TSN: Epiphany (Terran Space Navy)

by Paul Phipps

  Master Chief Hartman raised his hand at that point to attract attention to himself.

  “Yes, Master Chief, you have a question?

  “How big a crew can you have on a vessel of this size Lucky?”

  “Crew size is variable, we believe that a crew of around 1500 TSN Members and 2500 dependents is a good place to start. There is room for approximately 25,000 on this vessel and those of my Escort Vessels.”

  “How many do you need to operate, Lucky?” Asked Lt. Harrison.

  “I don’t need any to operate at my basic levels. A human crew will increase my operating efficiency immensely, but by an unknowable factor.”

  “Any further questions?” Asked Lucky.

  The briefing continued and lasted for nearly two hours. Once they came to the end and there were no further questions, Admiral Webster stood up and started to speak.

  “Thank you Lucky, that was a good initial briefing. I suggest we save that one and add in the information elicited by the questions you answered.”

  “Thank you Admiral, the briefing has been saved.” Replied Lucky.

  “Gentlemen, we are going to take a break now. Please use the quarters you have been assigned for the duration of your stay here. We will meet at Park #3 for a barbeque in two hours. That will be approximately 1930 local time. Dismissed.”

  Admiral Webster then walked over to the Trans-Portal and was gone. The Navy men looked at each other and then to Captain Johansson.

  “That was a very interesting briefing and quite frankly my head is full. I for one and going to take the Admiral’s suggestion and get cleaned up. I’m actually quite hungry for Bar-B-Que. Aren’t you?”

  One by one they all nodded their heads and then just moved in silence to go to their assigned quarters.

  Master Chief Hartman just stared as he looked at his quarters. They were enormous by the standards of the U.S. Navy. There was a carpet of Deep Hunter Green on the Floor. A table with a computer workstation was at one side of the room. Through a short open corridor there was a recognizable Bathroom and then there was a bedroom that was big enough to hold a king size bed and the other furniture he was used to seeing. But in this one was a smaller bed about the size of a long full size bed. And lying across it was a Shipsuit.

  He just stared at the Shipsuit and then he spoke. “Lucky can you hear me?”

  Lucky came back, “Yes, Chief I am listening to you now.”

  “Are you always listening to us?” the Chief inquired curiously.

  “Well, yes and no, a sub-A.I. is always monitoring the communication system. When you asked for me it informed me that you wanted to talk to me. And here I am.”

  “I see”, a pause then, “What is a Shipsuit doing here?”

  “The Shipsuit is both required apparel when on board a ship of the Terran Space Navy and in this instance it is also a gift to you for when you go back to the George H.W. Bush.”

  “Alright then, I am going to get a shower and then I am going to rest for an hour then I will put this on and go to the Bar-b-Que.” The Chief announced.

  “See you there.” And then Lucky was gone.

  Beijing China – 10 days earlier – October 23, 2026

  Headquarters of the PLAN, Peoples Liberation Army Navy

  The head of the External Intelligence Directorate is giving a briefing to the equivalent of the U.S. Navy’s CNO, Chief of Naval Operations.

  “One of our Intelligence Operatives at the U.S Pentagon has reported that the CNO’s office is in disarray over a communiqué they have received. Our operatives do not know who the communiqué is from or what it contains. They only know that it is of “Mind Blowing Consequences”.

  We know nothing further than this.”

  “What are your instructions to your operatives in the Pentagon?” Asked one of the Admirals present.

  “To continue to gather intelligence passively and to not bring attention to themselves. It has taken us many years of work to get some of them inside of the American military establishment. We should not throw that effort away unless it is vital to our survival as a nation.”

  “Very well, keep listening, maybe something will be revealed.” The Fleet Admiral ordered.

  The meeting then continued on with discussions on the launching of China’s fourth Aircraft Carrier and the state of their Carrier Aviation wings.

  Beijing China – 7 days earlier – October 26, 2026

  Headquarters of the PLAN, Peoples Liberation Army Navy

  Once again the head of the External Intelligence Directorate is giving a briefing to the PLAN’s CNO.

  “We now have some further information on the discussions going on in the offices of U.S. Navy’s CNO. He met with a Vice Admiral Crane who is the Commanding Admiral of Task Force 14 of the U.S. Navy. Task Force 14 is based around the Nimitz class carrier George H.W. Bush. The meeting lasted about an hour which is normal for a pre-deployment meeting between the CNO and his Task Force Admirals’. However our asset indicated that Task Force 14 is going to the South Pacific. This is not a normal deployment area for a United States Navy Aircraft Carrier Task Force.”

  After much discussion on the implications of this information. Their own CNO then directed that a Stealthy Submarine shadow the American Task Force and that Carrier task Force #1 centered around the Carrier Long Sung the first indigenous Chinese designed and built Air Craft Carrier, be moved to a location approximately 150 Nautical Miles East of New Guinea. And if asked about the movement of the PLAN Carrier, well then, it was a chance to do training.

  Beijing China –– November2, 2026

  Emergency Meeting of the PLA/PLAN/PLAAF

  “Our submarine, the Guangzhou, has been shadowing the American 14th Task Force in southern Pacific waters. It acquired the task force shortly after leaving San Diego and moving into International waters. No unusual activities were noted in the transit to the Southern Pacific waters between Argentina, Chile and New Zealand. Weather has been mostly normal for this time of year on the Surface. Today the Task Force obviously reached its destination as it started a figure 8 pattern holding it around 55S 140W.

  Again no unusual activity was detected by Sonar. The Captain decided to go to periscope depth and take some pictures for intelligence purposes. This is what was seen:”

  On the very large flat screen TV that covered most of the briefing wall was a series of pictures showing the American fleet flanked by an unbelievably large Ship.

  “We don’t know how they are doing it, but we don’t hear anything from that ship on Sonar. The Captain of the Guangzhou does say that he was 10 miles from the fleet and he doesn’t think he can get much closer without the risk of detection as the Americans are running active Sonar constantly. He also says that the Guangzhou Sonar Officer thinks that there are at least two nuclear powered Attack Submarines in the area.”

  “How Large is that ship?” asked the commanding General of the Army.

  “Preliminary analysis think at least two miles in length perhaps more.” Replied the Head of the PLAN Intelligence data analysis directorate.

  “Could this be an effort by the Americans to build a floating city to replace their bases in the Pacific region that they have abandoned?”

  “Quite possibly, but it still begs the question, how did they build it?”

  After some more debate it was decided that the Minister of the Armed Forces would be briefed so that he could inform the other members of the Ruling committee. Also Satellite reconnaissance was authorized and a Polar orbiting Satellite was directed to shift its orbit to cover the subject area.

  U.S.N. CVN George H.W. Bush 1950L Monday, November 2, 2026

  “Commander McAndrews, did you enjoy your tour of the George Bush?” asked Captain Welles.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact I did.” McAndrews/Seeker replied. “But probably for reasons that you wouldn’t expect. I was most impressed by your crew, their energy, drive, respect for you and Admiral Crane and of course their professionalism.”

&
nbsp; “I am pleased to hear that, and although our current technology being used on board is a bit dated by current civilian standards, it is a proven technology that has had most of the bugs worked out. Our personnel are the reasons everything does work the way it does and I am very proud of them.” The Captain said with pride evident in his voice.

  The Commander/Seeker then looked at Admiral Crane who was listening to his Earphone and waited until he was through receiving his communication.

  “Admiral Crane, Admiral Webster is having a Bar-B-Que for the men who accompanied him to the Lucky. He realizes that it is too late now to invite anyone else. But with that said he would like to offer a similar meal for anyone in your fleet that would like to attend in two days.”

  “That is a very generous offer; I believe I will accept for myself. Captain Welles? The Admiral enquired of the Captain.

  “I too would like to go but I must stay here with my command, but I will have the Exec Put out the word to see if anyone else is interested.”

  “How did you know, what I mean is, How did you just communicate with Admiral Webster on the Lucky?” Asked Lt. Phelps, who then blushed for intruding in on the conversation.

  “This Body-Sim contains a large number of items. One of which is a communications device. We do use the electromagnetic spectrum for much of our communication but for long-range communication we use a method that utilizes what could be called by a Magic User one of the Laws of Contagion. Something that was once a part of something will always be a part of that same something. This of course is a generalization but a usable one for this discussion.

  In this case a large crystal was grown in a 100 Gravity environment. Once it was fully grown it was split carefully so that each fragment maintains its crystalline structure that was identical to the whole crystal. Now when a piece of that former whole crystal is resonated, all of the other pieces resonate in sympathy.

  This then forms the basis for the communication method. I must mention that this method is untappable unless a piece of the original crystal is in the possession of the entity desiring to ‘listen’ in on our communications.”

  “Thank you for the explanation, Commander McAndrews, I didn’t deserve one, but I am grateful to get one.” Lt. Phelps said.

  “You’re welcome Lieutenant, and I am glad to answer it for you. The more that we can learn from each other the better it is.” Commander McAndrews replied in her Scottish brogue.

  “Why did you use the term ‘magic-user’ in your explanation? Is there really such a thing as magic?” The lieutenant wondered out-loud.

  “One of your scientists once said that any sufficiently advanced science or technology could only be compared to Magic if the observer didn’t have the correct frame of reference to the technology being observed.

  So I used that term in my explanation.” Seeker replied calmly.

  “Oh, I see…, thank you.

  Your Body-Sim, as you call it, is visually undistinguishable from a Human Female. So it still comes as a surprise to me when you say things that draw attention to that fact.” Lt. Phelps asked in a slightly questioning tone of voice.

  “Well, yes, it was designed that way for many reasons. It allows me to go among Humans without being noticeably different, and it provides me the capability of communicating directly with you rather than having just a voice on a transceiver or speaker.” Commander McAndrews said baldly.

  Terran Space Navy SFC Lucky, 2055L Monday, November 2, 2026,

  Park #3 was also known as Recreational Area #3. To the people in it at the time it appeared as a Large Picnic Pavilion in a park that was located in Upper State New York. A Holographic lake was in the distance and there was a slight breeze blowing with the smells of evergreens and the sounds of native birds . Eleven other men were in the Pavilion or walking around staring in wonder at the size of the Park and knowing that they were actually inside a ship and not on land.

  Admiral Webster was eating his Sandwich and his eyes were slightly glazed as if staring into the distance.

  Lucky/Comspeech Mode: Seeker, Admiral Webster, IGD 3421 has detected a submarine craft approximately Eleven Nautical miles Northeast of Task Force 14 and myself. It matches the configuration of an AIP, (Air Independent Propulsion), Submarine of Chinese Design, probably of the Swimming Dragon class. Also IGD 256 is reporting that Chinese Military Recon Satellite, Designate-Falcon Eye 3 in polar orbit has shifted to cover this area of the South Pacific on each pass instead of maintaining its normal orbit pattern.

  Admiral Webster/Comspeech Mode: “Lucky, go to full masking at this time. Seeker, please advise Admiral Crane and Captain Welles of our new companion and inform him that we are going to full masking at this time. I don’t think it is time to reveal the TSN to any other Nation at this time. And please ask the Admiral if he would like us to take care of this Submarine or if he would rather have the honors?”

  Lucky/Comspeech Mode: “All ships are going to full masking now. The Submarine is still submerged and no sensor float or periscope is detected at this time.”

  Seeker/Comspeech Mode: “I will inform Admiral Crane at this time and let you know what he wants done.”

  “Gentlemen, I hope that you have been enjoying this fine Bar-B-Que.” Admiral Webster boomed out to his U.S. Navy guests.

  “Admiral Webster, this is really some of the finest food I have had in years. And your AI’s prepared all of this without being able to taste test it? Chief Hartman said as he maneuvered a sandwich in one hand and a Beer Mug in the other.

  “Well Chief, this Bar-B-Que was originally made in a small roadhouse in Oklahoma. I liked it so much that I had one of the meals scanned and now I can have it whenever I want.” The Admiral said with a Laugh.

  “But frankly, now I need you to get everyone together because I have some serious news to pass on.” Admiral Webster said in a clear and decisive manner.

  “Aye Aye, Sir.” The Chief responded instinctively to the tone of voice. He then went and gathered everyone within a minute or so.

  “Thank You Chief Hartman, for getting everyone together. Captain Johansson as Senior Officer present of the U.S. Navy I need to inform you that we have gone into our complete Masking mode. The reason for this is that we have detected a submarine, tentatively identified and as a Chinese Swimming Dragon class. It is about eleven nautical miles away at this time and doesn’t have a Sensor Float or its periscopes deployed. There are indications that it has spotted us already though as the Chinese have re-tasked one of their Polar orbiting Recon Satellites to start covering this portion of the Ocean on its subsequent passes.” Admiral Webster told the Captain and the rest of the Navy personnel standing around them.

  “Thank you for letting us know that Admiral, what do you intend to do now?” Inquired the Captain.

  “For the foreseeable future? Nothing.” Admiral Webster said. “Admiral Crane and Captain Welles are being informed by Commander McAndrews at this time. I am deferring to his judgment. I did offer to take care of the Submarine though, let’s just see what he decides to do. In the meantime I am offering you and your men the chance to observe from our version of CIC. Interested?”

  * * *

  U.S.N. CVN George H.W. Bush 2100L Monday, November 2, 2026

  Commander McAndrews is in the Wardroom of the George H.W. Bush chatting with the Officers there.

  “Commander, I understand that you and Fleet Admiral Webster are here to talk about recruitment into the Terran Space Navy.” Said Lieutenant John Robinson

  “Yes, Lieutenant, that is indeed one of the reasons we are meeting you here. We do need people in the TSN, but because of our unique requirements and frankly the fact that any one of our ships have enough weaponry on an individual basis to destroy a planet. We WILL be examining each and every recruit to ensure that they meet our requirements and do not have ulterior motives. We are deadly serious about our mission to defend Mankind and to nurture and grow it.” Commander McAndrews stated firmly.

  “What are your othe
r reasons for meeting us here instead of going directly to Washington and discussing this with our civilian leadership?” asked Lt. Commander Sarah Bastin

  “Well, let’s see… You have recently gone through a second Civil War. That means there are still hard feelings on both sides. Some may be repressed but they are still there. If we were to show up outside of Washington DC like we did here. There would be mass panic immediately and your News people would be doing all they could to fan the flames. And we all know why… chaos, blood, disaster mean ratings to them.