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Decision
© 2020 by Walter Reimer
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ahro
“Hey, Fuji.”
The Komodo monitor looked up from the readout he was studying. One part of the cargo being transported to Devil’s Gate Station was liquid, and despite having surge baffles in the tank there was a possibility that it could move about. To correct this, the tank had been linked to the ship’s artigrav network, and it was the cargo crew’s job to keep an eye on it to make sure that it didn’t affect the rest of the ship. “Yeah, Christina? What’s up?”
The cow glanced around. “What’s going on with Meredith?”
“Huh?”
“She’s been acting a little preoccupied,” Christina said, “ever since we hit the last waypoint.” Fuji nodded, and she added, “You’ve seen it too? Good thing I’m not imagining it. Did she get bad news from home?”
Fuji shook his head. “No. She was pretty pleased with her last letter from her parents. But you’re right, she is acting a little, well, subdued,” the bull said. “Won’t tell me what it is, either, but she said she’d be telling the whole crew when we get to Devil’s Gate.”
“Two days, then.”
“Yeah.” The cow’s ears twitched. “What?”
“Is she ticklish? We could pin her down and get it out of her,” Christina said with a chuckle. Fuji laughed while shaking his head, and the cow said, “Well, I expect you’ll find out.” She gave him a calculating look. “Ten says she’s been drafted by the Navy.”
Fuji scratched his chin. “It’s a bet.” The cargo supervisor grinned and walked away, leaving the bull to his task.
Two days later the Kiss Me in the Dark and the rest of the convoy had reached the station and the freighter was moving toward its mooring buoy. Cargo transfer craft were keeping station at a discreet distance as Jemel guided the ship into its docking port.
Meredith was in her seat on the bridge when Jax entered, a padd in his paw. “Hey, Captain.”
“Hm? Yes, Jax?” the mare asked. “Is that the liberty schedule?”
The rat glanced at the padd in his paw. “Yeah. We have a day or two before we head back to This Far – “ His voice died in his throat as she held out her paw. He gave her the padd and the rat blinked as she accessed the schedule. “Um, Captain?”
Meredith looked up at him. “Yes, Jax?”
“Um, is everything all right?” the rat asked.
The golden palomino smiled. “Yes, Jax. I just need to block out a little time to talk to the whole crew at once. Something came in the mail at the last waypoint, and I need to let everyone know.” She caught a sudden wary look in his eyes. “What?”
The rat drew himself to attention. “As your Executive Officer, Ma’am, I need to know – are you leaving?”
“Oh, Deus, you think – do you all think I’m quitting?” Meredith glanced from Jax to Jemel, Elroy and Ginny.
Ginny nodded.
Paw met forehead with a soft slap. “Shit. I’m sorry to give you all that idea,” Meredith said, “but no, I’m not quitting. Jax, do you honestly think I’d keep you dark about something like that? You’d be the first – well, wait, second – to know about it.” Jax grinned while the others chuckled. “It’s just that I have something big to tell the crew, so keep it to yourselves, okay?” She looked at them. “We smooth?”
Jax smiled before shrugging, but he visibly relaxed. “I’m smooth with it.” He glanced at the padd. “Private room at The Oasis? Wow, that’s pricey.”
Jemel’s ears perked. “You paying for the drinks, too, Boss?” the wolf asked.
Her ears dipped. “Afraid not. Thanks to that shitheaded stallion, I didn’t get a bonus. You’ll all have to pay for your own drinks and dinner.” The rat stepped out of the compartment, and Meredith sat back, wondering how she could apologize to Fuji.
The mare’s lips curled in a smile as several ideas presented themselves.
***
The sensor technician for Moncayo Station, a corsac fox, twisted around in his seat. “Commander?”
“Yes?” the sun bear said. His repeater screen on the command dais showed the planet, the traffic in the system, and a small red spot near the system’s arbitrary perimeter. “What’s wrong?’
“We’ve lost contact with several hyperspace beacons,” the fox said. “The AI’s – “ Alarms began to blare. “Hyperspace contact!” he yelped as other technicians began reporting the same information.
“Defense Alert One,” the commander said. Despite his calm voice, he was nervous. “All civilian traffic is to get clear as fast as they can. Communic – “ Half of the display suddenly hazed over and went black. “The fuck?”
“Report from one freighter,” a communications tech said. “Confed ships outphasing.” The otteress swallowed hard and added, “Contact lost.”
Boris, the system’s AI, managed to compensate for the sensor jamming and the sun bear gulped as two hundred Confed warships began to appear in normal space. “Commander,” the AI said in a subdued tone, “I was able to get through to the nearest sector base. We were cut off before I could get an acknowledgement.”
“You did well, Boris. Notify the Administrator, and get the planetary defenses hot.”
“It won’t hold them off for long,” the computer said.
“No, but hopefully long enough for the Fleet to get here,” the bear said.
***
“All right, quiet down, please,” and the crew’s ears perked as Meredith stood up from her place at one of the tables. “I received some news a few days ago from company headquarters on God’s Armpit, and I need to share it with you.”
Fuji blinked up at her. “You haven’t been drafted?”
The mare paused to glower at him. “If I had, do you think I’d leave you in the dark?” There were chuckles at this, which only intensified as Christina started to grumble. “Anyway, you might consider this good news.” She laid her padd on the table and opened it.
An image of the Kiss Me in the Dark appeared overhead. “As we all know, the ship’s an older class, even though we’ve had it retrofitted with a better life support system. Compared to a lot of other ships, it can’t carry much cargo.”
Another image appeared, roughly three times the size of the first. “Transcosm and Imperial Chartering have been busy. Meet the Kiss Me’s replacement,” and she paused as the crewfurs started talking among themselves. Compared to the older ship’s almost phallic spindle shape, this craft was a chubby ellipsoid like a rugby ball. “New hull, new engines, and a lot more room for cargo,” Meredith added as lines of text appeared beside the silhouette.
Vinzen Garry asked, “How much capacity on the engines?” The other engineers looked at the Scottish Fold and nodded.
"Glad you asked,” the mare replied with a smile. She ran her fingers over the padd and part of the new ship’s outline changed color. “Transcosm was thinking ahead. This new class of freighter has shields and weapons equivalent to a corvette, with no penalty in terms of cargo capacity or energy usage because they’re part of the design as built.” Jemel Fikset was nodding, the wolf’s teeth bared as he gazed up at the ship.
“Makes sense,” one of the cargo handlers remarked. “Things have got a whole lot more interesting.”
“When do we move in?” Jax asked, and a few furs laughed.
Meredith laughed along with them. “We have one more run to This Far, and after we drop our cargo off – and get paid,” and several furs cheered, “we head straight to God’s Armpit to the shipyards. We’re scheduled to do two months of workups to get familiar with it, and then we’re back to work.”
“Going to change the name?” Ginny giggled.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
***
Six Colonial systems and five deep space stations had been attacked as Confed ships, some from the far side of the Terran Sphere, drove deeply into the Imperial incursion with the intent to cut the invading fleet off from its bases of supply.
As soon as Confed jamming had ceased, word reached the Colonial government aboard the battleship Satan, and was relayed to the Empire.
The Imperial military communications network acted with its wonted efficiency, and as the Confed strategy unfolded, a message was sent from Gwath ka-shlal.
Azrin Gimarin ‘Oltunzhnim
Hāf: AZ9
Zā: Dima’ Frelyatzin Dorwani:
Ka Terrani mekna set dah hudi Dh, Z, tis Q. Ka Azrin Frelyatz mekqo kusagi. Zorth zā wogani pēr ka Azraa tis Tārin.
Gāar Derlāern
This was followed by a message sent to all Imperial military units. It was deliberately not sent in code, the senders knowing that the Confed would hear it.
“Let our enemies fear our claws.”
© 2020 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
ahro“Hey, Fuji.”
The Komodo monitor looked up from the readout he was studying. One part of the cargo being transported to Devil’s Gate Station was liquid, and despite having surge baffles in the tank there was a possibility that it could move about. To correct this, the tank had been linked to the ship’s artigrav network, and it was the cargo crew’s job to keep an eye on it to make sure that it didn’t affect the rest of the ship. “Yeah, Christina? What’s up?”
The cow glanced around. “What’s going on with Meredith?”
“Huh?”
“She’s been acting a little preoccupied,” Christina said, “ever since we hit the last waypoint.” Fuji nodded, and she added, “You’ve seen it too? Good thing I’m not imagining it. Did she get bad news from home?”
Fuji shook his head. “No. She was pretty pleased with her last letter from her parents. But you’re right, she is acting a little, well, subdued,” the bull said. “Won’t tell me what it is, either, but she said she’d be telling the whole crew when we get to Devil’s Gate.”
“Two days, then.”
“Yeah.” The cow’s ears twitched. “What?”
“Is she ticklish? We could pin her down and get it out of her,” Christina said with a chuckle. Fuji laughed while shaking his head, and the cow said, “Well, I expect you’ll find out.” She gave him a calculating look. “Ten says she’s been drafted by the Navy.”
Fuji scratched his chin. “It’s a bet.” The cargo supervisor grinned and walked away, leaving the bull to his task.
Two days later the Kiss Me in the Dark and the rest of the convoy had reached the station and the freighter was moving toward its mooring buoy. Cargo transfer craft were keeping station at a discreet distance as Jemel guided the ship into its docking port.
Meredith was in her seat on the bridge when Jax entered, a padd in his paw. “Hey, Captain.”
“Hm? Yes, Jax?” the mare asked. “Is that the liberty schedule?”
The rat glanced at the padd in his paw. “Yeah. We have a day or two before we head back to This Far – “ His voice died in his throat as she held out her paw. He gave her the padd and the rat blinked as she accessed the schedule. “Um, Captain?”
Meredith looked up at him. “Yes, Jax?”
“Um, is everything all right?” the rat asked.
The golden palomino smiled. “Yes, Jax. I just need to block out a little time to talk to the whole crew at once. Something came in the mail at the last waypoint, and I need to let everyone know.” She caught a sudden wary look in his eyes. “What?”
The rat drew himself to attention. “As your Executive Officer, Ma’am, I need to know – are you leaving?”
“Oh, Deus, you think – do you all think I’m quitting?” Meredith glanced from Jax to Jemel, Elroy and Ginny.
Ginny nodded.
Paw met forehead with a soft slap. “Shit. I’m sorry to give you all that idea,” Meredith said, “but no, I’m not quitting. Jax, do you honestly think I’d keep you dark about something like that? You’d be the first – well, wait, second – to know about it.” Jax grinned while the others chuckled. “It’s just that I have something big to tell the crew, so keep it to yourselves, okay?” She looked at them. “We smooth?”
Jax smiled before shrugging, but he visibly relaxed. “I’m smooth with it.” He glanced at the padd. “Private room at The Oasis? Wow, that’s pricey.”
Jemel’s ears perked. “You paying for the drinks, too, Boss?” the wolf asked.
Her ears dipped. “Afraid not. Thanks to that shitheaded stallion, I didn’t get a bonus. You’ll all have to pay for your own drinks and dinner.” The rat stepped out of the compartment, and Meredith sat back, wondering how she could apologize to Fuji.
The mare’s lips curled in a smile as several ideas presented themselves.
***
The sensor technician for Moncayo Station, a corsac fox, twisted around in his seat. “Commander?”
“Yes?” the sun bear said. His repeater screen on the command dais showed the planet, the traffic in the system, and a small red spot near the system’s arbitrary perimeter. “What’s wrong?’
“We’ve lost contact with several hyperspace beacons,” the fox said. “The AI’s – “ Alarms began to blare. “Hyperspace contact!” he yelped as other technicians began reporting the same information.
“Defense Alert One,” the commander said. Despite his calm voice, he was nervous. “All civilian traffic is to get clear as fast as they can. Communic – “ Half of the display suddenly hazed over and went black. “The fuck?”
“Report from one freighter,” a communications tech said. “Confed ships outphasing.” The otteress swallowed hard and added, “Contact lost.”
Boris, the system’s AI, managed to compensate for the sensor jamming and the sun bear gulped as two hundred Confed warships began to appear in normal space. “Commander,” the AI said in a subdued tone, “I was able to get through to the nearest sector base. We were cut off before I could get an acknowledgement.”
“You did well, Boris. Notify the Administrator, and get the planetary defenses hot.”
“It won’t hold them off for long,” the computer said.
“No, but hopefully long enough for the Fleet to get here,” the bear said.
***
“All right, quiet down, please,” and the crew’s ears perked as Meredith stood up from her place at one of the tables. “I received some news a few days ago from company headquarters on God’s Armpit, and I need to share it with you.”
Fuji blinked up at her. “You haven’t been drafted?”
The mare paused to glower at him. “If I had, do you think I’d leave you in the dark?” There were chuckles at this, which only intensified as Christina started to grumble. “Anyway, you might consider this good news.” She laid her padd on the table and opened it.
An image of the Kiss Me in the Dark appeared overhead. “As we all know, the ship’s an older class, even though we’ve had it retrofitted with a better life support system. Compared to a lot of other ships, it can’t carry much cargo.”
Another image appeared, roughly three times the size of the first. “Transcosm and Imperial Chartering have been busy. Meet the Kiss Me’s replacement,” and she paused as the crewfurs started talking among themselves. Compared to the older ship’s almost phallic spindle shape, this craft was a chubby ellipsoid like a rugby ball. “New hull, new engines, and a lot more room for cargo,” Meredith added as lines of text appeared beside the silhouette.
Vinzen Garry asked, “How much capacity on the engines?” The other engineers looked at the Scottish Fold and nodded.
"Glad you asked,” the mare replied with a smile. She ran her fingers over the padd and part of the new ship’s outline changed color. “Transcosm was thinking ahead. This new class of freighter has shields and weapons equivalent to a corvette, with no penalty in terms of cargo capacity or energy usage because they’re part of the design as built.” Jemel Fikset was nodding, the wolf’s teeth bared as he gazed up at the ship.
“Makes sense,” one of the cargo handlers remarked. “Things have got a whole lot more interesting.”
“When do we move in?” Jax asked, and a few furs laughed.
Meredith laughed along with them. “We have one more run to This Far, and after we drop our cargo off – and get paid,” and several furs cheered, “we head straight to God’s Armpit to the shipyards. We’re scheduled to do two months of workups to get familiar with it, and then we’re back to work.”
“Going to change the name?” Ginny giggled.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
***
Six Colonial systems and five deep space stations had been attacked as Confed ships, some from the far side of the Terran Sphere, drove deeply into the Imperial incursion with the intent to cut the invading fleet off from its bases of supply.
As soon as Confed jamming had ceased, word reached the Colonial government aboard the battleship Satan, and was relayed to the Empire.
The Imperial military communications network acted with its wonted efficiency, and as the Confed strategy unfolded, a message was sent from Gwath ka-shlal.
Azrin Gimarin ‘Oltunzhnim
Hāf: AZ9
Zā: Dima’ Frelyatzin Dorwani:
Ka Terrani mekna set dah hudi Dh, Z, tis Q. Ka Azrin Frelyatz mekqo kusagi. Zorth zā wogani pēr ka Azraa tis Tārin.
Gāar Derlāern
This was followed by a message sent to all Imperial military units. It was deliberately not sent in code, the senders knowing that the Confed would hear it.
“Let our enemies fear our claws.”
Category Story / General Furry Art
Species Horse
Size 71 x 120px
File Size 48 kB
Listed in Folders
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