by Bob Mauldin
The silence after Simon’s revelation lasted only a heartbeat. Kitty and Lucy’s faces both fell. Then Rob Greene said, “Yes! Captain Kitty!” He stood up and began to applaud, the rest of the room following suit. Lucy, not quite as quickly as the others, but applauding just as heartily.
The applause dribbled to a ragged stop, and Simon let the silence stretch as long as he could, “Those of you not chosen today for this first posting, please keep in mind that we will have two more vessels within six months, and your names are the first in line for any future of available positions. Then three more six months after that, and then eight vessels a year from then on. More if we build smaller ships. Less if we build larger. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you all have duties to perform or preparations to make. Everybody not chosen for this ship will be eligible for the second.” He stood up. “Lucy and Kitty, if you will meet me in my ready-room in five minutes, we can open the mess hall back up.”
Kitty and Lucy sat opposite Simon. He thought hard about what he was about to say. He picked and chose each word with care as if skirting a verbal minefield. He addressed Lucy first. “I saw the looks of shock on both your faces. Kitty because I named her captain, and you because I didn’t name you ,. That’s what I want to discuss first. Although nothing was said, Lucy, I know that you expected to be named captain. And under most conditions, you would have been. I didn’t choose Kitty because she’s my wife. She and I had this discussion last night although she didn’t really know it. I think I’ve been scrupulously honest about not showing her any favoritism. So scrupulous, in fact, that I think she has had a rougher time of it than the rest of you. Not much, but some. The simple fact of the matter is that you’re both equally qualified for the position, but Kitty outranked you. Now, I’m going to make life just a little easier for you. In front of a witness, I am telling you categorically, that the next ship that is completed is yours. And we’re talking less than six months, Lucy, so I want you to start training your successor. Also, I am going to let you choose the name of your ship. Talk to me later and I’ll give you your choices.”
Lucy said, “Commander Marshall was waiting for me outside the mess hall after the meeting. He explained to me a little about military protocol, so I do understand why you made the choice you did. I’ll be perfectly happy with ship number two, and I have a successor in mind already. And I don’t think our relationship will suffer.”
Simon gave a small sigh of relief. “I’m glad to hear that, Lucy. I think you’re going to make a great captain. I’d hate to lose you over something like this. Now, if you will excuse us, I have some things I need to go over with Kitty.”
Lucy stood up, reached over the desk that separated them, and held out her hand. “Truth, Captain. I’m not upset. I’ll be happy to take the second ship. Congrats, Captain Kitty,” she finished, as she leaned over and kissed Kitty on the cheek.
When Lucy left the room, the temperature dropped some twenty degrees. Simon tried to hold off the eruption he saw coming. “Look, Honey. What I said in the mess hall and here to Lucy was the absolute truth. But not the whole truth.” At this, Kitty’s mouth snapped shut. “You are about to become the fourth person to be privy to the following bit of information. The third is Daniel, and he just found out yesterday. The other is Dr. Barnes, because I needed her help in writing the code that was used to activate Heinlein. This is a secret we may take to our graves. Then again, maybe not. The big secret is that the ship out there, the Heinlein, has an ability that none of the other ships will have. Because of that, only someone I trust implicitly will ever command her. I spent many hours locked up with our computer and Dr. Barnes working this out.”
Simon stopped for a breath, and Kitty wailed, “But you’re splitting us up!” Simon winced at the volume. “What can possibly be so special about that ship that it requires splitting us up?”
Simon explained about the changes to the operating codes, not only for the Heinlein, but for all the others, as well, and how her ship would be able to access and shut down any or all portions of another ship’s systems. “Life support, weapons, power generation, it doesn’t matter. You issue the right command codes, and the ship will go dead. The protocols are hidden behind so many layers of encryption that no one will find them without knowing what they are looking for. And the acceptance protocols on the rest of the fleet will be equally well hidden. And, I might add, any attempt to remove the acceptance protocols, or block or circumvent them, will result in a total system shut-down for the ship involved.”
While he spoke he watched expressions run across her face. More and more they began to look like what he privately called her Toni Putnam face. Kitty shook her head. “That’s a pretty big secret, all right. It’s also too much power for one person to have, Simon. But I’ll take the ship.”
Surprised by her almost instant change of mind, he stumbled. “N-no. That’s too much power for one person to have that I don’t trust. At this point in time, there is only one person I trust as much as me, and that’s you. Just between you and me, we started this together, and we’ll go as far as we can before someone takes over for us.”
Simon began drumming his fingers on the desktop. “Here’s something I haven’t told anyone yet. Once we get enough ships built and crewed, I envision teams of three ships traveling together. Especially when we start to explore other stars seriously. At first, some will go out as singles, but once we have enough, there is no reason to risk our people and ships traveling alone. Two ships like Heinlein and ... how about a carrier? We’ve come an amazing distance by being both daring and foolhardy. I think it’s time to throw a pinch of caution into the mix and not send ships out alone.
“Now,” he said, pointedly changing the subject. “I believe I heard something about there being a celebration throughout Galileo and Orion. And I know for a fact that you are about to have several very hectic days ahead of you. So take tonight and tomorrow night and spend them with me and let’s just relax.”
Simon and Kitty boycotted most of the festivities although nature did finally force them out of their room and down the corridor to the mess hall. As they approached, they could hear a commotion, so Simon wasn’t surprised to see the crowd present when they walked in. At least Kitty was surprised. Simon knew that people would throw a celebration for any or no reason. They stopped just inside the doorway and the noise in the room died in a spreading wave with them at the epicenter. Then one pair of hands started clapping. Presently, everyone in the room was on their feet, facing them, and applauding. Kitty looked around the room to see what the cause of the uproar was. Simon put his arm around her waist, leaned down just slightly, and said, “Honey, the applause is for you.” He saw the flush come across her face as he felt her stiffen up and start to take a step backwards. “You can’t run from this, Dear. Trust me, you’re in for the duration. For some reason, all these people seem to like you. You may hate me for this, but for now, you’re stuck with it.”
Keeping his arm around her waist, Simon gently herded his wife in the direction of the Captain’s table. Kitty saw the tables, looked up at Simon, and accused, “You planned this.”
Simon laughed, and said, “No I didn’t, but I’m not in the least surprised.”
Leading her to what would normally have been her place, Simon seated Kitty at the head of the table and sat down on her right. As word spread that Kitty had emerged from seclusion, more and more people began to come by to offer their congratulations. Shortly, the three tables were full. By common consent, Galileo personnel sat to Simon’s right and Kitty’s new staff sat to her left. Including quiet, competent Marsha Kane, whose uncharacteristically dazed expression was further enhanced by the glasses she wore.
Talk inevitably turned to the new ship and the plans for her disposition. Simon deflected the largest majority of the questions, for a time, at any rate, by saying, “This next week to ten days, she’ll be standing to her trials.” He turned to Kitty. “That means, M’dear, that for the fir
st week or so, your crew will be engineer and tech heavy. Some of your regular crew will stay here for that time while you put her through her paces. You’ll have the extra tech support for things like repairs, adjustments, calibrations and such.”
A short time later, Kitty turned to Simon and asked him in a quiet voice, “You think you could take me over there and give me a personal tour? I hate to admit this, but I wasn’t paying as much attention on the tour as I maybe should have been. I really only went because you did.”
Simon patted her on the arm. “Kittyn, it’s been planned for a while. I’ve just been waiting for you to ask.”
After the delay that decorum required, Simon and Kitty got up and made their way to the door. Kitty said, “We’ll be back before the party’s over. Won’t be staying long, but we’ll be back.”
Daniel, seated nearby, turned around in his chair and looked over his shoulder at Kitty. “What do you mean party over? I have it on good authority that tomorrow is going to be all party except for the commissioning ceremony. So, I wouldn’t worry about missing your fair share of partying.”
Everyone within hearing laughed, and Kitty smiled down at Daniel. Simon stopped in his tracks and turned to Daniel. “And on whose authority do you have it that tomorrow is going to be all parties?” he asked with a chuckle.
Daniel peered up at Simon owlishly, and said sonorously, “Why, my authority, of course,” and then very carefully passed out into the tray of snacks on the table.
Simon took Kitty’s arm and led her through the milling crowd. True to his word, he led her to the transporter room where they beamed over to the Heinlein. They beamed into the modest reception area directly off the boat bays and Simon led her to the bridge. Once they arrived, he sat her down in the captain’s chair and began to talk. “Unlike the Galileo, this is a fighting ship. The slimmer and trimmer she is, the more maneuverable she is. So weight and space considerations mean a lot. This bridge is the equal of the Galileo’s only a bit smaller.”
Kitty looked slowly around the room, hands unconsciously caressing the arms of the command chair. “And,” he continued, “there are repeater circuits that transfer all the information on these consoles directly to your cabin. So you can be informed at all times about what is happening.”
As the tour continued, Kitty showed more and more distress. She asked all the right questions, but Simon could recognize the signs: fingers rubbing any convenient piece of fabric between them, eyes shifting right and left continuously, as if looking for a way out, face flushed from hyperventilation. It was when they entered a laser cannon servicing-bay that she finally cracked. “Simon, these ... these things,” she waved her hand in the direction of the laser assembly, “are the perfect example of why I think you screwed up in making me captain. The only thing I’ve ever killed in my life is time. I can’t kill anything directly. I have to put out no-pest strips and roach motels. And you want to put me in command of a warship?”
Simon leaned back against a convenient bulkhead. “Well, you see, there is the beauty of the idea. Think about it for a minute who better than a pacifist in command of a warship? What it means to me is that if you do pull the trigger, you had a damn’ good reason. Excuse me for pointing out a flaw in your logic. I remember when you found Toni Putnam’s body on the floor of Orion’s sickbay. I think if you could have gotten your hands on whoever killed her, you’d have killed them without hesitation. And I’ve noticed a difference in you since then. You’re still as loving and caring as ever and just as quick to find fault with me. But I think you, like some of the rest of us, a lot of the rest of us, in fact, lost some of your innocence that day. As evidence, your pistol. That’s not a Z-Tag toy, Love.”
With many scenarios chasing themselves around the inside of her head, Kitty decided to head back. Simon, having accomplished his mission of getting his wife to at least question her core beliefs, agreed. The most noticeable difference upon their return was the absence of Daniel. “Some of his people took him back to Orion shortly after you left, Sir,” Robert Greene said as they sat down. The party was in full swing and there didn’t appear to be an end in sight. Kitty glanced around the table and said, “For once, I think I’ll have a beer.”
An hour later, after she had wrapped herself around a couple more beers herself and something to eat, surrounded by husband and friends, Kitty began to think that she could do this after all. Turning to Marsha on her left, she said, slowly and deliberately, knowing the alcohol was affecting her, “Number One, the commissioning ceremony is for two PM tomorrow, which is going to allow most of us to sleep off what we are doing to ourselves right now. I think we should have a staff meeting immediately afterwards. We should probably use the ready room here. Time enough to get used to our own once we get moved in.”
Marsha turned to her new commanding officer, and replied, “Yes, Ma’am. I’ll inform the staff.” Turning her head to the left, she announced, “Officers of the Heinlein. Listen up! There will be a staff meeting immediately after the commissioning ceremony tomorrow. Attendance is mandatory in Galileo’s ready-room.” Turning back to Kitty, she mumbled, “Ma’am, mission accomplished,” and gently placed her head on her arms on the table and started snoring. Kitty looked down at the unconscious woman beside her and asked, “Will someone please help my first officer to her room?”
Rob Greene stood up. “‘Chiko and I were planning to leave soon, anyway. We’ll see that she gets home safely.” Several stumbles and a stagger later, interspersed with more than a few apologies, the trio made their way to the door and out of sight.
Kitty awoke on commissioning day clear-headed and curiously focused. She slipped into and out of the shower in near record time, and when Simon finally woke up and found her at his desk. A box on the floor beside her was slowly filling up with files. Simon walked up behind her, bent down, kissed her on the neck, and nibbled one ear. Playfully breathing in her ear, he asked, “Whatcha doin’?”
She replied, “Taking anything even remotely pertinent to Heinlein’s operation with me.” Seeing that she had just about finished anyway, he reached out and slid two more files over in front of her. That should pretty well do it.”
Still looking down at the desk, Kitty reached behind her to pat him on the thigh and encountered bare skin. Sliding her hand up a few inches, she asked, “What would have happened if I had had company?”
Simon kissed her on top of the head and said, “Then they would have seen just how much I love you and how happy I am to see you this morning.”
She moved her hand higher and could only respond, “Oh!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
As usual, the only place for a crowd this size was Deck Eighteen. What had come to be know as the Projects Deck was crowded with people. Almost fifteen hundred of them. And that’s not counting the skeleton crews for Orion and Galileo watching via whisker lasers, or the start-up crew already aboard Heinlein, Simon thought.
He stood in the shadow of a Mamba, looking out over the crowd. The ship and its twin on the other side of the podium tended to focus the audience’s attention on the speaker. As he waited for Daniel to introduce him, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering over the events that had led up to this moment. Part of his mind listened to Daniel and another part kept asking what, if anything, he could have done differently. Holding the pages of his speech in his hand, he tapped them against his leg while he fought the butterflies waging war in his stomach.
He had to table his self-examination when he heard Daniel begin to wind down. A quick introduction later, and he was staring out at a field of faces. Silence ruled the deck as Simon placed his papers on the podium, grabbed each side, and glanced back down one more time. Finally, he could dither no more.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I would not be standing here today if not for your effort, your dedication, your sacrifices.” He stopped for a moment to judge the crowd and heard a murmur in response to his accolade. “I would not be standing here today if you
didn’t share my vision of what we can do. Of what we can do for the human race.” Picking up the microphone, he stepped to one side of the podium. “We are doing more than standing on the edge of a new era.” He took a step forward. “We, those of us living and working aboard five distinct and separate vessels, have actually crossed the line. Just one step, but we have crossed. Very few times in history has anyone or any group of people had the opportunity to realize how big an impact they were making on the future. This, my friends, is one of those times. What we do here alters the very destiny of the human race. And we are privileged to know that ahead of time. This place, Orion Base, is a place of firsts.” He held up one finger. “This dock is the first deep-space outpost built by humans. And as important as that is,” Simon began to put spaces between his words, and as he did the exterior doors slowly began to open, leaving the entire crew of both vessels exposed to the depths of space, saved only by the force fields. “As important as that is,” he repeated, “it pales in comparison to what you have accomplished in the last six months.”
The doors finished rolling back and there, illuminated by light that had to travel almost twice as far as the human race was used to, was a sparkling white ship. Anyone familiar with Galileo’s original plans would have trouble believing that the one derived from the other. With the annealing process that allowed the engineers to imprint color directly into the hull, deck and wall plates, the ship already seemed to have a life of her own. Her length of over twelve hundred feet, offset by her narrow beam, made her seem smaller than she actually was. Yet the finished product housed twenty fewer crew than originally planned, leaving the crew complement at three hundred eighty. Engines almost the size of Galileo’s allowed her to move at speeds undreamed of by the Builders, and she would soon carry shields and armament unmatched by anything in the data banks. On her lower deck were an even dozen Mambas, housed in individual bays that would let any one launch independent of the others.