Post by Lorpius Prime on Aug 29, 2023 22:15:15 GMT -5
Pascual was already grumpy by the time he exited his quarters on the Barn Swallow. Nadia had departed the ship a couple days earlier for exercises with the other marines. Pascual thought they had parted on good terms, but he still wasn't sure if theirs was anything more than a casual fling. He didn't know if they would see each other again. Nor was he sure if they should see each other again. Just two nights alone and all the feelings of guilt and regret and grief about Sonia were driving him to distraction once again.
Hyong Yaheek was seated and hunched over the table in the center of the common area. A PDA lay before him. It was an Earth device, so the Bat had to awkwardly rotate his fingers to tap the controls with fur rather than claw.
"Good morning, Ambassador," the Bat said without looking up.
"Good morning, Mr. Yaheek." Pascual did not think his bad mood came through his voice. He was, in theory, a professional diplomat after all.
"I do not suppose the..." Pascual could see Hyong composing his jaw and mouth for the next word, "Tadpoles changed their position about allowing me to join your tour of their ship?"
Pascual shook his head, "I'm sorry, but they did not."
Hyong hissed in what Pascual had come to realize was his imitation of a human sigh. "I did not expect so. But it would have been refreshing." He turned from his PDA to look Pascual in the eyes. "I am growing very restless, Ambassador. I am not used to extended boredom and am having difficulty enduring it."
And what did the Bat expect Pascual to do about that? "Sorry," he said again.
Hyong tapped the claws of one hand against the common table a few times before resuming his fight with the PDA. Pascual interpreted that as frustration.
"I am attempting to read some of your species' literature," the Bat said.
"Mhmm," Pascual retrieved a small fruit drink packet from the refrigerator in the common area.
"I do not believe it was designed with this interface in mind," Hyong continued, "or I have not fully understood its use."
Pascual took his drink to another seat at the table. Glancing over Hyong's shoulder, he glimpsed tiny images wobbling on the PDA screen.
"Comic?" he asked as he sat down. "Yeah those can be difficult to read on a PDA. You might want a full tablet, or an actual book if it's printed. What comic?"
"'Batman,'" Hyong said, "I believe the spacer who recommended it to me might have been making a joke."
"Probably," Pascual said. "But that is a classic character, could be worth reading anyway."
He took out his own PDA and tried to call the Lieutenant who was his usual contact on the Barn Swallow at this time. He got a hold message instead of a live connection, so Pascual typed a brief question asking whether the shuttle was ready.
A minute later, after sipping down most of the packet of apple juice, Pascual got a call from Lieutenant Commander Sykes, the Barn Swallow's captain.
"Captain Sykes?"
"Ambassador Molinas, I apologize, I only just found out myself. Your shuttle to the Tadpole ship is being delayed. The Task Force is starting a readiness exercise, transports are held until it's finished."
Pascual groaned. Unprofessional, but he was still grumpy. "You couldn't have scheduled this for later? Or earlier? How long will this take?"
"Perhaps an hour or two," Sykes shrugged. "You'll have to take the schedule up with Commodore Lee."
"She's the one that asked me for this tour!"
"I have my orders, Ambassador. Please pay attention to any warning messages. If we need to maneuver during the exercise, you'll want to be strapped in."
The call ended and Pascual put his head down on the common table. It was only a short delay, but it still felt like a bad day getting worse.
"If you are not going anywhere for a while," Hyong Yaheek said, "do you have one of these tablets that are better suited to reading?"
* * *
Commodore Lee Xi Feng took a deep breath, adjusted her grip on the helmet held in the crook of her right arm, and walked onto the bridge of the EFS Uruguay.
"Captain on the bridge!" the XO, Commander Wade, announced. Every officer and spacer in the room gave her a deep nod of salute. They had known she was coming, and were all standing.
Xi Feng saluted back. The crew attended to their posts and a spacer behind her shut the hatch to the bridge and sealed it.
"Status of the Task Force, Commander Donaldson?" Xi Feng asked as she strapped into her chair.
"All ships report ready for maneuvers," the Task Force's dual intelligence and operations officer reported crisply.
Xi Feng had been drilling her captains and their crews intensely—an unkind observer might say mercilessly—for the past four months. They were well practiced at making themselves ready on short notice.
"Message to Task Force. All ships to full combat alert. Hatches sealed, suits and helmets on." She turned to the XO, "same instructions to the Uruguay, Commander."
Wade saluted and touched a control at his chair and spoke into the ship's intercom, "General alert, combat stations. Full suits and helmets on."
The full crew had already been summoned to stations fifteen minutes ago, and warned to prepare for full suits. But it was important to observe the formalities.
Xi Feng fixed her own helmet over her head and locked it into the receiving ring around her neck.
Earth Fleet spacesuits were not yet well standardized. The Uruguay and most of the other warships in Task Force One had newer models derived from hoplite suits. They lacked powered exoskeletons and armor plates, but the wearer could move around with only moderate inhibition, and the life support package was adequate for supplying fresh air from the surrounding atmosphere or internal cylinders if necessary.
The non-combat ships in the Task Force had to make do with much less efficient and comfortable equipment, however. Most of that might still be described as adequate. But the Archimedes, Barn Swallow, and the Nightingale all had Zvezda Sokol suits only a little changed from service in 20th century Soyuz capsules.
Xi Feng double-checked the status of her helmet's and suit's seals and operating capacity, and then linked its internal microphones to her station's comms.
"Message to Task Force," she said, then paused to be sure Lieutenant Commander Donaldson was hearing her. His helmet bobbed in acknowledgement. "All Captains to decrypt and review instruction package 1195. Ships to acknowledge receipt."
Xi Feng could feel herself tensing up. She'd crossed so many thresholds already, but somehow this one felt the most grave. She forced herself to exhale slowly and relax the muscles of her limbs and abdomen.
Less than a minute passed before Donaldson announced, "All ships acknowledge receipt."
Xi Feng nodded. Not enough to move her helmet, the gesture was only for herself. In one corner of one monitor at her station, she called up a timer. Less than an hour now.
"Commander Wade, message to all Uruguay crew. Prepare to receive instructions."
"Aye sir." The XO touched a control at his station again. "Uruguay is ready for you, Commodore."
* * *
The EFMS Zhukov, previously the KV Zhukov, was the largest spacecraft ever built by the Russian Space Forces. She was dwarfed by behemoths like the Uruguay-class cruisers, but the vast majority of space in Earth Fleet's leading warships were given over to the engines and fuel tanks necessary to travel between the planets of the Solar system. The Zhukov had not been built with such long journeys in mind.
Earth Fleet classified the Zhukov and her sister ships as shuttles, the same as the personnel transports attached to the Uruguay and the Lithuania. But the Zhukov was far larger than those proper shuttles, and needed special equipment to allow it to dock to the standard shuttle hatches of a cruiser or destroyer. Transporting her to Uranus had required partially disassembling her radiators and securing her to the superstructure of the tender ship Archimedes. Since arrival on Uranus station she had been rebuilt and performed some few tasks transporting crew and cargo among Task Force One's larger ships.
Currently the Zhukov was transporting personnel. Lieutenant Nadia Yatskaya was hunched as far down as she could, attempting to see through a forward view port. The bulky suit around her made this difficult.
To Nadia's left, twenty of her comrades in identical suits were trying to get similar views from even worse vantage points. Across from Nadia, Lieutenant Colonel Borzakov was sitting straight and stoic, watching Nadia rather than the viewport.
And to her right, kilometers beyond the prow of the Zhukov, loomed a ship as large and massive as a moon. A traveler from another world orbiting another star.
"Signal from Uruguay," Zhukov's pilot announced.
Hyong Yaheek was seated and hunched over the table in the center of the common area. A PDA lay before him. It was an Earth device, so the Bat had to awkwardly rotate his fingers to tap the controls with fur rather than claw.
"Good morning, Ambassador," the Bat said without looking up.
"Good morning, Mr. Yaheek." Pascual did not think his bad mood came through his voice. He was, in theory, a professional diplomat after all.
"I do not suppose the..." Pascual could see Hyong composing his jaw and mouth for the next word, "Tadpoles changed their position about allowing me to join your tour of their ship?"
Pascual shook his head, "I'm sorry, but they did not."
Hyong hissed in what Pascual had come to realize was his imitation of a human sigh. "I did not expect so. But it would have been refreshing." He turned from his PDA to look Pascual in the eyes. "I am growing very restless, Ambassador. I am not used to extended boredom and am having difficulty enduring it."
And what did the Bat expect Pascual to do about that? "Sorry," he said again.
Hyong tapped the claws of one hand against the common table a few times before resuming his fight with the PDA. Pascual interpreted that as frustration.
"I am attempting to read some of your species' literature," the Bat said.
"Mhmm," Pascual retrieved a small fruit drink packet from the refrigerator in the common area.
"I do not believe it was designed with this interface in mind," Hyong continued, "or I have not fully understood its use."
Pascual took his drink to another seat at the table. Glancing over Hyong's shoulder, he glimpsed tiny images wobbling on the PDA screen.
"Comic?" he asked as he sat down. "Yeah those can be difficult to read on a PDA. You might want a full tablet, or an actual book if it's printed. What comic?"
"'Batman,'" Hyong said, "I believe the spacer who recommended it to me might have been making a joke."
"Probably," Pascual said. "But that is a classic character, could be worth reading anyway."
He took out his own PDA and tried to call the Lieutenant who was his usual contact on the Barn Swallow at this time. He got a hold message instead of a live connection, so Pascual typed a brief question asking whether the shuttle was ready.
A minute later, after sipping down most of the packet of apple juice, Pascual got a call from Lieutenant Commander Sykes, the Barn Swallow's captain.
"Captain Sykes?"
"Ambassador Molinas, I apologize, I only just found out myself. Your shuttle to the Tadpole ship is being delayed. The Task Force is starting a readiness exercise, transports are held until it's finished."
Pascual groaned. Unprofessional, but he was still grumpy. "You couldn't have scheduled this for later? Or earlier? How long will this take?"
"Perhaps an hour or two," Sykes shrugged. "You'll have to take the schedule up with Commodore Lee."
"She's the one that asked me for this tour!"
"I have my orders, Ambassador. Please pay attention to any warning messages. If we need to maneuver during the exercise, you'll want to be strapped in."
The call ended and Pascual put his head down on the common table. It was only a short delay, but it still felt like a bad day getting worse.
"If you are not going anywhere for a while," Hyong Yaheek said, "do you have one of these tablets that are better suited to reading?"
* * *
Commodore Lee Xi Feng took a deep breath, adjusted her grip on the helmet held in the crook of her right arm, and walked onto the bridge of the EFS Uruguay.
"Captain on the bridge!" the XO, Commander Wade, announced. Every officer and spacer in the room gave her a deep nod of salute. They had known she was coming, and were all standing.
Xi Feng saluted back. The crew attended to their posts and a spacer behind her shut the hatch to the bridge and sealed it.
"Status of the Task Force, Commander Donaldson?" Xi Feng asked as she strapped into her chair.
"All ships report ready for maneuvers," the Task Force's dual intelligence and operations officer reported crisply.
Xi Feng had been drilling her captains and their crews intensely—an unkind observer might say mercilessly—for the past four months. They were well practiced at making themselves ready on short notice.
"Message to Task Force. All ships to full combat alert. Hatches sealed, suits and helmets on." She turned to the XO, "same instructions to the Uruguay, Commander."
Wade saluted and touched a control at his chair and spoke into the ship's intercom, "General alert, combat stations. Full suits and helmets on."
The full crew had already been summoned to stations fifteen minutes ago, and warned to prepare for full suits. But it was important to observe the formalities.
Xi Feng fixed her own helmet over her head and locked it into the receiving ring around her neck.
Earth Fleet spacesuits were not yet well standardized. The Uruguay and most of the other warships in Task Force One had newer models derived from hoplite suits. They lacked powered exoskeletons and armor plates, but the wearer could move around with only moderate inhibition, and the life support package was adequate for supplying fresh air from the surrounding atmosphere or internal cylinders if necessary.
The non-combat ships in the Task Force had to make do with much less efficient and comfortable equipment, however. Most of that might still be described as adequate. But the Archimedes, Barn Swallow, and the Nightingale all had Zvezda Sokol suits only a little changed from service in 20th century Soyuz capsules.
Xi Feng double-checked the status of her helmet's and suit's seals and operating capacity, and then linked its internal microphones to her station's comms.
"Message to Task Force," she said, then paused to be sure Lieutenant Commander Donaldson was hearing her. His helmet bobbed in acknowledgement. "All Captains to decrypt and review instruction package 1195. Ships to acknowledge receipt."
Xi Feng could feel herself tensing up. She'd crossed so many thresholds already, but somehow this one felt the most grave. She forced herself to exhale slowly and relax the muscles of her limbs and abdomen.
Less than a minute passed before Donaldson announced, "All ships acknowledge receipt."
Xi Feng nodded. Not enough to move her helmet, the gesture was only for herself. In one corner of one monitor at her station, she called up a timer. Less than an hour now.
"Commander Wade, message to all Uruguay crew. Prepare to receive instructions."
"Aye sir." The XO touched a control at his station again. "Uruguay is ready for you, Commodore."
* * *
The EFMS Zhukov, previously the KV Zhukov, was the largest spacecraft ever built by the Russian Space Forces. She was dwarfed by behemoths like the Uruguay-class cruisers, but the vast majority of space in Earth Fleet's leading warships were given over to the engines and fuel tanks necessary to travel between the planets of the Solar system. The Zhukov had not been built with such long journeys in mind.
Earth Fleet classified the Zhukov and her sister ships as shuttles, the same as the personnel transports attached to the Uruguay and the Lithuania. But the Zhukov was far larger than those proper shuttles, and needed special equipment to allow it to dock to the standard shuttle hatches of a cruiser or destroyer. Transporting her to Uranus had required partially disassembling her radiators and securing her to the superstructure of the tender ship Archimedes. Since arrival on Uranus station she had been rebuilt and performed some few tasks transporting crew and cargo among Task Force One's larger ships.
Currently the Zhukov was transporting personnel. Lieutenant Nadia Yatskaya was hunched as far down as she could, attempting to see through a forward view port. The bulky suit around her made this difficult.
To Nadia's left, twenty of her comrades in identical suits were trying to get similar views from even worse vantage points. Across from Nadia, Lieutenant Colonel Borzakov was sitting straight and stoic, watching Nadia rather than the viewport.
And to her right, kilometers beyond the prow of the Zhukov, loomed a ship as large and massive as a moon. A traveler from another world orbiting another star.
"Signal from Uruguay," Zhukov's pilot announced.