Chapter 37

When Thad finally returned to the Seward, he was unsurprised at the crowd on the hangar deck. As expected, the maintenance and engineering crews were swarming over the Starfires.

As soon as the ladder was brought up. Thad’s crew chief, Barney Lambert, was helping Thad disconnect from the various hookups and belts.

“So, what’s the damage, Barney?” Thad asked.

“We’re all in good shape, boss. As soon as we rearm and fuel up, we’ll be ready to head back out.”

Thad glanced over to the empty hangar bay that was Maisie Drake’s space. “Well, with one exception,” Lambert said, the pain obvious in his voice.

“Yeah, exceptions,” Thad whispered.

As Thad was descending the ladder, he asked, “I know she had a mother on Mars, but did she have anybody special here?”

“No, boss, she was alone as far as I know,” Barney answered.

Thad glanced up to the command deck. He could see Commander Olivet watching. He was also very surprised to see Captain Sullivan watching.

“Well, chief, let’s get everybody back to ready status. I think I need to head up to flight OPS and talk to the brass.”

As Thad headed across the hangar deck, he was intercepted by Gunny Pedersdatter. “Ready to get started, Gunny?”

“Yes, Sir, as soon as the maintenance and refueling are finished, my people will get started. I figure about an hour, and we’ll be operational again.”

While they were talking, John Morse joined them. “John, let’s get all the pilots started on the debriefings. I’m headed up to Operations to give the Air Boss my report right now. Pass the word that I’ll want everybody in the ready room at 1800.”

“Yes, Sir, I’m already on it.”

While Thad was unsurprised at the crowds on the hangar deck, what he found in the passageways was stunning. As he had expected, many family members were waiting for their loved ones. But there were also even more people who had no connection with the Dragons. Fans, friends, and the just plain curious were packing the corridors.

When Thad reached the Operations level, the crowds had vanished. Of course, the two guards armed with shotguns at the lift might have had something to do with that.

When Thad entered flight ops, the usual frantic hustle was missing. The typical staff were in their positions, and he could see that the various search equipment was functioning as usual. What was missing was the usual ship-to-ship comms. What was also different was that Captain Sullivan was sitting in Commander Olivet’s chair.

Both Captain Sullivan and Commander Olivet were looking at him. “Welcome back, Lieutenant.” Captain Sullivan said.

“Thank you, Sir. It’s good to be back aboard.”

“I think we can skip the usual reporting process in this case. Just about everybody here knows exactly what happened out there. That having been said, I want to express my condolences to you and your squadron for your loss.”

“Thank you, Sir. Have you given any thought to my replacement?”

Sullivan glanced over at Olivet. “Replacement? Lieutenant, I have no desire to see you replaced as the leader of Red Squadron.”

Stunned, Thad asked, “But, Sir, I lost a pilot and a Starfire.”

“I’m aware of that, Lieutenant. And quite frankly, I don’t blame you for the actions of Lieutenant JG Drake. I’m more upset with her than you. Sacrificing yourself isn’t what a good leader should do, which is also why I won’t be entertaining any resignations from you, Lieutenant. Every leader in history has had to deal with loss. Sometimes that loss comes as a deliberate need for the success of the mission. I can guarantee that both Olivet and I have gone through the same things you are going through right now. But a good leader powers through that loss and continues with the mission. We will not be relieving you from your command. So, you can relax on that point. We want to discuss the “Pinata” equipment you used. Where did this equipment come from?”