by Chris Hechtl
“Oh, you sneaky little witch,” she laughingly accused. “That's how you were going to win the next exercise rotation? That's cheating! I love it and hate it all at once!” Commodore Fournier growled playfully. Her colleague just smirked slightly. The other flag officers around the table chuckled in their own way.
“If you're not cheating, you aren't trying hard enough,” Commodore Yashido murmured.
“Hussy,” the Neochimp growled, poking her until the Asian chimera snickered. That earned an even deeper chuckle. The two commodores were old friends; they had graduated from the same academy class and were tactical rivals.
“So, give her some more resources and she might sort out a lot of our engineering headaches,” Commodore Perot said with a nod, interrupting their byplay. There was a feeling of relief in the compartment that was almost palatable as it went around the room.
“What if they come for us? Go on the offensive?” Admiral Nilsson asked, looking directly at Admiral Sharp Reflexes.
“It'd be messy,” Commodore Perot said. “Will their people even fire? Will ours?”
“They'd have to send enough forces to knock us out. So, we'll need a means to offset that. I'd say that would take a good chunk of home fleet and even a good chunk of the defensive fleet at the jump point. I'm not sure Draken will want that to remain uncovered, even though we know the Xenos aren't around.”
“True.”
“If we start scouting them, picket Bek A, we'd have some warning of an attack,” Admiral Nilsson suggested. “And if we did that, it would make Draken think twice. He'd have to worry about us sending in a raiding force.”
“Which would ratchet up the tension another notch,” Commodore Yukio Yashido murmured.
“So far we've been lucky, and it hasn't gotten to a shooting match. Yet.”
“Yet.”
“I hope it never comes to that. But someone has to make a stand, set the example. We're it. I believe Omar's next move will be to send personnel here to relieve us. He'll also have his spooks here acting too. We can do some fumigating now. NCIS, JAG, and ONI will have to all have a good housecleaning.”
“It's about time,” Commodore Perot growled. Heads nodded in grim agreement with him. The idea of turning the tables on ONI was something a lot of them were in hearty agreement of. There might be a sense of irony in turning a “night of the long knives” against those who usually wielded them, but no one expressed anything against it.
The bug nodded. “From there, we'll need to get our people sorted out and training again. But we need to get off on the right foot for the logistics, so we need to secure the repair yard and repair ships. I also want a perimeter. No ship is to leave the system. No transmissions to Bek A. I want that understood. We'll have to set up jamming buoys to cut off the civilian message traffic. That will buy us some time,” Admiral Sharp Reflexes stated. “From there …”
Chapter 17
Bek A
So many resignations and sudden retirements threw the navy and the economy into chaos. The navy was forced to dock many ships as personnel left in droves. Some resigned and left their ships without waiting to find out if their resignation was granted, adding to the chaos and confusion.
On the civilian side, the unemployment rate went through the roof as millions of former military personnel were dumped onto the job market. Some had little savings. The navy accounting office froze any payments to them pending investigations, which would take months to complete.
The government did its best to deal with the damage and fall out. Many in the media realized that the “Emperor had no clothes” nor any control of the Admiralty. Some in the media were wise enough not to point it out and add to the chaos.
As some famous admirals left the service publicly or privately, Admiral Childress snarled repeatedly about cowards. He managed to do so in the privacy of his own office. Problems with fleet and the bases cropped up, many of the ships had to be docked, and there was little room to do so. Half of the fleet was docked or moored near the stations in long silent rows. Blinking lights of an anchor status told people that they were unmoving, their reactors were shut down, and there was no life support for a skeleton watch.
Admiral Draken and Admiral N'r'm'll in BUPERS had all they could do to scare up an anchor watch on some of the larger capital ships. The stations suffered similar problems. Shuttles moving personnel to civilian worlds, lunar colonies, stations, or habitats were overwhelmed.
Captain Prescott tried to spin the move as a part of the larger plan, to refit the fleet using the new technology Caroline had delivered. Her delivery wasn't quite perfect, and it was obvious from social media that no one believed her, undermining the trust in the navy further.
@
Commander Thistle and others in logistics command got word of Admiral Bolt's resignation. It was clear as the news made the rounds that most of the people were stunned by the Neodog's actions. Some officers and noncoms who knew him best followed him in protest.
By Monday afternoon, a silently distressed Weaver found himself thrust into command of the entire logistics department for the navy temporarily and unexpectedly as the command chain splintered. He was tempted to follow as well but realized someone had to hold the system together or it would all fall apart. Besides, he had nowhere to go; it wasn't like he had anything waiting in Bek.
Maybe, just maybe, he could do some good if he followed Horatio's advice, kept his head down, and stayed away from the crap as much as possible. Besides, he could always resign later if he had to, he reminded himself.
@
Under Admiral Shren's orders, the Judge Advocate Office put up a skewed website saying that the resignations were unlawful. It briefly halted the resignations but did nothing to help stem the bleeding in some other areas. Sick-outs were common, both among military and contract personnel. Some personnel took unscheduled time off they had accrued during their time on ships or stations.
When the truth got out about the skewed site and a reckoning was demanded, the webmasters changed the site slightly. That wasn't enough for some so eventually a hacker got into the server and torched the site and the mirror sites.
On top of that, a free Horatio campaign began. Bekians, both civilian and military, donated to the cause or walked in marches. MPs arrested the civilians when some protesters tried to get onto naval bases to hold a sit-in protest.
“I want crap like that stopped. Now. We need to be on top of shit like that. Be proactive. Get your people infiltrating those networks so they can be taken down,” Admiral Childress snarled, glaring at Admiral Hill.
“The problem is we're overwhelmed and undermanned. And I don't have the right people for the job,” Admiral Hill replied.
“Then find them. Now.”
“The other problem is this is happening on the planets. You won't see that on a navy-only facility. And, third, naval intelligence is now banned from operating in the civilian sector. Our hands are tied.”
“Then find a way to untie them. I said find the information, don't act. There is nothing stopping your people from doing that, right? And get someone on top of the social media sites! Those you can shut down, right?”
“We can do it and make it look like an accident or some other means untraceable back to us. Not that anyone will believe it,” the Neochimp replied slowly.
“Then do it.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
@
Some of the protesters were ex-military. Many were civilians. The organizers did their best to keep everything from getting violent. The law enforcement agencies warned them sternly to keep things clean. The government gave them a lot of leeway to hold protests as long as no one was hurt and no property was damaged. Some of the protest marches even held litter pick-up parties afterward.
Newly-promoted Assistant Director Ahuja was not amused to see civilian law enforcement wasn’t raising a finger to stop the protests. He went down to the capital and snarled, ears back when he personally w
itnessed a march blocking a convoy that had been on its way into the base. The gate had been chained, and ground vehicles had been moved in to block the road. “See? This is so bullshit!” he said, waving a hand to the planetary security agent who had responded to the call.
“Yeah well, we're in the middle of it,” the agent said. “So far, so good. No one has been getting hurt. That's the main thing.”
“I know. But … why do they bother? It's not going to make a difference! You can stop the hooligans, right?”
“So far, we've seen minimum property damage, no one has been hurt, and they are pointed squarely at you, not the president or government. So, what do you think we are going to do?” the agent asked insolently.
The Neodog glared. He wasn't getting much sleep and was wondering if he'd made a mistake taking the damn job. “It's not just that your people don't care. I swear some are helping the bastards,” he growled.
“You don't need to get all pumped up over things you can't control. You get as bad as them and well, bad things happen,” the agent said with a shake of his head.
“The hell I do,” the dog growled. Half of his team hadn't returned. The last he had heard many had taken on jobs with planetary security. That rankled.
“And you just did your part to railroad an innocent man and here you are getting all pissy about them getting pissed right back about it?” the agent asked as he shook his head. “You squids are a piece of work,” he said.
The assistant director gave him a sour look. “Aw, stow it.”
@
So many resignations threw the navy's accounting system, which was already reeling with the adjustments and lack of support from the Republic government, into chaos. Accounting was a nightmare. It sparked a budget debate in accounting that turned into shouting matches and people storming out.
So many legitimate or borderline legitimate retirements threw the naval pension into doubt as well. Naval accounting was swamped with concerned calls from officers and their families who had already retired.
The good news for the navy was that with the ships laid up they didn't need to pay for upkeep. The bad news was that there were issues with the ships being shut down so quickly. Then there were the personnel costs which were skyrocketing, right alongside the unscheduled budget changes to NCIS.
The assistant director returned to his office to find out that there were serious problems with the NCIS budget. His department was over budget after all of the rehiring, money spent on the trial, investigations, and bonuses to keep people happy and quiet. He shook his head as the NCIS accountants saw him and started his way. He took a step back into the elevator behind him and then began pushing buttons to get the door to close faster.
“I hate my job,” he muttered as the accountants broke into a run.
@
Impromptu promotion boards were held to fill vacancies and to bribe personnel to go along with Childress. The promoted personnel began to percolate through the navy. Captain Prescott announced the series of promotions to the media to play up the vibe. She kept ramming home that they were long overdue. Scenes of dozens of happy officers taking the oath of office to renew their service were played on the naval websites and friendly media outlets.
Captain Prescott also tried to play off remaining in service as deep patriotism. It did have some effect in rallying the troops.
Of course, for some winners, there were losers. The media sought out those passed over for promotion. Those that they talked to were embittered because they were passed over for slights or because they didn't support Childress. “Why don't you resign?” a reporter asked a commander.
“Because some of us still believe in serving. Childress and his supporters are temporary. The Federation needs us.”
Doctors Jaroslaw and Weis were surprised when they were promoted to lieutenant junior grade. Both were cynical enough to recognize the promotion as a bribe, but neither complained when they met with the new head of BUMED, Rear Admiral Yancy Culberg, at the ceremony. He was something of a mystery to both officers. He was a chocolate Labrador but had the medical caduceus on his uniform, so they at least knew he was a doctor. “You both should have been given the proper rank since you are doctors and had to deal with nurses who were officers too. Technically, given your background, you should each be commanders, but we won't go that far. Yet.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” Tucker replied with a dutiful nod.
“I wish I felt like I'd earned this. I feel … soiled. Dirty. Like a Judas, that I sold Admiral Irons and the entire Federation out,” Lee texted to him. She waited impatiently for an answer. When the admiral was finished talking with Tucker, he stepped back, and it was her turn. His fingers twitched as he typed out a response.
The admiral replaced her ensign insignia with a lieutenant's bars. When he finished, he patted her on the shoulder and then stepped back. She exchanged a salute with him. He then moved on to the next in line as she read the text on her HUD.
“I know how you feel. Just keep your head down,” Tucker replied.
“Is this even legal? Obviously, it hasn't hit our implants,” Lee typed back.
“IDK,” Tucker replied as the ceremony began to wrap up. “Dinner?” he typed.
She fought not to grimace. She wanted to do it, but she had an evening shuttle to catch since the ceremony had been delayed.
“I'm guessing from your expression that's a no,” Tucker typed. “Rain check?”
“Definitely. I've got a shuttle to catch.”
“Me too. Pity we won't be on the same one.”
“Take care,” she replied as the group was dismissed. They shook hands and went to mingle a little, but aides ushered them out so the following group could come in.
“Yeah, I'm not sure how legal this is,” Lee typed as she gripped the cover under her arm tighter. “But I'm not complaining.”
“Neither am I. I supposed the brass should have bumped us up before we left Pyrax. But we can spend so much time in uniform; I guess they figured it could wait. But the admiral had a point; a doctor is usually of higher rank than the nurses on his staff.”
“I see your fingers work fine,” she quipped as they brushed past the group lining up in the hallway outside. “Rain check?” she asked out loud over her shoulder as her implants beeped with a warning about her shuttle. “I really do need to skedaddle,” she said.
“Rain check. Safe flight,” Tucker said out loud with a nod as they parted ways.
@
Stymied with his project and lack of support, Commander Dreamer of Ships called Admiral Zekowitz and arranged a face-to-face interview at the academy. He explained his project and problems with the refit and asked for help.
Zek considered his options before he decided to take the plunge. “Ordinarily, I'd leave you to sink or swim, Commander. You learn more from doing things on your own and making mistakes. But, this is too important to use like that. And I know lives are on the line if you make a mistake.”
“Thank you, Admiral.”
Zek inhaled and then exhaled slowly. “So, I strongly suggest you focus on one ship, not get torn apart trying to do them all at once. Learn from one ship and then apply those lessons to the other ships.”
The T'clock commander's antenna bobbed. “Agreed. That would logically mean moving forward with Ilmarinen first.”
“Okay.”
“There is a problem, however; the brass wants the Harmony of Space back into service. The starships are intended to return to runs within the Republic.”
Zek cocked his head as he considered that. “So, we are abandoning our people on the Harbor Station?”
“I didn't say that, nor is it up to me.”
“Understood, Commander. Well, I suggest you focus on Ilmarinen since as you pointed out, it is the furthest along. You can learn valuable lessons there and since it is further along and has some experienced crew remaining on board hopefully …,” he paused to study the bug. The bug gave a human-styl
e nod. “Ah, okay then. You can use them to make your template. What about software?” he asked.
“I have some of the software but not all of it. I know some of the coding was done on the ship.”
“And some of the coding was done by the ship itself as it learned and settled into the role it was given,” Zek mused. The bug cocked his head at him. “Obviously, we don't have the original files?”
“No. According to Admiral Callisto, the files were destroyed by cyber security in an excess of paranoia.”
“Ah,” Zek said with a sigh. “Well, what's done is done I suppose. That just means you'll have to do everything from scratch. I've got some files I can help with. Some material I worked on with the design team.”
“I have some of those copies.”
“All of them?” Zek asked, testing the bug.
“No, not all.”
“I'll give you what I can and you can compare the files and fill in any blanks you have.”
“I appreciate it, Admiral.”
“A lot of the electronic architecture of the Federation is plug and play. That is what I learned when I was in Pyrax. Many of the systems come with the basic software to operate with. They can even learn and adapt over time. I'm not sure how effective all of that is. Have you tried replicating any of the missing components yet?”
“No. I have no access to replicators.”
“Pity. That would make your job so much easier. Trying to reinvent the wheel …,” the human admiral grimaced. “You have your work cut out for you, Commander. I don't envy you. But you know it has been done, and you have the blueprints.”
“Yes, sir. I realize some of the blueprints have changed however.”
“I suggest you check with the crew of Ilmarinen. Have the senior engineering officers point out what was changed. Obviously, you don't have their logs; since as you said, all of the software and hardware was removed and destroyed. Damn,” he muttered.
