"Sorry Jon. We need your game face on, and you weren't even aware of which game this was."
"Did you have to hit me so hard?"
"I calculated it to ten decimal places. Want to see the math?"
The girls started giggling and took their seats.
Our eyes went to the scanner, waiting for the station to show up.
We all dreaded what we might see.
A white dot appeared, followed by a second one. The station and the John Wayne, towing the General Custer. We breathed a bit easier.
We waited. We all stirred uneasily, and waited some more.
Nothing happened.
"Thank the Divine," I said finally. "Fancy that. A genuine nightmare for a change."
"Another one," said Amanda.
"That we all shared?" asked Aleesha.
"It was so real," said Amanda.
"Let's not jinx it, please," I responded, before pausing, and looking directly at Amanda. "What do you mean, another one?"
"Don’t you remember the nightmare you had of the station breaking up on down jump, and you floating off into space?"
"You saw that too?"
"Worse. We were both you."
I looked at Aleesha. She nodded.
"So that’s why you were both so uptight that morning?"
"Partly," said Amanda.
"Why didn’t you say anything?"
"It didn’t seem like the right time," said Aleesha.
I looked at them, and sighed. I turned to Jane.
"Jane, can you dock while the station is moving?"
"Affirmative."
"Do so please. Replenish our missile supply, and transfer Nightshade to the station."
"Confirmed."
"Starman, are you with us?
"Sort of sir. We could have used more sleep."
"Goes for all of us I think. Land your people on the station when we get there. I'll have the station's repair droids go over your ships and fix anything that can be. The station AI will assign you some quarters. I'd suggest you all get some proper sleep."
"We're not continuing on to the Miami jump point?"
"I don’t think that would be wise. We're all half dead from fatigue. Let's get some decent sleep, by which time the station will be in Azgard. With your ships repaired, we can make a speed run across the system to find out what happened at the other jump point, and we can do it fresh and fully armed."
"Sounds like a plan sir." I closed the channel.
I sent the girls back to bed. But I waited on the Bridge myself, until Jane had us docked, and all the fighters had safely landed. I gave Janet instructions and with nothing else pending for me to worry about, I too went back to bed. I found a Furball on my pillow, and two naked girls on the other side of the bed.
I changed my suit back to a belt, slid under the covers, and nodded straight off.
Ten
"GOOD MORNING AZGARD!"
I stirred awake.
"Jane?"
"Wakey wakey sleepy heads, the morning is about done and the afternoon requires your attention."
Angel was snuggled in where she usually was. I turned over carefully so as not to disturb her, but she raised her head and purred.
"Angel, I had the strangest dream. The station blew up and we were about to die. But it was a dream, and I woke up with Amanda and Aleesha in the bed with us. The station didn’t blow up, and when I went back to bed, the girls were lying on it naked."
"That really happened, bollock brain!" said Amanda with a laugh.
I turned over to look at them. They were both sitting up in bed, topless, although now their lower parts were under the sheet. I gaped at them.
They shook their heads giggling.
"You're hopeless Jon."
"Hopeless," I mused. "Yes. That would make a good call sign."
"Jane," said Aleesha. "Can you send in a bucket of water? Someone needs it."
"Cancel the water Jane, I don’t need it."
I bounded out of bed, getting an indignant meow for having disturbed her so. In an instant I was back in fatigues and heading for the Bridge.
"Where are we Jane? Sitrep."
"Azgard system. There were no enemy waiting at the jump point, so the jump was routine. Janet and I decided to let you all sleep. Gunbus is rearmed. Excalibur is rearmed and in the hanger. Nightshade is in a repair bay on the station, with repair droids working on her. The American fighters are all repaired, rearmed and ready to go. All derelict ships have been landed. By the time you return from Miami, all debris should be stored."
"How many ship hulls did we salvage?"
"Two intact Cruisers, one Cruiser in two parts, and two hundred twenty eight Talons." I whistled. "Sixty from our trip through here heading to Pompeii. Fifty eight at the Miami jump point. Twelve saving Eric. And ninety eight in the last battle. Also five Sabres and eight Epees. We don’t have some of the parts needed for the American ships. What we had all went to repairing the operational ones. The Talon is a more standard design, simpler to repair. Could be why the Retros chose that ship."
"What's the station's repair parts stocks like? Enough to repair the Talons before we get home?"
"Some of them are very badly damaged, probably only suitable for cannibalizing for parts. But the rest should be repairable."
"Best guess?"
"The Sabres and Epees are repairable. Maybe two hundred Talons, give or take a few."
General Harriman would not believe it when I arrived back. In one go, I would be able to supply the Australian sector with a complete Militia force, to make up for what they lost to pirates before I left Outback. In fact, they may not want all of them. They probably don’t have pilots for them either. Oh well, cross that Bridge when we get there.
"How is Eric's ship?" I asked.
"Not good. Needs some major work at a Shipyard."
"Does he know that yet?"
"No."
I headed downstairs for lunch. The common room was almost empty. I assumed the Americans were off somewhere having their own party. Eric sat at the table with a bottle of water, talking to Colonel Smith. I went over and sat next to them.
"Well Jon, you've been busy," said the Colonel.
"Busy is not the word I would have chosen. But it'll suffice."
"When do we leave for home?"
"Not for another day or so. I need to take the American pilots back to Miami."
Saying that made me think of something I needed to organize.
"So, what? Eight hours each way?"
"More like ten over and eight back. Plus however long it takes to offload the pilots and update the Admiral. Say somewhere between eighteen and twenty four. That assumes nothing else happens to change it."
"How long do we wait if we don’t hear from you?"
"Wait two days. If you hear nothing after that time, we're not coming back. The Americans may or may not know what happened to us, depending on where and when it happens. We'll have emails once we get to Miami, so you will hear when we get there."
"Don’t be so morbid Jon, it'll be a cake walk." She said it with a grin.
"I should be so lucky."
"Luck seems to be your middle name Jon," said Eric. "I've been hearing some stories about you."
I shrugged the comment off.
"Your ship is not in good shape Eric. It's in a repair bay on the station, but it needs a shipyard. What do you want to do?"
"Where's the nearest shipyard?"
"Dallas, but it’s the wrong direction from here. There is one in Sydney, where we're headed, but that takes you way out of your normal hunting ground. Avon probably has one, but you would need to organize a tow in Cobol."
"I'll stay with you if you don’t mind."
"Want to wait on the station here?"
"No, I'll come with you, if you'll let me. Nothing to do on a station."
"It's probably dangerous."
"Hell, I explore jump points for a living. Nothing more dangerous than that. Jumping blind into th
e unknown requires a sense of adventure few people have. If the adventure ends here, well, I've had a good run, and my insurance will keep the wife and kids in luxury for life." He was grinning.
"Welcome aboard." I grinned as well.
By this time, the crew had all come in, including Annette and George, and we all sat down to lunch. While we were eating, I drew attention to the 'score board' on the wall, and everyone congratulated those who's score had advanced. George received the most, and he basked in the unaccustomed attention. I let them know they would need to remain on the station for at least another day. George stated he was coming with me, and as he had a bed on Excalibur, I agreed he could. Annette was staying with her ship to supervise its refit.
After lunch, I led the colonel up to my office. We sat at the conference table.
"Jane and Janet."
"Yes my Lord," they said together. The Colonel cracked up. Janet's voice was lower than Jane's now. Janet seemed to be evolving her own character.
"Change of plans. It's too dangerous to stay here any longer. We have to assume Midgard will send a force through both jump points at some time in the next week, possibly as early as now."
The Colonel looked worried and nodded.
"Janet," I went on, "as soon as the debris has been completely loaded, we can't leave it here as a navigational hazard, I want the station on the move to Cobol. I want every combat ship we have that has shields, full speed and the ability to carry missiles, readied for battle. Don’t worry about life support, they won't need it. They can even fly with an open hull. The longer it is before that happens, the more ships you should be able to repair. If you are attacked, you fly all the fighters as a single entity. Pack them into a tight formation, where all ships can fire missiles and guns at the same time. Fly the formation like a single fighter, only allow each ship to target independently. If need be, the fighters are expendable. The station isn’t. I expect to catch up with you somewhere in the Cobol or Midnight systems. Are we clear?"
"Yes my Lord," said Janet.
"Yes boss," said the Colonel.
I shook my head.
"I can't get used to you saying that Colonel."
"Well you better. You had command presence when I first met you. Now you project it like someone who has commanded for decades. You may not be aware of it, but everyone else is."
"I'm not sure how to take that."
"Truth. Doesn’t matter if you take it or not, the truth is still the truth."
I sighed.
"Colonel, see you in about a day."
She nodded and left.
"Janet, can you whisper in Greer's ear and ask him to see me in my office as soon as he can, and to send back those pilots not flying their own ships."
"Yes my Lord."
Releases.
Damn, I'd forgotten again. I had a whole battle of releases to do. I entered meditation and started doing them.
Sometime later there was a knock on my door. I waved Greer in.
"Commander, we're leaving shortly. Everything okay your end?"
"Yes sir. We inspected all our ships. The operational ones are ready for combat. But there's some very unhappy pilots leaving their ships behind because you can't fix them. Still, they were able to retrieve their belongings, which wouldn’t have happened if you hadn't salvaged them."
"Let me know when you are ready to leave, and we'll go. It's going to be about a ten hour journey there, and at least another eight hours back for Gunbus, depending on how far the station gets. Assuming nothing untoward happens on the way."
"The Admiral will want a debriefing sir. You can expect a couple of hours for that."
"Hopefully no longer than that, the faster I can get in and out of Midgard the better. It's only a matter of time before those jump points become lethal again."
"True. We'll try to hold you up as short a time as possible."
"I hope so. On your way Commander, let's get moving."
He stood, saluted and left.
I went back to releases. When I finally finished them, I composed an email for Bob, telling him what was coming to his shipyard, again urging him to move it into Nexus, and double its size, at least. I also told him I'd had nibbles about buying Excalibur's and possibly Camels. Would he consider building a Camel as a demo for someone I was bringing?
I did a short email for the Admiral and General, advising them I was heading into Midgard again to return the American pilots to Miami. I gave them timings for the trip.
I was about to go to the Bridge, when Amanda called me down to the common room. It was almost full of people, American pilots and crew.
"What's…?"
"Attention," rasped Lieutenant Commander Young in a parade ground voice.
The room came to attention facing a wall screen, which was showing Greer and another room of pilots all at attention. Greer stepped forward.
"Commander Hunter sir. Front and center please. Lieutenant Murdock. Front and center please."
We both moved to the front near the screen, looking bewildered.
"Attention to Orders," said Greer.
A smaller screen opened up inside the other screen. It showed Admiral Hallington.
"Lieutenant Murdock. For risking your life in the service of, and protection of, American Space Forces, you are hereby offered a commission in the American Space Forces, with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. At the conclusion of your current involvement in Midgard hostilities, this commission will be placed on the inactive list. Lieutenant Murdock, do you accept?" The small screen vanished.
"Say something George," said Miriam. "Say I accept."
"I accept," said George.
The insert screen popped up again.
"Lieutenant Commander Murdock. For destroying thirty six enemy ships in two engagements, you are hereby acknowledged as an Ace and awarded the Silver Star. Further, for Gallantry in the face of overwhelming fire and protecting the lives of Space Force personnel at risk of your own, you are awarded the Space Force Cross. Congratulations Lieutenant Commander." The popup vanished.
There was a round of hand shaking and congratulations for George.
"The room will come to attention once more," said Greer.
The Admiral popped up again.
"Commander Hunter. For risking your life in the service of, and protection of, American Space Forces, you are hereby offered a commission in the American Space Forces, with the rank of Captain. At the conclusion of your current involvement in Midgard hostilities, this commission will be placed on the inactive list. Commander Hunter, do you accept?"
"I accept," I said without delay.
The popup flickered slightly.
"Captain Hunter. For destroying one hundred twelve enemy ships in three engagements, you are hereby acknowledged as an Ace of Aces and awarded the Silver Star with two bronze star clasps. This is the equivalent of being awarded three Silver Stars, one for each engagement. Further, for Gallantry in the face of overwhelming fire and protecting the lives of Space Force personnel at risk of your own, you are awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Congratulations Captain."
The popup vanished again. The room went crazy for a while. I found myself shaking hands with everyone, and there were quite a few hugs as well.
A pulse came in. It contained scans of American fatigues, and the insignia and medal ribbons for both George and myself. I excused myself for a moment, and quickly made up new epaulettes for each of us, and made changes to my ribbons. I added ribbons for George and pulsed him his new uniform. He glazed for a moment, his eyes went wide, and he looked at me. I nodded. We both activated the new uniforms together.
The room cheered, quickly followed by Greer's room.
"The room will come to attention once more," said Greer.
The room quietened. The Admiral popped up again.
"Captain Hunter. Lieutenant Amanda Peck. Lieutenant Aleesha Peck. Front and center please." The three of us moved to where I'd been standing.
The popup fli
ckered slightly.
"For Gallantry in the face of overwhelming fire and protecting the lives of Space Force personnel at risk of your own, Gunbus is awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. Lieutenants, while you are not members of the American Space Forces, you are authorized to wear this citation on your uniforms. Congratulations."
The popup vanished again, and the room went crazy again. Another pulse came in, and I made changes for George and my uniforms again. I pulsed the ribbon to George so he could update the girls' uniforms for them.
As things were calming down again, Colonel Smith walked to the front of the room.
"The room will come to attention once more," she said.
What now? I thought.
A new screen popped up. This one displayed General Harriman.
"Commander Hunter. Front and center please. Oh and Commander, I believe you're out of uniform!" He grinned but didn’t wait before going on. "Admiral Hallington recommended we promote you to the rank of Captain, given he was already doing so. The Australian Sector Militia ceased to use the rank of Captain a century ago, given that every freighter carries a captain. We consider it a title, rather than a rank. We use a different rank instead. Commander Hunter, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Senior Commander. Congratulations." He grinned once more, and the popup vanished. A pulse came in with new insignia.
I let everyone congratulate me again for a few minutes.
"Can I have everyone's attention please?" The room quieted. "Can all those staying on the station please leave? Commander Greer."
"Sir?"
"Can your wing launch as soon as possible please. We've some travel to do, and the day isn’t getting any younger."
"Yes Sir."
The other room vanished. I headed for the Bridge. Angel ambushed me at the cat wall, I stopped to give her a pat, and carried her onto the Bridge. I dropped her on her cat pad, and seated myself.
I made a change to my Australian fatigues for the new rank. But I left my suit set to the American fatigues. I also emailed Bob, asking him to build a new Excalibur for me, and to figure out how to fit two of them in Gunbus' hanger.
Amanda and Aleesha came onto the Bridge, followed by George, Miriam and Eric.
"Did you know that was going to happen?" asked Amanda.
Send in the Hero (The Hunter Legacy Book 3) Page 8
