Magma Drive
-The Commander-
Sweet dreams of his home world faded into lost memories as Reasha woke to the tune of a
popular song playing in his head. He flipped the sheets away and walked heavy lidded to the shower
bay to clean his teeth and wash the sleep out of his shortly kept fur. Clothes were rarely worn in the
housing section and were almost seen as crass to wear if one was not on duty.
The water was a sobering feeling and jump started his brain into thinking about the events of
the day. He had been on the ship for a very long time and was accustomed to life in space. He even
grew to like it. But today was a very exciting day for every being aboard the spacecraft. They had
arrived at their destination.

The alien planet was in view through the port holes now. Reasha, being only twenty eight, had
never been on the surface of an alien planet for a core mining operation before. He was very excited
of the fact that his father had allowed him to go down with the modulation team for this one. Even his
father had never walked the surface of an oxygen rich blue planet and his father was over five
hundred age units old.

No one knew exactly what to expect to find on the surface. There were signs of life, but mostly
in isolated pockets of vegetated areas. The Anaei were one of the founding races of the Galactic
collective known as LOGIC and they took the laws written by the collective very seriously. The planet
looked as if it had suffered a recent meteoric impact of some kind making it easy for the core diver
landing crafts to operate without even coming within twelve surface units of any reported organisms
capable of potential intelligence. They were within tolerance and granted the clearance needed to
land and take the calculated risk of mining the planet's core.

Reasha's previous responsibilities kept him on the deck of the Extrapsion, the control ship of
Mining Dispatch Three (MD3). MD3 was the name given to the fleet of ships sent into the far end of
the spiral arm of the galaxy to search for transmorphium, the most precious and sought after material
in the known galaxy. The Anaei have such a respect for this incredible element that they have long
considered it to be responsible for the creation of life itself.

With the discovery of transmorphium, hyperspace travel was made possible. And in time, the
Anaei came across other sentient beings who called themselves the Agrodites. Together they
prospered and joined together in a quest for the precious metal. An alliance was formed called the
Legion of the Galactic Intelligence Collective, or LOGIC, as they are commonly referred to as. It was
formed between the two races to ensure peace and preservation of all intelligent life encountered
during their search for this precious metal. LOGIC eventually grew to six other life groups with only
one that refused to join, the Niesos. The Niesos were a respectively young race when they were
discovered by LOGIC and contacted with the intent of sharing knowledge with them. Their true nature
was hidden from the collective until the revolution took place which spawned a rogue civilization
made up of defectors of the collective and the originators that call themselves the Galactic Order of
Dominion or "GOD". They seek to to destroy or enslave all life forms that may grow into hyperspace
travelers. It is believed that they want to rule the galaxy as the gods that their namesake preludes to.

The Extrapsion was equipped with the latest in armament technology for the sole purposes of
defending themselves from the GODs. However, the weapons also serve as a defense from hostile
unknowns and space debris. It was Reasha and his squad that operated a section of the defensive
weapons known as gravity guns. As you may imagine, it is a very boring job. Most of the work entailed
maintenance, training and the occasional incoming asteroid. After all, the last attack on any LOGIC
ship was over two hundred years ago.

Reasha's new job was a big step up. He would be part of the modulation team that built
housing units for the ground workers. He had taken the construct course during the trip from the last
sector. The long voyages can be brutal if you don't find ways to keep yourself occupied.
As Reasha made his way down the well lit corridor of the 13th level of the Extrapsion he
passed a recon team on it's way back from the chow hall. They were dressed in the conservative gray
and blue of the Federation uniform but were generously adorned with insignia denoting their high
stature and position amongst the federation officers corp. One of the young captains looked directly at
Reasha and gave him a slight nod before averting his eyes and continuing on his way back to wherever
they were going. The brief moment between them left him feeling like a star stuck school boy. He had
seen many generals and colonels on the ship before but had never had the pleasure of being in such
close proximity with an actual recon team before. He suddenly hoped his adoration didn't show on his
face and regretted not nodding back in response. “maybe next time,” he thought to himself as his ears
flickered back subconsciously.

Recon was the most glorified of all the assignments. They were the ones that went off into
unknown sectors to search for the quantum flux fields indicating potential transmorphium deposits in
planet cores. It was a dangerous job that raised an individuals status in the collective greatly. It was
also Reasha's childhood dream to one day be a recon member.

The door he was walking to appeared around the next corner and he snapped back to reality.
This was his first meeting with his new commander. He double checked his uniform to make sure
everything was in place and updated to reflect his change of duties. His old insignia was slightly larger
than his new one and the silhouette showed slightly darker from the mild fading of his uniform over
the years. It was almost too slight to notice the subtle difference.

Inside the room he saw many of his classmates from his modulation class but was most happy
to see Syo, his best friend from class, waving for Reasha to come sit next to him. He was happy to
oblige and couldn't fight the smile developing on his muzzle or the telltale swish of his tail.
Syo was a very relaxed and upfront Anaein who had a love for social events. He was often the
source of playful banter and a general lightening of the mood to whatever he became a part of. Today
was no exception. Just seeing his friend made Reasha relax to the point where could feel his muscles
loosen up.

“How did you do on your finals for the last quarter? Syo asked sensing that his friend needed
to take his mind off the current situation. The new commander hadn't made himself present yet so all
the newly appointed and returning lieutenants were still greeting each other and finding their seats at
the long dark table situated in the center of the otherwise bright room. The table was an exquisite
blackbody synthetic that emitted almost no reflected or radiant light and gave the impression that you
were staring off into space when you looked at it. It was not unheard of but a very odd material to
make a table out of.

Reasha heard his friend's question but was far too entranced by the effect of the table to give a
reply. Syo saw his fascination and decided to embellish upon it. “It's called tricarbolite.” Syo smiled,
“pretty impressive. Something like this must have quite the story behind it. I think our new
commander might be an interesting guy.”

Reasha marveled some more at the table. It was hard to determine how close or far away the
table was because the eye could not get a fix on the object. It was almost nauseating. “Yeah, I think
you're right.”

Eventually everyone found their seats and a small Agrodite came out through a doorway in the
back of the room and sat at the head of the long table. The scaly being paid no attention to the twelve
pairs of eyes that were scrutinizing it's movements as it seemingly studied some files on the
holographic screen before it. Agrodites were known for their lack of emotion and extreme calculative
abilities but not so much for social graces. The being was also decidedly female, judging by the size of
it's horns protruding from either side of it's brightly colored forehead. Almost the entire body of
personnel was Anaein with the exception of one Cresikan, two Fenneks and the Agrodite. Everyone
was quietly focused on the latter.

“Out of the seven new faces in this room I only have hopes for two of you,” were the words
that broke the silence. The Agrodite's voice was surprisingly graceful if a bit monotonous. “You will
soon know who you are if you do not already know.”

Hologram screens appeared from the tricarbolite as the lighting in the room dimmed to an
eerie orange glow. The Agrodite continued, “My name is Captain Rayda. You will address me as
commander for that is what I am to you. You are all officers of the Federation and I expect you to
maintain the highest level of professionalism while wearing my insignia. We are here to oversee the
implementation of the most sophisticated equipment the galaxy has ever seen and my record for
doing so is perfect. Anyone who finds themselves responsible for any alteration of that record will be
made an example of. I have no doubt that I am making myself abundantly clear.

“We have come into the high orbit of planet ZX237.3F and have commenced preparations for
the landing of the core divers. You are all expected to be at your assigned posts in 15 minor time units
after the conclusion of this briefing. If modulation posts are not up and running by the end of the cycle
you will be immediately replaced and demoted. There are no errors in my unit. You all know what is
expected of you.

“Does anyone have any questions about their assigned post in my unit or duties as a lieutenant
in my employ?”

If anyone had any questions, no one had the courage to voice them. The room was as silent as
the grave.

“Very well. I release you to your duties.” With that, the commander waved everyone out of the
room and began to type into the V-board on the table. No eye contact was made during the entire
four minute briefing. The commander was either a genius or the worst leader Reasha had ever had.
Only time would tell which was true.

Syo and Reasha met up after the awkward in-briefing and decided to walk to the transporter
down the hall together. Syo was the first to say it. “That was weird.”

“I know,” Reasha replied. “I guess you were wrong about our new commander being
interesting.”

“Well, that's all a matter of perspective,” Syo chuckled.

A new voice chimed in from behind them. “The commander is likely one of the most brilliant
minds on this entire vessel.” The Cresikan's sharp beak matched his tone. The bird-like beings were
known for being ruthless killers of their own kind before they were shown the ways of the collective.
Their people were very slow to develop into hyperspace travelers due to their constant power
struggles on their home world of Cresikroft. The wars eventually ended in a peaceful monarchical rule
of the Raventhia family who brought a galactic quarter rotation worth of peace and established their
first hyperspace jump, ushering them into a new age and a new circle of friends. Unfortunately, a
considerable amount of them turned to the GODs during the first galactic revolution. Many other
beings still harbored regrets of their presence in LOGIC and would be happy to see them all dispelled.

“She's hard but fair and impartial,” added one of the little Fenneks. “She's the embodiment of
the perfect system. Your benefits and status will almost perfectly reflect your work and efforts.” He
seemed to be uncontrollably wagging his tail behind him. “Plus the modulation teams have the best
sergeants in the federation. Just keep your nose clean and your books in order. If you do that then
you'll do fine.” The Fennek gave them a smile before greeting the Cresikan with an equally jovial smile
turning into one of the side corridors.

The Cresikan acknowledged the greeting and gave a simple wave out of respect. He then
turned his peering gaze back to the two young Anaeins. “He's right, you know. If you mess up here you
will not be seen as an entity, just as a number. Keeping your numbers up and in order is the only way
to survive here. Personality will get you nowhere with the commander.” His peering eyes were looking
directly at Syo when he said this. He then turned his gaze down the hall and strode off ahead of them.

It was Reasha's turn to comfort Syo. “Don't worry, friend. You've never had trouble with
keeping your books.” Although he knew all too well that it was mostly his friend's personality that
floated him through his classes. “You'll be fine.”

“Thanks, I appreciate the moral support,” Syo said reluctantly. “See ya on the surface.”

With that they were at the transporter and began heading in different directions. Each
lieutenant was in charge of the modulator team that went with each core diver to the planet below
and their landing crafts were in different wings. Reasha secretly wondered if he was one of the new
faces that the commander was hopeful about. He was also still puzzled about how she could she have
known what those faces looked like when she never raised her eyes to look at any of them.
It didn't matter, really. His duties were not to concern himself with managerial approaches of
the commander. His team needed him to be centered and on point for the work that was planned out
for the next few days.