by Chris Hechtl
Helen frowned but then nodded.
“I want to get a handle on the pirates and stop them from deliberately spreading the plagues.”
“Oh, no need to justify your actions, I get it. I even agree with it. I see now why you waited.”
“Indeed. I'm confident we have enough forces to do some of the jobs I've got in mind. The support ships will be running between Tortuga and here too. I'm going to organize a series of teams, most likely around the Spacebees to pick through what the pirates left behind and then ship it here on a priority basis. That is going to be … moderately tricky. I understand they booby trapped some of the hulks and hardware.”
“Oh, joy. Lovely,” Helen sighed.
“Yeah, I know. I'm still considering who will go. Most likely Prometheus will form the center of that group.” Helen nodded.
“I understand you have two MASH units?”
“Yes. And you've got another engineering group in the form of a double squad of Army Corps of Engineers,” Helen replied.
“Which, I will most likely lend to you. They can build hospitals and infrastructure for the natives,” Shelby said.
“You don't want them in Tortuga?”
“As I understand it, the Army Corps of Engineers specialize in ground-based construction and engineering projects. They do not have a lot of experience or training with ships though I bet they tried to cross-train as much as possible on the ride here.”
Helen nodded. “Well, I'll take them. And I think I'll break the MASH units up. Maybe send one with the Western Mission,” she said, eyeing Shelby.
Shelby realized she was being tested but nodded. “The medical missions are your bailiwick,” She said with a nod.
“Thank you. You haven't left me a lot of toys to play with though.”
“I'm working on it,” Shelby sighed.
“I know. Just remember what a famous guy said, ask for anything but time. And perfect is the enemy of good, or in this case, good enough. While we try to get our I's dotted and our T's crossed people are dying out there.”
Shelby closed her eyes in brief pain and then nodded. “I know. But they will still be dying if we can't get the resources they need to them safely.”
Helen grimaced at the retort. “Point.”
“Thank you. Now …”
<()>^<()>
Abdul Sulistyo wanted to scream. The yard had work coming out of its ears. It should be a good thing, but it was really saturating him and screwing up with his plans.
Not that he hadn't anticipated it. He just hadn't anticipated the commodore's demand to get everything done right this second. Already he'd pulled everything from the expansion project.
And it hadn't helped much. They still had work coming out of their ears. The single repair slip was overworked. The two factory ships he had access to had stepped up to help recondition the ships but that made some of the other projects slip. It also put a dent in their lead time for logistics, something Carl was starting to complain about.
At least the complaints were in email form for the time being. He didn't need the chimera breathing down his neck in vid chats at the moment.
The last conversion project was out the door. Four more destroyers were in various stages of completion. A second cruiser has been started. If Hudson could get out into space, he'd delay laying the next hull to shift resources to clearing his backlog.
If.
Despite Commander Coglin's entries, the commodore had yet to authorize building a CEV for which the Neoorangutan could only be grateful. Retooling the destroyer line to handle it would screw him all up. He'd much rather build a dedicated line from scratch, which was what he'd fully intended to do.
If only people would stop wanting everything now he thought as he scrubbed his face. He used his index finger to play with his large lips as he crossed his eyes and made a “bubada” sound for a few seconds. It always made him feel a little better when he went nutty like the rest of the universe.
Still didn't change what he had to do though.
Well, the good news was that Boni had gotten him the priority list on the Rho Mercy Flight II ships. The cruisers were at the top of the list, no surprise there. But they had come in with some support ships. Now, if he could get a chance to borrow them before the crew went on liberty …
<()>^<()>
“It's Christmas, more keys,” Shelby replied with a smile when a courier brought in an armored case the following morning after her late night meeting with Helen. Each of the Mercy Missions had carried keys for her and the personnel under her command. The Beta convoy of course didn't have any.
“And promotions too!” the lieutenant said, hefting another case.
“My, you are full of surprises. My people will be grateful. Some I've already promoted, but it will be nice that BUPERS finally caught up with them,” she drawled as they opened the case.
Boni set up the interface as Shelby accessed the memory crystals. She downloaded each of the key packages into her protected storage and then unpacked them after a virus scan.
<()>^<()>
Commander Coglin found himself very busy. In the first three days of the latest convoy arrival, he'd arranged a conference for all of the CAGS and carrier skippers. To his surprise they and several of their senior squadron leaders had attended.
They shared updates on tactics and made sure their software and codes were up-to-date and cohesive. They then worked on plans to train while integrating the forces. All that was contingent on deployments and a need to combine their training with Fortress Carrier Command. Within hours of the conference though, the other CAGS and captains were emphasizing a need for more incoming pilots and ground crew.
“That's a big problem. I've been on the commodore about that,” the Neocheetah stated. “I haven't had any traction with her. She's right; up until now, we haven't had the pilots. But that is slowly changing.”
“I think we all need to light a fire under her butt then, respectfully of course,” a captain stated.
“Oh, of course.”
<()>^<()>
Shelby received the email plan from the CAG conference. She wasn't surprised that they were on top of trying to stay current; as soon as they'd arrived, the two CEV attached to the Rho Mercy Mission had been performing flight ops to blow off the rust.
What had surprised her was the request for more flight operation centers as well as carriers and pilots. She frowned thoughtfully.
She had planned to build a carrier production line but not for another six months. Currently, she could build an escort carrier or fighter barges of virtually any scale. But the barges and carriers would be sublight. The same went for orbital carrier fortresses.
She tapped her toes as she reconsidered building a CEV. They had enough shuttle and tug pilots in the star system to justify building one. Having one as a mobile ship was better than an immobile and vulnerable fortress too. But in doing so she'd deny other fields the necessary skills since those same pilots were needed to fly the shuttles and tugs.
Besides, Admiral Clifton Sprague might be at capacity, but now that they had replacement pilots, she intended to promote some to the forts. That would open up the ranks for rookie pilots. They might get one or two … Which just reminded her that they needed a training facility complete with simulators. Another thing to add to the growing to-do list.
They did have a point though; a CEV took only slightly more resources to build as a destroyer did. Yet, it was exponentially more versatile. She'd gladly pit a CEV against a cruiser division. She couldn't say the same for a single tin can. That meant shifting her priorities in the future. It also meant seeing Abdul slowly pulling his fur out when he found out about it.
She couldn't help but smile over that mental image.
The problem was still the craft and the people to man and support them. She could build the ship, but they were useless without the flight wing. She also had another priority from Admiral Irons, to build antimatter production facilities.
&n
bsp; Well, she at least had the Dyson sphere project to power them.
She shook her head and looked at the clock. It was well past 10 p.m. She needed to go to bed before everything really fell apart or at least appeared to do so.
<()>^<()>
The Spacebees were still strung out working on various projects. Lieutenant Fixer had been made aware that they were going to be assigned to the Tortuga follow-up mission soon. The T'clock wanted to wrap things up in the capital or hand them off to someone else though, so she pushed her people to get as much outlined and planned out as they could.
While they did that, she somehow found the time to meet with the human lieutenant in charge of the Army Corps of Engineering unit. The group was technically a short platoon of two eight-person squads, far more than what she'd been given.
She found out right off when she tried to hand off some of their tasks that they were not oriented to follow in her footsteps. Even overseeing the construction of the bases and orbital fortresses seemed a bit out of their playbook.
“We'll do what we can with whatever project you give us,” Lieutenant Kellogg stated.
“Good to know.”
“But, you should know we're oriented for ground operations and construction projects. My people know the theory of space engineering, and we can handle some of the internals. We learned that much en route, but we're not certified for anything big.”
“Also good to know,” the T'clock stated. She made a mental note in her implants. Never hand over a command to someone who doesn't think they have the skills or ability to do the job and comes out and says so up front.
“But, like I said, ma'am, we can help. I don't know how long we'll be here for though, Commodore Logan's assistant shot me an email to let me know we'll be going out with one or both of the Mercy missions as support,” he said.
The bug flicked her mandibles and antenna. “Understood. But, since you are here and I'm here, I'll try to find something for you to do.”
“Thank you, ma'am.”
<()>^<()>
Shelby met with Captain Rogers when she found the time. She had to feel him out since he was now her senior field officer. From his record he had good scores in tactical and training. Once she had a read on him, she gave him the option of leading a hospital group or a support mission. “I came here to serve, ma'am, wherever you need me.”
She nodded. “Good answer.”
“But, if I can kick some pirate ass along the way, I'm all for that too,” he said with a grin.
She snorted. “Also noted and also a good answer. We'll see if we can arrange that.”
“Thank you, ma'am.”
<()>^<()>
Boni dealt with making sure the recruiters and trainers were comfortable. They joined the small echelon that had come in with Alpha and the other convoys. They also helped thicken the ranks of the war college slightly, though every single one of them complained about needing more facilities and students.
She determined it wasn't worth passing on to the commodore for the moment. The commodore was fully cognizant of it from other conversations. Instead, she focused on other problems.
<()>^<()>
Ayumu plugged the lines in and then waited. The data log runs of the craft helped to train its computer. The computer had to diagnose problems to help dial the craft in to flight ready status.
Ayumu had gone from his tour in the machine shop to a brief tour in the plastic injection molding line and then from there the carbon fiber line and then to product assembly and now this. He had started to realize there was a method to the madness of being thrown around; someone wanted him to get a taste of each field.
Now he was on the quality control line, the final part of the production line. Work on the testing was critical; they had to get it right. Lives were riding on their attention to detail.
It was all leading up to the test flights. That meant they had to get it right. That was one reason the test pilots worked so closely with them; they knew their own lives were riding on the craft. The pilots never took anything out they weren't 100 percent confident in.
He had realized that he needed that confidence and to be worthy of it.
Chapter 27
Tau-1252
Captain Mochadeyn felt intense relief as the Beta convoy arrived at the Tau-1929 jump point in the capital. They'd done it! The long torturous slog was over. His primary job was done, and he was heartily glad of it. He was also very much interested in using up a lot of the liberty he'd accumulated on the long voyage out.
“That had to have been some sort of record,” he said with a shake of his head. “And I know BUPERS isn't going to be thrilled about finally coughing up our pay!” He grinned.
“What are you going to do with yours, sir?” his XO asked.
“Buy a bar and drown in it maybe. I don't know,” the captain said. “After we get the ansible set up. I can almost hear the commodore champing at the bit now.”
“Speaking of the devil …,” the ship's A.I. stated.
The captain groaned but then shook his head. “Put her through. Hopefully, we can get this over with fast and get to that liberty.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
<()>^<()>
It took the better part of three days for the ansible ship to set up the platform, then another day of ticklish work to move an ansible core into it. Two days later the traditional signal “can you hear me now” was transmitted to the capital in Antigua.
Shelby had just gotten the good news when a call came through from White Station. She'd been considering the priority on refitting the Beta convoy ships and where best to use them. She immediately took the call.
“Commodore Logan,” a familiar voice said. Her eyebrows widened as Admiral Irons image appeared in uniform in front of her.
Despite it just being an avatar she still shot to her feet. “Sir!”
“I wanted to congratulate you and your people on a job well done. This is phase 1, and obviously you've run into more than we bargained for with the pirate plagues,” the admiral said. “But damn fine bit of work. I've been reading your reports as they come in. You've been building brick buildings with barely enough material to do the job. Somehow you are making it work.”
“Thank you, sir,” Shelby stated with a nod. She noted the admiral wasn't looking at her, and his voice lacked any sort of emotional timber. No doubt the system was set up to translate his voice to text and then back into voice on her end.
She looked over to the door as someone knocked on it. Before she could say anything, Commodore Richards slipped in.
“Admiral Irons, good to see you again,” Helen stated.
“And you, sort of, Helen. I was telling Shelby I'm proud of the work she's done. That you've all done. But it's far from over.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I'm monopolizing the bandwidth for this for a moment. You'll get the usual congratulations and news updates once I'm clear. But, for the moment, we have something to get done,” he stated.
“Sir?” Shelby asked.
“Attention to orders,” the admiral intoned. Shelby came to attention instinctively.
“Commodore Logan, for exemplary leadership and for the growing needs of your command I have seen fit and congress has seen fit to approve of your promotion to rear admiral.”
Shelby's eyes widened. Her eyes looked at Helen. Helen only smiled ever so slightly.
“There is a courier coming in with the full key package as well as additional keys and updates,” the admiral stated.
“Thank you, sir. I don't know what to say, honestly.”
She had been promoted to rear admiral. That was still sinking in to her. Exultation rushed through her a bit. “This solves a lot of problems, Shelby, most notably with logistics. Obviously, I can't send you components like hyperdrives. The keys are the best way to do this. Use them wisely.”
“Aye aye, sir, I will,” Shelby said, still a little stunned.
“Additional medical keys will be co
ming in as well, also a new part of your mission. You'll get it all when the courier arrives in a few months.”
“Thank you, sir. I'll attend to them carefully.”
“I know you will. I'm going to transmit the public keys I can through the ansible. For security reasons, I can't transmit the higher ones. But this should get you started.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Good. I look forward to hearing more things from you two. Now, I'll let you get back to work.”
“Thank you, sir. We'll do our best.”
“I know you will.”
The admiral's image faded and then winked out. Shelby looked at Helen and then sank into her chair as if her knees had given out on her. “Admiral!”
“It makes sense. There was some flack over who should be in overall sector command, you or me. This solves that. You can focus on the overall mission while I can focus on the plagues.”
Shelby nodded.
“You'll do fine. You'll grow into it.”
“Yeah,” Shelby murmured. “I guess I don't have a choice.”
“Nope! Now, I wanted to pick your brain about the hospital training program. We need more facilities and equipment obviously …”
Shelby shook off her reverie and focused on the task at hand. Life and duty went on; she did indeed have work to do.
<()>^<()>
Fred was a bit nervous about his diplomatic report card but didn't hear back from Secretary Sema. He wondered why until he checked the ansible. For the moment the military was taking up half of the bandwidth. The other half was being taken up by news downloads. He resented that initially but then realized it was going to a good cause, welding the Federation back together.
Besides it wasn't like he was eager to get his hand slapped for not making more progress. At the moment he had two star systems on the final phase of joining the Federation. It was a dismal percentage considering the number of star systems they had visited along the way to the capital. The fact that the Trajin Cluster had turned over a new leaf and had formally joined was only a minor feather in his cap.