บท 48: Chapter 48: Shock and Awe
Commander Keres
I felt the anger rising from my core, and it took everything I had not to scream in frustration. Here I was, commander of one of the most technologically-advanced warships in the imperial fleet, and I was impotent in the face of a mysterious mercenary pirate!
The bridge shook once more as another damned missile evaded the PDCs and collided with the Lusiphur, and I was nearly thrown from my command chair from the force. To add insult to injury, another of those gods-damned drones fired again, and this time I did fall from my chair, going to my hands and knees along with a few others.
I was about to climb back into my chair when a distress-call came in from the station. Without prompting, my comms officer accepted the call, and I was greeted with the disheveled face of Dr. Fordham, the director of the station as well as Project Glass. I'd yet come to terms with taking orders from a scientist, but so far he'd kept to his station and left me to my own devices.
"Commander, I'm afraid your valiant defense of this station is about to become a moot point." The man's voice sounded tired, and he was sweating far more than someone of his station should. As he spoke, groups of armed guards and scientists moved back and forth behind his video-pickup, chaos evident in their jerky and expressive movements.
"What's the situation, Doctor?" I kept my voice even, although it's effect on the doctor's confidence was probably nil, given that I was hauling myself into the command chair with visible effort.
"The intruders appear to have breach down into the Reactor room, which means they now have control of our power supply. They will no doubt be calling to ask for terms of surrender, and I will have no choice but to acquiesce. I'm sorry Commander, but it seems the purge protocols were intercepted before they gained control to the Research Ring as well."
Each admission was a punch in the gut, but the logic was bulletproof. I had no authority over the station or Dr. Fordham, despite this being a military project. Some noble from gods know where had refused to allow a quote "uppity lap dog of the military" have command over his system's most valuable asset.
I sighed, wincing again as another of those drones hit the Lusiphur again.
I was silent for a long moment before sighing again, gathering my courage to give an order I had never given before.
"Guns, cease fire. Comms, broadcast the galactic surrender signal. All stations...stand down."
--
It took less than five minutes for the Drones to react to his ceasefire signal, and he watched with guarded contempt for the little robots who'd made his life hell for the last three hours. It was another ten minutes before Comms reported a communications request from the mysterious warship. I nodded to the comms officer to accept, and the large bridge monitor flickers before revealing the face of the man I'd been locked in combat with for most of a local day.
"Greetings, Commander Keres." I flinched at the casual mention that this man knew more about me than I did about him. "I am Commander Venata, and I formally request your and your entire command's surrender to me and my crew."
"What are your terms, Commander?" My voice was ice-cold as I gazed at the man on the screen. His entire visage was that of a tired veteran who was exhausted from combat. Although he still resembled a middle-aged man, I was sure he had seen more combat engagements than I had years in this galaxy.
"A platoon of my Marines will board your ship. Be advised that I am monitoring your ship's systems, so any attempt to purge your computers will be met with hostile action. Once you have been detained by my people, you will be escorted to their assault shuttle to be flown to the station. We will continue this talk there."
The image abruptly disappeared, leaving me confused and a little offended. It was common courtesy to discuss terms over video chat, but this Commander Venata had just stated his terms as if they were given facts.
--
It was an hour before the promised Marines appeared at the bridge door. The hulking armored soldiers were enough to dissuade any thoughts of rebellion, and I was quickly escorted to my hangar. From there, I boarded the most bizarre Assault shuttle I'd ever scene. It was explained to me by the rather polite Marines that it was a Hybrid-Insertion Shuttle, capable of both orbital and sub-orbital maneuvering.
It was a quick flight to the station, of which I was a bit sick to look at. All of the weapon emplacements had been destroyed, their awesome power reduced to glitchy scrap. Various holes with green life-support fields illuminated the station's hull, and I wondered at the weapons able to wreak such havoc on one of the best armor alloys in the Empire.
As the the shuttle docked within the Prime ring's hangar, I was met with a rather astonishing view. Dr. Fordham, respected physicist and engineer, was acting like a child with a new toy. He ran between the Marines, examining their weapons and armor with childlike wonderment. If their faces were visible, I had no doubt they'd be embarrassed for the animated doctor.
As I stepped into the hangar, the doctor noticed me and jogged over, followed closely by two of the hulking Marines. Their weapons were both holstered on their backs, but I imagined they would have no problem dealing with me with only their metal arms.
"Commander, I am relieved you survived your battle in the sky. Although, from my observations of these lovely soldiers, it was a doomed battle from the start." His enthusiasm made me curious, despite his unintended jab at my ship's capabilities. He looked about to continue with his praise for the invaders when a young woman approached from my right. She was beautiful, with piercing green eyes and glossy brown hair. Her skin was tanned to an almost alien tone, which brought on a question of her origins.
"Commander, Director, I am Captain Ronova. Please follow me, and the Commander will join us in a moment." Somehow, the way she used my rank and the rank of her superior's sounded different, as if his was leagues beyond my own.
The doctor and I trailed behind the captain, flanked by two of the armored Marines. A stray thought occured to me, mostly on how the captain was the only Marine i'd seen out of her Armor, but I passed it off as a security measure.
We entered a conference room, one of many that decorated the station. The designers had included them with the hope that if someone had the need to present their ideas to their colleagues, they would never be far from a secure room in which to do so.
As we got seated, the captain remained standing , and the reason became apparent a moment later. The Commander entered a moment later, and all of the Marines present stood to attention. He waved them down, taking a seat around the large conference table.
"Alright, gentlemen. Time to answer some questions."
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