Ghosts from the Past (The Wandering engineer Book 7)

by Chris Hechtl

  "Yes and no. If we tried to build a large capital ship now, it would suck up all the resources we have for several years. In that time the enemy would be able to come in and attack, or attack elsewhere. We would also need a lot of people, trained people to man this ship, and that ship could only be in one place at a time."

  "So?" the lieutenant governor demanded. "It will stay here right? After all, we built it, we paid for it, we manned it ..."

  The governor raised a hand slightly. "We're getting ahead of ourselves here. The ship hasn't been built."

  The admiral nodded. "Correct, sir. But to extend my example," the admiral turned to the lieutenant governor. "Let's say we keep the ship here. Now, say we put it on one jump point." He pulled up a map of the system. All eyes turned to the volumetric projection. four points were highlighted. "These are the four jump points to this system. The ship can only be in one place. So ..."

  "We put it on the most likely one? Or between the most likely two sir like you have with that ship, um, Fuentes? Or keep it in orbit to respond?"

  "Possible scenarios true. We'll take the first one," the Admiral said. A ship icon appeared on the plot half way between the jump point to Triang and B459c. "The ship can respond to either threat axis. But ..."

  He sent a mental command and the plot changed. Ships appeared from another warp point and made a high run pass through the system. Before the picket was half way across the system it was already apparent that it was too late. Simulated explosions pocketed the inner system.

  "Or ..." he sent another command and again a fleet came through and made a high pass through the system. This time the ship came through the Triang jump point. The dreadnaught gave chase but was slow. "A capital ship is slow and clumsy. It can't keep up with smaller escort ships or cruisers if they are in good condition and handled well. There is an old saying, a stern chase is a long one."

  After a moment the raiders hit the inner system and then changed course for another jump point. When their icons exited the scene there was silence in the room. After a moment the lieutenant governor sighed.

  "Now if we play it my way ..." Irons said. The plot changed to the current one and then the time scale icon blinked and then sped up. Ship after ship came from the docks and took station on each of the warp points. In a year dozens of ships, carrier fortresses, and weapons platforms were clustered around each jump point. Several ships also left the system.

  When a raider came through the plot zoomed in. The raiders met a concentrated wall of mines and orbital weapons platforms backed by mobile ships and swarms of fighters. The raiders were the same ones who attacked the system a year ago. None survived.

  The simulation reset to the beginning point of the raid and this time a larger raiding force attacked. This time they broke through the force but then the screen zoomed back out to the plot. Ships from the other jump points as well as the inner system began to respond to the raiders and were heading in their direction. "There is another old saying in the military, march to the sound of the guns," Irons said softly.

  "I understand," the lieutenant governor said after a moment. She took a deep breath and then nodded. “Thank you, Admiral, for this clarifying demonstration,” she said.

  "Thank you, ma'am. I thought you would. This is just a taste. Give us a few years and we'll have escort carriers in space to project firepower. In ten years with luck and hard work we'll have those dreadnaughts you wanted." His eyes locked onto hers. "And we'll ram them right down Horath's throat," he said firmly.

  Slowly her eyes bore into his for one long moment as she took the measure of his sincerity. Finally she nodded and began to smile. "I want to be there when you do Admiral." She'd lost friends and family just like Jeff had. Just about everyone on the planet knew someone who'd lost someone.

  "That can be arranged," the Admiral murmured. She nodded again.

  "Part of the problem is explaining this to other systems who join. Everyone is going to want a ship."

  "Eventually they will have their own picket ships and couriers and possibly ansibles. But not all at once, or even tomorrow. It's actually easier to explain to them why they can't have them right away ... but it's get them to get past their fears and listen and understand that," Sprite said.

  "Good point," the lieutenant governor replied, nodding to the AI avatar. She smiled crookedly at the AI. "I'm glad the Admiral has patience."

  "He does and he doesn't. Believe me, he'd love to have a squadron of dreadnaughts right about now," Sprite replied.

  "I'd settle for one of battlecruisers. They may not be able to take out Horath's capital ships but they would be effective raiders. Like I said, a single capital ship can only be in one place at a time ..."

  "And a battlecruiser can run rings around a larger capital ship. They could nip in and out and tear Horath to pieces," Sprite said with a hint of glee in her voice.

  The admiral smiled grimly. "Exactly."

  "But first we have to build them."

  "Exactly," the governor replied with a firm nod. That nod of grim determination was echoed around the room. "Then let's get to it."

  ...*...*...*...*...

  April sighed in relief as she signed off on another expenditure report and then sat back. She liked having implants but trying to read with them was still a pain. If she tried to read for too long she got a hell of a headache.

  It wasn't just the implants, or stress from running a major news affiliate while also being their star anchor. She had to admit, it was a lot more than that. Stuff she couldn't talk about with anyone, especially John.

  She bit her lip a bit. She didn't like that. Didn't like deceiving him anymore. She was torn on so many levels. Her orders were to protect him now, which made her even more torn. How the hell could she do that when she barely saw the man?

  “Ma'am? Are you okay?” her secretary asked from the open doorway.

  “Fine. I feel a headache coming on,” she said with her eyes closed. She sat back in her chair and used her long fingers to touch the controls to get the back vibrator going. It wasn't enough, never enough, she thought, she wanted a neck and shoulder rub right now. She felt strong hands touch her shoulders, almost .... “Ummm ... good ... but should you be doing that?” she murmured, eyes still closed.

  “I don't know, should I?” A familiar rumble asked. Her eyes popped open in surprise to look up at John. He grinned down at her. She reached up and snagged his neck and pulled his head down for a deep kiss. He chuckled, but she had a remedy for that too. It would have to wait until they got back to her apartment but ... she felt her passions rise and threw caution to the wind. To hell with it, she wanted him here and now. His chuckle deepened into one of amusement and delight as he realized her intent. He wasn't putting a stop to her she noted before her passion overruled her thoughts.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Once the keel of their first Apollo class corvette was started the admiral shifted to the long view. He uploaded all the different ship designs he, Phoenix, and Proteus had worked on while in transit years ago. Many were just modifications of existing designs, but some of the changes and upgrades were so radical they warranted a new class designation. They'd simulated them as much as possible while on the yacht. He wasn't certain which would work out or not. The best thing to do was to start with existing hull designs with minor modifications, get the yard and infrastructure running on them, then introduce a prototype on a side slip for further evaluation.

  Horatio had apparently put them into limited production right away. He was curious as to how they would work out both long term and in battle. He was really curious to see how the Shield Maiden class would do. The redesigned Aegis destroyer would be an excellent convoy escort.

  Sprite popped in and noted what he was studying. She immediately teased the admiral about naming the modified Manta class the Horseshoe Crab class.

  "You know it doesn't look at all like a horseshoe crab. In fact, it's even more manta like than before!" Sprite said, putting up an
image of a horseshoe crab silhouette and overlaying it with a manta rays, then for good measure splitting them apart and throwing the ship's silhouette in between to make a sandwich.

  "And you know why I'm not naming it a Manta ray class," he said mildly. Perhaps too mildly based on her readings of his core temperature and emotional state. She accessed the reference he was inferring and then nodded.

  "Hit a nerve?" She asked him, amusement cooling.

  "No," he said. "Okay, maybe a little," he admitted, looking away to the screen on the wall. There was an image of the building yard there.

  "I know," she said, now subdued.

  He sighed. "It's not your fault, Commander. People are ... fickle."

  "You didn't expect them to glorify the navy forever did you?"

  "No, and spare me the propaganda pieces during the Xeno war," he said, holding up a restraining hand.

  "I've only screened a few," Sprite admitted. "But the Manta ray thing. I'm certain why the serving personnel are so upset ..." her cross reference of the manta ray came up with a rather nasty comment during the Xeno war when a senator wanted to name a naval class after the 'famous freedom fighting ship.' The navy hadn't been pleased.

  "Before your time," Irons said, sitting back and drumming his fingers on the desk. "Access historical records if you can. Do you have a brief on it?"

  "Only a small one. No imagery on file. It's under public relations," Sprite reported.

  Irons grunted in irritation. "That should be required reading and viewing. Way back, I suppose before even the show, people went back and forth between glorifying the military and demonizing it. They love anti-heroes too. Pirates ..."

  "There is some stuff about that. From frontier people supporting them as well as freedom fighters."

  The admiral grimaced in disgust. "Freedom fighters my ass. Oh sure, they claim they blockade a system or they raid person X's commerce but don't actually harm anyone. Right," Irons growled in disgust. "Pirates are all thieves, murders, rapists, and liars. Unfortunately the media romanticizes it. Robin Hood," he said shaking his head.

  "Rob from the rich to give to the poor. That's what the 'further adventures of the good ship Manta ray' said in the brief."

  "Right. A children's show about pirates who go around space robbing from the fat rich people who suck the blood dry from the colonists, then use the money to buy them medical supplies and other things. The episode where they rescued a colony while the navy did nothing was particularly sickening."

  "Ah," Sprite said. "Yes, I can see how that would be ... unrealistic." Cross referencing the actors of the show allowed her to note that several made their careers on the notoriety of the show. She could see why it was a sticking point with naval personnel. Making them look like buffoons or corrupt was bad enough, glorifying piracy ...

  "Are you kidding me? Pirates, being nice people? Rob from the rich to give away their spoils? Helping people? The navy is corrupt and ..." he shook his head in disgust. "That show was hated by all spacers. Merchants, stationers, victim's families ... the more people protested it the more notoriety it got the more people tuned in to watch it," he said in disgust. "They had an episode where the ship boarded a colony vessel and showed people being starved in cargo class!"

  "I see. It fed the flames of interest on the ground."

  "Yes. The navy refused to comment on it. The colony and merchant houses did their own spin control which blew up in their faces to greater or lesser extent. Admitting that steerage and cargo class existed was a headache, never mind that cargo class meant you were in stasis!" He pursed his lips in disgust. "The navy's publicity department eventually tried to counter the negative press. They allowed media on the ship, and filmed documentaries to show what pirates really do. They were chastised for being too graphic," he growled, shaking his head in disgust. "Then of course the damn senators and representatives got into the mix, some latching onto the thing saying we can't stop piracy so why try. They have legit reasons; they are all like the Manta ray ... One even thought the story was true! Or he just used it as an excuse ..." he threw his hands up in disgust. "They didn't get wise until the show started showing them as corrupt as well. Then they distanced themselves fast." He smiled grimly.

  "And you ... wait, the time stamp is prior to your time in the military. This is something that you grew up with?" Sprite asked.

  Admiral Irons nodded. "I saw ads once or twice and asked about it. That's when mom and dad sat me down and explained it to me, showing me clips from the show, and then what pirates were really like. It kind of hit me, but I didn't like being spoon fed it. I resented it."

  "You?"

  He shrugged. "Yeah, me. I was a spacer remember? I went and looked it up on my own and found out the truth for myself. I even found some pirates were trying to emulate the Manta ray model in order to reforge their image, but they had a nasty past lurking in the shadows that they didn't want anyone to notice. One of those, don't look at what I've done, this is the new me!" He shook his head in disgust.

  "Ah," she said quietly. "It led you to become interested in joining the navy?"

  The admiral paused then shrugged again. "Not so much. I was put off with the navy too. I knew they had it wrong in the stories, but I wasn't interested at that time. I was still into tinkering. I wanted to be a ship's engineer," he smiled fondly, then rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Or a yard dog. I could never quite get over that. Both had me going, seeing new things as a chief engineer, or building ships."

  "Now you get to do both," Sprite said in amusement. Her amusement helped to lighten his mood.

  "Sometimes. But not for much longer," Irons admitted. "Once we settle in, I'm going to be like a spider in a web. And we're going to make one hell of a web, layers of defenses. I want depth. If I'm going to be a sitting target then I'm going to make them pay for taking me out," he growled. “Pay in blood.”

  "Well, since I'm attached to your hide, I agree," Sprite said.

  He smiled again slightly. "Glad you do."

  "Let's make it as expensive as possible," Sprite said. "But let's not forget the lone gunman or bomber," she said. "He may not get through but the damage he could do could ruin our whole day," she said.

  "Definitely," Defender interjected. “I'll do my best to prevent that Admiral.”

  "Agreed," Irons said, nodding.

  Chapter 26

  A week after the convoy's departure Io 11 and Clydesdale freighter Molly arrived at the B450a jump point, surprising the picket forces there who had been off station for a maneuvering exercise. Their arrival made the point about needing additional defenses there. Fortunately they didn't try to move out into the minefield.

  Admiral Irons was touched by the name of the new ship when he was informed of their arrival. Captain Faith Meikle was a good fit as her skipper, sturdy and up to the challenges of command apparently. It made him smile fondly.

  All was not well however. The two ships brought back many of the pitifully few survivors of Kiev 221. The fleet had found out about the loss of the ship when they captured Collier 9, but the incoming ships had the full story. The story unfolded through a series of transmissions as they learned about the fate of Kiev 221 and New Andres. The admiral was gratified that Quinna O'Mallory had survived. She had been brutally raped and mistreated but she had survived. She and a few of the other survivors had elected to remain behind in New Andres in an attempt to help rebuild the civilization there.

  The news media was all over the battle between Firefly and Argus. To some of the people who had departed Kiev 221 it opened fresh wounds. To others it just proved that the only good Horathian was a dead one. Captain Opal's image was released to the media through a source on Molly.

  The ships also carried sobering images and video of the devastation and suffering on the planet. The Horathians had battered the planet, wrecking a lot of the planet's infrastructure and economy. Seeing the craters on the planet from orbit and the people barely living hand to mouth, picking through the wreckage
in rags tore at a lot of the citizens on the planet. Some had just gone through that period when their towns had been bombarded.

  “We stayed as long as we could; we did our best. But they need more help than we can provide,” the Io's purser insisted in a statement to the press. Her ship also carried a delegation sent to request humanitarian aid as well as to represent the planet in any discussions to join the New Federation. They immediately put in a call to both the admiral and to Governor Randall's office.

  Irons greeted his old friends warmly when Faith called in. The girls had done a lot of growing up in his absence, most likely helping the people of New Andres rebuild had matured and sobered them. “We stayed for over six months, Admiral. But there was only so much we could do,” Faith told him, shaking her head. “There are only so many of us, so much we can do.”

  “I know Faith. You did your best. We'll see if we can help the rebuilding process along,” he said. “Any signs of more ships in the area?”

  “Nary a one,” she replied, shaking her head. He nodded. “I hate to ask, but I'd love to have you take a look at this new gal. Not that I don't think we did it right, she's running a treat but ...”

  “I don't know if I can personally, but I'd love a tour if I can get the time.”

  “I'd love to give you that tour,” Faith said with a grin. “And if you can get a certain AI to maybe drop an egg in our computers, I'd be mighty grateful,” she said.

  The admiral snorted. “That's up to Sprite actually. And since Molly is a civilian ship ...” he shrugged.

  “I can look into it. Or ask Clio or one of the other AI to do so,” Sprite said, interjecting herself into the conversation. “Hi Faith, good to see you,” she said, smiling politely to the human.

  “And a top of the mornin to ya lass,” Faith said as she pretended to tip her nonexistent hat. “How have ya been? Keeping the old man outa mischief?”