“I’m Admiral Manusco Gonzalez, what do you need?” Manusco stood up again to face the captain.
The Captain let out a huge puff of air, and said, “Ah, Admiral. I am Captain Royce of the FAS Centurion, the ship that just almost rammed this station.” His face turned slightly red for a brief moment. “…and, um, sorry 'bout that. But my ship will need repairs and refueling immediately, and…” he leaned in closer to the Admiral, “I’ll need to talk to you in private.” His appearance turned grim.
“Your ship shall be refueled and repaired, in the meantime, come with me” Admiral Manusco lead the Adumaran captain to his office.
“What do you need to talk about?”
Royce seemed slightly nervous. “My ship just came from the FRA colonies in the Jovian Cluster. I would have stayed in the area to repair at an Adumaran station, but my navigation computer was shot and I had to make for Urth.”
He began pacing around the room. “The reason my ship is so badly damaged is because I was attacked by Rebels, insurgents who don’t believe humanity should leave Urth. They aren’t very organized at the moment, but there are quite a few of them. I thought I should report them to you”, he finished with a breath.
Most of the crew of the Starfarer dispersed to the Mezzanine deck with shops and food. Lily rounded a corner and passed a battered starship on her way to the medical center to get supplies for her ship.
“Apprehend? More like kill… Some of the pirates escaped but most of them were killed here. Either by Myriad’s security or the bomb that went off” Velhanz proceeded to draw his PADD from his coat and then turned it towards Sarah.
“What do you think? This is where the reunion is going to take place” He showed Sarah a fancy looking restaurant called 'La Mademoiselle" that was on Myriad’s A Deck.
Hjalmar saw the Myriad II come into view as the civilian ship came out of FTL. He instantly saw the hole in the station as they came closer and was shocked.
“I wonder what could have caused that,” Hjalmar said after the initial shock faded.
“An explosion my lord?” the captain replied.
“Well that seems obvious. It was more of a ‘who could have caused it?’ question.”
“Sorry my lord.”
“It’s fine. Contact the station, they probably haven’t seen many Asendavian ships come to the station and they might think we’re hostile or something.” Hjalmar slightly grinned to himself at the last part.
“Yes my lord,” the captain said as he hurried off.
As the captain exited the room, Hjalmar’s thoughts wandered to his classmates. I wonder how Sarah is. Hjalmar smiled a little bit. As the ship got closer, Hjalmar sat on his bed and began to wait.
Melor’s uniform’s collar itched him.
He walked along one of the station’s parks, sporting one of Velhanz’s spare uniforms that Ayase had supplied. It was just barely too big, although not enough to be very noticeable. Having bid a loving adieu to Ayase, he was now supported by an exoskeletal brace.
The ‘breeze’ was pleasant, but the effect was dampened by Melor’s knowledge that it was generated by artificial fans. The skybox, too, just didn’t seem… right.
I’d prefer a station that looked nothing like Urth than one that’s a pale mimic.
At least the grass is real.
Shoving the thoughts from his mind, he continued with his walk.
Seeing Ayase again was… he struggled to think of a word, …heavenly. It had been far too long since I had last been with her.
Melor stopped for a moment, a smile beginning to form at the thought of his bride.
She’s too chertovskiy good for me.
Originally thinking the thought somewhat cheerily, it soon took a different turn.
…Why is she with me anyway? What could she have possibly seen in me? I’m a failure as a person, a husband, and an officer.
Perhaps she saw something that I can’t see?
Pondering this last thought, Melor resumed his pace.
At any rate, perhaps I can make her proud as a commander.
I’m going to have to adjust to being in command of my own ship. People who were previously my peers would now be subordinates.
But all my peers are dead.
He couldn’t help but shiver.
I would’ve died with them. I should have.
And somehow, I was saved.
Captain Abdulov was a better commander. Lieutenant Vyrubova was one of the best chertovskiy engineers in the fleet. There were plenty of more useful men and women than I who could have lived.
And yet, of the bridge crew, only I survived. Just a simple, idiot tactical officer.
Melor abruptly stopped walking and took a seat on a nearby bench. He heaved a deep sigh.
I should be dead.
“That’s one of the reasons I was here. So when is it?” Sarah asked Velhanz.
“It’s tomorrow but it seems as if most are arriving on time. An Asendavian ship, presumably Hjalmar… just docked with Myriad. A Emberitian boat docked with Myriad a while ago, and it seems as if a Baykalian ship has also docked with Myriad” Velhanz put away his PADD and pushed himself away from the platform, grabbing onto a makeshift handrail a few feet above him.
“Come over to where I am, most of the damage is over here. Oh and, you did bring something nice to wear, right?”
[hr]
Admiral Manusco leaned forward and looked to the side. “I see… You can never leave rebels unattended to for a while, it’s like leaving a child in a supermarket. I’ll deploy the light cruisers SDFS Shinsu and Tokyano to the field to provide support. I’ll also grant you the 509th Battalion for use in land warfare.”
The Captain raised his eyebrows, but returned to his normal look immediately, and smiled. “I thank you for your generosity, and Setzna’s willingness to assist us in our time of need. Who will be commanding this task force, when will they be leaving, and do they require transport? Three FRA superfreighters are leaving in 46 hours, they could leave as a convoy with my ship?” Royce said, before leaning back in his chair.
After getting off the ship and giving the captain money as a gift, Hjalmar stepped onto Level A on the Myriad II. Hjalmar walked somewhere where he wouldn’t be in the way and took in his surroundings. “They made it look nice at least,” Hjalmar admitted after a minute of gazing at his surroundings. “Now let’s see if I can find someone I know,” Hjalmar said as he began to walk towards the other side of the level. After walking for a good while, he arrived at the damaged section of Level C. “Oh my Ademar,” Hjalmar said after he caught a first glimpse at the damage from the inside.
“Whoa, whoa, slow down with the questions, Captain” the Admiral chuckled. “Rear Admiral Endo Naozane will be commanding the Setznan task force. We’ll accept the convoy offer as well.”
[hr]
“BSS Leroy, you have permission to dock in deck B at port 5B”
[hr]
Velhanz heard a loud, “Let go of me!” and turned around from his spot.
“I’ll be back, I need to check out what the hell is happening” He propelled himself back to the hallway to see what all the commotion was. To his surprise, he found Hjalmar struggling with two of Myriad’s security officers.
“Unhand me! Velhanz, help me here!” Velhanz sighed before answering. “Let the man go and return to your posts… Hjalmar… come with me.”
The Captain clapped his hands together and smiled, letting out a large breath of air as his hands touched. “Wonderful, and may I meet this Rear Admiral?”, Royce asked, slowly walking towards the door.
“Let the man go and return to your posts… Hjalmar… come with me.”
Hjalmar stood up and brushed himself off, concealing his anger, “Of course Vel.”
“Rear Admiral Naozane is probably spending time with his family right now. He should be open tomorrow though” replied Manusco.
[hr]
“How have you been, Hjalmar? Actually, how many women have you gotten already, huh? 2? 5? Oh, 15 you say? Building a Harem, aren’t you.” Velhanz teased his former rival a bit, jabbing at the fact that polygamy is allowed in Asendavia. He led Hjalmar towards where Sarah was and gave her a quick nod before sitting on what was left of the platform.
“By the way, I know it’s unexpected of me to ask but… Is Kuro coming? You two should still be in contact a lot due to your FPA background” He took out his PADD again and checked an intelligence report that was just sent to him, glancing over it quickly and turning off the PADD.
“Alright then, thank you again Admiral. I hope to see you again on more…peaceful terms.” Royce said with a slight smile. He then left the room, reuniting with his guards, and continuing on back to his ship.
“How have you been, Hjalmar? Actually, how many women have you gotten already, huh? 2? 5? Oh, 15 you say? Building a Harem, aren’t you.” Velhanz teased.
Hjalmar smirked slightly as they walked, “More women than you will ever have,” he jested. Hjalmar stopped and stood where he was as Velhanz sat down. “Sarah,” Hjalmar said, acknowledging her.
“By the way, I know it’s unexpected of me to ask but… Is Kuro coming? You two should still be in contact a lot due to your FPA background”
Hjalmar shook his head, “I have no idea if Kuro is coming. She might, she might not. Celannica can be weird sometimes with its foreign affairs.”
Velhanz recoiled as if he was just shot, “Ow, that really hurt, Hjalmar. I think I have a chance with Harumi though, so you may be wrong there…”
“Well at least I’ve pretty been lucky,” Hjalmar paused and grinned, “All the girls I’ve been with have had large… intellects.”