Yukiinu Mika smiled brightly as she felt the small inter-system craft’s shudder die down once it broke the atmosphere of Edo. She could count on one paw how many times she had done that. For all her training and education and the fact that mother was actually an off-worlder leaving her planet of birth had never really come up that often. Oh she had taken sub-orbs all the time, especially now with her responsibilities as an engineering member of Kirishimi on top of those she had as the Crown Princess and Lady of Takashiri. However Sub-orbs where just that, sub-orbital, they never actually left the atmosphere in their hyper-sonic jaunts and as the deep violet of the upper atmosphere gave way to the crystal sharp blackness of the vacuum she gave a broad smile of excitement as she looked out the small window set in the side of the craft they where on.
Mika then looked back over her shoulder at Isumi and tried very, very hard not to let out a rather undignified giggle as she watched her watchdog pear about the cabin nervously, tail twitching in anxiety. The vixen had been expressing her reservations for the coming trip since they had taken a sub-orb back to Takashiri Prefecture for Mika to prepare for the voyage. One of the reason Mika’s experience in space travel had been limited to a grand total of four occasions before this was Isumi and her protective detail just where flat against the idea of the Crown Princess do something so foolish as to have a few centimeters of composites, cera-alloy and transperamics between her and a condition that would kill her in a few moments just by being exposed to it. She had always wondered how they’d been able to do it, Isumi described her as being adventurous and she thought with an inner blush she was probably right. She didn’t go looking for danger, but she just simply liked to try new things. She had no doubt that her lack of time in space had everything to do with her protection detail, and it somewhat irked her that they could limited her life in such a way but she could never be angry at them they had a job, and as much as she wished she wasn’t at times, she was the Crown Princess, not her twin sister Misa, or her brother Karl.
So instead she took a little guilty enjoyment from her principle protector’s unease. “Oh calm down Isumi, this is a Navy vessel, if they don’t have the best equipment, something is quite wrong,” she said in her soft soprano. “And we have a Navy pilot.”
Isumi just looked at her. “There are only a few centimeters between you My Lady, and something that will kill you in moments,” she announced and Mika had to try very, very hard to keep from giggling in glee at her protector’s near identical use of thoughts she had rolling in her own head. “And this hair brained idea of sending you into hyperlight…”
Mika frowned. “Isumi, travel through hyperlight is safe, it’s been centuries since someone died through an accident in hyperlight…”
“And then there is the fact that we’re doing all this in the middle of a war!” Isumi rode over her as she was want to do with things like this. “When we do get to Corbin you are staying put till we can get a whole task force formed about you to return you!”
Mika did sigh then, she had actually been hoping to see a little of the Union, actually she admitted she had wanted to see one world in particular. Commander McLoude fascinated her she admitted and she had wanted to see a little of the world that had influenced him so. “I was hoping to visit Hardin,” she said softly, she had hoped softly enough but the way Isumi gave her a look she knew she hadn’t.
Lucky for her however a soft beep issued from the cockpit. “My Lady,” the voice of Lieutenant Commander Kevin Yancy announced from the cockpit. Apparently not only a gunnery officer, Lieutenant Commander Yancy was also a qualified small craft pilot and had decided that the captain’s gig was his personal plaything aboard Mutsu, which had probably upset a few of the junior ranks that would normally been its pilot. He had not muscled his way into any of the other small craft slots, just the gig, and Mika wondered if that was because the design the ENF had chosen for their gigs was one his own mother had a paw in designing. “We are approaching the Mutsu, and have been given permission to land, if you’d like to come up here and take a look…”
Mika smiled and eagerly undid her crash restraints and moved forward, all while Isumi shuffled to follow her as quickly as she could, shooting a rather nasty look at the shiba-inu sitting at the pilot’s crash webbing for encouraging her charge to put even less of the tiny vessel between her and certain death. The shiba-inu only gave Isumi a quizzical if respectful look as Mika craned her neck to see.
“Off to our starboard quarter, um, right side M’Lady,” he said smiling and pointed to the flashing running lights ahead.
“I can barely make it out.”
“Yes M’Lady, give it a few moments, we’re still quite far away from her, in atmospheric terms,” he didn’t say that they where nearly in tossing range when it came to space terms.
Mika nodded and watched as the shape resolved itself. EWS Mutsu sat at rest, her running lights blinking in what seemed like a pattern to her. She didn’t know it was one that her commanding officer had had his crews program. Michael had known she wouldn’t know, but it was but Kevin smirked as he recognized the traditional welcome aboard signal for a dignitary used by the Union Navy.
Mika’s own impression was the slate-gray painted ship looked so very powerful. Her four turrets each held three massive guns, she had known through her reading that the Ikazuchi-class destroyers only had two guns in easy of their turrets, and that theirs where much smaller. Running amidships where additions that she knew held missiles, something normally vessels of this size did not carry. The captain’s gig floated up alongside the upper command tower and Mika smiled at the emblem proudly painted on the ship’s tower, the crossed katana over a red sunburst displayed on a white background the ENF used as its pennant. If anyone had missed the elegant golden Kanji script on her upswept prow that proclaimed her name proudly to the universe, this would have been unmistakable to deny that she was a ship of Edo.
“What do you think M’Lady?” Lieutenant Commander Yancy asked with a smile as he completed the visual inspection tour and turned back for the Mutsu’s small craft dock.
“Powerful,” she murmured looking at Lieuteant Commander Yancy, there was quite a bit of unabashed pride on that muzzle. She was not navy, hoped she would never have to do any violence in her life, but still the sheer power this vessel seemed to project…
“Yes she is ma’am, all of us who came aboard her from the Boone where surprised just how powerful she is, she’s tougher than a Hermes we suspect,” that got Isumi to blink and the shiba-inu chuckled. “She’s our ship Ma’am, we’re very proud of her, even if we’re not native Edoans.” The canine looked at Mika. “In fact, the Ski…er Commander McLoude has been in heaven since he took command, we’re glad of it, it’s been keeping his mind off The Forty-Four.”
“Forty-Four?”
“Yes ma’am,” the Hardinite said soberly, “the forty-four crew mates that didn’t make it off the Boone ma’am.”
She blinked, she hadn’t realized that there where some members of the Union crew that hadn’t survived. “Commander McLoude… he’s been having problems?”
“Well M’Lady Commander McLoude feels responsible for them, I’d worry about his thoughts on the crews under him if he didn’t and if one thing Michael er.. Commander McLoude looks after his people, even as young as we are. We’ve been friends since our Academy days,” he gave a small smile. “Actually I was his roommate, for us ‘Unies’,” he smirked as she blinked at him using that nickname, she had never heard anyone of Union descent use it, “that’s a friendship that can last throughout your service and beyond. It’s usually the tightest friendship you develop in the Union Navy M’Lady, if you’re an officer. Also the fact that we were both Hardinites didn’t hurt; I’ve heard some people say we form some very… fierce friendships.”
“You don’t resent him being a higher rank?” Isumi asked quirking her eyebrow.
“Ma’am if there is one thing you learn at the Academy, sometimes, your buddies are going to be the ones put over you, or you over them. They pound it into our skulls rather regularly, to prevent the friendships that form at the Academy from influencing command decisions. I think it’s actually an official part of the curriculum, but, no ones ever said anything in the open about it.
“Anyways, Commander McLoude takes after his father a lot, and he’s had good teachers, his father, Commodore Banswith when we were both gunnery crew officers aboard the Ark Royal. Oh you should have seen the worry on the Commander’s muzzle when he learned he was going to be assigned to the AR ma’am when we finished our midshipman’s cruise. You see Commodore Banswith and Commander McLoude’s father where roommates at the Academy, in fact, the Commander’s father introduced the Commodore to his wife!” he chuckled remembering hearing how near hysterical his friend had been. “He had been so worried that people would see anything as favoritism towards his best friend’s son that the Commander nearly went crazy!”
Mika blinked realizing she was getting a ‘briefing’ as Isumi would have called it on a bit of Michael McLoude’s personal life as Lieutenant Commander Yancy continued. “Well, Michael… er Commander McLoude,” he flushed again at that but still he continued, “didn’t have anything to worry about, he was treated just like any other officer aboard ship. I think he actually got pushed a little harder than the rest of us did, and he really took to it.” Lieutenant Commander Yancy shrugged. “Anyways don’t worry about Commander McLoude, like I said he’s had good teachers and he’s got the Bos…..er Lieutenant Commander Karlin to keep an eye on him as well,” and he didn’t mention six very protective Hardinite females that just happened to be his senior Petty Officers aboard ship. One thing about Hardinites, they tended to look after their own. He hadn’t mentioned the ‘suggestions’ they had all made about Sally when they heard about that dinner with Lord Yukiinu he thought ruefully but put his own personal life on the back burner as the small craft dock lit up. He had a job to do after all.
“Now M’Lady, pardon if I don’t speak for a few moments, but, this requires my full attention….
***
Michael stood at the safety zone painted on the deck of Mutsu’s small craft dock as he watched the gig maneuver smartly into its marked landing zone. He had to admit he thought with a smile, Kevin was the best small craft pilot he knew of, and he took quite a bit of pride in it and the gig, which had yet to receive its name from the crew yet as Michael had found was the tradition among the ENF came to a rest. He waited for the gang-stair to unfold automatically from the deck and then nodded almost imperceptibly to Daniel Karlin who keyed a small caller unit and instead of one of the ratings in the dock announcing into the Comm system announcing the person of arrival, the music of the Edoan national anthem issued forth and everyone in the dock snapped to rigid parade ground attention. The Crown Princess was very much caught off guard by the pomp that she was being given and Michael had to suppress a grin. She recovered quickly though and descended the gang stair gracefully with her body guard, followed by Kevin who looked a bit lost still with no colors painted on the fore bulkhead to salute, Edoans did not hold that custom after all. Michael put that out of his mind though as he concentrated on his duty ahead. He had to get through the damned salute after all…
There was nothing really wrong with the way Edoans saluted. Not really, but Michael had been born an officer of the tradition of the Union of Allied Worlds Navy. That meant that when one saluted, one’s palm was forward to the recipient of the salute. Edoans saluted with palm down. He had spent a good hour in front of the mirror in his quarters just to work out the instinct and muscle memory that had worked into the action, and he still wasn’t sure if he had fully gotten rid of it as the Crown Princess approached.
Luckily for him his hard drilled practice paid off as his paw came up in a proper Edoan salute. “Welcome aboard My Lady,” he said crisply with a small smile as he heard the officers behind him come to attention as well and salute.
Mika smiled and nodded. “Thank you for the welcome though I admit I was not expecting an anthem when I arrived.”
Michael smiled, he had admit it was a bit over what was required of his crew but the Edoans among the compliment of the Mutsu had wanted to turn out all the stops for their beloved Crown Princess. Michael wondered if she realized just how she was viewed by her fellow Edoans. Apparently she was rather shy and avoid all but the most important of public settings from what his Edoan crew had told him. Lucky for her she hadn’t grown up with the scandal-vids some Terran worlds had; the Edoan press was mercifully tame compared to some in the Union and the League. In fact, they seemed to rather respect the fact that the Crown Princess didn’t want to be in the limelight, and instead wanted to do her jobs properly.
He however put those thoughts out of his mind as he turned and introduced his officers to her. Each one saluted her smartly and the Edoans offered deep bows as well as was their custom, which she blushed horribly red over. Michael smiled and dismissed his senior officers with the last introduction and turned back to the Crown Princess. “If you would follow me My Lady, I’ll escort you to your quarters.”
Of coarse it wasn’t that simple, Isumi was more relaxed about there being a lot more vessel around Mika than there had been, but she was still her watchdog and insisted on entering, checking the lift and leaving, prowling the corridors several meters ahead before allowing the ship’s commanding officer even to go anywhere with her. It was enough to cause the tiny malamute to roll her eyes in resigned frustration. However, it also at least let her memorize the corridors from the dock bay to, well, wherever she was now. She estimated they where about the middle point, what she had heard Navy people call ‘amidships.’ Unfortunately her carefully cultivated memory failed her as she realized that, she thought she would barely able to get from one point to the other, and no where else on the ship!
That was pushed out of her mind though as Commander McLoude reached a hatch and typed in a code at its key panel causing the hatch to slide back. He smiled ad watched as Isumi went first looking about before she allowed Mika in.
Mika was not exactly sure what she had expected but it had not been this. While the rooms where not near as large as her apartments in Edo City, or even her home in Takashiri Prefecture, they where still spacious, something that she had thought ships, especially ships the size of Mutsu would have held at premium. The receiving room was large enough for a desk and chair, couch and a soft padded recliner all without seeming cramped and while there were no decorations, the bulkhead across from the hatch was a large transperiramic view port giving a breathtaking view of her homeworld below.
“I hope the quarters are satisfactory My Lady,” Michael said with his courteous tones as Mika stepped up to watch the cloud patterns swirl below. In fact, they where just above Takashiri Prefecture, she could see Takashiri City, tiny compared to Edo City but it was her home as much as Edo City was. There was also the nature preserves she loved so much.
“They’re much larger than I expected,” she admitted looking upon her homeworld from orbit.
“They’re flag quarters My Lady. Mutsu and her sisters are intended to be the flagships of destroyer squadrons as well as operate independently. They where not in use and since we technically have no ‘VIP’ quarters they seemed the best to place you in.”
Isumi eyed the view port nervously for a few moments then directly turned to Michael. “Are their any quarters deeper in the ship?”
“Isumi!”
The vixen rode right over the protests of her charge though. “Someplace away from such a vulnerable spot in the hull, I mean it Commander McLoude, this is far too exposed for her.”
Michael simply blinked. That’s three feet of trasmperiamics ma’am,” he said respectfully. “Nothing short of a directed energy shot is going to make it through that.”
“You are not convincing me Commander.
Michael blinked but simply shrugged and brought his wrist up so he could use the caller he wore. “Bridge, this is the Captain.”
“Go ahead Captain,” Sally’s gentle voice announced, she had the bridge for this watch.
“Could you bring the Flag Quarters to general quarters status Sally? As a demonstration for Miss Yokina.”
“Aye aye sir, bringing Flag to general quarters,” and with that announcement the soft hmm of servos transferred into the hull through the view port as a armor plate moved swiftly down over the breathtaking view, removing the quarters from the outside world.
“All quarters that are along the hull of the ship have this feature Miss Yokina, that plate is now an integrated part of the ship’s cera-alloy armor band. Including the protection offered by the transparamics, it is about as safe as you can become on this ship, short of being at a battle station.
Mika chose that moment to override Isumi herself before she suggested that her quarters be made at a battle station. “This is more than satisfactory Commander McLoude,” she said in her soft soprano and she gave him her best smile before shooting a look at Isumi who if anything, looked like she was going to sulk.
Michael smiled and gave a small bow to her, not like the ones the Edoans had, but one of a properly raised Hardinite to a female. “Yes ma’am,” he had purposefully made a point not to look directly into her eyes, he still hadn’t figured out what it was about them but they well, he got lost there… “We are breaking orbit within the hour and will go to hyperlight in two. May I extend an invitation to dine with my officers and me tonight in the wardroom?”
Mika smiled and nodded. “I would be delight, I also suspect you have other duties to attend to, it will also allow me to unpack a bit.”
“Yes My Lady,” he said with another one of those small bows and turned to leave, giving Mika the privacy of her rooms to consider her big ‘adventure’ away from home. That and have a word with Isumi about the proper time to arrange arguments…