First Command Read online

  Now that he didn’t have a training cruise to plan, he realized that he had a free weekend. He called in Chief Blankenship to tell her to stand down the crew.

  Chief Blankenship, a slender brunette with a no-nonsense air about her, came into his cabin after knocking. “Was there something you wanted to see me about, sir?”

  “Yes, Chief, stand down the crew for the weekend. Admiral Craddock has approved LTJG Cortez as our new XO. She’s going to be working with Chief Miller on some engine enhancements to get us up to FTL Power 6 as she closes out her job with R&R. We might as well give the crew some time off. Finish out whatever they are working on and set up the quarterdeck watch for the weekend. Keep everybody on the base or nearby. No passes to the southern hemisphere this weekend. Tell Chief Miller to expect to hear from LT Cortez on Monday. ”

  “Aye aye, sir. Sir, do you have a minute?”

  “Sure, Chief, what do you need?

  “How am I doing, sir?

  Kelly paused for a bit before responding. “Chief, you’re doing fine. You came into your job highly recommended by Commander Timmons, Chief Watson, and myself. ”

  “Thank you, sir. Things have been sort of hectic lately and I wasn’t sure how I was doing. I just wanted a bearing check.”

  “Smiling, he said, “Trust me, Chief. I’m not shy. If you screw up, I’ll let you know. Besides, things will get smoother once we get an XO in here and we can parse out some of the duties to her. Did you get a chance to talk to her?”

  “A little bit when she reported in for the interview. She was a little nervous about being late, but seemed like she had her stuff together. One thing, sir. Most junior officers coming on board a strange ship are usually either a little uncomfortable or wide-eyed. She was neither. She walked on board like she had been here all her life. Maybe it’s because of her experience in the R&R Directorate and constantly visiting ships her people are working on, but she fit.”

  “Thank you, Chief. I’ll be in the area all weekend. I’ll have my communicator with me if you need to get in touch. Have a nice weekend.”

  Chief B left and Kelly went back to his terminal. He had some paperwork to finish before he could start his own weekend.

  After approving seven junior promotions, appointing various Chiefs to extra duties and verifying the small arms inventory, he was ready to get back to sorting out the requisitions he had been working on before LT Cortez’s interview. He called up the new forms that she had compiled for him and had to admit that the way she formatted them made them much easier to sort through and decide.

  He turned down a request from Chief Miller for an additional spare engine equalizer. Two were more than sufficient. He approved Cookie’s request for additional rations for the training cruise. He did adjust the priority down now that they were not going out for two weeks. He sorted out the remaining requisitions, approved the majority of them, sent notes to the various Chiefs on the items he didn’t approve, and sent it on its way into the system. He was done.

  He had several messages in his queue. He sorted through all the administrivia first and forwarded them as appropriate. Next came the Captains’ Notices. He read through them and wondered why anyone thought some were important enough to bother the captains. Most had to do with infractions of base regulations that should have never risen to the level of a Chief, much less a ship’s captain. Some of them dealt with changes to procedures or regulations. He quickly sorted through and disposed of them.

  Kelly wished he had someone that could sort through these minor items. Unfortunately, confidential secretaries were not authorized. He thought about having Yeoman Benitez sort through them, but some things he didn’t want getting out to the crew. While most messages weren’t sensitive, sometimes the messages were close-hold and Captains’ Eyes Only. This was just a task he couldn’t delegate or could he. Then Kelly realized he had forgotten someone or something–he had forgotten about Wanda.

  Wanda was the artificial intelligence that had been issued to him when he flew single seat fighters. It was designed to handle some of the minor tasks for the pilot so they could concentrate on flying. Kelly had customized his to have the persona of a slightly older woman, a sort of cyber older sister. He had only loaded her on his terminal as XO, but he could do more with her now that he was the captain.

  He called her up on his terminal and authorized her access to all ship’s system and all his files and messages.

  A voice came from his terminal. “Good afternoon, Kelly, or should I say Captain? I was beginning to wonder if you had abandoned me.”

  “Good afternoon, Wanda, I’ve been a little busy lately, as you should know.”

  “Yes, Kelly, I have been working in the background monitoring events. Congratulations on your promotion and command. This ship is much bigger than your F-53 fighter. What can I do for you?”

  “Wanda, I have authorized you access to all systems and my messages. I would like you to monitor my messages, prioritize them, and process them as I instruct you. There are a number of messages that come in that I want automatically forwarded to the appropriate section Chief, others I want brought to my immediate attention, and others I never want to see. We will work together to sort through the different categories.”

  “I understand, Kelly. You do seem to get a lot of messages that could be handled at a much lower level. Would you like me to sort through the messages and provide you with my assessment now?”

  “No, Wanda, I’m just going to review my personal messages now. I need a break.”

  Kelly called up his personal message queue and saw a message from Candy Craddock. It reminded him that he still had not visited her at her new house in the mountains and her invitation was still good.

  Candy was Admiral Craddock’s daughter and one of Kelly’s closest friends. Kelly and she had hit it off from their first meeting, and her dad seemed to approve. She was a civilian lawyer in the base Judge Advocate General’s or JAG’s office, and had recently completed a new house in the mountains several kilometers from base. He had seen her last at his promotion and assumption of command ceremony, where she and his two other close female friends had met and bonded. She had promised him a housewarming party for the four of them as soon as he could find the time. He called her at her office and she picked right up.

  “Hey stranger, long time no see. What’s up?”

  “Well, I was wondering if you had plans for this weekend. I suddenly find myself with some free time on my hands.”

  “As a matter of fact, I do have plans for this weekend. Angie is flying in on Tammy’s shuttle this afternoon and all three of us are going to spend the weekend at my place. Want to come along?”

  Kelly couldn’t believe his luck. Kelly had been Angie Shappelle’s wingman on the Bolivar. She had gotten quite chummy with him, now that they were not flying together. Tammy Nielsen was one of the first people Kelly met on Antares Base. She flew the interplanetary shuttle between Antares and Tau Ceti, using the transporter gates that Kelly’s parents had invented. Angie’s squadron, the Fighting 68th, was stationed on Gagarin in Tau Ceti sector. Who could ask for more than a weekend with three beautiful women?

  “Candy, I’d love to come over. Should I check out a flitter or will we all fit in your aircar?”

  “I think we’ll all fit. As you know, there aren’t a lot of clothes required at my house, so luggage taking up space is not an issue. Why don’t you come over to my office at 1730? We’ll go pick up Angie and Tammy at the terminal and head out to my place.”

  “I’ve already agreed to have dinner with Commander Timmons at the Club tonight at 1930. He’s got Janey Willis visiting, and she wants to congratulate me on my new rank and position. Why don’t we all meet for dinner at the club? I know Angie and Tammy will be hungry. I’m buying.”

  “Okay, do you want us all to meet at the club or can you come over here to be with me when I pick them up?”

  “I’ll come over at about 1800. I still have some things to close out here.
The shuttle isn’t due in until 1830 anyway.”

  “Great, I’ll expect you at 1800 them. See you then. My boss is here. I have to go, bye.”

  Kelly stood up, stretched, and threw a few things into a small bag for the weekend. As Candy said, there weren’t a lot of clothes required at her house.

  Chapter Two

  Friedrich Debran, CEO of Debran Industries, Inc., was finishing up some details on a new acquisition. It was a small electronics firm that built a key component for the transporter rings. He had ten plants that produced components for the rings. His firm made everything from the massive rings’ outer framework, to power couplings, to the non-ferrous bolts that held everything in place.

  The new transporter rings, once fully deployed, would allow for a ship to enter a ring at one side of the Galactic Republic and come out at another ring on the other side of the Republic. It cut travel times from weeks or months to seconds. It had the potential to revolutionize the defense of the Republic’s space. It also would give a boost to commerce, as shipping times and costs decreased dramatically.

  His political contributions to the Colonial Party and specifically to Senator Coleen Santori (C-Grissom) gave him access to information that helped him steer his acquisitions into new and fruitful enterprises. His acquisitions of ring-related industries now gave him a management problem to solve. He needed someone with military experience and connections. It had to be someone with extensive military command experience that could use the right words to seal the deal. They had to be words that the senior officers sitting across the table would understand.

  He had always considered himself a great negotiator, but these military types didn’t respond to his normal techniques and several times he came close to losing crucial contracts because of it. He needed to have an edge, someone that would understand his goals and objectives and be able to translate those into military speak.

  He had his chief of staff, Roger Delphant, contact some executive placement agencies and culled down the extensive lists through personnel committees to a select group of 10 candidates. Delphant himself trimmed that list down to the three top finalists. The executive vice presidents interviewed these candidates to determine the best suited. Debran interviewed the top rated candidate first. If acceptable, the candidate was offered a position. If not, the next on the list was interviewed and offered a position or rejected and so on, until one was hired or a new list was developed.

  Debran liked this procedure, even though it was slow. He hadn’t picked a bad candidate yet. He had the first interview scheduled for 1300. It was 1245 now. He looked forward to picking his new Vice President for Defense Consolidated, a newly organized 10-industry subsidiary of Debran Industries.

  Debran cleared his desk and called out to have Roger bring in the first candidate when ready. The intercom buzzed and he was informed Mr. Delphant was here with the first candidate. Roger Delphant led the candidate in and said, “Mr. Debran, allow me to introduce Major General Irina Bugarov, Fighter Force (Retired).”

  * * * * *

  Dinner at the Officers Club was very enjoyable. It was a perfect concentration of good friends, good wine and good food. Commander Timmons and Janey were obviously becoming a couple. When Janey kissed Kelly to congratulate him on his new rank and position, Kelly had Commander Timmons glaring at him and Janey had Tammy, Candy and Angie glaring at her. Kelly couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

  After Janey kissed him, Kelly had to kiss Angie to congratulate her on being the leader of her own four-fighter flight now. Then he just had to kiss the other two women at the table so they wouldn’t feel left out.

  It was getting late and copious quantities of alcohol had been consumed. Kelly was starting to wonder how they were going to get to Candy’s house safely. It was several kilometers from the base and Kelly wasn’t sure he could drive, much less Candy. Candy was about to order another bottle of wine.

  Kelly waved the waitress off. “Candy, if we’re going to your place, we’d best start to sober up.”

  “Well, you have a point there. My air car will fly by itself, but it doesn’t land very well by itself. I recommend we call the dessert cart over.”

  Kelly called the waitress over with the dessert cart. They each had a large slice of cake and lots of coffee. Shortly after, Commander Timmons and Janey bid good night and departed. All three of Kelly’s ladies looked at each other and smiled the same mischievous smile. Kelly just chuckled.

  After another pass at the dessert cart and lots more coffee, they were recovered enough to make the flight to Candy’s house. The three women paid a last visit to the ladies’ room and they were off.

  They all piled in and Candy punched in the destination. They drove out the main gate, turned right, passed the power lines, then the car lifted straight up and headed west. They flew around the northwestern corner of the base, over the deep and cold western lakes, and into the craggy mountains. The air car started circling over the familiar mountain peak. Candy pushed a switch on the dash and lights came on in her high mountain field.

  Candy expertly guided the air car to a landing next to her house perched on the mountain ledge. It was the first time Kelly had seen it as other than a 3D rendering. It was spectacular.

  The house looked as if it had always been there. It was clad in a local stone similar to limestone, shining white in the landscape lights. Kelly noticed that the pool was in the back of the house, not in front as on the original plan, and asked her about it.

  “The builder convinced me to put the pool in the back, so it could be fed by the natural spring. It cost a lot of credits to move several thousand liters of water up here. This way I only have to fill it once. When I’m not using the spring to top off the pool, it fills my cistern.”

  Angie and Tammy had never seen the house, even as a plan, and were astounded. Candy ushered them inside.

  The house was spacious and very tastefully decorated. The main room had a number of couches arranged in a large conversation area. A large fireplace stood in one corner, and the kitchen was opposite, similar to the one in a house Candy rented when she lived in the southern hemisphere, but slightly larger. It was well furnished and contained all the modern conveniences. The two remaining corners of the main room held matching sandblasted glass doors that opened into what appeared to be a library and, opposite, a music room.

  Candy had decorated the house with numerous pieces of art. Alcoves carved into the walls held small statues. Art hung on the walls, including a large tapestry depicting the Antares system. Chandeliers made of Orion crystal hung above the conversation area, the front door, and the long kitchen counter.

  Candy escorted them out the rear glass doors onto the patio.

  “This is the best part of the house,” she said as she hit a switch on the wall. The back yard was flooded with light. Spotlights shone up through the shrubbery. The medium-sized pool was suffused with a pale blue light.

  They walked out onto the patio, through a large portico. The portico sheltered an outdoor room outfitted with sturdy furniture, including a wooden dining set, rattan-style chairs and couches, and a large coffee table. There were three boxes, wrapped with bows, on the table.

  Candy called them all over. “Here, I have a present for each of you. I know it is traditionally the guests at a housewarming that provide gifts, but I like to be a little different. Let me pass these out. Don’t open them until I say to.”

  She picked up a box with a red ribbon and handed it to Kelly. The next box had a blue ribbon and it went to Tammy. The box with a white ribbon was passed to Angie.

  “Okay, open your boxes.”

  Each pulled the ribbon off their box and slipped the two halves apart. Tammy was the first. She let out an “Ooooh!” and held up two pair of blue silk lounging pajamas, similar to ones that Candy had worn when Kelly visited her in the south. Angie stood up with two white versions of the same. Kelly opened his box and found two pairs of red silk lounging pajamas.

  Candy smil
ed at them, “Okay, as I said before, you don’t need to pack much in the way of clothing when you visit me. Let me take you upstairs and let you get settled in. Then I expect you to change into these new outfits and wear them or nothing else while you are here. Gather your bags and follow me.”

  They went upstairs, and each went to one of three guest rooms on the second floor. Kelly remarked, “Candy, I thought you were only going to have three bedrooms.”

  Candy smiled and replied, “Living this far out, I realized that visitors would be staying the night. So, I had them redesign it to have four bedrooms. In a pinch, the library and music room downstairs can be set up as spare bedrooms.” Candy pointed Kelly into his room and she went into her master bedroom.

  Kelly changed into his new outfit and checked his visage in the mirror. The thin silk didn’t leave much to the imagination. Kelly remembered what they said in Fighter Force, “No guts, no glory.” He headed downstairs. As he went by her door, Candy called out for him to open a bottle of wine.

  The kitchen was so similar to her former rented house that Kelly had no problem finding the wine, the opener, and four glasses. He poured four glasses, put them on a tray, and went out to the pool. As he looked down at his attire, it occurred to him that it was the perfect color for spilling wine upon.

  The three ladies came downstairs together and out to the pool. Kelly’s jaw dropped. They were all ravishing in their pajamas. Candy was obviously comfortable in hers, but the other two were slightly self-conscious. Kelly looked on with a big grin on his face and Tammy and Angie smiled back.

  Angie spoke first. “Well, it’s not like we’re showing anything you haven’t seen before or we haven’t seen ourselves.”

  At that point they all broke into laughter. The ice had been broken. They all relaxed around each other and spent the rest of the weekend thoroughly enjoying each other’s company.