Chronicles of Sol: The Fall

September 27th 002 SDE:

Misaki tapped the keys of her console. Outside the Coto was conducting tests, the last three weeks had been spent here in the middle of nowhere. Honestly she found it rather boring, but they did need to patch the Coto and Umikaze up. The Enterprise hadn’t taken much damage in the fight. Most of what it did take was from the ramming and all that took to fix was a coat of paint and a couple of plates being swapped out for repairs. Plates that were later used in the repairs of the Coto.

A moment later one of the other officers spoke to her, “So Misaki have you heard the rumors.”

She glanced at Kaori and scoffed, “I have.”

“I take it you don’t put much stock in them?”

She laughed, “Why would I? Did you hear the one where the captain has a harem and I am in it?”

Kaori giggled, “Yeah some of them are a bit of a stretch. I think there is something more between him and that scientist Ruri.”

“I do too, not sure what. Although that isn’t the one you came over to talk about.”

“Naturally. I’ve been hearing some rumors about the captain and Richards.”

She sighed, “Those? I wouldn’t trust those, they are good friends.”

“I know, but I just...”

“I know, I know, you are a sucker for...” her console beeped. Turning she blinked, “I guess our nice boring vacation is coming to an end.”

Kaori frowned, “What do you have?”

“Distress call, three lightyears away.”

“That is a bit close, we could be there in a day.” she said leaning onto the console, “Let’s hear it.”

The resulting message was broken and full of static. It took them several minutes working together to clean it up but once done they were able to confirm the initial identification of it being a distress call. One they quickly reported to the captain.

“...Under attack...., require immediate assistance, to any allied ship in range... require... assistance....”

Countryman turned to Misaki, “Anything more to go with this?”

“Yes, the ship that sent it is a Chi’ran cruiser, she has been engaged by superior Valorian forces. Twenty-eight Valorian ships against a single cruiser and her escorts. At least according to the tactical data they transmitted with their distress call.”

“Noted,” replied Countryman as he glanced over that data.

Misaki sighed, “I did try to verify it with the long range sensors, but at that range...”

“I’m aware, our sensors can’t detect ships at that range, but I presume you were able to detect something.”

“I did confirm energy signatures in the area, but nothing definitive.”

“Not much to go on,” he sighed, “Anyway we should check it out.”

A moment later he turned to the helm and gave the order. It would take a day to reach the target. It was a bit too long, but they would have to try anyway. If the Chi’ran crew were lucky they would be able to keep their ship alive that long, if not the Enterprise would be able to locate and rescue any survivors.

Turning to Misaki as the warp drive was charging up for another transit, he said, “Can you raise them?”

“I think I can.”

“Good, inform them that we are on the way and are a day out at maximum warp. They just need to last long enough for us to get to them.”

As she tapped on her console to send a message, she inquired, “Do you think they can last that long?”

“If they are smart, yes, but don’t worry, I have a few tricks in mind that will help. We just need a clear comm link if we are to help from out here.”

“Understood, message sent.”

“Number four shield buckling!”

“Rotate modulation, new course one one three mark two nine. Increase speed, aft missiles fire!”

Several small thuds echoed as the launchers discharged their deadly plasma missiles. Outside the shields strained under the rapid fire barrage of Valorian pulse cannons. Things weren’t going that well, honestly. They had just lost one of their escorts, and they were almost out of those. Only three other ships were still active in the fight.

Suddenly the comm console beeped, “Incoming message.”

The captain sighed, “Another demand for surrender?”

“No, sir. It’s a response to our distress call. They say they are a day out.”

A day? He glanced at the screens. That was an eternity, but honestly better than he was expecting. He didn’t know anyone was that close. “From who?”

“They identified themselves as EFS Enterprise.”

“Enterprise? The Refuge ship?” he knew how powerful they were, there were enough rumors out now about them and more than a few briefings. They were known allies of the Commonwealth, their being nearby was clearly a blessing. Now they just needed to keep the ship in one piece long enough for their friends to arrive.

Williams glanced at the windows, with the stars drifting. Already she could hear the hum of the engines. They were moving again, where she wasn’t sure but it was nice to see the ship moving again. Just hanging here in deep space was a bit unsettling. She wasn’t alone with that feeling and while it did help her somewhat, she was just happy they were moving. Where they were going just yet, she didn’t know, but who on this boat knew that? She never did and she doubted that machine really knew where they were going either. It honestly felt like they were just wandering around and picking fights. She didn’t really have a problem with the fighting thing, they were alien scum anyway.

She did have a problem with them constantly picking up new alien castaways. They didn’t need more of those. Nor did she much approve of some of that machine’s other decisions. Still she would be able to fix those later once she had the chance. In the meantime she figured it best to figure out what trouble they were rushing into this time. The last bit cost them several weeks of repairs. Along with parts and materials that were not easy to replace. Especially given that Machine’s decision to abandon Earth. A world she planned to reclaim for humanity, but first she would need the chair.

Glancing at the clock, she realized it was almost time for her meeting. It was yet another one with the ship’s military leaders. This time a captain who had some weight with the ship’s security. If she could turn him it would be an excellent addition to her own strength. Standing up, she made for the door. Passing another table in the process with a couple of friends.

The one man spoke, “That bad?”

“Well I was kinda hoping that I could impress the captain with my skills, but he was in a completely different league.”

“I heard he only dabbled in strategy games, how bad could it have been?”

“Well, you know Mistress of Sirius?”

“I do,” said the Man. Williams wasn’t familiar with it, but she had heard the title a couple of times. It was currently rather popular with the crew.

“Well he beat me in less than twenty turns.”

The other guy shouted, “20! Isn’t that impossible?”

“Well on the larger maps yes, but we picked a duel-sized map. Meant for quick two-player games but not that fast.”

“Right, those average 40 turns don’t they? How did he beat you in less than twenty?”

“Well he rushed the fusion cannon tech and the neutron beam tech. Then he built a battleship armed with modified fusion cannons. Then he took my homeworld, which was effectively game. That early my colonies just weren’t worth anything. I tried five more games with him and it was the same story. I just couldn’t field anything to match that one early battleship.”

“I wasn’t aware it was possible to field a battleship that early.”

“Well it is and usually the fusion cannon isn’t that big of a deal, but apparently it can do a lot of damage with the right modification.”

“I guess I should play around with that, then.”

Williams walked out the door and shook her head. Crewmen losing to the captain in silly games were interesting, but not that important. Of course she was playing a larger game with him, but she knew she was going to win. Sure he had the seat, but she held the cards. It was only a matter of time before they all fell into place. She sighed, sadly those cards were coming into place far too slowly, but at least they were getting there.

Taking the lift, she headed on to a lower deck and soon reached the office she was looking for before stepping on inside. A man was waiting there, he looked up with a smile, “Good day Miss Williams. I saw you on the appointment list, so what can I do for you?”

“I had something I wanted to discuss.”

“Let me guess your crusade against the captain. I’m willing to discuss it, but only if you make it worth my time. Otherwise you might as well leave my office now.”

She settled into a chair and leaned forward, “How do you feel about a chance for advancement?”

“Hmm? I’m listening.”

Richards double checked her console. Engine readings were all optimal, which was good. It meant she wouldn’t need to do anything but monitor them. There were alarms of course in case things dipped too far into the red. Stretching, she took a moment to look around the room. As the techs monitored various systems. Starship propulsion was actually rather complex, but modern automation made their jobs simple. Most of the time anyway.

Nearby she noticed a few officers having a friendly chat and she moved over. Just to make sure they weren’t neglecting the monitors, but as she drew closer she noted that they were paying attention to the systems. While discussing a game she enjoyed.

“So you’re in with the SoH game next week?

The young woman at the console, nodded, “Sounds good, but what start era are we planning?”

That was a fair question. SoH was a rather ambitious grand strategy game that covered the whole of humanity's history. The grand campaign had the player taking command of a small tribal village and a few units. Namely a couple of scouts and a few hunters. Being tribal you didn’t even have agriculture, which meant the game started earlier than some other similarly ambitious games. Eventually, the player would found cities, conquer rivals and develop new technologies. The game would advance across the ages from the ancient era to the space age. With the final era taking place during the Colonial Wars, with the player building fleets of starships and fighting both in space and on the ground of multiple worlds. Of course it also gave the game quite the learning curve, since it evolved and grew more complicated as the eras progressed.

“Planning a game of SoH next week? Sounds fun, room for more?”

The group blinked and then turned to her. Predictably she could see how they felt about that. A game with the boss was certain to be awkward. Which was part of why she did it. That and she was a little bored.