Inclusion, page 5
“Put him on” Ted waited for the connection to be made. Timove came on the screen, and Ted blasted him before he could say anything. "Captain, what the hell do you think you are doing? I thought we had an agreement?"
“First, Admiral, I must apologize. This is not a situation we wanted. The commander of the Stirkof was a close friend of Toupalev and aligned with Ridge's goals. This was my mistake, and it is my problem. I will handle it. There is no reason your people should pay for my mistake."
Ted said in a much calmer voice. "How long do you think it will take to resolve this issue?"
“I tell you that your people will be on their way back to you in one hour.” The look in Timove’s eye was that of sadness. He knew what had to be done.
“Very well, we will talk again in one hour.”
“Thank you, Timove out.”
Rick looked at Ted. “What do you think is going to happen?”
"That man is a leader. I could see it in his eyes. He's going in and will take our people by force. It made him sad to know that he might have to shoot his people."
“Do you think he is going to do that?” Rick found it hard to believe it would turn into an armed conflict between Timove and his people
“I know he is,” said Ted. “Remember what I told you about leadership. Timove took responsibility for the entire fleet. His people refused his orders. Now he has to handle the situation, if he doesn't, it all falls apart, and we will be firing at each other again. If that happens, Timove knows that his fleet will be destroyed.”
“Yes, but to kill his men?”
“I would,” said Ted. “Kill one to save a thousand. Kill ten to save ten thousand. However, I’m glad I don’t have to do that.”
Rick realized that there was a dark side to command. But it came down to what was the greatest good for the most significant number. The Rossom fleet was outnumbered three to one. Killing so few so the rest could survive was a choice that Rick was glad he didn't have to make. All they could do now was wait.
Chapter 8 Situation
TED HAD THE SCIENCE station monitor the situation. Twenty minutes later, a shuttle left the lead ship and headed for the Stirkof.
Time dragged on, and there was nothing Rick could do. This was one part of being a leader that Rick had a hard time with. He was a man of action. Yet there were times when he could do nothing, making him feel helpless.
Fifty-nine minutes had passed when the Science Officer said, "Sir, we have a shuttle leaving the Stirkof and heading for us.”
Then the Comms Officer said, “Sir, we are getting a transmission from that shuttle. They are asking for you.”
“Put him on.”
“Admiral,” said Timove, "we have accomplished our objective. None of your people were killed, but two got wounded in the attempt. We are going to need medical assistance upon landing."
“Understood, ETA?”
“About two minutes.”
"We'll be ready, Hornsby out. Get the medics to the flight deck!" Ted turned to Rick and said, "Let's go."
Both men ran to the flight deck and arrived as the shuttle landed. It touched down, and the hatch was opened. The medics rushed in to handle the wounded.
Once the wounded were taken away, Timove stood in the hatchway and said, “Permission to come aboard?”
“Granted.”
Timove came over to join Ted and Rick. "First off, Sir, I would like to thank you for letting me take care of this situation. Had you gone in, I think it would have caused harm to the trust we have built."
“Yes, it would,” said Ted. “I would like to thank you for defusing an explosive situation.”
"You are welcome, Sir. With that said, I would like to present myself and these officers for disciplinary action."
Ted looked around Timove into the shuttle and saw three bound men. “Deck officer!”
The deck officer came running up to them. Rick found it strange that the Deck officer was always young and always seemed to be running. “Yes, Sir.”
“Get security up here and take these men to the brig,” Ted pointed to the men in the shuttle.
“Yes, Sir.”
Then Ted Turned to Timove and said, “You, come with me.” Ted looked at Rick and nodded that he should join them.
They went to Ted's office, and with the hatch shut, Ted stuck out his hand and said, "I want to thank you again for getting my people out of there. I know it could not have been easy for you. You can fly in my fleet at any time. It would be an honor to serve with you.”
Timove took Ted's hand and shook it with a bewildered look. "You are not what I expected."
“What did you expect?” said Rick.
“We have been taught that you are ruthless coldblooded killers that would take over our corporation if given half a chance.”
"Wow, there are many things that you are not aware of," said Rick.
“With respect Director Thompson, we are aware,” said Timove as he reached over and turned off the video pick-up on the helmet. "Many of us saw the briefing you gave to CEO Estey. We have decided to stand together. The fleet is yours. I only make one request.”
“What would that be?”
“I would ask that you not put us in conflict with Rossom Forces. We may be branded as turncoats, but I don't wish to kill my countrymen."
Rick thought about Bannic and how he made almost the same request. “I’ll see what I can do. However, with Ridges attacking all over the map, there is no place out of his reach so I can make no promises.”
Timove looked depressed and nodded his head, “True. Very true. I understand.”
“As for putting you in the brig," said Ted, "That will never happen. I judge you to be a man of honor and integrity. So go back to your ship. We have some decisions to make, and we will let you know what happens next."
Timove stood and saluted, “Yes, Sir,” and left.
Once the hatch was shut, Ted turned to Rick and said, "You did a great job out there today."
“Thank you. That means a lot coming from you. By the way, I was on the planet during the battle. How did the Titan do?”
Feldman did a great job. Those plasma cannons do significant damage, but they are slow to recharge. Feldman chose his shots well. He disabled a good portion of the big ships while the rest of the fleet battled smaller vessels. If they hadn't surrendered, all the ships would have been destroyed by now."
"Yes, but we would have lost a valuable ally. The Rossom fleet can't go home, so what will we do with them?"
"Rick, I'm a simple soldier; what to do with them is for the politicians to decide."
For some reason, that thought scared him. Rick couldn't imagine what the Board would do with the Rossom fleet. "Well, I'm a simple politician, so it is my problem. I have to come up with a solution."
"Well, some of those ships are so badly damaged that they will have to be put into a shipyard before they can be useful again."
An idea was forming in Rick’s mind. “Has Timove left the ship yet?”
Ted pushed a button on his desk. “Hornsby to command.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Has the Rossom shuttle left the ship yet?”
"They were asking for clearance. Shall I hold them?"
Ted looked up at Rick, who said, "Yes, and have Captain Timove escorted here.”
Ted relayed the orders and asked, “What did you have in mind?”
"Well, the Rossom ships need rebuilding, and McTech needs protection."
"Oh, Rick, is that a good idea?"
“Let’s get Estey up here and find out.” Rick was thinking about how he should present this idea to the CEO as Ted ordered Estey to be brought to his office.
The buzzer sounded, and Rick went to open the hatch. “You wanted to see me,” said Timove as he was invited into the room.
“Yes, I did,” said Rick as he pointed to a chair. “I needed to ask you what your opinion of McTech. Please speak freely.”
"Sir, McTech, and Rossom have had close ties for many years. They have had, until today, open borders. I have many friends in McTech, and I would like to know if any of them are alive tonight. I wish there were more I could do for them. The orders of a madman have caused a rift that can never be mended. That hurts me for the part I played in that tragedy.”
The buzzer sounded again. As Rick went to open the hatch, he said, "That's what I thought." He opened the hatch, and there stood Estey.
“You wanted something of me?”
"Yes, Sir, come in and have a seat." Once Estey sat, Rick asked, "I will ask you the same question I just asked Captain Timove. What is your opinion of Rossom?”
"We had a good working relationship until that fool ordered the attack. I would have followed Ridges' lead. He did know how to make money. I still don't understand why he turned on me."
"Well, let me ask this, do you trust the Rossom soldiers?”
"Up until today, I did. They would protect our assets from pirates and other hostile corporations."
Timove was sharp. He saw where this was going, "First, Sir, I would like to say I'm sorry for today's events. A madman ordered them. Many of my people have friends in the McTech Corporation. I stopped the stupidity when I could. I ask for your forgiveness and what I can do to make amends.”
“That is what I wanted to talk to both of you about. The Rossom fleet needs someone to rebuild their ships. McTech needs someone to protect them.”
Estey looked over at Timove and said, “How do I know I can trust you?”
Rick answered the question. “I can tell you that you can trust him. While you were in your quarters, we had an incident. Some of our engineers were taken hostage. Timove went in and handled the situation.”
Ted added, "Had it not been for the Captain, those men, my men, would have been killed. He is a man of integrity. If he tells you something, you can believe it."
Estey looked over at Timove. “What they are proposing has merit. Yet you will receive hostilities at first.”
Timove sighed, "Yes, we will. Still, I think, in the end, it will work. Yet there are a few details to work out."
“Agreed,” said Estey. “Gentlemen, I do not wish to be rude by kicking you out of your own office, but I think the Captain and I need to have this conversation in private.”
Ted smiled and said, “That will not be a problem. Take as long as you need.”
“If you need anything from us,” said Rick, “Security outside the hatch will let us know.”
Once they were outside, Ted said, “Do you think that will work?”
“Yes, Jennings once told me that the cease-fire with Rossom wouldn't last because there was too much bad blood between the two Corporations. With McTech, there is no bad blood. Estey was willing to sit down and talk only hours after the fighting. I don't think there will be hostilities on the McTech side because they are builders, not soldiers. Timove will remove anyone that will cause any problems on the Rossom side. That will reduce the tensions. I think both sides will win from this agreement.”
"Wow," said Ted in honest amazement. "Now I see why Hobbs made you a Director. Speaking of Hobbs, we need to let him know what is going on. I suggest that you do that in person.”
“I had the same thought. I’ll do that as soon as we learn the outcome of their meeting. In the meantime, we should go back to the command deck and see if any other situations have developed."
"Don't say that too loudly; we just got everything calmed down." They both laughed as they headed for the command deck.
They stepped onto the command deck, and Ted said, "Report."
The man Rick suspected was Feldman's replacement came and said, "All is quiet on the battlefront."
"By the way, Director, this is Captain DeWitt. He is Feldman's replacement," said Ted.
Rick stuck out his hand and said, “Captain.”
DeWitt took Rick's hand and said, "I've heard a lot about you, Sir. It is a pleasure to meet you."
“Don’t believe everything you’ve heard. I’m a nice guy.” They both laughed. DeWitt seemed to be at ease with Rick’s position as Director.
“How are the engineering teams doing?” said Ted.
"They are being treated with respect. Everyone on both sides understands that they are there to help. Some of the ships had huge chunks taken out by the Titan. It crippled the systems, and our teams had to reroute primary systems through other parts of the ships."
“How many are without life support?”
“The ones we sent our engineers to. They have several hours of air left, and our boys are trying to get life support back up before they run out of air.”
“All right,” said Ted, “Contact those ships and have them move the crew to other ships. That will take the demand off the air supply and give our engineers a chance to get life support back online. Make it clear that we are not asking them to abandon the ship. They will be brought back as soon as they have air."
“Yes, Sir,” said DeWitt. Then he went off to carry out orders.
Ted turned to Rick and said, “That should show them our good intentions.”
“If they take it that way. I’ve noticed that the military can be a stubborn bunch.”
“Yeah,” said Ted with a smile, “We can be.”
The security officer outside Ted's office stepped onto the command deck. Ted saw him and tapped Rick's arm, and pointed. They both went up to him.
“Sir, I have been requested to have you and Director Thompson accompany me back to the Admiral’s office. Our guest would like to have a word with you.”
Chapter 9 Resolution
“THAT WAS QUICK,” SAID Rick as they followed the security officer.
"Yeah," said Ted. "That could mean one of two things. One, they couldn't come to an agreement. Or two, they want further concessions from us."
“I’m hoping that it’s number two.”
"I bet you are. Otherwise, what will we do with all those Rossom ships?"
The security officer took his post as Rick and Ted went in.
"Good," said Estey. "We have come to an arrangement. However, there is a favor we would like to ask of you."
"And what would that favor be, Sir." Rick thought was, 'Be careful of what you wish for; you might get it.
"We would like that ship to remain with us; I believe you call it the Titan."
“That’s not something I can authorize,” said Rick.
"I'm not asking for the ship to be given to us. We felt that with the fighting today, it is essential to have a third-party present during the transition.”
“An independent point of view if disputes arise,” said Timove.
“Why the Titan?” said Ted.
It was Timove that spoke first. “After the battle, none of the Rossom ships would dare challenger her.”
Estey continued, "The captain showed good judgment and restraint. He was out to disable ships, not destroy them. That's the kind of man that is needed."
Rick thought about how to best answer. "Oh, I understand everything you just said. I agree with it. However, it is not something I can authorize. I will have to bring this request up to CEO Hobbs."
Estey seemed pleased with Rick’s response. “Then we awaited his answer.”
"Admiral, would you please have Goliath prep the shuttle to take me to Anteagen?"
“Yes, Sir,” Ted left the office to carry out the orders.
Rick continued, “I don’t know how long the deliberations will take. It’s a six-hour round trip. Given our current situation, I’m going to say I’ll be back in eight to ten hours. In the meantime, I'll have shuttles take you back."
"Thank you, Director, for everything you have done,” said Timove.
"You are very welcome. Now let me arrange to get you back to where you belong." With that said, Rick left the room. As he headed to the flight deck, a thought came to him. Estey never thanked him. He must be from the group that didn’t thank someone for doing their job. Then he thought about what Collier said, ‘That might be part of the change that needs to happen.’ He met Ted in the corridor.
“So, what’s happening?” said Ted.
“You need to arrange shuttles for those two. Get Timove back to his ship and take CEO Estey back to wherever he wants to go. Is Goliath ready?”
"Yeah, he is on the flight deck now. Your shuttle is fueled up and ready to go. I’ll get Estey back to the planet, but Timove has his shuttle to take him back to his ship.”
“What do you think about Feldman staying here?”
"I think he will do a great job. I've seen him handle crew disputes well. Today he proved that he is a great fighter. He is the perfect candidate for the job. Please tell Hobbs that I think he should keep that ship. That’s my recommendation.”
“I thought he was given that ship?”
"No, he was given command of that ship for this crisis. It was just finished as the situation came up. Hell, it hasn't even been for a shakedown cruise yet. And he still did a great job.”
"I'll be sure to mention that to Hobbs," said Rick as they stepped onto the flight deck. Goliath was standing by the shuttle. "Ready to go, Goliath?" It was hard for Rick to think of him as Tim anymore. The nickname Tiny Tim became further away as time went forward.
"Yes, Sir," said Goliath as he opened the hatch for Rick. "Next stop, the Legal Building.”
Rick sat in the passenger area and pulled out his datapad. He didn’t know why but it was his habit to organize his thoughts before the meeting with Hobbs.
Goliath never said a word the entire trip. It was like he understood that Rick wanted to get his thoughts together before the meeting.
Rick was glad he chose Goliath for his pilot at times like this. Not only was he a great flyer, but he was also thoughtful and considerate. Rick turned his mind back to the meeting with Hobbs.
Rick hadn’t realized how much time had passed until Goliath called back, “Sir, we are about to make the final jump. Would you like to come up here and get ready to make the call to the CEO?”
"Yes, I would." Rick put away his datapad and came forward. He strapped himself into the co-pilot's seat as they went through the jump window. Rick made the call as soon as they were in Anteagen's airspace.
