Blue Star Enterprises-Chapter 225 - 4-41
The party was over, and Alexander left the apartment bright and early the next day while he let Yulia sleep in.
Before stepping out, he left a note for her so she knew she could spend the rest of the day with her friends. He would pick her up when it was time to leave.
A little while later, Alexander strode into the new Navy Command Center. If you could even call it that. The area consisted of three converted rooms in Atrium D. One was Krieger's office, while the other office was shared by his other captains when they weren't on rotation. Then there was the operation center, which was just a fancy name for the large conference room where mission planning was discussed with the ship crews.
By the time he arrived, the room already had fifty people inside. The group quietly talked amongst themselves and enjoyed the food and beverages that Theo had arranged.
All conversation ceased as Alexander entered the room. "Good morning, everyone. Please take a seat, and we can get started."
The crew members all found a spot, and Alexander made a motion to turn on the holo projector.
"Some of you may have already served aboard Yulia's Grace for its test flight or with me aboard Wayward Soul, but there are very few of you who have done both. To ensure everyone is on the same page, we are going to go over the specs of the new Orca-class heavy assault frigate."
What followed was a two-hour lecture on the ship's finer points. There were a few questions, but by now, every person in that room was an experienced spacer within the BSE fleet, so most of the systems were familiar to them. Alexander had handpicked them from a pool of volunteers.
With the mission being a long one, Alexander didn't want anyone aboard who didn't want to be there or who wasn't the best at what they did. Especially not with his daughter onboard.
"Any other questions?" Alexander asked after going over the ship.
"You said that those integrated panels can be fabricated with onboard components. What happens if we run out of those?" one of the technicians asked.
Alexander flicked the presentation to the fabrication center aboard Grace. "We have two printers and a nano assembler aboard. If we run out of materials for any components, we can construct a space-based printer in short order to print mining bots. The printer will need to operate using Grace's computer core, but it can be done. I have included tutorial programs for all systems, and I expect each member to use some of their downtime to study those materials."
Seeing no more questions, Alexander moved on. "Our escort vessels will consist of two automated Shark corvettes and eight automated Stingray gunships. The Valkyrie will also be joining us on this trip."
That got a few surprised looks from the Asgardian members of his crew. Alexander hadn't made it public knowledge that Lagertha Char was planning on joining him on this diplomatic trip, or what the purpose of the trip was. Despite not announcing that, he knew rumors of him visiting STO space were already on everyone's lips.
"The purpose of this trip is twofold," he continued. "First, I wish to make contact with the company that manufactures gravity plating to make a purchase. I don't expect any issues during that visit, but don't count on anything. The second purpose is to visit Sol for some diplomatic concerns. I expect that if we run into issues, it will likely come from there. For that reason, ten assault team members will be accompanying us along with both mine and my daughter's personal guards." Alexander gestured to a group who happened to be standing in the back of the room.
They had entered the room a little while ago and had done so without anyone but him noticing.
The looks of surprise the assault team got made them grin. Inwardly, Alexander cursed; he had bet Galloway that at least one person other than him would see them come in.
"Just because the assault team will be accompanying us, doesn't mean I want anyone getting itchy trigger fingers. We will hope for the best and plan for the worst. With that in mind, your goal is to ensure everyone aboard Grace comes back in one piece. I don't want anyone instigating a fight, but if we are fired upon, I am giving you all authorization right now to return fire, no questions asked. I will sort out any problems after the smoke clears. Any questions?"
There were quite a few questions, mostly from former STO folks, but some from the Asgardians as well. Alexander did his best to answer any concerns they might have. To be honest, it was far less than he might have guessed.
The meeting finished up just shy of lunch, and Alexander excused them all to go have a meal and visit with their families. The only stipulation was that they had to be ready to leave for orbit in a few hours.
When he finally left the empty conference room, he was surprised to find Krieger waiting in the hallway.
"How was your first mission brief?" Krieger asked.
"I'll admit, there was a lot to cover. Are they always like that?" Alexander asked in return.
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"Depends on the mission, but normally they aren't quite so involved. Usually, a new ship isn't deployed for a long-term mission, and even if they are, the crews are usually well acquainted with it by that point. Shuffling crew around so often doesn't normally happen within the STO."
"Sorry about that," Alexander replied. "And sorry for taking the best people we have."
Krieger chuckled lightly. "I'll survive, besides, they were only the best by a small margin in most cases. I've actually got a fresh group of recruits that are training up in the academy. They should be ready for basic ship assignments in a month or so."
With so much going on, Alexander had completely forgotten about Krieger's recruitment drive. He remembered the one for assault teams, but that was because he had been actively working with Galloway to ensure they were ready.
"That's good. Hopefully, some of them will stick it out after their required term of service. How are the cadets coming along?" While he might have forgotten about the recruits, he hadn't forgotten about the academy cadets.
"Some of them are showing great promise, but it'll be at least a year before they are ready. I even had Ramirez ask me about Eva Wu's kid, Markus. Seems the boy got a bit of extra hands-on experience."
"Was that on the same trip that the Omni spy was captured?" Alexander asked.
Krieger nodded.
Alexander thought he was overprotective, but Eva was worse. She was still a bit miffed about her son being in a combat operation during his first few months of training. "Have you apologized to her about that whole debacle?"
Krieger sighed. "Ramirez apologized, but I honestly don't see why she was so upset to begin with. There was always the possibility that one of our ships would encounter hostile activity during our patrols, and it wasn't like he was ever in danger. The ship was a civilian vessel with no hidden weapons at all."
While Alexander agreed, he could see Eva's point as well. "Do me a favor and speak with her yourself. She might take the apology more readily if it comes from you."
"This is why I preferred black ops work," he responded. "Fine. I'll have a chat with her. Oh, before I forget." Krieger pulled out an activation crystal. "You wouldn't get very far on Grace without this." There was a pause. "Good luck, Alex, and keep your eyes open. There's no telling what the STO or corporations might try to pull."
He thanked the man for his advice, and they went their separate ways.
A few hours later, Alexander found himself on the bridge of Grace, doing a final systems test. Branston was ferrying the crew to the ship, but Alexander would be flying down to pick up the final passenger, his daughter.
Once back on the ground, he located Yulia playing in the park with her friends. They had mostly outgrown the playground equipment, but that didn't seem to stop them from enjoying their remaining time together.
Alexander waited as long as he could, ignoring the incessant messages coming in. Willard had become aware that he was getting ready to leave, and the man had been pestering his crew nonstop for the past half an hour.
He told his comm officer to forward all messages to his tablet, and he would answer them when he was good and ready to leave.
He finally made an ahem sound, getting Yulia's attention.
The girl looked at him, and tears started forming in her eyes. She ran over and hugged her friends before wiping her face and smiling.
Then, before her feelings could overwhelm her again, she rushed over to where Alexander was standing, Dog right behind her.
"Are you all packed up and ready to go?" he asked. "And where's your necklace?"
She nodded at the first question, her eyes starting to water a bit again before she blinked away the building tears. "I didn't want to get it dirty, so I left it at home."
"I want to you wear it at all times once we leave, it's a good luck charm. Can you do that for me?"
She nodded, and Alexander held out his hand, glad she didn't argue. It probably had more to do with the fact that she found the mechanism within intriguing rather than what he said, but he would take the win.
The pair walked to their apartment, and he grabbed her bags. He had told her not to pack any clothes because he had all new stuff aboard the ship, so the two overstuffed bags were personal items. Alexander didn't want her to bring any of her old outfits because he didn't want her to wear something that couldn't link with the necklace.
Once out in the hallway, Alexander secured their home. There wasn't really anything inside worth stealing, but it made him feel better. The workshop would remain open to the BSE engineers, Lucas, and the security people. He would keep in touch via the comm network, but he suspected he wouldn't have to get overly involved. He trusted his people to know what to do.
Before they reached the exit to the landing pad, Pembrooke greeted them. "I'm glad I caught you before you left," the man stated.
Alexander held up his hand to stop the man. "Yulia, how about you run on ahead with Dog. The shuttle is open, just don't fiddle with any controls."
"Okay. Race you there, Dog," she stated before rushing off before the robot could even bark in response.
"Ah, to be young again," Pembrooke chuckled.
"What did you want to speak about?" Alexander asked.
"I could say I wanted to wish you luck, but that would be a lie. You need more than luck to deal with the political snakes within the STO. I wish I could go with you, but if I stepped off the ship, I would be a dead man. At least Char is going to be there. She has a good understanding of politics, so she should be able to keep you from making any serious mistakes…"
The man's hesitation spoke volumes. "Are you sure there wasn't something else you wanted to say?"
Pembrooke sighed. "Are you sure you want me in charge while you're gone? I've never had this much power or responsibility before. I thought I would relish it, but I already find myself feeling overwhelmed."
Alexander chuckled at that. "You get used to the feeling. And you got this. Remember, you aren't alone. Rely on the people around you if you need help; you don't have to do everything yourself. The Lokis will also be assisting, or so the one who is posing as a technician stated. I wouldn't trust them too much, so keep building your contacts apart from them."
He gave Pembrooke a reassuring shoulder squeeze before carrying on toward the exit. It was finally time to head to the STO and shake things up a bit. He would have done so sooner, but thought it in poor taste to do that while the conflict with the pirates was ongoing.
That was no longer an issue. Once word of Harlow's defeat spread, the pirates fell into infighting, and the STO moved in to clear them out. freeweɓnovel.cøm
Going by the various news reports, clearing them out wasn't an easy process. A whole lot of innocent people died on the worlds that had fallen to the pirates as they grabbed what loot they could carry before fleeing before the STO fleets arrived.
Alexander had little love for the STO, but the civilians didn't deserve what the pirates did to them. Once the war with Xin was over, he planned on redirecting his focus to clearing out every single pirate he could. It was time someone did something about them.
