The Black Guardians: Book 4 in the Black Guard series, page 7
Noam took a drink of the water Shelden had placed on the conference room table in front of him. "Realizing the problem, the Jax committee sent me off to dream a better outcome. After two years, I realized we needed something no one else had, something to counter the alliance navy and to teach Outpost and its allies aggression has a price. The Besra was the something I envisioned, a magical genie. All I had to do was get it out of the lamp, and that would require thinking outside the box. Something we could not do by revising what is already in the box. So, I created a new command–the J-SOC, gave it a new location, remote and isolated so we won't be contaminated–Sky Lake, built a facility dedicated to manufacturing something totally new–the Besra, and enlisted bright young minds to get the genie out of the bottle–the top graduates of the naval academy.
"That was my dream, and thanks to the chief and his people, Tadashi and Doctor Shelden, and you, I believe my dream has every possibility of becoming a reality. I arrived early this morning and have been reviewing your work and performance with Commander Tadashi and Doctor Shelden. I am more than impressed. The strips of angled metal produced by the Rex team coated with the crystal-embedded resin the Falcons team created has made the Besra a black hole in space. The Besra would have to run into the enemy's receiving antenna to get noticed, and you achieved it in just under six months. That has earned you a promotion to Full Lieutenant on the day you become a qualified Guardian pilot or weapons officer."
That resulted in a spontaneous explosion of sounds, expressions, and comments followed by sheepish looks. Noam just smiled.
"Come, the chief has one of the models to show you," Noam said as he followed the chief out the door.
As I followed, Josh walked up beside me. "I ran that movie sequence ten times trying to figure out why you kissed me, until I realized it was the mirror disco ball deflecting the light," Josh said, smiling. "That led me to play around inserting bits of mirrors and finally small crystals into our resin coating. I owe you."
I laughed. "Without the movie, I probably never would have thought of the reflecting mirrors. So, we're even."
When the door to the Rex project room was closed, the chief spoke. "This ugly model with the shining pieces of metal stuck to it is the Rex team’s final product. As you can see, any signal hitting the surface will be reflected at various angles except in the direction back to the enemy's receiving antenna. This model with the resin is the Falcons team's final product. The resin has tiny crystals inserted which tend to bounce the incoming signals in odd directions. Since the crystals are more or less randomly spaced, it has weak areas. But, combining the crystal resin on top of the angled metal strips, it’s one hundred percent stealth and produces a Besra that looks normal when painted. In addition, it has no angles to indicate it is a stealth vehicle." He pointed to the third model, which was painted a dark blue with a grey underbelly.
"I like the colors as it kind of makes the Besra resemble a shark," Noam said with an evil grin.
When we returned to the recreation area, a lavish lunch had been prepared, and the entire work crew at Sky Lake had been invited. It proved to be an interesting afternoon talking to the manufacturing engineers and workers, medical people, and other support staff. Several hours into the gathering, Tadashi found Josh and me talking.
"Quinn, Bell, get your teams together. Admiral Noam wants a word with them."
"Team Rex!" I shouted just as Josh shouted, "Team Black!" This was followed by, "Guardians' conference room."
As we entered the room, Noam waved for us to sit. "You have met my What if the Besra couldn't be seen approaching the enemy scenario. Now we have the problem: the Besra engines emit a heat signature and will be vulnerable to heat-seeking missiles. So, your next assignment is: What if the Besra wasn't vulnerable to heat seeking missiles?"
16 - Jax Military Committee - Progress
"Good morning, Lucas," Geller said as Noam walked into the Jax committee room. "I think your new uniform makes you look younger."
"Good morning, Olivia, Michael," Noam responded. 'This is the first time in a long time that I feel like I'm contributing to the Jax committee. It's ironic since my new command is one-thousandth the size of either the army or navy. So small that I can recognize each individual, know their names, and where they work."
Lerman laughed. "Like the old days when we actually worked for a living."
"You don't consider what we do work?" Geller asked, only a bit defensive. "I go home most nights with a headache."
Lerman laughed again. "When we want something done, we designate someone to go do it. Like we did with the Helix problem. We sent Lucas to fix it."
"All he's done so far is spend a lot of money," Geller said with a snort.
"I will have you know, Madam Admiral, that J-SOC has produced Jax's first invisible cruiser, the Besra," Noam said, bowing in her direction. "A sparrow hawk capable of bringing down an Outpost cruiser." He touched his tablet and pointed to the room monitor where a Besra and an Outpost cruiser were shown in relative proportion to each other. "The only way the cruiser's radar can find the Besra would be for the Besra to run into the radar's antenna."
"That…Besra isn't much bigger than a fighter," Geller said while shaking her head in disbelief.
"True, but the Besra carries standard Jax Vulture W8R missiles, has fifty-centimeter lasers, and a plasma cannon. It can enter the Wave to travel between systems, and ten can fit in a Jax cruiser's fighter bay."
"Well, Olivia, I guess you and I are worth the money they pay us." Lerman smiled. "Since it was our decision to send Lucas off to solve the problem and bankroll him."
"J-SOC isn't finished yet. I'm hoping to eliminate the Besra's heat signature so fighters can’t target it," Noam said. "And maybe a new weapon, since the Besra is capable of kissing the opposing cruiser and leaving lipstick on its hull."
17 - Helix Alliance – Progress
"What’s the news, Art?" Ace Joshsa asked after he had poured several fingers of a reproduction of Macallan Sherry Oak scotch whisky into three crystal glasses and passed one to each man. The men were seated in wide blue wingback chairs covered in tufted blue velvet with a round cherry kaffa table between them.
"Good," Vega said. "I believe we now have the votes in the Safort Upper Chamber to win approval to join the Helix Alliance. Our efforts over the past several years giving favor trading rates to the merchants and helping to get people well-disposed to the alliance elected to the Upper Chamber have paid off. "
"What about Representative Sharli?" Joshsa asked. "That bitch upset the apple cart several years ago."
"We haven't been able to replace her, but it doesn't matter," Vega said. "We now have a clear majority with several extra, just in case someone changes their mind at the last minute."
"What about Blackwood, Martin?" Joshsa asked, looking at the old man, who was sipping his whisky with eyes half closed in satisfaction.
"No problem," Mason said with a sigh. "The Gurk has made it clear there would be a revolt if Omom Nastya didn't approve the alliance.”
"Excellent, gentlemen," Joshsa said, standing and raising his glass, which caused the other two to do the same. "To the signing of the Helix Alliance, and the demise of Jax.”
18 - What If? Problem Two
"It's simple," Hasli said, grinning. "Just turn off the engines. An object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an opposing force."
"That's the rub, Hasli," Ryan said. "Same speed and direction. It would be like sitting on an asteroid, since without power we would have no electricity and none of the equipment would function. We would be blind to what’s happening around us."
"That would be exciting," Kathri said with a snort.
"I think Hasli has the right idea," I said to stunned looks from everyone in the room. I held up my hand and waited until all comments and joking ceased. "He said to turn off the power, and although at present that would mean all the electrical equipment, but what if we could cut off the power without shutting down all of the equipment? I think we should consider which equipment we need and those, like the engines, we want to shut down."
"Think outside the box," Estee said with a shrug. "Who would have thought to make the outside of a cruiser's hull into a disco ball?"
We ended the session by agreeing to compile a list of essential equipment.
The next week was pretty typical – classes in the morning that had been expanded to understanding the various departments and functions on a typical cruiser: weapons, environment, communications, ECM, medical, maintenance, kitchen, personnel, shuttle bays, and the Bridge. Although we were never likely to be assigned to any of those areas, we would be assigned to a cruiser and were naval officers. The afternoons were dedicated to flying and weapons practice. Since only Tadashi was qualified, he dedicated every other afternoon to an entire team so that each team was together the other days to work on their what if problem.
It took us three months to determine the systems we needed to remain functional and new systems to enable limited maneuvering. When we all agreed, I contacted Tadashi.
"Commander, the Rex team has our proposal ready for the what if the enemy had no heat source to target," I said, standing almost at attention as I caught him in his office. Because I hadn't been called to his office, I thought I could ignore the salute. When he nodded, I continued, "Sir, we have a written report since we cannot demonstrate it with a model. I can forward it to your tablet."
He nodded, so I clicked on an engine icon on my tablet, and a copy of the report registered as Sent. He tapped on his tablet and appeared to only read our executive summary, since he looked up within a few minutes.
"Interesting, Quinn. The boys took a different approach," Tadashi said but didn't elaborate. "I'll run it by the engineers and Noam. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir." I did an about-face and left the office.
"What did he say?" the chorus greeted me when I arrived back.
I repeated what Tadashi had said and shrugged. "I think we are pretty much on hold unless someone comes up with an alternative approach.”
19 - Graduation
Admiral Noam arrived a week later, and we met in the Guardian's conference room. Tadashi had told us to wear our black dress uniforms for the meeting, which meant there was some kind of formal presentation. Tadashi, Shelden, and Xiang arrived ten minutes early, dressed in the Guardian's black dress uniforms, which caused us all to stand straighter than normal. Noam arrived exactly at ten hundred hours.
"Room, Attention!" Tadashi shouted as Noam entered also in a Guardian's dress black uniform. He surveyed the room before speaking.
"At ease," he said and walked behind a podium that had been placed at the head of the conference table. “Yesterday, the navy officially announced, albeit with little pomp and ceremony, the creation of a new command, the Jax Special Operations Command, J-SOC, stationed at North Lake Naval Station. At the same time, they opened a new facility at North Lake which will house the personnel and administration staff for the organization. Officially, the organization is tasked with testing new fighters and conducting advance pilot training. That is your cover story. You are officially navy fighter test pilots and trainers. That will partly explain your unorthodox uniforms."
Noam stopped for a sip of water, then smiled. "Now for the good stuff. Before I start, you have all been qualified as pilots and as weapons officers and can now officially wear the Guardian insignia over any medals on your left breast pocket; however, based on your performance, we have designated you each a primary position we feel you are best suited for based on your performance over the past few months. Commander Tadashi." Noam stepped back to a table with velvet boxes and certificates where Shelden and Xiang stood.
Tadashi spoke, "As I call your name, step forward, salute Admiral Noam, receive your awards, and return to your seat. Hasli Aitken, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is pilot with a secondary as weapons officer."
Aitken stepped up to the admiral, saluted, and stood talking for a few minutes, then received a velvet box and a vanilla envelope, saluted, and returned to his seat. The routine continued as Tadashi called name after name.
"Josh Bell, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is pilot with a secondary as weapons officer.
"Ryan Boyle, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is weapons officer with a secondary as pilot.
"Adler Burns, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is weapons officer with a secondary as pilot.
"Lydie Clark, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is weapons officer with a secondary as pilot.
"Marcelli Forbes, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is weapons officer with a secondary as pilot.
"Pepin Kerr, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is pilot with a secondary as weapons officer.
"Kathri McKay, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is pilot with a secondary as weapons officer.
"Axelle Munro, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is pilot with a secondary as weapons officer.
"Roland Muir, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is weapons officer with a secondary as pilot.”
Finally, Tadashi called my name: "Caitlin Quinn, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is pilot with a secondary as weapons officer."
It took an extreme effort not to run or double-time to the admiral. I saluted, and Noam returned the salute. "Well done, Caitlin. I understand that you told Lieutenant Bevert that you wanted to earn a position on the Bridge of a Jax cruiser. Are you satisfied with how things worked out?"
"Yes, sir!" I blurted. "I not only have a position on the Bridge of a Jax cruiser, but I'm the captain." My cheeks felt hot, but Noam only smiled.
"I hear you appear to be the spokeswoman for Rex Clique?" Noam said.
"I guess it's because I talk more than everyone else… My brothers predicted the navy would return me when they found out what the Quinn family had unleashed on the navy."
Noam laughed. "No, I think we will keep you. Congratulations, Lieutenant Quinn," he said and was still smiling as Tadashi called the next name.
"Richie Ross, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is weapons officer with a secondary as pilot.
"Felix Shaw, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is pilot with a secondary as weapons officer.
"Estee Thomli, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is weapons officer with a secondary as pilot.
"Corbin Wright, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is weapons officer with a secondary as pilot.
"Peter Williams, you are promoted to Full Lieutenant. Your primary designation is weapons officer with a secondary as pilot.
As Williams returned to his seat, Noam spoke, "I expect to see you at the dinner tonight wearing your correct rank."
As he turned toward the door, Tadashi shouted, "Attention!"
The door had no sooner closed behind them than the room exploded into bedlam. Like everyone else, I ripped open the vanilla envelope. Inside was two one-point-twenty-five-centimeter gold stripes of a navy full lieutenant to replace my current point-seventy-five-centimeter stripe, the silver stars to wear on my work uniforms, orders promoting me to lieutenant, and the gold Guardian insignia.
At the dinner that night, I felt ten feet tall with my full lieutenant's two one-point-twenty-five-centimeter gold stripes and my Guardian and fighter pilot insignia.
The meal was a four-course dinner one would get at a fancy restaurant. As they were serving kaffa and dessert, Noam stood. "I saved the best for last. Sky Lake is going to be closed for the next two weeks to prepare for your upcoming combat training. Sky Lake is going to become the Besra training center and you their instructors and eventually squadron leaders. During these two weeks, you will be officially on leave. I want you to relax and enjoy your vacation, because the next two years are going to be intense. Being distracted could get you removed from the Guardians or killed.”
20 - Unscheduled Leave
The next morning, there were two shuttles waiting to take us to North Lake Station where we would be assigned quarters and required to check in with personnel to ensure our records were up to date and for administration to arrange our transportation to wherever we were headed. My assigned quarters were small, which was expected as I would seldom be on station more than a day or two. My personnel records were up to date, including my recent promotion, assignment, and the award of the Guardian insignia, but it included no information about the Besra. I arranged for a shuttle to fly me to the city of Kinsal and a return flight back to North Lake two weeks later. Afterward, I met up with several Guardians from the Rex and Falcons teams for lunch. We were now on the same team–the Black Guardians.
"Well, Ryan, are you happy with your assignment?" I asked, knowing I would have been disappointed to have a primary designation as a weapons officer.
"Very," Ryan said with a genuine smile. "I not only like the weapons position, but I feel comfortable there, like I belong. I can fly the Besra, but not like you and the others assigned as pilots. Mentally, I know you are in total control of the Besra, but it feels reckless. I’ve talked to several of the others designated as weapons officers, and they all agree. Tadashi and Noam got it right."
"Good," I said, relieved Ryan was content with his assignment. "Like you, I feel comfortable – no, that’s not right – exhilarated flying, like the Besra and I are one organism and released from our chains to soar through the heavens."
"That's what we sane weapons officers have concluded. You pilots are all crazy." Ryan laughed and was joined by the others.
