Chapter 626

Ship’s Training Mission for the Miadax Crew

On the Bridge, the First Officer was observing as the Weapons Officer in Training (Previously the Steward) worked through the process of verifying the acquisition function for the forward, laser/particle beam banks. At the First Officer’s command, the system computer brought up a mock battle. “All right, the target is moving perpendicular to our velocity vector at a speed of fifty-thousand klicks per hour relative, and three light seconds out. What is your aiming point relative to our flight path?”

“Sir, all I would have to do is to put the reticle on the target and the...”

“Assume the firing solution computer has taken a hit. The weapons will fire, but the aiming is up to you,” he snapped.

“The new Weapons Officer barely hesitated. “We know that the target is three light seconds away, but the target will have moved while my bolt is on the way. Ballpark figure for time for the laser/particle beam on target is 3.3 seconds. He is moving at fifty thousand klicks per hour during that time. So my angle of attack is easy to calculate.

The sim computer showed the target destroyed. “Your weapons could have fired ten pulses, but you only fired five in a spread. Why not a spread of ten? You would have had a higher probability of a hit.”

“And I would have had to wait two minutes for the bank to recharge before I could have fired again – at that target if I had missed, or at another one. After all, a battle where our shields would be overcome to the point that a strike would reach our battle computer would mean that I should be very, very careful with my calculations – should I even be alive. By firing only half, I still have five pulses left to carry on the battle.”

“True, but why were you so certain of your math?”

The Officer Candidate hesitated. “Because a quite similar question was on my last test, and the instructor marked my answer as correct. I only had to change a couple of the variables to arrive at my answer here. But First?”

“Yes, Candidate?”

“I now understand why a simple calculator is attached to the system but not actually part of it. However,” he said as his face flushed, “I also carry a calculator in my pocket – just in case.”

The First Officer stared at the student. “A little overkill, but good planning, nonetheless.”

“I just took my instructor’s advice, but while I was in class, I thought it was overkill, too. Now, I don’t.”

“You do understand that most firing solutions are far more complex than the simple one you just finished, right?”

“Yes, First. It would take a stupid enemy, indeed, to cross our bow like that during a battle. Most probably, he would undertake, at the least, a three-dimensional zig-zag course while using whatever he has available to fool our targeting systems in an effort to make us miss with our lasers/particle beams, as well as misdirecting our missiles and projectile weapons.”

“What have you done to check the targeting system for bugs?” the First asked.

“I have run the self-diagnostics three times. Every system responded within parameters. Just before you came by, I had decided to run combat scenarios with the idea of stopping the program after each segment of combat to check the computer’s math. I suppose that is a bit stupid, or maybe a whole lot stupid.”

For a moment, the First stood quietly looking at the Trainee.

“Sorry, Sir. I suppose my idea is a bit grandiose, but I...”

“No,” First said as he waved the Trainee’s comment aside. “I can’t think of a better way to check for programming errors. You have set yourself up for some difficult math problems. However, it should provide a very practical way to study for your finals. Carry on, Trainee.”

“First Officer to the Captain’s Ready Room.”

First was going over his own console’s systems when the order came over the P.A.

Oh, shit. What did I do now? If he needs me, he usually just calls me on my com.

“Second Officer, you have the Bridge.”

“I have the Bridge, Sir.”

As the hatch opened and the First Officer stepped into the Captain’s Ready Room, “First Officer reporting as ordered, Captain.”

The Captain, seated at the end of the conference table working at his comp, looked up, recognized the expression on his First Officer’s face and frowned. “I told the AI that I needed to talk to you. I didn’t mean for it to be a drop-everything-and-come-running order, but since you’re here, what’s the status on our systems?”

“So far, Navigation has found that some of his default settings have been changed on the new program. Mostly things like rounding a decimal place or two before he normally does, which, according to him, would cause a breakout point of only a difference of a few klicks at warp 8 on a sixty-three day trip such as the one we are on now. No real consequence as far as I can see. If we wanted to come out reasonably close to a planet, we would stop a few days out and recalculate, but then again, we have one of the best – if not the best – Navigator in the Federation. He says that he had tweaked parts of the old calculation module, which resulted in better time estimates. That part of the software is gone; however, he has his code segment on his personal drive and has already updated the ship’s software to reflect his more accurate subroutines.

“What I’m worried about is our weapons, as I am sure you are, too, Sir. Since we have a new person who has yet to take his final exams at the Academy, he doesn’t have the experience to be able to find any changes in his systems. However, on his own, he has undertaken to check his calculations against the system’s in mock combat. We’ll have to wait to see if his math is up to the task.”

“If the Navigator is reasonably certain of his own system, have him look over the firing system’s code.” When the First started to say something, “I know. I know. There are probably millions of lines of code in just one section of our targeting system, but have him look it over anyway. Something might jump out at him because of a change in style that a different programmer might have – just something that looks ... different. Another thought that just struck is maybe he can devise a way to find any code that was changed during the time frame of our stay at the Repair Dock. That Navigator is sharp as hell. If any of us can find a change in the code, it’s him.

“As I’m sure you are aware, First, they have supposedly installed a new and much more sensitive sensor package – if it works. So, be certain to have your people check every function.”

“Yes, Captain. Uh, Sir, what if there is a bug in the code and we don’t find it? I know that we’re on a tight schedule, but what about stopping off and popping a few asteroids to make certain our weapons will fire and hit what we’re aiming at?”

“Hmmm. We’ll be a bit late, I suppose, but then again, it is taking us over sixty days to get there, anyway. What are a few more hours to make certain we’ll hit what we fire at?” The Captain hesitated for a couple of seconds. “Make it so, First. Do what you have to in order to make damn certain our weapon systems track, lock-on and fire the way they’re supposed to, and don’t forget to double-check our environmental systems too. All we need is to have our CO2 scrubbers drop out on us because of a software screwup.”

“Will do, Captain. Allowing me the time to fire our weapons makes me feel a lot better, and I imagine that everyone on the Bridge will be just as relieved as I am.”

“You know that not getting there when we’re supposed to will get me a black mark on my record, and without doubt, an ass chewing to go with it. My orders make it obvious there is someone in this new alliance that has some political clout.”

The First had started for the hatch but stopped to grin at his Captain. “Maybe so, but there will be a better chance of your being alive for you to get that ass chewing if we take the time to stop and test our weapons.”

“Get out of here and let me get back to work,” the Captain said as he chuckled and waved negligently at his First Officer before turning back to his comp.

Sixty-two days out, the First Officer asked and received permission to enter the Captain’s office. “Sir, do you have a minute?”

“Certainly. What do you have, First?”

“The Navigator tells me there is a star system some two hours ahead, and according to our charts, it has a half-dozen uninhabitable planets and also an extensive asteroid belt. The nearest planet to the belt is far out from the primary and reportedly does not have life to be bothered by our making a few larger asteroids into smaller ones.”

“You say there isn’t any reported intelligent life on any of the planets of the system?”

“Well, the original survey data did not show any planets in the Goldilocks zone, so I doubt that we’ll be noticed.”

Goldilocks zone: Range of orbits around a star that could support liquid water given sufficient atmospheric pressure. In other words, worlds where the temperature could support life as we know it.

“All right. Drop out of warp well out from this asteroid belt. Let’s sit quietly for a couple of hours before we move on in.” Then with a grin, he jokingly said, “I would hate to stumble onto the pirates’ stronghold while they’re taking a siesta.” Both men laughed at the idea before the Captain went on. “If we don’t detect any signs of life in two hours of passive scanning, go to active for fifteen minutes. If we’re still alone, move to the asteroid belt and set up your test range.”

“Affirmative, Captain. I’ll let you know prior to our dropping out of warp.”

The ship dropped from warp near the orbit of the outermost planet, a wilderness of rocky mountain crags and valleys, and little else, but a third of the way across the system from the asteroid field.

“As we discussed,” the Captain said, “wait a couple of hours while passively scanning the system, then go to full active scan for fifteen minutes. If we detect nothing, go to General Quarters and test every system. Make certain our weapons are firing properly and on target. I’ll be in my office. If you even suspect that something isn’t working correctly, let me know at once.”

Odd that the Captain is leaving this to me with us only a day from this Union of the Axis Alliance. Crap, I don’t know whether to be flattered or pissed, but I’m for certain going to be careful. It’s a stretch to think there could be pirates out here in the middle of nowhere, but it’s certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that they could have their base out here. Then again, I surely don’t know any pirates personally; although, it would seem to me that an asteroid belt would be an excellent place for their stronghold, but would pirates commute for at least a day even at warp 8?

While they were passively scanning, the First Officer met with the department heads so that everyone would understand exactly what he wanted them to do.

When the time was up, “Sir,” the Science Officer said, “we have nothing but background noise from passive scanning.”

“Very well. Go to full active scanning for fifteen minutes.”

“Active scanning for fifteen minutes, Sir.”

The First Officer half-expected to see the pirates come boiling out of the asteroid belt, but he knew that was ridiculous, and despite his nerves, all remained quiet. Crap, no self-respecting pirate would have his headquarters a whole day away from his fishing grounds, and ... I doubt that the pirate ships are as fast as the Hunter is, so it would probably take them quite a bit longer. Besides, they would have to be stone-cold dead not to notice us with our active scanners lit.

“Still nothing showing, First.”

“Very well. Continue active scanning.”

“Continuing active scanning, Sir.”

“Navigator, plot a course to the asteroid belt.”

“Yes, First. Course already plotted and laid in.”

“Helm, move us to the belt – one half impulse.”

“Move to the belt. One half impulse, Sir.”

“All right, people,” he said as his voice was repeated through each console on the Bridge. “We are within a day at warp 8 of the area where the pirates have been hitting. Granted, that is still a long way, but it is the nearest belt to the Ticichi System, and an asteroid belt seems perfect for a pirate base.”

As soon as he said it, the First Officer wished he had not mentioned the pirates. No self-respecting pirate is going to take a day to commute to reach his prey. The crew likely thinks I’m running scared, and the Captain is probably already regretting leaving me in charge. Oh, well. He keeps insisting that we should be overly cautious when going against a foe.

“We have matched speeds with most of the asteroids, First, but there are some that have collided with other asteroids and therefore have unpredictable orbits. The asteroids range from pea-size to that of a large mountain chain,” Helm informed the First Officer.

“Very well. Maintain our position approximately one klick relative to the nearest asteroids.”

“Helm maintaining position, Sir.”

“Weapons Officer, pick a target and let’s see what your laser/particle beams can do. Fire at will.”

“Pick a target and fire,” the Weapons Officer Trainee said.

The Trainee must have been trying to prove that he wasn’t asleep because he fired almost before he finished speaking.

“Well, that was a hit, obviously,” the First said with a chuckle as a boulder exploded into millions of pieces. “But... were you aiming at that one?”

The Trainee didn’t answer but said instead, “The smaller one just to the right of the one I just hit.” The unseen beam lanced out again, and the asteroid he described exploded into rock chunks accompanied by a flash of energy.

The First Officer had the Weapons Officer’s screen copied to the big front screen as the Officer in Training continued to lock onto and fire at other asteroids, then pieces of asteroids as he made them into smaller and smaller chunks. There was never a miss.

“There in that cluster. The lighter colored one that is smaller than those around it.”

There was a hesitation while the Officer in Training found what the First had ordered and blew another asteroid away.

“Well done,” the First Officer said as he failed to hide his chuckle. “It appears the guns’ sighting software is well within parameters. Next, we will use up a couple of our stockpile of smaller missiles to make sure their tracking software is functioning properly.”