Chapter 8

It has been ten years since the meeting to build an interplanetary spaceship, with the building dock completed last year. Michael had gone to the dock to officially open the dock for operation, and it had been named The Queens' Port in honor of his wives. The first modules had been transported from Leti, and the ships assembly had begun. Now a year later, the hull of the upper half had been completed, and the AI's compartment was turned over. Because there were no entrances or exits none of the humans had any idea what was taking place in that area, however Trina assured everyone that the space was more than adequate.

Maureen was starting to review the requirements for personnel to man the spaceship, and had to present a plan to the oversight committee soon. Even though the departure date was still two to three years away, there would need to be a lot of training, and finding the right people would be difficult. Maureen had polled the senior officers of the Shamrock to see if any were interested in joining the crew, however she was not surprised when all declined the offer. That would mean that the crew would be entirely green when the ship departed. The thinking was that a senior military officer should have overall command, with a Capitan for the operation of the ship.

Maureen was surprised when Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald requested an appointment with her and Colleen. When the three were comfortable, Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald got to the point of the requested meeting. He told Colleen that he wanted to resign his position as Commander in Chief of the Navy and Space commands. Colleen was speechless, but finally regaining her composure wanted to know why. Fitzgerald said it was simple really, as he wanted to be the the overall commander of the first voyage into deep space, and he could not remain CIC and be in deep space at the same time.

Colleen called her PA and asked her to have Rory O'Hara and the Group Commanders come to Maureen's office ASAP. Seconds later Colleen's and Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald pagers went off with orders to Maureen's office. When the senior officers were assembled, Colleen had Fitzgerald restate his request.

Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald then stood and said he wanted to resign his post, and requested reassignment as the overall commander of the first voyage into deep space. He could not do both jobs at the same time, and he and his wife really wanted this assignment. Rory asked if Fitzgerald realized that someone that use to report to him would now be his commanding officer.

Fitzgerald said that this was acceptable, however there was another reason for this request. He had a rare blood disease, and in ten Leti years he would be dead. If he were to take command of the spaceship for a five or ten year voyage, by the time he returned a cure might have been found.

Colleen thought to Trina to get her AI ass down here now. Seconds later Trina appeared, telling Colleen she did not have an ass but she came anyway. Colleen explained Fitzgerald's medical issue, and asked why this had not been brought to the medical research team's attention sooner. Trina said that they had been working on a cure ever since Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald had come to Leti. They had also found two other cases, however they were not nearly as advanced as Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald. As for being healthy enough to carry out his duties, there should be no problem for nine or ten years. Trina thought that a cure was six or seven years away, and Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald would be included in any treatments as the AI aboard the spacecraft could replicate any medications that were produced on Leti. Colleen thanked Trina verbally, and thought to the AI that she loved her AI ass. Both of them got a laugh from that.

Colleen then turned to Fitzgerald and asked him whom he felt he was qualified to replace him. With no hesitation he said that Shamus Mac Lochlainn was the only logical replacement. Rory reminded them that Shamus was not a member of the NUSF. Fitzgerald said that the reason Shamus was not a member on the NUSF was because he was concerned he would be asked to return to space, and he did not want that. As the commander in Chief of the Naval and Space forces, that would not be an issue. It was decided that Colleen and Rory would approach Shamus to determine his interest. If he would accept the position, it would be presented to Michael for approval. With that Maureen terminated the meeting.

Colleen and Rory were in her office discussing the events of the day when her PA said that Shamus was requesting a meeting. Colleen asked her to show him in. Shamus was surprised when he was shown in that both Colleen and Rory were there. He said he could return later if there were busy, however Colleen asked him to be seated. She asked him if they could make a proposal before he went any farther. Colleen then said there was a recent opening in the NUSF, and they understood why he had not joined the force. There was an opening that would require the individual to remain on Leti with very minimal off planet travel, however the responsibilities were great, and some of the decisions might put troopers in harms way.

Shamus said that the reason he requested a meeting was to explore if there was a place in NUSF where he could be useful. So if he could be of service and remain on Leti that would be great. Colleen looked to Rory and received a nod. Colleen then asked if he would consider accepting the position of Commander in Chief of the Naval and Space Forces.

Shamus said that there was no way that he would unseat Fitzgerald just to create a place for himself. Colleen then told him that Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald had requested reassignment this morning and they were going to grant that request. Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald and his family would be assigned to the spaceship, and he would be the senior officer and diplomat aboard, however there would be a ship's captain responsible for ship operations and battle. She said that Fitzgerald felt that Shamus had more hands on experience than he did, and knew more about space than he would ever know.

With that knowledge, Shamus said that he would be very interested and wanted to know where to sigh up. Rory than asked if Shamus knew the reporting structure of the NUSF. Shamus said that the three CIC's reported to Rory, and he reported to Colleen. The final decisions on some matters were decided by the Ard-Ri, and that the Ard-Ri had never overturned a decision of Colleen's or Rory's. The Ard-Ri is a fair and just leader, and he would be honored to serve them and him. Rory asked Shamus to keep all this quiet, as there were several other items to decide before they presented to Michael the new NUSF structure.

Maureen was looking over a long list of names of potential officers for the spaceship, but was making no headway as to which were the best qualified for what position. Finally she called Fitzgerald and asked him to join her for a while. For the next four hours they went over the list of officers and had assigned all positions. Maureen asked Fitzgerald if Rorke could fill the position of executive officer for the shakedown cruise, and maybe one other cruise if it were less that one Leti year. At that point he asked Maureen if she would call him Fitz, as that what all of his colleagues called him. Then he wanted to know why Rorke was available for such a short period of time. Maureen explained that if something were to happen to the Ard-Ri, Rorke would be needed to succeed his father. The only reason that the Queens agreed to this was it was for a short time, and Rorke's wives and son would remain on Leti.

Fitz understood, and said that if Rorke were to take the XO's position, that no one could know that it was for a one year period, as some would consider this nepotism, and there would be resentment in the ranks. They would have to find a valid reason for him being transferred from the ship, and the only two to know were Maureen and him. Maureen asked if transferring him to a position of leadership as the solar system security commander would satisfy the crew members and not be seen as nepotism. Fitz thought that would work as long as it was a promotion, and the person he replaced were seen to be promoted.

Maureen thought if all worked well that the second spaceship would need a Capitan, and the Commander of Solar System Security would have command, and flight time to be promoted to Capitan of the second spaceship would be a natural. Then Rorke could be promoted to Commander Solar System Security, and later choose a different career path. However, there would have to be one additional person included in this scheme, and that would be his replacement. Fitz had no problem with that, as he knew that if Shamus replaced him he would see the need for Rorke to stay close.

The remainder of the ship's hull was coming together fast, as one deck a week seemed to be put into place. Of the thirty decks planned, fifteen were in place as an exterior hull only. The new metal was a dream to work with now that they understood the characteristics and how to mold the pieces. The cargo ship was never in one place very long, and was showing the stress of continuous service. A new version that was slightly larger was near completion when Cargo #1 developed a problem. One of the main stress beams showed a hair line crack, and the ship was immediately grounded. The main reason cargo #2 was not ready for service was her power system The delay was some shielding that was required in the inter core reactor. One of the design features was that side of the ship would open and the power plant would slide out as a modular unit. This had been designed by Shae, as she planned to have a spare power plant on every spaceship encase of catastrophic failure. Within ten hours the power plant in cargo #1 was in place in cargo #2, and power up complete. After a test cruise, the senior pilot reported that it was taking slightly longer to reach open space, but that was not major. The power plant manufacturing operation was asked to identify the material needed and expedite the completion of cargo #2's plant.

As each deck of the spaceship was completed, an atmospheric test was completed and the deck was approved for humans to work on that deck without life support systems. It seemed that the gap between decks being added and decks completed, was a separation of ten decks and growing. There were only five decks remaining to be lifted to the building dock, and those were the engineering decks and had special requirements. This ship would not have the capability for a quick change of power plants, so three plants would be installed.

Because of the unique design of engineering it was decided to install the power plants before the modules left Leti. The size of the power plant meant that it would have to be further modularized to fit in cargo #2. Engineering was totally assembled on Leti, but no inter modular connections were made. The outer hull on three sides of engineering were completed five decks high when the first module of the power plant was loaded into cargo #2, and surprise, it was too long to close the doors completely. The pilots decided to see if they could, if they dressed in life support systems plugged into the ships support systems, go and fly to the building docks. The plan was to return to Leti at the first sign of trouble, however there was no trouble, and as soon as they arrived and were secured the pilots were relived, while the backup crew took over. In just over two hours cargo #2 was returning to Leti. It took just over a week to put all of the power plant modules in place, and another three days to put the remainder of the hull in place. The last welds were completed, atmospheric test completed, and all support systems working, when a large group of engineers descended into engineering and began making all of the inter modular connections. Because of the dry run on Leti, the 2500 connections were completed in just over three hours. Shae walked in with her version of a laptop and plugged into a receptacle on the chief engineer's console. She powered up the laptop and started running a test that almost any technician could run, however only she and one other person could sign off on the test results. As the test began to run, a printer began to spit out paper with a yellow one appearing once in a while. Shae would pull the offending sheet and hand it to the chief engineer, who would in turn give it to someone who would run off and fix the problem. Of the 2500 connections, only 15 had any issues. The remainder of the problems were minor and quickly resolved. The program on Shae's laptop took two hours and forty-seven minutes to run, and upon completion a page was printed with a space for Shae's signature. She signed the page, turning to the chief engineer telling him to activate the power plant. Several people moved to their stations as the chief issued orders. Within fifteen minutes the power plant was showing signs of life. Shortly the plant was at full idle power, and the engine was fully ignited, and the environmental systems were fully functional. A mighty cheer went up throughout engineering that just about shook the ship.

Maureen, Colleen and Rory O'Hara were in the conference room by Micheal's office with him, Paps, and Tressa. Colleen stood, and began to explain the reorganizing of NUSF. She felt that the hard sell would be having a Naval Admiral aboard the spaceship also having the credentials of a diplomat. She explained that so much was going on, there was a requirement for another commander solely responsible for solar system security. The Ground Command, Air Command, and Naval/Space Command would remain in place with the addition of the Solar System Security Command. Colleen then requested approval for the reorganization. After a few questions about what each command would give up to the new command if the existing Commanders were on board with the plan. Colleen said this was their plan, as they were overloaded and would like to spend more time with their families. As for the command loss, the main command affected was the Air Command, which would relinquish all space patrol ships and pilots. Michael approved the reorganization and that the Admiral would be having diplomatic credentials.

Rory then took over and detailed the personnel changes, Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald would move to the spacecraft as the senior officer and diplomat. Briogáidire-Ghinearál Robert Kennedy would retain command of the Ground Command. Briogáidire-Ghinearál Sharon Gallagher would assume command of the Solar System Security Command. Sharon Gallagher's Executive Officer be promoted to Briogáidire-Ghinearál, and assume command of the Air Command. Finally Shamus Mac Lochlainn would assume command of the Naval and Space Command as Deiridh Aimiréal.

Michael stood and walked to the window, thinking that there was more to this than was being told, turning, he said now tell him the rest that they were not telling. Laughing, Maureen told Michael nothing could get by him. Maureen said that because Rorke had been so determined to go deep space traveling, Meghan had reached a compromise, and said that he could go for one Leti year if he left Nancy and MRF IV on Leti. When he returned, he would take command of the Solar System Security Command, and Sharon would become the overall senior officer aboard the second spaceship. When Michael heard this he liked the plan but modified it. Rorke's family would be allowed to travel with him.

Colleen started to object, but Michael silenced her with a "this is by order of the Ard-Ri, now do you have any questions." Colleen looked at the floor saying "no my Ard-Ri". Michael then approved all personnel changes, and then sent a telepathic message to all of his wives to meet him at home in thirty minutes, no excuses. All six women knew something was up, and only Maureen and Colleen guessed the reason.

As they gathered at home, all but Michael, Maureen, and Colleen were there. When the other three arrived Michael did not mince words. Telling them never to separate a family regardless of the reason. Meghan started to state the reasons for the decision when Michael cut her off, asking what part of "regardless of the reason" did she not understand. Meghan was very surprised, as Michael had never spoken to any of his wives that way, in fact never to anyone in her presence. Michael then asked if they all understood. They responded yes. Michael then restated that Rorke, Nancy, and MRF would accompany Rorke on the voyage, all of his wives nodded in agreement.

As the year closed, the crew of the Ulster was announced. The senior officers were Deiridh Aimiréal Fitzgerald as fleet commander, Capitan Kelsey Flynn, Executive Officer M Rorke Fearghas III, Chief Engineer Failenn Gallagher, and Chief Medical Officer Nancy Fearghas. There were eighteen officers, seven junior officers, 340 enlisted military personnel, 130 civilians, and 42 children. The crew named quarters assignments were the responsibility of the Executive Officer except for three, Fleet Commander, Captain, and Executive Officer. His cousin Failenn Gallagher approached him requesting quarters close to Kelsey Flynn, as they were dating, and sometimes liked to spend nights together. Rorke and Nancy laughed, asking what he was to do with the Chief Engineer's quarters in Engineering. Failenn said she would give it to her second, because he had a large family.

The second Spaceship was well under construction, and was waiting for the Ulster to clear the building dock. The plan was to launch the Leti a year after the Ulster left the building dock. Maureen was worried how she could come up with another 500 crew members and still maintain solar system, ground, air, and sea support in the NUSF. She knew who the Fleet Commander would be, but that is where it stopped. Maureen was concerned when Trina appeared and told her to wait until the Ulster returned from the first mission. Maureen put crew staffing aside for now.

As fall approached and the Ulster moved from the Building dock under its own power, moving to the far end of the dock that had been built to accept spaceships not requiring major repairs. The shakedown crew of 100 crew members were aboard loading supplies and any spare parts they thought might need. Along with the crew were most of the senior designers and techs. On October 12 Ulster departed for a ten day shake down cruise.

As the Ulster backed away from the ramp, the ride was so smooth that they hardly knew they were moving. Turning toward their sun, the Captain ordered ¼ impulse speed to move them away from Leti. After fifteen minutes he ordered ¾ impulse, and the ship moved as if it were made to run. After running at full impulse speed for an hour, the Captain called the Admiral and Executive Officer for concurrence to run at warp 1 for 8 hours. The three agreed that was in the shakedown plan, so the Captain ordered Warp 1. The transition to warp speed was smooth, and the view into space was black, which was consistent with a view in a spaceship traveling at warp speed. All crew members had checks that were monitored and logged with the AI. All the logs were compared with known logs from the Four Leaf Clover and Shamrock.

After running at warp 1 for 2 days the Captain ordered warp 5. The ship was still traveling smoothly when an alarm sounded showing a ripple in the folds of space. Captain Flynn ordered a drop of speed to ½ impulse. As soon as they dropped from warp speed all sorts of alarms went off indicating a battle was in progress. The senior AI told the Admiral and Captain the attacking ships were from the same alien species as the ship that was attacking the Shamrock when they found her. Captain Flynn ordered the destruction of the three attacking ships, and laser cannons made short work of the three ships as they were not expecting an attack from the rear.

Captain Flynn had communications try to contact the large ship that was the object of the attack. The response took them all by surprise. A woman appeared on their viewer wanting to know who they were, and to thank them for there assistance. What was more amazing was she spoke perfect Gaelic. Looking at Admiral Fitzgerald, the communications camera focused on him. Introducing himself, he told them he was from the planet Leti, and this was the maiden voyage of the spaceship Ulster.

The woman introduced herself as the Ambassador of a civilization which had been destroyed by the greed and the hunger for power of a few men. They had been living on a small planet for several thousand years until they were found, and they knew that they had to leave or become food for those bastards that had just been destroyed.

Admiral Fitzgerald asked, "what was the ruler of your civilization called"?

"Our king was called the Ard-Ri, why would you want to know that," asked the Ambassador.

"It will become clear soon just one more question, are there any direct descendants of the Ard-Ri aboard your ship".

"No," replied the Ambassador "the son of our Ard-Ri was on a ship named the Four Leaf Clover with about 10,000 of our citizens, however we have never found him".

"Ambassador, I am a descendant of the people that were on the Four leaf Clover, and we live on a planet named Leti. The crest of our Ard-Ri is now on your screen, is it recognizable to you?"

The look on the Ambassador's face told the story. Admiral Fitzgerald had the National Anthem played, and saw every member on the other ship come to attention.

"Ambassador, how many people do you have aboard your ship, and would you like to return to Leti with us"?

There was a long pause as the Ambassador seemed to be in a state of shock. Finally returning to reality the Ambassador replied, " there are 33,000 men, women, and children aboard, and yes we would like to return to your planet with you".

"Ambassador, I trust that your Captain is close, as what I am requesting is a military strategic move. Our ship can house 30,000 people, and by squeezing and double bunking we can accommodate everyone. Your ships AI's will be accommodated with our ship's AI. I would then like to destroy your ship for many reasons. First, there may be homing devices planted aboard that would lead the aggressors to our planet. Secondly, if there is debris from four ships when they come looking, I hope the belief will be that all ships were destroyed in the battle. In fact your ship's hull will be mostly in tact, which will cause a lot of confusion.

The Ships Captain appeared, and told the Admiral that was brilliant, and wanted to know how they should proceed.

The Ships AI told the Admiral that it was imperative that he and the Captain meet with it immediately. As the three met, the AI told them that one of the containers transferred was an explosive device, and capable of destroying all living and planet matter within a light year. It seemed that the Ambassador and the Captain had trigger devices that could detonate the device at a very long range. The AI suggested that they make it appear that the ship was destroyed and that the ship's crew would believe that it was destroyed. The AI also informed them that the senior AI on Leti was being updated on all events, and had ordered a scan of all people being transferred to the Ulster to see if there was a plot to harm the citizens.

The Admiral agreed to all of this, and requested the Ard-Ri be updated and asked for orders as how to proceed. Captain Flynn asked if the explosive device had been disarmed and where was its location on board his ship. The AI assured Captain Flynn the device was disarmed and had been deemed safe.