Eric Olafson, Midshipman 12

Part 12: OPS

The Vanderstraat nebulae was even more spectacular than I thought it would be. Every shade of red from deepest violet to the brightest orange glowed from the recent Super Nova in the ring shaped nebula and transforming the eternal night of space in something so beautiful that no one looking at it could be completely atheistic, at least in my opinion.

OPS was a very demanding post and I had to keep my all my concentration at the tasks at hand and there were many. OPS was short for ship operations and OPS was an extremely confusing post. The officer on that duty post was responsible for coordinating ship activities so as to not overload any one system and distribute power in special situations. That post also handled inter-ship communication, allocated IST resources in times of need or in battle. Monitored and supervised Damage Control, Auxiliary Craft operations and coordinated Ship Command with the Flight Boss. A battleship like the Hyperion was also a carrier and had a host of Shuttles, Gunboats and specialized Small Crafts, Destroyers and Courier ships as well as two complete Wolfcraft Fighter squadrons. The OPS position had to fills in for Helm or Navigation when necessary and finally was also required to bring all the stations to work together. In short it was the post that managed all the operations of the ship and often called the XO’s Desk.

Given all these tasks, it was a complicated and very demanding position and took everything I had in terms of applying what I had learned so far and in concentration not to overlook or miss anything. Despite that I couldn’t wait for rest periods to be over so I could be back on the bridge. This was real. No test, no school, not a simulation but a real ship in real space and real consequences.

After we had visited the Vanderstraat Nebulae we got orders to patrol a region known for its Shiss raider activity. Escort a convoy of sensitive materials to Sares and then took part in a life fire exercise with the rest of the 41st fleet the Hyperion was part of.

It was according to Zezzh, routine battle ship business. Nothing really spectacular happened yet I found even the night shifts exciting. In my down time I had to memorize the books of Zezzh’s Captain Treasure, the very same Admiral Stokes had recommended. The very same books Stokes had recommended. He quizzed me daily and not just if I memorized the words but also what I was thinking and to what conclusions I came after finishing a chapter. After the exercise he had me write a battle analysis and wanted me to replay the situation in simulations and explain to him why certain orders had been given.

I was certain I learned more in those weeks than in all my life before. One of the fighter pilots introduced me to the Wolfcraft fighter and I spend many hours in the onboard simulator. No one treated me like a low unimportant Midshipman but with a professional level comradeship I enjoyed very much. Time flew as if it was on fast forward.

A robot technician showed me how to service a Cerberus robot. I learned how to inspect Loki torpedoes and service them as well.