Subject: Captain Young

Species: Human

Species Description: Mammalian humanoid, no tail. 6'2" (1.87 m) avg height. 185 lbs (84 kg) avg weight. 170 year life expectancy.

Ship: USSS Liberty

Location: Unknown

"It's down, sir," Commander Ying said.

Yet another cruiser destroyed. Didn't even put up a fight. Not that it could, we had warped into its blind-spot and unloaded both MACs directly into its keel.

"Good work, find another target," I replied.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy. It felt like not that long ago we had been excited about our first chance to kill a battleship. Now, we've been fighting the Omni-Union for a while now and our kill-count has risen to heights I hadn't even dared to dream of. But the only ships the OU have that actually stand a chance against us are these damn Mobile Prime Platforms.

The enemy cruisers and battleships have weaponry that could kill us, but they're so damn slow that if we were to actually get hit it would be due to our own negligence. The ships with tonnage closer to our own lack firepower that can get through our armor and shields without the need for extensive focused fire. The real threat in this battle-sphere are the MPPs. They have MACs that can rip us bow to stern with a single round, and they have plenty of them.

Unfortunately, our weapons don't stand a chance against the planet-covered fucks. We could open up with every piece of ordnance at our disposal and not even come close to reaching anything vital. As a result, the MPPs are prey only to the dreadnoughts.

"You think we'll ever get the chance to serve on a dreadnought, sir?" Ying asked, either reading my mind or sharing my train of thought.

"Blasphemy," I laughed. "Kill-counts stay with the ship, they don't follow the crew. So, obviously, the USSS Liberty is the only ship I'll ever captain."

"Fair enough, sir. Oh, a two for one. Nice shot, Ensign."

Everyone on the bridge took one hand off their terminal and lightly tapped it against their cheek. Double kills are a rare enough feat that they deserve acknowledgment, but one should keep at least one hand on one's station during a fight. The result was a sound reminiscent of a golf-clap.

I turned my attention to Ensign Smith, the USSS Liberty's new weapons officer. Our previous guns-guy, an alumari named Commander Hargorth, had retired with honors. I'd hardly ever heard a word out of Hargorth, and rarely had to give him orders. It was easy to forget he was even aboard, most times.

Smith is also quiet, but that's because he's new and inexperienced. He had spent more than his fair share of time in simulators, but the real thing is always more visceral. Thankfully, he'd gotten over most of his jitters and made his newbie mistakes rather quickly.

"Thank you, ma'am," he replied.

Ying gave me a smug look. I have enough self-awareness to know that the way that I run things isn't for everyone. As such, I've had a hard and fast rule against allowing boots to join my crew. Boots have certain expectations regarding how things are run and the clash between their expectations and my reality causes undue stress.

Of course, most captains try to implement such a rule and fail, but I usually got away with it because of my combat record and connections. Not this time, though. The powers that be claimed there weren't enough experienced weapons techs to go around, citing an 'unbelievable' amount of uncrewed vessels. I had tried to fight their decision, even demanded that the slot be left open until we found an acceptable candidate, but Commander Ying convinced me to allow it.

Now she was rubbing it in.

"The fuck are you lookin' at, XO?" I said with sarcastic aggression.

"Just a blood-thirsty captain that thinks he knows everything, sir," she replied with a grin.

"Ha! Not today. Today I'm thirsty for oil. Or whatever it is that the OU runs off of. Reactor fuel? Whatever, what's our count, Smith?"

"Uh... 287 corvettes, 152 frigates, 86 destroyers, 15 cruisers, and 3 battleships, sir," the ensign said.

"And yet I remain unsated," I laughed. "Alas, I might be cursed with a never-ending need for conquest and violence. Perhaps I am simply a glutton for the life-juices of our enemies, as Commander Ying claims. Maybe I'm doomed to live with an eternal desire for the death of any who would dare call themselves my enemy, clawing and clamoring for ever-growing heights of madness and mayhem."

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A few chuckles came from the bridge crew in response to my sudden, overly dramatic monologue.

"But then, where would I be without my crew?" I asked with a grin. "A crew that shares both my thirst and my fate. You may point your finger and call me blood-thirsty, XO, but you've supped nearly as much as I!"

"Yeah, but I can retire when my term is up," Ying laughed. "You're a lifer and we all know it."

"Damn straight."

The Liberty suddenly rocked from the impact of a MAC round, and I glanced at Lieutenant Johnson. He dipped his head apologetically.

"My bad, sir. Fat fingered it," he said.

"Well put your fingers on a diet, lieutenant. You don't want to be the one responsible for the destruction of the deadliest destroyer in the universe, do you?"

"Hell no, sir!"

I looked at our shield indicator, noting that the round had likely come from a frigate. The overall tac-map had quickly turned into a damn mess, so I had it zoomed in around our immediate area. I zoomed out slightly and found the frigate that had shot us, then marked it for Smith.

"I expected things to be a bit more... chaotic," I said. "A good portion of the enemy forces simply aren't engaging us."

"Well, it looks like fleet-comm is right and they don't want to damage the... uh... What was it again?" Ying asked.

"The Grand Vessel," Johnson replied.

"Worthy of the name based on size alone," I said. "Why hasn't it collapsed on itself?"

"Scuttlebutt says they've cracked anti-gravity," Ying said.

"When did you have time to listen to gossip?"

"When we were aboard the Kali."

"The antigravity field or whatever it is probably extends beyond the hull of the GV, too," Johnson interjected. "Otherwise we'd be squished against their hull at this distance. Though I've noticed that there's still SOME gravity."

"Let me see if I can tell how much," Ying said, turning her attention back to her terminal. "Johnson's right, we've got a bit of gravity. Looks like we're dealing with- Sir, we've received a request for aid from... Nope, nevermind. They've canceled the request."

"Who was it?" I asked.

"The USSS Gaping Maw. They're up against three MPPs."

"Really? And they don't want help?"

"All we've got available is destroyers and frigates. They probably figure that they're doomed, and it's best not to take us down with them."

"Damn."

I returned my attention to the tac-map, this time focusing on the Gaping Maw. They had already popped one of the planet-sized ships. I pulled up the ship info to see who was commanding it, then chuckled.

"Rear Admiral Kennedy," I said.

"The knuknu from Mars?" Johnson asked.

"Could be a different... Oh, who am I kidding. There's only one Admiral Kennedy," Ying chuckled.

"Yep, sure is. I went to command school with him, you know," I said with a nod. "Smart guy, very tactical. It would be a shame to lose him to such an inferior foe."

As I said that, another MPP disappeared from the map. I watched as the asteroids began to drift toward the Grand Vessel. That's gonna leave one hell of a mess. Hopefully it's far enough away from the invasion force that they won't be impacted.

"That's two down," Ying said. "Think he'll get the third?"

"The only choice he has is to succeed or die trying," I replied as I pulled up some schematics. "Let's hope he has a competent crew."

I studied the schematics we made from the MPPs we'd disarmed in the Milky Way. All of the important bits of the planet-sized ship were buried under tons of metal, stone, and dirt. Not as much as an actual planet, but enough to make it completely immune to any weapons aboard a simple destroyer.

We would have to punch through all of that just to get a kill-shot. No convenient weaknesses that we could use to become a deus ex machina for the Gaping Maw. Freddie-Feathers was gonna have to do or die, nothing we can do to help.

"Maybe if we take out some of the guns?" Smith suggested.

"Negative," I replied. "There's too many guns on the damn thing for us to make a difference in time. If the Gaping Maw fails to get the kill, we'd end up in a one on one with an enemy we can't beat."

"Even with the Alpha-class WMDs?"

"Yep. The only reason the powers-that-be cleared their usage is because they'll probably be useless. You really think they want us burning money like that?"

"No, sir."

"Ships have point defense lasers, the MPPs are too damn thick, and the GV is full of civilians," I sighed. "The WMDs are useless. It's a damn shame. I've always wanted to use-"

The USSS Gaping Maw fired its third shot and my breath caught in my throat. I watched the round closely as it traveled to the Mobile Prime Platform. But the MPP didn't disappear from the map.

I switched to external view and realized what had happened. A glancing blow. But...

"ARM EVERY A-CLASS WE HAVE!" I shouted with glee.

"Aye, sir!" Smith replied with a deep concern in his voice.

"Johnson! We need to be here. Make it so," I said, sending him coordinates.

"What are we doing, sir?" Ying asked.

"We're saving the Gaping Maw. Let's move it, people!"

I watched indicators for the Alpha-class WMDs light up as Smith armed them. A moment later, we entered warp and reappeared in real-space surrounded by MPP rubble. I marked a target, switched the tac-map to our overhead hologram, and rose from my seat.

"Fire everything we have," I ordered, clasping my hands behind my back.

The USSS Gaping Maw had failed to kill the Mobile Prime Platform, but their glancing blow had done something wonderful. It had exposed the planet-like ship's reactor, giving us an incredible opportunity.

"Firing, aye sir," Smith said.

We all watched the tac-map as our missiles and mac-rounds made their way toward the Mobile Prime Platform. My bridge crew's jaws dropped as they realized what was happening. A maniacal grin spread across my features.

After about half of the ordo hit the MPP, the big red dot disappeared from the screen. I reached down and switched to real-view from our external cameras. Giant rocks with bits of metal floated serenely in front of us, along with several artificial singularities.

"What's our count, XO?" I asked through my grin.

"289 corvettes, 154 frigates, 86 destroyers, 15 cruisers, 3 battleships, and a Mobile Prime Platform," Ying said in an awed tone.

"Holy shit," Ensign Smith muttered.