Starhunt: A Star Wolf Novel by David Gerrold Page A

Harshlie
    Joe,
    What’s wrong with the Burlingame ?
    Stephen
    MEMO
    FROM: Vice Admiral Harshlie
    TO:        Base Admiral Farrel
    Stephen,
    Surely you jest. I wouldn’t use the Burlingame for committing suicide. That ship is older than I am, and we’re both overdue to be scrapped.
    Joe
    MEMO
    FROM: Base Admiral Farrel
    TO:        Vice Admiral Harshlie
    Joe,
    I don’t care how old it is, I want to know if it’s usable. Please authorize a status check.
    Stephen
    MEMO
    FROM: Vice Admiral Harshlie
    TO:        Base Admiral Farrel
    Stephen,
    Okay, here’s your status check, but you won’t like it. I could have told you how bad a situation this ship is in.
    Joe
    MEMO
    FROM: Base Admiral Farrel
    TO:        Vice Admiral Harshlie
    Joe,
    There is nothing wrong with the Burlingame . Its generators work and it’s airtight. It needs some minor refitting, but we can use it.
    Stephen
    MEMO
    FROM: Vice Admiral Harshlie
    TO:        Base Admiral Farrel
    Stephen,
    In battle? Are you kidding?
    Joe
    MEMO
    FROM: Base Admiral Farrel
    TO:        Vice Admiral Harshlie
    Joe,
    I can’t afford to kid.
    Who said anything about sending the Burlingame into battle? I want it for the milk run patrols in DV sector. That will free at least one good D-class ship for transfer to GY.
    Stephen
    MEMO
    FROM: Vice Admiral Harshlie
    TO:        Base Admiral Farrel
    Stephen,
    ITEM: the Burlingame ’s system analysis network is no longer fully operational. So many new pieces of equipment have been added to that ship since she was commissioned that the network has completely broken down. If something were to go wrong, they’d have to depend on their secondary analysis system and perform on-the-spot checks.
    ITEM: the guide rods for the power and control cables to the stasis generators have been removed. That ship cannot change heading in warp without her cables fouling. We have no replacements for the guide rods because the F-class generator configuration has been obsolete for twenty years.
    ITEM: the phase reflex system is partially deranged.
    ITEM: the phase adaptive system is totally deranged.
    ITEM: the injective compensators would have to be replaced before that ship could pass her safety checks. Where are we going to find F-class compensators here?
    ITEM: do you want me to go on? I can—the list is endless. The Burlingame ? Uh, uh, not even for a milk run.
    Joe
    MEMO
    FROM: Base Admiral Farrel
    TO:        Vice Admiral Harshlie
    Joe,
    We have no choice. We need that ship. We need any ship that holds air and moves.
    I have the Burlingame ’s log tapes in front of me. That ship has operated for six years without a full systems analysis network. The longest breakdown they ever had stranded them for only ninety-three hours.
    The stasis generator guide rods were removed four months before the ship was decommissioned here. They were removed by the ship’s chief engineer because they weren’t working. According to the log, he put a “monkey crew” in the webs and they guided the cables manually. Apparently it worked; it says here that the ship operated more efficiently without the guide rods.
    The phase reflex and phase adaptive systems are not considered “life-or-death” systems. A ship can survive without them, if necessary; the crew can do those operations manually. The Burlingame proved that.
    Have the injective compensators rebuilt. (I don’t care where or how, just do it.) They’ve been rebuilt twice before; find out how they did it and do it again.
    And so on.
    Listen, our ships are built in triplicate, with fail-safe devices for every functions and activity. Stop worrying. The ship will work. We need her. It’s as simple as that.
    Stephen
    MEMO
    FROM: Vice Admiral Harshlie
    TO:        Base Admiral Farrel
    Stephen,
    All right, but you sign her papers, not me.
    Joe
    MEMO
    FROM: Base Admiral Farrel
    TO:        Vice Admiral Harshlie
    Joe,
    Relax. It’s not as bad as you think. But I promise