by Cliff Deane
Forty minutes later, the XO reported that Alexi Putin was very much vocally disparaging of the Russian Empire. Chen, however, seemed very supportive of China and there was a one-year gap in Chen’s history.
Captain Flynn dispatched the uniforms for Admiral King, and Captain Ward, to allow them to be in proper attire for the meetings and dinner.
The two visiting Captains were guided to King’s Ready Room. When they saw Sky King and Alan Ward dressed in their new SDF uniforms, Putin asked in a heavy Russian accent, “Well, well, Admiral, are you going to a costume party. Are we invited?”
“Of course, you are.” smiled the Admiral, “Gentlemen, please take a seat, we have much to discuss.”
Captain Chen Feng (last name first in Chinese culture) was far more cautious as he scrutinized the SDF uniforms.
King spent several minutes explaining the new orders he had received via Captain Flynn, thus avoiding the AI communications breakthrough.
“…Well, gentlemen, there you have it. You may remain as the Captains of your vessels, but under a Civilian Contract offered by the SDF, or if you decline, you will remain in your current position of Captain until the arrival of the SRI-F. At that point, I am bound to allow you to resign your position as Captain. You will then be transferred to an SRI-F vessel when they arrive. You don’t have to answer right now. Think it over and get back to me. The SRI-F Fleet won’t arrive for another nine months, or so.”
Chen agreed to consider the offer, but Alexi Putin said, “Admiral, I do not need to think about this for even one second. Of course, I accept your offer. I have no desire to ever again serve those Russian bastards or eat Borsht. I hate bitter foods, especially soup.”
It was agreed that Captain Flynn would make the presentation to the crews, informing them of the draft, though it was possible that many might think they had been Shanghaied.
The mining shuttle craft departed Astrid and flew along and around the SDF Cruiser Leyte Gulf before docking so that Sky King could see firsthand the external changes to SDF vessels since his retirement.
5 September 2116, AD
Inspecting USSDF Leyte Gulf’ exterior
70,000 miles Port side of Holly Thorne
Admiral King delayed his formal meeting with Captain Flynn, and the six other Captains until 5 September 2116, to give everyone the chance to get fully recovered from the Sleep Chambers and properly situated on-station.
“Computer,” said the Admiral.
Yes, Admiral, ready.
“Please inform Captain’s Putin and Chen that I wish an in-person meeting aboard Astrid in one hour.”
Yes, Admiral, message sent.
“Thank you.”
You are welcome, Admiral.
“Oh, crap,” said King, “I said thank you to the damned computer again. I gotta stop that. It’s making me crazy.”
Captain Ward just smiled. JJ said, Admiral, I’m a computer, and you speak to me.”
“Shut up, JJ.”
Shutting up, Admiral.
“JJ giving you a tough time, Admiral?” asked Captain Ward.
The Admiral looked at Captain Al Ward and said, “Not really, it’s just our love-hate relationship.”
“Oh, yes, sir,” replied Al, “I have the same thing with JD.”
“JD, why JD?” asked Sky.
“Yeah, well, when my AI was implanted the programmer asked me for a name, and John D. MacDonald was the first name that came to mind. He was a great pulp-fiction writer about one-hundred and fifty years ago. He wrote mostly Private Eye stories, but he also took a lark and wrote one Science Fiction work. He titled it The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything. I think that I’ve read everything he ever wrote. So, I call my AI, JD.”
Smiling now, Sky asked, “Does he read you to sleep at night?”
Al just looked straight-faced at his friend and said, “Sometimes.”
CHAPTER FIVE
14 September 2116
Dining-In
USSDF Leyte Gulf
Admiral King and Captain Ward entered the shuttlecraft and were whisked away to the SDF Cruiser, the USSN Leyte Gulf. Before docking with the Cruiser, Admiral King ordered the pilot to take a leisurely tour around the outer hull of this new fighting lady.
Both men were highly impressed with the newest ship in the USSDF Fleet. Following his visual inspection of Leyte Gulf’s exterior, Admiral King directed the pilot to commence docking procedures with the SDF Cruiser.
Once the ships were docked, Admiral King and the new Commander of the newly commissioned USSN Astrid, Captain Alan Ward made their way onto the USSN Leyte Gulf. They were met by Captain Jessica Flynn, her Senior Staff, and the Captains of the remaining six ships of the SDF Fleet.
Admiral King’s bio had been forwarded to each of the Captains, and though King was well respected for his time in the SDF, his personnel file defused any doubts as to his ability to lead this small fleet, even into combat, if necessary.
Admiral King discovered two things from his private meeting with Captain Flynn. Number one was that the new Cruiser designs were far more spacious than those he had commanded, and two, that Captain Flynn did, indeed, expect him to move his flag to Leyte Gulf. So, after careful consideration, he decided that if things did go south quickly, it would behoove him to command the Fleet from the Leyte Gulf. Also, after some consideration, Admiral Sky King decided that a name was needed for his ten ship Task Force. He wanted a name that would have a special meaning to United States Naval Historians, and after much research, he decided to name it Taffy III, a name dear to the hearts of those who fought the critical World War II naval battle of Leyte Gulf.
560 Days to Earth
14 September 2116, AD
On Station
50,000 miles Port side of Holly Thorne
Lieutenant Peter Proud completed the calculations on the progress of Operation Holly Thorne. After checking them three more times, he said, “Computer, where is the XO?”
“The XO is currently on his way to Captain Ward’s Ready Room. Would you like for me to contact him?”
“Yes, please.”
“Commander Barnes,” announced the ship’s computer, “Lieutenant Proud would like to speak with you. Are you available, sir?”
“Yes, pipe him through,” said Commander Darryl Barnes. Barnes had just been promoted to the XO’s billet, following Captain Ward’s elevation to ship’s Captain.
“What’cha got, Pete. I’m on the way to see the Captain, so be quick.”
“Yes, sir, of course, sir. Commander, I have just verified that in the two weeks of pushing HT, she has altered position by five degrees to starboard.”
“Pete, forward your data to my pad and truck yourself up to the Captain’s Ready Room. I’ll tell him you are coming. That is wonderful news L T.”
“Yes, sir, I’m on my way.”
The XO knocked on the Captain’s door and was immediately met with, “Come.”
The XO entered and was directed to a seat before the Captain’s Desk. “Sir,” said the XO, my report on ship’s readiness is almost green across the board, with one exception; we have a level yellow maintenance warning on the number two R4W cold fusion reactor.”
This quickly caught the Captain’s attention, and he asked, “You did say yellow on operations, correct?” asked Al Ward.
“Yes, sir, yellow shows it’s still running within service parameters, but it is in need of a module replacement. Reactor number two will be down for about two hours. The other R4s are doing fine and can easily carry the load. We’ll have it fixed in the next couple of hours.”
“All right, as quickly as possible XO, we don’t want any further deterioration. A scragged R4, well, you know, just get it done.”
“Of course, sir,” said the XO.
“Tell me, Daryl, what are the chances of fixing that yellow module?” asked the Captain.
“Captain, with the Maintenance Crew we have aboard, my bet is, it will function better than factory specs by the time th
e Chief is finished with it.”
“Thank you, XO, is there anything else on your mind?”
The XO was about to answer when there was a knock on the Captain’s Ready Room door.
“Enter,” said the Captain.
The XO said, “Captain, as I was about to say, Lieutenant Proud has some news for you that we believe you will be happy to hear. Mr. Proud,” said the XO, as he directed Proud to speak.
“Oh,” said the L T, who thought the XO would take credit by telling the Captain, “yes, sir. Captain, as I informed the XO a few moments ago, I can confirm that we have been successful in moving Holly Thorne by five percent of mission goal. Sir, if we can keep up the pressure, we’ll be right on time with our estimate of completing the job in ten months.”
Captain Ward leaned back in his chair and with a huge smile said, “L T, that is wonderful news. I appreciate your diligence, and I hope you know that I have been interested in you for some time, and I have no doubt your numbers are dead on. Thank you, son, now if you have nothing more for me, you may return to your duties.”
As Lieutenant Peter Proud saluted and turned to go, Captain Ward added, “And Proud, download your results to my personal AI, Roger?”
“Yes, of course, Captain. I’ll have them to JD in the next ten minutes.”
“Fine, Pete, excellent job.”
After Proud’s departure, the XO smiled at the Captain and said, “Green as grass, and as professional as a ten-year Lieutenant Commander. He will go far whether he remains in the SDF or returns to the Asteroid Mining business. Yes, sir, he’ll be a captain in his own right one day. Well, sir, if you have nothing else for me, I’ll get back to sticking my nose in the R4 module replacement.”
“Very well, Darryl. Don’t forget, I’ll be at dinner with the Admiral and Captain Flynn. Departure is scheduled for 1600 hours.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll see you off in Shuttle Bay four at 1600 hours.”
And with that, the XO rose from his chair and went back to work.
14 September 2116
Maintenance and Engineering Section
USSN Astrid
The CF-BT modules to repair Reactor R4W did indeed prove to be easily swapped out and repaired for potential future use. Master Chief, Kendal (Kit) Karson however, wasn’t happy.
Mumbling to himself, he said, “I can’t prove it, but I ain’t sure this CF-BT module went bad from a factory defect. I can’t put my finger on it, but something just don’t feel right.”
The Master Chief of maintenance and manufacturing aboard Astrid had been working with the R series cold fusion reactors for twenty years. If he felt something wasn’t right, well, something was not right.
He called the Chief of the Boat, Senior Master Chief David Harkins and asked him to stop by for a nip.
Storage Bay 4J
14 September, Bay 4J
USSDF Astrid
A shadowy figure entered Storage Bay 4J, which held the replacement lasers, along with spare components. Using a counterfeit codex, he was able to enter the locked bay and open the sealed containers without the ship’s computers taking notice.
Once inside, he began opening boxes containing the backup lasers. He simply reversed two wires on the first container to be used, which would result in an immediate online failure, plus ten randomly selected lasers stored throughout the Storage Bay. By the simple act of reversing two wires, the saboteur ensured that the laser would burn out within seconds of it being turned on. He then resealed each container. His codex would erase his actions in Bay 4J from the ship’s computer database within 30 seconds of resealing the eleventh laser’s container.
His original mission had been to simply disrupt the ships ability to efficiently conduct mining operations within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Now, however, he knew that his mission had become far more important to the SRI-F.
His computer manipulations left no trace of his act of sabotage, nor would any surveillance mechanism even note his presence in Bay 4J during this clandestine visit. His intent through randomly selected acts of sabotage was to convince Senior Chief Karson that the failures which caused the burnouts resulted from shoddy manufacture at Krupp, Laser Engineering, Gmbh. This would ensure that his mission went undetected.
He left the Bay exactly as he had found it, save for his bit of espionage against the USSDF. It took only ninety minutes to complete his mission and return, unnoticed, to his quarters.
14 September 2116
Maintenance and Engineering Section
USSN Astrid
Chief of the Boat, David Harkins entered the Office of Chief Karson and asked, “What’s up, Kit, you used our code for possible trouble. Or did you really just want me to drop by for a nip of your Red Eye.”
“Yeah,” said Chief Karson as he poured Dave a dram of Red Eye. I am concerned about the failure of an R4W replacement module, the CF-BT. In twenty years of dealing with the R4W, and its components, I have never seen a failure quite like this one.”
“What are you saying, here, Kit? Do you think we have a saboteur on board?”
“Oh, hell,” said Kit, “right now, I just don’t know, but what I do know is that this component has been tampered with somewhere along the line. Here, let me put the component under this Spectron-diffuser. Now, look closely at the serial number. Tell me what you see.”
“Come on, Kit I’m no mainten…wait, what the hell? Kit, it looks like the last digit of the serial number is scratched. Not much, but when you look closely, it does seem odd. I would say that a screwdriver slipped and raked across the last number.”
“Yep,” said Kit, “that is exactly what I think did happen.”
Now, the Chief of the Boat was intrigued. “Tell me, at what part of the process is the serial number added?”
Kit smiled and said, “See, you’re not the Chief of the Boat for nothing. That is exactly what I saw, so I checked and found that the serial numbered plate is the final step in the production process. This number should not be scratched. With the manufacturer’s robotic quality control, this could not have been put on with a partially smudged serial number.”
“Yeah, I see what you mean, but couldn’t this really be something that happened at the factory and just slipped through?”
“I considered that possibility, but when I checked on the procedure at the plant, I just don’t see how it could have happened, there. No, Dave, look again, only now look at the weld holding the wiring harness in place. Again, what do you see?”
“The Chief looked closely at the weld and noticed that the minuscule dot of the weld had a touch of slag on its surface.”
“Oh, shit, Kit, if all the welds are done at the same time, and cleaned of slag, then this tiny bit could never be there.”
“Bingo, this module has been tampered with after it went through quality control. Dave, I can’t prove it, but I think that happened after we received the unit.”
“Now, hold on,” said Dave, “have you checked to see if this module has ever been refurbished by anyone?”
“Yes, I did, and no, it has not. This module was already installed on a brand-new laser when it arrived from the factory.”
“Chief, have you checked the computer logs for the R4W in question?”
“Yeah, I did and found nothing out of order. But, Dave, I don’t care what the computer logs tell us, this module has been altered to make sure it failed.”
“Damn, your case is certainly compelling, but can you prove it? So far, all I’ve seen is a scratched number and a weld with a small piece of slag still attached to the bead. I ain’t sayin’ you’re wrong, in fact, my money is on you, but you have to admit, it’s not much to go on,” said the Chief of the Boat.
“Yeah,” said Chief Karson, “I know you’re right, the evidence is thin and admittedly tiny, but it is not circumstantial. It is there, and it should not be, no, make that, cannot be there without manipulation by someone who is very talented. So, Chief of the Boat Harkins, what next?”
“Computer, message from Chief Harkins, make an eyes-only for Captain Ward and Commander Barnes, rush an appointment with them from Chief Harkins.”
“Chief, the Captain is not currently onboard Astrid. He is aboard the Leyte Gulf for consultation with the Captains of Taffy III. Shall I send your message via his AI?”
“Yes, computer, and notify me as soon as he replies.”
“Yes, of course,” responded the ship’s computer voice.
“Dave,” said Chief Kit Karson, “I need to pull the other CF-BT modules from the other eleven R4W reactors; sooner rather than later.”
“Yeah, and quietly, too. If we do have a bad boy onboard, we don’t want to let him know we suspect espionage.”
14 September 2116
Meetings with Captains Putin and Chen
USSN Mining Vessel Astrid
Admiral King spent time reviewing the personnel files of Captains Putin and Chen. What he found in Putin’s file demonstrated a deep hatred of the SRI-F, specifically with his native Russia. He felt that the government was far too repressive.
At twenty-two, following his graduation from the Moscow State Mining University as an Asteroid Mining Engineer. He majored in Asteroid Mining, with a minor in Astrogation. Putin then fled his homeland and made his way to Germany, where, he was granted asylum. He was immediately hired as both a Mining Engineer and Assistant Astrogation Specialist, which became his career path.
There appeared to be nothing in Putin’s background to suspect he was anything other than what he claimed to be. His career had been steady from day one.
Captain Chen’s service record with Asteroid Mining Gmbh also looked very good. He had spent his entire career with the company rising from Mid-shipman to Captain over thirty years in space. There was only one tiny hole in Chen’s history. Apparently, he took a leave of absence for one year. During that time there were no entries. He seemed to simply fall off the Earth for one year.