Authors note:
My second ever story, so forgive me if it's not the most flowing of works.
The soft glow of the red dwarf "Nirron" accented the already dramatic shadows of the approaching cruiser. It's faded red hues nothing but a reflection of an eventful past. Beside it following loyally, as it has for time immemorial, was the sleek rocket shaped V.C. Arrow belonging to the Veenar. Long ago these 2 ships heralded the arrival of a massive fleet of ships of all sizes, from titan class carriers to tiny one person shuttles and drones, but ever since the solar incident years ago, the carrier and cruiser have been sailing the cosmos in search of their lost companions.
Alone now in empty space,having been separated from the main fleet of survivors, they drifted slowly towards the the only point of light that has yet to vanish. It was by the miracle of sheer stupid luck that they had found this tiny beacon, but apparently fate had yet a few more surprises in store, because all of a sudden the cruiser's radar alerted the crew of another object in proximity to them, something that hasn't happened since the separation over 2 years ago. The radar operator pointed it out to his assistant and called out behind him.
"Sir!, The radar's picked up some unknown object above our vessels."
The Admiral, a gruff serious looking man, looked up from his datapad and walked over to the holotable as he reached over to switch it on.
" Are they friendlies?", he inquired back, communicator already in hand ready to deliver the news to the captain.
" There's no way to tell Sir, we're turning on the scanners on and enabling external com. antenna as we speak, Sir."
The radar operator turned back to his holoscreen waiting for further information as the admiral nodded in put down the communicator, knowing all too well the wrath of waking up the captain with trivial matters. Though for everyone's sake he hoped it was the other survivors.
Elsewhere the Captain shifted restlessly in bed for the hundredth time that hour. Her arm dropped over the edge to rest on the hulking form of L.J, the newest pet project the captain had decided to take on. Oblivious to the findings the bridge has uncovered, and yet her mind would not let her sleep peacefully, which was sadly, nothing new to her or her partner who she could feel scooting closer to the middle of the bed, nuzzling the top of her head. She sighed, leaning into the crook of his neck and shutting her eyes to the dim yet distracting glare of the desk clock. She felt herself slipping into the dreamless void, and dove head first, or so she would have if her communicator didn't start vibrating violently on the deck.
"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" The little gauntlet hopped aimlessly onward, coming precariously close to edge, and flashing a glaring red beam as it rang.
Unable to stifle a groan she opened her eyes and looked around for the source of the disturbance and pushed herself up, swinging her legs over trying not wake up the sleeping mass that was L.J.
"Is that mine or yours that's ringing ?" her partner grumbled half coherently as he pulled the blanket up over his head.
"It's mine, now go back to sleep." her voice a whisper from lack of use.
"Hmph, sleep. When was the last time either of us got some sleep. Every damn flashing light is an emergency enough to call us ." Andrew's muffled voice still contained the annoyance and frustration that was the result of the many a sleepless night.
"I know..I know, now try to go back to sleep."She sighed, seeing him pull the other pillow over his head as she pulled on the bracer and answered the incoming call.
"I swear Admiral... if...if this isn't an 'emergency' that can wait until my next shift, then expect...a bullet." She tried to sound menacing but the slight breaks in her voice made her sound more desperate than angry."
"I'll keep that in mind Ma'am, but I'm sure that this news should improve your mood you see-"
"News?! Admiral, the terms for calling me off shift is emergencies ONLY, not for status updates. I don't want to hear from the bridge unless somethings attacking the main engine or some other emergency."
"But Ma'am-"
"No 'buts' Admiral, do you know how little sleep I've had lately?"
"Uh..no Ma'am, but we've go-"
"'But' nothing Admiral! Do your job so that I can get enough sleep to do mine. Understood?!"
"Umm...yes Ma'am, it's just that we've-" The Admiral replied in a confused tone.
"Understood?!" The Captain said in a pissed off tone.
"MA'AM!. It's the Ryückshin fleet!" The Admiral stressed.
"I said, I don't car-...wait..what?"
"We've identified the broadcast signal from a Ryückshin Capital ship, as well as inputs from dozens of other ships, which gives us reason to believe that we found the fleet." The Admiral said excitedly.
She blinked dumbfoundedly in the darkness, slightly afraid to ask the officer to quit joking and tell the truth. She paused causing the Admiral confusion.
"Um..Ma'am...Are you still there?" There was a quiet buzz as the Admiral waited for a response, the voices of the operators on the bridge still murmuring in the background.
"Can you repeat that Admiral, I'm not sure I heard quite right."
"Of course Captain. Our scanners have identified the presence of dozens of ships headed in the same direction as us. Among them we've identified the unique I.D. of a Ryückshin flagship that matches the one Captain Mika was last contacted on..(voices mumble)..I've also just received word that the external com antenna has been activated, should we attempt contact now?" The communicator cut out abruptly as the admiral waited for orders.
Rita stepped back a little, leaning on the desk as she processed this information. Behind her she could hear the ruffling sound meaning Andrew was already getting ready to leave for the bridge, tiredness long gone.
She activated the Com. Link again. "Yes, contact them as soon as you can, find out about their general state of repair and stock. Also try to get in contact with Captain Mika or whoever in charge. I'll be up there soon."
And with that she turned around to face Andrew buttoning up his uniform pants.
"What do you think you're doing? Weren't you complaining about your lack of sleep just a minute ago?" she said , slightly teasing tone working its way in as she stepped to the closet they shared to grab her casual uniform.
"If you think you're gonna be the only are trying to pull the fleet back to our heels without my help, you're gonna have a bad time." he said while pulling his undershirt over his head.
Walking over, she dropped her clothes on the bed and reached out, tugged his shirt down over his head and smirked at his surprised face.
"Killjoy. Can't you be just a little happy that we might not die alone out here anymore ?" she said bringing her hands up to rest on his shoulders.
Andrew looked at her then and wrapped his arms around her waist, a sort of weariness settling into his gaze.
"You've been thinking about this about this a lot haven't you?" Annoyance had left his tone as he looked at at her with concern.
"No! No,no, nooo...well- I mean... maybe a little. Didn't you?" She looked away, inwardly reprimanding herself for seeing through her worries. "I mean...haven't you?"
Andrew sighed and pulled her into a short hug. "Tell you what, lets not get our hopes up until we figure out if this is the real deal or not. Then I'll let you know."
He gave her a small grin, and let go to finish putting on his uniform.
"I'll meet you there, okay?" He said reaching for the door.
Rita looked at him, slightly annoyed that he avoided answering the question and went back to getting ready, looking into the mirror.
"Alright, but I want to know about what you thought about." She said while looking back through the mirror.
Andrew looked back thoughtfully and finally said "Fine, later. But only if you do too."
"I'm gonna hold you to that." she said, watching him leave.
Sighing she looked over to L.J who'd woken up with the commotion. She was going to dread having that talk.
