Year three in the Voyage of Andromeda. The adventure that started in Among the Stars, and Beyond the Farthest Planet continues in Far From Home.
CHAPTER 18 A
"Scanners and sensors show twenty three ships between us and the border." Anya stated.
"Ready all weapons." Kate ordered. "Kacey what is your location?"
"Right off your port bow." Kacey responded. "All ships ready your weapons. Make sure you do not block the big guns. Cloaked ships pull away from Andromeda. Your job will be to go for the guns underneath the Limari then their exhaust ports. Let's try to knock out their engines. Do Not get caught under those ships." She ordered.
"Why did we not pick up those ships before now?" Kate asked.
"They are emitting some sort of repulsing beam that masked their position."
"Kate I am picking up weapons signatures and not from the Limari."
"Weapons from whom?"
"Unknown at this time. We can only hope that the Limari pissed off other races and they are retaliating." Kacey stated.
"Who ever they are, we owe them a debt of gratitude for keeping the Limari occupied." Kate stated.
"Are we just going to go on our merry way and not help them." Kacey protested.
"Yes we are."
"Kate we just can not..."
"Colonel, I for one have had quite enough of the Limari. I would think you had your fill of them also."
"Will all due respect Captain, I must disagree. We are going to run?" Kacey argued.
"That is exactly what I and saying. Unless they fire on us we will be going our merry way. That is the end of it."
"Yes Captain." Kacey replied angrily.
Andromeda skirted around the battle. The Limari were fully engaged with another battle. They did not fire on Andromeda. The crew remained at battle stations for another two hours before Kate cancelled the red alert and had the crew stand down from battle stations. She had Andromeda slow to allow the pilots a respite after being out for so many hours. The next shift of Stingers launched. Kacey was the last to land. She backed her shuttle into it's spot. The all clear light came on and she shut down her shuttle. She went to her office where she logged off duty.
She was still angry that they ran from the battle. She walked rapidly out of her office and into the lift. "Deck four." She said.
"Colonel O'Malley to the Bridge."
"Damn it." She cursed, sighed and answered the hail. "One my way. Computer deck one." She stepped off the lift and took her seat. "What's up now?" She asked.
Kate looked at her. "I would like your thoughts about installing sonar devices on the shuttles and Andromeda."
"It is a great idea. Does the replicator have them in the inventory?"
"Yes and they have been replicated. Would it be a big job to install?"
"Depends. We have to decide where we take the power from. We can start tomorrow." Kacey stated. "Will that be all?" She asked and stood up.
"No. Can you spare a few minutes?"
"Can it wait. It has been a long day. I want to shower, have a brandy and spend time with my family. Not necessarily in that order."
"I am afraid it can not wait. Lieutenant you have the Bridge." Kate stood and led the way into her Ready Room. She went directly to the replicator. "Two brandies one glass of ice." The drinks materialized. She handed a brandy and the ice to Kacey before she sat behind her desk. "Have a seat."
Kacey picked up the ice and placed it in her brandy. She took a sip and felt the familiar burn as she swallowed. She sat down and waited to hear what Kate had to say. She did not wait long.
"I know you are angry with my decision not to get involved in that battle. Knowing you as well as I do, you are probably still angry." Kacey remained silent as she took another sip of her drink. Kate noticed the muscle jumping in her cheek. "You do not have to answer. I can see that muscle twitching."
"YES I AM GOD DAMN ANGRY." Kacey stated loudly. "WE HAD A CHANCE TO DEAL PERHAPS A CRIPPLING BLOW TO THE LIMARI. A RACE THAT HAS TERRORIZED THIS AREA FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG AND WE SNUCK AWAY LIKE WHIPPED DOGS WITH OUR TAILS TUCKED BETWEEN OUR LEGS."
Kate let her shout. "Did it ever occur to you that the battle the Limari was engaged in was with a more corrupt, more brutal race? Do you remember those old sayings about the devil you know or the lesser of two evils?"
"Of course I remember both. The Limari..."
"Are the devil we know." Kate interrupted.
"They could have been fighting against a race that was sick of their brutal ways and decided to fight back against the bullies."
"That is very true. I made the decision not to enter the battle. I stick by my decision."
"I do not agree with your decision."
"Why do you disagree?"
"I have a right to disagree with you even if you are the Captain." Kacey stated. Kate waited for her to continue. "God damn it Kate, I am a Marine and Marines do not run from a fight. EVER."
"It was not our battle." Kate stated emphatically.
"It was." Kacey argued. They have been after us for months. How can you say it was not our battle?"
"Yes they have been bothering us for months. However this particular battle was not ours. Have you forgotten how close you came to dying a few months ago?"
"I have not forgotten."
"Kacey we can go around and around with this and never come to an agreement. As Captain, I made the decision not to get involved. Your disagreement has been duly noted." Kate stated. "It was MY decision. That is the bottom line and the end of this discussion." Her tone deterred Kacey from continuing her protest.
"Will that be all Kate?"
"One more thing. You did an impressive job setting up that make shift sonar."
"Thank you. I am happy it worked."
"Will the shuttles have enough power to run the device without taking anything away from the vital systems?"
"I will not know until I see the specs on them. I will look at them tomorrow if that is all right?"
"Tomorrow will be fine. Today has been one long ass day and I am ready to relax. Go back to your quarter and take it easy." Kacey finished her brandy and stood up. She walked to the door quickly wanting to leave before Kate remember her trick with the camera. She did not quite make it to the door when Kate spoke again. "Just to let you know, I did not forget your little bout of protest with the camera. However you get a free pass this time. If you ever pull a stunt like that again..." Kate left the threat unfinished. Kacey nodded and left the Ready room.
CHAPTER 18 B
Kacey sat with her top officers and the whiz kids as they went through the specs for the sonar device.
"How much power will these devices need?" Kacey asked.
"Three amps." Mike replied.
"We still have plenty of power that we did not need for the cloaking device."
"Then we will get them installed on all the shuttles without any problems."
"Where do we place them?
"Colonel, we can build cases to hold them and install them on the console near the yoke on the left side. The speaker to broadcast the pulse is another matter. It can not be too close to avoid feedback."
"What about one for Andromeda?"
"That might not be possible Colonel because of how thick the hull and windows are."
"So we concentrate on just the shuttles for now."
"Do you want your shuttle done first?" Major William asked.
"I need to go in an undo the jerry rigged wiring I did. Have to have my music when I fly." Kacey joked. "How long to get the cases made?"
"Not long, Colonel."
"Now what about the broadcast speaker and receiver?"
"That is a little trickier." Major Taggart stated.
"How so?"
"We need to see if the pulse will be able to go through and received through the windshield."
"The windshield on shuttle two is not damaged right?" They all nodded. "Set one up in shuttle two for testing purposes. How far apart do the components have to be?"
"At least two meters between each of the components."
"Go ahead and do it. We don't need a case as this is only a test and it will be pulled out immediately afterwards." Kacey stated. "I will undo my handy work and get ready for the real thing."
"Do you want to let the Captain know
"I suppose I should." she pressed her communicator. "Colonel O'Malley to Captain Jensen."
"Go ahead Kacey."
"Can you come down to the Hanger?"
"I am on my way."
"I will be in my shuttle." She told Kate.
The six left the office. The men gathered the items they would need for the test. Kacey headed to her shuttle. She opened the ramp and went inside. She grabbed her tool kit and placed it on the seat. She noticed Kate walking across the Hanger.
"Permission to come aboard, Colonel."
"Permission granted, Captain."
"Anything to report?"
"Yes. My crew is installing a sonar device speaker and receiver on shuttle two. I thought you would like to be here for the test."
"You thought right. Why shuttle two? I thought that it was badly damaged."
"It is. We need to see if the sound waves can be broadcast and received through the thick glass of windshield." Kacey told her. "If it works then we will install the devices on the shuttles."
"I can guess which one will be first."
Kacey scooted under the console. "Then you don't need and answer. Hand me the wire crimpers please." Kate handed her the tool she requested. She worked for a couple minutes. "Now hand me two of those wire nuts. One red and one black." Kate placed the items in Kacey's hand. Kacey twisted the wires together and placed the wire nuts over the ends. "Now would you hand me the electrical tape?" Kate handed her the tape which she wrapped around the caps.
"How long will it take to set of the device?"
"Not long."
"Where will you pull the power from?"
"Hand me a couple more of the wire nuts." Kacey stated as she worked on the second set of wires. "We still have plenty of amps to play with from when we disconnected the food heater and cooler for the cloaking device."
"That will give you enough power?"
"The sonar will only need three amps. We had sixteen amps from the disconnected units. The cloaking device only took four ams so by my calculations we still have 9 amps to play with even after the sonar is installed. We will not take any power from vital systems." Kacey pushed out from under the console. She turned her shuttle on and hit play on the music machine. Soft violin strains filled the cockpit. "That works." She turned on the scanner. The beeps told her that it too was working. "That is both of them."
"Kacey."
"Once we do the test and get the cases made for the sonar devices we are going to..."
"Kacey."
"We will set the sonar here, the speaker two meters away and the receiver another two meters..."
"STOP." Kate ordered loudly. "We need to talk."
"Seems to me we are talking." Kacey stated.
"What we are doing is making polite conversation about ship's business." Kate said.
"Maybe we should leave it at that." Kacey responded. "Less arguments that way."
"We are never going to agree about avoiding that battle."
"As you stated yesterday. You are the Captain. It was your decision." Kacey told her. "As your subordinate, I have to accept that decision even if I do not agree with it."
"Subordinate Kacey?"
"What would you call it when you pull rank." Kacey shot back. "I think we should keep our conversations to inside the ship business for now."
"Colonel we are ready to do the test."
"Be right there Mike."
"Kacey."
"They are waiting for us." Kacey said and left the shuttle. Kate shook her head and followed Kacey to shuttle two.
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The first test was a failure, but after tweaking the frequencies and repositioning the broadcast speaker the second test yielded the results they hoped for. They high fived each other.
"We will get the sonar installed immediately." Mike stated.
"Let me know if the systems need to re-synched after installation. I will be in my office."
"How about a coffee?" Kate asked.
Kacey sighed. "Sure come into my office."
"So did you really enjoy your party?"
"Kate that was weeks ago. Why ask now?"
"I am trying to find a safe topic for us to talk about."
"The party was great. Do you have another safe topic?"
"How are the children?"
"They are great. Natalia is great, I am great."
"Do you still have to wear that vest?"
"I don't have to but it makes Talia happy so I wear it."
"That is good to hear. Will you be going out today?"
"I am once the sonar is hooked up and working I will go out with the next squad."
"Please be careful. We are still in unsafe waters so to speak and will be for some time yet."
"I will. What are the chances we have seen the last of the Liamri?"
"Truthfully? I don't know. I will not feel free of them until after we leave Verna." Kate stated. "We know they have terrorized them."
"What about Gellary?"
"What about them?"
"Don't you remember Chancellor Hime telling us about the problems they had with raiders and space pirates? What if the raiders are Limari?"
"I never gave that a thought."
"Bridge to Captain Jensen."
"Go ahead Bridge."
"Katie, we need you and Kacey on the Bridge immediately."
"On our way." Kate responded. They finished their coffee and left the office.