She couldn’t say that with a straight face, and continued laughing.
"Actually, there's something you can do for me in that regard. General Harriman is going to be asking Sci-Fi sector for permission for Hunter's Redoubt to remain in Midnight as a control point for ships entering Australian space. It could go in Nexus, but Midnight makes a lot more sense, as it gives the sector a buffer zone if anything undesirable gets past. The Orbital station is considerably larger, and is better suited to the center of Nexus, which I have permission for already. If you could put in a word on my behalf for permission to have a station in Midnight permanently, I'd appreciate it."
The laugh died. She gave me a long speculative look.
"Done. And it's my pleasure. It's been an experience working with you Admiral. I hope we cross paths again some time."
"Likewise. If you're ever in my neck of the woods, you'll be most welcome."
"On that note, I'd better get moving. Take care of yourself Jon."
"You too Vonda."
We shook hands, and Vonda hugged me.
Ten
I spent the rest of the morning on the Bridge, monitoring the preparations to leave. It was just as well we didn’t need a CAP, as most of the American pilots were in no condition to fly. Only the ones on their Corvettes and Privateers were still fully functional. In a way, they were a sort of CAP, but an unconventional one.
Jane and I discussed the new station. She displayed a schematic, and we looked it over, with a view to what work needed to be done to bring it up to a suitable standard. She and Janice communed, and Janice sent us a more up to date version, and a summary of the condition of each area.
It was almost identical to Sydney Station, except it was much older. The design went back to old Earth days, and this one had been among the last built there. So it wasn't surprising it was showing its age. It didn’t help having never been upgraded at all. Before it could be used, it needed a complete makeover.
I looked up Sydney's station, and it turned out theirs had been built in place from the now normal kits. I'd never paid much attention. It was a station in space, was about as much thought I'd given it when I was living there. Now, I paid attention to its design.
Imagine you built a modern city of skyscrapers on a round metal plate. Only because this is space, where there's no up or down, you built a second city on the other side of the plate. That’s roughly what the station looked like. The plate itself provides a huge circumference for a hundred docking ports, fighter dock, shuttle dock, and a central strata of decks. In itself a major city, but each space-scraper is almost its own smaller city. A bit like a city on a planet, the disk was the city center, and the space-scrapers were suburbs.
Jane and I started dividing up the space. The central space-scraper on one side was designated administration. This would include traffic and docking control. The largest one on the other side was to be solely for the Hunter family and corporation. We assigned a whole section of both sides for Military use, half being for Hunter ships, and the other half for the Australian Militia. Each area contained a space-scraper, and a set of docks. Control points were designed so each was self-contained, and access could be limited to authorized people only. They would get Flag, Officer, and Barracks accommodation along the same lines as Custer, but be able to house more than five hundred people at a time. Accommodation also including office space and the equivalent of a CCC for each. A General or Admiral would want a control center and meeting rooms, as well as offices. Both needed armories. I set Jane to design plans for them, taking into account any possible military scenario the space could handle. The Hunter space would definitely include gun ranges.
One of the smaller space-scrapers was designated for Australian sector Customs.
Within the central plate section, the center was set aside for a giant park, including a fresh water lake, and multi-level high waterfalls. The levels above the Dock Level were designated for retail, and was to be extensively windowed, so there was a complete view of space from everywhere around the deck, with the internal side overlooking the park and lake. Business spaces around the park were allocated to food, drinking and entertainment, with many general eating areas.
Below the Dock Level, was to be a modern freight handling facility, with several of the lower space-scrapers dedicated to storage.
The remaining space-scrapers were ear-marked for residential living spaces, offices, and more retail. The residential included a number of large hotels, and ultra-luxurious apartments, especially on the tips of the space-scrapers, where an all-around view could be made.
Given the size of the station, we made provision for both full sized hospitals, and smaller medical clinics.
By the time we were finally interrupted, it was almost midday, and I found Angel asleep in my lap.
It was getting to be a concern how things were happening around me, which I didn’t notice. I made a reminder to actually follow medical advice, and get a checkup when we arrived in Dallas.
It was George who interrupted us, walking onto the Bridge and announcing the troops were all moved, and Custer was ready to go. I suggested he should park the second Excalibur in Custer. My Excalibur was on the Flight Deck, but I asked him to move it to the closest bay to the access shafts, so I’d have as short a way to go to get to it as possible.
George looked at me for a moment, as if to argue over whose ship it was. I stared him down, and he left without a word. I smiled at his retreating back, knowing exactly what he'd been thinking. He'd spent so much time in my Excalibur in the last few weeks, he'd started thinking of it as his.
I went down to the Deck Two Dining Room for lunch. Most of the team were there before me. George joined us while we were still eating.
Once I finished, I stood and looked down the table. People noticed, and talk subsided.
"It’s a fourteen hour trip to Dallas Orbital. We're all on stand down until we get there. Take it easy for the rest of the day. We can expect tomorrow to have something official planned, so make sure you're bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning." There were a number of smiles. "Commander," I said to Greer, "Pass the message on to all your pilots."
"Yes sir," he responded. "Do you want us in our ships?" He indicated Miriam.
"No need. Give your seconds a chance to lead for once."
"Fine sir. When are we leaving?"
"As soon as the fleet forms up."
He nodded.
"Jon," said Aline. "Can we watch some more of that flat screen?"
"Do you want to continue on from where we left off? Or actually start at the beginning of that remake?"
"Start again please. Might make more sense."
"Okay, but the main character is different, as I was a long way further along when you were watching. It’s the same person, but a different persona." She looked puzzled. "Get Abigail to explain it to you. You want them now?"
"Yes please."
I went into the Rec Room and threw the first season, from way back in 2004, to the main wall. I started the first, and paused it, let Aline know they were on pause waiting for her, and left them too it.
Angel followed me up to the Bridge, and sat on her console mat, looking forward. She turned her head to look at me.
"Yes sweetie pie, we're moving shortly."
She purred, and looked ahead.
Jane reconfigured fleet coms to only the ships leaving with us. We formed up into an arrow formation, with the Corvettes and Privateers forming the head. BigMother was followed by the British Destroyers and Corvettes, with Repulse bringing up the rear.
Four hours to the jump point, seven hours across Miami, and another three hours to Dallas Orbital. With luck, no-one would want me, and I could get a decent night's sleep for a change.
With nothing else to do, I left Angel to her space gazing, and joined the 'Who' watchers in the Rec Room.
I was back on the Bridge for the jump into Miami. The scanner map showed the jump point was clear on the other side,
so the arrow head sped up a little, folded back to a double line, and we all jumped through, resuming the formation once we were clear of the debris field and the blockade ships. The debris field had been much reduced in size.
The whole team was there when I returned. I hadn’t missed anything, as I’d seen these so many times over the years. But all the same, I settled down in a lounge chair, and resumed enjoyment. It was good not to have anything to worry about for a while. Angel trotted in at one point, demanded a pat from me, and did the rounds of the room.
At dinner time, Aline switched the entertainment system to play in both rooms, and we continued watching as we ate.
I'd always thought there was nothing like a good 'Who' marathon to pass the time. Apparently my new converts agreed with me.
Around ten thirty, I was back on the Bridge for the jump into Dallas. I sent off an email to General Patton's aide to say we were now in the Dallas system. I gave Jane instructions to let me sleep, unless something really urgent came in, in which case she should let me sleep anyway. If a more senior officer wanted my attention before seven in the morning, they better have a damned good reason for it. If the universe ended during the night, I didn’t want to know until the hollo-documentary came out.
I found Angel asleep on her kitty castle, and Miriam draped seductively across my bed.
So much for getting a full night's sleep.
Eleven
"GOOD MORNING DALLAS!"
I bolted upright in bed. A half remembered dream of gold ribbon and purple smoke, fell away, and vanished.
"Stop doing that Jane," I yelled.
Meow!
Angel jumped up, waggled her left rear paw in my direction, rushed to the side of the bed, and launched herself off. She landed lightly on the floor, and shot out the door.
I sat there gaping after her. I'd never seen her jump so far before. She was growing up rapidly.
"Jon?" said Miriam sleepily from beside me. "What are you yelling about?"
"You didn’t hear Jane just now?"
"No. Should I have?"
I suddenly realized Jane had bellowed at me only, through my PC, for once.
"Sadist," I muttered.
"Who is?"
"Jane."
"You rang?" said Jane through the room coms. "Jon, I let you sleep as long as I could. You have a seven thirty meeting on the Military Orbital, and it's already five past. Put your skates on. The Gig is ready for you. Miriam, you have orders as well. Sorry Jon, but get it in gear Mon Capitan."
"Is Jane getting even more eccentric now?" asked Miriam.
"MOVE IT JON. You have a four star waiting for you."
I leapt out of bed, and jumped for the shower. Miriam followed, but I didn’t let her slow me down. I was out, and drying off, while she was still soapy.
Angel was eating her breakfast when I found her in the kitchen.
"I'll be out for a lot of today sweetie. Can't be helped, I'm afraid. And later on, we'll all be out, so you'll need to entertain yourself."
She stopped eating and looked at me.
Mew.
She went back to eating.
I headed down to the Cargo Deck, where I touched down in the access shaft, with only a slight twinge from my left knee. A trolley took me to the down shaft, where the Gig was waiting on the Launch Deck. Jane had moved the Gig as close to the access shaft as it could get. I boarded, and settled into the co-pilot's seat. Jane was sitting in the pilot's. The Gig moved to the lift, and we started rising.
"Sitrep."
"The fleet arrived at one thirty this morning. The crewed ships are all docked with the Civilian Orbital station, which apparently booted a lot of civvies out to accommodate us all. The exception is John Wayne, which docked at the Military Orbital instead. O'Neal and his crew moved to BigMother as soon as they completed docking."
The Gig rose from the Flight Deck, and headed out the rear entrance. I noticed Unthinkable was missing.
"Unthinkable?"
"All damaged ships were moved to the Shipyard before we docked. ETA on the repairs is sometime this evening. My avatar took Camel over personally, and I updated all the ship ID's as you requested."
"Good."
A thought struck me.
"What uniform am I supposed to be wearing?"
I was in Sci-Fi fatigues.
"I'll ask." She was silent for a moment. "American fatigues."
I shifted uniforms, and checked I'd updated the rank insignia correctly.
"Who did you ask?"
"Admiral Jedburgh's aide. And no, I don’t know who you're meeting with."
"What about the American ships?"
"All moved to the Shipyard. The pilots were not impressed with the two o'clock wake up call. They gathered their gear, and were gone by two thirty. Neither Carrier is out of Repair Dock yet, so the pilots are now on the Military Orbital."
Speaking of which, we were now on approach to it. Jane swept us in the shuttle dock entrance at a faster than normal speed, and within minutes we were docked to an airlock. The airlock door opened, and Jane followed me through. An Ensign was waiting on the other side, and he headed off into the bustling maize of corridors.
Precisely at seven thirty, I was shown into a large office.
Admiral Darius Jedburgh didn’t look well. He waved me to a chair.
"Good to see you again Vice Admiral. Forgive me not greeting you properly, but I feel like you look."
He was referring to my head bruise, which was still a mottled yellow colour.
"I was only released from hospital a few hours ago, and I had to bully my way out. Too much to do, to pander to doctors."
I knew the feeling. He partly rose, and offered his hand across the desk. We shook.
"Thank you. Without your quick response at the Miami jump point, I'd be dead, and most of my fleet with me."
"Sir? It was my recommendation that put you in that situ…"
"No Jon," he interrupted me. "You're not going there. I was told you felt badly about the whole situation, but nothing was your fault. There isn’t an officer in the entire fleet who had any inkling Midgard would attempt another incursion into Miami. And I did ask. We had a senior officer's think tank after your suggestion came in. No one even thought of it, let alone voiced the possibility."
"But…"
"No buts. Had the situation been what we expected, your recommendation was precisely what we needed to bring our ships into the fight, quickly and decisively. What happened was entirely due to the fog of war, and my stupidity in not acquiring the specs for your comnavsat. Had I sent one in that morning, we would have known what was going down, and prepared for it. As it was, you're warning, and the very quick orders you gave, saved Yorktown, four Cruiser sized ships, the Corvettes and Privateers, from a very unexpected death."
"Actually…"
"No again. You were about to say some of the pilots would have been fast enough to save themselves. Perhaps so. But Yorktown would've been dead. Carriers are like a small city. The loss of life was bad, but being destroyed would have been much worse. And before you interrupt me again, our being hit was none of your fault either."
I closed my mouth, and he went straight on.
"What happened to Yorktown was just plain bad luck. One enemy captain out of twenty four, was good enough to recognize an opportunity, and take it. Without the nukes, we might have taken out most of the missiles before they hit, but it's doubtful given how close we were at the time. It's what happens in war. No plan survives contact with the enemy, and even when you win, you can still get your butt kicked solidly."
He paused and looked at me.
"We'll be going to an awards ceremony at nine. I understand you have a suit definition for Sci-Fi Dress?" I nodded. "Close enough. Wear those, although if you can match ours, all the better. Ribbons are fine."
"I'll need a scan of yours. If any of your officers are already in Dress uniform, I can scan those."
"Admiral Hallington is in the outer o
ffice, you can use his to scan."
"Thank you sir."
"This afternoon at four, there'll be a civilian reception on the Orbital station. Everyone from your ships is invited. It'll be followed by a state dinner. Dress uniforms. You can expect a late night. Have you checked your emails this morning?"
The change in topic caught me by surprise.
"Ah, no. I took the opportunity for a good night's sleep. I didn’t get that far on the ride over."
"Check them now. You should have one from Marshall Bigglesworth. Throw it to the wall."
I pulled my pad from its hip pouch. Sure enough, there was such an email. I threw it to the wall as requested.
"Vice Admiral Hunter. You and your people are invited to London for a reception at the Palace. We're inviting all the major players in the Midgard war to attend, save those on blockade duty in Midgard itself. Please reply with your acceptance of this invitation, and a probable ETA. Bigglesworth out."
"Sir…"
"Call me Darius, Jon. You're wanting to know when you can leave?" I nodded. "We'll all be leaving at oh seven hundred tomorrow. In fact, I wanted to ask you a favour. We don’t have a fast enough Command ship. Can I hitch a ride with you? I have a Battlecruiser which can follow after to bring me, Admiral Hallington, and my staff, home."
I grinned at him.
"No problem. I've flag accommodation onboard you can both use. Your staff can stay on the Battlecruiser. I had a modification done to my Carrier, so we can actually dock your ship underneath. As long as that doesn’t offend her captain."
He laughed.
"You never cease to amaze me Jon. Done and done. You better send off a reply now, you won't get much chance from now on."
I did the math on how long the trip to London would take from here. The direct route was Kansas, Washington, London, so not a long trip. Roughly twenty one hours in total. So we should get there about four, the morning after leaving. I did a quick vid accepting the invitation, and giving the ETA for us, and the American contingent.
"Now," Darius said when I was done, "if you'll excuse me, I need to dress. Admiral Hallington is outside, he'll show you to the ceremony."
Hail the Hero (The Hunter Legacy Book 5) Page 6
