“Matt and Shane know some of the details. We’ll soon be telling everyone else when we send these ships to the Union. We’re hoping it will delay any plans the senders of the probes are making. Did you receive the new encryption frequencies?”
“Yes, all the new ships have them activated. For the moment, they are maintaining communication silence.”
“What about the sensors?”
“These new ships use the same system our advanced probes use. They have a much longer range than the probes because of the power difference. They also can scan much further than the Jukeboxes they’re replacing.”
“Well, why don’t you show me how this new ship functions?”
“We have the tutorial ready for you to have sent to your cortex.”
“Which of these ships is going to be mine?”
Cranzen smiled, “Pick one.”
Kelli looked around and pointed to the one directly in front of her, “This one appears to be smiling and calling my name.”
Cranzen smiled, “An excellent choice; I’m sure it will serve you well. When will the crews for the command ships arrive?”
“They’ll all be brought here together in four days.”
“We’ll be waiting for their arrival. The new transfer of information directly to the minds of the crews will expedite their learning of the new systems. They should be ready to immediately take their ships out and join their fleets.”
“What’s the biggest difference between these new ships and the current model?”
“The force fields are several orders of magnitude stronger than the multiple force fields currently used. This ship has three of them. The fields will stand up to multiple heavy penetrator hits.”
Kelli stared at Cranzen and shook her head in disbelief, “Are you sure about that?”
“We’ve tested them; six penetrators didn’t penetrate them.”
“How were you able to strengthen them so much?”
“You know about the holes in the dark energy force fields?” Kelli nodded. “We developed a way to close them. Dark energy is a repulsive force and any beam or missile fired at the fields will be pushed away. The new reactors that power all the new systems are also on a new level of energy. We’re hoping they’ll be strong enough to withstand whatever those beings in that distant galaxy can throw at them.”
“You’re assuming they have that kind of power.”
“They defeated the Servants in less than ten days.”
Kelli nodded slowly, “We can only pray they are.”
“There’s one thing you should know.”
“Oh; what is that?”
“We’ve also developed a new penetrator that has the new field installed; the new ship’s force fields will not stop it.”
“What about the blasters?”
“They’re different from the previous ones we’ve used. The beam they fire can be condensed to a six inch width.”
“What benefit is that?”
“It holds its power over a much longer range. The targeting computers can blow a hole through a large asteroid at eighty miles. The beams can also be widened to more than ten miles wide to fire at a planet’s surface. They’re much more flexible than those they replace.” Kelli really didn’t see it until Cranzen said, “The computers can fire the beam through the ranks of our ships at targets beyond them without hitting or damaging our ships. They’ll be a welcome tool in major fleet actions.”
Kelli smiled, “Lead me to the tutorial; I’m anxious to see what you have here.”
Cranzen smiled, “The new Jukeboxes can also fly rings around the old model. Come with me aboard your new ship. We’ll start the learning process as soon as you bond with the ship’s computer.”
Kelli followed Cranzen and said, “Is it possible to merge my current computer with the new one?”
“As soon as you bring your old ship, the links will make the transfer.”
Kelli smiled and entered her new warship.
Chapter Two
Dat walked in the front door and yelled, “I’m home!”
Gresha came out of the kitchen and rushed into his arms, “I’ve missed you; where have you been?”
“I wanted to go to Fleet Control and catch up on the status of our fleets but the Jukeboxes were all ordered to the Maintenance Facilities to replace their environmental air handlers. I thought after I finished there I would go and visit the kids; however, Fleet was overloaded with scheduling the change outs and I was told the kids were not available at the moment.”
Gresha leaned back and said, “Unavailable?”
“Yes; they said they were on a training assignment and wouldn’t be back for a week or so.”
“What kind of training assignment?”
Dat paused, “I really don’t know and they were too overloaded for me to really push them to find out. I could see on my display that they were running around like crazy. One of them would have had to stop what they were doing to go into the system to find out. I’ll just visit them in a week. Besides, fleet told me they needed my ship for software updates and they would need to keep it for five days. I had Stein drop me off here and leave for the update. It’ll be good to be home for a few days.” Dat paused a moment and shook his head, “I really miss our children, Gresha. I’m always having to be formal around them and it would be good to just be able to give them all a hug.”
Gresha nodded and reached up to kiss Dat before going to the Kitchen, “Supper is ready.” Dat followed her and she said, “Something doesn’t sound right.”
Dat sat down at the table and lowered his eyebrows, “What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you the Senior Admiral over all our military forces?”
“I am.”
“And they just happened to know our children were on a training assignment without having to go to a system to see where they were?”
Dat thought about it and said, “That does seem rather odd.”
“Something else bothers me, Dat.”
“What is that?”
“How many trips have you made to the fleets in recent years?”
Dat had a fork full of food inches from his mouth and he stopped it. He slowly put it in his mouth and thought about it. “Not many.”
“How many?”
“I can’t remember the last time I visited the fleets. It seems every time I would plan a visit, Katherine would have another place that I needed to go. Most of the places were recruiting campaigns for the military on various Union Planets.” Dat took another bite of food and chewed it slowly. “She’s been keeping me away from the fleets.”
“Why would she do that?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“You need to find out.”
Dat sat and thought about what Gresha had said. He looked at her, “You’ve noticed this before today.”
Gresha brought her plate to the table and sat down. She sighed, “I’ve noticed you’ve not been involved in fleet activities for years but I was thankful you were here with me and the children. I chalked it up to Katherine allowing you to be with your children as they grew up. Now that they’ve graduated from the Academy, I don’t see why she would prevent you from visiting the fleets.”
“You think she stopped me today.”
“I really hope I’m wrong, but something inside me says she did.”
“Maybe I should contact her and ask her about it.”
“I would think you would talk to her in person to discuss this.”
“Why?”
“You can read Katherine like a book; you’d know if she was being deceptive.”
Dat thought about it for a moment and smiled, “You’re right, of course; you always are.”
Gresha waved a hand, “I’ll go with you. I need to get out.”
Dat took another bite of food and smiled, “You are still the greatest cook I’ve ever known. We’ll take Stein when he gets back and make a surprise visit.”
Gresha took a bite of food and smiled, “I t
hink I have some things to keep you entertained until he arrives.”
Dat looked at the twinkle in Gresha’s eyes and smiled. Gresha’s hair was just as blonde as the day he first saw her. They were now in their forties and she didn’t look a day older than twenty one. Truth be told, he hadn’t changed much either. He wondered if Blacky and Ringie had done something to them. He made a mental note to ask them.
“Do you know if the children have been assigned their ships?”
“No, I hope they don’t encounter problems at being promoted to command a warship at such a young age.”
“They graduated at the top of their class. They take after their father; I’m sure they’ll do fine. How can they give ships to those with lower scores and not give them one?”
Dat smiled, “Angel looks just like you.”
“Arve looks like you.”
Dat smiled, “Your father loves Grest the most.”
“How could he not; he’s named after him and looks a lot like him. He’s also as big as his grandfather.” Gresha smiled, “He also has the genetics of a Havenite.”
Dat sighed, “He is one powerful young man. I think he could take me in a fight.”
“I certainly wouldn’t encourage you to find out.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’d just look stupid.”
Gresha smiled and knew their children were special. It wouldn’t take the crews of their ships long to see it as well.
• • •
Captain Angelica Arvolo looked at her Executive Officer and said, “Have all departments reported ready?”
Captain Stone looked at his panel, “Yes Sir.”
Angelica looked at the Helmsman, “Take the ship up at nominal speed.”
The huge white ship lifted off the landing pad and rose slowly into the sky. Angelica watched the planet grow smaller on her display and punched the speaker control, “Attention all hands. We will be taking the ship out for initial flight trials. We have three days to familiarize us with how this ship functions. I have arranged for us to be attacked by other ships over the next three days and you may be ordered to battle stations at any moment. I will also be accelerating to full speed at random and I expect all of you to go to general quarters as soon as you sense the ship accelerate. Your departments will be evaluated on how long it takes you to report in combat ready. I want to see which team among you is the best at being prepared for combat in the least amount of time.”
Many of the sailors rolled their eyes at the eighteen year old Captain’s remarks. Captain Stone fought hard not to show his disgust. He should have been the one commanding the ship; not this kid. Suddenly, Stone nearly fell over as Angelica pushed the override button on her panel and pushed the acceleration paddles fully forward. Ten small ships came roaring in on the Jukebox as it accelerated away from the planet. She turned the ship ninety degrees and flew directly away from the incoming ships and then turned another ninety degrees as the ten ships gave chase. She looked at Captain Stone, who had been thrown to the floor with the violent turns and said, “As soon as you’re able to get the ship ready to fight, we’ll turn to take on them on.”
Stone picked himself off the floor and wondered how the ship had survived the severe turns. The gravity compensators whined but held. It took two minutes before all departments reported ready and Angelica flipped the ship end to end and roared back on the ten pursuing ships. She dove under them before they could change direction and the blaster batteries on the upper hull fired and hit all ten ships that missed with the beams they fired. The Computer announced, “Exercise over; all enemy ships destroyed.”
Angelica slowed the ship and picked up her communicator, “I was told that I was given a seasoned crew that knew how to function in a highly proficient manner. It took two minutes for you to report in ready for combat. The first unit to report ready was the upper deck battery. They are the ones that made the kills. You will improve your times or I will have you stay at battle stations with no free time. I am ashamed of your effort!”
Angelica looked at Captain Stone, “I thought you told me this crew was proficient.”
“They are, Sir.”
“Do you call two minutes proficient?”
“No Sir, the sudden acceleration and changes in direction threw them off their feet.”
Angelica stared at Stone and said, “Do we ever know when we might be attacked?”
Stone stared at Angelica and saw the menace in her eyes, “No Sir. I’ve never had a ship overload the gravity compensators like you just did.”
“That was actually lower than I intend to do on the next attack. This ship can handle a lot more than what you just experienced. The limiting factor on what it can do in combat is the limitations forced on it by the crew. You are going to have to learn to always be ready to brace yourself at any moment for acceleration. You will make sure the crew performs better during the next exercise, is that clear?”
Stone said, “Yes Sir.”
“I am not going to have my sailors killed because they aren’t ready. Now go and make sure they’re ready.”
Stone left the bridge and went to every section and read them the riot act. He stopped the Helmsman in the cafeteria and said, “I didn’t know this ship was capable of that kind of maneuvering.”
The Helmsman shook his head, “I didn’t either. She did things I would have never tried, Sir.”
“What was the readout on the computer?”
“According to the systems check, she’s right.”
“About what?”
“The ship could have made the turns more savagely than what she did. I suspect the next time we’ll really be in for a shaking.”
Stone nodded and the Helmsman walked away toward the chow line. Stone walked over and put his hand on a table that was anchored to the floor. He was going to make sure he was braced against something every moment he could. Perhaps he was hasty in his initial decision about this young Commander. He would have never flown the ship like she did. He didn’t even know the ship was capable of that kind of maneuvering. He reopened the tutorial in his cabin that night and saw the information was there in the gravities the ship could handle. He had just not applied the numbers into what sort of maneuvers that would take the ship to its limits. He realized that the Captain was right; the ship was capable of more than the crew could handle.
Suddenly he was thrown forward but he had been holding on to the table in his cabin. He rushed out his quarters and kept his hand on the wall as he ran toward the bridge. He could hear the compensators whining but he managed to get to the bridge in thirty seconds. The sections all reported in at sixty three seconds and the five attackers were hit with training beams by the port side blasters.
He looked at Angelica as she said, “That was an improvement. You actually performed better than I expected. I know you can do better. This is something we have to master to improve our chances of survival. Keep up the good work.”
Angelica turned off the communication system and Stone realized he wanted to do better. He saw this Captain really wanted to make sure her crew was ready for combat. All the old skills were antiquated. The crew had to learn new skills so that they could master this newest warship.
Ten exercises later, the crew reported ready in twenty three seconds and the ship’s crew came together to celebrate their achievement. Stone knew the lesson had been learned. Every crewman held on to something to brace themselves without thinking. It became second nature. It didn’t take long before the crew understood that their new Captain understood their ship better than anyone on board. Once that realization set in, respect for her followed.
• • •
“Dat, I’m back.”
“Good, stay put, Gresha and I are coming onboard.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“We’re going to see Admiral Hull.”
• • •
“We can’t allow that to happen Stein.”
“You know how he is when he makes h
is mind up.”
“We can’t allow it.”
“Loree, we’ll try to stop him. If all else fails, we’ll have to tell him.”
“We’re not supposed to do that until next week.”
“It would be more dangerous for him to go.”
• • •
“Gresha, Stein is back; are you ready to go?”
“Give me a minute. I need to close things down.”
“Did you tell your father that we were leaving?”
“I did.”
• • •
“Stein, take us to Earth.”
“Dat, I really think you should wait to go there.”
Gresha looked at Dat and saw his immediate frown. He looked at her and she shrugged. “Why?”
“Now is not a good time.”
“I’ll repeat myself, why?”
“Admiral Hull is planning a meeting next week. You should wait until that meeting.”
“Stein, I’m not accustomed to being left out of the loop. Unless you can tell me a good reason not to go, I order you to jump to Earth now.”
“Dat, please wait for the meeting.”
“Jump to Earth, Stein.”
“We can’t take you there, Dat.”
“So you’re in on this too, Loree.”
“Dat, do you trust us?”
“What kind of question is that? This has nothing to do with trust.”
“We have to tell him, Stein.”
“Tell me what?” Dat waited a few moments and said, “TELL ME WHAT?”
“There is an alien probe that has been following you wherever you go. We’re concerned that if you jump to Earth it will fire on you.”
Dat sat down in his command chair and was stunned. Gresha said, “What are you talking about?”
“The beings in the galaxy that defeated the Servants that invaded them sent probes to the Union immediately after the conflict ended and have been spying on the Union’s activities. The number of probes dramatically increased recently and it’s been determined that all the Major Flag Officers have one of their probes following them.”
“Why didn’t Admiral Hull inform me of what’s happening?”
Star Rover-Chosen to Die (Lens of Time) Page 2
