The Terran Fleet Command Saga BoxSet

by Tori Harris

  Ensign Fisher, now even more suspicious than usual of the AI’s competence, continued to closely monitor every system involved with the landing sequence. "Landing struts deployed. Altitude now two seven meters," he reported calmly. Ingenuity’s altitude was always reported as the distance from the lowest section of the ship’s hull to the surface. Once the landing struts were down, this distance immediately decreased by five meters. "Showing six green landing strut indications. The gear is down and locked. We are rigged for surface landing."

  "AI, Prescott. Confirm landing sequence status."

  "AI acknowledged. Gravitic fields configured for zero mass, neutral buoyancy. The ship is rigged for surface landing. Altitude above dry-dock landing surface, two seven meters."

  "Ensign Blake, you may complete the landing."

  "With pleasure, sir."

  Seconds later, Ingenuity’s gravitic fields were slightly reduced to allow her six massive landing skids to simultaneously come into contact with the concrete landing platform. In spite of the chief engineer’s reservations, the gear functioned exactly as designed. Over the next few minutes, Fisher gradually allowed the struts to bear the ship’s full weight, compressing the six massive shocks as she settled into place.

  Prescott breathed a sigh of relief and commanded himself to relax. "XO, secure from General Quarters."

  "Aye, Captain," Reynolds responded, also visibly relieved.

  “Commander Logan, bridge."

  "Logan here. Go ahead, Captain."

  "Full stop, Commander. Power down and prep for maintenance crews. Great job down there."

  "Full stop, aye. Thanks, Captain, I’ll pass that along."

  Prescott stood, walked over to the Helm console, and extended his hand to Ensign Fisher. "Nicely done, Blake. You managed to take a potentially very dangerous situation and make it look like it was no big deal. I’m really not sure how much damage a gear-up landing would have done to the hull at zero mass, but it’s just generally not something we ever want to attempt without structural supports. Besides, I’m guessing it would have really pissed off the admirals over there."

  Fisher stood and shook his captain’s hand gratefully. "Thank you, sir. I’m just really glad that’s over. I’m pretty sure somebody out there owes me a beer."

  Chapter 9

  TFC Yucca Mountain Shipyard Facility

  (2 weeks later)

  Captain Hiroto Oshiro stood ramrod-straight, sweating profusely in his dress uniform as he faced a room full of senior officers including his immediate supervisor, Vice Admiral Kevin Patterson, Chief of Naval Operations. "So, in summary, the movable platform sensors under Ingenuity’s berth were still calibrated for a Navajo-class cruiser in dry-dock configuration. TFS Shoshone had been staged out of Berth Nine just two days prior to Ingenuity’s arrival when the last of her construction was completed. At that time, the cruiser was moved over to Berth Twelve so that the structural supports could be removed from Berth Nine. Once Shoshone was out of the way, Berth Nine was immediately prepped for Ingenuity’s arrival."

  "Clearly not prepped enough, though, was it, Captain?" Admiral Patterson growled.

  "No, Admiral, it was not, and that responsibility is mine and mine alone. The sensors were the primary source of landing configuration data for the facility’s AI during the autolanding sequence and were the root cause of the near gear-up landing. The fix was a simple procedural change, so I can assure all of you that it won’t happen again. I want to formally apologize once again to Captain Prescott and his crew. They did a fantastic job recovering from what could have easily been a disaster."

  "I agree with you completely, Captain Oshiro," Patterson replied, peering over his glasses at his hapless facility commander. "I agree that Captain Prescott and crew did a fantastic job, and I agree that this failure and near disaster was your responsibility." The old admiral paused, allowing the gravity of the situation to weigh heavily on every officer in the crowded conference room.

  "The truth is, however, that this could have happened to any one of us. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not excusing any sort of carelessness or minimizing the importance of avoiding this kind of oversight. That’s why we have procedures in the first place. Procedures alone, however, won’t save us from making stupid mistakes on occasion. This time, it was our friend, Hiroto, who was unfortunate enough to be in charge at the time, but there’s not a single one of us here who can honestly say that this would never happen on our watch. This work that we are doing is unbelievably complex, not to mention inherently dangerous."

  There were nods all around the table. Sensing Admiral Patterson’s change in tone, Tonya White glanced up and smiled discreetly at Oshiro, who had been under the most intense, stressful scrutiny imaginable for the past two weeks.

  "Captain Oshiro," Patterson continued, his voice reminiscent of a judge pronouncing sentence on the damned," to make amends for this incident, you are to work with the folks over at Fleet Training to fully document what happened and prepare a case study for their curriculum. If there has ever been a situation that shows how a seemingly minor oversight can lead to a disaster, this is it."

  "Understood, Admiral. Thank you."

  "Good. You should also understand that had it not been for the quick thinking of Ensign Fisher at the helm of Ingenuity, there would have been very little any of us could have done to save your biscuits. I strongly suggest you buy that young man the drinks of his choice for the foreseeable future."

  "I agree wholeheartedly, sir. I’ve already opened a tab for him at the Club."

  "Glad to hear it. Tom, I want to the see the paperwork for a Distinguished Flying Cross and anything else you think appropriate for Blake Fisher on my desk before you leave."

  "Will do, Admiral," Prescott replied.

  Patterson again looked down at his tablet before continuing. "One more thing I need to make sure we all understand is why Ensign Fisher was unable to manually take control of Ingenuity using the backup controls at the Helm console."

  Figuring there was no need for anyone else to step into the hot seat, Captain Oshiro spoke up once again. "I’ll take that one as well, Admiral. The AI specialists at Fleet Engineering have told us that the system responded as designed. When control of the ship is relinquished to the facility AI for autolanding, it operates like a separate entity from the ship’s AI. The way they explained this is that the autolanding sequence is a collaborative effort between the ship’s AI and the local core control system – in this case the facility AI here at Yucca Mountain. When Ensign Fisher selected the manual override option at his console, the ship’s AI simply assumed he was requesting that it continue the landing without outside assistance. Only when he verbalized the ‘emergency override, all stop’ command did the ship understand that he wanted to completely terminate the approach. Clearly, this is not an optimal design and needs to be changed. Fleet Science and Engineering is reviewing the code and promises to have an update available before Ingenuity departs again."

  "Since you answered my question, Hiroto, I’m going to let you own this problem for me as well. My fundamental concern is that there must always be absolute clarity regarding who, or what, is in control of the ship at any given time. Furthermore, a manual override should be a manual override. I don’t give a good goddamn about layers of AI control. If an authorized Human has a reason to take control, I expect them to be able to do so, immediately and unambiguously. Now, having the AI back them up and avoid doing something stupid is fine. For example, if young Ensign Fisher had pulled the throttle back to idle or tried to blast out through the top of the cavern, I would want the AI to intelligently prevent him from doing so. Otherwise, Humans are to remain the ultimate control authority. Make sense?"

  "Yes Admiral. I’ll see to it, sir."

  "Very good, thank you, Captain Oshiro. Now, on to other business. Captain Prescott, I trust Ingenuity’s refit is progressing to your satisfaction?"

  "Admiral, I’ve never seen anything like it. Within an hour after our a
rrival, we had a small army of engineers and techs working on practically every system onboard. Also, our entire crew has been briefed now up to code word PARTHIAN, and we’ve been running training simulations with the new bridge configuration since yesterday afternoon."

  "Just to make sure everyone is up to speed on what Captain Prescott is referring to, every ship in the fleet has had their bridge reconfigured based on lessons learned during Ingenuity’s shakedown cruise. Obviously, the addition of weapon systems on Ingenuity also required some modifications. The biggest single change is the elimination of the Navigation console. We found that most of those functions were being handled by the communications officer anyway, so the Communications console now also officially handles navigation. The old Navigation console is now referred to as ‘Tactical.’ It handles sensors as well as all of the ship’s weapon systems. Frankly, I’m concerned that we may have given the officer at that station too much to do. We have already divided the workload across two Tactical consoles onboard our new destroyers and heavy cruisers. They will likely get pretty busy during combat operations, so we may end up tweaking this configuration again. In any event, we have typically placed our most senior bridge officer at that station, with the exception of the captain and XO, of course. Given the heavy load, I think we should continue to do so. Don’t you have Admiral Lau’s son from your first watch at that station, Tom?"

  "Yes, sir, I do. Lieutenant Commander Schmidt is actually senior, but I believe Lieutenant Lau is best suited for the job. He’s a solid young officer and he’s thrilled with his new duties at Tactical. We’ve actually been having to force him out of the sim for some rack time. I think he might have been feeling a little left out at the Navigation console before the configuration change."

  "Well, you know what they say, be careful what you wish for. I think he will have more than enough to keep him busy at Tactical. Moving on, the Helm console is largely unchanged, other than picking up some of the slack from losing the Nav. Finally, the Science and Engineering console still handles the same functions as before, but is now better equipped to assist Tactical during an engagement. On the subject of Tactical, is your weapons loadout complete?"

  "We’re getting close, Admiral. I just spoke with Commander Logan, and he expects we will be ready to get underway within forty-eight hours."

  "As soon as you are ready to go, I want you to run your ship through the range course for some live fire exercises. In the meantime, I want you to ensure that all bridge officers are getting sim time, and that includes the two of you as well," Patterson said. "We’re going to be asking quite a bit of you. Not only did we make significant changes to how your bridge operates, but we have also transformed your ship from a purely scientific vessel into a more traditional warship."

  Commander Reynolds looked up from her note-taking, "I’m sorry, Admiral, but did you just say ‘range?’"

  "I did, indeed. I think I can promise you an experience like none you’ve ever had before. I want Ingenuity fully mission-capable by the end of the week. I already have a special assignment waiting for you. As the old saying goes, there’s not a moment to be lost."

  Wek Flagship Gresav, Near Luyten’s Star

  (12.1 light years from Earth)

  Admiral Naftur’s eyes narrowed as the Pelaran Guardian spacecraft emerged from hyperspace at the exact time and location projected by Gresav’s AI. The Pelarans were nothing if not punctual, and given enough time and computing power to analyze their habits, they were predictable as well. The odd manner in which the Pelarans shared data with their chosen, cultivated civilizations required their spacecraft to broadcast from a different location each day. Initially, these locations appeared to be chosen completely at random. Recently, however, advances in hyperspace travel had placed the Sajeth Collective in contact with neighboring regions of the galaxy whose inhabitants had been observing the Pelarans' habits over long periods of time. Once all of the data was combined, patterns had finally started to emerge.

  For all of their vaunted technological superiority, the Guardian spacecraft were still machines after all. Machines that could be outwitted and ultimately destroyed. Ironically, the Pelarans’ self-imposed requirement to have their signals appear from random locations in the sky seemed wholly unnecessary to the Wek scientists, who had been studying their patterns for years. It was thought that the Pelarans were trying to avoid any chance that the cultivated species would determine the signal’s true origin while also minimizing the potential for other civilizations to eavesdrop on their data streams. The reason for the behavior meant little to the old admiral, however. All that mattered was the fact that he now had a second potential vulnerability in hand. Now, it was just a matter of developing the tactics required to exploit them.

  Earth, Terran Fleet Command Headquarters

  Admiral Sexton stood and stepped from behind his desk as Nenir Turlaka entered his office with her usual pair of Marine guards in tow.

  "Good morning, Madame Ambassador!" he greeted, offering his hand. "It’s good to have you back with us so soon. I was afraid the Leadership Council would have you tied up in meetings for the next six months."

  Sexton showed Nenir to a sitting area on one side of his office, dismissing her Marine guards to the hallway with a nod.

  "I think there are those who would like to do just that," she replied. "Do leaders on your world always spend so much time meeting to argue over minor details before any decisions are made?"

  "In many cases, yes," Sexton said, smiling sympathetically. "That is particularly true for multinational groups like the Leadership Council. There has never been any sort of ‘planetary government’ here on Earth. Over the centuries, a few powerful nation states have had designs on world domination, but the balance of power has generally been maintained among a number of individual countries. Unfortunately, restoring that delicate balance has sometimes required prolonged periods of global warfare." He paused, measuring her level of interest in Earth’s history. Seeing what looked to him like enthusiastic attention, he continued. "There is more multinational cooperation now than at any time in our history, but there will probably always be some level of distrust. When I find myself in the middle of difficult meetings involving several nations, I just try to keep in mind that everyone is doing their best to look after their peoples’ best interests. I certainly understand how frustrating it can be, though."

  Nenir furrowed her heavy brows and produced a guttural sound from her chest that Sexton took to be an expression of disapproval mixed with resignation. The Wek seemed to rely on nonverbal communication even more so than Humans. Even during his limited time observing Nenir, it had become clear that the Wek had a sound for every emotion. It would definitely take some getting used to, particularly during diplomatic negotiations.

  "As a professional military officer accustomed to chain of command," she continued, "I believe you would appreciate the authority structure in place on my world. There is still a very traditional combination of factors that determine position and rank. We work very hard to select the best possible candidates for leadership roles. Once they are chosen, however, there is very little discussion involved in decision-making."

  Sexton filed that bit of information away as potentially significant. The Wek were clearly a proud, powerful race, but he wondered about the effectiveness of such an advanced civilization still clinging to a hierarchical, authoritarian culture. While it did admittedly offer some advantages over a more democratic approach to leadership, there were also some serious shortcomings. Senior military officers on Earth whose subordinates were afraid to even provide input, let alone respectfully question their orders, often performed poorly compared to those who fostered an environment of trust and loyal cooperation. Sexton made a mental note to have a discussion on this topic with his intelligence chief, Tonya White.

  "There is no doubt that a clear chain of command is critical, and ‘leadership by committee’ rarely produces the best results," Sexton agreed.

  Nenir
paused as the translation AI replayed the admiral’s final comment, then stared at him thoughtfully for a moment. Sexton immediately wondered how much of what crossed his mind was readily apparent to her. Could her species have more keenly honed perceptive abilities? Another question for Tonya’s team to ponder.

  "After three full days of meetings, the Leadership Council did at least agree to allow me to return here to work with you and your staff," she said. "I don’t think they know exactly what to do with me at this point, but I was able to convince them that sharing what I know about the Pelarans is my highest immediate priority. I also believe I can provide some value working with Fleet Medical."

  "That certainly sounds like a reasonable approach to me. Your Admiral Naftur provided a wealth of data that our people are only just beginning to analyze. Is there something specific you would like to highlight immediately, or would you prefer to work directly with the Science and Engineering Directorate to help them better organize their efforts?"

  Nenir hesitated, looking as if she was debating whether the timing was right to continue their discussion. "There is one thing I would like to, as you say, ‘highlight,’" she said cautiously.

  Her change in mood was readily apparent. She clearly had something to say that made her uncomfortable, and her body language was unmistakable. Jeez, these guys would be terrible poker players, Sexton thought.

  "I need you to understand that I mean no disrespect and wish to convey no threat whatsoever," she began.

  "All of my dealings with the Wek people thus far lead me to believe that you are an honorable, peaceful race who fight only when required to protect yourselves. We are friends, Nenir. Friends are open and honest with each other, even when the conversation isn’t particularly pleasant. What’s on your mind?"

  Nenir took a moment to gather her wits and seemed to relax a little. "Thank you, Admiral. Yes, we are indeed friends and it is my primary mission to ensure that we remain so. You are correct that we generally are a peaceful people, but we have also never hesitated to fight when threatened. I have spoken to you at length about our alliance, the Sajeth Collective, and the fact that we have encountered other species chosen by the Pelarans for what they refer to as ‘cultivation.’ In reality, this ‘cultivation’ is nothing more than a form of enslavement – entire worlds allowing themselves to be subjugated to the will of the Pelarans, all in the name of technological advancement. Unfortunately, in every recorded case thus far, species selected by the Pelarans ultimately undergo a sort of cultural transformation. Precisely how this happens is still unclear to us, but the change is obviously orchestrated by the Pelarans for their own self-interests, not the interests of the cultivated species."