Chapter 29: Demonstrations of Dominance

Once I sat down in the captain’s chair I found that the sleep training had shown me the location of every button. I tested out the ones activating the holographic data screens just in front of the chair. They came up, but showed no data.

“AI? Is there a problem with the simulator?” I asked.

“No simulation has been chosen,” the AI said.

“Can we set up for a simple cruise in the Crucibleat system? We haven’t heard much about the system or the planet we will be on,” I replied.

“Activating simulation of Crucibleat system. Do you wish to add any enemies?” the AI said.

“Not for this simulation,” I responded as the door opened up behind me. I could hear people talking as the door opened.

“I can’t believe our asshole of a captain is going to make us participate in simulations. Why not just leave us to sleep training and fucking the cunts we brought with us,” a man asked.

“Hey, you see how young he is? I’m sure that the other captain is right. He’s just been put in charge to fail,” another man responded.

“Joy,” I muttered. “More problems.”

I spun the chair around so I could look at the bridge entrance. The two men who had been speaking were standing in the doorway glaring around the room.

“Welcome,” I said, pretending I had not heard their comments.

“Why am I here?” the man on the left said. He was middle aged with extra weight hanging around his waist. The man had a scraggly growth of facial hair that looked like it had not been shaved in five days.

“Well, I ordered every member of the crew of Corsica to attend a training session. I’m assuming Mister...” I said with a long pause

“Morgan,” the man said. “Anders Morgan. I’m supposed to be one of your missile techs.”

“Come on in,” I offered. “Just head to the right and stick to the open area.”

“But I’m a missile tech. Why do I need to see the bridge simulator?” the man asked as he entered.

His fellow complainer followed. The other man was also in his late thirties with a pot belly and a strange hairstyle that included a loose pony tail. He scowled at me as he entered the room.

“I want everyone to have at least some familiarity with all the stations on the ship,” I said. “You never know when we’ll be in a fight and end up having to move people around due to casualties.”

“Like you’ll be in charge,” I heard Anders mutter as the two men walked over to the one chair along the wall. They stood next to it and leaned against the console that ran along the interior of the room. As they did they looked across the room.

“Hey! Why are the women here? I can tell they aren’t crew,” the second man said.

“I’ll go over that once everyone is here,” I said firmly. “Until then, do not bother them.”

Anders opened his mouth, but his companion elbowed him in the side. They just stood and glared into the room. I watched them for just a moment more and then turned back to look at the entrance.

The door slid open. I could see my communications officer, Mildred Chastity Penelope Munfree entering along with Morgause and Ingrid. The two younger ladies were laughing at something that Chastity was saying.

The trio looked up as they passed through the doorway. All three offered cheery if extremely sloppy salutes. “Femme contingent reporting for duty!” Morgause shouted.

“At ease for now,” I growled. “We’ll work out salutes later. For now, why don’t all three of you hang out at the communications officer’s station.”

The two younger girls looked confused, but Chastity nodded to me. “That would be the one just to the right of your chair. I’m not sure why they want it so close to you.”

“Because he’s planning on taking you at your station. I can just see that,” one of the two older men said.

I looked over at them. “If anyone has sex at their station while on duty, I’m going to find out just how far I can punish you before the AI reprimands me. I will encourage bringing concubines along as long as they aren’t pregnant, but I will not allow someone to be derelict in their duty for a zipless fuck.”

Chastity looked at me. “You know that term?” she asked.

“Never had one, never wanted one, but I think it fit the situation as much as anything did. We only have three women in the crew though so opportunities will be slim for now,” I said.

Morgause giggled. “I don’t know, there are a few men in the crew I wouldn’t mind banging.”

“Off duty you can,” I said as the door to the bridge opened. This time a stream of people started to enter.

“Everyone, if you don’t work on the bridge head to the right and stay near the walls. Helm, Tracking and Weapons can report to your station for now,” I shouted.

One college age man noticed me sitting in the captain’s chair. “Why do you get a comfortable chair and we don’t?” he asked as he paused to look around the room.

“This happens to be the captain’s chair. From here I’m expected to coordinate everything happening on the ship,” I said.

The young man looked angry for a moment and then nodded. “I guess that does make sense. But why am I here. I’m Linus Moore. I thought I was supposed to be the engine tech for the starboard engine.”

“I said this earlier, but now that everyone is here I’ll make a more formal announcement,” I said firmly as I stood up.

“First, welcome to the bridge simulation unit that the AI created for us. For those of you wondering, additional simulators of the other three duty stations on a Patrician Class Corvette are being assembled in other rooms. By this time tomorrow a rail gun station, a missile station and an engine station will be available for use in training. I know everyone here has been informed about the sleep training. I do think you should pursue the thirty or so hours involved. However, in addition to that time, I want everyone to spend time in these simulators with the rest of the people who will be working at the same station. So if you are on the starboard railgun crew; find your two partners and arrange times to practice together.”

“What about you?” someone shouted.

I held up a hand. “Please allow me to finish. Now, I can’t watch every practice. At least not from beginning to end. However, my plan is to sit in on every practice I can and to regularly hold full simulations where we connect two or more stations together to conduct a session. Yes, we don’t have stations for everyone to work, but we’ll be able to get a feel for things.”

I could see nervous looks in the fact of several of my crew members. “What if we can’t get a feel?” one of the older men said with a slight sneer.

“I would hope that everyone here works hard and avoids that,” I said firmly. “However, for those of you who do struggle, my understanding is that Crucibleat is not on the front lines as far as systems go. We should have time to perform a shakedown cruise before we head out on aggressive patrols.”

“Not that much unlike how navies on Earth used to get a ship ready,” Warren Daniels said.

“How the fuck would you know old timer?” one of the college age men said. “Were you around to join the English Navy or something?”

“Quiet!” I shouted in the loudest bellow I could come up with. “We are a team on this crew, not a bunch of angry individuals who happen to be stuck together in a tight space. I don’t want any snide comments or angry glances being exchanged.”

“Like you can stop us,” the same snide voice replied. “I joined the confederacy to fight the Sa’arm and fuck a woman I completely control. I didn’t sign up to follow some kid who probably isn’t old enough to get a woman pregnant.”

I tried to keep a straight face as I turned to see the men lined up along the wall. “Let me make this clear,” I started.

“Damn,” I said. “That makes me sound a bit too cerebral. Let me start again. There is an old tradition that on his ship the captain is the law. My law will be final. If you don’t like the way I run things, we can transfer you elsewhere.”

“Like there is someplace to transfer to,” the voice said.

“You could always become a marine. I understand that some of the marines were a bit surprised by the intensity of their training and would enjoy trying out for a position on one of the ships,” I replied.

Warren surprised me by stepping forward and looking at the men arrayed along the wall. “I’d like to point out to everyone that Mark is correct about this. I did a bit of checking and ship captains do have that level of power.”

“Why will it matter? The Confederacy isn’t going to leave some fourteen year old snot nosed punk in charge,” one of the older men said.

I opened my mouth to speak, but the AI interrupted. “Lieutenant Mark Parker, Captain of the Patrician Class Corvette Corsica, has an eight point two CAP score. No other person in this pickup has a score above seven point four. He was selected for command based on previously observed skills.”