CH 2

  Lorraine looked around the small white and gray room. It was supposedly a bedroom in the medical bay of the starbase for sector command. However, it still felt like a spare machine room aboard an old space refinery, with wire ports in the wall and the occasional oil stain. She looked out the viewing port from her bed and could see the nearby anchorage modules where The Aster was currently drydocked. From what she read in the mission report, the Aster had sustained damage to its bridge life support systems and minor damage to the hull, batteries, and shield array. Lorraine crawled out of bed and made her way over to the viewing port. She held her hand against the glass and slowly gazed over the blast marks that littered the hull of her ship. The Aster might not be the fastest or the most powerful ship in the sector, but it was her ship, and she wouldn’t trade it for anything. Lorraine made her way back over to the bed and sat across the side of it. She brushed her foot against the small table next to the bed and brought her mind back to what she had been trying not to dwell on, the report.

  Lorraine had read over the report from her recent mission at least a dozen times. Each time she read it, some new possibilities or what-ifs popped into her mind about how she could have done things differently. Maybe if she hadn’t been so focused on what was going on in front of them, she would have predicted the arrival of the second squadron. Perhaps if she had reported the sighting like she was supposed to, the ship would have been forced to surrender or otherwise been overwhelmed by multiple foes.

  Lorraine dragged her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath. She exhaled and looked over at the table next to her, where the action report sat. The small tan folder held yet another critique of her performance in the field. Reaching over, she grabbed the report and started to thumb through it again, waiting to see what new thoughts might emerge.

  “Frigate Aster, under the command of Captain Laroach, sighted Target vessel ‘Serpent’. Captain Laroach deviated from protocol and engaged the ship before reporting to Command. Much to her and her crew’s peril”. Lorraine could feel the condescending comment sting at her confidence. It hurt reading it the first time, and it still hurt this time. It was easy to judge another person’s mistakes when you’re half a system away from the fighting, not to mention after the fact. She searched further in the document.

  “Frigate Aster managed to destroy two Ralerin fighters and temporarily crippled ‘Serpent’ before being flanked by Ralerin reinforcements. Ralerin reinforcements proceeded to cripple critical life support systems of Frigate Aster and force a retreat”. “Managed”, “Temporarily”, “Forced” she could still feel the doubt in the written words of the document. It was no secret to Lorraine that not all of her superiors shared her eagerness to act in the moment. She did her best to think things through, but ultimately, she knew that she couldn’t afford to dot every i or cross every t, not with the current state of things.

  A knock came at the door, dragging Lorraine’s head out of the report and back to the moment at hand.

  “Yes?”

  “My apologies for interrupting, Captain. Admiral Goslan requests your presence.” Of course, Lorraine had been too busy sulking and thinking over what-ifs to recall the real thing that she had been dreading. Another chewing out.

  “Have a seat, Captain Laroach. I’m eager to review your performance from your last engagement,” Admiral Goslan gestured to the empty seat at the far side of the table.

  “Thank you, Admiral Goslan.” Lorraine made her way across the room and took her seat. “I’m eager to review your performance.” He didn’t have to rub in how eager he was to be chewing her out. She sighed internally and interlocked her fingers together as she watched Admiral Goslan sort through his copy of the report.

  “I understand that you managed to engage ‘Serpent’, but were unable to capture the vessel.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I also understand that you decided not to contact command upon sighting the ship, rushed to engage it, and most concerning of all, you strayed wildly outside of your patrol vector to even pursue the ship.” Admiral Golsan’s cold gray eyes focused on Lorraine, noting the slightest movement from her seat.

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Strayed from my patrol vector? Admiral, you must be mistaken, I-”

  “I checked the navigational readouts from your ship, Captain. You went well beyond the last curve in your patrol vector to pursue.” Admiral Golsan rubbed his fingers against the temples of his head and exhaled deeply.

  Lorraine suddenly realized what her crew had been trying to tell her before they moved to investigate the ship. She had thought that the only concern at the time was going in alone. She didn’t even think to check on their current heading once the cruiser was sighted.

  “Sir, I… I couldn’t stand the thought of letting that ship get away. Not again. You know what havoc just one Ralerin ship can cause if left unopposed.”

  “I know, it isn’t easy for me to stand the thought of letting a Ralerin ship operate unopposed in neutral space. I- We both know all too well the chaos that entire Ralerin fleets can bring to bear in a system.” Admiral Golsan rose from his seat and walked over to the viewport overlooking the orbital starbase. “Even if you had called in the sighting of Serpent, I wouldn’t have had any substantial reinforcements to send to assist you. Our forces in this sector are stretched thin enough as it is; After the battle at Petov, Command is still trying to regain the ships we lost.” Admiral Golsan folded his arms behind his back and tightly gripped his hands together.

  “Do you think we’ll ever be able to defeat them?” Lorraine rose from her seat and stood next to Admiral Golsan at the viewport.

  “Today? No. Tomorrow? No. But someday, we’ll defeat them.” Admiral Goslan paused.. “In the meantime, however, I have new orders for you.” Lorraine’s ears perked up, and she turned her gaze to the side.

  “Already? Are you sure I’m the only one who acts too quickly around here?” Lorraine casually remarked before making her way back over to the table.

  “Sometimes swiftness is necessary to a successful mission. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never doubted your ability to act quickly, but simply your knowledge of when not to.” Admiral Golsen reached across the table and handed Lorraine a new folder. “Command recently received intelligence that someone on Florian might have a lead on the whereabouts of ‘Serpent’ and other possible Ralerin activity in the area”. Lorraine skimmed through the folder. She had never been to Florian, but from what she had heard, the planet was within the League of Nisoa and was said to hold many ruins. A perfect place for the Historians to go.

  “As we both know, The Aster is still drydocked and won’t be ready for service anytime soon. I want you to take one of the shuttles from your ship to Florian with a detachment of soldiers and archivists. Your primary objective will be the securing of any actionable intel on ‘Serpent’. However, your secondary standing objective is to assist the archivist team with identifying any potential sites of interest for future archiving and examination.” Lorraine had never quite figured out exactly how the Historians could fight a war and pursue intellectual expeditions simultaneously. One seemed hard enough without the other.

  “Understood, when am I shipping out?”

  “Tomorrow, I imagine you still need some time to finish recovering. If you have no further questions, Captain, you’re dismissed.”

  “Thank you, Admiral.” Lorraine closed the new folder and made her way out of the room. She had no complaints about being back out in the field so soon. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand, it was idle stillness.

  Lorraine had only briefly looked through the mission brief with her new orders, but her mind was already abuzz with all the potential prospects she might find in the field. If this lead panned out, then they might be able to set their own trap for the elusive Ralerin cruiser, but first, there was another matter Lorraine needed to tend to. She looked down as she felt her stomach grumbling. A quick stop at the station’s mess hall was in order. Lorraine could only deal with so many things at once, and right now, stopping the revolt of her stomach was much more pressing.

  The Galactic Tribune:

  We now resume our previously started coverage from where we left off. This charter, known as “The Historian Alliance,” was initially established to aid in the preservation and discovery of archaeological remains from the Star Voyager Era. We may truly never know just how many civilizations were subjugated or destroyed by their tyrannical reign.

  Many have disputed the validity of using the charter to fund an armed resistance against the Ralerin Empire, essentially. Advocates in favor of the Historian Alliance heavily rely on the archaeological work they continue to do and the work they undertake to help downtrodden and war-torn areas.

  There are still many unanswered questions and accusations surrounding the Brigantia debacle and the conflicts that have emerged from it. Is the Historian Alliance a legitimate entity on the galactic stage or little more than well-organized insurgents? Were foreign mercenaries utilized by either side, as some reports have indicated? Will the Galactic Assembly renew the agreement allocating several key shipping lanes for Ralerin military use? And most pressing of all, who is the mysterious leader of the Historian Alliance?

  https://ko-fi.com/moonlightlamenter#linkModal

  https://open.spotify.com/episode/0z33i2tjMkrpgyQnDoYYCc?si=-Vr882mjQOy3ubyrj027tQ