Rust Bucket

by Atk. Butterfly

  Meanwhile, the work on the Thurman was nearing completion. I knew I had very little time left or I would have to improvise. To increase my chances for success, I also talked with my crew to find out if any of them had ever read or heard of such things as I wanted to do.

  ***

  The following day, the ships for my squadron arrived as the new squadron assembled. I went over even more personnel records with ten other ship captains, one of whom would be captaining my ship since I was the squadron commander. At the same time, I explained how we had been so successful. I soon had them doing research on how to adapt the technique to squadron level.

  We were scheduled to go out a few days later. It was beginning to look as though I would have to run the squadron in the same old stodgy way. That was suddenly changed two days before we were scheduled to leave when Frank came running up with a book on Admiral Nelson. He excitedly showed me the chapter on the Battle of the Nile. I read it with interest and grinned when I finished. That was the answer I was looking for. I quickly called together every officer from every ship and outlined my plans for running the squadron in the same manner.

  I stated, "This is the way we're going to exploit the enemy. If a Captain of a ship sees an opportunity to hurt the enemy, he will take it on his own individual initiative. If you have ideas, you will express them. We're only as strong as we make ourselves. If we see the enemy, we will charge! Do I make myself clear?"

  One captain asked, "What if we're outnumbered?"

  I replied, "I don't care! We will charge and make them think that there are more ships behind us just out of their sensor range or convince them that we either have a secret weapon or are mad dogs who shouldn't be messed with! When the enemy sees us, I want to see him turn tail and run, even if he has thirty ships to our ten! I want every ship to practice battle stations immediately upon getting into orbit! I want the crews drilled until their times are acceptable to me! When we see the enemy, I want all our ships to be firing at the enemy before the enemy gets off the first shot!"

  "What if he sees us first?" another captain asked.

  I answered, "I don't care! I want our crews so good that we can still beat them to the draw! I can only tell you that if you do it my way, you stand a very good chance of returning to port alive. If you continue to do it the way it's been done, you'll be returned to port in a body bag if they can find enough of you. We will add one more drill once all ships are in orbit. We will practice doing a charge. When I am satisfied, we will then move out to our patrol sector and take command of it completely and utterly!"

  Despite my grandstanding and theatrics, I could see that a lot of the officers, especially the ship captains, were afraid of making a mistake. I only hoped that I wasn't making a mistake. If I was working with my old officers in charge of their ships, I would have felt a whole lot more confident about whether it would work or not. They had picked up the fever of winning with enthusiasm. These officers hadn't as yet. They were too used to losing.

  ***

  The following day, I reported to the Fleet Admiral my plans for scrambling my squadron in the afternoon for a practice drill ahead of time. I wanted to get my squadron into shape.

  ***

  The notice went out to scramble my squadron. I watched as the officers and crews did

  their best to reach their ships and launch into orbit. My ship led the way and then

  waited in orbit for the rest to catch up.

  "Gentlemen, that wasn't good enough. What if our port was under attack by the enemy? We're going to land and try this again," I said over the communications system.

  All ten ships went back down to the surface. Then I had all their crews and officers dispersed around the port. With help from the Fleet Admiral to keep them honest and in place, I then called another scramble. We watched, as well as timed them, to see how fast they could get to their ships and launch into space.

  I radioed, "That's better gentlemen. Now I want each ship to pull in front of mine, go into battle stations, and fire upon the targets before returning to the port. I am trusting you to run your ships correctly. That means your gunners are not already at their guns. When you announce battle stations, your gunners are to race for their gun stations and fire at the target as soon as they have it sighted. I do not want synchronized volleys!"

  One by one, I called the ships to take part in the practice before I sent them back to the port. I ended with my own ship.

  "Captain, call battle stations," I said over my shoulder to the officer sitting where I normally sat. Then I looked at my watch and timed the drill. "Not bad, but next time, I want to hear you call battle stations as if you meant it. Show the crew that you've got a pair, excuse me, make them think that you've got a pair of balls. You got that?"

  "Yes Commander," the female officer replied.

  I said, "Good! Do it again."

  She replied, "Yes, Commander. Battle stations."

  I timed the exercise, knowing that my crew was the best and that the watch was unnecessary. Mostly I wanted her to be ready to speak with greater authority and decisiveness.

  I said, "That's better. Turn off the intercom. Now Lieutenant, just for my benefit, I want you to say 'Battle Stations' with force. We're not going to run the crew ragged when all I want now is to hear you say it like you mean it."

  "Battle stations," she said.

  "Again!" I shouted.

  She said, "Battle stations."

  "Louder and forceful! Just like I'm talking to you!" I shouted.

  "BATTLE STATIONS!" she shouted back at me.

  I smiled and said, "Excellent! You almost convinced me that time. That's the way I want to hear it. You'll do fine. Now take us back down to the port."

  She said, "Yes sir."

  "What?" I asked.

  "YES SIR!" she shouted.

  I replied, "Much better. Let me and everyone else know that you always mean what you're saying. Do that and you'll do well."

  ***

  When we got back to port, I conferred again with the Fleet Admiral to arrange another scramble at night.

  Just after one in the morning, the scramble notice went to all the officers and crews. That time, I saw them struggle against sleep and make a decent showing as each ship got into orbit. Then once they were there, I sent them the message to line up in our formation and yelled out over the lightbeam radio, "Charge!"

  It was ragged and awful as the ship captains hesitated about sending their ships forward even though it was just a practice.

  I radioed, "All ships, have all your pilots gather at the communications system. Notify me when ready."

  After a few more minutes I was notified that all the pilots were gathered. I launched into my second angle of attack on the problem. "Okay pilots, you're going to have to help out here. I happen to know that your ships were chosen because of the overall piloting skills on board each ship. When the officers hear the command for the charge, you're going to have to give them the edge that they need. Remember, one of the problems with squadron commands is the interval between receipt of orders and their implementation. You don't have to wait for your captain to repeat the order, although I want him or her to do so. When you hear my voice over the communications say charge, I mean just exactly that. I want every ship in the line to suddenly jump out at the enemy, as if he were really there in front of us. I want the gunners to be firing at the same time, so communications officers who are listening in, make sure the squadron commands are also piped into your ships where the gunners can hear. Pilots, if you see an opportunity to slip behind an enemy ship without running into another of ours, than I expect you to take that opportunity and give your gunners a field day. If your captain spots something or has a plan of some sort, then take his orders. It is okay to ignore my orders in such situations. You are then taking individual initiative. In a fluid battle situation, that is okay. Let me change that. It is more than okay. It is the right thing to do. You all got that?"

  Each ship's pilots respo
nded that they understood.

  "All right, all ships on line. Forward." The line of warships lined up to one side of my ship. When they looked more or less even, I yelled into the microphone, "Charge!"

  That time I was almost pleased when all ten ships suddenly leaped out into space to tear into the pretend enemy in front of us. We practiced over and over for several hours giving every pilot a chance to experience the freedom of being able to jump the gun over receipt of my orders and the captain's repetition of them.

  I didn't bother taking the ships back to port. I communicated with Headquarters and received clearance to take my patrol out to our sector and left a little early. Along the way, we practiced some maneuvers since we had left port early. Most of the maneuvers were ragged at first, but with practice, the crews of each ship improved.

  ***

  When we got to the border, there was a lone enemy scout in range. We lined up and I gave the charge command to the ships. It was still ragged, but very effective nonetheless when all ten ships charged at the one scout who started blabbering over his communications to his headquarters. Too late, he tried to escape. He was torn to shreds by the firing weapons from ten ships. I don't think I ever saw a ship torn into so many pieces as that one scout. Whatever salvage rights might have existed for that ship weren't worth using because the pieces were so small.

  ***

  A day later, a large squadron of enemy ships showed up to challenge us as we moved along our patrol area in a file. I gave the command for a turn towards them so that we presented a single line of ships beside each other with our noses pointed at the enemy. Then I yelled charge at the other ships. As we charged, I watched to see how many of the ships responded to what they were supposed to do.

  At first, it looked like all ten ships were charging, but the raggedness of our line made it possible for me to count them a moment later. Only nine of my ships were charging at the twenty ships I figured were ahead of us. There wasn't any time to determine what the tenth ship was doing. We were charging at full speed towards the enemy. Every gunner who could see the enemy was firing whether in range or not.

  Aboard my own ship, the new Mark IV quads got hits first long before any of the other weapons had any effect. The Mark IV quads on some of the other ships were also making hits. Our behavior, together with the longer ranging weapons, forcefully changed the enemy's collective mind about offering battle. They suddenly retreated leaving two disabled ships behind to be completely destroyed by all our weapons when they got into range of all our weapons a few moments later.

  When the enemy retreated, I sounded the recall and stopped the charge. Then I looked about for my tenth ship and communicated with it. I said, "Captain Bleyer, you will move your ship next to mine for the rest of this patrol. If your ship fails to charge the next time I give the order, one of my gunners will sizzle your tail for you. I do not appreciate a ship not taking part in the fighting. I have given specific instructions for each ship's captain to use individual initiative to fight the enemy, not to avoid fighting. There is a difference. You and I shall talk more in private when our patrol is over."

  ***

  We patrolled our sector for a week without further opposition or challenge before we returned to our port. When all ten ships were back on the surface of the planet in port, I observed the behavior of all the officers and crews. Nine ships' crews and officers had caught the enthusiasm for winning that I was trying to impart. They were only disappointed at not being permitted to chase and complete destroy the enemy squadron we met head on. The crew and officers of the tenth ship, that of Captain Bleyer, looked ashamed of their conduct from that one engagement. I called all the ships' crews and officers together for a debriefing.

  I stated, "Most of you did real well. Some of you still need improvement. One individual, however, disappointed me. He and I will talk about this in private. But for the rest of you. I want you to understand that these tactics we are using are nothing new. They've merely been forgotten for a long time. You all saw for yourselves that the larger enemy force retreated when they saw our mere nine ships charging at them with everything blazing away. That's how we will defeat them and end this war. Not one of the enemy tried to challenge us when they saw how purposeful of intention we were. Be aware that our enemy is not dumb or committed to only one way of behavior. He will try to change his tactics in order to win. We will not let him win. He doesn't know yet of our ability to move independently when the time comes to do so. Turn in your combat videos and enjoy your shore leave. You earned it. Captain Bleyer, if you will accompany me. We have business to discuss. I want your officers and pilots in attendance as well."

  I walked off with ten men and women following me. I entered into a building where debriefings were normally held. I waited until the group following me was fully inside and the door closed before I lashed into him. I said to his face, "Captain, if you so much as ever even think of retreating again, I will have you court-martialed for cowardice! I would have understood you running away if your ship had five enemy warships picking on it alone. In such a case, I wouldn't blame you at all. Such was not the case. Now I want you to look around at your other officers and the pilots to see how much shame they have in their faces for their ship's conduct. It's evident to me how they feel. First Officer, if Captain Bleyer does not comply with his orders the next time, you are to take over immediately. The pilots are to ignore his commands and follow yours. Is that understood?"

  They were a little hesitant in answering, so I repeated, "Is that understood?" with a little more emphasis.

  The second time, they answered with a little more emphasis of their own.

  I continued my bullying, saying, "Understand this. This war shouldn't have lasted longer than three months. Our Navy outnumbered the enemy initially by three to one. Our Navy squandered away half of its initial advantage because ships didn't respond to the situation in a positive manner by attacking forcefully against the enemy. From now on, our squadron will do nothing less than attack in a forceful manner against the enemy. In order to do that, I need the complete cooperation of every ship in the squadron. I will accept nothing less than that. You are all dismissed."

  ***

  The patrol wasn't an outright success in my opinion, but to Headquarters, the combat videos told a different story. They were impressed to see the combat videos from nine ships charging at the enemy who outnumbered us. They were impressed with the three destroyed ships we accomplished without a loss. They were impressed with the way we caused eighteen enemy ships to retreat from our smaller number. They were impressed enough that they asked my squadron to cut its shore leave in half and return to space.

  ***

  The next patrol didn't resolve any of the problems since we were completely unopposed in our sector for the week we spent in space. We returned back to port, disappointed only in not having anything to show for all our time in space. Otherwise, there was no lack of pride in the squadron. Every man and woman was beginning to realize that we were becoming the best squadron in the entire Navy.

  Chapter 15

  Our squadron's practice at scrambling to take off from port paid off sooner than I thought it would. I had reasoned that it was only a matter of time before the enemy tried to bombard our planet much as my ship had attacked their home planet before. They managed to break through the squadron patrolling the border. Four ships made it through and hot footed it to Beulah to launch an attack on Headquarters.

  Communications discipline was being relearned throughout the Navy once again. Now the problem was that some ships were forgetting to send vital information when it was needed. They were trying to avoid giving away their position, even when their position was already known because they were in direct combat. Such was the case with the four enemy ships when they broke through the squadron at the border.

  The first warning we had was when Headquarters sent the scramble alarm, that my squadron used before, just as soon as the planet's sensors picked up the four hostil
e ships approaching. Since I hadn't asked for a scramble drill, I knew that it was the real thing and that it was up to my squadron to actually defend the planet.

  As the crews of my squadron raced towards their ships, I hollered, "This is not a drill! This is a real attack on Beulah!" They seemed to run harder and faster for their ships when they heard me holler that. My ship took off first. The sensor operators quickly picked up the locations of the four enemy ships. We didn't wait for the rest of the squadron to arrive. We charged immediately at the four oncoming ships.

  While I let my pilots and Captain handle my ship, I then turned my attention to the other ships of the squadron. A few seemed hesitant and unsure of what to do. I took the communications system and hollered back at them, "Captains, use individual initiative!" A few moments later, I was pleased to see two ships leap out in our direction to take up battle with the enemy. Then slowly, and one by one, the rest of the ships' commanders realized that was part of what they had trained for and that we outnumbered the enemy if we were all together.

  By that time, my ship was already engaged with the four enemy ships and scoring hits with its longer ranging Mark IV quads. By the time our other weapons were in range, the other two ships to first respond were also scoring hits with their own Mark IV quads. The enemy was the one who was then hesitant and ready to flee. We didn't give them the chance to flee as enough of my squadron finally arrived to totally destroy the four hostile ships, thus ending the crisis.