Captain's Quarters, TFNS Archer, Low Earth Orbit
February 28th, 2008
Captain Somerville quickly punched in his access code on to the keypad attached to the front of the hatch that separated his own personal quarters from the corridor outside. His six-hour watch in the Archer's CIC had just ended and the last thing he wanted to do was to waste time, especially with all the work that he had to do.
The green light on the electronic lock lit up, signaling that the code that Somerville had entered was indeed correct, disabling the lock that preventing any unwanted quests from disturbing the Captain's privacy.
Somerville hastily opened the hatch entering his quarters and in the same fashion closed it, leaving his quarters once more closed off to the rest of the ship.
As soon as the hatch closed, Somerville let out a sigh of relief, glad to finally be alone.
On a warship, privacy was a luxury that few could afford. Space was something that could not be wasted. With the majority of the ship's internal volume devoted to one thing or another, weapons systems, weapons storage, reactor conduits and so on left little space for the crew. Hot bunking, the practice of assigning of multiple personnel to a single bed in which the bed would always be slept in by one of crew while his or her, (the Military had opened up the entirety of the Armed Forces, including the combat arms to women) comrades were standing watch, was standard for all enlisted personnel. Chief Petty Officers and Junior Officers did get their own beds in which they shared lodging in the same cabin with five other people. Department Heads and the Master Chief only had to share a room with one other person although their berth was the same size as those used by their subordinates. Only the Commanding Officer and the Executive Officer were allowed their own personal lodging though they did have to share a bathroom. While this didn't seem like much to a civilian, it was light years ahead of the cramped conditions of the HMS Conqueror that he had served on eighteen years ago as a newly Commissioned Sub Lieutenant in Her Majesty's Royal Navy.
Needless to say claustrophobia was a major issue. Being packed in small living environment with six hundred other people was not the best living environment one could ask for. Personal space was a highly valued commodity. Because of this, the majority of those sailors crewing the Navy's new warships came from submarine backgrounds.
Unlike their counterparts with Surface Warfare backgrounds, submariners had experienced living in restricted conditions similar to that of a Space-going warship for long periods of time. The average deployment of a Wet-Navy submarine lasted from six months to a year only surfacing a around a dozen times for short periods during the entire tour of duty. It meant that more than 90 of the time, the average submariner was cut off from fresh air, sunlight and other normal comforts that were similarly restricted in Space travel.
Obviously for those not used to such conditions, living in such constrained environments was trying both mentally and emotionally. Studies had shown that those not accustomed to living in such conditions after a sustained period of time would gradually decrease their productivity, become more irritable and were more prone to acts to violence. Knowing this, the Navy instituted a requirement that a Sailor, both Officer and Enlisted had to pass mandatory psychiatric exam before being cleared for ship duty. The majority of former submariners were able to pass the exam with flying colors while their Surface Warfare counterparts were still being trained work and operate in such environments. However even those personnel used to working in such surroundings were not totally immune to the side effects. To counteract this, the Navy instituted a rule stating for every six month to one-year deployment, a ship's crew had to spend half the amount of time up to six months on shore duty before being allowed to go on another deployment. While this rule could be stretched in wartime, the Navy's Admirals, knowing the limits on the human psyche knew that it could only be stretched so far.
After allowing himself that brief luxury, Somerville collected himself and focused his attention back to his latest task, doing his utmost to complete his never-ending stack of paperwork.
Somerville doffed his ball cap, placing it on the far end of his desk conveniently located on the starboard side of the bulkhead (1), directly opposite to his bunk and took a seat. Somerville couldn't help but grin for the umpteenth time as he saw the comical image of a Medieval Archer resembling one of Robin Hood's Merry Men with the words TFNS Archer BC-5 written above the image embroidered on the front of the cap.
The Ball Caps had been a United States Navy tradition especially among the members of its submarine force. Master Chief Blanchard, himself a former member of the USN suggested that they bring this tradition to the Archer. Instead of wearing the Combination and the Dixie Cup Covers that were issued to the ship's Officers, Chiefs and Enlisted Personnel respectively, Blanchard reasoned to the Captain that the universal implementation of ball caps for Officer and enlisted personnel alike would not only raise morale but establish esprit de corps as well. Somerville approved the Master Chief's proposal as anything that could turn the crew from a mob of strangers into a well-oiled and coordinated team as fast as possible was worth doing. Personally however, Somerville being British, preferred wearing his Combination Cover as the sight of a Ball Cap reminded him too much of the denizens of Metropolitan Britain commonly known as Chavs. Despite this, he like everyone else on the Archer wore the Cap for morale purposes.
Somerville opened a manila folder lying on his desk, the first of many and took out its contents. He groaned he knew that he had to do his duty, however it didn't mean that he had to like it.
The movies and the shows on the telly had romanticized the idea of commanding a vessel out on the open sea or in his case space, full of battles, glory and beautiful women and aliens. Did those louts who stared in those shows even have the inkling what it was really like to serve? The long boring watches in the CIC, the almost never-ending monotonous pace that life on a warship far, far away from home that made up 98 of a deployment mixed with the feeling of abject terror and shock making up the rest. Captaining a warship wasn't all guts and glory; there were other duties, duties that were often tedious and sometimes distasteful but nevertheless needed to be done. Sure he had a Staff to help him but a Staff could only help him so much. If Lieutenant Chandra requested additional provisions, for the Archer it was he who had to sign off on it. Sure, as the Logistics Officer, Chandra did have to fill out the paperwork, but until Somerville had signed it, it was neither official nor completed, as he was in charge of the vessel in every way shape or form. If the Archer destroyed fifteen Ori Battlecruisers, he would get the credit and would be lauded beyond measure. But on the same principle if one of his personnel caused an accident, damaging the ship and injuring the crew, it would be he, who would be held accountable and would face a Court Martial. Such was the nature and burden of Command.
"Captain Somerville," interrupted his computer. "Commodore Li is on the line."
Somerville's eyebrows rose. Commodore Li Zheng-Sheng was the Commander of Stealth Squadron Two and Somerville's direct superior. "Put him on," Somerville ordered.
The bulkhead-attached monitor above his desk, situated at his eyelevel turned on, changing from a blank slate and revealing the face of a middle-aged man of Asian descent. "Greetings Captain. I hope I have not disturbed you."
"Not at all sir," Somerville responded, despite the fact that the Commodore had in fact interrupted him in the middle of something. One had to watch what they said to their superiors, no matter what profession.
"How are things with you and the Archer?" the Chinese Commodore asked.
"Excellent sir. We are getting ready to beam aboard the components for Refinery D14 as we speak."
The Ori Assault on Earth had not only struck Earth economically but also crippled its energy supply. Before entering the atmosphere, the Ori had taken up positions in orbit over the oil fields of the Middle East and opened fire, destroying the oil fields and did not stop until the desert sands of the Middle East were turned into glass. To make things worse, the Ori had also savaged the oil fields of Russia as well as those stationed off of the shores of the Southern United States. When the Ori were finally repulsed, 60 of Earth's oil supplies were destroyed.
The remaining oil fields, located mostly in South America were not able to keep up with the world's energy demand. The price of a barrel of oil had tripled overnight causing the economy to decline even more as the cost of transporting goods from one place to another had gone up as well.
However there was some good caused by the destruction of the majority of the world's oil fields. While a small but vocal minority wanted to begin drilling for oil in Alaska and Siberia, the majority of the populace viewed this as the perfect time to switch from using Petroleum to a new alternative energy source.
The use of both Solar and Wind to power Earth's electricity grid was implemented. However both technologies, while they were both clean and renewable had their drawbacks. First, they were dependent on the local weather conditions meaning that if the local area was not sunny or windy, depending on the type of power plant was in the area the plants could not generate power. Second was that they took a lot of space. Solar panels and Wind Turbines were area intensive meaning that a coal or an oil powered power plant could produce the same amount of energy with much less space. Lastly and most importantly however was the fact that Solar and Wind alone could not power Earth's energy grid. Not only did it have to power the existing infrastructure but maintain the mass fabricators given to Earth by the Asgard as well. Solar and Wind Energy could be a supplementary source of power but not as Earth's primary source.
What was needed was a method that could produce high yields of energy to not only fuel Earth's War Machine but in addition ensure that the ordinary citizenry could still enjoy the creature comforts that electricity, albeit in less quantities before the war.
Nuclear fission was a viable candidate. Nuclear technology, first developed during the Second World War, over six decades ago was widespread making it easy to build more power plants as the industrial base was already there. In addition, nuclear power was capable of producing the amount of energy that Earth needed. However this was not chosen for political considerations. Many citizens still remembered the incidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. While nuclear technology had improved over the years, much of the citizenry were still weary of nuclear power as a meltdown, while with Stargate-derived technology could be fixed would cost the Government billions if not trillions of credits, credits that could be better spent elsewhere.
Naquahdah was also a potential source. Naquahdah was able to generate power in much large quantities than nuclear fission could. A small reactor that could be lugged around by a single person was able to generate the equivalent of several large nuclear power plants. However that idea was also rejected. Even with its allies readily and supplying the material and several off world mining operations, Earth only had a small supply of Naquahdah and the Military got the majority of it for the reactors for its starships as well as for its warheads.
In the end, the Ministry of Energy chose Nuclear Fusion as its primary source of power. Like nuclear fission, nuclear fusion was able to generate a large amount of clean energy. However while nuclear fission dealt with splitting an atom in two, nuclear fusion involved fusing two atoms into one. This not only generated power in greater quantities than via fission but was much less radioactive as well. The Earth with Asgard help had been able to reliably create a fusion reactor, something that had been previously deemed impossible. To many it seemed that nuclear fusion was the perfect solution to Earth's energy problems.
However nuclear fusion held one key drawback. It required the use of an isotope called Helium-3. Unfortunately, it was extremely rare on Earth as there was less than 5 kilograms of the substance available. Luckily for Earth, Helium-3 was prevalent in other parts of the Solar System, especially inside of its Gas Giants.
The Ministry of Energy proposed that a large number of Orbital based refineries be developed in order to gain access to Helium-3 in significant quantities for its Nuclear Fusion plants. The government accepted this plan as not only would it allow Earth to implement the use of nuclear fusion across the board, but it also put people back to work, something that the Terran economy desperately needed.
The refineries would be partially assembled on Earth into modules and would be transported to their respective location via Starship where final assembly would take place. For the last two weeks, the Archer and several of her sisters had been assigned to the task as not only did it allow their crews to test the various systems of their newly completed warships, but it also made use of Earth's limited spacelift capacity in the most efficient way possible.
"It is my duty to inform you that effective immediately your mission is now cancelled. The Astute will take your place," the Commodore said, referring to one of the other three ships in Stealth Squadron Two.
"Sir?"
"The decision came from the President himself. The Daedalus was supposed to make a run to Langara and transport the latest shipment of F-302s Kelownan Military. However one of her sublight engines malfunctioned, leaving her unable to make the run. The President wants that shipment sent to Langara as fast as possible and given that your vessel is nearest to Earth, the Archer is going complete the mission instead. I don't need to tell you how important this shipment is to the Republic."
Somerville nodded.
Even thought it was almost two years since the Ori had attacked Earth, economically Earth was still struggling although the situation was much better than it had been a year ago. Money was tight at the moment. The average family was barely able to break even as the government implemented a progressive income tax that started at 25 as well as a 40 sales tax to help fund the war. Necessities such as food, water and electricity while in ample supply was rationed in order to ensure that everyone, not just those in the Western States received enough necessities.
One of the few industries that were actually thriving was the Arms Industry. As not only was the Industry supplying the needs of the Terran Military but that of resistance fighters as well as Earth's off world allies especially the planets of Pangar and Langara.
Both planets were technologically behind Earth by at least half a century, not even possessing the technology to build jet engines. Before the war, both planets had lobbied Earth for access to its military technology. However while the IOA nations had approved deals to sell some military equipment namely assault rifles, Kevlar helmets and other small ticket items, it refused to approve some of the larger items such as Armored Personnel Carriers, Main Battle Tanks and Cruise Missiles. The former IOA Nations had told the Heads of State of the two planets that it would be too suspicious for the Stargate Program if the IOA nations were to take some of its older equipment from storage and refurbish it in mass quantities.
However with the Stargate Program now out in the open and Earth locked in a Galactic war with a crippled economy, the Terran government reversed its stance one hundred and eighty degrees. Earth could not afford to anger its allies, as Earth needed the support of its allies as much as its allies needed Earth. Exports particularly Military equipment was vital to the health of its economy. Instead of offering Cold War castoffs, Hayes Administration began to put its latest and greatest hardware available to its allies including F-302s, BC-304s as well as other military equipment under development. Earth not only had to ensure that its economy was healthy but also, guarantee that its allies were able to defend themselves to the best of their ability. While some criticized the policy questioning the loyalty of a few of Earth's allies and feared that the Ori might get their hands on Terran Military Secrets, the Hayes Administration believed that the benefits, namely the goodwill of Earth's allies outweighed any potential risk. Both planets welcomed this change and had bought over five hundred billion credits (one credit is two US Dollars) worth of military hardware this year alone.
"I'm sending you the cargo manifest now," said Li.
A second later his computer confirmed that the manifest had indeed arrived via secure channel.
Somerville opened the message, splitting the screen on his monitor so he could view the manifest and could still communicate with the Commodore at the same time and began to read.
The manifest called for the Archer to transport eight F-302 Space Superiority Fighters Somerville knew that he could transport the F-302s inside his hangar bay. While it could the bay was designed for four fighters to operate off of, if it was ferrying fighters from one location to another it could carry twice as much. "Sir, am I to assume that the Archer will be filled to the brim for the run?" Somerville asked the Commodore to confirm his suspicions.
"The Archer will have its energy weapons and a full amount of Mark VIIIs and rail gun ammunition," replied the Commodore, "Relax Captain; this is a simple delivery mission, those missiles will be off of your ship before you know it. You and the Archer should be back safe inside the Sol System before you know it," Li said, trying to reassure the Captain.
"Yes sir," Somerville nodded.
"General O'Neill himself has contacted Langley Space Force Base of the change of plans and they are expecting your arrival within the hour," Li said.
While the Archer could in fact beam up the cargo, the fact that the vessel was going to be stuffed to the brim with equipment meant that they were going to do it the old fashioned way via elbow grease and sweat. Even though transporters were a reliable technology, any mishap such as a miscalculation of the internal volume of the Archer or the failure of the transporter to position the cargo in its intended place would be catastrophic. Both the Navy and Somerville in particular wanted to avoid Murphy's Law. The last thing the Archer needed was for an F-302 to be transported in between its hull armor instead of the hangar bay. Although loading it via cranes and muscle power meant that the Archer would arrive later and would require the Archer to land on the Earth's surface, it was more dependable and would guarantee that the cargo was loaded safely and securely.
"Yes sir," Somerville replied. "The Archer will arrive on time and on schedule."
"Excellent. Good luck Captain," Li then terminated the connection.
Somerville stood up and grabbed his cap, and prepared to leave for the CIC to inform the crew of the change in plans, his own plans of doing his administrative duties now up in smoke.
Fifteen Hours Later
CIC, TFNS Archer
"Sir we're about to revert to real space," reported Gonzalez from his console.
Somerville nodded, "raise shields to full capacity as soon as we emerge out of hyperspace," he ordered. Although he was arriving in friendly territory, due to the nature of hyperspace he and his ship would be emerging into the system completely blind. Somerville would rather be safe than sorry.
"We've exited hyperspace," said the Navigator.
"Contacts," reported Engelmann. "Twelve, I repeat one two contacts vectoring towards our position at 10 o'clock. Sensors identify them as F-302s; their IFF identifies them as Kelownan. Estimated time they can get a solid idea on our general position "
"Excellent," replied Somerville, surprised by the Kelownan's response time to his arrival. The Archer had been in Kelownan space less than a minute before being detected by the local defense forces. Needless to say he was impressed. For a civilization that hadn't even developed jet engines three ago, it appeared that they had learned pretty quickly.
"Sir, we are getting a transmission," Engelmann stated.
"Put it on."
"Unidentified warship, this is Wing Commander Laturn of the Kelownan Military. Identify your self at once you will be fired upon. You have thirty seconds to comply."
It suddenly hit Somerville. The Archer's ECM although set at passive at the moment, was probably confounding the sensors on the F-302s. The fact that its hull color was black didn't help the Kelownan pilots identify his ship. They probably thought that they were under attack by an unknown ship. He thought to himself. "Open a channel and shut down all Electronic Countermeasures," he ordered quickly, not wanting to start a friendly fire incident.
"You're on sir," the Lieutenant responded quickly.
"Wing Commander Laturn this is Captain Terence Somerville of the Terran Navy. I'm broadcasting my authorization codes as we speak."
"Understood Captain. Hold position until we can verify your identity," the Kelownan Officer ordered.
Somerville waited patiently along with the rest of those present in the CIC, resisting the temptation to look at his watch, set to the ship's time. Those authentication codes better have been correct, he thought to himself. If the Kelownans didn't believe him and opened fire, although the Archer could easily get away from the Kelownans, a diplomatic incident between Earth and Langara was the last thing he wanted.
Thirty seconds passed until the Commander spoke up once again. "Captain Somerville, we have confirmed your identity. We have orders to escort you in."
"Understood Commander," Somerville responded, "lead the way."
An Hour Later
Kelownan Military Installation No. 201As he walked down the ramp that separated the Archer and the foreign soil of another planet, with his Command Crew behind him, Somerville did his best to appear cool, calm and collected despite the fact that he wasn't. By nature, he was a quiet and reserved person and would rather operate in the field rather than command some desk back home or heaven forbid, serve as the Naval Attaché to some off world Embassy.
Taking a look at his surroundings, Somerville was pleasantly surprised. He had expected the base to be similar to a RAF installation straight out of the Second World War instead he found the installation to be completely modern and would not be out of place on any developed area on Earth.
The airbase was extremely large and could easily accommodate his 300-meter plus long vessel without any trouble, something that he had worried about when he and his crew brought the Archer for orbital reentry. After all, it wasn't everyday when a large flying object the size of a Wet-Navy Supercarrier landed at your base.
Large numbers of parked F-302s were all around tarmac. Given the size of the base, there were probably more of them, either in the massive structures that Somerville figured to be hangars or on patrol. Given the distance from his vessel, he couldn't tell if they were Kelownan or Terran.
He noticed that the base had a large amount of Humvees or similar looking vehicles, at its disposal, something that was almost a requirement given the large size of the base. They were either bought by the Kelownans at low prices as Military Surplus or given to them for free as military aid, as thousands of them had been built.
However what was the most noticeable thing about the base was its defenses. Somerville could see at least ten Thales Goalkeeper Close In Weapons Systems modified for land use as well numerous surface-to-air missile launchers, some of them mounted on a small number of the Humvees and others located in fixed installations spread out across the base. He could see in the far distance large amount of armed Soldiers or Military Police, he wasn't sure, observing from the barricades that separated the base from any unwanted visitors. In short the base was a literal fortress.
At the foot of the ramp, Somerville could see that an honor guard of twenty soldiers, ten on each side with their Steyr AUG Assault Rifles stood at attention at the Present Arms Position. While they were not in dress uniform, their battledress fatigues, he noticed that the camouflage pattern that they were using was DPM, the same pattern the Armed Forces of the former United Kingdom had used before the war, were neatly pressed and ironed. Their combat boots were in similar condition and were glossy and clean enough that they easily reflected any light to happen to strike them.
At the head of the Honor Guard, were three people, two men and one woman. One was wearing the standard Alice Blue dress shirt, covered by a darker Navy Blue Tie, Jacket, Slacks and Service Cap, (the Navy called them Combination Covers) which made up the Standard Terran Space Force Service Dress Uniform. Judging by the silver Oak leaves on the visor on his Service Cap, he guessed that he was at least a One Star General at the very least. Much to his surprise he recognized him. After all, after seeing his face all over the news, it was hard not to know who Cameron Mitchell was. The Second was wearing a uniform of similar cut. However unlike the first, the blue on this man's uniform was much lighter and had a faded quality to it, similar to the color used by the old Royal Air Force. The last of the group was not in any formal dress at all and instead was attired in a flight suit, modeled after the ones used by any modern Air Force before the war's start. Unlike her companions, her head was bare, revealing her short hair to everyone present.
As soon as both of his feet stepped off the ramp and were on Kelownan soil, second man greeted him, holding out his hand, "Captain Somerville, welcome to Installation 201. I am Air Marshal Bestir, the Commanding Officer."
Somerville paused for a moment. Technically according to Naval Regulations, he was supposed to salute the other man and ask for permission to disembark. However it now appeared this was not going to happen. He quickly decided that it was best to mirror the man's actions and took the other man's hand. "Thank you Marshal. It is an honor to visit your installation. I must say that I am quite impressed."
"Thank you. Your Government was generous enough to pay for the construction of the Installation at no cost at all to ours."
Somerville fought to keep his eyebrows from rising. Constructing a modern Military Base from scratch in the middle of nowhere let alone in a populated area with existing infrastructure set the Government back at least ten Billion credits. However he did have to admit that compared to the amount of money that was generated via arms sales, this was chump change. "That is excellent," he managed to say.
"Thank you Captain," the Marshal replied, "My apologies. I forgot to introduce my companions," he gestured to Mitchell.
"We've met," interrupted Major General Cameron Mitchell, the head of the Space Force Component of the Terran Military's Joint Task Force Langara, which was in charge of not only in change of defending the three nations of Langara, the Kelownan Hierarchy, the Andari Federation and the Terranian Confederacy but training their Militaries to modern standards as well. "The Captain and I served together in the SGC before the war started," he quickly explained.
Somerville was surprised that Mitchell remembered him from his time with the SGC. Everyone who had worked with or under the command of Stargate Command knew who the members of SG-1 were, however the opposite was not true. The members of SG-1, although polite and friendly were pretty much an insular group and spent most of their time with each other or General Landry. Somerville remembered having a couple of conversations with Mitchell in the Mess Hall. However that was years ago and with the turbulent events following the attack on Earth and the immediate disclosure of the Stargate to the public, it might as well have been a few decades. For him to remember who he was and recognize him, spoke highly of Mitchell's memory.
"My apologies. I did not know that you two were acquainted."
"None needed Marshal," Somerville assured the Kelownan.
"And this is Wing Commander Laturn," he gestured to the woman in the flight suit, "she is the Commanding Officer of the Wing of Fighters that escorted your vessel in."
"A pleasure," said the Commander.
"Likewise," he responded. "Marshal, allow me to return the favor," he said and began to introduce the Kelowans to the members of his Command Crew.
"Captain, would you wish to take a tour of the facility?"
Somerville had originally planned on staying a very short time on Langara, wanting to drop off the fighters and leave as soon as possible. However it now obvious that this was not an option. The Kelowans had probably taken great pains to get the base ready for inspection and it would be rude of him and by default his Government to snub the Kelowans. It wasn't as if HOMECOM had given him a detailed schedule on when he had to be back. As the Commanding Officer of a Warship and a Senior Officer in the Terran Navy, he was given more latitude and freedom that came with the job and could be trusted to make decisions for himself rather than be micro managed by Earth. Throughout Earth's History, always gave a large degree of independence to its Captains and Admirals when they were deployed. Naturally this freedom came with great responsibility as they were held to a higher degree of responsibility than their peers in the other services. "Certainly," he said quickly. "Do you mind if my men participate in a short period of shore leave?"
"Not at all."
He turned to his XO. "Inform the crew that once they are done unloading the F-302s from the Archer that they will granted shore leave until 0500 ship's time as a reward for their excellent work." The crew had been working nonstop to make the Archer operational and he believed that it would be good raise morale for them to take a short break. Somerville wished that he could give his men more time, however with the war on, a couple of hours were all that he could give.
"Aye sir," Fujimaki saluted before executing an about face and along with the rest of the Officers began to walk up the ramp as quickly as possible. While they were part of the Command Crew, they too liked the prospect of leaving the cramped confines of the ship just like everyone else.
"Sir," he said to the Kelownan Marshal. "Lead the way."
Two Hours Later
Mitchell's Office
Somerville sat in the visitor's chair of Mitchell's Office. For the last hour, he and Mitchell had been dragged from one part of the base to another and were shown every last bloody detail of the installation, from the hardened underground bunkers where the F-302s were stored to the barracks where the installation's troops lived to the base's firing ranges where its Security Forces practiced with their firearms daily. He knew that it could have been worse; he remembered when he was an Officer Cadet the Queen had arrived; Commandant had given her an extensive tour of the facility lasting over three hours. At least this time he was the one doing the bloody inspecting.
After the tour, Mitchell had invited him back to his office on the base for a drink. Somerville had accepted as it not only would be nice to talk with a former comrade, it would be a nice break from the endless stacks of paperwork that he had to fill out.
On the other side of desk, Mitchell lounged his chair, his coat hung up on a rack, his tie loosened, while slowly sipping a glass of Jack Daniels finest. "Another glass Captain?"
"No thank you, Sir," replied Somerville who was also sipping from a glass, "While I would love to, I've got to get back to the ship in a couple hours." It would not be good for morale or discipline for that matter for him to return to the ship three sheets to the wind. "The whiskey is excellent though," Somerville was a Scotch drinker and while this wasn't, it was close enough. Besides who in their right mind would turn down a free drink?
"I understand," Mitchell said before putting the bottle away somewhere underneath his desk. "So," he said, changing the topic, "how are things on Earth now?"
Somerville paused. "Do you want the truth or what the drivel that media is reporting?"
"The truth please," Mitchell wanted to know what was going on, whether it be good or bad. The last thing he wanted was to be lied to.
"Well things are getting better. Unemployment has decreased significantly. We are all able to have at least 2500 calories a day. The power grid is back online and functional with almost everyone who had power before the war able to get a supply of electrical power. Order has been restored in majority of the planet with only few places still under martial law.
"However there is still a lot to be done. While unemployment is decreased, on average we still have over twenty percent of people still on the dole. According to a mate of mine who is working for the Ministry of Labor, those figures are misleading as the unemployment rate in the more developed countries are in the single digits while the that of the less developed countries is about three to five times that of the national average."
Mitchell nodded. The Ori attack on Earth had devastated Earth's infrastructure. A lot of people had found that while that they had survived, they had lost their jobs as their offices and stores didn't exist. To make things even worse, the jobs that the War had generated were mostly manufacturing based. With most of the developed nations mostly having service-based economies, many people had found that their new jobs paid a lot less than their old ones. Not only was there a massive pool that the Defense Contractors could pool from, but in addition with most people unskilled and unsuited in manufacturing it meant that they had to start from the ground up regardless of their former jobs.
Unlike their grandparents who had labored all day in the factories, the current generation had spent the majority of their work time in soft and cushy offices, thus making their transition even harder as their bodies were not used to the increased activity as most had not experienced exercise on a regular basis since the end of secondary school which for some had been decades ago.
"Even though we are getting enough eat, I believe that I can speak for all of Earth that we are tired of soy and chicken."
In the last throes of their rampage on Earth, the sole surving Ori Battlecruiser, knowing that the newly arrived Asgard Fleet was going to be destroyed, decided to inflict as much damage on Earth as possible taking it down as many people with it. The ship had changed from attacking Asia, particularly Japan for a less populated but much more vital target, the Artic Ice Caps with the intent of melting them in order to cause an ecological disaster. While the Asgard Fleet was able to destroy the last Ori warship, the enemy vessel had managed to melt a significant part of the ice caps.
As a result, the water levels on the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans had raised significantly especially those countries nearest of the North Pole, flooding the coastal areas. The Netherlands had been flooded similar New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina causing property damage in the trillions and were responsible for the deaths of at least five thousand people, Somerville didn't know the exact figures.
The average temperature in the Northern Hemisphere had dropped eight degrees. A couple of colleagues of his stationed in newly created Federal State of England had told him that it was so damn cold that in the middle of July everyone was still wearing raincoats at the very least and that the local clothing outlets were practically giving away shorts, short sleeved shirts and bathing suits for free as no one wanted to buy them.
As a result, most of Europe and the Northern Most Parts of North America were unfit for farming, causing the supply of land that was arable to decrease. With the number of mouths to feed, staying the same or increasing as the Terran Federal Government had to watch out for not only those living in the developed parts of the world but the less developed and developing areas as well, under the order of President Hayes, the Ministry of Agriculture had taken steps to maximize the amount of food available to all.
First, the production of livestock had been decimated. One could get almost the same amount of protein from soybeans as they could get from meat. The amount of land required to raise a herd of cattle could produce over ten times the amount of protein in soybeans. This decision was obviously not popular with the populace, especially the Western States as they had been used to a cheap supply of meat for decades and soybeans while available where not popular, especially when used as substitutes for meat and milk. The Asian States, having cuisine that included soybeans for centuries fared better, although there was still some resentment towards the move.
Second, the use of Pesticides was proliferated in mass quantities. While this increased the risks of the populace, especially children getting poisoned by pesticides, it was much better to eat food that had pesticides in it rather than to have no food at all. Organic farming on a large scale was banned; as the use of such land to do so would not yield enough crops needed feed the populace. While this upset many vegans and other die-hard vegetarians, as they could only buy 'impure' foods, the Government reminded that they were not the only ones who needed to eat and stated that if they wished, they were more than welcome to grow their own food in their own backyards if they wished. Some had wanted to buy grain from other nations however this was not possible as Earth's allies especially the Free Jaffa Nation were relying on Earth to supply it with food rather than the other way around.
Finally the amount of chicken eaten by Earth's populace in proportion to other meats had risen dramatically. Chickens were small, could be taken care of by almost anyone with a backyard and were a good source of protein. To make things even better, chickens also supplied their owners with a supply of eggs on a regular basis. These factors encouraged those not living in the urban areas to raise their own chickens. To encourage more people to do this, the Government announced that any chickens being raised by a family for sustenance purposes would not count against that family's rationed food. However, Heath Officials were worried that the lack of knowledge and care in slaughtering them would cause disease and sickness as these days few people had that knowledge. To placate their fears, the local city governments had set up slaughtering centers in which they would slaughter and prepare the chicken for cooking in exchange for 10 of the meat.
"I take it that I'll have a hard time finding a steak?"
"Sir, if you were in possession of a steak or even a hamburger for that matter, I would advise you to eat it in private unless you feel like getting mobbed."
"I'll take your advice."
Somerville continued his news, "And to top things off, the Gendarmes are having a hell of a time keeping order in Africa and the remainder of the Middle East."
The Terran Federal Constitution forbid the Military to be used in Law Enforcement unless in times of Emergency or Insurrection. The people were fine with a large Military. However it was overwhelmingly believed that the Military and the Police should not mix. The Military was for dealing with external threats while the Police and other Law Enforcement Agencies would be responsible for maintaining order. A Military that did both almost always degenerated into a force that oppressed its people.
However there were some places on the planet that fallen into anarchy to the point where traditional Law Enforcement Agencies such as Police Departments or Investigative Agencies were not suited for or well equipped to maintain order as what was required as a Law Enforcement oriented force that had the same level of equipment used by the Military.
Thus the Terran Federal Gendarme Force was born. To comply with the Terran Constitution, the Gendarmes were placed under the control of the Terran Ministry of the Interior rather than the Ministry of Defense. Their role was to restore order and provide security in the less stable regions of Earth and were to be deployed in areas where the Local and State Law Enforcement Agencies were unable to do so. While they did use Military grade equipment, their gear was designed for increased mobility and protection from mines and other explosive devices, and gave up most of their weapons capability, as their goal was not to kill an enemy but to provide security to a war torn area. However if Earth were invaded once more, they would provide as a ready reserve that would supplement the Military if need be.
"Damn," Mitchell replied. Policing just one unstable developing state was hard enough but to do it to multiple states across an entire continent was a challenge even with advanced technology.
"Well like I said, things are getting better. Albeit slowly."
"So how is the buildup going?" Mitchell asked, changing the topic from the Civil issues of the Terran Republic to its massive military buildup, the largest of its kind in Earth's history undertaken by the Government to modernize its military and provide the arsenal needed to defend the Galaxy from Ori assault.
"Well sir, I'm just a Starship Captain and for the last year I've been in training not stationed at the Pentagon," he said, referring to the former Headquarters of the ex-US Defense Department and which now served as the current Headquarters of the Terran Ministry of Defense, "so my knowledge of current progress is limited."
"Just tell me what you know." Some news was better than no news.
"Well obviously, the Block IIs are operational."
"Yeah. I wasn't expecting you or your ship to arrive. I thought Caldwell and the Daedalus would be doing the run."
"Well, they were supposed to. However one of her engines broke down, so we had to make the run instead."
"Damn."
"Well for the last two years she's been the only ship in our arsenal not to mention that we are at war, so she is being worn out at a faster pace than normal."
"True."
"The Yards at L1 and L2 are finishing up the first batch of forty Block IAs," he said referring to the conventionally oriented successor to the Block I designed to act like a heavy cruiser, "and our ground based yards are completing five Osprey-class corvettes each month. Our destroyer and frigate designs should be complete within the next couple of months."
"That's great. But when are you Navy boys going to build the real ships?" asked Mitchell jokingly, baiting the Naval Officer.
"Well we do have to build the ships that will escort you flyboys around or else you all would be sitting ducks to Ori fire," replied Somerville, rising to the occasion.
"Touché."
"Realistically though, you won't see the Hartmanns or the Bolivars for another year or two at the very least," he said, referring to the Navy's planned classes of Fleet Carriers and Supercarriers respectively. If we are still around by that time, he thought darkly. "We just laid one of the Supercarriers down about a month ago."
When the Ministry of Defense was still being formed, the Navy and the Space Force had argued over who would get control over the Military's fighters and bombers. President Hayes had informed the heads of the two services that there was only going to be one force of fighters and bombers under one service as there was no way whatsoever that the Government was going to fund two parallel forces that did nearly the same thing. Even though the Nation was at war, money was tight and the Government had to ensure that every credit was spent in the best way possible.
The Navy had argued that fighters were a mobile unit that were primarily stationed on Carriers and went on citing a long history of Naval Aviation and its effects on modern warfare. To increase their political clout, they had also brought in Members of the Legislature and notable members who had been part of their former countries' Navies to lobby on their behalf. And then concluded as such should be placed under their control.
The Air Force retorted that for the majority of the time, fighters were not deployed on carriers but were stationed on stationary bases for the majority of the time. Not to mention that the strategic bombers, other than in the Soviet and later Russian Navy had never been under the control of the Navy and had been the domain of the Air Force, the predecessor to the Space Force. Likewise the Space Force had also brought in its own Lobbyists to bring its point across.
President Hayes had ruled that the Space Force, not the Navy would be in control of the all of the Terran Federal Republic's Fighters and Bombers. This meant that Space Force Pilots would be flying off of the Navy's Carriers and that Naval Aviation had gone the way of the horse and buggy. While some in the Navy had cried foul, Hayes had served in the US Air Force during Vietnam, his decision stood.
However in an agreement between the Navy and the Space Force, those who joined the Space Force intending to be Pilots would advance through the ranks just like any non-Pilot Officer until they reached the rank of Colonel and held the Position of Wing Commander. At that time, they would have to indicate on their annual performance reports of their intention to either stay with the Space Force and become a General, choosing to command fixed installations such as Orbital Fortresses or Air Bases, or transfer to the Navy, take up Naval rank and Command Carriers and eventually fleets as an Admiral. The Navy had historically recruited its Carrier Captains from former Aviators. The had wanted to continue the practice and had informed the Space Force that in exchange for this concession, the Navy would reluctantly support the Space Force's bid for control of the Military's Fighter and Bomber Force.
"Who's building them?"
"Newport News I believe. You Americans have had the most experience building those massive behemoths. Northrop Grumman had to remodel the entire facility just to fit her; she's twice as long as a BC-304."
"Over 700 meters. Damn," Mitchell whistled.
"Carries a complement of over 200 fighters, armed to the teeth with anti-fighter missiles, point defense and mid ranged energy weapons and equipped with the best shields and sensors we have."
"No wonder you Navy boys are so insistent on defending her. If I wasn't a General, I'd apply to be her Wing Commander in a second."
"She'll be more protected than the Queen's Crown Jewels."
Before Mitchell could make a reply, the computerized voice of his personal computer interrupted their conversation. "General Mitchell. You have an incoming call. Priority One."
Mitchell immediately sat up and straightened up his tie. I would not be good at all to appear like a slob, especially on a Priority One video call.
Somerville did the same, gathered his Combination Cover and prepared to walk out the door. If this was a Priority One call, it probably was something that was urgent for Mitchell to deal with. If he stayed around, he would not only impose on Mitchell, but if something classified was going on, unless he needed to know, he should not be here.
"Mitchell here," the General said, talking to the newly activated monitor on his desk. Somerville being on the other side of his desk couldn't see who was on the other side of the line, nor should he know.
"Is Captain Somerville there? We called the Archer and the watch Officer said that he was with you," said the voice on the other line.
"Yes sir, he is. Just one second." Mitchell shifted his gaze to Somerville, who was just about to leave his office. "Its for you."
"Captain Somerville here," he said, now standing behind Mitchell, ten seconds later.
"Captain this is Admiral John Mackenzie, CINCEXPED. (2) What's the status on your ship?"
"Sir, my men are on leave right now. However if I recall them now, we can take off in the next twenty minutes if need be," Somerville replied.
"Captain, I want you and your ship in orbit within the next ten minutes," ordered the Admiral.
"Yes sir. May I ask what is going on?"
"One of our Special Operations teams needs immediate extraction. Your ship is the closest one and is the only one that could get them out in time. I'll give you the details once you're in orbit."
"Yes sir," Somerville replied.
The Admiral then cut the connection.
Somerville turned to Mitchell. "Do you if I use your console?"
"Not at all," Mitchell said, getting out of his seat, allowing the Captain to sit down.
Somerville transmitted a call, voice only to the Archer.
"Commander Fujimaki here," answered his XO on the second ring.
"Commander this the Captain. What's the status on the ship?"
"Sir, we are recalling all personnel who have chosen to take leave Right now we have about 20 of the crew on board."
"How soon can all of them get aboard?"
"Those who can arrive in three minutes or less have been ordered to board the ship. Otherwise we'll beam them up when we reach orbit."
"Excellent."
"When can we lift off?"
"Commander Molotov has informed me that we should be able to liftoff in less than eight minutes. We got the call from Expeditionary Command two minutes before you did."
"Excellent. Do you have a lock on my beacon," he asked, referring to the microchip implanted underneath his collarbone, which allowed the Government to track his whereabouts. While the Constitution forbid tracking via microchip, or any other implant, Military Personnel whether they were retired or active duty were exempt.
"Yes sir. We'll beam you up in ten seconds."
"Good luck and Godspeed Captain," Mitchell said.
"Thanks. Looks like I will need it," Somerville said before disappearing in a flash of light.
Author's Notes:
(1)- Naval Speak for Wall
The Terran Navy derives its traditions from the Navies of Pre War Earth. However the majority of its traditions come from Western sources especially that of the former United States and the United Kingdom as the Navy is disproportionably made up of Westerners. Western nations all have Navies, which unlike an Army is not found in nearly every country on Earth. The United States, for the last fifty years has had the largest Navy in the world, so it would not be such a leap of faith to assume that the Terran Navy has a large percentage of Americans in it. The Officer rank structure of the Terran Navy is heavily British oriented while the Enlisted Personnel structure are mostly American influenced.
(2)- Commander-in-Chief Expeditionary Command.
Naval Ranks
Flag Officers
Admiral of the Fleet (Ceremonial Rank, can only be held during times of great crisis)
Fleet Admiral
Admiral
Vice Admiral
Rear Admiral
Commodore (Commodores are treated as Flag Officers but in reality they are more akin to Senior Captains)
Senior Officers
Captain
Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Officers
Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant
Ensign
Senior Non-Commissioned Officers
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Master Chief Petty Officer
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Chief Petty Officer
Non-Commissioned Officers
Petty Officer First Class
Petty Officer Second Class
Petty Officer Third Class
Enlisted Personnel
Sailor
Sailor Apprentice
Sailor Recruit
BC-304 Variants
Block I (Daedalus subclass)
The Block I consisted of the Daedalus, the Odyssey and the Korolev. Designed before the start of the War, the Block I units were intended to serve as all around warships and are capable of carrying 16 fighters. Currently the only ship operational in this subclass is the Daedalus, which is currently being used as a test bed for new technology and weapons that will be incorporated into the future Starship classes.
Block IA (Verdun
subclass)
The Block IA is a modernized version of the Block I, outfitted with the best technology Earth can get its hands on. However the Block IA is designed to fulfill the role as a Heavy Cruiser and thus does not have the ability to carry fighters. The Block IA is armed with energy weapons, missiles deployed via a Vertical Launch System and a small armament of railguns used primarily for Point and Anti-Fighter defense. The Block IA is equally at home in the Terran Battle Line or in Convoy escort. Currently forty Block IA units are finishing construction at New Portsmouth and New Norfolk Fleet Yards, located in the First and Second LaGrange Points respectively with numerous others planned.
Block II (Azrael
subclass)
The Block II is a unique variant of the BC-304. While the Block I and Block IA units are designed to project power in the name of the Terran Federal Republic, the Block II is meant to operate in the shadows. The Block II is primed for unconventional warfare and is meant to operate months if not years behind enemy lines. Like the Block I and IA, the Block II is armed with railguns and energy weapons. However while the Block II uses missiles, they are launched not via a vertical launch system but rather by a tube system similar to a torpedo tube. The Block II is outfitted with the best Electronic Countermeasures that the Terran Navy can get its hands on along with a Goa'uld designed, Asgard improved cloak. All of the Commanding Officers of the Block II units are former Submarine Captains, as the mission parameters demanded by the Navy are very similar to that requested of submariners in the prewar environment. The Terran Navy has built twenty units and the acquisition of future units is currently in doubt. The Navy's Admirals are hesitant about requesting more of the Block IIs until they prove their worth and for good reason, as the credits needed to procure one Block II unit could easily procure three more conventional Block IA units.