Chapter 19: Beacon 5
Don did as asked and took a nap. Much as ARC couldn't be asked to violate its restrictions, he couldn't be asked to calculate the jump coordinates of a spaceship.
He slept for only a few hours, the Ranger responsible for recharging the Bombers batteries, being a realistic target, and simulating point defense. ARC responsible for calculating jump points. The pilots were responsible for getting practice with double jumps, a new term they coined for this maneuver.
He dreamt of good food. Fresh fruits, meat, and carbonated beverages. Aaah soda. That lovely syrupy drink. A shame it was forbidden while out of atmosphere, something about the carbon bubbles not being buoyant in space. Apparently the artificial gravity onboard most ships only acted on solid matter, something that he could feel to a degree as his gut always felt like it was shaking as he walked.
He most certainly felt lighter than he did in the academy.
In hindsight he really wished he had dedicated at least some of his time to romance. The female population wasn't exactly the highest, but he was sure with his performance he could have established some . . . connections.
After further introspection, he decided he wasn't committed enough to do that to a woman. The slave driver would never give him that much time. He would have plenty of time, and stories, to woo the ladies after his first tour of duty.
The only question is what type of lady he should go for.
He very much liked blond hair, so that was a given. An hourglass figure is a given of course, wide hips and large breasts would make many men go nuts. Or maybe more modest proportions would be better? A less eye-catching body would definitely make it easier to handle.
The halfway point would definitely be the best.
She should definitely have her hair in ringlets, and a perfume like cherries. Dainty, thin, fingers. Slim but not skinny, a little fat goes a long way in making a lady both healthy and sexy.
That really only left the face. should the lips be thick or thin? What color lipstick? What should the nostrils look like? Her ears? Chin? Cheeks?
Building the perfect girlfriend was a hell of a lot harder than he thought it would be. He started a few months ago as a bit of a joke after receiving deployment orders. He thought it would be as simple as imagining what body shape would get him off the most.
Soon his thinking evolved. What type of lady would be best to live with? Sexiness couldn't come at the cost at the woman's health and happiness. Especially not if he wanted to spend his life with her. Treatment may not be expensive nowadays but back pain was definitely an annoyance.
"Donovan."
His shut-eye was ended by ARC's call.
"Over already?" He was a little groggy, but it was good sleep. He was surprised with how quiet the interior could be with no people, he had to have ARC simulate the whir of a fan while he slept.
"Indeed. Since you were relieved of control, four hours have passed. The experiment was a success, though there is an issue with the second jump's timing that needs to be adjusted onboard all strike craft."
"An issue? How long will it take to fix?"
"Estimation: Not long. The problem revolves around the launch speed of the payload. As it stands the second jump occurs too quickly after the first. There is not enough time for the payload to reach a safe distance before the second jump initiates, shorting the drives."
"How could something like that even happen? Wouldn't there be a safety in place?"
"Jumps have not been able to be performed in such rapid succession before. It was suggested a form of trigger be attached to launch that ensures the payload leaves the danger zone."
"Now I have to ask why I was woken up."
"Gunnery Captain Dodder and Squadron Leader Thompson wish to speak with you."
He stumbled to the cockpit.
"This is Strauss. To which sorry bastard do I owe the pleasure?"
"Dodder and Thompson. We have something important to discuss."
"Oh yeah? Important enough to disturb my beauty sleep?"
"Absolutely."
"Way more important."
Their responses were immediate.
"If it's that important then spit it out."
"You need a callsign. Your rank is a mystery and your name doesn't cut it."
"You got a problem with my name?"
"He doesn't have a problem with your name, there is already a ship called the Strauss. It's a light cruiser, we checked the records." Dodder clarified.
"Donovan and Don are already taken as callsigns by interceptor and heavy fighter wings."
"We need something to call you that follows independent action protocol. A word with three syllables or less. Can't be the name of an active system or segment aboard any active ship. Can't start with a vowel either."
"There are rules about that stuff?"
"Yep. Vowel sounds can easily get lost in a firefight. The rest is really just arbitrary. Where'd your co-pilot go?"
"Co-pilot?"
At that point some text appeared on the screen. 'I had to respond to contact in order to give information on what went wrong. I masqueraded as your co-pilot. My existence is a state secret.'
"You mean Clark?"
"Is that his name? Nope. That one is taken by the transport craft wing attached to the Corroboration."
"Clark isn't my co-pilot. He's just the one called in to do the calibration and adjustment of all the technical stuff. So I don't expect him to stay."
"That explains a bunch. The dude didn't seem to interesting."
"Yeah, whatever. Back to the callsign." Dodder was interested in getting this whole state of affairs over with. "Let's try and see if there is some job your ship does that fits the bill. Guide? No. Trace. Nope. Map. Miss too."
"How bout waypoint?"
"Counts as a vowel start."
"Really? The 'wuh' sound?"
Brainstorming a name was harder than it sounded. This was an issue caused solely by the proliferation of flight wings. Every carrier regardless of size had at least seven. The largest of the fleet has close to 20, the Calibration has eleven. If the squadrons aboard stations were included the total number exceeded 300.
After a good twenty minutes, ARC displayed a word on screen.
"Hey Dodder." Don interrupted Dodder, who had defaulted to reading synonyms to some words from a thesaurus. "Try Beacon."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone