Three days after the shocking defeat of the Federation at the Battle of the Caliver System, the Big 7 held an emergency meeting at Saffron. The Federation question must be answered. The disorganization in the Interstellar Navy is the number one topic.
Four humans—a green alien with black eyes, a Roswell Grey alien, and a Vendalfi—sat in a circle around a marble compass rose. The circle was made of white marble columns, and the humans sat in egg-shaped chairs.
There was a foggy rain outside as the moisture mixed with the tarken tea cigarette smoke. One fact remained true: in Confederate buildings and on their ships, there was always smoke in the atmosphere. Two lamps shone dimly as the building was designed to be lit by natural light.
The Venalfi diplomat spoke first after the group was fully assembled. “The situation in the Federation is spiraling out of control. Their navy has lost two significant battles it should have won. Their military recently outnumbered the Confederacy four to one, had them encircled, and had fighter superiority. Hell, they had an opportunity to capture a duke. The radical politics of the last twenty years have led to a military coup. There are mass executions every day, which has led to a loss of confidence in the current junta. The fact is that the Vendalfi Federation cannot support the Federation at the current time.”
One of the humans spoke. “Some of us are not ready to pull out of the federation alliance. Recent events make us wonder if the Feds are still number one. We will support any Vendalfi Declaration.”
The Roswell gray spoke. “The Caligori Imperium will be pulling support for the Federation. What about you, Counselor Talnori?”
Counselor Talnori said it in a harsh and raspy voice. They shifted in their seats and crossed their legs. “We have already declared one hundred percent neutrality.”
A third human spoke after leaning forward in his seat and crossing his hands. “We closed our embassy in the Federation capital and are in the process of opening one in Saffron.”
“Meeting adjourned.” A gong sounded, and everyone rose from their seats.
They all filed out one by one, and then the room was silent.
Meanwhile, two systems away, near Saffron Space...
Brinus was at the computer console, looking at some graphs projected out in front of him. The data was not good.
Three minutes ago, he called a meeting of the shift supervisors. He was about to make a judgment call without them. Mikitia showed up in pajamas, and Marchella was in a radiation suit. They saluted Brinus. Brinus nodded.
Brinus was at the computer console, looking at some graphs projected out in front of him. The data was not good. It showed micro-fractures in the radioactive dome over the antimatter reactor. It also showed a breakdown in magnetic cohesion in the fusion chamber.
“Petty officers.” Brinus nodded in acknowledgment. “The microfractures in the plexiglass dome are causin’ a crack, which is disruptin’ magnetic cohesion in the fusion reaction chamber. Without magnetic cohesion, it’ll flood the entire ship with gamma and beta radiation in twelve hours, which will kill everyone on board, so I made a judgment call and set a course for Exon Station in the next system over. It’s run by the Vendalfi, so it’s a neutral station. I want y’all to draw up repair schedules fer your shifts. That’s an order. Dismissed.”
Within 10 minutes, Commander Toz was at the engineering bay.
He was with Brinus at the engineering bay and yelled in his face in front of the crew. “You make a fucking judgment call without consulting me? You are only a fucking midshipman and aren’t a fucking syndicate engineer anymore.”
Brinus sighed.
Commander Toz snapped and began screaming in Brinus’s face, “Midshipman Stinkball, do not fucking address me in that fucking superior tone! You will fucking inform me when you make a fucking emergency course corrections! Do you fucking understand me, Midshipman Stinkball?!”
“Sir, yes, sir!” Brinus saluted.
“Dismissed!”
Brinus turned and left. He needed to get ready for the arrival and didn’t have time for an ego-tripping commanding officer.
The Spaceport Half an Hour Later
At the air lock, the chief of operations and a security officer greeted them. Brinus and the commander came into the space ring.
All of the men shook hands, and then Brinus handed the repair schedule to the chief of operations.
Just then, the security officer put Brinus in handcuffs.
“What the fuck?!” Brinus was caught off guard, as he had never been to this spaceport in his life.
The security officer spoke in an assertive voice. “You are under arrest for the burglary of quarters two-A. Come with me.”
As Brinus was put into the cuffs, he began screaming, “I have never been on this here fucking station! What the fuck are you talking about?” Brinus was shocked because he had truly never been to this space station.
“I don’t care how many facts you have. It is just your opinion,” yelled the security officer as he dragged Brinus down the hall.
Captain Toz rolled his eyes and went back onto the ship. He would have to call Brinus’s mom. Brinus was dragged into the brig and locked into a cell. Brinus, however, lay on the bench, put a tarken tea cigarette in his mouth, and lit it.
He then said, after taking a deep drag and blowing smoke into the security officer’s face, “What is this really about? You didn’t read me my rights, process me, interrogate me, or strip-search me. And I’ve never been on this here station before.”
He laughed and then said, Getting up to the plasma bars. “I know you’re going to be released in a couple of hours. The Federation will have you by then. Think! The federation captures the Duke of District Twelve, haha! They will win this war, and they are paying me well for you! I can finally retire to that beachside estate.”
Brinus sneered and made a screw-you smile. “Ever wondered why I was only caught once?”
The security officer laughed and went into Brinus’s face. “Because you were an idiot, haha.”
Brinus walked up to the plasma field and then saw the emitter. He normally didn’t burn, so he decided to take a chance on getting burns on his arm and hands to disable them the emitters. He then took his cigarette out of his mouth after taking a final drag, smoked it in one giant putt, and jammed the butt into the emitter.
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Brinus screamed and lunged out of the cell, “Because I wanted out.”
The officer was caught off guard and yelled, “What the hell!?”
The security officer drew his pistol and tried shooting Brinus with stun rounds. However, he did a series of forward rolls and then performed a technical stand-up. Going behind the man, he then put one arm around his neck and his hand on the back of his head.
The officer was dead in one and a half minutes. Brinus looked and saw the booking sergeant holding the arm of a man in an orange jumpsuit. The man in the jumpsuit must have been a maximum-security prisoner.
The officer said, looking worried, “Me and the prisoner will take care of the body. I saw the whole thing on video, which I deleted. If this gets out, our status as a neutral port will be terminated. Go.”
Brinus walked out of the dentition area. He then leaned against the wall as his hands shook. That was way too close, he thought. Brinus realized he should have burned up the cigarette butt and received third-degree plasma burns on his arm and hand. He regained composure and walked over to where the ship was located. The commander was in the triquarter with his mother.
He heard a screeching woman in a triquarter. “Why was he arrested? I want to speak to him NOW!
“Oh wait, here he is.” Captain Toz was glad to be off the phone with Marci.
Handing the interstellar phone to Brinus, she started screaming into the triquarter. “Am I going to have to worry about this every time you stop at some random spaceport?! How many spaceports did you commit crimes at?! I want a list now!!”
Brinus rolled his eyes and bit his tongue.
Brinus yelled back into the phone, “First off, Marci, I do not rob spaceports. They are too busy, and I did not rob....”
The duchess terminated the call.
Brinus sighed and looked at Captain Toz. “Gods, I wish I could have Simmie right now.”
The commander patted Brinus on the back as he handed them their triquarter. Captain Toz said in a gentle voice, “You must love Simmie. I have seen pictures of him you downloaded from social media in your office. I can tell by the look in your eyes. Take the afternoon shift off. Be back by the dinner bell. You must be deader than a rampig.”
A rampig was similar to a sloth. When sleeping, they entered into a state similar to clinical death. They lived on the forest moons surrounding Otis Datis.
Brinus smiled and went back to his quarters.
The Bar...
It had 8-block wood paneling, bar stools all across the front of the bar, and bar chairs at tables around the room. The bar extended to 808 square feet. The actual bar had mirror paneling inside the eight-block paneling. The floors were stained wood and looked hundreds of years old. Behind the counter was a short, green alien with toad-like ears. Brinus took another shot of drink as two Federation crewmen and a petty officer were eyeing him like a piece of meat ready to be eaten. Brinus had come to the bar because he couldn’t sleep.
The bartender spoke to Brinus. “You wanna talk about it?”
Brinus looked at his bartender as he handed him a double whisky. “I just killed someone; ’an don’t even feel anythin. In fact, I wonna go to battle again.”
He shrugged and began picking up glasses. “I know there was a big battle five systems from here. We have been getting a lot of naval personnel from both sides over the last few days. Are you saying you want to go back to battle?”
Brinus checked himself before talking about the murder he committed. He said, “Yes, sir. I want the adrenaline. Part of me misses bein’ a pirate. It was fun at times. I know I left after they killed my boyfriend, but I want the rush.”
The bartender looked revolted and poured Brinus another drink. “If you enjoy killing, maybe you should see a therapist.”
Brinus took a shot of whisky and put a cigarette in his mouth, lighting it. “I wouldn’t say I enjoy the act of killin’. Hell, I don’t even think anyone enjoys killin’ unless there’s somethin’ wrong with them.”
The bartender put a chip on the bar and smiled. “You’re what? nineteen? twenty? You have to have been a pirate from the age of eight or nine to have that reaction to battle. I have some holosuite programs which might fill that need. If you want war, I think a program called ‘The Battle of Teloni 5’ would be perfect for you. And I can even disable safety protocols for you, provided you sign a waiver and agree to a TOS.”
Brinus put a twenty-credit chip on the bar and came up from his stool. “I have to be on duty after the dinner bell. I don’t think my commander would like it if I got injured in a battle sim.” He laughed nervously.
The bartender smiled and started wiping Brinus’s shot glass. “Not the real thing, is it?”
Brinus put a five-credit chip on the table. “Battle sims are never as good as the real thing. Here is a tip for the service and the conversation.”
Brinus finished the cigarette in one drag and crushed the butt in the ashtray on the bar.
Someone in the bar shouted, “Hey! Turn up that TV! What is that guy saying?”
A Vendafli diplomat stood at a podium in front of a microphone. “...furthermore, these are the reasons why the Vendalfi Federation is officially declaring its military neutrality and will also be expanding trade relations with the Confederacy. The Federation has suffered two defeats it should have won. Due to disorganization and poor recruiting within the Federation, the military lost. The Junta, which has taken over from the elected democracy put in power by the people, They are purging disloyal elements in the most brutal and public fashion possible. Mass executions of innocents because of social media posts from 10 or even 20 years ago are unacceptable in our eyes. Purges have also targeted groups they deemed undesirable for extermination. Third, the Federation of today is no longer the Federation we remember. The last 20 years have seen a radicalization of the population and an ultimate takeover of radical elements. Thank you; that is all.” A flurry of camera flashes and questions followed as the press agent walked off of the stage.
Brinus took a swig from a drink on a random table and walked out of the bar. The Federation just lost the war. Brinus realized at this point that it was a waiting game. The Confederacy would need to inflict enough damage on them to force them to surrender, or they would collapse.
The four enemy soldiers sitting at the at the table in the bar came up to Brinus with the petty officer offering hand for him to shake. "We wish to surrender. Take us to your captain."
FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER
Brinus walked down the hall with his prisoners. They were outside of the frigate’s star dock which was big enough to hold a 1 kilometer ship which was 250 meters wide and 16 decks tall. The star dock had sandy floors and the ship’s landing gear was engaged. The frigate was cigar shaped with three thrusters in the back. There was a retractable roof.
“What’s life like in the federation?” Brinus asked as he approached the cargo bay.
“It is awful, millions in the military are starving. there’s been a breakdown in supply chains in the navy. Basically, we’re defecting because we haven’t eaten in three days.”
“Y’all defectin’ fer a hot meal?”
The four men nodded.
“Our officers eat big while we starve. I’m fed up. If the war is lost, I don’t want to die for this organization.”
“Wait out here while I talk with my captain.”
Brinus went into the airlock and then on the ship. A few minutes later Commander Toz came out with Brinus. “Hello! Welcome to the Confederacy. you will have to excuse the state of our ship. We’re getting battle damage repaired.”
Brinus and Commander Toz sat the four men down in the mess hall. Four replicated hot meals designed by the ship’s doctor for chronic starvation sat on the table. Commander Toz began speaking, “I was wondering if you could tell me your job in the enemy navy? What are your names and ranks?”
“I am squad leader Saul. your equivalent to a petty officer. these are my men. They are all crewmen. We are from the ship Sobar, they are a star destroyer of about 800 men and women. we were with the repair crew.”
Commander Toz Dismissed Brinus with a hand wave as the interrogation went underway.
TWENTY MINUETS LATER
The four men were taken to the brig and Brinus was called to Command Toz's office. The office was plain and had bare wooden walls painted white. The desk was made of oak and two chairs in neo-imperial style sat in front of it. The wood floor was polished and had a Persian style rug in the center of the room. On his desk was a computer terminal and an ashtray with five cigarette butts of a different brand than what Brinus smoked. The office had a slight stale haze.
He leaned back in his office chair and sighed. “What happened?”
“Sir?”
“You were arrested on trumped up charges and released. I hear on the radio three hours later they found the body of a security officer in the incinerator with your DNA on it. The chief security is refusing to talk about it. He was ordered to bring you in for questioning and told the Station’s DA to get lost. Never, in my life, has a cop refused to enforce the law without a reason. The interesting thing was the back up copy of the video they found.”
“Sir...”
Commander Toz held up his hand and made a shushing sound. “Before you lie, you better have a damn good reason for murdering that officer.”
“Yes sir. They tried to kidnap me and turn me over to the Federation.”
“Thank you Midshipman. Dismissed.”
“Yes, Sir!”
Brinus saluted and left.