Echo of Tomorrow: Book Two (The Drake Chronicles) (42 page)

Scott found himself getting more and more involved in the planning and training of his fleet as ships came onto the active list, but about the one ship he wanted, there was no word. He desperately wanted to call Devon and ask him for an update on the progress, but knew it was a waste of time. There was no way to rush him, no matter what the clock said. As of now, they were out of time, and any day another alien fleet could come pouring through the warp point. As a last resort, Scott moved into space aboard the old
New Zealand
and took command from there. This would have to do if the new ship wasn’t ready, even if he didn’t have a full crew complement. He did put them on standby at Alpha base just in case, knowing they could be loaded and at battle stations in less than an hour.

By this time the
New Zealand
’s original crew had been promoted and assigned to the new ships, but even with a diminished crew, he put them through battle maneuvers. Day after day, he set up different battle drills, splitting the fleet in half, using one as the aggressor and appointing different captains as his equivalent. This way they all got a taste of joint command. Each worked out a different battle maneuver, coming at his half of the fleet in different formations. Some he won and some he lost, but even those lost were a win in the end as he figured out a way to beat them the second time. The joint, post-battle debriefing helped all the captains understand the ramifications of the decisions they made, the good and the bad ones. The interlinked AI units functioned perfectly, executing whatever maneuvers were asked of them. It was the human factor where they kept making mistakes. Scott knew he wouldn’t get a second chance when the fighting actually started, and he stayed up more than one night working out a different solution.

Some of the opposing captains were good, very good, and he made a note in his log to keep an eye on each one for future promotion, when and if they got more than one fleet. He and Kat saw each other as much as they could, fleeting visits, and he saw her progress through her pregnancy in leaps and bounds. They talked about the possibility of him not being there at the birth, but Kat understood, kissing him through her tears, and slept in his arms when she could. Lady Jane monitored the baby’s brain waves throughout, marveling at the increased activity as the birth came closer. It was as if the baby knew it was going to be born, anticipating the moment as the biological clock ticked down to the moment. At last, the great day arrived, but so did Scott’s ship. Devon called as Scott sat on the bridge of the
New Zealand
, fighting yet another battle.

“Hello, Scott. It looks as if you’re having fun,” he said as he came online. With one eye on the ships milling about the battle board, Scott took the call.

“You have some good news for me, Devon?” Scott asked quickly, his eyes flicking back to the ongoing engagement.

“You could say that. How about a brand-new ship to play with?” At that instant, a new element entered the battle, one that swept across the battle tank toward him at high speed. Even before he ordered the fleet to stand down, they fell in around the new ship as she pulled alongside the old
New Zealand
amid cheering and shouts across the comm channels. Her IFF flashed onto the battle board as the now christened ship, the
Australia
, came into optical view.

“Ready to transfer your flag, Admiral?” Devon asked.

“Hell yes!” he snapped, jumping up out of the command chair.

“Good. I’m only using a steerage crew plus a few people to make up your complement at the moment, so I’ll switch with you when you’re ready, then send the
NZ
back to the moon base for upgrades.”

“Where is the new crew for the
Australia
?”

“Hopefully waiting to come aboard the moment the
NZ
gets back to moon orbit and hands her over to the yard dogs. Once there, the remainder will transfer here along with the rest of the crew, a very green crew I might add.”

“We need them to get aboard and back out here to get some sim time under their belts.”

His mind jumped to the possibilities with two major fleet elements to play with.

In all, it took three hours to transfer what little crew he could take with him through the transfer rings. While that was going on, Scott settled into his new cabin with a glass of good whisky and sat with Devon as CPO Hardwick transferred his personal belongings and mess gear. Hardwick kept a sharp eye on the sticky-fingered marines he was using to trans-load his pantry supplies.

“She’s ready to go, Scott, fully loaded with food, water, supplies, and power,” Devon said.

“Good, I was hoping you’d say that, since the lizards could come through that warp point at any moment.”

“Hopefully, this time they won’t know the layout of this ship.”

“If they do, I’m going to go back and start shooting people in the so-called World Government until I find out who told them,” Scott growled.

Devon nodded, understanding Scott’s ire. “I think you’ll like what I’ve done with her. Sorry about the delay, but I had to get that larger power plant built and put in her before I handed her over to you.”

“Oh? How’d you manage that? I thought you said you couldn’t.”

“That was before your idea about the rings.”

It took a second for Scott to click. “You mean?”

“Oh yes,” Devon said a broad smile on his face. “I cut the end off and opened her up and installed two reversed rings in the place where the engine room is, was, or should be.”

“And now?”

“Good god, you have a power plant in there that would supply a bloody planet, let alone this ship.”

Scott placed his glass on the table. “Let’s go have a look.”

“You sure you want to?” Devon asked.

“Yes, why not?” Scott asked, giving him a puzzled look.

Scott found out when he stepped into the so-called engine room. It was almost empty, except for the massive cylinder poking up in the center. It was also so quiet you could talk normally, which was Scott’s next surprise. Along each side of the cavernous room, he could see the massive hump-shouldered capacitors, six on each side. On the old
New Zealand
he only had two on each side. Six meant his cycle time between discharges of the main armament would be just a few seconds, instead of fifteen seconds in his old ship. Together they stood on a catwalk, high over the engine room, looking down. Pipes, conduit and cables ran along both bulkheads and the deckhead, all of massive proportions, and all terminating against the end bulkhead around the giant transfer ring.

“The reason for the delay was in getting all the different-size rings made and installed. I had to bully my way to the top of the list to get them.” Devon pointed to the rings at each end of the cavernous room while they walked around the catwalk. “I won’t tell you the headaches I had trying to figure out how to make them as strong as I needed,
and
fit one through the other once they were made and activated.” He smiled, puffing on his old brier pipe.

“Oh, by the way. What happens if the power goes off?” It had suddenly stuck Scott that the space inside the engine room depended on the rings being active. If that went off, the space between them would collapse, taking this whole room with it.

“Don’t worry about that,” Devon said. “That occurred to me as well. The rings have multiple backup power supplies built in that will last up to six months.”

“You said backup?”

“Yes, normally they run off the power in the fusion reactor, a direct link I might add, so the question of collapse is marginal. You would have to destroy most of this ship and the fusion bottle for that to happen.”

“And if it does?” Scott asked.

“If it goes, you’ll never know it. The resulting explosion would probably destroy anything within a hundred cubic miles.” Not exactly a comforting thought to Scott, but Devon chuckled, unlocking a hatch and holding it open. Scott stepped inside, passing through a ring doorway. Devon entered and closed the hatch behind him, locking it shut.

“You can’t open the other hatch until this one is closed and locked, just another safety precaution.” Saying that, Devon hit a button and looked at the monitor. “Good, air pressure is equal.” He pressed a second button after unlocking the hatch, and cycled it open. Scott stepped though and immediately grabbed the safety rail as he looked down.

“Good god!” he muttered. A shaft dropped away in front of him to at least five hundred feet.

“Impressive huh?”

“Jesus H … you could say that.”

“I had a second pair of rings installed so I could drop the fusion reactor into its own well, instead of taking up space in the engine room.” The fusion reactor hung in the center of the shaft between giant girders, and he could see what Devon was talking about. It did look big enough to power a planet, let alone his ship.

“I think you’ll have sufficient power now, don’t you?” Devon laughed. Scott nodded as he tried to take it all in.

It was no wonder Devon had taken so long to deliver his ship. He must have worked day and night to get this installed and connected. He tried to imagine the amount of power something like this put out. A ship this size, and with this amount of defense and firepower, plus auxiliary systems and usage … he could understand Devon’s concern. That was all put to rest now.

“How often do you need to refuel this damn thing?” he asked, thinking he’d be running for the refueling dock every few days, or weeks.

“Never. You can pick up all the hydrogen you need as you go. It’s the one element that can be found anywhere in the universe.”

Scott stood there, looking down the shaft in awe. “Where did you store the fuel to feed this monster?”

“Down there,” Devon said, pointing with his pipe. “All self-contained, and automatic. It’s one thing these people have a good handle on, so I just used the available technology.”

Scott’s communicator buzzed. “Admiral, aye!” he said, touching the pad.

“Two transport ships inbound. One is coming alongside now, sir.”

“Who’s aboard?”

“Would you believe the World Council, all three hundred of them?” His first officer chucked. Scott just groaned. That was all he needed right now.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” the first officer said. “Their children are coming alongside in the first shuttle right now.”

At that point, Scott swore. “What brilliant idiot came up with that master stroke?”

“Colonel Brock, sir. Remember, the council members were told their children were onboard ships of the fleet. The moment Colonel Brock heard the council was on its way here, he packed them into a shuttle and sent them ahead. So where shall I put them, skipper?”

“Christ on a crutch! Of all the hair-brained, stupid, idiotic …” He ran out of words and stood there, looking at the fusion reactor. Then a thought struck him and a slight smile cross his face. “Stick them in the point defense centers. Scatter them so it looks as if they’re here for training. That should really piss off the council members. I’m on my way up right now. Have the council meet me in my quarters when they arrive.”

Devon had the good sense to stay in the background and say nothing, and without anything else to do, he followed Scott. They went straight to CIC to check in, then to Scott’s quarters, finding the place a bit cramped with the entire council standing or sitting around. He was glad to see that Hardwick had found something potable to put in their hands, and the members weren’t reluctant to drink it, despite the supposed prohibition on alcohol. Even so, none of them looked very happy.

“Attention! Admiral on deck!” Hardwick called. If nothing else, it did tell everyone he was here. The marine guard came to attention, which brought a few odd looks from the council members.

“At ease everyone,” Scott announced, and shook hands with President Westwood.