Bab 13: Silent Struggle
"LC/M Lodos, this is Pavonis orbital. Maintain approach vector; retract your external radiator panels and shutdown your thrusters. Our service vehicles will tow your ship into the dock."
Lodos slowly retracted it's radiators and shut it's thrusters down. Since we were unable to use some of our engines, a few tugs from Pavonis orbital shipyards would tow us into the spaceport.
Six small service vehicles approached Lodos and attached themselves to the armor platings of the warship. They guided Lodos into the shipyard, pushing the old giant around with their tiny thrusters.
"We have docked with Pavonis shipyards. Airlocks secured." reported Ensign Dave.
"Shutdown main reactor." I ordered.
"Our chief engineer reports the reactor is now being deactivated." said Ensign Aziz.
"Power output and radiation levels dropping." said Lieutenant Karl.
"Connect external power source." I said.
"The shipyard crew has connected us to their power source." said Ensign Aziz. Lodos' docking procedure was now complete. My current orders were to visit the Navy headquarters. But, before my departure, I had to choose someone to take care of Lodos, since the ship would have no commanding officer onboard.
Commander Mei and Lieutenant Commander Scott were my only choices. Commander Mei had a higher rank, but since the ship was going to stay in spacedock for a while, it could be a better choice to let Lieutenant Commander Scott oversee the repairs. After all, he was the chief engineer, and he would know what to do. Some extra freedom wouldn't hurt his expertise.
After the main reactor was completely secured, I went to see Lieutenant Commander Scott myself.
"Chief!" I found him working on some wiring on the wall.
"Commander!" We saluted each other.
"I have to go to the Navy headquartes. You have the command until a commanding officer returns." I said.
"A... Aye sir. I will have the ship ready for operations as soon as possible." he said.
After this small conversation, I left Lodos through the boarding gate and went to Pavonis orbital. At the gate, I talked to the security officer.
"This is the XO of LC/M Lodos. I want you to record every entry and exit and give me a list before the ship departs." I said.
"Yes, sir." he said. We could not afford having any more infiltrators aboard.
While I was heading to get on a shuttle, my friend Aris found me.
"Kagan!" He slowly hit my back.
"Aris!"
"You are back sooner than expected. What happened, did you miss your sweet home?" he said.
"We scratched the paintjob, so the Admiral called me back." I said.
"You did... You did what?" he asked.
"There is a giant hole at the back of Lodos." I said. "We were struck by an anti-ship missile during combat."
"Holy hell, man!" he said in shock. "Glad you are still in one piece!"
"If you walk over to the opposite side of the dock, you can see the damage." I said. "But I will have to go now. The Grand Admiral wanted me back ASAP."
"Oh, okay, I see." he said. "Take good care of yourself. They say strange things are going on, on Mars' surface."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I don't know much." he said. "Something about terrorists, I think."
"Oh..." I said.
"Anyway, don't be late. See you later." he said.
"See you." I said and walked to the shuttle docks.
I took a flight down to the naval spaceport just next to the Navy headquarters at Olympus Mons. After landing, I immediately went to see the Grand Admiral. I knocked on the door, and I was let inside. I was alone with Grand Admiral Rashid.
"Lieutenant Commander Kagan, reporting." We saluted each other.
"Congratulations, Commander." he said. "Your loyalty to the People's Republic, your bravery against the overwhelming enemy force, your command abilities during the absence of a higher ranking CO, your knowledge and experience of space combat, and finally, your talent of fast decision making has earned you the rank of Commander, as well as the command of LC/M Lodos." he said. I was visibly shocked and confused. What we had accomplished was great, but this wasn't expected.
"Sir..." I hesitated to talk with my mind full of weird thoughts. "Thank you sir." I finally said.
"Your new uniform will be given soon. Dismissed." he said.
I walked to the door, but I couldn't handle myself. I turned back.
"Sir..."
"Commander?" he said.
"What happened to Rear Admiral Tachibana?" I asked. "What will happen to him?"
The Grand Admiral sighed, turned his eyes away, and thought about it for a while.
"I will be honest with you." he started speaking softly. "You are given command of Lodos because we are trying to hide the loss of another high ranker." he said.
"Is he... dead?" I askes.
"No." he said. "Things are more complex."
"How?" I asked. Instead of directly answering me, he opened up a map of Mars' surface. On the map, an overlay appeared, showing different regions of Martian settlements.
"Cydonia is in terror." he said. "A group called 'Martian Freedom Front' has claimed control over the city. They are figthing off the Republic forces."
"I thought the internal fights would come to an end with the declaration of war." I said.
"That's what the president was thinking as well." Grand Admiral said. "Unfortunately, we are losing our hold in the capital of our Republic, as well as a few other outer settlements. This was not yet admitted to the public, but the government is planning to move to Obsidian City in secrecy."
Obsidian City was the second largest city on Mars, and it was a cultural center of Martian people. It was obvious why it was chosen as an escape.
"Is it that bad?" I asked. He nodded silently.
"The severity of the situation is still hidden from the public, to ensure the government's rule over citizens."
"The Rear Admiral had landed at Cydonia!" I remembered.
"Yes. His whereabouts are unknown. It is possible that he is held hostage there." he said.
"What will we do?" I asked.
"We will do everything to prevent a planet-wide civil war." he said. "As for you... The entire Mars population owes their well-being to commanders like you. Find yourself an XO, and get back to your duties as soon as possible. Make sure the civil conflicts don't affect the Navy."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone