Stirrup Cup
A Thursday Prompt story
© 2020 by Walter Reimer

Prompt: liquor

Thumbnail art by  technicolor_pie and  Major Matt Mason


The liquor was a shade of deep amber-brown, and it splashed slightly as it hit the bottom of the glass before settling while it was poured. The color was known to the shlani as tihevesh, and it had been considered unfashionable as a fur color for the past century.

There were rumors that it was coming back into vogue, though.

The kam set aside the decanter and held the glass up, regarding the color before saying quietly, “I have never truly appreciated the accomplishment of the Markellani. Creating a beverage compatible to both Kashlanin and Terran chemistries was an impressive feat.” He sniffed at the solution of water, ethanol and various hydrocarbons, and sniffed again before taking a sip.

The rest of the Kith’s officers smiled as their commanding officer made a face. “Rather strong, Gartabin?” the Weapons Division commander asked solicitously.

“Just getting old, Dorwant,” and the others laughed as they started to drink as well.

The ship was in orbit over Wangguan, part of a growing assemblage of ships. Varan had been in the command compartment when the first warships had outphased, followed by more and more. When there were seventy-one ships showing in the Kith’s tactical plot, k’Jen had summoned all of the cruiser’s officers to the conference room.

There were many different types of beverage on hand; apart from the Terran-made Markellan whiskey, there was henal, smiss and very well-diluted skrivat. The Captain obviously wanted shlani to feel comfortable, but not get intoxicated.

Varan approved of this. Wangguan had just been taken, and there was a high probability that the Confed would counterattack in force. The last briefing from ka Shērdyatz had indicated that the Colonies were going to attempt to take Indawo back from their erstwhile Terran allies. The Kith and the other ships in the system were there to basically maintain an Imperial presence while any potential Confed attack was repulsed.

It made it a somewhat dangerous place to pause for drinks.

A few fractions later, k’Jen gestured for his staff to take seats. After they had all sat down and were watching him expectantly, the kam set down his glass of whiskey. “I called you all here,” he said, “to let you know that we have new orders.”

The conference table’s holograph activated. “The Sovereign has ordered a general mobilization of the Fleet, and elements of the Sixth Fleet will arrive here in two days to relieve us. The Kith and the other ships will be attached to the formation that has recently entered the system,” k’Jen explained as ears perked and the others looked on intently. “Our objective is to draw Confed Navy units away from the Lalande System, meet them in open space, and destroy them.”

“What units are we expected to encounter?” the Operations Division commander asked.

“Intelligence predicts at least two divisions of their reserve fleet,” k’Jen replied. “These are generally older ships. Part of our mission objective is to keep this force engaged while the Colonial Second Fleet attacks Centauri, the closest system to Sol.” He smiled. “There will be additional operations conducted throughout the boundary between the Terran colonies and their core systems.”

“Loss estimates?” Varan asked.

“Threats and Assessments projects not more than five percent of our force.” The projection disappeared, and k’Jen said, “We will be leaving the system in three days. I will expect us to be at full readiness,” and Varan nodded, her glass of smiss only half-full.

While the rest of the staff discussed the briefing and enjoyed their drinks, Varan started accessing the ship’s readiness reports, studying them between sips of her drink. As Command-Second, it was her job.

Although she did hope that Meredith was managing to stay clear of the increasingly larger combat zone.