My brief story!

Admiral Jenson Dax relaxed into the flight from the Cruise Liner Concordia and settled in to wait for the transfer at Space Port Tighto to the Imperial Naval shuttle to take him to the HMSS Prince William.

After five minutes reviewing the action reports again he knew all the details by heart and would happily have regaled any of the shuttle crew with all the sordid details, had they the clearance or interest in them in the first place, so instead he sat on his impatience and thought instead of the Officer he was to serve with, to guide to a better understanding of the nuances of flanking manoeuvres and taking down the enemy.

Dax was just about warming to his new line of thought when he felt a tug in the fabric of the shuttle, as he looked round there were placating gestures from the cabin crew as the cabin chief moved forward to see why all forward motion appeared to have ceased. Just as he was about to use the intercom to speak to the pilot, co-pilot, navigator or engineer on the sealed flight deck, the shuttle co-pilot burst through the doorway.

“Sir, all the coms gear has shut down and we have been caught by some sort of tether by a larger vessel, I have absolutely no idea what is going on but it looks like they intend to board!” the co-pilot said.

“Stations everyone, prepare to repel boarders!” the Pilots calm voice came over the intercom.

“Hold that,” said Dax, “that is a large warship with a full compliment of well armed and trained Marines, any resistance would be futile. As soon as the outside pressure has stabilised chief open the hatch and signal our readiness to surrender.”

“Sir!” Saluted the cabin chief and stood by the cabin hatch ready to open the doors.

**

Stewards Assistant, Imperial Naval Reserve Rachel Devon pelted down the corridors to the exit of the Admiralty building where her best friend Cathie Smith was waiting by the AG Car. Not in her wildest dreams had she though that Sam's hero and commanding officer might ask her out on a date, she had all but given up hope that he would notice her when he and Sam were going out with the rest of the bridge crew and now! Rachel wanted to squeal with excitement again, however, the stern looks a Junior grade officer had given her as she had walked away from David only just stopped her from doing so again.

As she rounded the last corner she spotted the security station to exit the Admiralty buildings and Steve Casement was checking bags and credentials, Rachel slowed to a brisk walk and eventuially stopped in front of Steve grinning from ear to ear.

“Well someone looks like the Pterabird who got the milk!” Seve commented, “Whats gotten you all so fired up happy today?”

“David Ortega asked me out on a Date!” Rachel said smugly.

“Well I'll be damned, you finally actually managed to get him to do it.” Steve marvelled, “How'd you do it, no actually don't tell me now, I'll get the full story when I meet you and Cathie for drinks later!”

Rachel got her clearance from Steve to leave and positively floated to the waiting AG Car.

**

Lieutenant James was standing at the back of the CnC command central main briefing room, as he had expected as he had walked up here following the explosion the Faeces had really hit the rotary impeller device, Prelate Jonkover had stormed into the Briefing Room just as Commodore Justin had been about to tear a third Anus for him, demanding to know what had happened and had continued pontificating from there.

“..and if CnC Section Seventeen had not been so abundantly lax..” James tuned out again as the old Fart appeared to be winding himself up for a further run at the most annoying nasal spouting James had ever heard. Jonkover appeared to have forgotten James was even there.

A small commotion behind the closed hatch caught James attention, raised voices and a heated argument were seeping through the hatch seams. James glanced at Commodore Justin who nodded for James to see what the commotion was all about.

Just as James was about to press the hatch admittance key to open the door it slid aside and Specialist First Class Sally Underwood stepped through the door, shouting back into the outer office.

“.. and you fuck-wits can explain to Lord Jonkover the reason for the delays in getting this information through the chain of command.” Sally was screaming, “Yeah and fuck you too!” she yelled to a mumbled reply from the Commodores secretary.

As Sally Underwood turned back to the office she was stunned to see Jonkover was already in the Briefing Room with Commodore Justin and Lieutenant James and all were looking at her with stunned expressions on their faces.

“The shit in all the hells take me” Sally mumbled as she tried desperately to hide her embarrassment at her tirade to the outer office.

“Specialist,” Jonkover queried, “What information?”

Sally braced to her best parade attention and tried to breathe as normally as she could, as her heart pounded out of her chest.

“Sir, as per Lieutenant James instructions I have reviewed the data in the moments prior to the explosion and can find no circumstances that would lead to the events that allegedly destroyed shuttle Oh Oh One!”

“That is for a Board of Enquiry.” Jonkover started to say in his most pontificating voice, however, Commodore Justin interrupted the Prelates tirade sending him almost puce.

“Excuse me Lord Jonkover, Specialist you said Allegedly destroyed shuttle Oh Oh One?”

Sally looked a little sheepish as she continued. “Yes Sir, if I may use your terminal.”

When the Commodore motioned Sally to the terminal she quickly brought up visual displays from the moments prior to the explosion.

“What we have here Sir was pulled by Scanner Technician Zeal, starting from ten seconds prior to the explosion and shown at thirty percent of normal speeds.”

With that Sally pressed a button on the console and the whole event played itself out up to the moment of the explosion where Sally paused the playback.

“Here Sir's” she began in her best Training Room voice, “Is a still of the moment of the explosion taken from lateral array forty positive, in the lower right hand side of the screen you can see the reflected light from a large Cruiser or Small Battleship size vessel that has been made using emissions absorbing materials. However, lateral arrays forty positive and ten negative, and LP17 and LP18 got good visual readouts on the intense reflected light from the explosion.” Sally paused to check she had the room, “once I had learned this I had Section Seventeen' Comms Techs look at the transmission from Shuttle Oh Oh One again. Sirs, whilst the encryption codes were correct there were data packet transmission errors one would not see at such a short coms range, in short and I believe a Board Of Enquiry would support this, I believe the communications from Shuttle Oh Oh One were bogus.” Sally stopped short with a look of pure terror on her face.

“Your sure of this Specialist?” Jonkover asked.

“My team is the best Sir,” James heard himself say. “If Sally says it was Fake, then it was Fake!”

Commodore Justin cleared her throat and pressed the intercom to her secretary, “Davis can you connect me to Admiral Sanguine please”

After a short pause Admiral Sanguine' face appeared on the main view screen.

Noting Jonkovers presence Admiral Sanguine chose her words carefully, “Commodore, what can I do for you?” she asked.

“Steph, what large assets do we have in the area?”

“Nothing larger than a Cruiser flotilla, why?”

“It has come to my attention that the destruction of Shuttle Oh Oh One may have been a fake and Admiral Dax may have been snatched by a foreign power!” Replied Justin.

Admiral Sanguine sat thinking for a moment and then looked in to the pick-up with dead steel in her eyes. “Commodore, Captain Ortega has just taken command of the HMSS Prince William, although she has not completed her shake down cruise as yet, Captain Ortega, the Prince William and her flotilla are at your disposal.”

“Thank you Steph.”

“Your welcome Riz, go get em!”

“Have the unknowns left the area?” the Commodore asked Sally.

“No Sir, as I entered the office I sent a query through the net, there have been no unscheduled Impulse, or Hyperspace waves.”

“Right then,” the Commodore stood, “Lord Jonkover I think you need to report this to the Emperor, James, Underwood, I want you on the first shuttle chasing down Captain Ortega and finding these bastards Ay-SAP”..

**