Alarm of War, Book II: The Other Side of Fear by Kennedy Hudner

Author:Kennedy Hudner [Hudner, Kennedy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2014-11-05T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 30

On Board the Refuge Carrier Rabat

Emily Tuttle stepped aboard the Refuge Carrier Rabat not as its captain, but as the Commander of the Heavy Gunboat Wing. The Rabat’s captain, Rahim Zar, greeted her at the entrance with an honor guard of six sailors dressed in white, standing rigidly at attention. Emily would have been impressed with the formality of the moment, were it not for the goofy looking, floppy fanged grogon doll she carried under her arm. Captain Zar glanced at it curiously, but diplomatically said nothing.

“Welcome aboard, Commander,” Captain Zar said, sizing her up. Emily sized him up in return. He was a bit older than she was, perhaps in his mid-forties. Although much of his crew had been replaced when the carrier had been seconded to the Victorian Fleet, he had remained with the Rabat as its captain. It was important that she be able to work closely with this man. Emily would have authority over the three carriers in that they carried the Heavy Gunboat Wing, but within those limitations, Captain Zar would run the Rabat. She had the ultimate authority, but he was on loan from the Refuge Defense Force and had to be treated with respect.

“Thank you, Captain, I’m glad to be here,” she replied, shaking his hand.

“I will show you to your cabin, Commander, unless there is something you would prefer to do first,” he offered. “Your luggage has already been taken up.”

“The cabin would be fine, but to tell you the truth I am famished and could really use a trip to your galley.”

“That is easily arranged.” His eyebrows raised in question. “And does your companion have any particular dietary restrictions that the chef should be aware of?” he asked, nodding towards Fierce Grogon.

Emily smiled. He had a sense of humor, which boded well. “Well, yes, actually, it prefers its meat rather on the rare side. Alive and running is best.”

Zar nodded somberly. “I will inform the chef. Perhaps a goat?”

The walk to the galley was long – Emily was impressed at how large even a small carrier was – and it gave them a chance to talk. “All of your heavy gunboats are aboard, Commander,” Zar told her. “My deck crew is servicing them now. By tonight they will be fully armed and fueled and the first forty will be in launch pods.”

Emily nodded. “That’s excellent. I need to arrange with you and the other carrier captains some time for the gunboats to practice launches. We’ve done a lot of drills and war gaming, but until this moment we have not had an actual carrier to play with. All my pilots need to learn how to quickly and safely launch from a carrier.”

“Your pilots are new, then?”

“We are all new, Captain. The Heavy Gunboat Wing did not exist three months ago, but we do now and we need to bring ourselves up to speed as quickly as possible. Launching from carriers is the only thing we have not been able to practice.

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