“Yes Sir” she said proudly. “With the escalation a few months back they were desperately short of watch officers at HQ. I took the opportunity to volunteer for the course and have served as a watch officer since March.”
“Very good” said Dave. Jasmin smiled at the compliment.
“I take it that it was all shore based?”
“Yes Sir but I have completed the certificate for ship based duty.”
“Excellent. Well you will get the opportunity to put that into practice here on this ship. You’ve met 2nd Lt Kiralenko I assume.”
“Yes Sir this morning.”
“It’s been a bit of a rush hasn’t it?”
“A bit Sir but I am keen to learn and make my mark.”
Dave looked at Rihan and then back to Jasmin. He smiled warmly. “Good, understudy Mr Kiralenko. He’s an excellent Comms officer. Welcome aboard Lt.”
Rihan followed her out and brought back in 2nd Lt John Conrad the new Deputy Battle Systems officer.
“Welcome John” said Dave.
“Thank you Sir.”
“John your record here indicates you were a battle systems specialist for four years before taking your commission last July.”
“That’s right Maam. I originally enlisted as a comms specialist but when the battle systems specialist aboard the Dominion was killed in an accident I took over.”
“An accident?” asked Dave.
“Yes Sir. He was a good mate. His suit lost compression during a space-walk. They couldn’t get to him in time.” Dave noted his emotional response. He could tell that John was affected by this loss still.
“So was all your service as a battle systems specialist aboard the Dominion?” asked Rihan. She knew well enough that it wasn’t.
“No Maam. I was transferred shortly after to the Medelin. I did a whole three year deployment with her and then a six month specialist course at the Battle Tech Wing on Polaris. I was offered a commission after that. I did my junior officer course and ended up out at the Wickham missile base. When they came around last week asking for volunteers for this mission I put my hand up.”
“Why did you request a transfer off the Dominion?” asked Dave. He could see John shift in his chair.
“It’s not what that file says Sir” replied John. “The Captain should not have sent Brian out on that walk. I just had no faith in the man after that and thought it best to transfer Sir.”
“OK” said Dave. “I believe everyone deserves a second chance. You’ve got yours now. Don’t blow it.”
“I won’t Sir.”
“All right. You will be deputy to Lt Crystal Wong. Have you met?”
“Yes Sir. She makes an impression.”
“Yes I suppose she does” said Dave. “She has made quite an impression here. She has an enviable record in combat and it would pay you to watch and learn from her. In less than a week the lives of everyone on this ship will depend on your skills. Hone them and hone them good. I expect you to be the busiest person on this ship. There is a replica command centre down the corridor. Use it. The XO will be in touch with Lt Wong and together they will work up a schedule of sim exercises to put you through your paces. It’s going to be long and gruelling.”
“I’m up for it.”
“OK then good luck.”
Dave rocked back in his chair. He was already weary.
“You have your chat with the pilots in twenty minutes” said Rihan.
Dave nodded his head.
“We’ve done pretty good so far” said Rihan
“I’ll call in on the medbay between the pilots and the marines” said Dave. “You better tee up that space for our boffin and get Crystal to work up that training schedule. On second thoughts ask Aubrey to manage the training for the entire command centre staff. Have her start with individual training in battle systems, comms and watch and then work up to full centre training by the 16th. Tell Aubrey to include both of us in that stage as well. ”
“OK darling but first how about a coffee.”
Dave nodded and then added “Where’s the medbay?”
Chapter 14. Resolute in warp to Klaster 1500, 13 May
Li met Dave at the elevator on F Deck. “This way Sir” said Li. “On the left there we have our sim centre with 20 domes, state of the art, very cool. It’s all self-contained and isolated from the rest of the operational space.”
Dave poked his head into the sim centre room, expecting to see a much smaller space. “It’s huge” he said. Each of the domes was a 5m bubble in which the pilot strapped themselves into a replica cockpit. Their simulated environment was displayed on the inside of the dome and for all intent and purpose the pilot couldn’t tell the difference between it and reality.
“On the right here we have the fighter ops/briefing room replete with holo display” said Li. “Now behind this bulkhead is the actual hangar. If this light is not green then hit this control here and it sends a signal to the automated access/egress system. You may have to wait before you can enter.”
“Got it” said Dave.
The big bulkhead hatch opened and they entered. It had been five years since Dave had been on a carrier and it took him a while to get used to the sheer size of the fighter hangar. He cast his eyes over to the left.
“Over there Sir you will see we have six of our Lightnings with two on the launch rails ready for immediate launch. The other four are on the apron angled for rapid access to the launch rails. Those launch rails are supposed to eject the fighter within 10 seconds. In theory we can have the whole six in flight within 1 minute. That’s one of the first things we want to test once we come out of warp Captain.”
“Of course Li, I fully understand the need for speed in that regard. So is that runway, forward of the launch rails, where these six land?”
“That’s right sir, we’ll operate three flights of four. Each has two of their craft in each hangar. So fighter hangar 1 here launches to the port side of the ship. The whole arrangement is duplicated up ahead past that bulkhead in hangar 2 where the fighters launch and land on the starboard side.”
“Got it. The Enterprise runs its hangar down the spine of the ship. We’re running two across it. Is that enough runway to land on?”
“The Lightnings are not like the old Majestics Sir, they can land on a dime. Deceleration bleed is phenomenal.”
Dave nodded “Impressive.”
“Now during normal operations you have to seek clearance to cross the runway from Control and we always do so using one of the three lanes marked.”
“Right.”
“But of course in warp we can just take a wander” said Li with a smile. They crossed over the hangar to the bulkhead, hit the control and entered into the second hangar once the hatch door opened. “See everything’s the same but facing right.”
“And what’s past that bulkhead?”
“Maintenance, workshops, spares, fuel and munitions. Oh and the tail beamer.”
“Really have we got time to have a look at that?”
“Of course Sir.”
They were still walking five minutes later. Dave turned to Li “This is one long ship.”
Li smiled and added “Sure is.”
They came to another bulkhead literally covered with warning signs. “You’ll need your pass Sir.”
“Right” and Dave pulled out the pass from the chain around his neck and swiped it over the scanner. The first light flashed green and then the retina scan automatically activated. Dave blinked and the calm female voice said “Please remain still during the scan.” The second light went green and Dave placed his right hand over the hand scanner. The third light went green. At the visual prompt Dave spoke “My voice identifies me!” and the fourth light went green and he heard an audible click as the door released.
“Wouldn’t want to be in a hurry” said Dave.
“My thought too Sir. The specialist told us that this is a fully automated weapon system. It’s all controlled from the command centre by
the battle systems guys. So there shouldn’t normally be a need to access this area.”
“Right. Massive isn’t it?”
“I suppose it has to be. I just never want to be on the receiving end of one of those lasers.”
“And there’s another at the front?”
“Yes the nose beamer access door is at the far end of the corridor on the other side of the elevators.
“OK Li I’ve seen enough. Let’s go meet your pilots.”
It took over five minutes to walk back to the fighter briefing room where the pilots and support crew were all gathered to meet their Captain. After a brief intro from Li, Dave began.
“I am impressed with what I see on this deck. You’ve done well given the short time we’ve had. I’ll be brutally frank with you. We don’t have enough time to give you a fair chance of survival. In less than a week we come out of warp over Klaster. Hopefully we still control that and you will have 24 hours, that’s all, to master the use of this deck.”
“Our mission, in this first phase, is to reconnoitre and harass the enemy at Beta Phi. I plan to warp in and exploit our ambush capability. That hopefully will mean we get out fast before we’re in harm’s way but as you all would know we can’t guarantee that. We could end up warping on top of some rogan ships. In that event, you will be up front providing CAP and ship strike. You won’t have time to plan. It will be a case of launch and react if you’re on CAP or launch and follow the assigned path if you’re on strike. It will be in your face and immediate.”
“Expect enemy fighters. We encountered them over Fulmar. They were good, especially in the ground attack roles. I don’t know how good they are in a dogfight as we didn’t have any fighters to match them. Assume they are going to be competent. Don’t be rash. Exploit the range advantage you should have with your missiles. Only a fool closes when he doesn’t need to.”
“Now your commander and I have both witnessed cases where whole flights have been wiped out because their pilots didn’t think smart and were foolhardy. We cannot afford to be like that. We are in here for the long haul. Don’t fritter your life away and risk the safety of everyone else by being rash. Keep a cool head. Don’t panic and you will have the best chance of surviving this battle.”
“That is all I have to say for now. Any questions?”
“Sir” said 2nd Lt Kay Taylor “How many times will we be warping in to Beta Phi?”
“That depends on how successful we are. If we can, in the first instance, I want to remain undetected and launch some warthogs down to the surface so we can deploy some recon elements. We need to find out what’s going on down there. I don’t want to jeopardise their chance of deployment by blasting away on the first insertion. After that we will have to play it by ear depending on what intel we get.”
“We may need to insert more force onto the ground. But if not I want to make as many raids as we can to unbalance this rogan fleet, inflict as much damage as we can, particularly on their caps. Warp time between Beta Phi and Klaster is about one day. So expect at least daily raids.”
“You say inflict damage on the enemy caps” said 2nd Lt Raj Shakra “do you envisage we will be launching strikes on them.”
“That depends. By and large my preference would be to use this squadron defensively, only launching strikes on enemy ships that are in close proximity. That way you can be out and back quickly. For caps further away we will rely on our missiles. Remember, the longer you are in the air the greater the chance the enemy will intercept you.”
Li looked pleased at the interaction between his pilots and the Captain but a check of his console told him that they had run out of time. “Sir I think we’ve run out of time.”
“Right. We will have other opportunities to discuss these operational issues. We’re going to use this time in warp wisely. You will be put through the sim-domes extensively this week and I urge you to ask questions of your commander here or any of the other senior officers that you can corner in the mess.” He gave them a warm smile. “Thanks and good luck.”
As Li walked him back to the elevators he said “Thanks for that Sir I think they appreciated your candour.”
“As I said Li, it’s going to be brutal this battle. They are so young your pilots. I want to see them older.”
“So do I Sir.”
“Where’s the medbay Li?”
“E deck above us Sir, forward.”
“Thanks. This ship is so big, isn’t it.”
“Yes it is Sir.”
Chapter 15. Resolute in warp to Klaster 1545, 13 May
Dave came out into E deck and followed the sign forward to the medbay. He was met by a nurse at the front desk who fetched 1st Lt Mary Chernside, the senior ships doctor. “Hello Sir” she said warmly. “Come to have a gander?”
“Yes Mary show me what wonders this new ship has in store on the medical front.”
“Let me introduce my colleague 2nd Lt Alan Faulkner, he was an intern at the Regulus Military hospital till last month. He volunteered for this mission the silly boy.”
“Nice to meet you Alan” said Dave “What made you volunteer?”
“Well you may find this a bit macabre Sir but I wanted to hone my emergency response skills. I’m a fully qualified surgeon, specialising in trauma, but there wasn’t that much call for it on Regulous Sir.”
“No there wouldn’t be. And you reckon you’ll get plenty of opportunity with us do you?”
“Alas yes Sir.”
Dave gave a sigh, looked at Mary who gave a shrug and then looked back at Alan. “I think you might be right. Well let’s hope you are good at what you do.”
“I hope so too Sir.” Alan was feeling somewhat self-conscious now.
“Sir” said Mary “how about I give you a cook’s tour?” and she took the liberty of taking his arm in hers, quite to his surprise, and led him through to the prep theatre.
“You know Mary I’ve recently remarried.”
“Yes I was there remember.”
“Yes I know.”
“Don’t be silly, we’re just good friends. Your lovely Rihan won’t mind, not one bit” and she gave Dave a lovely smile. In any event she released his arm so she could point to this machine. “Machine that goes ping” she said with a smile and then added in a more serious tone “actually it’s a full body scan diagnostic suite, top of the range. How I wish we had one of those on the Hermes.”
She led him through to an operating theatre. “We’ve got two of these. Nothing spared here. Sterilisation room through there. Don’t go in. This way.”
Dave followed her into a ward with 4 beds. “This is your bog standard ward. We’ve got four of these. The Intensive Care Unit is through there. But here’s the jewel in the crown, my path lab.” She pushed the doors forward and entered a large pathology room. She gave Dave a big smile as she whisked her upturned hand in an arc in front of her. “More machines that go ping than you can point a stick at. The thing is that with this and that full body scanner we can diagnose just about anything with the human body.”
Dave could see her sense of triumph and he smiled at her. She gave him a nod and had a very content look on her face.
“What about a rogan body?” asked Dave.
“Oh” said a surprised Mary “do you think there will be a call for that?”
“Could be” said Dave as he scanned the various equipment. “You know that report they did after Soln the one that had all those diagnostics about rogan physiology?”
“Yes I know the one.”
“Well it was only done on dead rogan right?”
“True.”
“So we don’t really have a good understanding of what their physical and psychological limits are. Do we?”
“No I suppose we don’t. But that was only a preliminary report. A full report will be released in due course and that will include the assessments made on the rogan prisoners we captured on Soln.”
“Yes but that may arrive too late. We should have had Evie ac
company us.”
“You mean the rogan resistance leader?”
“Yes. The Admiral didn’t want to risk losing her. We are supposed to collect her after we retake Beta Phi.”
“I like your optimism Sir.”
Dave pondered that for a moment then gave her a smile.
“You know if you collar one of these rogan warriors alive we can put them through their paces and prepare the intel you need. It’s not really within our remit but hey it may save lives too I reckon.”
“I’ll keep that in mind Mary. Thanks.”
Chapter 16. Resolute in warp to Klaster 1600, 13 May
Dave was met by Jim Bucknell at the elevator on G deck. “Welcome to all things that go plonk on the ground Sir”
“What so G is for ground is it?”
“It’s the only way I can remember which level to get out on Sir.”
“Fair enough I might use that too.”
“Be my guest Sir.”
Jim took him on a tour explaining that this was laid out very similar to F deck above, with two lateral hangars. After they passed through the first bulkhead Jim explained “In this first hangar we have our eight warthogs.”
“So the heavies are in the next hangar?”
“That’s right Sir. Beyond that are the bays for the Trojan battlewagons, maintenance, workshops, weapons, equipment, stores and munitions. Do you want to see them now Sir?”
“No time’s getting away from us now Jim. Let’s go meet your troops.”
“Back this way then.” Jim led him back past the elevators into the forward section of the deck. “Close quarter training on the left, open area training on the right and through to the front for the briefing room Sir.”
As they entered Dave said “standing room only hey?”
“Yes it’s a bit tight Sir, with all of us” as he guided Dave through a narrow corridor between the bodies.
After the intro from Jim, Dave scanned the marines in front of him. He gave a nod to Buster and Emilio and the other ex-Hermes marines that he so intimately worked with over the last year. He felt he knew them well. It was the others that he was so desperate to get a handle on.
Insurrection: Book 3 of Warner's World Page 10
