Chapter 3: Another Diplomatic Meeting

It was the next day as both Mizu and Hamiza were stepping aboard the shuttle. Both of them walked in small brown spacesuits equipped with magnetic boots to help keep them anchored to the deck.

The hangar bay of Fort Batrice was enormous. Elevators and building structures were everywhere. It was shaped like a giant gray box with two entryways to get in and out into space. Both entrances were large enough for a freighter to enter them, and docks on the side hatches led into the large passageways that led to the spinning centripetal drums. The bay sat almost in the center of the space station. While there were no vessels currently docked with it, Mizu could see an SK-7 type freighter that was preparing to enter. Since the hangar bay was not in any type of centripetal ring or moving compartment, the entire area lacked gravity. This forced individuals to don the magnetic boots to walk or move around. There were no closed doors, and the whole place was open to space as well. A general requirement was that the hangar facility needed everyone to have some sort of spacesuit to help protect them from the outside environment of space.

The facility also consisted of crane arms that could move freight around. While the bay itself was not exactly the busiest of places, there was still traffic that worked in and out. The bay’s size could easily handle five times the regular freight traffic that it was having now, but it was still mostly quiet.

Most of these landing pads consisted of the Mark 12 or Mark 13 shuttles. The cylindrical gray frames were little more than oversized gunships. Their landing gear was magnetically anchored to the deck. They were over twenty-five meters in length and housed three or five mini all-in-ones (AIO) weapon turrets. Each one resided on all but two of the large landing pads to help out with the civilian traffic.

When Mizu approached the shuttle, he knew it was a Mark 13 because of the additional engine thrusters and the removed rear AIO turret. This allowed more room for cargo in the interior while adding other weapons in the craft’s forward section. The main entry door was already open as both Mizu and Hamiza stepped inside.

“At least we’re using the ‘Eugine Trinh’ today,” Hamiza remarked as they walked into the shuttle. “Always prefer the new Mark 13s.”

“It never really bothered me which one is better,” Mizu replied. He looked around the interior. It consisted of almost two decks. While the shuttle looked like a cylinder, the interior had to ensure that there was an adequate amount of room to carry marines and cargo. There were side-mounted seats where the marines could strap themselves in. There were also numerous compartments where the other items could be stored, not including the basic essential facilities.

“Are we bringing anything to Fort Darwin?” Mizu asked Hamiza.

“We have a crate of broken-down Genisen 5TIK Converters that are going to be shipped there,” Hamiza said. “Not much else, really. It’s more of us having to get parts from the shipyards as usual.”

Hamiza was first as she walked through the interior. The magnetic boots would clamp down on the deck and produce light tapping sounds inside the spacesuits with each step. A ladder system in the interior led up to the higher deck area where the pilothouse was located. She leaped as the magnetic boots disengaged from the deck. This caused her to float towards the top section, where she grabbed a pole extension to work her way to the small pilothouse. Mizu followed suit as he did the same thing.

When Mizu grabbed the pole, he could already see Hamiza preparing to sit down on one of the two pilot chairs. The pilot room itself was not that large. Technically, the design was mainly for just one pilot. The entire area consisted of multiple displays that showed the camera feeds from outside the shuttle. There were gauges, levers, and other instruments that gave the pilot information on the ship’s status and headings. Hamiza was already strapping herself in as she went and began the launch sequence.

“Another two weeks, and you’ll be fully qualified to fly these shuttles,” Hamiza remarked. “Finally, get to say goodbye in training your ass.”

“I’m sorry. I thought you liked my ass,” Mizu replied as he sat down on the chair next to her. He started to strap himself in.

There was a console where Hamiza went and placed her gloved hand on. A series of lights began to flick on as the shuttle doors started to close. Upon the door sealing itself, a secondary seal kicked in. Once that was handled, the ventilation system activated and began to move oxygen into the interior. The air started to pressurize, and the heating systems immediately began to flush in warm air.

“Direct Fusion Drive at 100%,” Hamiza said. “In a minute, we can take off our helmets. Feel like you can pilot this guy to the shipyards and back?”

“Sure thing,” Mizu replied as he saw the console near the armrest. He placed his gloved hand on it, causing blue lights to illuminate from his augmented hand. It interfaced with the controls as he began to process the feed and data to the shuttle’s computer system.

Hamiza turned her helmet to look at him before he momentarily closed his eyes.

“You’ll get used to that,” Hamiza commented. “I had the same thing when I would activate the shuttles.”

“Hmm?” Mizu asked.

“The hand augmentation to brain interface euphoria. I can see why you prefer the Mark 12s now. The new Mark 13s computer core takes a little bit more time to get used to.”

Mizu managed to shake off the feeling while he felt the controls go through him. He could see the gauges in his mind. His augmented hand’s interface system connected to his nervous system momentarily. His brain could see what the ship was seeing.

“Yeah, the Mark 13 is like finding a gold digger of a woman instead of the Mark 12s that are more like bronze diggers,” Mizu commented.

“You’ll get used to it. The Mark 13s really are better than the original. Just like those old Magellan class Battleships, the Mark 12s just don’t cut it anymore.”

Mizu had complete control of the shuttle as Hamiza removed her hand from the console. She had enough confidence in Mizu’s abilities that she no longer felt the need to oversee his work. She even expressed a slight grin on her face as if she was happy that her training had finally started to pay off.

“We don’t need our internal suit oxygen anymore,” Mizu commented as he used his free hand to tap a series of buttons on his helmet. “Pressurization is complete, and temperatures are nominal.”

Hamiza did the same thing, disengaging their oxygen systems and opening their visors. Mizu could feel that the temperatures were slightly cold, but they were quickly warming up to optimal.

“Starting up launch sequence...” Mizu continued. “Hailing Fort Batrice’s Hangar Bay Control Tower #1...”

A female voice came through the communications on audio only in the shuttle’s pilot room. It was a light and delicate voice with a European accent.

“Shuttle Eugine Trinh, go ahead,” the female voice called out.

“Ready to depart from Fort Batrice’s Hangar Bay,” Mizu said. “En route to Fort Darwin.”

“Roger that Eugine Trinh...” there was a pause in the voice comms. “You’re clear for departure. Make sure that your return trip is going to be in less than thirty minutes, or you’ll have to wait for at least three hours at Fort Darwin.”

“Eugine Trinh copies...”

“Take care, Mizu...” The voice seemed to flirt with him. The words seemed to confuse Hamiza as she looked at Mizu with curiosity.

“You too, Flora,” Mizu replied with a smile. “Eugine Trinh, out.”

With that, the communications line ceased as Hamiza seemed to be curious as to who this woman was.

“Petty Officer Flora?” Hamiza questioned. “She’s the new transfer crew member from Cebravis, right?”

“Yes,” Mizu said. “I think Flora might be attracted to me. Can’t really blame her too much. How can you say no to this face?”

“Yeah...” Hamiza shook her head. “I’d have more trust in your flying skills than your romantic gestures.”

“Trust me; I have complete control of my stick controls...” Mizu remarked with a wink. His tone started to get serious as he looked at the display. “Why did she say to be back in less than thirty minutes?”

“Oh, come on. Really?” Hamiza said as she pointed at the screen. “That’s why, dumbass.”

Mizu looked at the camera feed that showed the landing pad that was next to their shuttle. The empty spot had a large, carefully laid-out carpet that led into the small building that would lead to the interior structure of Fort Batrice. Mizu knew the importance of this meeting.

“Hmmm ... I still don’t understand,” Mizu said. “I mean, I understand that ... but traffic will still be coming and going into this hangar bay regardless.”

“Not in the next three hours,” Hamiza said. “Go ahead and take us out, and I’ll explain why. We’re on a time schedule, and I would prefer to be back so we’re not stuck at Fort Darwin.”

“Good idea.” Mizu took control of the shuttle as the engines kicked in. The vectoring thrusters gently pushed the shuttle up several meters from the ground, where he could see the surrounding area better. With weightlessness being no issue, the shuttle quickly lifted up and cleared the pad before its vectoring thrusters stabilized it above the deck.

“Make sure not to accelerate too...” Hamiza tried to say as both she and Mizu felt a sudden jolt hitting them. Acceleration pressed their backs hard to the chair. All eight of the shuttle’s rear thrusters began to shove it along.

“Ha ... ha ... ha...” Mizu laughed as he slowed the thrusters down a little bit. The acceleration lowered as the shuttle was gaining faster and faster speeds. It didn’t take long as he could watch the numerous ground structures of the hangar bay pass on by. Finally, the small craft had completely cleared the facility.

Outside, the shuttle was little more than a tiny bullet. After clearing the hangar bay, Mizu looked at the camera feeds to see that the port side was the planet with the starboard side being nothing but open space. Fort Batrice’s hangar bay arrangements required all ships to rotate by ninety degrees upon exiting or entering. He followed the same suit by adjusting the shuttle’s direction. The whole vessel spun as it continued to fly forward faster and faster. He could feel the force being pushed on his body as he now had the shuttle following a solid straight orbital line to the shipyard on the western hemisphere of Planet Batrice. Below him was the faint line where light met darkness. On the right side was the forever pitch darkness of the planet, while the left side was the perpetually illuminated side.

“There we go...” Mizu said. “We’ll make it to Fort Darwin in six minutes.”

“Excellent. They should have an open bay for us so we can get the parts to transfer back to the station.”

Mizu looked at the live feed of Fort Batrice as it was getting smaller and smaller. The giant cylindrical obelisk was well-lit as the light from Trappist-1 illuminated it.

“I never figured out why they put a hangar bay in the center,” Mizu commented.

“Probably to ensure that everything could be more easily transferred,” Hamiza explained. “We have docking hatches on the top and bottom of the space station where it connects to the New Sydney and Uniapon city drums, but they want to make sure that we have the equipment to handle large-scale evacuations if need be. That’s why the top ceiling of the hangar bay can also have vessels docked there. Wait until we have to do ‘Operation: Ceiling Scrapper’ next month. That’s where we do a mock-up station-wide evacuation. We pull all the shuttles and start flying all over the place. It’s fun, but only if you are prepared for it.”

“I can imagine having to land on the ceiling of that space station.”

“It’s no different, really. It’s only a pain in the ass when we have to ‘right ourselves’ once we get into Fort Batrice’s passageways. Technically, we can even have shuttles dock on the western and eastern walls of the bay too ... much like you almost did on your second run when we tried to land on the space station.”

Mizu chuckled a little bit. “How can I forget that one? I forgot to rotate the shuttle ninety degrees when we entered the hanger bay.”

“I was going to wait as long as I could before I had to tell you. I figured that I had to prevent it from becoming too embarrassing. It’s a common rookie mistake.”

As the shuttle continued to fly in a virtual straight orbital line, Mizu could see the great shipyard of Fort Darwin. It was small at first, but it was starting to get bigger and bigger. He activated the comms to call out to the station.

“Fort Darwin landing platform #3 control tower, this is shuttle Eugine Trinh, do you read?” Mizu asked.

A random male audio-only voice came in. “Shuttle Eugine Trinh, we read you. I already see you on the short-range sensors.”

“Request permission to come in and land. We need to pick up those parts from Fort Batrice.”

“Permission granted shuttle. Good to hear you’re getting more and more on the pilot seat, Mizu. We have everything all ready for you to pick things up here. The crews looked bored as it is.”

“Copy on that,” Mizu explained. “Hope you guys can be quick enough with the transfer. Fort Batrice is going to be having a diplomatic tour in like twenty-five minutes. If we take too long, then we may have to sit and party out with you guys for three hours.”

“Shouldn’t take too long. Probably fifteen minutes tops. I’m sure you guys will make it back with time to spare. Control tower, out...”

“Darwin Mega is a busier place than we are,” Hamiza remarked.

“Darwin Mega? Oh, you mean Fort Darwin.”

“Yep, good ol Darwin Mega ... Next time, try to at least keep the chats with the control tower more ... short.”

“Hey, I know the guy who operates the control tower,” Mizu countered. “Graham is a friend from my High School. He’s working at that post.”

“Ah ... that’s why.”

“If all else fails, we can go to the bars there on the shipyard. Wouldn’t mind sampling the drinks there with him ... assuming his shift ends.”

Mizu altered the heading a little bit before shutting off the shuttle’s rear engines. The rear forward-facing thrusters began to activate, slowing the vessel down.

Fort Darwin’s massive ring could be seen on top of the shipyard. Below it was a gigantic spinning ring, but it was nothing to the size of the drums of Fort Batrice. The main structure of the fortress was the large platforms that went outward. Large tubular sections went outward as hangar bay facilities were everywhere. Below the venues were a series of catacombs where future UHN battleships were being constructed as fast as possible. Additional mining vessels and civilian freighters were being built, and there were the occasionally damaged warships that were being repaired as well. It was indeed a busy place, as Hamiza had mentioned, and it was more active than ever before. Below the yards was the great elevator tether that led to the foundry city dome below. The one significant advantage of the station was that the shipyard’s hangar facilities were very straightforward. Landing, transferring the equipment, and getting out would require minimal effort.

It would take less than fourteen minutes for the shuttle to depart from one of the shipyard’s small hangar bays. Mizu had complete confidence in the shuttle’s controls as Hamiza was little more than just a passenger to witness his actions. She looked back a little bit to the empty compartment past the pilot room.

“Phew ... man,” Mizu remarked, feeling the familiar form of acceleration inside the shuttle. “We’re going to be cutting it a little bit close.”

“We’ll be alright,” Hamiza replied. “I’m just happy that I’m not going to be stuck on the shipyard because of this whole diplomatic mission crap. We already have more equipment that needs to be transferred from New Phnom Penh today. Most of the new parts for the power reactor of Fort Batrice are down there. Any delays will just make the day longer than it already will be.”

“Hmmm...”

The shuttle began to leave the shipyards faster, making an orbital straight line back towards the northern hemisphere of Batrice. The only difference was that Trappist-1’s sunlight was now on the starboard side of the shuttle rather than the port side.

“Oh yeah,” Mizu wondered. “You were going to say why we needed to get back to Fort Batrice before the ambassadors’ shuttle was going to arrive.”

“Ah...” Hamiza coldly explained. “They’ll be closing the hangar bay doors during the event. They’re pressurizing the whole location interior.”

“Really?”

“Yep ... pretty much the benefit of being an ambassador.”

“Ah, I can see what you mean. So they’re going to be doing all this shit so the ambassadors won’t even have to be in space suits?” Mizu shook his head. “Damn ... I wish I was rich.”

“Oh, don’t get me started,” Hamiza commented as she shook her head. “Sounds like nothing but bullshit having the T’rintar clan come to the space station.”

“Yeah, we don’t need them here. Batrice and Gillan can take care of ourselves.”

“With the Chanvatey in power, we really don’t need to have them either. We have the most powerful battle station available. Not even the Itreans could smash Fort Batrice if they wanted to.”

Mizu seemed to chuckle a little bit. “How many times we try to avoid politics, and here we are doing it again.”

“You were the one that started it.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I did. It doesn’t help that I have a grandfather that served as a secretary in the previous administration. Not that I have any interest in politics. I want to fly.”

“Well ... now you are.”

“True.”

As the shuttle continued to move faster, Mizu could see the familiar sight of Fort Batrice come into view. It was small at first. The pill-looking space station was tiny, but it would start to get bigger and bigger as time went by.

“Opening up comms,” Mizu said. “Fort Batrice Hangar Bay Control Tower #1, this is shuttle Eugine Trinh requesting to land.”

“This is Control Tower #1,” the familiar female voice of Flora came back in. “I have you on the radar. Permission granted. Good timing.”

“How much time before they started closing the doors?”

“The Olara’kon’s jump gate is currently forming right now. They’ll be here in another five minutes. Their shuttle will be in the landing bay in like ten minutes.”

“Petty Officer Flora,” Hamiza called out on the comms. “Have you verified that it is them?”

“Hello, Hamiza,” Flora replied. “It’s definitely them. Their access codes are correct.”

“Good. I know the bridge verifies it first, but you need to make sure to help provide oversight for it.”

“Roger that. Control Tower #1 out.”

With that, the communications channel closed. Hamiza looked over to Mizu and gave a look of aggravation.

“What?” Mizu replied.

“I sometimes wonder if your brother was this annoying ... ehmm ... I apologize.”

“My brother? ... Nah ... he was nothing like me. It’s alright, by the way. Why? Already annoyed with me today?”

“Eh ... you engage in idle chatter on important communication networks.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t be like this today. I know you’re annoyed with having to take up watch today, along with our duties. I have to do it too.”

She sighed. “It looks like we’ll both have guard watch today.”

“They are going to give me a fucking gun today?”

She nodded her head. “Same here. From pilot to grunt guard duty.”

“I never thought that I would ever get to hold a gun again since the abolishment of the civilian right to bear arms on Batrice over a year ago. Too bad. I like the ancient SS-15 gun my great-grandfather had.”

“Well ... wait. You did basic firearms training in boot camp, right? You’re qualified.”

“Eh ... not the same. I mean freely before that. Don’t get me wrong. If the government is promising to keep us safe and not many people on Batrice have firearms, to begin with, then what does it matter? Still ... I know my grandparents are going to have to give up on some family heirloom.”

“Do you have any family on Oshun or Aphadus?”

“No.”

“Meh ... Doesn’t matter,” Hamiza shrugged. “I was going to suggest something, but it doesn’t bother me any. Now you’ll get to hold a gun again.”

Mizu could see that the shuttle was getting closer and closer to Fort Batrice. Following the fine line between space and the darkness and light of the planet below, they were making it all the way back to their home base. The space station was much more significant now. He could see one of the lit mobile dome cities on the sunlit side of the planet’s surface.

“Have any family that works in CMC?” Mizu asked.

“Huh?” Hamiza asked.

“Just trying to engage in small talk. Have anybody that works in the Cancri Mining Corporation? You know the place where we send half the mining ships to?”

“Yes. My grandparents retired from that company, and I have a half-brother that’s thinking of working there. I thought about working there but ... I felt like I’ve told you this before.”

“Ah ... now I know,” as she jogged Mizu’s memory. “I remember you telling me a little bit about it. You wanted to be a pilot to the ships going to Cancri 55e, but the whole attack on New Phnom Penh changed that.”

“Yep...” Hamiza seemed to think about it. “Much like you ... I had a change of heart.”

“Well, I already wanted to join, but my brother decided after the attack that he wanted to go into the marines instead. Wanted to be an engineer.”

He looked down as he thought about his brother. Hamiza looked at him closely before she got his attention.

“I understand,” she said. “If you want me to pilot the shuttle in, I can go ahead and do it.”

“No ... I’m fine,” Mizu said. It pulled him out of his thoughts as he started to slow the shuttle down. They could feel the deceleration push against their bodies. The seat straps held them firmly as the forward thrusters were starting to slow the shuttle more and more.

By now, Fort Batrice was becoming a large obelisk by appearance. It was at a moderate distance, but enough to tell more detail. Mizu could start to see the four great battleships that guarded the space station. Lying in a small fleet formation, the four warships were often overlooked by the colossus station. He only knew so much of the four ships. Three of the UHN battleships were of the Widado class. These UHN battleships were big. They were about the size of the Itrean dreadnoughts. The extended gray cylindrical frames were so long that there had to be over ten AIO gun turrets on them. One of the most significant differences was the fact that they carried two anti-ship missile launcher pods on the dorsal and ventral midsections. Mounted on top of that box was a powerful railgun turret. Near the rear aft section was a sizeable centripetal spinning box structures where the crew resided at. He knew of the MBB-170 named the Widado that delivered the killing blow to the Aksren scout ship.