All My Sins Remembered by Brian Wetherell Read Free Book Online

battleship safely in tow.  Since a battleship was a little less cumbersome to maneuver than a carrier, though not much, the idea was to have the battleship detach from the carrier to carry out the exploration missions that a capital class ship could not otherwise perform.  Of course, having a fully armed Battleship for defense wasn’t too bad either.  After all, they didn’t know what they might encounter when exploring the edges of the known universe.
    “The Black Wave it is, then.” Agreed Nathan.
    “I also want Raijan as tactical officer, and Gordy as Chief Engineer.” Hawke paused a moment before adding, “I’m sorry, Nate.  You told me not to meet with Spears.”  Nathan shrugged.
    “It happened.  Nothing you can do now but put your head down so it doesn’t get shot off, and get through it.” Nathan said, and then added, “I’ll see to the personnel assignments.  When do we leave?”  Hawke stared at the information in front of him for a long while, and for a moment Nathan thought Hawke hadn’t heard his question, then Hawke finally answered.
    “As soon as our new communications officer finishes orientation.” Hawke replied.  With a smile, Hawke slid his datapad across his desk towards Nathan.  Curious, Nathan picked it up and began to read.  It was a few long moments before he too began to smile, and then laugh.
    ***
    The next morning, after having to endure the typical orientation that all new hires had to go through, Tasha stood on the bridge of The Black Wave , a heavy assault cruiser.  On a dais sat the captain’s chair, facing the carbosteel windows towards the front of the bridge through which you could see the station docks.  Around the captain’s chair, and slightly below it, stood the various bridge stations.  Weapons, helm, communications and sensors, and engineering.  Tasha had never seen such a modern ship, which was rare among PMC’s.  After all, you can only get equipment that you can afford to maintain, and it was difficult to gain the kind of success the Talons had achieved.  In her old outfit, The Regulars, their sole ship, the Pripyat, was an aged Hound class cruiser bearing only the standard armaments.  In comparison, it seemed that the Black Wave was outfitted with all the latest in electronics, weapons, and other hardware important for the running of a ship.  Plus, she was a Hellhound class heavy assault cruiser, which made all the difference.
    Hellhound class Heavy Assault Cruisers share the same frame as a Hound class cruiser, but all of its systems were far more advanced.  They were specialized for the single purpose of combat, whereas the Hound class cruiser was capable of filling multiple roles, and carrying out a larger variety of missions from disaster relief to combat duty.  Like all heavy assault cruisers, the Black Wave carried on it nearly twice the armament, better shields, and more powerful sub-light drives than that of a typical cruiser.  In the hands of a skilled captain and crew, such a ship could bring even a battleship to its knees, though not without some difficulty.
    Sliding into the seat at the coms station, Tasha brought up a diagnostic display to see what kind of communications and sensors hardware she would be running.  Though holographically projected displays were typical of most modern electronic devices, displays aboard combat ships often used screens because they tended to be more durable during a firefight. 
    As she read the display, her eyes widened in shock.  All of the communications and sensors were Navy grade.  The Navy never openly sells their particular hardware on the PMC market, much less their most current technologies, with which the Black Wave seems to have been outfitted!  Tasha shook her head, thinking what she could have done with a ship like this one when they were under attack in the Pripyat.   But then, she doubted any PMC had a ship like this, other than the Talons.
    “I was told a greenfoot sauntered