Coalition Defense Force Boxed Set: First to Fight

by Gibbs, Daniel

  Unable to push the device to later, Sheila left the water running and went back to her desk to check for messages. Running her pointer finger over the biometrics screen, she unlocked her tablet. An email marked High Importance from David caught her attention. Anxiety filled her as she clicked to open it. Part of her hated that he had that effect on her, but such had been the case for so long that she was getting used to it. They had always kept up with each other over the years, usually having dinner together every once in a great while when they were on ships laid up at the main Canaan drydocks at the same time. She paused briefly by her desk to read the email.

  Her emotions ran away with her as she read the message a second time just to be sure of what it said. Her tour on the Stromboli was nearly up, and she’d been passed over for command, at least for the moment, so a different XO assignment or shore duty seemed likely. She wasn’t interested in a shore-duty assignment, and if she was going to be an XO, it would be much better to serve with someone she knew, respected, and cared for than deal with the unknown.

  She hit the reply button and composed a response.

  David,

  I am so happy for you! After all this time, you finally beat me to a ship command. Of course, it’s got to be named after a famous Israeli. I think CDFPER finds amusement in these assignments. I don’t have anything lined up for my next billet, so I’d love to serve with you again. My detailer’s name is Lieutenant Hasan Darzi. I attached his fleet link profile to this message. See you soon!

  – Sheila

  Once she hit send, she wrote another message to her detailer, explaining the situation and that he’d be contacted shortly about the XO position on the Rabin.

  What have I just gotten myself into? she wondered as she headed back for her long-awaited shower. Where will this lead? Will David and I be up to the task? Those were questions only time would answer.

  * * *

  David finished the last inspection of his full-dress uniform, pausing to consider the ceremony he was about to participate in. My first ship command. He wished his father could be there to see him.

  As he walked out of his temporary quarters and made his way to the berth for the Yitzhak Rabin, David’s mind went back to the email containing his orders that he’d received from Coalition Defense Force Personnel just a few weeks prior. “Proceed to the Canaan Station, where the CSV Yitzhak Rabin is docked, and upon arrival, report to your immediate superior in command for duty as the commanding officer of CSV Yitzhak Rabin,” it instructed. He smiled as he read the orders for the first time and several times after, a sense of pride and excitement growing in him each time.

  If someone had told David at the start of his career that he would command a destroyer, he would have laughed in their face. How interesting it was that he had become his father despite his vow for so long to be a man of peace and take a different path. While he could come up with several defining moments of his career, where he stood now was the result of a journey, and perhaps the journey was the point.

  Sheila had taken over the position of executive officer the week prior and had gotten settled into her new digs on the Yitzhak Rabin. He didn’t know any of the other officers aboard, nor had he served with any of them. Given the CDF’s massive size of nearly one hundred million men and women under arms, that wasn’t unusual, but he had hoped to be acquainted with at least a few of the senior officers prior to their deployment.

  Major Amina Najem, the outgoing commanding officer, met David at the gangway of the Rabin, standing in the airlock along with Sheila and a small honor guard. As David stepped onto the ship, the senior enlisted soldier trilled a bosun’s pipe, and the assembled company braced to attention.

  David turned toward Major Najem. “Permission to come aboard, ma’am?”

  Najem smiled. “Granted, Major Cohen.”

  David glanced at the woman’s uniform. After sixteen years in the military, he could read a uniform like he was reading a book on a person’s life—from the campaign ribbons, to the national flag, if present, to medals or honors awarded. It was like an autobiography that only those who served in the brother and sisterhood of war could understand. Major Najem had been in the service for twenty years and was from New Arabia and a Muslim, according to the ribbons and flags on her uniform.

  Custom dictated that the outgoing CO would take the incoming CO around the ship prior to change of command. “If it would be possible, Najem, I’d like to tour the ship prior to the change of command ceremony this afternoon,” he said.

  Najem nodded a bit stiffly. “Of course, Major.” She turned to the honor guard. “Honor guard, at ease.”

  The enlisted personnel shifted to parade rest.

  For the next two hours, Najem escorted David through the Rabin, showing him the ship’s detailed status of completion and identifying any open issues. At only two years in space, the Rabin still practically has a new starship smell. There were no signs of mechanical issues, and the enlisted personnel were well drilled, appearing to perform like a well-oiled machine. In David’s eyes, that was a mark toward a competent commanding officer.

  Near the end of the tour, he’d begun to relax with the major enough to joke about the ship’s name. “I must say, Major, it’s interesting that the first commanding officer of a ship named after a former Israeli prime minister from Earth is a Shi’ite Muslim.”

  Najem peered at him for a moment before smiling. “When I took command, I researched who Yitzhak Rabin was. I found it mildly ironic and a reminder of how far we’ve come that I would be the first to take command of a ship named for him.”

  “He gave his life for peace, and it wasn’t realized for another sixty years after he died. Today, I stand here, an Orthodox Jew, taking command of a ship named after him, from a Muslim.” David grinned. “That almost sounds like a joke about a Jew, a Christian, and a Muslim in the same boat.”

  Najem laughed softly. “I wasn’t sure what you would be like, Major,” she admitted. “You are larger than life to some in the service, and to others, you’re a symbol to be hated.”

  David looked down at his feet before raising his gaze again. “I’m just a man trying to do my job. No hero or devil here.”

  “Ha, and modest too. Well, for what it’s worth from me, I think you’ll make a fine commander for this ship. Take care of my crew, Major. I’ve tried to make this ship the best destroyer in the fleet. I expect you to keep it that way,” she said in a friendly but direct tone.

  “I’ll do my best,” David said in return, meaning every word. “I think it’s about time. Shall we proceed to the cargo bay?”

  “Yes, it is. Follow me.”

  The Rabin was much smaller than the escort carrier David had finished his last deployment on as the XO. They neared the main cargo bay of the destroyer. It had been completely cleared of all cargo, and numerous chairs had been set up for the company of the ship and guests. David’s mother had made the journey to see him take command, as had a number of his friends from previous postings who happened to be nearby. Several of Najem’s friends were in attendance, as well, as were her husband and two children. The occasion wasn’t simply a change of command but also her retirement after twenty years of service to the Terran Coalition.

  David checked his wrist communicator. It showed ten minutes before the ceremony was to start at fifteen hundred hours. The proper protocol was for the executive officer—in this case, Sheila—to call the crew to muster. Right on time, the 1MC tone sounded.

  “Now hear this. Now hear this,” Sheila’s voice echoed across the ship. “All hands, report to cargo bay one for command transfer and retirement ceremony. I say again, all hands report to cargo bay one for command transfer and retirement ceremony.”

  Following Sheila’s announcement, the sixty or so members of the Rabin’s crew that weren’t already in the cargo bay entered to take their positions. Najem and David waited until the command master chief standing next to the entryway gave a nod to proceed.

  At his signal, t
hey walked into the cargo bay, Najem leading the way. While the Coalition Defense Force aboard ships retained many customs of the wet navies they descended from, one thing that had changed through the years was how a military hat, known as a cover, was worn on a ship. On the bridge, a cover was still worn, and in cargo bays used for a ceremony, the bay was considered outside, and therefore, a cover was worn. For that reason, both Najem and David put on and straightened their dress covers as they walked into the bay.

  As Najem proceeded, David paused as an enlisted crew member rang the portable ship’s bell, which had been set up for the ceremony, twice, and the bosun trilled the formal piping of the CO into the bay.

  The master chief announced, “CSV Yitzhak Rabin, arriving.”

  Najem strode down the aisle to the platform that had been erected, saluting the officers and enlisted personnel that lined both sides of the aisle. After exchanging a final salute with Colonel Heppner, she stood to his right, and David entered the cargo bay. The same enlisted crew member rang the ship’s bell twice again, and the bosun trilled his pipe once more.

  “Major, Coalition Defense Force, arriving,” the master chief announced.

  Walking down the aisle, David raised his hand to his brow and saluted the ship’s company. The enormity of his assignment began to fully sink in. Nearly four hundred fifty crew souls were on the ship. Those lives rested in his hands. His job was to see them through the next three years and bring them home safe and sound to their families.

  When David reached the platform, he climbed the steps and finally stood before Colonel Heppner. They saluted each other crisply as the colonel started the ceremony.

  “As you were,” Heppner said, his voice carrying across the cargo bay.

  Turning to the assembled crew, Heppner began, “Crew members of the Yitzhak Rabin, we come together today to salute your commanding officer, Major Amina Najem, for her service and dedication to the Terran Coalition and the Coalition Defense Force and to see her off into a retirement well-earned after twenty years of service. We also welcome a new commanding officer, Major David Cohen, who will lead you into battle for the next three years.”

  As Heppner spoke, David’s mind came alive with thoughts of how the next three years would go. Waves of doubt chased his mixed feelings of excitement. Lord, please let me be up to this task, he prayed. He wondered whether he could handle the stress or accept that during a war, he couldn’t bring every person under his command home. Pushing the hesitation out of his mind as he peered out into the sea of faces, he found his mother and smiled at her. She looked so proud of him, though he could also tell that she wished his father were there to see his momentous accomplishment.

  “Captain Arnold,” Heppner began, speaking to the Rabin’s chaplain, “please step forward and lead us in the invocation.”

  Captain Jules Arnold, the nondenominational Christian chaplain of the Rabin, took a step forward and spoke into the microphone on the lectern. “Eternal Father, strong to save, bless this proceeding and the soldiers who serve on this ship. Grant us wisdom and courage, and help us to walk in your will. Amen.”

  Arnold stepped back as Heppner returned to the lectern. “Major Najem, Major Cohen, please stand.”

  David and Najem stood and took their places for the tradition of transfer of command. Heppner continued. “Major Najem, are you ready to be relieved?”

  Najem stood ever so slightly taller before she spoke. “I am ready to be relieved.”

  Following tradition, David faced her and said, “I relieve you, Major.”

  Najem smiled at David. “I am relieved.”

  Over the next few minutes, several officers who had known Najem throughout her career spoke about her exploits, her care for her family and crew, and how privileged they felt to know and have the opportunity to work with her. Something that David really focused on was how her family was mentioned repeatedly and that the sacrifices they’d made were also honored. When Najem was presented with a Terran Coalition flag that had been ceremonially flown above the main government annex on Canaan, she handed it to an older woman, whom David realized was her mother because of their similar features, despite an obvious age difference.

  Remembering his own mother receiving the flag that had draped his father’s casket, David held back tears as he thought about how often he had missed his father, not always understanding why his father couldn’t be there for various events. At least this family didn’t know that pain in the same way.

  One of the final traditions of the ceremony was the reading of a poem named The Watch. At every retirement ceremony David had ever attended, it was read. Sheila read it, standing at attention and reciting it with purpose after being called on by Colonel Heppner.

  “For twenty years, this soldier has stood the watch.” Each time the word “watch” was said, the portable bell was struck twice.

  “While some of us were in our bunks at night, this soldier stood the watch.”

  “While some of us were in school, learning our trade, this soldier stood the watch.”

  “Yes… even before some of us were born into this world, this soldier stood the watch.”

  “Many times, she would cast an eye toward home and see her family standing there, needing her guidance and help, needing that hand to hold during those hard times, but she still stood the watch.”

  “She stood the watch for twenty years. She stood the watch so that we, our families, and our fellow countrymen could sleep soundly in safety each and every night, knowing that a soldier stood the watch.”

  “Today we are here to say… Soldier, the watch stands relieved. Relieved by those you have trained, guided, and led. Soldier, you stand relieved. We have the watch.”

  After a few moments of silence, Sheila continued, “Bosun, stand by to pipe the side. Soldier’s going ashore.”

  Najem stepped forward, exchanged a salute with Colonel Heppner, and walked down the aisle.

  Upon her reaching the end, the bosun’s pipe trilled once more, and the master chief announced, “Major, Coalition Defense Force, departing.”

  A round of applause broke out throughout the cargo bay as Najem and her family walked out. At Heppner’s nod, David walked down the aisle as well.

  The bosun piped out his departure, and the master chief announced, “CSV Yitzhak Rabin, departing.”

  David then exited the bay and stood outside, waiting for the rest of the senior officers to leave, after which the entire ship’s company had been invited to join in a “wetting down” of the new commander. It’s going to be a long night. One I will cherish for decades to come.

  * * *

  A week later, David was settled into the Rabin. He had his gear moved into the CO’s quarters and had made the CO’s office his own. He’d developed a routine that made sense to him. Always an early riser, David liked to get up at what he called Oh Dark Thirty, usually 0430 CMT. He exercised for thirty to forty-five minutes, showered, and got breakfast before taking the first watch on the bridge. He also tried to feel out the rest of the senior officers and develop a rapport with them. The chief engineer on the Rabin, Captain Arthur Hanson, wasn’t that difficult for him to analyze. Hanson was a nerd at heart. He thrived on new technologies and tinkered with the Rabin’s engines to keep them in tip-top shape. David had enough engineering knowledge to know a solid engineer when he saw one.

  After the first shift was completed later that day, David had one-on-one meetings with Hanson and First Lieutenant Ruth Goldberg, the tactical action officer—known as the TAO.

  Hanson walked into David’s office, a few beads of sweat on his forehead betraying his nervousness. “Captain Arthur Hanson reports as ordered, sir,” he announced after coming to attention in front of David’s desk.

  “At ease, Captain. Have a seat.” David gestured to the chairs in front of his desk.

  Hanson sat down but looked as if he was sweating bullets. “Uh, so, what can I do for you, sir?”

  David tried to set the man at ease by smiling.
“I want to get to know you better, Captain. This is my first ship command. I served on a vessel that changed command, and I was really struck by how the colonel that took over handled it. One of the things he did was sit down with every senior officer and have a one-on-one with them. I took notes on how he did it. I try in every posting to observe the best attributes and actions my superiors took to one day apply them to my own command.”

  “I see, sir.” Hanson wiped his brow.

  “I was reading in your service jacket that you’ve primarily served in advanced fusion reactor research and testing assignments. A few years ago, you requested posting to the fleet. I have to ask—why would you want to get out of R and D? That had to be a pretty nice assignment.”

  “It was a great assignment, sir. I love working with reactors and trying to get every last ounce of power out of them. I actually got to work on the design and testing team for the reactors in the Ajax class. We were able to improve the ability of the reactor to generate power by nearly forty percent,” Hanson said with evident pride, loosening up a bit.

  “Sounds like the kind of thing that could help the entire war effort.”

  “Yes, sir, I think it was. Eventually, I just got to the point that I felt I had to stand up and be counted.”

  That wasn’t quite the answer David had expected from the nerdy engineer. “How so?”

  “Well, sir, you sit behind the line long enough, you get used to it. I really felt like I was in some ways hiding. I resolved to volunteer for combat duty. I’m no Marine, but I wanted to do my part.”

  “That’s rather admirable, if you ask me,” David said then pursed his lips.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “So how’d you end up here?”

  “Well, sir, my detailer said this ship needed a good engineer, and she’s an Ajax class. I did design the reactor,” Hanson said with a smile. “You wouldn’t believe how much more we can get out of these things after the design team integrates the information I’ve been collecting.”