“Cadet, your commander has spoken,” Scott reminds the soldier.
“Go to Aldomos VII. Purchase what we need from the Tri Mecatatronics and Hologenerations Company. Re-evaluate the situation on Summersun with a fully functional ship.”
“Return to your duties. If you need something to do, I’ve got plenty of burnt systems needing to be cleared.”
Once his crew disperses, Reynard asks, “Just how bad is she?”
“Your ship needs a complete bridge overhaul. We pilot with the shuttle, but I don’t trust the connections. We have limited shields. Now would be the opportune time to strip out the rest of these rooms for components and gut this section, turning it into a launch bay for Mecats. Mercenary units require proper facilities.”
“What’s it going to take?”
“Unless you want to hire a complete maintenance crew for each Cat, we’ll need fully automated repair bays. Tedious maintenance is the core of most Mecats even on new craft. It will take some sixty hours of routine maintenance before a battle. After battle reloads and damage repair, the battle units need constant phase inspections for metal fatigue, engine inspections. Not to mention environmental refits. Desert conditions require a sand filtering system. The same system could overheat on an ice world. At thirty feet high for most Cats, I’ll need rigs to…
“I get it. It takes a village.”
“We need top-of-the-line equipment. We’re committing a lot of the Dragon’s space.”
“Get the most advanced but reliable systems.”
“Current technology? I’ll use what’s not damaged on the second deck to refit the main systems. The Dragon’s still not going to be the same. No way to restore the advanced alien systems. Even the common systems were run on more advanced technology.”
“The transporter and the cloaking shields?”
“They require the most power. I’m going to fill the space where the shuttle was with power cells to compensate for the damage. It’s going to take about six cells for each one we lost. Power consumption should balance. The transporter use will be questionable. The power consumption will drain cells fast. We should use the two-pad system as much as possible. I’ve rerouted the cloaking shields. Whoever built this ship solved the energy consumption issues allowing small ships to cloak. It takes major battle cruisers half its mass in power cells to gain a cloak.”
“We’re not a small ship.”
“No, and the cloak gives us an advantage. I want to keep it, as I’m sure you do. I’m sealing off the second deck. Most of those rooms were unaffected by the crash. Once I get all the bulkheads open, I could replace and repair the ship faster. Replacing some systems could self-repair. We’re far from combat ready.
“Recommend you don’t go to Summersun?”
“There’ll be plenty of battles to build our reputation as a Merc unit. You still haven’t logged enough time on the simulator to legally pilot a Cat.”
“I won’t stand by while those people suffer. We’ve to get to the surface and figure out what happened to Admiral Maxtin.”
“Wait until the battle’s over. Commander, you’re not ready. Only a fully trained pilot should enter combat. Even then, life expectancy will be short.”
“I won’t hide while others die.”
“Let me build the Mecat storage bay. I’ll fly right alongside you. I just want to be in the best possible equipment with a fully trained Lance.”
“A lot of good people will die fighting the Mokarran today.”
“And you don’t need to be one of them. I want nothing more than to be a party to the extermination of those monsters. They wiped out my home planet, but we’ll do no one any good if we die, Commander.”
“I’m just your engineer, but buying a Mecat and flying off to do battle is insane. Mark may be the best pilot in the academy. Summersun’s no Academy training simulation. Who does he compete against outside controlled laboratory conditions? He’s never faced hardcore Mercs living for the thrill of death. Nor has he faced off against Mokarran who give no quarter. How do I explain to my immediate ranking officer the stupidity in combating with a Cat you haven’t flown before to understand her flaws and quirks? Bulky armored crafts will pull in flight. What kind of trigger do you have? Do you touch it and it goes off, or do you have to depress it all the way back? Skill is no match for the science, the natural instinct pilots gain the more they fly their craft.”
“I note your concerns.”
“But you’re not listening, Commander. You wanted the best in your crew. I’m the best. Let me strip those Cats. Actually make sure all the brand-new systems function. We go blow the hell out of all the Mokarran we find. But not this battle.”
“Scott, something tells me I have to be a part of this battle.”
Scott marches away, shaking his head. His captain will have to live with his decision and the deaths of his crew—if he lives long enough to know they were killed. “You survive; I want transferred back to an actual UCP ship. I’ll return to scrubbing hydroports on engine coolant systems if I have to.”
“I don’t want you to resign.”
“I doubt it matters. You want to kill yourself, fine. I’ll be back as an intelligence operative within a week when you go die on Summersun.”
“I don’t have an ego in this. It’s the right thing to do.”
THE LOCKER ROOM style quarters berth four, but the bunks are too short for Amye.
“You get spoiled on the Dragon.”
“My quarters are as big as this four-person room,” Amye says.
“I understand why Lances eventually buy their own dropships and modify them with better living quarters and repair bays,” JC says.
“Why did you come along?” Amye gazes into the storage locker with enough space for just her Silver Dragon jacket if she wanted to leave it. She slides it over her jumpsuit.
“I’m cleared for combat in a Mecat. But I’ve never…Our captain needs us,” JC confirms.
“Medic, telepath,
