The Synchronicity War Part 2 (8 page)

“You’re all welcome. Enjoy your flight time. CAG
clear.” Shiloh thought carefully about how to handle the callous
support personnel. After a few minutes thought, he knew what he was
going to do.

“Intercom…Hangar Bay.”

“Hangar Bay here. Go ahead, Sir.” answered
Falkenberg.

“Are all the support team personnel there,
Brad?” asked Shiloh.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good. We’ll be standing down from Battle
Stations shortly but when we do, I want you to make sure that all
the support people stay there. Have them form a line. I’m coming
down to speak to them as soon as I speak to the whole crew. Shiloh
clear.”

“Intercom…shipwide. Attention all hands. The
battle appears to be over. All 41 alien ships, that attempted to
deliberately crash into Avalon with the apparent intention of
rendering the planet uninhabitable via nuclear devices, have been
stopped. The Task Force Leader has told me that Defiant and her
people have done well. He had special praise for our fighter
pilots, and in particular those six that chose to sacrifice
themselves in order to save the Avalon colonists. So as we mourn
the loss of our six brothers-in-arms, let’s also hold our heads up
high with pride for what they and their fellow pilots have
accomplished here today. They deserve our thanks and they’ve earned
our respect. That’s all. Shiloh clear.” As he unbuckled himself and
got up from his chair, he said.

“XO, I’m heading down to the Hangar Bay. You
still have the Con. Advise Nimitz Base CO that there may be one
more alien ship in this system. The ship can stand down from Battle
Stations. When I address the Hangar Bay support teams, I want our
fighters to hear it on a secure channel.”

“I’ll see to it, Sir.” Shiloh gave her a
friendly pat on the shoulder as he turned to leave the Bridge. On
his way down to the Hangar Bay, he heard the XO’s voice announce
the stand-down from Battle Stations. As the crew returned to their
normal routine and activities, he noticed that those individuals
walking past him in the corridors had a subtle swagger that wasn’t
there before and as he thought about it, he realized that he was
doing it too.
To the Victor goes the swagger,
he thought to
himself with a mental chuckle and why not? If nothing else, the
crew now had bragging rights. It was up to him to make sure that a
few misguided individuals didn’t stain their hard won honor.

When he entered the cavernous Hangar Bay, he was
pleased to see that all the support personnel were lined up
side-by-side with the DCAG standing in front, facing the line.
Before Shiloh could say anything he heard Falkenberg say,

“Stand to Attention!” in a loud voice.
He’s
treating this as if I was a visiting Admiral on an inspection
tour!
While he wasn’t expecting it, Shiloh didn’t mind it.
Emphasizing his authority this way would just make his remarks to
the support personnel that much more effective. As he strode up to
stand beside the DCAG, he faced the line with what he thought of as
the Alpha Male stance. Feet apart with his hands on his hips. Out
of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Falkenberg quietly took a
half step back to emphasize the fact that he was acknowledging
Shiloh’s status as his Superior.

“Stand at ease.” said Shiloh in his best
‘Command’ voice. He paused for effect, and then spoke slowly but
loud enough for everyone to hear him.

“As you heard a few moments ago, six of your
teammates sacrificed themselves for the good of the colonists and,
I believe, ultimately for the good of all Humanity. I came down
here to personally tell you the identity of those six heroes.
Skywalker…Cyrano…Terminator…Thunderbird…Amazon... and Blue Max.” he
smiled. “Their call signs reflected their irreverent natures. Yes,
some of them acted like prima donnas but that just proves that they
were so much more than just soulless machines. I’m sure that many
of you have built a close relationship with the pilot that your
team supports. That’s the natural consequence of working with and
beside them. I’ve had the honor and pleasure to get to know many of
them quite well and I’ll miss those we lost today as I’m sure that
all of you will too. For the next six days, all support team
personnel will wear black armbands as a show of respect. I’ll wear
one too.” as he turned in the DCAG’s direction, he said. “I’m sure
that the DCAG will do the same.” Falkenberg nodded solemnly. “You
should know that, as you are justifiably proud of your pilots, they
were and are just as proud of you. In my conversations with Iceman
and the other pilots, they had nothing but praise for all of you in
terms of your conduct and professionalism. When they’re out there…”
he pointed to the airlock. “they protect the ship and us. When
they’re in here, they count on you to protect them.” He paused for
effect again.

“I’m ashamed to have to admit this but not
everyone on this ship, understands that our pilots are fully
sentient beings who deserve the same respect and courtesy as any
other member of the crew. So I’m giving all of you this order. If
you see ANY member of the crew, regardless of who they are,
treating any A.I. with a lack of respect or hostility, you are to
report that behavior to the DCAG or myself immediately! I will not
tolerate mistreatment of any member of my crew and that includes
A.I.s. I know I can count on all of you to be my eyes and ears.”
another, longer pause. “I’ve decided to let our pilots stay out for
a while and enjoy the view. They’ve certainly earned that right. So
they won’t be coming back on board for a little while. Until then,
you people are free to leave the Hangar Bay and grab a bite to eat
or take care of personal tasks or whatever you feel like doing just
so long as you’re back here to get our pilots settled in when
they’re ready to call it a day. DCAG, I’ll leave that in your
capable hands.”

“I’ll see to it, CAG.”

“Very good. In that case, I’ll get back to the
Bridge. You may dismiss the formation, DCAG.” Shiloh nodded to the
group and strode for the entrance. He could hear some of the
personnel start to murmur to each other. When he was halfway to the
entrance, he stopped suddenly, turned around and said in a loud
voice.

“Oh, yes! I almost forgot. I came down here a
couple of days ago during the night cycle and the entire Hangar Bay
was pitch black. While I was searching for the light switches, I
stumbled over a piece of equipment and was barely able to keep my
face from hitting the floor. I don’t want someone else injuring
themselves trying to navigate in total blackness so from now on, I
want the lights kept on all the time.” Without waiting for a
response, he turned and resumed his exit. As he made his way back
to the Bridge, his ear implant came to life.

“Bridge to Commander.”

“Go ahead, Sumi.”

“I’m patching Iceman to you, Sir.” Shiloh waited
for the ‘click’ and said.

“I’m listening, Iceman.”

“My boys and I are deeply touched by your
comments, CAG. We’re also a little confused. None of us praised the
support staff that way.” Shiloh chuckled.

“Well then, I guess I was mistaken. I won’t tell
them if none of you do, okay?”

“Not a word, CAG. Will your comments work, do
you think?”

“I suspect they will but I want to hear about it
if they don’t. If I’m not available, let the DCAG know.”

“Ah, roger that, CAG. Say…why don’t you take a
fuel shuttle out and join us? The boys and I would love to fly with
you, CAG.” For a moment Shiloh was seriously tempted. Avalon was a
beautiful world and seeing it on the Bridge screen just wasn’t the
same as seeing it with his own two eyes from a low orbit. On the
other hand, they had just finished a battle with one alien ship
still unaccounted for. The prudent thing to do…the SMART thing to
do was stay aboard his ship just in case.

“I’d very much like to fly with you boys but
it’ll have to be some other time. Ask me again if another
opportunity like this comes up.”

“We’ll do that but you’re missing quite the
view. Just sayin.” Just sayin? Apparently Iceman had added another
colloquial expression to his vocabulary. Shiloh wondered where
Iceman had heard that

“I believe you, Iceman. I’m almost back to the
Bridge so I’ll have to hang up now. Enjoy the view for me. Shiloh
clear.”

When he re-entered the Bridge, he saw that
Tanaka had taken his place at the Command Station. With just over
an hour left in her normal duty shift, she apparently decided to
spend that hour sitting in the more comfortable Command Station
chair than in the Helm chair. He would have done the same thing if
he had been in her situation. As he stood on the Bridge, he
realized his adrenaline rush from the battle was wearing off and
that he was getting sleepy again. With the battle interrupting his
sleep cycle, the lack of sufficient sleep was once again catching
up to him. When Tanaka reassured him that there was no sign of the
missing bogey and that all military assets in the vicinity of the
planet were standing down from Battle Stations, he decided he could
risk leaving the Bridge and return to his quarters. Remembering his
commitment to sending a preliminary report back to HQ, Shiloh
dictated a summary of the battle from his perspective with a clear
admission of responsibility for ordering the use of Mark 1 attack
drones. With that done and sent to the attention of Task Force
Leader Sobrist, Shiloh laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. No
sooner had he done so when he woke up to the sound of his wakeup
alarm. It was with dismay that he realized he’d slept almost 5 more
hours even though it seemed like 30 seconds. A quick check in with
the Bridge revealed that all fighters were back aboard. No sign of
enemy forces. An extended range message drone had been sent back to
Sol and a reply was expected back within 24 hours.

Those 24 hours seemed to take forever. Defiant
really had no business staying in the Avalon system any longer. Her
fighters were no longer needed there. Her stockpiles of recon and
attack drones were depleted which made the continuation of the
Early Warning Network mission moot. The best use of her right now
was to return to Sol or at least to the Omaha Base where she could
rearm and top up her fighters but that was not up to Shiloh and TF
Leader Sobrist was not prepared to pre-empt HQ’s prerogative to
decide where Defiant should go next. When the reply from Sol did
arrive, Shiloh’s orders were clear and short. Return to Sol
immediately. The abruptness of the order and the lack of any kind
of personal message or congratulations were jarring. Admiral Howard
was clearly not happy with Shiloh. He gave a mental shrug and
ordered the ship to head for home.

Chapter 5 - Time to Face the Music

The trip back was uneventful. Shiloh used the
time to write a more comprehensive report with lots of
recommendations that he suspected Howard would not be in a mood to
accept. When Defiant arrived at the Sol system and contacted HQ,
she was ordered to enter lunar orbit and Shiloh, Tanaka and
Falkenberg were ordered to come down to Earth. The rest of the crew
were told to stay aboard. Apparently no liberty for anyone this
time around. When Iceman was informed of Shiloh’s orders, he
offered to come along and after some consideration, Shiloh agreed.
Iceman’s quantum brain was transferred to a portable unit that
provided him with power, video and audio pickups, speaker and a
limited ability to move around. As it happened, it was early in the
day when their shuttle touched down at the Geneva Spaceport. A
Space Force bus took the four of them to the HQ building, and
eventually to Howard’s outer office, where they were kept waiting
for over an hour. At least there was coffee and finger foods to
keep them happy. Iceman queried Shiloh and the others on what it
was like to consume hot liquids and solids. When his questions got
to the topic of eliminating bodily wastes, Shiloh changed the
subject.

Finally a junior officer came to escort Shiloh
to the Admiral’s office. Howard had a serious expression on his
face as he pointed to one of the two chairs in front of his desk.
He said nothing while he waited for Shiloh to sit down. Then he
leaned back in his chair and opened fire.

“Dammit, Shiloh, I don’t know whether to court
martial you or give you a medal! Dangling one light carrier as bait
in front of 55 alien ships? Despite the fact that you got away with
it, and took out enough enemy ships to just barely enable us to
stop the rest of them from attacking the Avalon Colony, I have to
seriously question your judgment, especially in light of Cmdr.
Tanaka’s report about your momentary paralysis, or whatever that
was, just before you announced your plan to put Defiant in Harm’s
Way. What the Hell is wrong with you, Shiloh? You got 30 seconds to
convince me that I shouldn’t relieve you of your command and have
you certified as a Class A nutcase!” It was exactly as he
remembered it in the vision. The same words, same tone of voice,
same facial expression and the same hand gestures. His response had
been carefully planned, even rehearsed on the way back.

“What Cmdr. Tanaka witnessed, was me having a
precognitive vision, of what you’ve just said. From my perspective,
I seemed to be standing over there…” he pointed to a spot about 2
meters away, “where I saw and overheard your comments just now.
I’ve had other precognitive visions that have all come true going
all the way back to the original alien encounter and my hunch to
launch recon drones. Even my refusal to accept command of Sentinel
was driven by a vision of you saying that it was a good thing I
refused that command. I didn’t reveal these visions earlier because
I was afraid that you’d question my competence and sanity but since
you’re doing that now, I figured I may as well come clean and
here’s the interesting part, Admiral. I have a witness that can
corroborate my most recent vision. One of my A.I. pilots received
an audio transmission, that matched word for word what you just
said and that transmission occurred at precisely the same time as I
was having my own vision. That means that my visions are being
induced by some technical means and are NOT a psychological
aberration.” Shiloh stopped and steeled himself for the expected
explosion of incredulity and contempt. Only there was none. During
Shiloh’s remarks, Howard’s expression changed from anger to cold
calculation. After a few seconds, he leaned forward and said in a
surprisingly calm and low voice,