In-Depth Reconnaissance 4

If Captain Thompson had been drinking, he would have choked. The Kuiper belt wasn't just far away, it was firmly under the control of the oligarchs. There were even rumors that Skinnik was still active out there, unconfirmed rumors of course.

"Why the hell would you ever go out there? What could we need to know?"

Adirondack answered in lieu of Donovan. "From what I understand, one of the surveillance satellites momentarily picked up a radiation signature synonymous with a large power source. Is this correct?"

"Yes. The emission didn't last long enough to get any precise locations or imaging, but it was far too strong to be an anomaly and there was nothing mechanical or astronomical that could have caused it."

"So what are you looking for?"

"It could be anything, but the large concerns are a supership, superweapon, or 'external interference'."

"It could be aliens?"

"It could be fucking anything."

"I've always wanted to meet an alien."

The Admiral gave a concerned look to her lover at that comment. Military doctrine expressed caution to the extreme in regards to 'Alternatively Sapient Species,' a term designed by the intelligentsia to cover all the bases. The individual words were supposed to be universally translatable, the terms could not be construed as offensive in any way they could think of, and it applied to species who were not 'Sapient' in the same way that humans were.

Both ARCS and Skinnik fell under this category as a result.

"I know what you are looking for but what will you do when you find it? If its something like a supership it isn't like we'll be able to dispatch a strike force to take it out."

"My primary objective will be to find it and assess it's status. Once I've found it and returned to report its position, a camera can be focused on it, which will at least let us keep an eye on it. I also need to give an estimate of how long it might take to get it operational. My secondary objective is to do damage if I can."

"You have weapons?"

"A pair of 30 millimeter autocannons and more than enough ammunition to rip up an exposed power source and engine block. I also have a special treat for any less agreeable portions of an exposed section that react poorly to large amounts of energy."

"You have a nuke?!?!"

"I have a special treat for any less agreeable portions of an exposed section that react poorly to large amounts of energy." Pretty standard 'secret speak' meant to disguise the precise capabilities of the ship. Don figured that the 30's were an expected level of firepower, but the big boys needed to be kept hush-hush.

Exaggerating the capabilities of a ship was also part of espionage.

"Thompson!" The Admiral interrupted this integrally risky line of questioning to get her concerns out of the way. "Are you sure you can survive this mission?"

"Absolutely. It might be a pain in the ass without some sort of anchor force, but I think I can manage."

"You are referring to the fact you are the sole pilot correct?"

"Yeah, when I am formation flying with a fleet I can set a position lock to keep along a set path even while maneuvering around debris. I won't be able to do that alone."

"What are you talking about?" Donovan thought Thompson would have understood the dangers of long solo flights given his status as a strike force commander, but his job in that field might actually cloud his judgement. His experience with sorties had completely mitigated his thinking in terms of action completely independent from a carrier.

"Tell me Captain, how long can you go without sleep?" The tone might have been a bit abrasive, but it was intended to get him to answer his own question.

"40 hours, maybe 50 if I push it, why?"

He didn't get it. Don would try a different angle.

"What is the maximum length of a sortie you will approve and why?"

"Anywhere from six to twelve hours depending on how long we've been up. If it is of utmost importance, I will authorize a fifteen hour strike. I can't go any longer or else my pilots will have an increased chance of dying in exhaustion related incidents. I will not authorize any sorties for the strike craft for nine hours after docking so that we can sleep."

Seeing that he was still not getting it, Don put it out a little more explicitly. "What I am about to do is go out on a single sortie for a month without a ship to lock to."

"He needs to sleep too Tommy. I swear, you are stupid in the strangest areas."

"I love you too sweetie. I just thought your co-pilot - Was it Clark? - would be able to take shifts with you."

"Clark was a technician. He isn't here anymore."

"Ah."

Admiral Adirondack sighed at this misunderstanding, deciding to continue before he could interrupt further.

"What makes you so confident of success in spite of this trouble with sleep? Won't you also have issues dealing with any enemy patrols? I can't imagine that they would leave a project of that magnitude unguarded."

"I can't tell you the specifics, but a destroyer purposed for detecting hidden threats was unable to detect me while focusing everything at its disposal at my location. This was at a range that could be considered short." Don turned to the obvious security threat. "This information is not to leave this room do you understand?"

'Tommy' mimed zipping his lips, locking them, then throwing away the key. He didn't feel like he could fully trust him, but Don had a sinking suspicion that he was too worried over secrecy. Surely command knew that there was an entire task force worth of people at least somewhat aware of a Beacon that shone a light on the enemy, even if they didn't know the specifics.