Time to get to work, it seems. Ali takes the time to dress in her uniform, straightening her tie and tucking her braided hair up into her hat, before slipping between time and space to her little ship-away-from-home. Then she arranges herself in the pilot's seat and takes a deep breath. A faint otherness settles over her: a shift in the set of her mouth, a slight narrowing of her eyes. This is not the sweet young woman to whom people flock for love and affection; this is a warrior queen, preparing to address her subjects.
With a flick of her finger, she answers the call. "Admiral Trainer speaking. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
*A hologram of a stern-faced mammal, large eyes hooded warily, materializes. The display helpfully supplies his name (Admiral Jan'ing) and rank (Grand Admiral, third chevron--the third-highest ranking officer in the Fleet). He speaks in the clipped, precise tones common to officers across the ages.*
Admiral. We have a mission, and it's urgent. One of our patrol craft went down in combat with Pirates. We believe the crew is likely to have survived the crash, but it's likely the pirates either crashed as well, or made safe planetfall. Either way, we want that crew back alive.
"That would be the preferable outcome, sir," she agrees cordially, "though it might not be within our sphere of influence any longer. I'll assume you also want any Pirates in the vicinity dealt with in the usual manner. Where did the incident occur?"
While they converse, she's already sending Samus a message: Grand Admiral Jan'ing has invited us Pirate-hunting. You game?
*Samus' reply is as prompt as it is wry: "do I have a choice?" The admiral's hologram, meanwhile, conjures up another--this time, of a planet with an artificial ring, a structure encircling the planet in orbit over the planet's equator, with four slender spokes lancing down to touch the planet itself.*
They're on Neurtid, in the Valgish system. That's where the risk comes in: the planet's peizoelectric field is unstable. Electronics don't last long any closer than the ring, and that includes most weapons and cyberware. The Pirates' gear is mostly biological; they're probably close to full-strength, while our marines are crippled. The only way off the planet is by the orbital elevators--even organic ships have problems taking off. That, in an eggshell, is the mission: secure orbit, make planetfall, find the troops, and bring them home.
*When Samus arrives in the Valgish system, she scans first for hostiles; finding none, she sweeps for signs of life. The docking ring around Neurtid shows some light damage, and the debris cloud around it is consistent with a running firefight between two medium-sized ships. The ring's comm array is a slagged lump, either the victim of a wild shot or pirate strategy. She sets a sensor sweep and beacon to keep an eye out for Ali, and to greet her when she arrives, while the Hunter herself rummages her arsenal for weapons that won't fail her planetside.*
Ali doesn't keep Samus waiting any longer than absolutely necessary, and has Lucy run the same series of sweeps on her arrival. But when she sees Samus is already there, she opens a channel.
"Lovely. Can't wait to find the gift shop. I have a great desire for a snow globe." Ali gives the wardrobe change a once-over. "So what's our game plan?"
One of the first things Ali does, when the ring is evacuated and the Indefatigable is on its way back to friendlier space, is file a brief with Command: Evacuation of Marines complete; all currently alive. Have surprise. Will contact again in twelve hours.
...well, it is called a "brief".
The next twelve hours are spent in very necessary ways. Ali sees that the Marines are being treated, arranges for enough treatment as to keep Precious alive, orders everyone to keep mum about "the surprise", and then gives command to one of her underlings so she can relax. A long soak in a bath followed by a shower scrubs all the dirt and grime of the last almost-week away, and then she falls into bed for a proper sleep. After she and Samus have eaten, and only then, would she again don her uniform to address Command (none of their dozens of attempts to coax or frighten her into delaying her well-earned rest have worked).
Tucking her hair once again up under her hat, she opens a comm channel to Command. "Admiral Trainer, reporting."
*Her message is put through almost immediately, a sure sign of her superiors' impatience. Ali and Samus find themselves faced by the holograms of three Grand Admirals, each telecommuting from elsewhere in the Federation to hear this report.*
It's about time, Admiral. What was so important about the last twelve hours that you couldn't file a proper report?
*Ali's threat receives a trio of frowns, but no verbal response. They'll take her explanation as the closest they're likely to get to an apology and leave it at that. They look impassively over the kill counts, and her query about the security of the channel prompts one of them to prod something on his panel. Their holograms pixelate and scramble for a moment before resolving again.*
We're encrypted now. I assume you're going to tell us why you want to assign an interrogation team to a former Intelligence operative?
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With a flick of her finger, she answers the call. "Admiral Trainer speaking. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Reply
Admiral. We have a mission, and it's urgent. One of our patrol craft went down in combat with Pirates. We believe the crew is likely to have survived the crash, but it's likely the pirates either crashed as well, or made safe planetfall. Either way, we want that crew back alive.
Reply
While they converse, she's already sending Samus a message: Grand Admiral Jan'ing has invited us Pirate-hunting. You game?
Reply
They're on Neurtid, in the Valgish system. That's where the risk comes in: the planet's peizoelectric field is unstable. Electronics don't last long any closer than the ring, and that includes most weapons and cyberware. The Pirates' gear is mostly biological; they're probably close to full-strength, while our marines are crippled. The only way off the planet is by the orbital elevators--even organic ships have problems taking off. That, in an eggshell, is the mission: secure orbit, make planetfall, find the troops, and bring them home.
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"I hope I didn't keep you waiting long?"
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*Visible in the holo, Samus has foregone her usual vacsuit in favor of clothes that wouldn't be out of place on contemporary Earth.*
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...well, it is called a "brief".
The next twelve hours are spent in very necessary ways. Ali sees that the Marines are being treated, arranges for enough treatment as to keep Precious alive, orders everyone to keep mum about "the surprise", and then gives command to one of her underlings so she can relax. A long soak in a bath followed by a shower scrubs all the dirt and grime of the last almost-week away, and then she falls into bed for a proper sleep. After she and Samus have eaten, and only then, would she again don her uniform to address Command (none of their dozens of attempts to coax or frighten her into delaying her well-earned rest have worked).
Tucking her hair once again up under her hat, she opens a comm channel to Command. "Admiral Trainer, reporting."
Reply
It's about time, Admiral. What was so important about the last twelve hours that you couldn't file a proper report?
Reply
Reply
We're encrypted now. I assume you're going to tell us why you want to assign an interrogation team to a former Intelligence operative?
Reply
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