"Sir…WAKE UP!" a lady shouted, kicking the bed of her commanding officer.
Aurelio woke at the loud yell and the sudden jolt similar to that from cannon fire. Before him stood a young woman no older than his age of 19 dressed in the uniform of Valuan vice captains. In his opinion she was gorgeous her long chestnut brown hair tied in a ponytail and her dark brown eyes of the same shade along with her uniform fitting snugly on her petite frame. He knew her from when he was a at the academy, her father being the one field marshal who so happens to be the most infamously strict and demanding soldiers in the country and possibly the world.
"What is it, Adriana?" Aurelio yawned scratching his hair. "For a moment I thought that we were under attack."
"Ugh. Honestly, Captain, you are an admiral, one of the most powerful people in Valua and you sit here dozing off like you don't care while I run around all over doing what YOU were supposed to do. Get up and do get to work!" Adriana exclaimed, her arms waving around in the air.
Aurelio frowned at the scolding of the beautiful woman. Being an admiral was no small feat for any soldier, especially Aurelio. Technically, if it wasn't for his father being former admiral Mendosa, the monarchy would have never let him, a thief from lower city, ever join the military academy. He never thought of his father being such a powerful man. When he was a kid he always believed his mother was raped or something that conceived him, just the bastard son of another slums lowlife. It was enough to let the son of a commoner join the military academy for the nobles. If the nobles had their way, Aurelio would graduate and remain as some deckhand of an outer rim patrol ship, but they didn't. Aurelio instead earned some of the highest grades in school, becoming an expert in swordsmanship and gaining a reputation as one of the most profound soldiers after graduation. Despite him getting the position as first admiral, the mysterious death of Mendosa and the disappearance of his daughters left much suspicion over his ascension to power. Despite the doubts of his loyalty, his skills in battle made him a valuable asset to the quickly diminishing military structure.
Being removed from suspicion only left more question to whom exactly was the murderer of the former admiral. His case was one in a string of strange assassinations of the conservative members of the country's political structure including three other admirals leaving a huge void in power which, for now newer, less experienced members such as him are left to fill.
"I'd prefer not to be called Sir or Captain or anything else of the sort, Adriana, you knew me since the academy and we were best friends ever since. Besides this is my ship in my quarters, there is no need for protocol, it's getting annoying." Aurelio informed his vice captain, getting up from his bed and approaching the sink to wash his face.
Adriana folded her arms across her chest, her face tuned into an annoyed look. "No, Sir, the Vulpecula is a Valuan armada ship and in this ship and any others we are required to state rank and title at all times. So I do prefer to call you Sir or Captain or whatever my position demands of me to address you, Sir." Aurelio grunted at the thought of protocol hated protocol, but understood her strict behaviour. She was as strict like her father but her loyalty and dedication somehow he thinks that that parent child relationship would only relate to everyone but him. "By the way, I love the book you're reading" She said with a smile on her lips the moment she left the room.
Aurelio grabed the book lying on his leg, The Sword and the Rose a romance by Bernard Demarr. They shared a love of reading although they had different preferences, he like historical novels, she loved the romance stories, but despite their differences reading is what brought them together. Recently their genres merged and they shared their books revealing themselves through their pastimes.
The admiral after refreshing himself and shaving off his small stubble got to his dresser and took his admiral's uniform. A few moments later Aurelio is fully dressed. He saw himself in the large mirror across the room. His armour was polished to a silver color which shone brightly in the light and the dark purple cape that hung over his left shoulder was soft to the touch, he smiled at the meticulous work done by the armourer and kept a mental note to thank him when he gets home. Aurelio looked around for his final piece. Hanging on a pedestal was his sword, a gift from his father. Made from the purest steel and the center bearing a construct of blood red moonstones the sword's sharpness is superb, being intricately designed did not hinder any performance. All that came across Aurelio's mind was how much his father had done.
He peered out the large window across the room. An endless sea of sand was all he could see. "Great we're in the middle of the desert," Aurelio with an annoyed look on his face left the room and proceeded to the bridge of his ship.
The Vulpecula is a small ship. It is a prototype invented by one of Aurelio's friends and a lead Valuan scientist. Smaller than a cruiser, the ship was nimble capable of speeds greater than a scout ship. But the small size left little room for her crew so therefore the hall ways were only wide enough to fit, barely, two people. Also for space, furnishings were kept to a minimum leaving a bleak look in the ship. As Aurelio journeyed towards the command deck he was met with several of his crew who carried supplies for the current mission which pretty much occupied all the space in the hall forcing the admiral to backtrack to a nearby room allowing them to pass.
Finally, after twice the normal time it took for Aurelio, he had finally arrived at the bridge of his ship. Apparently, besides the personal rooms the bridge was given some décor allowing a calm luxurious feel. The large room was hectic as people began making preparations in the new ship.
"Hey Captain, over here we've been waiting for you" The call came from Sigmund one of Aurelio's officers, a trusted friend since his days in the academy. He was always loyal to his country despite living in the slums of lower city. During Aurelio's childhood the officer was practically a brother to him; his family gave him shelter when his mother died in a fire. He can still remember the screams and explosions of his small house in the corner of the lower city of Valua. Along with him the captain spotted Adriana and other unfamiliar faces. "What took you so long? Very unlike you to be late," Sigmund smiled a look of pride for being on time etched across his face.
Aurelio let out a look of disappointment, partly because was his friend said was true but also for his insubordination. But in this moment he knew that his demeanour is meant to relieve the stress of what is to come.
"Alright, now since our captain is finally here we can start our briefing of our mission," said Adriana, rolling out a map of the area. "As we all know, the Valuans and the people of Nasr are in war and it has been so for the last fifteen years. His current majesty has started talks with the Nasultan, the king of Nasr, and peace between our two countries is sprouting A treaty signing has been declared for the disarmament of our frontline troops and for current territories that stand between our two countries as a neutral territory where trading vessels can safely travel."
"Peace! You are sprouting nonsense what can we gain with peace! I much rather see their capital burn." Shouted Sigmund, he slammed his fist on the table. He was always passionate about his country.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, but we have shed enough blood already. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died and for what? Haven't you heard enough of the cries of mothers? This trade deal will allow us to gain the much needed moonstones for our cities and we can start trading our own goods to the Nasrans." Aurelio retorted arms crossed over his shoulders, he had enough of the war. As a child he experienced the worst of what the war has done. Families ruined, resources strained and people were left to fight like hellish dogs over a few scraps of food. And during his service he saw friends from the academy die, he cringed at the memory, their bodies mauled by cannon fire, magic and some people he had seen suffer wore fates than even death.
"I'm glad you feel this way" Adriana gave her captain a gentle smile," Unfortunately for us, that means that the neutral territory is prime territory for pirate attacks and several enemy generals that supported war started hiring pirates to take our outposts in neutral territory. Where we come in is since our ship is the fastest, we can end this insurgency before an all out war breaks loose. Our mission is simple" she scanned her audience making sure they were all listening, "we attack the base and either destroy it or leave it permanently inoperable." Adriana pointed at a spot south of one access point to the Nasr capital of Nasrad called the South Dannel Strait, the only safe access point to the city. "Scouts have reported that pirates have taken one of our outposts in attempts to start ambushes on our merchants' ships and as reports have it the pirates are under the payroll of a person known as Grand general Dalam, the leader of the extreme right-wing faction. But here comes the bad news," Adriana took out another scroll of paper, this time being blueprints of the base. "The base is heavily fortified and any attempts at attacking head-on will leave our ship in pieces."
Aurelio stared at the map, they where currently in the desert and that meant that there is no cover in case they start firing. Aurelio was familiar with the fortress of an outpost, eight cannons placed around the heavily fortified steel walls. One large cannon stood proud in the center made specifically for long range targets. Any attempts getting close will be shot as soon as they are seen, but what if they are not seen. An idea popped into his head and out came out a most unrelated question. "How's the weather?"
The crew looked in astonishment at their captain. Some nearly glared in near outrage at his seeming disregard for the mission. All but Adriana, she stood calm deep in thought until the idea hit her." Our lookout reported a sandstorm coming in our direction. If we can use the emergency sails to propel the ship to a close enough location in range to use the Pyre cannon-"
Aurelio smiled at her strategic thinking, "If we attack fast enough we could strike a hard blow at the enemy disorienting them so we can make a pre-emptive strike with our troops and rendering their numbers useless.
The frowns that the crew had soon turned to smiles, their confidence in their new captain rose. The men surrounded the table once again, their plan before them.
"The storm won't arrive until a few hours so I suggest you all prepare yourselves.
The generally calm yet warm face of the captain soon turned cold as he left the room. Adriana knew that face well he told her one time that it was one of the qualities that left him numb, a feeling as if he never deserved anything he had. She never knew of the harsh world where Aurelio lived but seeing him stand here she could only respect his talent. Concerned, she approached him holding him trying to see those warm eyes that she knew him for. She clasped his hands, "Um, captain I was hoping that…maybe …when the mission is over if we survive… that you can-" She brushed back
"Go out? Sure, I'd be happy to"
Adriana saw her captain leave the room as she let go of his palm.
Both soldiers felt like they and something together a spark born over the years shared learning, training and fighting. The bond had grown beyond friendship but the constant missions had prevented them from seeing each other.
Aurelio walked through the hallways back to his room he couldn't help but feel as if a dark shadow was looming over him.