“We’ve accomplished a lot in the past four weeks,” Admiral Flaxen commented from across the desk where he was sitting in a comfortable chair. “First Fleet is nearly at full strength; it just needs the Monarch cruisers. My yard chief tells me that the Crucible will be out of the construction bay in two more weeks.”
“That’s ahead of schedule,” Hedon commented, pleased at the news. The powerful Monarch cruiser would make a good addition to the fleet. “What about the Endeavor?”
“They’re having problems with the ship’s power grid,” Flaxen said with a frown crossing his face. “Looks as if we’re going to have to tear the mains out completely and rebuild. Probably a good four weeks before the ship’s finished.”
“Those two Monarchs will add a lot of firepower to the fleet,” commented Hedon, thinking about the numerous changes that had been made to the two ships. Heavier railgun batteries, Shrike missile pods, more missile tubes, better armor, and a much more powerful energy screen.
“They will be as good as new,” Flaxen promised confidently. “Those ships have been completely modernized and designed for battle.”
“Admiral Kinseth has deployed a screen of destroyers between the colonies and the Stalor System,” added Hedon, shaking his head. “He has ten destroyers jumping from one system to another keeping a watch out for any trace of Hocklyn ships.”
Admiral Flaxen leaned back and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. “The chances of the destroyers finding the Hocklyns before they attack us is slim. I would rather see those destroyers back here in the colonies where they could do some good.”
“I agree,” responded Hedon, standing up and stretching. “Those ships would be a lot more useful here, but I think the civilians in the home system are screaming about early warning. Fleet gave in to civilian pressure to deploy those destroyers.”
“Leave it to the civilians to interfere with the military,” Admiral Flaxen muttered with a grimace. “Have you managed to see your brother or his wife since they arrived on New Providence?”
“No, not yet,” Hedon replied. He had spoken briefly to his brother several times, but hadn’t managed to work it into his schedule to get down to the surface. “I’m going to catch a shuttle down to the surface today or tomorrow. We’re going to try to go out and eat if we can work the scheduling out.”
Admiral Flaxen stood. They were going to go on an inspection tour of the shipyard and discuss the possibility of mounting several heavy laser batteries above the construction bays. “Make sure you take the time, Hedon. Family is important, and I know you don’t get to see yours very often.”
-
Colonel Sheen was down in engineering arguing with Major Stent, the StarStrike’s chief engineer. He was stubbornly refusing to allow the shipyard’s engineers to make a minor modification to the sublight engines. This standoff had been going on for nearly an hour when Colonel Sheen had been called to come to engineering. Once there, the head engineer from the shipyard had patiently explained to her what they wanted to do. After listening to the engineer, Amanda called Major Stent over.
“The modification will increase the acceleration we can use in battle,” spoke Amanda, feeling irritated at Stent’s refusal to listen to reason.
“But it could potentially increase the instability in the drive system if used at high acceleration for too long,” countered Major Stent, shaking his head. He didn’t want anyone tampering with the ship’s drive systems. He had them fine-tuned to perfection. Hell, he could just listen to them and tell if they were operating properly. “What if the sublight drive fails in a battle due to the drive core becoming too unstable?”
“It won’t become unstable,” replied Amanda trying to be patient. “It’s been tested and already installed in other ships without a problem.”
Stent bit his lower lip, not pleased with what the colonel was wanting. He knew this modification had been approved. “How about this?” he proposed, glancing over at the waiting engineering team from the shipyard. “I’ll agree to allow them to make the modification if I can hardwire in a bypass to be used in case the drive core becomes unstable.”
Amanda thought about it for a moment. Stent’s request seemed reasonable. “Okay, I’ll agree to that if the engineers from the shipyard think it’s feasible. Let’s just get this done.”
After leaving engineering, Amanda made her way to the officer’s mess. It had been a long morning, and she still had to check requests for shore leave. While they were still in orbit above the shipyard, they were allowing the crew to take short leaves planet side. This was great for ship morale.
Picking up a sandwich and a glass of tea, Amanda made her way over to a corner table where she could relax for a few moments. She took a bite of the sandwich, following it with a sip of tea. Looking around the room, she noticed that there were only a few other fellow officers eating.
Reaching into her pocket, she read the com message she had received from her father the previous day. In it, he told her that he had gone to the storage unit she had stocked up with supplies and moved them all into the large basement beneath the house. A neighbor had come over, and the two of them were strengthening the basement as she had suggested. They had also installed a much heavier door at the top of the stairs. The neighbors name was Brennen. Amanda thought she could remember meeting the Brennens once on one of her visits home. They were an older couple close to the age of her parents. Mister Brennen had seemed very nice, and his wife had been very polite.
Looking down further in the message, she reread the part about her father thanking her for the weapons. She had managed to acquire two military assault rifles and 2,000 rounds of ammunition from a friend who had access to those types of weapons. It was illegal, but this was her family and she wanted to make sure they survived if the Hocklyns invaded. The military assault weapons should be able to penetrate Hocklyn body armor. She shuddered slightly, hoping her father never had to use those weapons.
At the end of the letter, there was a message from her mother telling Amanda how much they loved her and hoping everything turned out okay. She felt a tear in her eye and reached up with a napkin to wipe it away.
“Hope I’m not the one making you cry,” a familiar voice spoke from behind her.
Turning her head around, Amanda saw Major Andrews standing there with a big smile on his face. “Richard, what are you doing on the StarStrike? I thought you were going down to New Providence today.”
“That got changed to tomorrow. What’s in the letter? Bad news?”
“No, it’s from my parents back on Aquaria. I’m just really worried about them with this Hocklyn threat hanging over us. I don’t know when I will get to see them again. Guess I just miss them.”
“Can’t blame you there,” replied Richard sitting down. “My parents divorced when I was a kid. I haven’t seen my mom in years, and my dad is a miner. Last time I heard from him was nearly two years ago.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Amanda replied. She couldn’t imagine growing up without both of her parents. “What are you doing on the StarStrike?”
“Admiral Flaxen feels it would do me some good to spend some time on a warship. He thinks it will give me a better sense of perspective if this turns into a shooting war with the Hocklyns. Any chance you can give me a tour of the ship? I’ve been aboard the Victory some while we have been doing the refit. I know the StarStrike is similar in some ways and very different in others.”
“The StarStrike’s a lot different than a battle carrier,” Amanda responded with a grin. She took another bite of her sandwich washing it down with a sip of her tea. “The StarStrike is designed to engage enemy capital ships while the Victory supplies the air arm. The Victory can engage an enemy capital ship, but that’s only as a last resort.”
“We’re talking about installing some laser batteries on the shipyard. Ariel has suggested we install four turrets above the construction bays. With the power we have available on the shipyard, she thinks they could really do some da
mage.”
“The AIs are certainly becoming useful,” Amanda said with a nod of her head. “I’m starting to regret that we don’t have one on the StarStrike.”
“Why don’t you?” Richard asked curiously. “You would think Fleet Command would want the AIs on our most powerful ships.”
“Which is exactly why they aren’t,” countered Amanda, recalling the original argument over the AIs. “The AIs in an emergency can take complete control of their ship if the commanding officers become incapacitated. The civilians were nervous about this and only agreed to install six of the AIs on light cruisers as a trial. The trial is supposed to last two years. At the end of that time, a decision will be made as to whether to install the AIs on the rest of the fleet’s ships.”
“After working with Ariel and Clarissa, I think they’re making a big mistake in not doing it right now. The AIs could be invaluable if this develops into a shooting war.”
“Perhaps,” Amanda replied noncommittally. She didn’t know if she would feel comfortable with an AI in complete control of the StarStrike. “You said they want to install some laser batteries on the shipyard?”
“That’s what they have suggested. Do you mind if we look at the lasers on this ship? It will help to give me an idea of what’s going to be involved with installing something similar on the shipyard.”
Amanda quickly swallowed the last bite of her sandwich and downed the last two swallows of her tea. “No problem. We will have to go into the bow so I can show you how the system is installed. I think you will find it extremely interesting from a technical point of view. The only problem with lasers is that they’re a power hog. They consume tremendous amounts of energy every time they’re fired.”
“We’re installing two extra fusion reactors just for the lasers,” Richard explained. He had talked in depth to the two AIs about the power requirements for the lasers they’re proposing. “Ariel and Clarissa have assured us that will be plenty of power to operate the lasers.”
“Two fusion reactors should be sufficient,” agreed Amanda, her eyes widening at the thought of how much power that would be. “It should give the laser batteries an effective range of close to one hundred kilometers.”
“That’s what we were hoping for,” Richard said, standing up. He was really beginning to enjoy Amanda’s company. She was fun to be around and easy to talk to. She was also extremely intelligent. Richard could well understand why she had been chosen as executive officer of the StarStrike.
Amanda stood and motioned for Richard to follow her. Perhaps the afternoon was going to be more interesting than she had originally thought. She was pleased that she was going to be able to spend some more time with Richard.
-
The Avenger was far out in the outer reaches of the New Providence System. The light cruiser had been fully repaired, and Commander Standel had taken the ship out on a shakedown cruise.
“Everything seems to be functioning smoothly,” Ariel commented as she checked the ship’s systems. “Hull integrity is at one hundred percent, and all systems are functioning normally. I am detecting no strains or indications of any malfunctions. The Avenger is as good as new!”
“The shipyard seems to have done a fantastic job,” Major Winfred added as he studied the sensor and scanner screens above his head. The destroyer Astral was keeping pace with the light cruiser, staying fifty kilometers off the port bow. The friendly green icon that represented the destroyer was plainly visible on the plotting table.
“She seems like a new ship,” Commander Standel replied with a pleased grin, agreeing with Ariel. He could walk through the ship and find no traces of battle damage. The shipyard had done a remarkable job.
“We’re picking up something at extreme range,” Lieutenant Barnes said suddenly over his mini-com. “I have a vague sensor echo that I can’t identify.”
“Ariel, any idea what our sensors may be detecting?” asked Commander Standel, looking up at the long-range sensor screen above the plotting table.
“No, sir,” Ariel replied as she studied the sensor data. “The unknown contact is originating out near the comet ring. It may be a reflection off a comet or from a small cloud of ice crystals. It’s too far out to identify.”
“Should I increase the alert status?” asked Major Winfred, glancing over at Commander Standel. The ship was currently at Condition Three, which was a low alert level.
Commander Standel looked at the sensor screen for a long moment. It showed an extremely vague contact at extreme range. He could micro-jump the Avenger and the Astral out closer to the comet ring to investigate. That was probably the wisest course of action considering the impending Hocklyn threat. That contact could be a Hocklyn scout attempting to gain additional data on the New Providence System. He took a deep breath and gazed intently at the sensor screen.
He was just about to contact Admiral Streth and report the sensor reading when the contact vanished. “What happened?”
“It’s gone,” reported Lieutenant Barnes, working his console trying to get the contact to come back up. “Whatever was there isn’t being picked up on the sensors any longer. It must have been a false reading.”
“Very well, we will maintain this position for an hour to see if the sensors pick it up again,” replied Commander Standel looking over at Major Winfred. “Just to be safe, send a copy of our sensor readings to the StarStrike.”
“Yes, sir,” Major Winfred replied as he passed on the orders to Lieutenant Barnes and Lieutenant Arcles. Then turning back to the commander, he spoke. “If that is a ship out there, it could have gone behind an asteroid. There’s a lot of stuff out in the comet ring a ship could use to hide from our sensors.”
“Bob, take us to Condition Two. A practice battle drill will be good for the crew,” ordered Commander Standel, watching the large sensor screen above the plotting table. For some reason, that strange contact made him feel uneasy. His executive officer was correct. There were a lot of places out in the comet ring where a ship could hide.
-
An hour later, the Avenger went back to Condition Three and turned back toward New Providence. The Astral fell back behind the cruiser to practice trailing the larger ship in a support position. The sensor ghost had never made another appearance and Commander Standel felt relieved. It must have been a false reading after all. Those things happened on occasion.
-
Lieutenant Arcles was getting bored. Here they were in a heavily populated star system and the com traffic was almost dead. Com traffic had been restricted for the last several weeks as a safety precaution to prevent the Hocklyns from gathering any useful information about the colonies and the home system.
“Have you managed to visit your brother over on the Victory?” Lieutenant Barnes friendly voice came over the mini-com. He had set the com to a private channel so he and Teena could talk without being overheard.
“I spoke with him yesterday,” replied Teena turning to smile at Jacen. Their consoles were about five meters apart. “He’s been busy on the Victory training new pilots. He’s a squadron leader now and has been given a lot of added responsibilities.”
“Good for your brother,” replied Jacen grinning. “He’s doing well. But the two of you need to spend some time together.”
“I know,” Teena replied in agreement, letting out a long sigh. “He has some leave time scheduled for later this week. I need to speak to Major Winfred and see if I can swing a few days off.”
“We’re heading back to the shipyard shortly. I bet he will let you off ship for a few days. Especially since it’s your brother.”
“I hope so,” Teena replied somberly. “He’s the only family I have left.”
It was at that moment that a green light on her communications console started blinking. That meant an urgent message was coming in from command.
-
Deep inside the comet ring, the small Hocklyn scout cruiser had slipped behind a large rocky ball of ice. The scout cruiser had been o
bserving the human system for almost three days. It had noted numerous cruiser size ships similar to the ones encountered at the human mining operation patrolling the system. There were also some smaller support ships as well. The ship’s sensors only reached into the system to the area of the fifth planet. To move in any closer might invite detection. This mission was all about stealth.
First Leader Rhyson was satisfied that he had discovered what was needed. The human’s heaviest warships were their cruisers, and those would pose no significant threat to the Hocklyn fleet. Numerous freighters and passenger ships leaving the system daily indicated a robust civilization. There were indications of mining operations on some of the other planets and moons of the system. This would be a good system to add to the empire.
First Leader Rhyson wished he could take his ship deeper into the system and scan the human colony world, but he dared not take the risk. The human’s cruisers would be able to detect his ship. It was best for his ship to stay inside the comet ring for another two days before heading for home. The First Leader knew his superiors would be extremely pleased with his report. If the other human colony systems were defended by these same size cruisers, then there would be no problem bringing all four worlds into the empire.
-
Commander Standel listened to his new orders with surprise. Admiral Streth was ordering him to take the Avenger and the Astral and probe out by the comet ring. There was some concern at New Providence that their sensor ghost could be a Hocklyn ship hiding in the ring. Two other cruisers were also being dispatched. He had approval from command to implement a micro-jump to the comet ring. This made him wonder if command had spotted something in the sensor information that he had missed.
He walked over to the plotting table, which currently showed the New Providence System. Reaching down, he entered some instructions on a small computer screen and the table changed to show an expanded view of the area of the comet ring where the sensor ghost had been spotted. He studied the displayed information for a moment before making a decision.
The Slaver Wars: Alien Contact Page 11
