M.W.A.S.S. Odysseus - Bridge
Admiral Isaak Warner
As Admiral Isaak Warner entered the bridge of his flagship, the Milky Way Alliance Star Ship Odysseus, he took a moment to once again appreciate the beauty of human engineering. Tens of thousands of years in the making, the Odysseus wasn’t just the flagship of the Andromeda Expeditionary Fleet; it was the pinnacle of human drive and ingenuity. Capable of leading this expedition across interstellar space, he truly felt like it was an extension of him…or he of it. He attributed that connection to his ability to feel the crew becoming wound tighter than they had been since launch day.
“Report, XO,” Admiral Warner asked his Executive Officer, “Tell me why you interrupted my dinner, and make it good.”
The crew recognized the Admiral’s less serious tone for what it was, an attempt to lighten the mood, but the tension on the bridge felt ready to snap and his humour didn’t land.
XO Sun Xiu, unflappable in any scenario the Admiral could dream up, approached him to speak quietly, “Sir…Admiral Warner,” his use of rank and name was another indicator something wasn’t right, “…we’ve detected something…a very…very large gas cloud.”
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The Admiral met Xiu’s gaze and matched his volume. “Gas clouds are a dime a dozen in space, XO. What makes this one different?”
“It moved, sir,” Xiu voice quavered, “Correction. It’s moving.”
Warner scrutinized his XO’s face for a moment. Sweat on his brow and a slight tremor in his body. Most telling that Xiu was no longer looking him in the eyes.
“Xiu, Sun, are you alright? If the fleet is in danger, I need you to tell me right now.”
Xiu’s strain seemed to double as he grabbed onto Warner’s arm to steady himself. “I’m…TRYING…to…sir,” His words came in gasps and without the ability to regulate his volume, with great effort, he forced his eyes to meet the Admiral’s,
“They…won’t…let…MEEEEE!” the last word was almost a screech and dragged unnaturally. The XO’s grip slipped from Warner’s arm, and the man fell to his knees, blood streaming from his eyes and ears at an alarming rate.
Admiral Isaak Warner was not the kind of man to leave his XO in such a condition, but those words… haunting in their delivery; set his nerves ablaze. Lunging for his command chair, he hit two buttons. The first was an all-hands klaxon warning. The second opened a fleet-wide communications channel.
“This is Admiral Isaak Warner to all ships in the fleet. Shotgun protocol!! SCATTER, SCATTER, SCATTER!”