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Jupiter Chapter 4 done with second draft. I'm not sure if I like all of it, I feel that the dialogue with the ship's councilor is still a little shaky and I may end up scraping some of it. Also not sure if the battle scene is good enough and may end up going back in and overhauling it. I don't know. Maybe I should go work on other things and come back later X3

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Revelation

He awoke once more only this time it was two and a half hours later. He had though spent all last day's worth of time writing reports. He now had only two and a half hours to complete as many as he could so he could piggyback them on the next standard data stream and get them to command.

He got out of his bed and headed straight for the ready room, he didn't even stop to return salutes. He sat right down at the desk and started typing away, trying to push his thoughts away. The past kept creepy up in the back of his mind. The sights, smells, and sounds of Hector pushing through his mental blocks. He just kept typing away, furiously. It was futile though. The memories were just too strong. He had always taken the opinion that what had happened nearly forty years ago had only made him stronger. Strengthened his resolve to get through the training and pass the tests and put him on the tract for quick advancement.

It had all been bull shit. A lie that he told himself to make himself feel better and dignified. He hadn't been doing this for any of his friends who had died that day on Hector. He sure as hell wasn't doing this for his mother. He was doing this for himself because he needed to know. He needed to know who Jupiter really was and where he had gone. All those memories of him he had just had to be real. Those bureaucrats at the relief camp on St. Lou had to been lying when they told him "were sorry but we can't find any records of anyone named 'Jupiter' anywhere. Sorry." There had to been some mistake, some bureaucratic error. It was all some kind of government conspiracy.

"Damn it" he shouted slamming his fist down on his desk. The pain radiated up his arm. He just stared at it in disbelieve. What was wrong with him? He had never acted like this before. It was if he was becoming unraveled. He had to have better control of himself than this. It was a captain's duty to be strong for those under his command.

"Damn these reports, there are more important matters that have to be attended to." He submitted the reports whether they were done or not. If command had a problem with it then they could shove it. Too much time had already been wasted with bureaucratic nonsense and a captain should be visible at all times. He would need to talk to one of the engineers about removing at least the door from his ready room. He got up and left for he had some words that needed to be said to the councilor first. He didn't even bother talking to anyone as he left much to his watch officers' dismay.

"Captain this is a pleasant surprise to have you grace my office once more."

"You too can shove it councilor. There are some things that should stay buried in the past. So what if I have an obsession with Jupiter. My personal life has nothing to do with how I command. As soon as I'm on that bridge everything else is of no consequence. I am a Federation officer first and an Anthropoid second. The two have nothing to do with each other and while you can say all you want that my past is what made me what I am today, I am here to say it was the Academy that has made me into the officer I am now! I swore to God to defend this nation to the best of my abilities and that is a promise I intend to keep. So what if they don't want to give me what I want, that's no concern of mine. My job is to do as I am told for best of this nation and to use the instruments they give me to the best of their abilities for the best of this nation and if they want to keep me here then that's their lose. So go ahead and write your little report but I will be damned if I let you think that just because the only person that ever truly showed the least bit of actual interest and love is an obsession of mine that I can't do my job!"

"May I speak freely sir?"

"Please do lieutenant."

"Is this what you have feared this whole time of me? That I would give you a bad report that would ruin your chances at command? That I would out you? Did you think that by coming to talk to me that you would somehow lose the respect and admiration of those under your command? From my point of view your crew is just as scared as you and don't give a damn what or who you are. Their former captain was killed in that ambush and replaced by you, a man who they have come only to slowly know because you won't really let them in. You don't have to be stoic sir, that's something Captain Yulli understood. Why do you think he chose you for this position?"

"The captain chose me?"

"Captain Yulli was one of the most respected men in the fleet and not just because he was of the Yullii clan but because he has picked some of the best commanders ever. It is regrettable that he had to die in such a fashion but you at least have the prestige of being picked by him."

"Weren't you picked too?"

"It's not the same for me sir. I'll serve my ten years and I'll most likely retire to take up a private practice. I'm human remember, that means even with the best medical care I can live up to be what, a hundred and thirty? If I wanted to I could serve for another forty, fifty years and then I'll be too old to really do any good. You on the other hand could live to be almost seven hundred. You have hundreds of years that you could serve if you truly chose to."

"You still don't get it. Sure I could choose to serve for hundreds of years more but I still wouldn't get anywhere but maybe a window dressing position. This is a Federation of hundreds of worlds with each member state having at least one unique life form including the various Homo sapiens. So why isn't there an equal share of us here in the military? They make up over eighty-five percent of all military forces. Your and my people make up about twelve percent. The rest is made up of everyone else and even that isn't that diverse. You could see where people get this Hegemony idea from. Their king is our king and may he live long."

"You said it yourself, you're a Francian. Your family has served their duke and you even said that your family had a long history of serving their king, as you put it. Doesn't that make you part of the problem? "

"There will never be an Anthropoid in a high office."

"Maybe not in my lifetime but..."

"The day I see that I will take my statement back. On that day there will be a truly powerful and benevolent ruler on the Lion Throne."

"Must there always be a king?"

"We tried division of powers and look where it got us in the Azora Wars. Only an autocrat with absolute power can reign over the Federation effectively. 'Even the hydra will eventually bite off one of its own heads.'"

"I see, it sounds like you have a very conflicted view of the nation we live and serve."

"And I will defend it until my last breath."

"Captain I didn't give you a bad report. I sent something like a status normal message. I told you when we last met that you had to get over this obsession you have. It's not healthy and to let it go on is just going to destroy you from the inside. You have to move on in your sexual life. You have to branch out and form healthy relationships with more than just Doctor Taurus and Command Armstrong."

"There's always time for friends in retirement."

"By then it may be too late" and that is when the com buzzer sounded.

"This is the captain?"

"Sir we are approaching the L3 edge of the Landsraad nebula and second armada command."

"I'll be up soon." He looked at the young lieutenant and smiled. "Have you ever gotten a good look at Ataemus base?"

She was surprised by this sudden change in mood. "I've never had the privilege of actually going to command."

"Then how 'bout you come up to the bridge and get a good look as we fly in."

"That sounds very nice sir."

Ataemus base named after the great king who reshaped the home world; placing it and its nations under his dominion. It was he who forged the future for the Lion Throne and the first to be awarded the Eagle standard. How Rorshawk wished he could be there back in those times, commanding great airships against the forces of the Human Alliance of the Western Kingdoms. Ataemus would have been a king that would have appreciated his talents, an honorary member of his tribe. He was a person who could truly bear the title of a shadow wolf.

It had been constructed after the Azora Wars and with the second great expansion. There had been need for a second armada to defend the newly acquired territory. It was the largest space station in the entire known galaxy and had a place for every single ship in the second armada. Even from far out at hundreds of thousands of kilometers away it was still awe inspiring for the bridge crew on board the HMS Valeria.

"Understood Ataemus control, we will await for the third fleet control to guide us into dock" replied Rorshawk to the control officer far off on the station. "Helm, take us into the fifty thousand kilometer safe zone and idle till Fleet control contacts us."

"What is with this captain, there's no traffic, and we should be able to fly right on in, especially since we're a military vessel in the current war time alert."

"Either something is up or they are very pissed at me for not finishing all of those reports."

"Sir" replied his second-in-command quizzically.

"I thought my time could be better used to do more productive things. Though I didn't get around to those things, if I am allowed to keep this command I tend to spend it helping the crew out. Getting down and dirty with them. A captain's place is with his men."

"Very well said captain," responded the councilor, "I sure do hope they let you keep it so you get that chance."

"I think the whole crew would agree with that" added the commander.

"Captain, I got a huge blip on the scanners" cried out the lieutenant in change of the sensor controls. "There's just too many of them to identify! They're just pouring out of the Nebula!"

"What are you talking about Lieutenant?"

"Quick, bring up a visual of the breech, maximum magnification" commanded the ship's XO. Everyone stared a gasped at what they saw. They were fighters and bombers of the Lom Imperium, the Federations neighbor on the other side of the Nebula. Huge flocks of them were soaring out of it like bats out of a cave. "Impossible the Nebula is completely un-navigable!"

"Well they found a way. Tactical give me some numbers!"

"I can't tell sir, but there has to be hundreds of them."

"What do we do captain?"

"You councilor are going back to your office. We're going in."

"Sir that's madness, in our shape against those odds..."

"No time to argue, there's thousands of people on that station and we are the only ship outside that's combat ready. Sound battle stations and prepare to micro jump in. I want all available weapons systems online and shields to maximum." The lights went red with the sounding of battle alarms. The weapons control board lit up as the ships main guns went from their constant yellow standby to the green of ready. From his tactical display on the command station the captain could see all the actions of his ship as it prepares for battle in haste.

"This is the captain; I am calling to inform you all that without warning, fighters from the Lom Imperium are attacking command. It is a hard thing for a captain to do knowing that we are probably alone and against unthinkable odds, but knowing that we are the only thing standing between Federation citizens and an enemy I can see no other option than our duty. I can only ask you as your captain to stand tall with me and fight as hard as you can, for King and Federation!" No one said a word for they had all heard the passion in his voice. If Rorshawk was anything he was certainly a patriot.

"I have to warn you sir that jumping this close to the station is dangerous."

"And if anyone can do it it's you helmsmen. I trust you to steer this ship into battle."

"Aye Aye captain, those sneaky Lom bastards won't know what hit them!" Within an instant the Valeria was in the middle of a wing of Lom bombers whose pilots were shocked to suddenly find a Federation Argent class cruiser in the middle of their formation. Many tried to steer out of the way, but it did them little good, they were sitting ducks.

"ALL GUNS FIRE" were the words shouted by their commanding officer and fire they did. The ships powerful turbo lasers fired into the tight bombing formations ripping them to shreds. The standard capital ship laser cannons fired wildly at the ships that had survived the initial barrage while its stinger missile system picked off anything they could find. The area surrounding the Valeria was engulfed in the sights of a vigorous battle. The light trails of her energy based weapons flashed and vaporized the smaller crafts in fire explosions.

"Sir I'm getting a more accurate reading now. I can count ten, err nine wings of enemy fighters. They're main targets seem to be the star dreadnaughts and the fighter bays."

"We have to do as much as we can. Target the next nearest fighter wing and engage."

"It seems that they found us sir. We have enemy fighters coming in standard attack patterns."

"Ready countermeasures, helm lets greet them. We're a Federation vessel and we shall meet all foes head on!"

"Aye Aye captain, changing our heading to intercept the incoming fighter wing" replied the helmsmen showing one of the advantages of the Argent class cruiser. It was one of the fastest capital starship easily matching these fighters in speed and it was also quite maneuverable for a ship of its size. Something that the Lom pilots weren't expecting, of course not many people expect to dog fight with a light cruiser. Flying into a near stationary target is one thing but to try to torpedo a target that not only was as fast as you but flying right at you was another thing. They didn't stand a chance. Like their predecessors they were no match for the larger more powerful ship.

"Sir two more wings are breaking off to engage us."

"Good because that's two less wings attacking the station. It wasn't built for a pure fighter attack. Its guns are too slow for it to track them because was built to withstand a fleet assault. It relies too much on its fighter hangar defenses."

"Then I guess we are the stations only hope."

"Sirs, incoming enemy torpedoes at our starboard!"

"Brace for impact" though there was little they could do. The Lom's proton torpedoes were heavy weapons and even an indirect hit would cause significant damage to the wounded Valeria. The ship shock violently with the impact and caused warning signals to appear on the command consol. "Damage report please someone."

"Shields took the brunt of it and fell thirty-seven percent and holding."

"Damn we can't take many more hits like those." As the approaching wings closed in more hits like those were all they got. There were just too many of them for the Valeria's guns to fend off. Though the assailants were destroyed (mostly), her shields had taken a serious blow.

"Sir, she can't take much more of this, we need to fall back and..."

"No, I will not leave the base here undefended so that these bastards can have their way. I will not yield to these cowards! We are Federation officers first and our duty is to the Federation and her people! I will not abandon them now! Shore up the defenses before the next wave arrives. We must fight on."

"Understood sir, tactical, transfer all emergency power to the shields and use some of the computer space in the com system for the targeting computers, we need faster solutions! Pull out all the stops; it's not just our lives but the lives of all those people on the station we're defending!" The technicians at their stations worked furiously to do as their CO's had ordered.

The enemy had changed their tactics and was now flying in from all directions and not in nice neat formations. Even with help from the stations guns there wasn't enough firepower to deal with so many targets flying in at once. The Valeria's shields were collapsing and her hull integrity barely holding against the blows.

"Hall breech on deck five! We have plasma fires in Engineering! We are loosing velocity!"

"We tried our best but fate has dealt us a poor hand. I think it would be best commander if the crew evacuated. I take over the system and cover you."

"Captain that's a foolish antiquated notion and I think you've been watching too many movies. I won't leave you behind!"

"That's an order, abandon ship now commander. I have to try and take as many with me as I can. I'm not going to argue with you commander." A stare down ensued between the two officers over the subject.

"Watch out" cried one of the crew members interrupting their staring match but it was too late as a bomber damaged by a Federation laser cannon lost control and struck the front of the ship vaporizing on impact and taking a good chunk of the bridge with it. Rorshawk looked out over what was left of the bridge. Loose papers and debris was sucked out in the vacuum of space. From behind he thought that the Commander was shouting at him, but he couldn't hear his words.

Time seemed to stand still for him, and amongst the chaos came a familiar face. Rorshawk felt disbelief as he hung on to the consol; he knew that the emergency atmosphere shield was most likely not going to kick in. It didn't matter to him though; he just smiled at the person staring back at him from across the obliterated room. Only one word passed his lips. "Jupiter" was what he said before it all went white.

Epilogue

Admiral Yong Hu Xú was sitting at long conference table in the observation lounge on the twenty-third deck of Ataemus Station. The office he usually worked had become unusable due to a Lom torpedo making a nice size whole in the wall. He was sad because the dragon statue his mother had given to him that had been her fathers who had received it from his father and so forth had been in there along with some very nice family portraits. It was too late to feel sorry about it now; he had too much work to do. With the King's declaration of war against the Lom and their allies that put the Federation right in the middle of this intergalactic war and the work he had to do had to be completed.

"So do you have any comments Admiral Xú" asked Vice Admiral Sulpicius who was sitting across the table from Yong. He was discussing the matter of what to do with the late Commander Dubois and frankly the younger man was having trouble deciding.

"To tell you the truth sir, I don't see why we can't promote him to Admiral."

"I have asked for nothing but the truth and under other circumstances I would agree with you but this isn't the place."

"Well why isn't it the place sir? It just doesn't make any sense. Anthropoids have served the crown longer than my people have! If I recall my history Hostus Sulpicius Ullum had a Lupine in his retinue."

"That's not entirely the issue here. I will be one of the first to admit that there is some prejudice within the armed forces, but I'm trying to save the first hero of this war, our rallying point, from embarrassment. If he gets promoted he gets taken off duty which means he records go on record. They would be public and then everyone would know the man was delusional."

"From all the survivors accounts he was making progress, a step in the right direction."

"That still doesn't excuse the fact that this Jupiter person never existed. As far as we can tell, the trauma from being med-evac'd from Hector caused a culmination of building psychological problems to cause the creation of this character, the doctors called it 'a near death fantasy.'"

"Then how did he get passed the Academy psych exams?"

"He appeared to be cured." The younger Xiongnu officer leaned back in his chair gazing back and forth from his papers to his Etruscan commanding officer, trying to think of what to do.

"What are our options then?"

"We keep him in activity as a captain of a starship." That's when the idea struck Yong.

"Why not give him command of the FSC-1800. In fact let's name it the Valeria, the whole class!"

"Brilliant. With the Valeria as a symbol of the Federation's might, to have a whole fleet of them flying at our enemies will scare the shit out of them."

"And we'll have Captain Dubois leading them."

"Type that up and submit it to the Admiralty board. This is going to look very good for you my younger friend."

"Thank you very much sir, it is always an honor to work with you. I just hope this is a big enough step in the right direction."

"By what do you mean?"

"I will admit that things are better now than they were under the Galactic Federated Republic. Even though any race could be President or Prime Minister, they were both such empty positions. All the power lied in the Congress and all the bickering led our slow mobilization to the Azora Wars. You need a strong person to be able to lead such a large group somewhere."

"Don't tell me you are one of those Hegemony theorists."

"No, I'm not. As an officer of the Federation I understand that I am officer first and an Archaian second. My duty is to all members of the Federation. I am just saying that I can understand where they are coming from. Eighty-five percent of all armed forces are made up of us, the twelve tribes. I of Xiongnu and you of the plains of Lycea, it was us who forced the other races from our beloved home world. It was us who started the War of three Kingdoms. It was our king that was installed at the head of the Federation. It is our government that governs. True as it is that the Senate is the voice of the people and creates the laws of the people and yes if a planet so wishes it can pick and choose which laws to obey. They don't have any say in whole rules over them."

"His majesty by the grace of God does not rule anyone but us. He leads the Federation and you know better than the say that."

"Not even the Yamato spirit is greater than the Eagle Standard."

"I am going to give you one chance Admiral to make a valid point, because you are starting to talk of treason." The Xiongnu man stood up and went over to the window, staring into his reflection and having the pure white eyes of it stare back at him. He was only seventy-three and in the prime of his youth.

"You can see how heated their argument can get. Some would say not all government is perfect. I would just like to more diversity when I'm called in front of the Admiralty board. The only faces different than mine as of now is Gu'th Rom of Cardan. They were once our bitter rivals and one of the founders of the GFR. Why is it that no Anthropoid or Human has ever sat in one of those chairs?"

"That Admiral is a subject for politicians."