Delphi Federation (Delphi in Space Book 6)

by Bob Blanton

  “Course laid in.”

  “Ease acceleration to one-G,” Catie ordered. “Engage.”

  “Easing acceleration to one-G, aye,” Mister Chang echoed.

  “And we’re off,” Catie whispered.

  “Congratulations, Captain,” Lieutenant Payne said.

  “Congratulations, yourself,” Catie said.

  “You know, I’ve always wondered why these ships are elliptical instead of spherical,” Lieutenant Payne said.

  “You know, I never wondered about that until I was designing the Fist,” Catie said. “It just seemed a natural shape. But there is a good reason. The designers chose an elliptical shape because it’s the strongest shape after a spherical shape.”

  “But if the spherical shape is strongest, why not choose it?”

  “Because they wanted to maximize the surface area for the ship’s size. When we’re close to the sun, we can absorb a lot of energy and conserve fuel. That’s why Delphi Station’s rings have an elliptical cross-section. And when you’re in battle, the ship presents its nose to the enemy, giving the maximum area to take the plasma or laser shot. That allows the polysteel and superconductors to absorb the energy.”

  “Ah, that makes sense; then why did you make the Fist spherical?”

  “I needed the maximum internal volume with the smallest profile,” Catie said. “We were going to be right in the plasma beam from the battleship, so I wanted most of that beam to go around the Fist, so we only had to absorb a small portion of its energy.”

  “Thanks for the lesson,” Lieutenant Payne said. “Do you want me to take the first watch?”

  “No, I’ll keep it,” Catie said. “We’ll spend some time checking on our passengers during the second watch.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Lieutenant Payne said. He then exited the bridge and went to his office, leaving Catie to enjoy the first hours of her new command.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  That evening, Catie and her first mate walked the ship. First, they went to the crew mess, where they had a cup of coffee while they wandered from table to table, greeting various members of the crew. Then, Lieutenant Payne took Catie through engineering, maintenance, and environmental so she could see where the crew worked and ask questions. The whole purpose of the tour was to re-enforce the chain of command. The first mate was the direct link between the captain and her crew. It was his job to handle any issues, but Catie wanted her crew to know she cared and was accessible if necessary. Lieutenant Payne had spent the first watch and the first two hours of the second watch with each member of the crew. Catie would have liked to have done that, but she had to respect the first mate’s position and not get between him and the crew. She only knew two of the pilots, Kay Owens and Mariam Beaulieu, so she would have to rely on him to advise her on how best to staff any missions they conducted.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Catie was looking forward to the second part of the tour. Here she would finally get to say hello to the friends who were accompanying her on the mission. The miners and the construction crew would be critical to their success, and she wanted to make sure their needs were being met.

  Their first stop was the mess for the civilians. It was in what had been Flight Bay One.

  “Hello, Jimmy,” Catie said, greeting the leader of the miners.

  “Hello, Captain,” Jimmy said. “Congratulations on your command.”

  “Thank you; how are your people settling in?”

  “They’re doing well; nice job on the acceleration. It was so smooth, nobody got sick or even bumped their heads.”

  “Yes, our pilot, Mister Chang, did an excellent job,” Catie said. “Have you met my first mate, Lieutenant Payne?”

  “I haven’t had the pleasure,” Jimmy said. “I’ve been so busy getting people boarded and the supplies loaded. I mostly dealt with Chief O’Donnell.”

  “He’s a good man,” Lieutenant Payne said. “He was the Master Chief on the Enterprise. I was happy to see that he was handling logistics for this mission.”

  “Well, he’s taken good care of us,” Jimmy said.

  “Hello, Jimmy,” an older woman said as she walked by.

  Catie did a double-take, “Was that Mrs. Mueller?”

  “Yes,” Jimmy said. “Hey, Margie, come and meet our captain!”

  The woman turned and walked back to them. “Hello, Captain.” Mrs. Mueller did a double-take herself. “Is that you, Catie?”

  “Of course, it is, Mrs. Mueller,” Catie said. “Do you know another Catie McCormack?”

  “No, but I thought there must be another one when they said she was our captain. I remember that young girl who helped us with our condos on Delphi City. You can’t be more than sixteen years old.”

  “I’m fifteen,” Catie said, “but don’t tell anyone.”

  “How can a fifteen-year-old girl be captain of a starship?” Mrs. Mueller asked.

  “Margie, it’s been all over the news. How she got the asteroids we were mining, and how she won the war with her designs, and by flying that crazy ship,” Jimmy said.

  “Jimmy, you know I don’t watch the news,” Mrs. Mueller said.

  “Don’t worry about it, Mrs. Mueller. I’ve got good backup. You know, I almost didn’t recognize you,” Catie said.

  “Oh, because I’m lost all that weight,” Mrs. Mueller said. “That Dr. Metra of yours really helped me out. Got rid of my diabetes and then helped me to lose weight. Said I could weigh anything I wanted.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize she could do that,” Catie said as she looked at Mrs. Mueller, judging her to be what men called pleasingly plump.

  “Are you surprised I’m not skinny?” Mrs. Mueller asked. “I would never want to be skinny like you. I think a woman should have a little padding.”

  “You look just perfect,” Catie said. “I think everyone should weigh whatever they want.”

  “You just wait. When you get a little older, you’ll realize that having a few pounds of padding makes life a lot easier,” Mrs. Mueller said. “Now, you come visit, and I’ll make you some chili and cornbread; you see, I’m the official cook for all these miners. You wouldn’t be getting them all the way out here if they couldn’t get some home cooking.”

  “I’ll make a point of coming by for lunch sometime,” Catie said. “And please let me know if I can do anything to help everyone settle in.”

  “Oh, Chief O’Donnell has told us to come to him if we need anything,” Mrs. Mueller said. “But we’ll come talk to you if he can’t take care of us.”

  “Here comes our local journalist,” Lieutenant Payne said.

  “Oh, Sophia isn’t so bad,” Catie said.

  “Hi, Catie! Oh, sorry, Captain,” Sophia gushed.

  “Hello, Sophia, how are you settling in?” Catie asked.

  “I’m doing great. Thanks for letting me bring Chaz as my cameraman.”

  “Hey, as long as you and your mom are okay with it, I’m okay,” Catie said.

  “Don’t talk about my mom,” Sophia snorted. “I had to agree to monitoring by ADI, can you believe that?”

  “Knowing your mom, yes I can. I’m surprised my mom didn’t come up with something like that,” Catie said.

  “Um, Cer Catie,” ADI said into Catie’s Comm. “Your father did.”

  Catie laughed out loud. Lieutenant Payne and Sophia looked at her. “It’s not that funny,” Sophia said.

  “I’m not laughing at you; ADI just told me that she’s monitoring me for Daddy.”

  Sophia laughed. “Do you think your dad’s worried about Artie?”

  “Who knows, I’ll have to review the parameters of the surveillance with ADI. Anyway, have you had a chance to meet my XO, Lieutenant Payne?”

  “Not yet, although I have been trying to schedule an interview,” Sophia said.

  “I’m pleased to meet you,” Lieutenant Payne said. “I’ll get with my aide and make sure the interview is scheduled. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Don’t worry,
she will,” Catie said. “I’m planning to have you and Artie to dinner tomorrow night. Tonight, I’m having dinner with my officers.”

  “Thank you. Is Chaz invited?”

  “Of course,” Catie said. She moved off toward the back of the room. “Mr. Bishop, how are you doing?”

  “It’s Nolan,” Nolan said. “I’m doing just fine. Can’t wait to get there so we can start building that station.”

  “It’s just thirteen days until we get there,” Catie said.

  “I thought it was only eleven days,” Nolan said.

  “We’re taking an extra two days so that we don’t have to flip the ship,” Catie said. “We’ll just spiral into our final orbit. That way, the kids don’t have to go through a zero-G transition.”

  “I guess that’s worth a few days. That vomit smell takes forever to go away.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Have a seat,” Catie told Lieutenant Payne as she took a seat at her desk. They had just entered her day cabin. “We have a few positions to fill.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “What is your recommendation for wing commander?” Catie asked. “I know we only have the four pilots, but I feel they need a leader, and since they are active military, it should be someone on active duty.”

  “I agree,” Lieutenant Payne said. “I’m familiar with all four of them. Ensign Harbaugh is too junior, and Lieutenant Girard is too green. That leaves Lieutenants Owens and Beaulieu. Either of them could do the job, but I feel Lieutenant Owens has more of a command presence and would serve you better.”

  “I agree,” Catie said. “Why don’t you let her know before dinner tonight.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Now for our head of security. I was wondering if Morgan could fit that position,” Catie said.

  “She is certainly qualified,” Lieutenant Payne said, “but she has a close relationship with a member of the team. She recommended this person for the position, and knew that it would disqualify her from being head of security.”

  “Alright, I’ll let you handle that,” Catie said. “Now, how do you feel about the Paraxeans on the ship?”

  “I worked with most of them on the Enterprise. They’re all good sailors. I’ll need to keep an eye on the crew to makes sure they meld, but they did fine during the war.”

  “Good.”

  “You guys didn’t really capture them on Ganymede, did you?”

  “Why would you ask a question like that?” Catie asked, keeping her face completely neutral. She had been surprised by the question, but had kept the surprise out of her face, or at least she hoped she had.

  “Well, they’re far too comfortable with the Earth crew, and I don’t remember the hull for this ship being built. It might have happened while I was out on the Enterprise, but the timeline doesn’t match up. Also, this ship has stasis chambers; our two carriers don’t. Add that to the fact that there are minor signs of wear on this ship that would indicate that it is significantly older than six months.”

  “Those are some interesting observations,” Catie said. “I would appreciate it if you could take care of those signs of wear. We wouldn’t want them having an impact on the ship’s readiness.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I guess that means you’re not going to answer the questions.”

  “I’ll bring your points up with Admiral McCormack,” Catie said.

  “Thank you, Ma’am. Is that all?”

  “Yes, I’d like a schedule for ship drills as well as a training schedule for everyone. The end of the week will be fine.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Lieutenant Payne said as he stood up. He did a brisk about-face and exited the cabin.

  “Ugh, I feel like such a fraud,” Catie sighed to herself.

  “You are doing an excellent job,” ADI said. “I’ve served with three new captains, and they all felt like frauds for the first month. And they all turned into fine captains.”

  “Thank you, ADI. Can you get Uncle Blake for me?”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “Hello, Catie,” Blake said.

  “Admiral, my first mate seems to be an excellent officer,” Catie said.

  “I thought you’d like him.”

  “I do. He’s also very observant. He’s noticed the stasis chambers, the discontinuity in the timeline for the Sakira to be commissioned, and some unusual wear about the ship that indicated significantly more age than six months.”

  “He has, has he? Well then, he will definitely make a good first mate and XO. What did you tell him?”

  “I asked him to take care of the signs of wear, as they might affect the ship’s readiness.”

  “Good for you.”

  “Should I tell him about the Sakira?”

  “Sure, but I’d wait on it. It’ll be good for him to stew a bit, and you can use it as a reward, as a sign that he’s passed muster with you.”

  “Thanks, Uncle Blake.”

  “No problem. How’s your first day going?”

  “Busy.”

  “Busy is good. Don’t let your nerves get to you. It’s tough on any new captain.”

  “That’s nice to know.”

  “Bye, Squirt.”

  “Bye, Uncle Blake.”

  Chapter 27

  Cabinet Meeting – Jan 4th

  “Catie, is everything working for you?” Marc asked as everyone assembled for the Cabinet Meeting. Catie was attending via video conference since she was on the Sakira.

  “It’s good on my end,” Catie said.

  “Then, I call this meeting to order,” Marc said. “Sam, you said you had some things to discuss.”

  “Yes, Margaret has brought to my attention that Russia has made three complaints to the U.N. about the handling of Russian nationals being held prisoner by Ukraine. The Ukrainian Ambassador assures her that the claims are false. I’m concerned that this is a lead-up to something bigger.”

  “We have a clinic in Kyiv,” Dr. Metra said. “Should we consider moving it?”

  “I don’t want to start there,” Marc said. “We put it there to stimulate their economy and to give us leverage with both them and Russia.”

  “It’s been clear for years that Russia plans to either annex Ukraine or turn it back into a vassal state, as it used to be under the old USSR,” Admiral Michaels said.

  “What is the U.S.’s response?” Marc asked.

  “They’re just a few weeks from the inauguration. Their ambassador is defending Ukraine, but not providing any teeth to back it up. Russia feels that the president signaled acceptance of their attempts to exert more control over Ukraine last year. And the fact that nothing has really happened since they annexed Crimea, they’ve started to believe that nobody is willing to stand against them. Now with the new president having campaigned on less U.S. foreign involvement, they’re getting bolder,” Samantha said.

  “Let’s keep a watch on the situation. Admiral, can you and Samantha work on what options we might have?”

  “Yes, sir,” Admiral Michaels said.

  “Okay, back to our normal meeting. Fred, how are the new Oryxes coming along?”

  “They’re just waiting for the grav drives,” Fred said. “Those should be finished and installed by the end of the week. That will give us a total of four until we have enough material to make more drives.”

  “Good,” Marc said. “Kal, how is our new training facility coming?”

  “Great,” Kal said. “I’ve recruited an old sergeant major of mine. He’s finishing up his medical treatments this week and will take over running the training.”

  “Good move,” Blake said. “Are you going to run him through your short course on survival?”

  “I am, although he might kill me when I tell him he has to take it,” Kal said. “But he’ll need to be familiar with all of our weapons and equipment. And having those things change the way you plan a mission, so hopefully, he’ll give me a pass.”

  “I’m sure he will,” Marc said. “Now, how are our carriers com
ing along?”

  “Still on track to have them finished by March. The first one should be ready on the third,” Blake said.

  “And our airport?”

  “The causeway is complete, and all traffic has been diverted to it. Only high priority VTO landings are being made at the city airport as of last week,” Blake reported.

  “Sam, what’s the status of our CFO?”

  “I have three candidates for you to interview,” Samantha said. “They’re on your schedule.”

  “I have to interview them?” Marc asked.

  “It wouldn’t give the proper weight to their position if you didn’t,” Samantha said. “I’ve only scheduled thirty minutes for each interview.”

  “Thank you. Can you tell us the status of Enrique Sorcaño?”

  “He’s completed the treatment,” Samantha said. “He’s asked us to move him here to Delphi City with his grandmother and nanny. He has clearly indicated he wants nothing to do with his parents.”

  “Good for him,” Blake said.

  “Catie, what’s the status of our probes?” Marc asked.

  “I assume you’re asking about the Solar Explorers,” Catie said. “They’ve all completed their first jumps and are moving into their target systems to get a better look at the planets found in them. None of them has picked up any unexpected signals which would indicate an advanced civilization. That is true for both the system each is exploring and the general area of space around it.”

  “Interesting. How long before they’re far enough in to get good readings on the planets?” Marc asked.

  “One week,” Catie said. “Then it will be another week to get back out and jump to the next system.”

  “Okay. I guess patience is required here,” Marc said.

  Catie stifled a laugh.

  “How about our jetliner?” Marc asked.

  “It completed its first set of ground tests,” Catie said. “As expected, there needs to be a few modifications. That will take two weeks; then they’ll retest. If things go well, they’ll put it in the wind tunnel. . . . You know you could probably get better updates from Fred, or you could bring Cer Friedman in.”

  “You’re willing to give up control?” Blake asked.