The crackling of the Void Gate led to the emergence of the FLAKRUNNER and the JUSTICE into the Irvest sector. The reddish black hue of space surrounding the Nova Nacio sector, was replaced by a purple glow, littered with asteroids.
"The Irvest sector huh? At least this part of it still looks pretty safe." Yuri said to no one in particular.
"But I feel this... strange undercurrent. Like there's some kind of disturbance in space."
"Huh?" Yuri shot his sister a weird look.
She shook her head. "I can't explain it. I just have a bad feeling."
Yuri watched her silently, hoping she was wrong.
Meanwhile...
In the Interplanetary Union of Elgava, inside Zvenigorod's office of the President, the Defense Minister strode down the long hallway, having made this trip many times before.
Nodding to the guard on either side of the door, they allowed him entry into the room beyond.
He entered into a darkened room, lit only by the city's nightlights outside.
Behind the desk, watching the city lights, stood the President, tall and proud in stature.
Fomich cleared his throat, announcing his presence.
"President Saburov, the assembly of the interception fleet of the frontier is nearly complete. I will be joining them in three days to take command, and we will then move out to meet the Lugovalian fleet as it arrives."
Saburov remained silent, before speaking curiously. "Hm... What was it, 5,000 ships?"
"That's right sir. 5,087 ships, to be exact." He replied.
"I see. Very good. I'm sure the Lugovalians will be quite impressed when they see what's waiting to greet them. Heh heh." Saburov's laugh made Fomich clench his jaw silently.
How stupid could one person be? Why was it that he couldn't make the Elgavan President see reason.
Elgava wasn't the best nation in the universe. They were but a pebble in a very large pond. A largely unexplored pond.
To them anyway.
If the Large Magellanic Cloud had technology that eclipsed their own, wouldn't it stand to reason that an extragalactic threat would too.
How was it the Saburov was so blind?
"Yes, one look and those barbarians will surely prostrate themselves before us sir." Fomich found himself stating.
Saburov either missed the mocking, sarcastic tone in his voice... or was completely ignoring it.
"But we mustn't forget. These people will eventually be forced to become our loyal citizens." The President turned, facing him for the first time. "We have to remember to always treat them with the tolerance and benevolence one would expect from a great nation like ours."
"Yes sir. During my absence, Deputy Defense Minister Nariciso will be taking over my duties. Although, with things as they are between Nova Nacio and Kalymnos at the moment, I doubt there'll be any national threat to us." He explained, adding in the latter, more for reassurance.
"Yes, we'll just let those two fight it out between themselves for a while."
"Yes sir." Fomich answered, and soon, found himself walking back down the hall, the exact way he'd come...
It always ends the same.
1.25 million miles away from Ermeno, Nova Nacio had finally come to an important decision.
To prevent any further encroachment by the Kalymnian forces, Nova Nacio's main fleet, led by Admiral Tajlero Martiro, had constructed a deep-defence column at the front line.
Standing in the Flagship's Bridge, Martiro found himself looking out at the fleet before him.
What an amazing sight.
Turning, his gaze locked onto the man with the slicked-back hair. "Chairman Ulmo, what are Kalymnos' movements?"
"They don't appear to have enough capacity for an offensive right now. I don't think they'll be making any big moves anytime soon." He answered. "Being deployed all along the Bactria Line and having such long supply lines must be taking its toll on them."
"Hm... so I guess now we just wait until it's time to launch Stelalumo." Martiro said.
"That's right sir."
Upon reaching Ermeno, Yuri's first order of business was to overhaul his ships, and purchase a new one to replace the one that was lost in Oisin's ambush.
He had already decided that another destroyer just wouldn't cut it anymore, and buying an additional Borodino-class battleship wouldn't allow him to upgrade the other ships in his fleet...
He just didn't have that kind of money.
In the end, his mind was torn between choosing the highly spacious, fighter carrying, long-range carriers; or the fast, all round solid, cruisers.
Both classes would do well in the coming war, yet, he could only choose one... not an easy thing to do.
The carriers were built for anti-air combat, which made it a good long-range combatant. That, coupled with its great fighter-carrying capabilities, and installation of catapults, meant for better fighter deployment.
Cruisers, on the other hand, had good anti-air capabilities, and were rumoured to be a real boon against fighters... with the right weapons equipped.
While both classes had their strong points, Yuri, in the end, opted for the cruiser class, more specifically... the Askold.
While still a cruiser, the Askold was more of a hybrid of the two, able to carry, an albeit minimal, amount of fighters. Also, if fighters couldn't be used, or were all destroyed, could still rely on its anti-ship weaponry.
This would make it a boon to the fleet, in all areas.
Yuri bought the Askold cruiser for 9,600G, and went on to outfit it with the best modules he had, spending another 17,672G.
The ship was also fitted with a Hangar to make use of its catapult, and after an extensive debate, Yuri settled on using Dividi multirole fighters.
On Ogar's JUSTICE however, there really wasn't much to do, as with limited space, he was only able to upgrade the radar room and engine. Along with a newly upgraded weapons loadout, the money spent was a little less than 4,000G.
With the FLAKRUNNER, he fitted upgraded guns, and replaced several modules within the ship, which was now bursting at the seems... costing almost 8,000G.
All in all, Yuri found himself out of pocket by 39,164G. Having blown through the reward money given to him by Jozefo Lanco, he had also used up more money to pay for many of the crew who had decided to leave.
In the end, he barely had enough money for a meal at the tavern. He wasn't worried though, as things would soon be changing with the coming war...
He hoped.
"Ah, Yuri, you made it!" Valso called out, spotting the entrance of Yuri's company from the far side of the room.
"Captain Valso..." Yuri greeted with a nod, falling into step with the Nova Nacion Officer.
"We're facing a difficult situation out there, but we military men must live up to whatever challenges we face."
"But Captain, I thought you were hoping to coexist with Kalymnos." Yuri asked.
Valso nodded, pausing for a moment, before glancing in Yuri's direction. "And I still do. But it's like a long held dream that has yet to come true."
Yuri remained silent, unsure how to respond.
"Now, before we start working together, there's someone I'd like you to meet. He's a potential crew member." Valso explained, stopping to face the group. "Do you mind?"
"Another crew member?" Kira asked from the back of the line.
"Yes." The man said with a nod, motioning for someone to join them. "I would very much like for you to use him on your crew. Ensign Letero, would you please step forward?"
If there was one word to describe the Ensign, it would be unique.
His aqua blue bodysuit bulged in all the wrong places, patterned with brown and green. His chubby face was punctuated by a large chin that looked like it came with its own gravitational field. An on top of his head, sat a mop of oily black hair, shaped in a bowl cut.
Yuri heard Nia curse under her breath at the sight of him, while Torlo let out a low whistle.
"Yes sir. I'm Ensign Antono Letero. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Yuri swallowed inaudibly.
"Same here." He found himself saying.
"He's an exceptional Engineer. I'm sure you'll find him very useful." Valso added.
Letero glanced at Valso as he spoke, before turning back to the Captain with a smile. "Yes, my engineering skills are very well known. You can count on me to do a top-rate job."
Analysing the situation like only she could, Nia snorted. "Hmph. Just come out and say it. You're here to keep an eye on us!"
"A spy?"
"Yeah. I mean, just think about it. They aren't gonna let us go 'round footloose and fancy free in the middle of a war." Nia explained. "They've got to have someone on board to make sure we're acting in their best interests."
"Oh, I get it." He nodded in understanding.
Valso laughed despite the situation, drawing all attention to him. "Come now, we both know it's necessary. You can't blame me for trying to put it in a more pleasant light."
Nia spoke up quickly, before anyone even had time to register Valso's answer. "Nah, up front and straightforward is always best, if you ask me."
"I don't even know how to respond to that." The man replied truthfully.
Hoping to head off Nia before she really got going, Yuri held up a hand to forestall any further complaints. "Come on Nia. I don't mind. Welcome to my crew, Ensign Letero."
"At your service Captain." He nodded.
With that bit of business taken care of, Yuri turned back to Valso with a question. "So, what would you like us to do?"
Valso thought about where to begin, but decided to come straight out with it, taking Nia's advice.
"There are two operations for which I would like your support. One entails wearing down the enemy's military power by harassing their forces from a base on the planet Najbaro." He began, handing Yuri a small mobile terminal for him to read some reports.
"The other involves severing the enemy's supply line. That operation starts on the planet Universala. Confirm your assignments at operation headquarters before you begin. Ensign Letero can act as a go-between with the personnel at each base."
Yuri nodded. "Okay, we'll give it our best shot."
"That's all we can ask. My carrier: the MAJESTA, will be stationed at this planet for the time being. You can come talk to me anytime you deem it necessary." He added.
Nodding and thanking the man, Yuri turned to leave, but was stopped by Valso's voice, gaining their attention again.
"Oh! And before I forget. Grandstanding has no place in international warfare. Effectively sapping the enemy's strength and severing their supply line is the surest road to victory." He advised. "Such small steps win big wars. I want you and your crew to listen carefully to the orders at each base, and then execute your missions based on them."
Valso's advice gave the group something to think about, as Yuri's Circle made its way out of the building... and towards the nearest tavern to meet up with the rest of the crew.
Leaving the Joint Headquarters building behind, Yuri asked Letero to join them at the tavern for a quick meal, before they began their first operation.
Yuri, Nia, Torlo and Letero, joined Soneto, and Admiral Beleko at a table. As the conversation finally started, Yuri found himself thinking what an odd pair they seemed to make... sitting by themselves.
"Come to think of it... even though there's a war going on, there doesn't seem to be all that much tension in this sector." Yuri blurted out suddenly.
"Yes, well, it's pretty far away from the front line, after all." Letero chimed in.
"Well, we sure ain't gonna put a quick end to this war by hangin' around here!" Torlo added with a determined look.
"I bet neither Nova Nacio nor Kalymnos wants a long, drawn-out war. If we can come up with a really decisive strategy, I'm sure Kalymnos will quickly lose the will to fight."
Latero's statement prompted a curious glance from Nia... and with a furrowed brow; she spoke. "A decisive strategy eh? You got any ideas?"
"What? Oh, um... I don't know. Some new battleships? Or new fighters maybe?" He answered, unsure.
"Hm..."
"Speaking of..." Soneto cut in. "I've never come up against the Kalymnos forces before, but I've heard how solid their defences are."
Letero nodded, glad for something to distract him from Nia's stare. "It's true. We were trying to develop weapons to get past their ships' adamas armour somehow, but I guess it's too late for that now."
Soneto scoffed. "If they've got engineers of your calibre working for them, it doesn't surprise me that we couldn't make it in time. I guess our only hope is to manoeuvre our way in."
Latero's gaze dropped.
It seemed that some members of the crew weren't overly fond of him, or his abilities. Even so, he found himself saying that it didn't matter what they thought...
He had a job to do, and he was going to do it.
Letero Looked up, and at Yuri, watching the Captain shrug apologetically, before turning, and joining another conversation.
Leaving Ermeno, the first thing Yuri did was shuffle around several of his crew.
First, was Letero, who joined the maintenance department as an assistant mechanic. Due to his good navigation and control Karlo had been moved to the helmsman position in navigation.
Due to the purchase of the REVENGE, an Askold-class cruiser, Gadina and Sceptro had been transferred to said ship, and under Selenia's command. Both crewmembers now served as squadron one and two chief respectively.
Shortly before they had departed for the planet Universala, Yuri and Nia had taken a quick trip to inspect the newly built hangar and the twelve gleaming Dividi multirole fighters.
Still sitting in their bays, Yuri and Nia strode onto the flight deck, watching crewmembers milling about inside. At one end of the hangar, the two spotted Gadina and Sceptro, who were directing half a dozen workers.
As they drew nearer, Gadina spotted their approach, before coming closer.
"Didn't expect to see the two of you here." Gadina told them. "Thought you'd have bigger things to worry about."
"Well, we thought we'd come and inspect the new hangar bay and fighters for ourselves." Nia replied.
"What are you doing?" Yuri asked, curiosity winning out.
Gadina turned back to face Sceptro and the workers. "Oh, this... we're just setting up some of our robotic crew, linking them to the system, that's all."
"What for?"
"Well... we don't have any actual crewmembers to pilot the fighters just yet, so we're hooking up the robotic crew to the system. Soon, me and Sceptro will be doing several simulated battles, which should teach them how to operate in a real fight." Gadina explained. "Stick around, maybe you'll learn something too."
The two friends exchanged looks, before replying with an enthusiastic "sure." With the robotic crew hooked up, Yuri watched on with interest as the two chiefs duked it out.
They were good, Nia had reassured him, as he hadn't seen pilots actually battling it out together. He and Nia stood around the screens with the workers, watching the two roll, and weave, all with practiced ease.
Some time later, and Gadina and Sceptro emerged with wicked grins splitting their faces.
"So, what do you think? Not too shabby huh?" Scepteo asked confidently.
Gadina threw him a look, before turning back to face the pair. "To some, yes, although, the two of us are far from the best."
Yuri nodded. "Well that's to be expected. I was always taught that someone better is always just around the corner."
"That's right!" Gadina said with another look. "But not just that, we have much room to improve before our first battle. And there's always more simulations we can run."
Scpetro held up his hands in defence. "Hey! Hey! I wasn't saying we were the best, just that we didn't do too badly for our first sim... sheesh!"
Yuri took in the two, and the setup that they had built.
"Well it seems you both have things well in hand. So we'll just leave you both to it then?" Nia said.
"We'll be heading for Universala soon." Yuri added. "When you're ready, let us know, and we'll test out the fighters and your pilots in a real simulation... alright?"
Their only answer... was a smile.
Entering the strategy room of the base at Universala, Antono Letero let them know that he was going to find out what their assignment was. They watched as he flagged down the official in charge, and as they waited, noticed a man; who began to talk.
If his clothes were any indication, he didn't look like a soldier... wearing a strange long collared top and pants; pale face smiling beneath a nest of black hair.
"Hey, are you those guys from the FLAKRUNNER? Which one of you is the Captain, Yuri?" He asked.
"I'm Yuri."
"Huh..."
"Uh, can I help you?" Yuri asked, not sure how to take the look he was being given.
The man shrugged his head.
"I've heard about you. You're younger than I thought you'd be though. But they say you and Celina Sioufas brought down the Spider Web together, so I guess you must be pretty damn good."
Word of their deeds must have been getting around, and of Yuri's rising fame and reputation. This made him happy.
He made a mental note to check his place in the CTA rankings soon.
"And who are you?"
"Oh, sorry about that. Didn't introduce myself yet, did I? The name's Yianni Pavlou. I'm one of the Kreios Pirates left over from your campaign against 'em." He said.
"What?!" Yuri tensed up, watching Yianni cautiously.
The man laughed, holding up his hands.
"Hey, relax buddy! I'm not holding any grudges. You won. We lost. It's as simple as that."
Yuri wasn't sure how to reply to that, so he kept his mouth shut.
"So you joined up with the foreign mercenaries helping the Nova Nacion Forces, huh? I guess that means we're gonna be allies for a while then." He added conversationally.
Suddenly remembering why they were there, Yuri glanced over to the far side of the room, where Letero was still in talks with the man in charge.
"But aren't you a Kalymnian?"
Nia's question had him turning back around again, where Yianni laughed.
"Heh heh. You can tell huh? Yeah, I'm from a little podunk resource planet called Dodecanese. It was so boring, I got out of there way back when I was a kid."
"And now you're fighting your own homeland?" Yuri asked.
Yianni shrugged. "I don't really think of it as my homeland. I guess the place I really feel at home is on my ship. That's more or less the way it is with us spacefarers. Hey, I bet you know what I'm talking about, right?"
He thought back on it. Destroying Ropesk's military, and killing Panfilov, Yuri guessed that he had a pretty good idea what he was talking about.
"Yeah, I get your drift." He answered after a pause.
"This could turn out to be a pretty sweet gig ya know. I just used up all my money remodelling my ship. Now I've gotta earn it all back!" He said with a smile, and soon, the group found themselves chatting away with their new friend, who seemed all too eager to hear about their story.
As Letero returned, Yianni bid them farewell, and Letero turned to explain.
"Okay, I've got our assignment. Our task is to attack enemy transport units around the Kalymnian planet CL-617." He began.
"CL-617? isn't that in Kalymnian territory?" Nia asked.
He nodded in response. "That's right. That's why we have to be really careful about who we target. Their main fleet isn't there, but I hate to think of what would happen if we run into any of their big backup fleets!"
"Yeah, well, if it gets too dangerous, I guess we can always just run." They weren't words Yuri ever expected to hear come out of Nia's mouth.
"That would be my recommendation. It'd be a shame for an elite engineer like myself to die on some foreign battlefield. Oh, and they want us to shoot down at least four transport ships."
"Got it."
With their business on Universala completed, Yuri was able to make room for a real-time fleet simulation. Hoping to test out what their newest additions could do, Ogar and Selenia went head to head, with Yuri and the FLAKRUNNER holding positions some ways back.
They had found a secluded starlane just off the main one, and out of the way of any incoming traffic.
As the JUSTICE and the REVENGE got into position, Yuri stood atop the captain's dais, watching the flow of information from both ships.
Assessing them, Yuri and Nia knew that the simulation was going to be close, as each ship was balanced out proportionally.
The question was, could the REVENGE's Dividi fighters make a difference.
Well... we'll soon find out."
Once ready, they watched the two ships trade light attacks, dancing in and out of the way of incoming laserfire. It wasn't a boring fight by any means, but the anticipation of the fighters being released was so high... that when they did, people's eyes were fixed to the screens.
The dozen fighters screamed out of the Askold's hangar bay, led by Squad Chiefs Gadina and Sceptro. Ogar didn't seem fazed however, and pushed the JUSTICE forward, to keep Selenia within range of his guns.
When the fighters swarmed his ship, Ogar slowed to a crawl, and Selenia took her chance to fire off some strong barrage attacks that rocked the JUSTICE hard.
Under Ogar's command however, the JUSTICE seemed to be like a ship possessed, and managed to make it through the fighter attack. Despite this, Yuri's eyes flicked down to the JUSTICE's simulated health status and noticed that it was hurting.
With the fighters being repaired and refuelled, Ogar pushed the JUSTICE again, trying to hit Selenia hard. While any carrier would have been limping badly, the Askold-class cruiser carried on, and soon... the fighters were let loose from the bays.
The battle didn't last much longer, and soon, Ogar's JUSTICE disappeared from the simulation screen, to much cheering from the watching crew.
Later, after the three ships had regrouped, Yuri, Nia, Ogar, Selenia, Gadina and Scpetro found themselves in a meeting.
Gadina held her chin thoughtfully in her hand as she spoke. "The fighters worked wonders... no doubt. But there is also room for a lot more improvement too."
"It's true, they just aren't as good as we'd like them to be." Scpetro added.
"Well they performed very well, despite the lack of time and training to get used to the situation." Selenia commented.
Ogar grunted with a curious frown. 'I must say... in a straight up fight, my Skoryy would beat that Askold." He began, shooting a look towards his fellow Captain. "On the other hand however, the addition of fighters to the arsenal makes the battle almost one sided."
Yuri nodded along as he listened, agreeing completely. "Well in any case, the fighters did a wonderful job. Congratulations... you two should be proud."
"Although..." Ogar interrupted again. 'I'd advise against using them all the time. I don't think using them in such a manner will help any."
"And if either Gadina or Scpetro are killed, that could be a bit of a problem."
"I think we should stick to the wait and see approach for now." Nia added. "There's no point deciding anything right away."
With the conversation over, the communications link with the JUSTICE and the REVENGE was cut... leaving Yuri and Nia alone in the meeting room.
With their assignment finally known to them, Yuri led the fleet down one of the starlanes from Universala.
The first Kalymnian fleet consisted of two Kalliope destroyers, which didn't pose much of a threat.
The second fleet they came across however, was a little different. Barrelling towards them at alarming speed... two Kalliope destroyers, leading a Eudora and two Zephyr cruisers following closely behind. If the reports given to them by Captain Valso were correct, this fleet was commonly known as a Kalymnos Chief.
In the opening sequence of the battle, Ogar's JUSTICE roared to life, hammering out two attacks on the enemy fleet in the time it had taken the opposing fighters to join the fight.
"I count enemy fighters!" Tatiana called out. "No more than a dozen on my screen."
Yuri frowned in thought, before turning to the screen on his left. "Selenia, you have permission to launch all fighters when ready. Tell them to be careful."
"Roger!
Yuri watched as they drew closer and closer, holding his breath...
"Scpetro! You're clear for launch, I repeat, fighter squadrons one and two, prepare for engagement."
"Really?" He asked with a dumb look, before shaking it off. "Yes ma'am!"
Turning he ran over towards his fighter, calling out to his fellow pilot in the process."
"GADINA! YURI'S GIVEN US THE GO AHEAD." He shouted.
He continued on, not before watching the woman drop her things and curse, taking off after him. Climbing the ladder, he dropped himself into the confines of the cockpit, initiating the activation sequence. In the meantime, he buckled himself in, before adjusting several knobs and flicking switches.
Across from him, he watched Gadina, her fighter slightly ahead of him. As he followed her, the rest of their robotic pilots filing in behind; fighters screaming out of the bay, and he had just one thought...
Please down screw this up!
Yuri watched the fighters leave the REVENGE'S lower hanger bay, and soon, they were engaging the enemy fighters in a fierce dogfight.
He studied them for a few seconds though, before returning himself to the fleet ahead.
Joining Ogar and Selenia, who had already taken out the two Kalliope destroyers, he called out to his bridge crew.
"Get a handle of the enemy's tactical pattern and bring them down." He ordered.
Kira gave an affirmative nod, as she proceeded to follow the orders. "Roger. Guns one and two locked on target, firing dispersion pattern 9. All systems ready."
"Fire."
The combined barrage attack tore through the Zephyr cruiser, which could do nothing but shudder. There were several small explosions, before a bright blue light shone, and the vessel disintegrated.
"Life signs at zero." Kira called out, eyes fixed on the screen below.
"Careful! That Eudora's attacking."
Soon, the enemy's barrage struck home, hitting Selenia's ship which shook... but held firm. Several minutes later, and Kira called out from his side.
"Yuri! I've got a dozen contacts approaching from our rear." She started. "Gadina and Sceptro have dealt with the enemy AA's. Here they come!"
The two squadron chief's whizzed past the three ships, to much cheering, before they were swarming the lone enemy.
It didn't take long, before it too was breaking up into many smaller piece's.
Yuri smiled.
Things had gone well.
As they passed through the asteroid field ahead, marking their entrance into Kalymnian territory, Kira's console sounded, alerting her to new information from the radar room.
"Yuri, I'm detecting a Kalymnian fleet. One transport ship and two escorts!"
"All right. Let's start the operation! All hands, prepare for anti-ship combat! Our target is the enemy transport!" Yuri called out, as the three ship fleet flung themselves into action.
The Themis destroyer didn't pose a threat, though managed to evade several of their attacks... at first.
While the Ilithyia cruiser managed to fire off a few shots, it didn't have the right amount of power to do anything but be a nuisance. From one second to the next, there was only the Hestia-class transport left.
Yuri had to give the transport credit though... it had managed to survive longer than the two other ships.
Letero, who had been watching the battle play out on one of the exterior cameras from the maintenance room, spoke up across the comm.
"We did it! Now all we have to do is shoot down three more transport ships and the mission will be a success!"
"Three more huh?" Yuri asked.
"We need to keep our guard up. This is enemy territory, after all." Ian reminded him.
"Yeah. Believe me, I know."
The next two supply fleets came one after another, both being dispatched without many problems.
While they couldn't even get close enough to the planet NN-228, they were able to make their way to CL-617.
Just before arriving, they were ambushed by a Eudora, flanked by a Zephyr cruiser and Kalliope destroyer. Despite being caught off-guard, Yuri's fleet had managed to fair well against them, not letting the Eudora release any fighters.
They stopped at CL-617 very briefly, though only enough to make the slight repairs they needed, before taking off again...
Not wanting to overstay their welcome.
Not too far ahead, their communication array sparked to life, and they heard a familiar voice calling out to them.
"Hey Yuri! What's the holdup slowpoke?"
Turning to the viewport, he watched through one of the external cameras as a big gold ship slowly passed them.
"Pavlou?" He asked.
"I'll see you later. I gotta go earn me some money! You better hope I don't take all the big ones from you!" He laughed, before they watched his ship blast on ahead.
As his mind thought back on Pavlou's ship, he found himself thinking how the look and colour fit the bill of an Elgavan Borodino Loc.
How'd he get his hands on one of those I wonder?
"Wow, that's one fast ship!" Kira whistled.
"He's really got those engines souped up!" Torlo added.
Nia cursed with her arms crossed, turning to face him.
"Damn! We can't let him beat us! Can't we go any faster Yuri?!"
She sounded like a child who wasn't getting her way, and Yuri internally smiled.
"Geez Nia, calm down. If we tried to keep up with him at that speed, our engines would burn up."
"Oh Grus! That guy really makes me mad." She complained.
"It's not like we're in a race or anything. Let's just relax and take this at our own pace, okay?" He tried calming her down.
"Hmph." She replied, grumbling as the others laughed to themselves.
Well... He found himself thinking. At least there's that.
A little ways ahead, Yuri's fleet found themselves being ambushed by a fleet of four ships. The fleet contained a Eudora, Zephyr, Kalliope, and Hestia, all of which emerged from the asteroid field... guns blazing.
It was as if they were hunters stalking their prey, and for the first part of the battle, Yuri's fleet found themselves reeling as they struggled to survive the onslaught.
At one point, Ogar's JUSTICE was almost surrounded by the opposing ships, which swarmed them like rabid dogs.
Eyes narrowed, Yuri's FLAKRUNNER flung itself into a 90 degree spin, which creaked and groaned under the pressure.
As the ship righted itself, Yuri shouted orders. "Fire Control Coordinator, lock onto Kalliope destroyer! All guns prepare for alternating fire."
Nia nodded, turning to consult with the fire control and artillery teams. "Starboard and Port-side batteries. Prepare for back to back fire with an interval of two... gun crews! Fire!"
The ship in question was soon destroyed, and Yuri found the REVENGE coming up on his left side.
Selenia's ship spewed forth several attacks, before the fighters released from their hangar bay.
The enemy had no time to move, due to their aggressive attack. This gave Ogar some breathing room, who was able to retreat, and the three ships fell into formation once again.
"Yuri! Test firing complete. Gravity radiometry correct." Nia called out over her shoulder.
With a nod in thanks, Yuri turned to the comm. "Ogar! Selenia! Prepare to fire for effect. Set sights on enemy unit ahead and fire!"
"Roger!"
They watched their attack tear through the hull on the nearest ship... the Zephyr cruiser.
Analysing the screen next to her, Kira answered her brother's unanswered question. "Enemy unit 2... eliminated."
With the fighters having destroyed the Hestia transport, and now all alone, the Eudora never stood a chance.
As it too, scattered in a hundred directions, Yuri sighed in relief, complimenting his two fellow captains.
"There. That makes four ships." Kira announced with a smile.
"That should do it for the mission, huh?" Torlo turned to Yuri, before hearing Latero's words through the comm.
"Good. That should wreak a lot of havoc with the enemy's supply line. All of these battles are recorded in the archives. Now all we have to do is go to the base on Universala and collect our reward." The Nova Nacion answered.
"That's weird..." Nia said to herself, unknowingly speaking aloud.
Just hearing the older woman, Tatiana turned to the First Officer. "What is?"
"That Pavlou guy. He should've gotten to this sector before we did. So where the Grus is he?"
Tatiana's face lit up in recognition. "Hey, yeah! That's a good question."
"Kira, can you track his ship?" She asked the green haired teen.
"I'll do a search." She answered. "Hm... Oh look Nia! I found something!"
The three girls had now drawn the attention of the rest of the bridge crew, who were all listening intently.
"Great work Kira. It looks like he has an anti-tracker equipped, but he can't escape our ship's search operation abilities. Ha!" Nia said with a teasing grin.
"But that's funny. That starlane isn't on the charts." Ian added, consulting with the navigational charts from the CTA.
"Huh. He must've found some kind of bypass route. Hm... it looks like he's going deep into enemy territory." She noted.
"Sounds pretty crazy to me. Does he even know what he's doin'?"
"Who knows? I guess he's going after the really big prey." Nia replied with a shrug. "But if he winds up dead, it's not gonna really matter, is it?"
Yuri stayed silent, and listened, before locking onto Nia's questioning gaze. Yuri nodded in answer, and soon, Nia was shouting orders for the fleet to follow their target up the starlane.
Not long later, Kira was calling his name again.
"Yuri, there's a ship putting out a distress signal up ahead."
"A distress signal?" He asked.
The closer they got, the more Yuri could see, and then, his eyes could make out the drifting scraps, and the charred golden hull of a wrecked ship amongst the rocks.
"Hey, ain't that Yianni Pavlou's ship?" Torlo asked.
"Hmph. He thought he was gonna bag himself some big prey, but it looks like he got bagged himself." Nia added.
"Come on. Let's go pick him up. Kira, pull up alongside him." He ordered.
His sister's next statement stopped him.
"Hold on. We've got ships approaching." Kira called out, before pausing. "It's a Kalymnian fleet! And one of them is a big one!"
What dirty cowards! Yuri thought. Leaving the distress signal on to bag more prey.
"Hot damn! Should we make a run for it?" Torlo asked with a curse.
"We can't just leave Pavlou there. We stay and fight!"
The most dangerous part about the battle, was watching out for the Ianthe's long range firepower. The battleship's long range specialty had proven to work well, and Selenia and Ogar had found themselves slowly falling back.
While the Ianthe was a problem, the Zephyr and the Kalliope were easily taken care of, as by that stage, the group had encountered them more than a dozen times.
With the other two ships falling back to an out-of-range position, the FLAKRUNNER was left to pick up the slack.
And it did.
Barely escaping the three successive attacks, and once Yuri's flagship had gotten within the enemy's comfort zone... it was all over.
"Enemy fleet maintaining position. Transmitting target information and trajectory data" Kira called out.
"Prepare a pre-emptive strike... all guns get ready to fire!" Yuri shouted.
"Successive gun pattern... 2, 4, 9... fire!" Nia ordered, and soon, the enemy Ianthe was breaking apart from several barrages.
In the aftermath of the battle, Torlo and several members of the security crew had been sent out to rescue Pavlou, and any survivors... not that there were any.
"We're back. Pavlou is just fine too." Torlo called out after almost half an hour.
"Thanks, Torlo."
Spotting the Captain, Nia smiled... "Oh man, Pavlou! Look at you! Your face got all messed up."
The already harried looking Pavlou winced.
"Oh, now that's low. My face has always looked like this. Thanks for coming to my rescue though. I was just about to run out of air. Those Kalymnians knew I wasn't a regular soldier, so they didn't bother to pick me up."
"Ah, the laws of navigation during wartime!" Ian added sarcastically, though the black-haired Captain hadn't picked up on it.
"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, hey, do you think you could tow in my ship too?"
He must have hit his head hard in the escape if he thought his ship could be saved.
Nia told him as much.
"What, are ya kiddin' me? Didn't you see it? It's nothing but scrap metal now!" She told him with a scoff.
They watched Pavlou sigh, before cursing with a defeated sigh.
"Grus. I was afraid of that. In that case, do you think you could take me on as a crew member? You've got a pretty good reputation. I wouldn't mind working for you for a while."
This completely surprised Yuri, who quickly hid his shock behind a smile.
"What do you say?"
"That's fine by me, but the pay might not be exactly what you're looking for." Yuri said honestly.
Pavlou shrugged. "I'm not worried about that. Hey, it's a Grus of a lot better than nothing, right?"
"All right then. Welcome aboard!"
As the two shook hands, Torlo called out from beside them.
"Oh, by the way Yuri, I found some blueprints in the battleship we shot down."
"Blueprints huh?" He asked his friend.
"One of 'em is just for a regular ol' mess hall module, but I can't make heads or tails outta the other one." The Ropesk boy replied, handing over the two module plates.
Looking down at the second data plate with a frown, Yuri studied it for a second, before it was quickly snatched out of his hands...
"Well, well! These are quite impressive." Professor Minas exclaimed.
No one had even seen him appear, and none of the crew were surprised, although Yianni jumped.
"You know what they are Professor?" Ian asked.
"Indeed I do. They're blueprints for a deflector unit. And a new, advanced design at that!" He said in surprise and excitement.
"Deflector unit blueprints? I wonder what they have these for..." He wondered.
He shook his head. In any case... not a bad haul all the same.
The trip back to Universala remained eventful, with the fleet encountering and being ambushed by no less than a dozen ships.
While they managed to struggle through the battles, the constant fighting, and being on alert in enemy territory, was proving to take its tole on everyone.
Upon arrival, and with their ships being assigned three docking slips inside the military spaceports, courtesy of Captain Valso...Yuri had given the crew some time off for R&R.
Yuri quickly returned to his quarters, dropping face first onto his bed. Groaning again but a few minutes later, he forced himself to strip out of his dirty clothes, before jumping into the shower...
Sleep could wait just a little bit more.
Aboard the docked JUSTICE however, a completely different scene was taking place inside Ogar's cabin.
Having already pulled out the whiskey, Ogar and Selenia had proceeded to empty the bottle over the next couple of hours.
Much later though, they had ended up in a very different position however.
Drinks and bottles abandoned on the table, lights still on, the two fellow captains found themselves moving underneath the bedsheets. Groaning and writhing in ecstasy, Ogar shuddered in a moment of bliss, before hearing a melodious laugh.
As her head appeared in his already blurred vision... Ogar groaned, before chuckling. His body was wracked with deep breaths, as he struggled to remain awake...
"Th-that was a-amazing." He managed. "Where th-the, where the Grus did y-you learn that?"
Selenia smiled at him secretly. "All tricks of the trade I'm afraid."
She too groaned, before dropping down face first beside her lover.
"What in Grus are we doing?" Ogar asked, eyes closed.
Selenia shrugged, before turning her head. "I've got no idea. Though I think you're amazing."
The older man chuckled dryly. "Amazing?! Ha! I'm much too old for this. I'm not as young as I used to be."
Selenia smiled mischievously, before forcing herself onto all fours. Leaning forward, she pressed her mouth close to his, warm breath on his face.
Her mouth parted slowly, and she licked her lips. "Let's change that shall we? How about I show you just how young I can make you feel."
She smiled exotically, before moving down the bed, hauling the sheets upward.
Soon, more moans of ecstasy and pleasure were echoing through the room, and just before his brain shut down from overload, he had a final thought...
Thank Grus for soundproof cabins!
The next morning, the first thing Yuri did, was officially add Yianni Pavlou to the crew roster, now a helmsman in navigation, and working with Karlo as chart officer.
Soon, Yuri and Letero made their way into the Universala strategy room. Calling over an official, Antono Letero began to talk, while Yuri stood back and listened.
Several minutes later, and the official nodded, before turning to face the teen Captain.
"Ensign Letero has given me the full report on your assignment. I verified everything in your battle records, and so, here is your reward."
The man handed over a currency card amounting to 2,000G, before smiling happily.
"Thank you very much Captain. I hope you continue to lend our forces your support!"
Later, the two met up with the crew, who had all gathered together in one big group, and chatted over a hearty meal.
After checking his emails and responding to Musin's latest R&D upgrade, an anti-ship upgrade was what he had chosen; they left Universala...
Unaware of the events taking place many lightyears away...
Meanwhile, in orbit above Zvenigorod in the Interplanetary Union of Elgava...
With the Elgavan fleet already assembled, and with the arrival of Defense Minister Rudak Fomich as the Ambassador Plenipotentiary, they were finally ready to set off.
Beside him, Novikov adjusted his officers uniform for what was, quite possibly, the thirtieth time in an hour. Vladykin rolled his eyes... yet again.
Fomich only cares about your skills, and your ability to get the job done... not your looks Novikov. He snorted to himself.
The docking tube hissed for the finally time, regulating the air pressure on the other side of the door, prompting Vladykin's superior into a straight-backed military stance.
And when the door slid open, Fomich stalked through, assessing the soldiers lined on either side, as he strode up to the two men ahead.
"Defence Minister Fomich, welcome to the BRAVYY." Novikov started.
Vladykin began next, taking a small step forward. "We're here to welcome you on behalf of Fleet Admiral Malyshev sir."
Fomich nodded, remembering the analysis and research he had done on the BRAVYY on the ride over. "Thank you. This is a fine vessel, quite worthy of the name, flagship."
Vladykin smiled. "Admiral Malyshev will be very pleased to hear that you think so sir."
"Now even more of the universe will know the prestige and dignity of the Interplanetary Union of Elgava."
"But if I may, Defense Minister Fomich, sir." Novikov interrupted, Vladykin groaning internally. "We still don't know the military power of the Lugovalian Empire for certain. I think we need to be extremely cautious..."
Fomich looked aghast. "What's this?"
"Captain Novikov, you make it sound like you have no faith in Elgava's strength!" Vladykin said in a warning tone.
"I'm only saying –"
"Commander Vladykin is right, Captain Novikov. If you can't remember the pride befitting an Elgavan officer, you may soon find yourself outranked by Commander Vladykin here." Fomich said quickly, turning with a nod to Vladykin, and leaving the Captain behind.
Novikov gritted his teeth. "Y-Yes, sir..."
Idiots!