The Black Guardians: Book 4 in the Black Guard series, page 8
The next day, I was greeted at the shuttle by Warrant Willsen. "Wow, this cannot be the same young woman Boyant and I shuttled from Kinsal a year ago. You are now a full lieutenant and look like a Black Guard except for the navy rank insignia. What's that gold pin with the shark?"
"I'm in a new organization called J-SOC, Jax Special Operations Command, stationed here at North Lake," I said, pointing to the pin and spinning my cover story. "It designates me as a fighter test pilot and instructor."
"This shuttle will be like traveling on a mule train after testing new fighters," Warrant Officer Boyant said from the shuttle hatch.
"True, but the company is outstanding, so I won't mind," I said while entering the shuttle. Again, they invited me to sit with them, and the hours passed like minutes.
At the small Kinsal airport, I caught a ground taxi to my old house and stopped when I reached the door, not wanting to just walk in, realizing this was no longer my home. I was just about to knock when the door opened and my mother, looking worried, spoke before I could move.
"Is this about my daughter Caitlin? Has she been hurt… Caitlin? Oh, thank the gods," she said with tears in her eyes as she grabbed me in a bear hug. "I didn't recognize you and thought the navy had sent someone to inform me… You look so different in that uniform, and you are a full lieutenant." She pulled me into the house and shut the door while inspecting me. "The men are at work, but Aislin is here. We were discussing wedding arrangements. Did you come home for the wedding? It's only five days from today."
"Caitlin, you're home for the wedding, how wonderful." Aislin rose and greeted me with a hug.
"Luck of the Irish, I guess," I said, partly ashamed I hadn't remembered. "In truth, they closed our facility to make changes for the next phase of our upcoming training and told us all to get lost. At this stage of my naval career, they pretty much dictate my life from morning to night. Don't get me wrong, I love the life. I told my commander the other day that I would be forever grateful my mother's contraception device failed."
"You didn't," my mother blurted. "Well, of course you did."
"What did he say?" Aislin asked with a giggle.
"He said he agreed," I said.
Shortly afterward, while we were drinking kaffa, my father and brothers came home. I stood, put on my hat, and turned to face them. They stood with mouths open.
"Wow," Sean finally said. "That's an impressive uniform. What position did you get assigned?"
"I'm assigned to J-SOC," I said. "That's the Jax Special Operations Command. I'm a test pilot for new fighters” – I pointed to my Guardian insignia – “and will be an instructor after another year of training."
The next two weeks were wonderful. We spent several nights discussing the navy and J-SOC, limiting my stories to things that were not classified, like our officers and my fellow candidates. I helped with the wedding arrangements, and at Aislin's insistence, became one of her bridesmaids at the wedding, and had an opportunity to catch up on my family's life.
21 - Combat Training
Noam and Tadashi wasted no time and had us assembled in the Guardians' conference room an hour after the shuttle from North Lake Station had landed.
"Welcome back," Noam said when we were all seated. "I hope you relaxed and had a good vacation, because your combat training is going to be intense and critical to our success. Consequently, only those who can demonstrate outstanding performance will advance to fill the critical leadership positions. First, let me introduce your instructors for your upcoming training."
Noam looked to the three men and one woman seated off to the side of the room. "Commanders Baldric, Liqin, and Moriko each have combat experience with enemy fighters, and Captain Thanos has cruiser war experience. They will be your instructors during the combat phase of your training, and will also be the instructors for what will become the Jax war college. You will be the Guardian instructors for the new pilots and the squadron leaders for the new Guardian squadrons." He paused and looked around the room. "War is coming, and this group may well decide whether Jax wins or loses." He smiled in Tadashi’s direction. "Commander Tadashi has been promoted to rear admiral lower half and my second-in-command. Admiral Tadashi, they are all yours."
Noam sat as Tadashi stood and approached the table. "Your instructors have decided to keep the old teams together mostly as a matter of convenience, not qualifications. You are all qualified Guardian crew. Each team's briefing room will be your old project room. Your new training begins tomorrow at zero seven hundred hours in your team's briefing room." He looked to Noam, then called, "Attention!" as Noam stood, paused, and turned back to the Guardians.
"As a side project in your spare time, I would like both teams to work separately on What if Guardian cruisers could see other Guardian ships without breaking stealth?” Noam smiled, pivoted, and exited the room.
When the door closed behind the last of the instructors, Tadashi barked, "Dismissed."
"That was short and sweet," Ryan said. No one had moved from the conference room table. "Sound like we will start off flying fighters."
"If so, I wonder whether it will be with two-person teams, a pilot plus a weapons officer, or in single-seat fighters?" Josh asked to no one in particular.
“One thing is for sure," Axelle said with a sad face and wagging her finger. "No pairing off if you want to advance in the Guardians. He made that pretty clear with his only those who can demonstrate outstanding performance will advance remark. It's clear pairing off and outstanding performance are mutually exclusive."
Judging by the number of nodding heads, everyone agreed.
"Should be an exciting year," I said into the silence. "We are going to be taught by people who have fought real enemies and survived, gifting us with the knowledge we will need to win the coming war and to increase our odds of surviving. I for one am going to be listening really hard."
That got laughs and "me too" comments.
As I left my quarters at zero six hundred hours, everyone from both teams were heading in the direction of the mess hall for breakfast and enough time to refresh before class. By seven hundred hours, the Rex team had assembled in our old project room.
A minute after seven, Commander Liqin entered the room, and we all rose. She was a petite woman with long black hair tied in a rope, and an elfin face that looked amused as her eyes evaluated the material she had to work with.
"Sit and relax," Liqin said as she stood facing the eight padded metal chairs where we sat. “I will be your full-time fighter instructor. Commander Baldric will be the Falcons team’s full-time instructor, and Commander Moriko will alternate between the teams as necessary. Captain Thanos will direct the Jax cruiser when you have mastered fighter-to-fighter combat." She smiled, looking at each of us. "Why do you need fighter training when you have these fancy stealth cruisers? So that you understand the enemy's frame of reference. The fighters will have been deployed to both protect their cruiser and to damage the enemy's cruiser. After all, a fighter pilot needs the cruiser to get home.
“Therefore, the pilots are trying to keep the enemy's fighters from breaking through their defense, and if the opportunity presents itself, to attack the enemy's cruiser. So, the pilot's first prerequisite is to kill as many of the enemy's fighters as possible without getting killed. Secondarily, to attack the opposing cruiser when and if an opportunity presents itself. For example, when your side is winning and there are more of your fighters than the enemy's fighters. Actually participating in a fighter engagement will give you a better perspective when you are called to help and train you to be able to assess the status of the battle and where you can be the most help.”
She picked up her tablet and clicked on something, and all of our tablets chimed with a message. "Our first flights will be you against me. I have sent each of you the time when you should be suited up and prepared to fly.”
Unfortunately, she listed our times alphabetically, which made me next to last. I watched Liqin leave and Hasli five minutes afterward. He landed thirty minutes later. As he exited the fighter, he waved for Ryan to take his place. "She’s waiting for you to attack her. Good luck, Ryan, she’s a witch on a broom."
When Axelle landed, I was so excited I was bouncing on the toes of my feet as she exited the fighter. "Ryan's right, she's a witch with a rocket for a broom. Have fun, Caitlin."
As the crew turned the fighter around, I quickly ran through my checklist even though Axelle had reported no problems and was soon shot out of the hangar bay. My radar showed Liqin at forty thousand meters and twenty kilometers away. I accelerated until I was pushing Mach six and about five kilometers behind her, which appeared stupid since I would soon be able to get a lock on her. Since I knew she wasn't stupid, I prepared for her soon-to-come move.
She suddenly throttled back, and a second later, I throttled back. So instead of shooting past her, we were now only one kilometer apart, and I worked the targeting system for a lock, but before I could, she spun hard right. I followed her into a five g-force turn, which she tightened, and the g-force began to increase – 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4…
Before the g-force hit 5.5, she corkscrewed down and to the left but kept the g-force at 5.4 for two more seconds, then corkscrewing right and dropping her g-force to 4.0 while continuing to corkscrew up, down, left, and right so I couldn't get a lock. After several minutes, she dived sharply down and into a forward loop, which reached a g-force of 5.6 for two seconds, then cut her engine. Not prepared for that move, I shot by her.
To my surprise, Liqin slowed instead of trying to get a lock on me, and she said, "Caitlin, return to base and get Estee.”
When Estee returned, she informed me that Liqin wanted to see me in her office immediately and the team in an hour. It took me five minutes to find her office, which was in the west wing. I knocked, entered when I heard her say, "Come," braced to attention, and saluted. I was beginning to get concerned as she wasn't smiling.
"Are you stupid or just crazy, Caitlin?” she asked but continued before I could decide whether she wanted an answer. "Once you pass a g-force of four, you are subject to losing consciousness, and a g-force of five is usually most people's limit. We hit 5.6!"
"Yes, ma'am. I was keeping track of our g-force. While in fighter training, through trial and error, I determined I could tolerate a g-force of up to 5.6 for a little over two seconds. I was getting ready to break off when you cut your engine."
"Well, I’m relieved to know you are certifiable but not stupid. That was good flying. You have good reflexes, and very good tolerance of g-forces. Now get out of here," she said and waved me out. I saluted and disappeared out the door.
An hour later, Rex Clique sat discussing our training flight. I found the various reactions hilarious. When Liqin walked in, everyone rose, but she waved for us to sit.
"Hasli, what did you think of the exercise?" Liqin asked.
"Interesting. I'm not ready to take on an experienced fighter pilot."
"'Ryan, what did you think?"
"Since I got shot down five times, I'd say it was a nightmare."
"Who is your normally designated pilot?" Liqin asked him, which from her expression I thought she already knew.
"Quinn, ma'am."
"The good news, Ryan, is that it is unlikely you will ever get shot down. The bad news is that you will probably be sick after each encounter and remember very little. Quinn, what did you think of the exercise?"
"Ma'am, I thought it was the most exciting experience of my life."
"See what I mean, Ryan? Quinn stayed with me the entire time, and we hit a g-force of 5.6.” She looked amused. “Burns, what did you think?”
“I agree with Ryan.”
“Clark?”
“I also agree with Ryan.”
“McKay?”
“Like Caitlin…Quinn, I thought it interesting and exciting, although maybe a little less than Caitlin.”
“Munro?”
“I thought it interesting and to be honest, a bit too exciting at times.”
“Thomli?”
“I’m with Ryan.”
“Well, each of you appeared to have the correct primary Guardian designation based on your reactions to today’s exercises. It appears the pilots will enjoy the next several weeks, but the weapons officers won’t. Dismissed for today. Tomorrow at seven.”
Liqin was correct. The other pilots did enjoy the next month's exercises while the weapons officers didn't. The first week was one-on-one exercises with Liqin. The second week was two on two – two students against two instructors – and the third week three against three. The week's sessions were all the same: a day of live exercise, the next day a critique followed by time in the simulator. The fourth week began simulator exercises where the battle was between two cruisers, the fifth week an exercise between four cruisers – two opposing two – with engaging fighters, the sixth week with two friendly cruisers opposing three enemy cruisers, and the seventh and eighth weeks multiple cruisers where one side or the other had the numerical advantage. I found the two months fun and interesting.
The Rex team, although mentally exhausted most days, spent one hour meditating and one hour on the communications problem. Since our radar couldn't see the Guardian cruisers, radar didn't appear to be a solution until Ryan and Adler suggested a second antenna that could recognize only one specific frequency which contained a coded time stamp. The receiving antenna would return the radar signal with the sending and receiving time stamp encoded. A special AI would decipher the embedded strings to determine the location of the sending Guardian cruiser. We had worked out the basic details in our seventh week and submitted it to Tadashi. Subsequently, we found out the Rex and Falcons solutions were relatively the same and were combined to produce the final version.
Noam scheduled a formal visit on our tenth week. After scanning the conference room, he spoke, “Your instructors were quite pleased with the training and feel you are as ready as you can be without actual war experience. The next step is to begin forming Besra squadrons and assigning them to our cruisers, so you will be in the right place when the war begins."
22 - The Skulls
“We did it, gentlemen," Ace Joshsa said while filling three glasses with several fingers of his special Macallan Old Sherry Oak scotch whisky. "Today, the Helix Alliance is officially a reality.” He passed a glass to each man and raised his. The two men stood and clinked glasses with Joshsa. "Within three to five years, we will command a major naval force, strong enough to begin our campaign against Jax."
"I think I’ve earned another bottle of this whisky, Joshsa," Mason said, smiling like he had won the lottery.
"How so, Martin?" Joshsa asked, frowning. "I think I already gave you and Art several bottles."
"You did, Ace, but that was a long time ago," Mason said, still smiling. "I had an interesting talk with one of my merchants that regularly does business in the Grus League. A couple of years ago, five mercenary organizations met to form an alliance. Apparently, they hired Jax's Black Guard to arbitrate the meeting. In the course of the meeting, a Captain Damsan had an argument with Captain Sapir and confronted her. Knowing her reputation, he had conspired with his first mate, Corgin, to create a distraction just before he drew his weapon. Like our planned deception at Draco, it didn't work, and Sapir killed Damsan and another Black Guard killed Corgin. According to my source, no one misses Damsan, but the new captain, Pallan, and his crew hold Sapir responsible for Corgin's death."
"I have no love for that bitch Sapir. She single-handedly fucked up the vote for the Helix Alliance, not to mention interfering on Blackwood and Safort, but how does that earn you another bottle?"
"Well, it turns out during the course of the meeting, Sapir also embarrassed Captain Tara and Captain Furlow," Martin continued, unfazed. "My source tells me that the Skulls would like some retribution but know the Jax have a formable navy and don't want to upset the Helix Alliance they heard is in the process of forming. I informed them that the Jax navy only has six cruisers and most of the time they are off delivering the Black Guard to their contract's location, leaving only a couple to guard Jax. In addition, Jax is disliked by the other seven systems and is not part of the Helix Alliance. My source said he would pass that information on to Captain Pallan."
"You think the Skulls would raid Jax?" Joshsa asked, looking interested. "If they do, Martin, you will have earned several more bottles. That might not only weaken Jax but give us a stronger position within the alliance. See, we told you we needed to join together for our mutual protection again pirates and mercenaries." Joshsa laughed, finished the contents of his glass, and added several fingers of whisky to everyone's glasses. "To sweet revenge."
23 - Sky Lake Advance Fighter Training
“Your instructors were quite pleased with the training and feel you are as ready as you can be without actual war experience," Noam said when everyone had been seated. "Admiral Tadashi tells me you are well on the way to solving the problem of being able to track your supporting Besras. All that remains is getting you an optical display that is easy to decipher. The speed and distances make that a difficult problem, but he assures me you will solve the problem."
He paused and scanned the conference room table, meeting each of our eyes for several seconds, as if memorizing our faces. “I’m not surprised. You sixteen have consistently exceeded my expectations. So, what’s next, you are probably wondering, since there is currently no war?" Noam said, giving a wry smile. "Your instructors are being assigned permanently to Sky Lake and promoted to the rank of Commodore. Although the navy has identified Sky Lake Station as the navy's advanced fighter pilot training station, it will someday become the navy's war college. The existing fighter commanders will be recommending their outstanding pilots for advanced training and sending them to Sky Lake. Here they will receive an abbreviated course similar to what you just completed. Those that appear good candidates will be transferred to your loving care to be trained on the Besra, and those that qualify will be transferred to the Black Guardians.
