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Srettia powered down the engines as she took her hands off the controls, deciding to let the automated systems once again guide the ship into the hangar restraints. "Docking complete, Captain." She stated, watching as her control panel lit up green.
"Nice work." Michael replied, looking over to Yirphayen. " Deilays, would you mind getting in touch with some hangar techs and get them to let Yirphayen out for some sun. The Admiral would like to see myself and the Acting Sub-Lieutenant immediately, it seems."
"Aye, Captain!" Steven responded, opening up communications with hangar representatives.
"Well. Shall we go hand in our orders to the Admiral and get him to summon Chrarada for us?" Michael asked with a sly grin, looking over to Srettia as she began locking her console.
"It wouldn't surprise me if the reason we're being summoned is because I overshot our position and flew directly into the system. She's most likely already there and waiting to claw you open." Srettia returned, finishing up her commands and standing from her spot.
"Have fun. I will be running some self-diagnostics to make sure the fold jump did not unsettel anything."
"Alright then, see you later Jack." Michael replied as he exited the bridge, turning to make his way towards the lift.
Srettia followed behind Michael, waving at the excited crewmates who seemed to realize just exactly where they were as a few began to pile up around one of the exit tubes currently attached to the ship. "You should permit them to explore Leda. We don't know how long it'll take to gather both Aasteran and Terran Crewmates." Srettia suggested, eliciting several excited smiles from the gathered crewmates.
"Ahh, right. That's my job now, isn't it?" Michael stated, leaning up against the tube wall as he began writing a crew permit.
While the eager crew began gathering around the exit, Michael continued his letter, making sure to outline specific behaviours and how to avoid being gutted by an angry female. "Alright, that should do it." He announced, sending the letter to his onboard crew, most of which immediately piled out of the ship.
Srettia laughed as Michael stood off to the side, watching. "Think the Admiral will give me shit for that?" He asked as the last of the crew entered the boarding tube.
"I don't think so. It's a Terran base, after all. If they meet a few of my people while they're looking around as their ship is refitting, who are we to stop them." Srettia replied, entering the tube.
As the duo reached the end of the boarding tunnel and entered the hangar, noticing the abundance of Aasteran ships and mechanics running around, Michael chuckled and pointed Srettia towards a curious pair. "Looks like that didn't take long." He replied, Watching as Ankiah snuck away with Antigone.
"I just hope Ankiah talks about what she needs to first." Srettia stated as they reached the lift.
"I trust Ankiah to do the right thing." Michael replied, keying the flag deck and leaning against the wall. "She's a smart lady, just frustrated at the situation."
"Yeah. I just worry. She's been spending a lot of time on the sim since she found out about her people." Srettia returned as the lift door opened.
"Different people cope differently." Michael replied with a shrug. "Let her and Antigone sort it out with their therapist. My job is to make sure she safely does hers in a way that doesn't interfere with the mission. Even if I hate the thought of her being a pilot."
Srettia scowled at the response and poked Michael in his side. " You better not regret that decision." She replied as they came upon the Admirals office.
"I'm sure I will sooner or later. But sometimes, you need to trust someone to either succeed or make a mistake." Michael stated, keying the bell.
As the door opened, Michael felt his heart fall in dread as both the Admiral and Chrarada sat on one side of a table, motioning for the two to sit opposite of them as he walked in. "Admiral, First Tail Chrarada. It's a pleasure as always."
"Shut it." Chrarada stated harshly, watching as Michael took his seat. "You will tell me why you broke the agreement and entered our system without warning."
Srettia raised her hand as she shrunk back in embarrassment. "That was my fault First Tail... It was my first time flying a ship so large, and I missed my mark slightly, putting us directly into the system."
Admiral Miles smirked and reclined into the couch. "Well. It was one of your own who broke the agreement. What say you now?" He stated with a sly laugh.
Chrarada frowned and pointed a finger at Srettia. "You will do better next time. Or there will be no next time." She stated, looking to Michael. "And you will do a better job coaching her. As her mate, you can be held responsible as well."
"Yes, First Tail." Michael responded, not wanting to bring up Terran law at this moment.
"Well, then. With all that out of the way, What brings you back so soon? And what's with that new ship?" Admiral Miles asked, sitting back up to meet the nervous Captain.
Michael held out a dataslate for the Admiral to take and nodded his head. "Orders directly from the Fleet Admiral. I am to captain a crew of both Aasteran and Terran. Once I gather the remaining crew here, I am to head to the Voktlix system to gather intel so the navy can prepare for a counter-invasion."
Chrarada let a smile slide across her face and slammed her hand down on the table. "So that settles it then Admiral Miles. It seems your Fleet ops has decided to eradicate the Briolb after all. I am quite happy with this decision. You may take any of my people with you, excluding Ethuci, for your information gathering mission Captain Michael.
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Michael's eyes went wide at how easily Chrarada accepted and nodded his understanding. "Of course! The list is on that slate. The crew may board my ship at their leisure; however, I would appreciate it if they were to expedite things. The Fleet admiral made sure to impress upon me that the nature of our mission is first and foremost, the saving of lives and time is not on our side."
Chrarada nodded and pulled out her personal data slate, quickly linking it to her implant and sending the list to Ethuci as she read it. "It may take a day or two, but I will not waste your time, Captain."
Admiral Miles raised a brow and sent the list to Commander Brown through his implant as well. "Done. The list has been sent. However, I request you observe this interrogation before we adjourn for today." The Admiral replied, bringing up the classified file.
Michael and Srettia watched the file with rapt interest. The Briolb was nothing like what fleet ops thought... Or were they? What was advanced enough to build a fabricator in such a place but unable to pick up the natural bio signs that inhabited the area let alone be overwhelmed by such beings... More questions that needed answering.
"I see." Michael replied as the video finished. "It doesn't change my orders, but perhaps it will change the way I handle the mission. I will keep what I've seen here in mind, Admiral, while operating in the Voktlix system." Michael replied, earning him a nod from the Admiral but a neutral look from Chrarada.
Srettia nodded and transferred her own file to Chrarada as they finished up speaking of their mission. "This is the video from the welcoming ceremony. It seemed rushed as the Fleet Admiral began moving military assets which unsettled multiple Terran systems, but I hope I did well enough not to shame our people." Srettia added as Chrarada began watching the video.
As the video continued, Chrarada kept a straight face, only nodding every so often, seemingly to keep Srettia in suspense while doing so. It wasn't until nearly halfway through the video, she finally broke her silence, much to Srettia's dismay. "You were very graceful and made our people proud. Thank you, ambassador." Chrarada stated, continuing to watch the video. "Apologies, you two. I have much to speak about with the Admiral. I will summon you two again if needed, but would you please leave us."
"Alright, then. Thank you for your time." Michael responded as he stood from his seat to leave the room.
"Thank you for your time First Tail." Srettia stated as she rose with Michael to leave the room.
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"Run that by me again?" Antigone said as she stroked Ankiah's tail.
"Umm... The Terran Fleet Admiral wants me to be a Mech pilot, and I agreed." Ankiah replied, leaning into Antigone's side.
Antigone frowned at the statement and looked at her inbox for a message noticing she did indeed receive new orders. "And they want me to train you? I mean... I was an instructor before, but... I mean, I don't really like the idea of you being a pilot."
"I know. Captain Michael doesn't like it either. He wanted to make sure I talked with you and 'Doctor wet tail' before he agreed to let me be a pilot. Though he also said if I reached a certain degree of skill, he would let me, pilot, as well." Ankiah replied.
Antigone mushed her face into Ankiah's soft fur and shook it around a bit before stopping to look up at her victim. "Did he now? What a kind man, I'll have to have some words with him when we meet." Antigone responded as she shoved her face into Ankiah's tail. " I'm making an appointment now. We should be able to see, Aleynai today to meet his requirements."
"You aren't mad at me wanting to be a pilot?" Ankiah asked in surprise.
"Oh, no, I am. Not at you, though. In your shoes, I would want to kill the invaders as well. I am, however, angry at the Fleet Admiral and Captian Michael, though."
"Ahh... I feel bad for him then. He's a nice guy." Ankiah replied, fighting back the pleasant sensation coming from her tail.
"Don't worry. I'll only rough him up a little bit. Shall we head out to see Aleynai? She has an opening in forty minutes." Antigone replied as she stood from her comfy spot.
Ankiah nodded and moved to gather her things. "That sounds like a good idea. This mission seems to be moving quickly as is, and I wouldn't want to be the one holding it up."
"Yeah, I'll have to grab my deployment bag when we get back. It seems I'm going with or without you, and honestly...... As much as I don't want you in one of those death traps, I'd rather you come along if I'm to be gone for as long as the mission report implies." Antigone shyly whispered, not meeting Ankiah's eyes.
"Ha! you big softy!" Ankiah laughed out, pulling Antigone in for a kiss.
Surprised, Antigone quickly returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around her partner and holding it for a few moments before separating with a long breath. "H'okay..... Let's go see Aleynai before we get too ahead of ourselves."
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"Ahh, no see, right here is the problem." Tanda replied, pointing out a weird string of code.
Viscia frowned and slammed her tail on the ground in frustration. "This is much harder than I thought. How long did it take you to spawn Jack?" She asked, Looking over to Dr. Leviye.
"Four years. We used my core programming and built around it to create a new life. We are doing much the same here, so I would assume it would take just as long." Dr. Leviye responded, continuing his work.
Viscia's mouth dropped as she looked at the AI then looked over to Tanda, who busied himself with work. "Four years?! Well... That's not too bad, I guess." She stated, getting back to her work.
"Considering it takes nine months for a Terran child to gestate. I would assume it is rather quick, seeing as we are artificially creating a life." The doctor answered, looking up from his work and raising his brow.
Tanda nodded in agreement with the doctor, stopping to tilt his head in annoyance at his urgent notification. "I just got new orders. Gimme a sec."
Tanda swore to himself several times as he read through his orders, slamming his hands on his desk upon completion. "Shit... I ahh. I just got transferred to a classified mission. I gotta go get my things." He replied, kicking the corner of his work table in frustration.
Viscia nodded and packed up her work. "Where are we going?"
Tanda looked down at the ground and shrugged. "Couldn't tell you even if I knew... And I.. I'm pretty sure you aren't coming, it didn't say anything about bringing family with you."
Frowning, Viscia walked up to Tanda and grabbed his face, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "I will be going with you as I am your mate. Anything that gets in the way of that will be a very sorry individual."
"Visca." Tanda breathed out. "You should know as well as I do, the military does not work like that. They'd sooner hit you with a sleep dart and drag me onto whatever ship I'm assigned to then deal with any problems." Tanda replied, pulling Viscia into a firm hug.
"Then I will take this up Directly with Admiral Miles. He will have me assigned to your ship in some capacity." Viscia returned, pulling out her datapad and swinging it behind Tanda's back so she could file a request to meet. "Oh... Never mind." She replied, noticing the mark on her datapad then quickly checking her implant for the notification. "I think I've been assigned to the same classified mission as a science officer. I guess I missed it while I was working. Shall we go pack?"
Tanda sighed in relief and nodded in agreeance. "Well. That was terrifying. Remind me to make sure we get stationed on a remote research satellite when we get back. I didn't think being suddenly separated would sting so much."
Viscia nodded and pulled Tanda by the hand towards the lift, waving a hand at the left out Dr. Leviye. "Agreed. Maybe an Aasteran station?"
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"One more time! No more mistakes, check your corners, scan interiors, switch through multiple spectrums. These ships will have hostages on board, and your job will be to save and protect them, not blow them out into a vacuum!" Commander Soto exclaimed at the gathered troops, straining his voice for emphasis.
"Yes, sir!" Came the reply from the mixed unit of Aaster and Terran.
"They're doing well." Ranarus replied, studying the group of mixed marines.
"'Well' Isn't good enough. They have to be perfect on these missions, or innocents will die." Commander Soto replied, watching as the group began the simulation.
Ranarus nodded at the statement but still disagree slightly. "I agree. But they are still doing well."
Commander Soto grunted in return, rubbing his neck as he watched a Terran soldier properly scanned a room to detect life and set up a seal around the door. " I suppose. Better than their first few times."
Ranarus chuckled and nodded in agreement, noticing the multiple punctures on the commander's neck. "I see your mate was in dock recently.
Soto coughed, reflectively putting his hand over the marks. "I uh... Yeah. Your women are bitey."
Laughing, Ranarus nodded and slapped the commander on his back. "That's the best part..... I just got new orders... I need to get going; the transfer is immediate." He stated, getting up from his seat, watching as the commander began swearing under his breath.
"Seems like I might be apart of the same mission... In fact, I might be your new CO." Soto replied, shutting down the sim and getting up.
"Well, this is interesting. Wonder what command has up their sleeve if they're pulling their best out of the system." Ranarus replied, walking towards the door as Commander Soto informed the soldiers their day was just freed.
"Nothing good, I can tell you that." Commander Soto replied, following behind Ranarus.
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