Ivan Kal - Out of the Ashes

“The message just came through, they request an update.” Tamara responded.

Jacob approached her chair, “Alright, let’s send them the update on the situation in the system.” Jacob said.

“Should we tell them about the new Ra’a’zani ships?” Tamara asked. Jacob paused, most of the Resistance was of the opinion that they should withhold the information about the three Ra’a’zani warships. The ships could be a game changer, and while Olympus had the right to know, it might not be the right moment.

Jacob shook his head, “No. The situation has changed, Olympus’ chances have improved greatly. There is no need to worry them with something that is no longer a problem.”

Tamara turned back to her screen preparing to send the message.

“Asumy,” Jacob turned to the hologram, he knew that he didn’t need to turn to the hologram to speak with the Ai, but it had become a habit. “What do you think?”

“I agree with your decision. The Ra’a’zani warships are not an immediate danger.” Asumy said.

Jacob turned back to Tamara, “Send it.”

Tamara entered the commands and sent the message.

Three days later Jacob was in a planning session on board the Star Gazer. There were five people present including Jacob. He had been with these people for years, and trusted them with his life.

“We finished fabricating all the weapons we need to take over the mining installations.” Tamara said.

“The plans are already in place. Once the Olympus fleet arrives, our people among the miners will rise up and take control.” Edward Riggs said.

“Are we sure that we can smuggle the equipment on the sites?” Olivia Sanders asked.

“Yes. With the stealth ship and the Ra’a’zani shuttle we can get everything in place.” Jacob answered.

“Are we going to use the Star Gazer?” Mathias asked. He has been training on the piloting the ship since he found it.

Jacob looked thoughtful, he hadn’t really thought about it. Up until recently they had a Ra’a’zani warship patrolling the mining sites, now they had no such obstacle, “Asumy?” Jacob asked.

The holo on the desk in the room turned on, and a miniature version of the Ai’s human form appeared.

“The Star Gazer has limited weapons, but without the threat of the Ra’a’zani warship the danger to the ship is minimal, while its addition to the assault increases the chances of success significantly.” Asumy said.

“Well, then we need to adjust our plans with the Star Gazer in mind.” Jacob said.

“Most of the Ra’a’zani are usually in the facilities on the surface of the asteroids.” Edward started thoughtfully, “We might not need to take fight them directly, we can use the Star Gazer to take out the surface facilities.”

“Perhaps… We need to plan this carefully, and make sure that human loss of life is minimal.” Tamara said.

“Are we going to take some of the Ra’a’zani prisoner?” Olivia asked.

“I don’t think that we have the capability nor the resources to hold any prisoners.” Jacob said, “Nor do I think that any of our people would want to. Better that we kill them quickly than to have vengeful people get hold of them afterwards. We all know what humans are capable of, and I doubt that we could keep them safely. And what would we even do with them later? Perhaps if we manage to capture some of the higher up’s in the belt, for questioning… But it shouldn’t be a priority.” Everyone around the room nodded grimly, they all understood the need to keep their people under control.

“Alright, let’s go over the plans again and see how we can include the Star Gazer.” Jacob said. They spent the next couple of hours going over everything and modifying their plans to include the Olympus ship.

December 2171 – Leviathan; First Fleet

Adrian ducked and rolled under a roundhouse kick aimed to his head, he came out of his roll rising and turning back towards his opponent who was already moving into position to unleash another attack. Seeing a chance, Adrian rushed forward closing the distance and entering his opponents range. Before his opponent could start his attack, Adrian struck quickly with his fists, hitting the pressure points on his opponents shoulder hip and thigh. Then he dropped quickly and swept his opponent’s legs. Sahib dropped to the floor, hitting with his back so hard that Adrian heard Sahibs breath leaving his lungs. Then Sahib released a painful groan.

“That hurts like hell.” Sahib said after he recovered enough to talk. Adrian dropped to the floor, making himself comfortable in a cross legged position. He waited until Sahib raised himself up into a sitting position.

“You are going to need to do much better than that if you plan on beating me.” Adrian said. Sahib rolled his eyes at him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be up on the Command Center by now?” Sahib asked.

“There are still a few hours left. I have plenty of time to kick your ass a few more times, get showered, maybe take a little nap, and then go threaten some aliens.” Adrian said, grinningly.

Sahib dropped down to the floor, “Nah, I think that I am done with getting my ass kicked today. And I would much prefer you be well rested before you threaten some aliens.” Sahib said.

Adrian laughed out loud and got to his feet, “Right. I’ll see catch you later then.” With that Adrian left him there laying on the floor. He went to the changing room took his kimono off and went to take a quick shower. Afterwards he dressed and went to his quarters. He fed Sora and Akash, and took a four hour nap, waking up just in time to get to the bridge twenty minutes before they exited the trans-lane. He arrived just as the shift change occurred, the third shift moving off while the first took their place. Paul was taking his place at the Ship Masters chair just as Adrian entered the CC.

“Ship Master.” Adrian said while walking towards his chair, behind him like always followed Sora and Akash.

“Good morning Fleet Commander. A big day ahead of us.” Paul said grinning. Adrian returned Paul’s grin, but just for an instant. As he approached his chair, he felt himself go into his command mode, what Iris called his battle persona. His face grew expressionless, and all the things that occupied his mind outside of his command chair faded into the background.

“A big day indeed.” Adrian replied coldly as he took his seat. Immediately he turned on the c-board with his implant. Holographic displays sprung up in a 180° around him, the middle was reserved for his fleet and the command interface. One side showed the status of every ship in the fleet, while the other held a quick comm system. Allowing him to get in contact with each ship commander instantly, if he needed to speak with them outside of the commands he would be issuing over the c-board. Above the command interface was where most of the data would be shown, distances, timers and such, now that space was empty, as they hadn’t yet reached their destination.

“Are you ready?” Adrian asked.

“Of course Adrian.” Iris responded. The two of them took the time before they arrived, to run a last minute check on the c-board.

“Entering Tarsas system in one minute!” Navigation Handler yelled out.

Adrian finished his tests, and leaned back in his chair and waited. A minute later the Nav. Handler announced their arrival into the Tarsas system. Immediately Adrian’s c-board made connection with the fleet using it’s upgraded FTL comm hardware. The FTL comm didn’t work in trans-space. Both the holo in the middle of the CC that served the crew, and the smaller one on Adrian’s c-board started updating. They have entered the system close to their target, the shipbuilding facilities in the orbit of the second planet. As soon as they got a full picture of their target and their immediate surroundings Adrian ordered the fleet forward towards the shipyards. The shipyard that also served as a station, dwarfed the ships around it. The thing was massive, at least ten kilometers long and half that wide and tall. By now the Sowir should be aware of their presence. This time, Adrian had no Nel ships accompanying him, although Retsar Isani did offer. Adrian felt that the message would be more impactful if it came solely from human ships, so he declined the offer. And in any case those ships needed to be at Nuva, just in case that another Sowir task force comes by while Adrian’s ships were away. With the new station and defense platforms they should be able to defend Nuva.