by Bob Mauldin
While Simon had never been aboard this vessel before, he felt right at home. After all, he had been involved, albeit in a minor way, in designing her. Walking down corridors that fairly glowed as the pearlescent material used to coat the interior walls reflected the indirect lighting, Simon commented, “This feels comfortable,” a sentiment heartily echoed by all.
The bridge wasn’t much of a surprise to the visitors. Located in the center of the ship, considered by some to be the most secure spot, Simon still felt a bit uneasy. True, there was a lot more mass between the bridge and any possible strike, but Simon was imagining those torpedo magazines fore and aft, as well as the power cores, and that didn’t even take into account the large number of high-intensity lasers, plasma cannons and other weapons between the bridge and outer skin of the ship. Screens, and good ones, were going to be a must, that was for sure. How did the Builders ever send one of these things into battle without screens? It wouldn’t take that much to get through the armor plating and blow either torpedo magazine. Were they fatalists, idealists, or did they simply never connect the dots? Are their enemies equally armed? Better? Worse?
He shook his head. The debates raged, sometimes literally, occasionally requiring Security to be called in, as to whether the Builders were a young and vibrant race, or one in decline. Hell, it was humans who adapted the capture fields used to bring asteroidal material to the main smelter to so many other uses, all the way to Sci-Fi’s impenetrable force fields.
“The bridge is pretty standard,” Daniel said, breaking Simon out of his reverie. “We took the Galileo’s bridge and adjusted it for the smaller area. “I’ve been here before. Take a look. Some of you will be working here soon enough.”
The tour that followed was totally unexpected. Color everywhere. Once the engineers figured out how to color the metals, they started to go crazy. Daniel said, “We found a Lt. Kimura to ride hard on them to keep ‘em from going overboard. I’d like to think we put her to good use.”
An hour later, they came away with a new sense of what they had wrought. “Individually targetable, high-intensity lasers,” Daniel said proudly. “Thirty of them. At least three, and sometimes more, can be brought to bear on almost any target, most of the time. And of course, you must keep in mind that we have more room, so we made the lasers larger, and they have their own dedicated power source.”
Simon broke in. “I’m hearing almost and most. What conditions would have to exist for less than three? Any blast powerful enough to get us there will have effectively gutted a good portion of the ship already.”
Daniel took a serious turn. “If you get to that point, then there’s no need to know. About the only things that can take this ship out are,” he held up a hand and started ticking off points, “superior tonnage or generator power, superior numbers that will overpower even a very sophisticated computer’s fire control system, or coming out of warp inside a star. Once this girl gets her shields, I’m not sure even those things could stop her. Except maybe the star.”
The missile bays were another marvel. Each of the eight rooms were capable of firing four missiles at a time, making for forward and rear salvos of sixteen missiles at one time, or near-continuous synchronized fire as long as the missiles lasted. Each missile was tipped with one of the new anti-matter warheads and was capable of taking down screens, if the enemy even had them, as well as taking out ships. The difficulty lay in the number of missiles required to get through a ship’s screens. Tests showed that screens powered by the largest generators could be penetrated. It just took more missiles. Once the screens were down, no mere metal would stop even one of these new breed of killers. And the real nice thing about them was that the other side didn’t know they existed. At least, there was nothing like them in any of the computers data banks. And no shields either.
The boat bays were last on the list, and a marvel of compact engineering and efficiency. Each ship in Heinlein’s class carried ten Mambas. Ships launched straight from their bays. The force fields were attuned to the specific energies emitted by the engines and allowed them to escape into space. Upon any given ships’ return, capture fields pulled it inside stern first where a crew was waiting to service or repair as needed. At last Daniel turned to them. “And here we are, ladies and gentlemen, back at the start of our little tour. If you will look to your left, you will see the shuttle that will take you back to Orion.” Dropping the tour guide act, Daniel smiled. “We’re proud of her. Take good care of her, will ya? Anybody hurts my baby, you’ll have to face me.” He shook his finger at the lot of them. “All kidding aside, folks, I have things I need to look after. Just so far will I trust some of those people, yet. But they’re learning fast, knowing how many want to take their places. So let’s all get back to Orion, shall we?”
Miranda wasted no time returning the shuttle to Orion. As the passengers exited the craft, Simon handed Daniel another disk. “This one has the crew roster. I’d like to schedule a commissioning ceremony for two days from now. You can release the roster immediately so people can get used to it and get packed and transferred. I was going to take more from you, but, as you will see, I changed that. Orion will only be supplying a third of the crew. That will minimize your down-time as you train up the new people.”
Daniel made an exaggerated bow to Simon. “Thank you, kind sir. I will remember you in my will.”
Simon laughed. “Typical straw boss, Daniel. Also, I intend to call a meeting of the senior staff tomorrow evening to announce the officer roster.”
Back in their quarters, Kitty put Simon on the spot. “Why won’t you tell us who’s going to be on the officer’s roster? Don’t you think we have as much right to know as the rest of the crew?”
Simon gestured at the stack of papers on his desk. “That’s everything, right there, on anyone who might conceivably fill an officer’s position. And I haven’t made my final decisions yet. You know I work best under pressure,” he said, trying to inject a little levity. “Now, I’ve got a little over twenty-four hours to make my decisions. I’ll call a staff meeting sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening. If you really knew how difficult this is for me, you wouldn’t push. The last time we really talked about this, you said you’d support whatever my decision was. Part of that decision is that I won’t rush it, and I will announce the entire officer complement tomorrow evening.” Simon began pacing up and down the length of the room. “I’m sorry if I sound testy, Honey, but I feel that this is a command decision, and you’re trying to use our personal relationship to get more information than I’m ready to give.”
Kitty began to back down. “Well, I guess you’re right, but it is safe to tell me, you know. I am your wife and won’t tell anyone.”
Simon said, “That’s not the point. The point is that I can’t treat you any different than any of my other officers as far as ship matters are concerned. You have noticed that I’ve tried to be scrupulously non-partisan when it comes to you and duties aboard ship.”
Kitty replied a bit testily, “Yes, I’ve noticed. And speaking of duties why is it that I’m not first officer anymore?”
Simon responded tiredly. They had done this one before. “That is a matter of protocol. No officer that serves in a given capacity and gets demoted for any reason stays on the same ship or in the same unit. Promoted up is one thing. Demoted gets you a transfer. And we don’t have anywhere to transfer Lucy, right now. The only two options are to leave her where she is or promote her to captain.”
A look of sudden comprehension crossed her face. “So that’s it! You’re going to make Lucy captain of the new ship and give me back First Officer since I’ve already had experience at the job.”
Simon looked her in the eye and said flat-voiced, “I am not going to be drawn into this conversation.” He picked her up by her upper arms and soundly kissed her and set her down before she could strike. He walked over to his desk and sat down. Picking up a folder, he began to go over some of the personnel transfers.
Looking over at Kitty as she sat on the side of the bed, he said, “Think about this: I not only have to decide who will be officers aboard Heinlein, but decide on promotions for Galileo as well. I’m just glad that once each one of these vessels gets a captain, promoting and demoting becomes someone else’s problem.”
Kitty walked up behind him and began kneading his shoulders. “Poor Dear. You’re just too tense. You need some relaxin’. You might get a different outlook if you get a little rest.” She leaned over and whispered in his ear. “You know, all work and no play is beginning to make Simon a very dull boy.” As she leaned forward, she noticed that one of the files on the desk had her name on it. “You’re not seriously considering me for a place on Heinlein are you?”
Simon glanced down at the desk and saw her name on a folder and reached out and picked it up along with the one under it. Spreading the two folders apart so she could see the other name, he said, “About as much as I’m considering me, Dear. Just think, if I claim her, Lucy becomes Captain. Chain of command. Now, will you drop it, please?” Kitty didn’t answer. She just dug her thumbs in a little harder until he laid the folder down and he let her have her way with the muscles of his shoulders and back. He never saw the dark look she gave him as she worked the knots out.
The next morning, Simon walked into the transporter room, and then said, “Ensign, if you don’t want to walk home, you’ll send me to these coordinates and forget that I was even here today.”
The technician saw the look in Simon’s eyes, stammered, “Y-yes, Sir,” and beamed Simon off the ship. He found his new surroundings quite comfortable, indeed. After all, he had helped to design them. He was standing in the Captain’s quarters on board Heinlein. Functional furniture filled the living room portion of the suite. The dining alcove would seat six in a pinch, and the bedroom was out of sight behind an unobtrusive door in one corner of the room. “It’ll do for a hideout,” Simon said aloud. “Shouldn’t be anyone here until after I name the captain.” He sighed, stretched, and sat down. Propping his feet up on the coffee table, he let his eyes slowly close, as his dilemma enveloped him.
Strange noises disturbed his reverie until he realized that it was probably just some of the crew coming and going. A ship that had just come from the dock would still need a lot of attention paid to her. He got up, poured himself a double scotch, and let himself drift back into a light daze, as his mind gnawed at the bones of his quandary.
Taking stock of himself for the first time in what seemed like hours, Simon glanced at his watch. Realizing how short his time was, he quickly beamed back aboard Galileo. Pulling out his comm link, he called Lucy. “Commander, if you would be so kind as to call the people on the list I gave you this morning and ask them to meet me in the mess hall on deck three, I would appreciate it. Tell them thirty minutes from now.”
Looking to kill close to half an hour without running into anyone he would be seeing at the upcoming meeting, Simon walked into the mess hall on deck six, not realizing what a stir it would cause to have the Captain stop in for coffee. Not wanting to distress anyone, and not seeing any familiar faces in a quick look around, he grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out the door. He stopped quickly enough to spill when he heard a voice call his name. Looking more closely, he saw a raised hand belonging to Agent Daniels. Walking over to the table, he found an empty seat and slid into it. Recognizing another face, he said, “Crewman McNalley. Everything under control?”
The crewman answered, “Cain’t says I complain, Cap’n. But I kinda sat still long enough. It’s time for this Georgia boy to git back to work.”
Simon nodded at the complaint. “I know the feeling, Crewman. I like my time off, too, but I get nervous without something to do. I can tell you it won’t be a whole lot longer. A couple more weeks, I think, and we’ll be starting on number three.” He turned to the new face at the table. Glancing at the young man’s name tag, he asked, “How are you settling in, Crewman Pike? I’m Captain Hawke.”
The new volunteer set the glass he’d been holding down on the table to shake hands. “I’ve got to say how amazed I am at where I am and what’s going on.”
Simon grinned. “Those seem to be pretty common sentiments for all the new volunteers. I just hope that we can keep you amazed. A sense of wonder needs to be watered to grow. Well, after almost a week of orientation, have you found anything that strikes your fancy?”
Pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, Crewman Pike pointed to two job categories he had circled. “Well, I was studying astrophysics back before I joined. So, it looks like either Navigation or Helm would be most suited to what I’ve been training for.”
Simon had to leave the new man with more than that. “Those are both good choices, Crewman. But, I want you to remember that a little over a year ago, no one on this ship had any idea what to do on any post. Whatever you choose, you won’t have to stay there forever if you don’t like it or don’t have an aptitude for it. What I’m saying is for you to keep your options open. We hold classes all the time for different positions.”
Turning to Agent Daniels. “So, Agent. What terrible and subversive plots have you turned up this week? I hear you’ve been poking into every corner you can find. I also hear that you had a run-in with your security parameters. What happened?”
The agent reddened. “Actually, I never saw that Mamba coming, Captain. I was talking to some of the pilots over on Orion when a ship came in for service. I watched it enter the bay and went back to my conversation. The next thing I knew, my wristband started to go off. The technicians had picked it up in a capture field and moved it over by me where they could work on it. So I left.”
Laughing, Simon said, “Pretty much what I had already been told. Just wanted to hear your side. Anything you need?”
Taking a sip from his cup, Daniels finally said, “Well, it is a pretty big ship. That comm link you mentioned when I first came aboard would be a big help tracking people down.” Simon pulled his own out of his pocket and called Supply. He left instructions for a comm link to be made available to the agent. “Pick it up any time, Agent. Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I have to be somewhere in a few minutes.”
Simon stepped out of the elevator on deck three to find the entire corridor empty. There’re still a few minutes. You’d think there’d be some stragglers. Apparently, everyone is very interested in what I have to say, he thought. Stopping at the closed door to the mess hall, he took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, adjusted his shirt, and walked into the room.
No sooner did he set foot in the room than Kitty, who had been standing beside the door, grabbed his arm and hissed, “Simon! Where the hell have you been? We’ve turned the ship upside down looking for you.”
In a voice just as quiet as hers, blue eyes spearing into her heart, Simon answered, “If that question is coming from my wife, I’ll answer it in our quarters later. If it’s coming from one of my officers, either withdraw it or ask it louder. That way, I can give one answer to the whole room.”
Kitty started to reply when Stephen coughed. She looked over at him as he made a small sit down gesture with one hand. She stood frozen until Simon quietly added, “Honey, I need you to sit down so I can get on with this. I’ve been telling you it’s not easy.” Kitty heard something in his voice she had never heard before and felt a chill run up her spine: anguish. Reaching out and laying a hand on his forearm for a second, she turned and found her chair and sat down between Gayle and Stephen.
Simon stood at his place at the head of the table, watching all the eager faces looking at him. Some not so eager, he noted, as some of the looks were tinged with worry. So many of them are so young! he thought.
When he finally spoke, it was in a voice that was so low it was almost inaudible at first. “I apologize to each and every one of you for taking so long to reach these decisions. That everyone in this room is going to be affected by the decisions I am about to announce goes without saying, but I have to
say it, anyway.”
He pulled a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket, re-buttoned the flap, and slowly unfolded the paper. “That said, some of you will not be happy, but that can’t be helped at this time, but please be assured that no one is being slighted. We will soon have enough ships for each of you to show your true mettle, ladies and gentlemen.”
He looked down at the paper he held, feeling the tension grow in the room. “We will have a seven officer cadre: captain, first officer, weapons/security officer, science/tactics officer, communications officer, navigation officer and helm officer. And, of course, three shifts, as usual and I’m going to leave it to the captain to name the other positions. That will be the order of ascension as well. Now. For the position of Helm Officer, Donna Hall, to be promoted to full commander. Navigation Officer. Michiko Greene, to be promoted to full commander. Communications Officer, Commander Gayle Miller. Science/tactics Officer, Robert Greene, to be promoted to full commander. Please note, ladies and gentlemen, that the Greene’s will be promoted at the same time, so that neither can pull rank on the other.” A small titter of amusement answered back. “Weapons/security: John Marshall. First Officer: Marsha Kane, to be promoted to full commander.”
Simon stood at the front of the room and looked at the faces staring avidly at him. “This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. When all was said and done, I only had two viable candidates for this first ship, which, by the way, is going to be named the Robert A. Heinlein. I found both candidates to be identical in their qualifications for the job. It actually came down to basing my choice on rank. And of the two possible candidates for Captain of the Heinlein, my choice is ...” Simon took a deep breath, and went on, “Commander Katherine Hawke. Congratulations, Captain.”
