Nano 2009 - Part 6

Late, even more so.  30354


Part II: Of Command and Leadership

The four commanders sat in a semi circle in silence. A wooden chair creaked, as someone shifted their weight. Jakob focused on the solid oak desk in front of him, knowing that unlike him, such as desk had at least seen earth. Having spent almost the entirety of his life surrounded by metal walls, Jakob felt slightly agoraphobic outside the enclosed world of a space ship. Planet bound people, when the first enter space always comment on the stillness, the deadness, of the vessel and space in general, but having spent his life in space, he could not disagree more. The rattle of machines, the lights, the hum of engine, and the heart beats of men all filled that small region of space occupied by a large, metal bucket, packed with men, women, and gadgets. The sound of an accelerating engine and feedback from a gunner’s turret was much more regular and comforting than any casual ambience from winds or animals. ‘At least it’s raining. Otherwise I might go mad in the hanging silence,’ he thought, hesitant to speak aloud.

Marie and Katsuro felt similarly, but they had both spent their childhoods land based. Regardless that they still thought of living on a planet as normal, what they did in space was natural. Marissa had always lacked the sense of belonging in space. To her, it was a method of travel, not a final destination.

But all four sat in the still silence, enjoying the sound of rain and regretting ever returning. An admiral once from the Confederacy entered the room, closing the thin, quiet door behind him.

“Well, the commander staff of the Alexia, as well as the highest ranking officers remaining from the entire Hiro command group. Vice admiral McCullen. Captains Sullivan and Nguyen. Commodore Williams. And these are just officers from the Hiro and Enyo. I cannot even begin to mention all the commanders of not only the large vessels, but of the frigates, and the number of crew missing or dead could label this a massacre. Beyond all of that, we have the destruction of how many… five large vessels, not counting the Enyo, or the formation of the Enyo mark two and a good many small frigates, fighters, and drones. The overall cost of defending a medium size trading outpost is plain outrageous.” The admiral sighed deeply, “But most importantly, and the reason you all are here today, the non combat death of the commander of the Alexia, Captain Clifford Reynolds. According to your reports, the four of you had a confrontation with the captain shortly before his death.”

Jakob spoke up, as the rest of the group nodded slowly, “Aye, sir. That would be correct. The captain had just ordered the destruction of an unarmed, non-hostile mining station, isolated in deep space. During the attack, we had expected something significant; however, as we analyzed the data that we had retrieved, we found the target to pose no military threat. Meanwhile the captain had selected a new target and we couldn’t let him take out some other location. We… I… asked to speak with him privately as he prepared to activate the quantum threading engine with a minimal crew on the bridge. We all argued in the office for a little while, eventually the captain told us to get out. I believe he sounded not only angry, but distraught. After twenty minutes, the crew didn’t know if they were to continue with the quantum threading or not. All hails to his office went unanswered. Marie went to go check and quickly called us back up. The captain was hanging, if that’s the best word, from the ceiling. Doctor Deville confirmed that he was dead and it was a broken neck, not strangulation. The best theory we could come up with was that he launched himself towards the floor while reenabling the gravmag. This yanked him down quickly, snapping his neck and killing him instantly.”

The admiral stared at each one of them deeply, as if attempting to tear them apart, atom by atom, with his eyes. Shaking his head slowly, he replied, “You know, I knew Cliff for years. He served under me as a lieutenant on the Quincy. He was never the sort of man to outwardly show any of his emotions, masking them well with professionalism and that damned cheery disposition. Reading the initial report, I knew there must have been some mistake, or an imposter, or something more sinister… but as you all came closer to port I was able to download his records. Do you all know the content of the two highly secure messages sent to him?”

Three heads shook back and forth, with Jakob whispering, ‘No…’ However, Katsuro nodded his head slowly. He answered the surprised stares from his comrades, “What? I got it from the commodore, before the attack on the Hiro. Not much before, news spreads slower in the strike squad. I have pretty much been stuck in the medical center since then and I did not know that you didn’t know.”

“Ah,” said the admiral. “Well, I’ll let you read those communications. But the captain’s personal log, the one I reviewed are you began to land suggested a fundamental change in Cliff’s behavior when he got those notes. Something… cracked or splintered. The front that he always put up disappeared. And from the battle reports generated by you, Commander Fields, and you, Commander Hanson, suggested a tendency of reckless action that was only growing. He did express a good deal of outrage when you two pushed him aside in the battle to save the Hiro. He agreed later it was right, but the resentment was there.”

After a few clicks on a remote pad, the admiral handed it over to Marie, who read it open jawed and amazed. With a stunned look painted on her face, she handed the tablet to Jakob, which read:



Captain Clifford Reynolds,

VCF Alexia



Captain. This is an exclusive code rose message. It has been encrypted to only be read by your security code. Do not share this information.

Recent information sources have brought us to speed on the situation in the Imperial Council. As of this communication, the Council members have all been assassinated. A terrorist organization has claimed control of the government and is now in direct control of all Imperial assets. Our sources also indicated that the newly formed government, deemed Republic, is using monetary and military resources to eliminate major competitors in key regions, this includes your entire command group. Please be on alert.



Central Command



Randy L. Thompson

Fleet Admiral

Valiant Confederation of Forces



A second note, much shorter, followed.



Cliff,

We repelled some misfits today. It appears that an organization called the Republic thinks were some sort of threat. I’ve never heard of them, but they seem to be willing to pay a lot. Take care of yourself out there. Remember, the threat exists everywhere, for all I know we have mole and traitors in our ships, in our command staffs. What’s this universe coming to when we can trust the soldier at our back and side.



Good sailing,

Dave



David Sullivan

Captain



As Jakob finished reading and passed the information on to Marissa, Marie chimed in, having regained some of her composure, “Is it true, sir?”

The admiral’s lips tightened before responding, “Yes. I wish I had remembered before showing you that, Commander. I’m sorry you had to find out that way, but all of our information remains untrained. I’m also sorry to say… the high command has decided to back the new government formed by the Republic. We are to aid in any efforts by the new government to bring resistance elements under control. I’m not sure how the attacks on the Hiro and the mercenaries you encountered tied into that scheme. They could have been resistance, rogues, or revolutionaries. The records recovered suggest nothing, but they were quite badly damaged. We… will complete this inquiry in the morning. With everything I have much to do before the day is out.” He stood abruptly, with his dark, pressed suit collapsing straight and free of wrinkles. Leaving the office, he made no expression at the inhabitants as he continued down the hall.

With understanding finally dawning on Jakob, he quickly laid his hand on Marie’s shoulder, consoling her, “Marie, wow, I’m sorry that you found out this way…” He paused and looked back at the other two commanders, helplessly. With only blank expressions answering back, he continued, “Do you need anything?”

Pushing his hand away and staring somberly into his strong eyes, she replied harshly, “No, I’m fine. Just need some space…” Standing quickly and toppling the chair she had been in, Marie fled from the room.

Jakob sighed in exasperation and proceeded after her. Marissa and Katsuro only met eyes and smiled, expectantly.



Marie fled the large house like compound, eventually making her way into the grounds behind the complex. Losing herself in the brush overgrown woods, she found a small clearing where once had been a great tree. The flat and even stump that remained showed all the signs of being a manually fallen tree lay surrounded by a mushroom circle. She sat on the wet stump and just stared into the deeper dark forest that lay in front of her. The rain came down, drop by drop of blissful water, masked and washed the stream of tears that trickled from the corner of her cheek. The grass, the rain, even the free air, reminded her of the family that she left behind on her home. With such a radical change, who knew if her mother would still be safe a home, or her cousins and aunts and uncles would be fine where ever they were.

A noise from the direction of the complex made her stand suddenly and try to wipe her tears away in the drizzle. Jakob emerged from the bushes, slightly winded looking, and said, panting, “Are you okay?”

“Jakob... I’m fine. Can’t I get a little peace without you or someone else bother me!?” She replied, indignantly. “I can take care of myself.”

“Right,” responded Jakob, “I know you can take care of yourself. I just wanted to be available to you if you need anything. I really am here for you. Standing here, in the rain, and I hate the rain.” Taking a deep breath, he added, “Actually, I hate the whole concept of weather, it just doesn’t seem to work out for the best. Too much, too little, hot, cold, rain, snow. Humidity! They all seem so variable and unwelcoming.”

Smiling slightly, Marie answered, “Thanks for the attempt, but I do want to piece this all out myself. So, go, don’t hold up dinner on me, I just need to get out and be alone.”

Jakob nodded increasingly quickly, “Alright, good luck to you, Marie. I hope whatever you find helps. I’ll be in the facility.”

She smiled as he turned and disappeared back into the trees and undergrowth. After she was convinced that he had gone from the woods, her face relaxed revealing the frown and stress that weighed heavily on her. She strolled into the woods, not caring at this point if she ever returned. Passing trees and moss and rock, she finally stumbled upon a place to rest near a pool of water. All but a few droplets of rain that clung to the leaves of the tall trees had stopped falling. She stretched out near the natural spring, thinking, relaxing, and eventually drifting asleep.



Marissa rolled over and laid next to Katsuro. She looked longingly as his rough features, her hand tracing the near uncountable number of scars that sprung up all over his body. She knew that each one represented a story, a story that she hadn’t been a part of, stories that even may have not come from combat. She could not help but to be envious of anyone who knew all those stories, and she did eventually intend to learn each one, but they’d take time, even more time consider her lover’s quiet, rough, secretive behavior.

As they both fit snugly in the sheets, commenting on how different it was on a planet, with real sheets and a normal gravity. She finally got nerve to ask the question that had been haunting her for months now. “Kat,” she began hesitantly, “where are we going with all of this? Would you consider making the arrangement permanent?”

The immediate reply was a sharp intake of air, but it was quickly released as he said, “Well, Marissa, I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess it wouldn’t be much of a problem if we wanted to make us official… but not much would change, really would it?”

Sighing, she confessed, “I’m going to be resigning from the Confederacy. I’m not built for this. I know I’m a good doctor and a good manager, but the constant influx of wounded or dead has slowly cracked my emotional armor. I need to get out now, especially if a new war if brewing. I can’t take another guild conflict.”

Cradling the doctor, he replied, “I intend to keep us together, even if that means resigning from the force. We’ll work this out together and it’ll be a much better life in the end. No worrying about my wounds and battles, and I won’t have to work so hard to keep you safe.” His arm tightened around her as he kissed her on the forehead.

In the compact, warm embrace, she began to drift into sleep, but not without announcing drearily, “I love you…”

Slightly surprised, he looked down towards her incredulously. His normally rigid face broke out with a beaming, stupid grin as he replied, “I love you too.”



Jakob sat and ate the ‘real’ food put before him. He had always thought of space food, especially Confederacy food, as the equivalent of gourmet and comfort food, combined into singular entity. He was shortly joined by a lieutenant that had a position of authority, but Jakob couldn’t tell if her worth was monetary or skill based. He realized shortly that the young officer was waiting for Jakob to address him before speak. “Yes?” he asked simplily.

“Sir, the admiral would like to see you as soon as possible.” Replied the officer, boldly confident. “I will take you to him whenever you’re easy, sir

Pushing aside his steak and vegetable medley in favor of a lively discussion, Jakob stood, signaling the Lieutenant to escort him. The pair traveled the meandering halls in the complex, occasionally taking less traveled posts. They passed a wall of portraits, representing the leaders of the Empire, a group portrait of the council, occupying an entire hallway wall in the compound, and individual portraits of the admirals that had once commanded this base. The ‘Cottage’ was the nickname of the facility, based off of a series of bastardizations. The actual name was the Lee station, but the terra cotta style walls were eventually misheard enough times throughout space for it to be called the Cottage, or Lee’s Cottage.

They entered the admiral’s office to find the admiral simultaneously trying to eat a small meal, read paperwork, and watch a news broadcast, but only succeeding at spilling his soup on to one of the many stacks of paperwork that littered his desk. His broth splashed as slammed down the container and quickly stood for the commander and the escorting lieutenant. The admiral nodded dismissively at the lower officer, who only grunted before turning and leaving the room with a quick, heavy, cadenced step. “Commander, please sit!” intoned McCullen, pleasantly. “I know your time here has been quite rough, but I assure you that everything is close to being resolved. Assuming you all are completely clear in the death of your captain, and no inquiry is started on Captain Reynolds’s actions as captain on the Alexia, or any of the issues whole Hiro command group. The only hiccup is the formation of the Enyo mark two. We’ve agreed to comply to all of the Republic requests… and they want their ships back. We’ve reported both the carrier and the battleship destroyed, so we will need to completely remask that battleship.”

After spending a few minutes scanning down a large stack of documents, he yanked out free and handed it to the commander. “This is why I called you here today.”

“Sir… this is unbelievable. The Confederacy is offering me the command of the Rainier. I’m really flattered, sir, but I don’t think I could perform as will as on the Rainier or any other type of ship. Not immediately, and from what I can tell, the Confederacy needs all of the assistance that is available at the moment.”

“Ah,” replied the admiral. “I’m sorry to hear that that is your position. I’m sure we can find someone to command a vessel like the Rainier. But we still need to find a position for you. We can’t let your military strategic mind go to waste, but do you prefer front lines or data analysis?

Pondering only briefly, Jakob said, “Front line, sir. I need to make changes to my tactics in a real time situation. A strategy is only good until the battle starts.”

“Hm. Quite true. Well, then, maybe I have something I can offer you. Would you be interested in the command of the Alexia, until we can find a new cruiser star ship? The Hiro cannot be salvaged or replaced, so a new admiral will be installed on the Rainier, but the ship needs a group to compensate to its sheer mass. We can no longer trust frigates to provide that service…” A puzzled questioning look darkened Jakob’s face. “Did you not know? Some force, in all probability the Republic, has found a way to hack the drones secure link, causing global defects in drone activity. Since drones were manually, individually hacked, it was next to impossible do anything by pilot or shut down a drone… but with the explosive, kamikaze drones, and their heavy, slower cousins, they pose a significant threat to any ship in the area.”

A dawning realization struck Jakob, as he added, “In our conflict with the Reaper command ship, the… I think it was Death… the frigates faltered quite significantly, with one’s kamis exploding at the ships exit.”

“That would be a similar account to interactions with other non-Imperial frigates and carriers. If our sources are correct and the Republic is behind this all, then that makes them one hell of a foe. Who knows how long they spent planning a quick strike like this,” said the admiral, shaking his head slightly in a exaggerated disbelief.

“I’m surprised actually.” Jakob continued when McCullen’s look shifted from a nostalgic reminiscence to piqued curiosity, “Well, surely there are Imperial loyalists that are organizing groups to fight back. I’m also surprised so many core and outer worlds would accept sure a radical change outright, or the fact that the Confederacy has decided to ignore the abuses, but to stay and last. I mean, think of the money to be earned, working for worlds rejecting the rule of a new government.”

“Oh, I would love nothing better than to align the VCOF with loyalists, but they’re way low on the sensor. Small counter rebellious groups are forming, but there’s no unity. And… the military of the Empire seems to have switched over with little debate.” McCullen sighed. “We must do what we can to survive. We’re no longer operating on a binding charter, so recruits might be funneled to newer organizations. We’re almost no better than the Armada and Flotilla for Hire anymore. Not as much trade. Piracy has next to dwindled away. We’re struggling for relevance when a huge region is right next to us.”

The admiral stood up again and turned to his window. The sky here turned a majestic lavender when the sun was gone from view, but darkness had not yet finished falling. The reds and blues stretched edge to edge in the cloudless sky, but the purple creeping up over the tree line impressed Jakob and relaxed McCullen. With a relaxed deep breath, McCullen turned towards the commander, connecting with an intense stare, and asked, “Will you accept command of the Alexia, Captain?”

“Aye, sir. I will.” The grey haired man nodded dismissively again and sat back down in his chair to enjoy his now cool soup.



Jakob stood on his upper bridge, uncomfortable with sitting in the command chair since the incident with the deceased Captain Reynolds. The bridge was near empty, since the ship was still docked to the mega builder that floated in the system. The builder was a complex of large robots that either independently or under manual control worked on the exterior of the ship. All of the repair jobs performed by the crew had to be replaced with more lasting patches that were fully integrated with the vessel. So Jakob just stood on the bridge, clutching the small handrail so tightly that his entire hand had blanched.

A voice called out from behind him, “Sir! Reporting for duty.” When the captain turned he saw Marie in full dress uniform, two large duffel bags floated restlessly at her side, and presenting a true salute.

He smiled, clicked his heels together and returned the salute. “Welcome aboard, Commander!” He looked at her appreciatively as she lowered her salute. “Are you upgrading cabins, Marie?”

She nodded passively and asked, “Which one is the empty one? I don’t remember which was Doctor Deville’s and which was empty.”

Jakob’s grin reemerged, “Take my room, I’m upgrading to captain quarters now.”

Marie returned the smile as she noticed the new rank on his jacket. “Congratulations, Captain!”

“Thank you, Marie. And I’ll certainly hope you’ll do me the honor as serving as my first officer.”

“I think I would like that very much, sir. Have you already transferred your belongings? I’m willing to help if you haven’t yet.” She hoisted up the near weightless bags, as she turned to head back down to the residential section.

“I have a few wall hangings left, but that should be about it. I’ll be down shortly to collect it,” replied Jakob. As she prepared to float down to the lower bridge and the door, he called out, “Marie, hold on a sec. Do you have any ideas for a second officer?”

She tilted her head thoughtfully, “Hm, well, there is always Magda. She’s deserving of a promotion from lieutenant.”

Jakob shook his head slowly, saying, “Unfortunately, Magda switched to the Rainier, the new command ship of the group. She’s taken up as a commander over there.”

“Wow,” answered Marie, her mouth agape and a stunned expression residing across her face. “I’ll have to wish her congratulations. Skipping a rank is a pretty big deal. But I have no idea who else could fill that position on short notice.”

“Alright, well…” said Jakob, although he was interrupted by a call from the access pad attached to the command chair. Sinking into the command chair quickly, he toggled on the message and found Katsuro and Marissa standing with a backdrop of the Cottage and the forest. “Commanders!”

Over the slightly choppy communication, Katsuro spoke, “Captain!” I wish we could come up and say this, but we’re resigning our positions. We’re also getting married!”

“Well, congratulations to you guys... I hope you both find happiness. I’ll miss working with you both.” The conversation carried on with some trivialities before Jakob disconnected and frowned. ‘Win something, lose something,’ he thought.

All the time spent under Reynolds quickly became worthwhile as Jakob slowly grew accustomed to reading reports, rather than generating them. The information was still very similar to what he and Marie typically compiled on a daily basis, but it was Jakob who now had to reach decisions based on all of it. It reminded him of a much earlier time, when he nearly lost the Alexia. Captain Reynolds was wounded in a firefight against the Guild, removing him from the bridge, Marie was still a lieutenant, working on the lower bridge, and Jakob was left to defend the Cornerstone station, which had been rebuild after the first attack on it. Cornerstone had lost full power and Jakob’s strategy’s goal had been to buy time for the station to return to full power. A single attack heavy cruiser was all that remained from the Guild’s forces. The last firing run had appeared to cripple the enemy, allowing for a final pass by the Alexia. The Guild captain had instead feigned weakness, maneuvering only once the run could not be broken off. The evasive maneuver cause significant damage to the ship, crippling it instead. The attack cruiser would have been able to rip apart the Alexia if the Enyo hadn’t managed to engaged and destroy the ship.

Cornerstone two, as Jakob called it, always served to remind him that the enemy was just as cunning as he was.



Captain Hanson sat in his new office, which he was slowly redecorating to not only personalize the room, but to also suppress his memories of the room. His eyes drifted back to the large screens that displayed the exterior of the ship. He ran his fingers through his short, coarse hair, while releasing a pent up sigh. The tedium of command was more than the expected reports and orders, with rosters and external communications, as well as near too frequent discussions with the admiral. Admiral McCullen had decided to tag along the Rainier, at least until a suitable vice admiral to head the command group was identified. But the disdain that he had placed in the word suitable seemed to suggest a large lack of criteria in current vice admirals.

The intercom bleeped at the captain, who had almost begun spinning in his chair. Marie’s voice echoed out of it, “Captain, we’re cleared to leave the repair facility and to be on our way to join the command group.”

Pressing the button, he called back, “Proceed Commander. Keep me informed.” Jakob felt very uncomfortable with his own command style. He had been trying to emulate the success of Captain Reynolds, prior to his command of ship and reality began disintegrating. He figured that he would eventually carve his own style and stop filling the captain old shoes. It did not help that he felt as if the ghost of the murdered captain stood behind him at all times. He had a small weapons locker installed over the region where Marissa had been choked to avoid staring at it.

He had been forced to promote Marseilles to be Chief Medical Officer to replace Marissa, who stayed behind at Lee’s Cottage with Casper. Jakob had know Katsuro from the early years of his service, when he had worked as a lieutenant at central command and was Katsuro’s communications officer for when he worked in stealth operations. Katsuro had been particularly difficult to deal with one day, so Jakob had decided to give him the nickname Casper, deliberately including the C, because he was a ghost to the normal world and it pissed off Katsuro to have what he felt was a stupid nickname.

Okado’s second in command, a burly man named Ash, was serving as a temporary commander while the new commodore assigned a commander to the ship. Jakob was slightly relieved to not be the person responsible for staffing the GASS unit.

The bridge interrupted his thoughts again, “Sir, two things. We’ve received word that the captured frigates from the Reaper conflict have reached the Tradepost station, intact and on schedule.”

“Excellent,” answered Jakob. “And they’re fully compliant on the terms of their surrender?”

“To our knowledge, yes sir. The second thing, sir, we have a code Rose message from central command for you.”

He sighed and pressed the button again, “Alright, thank you lieutenant.” After a few seconds of no reply, he switched the communications unit off and began trying to access the priority message. It took three tries to remember his captain’s password, which allowed him almost anywhere on the ship. He pulled up the note:



Captain Hanson,



Congratulations on the promotion to captain and command of your first vessel. The Republic has asked for a complete evaluation. Until then, you are not to engage any enemy forces unless directly attacked. The decision to align ourselves with the new Republic has not been popular in many regions. Once you have been approved for duty, the Alexia will begin engagement of loyalists to the defunct Empire. Good sailing.



Office of Management



Jakob was more concerned than annoyed after rereading the message twice. Not only did his command require approval by central command, despite an admiral’s appointment, but it now appears that the once impressive, respected, and feared Valiant Confederation of Forces now took orders and bent to every whim of a fresh, bureaucratic government.



Four days had passed before the Alexia had received approval to engage enemy forces, with a mission no longer focused on trade routes and commerce, but on being a military contractor. The evolution of the Confederacy worsened, in Jakob’s perspective, when central command or the Republic, had decided to place supervisory officers on every ship, to verify the strict adherence to the guidelines laid out in the Republic’s charter on space travel.

Charged with eliminating the rogue resistance forces around a world still being terraformed, the Alexia had accepted the surrender of the enemy combatants, sending them to the closest Confederate space station, the Obelisk station. The compliance officer had demanded that Jakob destroy all enemy vessels with all hands.

Marie had replied sharply, “Sir, shut the hell up. This is a Confederate ship and we’re not taking orders from some Republican documentarian.”

The officer squeaked in reply, “You’ll hear from my superiors!” He promptly fled the bridge as Marie and Jakob turned and laughed. The small Republic liaison did contact his superiors, which ended up being the worst mistake of his life.

The next week consisted on many calls between central command, the Republic, Admiral McCullen, and Captain Hanson, with more than enough time to have completely repaired each ship in the flotilla three times over. The last message received by the entire command group from the Confederacy stated:



Attention Command Crew of the Rainier:



Admiral McCullen has been relieved from active duty, pending a hearing. Please place him in custody until the Rainier can successfully deliver him to Republic space. Captain Jakob Hanson and Commander Marie Fields are also to be relieved of duty. If they are not within custody within one hour of receipt of this message, the destruction of the Alexia is permitted.



Central Command

Valiant Army of the Republic



The message had been encoded specifically for the Republic liaisons stationed on each ship; however, the hand picked intelligence officers of the Alexia had cracked the encryption long before the order was issued.

The entire ship erupted in alarms in short order, causing the captain to nearly leap from his sleep suit. Floating over to the terminal to call the bridge to find out the cause for the crimson alert, he found the message had been forwarded to his terminal.

He felt even more weightless as he read the order for a second time. The third reading restored his sense of dedication. He threw himself towards his sea chest, quickly donning his full dress uniform. As he unlocked the hatch, he hesitated, turning back to the check and found his old pistol. Katsuro had given it to him as the first farewell gift, before the two coincidencially join the Alexia. After checking the clip, he slid it down into his waistband. Looking in the mirror briefly, he tugged at the warm, slightly wrinkled jacket, smiling grimly.

He met no one on his way to the bridge, but that was not unusual for a crimson alert. Crew members were either to be at their duty stations or in their quarters when anything at a red or higher alert was sounded.

His climb up the access shaft was hasty, but controlled. He wouldn’t let a message from any government that would use a shit faced weasel, like the liaison officer, rattle his nerves.

Climbing through the hatch onto the bridge, a dead silence hung over the bridge, even the normally ambience of the computers seemed to be on hold. Four of the ground strike squad members, without their bulky armor, stood in a semi circle a couple of meters within the bridge door. The weasel officer smiled eagerly.

“Soldiers, arrest that man!” He shrieked, obviously he had practiced that phrase, since he failed to stutter over any of the words.

In quick glance of the room, he noticed Marie on the upper bridge, flanked by two more GASS troopers. She was rubbing her wrists, as if they had just been restrained tightly. She smiled down at him.

A broad tooth bearing grin erupted on the Captain’s face. The small Republican faltered, backing up slowly into a computer terminal. His once over confident smile collapsed into concern. “You’ll, you’ll be destroyed! Surrender and your crew survive. You can’t expect to beat the Republic! You couldn’t even win again the Rainier.”

“Sir. With all due respect, you haven’t seen us really fight. Unfortunately you’re not going to. Kill the mole.”

“Wha… what!?” exclaimed the liaison. “But… you’re supposed to take me prisoner and trade me for safety or supplies or information! I could be useful or…”

Jakob shook his head, “You’ve been listening to too much propaganda. We don’t have a brig. And we will no longer take prisoners.”

The officer opened his mouth to plead more, but Jakob quickly yanked the pistol free and shot the man. The officer fell to the ground, dying, but with no words passing from his lips.

Walking to the nearest console, he mashed the all call, “Attention Alexia crew members, prepare for engagement with the Rainier in three quarters of an hour.”

Turning to the footmen on the bridge, “Will you remove him? I’ll probably need you all to fend off a boarding. Can you be ready?”

Ash nodded grimly, speaking softly, “Aye, Captain. We’re with you.”