Episode Two: Aftermath

"Close that valve off! Get those fire crews over here! And get the injured down to the medical bay!" shouted Captain Morave as he ran across his bridge to where the Vice President had collapsed. "Madam Vice President, can you hear me? Are you alright?" he said as he checked her for serious injury.

Stirring slightly, Jacquelyn Hamilton, Vice President of the Cerulean Union, grunted and propped herself up on her left arm. "I think my right arm is broken, but otherwise I think I'm okay. Did we make the Jump? What's the status of the fleet?'

Helping her to her feet, Morave spoke "We successfully made the Jump ma'am, to our very limit, over fifteen thousand light years. The fleet made it too but the strain caused a lot of damage, both internal and external. We have over eighty ships either venting atmosphere, drifting, or with hulls that can depressurize at any moment."

From the comm, Ensign DeSoto, covered in soot from the smoking console next to her's where the Navigation officer once was, turned to Morave "Captain, the 'Illustrious' has lost all engine control, its drifting sir, right toward the fuel tanker 'Veritan'. I don't think the 'Veritan' can maneuver out of the way fast enough."

"Get those ships nearby out of there Ensign!"

And as DeSoto shouted out orders to the ships in the fleet, a huge fireball erupted as the cruise liner 'Illustrious' rammed broadside into the fuel tanker 'Veritan' causing a massive explosion that sent nearby vessels hurtling out of control and some into each other, causing even more explosions and damage.

"Brace for impact!" as the shock wave hit the Cerulean Two head on. More sparks and smoke erupted on the bridge as the ship was rocked by the blast.

"Captain, the mining vessel 'Iron Hammer' has sent us a message stating its going to use its grapples and tractoring beams to pull the other drifting ships to a more stable locale."

Morave helped the Vice President get back on her feet again "You still okay?" Jackie shook her head yes and Morave turned back to the comm "Alright, thank the 'Iron Hammer' for their assistance. What is our status with that last blast?'

"A few minor fires on C Deck, three more injuries, none critical."

"Good. Get us stabilized. Once that's done we'll send out repair and rescue teams to wherever they are needed."

"Very good, sir. And sir, Secretary Westings is asking to come aboard to speak with the Vice President."

He handed Jackie Hamilton off to a med tech and watch her enter the lift. "Tell him that he can come aboard and meet with her in the med bay."

"Yes sir."

...

"She wasn't supposed to live Laci." Secretary of Defense Henry Westings whispered to the lady seated next to him.

"Well it seems that all didn't go to according to plan, doesn't it Henry. The agent was supposed to take out their comm and sensors, I don't know why that didn't happen."

"Well it did, and she's here, and unless something happens soon, it doesn't look like I'll be President today."

"It'll be fine, I'm sure we will think of something. Besides, this may all work to our benefit. You're a shoo-in for Vice President now."

A man knocked on the door to the cramped quarter they were in. "Mr. Secretary? We are about to dock with Cerulean Two."

"Thank you." and Henry turned back to Laci. "Well, time to perform my darling."

...

I laid there in my bed, with my right arm in a sling, as Secretary Westings entered with his....hmmm, his new wife if I remember correctly...and the most senior judge we could find in the fleet.

"Madam Vice President, sorry to hear about your arm. I am glad that you are okay and it sounds like that you'll be back on your feet in no time." as Westings bowed toward me. By the gods, I despise this man. "May I introduce the Honorable William Baker."

Judge Baker nodded at me with a serene smile. "Its a pleasure Madam Vice President."

"Likewise. So where are you from? What court did you work for?"

"I was the senior judge in the civil liberties court on Hermes, ma'am. I was en route to Cerulean Prime to help on a case that was pending in the High Court."

"Well, some good news for you Mr. Baker, it seems that you are now the newest member of the High Court." Oh, I am so witty. I wanted to smack myself on the head. "Anyhow, let's get down to business. You may proceed whenever your are ready, Mr. Baker."

"Thank you ma'am." and he withdrew a thin blue-toned book from his satchel. "Madam Vice President, will you please place your hand on the Articles of the Union."

I placed my left hand on the soft textured leather book.

"Do you, Jacquelyn Renee Hamilton, solemnly swear to uphold these Articles, to protect the civil liberties of the citiznery, to govern without prejudice and bias, to honor the will of the People, to execute to the best of your ability your duties, and to fulfill the Office of the President with all due respect, integrity, and honor?"

"I, Jacquelyn Renee Hamilton, do solemnly swear."

"Then by the powers invested in the Articles of the Union, I do announce you as President of the Cerulean Union. May the gods bless you."

"May the gods bless us all."

...

"Thank you, Mr. Baker, that will be all. If you don't mind Mr. Secretary, I'd like a moment alone with you."

"Of course, Madam President." and Laci Westings and Judge Baker left the room.

I pulled my blanket slightly tighter around me.

"So can you tell me where we stand Henry? How many did we lose? What kind of shape is the fleet in?" I really could use some Hermian wine right now.

"Well, from what I can gather, it seems that there was a coordinated attack on all our worlds simultaneously. Two fleets appeared above Rhea and Gaia respectively, and somehow they managed to drop a nuke right on Cerulean City. They didn't even know what hit them, ma'am. Cerulean Prime Command was able to issue an Evacuation Warning before being destroyed itself, that's how so many civilian vessels were able to get up in the air. But even so, we're still looking at losses numbering over forty billion souls, at least."

Now I really wanted some wine.

Henry paced around my bed.  He seemed impatient about something.  I pressed on with my questioning. "How many we were able to save?"

"They're crammed in there, but a little over eight billion. We were able to contact the "Morning Song" over in the Vermilion system, and it coordinated its Jump with ours. We had about a thousand ships in our system, and another ten thousand in the Vermilion crammed with refugees. The best news is that we jumped out about a light year away from a star system with three habitable worlds."

Oh thank the gods for small favors.

"We do have some problems though. The Cerulean Two, excuse me, Cerulean One now, and the Morning Song were the only ships that had Jump Drives. They were completely burned out after overtaxing them so much, I really doubt that they can ever get them operational again. We do have our hyperdrive engines still, so we'll be at New Cerulean within the week."

"Thank you, Henry. And oh Henry, is there any more information you can give me on the attackers? I'd hate to think we made the Jump for nothing."

"Not really, Madam President. We received one message just as the onslaught began. Only that and I believe this is right: 'We are the Dread Lords, prepare to die.'

"Well, I just hope that we ended up far enough away in the galaxy to not have to see them ever again."

"I agree ma'am."

Gosh, my head hurt.

"Well...thank you for now Henry. I'll be making an announcement tomorrow to the fleet."

...

I looked out at the reporters, military officers, and civilians that had come to hear my first speech as President. Surprisingly, I really wasn't nervous. Cameras flashed as I let my eyes wander over the crowd. Well, better now than never.

"Life is a precious commodity. We all know this, but we have never have had a harsher or more tragic lesson then the one we had yesterday. In one brief moment, all that we knew and loved, was wiped out. But by the mercy of the gods, we endure.

We have reached a new point in the history of our civilization. A chance to learn from our mistakes, and to learn to love every moment of life as if it is our last, because we now know just how quickly that life can be taken from us. It is our duty to remember those that we have lost, and to honor them by thriving in this strange new place. And by the grace of the gods, we endure.

Look to your neighbor for strength. Mourn together but be joyful in that the spirit of our loved ones is still here in our hearts. Commit yourself to building a better future. Let us thrive and be happy. By the glory of the gods, we endure.

We shall endure."

And the crowd echoed in response "We shall endure."

A single tear ran down my cheek.

hay are you going to put a pics?

Excellent-really good to see this story reappear One question though and I am not sure you meant to do it but why did you refer to Jacqui Hamilton in the 3rd person in one of your paragraphs and in the 1st person for all the others?  It just confused me somewhat....

A great story though-will be following it closely

Absolutely not but you know with the new 'Edit' function you can go back and edit any of your previous posts (it used to only allow you to do it for your last one-this is seriously good news for us writers dont you think? )

Just a thought....story is superb though

its only been 5 days KP!  I'm pretty much planning on Saturday/Sunday updates only. So basically a new "episode" once a week.

Episode IV: A Strange Encounter


February 8th, 2227

"Madam President, the 'Joyous Day' has notified us that it has located a suitable world for habitation, Class 8 on the Meiers Scale. However, that does present us with another problem. The citizens from the other former colonies are wondering when they are going to get planets of their own again, and well, there's been more than one scuffle.  We used 'New Vermilion' and 'Veridian' on the two planets in this system."

My new Vice President, Tristan Larrin, sat across from me in our offices in New Cerulean City. He had only been in the position for a few weeks but he had quickly took handle of his responsibilities, though he was more adept at the scientific and logical aspect of the office then dealing with people.

"Any particularly strong suggestions on what they want?"

"Most prefer to keep their old colonial names, from what my office has gathered. The Gaians and the Cerians are the most vocal, but most of the colonists on the 'Joyous Day' are Aresians, and that's going to be making landfall sometime in the next two weeks. I've suggested naming the colonies in alphabetical order, that way no one can really complain."

"Sounds good to me, Tristan. Contact them and let them know our decision."

"Very good, Madam President. Alright, next on the agenda...at what point are we reinstating democratic control? So far the people have been pretty content with the executive government, but eventually, and as we expand, we're going to see a lot of tension if people feel that they don't have a voice."

I poured the last of my Hermian wine into my glass. It's going to be at least another year before we have any more. I really should have reserved my good stuff more.

"A very good question Tristan. Let each colony select amongst itself a representative to sit on an Executive Council with you as its head. At least then the people they have some form of representation. I can't promise that it will be swift that we have full democratic functions available again, but I promise that it is one of my goals."

"Finally, ma'am...well, we do need to deal with the fallout of knowing we are not alone in the galaxy.  Thankfully, the majority of people, even with our traumatic loss, have seemed to handle everything fairly well but we're bound to come across another species at some point here."

Yes...there was that.  I hoped of course that we were ready to peacefully communicate with alien races, but I couldn't expect that 'they' would be ready or willing to peacefully communicate with us.

I emptied my glass and looked at Tristan. "Yes, well I think our best bet is to maintain a strict order of neutrality and diplomacy with whomever or whatever we come into contact with."

Tristan nodded. "Of course, Madam President.  Well, I'll go contact the 'Joyous Day'.

...

June 22nd, 2227

"This is Machiko Yamamoto for GNN News reporting from outside the Provisional Bureaucratic Agencies, where most of the government bureaucracy is currently located.

Tragedy struck at a little after 900 hours this morning, as a masked gunman somehow entered the Agency Building and managed to massacre over twenty employees, including current Agency Chief, and aid to the President, Malcom Needlegrove. Vice Presidential Head of Staff, Vicky Long, was also critically injured.

The madman escaped the building only to engage in suicide bombing down the street in an area with many vendors. Another three people were killed, not including the gunman/bomber, and forty-five injured.

From what we have learned, the man was a Cerian revolutionary with ties to various criminal organizations. A letter that was left at the Agency building spoke of the people's discontent with President Hamilton, and the continued mistreatment of the Cerian, and other smaller colonial, peoples.

We will continue to update as more information comes in. Back to you, Tom."

***

Henry Westings turned to his clerk. "Make sure Mr. Vilapero's family receives the funding that was promised if the job was completed. Also provide them with a nice bonus for the extra ending he gave us. What an accomplishment."

"Yes, sir."

***

"Proximity Alert! Three unidentified vessels at 187.1 by 218,2 mark 43. The vessels are tiny, ranging from ten to fifteen meters in length. The designs do not match those we encountered in the Old Systems." announced Commander Griffith from his console at Tactical.

Commodore Cal Morave brought up his own display on his side console. "Remind me to tell Fleet Command that I really want some defenses on this ship next time we're in drydock. Comm, hail them."

"Yes, sir. Sending out standard greeting on all EM and subspace channels... They are responding, Commodore. I can put it on the main viewer."

"Proceed."

The forward viewer of the bridge normally was a panaranomic view of space, but then it was filled with a screen that appeared with what appeared to be a robot.

"Biological lifeform, you are encroaching too close to space claimed by the Yor Collective.  Turn your ship around and return from whence you came."

"I am Commodore Cal Morave of the Starship 'Cerulean One' on special envoy for President Jacquelyn Hamilton and the people of the Cerulean Union. Forgive us, but we are newcomers to this part of the galaxy and are only seeking information."

The robots eyes shifted to a dull red.  "And you have our answer." and the screen went blank.

"Well, that went well." Morave mused aloud.

Lt. Julian spoke as he watched his screen at Ops.  "The ships are moving off sir, back toward the galactic northwest. Should we follow?"

Morave thought for a moment.  "No, set a course in the opposite direction.   Commander Griffith, you have the bridge, I'll be in my ready room."
***

Cal Morave sat in his ready room facing the screen that currently was filled with the face of President Jacquelyn Hamilton.

"Well its hard to say ma'am, they weren't hostile toward us, but I wouldn't exactly call it a friendly encounter either."

"I see.  Any other information you were able to gather from your short time with them?"

"Our scans showed no lifesigns aboard any of their ships.  But we're not sure if that means that the Yor use robots for scouting, or if the Yor are robots.  Either way, that makes them very technologically advanced.  At least, if not more so, at our level before the Catastrophe."

"Thank you, Cal, for the report. Keep up the good work."

"Yes, thank you ma'am. Um, Madam President? We don't get a lot of news while we're out here. How are the colonization efforts going?"

"Actually, it is proceeding better than I thought. Of course, we did have to make one 'concession'. As you know the Cerians have been...troublesome...since we arrived in this area of space, past grudges and all that. It was actually Tristan's idea, but he met with the Cerian and some other former minor colony leaders, and reached an agreement. We formed an Executive Council and have allowed a representative from each colony to sit on it.  Its amazing but we now have over sixteen worlds colonized.  Actually, New Triton was just settled last week.  Aren't you Tritonese, Commodore?"

"I was born on Triton, yes, but we moved to Ares when I was seven."

"I see, I see. Well, in honor of the growing union, the Vice President and I are embarking on an interplanetary tour, with him visiting Ares, Ceres, Gaia, and Hera; and myself starting on Rhea and then ending with a grand celebration on Triton."

"Well, sounds like tons of fun, Madam President."

Jackie let out a big laugh and had a huge grin. "Oh of course, Cal, of course. I'll be in contact with you later. Take care."

"You too, Madam President. Cerulean One out." and the screen blinked off.

***
Two Days Later...

Lieutenant DeSoto, turned toward Executive Officer Karl Penikett. "Sir, we are recieving a Priority One Message on a coded channel from New Cerulean, text only."

Captain Penikett turned from his data pad to the fore of the bridge and nodded at DeSoto. "Go ahead, Lieutenant."

Lt. DeSoto glanced quickly through the message...and let out a small gasp. "Sir...we need to get the Commodore up here right now."

***

Captain Penikett stood up and saluted Commodore Morave as he entered from the lift.

"Thank you, Captain. What's going on?"

"Sir...we just received a priority message from the President's Office...sir...the Vice President was found dead this morning...two gunshots wounds."

"By the gods! How is the President?"

"Sir...that's just it...the President is missing."

Episode V: Cold Storage


My first thought was: Well, I'm not dead.   I figured this by two things- one I had a terrible headache so that ruled out heaven; secondly, I was freezing so that ruled out hell.  Ergo, I am not dead.  Now that I had the basics out of the way, I let my eyes adjust to the dim orange lit room that I seemed to be confined within.  It was apparent that it was some kind of cargo hold, and definitely on a starship because I could feel the vibration of the engines.   It wasn't a military vessel because the structure seemed all wrong, so either I was on a civilian ship, or on an alien vessel.  And since I could understand the markings, I decided an alien ship that happened to use our same language to be remarkably unlikely.

Doing a cursorary check, I deemed that I was not hurt, and had no broken bones anywhere.  I was definitely a bit groggy, and very hungry, but hey, better that then bleeding in a cargo hold. I noticed a bottle next to me, after taking a sniff and pouring some of it onto the floor, I was pretty sure it was water, so another plus.  Well, at least my captors didn't seem completely inhumane.

I got up and walked around the cargo bay, seeing what I could find to either eat or use for warmth.  Most of the cargo boxes were sealed and no good to me, but there were a few bags and smaller boxes I was able to get into.  Found some blankets and then entire box of protein bars, which I scarfed about four of down.  It took me a while to find the door, banged on it, but no luck.  Did a good amount of yelling too, but no one ever responded.   Well...I guess I'll just sit here for now.

***


"This is Machiko Yamamoto reporting from outside Ashton Manor in New Cerulean City where yesterday morning Vice President Tristan Larrin was found dead. Reports are still slow and sketchy but we are also being told by sources that President Jacquelyn Hamilton is also missing, but the news out of the Executive Council explicitly denies this, saying that she is currently being held safely in an undisclosed location.

From what we do know, yesterday morning at about 700hours local time, an assassin or assassins, entered Ashton Manor. There does not seem to be any signs of struggle, so the Union Bureau of Investigative Forces are taking a close look at individuals that would have close contact with the Vice President and/or knowledge of Ashton Manor.

Current Council Chairman, Felipe Castille, of New Hermes, has called an emergency meeting of the Council. Also, we know that currently Defense Secretary Henry Westings is fielding all calls to the Office of the President, and has issued a Code Two Alert, the second-highest, which puts all Fleet vessels on alert. The CSV-Victorious was launched from orbit early this morning to patrol the system.

I will report in as I get more information but for now, back to you Tom and Diana."

"Thank you, Machiko. In other news, a refinery on New Ceres was closed today due...."



***

"Commodore, you are receiving a private message from Fleet Admiral Moore."

Commodore Cal Morave looked up from the tactical station that he had been standing at for the last few minutes. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Forward it to my Ready Room." and with that, Morave began to walk off the bridge to his adjacent private office. "Commander Griffith, you have the Bridge."

***


Sitting down in his chair, Morave flipped open his monitor and entered his pass code. A moment later, the bearded face of Fleet Admiral Moore filled his screen.

"Hello Admiral, how can I be of service?"

The Admiral offered a small sigh. "As of yesterday morning, Fleet Intelligence was asked to take over the investigations of the assassination of the Vice President and the disappearance of President Hamilton."

"I see, sir. But may I ask why? Those are definitely not under the purview of the Fleet."

"Normally, you would be correct, but early forensics and scientific readings have detected the residual effects of a hyperspace Jump made in orbit of New Cerulean shortly after the assassination."

Cal Morave was speechless for a moment. "You're telling me Admiral, that someone has a starship capable of making a Jump still?"

"We are unsure of that fact as of yet, which is why I must order you to bring the "Cerulean One" to the New Heran Fleetyards for a complete diagnostic by Fleet Intelligence, since you are in command of the only ship known for sure to have a Jump Drive since the "Morning Song" was disassembled when it colonized New Ares."

"Sir, I can't believe that you are suggesting that this ship or its crew would have anything to do with such an act!"

"I would hope not Commodore, but I expect you and your crew to be in drydock by this time in two days, which if you make best speed within the hour to New Hera, you'll have no problem accomplishing."

Morave clenched his teeth and tightened his fists. "Very well sir, we'll proceed immediately."

"Very good. Fleet Command out." and Admiral Moore's image disappeared from the screen.

Commodore Morave took a slow look around his office before leaving to reenter the Bridge. Standing outside of his door he looked down at the floor before looking up to face his crew. "Lt. DeSoto, change course for the New Heran Fleetyards, best possible speed. It seems that we are now all under investigation."


****

"Commodore, we are approaching the New Heran Fleetyards."

"Thank you, Lieutenant.  Bring us about, maneuvering thrusters only.  Take us in."

A light started blinking on the Comm.  "Sir, a broadband subspace message is being received, its overriding all communication channels.  I'm trying to trace it, but having no luck."

"On screen."

With that the main viewer lit up with the image of a woman, a civilian it seemed on board what appeared to be a freighter.

"I am Sasha Necheyev, Leader of the Cerian People's Party.  We have in our possession the President.  She's in good condition for the time being.  We are demanding for the complete secession of New Ceres and other like-minded worlds from the Union, and for a hefty ransom.  Failure to comply, will not only result in the death of President Hamilton, but for nuclear detonations to occur on New Gaea, New Cerulean, Viridian, New Vermilion, New Rhea, and New Triton.  Also, we have placed a Union warhead aboard a Yor Collective mining vessel set to detonate if we are not satisified.  So not only will your worlds be crippled, but you will be at a State of War with another power.  You have 48 hours to respond to our demands.  Necheyez out."