Read Online Ark Royal by Christopher Nuttall - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Christopher Nuttall
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Engineering in twenty minutes.”
“Go grab a mug of coffee,” James said, absently. He paused as a thought occurred to him. “Was your grandfather the driving force behind the preservation society?”
“No, just one of them,” Midshipwomen Lopez assured him.
James smiled as she left the compartment, remembering what he’d been told when he’d first realised that Ark Royal might be reactivated. There was a pressure group dedicated to keeping the Old Lady in service, even if she was just in the reserves. Why not? She was hardly the only starship to merit being kept alive. And besides, with the sudden desperate need for hulls, the Royal Navy might have good cause to be relieved they’d kept her.
Shaking his head, he picked up the terminal and went back to work.
Chapter Six
Ted had to smile when he walked into Briefing Room A, followed closely by Commander Fitzwilliam. The boxes of spare parts had been removed from the compartment and stowed away in disused cabins, allowing his senior officers to take their seats without having to worry about being careful where they sat. Midshipwomen Lopez had even managed to scrounge up some replacement chairs, although they weren't marked with Ark Royal’s crest.
“Be seated,” he ordered, shortly. “We seem to have met our deadline.”
His senior crew exchanged nods. They’d worked frantically for over a month to get Ark Royal ready for service, a month during which there had been no further alien contact. Ted had heard that the unified defence command was talking about sending scoutships back to the attacked systems, just to see what was happening there, but as far as he knew nothing had actually come of the proposals. All he could really do was wait to see what happened, just like the civilians on Earth. Thankfully, the panic had slowly faded away as further attacks failed to materialise.
“We could still do with additional training,” Wing Commander Schneider said. The CAG leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “The fighter wings have a very inconsistent level of practice, I’m afraid.”
“Keep working on it,” Ted ordered, dryly. He understood Schneider’s problem, but they needed to start thinking about deployment. “We may be asked to leave at any moment.”
“Which leads to an important question,” Farley said. “Where are they?”
Ted scowled. The aliens had hit their first target over six weeks ago. By now, they should have been reaching Earth ... or at least feeling their way into the heart of human space. But instead they seemed to be doing nothing, nothing at all. It made no sense. What sort of mindset would start a war, a war that had come as a complete surprise to its target, and then hold off long enough for the target to get over its shock and mobilise? Even the endless political debate over command and control was drawing to an end.
He looked up at the holographic starchart, thinking hard. The unified defence command had concluded that New Russia was the next target for the alien invaders. Fortunately, it had a growing industrial base, as well as a deeply nationalistic population that would resist when – if – the aliens tried to land. By now, twelve carriers and over a hundred smaller ships – the largest fleet humanity had ever deployed outside the Sol System – were based there, ready to meet the aliens when they arrived. But so far the aliens hadn't shown their hand.
“They may not agree with our thoughts on how to fight a war,” Ted observed, finally. Who knew how aliens thought? For all they knew, the aliens hadn't realised they were facing an interstellar power. And yet ... surely they would have known from studying the remains of the destroyed colonies. “Or maybe their drive systems are inferior to our own.”
The starchart shimmered at his command, showing the known gravitational tramlines
“Go grab a mug of coffee,” James said, absently. He paused as a thought occurred to him. “Was your grandfather the driving force behind the preservation society?”
“No, just one of them,” Midshipwomen Lopez assured him.
James smiled as she left the compartment, remembering what he’d been told when he’d first realised that Ark Royal might be reactivated. There was a pressure group dedicated to keeping the Old Lady in service, even if she was just in the reserves. Why not? She was hardly the only starship to merit being kept alive. And besides, with the sudden desperate need for hulls, the Royal Navy might have good cause to be relieved they’d kept her.
Shaking his head, he picked up the terminal and went back to work.
Chapter Six
Ted had to smile when he walked into Briefing Room A, followed closely by Commander Fitzwilliam. The boxes of spare parts had been removed from the compartment and stowed away in disused cabins, allowing his senior officers to take their seats without having to worry about being careful where they sat. Midshipwomen Lopez had even managed to scrounge up some replacement chairs, although they weren't marked with Ark Royal’s crest.
“Be seated,” he ordered, shortly. “We seem to have met our deadline.”
His senior crew exchanged nods. They’d worked frantically for over a month to get Ark Royal ready for service, a month during which there had been no further alien contact. Ted had heard that the unified defence command was talking about sending scoutships back to the attacked systems, just to see what was happening there, but as far as he knew nothing had actually come of the proposals. All he could really do was wait to see what happened, just like the civilians on Earth. Thankfully, the panic had slowly faded away as further attacks failed to materialise.
“We could still do with additional training,” Wing Commander Schneider said. The CAG leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “The fighter wings have a very inconsistent level of practice, I’m afraid.”
“Keep working on it,” Ted ordered, dryly. He understood Schneider’s problem, but they needed to start thinking about deployment. “We may be asked to leave at any moment.”
“Which leads to an important question,” Farley said. “Where are they?”
Ted scowled. The aliens had hit their first target over six weeks ago. By now, they should have been reaching Earth ... or at least feeling their way into the heart of human space. But instead they seemed to be doing nothing, nothing at all. It made no sense. What sort of mindset would start a war, a war that had come as a complete surprise to its target, and then hold off long enough for the target to get over its shock and mobilise? Even the endless political debate over command and control was drawing to an end.
He looked up at the holographic starchart, thinking hard. The unified defence command had concluded that New Russia was the next target for the alien invaders. Fortunately, it had a growing industrial base, as well as a deeply nationalistic population that would resist when – if – the aliens tried to land. By now, twelve carriers and over a hundred smaller ships – the largest fleet humanity had ever deployed outside the Sol System – were based there, ready to meet the aliens when they arrived. But so far the aliens hadn't shown their hand.
“They may not agree with our thoughts on how to fight a war,” Ted observed, finally. Who knew how aliens thought? For all they knew, the aliens hadn't realised they were facing an interstellar power. And yet ... surely they would have known from studying the remains of the destroyed colonies. “Or maybe their drive systems are inferior to our own.”
The starchart shimmered at his command, showing the known gravitational tramlines
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