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Authors: Barry Knox
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asked.
“ Sure, Gideon.”
Anna guided him through the maze of passages and bulkheads. Gideon memorized everything he saw, read, or heard so he wouldn’t have to ask for directions to get back to his quarters.
As he walked , he noted that everything was colored navy standard gray. Nothing was painted; instead the manufacturer had added the gray color to the plastanium as it was being produced. It looked as if everything was constructed of plastanium. If so, the cost of the ship had to be astronomical.
Plastanium was state -of-the-art spacecraft building material. It was lightweight, strong, durable, and nonconductive. And if a small projectile nicked or punctured it, it would self-seal.
Biochem l ight panels were mounted and used throughout the ship to supply visual lighting for the crew. Automatic detectors and configuration settings on the panels turned lights on or off and adjusted the intensity of light when necessary. The panels were constructed of bioluminescent materials, which copied the chemical reactions used by certain insects and fish to produce light. The biochem lights were another costly feature.
A few minutes later Gideon arrived at the ship ’s marine armory and reported to Captain Neubauer.
“ Since you’re my exec, we’ll be on a first-name basis when we’re alone. That okay with you?” Captain Neubauer asked as he motioned Gideon to take a seat in front of his desk.
“ That’s fine, Rezin ,” Gideon said.
“ Okay, first things first, Gideon. Have you talked to your Anna yet?” Neubauer asked with a smile.
“ I have.”
“ Is it bizarre, or is it just me? You know, talking to it like it’s alive?”
“ It’s certainly going to take some getting used to.”
“ Yes it will. Anyway, let’s review our training schedule before we brief the men.”
Neubauer pulled up the training schedule on his desk ’s holographic display, and they reviewed the schedule in detail for a couple of hours, discussing specific plans and making minor modifications.
Captain’s Quarters, SRS Stephen Hawking
1345 —February 15, 2372
Mary sat at her desk familiarizing herself with the sailors, marines, and scientists aboard the Stephen Hawking. Mary read personnel file after personnel file. Every file she read surprised her. The men and women aboard her ship were indeed amazing people with one exception: Petty Officer Third Class Joseph Sipes. While everyone else had special skills or above-average intelligence, Sipes was just an average sailor with only one skill specialty. She would ask Admiral Frank about him during their next private communication.
Meanwhile she decided to meet each of the crew in her quarters and have an informal conversation just to get to know them personally. She’d discovered that talking with her crew one-on-one about their homes, family, dreams, and so forth…helped her know exactly what she could expect from them.
She pulled up a list of her crew on a holographic display and looked at it.
Navy Crew
Officers
Captain Mary Bowser, Captain SRS Stephen Hawking
Commander Nebo Steward, Executive Officer
Ensign Matthew Young, Communications Officer
Lieutenant Temani LaPalm, Navigation Officer
Lieutenant Commander Buz Vanderver, Engineering Officer
Commander Abilene Pettway, MD Ship’s Surgeon
Enlisted
Master Chief Petty Officer Andrew Ostrow, Ship’s MCPO
Hospital Corpsman 1 st Class, Thomas Wong, Medical
Petty Officer 1 st Class Hiel Zettler, Electronic Repairman
Petty Officer 1 st Class Candace Roe, Weapon Systems
Petty Officer 2 nd Class Jesca Pezant, Propulsion
Petty Officer 2 nd Class Tarah Afriday, Life
“ Sure, Gideon.”
Anna guided him through the maze of passages and bulkheads. Gideon memorized everything he saw, read, or heard so he wouldn’t have to ask for directions to get back to his quarters.
As he walked , he noted that everything was colored navy standard gray. Nothing was painted; instead the manufacturer had added the gray color to the plastanium as it was being produced. It looked as if everything was constructed of plastanium. If so, the cost of the ship had to be astronomical.
Plastanium was state -of-the-art spacecraft building material. It was lightweight, strong, durable, and nonconductive. And if a small projectile nicked or punctured it, it would self-seal.
Biochem l ight panels were mounted and used throughout the ship to supply visual lighting for the crew. Automatic detectors and configuration settings on the panels turned lights on or off and adjusted the intensity of light when necessary. The panels were constructed of bioluminescent materials, which copied the chemical reactions used by certain insects and fish to produce light. The biochem lights were another costly feature.
A few minutes later Gideon arrived at the ship ’s marine armory and reported to Captain Neubauer.
“ Since you’re my exec, we’ll be on a first-name basis when we’re alone. That okay with you?” Captain Neubauer asked as he motioned Gideon to take a seat in front of his desk.
“ That’s fine, Rezin ,” Gideon said.
“ Okay, first things first, Gideon. Have you talked to your Anna yet?” Neubauer asked with a smile.
“ I have.”
“ Is it bizarre, or is it just me? You know, talking to it like it’s alive?”
“ It’s certainly going to take some getting used to.”
“ Yes it will. Anyway, let’s review our training schedule before we brief the men.”
Neubauer pulled up the training schedule on his desk ’s holographic display, and they reviewed the schedule in detail for a couple of hours, discussing specific plans and making minor modifications.
Captain’s Quarters, SRS Stephen Hawking
1345 —February 15, 2372
Mary sat at her desk familiarizing herself with the sailors, marines, and scientists aboard the Stephen Hawking. Mary read personnel file after personnel file. Every file she read surprised her. The men and women aboard her ship were indeed amazing people with one exception: Petty Officer Third Class Joseph Sipes. While everyone else had special skills or above-average intelligence, Sipes was just an average sailor with only one skill specialty. She would ask Admiral Frank about him during their next private communication.
Meanwhile she decided to meet each of the crew in her quarters and have an informal conversation just to get to know them personally. She’d discovered that talking with her crew one-on-one about their homes, family, dreams, and so forth…helped her know exactly what she could expect from them.
She pulled up a list of her crew on a holographic display and looked at it.
Navy Crew
Officers
Captain Mary Bowser, Captain SRS Stephen Hawking
Commander Nebo Steward, Executive Officer
Ensign Matthew Young, Communications Officer
Lieutenant Temani LaPalm, Navigation Officer
Lieutenant Commander Buz Vanderver, Engineering Officer
Commander Abilene Pettway, MD Ship’s Surgeon
Enlisted
Master Chief Petty Officer Andrew Ostrow, Ship’s MCPO
Hospital Corpsman 1 st Class, Thomas Wong, Medical
Petty Officer 1 st Class Hiel Zettler, Electronic Repairman
Petty Officer 1 st Class Candace Roe, Weapon Systems
Petty Officer 2 nd Class Jesca Pezant, Propulsion
Petty Officer 2 nd Class Tarah Afriday, Life
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