“I need this room,” was pure Grand Duchess. “Kit, Kat, let’s clean me up and get me back in uniform. Commander, have a shuttle waiting for me as soon as I am ready.”
“I’m going with you,” Mannie said. “You may need some local political cover for what comes next.”
“Thank you, Mayor,” Vicky said. “Now, folks, clear out. I need to clean up.”
CHAPTER 5
V ICKY had her shuttle dock directly on the Retribution . She apparently was expected. Admiral von Mittleburg met her at the door of her quarters with Captain Etterlin of the battleship in tow.
“What have you got so far?” Vicky asked as she led them and her entourage into her day quarters.
“Not a lot,” the admiral growled. “What looks to be three heavy cruisers are leading in three ships that have declared themselves the Golden Empress 1 , 2 , and 3 . The cruisers have throttled their squawkers so we can’t identify them, but the Golden Empress es are being quite bold, even if they aren’t talking to us.”
“You can’t tell me anything about the ships but that?” Vicky asked.
“What more could we tell you?” Captain Etterlin countered.
Vicky rolled her eyes. “Computer, get me Lieutenant Blue.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” came immediately in the voice of the enthusiastic young officer.
“What can you tell me about the six ships that just entered the system?”
“The three heavy cruisers are not telling us anything, but we have identified them as Wittenberg , Augsburg , and Ulm .According to our data files, they carry twelve 9.2-inch lasers. Interesting enough, none of their capacitors are charged.”
“And the three other ships?” Vicky prodded.
“They identify themselves as the Golden Empress 1 , 2 , and 3 , but they were, until lately, the Germanica , the Europa , and the Constantinia , all eighty-thousand-tonners of the Greenfeld-Earth lines. Our sensors show them armed with six 18-inch pulse lasers and three 5-inch long guns. Their capacitors are charged; however, their fire control systems, assuming they have any, are inactive.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant Blue. Will you please report to me in my cabin.”
“On my way, Your Grace.”
Vicky rang off and faced her two superior officers. Admiral von Mittleburg had a quizzical look on his face. Captain Etterlin looked in danger of a heart attack.
“And who is this Lieutenant Blue?” the captain demanded.
“I believe he and his staff and equipment came aboard at Bayern, a gift to me from some retired admirals.”
“Why wasn’t I informed?”
“No doubt you were,” Vicky answered the steaming officer. “No doubt you didn’t know what you had been given,” she added.
“Captain,” the admiral said, stepping between the Grand Duchess and the skipper of her putative yacht. “Why don’t you get the Retribution ready to sail. No doubt, there is a good chance we will be in a fight soon.”
The man saluted, happy to have something he understood handed to him, and left.
“He is a good ship handler,” the admiral noted.
“But I need a man of imagination, not a plodding cow.”
“Yes. Now, if you will, just who is this Lieutenant Blue?”
“He heads a sensor team with capabilities that go far beyond what our usual sensor suites can produce. I noticed that Kris Longknife had a major sensor suite on her ship. Her corvette was much better outfitted than one of our battleships. I put that down to the nosy Longknifes wanting to know everything. Then I watched her in action. Information is power, and she had more information at her fingertips than I have ever seen.
“I might have mentioned that to our friendly neighborhood spy. Possible he passed it along to someone in the Navy. Ormaybe I dropped a hint to Admiral Waller. I don’t know how it happened, but I was delighted to be invited into Lieutenant Blue’s inner sanctum and shown what his toys could do. My own computer had told me more about the two Golden Empress es we ran into that were intent
“I’m going with you,” Mannie said. “You may need some local political cover for what comes next.”
“Thank you, Mayor,” Vicky said. “Now, folks, clear out. I need to clean up.”
CHAPTER 5
V ICKY had her shuttle dock directly on the Retribution . She apparently was expected. Admiral von Mittleburg met her at the door of her quarters with Captain Etterlin of the battleship in tow.
“What have you got so far?” Vicky asked as she led them and her entourage into her day quarters.
“Not a lot,” the admiral growled. “What looks to be three heavy cruisers are leading in three ships that have declared themselves the Golden Empress 1 , 2 , and 3 . The cruisers have throttled their squawkers so we can’t identify them, but the Golden Empress es are being quite bold, even if they aren’t talking to us.”
“You can’t tell me anything about the ships but that?” Vicky asked.
“What more could we tell you?” Captain Etterlin countered.
Vicky rolled her eyes. “Computer, get me Lieutenant Blue.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” came immediately in the voice of the enthusiastic young officer.
“What can you tell me about the six ships that just entered the system?”
“The three heavy cruisers are not telling us anything, but we have identified them as Wittenberg , Augsburg , and Ulm .According to our data files, they carry twelve 9.2-inch lasers. Interesting enough, none of their capacitors are charged.”
“And the three other ships?” Vicky prodded.
“They identify themselves as the Golden Empress 1 , 2 , and 3 , but they were, until lately, the Germanica , the Europa , and the Constantinia , all eighty-thousand-tonners of the Greenfeld-Earth lines. Our sensors show them armed with six 18-inch pulse lasers and three 5-inch long guns. Their capacitors are charged; however, their fire control systems, assuming they have any, are inactive.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant Blue. Will you please report to me in my cabin.”
“On my way, Your Grace.”
Vicky rang off and faced her two superior officers. Admiral von Mittleburg had a quizzical look on his face. Captain Etterlin looked in danger of a heart attack.
“And who is this Lieutenant Blue?” the captain demanded.
“I believe he and his staff and equipment came aboard at Bayern, a gift to me from some retired admirals.”
“Why wasn’t I informed?”
“No doubt you were,” Vicky answered the steaming officer. “No doubt you didn’t know what you had been given,” she added.
“Captain,” the admiral said, stepping between the Grand Duchess and the skipper of her putative yacht. “Why don’t you get the Retribution ready to sail. No doubt, there is a good chance we will be in a fight soon.”
The man saluted, happy to have something he understood handed to him, and left.
“He is a good ship handler,” the admiral noted.
“But I need a man of imagination, not a plodding cow.”
“Yes. Now, if you will, just who is this Lieutenant Blue?”
“He heads a sensor team with capabilities that go far beyond what our usual sensor suites can produce. I noticed that Kris Longknife had a major sensor suite on her ship. Her corvette was much better outfitted than one of our battleships. I put that down to the nosy Longknifes wanting to know everything. Then I watched her in action. Information is power, and she had more information at her fingertips than I have ever seen.
“I might have mentioned that to our friendly neighborhood spy. Possible he passed it along to someone in the Navy. Ormaybe I dropped a hint to Admiral Waller. I don’t know how it happened, but I was delighted to be invited into Lieutenant Blue’s inner sanctum and shown what his toys could do. My own computer had told me more about the two Golden Empress es we ran into that were intent
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