Return of the Star Raiders (The Long Road Back Book 1)

by Dietmar Wehr

  It was the middle of the night when Ajax touched down at the spaceport. Because the timing of their return was unknown, no one of any consequence was there to greet the three of them. The spaceport nightshift personnel scrambled to arrange for transportation for each of them. Luckily, the spaceport was within an hour’s air car flight time from Strider’s home. As he said his good-byes to Ajax’s officers, he discovered that Ajax would stay on New Caledon for up to a week in order to give the Government time to decide if they wanted to send someone back with her.

  It was still dark when Strider and his luggage were dropped off at his home. He let himself in and decided he wanted a coffee before he did anything else. The noise of him making it must have awoken Samantha because she came running into the kitchen and, throwing her arms around him, stopped him from saying a word with a passionate kiss. The hugging and kissing quickly led to other things, and the coffee ended up not getting made. By the time they were finished with the lovemaking, the sky had started to brighten. Samantha told him to stay in bed and that she would make and bring up breakfast.

  Strider hadn’t realized how much he missed New Caledonian food until he started eating breakfast. During the meal, he told Samantha as much about the trip as he felt he could, concentrating mainly on people he had gotten to know, like Karl Jaeger, and what he’d seen on Haven. He didn’t tell her about the proposal for AF officers to serve aboard Haven Navy ships. They had finished breakfast by the time Troy woke up and found out his dad was home. He wanted to know everything that his father had done, seen and heard, so Strider had to retell most of what he’d just told Samantha. When Troy reluctantly went off to school, Strider and his wife made love again and then shared a long shower. He needed it to stay alert because his mind and body were still on Haven’s time, and he was now getting sleepy. He checked in with General Terrington who told him to send in his report electronically and to report in person the next morning.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Strider tried to stifle a yawn as he stepped into Terrington’s outer office. His body still wasn’t quite back in sync with local time, but the two cups of coffee he had with breakfast were doing their best to keep him awake.

  Terrington greeted him a smile and a pat on the arm.

  “Nice to see you again, Captain. Have a seat. Your report has been passed on to all the senior officers, and I’ve discussed it with a couple of them. The general consensus is that you handled your end of it quite well. Your recommendations are causing a lot of raised eyebrows among our civilian masters too. The Senate Military Oversight Committee might want you to testify in front of them, but it’ll be a friendly meeting. They want to hear about your trip directly and make a show of giving this situation the deep and thoughtful consideration that it deserves. If you have to appear before them, just play along and compliment them on their insightful questions, regardless of how silly those questions might really be, okay?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Now about Ajax’s officers. Are they empowered to negotiate anything, or are they just taxi drivers?”

  Strider laughed. Terrington had a way of phrasing things differently from most people. “They’ll carry messages from us back to their people as well as anyone we might want to send with them, but they have no authority to negotiate anything. I checked with their commanding officer on the way here.”

  “Okay. I’ll recommend to my superior that we show them the same kind of hospitality that they showed you.” He paused for a bit before continuing. “I know what you think the AF should do, but what do you want to do, Captain?”

  “You mean as far as serving on a Havenite navy ship?”

  “Exactly.”

  “I’d prefer to serve on board a jump-capable AF ship, but it’ll be at least a year before we have one of those and maybe a lot longer. In the meantime, I’d like to help with the search for the Star Wolves even if that means serving on a Havenite ship.”

  Terrington nodded. “I think I’d feel the same way if I were in your position. You do realize, I hope, that if you take on that mission, you’ll have to abide by their code of conduct and respect their chain of command, even if you don’t agree with their decisions.”

  “I do, sir.”

  “Have you also considered that you’ll be subject to their discipline too? If you violate one of their regs, we may not be able to help you.”

  “I understand that, sir. I’ll just have to be careful.”

  “Okay, then. As long as you’re sure. I liked the way you justified building a star-freighter. Our civilian masters have the kind of mindset that would find the idea of the star-freighter as a good long-term investment quite appealing. Whether they’ll buy into the idea of using trading profits to pay for a jump-capable cruiser is another question. Did their King actually intend to give the impression that he and his government’s opinion of New Caledon would go down if we don’t contribute ships to the crusade?”

  “Ah…not in so many words. He clearly wants us to build at least one ship. I got the distinct impression from various Haven navy officers that once we get some promethium and learn how to use it, we will no longer have any excuse for not building a ship. They too didn’t say this in so many words, but I’m convinced that their continued treatment of AF officers as equals will be contingent on us earning that respect by actively joining the fight against the Star Wolves. I would hate to lose that respect, General. If we let it slip away by just hunkering down on New Caledon, I think we’d have a hard time getting it back later.”

  “So, they’re giving us one chance to prove ourselves worthy of their respect. I suppose we should be grateful for that. Considering how far ahead of us they are in technology and ships, they must have been tempted to talk down to us in a patronizing manner. You and I, as officers, understand that respect between warriors is a serious thing. Our civilian leaders don’t understand that, not really, not deep down where it counts. But what they might understand on a subconscious level is one of them being treated as Head of State equal to the Haven King if they should ever come face-to-face. If we can appeal to their own egos, then maybe they’ll do the right thing and build a jump-capable warship or, at the very least, the star-freighter that can pay for the warship.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I imagine that you’re wondering what you’ll be doing for the next little while.”

  “Well, General, I was hoping to be re-assigned to Fearless—” He didn’t finish the sentence, because Terrington was already shaking his head.

  “Nice try, but no, Captain. That was your last patrol as Commander of Fearless even though it was cut short. The plan was to bring you to HQ as head of the long-term planning staff. That position is still open, and you can have it if you want it. I would personally advise you to take it, Captain. You know better than just about anyone else what the AF should do, and your group’s report can reflect that knowledge. If we put anyone else there, they probably won’t push their recommendations with the same enthusiasm as you would, and that could mean the difference between us being equals with Haven or having to let them call all the shots.”

  Strider pondered that for a bit. “If I accept the planning slot, will that prevent me from serving on a Haven navy ship when the opportunity comes?”

  Terrington hesitated. “I’ll be honest with you, Captain. It might.”

  “And what happens if I don’t accept the planning slot?”

  Terrington shrugged. “I can’t really say for certain, but one thing I do know is that you won’t get another ship command. It’ll be a staff position somewhere in the bowels of the AF hierarchy, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll get the opportunity to serve on a Haven navy ship from there either. There might even be less chance if the people making that decision are annoyed at your rejection of the planning slot.”

  Strider pondered his decision for a few seconds and then made up his mind. “I’ll take the planning slot, General.”

  “Good. When the time comes to decide
who serves on a Haven ship, if you want to volunteer, I’ll support your candidacy as much as I can.”

  Strider was officially notified of his new assignment as the head of the long-term planning section two days later. He spent the next week deciding on who to request for the staff. By the time those requests were approved, the Ajax and her crew—but no passengers—were on their way back to Haven, along with the messages they had been requested to take with them.

  Over the next several weeks, he and his staff put in long hours, first to do the necessary research and then to write their first report. In it, they recommended trading uranium for promethium, building a star-freighter in order to gain experience in building a jump-capable ship and then using the profits from trading other things to pay for part of a Savannah-type warship. The balance of the cost would be offset by incremental tax revenues from the boost to the economy that building both ships would generate. If the Government was willing to spend the money upfront to get the ball rolling, they would reap the benefits over the following five years. The report also commented on the positive impact on the relationship between New Caledon and Haven if the Government showed the Haven King that they were serious about ending the Star Wolf scourge.

  Submitting the report was just the beginning of the process. The Senate wanted him to answer questions about it in testimony, and his section had to provide supporting materials to the AF senior officers who also were required to appear before Senate committees.

  Strider was sitting behind one of the senior generals giving testimony when one of his own staff sat down next to him and handed him a note. It was from General Terrington. It stated that a Haven star-freighter had arrived with invitations for six AF officers to come back to Haven to serve on a Navy warship. The six officer slots were described by function and equivalent AF rank. To Strider’s surprise, the top slot being offered was that of the ship commander. The Executive Officer would be from the Haven Navy. As soon as the Senate committee session was over, Strider found a communication station and called Terrington.

  “General, the Havenites are offering a command slot on one of their cruisers. I want it. I’ll be officially volunteering as soon as I finish talking to you, but I wanted to let you know asap.”

  “Yes, I just heard the news myself. I suspect that the Havenites were thinking specifically of you when they decided to offer a command slot. I’ll do what I can, Captain.”

  Strider thanked him and hung up. The Havenite ship was anxious for the six officers to be chosen so that it could take them back quickly. Terrington called Strider early the next morning with the bad news.

  “I pushed as hard as I could, Captain, but the decision is no. Your report impressed a lot of people, and you’re now a victim of your own success. They consider you too valuable to risk losing in combat. I’m sorry, Captain.”

  Strider’s surge of anger was quickly replaced by a cold certainty that he knew exactly what he had to do. “I’m sorry too, General. If I’m not allowed to take that slot as a seconded AF officer, I’ll resign my commission and offer the freighter captain my services as a private citizen. If the Haven Navy has already decided that it’s me they want, I doubt if they’ll care whether I’m still wearing the AF uniform or not. Either way, I won’t be continuing as head of the planning section.”

  “I’ll pass that on to them IF you’re absolutely certain that’s what you want to do, Captain. Once we finish talking, you’ll be committed. Are you certain?”

  “Yes, General. I am.”

  “For what it’s worth, Captain Strider, I admire your courage. That’s a gutsy move. I hope it doesn’t backfire on you. I’ll let you know as soon as they decide.”

  It took all day for a decision, so long in fact that Strider was certain his ultimatum would be rejected. But when Terrington finally did call back, he had good news.

  “You can go as an AF officer. Get your things ready. The ship leaves in twenty-four hours. Good luck and good hunting, Captain.”

  Strider’s joy at being able to go was matched by his wife’s and son’s sadness at the thought of him being gone for so long. Not even the prospect of finding and fighting Star Wolves could overcome Troy’s unhappiness. Samantha kept him home from school the next day in order to spend as much time as possible with his father. Richard got his son to help him pack everything he’d need for a long trip. He got Terrington’s approval to allow Samantha and Troy access to the Base in order to see him off and see the ship lift off. That was something that Troy had never seen before, and the prospect of seeing a real spaceship take off was enough to chase the blues away, at least temporarily.

  When it was time to say a final good bye, Samantha and Troy took turns hugging him for a long time. Strider found that while bringing them to the Base definitely made his son feel better, he wasn’t sure that it helped Samantha much, and it definitely made him feel worse. He made a mental note that from now on, he would say his good-byes at the house.

  As the air-shuttle brought him, his luggage, the other five officers and their luggage to the base of the freighter, Strider looked at the others. He knew two of them well. One was Tomonaga, the other was Lt. Cmdr. Caldera. Both of them had served with Strider at one time or another. The other three he knew only through having met them at the Base in the corridors or in the cafeteria. The Havenites had selected the command slots carefully. Strider would command the ship with a Haven officer as XO. Caldera would be one of two officers scheduled to assume command duties when Strider and the XO were off duty. Tomonaga would be one of three Tactical Officers. The other three AF officers would be split among the Helm, Astrogation and Engineering Systems functions where they would take their Bridge stations as part of the normal four-hours on-eight-hours off duty schedule. So, even with six AF officers, the ship would still have a majority of Haven officers. Strider was not concerned or offended by that. It was a question of trust, and trust had to be earned. He was certain that as time went on, the Haven Navy would feel more comfortable with allowing New Caledonian officers to have a majority of a ship’s officer complement. The officers and crew of the freighter were friendly enough, and Strider was pleased to see that the freighter had been designed to carry up to twenty passengers in relative comfort. When the ship left New Caledon, it was also carrying the first shipment of enriched uranium. Strider lost no time in getting to know the other three officers and they him. All six of them were also studying the Royal Haven Navy Officers’ orientation manual. He didn’t play a single game of chess during the entire trip.

  Chapter Fourteen

  By the time the freighter arrived at Haven, Strider and his team had adjusted their bodies’ day/night cycles to match Haven’s. Even so, the freighter just happened to drop into orbit while it was the middle of the night at the Capital. The New Caledonians were taken to a hotel that, while not first class, was nevertheless quite comfortable. They had the next full day to themselves as the Haven Navy administrative personnel processed the paperwork that would give each of them temporary Haven Navy ranks, serial numbers, etc. On the second day, all six were asked to come to HQ for a briefing.

  When Strider entered the designated room, he was surprised to see Corso, Jaeger and a dozen other officers he’d gotten to know on Savannah. They greeted him warmly, and everyone shook hands with the rest of his team. When Strider asked Corso why Savannah’s officer complement was here, the answer shocked him.

  “It seems you haven’t been told yet. You’re assuming command of Savannah for this next deployment tour. Jaeger will be your Executive Officer, and the rest of these officers, plus your AF officers, will flesh out your command team. I’m here to brief all of you on what you’ll be doing during this tour of duty. I’ll take over from you with my new command team when you finish your deployment.”

  Strider was disappointed that he wouldn’t be serving with Corso, because he liked the man and said so.

  “The feeling is mutual, Richard, but a ship can’t have two Commanders on board at the same time,
and I convinced my superiors that you should not have to accept the second in command slot after having commanded your own ship back home. We’ll see each other again in between deployments for the short time that it takes for Savannah to be re-supplied and re-certified as operationally ready. What do you say we get this briefing started?” Strider agreed and within a minute or so, everyone was seated in the comfortable chairs that were arranged in semi-circular rows around Corso.

  “Now that we’re all seated, we can start the briefing,” said Corso. “This will be the first deployment with mixed Haven Navy and New Caledonian Aerospace Force personnel. I’m certain that both groups of officers will work together for our common aim, which will ultimately lead to the annihilation of the raiders that the AF calls Star Wolves. You all know Captain Richard Strider well. To the other five members of his team, I want to say that you are welcome here, and we look forward to working with you. Everyone in this room understands that the six of you will have a steep learning curve as you become familiar with the way that our Navy and ships operate, and we’ll endeavour to make that transition as easy as possible, right Karl?”