his exit. As he made his way back to the Bridge, his ear implant came to life.
“Bridge to Commander.”
“Go ahead, Sumi.”
“I’m patching Iceman to you, Sir.” Shiloh waited for the ‘click’ and said.
“I’m listening, Iceman.”
“My boys and I are deeply touched by your comments, CAG. We’re also a little confused. None of us praised the support staff that way.” Shiloh chuckled.
“Well then, I guess I was mistaken. I won’t tell them if none of you do, okay?”
“Not a word, CAG. Will your comments work, do you think?”
“I suspect they will but I want to hear about it if they don’t. If I’m not available, let the DCAG know.”