TFS Theseus: The Terran Fleet Command Saga – Book 2 by Tori Harris Page B
Authors: Tori Harris
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paused and stared in the direction of their new ship for a moment. “It’s actually a little difficult to wrap your mind around the gravity of what we’re doing. But all that aside, doesn’t it bother you that we’ve never flown that ship before?” she asked, jutting her chin in the direction of the massive destroyer looming large on the far side of Ingenuity .
“How hard could it be?” Prescott laughed. “Captain Oshiro did give you the keys, right?”
“Oh, that’s hilarious, sir. We’re doing old pilot training humor again now, are we?” she smirked, referring to a practical joke that had been a favorite of military flight instructors since the mid-twentieth century. Before the student pilot’s first flight, and usually after a long trip out to the waiting aircraft, the instructor would pretend to become irritated with the student for forgetting the keys. Typically, the hapless student was then given a tongue-lashing, along with explicit instructions to go and ask the unit’s commanding officer for the non-existent keys which, of course, usually led to an even more comprehensive tongue-lashing.
“If you don’t think that’s funny, then you’ve obviously never seen it play out in real life,” Prescott smiled nostalgically. “Okay, in all seriousness, that ship intimidates me a little as well. I mean, just look at her,” he nodded. “Under the circumstances, though, we’re going to have to take the Fleet Science and Engineering guys at their word that if you can fly the frigate, you can fly the destroyer. I do want you to schedule some time for our bridge crews to all be in the sim together, however, and that includes the two of us, if at all possible.”
“Will do, sir,” she sighed. “We’ll just have to do the best we can in the time we have available.”
“That’s all we can do.”
“One more thing I forgot to mention, I managed to cobble together some of my notes as well as the tactical assessments from our engagement at Gliese 667. The big things I thought our crews should know about regarding Sajeth Collective vessels were the limited field of fire on the big cruisers, their vulnerability to kinetic energy rounds, and the weaknesses their shields seem to have near the sublight engine nozzles. I also included all of our weapons’ effectiveness data and some specific commentary on our use of the C-Drive-equipped missiles.”
“Excellent. I’m sure that’s exactly what Admiral Patterson was looking for. Go ahead and send it.”
“Already done, sir. Believe it or not, he insisted on it being distributed via courier and designated ‘ For Captain’s Eyes Only .’”
“That doesn’t surprise me, given the sensitivity of the information. Thank you, Commander. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but I’m confident you’re up to the challenge,” he said. “Oh, one last thing. I need you to make sure our people are getting some rest too. Your hotshot, stolen crew won’t do us much good if they’re all asleep at their posts when we launch.”
“Sounds great, Captain. In fact, I think I’ll go grab a nap right now.”
“Not you, XO. You can sleep when you’re dead,” he replied, already heading up the gangway towards one of Ingenuity’s port-side entrances. “I’ll check back with you later. I’ve got a couple of things to wrap up here, then I’m heading next door to find Logan and make sure he’s not sleeping either.”
Chapter 6
Hunter Formation “Nail 42,” Interstellar Space
(2.3 light years from Earth)
The two-ship RPSV formation transitioned into normal space within just a few centimeters of their expected coordinates, their AIs’ navigational accuracy having already benefited from data gathered during Ingenuity’s trip to the Gliese 667 system. Within milliseconds of their arrival, both ships commenced an exhaustive search of the surrounding space, utilizing every active and passive sensor at their disposal. Rather than each ship searching the same,
“How hard could it be?” Prescott laughed. “Captain Oshiro did give you the keys, right?”
“Oh, that’s hilarious, sir. We’re doing old pilot training humor again now, are we?” she smirked, referring to a practical joke that had been a favorite of military flight instructors since the mid-twentieth century. Before the student pilot’s first flight, and usually after a long trip out to the waiting aircraft, the instructor would pretend to become irritated with the student for forgetting the keys. Typically, the hapless student was then given a tongue-lashing, along with explicit instructions to go and ask the unit’s commanding officer for the non-existent keys which, of course, usually led to an even more comprehensive tongue-lashing.
“If you don’t think that’s funny, then you’ve obviously never seen it play out in real life,” Prescott smiled nostalgically. “Okay, in all seriousness, that ship intimidates me a little as well. I mean, just look at her,” he nodded. “Under the circumstances, though, we’re going to have to take the Fleet Science and Engineering guys at their word that if you can fly the frigate, you can fly the destroyer. I do want you to schedule some time for our bridge crews to all be in the sim together, however, and that includes the two of us, if at all possible.”
“Will do, sir,” she sighed. “We’ll just have to do the best we can in the time we have available.”
“That’s all we can do.”
“One more thing I forgot to mention, I managed to cobble together some of my notes as well as the tactical assessments from our engagement at Gliese 667. The big things I thought our crews should know about regarding Sajeth Collective vessels were the limited field of fire on the big cruisers, their vulnerability to kinetic energy rounds, and the weaknesses their shields seem to have near the sublight engine nozzles. I also included all of our weapons’ effectiveness data and some specific commentary on our use of the C-Drive-equipped missiles.”
“Excellent. I’m sure that’s exactly what Admiral Patterson was looking for. Go ahead and send it.”
“Already done, sir. Believe it or not, he insisted on it being distributed via courier and designated ‘ For Captain’s Eyes Only .’”
“That doesn’t surprise me, given the sensitivity of the information. Thank you, Commander. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but I’m confident you’re up to the challenge,” he said. “Oh, one last thing. I need you to make sure our people are getting some rest too. Your hotshot, stolen crew won’t do us much good if they’re all asleep at their posts when we launch.”
“Sounds great, Captain. In fact, I think I’ll go grab a nap right now.”
“Not you, XO. You can sleep when you’re dead,” he replied, already heading up the gangway towards one of Ingenuity’s port-side entrances. “I’ll check back with you later. I’ve got a couple of things to wrap up here, then I’m heading next door to find Logan and make sure he’s not sleeping either.”
Chapter 6
Hunter Formation “Nail 42,” Interstellar Space
(2.3 light years from Earth)
The two-ship RPSV formation transitioned into normal space within just a few centimeters of their expected coordinates, their AIs’ navigational accuracy having already benefited from data gathered during Ingenuity’s trip to the Gliese 667 system. Within milliseconds of their arrival, both ships commenced an exhaustive search of the surrounding space, utilizing every active and passive sensor at their disposal. Rather than each ship searching the same,
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