Chapter 1: Pandora
Fresh out of graduation, three thousand other cadets and I stand in orderly lines as we await instructions. Our former CO looks around at us, something akin to pride in his eyes. He speaks of the last twelve years at the academy, and a little of the future. "I know not where you will go, only that it will be great," he finishes, somewhat dramatically. He steps back from the podium and another officer takes the mic.
"Ship assignments will be sent to you via your PDAs within the next fifteen minutes," he barks. "Dismissed!" We all salute, then march out in a double column. As we enter the barracks, the column breaks up and we head to our individual bunks. I sit down and rest my chin on my hands, glancing around the room at my fellow cadets. I roll my eyes, assured of my own superiority, and turn my mind to speculation of the ship I'll be assigned. I'm roused from my reverie by the beeping of PDAs across the room, and excited voices discussing their assignments. I look down at my own PDA and tap the blinking message box. The words [ASSIGNMENT: IFS PANDORA] cross the screen, and my eyes widen slightly in surprise. A Gladiator class capital ship, and current record holder for largest ship in the Imperial Fleet, equipped with highly experimental Phalanx armor and extremely powerful cannons. I quickly pull up the Academy's archive file on the ship and its only sister, the Gladiator.
The two ships are practically brand new, built by Zarek Industrial and commissioned less than six months ago by the Imperial Fleet after undergoing several years of extensive testing on their new Phalanx systems. Neither ship has seen combat, and during our time at the Academy our commanders explicitly told us that experimental ships are virtually off-limits to new graduates. I close the file and rub my eyes, contemplating the news.
Dice. As I sit in semi-meditation, a loud voice reverberates inside my head. I ignore it and carry on, but the voice is persistent. Dice! My lips purse in exasperation and my eyes snap open. "DICE! ARE YOU LISTEN-"
"Silence! I heard you the first time, but I was hoping you would notice my contemplative state and leave me alone. What do you want, Elvy?"
"-ing. Jeez, you're always on edge. Lighten up a bit, will you?" She gives me a big smile, and I sigh and roll my eyes. "Anyways, I wanted to ask you a question, seeing as you know everything." I give her a hard look, and motion for her to continue. "Ok, so, like, I got assigned to a ship called the Pandora, but I've never heard of it and I was wondering if you knew anything."
"The Pandora… You're quite sure that was the name?" Elvy nods an affirmative, and I sit up a little straighter. "I see. As it turns out, I've also been assigned to the Pandora, and I do know about it. It's one of two Gladiator class capital ships, highly experimental. I'll send the rest of the info to your PDA. Leave me now." Elvy looks slightly taken aback by my abruptness, but waves me a cheery goodbye nonetheless and waltzes back to her bunk. I pull up the the file on the Pandora again and forward it to her PDA. How did she get assigned to the Pandora? She's the most air-headed out of all of us. I guess nobody told command that. I smirk slightly.
Our former CO strides in the door and we all snap to attention immediately. "At ease," he says, waving us down. We relax a bit and wait for orders. After looking us over for a few seconds, he tells us that our ships are en route to the Academy and that we'll be boarding soon. He then proceeds to read off each ship, followed by the cadets assigned to it, and everyone gravitates to their groups. As the number of unnamed cadets dwindles, I exchange a look with Elvy. Finally, he reads off "IFS Pandora: Danielle Caplan; Elvy Cooper. Whispers ripple through the cadets as Elvy and I move to stand next to each other. Apparently some of them have heard of the Pandora. I pay them no attention and wait for our CO to lead us to the docking bays. Elvy tugs on my sleeve and I lean towards her as we walk.
"Are we ready for this?" She whispers. I look at her, the only person I could come close to calling "friend," her face pale with fear and I, for the first time, feel faint sympathy for another human being.
"Of course we are. We've been training for this since age five," I whisper back, trying my best not to sound condescending. Elvy nods and looks a little less concerned.
Our walk comes to an end as we enter the docking bay. Massive windows look out into the abyss of space, airlocks open and close with a hiss, and dock workers hustle between ships, pushing palettes of supplies or piloting gigantic freight-movers down the main viaduct. Our CO tells each group which airlock to head to, and bids us all one last farewell. As Elvy and I make our way through the chaos to our designated airlock, a short siren blast signals the imminent arrival of a warship. We quickly make our way to one of the windows to observe. Nothing happens for a few seconds, and I'm about to turn away when a blinding flash lights up the entire station and a shockwave rattles the dockyard seconds later. Out of the gaping hole in the stars a monstrous warship emerges, completely dwarfing the freighters and luxury ships around it. We watch in awe as tugboat drones stream out of a nearby hangar and guide the behemoth to its berth. As the ship nears its resting place, the siren blasts several times in quick succession, and we cover our eyes as a dozen more blinding flashes overwhelm us, and we brace as the cumulative shockwave shakes everything in the station.
"There," I point, half awe-struck. "That's the Pandora." Elvy follows my finger, and releases a slight gasp. Easily the largest ship in the group, its immense bulk dwarfs even the huge USR dreadnoughts. Two full kilometers of sharp edges and intimidating slabs of armor plating, with two banks of massive cannons running down each side. As the behemoth is guided to its berth by drones, we begin to comprehend the sheer size of the thing, and the word Pandora stands out, painted black on a red background. Banks of missile launchers loom on the topside of the ship, illuminated by the station's spotlights. I glance around at the other cadets and realize all eyes are on the Pandora. A few cast Elvy and I jealous looks, but I ignore them and return my attention to the ship. As it settles into position, we practically sprint to the giant metal doors, standing at attention in preparation for their opening. The other cadets do the same, and soon enough we hear the telltale hiss of the airlock opening. The light at the top of the door in front of us switches from red to green, and the door slides open.
A pleasantly neutral AI voice instructs us to enter the airlock and make our way into the ship. I cast a quick glance around, and I'm a little surprised to see various officers and captains emerging from the other airlocks to greet their new cadets. Elvy notices as well. "I guess they do things differently on the Pandora," she remarks.
"Can't be bothered to meet their new crew," I sneer. "What a joke." We both jump violently as the pleasant voice returns.
"Pardon my manners, but I am your captain. I am an experimental shipboard AI, and you may call me WHIM."