The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles #1, Inception (13 page)

When Admiral McMullen started to speak, Admiral Faragon cut him off with a raised hand… “Barney, she’s answered that question six ways from Sunday… for heaven’s sake let’s move on. Captain, you’ve faced the D'lralu on three separate occasions now. Do you have any recommendations to share?”

“Yes, Sir. I have several. First, we need to change the programming on our hyper drives… they should not engage if the shields are actively repelling enemy fire… this is what caused the Bowman to take a hit… the shields lowered for 32 milliseconds at the worst possible time. Second, we should prioritize the computer system upgrades that the Heshe provided. Our one technological advantage seems to be that we can jump faster than they can. This means we can micro jump and jump closer to our targets. If I had to guess I’d say their computers are not as good as ours.”

“What about weapons?”  Admiral Chelsea asked.

“No question, we need to look at ramping up our capabilities in that arena. The SJ rounds worked, but they are only going to be good in deep space… We couldn’t think about using them inside our solar system. I know Pluto really isn’t much of a planet but we darn near destroyed it anyway.”

McMullen piped in another quick question… “And what stops them from using an SJ
round on Earth?”

“That’s part of the briefing I sent, Sir. I recommend we build and deploy a hyper drive dampening field around Earth, Mars and Jupiter, as well as any other base we may establish in time.”

“And who will foot the bill for all of this?” McMullen quipped.

“Sir, that’s beyond my pay grade… all I know is, if we don’t build up both our defensive and offensive capabilities overnight, there won’t be anybody left to send the bill to.”

“Catherine, we need you back here as soon as possible” Faragon said.

“Sir, that may be a bit
problematic we got busted up pretty bad. I’ve got plenty of power but no way to get it to my hyper drive engines.”

“I understand… that’s why I asked the Avenger to jump to your location. She will offload a replacement repair crew and maintenance supplies. The Bowman will be repaired by them on her way back to Earth. You and your crew will catch a ride back to Earth on the Avenger.”

“Understood, Sir.  How long before we can expect them?”

“Captain Ruck told me to send his regards
and he will be there in about fifteen hours. In the meantime Captain… you and your crew get some rest… you have earned it. Well done.”

“Thank you, Sir” Cat answered.

***

True to his word the Avenger appeared 30 kilometers off their starboard bow. Cal executed a precision micro jump which put them within 100 feet of each other.

"Look at the size of that ship!" Ken said from his engineering station on the bridge. The Avenger was easily a third larger than the Bowman. Cat could see the general outline matched the Bowman, but there was a secondary teardrop near the bulbous end. The interesting thing was, it appeared that this secondary structure was incomplete. Whole sections of the plating was missing.

"What do you suppose that structure is in back there?" Ken asked.

Cat thought about it for a moment before answering. "If I had to guess I'd say it's a new type of shielding. The big problem with our current shield is you have to drop it in order to jump. I suspect the new math Cal shared with us has allowed someone to figure out how to build a hyper field within a hyper field."

"That makes no sense" Ken said. "The minute the inner shell jumps, the outer shell would collapse."

Cat looked at him... Waiting to see if he would connect the dots.

"Oh...
the ship is gone so the shielding is kind ‘a redundant" Ken said sheepishly.

Cat turned back towards the view screen... "Lt. Cochrane, hail the Avenger, please"

"Yes, ma'am... I have the Avenger online" the lieutenant answered quickly.

"Avenger, this the Bowman... Any chance we can hitch a ride?"

"Bowman, this is Avenger actual. That was quite a jump you just made... What you may lack in distance, you sure as hell make up for in precision. You'll have to share with me how you did that."

"It helps to have an alien AI that likes to show off.  Great to hear your voice again, Jason"

"Yours too, Cat... I'm going to shuttle over a maintenance crew to start the turn over... I understand your shuttle bay may not be available."

"That's correct, I would recommend docking with the aft airlock... Those corridors have the best access to the damaged areas of the ship."

"Very good, aft it is. Can I invite you to join me in the Captain's mess after the shuttle is done with their transfer? We have some things to discuss."

***

Cat watched the scarred and burned hull of Bowman recede in the window as the shuttle headed toward the pristine Avenger. She couldn't help but think she would never see the Bowman again as her captain. Before she realized it, the shuttle was reorienting itself to land in the Avenger's landing bay.

A young ensign met her at the Avenger's shuttle bay.

"Permission to come on board" Cat asked as per protocol.

"Permission granted, Captain" the ensign relied while offering her a crisp salute.

The Bowman was only a month or so older than the Avenger and yet she seem years older because of her scars... only some of which touched her paint. The layout, once they got into the ship proper, was virtually identical to the Bowman, and Cat was quickly regaining her sense of orientation.

The ensign delivered her to the captain's mess, and then informed her that the captain would be there shortly. As he saluted, and turned to leave the room the door swished open, and the newly promoted Captain Ruck entered the room.

"Thank you, ensign... That will be all" he said without preamble.

Cat looked at the former First Officer of the Bowman. Captain's pips served him well. He had a commanding presence which had attracted her the first time she had met him. He smiled at her, and she felt her heart melt. He waved to a seat and invited her to
sit.

"It is good to see
you, Cat. I understand you were the first to help me after the Bowman's initial jump."

"I was the closest, but I'm sure anybody on that bridge would have help if they had been closest."

"Probably true... Still, I'm glad it was you," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "However, dinner will be here soon, and I didn't call you over to talk about the Bowman." He touched a control on the table.

"Ben, bring up the Admiral's message for Captain Kimbridge."

"Message ready Captain" the Avenger's AI responded.

Cat looked at Captain Ruck suspiciously. "Your
ship's AI is named 'Ben'?"

Jason chuckled. It was a warm and deep sound which Cat found captivating.

"That's right... It would have a special meaning for you... I forgot. I suspect there are more AIs named 'Ben' than just about any other name out there. The AI on your former ship, the Arizona, is credited as quite the hero in AI circles, because of the incredible job it did trying to save your life."

"Ah..." Cat mouthed silently. She still did not associate the maiden voyage of her VASIMR ship with anything worthy of fame, and yet history uttered her name in the same breath as Neil Armstrong, John Glenn and even Yuri Gagarin.

Watching her take in the reality of her fame, only endeared this beautiful and yet humble woman to Jason all the more. "Shall we see what Admiral Faragon has to say to us?"

"Please," Cat nodded.

Captain Ruck hit the playback button on the virtual screen in front of them.

"Greetings Captains Ruck and Kimbridge. Cat, as you may have guessed at this point, the Admiralty board has approved your permanent appointment as captain, effective the date you took command of the Bowman. That said, we are giving
command of the Bowman to someone else"

Cat's heart sank. She was pleased to receive the permanent promotion, but at the same time it was hollow without a ship to command.

As if anticipating her disappointment the image of the Admiral smiled before continuing. "Don't worry, Cat. You were born for space, and you are one of the best out-of-the-box thinkers we have. We need you more than ever, out there leading the battle for the defense of Earth."

The Admiral smiled again. "I have a different ship I want you on. As Jason is aware and as I am sure you suspect... The world has mobilized its war machine in a level of effort never seen before. We are building bigger and better ships as fast as we can. Things which were only on the drawing boards a few years ago, are now moving forward at light speed... In no small part, because of
the understanding of High-field dynamics which your AI shared with us."

The Admiral paused and folded his hands on a table that neither Cat nor Jason could see.

"If you will excuse my bluntness... The biggest and baddest of the new ships is the USC Yorktown. She has four times the displacement of the Avenger class ships, and is the first to employ our new Heshe enhanced computer systems and AI. She will be my flagship. Cat, I need my most experienced officer... At least as regards the D'lralu... On that ship. If you accept the posting... the Yorktown will be yours."

"
Blessed Redeemer! Will you look at the size of that thing!" Ken said.

He and Cat were on the observation deck of Orbital One. Cat had asked for and received permission to appoint Ken as her First Officer. Of course, with Ken came his wife and executive chef. Given Becky Kirkland's reputation in the kitchen, Admiral Faragon was all too eager to approve her transfer as well.

"That 'thing' is a very beautiful she," Cat replied with equal parts awe and amazement. To think, this incredible lady was hers to command. The USC Yorktown was in a word - massive. She measured a full 1000 meters from stem to stern. She had the same teardrop within a teardrop shape of the Avenger but with two distinct differences.