![]() It was currents and shoals that gave him fits. "Agree with you wholeheartedly, sir," Weaver said, trying to figure out the wet part of the navigation. A born tourist, he was always willing to do a quick check of a planet if it didn't interfere with the overall mission. There had not been a single submarine commander with that skill. One reason that Captain Blankemeier had been chosen was that he was an amateur astronomer. Got to give Planetology plenty of time to survey, right?" And on that course we can get a fly-by of the bow shock." It's only about two minutes out of our way and I think the planetology department would appreciate the readings. "We can head straight for the heliopause in the direction of Alpha Cent or we can do a fly-by of Saturn. "I can't wait to get out of this damned gravity well." "Yes, sir, no tug this time for security reasons. "Seriously, it had to be the Adar springing that on the President. "We just motor straight out, right?" Spectre replied. ![]() "We're so black you couldn't find us with a really good sonar system, sir. "Cast off lines forward . . ." Spectre continued. It was a good combination if for no other reason than White could sometimes keep his headstrong commander from totally losing it. He was methodical where Spectre was daring. White, on the other hand, had started as an engineer and really comprehended the details of the boat. Spectre was the epitome of a fighter pilot and the crew loved him, but he hadn't studied ship handling skills until he'd assumed a carrier command and despite a tour as a sub officer, which had confused the hell out of his commander, he still wanted to fight the boat like a plane. Cast off lines aft!"ĭespite the political infighting above their heads, the two officers had meshed well. So Spectre had been put through an accelerated course in submarine warfare and management while White, who had been in line to command his own sub, was seconded as an "experienced XO." "At least we're so totally covert that hardly anyone will ever see our name. The carrier admirals, though, had a much better lobby. The submarine admirals had made the convincing point that spaceships would be more similar to subs than carriers. There had been a real tussle over which portion of the service was going to control the probable future space navy. The XO of the ASS Vorpal Blade was the senior submarine officer on the boat. "Could have been worse, sir," Commander Clay White said. "Oh, no . . . Cast off lines aft . . ." The short-coupled former carrier commander was clearly nonplussed over the chosen name for his boat. "They couldn't have named it the Alliance Warp Ship, could they?" Captain Steven "Spectre" Blankemeier said, shaking his head.
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