Fugitives, p.19
Fugitives, page 19
part #9 of Steven Gordon Series
‘If you want a poke at that Abby, get Dick off the ship for a couple of days and invite her into your bunk for a lavender tea.’
Buzz was stunned for a moment, ‘That did not go through my mind.’
‘Never said it did. That little lady however is about to bust loose. I think it is something she needs to get out of her system.’
‘You are warning me. Alright, I get that. Catch you later Charlie.’
Chapter 42
Grand Commander Ne´ Lingus was almost dancing. He had taken the package into a secure room with an enormous screen and put up the files. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He hurriedly began making calls. Two days later his top men were also looking at the files.
He singled out Admiral Baxter, ‘What is Christmas?’
Baxter was intrigued, ‘It is an Earth custom. Once a year we celebrate the birth of Christ. Of course, many people don’t believe in it, but that is a different story. Every year most people stop at Christmas and have a holiday. On the 25th day of the month they celebrate by having a traditional dinner and the exchange of gifts.’
‘So what is a Christmas present?’
‘It is a gift.’ Baxter laughed, ‘Was this given to you as a gift?’
‘A wee Christmas present, was how it was described.’
‘It most certainly is. Where did you get it from?’
‘Ambassador Gordon’s team.’
‘Then they weren’t sitting on their hands out there doing nothing. What do our technical people make of it?’
‘Right now they are standing about drooling, hadn’t you noticed?’
Baxter laughed again, ‘This will take months to decipher.’
‘More than months, years. But I think that as things stand we have the time.’
‘By then their technology will have moved forward.’
‘Not drastically so. I would bet they put on a good show with their best ships. Would you like to see film of the fleet?’
‘Yes, let the tech heads drool over the schematics. I would rather drool over the real thing.’
Ne´ led him to the far wall and it came alive. They witnessed the arrival of the fleet. Then the space carrier came into sight.
‘Woah! What the hell is that?’
‘Your opposition.’
‘Shit!’
‘A thousand fighters.’
Baxter frowned. ‘It is a colossus, but only a thousand fighters. Ours carries three hundred and it isn’t a fraction of the size of that one.’
‘If we had a carrier that size, with our current technology, how many fighters do you think we could carry?’
‘Many thousands I would think, but our designer is light-years away.’
‘It was he who sent us all of this.’
‘Alright, did you ask him?’
‘I did, but I could not understand the reply. Don’t be a tit. I have no idea what it means.’
Baxter shook his head, ‘Oh dear. It basically means no.’
‘Is it an insult?’
‘No, not at all. Not amongst my people, we use it all the time. It is a more common word for silly. Don’t be silly, is what he is saying.’
‘Don’t be stupid then.’
‘More informal.’
‘I see.’
‘I wonder why he said that?’
‘Does putting all your eggs in one basket mean anything to you? It is a Human saying I believe.’
‘Yes, an egg is part of our staple diet. Someone who puts all their eggs in one basket is likely to trip, and fall. Eggs are very fragile.’
‘Now that makes more sense. I no longer feel insulted.’
Baxter chuckled, ‘He still gets under your skin.’
‘I had forgotten how much.’
‘I think he needs to be shown just how successful his design is, Grand Commander.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘He was a soldier with no design experience. He designed these ships from his imagination with the help of the Builders’ ship. Now he sees a ship designed by experts. Experts with accumulative experience of over a thousand of years. Would you not feel somewhat intimidated by that? I am damn sure I would if I were in his shoes.’
‘I think I can see where you are coming from. At first glance these ships are technologically superior to ours. However, I believe that the ships that he has designed so far outmatches them.’
‘He doesn’t know that. What the former Captain has brought to the table isn’t expertise or experience. It is a fresh mind, with no predetermined pretexts. He designed ships to do a job, a specific job. Nothing more, nothing less. We build tradition into every ship we make and have done since naval vessels were in their infancy. Most of it is unneeded, yet it gives us all a sense of comfort. It was one of the first things I noticed that was missing.’
‘I noticed that too.’
Baxter smiled, ‘After viewing all of these vessels designed, as I have said, by experts in their field, he must be feeling a little overwhelmed. I know I would. Maybe that was the message he was trying to convey.’
‘So, you are telling me that he isn’t just some big-headed fool.’
‘Was he ever?’
‘It feels like that most of the time.’
‘No, I don’t think so. I have met many men like him in my time – seasoned warriors that are extremely hard to intimidate. Their confidence comes from their experiences. They know who they are, what they are capable of, and very few have time for those on top who order them and their friends to their death. Respect from that kind of man is very hard to win; yet win it we must. For when the chips are down, those are the men who will take up the fight and win through to the conclusion of the battle, even if it costs them their lives. Charlie has fought his battles. He has won his wars. He has no need for any of us. Yet here he strives to help. You have to realise that he is not trying to impress us; it is the men who will fight in these ships that he is trying to protect. That is the kind of man he is. Yet take a man like that out of an environment he is comfortable with, and he is as vulnerable as any other.’
‘I am afraid I don’t spend much time with the lower ranks, Admiral. I am not so well acquainted as you are.’
‘You must have started as a junior officer.’
‘Yes, but I was earmarked for a staff job long before I left school. I have fought in many a battle but have never been on the front line.’
‘I have. I have fought alongside these kinds of men many times. There are still men serving now who I fought alongside, shared the same fear and the same danger with. I always make time for those men. Stop and have a quiet word. You can see it in their eyes, how proud they are that I gained such promotion. “If you ever need a good man in a fight sir, give me a shout.” I wonder how many times in my life I have heard that. Every time heartfelt, even men who were crippled in the fight still offer their service. I rarely see those men now. They are becoming fewer. I attend reunions and dinners for the crews of ships that have long since been scrapped. They tease me to death, and I tease them right back with a laugh. We were comrades in some desperate fights and won. Those men have the same eyes as the Captain, the same confidence, the same lack of respect for any man who has never fought by their side.’
‘Regardless of rank.’
‘Regardless.’
‘I wonder why Federation people are so different.’
‘Well, we no longer impose the death sentence.’
Ne´ laughed until his sides hurt. ‘I find it hard to believe that he suffers from a lack of confidence, but I am sure we can put it to the test. Would you be willing to sit with me and talk to him?’
‘Yes, of course I would sir.’
‘We can get to the bottom of his tits.’
It was Baxter’s turn to laugh until his side hurt.
chapter 43
Charlie opened his eyes and was surprised to find Steven sitting there reading a pad. Steven noticed his friend’s eyes were open.
‘You are finally awake.’
‘I’m sorry, who are you?’
Stevie went to swipe him with the pad, ‘Don’t start.’
‘Why are you hovering over me?’
‘You have been out for five days solid.’
Charlie pushed himself up into a sitting position, ‘Don’t be stupid.’
‘Seriously Charlie.’
He noticed the scanner beside his bed. ‘Did something go wrong with my brain?’
‘It did. You had us all worried there for a while.’
‘Five days. Wow! Any idea what was wrong with me?’
‘Amanda thinks it was exhaustion. Babes plugged into your computer half. It was doing some weird shit.’
‘Like what?’
‘She doesn’t know. It seemed to be dumping memory somewhere, doing some kind of maintenance. The rest of your brain was in some form of coma-like sleep, barely functioning. We were hoping you could tell us.’
‘Not a clue.’
‘How are you feeling?’
‘Fine I suppose.’
‘There are people wanting to talk to you. Would you like some time?’
‘A shower, brush my teeth, something to eat and drink. Who is it?’
‘Baxter and Ne´.’
‘That pair are going to be a pain. Can I take the call on the Killara?’
‘Why?’
‘The Grand Commanders’ eyes are sensitive to light. He always ends up with a massive headache after talking to me on Babes. You can see it coming on after about five minutes.’
‘That’s not a problem then. We wouldn’t want to upset the Grand Commander.’
Just over an hour later Charlie was sitting on the bridge of the Killara with his feet up and a large mug of coffee. The windows turned into a large view screen. Charlie smiled as he saw the confusion in the eyes of the Grand Commander. He had already been squinting.
‘Former Army Captain Murison.’
‘Admiral Baxter, we meet again. My name’s Charlie.’
‘Well Charlie, how are you? We have been trying to get in touch for days.’
‘I’m fine now. It would seem I had exhausted myself and went into some kind of coma. We don’t really know what it was yet.’
‘Not so good then.’
‘I feel fine. Honestly. What can I do for you gentlemen?’
Ne´ leaned forward. ‘Have you changed your environment for this call?’
‘No, this is my own ship, the Killara. We built it while in Imperial space. It’s a long story, but I am sure both of you are high enough up the ladder to hear the truth of it all.’
Ne´ barked a laugh, ‘So you are a captain again after all.’
Even Charlie found himself laughing. ‘I suppose you could say that.’
‘I want you to know that there is a very dim view of you going around the Federation at the moment. The Emperor is claiming that you got his precious daughter pregnant.’
‘His precious daughter is smarter than half the Imperial council. I will tell you now that without her help, we would never have made it through. There was a price to that help. I paid the price.’
‘You mean she wanted to get pregnant?’
‘I can play you the file if you want.’
‘That won’t be necessary, I believe you.’
‘She was there when I confronted her father about what they had done and what they were doing. She realised that they had made a total mess of things. By getting pregnant, she could open up a way for discussions again. The wounded father, the forlorn daughter with a helpless babe in arms. A nephew to the great Modloch Emperor. If they can distance themselves somewhat from the Imperial council, it could open the way for new negotiations.’
‘I believe it is already working.’
‘I thought it might.’
‘You knew about this?’
‘I suspected as much. Never mind all that. What is it you pair want?’
‘A design for a bigger carrier.’
‘Why me? You have the schematics for the real deal now. Get your own people to design one.’
‘The real deal? Ah… you mean a carrier that was designed by experts.’
‘Exactly that. Now that was an eye-opener.’
The two senior officers passed a knowing look. Ne´ was amused. ‘You don’t think your design compares?’
‘I felt like a bloody idiot after I saw that monstrosity. Totally humbled.’
‘You are wrong.’
‘You can’t say that. The Federation has never had carriers before, you have nothing to compare it with.’
‘But we have, Charlie.’ Baxter added.
‘My one was based on an aircraft carrier design.’
‘That is obvious.’
‘That thing shoots fighters directly out of its side and top. A thousand of the buggers. What I gave you was a big flat-top, old fashioned and out-of-date. I was an idiot. Nah! Go study that thing a bit more, then come back and talk to me.’
‘We have studied it, our engineers have studied it, and it simply isn’t as efficient as your design. On call to combat, we believe we can get our fighters up faster than they could. Yes, they can get half their fighters off all at the same time, but they are shot out in all different directions. That means having to regroup, that takes time. We can launch squadron after squadron in perfect formation, one after the other after the other.’
‘They can fire multiple squadrons, from both sides and the top of the ship at once, all round protection.’
‘What you aren’t taking into consideration is the difference in size. If you designed a ship that size, with your current design philosophy, we think we could carry three thousand fighters on it.’
‘Seriously!’
‘Yes, easily.’
‘There are lots of different factors you aren’t taking into consideration here gentlemen. I could design a single flight deck with my current technology that would carry a thousand fighters. You could then build another four exactly the same and weld the lot together. In the hole in the middle you could stick the engines, living quarters and just about anything else you could think of. It would most likely still be half the size of that thing, but where the hell would you get four thousand pilots? Where is the need for something like that? The mass of the thing alone would make it prohibitive. It would simply be just too slow, an un-manoeuvrable sitting duck.’
Ne´ leaned into Baxter, ‘What is a duck?’
‘A very tasty water fowl that is hard to hit in the air, but easy to hit when it is swimming in the water.’
‘Ah! Did you hear what he just said?’
‘A carrier that could carry four thousand fighters.’
‘Och!’ Charlie sat back and crossed his arms.
They began to laugh. ‘You are right.’ Ne´ shook his head, ‘Four thousand fighters is just too much for a single vessel. ‘It would make for an excellent supply vessel though.’
‘Nah! You could design a freighter with breakaway box sections that would be far more useful. You could actually build in an auto reloader and docking section on part of the ship. The box section could be dumped if necessary and picked up later.’
Baxter tapped his teeth with a fingernail. ‘I quite like that idea actually.’
‘That is for another day,’ Ne´ interrupted. ‘Could you design us a carrier to carry five hundred fighters?’
‘Just extend the damn thing.’
‘That’s what we thought. We also want a carrier designed to hold a hundred fighters.’
‘What for?’
‘Training purposes.’
‘Don’t see the point. I think that carrier you have would be the perfect size for training.’
‘We mean basic training. Very basic.’
‘You could just build a base instead of a ship. You could just add a bit on to some existing facility.’
‘I suppose we could. It is to orientate new pilots straight from the start.’
‘It is still more advanced than basic flying. You have different stages of flight school.’
‘That’s true, most involve a space station, then they move onto a ship.’
‘So, a ship that could provide normal training, the kind of flying they would do with a battleship, and a carrier, would be more like what you would need.’
‘Could you build one of those?’
‘Not sure.’
‘Let’s get back to our bigger carrier.’
‘Give me a moment.’
Charlie pulled out a pad and a pen. They waited patiently for almost ten minutes.
‘Alright, I have done a few calculations. Can that carrier you have now keep up with your fastest vessels?’
‘Yes.’ Baxter confirmed.
‘To increase its size to accommodate an extra two hundred fighters, you are going to lose that edge. To keep up you would have to increase the number of engines by one. That increases the size of the ship again, increasing the mass. It increases the personnel by three hundred, that means a lot more storage for food for herbivores.’
Charlie put the pad down. ‘I need to fetch something. Do you have the time?’
They both said they did, and Charlie came back with a white board. The watched fascinated as he sketched three Imperial carriers on the left-hand side.
‘I know these are accurate because I have a stack of books on their fleets, in much the same way that we have back home. This is to scale. Five hundred, seven fifty and a thousand. Now on the other side I am going to begin with the one I have already designed.’
Charlie sketched in the three hundred at the bottom, then filled the right-hand side of the whiteboard with ships of similar design and with the capacity of its opposite number.
‘As you can see the Imperial carriers are substantially larger. I suppose my system saves a bit of space. Yet with each step up you increase the mass horribly. They become lumbering brutes, massive targets for enemy battle-fleets. That fleet you saw was just the carrier’s escort. Individual planets aren’t allowed their own fleets in the Empire, so their Imperial forces are simply massive by comparison to the Federation’s. Yet the Federation can call on the forces of every planet, which outnumbers them. But because it isn’t a single force; because it is so different, it puts us at a tactical disadvantage. Not only that, the only vessels that could possibly hope to go toe to toe with them are the latest Federation vessels.’
