Star Rover-Chosen to Die (Lens of Time) (15 page)

“Number Three, what was your Ship Leader able to determine?”

The Third raised a device and pointed it at the huge wall monitor. An image appeared of the hull of a blue battleship surrounded by numerous black colored probes. “The beings in the Spiral Galaxy allowed us to record their probes.”

All the Masters at the table briefly flashed a light orange color indicating their surprise. The Leader said, “How was your Ship Leader able to persuade them to reveal them?”

“I brought him here to be available to answer any of your questions. Does he have permission to speak?”

The Leader looked at the Ship Leader standing behind the Third Master and said, “You will answer our questions.” The Ship Leader lowered himself on his middle leg and leaned backwards. “How did you get them to reveal their probes?”

“I simply asked to see them, Master.”

The entire room went silent. After a long moment the Fifth Master rose slightly. The Lead Master looked at him and moved his head slightly back. “Are you telling me you jumped in on one of their planets with a hundred battleships, asked them to show you their probes, and they complied?”

“I jumped in outside the orbit of the second moon and did not move any further into the system. I waited for ten minutes and those four ships appeared between me and the planet. I had ordered all the ships in my battle group to jump away when they appeared and they complied.”

The Military Master turned bright orange in his anger, “And you did not attack them with your battle group!?! What kind of cowardice is this?”

The Ship Leader lowered himself slightly and said nothing. The Lead Master looked at the Ship Leader and said, “Answer the question.”

“I didn’t think my mission was to attack them but to determine whether or not they possessed probes that were invisible to us.”

The Fifth interrupted, “Those ships were sent to determine the strength of that galaxy.”

The Third looked at the Fifth and said, “If you would have been paying attention, you would have heard the Seventh tell us that probes have been detected in our galaxy. The Leader asked that it be determined if they belonged to the beings in the spiral galaxy. It was my understanding that was the mission.” The Third turned to the Lead Master, “Or am I mistaken? If the mission was to attack, I’m the one that ordered my ship leader to do all he could to determine if those probes are from them.”

The Lead Master looked at the Third and then turned to the Fifth, “It appears that you have no other tool in your possession but a blaster. You want to attack first and ignore everything else.” The Lead Master turned to the Seventh, “Have you done a comparison of the probes?”

“Yes Master.”

“And?”

“They are nothing alike. The probes we’re finding here are from somewhere else.”

The yellow hide on top of the Lead Master’s head turned slightly orange and the Masters knew this was the angriest they had ever seen him. The Second saw his anger and said, “So if the Ship Leader had gone in and attacked those three ships, we would not have learned that there is another civilization spying on us. And your charge of cowardice is ridiculous. He faced those three ships alone, knowing they had the power to overwhelm his defenses.”

The Fifth knew he was in trouble. He lowered himself but saw the Leader’s color was turning more orange. He knew his life was on the line. He lowered his head and said, “I have lost my objectivity. I am a danger to the Table and I hereby resign from the Lead Masters. I apologize to the Ship Leader, who like you say, was incredibly brave in his actions.”

The Lead Master was actually shocked at the Fifth’s resignation. He almost decided to not accept it but decided there was another way to make sure the lesson was learned. “Your resignation is accepted and I appreciate your honesty. You will be given the honor of leading our ships in the front wave when we determine just who it is we’re going to war with.”

The Fifth fought hard and knew he was being given a death sentence but at least it wasn’t being carried out now. He lowered himself and left the chamber.

The Leader turned to the Ship Leader, “Why did you choose to send your ships away?”

“I listened to the Third speak with them and it dawned on me that they might possibly be telling the truth and would not come here without permission. They also offered to help us if we need it.”

“They did what?”

“Those beings are smart, Master. I’m reasonably sure they suspect that the only reason I would ask to see one of their probes is because we detected a probe here. They revealed one so we would know it’s not one of theirs.”

“So you believe they haven’t sent probes here?”

“Not at all; I believe they’ve had probes here as long as we’ve had them in their galaxy.”

“WHAT!”

“I asked myself why they would be willing to show me a probe and it occurred to me that there had to be one of two reasons.”

“What are they?”

“They had already mapped our dominion and didn’t really need to send probes to scout us.”

“And the second reason?”

“They don’t have probes here now. I suspect they withdrew their probes when they eliminated ours. That’s why they have no worry about any probe we might see here would be one of theirs.”

“What do you think they will do now?”

The Ship Leader shrugged, “If I were them, I’d be launching as many probes as possible to our galaxy.”

“Why?”

“We’ve now sent warships into their galaxy twice. If the reverse was true, what would we be doing?”

The Lead Master stared at the Ship Leader and turned to the new Third, “You were right. He is talented.” The Leader turned to the Sixth, “Why has he not been promoted to command a fleet?”

“He has no sponsor, Master.”

The Lead Master turned to the Second and his anger was back. The Second quickly said, “Are you telling me our warrior’s leaders are chosen through political means and not ability?”

“Yes Master.”

The Lead Master turned to the Ship Leader and said, “You are now promoted to the Fifth Seat at this table. Your first task will be to determine if our Fleet Leaders are qualified for their positions!”

The Ship Leader was stunned, “Master, that can be easily done.”

The Second said, “How?”

“All of our Ship and Fleet Leaders are ranked by their grasp of tactics and leadership by the Table’s computer.”

The Lead Master said, “Computer.”

“Yes Master.”

“I want you to look at the Fleet Rankings of all our officers and compare it to all the positions higher than Flight Leader and tell me how many positions are filled by those not at the top of the rankings.”

“Sixty percent are filled by lowered ranked personnel. Fleet Ranks are a hundred percent.”

The Second said, “When did this process of needing a sponsor start?”

“The current Lead Master’s predecessor implemented it. It was the deficiency of those officers that led to the loss of more than a hundred thousand battleships in the war with the Servants and led to the former Master being replaced.”

The Lead Master looked at the Second and the Second knew he had no choice but to ask, “There are three Military Masters serving at this table; where do they rank in the proficiency list?”

“There are ten thousand higher rated officers.”

“Where does the Ship Leader with us rank?”

“He is in the top three percent.”

“You don’t have an exact number?”

“Skills change through experience. The top three percent rankings are constantly changing. The mission this Ship Leader just carried out will probably put him in the top five of all Dominion War Leaders.”

The Lead Master said, “You will put the right ones in command of our Warriors. You may want to start with the three at this table.”

The new Fifth said, “Master, the abilities needed to function at this table are not the same as fighting a warship. These three have vast experience at getting our ships armed, stores to feed them, and communications to keep them linked. I really think they are needed here.”

The Lead Master looked at the Three Military Masters and turned back to the new Fifth. “It is your responsibility to make sure we are prepared for any conflict. I will honor your request.” The Second tried not to show a smile. By saving the three Masters, the new Fifth had them committed to the success of their new leader. He wondered if the Fifth planned it that way. The Lead Master looked at the Second and he knew something was on his mind.

• • •

Captain Mark Anderson looked at the display on his panel and saw his reflection on its surface. He needed it replaced; the anti-reflection coating was wearing thin. He stared at his face and wished he had a scar running down his cheek. He knew he was incredibly good looking; he’d been told so all his life. His black curly hair was tied back in a ponytail and his chiseled face was ruggedly handsome. He used his looks early in life but later tired of them. Getting the attention of the fairer sex was simple; too simple. They never really saw him. Now he had struggled through the Academy and was finally given the command of a Jukebox Battleship under Commodore Bank’s command. He needed his crew to perform at high levels and he couldn’t get the female crewmembers to focus on their tasks. They kept staring at him. He finally decided to be a tyrant and if he couldn’t get them to focus on their tasks, he could get them to have no desire to focus on him. So far, his strategy had worked. He was quite intimidating; six foot three inches and built like a tone tree trunk. He had just received orders from the Commodore that a pilot trainee was reporting to his ship for training. The engineers had come in an hour earlier and installed the trainee’s chair. All the links to the ship’s systems were made and checked out. He contacted Steve Young on the Jacksonville and asked what was going on.

“They’ve discovered that the Jukeboxes should be commanded by an officer that can effectively pilot one. They have to know what their ship is capable of doing during combat. The Academy has begun finding officers that possess the leadership skills and piloting skills to fly the Jukeboxes. They’ve been put through an accelerated program and the last four months of their training is done onboard a Jukebox where they will be called on to fly the ship during extensive maneuvers. My trainee is really impressive; he’s a former Rover and though, I hate to admit it, is actually better at flying the Jacksonville than I am.”

Mark nodded slowly and looked at his panel, “My trainee’s name is J.L. Connor.”

“Sorry, I don’t know anyone coming out of the program. It’s our job to prepare them to fight a Jukebox. That’s what I intend to do.”

“Thanks, Steve. This is the first I’ve heard about this program.” Mark thought for a moment, “What is the rank of the trainees?”

“They’re First Lieutenants; they’ll receive their Captain’s Bars after they complete their training.”

“Are we supposed to automatically pass them?”

“No, we’re not. You’ll have to sign off on them being competent in commanding the Union’s most advanced warship.” Mark nodded and signed off.

Lt. Tara Green said, “Captain, the trainee has arrived and has been ordered to report to the bridge.”

“Have him put his gear in his quarters before coming to the bridge.”

“Uhhh, Sir. The trainee is a woman.”

Everyone on the bridge saw Mark’s disappointment. He sighed and said, “Even so, have her store her gear before reporting.” Tara nodded and pressed her panel. She felt so sorry for the trainee. She doubted she would pass Tyrant Anderson’s inspection. Oh well, bad luck for the trainee.

• • •

The trainee entered the bridge thirty minutes later and came to attention, “Lieutenant Connor reporting, Sir.”

“Does it take you that long to store your gear?” The trainee held her salute and Mark finally returned it. “I asked you a question.”

“Did you give me a time to report to the bridge or did you tell me to store my gear before coming here?”

Mark stared at her and didn’t like her attitude, “Does it take thirty minutes to store gear, Lieutenant?”

“No Sir, it does not.”

“Then why did it take that long?”

“It normally takes forty minutes to connect the computer to the connections in my quarters; I did it in twenty five.”

“What computer?”

“All trainees are assigned a computer where they can take tests when they are not on duty. The tests have been downloaded into your ship’s database but my computer must be set up and logged in to make sure the connection is completed….Sir. Did you not see that in the instructions sent to you about my arrival?”

Mark stared at the Lieutenant and decided she wasn’t going to be approved to command anything. “You may log in to your chair, Lieutenant.”

Mark watched the raven haired woman go to her chair and begin activating her panel at an incredible speed. He tried to keep his expression neutral but knew he couldn’t have done it as fast as she did. He heard her computer say, “State your name.”

“Jillian Loree Connor.”

“Name is incorrect; state correct family name.”

Mark sat up straight in his chair. He heard the trainee say, “Jillian Loree Anders.”

“Name accepted, your helmet is active; please use it to link with me.”

Mark typed the trainee’s name into his panel and saw a bio appear. Jillian Loree Anders; daughter of Admirals Jon Anders and Jillian Connor. Mark closed his eyes and knew he was in trouble. This trainee’s pedigree was extraordinary. He was going to have to walk a tight line around her or face real problems from her parents. He wished he could just pass her and get her off his ship. He heard the computer say, “Link is active, your combat visor is now operational.”

Mark watched the Lieutenant go through the visor’s programs at a speed that was faster than he had ever witnessed and he had seen some fast officers at the academy. Jillian turned around and said, “My chair and visor are operational, Sir.”

Mark stared at her and said, “Why don’t you take us out of dock and rejoin the third unit.”

Jillian turned and moved the giant ship out the dock smoothly without having to use the lateral thrusters. The bridge crew watched her and the women smiled. It appeared the Tyrant had someone to challenge him. They had all looked up her bio and knew Tyrant Anderson’s life was going to be miserable for the next three months. They loved it.