Author's Note: Some later scenes in this chapter get tech-nerdy because that's who Shannon is. BTW, some of what Shannon does is based on Linux, because that's the only shell language I even sorta know.
Welcome to the Grand Alliance. We're finally here, 16 chapters in. Thanks for the great review last chapter, richard ambridge 3 (periods removed because of anti-link formatting). Here's your chapter.
Manticore
Shannon is sprawled out on a beach towel, her hair back in a ponytail, letting the sun soak in, with a book from the collection that her family sent a while back. Then, Captain DeLaney comes out of the beach house, and runs over to her. What's she up to?, Shannon thinks?
"Ma'am, there's a message you need to see. Apparently, according to it, the war's over!" Molly says, looking happy, and serious. What happened? Did we lose for good, with the Manties's Apollo? Then why is Molly looking so happy? There's no way we could have made a counter to it this fast. Also, Molly, you need to not play cliffhangers when briefing senior officers. It's not funny, thinks Shannon. Shannon signals Molly to give her more details, and Captain DeLaney continues.
"We have a treaty of alliance with the Star Empire, Grayson and Beowulf, ma'am! It's confirmed by President Prichart and CNO Theisman on our side, as well as Fleet Admiral Alexander-Harrington, and the Queen herself on theirs, before you ask. Also, the Manties will be picking us up in a few hours, and want us to pack up and clean up. Rear Admiral Bellefeuille is arriving soon, like within a few days, with a waller squadron detached from our Capital Fleet. They're also working on assigning us liaison officers, to help our forces work together better, though the Manties are still working on who to assign to who." Captain DeLaney says quickly, as Shannon gets up and grabs her book and towel and heads inside. Well, this is much better than I feared. If Mrs. Bellefeuille is coming, I presume she's bringing Eimear. Will I get a chance to see my cousin again?, thinks Shannon.
"Thank you, Molly. Keep going…" she signaled Molly to continue
"Um, ma'am, we're now at war with the Sollies. Admiral Tourville says that someone probably should grab and hide your tech mods, just in case the Manties send some Sollies here later." Well, that was fast, thinks Shannon.
"I'll disassemble and hide those, you help pack up all the stuff we left strewn about and leave it neat, Molly."
"Yes, ma'am." Shannon carefully unplugs her tech mods, hiding the wires and cables in the pocket of her , before reading the message herself. Apparently, we are now also unofficially allied with the Kingdom of Torch, Republic of Erewhon, the Solarian League's Maya Sector and the Andermani Empire, though none of those nations signed the treaty, thinks Shannon.
After getting picked up and dropped off outside the Admiralty building…
We'd talked our way past the guards at the front door, as a group, after much explanation of the fact that we, despite being Havenite officers, didn't have anywhere else to go, and had finally gotten in, and had all sat down in the empty lobby's chairs, and started figuring out our next steps.
"Shannon, can you message whoever's in charge at the Admiralty building to figure out where they want us to go, as the shuttle crew didn't seem to have any idea of our next steps?" Admiral Tourville asks in a whisper.
"I'll try my best, sir. I mean, worst case, we can camp out in some people's offices until they figure out what to do with us." she replies before whispering under her breath, "Let's see how rusty my hacking skills are, against Manticorian mil spec firewalls, as it's been so long." Shannon pulls up the Linux coding IDE she installed in one window and types a few lines of code to make a quick wireless signal detector, before saving them to a new program file.
shannonf sf-datapad:~ $ .
Seven (7) networks detected.
In order of strength (bold indicates password protected)
1. BuWepMain
2. AdmiraltyMain
3. 8thFleet
4. ThisIsHamish:StopMakingMoreNetworksSonjaBecauseYouSuck
5. BuPlan
6. ThisIsSonja:HamishBugOffINeedMyNetworks:YouSuck
7. LandingCityMallGuest
If you'd like to connect to a network, type
con networkName
$ con ThisIsHamish:StopMakingMoreNetworksSonjaBecauseYouSuck
Attempting to connect…
If there is no password needed for this network, simply press the semicolon key (or asterisk, if you wish to use encryption), then enter, and continue.
$ password:*
You are securely connected to the network: ThisIsHamish:StopMakingMoreNetworksSonjaBecauseYouSuck.
Well, that was pretty easy, although White Haven's grudge against Admiral Hemphill seems to be more extreme than Admiral Trenis thought, given that White Haven appointed Hemphill to be a Space Lord, according to her. Step one, go to the RMN personnel homepage, and figure who the First Space Lord is and get their email, step two is to message Sonja, as our contact person, step three is to start working the way down the seniority ladder, by emails, until someone can find out where we're staying, and where we need to go.
She quickly goes to the homepage and sees the First Space Lord is still Sir Thomas Caparelli, before starting an email draft to him and Sonja.
Dear Baroness Low Delhi I thought using your title would be appropriate and Sir Thomas,
Where do you want us to go, and where are we staying? We are in the Admiralty building, but no one seems to know where we need to go. I will be emailing all the Space Lords, starting with you two. Please respond, so our plan won't be "camp out in someone's office". We thought email would be better than paying an unannounced visit.
Sincerely,
Vice Admiral Foraker
That will probably be the funniest email they've read in a while, but no one ever said that I was good at being formal, except Sonja when she said she didn't want to use her title in my message about getting into the 102 class, thinks Shannon. A few minutes later, a response arrives, just as Shannon is thinking about food options, and figuring out what offices would be most likely to have fridges with decent food in them, but would be easy enough to lockpick if needed.
Dear Vice Admiral Foraker,
You really don't need to use my title of Baroness at all, even if you're emailing me with someone else. If they care more about my title than me being me, then that's a problem. To answer your questions, as for where you're staying, Admiralty House is still figuring that out, but they told me they'd figure it out fast (I'd like it if they did, and will be threatening to hack them as needed). I'm not in any meetings for the rest of today, so feel free to come hang out with me (I'm in Office 204, West Wing (circled on attached map)). I need to talk with you in private about some stuff, find you a treecat bodyguard from the Mesan nanotech (I'll fill you in on that as well), and help get you settled. I'm curious for personal reasons on this next question, and you don't have to answer it if you don't feel comfortable, but did you do any of your own tech design when you ran Bolthole? The rest of your friends can go hang out in the First Space Lord's office, also marked on the map. I may not officially have the rank to pass things like this off to him, but the current draft of liaison officer assignments says that we're partnered, so I should get to know you.
Sincerely,
Admiral Sonja Hemphill
Shannon checks the map and finds Sonja's office, before saying, "Admiral Hemphill invited me to her office. She has some stuff that she wants to fill me in on, but wants to meet with me, because the current draft list of liaison officer assignments says that we'll be together. Everyone else in our group is supposed to go to their First Space Lord's office, which is right here." She shows him the map, and points out the office, and sends a copy to his datapad.
Shannon walks down the silent gray carpeted hallways, often checking her datapad, the few people in the hallways parting for her. Then she reaches a section that appears to have some not-quite-standard decorations and extra color added, with a datapad attached to the wall saying "Welcome to the R&D section." She checks her map again. Admiral Hemphill's office is just down at the end of the R&D hallway on the right.
She keeps going past doors, some open, some closed, with lots of tech projects in the rooms, before she reaches the doorplate saying Admiral Sonja Hemphill, Fourth Space Lord.
I guess she really doesn't use her title. Either that, or she's been too busy to update it since she became a Baroness, Shannon thinks, before she pauses a moment before the closed door, brushing her hair out of her face with her long fingers, checking her uniform one more time, and taking a few breaths to stay calm enough to make a good first impression, before she knocks, and hears a female voice say, "Come on in."
Shannon opens the door. Admiral Hemphill is sitting on the big couch's far end, a computer on her lap, and a screwdriver in her hand, as she fiddles with a screw. Her treecat bodyguard, Hunts Silently, is perched on top of the couch, and laying a fuzzy paw on Sonja's neck.
"So, hello, Admiral Foraker. As you probably know, I run the R&D program. It's nice to meet you."
"Hello, ma'am. It's nice to meet you as well." Shannon replies, looking somewhat like when she was first introduced to a flag officer as a junior officer. Well, my plan to get her to not be so formal with me needs some work. She looks scared of me, and that needs to stop now, thinks Sonja. I really want to ask what she's working on, but I know I can't, thinks Shannon.
Only briefly looking up, Admiral Hemphill says, "So, first, if you want snacks or coffee, help yourself. I'm just fixing and upgrading this for fun." and gestures with her free left hand at the snacks and coffee machine with cups. I need some coffee, given that I haven't had any in so long. And some snacks wouldn't hurt either, Shannon thinks. She grabs herself some coffee, inhaling the aroma first, before sipping, and snacking on a fruit skewer.
"You know you don't have to be this formal, Shannon. You can call me Sonja, you know."
"Really, Sonja?" Shannon asks, having to correct herself to not call Sonja "ma'am" or "Admiral Hemphill".
"Yes, Shannon." Sonja replies, and watches as Hunts Silently discretely signals her to watch Shannon's face relax from the perfectly composed mask it was when she came in. She's noticed some of the nervousness fading already. It's nice having Hunts Silently help me with social skills, and my anger, among other things, Sonja thinks.
"So, ma'am– I mean Sonja, can you explain Mesan nanotech, and how the treecat helps keep you safe?" Hunts Silently gets up from his perch on the back of the couch, and silently climbs over to Shannon, and climbs into her lap.
Shannon puts her coffee down on the side table to stroke Hunts Silently's fur gently as Sonja explains and Hunts Silently purrs in contentment.
A long explanation later (with interruptions to talk about tech projects), with an explanation of the past 7 months of provocation by the League, they are in an aircar heading to Bay House, to see which treecat fits best with Shannon.
Sonja's driver is driving them, and the two of them (three, if they counted Hunts Silently) in the back are chatting.
"Do you know why the Elvanian government has been spamming the Manticorian government with messages asking if you're okay?" Oh, no. I still need to hide my royal past, to prevent being mobbed with newises, and to make people feel comfortable. Sonja's been very nice, and I don't want this to get awkward, Shannon thinks.
"I'm not a Dolist, like my file says. My family's just pretty prominent back home, both in the eye of the public, and in the government. I had to hack my file under the PRH to stay safe, as I was already not in a good spot, political reliability wise. They're probably just trying to make sure I'm alright. I told them to be more careful." Shannon quickly explains.
"Can you tell them to stop spamming us?" asks Sonja. As the contact person, please make the answer yes, Sonja thinks.
Shannon nods, then says, "I should be able to.", before the aircar stops at the Bay House. The two flag officers and one treecat get out, and walk in. Quite a few of Honor's armsmen are standing around on the lawn, because Honor is home, which makes Shannon somewhat anxious, though she tries to hide it. The green-uniformed armsmen let them into the lobby, and one of them says to the duo, "Honor's in her office. Wait here, I'll go get her. She and Nimitz have been pairing humans with treecats." Shannon starts looking nervous and sits down, before Hunts Silently climbs down from Sonja and sprawls out over Shannon's lap, with a paw on Shannon cheek.
Honor comes out with Nimitz on her shoulder, and a bunch of treecats following her, "Hello there, you two. So, if what I've heard from my armsmen here is correct, Shannon needs a treecat?"
"Yes, ma'am." Sonja says. Shannon is nervously stroking Hunts Silently, while trying to stay parade-perfect, trying to stop looking so nervous.
Honor turns to Shannon and says, "You can relax, you know." Shannon's actually surprised enough at that comment from Honor to relax a bit, though it doesn't take much of the anxiousness out of her. Then, from out of nowhere, a female treecat runs over to Shannon and jumps on her lap, before clinging to her arm, and rubbing her muzzle on Shannon's cheek. Hunts Silently jumps off Shannon's lap, and trots back to Sonja. The last thing Shannon senses is the formation of a mental bond between her and the treecat, before her blue eyes go somewhat out of focus, and she loses connection with the world. Did I just get adopted?, is her last pre-trance thought.
Meanwhile, Honor explains to Sonja, "This is normal for treecat adoptees, like Shannon." Oh, boy, I hope Shannon knows what to do with newsies, despite my suspicion that she doesn't because she'll be mobbed by the Havenite newsies, especially after she saved me and Nimitz, and then got adopted years later. I can see the headlines already…, thinks Honor.
"Did you see it coming, ma'am?" Sonja asks.
"Not until I saw her run to Shannon, and even that's only because I've seen several adoptions before. You can't predict who will get adopted." Honor explains, like she's had to do countless times.
Eventually Shannon comes out of the trance, but still holding onto her treecat, and Honor explains, "Well, I wasn't expecting you to get adopted. Then again, nobody can predict who will be a treecat adoptee. I'll send you some files later with my personal notes for surviving with a treecat, and things they like."
Shannon finally speaks up, though softly, "Thank you, ma'am."
Honor asks, "You don't have to answer this, Shannnon, but were there any tech projects that you were working on at Bolthole that we didn't see prior to your operation over Manticore? And I don't mean whatever you said in your interrogation report." Shannon nods. Oh shit, she knows I gave them some 'highly edited' details in interrogation, thinks Shannon.
Shannon nods, before the treecat puts a hand on her wrist, and that reassures her enough to explain, "Some of them, well, I'd like wait to do a full briefing to explain, but well, I had some pet projects. One of them was a version of the system you would have seen at Lovat and Solon, but in a SD, called Moriarty 2, designed to counter your recon drone nuke system, and another was a improved fire-control system, at the cost of a whole drive and a bunch of modified LACs, called Dragonfly." Honor looks at Sonja, and she looks just as surprised about the existence of Shannon's pet projects.
"How close were they to deployment when you ran off?" Honor asks, trying to get a pulse on the working of Haven's R&D, and not just the 'highly edited' edition given to them by Shannon after her capture.
"Moriarty 2 was several months off, as the ships were close to done, but would have had to work up, and Dragonfly… Well, I'll just say it was within…" she paused and corrected herself, "a lot closer than Moriarty 2, as the ships were…"
"Was Dragonfly a FTL system?" Honor asks. I don't want to explain all the details about it, and it was only mostly FTL. I never should have said anything, thinks Shannon
"Not completely, like your Apollo, no. Though it did use some FTL tech." Shannon explains. That's kinda an understatement, but I did say I wanted to wait for a full briefing to explain all the details. Also, I can't afford any underestimates (because it will be hard enough to salvage my career) or overestimates (it could also be an issue in operations, if people overestimate the fighting power of Havenite tech), but need to keep my head down around Honor, thinks Shannon.
Author's Notes: Shannon uses Hamish's network because it's stronger, and she's busy.