Lens of Time: Book 06 - Star Rover-Running Out of Time (12 page)

Shane looked at Admiral Gibbs, “Why is she glaring at me like that?”

Gibbs laughed and turned to the Captain, “Why don’t you introduce yourself and answer his question.”

The woman was not happy at the request but she looked directly at Shane and said, “My name is Kelli Carpenter and I am a fleet tactical expert. I have been assigned to be your second on this ship and I personally think there is little to be learned by being here.” Shane stared at her and she continued, “You are extremely selfish in your refusal to accept a higher rank; where you could offer more to the Union than just flying this single ship. I also think this modification that’s been ordered is simply a way to coddle your whims. I really don’t see how it will be something that can make a real difference.”

• • •

Shane turned to Admiral Gibbs, “What modification?”

“Shane, why were the aircraft carriers needed?”

Shane thought a moment, “The planes they carried needed to be delivered to their targets and have a place where they could be rearmed and refueled.” Shane noticed Captain Carpenter was shocked at his response.

“Very good, Shane. We now have a situation where the Grillen have developed a Grey Ship that is a direct danger to our Rovers. We have a problem getting them in close enough to their standard ships without being destroyed by their new ships. We’re going to rebuild the Saturn to carry four hundred Rovers inside its hull and you will deliver them through the Grey Ship screen to hit their targets. The Jukebox will be updated with modern dark matter reactors, force fields, and beams. They will also be armed with the guns that fire the shards.”

Shane stared at Gibbs and said, “I agree with the Captain, Sir.”

Gibbs was surprised at the response, “Oh, how so?”

“If our current drop of Madators is successful, they won’t be building any more of those ships.”

Gibbs tilted his head, “You’re exactly right. This ship is going to be given the task of going out and destroying the ones they have remaining in their ranks. The Rovers on board will be used to keep their standard ships off your back while you do it.”

Kelli looked at Gibbs, “But Sir, how are the Rovers going to be effective with Grey Ships present? They’ll only be killed before they have a chance to get at the standard ships.”

Shane shook his head, “No, they won’t.” The three turned to Shane, “The Saturn will jump in to the middle of the Grey Ships and fire a massive cloud of plastic shells. The Rovers will follow that cloud out and emerge into the ranks of their standard ships.” Shane turned to Gibbs, “I’m going to make a wild guess here and assume the Rovers assigned to this ship will also have the plastic guns as part of their armament?” Gibbs nodded. Shane tilted his head, “Once they’re clear of the Saturn, they’ll be deadly in ship-on-ship fighting.”

Kelli looked at Shane, “And just what do you think the enemy is going to be doing to the Saturn while all this is taking place?”

“Oh I’m sure they’ll be attempting to target it with enough ships to take it out…but…we have penetrators and dark matter beams that are deadly and we won’t be sitting still for them to gang up on us.” Shane looked at Gibbs, “I suspect we’ll be the ones keeping the pressure off our Rovers, Sir.”

Kelli shook her head and Gibbs smiled; he turned back to Shane, “What do you see, Captain?”

“My computer is the best in the fleet at programming multiple jumps. We will scan the location of our attack for any Grey Ships and start jumping to their locations. We’ll fire on them just outside their beam range and jump away. It will be a learning process, but I do think there is merit to coordinating the Jukebox and Rovers into a plan of attack.”

Lydia smiled at Kelli, “Lieutenant, I’ve seen this man fly; perhaps you will reserve your doubts until after you see what he can accomplish.”

Kelli looked at Lydia and saw she was serious. She respected Admiral Gibbs but Lydia was one of her Heroes. “Yes Sir. I’ll do the best I can to make this work.”

Shane looked at Gibbs, “Who will I be reporting to, Sir?”

“On paper your ship will be designated as a single unit reporting directly to me. You will be assigned your missions by Fleet Control. I suspect you will be brought in at the battles that are getting out of hand.”

Shane smiled, “Thank you, Sir. I look forward to this opportunity.”

“Now for the part you won’t like.” Shane knew he wasn’t going to like what was coming. “I want the best Rovers in the service to be assigned to this ship. Most of them are Captains and some of them actually have more seniority than you do.” Shane started shaking his head. “I am going to promote you to Rear Admiral and Captain Carpenter to Commodore. You will only command this ship and you will be a fighting Admiral.”

“Sir, if I accept this promotion you could transfer me to command a fleet.”

“I’ve discussed this with Fleet Admiral Hull and Admiral Arvolo and they have agreed to not do that. I think Arvolo’s words were, ‘I wish I had the same situation.’”

Kelli looked at Shane, “Why are you so against a promotion?”

“I don’t like having the responsibility of another’s life.”

“You had the responsibility of your second officer. Did that bother you?”

Shane was startled by the observation and thought a moment, “No, I guess I figured I would die if I let her down.”

“You need to look at this as participating in a fleet battle and you’re doing your part to save all the ships around you. You’ll still only be directly responsible for those onboard the Saturn, and if they die, so will you. You won’t have to worry about it afterwards.”

Shane turned to Gibbs, “How many crewmen are going to be onboard?”

“Not counting the pilots of the Rovers, eighteen hundred.” Shane was shocked at the number and Gibbs said, “You should know that they will be there whether you call yourself a Captain or an Admiral. By accepting the Flag Rank, you will be given the best pilots in the fleet to defend your ship and crew.”

“This is a no-brainer.”

Shane looked at the wall speaker, “Why do you say that, Cally?”

“You know this is where we’re going to have to move in the future. You might as well get on board now.”

Gibbs looked at Shane, “What did your computer mean by that?”

Shane sighed, “We were discussing the Grey Ships and I think it’s obvious that the Grillen received them from someone else to use against us. If that’s true, I suspect we will be taking on that source if we survive the Grillen. I also suspect their ships will not be as brittle as the ones given to the Grillen.”

Kelli was shocked at Shane’s statement and she saw he was not the dummy he appeared to be. She said, “You knew the answer to the Admiral’s question earlier.” Shane shrugged. Kelli smiled for the first time; maybe she was going to learn something on this assignment. Shane surprised her with his next question.

“Admiral, why was Captain Carpenter selected to be my second-in-command?”

“She is being groomed to ultimately take a fleet. She is quite talented and I think she has all the knowledge needed but doesn’t understand the niceties of actual space combat. This assignment should teach her what she’ll need later.”

Shane looked up and rolled his eyes at the ceiling. Gibbs said, “Don’t be surprised by this. Gem was also selected for the same reason. She’s being groomed for a Flag as well. We have hounded you to accept the promotion but have been unsuccessful.”

Kelli said, “What’s wrong with this?”

Shane shook his head, “Nothing.”

Gibbs said, “Something’s bothering you.”

“I just wonder where all the Indians are. It seems everyone I encounter wants to be a chief. I would think there would be those that want to shoot the arrows instead.”

Gibbs got a far-off look and Lydia knew that he missed the adrenaline rush of fighting one-on-one against a worthy enemy. Gibbs smiled, “I hope you show Commodore Carpenter the glory of that calling. Now, if you’ll sign here, we’ll get this party started.”

• • •

Gem sat on board the Triton and received the announcement that Shane had been promoted to command a special ops ship. She also saw that his new second was also promoted to commodore. She realized she would have the same rank she now had if she had remained on board. She reached into her panel and pulled a picture out of Shane and her on a beach. Her tears fell; she missed him so much. She put the picture away and went to her quarters. A week later she threw the picture away. A week after that, she was ordered to take her ship to Space Dock and have it modified. She arrived and saw the Saturn being worked on by massive numbers of construction workers and engineers. She also saw on her scanner that four hundred Rovers were going through maneuvers not far away. She knew Shane was present. She fought her feelings and was determined to not allow her emotions to show.

• • •

Kelli was working with an engineering team on the new ship tubes when she saw the Triton arrive. She contacted a Lieutenant she had attended the Academy with, who held a position in Fleet Control, and discovered that the Triton was also going to be modified to take on the Grey Ships. Her eyebrows went together and she wondered about how Admiral Matthews would respond to his former navigator. She sensed there was a thing between the two of them and she didn’t want the former interest of her commander to have an edge in future promotions. She would just have to make sure her new rank wouldn’t be jeopardized by the Triton’s Commander. She left the tube and headed toward the bridge. She found Shane staring out of the main viewport watching the Triton maneuver into Space Dock. She said, “It appears there are going to be two ships modified to take on the Grey Ships.” Shane looked away from the viewport and simply nodded, saying nothing. “Have you heard anything about this, Sir?”

Shane’s lip went up at the corner and he slightly nodded, “She’s a good choice. Her commander is well qualified for this type of combat.”

“Will she also be promoted to Admiral, Sir?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Shane looked back out of the viewport, “If we have to fight together, Admiral Hull wants me to have command authority. I suspect there will be other ships modified as quickly as possible; Fleet is selecting their best officers to be the nucleus of this effort.” Kelli smiled; Gem wouldn’t outrank her. Shane saw her expression and shook his head; he knew what she was thinking. “Always planning the career, Commodore? She does have seniority.”

“But not on the command ship, Sir. This is where the real action will happen.

Shane sighed and shook his head, “Have my quarters provisioned; I’ll be staying on the ship.”

Kelli smiled again, “Yes Sir.”

Shane continued to stare at the beautiful Jukebox Battleship moving into the Space Dock and decided that he could not go back to what he had endured when Gem left. Seeing her would only open old wounds that were beginning to heal and that was the last thing he needed during this new assignment. He wouldn’t leave Saturn; he would remain onboard and focus on his new ship and crew. It should be enough to keep him from staring at Gem’s ship. He stood up and went to attend a meeting with the new gunnery officers. He needed to know how their new systems operated and see if there were any issues with covering the Saturn during combat.

• • •

Every night for five weeks, Gem would go to the Space Dock’s cafeteria to have dinner. She couldn’t decide if seeing Shane was something she wanted or not. She did see his new second officer and she had made it a point to come over and introduce herself. What a little twit she was! Rank envy was written all over her and she had told Gem it was great to be serving on the best Jukebox in the fleet. Gem had told her that she had a fine commander who knew his stuff. She would learn a lot from him. That deflated her balloon and she left quickly after the remark. Gem wondered if she was just like her. She had been chasing a high rank in the Navy since her first day at the Academy. “God, I hope I’m not like that.” Three days later she saw the Saturn powering up to leave Space Dock for initial flight trials. Shane had never left his ship.

She leaned back in her chair and looked out of the viewport of her personal quarters on the Triton and head a beep on her console, “Yes, Euclid.”

“Cally asked me to deliver a message to you.”

Gem’s heart went into her throat, “What is it?”

“When love walks out of your life, the pieces left behind never fit well together.”

“But I didn’t walk out!” Gem waited and Euclid remained silent. After a minute Gem sighed, “I guess I did.”

“Cally says you ran.”

“What do you think about that?”

“You made a decision about what you loved more, Gem. I hope you can live with your choice.”

Gem’s tears fell and she watched the Saturn in the viewport as it moved away. She made a decision and pressed a button on her console. The hull lights that lit up the nose of the Triton came on at full power and the ship was brightly illuminated. Gem began pressing a button on her panel.

• • •

Shane sat on the bridge as the Saturn backed out of Space Dock and stared at the Triton hanging in space dock. His heart was heavy and he fought hard to maintain control of his expression. The Saturn cleared the moorings and started moving away and he saw the lights on the bow of the Triton start flashing; he wondered what was going on. He watched the pattern and suddenly knew. He had taught Gem how to use ancient morse code to communicate. He was always fascinated by the ways ancient sailors had communicated. He heard the navigator say, “We’re ready to jump, Sir.”

He continued to stare out of the viewport and held up his hand delaying the jump as he watched the pattern. It said, “I love you, Shane.”

He smiled and lowered his hand, “Execute Jump.”

• • •

Gem saw the Saturn disappear and wondered if he saw the message. Euclid said, “He did.” Gem shook her head. She was starting to believe the ship’s computer could read her mind.

“Now he knows…at least he knows.”

• • •

Kelli wondered what Shane was staring at through the viewport and she looked out of the port next to her command chair and saw the flashing lights on the Triton. She saw Shane smile and knew something important had been communicated. He seldom smiled. She wondered what he saw. “Sir, why was the Triton flashing its hull lights?”