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Beyond Hope
- Chapter 35 - Dragging them along kicking and screaming[]
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Hiding fruits of hardwork from strangers[]
Kowloon System, Federated Commonwealth
Late 3059
"Wells, in a few weeks we're going to have a bunch of foreigners in the system, with the intent of training them for the offensive on the Clans. Tell me we'll be ready?" Duchess Elizabeth was on Spider Moon.
“The facilities and staff are as ready as we can make them. I just worry that with how multinational this list Helena forwarded is that there’s going to be some bad blood that’ll cause problems.” Wells answered.
Elizabeth examined the list. "Keeping the Davions off the Cappies could be a problem, lay on additional MP personnel, at least for the first few weeks. We'll also need to watch interactions between Combine personnel and…damn near everyone else." she sighed, "Whew. weird when it comes out of my mouth like that…and they're sending us Terrans?"
“Yes. I’ve already started going through the lists for security personnel we can put on them. For both ways.”
Elizabeth rubbed her temples, "Ohkay…so they're going to get a good look at the Boojum yards…******."
“It was inevitable and if you’re really concerned we can move them to different orbits once they’re gone without disrupting the work too much.”
“Yeah. Actually whenever one is empty, adjust the slip complex’s orbital. Try and keep it random.”
"So back to batch builds then?"
"Yeah," Liz said, "back to building in batches, at least until we get the Snark yards running."
"That's going to be slower, with more time between deliveries." Wells pointed out.
"Shit, you’re right…no, don't adjust the yards at all. If they're looking at Boojum, they won't be trying to get a peek at Snark and what we've got in work there. The Realm's contracts need a steady output, not batch builds."
“Aye, ma’am.”
Liz continued down Helena's missive. "Wells, we've got four gunboats."
"We do."
"Two new builds and the relics?" Liz asked.
"Yes."
"Okay, the Mary Rose and the Minh Jennings. Chop them to Naval Training as assets, and keep the Olivia and the Marjery on patrol cycles out by the Kuiper. Set up the foundry on line Three, so they see us working on the DD program there instead of at Snark. Fresh build, so when they report, we're behind where we really are on the prototype."
“A good old smoke screen. Shouldn’t be too hard to arrange.”
"Oh, tell the yardies I want that one built too but yeah, a smoke-screen of sorts."
“Yeah I suppose misdirection would be the better term for this.” Wells kept jotting down instructions.
"When you send your actual report to the Archon-Prince, make sure it's understood that we're doing this for operational security reasons, and that the DD prototype will be delivered for acceptance trials on time."
“I will, ma’am. I’ll have all these outside observers so convinced we’re years behind schedule and so over budget that it’ll be their kids that have to worry about what we’re up to.”
"That's very good, I don't want our engineering offices to suddenly reach ten thousand degrees because we made some gents from Terra or Gibson, nervous." “Yeah, the ones on Gibson scare me more than the ones on Terra but then again it’s my job to be scared of them both and not trust that Focht’s house cleaning was as thorough as advertised.”
"They both give me the heebie-jeebies. Jane will need to make frequent appearances at the Boojum yards, they know she's here, if she's missing they're going to go looking."
“If she doesn’t already know I’ll make sure she does.”
Liz nodded. "Okay, I've handed out instructions and suggestions, you've given me the really scary reports…I leave the outer system to you until next week. Arthur's going to be waiting for me at the port when I get back, and the kids need their mum."
“Hug your kids, give your nanny a bonus, and try to find some time to relax.” Wells smiled.
“Heh. Yeah. Fortunately I avoided the classic mistake of hiring a young female nanny. Those have a nasty habit of developing baby fever being around kids like that and thus wind up being unavailable to be nannies.” Liz nodded. “Mine is a sweet old battleax of a woman who’s already had her kids.”
Sisters in Arms[]
The trip back to Kowloon was mostly uneventful thanks to enough people having the foresight to both screen their candidates to minimize friction and still taking the reasonable precaution of keeping the groups segregated as much as possible.
There were still a few interactions as complete segregation was not practical and these were largely verbal sparring for the first few legs of the trip. But around the eighth jump was when a fist fight actually broke out.
Helena Cameron sent everyone involved in the fight back home as a message that shit would not be tolerated no matter who started it.
With that message delivered the rest of the trip was much quieter.
Unsurprisingly Liz was waiting for her at the docks.
“You’re starting to show.” Liz giggled.
“Yeah. Here.” Helena fished something out of her pocket. “Wanted to show you this in person, not over HPG.”
Elizabeth unfolded the item.
“My first ultrasound.” Helena gushed. “Despite the cramps, the heartburn, wild mood swings, and needing to go pee like all the time I’m loving it.”
“But you’re also dreading bringing a child into this reality.” Elizabeth caught the undertone.
“Yeah and scared for another reason as well. Because it was unexpected the meds I was on mean there’s a chance my child will be born with birth defects.” Helena admitted. “And this is something else I wanted to show you.”
Helena extended her hand.
“About time. He’s been carrying that torch for a long time.” Elizabeth smiled as she studied the ring.
“I’m finally open to accepting new things in my life. Good things. And Jakob is wonderful. He keeps me honest with myself. Challenges me and even when I need it, protecting me from myself.”
“Come on. Before you get swallowed up by your duties I want my children to meet their aunt.”
Helena smiled.
She’s right. Despite our age differences that’s what we are to each other. We’re sisters.
Admiring the View[]
Ia Drang
Kowloon, Federated Commonwealth (Lyran State)
3059
After so many months on 'normal' worlds, sitting in Elizabeth's 'back yard' at the Ia Drang cabin, overlooking the two and a half kilometer drop to the Little Yangtze river and the verdant green rainforests of the Iron Foothills at almost 22:00 hours in broad, if reddish, daylight, was a little bit disorienting.
Arthur manning a grill with steaks and beer was even more so. It was a 'covered dish' party of sorts, with close staff and relatives partaking in 'yard games' under the scrubby Ijero and coniferous trees that lined the lower crest of the Plateau.
The soft rumble of Ia Drang Falls, two kilometers high and more than a kilometer wide down below added something surreal to the whole thing.
"When did you get THIS place?" Helena asked.
"Grandfather left it to Pat, and from him to me." Liz answered, "It was one of his retreats from the demands of The Jobs. I loved it up here as a kid, but I haven't been able to use it since I took over until fairly recently."
“Part of me is jealous but another part of me understands. Until recently neither of us could even really enjoy a place like this anyway.” Helena nodded. “Arthur and you make a great couple so I’m happy for you.”
"Well, we make a great couple…when both of us have the time." Liz corrected her, "Most of the time out of a thirty hour day, we get maybe five together, and four of those we're both dead tired, but the University is between semesters, and Chuck Vanh's got the Assembly in recess for a few weeks, so barring an actual emergency there's not so much work to do."
“I hope I can find a way to prove to the Clans what we need to prove. Then the workload will be less. And we can all really relax for a change.”
"You know what that's going to take Helena. You've got to beat them down to the ground, then kick them until they stop moving. It's right there in their doctrine, in Nick Kerensky's writings, and it's their religion, politics, philosophy and entire state of being." Elizabeth stirred a bowl of some kind of potato salad, adding sprinkles of herbs as she spoke.
“But they’re right. This Star League needs to be more than a convenience towards that purpose. So I still have to prove that too.”
"Did you notice? How their economy is structured?" Liz asked. "A few Immigrants got to spend quality time with me last week, going over the structures of the three Clans we've got direct interaction with. The structure of their economics is a huge weakness."
“I noticed. It doesn’t have enough slack for extreme situations.”
"It's made of waste, Helena, it pretends to minimize waste, but the structure itself is so incredibly wasteful." Liz shook her head. "The wonder isn't that they advanced, it's that they haven't collapsed into famine and privation yet."
“Yeah. A good commerce raider doctrine despite our numerical disadvantage in Warships would have them on their knees in short order.”
Elizabeth lifted the big bowl, and listened as she carried it to the serving table. "I've got some ideas I would like you to look at." Liz told her, "on that commerce raiding doctrine."
“Go for it. To be honest everyone keeps singing my praises as some grandmaster strategist but really this isn’t the SLDF we’re dealing with on either side so more of what I know is less useful than people seem to think.”
Liz raised her fingers, rubbing her thumb against her finger-tips, "It's going to cost money." she said, "and it probably won't make money. That makes it Government work."
“I’m listening.”
"We've got a prototype that's going to feature in the FedCom's destroyer procurement competition next year." Liz said, "While the engineering is sound, I do not think it's going to win the contract. What is interesting is what we learned about manufacturing while developing this prototype…and what it might mean for your naval doctrine, but especially what it would mean when presented with theirs."
“Okay. I believe this is the part where you put a portable noteputer in my hands so I can actually see what you’re talking about.”
"I have more class than that, Helena. Come on, I need to change the babies, you'll find the wallpaper in the nursery…of interest."
“Hold on…” Helena made herself a small plate of snacking foods that were a complete mismash, nothing even sounded like it should go together.
"The cocoa clusters probably won't taste very good with pickled Ijero." Liz noted, "but I'd suggest the Garrots and blue sauce."
“Pregnancy cravings are terrible.” Helena said as she combined them anyway before taking a bite.
"Sons. you're carrying a son." Liz predicted.
“Maybe. Jane is predicting a daughter because of how I’m carrying.”
They passed through the house- a stone building with thick timber reinforcements and a roofline that extended to the ground on both sides to create shaded spaces.
Down sandstone steps, and through a door made from that same wood-this time nearly 160mm thick 'railroad ties' bound together with endosteel hinges.
"What's this?"
"Bluewood." Liz said, "We imported it from Elbar, cost Great Grandmama lot of Kroner, but it's like the house-damn near bunker-spec."
“Heh. Of course.” Helena nodded.
Inside the house was just about half below ground and earth-sheltered, making it a constant pleasant temperature despite the climate up here. The floorplan was largely open, with a stone fireplace located near the center of the main room, with ducting running out to the rest of the place in a radial pattern.
Someone with a LOT of engineering skill had designed this place to be kept comfortable for very little in the way of advanced resources, the candle positions around the room were slightly sooted, proving that the ventilation scheme worked without an audible system or prominent vents.
"Your grandfather's work?" Helena asked.
"Grandfather and his brother. Great Uncle Truk was a mechanical genius, my Grandfather was simply a very good engineer with a sharp business mind."
“It’s nearly perfect. Just some additional woman’s touches and maybe a few splashes of color and I could retire here.”
"Let me show you 'color'..." Elizabeth hefted a sleeping Simon to one shoulder and Hannah to her other. Hannah was awake, but quiet, watching with alert baby's eyes.
Elizabeth's path led to the bedrooms. And Helena saw.
It was the design of a warship, plans, as drawn on butcher-paper and glued to the walls.
“So that’s why Arthur is that special combination of grumpy but happy. His drawing studio got turned into the nursery.” Helena chuckled.
"Nope, his studio is on the other end of the house. This one was mine." Liz told her. "It still is, but…"
“Dang. Then he really is a keeper Liz. He is definitely a special kind of grumpy but happy and it looks like it’s because you’ve turned your drawing studio into a nursery.”
"I keep telling people that and they don't believe me!" Liz laid the children on the changing table and brought out fresh nappies, cleaning materials, and set to work, beginning with Simon's diaper with now-practiced hands. "Arthur helped me work out the exact mechanical specifications, what we could do away with for the systems, and how to simplify the structures to minimize the impact of stress and shocks."
Helena was paying attention to Elizabeth’s hands.
"Go on?"
"He also designed the weapons mount concept after I described something I'd seen in Grandfather's papers-an idea that was rejected sometime in the 24th century."
Simon, now finished, Elizabeth transferred smoothly to a crib, before going to work on Hannah's diaper. "Thing is, I think they got it wrong."
Helena nodded as she kept watching.
"What do you mean?"
"They got the limitations right, but they got the basic idea wrong-as in the point where they judged the sacrifices to be too costly." Hannah cooed at her mother, and let loose with a stream of infant-generated pee with a giggle.
Liz wiped and cleaned and fetched a fresh nappy from the container, beginning again without complaint. "She pees on me, but not on her father." Liz shook her head, "I believe my only daughter is a daddy's girl."
“Hehe. Who’s a naughty little bio-terrorist?” Helena giggled.
“Just wait until it’s your turn.” Liz quipped back.
“Why do you think I’m watching what you’re doing? My high school didn’t have any classes about how to change babies or care for them. That sort of stuff was part of specialty education programs.”
"So you're learning what not to do." Liz agreed. "Mine…well, I didn't go to high school, I was too busy being a Duchess and running a monster of a corporate empire…but our schools DO have an excellent home economics program. Granddad insisted on it."
“Well right now I’m vetting prenatal classes, Jakob is carrying out my to do-list for getting the house ready, and I also need to plan out my lectures.”
"I think they'll let you sit in over at the High School next Spring." Liz offered, "Sophomore Home Economics, they teach you how to change diapers, detect croup, and all the usual things a farmwife needs to know, which embarrasses the boys horribly, since they have to take that class too."
“Creepy.”
"No, Creepy is the REASON for those classes. Out in the non-urban areas, a lot of women were dying in childbirth when Granddad made that requirement. If you enroll in the classes at the start of the year, the first six months are going over medicinal herb gardens and basic home diagnosis care, along with sanitation."
“As funny as that would be, I know there’s a slightly less embarrassing option. There’s also private courses that teach the same thing.”
"Or you can sit in the 'teacher's level' class at the University, and pay for a certification." Liz suggested.
“It would make a good endorsement for the project, if one of its founding forces actually went through like we intended it to work. Would show we have faith in it.”
"Yes, yes it would." Elizabeth undid her shirt and let Hannah clamp on to her breast for feeding. "Okay, now…" Liz then wrapped the shirt into a sling that held the baby in place, and led Helena to the wall.
"Here's what I learned. We can build these cheap. Most of the hardware is in use on other designs that are already long in production with a deep aftermarket."
“Well that’s a solid selling point right there. And if I’m following the schematics correctly it looks like what used to take at least three guns to provide coverage for can be done by one.”
"The flexible gun-mounts. Yeah. Standard warships use 'Bays', fixed installations because they're sharing pdu and cooling, these mounts are self-contained, meaning?"
“Yeah. Some do have more ‘flex’ than others but something I noticed time and time again is it’s like someone designed SLDF Warships to fight on a 2D plane.”
"They also laid them out like pre-spacecraft wooden sailing ships." Liz contributed. "Which is why we've built this prototype. In our testing with Prototype One out in the Kuiper, we've gotten the equivalent broadside of a Light Cruiser into a hull just slightly under 350,000 tons….at all angles."
“Nice. So what are the concerns?”
"The problem is, it's not easily upgradeable-the turret systems require a compact cooling system, which makes using the 'freezer' too much of a hassle, the gun turrets MIGHT jam through battle damage, making it undergunned if they're facing the wrong way…but we found economies in the thrust, thrust vectoring, power generation, and structural repair characteristics that make it worth investigating further."
“Agreed. I’ll drum up some funding for it. If we can figure out how to at least reduce the chances of jamming this will be huge.”
"What's 'huge' is what it's for." Liz noted, "notice anything specific about this? Something unusual thanks to the layout?"
“It’s built to actually fight in 3D.” Helena nodded.
"That was the happy coincidence." Liz told her, "Think like a mechanic, and look at how the structural portions are assembled. Everything can be termed 'modular'-the hull itself is assembled from per-engineered components delivered to be fastened to the core, and because it's designed that way? Repairs get a LOT easier, including shipyard level repairs. Remember the issues with the RX program and their engines?"
“Yeah.”
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Mammoth Class Cargo DropShip in flight
"What Arthur and I figured out, is that the delay was unnecessary-or would have been, if they'd used clusters of these-" she tapped the individual drawing just above the rear section. "They're made for the Mammoth class Dropship, we're using more of them, but the thrust to weight ratio, and the cooling systems? Have parts and suppliers from one end of the Inner Sphere to the other, all the fittings are standardized, and because they're already podded…" Liz prompted.
“It’s scalable, flexible, and can be built just about anywhere. Just need the actual jumpcore forges.”
"The word 'maintainable'." Liz said, "Pull into a repair yard and you can have the thrust units pulled for servicing and replaced, or damaged ones replaced, in a matter of hours instead of weeks. The design will lose out, because we don't have capital grade energy weapons-because the cooling can't handle it."
“Ballistics and Missiles? Hmmm.”
"Yep. Light Naval Gauss, and the prototype's running a mix of Barracuda and White Shark, though if the Ioto deal goes through we can swap the midships missile batteries in about six days once the replacement section's been built and delivered."
“Well being ammo based will limit it as a deep raider but like I said if this works as advertised it’ll be big.”
"It's there to free up the actual deep raiders, Helena." Liz said, "THIS is an Escort ship. See the nice, deep fighter bays? And the small craft bays? The pattern can be modified to make it a dedicated carrier by replacing segments, because the actual keel of the ship is designed for easy manufacture."
“Careful with these designs around Jane though.”
"Jane had very good observations on the design phase, and testing." Liz defended Helena's sister. "She actually suggested most of the real refinements, and the potential role."
“Really? She didn’t make any jokes about being shown pornography?”
"She did call it a giant dildo." Liz temporized, "because of the lack of big, prominent fins-the hull is radially symmetrical to allow the main battery to engage at all angles."
“Wow. With all these internal system diagrams I expected her to be a little more hot and bothered.”
"She threatened to run off with my husband when she saw his initial calculations for thrust management and internal systems." Liz told Helena, "We all know she was joking, but she made her point after we made the necessary corrections. The only place we haven't found a way to reduce cost, is the germanium/titanium Glass-state core. THAT still costs as much as a Fox's core, but the rest of the ship around it can be built cheap."
“Arthur? She might run off with the prototype.”
"Arthur and Bianh told her we couldn't manage the wiring harnesses to move her core into the Prototype." Liz said, "it's a white lie, but she believed it…I think?"
“Well as long as we don’t find more Nirasaki cores I think we’ll actually be okay.”
"As it is, part of the savings is not having a single, central server core." Liz observed, "We used a lot of smaller, single-use systems instead, with a network and sofware layout similar to the one most major cities in the Realm use for internal telecom…and lots of manual overrides with big, Price-Fischer buttons and levers."
“Because we’ll need lots of suits and the skinsuits Kowloon makes are too technologically advanced and expensive to manufacture in the numbers we’d need, for now.”
"Also because touch screens don't play well with suit gauntlets, not even ours." Liz contributed, "Also because I want Helm officers watching the situation screen, not their fingers."
“I feel like there’s something you want me to add besides funding and my endorsement.”
"Yeah. What did we miss?" Liz asked, "I've gotten feedback from Jane, but you're going to, in theory, be using these, what did we get wrong?"
“I honestly don’t know. These are so different from anything I ever dealt with that I’m going to need to see how they perform in trials. I’m not an engineer, Liz. I’m not even much of a tactician. Ninety percent of what I did, at least when I was functional enough to actually contribute, in the war against Amaris was get what ever Tranh Truk Ngo or Anh Cu’ong what they said they needed or what I could think of that they were too afraid to ask for. The other ten percent was just me paying attention.”
"Then…logistics. Where do you think we'll discover we screwed up? Speculate." Liz suggested, "You Helena have fought actual Fleet Engagements. What is your worst case scenario for a ship laid out like this?"
“Hmmm… The biggest headache I can see is training. The layout alone is going to require a whole different psychological approach. Weirdly I think Dropper Captains will have a better grasp on that, at least the Spheroid ones. Next possibility, is the modularity of the engines will mean computer controlled thrust balancing that will have to be calibrated every time a module is replaced to account for even very minor within tolerance manufacturing defects. But I’m kind of guessing there.”
Liz was making notes on the butcher paper. "Do you see anything particularly wrong with the use of ballistic AMS systems? Jane mentioned wanting something energy based for that, but I couldn't find cooling to make the numbers work."
“Energy would be slightly easier on the long term pocket book but no. I think you all have gotten this as far as you can without putting it through its paces.”
Liz straightened up. "Good." she said, "Then it's ready for someone who isn't me to test it to destruction…which means I have to admit we've got the prototype months ahead of when I wanted to, because we have the prototype, out past Snark IV."
"Why early?"
"Because we're about to play host to an international coalition of naval officers, and if you picked right, they're going to be curious and inquisitive."
“Yeah. The rest of those knuckle heads are not far behind me. I told them I needed to get here ahead of them to get everything ready.”
"Naming…" Liz muttered, "Naming is always a problem, isn't it? They're going to want it named..."
“Well there’s a lot of options. From history class I remember Britain had a series of Destroyers they named after indigenous peoples, some were named so they all started with a particular letter in the name, Japan was fond of weather phenomenon for their Destroyers. America named theirs after notable heroes of their naval service.”
"Landmarks." Liz said, she turned to Helena, "Terrain features, places of 'note' that wouldn't get a proper ship named after them."
“That works. Golden Lake, Ia Drang Plateau, Devil’s Tower.”
"Minsky's Folly." Liz contributed, "where Evelynn's family have their summer ranges for the cattle. I've been told it compares favorably to some place on Earth called 'The Grand Canyon'."
“Yeah I can see that.” Helena nodded.
"Okay, so we call the first one 'Landmark', and then give specific place names to any follow-ons." Elizabeth decided.
“Heh. Just realized that Jane’s probably really super excited about this because this is about as close as she can get to being a real mother.”
"I confess, she was REALLY involved in the design process, she even brought that 'Swingin' Stan' remote to help with the integration of the electrical and plumbing assemblies."
“This is nice. Oh no…” Helena raced over to a wood pillar to knock on it. “Whew. Almost jinxed us.”
Liz laughed, "So what can possibly go right?? I have very little understanding of what we're doing, but it's For Science! so…" she grinned viciously, "...so we find out what's going to fail, and try to figure out how to make it NOT fail."
“Yeah. Something will go wrong. That’s why every ship goes through a shakedown cruise. But I’m going to knock on wood again because I keep thinking how nice it is my family and friends are all finding happiness and that tempts Murphy.” Helena knocked on the wood pillar again.
"Helena?"
“Yeah?”
"The boys are probably wondering where we're at, and I've got a Hannah-Lamprey on my chest, could you help me with Simon?"
“I’d love to.” Helena carefully moved over to Simon and picked him up slowly and gently.
They left the nursery/studio and returned to the barbecue in time to see Jakob catch a stray spray from a beer bottle in Moshe's hands.
“You realize you’re next, right Moshe?” Jakob said.
Moshe grinned wide, held up his left hand, and then, Seether held up hers. "We visited the Magistrate earlier." He said, "Papers are already filed and accepted, the ceremony will be on friday."
“Congratulations.” Helena said.
“Honestly I’m starting to feel a little unlucky in love.” Majery sighed.
"Just keep in mind, before you accept the invitation?" Moshe said, "Dancing is expected at my people's weddings…of everyone."
“As long as it isn’t too energetic. Preggers.” Helena giggled.
"Helena, you remember MY wedding?" Liz asked. "Moshe's people are 'very energetic' when celebrating. Moshe, which Synagogue?"
"We'll be at the Hue Synagogue, on eleventh street." he said, "Linda has agreed to convert, so there won't be any issues with the congregation."
“You’re a lucky man.” Majery said. “I couldn’t do that for Muhammed and it broke us up. So I know she really loves you.”
"It's also safer than having Moshe convert-my dirtyfoot cousins tend to celebrate with gunfire and 'I dare you' explosives, along with lots of booze." Seether noted, "Something about the Camranh branch Sithers brings out the hillbilly stereotypes."
“So where are you two going to honeymoon?” Helena asked.
"We're…not finished discussing that. Right now it's between the high country here on the Plateau, a little town near the frost line on the southwest side, Minsky's Folly, or back home to the Snark rings for a spot of prospecting. Mom Number Two, Leah, is already setting up a burrow for us out there, but I'm not sure I'm ready to be a woman of property or propriety yet."
“Well there you go. Linda’s family is rolling out the red carpet and invitation. At the very least you should go visit them.” Helena nodded.
"AFTER we visit the Temple in Haifa." Linda said, "see, it turns out the Dayyans own most of the really NEAT skiing on the western rim range of the Plateau..and he's promised to teach me how to stay upright on skis."
“Hehe. You’ll make a fantastic snow bunny.” Helena giggled.
Liz looked thoughtful, "So, Hue? Rabbi Ezekiel Dayyan's congregation?"
"Yes."
"Oh boy…gird your livers boys and girls, Zeke used to make the booze Grandfather gave Archon Katrina every christmas- the stuff is brutally strong."
“Well I’m the designated driver then it seems.” Helena giggled again.
"Ouch, yeah. You'll be stuck drinking the Ijero Juice with the Saints then."
"Saints?" Jakob asked.
"Latter Day Saints. Sithers' family's people-they don't consume alcohol or tobacco or any of the fun stuff." Liz explained, "Which is probably why they're so crazy with the gunfire and explosives when they're celebrating…or irritated…or arguing…"
“Well you really shouldn’t get blotto either while you’re still breastfeeding Liz. That can still do stuff to your babies.” Majery said.
"Ah, why my early childhood is such a blur..." Liz laughed, "Trust me, I won't be tippling with Grandfather's booze supplier-the Rabbi and Father Ingraham have a deal to keep my children from following me to hell."
“Oh god. Pregnancy hormones. I can’t stop laughing even though I shouldn’t.” Helena giggled again.
"It's a good look for you, Helena. ENJOY it, the crushing depression later is lighter if you do."
“That is going to be terrible.” Helena continued giggling.
"Not everyone suffers post-partum depression." Majery stated loudly, "In fact, most women don't...but we have pills for that." and then she hoisted a cup of something almost certainly not coffee.
“But I’m at increased risk for it and I know it. I already have bouts of depression now, but that was also true before.” Helena finally stopped giggling.
"Jakob!" Elizabeth thundered, "YOU are to make your Fiancee HAPPY. Get to it troop."
“Can she do that?" Jakob asked.
"I have no idea. Liz, I don't think it's one of your powers to-" Arthur began.
"Husband? I'm having a power trip here, and abusing my authority in a ridiculous way. I think you might need to come talk me down." She said imperiously, "Or take the baby so I can eat something."
“Okay. Here’s your plate now, give me the baby. And maybe I’ll punish you later.”
He collected Hannah, who cooed once, then closed her eyes and was softly snoring.
"I told you, Helena, she's a total daddy's girl." Liz said, "which in turn means my daughter has excellent taste in men, superb, even, unmatched." she adjusted her shirt to cover back up as she spoke.
“Hehe. Well I suppose we need to set our own date for when we’re going to make it official.” Helena said as Jakob walked up behind her and carefully hugged her to not wake Simon.
Touring the Sites[]
Boojum Orbital System
Kowloon, Federated Commonweath
3059
Chu-Sa Hiroko Nanase looked out the windows of the dropship, and frowned. "I see most of a shipyard, but not the rest of it."
"Not the rest of it?" Adept Cymbral Lerner crowded next to the DCMS officer, "what do you mean?"
"Where is the giant assembly station? The defense satellites?" she asked, "all I see, are mylar temporary balloons and open gantries!"
"Welcome to Boojum Three." Gennady Karloff from the Free Worlds League said, "where safety is somewhere below cost, god that looks dangerous as hell out there." he was an Andurien, and a shipyard brat himself. "They don't have the big station, because they didn't copy Titan or Luna…but that layout is pure dangerous. I bet the workers live in those little hab-modules out there, exposed to any incoming fire that happens by."
"You're not thinking about it the right way." Michel Knight said, "That's not a yard built for Grounders to work in. That's a belta yard, reminds me of Cambiano Seventeen back home."
“Most interesting.” Kong-sao-shao Mai Chan of the Capellan Confederation said as she studied the structure.
"So what's the difference?" Karloff asked.
"You can chew it up with machine guns, expend all your ammunition and overheat your lasers and do a lot of immediate damage…and they'll have it back in operation half an hour after you've left." Knight explained, "the open architecture is on purpose, it's easy to fix or replace."
“The actual assembly machinery can still be attacked and is more exposed since it is not protected in the same way.” Mai observed.
"It can…but think about where we are." Knight said, "What has Kowloon been doing for the entire Succession Wars? They're toolers, they probably have spares hidden in caches in the Ring, or out in the outer belts, or they have the knowledge to repair that stuff…because they're not Grounders, and forgetting that stuff is suicide."
“It is a new age. Adapt or die. That is what I see.” Mai Chan said flatly. “I prefer to live.”
"Then check out what's hanging out there-see it? About five hundred kliks further out?" Knight asked, "use the enhancement filter."
Mai looked.
"That…is a jump core."
"That is a compact core." Karloff clarified, "For a Warship, in the far gantry, now see it?"
“Yes. This is what the Chancellor saw. We are at a disadvantage. If this is to truly be a partnership of equals we must overcome that disadvantage.” Mai nodded.
"Well, taking notes might be a good place to begin." Karloff suggested, "dangerous as this layout is, it clearly works."
“I have a photographic memory. Writing notes is unnecessary for me.” Mai boasted.
The dropship shifted and reoriented, and they were sliding down into the gravity well of Boojum 3.
Mai watched her compatriots' reaction to the maneuver. Judging how at home in space each was. Knight, the Federated Suns, no Commonwealth, officer was easily the standout.
She noticed he was already wearing his pressure suit under his FedCom uniform, minus only the gauntlets, life support unit, and helmet.
"Might want to get kitted, word is Spider Moon doesn't have a docking concourse-you have to walk into the station." Knight offered.
“I am prepared.” Mai adjusted her jacket to also show she had her suit on under her outer garments. “Tell me how long have you been in the service?”
The airlock alert sounded.
"I enlisted when the Clans hit the Lyrans the first time, and finished training in '56, right after The War Witch took over the Navy Minister's post, so a bit of time. I've also served with locals from here, and that's still not going to be much prep for what we're about to go through. See, this is Spider Moon, where Helena got about half the senior officers in the units serving it on the Clan front, and they have a death toll rolled into their planning here. These guys have NO slack."
“Then it will be up to us to watch out for the others. We are clearly the most experienced in space operations. I have been serving and flying for the Confederation since 3025. And yes during then too. You have nothing to fear from me. I carry no grudge.”
"Huh, my dad was a conscientious objector during the war you started on." he noted, "See, my family are Cambiono belters, I'm actually the black sheep of the family-at least, space-side. The Dukes are distant relatives, which means about nothing, I joined up because I thought I could help more as a ship's officer, than as a salaried clerk for Knight Lenovo's offworld operations."
“I am a soldier and pilot. I started in aerofighters, then Dropships, and now I am here to learn Warships and logistics. Watch the Combine Officer. There is something about them that makes me think they will be a trouble student. A slow learner and prone to accident.” Mai nodded.
“You say you have no grudge but given our realms not too distant conflicts you’re being rather nice and open to me, why?”
“Because antagonism would be counterproductive, especially as you said we’re about to go through the most difficult training any of us have been through. If we cannot get along and trust one another this will go badly. And like I said earlier I want to live.”
The dropship settled, and the external hatch alarm sounded, followed by a pressurization alert that had the whole group of cadre scrambling for either helmets, or the beach-balls. Which immediately separated the experienced officers, from the newbies here from staff positions at ground bases.
Mai laughed as she and Knight checked each other’s connections and were ready well ahead of the others.
“I also think I like you Knight. You’re not arrogant like a lot of others from your realm. Me? I’m amazing!” Mai laughed again.
A group of spacers in skinsuits came in, "ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Spider Moon Naval Air Station! Those of you who read the instructions in your orders, or paid attention during the briefings can grab your C-bags and follow the Chief. For the rest of you, shame on ya, we didn't spend months doing the briefing recordings just so you can sleep a few extra hours at a desk. Everyone in a Beach Ball is now carrying demerits for themselves, and the section to which they have been assigned for this training rotation."
“Here we go.” Knight said quietly.
“I’ll assist port side if you take starboard.” Mai suggested.
“Deal.”
Brass in Towe..Literally[]
Nicole Minh connected a tow-line to the beachball containing an AFFC officer with Major's ranks. She glanced at Janet, who was connecting up to a Marik officer's beach-ball. "Innahs. YOU probably ended up like this?"
“Neg. I managed to get to the surface. My Mech was swept up by the flood waters.” Janet was slower, more deliberate in her movements.
"Huh. wow." she checked the connection, and then started towing her 'rescued' senior officer to the main airlock. "This is pretty good practice, but only for kid-level stuff. IN a real emergency rescue, there'd be lots of hot and sharp to avoid, getting them off the wreck."
“Aff, why I am being cautious. If I get in the habit now I will not be putting myself and others at risk later.” Janet tried to nod but the movement was unnoticeable due her helmet.
“We’ll work on making you cautious but fast.” Nicole chuckled.
“Aff.”
“Waitaminute, you’re that Janet, aren’t you?” Nicole stated.
“You mean the one that got into a fist fight with a local and got branded as a ‘slaver bitch whore’. Aff.”
"Huh, I imagined you'd be taller." Nicole said with a grin.
“I believe the appropriate response is ‘I’m not wearing my heels’.” Janet laughed.
“Contraction! Yes! Clanner immigrant bingo square marked!” Nicole laughed.
“Savashri.” Janet teased.
“You okay in there sir? We’ll have you out in just another minute or two.” Nicole signaled her beach ball occupant.
“Yes. I’m fine. But please do hurry. This thing isn’t the most comfortable mode of transport.”
“Don’t say it Nicole. Bite your tongue, be polite.” Janet reminded.
"Next time don't forget your suit." Nicole said it anyway.
“At least you did not insult them too badly. So I will still call it a win.”
“Think we’ll stay together past training?” Nichole asked.
“Aff. I do. We work well together and that is valued here. They will want to keep us together for that reason.” Janet answered.
“Yeah, you’re not bad for an Innah.”
“Nor you for a freebirth.”
“You know I’ll win an insult contest.”
“Aff.” Janet admitted.
“Less talking you two. It uses up more air. And get these balls in the airlock on the double.”
“Yes, sir!” The two women said in near unison.
Admiralty Summary[]
Spider's Moon Naval Base
Kowloon System, Federated Commonwealth
3059
"Well, is everyone comfortable?" Admiral Wells leaned on a cut-down modified crate, regarding the two groups in the bay. "No? Good. I was given a tasking, some of you, already show promise. Others?" she strode over to an AFFC Colonel, and fingered his now disheveled uniform. "Others..colonel, have already set themselves back considerably. Each of you has received a briefing packet prior to traveling here. I would like you all to open yours, and review the cover-letter. Pay special attention to the list of names signed into the 'approved by' bloc at the end of that document. Please review your packets now."
She waited for them all to open their packets, and look them over.
"For those of you with questions..those signatures give me the authority I need, to have any one of you shot…or spaced, or hanged by the neck until dead, or expelled back to your home nation in a disgraced state. Your presence here is not a Punishment, but you may consider it such by the end of this, or you may take it as the opportunity to learn."
Wells paced the group. "Each of you was selected, as being in the lead for an appointment to command of a Star League Warship. Your home services chose you to be granted this responsibility-that is, the opportunity to command a warship under Star League colors. This means each and every one of you, is considered by your home nation and your peers in that nation, to be exceptional, gifted, competent. You are here, as the final leg of that selection process, where you will be instructed and tested. I have been given fifteen standard weeks to filter the best from the rest of you, to train you, educate you, and send you back. Welcome To SLDF Naval War College Spider Moon, ladies and gentlemen, this is your final obstacle. You will either pass this course, or you will not, but if you do not, you can forget ever holding a command in the Warship Branch of the SLDF, and you may find failure will limit your options in your home organizations, because guaranteed, someone from your home nation will pass eventually even if you don't."
Shocked expressions and looks passed around the gathered officers, at least, the ones who didn't quite digest what they were coming to face.
"The first six weeks will involve survival training, ship-borne operations, and damage control certifications. Followed by Navigation certification, Warship operations procedures, and fundamentals of Warship Combat in both an organized formation, and under independent missions. The final leg will be kept…in reserve for those who pass phases one and two at an acceptable level of achievement. There are twenty two of you here, look around at your peers, ladies and gentlemen, one of you is likely to die during training due to carelessness, negligence, or the negligent actions of their peers." she crossed her arms, "First lesson; There is no such thing as an Accident, there is only Negligence, or Ignorance leading to negligence."
"Admiral, permission to ask?"
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Type 51 Class Gunship (Primitive Combat JumpShip)
"Chu Sa Hiroko, you may speak." Wells said formally.
"How does this relate to command?" Hiroko asked.
"Very good question. Phase three each of your assigned teams will have to lead and command a crew made up of the regular students of Spider Moon, and experienced Enlisted in a series of mock operations, including live fire simulated warship combat, this will test what you have learned in the preceding phases, as well as testing your ability to command personnel under SLDF flag."
"What will we be using?" Karloff asked.
"Type 51 gunboats, assigned from the Kowloon Coast Guard Militia for the purposes of crew training and certification for warship operations." Wells told them, "the regulars you will be commanding, are Kowloonese regulars, the students acting as your junior officers are Spider Moon and Giap Island cadets."
Mai scoffed, "My nation has few warships currently!"
"Your Chancellor believes you will have more." Wells said, "Which makes for a good motivation for you to excel, doesn't it? Since you'll likely be writing, or re-writing doctrine for the Confederation's navy that will be carried down, for good or ill, to future generations."
Impression of the new Students[]
Spider's Moon Naval Base
Kowloon System, Federated Commonwealth
3059
Instructor Sam Dienh waited for Nicole and Janet to finish stowing their 'field gear' external suits.
"So…you had a look at them." He said.
"Ayeh, sirrah."
"Impressions?"
"Permission to speak freely, instructor, Sir?" Nicole asked.
"Speak."
"They're innahs. Some of them don't have a clue, sir. Are we really going to be tested by serving under them in the exercise?"
"A bad commander can become superb, with a good crew, Cadet." Dienh told her, "or an excellent commander can fail utterly with a bad crew. The well can be enhanced or poisoned the other way too-yes, you'll be getting rated and graded in part on how well those senior officers in the War College group do, but also in relation to how well you perform regardless. That means even if you despise them, you still have to do your best, and even if they turn out to be incompetents, you're expected to interpret their mistakes to salvage the mission and keep the ship alive and functioning."
"That does not seem fair!" Janet blurted, "In the clan-"
"The Clans lost here." Nicole interrupted her friend. "Remember? I think I understand. Part of the risk in space operations, is having a boss who doesn't know what they're doing, or is personally repellent. We're supposed to do OUR jobs, even if they're not doing theirs and 'creative reinterpreting' goes with 'initiative', doesn't it sir?"
"Yes."
"We're also expected to get noticed, aren't we?" Paul Vanh from Golden Lake asked. "That's part of it, too-we graduate, we go out into service, we get assigned somewhere, and it's easier to get good assignments if we've impressed someone higher up, and those foreign officers are all going to be those higher ups, even the Heinies?"
"Watch the pejoratives, Admiral Wells is one of those 'Heinies' Paul." Nicole spat back "And I'm one of those 'foreigners' too."
Paul flushed in shame. "Sorry…I forget-"
"Damned right you forgot, you forgot to leave the wellwallah bigotry in your other pants with the self-shitting and the sister-******, you dirtfoot bastard." Li Danh221 was a Hatter, and he was likely the strongest Marine cadet in the current year. "No offense." he added with a comradely grin. Li Danh managed to make busting balls an artform.
"None taken." Paul said, "Besides, I don't even have sisters."
"Want one?" Carrie Cartwright asked, grinning evilly. She was a deep-spacer from one of the smaller co-ops working the Herbania Expanse. "I mean, if that's what it takes to-"
"TOO MUCH!!" Nicole scolded, "Seriously, Carrie, you should know better."
"Ayeh mum. I retract the insulting suggestion regarding Cadet Vanh's proclivities and background…but I'm inclined to keep the invite for a test-flight."
Which made Paul Vanh blush even deeper red, and seem to pull into himself.
"Okay, everyone got that out of your system now? Special directive from the Commodore-no pranks on the officer students-that means the regulation defining acceptable pranks and hazing is to be suspended, and any harassment of those brass-students for the SLDF Naval branch will result in NJP or Courts Martial for the perpetrator, their accomplices, and anyone who might instigate."
"Awww…why?" Carrie asked.
"Because unlike us, those are actual officers in serving militaries." Vanh noted, "Means we're supposed to stay 'hands off' because we're not their peers as officers yet, Ayeh?"
"Exactly. Besides, your idea of 'funny'..."
"It was hilarious!" Li Danh chipped in, "Paulie here set the standard for within-reg pranking!!"
"Which is why the Commodore says no pranking the foreign guest officers." Instructor Dienh intoned, "You've got to play things straight with them, at least until you KNOW them well enough to know who can, and who can't, handle it."
"Same for hazing sir?" Janet asked.
"ESPECIALLY for hazing. Consider learning how not to do that to be a part of your career development training….and no retaliations, MARTINS!"
Nicole just nodded, "Chain of command, if they get frisky, we have to just take it…unless it violates good order and discipline, I understand sir."
"How are they doing, Wells?" Helena asked.
"Some initial hangups-about half the officers they sent here didn't think it was important to actually read the documentation and watch the briefing videos before they arrived. HOW these guys got referred to for warship command slots blows my mind still."
"Okay, that was last week, Wells." Helena scolded gently over the comm link, "what's happening now?"
"The best candidate from the Fedsuns member state is a Light Colonel named Knight, he's a Cambiano Belter and pays attention, one of Katherine's two appointments, off the Ian Davion, where he was a second shift Engineer. But that's kind of cheating, he grew up out in the rocks in a Davion system, but it was out in the rocks. Karloff from the Free Worlds is another one who's going to walk through phase one without a scratch-he's a shipyard brat from Andurien. Our star Cappie is Chan, which makes sense, she's got as much time as a soldier as some of these guys have being alive. The Dracs sent another ringer off the Musashi, Chu Sa Hiroko's probably second best over-all behind Knight in terms of 'getting it' without complaining."
"One from each member state isn't a bad thing, Wells."
"It's the rest of 'em." Wells agreed. "It's not even just dirtyfeet, either. An astonishing number of these officers think 'manual labor' is what you have someone else do while you're contemplating your navel hair, and that includes things like asking when they'll get a batsman assigned to tend their uniforms and quarters."
The attitude wasn't unfamiliar to Helena-she'd encountered it enough in The War, among SLDF regulars units that had to work with the Volunteers and other Rallier formations. Not all of them, of course. The 90th Heavy Assault hadn't set about looking for their next estates at Eagle's Nest or Elbar, nor demanded support personnel to handle the personal details of below-flag-rank officers…
But enough of the others had, that she'd rather preferred working with Tranh Truk Ngo and Annie Cu'ong over having conversations with men whose background included the Terran Hegemony's more elite Royal formations.
Men and women, like Wells was describing, whose privileges as Officers in the SLDF included a life off-duty that competed with those of the wealthiest of the leisure classes.
"Do what you can, Wells." Helena said, "And keep me apprised, I need to know who I'm going to be dealing with in phase three."
"Ayeh Mum. Wells Out."
The connection ended, and Helena had time to muse. Wells has gone native. the Gallery-born Naval officer had adopted the slang, speech, even the slurs common to Kowloon's outer system communities.
She almost sounded like a native-born Rockjack, instead of the Sanglamore Graduate who'd arrived here almost five years ago.
"Operation Serpent initiated in 3059, but it didn't really start moving until early 3060. Part of that, was that it took that long for us to be ready to do more…as in, a lot more than just chasing Clan Smoke Jaguar out of the Draconis Combine…"
-Vice Admiral Katherine Morgan (Steiner-Davion)
"Recollections on a Crimson Shadow: the war against the Clans of Kerensky, 3059 to 3063"
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