Therazan was barely out of the commissary when someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was the pilot from the commissary.
“Hi I just wanted to say, I hope Raddy didn’t come on too strong,” he said, “he can be a little much at times, but he’s really not a bad guy.”
“Its nice of you to defend your friend but you should let him know that he should not be sending you to talk to me on his behalf,” said Therazan, “I’ve read his file. There is no way I’m sleeping with him.”
“I didn’t come out here for him. Its just I thought I… when we were in the commissary… My name is Zemwell. Pilot Zemwell Tickbird, I’m on prime squad. Some people just call me Zem.”
“I’m Therazan Sajan the head of the ships security force. You can call me Thera.”
Zem and Thera got to talking. They found they liked each other. And before long they were looking for a place to be alone with each other.
“Did you see her breasts?” said Junitha, “I mean Sajan’s. They were huge. I bet they’re perfect.”
Janessa did not want to admit that the same thought had crossed her mind.
“Are you really going to take that little bit of salad back to your quarters for later?” asked Junitha.
“I don’t like to waste food,” said Janessa.
“It wouldn’t get wasted. As I understand it everything on this ship is biodegradable, from the clothes we get to the packing food comes in. It can all be broken down and recycled. And all of it is recycled. This ship was made to be an enclosed self sustaining system.”
Janessa went back to her room and put on her dress uniform for the evening ceremony. It fit perfectly although the skirt felt just a little too short. When she came out Junitha was waiting. She was dressed the same as before only she had changed her shirt. The new t-shirt she was wearing was black with the words ‘whose responsible this’ written on it.
“Before you say anything, no I am not wearing my dress uniform. I don’t wear skirts. Now come on lets go listen to a long winded speech.”
It was dark in the command and control center of the Daedlus. The lights were being turned on and off all over the ship as the final power checks were being made before the launch.
Duron Ardiniero stood alone in the dark. He had large muscular shoulders and arms that he had developed doing gymnastics. His dark brown hair ended just above those shoulders. In the dark he called out.
“I know you are there. I know you are watching. They told me about you.”
No one answered his call. Then Duron saw something move in the dark. There was something standing on the lower floor of the command center that had not been standing there a moment ago. It was shaped like a man but in the dark Duron could not be sure of the details.
“So it is true. You… You are real.”
The thing standing in the dark did not answer.
“Kerrigan does not trust you. But that is because he can not control you. He does not like it when he does not have control. I do not know what your motivation is. I only know that all of this, this ship, this chance, it is all because of you. So I want you to know. If you need my cooperation, you have it.”
The thing in the dark still said nothing and did nothing. The lights blinked back on and the shape that had been standing there was gone. Duron Ardiniero stood alone in the light. Or so he thought. In truth he was not alone. He had never been alone. But the thing standing there did not want to be seen, therefore it could not be. Duron saw the time and headed to the ships auditorium for Kerrigan’s speech and the launch ceremony. Duron did not know it but he was followed the whole way.
Vanz Kerrigan had a full head of big thick golden blonde hair. He liked to wear white. He often wore a white cape and the way he smiled he almost looked like a comic book superhero. He was the CEO of the Solar Fleet and its most public face. He was given credit for the existence of the starship Daedlus and the selection of its crew.
The Daedlus had an auditorium that now held all of its pilot squadrons as well as the command and intelligence officers. The ship staff worked away as the ship got ready to launch from the station it was docked at and the security force made a final sweep of the ship.
Janessa and the rest of prime squad were in the front rows with the command and control center staff. Kerrigan took his time walking up to the podium on the stage. When he got there Janessa noticed Anyantha Whitecross standing off stage just out of sight. Kerrigan took his time to make sure all eyes were on him. There was a short portly bearded man remote controlling a round floating camera. He nodded to indicate that the shot was good and Kerrigan began his speech.
“Humanity long dreamed of going to the stars. We dreamed of seeing worlds beyond our own. We dreamed of what we would find there. In the Twentieth century we took our first steps beyond our own planet. We sent the first men into space and landed on the moon. A century later we explored Mars. But it was not until this century that we truly took our greatest leaps into the cosmos.
“The Earth was becoming overcrowded. We were drowning in pollution and crime. We needed a miracle. And we found it when the breakthroughs in space travel and construction were made. We built great space stations, cities that floated above the Earth. We began living upon the surface of the Moon and Mars. Then we moved out further to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Soon all of the nine planets of the Solar System and their moons had some form of human civilization on them.
“We had reached out into the darkness of space and grasped hold of it. It was not a place to fear, but a place to be claimed. And soon we were able to move beyond our Solar System to new worlds. We knew there was a chance we would find life different from out own out there. What we found was the Spectral Horde.
“They attacked us without reason, without mercy. To this day we can only imagine what inspires their endless hate for us. All we know for sure is what we have done to survive as they slowly began to circle the Earth like vultures picking off our outposts one by one, destroying a century of progress.
“Genetic modification was a largely cosmetic practice before the war began. But it soon proved to be our salvation. You are the end result of two generations of gene mod programs that have allowed us to build a better humanity for a better tomorrow. You were born to win this war. And now you have the tools you need to do it. Thanks to the brilliant scientists of the Solar Fleet you now have the starship Daedlus.
“This warship is the end result of over twenty years of research and development. The hopes and dreams of the human race are with all of us. We shall go forth and grasp victory. We shall purchase another dawn for the world. A world of one humanity united.”
Many people cheered and clapped. Janessa clapped with everyone else but she did not stand up like many others, she stayed in her seat and waited for it to be over.
The Daedlus launched from the Le Fluer space station without any problems. By morning it would reach the Moon.
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