Battleship Trafalgar

Naval Shipyards, Caelus IV

The shipyard was the largest facility in the Alpha Persei Cluster. Large enough to host the construction of several dozen warships at a time. There were currently about a quarter of that undergoing repairs.

Chase looked upon it from the bridge of the Trafalgar. They were going to need to increase ship production overnight if the war stayed on their current trajectory, and the Admiralty knew it.

“We’ve been given docking clearance,” reported Wokoma.

“Take her in,” he replied.

The last time Chase had been out here was just after graduation and he’d received his first posting, APCNS Barcelona, just after she had finished construction. Chase had mixed feelings about being back. Whilst he was pleased to be here again, he’d always hoped to have been doing so as a captain, here like so many before him, to take his first command. But returning triumphantly with this warship was not too far off that goal, he had to admit.

He was met at the airlock by an adjutant and escorted to Fleet Admiral Harris’ office. Harris was the ranking flag officer for the cluster. Ultimately, taking orders from Earth’s central command. They were so far out, that for all intents and purposes, the buck stopped at his office.

The room was remarkably spacious, considering that space was at such a premium on an outpost such as this. There was a large desk with three chairs on the far side and a floor-to-ceiling porthole that allowed the Admiral to overlook the yards from his desk. Chase was shown in.

“Thank you, Ensign,” the Admiral said without looking up. “Take a seat, Mr Chase.”

Sitting down, Chase made eye contact with him. Harris was in his fifties, cleanly shaven, but with a clipped moustache.

“Thank you for seeing me, Admiral.”

“Thank you for bringing back that prize,” replied Harris, indicating to the viewport where Chase realised he could see the Trafalgar sitting on the outer dock. It was much larger than any of the other ships in port and held its own among them.

“She is a beauty,” said Harris. “And I understand she’s held up well in battle?”

“Yes,” said Chase.

“And that drive is something else,” added Harris. “You just appeared out of nowhere. Nothing on sensors one moment and the next there you were. That is a remarkable piece of kit, truly.”

Chase was quite surprised; Harris was renowned for a no-nonsense attitude. It was remarkably unexpected to see him so excitable.

“Yes, Admiral,” replied Chase.

“The possibilities are exceptional. I’d say if you were to jump in, fire a volley of torpedoes, and jump out again, the damage that could be done before any countermeasures are taken—well, it might just change the game,” said Harris.

Chase nodded. He didn’t want to appear critical, but, “Well, yes, there’s a lot of opportunity, certainly. However, we’re still working out the best way to reset the engine after a jump. At the moment, it has a 24-hour cooling-off period before we can use it again.”

Harris seemed taken aback by this. “Oh, really?” he asked, disappointed.

“Yes. Our engineers hope with more resources and experimentation, it can be improved upon, but I’m not sure an imminent attack and withdrawal are current options.”

Harris leaned back in his chair and thought on this. “That said, it’s still nothing to turn our noses up at,” he replied.

“Certainly not, sir,” agreed Chase.

“And it’s not just the Trafalgar,” said Harris. “You have done remarkable work. Absolutely remarkable.”

Chase was relieved to hear it. After what had happened with the board of enquiry, he was genuinely ecstatic to hear such praise from a flag officer.

“We’ve had the ships from Marengo here. Remarkable thing you did there. If you hadn’t been able to jump in like that, none of them would have made it out. You should be very proud of your actions.”

“I am,” said Chase.

Harris stood up and walked over to a cupboard where he pulled out a bottle of scotch and two glasses. He poured out a drink for both of them. Chase had not had access to spirits since his last shore leave, and attempted not to look too eager, but sipped it enthusiastically and had to stifle a slight cough.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“To you and the Trafalgar,” said Harris, raising his glass.

“Thank you, sir,” said Chase.

“The engine problems you talk of. What exactly have you been looking into?”

“We’ve been using coolant from the Nightingale, and that has improved our reset time. We are hoping to get a complete stock before we disembark.”

“It’s done,” said Harris. “We’ll get you in at port twelve and get the upgrade sorted immediately,” said Harris. “We are also sending our best engineers to analyse it. We’re going to need more of those jump engines, now we’ve seen successful flights,” said Harris.

“Yes, Admiral,” replied Chase. “The other thing we want to look into is installing a conventional FTL drive alongside the jump engine to allow more versatility.”

Harris nodded. “I’m not an engineer, so I don’t know how easy it would be to achieve with a two hundred-year-old ship, but I’ll have my people look at it when there’s an opportunity. We’re going to need you back on the front lines as quickly as possible.”

“Of course, Admiral,” said Chase. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be, and I know my crew feel likewise.”

“Excellent,” said Harris. “I’ve always heard good things about you, Lieutenant. I was surprised at what happened at the hearing on Marengo.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Chase.

“To that end, I’m promoting to you to the rank of Commander, backdated to the start of the mission. It’ll take a few days for the paperwork to go through. Congratulations Commander. Now one more thing…”

***

Chase turned and headed out of the office door and ordered Wokoma to bring the Trafalgar into port twelve. It was about time that they stepped things up.

The alien invaders had given them a beating, and it was time that they took the fight back to them and let them know not to mess with humanity. The ship would be ready, and so would the crew, and then anyone who stood in their way would know not to mess with them. Chase knew there would be a lot to do and that it would be dangerous, but his crew were more than capable and ready, so that would be enough.

Chase arrived at one of the Shipyards conference rooms. At an elongated table sat Wokoma, Martinez, and Dryden. Behind them, Chase could see out over the construction yards. Dryden had been looking out at the building work when Chase arrived clearly captivated.

Wokoma sat to the left of the head of the table. Martinez sat a couple of chairs down on the other side. Chase took the first seat ahead of the table and indicated for Dryden to also take his place.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming,” said Chase. “I wanted to talk about the next assignment.” All eyes were on him. All anyone had asked him about since his meeting with the Admiral was where they would be sent next.

“Do we have orders?” asked Wokoma.

“Not exactly,” said Chase. “I’ve not heard anything yet, but It seems that the Navy wants to reassign us and bring a more experienced crew onto the Trafalgar.”

A shock descended across the table. Silently, Dryden clenched his fist. Wokoma looked devastated.

“But there is no one as experienced as us,” she said. “We got the ship back here. We flew her in combat,” said Dryden.

Chase nodded. “Yes, and these are things I have explained to them,” he said. “But they feel other crews have more relevant experience, even if they are less familiar with the Trafalgar.”

“That’s bullshit,” said Dryden. “No one else knows this engine, not like my team.”

“No, of course not,” said Chase. “They just don’t feel it’s as much to learn.”

“And what about you?” asked Martinez.

“I’ve been offered a promotion to commander and a position as executive officer aboard the Wellington when she arrives.”

Wokoma was taken aback. “That is a remarkably prestigious position,” she said. “The Wellington is one of the most sought-after postings in the fleet.”

“It’s one of the latest battleships off the assembly line,” said Dryden, clearly with admiration in his voice.

“I’ve turned them down,” said Chase, standing up and walking around the table. “Either we get Trafalgar back, or they can boot us out of the fleet,” he said.

“I mean, they’re more likely to keelhaul us,” said Dryden.

Chase glared at him. It wasn’t helping.

“What?” replied Dryden.