They also showed me some grenades that were intended to be thrown by hand. Some of these are capable of inflicting a lot of damage, even to an armoured combatant. To an unarmoured person, they are completely lethal. These ones work in a similar manner to the fragmentation hand grenades used by Earth’s soldiers. Yet others are similar to the flash bangs used by law enforcement and various militaries on Earth. There were of course, improvements in the Federation hand grenades compared to those used by Earths militaries. Some of those improvements were intended to make them safer, others to make them more lethal or more effective in their intended role.
To make them safer, they had a cap. To prime the grenade, you had to pull the cap out then twist it 90 degrees clockwise, then finally push it back in. Once primed, these grenades generally have a timed four second fuse though other delays are available. The second major improvement is a smaller, higher powered explosive charge than is available on Earth. In the fragmentation grenades, the case is a metallic glass that is designed to shatter and splinter when the grenade explodes. Packed between the explosive charge and the outer case are small, sharp splinters of extremely dense metal. This metal, along with the splintered parts of the case fly outwards in all directions till they impact something. These grenades would damage everything, including the ship within their blast radius. We would need to be very careful when and where we used them.
All of the personal armour available in the Federation has weak points where grenade fragments can penetrate. These tended to be around the joints or other places where there is a need to accommodate movement. There is some very high end and expensive armour where the designers have largely been able to eliminate or otherwise harden most of these weak points but it is generally only used for very specific purposes and by elite troops. Of course, very few people within the Federation have access to this high end armour simply because it is extremely expensive. Even the armour available to the Troopers we had on FNS Destiny was patterned after the more conventional design. The Federation military did have the high end armour available but tended to only ever use it for a small number of highly specialised tasks. Because of this, we were reasonably confident that if the pirates had armour at all, it would almost certainly be of the more conventional type. Ani and Shasi decided that if we were to be boarded, then I would need armour for myself. Of course, they had already seen how I reacted to the danger on Zafar. They already knew I would not be able to sit on the sidelines, I was likely to end up in the thick of the battle, fighting the boarders. They took me to the armourer where I was measured for a full set of armour. After he was finished, he informed us my armour would be ready in three days. This delay would give me some time to practice working with it before any possible boarding action.
Meanwhile, repairs to the ship continued, with many of the damaged structural elements now replaced, so the crews were able to begin work refitting some of the damaged hull plating. During this period, I learned the structural members and hull plating were all made from an extremely tough ceramic composite material. Federation warships held equipment allowing their crews to recycle many of the damaged parts after they were recovered by pulling them apart then grinding and crushing them till they were once again a fine powder. This powder could be, and was recycled to fabricate replacement parts for the ship using large 3D printers that are installed on many warships so they were able to carry out battle damage repairs. Because FNS Destiny was based on a cruiser hull, and because of the missions she went out on, she also carried these same self-repair capabilities. The recycling and 3D printing equipment was retained on FNS Destiny when she was built because she needed to be as self-sufficient as possible during her long voyages where she would be a long way from help if anything went wrong. Recycling was necessary because, the ship was not intended to be fighting any pitched battles so her stocks of the raw materials for the 3D printers were relatively limited due to the storage constraints applying to her. She basically only held enough feedstock for the repairs that were expected to be required during her planned cruise so there wasn’t really enough to repair the battle damage we’d sustained so far without at least some recycling. As it is, fabrication of the first few parts, before reprocessing the damaged parts after they were removed pretty much depleted the ship’s available feedstock for the 3D printers.
As it turned out, nearly ten percent of the material in the damaged area was blasted off into space, lost when the mine originally impacted the ship. A further three percent was lost during the recycling process simply because it was impossible to make recycling one hundred percent efficient. By the time we completed the repairs, it turned out we would still have some material available to use if further repairs were needed before we reached port. Some parts, for example the shield emitters and some parts for the damaged point defence laser could not be fabricated on-board but engineering had stocks of these parts and could replace the parts with the available spares. Thankfully, because FNS Destiny was a Federation naval ship, she was provisioned as if she were going to war, especially when it came to spare parts for her weaponry and self protection equipment even though she was not crewed for that mission. Right then, we were all thankful for this provisioning as none of us expected the next engagement to be as easy as the last one turned out to be. We considered we would be extremely lucky to escape this system without further damage.
We were no longer outnumbered three to one but still we had no idea what the capabilities of the remaining pirate were. We were very short on intelligence and suspected they knew a lot more about us then we did about them. The last two were very quick to adapt when they came out of the jump point, even though they were expecting us to be in front of them, not hiding behind them with missiles already on the way. Between the two of them, they still managed to fire off twelve missiles at us before they were destroyed. In the upcoming engagement, the remaining pirate would already know the direction we were coming from simply because he would be able to see us on his sensors long before we could enter engagement range. Unfortunately, our shuttles didn’t have the range or the weaponry to be able to take on a capital ship either so we couldn’t use the stealth capabilities available on the shuttles to give us an edge either. The pirate would have ample time to prepare a reception for us when we arrived. As the days wore on, the Captain’s meetings continued, gradually morphing from a post mortem of the last engagement to planning how we could beat the remaining pirate with no, or at worst only minimal damage to FNS Destiny. As these meetings progressed, I began asking a lot of questions about the capabilities the ships missiles carried.
“Were the on board computers programmable to allow different flight profiles?”
“Did they have a Wild Weasel mode?”
“Could they be remotely controlled?”
“Would we be able to have some coasting along next to the ship, to be activated when we decided the time was right?”
I had a lot of other questions but by this time I started to notice the expressions on some of the officer’s faces. Some of them were looking quite stunned, others thoughtful and still others simply looked vacantly in my direction as they had no idea where I was going with my questions or even what I was talking about. For their part, both the Captain and his XO simply had bemused expressions on their faces as they listened to my questions. In retrospect, I think they both thought I had the beginnings of a useful plan forming even then though I didn’t know it at the time. I will admit, I was actively gathering information so I could make a worthwhile contribution but I was also trying to start the officers thinking along less conventional lines.
Finally, Veragain couldn’t contain himself any longer so he interrupted me to ask, “Wild Weasel mode?”
“Well, I must admit I expected that question.” I said, “Wild Weasel mode is a mode where the missiles will seem to fly off on random trajectories with random course changes, almost as if they are faulty. Eventually, ideally, they should end up close to the target at the about same time or at lea
st very nearly the same time, then they all go into terminal attack mode. I don’t know how big our missile stocks are, or how maneuverable our missiles are, but I think it should be relatively easy to overwhelm the pirate point defence if they have a Wild Weasel mode or can be configured to have one.”
Veragain replied, “That is another one I have never heard of before. I have to admit it is a good idea though. Your people must be very war like. I could never have believed that someone as primitive as you could teach me so much about how to fight a war.”
I just laughed at his comment. I noticed the Captain’s expression turn to one that I now interpreted as relief when I laughed. By then, he’d decided he both liked me and needed my help to get his ship and crew home safely. For my part, I had yet to meet anyone on this ship I disliked. I will admit that there were a few, not many, who I was a little ambivalent towards, but in general, I actually liked most of these people. For many, I even enjoyed their company when I had time to relax with them. By then, I think I wanted to help them arrive home safely almost as much as the Captain did. If I could help him achieve his goal, then I considered myself privileged to have the opportunity. In fairness, I have to admit, I did have some selfish reasons as well, after all, if nothing else, this would give me something to occupy myself, not to mention the fact I felt safer with Federation officers than pirates. I also thought my help and good faith might increase the chances of them helping me find my way back home eventually.
As the meetings continued, I learned the missile computers did indeed have a reasonable amount of programmability. They could also be remotely controlled, at least to a limited extent. This was mainly so they could be remotely detonated if they missed the target though the level of control could relatively easily be extended to fire the engines or to designate a target. Another idea I had was to pre-place some of the available missiles so they could coast along unpowered, keeping pace with the ship. I thought that because of the relatively small diameter of the missiles they would be difficult for the pirate to see, at least till we activated them. The second advantage was that we would be able to launch a blizzard of missiles simultaneously at the pirate, far more than he could possibly be expecting, or defend against, not if he was expecting a standard Federation deep space explorer. After some debate, the group decided we could indeed have some of the missiles coasting along beside the ship but some software changes would be needed to make this tactic work. I then asked how stealthy the missiles are. The reply to this question was they were very small and with the engines shut down, very hard to see on sensors. This confirmed my previous thought. At this point, I requested permission from the Captain to leave the meeting because I wanted to go think for a while.
The Captain looked surprised at my request then replied, “I’m sorry about the way I just looked at you Colin. You are not really a part of this crew, yet you still behave as if you are. You do not need to ask my permission to leave this meeting.”
I apologised and he replied, “That is not a criticism, merely an observation. You could have just excused yourself and left. That would not have been considered disrespectful. I have no right, either legally or morally to make you stay.”
I just replied, “Sir, at least while this ship is in danger, and you are asking for my input, I consider myself to be under your orders. This crew needs to see you are the one in charge, they need to see I consider myself one of your subordinates. Occasionally, I might say or do something that appears, on the surface, to undermine that and if I do something like that then I would expect to be corrected. While I may not be part of this crew legally, you should, consider me to be part of your crew anyway, at least for the time being till we’re out of immediate danger.”
The Captain thanked me for my sentiments, then gave me the permission I sought to leave the meeting. He knew by now I would bring any ideas to him as soon as I had them in some kind of a coherent form. I left the meeting to wander around the ship for a while, just exploring, finding how to get from one place to the next in the minimum possible time-frame. While I did my exploring, I did a lot of thinking, trying to bring some order to all I had learned about the ship and her capabilities so far. After a while, I headed to the mess for food before returning to my quarters to think some more about our predicament. There isn’t much furniture in the sleeping quarters so I lay on the bunk and stared at the ceiling while I let my mind arrange and rearrange all the information I’d been collecting over the last few days. I don’t know when I went to sleep, but by the time I woke some hours later, I had the germ of a plan in my mind. Once again, I knew I would need significant input from the ships officers so I asked the Captain via the implant link if I could come see him. He replied to me quickly, agreeing this was a good idea as we were now well into the curved part of our course. This course was intended to eventually bring us back to the only jump point available that would allow us to exit the system in the direction we wanted to go. Of course, this was a jump point guarded by what we assumed was a hostile ship.
When I reached the Captain’s office he took one look at me before asking me if I’d eaten yet. I had to think for a minute before I could answer that the last time I’d eaten was before going to bed. He immediately called for his steward to bring food. When the food arrived, he made me eat before letting me talk about anything. He admonished me for not taking care of myself. Of course, I felt suitably chastened and promised to try to take better care of myself. This was not to be the last time someone felt the need to make me eat or indeed sleep during times of crisis. For some reason it almost seems like a hallmark of my time since coming to the Federation. I don’t know why I fell into the habit of missing sleep or meals but it only seems to happen during critical times, when people’s lives are at risk and I feel responsible for protecting them.
Once we’d dealt with my immediate physical needs, the Captain asked me to tell him why I wanted to see him. I explained my thinking, pointing out all of the holes I’d already been able to identify. I admitted to him, I simply didn’t know what I didn’t know. He nodded as I explained everything before ordering me to the medical bay so Eri could have a look at me. I think he wanted her to check me over and make sure I was not going to become ill because by then, he was beginning to value my input. I did as he ordered and made my way down to Medical for a check-up. Eri gave me a full physical before telling me I was starting to show some very early signs of both exhaustion and malnourishment. Just then Shasi and Ani arrived at the medical bay and went with Eri into her office where she closed the door. When they came out I was told they’d been ordered to make sure I looked after myself. That meant at least one of them would be with me or at least outside my quarters for the entire time until the Captain ordered otherwise. Ani took the first shift as my babysitter.
As we left the medical bay Shasi said, “I’m off to catch some sleep. I need to be up in a while to keep an eye on you Colin.”
I apologised to both of them for causing them so much trouble but they just laughed and told me not to worry about it. Once Shasi left, Ani steered me to the mess for more food. I protested, telling her I needed to go see the Captain. Her reply was that the Captain would ask for me when he was ready to see me. I subsided then because I knew both the Captain and his crew were just trying to look after my wellbeing. Ani ate with me before she ordered me to head to my bunk for some more sleep. I must have been more tired than I thought because it seemed as if I passed out almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. It was quite a while later when I finally woke. My head seemed much clearer than it had for a while now, at least several days. When I thought about it, I began to realise just how much sleep I’d been missing lately. After I woke, I began thinking about my plan again, seeing many more holes in it now than I’d identified previously. I could also see ways to plug quite a few of those holes. I went to shower then donned clean clothes before opening the door of my quarters to find Shasi lounging against the wall next to my door waiting for me.
She smiled a
t me before asking, “Are we feeling more rested now?”
I blushed bright red with embarrassment before replying that I felt much better thank you very much before asking how long I’d been sleeping. Her reply surprised me as she told me I’d been sleeping for almost a full day. I realised then I needed to do what I was told so I meekly headed towards the mess at her suggestion. She must have let the Captain know I was awake because just as I finished eating, he invited me to come meet with him and his staff. I immediately let him know I was on my way then headed directly to the designated meeting room.
When I arrived everyone else was already there waiting for me. I walked in to be greeted warmly by the people who’d already arrived. I felt quite embarrassed at being the centre of attention among this group of professionals. Once the greetings were over and we’d all taken our seats, Captain Carlon started the meeting. He began by going through my ideas as I’d presented them to him when I last saw him. Of course, he and the others quickly found all the holes I’d already identified as well as a few more. They’d also found solutions to many of those already. Thankfully I had solutions to all but one of the holes they had no solution to, so I told them these. After quite a lot of discussion, even some heated argument, the consensus was that we had a viable plan to move forward with. We all knew it needed a little more refinement. At this point, the Captain broke up the meeting, then looking at me, ordered us all to go eat and catch some rest.
By the time I left the room, Shasi had been replaced by Ani. She escorted me down to the mess for more food. It was clear to me that both Ani and Shasi were taking their orders to look after me very seriously indeed. After I’d eaten I asked Ani if we could do a little physical exercise. She agreed so we went down to the squad bay where we went through all the hand to hand combat techniques she and Shasi were teaching me. She taught me another technique before insisting I eat once again, to be followed by me going for some more rest. I tried to protest, telling her I didn’t need to rest yet, but of course I lost the argument even before we reached the mess. Once again I ate, then Ani escorted me back to my quarters for bed. I think, once again, my head barely hit the pillow before I was sleeping. In hindsight, I must have been more tired than I realized. When I woke, Shasi was once again waiting outside my door as I exited. We went back down to the mess for yet more food before once again returning to the meeting room. This time, only Shulari was waiting when I arrived. She explained we were both a little early. She told me the others would be along shortly. When everyone else arrived, the Captain began the meeting and we took up where we’d left off on the previous day.
Star Man 1: Star Bourne Page 14
