Chapter One
1 June 1925 P.D., HMS David Taylor, Captain's Briefing Room, 0805
Captain Thomas Wozniak laid his memo board on the table. "All right, now that everyone's settled let's get started. Thank you, Mary."
His steward nodded and left the room. His senior officers gathered around the table turned their attention to him.
"The good news; we get to ship out as projected on Wednesday…so no worries, Bill, about sitting here another week. The bad news; as personnel goes, the batch slated to report in this morning is all we get. 12 more techs, three officers, and seven middies, that's it."
The resulting looks of resignation were familiar not just here but fleet-wide.
"And speaking of reporting in, are we ready for seven middies?" he asked.
Their lips twitched, but they all nodded, and he chuckled. "I've never heard of seven middies on a single ship for their cruise, but considering the personnel shortages, I won't complain. I hear that Captain Wilson over on the Imperator has 14 of them. Just keep in mind that we were once in their boots."
The XO spoke to the group. "When they've settled in, please have the middies and their OCTOs report back here…eleven sound good?"
They all nodded.
"That's all, dismissed. Commander Wofford, could you stay for a minute?" the captain asked.
Commander Wofford nodded, and the others left to start their duty days.
"I suppose you know what else I'm going to bring up? Midshipwoman Mayhew and a treecat?" the captain pressed.
Commander Wofford nodded. "I guessed as much."
"Not every captain gets to say that he has a princess and a treecat on his ship. Will there be any issues?" the captain asked.
"I was her third and fourth form advisor, so I got to know her fairly well. If any issues come up, it'll be from someone else, not Miss Mayhew. She's what you'd expect from an academy-trained engineering cadet, smart and hard-working. She was the seventh-rated engineering grad and eighth overall. She's also a qualified small craft pilot and attained life support system certification. "
"So, smart and over-achieving? I like that," the captain said. "Now I'll have a whopping three people on my shuttle pilot roster."
"Begging your pardon, sir, she doesn't care for the whole princess bit. She knows it'll be unavoidable once she returns to Grayson, but here she prefers no bowing and m'lady title. Only her armsmen address her as such."
"Noted. Secondly, could you have someone come and check my quarters? It's chillier than it should be, and I've adjusted the temperature, but nothing came of it."
"Yes sir, I'll get someone on it."
1 June 1925 P.D., Landing City Spaceport, 0930
"Well daddy, this is it."
He gave her a crushing hug and stepped back. "Seems like I've heard that before. Is this going to be a thing with us?"
She chuckled and reached for her mothers. They were relieved that she wasn't on a battlecruiser or Tester help us, they often thought - flying around in a LAC. Serving on a starship was never 100% safe, but a support vessel was safer in their eyes.
"Can you bring me back something?" Lawrence asked.
She ruffled his hair. "Sure thing, short stuff."
"Are you scared?" Bernard asked.
Rachel shook her head. "No, it's a whole new adventure."
Her sisters gathered around her and gave her hugs. "You just be sure and bring yourself back, Miss Adventure," Jeanette stated.
Rachel cut a brief curtsey. "Yes, m'lady."
The entire family gave good-bye hugs and kisses between the ears to Hipper.
Ben shook hands with Noah and Robert. "Tester bless you."
"Thank you, m'lord. His blessings upon you as well," Noah stated.
Rachel sighed, made sure her gear and belongings were securely stowed and started for the northern concourse.
#
Once at the northern concourse terminal, she read the information boards for the shuttle flight to the Hephaestus station that was in the progress of rebuilding.
"Good morning, Miss Meadows," she heard Noah say.
She turned around and saw Theresa with two others she knew, Jack Kirschner (Pre-Med) and Melina Castillo (Weapons.) Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a Grayson uniform (Josh Chatwood, hopeful LAC jock) and two other midshipmen that she didn't know approach. Well, there were 3,412 of our year, after all! She shook the Grayson's hand.
"Josh, how are you?" she asked.
"Ready to get started," he replied.
The other two stepped forward, hands out in greeting. "Mitch Holland, computer geek."
Rachel grinned and shook the other's hand. "Lucinda Rainey, communications."
They all waited for the lift to the appropriate shuttle pad and filed inside.
"Hold the lift!" a voice called out and trotted toward the group. A young man in a rainbow-colored tuxedo suit, bright yellow shoes, pink gloves, and holding a handful of balloons slid into the lift car before the hatch closed.
"This lift is going up to the station, right?" the outrageous-looking man asked Theresa.
She nodded as one of the balloons bumped her face. Her companions snickered, and he looked over his shoulder.
"Sorry," he said and gathered the balloons to float in front of him. He hummed a tune as the lift ascended.
Rachel couldn't help herself. She removed her camera from her knapsack, moved to the back corner of the car, and took a photo of her companions, armsmen, Hipper on Theresa's shoulder, and the silly-looking man.
"Really?" Theresa asked.
Rachel shrugged and grinned. "Years from now, I'll be able to show my kids that this was my first day in the fleet."
#
At their designated launchpad, they lined up at the shuttle bay entrance titled "Hephaestus Station, Docking Slip 12-B" on the flight board. Their gear and belongings had already been checked and loaded on the shuttle's cargo compartment. The middies showed their tickets and found seats on the packed shuttle going to docking slip 12-B. Rachel took out her book viewer for the 20-minute flight and started a new chapter of Hesiod's Theogony when she felt a polite tap on her shoulder. She turned around and smiled at the spacer second class.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"He's a handsome one," he said, nodding toward Hipper, who was preening on her shoulder.
"Oh yes, he knows it too," she replied.
"What's his name?" he asked.
"Hipper."
"I'll have to look up where that comes from. My best friend from tech school has a 'cat. I think they're great."
"I think they're great too… I see from your rank patch that you're a…?"
"Gravitics tech. Finished last week."
"I finished school last week too. Perhaps we'll be working together."
"Do you know what section you'll be in?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Not yet. I won't know until I report to my OCTO."
"What's an OCTO?"
"Well, an OCTO is…"
#
Upon arrival at the docking slip, the shuttle occupants lined to retrieve their gear and board the ship. They saw personnel looking about a concourse and a Marine looking at record chips at the personnel tube entrance. Rachel and company lined up for their turn.
"At least you had a nice flight; the guy next to me kept bumping my leg," Theresa said to Rachel.
They approached the corporal and paused.
"You're the senior middy," Theresa noted.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks."
They continued to the Marine. Rachel stopped in front of him, and he saluted, so she returned a crisp salute. "Midshipwoman Mayhew and party to join the ship's company, Corporal."
She received seven record chips from her companions and passed them over for review. The Marine processed each one and returned them, looking at Hipper a few seconds longer. Noah and Robert stepped forward; their record chips extended, and Noah returned his salute.
"You two, you're armsmen?" the corporal asked.
They both nodded.
"Thank you, m'lady, just follow the others," he said and stepped aside.
"Thank you, corporal."
They continued along the boarding tube, grav-trolleys bobbing behind them. They came to the line on the deck, indicating that the boarding tube zero-gee was next on their journey. Rachel stepped off to swim through the tube. Don't screw this up! Hipper was clinging to her knapsack and shoulder boards, chittering in a tone that indicated his excitement at the moving-while-floating sensation; he had loved zero-gee training. She made sure to leave enough clearance behind her for the next person and swung into the David Taylor's midship's boat bay. Behind her, she heard Noah murmur something to Robert, and they set their equipment cases on the deck. When she was sure she had her footing, she stood at attention while her companions swam the bay, not knowing what else to do with herself. As she had learned, the position of attention was always a safe bet. The ensign wearing a Boat Bay Officer of the Deck brassard leaned sideways and looked down the tube.
"How many of you?" he asked.
"Seven, sir," Rachel responded.
He looked over his shoulder and called out, "Hey, Benny, get a load of this! Seven snotties!"
Well, that was uncalled for, Rachel thought and flinched at a commotion behind her. Holland, next to last, had bumped into the support beam for the tube, and his legs became entangled in his gear tether. Behind him, Castillo wasn't able to slow in time and drifted into Holland's gear and stumbled to the deck, now entangled in her tether as well. Two petty officers jumped into action to help, so the tube snafu wouldn't slow down and clog the stream of people still coming through the tube. When Holland (flushed in humiliation) and Castillo recovered, they all gave Rachel their record chips and saluted the BBOD, who returned their salutes.
"Permission to come aboard to join the ship's company, sir?" she asked.
"Granted," the ensign said, and Rachel gave him the record chips to process. He gave Noah and Robert longer looks and processed their chips. When he finished, he waved his memo board toward a petty officer standing behind him.
"Petty Officer Mills will show you where your bunks are. Wait there for instructions," he said.
#
"…your armsmen are berthed in the space across the corridor. It was the visiting officer's quarters, but that's been moved. Still, it should be comfortable enough," the petty officer said to Rachel and then returned his attention to the entire group. "Now that you've reported aboard, you can log onto the ship's net to see maps, chow schedules, menus, ship store hours…stuff like that. I'm to take all of you to the XO when you're settled. Will twenty minutes do?"
"That's fine, thank you," Theresa said.
When the petty officer departed the Midshipmen Berthing Compartment, Holland sat down heavily on one of the common area tables and rested his head on his arms. "I've never messed up zero-gee," he said miserably. "That's what everyone is going to remember."
Rachel left him to his self-recrimination and looked at the bunk set-up. There were four navy standard-issue bunks on the left side of the compartment and four beds on the right. There was a drape partition straight down the middle if either side wanted privacy. Noah and Robert aren't going to like that I'm bunked with men! She picked a bunk and tossed her knapsack on it.
A tone from the hatch sounded, and Castillo pressed an illuminated button on the adjacent hatch panel. "Yes?"
"Captain Tucker for Miss Mayhew."
"Okay."
She pressed another button to open the hatch. Noah looked around the compartment while Robert scoped the corridor.
"Come in, you two," Rachel said, and they stepped inside. "Fellow middies, you've probably seen them around the academy, but I'm pleased to introduce Captain Noah Tucker and Staff Sergeant Robert McDonald. Where I go, they go except here. They won't come in here unless I'm in danger, injured, or invited in."
She addressed her armsmen again. "Are your quarters all right? Do you need anything?"
"M'lady, it's too much," Noah said.
"What?" Rachel asked. "Well then, let me see."
Curious, they all went across the corridor, and Robert opened the hatch.
"No way," Theresa murmured.
A large compartment (much larger than the middy berth) with warm painted colors and artwork adorned the walls. A common area with two desks, a couch, an easy chair, and HD viewer was adjacent to the door. Two regular-sized beds (not navy issue), wooden wardrobes, and bedside tables completed the arrangement.
"I don't know what you mean by too much; just enjoy it," Rachel shrugged, and they returned to the middy berth.
She attached her footlocker to her bunk and had attached Hipper's life support module to the wall when the door buzzer sounded again. This time Holland answered it. "Yes?"
"Petty Officer Mills."
He opened the hatch, and PO Mills stood at the hatchway. "The XO is ready for you."
With memo boards at the ready, they followed PO Mills further down a corridor, into a lift, and ascended three decks. After the ride, PO Mills stopped at a hatch with a nameplate on the wall that said Captain's Briefing Room.
"Sir, the midshipmen are here."
"Good, let's see them then."
The petty officer stepped aside and nodded. The XO sat on one side of the table, and they filed in and awkwardly stood at attention on the other side of the table.
"S-sir, Midshipwoman Mayhew and party reporting as directed." Stuttering, great start, Mayhew!
He looked at them for a few seconds longer, and his lips twitched when he saw Hipper still and straight next to his person. "At ease."
At that, Hipper jumped up on her shoulder and settled.
"I'm Commander Bill Newberry, executive officer of the David Taylor. I'm also in charge of the officer candidate training program. Unless you monumentally mess up, you won't be seeing much of me. If you're going to be on the command deck, you'll see a lot of me. I know you've heard horror stories about your middie cruise, but whatever you've heard, it's not going to be a horror. Oh, you'll be worked, and then worked some more. We need to see how you stack up to the pressure placed upon you to see if you'll bend or break. All we ask is that you work to the best of your ability, follow orders, and ask questions if you need to."
He paused to press a button on his memo pad and continued.
"Although it may not feel like it at times, you will be given enough time to eat and sleep. Hungry and tired personnel are bad for morale and a recipe for accidents. As for what David Taylor will be doing, we'll be in convoy to Silesia and then the Talbott Cluster. After, we'll be stopping at Grayson to drop off ships and personnel and take on others. Today is 1 June; we should be mission complete sometime in the last week of August. Questions?"
He nodded at someone that had arrived. "I see that Lieutenant Patino is here for Miss Mayhew. So good day, welcome aboard."
She came to attention and returned his handshake before meeting Lieutenant Patino. He gestured for them to step into the corridor, and he extended his hand. "Lieutenant Ty Patino, Third Engineer, your OCTO for the duration of your cruise. Who is this?" he asked, shaking the paw Hipper offered.
"Hipper, sir."
He chuckled and indicated they walk. "Relax. The hardest part is over."
"Yes, sir."
"First, you need to get out of that uniform and into your work-a-day uniform," he said and gestured to his uniform. "Commander Wofford and the section leaders are the only ones that wear their service uniforms. I know the academy issued you two sets, but it would be a good idea to buy a couple more of them. The ship store sells them."
They stood against the bulkhead to let two crewmen pass them with a crate. "Sir, ma'am," they said as they passed.
"Then, I'll get the section together, and we'll get some lunch. Hungry?"
"Yes sir."
"I think you'll find that the food here is pretty good."