“Their orders will be to make history, Comrade Rear Admiral,” Karelin
said. “To make history, and to secure ultimate victory for the
legitimate government of the Russian Union.”
1330 hours (Zulu)
CAGs office
U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson
There was a sharp rap on the door, and Tombstone looked up from the
expendables report he was working on at his desk. “Door’s open.”
Brewer Conway walked in. She was a tall, lean, athletic-looking woman,
her silver-blond hair kept mannishly short. She was wearing her undress
blue shirt and slacks; the Navy woman’s traditional blue or white skirt
had been replaced by slacks for all but formal dress occasions some time
ago. Having women in skirts negotiating the nearly vertical ladders of
shipboard companionways had proved to be too much of a distraction for
the sailors who, alerted by the almost psychic communications system
that stretched from stem to stern on every Navy vessel, tended to
congregate at the bottoms of those ladders just as the women began their
descents.
“Good afternoon, CAG,” she said. Since she was uncovered, she didn’t
salute, but she came to attention in front of Tombstone’s desk. “You
wanted to see me?”
“Brewer,” Tombstone said, rising. “At ease. Grab a chair.”
“It’s not necessary for you to get up for me when I enter a room,
Captain,” she said, moving a chair out from the bulkhead and perching
herself on the edge. She seemed tense, Tombstone thought. Or upset.
“Old habits die hard, Commander,” Tombstone said, settling back into his
own seat. “My apologies. I was raised the old-fashioned way. Thanks
for coming in.”
“It would be best, sir, if you not treat us any differently from your
men. That, after all, is what integration is all about, right?”
“Thank you for the lecture, Commander.”
“Sorry, Sir. I meant no disrespect. What did you want to see me
about?”
He sighed. “I want your impressions, Brewer. Your honest evaluation.
How are your people settling in aboard the Jeff?”
Her expression was guarded. “Well enough, CAG.”
“No problems with privacy? The shower head schedules? Any instances of
harassment or unwanted attention?”
“None worth mentioning, Sir.”
“But there have been incidents.”
“It would be pretty strange if there weren’t, Sir.” She hesitated, and
for a moment Tombstone thought she was about to say something more.
Then she pursed her lips and shook her head. “No problems, CAG. None
that my people can’t handle on their own.”
“That’s the best way, of course.” Tombstone selected a paper from the
several scattered on his desk. “I have a request here, though, from
Lieutenant Kandinsky. She wants to be assigned with another aviator.”
Brewer’s eyes widened. “She should have talked to me about that, CAG.
I’ll have a word with her.”
Tombstone considered this. Lieutenant Thelma Kandinsky, call sign
“Sunshine,” was a B/N, a bombardier/navigator, the flight officer who
rode right-seat in the A-6E Intruder. Normally, she flew with
Lieutenant Commander Bruce “Willis” Payne, in Jefferson’s VA-89, the
Death Dealers. Intruder crew assignments were no more permanent than
pilot/RIO assignments in Tomcats, though good teams that worked well as
a unit tended to stick together. To have a B/N specifically request a
change, however, suggested that there was something wrong.
“Is there some kind of trouble between Sunshine and Willis?”
“Commander Payne can be pretty overbearing at times,” Brewer replied.
“He’s made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t think female NFOs can
hack it.
Nothing overt, really, but he’ll be talking to some men about how he
feels, and pitch his voice just loud enough that a woman nearby can
overhear.”
“Hmm.” His fingers drummed on the desk. “What do you think the solution
is here?”
“I wouldn’t grant that request, if that’s what you mean. Not unless
there’s something seriously wrong. They ought to learn how to get along
themselves, and not come crying to Mamma. Or Papa, in this case.”
“I agree completely. If I start shuffling crew assignments, a lot of
people are going to get pissed, not just Willis and Sunshine. You’ll
talk to Kandinsky?”
“Yes, CAG.”
“Don’t come down on her for going around you with this. Her request is
perfectly within her rights. But see if you can find out what the