Koban: When Empires Collide by Stephen W Bennett

Author:Stephen W Bennett [Bennett, Stephen W]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2017-05-28T06:00:00+00:00

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Three weeks later, Foxworthy told her her aide. “Please remind Bledso’s staff that I requested my ten ships returned after the publicity stunt. It’s been a week, and the members of the two houses have had enough time to visit them, talk to the crews, and take demonstration flights. The ships were only supposed to help the president make her point.

“Say that I need the crews to finish their training. Of course, Kobani crews don’t forget anything anymore, or need pointless and repetitive training out here, but they should rejoin the fleet. I can now deploy fleet elements where they might be needed.” She was still relishing her own feeling of rejuvenation as a Kobani.

She was the first, and highest ranking naval officer to be transformed, when Bledso enviously notified her of the removal of the gene law restrictions on commissioned officers. It was called the Kobani Exception, leaving out the somewhat contentious words gene modifications. A quick administering of the revised loyalty oath, and she took a shuttle to a nearby Federation hospital ship. The aches, pains, and mild fever were nearly gone after spending a full additional week in a med lab.

Mentally absorbing personnel reports, using her increased processing speed, she noted, “The crews of the other modified ships are bored. The first ones completed have been orbiting K1 for the last month. Oh, damn it…, I just said we don’t forget crap. I meant orbiting Greater West Africa. Wait! Will there be a name change again, or what? I’ve been out of touch in that med lab, but I heard the Department of Colonization will call it New Africa.”

Her assistant, Lieutenant Commander Ken Bracy, also a new Kobani, but suffering the aches, pains, and mild fever of his continuing transformation, performed a quick Comtap link to the flagship’s AI. One of the fun things he could do now. In under a second, he had the AI send the requested message concerning the ten heavy cruisers to Bledso’s staff on Earth, via instant communications. Only then did he respond to his superior’s question, which he wasn’t sure if it was rhetorical or not.

“Mam, my navy Comtap friend on the president’s military advisory board, says the president signed the joint resolution from parliament last night, and it was renamed New Africa in that Bill.”

He added other details Foxworthy must have missed. “The colony renaming was included in an amendment, but the full resolution authorized the Federation to continue to operate the Prada factory here, under an expanded navy contract. It’s obviously the fastest way to perform the stealth modifications on our existing ships, although Hub shipyards are squawking foul play. My guy says contract negotiations are also underway to have the Prada build our new Scouts here, or perhaps construct navy versions of Federation Mark II’s instead. He’s of the opinion that politics will give the larger ship construction to the Hub yards.”

Based on the past plodding implementation of new naval contracts, she said, “Wow. That’s more efficient than I expected our side to be.

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