I've been kicking around an idea for a while now and never really got a chance to really write it out and explore it to the fullest until the pandemic hit and left me with a lot of free time at the center and nothing to do.
"It's been three months since the Yamato returned from Iscandar and already you're pushing for an expeditionary force to go scouting the surrounding area. Really man, the crew of the Yamato deserves a rest after what they went through. And the UN council isn't going to just send it out with a fresh crew on a mission, she needs serious repairs and if they do send it out again it will be with someone the crew knows very well not some nobody like you."
"I'm not saying that we should have the Yamato go out again so soon, all I'm saying is that we should have a ship go out and explore the surrounding star systems and learn of any other empires that would try to take over Earth so we can be prepared to defend ourselves from them or make peaceful first contact." I state as we made our way down a long corridor to a heavy security door.
"Well I can't help you in getting a new ship of any class since none of them are ready for deployment in the solar system, but there is one ship other than the Yamato that is FTL capable." he said as he swiped a security card through the scanner
"What is it, an old EFD battleship equipped with a Wave Motion Engine drive or is it a missile ship? Please don't let it be a missile ship. Those things suck." I thought as he led me through an underground maze of tunnels to a low lit storage area filled with containers.
"But there was an old functional exhibition ship that was built for a convention for an old anime that used to run sometime in the early 1970's. I never heard of this ship or the show until a few weeks ago when the construction crews were going through the ruins of some old hangers high in the mountains and found it wrecked and torn up. But the designers wanted to make the ship's armor act like it does in the show." He stated as we made our way through the container maze. "And they did manage to reinforce the hull enough to withstand the weather resultant of the meteor bombings. The ship was buried under 15 meters of rubble and rock but only the paint was scratched, but I'm digressing from why I called you here. The ship is in great shape and most of the systems still function." he apologized as he made a sharp right turn down a large street in between the containers. "Well the ones that were installed and integrated into the power grid. Most other systems like the engines, the weapons, environmental, and deep space nav still need to be repaired and tested. Other than that the ship is almost ready for human habitation and launch." he said as we neared a large opening in the warehouse floor revealing work teams running about the ship with scaffolding around it and heavy lift vehicles moving large pieces of machinery and computer modules.
"This is the battleship Arcadia, 400m lengthwise, 280 meters in widthwise, and 180 meters hightwise. The main guns that are just for show as this was an exhibition ship are equal to 54 cm positron shock cannons in triple turrets two on deck and one underslung. Twenty 20mm anti-aircraft turrets on each side. Six forward torpedo tubes, four dorsal and ventral torpedo tubes, and five torpedo tubes on either side. Port and Starboard combat boarding tubes along with a heavily armored ram. The armor covering most of the ship is twice that of the Yamato, 820 mm of heavy composite armor with an ablative coating and twice the armor for the bow ram." He stated as I just stood there taking it all in.
"The Arcadia can be operated by 41 crew members, as most of the ship is automated by the computer systems. Though for piloting the ship it seems the captain has to do as there was no pilot position and no place to put one in the bridge. There is an old sailboat steering wheel in the middle of the bridge, but I suspect that is just for show and doesn't serve any purpose of any kind." He said gesturing to the left with his right hand.
As we walked down the starboard side of the ship toward a light personnel lift connected to an airlock of the Arcadia. As we passed work teams and foremen, the bottom turret was being hoisted and affixed into place and the starboard wing was being slowly lifted back into position. The elevator came down before we reached it and a group of comtechs and engineers started piling out. As soon as one noticed us walking towards them they stopped what they were doing and saluted us. We saluted back and told them to pretend they never saw us.
We soon were going up in the elevator. We started talking more about the personnel need for a long voyage into the galaxy. Who would be the most stable for long range flights out of the solar system and the most reliable for diplomacy with alien races. After going over who in the upper echelon of the fleet could go which was none of them, we decided to look for people in the rank and file administration and soldiers.
Me and Alfred soon split up and went to the completed crew living quarters on the Arcadia to get some rest before the next day full of paperwork, forms, and searching the databases for people to fill positions on board the ship.
If any of you wonderful readers have any one that you want to add the the crew of this Arcadia. Please send me a PM and I will get to you as soon as possible.