Chapter 12: Changes

There was about ten more minutes before the meeting was due to start. I had left the bridge and found my new quarters on the same deck and not far from the bridge. Everything was still sterile and new. My quarters were spacious and equipped with the latest technology, including an Auto Dresser, but to my astonishment it was not the standard Navy issue but an advanced Saresii model. I still had time to correct my shave, get a haircut and alter my uniform according to my new rank. As I stepped out, clean shaven, I had three golden rings on the uniform sleeves of my uniform blouse.

With only a few minutes to spare I went to the Command Deck briefing room that could be accessed directly from the bridge as well.

It featured a large viewport to the starboard side and a large triangular shaped table. My friends were already there. They too had taken the time to groom and put on fresh uniforms.

Before we could say much to each other five persons entered the room: Admiral Stahl, the Admiral of the Fleet McElligott, the blonde woman I know knew as Cherubim, General Lichfangh and the fifth person I knew as well, it was Deepa. Deepa and Lichfangh looked like sisters. I found it strangely funny as Lichfangh appeared to be older while I knew Deepa was over a million years old.

We all stood up, but I resisted the impulse to snap in attention. I had to tell myself I was the Captain.

McElligott asked us to sit and after everyone had done so he was the only one who remained standing. He gestured to Cherubim first and said.

“To get things started, I would like to introduce my companions to you.”This is Cherubim, Director of the Union News Bureau. Next to her sits General Lichfangh, head of the PSI Corps and to my left next to Admiral Stahl is Admiral Lydaa, Commandant of NAVINT.

We are here to officially begin Operation Fish, a project Cherubim and I have conceived right after the signing of the Freespace treaty 1500 years ago.

You see the moment the Blue and the Kermac came up with this idea of a demilitarized zone between the Big Four, I knew it would become first and foremost a safe haven for crooks and pirates and the like; not to mention provide protection to a number of civilizations who keep pulling the Tiger’s tale knowing they can retreat anytime they want to where no Union war ship could go.”

McElligott looked directly at me and said. “Do you think we would allow those Togar to buy human slaves for food if we could reach them?”

Then he pointed at Stahl and said. “There are those who think we should simply disregard the Treaty and clean up once and for all. If the Nul, the Shiss and the Galactic Council wanted to fight even better, and after the smoke settled the Galaxy would be one big happy place.” He leaned forward and made a serious face.

“I too have seen war.Too many times in fact. While I will fight and will send beings to their death. I have done it before and will have to do it again, but I am not like the military heroes of old. I do remember those I sent into batte and I’ll be darned if I will call for war and rattle the sabers if I can help it. I don’t mean we should idly stand by when evil men do their thing, but war should really always be the very last option, not the first. Not even you Richard can tell me that it wouldn’t be a costly undertaking fighting them all. A war that could easily last millenia and cost countless lives. No one can truly forsee the fortunes of war, no victory assured until the last shell has been fired.

Whatever critics may say about that arrangement since the Freespace treaty has been signed, there have been no open hostilities on a Galactic scale and while there are always tensions and little incidents, there are no battles and wars since the second conference and the second ratification of that treaty. While we did tackle with the Kermac over that ugly incident on Green Hell and our last president turning out to be a spy of the Galactic Council, the others stayed put and all throughout that war, Freespace remained intact.

We know the Y’All are stirring and there is still much unexplored space in our own Galaxy. Who knows if the Universe has more surprises like the Y’All and we all fear the possible return of the Dark Ones one day.”

He sighed and continued. “Every day our citizens live in peace and every day that I do not have to sign orders that send millions into battle is a good day.”

He paused and padded his pockets then looked at me. “May I light a pipe Captain? I talk easier that way and perhaps a nice spot of tea would be grant.”

I nodded. “Please do, Sir.”

I wanted to get up to get the tea, but Krabbel was faster and said. “I get it, Captain.”

Krabbel served Tea, Coffee and water while McElligott got his pipe going and after a sip of tea he declined his head in a pleased manner and went on.

“As I said Freespace is a nuisance but it is necessary and one has to be very subtle and do things slowly and without any one really noticing.”

He pointed with his pipe outside the Window. “Spies of the Kermac and all the others know Richter is here and have long lost interest in it, it is out of the way and far from any real points of interest. The Worm and a few pirates used it as a convenient stop over and place to get Union gear, but there isn’t a fleet based here and marginal space traffic for light years around.

My friends in the spook services here made sure the plans to this Base were stolen by foreign spies and they had years to pour over genuine Union blue prints and think they know every nook and crany of this one. Yet they don’t know that Richter Base is now the base for a special NAVINT taskforce and jointly operated by NAVINT, UNB and the Gray Cats as the Saresii Intelligence is called. The base will be under the command of director Cherubim. This base and the chimera fleet that has a service base now, has one purpose. To monitor Freespace from within through a network of sources and hunt those who use Freespace to hide and escape from Union justice.”

He puffed once again on his pipe and then nodded to Cherubim.

The blonde looked us over and said. “Not even I have seen a more diverse group than yours. Ever since Richard became aware of you and put you together we have been watching your development and frankly you excelled and exceeded far beyond what we hoped for and that is the reason why you are here.

This base was secretly conceived and planned for a very long time to be an Intel and base for Taskforce Fish, which is by the way a neat acronym for Freespace Intelligence Service Headquarters.

Like the base, this ship has been in the works quite some time now.”

She gestured to the walls and thus the Tigershark.

“This Vessel is as unique as you are. It was built from the start to have the very finest technology of all our member species. It incorporates ancient Saresii technology, not used or seen in over a million years. Technology that made the Saresii almost equal to the Seenians and it is also the very first ship equipped with Narth technology. In other words this ship exceeds Tech level nine in many ways.”

McElligott touched a few symbols of the media controls before him and a three dimensional wire frame model of the Tigershark appeared hovering over the center of the table surface.

“The frame is made of quad-matrix molecule arranged Ultronit, woven in thousands of layers over a Carbon-fiber, Bucky-ball lattice.”

The wireframe became solid and he said.” The armor is made by the most complex and most expensive production process and made of Tetra Compacted Ultronit with a layer of Neutron degenerated matter, Nano-structured. In other words there isn’t much out there that could even scratch the hull. It also makes it impenetrable to any known Tech Stop, Paralysator or scanner beam. The shields are quadruple layered TransDim shields and all the shield generators are energy independent from the main power system by having their own Zero Point energy generators.”

McElligott motioned to Circuit. “Lieutenant why don’t you tell us about the ships engines?”

X101’s had no way express their emotions in their faces and yet I knew my friend was as proud as a Tyranno Fin hunter killing his first Tri-Halfer, as he got up and manipulated the projection and made the aft section transparent saying. “The Tigershark has a TransDim Tap Energy siphon channeling Trans-dimensional energies into six focused graviton thrusters. We are completely fuel independent as we don’t need any. But if we need to we can extend two retractable Attikan ISAH pods with fuel tanks and there is an onboard fuel refinery.”

Stahl whistled. “With that technology our method of bridge building to other galaxies would become obsolete, as ships could make the entire trip to Andromeda on their own. I bet the entire refinery industry would be very unhappy.”

McElligott thanked Circuit and said. “To list all the other features would take hours so let me come to the most important feature of your ship, the Janus Device, developed in extensive cooperation with the Narth.

The system allows you to appear as something else. An asteroid or another ship of approximately the same size, the Janus device manipulates matter and energies around your ship and is able to fool eyes and any known sensor and I like to say any known sensor to the Narth.

My chin had dropped to my chest as they talked about the armor and now I almost fell of my chair.

Cherubim got up and replaced the projection of the ship with a map of Freespace and said. “This is your mission: We want you to go undercover and into Freespace and there you will hunt Pirates, Slave traders, eliminate spies and Union Tech caches. You will free and rescue slaves when possible and destroy Pirate bases and hideouts and you will hunt the Worm.”

I sat straight up and never in my life had I listened to anything with more focus and attention. My heart was beating faster and without realizing I had clenched my fists.

The blonde UNB Director was not done and continued. “As you know Union war ships are prohibited from entering Freespace therefore you will assume the identity and role of a freelance pirate yourself. Despite this advanced ship it will be a dangerous mission, as you will operate alone and without any chance to call for back up. Resupplying will not always be possible. Raids and clandestine missions into Shiss, Kermac and Nul space will also be likely.”

Deepa spoke for the first time.

“The new Fleet Omnitronic NELSON II will go online this week. It was developed in cooperation with Mother Machine of the X101. The purpose of NELSON is to upgrade Fleet Administrations capability to shift through the trillions of reports faster and more efficiently as ever before. It will give the Criminal Investigations Department and NAVINT a better chance to react fast to Intel reports, activities of the Worm and other irregularities.

This and the addition of Narth Agents to the PSI Corps has caused and is causing a migration of fleet members and Officers that know their days are numbered into Freespace.

This is of grave concern to us as foreign forces are scrambling to gather Union Mil-Tec information and military secrets that way. An important part of your mission is to arrest or eliminate any deserters and follow trails of Mil-Tech trade. You are authorized to use deadly force against anyone dealing with Union Mil Tec and identify the individuals and Organizations wherever encountered.”

The Fleet Admiral thanked the NAVINT commandant and leaned back. “I know it is a tall order but we need to get a handle on these problems both internally as well as externally. With NELSON II and a beefed up PSI Corps we are certain to make progress in cleaning our own house but we need operational units in areas we can’t operate. You will be one of these units.”

“You are resourceful as you have proven to us on many occasions and you have this fine ship as a tool to hunt and eliminate that scum. You are now officially part of the Chimera fleet of NAVINT and Joint Intelligence operations. You have three months to get to know this ship and train your crew.”

Cherubim seamlessly continued. “Finding the right individuals for your crew is another challenge. This ship needs a crew of at least 300 to operate. It would be even better if we can get you the full 800 this ship is designed for. However as we handpicking each individual it will take time to get them here.

After she was done Stahl said. “Richter Base will be your base of Operations and currently the only Union Port for you.”

After all this information there was a moment of silence and they looked at us.

Har-Hi glanced at me from the side and I nodded. So he said. “We are going to be Pirates to the world?”

McElligott nodded.”Yes.”

Har-Hi said. “While I must say this idea appeals to me as I can’t deny my heritage, I have one great concern. What if anything happens to you or if you decide to cut the losses for politics sake, are we then Outlaws for real?”

Stahl answered. “You bring up a valid point, but if we all die for some reason or go rouge on you, there is one individual who knows every detail of this operation outside of us and that is the Narth Supreme and there is nothing we know of in this Universe that could corrupt or buy the Narth Supreme.”

I knew beyond a doubt that this was true.

McElligott sighed. “This project is Above Top Secret and I hope you do understand that we can’t give you that leave of absence you deserve after completing your third year, but you may use GalNet and if everything goes as planned we can promise you extended shore leave time after the crew is trained and you feel comfortable operating this ship.”

Har-Hi said. “You just handed us a dream mission Sir. I doubt anyone wants to go on vacation right now anyway.”

The Old Admiral got up and said. “Splendid, all splendid indeed, Director Cherubim will be your Commanding Officer and point of contact and you have a direct line to my office as always Captain Olafson. I am going back to the Shetland as I am not even supposed to be here officially.”

He personally shook the hand of each of us and wished us luck then he left.

Deepa and the PSI Corps General also took their leave. Deepa gave me an almost unnoticeable wink as she shook my hand and a fine smile.

Cherubim waited till the door was closed behind them and said. “Now we are going to discuss your mission in more detail.”

With those words she changed the Holo projection and a Kartanian Destroyer Merchant appeared. 390 meters long shaped like an old fashioned coffin, still popular with the foundation Christians all over the Union.

Normally those ships had two Drive Pods, this one had four. Two of them however looked as if they had been added by First Year Engineering School Cadets with only crowbars and sledgehammers for tools. The hull was patched many times with armor plating welded in place, but not always aligned correctly. Some of the patches were of different materials, there actually were steel plates showing signs of rust. The bow section was scarred with micro meteor holes and I could clearly see several scorch marks from weapons fire. The ship had eight non retractable gun turrets of various origins and types including Nul-Froth Casters and one modern looking dual FTL Projector. To each side were six pods with Nul-Nul Gravitation Torpedo tubes. It looked old but still quite dangerous, especially with the Nul Weaponry. The ship was painted black, except where armor plate patches had been welded over the paint job, its turrets, and some trim details. The weapons and drive pods were of a silvery color. Cherubim gave us a little time to check it out then she said. “This is the Silver Streak, notorious Pirate Ship of Captain Black Velvet, a legendary Pirate assumed to be of Saran origin. She was very active about 500 years ago. A legend tells that she tried to outrun a Union taskforce on her heels and flew inside the micro matter soup of the Igras Expanse and was never seen or heard from again and assumed dead.”

Elfi nodded. “I know this story well, it is often told on my world. It was never proven that she was indeed Saran.”

Har-Hi leaned forward to look at the details of the projection. “I think I have heard stories about her too, she supposedly was quite successful as a pirate in her day, but even if she had survived the Igras Nebula, and that is highly unlikely, she would be either very old or dead by now. Even Saresii don’t get much older than that.”

Cherubim nodded. “This is true, but it doesn’t matter. She has mysteriously returned and the GalNet News channels are running stories about all the evil deeds she has done for the last month; UNB and NAVINT agents have planted stories, rumors and tidbits of her cruel and successful raids for almost a year. There are genuine reports of witnesses who claim to have seen her, witnesses who have nothing to do with us.

Last week a group of concerned Citizens addressed the Assembly and demanded that the Navy should do nothing else until Black Velvet is brought to justice.”

Hans grinned. “That always works, rumors and stories of no substance travel faster than any factual news to the furthest corners of the Galaxy. I assume we are going to mask this ship so it looks like the Silver Streak?”

Cherubim looked up to the giant Saturnian and said. “Sehr richtig, you are correct my big Saturnian Lieutenant, the Janus Device is programmed with hundreds of ship masks including this one.”

Wetmouth also leaned closer and touched the Holo to magnify a few details. “Since we do not know the true Identity of that pirate, is it not possible that she might still be alive. There are a few species that do live longer than others and there are Cryo and Cell Restoring options of course. Could there also be relatives or crew members who still remember and blow our cover?”

Cherubim shook her head. “Highly unlikely since Black Velvet was just like you today a UNB operative and her ship a NAVINT unit.”

I had listened to it all and had a bad feeling about this. I raised my hand and said. “Excuse me, but listening to this I get the feeling that not just the ship but we also take on the identities of pirates, right?”

Admiral Stahl who was still here and the UNB director looked into my direction and she said. “Of course, you will visit Pirate Bases and trade and deal with them, to find out as much as you can about other hide outs and individuals.”

I pointed at the Holo. “That is the Janus disguise the Tigershark will take on, the Silver Streak and I hear you talk about Black Velvet. That isn’t a Fight name that a male Render would choose and you keep saying she.”

Cherubim actually looked surprised. “So? I thought you would fit this role just fine. Your files state that you have no problems at all impersonating females. Everyone of this ship’s crew that will potentially interact with others must get into character and pose as pirates. It is not just the ship that will be in disguise.”

To have my secret so openly revealed before my friends was something I truly wanted to avoid.Of course Elfi knew at least since the Crystal ball and our subsequent adventures underneath the Baset temple. I was sure Wetmouth knew, she caught me in that shoe store and there was nothing I could or wanted to hide from Narth.Yet, I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks and ears.

Elfi smiled:”At least the team will be a little more balanced in terms of gender mix.”

I tried to see any reaction in my friends faces but none of them reacted at all in any way. Was it all that obvious to them?”

Admiral Stahl said. “You need to be more accepting and open about this, you know. If you try to keep it a secret from even your best friends it could turn out to be your Achilles heel and if I get the feeling you are becoming corruptible because of this I will have you removed from this command and your chances for another chance will be very slim at best.

I have no problem with your dual sexual identity thing.I saw you act and be your other side after all. The Navy has no problem meaning there are no regulations prohibiting an individual to express his or her gender identity in whatever way.

I don’t think your friends even waste a second thought on it. “His tone of voice became very serious as he looked at me sternly. “What I have a problem with is a command officer who can’t make a decision and hide things.”

His words hit me as hard as the steel whip of my father as they were true.

Har-Hi put his hand on my shoulder. “We have all known it for a while now as I was preparing to write your eulogy we got access to your personnel file and that fact about you is in it. You are my friend Eric, what clothing you wear or what gender you are makes no difference at all.”

I swallowed at that.”You all knew?”

And now I felt guilty for not telling my best friends all about me and I knew Stahl was correct, it was my weakest point.

Cherubim cleared her throat. “There is more to discuss, but I think we can continue tomorrow. Take some time off, call your families. There are many weeks of hard work in front of you, to get ready for your actual assignment.

I too had used some time to call my family, but not much had happened since the last time. They were back on Nilfeheim and Pluribus respectively. Elena told me how much she felt the cold of Longnight after spending time on Para-Para, but she was also glad to be back. Egill had resumed his duties on Pluribus and I even had a chance to exchange a few words with Sif.

After those calls, I sat down to make my very first log entry. There on my desk was the big leather bound book and next to it the pen. While Computronics and every department of the ship kept detailed logs, this log book was a tradition hailing back to a time when wooden ships crossed the oceans of Earth. The Union Navy had incorporated many old traditions from many different member civilizations, for example there was a little sealed vessel filled with Ulta water that was placed inside the wall and next to the ships main entrance. It was called the Ocean Drop, it signified that each Union ship sailing the endless oceans of deep space also sailed for Ulta. The upholstery of the Command chair of each Union ship contained a strip of purple leather made on Spqr the main world of the Pan Saran Empire and it contained the golden letters S.P.Q.R which stood Senatus Popolusque Romanus.