I'm hoping to finish writing this one sometime next month, with a release date in early April or May. We'll see. In the meantime, here's a little taste:
Fast
Attack Docking Area, “Shark Country”
Halsey Point, Third Fleet Headquarters
In
Orbit over Ractus III
“…and to the officers
and crew of RSS Tang, I bid you
farewell, fair winds, and following seas.”
From where she was
seated, Commander Claire Fontaine looked out upon the assembled guests,
colleagues, old friends, and especially the crew of RSS Tang—all those who weren’t still aboard standing a watch—and felt a
rush of excitement. And, she had to admit, a little fear. She wasn’t one to
wallow in self-doubt or constantly second-guess herself, rather she was
confident in her abilities, sure in the course she would set for Tang and everyone assigned to her care, but
deep down she couldn’t help but wonder if she really had what it takes to lead
a crew and fight a ship of the line. She’d proven herself as a department head,
a weapons officer, and as an executive officer—otherwise she wouldn’t be here—but
being a captain of a ship was different. Everything, everything, rested on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. To
some it was a crushing weight, a soul-stealing confidence-shredding gauntlet
they hoped to emerge from unscathed, and for others it was a challenge
relished, an opportunity to flourish and to lead others to new heights they’d
thought unattainable. She hoped she’d end up in the latter pile when her
three-year command tour was over.
She had no way of
knowing where she’d stand when she was in Daigle’s shoes a few years from now, turning
over her command to someone else, but she’d find out soon enough. Her journey
started right now.
Commander Daigle
cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “I will now read my orders of
detachment,” he said. “Bureau of Fleet Personnel order number one zero six one
eight tack nine, to Commander Kenneth J. Daigle. When directed by reporting
senior, detach from Tang, SSF-816, and
report to HQ FLEETCOM, A3 Directorate, Operations and Tactics Development
Branch, as Officer in Charge, on or about the date specified. Signed, Vice
Admiral Colin McIntyre, Director of Fleet Personnel.”
CDR Daigle paused,
then turned toward her. In his eyes, Fontaine saw an emptiness of sorts, a look
you might expect from someone watching a prized possession being taken away and
being powerless to prevent it. “Commander Fontaine,” Daigle said, “I am ready
to be relieved.”
This was the
moment she’d been marching toward ever since the day nineteen years ago when she’d
raised her right hand, taken an oath to defend the Republic, and stepped across
the boundary separating her civilian self from the person—and officer—she’d now
become. Four long, hard years at the Academy, followed by fifteen years of
Fleet service, had definitely changed the doe-eyed dark-haired skinny girl from
Biloxi who thought she knew everything and hated being told what to do. Changed
her for the better.
Nineteen years of
hard work, enduring long hours of constant watches, training, and drills, and pushing
herself through more than one occasion when she was convinced she’d derailed her
career and would never see a command of her own, had led her here, to this
moment.
This ceremony,
held on the massive orbital fleet yard known as Halsey Point, was no different than any of the countless others
she’d attended in the past, and basically the same ceremony performed back in
the days of sail and steam, of fuel oil and fission, when the command of a ship
passed from one commanding officer to another. From wet navy, to space navy,
traditions endured, and this was one of them. The reading of orders, and the solemn
passing of responsibility. Except this time, it was different, because it was hers.
As CDR Daigle
stepped away from the podium, CDR Claire Fontaine confidently walked across the
stage, feeling the eyes of every assembled officer and spacer following her
every move, and took her place at the podium. Directly behind her, beyond the
large armored polycarbonate windows, loomed the ominous shape of her new
command, RSS Tang, moored at her
docking station. Docked beside it was RSS Kinn,
her former ship. A fitting view, she thought, and a perfect backdrop for what
she was about to say.
“And now I will
read my orders,” Fontaine said. She looked down at the paper in her hands, and just
as CDR Daigle had done, took a deep breath before continuing. “Bureau of Fleet
Personnel order number one zero six one eight tack eight, to Commander Claire
R. Fontaine. When directed by reporting senior, detach from posting as
executive officer Kinn, SSF-818, on
or about the date specified and report to commanding officer Tang, SSF-816, as his relief. Signed,
Vice Admiral Colin McIntyre, Director of Fleet Personnel.”
Fontaine stepped
away from the podium and toward CDR Daigle, who was standing beside Captain
James Earl, Commander of Fast Attack Squadron THREE and her new boss.
“Commander Daigle, I relieve you, sir,” she said, snapping a salute. Daigle
returned the salute, and said, “I stand relieved.” They both turned toward CAPT
Earl and Fontaine saluted him.
“Sir, I have
properly relieved Commander Daigle and assume command of Tang,” Fontaine said.
“Congratulations,
Commander Fontaine,” Earl said, returning her salute. “Take charge.”
Fontaine returned
to the podium and looked out on the assembled crowd. So many faces, so many
memories, all staring back at her. Lots of smiles, too. There were quite a few
members of Kinn’s crew out there,
too, which made her feel as if she’d done a good job as their XO. They didn’t
have to be here, but they were.
“To the crew of
the valiant ship Tang,” Fontaine
said, “all standing orders and regulations remain in effect.” She looked to her
new XO, Lieutenant Commander Taylor Moncrief, and said, “XO, take charge and
dismiss the ship’s company.”
“Aye aye, ma’am,”
LCDR Moncrief replied, saluting her new captain. “Tang, dismissed!”
And with that, CDR
Claire Fontaine’s journey as commanding officer of the Republic Fleet fast
attack RSS Tang, began.
***
Keep an eye out for it!
