Pirate activity was increasing in all sectors in anticipation of the military being distracted fighting a war. Organized crime was coming up from underground in anticipation of a vacuum in law enforcement. Criminal turf wars had already started. The Conservatives blamed all this lawlessness on the current administration. To combat the chaos they proposed sweeping, often contradictory, legislation intended to reduce regulation on businesses and increase protection for planetary native species. Experienced government administrators were leaving in droves for jobs in the private sector as the major corporations sought to take advantage of the corruption that would certainly follow the Conservatives’ blatant cronyism.
Predations by the “Third Force” were increasing. The “third force” attacks were frustratingly difficult to predict and often brutally effective. They were attacking both Federation and Swordsman fortifications with equal impunity. They had decimated more than one pirate installation. Organized crime outposts seemed to be taking a statistically significant greater number of attacks, but no facility guarded by less than a full battle group appeared to be safe. Third Force attacks always consisted of a cylindrical shaped formation with a hundred or more drones controlled by a single cruiser or larger ship. The cruiser was supported by up to a dozen shorter-range interceptors. The only successful defense against such an assault was to hyper immediately next to the cruiser and hit it hard. Unfortunately less than half of such attempts had been successful and even the ones that were generally resulted in the loss of the Space Force ships as well as the Third Force target. None of the drones appeared hyper capable although none had been captured. The common assumption was that the drones were launched from a hyper capable tender a distance from the target and guided to the attack by the cruiser. A few attacks on large installations had been successfully thwarted, but attacks on smaller ones had not. Orbital installations and sentry outposts appeared to be the most vulnerable.
After the meeting, Admiral Dankese slumped into a chair exhausted and disheartened. Isaac took the ship’s medical team to confer with the station’s medical staff. The engineers went off on their own. Captain Curra joined the flight crews and munitions specialists to see what they could procure. Admiral Dankese was well aware of Captain Curra’s reputation and assigned her husband and two senior Marine officers to watch him.
Finally the two women were alone in the conference room. “Admiral, pardon me for saying so, but you do not look well. Would you like me to help you to your quarters?”
For a moment, Admiral Dankese stopped being the commander of a facility housing several thousand military personnel and a like number of civilians and looked into Rachel’s eyes.
“Yes, thank you. Let’s walk. Rachel, you’re a dear. Physically, I’m fine.” She sighed and took a breath before continuing. “I feel like I have known you all your life. Certainly since you fit into a size three flight suit. I remember the first time I saw you. You were trying on the smallest flight suit I had ever seen. I was still a Captain. I remember how nervous your mother was when she realized I was staring. Had I known then who you were, I might have reacted differently. As it was, I saw a mother and her little girl trying on play clothes. I made up some story about how you looked like my younger sister. You made a comment about how if I missed her I should bring her out here to visit and to make sure I got her a flight suit that fit her properly because ones that didn’t were nasty.”
Rachel smiled, trying desperately to remember the incident.
Admiral Dankese paused before continuing. “When you return, we will be gone. Someone else will be in command of this station.”
“Why are you leaving?”
“My brother owns a construction company and he landed the contract to build a new space port on a recently settled planet. He wanted someone he could trust to handle security and who better than his sister, the retired Admiral? I have sent my resignation to headquarters. I am about to become one of those horrible people we talk about taking my military training and using it in the private sector.”
“There is nothing horrible in using your training to save lives. What are you going to do abut the Third Force?” Rachel said.
“I think that P I is the only ship that can be effective against the Third Force formation. Nothing else has the maneuverability and the firepower. You know that the ship yard at Eretz is building P I ships on the same design as the ones your parents flew.”
“Yes, I test flew some.”
“They are punching them out like Detroit used to punch out automobiles. We are buying as many as we can afford. Some of my pilots are coming with me. Did you know that Eretz has never been attacked by the Third Force? Do you know why?”
“No.”
“Obsessive compulsive paranoia on a cultural level. Nothing even gets close without being intercepted. For example, if you drop out of hyper space approaching them as you did here, they will not wait for you to jump again. They will follow the courier back and “capture” you where you are. Don’t even suggest an exercise with them. They shoot to kill.”
“Not hard to understand,” Rachel said.
“I couldn’t live like that, always afraid of being attacked.”
“You get used to it. Besides it’s not so different anywhere anymore with the Third Force attacking randomly wherever they feel like it.”
Admiral Dankese paused. “I sometimes wonder if I am doing the right thing.”
“How so?”
“Having a baby now. What kind of life will she have? Civilization is coming apart at the seams. How can I bring a child into this environment?”
Rachel smiled. “You should meet my grandmother. I listened to her give this speech a dozen times. I have it memorized. This is her speech, I can’t take credit for it. Babies are remarkably resilient little creatures. They need love, food and a few other odds and ends. Mostly they need love, lots of love. That’s really what matters. There is no perfect time to have a baby, so babies are born in imperfect times and they survive. Love your baby with all your heart. Protect your baby as much as you can and Mother Nature will see the both of you through.”
“I often wonder why we bother fighting for that bunch of self important corrupt brigands at Federation Headquarters in Houston. They despise us and stand in the way of our every move. They certainly don’t care about us. Why should we care about them?”
“It doesn’t matter if they care. What matters is that we care. We care about each other. As my grandmother says, it’s all about hope. We have to keep hope. Without it we are truly lost.”
“Your grandmother must be an amazing woman.”
“We all love her very much.”
They arrived at the Admiral’s quarters. “I may not see you before you depart. Rachel, travel safe. Take care of yourself and your people.”
“I will.”
Rachel was almost back to her ship when she heard a long low wolf whistle behind her. Rachel tensed waiting for a man to make an improper suggestion.
A woman’s voice exclaimed, “My goodness! That captain has a nice ass!”
A second woman replied, “I can’t remember one like it!”
The first woman said, “Oh, sweet cheeks! I do! Her mother still has a nice ass don’t you think?”
Rachel laughed as she greeted Ellie Mae and Elvira. “What are you troublemakers up to?”
“Who? Us? Sweet little old ladies? What kind of trouble could we be making?” Elvira replied.
Rachel held her arms wide as she had when she was a teenager on her frequent shopping trips to New St. Louis and the two women folded into her arms. “Group hug!” They laughed together for a moment.
Elvira stepped back with one hand on each of Rachel’s shoulders and gave her the once over visual scan. “You look dreadful dear,” she said. “What have you been eating?”
“Flight rations,” Rachel admitted.
Ellie Mae looked shocked. “Flight rations? You mean that frozen stuff that passes for food they make flight crews eat
?”
“Well, yeah,” Rachel acknowledged.
Elvira shuddered. “Stuff’s nasty! What does your husband the doctor say about it?”
“He approves. He says it’s a balanced diet in each package. We have Kosher and vegetarian. They come in a pretty good variety.”
“He’s a man. He wouldn’t know good food if it jumped up and bit him. Don’t you have a kitchen on that big ship?” Ellie Mae asked.
“We have three kitchens. We haven’t been able to fire them up because we needed all our personnel working to finish outfitting the ship. Besides I don’t think anyone on the crew can cook. At least no one volunteered. There’s nothing wrong with flight rations. I’ve eaten them all my life,” Rachel said.
“Nonsense! Ellie Mae, you were right. We have a new mission. Rachel Solomon Cohen, Captain extraordinaire, we’re shipping out with you. It’s time someone fired up your kitchen and made real food.”
Rachel was torn between her desire to have these two wonderfully crazy and fun ladies join her crew and her concern for their safety. “What about the railroad?”
Elvira looked wistful. “We’re no longer part of the refugee railroad. The pharmaceutical company that bought the remains of the Saturn shipyard runs the refugee railroad. They expanded it and made it legitimate. It’s a registered Federation Charity. They carry battered women and children of all religions not just Swordsmen and get them away from abusive spouses. They carry men, too. I was surprised at how many men fled with their children to escape an abusive wife. All the hospitals in the central system and even the walk-in clinics participate. A simple trip to the pediatrician can turn into an escape. It’s all so clean and safe. They don’t need us anymore. Ever since Bunkie died, it’s gotten positively dull around here.”
“My father respected Admiral Davidson. He took the old man’s death pretty hard. My mother liked him, too. He was a great help to us. I think they still miss him.”
“So, can we join your crew?” Ellie Mae asked.
“Certainly.”
“Good. We’re all packed. We’ll be right back.”
Captain Curra was waiting at the end of the ramp with Rachel when Ellie Mae and Elvira arrived pushing a large cart with their luggage.
“And who is this charming specimen of masculinity?” Elvira asked.
“Captain Grant Curra is my executive officer. Captain, please meet Elvira and Ellie Mae Davidson. Admiral Davidson’s widows.”
“Welcome aboard ladies.” He turned to Rachel. “Where should they be quartered?”
Rachel was about to answer when Elvira cut her off. “Where will we find the most corruptible young men? It’s been six years since, well, you know.”
Captain Curra did his best to hide a grin. “Probably on the hospital ship with the young medics,” he answered with a chuckle.
Elvira spotted the gray over his temples and looked Captain Curra straight in the eye. “Captain, are you married?”
“No.” He hesitated before answering.
“Ever been married?”
“No.”
“Do you like women?”
“Well, um yes, um, when I have the time, I just…” he stammered.
Rachel stepped in to rescue him. “What the captain is saying is that with as much time as he has spent on ships and as important as his job is and as hard as he works at being the consummate Space Force officer, having a family has not been a priority. Is that right, Captain?”
“Yes, thank you. Life on ships is not the best way to stay married. It would not be fair to marry someone and then leave them,” he said, relieved to be off the hook.
Elvira elbowed Ellie Mae and grinned. “We understand all that. We were married to an Admiral. We’ll stay in the military area if that’s acceptable to you. I think we’ll be more at home there.”
“I believe there’s a couple of empty rooms at the end of corridor 2,” Rachel suggested, returning the broad grin, knowing that would put them close to Captain Curra’s quarters.
Captain Curra motioned for a pair of the Marines who had been standing nearby to assist with the luggage and escorted the ladies to their quarters.
The ship and its crew stayed at the port for two weeks while they took on supplies. Ellie Mae and Elvira turned out to be perfect “cohorts in crime” for Captain Curra. He stayed “in plain sight” while they lead the teams of Marines and assorted personnel that procured what the ship needed.
Lured by the promise of adventure lacking in their current assignments, additional military and civilian personnel drifted in individually. By the time the ship was ready to leave, the crew was up to two thirds of its authorized staff level.
When it came time to depart, with the Marines standing guard as they had done the last time the ship headed out, rather than Captain Curra delivering the incriminating inventory records, Elvira and Ellie Mae did the honors. As soon as the quartermaster realized what had happened, they fled as instructed. They skittered along the passageways with security on their heels into the waiting arms of the Marines who efficiently tossed them into the ship.
Suwanee signaled that the airlock was closed. Captain Rachel Solomon Cohen said to Captain Grant Curra, who was at the helm, “Helmsman, set course for the exit channel. All ahead one fourth. Folks, it’s that time. Let’s go.”
Once they were clear of the local shipping traffic and the defensive network, Rachel commanded, “Helmsman, increase acceleration gradually to one G. Set course for Eretz. It’s time to go home.”
DEPLOYMENT - CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AFTER THEY SETTLED INTO the long trip from New St Louis to Eretz, Rachel reviewed the records of the personnel who had joined the ship at New St. Louis. Faye Anne had been busy. Many of the people she found had been recent retirees coaxed back into service, but some were on current enlistments. Rachel noticed a disturbing pattern in most of Faye Anne’s recruits. Pieces were missing from their files. Their histories had gaps. Faye Anne was one of Rachel’s most trusted friends. Did the gaps in these records mean that the people she had brought on-board were really intelligence agents and not what they seemed? Lt. Dale Hammersmith was the first person Faye Anne had brought on board. The two of them spent a lot of time together. Rachel had assumed that the attraction was romantic in nature, but now she wondered if it wasn’t professional and not in a good way. Thinking of them as romantically involved was actually more comfortable than what she now suspected. His history showed training on some fairly exotic weapons. Rachel wondered why a science officer would be trained on more varieties of weapons, particularly small arms, than a Marine? The most disturbing part of his history was the two year gap which he had entered as an enlisted electronics specialist and had emerged promoted from enlisted status into an officer position. He was significantly older than he looked.
Rachel did not want to believe Faye Anne would do something to harm them or their mission, but as she observed Faye Anne over the next several weeks, Rachel came to the conclusion that Faye Anne was definitely hiding something. Wendy had independently come to the same conclusion and was upset at the idea that their long time friend might not be trustworthy. They lamented the situation until they remembered that their parents had always carried hidden firearms even in the supposedly safe confines of a Federation ship. There were reasons their parents did the things they did. Not for the first time they realized that they had been trained for this and were following the path their parents had set out for them. Ironically, the fact that they suspected something amiss gave them a sense of assurance that their parents’ rigorous training had been appropriate and worthwhile.
Rachel and Wendy’s lives were further complicated by the fact that Rashi’s wife was Faye Anne’s sister. Esther had been even more temperamental than normal lately and Wendy worried that if Esther was reacting to something she knew her sister was doing and could not talk about.
Ellie Mae and Elvira drafted the flight engineers and the munitions specialists to overhaul the kitchen on the passenger ship
. Within two days, they had it functioning. They chose the passenger ship’s kitchen in spite of the fact that it was not the largest because it was attached to a hydroponics garden. Within a week, they had the hydroponics garden functioning and planted with new seeds. Midway through the voyage they expected to have fresh vegetables for the crew and they eagerly anticipated cooking “real food” in their new kitchen. Feeding the two hundred people whose shifts ran around the clock turned out to be more of a challenge than they could handle by themselves. With Captain Curra’s help, they established a kitchen staff rotation that supplemented their efforts.
The hard work getting the medical suites ready had been done on the first leg of the trip so Isaac and Joshua instituted an intensive training program for all hands except bridge crew. Even the bridge crew, however, was not exempted from training in life saving techniques. Since there were no training dummies, they trained on each other. Those couples that were romantically involved worked together. No one was particularly surprised when Captain Curra showed up for training with both Ellie Mae and Elvira. Although bridge crews were supposedly spared the more gruesome aspects of triage and advanced emergency life saving techniques, goaded by the two women, Captain Curra participated in the training with the rest of the crew.
Solomon Family Warriors II Page 76
