entered.
"Relax, Ed. I'm still just Jen Carver when we're alone and don't have to maintain proper military protocol in front of other people."
He smiled. "Okay, Jen."
"How have you been?"
"Fine. Things have been pretty quiet since you left the sector. We've just been running our normal patrol routes. You put so many Raiders behind bars while you were the base commander at Stewart that it's been almost as quiet here as it is around Dixon."
"That's good to hear. I can say the same about Region Two right now, but I think it's just the calm before the storm. Our problems there haven't even begun yet. The Milori crushed anyone who got out of line, but by now the pirates have learned the Milori have had their teeth pulled. I expect them to start trying to build their own little empires in the absence of a heavy governmental hand. The worst part is there's absolutely nothing we can do about it. Not unless we suddenly find eight-hundred fully crewed warships."
"That's a tall order. How many ships have been assigned to the second fleet so far?"
"Seventy-seven, but most of them haven't even crossed into Region Two yet. It will take years just to get them to their bases so they can start patrolling. I received all three of the new battleships that were recently commissioned and that helps a great deal because they're capable of Light-9375. I have eight ships with the new speed capability now, if I count all the scout-destroyers as warships."
"You've certainly shown everyone what those small scout-destroyers can do. It makes me wonder if we need battleships any more. How will you be dividing up your forces?"
"I've identified twenty-five locations for StratCom-One bases, and each base should have at least fifteen warships assigned to it. To properly cover the entire region there should be an additional seventy-five lesser bases established and I'd like to have an additional four-hundred-twenty-five ships to divide among them, but it's going to take a long time to come up with those eight-hundred ships. The Mars facility is trying to ramp up production to a point where they produce twenty-five ships a year, but Region One is still severely short of their five-hundred-ship quota. What we need is a ship building facility like Maxxiloth had. When we destroyed his shipyard, he had about a thousand warships in various stages of construction."
"Good God, the docks must have stretched on forever."
"It sure seemed that way. We left a hell of mess behind when we were done."
"All I know about your operation is that you accomplished it with just two small ships. Is it classified, or can you talk about it?"
Jenetta had known before she arrived that he'd want to hear about her incursion into the former Milori Empire, so she didn't disappoint him. She explained in detail the various steps she had taken to destroy the Milori military and civilian infrastructure, leaving the enemy no choice but to plead for a cessation of hostilities.
The Colorado separated from the Bellona just after 2100 hours. Jenetta had thanked Captain Hyden for accommodating her request and promised to have Eliza back in about two and half months.
* * *
The Colorado arrived in the vicinity of Stewart Space Command Base at 0400 hours. Anticipating the late arrival hour, Jenetta had decided to have the ship wait outside the port until morning and went to bed at her usual time. The Colorado would complete its docking when Jenetta arrived on the bridge in the morning. When she learned of the estimated arrival time, she chastised herself for not checking before linking with the Bellona. She could have enjoyed a more leisurely meal with Captain Hyden and not felt compelled to advance his normal evening meal hour.
Although Jenetta was sure Lt. Commander Ashraf was experienced enough to handle the approach and docking maneuvers without her supervision, the SC Handbook strongly recommended the captain's presence on the bridge during all docking and undocking operations. It
"Relax, Ed. I'm still just Jen Carver when we're alone and don't have to maintain proper military protocol in front of other people."
He smiled. "Okay, Jen."
"How have you been?"
"Fine. Things have been pretty quiet since you left the sector. We've just been running our normal patrol routes. You put so many Raiders behind bars while you were the base commander at Stewart that it's been almost as quiet here as it is around Dixon."
"That's good to hear. I can say the same about Region Two right now, but I think it's just the calm before the storm. Our problems there haven't even begun yet. The Milori crushed anyone who got out of line, but by now the pirates have learned the Milori have had their teeth pulled. I expect them to start trying to build their own little empires in the absence of a heavy governmental hand. The worst part is there's absolutely nothing we can do about it. Not unless we suddenly find eight-hundred fully crewed warships."
"That's a tall order. How many ships have been assigned to the second fleet so far?"
"Seventy-seven, but most of them haven't even crossed into Region Two yet. It will take years just to get them to their bases so they can start patrolling. I received all three of the new battleships that were recently commissioned and that helps a great deal because they're capable of Light-9375. I have eight ships with the new speed capability now, if I count all the scout-destroyers as warships."
"You've certainly shown everyone what those small scout-destroyers can do. It makes me wonder if we need battleships any more. How will you be dividing up your forces?"
"I've identified twenty-five locations for StratCom-One bases, and each base should have at least fifteen warships assigned to it. To properly cover the entire region there should be an additional seventy-five lesser bases established and I'd like to have an additional four-hundred-twenty-five ships to divide among them, but it's going to take a long time to come up with those eight-hundred ships. The Mars facility is trying to ramp up production to a point where they produce twenty-five ships a year, but Region One is still severely short of their five-hundred-ship quota. What we need is a ship building facility like Maxxiloth had. When we destroyed his shipyard, he had about a thousand warships in various stages of construction."
"Good God, the docks must have stretched on forever."
"It sure seemed that way. We left a hell of mess behind when we were done."
"All I know about your operation is that you accomplished it with just two small ships. Is it classified, or can you talk about it?"
Jenetta had known before she arrived that he'd want to hear about her incursion into the former Milori Empire, so she didn't disappoint him. She explained in detail the various steps she had taken to destroy the Milori military and civilian infrastructure, leaving the enemy no choice but to plead for a cessation of hostilities.
The Colorado separated from the Bellona just after 2100 hours. Jenetta had thanked Captain Hyden for accommodating her request and promised to have Eliza back in about two and half months.
* * *
The Colorado arrived in the vicinity of Stewart Space Command Base at 0400 hours. Anticipating the late arrival hour, Jenetta had decided to have the ship wait outside the port until morning and went to bed at her usual time. The Colorado would complete its docking when Jenetta arrived on the bridge in the morning. When she learned of the estimated arrival time, she chastised herself for not checking before linking with the Bellona. She could have enjoyed a more leisurely meal with Captain Hyden and not felt compelled to advance his normal evening meal hour.
Although Jenetta was sure Lt. Commander Ashraf was experienced enough to handle the approach and docking maneuvers without her supervision, the SC Handbook strongly recommended the captain's presence on the bridge during all docking and undocking operations. It
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