…
"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
(Roald Dahl)
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UCV Saint Luke, May 3rd, 11:21 AM, 2185
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As the Gravity Drive disengaged, putting us within visual range of Turviss, I stared hard as the holographic projector in front of me, unable to meet anyone's gaze for what felt like years. I was fully aware of the ramifications involved in what had just occurred, and what was likely to happen now that things had escalated to this point. This meant full-scale war.
"Sir, would you like me to contact the Exploratory Flotilla and inform them of our current situation?" Dixon asked, snapping me out of my daze as I looked up to meet his eyes.
"No, I'll do it myself. Tell battle stations to remain on standby just in case anyone had the bright idea to follow us." I replied, shaking my head and punching in the contact info for Captain Ren of the Vivvius. "I might as well do something, considering what I've just started."
"Sir?" Dixon questioned, not hearing what I had said under my breath.
"Nevermind." I deflected, picking up the phone as the connection was made. "Captain, are you receiving?"
"Loud and clear, Admiral." He confirmed, completely calm in the absence of what we knew. "I assume the new ship is working as intended?"
"That's uh… one way of putting it." I replied, trying to focus my mind as best I could. "Listen, we've got a serious situation on our hands, and I need you to relay it to the rest of the flotilla."
"What's wrong, sir?" He questioned, obviously confused. I was partially thankful that Xen's flotilla had avoided Turviss entirely, but I suspected that wouldn't remain the case for long.
"We were ambushed by a newly-promoted Admiral, Daro'Xen vas Moreh, using a weapon that forced our Gravity Drive to disengage mid-jump between systems." I explained in greater detail as Ren remained completely silent on the other end. "Communications broke down between us, and she and her flotilla opened fire on my ship, forcing us to retaliate. We suffered no damage, but out of her twelve ships, two are confirmed destroyed, including the Moreh, and several others are likely damaged."
"Keelah… once word of this spreads to Reach-" He exclaimed, now fully aware of the situation.
"I know. Put all ships on high alert until further notice, and send a ship back to Rannoch informing them of what's happened." I remarked, before another thought popped into my head. "Scratch that, send three armed ships in a group, just in case there's more of them waiting out there."
"Understood, Admiral. I'll relay the news and have messenger ships enroute in seven minutes." He confirmed, bringing a small smile to my face as a temporary sense of relief washed over me.
As I put the phone back on the receiver, Mal walked over to me, his posture expressing a level of discomfort.
"Amisen and Iolin aren't too happy with the current situation." He explained, speaking at a lower level so they wouldn't be able to hear him.
"At this point, who isn't?" I jeered, feeling that weight from before landing on my shoulders again. "What are they bickering about now?"
"They're demanding to know what our next course of action is." He sighed, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. "They believe that Turviss is going to become the frontline in this soon-to-be war, and they want immediate Fleet support."
"Don't you think that's jumping the gun?" I questioned, knowing that was an unreasonable thing to ask. "You know as well as I do Rannoch and the destruction of the Geth are their primary goals. The Admiralty doesn't care about the Raloi like we do."
"I agree, but the fight we just got into seems to have spooked them, and they are viable targets as members of the Confederation." He remarked, an uncertain tone evident in his voice. "We're at a serious disadvantage here, Sean. Its obvious the Admiralty has been monitoring our communications, otherwise Xen wouldn't have known we were on the ship with you."
"I know, the thought had crossed my mind too." I nodded, thinking back to that short engagement. "If the Admiralty has access to devices that can interrupt the operation of our Gravity Drives, they've got a serious advantage against us."
"Is it possible to develop a countermeasure that can be deployed against this kind of system?" He immediately asked, getting me to pinch the bridge of my nose as I delved into my own mind for an answer. "If not, we may need to move the flotilla above Turviss to Rannoch while we still can."
"I… don't know." I answered truthfully, looking back at him with a more focused expression. "The magnetic field projected by the Gravity Drive is highly specific, and trying to change its size, strength, or any other factor could lead to a whole host of potentially serious problems."
"Creator-Mal, Doctor-Michaels, may I offer a potential solution?" Pistis interjected, walking over and standing uncomfortably close.
"Uh, sure." I agreed, taking a step back as Mal quickly followed suit, Pistis focusing his aperture directly on me.
"We have isolated the frequency of the device used to pull the vessel out of it's jump, and believe it may be possible to override several safety protocols to allow for safe jumps under its influence." He stated, getting my eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. "However, there would be a "catch", as you call it."
"Lay it on me." I agreed with a quick nod, folding my arms as Pistis walked over to the projector, bringing up an image of the ship's Gravity Drive.
If countering this new "weapon" was a reasonable possibility, I'd be completely open to implementation.
"Overriding the protocols will result in the Gravity Drive centrifuge running at a higher cyclical rate, causing higher stresses to be exerted on the mechanical elements of the device." He immediately explained, running a holographic simulation of the Gravity Drive running under Geth modifications. "We believe that if used repeatedly, failure may eventually occur during operation."
"That sounds risky, especially considering what's happened to test crews in the past." Mal said with equal parts uncertainty and stress in his voice. "Could the Gravity Drive itself be modified to output a different field? One that could cancel out this larger field?"
"Unfortunately, the safety systems kicked in because it detected a planetary mass." I pointed out, pulling up the systems log in front of me. "Overriding the safety systems and allowing it to ignore large bodies would be extremely dangerous, and I'm not willing to risk flying into a planet at superluminal speeds."
"Bosh'tets!" Mal suddenly exclaimed, slamming the back of his fist against the console with a loud thud as me, Dixon, and several of my CIC crew turned to face him. "Those fools will be the death of us! All this bickering and subterfuge, because they refuse to admit our ancestors made a mistake!"
"Admiral, please-" I tried to calm down before he stormed off, leaving the CIC with a surprised Koris following quickly behind. Pistis, Dixon, and I just stood there for several moments, Amisen and Iolin still bickering with each other in the background.
"Doctor-Michaels, we have been monitoring Creator transmissions, and have come to the conclusion that they have been informed as to the status of the twelve ships we encountered." He announced to my dull surprise, getting me to sigh once more in defeat. "We believe the Admirals have convened to discuss further action."
"Isn't that just great?" I remarked in an overly sarcastic tone, the stress starting to get to me as I turned to face Dixon, who looked like he had something to say. "You got something for me?"
"Sir, I'm happy to report that damage control is reporting 100% from all decks." He announced with a more positive tone, cracking a small smile. "No damage was suffered, though Engineering is reporting that the reactor ran hotter than originally projected during the attack. They're requesting further assistance with the problem, something to do with the cooling systems."
I cracked a small smile, letting myself give one, solitary chuckle as I thought back to this issue, having encountered a similar problem on the Explorer when we had fled Eden Prime.
"Alright then, you have command until I get back. Maintain our status until otherwise ordered, and keep me apprised of any changes or new information." I agreed, rubbing my hands together as he nodded in acknowledgement.
As I walked away from the center of the CIC, Amisen and Iolin quickly moved to stop me, looking upset despite their general lack of expressions. While I knew they had every right to be worried, I wasn't in the mood to engage in politics when I had a hot reactor room to deal with.
"Sean Michaels, I demand to speak to you at once!" Iolin shouted as both of them followed me into the hallway, their heavy footfalls forcing me to acknowledge their presence. "We're not going to allow our planet to become a battleground for this schism between the Quarians! We demand action!"
"What do you want me to do, huh? Just dedicate all the forces under my command to a battle we may very well be unable to win!?" I turned around, shouting at the stubborn bird. "We've explained this to you before, any war fought between the Confederation and the Quarian Admiralty will focus on Rannoch and Reach. We can't be everywhere at once, not when they outnumber us."
"Admiral, your flotilla is the only thing keeping anyone from invading our system outright." Amisen spoke in a more reasonable tone, getting me to stop and look at them. "You cannot expect our people to be part of this Confederation if you're willing to leave us in such a vulnerable state. I've agreed with you up to this point, but will do so no longer if you abandon Turviss."
I stared hard at the both of them, crossing my arms as I weighed my options. They were completely right, of course, they had no other means of defense if we were to pull the flotilla out of orbit. It was unfair to them in more ways than one, and I knew leaving them would mean disaster on a political level. On the other hand, if Rannoch was invaded with full-force, the Confederation forces would be at a serious disadvantage numerically. There was no way to know what the Admiralty's plans were right now, so either way I'd be taking a gamble.
"Fine. You have my word that my flotilla will remain here in defense of your planet." I agreed with some reluctance, making sure to look into both of their eyes. "I understand that if this Confederation is to remain strong, we have to support one another, even in trying times."
"Thank you, Admiral Michaels." Iolin thanked with the usual Raloi head bow, as Amisen followed suit. "As long as you keep your word, you can count on our continued, unwavering support."
"I can appreciate that." I smiled, offering a handshake to him, which he slowly accepted. I then shook Amisen's hand, making sure to give him a friendly smirk as I did so. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there's an issue down in Engineering I need to take a look at."
"Of course." Amisen said, bowing his head once more as both of them walked back into the CIC.
I knew supporting them was the right thing to do, but I had my doubts as to whether Mal and Koris would agree with my decision. Either way, the Exploratory Flotilla was under my command, and I'd keep my word no matter the circumstances. I don't back down from handshake promises, I held myself to that standard, I had to.
Taking the elevator down two decks and walking to the rear of the ship, I finally ran into Tirus, my Chief Engineer. He was in charge of keeping my pretty new ship in perfect working order. He was a gifted Raloi that had been a member of Orontid's team before accepting my invitation. He was incredibly good with machines, and had been responsible for furthering much of the Raloi nuclear energy infrastructure.
He was also unique due to the fact that he hailed from a subset of the Raloi population known as the Renanh, who were a minority that looked noticeably different with thicker, more pronounced feathers that had a frizzled look to them. They were also bigger, reaching nine feet tall compared to the average 7-8 feet most Raloi reached. It made them look remarkably similar to the Steller's sea eagle.
He tested the best for the position, having learned the in's and out's of the systems far quicker than even some Quarians I had tested for the position. With Orontid's blessings, I brought him onto the ship and entrusted its careful operation to him.
"Chief, talk to me, what's going on with my reactor?" I asked as soon as he and I met eye-to-eye, standing beside him at the large window that gave a full view of the whole compartment below.
"Well, it seems the electrical charge taken from the reactor powering both the engines and the MES has caused the system to run unexpectedly hot, an uncomfortable 396 Deerens." He stated as I gave him a raised eyebrow, getting his to widen as he remembered the conversions. "Oh, uh, I apologize, I mean 266 degrees Celsius."
"That's more than enough to cook a pizza… certainly not the operating temperature we want." I nodded, folding one hand under my arm as I held the other up to my chin in thought. "Have you tried diverting coolant from the auxiliary tanks to chill the system?"
"No, Ensign Farow believed that would be unwise given the heat that had already built up in the engines during the engagement. I'm inclined to agree with him." He explained, looking over at Ensign Haen'Farow, who was working diligently at his station. "He believes an imbalance in the eezo core may have caused the issue, forcing the fusion reactor to run harder than it was designed to. I think he's right, but I want to see if he can figure it out without my help."
"Ah, I see what you're going for." I smiled, walking over to Ensign Farow's station to take a look at his calculations. "These damn eezo cores are becoming more trouble than they're worth, don't you agree?"
"Oh, sorry! I didn't see you, sir!" He quickly apologized, standing up and saluting.
"At ease, Ensign." I ordered, not a fan of the whole, overly-formal procedure we had established. "The Chief says you believe dumping the auxiliary coolant tank into the reactor system right now… wouldn't be such a good idea."
"Yes'sir, the reactor is currently in an unstable state. If we introduce an extreme temperature change into the system right now, it could lead to severe mechanical failures." He stated, scrolling through to show me the readings from the sensors. "Plus, the engines are still running far hotter than expected, meaning we may need that coolant in case we exhaust our normal supply."
"Understandable… you believe restoring synergy between the drive core and fusion reactor will return the system to proper working order?" I led on, interested in what he might have to say about it.
"Yes'sir, full synergy should allow the cooling systems to operate at intended levels." He nodded rather aggressively, putting both hands into his lap. "At least, that's my theory."
"Hm… show me." I urged, wanting to see what the young Quarian could do as I turned back to Chief Tirus and the other Ensigns in the room. "Monitor the levels, we're going to attempt a manual adjustment."
Farow stood up, walking over to the manual controls for the reactor, still lit up with warning lights due to the heat in the compartment. I watched as he slowly adjusted the levels, the reactor growing audibly louder as he did so.
"Temperature is climbing, we're reaching critical safe limits!" Chief Tirus announced from his station as I focused on the Ensign, the lights dimming as the electrical grid bordered on failure.
"Almost got it… almost… there!" He shouted with finality in his voice as a loud mechanical clank could be heard vibrating through the ship, the lights returning to full power as the reactor kicked back into full operation.
"Temperature in the reactor compartment is rapidly returning to normal… looks like the cooling systems have regained full power." Chief Tirus announced with a relieved tone, picking up the phone. "Damage control teams, proceed into the reactor hall and check for any structural damage."
"Nice work, Ensign." I congratulated with two pats on the shoulder, giving him a wide smirk. "I knew you could pull it off."
"T-thank you, Admiral." He nodded quickly, holding his hands together as the intercom tone sounded. "I'd better get down there, see if they need help."
"You do that." I encouraged, proud of my choice of crew.
"Engineering, what the hell is going on down there? We had a brownout up here, and the vibrations that just rocked through the ship aren't inspiring confidence in the crew." I heard Dixon ask in a not-so-pleased tone, confirming my theory that any system failure wouldn't have been isolated to this deck alone.
"CIC, this is Chief Engineer Tirus. I apologize for the temporary shortage of power, we had to manually stabilize the reactor to restore full power to our cooling systems." He explained as I walked back over to him, smiling. "Do you wish for me to come to the bridge to make a full report?"
"Here, let me talk to him." I urged, holding out my open hand for the phone, which he quickly relinquished. "Dixon, things are fine down here, thanks for asking."
"Sorry Admiral, considering we just survived an attack, the CIC team is a little weary of any "drisruptions." to regular operation." He remarked, sounding more tired than anything else. "The Admirals just came back a few minutes ago, they're planning on returning to Reach to rally the bulk of the Geth and Quarian fleets."
"Well, we already knew that was going to happen." I pointed out, rubbing the back of my neck as I leaned against Tirus' station. "What about Pistis, Amisen, and Iolin? Any news from them?"
"No, the latter two have been pretty quiet since they followed you into the hallway." He said, filling me with some relief. "Pistis is busy on his subspace connection, conversing with the rest of the Collective. He hasn't moved from the corner for the last five minutes."
"Must be one hell of a conversation he's having." I shook my head, letting out one final sigh. "I'm gonna go check things out on the reactor floor, then head to the crew quarters to make sure Mara and Elle are alright. If you need me, you know where to find me."
"Yes'sir. I'll keep things in order until you get back." He confirmed, the clack of a receiver being heard for a moment before the line went dead. I put Tirus' phone back down, getting a singular, slow nod from him as I turned around and began walking down the stairs.
Taking off my jacket and donning a basic environmental suit, I walked through the airlock into the reactor hall, getting a better look at what we were dealing with here.
Even though it was technically still a Mk.2 configuration NM reactor, Dan had somewhat reworked the design to better fit the ship's power demands, creating an odd "cross-breed" he jokingly referred to as the Mk.2 "Special". Special, because it incorporated several elements from the Mk.2 and the Mk.3, originally designed for the SMACs and our ground installations. It worked pretty well, especially after the Geth helped him optimize the design, but the problems with the new, "Raloi-grade" eezo had remained a pressing issue.
Our persistent issues with the Caprica, and now the Saint Luke's power grids, led me to believe the whole reactor configuration needed to be redesigned to better handle the new eezo. The truth was, we were in such a rush to get these ships running that we decided a few "growing pains" would be an acceptable trade-off given how much more flexibility the Raloi-refined eezo drive cores gave us. In the end, it turned out to be one massive headache. Sure, it afforded us the maneuverability of a frigate nearly half our size, but that didn't amount to anything if we ended up dead in the water.
I spotted Ensign Farow at the climate control console, running a manual diagnostic from his omni-tool as the rest of the damage control team checked for any physical signs of damage.
"How we lookin', Ensign?" I asked, looking up at the reactor with both hands on my hips.
"The heat levels are back to normal sir, though there is another thing that concerns me." He went on, turning to face me as I gave him my full attention. "If we don't find a workaround for this equilibrium issue, I'm afraid the stress on the mechanical elements could lead to a whole system breakdown."
"Yeah, I've got a couple ideas I'm willing to try out." I nodded, checking the diagnostic report at the console. "I'm thinking an electrical buffer along the outer casing of the drive core, tampered by a static field, might help control the drive core's tendency to overload other systems."
"I've got one better." He immediately boasted with a cheerful tone. "I believe that if we overclock the Engine Control Units and divert excess power to them and the cooling systems, we can use them to "wrangle" the drive core, in a sense."
"That would also involve tightly monitoring the plasma output of the engines. If they run too far outside of their design specifications, they'll melt the rear of the ship to slag." I countered, crossing my arms.
"I can write a subroutine that'll automatically tune the output in combat operations." He re-countered, giving me a genuine moment of pause. "Plus, if I can get access to the primary systems, I might be able to sync the improvements to the rest of the Saint Luke's systems."
"Very interesting… you're sure you could handle doing that yourself?" I questioned, trying to test his resolve.
"Not only can I do it, but I can do it in less than forty-eight hours." He stated, letting go of any nerves he may have been holding onto and speaking decisively. "I would need that system access in the CIC to make it work properly, though."
"Bring me a working subroutine with full documentation in the next forty-eight hours, and you'll have access." I reassured as he balled up both hands into fists, obviously excited. "Oh, and if the subroutine works under stress, you may be looking at a promotion in the near-future."
"Yes'sir!" He saluted, immediately running off to get working as I allowed myself an amused chuckle. I loved seeing unbridled enthusiasm like that, knowing that someone enjoyed their job that much. It always brought a smile to my face.
Leaving the hall and retrieving my jacket, I walked back upstairs, waving at Chief Tirus as I began my walk to the crew quarters.
Despite the looming threat our heads, the rest of my crew seemed remarkably calm, moving about the ship doing their assigned tasks as if nothing had happened. A few of them even gossiped as I walked by, savoring the victorious feeling they had from surviving such awful odds without a scratch. I wanted to correct them, tell them how easily we could have been overwhelmed and killed, but I wouldn't hamper the high morale that could be felt in the air. I knew that soon enough, morale would likely come in short supply, and they needed as much as they could possibly get.
Even though I was still unsure as to what Xen was thinking, attacking our ship the way she did, I was thankful that all our hard work hadn't gone to waste, and that the Saint Luke had proved itself to be a powerful addition to the Confederation fleet. Mal and Koris hadn't been too sure about Dan's decision to arm the ships with massive gun batteries, but in the end it had likely saved our asses. The special flak rounds designed by Dimitri, separately from the regular ammo blocks the cannons normally used, were an inspired choice. Without them, that swarm of missiles would have overwhelmed our standard GUARDAN arrays, and just a few of those missiles in the right spot could've caused massive damage to any number of decks.
Even I had to admit my prior skepticism when Dan had shown me his original design specifications. The idea of putting battleship-caliber mass accelerator weapons all over a vessel in large turrets seemed crazy at first, but the insane genius had once again come out on top and proved me wrong against all odds. Not only had those cannons saved us from an unwinnable situation, but they had caused considerable damage to Xen's ship before the Thanix cannon had even fired. That wasn't even mentioning the work his PLS projectors had put in on their first combat outing, they sliced right through the interdictor ship to its core, proving their worth in only three seconds.
Reaching our quarters, I walked inside, immediately meeting Mara's concerned gaze.
"I heard what happened." She stated, walking over and giving me a warm hug. "Its unavoidable now, isn't it?"
"I think we're past the point of no return." I replied, holding her tightly for several quiet moments. "It might not be safe for you here once things escalate. Maybe you and Elle-"
"No." She immediately cut off, pulling away slightly without taking her hands off me. "I told you, I'm not going to be a bystander anymore. No matter what happens, I want to face it alongside you."
I sighed deeply, knowing there was no way I'd change her mind as I gave her another hug.
"What happens now?" She asked quietly, the two of us rocking back and forth slightly as we held each other.
"I don't know." I answered honestly, the two of us moving away from one another as I walked in and sat down on the small couch we had. "Mal and Koris might try and pressure me to move the Exploratory Flotilla to Rannoch to add to the defense, but I promised Amisen and Iolin that we'd stay and protect their world."
"A rock and a hard place, huh?" She said, sitting down next to me as Elle cooed from her crib. "Look at her, she's going to be running around on her own soon."
"How are we supposed to control her when she has full access to those weapons of mass destruction?" I smiled, reaching over and holding out my hand as she grabbed it in excitement.
Looking into her young, green eyes, I envied her innocence, completely unspoiled and genuine. She had the enthusiasm of a design student with an infinite budget, but none of the vices, ego, or other factors that made us human beings the flawed creatures we were.
I was thankful she didn't have to experience the kind of hardship we did. If we finally settled down one day and started a company, I'd make sure she'd never have to worry about anything for her whole life.
"Listen… whatever you do, just make sure it's for the benefit of all of us, not just those in charge." She urged, putting her arms back around me as I did the same to her.
"Trust me, nothing is more important than keeping all of us safe." I reassured, breathing deeply before the intercom tone rang out.
"Attention Admiral Michaels, pease contact CIC ASAP." Dixon spoke through the intercom system, bringing me right back to the moment at hand.
"Duty calls, I suppose." I remarked, standing back up and walking to the phone recessed into the wall. I held my hand on it for a few moments, preparing myself mentally before picking it up and sticking it to my ear. "Michaels. What's the word, Dixon?"
"We've got… news coming in from various sources, sir. Mostly the ANN, but others are reporting similar stories." He spoke in a much lower tone, one I hadn't heard him use since we first met on Pragia. "According to these reports, large black ships were seen entering Alliance space, sweeping their way through the occupied systems until the buoy network went down, ending all communications with Earth, Arcturus, and several outlying colonies."
"Oh my god." I exclaimed in a similar tone, struggling to fathom how much worse our situation had just become. "I thought we had more time, damn it!"
"Sir, I think that we should attempt to contact Admiral Hackett and obtain some concrete information." Dixon recommended with a more focused tone, snapping me out of my mini-trance.
"No. If the Alliance really is being attacked by the Reapers, they need to focus on mounting a defense or getting as many people out as possible." I turned down, knowing that Hackett didn't need us breathing down their necks for information in a critical moment like this. "I'm sure Hackett will contact us when he and the Fifth Fleet aren't in any immediate danger."
"If he's still alive." He quickly pointed out, sending a small shudder through my back.
"He's one of the toughest sons-of-bitches in the Alliance Navy, I'm sure he'll be fine." I dismissed, trying to process my other thoughts. "For now, keep this quiet. Once we have all the facts, then we'll inform the rest of our people."
"Yes'sir." He agreed, hanging up the phone as I turned around to face Mara, a horrified look on her face.
"They're here?" She questioned, obviously just as shocked as me.
"It's looking that way." I confirmed, looking back down at Elle in her crib, thankful once more that she didn't have the capacity to fathom what was happening yet.
I'd keep both of them safe, no matter what we faced.
…
A/N: I'm not so good at doing these after shorter writing periods, so I'll just say thanks for reading and leaving encouraging reviews, they really help keep things going. I wanted to use this chapter to flesh out the Saint Luke a bit more, and introduce more conflict.
I recently had another commission done by my artist friend, Nikadonna. This time, its of Admiral Sean Michaels in his new command getup. As many of you may have seen, it is now my new cover image, though the quality on this website is quite garbo. If you wish the view the full-resolution image, nQnFZrB is the image source on Imgur.
(I know this is a clunky way of giving out links, but the site has its stupid rules.)
As always, I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism. Please leave a review telling me what you think of the story so far, and stay tuned!