Good news. My sister got a new kitten, who is in much better health than Ralphie was. Belle will be loved.
Chapter Five
Deploy the Fleet
(Port Mackerel, 0600 Hours)
The crew of the Raven stood before their ship, the Inklings rubbing their eyes to wake themselves up, with Octolings looking at them, concerned. Cass stepped forward, holding a bottle of wine. Holding it up, she smashed it against the side of the ship, christening it officially. Her crew began to board, Cass watching them board with a neutral expression. Once they were all aboard, she walked up the ramp herself, and the ramp was closed, sealing off the ship from the waves.
She walked through the ship, passing through the Zapfish core room, through the flight deck with the combat saucers, and past the mess hall. Making her way through, she found the lift she was looking for and stepped into it. Taking a soft breath, she said, "Command bridge." The lift began to rise, making its way to the deck with the command bridge. Once it arrived, she stepped out, and walked to the door leading to the bridge. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she entered the bridge.
Sarah, who was assigned to the assault troops, was on the bridge. Seeing Cass, she called out, "Commander on deck!" All the bridge personnel, consisting mostly of Cass's sisters, stood at attention. Cass nodded to them. "At ease." They returned to their stations. Cass approached the command chair, and sat down in it, with Clair sitting in a chair next to it facing the forward controls. Cass knew that Clair had been assigned as her first officer, and was happy for that. Her sisters were her senior staff.
Chloe had been assigned as head of Intelligence. Catherine was head of Security, Casey was head of Engineering, Carly and Carla shared the responsibility of head of Kitchen staff, and Cynthia had been assigned as Chief Medical Officer, with Elise serving directly under her. Sharp was serving in Security, and Eye was in Intelligence. Cass had learned that an Inkling doctor had taken a look at Sharp's vocal chords, and had managed to repair them, allowing Sharp to speak. He was still getting used to it.
The Inkling at the helm faced her. "All systems go, Commander. We can launch the fleet whenever you're ready." Cass nodded in understanding, then faced the Inkling who was at Communications. "Open a channel through the ship." The Inkling nodded. "Yes, Commander." Once the channel was ready, she nodded to Cass. Cass spoke. "Attention, all hands, this is the Commander. We are about to launch to attack the Codling base. We're equipped with plenty of supplies to ensure that this should be a fairly comfortable voyage."
Stopping to collect herself, she continued, "Whatever happens, it will be my honor to serve alongside all of you in the coming battle. Cassandra, out." She then looked at the Inkling at Communications again, and said, "Open a channel to the rest of the fleet." She nodded and said, "Ready, Commander." Cass spoke again. "All Eagle-class warships, prepare to launch. Cassandra, out." Facing the helmsman, she said, "Deploy the fleet." He nodded, and started the engines, sending the Raven sailing forward, the rest of the fleet following behind.
A/N
The fleet has began its journey. The war is underway. For anyone wondering, I deleted The Rings of Humanity because A- I realized how stupid of an idea it was, and B- I thought of a better idea. I'll see you guys in the next update, whenever that is.