Tennokiken Voyagers: Seventeen
Lt. Commander Strife Aileron looked out from the bridge of the Yamato, one of the light cruisers that circled the outer ring of Drydock's defensive shell, and the ship's commander wondered what the hell was going on. The white haired younger man reflexedly put a cigarette in his mouth, moving to light it....
"Sir!" Val Moreau, his second in command spoke up, "no smoking on the bridge!"
Snikt! Strife closed his lighter and stuffed it away in a breast pocket of his uniform, scowling. "Are there any updates from Drydock?" he asked calmly, stuffing the cigarette away in the packet for after his shift.
Val shook her head reluctantly, "No, Sir. We're holding position in case the expected Raider assault force hits."
"Which we both know is a load of garbage," Strife muttered.
"Sir," Val cautioned softly, her gaze sweeping the bridge to remind him not everyone was as informed as they were.
"Incoming transit!" Danielle barked from navigation, the brown haired woman leaning forward in her chair.
"Weapons lock," Strife ordered as he returned to the captain's seat, sitting down then leaning forward aggressively as he demanded, "get me an identification of the vessel, now!"
Sgt. Alithea didn't look up from tactical, the purple haired woman focused on her work. "Fleet shuttle," she identified it, "transponder says it's from the Venture."
"I'll be damned," Val murmured softly.
"Hail it," Strife ordered, his thoughts racing. The Venture had disappeared months ago in this region, and there were garbled reports of it engaging the Raiders. As a member of the insurrection he knew it was true, but why would Miles send a shuttle here...?
"This is Lt. Commander Maya Ibuki of Drydock," the black haired woman said as her face appeared on the screen, "do not fire!" Her face was haggard, exhausted, and she looked like she was about to fall over.
"Is that the officer the renegade Donovan abducted?" Danielle blurted.
"Yes," Val kept her voice calm. "We recognize you, ma'am, do you need immediate assistance?" she asked.
Maya slumped tiredly in her seat. "Just get me to Drydock," she said with a sigh, "Colonel O'Rourke needs to hear my report."
The Yamato contacted Drydock and in moments a escort craft connected with the shuttle, racing back to the massive construction and repair base. Waiting at the ship docks was Commander Ritsuko Akagi, the black haired research officer's expression carefully blank as medical officers raced to look Maya over.
"How is she?" Ritsuko finally asked impatiently.
Makoto looked up, his long brown hair falling into his eyes. "She's mostly suffering from exhaustion," he said, "she needs bed rest, as soon as possible."
Maya tried to shrug him off, "I'm fine, just... tired."
Ritsuko fought back a small smile, then she looked up at Makoto and using her command voice said, "Thank you, officer, I'll take care of her."
"Ma'am," Makoto nodded and the med team left.
Ritsuko waited till they were gone then swiftly enfolded Maya in her arms, holding her close. "I was so scared I'd never see you again," she whispered into her ear.
"Me too," Maya sighed, shifting a bit to kiss the taller woman lingeringly on the lips. Reluctantly drawing back Maya said softly, "I'm sorry, but I need to see the Colonel. I have bad news and a bit of good."
"He cleared his schedule as soon as we heard you were back," Ritsuko said, offering a bit of support as they hurried through the halls to the Colonel's office in the core of Drydock.
Colonel Brendan O'Rourke looked up from his paperwork covered desk, his lips curling up in a smile as he said, "Welcome home, Lt. Commander."
"Sir," Maya saluted, her eyes widening as she saw the woman sitting nearby.
Sector Governor Yui Ikari was off to the side, her brown hair falling into her eyes. "You look like you've had a rough time," her eyes narrowed in concern, "why aren't you in sickbay?"
"She insisted on giving her report first," Ritsuko explained, gazing at Maya fondly.
Maya gave the Colonel a confused look, "Sir, I..."
"It's all right," Brendan pushed his glasses up to his blue-gray eyes, "the Governor is involved in the highest levels with our crusade."
Maya swayed, a odd mixture of confusion and relief on her face. "I'm glad I didn't know that before," she admitted, "because Donovan, Mils and Ward know everything else I did."
"Here," Ritsuko helped the exhausted woman sit.
"We've already taken steps to prepare for disclosure," Brendan said, pushing his brown hair back, "but we'll fully debrief you on what you were forced to reveal later."
"After you've had some bed rest," Yui added as Maya was about to protest the delay. "We know they used chemical interrogation methods," she added, "it wasn't your fault, officer."
"Thank you," Maya slumped, a single tear falling down her face before she wiped it off with the back of her hand.
"You said you had some good news?" Ritsuko asked softly, gently squeezing Maya's shoulder in comfort.
Maya smiled up at her in gratitude, then turned to face her leaders. "There is a substantial cell aboard the Venture," she revealed, "and their leader, Jessie Kain, has killed Captain Kelly Miles."
"Confirmed?" Brendan sat up in surprise.
"I saw her shoot Miles right in front of me," Maya confirmed, feeling a bit of regret over the death of an officer with such potential, "when she assisted my escape."
"That is good news," Yui agreed, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Very," Brendan agreed. Seeing how badly Maya was slumping in her seat he made a fast decision, "Maya, I'm ordering you to your quarters or sickbay for bed rest, at least eight hours. We'll continue your debriefing them."
"Sir," Maya was too weary to do much more than nod in gratitude before Ritsuko gently helped her up and leave.
Yui looked over at Brendan after they were gone, "What do you think?"
"I'm not getting my hopes up too much," Brendan said. "Miles' second in command Rio will step up to captain the Venture and Ward and Donovan will continue to move against us."
"About what I thought," Yui agreed, standing as she straightened her suit calmly, the formal wear giving her a certain elegance. "Do you think it's a coincidence that she arrived just before we were going to make the announcement?"
"Maybe not a coincidence," Brendan offered as they left the office together, "but fate?"
Yui smiled up at him in surprise as they entered the lift and said, "I never thought of you as a romantic."
Brendan chuckled as he pressed the switch to send them to the bridge. "I try to be unpredictable," he conceded.
The door opened with a sigh and they stepped out onto the massive command center, layers of stations circling it to handle duties all over the station. "Command on the bridge," Captain Rei Ayanami stood at attention, her ice-blue hair in a short, military cut..
"Captain," Brendan nodded. Raising his voice he said, "Prepare for Priority one transmission, Delta mode, please."
Rei turned to her crew, watching a moment before she got confirmation from her second in command, Commander Asuka Soryu. "Priority one ready," she turned to Brendan, "the Delta mode will cut into all civilian and military communication channels."
Yui stepped forward, straightening her suit reflexedly. "Begin transmission," Yui ordered, waiting till the go light activated. "This is Governor Yui Ikari," she said formally, with a announcement for the entire Interstellar Commonwealth." Yui could feel the eyes of the command deck on her, the support from them and drew strength for what she was about to say. "For nearly a year now raiders have attacked the worlds in this sector, and our local Fleet forces have been unable to stop them despite their best efforts."
"My god," Val murmured as she watched the transmission on the bridge of the Yamato, "they're taking the final step."
"Yep," Strife lit his cigarette at last, knowing that his second in command was too distracted at this point to notice.
"And we all know why," Yui continued, "because we're a fringe sector, and the corporate worlds that run our government don't care. They sent the smallest number of ships they could to help, not caring about the deaths of innocents out here."
"Which is a bald faced lie," Brendan thought as he saw his own crew eating up the speech, "but it doesn't matter now."
"It is because of this I have been forced to take drastic steps," Yui said. She took a deep breath, "As governor of sectors 00, 01 and 02 under emergency act 2015 I am formally withdrawing them from the Commonwealth and declaring our independence." You could hear a pin drop, "All fleet captains and crews sympathetic with our cause are requested to sign on with our new system Fleet, and all independent vessels within range of this transmission are invited to join, too."
"End transmission," Brendan softly ordered. He looked over to meet Yui's eyes, "We're finally out in the open."
"Yes," Yui nodded, "it finally begins."
To be continued....
Tennokiken Voyagers: Eighteen
Captain Siobhan Ward sat on the bridge of the Revenge, her black hair showing the faintest sign of coppery highlights. "ETA to Drydock?" she asked, her cybernetic eye glowing in the subdued lighting.
"Five hours to go," Shane Llywellyn reported from the helm, his long brown hair tied back in a simple ponytail, "our week long trip is nearly done."
"What do you think of the transmissions that we picked up when we dropped out of hyperspace?" Sylvie asked from where she sat at her modified communications console just behind Siobhan.
"The sector governor succeeding from the Commonwealth?" Siobhan smiled grimly. "I think the timing smells."
"It's most unusual," Isis calmly agreed. The artificial woman looked thoughtful as she continued to speak, "The chance they Governor Ikari's decision is unplanned has a probability lower than 20."
"The question is," Shane smiled grimly as they soared on through hyperspace, "is Yui Ikari involved in the raider's plot or is it a coincidence?"
"She could just be a dupe for O'Rourke." Siobhan softly mused, "or into the plot up to her eyebrows. Wish we knew which."
"Both options require different tactical responses," Isis agreed. "If Ikari is being manipulated we could simply reveal O'Rourke's deception and rely on her to deal with him, but if she's a collaborator it becomes much more complicated."
"You got that right," Sylvie agreed. She hesitated, "I'm still processing all the messages we stopped to download, but if what I'm reading is correct then a lot of ships are moving to support Ikari."
"Maybe so, but it doesn't make what they're doing right," Shane countered.
"That's not what I meant," Sylvie scolded him, "I just mean there are going to be a lot of innocent people between us and O'Rourke."
"Agreed," Shane said.
"Hopefully my plan will get us through them," Siobhan said seriously.
In fact it wasn't entirely her plan, but Siobhan had a pretty good idea how their actions were going to be taken later. She no longer had a career in the navy, unlike the crew of the Venture, so taking responsibility for what they were going to do would cost her very little, really.
"Our plan," Isis corrected calmly.
Siobhan opened her mouth to press the issue when she saw her people looking at her and the determination in her crew's eyes. 'Well,' Siobhan sat back as she thought, 'I guess we'll all just be outlaws together.'
Beside them in hyperspace yet separated by the unique nature of that other realm, the disk shaped Venture raced forward with purpose. It's crew nearly hummed with energy, driven with purpose and a determination to see this through to the end.
Captain Kelly Miles sat at the desk in her office, finishing up a log entry detailing their theories and evidence regarding the Raiders and their activities. "... we're currently en route to Drydock to attempt to resolve the situation," the blonde officer concluded.
With a few keystrokes Kelly downloaded the information to an emergency buoy, one they would drop as soon as they emerged from hyperspace. If the worst happened the log entries would survive and hopefully be used to deal with the raiders.
"Thought I'd find you here," Rio said as she walked in, the taller officer looking at her with gentle sympathy.
"Just getting that log we discussed ready," Kelly said briskly.
"You're not confessing to anything we'll get hanged for later?" Rio asked as she pulled out a chair and sat down.
"No too much," Kelly managed a slight smile as she drank some coffee.
"We're just about there," Rio reported, "it's time."
"Guess so," Kelly got up as she murmured, "and may whatever higher powers forgive us for what we're about to do."
"Amen," Rio agreed as she followed her back to the bridge.
"Captain on the bridge," Dan declared as they entered, practically leaping out of the captain's chair.
"At ease," Kelly smiled as she took her seat, "status report?"
"Communications are go," Lucille said calmly, the brown haired officer still wearing one of her many baseball caps.
Dan Wisner took his seat as he did a fast run through, "Navigation all clear."
Rio sat confidently, "Weapons charged, missiles ready."
"Engineering's a go," Jessie Kain said from the backup station on the bridge, "and control of the captured Raider ship is working fine."
"Good," Kelly took her seat, her expression revealing non of the mixed feelings she was having about their current course of action. "When will we be in position to launch our little surprise?" she asked.
"The program is already running," Jessie said confidently, "it'll activate on cue."
"Dan," Kelly addressed him, "we'll be emerging into a debris field, be ready to dodge weapons fire and wreckage."
"Ready." Dan seemed to caress the controls, "Trust me, nobody is going to hurt the Venture, not if I can help it."
"Timer's started," Jesse spoke up after a moment, "twenty seconds."
"Poor bastards," Rio murmured, "they may never know what hit em."
Lt. Commander Strife Aileron stood on the bridge of the Yamato, the white haired man gazing out at the fleet of ships that now surrounded Drydock. It was a impressive force by any measure, nearly a thousand ships, many of them warships or weapon's equipped. It still didn't rival the Commonwealth fleet but it didn't have to... they just had to hold out against any local forces until their sovereignty was recognized.
"Stop pacing," Val Moreau stepped up beside him, his second of command giving him a look, "it's bad for morale."
Reluctantly Strife stopped, instead leaning up against the railing before the main viewscreen. "You feel it?" he asked.
"Something wrong?" Val asked calmly.
"It's been well over a week since Ibuki managed to escape from Miles," Strife said seriously, "why haven't they moved?"
"With Miles dead they may not be willing to move," Val offered.
Strife shook his head, "Siobhan Ward is with them, supposedly."
Val raised a eyebrow, "So?"
"She may be a engineer by trade but Ward had a rep for not quitting," Strife leaned forward a bit, "even if the Venture quit, she wouldn't." There was regret in his voice, "I wish we could have recruited her."
"Incoming transit!" Danielle cried from her station.
"Battle stations," Strife said as he raced to the captain's chair, "where is it?"
"The readings are," Danielle worked her controls then the brown haired woman paled, "It's nearly RIGHT ON TOP OF US!"
Strife's eyes widened, "Son of a..."
There are certain physical laws that can only be broken at your peril. One of the earliest problems with hyperspace transit was the discovery that if you emerged without care you could intermix your vessel with another. The deaths themselves were tragic, but worse was the explosion that followed, much like the igniting of a small sun.
Operated on remote control the captured Raider ship emerged from hyperspace in the middle of the defensive fleet, in the process intermixing with both the Enterprise and Constitution. All three vessels exploded as something very like nuclear fusion occurred, them blasted outward in a blaze of energy and radiation. Over a hundred ships died in the fireball, and hundreds more were left blind and deaf from the electromagnetic pulse.
Into the gap emerged the Venture, Revenge and a third courier ship, sweeping through the stunned ships like they weren't even there. "All right," Kelly said calmly, "let's go talk to Colonel O'Rourke."
To be continued...