Ongoing Subplots
James Greyson, leader of the Expansionist MovementYou make up your mind and relay your decision to the crew. The ship shudders noticeable as your Gremlin pilot sends it into a steep dive. Almost immediately, Zulen appears out of the observation deck door and joins you on the cushioned chairs. Looking somewhat out-of-place in his armor and sporting a variety of small arms, the synth looks you over with his trademark passiveness.
'If I may, Mr. Greyson, I believe I should handle talking with the Enforcers. They are likely to respond better to a Mechanoid,' Zulen says.
A fair enough point, perhaps. Not waiting for your response, Zulen continues.
'Station security has been increased recently, for obvious reasons. I advise we avoid unnecessary conflict with Enforcers. Regulations pertaining to lethal force may have been overturned for the duration of these talks.'
From the viewport, you see the surface of the station jump closer with every passing second. You can make out patterns of lights crisscrossing across it, except for the central, bulbous structure - no-one is permitted to live that close to RAPTOR's core. Elite synth forces keep a constant vigil over the few accessways, while a security system directly run by RAPTOR itself is ready for anyone who might somehow get through them. Hundreds of gunports lie closed in the structure, their weapons varying greatly in firepower and size.
Your ship is just one of many as it approaches the lower landing bays. You're sure every political movement, organization and invididual with any wish to have a part in the Dominion is represented here. Hundreds of talks and meetings must already be underway; you make a mental note to send one of your staff up to make sure Expansionist policies don't get ignored once you touch down.
Your pilot finds a crowded transport bay just above the one you're headed to. You let him designate your ship as just another transport, wait until you feel the soft shiver of the ship mag-locking into the platform, and head out.
The cargo bay is largely empty, a few synth freighter captains overseeing their AI-run unloading operations. They pay you and Zulen little attention as you move up the stairs from your platform and out of the bay.
The trip down the level passes in near-silence. You feel increasingly anxious and, you suppose, angry, as you get nearer the murder scene, coming up with a variety of horrifying scenarios of Emma's death. Zulen remains infuriatingly calm. You're pretty sure most synths feel emotion-equilevants, or atleast have built-in programming to know when an emotional reaction would be applicable, but Zulen practically nevers breaks his cool professionalism.
At last, you come face-to-face with an Enforcer blockade. They keep their eyes on you as you approach. Zulen looks at you questioningly, no doubt about his earlier suggestion.
Commander Kara Seikan of the Second Detachment, Shield FleetA somewhat confused silence follows your words, but a quick order gets your crew to work. Standing at the captain's point on the bridge, you feel the ship coming to life around you. Your crew works at a rapid speed to bring everything to perfection, while the AIs work even faster. You study system projections coming to life around you with a critical eye, though you have no lack of faith in your men.
A youthful voice crackling through your comms interrupts you, though. You recognize it as Captain Stirling of the destroyer
Beijing, one of the ships under your command.
'Sorry to bother you, commander. Please confirm these orders. I think they may have corrupted in-transit,' he says. The battle plans pop up in front of you. You compare them quickly to the originals and see no difference, and let the Captain know. There's a long silence before he answers.
'Understood, commander. I'm sure you've thought this through. Beijing moving to position.'Well, you can't please everyone. You bring up more large-scale battle projections and step back to enjoy the show. Your new formation begins increasing in speed, trading fire with the four hostiles. You see shields collapse on several ships, their immense firepower gouging into the armor beneath them. Your fleet's scattered return fire shows no initial effect, but you know they must be slowly wearing them down. The
Hermes, is ahead of them all, and taking the majority share of their fire. You feel the jarring impacts of heavy munitions against the hull. Damage reports pop up by the dozens. Oh well, you figured your destruction would be worth it.
And then you're passing inside the hostile formation. As planned, the beacon goes up instantly, signalling targeting AIs across the fleet to make initial locks on it. An immense amount of firepower is unleashed, and you order the downwards thrust you planned for.
The ship begins to turn, but doesn't get far. A kinetic accelerator jutting out from the blocky hull of the nearest hostile hits the bridge at full power, shattering the remaining shields and armor and killing everyone inside.
---
You awake with a gasp inside your integration cocoon, feeling as uncomfortable as always as various cables and needles recede from your body. A holographic display of the ongoing simulation appears on the surface of the lid.
You watch with growing pride as your fleet, in good position around the hostiles, fires into them again and again. The first one goes down almost immediately, hit on three sides by torpedo bursts. The three others follow in quick succession. You lie back in the cocoon as it reforms and begins heading towards 1st Detachment to help them finish off.
Before the simulation ends, however, the display is replaced by the face of Fleet Admiral Telal.
'Alright, Seikan. I suppose I should commend you on taking so few losses, but this just ridiculous. You can't sacrifice yourself like that. What were you thinking? I want a full explanation, and it better be good.'
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Topic: Masters of the Bright Void - Turn 2! Grand Strategical Scifi! Join now! (Read 14991 times)