It was difficult to be around Admiral Jones and not feel awkward. The dichotomy between his behavior around the academy and when we were behind closed doors was drastic. He began the first day with instructing me on proper etiquette for every situation. Since I was XO of the Unity, standards were higher for me. Everyone would be watching and waiting for me to make a mistake. The pressure to not mess up was extreme.
As fate would have it, Admiral Jones did have a fantastic sense of humor. It took some time, but eventually I began to get used to his foibles. I had tried to convince my old squadrons that Admiral Jones was did have a sense of humor, but they all refused to believe me. They all thought I was playing a prank.
The first two weeks of training were dedicated to working with the fighter pilots. Since we didn't have the space to train everyone at the same time, they trained in shifts. Our time with the pilots was spent in the classroom as well as overseeing their time in the simulators. The classroom time was spent covering everything from tactics to specific details on the fighters to proper protocol when communicating with other ships. Admiral Jones expected the pilots to know their ships better than the technicians who maintained them. On a few occasions I was able to catch Tina and talk with her, but it was difficult, as she was usually surrounded by other pilots. Apparently, her skills had made a well-respected expert. Our conversations were pleasant, but my new station had created a divide between us that was difficult to overcome. With time I found myself talking and acting more like the XO and less like the Cadet I had been. The habits I was inheriting from Admiral Jones was starting to distinguish me from the other cadets. At times it felt like I was distancing myself from everyone else.
Admiral Jones and I were on our way to the simulators to oversee a mock battle when our tablets rang simultaneously. We stopped and read the message that was just received. "I think the pilots are going to be excited when we break this news," I said.
"I think that is the biggest understatement I've heard all week," Admiral Jones said with a chuckle.
We quickly made our way to the simulators to deliver the good news. We managed to arrive moments before the pilots. As they entered the room, Admiral Jones called out to get their attention, "Attention on Deck!" With practiced precision, everyone stood at attention, "We just received a message, and due to its contents, your simulator time today has been canceled. We just received word that two squadrons of fighters had just arrived from the shipyards. These ships are fully functional and are ready to be manned. Instead of today's assigned mission, we'll be going on a little field trip to check out and break in the new ships." Surprisingly, the pilots in the room still stood at attention, but by the look on their faces, it was not easy.
The hangars were at the bottom of the Academy. Even I was awed as I entered the hangar. It was a cavernous expanse that must have taken up the entire floor of the station. Parked in perfectly straight lines were the new fighters. They were impressive to behold. Admiral Jones and I arrived before the pilots. He ordered them to don their flight suits before entering the hangar. The pilots slowly started to trickle into the hangar. I could see the same look of astonishment and amazement on each face. I saw Tina Walk in and approach the nearest fighter. She ran her hand down the side as she walked around, drinking in every detail. I walked up behind her and said her name. She jumped and spun around. I laughed and said, "When you're done worshiping the craftsmanship, why don't you climb aboard and take her for a spin."
"Seriously?" she asked her face lighting up.
"I wouldn't dare tease you about something like this," I replied. "You would probably murder me in my sleep." We both laughed knowing it was probably true. I could tell she was holding back her excitement as I helped her into the cockpit.
While she was inspecting the inside of the cockpit, Admiral Jones' voice could be heard booming through the hangar speakers. "All fighter pilots mount up. This is the real deal, so I expect everybody to follow procedure to the letter. If any of you die out there, I'll make it my personal mission to make sure you never pilot again." I was the only one laughing at that joke. Tina looked at me as if I had lost my mind. I just shook my head at her.
Admiral Jones continued, "These will fly slightly different than in the simulator. Make sure you've run your preflight checklists. Once you clear the station, proceed to your designated nav point and wait for further instruction. Your instructors as well as Commander Ryan and I will be in a mobile command ship overseeing this exercise. These fighters are fully functional. That means you have live weapons in there. Anyone who fires a shot without orders to do so will be permanently reassigned to waste disposal. Move out."
I bade farewell to an excited Tina and made my way to the mobile command ship as Admiral Jones called it. It looked like a glorified passenger shuttle. Once I saw the inside, I quickly changed my mind. There were computers covering every wall, and in the center was a round flat table. The technicians were too busy powering up the systems for me to ask questions. Soon Admiral Jones walked in. "People just don't appreciate Irony," he said, referring to his announcement to the pilots.
"I think they're just intimidated by your impressive presence," I said. He laughed as he walked towards the cockpit. Soon we had taken off and watched as the fighters scattered to their rally points. They separated into ten groups of ten.
One of the instructors put on a headset and sent out a general broadcast telling pilots that they were going to start with some basic flight maneuvers to get used to the ships. Coordinates were sent to each group with nav points to fly to. As the fighters started to move, the round table lit up showing a holographic display of the fighters. I stared at the display awestruck. "Why haven't I seen one of these before now?" I asked
One of the technicians spoke up, "They just released them. This is our first working model."
Around the table were two-dimensional displays that user could manipulate to focus on a specific point in space. We watched as the fighters performed increasingly complex exercises. They moved with such precision and grace that it was hard to imagine that some of these were the same pilots we encountered during the tournament six months ago. The whole exercise lasted an hour. When it was finished, we watched as the pilots made their way back to the hangar.
After we had landed, it took a full ten minutes to pressurize the hangar. After we disembarked, I looked around for Tina. I was curious to see how the fighters handled. I saw her talking excitedly to some of the other pilots. I could only guess that her excitement meant that she was happy with the way they flew.
I walked up to Tina's group and asked, "How did it go?" When the pilots realized who was talking, they instantly stood at attention and saluted. At times I forgot who I was and that I was now considered a senior officer and honestly, I didn't like being treated different. I returned the solute and said, "At ease." They relaxed, but their earlier enthusiasm seemed to have dissipated.
Tina spoke up, "The sims don't do these beauties justice. They are incredible. They even managed to dampen the G forces when turning and accelerating. It's not completely gone, but it's a heck of a lot better." In her excitement, she spoke as if we were back in our original squadron. It was refreshing, but as soon as she remembered who I was, she stood at attention. "I mean they fly as expected sir,"
"I remembered the pull that the simulators forced on you. It could be unpleasant. I'm happy to hear that they meet your approval," I said with a smile and walked off. Once I left, the group resumed their animated discussion.
The next two weeks were spent with the cruiser crews. We received ten cruisers several days after the fighters arrived. We received a similar reaction from the cruiser crews as we did the fighter pilots. The fact that we only having ten cruisers meant that we could only train thirty people at a time. It did allow the complete three-man crew to work together though. The third person in the cruiser was a technician. Their job was to make sure the ship ran smoothly. The technician could also act as a backup pilot or gunner if something went wrong. We were sure to simulate that as well. There weren't many things that could go wrong on a cruiser, but we made sure we drilled them on everything we could think of.
Just like with the fighters, the cruisers seemed to fly in perfect harmony, minus a few close calls. They were equipped with inert missiles, so they could do some basic weapons training. They performed admirably for their first time in actual ships. It was impressive how well the fleet was doing. There were certain things that couldn't be learned through simulators or training missions. Actual combat was always a concern. You could train somebody all you wanted, but until that first battle it was hard to tell how they would react.
After working with the cruisers for two weeks, it was our chance to work with the battleship crews. We had received a single battleship two weeks after the cruisers arrived. The first phase of testing for the battleship crews was mundane. We never even undocked from the academy. We tested their response to various internal failures, as well as responding to hostile boarding parties. Phase two focused on basic flight maneuvers. The battleships didn't have the agility the other ships had. I heard it compared to flying a brick. The pilots did the best they could though. Phase three was weapons testing. Most of the weapon testing was simulated, although at the end they were given some inert missiles to launch. Nobody was trusted with live munitions yet.
Finally, we were training with the crew of the Unity. I was pleased to see that Jen was the second shift pilot. That was the shift I would be working. The Unity was unique as it was the only ship that the bridge had to be constantly manned. The bridge watch was split into three shifts. Admiral Jones would take the first watch, while the operations office would take the third watch. Eventually, additional officers would be trained to become watch officers to help relieve the burden on Admiral Jones and myself, but they would be part of the second round of recruits.
It was Admiral Jones' belief that a well-trained crew only needed its captain to coordinate with other departments and to make command decisions. Each individual should know their job well enough to be able to perform it without an officer keeping watch. With only four months until the fleet was completed, I was feeling confident that we would be ready to face any challenge head on.
The Unity was the only ship we didn't have available to train on. Now that we had started receiving ships from the shipyards, we had room on the simulator deck to have a simulator for the bridge of the Unity. I kept up to date on the daily progress reports on the construction of the Unity. Very detailed information was sent regarding its construction, but details regarding its capabilities were still being kept secret. I could only take their word that the simulator was adequate for training. I figured the Simulator really wouldn't do the Unity Justice, but it did allow for everyone to get comfortable in their assigned roles. Admiral Jones, the operations officer, and I would trade off commanding during simulator time. It was nice to start building up our bridge crews. I took a very hands-on approach in learning about my bridge crew. I held regular meetings with them, and several training sessions to build up a cohesiveness that I was hoping would outperform the other bridge crews, not that the admiral and I were competing.