Paul sat in Combat on the Michaelson the next morning, watching his display report every detail as the Maury undocked and headed away from Franklin Naval Station. The symbol representing the Maury stayed bright as she accelerated outward, the distance between her and Franklin opening with dizzying speed. I wish I could at least send Jen a letter, and maybe get some back. But ships on patrol don't send or receive anything but important operational messages. Mail receipt and sending would pose too big a risk of betraying the ship's location. So, farewell for now, Jen. For the next three months, I'll only be talking to you in my mind.
Two hours later, Paul and the other junior officers gathered on the quarterdeck for Carl Meadows' final departure from the ship. The officers lined up as sideboys as Carl entered the quarterdeck with a seabag of personal belongings draped over one shoulder. Carl insisted on shaking everyone's hands, then stepped back, looked around for a moment at the ship, faced the officer of the deck inport and saluted. 'Request permission to leave the ship.'
'Permission granted.'
As Carl started through the ranks of his fellow junior officers, Lieutenant Sindh called out, 'Hand salute!' They all saluted in unison, holding the gesture as Carl brought his own hand up, maintaining his return salute as he walked past their ranks. The bosun mate of the watch trilled attention on his pipe, bonged the ship's bell twice, then announced, 'Lieutenant, United States Navy, departing.'
Carl pivoted after he'd cleared the Michaelson 's brow so he could face aft and salute the flag. Then he turned, smiling a bit wistfully. 'See you guys around. Take it easy.'
Lieutenant Sindh called out, 'Two!' Everyone dropped their salute and waved to Carl as he walked away. Within a few moments, most of the junior officers had hastened off to work, leaving Paul and Kris Denaldo watching the dwindling form of Carl until it disappeared around a turn.
Kris slapped Paul on the back. 'Come on. You and I've got work to do.'
'I going to miss that guy, Kris.'
'Yeah. It's hard when a friend leaves. I hated to see Jen go, but at least she's nearby and I still see her every once in a while.'
'I guess I'd better get used to it.'
'You won't. You saw how torn up Gonzalez was to leave.'
'It's a screwy way to live, Kris.'
'You volunteered for it.'
'You sound like Jen. Reminding me of my mistakes.'
Kris laughed and headed back into the ship. Paul took one more look toward where Carl had disappeared, then followed her. Two goodbye's in one morning. At least Jen's coming back. Unless an accident happened, unless Jen fell prey to the many ways a sailor could die in the course of 'routine' duties. Paul's mind shied away from the possibility, though not before he realized Jen would have the same fears for him. We understand each other's work. That's a good thing. It can also be a bad thing, I guess.
Four days later, the Michaelson herself prepared to get underway again. The contractors were aboard, the pulse-phased laser appeared to be working properly, and this time two range safety ships would accompany the Michaelson to ensure another Greenspace trick didn't interrupt the test firing.
Paul twisted around from his chair on the bridge, looking for Lieutenant Silver. Where's Scott? He should already be up here and helping get through the checklist for getting underway. Paul focused back on the checklist, reviewing the next item.
Barely twenty minutes prior to the scheduled time for getting underway, Scott Silver came onto the bridge and strapped into his chair. 'Hey, Paul. Sorry I'm late. Really sorry. Had some engineering issues, you know?'
'Uh, yeah.' It's not his fault if something tied him down until now. And engineering problems are the sort of thing that might keep us from getting underway at all.
'How's the checklist coming?' Silver took a look at it, nodded and smiled. 'Great. Really good work. It's almost done. I can see why Carl Meadows said you were a great partner on a watch team.'
'Thanks. There's a couple more items — '
'Right. Can you handle them while I get up to speed on your bridge arrangement?'
Paul nodded back, trying not to reveal any reluctance since the request seemed reasonable. Unused to handling all the checklist items by himself, Paul went through the last few items as fast as he could and still be certain they'd been done properly.
He'd just finished when Commander Kwan arrived on the bridge, looked around carefully, then focused on Scott Silver. 'How's preparations for getting underway going?'
Silver smiled confidently. 'The checklist's just been completed, sir. We're ready to go.'
'Good work, Scott. Notify the captain. He should up here any moment now.'
Silver gestured to Paul. 'Let the captain know, okay?'
Paul bit back his first reply. You could've let Kwan know I did the checklist instead of taking credit for it yourself. And why can't you call the captain? But Silver was the officer of the deck, which meant he had every right to delegate tasks to Paul. 'Captain, this is Lieutenant Junior Grade Sinclair, the junior officer of the deck. All departments report readiness for getting underway.'
'Thanks. I'll be right there.'
A few moments later the bosun mate of the watch called out, 'Captain's on the bridge!'
Scott Silver pivoted his chair to face Captain Hayes. 'Sir, the ship is ready to get underway.'
'Thank you.' Hayes eyed Silver carefully. 'Do you feel familiar enough with the ship to get her underway?'
Silver looked regretful. 'I think so, sir, but in a close maneuvering situation like this…'
Captain Hayes switched his gaze to Paul. 'Lieutenant Sinclair, why don't you get the ship underway today?'
'Aye, aye, sir.' Am I going to do everything up here this watch? It makes sense, I guess. Scott hasn't been underway on the Michaelson, yet, which makes me the better-qualified one for conning her away from the station. Paul took a couple of deep, calming breaths, exhaling slowly, as he studied the close-in maneuvering display and ran through the procedure for getting underway. It's basically simple. I release the ship from the station, pushing her up and away, while the centrifugal force inherited from the station's rotation also pushes her up. I have to make sure the Michaelson doesn't drift too far to the side and smash into another dock before I get her clear of the station. And I have to avoid running into anything else.
The status panel for the ship's automated maneuvering system glowed a happy green at every point. Paul saw Scott Silver's eyes were focused there. Sensing his gaze, Scott looked at Paul, then nodded at the automated system panel. 'That'll do it for you.'
'No, it won't. We never take the ship out on automatic. That system isn't foolproof. No system is. And if it fails, we need to know how to do the job ourselves.'
Silver shrugged. 'Okay.'
Easy for you to say. They let the Rickover leave port on auto? Never mind. Can't think about that now. 'Captain, all departments report they are ready for getting underway. We have received clearance from station control to get underway.'
Captain Hayes nodded, his eyes on his own display. 'Very well, Mr. Sinclair. Get the ship underway.'
'Aye, aye, sir.' Paul licked his lips and swallowed, trying to ensure his voice would sound smooth and confident. 'Bosun, pass the word to all hands to prepare to get underway. Quarterdeck, seal quarterdeck access and retract the brow.'
'Seal quarterdeck and retract brow, aye,' the petty officer of watch echoed in a routine designed to ensure he had heard the order correctly. 'Quarterdeck reports it is sealed. Station has retracted brow. All seals confirmed tight.'
Paul checked his display, mentally lining up his commands and surreptitiously using his fingers to remember numbers and sequences. 'Take in Lines Two and Three. Take in Line Four.'
'Take in Lines Two, Three, and Four, aye.' Some of the grapples holding the Michaelson tight against the station let go, allowing the Michaelson 's lines to float free. The ship reeled in the lines smoothly, ensuring they wouldn't flail about and damage either the ship or the station. 'Lines Two, Three, and Four secure.'
Paul checked his display again, rehearsing the next order in his head, acutely aware that Captain Hayes was monitoring every step of the process. 'Port thrusters all ahead one third. Let out Lines… One and Five.'
