Chapter 1B

The Marines were keeping Lieutenant Collut and Ensign Rignow in a third floor two man barracks room. The barracks was about 150 meters from the hanger where the Navy was keeping the two shuttles. This allowed the shuttle's computer to translate for the guards and their prisoners. One of the Marine guards outside the door was wearing the ACH that Sergeant Thomas gave them. Each of the Raznits had their helmets on the tables next to their beds.

After climbing the stairs to the third floor, Collut and Rignow felt like they climbed a small mountain. The combination of the heavier gravity and the slope of the stairs took its toll on the two IRSN officers. The IRSN did not require much in the way of physical fitness from its naval officers. Only the Tuvet Marat participated in calisthenics twice a week. Over the last three centuries, the Raznits decided physical exercise was for slaves, not masters. The only reason the Tuvet Marat exercised was in case they needed to put down a slave revolt.

The last seven days on Milltog Three, in this hellish gravity was unbelievable. Fortunately, when they flew the shuttles, the Milltogs would let Collut and Rignow set the cockpit gravity to Raznits normal. The rest of the time it was like walking around with weights on your arms and legs. Even holding their heads up was a struggle after two or three hours. Collut noticed that he was starting to not tire out as quickly, but he was still resting at every opportunity.

As they lay on the beds, Lieutenant Collut and Ensign Rignow discussed the events of the last ten days. They both agreed that they wished they had never been assigned to this voyage. First they went through five star systems with no inhabitable planets.

Then they discovered Milltog Three. Like every other crew member, they had visions of vast riches from the discovery of a planet with a population suitable to be slaves. The dream grew for twenty one days, then the reality of Milltog Three came crashing down.

Neither Collut nor Rignow knew what happened to the rest of the crew. They both knew Captain Garatta and Lieutenant Major Misling died when the Milltogs took the 'Tavnit Oma.' They also knew that most of the Tuvet Marat died trying to retake the ship.

The original crew of the 'Tavnit Oma' consisted of twelve naval officers, thirteen naval enlisted men, ten Tuvet Marat officers, sixty-five Tuvet Marat enlisted men, and twenty slaves. The slaves performed maintenance on the shuttles, cleaned the ship, fixed all meals, mucked out the recycler's waste lines, and performed any other task the Raznits did not want to perform. While taking the ship, the Soldiers of the 11^th Armored Division killed Captain Garatta, nine Tuvet Marat officers, and thirty three Tuvet Marat enlisted men.

The Tuvet Marat Tactical Officer was the only member of the Bridge crew who died during the capture of the ship. He jumped up to defend the Bridge, and was dead before he finished standing up. IRSN tactical doctrine placed all defensive and offensive weapons under the direct control of the Tuvet Marat. A Tuvet Marat Tactical Officer manned the tactical station on the Bridge during each watch. Tuvet Marat personnel manned and maintained all the ship's energy weapons and missiles. Like every IRSN Engineering Officer, Lieutenant Collut understood the schematics for the energy weapons and could repair major damage to any energy weapon if needed. Engineering was also responsible for providing the wiring harnesses for each energy cannon.

Both Collut and Rignow were part of the group the soldiers forced to clean up the hanger deck after the fight. Actually, it was more of a massacre than a fight. Neither one of them had ever seen someone ripped in half by a machine gun before. It was a sight that still haunted their dreams. The one thing it convinced them of was that they did not want to ever cross a Milltog.

The day after the battle for the 'Tavnit Oma;' Collut and Rignow transported soldiers from graves registration to the ship. These soldiers completed the cleanup of the ship, placed all the bodies into black body bags, and disinfected all the surfaces. Collut and Rignow transported the soldiers and the forty three Raznits bodies to USAMRIID at Fort Detrick, Maryland. All conspiracy theories aside, the U.S. Government does not have an alien vivisection or dissection facility at Area 51. Instead, like Patuxent Naval Air Test Center, it is just one more portion of the vast complex of test facilities for advanced military hardware.

Both Collut and Rignow jumped when they heard a loud knocking on their door. Without thinking Collut shouted in Raznits, "Enter."

The door opened and Sergeant Michaels stepped through it followed by Sergeant Thomas and Commander Tilletson. Speaking in Raznits, Sergeant Michaels introduced Commander Tilletson to the two pilots. Switching to English, he then introduced the two pilots to Commander Tilletson. Tilletson's opinion of Michaels went up another notch. It was one thing to tell the Secretary of Defense you could speak a language; it was something entirely different to carry on an actual conversation where you switched from one language to the other without slowing down.

Commander Tilletson decided that this would be a good time to find out something about the two pilots and test Michaels' knowledge of Raznits. He asked Michaels to translate for him as he asked the pilots various questions. Over the next few minutes he discovered Lieutenant Junior Grade Collut was the Junior Engineering Officer. He graduated from the Imperial Raznits Space Navy Academy three years earlier.

The thing that bothered the Commander was, because Lieutenant Collut had no political backers, he expected to end his thirty year career as a Lieutenant Commander, which was two grades higher than his current grade. With his capture by the Milltogs, he now expected to be discharged at his current rank. Lieutenant Collut also never expected to see his wife Lanto again.

Ensign Rignow graduated from the IRSN Academy the previous years and was an Assistant Navigator. Rignow made it very clear that his family was politically well connected. Before the capture of the 'Tavnit Oma, ' Rignow expected to be a ship's Captain or maybe a Commodore before the end of his career. Now he was sure his career in the IRSN was over. Even his political connections could not save him from association with a disaster of the proportions of the fall of the 'Tavnit Oma.'

Michaels was starting to sense an opportunity in the despair of the two Raznits. Speaking to Commander Tilletson in English, he suggested that as the new commander of the 'Tubman' he might want to offer the two officers some sort of job as advisors. The Commander told Michaels that he would like to discuss this somewhere else, as the two Raznits might be learning English. Michaels agreed that sounded like a good idea.

Michaels informed the two pilots that they needed to take a trip to the 'Tubman.' The two Raznits officers promptly asked him what the 'Tubman' was. He explained that the U.S. Navy renamed the 'Tavnit Oma' the 'USS Harriet Tubman' and from now on the ship would be known as either the 'USS Harriet Tubman' or the 'Tubman.' While he was telling them this, the two pilots put on their helmets and followed the two Sergeants and the Commander through the door. Both Sergeants and the Commander had helmets of their own. Sergeant Thomas and Sergeant Michaels secured theirs from their rooms on the way to pick up the pilots. Commander Tilletson borrowed the one Sergeant Thomas gave the Marine guards.

As they went down the steps, the two Marine guards followed the pilots. The entire party slowed down to keep pace with the two Raznits. It was like walking down stairs with a pair of out of shape eighty year old men. The pilots felt like they were running a race down the stairs, how could anyone stand this gravity. Both pilots were beginning to think they would never adapt to Earth's gravity field.

Finally, the group left the barracks and entered the Marine van for the trip to the hanger. Under normal circumstances, all of the people from Earth would walk the 150 meters from the barracks to the hanger. The Marines and Soldiers both normally ran five or six miles every morning before breakfast. As a Submariner, Commander Tilletson did calisthenics every day. On a submarine there was little space or opportunity to run or take long walks.

From the description he received of the 'Tubman' there was no room for a running track onboard. Considering the role lack of physical fitness played in the defeat of the Raznits, Tilletson intended to suggest adding a running track to the design of all new spaceships. Based on what the Sergeants told him about the gravity plates, he also intended to set the gravity in the ships gym at 105 percent of Earth normal. This combined with mandatory work outs for all Sailors and Marines would ensure they were physically fit at all times.

As the van approached the hanger, the two story tall floor to ceiling doors opened. The van pulled into hanger, stopping next to one of the shuttles. Removing his helmet, Sergeant Michaels indicated Commander Tilletson should remove his. Then he turned to Sergeant Thomas and asked her to take the pilots onto the shuttle so he and the commander could talk.

"Commander," began Michaels, "I don't want to seem pushy but the trip up to the 'Tubman' would be the perfect time to offer these two jobs assisting us. Listening to their stories, neither one of them thinks they have a career, even if the Raznits win. As the new head of the R&D team, I can offer them GS-9 slots as technical advisors. First I want your approval as the new Captain of the 'Tubman.' I will not hire any of the Raznits POW's without your direct approval."