A couple of crewmen left their places in the lines and headed for the hatch and was intercepted by Ships Patrolmen. As the armless crewman was placed on a gurney by medics the bot picked up the arm and placed it on the gurney next to the crewman. Picking up the long rod the bot stopped and stood a few feet from Jack as the gurney with the attempted assassin was taken away.
Jack finished looking around the hold for any more beacons of hate and finding only the low murmur of fear, loss and mild hate that was directed elsewhere he had felt before from the majority of the hold. Jack headed for the break in the line he had created a few minutes before as the bot followed him.
Stopping Jack turned to the bot. “Why are you following me? Your Scumbag boss or controller or whatever you call him went that away.” Jack pointed at the retreating gurney.
The Bot had stopped as Jack turned around. “Crewman Boggs committed Treason when he ordered me to fire a deadly weapon at an Officer. Crewman Boggs is no longer in my control chain loop.” The Bot continued to face Jack without saying anything else.
“Ok.” Shaking his head, Jack turned around and took several more steps toward the line of crewmen as the bot followed before Jack stopped again and faced the bot. “Why are you following me?”
“I no longer have contact with Ships Central Bot Control to receive new orders to return to storage or a work assignment or assignment to a new crewman. You are Captain Turner as listed in my Chain of Command. Why you are wearing Vice Admiral Stars is not part of my programing. You are listed at the top of my chain of Command loop that I can access at this time.”
“Oh cute. Just what I need is a fricking bot to give orders to now.” Jack said sarcastically.
“Captain Turner has now assigned Bot C3PO491538 as his bot. I have synced myself to your comm Captain. Waiting for your orders Captain Turner.”
“What the hell. No! I did no such thing. Belay that. Cancel that order. I do not need a fricking bot to order around.” The Bot just stared at Jack until Jack simply turned around and resumed going down the line. The bot only feet behind, even after Jack had turned around to stare at the bot intimidatingly that made no difference.
After a few minutes with the bot, the Lieutenant, his new Aid Commander Morgan and Captain Murphy following. Jack reached the end of the line and turned toward Captain Murphy and bumped into the Bot. “What the hell do you think you are doing bot?”
“That does not compute Captain Turner. Please rephrase your order.”
“Stop following me damn it!”
“That is an incomplete order Captain Turner. You must use complete sentences when ordering me to do something. Stop following you is not a complete order. You must use my name if you are not looking directly at me and include what you want me to do after I stop following you. Or order me to follow you at a desired distance. Or…”
“Errr.” Jack growled taking a step closer placing his nose up next to the bot’s face with his eyes staring at the bot’s eyes. “Go stand in the middle of the hold.”
The bot turned and walked to the exact middle of the hold and then turned around and stood there staring at Jack. His head following everything Jack did.
Jack watched it for a few seconds then stepped up to Captain Murphy. “You have a good crew Captain. You may dismiss your crew from inspection and board your ship as soon as it has been searched by the marines. Good luck Captain.” Jack saluted then turned and went to the next crew line and started the inspection.
By the time Jack had finished the other 3 lines he had found another spy/saboteur and then a thief he did not want on any of his ships. Ignoring with a little disgust as some guy creamed his pants with sexual desire just looking at Jack when he passed, wishing he could get Jack into bed. While being baffled at several females scattered through the ranks that wanted to do the same. No longer feeling hate and fear as hope, purpose, pride and a love started growing across fill the hold and wash over him. Finally Jack started to leave the hold wondering where the damn love was coming from and why but glad all the hate and fear was gone.
“You just going to leave your new toy in the middle of the hold to rust away?” The Lieutenant chuckled at Jack.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your bot.” She pointed back into the hold.
“Not my bot.”
“You ordered it to stand there. Whose bot is it then?”
“Well give it to someone that can use it.”
“I think that is something you have to do Admiral.”
“Shit. Go tell the damn thing to go back to the Bot hanger or wherever bots go.”
“Sorry I already tried to get it to move out of the way and it ignored me. You are going to have to tell it yourself Admiral. Besides you wanted to test them out and this sounds like the perfect opportunity for you to personally test one.”
“Damn it Lieutenant. I don’t have time for this shit.” Jack stared across the hold for a few seconds. “Robot. Get your butt over here already.” And was ignored. “Well so much for that. It must be broken.”
“Just hold on there a minute. I will be right back.” The Lieutenant jogged out to the bot. talked to it for a few seconds then hit her comm. “It says its designation is C3PO491538. Try using its name through your comm.”
Shaking his head. “C3PO491538 come here.” The bot immediately turned and in no hurry walked across the hold and stopped in front of Jack. A beaming Lieutenant right behind it as Jack asked it disgustedly. “You got a name besides C3PO…” (Not caring to read what was in front of him on the bots chest, let alone remembering all the numbers.) “What the fuck?
“Crewman Bogg’s called me Dumbshit. You may pick any name you wish Captain Turner. You have already named me C3PO what the Fuck. Is there another name you wish to call me?”
Jack rolling his eyes buried his face with one hand. Then a devilish smile erupted from Jack. “No I do not. You are now The Lieutenant’s Robot. Not mine.” Jack said with final satisfaction. Turned and walked away as the bot followed him for a few steps until Jack stopped and turned back around with the bot still only a couple steps away. “I said C3PO, you are the Lieutenant’s bot now. Go follow her.”
“My apologies Captain Turner. I am your bot. A higher ranking authority must change my ownership. Regulations to prevent crewmen from trading bots amongst themselves.”
“There is no one of a higher rank than me here.”
“Yes Captain Turner.” The bot stared at Jack.
“Eeaa. Quit staring at me damn it.”
“I will initiate blinking protocol 1 Captain.” A shutter came down covering the camera lens pickups and then disappeared back up into his head above his camera lens sockets with a click. “This will increase my use of lens cleaning fluid. Do you wish to add “damn it,” to my list of official names.”
Watching the bots eye’s blink several times. “Now that is just creepy and no! Do not add damn it to your list of names.” Jack shook his head frowning as he stared at the bot. “Aaahg. Go to the ship’s bridge and wait for me there.”
“Yes Captain Turner.” The bot turned and walked away.
Jack turned to the Lieutenant. “Find out how to get rid of that damn thing and do it now.” Then headed for the next hold and more crews to vet. Only to get another sea of hate and fear washing over him until he was half way through the lines in that hold as well and kicking out another half dozen crewmen as diehard Democrat Communists, thieves and even a murderer.
Jack was half way through his third hold when his Comm beeped. “Admiral, Exec. We have finished unloading the 4 ships and have the first of the 500 new volunteers ready for your inspection in Hold G sir. I been watching your inspections of the new crews and I must commend you on your genius. The video of you personally picking each crewman and throwing out the hard core Congressionals’ along with the union rules with only a couple hundred crewmen per ship has already spread to the battleship crews we put in the tanks and they are Volunteering in droves. Almost 80% now I
believe, though we are still processing them. We are not needing to isolate each prisoner. Squads of crewmen are banning together to guard the lines and the volunteers. Throwing a large group of prisoners into one corner of each of the tanks, so it is going much faster.”
Taking a deep breath. He was already tired and bored beyond belief after the first tanks and now there were more. But he could not let the other crews go without checking them as well. He was finding too many he did not dare let aboard a ship. “I will be right up as soon as I finish this hold. Have the Ship’s Patrol toss the separated prisoners onto one of the smaller empty ship's stores holds and start questioning them separately. Security should be questioning the Captains and senior officers’ already. I want as much back up data as we can get to help catch any lies when I talk to the Captains. Out.”
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Hours later Jack walked onto the half empty flying bridge with no marines at the hatch and no one announcing his arrival but he did not notice as he flopped down in the Command chair and laid back to relax. He watched a Battleship pull up to dock with a half dozen big holes along its side with one at the stern from a Blackhole torpedo that had blown 3 engines into scrap (barely missing the core it was aimed at) as one of the 4 battleships that had been on the side of the Red Pepper moved off with only two engines running. He could see the other 3 ships getting ready to shove off bringing up their Power Cores and drives. “It better not take as long with these.” He said to himself as three other battleships in better shape with 2 and 3 engines each with undamaged hulls were pulling up waiting for the other 3 docks spaced around the Red Pepper to clear.
“With the crews already off and the new crews already picked, vested and raring to go, they should be gone in a half hour at most Jack.” The Lieutenant said as she walked up beside him staring out as well. “It will take a little longer to load the hard core prisoners into the Battleship that just pulled up with all the damage. They are still working on sealing several of the tanks. Most of the living decks are wrecked and still in vacuum. The Congressional Captain has ordered the hard core Union crewmen to start repairs as soon as they board under emergency Union rules which I have never heard about before. Throwing out all work restrictions with several beatings of objecting crewmen, even before they get out of our tank and off the Red Pepper. That is before I put a stop to it.
Jack stood up from the Command Chair, stretching and walked to the port as he studied the damaged ships. The lieutenant following him to the port.
Winslow turned from the console in front of the Command chair looking at Jack. “Admiral you need to take a look at the tactical. Using my new sensors we can see the Congressional fleet starting to send units up 5 passageways. From what I understand passageways that are not normally used because they take longer to get through the Maze.” Winslow stood up stretching with her hands rubbing her lower back.
Jack walked back from the huge port running some 270 degrees around the bridge and plopped into the Command chair trying to get comfortable again. Looking over the large central tactical screen he frowned. That doesn’t make any sense unless they think we won’t see them so they can sneak up on us.” Jack started to pull up the map he had been given of the Maze when his comm beeped.
Slapping the Comm on the arm of his chair, Captain Clancy appeared on the screen replacing the map of the maze that was only up for a half second. “Admiral, why do I have the honor of having your bot on my bridge?”
“What bot?” Then looking around him on the half empty bridge. “What bridge are you on? One of the new battleships? How the hell did you get transferred to…?” Jack suddenly realized as he looked behind the Captain, that he was on the Red Peppers new Main Bridge. It was larger with more stations and larger screens which was why Jack had hated it. To damn large. Not to mention that it was buried deep inside the ship behind multiple armored decks and armored bulkheads with yards of thick armor on each that made seeing anything with his own eyes outside the ship damn difficult if not impossible. Then Jack noticed that there was a bot standing behind the Captain’s chair. A Command Chair that was larger than the chair Jack was sitting in. “Ohhh, yes the main bridge. My apology Captain but I was trying to get rid of the damn bot.”
“Well Admiral. It is getting in the way here. If you would be so kind as to get rid of it on your Flag Bridge I would appreciate it.”
Jack could not see how a squad of bots could be in the way on such a large bridge making him smile as he turned to the Lieutenant. “You figure out how to get rid of that thing yet?”
“Not unless you want to melt it down Sir. But I am working on it.” She smiled back at Jack.
Jack shock his head as he took a breath. “Robot report to the aaa, the Flag Bridge.” Using the Captain’s name though Jack had never heard of a flag bridge on the Red Pepper before. The bot just stood there. “Eeaa, C3PO…Report to the Flag Bridge… immediately.” But the bot remained silent and still. Getting frustrated, Jack could not remember what the rest of the numbers were with the Captain’s chair blocking him from seeing the numbers under the C3PO on its chest and blurted out what first came to his mind. “C3PO what the fuck!”
The bots eyes flashed on as it blinked. “Yes Captain Turner. Waiting orders.” As half the bridge crew in sight on the screen started chuckling and trying to suppress smiles.
Jack covered his face with one hand as he took another breath. “Come to the a, Flag Bridge.”
“Yes Captain Turner.” C3PO what the fuck, turned and left the main bridge passing the marine guard at the hatch that was doing his best not to laugh and not doing a very good job.
The Lieutenant turned to Jack. “You missed lunch and I am starved, let’s go down and get chow with the crew. I hear that the cooks have been able to make that new grain from the exslaves into some decent pasta Tortachiny and the hot bread is to die for.”
The Captain was still on the screen as Jack held up his hand to the Lieutenant. “How are we doing getting what’s left of the last three squadrons to surrender Captain Murphy?”
“Like the first. Most want to surrender but enough don’t to make it messy. I am hoping that some sense can be talked into them in time. Those guys are going to be a lot harder to assault.”
Winslow waved at Jack from her station.
“Just a second Captain.” Turning to face Winslow. “What is your problem?”
“They have fighters running up the passageways. They look like messengers trying to contact any survivors and turning them around to head back down the Maze.” She highlighted the fighters speeding up the passageways on this end of the maze that had battleships in them at one time and now had mostly hulks.
“Captain, they are sending fighters up the passageways. I need you to make sure they are intercepted before they can contact anyone at this end or we will never get these guys to surrender.”
“We have pickets out now Admiral to spot any activity that may come up any of the corridors.”
Jack watched Winslow magnify that area in a window showing only a pair of fighters down each passageway. Then she pointed out an icon off to the side of the Maze that was not moving.
“I want you to double up on the 3 passageways I am marking on the tactical I will be sending you in a minute. Take half the fighters out of the others and string them farther down the three passageways.”
“But Admiral what if they send a large force up the other passageways.”
“Not a problem. We will have plenty of time to take care of anything that gets past the pair of fighters in the other corridors. But we cannot let anything get through to the remaining enemy ships here on our end. You will understand as soon as my sensor operator sends you the feed from the flag bridge.”
Taking a deep breath as he stared at Winslow his new Sensor operator. “We also have a Transport boat stranded from that last attack on the Staging Station. I am giving you their coordinates. Send someone to repair, tow them out or bring the crew out if nothing else.
The other three surviving Transport boats should be docking in another half hour. Call me when they get in. I am going to get a bite to eat then I will see what we can do to get some more ships to surrender. Try to identify which ships are not wanting to surrender. We may have to take them out. But I hate to kill the crews simply because of stupid Captains. Out.” A flash caught Jacks eyes deep inside the maze with answering gunfire. “No wait. How many DD’s are still out in the maze?”
“All 6 Admiral, they have no reason to return and we have no way to intercept them or get messages to them and I did not think to limit their time or set up rendezvous points when I sent them in. We have no way of even knowing if they are still alive.”
“Shi…! Well I know one is still alive. Winslow can you track them?”
“I think I can now I know you want me to look for them. Aaaaa.” Her fingers flew over the keys in front of her. “Yes, I have them. All 6 of them and they seem to be making their way back up this way. It looks like all 6 skipped Battleships along the corridor they were on until they ran out of ships and are now on their way back killing much of what they missed on the way down. The fighters and bombers that went down the corridors did not go down a quarter as far but then they had to return to rearm after each attack but then the battleships kept coming until they didn’t. Eventually it looks like the Battleships started turning around and fleeing at some point as surviving fighters and boats made their way down the passageways informing the other Battleships. I can see groups of what looks like destroyed Battleships in each of the corridors and then nothing but retreating ships. That is except in the Corridors the DD’s are in. I can see the tide as the fleeing ships pass ships still coming up the corridors that turn around to join the growing stampede. Two of the DD’s have already hit that stampede and are killing the engines in most of them with ships retreating down side corridors to get away from them and are not slowing down.
Battleship Destroyer 2 (Battleship Destoryer) Page 108
