“Admiral Astoria, I formally protest.”
“DeGurgis, I swear to Andromeda I will make you fight in riot gear only if you persist.”
“But you have grenades I do not. How am I supposed to protect you without knowing and using similar armaments.”
“You have a laser rifle, a rail rifle, a laser pistol and plasma grenades. You could take one of the ISS cruisers by yourself. What more could you possibly need? Plus if I use these special grenades, there is a 10% chance that half the ship warps to a random location within 10 light years.”
DeGurgis pales, “Yeah, code Alpha secured ordinance, Aye Ma’am.”
“I knew I picked the right officer. Especially when you picked an EVA with two mods and asked for forgiveness.”
“Look, Admiral. Riot arm shields and a limited use repulsor should be standard security force gear.”
“I’ll put that in the standard equipment recommendation.”
“Aren’t you the big boss, Ma’am? Why isn’t that your decision?”
“Lieutenant, when your wife, and first Consul of the Empire decides she’s in charge of all Empire contracts and Logistics, you listen. That and she’s an analytical goddess.”
“Says the woman that invented modern FTL.” DeGurgis scoffs.
“I did, thank you for the recognition. But realize that as brilliant as I claim to be. Katie is smarter than me. By a lot. She just focuses on logistics, and sometimes Magitech integration. She’s made many mining conglomerates wish they were dealing with the gods instead of her.”
“Eww, gross. You’re going to infect me with that love shit.” The former Marine’s face is a smirk-worthy achievement.
“Just wait until the whole of the Vladi Valkyries sick their models on you. You’ll cave. In the mean time, however, I need you to make a boarding plan for the Galilei, assume you, Me, Camacho.”
“Aye Admiral.”
The next half of a day wore on me. I received no updates from Katie and Tessa and I’m worried. I haven’t installed the spike yet and I should probably get to it.
“Lemoore, I need you to get in contact with Melissa Hunsaker and see if you can get this package working in Bikini Station. I’ll send you her comm signal, but no promises.
“DeGurgis, you and Camacho are with me. Low- key boarding of Galilei whether they let us or not.”
“ROE Admiral?”
“Calm your battle hard-on DeGurgis, friendly foreign until proven otherwise. Ivanka Baiul and Petra Volkov are protect at all costs. Officers presumed hostile, do not shoot first. Your suits should have better protections. Firing authority with Security Officer. Priority secure bridge and engineering. Fired upon? Suppress with prejudice.”
“I need a loan, Admiral.” DeGurgis says.
“Boarding fund approved with permission from me. Send requests ten minutes. Initiate launch prep.”
“Admiral, but . . .”
“Make it work team. We are a day behind and I need you all in command of the Galilei before I take Bikini Station. As such, Lieutenant, you have two hours to secure the ship or deploy countermeasures before we descend Planetside. Make it happen.”
“Copy Admiral. Chief, I’m gonna need those breeching rounds for backup, moon-side launch. Admiral, request body mounted rail for backup. N-M, Admiral, credit assist adequate.” DeGurgis chatters. Her comms comfort my choice in security personnel.
Alright, big Empress pants today. Put the face on, put the armor on, put the bitch on. “ISS Galilei, this is AES Indulgence, We have arms, ships and tech to bear, we intend to board your vessel for inspection.”
We get some interrupted comms, but Galilei responds. “Boarding denied. Travel on.”
Well, no time like the present to demand stuff from my will.
“This is Empress Astoria. I COMMAND that you stand down and receive my administrative control team.” Lending extra demand in that command drained much of my personal reserves and any regional command I had left.
DeGurgis replies, “We got this Admiral, break off and secure your target.”
Fucking Marine calling targets. She’s not wrong, but damned if I will acknowledge it in public. I decide to make a risky warp in atmo, just above the center of the atoll. The sudden displacement of a shuttle-sized lump of air causes a boom and a ripple that I can see in the bay below me.
Bikini-station has apparently been seized? Looks like military, but the uniforms don’t look familiar. I land on a different Island in full view of the Station, debark my shuttle and then use my EVA suit to fly over to the Eastern end of the shielded island. At least none of the goombas shoot at me. I would have had to put light highways in their heads.
“Hail intruders! What brings you to trespass on My Island?” I ask as my feet hit the sand near Katie’s little cabana workshop.
“Ma’am, We’ve secured this island on behalf of Admiral Morris and Australia.” He puts his hand on his rifle. “Don’t come any closer.”
“Soldier, you are on my land, threatening me. Call your Admiral , or I’m coming in Hot and Angry.”
/Tessa, can you hear me hon?/
/Thank andromeda you’re back! Permission to upload?/
/Copy that Tessa. I’d wager your online counterpart left some integration artifacts for you./
/Please stay within the shield range/
I duck into my Station Menus and flag all non Astorian citizens as persona non-grata on Bikini Station. While I’m at it, I add the new Naval personnel as Astorian citizens and create a link giving all military personnel citizenship.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I get into my menus and pay the fee for teleporting goods that I own to me. I start enchanting some shaped corundum that I had laying in my workshop. After half an hour I see both men just standing like nothing’s going on. Fine then. Beach bonfire time.
I modify the shield so that no oxygen enters and nothing but oxygen leaves. They should be passed out within the hour.
I hear Tessa breath a full breath in my mind and it’s odd. Oh double dee.
Thank Andromeda. I’ve been so alone.
Sorry, love, we’ve been worried about you getting cut off. Welcome back, and it’s nice to have a voice back in my head. Wow, that sounds weird to say. Anyway, how many goons are in our station Tessa?
Five. Two you see, two inside, and one hiding in a palm up the beach. Should be half an hour for the CO and CO2 to put them to sleep.
Great, alert me when any concentration gets to lethal. Also, hook me up to the Admirals.
The US military has temporarily independent leadership as the Executive branch was thrown into turmoil after the return of the Galilei and the command crew of the Copernicus.
Fuck. Shit made sense when the President was antagonistic and her staff was placative. Hell, Tessa, connect me to whatever line the Joint Chiefs or their secretaries are answering.
“Airman Bennet, for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs speaking, how may I direct your call?”
“Airman, This is Empress Astoria . . .”
“Please hold Ma’am, connecting to the Chiefs.”
Oh shit, that was fast. She had orders to forward my call directly? Craaaap. Shit has gone down hard and fast.
“Astoria, thank the maker you’re here.”
“CNO? Damn, Admiral. Is this a phone convo or a come to you convo?”
“It’s a we respectfully request your facilities to base our command from, conversation.”
“Universe damn you, old man. Fine. I owe you one for having my back in the Copernicus program. I will shuttle seven people MAX to my atoll, and the rest can take the long way. Give me a lat-long.”
He sends me two sets of eight and Tessa has it in the Indulgence before I can ask. Bring it about if you will love.
I like the new nomenclature, Penny.
Heh, it’s hard to remember you weren’t there for it all. We need to have a convo with Robo Tess and you before we settle on anything, but let’s roll with it for now, kk? She pings affirmative.
I wait until the Aussie kids pass out and tie them all to a palm on a different island outside of my shield. I hook up Katie’s backpack to the ansible and do a quick clear of my space. Ass hats put a bomb in the basement. I shunt the bastard to Ayers rock and let it kick.
Alright Tess, low approach pull alongside any ship at the coordinates, after blaring IFF Astoria.
They have me meet an LSD 60km off the coast of Midway Island. Half an ocean away, it’s going to take this ship days to get to Bikini Atoll. Even the helos won’t make it that far. They signal me in and let me land on the forward section away from the tower. I walk out of the elevator in my EVA suit to meet a familiar face. “Ho-ly-shit Captain. Good to see you after so many years. You still opening doors for Naval Reactors?”
“He’s now Chief of Energy, but yes. Welcome aboard Admiral. May I escort you to the Chiefs?”
“Negative Captain. This is a retrieval. Seven bodies on my shuttle with an invitation to anchor inside my atoll. I’ll have one strait dredged to fit a carrier should the need arise. LCACs will be the short-term arrival platform for the remaining staff.”
“Copy Admiral, wait 10 please.”
“Fine, but in 15, I’m leaving, and I will allow Osprey to land on the strip on an adjacent island.”
He nods and pulls a hip walkie to his face. I thought they only had helos, Osprey are some primo kit for this ship, and there are two on deck. Fuck me have they pulled rank for this ship. Has me worried to be honest.
With now-Admiral Morris in charge in Aussie-land and the Executive and the Military at odds in the US of A, it’s hard to think what’s happening in the rest of the world.
Would you like the run down? Seven regional Ansibles have been built in the two months since the Host has been active and twenty more are in progress.
How’s Commander Zhao doing? If Morris made it back, Zhao certainly did.
She is currently campaigning for an important political position in China. I feel she is angling for Sheriff of Hong Kong.
Damnit, why can’t any of this be easy? Fifteen? Okies, lets go.
“Shuttle to Bikini Atoll leaving in tee minus twenty.”
I wait thirty and only three Admirals and two aides are onboard. I take off with two of my favorite people on board. One of them is a general instead of an admiral. So sue me. “Gentlemen. Welcome aboard. You have twenty minutes to give your input to your future meeting area. This will likely remain a international location, so please, indicate preferences accordingly.”
Rich, Chief of energy suggest that separate barracks be employed for each island for a total of 9 separate locations. CNO recommends a tethered flotilla meeting house and I kind of love it. I build their recommendations but install the gate I bought on the edge of the shield of my primary base.
I can’t wait a day or three, so I summon the three Flag officers.
“Gentlemen, I cannot afford to wait any longer. While the community island is welcome to all, and I am having the western approach dredged, I need updates now. Who is in control of Earth and the ISV’s?”
Each of the men take a minute to murmur, then respond: “The US is in turmoil and the Military has chosen to stay abroad in policy. The local militia are taking a martial law approach, but so far the military construct is in tact.”
“I mean, that sucks, but I’m glad you have some sense of control of the three million of your aggressive asses. But what of China, Japan, and Europe. I know the Aussies are trying to sneak shit.”
“Ma’am” a male analyst replied, “China has taken now Admiral Zhao and made her a political figure. LT Takahashi is in a similar position. Russia is irate at not receiving their prominent members from the rescue, but are rallying around their syndicates.”
“Fucking divisive bullshit. How are the ISV’s operating?”
Analyst James chimes in again. “Ma’am, the Brahe and Kepler are basically independent states at this point, Galilei is a divided Aussie and Sino state, and Copernicus is . . . abandoned.”
“I really can’t believe I leave this planet for eight months and it’s fine until Morris and Zhao turn up.”
Rich chimes in, “Penny, to be fair, everything went to hell when the people that broke the threshold to tier 1 got their ‘bonuses’ through the Sector Host. Morris and Zhao just took control of their regions. Most of the world didn’t have strong hands to corral them, so there is a lot of disarray and turmoil.”
“What happened to Commander Nugget?”
“Nugent was traumatized by the carnage on the Copernicus and is currently being cared for in a mental health facility.”
I sigh at that, there’s so much their not leading with. “Gents. When the remainder of your council gets here, I need the quick and dirty of what caused this and what you want from me. The answer can’t be money.”
“But you owe the world . . .”
“I don’t owe the world shit. I gave humanity a chance to grow beyond hunger and homelessness and what the hell have you done with it? I’d bet my Empire that the majority of world governments tried to suspend basic subsistence to get more credits.”
Rich nodded. “Right now, our biggest problem seems to be personal providence and system access. There have been multiple riots in the cities that host ansibles, and one or two have been destroyed by those that have rejected the system and have religious beliefs against it.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Cold approach is to let warlords develop and go in and pop their heads and re-structure the new civilizations. Warm approach is also a restructure, but to consolidate like Tokyo and build higher density near your ansibles. Cooperative world government could put an ansible in orbit that could cover the planet, but that seems a bit far fetched right now.”
The Chiefs present nod. “It would also only solve a portion of our problem.” I quirk an eyebrow, letting the man know I want more details.
“The warlord issue has already begun. The current regional powers in North America is this council for the East Coast, the Texas National Guard, The Southern California Police State, and the Confederated Territories of Columbia. The Aleutian Orca Riders are starting to become a problem as well.”
“And let me guess, Australia and China are at a truce and invading Asia.”
“Australia has coopted the Japanese and started a campaign in Indonesia and South America. China is moving through Africa, and Russia has been strategically left to itself. Oddly enough, Russia has survived the most in-tact and the reasons why are kept a secret.”
I smile at the last part. “I guess it’s time to get some gangsters on the phone.” I tell the seven people in front of me.