Chapter Eleven

August 30, 2940

Noah bit his lip in frustration and slowly shimmied sideways. The workspace was tight and he had to keep reminding himself that he wasn’t going to get stuck under the primary calibrations console. There was enough room to move. There was enough air. It wasn’t too hot to breathe. “Almost there,” he called out, pushing away the unhelpful thoughts.

“Take your time, Ser,” Lieutenant Valuri responded from somewhere else within the tactical suite. Noah grunted. “Let me know when you need me to activate the diagnostic subroutine.”

“In a moment,” Noah said loudly as he continued to work his way deeper under the console. “Ok! I’m here!” The hard-to-reach panel was above him and it only took a moment to unlatch it so he could get at the console’s guts.

“Running the diagnostic now, Ser,” Lieutenant Valuri answered.

The circuits above Noah’s head began to flash and Noah slipped an arm around so that he could tap at the nearby display in time with the computer inputs. Everything looked good. “Crewman Oswald, are there any changes to the power flow now that the diagnostic is on?”

The engineering crewman who was assisting them in the tactical suite took a moment to answer. “No Ser,” she finally said. “I’m not seeing any changes here.”

“Crewman McNally? Are the targeting parameters holding steady or is the system still showing the variance.”

“The variance, Ser,” the tactical crewman called back. “It’s almost as if there are two different sets of inputs and the system is having a hard time determining which sets of numbers to use.”

“Andrew, ask Lieutenant Park to see if it’s a backflow problem in Engineering. Maybe the capacitors aren’t cycling the power correctly.”

“Yes, Ser,” Lieutenant Valuri answered before Noah heard him open a communications channel with the Gamma Shift engineering head. Noah couldn’t quite make out the conversation thanks to being under the huge console so he ignored the voices and focused on the circuits above him. They continued to flash in the expected pattern and the data Noah was reading on the small display appeared to be right. Noah sighed and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he waited.

He and his team had been conducting a tactical exercise early in Gamma Shift and realized, only a minute in, that something was off. Missiles didn’t go where they were supposed to go. Grazers missed targets by a wide margin. Calling a halt to the exercise, Noah and his people started investigating and eventually determined that there was some hiccup within the primary calibrations console. Then they made their way to Deck Eight and the tactical suite.

That had been hours ago. Every diagnostic came back normal. Each test showed green across the board. Nothing seemed incorrect as Noah and his people worked through the problem methodically – finding nothing – but re-engaging the exercise proved that the problem persisted. Something was down here causing their defensive systems not to work properly and Noah’s frustration was mounting as they chased the targeting error for hours without any solution.

And if they couldn’t fix it? The Grace would be hard-pressed in a fight if her systems couldn’t accurately locate an enemy ship. Grazers and missiles only worked when they struck.

“Captain on deck!” called out Crewman McNally. Noah closed his eyes and let out a low groan. He did not need the ship’s commanding officer to get involved.

“As you were,” Captain Ó Faoláin’s said smoothly. “Everything alright in here?”

“Yes, Ser,” Lieutenant Valuri answered. “We’re trying to fix a targeting problem. Lieutenant Commander Wright is… ugh… under the primary calibrations console.”

There was a pause. “Noah?” the captain called out from nearby. “How’s it going under there?”

“Fine, Captain,” Noah said loudly. “Slowly, but we are narrowing down the problem.”

“Very good. Alpha shift starts in a bit but I heard a rumor you and your team were down here working on a tactical issue. You need anything?” Only for you to leave us alone, captain, Noah thought to himself. “No, Ser. We have it covered.”

“Mind if I stick around for a bit and watch?” the captain asked. Noah took a deep breath. Then another.

“You’re more than welcome, Captain,” he answered. “Everything looks good under here so I’m coming out.” With that, Noah began to slide out from under the bulky computer unit.

The next thirty minutes slipped by as Noah, Lieutenant Valuri, the two crewmen, and Lieutenant Park in Engineering checked and double-checked some of the console’s readings. Then they did a full power recycle, ran a diagnostic of the sensor data being routed to the tactical suite, and replaced a faulty computational node that had apparently burned out in the grazer maintenance unit. The captain observed, offering a few suggestions here and there but otherwise staying out of everyone’s way. Nothing seemed to work.

“Ser,” Lieutenant Valuri eventually said after chatting quietly with Lieutenant Park over the coms. “Lieutenant Park says that one of his engineers was running a routine analysis of shipboard energy use and flagged that the tactical suite is using more energy than it should. He can’t account for it.”

“Huh?” Noah asked. “We have almost everything up here shut down. We should be using less energy, not more. Does he have any theories?”

Lieutenant Valuri shook his head. “He said that he is investigating on his end but suggested that we run a full diagnostic up here as well.”

“Ser,” Crewman McNally said, “that… I might have an idea of what’s going on.”

“Crewman?” Noah asked. McNally, part of the security division, was smart and motivated. If she thought she had an idea, he suspected she likely did.

“Well, there might be a coding error developed in the tactical suite’s power distribution matrix. If so, the system could be demanding more energy than it’s consuming and the extra energy might be influencing the primary calibration’s console because its backup batteries are tied directly to the ship’s internal network. If the backup batteries are overloaded, then the primary calibration’s console is designed to assume that we’ve taken enemy fire and that it can’t trust any sensor data it’s receiving.” Crewman McNally frowned. “If that happens, the grazer and missile systems – even though they are separate from each other – would start pulling targeting information from the most reliable information source. Primary sensors. But our primary sensor information would likely be momentarily delayed by the reroute and things would be off slightly.”

“That sounds like this whole mess might be an operations problem, not engineering or tactical,” the captain said with a thoughtful look. “Perhaps we should get someone from ops down here to investigate?”

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“McNally?” Noah prompted. The young crewman nodded.

“Perhaps, captain,” she said as she approached the console that regulated the tactical suite’s power. “But before we bother them, maybe I can take a look?” She began tapping away at the display.

“You, crewman?” the captain asked as she stepped up to look over McNally’s shoulder.

“Yes, Ser. I just completed an ops certification in data redundancy for tactical systems. This is… well… it’s a lot like one of the problems I read about during my study. The missing piece was the report from Engineering.”

“Interesting,” the captain said while casting a knowing look over to Noah.

“And… there,” Crewman McNally said as she tapped the console once more and looked over to Noah. “That should do it, Ser.”

Noah, at his own console, pulled up the requisite targeting data and saw that it was spot on. “You fixed it,” he said with a grin. “Nice.”

A communication channel opened. “Lieutenant Park to Commander Wright. Not sure what you did up there but the power levels are back to normal.”

“I’ll send a report to you later, Lieutenant,” Noah said before closing out the channel. “Well, Captain? Looks like we fixed the problem down here.”

“Well done, Crewman McNally,” Captain Ó Faoláin said to the beaming crewman. “Well done, Commander Wright. I suppose I should get up to the Bridge and prepare for Alpha Shift. I look forward to reading your report and suggestions on how we could avoid this problem in the future.” With a small nod and a smile, the captain turned and left the tactical suite.

*****

“I’m exhausted,” Andrew Valuri said as he and Noah made their way to the gym. “Who knew that a small coding error like that could cause such a massive headache?”

“I know,” Noah responded. “That was not how I wanted to spend the shift. I’m going to talk to Lieutenant Uba later about the matter. He might be able to weigh in on how to deal with these kinds of things moving forward.”

“Then you’ll talk to the captain?”

“Yeah,” Noah said with a tired chuckle. “We are going to have to reschedule the training, though. Since we didn’t get it done today?”

“Sure,” Andrew acknowledged. “I’ll let everyone know.”

The two entered the gym and Noah greeted a few crewmen who were busy working out. He didn’t stop to speak to them, though, and instead led Andrew across the deck and into one of the auxiliary spaces. Thirty pairs of eyes turned to meet his when he and Andrew stepped into the small mat-covered side room. “Hey everyone,” Noah said. “Sorry we’re late.”

“Our shift ran a bit long,” Andrew offered by way of greeting. The other crewmen in the room, all dressed in light workout clothes, seemed unperturbed and began to form a circle on the mat. Andrew took his place.

“Are we expecting anyone else?” Noah asked. He saw that most of the crewmen present were his own security people, though there were a couple of faces from other divisions. His martial arts class had started up weeks earlier and had become rather popular. Noah figured he was doing something right, with each class seeing more and more crew participating. He’d been an avid student of several popular self-defense forms on Avernus III and had, once called upon to become Chief of Security by the captain, decided to supplement the cadet self-defense curriculum with additional learning opportunities.

“This looks like it,” Andrew responded before his eyes drifted over Noah’s shoulder. “Er… almost.”

Noah turned and saw that a group of five crewmen had wandered in. “Hey everyone,” he said. “Welcome.” They nodded and four stepped forward as Andrew began to direct people to their appropriate spots. The remaining crewman waved to his friends, turned, and headed back out of the room. Noah snagged the shirt of one of the newcomers and tilted his head toward the retreating figure. “Your friend not interested in joining us?”

“No, Ser,” the young crewmen said. “I don’t think Patrick likes the gym. He was just walking us here because we all just ate lunch.”

“I see,” Noah said. He frowned internally. “Andrew, why don’t you get everyone started on their stretches and warm up. I’ll be right back.”

“You got it, Ser,” Andrew said. Seeing that everything was under control, Noah slipped out of the room and across the gym. He was in the hallway a moment later.

“Crewman,” he called out. “You have a moment?”

The boy, no older than eleven, stopped and turned to look at Noah. Seeing that it was a senior officer, the boy – Crewman Patrick August if Noah’s memory of the crew compliment was right – braced at attention.

“Yes, Ser,” he said.

Noah approached. “You’re welcome to join us in the gym if you’d like, crewman. I promise that it’s a good workout.”

“Thank you, Ser, but I’m fine,” Crewmen August said.

“If you’re concerned about getting hurt, that doesn’t tend to happen. We do a lot of safety drills. How to fall. How to take a strike. That sort of thing." Noah looked down at the boy and offered what he hoped was a grin of reassurance.

“Oh, thank you, Ser. I’m not really interested in martial arts, Ser. But I appreciate it.”

“I see,” Noah said while looking the boy over. He was one of the younger members of the crew and a bit… scrawny. “What about the rest of the gym? I’m sure someone in there would be happy to work out with you. Run on the treadmill. Lift weights. That sort of thing.”

“I’m not… um… I mean…”

“Come on, Mr. August. I’m sure I can convince someone to be your gym buddy for the day.” Noah reached out and put a hand on the young crewman’s shoulder.

“Mr. August,” a friendly voice said from behind Noah and the Chief of Security turned to find Lieutenant Cellar walking up. “Glad I’m catching you. You busy?”

“Oh, no Ser,” Crewman August responded while glancing between the newly arrived lieutenant and Noah. Noah removed the hand.

“Excellent. I know that you said a few days ago that you wanted to learn how to make pie crusts. I just happen to know that some pies are being made in the galley right now. If you head down there, I’m sure Cookie would be happy to teach you.”

The boy’s eyes grew wide and he grinned. “Really, Ser?”

“Of course,” Lieutenant Cellar said once he was standing next to Noah. “Why don’t you go do that now. Cookie would love the extra pair of hands. Dismissed.” Crewman August nodded to both the senior officers, turned, and headed toward the nearest S-Tube at a brisk pace. Noah didn’t say anything until the boy was out of sight. Then he turned to the lieutenant.

“Lieutenant…” he began before realizing that the normally grinning and perpetually upbeat officer was glaring at him.

“What was that about, Noah?” The Head Steward’s tone was sharp and it put Noah on his heels immediately.

“I… well…” Noah shook his head, getting his bearings, and stood up straighter. He out-ranked Lieutenant Cellar, was two years older, and had quite a bit of height and bulk on the junior officer. “I’ll have you know, lieutenant, that I was inviting Crewman August to join us in the gym.”

“You were bullying him into joining you, you mean,” the younger officer fired back. “I don’t appreciate that.”

Noah blinked in surprise. “I wasn’t… I didn’t bully him,” he responded. “I was inviting him. And what business is it of yours?”

“He’s in my division, Noah. You harassing him makes it my business.” To Noah’s surprise, the junior officer actually took a step forward and glared up at him.

“I…” Noah scowled and took a step back. “I wasn’t harassing him, Spencer. I was trying to get the kid to come exercise.”

“And why is that?” Spencer asked with a heated tone.

“Because… well… we’re stuck here in this galaxy. Healthy body, healthy mind. Exercise is important.”

“I don’t disagree,” Spencer said. “Why does he have to go to the gym?”

“Because that’s where the exercise equipment is!” Noah said, not understanding the question.

“Wrong,” Spencer said. “You wanted him to go to the gym because that is where you believe one should be exercising.”

“Fine! So what?” Noah threw up his hands but Spencer didn’t back down.

“So, what you don’t know is that Crewman August participates in yoga every other day with me. He gets plenty of exercise.”

Noah frowned. “Huh? Yoga?”

“Yoga,” Spencer said, his tone lowering. “There are quite a few younger crewmen on board who don’t want to work out in the gym. They find it intimidating. I’ve been doing yoga since before I could walk. Family tradition. I host a get-together for those interested in one of the galley storerooms every two days. Ninety minutes. Great workout.”

“I… I didn’t know that.” Noah confessed, calming down quite a bit. He may have liked lifting weights and martial arts but Noah wasn’t fool enough to discount the health benefits of yoga.

“Now you do,” Spencer said, taking a step back and visibly calming as well. “Most of the crew joined the UDF because they wanted to be part of the UDAS military. A few joined because they saw the UDF as a way of advancing their career interests and didn’t have any attachment to the military mindset. For those members of the crew, throwing punches and using gym equipment doesn’t appeal to them. They will still do their duty. They are still military. But they view this as a temporary stop; not an end goal. August isn’t planning on being career UDF – he wants to study food sciences after he serves.”

“I see,” Noah said with a sigh. “I really wasn’t trying to bully him, Spencer.”

“Good,” the junior officer said. “Perhaps you might be more careful in how you make suggestions moving forward, then?”

Noah nodded. “Sure. Sorry.”

“No worries,” Spencer responded before stepping past Noah and heading down the corridor. He didn’t look back but added, “We’re going to have fresh apple pies in a few hours. Make sure to swing by the galley to get a slice.”