A sudden vibration broke Daniels concentration as the shuttle entered one of the starship lanes which were strategically placed throughout the dense asteroid belt. The sight of the AP ships speeding past only a few kilometers away was always disconcerting. Suddenly feeling playful, he lightly tapped Lieutenant Cody's shoulder, causing her to stir, and nodded to the viewport. She looked out, flinching at the sight. He hid his smile as she turned back to him and nodded her thanks. A few minutes passed and a loud tone informed the passengers that a BAP terminal was now active. Daniel connected with his BC node, hoping for updated orders.
"All personnel, report immediately to your starships upon arrival." The new orders were short and to the point, but didn't provide any additional insight or confirm his suspicions. He froze as his seat suddenly enveloped him, the shuttle preparing for arrival.
The final deceleration gates took hold, causing Daniel to clench his teeth as he noted the pressure always felt worse when they slowed, since instead of being pushed back into the seat, he was being pulled forward into the restraining gel. The process was, thankfully, much shorter than the launch, due to speed burn off during flight and the additional deceleration gates littered along the shuttle's flight path.
After what felt like an hour, but was actually less than a minute, the shuttle shuddered, having been successfully caught by the fleet bases docking arm and was slowly towed into a docking bay. He turned towards the viewport as the seat receded and watched the smooth dark walls of the hanger bay close around them.
The discussions started immediately as the shuttle pressurized and the oxygen masks were removed. By their flavor, most were still convinced this was a drill, while others were noticeably concerned.
"What do you think?" asked Cody from the seat beside him. He was about to lie, but decided against it...he always changed a little after he slept with someone. Leaning close, making sure they wouldn't be overheard, he started to whisper.
"This is definitely not a drill. Something happened a few days ago...I'm sure you've been hearing the rumors about Sir Simwa asking for the Commander and Vice Commander's heads?" She nodded, her rigid face unable to mask the unease in her eyes.
"I'm almost positive someone has decided to intervene on his behalf." Her face suddenly went dark, the unease that was present in her eyes spreading.
"You think we'll be going up against a full NHA battle group?" she asked hesitantly. He thought for a second, then nodded.
"Possibly more, if whoever is intervening on Sir Simwa's behalf has decided to remove the Knight Captai-." Daniel froze, suddenly becoming aware of the silence around him, his whisper carrying farther then he intended. He quickly looked up and noticed the surrounding faces staring at him in disbelief as his comments registered. Then the whispering began anew, now with noticeable fear and concern. Daniel started to stand, but a hand on his shoulder kept him seated. He turned in surprise, prepared to yell at whoever dared touch him, when he caught sight of a captain's insignia on the collar of the man leaning over his seatback.
"Attention!" the Captain shouted and the whispers suddenly died.
"Let's all remember that we are trained members of the TSB! No matter if this is a drill or an emergency, it makes little difference! So keep the speculation to a minimum and report to your ships!" The passenger's turned in unison.
"Yes, Sir!" The shouted response echoed through the compartment as the lights went green and the doors slid open. The excited TSB personnel quickly started pushing towards the shuttle's exit. Daniel tried to stand, but the hand kept him seated.
"...and you Lieutenant...should know better...remember to keep your voice down next time you are discussing sensitive matters!" The Captain's voice hissed into his ear, only audible to him. He quickly bit his tongue as he stood and saluted, exiting the shuttle with the stone-faced Lieutenant Cody in tow.
"How dare h-." Daniel started to curse, but a sudden elbow to the side stopped him.
"We were at fault....don't dwell..." she whispered in his ear as she quickly kissed him on the cheek and hurried down the exit ramp, turning at its base.
"Good luck! " she shouted with a wave, then vanished into the crowd.
He found his anger wane, and a sudden fondeness for the woman to appear in his heart. It was a strange feeling, one he never recalled having before. So he quickly suppressed it, reminding himself that women were mere playthings, and he had more important matters to worry about. Pushing his way into the flow of personnel crossing the docking platform, he found a gap and started running for the crisscrossing gangways that led to the transport tube station.
The Fleet base, unlike the base on Earth, had individual tube transports, allowing TSB Fleet personnel to travel nonstop to their respective starships. Daniel entered the line of waiting personnel, and within moments, entered an open tube, stating the name of his starship, the TSB Ero'Cia, a cruiser named in honor of a past TSB Commander who was killed in action. The tube immediately started to accelerate towards his destination and five minutes later he emerged into a large starship hanger. Like the dock he'd just exited, the hanger was cut directly out of the rock, its smooth walls barely illuminated by the starships docking lights. Suspended gangways crisscrossed one side of the hanger, intersecting a large docking platform in multiple locations. He forced his way into a line of crewman hurrying onto the closest gangway and towards the waiting starship.
Like almost all NHA starship's, the TSB Ero'Cia was of rectangular shape, with the top of the front slightly shorter than the bottom. The base coloring was white, with two blue strips running down each side and the TSB crest, a giant picture of Earth with the letters TSB in the middle, within. Hundreds of tightly packed thruster tubes exited the rear of the starship, the main means of propulsion, while smaller maneuvering thruster tubes ran down each edge, used for steering the 500 meter long starship.
The cruiser had a modest armament of Laser Particle Arrays, or LPAs, that were obvious by their round base platforms, used for extending the weapon beyond the energy shield, and the focal apparatus that was made of many overlapping oval plates of differing sizes. The TSB Ero'Cia, like all cruisers, was equipped with 4 large LPAs, surrounding the rear of the starship, 10 medium LPAs, and 20 point, or small, LPAs, which were placed at intervals forward of the large LPAs, every few meters. The primary weapon, the plasma cannon, protruded from the nose and was quite obvious with its circle of arrow like plasma feeders with a vortex cone in the center.
Small, silver metallic globes glittered in-between the LPAs, and were scattered over the entire hull of the starship. These would extend before battle, most being used for the starships energy shield system, or ESS, which was responsible for bending away direct energy beams while dispersing the kinetic energy from the accompanying particles or plasma. While the rest were used for communication or electronic warfare needs.
Both the LPAs and ESS were rather new in NHA terms, having only been implemented in the 400 years since the last major battle with the ASU. Before that, starships were armed with fusion cannons, which were extremely powerful at close range, but would disperse quickly beyond 100,000 kilometers. Their shortcomings became obvious during the final battles with the ASU, when the NHA fleets were devastated at distance and had difficulty closing to effective fusion cannon range. Luckily, the NHA was able to capture a few ASU starships intact and reverse-engineer the shield and weapon technology, among other things, and integrate them into new starship designs.
Daniel rushed past the gangways that led to the rear entrances of the starship, used by general crewman, and made his way to the officer’s entrance near the bow. Standing in wait, with her hands crossed behind her back, staring intently at Daniel as he approached, was the stone-faced Captain Aysi, her jet black skin a perfect contrast to her blue and white combat uniform. She suddenly smiled wide as Daniel came to a stop, saluting, which she quickly returned.
"It's good to have you onboard, Lieutenant Daniel. I'd like to discuss with you your part in the la
test after action review council. So be prepared to provide me a full brief as soon as we are underway." She started to turn to her Executive Officer, or XO, Commander Geoff, who was in the process of cursing at a terrified supply officer, when she suddenly turned back, stopping Daniel midstride.
"Lieutenant Taku was involved in an accident shortly before the shuttles launched. He will be fine, but will require some time in the medical bay...you will be taking his place as Primary Tactical Officer on the Bridge." Daniel was in shock. He was positive that Captain Aysi hated him, but this was a pretty big promotion from his previous post as secondary Tactical Officer in the combat systems station, or CSS.
"Thank you, Captain. I will do my best!" He saluted and started jogging up the gangway to the starship.
"You better, I'll be having you run constant simulations during this entire exercise!" Daniel cringed and almost stumbled, his eyes catching the kilometer drop over the gangways railing into the darkness below. She thought this was a drill, that's why she didn't mind providing him the temporary promotion. He thought of turning and telling her, but decided against it, instead, continuing into the starship and heading towards his quarters.
*********
Sasha dug her hands into the artificial rose vines that wrapped around the arms of her command chair on the fleet command deck of the ABF Princess One, trying to contain her rising fury. Duke Zehman had responded, saying with harsh words that he would only leave the Earth star system under a direct order from the King. The Duke of Hulk'Zif, apparently disagreeing with Sasha's request for him to return to his own Duchy, decided to fall back on the fact that she still wasn't officially sworn in as Grand Duchess of Alutia.
"So now I suddenly have no authority!" she whispered angrily to herself. It was a complete reversal from his first message that stated he would not pursue any action without her consent. Terra, the name she'd provided her catillian after the bonding completed a day earlier, turned from his seat on the railing overlooking the bridge and squawked, seeming to share her anger.
After the six days of craziness that Tiana had mischievously called Sasha's coming out party, she felt utterly exhausted. So after the decision was made about the Star of Terra, and she finished composing all her messages, it was straight to bed, sleeping for 12 hours. She'd been furious when no one woke her, at the apparent order of Tiana, even though she knew she was in dire need of a good night's rest. Plus, it provided ample time for the messages to make their journeys. In the end, she instead thought of thanking Tiana, but quickly discarded the idea, knowing it would only go to the young girl's head.
She felt a smile start to form and the anger began to fade at the thought of her wily lady-in-waiting, but quickly vanished when she recalled that the most important reply, that from her father, had yet to be received. She was about to check again, prepared to give in and compose another message, when her CID beeped and a small bronze sphere appeared off to the side.
"A message has arrived from King Johan Vn'Oco, Grand Duchess Sasha Alutia." The monotone voice of the Program surprised her.
"Program, why are you notifying me of new messages?" Sasha asked with genuine curiosity.
"I have finished integrating into the starship and have found many basic functions lacking. Notification of high priority messages is paramount, so I have amended the duty to my protocols." Sasha was unable to find anything wrong with the Programs logic, but was curious about what else the Program had found lacking onboard the starship, but held the question on her tongue...there were more important matters to attend too. She quickly linked into her personal BAP and queued her father's letter.
"My Dearest Sasha, I am very proud of the woman you have become, as evident in your message to me. In such a short time you seem to have grasped the realities of the universe and showed that it was the right choice to present you with this great task.
"The vagueness of reasons for the rewarding of the Star of Terra worries me, but I will trust in your judgment, until you deem it appropriate to provide the entire story. Your report on Duke Zehman is not unexpected. Word of his deeds has passed my ears and his actions will not be tolerated. Unofficially, I appoint you as my agent in this matter, to deal with this situation as you deem fit. I am, however, unable to become directly involved due to various reasons that you will come to understand in time.
"Your official transfer ceremony will await your arrival, but know that all your action's carry the full weight of your Duchy and our Galaxy. Please stay safe, My Daughter, and know that your mother and I love you, and wish you luck in this most pressing hour. Your loving parents, King Johan Vn'Oco and Queen Vahna Vn'Oco." Sasha let the weight of the words sink in. Even if she wrote another message, asking her father to command Duke Zehman to pull his fleets, it would be in vain. She requeued the message to verify nothing had been missed, and was glad that she did, finding a hidden attachment. Quickly decrypting it, she was surprised to find an additional message from her brother, the Crown Prince Kohan.
"My Dearest Sister, I hope you are well. You are now a player in this giant game of nobles and I hope you are ready. My advice is twofold...use the Star of Terra, there is more to the reward then just a name...and find another, for you will not be able to survive the coming time alone.
"A gift I may bestow upon you, and have chosen one that may help you in your greatest need. Wait for it at your rendezvous, at the Don'Alutia SJS gate.
"Sister, I, like Father, cannot help you directly, but hope for your great success. Remember my words...the Star of Terra may be your greatest boon. With love, Crown Prince Kohan Vn'Oco." Sasha blushed as the thought of the Star of Terra made Trent's face appear in her mind. But the image quickly shifted to his injured, motionless form, lying helpless on the ground with Sir Simwa laughing in the background. She shook the thought clear and promised herself that she would personally reward him the Star of Terra when the current matters were resolved. She accessed the message again, verifying it hid no additional secrets, when a sudden question took her.
"Program, could you provide me with a full explanation of the Star of Terra? Including what additional rewards it entails." She knew that the King's Boon gave the ability to choose ones duty, but that's all she could recall.
"Yes, Grand Duchess Sasha Alutia. The Star of Terra is a commendation created during the founding of the TSB by the Emperor Noolis to commend duty above and beyond all expectations. Along with the physical galaxy ring presentation, the awardees is allowed to wear the Star of Terra crest on all uniforms, is immediately raised to the court rank of Duke or Duchess, is awarded the Eye of the Emperor, receives the right to choose duty assignments, and is able to command a starship of their choice." the Program responded almost immediately, as if expecting the question.
Sasha thought about what she'd just heard and the cryptic message she had received from her brother. How could the Star of Terra help her in the coming trials? There must be something she was missing, she thought, her brother must know that until she actually presented the award to Trent, there would be nothing he could do to help her...and since Duke Zehman's fleet now sat between her and him, there was little hope he could be of any help in the short term. This bothered her, since the prophetic words of her brother meant that this conflict was only the beginning...what other surprises were out there waiting for her?
She sighed, rubbing her temples to help subdue a growing headache, and looked to the little round liquid like sphere. The sudden curiosity to find out exactly what it was filled her being. It wouldn't hurt to ask, would it? Suppressing the idea, she instead thought about what she already knew.
Common knowledge stated they were a type of created intelligence from the pre-NHA, before the unification 75,000 years earlier. Most believed they were the eyes and ears of the Emperor, reporting back everything that happened in the multitude of galaxies that the NHA controlled. This was a logical theory, Sasha thought, since Programs were generally only located at important locations, and had final and absolute authorit
y on decisions of great importance. In general, they would not interfere in internal noble conflict, like what was happening now with Duke Zehman breaking the sanctity of the special protectorate of Earth. But in other matters, the Programs approval was required, such as when someone was raised to noble status or the awarding of a prestigious commendation.
A thought occurred to Sasha, maybe the Programs only dealt with situations that involved nobility. It was an interesting idea that she filed away for future consideration. She let the thought of questioning the Program directly linger on her tongue for a few more moments, before she filed it away as well and returned to the problem at hand.
"Program, since you will be involved in many aspects of the starship, I think it would be a good idea for you to have a name." Sasha decided at the last moment to get at least one thing that bothered her about the Program out of the way. The liquid like sphere rippled and rapidly change color for a few moments before it responded.
"Regulations state that all Programs shall be referred to as one...in this case, due to the nature of this Programs assignment, this regulation will be overruled. This Program has decided that Vin would be appropriate." The monotone voice seemed to show a tinge of happiness, at least that's what Sasha thought.
"Good, make sure to inform the rest of the crew when you have a chan-." She froze when the flight officers on the bridge audibly gasped and Sasha suddenly pictured little spheres appearing on the corner of their displays. She rushed to the railing, where Terra sat whooping in apparent laughter, and could see that her assertion was indeed correct, the Program had just introduced itself to the entire crew.
"Flight Captain Jeb'Tol..." she yelled down, instead of returning to her seat to use her communicator. "...forgive me, I forgot to inform you that we now have a Program onboard, could you let the rest of the crew know? In case it missed someone." The idea that she forgot to let the crew know about the Program bothered her immensely. If this had been an emergency situation, the surprise could have caused a fatal mistake.
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