UNSC Here Be Dragons
There was always one thing that Petra hated about the morning. It seemed to follow her around wherever she went and never left here alone. Even now, in her private quarters, surrounded by walls that were made from several inches thick of Titanium A2.
Morning, it was the thing that always felt like a Swift kick in the ass by a fully armored Spartan. You feel cranky from being forced to get up, groggy from trying to clear the lingering sleepiness from the conscious. And then there was the fact that she'd stayed up till 2am last night watching the distant stars she was able to see from the observation deck
But the obvious downside to that was the fact that her eyelids now felt as if they were made of lead.
But she powered through it and slowly sat herself upright in the memory gel, queen sized bed that took up almost a quarter of her quarters. With a desk and terminal being the only other things of note. Everything else was tucked into the walls of her warship.
"Arthur, do me a favor and set the coffee maker for immediate use." She finished with a yawn as the excess sleep was wiped from her eyes.
The familiar image of the ship's AI appeared life size from a holo projector that was located on the ceiling. His six foot figure was clad head to toe in medieval Knight armor. Only with a partly see through white tint.
"Yes captain." He said with a simple nod before he vanished as quickly as he'd arrived.
Petra got herself dressed and made her way to the nearest kitchen. Walking through several hallways and raising two decks on her way. As well as waving good morning to the also groggy crewmates that were getting ready throughout the near 2 kilometer long brute of a cruiser.
They needed to get her fully combat ready in case some extraterrestrial tried to make a shot at Earth herself. Or if some dumbass pirate tried to take them on. Although it wouldn't get far through the point defense guns that dotted the hull.
Even if they did, there were several thousand Archer missiles and heavier coilguns waiting for them.
She opened the doors and instantly beelined for the already prepared coffee maker. The heavenly aroma of fresh coffee beans already surging through her nostrils. Soon to fully awaken her with it's magical bean juices.
Petra was just taking her first sips and pouring a bowl of cereal when Arthur sent her an alert through her neural interface that she had a private message.
She brushed it off and told herself she'd look at it after breakfast. If it was private, then it wasn't military and it could wait the few minutes she needed to eat in the still nearly empty mess hall.
A decision she regretted on her way to the bridge as she took out her Datapad and looked to see who sent her the message and what it had written.
Her surprise was so much that she inadvertently dropped her mug of coffee. The ceramic cup dropped through the air in what felt like slow motion.
But in a blur of motion that was damn near instantaneous swooped in and caught it. Stopping the fall that would have spilt coffee and ceramic shards all over the deck plate.
Petra looked at what had caught her mug and had to crane her neck up to look into the golden faceplate of one of her Spartans. He held out the mug to her and she grabbed it eagerly from his titanium weaved mit.
"Thank you Lieutenant, I would have really missed that mug." She thanked the leader of the Spartans aboard the Dragon.
He nodded his head at her acknowledgement. "Can't have this ship run be someone who's only half awake. That would be almost as bad as letting Tucker have free reign in Vegas." He said with a shudder.
Petra snorted slightly at that statement. Her mind coming up with no less than a dozen different ways that particular event could go horribly wrong for everyone involved.
On a day like today, humor would be in short supply. She needed to get her fill of it now.
But the Spartan in front of her gave her an idea. The message she received was concerning to her. Considering She of all people was coming here for a private conversation.
"Lieutenant, do you have any other duties today that take priority, because if not. Then I have a need for you Spartans in particular." She said with just a smidge of hope lacing her voice.
Church shook his head at the statement. "No we don't. Tex, Yang and Grif have yet to reform after the gem world incident. And the rest of the team is just doing drills." He told her before pausing for a moment. "Do you need the whole team or just me? But just know, I'm married, nor am I a man whore like Tucker." He said finality.
He didn't really wanna add that Tex would find several very painful ways to kill him if he ever even thought about cheating on her.
Petra only smirked at that comment, but internally she also grimaced. Tucker couldn't keep his fucking mouth shut. Why the hell did she ever expect anything less though?
"You know, that's not a very nice accusation from your commanding officer? But since Tucker is apparently a blabber mouth, I'll ignore it this time." She said to Church in a slightly threatening voice. But if the hollow threat scared him, then he hid it well.
Petra's smile then vanished into a more neutral expression that befit the situation she found herself in. She needed to get her whole being into military mode if she was going to get through this.
"I just got a message on my personal channel. Someone very important is coming here, and I need someone I can trust completely. Someone that I know can keep a secret as well if what I assume she's here for is accurate." Petra said as her eyes gazed at her ever emptying coffee cup. The brown liquid sloshing around.
Church gazed at her, the solid gold visor drilling into her. His voice silent as he continued to stare at him. It would be unnerving to someone that didn't have experience with Spartans.
"Alright Petra, I won't speak a word of this to anyone. But if it undermines the safety of my team or this ship, then I won't just sit back and let it be fucked into oblivion." He said with a stern voice.
Petra eyed him with a hint of disappointment in her expression. Did he really think so little of her that he would question her decisions? That she would steer them so far off the track that her ship and crew would be put in inescapable danger?
Okay, she'd admit that it wasn't the safest option for her troops to drop the Spartans in Pelicans to take out those Gem anti air guns. A squad of ODSTs in their pods could've most likely gotten the job done just fine.
But there would most likely have been significant casualties from taking said guns though. The state of the Gems found mystified her when she saw the helmet cameras from Shard.
But it was a quick decision that had most likely saved the lives of more than a few Marines and Hell jumpers alike. Though they would never admit it that they were anything less than the best.
God, their arrogance was their biggest flaw in her opinion. They could be so damn annoying sometimes!
Petra sighed as she left her thoughts once again. She turned her head to Church, who was still staring at her through his damn visor. Just silently walking down the corridor to the nearest Warp pad.
"I'm sorry that I was so hasty to send you and your team down to the Roanoke crash site. But it was a quick decision as well as a gut feeling I think paid off. You cleared the gun platforms and allowed additional troops to enter the battle." She said with a hardened expression as she stopped in the hallway.
Church heard the lack of footsteps and stopped his walking. Letting his feet audible hit the deck with a clatter of metal on metal. His hand clenched at his side, making sure to stay away from the M6G strapped to his thigh plate.
It seemed that Petra could see through him. Yes, he was more than a little pissed that Tex, Grif and Yang were all not even reformed yet. And they most likely would stay that way for the next few days if Grey was right.
He also knew that it was that big blue bitches fault that they ended up that way as well. Nobody could've seen her arrival coming, nor the fact that she would be that powerful as well. To stop a triple Spartan fusion was not something to sneeze at.
She took out a fucking frigate in one shot! With some space magic energy projector no less!
God he hated space magic.
He turned his head to face her in his peripheral vision. Letting the silence last for a moment longer as the Captain continued to stare at him with a stalwart gaze.
He shouldn't really be surprised, it took balls of tungsten to stand up to a Spartan like that. And Petra had metaphorical ones in droves. Odd tangent aside, he respected her courage.
"I know that you couldn't tell what we'd find down there, and I don't fault you for that at all. But with Blue Diamond in who knows the fuck where, I needed something else to put my anger on."
"And I am truly sorry for them." Petra said with remorse falling off her in droves. She clenched her hand until it felt as if she would crack the mug in grasp from the sheer pressure. Damnit! She hated feeling like this! As if she'd fucked the whole thing up completely and utterly.
Church turned to face her fully. His shoulders sagging mere millimeters from letting the tension in them go.
"I told you already! I know it wasn't your fault that got them like this! It was Cinder's decision to go charging in, guns blazing at one of the leaders of the entire gem race! So I should be blaming her of all people." Church finished with a flare of his hands in the air.
He let out a huff as he clenched his hands once more. He then brought his hand out and hit himself in the helmet. Knocking a bit of sense back in his dumbass head.
He shook himself off from the quick daze he had out himself in. He turned around to see that Petra had let a good bit of her self doubt slip away from the display he'd just put on. He smiled a bit under his helmet, unintentionally lifting the rather dreary mood.
"Sierra-009 drilled several things into our heads during Spartan training. Things that had to be drilled into our skulls, so we would never forget them. And one thing he told all us squad leaders is this. Sometimes a leader will have to lose a soldier. But you should always spend them if you have to, never waste them. The difference between them should always be clear to you."
Petra let her self doubt slip completely from her mind. Church was right, she couldn't stop every man and woman under her command from dying. But it was her job to make sure that they didn't die in vain. She just needed a reminder of that.
"Your absolutely right Church, thanks for helping me remember that." She said with a smile at the Spartan.
He nodded his head at her. "Your welcome Petra. Now, should we get going?" He said with a gesture of his hand down the hallway.
Petra sweat dropped as she remembered exactly what had been going on before her slight mental break and the heart to heart with Church.
She looked down at her forearm and slid the sleeve of her uniform back to gaze at the Tacpad on her arm. A simple command from her neural interface booted it up and unlocked it.
"Shit! We only have a few minutes before she gets here!" Petra yelled as she ran full tilt down the hall. Leaving an exasperated Church in her wake.
Church ran in the same direction after the Captain. "I guess military discipline has flown out the window today. But what do I care, it's not like my squad ever showed it anyway." He finished talking to himself.
Petra had just finished smoothing out the wrinkles in her uniform when Church showed up on the Warp pad behind her. The familiar sound of the Slipspace portals connecting signified one's arrival.
The hangar bays on the Dragon weren't much different then any ship in the fleet. Large open spaces that were meant to store and launch various fighters, dropships, etc. Above her stood the racks and gantries that maximized storage space.
Dozens of crewmen were already in here, getting everything ready for a moment's notice. As well as doing maintenance from their previous mission.
There wasn't ever anything not to do on the warship it seemed. If it wasn't running drills, moving around new cargo or rotating the crews shifts then it was something in need of repair or maintenance. Thank heavens that Arthur could handle everything software wise.
All this did little to calm her nerves. A pit seemed to form in her stomach as she walked the deck.
"Ma'am, we have a Pelican on route to us that's requesting docking clearance. Codes match up to CIA Admiral Anna." Arthur told her through her neural interface.
This was it, she was on her way and there'd be nothing that could save her. Not even the Spartan standing next to her.
"Permission granted, have her meet us in hangar bay 4. Don't want to keep our guest waiting." She said in her best time she could muster. Putting up a bulwark.
Church looked at her incredulously. The sight at the usually fearless Captain Petra Reese. Even though this was a CIA Admiral, and they had a less than pleasant stigma around them for being heartless and ruthless.
But not even that could put the Petra he knew in this sort of state. Intimidation didn't really work on someone with a Spartan as a bodyguard. They were the intimidation.
"All personnel, vacate landing pad 2 in hangar 4. We have an inbound dropship 30 seconds out. I repeat, we have an incoming Pelican 30 seconds out." Arthur said over the loudspeaker.
It was at that moment that the large hangar doors opened up. Letting them all take in the view of outer space through the oxygen barrier.
With his visors built in magnification Church could easily see the olive green Pelican that sped toward them. Angling itself so it's belly thrusters pointed toward them to slow. As well as additional RCS engines that gave the D77H Pelican surprisingly nimble control in space.
This was evident by it's gentle landing on its designated pad. It's hydraulic landing gear hissing. The dropship turned itself 180 degrees, so that it could take off again most effectively. As well as aiming the entrance ramp toward the center of the ship.
Church waited patiently next to Petra. His body standing like a stone titan, not moving his body a single millimeter. For all intents and purposes, it would seem like he was a machine. Standing like an english guard.
Petra put up a pretty convincing front. Wiping the small heads of sweat from her face and standing ramrod straight. Her hands held gently behind her back made her look every bit the rank she was.
A lone figure walked down the ramp of the Pelican. Even from here he could tell she was highly experienced in what she did. Her stride was both swift and confident as she matched across the deck.
Her uniform was the same as all high ranking members of the Central Intelligence Agency. Black dress pants with two pockets on the pant legs. Black dress shoes that clacker on the metal with every step. Dark grey shirt that was worn under a black jacket. Four silver stars on her shoulders that denoted her rank was the only bit of decoration.
The woman herself had darker skin and was a respectable 5 foot 8. Her silver hair tied into a neat ponytail. Her age wasn't shown on her rather youthful face. But he could see hints of toned muscle that were all throughout her body.
But the most striking part about her was the eyes. They were a crimson red that would make one feel as if they were being watched by a predator. And they held exactly that predatory gaze.
But something about her just seemed familiar to him. Maybe it was the face, or possible the eyes that struck him. Oh well, he'd dwell on it later.
She stopped a half dozen feet from them, bowing her head slightly in greeting.
Church and Petra both soluted her out of reflex. The woman bowed slightly in response to them. Her hands were held tightly behind her back and her posture rigid.
She could hide it well, but Church could see through the veil the CIA admiral about one thing. She was nervous about something. The way her eyes darted uneasily from one member of the Dragon's crew or another. Giving everyone in the hangar other than them a second glance.
Her eyes quickly found their way back on the Captain and Spartan that had come to greet her.
"I see you brought a Spartan with you. Good, I need someone else I can trust around here." She said with a bit of relief.
Petra scowled a bit at that remark. How dare she say that her crew were anything but trustworthy! Sure they didn't always follow doctrine to the letter and there were a bit more PDA's than there probably should be. But she trusted everyone on this ship, and she'd be damned if Admiral Anna said anything otherwise.
"I can vouch for everyone on this ship. You'd never find a better crew in the UNSC." Petra said with a slight bit of anger in her voice.
But her anger faded when she felt an armored hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see the massive form of Church looking down at her. A message sent to her neural interface.
"Don't antagonize her, she's paranoid. And paranoid people second guess everyone around them. No matter how trustworthy they are. So just let it slide."
Petra breathed a heavy sigh for what felt like the tenth time that hour. She then stared directly at the Admiral in front of her.
"I meant no disrespect to the trustworthiness of your crew Captain. But I'm simply pointing out the fact that Spartans are hand picked by Admiral Sierra-009 himself. And undergo the heaviest background testing there is." She said she had rehearsed it a thousand separate times.
So, she knew a bit more about the Spartans training than most people.
Of course, the public knew about the super soldier program. As well as the fact that exceptional soldiers are put through grueling training and intense augmentations. Before a gem seed is implanted into their bodies that grows into a full gem over the course of three weeks.
At which time the Spartans recover from their surgeries. After that, it's several more months of training. Then they are sorted into teams and receive their personalized Mjolnir armor.
But this woman knew the in depth details about the program if what she just said meant anything.
"So, should we head to the meeting room? Or is there something else you'd like to tell me?" The Admiral said with a smile.
"Yes, if you'd follow me so kindly. Admiral." Petra finished with a bite in her tongue.
The trip to the meeting room was a short one. With only a Warp pad jump, a short tram ride and a bulkhead in their way.
But along the way, Church noticed the way the Admiral gazed at her surroundings. Like a cross between a tourist and an architect. Both inspecting the thick walls of titanium and the layout of the floor. With it's hints of orange and grey paint that broke apart the gunmetal color.
Petra stopped beside a large bulkhead. Which opened after a half second. Presumably from Arthur verifying Petra before allowing them in.
Both Petra and Church sat down in the middle of the table on opposite sides of each other. He wanted a full view of the room in the microscopic chance that something happened in here. His Magnum already had a round chambered, but with the safety off.
Admiral Anna sat at the very end of the table. Most likely for some sort of dramatic flair.
She waited for the bulkhead to seal them in and for the ship's AI to finish a bug sweep before she started talking.
"I don't need to see your faces to know that you're wondering why I'm here?" She said in a completely neutral tone.
"Among other things? Yes." Petra answered.
"No shit." Church said bluntly.
Reese smiled slightly at Church's response before letting her face take it's mask.
She then reached her hand into her jacket. Which caused Church to activate the several optical modes in his visor to scan what she had. But soon only seeing what he was pretty sure was a Datapad he stopped.
Like he thought, Anna pulled out a Datapad. But it was modified. A black case that was thicker than usual. Most likely a shielded case that prevents hacking.
"You've both heard of Insurrectionists before yes?" She asked them. While scrolling through the pad. She scanned her eyes up to see both Church and Petra nod their heads.
"Good, then I don't need to explain how these terrorist's made the original UNSC's loves hell." Anna then sat her tablet down onto the table, the holographic projector displaying several images of various different Insurrectionists.
"The Central Intelligence Agency believes that the Insurrectionists are back, and have been for as long as the new UNSC has been here. Perhaps even before our organization was made." Anna said with dead seriousness in her voice. Which was startling to both the Captain and Spartan.
'Damn, this is the last thing we need right now. With the fact that Homeworld was way too close for comfort. They needed every resource and bit of time to build ships, train soldiers and crews, sure up their defenses and build more infrastructure.' Petra thought to herself.
With Sierra-009 and the AI Quasar's help, they had jumped their technology ahead 550 years. And with the help of the Crystal gems and abandoned Homeworld tech they had jumped forward another 300.
Just how much farther could they push before someone came knocking at their door? It seems the monsters were hanging on the walls, while traitors were stabbing them in the back. And the UNSC could be caught between them.
"Have they done anything that warrants out attention?" Petra asked the spook. She wanted to know just what they had done, and what they were doing about it.
Anna scrolled through her Datapad, before then displaying several reports and images taken by law enforcement and various companies.
"There have been reports of well organized theft over the last decade. All from well armed and equipped individuals who won't hesitate to kill to get what they want." Anna informed them.
She then scrolled again and a video of what looked like an arms factory played. The video ran for several seconds before a wall on the far side exploded inwards. Several people in what looked like shoddy ODST armor rushed in and started stealing rifles, ammo and pretty much anything they could get their hands on.
"Several Insurrectionists broke into our supplier of MA5B, BR55, SRS99AM and M739 SAW rifles and ammunition. Millennium arms reported that over a thousand MA5s and BR55s were stolen, as well as a handful of snipers and machine guns. But the amount of ammo they made off with could fill two olympic swimming pools." Anna said as the stats for what had been stolen came up. Which, while small compared to how many the UNSC needed and had. Was a not insignificant amount.
The screen then shifted to several police reports of men and women in black and red armor starting riots, setting off bombs and attacking UNSC owned buildings. All of which were getting larger in the last year or two.
We have well over a thousand civilians dead from attacks across the decade. With more than two dozen officers being killed by the terrorists as well. But it seemed that our new police combat armor as well as their MA37 rifles and M45 shotguns give them quite the firepower to take them down as well as protect them.
The amount of injured officers showed well over a hundred, all with fragments of rounds making it through to their bodies, or brushing where rounds impacted their under armor. But it seemed their Riot class armor was effective.
"Kinda makes you think that we need to upgrade the marines armor. It seems kinda dated compared to the rest we got going. Hell, that Riot armor is even a bit better than ODSTs!" Church commented about the effectiveness.
"There are plans in the work for better Army, Marine and ODST armor. But it won't be ready for mass production for another year." Petra informed the Spartan. Which seemed to .ale him happy. She was glad as well that her non augmented soldiers were gonna get better gear. They'd certainly he happy for better protection.
"Now, back on track with our original problem. The Insurrectionists have also tried several times to steal either ships that are under construction or completed from their docks. All times were successfully stopped from the defending ships or MAC guns ripping their outdated frigates apart. As well as our new Archer II missiles ripping their armor to shreds." Anna said with pride. The outdated and inferior Charon and Stalwart class frigates the Insurrectionists used, as well as dozens of corvettes swarmed around them.
But the far better armor, power output, energy shields and weapons on modern ships made it so that they were ripped apart. Hell, a Paris II class frigate with two Blitz class corvettes could most likely kill all the enemy ships.
Against a Jaeger class frigate, Cyclops class destroyer or Indianapolis class cruiser. Things didn't look so good for the terrorist scum. Which was a very good thing for them.
Anna then shifted the holograms once more, showing a rather blurry image of a familiar class of ship. The angled sides that went along 2 thirds of the ship's length. Cluster of engine pods on the back. A large print that dives down for the last third.
A phoenix class colony ship. With obvious modifications made to it judging from the image. Larger engines, massive turrets, and what looked like additional plates of armor welded onto the hull. Although Petra couldn't be sure due to the photos quality.
Anna slinked her arms onto the table and clasped them together. "This was taken on the long range cameras of a Reaper class prowler. It was seen orbiting Europa, one of Jupiter's large moons. It is our most plausible theory that they have some sort of base on this moon. It is rich in subsurface water and can be moved on with a simple prefabricated habitat."
This was a bit more surprising to Church and Petra than what they'd seen today. But one question was on both of their minds at the moment.
Petra gazed into Anna's red eyes with her own crimson. Making sure she had the full attention of the Admiral. She had a feeling that there was something else Anna wasn't telling her.
"What do you need us to do Ma'am?" Church asked.
Anna shifted the holograms and changed it's settings. Causing to to increase dramatically in size. Taking up a good portion of the room.
The hologram showed a depiction of the solar system. With Earth being what it currently showed, or the Here Be Dragons to be more accurate.
"I need you and your crew to take the fight to the Insurrectionists." Anna said with narrowed eyes. They held a fire that few could match in them. But the exact reason why? Church couldn't figure out for the life of him.
"What are the numbers of enemy ships? As well as all expected classes we might be facing? I prefer to know every possible variable when making strategies." Petra asked the spook.
The Admiral overlayed less than a half dozen different kinds of warships. All of which were outdated and underwhelming to what the modern UNSC had. But that didn't mean they still didn't pack a punch.
As always, the things you usually get against or what you overlook often come back to bite you in the ass. It does so with a vengeance.
"As we suspect, there is a heavily modified Phoenix class colony ship that is 98% likely to be their flagship. As well as there being a dozen frigates of both Charon and Stalwart class. And to top it off, almost a hundred corvettes." She said as am image of the enemy fleet was composed with these numbers.
They looked small and unassuming in this holographic form. But out there, in the cold black of space. They were very real. And they would try to gut them if given the chance.
Petra raised an eyebrow at this. "Will we be receiving any reinforcements for this mission? Because unless I can pull off the miracle of miracles. Then this ship would be scrapped before even half that fleet is gone."
"And my team can take out that Phoenix even with our current numbers. But we wouldn't be able to reinforce Petra at all." Church said in an angry tone.
Anna leaned forward onto the table. "This isn't just a standard search and destroy mission. They took hostages." Anna told the Spartan and Captain.
But before either of them could respond to that Anna continued. Putting a hand up to silence them as well. "The Insurrectionists brought in a covert strike team using a stealth plated Pelican dropship. They then incapacitated Spartan candidates Steven Universe and Lapis Lazuli." She showed current images of the Crystal gems in question.
"Spartan team Shard will be tasked with infiltrating the enemies flagship. From there you will locate the prisoners and free them. All the while killing any hostile in your way. But if you can find any leaders for the Inside. Try to bring them back alive for me to question."
Church and Petra nodded their heads in recognition. "What are orders if the Prisoners aren't on the ship?"
The Admiral stared straight at him with those cold and calculating crimson eyes. A gaze that would make lesser men cower. But he wasn't an ordinary man, it'd take more than that to scare him.
"Then they would most likely be located on the enemies base of operations on the moon. Of which we only have a rough location. But anything about it's size, defenses or troops are all unknown to us at the time. So he prepared for anything." Anna then paused for a few moments.
"That is if the individual we tasked with raiding the base hasn't turned it into a watery crater on Europa's surface by the time you're done." Anna said with an actual smile.
Now that caught his attention the most that day. Who the fuck did they assign to storm an entire base full of Insurrectionist's? That would take over half an hour even with a team of Spartan II's. And it could take longer depending on the size of the base.
"Who do you have in mind to take the base?" Asked Petra.
"That's classified, but there is one thing I can tell you to expect from them. You'll probably be picking her and possibly the hostages from a crater by the time she's done." Anna said with a full blown grin.
Now that unnerved the Captain. Just what kind of monsters were the Central Intelligence Agency making now?
"But, as for reinforcements. You'll be bolstered by four Paris II class frigates, 2 Jaeger class frigates, another Indianapolis class cruiser and a 16 Blitz class corvettes. All of which will be under your temporary command." Anna said with a proud smile on her face.
"Now, any other questions?" Anna asked the pair.
"Yeah, will my fleet be dropping off this classified individual you have in your arsenal. Because I need to know now and take it into account for attack strategies."
"No, she will be dropped in via Reaper class Prowler. Under the confusion of the battle between the enemy fleet and your own. This will also be the perfect opportunity for your Spartans to covertly slip aboard the Phoenix class." Anna informed her.
Petra didn't like the Admiral telling her what to do with team Shard. But they also weren't technically her soldiers. They were Church's. But it was good to know when this 'classified' soldier was dropping as well as how.
"If there's nothing else, then this meeting is adjourned. This operation will commence in approximately four days. 13:00 standard time. Make sure to rest up and Prepare Captain. You have an important mission waiting."
Petra and Church stood up and soluted as they watched the Admiral leave.
Petra sighed after Anna was well out of hearing range. "Why does my mother have to be such a cryptic person sometimes." Petra said as she exited to continue her daily tasks aboard the cruiser.
That sentence made Church stop in his tracks. Oh, this would be so fun to tell Tucker. The loom on his face would be priceless!