The Commander by CJ Williams Page A

capture, it will self-destruct and the crew will be lost.”
    “Let’s hope it never comes to that,” Luke said.
    “Amen to that, Commander.”
    “I am really impressed.” Luke smiled at the team of engineers. “This looks great and you guys have done an awesome job. I can’t think of anything to add. Let’s go into production.”
    Luke heard the collective sigh of relief from the engineers. He shook hands with Morrow and left the conference room. They were making progress.
    # # #
    Three days later Luke stood with Morrow and Roth on the construction tarmac outside the Far Side hangar. A second large-scale replicator had been completed and its first product was in the final stage of shimmering into existence. It had taken almost a full day to create the warship.
    “Her name is Ching Shih .” Morrow said proudly. “I named her after a famous pirate from the nineteenth century.”
    “Can we go on board?” Luke asked.
    “Absolutely.”
    The three men, with a contingent of engineers and the Ching Shih ’s officers, approached the combat ship. As they neared, a wide door opened along the base of her hull. The entry was framed by the standard force field, keeping the interior airtight and livable. A small boarding ramp slid out, providing access to the interior. Inside the space was brightly lit and comfortably warm.
    As they came into the entry bay area a velvety female voice spoke. “Welcome aboard, Commander; Captain.”
    A young officer Luke knew as Joe Brady stepped forward to stand next to Luke. “Thank you, Shih . Welcome to the fleet. May I present your officers?”
    “Of course,” Shih responded.
    Luke could have sworn he heard a bit of wryness in her voice. She was already familiar with the details of everyone in the group, the information having been supplied by George during her creation. Shih’s AI was on par with the Demeter , which meant she was not quite as capable as George himself. But to her crew, the difference would never be noticed.
    For thirty minutes the group toured the ship. Hundreds of details reflected the effort that had gone into the design, from grab bars in just the right locations to the luxurious crew quarters, equipped with comfortable furnishings and private kitchenettes.
    The small gymnasium had a weight room and three treadmills for those inclined to exercise. The command bridge featured several battle stations curved in front of the captain’s chair.
    Luke summed up the feelings for everyone. “You’ve got a winner, here. It’s the start of our space navy.”
    # # #
    An hour later Luke sat in the living room of his quarters at Moonbase to review the day’s events with Roth and Morrow. Annie had not arrived from her activities on Earth.
    “I’m impressed with your new ship,” Luke said. “Let’s go to full production. How many for the first run?”
    “I can put out a couple a week,” Morrow estimated. “That allows time for flight testing. Give me more people and we can increase that.”
    “That’s the real question,” Roth said. “Even with all our recruiting, the number of people that we’re bringing in each week is starting to taper off. We were hoping the new recruiting centers would increase that number. And it did a little, but not what we were expecting. Right now, we’re still replacing the Mars colonists. That means most of our inbounds are dedicated to infrastructure and support.”
    Morrow agreed. “And we’ve got the university established now over in Far Side. Seems like every single day they want some kind of new toy. To keep them happy, we need to start making some purchases from places like Lockheed and GE. George can do a lot for us, but he needs access to some of those technical specs. I’m not exactly sure what that means in additional requirements. But bottom line is that our current recruiting provides us with enough new people to add two crew complements a week.”
    “That’s good news,” Luke said. “I like the idea of getting