Voyagers: SS Robert Heinlein

CHAPTER 8 

WHOSE SHIP IS IT? 

 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2122  

 

0800 

 

“What’s with the pastries, Hal? We just had breakfast,” Kyle said. But as good as Alicia’s eggs, bacon, and toast were, something sweet isn’t a bad extra, he thought. 

 

“It seems like you and your officers have been spending more time in my office than I have, and since you’re all growing boys, I thought some extra snacks during the day wouldn’t hurt.” 

 

“Well, thanks,” Kyle said as he bit into a cinnamon roll. “I hope we don’t eat you into the poorhouse.” 

 

“Oh, I think my budget can handle it.” 

 

Kyle, Devin, and Brad were meeting with Hal to discuss Benjamin Kennedy, a new addition to the Heinlein roster. Devin and Brad would need to be in the main meeting room by 0845 for the 0900 meeting with the ship’s crew. The crew would be split up into their departments for more information and instructions.  

 

Kyle knew that the meetings were necessary, but he had no doubt the crew was probably already tired of them. Fortunately, they only had a half day of meetings and then would have the afternoon and the weekend off. It would be their last full weekend off for the rest of their tenure on the Heinlein. He reminded everyone in his morning communicator message to the crew that they should treat the meetings as an Academy classroom section and that they should remember that they would be boarding the ship for training on Monday.  

 

But right now, the topic was Benjamin Kennedy. As former first officer and then captain of the Sooloo, Hal was very familiar with Kennedy. Kennedy had served briefly in Navigation under Kyle. He could not master the basics of astrogation. Dave Bowman, the Sooloo’s first captain, transferred him to Information Systems, where he served under Brad. He had a good mastery of computers and was a skilled member of the unit. Brad often found him difficult to deal with, particularly because of Ben’s deep dislike of Kyle, whom he blamed for washing him out of the Navigation team. One of Ben’s resentments was that the pilot training he was slated to receive as a Navigation team member would not be happening since IS team members were not given that training. His second resentment was against Brad because Brad had made a derogatory comment about him. Since Brad and Kyle were obviously best friends, his resentment against Kyle doubled. To put it simply, Ben hated Brad and Kyle.   

 

When Space Fleet personnel gave Ben an involuntary transfer to the Heinlein, the move suited Ben just fine. He was happy that he would be free of the ignominy of serving under the likes of Kyle Robinson and Brad Kanye. Ben had developed a prickly attitude because of the resentment he held. He isolated himself from his crewmates. As a result of his attitude and behavior his crewmates shunned him in return. He paid little attention to the happenings on the Sooloo outside of what affected him directly.  

 

He knew that Kyle had undeservedly been named the captain of a ship which, thankfully wasn’t the Sooloo. It wasn’t until after he’d passed the deadline for protesting his transfer that he discovered Kyle was going to be the captain of the Heinlein, the ship he had been transferred to. At that point he submitted his protest, asking for an exemption from the deadline. He claimed personal hardship for his change of mind. The resultant hearing was the reason he wasn’t dropped off when the Sooloo arrived at Earth to disembark its transfers.  

 

On Tuesday the 5th, his exemption was denied by a three-officer admiralty panel. As a result, his protest was denied as well. Ben Kennedy was now slated to be dropped off at Earth on Saturday the 17^th when the Sooloo would be dropping off Kai Daniels, who had been promoted to Assistant Chief Engineer of the Heinlein.  

 

“I assume the three of you are here to see if I can get Kennedy transferred from the Heinlein before he even gets here,” Hal said. “The answer to that is no. He must be given the chance to prove himself one way or the other on this ship before we can transfer him. That comes from Admiral Mirah himself.” 

 

“So, he ends up proving that he is the idiot we think he is and we’re light years out in deep space and can’t do a thing about it. Then what do we do?” Kyle asked.  

 

“You treat him like any other crewmember by giving him do nothing jobs and sending him to the medical staff for counseling.” 

 

“That’s not acceptable. And Mirah’s grandson is a member of the crew. Why would he want his grandson serving with somebody like Ben Kennedy?” 

 

“Because he chose to follow the protocols of Space Fleet. Look, we took all the steps we could to prevent his transfer here, and it didn’t work. So, now we go to phase two. What else can I say?” Hal asked. 

 

“Not much, I guess.” Kyle glanced at Brad and then turned back to Hal. “But there might be something I can do.” 

 

“Strangling him is not an option,” Hal chuckled.  

 

“I’m not trying to be humorous.” 

 

“Sorry, but you obviously need some calming down.” 

 

“I’m plenty calm enough and you know it. You’ve seen me when I’m not calm.” Kyle was referring to his early days on the Sooloo. He was also certain that Hal was aware of his disciplinary history at the Academy. 

 

“So, what is it you’re thinking of doing?” Hal asked even though he was certain he knew the answer. 

 

“Okay, I now know we can’t transfer him off the ship. But the way I read the Command Protocols Manual, I have the power to move crewmembers from one department to another for any reason, as long as I fully document the transfer.” 

 

“That is correct.”  

 

“Since Ben has two big problems, namely Brad and me, I can maybe solve one problem and make Brad’s life easier by transferring him to another department once he disembarks the Sooloo and becomes an official member of our crew.” 

 

“For real, you can do that?” Brad asked.  

 

“It’s as real as it gets. You have enough on your plate with training a new staff without having to deal with malcontent as well. I want my senior officers to know I have their backs, especially one who is a friend as well as a senior officer.” 

 

“Where do you plan to move him?” Hal asked.  

 

“Officially I don’t know. I only just got this idea a little while ago but I have an idea. I want to discuss it with Devin and with my other senior officers and see what we can come up with. But, I’m keeping the idea to myself I have a chance to hear everybody out.” 

 

“Fair enough. Brad, do you have anything to add?” Brad said he didn’t. “Devin?” 

 

“I think Kyle has a start on dealing with the issue. I guess it’s up to us on the senior staff to support him any way we can. Now, Brad and I have work to do, unlike certain captains.” 

 

“See if you get any dessert with dinner Commander French,” Kyle deadpanned. 

 

“With that piece of official discipline this meeting is over,” Hal said.  

 

Brad and Devin rose, grabbed a couple of cinnamon rolls, and left the office to get the staff meetings started.  

 

“Wow, with all this business about the mystery boy, getting a jerk like Ben Kennedy on the crew is all I need,” Kyle said. 

 

“Well, like it or not, it’s what you got,” Hal told him. “Remember that Robert, Greg, Dave, Bill and I will be here for you when you need us.” Hal was referring to Admirals Crusoe, Robinson, Bowman, and Mirah. 

 

“Thanks. Now, I’m going get to hold of Danny and Captain Ellis to get the last word on the crew shuttles after lunch and find out the status of the Pegasus from Steve.” Kyle grabbed a cinnamon roll and left the office.  

 

Hal stared at the door after Kyle closed it. He was worried about Kyle—very worried. He couldn’t help but think that more problems were being dropped on him the young captain then he was prepared to handle. And the crew had yet to take even a trial run on the new starship. Devin French was showing himself to be a top-rate first officer. He could only hope he was solid enough to take over command of the Heinlein should Kyle Robinson have a breakdown. That was his biggest worry was that in their desire to move Kyle to a command position they had managed to put him in over his head.  

 

 

900 Hours 

 

Danny and his pilots were in a conference room at the Tiberius Space Port’s command center. Danny had just finished a half-hour meeting with his seven senior pilots outlining the schedule for the day and their takeoff procedures. The senior pilots were, in essence, his fighter pilots. All seven were also qualified to fly any shuttle or small spacecraft.  

 

Their fighters and Danny’s had been towed to the tarmac on the south side of the building and were lined up for flight. Each pilot had his own fighter, and each fighter was named after a hero. The pilots named their own planes using the agreed upon topic of Heros.  

 

The pilots would be flying their personal fighters for the first time. They had until 1000 hours to inspect their craft and talk over any issues with one of the two technicians who were available for help and advice. At 1010 Danny and his seven senior pilots secured themselves into the cockpit of their fighter. The fighters were two-seaters, with the pilot seating in the front seat.  

 

At 1010 hours Danny contacted air traffic control informing them that they were ready to take off. They would be taking off in pairs, with the two fighters side-by-side. Danny and A.J. Crowly manned the first pair, followed by Finlay “Red” Lynch and Ryder “Stallion” Colt, Hunger “Red Devil” Sparks and Brent Maverick, with Bailey “Chappie” Irvin, and Gabriel “Ace” Cardiff were the last pair. “Ace” was Danny’s assistant chief pilot. Danny had “Ace” in the rear of the takeoff formation so that he and his assistant would bookend the fighters.  

 

Lt. Commander Keegan Nash, the air traffic controller, guided them to the end of runway C123, which was actually three runways in one for the purpose of launching formations. Once the fighters were lined up, they were cleared for launch. All of their practice runs, which had taken place 200 miles to the east at Goddard Space Port, were now paying off as they made their first formation launch from Tiberius Space Center. Goddard’s main purpose was as a training field, where multiple takeoffs, launches, and landings could take place without disturbing anyone outside of the rattlesnakes.  

 

The rocket powered fighters were quickly perpendicular to the ground and heading away from Earth. As they cleared the atmosphere, they were turned over to Commander Ed Crowly, who was an orbit traffic controller. He was A.J’s father. The orbit traffic controller covered the orbital routes around Earth as well as any spaceship movements outward from Earth to the Moon’s orbit, where the space traffic controller took over for the next one million kilometers (621,371 miles), after which the spacecraft flew on their own accord.  

 

Once free of the Earth’s atmosphere, the fighters shifted to a different formation. The were lined up one fighter in the lead (Danny’s), then a line of three, followed by a line of four.  

 

“Space Fleet orbit traffic control to Commander Robinson. Kudos to your pilots for a job well done. Their entry into my realm looked perfect.”  

 

“Thank you, orbit control,” Danny radioed back.  

 

“Your flight plan says you plan to head out to the Lunar orbit.” 

 

“That is correct.” 

 

“Then please line yourself up with Luna Route 12.”  

 

“Roger, will do,” Danny said.  

 

“And to the pilot of the John Glenn, you’re looking good.” 

 

“Thank you, sir, much appreciated,” A.J. radioed back. Ed Crowly was unable to see the smile splitting his son’s face, but even over the radio he could tell his son sounded pleased.  

 

Danny knew that Luna Route 12 did not line up with the current position of the Moon and would be a roundabout way of getting there. As a result, it was not one of the routes that was in use at that time.  He doubted that any of his pilots knew that or why he asked to be assigned that route. He knew the answer would come quickly. 

 

Fifteen minutes later the pilots learned the answer. He detected the four incoming fighters on his radar screen before anyone else, partly because he was the only person expecting them.  

 

He didn’t hear anything from his pilots until one of the incoming fighters opened fire with a plasma canon, striking the Don Gentile, Bret Maverick’s fighter, dead center. Red lights started pulsing both inside and outside the fighter. The Gentile lit up red on Danny’s screen, indicating a direct hit and the fighter was dead. Bret knew what he had to do, even though he had no idea what was going on. He brought his fighter to a stop and watched the rest of the formation leave him behind. The Game was on.  

 

“Bogies four o’clock,” Gabriel “Ace” Cardiff called out just as the Chuck Yeager of “Stallion” Colt was hit by a laser blast on his right wing. Since the wing wasn’t needed in space, the hit was annoying but not fatal.  

 

On Danny’s screen, a red light flashed off the right side of the Yeager indicating a hit on the wing. Danny’s fighter lit up red on the viewscreens of his formation. Even though he hadn’t been hit, as the lead fighter he had the ability to put his fighter into red mode. The battle would now be in the hands of his assistant chief, “Ace” Cardiff. 

 

Ace quickly figured out what was happening. The Heinlein fighters had been though many mock attacks and battles and what was happening around them was Danny’s final exam for them. So far, with two fighters down and one crippled the squadron wasn’t looking good.  

 

Ace zipped past the formation and took over the lead since Danny’s fighter was dead. Ace suspected that Danny hadn’t been hit but had gone red to take himself out of the picture, which meant it was up to Ace to take care of the bogies. The four attacking fighters had to be Space Fleet fighters, manned by experienced pilots, shooting dummy plasma beams that were essentially disarmed. Even though they came into the battle with only half the fighters as the Heinlein formation, their act of surprise as well as their experience gave them the advantage.  

 

“Formation 7,” Ace called out on his radio. The other five operational fighters fell into a spread formation. “Red Devil (Hunter Sparks) and Red (Finlay Lynch) take the two position, Stallion (Ryder Colt) and Chappie (Bailey Irvin) take the three position. I have the one position. AJ, you have the swing.”  

 

Good job, Ace, Danny thought. You’re making up for being asleep at the start. 

 

Danny watched the battle unfold, switching his naked eye with a telescopic lens, as well as looking for red to show the hits. His screen was now split, and he showed both the Heinlein fighters and the Space Fleet fighters. Danny grinned when Red Devil scored a direct hit on SF-3, the Olympia and then frowned when Red was knocked out of the Game by SF-2, the Denver. The Heinlein now had five operational fighters to Space Fleet’s three. 

 

“Stallion, take Delta position. AJ, do your thing.” Ace ordered. Ryder “Stallion” Colt slowly turned the Chuck Yeager away from the action. With its “wounded” wing the protocol for the situation said that the Yeager had to travel at restricted speed lest a sudden movement should knock part of the wing loose causing a danger to the fighter. Those protocols were for live battles, but fighters engaged in the Game were required to follow them. 

 

Captain Richard “Blue Devil” Duke, the pilot of SF-1, the Tallahassee, as well as the Space Fleet taskforce commander, ordered Commander Suzuki, the pilot of SF-4, the Tokyo, to close in on the crippled fighter for the certain kill. It was there that Duke, who was considered one of the best fighter pilots in Space Fleet, made a tactical error. Instead of being satisfied with crippling the Explorer fighter even more from a distance and coming back for it later if the attack didn’t produce a kill, he ordered to go in for an immediate kill. After all, the winner of the game was determined by which team killed all of the opposition’s fighters. Half the Explorer fighter’s weaponry was out of commission, so a quick in and out maneuver should seal the deal.  

 

A.J. had been given the swing position, which was a position created by Danny. The fighter pilot in the swing position was supposed to be ready to leave the formation when ordered to do his thing, which meant reading the situation and being creative. Right now, Danny had four pilots he considered to be ready to swing. They were Ace, Maverik, AJ, and of course, himself. A great deal of work had been done on the simulators to train those four. Danny hoped to have the other four pilots trained in the next couple of months.  

 

As the Tokyo closed in behind and to the starboard side of the Yeager, ready to focus his laser on its exposed belly without being a good target himself. His readout of the hit on the Yeager had taken earlier showed that the Yeager’s starboard wing had also rendered the starboard plasma cannon inoperable.  

 

What neither Captain Duke, Lieutenant Richards of the dead Denver, nor Commander Suzuki saw was AJ turning at a forty-five-degree angle and essentially diving down away from the action. The “down” direction was in relation to the plane the fighters were occupying since there was no up or down in space since there was no gravity. The enemy was always the down position.  

 

AJ estimated that he wanted to maintain his “dive” for twenty seconds and then do a quick one-eighty and shoot up directly under the fighter’s cockpit, thereby rendering it dead. The John Glenn responded perfectly to commands sent to it by AJ and shot straight up until AJ let go a plasma cannon salvo that would have totally annihilated the cockpit and front of the Tokyo in an actual fight. He then did another ninety-degree turn to move away from the action yet again.  

 

Captain Duke pushed his throttle completely forward to get within range of the John Glenn. But before he could get up to full speed, he suffered a direct hit from the Chappie James whose assignment had been to stay out of mind as much as possible until he was needed. Ace had seen that it was time for Bailey’s fighter to go into action. A minute later the Tallahassee was dead.  

 

Danny and the Explorer fighters had successfully defeated the Space Fleet fighters’ surprise attack. Yes, they started with an 8-4 advantage, but they lost a fighter in the initial attack and Danny had taken himself out of the fray dropping the advantage to 6-4 before the Explorers could shoot out a single plasma cannon beam. On the flip side, the men flying the Space Fleet fighters had nearly a cumulative fifty years’ experience on the boys flying the Explorer fighters. All of the fighters except Captain Duke’s were on their three-month leave from starship duty. They were happy to get some action, even if it was against a bunch of inexperienced boys. Captain Duke was assigned to Space Fleet headquarters as the fleet’s chief fighter pilot.  

 

Captain Duke and his pilots congratulated the Heinlein pilots on winning the Game, even though he couldn’t believe it happened. Duke then called orbit traffic control for permission to return to Earth. Commander Crowly cleared them for Luna Route 12.  

 

The Heinlein shuttle Brahms, which had taken videos of the Game, followed the four Space Fleet fighters toward Earth on Luna Route 12. Manuel Perez, the assistant chief of navigation, was the pilot and assistant tactical chief Jarrod Carpenter the copilot. Brad Kanye and Nelson Mirah, who was assistant chief of information services, took care of the video once the Brahms was in position.  

 

Manuel, Jarrod, and Nelson had been transported to the Heinlein on Capricorn, the regular Space Fleet shuttle that had been operating between Earth and the star ship. The other assistant chiefs would be arriving on the Heinlein in time for lunch. 

 

When the Brahms and the fighters reached the Earth orbit routes, Manuel contacted air traffic control and was given a landing path to Tiberius Space Port.  Danny contacted orbit traffic control for a route to the Heinlein. Commander Crowly was not on duty, and they came under the guidance of Commander Andrew Orson, who gave them an orbital route to the Heinlein. The Heinlein would then take over and guide the eight fighters into the shuttle bay. 

 

Danny called the Heinlein and talked to Ensign Shane Albertson, who was a member of the Space Fleet technical crew that was finishing their work on readying the Heinlein for active duty. Albertson was assigned to communications for the current shift. As soon as Danny identified himself Albertson turned him over to Jesse Gross, the shuttle bay officer. 

 

Jesse, who was manning the shuttle bay control room, opened the bay doors and the fighters entered the shuttle bay in the order Danny had assigned to them. Ace Cardiff would be in the lead and Danny would be the last to enter. The other six would enter according to their fighter number. The numbers ranged from RH-3 to RH-8.  

 

The pilots and the green crew in the shuttle bay were inexperienced but had been subjected to intense training. Danny and Jesse were the experienced pros running the show.  The fighters’ training showed as everything went like clockwork and the eight fighters quickly entered the shuttle bay and quickly tied down at Bays 14 and 15, which were the fighter bays.  

 

As the pilots enjoyed lunch in the officer’s dining room, Manuel made a smooth landing at the Tiberius Space Port. While the assistant navigators on the Explorer ships were required to be qualified to fly a short-range shuttle, most of them rarely flew if at all after they’d qualified. Manuel, on the other hand, was qualified to fly all three classifications of shuttles (short-range, long-range, and cargo shuttles) and was proficient at piloting all of them.  

 

Manuel taxied the Brahms to the space center building. Jarrod, Brad, and Nelson disembarked and headed into the space center. Manuel stayed behind a moment to tell the ground crew he had no problems to report. He then sprinted off to join his crewmates while the groundcrew went to work on their maintenance checklist knowing they needed to have the shuttle ready for a 13:30 takeoff.  

 

 Manuel and Jarrod headed to the cafeteria to secure a table while Brad and Nelson went to the communication office where they met with Lieutenant Emily Benoit who was a Space Fleet communications specialist. Brad had talked to her about what he wanted to do as the Brahms headed to Earth. Benoit had assured Brad that she would be ready to complete the task.  

 

Brad handed her two video cameras. Emily connected the cameras to her computer one at a time and quickly sent the videos of the Wargame to the Heinlein after radioing Ensign Albertson what to expect.  

 

“Your packages have been sent and received,” Emily told Brad, whose rank told her he was in charge of the video mission. “You gentlemen have a good lunch.” Brad thanked her and he and Nelson left the office for the cafeteria.  

 

“Wow, she called us gentlemen instead of boys,” Nelson grinned.  

 

“Slowly but surely, the Explorers are earning the respect of the Space Fleet regulars,” Brad said. 

 

They found Manuel and Jarrod at a window table. “Nice job,” Brad told them. “Now we can watch the action while we eat lunch.”  

 

“It was nothing special on our part,” Manuel said. “It was empty, so we took it.” He placed an “occupied” sign on the table and the boys went into the cafeteria line to get their lunch.  

 

Heinlein> 

1200  

 

On the Heinlein Danny and his pilots were joined by the assistant chiefs who had started their assignments having just arrived on the Capricorn.

 

“I hope our cooks will be as good as those Space Fleet cooks,” Ryder “Stallion” Colt said. 

 

“My money says it will be better,” Danny said. “Ian was trained by the best head chef in Space Fleet. And I don’t care if you’re talking the Explorer fleet or the main fleet, Randy Jenkins is the best in the fleet—period.” Danny was referring to the Heinlein’s head chef, Ian McFlynn, who had been the sous chef on the Sooloo before being hired on by Kyle. “When Kyle named Ian as head chef, he told me he was certain he wouldn’t find anyone better. I totally agreed with him.” 

 

“I second that,” Finley “Red” Lynch grinned. Red had served on the Sooloo as well. 

 

“And I don’t know if you guys noticed it, but our kitchen staff shuttled up to the ship this morning and has been busy since breakfast working with the Space Fleet cooks to learn the ins and outs and quirks of the Heinlein’s kitchen and food storage.”

 

“Well, then I guess I won’t have to worry about starving to death,” Colt sighed, generating a round of laughter.  

 

After lunch the pilots headed for the meeting room for the afternoon

briefing. The meeting room would become the classroom for the young kids and for the cadets and young officers who needed more classwork to earn their stripes, so to speak. Ensign Shane Albertson was sitting at a table toward the back of the room. He had just loaded the video of the game and would operate the viewing on Danny’s command. Since a lot of starting and stopping as well as reversing and fast forwarding would probably be required, he had the remote to operate the computer and projector. He was much more experienced at the operation of the viewing equipment than Danny was. 

 

Danny asked his pilots for their thoughts first. “Ace” Cardiff was the first to share. “I admit I was totally surprised. I had no idea this was going to happen.” 

 

“What is the slogan for the Heinlein’s fighter task force?” Danny asked. 

 

“Always be prepared for everything,” Ace responded. “And, yeah, I know I wasn’t. And because I wasn’t ready, Bret got knocked out of the game before it even got started.” 

 

“That’s right, you weren’t anywhere near ready. But don’t totally blame yourself for him being knocked out right away—while the back row has prime responsibility for incoming bogies, everyone needs to be prepared. It seems the only person who knew the bogies were coming was me, and that’s because I set up the surprise attack. When they came within our perimeter somebody should have detected them.” 

 

“But…,” Red started. 

 

“No buts! You were all happy to be flying away from Earth toward the Moon and completely oblivious to what was around you. You were all depending on Danny to lead you to Luna.” Danny paused and looked around the group. What he saw was a good group of crack pilots who still needed to learn that there was more to flying a fighter than enjoying the ride. He knew that was where he came in. It was his job as chief pilot to teach them the importance of alertness and teamwork.  

 

“Were there any hints that might have indicated that this was more than a pleasure ride to the moon?” Danny asked.  

 

After a moment of silence, Maverick said, “I knew that the route we were given was not the prime route to the moon at that place and time of day. I wondered why Danny had accepted that route and just figured Danny was just trying to stay out of the way of spacecraft on a busy route. Maybe I should have thought that Danny was being sneaky.” 

 

“And sneaky he was,” Ace added. “He obviously never even told me about it. I guess he wanted to see if I was ready to do my job as assistant chief.”  

 

“That is totally right,” Danny said. "What all of you need to do is learn from this.”  

 

His pilots all agreed to use what happened to learn what it meant to be prepared, even when flying in the shadow of Earth.  

 

Then, for the first time since the meeting started, Danny grinned. “Now that we’ve made that clear, I gotta say that after that brutal start you guys flew the pants off those Space Fleet dudes. I thought they would be coming with more fighters that they did, but Captain Duke told me when he radioed his congratulations that he didn’t think he would need more than four fighters to defeat a bunch of kids.” 

 

“Once again, the Explorers show the old men what they’re made of,” Stallion crowed. 

 

“You said it, Stallion,” AJ grinned.  

 

“I also want to commend Ace on his quick recovery from the start of the surprise attack,” Danny said. “He showed us right then what he was made of and that he really is an Ace pilot. It looks like I made a good choice naming him my assistant chief pilot.” The cheers and applause from the other six pilots confirmed what Danny said.  

 

“I’d like to know how AJ made that flipperydoo move, cuz I want to learn it,” Stallion said. 

 

“We can start that lesson by looking at it on the video taken by the Brahms. Which leads me to one last question before Shane starts the video. Who noticed that the Brahms was sitting out there beyond the game?” When nobody raised his hand, Danny went on. “Yes, it was at the edge of the perimeter, but it was within range of our instruments. Always be ready for more traffic in the middle of battle. Reinforcement could come from anywhere.” 

 

Danny then signaled Shane to start the video. The next hour was spent with Danny praising and evaluating the pilots. He also had the pilots review their own actions as well as those of their teammates. When AJ’s loop came up, everybody watched slack jawed. The maneuver was as amazing on video as it had been in real time, only this time everyone got to see it in its entirety and enjoy a couple of replays.  

 

The meeting ended when the arrival of the senior officers was announced. Danny dismissed the pilots and headed for the shuttle bay to welcome them aboard.  

 

 

1230 

 

Kyle and his senior officers, except for Brad, enjoyed an early lunch at the Building 1 café at Space Fleet Headquarters. They took the regular transport that ran between Space Fleet HQ and the Space Center where the Brahms crew was waiting for them.  

 

“I heard you got some good video,” Kyle told Brad.  

 

“Unbelievable,” Brad responded. “Nelson got the best shots with his camera.” Nelson blushed hearing Brad’s praise. But he was the one who caught AJs bold maneuver sharp and clear.  

 

“I can’t wait to see it and talk to Danny about it” He turned to Manuel. “Are we ready to load the Brahms, Manuel?”  

 

“I just got clearance from the ground crew so go ahead and board,” Manuel told him. He looked around but didn’t see who he was looking for. “I thought Dr. Carey was launching with us.” Even though Manuel hadn’t met Dr. Landon Carey, his count of those ready to board was one short of his manifest, plus he knew all of the officers, of course. “Or is he going to launch in a Pegasus shuttle?” 

 

“The doctor will be here in a few minutes,” Kyle told him. “He is bringing all of his personal items since he is heading to his new assignment. He’s arriving in a van with his belongings. The ground crew should be helping load his gear into the hold.” 

 

“That is correct,” came a voice from behind him. The voice belonged to Lieutenant Greg Jeffers who headed the baggage crew at the passenger terminal. Dr. Landon Carey was standing beside him.  

 

Kyle shook hands with the doctor as Jeffers told him that a baggage cart would be coming soon. No sooner did he say it than an electric cart came around the northwest corner of the Space Center and pulled up to the hold. The driver had a helper with him.  

 

Manuel, Kyle, and Dr. Carey were the last three to board the Brahms. The shuttle had seating for 20 including  a crew of two. Landon was surprised by the size of the shuttle. “This is bigger than what we had on the Magellan. Those only seated a half dozen or so passengers. The long-range shuttles can carry up to 25 passengers and crew depending on how they're configured.” 

 

“I think Space Fleet realized they made a big mistake giving the Explorer ships undersized shuttles,” Devin, who had overheard Landon’s comment, said. “In an emergency only the Bubbas have the needed capacity to evacuate the crew. With the added size the Earhart Class ships have, the shuttle bay could be bigger, meaning the shuttles could be bigger. Between the six Type A short range shuttles and the three Type B long range shuttles we have combined capacity of 195, including the shuttle crews. That's twice the size of our crew complement.” 

 

“I understand that the Explorer class ships will be adding two of these newer model shuttles over the next year,” Steve added. “It won’t solve the capacity problem, but it should help. I think the room can be made for two of those shuttles without a total remodel of the shuttle bays.”

 

Manuel sat in the pilot’s seat and Jarod settled into the co-pilot’s seat. One person could pilot the shuttle, but Space Fleet and Earth Traffic Control regulations required that any aircraft or space craft landing, taking off, or launching from Earth with more than four seats have two pilots.  

 

As Manuel contacted air traffic control, Kyle asked Landon Carey, who was sitting next to him, why he elected to go to the Pegasus via the Heinlein instead of directly. “It’s because I really wanted to see what one of the new Earhart ships looked like inside, especially the sick bay,” Landon replied.  

  

“Dr. Tatu’s plan is to get rid of the sick bay designation and call it the ship’s health center. I think it’s a great idea,” Kyle told Landon. “Steve Boyer, the operations chief, and Brad Kanye, the information systems chief, are already at work to make the needed signage along with all the other paperwork and getting the information to the crew.” 

 

“I like that idea. Riku has been communicating with me and that was one of the things he mentioned he wanted to do on the Heinlein.” 

 

“He is very enthusiastic about the idea and the health program he wants to present in the health center.” 

 

“How do you plan on getting the word out to your crew?”  

 

“The entire crew, except the few who haven’t arrived yet, shuttles up to the Heinlein on Monday. The topic is on the agenda for the morning meeting.” 

 

“Let me know how that goes,” Landon said. “I’m glad you’re willing to use his proposal. He told me that his captain on the Galileo doesn’t care for the idea. He says it’s a sickbay for the sick and the healthy have no business going there. I wish I’d known about that idea when I was on the Magellan.” 

 

Kyle was surprised by Landon’s openness. But, Riku had much the same attitude. That kind of attitude had been prevalent with the medical staff on the Sooloo. He wondered if that openness was something shared by most of the ship’s doctors. “Don’t let yourself get discouraged. Work hard and to the best you can.” 

 

“I plan to give it a shot. The worst he can do is lock me in the brig,” Landon chuckled. Kyle decided it was best to let that conversation drop and Landon took the hint and followed suit.  

 

Their thoughts were interrupted by Manuel saying he had received clearance to launch and for everyone to make sure they were securely buckled in and had stowed any loose items. It was mantra that went back almost to the beginning of flight.  

 

The Brahms taxied to the end of runway B2 and readied for takeoff/launch. Within a couple of minutes, it was racing down the runway and lifting off. When it reached the prescribed speed and height Mauel pulled back on his control wheel  and jammed the throttle forward. The Brahms leaped into a vertical position moving straight up as it strived successfully to escape Earth’s gravitational pull. 

 

Air traffic control turned the Brahms over to orbit traffic control who had the Brahms meeting the Heinlein in a little over twenty minutes. Lieutenant JG Art Bridger was manning communications. He turned the shuttle over to Jesse in the shuttle bay control room and Manuel soon had the Brahms docked at receiving bay one.  

 

The passengers disembarked with their grips packed for an overnight stay on the Heinlein. Dr. Carey had all of his personal gear stowed away. Since he would be leaving on the Brahms for a trip to the Pegasus later in the afternoon his gear was kept on board.  

 

Because of the rush to board the Brahms and get off the ground, Dr. Carey hadn’t had a chance to meet Benjamin Okoye, the Heinlein’s assistant chief medical officer. Benjamin took care of that as soon as they disembarked. The two doctors hit if off right away. Ben invited Landon to go to the ship’s health center with him. 

 

“We can get our first real look at it together,” Ben said. 

 

“I know it will be much different from the sick bays, I mean health centers Explorer class ships,” Landon said. “We stayed with the basic outline on the Magellan.” 

 

“Yep. It will be bigger and better equipped.”  

 

“I know what I’m in for. I’m going to be so envious of you guys.” 

 

Landon sat next to Ben, who had given him a full tour of the medical facility. He had taken some pictures and video to see if he could pick up any ideas from the facility’s layout and organization. He knew that Ben and Riku along with their nurses and techs would be starting from the beginning to integrate their plans into the facility. He had taken the pictures anyway just in case a good idea for him might be hidden in the rooms.  

 

Kyle started the senior officers and their assistants meeting on time at 1430. Devin was the one who was charged with running the crew meetings, but Kyle ran the senior officer meetings. The meeting covered the goals for the afternoon, and the fun planned for the evening. The main topic of the meeting was what everyone’s duties would be the next morning when Kyle and the officer corps would be taking their first ride on the Heinlein. The ship would travel away from Earth from 0800 until 1200 and then turnaround head back to Earth.  

 

After the meeting adjourned the officers met with the Space Fleet test crew in their areas and discussed who would be responsible for what and when. Ronnie was pleased when Commander Jerry Marshall, the Engineering Operations Director for Space Fleet told him he would be in charge of engineering commencing with his 0730-reporting time. 

 

“You will have an experienced crew working for you. They will be able to show you what you should be expecting from your own crew when they report on Monday,” Jerry told Ronnie. “You are an experienced chief engineer. Just remember that some of what the Heinlein’s engines do and how they behave will be different for you. I’ll be right there in engineering ready to help you. Also, you should be aware, if you make a mistake, my crew and I will step in to point it out to you. I would hope that you take care of the feedback for your two chiefs.” 

 

“I understand. I think you’re doing this exactly the right way. Tomorrow should be fun.”   

 

After they finished in their work areas, the Heinlein officers went to their new quarters, unpacked theirs, and started moving furniture to organize the room the way they wanted. Most of the remaining Space Fleet crew flew home to Earth on the Capricorn. Those remaining were the crewmembers who would be traveling with the Heinlein officers and the kitchen staff providing support.  

 

Also, during that time, Landon was shuttled to the Pegasus. Manuel and Jarrod piloted the Brahms again, with Jarrod being the pilot and Manuel the co-pilot. Kyle rode along, spending the twenty-minute travel time chatting with Landon. He was impressed with the young doctor and was certain the Galileo would be getting an excellent replacement for Riku Tatsu.  

 

When the Brahms came within visual contact of the Pegasus, orbit traffic control turned the shuttle over to the Pegasus’ communication officer. Kyle was pleased that the Pegasus communication officer then turned them over to the shuttle bay. That meant that the Pegasus captain thought the Explorer crew was competent enough to bring the Brahms into the ship’s shuttle bay without crashing into something. Jarrod docked the shuttle in one of the visitor bays with no problem.  

 

Kyle saw to it that Landon boarded the starship first. He was going to be a passenger on the ship for a little over four days, after all. Kyle was next since he shuttled over in order to pay his respects to the Pegasus captain and thank him for helping with the exchange of doctors. He knew that the captain had nothing to do with the assignment to fly his ship to meet the Galileo and switch Dr. Carey for Dr. Tatsu, but from his talks with his father, Hal, and Dave Bowman, he had gained an understanding of the importance of politeness between the captains of two ships that were dealing with each other in some fashion.  

 

When he disembarked the shuttle and entered the shuttle bay’s main corridor he saw Landon shaking hands with the tallest man he ever seen in a Space Fleet uniform. The four bars on the man’s uniform gave away his position as the captain of the ship. The captain saw Kyle approaching and grinned. 

 

“Greetings, Captain Robinson, and welcome aboard the Pegasus. Thank you for accompanying Dr. Carey to his ride to his new ship.” He stuck out his right hand and shook hands with Kyle. Kyle tried successfully not to wince at the captain’s tight grip. “I’m Captain Calum Rosach and am honored to have the fleet’s newest captain on board.” 

 

At five-foot two, Kyle had to look a long way up to make eye contact with the six-foot seven captain. When the captain looked at him Kyle got the impression Rosach wasn’t looking down at him but was looking directly into his eyes in spite of their height distance.  

 

Kyle took an instant liking to the big captain. He could tell that he saw him as his equal rather than one of those “bratty” kids from the Explorer program. The fact that he allowed the Brahms to tie up in the shuttle bay instead of at one of the outside airlocks was proof of that right from the beginning.  

 

“It’s a pleasure to be on board your ship, Captain Rosach. I know you and your ship have a good reputation at HQ.” 

 

“We work hard at trying to be the best, and I think we succeed. The fact that we were chosen for the first upgrade to the new warp engine design says a lot, I believe. I know we didn’t get that upgrade because somebody drew our name out of a hat.”  

 

Kyle nodded and said, “I also want to thank you for being willing to alter your trials to help us fully staff our ship.” 

 

“It wasn’t entirely my doing, but because of the trials I probably could have asked them to find someone else. But Captain Morgan of the Galileo put you into a bind, and having broken in a new ship myself, I know the more cooperation you receive the easier it is to accomplish your goals.” Calum looked over at Landon and said, “I have a feeling that the good doctor is getting impatient, so how about I give you a quick tour of our fine ship.” 

 

“Somebody will take your grip to your guest quarters, doctor, and your gear will be unloaded and taken care of,” Captain Rosach said. He then introduced Commander Wade Stevens, his Chief of Operations.  Wade had boarded the Brahms and invited Jarrod and Manuel to join their tour. The four of them left the shuttle bay area for a quick tour of the Pegasus after proper introductions were made. 

 

“Have any of you been on a Fantasy class starship before?” the captain asked. Manuel and Kyle had been, but Jarrod and Landon had not. Manuel and Kyle had each enjoyed an overnight trip on a Fantasy class starship while attending the academy. Jarrod’s trip had been on an Explorer class ship because a Fantasy class ship wasn’t available. Landon had never had the opportunity. 

 

Kyle, Manuel, Jarrod, and Landon followed Captain Rosach and Commander Stevens on a quick, but thorough tour of the ship. Landon, of course, was fascinated by the ship’s sickbay, where he met Dr. Fred Lewis and Nurse Linda Greene. He thought about leaving the tour group, but then decided to stay with Kyle who had been so kind to him. He would have plenty of time to tour the sickbay during his voyage to intercept the Galileo.  

 

After the tour ended Captain Rosach invited Kyle and the two pilots to stay for dinner, but Kyle politely declined. “Thank you for the invitation, captain, but I’ll have to pass on it. This is the first dinner together on board the Heinlein for me and my staff,” Kyle said. “Plus, it will be the first shipboard dinner prepared by the Heinlein kitchen staff. I think my place for dinner is with my crew.” 

 

“Spoken like a true captain. I totally understand,” Callum grinned. “But we will be back a few days from now with your doctor, so we’ll see what we can work on then.” 

 

“That won’t be as easy as it sounds. The Sooloo and the Endurance are expected on the same day as your ship. What we don’t know is the time schedule for each ship. Who knows, maybe we can have all four captains meet for dinner.” 

 

“I like the idea. Let’s see what we can work out. Now, if you’re going to make your dinner on time, we’d better get your shuttle off to the Heinlein.” 

 

Before they could start for the shuttle bay, they were joined by Commander Henry Masters, the first officer of the Pegasus. He introduced himself and wished the Heinlein officers a safe trip. Captain Rosach then escorted Kyle, the two pilots, and Dr. Carey to the shuttle bay. Manuel and Jarrod quickly thanked Callum for his hospitality and boarded the Brahms to prepare it for immediate departure.  

 

Kyle and Landon exchanged a long hug. The two had made a solid connection in the short time they’d known each other. Captain Kyle Robinson looked up at Captain Collum Rosach and said, “From the shortest captain to the tallest captain in the fleet, thank you for your special hospitality and for treating me as an equal.” 

 

“That’s because you are an equal,” Collum grinned. “Those bars on your uniform say so, Captain Robinson, and I respect them and respect you. Plus, watching you in action during your brief time on the Pegasus told me that my respect for you goes beyond that—you earned it. And thanks for not comparing our ages as youngest and oldest captains in the fleet. You might be the youngest, but I’m not the oldest.” 

 

“I know. I did some research. The honor goes to Captain Ryan O’Malley of the Rigel.” 

 

Who is a good man and a fine captain. Now, just remember you have an open invitation to dinner on the Pegasus, Captain Robinson.” 

 

“Just like you have on the Heinlein, Captain Rosch.”  

 

The two traded salutes of respect and Kyle headed down the passageway to the Brahms. After a quick trip to the Heinlein, Kyle, Manuel, and Jarrod made it to the dining room ten minutes before dinner. 

 

 

 

 The Space Fleet and Explorer Program chefs put together a top-notch dinner. Head chef Ian McFlynn and his staff were given most of the prep responsibility and cooked up some favorites from the Sooloo including broiled shimmy. It was the first time that the Space Fleet staff had prepared and eaten the Darastixian delicacy. They all ended up begging Ian to tell them everything he knew about it, which he and sous chef Marty Williams did the next day after breakfast.  

 

Kyle took a seat next to Devin. They talked about how things went while Kyle was away among other topics.  

 

The evening was spent on the holodeck with various events and games. Pickleball became the favorite and took on a different dimension when Ronnie said, “You know how the ancient Greeks played games like this, right?” 

 

“Yeah, they did it in the nude,” Steve responded. “And your point is?” 

 

Ronnie stripped naked and tossed his shorts, t-shirt, and underwear, next to a bulkhead. “You guys are welcome to join me if you want,” Ronnie grinned.  

 

Nobody said a word and small piles of t-shirts, shorts, and underpants were quicky placed against the bulkhead where Ronnie had tossed his. Ronnie could see that his idea for having a quarterly naturist day just might work if the bulk of the crew thought the same way the officers on the pickleball courts did. Then he saw that one of the assistant chiefs had only taken off his t-shirt. Tommy Harper sidled off to the side hoping nobody would see him. Ronnie was about to walk over and talk to his young nephew when he saw Danny hustle over to Tommy and put his arm around him.  

 

“Hey, bro, it looks like you’re kinda nervous about playing in the nude,” Danny said. 

 

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Tommy admitted. 

 

“You never seem nervous about being naked around our house when your there.” 

 

“That’s because I know all of you. I mean you’re my big bro and Kyle and Ronnie are my uncles, and Koji and Duskin are my cousins. That made it easy to do.” 

 

“What better way to get to know your fellow officers than by stripping down with them and enjoying playing naked with them.” 

 

“But I don’t have any pubic hair and my dick isn’t that big. What if they laugh at me?” 

 

“Then they’d be laughing at Nelson, Kyle, and Logan. From what I can see Nelson has as little as you do and isn’t carrying a giant snake around between his legs. I know for a fact that Kyle as a few, but they’re blond and thin and hard to see. And I don’t see anything on Logan. So, we’re talking about an admiral’s grandson, the captain, and your boss in Science. Now what’s holding you back?” 

 

“Well, I guess nothing,” Tommy replied. And in an instant he was wearing only his shoes and socks. “Thanks for the help bro. Now, I’m gonna go join Logan my commander and see what he wants to play.” 

 

And for the next two hours the senior chiefs, assistant chiefs, and first officer enjoyed active games as well. There was a room set aside for “extra-curricular” activity, which only four of them enjoyed. Getting naked together was one thing, but they would need to get to know one another better before they could get daring. Ironically, Tommy was one of the four as he and Nelson masturbated together to rid themselves of their pesky erections. Steve and Brad were the other two as they elected to show the officers that it was okay to have some extra fun.  

 

“It looks like this is getting to be your ship. You have everybody getting along pretty well,” Devin said to Kyle after they finished beating Danny and Ronnie in pickleball.  

 

“You’ve got it wrong,” Kyle responded. 

 

“I do? How? Everybody is having a lot of fun, and this naked play stuff is really, like, a bonding thing.” 

 

“Oh, I think you’ve got that part right. What you have wrong is that this ship is mine. It’s our ship. Tonight, for all of us here, we showed that the Heinlein doesn’t belong to the captain, it belongs to everyone.” 

 

Devin nodded in agreement. Every day he saw more and more of the Kyle Robinson he had grown to love and respect showing up in the way Kyle carried himself. Once again Devin told himself that applying to be the Heinlein’s first officer was one of the best moves he ever made.  

 

That night there was quite a bit more “extra-curricular” activity in the privacy of their quarters.  

 

After finishing his session with Danny that they had planned the night before, Kyle felt the tiredness leave him temporarily. For the record, their romp was a quick one.  

 

As he wound down, Kyle thought about how the day went. As much as he wanted to think otherwise, he had to admit the day was a success both for him as captain and for his chiefs and assistant chiefs. He felt that the officers had what it took to make the crew a great one, and he was ready to lead the way to working the Heinlein to the top echelon of the rankings.  

 

Next: On the Move.