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  UCSB Date: 1004.321

  Shuttle XT-158, Gumlewp System

  The scene out of the panoramic shuttle window was like something out of a surrealist painting. On the edge of the Lagoon Nebula, the sky of the Gumlewp system could both inspire and intimidate even the most masterful of artists. Only a few light-annura away, the colors of the nebula and the young star systems forming within them jumped out even to Blazer’s unaided eye.

  Blazer was by no means a poetic man. But, as the graceful lines of Cathedral Station Seven came into view, even he felt his hearts stir with emotion. Or perhaps it was the wonder emanating from the telepathic infant who stared with wide-eyed glee at the scene.

  Blazer tousled his son Chrisvian’s curling hair, drawing the youngster’s eyes his way. The glee threatened to overcome Blazer. “Okay buddy, I get it. You’re excited to see our new home.”

  Chrisvian giggled in response. Blazer couldn’t be sure how much the child understood. The raw emotions of the other passengers and their wonder at the scene had to fuel his energy as well. They had good reason for such excitement. Not only was the sight beyond beautiful, it was their new home, one that the rest of the squadron had spent most of the last annura upon.

  Blazer couldn’t resist and looked out the window at the dodecahedral station. He’d seen numerous examples of the type before. Sadly, he’d also witnessed the death of the only example on record to be destroyed, during the Gorvian Conflict. Still, it filled him with awe to look out at one. Its twelves main segments, serving as ship’s docks and repair facilities, interrupted and ringed the station. Great arcing habitation sections marked the end of each segment with their pointed docking bays and observation decks. Six great buttressed arches connected those inward arcing sections to the central ring that encircled a massive hyperspace bubble. From that, the station drew a near limitless amount of power. Great domes, large enough to park a cruiser in, covered the main sections and inner ring. Shops, parks and farms filled them and each could be customized with different environs, and even gravity levels, to meet the needs of any race that needed them.

  From the reports he’d received from Tadeh Qudas and Arion, their assignment here had not been well met by many in the Monstero Nach. The Tomeris in the Explosions had wanted a frontline carrier or cruiser assignment. That would have allowed them to carry out their ship capture missions more readily. The fact that they’d undertaken two missions while Blazer and Marda were away had quieted many of their concerns, including taking a Galactic Federation corvette that had wandered into Confed territory as well as securing a rogue derelict of unknown origin.

  Within their team, the Blade Force, things had grown more fractured. Matters in the team had only worsened when the Wolfsbane and what remained of its battle group, had arrived four tridecs earlier. The ships had pulled in for a long overdue layup to repair damage done during the Gorvian Conflict and install much needed upgrades. Zithe, especially, had kept trying to get time aboard the supercarrier. He’d enlisted several of their teammates to help him. Last tridec, he’d received an official reprimand for declaring an In-Flight Emergency and executing an emergency landing on one of the carrier’s six flight decks. Blazer’s parental leave had come to an end just in time it seemed. Marda had opted to end hers early.

  This assignment was, by contrast, what Blazer had wanted. From the Cathedral Station they could engage in rescue missions throughout the sector. With Marda debating her future on the rescue team this would also give her options. The station had numerous medical bays and the chief medical officer had wanted to assign her to one permanently.

  Chrisvian added his own set of wrinkles. While Marda and Blazer both wanted children, the inadvertent deactivation of the blocks due to their missions to the Gorvian Planet Slicer had resulted in his unplanned conception. Most frontline ships wouldn’t allow such a young dependent aboard. Several stitches from Zithe however had reminded him that the Wolfsbane was no ordinary ship. The ship’s onboard medical and dependent care facilities rivalled those on many planetary bases due to its ability to stay deployed for up to five annura without ever returning to base.

  Blazer could make out the carrier as it rested in its docking cradle. Work tugs swarmed around the massive ship. He pointed to it. “See that Chrisvian? That’s the Wolfsbane.” Chrisvian smiled back at his father before peering back out the window. Blazer helped hold the toddler in place so that he wouldn’t float away. “See, it’s the first Tacit class, and after a century is still one of the most advanced ships in the fleet.”

  “I don’t think he cares,” Marda commented as Chrisvian looked down at his mother and smiled. Blazer felt his child’s growing hunger. Shaking her head, Marda plucked her son from the air. She brought him down to feed, covering him with a blanket to preserve her modesty amongst the passengers. Marda looked out the window and smiled: she’d served on a Cathedral Station during her enlistment and had always said she wanted to again. During the Gorvian conflict, they’d visited the local Cathedral Station often, but it had never been home.

  Her face soured for a moment as the shuttle changed course and she looked back at Blazer, forcing a smile. “When does Rudjick get out of the stockade?”

  Blazer leaned back and tapped his temple to activate his micomm. He knew it wasn’t long but didn’t have the exact date on hand. A quick check revealed the answer. “Another decle. He’s lucky he only got a tridec, and forfeited that pay for faking an IFE.”

  “In-Flight Emergencies are no joke,” Marda replied. “Why did Zithe let him take the fall?”

  “According to Arion, Rudjick wouldn’t let Zithe speak on his behalf. He knows how much the Wolfsbane means to him.” Blazer sighed and looked out at the massive carrier. “They’re both lucky that the judge didn’t order a telepathic probe.”

  “How do you plan to handle that?”

  Blazer shrugged. He didn’t want to have to handle this issue at all. Tadeh Qudas had already disciplined Zithe, and Rudjick had received his punishment. To press the issue further could shatter an already divided team. At the same time, he had to make it clear that such behaviour would not be tolerated. “Zithe and Rudjick will be on restricted duty through the end of the annura, while we get back into fighting shape. Arion and the others have already told me how they’ve been chafing under his command. Unit cohesion isn’t what it should be.”

  “That’s what Chris, Gokhead, and Bichard have been telling me too. Having to deal with money again has been quite a shock for all of them too,” she went on with a smile.

  Blazer chuckled back in response. His own shock at looking at their bank account had threatened to floor him when he’d begun his parental leave. Other than buying the occasional meal or drink at Mendrick’s back at the academy, or the restaurants on Cathedral Six, he hadn’t spent any of his own money since before his entry to the academy. Even during his time with the Mapper’s Guild he’d scarce use of his income. Everything he needed had been provided.

  As a result, their bank account had been idle, accruing income and interest for several annura with minimal debits. Spending money again on Anul, to buy Chrisvian the things he needed beyond his basic allotment felt odd. He knew it would continue on the station if they didn’t want to revert to using just their basic subsistence allotments.

  Unlike a shipboard posting, the Cathedral Stations were large enough to operate like a planet-side base. As officers, and married ones at that, Marda and Blazer weren’t restricted to the Confederate’s housing block. They could rent their own quarters elsewhere on the station. They’d also have to pay for any meals beyond food-loaf grade or extra uniforms out of their own account. Jell had tried to force the pair to replace much of their wardrobe while back on Anul for being “woefully out of date.” Blazer had opted to just change the color of many of the metamaterial fabrics and reposition some pocket or other accoutrements as well. Jell was none too pleased with that. So, she’d spoiled her nephew to no end.

  “I’ll bet they have. Are you ex
cited to be back?” Blazer asked as the docking arms appeared in the window, as they were close to landing now.

  “Yes. I’ll miss spending all cycle with this little guy, but I need to get back to work,” she replied with a smile, flipping Chrisvian over to her other breast.

  “Your slot is still open on the team.”

  Marda gave Blazer a sidelong glance. That had been a point of continued discussion ever since he’d arrived on Anul. Hallet had proven an excellent medic after Fealgud’s forced retirement, but the Rimdook’s bedside manners left much to be desired. In order to maintain his flight time, Gokhead had taken to flying as a backup WSO for the squadron. His customizations to their fighter’s neural interfaces to better mesh with him and Que-Dee would often double the mission prep time however. There were numerous protocols he was forced to reset in order for the pair to interface properly.

  Blazer’s stomach felt suddenly full as Marda patted little Chrisvian’s head before she yawned. “I’m still thinking about that. I have a posting to Medical Complex Eight right now. I’d love to get back to the team, but I - we - have to think about Chrisvian now. If something were to go wrong…”

  “We’re about to dock,” Blazer interrupted as the lights of the docking bay pierced the cabin. He ignored Marda’s scowl. He hated cutting her off like that, knowing he would pay for it later. But he hated that particular discussion even more. He knew the risks they undertook on their missions, and the repercussions if they should fail. He didn’t want to leave his son an orphan, but at the same time, he couldn’t fathom undertaking missions without Marda at his side. She was more than a wife to him - she was his teammate and a capable warrior-medic. The two halves of his personality had battled about that ever since she’d gone on maternity leave.

  “I’ll stay on a backup until you find a permanent replacement, you know that,” she reassured him, squeezing his hand. “It’ll be good to get back into the cockpit. The medical chief has already cleared me for flight and emergency mission duty along with my primary job.”

  “Good, I’ll want your input on your replacement too.”

  Shuttle Docking Bay G3, UCSBSB-176 Cathedral 7

  Marda waited in her seat as the other passengers filed out of the shuttle and Blazer grabbed their bags. She didn’t want to wake her infant son. While she looked forward to going back to work of any kind, she also didn’t want to give up time with Chrisvian. She hoped that he’d sleep until they reached their apartment, otherwise the excitement of this place might overwhelm him, but before she could nestle him into his chest carrier however his eyes shot open and he looked towards the hatch.

  She couldn’t be sure what it was that had woken him. Maybe it was the gravity, or some stray thought, but he stared with an intensity she’d never seen at the hatch. A feeling of urgency flowed into her. He wanted something that was off the shuttle. “What is it baby? Hear something?”

  A sense of excitement washed over Marda. This must be how others feel talking to orbs.

  When Marda failed to get up, Chrisvian looked back at her. His pudgy little face scrunched up in what might have been annoyance, if he hadn’t been so cute.

  “Please would help.”

  Chrisvian didn’t respond but an overwhelming sense of urgency washed over Marda. She looked up at Blazer and was about to yell to him when she stopped short. Chrisvian’s impatience had become hers. “Blazer, please, he really wants off the shuttle,” she implored him. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she fought back his emotions.

  Blazer looked at them both and nodded, his own eyes glossy. He raced to pull their bags free then helped them out of the seat and down the aisle.

  Relief and excitement welled back up as they reached the boarding door. Marda looked out onto a docking bay that could have been anywhere in the universe except for one thing: the reception committee awaiting them. Most of the team stood before them letting the other passengers pass beneath a number of holographic signs the team had erected to welcome them. Marda almost burst out laughing at some of the crude animations. One featured Zithe and Rudjick’s arrest, another Zithe howling at the team. Even more displayed the things they planned to do with young Chrisvian. All of it was in their old teammate Datt’s unique style. She rolled her eyes and smiled.

  Chrisvian flung his arms and legs out in excitement at the scene, drinking in the emotions of the group. It felt like standing at the focus of a resonating chamber. The feelings continued to echo back and forth off Chrisvian. Her hearts raced with excitement in the same way they’d done when she’d been a little girl going to an amusement park. The youthful joy threatened to overwhelm her. She rushed down the stairs and into the arms of the team, Blazer hot on her heels. Chrisvian just laughed the whole way.

  Garrison Commander’s Office

  “Yes sir, thank you sir,” Blazer said as he exited the office. He paused outside the office for a moment. It felt good to be back in his two-tone blue Space Forces Uniform, especially as he looked at the massive window ahead of him. The light of the massive hyperspace bubble at the center of the ring-shaped station danced across the walls served to unnerve him even more than the meeting had. While he still hated panoramic windows like this, they no longer gave him the sense of dread they’d once had. Still, he checked the status lights on his wrist to ensure that the meta-material would automatically seal, in case of a breach.

  He hadn’t had a meeting that intense since the academy. It shouldn’t have been such an ordeal. He and Marda had been briefed on the current military situation before they’d left Anul, but local details had been left out. Then the issue of Zithe and Rudjick came. The commander wanted to know how Blazer intended to discipline the pair, prevent such occurrences in the future, and prepare the team for missions again.

  It left him exhausted and he didn’t care to let Tadeh Qudas see that. So, before the door opened again, he straightened up, and not a moment too soon. Tadeh Qudas exited the office without a word. He stood there for a moment before the door closed and turned to Blazer. “Not what you expected?”

  Blazer shook his head and turned back towards the pulsing hyperspace bubble. The stellar phenomena were usually invisible. Ones this size however danced with energy, energy that powered the station. He felt a certain kinship with it and wished to be small and invisible again. “What was that saying my grandfather had? Never accept more responsibility than you’re willing to do paperwork for?”

  “Actually, it was ‘glory brings responsibility, and responsibility brings paperwork.’ It goes in hand with a Telshin saying, ‘Never accept more glory than you can be responsible for.’”

  Blazer nodded. “That’s the one. I didn’t think I’d earned that much glory.”

  “Your team earned more than its share against the Gorvians, and is poised to earn much more. Commander Nek just wants to ensure that. It will add to his glory after all.”

  A patrol drone flitted past, the automated craft drifting towards the docking berths in the distance and the Wolfsbane. “Did we make the right decision? Accepting a posting to this station instead of one to a carrier like that?” Blazer asked.

  “I have never questioned it. The Explosions have reached acceptance. The Blade Force will once they start going on missions. In the meantime, you need to reacquaint them with your command style.”

  “Yes sir. I’ll start with drill next cycle, with simulations within the decle. Has command decided on a replacement for Fealgud yet?”

  Tadeh Qudas shook his head. The glow of the hyperspace bubble danced off his skull mask enough to make it appear alive. “Not yet. Marda will therefore remain as the standby. Make yourselves ready. We’ve much to do.”

  UCSB Date: 1005.004

  Topper Restaurant, Cathedral Seven, Gumlewp System

  Two tridecs into the assignment and Blazer still couldn’t understand the team’s complaints. They had so much room to spread out and explore the massive station that the idea of being ‘cooped up’ felt ridiculous. He was co
nvinced that he could spend annura exploring the station and still not discover everything within it and about it. He knew what they really needed was a mission. Going out on fighter patrols in a system as quiet as Gumlewp was didn’t amount to the height of excitement after all. They were warriors, and they needed to face an enemy.

  Drills and training illustrated how rusty Blazer and Marda had gotten compared to the rest. Despite that, it wasn’t long before the team felt mission-ready. Blazer would settle for even a simple floundering ship rescue. He didn’t care if was outside their purview, the team needed a mission, any mission. Too many of the team, Gavit and Zithe especially, still clung to the hope that they’d be reassigned to the Wolfsbane. Blazer hoped that that would all change this cycle, and that their dashed hopes wouldn’t affect their performance. Because this cycle, the Wolfsbane would leave Cathedral Seven.

  The cost to hire the private, uppermost dining room of the Topper Restaurant didn’t matter to Blazer, so long as it helped to bring the team back together. He would gladly subsist on ration bars for a tridec if he had to. He looked about the silicasteel dome. At over five metra thick it distorted the view around them, calming Blazer’s normal trepidation about any structural weaknesses. That expansive view was one of the reasons he’d chosen it, situated atop the nearest of the buttresses to the Wolfsbane’s berth and affording them an amazing view of its departure. Only the larger domes on the main sections were closer, but he knew they’d all be packed with onlookers.

  While the others sat at the table, Zithe stood over by the edge closest to the Wolfsbane. He jerked at the sight of something. It was strange to see him react to anything in such a way. He always did his best not display his emotions. “They’ve just undocked.”

  Most of the team jumped up and headed over to watch. Marda pulled Chrisvian out of his seat. He would want to experience the moment with the rest of them. If he had to pull the images from their minds it would exhaust the youngster. Blazer held back with his family. By the time the trio had arrived at the edge, the mooring lines and docking tunnels had retracted.