Battleship Destroyer (50 page)

Jack caught up with her and heard the Director inside talking. "A toast to the
holy Grail Gentlemen.  By the time we get done stripping the programs Mr. Turner and the Navy has developed over the last few weeks and what we now have on the enemy and their secrets, we all are going to be rich and famous for thousands of years. That damn boy and his Ion drive is just going to be a footnote after we publish the advanced technology from my discoveries. It is a shame we could not get information any closer to them at this time but the probes and scouts that did managed to send information back should give us plenty for our first papers." The director walked over to several young department heads sitting a little off from the others glaring at them. "Just remember everything goes through me first and then I will decide what the Navy is told and when. Remember anything we give the Navy we cannot patent and make money off of let alone get credit for."

"But Director." The youngest of the group spoke up. "If we wait
too long the Navy won't be able to use our findings to defeat the enemy."

"You just let me worry about that
Smith, but most of what we find will do the Navy little good in any battles for years to come. Plenty of time for us to publish and take credit for the advances."

"What is this about
us and we?" The Ensign spoke up. "The only one that has ever gotten credit under your directorship is you director while dozens if not hundreds of good scientists have been barred from ever working again after you publish your great famous papers and black list your associates. Hell you don't even bother to re-right them in your own words anymore before banishing their authors to obscurity unless they play your game and kiss your ass." Looking at the junior department heads she smiled as she walked over and poured two drinks from the open container on the bar. "Big shame too. When Dr. Turner ran the place they had hundreds of famous research scientists making discoveries every year. Which is probably why you were able to boot him out. He did not have his name and only his name attached to every paper that left the Directorate."

All their eyes followed her as she handed Jack one of the small glasses. "Here is to the Navy you are not going to be allowed to shit on." Taking a good drink. "T
his is a Navy ship and the information you are trying to horde has been bought with the lives of Navy crewmen and ships. Everything you discover from that information is Navy property which is paying you good money for all your work. The Navy will also insure that everyone making important discoveries gets credit for those discoveries and not just you Director." Taking another drink killing the glass. "One minor thing you should remember is that anyone caught keeping information from Mr. Turner, the officially appointed Navel representative, will be terminated with prejudice for treason. Termination means just that, executed. You director do not have the military background to even try to decide what maybe vital to the Navy and the upcoming battles and saving the human Republic from extinction."

The Ensign sat down and smiled at them all as she got comfortable.

Jack joined her with most of his glass untouched.

As the Director
stared at her open mouthed, the Ensign finally said. "Carry on Director. Don't let us slow you down. The Captain needs to know as much about the enemy weapons as soon as possible."

"How dare you come busting into my private quarters. Get out! Now!
Your lies about the extinction of humanity is beyond credence."

"Sorry Director but these are not your private quarters. The
only private, quarters you have aboard this ship is your sleeping cabin and then only if you are alone." The Ensign smiled. "Under Navel regulations that is Director."

"How dare you
intrude? I will report you to your Captain. I will not work under such barbaric conditions. I am a civilian and I am not bound by your stupid rules. I have rights that supersede the Navy by the authority of congress and the President."

"Sorry Director but Congress has no direct authority in the Navy.
" The Ensign started in. "As far as working under such Barbaric conditions you all signed contracts requiring you to follow all commands from all Naval Officers including low life's like me as well as restricting what you can and cannot do that includes everything you develop is owned in part by the Navy even if you wait 10 years after the war to come out with it. Now the Navy is not going to care what you develop for the civilian market after the war but it does care what you work on now during the war. That is why Mr. Turner and I are here. To make sure you work on what the Navy needs you to work on whether you want to or not Director. So in fact Mr. Turner is your boss. You should count yourself lucky you did not get kicked out the airlock yesterday and try redeeming yourself by relying on your own hard work to earn yourself your own accolades for once. At least until you don't have to worry about some alien sticking something up your butt instead of your department heads dicks."

Jack reached over and put his hand on her shoulder, not believing what he was hearing. "Ok Ensign that will be enough.
Let the Scientists get to work." Turning to the Director. "You have the list I made. You only have to assign your personnel to the projects you think they will do the best job at Director. Working on unauthorized projects will be deemed treason. The Admirals words."

The Director
stared at them for a good minute as Jack nursed his drink.  "You are not welcomed here. Get out. We are not doing anything while you are here."

"
Guess I will just call the Captain and tell him to throw you back in the brig." Jack smiled. "Get used to me Director. You were brought along because you are good at stealing others ideas and technology and figuring out how to produce something worth something. Something most scientists are damn stupid at. You did not have to ruin the careers of the scientists you stole them from to make your fame but you did anyway.  The Navy is not going to allow you to do the same here at least while you are aboard this ship."

The Director continued to stare at Jack as his face turned several shades of red.
Finally he turned to the department heads and started making assignments and priorities until Jack butted in. "Sorry Director but we need you to concentrate on the list I have posted, weapons, the shields and communications equipment to begin with.  Though Communications and shields will probably have to wait until we can get boots on a ship. You should be able to tell us a lot about their weapon's construction, capabilities and power since the barrels are sitting in plain sight and you have plenty of recordings of them firing and their effects on the scouts they blew out of this universe to get you that information. Then there are the weapons programs I have set up that need your help."

"That is not up to you Lieutenant. We are a civilian
university operation and weapons are not a priority. The market and profits are not that big for general research on weapons even if the research is successful which it rarely is. "

"Sorry Director we are not interested in your profits. Just winning the war and knowing what the enemy weapons are and how to defeat them is our priority
. So is upgrading and developing new weapons to defeat them. If you do not want to cooperate to our benefit then you are a traitor and there is no reason for you to be breathing Navy air."

The Director gave Jack a look of hate and changed the list of priorities then went on getting into the
details about assigning personnel. With Jack vetoing several appointments the Director tried to make to the Navy Teams but finally with the basic assignments done, Jack used his sheet to make the rounds around the teams so he could see how they were doing. Not content to just sit and listen to the Director once he started at least sounding like he was cooperating.

Finally
Jack could not take the director any longer when he went into his fifth story about past developments and the fantastic role he played in them. With plans flying around his head and the sheet in front of him filled with calculations and lists made while talking with all the projects, only half listening to the Director wasting time. Jack excused himself and headed for the hatch. He had a dozen teams to visit, organize with the new people and even change the focus of a couple that had gone a bit awry from what the Navy needed at the moment. Stopping at the hatch Jack turned around. "Director; thanks for your cooperation. I will check in with you and your people later. You should…. No, will have some basic information by then or...” Jack thought about including some kind of threat but cringed at the idea. He had spent too many years being threatened every time he turned around.

Jack and the Ensign walked out. As they walked down the passageway they heard the hatch
slam close behind them with a thud.

The Ensign turned around at the noise and
said. "So much for studying weapon's barrels and shield antennas and the new engines and warheads." She stepped through the exit hatch from the Admiral's suit as Jack held it open for her. "And finding out for sure how much armor really is on those Battleships is not going to be one of their priorities either."

"That's ok. They will still get it done if for no other reason than to hide what they really are doing. At le
ast for a while. Hopefully long enough to get what we need. You can't expect much more when the enemy is doing the research."

"And what if he destroys your academic carrier while he is doing it? Like he did your grandfather."

"What academic carrier? I am a space rat like my father before me and his father before him. The fact that this asshole destroyed my grandfather's so called academic carrier is why he settled down, bought a Tramp ship like his father before him and then my father had me." Jack smiled. "I guess I may even owe him a hug of thanks."

The Ensign turned cold hateful eyes on Jack for a second until he started laughing and then hit him a good one on the shoulder.

"So tell me your real name, how I know you. Your name plaque does not ring a bell."

She groaned shaking her head and walked off.

Life settled down on the ship with Jack spending his time amongst the research teams, studying during chow, some very boring watches and his sleep periods with the Ensign in the bunk next to him. The busy days went fast and the Ensign still refused to tell him who she was and how she knew him.

Jack's comm sounded. Tapping his wrist, the Captain's voice shot out at him. "Mr. Turner; we need you on the bridge if you please."

Jack turned to look at his wrist comm baffled.
"Ahh. Be right up Captain. "

Jack was
still reading a report sheet as he followed the Ensign when they entered the bridge. The Ensign stopped next to the Captain in the Command Chair and Jack bumped into her as he was reading. After standing for a few seconds as Jack continued to read the lit sheet in the glume, she nudged him. "Jack?"

Jack looked up from the sheet, taking a second to notice his surroundings and said.
"Reporting as ordered Sir."

"
Very well Mr. Turner." The Captain pointed at the main screen. "What do you make of that?"

Jack studied the screen for a few seconds and th
en went forward to the screen and stared at it for half a minute. "Could you dim the lights or even shut them off for a few minutes please." The Captain ordered the lights shut off leaving only the light from the screens which dimmed automatically over a few minutes as the crews eyes acclimated to the darkness. Finally Jack reached out and tapped the edge of the screen bringing up a virtual keyboard in front of him. He started adding sensors inputs to it going up and down the spectrum including the gravity board sensors. The screen soon was crisscrossed with vague lines and clouds cress crossing it in multitudes of colors across the spectrum and beyond what normal humans could see. "Shit all mighty. Godstar help us. We are screwed."

"My Godstar that is
beautiful." The Ensign said.

The Captain looked and shook her head. "All I see is a bunch of confusing lines and a mush of color that does not make any sense to me. There is nothing to see."

"Oh aaa. Yes sir. Ahh, Jack and I can see a little beyond the normal radiation bands most people can see sir. That is how he, ah we saw the cloud we, the fleet almost ran into sir."

Jack
looked at the Ensign with a frown and then at the Captain. "Ah, Sir. What do you see on the main screen sir?"

The Captain looked from Jack to the Main screen and shook her head. "All I see is a bunch of shades of gray
clouds, a whole bunch of points of light, a few with red, orange and yellow colors I take it are stars and mostly black empty space." Looking at Jack. "What do you see?"

"Ah, and you really did not see that cloud last week until the sensors operator put it on the main screen and tactical?"

"No Lieutenant. All I saw was black empty space."

"Then why did you let me take control of the fleet sir?"

"I have to trust my officers Lieutenant or I would not be a Captain or an Admiral. I knew you were good at what you do, though I am still learning what that is. You and finely the Ensign were terrorized by what you were seeing. That was good enough for me."