Episode 10: New Endeavors

My ship approached the King’s Crown slowly. I was asked to join up with Ivanov and the others in celebration of the victory over Starlance. It has been four months since the battle in sector Iota. In all that time we didn’t have a chance to celebrate. Everyone around the system was enthralled by the judicial hearings. Representatives from Sol and Sirius were there. The government of the Sirius System noted the Liberation Front’s efforts to protect some of their assets investigating the Centauri system. They knew there was trouble, but not that it had reached such a magnitude. The people from Sol brushed the conflict off, saying it was bound to happen in such an unregulated system. They proposed to create a central system of government, much like the one in Sirius. The Liberation Front agreed, but only if they had a hand in its creation as well as having representation from all the colonies.

As the politics played out in the background I continued taking missions to keep my mind off of it all. Now back at the King’s Crown it is still painful to admit how my family was involved in all of this. Regardless, I promised myself I would try to enjoy this time among friends. They had become a true family.

“King’s Crown, this is Adrian. Reporting in for docking procedure.”

“Adrian! No need to be so formal. Get your ship landed at the hangar and get to the bridge!”, Ivanov said loudly.

Once at the bridge I was greeted by Mara, James, Crystal, Ivanov and Patricia.

“We have a bit of a surprise for you”, behind Crystal was Dana and Vivian. They had been invited to celebrate with us. I gave them each a hug and stood by their side while the newly reestablished Captain Villanova addressed us.

“Taking down General Greer was no easy feat, but we did it.”, said Patricia.

“I wonder, how long were you planning to use the Eclipse?”, I had been curious since seeing the ship back in action.

“That was Ivanov’s idea actually. We began to feed the nearby colony bits of data and resources to start rebuilding. Since we used most of the internal hull, no big changes could be seen from outside. By the time we were ready to depart, Starlance was already knee deep in battle. The Eclipse’s more powerful reactor was able to energize the dispersion shield more effectively too, so we had the perfect defense against the Starlance Cruisers”

“Is that why the transport carrying the shielding failed?”

“Yes”

“Patricia, I wanted to ask, what happened to Major Caplan?”

“Ah, yes. Poor Vance passed away on the day of the attack against Proxima Centauri One. He was helping others escape when the corridor he was in collapsed. I didn’t even get a chance to thank him for everything he had done. In the end I had to evacuate as well. We found his body during the reconstruction and gave him a proper burial.”

“A terrible story for sure. I’m sure that man was a hero, but today, today we are all heroes.”, declared Ivanov.

Most of the time spent here has been great. I stood aside for a moment and Dana approached me.

“Are you alright Adrian?”

“I’m… not sure how to feel. Our family is a broken mess”

“Don’t think too much about that, Adrian. Despite what happened with dad, I think mom would be proud of what you did.”

“For sure”, I said as Vivian arrived to join us.

“Hey Adrian, will you move to Sirius? There is a lot of work there. If you’re interested.”

“I think I will eventually spend a year or two over there. It will take my mind off of everything, especially Starlance.”

“Well, once you arrive at the system let me know, I can connect you with the mercenary guild.”

“Sounds like a plan. What about you Dana? What will you do?”, I asked, curious as to what my sister planned after all the conflict we had seen.

“Oh you know, keep doing my job of course. It has been a rough time here, but there are a lot of people who still need help and medical attention. I want to be there for them.”

“That’s great, you’d better stay safe.”

“Everything should be fine now”, Captain Villanova joined us as well. “Starlance High Command and the new government are working to maintain peace. Everyone should feel safe, especially in the colonies.”

The celebration continued through the hours. We reminisced on the battles and the friendship we developed. Despite the hardship, Starlance was the central thing that brought us together. Hopefully the organization will do better in the future. High command was adamant in creating a new set of rules to keep the force in line with its mission to protect.

As for me, I go out again, back to my base. Once there I take a moment to relax, write down a log entry and lie down in bed. A small window shows me the splendor of space. “I have to move all this to Sirius”, I thought. So, I started making a list of items. The celebration had taken its toll though, and not long after starting said list I fell asleep.