Federation Reborn 2: Pirate Rage (77 page)

There had been quite a few moments when he hadn't been so sure. The rapids definitely had earned their reputation. Engineering was still struggling to keep up with the damage to the force emitters from overheating and the strain they had been under. Twice they'd had to transit down to lower octaves and even into Gamma band to ease the load on the helm team and engineers. But each time hadn't lasted long, they'd insisted on moving back up as soon as they'd had their breather.

He knew they all felt the gnawing urge to get the mission done. To know, one way or another if there was anything left in Bek to salvage. Please let there be a piece of good news, he thought and prayed to himself. The Federation needed it.

Needed it badly, he thought, settling himself. One way or another, they were about to find out.

“To where no one has gone before … at least in a really long time,” the captain said with a trace of a smile.

“Apparently so,” his XO First Lieutenant Angie Kalua said with a nod. He turned to her, smiled briefly, then turned back to the selkie in the tank. The selkie was poetry in motion, moving in the null G field like she was swimming. And as she swam the ship seemed to swim too.

“Translating down from Delta band octave one to Gamma eight in three … two … one,” the helms-woman intoned, following procedure. Step by step she moved them through the transition down through the octaves and then the bands until they were at the last, first octave of Alpha band. “We are on target for final hyperspace translation on your order,” the helms-woman stated.

“Make it so,” the captain said with a nod as he sat back. He watched the XO gulp out of the corner of his eye and then settle herself.

The ride out had been bumpy as hell at first, at least until they'd gotten the hang of it. But they had, and once they were out, then it should be smooth sailing through the other jump points. “Translating,” the helms-woman said. She seemed to bend upright, then sail as if she was landing on a beach. Then she flicked fast back and forth as objects too fast to see came flying at them on the plot. Those items were grav shadows, more rapids. The ship shivered, which told the captain that the Selkie was pushing her hard. Potentially harder than she had ever been pushed.

Were some of the rapids micro black holes? Planets? He wasn't sure. Apparently they were going to find out he noted as the Selkie went upright again slapping her flippered hands together then spreading them apart slowly. His eyes cut to the main viewer once more.

On the main view screen, the image of stars flying by with blue clouds, more of a screen saver than an actual image of hyperspace, switched to the explosion of light and then blackness. After weeks in hyperspace, there was an audible gasp of anticipation from the bridge crew.

“Debris field ahead!” CIC reported. The ship seemed to twist and dive as a piece of something came flying at the main viewer. One moment it was swelling into focus and the next they were passing under it.

“That was too close,” Angie said in a shaky voice as all eyes turned to the Selkie. She had dived and then twisted, corkscrewing around the debris with an expert hand … or in her case whole sinuous body.

“There is scattered debris on the exit heading,” the CIC rating said, voice dropping into a more professional tone.

“Funny, it should have dispersed,” the XO murmured, looking down to check her status board. “No damage reported,” she said, still looking at the screen.

“Good,” the captain said. “Damn good flying, helm,” he said.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Need a break?”

“I'm good for a little while,” the Selkie replied.

“CIC, what are we looking at?” the captain asked, turning to the sensor rating.

“CIC here. We've got what looks like the Sargasso Sea, sir. A lot of wrecks. Some pretty big. Their collective mass might be keeping things anchored near the jump zone. Either that or it's something in the rapids messing with us.”

“Understood. Map it. We're going to have to navigate it carefully in the future,” he stated.

“Aye aye, sir.”

“But not too soon I hope,” the XO said. She shivered when she looked at some of the ships on the main viewer. “To have come so far … I wonder how many didn't make it?”

“No way of telling. We may never know,” the captain said, eying the wrecks. “CIC, try to get images of each for our records.”

“Aye, sir.”

“You don't think the admiral will want to salvage them, do you?” the XO asked. There was a strangled gasp from the comm rating at that ghoulish idea. “I mean, he's done it before.”

“He has. Fortunately, we don't need to. I don't see a need here … most of these look like civilian ships,” the captain said. The sensor rating looked up and nodded then turned back to her station.

“Most likely, if this becomes a regular transit, we'll clear it. Tow the ships off and give them a sun scuttle.”

“No boarding?” the XO asked.

“I don't see why. Oh, intel? The intel would be out-of-date. And the risk …”

The XO frowned and crossed her arms. “Sir?”

“Remember that ship in Pyrax? The one the admiral salvaged? It had a Xeno nanite virus on board,” he said. “I don't think anyone wants to open that particular can of worms. Ever.”

“No, sir,” the XO said. “But if I remember right, some good came of that. We gained some experienced people like Captain Vargess, sir,” she reminded him respectfully.

The captain cocked his head and looked thoughtful. “True. CIC, keep an eye out for energy readings. I bet they've exhausted themselves by now but keep an eye peeled just the same. We might get lucky.”

The sensor rating looked up and then nodded. “Aye, sir.”

“One other thing we got from a derelict that has benefited us greatly or at least one person,” the XO said. “Well, technically three if you get sticky about him,” she said.

The captain frowned thoughtfully and then nodded. “You're referring to the admiral and his retinue. Right.”

“Yes, sir. So any chance we can get to give someone a second chance, I say we see if we can do it.”

“As long as we don't risk this ship and her crew or the mission for that matter, I'm all for it number one.” His eyes cut to where CIC had identified a body floating limply. The rating zoomed in. They saw the body tumbling gently. He heard someone suck in a breath while someone else swore. A third rating muttered a brief prayer for the dead.

“Yes, sir. But I don't think we'll get lucky,” the XO said, staring at the body.

---<>))))

Admiral Subert surveyed the group after getting through the reception line. He wasn't quite in a corner, but close enough to let off some steam. Most of the congregation was milling about in small packets near the food and drinks area anyway. “Sometimes I hate these meet and greet functions,” Admiral Subert said. “Ritual dick beating and ass kissing,” he muttered to Saul.

“Do you have to be so crude about it? So blunt?” a cold female voice asked behind him. Both men turned to see the lieutenant governor standing behind them. She had apparently just exited the ladies room and the admiral kicked himself for not keeping an eye on his own six. “You like to stand loftily above us savages, don't you?” she asked, eying both men.

“Ma'am, that's not what I said,” the rear admiral said, as his chief of staff tried to extract him. A crowd was forming, all looking at them.

“Oh no? You've made your opinion of the people here and all they've accomplished quite clear in how you treated the staff when you got here. Many had served faithfully and did their best despite lacking the 'proper' education you and others like you rub into their faces,” she said scathingly.

“Ma'am …”

“I'm quite proud of everything they've done. They've had to learn on the job. We've built incredible things here, both with and without the admiral's presence,” she said.

“We still need to work with him,” a woman said, coming up behind the irate lieutenant governor. “I know you've wanted to vent, Desiree, but now is not the time or place,” she murmured.

“Get over it,” the admiral growled, now going on the offense. “I'm here; they aren't. Yes, I fired them. They've been reassigned to other posts. Deal with it. A turning of the guard was necessary. Now that they are gone, we're moving faster than before.”

Saul tugged on his elbow gently. Admiral Subert shook him off. The commander grimaced but then stepped away to give his boss his space.

“It still isn't right,” Miss Rolex said stubbornly, not looking at him.

“Whoever said life was about right? About being
fair
?” the admiral asked caustically. “Grow up,” he growled, eyes flashing with annoyance. “If you can't handle the job, find someone else and resign. Your choice.”

“You are a cold bastard,” Miss Rolex said in disgust.

He surveyed the group. There were a lot of hostile looks headed in his direction. “I get the job done. One way or another. Get over that too. We don't have to like each other. Be civil would be nice,” he said, looking at the lieutenant governor. “But not even that is necessary I suppose. We've got a war to win. That comes first.”

That earned a short choppy nod of respect. “I suppose we do.”

---<>))))

Admiral Subert felt a bit of rancor, so he had a chat with Saul afterward once he'd gotten back to his office. He was thoroughly disgusted with the attitude of the lieutenant governor as well as some of the other people he had encountered. Whining babies he thought. “They don't have to
like
me, but we do have to get along. We have to be professionals. We all have a job to do,” he snarled, pacing in his office.

“Sir, it is unwise to get into pissing matches with them. Captain Logan did that a lot, and it didn't help the political situation. It slowed down production as well. They can do all sorts of things to hang us up in the higher arena, like withholding taxes or causing havoc in congress. And with things the way they are in the public mind …,” he left that thought hanging. He was ever aware that his boss had stepped on his sword with his rancor. He hadn't handled it right, but he had handled it bluntly as Admiral Irons was known to do. He wasn't sure what sort of reaction would get to the public so he didn't know if he would have to go into damage control mode or not.

The admiral grimaced in agreement. “I know. I have to work with them too I suppose. You can't change everything overnight. And I've learned my lesson; I can't run through staff like shit through a goose. Not when we don't have enough warm bodies to spare.”

“Or fully trained, sir,” his chief of staff agreed. “But we're getting there. Slowly.”

The admiral barked a laugh as he flopped into his chair. “Yes. Agonizingly slowly.”

“But it is progress, sir. Every centimeter we move forward.”

“Just as long as no one gets it into their heads to haul us back by the scruff of our necks,” the admiral said shaking his head.

“Are you talking about Requiem 11 and Avalon, sir? We were never going to accept Avalon's monarchy without them forming a constitutional system. They weren't ready to commit to that. Their tech level is nearly useless to us at this point.”

“Don't count them completely out Saul. I believe we have had a few rising stars come out of that star system, General Forth for one. One of his Marine armorers is another, or so I heard.”

“Yes, sir,” Saul replied with a nod. “True, there are diamonds in the rough there. Tesla, Einstein, A'rak, and other geniuses came from odd places initially. They rose from obscurity into the spotlight, and helped change civilization around them. And, with any luck those that are like them will surface when a ship comes through to trade and hitch a ride to us.”

“Hopefully,” the admiral said pedantically, letting the matter slowly die off with his lingering resentment.

Saul nodded as he gauged the admiral's mood with a critical eye. The change of topic had mollified him a little. Most likely he'd have an air of resentment for some time, but the sulk wouldn't last. Hopefully not for long he thought as he keyed up the next topic of conversation.

“We're going to need to cycle the next picket force for B101a1, Admiral. We need to select a division pair to replace the current picket. The same for B100 omega eventually I suppose. I have a list of ship candidates if you wish to go over them.”

---<>))))

Once Horatio received a copy of Admiral Iron's revised plan and the issues with manpower BUPERS was having, he discontinued the
Dora
class production line when the last was finished. It took a day to reprogram and retool the line to produce components for
Liberty
and
Victory
class ships. The production was limited due to the size of the production line, however; the corvette-sized berths were far too small to construct the full ships. Instead the components were stockpiled. The line was at the bottom of the priority list for materials and so people, therefore, got poached to fill in gaps in work schedules on a regular basis, slowing it down even further.

The last four
Dora
class tenders were stripped of their military hardware and rebuilt with civilian grade. As that was going on, the navy's Public Affairs Department advertised an auction of the ships, first in Pyrax and then through the ansible. They gave it a week to let the news spread and interested parties to come forward to register.