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I awoke to the sound of rain spattering on the roof of the barracks we were living in. Our houses weren’t done yet so we had a barracks built first in order to have a place for the entire team to sleep. The Sea Eagle was in the middle of being refitted so it was also out of commission.
I went down to the mess hall looking for a cup of coffee. Even with the rain and the windy conditions it was still in the mid seventies. Not bad for January. We’d already hired a cooking staff and the coffee was hot and ready when I got there.
So far our plans called for all of the team members to have their own homes but not the added staff that we needed to run the operation. We’d be providing group housing for them. Two people assigned to a room with common areas for eating and recreation. Each room would have its own bath that would be shared by its occupants.
“Good morning Bob, I see that you’re an early riser,” I greeted our guest.
“Well good morning LT. The rain woke me up. I love the smell and sound of a rain storm.”
“Good, so do I. Grab some coffee and we’ll sit out on the covered porch and talk.”
I led the way out to the porch and sat in a patio chair looking out over the Caribbean Sea. “It doesn’t get any better than this Bob.”
Bob sat and took a deep breath of the fresh sea air. “When I die I hope this is what heaven will be like,” Bob confessed.
“We have a proposition for you. You don’t have to wait until your dead to enjoy this every morning. You can start enjoying it right now.”
“Who do I have to kill LT?” Bob said with raised eye brows.
“We need someone to design and run our fire control system on board the Sea Eagle. We may want to add a system here at our home base either now or later on depending on the cost. We picked you if you want the job.”
“What are you looking for in way of a system?”
“I was thinking of two Gatling guns, port and starboard as a missile defense shield and a surface to surface, surface to air missile system.”
“That’s a nice wish list but where do you go to buy it?”
“I have contacts. I can get what I want. It just depends on how much I’m willing to spend to get it.”
“Don’t forget you’ll also need a fire control radar system to make it all work. Without it you won’t have a way to guide the missiles to their targets. Or a way to target incoming missiles with the Gatling guns.”
“That’s why you’re here. You’re the expert on this Bob.”
“The Navy just came out with a new class of war ship. The first one was commissioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”
“I read about that I think it was the U.S.S. Freedom,” I interrupted.
“That’s what it was alright. The Navy wants to build 80 of them. They have no screw. Instead they have a jet propulsion drive. Anyway the reason I’m mentioning them is because of the missile defense system on it. It’s what you’re looking for. The missiles have a range of forty miles and travel at nearly Mach three. I don’t know how much one of those systems will cost you, though, or if you can even get one.”
“We can check and see. Can you think of any other system that we may be able to use?”
“Well you have the old ASROC system. The Navy has been using it since the sixties. It’s a surface to surface, surface to air system but it’s not nearly as modern as the new system is. It takes up more space and the missiles fly at a much slower speed.”
“What about man power? How many people do you need to make it all work?”
“Four men should do it. Here at the isle we shouldn’t need to man it but at sea we’ll need to man it 24/7.”
“You need the same manpower no matter what system we go with?”
“We have the same number of hours in a day so yeah, four guys either way you go LT.”
“Are you interested in taking the job and being in charge of our fire control system Bob?”
“I’m very interested, what kind of money are we talking about?”
“The job comes with room and board so there aren’t any living expenses other than clothes. I’ll start you out at $75,000 a year plus free room and board. The four guys you choose to make-up your team I’ll pay $50,000 a year each.”
Chief York stood up and held out his hand. “I’ll take that deal and gladly LT. When do you want me to start?”
“If you can send for your stuff instead of having to go back for it I’d like you to start right away. There’s a lot that needs to be done before we’re operational,” I explained.
“When do you want me to form my team?”
“Right now, the sooner the better. We have housing ready for them to move into right now.”
“I can send for my things and stay right here so we can get started, no problem.”
“I never asked Chief, are you married? Do you need housing for your family?”
“No, I never had time to think about a wife, I live alone.”
“Not anymore you don’t chief. You are now the newest member of the Sea Demons, welcome aboard,” I said shaking his hand.
“Thanks, it’s good to be a part of your team LT,” Chief York said giving me a firm hand shake.