Sydney Chambers: Senior Station Officer: The Confederacy (Sydney Chambers), #4

By B. T. Jaybush

Sydney has been replaced as Military Attaché, and is now the Senior Officer on Station. The new Military Attaché, Commander Horace Justin, is from Frontier Fleet — and under the jurisdiction of Admiral Lady Chelsea Alexander, wife of Sydney's boss, Admiral Lord Stephen Alexander. The child of the admirals, Susan Alexander, is a lieutenant and Ship Captain of the Werewolf-class vessel  TSM Wolf … which is aasigned to 16 Cygni and to the command of Sydney Chambers. Susan is Sydney's mentee. Unfortunately the Wolf is a prototype and thus due to be returned to its manufacturer for  diagnosis at a date not yet determined.

Meanwhile, Sydney sets Susan and Wolf on a case: find two missing civilians, Krista Sperry and Chloe O'Shaygnassey, who set out on the initial trading run for their new shipping company CK Hauling, in the freighter Kierkegaard. Unknown to either TSM officer Kierkegaard has been commandeered by pirates under the direction of Hermann Sakhoff, a former employee of Hans Vattermann, a pirate Sydney took down ahortly after she was first named a Captain. Sakhoff and his crew soon capture the TSM Wolf as well, giving them a potent advantage against Sydney and the Confederacy.

However, Sydney wasn't made captain because of her looks. Soon enough and despite interference from what has to be Military Attaché Justin, she finds Wolf and Kierkegaard and traps them, destroying Kierkegaard and arresting Sakhoff and one other as the last pirates operating at 16 Cygni.

• Language: English
• Publisher: B. T. Jaybush
• Release date: Jul 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781393168713

B. T. Jaybush

B. T. Jaybush is the pen name of Brian and Timothy Jaybush, a father and son team specializing in Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Paranormal worlds. Winners: 2008 Zirdland.com Novel Writing Contest (“Relics”) Finalists: 2010 Santa Fe Screenplay Contest (“Outpost Station,” the screenplay version of “Sydney Chambers: Captain”) On the web at: www.BTJaybush.com Brian Jaybush cut his teeth by reading Asimov's I, Robot at age 10 and progressing insatiably from there. He has been writing all his life, starting as a journalist in junior high school and continuing with legal and technical writing and a 30 year career in the telecommunications industry. BA History, 1975; Juris Doctor, 1978. Timothy Jaybush also began reading and writing science fiction at an early age, leading to an uncanny ability to construct unexpected and entertaining story lines. In addition to working full-time, Tim graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Philosophy.

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Sydney Chambers:

STATION

SENIOR

OFFICER

––––––––

a CONFEDERACY novel

by B. T. Jaybush

SYDNEY CHAMBERS: STATION SENIOR OFFICER

Copyright © 2022

by Brian Jaybush and Timothy Jaybush

(writing as B. T. Jaybush)

All rights reserved

Visit Brian and Timothy on the web at

www.BTJaybush.com

––––––––

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the authors.

This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to people or places, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

CONTENTS

PRELUDE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

INTERLUDE 1

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

INTERLUDE 2

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

POSTLUDE

Dramatis Personae, Station Senior Officer

A Sydney Chambers Timeline

Future Installments in the Sydney Chambers Saga

ABOUT B. T. JAYBUSH

PRELUDE

AT THE CENTER OF CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT

Representative Koch, that is exactly what I am proposing.

Fleet Admiral Lord Stephan Alexander returned the politician’s stare, though his face did not reflect the level of animosity displayed on the features of the Honorable Congressman from Lalande 21185. Alexander kept his gaze steady and his demeanor neutral; the representative, whose home system stood to be heavily affected by the Admiral’s proposal, displayed a far more motile reaction.

Incredible. Congressman Koch took several moments to cast his gaze around the hearing chamber, making eye contact with as many supporters as he could ... and finding plenty of those in the room.

"You truly believe that the oldest systems, the founding voices of the Confederacy, should be stripped of their protection for the sake of mere flexibility?" Koch pasted a look of absolute astonishment on his face. "Lord Admiral, how can a man of your admitted knowledge and insight imagine that such a proposal is serious enough to even be considered by this Legislature? I, for one, find the mere concept laughable, if not contemptible."

Alexander allowed a small smile to touch his lips; Koch was, after all, one of the toughest nuts he would face in his testimony ... but he privately considered the designation of ‘nut’ to be most appropriate for the Lalandian.

Flexibility is but one side benefit of modifying the stipulated force levels, Congressman, the Admiral responded, and for that moment he actually believed what he said. "Far more important to the issue is the increase in security that flexibility provides to the Confederacy as a whole. The ability to shift forces to where they are needed at any given moment is critical to the future safety and security of citizens of each and every Confederate system.

Your system’s stipulated force level is fifteen, is it not, Congressman?

Koch scowled. You know full well that is the correct number, Admiral.

Indeed. Alexander’s smile hardened to a very serious look indeed. "Assume, for a moment, that some event occurs which calls for a force deployment to Lalande of greater than fifteen. What is the required procedure to obtain additional ships?"

Koch’s scowl gained a reddish-purple tinge as his blood pressure soared.

"Again, Admiral, you know full well what that procedure is. You are part of that procedure."

"Of course. For the record, though, let me remind everyone what the procedure entails ... since the same procedure applies to all Confederate systems covered by stipulated force levels.

"First, a request for additional forces is forwarded to the Admiralty. Said request must not only detail the number and class of the additional forces requested, it must detail — no, it must document, in excruciating detail — the reason for each requested additional naval vessel, and for the overall request. This request is processed through the Admiralty, which must verify the stated needs and justifications. It is then forwarded to the Department of Commerce, which investigates in minute detail the ability of the requesting system to pay for the requested additional forces."

Koch could be heard growling, low in his throat.

Once Commerce has concluded its assessment, Alexander continued, his tone that of a college professor delivering a lecture to first-year students, "the request returns to the Admiralty, which then has three options. The request can be referred to the Joint Chiefs for consideration as a Request of the Whole — which option is mandatory if forces beyond naval vessels are deemed to be required. Or, the request can be denied at this point, if any number of technical requirements have occurred ... chief among those requirements being the amount of time which has elapsed since the request was initially placed.

"The final option — the option that everyone hopes will occur — is that the request is forwarded to me. Or I should say, and the Admiral added a depreciating smile, to the current ranking officer of the Confederate Home Fleet, which position I currently hold.

And what is it that you imagine happens at this point, Congressman?

Koch’s growl was no longer low and inaudible. You sent us the damn boats!

Admiral Alexander sighed, his features gaining a look of irrepressible sadness. "That would be a best case scenario, Mr. Koch. However, the reality is quite different. The reality is that I do not send you the damn boats. The reality, sir, is that I cannot send you the damn boats ... because there are no boats to be sent. All Confederate vessels presently available for service in Home fleet are currently assigned under the stipulated forces agreement, meaning that they are stationed in other Confederate systems and cannot be moved to alternate locations without a declaration of war by the Confederate Congress."

Another member of the committee, Congresswoman Sheila Durban, leaned toward her microphone.

Admiral, that’s not true and you know it, the congresswoman protested. You know quite well that there are procedures that allow for the temporary redeployment of naval vessels in the case of a system emergency.

There are indeed such procedures, Congresswoman, you are correct, Alexander conceded. "I would point out, though, that those procedures require the approval of half of all system governments included under the stipulated force treaty. The average time for a petition to be routed through twenty-five or more system governments is historically twelve years.

Now, recall that this whole question arose because Representative Koch’s system was enduring an emergency. Will that emergency still be underway in twelve years — no, fifteen years, counting the time it took the request to route through the Admiralty and Commerce? Or will Lalande 21185 have been reduced to rubble by that point and the emergency spread to other Confederate systems?

Durban waited a moment for Koch to resume questioning, but when the congressman declined to speak — mostly because he was quietly gasping for breath as his soaring blood pressure triggered several other medical conditions — she pinned the Admiral with eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"In fact, Admiral, the entire scenario is ridiculous. There has never been an emergency such as you suggest. There can’t be. There is no force in the galaxy which could present such a threat."

Alexander returned the congresswoman’s gaze with an equable one of his own. "Recall if you will, Congresswoman, that the scenario was entirely hypothetical ... though I would suggest that forces exist within the Confederacy itself, capable of posing such a threat, without needing to look elsewhere in the galaxy. Still. My point is that, however long the odds against such a nightmare scenario, no system should have to wait fifteen years for help.

"Emergencies, by definition, are events which require an immediate response, not a process. An emergency response should take no longer than a day. That is the type of speed that the proposal I speak to can offer. One small amendment and that entire fifteen year process can be scrapped."

The committee chair, Congresswoman Alicia Bracken of the Epsilon Eridani system, rapped her gavel, silencing the rumble of noise that arose from the observers following Alexander’s remarks.

Silence in the gallery, Bracken announced in her usual, no-nonsense, tones. The sergeant-at-arms is hereby authorized to remove anyone who continues to disrupt this hearing. You are  reminded that all Confederate citizens are welcome to submit their opinions through proper channels, as outlined in the rules briefing you received before entering this chamber.

The clamor abated with surprising rapidity. Bracken rapped her gavel once more, then turned her attention back to the witness before her committee.

You were saying, Lord Admiral? ...

CHAPTER ONE

1

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"Werewolf-class?"

Yes, Ma’am, Werewolf-class, returned Lieutenant Susan Alexander as she stared across her mentor’s desk at Captain Sydney Chambers. The captain sat back in her desk chair, returning her junior’s stare.

And just how did this ... ah, error ... come to pass?

I’m not sure that it was an error, Ma’am, returned the ship captain. After all, the new ships are based on the Wolf-class ships of old and this could be a back-handed homage to that. Or it may have been my father’s idea of a joke. At any rate, on my father’s orders —

Susan was the daughter of Admirals Stephen and Chelsea Alexander and, though semi-estranged from her mother since that worthy’s ascent to command of the Terran Frontier Fleet, she still worked for and reported to her father, Admiral Lord Stephen Alexander, in his position as Commander, Home Fleet.

— Aeronica Arronautics used the old Wolf-class as not only a template but as a pattern, making the ships smaller and adding in as much automation as they could to reduce the crew demands on the new ships. So, instead of needing a crew of almost fifty like the old Wolf-class ships, the new Werewolf ships need only a crew of less than thirty. As you are aware, Ma’am. One side benefit, whether it was planned or not, was to reduce the crew to a number that could be commanded by a lieutenant. Like me.

Ah. Sydney nodded slowly. An attack boat without being an attack boat. Clever.

Susan shrugged. I have researched your own career, Ma’am, she acknowledged, her voice sly. I’m aware that your first command was an attack craft class boat, with a crew of a dozen. I believe that this new Werewolf-class is supposed to fill the gap that eliminating small attack craft created.

"Not my first command," Sydney replied darkly.

"Well, your first recorded command, Susan acceded. I could, of course, only learn what was on record, after all."

Hmm. You might ask your father, Sydney said softly. He was there. He was involved.

Oh. Susan’s eyes narrowed. Can he talk about it?

Sydney drew a deep breath. An interesting question, she said after long consideration. I don’t know. It was an odd circumstance. Still, given your position now in relation to mine ...

Yes, I see, Susan agreed. I will ask, when I next see Dad.

Sydney nodded, relaxing into her chair at Morrigan’s command desk — her place of power now that she had been replaced as Military Attaché for the 16 Cygni system, a replacement that was a relief in many ways but a pain in others. The Military Attaché job had not been one she had truly wanted even though she had come to appreciate many of the privileges that came with it despite its emphasis on paperwork. Still, the position of captain of the Cahan Morrigan was the only one that she truly felt most comfortable in.

So, the captain said, her voice a bit firmer, ‘Werewolf’-class or whatever, how are you taking to your command?

It feels good, Susan informed Sydney. I’m a bit surprised at how right it feels. I mean, yes, I was on a command track at the Academy and yes, I was first officer during my fourth Middy Cruise ... the same as you, Ma’am, from what I read, so you must understand how that felt.

Sydney nodded, her features impassive.

Though I never managed to break any of your records. Anyway, none of that prepared me for how being in actual command of a ship and crew would feel.

No, I daresay not, Sydney agreed.

It’s ... amazing, Susan said. "I mean, the power, yes, over the people as well as the ship. But also the responsibility ... what I say actually matters," she added, a note of awe in her voice. I mean, people listened to what I had to say when I was a middie and an ensign and a j.g., she shrugged, but now they look to me for my word. It’s almost intoxicating.

Sydney frowned. I sincerely hope not.

Almost, Susan reiterated. "I know I have to be careful because these are people I’m leading. It’s just that —"

Fine, Sydney cut off her junior. "I do understand and so far, you’re taking the right tone. Let’s just see how long you can keep to the right track."

Susan smiled. Dad told me you were good, she reported. I’m going to try my darndest to be the best officer I can be for you. Susan scooched uncomfortably in her chair.

Ah ... by the way, Ma’am, I apologize for springing Commander Justin on you.

Mmm. You were just following orders, Sydney allowed.

"Yes, Ma’am. But off the record ... he was an extremely disruptive force aboard the Wolf in addition to any grief that he caused for you. I mean, I’m senior over everyone else on the Wolf, a few of them by only a day or so. We’re just not used to having so august a personage as a Commander on board! I mean, even though he’s from a different fleet he lorded his rank over everyone. If he had just stayed in his cabin, like I suggested early on ..."

People who rise to the rank of commander seldom listen to the suggestions of their juniors, even when their juniors are ship captains, Sydney noted sardonically. Still. Were his actions intentional?

I thought so at the time, Susan said, sounding dejected.

Mmm. Little to be done at this point, Sydney returned drolly. The Legislature has made its choice.

Susan’s lips thinned. Yes, Ma’am. But you looked so shocked when I told you what was going on — like you hadn’t been informed.

Just between the two of us, I hadn’t, Sydney admitted. "To be honest I won’t miss the paperwork. But I had come to enjoy some of the perks of the position. In the meantime ... good luck to Commander Justin. Just between you and me, he’s in for a rough ride in this system."

He deserves it.

Yes, well.

Susan mooched once more, but pushed a hopeful look onto her face. I had looked forward to working with you as Military Attaché as well as captain, you know.

Ah. Sydney sat forward in her chair. Understood and appreciated. Sadly, it’s not to be. Instead, we’ll take it one day at a time. For now, dismissed.

2

Chloe O’Shaugnassey sighed.

As she and her wife and co-pilot, Krista Sperry, drew closer and closer to their rescue station in the 16 Cygni ‘A’ system, she found herself fretting more and more. What if Cassie is lying, she fretted. What if there is no real emergency? What can Krista and I do if it’s more than just the two of them that she says are there? This is our first run ... shouldn’t we be more careful because of that?

But what if we’re the only ones between Cassie and death?

She was torn — she wanted to help a woman in distress, any woman, but wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do. There was the issue of self-preservation as well ... CK Shipping was, after all, just the two of them and Siobhan Willis. Without her and Krista, what would there be?

Was it safe?

Was it a trap, out in the black?

There was only one way to find out.

We’re comin’ Cassie me lass, Chloe found herself whispering.

CHAPTER TWO

1

A persistent knock at her office door dragged Captain Sydney Chambers’ attention from the ten-thousandth memo to cross her desk since assuming the position of Terran Military Attaché to the 16 Cygni system. She so wanted to finish up these last few papers, now that it was over! The appointment had been decidedly ad-hoc in nature — she’d received the commission not so much on her merits as from the reality that she was the senior TSM officer present — yet Sydney had to admit to being flattered, along with being overworked.

Still, she thought, not quite mournful now that she had passed the title to someone else, now that it’s over, the position offered benefits as well as drudgery, not the least of which was the opportunity to appoint Patrick O’Shaugnassey as full Commander in the Cygni Space Militia. Though formerly a ‘pirate’ whose activities Sydney had been tasked with ending, O’Shaugnassey had proven himself more a Cygni patriot than a ne’er-do-well and represented the largest portion of forces under her purview, now that her lone claim to power, beyond being Captain of the TSM Cahan Morrigan, was as Senior Station Officer of the 16 Cygni system. Other than Patrick’s forces, Sydney’s command included only a few small craft located at Outpost Station, the Cahan Morrigan — an older, if refurbished, Noble-class ship which she captained and of which she was extremely proud ... and was fully aware of its limitations — and for the past few hours, the TSM Wolf, a new Werewolf-class ship assigned to reinforce her command at 16 Cygni. Exactly how that would turn out remained to be seen.

Now she waved O’Shaugnassey into her office for a final meeting, with a sigh and a shake of her shoulder-length blond hair.

Commander, she said, by way of acknowledgement, as Patrick made his way to face her across the acreage of desk she inhabited as long as she worked the Attaché position.

Captain, the man responded, his thick Irish brogue hinting at the more relaxed ways of a militia member rather than a TSM officer. Hopin’ I’m not disturbin’ ye ...

Not at all, Mr. O’Shaugnassey, Sydney interrupted, taking the opportunity to subtly stretch a kink from her back before turning full attention to her visitor. You are, in fact, a welcome distraction. I’m just surprised that you’re early.

Aye, Patrick acknowledged, a small smile touching his features and bringing a twinkle to his azure-colored eyes. "I can only imagine how it is for ye, now that ye’re windin’ down yer Attaché affairs