"A Not Too Distant Miracle"

[Cptn Elias Moore 0]

"A Not Too Distant Miracle"

Commander Elias Moore

Fleet Officer's Starlog: June 2, 2154

 

"So you not only want me to finish the warp drive in less than four months. You want me to direct the entire workforce?" Elias looked at Admiral Forrest in the pilot's seat, a grin of disbelief on his face.

 

"Why not?" The Admiral asked. "You're a command officer now. Completed the training, didn't you? You have the credientials to oversee an operation like this."

 

Elias looked out the front viewport at the Challenger drydock and what hardly managed to pass itself off as the skeleton of a starship. He had assumed he would see at least a completed frame on the way to the shipyards. "And this isn't the Columbia drydock that we're looking at, right?"

 

"Oh, no. Columbia looks a lot worse."

 

Elias nodded. "Glad to see you're still running a top-notch operation out here Admiral."

 

Forrest allowed the comment to slide. Lord, was this kid brash! But Moose had a point. He may have been Challenger's only remaining hope for the September deadline. And as the project foreman, he wouldn't be directing that point-blank attitude of his at Admirals. Which was another consideration altogether. The crews were used to Murphy's more liberal supervision. How would they respond to the changes that were certain to come?

 

"Unbelievable." Elias looked up from the datapad in his hand. "Eight to three with a half hour lunch break?" He was obviously thinking along the same lines. "Was this guy directing a construction crew or a starship engineering class?"

 

"Commander Murphy believed that driving the workers too hard would only drain their long-term capabilities. You'd get results over a period of a few weeks, then it would all collapse." Forrest glanced at Elias and noticed his skeptical sneer. "And operating multiple shifts would be just as damaging. Each crew would act as a separate, independent entity, and there would be no cohesion to the finished product. The results could end up being disastrous"

 

Elias laughed. "Let me guess. That's what happened to Columbia?"

 

Forrest threw him a scolding look, but it had little effect. "Admiral," Elias continued. "We both know that you don't have enough manpower to operate multiple shifts. There just isn't all that much interest in this project back on Earth."

 

"Ridiculous!" Forrest replied. "Quite the contrary. In fact we're kicking up the construction of Challenger because--"

 

"Yes, yes!" Elias cut him off. "Public outcry for increased presence in space. Spare me, Admiral, please. I can read between the lines, I'm not stupid. Your press releases aren't reporting outcry, they're doing their best to encourage it. But you're just going to have to face the fact that a lot of people on Earth aren't too keen on thinking outside the solar system. To them, it's a foolish waste of resources, a dangerous venture for the officers, and an invitation for more of our wonderful stellar neighbours to grace us with their presence. The attack on Florida didn't do much to relieve that concern."

 

Admiral Forrest sat in silence for almost a whole minute, staring at the drydock, which now encompassed most of the viewport. "... they'll just need time. Not everyone is going to agree with our plans at first. It's like the Vulcans keep telling us, we all need time to develop as a people, despite the setbacks and the hardships. This only stresses the importance of the NX project even more."

 

"You're preaching to the choir, Admiral." Elias looked across at him. "You're also missing the point." Forrest raised an eyebrow at him, a habit he'd been reluctantly picking up over the past few years. "Your problem is a shortage of labor. We agree that this is because of lack of interest among the candidates you're targetting. But don't you realize, Admiral, that right on your doorstep, there's a whole planet of candidates who ... A, as proven by their very existence, support space exploration ... B, have lived under conditions that make them perfectly suited to this kind of work ... and C, have had some sort of training in the work that's required?"

 

Forrest took a moment to register what he was hearing. When it hit him, he realized where, once again, Elias was going. He was not in the mood for this discussion, even after the three years since Elias' last stint on the NX project. "I assume you're referring, of course, to Mars?"

 

"Yes, Admiral, what else?"

 

Indeed, what else. "Whatever training the Mars colonists might have, I would have to doubt your claims of any interest. The NX project is an Earth-run operation, and you know better than I do how passionately the Mars colony avoids getting itself involved in any of Earth's affairs."

 

"Then what am I doing here, Admiral? Why was I assigned as project foreman? Have you even asked the colony for support? Has anyone considered making an open invitation?"

 

Forrest took a deep breath, not wanting to get into this same old political spatfest. "And what qualifications would they have to offer, having so little exposure to the technology we're utilizing now?"

 

"There are a few graduates of the Aerospace Institute who haven't left Mars, who use the knowledge they've acquired to assist the colony. But just like me, they know their warp drive technology. Maybe they just assume that Earth's space program wouldn't welcome them. And forget about the graduates. I'm not even talking about the engineers and the physicists. You don't need a degree to operate simple tools and perform the most basic tasks. And you certainly don't need one to carry materials around all day. I'm talking sheer workforce. Maybe the problem with the engineers and physicists you have working now is that they have to bear too much of the physical load to concentrate on what they were educated to do. Introduce a Martian element, Admiral, and productivity overall will improve. If you don't extend the invitation, I will."

 

How tempted Forrest was to just turn the pod around and take this unruly toddler back to his crib! Setting an ultimatum to him?! His hand almost reached for the keypad. Then he thought of Moose--Elias was his choice. And while the NX project belonged to Forrest, Challenger belonged to Moose. The man on whose shoulders all of Forrest's hopes for the NX project rested. A Captain has to get his way, Forrest thought to himself.

 

"I see many of your points." He kept his tone under control, wanting dearly to avoid a conflict. "I'll see if I can't have an invitation sent to the Martian colony. And I'll include mention of your involvement in the project to encourage participation. Though I can't see that there will be much enthusiasm, regardless."

 

"You'll get enthusiasm and more." Elias grinned. "You don't build an entire colony almost from scratch without some kind of endurance and fortitude. If anything, they'll want to prove their worth to you. And a joint Earth-Mars project? Maybe we'll end up building more than a starship, eh, sir?"

 

Forrest looked at him suddenly. It was the first time Elias had ever called him "sir" without being prompted or ordered, even going back to his days as an Ensign. Maybe Venture had changed the kid a bit. "Quite the aspirations, Commander." He remarked with a smile. "It's no wonder Admiral Richards has spoken so highly of you."

 

"Ahh..." Elias gave him a look of sudden understanding. "So it was the good Admiral who recommended me for this assignment?"

 

"As a matter of fact, it wasn't."

 

Elias furrowed his brow. "Well, if he didn't. And my father didn't. You?" Forrest just shook his head. "... then whose crazy idea was this?"

 

Forrest merely chuckled to himself and piloted the shuttle pod into the starbase docking bay.