by Paul Phipps
“Commander Thomas, this one is all yours.” Ansel told her with a smile.
“Thank you Sir. I’ll handle it.” She said as she headed out the hatch and headed toward the Bridge in Tower #1.
“If you gentlemen will follow me, we’ll go to the After Bridge.”
On the After Bridge in Tower #2 they could walk around and watch the flight deck as well as the Guadalupe now in position to start Fueling Operations. As they observed Epiphany gave a running commentary through the local deck speakers about the operation.
“Guide Line launched.… Looks good… Guadalupe is now passing the wire Hawser rope.
Fuel hose is being brought aboard. Chief Harnes says that connection to the Fuel Valve is complete. Pressure checks being accomplished…. Guadalupe is ready to receive JP-5…. Commander Bastin is monitoring fuel flow from Engineering,… JP-5 is now being pumped to Guadalupe. Estimate 45 minutes until her bunkers are topped off.”
“Very good Epiphany, we’ll stay here until the Guadalupe is ready to quit.” Ansel told her.
“Captain Steele while we have the chance let me use the Holographic display here to show you one of our ideas for the SHOOTEX.
In this version there will be two phases of the SHOOTEX. Phase one will involve eight F-47N’s at a distance of 400 miles at an altitude of 85K feet at Mach 6. At a range of 350 Milles The lead Aircraft will use his rail gun to place a remote observation device over the target area. It will take approximately two minutes for full deployment and receipt of initial data.
Using the data received the flight of F-47’s will ripple fire their rail-guns to place 24 rounds into the target area.
In the Target Area we will place four drones that will resemble 3 Arleigh Burke Class destroyers and 1 Ticonderoga Class cruiser. These four Drones are going to be under attack by 12 Speedboat/Gunboats that just happen to look like the ones that attacked Desron 17 in the Straits of Hormuz in 2017.
Unlike that time the Iranians won’t be able to claim that we started the provocation on their ‘peaceful’ night time exercises they were conducting. The reason is that our Drones resembling those ships will not fire their weapons thereby denying the Iranian Film Crew their footage to be used in their propaganda effort.
Why you wonder? My F-47’s are going to sink them from 300 Miles away, that’s why. And not one of the Navy’s ships will be harmed in the near-miraculous multiple sinkings.”
Captain Steele and his men were silent each thinking their own thoughts. Then Chief Morales said quietly, “You can do this?”
“Yes Chief, WE can do this. So what do you gentlemen think? Or should we just do the old barrel in the Ocean and shoot at it?” Ansel asked.
Captain Steele then asked, “Where are you getting these drones for your exercise?”
“The fabricators on the Epiphany are making them up for us. Epiphany please display a representation of the Drones the Fabricators came up with.”
The Holographic Display cleared and then a small package about twice the size of a deflated standard 25-person life raft appeared. Epiphany started her presentation. The display changed to keep up with what she was describing.
“This is a mark I surface target drone. In its stowed away form it is approximately twice the size of a standard 25 person life raft. Upon being placed into the water it will sink to a depth of 60 feet before deploying, this is intended to keep it out of the screws of the deploying vessel.
Upon reaching deployment depth it will break its protective shell and using compressed air and hyper expanding foam it will rise to the surface and shortly have a crude ship like appearance. The onboard engine will power up giving headway and the electronic package will deploy the holographic projectors that will use the shell to project a visual of the ship to be resembled. This Drone can be made to look visually like any ship from a 40 foot Sail Boat to a Ticonderoga Class Cruiser.
Full deployment will take 7 minutes from the time the drone is placed into the water.”
“I like it Captain.” Commander Banks spoke up, “If it can provide its own power and maneuver too then I would like to have a couple for the Cape St. George. Imagine sending one of these out to draw fire so we can whack them afterwards.”
“And what do you think of Commander Webster’s idea for the SHOOTEX?”. Captain Steele inquired.
“Yeah, I like that too. The old barrel in the water is so passé.” He said with a laugh.
“Let me give credit where credit is due though. The basic idea came from GM1 Rogers here. I overheard him talking about that incident late one evening and it was his desire to have had those SOB’s sent to the bottom and he came up with a basic plan that we are going to implement.
We didn’t have the technology then to do it. Now we do.” Ansel said with a slight flourish of his hands to Rogers. Who flushed a little bit at the praise.
“Uh, thank you Sir.” The first class petty officer stammered a bit, then he voice firmed up, “You’re right though, those rag heads just purely pissed me off. I’m glad though in a perverse way that we don’t operate there anymore. It was a good decision to tell them all over there in the sandbox to deal with their own conflicts and that we wouldn’t be involved anymore. Especially since all the transports refused to go there anymore for fear of being sunk like the Appleton was.”
“All right then” Captain Steele interjected, “I like your Phase 1 so what do you propose for Phase 2?”
“Phase 2 is a bit trickier. We would launch some UCAV’s, (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle), At least four armed with two Air to Surface missiles each. These would orbit about 200 miles away and after our gunboat attackers were eliminated by the F-47N Rail Gun Munitions they would begin their attack on our four Surviving Surface Ship Drones.
“Really going for it aren’t you? Commander Banks said with a bit of astonishment.
“Well, yes. I am. Fair warning to you, I have a flamboyant streak that gets away from me from time to time. And I want to show off Epiphany’s capabilities to the point that no one will have a leg to stand on if they try to talk her down.” Ansel said with directness.
“I can see that from your point of view”, Commander Banks admitted. “Go on then please”
“All right then, these four UCAV’s are going to begin their attack. Our Hawkeye IV will spot them starting their approach and using that Data the F-47N’s will be vectored toward them. At that point the Epiphany’s eight inch rail guns will fire two salvoes of Surface to Air ordinance at the UCAV’s projected position.
Before they can be shot down the UCAV’s will release their Sea Skimming Missiles that are targeted on our poor Surface Ships.
Our eight inch guns will take out the UCAV’s at a distance of 150 miles and the F-47N’s will acquire and shoot down the Air to Surface Missiles preferably from 85,000 feet. But Captain Johansson may decide to get in closer.
At the end of the Exercise our four remaining surface Drones will have survived Gunboats and supersonic ship killing missiles without having had to fire a shot.” Ansel ended up with a grin.
“Very, very impressive. What about the remaining surface drones? Can they be retrieved for further duty?” Captain Steele asked.
“Unfortunately not, Captain, once deployed the memory plastic and Hyper-expansive foam is permanently set.” Epiphany answered him.
The men from the Cape St. George twitched a bit. They had forgotten that she was also a participant in their talk.
“Any idea what to do with them then?” Commander Banks asked looking around.
Rogers thought for a moment and then said, “Epiphany can their projector’s be reconfigured to make them look like different ships. If so then the Cape St. George and the Other Escorts could take turns at shooting at them.”
“Yes, we can do that. Any particular ship you’d like to sink?, “She said mischievously.
“Um, yeah actually. Do you know of a ship called the Al Burj?, he asked hopefully.
“I think so,” Epiphany said slowly, “Wasn�
�t that the Emir of Dubai’s super yacht he ran aground and then requested the Navy to salvage for him.”
“Yes, that’s the one. “GM1 Rogers said icily.
“If I remember correctly, didn’t we refuse to do so.” Captain Steele said looking at Rogers in slight confusion.
“Yes Sir we did. He hired my Dad’s company to do the job. It cost almost 20 million bucks to do too. And then he had the gall to stiff him, telling him to bill the U.S. Navy since we should have done it the first place. That just about bankrupted him.
So, I hate that damn Yacht and I build a model of it every year and shoot it to pieces when I go home on leave to see my folks. Dad’s gotten used to us blowing it up too.” He said with a smile.
“If Captain Steele allows it, I have no problem in getting you a chance to sink it again then.”, Ansel said with a chuckle.
Captain Steele had a good laugh at that. “I vote yes, but I think in this case we should make sure that Admiral Crane doesn’t have any problems with Commander Webster’s Little SHOOTEX.”
Commander Banks chuckled over that. Then said, “Little SHOOTEX? I’ve been involved in full scale war exercises that weren’t this involved.”
Pentagon – 1645L Sunday, November 8, 2026
Admiral Carl Noah Webster and Commander McAndrews of the Terran Space Navy in the Scout Ship called Roland are at an Altitude of 110,000 feet above the City of Washington D.C. By happenstance it was an absolutely clear day and they could see the whole city easily by visible light.
“Well Roland, how does it look to you? Anything hidden that we should be wary of?” Admiral Webster asked.
Commander McAndrews also known as Seeker just smiled at the Admiral with a knowing smile.
“No Admiral, nothing to be worried about. It appears that the presidential party is exiting the Pentagon at this time. There is of course a large Secret Service Presence on the surrounding rooftops and the Pentagon itself.” Roland reported.
“Well let’s go and make their day, why don’t we?” Admiral Webster said with a laugh.
* * *
President Richardson was talking to Vice President Gruber and Speaker Paul as they walked toward the Helipad. Senate Majority Edwards and Senate Minority Leader Unger are walking behind the three men and listening closely.
“Werner, Thomas now that you’ve had a few minutes to catch a breather I want to emphasize one thing. This is a preliminary contact on the Political level. No Political Deals have been made. Even though the Navy has accepted this ship the Epiphany. We, that is the civilian leadership, haven’t given our blessings yet.”
“I understand Mr. President”, Speaker of the House Thomas Paul acknowledged, “Until you formally pass this matter to Congress I will treat it as informational only. And I do appreciate your desire to keep me informed.”
Shortly everyone was in place and starting to scan the sky looking for something, anything, heading their way. Then there was the slightest sound, sort of like a whine but musical also. Then in front of them in the clear air a doorway opened and a ramp, or was it a set of stairs, appeared out of the blue and when the two people wearing black coveralls were on the ground the ramp retracted, the door closed and the whine faded away.
Admiral Webster and his aide walked toward the Presidential Party with a self-assurance that was evident in their bearing and walk. They stopped three feet away and…
“Good Afternoon, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker and everyone else. I believe that you wished to speak with me in person.”
President Richardson was nonplussed for a moment then he fell back on protocol while trying to get his brain back in gear. “Good Afternoon Admiral Webster. I’m assuming that you ARE Admiral Webster?”
Admiral Webster took a moment to look around behind him and then at the Rank Rings on his left Forearm. Then he smiled and said, “Yes, Mr. President, I am Fleet Admiral Webster of the Terran Space Navy and this is Commander McAndrews.” He then motioned her to come beside him.
“Pardon me for being so questioning Admiral. You must admit that this is quite a bit out of the ordinary for me, well, all of us I believe.” President Richardson said with a wry grin.
“I can imagine that very easily Mr. President I’ve been in that situation more than a few times myself. Would you like to go inside or would you prefer to talk here?” Admiral Webster asked kindly.
“Inside would be best, I believe.” President Richardson then turned and waved everyone back the way they came.
Later, after all the Dignitaries and the Chiefs of Staff and their assistants had all had the chance to be properly introduced, the largest of the Secure Conference rooms the Pentagon had to offer was pressed into service. A full Cadre of Marines and Air Force and Army Security personnel secured that whole section of the building from any potential prying eyes and ears.
The President of the United States sat at his place in the center of the Oval Conference table and watched the TSN Admiral and his aide calmly sit across from him and then wait for him to start the proceedings. It was odd though they hadn’t spoken to each other once yet the Admiral and his aide were acting as though they were of one mind on everything. Very strange…
Just then Commander McAndrews placed her briefcase on the table and opened up. Reaching in, she pulled out a Crystalline Pyramid and put in front of her and Admiral Webster. Then she removed a hemispherical device about the size of a dinner plate and set that down on the table next to her. She then placed the briefcase back on the floor next to her.
Admiral Webster arose from his seat and looked around the room and started to speak. “Good afternoon, once again. I see from the looks on the faces of some of you that you recognize these two devices. For those of you who don’t.” He then reached down and picked up the crystalline pyramid and held it in the palm of his left hand. “This is a truth verifier. As long as the speaker talking believes that what he or she is saying is the truth it will glow with a bluish color. If a falsehood is detected then it will glow red.
Please notice that I said that this verifier will detect if the speaker believes that what he or she says is the truth or not. NOT, if it is the real truth. Only that the speaker believes it to be.”
He then placed the verifier down in the middle of the table. He then picked up the hemispherical device in both hands. “This is a holographic projector that I will use in my own presentation to you. I will leave both of these devices with you when we leave today.”
He then sat down and indicated that the President had the table.
President Richardson looked at the verifier like it had turned into a poisonous snake. Then he shook his head slowly and spoke. “Admiral Webster this device is to a politician what Kryptonite is to Superman.
And the Verifier pulsed a bright blue.
“Well then, this is going to be an interesting experience….. Admiral Webster, thank you for coming here today. I have the feeling you’ve been to Washington before.” He looked at Admiral Webster and saw him nod his head in the affirmative.
‘And I assume that you have a good idea of the ball of worms you’ve tossed in our laps.” And once again Admiral Webster nodded his head.
“All right then, why? And why now?” President Richardson asked directly.
“Isn’t it amazing how a verifier can cut down the empty words and rhetoric Mr. President?” Admiral Webster started off his presentation.
“Did you see a replay of my earlier briefing to Admiral Crane and his officers on board the George H.W. Bush? Admiral Webster asked.
President Richardson said, “Yes, Admiral Webster we did. It was an admirable tale of survival and exploration and discovery and explained the Origins of the Terran Space Navy adequately but not really in the depth I hope to learn from you in the future.”
“When the time is ripe I’ll go more into depth on that subject Mr. President. Now to answer your questions. First Why? Why you? Meaning the United States? And the United States Navy in particular? The Terran Sp
ace Navy after much deliberation has decided that the need for Human Beings to become an integral part of our service is close to critical. Most of our ships and installations have little or no experience with Humans.
This is becoming distressful to them. Our first directive is to “Protect and Nurture the Human Race”. We are doing our best to protect you without hindering your growth. But to Nurture you? Well, it’s harder to do that if the concept and reality of Human Beings is not a part of your daily existence.
So to rectify that, we decided that we needed to start recruiting Humans to the Service of the Terran Space Navy. We decided to approach the United States Navy because of my own early experiences and the History of the Navy.”
He then pause and took a small sip of water.
“Why now? Let me blunt here. The so-called First World is about to commit Demographic Suicide. The Third world is out-breeding you 6 to 1. The number of people over the breeding age has just passed 50% of the population Worldwide.