First Command (31 page)

“There is some one from the navy here to see you. He says you know him.”

Jonathan called back, “Be there in a minute.” Then gradually eased himself out of the chair.

“Careful John,” Jaroed said leaning up to help, but Jonathan waved him back down.

“I’m not an invalid. Jaro stay here and keep an eye on your kids. I don’t want my nephew to scare my nieces to death.” The nephew in question had, lost his captive crustacean in the surf, and was now fleeing his vengeful kin who looked intent on burying him in the sand.  Jonathan limped into the small wooden beach house that the family had rented for the weekend, and smiled at the blond haired, green-eyed man standing there.

“Lt. Captain Trendale, how might I be of service?” Jonathan asked. Saluting, while trying not to glance sidelong at Jonathan’s unmarrieds sister-in-laws who were doing a very poor job of spying on the handsome newcomer.

“Lt. Captain Pavel. It’s good to see you. I wanted to come by and tell you in person. They are giving me
Cronus
to command, and it’s all thanks to you.”

“Well you earned it Will. All I did was write a letter.”

William Trendale looked at him with a slight smile.

“Alright, maybe I mentioned something to Admiral Keys too. Now why’d you really come by Will?”

“Have you been watching the news sir?”

“Not much. It upsets mother. She’s already lost one family to a war.”

Since
Titan
had returned from New Helsinki, events had moved at a frantic pace. At first, the Electors Government had tried to deny the Confederacies involvement. Then, they had switched to trying to justify it. Meanwhile, two of New Helsinki’s independent neighbors had applied for client status under the Republic’s protection. Outrage ran rampant on Solarian.
Titan
had returned heavily damaged, and she would be laid up in dry-dock for at least six months if she could be salvaged at all. Her crew had suffered almost as badly. Of the 535 officers and crew on board, 221 were dead and 167 were wounded. The dead included Lt. Krishna, Lt. Halman, and Warrant Officer Rodriguez.  The survivors had been welcomed as heroes, and
Titan
received The Premier’s Distinguished Unit Citation. Jonathan had the Navy Cross pinned to his hospital bed pillow by the Admiral of the Fleet Marcus Ho personally.

Will continued, “Word around the Capital is Banjor’s going to push for a formal diplomatic censure and he’s going to get it.”

Jonathan smiled, “I think  Li Curtis’ speech helped shame the doves into that.”

William nodded, “Getting buried alive by a nuclear blast then dug up 48 hours later would make anyone angry enough to spit rivets.”

“Do you think it’ll mean war with the Confederacy?” Jonathan asked.

“I hope not. I think they’ll back down, but this is going to raise tension all across the board. You need to heal up sir. We're going to need you back on the line. Now if you excuse me I have twenty-four hours of liberty left.”

“Why don’t you stay for dinner Captain?”  Alena asked bringing Jonathan and William a glass of wine.

“I think I will ma'am. It smells delicious.”

Jonathan smiled as Alena’s two eligible sisters cornered Will as he tried to beat a retreat to the porch. He sipped his beer and looked up into the crimson sky as the sun began to dip below the horizon. As the light faded, he could see the artificial stars of ships large and small moving across the sky. He smiled to himself. Soon he’d be back up there again where he belonged.  As he watched his brother corral his rambunctious offspring for dinner, he knew he’d enjoy the time he spent groundside even if he had to take those damn pills. Looking to see that no one was too near, Jonathan reached into his pocket and touched the Iron coin bearing the likeness of Michael. Tradition said he should return it to the temple, but he couldn't. It was too important now. It was a talisman, a symbol and a reminder of the good people he’d lost and most importantly of his first command.

Epilogue

Solaria, Solarian System, Solarian Republic

Singking, 1101 Guard Street, the Office of Military Intelligence

April 21st 841 A.E. (2802 A.D.) 24:00 Local Time

The Office of Military Intelligence occupied a nondescript, but heavily guarded office complex just north of Parliament hill, most of which wasn't above ground but below.  Fifty levels stretching over a square mile in diameter, reached down into the subterranean underground, quite literally burying the Republic’s deepest secrets. The 30,000 plus employees of the OMI who worked in the building on a daily basis, called the underground portion of their domain the tombs. Except for level 50B, the domain of Special Branch. That floor they referred to simply as hell.

“We really need to stop meeting like this General. People will talk,” said the man who had been Anthony Garrett, smiling at the handsome older women in a grey evening dress.

Major General Loretta Cain, head of the OMI looked at one of her best and least beloved agents with the same expression one generally gives something unpleasant yet vital, which was a fitting description of this man.
“Cut the chit chat Lawrence, what do you have?” she asked.

The man, who cursed his mother every day for his wretched existence, and who had named him Lawrence, cringed as the General called him by his given name. He hated that, but he smiled imaging a knife running across her throat, her life blood draining out.
“Oh come now General, ours is an unpleasant business. We need to make time for R&R,” leering at her, he continued, “I see you already have.”

Cain looked at him. Her eyes were as cold as the void, and pure steel. The man called Lawrence shrank back. He feared no man, but he feared one woman and her name was Loretta Cain.

He turned and beckoned her to follow past the heavily armed drone units guarding the door. Flesh and blood security officers would be more reliable, but the man called Lawrence found them to be an inconvenience. Less than a dozen people ever set foot beyond this point and returned. The man called Lawrence entered his code, and led the General into an observation chamber dominated by monitors and screens, and a large glass panel on the other side of which sat an attractive, brown haired women in an orange prison suit, with a bandage at the back of her neck. Her cell was completely barren save a toilet and pallet to sleep on. She didn’t seem aware of where she was, and had a dazed and confused expression on her face.

“It took a while but we cracked her. Unfortunately, she’s had selective memory wipes. She knows how she was suppose to get off New Helsinki, and where she was suppose to meet her ship, but she doesn't know anything else. Still her various alterations gave us a clue. They were all commercially available, but the type and pattern of arrangement leads us to one conclusion.”

Cain face twisted in a snarl, “
Rahya,
” she said making it a curse.

The man called Lawrence nodded, “The black ops arm of the Commonwealth Security Directorate. It would appear General they were
behind the whole New Helsinki incident, and very soon we may be at war with the Confederacy because of their scheming.

Cain nodded and summarized the entire situation in one word, “Fuck.”

Dramatis Persona

Lt. Captain  Jonathan Marcus Pavel- Commander of RSNS
Titan
DD-0032 Commander William Trendale-XO of
Titan

Lieutenant Commander Nathan Gopal-Tactical Officer

Lieutenant Sandra Chan-Assistant Tactical Officer

Lieutenant Daimion Krishna- EW/Com/Sensors, latter S-2

Lieutenant Marcus Halman-Navigation

Lieutenant Qin Smith- Engineering

Warrant Officer Alan Rodriguez-Logistics

Ships Doctor Surgeon 3
rd
class-Walton Walder,

Lieutenant Varden Baker- Commander of
Titan’s
Marines

Master Chief Petty Officer (Bosun) –Donny “Hardshell” Hartic

Commander Chloe Renee- CO of
Hope
the CRS Search and Rescue ship

Captain Okora Hu-CO of
Swift

Captain Dalton Cin-CO of 
Nimble

Commander Tao Juan-Commander of 95th Naval Engineering Brigade

Li Curtis-Governor General New Helsinki System

Antony Garrett-Special Branch Office of Military Intelligence

Yaguard Swerjick- Would-be Dictator

Former Colonel General Gustav Valbern- Insurgency Military Leader

Admiral Bao Keys-Senior Solarian Officer/War Hero

Additional Information

AE Calendar System

Following the successful founding of mankind's first extra solar colonies, a movement began among various segments of society to adopt a new calendar system. The old Anno Domini system seemed antiquated in the face of humanities’ migration to the stars. No doubt, many of the original ‘rationalist’ groups who sought to abolish the old system also wanted to cut mankind's ties with the supposed ignorance, and intolerance of religion associated with the old calendar. This way of thinking, ultimately prevailed in 2536 AD when following the signing of the Solar Unity Treaty, the Solar System was unified under the United Nations Transolar Authority. This was the first of several governments to lay successive claim to mankind's birth world, to commemorate the glorious unification of mankind’s birth world for the first time in its history. The UNTSA Committee of Timekeeping Standardization and Calendar Synchronization announced a new calendar beginning in the Year 1961 with New Year’s Day being April 12th. The reasoning for this is the commemoration of the flight of Vostok-1 and Yuri Gagarin the first man in history to leave Earth's atmosphere. The New Calendar would be called After We Left Earth, although it was later shortened to After Earth or AE. Attempts to rename the months also ultimately failed, but the new dating system stuck and spread throughout mankind's far-flung colonies. Ironically, for those who sought to remove religious connotation, the calendar system actually gave rise to a new one. The Stellanauta church, which grew in popularity among Spacers and Colonists, announced in 460 AE that it had canonized Gagarin and fifty other of mankind's early astronauts as Saints. The Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and various other religious sects soon followed. As of the 8th century AE, Yuri Gagarin, a man known in life as a devout atheist, is widely considered the first saint of mankind’s new era. Evidence, some say, that history truly has a bizarre sense of humor.  

Solarian Navy

History

The Republic of Solaria Navy was officially founded on August 1
st
2467 by an act of the Solarian Senate - a day still celebrated as Navy Day. A year after its creation, the new Solarian Navy launched its first ships - The Frigates
Defiant, Essex, Warspite, Enterprise, Senator,
and
Victory
. Unlike other Navies, the RSN was founded as a commerce protection force, not a system defense force. As a result, the RSN early on developed a reputation as a fighting force, which then quickly gained active combat experience against raiders. As of the 8th century A.E., the RSN is the third largest navy in the human expanse by number of hulls and foremost in experience. The Navies primary mission has shifted from protecting Solarian merchantmen to enforcing Solarian policy, and safeguarding the Republic’s far flung mercantile interest, and client states. With high standards of training, emphasis on individual intuitive for its officers, and centuries of combat experience, the Solarian Navy is widely considered by many to be the premier combat force of Civilized Space.

Doctrine

Owing to its origins as a commerce protection force, the Solarian Navy doctrine is built around the concept of the independent taskforce and big gun fleet, sometimes referred to as the big stick system. Solaria builds her ships slow and sturdy, with heavy armaments. Navy Doctrine calls for ships to be able to operate as part of a self-sufficient taskforce, or individual ship for months at a time. That is, weeks or even months from any base or support. Solarian vessels, therefore, need to be better-armed and better lead than their counterparts. Solarian doctrine calls for leaders to perform their duties in an aggressive manner neutralizing enemy threats before they can grow. Additionally, ships of the fleet are expected to attempt to preserve their combat power so long as it is to the advantage of the fleet as a whole. The bottom line being -hit hard, hit fast, but don’t be suicidal, and expect to always be outnumbered but not out gunned.