Fleet Academy

by M. Scott Cottrell

  “Hey sleepy head.” Joan said as he walked into the office.

  “Hi Joan. Everything look ready?”

  “Well that depends. You weren’t in my bed this morning, so I didn’t get a chance to get filled up with you, but other than that, I think things are progressing well for the EVA.”

  “Good. Are you and Trina up to speed on the rail gun?”

  “Yep. We got in about sixteen hours of so of practice on the simulator so far.”

  “Ok, good. I need to go see the Captain. Have the Master Chief here when I get back, would you?”

  “Aye sir.” Joan said as Matt turned and headed out of the armory.

  Matt had made so many trips to the bridge and the captain’s quarters in the last couple weeks that he could almost make the trip blindfolded. He was standing at the captain’s door almost before he realized he was there, he was so lost in thought. The captain’s door slid open before he could even press the button.

  “Well Lieutenant. Are you going to stand out here all day or do you want to talk to me?”

  “I’m sorry ma’am. I was just trying to get my thoughts together.”

  “Not a problem Lieutenant. Walk with me; I’m headed down to the mess.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Matt said stepping back to allow her out of her cabin. She stepped past him and started walking down corridor towards the first ladder, going slow enough for him to fall in next to her.

  “So what’s on your mind, Lieutenant?”

  “I have a question. At this point after we’re done with the tanker, it’s just going to be left to head out of system, isn’t it ma’am?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Well ma’am. I was thinking it would be really good practice to allow the rail gun team to practice on it just as we pull away. It would be a pretty short window of opportunity, but it would be a really good practice for them.”

  “Hmmmm Not a bad idea.”

  “We haven’t ever fired these rail guns at a real ship, just practice target drones. It would be good to find out just how well they work on a real ship.”

  “Ok Lieutenant. I’ll authorize it, on the condition that you can provide me with a safe window so we don’t sustain any damage when it goes up.”

  “Yes ma’am. I looked at the trajectory charts and the best opportunity will be just after we start to do the loop. Our acceleration as we start to pull away from it should be higher than the velocity of any debris cloud expansion. It will be a tricky shot, and they will only have about ten seconds before it falls out of the tracking range.”

  “Very well. I’ll expect you on the bridge along with your shooter.”

  “Aye Aye ma’am.”

  “Very well. Is everything ready for the refueling?”

  “Yes ma’am. The team will be ready to suit as soon as we drop out of powered flight. I have two teams, one fueling and one grabbing the supplies. We expect to be done within thirty minutes.”

  “Very well, who’s on your teams?

  “I have Commander Emerson going out with us to supervise the refueling team. That team is made up of Master Chief Wallace, Petty Officer Jenkins, and specialists Tempe and Endez. The transfer team will be myself, Ensign Forester, Specialists Denner and Tasha. My bridge person will be Ensign Light.”

  “Very well Lieutenant. Everything looks to be in order.”

  “Thank you ma’am. Commander Emerson has been very helpful with the refueling process. I don’t think I could have done it without her.”

  “She is good at her job.”

  “Yes ma’am, she is that.”

  “Very well Lieutenant. You’re dismissed, unless you have anything else.”

  “No ma’am. I have a lot to do yet.”

  “Very well. Good luck Lieutenant.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Matt said, stopping and snapping a salute before turning away to head back down to the armory. Matt walked into the armory and the Master Chief was waiting for him. “Master Chief. Thanks for coming. Is everything ready for the EVA?”

  “Yes sir. All the suits are checked and loaded. All we have to do is send them to the cage room as soon as we drop out of accel mode.”

  “Good. You’re up to speed on the refueling?”

  “Yes sir. The whole team is ready to fly.”

  “Good work Master Chief. How are you coming on the pack mods?”

  “Actually sir, I’m going to be test flying one today.”

  “Is that a good idea?”

  “Gotta be done some time sir.”

  “True, and this is the only time, isn’t it.”

  “Yes sir. I’ve done all the tests in the tank, it looks good. I stretched the life support to an hour and forty five minutes. It looks pretty good.”

  “Ok Master Chief. I’m counting on you for my insurance policy.”

  “Let’s just hope we don’t have to use it, sir.”

  “I agree Master Chief.”

  “Aye sir. I’d better get back down there sir.”

  “Ok Master Chief. Good luck today.”

  “You too sir.” The Master Chief said as he turned and left the armory office.

  “I need to go see Commander Emerson. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Matt said to Joan as he turned and headed up decks.

  Matt stopped outside the Commanders quarters and pressed the announce button.

  “Who’s there?” A rather irritated sounding voice asked through the loud speaker.

  “Lieutenant Molter ma’am.”

  “Lieutenant!? Why didn’t you say so. Please, come in,” the speaker crackled at him, her mood obviously changed by who it was that was interrupting whatever she was doing. Matt hit the door open button and the door slid back. Matt stepped into the room and as the door closed behind him, he was left in the subdued light she had set. Matt looked around and was surprised at how large the Commander’s quarters were. She had a small sitting area with a small table, a couple chairs and a comfy looking sofa. The sleeping area seemed to be separated from this area by a wall. Matt was almost startled when he saw the Commander move from the somewhat darker sleeping area into the living area. She was dressed in a long white fluffy robe that was hanging open down the front. Even in the dimness of the room, Matt could tell that there was nothing else on. “Well, Lieutenant, I didn’t expect to see you before the EVA.”

  “Sorry ma’am. I just wanted to check with you on a few things.”

  “Business?” she asked as she moved closer to him, her hips moving seductively, causing the robe to spread as she walked, showing off her white thighs and her arrow of black hair pointing to her more private regions. “Business is no fun Lieutenant.” She said as she stepped up to within a few inches of him. She put both hands on the small zipper pull of his jump suit and began to slowly slide it down. “Can’t you think of anything more fun to do right before a dangerous mission?”

  “Um, no ma’am.” Matt stammered a bit nervously.

  “A woman invites you into her quarters dressed like this and you can’t think of a thing to do with her?” she asked with a pout on her face as her hands reached the end of the travel of the zipper. “Are you quite sure?” She asked raising her hands to his shoulders and pushing the jump suit off of them to slide down his body.

  “You look a bit tense. How about I relax you a little bit?” She asked, running her fingers up and down his now exposed chest. She shrugged her shoulders, causing the robe to slide off of them and down her arms. She straightened her arms and the material pooled at her feet, leaving her completely naked in front of him. She leaned forward and brushed her hard nipples across his chest as she put her arms around his neck. She pulled him closer to her, pressing her huge breasts into his chest as her mouth sought his, flicking her tongue across his lips to encourage them to open. She was not disappointed and her tongue was quickly invading Matt’s mouth as they kissed. After several minutes she pulled him toward the sofa, making him shuffle his way, his jump suit pooled around his legs. She turned them and pushed
him gently backward, making him fall into a sitting position on the cushions. She wasted no time pulling his jump suit off his ankles and then climbing up his body, until she was kneeling over him, her knees on the sofa cushions, and one leg on each side of his hips. She leaned toward him, offering up her sensitive nipples to his lips, a slight moan coming from her as he sucked one of them into his mouth.

  It was less than fifteen minutes until coast as they made their way down to the suit room, both of them still covered with a light sheen of sweat under their blue jump suits. The Commander made good time down to the suit locker room, sliding the ladders and walking the corridors at a quick pace, with Matt following close behind. The rest of the teams were arriving as well and the room was soon filled with chatter as the nine of them stripped and began pulling on their cool suits. Most of the chatter was girl talk, with Matt and Master Chief Wallace being greatly outnumbered by the female team members.

  “How did I end up with so many women on the teams, Master Chief?” Matt asked him from across the room.

  “I don’t think you can avoid it sir. I’ve noticed that the number of women applying to the loading and suits division has been increasing over the last couple years.”

  “Any idea why, Master Chief?”

  “No sir.” He replied matter of factly.

  “That’s easy.” Petty Officer Jenkins said from where she was standing in just her panties a few feet from them. “Where else can a woman get naked and have it be in the line of duty. Some of that hormone stuff we have to deal with tends to push us a bit toward the exhibitionist side.” She said as she pushed her panties off and tossed them across the aisle into Matt’s lap. “Besides, we enjoy the view too.”

  “Whatever you say, Jenkins.” The Master Chief said, shaking his head. “I personally think that you’re all just a bunch of horny twats.”

  “That’s enough Master Chief!” Commander Emerson snapped, standing with her bottoms only half on and nothing covering her massive wiggling tits. “You keep that kind of an attitude and language going and you’re going to find out just how unpleasant I can get.”

  “Sorry ma’am. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

  “Very well Master Chief. But in the future I would rather you find different terms to expound on your personal feelings.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  The locker room remained quiet for long minutes, with the exception of the rustle of clothing being pulled on and locker doors opening and closing.

  “Attention on the ship!” The loudspeaker at the end of the suit locker room boomed. “Coast phase now started. All areas clear for entry.”

  “Well, that’s us!” The master chief said, getting up from the bench. “Let's hit it.” The group filed toward the large suit room air lock, each person placing his thumb on the pad near the door and being given the cage number of his hard suit in return. When Specialist Denner entered the lock, she hit the close switch, being the last in line. Within a few seconds the gravity had dropped to one half g and the outer door opened. The last of the hard suits were just being positioned by the automated system, half of the suits on one side of the room, half on the other.

  Each person fanned out to get to their appropriate station. Since each person on these teams was experienced with the hard suit, Matt could concentrate on donning his own suit. He quickly located the cage with his suit and easily dropped into the lower half. In one smooth motion he hit the controls to lower the upper segment and swing his upper body and arms up into the upper half of the suit, after connecting his cool suit hoses to the lower half. He had his hands on the locking rings almost before the suit cage had lowered them far enough to mate. It was almost second nature now, to align the rings and snap the locks into place, he had done it so many times in the last few weeks. Matt pulled the helmet from the retainers and put it over his head before the automated system had even retracted the upper suit holding mechanism. He quickly started the auto testing sequence while he pulled his gloves on, making the last seal snap in place just in time for the suit to begin its pressure check. He looked at all the green lights as he felt the pressure change, and confirmed that all systems were operating as expected. Matt stepped out of his cage commanding the suit to operate in short term mode as he moved. Almost at the same time the Master Chief stepped out of his own rack, both of them nodding to each other in recognition of each other’s donning time.

  “Transfer Team one, radio check.” Matt said into the headset built into the helmet.

  “Transfer team one check” came the response from the cage room director in his booth high above the floor.

  “Transfer team two.”

  “Fueling team one radio check”

  “Fueling team one, check”

  “Transfer team three”

  “Fueling team four.”

  “Fueling team two.”

  And so it continued until each member of the EVA teams had verified that they were ready to go.

  “EVA one to command.” Matt radioed on the command circuit.

  “Command, go ahead EVA one.”

  “Ready to proceed to the lock.”

  “Very well EVA. We are holding position fifty meters from the Tanker Hopewell. Fleet has advised that it is ready in all respects for refueling.”

  Matt looked over at Commander Emerson. She held her thumb in the air, indicating she was ready. “Ok teams. Let’s do it… lock one.” Matt radioed on the intersuit frequency to all the members of both teams. The group trudged toward the locks, the hard suits motors whirring away in near silence to support the extra weight of the suits, even in the light gravity of the cage room. Lock one was standing open and waiting for them as they reached the outer hull side of the room.

  “EVA one to Command” Matt radioed, leaving the intersuit frequency on and linking in the command frequency.

  “Go ahead EVA one.” The communications officer on the bridge responded.

  “EVA teams one and two ready for EVA.”

  “Roger one, you are cleared for EVA.”

  “Thank you Command… Ok, Commander Emerson, good luck. Transfer team, you’re with me.” Matt floated off the deck as the gravity generators ramped down to zero and the outer door slid open. Matt applied a slight amount of thrust and easily slid out of the lock. As first man out it was his responsibility to do a double check that everything was safe. He did a slow pirouette, making sure to check that everything looked proper. The tanker was stationary over the top of the Saint Claire. In space with nothing close for a reference it was easy to think that they were sitting still, but in reality the two ships were flying through space at nearly fifty nine thousand kilometers every second. “All clear.” Matt called as he jetted off toward the tanker, the rest of the EVA team moving out of the lock and following him like a string of ducklings following their mother. Normally they wouldn’t dare fly this close to another ship in space, but the tanker was an exception. Mid-flight re-fueling was at best a hazardous task, and this one was going to be one for the record books. One micro meteorite hitting the refueling hoses would cause an explosion that would rip both ships to pieces. But the risk was worse than the alternatives.

  Commander Emerson headed off toward the tanker with her group of suited figures while Matt headed for the cargo hold. The controls next to the lock indicated it was depressurized, so he cycled the door open as Forester and Denner slid to a stop next to him. Tasha decided to be a bit fancy and land on the side of the tanker, feet first. Matt slid into the air lock and inspected the status board.

  “Transfer team one to Command.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “The tanker cargo hold appears to be depressurized.”

  “Stand by one…” The comm. Officer radioed back. “We confirm that it is depressurized. Fleet indicates that you are free to open both hatches to facilitate faster transfer.”

  “Thank you command. Just wanted to check.” Matt said as he hit the controls to open the inner door as well. Inside the cargo bay a l
arge collection of crates and boxes were strapped to the walls. It looked like they were already bundled together on cargo pallets to make the transfer quicker. “This looks pretty good. They packaged the stuff pretty well for us, but keep an eye on the mass, some of these look pretty heavy.”

  “Aye sir.” Matt heard Specialists Denner and Tasha respond, as they floated into the cargo hold. Matt selected a cargo container to handle and unstrapped it from the hold wall. He used his jets to back it out of the hold and slowly rotate it around so it was in front of him. Positioning himself at the point where he felt the mass was centered; Matt gave the pallet of equipment and himself a good thrust with his main thruster. The pallet started to move, picking up speed slowly. He let the load float away from him toward the Saint Claire and jetted up and around to the front side. Now that he could see where he and his load was headed, he held a strap in the middle and nudged it gently off toward the waiting airlock on the side of the Saint Claire. Matt worked as quickly as he could without risking losing the load, something they couldn’t afford to do. Unlike the training exercises at the academy in the zero g tanks, losing one of these loads could be catastrophic to the mission.