Chapter 625

Ship’s Training Mission for the Miadax Crew

... After a moment as Helm checked his boards, “All systems green. All traffic clear. Course laid in and verified, Captain,” Helm announced.

“Very well. Helm, ahead, warp factor 8.”

“Warp factor 8, Sir.”

“Engage.”

There was a moment of violent disorientation before the Bridge slowly solidified about them again while the crew desperately tried to shake off the confusion caused by the transition. The Navy hadn’t seen fit to spend the extra money to incorporate the equipment to make the transition easier on the crew. However, after several trips, most of the crew developed a tolerance, which resulted in a diminished recovery time. During those few seconds, both ship and crew were vulnerable to outside influences.

At least the Navy provided medication that was supposed to make the transition more manageable. Passenger lines, more interested in their passengers’ comfort, spent the money to install equipment that made the transition much easier on the passengers, and some of the ships even had an insulated room that could be used during transition to and from warp that shielded the passengers from almost all the effects.

The rear screen no longer showed the bright star that was their sun but instead showed only blackness. In contrast, the forward screen produced a practically meaningless array of multicolored light – at least to the human eye – as their craft far exceeded light speed while surrounded by its cocoon of warp energy.

“All hands stand by for an announcement.”

After a brief pause, the Captain stood on the Bridge as he announced over the P.A. system: “This is your Captain speaking. Some of you have probably noticed that we have taken on extra stores, both consumables and munitions. As you have also probably already surmised, you should prepare for a long, and as always, possibly dangerous voyage. My orders are to patrol a recent addition to the Federation out on the fringe – The Union of the Axis. Our primary mission: to put down pirating in the area. Reports indicate at least three heavily armed pirate vessels that supposedly have a faster drive, and a new weapon system that has rendered the local warships’ shielding ineffective. Allegedly, the pirate raids have increased to the point that shipping has been reduced to a near standstill.

“Our ship is obviously not new, but during your leave it has received an update to drives, shields, weapons and most of the supporting systems. Therefore, this will be a shakedown cruise for many of our systems – if not all of them. Again, I asked for a full crew complement, and I received one Weapons Officer Trainee to replace the Weapons Officer who asked for and received a transfer to a desk job because of his continuing health problems.

“With what has been going on in the Federation over the last few years, I am told that it is unusual for any Ship of our size to have a full crew; therefore, we will continue with the extra watch schedule we initiated last trip. Consider it the new norm.

“Back to those updates I just mentioned. They incorporate almost every system on the ship. Some are software, but some are physical changes and add-ons. You all have a list of the updates, but assume that the eggheads have changed everything and just forgot to list some of them. It has damn sure happened before. Think, people! Check every function that is possible to check while we are underway, and do not limit your checking to the systems the eggheads say they updated – check and double-check every system. I do not want to find out that a system does not work after we have engaged the enemy. Make a list of those things that can only be checked when we’re out of warp. We will update those systems as soon as we break out of warp, and hopefully, before we meet up with the pirates. I do not want to go into battle and suddenly find that a vital function does not work.

“If the rumors are true, chances are our mettle will be tried when we finally meet up with the pirates. They have given no quarter and have reportedly executed everyone aboard the ships they have captured – even those ships that were unarmed or did not resist. All I can ask for is the dedication to duty that you have always displayed. Make certain those updates work, are bug-free, and your area is fully prepared for battle. That is all.”

The Captain turned to his Bridge Crew. “The eggheads have listed several of our systems here on the Bridge as updated, which are indicated on your consoles. What I told the rest of the crew goes double for the Bridge. Check the functions that are possible to check while we are underway, and that means every function you can check, not just the ones the eggheads say they updated. I was on a ship once where half its weapons refused to come online as we went into battle – all because of a bug from a software update.”

The Captain had gone to speak with the Chief Engineer, leaving the First Officer in command of the Bridge. The Science Officer and the Navigator were huddled near the Navigator’s console. “What the hell is going on?” the Navigator quietly asked. “I’ve never heard such a long speech from the Captain, and most of the time, he lets the First Officer tell the crew what our mission is about – if he bothers to let us know ahead of time.”

The Science Officer nodded agreement. “We do have several systems that were updated during our time off. Well ... maybe I worded that backward. We were off while they installed the systems; otherwise, we would have been at Base only long enough to take on stores, I suppose,”

As he walked over, the two turned to the First, and the Navigator asked, “Sir, what’s got the Captain’s panties in a bunch? There are a few pirates raising hell, and they have superior weapons ... yadda, yadda, yadda. So, what’s new? We usually make a few passes through a couple systems, pop a pirate or two, and the rest run and hide – as usual. No way are we ever going to get rid of them completely because we’re too few and scattered far too thin. Besides, I didn’t even know there was a Ticichi system. I had to look it up before I could set the course. It’s way out on the fringe and will take us a couple months to get to the general area even.”

The Science Officer interrupted. “A while back, I read something about a new union of planets that was asking to join the Federation. Maybe we’re going out to run off the pirates to show that we care about all our constituents,” he said with a chuckle.

The Navigator nodded. “What needs to happen is the powers-that-be should get their asses in a Frigate and find out what’s really going on. We need more ships and more trained personnel. Eventually, we’re going to bite off more than we can chew when they send out a ship or two to do the job of a half dozen. But ... we all know that none of them are going to risk their fat asses.”

The First Officer finally got a chance to respond, “I hope you’re wrong, but unfortunately, I tend to agree with you in general. For now, though, we need to do an in-depth check of our systems. I did a preliminary check on my console’s systems and noticed nothing different. Still, sometimes the eggheads will make a change that only shows up under certain very specific circumstances, and... fail when the system is needed the most. Do as the Captain says. Check every function of your systems that you can. Our Captain obviously thinks these pirates are a viable threat.”

“Captain on deck!” a Sub Engineer called out as he came to Attention.

“As you were,” the Captain said as he walked deep into Engineering where he found the Chief and several of his subs gathered around a console in a discussion.

As soon as he was noticed, the group came to attention.

“As you were. Chief, when you have a moment, I’ll be in your office.”

“Yes, Captain.” The Chief had a couple of hurried comments with his people before he dispersed them to their duties.

In the Chief’s office a couple moments later, the Captain was waiting for his old friend with a cup of stim in hand as another fresh cup sat on the Chief’s desk.

“Thanks, Captain,” the Chief said as he picked up his stim. “Sorry about the delay.”

“Nonsense, you were doing what I had just ordered everyone to do.”

Both took a sip of stim before the Chief said, “So what gives, Captain? We’ve had updates before, and everyone knows to view them with suspicion; although, this seems to be far more involved than any update I’ve seen before.”

The Captain sighed. “Didn’t you think anything about having an entire month off?”

“Well, by my calculations, they still owe us several weeks more time off. I assumed that they just made up for some of it while the brainiacs updated our systems. They also made some minor changes with my engines and the corresponding software that might tweak our top speed a bit – might. So far, though, I have found nothing of consequence, good or bad, but we’ve only just begun looking, not to mention that we can’t do an in-depth search while we’re at warp.”

The Captain sat and leaned back before saying, “It seems they have updated practically every system on the whole damn ship, then they send us out to put down something that the Federation has never managed to accomplish fully, and that is to rid an entire star union of pirates. Oh, we’ve reduced pirate raids to near zero in one solar system at a time, but certainly not in a whole star union involving twenty star systems. As long as a Federation ship is in a star system, the pirates tend to hide or move to another system, particularly after we destroy a couple of their ships, but to promise to rid a whole star union of pirates ... The Union of the Axis, as they call themselves, must have some politicians with a lot of clout. Clout or not, we just don’t have the ships available to back up that promise. Besides, this sounds more like a war than a few pirates messing around. I’m beginning to feel like the donkey that was tied out to attract the marauding tiger so it could be killed.”

“I’m assuming that the donkey gets killed...”

“Yeah, the cat is trapped in with the donkey. The hunters kill the cat at their leisure – usually the next morning. Guess how many donkeys make it to daylight. We don’t have enough information and if this bunch of pirates has the entire Union scared, then why in the fuck did Command send in only one ship? Personally, I don’t like the idea of being avenged the next morning.

“Oh, hell, I know we’re short on ships, but let’s face it, the Federation is spread far too thin. All the fat cats want is the revenue that each new group of planets brings in. I suspect this new union has agreed to join the Federation if we rid them of the pirates. The Federation has made far too many other promises, so we wind up being the only available ship. Damn spending that money where it’s supposed to go, i.e., for more ships and crews to protect the existing Federation’s planetary unions, let alone any new ones. But, if they pay the entrance fee of a few trillion credits, the Federation will promise to rid them of their pirate menace. Then when the pirates are not around for a while but come back a few months or maybe a year or so later, the Federation will say something to the effect of, ‘Looks like you have a new group that’s moved in. Just keep paying our fees, and we’ll keep eliminating them.’

“Let’s face it; we’re spread out until it’s amazing that the Federation hasn’t already collapsed. And by the way, I wasn’t kidding about checking every system on our ship. I’ve been screwed by a bunch of eggheads updating systems before. Make damn sure they haven’t done something to your engines that will make them quit when we most need them.”

The Chief frowned. “We were doing that even before your announcement. Hopefully, we’ll find anything they’ve screwed up before it winds up killing us. I shudder to think how much damage they could have done in a whole month. I still remember what the eggheads caused on the Dancer. It was a good update that we damn sure needed, but ... there was a bug in the code which prevented half of our guns from firing. It’s a wonder we made it back to Base. Of course, the Dancer is a much smaller ship...”

“ ... Which means we have more and much larger systems for the eggheads to screw up.”