Alpha One - Chris Burton [35]
“Engage the Stellar drive and accelerate to SD1. Maintain heading.”
The Halo 7 Bridge went quiet and then the ship accelerated almost instantaneously to light speed. The bridge remained silent until Hoskins stood and turned towards his colleagues, whose workstations all lay behind him. “Carry out diagnostics on the S-drive and related systems. Number One, you have the bridge. I shall be in my study.”
Hoskins took time this morning to visit all his department chiefs. He started on the bridge, where his First Officer had just taken over from his Bridge Commander. He spent a few minutes discussing the morning’s events, which had included some minor course adjustments, a buildup of ice deposits on the outer hull, and some tinkering with the bridge staffing timetables with Sahib Mahmud, his Duty Bridge Commander.
He headed to main engineering and spent fifteen minutes with his new chief engineer, discussing the drive variables and establishing performance improvement targets. Tom Royce made some interesting recommendations. Royce was a valuable resource, as he was the only crew member who thoroughly understood the mechanics of the various new systems. Royce felt the two variable stellar drives should be used concurrently to avoid freeze-over in one unit and to ensure polarity of ion matter disbursement. Hoskins understood the theory, but this was not his forté. The almost-limitless number of drive variables concerned him. He was pleased to find Royce approachable and that he took a proactive approach to his new job role.
Hoskins then headed to his CAG, Lieutenant Eileen Collins, on the main forehangar deck. Collins headed up the entire fleet of jump ships aboard the Halo 7 including her lead Sabre Pilot, Obeya Temsouri. Lieutenant Collins was aware of the ‘relationship’ between Obeya and Hoskins, who had a sneaking suspicion Collins provided her husband, a three-star battleship commander, with the details of the relationship. Collins and Obeya were close and it seemed too obvious a connection to ignore. He made a mental note to have a quiet word with Lieutenant Collins in the next few weeks.
Hoskins was introduced to three of the new Rapier pilots, one of which was a certain Joanna Black. Second Lieutenant Black was a newly qualified academy Rapier pilot who had made a name for herself in a previous tour. Hoskins left the hangar deck and had brief discussions with his new Chief Medical Officer and his CPO and security heads before heading to the Marines section of the ship.
The marines were commanded by Major Richard De Vere, who was very much a product of the English Public school system. Old school, but clearly confident, good at his job and likeable. Hoskins observed that De Vere was unlike many commanders from the mobile infantry division of Alpha—he was generally more aware of his surroundings. Hoskins made a mental note to include De Vere in his senior officer meetings. Involvement of the marine’s CO would make the mobile infantry seem more involved, and he wanted the whole crew to gel as one unit.
He made his way back to the bridge via the main corridor and the speed lift. He met his Comm Officer, Lieutenant Peterson, in the corridor outside the bridge, and briefly chatted with him before heading through into the conference and observation room located in front and just below the bridge. Hoskins’ small ‘ready room’ sat just off the observation room.
The ‘ready room’ was a sign of the Duke class’s original designation as a B class ship of the line. It was the Commander’s day room, where senior officers conducted the day-to-day affairs of their ships, allowing the first officer and bridge officer to carry out the actual functions and operations of the ship. This was a less hands-on approach than Hoskins was used to, but the ‘ready room’ was well-located. He knew