TSN: Epiphany (Terran Space Navy)
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TSN: Epiphany
By
Paul Phipps
Copyright 2013 all rights reserved to P. R. Phipps
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Chapter one - U.S. CVN George H.W. Bush, Sunday, November 1, 2026
Chapter two- Task Force 14, 0800L, Monday, November 2, 2026, Location South Pacific, Lat 55S – Long 140W
Chapter three - TSN Star Fighter Carrier “Lucky”, 1035L, Location South Pacific, Lat 55S – Long 140W
Chapter four - TSN Star Fighter Carrier “Lucky”, 1120L, Location South Pacific, Lat 55S – Long 140W
Chapter five – Flight Deck of the USN George H.W. Bush, 1550L, Location South Pacific, Lat 55S – Long 140W
Chapter six – Beijing China – 10 days earlier – October 23, 2026
Chapter seven – U.S.N. CVN George H.W. Bush 1950L November 2, 2026
Chapter eight – Terran Space Navy SFC Lucky, 2055L November 2, 2015
Chapter nine – Guangzhou, Swimming Dragon Class AIP Submarine, Monitoring American Task force 14, 2115L
Chapter ten – Terran Space Navy SFC Lucky, 0430L Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Chapter eleven – United States of America, Pentagon
Chapter twelve – U.S.N. CVN George H.W. Bush
Chapter thirteen – Terran Space Navy SFC Lucky
Chapter fourteen – Task Force 14, USS Cape St. George, CG 71
Chapter fifteen – Terran Space Navy SFC Lucky
Chapter sixteen – Terran Space Navy SFC Lucky 0600L November 4, 2026
Chapter seventeen – USN George H.W. Bush – Central Pacific Ocean, 2030L November 7, 2026
Chapter eighteen – Pentagon – 2310L Saturday, November 7, 2026
Chapter nineteen – TSN/USN Epiphany – Sunday, 0700L November 8, 2026
Chapter twenty - Pentagon – 1645L Sunday, November 8, 2026
Chapter twenty one – TSN/USN Epiphany – Monday 0800L November 9, 2026
Chapter twenty two - Pentagon – 0910L Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Chapter twenty three - TSN Scout ‘Roland’, Eastern Kentucky hill country, Tuesday 1330 EST, November 10, 2026
Chapter twenty four - Washington D.C. White House, South Lawn, 1855 EST, Tuesday November 10, 2026
Chapter twenty five - TSN/USN Epiphany – Tuesday 1700L November 10, 2026
Chapter twenty six - TSN/USN Epiphany – Wednesday 0530L November 11, 2026
Chapter Thirty Four - Tehran, Iranian United Republic, 1530L, Wednesday November 11, 2026
Chapter Thirty Five – TSN Susannah, In Orbit around the Moon, Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Chapter Thirty Six – U.S. CVN George H.W. Bush, – Wednesday 1530L November 11, 2026
Chapter Thirty-Seven - Washington D.C. Wednesday, November 11, 2026
U.S. CVN George H.W. Bush, November 1, 2026
Task Force 14 was on course for 55S 140W a point in the middle of the South Pacific more than halfway to Antarctica with its cold, dark slate grey waters. The Aegis Destroyers and Cruisers were on Condition III Wartime Cruising. The Nimitz class carrier George H.W. Bush was in the center of the formation. Launching and retrieving Hawkeye IV Naval AWACS planes at regular intervals with a pair of fully armed F18C fighters at the ready catapults, waiting for the command to light their engines and fly off to intercept. Intercept what though?
The men and women of the fleet thought that this was just another in a long series of simulations for War. It would be just like real combat in all but the releasing of ordinance. And that would occur too at the right time in a SHOOTEX.
Unknown to all except the commanding Admiral and his Flag Captain was the real reason they were there.
“Well, John”, said Vice Admiral Stephen Crane to his longtime friend and Flag Captain, John Welles, “Do you think we will finally get to see these little green men that the CNO warned us about?”
Captain Welles was a man of average height but relatively thin at 170 pounds, his Scandinavian heritage was obvious. His hair was a very light blonde that hid the grey at his temples effectively.
Vice Admiral Crane on the other hand was a smaller man with the build of a wrestler, which he had been, on the Naval Academy’s wrestling team many years earlier. He was nearing sixty years of age and knew that he would be retiring in a year or so. As much as he loved being at sea, he also knew that unless he stepped down and retired there wouldn’t be a place for a younger man to be promoted into.
“Admiral, I don’t know? All I can say is that the Chief of Naval Operations was not his usual self in the Video Conference. Perhaps there is more that he knows about and didn’t want to prejudice our thoughts and actions”
“Perhaps”, (a long pause), “perhaps you are right. But still, we are going to rendezvous with a UFO at these coordinates? I’m sorry, it defies belief, we both have read the Project Bluebook brief and we know that there are several unexplained occurrences. But in all of these years, surely someone would have seen something definitive. Not just these unexplainable sightings and no evidence other than poor photography.”
“Sir, we will know one way or another in the next couple of days. Admiral Caparelli said that the rendezvous would be here and by 1200L tomorrow.”
The two officers turned to look out the windows of the Flag Bridge and stared at the dark, leaden sky and the equally grey ocean. There were white caps on the ocean as the fierce wind outside whipped by.
“At least the weather will be better tomorrow. Meteorology is forecasting the cloud deck to break up late tomorrow afternoon and the sea state will be 1 to 3 feet chop.” Admiral Crane said thoughtfully.
* * *
TSN Star Fighter Carrier “Lucky”
High above the task force around 95K feet the Star Fighter Carrier that called itself, “Lucky”, was maneuvering into position for the maximum psychological effect on the Naval Task Force below. The SFC was close to five miles in Length and three miles wide and around two miles at her thickest point. It was broadly speaking, a Delta shape with a raised band on the upper surface approximately a mile in width and two and a half miles in length. This was the retrieval area for the Star Fighters. They would come in under their own guidance or by Directed Gravity beams, aka tractor beams, that would ensnare damaged vehicles. Once through the force fields and inside the protected environment, maintenance and rescue/repair crews could work on the Star Fighters before bringing them inside for rearming and placement into their individual launch bays.
A typical Star Fighter was around 500 ft. long and had a crew of three. The vessel itself was fast and had reasonable endurance and could reach anywhere within the Solar System out to the Heliopause within five days. The inner planets could be reached in a few hours.
Lucky also contained its “Escort” ships too. These were now being deployed so as to englobe the Star Fighter Carrier. The men and women of the Fleet below would recognize and appreciate the Outer Space versions of their own ships.
At the moment though, all ships had their own Masking Shields on. Call these Cloaking Devices, ChameleonWare or just plain Invisibility Fields. It doesn’t matter what you call them, what mattered is that they worked. The Naval Task Force would neither see Lucky and her escorts visually or by Radar, that is, until Lucky wanted them to.
Deep inside Lucky a conversation was going on.
“When do you think we should reveal Lucky and her Escorts?” asked Seeker.
Seeker was to all outside obs
ervers just a voice out of thin air. But her voice was apparent to Fleet Admiral Webster both through his ears and inside his mind. She and Fleet Admiral Webster were linked together in a relationship that would never be broken except by the destruction of the two of them. And since Seeker’s body was actually near the Heliopause of the Solar System and Admiral Webster’s was right inside Lucky the odds of that happening were very slight indeed.
Fleet Admiral Carl Noah Webster was a tall man at six foot four inches, broad shouldered and with a trim waist line he looked to be about thirty five years of age, his full head of hair was a glistening black and his eyes had the wrinkles at the corners that showed he smiled frequently.
“I am of the mind to turn off the Masking Field when they are about ten miles away and then come down to 1000 feet. It would remind them of the various Science Fiction movies that have been produced over the last forty years or so.” The Admiral replied. “I don’t want them getting all itchy trigger fingered though, so we need to drop down slowly, maybe at 2000 feet a minute?” Admiral Webster said.
“2000 feet a minute should give them about 45 minutes to spot us and get their panic reflexes under control.” Seeker spoke authoritatively. “Then we’ll have you go over in a large scout ship to meet and greet their Admiral.”
The Admiral got up to go look at the screen that made up most of the wall and he thought about how much time had passed for him and how much work that had been put into making this meeting here in the South Pacific occur.
“Lucky”, Admiral Webster finally said, “What time is it locally?”
“It is 1033L for the Task Force 14”, Lucky replied, “We have 25 hours and 27 minutes until the time specified in our communiqué to Admiral Caparelli.
Admiral Webster thought for a while longer and then asked Seeker and Lucky their opinions on his suggested approach to Vice Admiral Crane and his staff.
“Do you think it will be better for me to go alone or to have a group of Mech’s accompany me as an Honor Guard? My personal feelings are that I would be in a better position to go by myself than to appear warlike. Also there is that streak in me for flamboyance that Seeker has never managed to tame.” he chuckled.
Seeker laughed and said, “You just want to be in the center ring of this three ring circus you are organizing. I understand that and think that it does have merit. Perhaps a protocol Droid could be fashioned like in that movie “Star Wars” you like so well.”
“A PROTOCOL DROID!” shouted Admiral Webster, “You want me to be taken seriously don’t you? One look at a C3PO and they would fall down laughing their butts off.”
With a giggle Seeker just said, “Gotcha…”
He looked down at his shoes and fumed for a few seconds, and then said with a rueful smile, “Two points to you. Thank you for puncturing my worries with a well-aimed dart of your atrocious sense of humor.”
“No problem!” she said cheerfully, “I aim to please… And I rarely miss.”
“Now that we have punctured your worries, let us continue with your initial question.” Lucky interjected. “I am of the opinion that you should go alone because you are still the only human in the Terran Space Navy that you and Seeker have been so industrious in creating. Perhaps a few Mech’s should be available, if only to demonstrate some of the capabilities you are about to claim to their satisfaction.”
“Frankly Lucky, I think you do have a sense of humor, even though you persist in trying to hide it. Having a real ‘Flying Saucer’ for a scout ship is overdoing it you know, and having me arrive in one is really over the top. We are going to blow a few synapses down there, you do realize.” Admiral Webster stated in a deadpan fashion.
“Yes, I realize that. And I am hoping that some of the more intelligent people down there get the joke too. They are the types that I would like to have for my crew.”
The Admiral decided that there would be time for a good dinner and catch up on the World News before going to bed. It might help tomorrow to know ahead of time what was going on.
Task Force 14, 0800L, Monday, November 2, 2026 Location South Pacific, Lat 55S – Long 140W
“Have all NIPRNET access cut at this time; inform all personnel that no unofficial communications are authorized for the foreseeable future. Have all ships go to General Quarters at 1045L. Ensure that everyone has a chance to get a meal. We will probably have a very long day ahead of us. One way or another.” Vice Admiral Crane instructed his staff.
He then turned to his communications officer, Lt. Kathleen Phelps, and told her, “Please set up a secure Video Conference with Admiral Caparelli at his earliest convenience.”
She turned away and using her secure Headset to communicate with Flag Comm. she passed the request to her Chief Petty officer to arrange. Fifteen minutes passed before she was able to tell Admiral Crane that his Video Conference was scheduled to begin in twenty-five minutes.
“Please have the CAG, (Commander Air Group), and his staff as well as all OOD Qualified Officers attend the Video Conference. Have the Commanding Officers and their Executive Officers of the escorts also attend. “, He paused, “In person, no excuses.”
“It’s not like they aren’t going to find out why we’re here later on today.” he muttered to his Flag Captain.
His orders caused a scramble of helicopters to bring the various Commanding Officers and their Exec’s over the ‘Bush’. This was highly unusual and caused a great deal of commotion and questions. But discipline was high and so was morale. Most of the personnel of the fleet took it in stride. They knew that if they had a reason to know then they would learn that at the proper time.
* * *
U.S.N. CVN George H.W. Bush Video Conference Rooms 1 and 2.
“Gentlemen and Ladies”, vice Admiral Crane started out the meeting with, “I apologize for the no notice meeting. It is a credit to the training of our fleet personnel that you were able to be here within 20 minutes of the order. Please convey my appreciation and congratulations to your people.”
“Now before we start the Video Conference portion of this meeting, a few things need to be gone over. We will be in conference with Admiral Caparelli the CNO, this meeting is classified at a stratospheric level and it may turn out that it never occurred, if you get my drift. We will have a chance to discuss this among ourselves after the Video Conference”
He then turned to Lt. Phelps and said, “Please complete the Link so we may begin”
Less than a minute later on the main screen in both V.C. rooms Admiral Caparelli appeared and then started his address.
Admiral Caparelli was a man that appeared to be of around fifty years of age even though he had just had his 67th birthday. His angular face went well with his uniform and he projected the air of supreme confidence.
“Good morning to you and your officers, Admiral Crane”
“Good morning to you also, Admiral Caparelli.” Vice admiral Crane replied.
“This is going to be quick because I don’t want the encryption for this meeting broken. Thirteen days ago I came into my office and there was a plain white envelope on my desk. None of my staff knew how it got there and when a security team opened it they were shocked that the single piece of paper displayed an Unauthorized User logo and was blank otherwise.
After ensuring that it contained no harmful substances it was returned to me. As soon as I touched the paper, The Unauthorized User Logo disappeared and an Authorized User Logo appeared with a space for a thumb print acceptance.”
At the announcement of this a loud murmuring of surprise went among the officers present in both V.C. rooms.
“You can go over the ramifications of the technology being displayed later among yourselves. We need to hurry this along. The communiqué was a request for a meeting with a U.S. Navy officer that was to represent the U.S. Navy and whose decisions would be considered binding. The location of the meeting was to be at the Lat/Long Coordinates you are currently located at. The requestor was,” there was a pause of around 1
0 seconds and then the Admiral took a very deep breath, “The requestor was a Fleet Admiral Carl Noah Webster of the Terran Space Navy.
Ok, let me be upfront here. I have never heard of the Terran Space Navy except in various Science Fiction books and movies. I would say that somebody has an atrocious sense of humor. Except”, and he made a loud sigh, “he backed it up with this amazing piece of technology that is the communiqué itself. You see, it can’t be copied, it can’t be photographed. The only way it can be read is if I am touching the paper. And that is the reason you are where you are now.”