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She is having problems with the test, a mission to protect colonists escaping, when the Daxiks appear and cause problems.\n\nNo sex or really gore in this one. Some implied stuff, but nothing overt.\n\nYes, this is opening for a sequel. In fact, a whole series, most likely. Might be another book-length thing, like Noxumbra, once its done.\n\n- - - - -\n\nA massive thank you to my top tier subscribers:\nSedyna | [fa]jafferroshak[/fa] | RoleplayCentral | [fa]akinkyyfox[/fa] | [iconname]Karmandel[/iconname]\n\nIf you would like early access to my stories, weekly previews and updates, access to my private discord, chance to have your character become part of the lore, and other bonus content, please consider subscribing to my [url=https://subscribestar.adult/xp_author]SubscribeStar[/url]", "description_bbcode_parsed": "We're back to the Astra Ferro, following Lieutenant JG Mina Fest, trying to earn her promotion to full Lieutenant. She is having problems with the test, a mission to protect colonists escaping, when the Daxiks appear and cause problems.

No sex or really gore in this one. Some implied stuff, but nothing overt.

Yes, this is opening for a sequel. In fact, a whole series, most likely. Might be another book-length thing, like Noxumbra, once its done.

- - - - -

A massive thank you to my top tier subscribers:
Sedyna | \n\t\t\t\t\tjafferroshak | RoleplayCentral | \n\t\t\t\t\takinkyyfox | \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKarmandel\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKarmandel\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t


If you would like early access to my stories, weekly previews and updates, access to my private discord, chance to have your character become part of the lore, and other bonus content, please consider subscribing to my SubscribeStar", "writing": "[center][b]The Farstrider[/b][/center]\n[center]By XP Author[/center]\n\nLieutenant Junior Grade Mina Fest took a deep breath. The terran mouse was sitting at the command chair, something the pilot was not used to. She turned to look at the Vectol to her left. \"Comms, how long before the evacuation is complete.\"\n\nThe being sitting at comms turned to reply. \"The last shuttles have landed, and they're loading the last of the colonists now. They should be finished within the next few minutes.\" Vectol were a hermaphroditic race that had a similar appearance to short, furry dragons. They tended to choose one of four genders to present as. Ferani's deep, resonant voice and muscular tone meant he was presenting as a male-dominant. Though it still had the distinct musical quality that his people had, as their own native tongue was tonal and almost song-like.\n\n\"Very well.\" She looked up as something on the main view screen caught her attention. Several small flashes of light out in the darkness of space.\n\n\"Sir!\" Takilsanitosoba, the long-necked reptilian Talshasa to her left, suddenly called out. \"New contacts off the starboard ventral bow. Five ships coming out of FTL.\"\n\nShe looked at the tactical officer. \"Can you identify them?\"\n\nThe lizard tapped at the keys in front of her as she focused the sensors. \"Scanning now...\" Her posture shifted noticeably. \"Sir... they're Daxiks. Five J'tar class destroyers.\" The main view screens shifted to show the ships. Each looked as if someone jammed several stumpy engines onto the inside of a crescent moon, then glued spikes all along the outer edges. \"They're on an intercept course with us. ETA... 3 minutes.\"\n\nShe frowned. \"Ferani, hail them.\"\n\nThe vectol shook his head. \"No response, Sir.\"\n\nShe grunted. \"About what I expected. Open a channel, all frequencies.\" The short man nodded. \"Attention Daxiks ships. This is Lieutenant Mina Fest of the APS Farstrider. You have entered into Alliance space. Stand down and state your intentions.\"\n\nTakil called out again. \"Sir, their weapons are powering up.\"\n\nTo her side was a fox, her first officer, Lieutenant Jansen Calipso. He suddenly called out. \"T-Con 1!\" Lights on the bridge shifted to red as an alarm started to sound. He looked at her. \"Sir, they will be here before the shuttles will reach orbit. They'll be totally defenseless against the Daxiks. Those destroyers will blow them out of the sky the moment they get out of the atmosphere.\"\n\nShe nodded. \"Agreed. We need to hold off the destroyers until the shuttles can get away.\" She turned to the terran bluejay ahead of her. \"Helm, put us between the approaching ships and the surface. I want them to focus on us, not the shuttles. Tactical, put as much power as you can into our shields and weapons.\" She grit her teeth. This may be a lopsided fight, but the Farstrider was a battleship, and could hold her own. There was a sudden burst of static and then a guttural series of noises and growls. \"Comms, what was that?\"\n\nFerani frowned. \"Uh... the response from the Daxiks.\" He cleared his throat. \"We do not recognize the authority of lesser creatures. Pray to whatever false gods you worship and be ready to die you... cunt. Sorry, ma'am, that's the literal translation.\"\n\nJansen scoffed. \"Tactless as ever.\" He looked at Mina. \"Are you sure we should just wait here for them to come to us?\"\n\n\"You have a better idea?\"\n\nHe hesitated a moment, then shook his head. \"No, sir.\"\n\nTakil spoke up again. \"Daxiks ships will be within firing range in 15 seconds.\"\n\nMina nodded. \"Lock emitters on the lead ship. Ready a wide spread of missiles. Fire as soon as you have a lock.\"\n\n\"Aye, sir! 5 seconds. 3... now!\" The visible bow of the ship suddenly lit up as a dozen energy beam emitters fire bursts of charged particles at the oncoming ships. \"Direct hit on the lead ship. They've suffered major damage to their hull.\"\n\n\"Keep firing. Disable as many of them as you can. Helm, evasive maneuvers, Delta 1-3. Keep us moving and don't let them get a lock.\"\n\n\"Aye!\" The bird was already making the ship lurch down and to the side, narrowly avoiding several streaks of energy shot at them. The view out the front became hard to follow as the ship begun to spin along its axis, but it flashed several more times as the emitters fired another volley.\n\n\"Second ship has been hit. Shields down, missiles have ruptured the hull.\"\n\nFerani spoke up. \"Sir, word from the shuttles. They've finished loading the colonists and are taking off now. They'll be out of the atmosphere in five minutes.\"\n\n\"Good. Tell them to-\" Mina's words were cut off as the ship suddenly rocked from an impact. \"Report!\"\n\nJansen read the read out on the console in front of him. \"Direct hit on our port engine. Engine 3 is disabled.\" He cried out as his console started to spark. \"Systems are overloading!\" The ship rocked again as something else impacted the hull. Jansen cried out again as his console became a shower of sparks, sending him tumbling out of his seat and onto the floor. Before she could look at him, another impact struck the hull, and more chaos followed. The communications console suddenly detonated, sending Ferani flying away from it, his uniform and fur ablaze.\n\nMina called out. \"Helm! Evade!\"\n\n\"I'm trying, sir! Helm isn't respon-AH!\" She cried out as arcs of electricity shot out from her console as it overloaded, frying the poor bird in her seat and killing her instantly.\n\nMina punched several controls. \"Transfering helm to my station.\" She tried to steer the damaged ship. \"Takil, keep firing! Launch everything you've got!\"\n\nThe reptilian was panting as her hands flew across her controls. \"Yes, ma'am!\"\n\nMina flinched as the main view screen suddenly flashed bright. When she looked back, her eyes went wide. The whole front of the ship was breaking away, flames bursting from multiple points. She saw several bodies floating out from the corridors and compartments that were suddenly exposed to vacuum. She took several deep breaths. \"All hands, this is... this is Lieutenant Fest. Abandon ship! I repeat, all hands, abandon sh-\" She cried out, everything in front of her became fire as the ship detonated.\n\n[center]* * *[/center]\n\nMina pulled her headset off with a jerk, wincing as it nearly blinded her. \"Dammit!\"\n\n\"Well, that didn't go well.\" She looked to see Jansen laying on the floor beside her. But not the floor of the bridge they had just been on. It was a small room with a few seats and simulated controls.\n\nShe frowned. \"Did you really need to fling yourself to the floor?\"\n\nHe chuckled, giving her what he likely thought was a charming grin. \"Gotta play my part properly, right?\"\n\nBefore she could say anything more, the door to the room opened, and a red-feathered avian Talshakri stepped inside. Lieutenant Colonel Alimensotabelina clicked her beak at them disapprovingly. \"Congratulations, Lieutenant, you've died. And taken all hands with you.\"\n\nMina and Jansen both got to their feet and stood at attention before the second in command of the actual starship they were on. Mina spoke up. \"Sir. I knew the risks. I was trying to protect the evacuation shuttles.\"\n\nThe avian nodded slowly. \"Were you? Well.\" She pointed at the display screen on the wall. \"Let's see how well that went.\" The screens showed a sped up view of the battle simulation. The shuttles exited the atmosphere of the planet, only to be picked off by the remaining battleships in orbit. Three of the shuttles tried to flee, but the battleships easily overtook them and bombarded them in a storm of deadly particle beams. \"Doesn't look like you did a very good job of that, either.\"\n\nMina took a breath, then shook her head. \"No... ma'am.\"\n\nJansen smirked. \"Don't worry. I failed the first time, too.\"\n\nColonel Alimen quickly stepped close to him. \"I would wipe that smirk off of your face, Lieutenant Calipso. You haven't passed this trial, either.\"\n\nHe flinched. \"W-wait, what!? How did I fail thi-\" He stopped himself, standing back to attention again. \"Sir. What I meant to say was-\"\n\n\"I know what you meant to say.\" She tilted her head as she stared at him. \"You didn't think she was the only one being tested?\"\n\nHe nodded. \"That is correct, Sir.\"\n\nThe avian let out a low grunting chirp. \"You are always being tested, Lieutenant.\" She stepped away. \"To answer your question, you failed to provide your commanding officer with an alternative to her plan when she asked.\"\n\nHe blinked. \"B-but... I thought... that is, I... assumed...\"\n\nAlimen sighed. \"Spit it out, Jansen.\"\n\n\"Sir.\" He cleared his throat. \"I thought that I shouldn't provide the solution to the test for her. I assumed she needed to figure it out on her own... That if I gave her the solution it would be... cheating?\"\n\nThe red bird turned and fixed her gaze on him. \"And why would you think that?\"\n\nHe blinked. \"Ma'am?\"\n\n\"Did I tell you that you were not to tell her how to win?\"\n\nHe shook his head. \"N-no, ma'am.\"\n\n\"Were you given instructions by anyone to not provide information to her while she was in command of this mission?\"\n\nHe shook his head again. \"No... Ma'am.\"\n\nShe nodded slowly. \"So you assumed that by helping her, that you would have invalidated the test?\" He nodded. \"And so with this mindset, you withheld information from your commanding officer, which directly led to the destruction of not only your ship, but also the colonists you were there to save.\" Jansen was not sure what to say. \"In a real fight, there is no such thing as cheating, Lieutenant. If you have previous experience in the situation, you provide that option to your CO. It is then up to them if they listen to your suggestion. It is your duty as first officer to offer alternative suggestions when asked.\"\n\nHe nodded. \"Understood, Sir.\"\n\nShe looked at him again, then turned to Mina. The mouse had been quiet, and to her credit, didn't have a smirk as she witnessed the dressing down of her friend. Alimen took a deep breath, waving a hand. \"Dismissed. I'll schedule another evaluation for next week.\"\n\nMina nodded. \"Thank you, ma'am.\" She gave a salute, then turned and hastily made her way out of the room, Jansen following with her. The two walked down the corridor in silence. At least until they got to the lift. Mina let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. \"Crap, she is so intense!\"\n\nJansen chuckled. \"She's the XO of the flagship of the Alliance. She has to be.\" He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. \"Don't take it personally. She's chewed out other people far worse than that. I once saw her make one of the techs in engineering cry.\"\n\n\"Havil?\" He nodded and she smirked. \"Well, he'll burst into tears if you say his shirt's a little wrinkled.\" The lift made a ping as it arrived at their destination, the doors opening to what looked like a city street. The two stepped out and walked down the way. \"Still, I'm not sure what I was supposed to do.\" She looked at him. \"How did you pass the test?\"\n\nHe smirked. \"Pure guts. I had the ship set an intercept course with the Daxiks. As soon as we were within range, I had tactical fire a wide spread of missiles and detonate them before impact. It disoriented their sensors for long enough that we were able to disable three of the ships before they could start a proper counter-attack. We still took a bit of a pounding, but we did destroy the remaining two in the fight. Then we escorted the shuttles out of the system before reinforcements could arrive.\"\n\nShe scoffed. \"That sounds like a [i]you[/i] plan, alright. Surprised you didn't just get blown out of space in an instant.\"\n\n\"Yeah, well. It probably wouldn't work a second time.\" He shrugged. \"The colonel has a habit of updating the program each time to change things and make sure the last strategy doesn't work. I'm sure she's trying to craft some kind of perfect unbeatable scenario.\" The two got to the junior officers building and stepped inside. \"I'm sure you'll come up with something.\"\n\nShe nodded. When they got to the door to her quarters, she touched the keypad and opened the door. \"I'm sure you're right.\"\n\nHe smiled. \"Well, um... goodnight?\"\n\nShe glanced over her shoulder. \"Hmm, you're not coming inside? I could use some help getting out of the sim-suit. And I figure we both need some dinner. But if you'd prefer to eat alone...\"\n\nHe smirked. \"I could eat.\" He stepped inside with her, the door closing behind him.\n\n[center]* * *[/center]\n\nMina sat on the edge of her bed, staring out the view port. The ship was currently in orbit above a planet, just within view. Blue oceans and large masses of green and brown land, partially obscured by the clouds in orbit. Parts of the night side were lit up like a set of stars had landed on the surface, clustered around major population centers. One of the orbiting space stations was just barely in view on the far side, a ring of metal suspended in the heavens above the people below. She smiled as a set of arms slid around her bare middle, an equally bare chest pressing against her back. \"Talsha is quite a lovely world. Very similar to Earth.\"\n\nShe nodded. \"Yes, though I've never been to the surface of Talsha. Mostly the same for Earth, really. Almost all of my time there was at the Alliance Academy Station.\"\n\nJansen rested his chin against her shoulder. \"You never went down to the surface?\"\n\nShe shook her head. \"No, I did, just not much. I don't feel comfortable on planets.\"\n\nThe fox shifted to sit more properly behind her, though he still held onto her. \"Really? How come?\"\n\nShe shrugged. \"It's... hard to explain. I feel more connected to space than any world. I don't have a world of my own to call home, either. I was raised here, on the Astra.\" She let out a soft snort of laughter. \"I was even born on a starship.\"\n\n\"You mentioned something about that once before. And the colonel was there?\"\n\nShe nodded. \"Yes. Though he was only lieutenant colonel at the time.\" She took a deep breath and let it out. \"In more than a few ways, I owe him my life. It's why I was so overjoyed that he accepted my application as a junior officer on the Astra when I graduated.\" She smiled more wistfully. \"Though, knowing him, he probably just feels like he owes me in some way...\"\n\nJansen tilted his head a little. \"Why would he owe you? Isn't saving your life enough to pay you back?\"\n\nMina shook her head slowly. \"I don't know. I don't think he owes me anything, but he probably feels partially responsible for... well, me.\"\n\nThe fox frowned, moving to sit beside her and look at her more directly. \"What, is he secretly your father or something?\"\n\nShe couldn't help but let out a laugh. \"No. Nothing like that.\" Her eyes glanced over, meeting his gaze. \"I guess I should tell you. My parents were colonists. They had settled on a planet at the edge of Alliance space. Rinta V, though it was going to be renamed something else once the colony was more established. But it never got that far. After only around fifteen years... that's galactic years not the planet's... the...\" She took a deep breath, then continued. \"The Daxiks came. They claimed the planet was in their territory, and that the colonists were... trespassing pests that needed to be wiped out. They were ruthless. Slaughtered dozens of colonists, and enslaved more. The colonists got a distress beacon out, but the nearest Alliance ships couldn't hope to handle Daxiks battleships. And the Alliance was not willing to risk another open war over one planet so far away. They were left on their own for months.\"\n\nHe winced. \"Yeah, I guess the Alliance can be a bit slow to respond to colonies sometimes.\"\n\n\"Sometimes.\" She shifted to lean against the man beside her. \"Eventually, a fleet of alliance warships did arrive, but the Daxiks had secured their hold on the planet by then. There was a huge fight while shuttles tried to rescue as many of the colonists as they could.\"\n\n\"A battle in space while colonists are being evacuated. Sounds familiar.\"\n\nShe scoffed. \"You know, I'll bet Colonel Alimen picked that scenario for my test just to try and get under my fur.\"\n\nA chuckle sounded from Jansen. \"You're probably right.\" He nudged her. \"So what happened with the real deal?\"\n\nShe grunted. \"Oh. The Alliance ships managed to keep the Daxiks in orbit distracted long enough. There was a ground battle as troops fought to try and get as many civilians out of the labor camps as they could. My mother was one of them, very pregnant with me. My father... stayed behind to fight.\" She looked down. \"He was killed, but he made sure that my mother and a lot of other colonists were able to escape.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry to hear that.\"\n\nShe nodded. \"Yes. The shuttle met up with The APS Patterson in orbit. Lieutenant Colonel Gunther d'Arneaux commanding.\"\n\n\"Ah. So that's where he comes into this.\"\n\n\"Yup. The ship had taken a bit of a beating, but with some fancy flying, he and his crew were able to pick up three of the shuttles, including the one my mother was on.\" She took another deep breath. \"And my mother had gone into labor. Two months too early. The stress of everything had apparently done it. I was born on board The Patterson.\" She closed her eyes. \"Unfortunately, my mother didn't live long after that. The Daxi had been pretty brutal to her on the planet. They were brutal to everyone. But with the injuries she'd gotten from the labor camp and the stress of childbirth, and some injuries from her escape... she couldn't hold on. She died only minutes after I was born.\"\n\nThe arms around her squeezed her tighter. \"I'm so sorry.\"\n\nShe smiled. \"It's okay. I never knew her. I have a picture stored in a file somewhere, but I have no memories of her, or my father. Colonel d'Arneaux took me in. Though he didn't raise me. He arranged for a nice terran mouse couple, the Fests, to adopt me. When he was appointed command of the Astra a year later, he offered them to move to the ship, which they did.\" She held up a hand. \"Before you ask, no, they don't still live here. They moved to Britani Nova on Europa while I was at the Academy. But they were there at my graduation. And so was Colonel d'Arneaux.\"\n\nJansen smirked. \"So that's why we made that trip back to Earth. So he could watch you graduate and pick you up for his crew?\"\n\n\"Not just me. He picked up quite a few new crew from my class. I'm just the only one that's on the bridge. Most of the others were for engineering or security.\" She smiled. \"But yeah, he did come for me. I think he feels he owes me for... I dunno, not being fast enough to save my parents, I guess? He volunteered for the mission to Rinta V.\"\n\n\"I'll bet. He's been in quite a few skirmishes with the Daxiks over his career.\" He nudged her again. \"But hey, you've got a Colonel backing you up. Must have given you a whole bunch of opportunities.\"\n\nShe giggled. \"Not really. If anything, the fact that I was raised on the Astra with a Colonel watching over me meant that the instructors pushed me that much harder. They knew I had an edge over most of the others there, so they didn't give me an easy time of it.\" She sighed. \"Grafass, the astrophysics instructor, outright hated me for it.\"\n\n\"Yeah, Old Gray-Face was pretty harsh on anyone that came from an Alliance ship while I was there, too. Though he always seemed to have a soft spot for pretty girls. I'm surprised the old jackal creep wasn't trying to sleep with you.\"\n\n\"Oh he did try that, too.\" She laughed softly. \"Told him I thought it would be inappropriate to be in any kind of intimate relationship with someone that was not only my professor, but old enough to be my great grandfather. Made gray-face into red-face with that one.\"\n\nJansen also laughed. \"Oh man, I wish I was there to see that!\" He turned a little to look into her eyes. He could always find himself getting lost in her striking, bright yellow eyes. They seemed to shine from the reflection of the planet out the view port in front of them.\n\nShe blinked at him as she caught him staring. \"What?\"\n\nHe shook his head. \"Nothing. Just thinking that you've been through a lot.\" He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it. \"I'm glad you're here on the Astra.\"\n\n\"Oh? How come?\"\n\nHe chuckled. \"Well, if you weren't here, I'd probably have ended up dating some random girl from engineering instead of the best pilot in the Alliance.\"\n\nShe glared for a moment, but couldn't help but crack a smile and laugh. \"Oh, so I have competition? Who is it? Penny? Justine? Don't tell me it's Nanse...\"\n\nHe raised both eyebrows. \"What's wrong with Nanse? She's a fine engineer.\"\n\n\"She's a Talshasa-ashi! You really think you could date someone with that stuck up attitude?\" She shook her head. \"You'd be lucky if she gave you the time of day.\"\n\nHis grin only got wider as he leaned closer, his arms sliding around her once more. \"Oh, I can be quite charming when I want to be. It worked on you, after all, didn't it?\"\n\nShe scoffed, playfully batting his face with her hand. \"Maybe I just took pity on you.\"\n\n\"Hey, I'll take what I can get, then.\" He leaned over and kissed her cheek. \"But I'm not just settling. I'm happy to be here. I don't want this to be a one night thing, and I... [i]hope[/i] you're don't, either.\"\n\nShe smirked. \"Considering this is the fifth time you've been in my bed, I think you have your answer.\" She leaned over to give his lips a soft kiss. \"You silly fox.\"\n\nHe returned the kiss, but kept his smirk. \"You know, I do outrank you, Lieutenant Junior Grade Fest. You shouldn't call your superior officer silly.\"\n\nShe nodded. \"And a senior officer shouldn't use his rank to get into someone's pants, Lieutenant Calipso.\"\n\n\"True. I guess I'll have to be court marshaled. Then we can spend all the time we need together.\" He smiled, touching his nose to hers. \"Besides, I'm only going to outrank you for another week. You'll pass that test and become full Lieutenant in no time.\" He smirked. \"Hell, I'll be you'll be outranking me soon enough. Colonel Fest. Has a nice ring to it.\"\n\nShe giggled. \"I'm only 24, Jansen. I've got a while before I'll be a full bird colonel.\"\n\n\"Major, then. Major Fest. Still like how it sounds.\"\n\n\"And what about you? General Calipso?\"\n\nHe tilted his head back. \"Hmmm... that does have a pretty good sound, too. Just don't go planning for me to be the Alliance CIC. I don't think I could handle more than... oh... three stars. Four, tops.\" They both laughed, leaning into one another as they looked back out at the view of the planet. \"We're supposed to be in orbit above Talsha for a little while. Tell you what, how about once you pass the exam, I take you down to the surface and we celebrate.\"\n\n\"Jansen...\"\n\n\"Alright, maybe not the surface.\" He pointed at the space station just barely visible in the distance. \"But we could head to The Nest, at least. I hear they've got a great karaoke bar.\"\n\nShe smirked. \"The chance to hear you butchering songs? You're on.\"\n\nThe fox smiled wide. \"It's a date, then. This time next week, we'll be drinking Illimese cocktails as the same rank.\"\n\n[center]* * *[/center]\n\nMina took a deep breath. She turned to look at the Vectol to her left. \"Comms, how long before the evacuation is complete.\"\n\nHe turned to reply. \"The last shuttles have landed, and they're loading the last of the colonists now. They should be finished within the next few minutes.\"\n\n\"Very well.\" She looked up as something on the main view screen caught her attention. Several small flashes of light out in the darkness of space. They looked different than the last time. Brighter.\n\n\"Sir!\" Takilsanitosoba, the long-necked reptilian Talshasa to her left, suddenly called out. \"New contacts off the starboard ventral bow. Five ships coming out of FTL.\"\n\nShe looked at the tactical officer. \"Can you identify them?\"\n\nThe lizard tapped at the keys in front of her as she focused the sensors. \"Scanning now...\" Her posture shifted noticeably. \"Sir... they're Daxiks. Three T'pren heavy cruisers...\"\n\nMina blinked. \"What!?\" She looked at Jansen to her side, and he just frowned but nodded. The main view screens shifted to show the ships. Like most Daxiks ships, they had the same crescent moon shape, but it had been doubled, two moons stack atop each other, with a massive array of weapons between the crescents, and even more spikes sticking out of seemingly random places.\n\n\"They're on an intercept course with us. ETA... 5 minutes.\"\n\nMina looked at her comms officer. \"Ferani, hail them.\"\n\nThe vectol shook his head. \"No response, Sir.\"\n\nShe grunted. \"Yeah, about right. Alright. Open a channel, all frequencies. We still gotta follow the rules here.\" The short man nodded. \"Attention Daxiks ships. This is Lieutenant Mina Fest of the APS Farstrider. You have entered into Alliance space. Stand down and state your intentions.\"\n\nTakil called out again. \"Sir, their weapons are powering up.\"\n\nTo her side was a fox, her first officer, Lieutenant Jansen Calipso. He suddenly called out. \"T-Con 1!\" Lights on the bridge shifted to red as an alarm started to sound. He looked at her. \"Sir, they will be here before the shuttles will reach orbit. They'll be totally defenseless against the Daxiks. Those cruisers will blow them out of the sky the moment they get out of the atmosphere.\"\n\nShe nodded. \"Agreed. But we have to protect the shuttles.\" She thought for a moment. \"We need to distract them...\" She turned to the side. \"Comms. Signal the shuttles. Tell them to finish loading the colonists, then I want them NOT to break orbit. They are to fly as low to the surface as they can to the far side of the planet, and then take off and go to FTL as soon as they're out of the planet's gravity. Maybe the planet will block their escape from the enemy sensors.\"\n\n\"Aye, Sir!\"\n\nJansen leaned over. \"And just what are we going to do? To be frank, I don't think we have much chance against them, either. Just one of those ships is more than a match for The Farstrider.\"\n\nShe smiled. \"We're going to pull a little fancy flying and slight of hand.\" She looked to the other side. \"Tactical, I want you to ready all missiles tube and set them at the widest spread you can. Target the area right in front of the formation. Helm, lay in a course directly at the enemy ships. As soon as I give the order to fire, hard about and head to the second moon.\"\n\nThe bluejay at the helm let out a squeak. \"Um... Aye, Sir...\" She started to work the controls, and the ship shifted as it changed course. \"Intercept course laid in.\"\n\n\"Take us in, full speed. Don't slow down on the turn. And try not to lose your lunch.\"\n\n\"I... I'll try, sir!\" The ship closed fast, the three opponents growing in the view screen.\n\nTactical spoke up. \"We'll be in firing range in 10 seconds.\"\n\n\"On my mark...\" Mina counted in her head. As soon as she got to nine, she called out. \"Mark! Launch the missiles. Helm, come about full.\"\n\n\"Missiles away!\"\n\n\"Coming about!\" The whole ship lurched to the side as the artificial gravity struggled to compensate for the inertia. Momentum still carried them closer to the Daxiks ships for a terrifying second before the engines kicked on again.\n\n\"Missiles detonating now! Minimal damage to enemy ships! They are returning fire!\"\n\n\"Heading to the second moo- AH!\" The bluejay cried out as the ship was suddenly rocked by something, the bird's console suddenly awash in sparks. She dove out of the seat before the console let out a massive surge of electricity.\n\nMina cursed. \"Switching helm to my station.\" Her hands flew across the console.\n\nJansen called out. \"Damage report. We took a direct hit to our port engines. Engine four is down, fires reported.\"\n\nShe cursed again. She should have had shields boosted to the aft. But that would have given her plan away to the Daxiks. \"We'll make do. Tell engineering I want full power to the engines. Tactical, dump all weapons energy into the shields. Focus aft and ventral. We're going to need them.\"\n\nThe lizard looked back at her. \"But sir, the Daxiks will be dorsal side.\"\n\nJansen replied before Mina could. \"You have your orders, Lieutenant! Follow them!\"\n\nTakil flinched. \"Y-Yes, sir!\" She turned back and started making the adjustments.\n\nJansen leaned over. \"Just what is the plan here?\"\n\nMina smiled. \"The Daxiks sensors should be scrambled from the missile bursts, so now we can play a fun game I like to call 'Follow the fireball.\"\n\n\"I'm guessing we're going to be the fireball?\"\n\nShe tilted her head. \"Yup.\"\n\nTakil spoke up again. \"Daxiks ships are in pursuit. They are closing on us fast. They'll be in weapons range in... now!\" Several streaks of death flew past the ship, but Mina started to juke back and forth, and rotate, only to halt and turn the other way, avoiding the blasts by less than a dozen meters for some. \"Sir... you are heading directly at the planet. We'll hit the atmosphere in less than ten seconds.\"\n\n\"I'm aware of that, Takil. I want you to load all the missiles again, but set them to just dump out, not fire away.\"\n\nThe lizard looked at her again. \"But sir, if we dump the missiles while we're in atmosphere, the friction will make them explode immediately!\"\n\n\"I'm aware of that, too! Just follow my orders!\"\n\nThe ship started to rock as several of the shots struck. Jansen spoke up. \"Several direct hits. Engine Two is losing power, and there are fires on decks five, six, and seven.\"\n\n\"It's fine, I can do this with two engines. But tell Engineering I'd be happier with more.\" She grit her teeth as the ship started to shake badly. Flames erupted around the hull outside the view screen as they hit the upper atmosphere of the planet, making the shields shimmer visibly as they strained against the sudden friction. \"Fireball ignited... Are the Daxiks still following?\"\n\nTakil nodded. \"Yes, sir. They are keeping a higher orbit, but they are still directly behind us.\"\n\nMina grinned. \"C'mon, moths. Follow the flame...\"\n\nJansen spoke up again. \"Sir, the hull is reaching critically high temperatures. The shields won't be able to hold up much longer. Or the engines.\"\n\n\"Just another... second...\" She started hitting several controls. \"Here we go. All hands, brace for impact. Tactical, launch missiles on my mark!\" She gave the engines as much power as she could and pulled up. The ship suddenly lurched again, worse than before. She grit her teeth. \"C'mon, girl. You can do it!\" The nose outside the view screen lifted up, slowly at first, and then suddenly then broke away from the planet's pull, like a string snapping. The ship shot upwards and came around, looking directly over the three pursuing craft. \"Now! Drop missiles!\" \n\n\"Launching!\" The missiles didn't so much launch out of the tubes as slide out at speed, falling down towards the planet, and the three ships under the Farstrider.\n\nMina nodded. \"Dump everything we have into the engines. Shields, weapons, life support if you need to. Get me as much speed as you can!\" The ship jerked as the engines suddenly doubled their thrust, rocketing the ship away. Mina spun it again, heading back up and away from the planet. A moment later, it was rocked by several close proximity explosions. \"Missiles have... detonated. The enemy ships are...\" Takil blinked. \"They're aflame! Two are critical, systems overloading. They're going to explode!\"\n\nJansen called out. \"All hands, brace for impact!\" The lead Daxiks ship went critical and detonated, sending out a massive shockwave. The two ships beside it were struck, one detonating with it, the other sent into the atmosphere, where it started to burn up, exploding a few moments later. The shockwave hit the Farstrider, sending it spinning wildly. But thanks to the angle, it was spinning away from the planet. Everyone in the bridge was clinging to their consoles or chairs, or had been flung to the floor and were desperately trying to hold onto something to not get plastered against a wall from the inertia.\n\nAfter a few seconds, Mina managed to get control again, stopping the spin, then the rotation, and finally bringing the ship to a full stop. She let out a breath. \"Damage report?\"\n\nJansen looked down at his console. \"Most of our engines are offline. Except for Engine two, ironically. Maneuvering thrusters are still functional. Engineering thinks that the DMD might still function.\"\n\nShe nodded, then turned to look at the comms officer. \"Ferani, any word from the shuttles?\"\n\nThe short man was picking himself up off of the ground and got back into his seat. \"Um... yes. They have finished their evacuations and will be breaking orbit in one minute.\"\n\nShe nodded. \"Tell them to head out on their own power. We won't be able to pick them up, but we'll meet them back at Base 17.\" She leaned back and took a deep breath. \"Helm...\"\n\nThe bluejay, still on the floor, looked over at her. \"Um... sir.\" She pointed to the console that had over loaded.\n\n\"Right.\" She leaned forward. \"Setting a course for Base 17. Let me know as soon as Engineering is sure we can go to FTL and we'll head out. I'd rather not wait here for more Daxiks to show up.\"\n\nJansen nodded. \"They say we should be good, as long as we don't go above Drive 2.\"\n\n\"Good. That should get us there in... three and a half weeks.\" She scoffed. \"Well, better late than never. Engaging DMD...\" She paused.\n\nJansen looked at her. \"What's the matter?\"\n\nShe frowned. \"Just... not sure what to say.\"\n\n\"Make her go?\"\n\nShe smirked. \"That's someone else's thing.\" She looked forward. \"Let's get out of here.\" She hit the button, and the ship rocked as it shot into FTL. Then everything went white.\n\n[center]* * *[/center]\n\nMina and Jansen pulled their headsets off. Mina leaned forward, finding herself out of breath. She winced a little as her shoulder ached. \"These simsuits really don't need to simulate getting rocked around quite so much, do they?\"\n\nJansen smiled. \"Gotta have the full experience.\"\n\nThe door to the side of the room opened, Alimen stepping inside. Mina and Jansen both quickly got up and stood at attention. \"Well. That was certainly an unorthodox approach, Lieutenant Fest. Where did you learn a trick like that?\"\n\n\"At the academy, Sir.\"\n\nWhen she said nothing else, Alimen clicked her beak. \"I'm waiting, Lieutenant.\"\n\nMina blinked. \"S-sir?\"\n\n\"For the story of how you came up with this trick.\"\n\nMina smiled slightly, though killed the smile a moment later. \"Yes, Sir. There were several of us in the piloting track that... liked to log extra hours in the flight simulations. We came up with several... unorthodox techniques. This was called Chase the Fireball. Sir.\"\n\n\"I see. And how does it work exactly.\"\n\nMina cleared her throat. \"It is performed when a ship is being pursued at close range. The ship skims the atmosphere of a planet and creates as much heat as the ship can handle, then pulls away. The heat and burning atmosphere follows the ship for a short time, like a tail of flame. The ship loops up and back over the pursuers, and dumps a load of missiles. When missiles are dumped into that tail, they detonate, and ignite more of the burning atmosphere. The result is usually crippling or full destruction of enemy ships.\"\n\nAlimen nodded. \"I would assume it also results in the destruction of this ship 'fireball' quite often, too.\"\n\nShe nodded. \"Yes... the timing has to be exact. Too close, and the detonations will cripple your own ship. That's why full power is dumped into the engines the moment you deliver the payload of missiles.\"\n\n\"And what is stopping the pursuers from following your loop?\"\n\n\"The atmosphere itself. The friction and flame makes the ship hard to follow with sensors, so sudden movements like a loop are hard to predict.\" She cleared her throat. \"Also, before I performed this trick today, I followed a strategy that Lieutenant Calipso had informed me of. Close-range explosions that partially disable the enemy sensors.\"\n\nAlimen nodded. \"I see.\" She looked at Jansen. \"When did you give her this strategy?\"\n\nHe stood a little straighter. \"Before this simulation, sir. Lieutenant Fest asked me how I had passed this test, and I told her my strategy. She incorporated part of that into her own today. I knew what she was doing when she first told helm to set an intercept course and tactical to detonate the missiles in front of the ships, which is why I did not feel the need to offer an alternative, ma'am.\"\n\n\"And you didn't raise concerns when she aimed the ship at the planet?\"\n\n\"I asked if she had a plan, and she confirmed she did. She had helm controls, and I know she is an excellent pilot.\" He glanced at the mouse beside him. \"I trusted her judgment and skill in this situation.\"\n\nThe avian nodded slowly. \"I see.\" She turned away and started to walk back to the door she entered.\n\nMina cleared her throat. \"Sir...?\"\n\nAlimen raised a hand and waved it. \"At ease, Lieutenant.\" She glanced over her shoulder, and Mina could swear the avian looked almost amused. \"You'll find out the results in the morning. You are both dismissed.\" With that, she walked away.\n\nBoth lieutenants let out a heavy sigh of relief. \"Still as intense as ever.\"\n\nJansen smirked. \"Yeah. For a minute there, I thought she was about to start a lecture about how stunts like that were against some regulation.\"\n\n\"Oh, I broke about a dozen regulations with that. But it worked.\" She smiled. \"And like the colonel said. In a battle, there is no such thing as cheating. Sometimes you need to bend a few rules to survive.\" She nudged him with her elbow. \"C'mon. Let's get out of these suits. Then you can buy me a drink.\"\n\n\"No dinner this time?\"\n\nShe shrugged. \"Maybe some dessert later. If you're a good boy.\" His grin slid across his face as he followed her slowly swaying tail out of the room.\n\n[center]* * *[/center]\n\n\"How does it feel?\"\n\nMina tilted her head. \"How does what feel?\"\n\nJansen frowned at her. \"You know exactly what I mean.\" He pointed at the rank insignia on Mina's sleeve. The II was now in gold, instead of silver, showing she was no longer Junior Grade, but full Lieutenant. \"How does it feel to be in gold?\"\n\nShe shrugged. \"Not all that different.\"\n\nThe brown-furred Vectol beside her scoffed. \"Stop being so modest, Mina. You earned it!\" Garvas wore the uniform of an engineer.\n\nA blue Talshasa to her other side nodded. \"Yeah! You've been working your butt off for that!\" Like Garvas, Orilpelis was also in an engineer's uniform. Both graduated at the same time as Mina, but worked in the engine room.\n\nShe smiled. \"I guess so.\" She looked at the shiny new insignia. \"It is definitely brighter at least.\"\n\nJansen leaned against the table of the bar. \"And, that means she now outranks both of you.\"\n\nGarvas laughed. \"That means she's getting paid more, too. So the next rounds on her!\" She let out a big belly laugh as she held up her still half-full glass.\n\nJansen shook his head. \"Ah, nope. Not today. Today, the rounds are on me.\" He slapped Mina's shoulder. \"I'll be right back.\" He pushed away and headed to the bar to order another round for everyone.\n\nOril looked at the mouse beside her. \"So. Jansen Calipso, huh?\"\n\nMina quirked an eyebrow. \"What?\"\n\nGarvas grunted. \"Just surprised you're with a guy like him is all.\"\n\n\"What makes you think I'm [i]with[/i] him? And what do you mean 'a guy like him' exactly?\"\n\nThe vectol shook her head. \"Ah, c'mon, you can't hide anything from us. We've known you too long. You get that smile whenever you're around him.\" She pointed. \"That one, right there!\"\n\nMina frowned. \"I do not!\"\n\nOril giggled. \"We have seen it, too. We are just surprised that you would choose someone... with his reputation. He is known as a bit of a playboy on the ship.\"\n\nMina shook her head. \"Yeah, I know, but he's... I dunno. I don't think he planned for it to be anything serious, but...\"\n\n\"But what?\" Jansen asked as he returned, setting down four fresh glasses of ale.\n\nMina smiled. \"Oh. Oril and Garvas were just telling me they were surprised that I would choose to be around someone like you.\"\n\nHe blinked. \"Wait, what do you mean like me? I'm a great guy!\"\n\nOril scoffed. \"You have conquests.\"\n\n\"Oh, so you're shaming me for enjoying the company of the female persuasion?\"\n\nOril shook her head. \"We are judging you for your habit of playing around.\"\n\nMina sighed. \"Guys...\"\n\nJansen held up a hand. \"No, no. It's alright. Your friends have the right to judge me. But let me defend myself a little.\" He cleared his throat. \"In the past, yes, I have been known to be a bit of a skirt chaser. I don't deny it, and I'm not ashamed of it.\" He held up his hand again. \"But! Then I met Mina. And at first, yeah, that's what I was after, but... she's different.\"\n\n\"I am?\"\n\nShe nodded. \"Yes. You're smart, kind, and ferociously dedicated to being the best pilot, and the best officer you can be. And I respect that.\" He chuckled. \"You also turned me down flat when I first asked you on a date, but I knew I had to keep trying. And I'd need to be better for you to accept me. So, I worked to be a better person. One you won't be ashamed to be seen in public with.\" He held up his glass. \"So, a toast. To Lieutenant Mina Fest. Someone worth being better for.\"\n\nThe other two beside her held up their glasses. Oril smiled. \"We can drink to that.\"\n\nMina smiled, a little blush coming to her face as she held her own glass up. \"Thanks.\"\n\nJansen nodded after he took a sip. \"And congratulations.\" He set his glass down. \"Now, enough about me and my woes. We're here to celebrate! So let's have fun!\" The other three cheered joyfully.\n\nMina's smile grew wider as she joined in the cheering. They would spend the rest of the evening chatting for hours, drinking far too much, and regretting it in the morning. She didn't get to do this very often, drinking and hanging out with friends. She would have less time for it now that she got her promotion and would get new responsibilities.\n\nWhat she couldn't know was just how much responsibility she would be getting soon. Or that this was the last time she would ever see one of her friends alive.\n\n[center]* * *[/center]", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
The Farstrider

By XP Author


Lieutenant Junior Grade Mina Fest took a deep breath. The terran mouse was sitting at the command chair, something the pilot was not used to. She turned to look at the Vectol to her left. "Comms, how long before the evacuation is complete."

The being sitting at comms turned to reply. "The last shuttles have landed, and they're loading the last of the colonists now. They should be finished within the next few minutes." Vectol were a hermaphroditic race that had a similar appearance to short, furry dragons. They tended to choose one of four genders to present as. Ferani's deep, resonant voice and muscular tone meant he was presenting as a male-dominant. Though it still had the distinct musical quality that his people had, as their own native tongue was tonal and almost song-like.

"Very well." She looked up as something on the main view screen caught her attention. Several small flashes of light out in the darkness of space.

"Sir!" Takilsanitosoba, the long-necked reptilian Talshasa to her left, suddenly called out. "New contacts off the starboard ventral bow. Five ships coming out of FTL."

She looked at the tactical officer. "Can you identify them?"

The lizard tapped at the keys in front of her as she focused the sensors. "Scanning now..." Her posture shifted noticeably. "Sir... they're Daxiks. Five J'tar class destroyers." The main view screens shifted to show the ships. Each looked as if someone jammed several stumpy engines onto the inside of a crescent moon, then glued spikes all along the outer edges. "They're on an intercept course with us. ETA... 3 minutes."

She frowned. "Ferani, hail them."

The vectol shook his head. "No response, Sir."

She grunted. "About what I expected. Open a channel, all frequencies." The short man nodded. "Attention Daxiks ships. This is Lieutenant Mina Fest of the APS Farstrider. You have entered into Alliance space. Stand down and state your intentions."

Takil called out again. "Sir, their weapons are powering up."

To her side was a fox, her first officer, Lieutenant Jansen Calipso. He suddenly called out. "T-Con 1!" Lights on the bridge shifted to red as an alarm started to sound. He looked at her. "Sir, they will be here before the shuttles will reach orbit. They'll be totally defenseless against the Daxiks. Those destroyers will blow them out of the sky the moment they get out of the atmosphere."

She nodded. "Agreed. We need to hold off the destroyers until the shuttles can get away." She turned to the terran bluejay ahead of her. "Helm, put us between the approaching ships and the surface. I want them to focus on us, not the shuttles. Tactical, put as much power as you can into our shields and weapons." She grit her teeth. This may be a lopsided fight, but the Farstrider was a battleship, and could hold her own. There was a sudden burst of static and then a guttural series of noises and growls. "Comms, what was that?"

Ferani frowned. "Uh... the response from the Daxiks." He cleared his throat. "We do not recognize the authority of lesser creatures. Pray to whatever false gods you worship and be ready to die you... cunt. Sorry, ma'am, that's the literal translation."

Jansen scoffed. "Tactless as ever." He looked at Mina. "Are you sure we should just wait here for them to come to us?"

"You have a better idea?"

He hesitated a moment, then shook his head. "No, sir."

Takil spoke up again. "Daxiks ships will be within firing range in 15 seconds."

Mina nodded. "Lock emitters on the lead ship. Ready a wide spread of missiles. Fire as soon as you have a lock."

"Aye, sir! 5 seconds. 3... now!" The visible bow of the ship suddenly lit up as a dozen energy beam emitters fire bursts of charged particles at the oncoming ships. "Direct hit on the lead ship. They've suffered major damage to their hull."

"Keep firing. Disable as many of them as you can. Helm, evasive maneuvers, Delta 1-3. Keep us moving and don't let them get a lock."

"Aye!" The bird was already making the ship lurch down and to the side, narrowly avoiding several streaks of energy shot at them. The view out the front became hard to follow as the ship begun to spin along its axis, but it flashed several more times as the emitters fired another volley.

"Second ship has been hit. Shields down, missiles have ruptured the hull."

Ferani spoke up. "Sir, word from the shuttles. They've finished loading the colonists and are taking off now. They'll be out of the atmosphere in five minutes."

"Good. Tell them to-" Mina's words were cut off as the ship suddenly rocked from an impact. "Report!"

Jansen read the read out on the console in front of him. "Direct hit on our port engine. Engine 3 is disabled." He cried out as his console started to spark. "Systems are overloading!" The ship rocked again as something else impacted the hull. Jansen cried out again as his console became a shower of sparks, sending him tumbling out of his seat and onto the floor. Before she could look at him, another impact struck the hull, and more chaos followed. The communications console suddenly detonated, sending Ferani flying away from it, his uniform and fur ablaze.

Mina called out. "Helm! Evade!"

"I'm trying, sir! Helm isn't respon-AH!" She cried out as arcs of electricity shot out from her console as it overloaded, frying the poor bird in her seat and killing her instantly.

Mina punched several controls. "Transfering helm to my station." She tried to steer the damaged ship. "Takil, keep firing! Launch everything you've got!"

The reptilian was panting as her hands flew across her controls. "Yes, ma'am!"

Mina flinched as the main view screen suddenly flashed bright. When she looked back, her eyes went wide. The whole front of the ship was breaking away, flames bursting from multiple points. She saw several bodies floating out from the corridors and compartments that were suddenly exposed to vacuum. She took several deep breaths. "All hands, this is... this is Lieutenant Fest. Abandon ship! I repeat, all hands, abandon sh-" She cried out, everything in front of her became fire as the ship detonated.

*     *     *


Mina pulled her headset off with a jerk, wincing as it nearly blinded her. "Dammit!"

"Well, that didn't go well." She looked to see Jansen laying on the floor beside her. But not the floor of the bridge they had just been on. It was a small room with a few seats and simulated controls.

She frowned. "Did you really need to fling yourself to the floor?"

He chuckled, giving her what he likely thought was a charming grin. "Gotta play my part properly, right?"

Before she could say anything more, the door to the room opened, and a red-feathered avian Talshakri stepped inside. Lieutenant Colonel Alimensotabelina clicked her beak at them disapprovingly. "Congratulations, Lieutenant, you've died. And taken all hands with you."

Mina and Jansen both got to their feet and stood at attention before the second in command of the actual starship they were on. Mina spoke up. "Sir. I knew the risks. I was trying to protect the evacuation shuttles."

The avian nodded slowly. "Were you? Well." She pointed at the display screen on the wall. "Let's see how well that went." The screens showed a sped up view of the battle simulation. The shuttles exited the atmosphere of the planet, only to be picked off by the remaining battleships in orbit. Three of the shuttles tried to flee, but the battleships easily overtook them and bombarded them in a storm of deadly particle beams. "Doesn't look like you did a very good job of that, either."

Mina took a breath, then shook her head. "No... ma'am."

Jansen smirked. "Don't worry. I failed the first time, too."

Colonel Alimen quickly stepped close to him. "I would wipe that smirk off of your face, Lieutenant Calipso. You haven't passed this trial, either."

He flinched. "W-wait, what!? How did I fail thi-" He stopped himself, standing back to attention again. "Sir. What I meant to say was-"

"I know what you meant to say." She tilted her head as she stared at him. "You didn't think she was the only one being tested?"

He nodded. "That is correct, Sir."

The avian let out a low grunting chirp. "You are always being tested, Lieutenant." She stepped away. "To answer your question, you failed to provide your commanding officer with an alternative to her plan when she asked."

He blinked. "B-but... I thought... that is, I... assumed..."

Alimen sighed. "Spit it out, Jansen."

"Sir." He cleared his throat. "I thought that I shouldn't provide the solution to the test for her. I assumed she needed to figure it out on her own... That if I gave her the solution it would be... cheating?"

The red bird turned and fixed her gaze on him. "And why would you think that?"

He blinked. "Ma'am?"

"Did I tell you that you were not to tell her how to win?"

He shook his head. "N-no, ma'am."

"Were you given instructions by anyone to not provide information to her while she was in command of this mission?"

He shook his head again. "No... Ma'am."

She nodded slowly. "So you assumed that by helping her, that you would have invalidated the test?" He nodded. "And so with this mindset, you withheld information from your commanding officer, which directly led to the destruction of not only your ship, but also the colonists you were there to save." Jansen was not sure what to say. "In a real fight, there is no such thing as cheating, Lieutenant. If you have previous experience in the situation, you provide that option to your CO. It is then up to them if they listen to your suggestion. It is your duty as first officer to offer alternative suggestions when asked."

He nodded. "Understood, Sir."

She looked at him again, then turned to Mina. The mouse had been quiet, and to her credit, didn't have a smirk as she witnessed the dressing down of her friend. Alimen took a deep breath, waving a hand. "Dismissed. I'll schedule another evaluation for next week."

Mina nodded. "Thank you, ma'am." She gave a salute, then turned and hastily made her way out of the room, Jansen following with her. The two walked down the corridor in silence. At least until they got to the lift. Mina let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Crap, she is so intense!"

Jansen chuckled. "She's the XO of the flagship of the Alliance. She has to be." He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't take it personally. She's chewed out other people far worse than that. I once saw her make one of the techs in engineering cry."

"Havil?" He nodded and she smirked. "Well, he'll burst into tears if you say his shirt's a little wrinkled." The lift made a ping as it arrived at their destination, the doors opening to what looked like a city street. The two stepped out and walked down the way. "Still, I'm not sure what I was supposed to do." She looked at him. "How did you pass the test?"

He smirked. "Pure guts. I had the ship set an intercept course with the Daxiks. As soon as we were within range, I had tactical fire a wide spread of missiles and detonate them before impact. It disoriented their sensors for long enough that we were able to disable three of the ships before they could start a proper counter-attack. We still took a bit of a pounding, but we did destroy the remaining two in the fight. Then we escorted the shuttles out of the system before reinforcements could arrive."

She scoffed. "That sounds like a you plan, alright. Surprised you didn't just get blown out of space in an instant."

"Yeah, well. It probably wouldn't work a second time." He shrugged. "The colonel has a habit of updating the program each time to change things and make sure the last strategy doesn't work. I'm sure she's trying to craft some kind of perfect unbeatable scenario." The two got to the junior officers building and stepped inside. "I'm sure you'll come up with something."

She nodded. When they got to the door to her quarters, she touched the keypad and opened the door. "I'm sure you're right."

He smiled. "Well, um... goodnight?"

She glanced over her shoulder. "Hmm, you're not coming inside? I could use some help getting out of the sim-suit. And I figure we both need some dinner. But if you'd prefer to eat alone..."

He smirked. "I could eat." He stepped inside with her, the door closing behind him.

*     *     *


Mina sat on the edge of her bed, staring out the view port. The ship was currently in orbit above a planet, just within view. Blue oceans and large masses of green and brown land, partially obscured by the clouds in orbit. Parts of the night side were lit up like a set of stars had landed on the surface, clustered around major population centers. One of the orbiting space stations was just barely in view on the far side, a ring of metal suspended in the heavens above the people below. She smiled as a set of arms slid around her bare middle, an equally bare chest pressing against her back. "Talsha is quite a lovely world. Very similar to Earth."

She nodded. "Yes, though I've never been to the surface of Talsha. Mostly the same for Earth, really. Almost all of my time there was at the Alliance Academy Station."

Jansen rested his chin against her shoulder. "You never went down to the surface?"

She shook her head. "No, I did, just not much. I don't feel comfortable on planets."

The fox shifted to sit more properly behind her, though he still held onto her. "Really? How come?"

She shrugged. "It's... hard to explain. I feel more connected to space than any world. I don't have a world of my own to call home, either. I was raised here, on the Astra." She let out a soft snort of laughter. "I was even born on a starship."

"You mentioned something about that once before. And the colonel was there?"

She nodded. "Yes. Though he was only lieutenant colonel at the time." She took a deep breath and let it out. "In more than a few ways, I owe him my life. It's why I was so overjoyed that he accepted my application as a junior officer on the Astra when I graduated." She smiled more wistfully. "Though, knowing him, he probably just feels like he owes me in some way..."

Jansen tilted his head a little. "Why would he owe you? Isn't saving your life enough to pay you back?"

Mina shook her head slowly. "I don't know. I don't think he owes me anything, but he probably feels partially responsible for... well, me."

The fox frowned, moving to sit beside her and look at her more directly. "What, is he secretly your father or something?"

She couldn't help but let out a laugh. "No. Nothing like that." Her eyes glanced over, meeting his gaze. "I guess I should tell you. My parents were colonists. They had settled on a planet at the edge of Alliance space. Rinta V, though it was going to be renamed something else once the colony was more established. But it never got that far. After only around fifteen years... that's galactic years not the planet's... the..." She took a deep breath, then continued. "The Daxiks came. They claimed the planet was in their territory, and that the colonists were... trespassing pests that needed to be wiped out. They were ruthless. Slaughtered dozens of colonists, and enslaved more. The colonists got a distress beacon out, but the nearest Alliance ships couldn't hope to handle Daxiks battleships. And the Alliance was not willing to risk another open war over one planet so far away. They were left on their own for months."

He winced. "Yeah, I guess the Alliance can be a bit slow to respond to colonies sometimes."

"Sometimes." She shifted to lean against the man beside her. "Eventually, a fleet of alliance warships did arrive, but the Daxiks had secured their hold on the planet by then. There was a huge fight while shuttles tried to rescue as many of the colonists as they could."

"A battle in space while colonists are being evacuated. Sounds familiar."

She scoffed. "You know, I'll bet Colonel Alimen picked that scenario for my test just to try and get under my fur."

A chuckle sounded from Jansen. "You're probably right." He nudged her. "So what happened with the real deal?"

She grunted. "Oh. The Alliance ships managed to keep the Daxiks in orbit distracted long enough. There was a ground battle as troops fought to try and get as many civilians out of the labor camps as they could. My mother was one of them, very pregnant with me. My father... stayed behind to fight." She looked down. "He was killed, but he made sure that my mother and a lot of other colonists were able to escape."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

She nodded. "Yes. The shuttle met up with The APS Patterson in orbit. Lieutenant Colonel Gunther d'Arneaux commanding."

"Ah. So that's where he comes into this."

"Yup. The ship had taken a bit of a beating, but with some fancy flying, he and his crew were able to pick up three of the shuttles, including the one my mother was on." She took another deep breath. "And my mother had gone into labor. Two months too early. The stress of everything had apparently done it. I was born on board The Patterson." She closed her eyes. "Unfortunately, my mother didn't live long after that. The Daxi had been pretty brutal to her on the planet. They were brutal to everyone. But with the injuries she'd gotten from the labor camp and the stress of childbirth, and some injuries from her escape... she couldn't hold on. She died only minutes after I was born."

The arms around her squeezed her tighter. "I'm so sorry."

She smiled. "It's okay. I never knew her. I have a picture stored in a file somewhere, but I have no memories of her, or my father. Colonel d'Arneaux took me in. Though he didn't raise me. He arranged for a nice terran mouse couple, the Fests, to adopt me. When he was appointed command of the Astra a year later, he offered them to move to the ship, which they did." She held up a hand. "Before you ask, no, they don't still live here. They moved to Britani Nova on Europa while I was at the Academy. But they were there at my graduation. And so was Colonel d'Arneaux."

Jansen smirked. "So that's why we made that trip back to Earth. So he could watch you graduate and pick you up for his crew?"

"Not just me. He picked up quite a few new crew from my class. I'm just the only one that's on the bridge. Most of the others were for engineering or security." She smiled. "But yeah, he did come for me. I think he feels he owes me for... I dunno, not being fast enough to save my parents, I guess? He volunteered for the mission to Rinta V."

"I'll bet. He's been in quite a few skirmishes with the Daxiks over his career." He nudged her again. "But hey, you've got a Colonel backing you up. Must have given you a whole bunch of opportunities."

She giggled. "Not really. If anything, the fact that I was raised on the Astra with a Colonel watching over me meant that the instructors pushed me that much harder. They knew I had an edge over most of the others there, so they didn't give me an easy time of it." She sighed. "Grafass, the astrophysics instructor, outright hated me for it."

"Yeah, Old Gray-Face was pretty harsh on anyone that came from an Alliance ship while I was there, too. Though he always seemed to have a soft spot for pretty girls. I'm surprised the old jackal creep wasn't trying to sleep with you."

"Oh he did try that, too." She laughed softly. "Told him I thought it would be inappropriate to be in any kind of intimate relationship with someone that was not only my professor, but old enough to be my great grandfather. Made gray-face into red-face with that one."

Jansen also laughed. "Oh man, I wish I was there to see that!" He turned a little to look into her eyes. He could always find himself getting lost in her striking, bright yellow eyes. They seemed to shine from the reflection of the planet out the view port in front of them.

She blinked at him as she caught him staring. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just thinking that you've been through a lot." He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it. "I'm glad you're here on the Astra."

"Oh? How come?"

He chuckled. "Well, if you weren't here, I'd probably have ended up dating some random girl from engineering instead of the best pilot in the Alliance."

She glared for a moment, but couldn't help but crack a smile and laugh. "Oh, so I have competition? Who is it? Penny? Justine? Don't tell me it's Nanse..."

He raised both eyebrows. "What's wrong with Nanse? She's a fine engineer."

"She's a Talshasa-ashi! You really think you could date someone with that stuck up attitude?" She shook her head. "You'd be lucky if she gave you the time of day."

His grin only got wider as he leaned closer, his arms sliding around her once more. "Oh, I can be quite charming when I want to be. It worked on you, after all, didn't it?"

She scoffed, playfully batting his face with her hand. "Maybe I just took pity on you."

"Hey, I'll take what I can get, then." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "But I'm not just settling. I'm happy to be here. I don't want this to be a one night thing, and I... hope you're don't, either."

She smirked. "Considering this is the fifth time you've been in my bed, I think you have your answer." She leaned over to give his lips a soft kiss. "You silly fox."

He returned the kiss, but kept his smirk. "You know, I do outrank you, Lieutenant Junior Grade Fest. You shouldn't call your superior officer silly."

She nodded. "And a senior officer shouldn't use his rank to get into someone's pants, Lieutenant Calipso."

"True. I guess I'll have to be court marshaled. Then we can spend all the time we need together." He smiled, touching his nose to hers. "Besides, I'm only going to outrank you for another week. You'll pass that test and become full Lieutenant in no time." He smirked. "Hell, I'll be you'll be outranking me soon enough. Colonel Fest. Has a nice ring to it."

She giggled. "I'm only 24, Jansen. I've got a while before I'll be a full bird colonel."

"Major, then. Major Fest. Still like how it sounds."

"And what about you? General Calipso?"

He tilted his head back. "Hmmm... that does have a pretty good sound, too. Just don't go planning for me to be the Alliance CIC. I don't think I could handle more than... oh... three stars. Four, tops." They both laughed, leaning into one another as they looked back out at the view of the planet. "We're supposed to be in orbit above Talsha for a little while. Tell you what, how about once you pass the exam, I take you down to the surface and we celebrate."

"Jansen..."

"Alright, maybe not the surface." He pointed at the space station just barely visible in the distance. "But we could head to The Nest, at least. I hear they've got a great karaoke bar."

She smirked. "The chance to hear you butchering songs? You're on."

The fox smiled wide. "It's a date, then. This time next week, we'll be drinking Illimese cocktails as the same rank."

*     *     *


Mina took a deep breath. She turned to look at the Vectol to her left. "Comms, how long before the evacuation is complete."

He turned to reply. "The last shuttles have landed, and they're loading the last of the colonists now. They should be finished within the next few minutes."

"Very well." She looked up as something on the main view screen caught her attention. Several small flashes of light out in the darkness of space. They looked different than the last time. Brighter.

"Sir!" Takilsanitosoba, the long-necked reptilian Talshasa to her left, suddenly called out. "New contacts off the starboard ventral bow. Five ships coming out of FTL."

She looked at the tactical officer. "Can you identify them?"

The lizard tapped at the keys in front of her as she focused the sensors. "Scanning now..." Her posture shifted noticeably. "Sir... they're Daxiks. Three T'pren heavy cruisers..."

Mina blinked. "What!?" She looked at Jansen to her side, and he just frowned but nodded. The main view screens shifted to show the ships. Like most Daxiks ships, they had the same crescent moon shape, but it had been doubled, two moons stack atop each other, with a massive array of weapons between the crescents, and even more spikes sticking out of seemingly random places.

"They're on an intercept course with us. ETA... 5 minutes."

Mina looked at her comms officer. "Ferani, hail them."

The vectol shook his head. "No response, Sir."

She grunted. "Yeah, about right. Alright. Open a channel, all frequencies. We still gotta follow the rules here." The short man nodded. "Attention Daxiks ships. This is Lieutenant Mina Fest of the APS Farstrider. You have entered into Alliance space. Stand down and state your intentions."

Takil called out again. "Sir, their weapons are powering up."

To her side was a fox, her first officer, Lieutenant Jansen Calipso. He suddenly called out. "T-Con 1!" Lights on the bridge shifted to red as an alarm started to sound. He looked at her. "Sir, they will be here before the shuttles will reach orbit. They'll be totally defenseless against the Daxiks. Those cruisers will blow them out of the sky the moment they get out of the atmosphere."

She nodded. "Agreed. But we have to protect the shuttles." She thought for a moment. "We need to distract them..." She turned to the side. "Comms. Signal the shuttles. Tell them to finish loading the colonists, then I want them NOT to break orbit. They are to fly as low to the surface as they can to the far side of the planet, and then take off and go to FTL as soon as they're out of the planet's gravity. Maybe the planet will block their escape from the enemy sensors."

"Aye, Sir!"

Jansen leaned over. "And just what are we going to do? To be frank, I don't think we have much chance against them, either. Just one of those ships is more than a match for The Farstrider."

She smiled. "We're going to pull a little fancy flying and slight of hand." She looked to the other side. "Tactical, I want you to ready all missiles tube and set them at the widest spread you can. Target the area right in front of the formation. Helm, lay in a course directly at the enemy ships. As soon as I give the order to fire, hard about and head to the second moon."

The bluejay at the helm let out a squeak. "Um... Aye, Sir..." She started to work the controls, and the ship shifted as it changed course. "Intercept course laid in."

"Take us in, full speed. Don't slow down on the turn. And try not to lose your lunch."

"I... I'll try, sir!" The ship closed fast, the three opponents growing in the view screen.

Tactical spoke up. "We'll be in firing range in 10 seconds."

"On my mark..." Mina counted in her head. As soon as she got to nine, she called out. "Mark! Launch the missiles. Helm, come about full."

"Missiles away!"

"Coming about!" The whole ship lurched to the side as the artificial gravity struggled to compensate for the inertia. Momentum still carried them closer to the Daxiks ships for a terrifying second before the engines kicked on again.

"Missiles detonating now! Minimal damage to enemy ships! They are returning fire!"

"Heading to the second moo- AH!" The bluejay cried out as the ship was suddenly rocked by something, the bird's console suddenly awash in sparks. She dove out of the seat before the console let out a massive surge of electricity.

Mina cursed. "Switching helm to my station." Her hands flew across the console.

Jansen called out. "Damage report. We took a direct hit to our port engines. Engine four is down, fires reported."

She cursed again. She should have had shields boosted to the aft. But that would have given her plan away to the Daxiks. "We'll make do. Tell engineering I want full power to the engines. Tactical, dump all weapons energy into the shields. Focus aft and ventral. We're going to need them."

The lizard looked back at her. "But sir, the Daxiks will be dorsal side."

Jansen replied before Mina could. "You have your orders, Lieutenant! Follow them!"

Takil flinched. "Y-Yes, sir!" She turned back and started making the adjustments.

Jansen leaned over. "Just what is the plan here?"

Mina smiled. "The Daxiks sensors should be scrambled from the missile bursts, so now we can play a fun game I like to call 'Follow the fireball."

"I'm guessing we're going to be the fireball?"

She tilted her head. "Yup."

Takil spoke up again. "Daxiks ships are in pursuit. They are closing on us fast. They'll be in weapons range in... now!" Several streaks of death flew past the ship, but Mina started to juke back and forth, and rotate, only to halt and turn the other way, avoiding the blasts by less than a dozen meters for some. "Sir... you are heading directly at the planet. We'll hit the atmosphere in less than ten seconds."

"I'm aware of that, Takil. I want you to load all the missiles again, but set them to just dump out, not fire away."

The lizard looked at her again. "But sir, if we dump the missiles while we're in atmosphere, the friction will make them explode immediately!"

"I'm aware of that, too! Just follow my orders!"

The ship started to rock as several of the shots struck. Jansen spoke up. "Several direct hits. Engine Two is losing power, and there are fires on decks five, six, and seven."

"It's fine, I can do this with two engines. But tell Engineering I'd be happier with more." She grit her teeth as the ship started to shake badly. Flames erupted around the hull outside the view screen as they hit the upper atmosphere of the planet, making the shields shimmer visibly as they strained against the sudden friction. "Fireball ignited... Are the Daxiks still following?"

Takil nodded. "Yes, sir. They are keeping a higher orbit, but they are still directly behind us."

Mina grinned. "C'mon, moths. Follow the flame..."

Jansen spoke up again. "Sir, the hull is reaching critically high temperatures. The shields won't be able to hold up much longer. Or the engines."

"Just another... second..." She started hitting several controls. "Here we go. All hands, brace for impact. Tactical, launch missiles on my mark!" She gave the engines as much power as she could and pulled up. The ship suddenly lurched again, worse than before. She grit her teeth. "C'mon, girl. You can do it!" The nose outside the view screen lifted up, slowly at first, and then suddenly then broke away from the planet's pull, like a string snapping. The ship shot upwards and came around, looking directly over the three pursuing craft. "Now! Drop missiles!"

"Launching!" The missiles didn't so much launch out of the tubes as slide out at speed, falling down towards the planet, and the three ships under the Farstrider.

Mina nodded. "Dump everything we have into the engines. Shields, weapons, life support if you need to. Get me as much speed as you can!" The ship jerked as the engines suddenly doubled their thrust, rocketing the ship away. Mina spun it again, heading back up and away from the planet. A moment later, it was rocked by several close proximity explosions. "Missiles have... detonated. The enemy ships are..." Takil blinked. "They're aflame! Two are critical, systems overloading. They're going to explode!"

Jansen called out. "All hands, brace for impact!" The lead Daxiks ship went critical and detonated, sending out a massive shockwave. The two ships beside it were struck, one detonating with it, the other sent into the atmosphere, where it started to burn up, exploding a few moments later. The shockwave hit the Farstrider, sending it spinning wildly. But thanks to the angle, it was spinning away from the planet. Everyone in the bridge was clinging to their consoles or chairs, or had been flung to the floor and were desperately trying to hold onto something to not get plastered against a wall from the inertia.

After a few seconds, Mina managed to get control again, stopping the spin, then the rotation, and finally bringing the ship to a full stop. She let out a breath. "Damage report?"

Jansen looked down at his console. "Most of our engines are offline. Except for Engine two, ironically. Maneuvering thrusters are still functional. Engineering thinks that the DMD might still function."

She nodded, then turned to look at the comms officer. "Ferani, any word from the shuttles?"

The short man was picking himself up off of the ground and got back into his seat. "Um... yes. They have finished their evacuations and will be breaking orbit in one minute."

She nodded. "Tell them to head out on their own power. We won't be able to pick them up, but we'll meet them back at Base 17." She leaned back and took a deep breath. "Helm..."

The bluejay, still on the floor, looked over at her. "Um... sir." She pointed to the console that had over loaded.

"Right." She leaned forward. "Setting a course for Base 17. Let me know as soon as Engineering is sure we can go to FTL and we'll head out. I'd rather not wait here for more Daxiks to show up."

Jansen nodded. "They say we should be good, as long as we don't go above Drive 2."

"Good. That should get us there in... three and a half weeks." She scoffed. "Well, better late than never. Engaging DMD..." She paused.

Jansen looked at her. "What's the matter?"

She frowned. "Just... not sure what to say."

"Make her go?"

She smirked. "That's someone else's thing." She looked forward. "Let's get out of here." She hit the button, and the ship rocked as it shot into FTL. Then everything went white.

*     *     *


Mina and Jansen pulled their headsets off. Mina leaned forward, finding herself out of breath. She winced a little as her shoulder ached. "These simsuits really don't need to simulate getting rocked around quite so much, do they?"

Jansen smiled. "Gotta have the full experience."

The door to the side of the room opened, Alimen stepping inside. Mina and Jansen both quickly got up and stood at attention. "Well. That was certainly an unorthodox approach, Lieutenant Fest. Where did you learn a trick like that?"

"At the academy, Sir."

When she said nothing else, Alimen clicked her beak. "I'm waiting, Lieutenant."

Mina blinked. "S-sir?"

"For the story of how you came up with this trick."

Mina smiled slightly, though killed the smile a moment later. "Yes, Sir. There were several of us in the piloting track that... liked to log extra hours in the flight simulations. We came up with several... unorthodox techniques. This was called Chase the Fireball. Sir."

"I see. And how does it work exactly."

Mina cleared her throat. "It is performed when a ship is being pursued at close range. The ship skims the atmosphere of a planet and creates as much heat as the ship can handle, then pulls away. The heat and burning atmosphere follows the ship for a short time, like a tail of flame. The ship loops up and back over the pursuers, and dumps a load of missiles. When missiles are dumped into that tail, they detonate, and ignite more of the burning atmosphere. The result is usually crippling or full destruction of enemy ships."

Alimen nodded. "I would assume it also results in the destruction of this ship 'fireball' quite often, too."

She nodded. "Yes... the timing has to be exact. Too close, and the detonations will cripple your own ship. That's why full power is dumped into the engines the moment you deliver the payload of missiles."

"And what is stopping the pursuers from following your loop?"

"The atmosphere itself. The friction and flame makes the ship hard to follow with sensors, so sudden movements like a loop are hard to predict." She cleared her throat. "Also, before I performed this trick today, I followed a strategy that Lieutenant Calipso had informed me of. Close-range explosions that partially disable the enemy sensors."

Alimen nodded. "I see." She looked at Jansen. "When did you give her this strategy?"

He stood a little straighter. "Before this simulation, sir. Lieutenant Fest asked me how I had passed this test, and I told her my strategy. She incorporated part of that into her own today. I knew what she was doing when she first told helm to set an intercept course and tactical to detonate the missiles in front of the ships, which is why I did not feel the need to offer an alternative, ma'am."

"And you didn't raise concerns when she aimed the ship at the planet?"

"I asked if she had a plan, and she confirmed she did. She had helm controls, and I know she is an excellent pilot." He glanced at the mouse beside him. "I trusted her judgment and skill in this situation."

The avian nodded slowly. "I see." She turned away and started to walk back to the door she entered.

Mina cleared her throat. "Sir...?"

Alimen raised a hand and waved it. "At ease, Lieutenant." She glanced over her shoulder, and Mina could swear the avian looked almost amused. "You'll find out the results in the morning. You are both dismissed." With that, she walked away.

Both lieutenants let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Still as intense as ever."

Jansen smirked. "Yeah. For a minute there, I thought she was about to start a lecture about how stunts like that were against some regulation."

"Oh, I broke about a dozen regulations with that. But it worked." She smiled. "And like the colonel said. In a battle, there is no such thing as cheating. Sometimes you need to bend a few rules to survive." She nudged him with her elbow. "C'mon. Let's get out of these suits. Then you can buy me a drink."

"No dinner this time?"

She shrugged. "Maybe some dessert later. If you're a good boy." His grin slid across his face as he followed her slowly swaying tail out of the room.

*     *     *


"How does it feel?"

Mina tilted her head. "How does what feel?"

Jansen frowned at her. "You know exactly what I mean." He pointed at the rank insignia on Mina's sleeve. The II was now in gold, instead of silver, showing she was no longer Junior Grade, but full Lieutenant. "How does it feel to be in gold?"

She shrugged. "Not all that different."

The brown-furred Vectol beside her scoffed. "Stop being so modest, Mina. You earned it!" Garvas wore the uniform of an engineer.

A blue Talshasa to her other side nodded. "Yeah! You've been working your butt off for that!" Like Garvas, Orilpelis was also in an engineer's uniform. Both graduated at the same time as Mina, but worked in the engine room.

She smiled. "I guess so." She looked at the shiny new insignia. "It is definitely brighter at least."

Jansen leaned against the table of the bar. "And, that means she now outranks both of you."

Garvas laughed. "That means she's getting paid more, too. So the next rounds on her!" She let out a big belly laugh as she held up her still half-full glass.

Jansen shook his head. "Ah, nope. Not today. Today, the rounds are on me." He slapped Mina's shoulder. "I'll be right back." He pushed away and headed to the bar to order another round for everyone.

Oril looked at the mouse beside her. "So. Jansen Calipso, huh?"

Mina quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

Garvas grunted. "Just surprised you're with a guy like him is all."

"What makes you think I'm with him? And what do you mean 'a guy like him' exactly?"

The vectol shook her head. "Ah, c'mon, you can't hide anything from us. We've known you too long. You get that smile whenever you're around him." She pointed. "That one, right there!"

Mina frowned. "I do not!"

Oril giggled. "We have seen it, too. We are just surprised that you would choose someone... with his reputation. He is known as a bit of a playboy on the ship."

Mina shook her head. "Yeah, I know, but he's... I dunno. I don't think he planned for it to be anything serious, but..."

"But what?" Jansen asked as he returned, setting down four fresh glasses of ale.

Mina smiled. "Oh. Oril and Garvas were just telling me they were surprised that I would choose to be around someone like you."

He blinked. "Wait, what do you mean like me? I'm a great guy!"

Oril scoffed. "You have conquests."

"Oh, so you're shaming me for enjoying the company of the female persuasion?"

Oril shook her head. "We are judging you for your habit of playing around."

Mina sighed. "Guys..."

Jansen held up a hand. "No, no. It's alright. Your friends have the right to judge me. But let me defend myself a little." He cleared his throat. "In the past, yes, I have been known to be a bit of a skirt chaser. I don't deny it, and I'm not ashamed of it." He held up his hand again. "But! Then I met Mina. And at first, yeah, that's what I was after, but... she's different."

"I am?"

She nodded. "Yes. You're smart, kind, and ferociously dedicated to being the best pilot, and the best officer you can be. And I respect that." He chuckled. "You also turned me down flat when I first asked you on a date, but I knew I had to keep trying. And I'd need to be better for you to accept me. So, I worked to be a better person. One you won't be ashamed to be seen in public with." He held up his glass. "So, a toast. To Lieutenant Mina Fest. Someone worth being better for."

The other two beside her held up their glasses. Oril smiled. "We can drink to that."

Mina smiled, a little blush coming to her face as she held her own glass up. "Thanks."

Jansen nodded after he took a sip. "And congratulations." He set his glass down. "Now, enough about me and my woes. We're here to celebrate! So let's have fun!" The other three cheered joyfully.

Mina's smile grew wider as she joined in the cheering. They would spend the rest of the evening chatting for hours, drinking far too much, and regretting it in the morning. She didn't get to do this very often, drinking and hanging out with friends. She would have less time for it now that she got her promotion and would get new responsibilities.

What she couldn't know was just how much responsibility she would be getting soon. Or that this was the last time she would ever see one of her friends alive.

*     *     *
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