UGT: Unknown; seconds after May cuts the connection between the ASF Aurora and the FSF Defiance
Location: Unknown yellow dwarf system, near the third planet
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Admiral Thorrison blankly stared at the blackened screen in front of him. Seconds ago, he had spoken with Captain Lunaris. Only for her to hang up on him. One doesn't just cut off an Admiral of the Second Human Federation like that! It was the high of casual disrespect the girl had shown him as of yet!
"I believe this conversation didn't quite go acording to plan.", his CO said dryly, making some of the bridge crew snicker slightly. Of course they felt glee at seeing their Admiral, someone who often had a stick up his ass, getting shown his own place in the hirarchy. In such a rude way nonetheless! "No, it definitly didn't. The girl doesn't want to negotiate or cooperate. The way she causally disregards us makes it clear, that she still doesn't fully grasp her current situation. That makes her impossible to predict and dangerous.", Admiral Thorrison said, sighing.
"At least she seems to have a tactical mind and knows, more or less, what she's doing. That alone makes her better than some of the Captains I had to work under.", the CO said and Admiral Thorrison nodded. "That much is true. Her analytical mind and battle tactics will be of value. But I'm reasonably sure, based on her fight against the Association fleet, that she has a lack of real experience. She has some, and most likely more training than we could imagine, but there is still a gigantic deficit on real experience. Just like with our own Captains at the beginning of the Second War of Independence.", he added.
"You think that's something we can abuse? Outdated tactics, inability to innovate, undecisive decisionmaking? Stuff like that?", The CO asked. Admiral Thorrison shook his head in response. "Impossible. The difference in technology is to big, we don't know her battle tactics or anything really. We have no counter to them, therefore her tactics are completely viable. She did not look like the type of person, who lacks innovative ability. I cannot be sure, but I don't think that we'll find a weakness to exploit there. Undecisive decisionmaking is a possibility but with her still living hundreds of years in the past... I think she will act brash, rather than waiting and thinking things through orderly. Let's not forget, she still is quite young. That is something that will either doom us, or give us an opening.", he said contemplative.
"How do you look upon her chances to be accepted by the Grand Assembly and the president, sir?", his CO asked, switching the topic slightly. The Admiral frowned. "The president will be hard-pressed from all sides to take advantage of her. Hell, he would probably try anyway. At some point, the FSF will be in combat with the FSF Aurora, claiming it for themselves. The question is how far Captain Lunaris' patriotism goes. Would she be willing to sacrifice her ship, her crew and herself just for the last remnant of an ancient starnation to go down in a fiery blaze? Or will she, realising the current situation, go rogue and into hiding or cooperate with the SHF. She would probably remain in control of her ships and crew, only with a bunch of extra oversight added. Her knowledge of the First human Federation technology is to valuable."
"I don't know. I got the feeling of a schemer from her. I cannot imagine her not having a plan of some kind. But we have no way of knowing and no way to stop her, should she try something. We can only wait and see. And hope, of yourse, for a most favorable outcome for the Federation.", the Co said. "Enough of this. The battle was a great haul for us. Of course, we lost way more than we gained, but with the ships that Captain Lunaris so graciously gifted to us, we at least have a small functioning fleet again. If we manage to man them, that is. It would put our ship count at three Battlecruisers, four Cruisers, four Destroyers and six Frigates. A total of 17 ships we can work with."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Admiral Thorrison sighed and rubbed his temples. "We need crews for all these ships, as you said. That puts the amount of people we need at around 7.000 to fully man them and our current ships. How many of our people were we able to rescue?", he asked. "We are still not entirely sure, but it seems like we managed to rescue around 10.300 of our people. We should have enough to man all of our new ships. But our overall losses of the battle amount to two Cruisers, ten Destroyers and 19 Frigates. A total of 31 ships. In terms of people, we lost around 6.000. As much as the loss pains us, the situation itself is still more than salvagable.", the CO answered.
"Good. Very good even. It seems like we'll be able to forgo conscripting the locals. I don't want a rebellion at my hands, if their reaction last time we did that is an indicator. Especially with Captain Lunaris in the system, I decidedly don't want to practically gift her this one. Anything else?", Admiral Thorrison asked. "Well, we'll have to analyse the Association's technology, but they most likely already destroyed everything that could be of value to us before capitulating. You know how the ruidans are. Anyways, that's a problem for the engineers, not us.", the CO answered once more.
Admiral Thorrison sighed and stood up. "Do a few more sweeps to make sure we got everyone and everything we can. Stay away from the third moon and the FSF Aurora. That's a hornets nest that I have no interest in poking. Do not even dare passively to scan them. I can guarantee you, they will notice. Make sure everyone follows this order. I will go and get some sleep. Make sure you get some as well, my friend. I have the feeling things will become very stessfull once more, the moment Captain Lunaris deigns to contact us again. Should that happen, I want to be informed ASAP.", he said, before leaving the bridge.
The moment the doors closed behind him, he sighed. There was one thing he couldn't tell everyone else. Admiral Thorrison was pretty sure that Captain Lunaris had played them all. She definitly was a schemer and she knew how to play her cards well. Her patriotism, her brashness, her arrogance. It was all one giant ploy she used to conceal her true ambitions. And for the better or worse, he didn't know them. But there were a few possibilities.
Captain Lunaris could be little more than a distraction for him. Someone that was supposed to soak up all the attention, to make sure something elso could happen unnoticed in the backround. Another possibility would be that she knew, or at least hat strong assumptions, about others like her. Survivors of the First Human Federation, their ships, and of yourse their locations. She could also already plan whom to join and when. Or truly how to best carve out an existence for herself in the galaxy.
But in the end, Admiral Thorrison wasn't a politican. There were to many possibilities and he had to little knowledge of such things. He only knew that Captain Lunaris still had a use for him and his fleet. And she wanted them to be as stong as possible. And that was something that he would gladly take. Everything else would show itself with time. For now, he had to play his part and just silently keep an eye on the FSF Aurora.
Admiral Thorrison sighed loudly. There was a reason he joined the FSF instead of the diplomatic corp, damnit! And now, by some random chance, he was on the middle of something that would shake the Grand Assembly, if not the foundation of the entire Second Human Federation. While it represented a huge opportunity, it also happened at the worst time possible. Hells, as things were now, the entire galactic order could potentially crumble to dust before this discovery! That's why he would do his best to keep every and all rumors under control for as long as possible, even if it was an impossible long-term solution. For that, the waves that got kicked up were already to big.
He would also have to inform the Grand Assembly as fast as humanly possible. They would need every leg up they could get. The political aspects alone went way over his head, but they would probably take way to much time. He would definitly recommend to them to finally send out the home fleet. Including the FSF Invictus. The last ace up the Federations sleeve would hopefully be played out soon. And maybe, just maybe, it would be enough to save the Federation and everythind Admiral Thorrison knew and cared for.
Because ig his hunch was right, than Captain Lunaris would be the one to decide the outcome of this entire war and maybe even the future of the galaxy. The Second Human Federation had to be prepared for hell to break loose. And, of course, to sweep in and secure the prizes. All for the glory of the Second Human Federation.