by R J Murray
“Damn. That was twenty megatons. This is real people. Weapons online deploy counter missiles. Phyllis, skim the surface of that moon. Scrape the paint if you have too. Let’s lose those two missiles. Guns, open up on the first one when it gets to five hundred kilometers.”
The gunners opened up since the nuke was already closer than that. It blossomed into flame almost immediately and impacted on the surface.
“Good shooting. Where is the last one?”
A red pip appeared on the plotter as the missile got close. It vanished as it was intercepted by a mountain on the moon’s surface.
“Nice work. We still have two or more Catroph ships out there. We need to run. FTL on line and lay in a course toward our next star system. No need to lead them home.”
A Catroph ship appeared on the plotter in front of them, coming around the moon from the opposite direction of the first ship.
“Fire all tubes and guns. Evade gamma two.”
The ship made a mad twist and turned almost on her tail as the evasion tactics were deployed.
“Impact! One nuke got through. Catroph ships still closing.”
The Pathfinder shuddered and the lights flickered for a minute.
“Report!”
“Nuke damaged the FTL systems too badly to use. Power loss to main engine. Hull breech decks eleven and twelve. Engineering open to space.”
“Reload the tubes. We can’t run, but we can fight. All guns fire as you bear. Counter missiles stay alert. Evasion pattern omega ten.”
A third ship appeared on the plotter and the Pathfinder headed straight for her at full thrust.
“We get close, fire all tubes and switch to evasion pattern alpha nine. Make it at three thousand kilometers.” Steve watched the screens and his board, planning his next move.
“Three thousand aye. All tubes loaded and weapons hot. Rail guns on target. Ships taking damage. Missiles away!”
Phyllis could feel the lurch as all tubes fired, but she was busy with the controls and didn’t look up to see if they hit anything. The Pathfinder shuddered again and lost thrust. The collision alarm sounded and the ship suddenly reeled, knocking people out of their chairs with the force.
“Catroph ship has latched on to us. Second ship closing. They are activating the drill.”
“It isn’t over yet. Can the engines break us free?”
“Space normal engines are offline. Power down to thirteen percent. Hull breeched at Catroph ships locations.” Phyllis was scared to death but she shoved the fear aside and did her job.
“The nanobots are going to eat us alive.” Someone said in a horrified whisper.
“It isn’t over yet. Number one. Activate overload on FTL drive.”
“Yes Sir. Take them with us at least.” Phyllis entered her code. “Your turn Steve.”
Steve entered his self destruct codes and the bridge lights turned red. He looked at the ships clock and blinked. The battle had lasted a little over ten minutes.
“Thirty seconds to self destruct.” Betty announced calmly. Screams could be heard over the com as the nanobots found crewmembers.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven . . .”
The bridge doors opened and Steve shut his eyes. He didn’t want to watch his crew die.
“End simulation Betty.”
“Affirmative Mr. Reed. Simulation ended.”
The bridge lights turned white and Steve opened his eyes. He saw everyone sitting in shock, gripping the edges of the consoles tightly.
Red walked over to the captains’ chair and put his hand on Steve’s shoulder. Steve slowly turned his head and looked Reed in the eyes.
“You evil bastard.”
Reed laughed. “That is actually one of the nicer comments I’ve gotten after the test. Congratulations. You passed. Welcome to the fleet.”
~~~~~~
The Pathfinder was docked at FB One and the crews were on leave. Steve and Phyllis were speaking with Reed while the other command trainees sat in the outer office and waited.
“You still don’t quite understand, do you?” Reed asked. “I will keep it a simple as I can. Military training has always had simulations. They simulate flight, combat, evasion, raids, everything except actual death. The problem is that the trainees know it is simulation. Our problem is to make them believe that it is real. I once saw an old vid about this. A fleet academy test which everyone knew was fake. It was the same test for every person and every person knew they would fail and be simulated to death. One cadet got smart and cheated. He won the simulated battle. Now bearing all that in mind, could you tell me what such a test as that would prove.”
“It wouldn’t prove anything Sir. It was just a game and they all knew it.” Steve answered.
“I agree Sir.” Phyllis said.
“Did you believe you were going to die?”
“Yes Sir. We were going to blow up the ship if the nanobots didn’t get us first.” Phyllis said.
“Did you try the emitters?” Reed asked.
“They were in engineering Sir. Once we were boarded there was no time left to get them. I should have thought of it sooner Sir.” Steve said.
“You were busy. It was my job.” Phyllis said.
“No, it wasn’t.” Reed said. “That job should have been assigned to an engineer who understood the emitters or another officer. Even a noncom could have been assigned the job before the attack. After, there was no time and both of you were fighting the ship as you should.
“In reality, you did fail in that one respect but it would not have mattered. Betty had been programmed to counter anything you did. She simulated all nuclear impacts, all weapons damage and even the screams of the dying. Betty played you like a fine instrument and you were doomed regardless of what you did. Your failure was required for you to pass because it gave you a chance to face death in reality. In addition, when you did, you rose above everything and did all in your power to win even when it was hopeless. Take them with us, I believe you said. Nothing else you could have done except panic and die uselessly and in vain. Make them pay for the death of your crew, of your ship. No mercy, no quarter and no prisoners on either side. That is what this test is about because that is the reality of this war we are fighting. We have taken over from the Astangii, not because we wanted it, but because we had no choice.”
Reed was quiet for a moment, getting up and going over to a chest. He took out two knives, long thin bladed daggers. He handed one to Steve and the other to Phyllis.
“Do you know what these are?”
“Other than knives Sir? No. I assume they have some meaning for you.” Steve said.
“The first time the Catroph attacked us we were unarmed. No guns, no missiles. The Pathfinder wasn’t there yet, just the Asgard and the Courageous. Asi protected the two ships as best he could, but there were deaths and horrible injuries. Three men were mauled by Catroph nanobots. Those were the screams you heard by the way. They were real. After it was over and the three ships ran to a safe distance, the Captains went to the wounded, those who were going to die soon and gave them grace with knives similar to those. That included the three men who were attacked by the nanobots.
“These knives are carried in the right boot. These are your knives, and are never to be left behind for any reason. Each day, you will dress and place these in your right boot. On a ship, on the ground, in your homes these are to be with you at all times for the rest of your lives. These have one purpose. Never cut string, carve your initials in a tree or do any frivolous thing with these blades. I pray you never pull these blades, for on that day you will administer grace to your friends and shipmates.”
Reed sat down and crossed his legs. The trouser hem on his right leg pulled up briefly and the hilt of a blade could be seen. “Put them where they belong and then go about your business. You have some R & R coming and you should take it. Send in the next two on your way out and say nothing about this to anyone ever.”
“About the test Sir? Or the knives.” P
hyllis asked.
“The knives. Say whatever you want about the test, as you see fit. You are adults and officers, so you should be able to decide for yourselves what to tell anyone who asks.”
“Yes Sir.” They saluted, pushed the daggers down into their right boots and left.
“He said for the next two to go in.” Steve said to the four people still waiting. Two rose and went in after knocking. Steve and Phyllis left and headed for the lounge areas.
“I want a drink, a large drink and a good meal. You?”
“Sounds good to me.”
~~~~~~
“Excuse me Lieutenant. You just finished the finals, didn’t you?”
Steve looked up and recognized one of the cadets he had terrorized.”Cadet Orton. Nice to see you again. How have you been?”
“Just fine Sir. I am acting DI for a group of new cadets now. I am using your methods by the way. I never figured it would be this hard to be a sadist Sir.”
“It does take effort and concentration. I’m glad that part is over for me, that is for sure.”
“I was wondering if you were allowed to talk about the finals Sirs.”
“Wouldn’t help you much. They give different tests to each group. Ours was simple enough. We had to do a planetary survey, three different star systems. At different times, the computer would simulate a problem and we had to solve it. Equipment malfunctions, air loss, water contaminated by oils from the cooling system. There were attacks by the enemy and a few of our ships acted the part of the Catroph while we maneuvered and simulated firing, that sort of thing. They made it as hard as they could of course, but it was all just a very long simulation. Over three months wasn’t it Lieutenant.”
“Ninety seven days start to finish, just us and a standard crew of cadets on the old Pathfinder. Betty was very good. She is tricky and smart too. It was an intricate program she ran on us and we had to be meticulous in our surveys. Otherwise it was boring in a lot of ways.”
“I see. Thank you Sirs. I’ll let you get back to your meal.”
“Nice of him to stop by.” Steve said.
“Know what I wanted to say?” Phyllis asked.
“Maybe.”
“You’ll be soo-rrry.”
~~~~~~
Chapter 17 I Spy You Spy
“Sir, the troops from the last arrivals are requesting to join the constabulary. It would increase the numbers dramatically, almost double.” Fortnard handed the report to Juan.
“Double. Do we need such numbers?” Juan asked. “It would mean almost ten thousand troops.”
“We do have an entire planet to survey and more coming from what I hear. There was a request to form survey teams to augment the constabulary. Perhaps some could be used for those teams. With a population of half a million, ten thousand is not that great a number Sir.”
“I suppose not. Half a million. We have grown in the last seven years, haven’t we. Not yet reaching a point where we are crowded however. Very well. Check through the manual for formations and command structure. We will need to upgrade those with a larger force.”
“Yes Sir.” Fortnard left to finish reading the section he had started in the military guidelines. He had been reading through it for several days before bringing the matter to Juan.
“Fortnard, I am going to the space port to meet with the fleet commanders. I should be back before dinner.”
“Yes Sir. I will be leaving shortly. I need to speak with the constabulary, to let them know of the increased numbers.”
“Very good.” Juan left and Fortnard listened for the sound of his mini flitter fade into the distance before he got up and left himself. He also had a mini and used it extensively.
After about twenty minutes of reading he got up and drove away, heading for the new troops stationed in barracks nearby. When he got there he found the officers in the mess drinking lunch.
“Where is Major Bahn?”
The Lieutenant pointed and Fortnard headed in that direction.
“Major Bahn? I am Fortnard, the administrators assistant. May I speak with you privately?”
“I suppose. Not much going on here to keep me busy.”
Bahn was tall and wide shouldered. He was in his forties perhaps and his features were marred by a scar covering one side of his face.
“Foot riot in New Chicago about five years ago after the water system broke down. Big club with nails in it. Shot the bastard after he did this. Killed almost fifty thousand rioters before they got the meds in the water again.” He led the way to an office as he spoke.
Fortnard closed the door behind him. “I am your contact with the Council. Are you prepared to take Arcadia back from these rebels?”
~~~~~~
“Running a lot of maneuvers recently.” Eric noted.
“We have increased numbers of former military coming from Earth. We thought to increase the size of the Constabulary and add the Survey teams you had requested. Training the survey with the new constabulary seemed reasonable since they will be working together. After basic the survey would begin a different form of training of course.” Juan said.
“Seems even more are on the next load, due in two months. Almost another eight thousand troops. Why would Earth get rid of troops?” Reed asked.
“Good question. Are these troops older? Maybe they are retiring them and training younger men.” Horace suggested.
“No, they are all of service age. Not one is crippled or seems to be a discipline problem. It is strange now that you mention it. Prime troops banished to the far reaches of the spiral arm.”
“So Earth is dealing from the bottom of the deck. What else is new. Can we get a few loyal Acadians in on the action within the barracks?”
“We already have several. Wait and see if they turn up anything before we get too excited.” Lee said.
“Schools are the next item. We have several thousand children who will be entering our two schools this year and we need more teachers and buildings. Three new schools are under construction but the way people are having babies they will not be enough. We also need to start thinking of secondary and higher schools now, before it gets too crazy.” Juan read from the agenda.
“What about trade schools? Primary and secondary teach the basic ABC’s but we need specialty schools to teach the trades we need.” Lee said.
“What about a school for Survey, agriculture and the sciences. Alternatively, three separate schools if we get enough people. If could be a six year school, the first two for higher education and the last four for specialty training.” Phil added.
“Alright. Let’s talk with the educators and the community leaders to get some input here. We need to set funds and materials aside for schools but wait till we have a clear picture of what we need before we jump in too fast.”
“Next, the general elections. I would like Eric to run for planetary governor.” Juan tossed the idea out to see what would happen.
“No, not on your life or mine. I run a ship, not a planet. I’d shoot first and ask questions when the smoke cleared.” Eric stood up and wagged his finger at Juan as he spoke. “We may have people who are qualified to run a planet but I am not one of them. Hard enough to sit and watch the other crew get to do the interesting stuff. I will not sit here while the ships are going out there.”
“Being captain does limit our fun that is for sure. Planetary governor would stop that type of fun even more.” Horace agreed. “I couldn’t sit here, planet bound for Maker knows how long. It is nice to visit dirt but living on it, well. . . Space gets under your skin and I like it. You still should think about it.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way fellow captains but I feel you should stick this idea somewhere deep and dark. Juan, why don’t you run for it?” Eric said.
“What? Have the Earth scum for governor? Surely not. Who would vote for me, in truth? Would any of you?” Juan asked, pleased by the suggestion even if he knew it was impossible.
“I would.” Hector answered.
“You may have been Earth scum when you got here but you’re one of us now. You are Acadian and you have the right skills. Not like it’s for life, not like back on Earth. Every four years or so you have to do it all over again. If you screw up, you get booted anyway.”
“He is right Juan. I’d never thought I would say this, but you should run.” Lee added.
The others in the room nodded in agreement at the former Earth scum.
“Acadians all.” Horace added. “Go for it. You’ve worked with the farmers, the engineers, the scientist and the constabulary. I’d say you were the best known face on the planet.”
“Before we elect anyone, we need to figure out what kind of government we need. We need to get an open ballot for every person out there so they can give us suggestions.” Eric said.
“Do we pick the most popular idea?” Hobbs asked.
“Popularity is not always the best. We should investigate this idea of an open ballot for suggestions but pick those ideas best suited for our goals and for our planet. Those ideas could then be offered for the popular vote.” Juan suggested.
“What about the next planet? Do we include this government in that planet too?” Lee asked.
“I think we should let each planet decide for themselves. We follow the same pattern and once the planetary population reaches the point of self-sufficiency they do what we are doing here.” Eric said.
“What about the Empire?” Horace half joked. “We have a bunch of independent planets and the Catroph pick us off one at a time.”
“An Empire is a string of independent planets held together by a shared need and a central government whose task is to ensure they remain independent and free of enemies.” Juan announced.
“That sounds good. Who said that?” Eric asked.
“I did, just now.” Juan smiled. “It seems you barbarians have infected me with the ability to think quickly. You should be ashamed of corrupting me.”
When the chuckling stopped Eric spoke again. “An empire could be a good idea if we do what Juan said. We grant an Imperial Charter to all member planets spelling out the rights and the responsibilities of the citizens and the Empire. The planets have the Constabulary, the Empire has the fleet and the Survey Corps. We would have to have some ground forces too but maybe they should be called something other than Constabulary. We need to figure all that out too, charters and who does what to whom and stuff. Later, not this minute, but be thinking about it. What Juan said about the Empire should be the first line on the charters and the Imperial flag, if we ever get one.”
