Against All Odds (35 page)

"I think I've been set up," Jenetta said.

"Just a small surprise, Admiral," Captain Gavin said. "We thought you'd be pleased."

"I am." Looking around the bridge, Jenetta said, "This is an unusual configuration. Why the rounded walls and domed overhead. Is there a special purpose?"

"There is indeed," Captain Gavin said. As he gestured to the tactical officer, the lights dimmed slightly and the walls and ceiling seemed to melt away. Space outside the ship could be seen in every direction she turned. It was like standing in an EVA suit on top of the ship despite the bridge being located in the center of the ship and separated from outside space by numerous decks, bulkheads, radiation shielding, and ship's armor. Only the consoles, chairs, bridge equipment, and floor remained fully visible.

"My God!" Jenetta said. "I hadn't heard about this. It's incredible."

"It's the latest advancement in SimWindow technology. The entire bridge can become transparent— even the deck, although that tends to disturb some individuals so we've only used it infrequently."

"Really! I'd love to see that if there's no one on the bridge who would be unduly disturbed."

Captain Gavin looked around at the crewmembers on the bridge, then nodded at the tac officer. Instantly the floor melted away, leaving only a grid-work of thin lines that allowed a visual reference for the deck beneath their feet. It was like being in a clear bubble. You could actually look down and see the planet below. The other ships in orbit were all visible now.

"Amazing," Jenetta said, grinning. "I love it, but I can see where it would disturb some people. Even though I know there are more than a dozen decks beneath this one, I'm almost afraid to walk around for fear I'll slip through one of the grid openings and wind up outside the ship. This would take a bit of getting used to."

Captain Gavin smiled. Nodding at the tac officer, the floor solidified again, but the walls and overhead remained transparent.

"Are the new frigates like this?" Jenetta asked Captain Gavin.

"Yes, they have the same basic design on a smaller scale."

"Wonderful. Let's talk in your briefing room, unless you have other marvels of technology to show me?"

"Well, there is one small feature you should see now. If you would follow me, Admiral?"

Captain Gavin led the way out of the bridge and to a lift. Down one deck and five-hundred meters towards the stern, a corridor guarded by two Marines required handprint verification to open the transparent polycarbonate security doors. They passed two solid doors on the sidewalls as they proceeded down the secure corridor.

"The doors on either side are Admiral's suites, should any be staying aboard," Captain Gavin said. Each contains a suite for an aide and another for a steward.

"You didn't bring me down her to see VIP quarters, did you?"

"No, ma'am. This is what I wanted to show you," he said as the doors at the end of the corridor opened."

The room was similar to the bridge.

"It's spacious for Auxiliary Command and Control," Jenetta said.

"AC&C is another deck down and forward of the bridge. This is the Flag bridge. It's similar to the Command bridge, but it has no helm, navigation, or engineering stations, and no fire-control stations. The tactical station is designed to accommodate just two tac officers. One can assess the current situation while another is plotting possible actions."

Jenetta looked around with a smile. "And it has the same transparent overhead, bulkhead, and deck capability?"

"Of course," Captain Gavin said smiling.

"This represents a significant departure from previous ship designs. Warships haven't had a Flag bridge since wet navy days."

"The designers have acknowledged the changing conditions that make such a bridge feasible and desirable. I think the images of you standing on the bridge of the Prometheus hanging onto my command chair for dear life during the engagement with the first Milori invasion force had something to do with it. SHQ decided that an admiral commanding a task force should have a proper bridge of her own. Your refusal to displace either myself or my XO really had an effect."

"Neither Commander Ashraf nor myself could take your chairs. You were the two people responsible for fighting the enemy. We were only there as bystanders."

"Standers maybe, but hardly bystanders. But you won't have to stand in the future. As you can see," he said, gesturing toward six command-style chairs arranged in a slight arc that faced the full-bulkhead monitor at the front, "this bridge provides six chairs for the Admiral and a staff of five advisors. The Admiral can be concentrating on the overall battle while the captain is on the main bridge concerning himself or herself mainly with the actions of the ship. Every new battleship will have a Flag bridge— at least until the class is changed in fifteen or twenty years. SHQ realizes it was a bit shortsighted not to make provision for admirals to command in space. You're still our only battle-experienced Flag officer."

"I hope the need never arises again, but I agree that we must be prepared. Is there anything else to show me?"

"No," he said smiling, "I'm afraid everything else would seem anticlimactic now."

* * *

"Beverage, Admiral," Captain Gavin said as the briefing room doors closed behind them.

"Thank you, Larry. A mug of Columbian would hit the spot if you'll stop using my rank when addressing me behind closed doors."

"Of course, Jen," Captain Gavin said, as he prepared two mugs of coffee and carried them to his desk before taking his seat. Jenetta was already seated.

"This briefing room is every bit as great as your office on the Prometheus, but I think I preferred the honey-oak wall covering over this medium-walnut look."

"I liked the oak, but I also like this look. Perhaps I've just gotten used to it since I see it every day."

"Congratulations on getting the first ship in the new class. Larry. It's beautiful. And I'm sure it's as deadly as it appears."

"The designers returned to the drawing boards for the new weapons systems. Before the Battle at Vauzlee, one torpedo from every tube every fifteen seconds was more than adequate. Vauzlee, Higgins, Stewart, and two wars with the Milori showed us we needed a faster rate of fire. Torpedoes are stored and loaded in clusters of sixteen now. The time required to have another torpedo in position to fire has been reduced from fifteen seconds to two-point-three seconds for each torpedo in the cluster. It takes six-point-nine seconds to swap clusters, so the average time to fire is under two-point-six seconds. The ship has fifty-six tubes, so we can put eight-hundred-ninety-six torpedoes on target in under thirty-five seconds and be ready to begin firing another eight-hundred-ninety-six less than seven seconds after that. All loading is handled automatically, so we won't lose people if a torpedo room is struck during an engagement unless something happens that requires the presence of engineers. There will always be a torpedo ready when a tactical officer has locked onto a target and the number of available tubes means the tac officer can instantly select from high-explosive, bomb-pumped laser, nuclear, or WOLaR torpedoes.

Better still, the new torpedoes don't fly a straight line to the target— they zigzag randomly, which makes it much more difficult for enemy gunners to kill them. Just when you think you'll get a lock, the torpedo changes direction— just enough to make you miss."

"That's great. Will guidance specialists still have a role?"

"The designers have improved the software considerably and the torpedo will still strike the target in the approximate area identified by the tactical officer at the time the torpedo is fired. If the ship is in the enemy database, the torpedo will target the weakest point within the target area, but having a guidance specialist assigned to each torpedo can improve the kill rate because he or she can alter the trajectory if another torpedo arrives at the intended target first. The specialist can then retarget another point or, during a battle, another ship."

"This ship is aptly named. Ares, the Greek God of War. I'm glad I don't have to go into battle against him."

"More tubes with a substantially higher rate of fire, more laser arrays,
and
Dakinium Shielding. We can't go wrong. I'm sorry you weren't able to get the ship command promised to you."

"Admiral Moore did tell me at the time it would only happen if I could be freed up from whatever duty assignment I had when the ships were ready to launch. Given our current situation I can't argue with the fact that I've been too involved to be freed up here. It's hard to believe the promise was made during a different war."

"Let's hope this war is the last one we'll know in our lifetimes."

"Amen. Did you arrange for Eliza's promotion?"

"I was staffing the ship, needed a good second officer, and she was on the Promotion Selection Board's list for Lt. Commander. I naturally grabbed her as quickly as I could before someone else did."

"Christa is on the list as well."

"I know, but Steve Powers wanted her for his new ship. And since he was already her commanding officer on the Chiron, she went with him."

"Steve got a new ship? That means that…"

"Yes, Christa is on the Hephaestus. She's probably asleep now since you didn't schedule a visit to any of the other newly arrived ships."

"I would have if I had realized Steve was here as well as you. As soon as I spotted your name on the Ares crew list I stopped what I was doing and made arrangements to come up here."

Captain Gavin chuckled. "We'll have plenty of time for socializing. I don't imagine any of us will be going anywhere until after we deal with the Uthlaro."

"I like your optimism. I
hope
we'll be going somewhere after they arrive."

"We will. With Admiral Jenetta Carver in command, nobody doubts that. You have an unparalleled talent for tactics. If anyone needed more proof than what you've done before this latest war, they only need look at the record so far in this one. You've destroyed more than nine hundred ships in combat and lost just— what— seven people and no ships. All four of the belligerents have surrendered unconditionally and we only need mop up this last task force to end the fighting."

"We've been…"

"Don't say you've been lucky, Jen," Captain Gavin said, interrupting. "I know you like to think that, but it does you a tremendous disservice to say it. The people you've defeated know it wasn't just luck, at least those who survived the encounter with you. And even your detractors in Space Command have finally started to acknowledge it wasn't just luck."

"I have detractors in Space Command?" Jenetta said, feigning surprise.

Captain Gavin smiled. "Not all that many— just the ones who are jealous of your abilities, success, and popularity. Of course, that probably includes half the officer corps."

"I've never let it bother me."

"It hasn't hurt your career. Even the ones who are highly positioned haven't been able to touch you. Admiral Hubera, for instance."

"Well— I knew about Admiral Hubera. He was just as rude to me when I appeared at the Admiralty Board a couple of years back as when he was my instructor at the Academy. I was recounting some basic facts so everyone would understand my position and he snapped at me that they already knew what I was saying and that I should get to the point."

"He sure wouldn't win any popularity contests with the people he's worked with over the years. He's probably the most vocal among the detractors. The rest of us are solidly behind you and tremendously grateful
you're
out here instead of an officer like Hubera."

"Thanks, Larry. I'm grateful
you're
here. The Uthlaro are definitely coming and we need our best commanders for that conflict. They don't have Dakinium, but their ships have three layers of tritanium and are well constructed. Worse, their warriors always fight to the death. They won't stop coming at us while a single warrior lives. The fighting so far has mostly been with small battle groups and we've fought only with the DS ships, but the Uthlaro have massed for the final battle. Our DS ships are seriously outnumbered, so I'm forced to use older, non-DS ships. It's going to be a lot tougher and a lot bloodier."

"What's the line-up like?"

"With the arrival of your force, I have one-hundred-forty-one ships, seventy-four of which are non-DS. Sixty-two of those are M-Designate and twelve are Mars built. Most are destroyers, but we have two battleships and six cruisers. Our DS ships include fifty scout-destroyers, four destroyers, two frigates, two cruisers, and nine battleships."

"And you're expecting the Uthlaro when?"

"Around the beginning of March."

"Based on the activity at the yards when we left, they must be readying additional ships for your command."

"I'm expecting perhaps as many as twenty more scout-destroyers, but that should be it. The yard folks busted their backsides to get us all the large warships that could be completed before then at the expense of working on ships which they knew couldn't be ready in time. I'm grateful for their efforts and will be happy with whatever additional ships we can get. At this point, I'm not afraid the Uthlaro will overrun us. It's the potential cost in lives that bothers me."