Carpathia IV: Episode 293 - Captain Valro!
Bridge, NCCS Shadowdancer-A
Teek: Approaching Polaris Deep, Captain.
Aire: Slow to induction. Kit, request clearance to dock.
Kit: Requesting clearance, Captain.
Aire leaned back in his chair, wondering what fresh hell awaited him at Polaris Deep. Admiral Zhang had been conspicuously silent since the rescue and he didn't want to stir anything up by directly requesting a meeting. All he could do was wait for Admiral Zhang to pop out of the bushes, ninja style, and destroy him. As he dwelled, the lift doors opened and out came Joust, skittering across the ceiling and perching himself on one of the bars.
Aire: Commander, I thought you were supposed to be resting.
Joust: The doctor told me to take it easy and to stay upside-down as much as possible. I can do that here.
Aire: Fair enough. Put Polaris Deep on viewer.
Polaris Deep teemed with activity, surrounded by nearly every ship in the fleet. Crystal Falchion, Chrono Blade, Sentinel, Cerberus, Frozen Flame, Furious Spectre, just to name the big ones, all participating in the evacuation.
Kit: Clearance received for docking port 4C and to connect directly to the cargo bay.
Aire: Teek, take us in.
Teek: Proceeding to docking port 4C.
Aire: Everyone, I will be going onto the station right away. Follow the instructions of the station commanders. They will be moving a great deal of equipment and personnel onto the ship.
Amenaru: We'll be ready, Captain!
Polaris Deep, Docking Port 4C
After ignoring Joust's protests and ordering him to stay on the bridge, Aire stepped onto the station alone. From there, he boarded the train from the center of the pod to the command rotunda in the center. Walking, he thought, would only prolong his anxiety. Whatever was going to happen, he wanted it finished quickly. Disembarking the train at the rotunda, he spoted Adell and Azrael nearby.
Adell: Captain, glad you can finally join us.
Aire: Commodore. I thought you would be furious with me.
Adell: Oh, I know what you did, but your fate is not mine to decide.
Azrael: If it's any consolation, Captain Valro, I would have done the same thing.
Adell: Now, Azrael, now is not the time to admit such a thing openly.
Adell leaned in close to both and whispered.
Adell: Me too.
Aire: I appreciate that, but the simple fact remains that I'm the one who made the decision and I'm going to be the one in the hot seat.
A calamitous, unmistakable voice from behind shocked Aire into a catatonic stiffness.
Admiral Zhang: CAPTAIN VALRO!!!
Adell: Good luck.
It was all Adell or anyone else had time to say before Admiral Zhang stomped up to Aire and grabbed the end of his ear.
Admiral Zhang: With me, now!
With a tight grip on his ear and irresistable force of strength, Aire could only be dragged along behind her, on his way to whatever fate awaited him.
Aire: Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
Admiral Zhang's Office, Polaris Deep
Admiral Zhang's doors slid open and in she charged like a freight train, towing Aire behind her by his ear.
Aire: Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
At last, Admiral Zhang let go of his ear and made directly for her liquor cabinet.
Admiral Zhang: Sit!
Aire sheepishly took the chair nearest to him while Admiral Zhang retrieved two bottles from her cabinet and smacked one of them down on the coffee table in front of him. No accompanying glass.
Admiral Zhang: Essentials only in the evacuation, so none of this is going. Might as well have as much as you want.
Aire had a glance at the label. Port wine. He pulled the cork out and had himself a swig. Admiral Zhang took out a tablet and waved it at him like it was a sword.
Admiral Zhang: I want to be clear. The only thing standing between you and the brig right now is this report I just got from the dragons. They just completed a flyby scan of the Blood Agony.
Admiral Zhang tossed the tablet and it clattered across the coffee table, coming to rest within Aire's reach. She sat and drank from her bottle in silence. Aire, through his nerves, needed a moment to realize that he was meant to read the tablet. He picked it up and skimmed.
Aire: Operational capacity reduced by as much as 50%?
Admiral Zhang: Shields are weakened. Weapons are weakened, especially on the port side. I haven't had a chance to read your report since I've been busy with the evacuation. What the hell happened over there?
Aire took another drink from his bottle. Courage juice, as it were.
Aire: With respect, Admiral, first of all, I won't apologize for doing what I did. We had one chance to rescue our crew and I made the decision to take it. I did not inform anyone of your orders. This was mine alone.
Admiral Zhang: Can it, Aire. We'll get to that after you explain what happened. Start talking now.
Aire started the story from his own perspective. The orders he gave and the preparations he witnessed. After the shuttle car left the Shadowdancer, he began to liberally interject reports from his debriefing meetings with the rest of the crew. For the middle part, it was nothing but crew reports and he only shifted back to himself when the shuttle car made its escape. All the while, Admiral Zhang listened in rapt attention.
Admiral Zhang: The sunstone grenades. It appears they were more effective than Dr. Leingod expected them to be.
Aire: I would say so. I knew we damaged the Blood Agony, but not this badly.
Admiral Zhang: And how fares Cadet Skeyes?
Aire: He is recovering. I fear he has a long recovery road ahead, both physically and mentally. I have given him the Sapphire Star.
Admiral Zhang: He should also receive the Medal of Sacrifice, which can only be approved by an admiral. I will see to it.
Aire: I agree.
Admiral Zhang: This bullshit stunt you pulled may have just saved us all. Lord Flinn, in fact, was furious with the Minister of the Navy when he found out that the rescue approval was denied. It seems he was hoping to infiltrate the Blood Agony and do some damage. Still, unlike last time, this was not an illegal order. I will be entering an official reprimand into your record.
It took every ounce of mental concentration and muscle suppression for Aire to prevent himself from cracking a smile. It did not appear that he was losing his captaincy after all.
Aire: I understand, Admiral.
Admiral Zhang: You have escaped serious consequences for the second time. Don't expect your luck to hold out.
Not willing to push his luck any further, Aire gave a short answer and changed the subject.
Aire: I understand. There's one more thing. Lazmaedia left a note and a bottle of liquor on my ready room desk the day after the rescue. I had them both put in an S1 security container and put in secure storage.
Admiral Zhang: Did you read the note?
Aire nodded.
Aire: It was short. She congratulated me on a successful rescue and then took all the credit, saying of course only one of her Valros could pull off something like this.
Admiral Zhang: A failure somehow a success in her mind. That tracks with what we know about her. Anyway, back to business. Your orders are to take a shipment of people and equipment to Tokkastra. You'll follow in the Elai ringship's wake, which will cut the journey in half. In the meantime, Lord Flinn and the Admiralty will will be discussing next steps. The Blood Agony may be vulnerable now and we are discussing an assault. We'll keep you informed. This may be our only shot.
Aire: Yes, Admiral.
Aire laid the tablet that Admiral Zhang gave him on the coffee table. It was only then he noticed several papers there, all drawings of some sort, some in crayon, some in color pencil. Aire picked up a few and examined them.
Aire: What are these?
Admiral Zhang: Courtesy of Faelon, the vashtari that you rescued from Ksenva. Those are his drawings of the inside of Lazmaedia's artificial moon. According to Faelon, she lives there completely alone and nobody is allowed there without an invitation. Faelon was there with Ksenva when she was ordered to find Voxx and his band of runaways.
Aire: I take it Kain was not there?
Admiral Zhang: No demons allowed. Only the invitee and someone to record the order. Faelon, in this case. I don't know if any of those are particularly useful, but it's better to know things than not.
Aire: Agreed. Could you have them scanned?
Admiral Zhang: Honestly, I'm likely to forget with everything going on. You take them, scan them, and disseminate them.
Aire: I will do that, Admiral.
Admiral Zhang: Right, I'm late for another meeting. You'll see yourself out.
Admiral Zhang made a brisk departure from her quarters, leaving Aire alone to gather Faelon's drawings. After a few moments, he had them stacked neatly in his hands and started for the door himself, until something caught his eye. In the liquor cabinet, behind several other bottles, he spied a label that he'd only seen in pictures. He paused and then kneeled before the cabinet. Pushing the other bottles out of the way, he found it, a classic bottle of Old Fitzgerald bourbon, over a hundred years old, he would reckon, and likely from Earth.
Recalling what Admiral Zhang said earlier, that none of her liquor would be going along with the evacuation, he picked up the bottle and tucked it under his arm. Something told him that she would be pleased to see this again once all the fighting was done. With the bottle safe with him, he continued out of the door and made his way back to the Shadowdancer.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Colourbrand
Falke2009
