Ticonderoga Chapter Seven

[Frontierzone]

Before anyone says anything about Ensign Susan Atkinson being called "Mister" by the Captain, I'd like to quote rfrom Chapter Five.

Miki looked at her with a puzzled expression. “Then, why does the Captain call you’s ’Mister’?” she asked.

Susie started to giggle. “Oh, that,” she said, smiling broadly. “It’s Navy Regulations. You see, in the Navy, all Officers, regardless of their sex, are referred to in the masculine, which is rendered gender neuter. So, as an Officer, I’m called ‘Mister Atkinson’ by fellow Officers, or ‘sir’ by anyone I outrank, which, since I’m an Ensign, leaves only Warrant Officers and Enlisted Personnel.”

Miki shook her head. “Sounds confusing ta me’s,” she said.

“Eh, you get used to it,”

Chapter Seven.
Silent Running.




Ensign Susan Atkinson entered the Command Deck, and approached the Captain, who was standing near the center seat. “Ensign Atkinson; report,” he ordered.

“The prisoners have all reported to Sickbay, despite the fact that one of them fainted, upon hearing the news that the doctor wanted to examine them. He’s fine, though. No injuries, sir,” said the Ensign. “However, sir, there is a matter of some delicacy to discuss, sir.”

“Very well, Ensign. We will talk about it in my sea cabin. Follow me,” said the Captain. “Mister Running Wolf, you have the Conn.”

Both Officers replied with a crisp “Aye, aye, sir”. Lieutenant Commander Running Wolf took the center seat, while Ensign Atkinson followed the Captain.

Captain Amstutz opened the door to his sea cabin, and then gestured for the Ensign to enter first. “Take a seat, Mister Atkinson,” he ordered.

Susan entered, and replied, “Aye, sir.” She sat down in the chair facing the Captain’s desk.

The Captain then sat down in his chair, behind the desk, and looked the Ensign in the eyes. “Now, Ensign,” he said, “tell me what this is all about.”

“Well, sir…” she hesitated. “Sir, one of the prisoners… Mrs. Maki-lo… is…”

“Out with it, Ensign,” said Captain Amstutz, calmly.

“Sir…” said Susan, “Mrs. Maki-lo is… pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” asked the Captain, incredulously. “A prisoner, in custody of the United Systems Navy, is pregnant? Are you sure, Ensign?”

“Yes, sir,” answered the Ensign. “Doctor Shalvera has confirmed this. She’ll be sending you a full report ASAP, sir.”

“I see,” said the Captain. “Well, thank you for the information, Ensign. Return to your duty station. Dismissed.”

“Aye, sir,” said Susan, and she snapped a crisp salute, (which the Captain returned) turned smartly about face, and left the room.

A pregnant prisoner. Now that’s just dandy, thought the Captain, as he slumped down in his chair.

Just then, the ship lurched violently, and ship wide warning klaxons sounded. The Captain flipped the intercom switch on his desk, and called the Command Deck. “Mister Running Wolf, Report!”

“The data’s just now coming in now, sir,” said the First Officer. After a momentary pause, he added, “We were hit by a subspace shockwave, sir. We’ve been knocked off course, and the Hyper Drive is offline. Engineering estimates that we’ll have displacement capabilities in three hours.”

“Very well, I’m on my way to the Command Deck,” said the Captain. “I’ll want damage and injury reports ASAP. Captain out,”

“Aye, sir,” said the Exec. “Running Wolf out.”

Captain Amstutz made a mad dash for the Command Deck, but was thrown off his feet about two thirds of the way there. The ship was being tossed around as though she were some toy boat being played with by a child in a bathtub.

He got up, and limped the rest of the way to the Command deck, having twisted his right ankle. Lieutenant Commander Running Wolf stood up from his place in the center seat, and shouted “Captain on deck!”

“As you were, people. Anyone hurt?” asked the Captain.

The consensus all around was “No”, though a few of the Officers clearly were going to have nasty bruises from being tossed around. Damage and injury reports were coming in to the Communications station from all decks.
Engineering reported that the Hyper Drive would now be offline for at least seven hours, due to some minor buckling in the starboard nacelle.

Captain Amstutz took the center seat. He turned toward the Science Officer, and asked, “Mister Dahm, report. Any ideas as to the cause of those subspace shockwaves?”

“We’re sensor blind at the moment, Captain, so I can’t give you any new data,” said the Lieutenant. “However, the data analysis from the first shock wave seems to indicate a very large explosion, from coordinates 365 by -241 by -429, sir. Of course, a subspace shockwave can only mean one thing, sir. A matter/antimatter detonation.”

“Those coordinates are only three point seven six light-years from our current position, Captain,” said Ensign Atkinson, looking up from her Navigation Station. There was clearly fear in her teal eyes, but she kept her composure as she spoke.

The ship lurched violently once more, and this time, there were hull breach klaxons sounding. “Sir!” exclaimed Lieutenant Gitter, “damage control reports hull breaches on the starboard side! Sections four through seven on decks six and seven! Automatic airtight doors have shut and sealed, but not before seventeen crewmembers were blown out into space!”

“That’s near the brig,” said the Captain. He then flipped on the intercom switch on the arm of his chair, and called the Mardet Commander. “Captain Brittan, this is Captain Amstutz. I need you to evacuate the prisoners to the Sickbay. That’s the most protected part of the ship. Have four of your people keep an eye on them.”

“Aye, sir!” she responded.

(Captain Amstutz had every confidence in her. Tiffany Brittan was a top notch Marine Officer. She had earned her Captain’s Bars, also known as “Railroad Tracks”, during the rescue operation on Gulok III, as the leader of Bravo Company. It was her Company that was able to break though the defenses, and shut down the Mordum “food processors”, thus saving thousands of sentient beings from being ground to pulp for future consumption.)

Turning toward the Communications Station, Captain Amstutz addressed Lieutenant Gitter. “Mister Gitter, get New Manila on the horn.”

“Unable to comply, sir,” she answered. “Too much tachyonic interference from that last explosion.”

“Damn!” spat the Captain. The frustration in his voice was obvious. “Put me on ship-wide, Lieutenant,” he ordered.

“Aye, aye, sir,” she replied. “You’re on now, sir.”

“All hands, this is the Captain,” he said, with a calm assertiveness. “All decks. We’re going to play dead. We will observe silent running until further notice. Engineering, shut down all power but life support, and see to it that as little energy as possible is detectable from your power tools during repair operations. I realize this will add to the repair time considerably, but I want us to be able to come out of this alive. If they think they’ve killed us, then we stand a chance. That is all.”

He then turned toward his Executive Officer. “Mister Running Wolf. I want you to go deck by deck, and round up as many tech savvy volunteers as you can, to aid in repairs.”

“Aye, sir,” Running Wolf replied. “Sir, what about the prisoners? They are outlaw techs. Maybe we can get them to volunteer, in exchange for a possible deal with the prosecutor.”

“Good thinking, John,” said the Captain. “That’s why I picked you as my right hand. See what you can do. Take Mister Atkinson with you, since she is the Liaison Officer for the prisoners.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” said Running wolf, with a sheepish grin. “Will do. Come on, Ensign. You heard the man. Let‘s go.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” she replied. With that, both Officers left the Command Deck.

The Captain looked at his crew, and saw the looks on their faces. “I know this is a tough spot,” he said, with a reassuring calm. “But, life in the Navy is fraught with danger. This is a waiting game, ladies and gentlemen. We wait, and hope that whoever was setting off those explosions thinks we were hit, and destroyed. We’re blind and deaf at the moment, and we don’t dare move, even on thrusters. It’s nerve-wracking, I know. But we’ll get through this, I promise you.”

Each of his crew looked at him with confidence. Then, starting with Sharon Gitter, then the rest, they each stood at attention, and saluted. He returned their salutes, and they each turned to their duty stations. They all knew that Captain Amstutz would get them through this.