Chief Petty Officer Schmidt also volunteered to help out in the engine room. He also had another duty that he had to take care of over the five-day trip to Hanson’s World. When he got Mike’s call, offering him to come with him they decided to bring along a few things they might need.
Schmidty quickly grabbed the two-repair droids and the Med-Bot and took them apart. He then put them in a crate with other old parts to be recycled. He hurriedly labeled it for Hanson’s World and rushed to get it taken to the shuttle.
The droids wouldn’t be missed as they were already marked as shit-canned and nothing more than salvaged parts. Mike had even mentioned to Commander Hemmings that Ensign Porter would be a good replacement for the Salvage, Repair, and Parts Section.
After their duty shifts ended on the first night on board they met down in D-Deck’s hold and put the droids back together. It didn’t take long and after they got the first repair droid operational it then helped put the other two back together again. They then repacked the boxes with the remaining old parts.
The freighter captain was a little surprised at the appearance of the droids but Mike put them to work doing ship maintenance. He also had the Med-Bot treat any ailments of the crew. By the time they got to Hanson’s World the crew of the freighter was a little disappointed to see them go.
Their trip was pretty uneventful as they headed deeper into Confederation space. The only other passengers were the MPs and their prisoners who stayed pretty much to themselves on C-Deck. Mike did manage to talk to one of the MPs while in the mess hall and found out that the three prisoners had been tried before a Captain’s Mast.
They were all being sent to the prison ship Captivity, to carry out their sentences of confinement. One of them was guilty of drug possession while the other two were being punished for fighting. It made Mike think that if Captain Hunter hadn’t come back when he did, he would have been down there with them locked up on C-Deck.
Reaching Hanson’s World, they exited the last bend and found themselves in a very busy system. Surprisingly, there wasn’t minefield or any sentry ships by the gravity well to greet them. What they found was an entry fleet of ships, a space station, dozens of shuttles and repair pods darting back and forth as well as a half-dozen independent orbital dry docks.
“Busy place,” Mike commented standing near the helm station. He had worked the ship’s controls for the last five days and the captain had kindly invited him to the bridge as they came into the system.
Walking over to the space radar, he looked over the ships that were between the gravity well and the space station.
“I’m reading twenty-six ships between us and the station,” Collins commented.
“That’s the 8th Defense Fleet, they have been getting some final repairs and have been massing here for the last couple weeks,” the freighter captain casually replied.
Mike moved over to the computer station and brought up the data. There was one auxiliary carrier the ISS Shinano. Two heavy cruisers, the ISS Castor and Pollux whose ships’ profiles seemed a little off. Four light cruisers, six frigates, and six sloops rounded out the fighting force of the fleet. Other non-combat ships included four cargo ships, a minesweeper and a fleet fuel tanker. All of the ships were old but they seemed to be in good shape and according to Hunter, they had all gone through modernization and refits.
Only one ship was a modern ship and Mike was surprised to see it here. The ISS Mastodon was parked on the other side of the fleet, not far from the space station and the repair docks. The Behemoth Class repair ship was huge and it immediately made Collins think of its sister ship, the ISS Mammoth that was operating at the Wolf’s Den.
It took two hours to reach the space station in orbit around Hanson’s World. Mike stayed at the computer station utilizing the transport’s limited sensors to take a look at the system and the ships of the 8th Defense Fleet.
The 8th Defense Fleet might not have been sitting right on top of the well but it was in Mike’s opinion well deployed. Ships were set up in a jagged tiered line formation with frigates and sloops forming the outer ring and light cruisers set behind them. The two heavy cruisers were then placed behind then with the auxiliary carrier, the ISS Shinano centered further back. The other unarmed ships were placed well behind the fleet.
Two of the four light cruisers were reading as the ISS Juan Carlos, and the ISS Kako. Of the six Battle Class frigates, he was registering three of them as ISS Lepanto, ISS Tarawa, and ISS Balaclava.
After receiving permission, they passed by this imposing force and made their way towards the space station. Hanson’s World had been found thirty years ago by an Ameri-Corp survey team. It was a barely M class world that was lacking the kind of vegetation that could produce enough oxygen to sustain human life.
A group of xeno-biologist and terra-formers spent months exploring the planet and testing its atmosphere. They submitted that if the planet could be seeded with genetically altered planets that could survive the harsh environment then they could help produce the air and vegetation that was needed. They believed that in just thirty short years the planet would be habitable for mankind.
These scientists were right and just as the planet was maturing into a paradise for future colonists the war broke out with the Karduans. Since then the quarter mile scientific space station had new cylinder sections added until it was almost a mile long and a half mile wide. Now two-thirds of the station were used for ship parts manufacturing and the rest was for crew housing. The dream of Hanson’s World being an active colony was for the time-being put on hold.
Mike saw that there were also six orbital star docks where ships would be towed into and where space crew would then work on them. Further into system beyond the gravitational pull of the planet was a space junkyard similar to the one that was at Sargasso Station. Here there were dozens of badly damaged ships most of which were beyond repair and were being used for metal salvage and parts. Scanning the field, he was surprised to see numerous captured Karduan ships that seem in better shape than the Confederation hulks around them.
Closing on the station, he suddenly picked up another ship that had been obscured by the ISS Mastodon’s mass. The prison ship Captivity was now within the freighter’s limited sensor range. It was reading as an old ore freighter that had been converted into a correctional facility. The ship seemed so old that Mike doubted that it could even bend anymore which was probably ideal for a prison ship.
Docking with the space station, Mike quickly thanked the freighter captain and his bridge staff as he rushed to leave the ship. It took five days to get here and planning a return trip of five days left him with four days to get a crew, his ship and get out of here. Yet the taunt of Lt. Friar still nagged at him, “Good luck with that frigate, I hear that it is barely space worthy.”
Chief Schmidt was already waiting for him at the airlock with their droids and Med-Bot. He seemed as anxious as Mike was to get started. Collins knew what this was about, the Chief’s pregnant girlfriend had been demoted and sent here after her Captain’s Mast for fraternization. He was probably eager to find her after their four-months of separation.
“I’m going to report to the station’s commander and see about getting us a crew. I want you to find out where the Goliad is being berthed and check on her condition,” he ordered.
The Chief looked strained but nodded realizing that even though he was hoping to see her it would just have to wait.
“Yes sir, what do we do with the droids?” he asked.
“I’ll take the Med-Bot and you take the repair droids,” Mike answered not wanting them to standout too much.
“Aye sir,” he replied and took off with the repair droids in search of their ship.
Lt. Collins signaled for the Med-Bot to follow him as he moved to a computerized directory stationed along the hallway near the airlock. It took him a minute before he figured out where the station commander’s office was and how to get there. Downloading the directions to his palm pad
he left with the Med-Bot trailing behind him.
Passing through a large cafeteria he found the lift he needed on the other side of the room. A few people looked at the young officer and his old robot but it was probably because they hadn’t seen a Med-Bot like this in some time.
Taking the lift up, he exited on B-Deck and traveled down the corridor until his palm pad signaled that he was there. Activating the door’s alarm, he was surprised that it slid right open. The secretary’s desk was plain and empty. No one was in the outer office though he could see that the door to the inner office was open.
Signaling the Med-Bot to stay, he walked over to the open doorway and looked in. The office was of medium size and packed with boxes and mechanical parts. For a moment, he wondered if he was in a storage room. As he was pondering this he heard the sound of running water for a few seconds and then he saw a man enter the room from a side doorway. He was wiping hands with a rag and made a face like he was pondering what he should do next. He was dressed in dirty engineering coveralls and his face was partial dirty as if even though he had washed it he still had missed the sides of his neck and forehead.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for the station commander’s office?”
The grimy looking man turned and smiled at him.
“Well, you found it. This is the commander’s office and I’m Commander McClune,” he said.
Mike came to attention and saluted.
“Sir, Lt. Michael Collins, reporting to the station commander,” he said.
McClune quickly returned his salute and waved for him to come in.
“I like helping out with the repairs and parts manufacturing so don’t worry about the mess,” he said pointing him to a chair near his work covered desk.
Mike handed him his orders and the data crystal with the letter from Commander Hemmings.
Cmdr. McClune took them and placed them on his desk and used the holo-screen to read them. After a minute, he deactivated the screen as he nodded and frowned. Walking over to a coffee pot he poured himself a cup.
“Would you like a cup of coffee, Lieutenant?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” Mike said added, “Thank you.”
McClune brought him a cup and then leaned on his parts covered desk. He took a sip from his own cup and grinned in satisfaction.
Mike took a sip and was surprised to find that it was some of the best coffee he had ever tasted.
“It’s Spanish coffee from New Barcelona,” he said seeing the young officer’s smile.
“It’s good,” Collins said taking another sip.
“I’m afraid you’ve come on a wild goose chase,” Cmdr. McClune announced.
“Why do you say that, sir?” he asked.
“Well, that frigate of yours, … the Goliad isn’t ready. She still needs new bender drives and few other things that we haven’t gotten around to doing. I have two heavy cruisers, two older light cruisers and a badly damaged armored cruiser in my dry docks. The Mastodon has another heavy cruiser and a light cruiser inside of her bays for refit and moderation. The Goliad just isn’t high priority and Commodore Essex already knew all of this before he sent you.”
Mike nodded and let out a sigh, “Does her current bender drives still work?”
McClune looked at his buried desk computer’s table screen.
“Yes, they report that they are operational and we have replaced her fusion drives with modern ones but it will be a couple weeks before we get the new bender drive package,” he explained.
“If she can fly and bend I’ll take her,” Mike declared not about to sit out the war for a few more weeks. He had to get back to the Wolf Squadron as soon as possible.
“She has other issues,” the Commander announced.
“I’ll be needing a crew, sir,” Collins said looking up with a determined expression on his face.
“See, that is another problem, there are no extra personnel available. The 8th Defense Fleet has snatched up anyone and everyone extra that we had. The only people left are my wrench turners and even an admiral can’t touch them, thank god,” the station commander said, thankfully that they were considered vital to the station’s operations.
Mike took another sip of the fine coffee and nodded.
“What about the prisoners on the Captivity?” he inquired his blue eyes looking up at the commander.
Jack McClune’s eyes got big for a moment and then he made an odd-looking face as he pondered the question.
“You’d have to check with my JAG office but I think you’d need at least an admiral to get a stay of sentence and to get them released into your custody,” he answered thinking that maybe it was possible.
Mike smile and finished his coffee in one swallow.
“I’ll need directions to your JAG office but before I go did you happen to read the letter from Commander Hemmings?”
“Yep, you can have this Petty Officer Schmidt. I’ll have him officially transferred to your command. From the look of it, you are going to need all the help you can get,” he said bringing up his hollow screen and tapping out a transfer amendment to Schmidt’s original orders.
“Sir, what ship is Admiral Dupain on?” Mike asked as he headed for the door.
“The ISS Shinano is her flagship,” he answered, “it’s only an auxiliary carrier but it’s had a full refit.”
“Thanks, sir,” Mike said as he turned to salute.
Commander McClune didn’t salute back right away.
“Tell me son, are you the Lt. Collins who was the captain of the Randori?”
Mike’s arm slowly came down from his salute.
“Yes sir,” he answered and asked, “How do you know about that?”
“Captain Hunter came through here a while back and dropped off some vids of the fighting going on at the front,” he explained.
“I wish he wouldn’t do that,” Collins mumbled.
“It’s good for morale and you should really wear your knight’s ring,” Commander McClune said as he saluted the young warrior.
“Yes, sir,” Lt. Collins replied and forced a smile as he returned the senior officer salute of respect.
Leaving the commander’s office, he knew that he had several more stops before he could meet up with the chief.
Chief Schmidt looked pretty glum sitting at a table in station’s cafeteria. The two droids were standing behind him, while in front of him was a partially eaten sandwich and an untouched cup of coffee. Mike crossed the cafeteria’s floor on an angle coming up to him from the side.
Pieter looked up from his food still frowning.
“Where is the Med-Bot?” he asked.
“I dropped him off at the station’s infirmary where they said they would update some of his treatment protocols as well as recharging all of his med dispensers,” Lt. Collins explained grateful not to have the robot trailing behind him all day.
“Well, at least that’s some luck,” the CPO said sounding like big grump.
“Ok, spill it, what’s up?”
“Our ship is in the belly of the Mastodon. We can’t get out there until tomorrow but from what they told me it has been shelved due to the lack of parts,” he reported.
“We’ll take a look for ourselves and see what we can do,” Mike said not willing to just give up or say die just yet. He’d been through too many repairs operations and desperate struggles to quit now.
Schmidty shrugged and looked down at the table.
“What about a crew?” he inquired.
“No additional personnel are currently available but I have an idea of how we can get a crew. I just have to get Admiral Dupain to sign off on it,” Mike told him half-confident he could get this to work.
The Chief looked up and pushed his sandwich plate away from him.
Mike took this as a sign and reached over, grabbed the unbitten half of his sandwich and took a bite.
“Thanks, I’m starved, been running around for the last few hours. I got us TDY quarters on C-Deck. You are in C-112 and I�
��m across the hall in C-113.”
“Great, at least I have a bed,” he commented.
“OK, what’s wrong? I got your transfer approved and I put in your field promotion paperwork to make it all official, so what could possibly be so bad?” he demanded of the NCO who was twice his age.
“Sir, I couldn’t find her!” he exclaimed in frustration.
“Who? Your fiancée,” Mike said looking surprised.
“Yes, she has been working in the parts inventory section on light duty due to her pregnancy. When I went there they said that I just missed her and sent me to a parts storage bay but she wasn’t there. It seems that everywhere I looked for her where they said she might be she wasn’t there. I left a half-dozen messages for her but I still can’t find her.”
Collins nodded looking very serious, “Have you tried looking behind you?”
“What?” he said and turned around in his seat. There stood his five months pregnant fiancée. Jumping out of his chair he rushed to her and hugged her while being careful not to hurt her or the baby.
“Pieter, I can’t believe you're here and that you’re a Chief Petty Officer,” Dawn Hartman said pulling him close and hugging him again before kissing him.
She had also been reduced in rank from an E-5 to an E-3 at their Captain’s Mast but now she was wearing the rank of an E-4 Petty Officer Third Class.
“Where have you been all day?” Schmidt asked.
“I was with Lt. Collins. He came and got me,” she answered with a big smile.
“What?” the Chief said looking confused.
“Well, I had to talk to her commanding officer, get Commander McClune’s approval and then speak to the station’s minister,” Mike quickly explained and then added, “Dawn’s presence just made it a little easier to get them all to say yes.”
“Yes, yes to what?” Pieter said still trying to catch up.
Wolves at the Gate Page 15
