All That Glitters Ch. 53

"I name this ship Drall Asocan Ensch, after my late mother Asoc Ensch Mutt Herrtt, first of her line of the Asoc Class of Frigates." The three gently pushed the bottle and it swung on its cord until it hit a piece of metal protruding from the wall of the gym, just below the name of the ship. The bottle successfully broke and disgorged it's contents against the wall, the wrapping capturing the pieces of glass, to thunderous applause from the guests.

Murld was elated as the Asoc and Asost shook his hands (a human gesture which was repeated often over the next hour), and the Asocans raised their snouts and roared their glee to the heavens, especially Murld.

They turned back to the others and waited for the inevitable...the media were ever present in human space and they abounded here.

"Asoc, we have heard and seen the horrible images from AsocAR where a shall was destroyed by a megaton nuclear blast. Why do you put your faith in humans after it was humans that destroyed that shall?" a reporter asked the obvious question.

"Yes, it was a human designed weapon that destroyed our shall, however, it was an Asocan who ordered the launch of that weapon. Unaayel has hired a group of mercenaries to do her bidding, and those mercenaries have these weapons.

"Asocans would not normally do something of this nature. To us, battle is personal. We are a warrior race but we have a code of honour about battle. Most of our wars have been contested between heroes who represent the competing sides. Only four times in our history have we ever resorted to battle between large numbers of foes. The last time was the civil war to oust the Asoc Minatran 600 cycles past. It cost the lives of countless thousands of our people and forced changes on the levels of power that an Asoc can wield.

"Unaayel wants to return to the old ways, when the Asoc's word was law. You have seen for yourselves what she is capable of, do you think that the Asocan people will fare well under her influence?

"It was human weapons, wielded by an Asocan, that were used to destroy Semt Shall. It will be human weapons, also wielded by Asocans, who will stop Unaayel from completing her plans. The Union cannot intervene, but it can provide us with the tools to do what we need to do.

"Unaayel has put her faith in humans of a dubious nature. We will put our faith in the legitimate government of the human people, the Terran Union Governmental Authority, and the human commercial shipbuilding enterprises.

"The TGA has helped us to purchase and build our fleet of ships. They will help us train our people to crew those ships and we will take back the Asocan Realm from Unaayel and her cronies.

"Unfortunately, this will take time. We have our ships, but we need to train our people. Unaayel has the upper hand for now, but we will soon be ready to act against her."

There were more questions, but the important part of this media scrum had been conducted. Unaayel would believe that the Asoc's people were not ready to act against her, yet...

************

Murld walked the decks of his command more in awe of the fact that he was the Sostoc of this ship. The first ship of the Imperial Fleet was his to command. He was contemplating what he needed to do first when he came back to the gym. Most of the people were preparing to leave. They were moving to the next ship in the fleet to watch as that ship was named, the DA Hrodell, if memory served him.

As he came into the gym, he looked up at the name of his ship, written in Asocan script, on the far wall, DA Ensch, Asoc Class Frigate, A-1001. His ship...

He saw Admiral Ramison speaking with a Rear-Admiral that was vaguely familiar to him. Ramison waved him over.

"Sostoc Murld, this is Rear-Admiral Fiona Marsh, Commanding Sector Fifty-Nine, out of Liramor-23. That is going to be your home base for the interim."

Ramison turned to Marsh, "I will leave him in your hands for the moment, Fiona. Don't be late for the next dedication," he advised.

"Sostoc Murld, I must apologize to you, sir," Marsh began. "As the number one candidate from the academic section of your course, you should have received command of the Tarl Asoc. However, pressure was placed on us to have a female in command of the Tarl. As such, you were given command of the first ship of the line.

"Personally, I have no place for politics based on race or gender. But the Asocans are still fighting that battle. It will be up to you, and the two other males from your course, to prove the females in the halls of power wrong.

"The crews of these four Asoc Class Ships have been formed from those with the most experience training on our vessels. However, to help you orient to your new command and train you in the practical applications of command, I have placed a crew of thirty humans on this ship. They will work to help integrate your crew. Most of your people have been working very hard to be ready to crew this vessel, however, there are certain positions of responsibility that require years of experience to be competent at.

"Your ChEng will be a human for at least the next year, until an Asocan gains the required degrees, training, and experience, to be ready to act as ChEng on this vessel. The other major command positions on your vessel will be supported by humans for the next few months. They include the Boatswain, the Number One, the Executive Officer, the Weapons Officer, the Maintenance Officer, the Comms Officer, the Navigation Officer, and of course yourself.

"This is Captain Cynthia Chen. She has just completed The Senior Officers Staff Course (Flag), the next step up from the Senior Officers Command Course, the academic portion of which you have just completed.

"You have experience as a Sostoc in the Asocan Fleet, or you would never have received command of this ship to start. However, Cynthia has experience at all levels of officer training and as a captain of her own Fairling Class Frigate for last five years.

"You have too much to learn and too little time to learn it. Lean on her, Murld. Pick her mind of all the tricks she has learned over the years. These little tricks will serve you well throughout your career going forward.

"Ultimately, she will be the one to decide if you have what it takes to command a Navy vessel as a Sostoc. She is immune to bribery of any kind and, as a human, is immune to your male charms." Fiona told Murld this last with a feral grin on her face. "She will make her report to your Asoc on that issue after you have finished your training. Having said all that, this is your vessel to command.

"Do us proud, Sostoc Murld. Do not disappoint us." Marsh nodded and turned away to catch her shuttle to the next ceremony.

Murld turned to Captain Chen. At 1.5 meters, the female was tiny compared to Murld's 2.3 meters, however, she carried herself in a manner that brooked no nonsense from those around her. Murld would have to cultivate that mannerism.

Murld gave her a salute, clawed hand over his heart, with a small bow, "Sostoc Cynthia Mutt Chen."

Chen gave him a toothy smile and threw a human style salute to him, "Captain Murld Mattas," she said.

Murld barked a laugh. "I think we will get along just fine, Chen, or do I call you Cynthia?" he asked.

"In private, you may call me Cynthia, in public, especially on this ship, I will call you Sostoc Murld and you will call me Captain Chen. You need to establish yourself with your crew and that will mean you will not be able to give any slack to them for some time. Thus the formality.

"We are excused from participating in the rest of the ceremonies as we must integrate the crew and prepare the ship for the space worthiness trials starting tomorrow. These trials will be abbreviated as we must be ready to act against our targets soon. That means intense training for this ship, the officers, and the crew, over the next week and more so when we return to Liramor-23.

"We have a lot to do and you have a mountain of information to learn. You will get very little sleep, though I am told that Asocans need much less sleep than humans do, so that will be a good thing for you.

"During your shifts, I will push at you all the things that you need to know about being a ship's captain. After your shifts, you will engage with the engineers, maintenance specialists, weapons specialists, et al, and learn the interior of this ship and the work your people do. Do not neglect any portion of the ship, even the mess.

"The more you understand about your ship, the better you will be at gauging your crew's response to ongoing situations. That knowledge could save the lives of your crew and this ship during an emergency or in battle.

"Do not slack on anything that you are offered by the experts. Take them up on it and crawl through the muck and the shit if you have to. Some of your crew are doing that for a living. They will appreciate the fact that you understand what they are doing on a daily basis.

"Most learning curves are just that, a curve, yours will be a straight line directed almost vertically, it will not bend into a curve for quite some time. Be prepared to work hard and learn constantly.

"Now, let me introduce you to the other key members of both of your crews..." Chen took Murld around to do just that. By the end of the next hour, Murld had a rough idea of who was doing what on the ship. He knew it would take days for him to align all in their proper places.

PV Olivia Brault, Paalind-5, The Paalind System, The Asocan Realm

Lieutenant (Navy) Collette Beauchene was tired. She had been doing four on four off shifts for the five days that the ship had been in system. Gurd Kayman Mutt Sanda was good at her work; however, she was not experienced at human command and control protocols. She was on the Brault to learn from Lt. Beauchene, which made her Beauchene's subordinate. That irked Kayman but there was little she could do about it. In retaliation for the supposed slight of rank disparity, she did little things to goad the Lieutenant.

Humans needed their sleep, while Asocans could go for extended periods without. Kayman kept pushing Beauchene while she was awake and pushing her during her sleep cycles too, calling her for the slightest of problems. That was starting to put pressure on their working relationship, especially because Kayman, a Gurd (equivalent to a Union Navy Commander), was technically a subordinate to Beauchene, a Lieutenant. But as Beauchene reminded her, a person could be subordinate to another by rank, title, or appointment. On this ship, Beauchene was the captain, so outranked Kayman by title and appointment, if not by rank.

They were two hours into Beauchene's shift when the science officers (both human and Asocan) reported an FTL event in system.

"Unexpected FTL event four light seconds from the planet and six light seconds from us," the Asocan Science Officer, Wedam Mutt Simit noted.

"Sharon?" Beauchene asked of her human Science Officer.

"Still assessing the situation, ma'am," Sharon returned rather casually.

"So you let your subordinates speak to you in this manner, Lieutenant?" Gurd Kayman said, just loud enough to be heard around the small bridge.

Beauchene leaned into the big Asocan Gurd. "Sharon is one of the best Science Officers in the fleet, Kayman," Beauchene informed her under her breath. "She will get a very precise impression from the FTL signature. She will also show our Asocan Science Officer all that she is doing and why. If you listen carefully, you will hear her giving instructions to Wedam on what she is doing and on what to look for."

Asocan hearing was superb. Unlike humans, they had very little ear shells on the outside of their head. Their ears were small but they could catch the slightest nuances of sound. Kayman concentrated on the pair and did indeed hear all that the two scientists were speaking about, things that were well above her ability to understand. This tended to frustrate her even more as she understood that Lieutenant Beauchene did understand what was being said. In this situation, she realized that experience won out and Beauchene had a ton of it.

"Ma'am, Science," the Ascon called out. "We believe that we have an Alliance Ballang Class Escort Ship."

"Very well, Comms O?" Beauchene asked next.

"If she is transmitting, sir, she is using tight beam line of sight to do so, I'm hearing nothing from her, ma'am," her Comms O returned.

"Ship's status?" the captain demanded.

"Pilot, all systems at 100%, ready to maneuver on your orders, ma'am."

"Nav, we have six jump points ready using evasive pattern three, ma'am."

"Tac O, the guns are secure, fingers away from any buttons, ma'am."

"ChEng, all systems are at 100% and ready."

"Science, we are silent ma'am, no indication that we have been seen."

"Comms O, the civilian net has gone silent with the appearance of the Alliance ship, we are silent, ma'am."

"Cook! Galley is secure!"

That last comment caused everyone to break out in laughter as it was not one of the points to be anticipated in the ship's status. Even Kayman cracked a smile.

"Thank-you, cook," Beauchene replied, getting grins from around the bridge.

"FTL event, no...multiple FTL events in progress!" Science called out. "They are on the same plane as the first ship, even with us and three seconds light from the planet, sir."

"Pilot, add 1250km to the Z azimuth!" Beauchene ordered. "Move slowly, please."

"Collette?" Kayman asked, intrigued.

"If we are 45% above or below the same plane as they are they may not notice us. It is a blind spot for most of this class's sensors. The slower we move, the less chance they have of detecting us as we move. We'll also put our nose, our smallest profile, directly to the new ships but I'm counting on their interest being fixed on the planet," Beauchene told her.

"What would you do now, Kayman?" Beauchene asked.

"Find out what we have as an enemy," Kayman stated, "and keep my eyes and ears open."

"Right, Science?" Beauchene responded.

"Ma'am, we have five vessels, all of them relatively small. The largest vessels are two supply/cargo ships of undetermined class. I haven't seen these signatures before. We have one Handren Class Frigate, and two Ballang Class Escort Ships."

"We might be able to take on the frigate, however, the two Ballang Class are almost as maneuverable as we are and much more heavily armed. That makes them a direct threat to us. One-on-one, we can hold are own with one of those warships, but three? We wouldn't stand a chance alone.

"For a group this size, we would want to be part of an Assault Wave, that's six Valour Class and one or two Whippet Class. So, what should our strategy be, Kayman?" Beauchene inquired.

"Stay hidden, keep our ears open. Flee if we are noticed," Kayman stated. "I dislike running away from a fight."

"So do I, Kayman, however, sometimes the better part of valour is discretion. You only attack a superior foe when all the elements are in your favour or you have absolutely no choice. In this instance, our orders are explicit; watch and record," Beauchene said, specifically reminding Kayman of their orders.

"Speculation, people, why is this group suddenly popping into an Asocan world that is of little known threat to Unaayel?" Beauchene wanted to know.

"Do the Asocan's have a system similar to ours where vessels must inform planetary control of their impending arrival?" someone asked.

"Besides us, only the Djinaëte have FTL drive and they don't always tell you they are coming," someone else noted.

"The enemy wouldn't necessarily know that an FTL ship is arriving here," the Comms O speculated.

"Unless it is coming from a planet allied to their cause? They would know of its impending arrival here and want to have something in place to prevent use by an unaligned group, or as intimidation to make it look like there are more to Unaayel's fleet than most Asocans know about," the Asocan Science Officer speculated.

"That, actually makes sense to me," Kayman said on hearing the comment.

"What do we know about Djinaëte ship arrivals?" Beauchene asked of the bridge crew.

"Their ships are quite large. They tend to arrive very high in the gravity well then slowly make their way inward," Kayman explained.

"At fourteen light seconds, are we far enough out not to interfere with a Djinaëte ship arriving?" Beauchene wanted to know.

"Typically, they arrive at about eight light seconds from the planet. We are outside of the expected arrival range," Wedam replied. "However, Djinaëte ships have excellent scanners. Even with our absorbo coat, we might be noticed by them. They might assume that we are part of the oppositions mini fleet here in system but I implore the fates to place that ship elsewhere when it arrives."

"FTL event, a big one, on the other side of that fleet from us," the Science O stated. She sent the data to the large monitor at the front of the bridge. They could all see the plot where the ships were. Even from where they were, it was easy to spot the big Djinaëte ship.

"Sharon?" Beauchene asked.

"They are eight light seconds away from us and from the planet. We are in a small ionic eddy left behind by a recent solar storm, captain. It could help mask us from the new ship. Our absorbo coating will have to do the rest and we don't know how good their scanners are in that regard," the Science O returned.

"Ma'am, Comms, the new ship is calling Planetary Control. The mini fleet is responding to their call. The lead ship is moving the mini fleet to take up stations around the Djinaëte. They do not seem to be making threatening moves."

"That is a good move on their part," Kayman informed the bridge crew. "The Djinaëte are more than capable of defending themselves against three warships."

"How strong are their weapons, Kayman?" Beauchene asked.

"They have particle beam weapons of sufficient firepower that can rip through the hulls of most ships, even their own," Kayman replied. "They can hold their own against any foe when necessary. These ships have historically been designed to bring Djinaëte to new planets to conquer. They have always been able to defend themselves."

"And the Djinaëte don't change things that work," Wedam interjected.

"The mini fleet is moving away from the ship," the Tac O said. "They are taking up an orbit on the other side of her, roughly nine light seconds from us.

"We are being actively scanned!" Science said. "It's coming from the new ship. They do not seem to be holding on us, they might not have seen us."

"More likely they do not see us as a threat," Kayman mused. "We are out of the way and not making threatening moves. We are also of a rather small size. The capabilities of human ships are not widely known to the Djinaëte, especially small ships such as this one."

"Right, let us be small, meek, and insignificant then," Beauchene stated. "Science there is a small comet not too far from us, can we do an active scan against it without alerting the mini fleet? Something in a frequency that the Asocans might use?"

"Aye, ma'am, we can do that," Science replied. A few moments later, science indicated that they were scanning the comet. The data came up on the main monitor.

"Sir, Science. The Djinaëte are suddenly scanning the comet."

"That is a good indication that they noted our scan as they would normally ignore such," Kayman stated.

"So we can assume that they noted us then," Beauchene speculated. "They probably think we are some kind of science shuttle because of our size."

"If their scanners are as good as we are led to believe, they probably saw the jump grid on our hull. They might be aware that our ship is jump capable," Wedam told them. "We might be a science ship to them, but they would not believe we are a shuttle. They would also know that we are not an Asocan ship as we Asocans do not have jump capable ships...yet. We will have to hope that they have not told any Asocans or the mini fleet of our presence."