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"I can afford any of those figures," Raymond assured them. "Pallanders has said that they can reduce the need for crew on a Fairling Class to between seventy-five and one hundred with their automation. We can finalize the numbers once Pallanders gives us the design."
"The Chief of the Navy and Chief of Navy Intelligence benefit from this new repurposing of the Korman. What do I get out of it?" Thenton asked, rather tongue in cheek.
"I need a base of operations. I can think of no better place than Liramor-23. That keeps the ship in your backyard. It also keeps Liramor in the loop, though in this case it would have to be remotely," Raymond explained looking at and getting a nod from Fiona.
"What of your partner, Ms. Samson?" Thenton asked.
"To tell you the truth, my last visit to Liramor Prime showed me she is bored of living the life of luxury with no need to work. She needs something to do, so I expect she will be very happy to join my crew. If not, she is wealthy enough to afford her own ship." Raymond said with a smile.
"This will, of course, be classified. No one outside of this room and those on the ship can know that she works for the navy." Adm. Ramison advised the group, getting nods from all.
"Anything else, Raymond?" He asked.
"Yes, sir. If you give me a moment, I have something special that one of the scientists has developed to show you, with your indulgence," Raymond said, getting a nod from Ramison.
Five minutes later, Raymond returned with one of the scientists carrying a small box.
"Sir, this is Dr. Ohiraha Aruna, she is an electrical engineer," Raymond began by way of introduction. "Ohiraha was working on the alien pod when it started charging and she found a way of charging some of the handheld devises that we brought back from the station." He pointed at Ohiraha indicating she should take over.
"Sir, we do not know what the device I charged is for, but we do know how it charges itself and how it uses that charge. It is a remarkable system of power control. I figured out how it does it and realized that it would increase power use on our devices significantly." She paused her for a moment to let that sink in.
"I also wondered if we could do the same for our Marilon generators," she continued. "The problem with the generators is that they put out a large amount of energy, often much more than is necessary for the task at hand. Marilon generators are always pushing at the upper limits of the draw being made against them. That often makes it difficult to regulate the power stream, often times causing failures in aging electrical systems. But it also means that the generators can push max power with little effort.
"For instance, it takes all the power that the Marilon generators create to send a ship like the Wimple to it's max FTL distance of thirty-two light years, however, it takes just as much power to send it fifteen light years vice thirty-two. That is principally because we cannot regulate the large discharge needed to start the jump process."
Here she pulled out a couple of electronic meters and two small, fifteen-centimeter square Marilon generator blocks, the type used to power Rockhounds. One she attached to a discharge block and turned it on. The discharge block took the full charge from the generator showing how much charge was generated and instantly dissipated. The generator drained its charge rather quickly as the block sucked up all the power it offered.
She attached the other generator to a small device, and then to the discharge block and again turned on the discharge block. The discharge block took a full charge but this time, the generator continued pushing power to the discharge block but did not drain itself in one large electric burp. The generator was pushing near max power but in a controlled manner and did so until Dr. Aruna turned it off.
The watching admirals understood the significance immediately.
"Something else that you should be aware of. For now, we have the control system for the discharge outside of the generator, but if it is integrated within the generator it can work just as well in reverse, which means that the recharge time for a Marilon generator would be significantly reduced.
"Right now, it takes four to six hours to fully recharge a Marilon generator dependent on the age of the generator. With the new control system, that could be reduced to around one hour. I won't know for sure until we make use of this device on a full-scale generator.
"However, the significant item is that, if you wanted to go fifteen light years in a jump, you wouldn't have to fully discharge the generator to do it, leaving you with power on the other end. You could also control how much power was being used in the jump, reducing stress on the generator, thus prolonging its life.
"Most Marilon generators have a twenty-year lifespan because they discharge near completely when used for any near max power load. But the older they get, the less efficiently they recharge.
'With the new controls, you could use the power you need for a short jump without depleting the generator. It would recharge much faster. And it would be able to recharge more efficiently right to the end of its useful life, which I predict would be significantly more than the standard twenty years." She finished looking around her.
"The issue is," Raymond took over, "that she is a member of the Science Corps right now. If she gave up the information she has attained, she would not benefit from it, and neither would we. It would take months, if not years, before the Science Corps made this available to industry. We would not see the new generators for five to ten years dependent on circumstances.
"In addition, Liramor Holdings might not be the ones to benefit from it. Liramor Holdings owns the rights to everything in this system. This could bring about conflict between Liramor Prime and the TGA, something we do not want.
"Dr. Aruna has twenty-eight years of service, which means she can retire with one month's notice. I intend to back her with funding to make the modified Marilon Generators, which we would make available to the navy and certain other TGA agencies at a much-reduced rate. We can have the business up and running in less than six months vice five to ten years. Net benefit for all.
"The question is, what does the navy want? Do we follow the navy rules on this one and wait for years for the new generators, or do we do something else?" Raymond asked.
Ramison, Thenton, Heist, and Hannison looked at each other and smiled. "I know what I would prefer," Thenton said for all. "JAG?"
"Raymond is correct. Technically, she would have to give up her secrets to the Science Corps. And yes, it would take years before the corps made the information available. It would be classified so that would mean at least ten years before it could be declassified. No net benefit there," the JAG confirmed.
"It wouldn't be the first time, though, that the navy made it's scientists available to industry for 'special' projects. She could be allowed to retire because of her seniority as she is made available to industry. However, she would need an industry to report to and you haven't registered the new business, have you?" the JAG clarified.
"Actually, sir, the business will be co-owned by Liramor Holdings, so we would be sending her to Liramor Holdings as a general listing. That would get around the issue of the name of the industry.
"Liramor Holdings already make Marilon generators under license, which means that it would only take a month or so before we could be producing the new products, once Dr. Aruna gets set up," Raymond stated.
"Does Liramor Holdings know this Capt. Clark?" Adm. Ramison asked rather pointedly.
Raymond looked to Fiona Marsh with a smile and said, "Yes, sir. They are indeed aware."
Ramison looked between the two of them and snorted. "We have an agreement then?" he asked of the JAG.
"We have an agreement," the JAG confirmed.
"Dr. Ohiraha Aruna, it is with sadness that I accept your resignation from the TUSN Science Corps noting that you are requesting thirty-days notice as is your due for twenty plus in service," Ramison intoned tongue in cheek. "You will have to go to the nearest navy base to complete your out clearances.
"Personally, I suggest the navy base at Liramor Prime, I believe that the Liramor Mining Company supply ship currently at the platform is returning to Liramor Prime in the next couple of days?"
"In three days," Fiona confirmed. "You will have to submit her memo of resignation to me through Dr. Hitron. Do it today, and it can be annotated by both FAdm. Thenton and Adm. Ramison before the ship, and you, leave.
"We would also need a note from the JAG clearing Dr. Aruna in this instance. Once you have that, it will expedite things at the other end," Fiona finished.
Dr. Aruna rushed out the door, looking for Dr. Hitron. She had already written her resignation memo.
Liramor Spaceport, Liramor Prime, Liramor Star System, Thirty Light Years from Terra
Five days later, Dr. Ohiraha Aruna arrived at the planet side passenger gate after a short, but very thorough physical ensuring she was healthy to go planet side. She picked up her luggage at customs and moved to the exit, where she saw a man holding a placard with her name on it.
"I'm Dr. Aruna," she told the man, as she approached him.
A woman behind the man reached out and took her hand. "I'm Liea Samson, partner to Raymond Clark. This is Annette Liramor, Director of Operations for Liramor Holdings," Liea told her.
"Raymond stated that you have something interesting to show us?" She asked her.
"Yes, I have it in my walk-on luggage," Aruna told her.
"OK, we have booked a small conference room here in the spaceport, would that be alright," Liea asked, getting a nod from Dr. Aruna.
They moved to the conference room where Liea introduced her PSec, Analisa Talbot, her EA, Lissette Blanche, her personal bodyguard, Kim Oshiiru, as she and Annette sat down for the brief.
Dr. Aruna ran through her short presentation and received some very interested reactions from it.
"You said that we could put these insides of the generators, but can we make units that would do the same and attach them to the outside of the units?" Annette asked her.
"Yes, they wouldn't be as efficient, but it would just take an upgrade to the navigation systems to be able to use them. However, you would have to limit these to serving government vessels or your competitors will be able to work out how to make these units and you would end up losing out," Aruna assured them.
"Why couldn't they do that with the new generators?" Liea asked.
"Opening a still functioning Marilon generator is not advisable, especially a new one. Besides the danger to life and limb, the resulting EMP blast could take out most of a large city's electrical systems. Perhaps permanently," the Dr. advised. "So, once we have these built into the new generators, it is unlikely that anyone would risk opening them to take a look inside. At least not until the end of their useful life, probably thirty years from now."
"You said it would extend the life of a generator," Annette said, "would that mean older generators would benefit from the new devices?"
"Yes, but once again, where could you guarantee that someone wouldn't try to access the device to learn how to make them?" Aruna asked. "It would be simply easier to replace them with newer models and let the old models die out.
"You could sell the newer models from twenty-five to fifty percent more than the current Marilon generators, but we would have to sell to the Navy and TGA shipyards at twenty-five percent discount on current rates for Marilon Generators for the next ten years based on our agreement. You would still make a substantial profit on those as your cost on the new generators is only a few hundred credits worth of additional material."
An agreement was quickly put together between Annette, representing Liramor Holdings, Liea, representing Clark and Samson Partnership, and Dr. Aruna for the production of what they now called Marilon/Aruna Generators. Annette provided security to Dr. Aruna while she quietly retired from the Navy. A week later she was running her own lab in a Liramor Holdings site.
Within a month, Liramor Holdings was offering the new generators to the Navy through the contract already signed by Adm. Ramison and Adm. Hannison. All new ships, and every ship that went through a refit was given the new generators and upgraded navigation capabilities. Within twenty years, every ship in the navy would have the improved generators.
Liramor Holdings became richer, the partnership of Clark and Samson became richer, Dr. Ohiraha Aruna became rich, and became the most sought-after Electrical Engineer in known space.
Liramor-23 Mining Platform, Piscium Star System
At the same time that Dr. Aruna was making her pitch to Annette at the Liramor Spaceport, Fiona was working with her Aid, Cdr. Henadi Noor. Fiona was delighted to have an Aide-de-Camp, as she had never had a PA/EA/Aid before.
Though Henadi's principle purpose was to provide military support to her, she was quickly learning facets of working on the platform. The two had become fast friends in a relatively short time.
Cdr. Henadi Noor was from the planet Anuura, in the Caidin Star System fifty-six light years on the other side of Terra from Liramor-23. She had grown up in a religious right household and had escaped it by seeking education off world, then joining the Navy during the War. She was the first of her family, and the only woman, to make her living in space.
Now thirty-eight, she had just completed Command School and was waiting to be promoted Captain and given command of her own ship in a year's time. She was effectively on the fast track to becoming and Admiral within the next ten years.
In the interim, she was seconded as aid to Commodore Marsh to help her in dealing with Navy regulations and the practical aspects of her position as Commodore. Henadi's recent time at Command School made her the perfect person for the position.
Attired in Navy Dress uniform, she now wore the Sector Forty-Two patch on her right shoulder and the Liramor-23 patch above the blue square of the Presidential Citation. The red and gold patches of Command were on her collars. She wore the silver bordered eight-pointed blue cross of Officer of Military Merit around her neck.
The gold Star of Command sat high on her left breast, as she had commanded a ship on several occasions for months at a time in the absence of her vacationing captain. The silver V of one who had volunteered more than five times sat above a Division Citation pin. In fact, she was just shy of receiving the gold V of one who had volunteered ten times. She wore eight medals on her left breast including the Medal of Bravery and two Campaign Stars above a series of rows of ribbons showing where she had been in her career. On her left shoulder was the braid of Aide-de-Camp, her rank indicating the likely level of her principle as that of Commodore.
At 178cm, dark black hair and deep brown eyes, Henadi was shorter than Fiona but had a bubbly disposition tempered by Command School. Personably, the two were well suited for each other.
Fiona had been called to conference room one, which had temporarily been appropriated by Adm. Ramison while he was on the platform. In the conference room was Admiral James Hannison, the Judge Advocate General of the Navy, Admiral Rallond Heist, Chief of Navy Intelligence, Admiral George Ramison, Chief of the Navy, FAdm. Charles Thenton, Commander of Sector Forty-Two, as well as Capt. Steven Pickering, commanding NS Dewfall, Capt. Cèleste Dauphine, commanding NS Kologn, Capt. Richard Dent, commanding NS Claridge, and the Ex Os from the respective ships, as well as Aide-de-Camps for the various Admirals, mostly Captains except for her own.
"First, I want to personally thank-you Dir. Marsh for making available your hospital and medical personnel and making available quarters on platform during the recovery of our citizens who had been enslaved by the pirates," Ramison began. "President Hallaway extends his personal thanks as well."
"Think nothing of it, Admiral," Fiona stated, "it is the least we can do for those poor souls."
"Well said," Ramison continued. "Some good news for you then, Charles?"
"Considering what has transpired in system in the last few months," FAdm. Thenton began, "by direction of President Hallaway, it has been determined that this system has become high priority for the Navy. As such we will be leaving the NS Kologn and the NS Claridge for system security. You now have a fleet of four ships, one dedicated to the scientific team and three dedicated to system security. Congratulations, Commodore." Thenton finished.
Fiona smiled and nodded to the two Captains and their respective Ex Os.
"The President has ordered a luxury passenger ship to Liramor-23 to retrieve the former slaves and return them directly to medical facilities on Terra where they shall receive further medical and psychological treatment prior to being allowed to return to their families," Ramison said.
"I will be returning to Terra on that ship, the NS Dewfall will be remaining here for Adm. Hannison and Adm. Heist to use. We may ask that one of your ships provide transportation to Terra for Adm. Heist and his staff once his intelligence investigation has been completed if the Dewfall or a Navy supply ship is not available."
"What are we to do with the carcasses of the pirate vessels?" Fiona asked.
"They are in your backyard, Fiona," Ramison told her, "you do whatever you wish to with the remains once the intelligence investigation has been completed. There is probably a lot of recoverable processed metal and plastics on those vessels. A substantial profit for Liramor-23. As well, there will be electronics and plenty of Marilon Generators to make use of. Not to mention the weapons.
"The missiles/torpedoes are standard sizes and can be distributed amongst your vessels or stockpiled for future use on the platform. The undamaged and repairable guns can be recovered and sent to the Sector Forty-Two shipyard for reuse. The damaged guns can be taken for scrap metal.
"I am leaving three senior Navy Engineers to help in the assessments of the damaged vessels, though I have been assured that none are reparable. They will be able to assure you of what kind of scrap you are recovering from the vessels. Those personnel are yours for the next three months. I hope that will be sufficient time to complete the intelligence investigation and begin the breakdown of the vessels for scrap.
"Adm. Heist will be able to confirm the timeline for completion of this investigation by the end of this week," Ramison finished.
***************
Fiona, her aid, and Capt. Clark were in her office going over items of military import for Liramor-23. Fiona noticed Henadi fidgeting in her chair. She gave her aid a look of inquiry only to see her blush and shake her head. It brought a smile to her mouth as she was sure now as to why Henadi was squirming.
"Why don't you ask him?" Fiona inquired nonchalantly of her aid.
"What!" Henadi squeaked, caught by surprise by the question.
"Why don't you ask him if he is interested in you?" Fiona asked mischievously. She liked making her new friend blush.
"I thought...you know...it, I mean, isn't he your boyfriend?" Henadi finally got out.
Fiona gave a throaty chuckle. "He could be if he wanted to be, he's handsome enough, but he has shown interest in me. Besides, I am more interested in Captains Whatt and Dostier," Fiona admitted to her aid.
