Resolute (Guild Series Book 4), page 4
Five
Ensign Robert Graves sighed for at least the hundredth time since the start of his shift. He’d spent several years at the Academy studying reactor physics and engine mechanics, but it was done more as something to fill the time than because he had a real interest in it. Now he was in charge of the Engineering section aboard the frigate Waterloo, trying to dig forgotten knowledge out of his brain every day.
When the ship had been boarded by Syndicate soldiers, the Chief Engineer had been killed along with many Marines and more than a dozen people on the bridge. By the time the Coalition crew had regained control, the most senior officer in Engineering was also the woman promoted to XO of the ship. Graves had been selected as temporary head of the section, with the expectation that as soon as they returned to Earth a replacement could be quickly shipped up.
Instead, the Waterloo was now pledging loyalty to the splinter government on Luna, led by former Defense Minister Rinde Brighton. There would be no shipment of new recruits, no replacement for the job that had become his permanent home.
To be fair, Graves didn’t mind working in Engineering too much. Most of the problems he encountered on a normal day were interesting, and they stimulated his curiosity as he worked to figure out solutions to them. He even enjoyed learning about the new deuterium-powered fusion reactor that had been installed in the frigate to get them quickly back to Earth. The amount of energy created was exciting, especially when he let his imagination run free with all the possibilities that could be made into reality because of it.
His major problem lately was the man who had come along with the reactor, Dr. Wilhelm Francks. The physicist from Berlin was highly protective of the reactor he’d helped to finish the research on and build. The Silva Reactor was the brainchild of a researcher named Robert Silva, killed on Interamnia when the Indomitable destroyed the asteroid colony. His incomplete research was sent to the Guild before his death, and they reached out to trusted contacts to complete the work.
“No, no, no,” Dr. Francks cried, waving his arms as he hurried across the engine room. Graves sighed as he left his console to follow behind and try to smooth over whatever had irritated the physicist now. “You must not adjust the power flow from the reactor in such a way. This will require more testing, careful modification, and a guiding hand. Yes?”
The crewwoman the physicist was berating looked back with tired eyes. After a week of suffering through his motherly ministrations, everyone in Engineering had become inured to Dr. Francks’ frequent outbursts. Graves inserted himself between the two when the wild-haired physicist looked ready to start another lecture about how to properly handle new technology. “Dr. Francks, can we speak? Over at my station.”
Graves led the older man back to the row of terminals, out of the flow of crew working to complete their daily tasks to maintain the engines. The physicist kept his gaze on the reactor housing, glaring at the crewwoman who had turned back to the display and continued typing in the commands to complete whatever job she’d been assigned.
“All these changes should go through me,” Dr. Francks protested. “Why do you let these untrained children touch something so delicate and precise?”
“Doctor, these men and women have gone through the Academy and been trained in engine and reactor mechanics. They may not have the knowledge to build a reactor, but they know how to keep it running smoothly with the ship’s systems.” Graves got the physicist seated, and crossed his arms. “I know it’s hard to turn over control, but it has to be done. If we ran every request through you, there’d never be any time for you to eat or sleep.”
“Sleep? You think I sleep when I have nightmares about grubby fingers telling my reactor to do things it cannot do? You must lock down that panel, and let me decide what new commands we send into the reactor software.”
“No, sir,” Graves said, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose with frustration. “Must I remind you that you’re on the Waterloo in a purely observational capacity? The contract we signed with the Guild, or I guess the Colonial Alliance now, stipulated that we have control over how the reactor is used.”
Dr. Francks looked indignant at those words, and his face turned a vivid shade of scarlet. “If you will not listen to expert advice, ensign, then I would rather not be here at all.”
I’d happily stick you in a shuttle myself, Graves thought, fantasizing about waving as it disappeared through the ion barrier in the docking bay. “I am more than happy to listen to your advice, sir, as long as you realize that I can’t always take it. This is a frigate, built for patrol and protection, not a test ship that can afford to lose power for hours at a time while you test every new change.”
Sighing again, he sat at the next station. “How about we discuss all the proposed improvements my people have been coming up with? Have you had time to look through the ideas for increasing the power flow to the railguns?”
The physicist’s eyes lit up, and Graves was glad to see he’d managed to deflect the man’s attention. Even if it would only last until he solved whichever idea he latched onto. Hopefully it would be one that took him days instead of hours. If he figured out one of the big ones, it could go a long way to helping them in the war.
“There was something interesting one of your people mentioned in the galley a few nights ago,” Dr. Francks said musingly. “He assumed it was possible to increase power to the railguns in such a way as to triple the speed with which they can eject a round, which it theoretically is. Then he asked if we could use that same power to launch more than one projectile at once. I admit it was an intriguing idea. We’ve always known that an increased projectile weight requires an exponential increase in energy to push it through the tube. But if we could configure the reactor to…”
Graves knew the physicist would be lost in his own little world for a while, and took the opportunity to switch his work over to the station he was sitting at. He had pages of reports to look through, with requests for supplies that were running low in the ship’s onboard stocks. It had been more than a month since they last got a supply shipment from Earth, and the way things were looking it could be months more before they could count on another. He had to figure out how to get all the necessary work done maintaining the ship’s engines and systems while still shepherding the resources available.
He was interrupted half an hour later when one of the crew working on the roving repair teams touched his shoulder. “Rafferty. What’s going on?”
“Sorry to bug you, ensign, but I wanted to see if anyone has let you know we used up the last of the fiber cable rolls today.”
“What?” Graves turned back to his station and scrolled through the work orders. He found one marked as completed, with a small note about using up the last cabling. Groaning, he rubbed a hand over his face. “Thanks for letting me know, Rafferty. I’ll see what I can do about getting some more.”
As he scrolled through the latest completed work orders, he saw several more notes about supplies that were very low or now expended. Releasing yet another sigh, Graves resigned himself to having to place a call to the bridge. He’d need to ask the XO about getting what was needed to keep the ship functional. The only saving grace was that Commander Richtaus had served in Engineering for years and knew how vital these things could be.
He could only hope the Alliance was able to work with them to get the supplies they needed. Otherwise, the Waterloo was one bad break away from being useless when the inevitable fight against the Indomitable started.
Six
Vegley took a deep breath and enjoyed the serenity she felt standing by the rail of the command deck. Not having to worry about Guildersen storming through the door raging about some petty thing or other was letting her actually enjoy the job of being executive officer on the largest ship in the system. For the first time, she felt as if she truly belonged in her exalted position.
She heard the hiss of a door opening, and turned to see Admiral Yumata exiting from the office attached to his quarters. “Commander,” he said in greeting as he stopped beside her. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he almost looked to be preening. Vegley knew how he must be feeling, returned to the ship he’d been instrumental in creating.
“Admiral. Have you heard from the committees yet?”
“Selene has been trying to contact me,” he said, referring to the head of the Military Committee. “They expected this trip to last no more than a few hours, and are now demanding to know why the shuttle hasn’t left for the return trip to Earth yet. She also wants to know why Abernathy isn’t answering his calls.”
“Should we oblige them and release the shuttle? I can instruct the pilot to drop his unwanted passengers somewhere out of the way. That should give us more time before the leadership realizes there’s been a mutiny aboard the Indomitable.” Vegley relished the thought of Guildersen being dropped off in the middle of the wilderness somewhere, no idea where he was or how to get back to civilization. She wondered how long he might last in such a situation. Probably longer than he’d wish. After all, he has all that fat to sustain him for days and days.
“Soon, commander.” Yumata turned to glance at her. “What are your thoughts on this proclamation from Luna? The Coalition splinter government, and formation of the new Colonial Alliance?”
She pursed her lips in thought. Everyone on the cruiser had seen the announcement, or caught replays of it. She had personally watched it several times, examining every detail, looking to see if the man Brighton were sincere or just serving as a mouthpiece for the Transport Guild. She refused to accept their usurpation of control over the asteroid mining colonies, Luna, and Mars. “Sir, I believe it’s no more than propaganda. Political theater as one faction of their government tries to wrest power from another. As for this Alliance nonsense…” She snorted, shaking her head in disgust. “I would call it an obvious attempt to sow more chaos in a situation already out their control.”
Yumata made a sound of disagreement. “I believe they are in earnest, commander.”
“How?” she asked. “They may claim control over all settlements off Earth, but there’s no way to enforce that. A ragtag group of freighters could never stand against the Indomitable, no matter how many peashooter railguns they install. An hour under our weapons, and they would run to the darkest corners they could find.”
“You forget that we are currently without a home ourselves,” Yumata said with a tight smile. “We have gone against the will of the Executive Committee, and there is no turning back. At this moment, we are a ship without a governmental will to enforce.”
Vegley opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. She had never really considered the final consequences of her actions. Sure, they would be locked in restraints and taken to the brig if the mutiny failed. Beyond that, though, there would be lengthy trials. Yumata and the senior officers would be paraded before the Syndicate people as examples. More than likely, evidence would be “discovered" that showed they were in the employ of Coalition masters. It would be just one more way to show the depravity of their enemies. One more way to make the people want to fight.
“Yes, you see now where we stand. The Executive Committee will not be able to sit idly by and watch their last ship fall into the hands of mutineers. If the Coalition government discovered the situation, it is entirely possible their prime minister would see his bargain as a losing proposition. Then he would release the brakes he has been putting on the military reaction to our invasion.”
“They have no choice, sir. The Syndicate has no other ships to send against us.”
“Hmm, we shall see.” Yumata didn’t look convinced. She’d never worked closely with the admiral, having joined the ship with the Syndicate frigates that carried extra personnel out during the cruiser’s trip to Earth. Even then, she had worked at one of the stations at the rear of the command deck and saw him from that perspective. Her promotion to XO had been solely due to being the only officer at the rank of commander on the ship when Guildersen became the captain. The last few hours had taught her to respect the admiral’s keen mind.
“We do still have half a squadron of Darts, admiral. I could have a few of them patrolling around the ship at all times to ensure we aren’t surprised by any attempts to seize control.”
Yumata jerked his chin down once. “That is an excellent idea, commander.”
Vegley stood beside him in silence for several seconds. “So, what should we do with the shuttle?”
The admiral turned on his heel, walking back toward his office. “I have an idea of where to send it. Tell the pilot he will have his orders in twenty minutes.” As he disappeared into his private chambers, Vegley stared at the door. She was trying to guess at his thoughts, but could come up with nothing. She just hoped they wouldn’t send her former commander to a comfortable destination. If she didn’t fear it would make her just as bad as him, she’d push to toss him out of the airlock as Guildersen had done to so many others.
She strode to the row of consoles, bending over the lieutenant occupying the communications station to relay the admiral’s words to the shuttle pilot.
Half an hour later, she watched as the shuttle departed. Displays filled every inch of wall space along the sides and front of the bridge, giving the feel that the viewer was merely looking through transparent materials at everything outside the cruiser. It was one of the things she loved most about standing at the command deck rail, gazing out at the majestic field of stars when the ship was facing toward the outer system. At other times, the displays had to be darkened as the sun passed through them.
“Excellent, I see our guests have made their exit.”
Vegley turned to look at the admiral, surprised by his sudden appearance. “Yes, sir. I notice the shuttle is not on course for a direct landing.” She made it a statement, but knew he had to hear the question in her words.
“No, commander. They will be landing quite far from where they are expected.” Yumata’s lips were upturned slightly, as close as he came to showing amusement. “Any status updates on repairs to our weapons systems?”
“Work crews have been dispatched to emplacements three and eight. The railgun components are being transferred, and should be in place to begin installation within the hour. ETA for completion of the work is seventeen hours.”
“Excellent job, Commander Vegley.” He turned to raise an eyebrow at her. “We never had a chance to become acquainted before I was removed from command, but I think Guildersen made at least one good decision in promoting you to XO.”
She laughed bitterly. “He had no say in it, sir. I was the next in line by order of seniority, and his orders were to use the personnel on board.”
“Then I must be grateful for that order. You have proven yourself to be a wonderful XO, so far. I believe we will work very well together. The Indomitable will be well served with the two of us in command.”
“Thank you, sir.” Vegley felt herself standing straighter with pride. She knew that whatever plans the admiral came up with for the cruiser, she’d be behind them. Yumata was the epitome of the efficient officer she’d always imagined serving under, the kind of man who thought about his crew and his ship with equal affection.
Seven
Erik stepped through the doors of the Aldrin administration building, craning his head to look at the detailed mural painted on one wall. It showed the evolution of Luna, from the first lander on the moon to the two domes side by side. He wanted to spend more time looking at each panel, but a tug on his hand reminded him that it would have to wait for another day.
After the fourth descent to Earth to scoop up rescued factory workers, he departed the ship to help out in the dome. Mira was in charge of the Vagabond for the next couple of trips.
“It looks like they left the place a mess,” Dex said. She was staring at the scattered papers and broken electronics that covered the reception desk and floor.
“Yeah, they were definitely in a hurry to leave.” Erik gestured at a door hanging from a single hinge. One of the panels on it was splintered, and looked as if someone had put a fist through it. They wandered around the building, with Dex making notes on her tablet about repairs that would be necessary before the building could be used.
After forming the Alliance, President Meyers had dispatched five ships to the mining colonies on Vesta, Hygeia, Cybele, Davida, and Ceres. They were still small settlements, with the largest barely surpassing five hundred people. The Coalition and Syndicate had given them few resources before the colonies broke free to govern themselves independently, and it had only gotten harder to attract new citizens after that. Meyers had plans to change that, and the first step was getting a representative from each colony to Luna so they could all meet and ratify a charter of laws for the new government.
Meyers wanted the former Coalition administration center cleared out and prepared by the time those representatives arrived. They needed the extra space for the additional people the Alliance would have to bring in to help with running the government. He also wanted a set of offices for Rinde Brighton to run his competing Coalition government from in the short term.
“How long do you think it will be before Brighton can go to Earth?” Erik asked, gathering pages of loose paper while Dex made notes about the room they were in.
“It probably won’t be soon,” she said distractedly. “The leaders of some Coalition ground forces have finally united behind a general who is ignoring the order to remain in a protective formation around Geneva, but they’re still outnumbered by the Syndicate forces. Three to one, according to our latest intel reports.”
He snorted in amusement. “Sorry, it just sounds weird to talk about intel reports. This time last year I was just a simple transport captain carrying cargo to my next destination. Now we’re talking about making new laws and creating a fleet. Never would have expected this much change in so short a time.”
