Chapter 34

McCock listened while donning his skinsuit to Hugh Avers tale of woe with regard to the Navy's decision not to accept the past six month's production of UVAs and Keys giving as their reason that they wanted to concentrate on the newer missile pods and at present they claimed there were sufficient tractored missile controllers in inventory to cover needs for twelve months; Navy was pushing very hard to get as many HAC CV hulls into operation as they could.

"I spoke to Admiral Rowan two days ago," explained Hugh, "and I could hear him tearing his hair out — not that he's got much anyway. He wouldn't criticise anyone but I got the impression that after Brown Hollow fell, some seat warmers got desks in Fourth Space Lord's department and if it isn't developed wholly within Navy, then its unproved until extensive trials and there isn't the time available for trials to be organised."

McCock just looked at him disbelievingly,

"Not even equipment developed directly under contracts?"

"That's the problem Aggy, it was Milligan's verbal order to you to make those missile controllers mobile and there never was a paper trail despite HM's acceptance of those orders. We've UVAs filling one warehouse, about seven hundred of them and we can't use them, the U90s were always a speculative build by us and we've got twenty seven of them, and the Gnats were off the bulkhead and after we retrieve the fifty in Settlement there is an inventory of one hundred and seven. Now we have those locally produced fission pile coming on line at eighteen a month. Navy was still taking the Keys until a month ago and we've got fourteen of them with the small fission pile."

McCock was deep in thought as the party entered "Offspring" for the orbital warehouses. Enroute McCock asked Hugh,

"How are we off for UVAs and Keys in the fleet, Hugh?"

"There is an armed cutter, one of the later models, in each boat bay of the destroyers plus a pinnace; we've crammed the smaller craft into every nook and cranny and we've got eighteen UVAs and twelve Keys in each; I've left the external davits free so as to give some latitude in planning. I've discussed it with Slow, "Vector" will mount by present estimates, three hundred HACs on the three decks. Any UVAs and Keys we want can go on the deck with the Barge and "Shriek", Slow thinks eighty, fifty UVAs and thirty Keys; and the hundred or so Gnats on the Marine deck"

"Apopros of nothing, how is Sir Henry going with the remote controlling of the Gnats? I mean to drop in on him on "Vector""

"He put one of the BB 'puters in CIC to replace the 'kiddy' and the second in the Marine Sergeant's Mess Hall. He is setting up the remote pilots positions about the Mess Hall 'puter" Hugh informed him. "The Command 'puter is hooked up and Slow is satisfied — after she tore all the panels off to check for herself; distrusting lady that."

"Yes" smiled McCock, "having your life depend upon it tends to make a person more careful."

He was silent for the rest of the trip. When they arrived at the warehouse, McCock, with skin suit fully up, pulled himself over a UVA. With his multi tool, he opened the panels and propped them open while he clambered inside. He looked about and raised Hugh on the com,

"Remind me; we made the Keys and the UVAs the same external size so as to have only the one production line for the bodies."

"Yes" confirmed Hugh, "the Keys have to have that 'puter in them and a small quantity of imaging gear. Both have Period and Holeinspace. The enhanced imaging gear is much smaller than the 'puter."

"And taking out more of this equipment leaves this a one big empty box" finished McCock.

The next morning, the "Trader" dining hall was transformed into the GmBH Board Room. McCock called them to order and asked Sir Henry to lead off on any developments.

"No movements around New Liege; that Chencon courier is still there. Navy signal volume unchanged. Nan and Sam think there is a twist in some of the news and vid reports from New Liege; as Congress is not sitting, it can only be coming from the President's Office. Prez Brooken is dropping hints that big things are a'coming in the war and plans are being drawn up. We haven't heard that the top naval command has been reconstituted so we don't know who is doing the planning. A tidbit, appears ex President Letitia Forde has suffered a breakdown and has been committed — poor thing.

Sol. I want to emplace a UVA in geostationary orbit over Chencon major ports and orbital works. I want to look at them and see just what is taking place."

"Henry," corrected McCock, "Chencon starts at 35 degrees north and you can't get geostationary at that latitude and you know that as well as I do; so what do you want — a "fly by"?"

"Yes please, Aggy. Probably every three or four days should be enough."

"Com Denny and sort it out with him; you should be able to use one of the 90s. Now, once again, missiles. Has anybody heard of anything? I'm hearing Fourth Space Lord's lot are playing duck and drakes still and not just with us. They want and I can't blame them, the new model missile with its inbuilt controller. Until the Battle of Home Space, Navy had a lot of ships of the line still using the Mark D Missile and that production line must have kept going for at least a week possibily two before the big brass woke up to it. Where were they made?"

"Settlement, Griffen and Scapa were the main armouries" answered Sir Joshua.

"Can you check, please, Joshua. As much as I would like the newest models that is not going to happen; but with our mobile Keys, MDMs are about ninety five percent as effective as the newer models.

This goes onto my next point. We've got over six hundred powered UVAs sitting in warehouses which we are never going to use and the Navy doesn't want. That Chencon fleet, if our estimates are correct, is going to be of the order of about four hundred ships of the line. And that is a lot of hulls. That means a very long service train of lovely soft skinned 'merchies' and tankers and that fleet is a long way from home. Jane's shows that just about all the Chencon battle fleet needs reactor mass. Can we transform the UVAs into mobile bombs? Thoughts, please.

Work force. When we came back from Settlement I was thinking there would be two or so thousand out of work spacers and that is why I wanted to go to Old Earth; get everyone out of the line of fire and into employment. Now, with the return of 119 in one form and another, we have soaked up our numbers. This still leaves the families. We have Chagos and Pachristmas yards on Old Earth on care and maintenance. I want to get them into production asap. But workforce? Thoughts please for next meeting.