Chapter 43

Clare Gillard looked over the people seated in the Club at this meeting and began her speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I must make very clear to you that I am Master of "Sundowner" and as such under Maritime Law of every planet in this galaxy, I hold the power of life and death over everyone who spaces in this vessel.

The need for such discipline is because space is a dangerous place — unless you are in an intact spaceship. There are many opportunities to open a ship to space but basically it comes down to someone doing the wrong thing.

It is my responsibility to ensure that everyone in my ship knows what not to do and knows what to do when things go wrong and that is the reason I have refused to simply embark students and cast off setting sail for the nearest hyperpoint.

Some of you have made disparaging comments about the service because the space navies take three months to indoctrinate, train and assess recruits before the recruit even enters a space ship. I do concede that part of that time is spent on service customs, regulations and weapons handling but it is also spent in ensuring that the recruits can work as a team and getting the recruit physically fit.

If such niceties as endweeks, sleep, and relaxation were discarded, a recruit would spend four standard weeks in training. However the human body requires sleep and relaxation otherwise knowledge is not retained and repeated practice to react instinctively does not quite compensate for ignorance.

Your people need seven weeks solid training to not endanger their fellows and to best save themselves if disaster occurs.

Besides which, it will take that time to outfit the decks for the voyage."

(The difficulties with the trainees were fresh in her mind and the thought of about four times that number was daunting.)

The "busy" ladies had eventually coalesced into the Boards of Governors of several private military schools whose existence was not extensively known; indeed the existence was not bruited abroad but passed by word of mouth. (The ignorance of their existence meant that there were always vacancies and under the schools' articles these places were offered to scholastically able students and backed up by adequate allowances.)

The military school and training establishments certainly knew of these schools as a disproportionate percentage made up each new year and a greater percentage on graduation.

The schools had had student exchange programmes for centuries and some had extended the programmes to other planets viz Mars, but not to the galaxy.

Despite the stodgy external appearance, the brains resident in the "busy" ladies were known not only to be highly intelligent but singularly gifted at recognising opportunity. The enthusiasm of the "Sundowner's" trainees at being off world and seeing other planets had been noted with the thought of a Naval Training Ship had separately entered several forebrains leading to an enquiry from a bevy of schools. Preliminary approaches to Galbraith led to discussions involving the 'officers' of Sundowner Corporation. Consultations were had with organisations which ran schools in ships and sailing training ships on Old Earth's oceans.

Tentative plans were made to charter "Sundowner" for a voyage to Mountserrat and then on to the southwest of the galaxy using the Junction wormholes. Diplomats and Foreign Office reported no extensions of the southern conflict — not even to Mountserrat itself which was still being used by neutral shipping headed for its enemy. The only "intrusion" had been the official visit of a PRHN BC and escort showing their flag to stimulate technological support for the People's Republic.

The stumbling block was the insistence of the spacers that an extensive period of ground training was mandatory and certain equipment peculiar to space travel was essential; both of which added to costs.

Several of the "busy" ladies had connections of one form or another with USN hierarchy and the course of negotiations was in the view of several of the Puzzle Palace's occupants. The Services and the schools — indeed, the continent — stood down for the festive season. Thinking askew (outside the box?), as Admirals at that level so often had to, a conditional offer of facilities was made to the schools. The condition was that such a voyage include, say a deck, of students selected by examination whose parents were serving on the USN's lower deck. The argument about funding the USN's deck was amicably and confidentially settled.

Clare's neurones were sparking. She had at hand a sure-fire method of selection of candidates most unlikely to raise blood pressure of overseers during a voyage accepting that the truly promising would still cause hiccoughs. How to get the colony in contact with the candidates? Invigilate exams — suits, not a problem with the private schools; make up an almost nonsense exam and the colony could grade the candidates. Problem — private schools wanted an established class to be involved.

No. Do what the service does. Accept recruits and weed them out.

Clare arranged a meeting with the Contact Group and bluntly explained her problem — she didn't mention the solution as she wanted to continue in command. The members of the group understood only too well her problem. The matter was taken back to the Governors, discussed with USN Recruit Training Squadron at Great Lakes. Solution - the schools proposed all students in a school year be eligible, parental permission necessary, and to undertake selection and training at Great Lakes. After some argy-bargy, the USN agreed to absorb the costs.

...

Bet detected an undercurrent whenever she moved about E deck. The chaperones also felt it but had no answer. The trainees did their appointed tasks cheerfully and efficiently but ... It was not hostile; it was expectant; it was hesitant.

So Bet was not surprised when one of the older female trainees approached her requesting she meet a deputation from the trainees. The deputation put their proposition admitting there was nothing really in it for the Sundowners. Bet was flabbergasted by the proposition and pointed out such a decision was way, way above her pay scale.

Bet took the proposition to a conference which dissolved into a mixture of admiration, amazement, awe, disbelief, incredulity, mirth and wonderment.

Through his tears, Morg suggested the Club turn on a meal for everyone — he pointed out that the trainees food was prepared by themselves — as a smorgasbord in the dock where everybody could mingle and then have a polite(?) discussion about the proposal. Accepted, and the trainees informed — be our guests in the club at six forenoon tomorrow, no alcohol, bring your own seat and eating irons.

The Windsors began preparation immediately.

Clare looked (glared[?]) over the faces of the trainees, interspersed with those of Sundowners; some apprehensive, others hopeful, yet more resigned, all tense.

"You want to revoke your contracts! (a deep sigh from the trainees). Then you want to intermingle with the students whose parents I don't really have to remind you are paying for their children to take passage with us and partake of that education and the opportunities of the voyage as students as opposed to contract workers. You want the Sundowners to expand the educational programme to include working in the HLRV workshop with instruction, shuttle pilot training, EVA training for the students — you've had yours I note, but you want it to include hard suit instruction, hydroponics experience and you want the students to do your work in the fabric mill. Oh and yes! You want the lot of you introduced to catering and garment design and be exposed to your betters — here I have to disagree with you; they ain't your betters, just richer, but I know what you mean — in the Club and the House of Tulip. Have I forgotten something? Yes! You want unarmed combat training from the Sundowners and in your off duty time you want naval experience.

You propose that all decks have similar accommodations and locate the large gym on E deck. A and B decks to house four terms of schoolies. C after deck to quarter a term of engineers. You propose relocating the hydroponics and enlarging it to D deck with a term's accommodation — yes I know Chief Jang says it's just a matter of inserting blanks on C and removing some on D. You want Catering and Organisation as part of D deck teaching. You want rotating terms to do your work on E deck and to relocate the sewing room from the House to E deck for training and experience in fabrics from raw material to finished product.

I have been exposed to some outrageous ideas in my time both in RMN and in "Sundowner" but never have I been presented with such a self serving set of ... of ... outrageous requests."

Clare continued to glare over the now rather resigned trainees.

"I just cannot do it and you will have to accept the situation. (long pause) You will not receive hard suit instruction as the cost of so doing is prohibitive."

Her audience began to react with the beginnings of something like a volcano's eruption when Captain Gillard's command voice cut through the noise,

"But you aren't getting it for nothing. You will work for it. You are going to be nannies to the students, their leading hands, you are going to be first contact for every snivel, every tear and every whinge. And you had better learn which ones to pass up to your appointed Sundowner Mentor.

You will learn about responsibility for others and you do have an advantage because of previous life experience but be advised, carefully advised, that anyone taking advantage of their position will literally regret ever having been born.

The Sundowners have a couple of months to train you up and we will take great pleasure in running you into the decks. You are no longer paid workers but you will receive an allowance — pocket money really, same as the students.

You have two days to relax while we tidy up and get our programmes running. I suppose there is no point keeping you on E deck so you have the run of the ship but don't abuse it!

Then we reopen the Club and the House to give you an introduction to the back room workings. Two weeks doing the same at new London and you go to Great Lakes for the USN indoctrination programme while we locate to the Potomac Orbital with the Club and the ship outfitters move in.

Enjoy the rest of the meal and the day. I'm going to my cabin to recover."

Clare called a conference to discuss the idea of putting the trainees through Great Lakes to standardise training. Except for Bet, no one had any view on the idea and Bet was only concerned about production and admitted that in the scheme of things, the decrease would not be significant. Agreed and Clare so arranged.

(The USN was not really really being altruistic about the costs. Their people had done their sums and made an estimate of the students who would enlist in USN, both upper and lower decks — as opposed to joining their national navies. The cost of recruit training was considerable but include space training and the cost was out of this world in every way. So if the numbers were right, then USN absorbed a body of spacers with at least a year's experience in space at little cost to itself.)

This delay, as such, gave a definitive start date for Training Ship "Sundowner" to plan to.

Unless Murphy with his sense of humour intervened...

...

"TJ, could you come up to "Sundowner" asap?"

"Suit, Orville, I've been meaning to come up, but what's the rush?"

"Something has come up that has to be dealt with by a Sundowner conference. Clare is returning from Great Lakes and Morg should be here from Asia with more fabric. The rest of us are local so we can start in two hours and please plan on staying the night."

"Can you send someone with "Bulb" and I'd like to bring Simmo."

"Simmo? Oh yeh! Sorry I forgot. Your lad — not a problem. Ahhh ... I'll send 'Nita."

"What's the rush, 'Nita?"

"Hi, Simmo, strap yourself in. Dunno, TJ. Orville hasn't been himself for the past couple of days and has been crawling around the hull like an insect with the colony after him. In? Canopy coming down ... and locked. Clear left."

TJ responded automatically by looking right,

"Clear right."

"Bulb" lifted off. TJ fitted the headset and heard 'Nita obtain the clearances for the run to "Sundowner". Simmo was twisted in his harness trying to look at everything at once.

In the boat bay, TJ helped Simmo out and held him until through the inner air lock. Simmo rushed ahead to greet everyone he could find and receive hugs before putting his miniature pusser's bag beside his cot in TJ's cabin.

"You look a bit worried TJ. Not another of you. Orville is bad enough but what's troubling you?" Dorothy asked as she perched herself on TJ's lap and heartily bussed his cheek before sliding off onto the seat beside him.

"I've been collecting straws again and this Royal visit by Elizabeth to Renmark is exercising my mind a bit. There has been a flurry of Harbourian activity on Damasa and the indications are that their agents on Renmark are stepping up the pace. It is probably stemming from the recent Harbourian reversals - both battles and publicity. Several of my friends at the Army Navy club are saying Harbouria seems to be testing the waters at the Senate recently, spreading largesse and hinting at great events — they probably don't know anything in fact and are just following pointers from home. I've let my concerns be known to certain people and asked them to look further.

We are still held to be Mounty orientated — and we are, because we are basically anti Harbouria; so any disruption in that Alliance affects us just a little more than Old Earth, particularly with our assets on Gorgipest.

I'll discuss the point with SHOW in the next day or so but whatever happens wont influence the Sundowners much, if at all."

"Far away, TJ and they lost me..."

Clare and Morg entered the mess and got their mugs of stimulant from the urn before seating themselves.

"Suit, Orville, we're all here. What's so urgent?" Clare asked firmly "that immediate meeting was important."

"Ahh, TJ, what do you know about the construction of this ship?" Orville dodged.

"In general terms? Quite a bit. She fascinated Morg and I and we clambered over her to get some satisfaction for our curiosity." He continued in response to Orville's waved hand,

"Basically she is a cylinder within a cylinder with airlocks at either end and four each deck down each side in addition to the boat bays on middle deck. We didn't really investigate the supports between the cylinders. The end cones are lock-twisted onto the hull, sealed and bolted so they could be removed. Internally there is a double walled box extending athwartships from boat bay to bay and another similar box vertically the same width and thickness. The athwart is this accommodation and boatbays but I don't know if the box goes to the outer or just the inner hull. Same for the vertical. BC and CD decks are boxes as well extending fore to aft except here where the vertical box joins the horizontal and the pattern is modified by our auxiliary plant and the fresher lines from each deck. And that's the extent of my knowledge except that very superior grade metal is present. Oh, yeh; along the beams of the horizontal boxes there are counter sunk cleats to attach machinery. Where they are not in use they are covered — stops stubbing toes."