“Captain Fitz, out...Sir,” Jed answered through static.
“Well? What did he say,” Race asked.
“He said it’s for the dog and pony show. Once you launch, he’ll transfer command to me.”
“I see. Well,” Race said, sizing up and down Danielle, “Guess we had better cut over to the Aga then.”
The group stopped, Jed extended his hand. Race shook it vigorously, “I’ll see you in space, my friend.”
“Yeah, in space, Race...doesn’t that sound weird?”
Race grinned, took Danielle by the hand and strolled back across the causeway and over to the Aga, as Jed and Kelly continued toward the Rocinante.
“So, tell me, Chief. How big is the Rock?”
“The Rock, Sir?”
“The Rocinante, Chief. Think I’ll call it The Rock for short.”
“I like it Sir. The Rock. Outstanding, Sir.”
“So?”
“Sorry, Sir. Yeah, she displaces about twenty plus percent more than the aircraft carrier Nimitz.”
“Wow, that’s pretty huge alright.”
“Right, Sir. The Rock’s four-hundred and twenty-seven meters of pure power. Her beam’s nearly one hundred meters, and she’s just over twenty meters high.”
“Is that including the raised command deck we’re approaching?”
“No Sir, the Command Support Center adds another eight meters where it extends upward over the main hull, fitted with special diamond reinforced glass.”
“Well, Chief. That’s great an’ all, but can you convert that to feet?”
“Oh, uh, sorry, Sir. That relates to about twenty-six feet over the hull. The Rock’s fourteen-hundred feet in total length. Her beam is three-hundred and twenty-two feet wide, and one-hundred sixty-eight feet high.”
“Long, wide, and short Rock.”
“Yes, well, you could say that, Sir. The flight deck runs diagonally through the hull. Two landing configurations, with an upper and a lower glide path. Our fighters approach from the upper stern section on a twenty percent glide slope on either half of the runway. Once they enter the landing bay, they are rolled into the hanger deck, which occupies the space between the upper and the lower flight decks. Then they’re wheeled into their maintenance hangers for a combat refuel/rearm turnaround or for servicing and repair. That’s also where we do the initial prep for missions. We can launch ten fighters at once; five from each half of the flight deck. They take-off and fly out from the front of the landing bay, which is really the end of the flight deck...of sorts.”
“What’s our complement of fighters, Chief?”
“We support forty fighters, fifteen Area Combat Enhancement ships, or ACE ships, ten troop transports that carry two-hundred marines each, and we’re equipped with two-hundred defense drones. All of which is my responsibility as your Flight Deck Chief.”
“Give me a break down of your fighter support model.”
“Well, Sir. It’s pretty intense on the flight deck. Each fighter or support ship hanger requires five techs. We have sixty ships to keep in top condition and nine-hundred and seventy-five crew running in three shifts. Your Commander Air Group manages three-hundred and fifteen pilots, all on the same three shift rotation. This way each pilot is familiar with their ships and deck crew. And of course, the CAG is responsible for assigning the lead pilots to help manage the support of the other ships. Fighters are single pilot craft while our ACE ships take three, and the transports are manned with two pilots.”
“All Navy?”
“Yes, Sir. All fight deck personnel are Navy and all pilots are USMC, Sir.”
“We’re not going to have any issue with that, are we Chief?”
“No, Sir. I run a tight flight deck, Sir. You’ll have no issue with me. I can’t answer for the Corp’s pilots, however.”
“Just keep them on an even tilt, okay, Chief? We don’t need to be fighting amongst ourselves. I think we’ll have our hands full with this current threat to be worrying about our own.”
“I’ll do my best, Sir.”
“What about fire power?”
“Well, Sir. I’ll do my best to describe those systems, but I’m not up on all the technical aspects of those systems, Sir.”
“Understood, Chief. Just a rough layout’s fine.”
“Yes, Sir. Well, we have twenty small turrets, thirty six medium grade turrets equipped with two barrels each lined on either side of the hull. There’s eight missile silos filled with nukes. But the best part is the two-hundred rapid fire point defense turrets along the mid-section of her hull. Our firing solutions define a twenty-five hundred foot kill zone on each flank...trust me Sir, you do not want to be in that area when those things let go.”
“I suppose not, Chief.”
“The fore section comprises of all the support services such as the Command Support Center or CSC; that’s where your office is, the real brains of the ship. Within that, there are flight support, navigation control, as well as the complete computer systems and networking. The crew and pilot areas and mess are forward too. The mid-section, upper fore and lower aft, house the ammo stores and fuel cells, water and various storage lockers, separated with bulkheads that are made up of several airlocks. The stern holds the twin reactors, main engine pods, and the ship’s jump drive, which is powered by the Eridonian saucer ship. That will be housed at the very top stern, just before the flight deck entrance. Their saucer will integrate into the Rock, and act as our anti-gravity, jump drive, and main ship drive interface.”
“Very good. I appreciate the overview, Chief.”
“Not a problem, Sir, only happy to help.”
They reached the entrance to the ship after walking for quite some time across a causeway leading to an open hatch just behind the command deck.
“Sergeant?” Jed addressed.
“Yes, Sir. Welcome aboard, Sir,” the marine stepped to the side allowing them access.
“Are we holding for anyone else to board, Sergeant?”
“No, Sir. You’re the last.”
“Seal the hatch and retract the causeway,” Jed ordered.
“Aye-aye, Sir.”
Jed turned to his guide, “Thank you for the tour, CFD. As you were. We’ll be getting underway as soon as our Eridonian escort docks.”
“Aye-aye, Sir. It’s going to be a pleasure working under your command,” Kelly said, snapping a final salute.
Jed lazily returned the gesture, and shook his hand, “We’ll be in touch soon.”
“Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir.” The Chief turned, heading aft towards his flight deck.
Jed turned to the Sergeant, who pointed down the corridor, “CSC is down this corridor. Take the first left and it’s on your right.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem, Sir.”
Jed made his way through the cramped corridor and entered the CSC where he was immediately greeted by Commander Jameson.
“Captain on deck!” Jameson shouted.
“At ease, men,” Jed returned their salute before they had finished theirs. “Commander,” Jed said, extending his hand, “Pleasure to see you again.”
“Yes, Sir,” the short, tight jawed Jameson answered as he shook the Captain’s hand. “The pleasure’s all mine, Sir.”
“Well, I think this experience will be slightly different than the trenches of Kuwait and Afghanistan.”
“Yes, Sir. I’m hoping it will, Sir.”
Jed’s eyes scanned the two level oval Command Support Center in amazement. “Quite the operation we’ve got here, eh, Commander?”
“Yes, Sir. The command structure on the Rocinante...”
“...The Rock, Commander, call her The Rock...”
“Yes, Sir. Rock’s command structure is made up of twenty-two stations,” Jameson pointed as he named each of the main ship’s sections. “Nav and radar sections are over there, air traffic control is behind them, followed by engineering, and then the offensive and defensive combat ready stations. Ship o
perations and tactical stations are there. From here we can control the entire ship, launch and retrieve fighters, and deploy troops in ground assaults or for ship-to-ship boarding. Our marines are at the ready for any situation we may encounter.”
“What about if the enemy attempts to board us? Those flight decks at each end of the ship seem vulnerable.”
“The Eridonians thought of everything with this design, Sir. We can roll open or close either side of the flight deck, sealing the ship from any hostiles. Then there are the kill zones they’d have to pass through trying to board us. I wouldn’t want to be on the other end of that. There’s no chance in hell of anyone getting through.”
“The CFD was telling me about our defenses. From what he told me, I tend to agree with you on that point, Commander.”
Jameson laughed, “He’s totally right too. One-hundred rapid fire, exploding shell, point defense systems on each side of the ship is a lot of deadly force.”
“I can’t wait to see the Rock in action. But I hope we don’t have to see that point defense system utilized too soon.”
“Even if any enemy does get past our drones and survive our kill zones, they’ll have two-thousand angry marines to contend with.”
“That is a force to reckon with,” Jed laughed with his first officer, “Do we have an official ETA as to when our Eridonian friends will arrive?”
Jameson barked at the communications officer. “Ninety minutes, Sir,” came the reply.
“Very good,” Jed answered, “Let’s begin our take-off prep and engine run-up.”
“Right this way, Sir,” Jameson motioned. “We’re down in the pit. All of our monitors are on a central table. We can address the entire CSC from there. We have seats that rise from the deck to secure us during combat maneuvering. They can be configured for standing or for sitting.”
“Restraints? What about gravity?”
“The Eridonian ships will provide us with the gravity generators once they’re plugged into the hull. Our seats configure with auto seat harnesses to keep us, well, in place during battle and extreme accelerations.”
“Sounds great, Commander. Please lead the way.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
________________________
Betelgeuse Corridor
Corsair Scout Operation
________________________
“Tornado,” Thelix impatiently demanded, “The end of your deadline is at hand. Do you, or do you not have a solution for jumping within this conduit?”
“There are several problems that need addressing before we actually attempt this, my Lord.”
Thelix narrowed his eyes, “Educate me.”
“Time dilation, my Lord. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to compensate for the new time distortion we’ll encounter by activating the jump fields within the corridor.”
“What about the ship itself? Will we hold together?”
“The stresses on the ship won’t be much different. We’re simply folding the space within the conduit, while the conduit itself is folded space. If we are careful, and keep the FTL bubble horizon close to the edge of our ship, it should work.”
“What happens if the FTL bubble expands too far?”
“If the FTL bubble reaches the edge of the conduit, the conduit will destabilize. The exit point of the conduit will become unpredictable, in that we won’t know where we’ll come out. That is, if we come out. The conduit could simply close…”
“Our ship can control its FTL bubble and navigate with adequate precision to contact with the conduit edge, can it not?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“So, the time dilation is the only problem we cannot control?”
“Everything else looks good, with exception of the time dilation. That remains an unknown.”
“This is a risk we must take!”
“My Lord, time could advance from minutes to several years, relative to our FTL sphere.”
“Would it not make sense that our FTL bubble will remain intact?”
“It should, my Lord.”
“Then we can assume that time dilation will not be an issue.”
“Yes, my Lord. I will prepare the jump drive.”
“My Lord,” Darnash interjected, “Within the corridor, our weapons will not reach the Eridonian ships before they exit. I suggest setting our jump coordinates thirty seconds beyond the exit. Turn the ship and fire on them as they exit.”
“I agree,” Thelix smiled. “Yes, most excellent. We’ll capture one of them, scan the planetoid, and jump back through the conduit to return to Betelgeuse.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Tornado responded by programming their coordinates, “I have calculated our current jump position.”
“How many jumps can we initiate before we have to pause for a cool down?”
“We can jump three consecutive times, my Lord. After that, we’ll have a thirty minute wait time, or we risk burning out the negative energy density projector.”
“Start the jump clock. We’re going!”
“Yes, my Lord. Thirty seconds to jump cycle,” Tornado acknowledged.
“Sub-light?”
“Go.”
“NAV?”
“Go, my Lord.”
“Tactical?”
Darnash grinned at his captain, “Go.”
“Jump resolution check!”
“Resolution settings complete, my Lord. Go!”
“Generate negative energy densities!”
“Negative densities confirmed.”
“Check full power to FTL!”
“Jump drive is fully spooled. Go!”
“My, Lord,” Darnash nodded, “The board is green.”
“Jump sequence complete...on my mark!” Thelix commanded.
“Jumping in, five... four... three... two... one...”
“JUMP!”
The engines whined to a high pitch as Tornado completed the jump sequence. Instantly the ship was flying in normal space, well past the conduit exit.
Thelix shook his head, trying his best to stay focused at their next task at hand, “Helm! Turn us about one-eight-zero degrees and full stop!”
“Y-yes, my Lord,” Tornado said, pressing his command console.
The Antares corsair fired full thrusters and spun around to face the approaching Eridonians, “Coming to full stop now, my Lord.”
“Tactical? What is their position? Ensure you have the TPI enabled to full strength!”
“We’re twenty seconds from contact, my Lord. Confirmed jump position and telepathic inhibitor is online. They are just outside the event horizon of the corridor.”
“Full power to weapons! I want the first saucer with a positive target lock!”
“The five Eridonian saucers have exited the corridor. They are still blind from the wormhole. I have a target solution!”
“FIRE!”
Darnash slammed his fire button on his console, “Firing plasma burst at primary target...direct hit, my Lord. I’m unable to fix on any secondary targets; they have made evasive maneuvers.”
“What is the status on our first target?”
“Their ship’s engines are off-line, my Lord. They’re dead in space.”
“Excellent! Survivors?”
“The saucer has only one occupant, my Lord.”
“Helm! Plot a course and advance on that ship. Darnash, determine where the remaining saucers headed.”
“Course plotted, forward thrusters set to positive twenty percent. We’ll be on them in two minutes, my Lord.”
“My Lord, the remaining four saucers have broken formation. They have flown around us. They are headed to the third planetoid of this star system.”
“Can we bring that saucer onboard?”
“Yes, my Lord,” Darnash nodded, “I will prepare the docking bay.”
“See to it!”
“Yes, my Lord. It is my pleasure,” Darnash stood, bowed to his captain, and headed to the lower deck to receive the small one manned saucer.
> “Helm, once the saucer is onboard, I want you to jump into an orbit around the third planetoid so we may scan it.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Tornado continued piloting the corsair to the wounded Eridonian ship. “My Lord, may I suggest we jump to a hidden position behind the planetoids moon? My preliminary scans of that planet indicate limited orbital satellites. These indigenous beings are of a lesser technological advancement than we, and thus, will not be able to detect us on the edge of the moon’s terminator.”
“Most excellent, Tornado, what is our ETA after we secure this vessel,” Thelix asked, watching the growing image of the saucer from his ship’s forward windows.
“It should take Darnash two minutes to bring the ship inside. It will take me thirty seconds to set the jump sequence after the Eridonian ship is onboard.”
Tornado positioned the corsair just above the Eridonian saucer and reported to Darnash to open the cargo bay door.
“Fire negative thrusters. Z minus ten degrees and stop,” Darnash instructed.
“Affirmative, Darnash,” Tornado confirmed, “Firing thrusters. Z minus ten degrees.”
“She’s clear of the bay doors, all stop!” Darnash ordered. “Closing cargo bay doors...Pressurizing bay area now.”
“Thelix smiled with satisfaction, “Helm, jump us to the moon’s termination point and begin your scans.”
“Yes, my Lord. Jump engines are still primed. Starting jump clock for thirty seconds...jump resolution settings checked, my Lord. We are green for Go!”
“Generate negative energy densities!” Thelix ordered.
“Negative densities generating...full power to FTL! Jump drive is fully spooled...Jump sequence complete...in, five... four... three... two... one... JUMP!” Tornado shouted with glee.
“All stop!”
“All engines to full stop, my Lord. Position confirmed. We are positioned behind the third planetoid’s moon, just beyond their terminator. They cannot detect us.”
“Begin scanning for life signs...Darnash, bring the Eridonian to me!”
________________________
Earth
John F. Kennedy Space Center
________________________
Warlords Saga Page 6