The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet

by Michael Chatfield

  “Might! Do you know how much time it takes to get out the dents you put in the armour!”

  “You showed us maintenance, just show them all how to look after their kit, plus the tools and I’ll see they look after it and take any issues to you. They need to fight in their armour, the more time they spend in it the more used to it they’ll be.”

  “It would make it easier on the armourers who’re all trying to make the armour more amenable to your body types!” He said, clearly frustrated.

  “Alright I’ll have a talk with Henry and set something up, in the meantime, do you have anything like a mat for Mechas?”

  “A mat?”

  “Something they can fall onto or hit and not damage the bay or their Mechas.”

  “I think that there’s some insulation around.”

  “That’s good idea. Have to talk to Eddie, to see if he can get his people to set it up.”

  “Yeah he should have something up in a few hours.” He made to leave.

  “Could I charge my armour while being in it?”

  “Yeah sure, could sleep in it if you wanted just run a power line into the main feed in your quarters?”

  “Wonderful!”

  “You’re not going to sleep in it with Lady Yasu trying to sleep there.” He said in a disapproving tone. Lady Yasu was it now? I grumbled in my head.

  “Just wanted to know if we needed to sleep in them on planet.”

  “Of course.” He said in a tone that made his doubt clear.

  “Also I need you to work on some kind of non-lethal projectile for the rail gun.”

  “The only kind I can make is electric rounds they’ll incapacitate people as long as they’re not in armour. Though there is a slight chance that they will kill.”

  “Alright, something’s better than nothing I guess. Anyways I, I’ve got to go to a meeting.” I said hurriedly as my HUD pinged an alert. No rest for the wicked I guess.

  Shrift waved goodbye as he made for the nearest maintenance walkway. They were much easier to use to get through the ship than the pathways the Syndicates had made by welding shut certain doors, making it a curled maze to get to the heart of the ship.

  I went to the fourth armoury. “Alright gunners, on me.” This group was the ones that had opted to be gunners for the Golden Refuge. If I was going to take over this ship I needed to defend it. While sensors, communications and most positions that were needed on the bridge could be practiced with a Mecha and a simulation program being run as well as some sleep training and data pad tests, that could only go so far for gunners. Gunners needed to actually use the interface, change out capacitors fix stoppages, know how to aim properly, all things a veteran knew and no computer program could show.

  I didn’t wait for them as I stomped out of the armouries across the hangar and to the weapons bays. Weapons were pulled in and most of them had their guts pulled out with Kuruvians and Sarenmenti working on them. I felt the group tense as they saw the Sarenmenti. They were seen as the officers, trainers and ultimately the ones that would and could kill them with a flick of a switch. Something I was going to have to do something about.

  I found the gunner chief a Kuruvian named Brusk he looked over my group a grin spreading across his face as I said that they wanted to become gunners and they were taking sleep teaching already to that extent.

  “Thank god maybe some sentients that can hit a broadside of a barn and aren’t worried about the breakage.” A few savage grins among the crew behind me made his grin spread wider.

  “What is a pinwheel mounted one hundred and eighty millimetre rail guns’ rate of fire?” Hands shot up as he looked at them questioningly. As I supplied an explanation.

  “In our culture chief to answer a question instead of having everyone answer at once we put up our hands and the person asking the question picks an answerer.

  “Interesting.” He pointed to someone.

  “Which model chief?”

  “Medium X110 model.” He pointed to someone else.

  “With unlinked, linked motherboards or manual?” His grin became dark.

  “What do you mean by linked?”

  “Linked mother boards,”

  “That much linked together could create an AI.” I saw the answerers face split into a grin.

  “Have an auto-shutdown command feature built in.”

  “It’s overridden and the AI is growing.”

  “Grenade.”

  “All run by computer programming. It’s been hacked”

  “Homemade explosive rig, chemical compound with a manual firing Mechanism.” This made the chiefs eyes light up. You have prior knowledge of weapons?”

  They nodded.

  “They were picked for their willingness and their previous experience. Most of the people in front of you have pulled apart weapons, made their own rounds, made weapons, put them back together and in one case have a patented automatic rifle.”

  “Chief Zor!” A Sarenmenti ambled over, grease on his overalls as he chewed what looked like a baseball sized chunk of gum.

  “What you got Chief?”

  “I think we got some recruits.” Zor’s eyes lit up as he looked at the group. “Maybe, aren’t a proper race until they chew something?” The translator said in its electronic voice.

  I turned seeing more than a few grinning. There was a relaxed feel to these Sarenmenti that there had never been with the trainers. Plus after the video quite a few people understood it wasn’t the Sarenmenti’s fault that they were the way they were. A large chunk of them had been bred by the PDF to be Mechas.

  One raised his hand. “Well if you’re sharing?” Chief Brusk let out a deep laugh as Zor’s face took on a sour expression.

  “You were the one that wondered if they’d chew.” Brusk said, elbowing Zor who retrieved a tin from his leg, tossing it to the gunners.

  “That’s my personal chew, yah damned animals. Make sure I get that tin back, and you’ll be making your own after this!” He said as the tin was passed around, Brusk clearly enjoying his fellow chief’s discomfort.

  I took a chew too before handing it back. It tasted like salty raisin, yet made me feel strangely alert. I saw a few didn’t like the taste, but no one spit it out as a small smile grew on my face.

  “Chiefs I think I’ll leave them in your capable hands.” I said as few of the Sarenmenti/Kuruvian gunner teams wandered over to inspect the newbie’s.

  “Thank you commander, we’ll make them fine gun bunnies yet!”

  “If you ever are able to make chewing tobacco maybe some games between the AMC and gunner core might be in order for a prize.”

  “Indeed.” Brusk said looking thoughtful.

  I gave them all a two finger salute as I walked out of the deck.

  “Let’s see what you know other than damned numbers! Ready the deck for simulation!”

  I looked back at the two chiefs seeing the same gleam in his Henry and my physical trainer for MAT had had in their eyes. The look that all military trainers seemed to have when promising new meat was given to them to turn into hardened veterans to be proud of.

  Zor gave me a two finger salute. I grinned as I returned it. I thought I saw a hint of a grin under his unrelenting chewing.

  I walked back into Mecha territory making sure the kids hadn’t set fire to the place in the time I’d left I thought with a grin; before I settled into a professional mask as I stomped through the hangar which was filled with training Mechas. It was a good sight, we were finally getting organized.

  I looked around happily as I returned to the fourth armoury, grabbing a stool and began the last meeting I’d have before we made it to Chaleel.

  Chapter Best Laid Plans

  “Alright Min Hae.” I said. He’d been waiting as a holographic projector fired up and a star system filled the area between us. Planets with little descriptions were highlighted.

  “This planet matches the projected one we saw in the hangar.” He zoomed into the planet.

&nb
sp; “I didn’t know we had access to sensors.”

  “We only got access to them today, I was wary as we still don’t know much about the base coding but I thought it was worth the risk.” Resilient is worth her weight in gold.

  “I agree, continue.”

  He zoomed in on the planet which now swelled the screen.

  “At this range we can pick up fifteen different power stations, as well as three orbital platforms along the planets equator used to pass goods into space via elevators for ships to dock and trade. As we entered the system the ships that were docked with these platforms all lit their drives and powered away.

  I haven’t been able to identify weapon systems as we don’t know what to look for at this point and we may be too far away to pick up that kind of detail. We’ll know more later, but we assume there’s something at least on the platform but they’re all civilian so they won’t do very well against the battering they’ll get from the Imperial Dreadnought and her sisters.” He zoomed in on the massive elevators that extended from the surface of the planet, and into the orbiting path around the planet.

  “The platforms from intercepted comms traffic look like simple harvest collectors. From the planet’s surface she looks to be a farm planet she makes food and sells it from the platforms to ships coming and going. From the platforms and the fact she has three makes me think it’s a very profitable planet.” Eddie put in.

  “Alright pass the information to the others and bring up those power plants get as much detail on them.”

  With grim determination we ran through scenarios for each looked for the best landing sites, entrance points and defensive formations. Everything we needed to invade another planet, take over multiple power plants and hold them for an unknown period of time.

  Eddie was up next, he looked over the planets hologram picking out probable areas where he thought the machines to make the kill switch disablers would be located. As well as information centres, we were still critically low on information and we needed more to convince the humans in the fleet. Hell we still didn’t have a tenth of the information I wished we had for the planetary invasion.

  Finally all of the assaults planned as well as hopeful drops into areas we hoped held information and the fabbers we needed and we sat back feeling drained.

  “Alright people make sure to get everyone rested and give them plenty of time dealing with their own personal issues. Take your people by groups to the mess so they get something in them. We’re going into combat possibly tomorrow so we need to be ready.” I said wondering to myself where the time had gone as I’d rushed around the ship constantly.

  “You’ve made me proud to serve with you, hopefully we can find out what we need to know and figure out a plan of what to do afterwards.” I said catching Min Hae in my peripherals.

  “I’m going to grab some food, and then some sleep.” I said slapping my gauntleted hands against my legs. With that the meeting was over as people talked to one another. I got into a rack and took off my armour, I liked the comfort it gave me while wearing it, but I didn’t want to be sore and chafed from the un-adjusted soft points which I numbly adjusted. I didn’t realize how much training and planning tired someone out. I wandered to the mess everyone seeming a little nervous around me, but thankfully not stopping me as I got some of the same old slop. What I would do for a steak, or just something to put my teeth into!

  I looked around the room scanning for a seat and seeing Yasu saying goodbye to a couple she knew as she sat by herself. For once I felt sorry for her as she sat alone isolated eating her food a sad expression on her face. Fate is for cowards I thought to myself as I walked over, not really understanding why I did.

  She looked at me with a surprised look as I began eating my goop.

  “Why are you eating with me?” She said in such a way that made it sound as if I was the one disgusted with her. This was probably one of the dumber ideas I’d had.

  “Why not?” I said with a light smile. Small steps. I reminded myself as I continued eating. I smiled into my bowl as she looked into her own bowl and I thought I saw her lips quiver upward for a millisecond before she relaxed minutely and continued eating.

  We ate in companionable silence both thinking over our own issues before we left together. I used the head first and promptly passed out on my pillow on the floor I was too tired from running around the ship to deal with the thought that Yasu would kill me in my sleep. I had bigger things to worry about and even that would have to wait till after we took the power plants on the planet.

  I awoke in a cold sweat. I felt as if I was going to throw up and I was more scared than I’d been in my entire life. I flexed my forearms trying to feel the control I at least had over my own body. What I hadn’t been worrying about while I was awake hit me like a wave. I saw all the ways that what I was doing could go wrong and it could lead to all of the members of MT, hell all of the twenty thousand humans that where a part of this fleet, there were so many variables so many unknowns.

  I picked myself up trying to tide over my anxiousness as I looked at Yasu sleeping. I was going to turn away but the look of peace on her face made me pause as I studied the sheets which were all that separated us, and well my battle suit.

  Her long legs were drawn up to her, framed by the sheet as well as her side and her delicate looking but strong arms. Her face drew me in though her heart shaped face framing her eyes and mouth which was fuller than I thought as she wasn’t pressing them together in an angry expression. I leaned on the edge of the bed studying her hair she’d left free making a halo around her head but not taking away from her beauty.

  I thought of the small glimmer of a smile I’d seen in the mess I grinned, my mouth turning into a soft smile as I looked at her. She is beautiful.

  She might’ve trained to be a fighter her entire life but there was something soft in her.

  I forgot about war, the possibility of death or the dark thoughts I had about going on. “I wish I could see you smile before I die.” I said softly a sad smile coming to my face and my eyes becoming watery.

  “You big softie.” I admonished myself as sadness overwhelmed me at the possibility of never seeing that.

  “Hopefully someone somewhere will be able to smile because of what we do today.” I said to myself happy at that possibility, even if I was no longer alive to see it.

  Soberly I walked out of my room and into the mess I found a lot of people that had been having a hard time sleeping I nodded to them content to be in my own world as I got a squeeze bottle of goop and continued down to the armoury.

  “Report?” I said any nervousness I had gone as the person on watch came over to me giving me a data pad.

  “We’ve continued our current course we’ll be in range in five hours.”

  “Alright start waking people up in three if they aren’t already.” I said as I got into my own Mecha.

  Shrift came in at that point looking like death warmed over.

  “Hey Shrift.” I aid as I studied his appearance.

  “You owe me more beers—as you call it—than you can count.”

  “So you get it all done?

  “Got it all done? Did you understand what you asked us to do? We had to refit four thousand Mecha’s for people, as well as design and make enough damned stun rounds for everyone to have a load out for the entire battalion. We’re still making more incase they’re needed.”

  “Hopefully we won’t need them. Go and get some sleep you look like hell.”

  “I feel like it too, I’m going to my quarters, ping me on the data pad if you need me.” He said his stare making it clear to not disturb him unless it was vitally important.

  “Will do.” I said as he walked off through the hangar and to his waiting quarters in the inner layer of the ship with the other Kuruvians.

  I turned back to the man on watch. “Tell Min Hae as soon as he’s awake to find me.”

  “Yes sir.”

  I walked out with the Mecha now taking
off my gauntlets so I wouldn’t turn the squeeze bottle of tea into a colourful explosion from the enhanced Mecha’s power.

  The hangar was quiet as everyone had been ordered to rest. A few early risers were using their Mechas to apply resistance to their movements allowing them to work out.

  I joined them moving in the Mecha to limber up and wake up as I squeezed my purple goop into my mouth. It was a very delicate procedure, too much force and the bottle would explode. With Mechas, too much force was a very easy thing to happen.

  “Commander Salchar?” I heard over my comm. channel.

  “Yes Min Hae?”