Ghosts from the Past (The Wandering engineer Book 7)

by Chris Hechtl

  “Yeah,” the lieutenant breathed, eyes wide. That was news to her. She looked at Ensign Raynor but the historian merely smiled. Apparently she had some catching up to do, the lieutenant thought.

  “What bothers me is the pattern we're picking up on,” the captain said, turning slightly in her chair. Irons turned to her. “I don't like it,” she said.

  “Like what?”

  “Why did they have a fleet? Why a factory ship with the fleet? You'd think something like that they would want back home.”

  “Which is indicative that they had enough industry to spare her services,” the Veraxin said thoughtfully. He turned to Irons. “Didn't you catch another factory ship, sir? In Pyrax?”

  Irons grunted. “Hephaestus. Vulcan is the AI on board. Yes.” His eyes stilled.

  “And Remora was captured here. Odd, sending factory ships with pirate warships. The task forces so far encountered have been almost navy in layout. Warships to pound the enemy and capture resources, freighters for booty and transports, and factory ships for support. Tankers to push their range.”

  “The fleet that passed through Kathy's world didn't have one though,” the lieutenant observed. “They were moving pretty fast. Too fast for a lumbering ship like Carnegie to keep up for long.”

  “I'm wondering about that. Did they? Did it get held back or sent somewhere else? Unfortunately we don't know and the prisoners aren't talking,” Naomi mused, leaning forward and knitting her hands together.

  “Why go through all the trouble of raiding if they have that sort of industry at home though? Wouldn't it be easier to just set up in their own system or nearby ones and pick them clean?” the Veraxin asked.

  “Maybe they did?” Ensign Raynor asked.

  “Not likely. Clean out entire asteroid belts? We're talking material that can form a planet. Or several planets. You could make thousands of ships from one belt and still not clean it out,” Sprite replied, watching the Admiral.

  “It is disturbing,” the Admiral rumbled softly. The others in the room stilled. “We've encountered three fleets, each similar in layout. All of them have the same objectives, to conquer it, pick the system clean and then move on. They aren't just sending this stuff back to their home system either, at least not right away. So some of it must be stockpiled somewhere. And again why?”

  “The keys?”

  “Possibly. But why ...”

  “Weaken your neighbors,” Ensign Raynor said.

  “Again why?”

  “For later conquest,” Sprite replied. The Admiral looked up and to her avatar sharply. His eyes met her virtual ones and he stared for an intense moment and then nodded.

  “It has to be that. The first fleets are cherry picking what they want, but also sending Intel back to the main fleet of where the real booty is. That is what we ran into at Pyrax. The second wave of fleets come in and sweep up what they want, securing the territory. That means there is a third fleet out there that is coming in behind them and settling in, setting up shop.”

  “Lovely.”

  “That doesn't fit with what we ran into at Kathy's world though,” the Veraxin stated. The others looked at him. He clacked his mandibles. “That was a raiding group. Move fast, take what you want, then move on.”

  “Back to the first step then?” Sprite asked. “Or could they also have been scouting the area? Finding weaknesses? Checking our perimeter?”

  “Possible. Lieutenant Lake's idea is as well. Or all of the above,” the admiral rumbled, rubbing his jaw in thought.

  “So what do we do about it? Sir?” Ensign Raynor asked.

  “Well, it changes things a bit,” Sprite replied. The Admiral nodded.

  “I was planning on sending Carnegie out to Triang with escort to build better defenses, then help them upgrade. But I think that's out now. The factory ship ...” He frowned thoughtfully. “Senka is out. No, we can't risk them getting their hands on such a prize again. No … damn it!” His fist banged on the desk.

  “We'll figure something out sir,” Irina said.

  “I ... had considered sending her to Epsilon Triangula too. She's another core world candidate despite the recent plague there. She has systems clustered around her and she's not far from Pyrax. Hephaestus is in Agnosta now, she's going back to Pyrax for refit and downtime before heading to Seti alpha 4. We're going to have to send ships as escorts.”

  “Prometheus?” Sprite asked. “Captain Logan can take care of herself. But what about her sister ship?”

  The admiral shook his head. “Without me there she's just a shell. I suppose we can send a drive and reactor to get her here so we can finish her here,” the Admiral mused. The others blinked at him in confusion. “Prometheus is a factory ship. Military factory ship, a modified version of Io 11 which is a Cabeiri class fleet tender. Prometheus was designed to go to each colony and help them not only rebuild, but also build some space based platforms for defense,” he explained. The faces around the table cleared.

  “Ah.”

  “She's a bit of a good will ambassador. But she was only recently finished,” Sprite expanded. The others nodded. “She launched south with escorts. But her sister ship is only partially completed. Which doesn't do her or us any good since she's laid up in a construction slip there while the admiral is here.”

  “No,” Irons replied slowly. “I think they pulled her to make room.”

  Sprite's eyes flickered. “Checking ... yes, you are correct, Admiral. How did you know?” she asked, turning an inquiring eye his way.

  “Why leave a half finished slip in dock? If you can't work on her pull her and work on something you can work on. Horatio knows that. He probably tucked her in from time to time to install some things, but not enough to get her space worthy.”

  “True sir.”

  “But that doesn't solve this problem. Carnegie has an AI Andrew. Sprite knows him.”

  “I do indeed. He is an old dumb AI and needs a tune up. That alone will take a week,” Sprite said. “More time than you allocated for her maintenance cycle I am afraid,” she warned.

  “Do what you can with what time you've got now, Commander,” the admiral said. “So, we've got time to think of what to do with the ship while she is in dock,” the Admiral said, straightening. “I really don't like sending her to Triang, and I'm uncomfortable sending her so far from home without a heavy escort. Centennial is just asking for trouble.”

  The other officers in the room winced and then nodded. The Veraxin signaled first degree assent with his true hands.

  “We'll think about it. If I have to we'll hold her here and have her work on expanding the yard or work up parts for the ships. She can damn well help build her escorts if necessary.”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  April ran a hand through her hair. She bit her lip, unsure about what to do. She knew the signs, she was feeling increasingly guilty over tricking John. He was a mark, she'd never had such a problem before, but now ... was she having a growing crisis of conscience she wondered?

  Then there was her tasking. She snorted softly to herself, tucking her legs up to wrap her arm around them. She rocked slightly on the couch, staring off at the screen, not really seeing it.

  She was having trouble keeping up with the admiral. She admitted to herself that she was suffering from jealousy, something she hadn't thought would happen. Briefly she considered doing something about Toni Chambers but decided reluctantly not to do so. She would watch the little witch however. She was fairly certain the young woman was setting herself up to take her place.

  She frowned, rubbing her arm as she rested her head against her knee. After a moment she changed the position so she could rest her chin on her knee. She wiggled her toes, feeling the cloth covering on the couch. She should have put a fur down. It would have been nicer.

  John was supposed to be by soon. She'd thought about putting in the effort, dressing up, seducing him, but her troubled thoughts kept distracting her more and more. She shrugged her shoulder, f
eeling the cloth of her shirt fall off her shoulder. She rubbed her calf gently.

  She was worried about being watched. She admitted that to herself. It was getting to her more and more now that she had time to think about it. John had warned her that she'd slipped up. Her reply had worked to ease his fears, but she was pretty sure it didn't fool everyone. She was worried that her handler knew that she was being watched, or suspected it. If they did the guild would have no choice but to silence her, and possibly her handler. She closed her eyes in pain. They were loose ends tying them to the guild. They could expose the guild, and the guild was ruthless in protecting itself.

  She wouldn't talk, but ... she couldn't tell them either, that was a death sentence. She bit her lip. She'd just have to hope no one in the guild found out.

  “Thinking deep thoughts?” John rumbled as he came in to her apartment. “What's wrong?” he asked as he came closer.

  “Nothing. I missed you,” she said softly, curling into his arms. He nuzzled her hair. For the moment all was well with the universe she thought. John would do his best to protect her, she knew it.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Admiral Irons was amused when a group of ROTC students took a tour of Maine. He ran into them briefly while on a visit to queue up the battlecruisers replicators. He couldn't resist taking a turn with the group despite the schedule. Naomi seemed amused by his indulgence but of course didn't complain about the intrusion.

  Taking lunch with the students in the officer's mess solved both problems. It allowed him to refuel, spend time with his officers, and the kids to ask questions in a nonthreatening environment. Some they would think stupid.

  “Why do we have the different size turrets, sir? I mean, we can't fire them all at once, there isn't a problem with recoil with energy weapons but power!”

  “Ever tried to swat a fly with a sledge hammer?” the captain asked amused.

  The ensign's brow's knit in confusion. “Ma'am? Sir?”

  “Think about the analogy. Then apply it to this situation,” the admiral replied. He patiently waited the young man out. The kid was a teen, barely a teen he thought. He didn't bother accessing his dossier.

  “Um ... hitting a fly ... a small airborne pest, with a sledgehammer. That's a big hammer I think,” the young man said slowly.

  “The biggest. Or at least one of the biggest. So you're trying to hit something small, pesky, fast, and highly maneuverable with a weapon that is heavy, slow to move, awkward as hell, and takes a long time to recharge.”

  The teen's brow knit again and then slowly the midshipman's face relaxed and he nodded. “I see sir,” he said slowly. “The smaller weapons we have are for smaller faster more elusive targets. Defense and offense in one,” he said with a smile.

  “See? That wasn't so hard. We of course don't fire both systems at once. That is where operations comes in, balancing the energy demands with what is available. If we did try to fire both we'd be in serious trouble. Not just engineering trouble, we'd be overwhelmed since we'd drain our systems including our shields. The smaller turrets track faster, recharge quicker, and can keep up with the drones, fighters, or incoming fire.”

  “Point defense,” the ROTC sergeant stated.

  “Yes,” the captain said, shooting the marine a brief look. “We have a separate point defense system as well for inner perimeter. The balls you see here and here,” she said, pointing to the ship's schematic.

  “Ah, I was wondering why we don't have a clear firing arch over the rear, Captain,” the midshipman said.

  Irons frowned thoughtfully. The young man was good to have immediately noted that from a single look at a holographic image.

  Naomi nodded. “That is because a ship can turn,” she said, turning the image on each axis and then rolling it. “If we mounted turrets on towers it would cause no end of trouble.”

  Lieutenant Li the chief engineer snorted and laid down his fork before dabbing at his lips with a linen napkin. “You're telling me! We're talking stresses on the structure at the joint to the skin, or to the frame, not to mention all along the tower. Whenever we maneuvered it would put stress on it.”

  The captain held up a hand before the engineer could get into specifics. “That will do thank you, Chief, she said, smiling slightly. She turned back to the students. “So you see midshipman ...”

  “Ask a stupid question ...” the lieutenant said under her breath. The captain paused, cocked her head and then turned her gaze on the lieutenant.

  “It is not at all a stupid question if he doesn't know it.”

  Li flushed slightly. “He could have looked it up ma'am.”

  “Did you?” The captain turned to the midshipman who nodded. She turned back to the lieutenant. “See? He did try. And this is a relaxed forum for such discussions. I understand you took the short course midshipman?"

  “Yes ah, yes ma'am,” the midshipman bobbed a nod. “I um, I was freighter crew and signed up when we got into dock, ma'am.”

  “Ah, yes, I do seem to recall reading that in your dossier,” the captain nodded slowly. “So, you didn't get the full experience of the academy.”

  “There is one?" the lieutenant asked amused. “Ma'am, that is the first I heard of it,” he said, looking at his fellow students and then back to the officers.

  “There is a ... more structured facility in Pyrax,” the captain said, smiling slightly. "With a broad spectrum of career path choices." She frowned slightly. "Here it is in the early stages. Right now only a semester of military decorum and basic training," she said, eying the lieutenant again.

  It was the lieutenant's turn to squirm. "I believe the plan was to have a full formal academy set up inside San Diego time permitting," the admiral volunteered. Apparently Li and the captain weren't hitting it off he thought.

  "San Diego?" the chief engineer asked, eyes going from vacant to lighting with new interest. "Captain, did you ever get a chance to explore it?" he asked, this time excited.

  The captain smiled, knowing the engineer. "No, I didn't get a tour unfortunately. There was a great deal of engineering problems when I was in system. I understand now that the Admiral is back in synch they are being ironed out," she nodded to Irons. He nodded back.

  "I heard they are making more of those stations here eventually,” Ensign Poseidon said, leaning forward to be seen. The captain gave her an amused look and flick of an eyebrow. The ensign turned her attention to the admiral.

  He grunted and then nodded reluctantly. "Five are in the pipeline. We're shooting for two to four at the same time to start with though,” he admitted. One of the midshipman whistled in surprise and awe. Even the chief engineer was awe struck speechless by the audacity of the plan.

  “That's right. We may be tasked with working on one soon," the captain said with a nod to the flag officer.

  "Us? We're a battlecruiser!" Ariel protested.

  "Us,” the captain said. “You don't need a great deal of firepower, even though Maine has it to spare. What you need is a steady stream of energy to super heat the rock. It takes months though for us to do it without blowing it apart so I'm not sure they will want us on this." She turned to the admiral. He shrugged. “Though I suppose it is something to do other than sit here like a barnacle,” she said. He smiled slightly.

  "We could work on it periodically ..." Ariel frowned.

  "What an idiotic statement. The cooling in between would make that a waste of time," the chief engineer shook his head at the crestfallen look of the ensign. "No, we could do it, it'd take a while though like Skipper said. I'd give it three months if it was just us, but we can do two at a time, one on either flank. If we threw in another tin can or other warship we could speed the process up but the additional variables would be a headache to balance. Probably more then we'd need," he said, wrinkling his nose.

  "Why not just scratch build the thing? Instead of, you know, inflating a rock?" a midshipman asked. She turned to the admiral.

  "Inflating it gives us a nice
hollow shell. Kilometers thick. Instant radiation shield and material to use to build the interior all rolled into one package. Also pretty damn well resistant to energy weapons and small missiles for that matter," the admiral explained. “Which is why we want them eventually for fortresses at the jump points,” he stated.

  "Oh."

  Lieutenant Li grimaced. "Yeah oh. The thing would maneuver like a pig though. No, scratch that, beached whale. Hell, no, that's ..."

  The captain drummed her fingers on the table. "That'll do, Chief," she said reining the chief in again.

  "The energy ..." the chief muttered, eyes glassing as he sat back, studying the ceiling. The captain's lips pursed, she could well imagine the chief running the equations. She was pretty sure the chief was going to tie up some of the IT net with this if he got carried away.

  The IT net on the battlecruiser wasn't all that much to shout about with two AI in the system and the constant need for one or both of them to use the ship's processors to help run the growing base and industry around the ship. She shifted in her seat and then took a sip of her water. She'd deal with it as it came of course, we all needed our little distractions she thought. She glanced over to see the lieutenant giving the ensign a dark look. Some more so then others.

  “Everything in time,” the admiral murmured. “Nice sandwich. My compliments to your steward captain,” he said with a nod to Naomi as he rose. Hastily the others in the room did so as well.

  “Thank you, Admiral. It was nice having you.”

  “Thanks for the invite. Keep studying. Onward and upward,” he said to the students. They all nodded in their various ways as he left.