Three months, three weeks, five days; Commodore Fredrick Nash looked at the small calendar displayed holographically in front of him, and surrounding it was several other screens of similar size with various other things. All of them floated about two feet away from his face, all of them controllable using the controls located on the arms of his chair. Looking at the dates for a few more moments, he then hit a button to close down the calendar and bring up a picture of brownish-grey planet in front of him. It showed clouds in its atmosphere, with large bodies of water spread here and there along its surface. It was mostly dominated by large spans of open terrain, with mountains and hills spread out amongst the sands of the deserts that made up much of the planet. The arid terrain stretched from the planets equator, and only ceased when it began to meld into the more frigid poles of the planet.
Ko’val, their destination. It was still a few days out, and getting there would only be the start for The Far Reaching Wind and her crew. Not just for them either. He hit another button, bringing up three screen shots of three different vessels. One was a large carrier, which dwarfed a smaller supply vessel that followed alongside it. The Stella Caeltor, the ship that carried the thousands of colonists that were to re-establish the colony located upon the ko’val. The smaller vessel near it simply carried a large number of supplies to assist in the endeavor.
The third, which looked very similar to his own ship in design, a military vessel of sorts, floated the Gallarhorn. Its hulls contained the large numbers of Knight Sentinels of the Frontier, the Order sworn to protect those who sought to settle the planets hidden amongst the dark reaches of space. The group of people who were quite unhappy to have Naval support.
Nash hit a few more buttons to close the screens in front of him, now having an unobstructed view of the star filled view screen of the bridge. He wasn’t looking at anything in particular; rather he was just lost in thought. It seemed almost like he was just a statue with how still he sat, wondering himself what was to be expected on Ko’val. Something had happened there, something anomalous enough that the Humanitarian Federation wanted more than just the Knight Sentinels to tag along, and so Nash’s carrier had been deployed alongside the re-colonization fleet. In a few days he’d find out what happened though, though he was not entirely sure if he wanted to know.
~~~
The screen displayed several different windows, all of which held all sorts of information for her. Most of the information displayed was that of the planet Ko'val. Separated by two poles of completely opposite weather patterns, the planet was one inhabited. What happened to it, though, remained a mystery to everyone for years. Arina hadn't thought she'd ever get the chance to go see Ko'val, but it seemed that the Federation had different ideas.
It was a good plan, none the less. Ko'val was situated in the right spot to have tactical advantages for spreading out further in the dark reaches of the solar system. Even so, Arina was on edge for some reason. Only a few days out and she was just now getting shivers down her back. She's listened to the tape a few times, the one that held the transmission of the last moments of the citizens of Ko'val. It was scrambled badly, a few words here and there, but the main idea was that something, or someone, had attacked them.
Arina was determined to find out who or what that was.
After going over the information several times in the past few hours, she stretched back in the seat and tapped a button on the desk's clear glass hologram and it all shut down from infront of her. Releasing a sigh, Arina turned in her seat, got up and strode over to the huge bay window that allowed her a nice view of the fleet that followed after her vessel that carried the new colonists for Ko'val. Most notibly was the Naval vessel settled just slightly above hers.
On the other side of the Stella Caeletor was sure to be the Knight Sentinels, following just as closely as The Far Reaching Wind was. Clapsing her hands behind her back, Arina stood there for quite some time, staring out at the two vessels within sight, lost in thought.
Alten skimmed through the information on the tablet held in his hand as he waited for the elevator to reach his destination of the bridge of the Stella Caeletor to speak with Admiral Arina. It was best that they get some information settled, and so she and the other ship captains knew what to expect. He looked up at the display for the elevator, watching it tick by to indicate what floors it was going by, just passing the third level of the ship.
"Alright then, start with previous landing sight, what's there, climate, wildlife, stuff like that. Got it, Alten?" he asked himself as he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with his free hand. As the display went from "1" to "Bridge", a small keypad then lit up on the door with a slot for a security key also being illuminated. He pulled his security key from his pocket and slipped it into the slot before he quickly punched in the code. It was a simple measure of security to prevent unwanted access, though Alten wondered why it didn't go through this process before going to the floor. He withdrew the key and replaced it before he stepped out onto the bridge.
He looked around it, looking at some of the pilots and technicians at work in front of terminals of varying size and complexity. He hadn't a clue what half the equipment did, nor how to operate it, but that's why he didn't work it. It always amazed him, strangely, to watch these people work the terminals with immense speed and dexterity, seeming to be able to hit all the keys and buttons with hardly a thought. He smiled slightly when he tohught of his own ability with a keyboard, which was much less impressive. it was why he preferred speech-to-text software, it made his life so much easier.
He spotted the Admiral looking out the large bay window, seeming to be enthralled by the star-filled darkness that was out the view port. It always surprised him when he saw her, considering how young she was. There were some people who never reached a position such as Admiral at any point in there life, and he knew for a fact that Commodore Nash aboard The Far Reaching Wind and Argos Aigidios aboard the Gallarhorn were both men well into there forties and both had an impressive record to show for why they'd be given the positions they had. Yet Alten didn't know too much about Arina, yet clearly she had impressed a number of people within the administration of Exploratores Stellarum.
Patting down his jacket and shirt, mostly out of habit, he walked towards the Admiral, his shoes making a soft thunk with each step on the hard metal beneath his feet. When he was only a few feet behind her, his heels clicked together, his feet moving to the forty-five degree angle that was a part of standing at attention, his free hand closing to a soft fist at his side while he held onto the tablet with his other. He could never break some of his old habits from his Marine days, but they were hardly a burden to him, and if anything they were good habits. "Excuse me Admiral, if I may speak to you." his voice was soft, and he looked at her directly.
So lost in thought, Arina hadn't heard his approach at all until he's spoken and even then she'd only caught the tail end of his words since his voice was so soft. Turning just enough to peer over her shoulder, The Admiral caught sight of one of the men entrusted in determining if planets were viable inhabitants for humans. Though she'd only met him briefly before their departure from Earth, she'd read through some of his files given by the military.
Arina smiled, "Alten. What can I do for you?" she asked in kind tones, her smile never fading as she turned to face him fully, "We'll be reaching Ko'val in a few days, I'm assuming you're here in regards to the planet?"
Her smile caught him off guard a bit, mostly cause he wasn't use to people in her position or any officers he met with to smile in such a fashion. He didn't let it show though, instead he simply cleared his throat as he held up his tablet, looking at it quickly before back up to her and holding it out. "Yes, Admiral Xsan. Just a few important pieces of information for you, Commodore Nash, and Sentinel-Major Aigidios regarding Ko'val."
"Simple things regarding the landing site that has been designated as the best place, as well as what to expect within the immediate area of it. We are fortunate in that, with Ko'val having already been established we have a fair bit of information on what to expect so things should go smoothly for us." he said to her.
Taking the tablet handed to her, Arina moved from the window a bit, listening to Alten's speech all the while as she skimmed through the information given to her. She'd been informed of the landing site already, but it never hurt to double check information of course. Nodding in agreement to his statements, she continued on through the information, "Nothing hostile as far as plants go... That's good. Ko'val being established already is a plus, we'll be able to colonize it far faster than the first time, I'm sure."
Running her finger along the tablet to move the information around, she finished looking at it briefly and turned back to Alten, the smile retaking it's place on her lips, "This looks good. Should be promising. I'm to assume that Sentinel-Major Aigidios and Commodore Nash wish to send out scouting parties first before we allow the citizens on land?"
He nodded his head, turning to track her movements as she walked away from the window. "Indeed, it should be much easier. Of course we are also fortunate that Ko'val was never a very hostile world...er..ok well the planet itself is not." he looked away for a moment, embaressed a bit at his goof up. Clearing his throat, his usual tick of nervousness, he looked back to her as he recomposed himself. "So that will help, we just need to make sure we are prepared to handle the arid climate of the landing site and original colony location."
"As for the Major and Commodore, I can only assume that they will want to deploy scouts. However..." he paused, thinking of how not to sound insulting when he said it. He respected the two commanders for their capabilities and so he didn't want to possible say something that might reach their ears and make any relations a bit sour. "I think it may be best to discuss with them the plans for scouting parties. We don't want any...issues between them." he glanced away from Arina, a bit worried about the offense his words might cause.
Tapping the tablet gently against her hand, Arina pursed her lips in acknowledgment. Alten had a point. The two factions hadn't gotten along and for the most part as far as she had knowledge of, so far they'd not interacted with one another since the departure. Turning on her heel, Arina handed the tablet back to Alten with a slight grin, "Well then, I think we need to get both parties on board and have a meeting then. What do you think? The Commodore and Major along with the pilots? Or just the commanders?"
As Alten took hold of the tablet again, tucking it into the crook of his elbow as he listened to her. At her question, Alten blinked slightly, looking off as he thought about it. He was still standing in the position of attention, save for his eyes moving away from Arina. He then looked back up to her. "Well, Admiral. Personally I think it'd be best to simply speak with only the commanders in this case. I think that, until we really know how both sides are going to deal with each other we sohuldn't try to force them to interact too much. Of course, it is your decision to make sir, I mean ma'am." he coughed a little, averting his eyes from her and just looking on ahead as he finished.
Arina laughed slightly as he said 'sir' rather than 'ma'am'. He seemed rather nervous which made her soften up more than usual. He shouldn't have been nervous at all, Arina didn't think she was all that hard to talk to.
"Very wise. Thank you for your insight, Alten," she complimented and turned to the staff on the bridge, "Open communication to The Far Reaching Wind and Gallahorn." she ordered, her tone changed slightly as she called out across the bridge. She was answered by one of the attendants who switched desks and did as she asked.
A soft sound filled the air as the communication link was sent out to both vessels. All she had to do then was wait for them to accept and she would proceed with the next steps.
Alten nodded his head when she gave him the compliment. "Thank you, Admiral Xsan." he said as he stood back. He wasn't really needed for the communication, and if they did then the Admiral could get a hold of him. He turned to look towards the main screen.
In only a few moments, one screen lit up to show the image of rather tall, and fully armored man as he stood within a small, yet bare room. The rooms floors had minimal mats to it, and along the backwall could be seen racks of various practice blades. The man stood there in full power armor, which on the chest plate was The Helm of Awe, the symbol the Knight Sentinels wore. The man in question had very, very short black hair and a face riddled with scars here and there. He stared at the screen, a stern, hard look in his eyes as he looked at Arina. On his shoulder rested a rather large blade, at least three-forths the length of the Knight holding it.
Despite the severe look he had, the Knight actually spoke in a rather calm and kind tone. "Yes, Admiral Xsan? What is it that you need?" Sentinel-Major Aigidios asked. Alten had noted that nothing had yet come through from The Far Reaching Wind, course he was a bit distracted by the imposing man on the screen in front of him. To Alten, it was like he was back at bootcamp, staring down a Drill Instructor.
Arina's lips curved upward, her pleasant demeanor not in the least detered by the powerful looking man who bore down upon her via the screen's display, "Sentinel-Major, I'm requesting yours and the Commodore's presence aboard my vessel. I would like to have our plans all in sync with each other. A smooth operation is much more pleasing than a rocky one, yes?"
A scowl formed on the face of the Major as he listened to Arina, snorting a bit as he turned to head over to the weapon rack. As he walked, the camera followed after him to keep him in the shot. "May I ask why simply communicating through this method is not good enough?" he asked as he set the sword he was holding back on the rack. It fell into place with a loud metallic thunk before he turned back around to face the camera.
"We'll have plenty of time to meet and greet when we reach Ko'val, besides, I already promised I'd behave." he said the last part in a bit of a mocking tone as he crossed his arms, the light of the room he was in shining between the individual fibers of muscle-like cords that was on the outside of the power armor limbs.
Arina felt an inward sigh pulse in her chest as she kept her pleasant features intact despite his obvious annoyance to her request. Leaning off to the side, Arina let the side of her jaw rest against her fist as she leaned on the chair she was standing next to, "Sentinel-Major, I must say that I respect the fact that you actually answered my call. As of this moment," her gaze shot off to the side as she looked over to the attendant who was still trying to hail the other vessel, "The Commodore seems to be ignoring me entirely. I think that perhaps he doesn't like me very much," she smiled at the slight joke, though she was actually fairly sure the Commodore wasn't too keen on her.
"In any case, as a show of respect to both of you, I'm requesting the meeting in person. I feel it's more... Hmm, professional? Besides, I like to have things done before they need to be, surely you do as well?"
Aigidios stood there with his arms crossed for a bit longer, just watching her for a few moments. Finally he took a deep breath before letting it out in an annoyed huff. "Fine then, only because you asked nicely." he said as a joke, though his tone hardly conveyed much humor. Alten figured it simply was because the Sentinel-Major was permanently stuck in eat-you-alive-mode. "I'll be over within the hour, and I'll be bringing some fellow Knights as well. Sorry, Admiral Xsan, but only a fool travels alone and we Knights are no fools. Aigidios out." with that, the communication screen cut out.
Alten watched the screen for a few before glancing to the Admiral. "Well then, that part went well. Think the Commodore will be as willing?" As if on que, suddenly the screen opened up again to reveal the image of a man sitting in the chair centered in the bridge of The Far Reaching Wind. The man in question had a look to rival that of Aigidios, and frankly if Aigidios was like a Drill Instructor, this was the face of all the Drill Instructors while smoking a recruit.
The Commodore had a surprisingly young looking face for someone who was in his late forties, and he sat quiet and motionless in his chair as he stared hard at Arina. His right eye was a calming, soothing color of blue and bangs of dirty blonde hair hung just above it. The left eye though, was the more unnatural red that came from a bionic implant. As Alten watched Nash, it didn't look like malice or hatred in the man's eyes. There was an intensity of some kind, though Alten wasn't sure what to consider it.
Nash's voice was a bit raspy, yet still held a great deal of authority to it. "Admiral." was his only response as he sat there.
With no room to respond to the Sentinel-Major, Arina could only keep her smile upon her lips as he ended the transmission rather quickly. Even before she could answer to Alten, the screen lit up again and this time it was the Commodore whom she faced. I get the feeling he did that on purpose... Or perhaps he was just hoping to miss the Sentinel-Major... Should have kept him talking longer, Arina thought to herself with an inward groan.
"Commodore, it is a pleasure. Thank you for responding. I'm extending invitation onto my vessel. I wish to speak with you in person about the details of our landing on Ko'val in a few days," she paused just briefly, wondering if keeping the information that Aigidios was coming on board to herself was a good idea or not, in the end it took her a mere moment to decide, "The Sentinel-Major will be here within the hour. Am I to expect your arrival?"
Though she was asking it as a question, her tone said that it was more of an acknowledgement instead. Inwardly, she'd hoped she hadn't stepped a little too far into territory that was clearly not hers. Even so, Arina was determined to get both men aboard. After all, if things were to go smoothly -and she would have them go smoothly one way or another- she needed them both on the same page, no over lapping plans, and especially no hostility toward one another.
Nash watched her for a moment, still unmoving in his seat. After a bit of a pause, he spoke up. "You can tell the Sentinel-Major that I will allow him and his Knights to handle securing the landing site. I will be deploying my own scouts deeper into the colony sections away from the landing site. I'm intent to make sure nobody else has made a home of Ko'val. I will keep you both in touch before I take any other steps beyond that. It will be a contingent of infantry accompanied by some Mecha support if you or the Sentinel-Major are curious." Finally, he made a movement, even if it was only to blink.
The next movement was for him to hit a few keys on his chair with his left hand. Alten noticed the subtle rigid motions that was also a tell tale sign of a bionic limb. After a few presses, he then let his hand rest back into it's resting position. "Understood?" he finished.
This will be a difficult man to deal with, Arina thought to herself wilst keeping the pleasant smile on her lips present, "I see, thank you for the information, Commodore. Even so, I would feel more at ease should you attend. Simply passing off information via word of mouth tends to get muddled."
Arina moved from the side of the chair to sit down upon it and laced her fingers together as she leaned forward, "Besides. Is my vessel really all that disdainful? And I've only met you briefly in person. Surely you wouldn't mind speaking to me face to face rather than having such distance."
He watched her, now beginning to drum the fingers of his right hand on the arm of his chair. "If you insist then. Nash, out." He then hit a button on the left arm of his chair as the link was then cut.
Alten stood there, watching where the screen was for a few silent moments before he spoke up again. "Well, apparently that part also went well. Well done, Admiral Xsan." he said while looking over to her.
Arina's smile never left though the moment the screen disappeared with his cutting the transmission, she leaned back with a slight sigh of relief. The encounter with both men was rather nerve wracking, though not nearly as bad when dealing with two utterly ticked off countries ready to tear each others throats out at the drop of a pin. Even so, their presence alone on screen was enough to tell Arina that she really had no place amongst the higher ranking individuals of either the military or the Knight Sentinels.
Still, she couldn't help the excited grin on her lips knowing that she'd won both of them over, "Why yes. That did go well, didn't it," she beamed and bounced up out of her seat with renewed vigor, "Although I think I may have annoyed the Commodore a little more than I did for the Sentinel-Major..." Arina shrugged lightly.
"In any case, this is far better than having them on screen. At least now neither of them can just up and leave as easily," she said with a wink toward Alten. Striding toward the elevator, she reached out and tapped the control pad, "Prepare the docking bay to recieve both the Sentinel-Major and the Commodore," she called out as she waited for the lift.
There was an answer to her command which she only briefly acknowledged before slipping into the elevator, "Shall we go greet them?" she offered to Alten.
This was going to be an interesting CO to be under, that was for certain as he watched her almost bounce up out of her seat. Her little wink made him blink in confusion, staring at the viewscreen for a moment before turning his head to follow her movements to the elevator. "Well uh...I'm not sure if you really annoyed him persay. I think Commodore Nash just isn't much of a people person really, odd given his position as an officer."
He watched her move to the elevator, standing where he was when she offered to go meet with them. He nodded his head, fixing his glasses again as he followed her onto the elevator. "I suppose we should. Also, not sure what you might be nervous about Admiral Xsan. I'm the one who has to talk to them." he said as he stood next to her, looking forwards and too the door. "Which, I may add, is not my strongest talent. If you haven't noticed."
As the doors closed shut and the elevator started it's downward descent, Arina laughed lightly at Alten's words, "You will do just fine. If it helps any, you can use me as your focus. I didn't think you were all that bad earlier when you spoke to me," she offered with a glance in his direction.
"And for the record," she grinned, "I'm not nervous."
Alten narrowed his eyes in confusion, glancing over to her. "Use you as my focus? Not..sure what you mean by that, ma'am." He then looked back ahead, before glancing back down to his tablet as he brushed through the information again, more so just to give himself something to do.
"And thank you, Admirla Xsan. Been getting better, but you COs always have a way of just shutting me up, whether intentional or not." He didn't look up from his tablet, still poking at it here and there. "I swear it's a talent you all seem to have that i'll never truly understand." he finished, glancing over to her for a moment before back to the tablet.
Arina placed on hand on her hip as she watched the counter on the elevator that said what floor they were passing as they descended, "Use me as your focus, as in pretend you're only talking to me," she answered his confusion.
A soft huff of a laugh escaped her lips as she tilted her head a bit and closed her eyes, "My apologies, Alten. I do not intend to... 'shut you up' as you stated. You've no need to keep things short with me. I rather enjoy conversation with others. Surely I'm not that intimidating, am I?" she asked with a slightly teasing grin.
He looked over to her, nodding his head at her answer. "I see then, well then I guess i'll give that trick a shot." He then returned her small grin with his own smile. "And to be honest Admiral Xsan, yes you are a bit intimidating." He then turned to look up at the display in front of them.
"Least to me. Only twenty-four years old, and you are in charge of an entire re-colonization operation. An operation that has you working alongside a Sentinel-Major of the Knights, and even more so alongside a Commodore of the Federation Navy." He adjusted his glasses again as he looked back over to her. "Means you have something that caught the attention of ExStella Administrators, and with things like this it usually means that you probably have a rather fierce fire in that stomach of yours. Not to mention I'm already a person who tends to go rather quiet around authority, figures. So it's bound to happen." he then turned to look back ahead.
After a pause, he shrugged as he spoke. "Though the cute face does help to settle some tensions." he said jokingly as he smiled, keeping his eyes forwards.
"I see," Arina commented lightly as he said that she was a little bit intimidating. As he continued, a bit of a blush coursed along her cheeks, not used to be complimented in such a way. A bit of a wry smile curved her lips too and she shook her head a little.
"Cute face hu?" she caught on to that last little bit as the elevator stopped and slid open the doors for them to leave and head to the docking bay where the two commanding officers were to be boarding. Arina laughed, a rich sound that said it was a true laugh, not her usual shorter ones that were more for professional sake than anything else.
"Alten... That's... Oh boy," she grinned as she settled her giggling fit, "Cute... It's been a while since I've heard that. Was not expecting it from you, least of all."
With a heavy sigh, she took a deep breath and straightened, though the amusement from her eyes hadn't faded out, "Well, thank you for the compliments," her gaze caught site of two smaller vessels loading into the docking bay, "I believe our guests have arrived, shall we?" she beckoned to the double doors that would lead out onto the catwalk in order to get to the bay below.
He shrugged, still smiling a bit as he began walking towards the doors. "You are welcome, Admiral Xsan. And what can I say? I've had a lot of training in catching people off guard." he made sure to keep pace with her, having tucked the tablet back into the crook of his elbow. As he walked through the doors and out onto the catwalk, he looked towards the transport vessel of the Knight Sentinels, which was the simple black, red, and gold colors of the Knights. On its sides, colored black so that it stood out on the gold surface beneath it, was the Helm of Awe, meant to inspire fear into those who may seek to harm the charges of the Knights.
As the vessel finished its docking procedures, Alten and Arina had made their way down into the bay to meet with the arrivals. The side doors of the vessel opened up with a quick hiss of air as it was sucked from the transport vessel. It was common that the air pressure with some tranports tended to be slightly greater than the pressure within larger vessels, so it resulted in only a quick noise of rushing air as it slipped through the cracks of an opening bulkhead. As the doors finished openeing, a small ramp slowly extended downwards and down it strode it three individuals.
The one leading the group was clearly Sentinel-Major Aigidios, however he was not wearing his suit of power armor as he made his way towards the Admiral. He still wore the light plates of an armored suit, the plates a simple red and black in color and over his torso was a rugged cloth haubrek, which too has the Helm of Awe, sitting within a golden circle surrounded by black. On the right side of his waist was a large calibre pistol, held on by a simple magnetic hook that connected to a metal piece on his belt, while on the left was a sword held on by a similar magnetic device. His head was exposed, and Alten got a better view of the scars across his features. His face had several crossing about here and there, each of varying causes. the most notable was a jagged one that started on his forehead and stretched back along his head to the center of it where no hair grew upon it. One of the Knights accompaning him was dressed in a similar fashion to the Sentinel-Major, except he had slung on his back a magazine fed shotgun rather than any melee weapon.
As promised, the Sentinel-Major had brought with him a few of his own knights. One in particular was a woman who looked just as fierce as her Major. Dressed in similar clothes, the black -or what looked black to Arina- armor with the Helm of Awe displayed upon her breast, and shiny peices of metal coating what looked like heavy leather cloth. From the woman, Arina turned to the Sentinel-Major as they approached him and gave her signature smile once again.
"Thank you, Sentinel-Major, once again for agreeing to come aboard. I promise this won't take long," she offered to him as she came to stand before him. Her gaze flicked from him to the woman and to the other Knight that he'd brought with, curiosity in her gaze as she stood there.
Argos nodded his head, "Well as I said, you asked so nicely it'd seem rude of me to say no." He then turned to look at the shotgun wielding Knight, "This is Order Sergeant Kasabian Arshavir, a member of our assault group." The knight simply nodded his head to the Admiral and Alten. Argos then turned to look at the female on his other side, "And this is Cavalier Syrin Eulina, one of our better Mecha Pilots. I desired them being here as they will be part of team I will deploy to secure the landing site."
Alten glanced between the three Knights, a miserable look on his face as he sighed quietly to himself. It was bad enough to have to speak to the Sentinel-Major and the Commodore, but now he'd have these two other Knights watching him alongside god-knows-who that the Commodore was going to bring along.
"Perfect," Arina said, her smile growing as she turned her attention to each one that was introduced to her. Kasabian simply nodded to which Arina returned the guesture. Looking to Syrin, she beamed at the other woman who only regarded her with a cold stare before turning away completely, hand on the hilt of her sword at her hip. Arina's lips faltered for a mere moment at the strange display from the soldier.
Turning back to the Sentinel-Major, Arina reestablished herself, "I'm glad that we are going to be in such capable hands, Sentinel-Major. Now, the Commodore should be arriving in a few moments and we will get this meeting done and over with. We've only a few days before we reach Ko'val, best to get everything settled before that."
"The Commodore's vessel is here, Major," the woman's voice was rather soft as she spoke, glancing over to her commanding officer briefly before looking back to the other shuttle that was starting it's docking procedures through the sheild at the far end of the bay. The near invisible layer of energy around the hull of the ship rippled as the shuttle entered. Meanwhile, Arina took a deep breath. Of the two men, the Commodore was most difficult to deal with.
Nash stood in front of the bulkhead that would open up to let them onto the Stella Caeltor, and he to stood with two of his own troops. He kept his eyes forwards as he spoke. "Listen carefully both of you, as you two will be in the scouting operations out away from the landing site. Understood, Holt?"
"Yes Sir." The woman behind him stated, standing there in a simple pair of Naval Fatigues. They were a simple black and hung a little loose off of her body. On her thigh was a holster for a pistol that held a pocket for an extra magazine on the front, and on her other thigh was three more pockets for magazines. Both were strapped onto her belt and also wrapped around her thighs to hold them in place. On the back of her belt, a knife was sheathed with the handle facing out to the left side so that she could quickly and easily access should it be needed.
"Good. And Ryker," the Commodore turned his head so that he could stare the silver haired pilot in the eyes, giving him a look that warned him of the amount of misery the Commodore could put the Petty Officer through if he wanted to. "Behave." was all Nash said before turning back ahead as the bulkhead began to open up, a quick rush of wind blowing past the three of them before it slid up in the wall of the ship, followed by a ramp lowering itself for the three.
Ryker's eyes were trained on the Commodore just as he looked back and gave him a warning stare. Arching an eyebrow as if feigning ignorance as to what in the world the Commodore was referring to, he gave a small grin as well as a shrug in response, "Of course, Commodore," he answered simply, his tone giving no hint of sarcasm in the least.
The Commodore began walking down the ramp, again displaying the rigid movement that came from a bionic limb, able to be seen from the limp-like movement of his left leg and his left arm seeming to not even move with the momentum of Nash's forward movement. The Commodore wore a black uniform, though he didn't bother with any bars or ribbons on it to display what accomplishments he had acheived. Instead all he had was a simple silver eagle on the left side of his chest, sitting over his heart. On both his shoulders were two strips of cloth that had four bars parrel to one another and facing towards his arms, both arms having similar cloth strips sewn onto them.
As he stepped down, he looked towards the young Admiral of the Stella Caeltor, looking her up and down as he approached, Petty Officer Holt not far behind him. There was no expression on his own face as he approached, stopping when he made it to the group of them. He then looked to the Sentinel-Major, who gave him a curt nod. "Commodore." Argos said.
"Hello, Sentinel-Major Aigidios." Nash then turned his head to Arina. "Admiral."
If it was possible, Alten would have deflated in defeat at this point. This briefing was going to suck, was all he kept thinking to himself. Hopefully, using Admiral Xsan as his focus would help him.
I figured he would bring soldiers as well... I suppose Sentinel-Major thought the same, hence his reasoning to bring his own, Arina thought to herself as she took in the two imposing looking Naval officers behind the Commodore.
"Commodore," Arina responded crisply and turned on her heel, "This way please. We'll get this over with rather quickly," as she started walking over to the elevator, her hand motioned over to Alten while she continued speaking, "This is Alten Ashley, he's in charge of planatary specifics. There's a fancy word for it, but I'm not a scientist, so I'll forgoe the formality on that aspect, I hope you do not mind," she offered as she glanced behind her to both the Major and Commodore.
Pressing the button to the elevator, Arina turned a little so she could speak in their direction instead of having her back to them while they waited, "He'll be briefing you on some of the planets specifics and any other details you may require regarding Ko'val for the re-colonizing mission."
"We are not scientists, either, Admiral," the taller man that had accompanied the Commodore spoke, a bit of a wry grin on his lips.
Arina only gave a short laugh in response, "No, of course not. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll make it understandable."
The silver haired officer looked to bristle just slightly at her response. Oops... That might have been a bit too much, Arina thought to herself as she glanced over to the Commodore then back to the man who had a slightly crueler look to his gaze than a moment before.
Argos looked between the Admiral and the other man with the Commodore before back to the Admiral. "Well, I'm sure it'll be simple enough. We only need to know basics to stage a proper operation. So no pressure."
Alten just kept his eyes forwards, not looking towards them as they waited for the elevator. Nope, no pressure at all. Just twelve really heavy stares, that's all. He glanced bck down to his tablet, again more so to just give him something to do. He did manage to find his voice though, clearing his throat first. As he still did not turn around as he spoke, as he found it easier not having to look them all in the face. As he spoke, he tried to do what the Admiral suggested and simply imagined it was jsut her standing next to him. "It should be easy, a lot of data has already been compiled, given Ko'val being a pre-established colony."
Nash looked at Alten before towards the elevator. "Good."
I'm not sure that helped, Sentinel-Major, Arina thought to herself as she watched the numbers on the elevator. Alten's speaking up did surprise her though and she couldn't help the encouraging smile on her lips as he spoke without stutter or pause.
After the Commodore gave the simple answer of 'good', the doors opened to allow them entrance. They didn't have to go far, two levels up and they were let out into the hallway of the large vessel. Arina took the lead, walking briskly to get to the meeting room where Alten could throw all of the needed data up on a large screen for all of them to see.
Punching in her code at the door along with her key card, Arina opened it for them and strode inside, the lights coming on automatically to their presence. Taking a seat in one of the black cushioned chairs, she offered her warm smile again as they filed in to sit down as well, "Well then, whenever you're ready, Alten," Arina said, motioning to him with her hand.
Syrin had kept silent during the exchange and as they entered the meeting room, she simply prefered to stand rather than sit, keeping close to her commander. Both hands behind her back, she took a slightly relaxed, yet still formal stance and turned her attention away from the annoying woman who couldn't seem to wipe the smile off her face and to the man who would be briefing them.
In turn, Ryker did take a seat in one of the chairs, right across -or at least kitty corner- to the Admiral, his dark gaze locked on her and a slightly seething attitude just barely concealed under his tightly knitted frame. Closing his fingers together over his lap, he leaned back and waited for the 'scientist' to start talking, a bit of impatience to his posture.
Alten calmly followed Admiral Xsan inside, taking a seat next to her as he began poking at his tablet to set it up for the display that sat in the center of the room. Argos walked in and took a seat, Kasabian standing to the opposite side Syrin had taken. Nash and Holt both sat down on opposite sides of Ryker, Holt leaning over as she walked past him and whispering. "Someone get their feelings hurt?" She said, smirking slightly at him as she sat down. Nash remained quiet and took his seat, shooting his two subordinates a look before he looked towards the display that sat towards the center.
Ryker glanced over to Aiyanna, a retort on his lips had it not been for the rather commanding look they both recieved from Commodore Nash. He flashed his companion a smile, though, much like the ones he always gave her when they would converse with one another off duty. Despite that though, he was still irked by the woman seated across from them. She wasn't a soldier, but she had an air about her that just seemed to rub him the wrong way.
With a few more button presses on the tablet from Alten, the display in the center lit up and brought up several holographic images. The way it was set up, regardless of a person's position in the room is always displayed a set of images facing them so all could see. Alten took a deep breath before he began speaking, hitting a button to bring up first a far out image of Ko'val. The image showed a large area of the desert they would be landing in.
"This is Ko'val's spaceport, which is located within one of the larger deserts of the planet. It offers the space necessary for a ship such as the Stella Caeltor to land, however there sohuld be plenty of space nearby to also allow the landing of the Gallahorn and The Far Reaching Wind."
"Noted, but The Wind will remain in orbit unless it is necessary to land." the Commodore spoke when Alten had taken a pause.
"Not worried about grounding your vessel, are you Commodore?" Argos asked, moving a bit so he could view the Commodore better. If the jeer had any effect, it didn't show on Nash's face as he kept his eyes on the display in front of him.
After a pause, Nash giving no response back, Alten cleared his throat. "Right...well..."He paused, looking over to the Admiral for a moment before back to the display, again he pushed out the idea that there were others in the room to help clear his thoughts. "A few miles north of the spaceport is the original colony itself, which shares its name with the planet. We are unsure as to the condition of the colony or the spaceport, or what animals may have moved in during our absence."
He hit a few buttons, which brought images of both the space port and the colony of Ko'val itself. Both images showed signs of activity from people, having been taken back when the colony itself had still be occupied. A few moments later another image opened up to display what appeared to be large, lizard like creatures. Most of the images showed most of them to be sleeping in the shade, some lying in groups varying in numbers. Each of them were a good four to six feet in length, and a couple pictures also displayed them walking around on their hind legs. Their other more obvious quality were the rather fierce looking claws on their feet and the sharp teeth they had as well.
"These were simply referred to as Drakes by the previous colony members," Alten began speaking again. "these creatures are the most dangerous of the wildlife that was encountered on the planet. They were not overtly hostile, but they had a bad tendency to settle in shady places during the day time to escape the heat, and they also happen to be a bit territorial. Usually problems occured when they wandered into populated areas and encountered humans. So when you land and begin clearing areas, just be weary of these creatures being within the buildings; it is pretty safe to infer that they have decided to occupy the structures over the past years."
"Oh, splendid. Giant lizards to contend with while going down the dark halls. I don't suppose opening fire on it would be a great idea," Ryker commented lightly, his sentence not really a question.
"If you wish to kill us all," Syrin replied, a kind of cold annoyance in her voice to which Ryker only glanced over to her and shrugged in dismissal.
"Me and the other infantry are the ones who have to worry," Holt said, leaning forwards in her seat. "You'll be riding in Mechas..."
"I would also suggest avoiding contact with any of the insects or arthropods you come across." Alten continued, ignoring the others' interruptions. "Most will react in a similar manner to most other insects and try to avoid you, but there are a fair number that are venemous. Though also it may be in your best interest to warn your soldiers of this critter." Alten hit a few buttons, and on screen the image of what looked similar to a spider popped up on screen. It only had six legs, but it's span was at least a foot and a half across, and on it's front were two large looking mandibles. Holt shifted in her seat some at the sight of the critter, shuddering a bit. "It is not venemous, though it does have a mean bite. I say to warn your men though because according to colonists it had a tendency to follow people as they moved through the day, keeping to their shadow to stay cool we are assuming. If your men just listen to what I suggested regarding the other arthropods by avoiding touching it, their shouldn't be any issues with it." Alten chuckled a little as he looked at it, "Hell, the colonists actually began to like the things, apprently they are great at getting rid of pests."
"Yay..." Holt said as she shifted a bit more in her seat, "So what's next?" she said, more than ready to get the image off the screen.
"Don't worry, I'll shoot it for you if I see it," Ryker offered, noting her squiriming around in her seat, a grin on his lips.
Holt didn't even look at Ryker as she gave him a soft kick to the shin, keeping her eyes on the display as it changed back to show the spaceport and colony once again. Alten cleared his throat as he usually did, looking at the others before quickly back to the display. "As I'm...sure you are already prepared for, remember that it is very dry and hot out there. So just...prep yourselves for operating in such a climate. That should...well just about cover it." Alten said as he closed down the displays, the lights of the room lighting back up. "Any questions you..have?" Please say no, please. Alten thought to himself as he glanced to the Admiral for a moment before looking back towards the projector for the display, not wanting to actually meet the eyes of the others.
"Thank you, Alten," Arina spoke up before any questions could be asked. For the moment she was more than happy to see that the two groups had behaved themselves for the most part, though she'd figured that the Sentinel-Major wasn't going to be the one to start things. Even so, she'd hardly expected the soldier to be the moody one. Or perhaps he was just like that, she wasn't sure yet.
"Now then, with that information, I'd like to know what team will be in charge of doing what exactly when we get there. In addition to that, the Stella Caelator will stay in orbit as well, at least until the planet has been deemed safe to land, wild life as a given that is. I'm sure I do not have to remind either of you that despite the repreive most of us have been living in , rebels and pirates are still a thing these days and even more so now that space travel has been established.
"In short, you're not just clearing out the local invasion of plants and lizards. There's a possibility that rebels have taken the colony. Perhaps I'm being a bit suspicious in that ideal, but I'm not taking it off the board either," during her speech, Arina had leaned forward and interlaced her fingers as she spoke, leaning on the polished black table, "With that out of the way... Your plans?" once again she offered her smile, though her tone had been all business.
Nash spoke up first, "We are all quite aware of the possibility of pirates or rebels having occupied the colony. It is why I am deploying Petty Officers Holt here to lead a scouting party into the colony, as well as the surronding areas. Petty Officer Vondalir here will support Holt and her team, but they are under strict orders to not engage anybody that they find unless absolutely necessary." Nash glanced at Ryker as he emphasized the last words. He then looked back to the others, specifically the Sentinel-Major. "Once we have an accurate picture of what is there and you have secured the spaceport and it's surronding area, then we can coordinate a possibly cleaning operation for Ko'val."
Argos looked at the Commodore before speaking, "Sounds good to me. Order Sargeant
Arshavir will be leading the assault team to secure the spaceport with our own Mecha support led by Cavalier Eulina." He then looked to Arina and then back to Nash. "We'll keep you both informed to our progress, and will let you know Admiral Xsan," He looked at her, "When it is safe for the Stella Caeltor to land."
Arina couldn't help the giddiness that was bubbling in her stomach and making her want to jump for joy. The meeting couldn't have gone smoother -aside from.. what was his name? The silver haired soldier- Both the Commodore and Sentinel-Major had been rather calm and collected, though it was very obvious to Arina that the Commodore wanted to be in full charge of the plans, giving meaningful looks to nearly everyone at the table. His tone of voice was also filled with the authority that said he wasn't going to be questioned.
She sighed, "Well then, I think that wraps things up very nicely doesn't it? Thank you gentlemen," she said, tilting her head slightly, "It was a pleasure to have you aboard. I will keep in touch. In the meantime, I'm sure you've things that need to be done. If I'm not wrong, it's only two days from now before we arrive? I don't want to keep you any longer from your duties," Arina stood up as she spoke, indicating the end of the meeting.
"Good day to you, Admiral." Nash said as he stood up and immediattly made for the door. He didn't say anything to Argos or his Knights as he walked by, nor did he check to make sure Holt and Ryker were following him. Holt was close behind, however she gave a bit of a warmer smile to the others.
"Thank you, Mr. Ashley. And thanks for having us aboard, Admiral." With that Holt continued on out.
The Sentinel-Major watched them head out of the room before looking towards the Admiral and Alten while standing up. "Yes, thank you, Mr. Ashley." Now looking directly to the Admiral, "Admiral Xsan," He paused and glanced back to make sure Nash and his crew had left before back to the Admiral. "I would not bank on the fact that things are going to remain this smooth. We are simply lucky that Nash and I had different plans that happened to work together." He then gave her a Sentinel salute, placing his hand flat over the Helm of Awe, his plam facing towards it. "Be well, be safe, and know we are standing guard." With that he turned and made his way out of the room.
The moment all the others had left, Alten let out a large sigh of relief, letting his head fall forwards so that his forehead thunked on the table in front of him. "Augh...I'm still not sure why I took this job. I think I like to torture myself or somethin'..." he mumbled the last bit as he glasses slid off of his face and lightly fell on the table as well.
Arina let out a soft sigh of air as the door closed, the intimidating presence of all six of them leaving her body. Falling back into the chair, she allowed herself to slouch a little as she sat there, thinking over what the Sentinel-Major had said. It was true after all, it had worked out simply because the two had different ideas, and somehow a miracle had occured to make them work with one another.
Arina laughed when Alten fell forward, thumping his head against the table. Though the sound had her a little worried as to his well being, it was his words that made her chuckle softly. Moving in the chair, she leaned forward and patted his arm gently, "You did wonderfully. Don't stress about it. I think you think too much," she said and fell back into the comfort of the chair.
"Two more days, Alten... Then we can recolonize Ko'val... And maybe then I'll get some answers to what happened," she said, her mind going off into it's usual musings as she swiveled the chair around to look out the small port window into the darkness of the universe.
When he felt a pat on his arm, he glanced over towards Arina as she spoke. With his glasses on the table though, he wasn't really sure where she ended and the chair began it was such a blur. Lifting his head up, making sure to grab his glasses as he did so, he slipped them back into place as he looked at her. "You are probably right, Admiral Xsan."
He watched her as she spoke before looking out the same port window she had. Two more days and then they'd reach Ko'val, though he was less excited about it than she was. Something was there, bad enough to have driven off an entire colony despite the assitance of the Knight Sentinels, and it sure as hell wasn't the Drakes.
He looked back at Arina, "Admiral...you nervous at all? I know recolonizing it is great and all but..." He paused, his words trailing off as he couldn't figure out the words he wanted to use. "You're not worried about what might have scared off the previous colonists?" he continued after a pause in his words.
For a while, Arina was silent as she gazed at the distant stars that burned white in the black blanket. Was she nervous? A little. Worried? Maybe. In honesty, Arina wasn't sure how she felt about the situation, about what they might find on Ko'val. The rumors and ideals of what had happened ranged from pirates, to rebels, to the Tearrocs, to aliens from another solar system.
What they would find there, Arina couldn't even begin to imagine. She supposed she was hopeful that it was simply rebels that fought off the colony. It made the most sense seeing as the transmission feeds were all scrambled. Then to be driven off into the Torrocus system immdiately after was even more cause for her to believe it was rebels. Take over a valuable planet to the Federation, then destroy the evidence.
"I think that we will find out exactly what happened when we get there, Alten. I'm not entirely sure I'm worried or nervous to be honest with you," she swiveled around in the chair to look at him properly, "But whatever happened, I'm going to find out. Even if it is dangerous. I'm still doing it. No matter what."
He watched her talk, listened to the tone she had. The determination in it, to see to Ko'val's mysteries being solved. As she finished, he looked over to the port window again. "Alright then, Admiral. Wish I could say I was excited to find out as much as you were." He watched the stars for a few more moments before looking back to her. "Just promise me something, Admiral Xsan. Don't forget that the people on this ship are relying on your leadership and guidance to see that they don't end up suffering a similar fate to the previous ones. Don't let your desire to figure out what happened take priority over preventing a similar fate to these folks, ok?"
Arina's gaze grew wide slightly as her lips slackened from the usual smile or contented look she usually wore. It only lasted a moment before her head dropped forward and her curving smile returned, "Of course, Alten. Thank you. I will do everything in my power to keep everyone safe," Arina stood slowly then, a bit of a sigh in her voice as she got up from the chair, stretching her bones and muscles, "After all, it's what I do for a living, talk people out of war and fighting."
As she headed for the door, she ran a hand through her hair, flipping it over her shoulders once again as she continued, "Even so, I believe with you around I'll be able to keep focused on what truly needs my attention. Besides, what is it they say? Two heads are better than one?" She grinned at him as the door opened at her proximity, "Don't be afriad to keep me in line if you need to, Alten. I'll be expecting it," she finished and exited out into the hall to head back to the main bridge of the vessel.
