All That Glitters Ch. 16

"Pretty boy," Mbibo said of the image, unimpressed. "He has a lot of bling."

"He was part of the group of Black Lightning that survived the attack on Emporium," Liea said, explaining the bling.

That got Mbibo's attention. "No shit? Our boss is that Raymond Clark?"

"Yep, and tomorrow I'm headed back to Liramor Prime for the day to see how the ship is doing. Care to travel with me?" she asked of Mbibo.

"I'd have to get permission to be missing for several days," Mbibo told her.

The ladies just smiled.

"Liea owns one of the Princess Class Fast-Ships," Lissette stated. "We could leave in the morning and be back in time for supper."

"Ask the Major if he would like to tag along," Liea said. "We'll be in your introductory brief this afternoon and we'll make the offer formally then."

Conference Room One, Liramor-23, Piscium System

Fiona Marsh was dressed in Navy Number One Dress, or full navy regalia, for the brief by the Marine company going to The Wanderer. She was looking forward to seeing how they would differ from the other Marine contingents on her other Fairling Class ships.

Four of her ship's captains, their Ex O's and their Marine Contingent Commanders were also in the room for the brief.

"Good afternoon everyone," Cdr. Helga Hellebore began. "This brief is being attended by Commodore Fiona Marsh, commanding Piscium System, Capt. Beverly Davis, Civilian Liaison Officer Piscium System, the captains, Ex O's, and Marine commanders of the NS Betelgeuse, Capt. Lorrain Tuffet commanding, NS Kindalla, Capt. Liana Dostier commanding, NS Kologn, Capt. Cèleste Dauphine commanding, and the NS Claridge, Capt. Richard Dent commanding. Missing are the NS Wimple, Capt. Bouyé Whatt commanding, which is currently in support of the Piscium Scientific Investigation Team, and NS Churchill, Cdr. John Seldon commanding, currently under refit at Liramor Prime.

"Included in the brief are Liea Samson, co-owner of The Wanderer, Major Harold Thom, commanding Marine Company for The Wanderer, his senior officers, Capt. Samantha Everest 2 I/C, Lt. Ululla Mbibo, Lt. Marc Teusleh, and CWO Frank Weber.

"This brief is to bring them up to speed on what is occurring in the Piscium system and for them to bring the Commodore and Piscium Defence Force up to speed on their unique capabilities, as they are not a standard Marine company. This brief should take a little over an hour and a half.

"We will begin with the original brief by Capt. Raymond Clark on what he discovered in the system," she finished and called up a holo-vid of Clark's original brief.

Twenty minutes later a shocked and very surprised Major Thom was looking at Fiona Marsh with an expression she could not easily identify but had seen plenty of times before.

"Shit, ma'am!" he said, when he could think of nothing else.

"Kind of hits you right where you don't expect it to, doesn't it, Major?" Fiona replied, amusement in her voice. It wasn't the first time she'd heard the reaction and would likely not be the last.

"The Wanderer is not expected to be ready for work until the end of next month. During that time, we'll take the opportunity to let your company go to the alien station and see for themselves what is going on there. As well, you can see what has been brought back to Liramor-23, which is in a construction bay dedicated to the science team.

"The Wanderer is going to do just that, wander outside of human space. It will confront and hopefully make friends with the alien species that we have identified to date.

"Your principle role, Major, will be to protect The Wanderer and fight off any attempted assaults on the ship and its crew. Your secondary role will be to engage the enemy on their territory.

"You are a special team. We may have to intimidate at least one group of aliens, and your team has been selected precisely for that purpose.

"I expect you to be in any of the briefs provided by the scientific team to me and in any of the briefs for the Piscium Defence Force until such time as The Wanderer arrives in system and your team relocates to your ship. The floor is yours, Major. Impress me." Fiona finished.

"Thank-you Commodore," Thom began. "My team is composed of the elite of the Marines, the best of the best. We have trained individually for years to get to where each of us is now. This will be the first time that all of these men and women have been placed into a single company of specialist squads.

"They include, heavy weapons support teams, assault teams, rescue teams, combat specialist teams such as space jumpers, sniper teams, and long range recce teams.

"Each of the squads has worked together and know their own squads well, but this will be the first time that these squads will be integrated into an elite company. We will have to learn team dynamics at a higher level. That will be our goal over the next few months.

"The next few days will be for setting up our Combat Shuttles and Combat Drop Shuttles the way we want them for our unique teams. We'll train as specialty teams, then we'll see about making up a few multi use versions of the Combat Shuttles.

"Now that we are aware of our actual mission, I can see why we have been placed together. We hope that we will not be needed, as fighting an entire race of people is not our goal. But we will be prepared to protect, or serve our people as needed regardless of what that need will be. The TUSN Marine motto 'Si aliis pugnare, ubi non' - 'We fight where others cannot', has more meaning now, for this company, than for any other company in the TUSN.

"It will be a challenge, ma'am, but I believe we are up to it," he finished.

"Kim, I heard you met and engaged a combat team this morning. Your assessment if you please," Fiona ordered.

"Individually, they fight well. They will need to improve some, and I will make sure they do once they are aboard the ship. But they do not fight as a group, even when inside a team. That must change if they are to survive in a real fight.

"They probably already know how to do that as a fire team, or to support another specialty weapons team, but in hand-to-hand, I have yet to see that dynamic.

"Again, I can provide some insight for them, but I don't want to step on any one's toes. That will be up to the team leads and squad sergeants to ensure it happens. I'll leave their command structure to deal with that, unless I see they are not coming together," Kim finished.

"Major, Kim is not only Liea's bodyguard, she provides specialist instruction to the IPPF on Liramor Prime, the navy, and Marines at the base at Liramor Prime. When she says something, she is speaking from experience. Despite her apparent age, she has lots of that. You would be a fool not to accept her services in training your men. Listen to her when she speaks. She is trained to be diplomatic when dealing with the IPPF, the navy and the Marines, but, she can and will be blunt when the need arises.

"You will be serving on the same ship, that means you get free instructions from her. Make use of that, Major.

"Right, anything else?" Fiona asked.

"I'm going back to The Wanderer tomorrow," Liea said. "I can invite the officers along to see the new ship."

"I appreciate the gesture, Ms. Samson," Thom interjected. "But we can't all be away from the team for several days."

"Major, I own the Delilah, a Princes Class Fast-ship," Liea stated. "We can leave tomorrow morning and be back in time for supper tomorrow afternoon. We will leave at 06:00. Expect to return around 18:00. The Delilah has a kitchen, so breakfast will be onboard, and if we are late returning, super will be served as well."

"Major, it is your command," Fiona stated. "However, I strongly suggest you take the opportunity to visit your new ship. If your squad sergeants cannot handle things for a day, then I would replace them, if I were you.

"I will provide access to you for all of the previous briefs that the science team has provided to me. You and your officers can share them with the troops. It is the policy of this platform not to keep general information from the people working here. We do not need, nor want, unwarranted nor reckless speculation on the part of the workers considering what is being found in this system. So far, we have done well with this policy.

"That should change soon, as our resident news reporter is getting ready to release information about the aliens to the Union. That will be an entertaining event, to say the least," Fiona finished.

No one else had items for their attention, so Fiona dismissed the meeting.

The Wanderer, Pallanders Orbital Shipyard, Liramor Prime, Liramor System

The Wanderer was preparing for another day of trials when PV Delilah came into the system and requested entry to the shuttle bay. A few minutes after landing, Liea Samson and several Marines walked into the main briefing room.

"Good morning everyone," Liea greeted the group. "I've brought the officers of the ship's Marine company to see the ship."

"Welcome aboard, Major. I'm Captain Henadi Noor, senior naval officer aboard. Raymond Clark is one of the owners and the chief tactician of this vessel. Our command structure is somewhat flexible, but if you piss either of us off, it will be a bad day for you," she told them with a smile.

"Having said that, our mission is going to be unique and, I believe, entertaining for your Marines. This ship will be able to go where no other navy ship can and can go into harm's way with a vengeance. Some of that military capability will reside with your marines.

"Your job, Major, will be to provide us with continuously updated contingency plans for any circumstance we find ourselves in, whether it's dealing with a group of angry souvenir hunters, or an alien attack force.

"Master Chief, can we get someone to show the Marines around. Show them their quarters, the war room, the gym, the main assembly deck, the weapons locker, the ship's magazines, the EVA prep rooms, the combat deck the combined mess, the ship's crew's entertainment spaces, the VIP decks, and you can fill them in on the ship's capabilities once the tour ends. Take them to the bridge first as we will be busy and won't want the distraction once we begin trials today.

"You can watch the trails from here, or the combined mess, once your tour ends, your choice. Welcome aboard Major, your going to love this ship," Noor finished.

The Master Chief pointed to one of the Petty Officers and had her take the four officers and the CWO on their tour.

She moved them onto the track, heading forward.

"This is 'The Track', once around is one kilometer. The track is used to move missiles and torpedoes between the ship's magazines and the tube ready racks in the bow and stern of the vessel. The track exists on all large ships, but Pallanders linked them together to form a running track. It's usually open except during the movement of missiles/torpedoes, or ship drills, or combat, or when the hatches are closed for security reasons.

"You're shitting me?" Major Thom asked of the PO.

"No shit, sir. I've lost two kilos in the last three weeks, good thing too, as Senior Chief Riley is one of the best cooks in the navy."

They entered the bridge. Like the rest of the ship, it was big. They were standing on the Captain's Balcony looking down into the Ops stations.

"Sir, at the front is the pilot and Nav O stations. Behind on the left the station for the main guns which are on the Dorsal Deck, on the right is the station for the Mk 48's on the Ventral Deck. In the middle is the Weapons Officer's station. He would normally engage the missiles/torpedoes. Behind that three abreast are the two lateral gun systems with the Tac O's station in the middle.

"On the horseshoe ring on the left, front to back, is the science station, the engineering station, and comms. On the right side is another science station, and two open stations. Except for comms, nav and the pilot stations, all the stations in ops are multi-functional and can be configured to do any task on the bridge. This gives the captain options when she wants to change things.

"The main holo-screen is the largest I have ever seen on any ship that I have been on," the PO told them.

"Three chairs on the Captain's Balcony," the Major noted.

"Yes, sir, the Captain in the middle, the Ex O on her left, and Mr. Clark on the right. He is technically the owner, and should sit in the enclosure behind us, but he is apparently one of the best tactical minds around. Personally, I like him right where they plan for him to be.

"The VIP enclosure has very comfortable seating for ten guests," the PO stated, showing them what everyone generally referred to as the 'fishbowl'.

Next, they moved into the War Room behind the bridge.

"This will be your station, Major," the PO told him. "You will prep and fight the battle from here."

The War Room consisted of a central multi-function table that would show a holo-vid image of the space around the ship or the target of the ship's attack. There were additional stations around the room, that would be used by different people to provide input for an attack or defence scenario as required.

The moved out and over to the left to see the Captain's Ready Room, where the ship's captain conducted ships business.

The deck they were now on was one of the VIP decks. They were shown around the different staterooms and marvelled at their size and at all the bling in the rooms. The next deck up had more VIP staterooms, but also had the VIP kitchen, mess, VIP gym, theater/VIP comms room, and a briefing room for thirty plus.

They moved up one level to the main assembly deck, which was huge and was two decks high. Behind this was where the Marine's quarters where.

The Marines marvelled at the size of the quarters for the men, and even more so at the size of the quarters for the officers, plus the accoutrements available in their rooms.

"The ship was originally built to house 1,500 crew, marines, and specialists," the PO told them. "Now, she has quarters for 500, not including the VIP staterooms. There will be just over 300 personnel assigned to the ship," the PO explained. "The plan is for 105 navy personnel, 100 Marines, four specialist scientist, five UDC personnel, and 100 VIP specialists, including coiffures, masseurs, and physiotherapists, which will be made available to the crew by appointment.

"There will also be a cleaning team that will be responsible principally for the VIP areas but will also be responsible for all the common areas. The crew will be responsible for the magazines, War Room, bridge, engineering areas, the tube ready racks, the storerooms, EVA ready rooms, and other areas not designated as 'common' areas."

They went to the upper deck, where the combined mess was. It was more than capable of handling over 500 people at a time. They moved forward and found the crew gym, which was very well appointed. Just about every piece of equipment one could want was in the room. There were also several mats of various sizes for just about any purpose.

The crew holo-vid theatre was another large space with room for 500. The seats were quite comfortable, and even reclined.

An hour later they had seen everything that they needed to see, and a few places they saw just out of curiosity. The PO brought them back to the briefing room where they sat and watched the activities as the ship went through its paces.

The Wanderer, Test Circuit, Liramor System

Captain Noor had the ship brought up to forty percent light and ran through the standard command and control test maneuvers with no issues.

"Right, people. We have a lot of ground to recover today, so let's pay attention to anything out of the ordinary and advise me of same," Noor told her bridge crew.

"ChEng, report," Noor asked.

"Sir, the new engine is doing well. I see no issues with engine balance nor harmonics so far, but we didn't see that until we hit seventy-five percent light last time."

"Roger that," Noor acknowledged. "Pilot, bring us to fifty percent C."

"Aye, sir, advancing to fifty percent light."

"Sir, I'm showing my speed to be fifty percent light," the Pilot informed her shortly after.

"Hold her there for five minutes while engineering goes through it's checks. Those of you who have checks at fifty percent, now's the time.

A chorus of 'Aye, sir's' came back from around the bridge.

Once the checks were completed, Noor ordered the ship brought up to seventy-five percent light in increments.

"Sir, I'm showing my speed at seventy-five percent light," the Pilot reported.

"Roger, hold her there for five minutes or until the ChEng completes her checks," Noor ordered.

A few minutes later, the ChEng came back.

"Bridge, ChEng. Everything is looking good, no issues with engine fluctuations, harmonics or imbalance."

"Roger that, ChEng. We'll take her up in five percent increments and hold her at each increment for five minutes. Let us know immediately if you see anything unusual."

Noor pushed the ship's capabilities upward a step at a time.

"What was the ship's top speed before?" Noor asked.

"Sir, the ship had a top speed of eighty-three percent light. We have just reached eighty-five percent light, and still have room to accelerate," the Nav O advised.

"ChEng, I'm not feeling any light torque and we are at eighty-five percent light," Noor said.

"Are you complaining or bragging, sir," the ChEng came back, bringing grins around the bridge. But Noor knew she was right, larger ships tended to feel the light torque earlier than smaller ships. She looked over at the Pallanders rep at the engineering station.

"What do you think is going on?" she asked him.

"After the issues we had the other day, we dialed in the engines best we could before this test using the information from the other day. The one engine with the faulty part was responsible for most of the imbalance and the harmonic issues. So, we are not seeing that today as all the engines are balanced and we have dialed out the harmonics.

"I would have already expected to see light torque at play, but we can expect it at anytime, Captain," he finished.

"Right, Pilot, bring us up in one percent increments to ninety percent light. Hold if you feel anything odd," she ordered.

"Aye, sir, advancing slowly to ninety percent light," the Pilot responded.

At eight-seven percent light, they got the rumble.

"Bridge, ChEng, the light torque is insignificant, we can continue to advance to ninety percent light."

"Roger that, you heard the lady, Pilot, bring it up slow."

"Aye, sir, advancing to ninety percent light."

"Sir, I show my speed at ninety percent light," the Pilot advised a few minutes later.

"Hold her there for five minutes, Pilot," Noor told him. Bridge crew, sing out if you have an issue, you know the drill.

After five minutes, Noor had them increase the speed slowly until the achieved max speed.

At Ninety-five percent light, they got some more buffeting from light torque, but once again the ChEng declared it insignificant. The pushed the stops and topped out at ninety-six percent light. Noor had them run that for over an hour with no issues. She was happy.

"Nav O, give us a plot back to Pallanders Shipyards, we won't be needing the barn today," Noor said, getting a cheer from the bridge crew. The plot came up on Noor's monitor. She confirmed and they were on their way back to the Orbital Shipyard.

The Delilah slipped out of her berth and quickly matched speed for jump. Two hours later, the ship slipped into her berth on Liramor-23.

The four Marine officers and their CWO had stories to tell their charges, and plenty of images for a show and tell military style, which meant over a beer.