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SAFES Liaison Log, Science Ship Searcher, May 23rd, 2555:

Well, all of the Admiral's command assets have been gathered and we're on our way. I guess it's true what they say about Admiral Williams: she does indeed have the gift for command that her grandfather did. Commodore Andropoli is a decorated veteran of the Russian surface navy and I have heard that he is a skilled and courageous officer; he'd have to be with the practically suicidal nature of the ice-choked coasts where he was posted. Captain Rousseau isn't well-known to me but I have no doubt that she is typically cunning and insightful, a fairly normal characteristic of her race. It's only natural that the Admiral would choose an old and dear friend as the SAFAG contingent commander but Captain Wilson is not just any efficient security officer. While her name was not widely reported in connection with the event, I recognized her immediately and the Admiral's outburst just confirmed it: she is that brave garrison commander who turned back the assault on Poplar Village with a few machineguns and a 3-inch ordinance gun. She is pretty much the only officer in the entire SAF with direct combat experience anymore and it's gratifying to have that level of experience with this expedition, especially in the form of an officer with a close relationship of trust with the commanding officer.

The Epsilon-class science ship Searcher is everything a proper scientist could ask for with its own protective measures and luxurious quarters. It's hard to believe that a military organization would put this much money and design effort into making a well-protected research vessel for its eggheads but then again, SAFC has always been staffed with far-thinking individuals. Even with decent protection, however, it's comforting to have the three-ship fleet they built around us, especially the Executor. It's the newest generation of battleship and incorporates the Rattler artillery system which gives it unprecedented firepower. Even better, it is equipped with the very first BSY Core AI system which means that the AI is the closest thing that a computer can be to a combat veteran and, as I hear it, she and Admiral Williams are fond of one another. It's hard to properly convey how important it is that the computer running the Executor trusts and is trusted by the ship's ranking biological officer.

I must admit that the introductory meeting aboard the Arid was a bit of a surprise. I was floored by that foolhardy colonel challenging Admiral Williams so openly. It was if he didn't care how angry he made her... in fact, it was if he was examining the limits of her self-control and her ability to remain rational when aggravated. There is something that is not quite right about that man but it's hard to put a claw on it. I can't help but wonder how an arrogant creature like him would rise to colonel, even in the intelligence divisions which value talent so highly that they ignore severe deficiencies in personality and ethics.

Dr. Melinda Campbell, SAFES

Upon reaching her assigned quarters. Sera collapsed into the bed, utterly exhausted from the day. After Shadow had dismissed them, she'd run into Nomi waiting for her outside the conference room.

"Good day, Captain." The azure draccian had said with a smile. "I hear that you and I will be working together for the duration of this little expedition into the unknown."

"It seems that way." Sera had agreed.

"Then come with me, my dear Captain, and we shall explore worlds together, starting with my ship." Nomi's eyes had twinkled merrily. "I guarantee you, Captain... nothing's more comforting than traveling the stars with big guns strapped to your back."

The draccian, Sera quickly learned, had an intense interest in naval history, spending the few minutes walking to the airlock where the Marauder was docked regaling the genuinely fascinated wolven with a short history of the development of the frigate in its present form, a history that snaked through triremes, ironclads, ships of the line, and destroyers, finally ending up with the sleek three-quarter kilometer warship Nomi proudly indicated through the numerous windows overlooking the umbilical passage. From admiring the graceful lines of the frigate, she had been taken on a whirlwind tour of the multi-purpose fighting vessel. While large for its ship class from the outside, it turned out that the Stryker-class frigates had surprisingly less internal room due to a thick armored skin and a second hull sitting below the primary to give it even greater survivability. Regardless, it had an ample number of decks dedicated to the normal ship functions such as engineering and storage but also two decks for a barracks and several more that housed armories, mess halls, utility hanger decks, and even a few weapon ranges and shooting houses for the benefit of the ground force complement. Sera was impressed to see that the ship even boasted several towed batteries and the requisite engineering equipment to allow the complement to throw up fortifications rapidly if need be. Looking around on the heavy weaponry deck, Sera couldn't help but smile a little: here, before here eyes, was the consummation of her dear friend's unwavering efforts to give a SAFN task force the capability to take and hold strategic territory or rapidly deploy defensive forces to hot spots on any world the Governance controlled.

As to the frigate itself, it was strong enough to serve as a secondary command ship which was quite comforting to her now that she knew they might be heading into hostile territory. Boasting respectable shielding and armor as well as carrying the only capital ship adaptation of the Single Ion Beam continuous-fire cannons, SAFC-N had been very impressed by its performance in wargames. The Stryker-class had showed itself capable of effectively screening larger ships and being able to turn its relatively high agility and unique weapon configuration to the task of driving off some of these larger ships. Almost as important to Sera as the fighting power (especially after pushing herself to keep up with her guide) was the fact that the ship was functional yet very comfortable, showing the effects of decades spent studying ways to maximize ergonomics without efficiency costs. As a result, certain halls had recessed screens to display art (not all of it entirely appropriate for children, sailors being sailors in any age) and all the lighting was adapted for maximum illumination while being easy on the eyes and eliminating definitive sources. After finally breaking free of the enthusiastic Nomi's guided tour, she felt like she was destined to keel over where she stood. Then, just when images of a comfortable chair, sipping tea with her dear friend while they caught up, were dancing before her eyes, she saw Jenkins, emanating haughtiness like a bad odor, round a bend in the hall leading to her room. As he walked towards her, she sighed inwardly and braced herself for a personal dose of the disrespectful manner in which he'd sparred with Shadow.

"Why, hello Captain!" He greeting with blatantly false pleasantness. "Are you well this fine evening?"

Sera sighed. "I'm just fine, if a little worn down from walking a three-quarter kilometer frigate several times while her captain talked my ears off." She gave him a pointed look which he either didn't see or chose to ignore.

"Good, good." He smiled in an extremely Cheshire-cat way. "I imagine that it's nice to have a friend in high places. It seems to be extremely good for your career."

"You don't have much in the way of good sense, do you sir?" Sera frowned at him. "You've already seriously angered your commanding officer, one that happens to be SAFC's golden-haired girl, by the way. If she's so important to my being here, don't you think that harassing me is a good way to get busted down a rank?"

He just shrugged, keeping that arrogant look firmly in place. "I can't imagine why they sent a green admiral on this little trip, much less appointed her as the commander of Gaia Fleet." He drawled lazily. "Her assets can pretty much be summarized as good breeding yet this qualifies her for command of a first contact expedition?"

"I didn't just hear you say that." She growled, albeit with a touch of disbelief. "Whatever glory and reverence she inherited from her grandfather, one simply does not get promoted to Gaia Command without serious merit. You should know that perfectly well... unless your entire goal in this conversation is to be an ass. In that case, would you mind leaving me out of it?"

"Of course not." He sniffed dismissively. "I just wonder if they needed a pretty poster-girl to display for the old soldiers passing out the money. Is it true that she's a good lay?"

"What?" Sera demanded, heat rising up the back of her neck and a growl rising in her throat. Somehow, unlike the Weed's genial teasing, Jenkins flinging the rumor at her, especially with the insinuation that SAFN used Shadow as their vapid pretty face, caused her blood to boil.

"I asked if you could confirm the rumors about her sexual exploits." He repeated calmly. "You, of all people, would have firsthand knowledge. You two are, after all, rumored to be extremely good... friends." He finished with a condescending smirk that drew a more audible growl from Sera.

"You insolent, miserable, arrogant little ape!" She snarled. "If you weren't my superior officer, so help me, I'd..."

"...rip his sneering little face off." Sera jumped at the quiet voice of her friend, startled to hear it coming from behind her all of a sudden. Shadow had gotten so close during the conversation that she seemed to have appeared out of thin air; Sera could tell that Jenkins was surprised as well, apparently not having paid attention to his surroundings. "Much as I would enjoy watching you harm him for his childish mockery, I think that I need to deal with our dear Colonel, Sera."

Without waiting for a response, the slightly smaller female stepped around a still-surprised Sera and looked Jenkins directly in the eye, making her seem to loom menacingly over the taller human. "I believe, Colonel Jenkins, that I ordered you to remove that smirk." She told Jenkins icily. "I don't recall having ever rescinded that order. Do you recall me ever rescinding it?"

"It is hardly necessary that..."

"You will answer the question, Colonel." Shadow interrupted with a deadly calm. "Did I ever rescind the order that you wipe that arrogant little smirk off your face?"

"No, but..."

"Did I take back my statement that if you spoke out of turn again, I would see you replaced?" Shadow interrupted again.

"You did not. However..."

"If I did not rescind the order nor take back the statement, I can't help but wonder why you're still smirking and still shooting your mouth off, Colonel." A little bit of a growl entered Shadow's still icily-calm voice. "Perhaps you could explain this to me?"

"You may have ultimate authority over this expedition, Admiral, but giving orders about when I may or may not speak and what facial expressions I am allowed to make are entirely inappropriate." Jenkins replied, with admirable boldness considering his situation. "Last I checked, you were not supposed to be a petty totalitarian dictator but I suppose that..."

"I'm not hearing an explanation, Colonel, so I must assume that you have no excuse." Shadow once again cut him off. "I must also assume that you are as petty, arrogant, and incapable of governing your mouth outside a meeting as you are inside of one. Also, it appears that you believe it within your rights to sneer at one of the few officers in the entire Sol Armed Forces with any practical combat experience, regardless of her present rank. Allow me to disabuse you of any notion you may have that you hold any importance beyond the useful facts bouncing around inside your apparently empty skull."

"I am sufficiently important that your threat of replacing me is impotent." Jenkins pointed out with a sneer.

"Yes." Shadow admitted. "I cannot eject you through the nearest airlock. However, just because I must endure your existence does not obligate me to maintain your rank or its associated privileges. As of now, you are a major; continued incidents of you being an abusive git towards your fellow officers, all of whom are notable for intelligence and competence, will result in further reductions in rank until the privates outrank you. Have I made myself clear to you, Major?"

He remained silent although he smirked again at her; Shadow noticed the smirk and finally bared her teeth at him, apparently tired of maintaining the illusion of dispassionate irritation.

"Do you think any of this conversation is amusing, Major?" She inquired, still using that icy tone of deadly calm. "Because if so, I would be delighted to know the joke. I am currently not particularly inclined towards laughter."

"Frankly, Admiral, it is amusing that you apparently lack the power to eject someone whom you regard as useless and clearly loathe." He replied calmly, the smirk disappearing. "You clearly have the power to bypass regulations and gather the very best SAF has to offer for your trip into the unknown but cannot rid yourself of one thorn in your side. Clearly, your immense power has limits and that, in and of itself, is amusing to me."

"You and I shall go elsewhere and have a conversation." Shadow frowned. "A very long one, in fact, that will end with SAFC being informed of your puerile antics. We shall see if you still have cause for amusement after both I and they dress you down."

To Sera's surprise, Jenkins' brow furrowed with a clearly worried expression before he managed to squelch it. "A conversation seems appropriate, Admiral. We still must discuss with SAFC your proposed elevation of a dear personal friend to a position her rank does not qualify her for. It seems a very clear example of favoritism."

Shadow's brow had then furrowed in response but it was clearly out of anger rather than worry. "The ranks and responsibilities of the other officers in this expedition are not your concern nor is it your place to address them to SAFC." She replied before turning to Sera, a brief expression of sadness stealing over her face. "I'm afraid that I won't be able to enjoy a cup with you now, Sera, and I had been looking forward to it. Now, go get some sleep, dear... you're looking dead on your feet. We can enjoy some time together later."

Giving her friend a grateful smile, Sera had broken away from the confrontation and headed straight here, taking a moment to relish Jenkins' clear discomfort as Shadow pushed him in the opposite direction and followed him out of sight.

She found that despite SAF normally favoring functional over comfortable, her quarters aboard the station were surprisingly homey which she guessed was Shadow's work. While the room looked as functional as normal quarters would, the bedding was soft and smooth, definitely having had the normal material replaced with the inexpensive silk-woven cotton typically put in flag officer quarters. But the most touching gesture was the sprig of edelweiss put into a vase on the nightstand, a little touch of home which made Sera smile before she crawled in between the sheets and was out like a light.

It seemed that no sooner had she lay down, she was waking up to the sounds of a station working at the pace of tightly-controlled panic that led up to a major departure. Checking the clock, she realized that the departure was a mere 20 minutes away.

"Verdammen!" She exclaimed, jumping out of bed. Stripping off her uniform, she took a quick shower, letting the extra hot jets of water wake her up. Slipping into a fresh uniform and blessing SAF logistics for having already taken care of her belongings, she headed for the umbilical to the Marauder at a jog. Upon seeing her jog up, Captain Rousseau chuckled and snapped her a smart salute.

"I see that the old habit of morning calisthenics dies hard for ground-pounders, ma'am." She teased. "It's my delight to welcome you aboard, Captain."

"You Navy boys and girls are just lazy." Sera shot back lightheartedly. "How's the loading going?"

"Everyone else is already loaded and accounted for sans the bridge command crew." Nomi responded smartly. "The armories are filled, the rations are replenished, and we're good to go. After you get settled into your quarters, please join me in the command section for final instructions from Admiral Williams before we set out."

Sera nodded her thanks before following the draccian on board, each going their separate way once they entered the airlock. As she walked towards the officers section of the SAFAG barracks deck, she look a moment to enjoy the aesthetically-pleasing atmosphere of the small but heavily armed warship.

"The draccians sure do know how to create a ship." She commented to no one in particular as she headed up the corridors in search of her quarters.

"On behalf of my race, Captain, I am flattered." Sera involuntarily jumped at the unexpected reply from behind her and whirled around to see who'd snuck up on her. Standing there clad in the black and charcoal uniform of SAFAG, a color scheme that blended strikingly with her onyx-black scales, was a slim draccian about a head shorter than her grinning merrily. Long ivory tresses spilled out haphazardly from under an unusually well cared-for officer's cap and from under the mass of white hair, Sera could see the tips of two horns, an ornament that was surprisingly rare among draccians, rising gracefully. The youthful officer's startlingly blue eyes met Sera's surprised expression and the soldier's grin turned into a more subdued smile. A quick glance downward confirmed two things for Sera: despite an extremely young appearance, this officer outranked her and her uniform bore all the hallmarks of the Special Operations division. A red band around her left arm, a golden circle around the silver star on the cap, and a cackling death's head under her rank markings on either shoulder showed her to be one of the hand-selected "supersoldiers" of SAFAG. The immense solemnity of the markings, however, was bellied by a very elaborate silver band around one of the female's horns, a piece of jewelry Sera hadn't seen on a draccian since high school.

"No flattery was meant, ma'am." Sera saluted the shorter officer dutifully and was greeted with a girlish giggle and a slightly playful salute in response.

"I appreciate the respect, Captain, but there's no need to salute me." She replied in a pleasant-sounding Southern American drawl, offering her hand. "Major Akeya Obsydian at your service."

Even as she automatically took the proffered hand, Sera realized that in her fascination with Akeya's uniform, she had somehow not even seen the weapon that the draccian was now resting on its recoil pad to free up her hand. It was clearly a type of large-caliber long rifle but so custom-engineered that it bore no resemblance to any other infantry weapon she'd ever seenâ€"and with her father's profession as a gunsmith and armorer for SAFAG, she'd seen quite a few. The barrel had grooves cut into the outside to facilitate quick cooling and the bipod assembly had smaller legs spring-loaded into the frame of the main ones that were obviously meant to brace the weapon more solidly when it was fired. The lower portion of the gun, behind the trigger guard, actually constituted half of the gun's length and sported several attachment points and obvious signs of being highly modular, able to have pieces of it rapidly switched out as needed. The weapon was made all the more impressive by the fact that it couldn't be less than 6 feet long, making it markedly taller than its wielder.

Akeya, it turned out, was the first draccian Sera had ever met whose grip was firm but controlled such that she didn't need to avoid wincing as she shook hands with the unusual soldier. "I didn't know they allowed soldiers to carry heavy weaponry off-duty."

"It ain't loaded." Akeya replied with a shrug. "Besides... by virtue of it fittin' me like a glove, I get to cart it wherever I please. So do ya have a name, Captain, or just a ship strapped to your back?"

"Hey now... I'm no salt." Sera protested. "I'm SAFAG. The name's Serafine Wilson."

Akeya smiled warmly. "A true honor and pleasure then, Captain." She inclined her head respectfully. "The courage it took to face down a whole mess of rollin' Leadstorms... well, I don't know many SpecOps that have that sorta backbone and that's God's own truth."

"Thanks." Sera replied. "You know, it seems like practically everyone I meet outranks me. I'm still not sure how Shadow intends that I should command the SAFAG contingent when I'm so far below the requisite rank."

"So you're the boss, huh?" Akeya gave her a sympathetic look as she shifted her rifle into a relaxed two-handed carrying position. "I'm sorry that you're a mite short of rank at the moment, Serafine, but you seem to forget that that Admiral got permission to make you our boss from the very top. Now, I have it on mighty good authority that you're in for some gold stars but don't go tellin' anyone I said so."

"I get the feeling that you couldn't really care less what my rank is." Sera observed.

Akeya grinned a bit and winked "Because I don't, Sera." She replied. "My boss is whoever is worthy of bein' my boss. Ultimately, that's your friend Admiral Williams and she's got that worthiness in spades. But more immediately, my boss is you and I say, if Admiral Williams has taken a shine to ya, you must have virtues beyond a spine of Katyusha's best gleam." The grin turned into a smile again, this one warmer than before. "That and I find myself uncommon fond of ya right off. Myna too, beyond the fact that she's ‘bout as cute as any button I've ever seen."

Akeya's unusual vernacular made Sera chuckle involuntarily. "Just where do you come from, Akeya?" She inquired.

Akeya gave her another toothy grin. "Born and bred in the bayous of Alabama in the US of A." She announced proudly. "Granted, it's a bit different than Bavaria but it's a place to put up my feet."

"Thought so." Sera responded. "It's sort of rare to hear the terms ‘uncommon fond' and ‘cute as a button' in normal conversation. Which she is, by the way... I don't think she's lost her teenage cuteness even though she's thirty. Speaking of age..."

"For me to know, o Captain my Captain, and you to find out." Akeya winked rakishly. "But I will tell you that my age used to make me jailbait."

"And I'm certain that if it was back then, you would be tempting bait indeed." Sera replied, noting that Akeya had the typical draccian beauty and a certain exoticness besides with the horns and unusually blue eyes. "But I've got to make sure everything got to my quarters alright and head up to the bridge before departure."

Akeya smiles and saluted smartly. "Then I'll be seein' you later, Serafine. Y'all don't be a stranger now." Once again, she gave a playful wink. "I guarantee, boss, that you're going to be around me so much that them soldier-boys are gonna get envy."

Sera chuckled and shook her head at the youthful SpecOps' lightheartedness, watching Akeya sidle passed her to destinations unknown, and continued on towards where she hoped her quarters were. The halls were easy to navigate and made finding her quarters easily. Apparently, Shadow had informed Captain Rousseau about her spot-promotion; "Brigadier General Serafine Wilson" had been engraved on the door plaque with a single large golden star above it. She opened the door to find that, to her surprise, her quarters had been fitted with a few visible extras.

While dimensionally the same as typical a officer's quarters, the standard metal bookshelf had been replaced with what looked to be a markedly larger oak one set into the wall. The dresser, also wood, was larger than a standard-issue one as was the nightstand and the bed. The alcove desk had been replaced with a nice round table and several cushioned chairs, clearly meant to accommodate any friends that might drop by for a visit (such as, Sera thought with a grin, a certain wolven) and the small faucet and heating element had been enlarged to include a small sink and drawers that Sera guessed contained the ingredients for tea and hot cocoa. When she finally really looked at the bed, she couldn't help but chuckle; in refined calligraphy that Sera guessed was Nomi Rousseau's handwriting, the words "Admiral's fault" were written on a card that had been propped up on a pillow. Sera smiled, deeply appreciative of the effort her friend had made to help her feel welcome and comfortable. She knew that Shadow would have dipped into her own pay to brighten things up a little, a gesture of kindness that was well within SAF regulations.

Sighing with resignation at the realization that she probably couldn't linger in the comfortable personal space, at least for now, she turned to walk to the command section. The walk there was surprisingly short considering the apparent size of the ship and she was stepping into the command section within 10 minutes. While she knew that the bridge was actually buried in the middle of the ship under several layers of armor and bulge space, the designers had taken great care to put up screens connected to various shielded cameras with fish-eye lenses that gave the astonishingly realistic illusion of looking out of windows into the space around them. The center readout and visual communications screen was clearly a giant projection screen but the others were recessed slightly with a thick pane of imitation glass over them that was curved to imitate the effect of looking off to a side through a thick window. The bridge was filled with control panels and screens but laid out in such a way as to allow maximum flexibility and freedom of movement so that people didn't get entangled rushing helter skelter during general quarters, drill or otherwise. The controls were also highly redundant with general-use touchpads augmented by a set of emergency mechanical controls, a board full of switches, buttons, and dials. The emergency controls were actually a human idea; the engineer pointed out that while it's nice to be able to use minimal hand movements and luxuriously switch between glancing at the pretty soft-touch controls and watching the screens, such controls would be a liability in a serious emergency or when an operator needed to remain glued to a readout and not looking at their hands. Repeated combat trials had proved the utility beyond a doubt; mind-numbingly repetitive drills allowed a trained technician to operate the controls with a high reliability with a blindfold on, relying on cultivated muscle memory and the unique physical feel of each component. Actually, some technicians had requested that the soft-touch control be removed completely as they enjoyed the ability to efficiently carry out mundane tasks without having to pay attention to their hands. While the proposal was turned thumbs-down, several technicians had gotten special permission to have the refit done. The refit was considered something of a status symbol, identifying the technicians and operators who were the most skilled at their jobs and more often then not getting them earmarked for transfer to high-status assignments such as, Sera noticed by glancing at the consoles, bridge duty on frigates tasked with high-value expeditionary assignments.

The only other person on the bridge at the moment was Nomi Rousseau who looked back at Sera with a smile as she entered and walked over to greet her with the typical draccian handshake.

"Thank you for being so punctual, General." She said, nearly crushing Sera's hand in her powerful grip. Sera politely freed her hand and nodded.

"No problem." She answered. "I take it that you were aware of my spot-promotion in time to put that plaque up on my door."

The captain chuckled. "I was aware of it before you arrived, actually." She sat gracefully and patted the seat next to her invitingly. "Admiral Williams informed both me and the commodore before you arrived although I have the uncanny feeling that Dr. Campbell was also informed for some reason. For obvious reasons, Colonel Jenkins was excluded even before his nasty personality was revealed."

Sera nodded gratefully at the offer and seated herself in the proffered seat. "A major now." She commented, relaxing in the extremely comfortable seat. "He was spot-demoted by Shadow for smarting off to her once too often."

"Wow... two entire ranks." Nomi shook her head in amazement. "It's certainly nice to work with a friend of Admiral Williams. She has just the right kind of personality for a flag officer, a capacity for gregarious warmth coupled with the ability to be almost cruelly cold if called for. Your friends reflect favorably upon you, Serafine Wilson, as they do upon your friend Shadow."

Sera flushed a little at the compliment. "You are kind to say so, Captain Rousseau."

"Nomi."

"Beg pardon?"

"Please call me Nomi, Serafine." Rousseau smiled. "There are going to be very few officers at that command table and I would just as soon be on friendly terms with them. Well... at least as friendly as possible with the ones worth befriending."

"Nomi then." Sera nodded. "Anyway, you are kind to say so. My friendship with her was a happy accident, the product of our last names making us bunk mates at the ‘slin'. I guess she just saw something special in me because I enjoyed that warmth you speak of from the moment we shook hands. I never thought I'd be bunking with Aaron Williams' granddaughter, especially the one who'd spent her life learning on his knee."

"Fortune has taken a liking to you, then." Nomi remarked as the doors opened and a gaggle of humans, wolvens, and draccians entered. "Well, it seems like the command crew has arrived. Time to head out, General." She stood as the crew took their places. "Alright, me hardies. Draw anchor and fill the sails. Ops, please confirm umbilical detachment."

"Confirm umbilical detachment aye, Captain." Ops replied briskly. "Ops confirms umbilical detachment. Ops further confirms that necessary thrust safety margin has been achieved."

"Engine room confirms safety margin." Engineering added. "Engine room requests command authorization to ignite engine assembly."

"Given." Nomi nodded. "Fire tertiary engines."

"Fire tertiary engines, aye." Engineering waited a moment, listening on her hardwired headset. "Engine room has fired tertiary engines. Engineering confirms that engines are running hot and normal, currently climbing at friendly standard from twenty percent."

Sera felt the floor rumble beneath her as the smallest engines kicked in and began moving them away from the docking facility. Looking out one of the large viewing "windows", she saw the Lady Lex firing her engines as well, moving away with the awe-inspiring Executor already in the lead with the ungainly Searcher taking up position near the center of the triangular formation. Both warships were breathtaking engineering achievements, their hulls smooth and graceful. Having achieved war machines of significant capabilities, the shipwrights had put long hours into improving the aesthetic appeal of their creations, giving the capital ships a certain majesty.

"Helm, bring us into lower right point of the delta formation. Engineering, fire secondary engines." The captain ordered. Sera felt an even more intense rumbling as the larger engines kicked in and increased their speed. The captain turned to her. "Even on the secondary engines, it'll take us a while to reach the slingshot point for the gate. We should be receiving that message from the Admiral shortly."

Barely had she said this when the communications technician announced an incoming message from the Executor. Nomi nodded for him to put it through and the large screen that dominated the far wall lit up to reveal the admiral on the notably more grandiose bridge of the battleship. Strangely, Sera noticed, it was more sparsely populated by technicians than the smaller and less complex frigate, a lacking that made her wonder. The screen then split into three panels, one showing Andropoli on the carrier bridge and the other showing Dr. Campbell's gaunt white face with scientific equipment in the background, indicating that she was participating from one of the Searcher's labs.

"Greetings, Marauder, Searcher, Lady Lex." Shadow said amicably. "I thought that the beginning of our undocking and formation maneuvers would probably be the best time to send out final instructions. The science team on the research station Charles reports that the ripple gate has been aligned for the catapult to the destination system and awaits final approval from Dr. Campbell before they power the ring array. You'll be moving into the point forward position of the formation since your ship would be more agile and able to respond more efficiently to unforeseen conditions on the other side. I suggest getting your gunnery crews to their stations before catapult and your shield generators spun up and ready to activate if needs be. If that civilization the probe recorded is watching, they'll probably want to have a nice chat." Shadow paused. "I'll make this crystal clear because it was made very clear to me. You have full discretion as relating to anyone we meet and if fired upon, take all measures consistent with the safety of your command and the protection of the science vessel. We're going to be face-to-face with a civilization that either mistook a harmless probe for a deadly weapon or is simply dangerously xenophobic so keep on your toes."

"I hope it is not too impolite to point out that draccians and wolvens have no choice but to be on our toes." Dr. Campbell quipped.

"Oh, sure... laugh at the admiral when she's trying to be serious." Shadow smirked. "The pocket protector crowd should be seen, not heard, Doctor."

"If I am sufficiently fortunate, Admiral, I will be unseen at the most inopportune times." Dr. Campbell smirked back.

"Doc, there ain't no way that you can stay hidden." Nomi interjected. "You're white as bone and bony as hell."

The brief banter brought smiles to faces, even to that of the stoic-looking Andropoli who nonetheless said nothing.

"It's good that we can savor some humor." Shadow commented after a moment. "Going into action in possibly hostile space, we shall have few chances to laugh and smile. Be cautious, my friends, and we will win through without any serious costs. Good luck to all of you; stay sharp on the other side. Redux Executor out."

The communications technician shut off the link and the command section fell silent. The captain broke the silence to order the primary engines fired up. "Might as well get there as fast as possible, eh General?" She asked rhetorically.

"It's nice to be called that." Sera said thoughtfully. "I'm still kind of surprised that the first person to tell me about it was that odd major I met in the hall."

"Odd major?" Nomi tilted her head.

"Yeah." Sera confirmed. "Head shorter than me, looks like someone kidnapped her from high school, scarily-blue eyes. Said her name was Akeya Obsydian."

"So you met the ball of energy we called the Ragin' Cajun?" Nomi inquired with a laugh. "Well, if you've met her, you're better for it. She's pretty young... I hear they had to make a special provision to allow her to serve, actually. Believe you me, they got one helluva bargain. She's got the looks that the typical high school girl prefers to squeeze into one of those absurd cheerleader outfits but she's scary smart. I hear she's also one of the Special Operations division's prize sharpshooters with any gun you put in her hands."

"So I read her uniform right." Sera noted. "She's the expedition's SpecOps asset. What's her designation?"

"Gunslinger." Nomi replied. "If you want more information on her, I could have the BSY core on the Executor transfer her personnel file over. SpecOps assets are never lacking in long lists of accomplishments and plaudits but Akeya is in a class of her own. The file's a really interesting read."

Sera shook her head in amazement. "So hard to believe that someone that cheerful and youthful is a SpecOps asset." She commented. "It's hard to tell she's any sort of a commando."

"She's SpecOps all right." Nomi confirmed. "You've never seen her get ticked off and do serious harm to someone twice her size and weight. It's hard to believe that mere talent-specific training can do that to an otherwise normal person."

"Well, as much as they facetiously call the program "Ubersoldat", all their amazing feats are just what happens when you have a superior regime paired with superior raw material." Sera smiled. "They do with extraordinary talent what TUDC does with rusty slag from Mars."

"Just remember: her triggers are her age and her gun." Nomi warned. "Being told that her age makes her incapable infuriates her and mocking her rifle's odd appearance insults her considerable pride in the thing. Not even the scrubbed part of her file shows any evidence that it ever explained why she's so sensitive about the weapon she uses."

"Temper is just the side effect of immaturity." Sera shrugged. "Training can't suddenly endow you with the wisdom of age or the self-restraint of experience. Frankly, I'd be concerned about her psyche if she didn't have some of the normal flaws of youth."

"This is true." Nomi agreed. "Hey, speaking of unusual training regimes, have you heard about that General... General..." She frowned. "Well, I don't recall his name but some higher-up general in SAFAG has been doing some interesting work over the last six years on beachhead combat and capital ship capture operations. I hear he recently graduated his first crop from the Patton and they're really something else."

The mention of a new combat specialty brought to Sera's mind the memory of the two unusually-dressed guards outside the command conference room aboard the Arid. "Dark blue uniforms with a different color of stripe on each pant leg, wearing a white hat with blue band?"

"That's them." Nomi nodded. "Damndest thing, too... who would have ever thought someone would revive Marines?"

"Marines, huh?" Sera scratched her chin idly. "Well, it sure explains the long rifles. Bet he's from the States... American Teufelshunde were famous for ‘every Marine a rifleman'."

"Teufelshunde?"

"Essentially, ‘devil dog'." Sera chuckled. "Probably a myth but one helluva myth."

"I've never quite bought that it's a myth." Nomi replied thoughtfully. "Marines have always been a recklessly brave bunch but the exploits of American Marines are the stuff of legend. The kind of training it'd take to land on and fight in thick jungle islands populated with fanatic veteran soldiers... I couldn't even imagine."

"Hopefully, neither of us will have to imagine, much less experience." Sera sighed. "I haven't even started this job and I already fear I'm over my head. I sort of wish I had more significant experience than commanding a small garrison... I mean, I earned excellent command marks but beyond digging in and putting the hurt on shoddy excuses for tanks, I only really know the theory. My duties at the Gaia Shipyards have severely limited my opportunity to attend wargames so..."

"I have faith in Admiral Williams, Serafine." The draccian interrupted. "She, in turn, has faith in you and so, I have faith as well. Inexperience can be taught, ignorance educated, but only stupid cannot be compensated for."

The comment got Sera to crack a smile. "You're right, Nomi." She admitted. "I'm probably worrying over nothing. It's not as if I'm being called upon to organize a planetary assault."

"That's right." Nomi agreed. "The Admiral would never have assigned you here unless she was sure you could inspire confidence and lead competently. But if you need help... I suspect you can just talk to Akeya. She's very popular and respected amongst the garrison we brought along."

Sera grinned. "Thanks for the encouragement." She said, feeling a bit better. "I'm almost tempted to wonder how she got so popular..."

Nomi laughed. "Well, you know how draccians can be, especially when there's a large supply of good-looking other people." She replied, a wicked twinkle in her eye. "But just remember... in many ways, a general is both the sum of his abilities and the talent he surrounds himself with. What would Lee have been without Longstreet, Stuart, Early, and Jackson? Great still but he would have lacked his best weapons; not many generals have access to a SpecOps asset and a large variety of well-gamed soldiers."

Before Sera could form an answer, the navigator interrupted. "We're approaching the science station Charles, Captain." He reported. "Their navigation transmitter advises that we snuff primary and secondary engines so we can be positioned for entrance into the ripple gate."

"Granted, although I'm surprised that we're already that close." Nomi stated with a quirked eyeridge. "The newest refinement of our engine systems must be markedly better than I was led to believe. How far behind are Executor and Lex?"

The navigator checked. "About 12 kilometers, cap'n, pulling into closer protective formation around the Searcher. By the looks of things, their BSY cores have dumped their shield energy into their engines and navigational thrusters so they're moving along at a pretty rapid clip. Makes you wish this thing was big enough for one of those AIs, don't it?"

Nomi shrugged. "I might be overly traditionalist but I sorta like a living breathing command crew rather than one smart-alack AI." She remarked wryly. "Lock our navigation onto the Charles' beacon and call me when we're ready to take the plunge. I'll be consulting with Major Obsydian on her final tally of assets and initial readiness report."

The captain gave her a quick nod and salute and strode off the bridge purposefully, leaving Sera standing in the front of the command section feeling a bit unsure of herself.

"If I may say, you're looking a mite lost, General." The navigator gave her a sympathetic look. "Don't worry, the captain isn't going to make you command the ship while she's gone. Take a load off." He gestured to one of the command chairs in the front of the action and Sera sat, settling comfortably into the padded seat.

"So what's this BSY core you're talking about?" She asked. "I don't think they were developed until after my stint in the ‘slin'."

"I'd have thought you'd have seen some working at the shipyards, General." The wolven at the engineering console replied. "Many capital ships these days are being outfitted with them, especially the Colossus, Dragoness, and Redux class ships."

"Security and fine electronics were my area of expertise." Sera told him. "AIs were part of the specialized computer science division; I was on the dumb computer end."

"You know of the BSY series of supercomputers, right?" Communications inquired.

"Who doesn't?" Sera chuckled. "Swastika never misses a chance to mention their babies in their slew of commercials, press releases, and field technical readouts."

Communications grinned at the truism. "Well, they apparently pushed the things to the level of total sentience. I think they call it the BSY-2000 or something like that. First one didn't have a lot of personality but then they made the 2100 and that's their pride and joy." She explained. "Then they went a step further and figured out how to network a cluster of six together, giving it enough brains to run pretty much anything on the planet."

"That's the BSY core?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Not sure whether it's some sort of representative of a hive mind or whatever but the one they've got over on the Executor is the very first one. If she didn't cheerfully talk about being a computer, I'd swear she was living and breathing."

"She's some sort of master ship liaison." Helm piped up. "Too bad she's not a real person... got a buddy over there who swears that she keeps trying to seduce him or somethin'."

Sera stared at him. "Your buddy swears that a computer is trying to seduce him?"

"Um, yes." He nodded. "Hey, don't look at me like that. He's not nuts just... um... odd."

Sera laughed at the helm officer's obvious discomfort just as Communications snapped her fingers for Sera's attention and gestured towards her control board where the ‘incoming' light was blinking. Not knowing the exact protocol for when the captain wasn't on the bridge, she shrugged and, straightening, indicated for her to project in on the main screen. She was mildly surprised to see Dr. Campbell's frail-looking spectacled face appear on the screen.

"Greeting, Brigadier General Wilson." She said with a slight smile. "I assume that the captain is elsewhere making battle preparations?"

Sera nodded, wondering what the scientist wanted.

"Well, don't worry about informing her." Melinda assured her. "Since the Marauder is at the front of the protective formation, I thought that I ought to inform you first that the ripple gate matrix sequence is being initiated and we'll be guiding you in shortly. The Charles confirms that the array power couplings are actually running below the expected power load threshold so this ought to be a very stable jump. Granted, there will still be some noticeable turbulence immediately before and after transit but do not be concernedâ€"the array is designed to terminate transit upon any threatening anomalies during operation so you have nothing to be worried about."

"I appreciate the hand-holding, Dr. Campbell, but I don't need to be reassured that your miracle device is acceptably safe." Sera smiled. "I'm sure that Shadow grilled you to distraction already to assure herself that she isn't going to have to write a thousand ‘I regret to inform you' letters."

"Oh, please don't remind me." Dr. Campbell looked vaguely pained. "I fully understand her wish to be assured of her forces' safety but she stopped just short of strapping me into a shuttle herself and sending me through the gate to make sure. Is she normally that paranoid?"

"You're asking someone who hasn't spoken to her in a few years, Doctor." Sera chuckled. "But don't worry... she's high-strung just before a big event but she calms down really quickly if you distract her with responsibilities."

Dr. Campbell laughed. "The sequence will engage in approximately 2 minutes, General." She told Sera. "Good luck; Dr. Campbell over and out."

Sera turned to the communications officer as soon as the screen turned off. "Is there a way to get the captain up here?" She asked the woman. "I think it'd be best to have her on the bridge before we make the jump. After all, I'm not much of a salt."

"I could always summon her with the quarters alarm." Communications grinned wickedly.

"I'd help her throw you out a porthole." Sera retorted, albeit with a answering grin. "No, just get her up here without frying her nerves."

"Compliance." The officer quickly tapped her board and threw a switch then sat back and waited; barely a minute later, Nomi entered the bridge.

"Comm, having the internal system loop SOS on my radio until I have to shut the thing off ain't funny." She told her technician a little crossly as she joined Sera in front. "Well, off we go, General. I really hate this thing, Melinda's assurances of safety notwithstanding."

"You've actually been through?" Sera inquired.

"Yeah." Nomi nodded. "Just a short jump but the pins and needles were murder. I sometimes want to ask how it works but I'm sort of afraid to find out."

Navigation looked over and gave the captain a thumbs up. "We're ready to go, captain." He reported. "Systems confirm that station Charles has locked us in and is bringing us into jump position."

"Very well, navigation." Nomi nodded. "Security, we have no idea what's on the other side and have every reason to expect a hostile presence. Beat to quarters."

It took Sera a moment to fish the archaic phrase out of her memory, just in time to slap her paws over her ears as the eerie wail reminiscent of an air raid siren howled from the PA system. Besides being almost painful to listen to, Sera supposed that there was no more piercing sound. The alarm ceased an agonizing minute later as Nomi, who looked strangely unbothered by the general-quarters siren walked back to the security station and picked up the hard-wired microphone.

"General quarters, all hands to stations." She recited calmly. "I repeat, general quarters, all hands to stations. Marauder is preparing to make a jump through the ripple gate into a confirmed hostile environment. Gunners and damage control, stand to."

"How the hell do you endure that sound?" Sera inquired as the captain rejoined her.

Nomi grinned and pulled a nearly invisible pair of round devices linked by a thin wire out from under her mane where ears would be on a mammal. "I put on some dampeners before I got to the bridge." She explained as she wrapped them up and put them in a uniform pocket. "Newest little gadget, really popular for construction workers."

"I hate you, Captain." Sera informed her seriously.

"I'm flattered, General." Nomi smiled. "We getting a count from jump control yet, nav?"

"Yes ma'am." He replied. "Charles reports that jump window will be activated in 30 seconds."

"Excellent." Nomi nodded once to him. "Give count and mark at will, Navigation. Brace yourself, Serafine."

"Jump window is active in 20 seconds." Navigation narrated. "Jump window is active in... 15 seconds. In ten... in five... four... three... two... mark."