Rust Bucket (31 page)

      Getting a larger squadron to scramble was quite a task in itself. In fact, the only way the members of the squadron managed to do it at night in five minutes or less was to take my advice and run like hell for the ships no matter how they were or weren't dressed. The only ships presenting a problem for that was the scouts since they didn't have the room inside for anyone to move around or dress themselves in. They would have to wait until they docked in space with the heavy cruiser before they could. However, they were able to launch far quicker than anyone else, so I segregated them far away enough from the other ships where they could launch as soon as their personnel were aboard. They would be able to either wait for the rest of the squadron in orbit or start out on their mission. Most of the scouts were soon launching within three minutes. I felt that was an accomplishment of sorts despite the fact that most of their personnel were stark naked or nearly so.

***

After two weeks, we began going on patrols and practicing some of the new tactics especially created to take advantage of having the fast scouts. We didn't manage to encounter any enemy ships to practice on, so I communicated with Headquarters to arrange for us to move about freely to find something to practice on.

The message that came down from Supreme Headquarters was devastating to me when I read it on the monitor inside the
Excalibur's
bridge. The war was over, although it was more of a truce. The Ape-oids sued for peace and a truce was in effect. I had no choice but to recall the 9th Squadron and return to base.

      I wondered what my own status would be as we returned back to our port. I held a temporary commission as a Captain in the Navy. I guessed I could become an enlisted member of the Navy, such as Sergeant Clark had. Maybe I'd be kept on board one of the ships, but somehow I doubted it. If I knew the Navy, now that the emergency was over, it would be back to politics as usual.

      I was still a paid employee of Pennyweight Shipping Company and an officer there. It seemed to hold more future for me than the Navy. At least they hadn't missed seeing my talents and availing themselves of them. They had treated me fairly as well. In fact, they had treated me more than fair. However, I was unsure if I would remain an officer when I returned to Pennyweight.

***

My orders weren't long in arriving after I got back to the base. I was sitting around with very little to do besides trying to keep the ships in shape before the crews could neglect them in their efforts to celebrate. Three days after we returned to base, my orders arrived. I reported back to the
Thurman
to return my first ship of command back to Pennyweight.

      The
Thurman
and I, along with the other remaining Pennyweight Shipping Company personnel who were with me, had been deactivated. A number of the repairs made on the
Thurman
were already rusting over again. The
Thurman
was looking like a rust bucket again. However, we did get to keep the Mark IV quads the Navy installed to replace some of our weapons lost in action. If nothing else, the Rust Bucket was going back to Pennyweight with more firepower on her than when she left for war.

      I took the old familiar Captain's seat, probably for the last time, I figured, and told Frank to take us home. The trip only took a few minutes to reach our port from the base. Once there, we cleaned up the ship and performed maintenance. When we were finished, I reported to the office to see Penny and report myself as back in for work.

      "Captain Oden reporting for work."

      "It's about time you showed up. How's the Rust Bucket?" Penny asked.

      I replied, "It's still in great shape despite some hits we took. The Navy repaired and replaced the damage and installed Mark IV quads for the destroyed guns. She has a little bit more aging before she has an even coat of rust again. Anyway, I guess I go back to manning a gun."

      Penny exclaimed, "What? Hell no! When I made you an officer, I meant it! As a matter of fact, you're going to remain in charge of that Rust Bucket. You've matured into a good skipper. I'm sure as hell not wasting your talents on merely manning a gun. You'll be back on gun ship routes in a few days. Rest up and see me in two days to get the crew list. We've got to do some reassignments now that your ship is back."

      I eagerly replied, "Yes ma'am, I mean, yes Penny! I'll see you in two days. Besides, I have some old friends to look up now that I have the time."

      I left the building and hired a Yellow to take me over to the Academy to see the Sarge. He was just getting off from running a class through their course work. He smiled as I walked in, once again dressed in Pennyweight overslicks. The cloud white shirt and ocean blue pants were easy to recognize.

      "Well, are you going to be ready for the second war with the Ape-oids?" he asked.

      I said, "I am, but I don't think the Navy will be. They already seem to be gravitating back to their old ways."

      He nodded his head as he said, "Yes, they are. Mark my words. We'll be back at war with them within five years. We were winning and both sides knew it. That's the only reason the Ape-oids asked for a truce. When the war restarts, the Ape-oids will have better guns than before and possibly better ships than the Navy."

      "You think they can advance that much in only five years?" I asked.

      Sergeant Clark said, "Easily, if they apply all their efforts to the task. Take a look at the terms of the truce when they come out later today. You'll see that I'm right. They don't have any intention of honoring the truce beyond the time when they feel that they have an advantage."

      I said, "I will, as soon as they're in the e-news."

      He said, "By the way, you're the reason they asked for a truce. They kept losing too many ships because of you and your students. You did a fine job. Too bad that the Navy will undo most of that before the truce ends."

      "Me? Really?" I said in astonishment.

      He said, "Absolutely. Take a look at the overall statistics, son. The only absolute victories for the Navy were the ones in which you or your students participated in from beginning to truce. You and your students account for over three-quarters of all the enemy ships destroyed, the only enemy installations attacked, and the only prisoners brought back. If you hadn't thought of bringing back prisoners, we wouldn't have anything to trade prisoners with. I understand that they got a lot of information from those three before the war ended. The Ape-oids feared you and that Rust Bucket. They're trying to make a new ship better than that one ship because they thought it was a secret weapon we brought in."

      I laughed when the Sarge said it was believed to be a secret weapon.

      He said, "Don't laugh too much. They will make a better ship, but the question remains whether they'll improve their training as well. If they don't, then you'll still have a chance against them."

      "I? What do you mean?" I asked.

      He said, "Now that you've accepted a temporary commission, the Navy can activate you again when the chips are down. They will, whether you work for Pennyweight or not."

      "Don't I have any say?" I asked.

      "No, unless you want to be disgraced the rest of your life. By the way, I thought you and Annie were going to get married. What happened there?" he asked.

      I explained, "It was supposed to be an affair. She said she was using protection, otherwise I would have used some myself. Then she got pregnant and asked if it would be all right if she stopped using protection to have a child of mine with no obligations. I reasoned out then that she was pregnant, so I said she could have the baby if that was what she wanted. That's about the whole story."

      He said, "I see. Well, I understand, but I think you're missing out on the deal of the century."        

      I replied, "Maybe so, but I didn't want to get a regular commission because I was related to an admiral."

      Sergeant Clark exclaimed, "Ah! Of course, why didn't I reason that one out! My boy, even if you married her, that ornery old man of hers wouldn't pull a string for you if the two of you were in a musical band! How the hell do you think he got to be an admiral? He pulled his own strings or weight the whole way, just like you're trying to do. Give it some thought. Being married is a plus towards getting a regular commission for someone in your situation and it doesn't matter who your father-in-law happens to be. The rich kids haven't made it that far up the ladder and likely they won't. They don't want to spend too much time in the military. Just enough to get some inside information and then get out to make credits. Once you get past them like you were when the truce was announced, then you're competing against officers like yourself. You've got most of them beat hands down!"

      "You mean I was that close?" I asked.

      He said, "Yes. Just wait a few more years. Stick with Pennyweight and bide your time. The war will resume. Then you'll be able to get that regular commission."

      I replied, "I'll keep that in mind. By the way, how's your father-in-law? I haven't stopped to see him yet, so I thought I'd ask you."

      He said, "He's slowing down. You gave him a lot of reason to believe that we would win, if the politicians hadn't been paid off to accept a truce so that the rich families could get back to making more credits on the Navy's back. Anyway, he'd be glad to see you, so drop on by when you get a chance."

      I replied, "I will. By the way, you'll have to introduce me to your wife someday, now that I've got the time to socialize. I'll bet you picked a real winner."

      Sergeant Clark said, "I did and you've met her already. You work for her."

      "Huh? Not Penny?" I asked.

      He smiled and said, "The one and the same."

      "Sarge, is this a good question to ask here or should we go somewhere else?" I asked.

      "What?" asked the Sarge.

      "Well," I said as I looked around, "she's not in the directory. Neither is your father-in-law or his son that you saved. Likewise, the Pennyweight . . ."

      Sergeant Clark quickly said, "Hold it! You're right. That's not the type of question to ask or answer here. Furthermore, I can't give you an answer. You're going to have to settle for no answer. Please don't bring the question up with anyone."

      I looked at Sarge with a sense of hopelessness and knew that there was something going on in front of me that I couldn't see. What's worse is that I was sure it was happening openly without any sort of cover. Yet I was missing it. I answered, "Okay, Sarge, I won't bring it up." Inside though, I knew I wasn't going to stop trying to discover what was going on. My curiosity was strangling me over this now.

***

Afterwards, I went ahead and visited with the retired Admiral at his surplus store. I made it a point to look around the store at what was carried for sale, yet not one thing didn't belong there. It was as typical a surplus store as any I had ever been in. We had a nice chat and he thanked me for my efforts during the war. I left after at most an hour, still puzzled by why he wasn't in the directory. Sarge's warning not to bring it up was enough to convince me that something was truly going on.

***

I caught a Yellow back to the company area since as Captain of the
Thurman,
I could bunk down inside it whenever I wished. On the way back, I let my thoughts wander from the mystery, to Annie, and to what the next war would be like. I didn't even give thought to my chances of getting a regular commission. For once, my original goal wasn't my first priority.

      Concerning the mystery, there was little I could do other than keep my eyes open. Maybe I would spot what was happening. About the only thing I now knew was that Penny was also the daughter of the retired Admiral. There were only three invisible people who I knew of and not four. I almost forgot to recheck my directory listing to see if I had disappeared since I was out of the Navy. Was I invisible? I would check on it tomorrow.

      Annie was something I wasn't sure of. She was bright, daring, and beautiful. She was also slightly self-centered, a liar of sorts, and a manipulator. She also seemed to care for me, but she had let go of me and kept her word about some things. I wasn't in love with her and had barely given her a thought after our parting. I supposed that I should see how she was doing. I decided that I could do that tomorrow as well.

      As far as the next war, I wondered what I could do for the Navy if the Ape-oids could outrun our ships and possibly outgun them. There might be an historic precedent for someone in that situation. I wondered if I could find it and then apply the knowledge. At any rate, I knew the truce would likely last at least a year to two years simply because the Ape-oids would not only have to develop such weapons, but mass produce them if they were to have a real chance of winning the war. Surely, they wouldn't think that they could do it with only one ship?

***

The next day started with a whole new outlook for me. I got up from my cabin in the Rust Bucket and was able to eat in its Dining Facility since our cooks were already back in place. I looked forward to some of the best food on the planet and several others, too. I was in civilian clothing and looked forward to the day. Most of my thoughts from the day before were neatly stored away where they would let me do other things instead. For the time being, I would only recall them as they were needed. Nothing had resolved itself in my sleep. As well, I knew that those were the things that would take time.