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The next day, word was finally passed down that it was time to jump to the 'rus homeworld. It was fun to watch the fleet, who had been arrayed for defense, to shake back down into formation for the jump.
As usual, Polly Bont took it's place out front and at the Admiral's command, jumped. Or, as the Captain of the Polly Bont would say, Transitioned.
The wait for the Polly Bont to return took much too long. I checked and rechecked my records. The jump to the 'rus homeworld wasn't a long or particularly difficult one. The Polly Bont should have been back already.
Just as I was about to demand a channel to the Admiral, the Polly Bont reappeared.
"Mayday mayday, this is the Polly Bont requesting assistance." The message ended in a lot of coughing then died in static. A couple of Frigates from the fleet were dispatched to render aid, and were soon pulling people off the Polly Bont. Shelly put the Polly Bont on the main viewscreen and zoomed in.
It was an absolute mess. I had no idea what was still holding her together.
"Those Jump Scouts sure can soak up a lot of damage." Came the comment from Lt. Cmdr. Dorn. "They are going to need a major refitting, but she'll be fine."
I wonder if Lt. Cmdr. Dorn was looking at the same ship that I was looking at. Then I took a closer look. Sure it looked bad with huge chunks of the ship seemingly having been sliced off, but the Polly Bont had some serious armor, and while that armor was in really bad shape, I couldn't see very many places where an attack had successfully gotten through.
The Admiral called a Captain's meeting as the Polly Bont was towed away form the jump point back to the Fleet Tender ship. I hoped the nice woman who Captained the Polly Bont escaped without injury.
"The data has been downloaded from the Polly Bont. Congratulations are in order to Captain Gunn for bringing her ship home safely." Applause erupted across the comm channel at Admiral Thomas' praise. "After transitioning through the jump point, the Polly Bont encountered a small fleet of 'rus ships upon exit. Polly Bont reports that the 'rus didn't hesitate, they attacked immediately. Thankfully, the Polly Bont made like a turtle and crawled back to the transition point for the return trip."
"Admiral, are we going to let this attack on a Morganite ship go unanswered?" Asked Captain Detter. His ship was the Claws of Justice, one of the two heavy cruisers in the fleet, and he appeared to be ready for a fight.
"No Captain. We are not." Was the Admiral's simple reply. "In five hours, we will be splitting the fleet. The first group, designated The Vanguard will be composed of all the front-line ships, minus a small defensive force. The rest, designated The Fleet Train will consist of that defensive force and the non-combatant ships. Plus the Haul-o-caster. Sorry Captain Kid, I'm not ready to risk your ship just yet."
I had talked to Mother Ahmisa about dropping the name Petra due to the name's origins, and apparently the Morale officers in the Morganite fleet have a back channel, and the transition to using the name Kid, for lack of a better name, went more smoothly than expected. I did hope that nobody thought I was being foolish, insisting on name changes in the middle of everything else that was going on, frankly I was astonished by how quickly it all happened. Mother Ahmisa assured me that it shouldn't be a problem.
"That's quite all right Admiral. The Haul-o-caster has minimal weaponry, we really don't belong in the line of battle. You all have fun though." I smiled. There was a shared laugh around the comm channel. I wasn't trying to be funny or anything, I just didn't know what to say, and that's what came out of my mouth.
"Captain Dorros, you will be in command of the Fleet Train until we meet up and re-merge. I'll be sending you orders after the meeting." The Admiral continued. Dorros Captained the Gentle Courage, a destroyer. While the name Gentle Courage seemed like an odd name for a warship, her Captain sure looked the part. "Assignments will be handed down. Dismissed!"
"Oh, one last thing!" The Admiral called out before anyone had a chance to disconnect. "The Haul-o-caster crew have been some busy little beavers, and have turned out the design for a new, stronger gravitonic generator. I'll be sending out an information packet on it after the meeting. Please feel free to comment on the design. If it tests out to be anywhere close to as good as the brochure, I'm inclined to approve it for refit when we get some downtime. Good work Haul-o-caster!"
There was a chorus of congratulations from the comm channel.
"Now, Dismissed!"
Right on schedule, the Vanguard half - or more like three quarters - of the fleet transitioned through the jump point. To my surprise, Shelly put an audio comm channel up on the main address speakers. The chatter though that channel was a chaotic stream of well whishes and farewells, presumably from all across the Fleet Train. Seeing me looking confused, Shelly explained.
"It's tradition Captain. When a Vanguard fleet leaves it's Fleet Train behind to go into battle, a comm channel is open to wish them well. That way, their crews can receive the love and support from the Fleet Train, without encroaching on the encrypted channel shared by the Vanguard."
I thought it was a nice idea, and was about to ask how to add my wishes of "Happy Hunting" when Shelly and a few others on the bridge broke out in a fit of giggles.
"Captain, I'm noticing that a lot of the well wishes on the channel consist of various versions of 'You all have fun.' That isn't one I've heard before, but I love it!"
"It's so much better than "Die With Honor." Who ever thought that one up?" asked Barnes.
"On this day, we test ourselves against the worst the enemy has to offer. We are outgunned. We are outnumbered. We are hungry and far from home. But! If we can hold the line here for three days, it will give our colonial settlements time to evacuate. It will give Fourth Fleet time to get into position to join the defense of Morgan and our loved ones. Very few of you who hear my voice will survive this battle, but if we must die for our faith, all I ask is that we DIE WITH HONOR!" Said Lt. Cmdr. Dorn. It sounded like he was reciting something memorized. He continued, "That was Admiral Joseph Arameha, in his final address before his fleet impaled themselves on the Zendig Fleet at the Battle of Defiance, Morgan Calendar 273."
The Morganites all bowed their heads and quietly held there hands over their hearts for a few seconds. It was a touching salute. When they were done I asked.
"Well, were they able to hold?!" Everyone looked at me funny. "What? I don't know Morganite History. It sounds like quite a story."
Mother Ahmisa rescued me. "Yes and No Captain. Their situation was hopeless. They only held for a single day. But not a single ship gave up. Not a single Morganite ship left the line of battle, requiring the Zendig Fleet to destroy every single ship. When the Vanguard was finally destroyed, the Fleet Train ambushed them. The Fleet Train was mostly comprised of unarmed freighters, so they rammed themselves into the Zendig warships. When the battle was finally over, the Zendig Admiral was so intimidated by Morganite resolve, that he turned his fleet around and returned home rather than face us again."
"That's an amazing story."
"The Morganite people are an amazing people." Mother Ahmisa said.
Days went by with no word from the Vanguard. Under Captain Dorros' orders, the Fleet Train took up position a ways away from the jump point. We were out in some of the clearest open space that I had ever seen, so there was nothing to fall back on as a defensive position, so Captain Dorros declared the Fleet Tender, oddly named the Bait and Tackle, to be "home base".
"Mother Ahmisa, what's with the funny names?" I asked that evening at dinner. It was finally Mother Ahmisa's turn for Dinner with the Captain.
"Funny names? How so?"
"Now that there isn't a cloud of ships out there, I'm starting to notice individual ship names. We have the Bait and Tackle, the Gentle Courage - although I have to admit I really like that name - I swear I saw a frigate named The Rainbow, and there is even a destroyer called the Sunshine and Happiness. What gives?"
"Says the Captain of the Haul-o-caster." Mother Ahmisa gave me a smile. "It has long been a Morganite custom that the first Captain of a new ship gets to name the ship. During the war years, the war became so intense that whole Morganite crews were being made up by people who were conscripted. It became popular to protest conscription by giving their ships ridiculous names, which opened the door for new Captains to name ships after things they would miss from home."
"I once saw a ship named Hot Cinnamon Buns, and another named My Wife." Cmdr. Barona added.
"I knew the Captain of the My Wife. When she was assigned the ship she wasn't amused, but because of the tradition, Fleet wouldn't let her change the ship name." Mother Ahmisa said. "She tried to push back asking for a different assignment, but was warned that the only other command available was a freighter named Spank Me."
"Could you imagine referring to yourself as Spank Me Actual?" I asked, which caused us all to erupt into a fit of giggles.
And so we waited, and waited. Finally, just when I was about to comm Captain Dorros and beg for permission to take the Haul-o-caster and scout through the jump point, a very bedraggled and worn destroyer transitioned in. Dorros dispatched a pair of frigates to escort it back to "home base".
I wasn't invited to the meeting between Dorros and the Captain of the Solid Line. Then Dorros called a meeting of the Captains, and I wasn't invited to that either, which was conspicuous because even the freighter Captains were invited to that one.
"What gives?" I asked Mother Ahmisa, "I feel like I'm being kept in the dark, and I don't like it at all."
"I'll see what I can find out through back channels." she promised.
"Captain, Fleet Train is on the move." came the voice of Lt. Cmdr. Dorn over the intercom. I ran from my office to the bridge. Sure enough, the Fleet Train fell into formation and was heading towards the jump point.
"Have we gotten orders to move? Any communication from Fleet Train?" I asked.
"Nothing Captain." Answered Shelly, "And the Comm is operational, we've had personal messages coming in and out all day." That was normal for a Morganite Fleet when nothing more pressing was going on. Morganite Fleet personnel were allowed, even encouraged, to have and maintain friendships with other Morganite Fleet personnel. Shelly, for instance, had a boyfriend on the Bait and Tackle and was open with me during our Captain's dinner that she was torn between loyalty to me, the Haul-o-caster, and her crewmates, and the possibility of a berth on the Bait and Tackle so she could spend time with him.
"Has anyone heard anything about a Fleet movement?" I asked. Only silence replied.
"Alert condition two then." I said throwing my hands up. To his credit, Lt. Cmdr. Dorn only paused a second before setting the Alert. Within seconds, the crew swarmed to their duty stations.
"Shipwide" I softly ordered Shelly.
"Shipwide, up." Shelly replied after hitting the button.
"Good morning Haul-o-caster crew." I said, "It seems we are being left behind without any orders, or word from Fleet Train. For the time being, we'll assume this is merely an oversight, but I have set Alert Two, because something smells fishy. Please be on your toes."
"The Polly Bont on comm for you Captain." Shelly announced. I sat in my Captain's chair and looked at my screen.
"At my station if you would please Shelly."
A familiar, pleasant face came up on my screen. "Captain Kid, I have been ordered not to talk to you, but I'm not inclined to take orders from Fleet Train, while I'm officially still attached to Vanguard, so I wanted to ask for your side of the story."
"Captain..." I realized that I had never gotten her name and was a little at a loss.
"It's either Polly Bont Actual, or my friends call me Captain Gunn. So far, after you openly shared your transition data without being asked, and shared information and credit on the Tine Radiation discovery, In my book you qualify."
"Well then Captain Gunn, I don't know what is going on." I said. "Ever since Vanguard transitioned, I've been getting the cold shoulder from Captain Dorros. Even when Dorros moved Fleet Train back to Home Base, it was done on an open channel and I wasn't given any direct orders."
"Really? Everyone else got direct orders. Even the Polly Bont, not that there was anyone aboard to receive them. The Polly was still docked with Bait and Tackle at the time, and my crew - what was left of them anyway - was in the Bait and Tackle med bay.
"We didn't receive word that you had losses. My deepest sympathy." I said. That "my deepest sympathy" line is what Pete always said in this kind of situation. It seemed appropriate, and I sure had no idea what to say.
"Thank you." Captain Gunn said, "Dorros pointed out that you hadn't reached out with offers of prayers. I wondered how he knew but chalked it up to you not being among the Morganites very long. I was planning on exchanging some strong word with your Mother for not advising you better when I found a chance. Why would Dorros be working against you?"
"You think Dorros is doing that?"
"Sure seems to be so." Captain Gunn started listing the evidence, "Dorros didn't invite you to the Captain's meeting. Casualty reports are passed to you, so that prayers could be offered. He should be sending you operational orders with each move, which he doesn't seem to be doing. Then this extremely odd order not to contact or share operational information with you specifically that was attached to our latest move orders." Captain Gunn said, "I think someone doesn't like you."
"What do you think I should do?"
"If I were you, I would follow at a distance." Captain Gunn replied. "I'm going to contact the Solid Line and see if I can get any more information. All we were told at the Captain's meeting was that we were transitioning the Matrix. When we received our orders, I was placed near the rear of the formation so I contacted Dorros and he said Fleet Train wouldn't be needing a scout and that I should just be quiet and follow orders as given. Transitioning a fleet, any fleet, without scouting first is major break of protocol. I almost relieved him of command on the spot, but I decided the Admiral can take care of it when we get there. No point in stirring up trouble that doesn't need to be stirred."
"You could do that?" I asked.
"Of course. Dorros has only had a ship for somewhere around eight years. That's long enough that he doesn't panic and look at the Captain hierarchy every time he talks to another Captain. I have more than twice that. I Captained Frigate Rosemary for two years before sending her to refit. After that, I stood-up the Polly Bont fresh out of the shipyard. That was fifteen years ago. People tend to forget I've been at this for a while because I have a pleasant face and don't lord my rank over people. There are a few freighter Captains in Fleet Train who out-rank me on the hierarchy, as does the Captain of the Bait and Tackle, but combat rated Captains always outrank non-combat rated Captains, so even they don't outrank me."
"So it goes by years as a Captain?"
"Yes and no. The hierarchy is a point system. Score depends upon years as a Captain, the types of ship Captained, various accommodations and awards, mission successes and failures, and a whole slew of other things. I'm guessing that Dorros was left behind because he has a relatively low score on the hierarchy for an eight year destroyer Captain. That fits with what I've seen Admiral Thomas do in the past. Who would you rather guard your back? A known discipline problem that has a high score anyway, or a seemingly normal Captain with a lower score than he probably should, but no explanation of why he has that low score? But, Admiral Thomas had to leave him in command of Fleet Train, because he was the highest combat rated Captain being left behind."
"Do I have a score?" I was almost afraid to ask.
Captain Gunn chuckled. "Yes, you do, but you don't have very much time as a Captain, and it's marked as non-Morganite and non-combat. So you basically don't outrank anyone. No offence."
I returned the smile. "None taken."
After our conversation, Captain Gunn once again contacted Captain Dorros hoping to remedy the situation. She was informed that the problem was a simple breakdown in communication because I didn't understand Morgan Fleet protocols, and that everything was being taken care of.
An hour later, Captain Gunn received orders to report to Morgan Fleet Headquarters to surrender her ship and await disciplinary action.
"I don't know what kind of game Captain Dorros thinks he is playing. As the Commander of Fleet Train, he does have authority to discipline the Captains who are attached to Fleet Train, but he doesn't have authority to remove them from command unless he convenes a Captain's Council. That would require three Captains who outrank me on the hierarchy. Dorros himself wouldn't be able to sit on it, because he doesn't outrank me. Even then, I'm not attached to Fleet Train, I'm attached to Vanguard. Before Vanguard transitioned, I got orders from Admiral Thomas to get my ship repaired and wait with Fleet Train for Vanguard's return or until he passes me orders to the contrary. Those orders specifically did not transfer me from Vanguard to Fleet Train." Captain Gunn was ranting a little. I could tell she was angry, so I let her get it all out.
"So what do we do then?" I asked.
"We form up and follow at a distance." Captain Gunn replied. "My orders, the legal ones anyway, are to stay with Fleet Train until they return or I receive new orders from Vanguard, so that is what I'm going to do. Your orders included a temporary transfer to Fleet Train, so you belong here. The fact that Dorros is ignoring you and shutting you out doesn't change that. Hopefully we'll re-connect with Vanguard and the Admiral can straighten this out."
Not long after, Fleet Train started transitioning through the jump point.
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