Two Weeks Later

[NS]

The simulator was an exact duplicate of an EX Cruiser’s Control Room with the exception of having no ceiling. Instead, a sound-proof booth was built around one quarter of the circular housing with windows that faced down into the training unit. Inside the booth, Officers and Technicians sat at consoles and put the trainees through drill after drill after drill. Only the Officer of the Deck wore a comm-unit that tied him into the instructors.

In the A.M. it would be the First Officer and his Watch Section undergoing training, in the P.M. it would be the Second Officer’s Watch Section.

There was another sound-proof booth that circled another quarter of the cylindrical simulator, only behind its floor-to-ceiling glass were two rows of upholstered seats. The lighting inside was dim so that those in the simulator below would not be able to see its occupants if they happened to look up.

Not that they would be likely to do so. The Instructors threw one situation after another at them, keeping them too busy to think of anything other than their jobs. From an instrument malfunctioning, to a pipe breaking, to a hull breech, to part of environmental control failing (the air-system was always a favorite of the Instructors), everything that was likely, or not-so-likely, to happen, happened.

Admiral Thorndike liked to tell the Training Staff, “Your goal is to turn a bunch of ground-bound egg-heads into Spacers that feel flying through Hyper-space is easier than riding a bicycle through a park.”

On this particular morning, two weeks away from the 5-EX’s departure, Commander Smith was sitting in the Observation Room, looking at the Port Watch being put through its paces. The door behind him opened and he half-turned in his seat to see Admiral Thorndike enter.

“Ah, Richard,” the head of Celestial Command said as he sat down beside him. “How is your new crew shaping up?”

“Not bad,” Commander Smith shrugged. “That Doctor Newman seems to be a bit high-strung.”

“Is he a Doctor or an Able-Bodied Spaceman?” the Admiral asked, his attention beginning to focus on the drill unfolding below. The crew were trying to over-come the effects of an unexpected blackhole.

“Actually, he’s an Ordinary Spaceman,” the Commander answered, mildly embarrassed by the mild rebuke of his Senior Officer. Admiral Thorndike insisted that military protocol be rigorously followed at all times by EX Officers and Crew. Then Enlisted Men had not joined the Solar Guard for a job, training, or even adventure. They were all highly educated, highly successful, highly motivated professionals in other fields. Their “enlistments” lasted only for one cruise (although some would opt for a second one if allowed).

However, onboard a ship, there can only be one Captain and only one way of doing things. The Captain’s way. These “egg-heads”, as Thorndike fondly thought of the Academicians, had to act like Spacers if they wanted to use his ships for their research and exploration.

“I’m hosting a cocktail party tonight at Galileo Hall,” the Admiral tried not to laugh when a Spaceman attempted to by-pass the secondary flux feed without first locking out the matrix discriminator. “Several members of the Council will be present. Thought you might like to attend.”

“I’m not really much of one for Social Functions,” Commander Smith answered, breathing a sigh of relief when the Spacer was able to spot and correct his own error.

“You don’t understand,” Admiral Thorndike smiled at Commander Smith and stood up to leave. “I’m hosting a cocktail party tonight at Galileo Hall. Several members of the Council…the governing body of the Solar System..the elected officials that control the purse strings….will be there. I thought you might like to attend.”

“Yes, sir,” Commander Smith answered, finally understanding that the first invitation had not been an invitation at all but a command. “I’ll be there.”

“And you might want to ask that man on the Horizontal Controls if there are anything wrong with his reflexes,” the Admiral pointed to the left-hand position on the upper control platform. “He seems a bit slow in making adjustments.”