Battleship Destroyer (46 page)

The Captain just shook her head as she left.

Two hours later the Captain walked into hold 72 G.   Looking around at the two hundred foot deep pie shaped hold with the ship’s hull curving around the far side and a deck 50 feet above, with Jack and a small crew scattered amongst the dozen design and production consoles grouped together a few feet inside the hatch, she frowned.  Even with the huge (cut in half) coil hovering in midair in the middle of the hold, the hold looked empty. Jack's arms and hands seemed to fly over the virtual keyboards surrounding him much too fast to keep track of as the coil suddenly multiplied into an engine and started running.  Walking up behind Jack she noticed the thrust reading on the board beside Jack.

"Thirty million
pounds of thrust is not much thrust Mr. Turner."

Jacks hands stopped flying as he turned around to the Captain.  "It is when you a
re dealing with a fighter sir. We had a few minutes so I reduced the new combined coils down for a fighter engine sir. It will give them at least a good 2,000 Gee's acceleration sir."

"Ok now that is respectable even for a fighter but I would rather you have put your
efforts toward improving the FMC engines Mr. Turner."

"Already done as well as for the fighter bombers sir.
All the work the guys have been doing over the last few days has paid off. I was thinking about doing the upgrades for the torpedoes but realized with so many torpedoes already produced using the other coils it would not be cost effective right now to upgrade them as well. Besides I just thought of another modification I want to put on the FMC engines." Jack turned back and his hands started flying over the keyboards again.  "How much time do we have Captain?"

The Captain looked at her watch and frowned.  "About 1
0 minutes until we have to finish the transmission to make sure it gets through with no glitches. We may still be able to transmit for a half hour but I don't want to have to rely on vital information getting through that late."

Dr. Johnson burst into the hold. "I must protest Captain. How dare you give this un
educated moron preferential treatment with the best equipment.  I was assigned by the congress to the Science Institute Research Directorate to head the alien equipment science studies department on this expedition." A group of men came in with the Doctor as a huge coil appeared out in the middle of the hold and then a few seconds later the coils multiplied to form an engine that sprang to life. The engine disappeared to be replaced by another coil that grew into another engine that sprang into life. Several more times coils and then engines sprang to life and then Jack turned around. "Ok Captain. Ready to transmit sir."

She looked up at the last engine and smiled. "Even inclu
ded the new Ion coil and feed system for the torpedoes?"

"Sorry Captain
, the Torpedo's are simply too small right now to put an Ion engine in them but I did redo the coils. More powerful to make them even faster and we can throttle it down to 50% thrust instead of having to burp them on and off. Allowing them to cruise at half thrust fo
r
longer range and then full thrust to attack.

The
Captain smiled. "Very well Mr. Turner you may transmit…"

The engine disappeared as the console went dead. Several guys started dragging the power cable from the console
s out of the hold as others started disassembling the consoles.

"I am taking my equipment for my men to use
Captain. If you object you can petition the council.  Oh that is right. You are out of transmitter range now. Too bad."

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Jack lunged for the power cable and was knocked down by one of the men hitting him from behind as he grabbed the
plug end.

The Captain bellowed. "You men stop what you are doing this instant. That is an order!"

"Sorry Captain." Said the Doctor smiling. "These are civilians and my crew. You can't order them around."

The Captain brought his wrist up to his mouth. "Security to deck72 hold G. Code 1. Emergency maintenance crew
as well, stat."  Turning back to the Doctor. "I am going to give you one chance to keep your butt out of the brig Doctor. Hook that terminal back up so we can transmit the engine specs before we are out of range and I won't execute you."

"Fra
ck off Captain. I am the one that will decide if we need to send anything to earth after I have had time to check it over and I can tell you right now that the crap I have seen this idiot putting out won't be amongst it." Smiling. "Though I want to thank you for letting me develop the Ion drive engine Captain. By the time this ship gets back to earth my name is going to be famous."

The
crewmen Jack had been working with around the consoles rushed across the hold trying to free the equipment or drag the men off the power cabled.  Jack picked himself off the deck and started dragging the heavy one inch thick power cable back to the terminal only to get jerked to a stop. Several of the civilians were on the cable dragging Jack and the cable out.  "Damn it! Get those scumbags off the cable!"

The
closest crewmen turned and looked at Jack baffled for a second then started jerking the guys off the cable throwing them across the hold. Jack started dragging the cable again only to have another man grab the cable.

"Damn it guys
! Will you clear the damn cable! Now! “Seeing that everyone was busy Jack started toward the man as the man sneered at him stopping him in his tracks. Backing up as he frowned. "Damn it." Jack looked down at the cable and then at the man sneering at him. Jack pulled himself hand over hand along the cable giving himself 7 or 8 feet of slack as the man pulled him across the deck. Then taking the loose cable end in his free hand as he kept pulling with the other he whipped the loose cable end around like a whip and hit the man in the head with its heavy plug end knocking the big man across the hold onto his face. Jack made a run for the terminal dragging the cable behind him. Plugging it in Jack started slapping the pieces of the terminal back together with practiced hands and was soon turning it back on as the rest of the crew did their best trying to keep the director's henchmen far from the cable until a marine squad ran in and started kicking butt.

"
Captain." Jack pounded the glass top. "Damn it! Come on all ready. Load! Captain. I am sorry for not down loading it into the ship's memory but I was waiting until I had finished everything. How long do we have until we lose contact sir?"

The Captain looked down at her watch. "
It is already past optimum transmit range. Only minutes Jack and that is if we are lucky. Anything we send now has no guaranty of being received."

Slapping the top of the table again. "Damn." The table
finally lit up and Jack started slapping icons bringing up what he needed.  "Well Cap. I am sending the files to the bridge so they can transmit them. We will just have to hope right?"

The Captain raised her wrist. "Bridge you should be receiving some files
from Mr. Turner in this hold. Transmit them priority 1 A, Class secret. For retransmit. Immediately.  Try to get a confirmation if you can, but send them anyway."

"Sending Cap." Jack
sat back and took a deep breath as he turned to look at the civilians being rounded up with the Director.

"Yes
, got the files Captain. Sending them now." The bridge came over the comm. "Priority A, Secret sir. We had contact a minute ago and the Red Dwarf knew to expect them, so they should go through."

The hold grew silent as most of the Doctor's men were ushered out under restraints.

"It won't do you any good Captain." The Doctor said with a shit eating grin.  "I sent my report in already so I will have the Patent claim and the inventing fame for the engine and the other alien technology we have uncovered so far. And by the time we get back to Earth I will have the note books finished proving I came up with the design years ago before this moron's Grandfather stole it from me."

The Captain turned on the Doctor. "I don't
give a fly's ass who has the patent rights or the credit and fame. What I do care is that valuable information that could save a lot of lives may not have gotten through when it was needed all because of you. If I were you I would start praying that the Black Dwarf gets this message Doctor.  Because if it doesn't. What credit you do get will be posthumously and not what you are used to. Got that Doctor."

"Well if it is that important then stop the damn ship and
go back to the Red Dwarf and send it."

"I am starting to think that the rumors I have heard of you stealing all your big discoveries from your subordinates
and others is correct with that single statement alone. We are already going too fast to turn around and return back within range of the Black Dwarf in less than 4 days and then another day to turn back around and get back up to the speed we are at now. No. Any moron with a decent physics degree knows that but you don't. The famous program director of the Earth Research Institute with so many diverse patents and credits in your name already." The Captain's eyes narrowed.  "Oh yes. You still are not as famous as Doctor Turner who invented the Reaction Mass Star Drive almost 100 years ago." Shaking her head. "You pitiful little weasel." 

"I knew all along
you could not go back to transmit Captain. I was just testing you."

The Captain smiled. "Well maybe then you already know that without me slapping a priority
1A label on what you sent to the Black Dwarf. Your shit claiming credit is still sitting in ships memory waiting for my approval to send after I cancel communications silence for everything but priority 1A messages."

"Don't look so green Doctor
Johnson. I did send full documentation off as soon as Mr. Turner finished his first engine even before it was a success just in case things hit the fans before he could finish with my belief that earth certainly could work the bugs out if given time. And then again after he worked out the bugs with Mr. Turners name plastered all over the work which I also named the Turner Drive." The Captain motioned for a marine to take the Doctor. "And just so you don't worry. I will make sure your work gets transmitted as soon as this ship gets within range of the rock complete with charges of fraud for you to answer to." Turning back to Jack she raised her wrist again. "Comm; did you get a confirmation from the Black Dwarf?"

"Sorry sir
, but no sir. That does not mean they did not get it. They have more powerful receivers than us sir."

"Thank you
Comm. Try relaying a signal through the squadron trailing us please.”

"Already tried sir. We were out of their range an hour ago Sir."

"Very well. Captain out."

T
he Ensign came running into the hold, out of breath with her breasts bouncing with her long leaps.  A pistol out waving around the hold. "Jack! Jack!" She screamed as she slowed down to stop when she found nothing wrong and everyone staring at herd. "I was told security was called for some kind of mutiny." She finally saw Jack sitting at the terminal and rushed past the Captain as she put away her weapon. Slowing down as she approached Jack, taking a deep breath. "Well looks like I was told wrong." Then she saw the cut on his head. "Damn it no!" She pulled out a scanner and put it to Jacks cut then scanned the rest of his head. "Only a cut and no concussion. You will live." She kept touching Jack on the arm and shoulder only to pull back and do it again. "What happened here?"

Jack looked up from the terminal as he expanded the controls around him again. "Oh not much. The idiot Doctor
tried to take the terminal just when we were getting ready to transmit the coil specks, weapons and engine plans to the Red Dwarf and then Earth Central, The Rock and the factories. We managed to get the terminal back up but we don't know if the Black Dwarf got the transmission."  He turned back to the terminal as his hands started flying again. "Damn it. I am locked out of the other terminals now.  How are we supposed to work if we are locked out?"

The Captain smiled as she walked up. "Don't worry about it right now Jack. It has been a long day. It is time to knock off and get some off time and relax. I need you up and running at your best tomorrow morning and
not half catatonic or a walking zombie again.  You have the cock watch in the morning so get to bed early tonight. You can start helping the other groups after muster. In the mean time I will find out what is going on with them and how much damage the Director has done and get it repaired. We will talk about what needs worked on during our bridge watch." Turning to the Ensign. "I thought I told you not to let him out of your sight Ensign. This is why I gave you the damn pistol in the first place. Don't get out of his sight again or your head is going to roll." The Captain left the hold.

Jack turned around.  "Shit! I hated having bridge duty with my father. I could never relax. Hell everything I did was always wrong."

"Don't worry Jack. The Captain is not like that. She runs a tight watch but pretty much ignores you unless you fuck up really bad. Now let's go. We have a couple hours before dinner so let's get some of your classes out of the way. I see you have been doing pretty well on your pretests but I think you can do better with a little help from me and take more than one a week."