"Miss, this bunk here will be yours. I'll bring you a meal and something to drink later. Now if you'll excuse me, miss, I have duties to attend."
I nodded, and the man hurried down the corridor away from me. After I pressed the button to retract the privacy screen, I placed my drone case and backpack on the bed, then slid onto the bunk and locked the screen in place. There wasn't enough room for me to sit upright, so I laid back on the bunk, propped up by my backpack, going over the events of the last hour in my head. I was only meant to spend a single night on the Xi’anu station before joining the passenger ship, but with the earlier departure I would need to see about staying the additional night.
I decided to wait until I reached the station and work things out then. Maybe I could send my mother a message and see if she would pay for the extra night. The last few days had been the most I had ever spoken with my mother, either by message or by vid call. She had sent me several messages regarding my travel plans and information on the academy. She had even sent me a message congratulating me on my exam scores. I could honestly say it was the most complementary thing my mother had ever said to me.
I spent the next two hours waiting for the freighter’s departure, going over the manual for my new drone on my wrist display. It wasn't the best way to read the data, being such a small display, but I didn't have my datapad. I hadn't wanted to add my bulky, older model datapad to my weight limit when I wouldn't be able to keep it at the academy, so I had left it with my father. The cadet handbook stated that cadets would be supplied with a datapad for educational use and that personal pads were prohibited on campus.
As the time for departure fast approached, I tried to distract myself from the tiny niggling doubts that were slowly creeping into my mind. What if I failed? What if it was so bad the fleet didn't even let me into standard enlistment after seeing how badly I did on the academy exams? What would I do? No- I wouldn't think about those things. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts and instead turned my attention to the system map I had downloaded onto my implant, tracing the flight path the freighter was likely to take.
The ship I was currently on would travel slowly away from the station before picking up speed and making our way to the hypergate, and onwards to Xi'anu. The hypergates connected all populated systems. They set a route through hyperspace for a ship to travel through, allowing for faster travel. While a vessel could enter hyperspace without the aid of a gate, it would be difficult to calculate a safe route. You could end up flying right into a star, ship, or other cosmic mass if you weren't careful. The gates provided the safest navigation data for a jump to one of the corresponding gates connected to it.
The data was always changing, and each route given to a vessel would be calculated to include current ships traveling to the same location. This ensured no instances of vessels coming out of hyperspace within close range to each other. There had been more than a few cases of vessels colliding with each other after exiting hyperspace before the installation of the gates. The gates were critical within systems with heavy traffic. Any civilian vessels found transitioning through hyperspace without the aid of a gate suffered heavy fines by the Federation.
Soon I felt the freighter begin to shudder, and shifted a little on the bed, as I heard the sound of the engines increase to a loud hum, signaling our departure from the station orbiting my former home.
Chapter 6
With a yawn, I stretched as best I could in the cramped bunk. It had been almost thirty hours since I had departed my home planet of N2390. As I felt the ship begin to slow down, I knew it meant we were making our approach to the Xi'anu system's space station. I could hear the loud buzz of the engines as the ship made its final approach.
There was a loud clanging, and the freighter came to an abrupt stop. I groaned softly as I banged my head on the roof of the bed's enclosed area, and I opened the privacy screen. Gathering my bag and drone case, I slid from the bunk and headed to the doorway. I could see Uric walking swiftly towards me, and he picked up speed when he saw me waiting.
"Miss Kelras, we have arrived at Xi'anu station. I shall guide you to the airlock. It will take a little longer for the access tube to be attached and the docking procedures to be completed, but you are welcome to wait by the door," he said, looking a little flushed by his run down the corridor to reach me.
I nodded and gave him a tight smile before waving him ahead of me to lead the way. With how tired I felt, I wasn't in the mood for chitchat. The Xi'anu station, unlike the station in Winaru, was a massive commercial hub. The station itself was home to over a hundred thousand people who worked and lived on the station. The space station had once been a colony ship that had, over time, been modified into the massive space station it now was. On average, there would be at least two hundred vessels docked at the station, from large passenger ships to freighters transporting trade goods.
Twenty minutes later, I exited the ship and walked down the access tunnel where I was met by a station official who greeted me with a smile.
"Name, please, miss," he said, glancing down at his datapad.
"Aristeia Kelras, traveling from the Winaru system," I told him, and lifted my ponytail out of the way as he stepped forward with a small black scanner. He waved the scanner across the back of my neck and rechecked his pad. The scanner read the personal identification codes from my implant.
"Your reason for visiting the Xi'anu station?"
"Traveling to Velante. I will transfer to a commercial passenger vessel from here," I told him, and he asked a few more basic questions before finishing the paperwork for my entry into the station.
He scanned my implant again, this time granting me access to the station's network and navigation functions. Checking my wrist display as directed, I was able to bring up a map of the station. As he finished, the station official gave me a friendly smile which I returned.
"Are you going to Velante to attend the academy?" he asked, and I nodded in response. "You might wish to visit the observation deck on level C then, the FSS Scorpia is in dock, and you can get a good view of it from there."
"Thank you, I will take a look," I said, and left the man to his work.
I walked along the corridor to an elevator and pressed the button for deck B. As according to the map, I needed to reach deck B before moving to another elevator to ascend to deck C. As I made my way to the observation deck, I wrote a short message to my mother, informing her of my early arrival at the station before sending a message to my father, telling him the same.
Arriving at deck C, I easily located the observation deck the official had informed me about. I stared out the window in awe at the large battlecruiser. It was even bigger than what my father told me. I had seen images of it on the interstellar network, but they didn't do justice to the vessel's true magnificence.
The FSS Scorpia was a Titan-class battlecruiser, just over one thousand meters long it carried close to two thousand crew. It was an older ship, but it was one of the best in the Federation fleet. It was one of only five Titan-class battlecruisers in the fleet. This was the ship my mother had been captain of before she was promoted to admiral and assigned to the FSS Gretna.
The FSS Gretna was the fleet's newest battlecruiser and was the fleet’s only behemoth-class cruiser at almost double the size of the FSS Scorpia, with triple the firepower. Seeing the FSS Scorpia also put into perspective just how large the Xi'anu space station was. The ship was only a quarter the size of the station. Usually, a battlecruiser wouldn't even be able to dock to a space station that wasn't specifically built for their use.
The band on my wrist vibrated, and I activated the holo display to see a message from my mother.
‘@Aristeia Kelras—I will call you shortly.’
Short and to the point as usual. I knelt and undid the clasps on my drone’s case. I didn't have a vid screen available, and my wrist band didn't have camera functions, but my drone did. One of the most popular functions of the small Begleiter IX AI compani
on drone was its inbuilt holo display and camera, which could be used for vid calls.
I directed the drone out of standby and hovered it before me, connecting to it. I watched as a small projection of my wrist display appeared before me, and not even a few seconds later, I received an incoming call. The display changed, and soon a full-sized projection of my mother stood before me. I stumbled back a few steps in shock, not having expected it to be so large, and took a moment to regain my composure.
"Aristeia, explain how you came to be on the Xi'anu station a full day ahead of schedule," my mother demanded, her voice as cold and formal as always. Instinctively I straightened my posture and mimicked her stance, crossing my hands behind the small of my back.
"Mother, I arrived at the space station a day before departure to adjust to the additional gravity. I arrived at the Stargazer II to find a crew member arguing with station staff, stating that they lacked room for me to travel. When I informed them that I would contact you regarding the matter, they allowed me to board. They stated that they had completed loading earlier and would be departing early.
“It was my initial belief that they intended to scam me for further credits. However, when I learned of their intended early departure, I concluded that their claim of no space was an excuse to avoid waiting for my arrival so that they could make an early departure." I kept my tone even, informing my mother as quickly and clearly as possible about what had occurred.
She nodded, looking displeased, and looked away to something I couldn't see for a moment before returning her gaze to the camera and to me.
"It is good that you arrived early. Had you missed the freighter, it would be some time before I could arrange you further passage. The hotel you are staying at will be charged into my account. My aide shall inform them you will be arriving early. I have also sent two thousand credits to your personal account to be used for your trip. I trust you will not waste it on frivolous things, Aristeia," she said, and my eyes widened in shock.
Did she say she sent me money? I knew she sent money to my father monthly to help with the cost of living and my personal needs, such as buying advanced education modules, but that was different from directly giving me credits. Plus, I was pretty sure most of the money she sent that wasn't spent on my education modules ended up gambled away by my father at Scotty’s bar.
"Thank you, Mother. I shall only use it should I need it."
She nodded and looked about to say something further when a voice interrupted our call.
"Admiral Harra?"
I turned to see a small group of uniformed people standing behind me. They all wore the United Astrum Federation Fleet's uniform. From the style, I could tell they were all officers. The man who spoke also had gold epaulets, showing he was a senior ranked captain. I mentally directed my drone's camera to turn, so it showed the group to my mother.
"Captain Mua, I was unaware that the FSS Scorpia was in Xi'anu. Are you not to be heading to the Riv'ari system?" she inquired, brow furrowed in a barely noticeable frown. The man, now identified as Captain Mua, stepped closer and saluted.
"Ma'am, we responded to the distress call of the Solar-wind, a commercial passenger vessel. The vessel suffered heavy damage, and we escorted it to the Xi'anu station for repairs. We arrived an hour ago, and I have only recently submitted my report," he stated, and I gasped as I heard what he said.
Looking at my mother's figure projected on the screen, I saw her frown deepen slightly and I directed the drone to shift its camera to me again.
"Mother, the Solar-wind is the vessel I am meant to be traveling to Velante on," I reminded her, struggling to control my emotions.
Panic started to build in me at the thought of not reaching the academy in time for the exams. I could almost feel my chances of becoming a fleet pilot slipping through my fingers. Even though she was only a hologram, I could practically feel my mothers stern gaze drilling through me. I took several deep breaths and straightened, shifting back into the formal stance.
"I will have my aides find a suitable transport, Aristeia. You will not miss the exams. Xi'anu is a well-populated system. There will be other vessels," she told me, and I nodded, feeling relieved.
Feeling the hairs on the back of my neck prickle, I glanced at the man who stood near me and saw him staring at me with a slightly shocked expression. He looked back at my mother's holographic display, and I mentally directed the drone to focus on him as he looked about to speak.
"Ma'am, the FSS Scorpia will be departing tomorrow after we resupply and have finished interviewing the crew of the Solar-wind. We are scheduled to pass the Sovari system on our way to the Riv'ari. If you permit, I would be happy to take your daughter onboard to the Sovari station," he said, giving a formal salute to my mother's hologram.
I was a little surprised by the offer and felt a tinge of excitement at the idea of being able to travel onboard the battlecruiser. I looked at my mother's hologram, who was still silent, and watched as she gave a small nod of assent to the captain before addressing me.
"Aristeia." I quickly directed the drone's camera back to myself, and she waited until the camera had focused on me before continuing. "I expect you to behave in accordance with the conduct expected of a fleet cadet."
I nodded, trying not to grin and dance around in excitement. She gave a small wave of her hand to the side and, guessing what she wanted, I redirected the camera to Captain Mua again.
"Captain Mua, Lt Julian will be meeting my daughter at the Sovari station. Have your staff contact him when you arrive in the system so he may collect Aristeia." My mother then disconnected the call, as was her usual fashion. I let my restrained smile break free and turned to the Captain.
"Thank you, Captain Mua. I was starting to worry I may not arrive in time for the exams," I said, and the Captain smiled at me in return.
"It is an honor to be able to assist one of the fleet's future cadets. This is Lt Hewitt, Lt Prescott, and Petty Officer Peterson,” he said, pointing to each of the officers with him as he introduced them. “Why don't we head over to the ship, and we can make arrangements for your accommodation. I was just returning from speaking with the Solar-wind’s captain and about to take my lunch. Would you care to join me?"
"I would be honored to join your table for a meal, Sir. If you give me a moment, I will pack away my drone," I said and directed the drone to land in the case.
"You may leave your AI out if you wish—Miss Aristeia was it?"
"Yes sir, my name is Aristeia Kelras. My drone does not yet have an AI chip, so its functions are limited to being controlled by my implant," I told him and picked up the case, along with my backpack, from the floor.
"Truly? You maneuver it quite skillfully, then. I had thought it to be controlled by an AI with how smoothly it moved," he told me, looking a little impressed. I looked at him, unsure if he was simply complimenting me because of my mother or if he genuinely thought I had operated my drone well.
"Thank you, sir. I find it is very similar to operating a hoverboard," I told him, and it was true. Riding a hoverboard required you to direct the board's motions via the implant. I had loved my hoverboard, but unfortunately, I crashed it six months ago and hadn’t been able to find the parts needed to fix it.
"You are correct that the method of control is similar, though you will find the drone requires a more delicate touch." Captain Mua said as he guided me down a hallway.
We passed through a security checkpoint and two automatic doors that required security clearance to open. The captain informed me that he would have me added to the necessary access points, so that I would be able to return if I wished to leave to explore the station. I told him that I had someone I wished to visit, and he said it would be okay for me to do so, but I needed to return to the ship two hours before their departure the next day at sixteen hundred hours, galactic standard.
I had briefly been on the FSS Gretna in the past, but that didn't stop me from being completely awed by the FSS Scorpia as I
followed the captain through its halls to the officers’ dining room. There were people everywhere, each clad in the black and blue uniform of the fleet, moving about in an orderly fashion as they went about their duties. We walked through several large metal-lined corridors, and I felt a pang of embarrassment as the sound of my heavy footsteps. Doing my best to step lighter, I wondered why the others made so little sound when they walked.
I was relieved when we exited an elevator into a smaller hallway, lined with plush carpet, and my clunking steps could no longer be heard. The enlisted crew that had populated the lower decks had been replaced by officers here, who looked just as busy as those below, their stride purposeful as they made their way through the hall, saluting the captain as they went.
We traveled slower now, with several officers stopping to speak with the captain in low tones before moving on. I felt incredibly awkward standing there in my old gray jumpsuit, surrounded by refined and uniformed fleet officers and felt more at ease when we finally reached what I assumed must be the captain’s dining hall. It looked very much like the one I had eaten in with my mother, though hers lacked the wooden framed paintings on the wall. The paintings were ink-drawn landscapes in a style that I had seen depicted in my civilizations of old Earth classes, from a place once called China. There was also a large rectangular table in the center of the room, made of a highly polished wood, another difference to my mother’s dining room, which had held a cold and gleaming metal table.
"Aristeia, if you would like, I can have PO Peterson take your things to the quarters that you will be staying in during the trip. We have some open quarters on the officers’ deck so you can stay there during our trip to the Sovari system," Captain Mua said as he moved to take a seat at the head of the table.
Striving for the stars (The Kelras Chronicles Book 1) Page 4