Jethro 3: No Place Like Home (6 page)

The Chief nodded slowly. “I'm not sure about taking on unknown crew over people I know...at least not if we're going into battle, ma'am.”

“We'll have roughly a month in transit to work out the rough edges, Chief. Perfect is the enemy of good as the quote goes,” the Captain said.

“Close enough,” Firefly replied.

Renee snorted as she looked to the AI and then back to the Chief. “Besides, we'll worry about that when we get to Pyrax. We still have to convince Commander Logan to let us go,” Shelby replied. The other officers nodded grimly.

---( | ) --- ( | )---

“They really don't know when to take a break do they?” Major Pendeckle asked as he entered the officer's wardroom for the morning report. He poured himself a cup of coffee as the Captain perused a passage on the report in front of her and twirled her spoon. The Major inhaled the fragrant smell of coffee. It was real coffee, sent up from Antigua as a thank you from a coffee plantation. Of course, the Captain had kept the best for her own use, which was why he rarely missed a morning briefing. He smiled inwardly. It was probably why the sneak had done so or at least one reason.

“Who, your Marines?” Captain Mayweather asked idly, eyes twinkling as she set the spoon aside and sipped her cup of coffee. “I'd say no. Gung ho as ever. Probably more now that they've had a taste of real combat,” she teased.

“For some it was a first taste. But for others like, oh a certain mostly Neo squad, it wasn't.”

“Ah, them,” the Captain replied, nodding as her voice cooled.

Firefly eyed the skipper and then the Marine officer. “Any issues?” he asked, knowing none had yet to be reported or observed.

“No, except they are working too hard. They need downtime but can't handle it. I'm not certain how to get them downtime while we're in transit.”

“Some VR?” Commander Logan suggested, entering the compartment. She went to the carafe and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Sorry, couldn't help but overhear,” she said over her shoulder.

“That helps for some, but others use the VR for training. Training is all well and good, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. You peak too early. You can also become jittery. They are starting to feel normal when in combat or in simulated combat.”

“Which is hell when they stand down. They don't know what to do with themselves. I understand now,” Firefly said thoughtfully.

The two human officers turned inquiring looks to the AI. “Oh?” The skipper asked, taking another sip of coffee as her XO stirred sugar into hers.

“It was an issue discussed during the war. Combat became the norm that some burned out—PTSD and several other psychological issues. Tense situations generate adrenaline in organics. To some it can become addictive. The let down afterward can be intensely depressing. Discipline issues can crop up as well as suicides or homicides.”

“Ah, not something I'd like to have on my ship,” the Captain replied with moderate severity. “And the fix?”

“A blow-out party tends to relieve tension. Get them to talk about the problems they faced in a social environment. Socialize on the ship before going into public sometimes heads off leave issues.”

“Ah.”

“A party,” the Major mused, rubbing his chin. “We have debriefs to help unload after combat. Just knowing someone is willing to listen helps a lot. But a party?”

“Well, they've certainly earned it. Hell, we've all earned it,” Commander Logan said, coming over to take her seat at the table. She nodded politely to the Captain.

“Earned what?” Doctor Standish asked, coming into the compartment.

“A party.”

“Oh boy, more hangovers to nurse? Now that we've got the implants and injured under control you want to stick that on us?”

“Well, it wouldn't do to have you bored, doctor,” the skipper said, pursing her lips in a small smile as she took a sip of coffee.

“Perish the thought,” Chief Chowler said, coming in as well. “Caught the last. Hell, I think everyone did since you left the wardroom door open,” he said shaking his head.

“Oh great, now we're in for it,” Shelby replied with a mock sorrowful sigh as the skipper exhaled noisily.

“Are you sure this is wise skipper? I mean, we're coming down like a ton of bricks on the lazy ones. Now we throw a party?” The chief asked as he made his way around the compartment to the half-filled carafe. The steward poked his head out of his door to check on them and then withdrew.

“Carrot and the stick approach chief,” Shelby said. “But we've got to frame it in the right light. Any ideas skipper?”

“I have one,” the chief said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “And it's appropriate since we're close to jump exit in Triang. And since we've got all sorts of noobs laying about...tradition and all...”

Slowly the Captain's face cleared and then she chuckled. Shelby glanced her way and then snorted.

“Yeah, I think Commander Firefly can arrange something in that regard, as keeper of tradition and all,” the skipper said, saluting the ship AI's holo avatar with her cup.

“I'll do my best skipper,” Firefly replied.

---( | ) --- ( | )---

Firefly organized a jump-out party. Antiguans, having never been in hyper before were inducted into the traditional fraternity with a blow-out party. The officers attended with as much dignity as the enlisted allowed. They took a day to party, then a shift and a half to sleep the worst of it off before they moved on.

Of course, most of the engineers were too busy out on the hull to participate. There was some resentment over that, but they knew what they were doing was important. Four of the nodes in the port bow had to be replaced, another five nodes had to be repaired. Minor faults had cropped up in some of the other nodes; work crews were swarming the hull.

Recruits who were suit qualified were pressed into service as well. Chief Chowler ran his people in six-hour shifts on the hull, making certain each had time off to at least enjoy some of the party and get some rack time.

Commander Logan made herself scarce in the party, taking a double shift out on the hull with the work parties there. Even the Captain took a shift out there supervising the repairs.

Janice spent her time as much as possible manning the bridge. She shared the duty with Lieutenant Purple Thorn, who was the watch duty officer. Lieutenant Yu, however, coordinated the repairs and worked on the jump calculations for the short jump, refining them constantly.

Deja had mostly abstained from drinking; he knew he would have to fly in a day and didn't want to helm the ship with a hangover. It was hard enough to run the ship in Delta, let alone dropping to Beta to skip through the outer edge of a system. He seriously didn't need to endanger the ship with blurred reflexes. Still, he did have a bit of fun, and he found that being mostly sober and messing with those that had tied one on was as much fun as getting drunk himself. The great thing was, some wouldn't remember it at all, he thought maliciously.

---( | ) --- ( | )---

Two days after arrival in Triang the ship was cleared for jump. Chief Chowler and Commander Logan were both exhausted but gave a thumbs up. Janice worried at the node balance for a half hour before her dithering got the attention of the skipper. She reluctantly signed off on the jump.

Deja felt the rush as the ship jumped, and the near frantic urge to control the ship and keep her safe. Fortunately, Lieutenant Yu, having experienced skip jumps before knew the routine, so she had started him off with a short jump back out past the periphery and then back in, letting him get his bearings.

Twenty-five exhausting, nerve wracking hours later the Selkie signed off and handed control of the ship to a helms rating to continue their journey. He exited the pod to find a grateful Lieutenant Yu waiting.

“Ma'am, were you here the whole time?”

“Are you kidding me? I don't think anyone got a wink of sleep. Okay, well, maybe your fellow jarheads, but...” Janice shrugged as she handed the Selkie a cup of coffee. He took it but only stared at it, hands shaking slightly.

“I don't think I can drink it now, ma'am, I just need a rack.”

“I understand. Good job though,” she said, taking the cup back.

“Aye, aye, ma'am,” he replied, coming to attention. She smiled as he saluted her. She returned the salute. “Permission to be dismissed?”

“Go on, get out of here. Go sleep for a day or two. You've got my permission,” she said with a nod.

“Oorah that ma'am,” he said softly, beating a hasty retreat off the bridge. “Rack, here I come,” he said, ignoring his growling stomach. Okay, he thought, grab a food bar, then hit the head, then the rack....

Chapter 3

The six point five parsec jump to Briev was a bit rough; they hadn't had time to fine tune the nodes in the bow with the rest on the ship and it showed. Energy efficiency was subpar, and Chief Chowler wasn't happy about it. Nor was the ops officer.

They tried to fine tune the nodes, but some of the modifications required hands-on changes to two of the nodes so had to be put off.

They entered the jump point and then quickly reoriented for the skip jump. Renee didn't even bother to scan the inner system; they wouldn't be here long enough and she didn't want to distract her crew or take time away from the computers.

Chief Chowler focused his repair efforts on the two balky nodes, getting them squared away and his people inside with minutes to spare before their next jump. Deja made the jump quickly, this time adjusting their course in a curve around the system. There was a bit of turbulence at the end when he cut the angle a little too close to get to the next jump point leading to B452c, but the ship's systems handled it well.

Twenty-four hours after jumping to Briev they transitioned into the jump to B452c. Deja gratefully passed over the helm duty to Janice and then headed to his rack for a well-deserved downtime.

---( | ) --- ( | )---

Twelve point four days in Delta band and six point nine parsecs later the ship exited into the B452c system. The system was an empty one but a crossroads. There were no habitable planets or other structures in the system; it had never been colonized. The ship repeated it's skip in reverse, arriving at the jump point to Agnosta in twenty-three hours. Unfortunately, the skip prevented them from stripping the satellites Admiral Irons had left behind to monitor the system.

“I think we're getting the hang of this,” Janice said with a smile to the skipper.

“Well, I should hope so. We've had enough practice now,” the Captain teased with a smile. Janice snorted softly.

“Chief, are we ready to go?”

“Aye, aye, ma'am. She's as ready as we'll get her now,” the Chief replied.

“Hardly reassuring,” Janice murmured. She didn't like how the nodes were out of balance. They had been forced to take one node out during the jump to Briev, and it had left her a bit suspicious of it even after using it to jump to B452c. It seemed fine, but she still didn't trust it.

“All right, well, steady as she goes then,” Renee said, sitting back and making a passing motion with her hand.

“The star to the left and straight on to morning, aye, ma'am.”

“Neverland,” Renee replied with an amused sniff. “I remember the stories. And I think it goes...” she paused and cleared her throat. “Second star to the right and straight on till morning,” she corrected.

“Aye, ma'am,” Janice replied.

“Some navigator you are,” Renee teased as she picked up her tablet and began to read.

Janice snorted and went about her duties.

---( | ) --- ( | )---

By the time Firefly had made the next jump to Agnosta, Jethro was certain he and the trainee recruits were heartily sick of being on the ship. It wasn't the length of time that was damn near miraculous in his estimation. The Navy crew seemed to be making miracles keeping the ship not only fully functional but also on course and at her speed.

He'd overheard a bit about how Firefly could have handled the upper bands, had she had a supply of antimatter. With antimatter they could have transited the thirty-four parsecs and five jumps in 110 days, but Deja would have been in hell the entire time. Each time the Selkie returned to his rack he practically collapsed, exhausted. And when Deja was at the helm the computers were fully tasked to support him, which meant the net was laggy or offline to the Marines. The corporal said he didn't mind the load though, it was just exhausting to do it all at once. Apparently, the engineers had rigged him up some sort of water sim to make it psychologically easier and possibly even more fun for the Selkie. Jethro knew it was mentally taxing but wasn't sure about the whole fun thing. He couldn't see himself doing something like that. Not for fun.

There was only so much he could do to train the recruits. He knew he was stepping on some toes with the training; he couldn't help it. They also couldn't and wouldn't give the recruits anything more than basic ID implants. That limited things too. He couldn't do physical training exercises; there were too many Marines and not enough room on the ship.

He did know one thing. By the time they arrived in Agnosta, his trainees would know the basics of military protocol and deportment down cold. They should be squared away enough to move them at an accelerated pace, and each had been thoroughly shown the various careers paths possible. He'd identified those who would go on to possible officer training and even those who could handle accelerated promotion into the ranks of the noncoms.