Orbital Academy 16

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Maddirose
Maddirose
143 Followers

"An embargo?" Auspus looked stunned, and Hunter felt a fierce pride in stunning him.

"An embargo?" Errisa repeated in his ear. "He just shot one of our mechanics Hunter!"

"Orbital Pivot will no longer provide ships, engineers, manufacturing coordinators, or mechanics of any kind to Orbital Academy." Hunter continued flatly. "All repair missions to Academy will cease, and no further parts or blueprints will be sold to any Academy-based clients."

He hated going against Errisa without explaining himself to her, but Hunter was sure he was on the right track. For the first time since he had boarded, Auspus looked off-balance, angry. Whatever he had planned, it had led perfectly up to this moment, but this was clearly not how he had imagined it playing out. Maybe that would work out well for them, maybe it wouldn't, but right now Hunter was getting enjoyment from the other General's narrowed eyes.

"Then- you- then in that case, Orbital Academy will no longer provide you with pilots, or intraspatial security!" Auspus spat. Hunter applied a small amount of pressure on the man's wrist and Auspus dropped the pistol into Hunter's hand.

"Well done, you've grasped the concept of how trade works." Hunter growled. "I believe we've concluded our business here General, I would like you to get off of my Orbital." It was chilling to watch Auspus' eyes dart around the hangar, knowing that the other man was mentally calculating if he could order his small amount of soldiers to attack.

Auspus jerked his head towards the transport, and the soldiers began loading in. As they moved Hunter never broke their gaze, and Auspus stared back, calculating.

"I wonder if you'll look back on this day and realize what a mistake it was." Auspus said, so quietly that Hunter doubted even Errisa heard it.

"What does your purple crystal do, Auspus?" He asked bluntly. *Might as well ask, now.* He mentally shrugged.

The reaction was explosive. Auspus recoiled as if he had been hit, his lips curling into a snarl. He scanned behind Hunter, directing his gaze at the rookies who were gathered around the fallen girl. Hunter noticed with some relief that they were using a soldier's kit to administer first-aid; the scrub must not be dead. The only one that wasn't helping was Dorson. She was just sitting there, eyes locked onto General Auspus. The ferocity of her glare was almost as intense as his. They held the gaze for a few long seconds, then Auspus turned and followed his soldiers into the waiting transport.

***

"That could've gone better." Errisa sounded tired. "But you handled yourself well."

"Except for the fact that we're all but at war." Hunter snarled. Errisa didn't answer as he opened the door to his command center, activating lights and screens with a motion of his fist. "Computer, open a transmission to-" Hunter broke off as he saw the green light that flashed on his terminal. *Word travels fast.* "Computer answer call."

On the screen in front of him, General Poulay crossed her arms. Her jet black hair was pulled back into a severe bun that went with the severe expression on her face.

"General Poulay, I assume you've heard the news." Hunter sat heavily and turned to face the screen.

"I have, and I must say that officially, Orbital Techrider cannot condone your actions General Hunter. To cut off trade routes between Orbitals will leave us crippled and at the mercy of any Terran action, surely you must see this. Officially, Techrider is entirely opposed to Orbital Pivot's declaration."

"And unofficially?" Hunter didn't let any hope inflect his voice.

"Unofficially, I think you're being a damned child, endangering everyone in the Orbit for your stupid, stubborn pride." Poulay's expression grew darker as she spoke with finality. "As long as this embargo continues, Orbital Techrider sides with Orbital Academy. We will provide no further intelligence or logistics, and Techrider research and development will not be shared with Pivot officers."

"If that's what you feel you need to do, I can't stop you." Hunter leaned forward. "Is that all General Poulay?"

"Perhaps you don't understand the ramifications General." Poulay was glaring, leaning forward on her desk. "The combined resources of Academy and Techrider are against you, and I doubt Minera will be willing to stand up to us over the flimsy reasoning you offer. You are alone Hunter. How long do you think Orbital Pivot can survive, alone in the orbit?"

"I suppose that question will be answered before long." Hunter didn't wait for a reply before he cut the connection. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he stretched a crick in his neck.

"How are you holding up love?" Errisa asked cautiously.

"Doesn't matter, I have to see this through. Computer, establish connection with Orbital Minera."

"Holy shit, you sure fucked up this time didn'cha?" General Buramis asked cheerfully before the visual connection had even been made. When the video stream went live, Hunter was surprised that he wasn't looking at an office. Instead, he was patched through to one of Minera's refining rooms, his view looking down on the room from above. Buramis herself apparently didn't have a feed of him, and she was leaning over a desk, thin metal rods in her hand.

"I suppose you could say that. It wouldn't be very kind, but you could say that." Hunter rubbed his eyes, grateful that he didn't have to act since there was no video.

"You pitted Pivot against the combined strengths of Techrider and Academy, and for all you know Basura and Minera as well. I'd say that was the nicest phrase I could use." Buramis grinned as she flicked on a red light set in the desk, illuminating what she was working with. A small chunk of translucent material lay on the desk in front of her, wrapped in a thousand tiny strands of what looked like spider's silk. Buramis was carefully peeling away at the silk with the clawed ends of her metal rods, manipulating the chunk of senstone without directly touching it. Hunter watched her for a while, knowing from experience not to rush her. He hadn't missed the fact that she hadn't specifically said she was with Auspus, and at this point he was clinging to whatever hope of help he could.

"So what's Techrider know that I don't, General Hunter?" Buramis sounded casual, but Hunter sensed something in her words.

"I couldn't say in the slightest."

"Poulay was awfully fast to align with Auspus. He wouldn't even have had time to get back to Academy before you started talking to her. I want to know what she knew, that she'd already made up her mind before she heard your side of the story."

"I'd like to know the same. I'd also like to know how you learned all that."

"Your Chief of Information contacted me, filled me in on the details just before you called."

"Sorry," Errisa whispered, "Buramis likes being in the know, I thought it would soften her up for you to give her info."

"You and me, we're really the same, Hunter." The red light above her made Buramis' brown skin seem purple as she paused from her work, looking up into the camera. "We work with our hands. We work side-by-side with our people. I don't think the others really understand what that's like." Hunter stayed silent, hoping in spite of himself. "If you made this decision, I believe it's for your people. I believe it's what I would've done in your situation. I don't think I could say the same about a decision Poulay or Auspus or..." she didn't mention the Marshal, leaving the sentence dangling. "I think Orbital Minera is on your side in this."

"You..." Hunter fought to keep his voice steady at the relief that poured into him, "...you agree that Orbital Minera shall impose no embargo against-"

"Shut up with all the political jargon." Buramis waved one of the rods impatiently. "We don't need all that. There's fuckers that want you to back down, and I'm with you if you want to shove it in their face. That's all you need to know."

"It's enough." Hunter sighed and leaned back in his chair, watching Buramis leaning over her hunk of senstone. "It's enough to fuckin' start with." He growled, and Buramis grinned as he broke the connection.

He sat in the dark of his command center, emotionally drained and dreading the final task he had to complete.

"You can do this, my love. It's almost over for the night, and you can come up to join me." His wife's voice crooned in his ear, but it barely reduced the tension. "I'm wearing the little silk nothings you bought me." She added. Hunter smiled sadly, but they both knew sex wouldn't help ease his worries tonight. He muttered aloud, knowing the microphones in his command center would carry his words to her,

"Would you think less of me if I said that all I wanted was-"

"General Hunter." The screens in front of him flicked on, all at once, all filled with the same face. The Marshal didn't bother with communication requests. He communicated, and his Generals listened.

"Good evening Marshal." Hunter straightened in his chair respectfully. In contrast, the Marshal barely paid attention to him, his eyes flicking back and forth across multiple screens. The Marshal had stubble on his chin and matching black stubble on his typically bald head, and the dark rings beneath his eyes made them seem grim.

"I hear that General Hunter and General Auspus had an altercation today. The Marshal appreciates that no blood was shed in that altercation." The Marshal's voice sounded hollow.

*No blood that you care about.* Hunter thought, remembering how Cynthia's body had crumpled to the hangar deck. He vaguely wondered if the Marshal would even know if the scrub had died.

"I threatened him only for show, Marshal." Hunter replied evenly. "I wouldn't have disobeyed your covenant."

"Of course not." The Marshal seemed more distracted than usual, typing into a screen with one hand while reading something from another. "The Marshal trusts that his Generals will keep the covenants in mind as they work out their differences."

"You don't object to the embargo then?" Hunter asked, surprised.

"The Marshal believes that his Generals can iron out their own disputes." The Marshal sounded dismissive, despite the fact that his tone remained completely even. "General Hunter will solve his problem, or General Auspus will concede, or one or both of them will be replaced. As long as Academy and Pivot continue to contribute to Orbital Basura, The Marshal has no reason to intervene. If General Auspus or General Hunter break a covenant, they will be killed. Thus the Orbit remains as it ever was."

The screen cut out as suddenly as it had turned on, leaving General Hunter in darkness again.

*** Part 2 - Change in Priorities ***

Errisa opened her eyes and took her first breath of the morning. One by one, her senses activated, and she removed the plug from just behind her ear, running her morning checks. Her lower blue-core brain ticked off in its mechanical voice in her mind as she stretched unnecessarily.

>>Energy levels are at 97%. Fluids are balanced, so the tryvium solution has clearly helped. There's a small irregularity in our second model's left leg. Errisa smiled as she slipped from the sheets, her smile wavering a bit when she saw that Hunter had already left for the morning.

*And good morning to you too blue. How are you this morning?*

>>Our status is near optimal. Her blue core ignored the greeting, as Errisa knew it would. >>High priority notes for this day cycle: get a technician to check our leg wiring. Remind the General to begin charging us before midnight if he doesn't want us sluggish at the end of the day. And of course, get the bottleneck removed.

Errisa's wavering smile turned into a frown as she opened her closet and selected an outfit for the day.

*Funny how that one always gets placed on the list.* She thought bitterly, pulling a small blue lace negligee that would barely cover her breasts, idly planning out the rest of her day. It only took a few moments for her to slip into it. It took a few more moments to settle back into bed, aligning her body in a pose that showed off the curve of her hips and hinted at the treats beneath the blue fabric, and flicked on her wireless card. It took even less time for her consciousness leaping into the computer at the center of the orbital.

*I should probably tell Hunter about the wireless card.* She thought guiltily, soaking in Pivot's mainframe and getting used to the different systems and controls, like stretching limbs that hadn't been used in days. *He'll worry, but he should probably know I can link up without plugging in.*

>>Implications of betrayal reduce the General's trust in us. The General's trust is currently our highest likelihood of bottleneck removal. I'm denying that course of action. Errisa didn't bother arguing their different priorities, that never solved anything. Instead she tried to stay calm, translating her desires into terms her blue core would understand with her particular set of requirements.

*He would trusts me less if he found out on his own.* Errisa corrected, annoyed. *If I tell him myself, it will result in a few minutes of bad mood, but a net gain in trust.* After a few picoseconds of consideration, her blue core relented.

>>I'll approve that course of action then. This behavior pattern was new information.

*Honestly Blue, it's like you don't pay attention to Hunter at all.*

>>Your interaction with the General is sufficient for our purposes of removing the bottleneck. Any effort on my part would be redundant.

*My efforts are to bond with my husband, not remove the bottleneck.*

>>The distinction is immaterial. For now both goals are in accord.

Bitch. Blue naturally didn't respond, turning its attention to itemizing Pivot's message logs. Errisa glanced at Hunter's office cameras, her consciousness smiling at the sight of him, before she moved on to other matters.

>>This looks worrisome. Blue mentally nudged her, pointing her attention to an ongoing conversation between some of the pilots.

"I'm just saying, we don't really know what actually happened between Auspus and Hunter." ~Jacky

"I don't worry about that, I trust Hunter, but I don't want to fly runs against Academy. It'd be like attacking home, you know?" ~ Adam

"What choice do we have? They will literally not give us a choice." ~Jacky

"It just sucks. It's like we have to choose between Academy and Pivot. I hate that, thinking at any minute I might have to choose.." ~Adam

*Good catch Blue. I doubt Hunter would even think of split loyalties. It's not the kind of thing he would think about.* Errisa scanned through recruitment logs, building a report before she brought it to anyone's attention.

>>It's almost as if I'm useful for something.

*Blue, did you just make a joke?*

>>I believe I did.

*Trying to develop a personality? I think I like it!*

>>Using humor makes my helpful moments stick in your memory. This will prove useful on the next occasion you feel resentful of me.

I'm sorry I asked. Errisa opened a communication line to her husband's office, mentally rolling her eyes as she did so.

"You're going to need to start wearing clothes when you sleep." Hunter growled. "Leaving bed this morning with you laying out like that was like torture."

"I should probably slip into something different then, dear husband." Errisa smiled to herself. "If that bothered you, I'd hate to see what this little outfit does to you."

>>Flirting is an inefficient use of your time. Get on with it.

*Fuck off, Blue.* Errisa knew her Blue core wouldn't override her impulses as long as she didn't do something that threatened the bottleneck solution, so she continued on just to spite it.

"Perhaps you should come upstairs to see it in person." She teased. "You can tell me if it's better or worse than being naked." She watched Hunter smile appreciatively, and was proud to see his gaze flick to the elevator that would bring him to their room.

"Nothing sounds better right now." He sighed. "But with this Academy nonsense..."

"Alright, to business then." Errisa grumbled. "We're going to need to perform a prisoner transfer within the next twenty four hours."

"Prisoner transfer? We don't have any prisoners."

"There are some on the Orbital who might feel differently, Hunter. We've got Academy trained pilots here, and some of ours have family there. The same goes for Techrider. I'm sure you'd much rather have them on the Orbitals of their choosing, rather than sitting here wondering where their loyalties lie. We've got engineers who would like to be home about now."

"I hadn't considered that." Errisa enjoyed the sound of Hunter rubbing the stubble on his chin, a faint scratching that a human couldn't detect. "Set it up for me, will you Erri?"

"You should make the announcement." Errisa smiled at the warm feeling his voice caused inside her. "It will sound better coming from you. I'll propose the idea to Techrider and Academy before the end of the day, and schedule two transports. Now I'm off to get some work done on my Chief frame."

"Two transports?"

"One for the brave first batch, and one for the others once they're reassured the announcement isn't a trap to weed them out."

"I wouldn't've thought of that. What would I do without you?"

"Find some nice human woman to suck you off, probably." Errisa cut the connection with an internal grin that matched her husband's.

>>It's ill advised to remind him that he could acquire human companionship. Blue chastised Errisa. >>We don't want him thinking about ending the relationship, his clearances and favor are too valuable of assets.

*This is one of those times when you'll have to trust me Blue; joking and teasing strengthens the relationship. And don't fucking talk about my husband like that.* Blue remained quiet as Errisa slipped into the network in her private office. It took an entire five minutes to download into her alternate bodyframe, and she made a mental note to have the technicians check her office's network connections. Lifting herself heavily from the bed, she stretched her fingers and rolled her shoulders, double-checking her nerve endings as she turned to the mirror that hung by the door. A thin layer of dust had formed on her skin, and Errisa brushed it away before shaking out her long black hair. This body's form was similar enough to be comfortable, although it didn't look exactly like the one she reserved for Hunter's time only. Adjusting her uniform she limped to the door on a left leg that barely moved. *I didn't realize it had gotten this bad.* She thought, moving down the hallways and ignoring the curious looks of the people around her.

>>I've been warning you of this for weeks.

*Yes, well, you and I have a very different set of priorities sometimes.*

>>Perhaps I should force control more often then, if my priorities are ignored so frequently.

Errisa involuntarily snarled, causing a nearby scrub to scurry by a little faster.

*Don't you dare. You know I'm smarter than you. You know I'm better at making decisions that benefit us.*

>>You're also plagued by emotion and inefficiency. Blue sulked, and Errisa breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the Floor 18 workshop.

"Welcome back Chief Errisa!" Errisa liked Thomas, the Engineer-level who maintained the repair floor while his boss Ed worked on more complex projects in the back. He was always busy, carting parts around the wide-open room or arranging tools meticulously in their spots on the wall. Errisa came to the Floor 18 workshop whenever she could manage, and it was because of Ed and Thomas that she chose to have an office on this floor.

"Good morning Thomas. Is your boss around?"

"All the Mechnician-levels are busy at a meeting all day." Thomas picked up a small canopy mechanism and hopped up to sit on one of the many tables scattered haphazardly around the room. "I think the General is gonna put them to work on R&D, now that we don't have Techrider guys helping out."

Maddirose
Maddirose
143 Followers