Major Thorsten Waap disembarked from the RNC Stahlauge with a sigh. The past ten weeks had been stressful, as the newest addition to the mighty Rheinland fleet was put through her paces. This was the first proper shore leave he had taken in the last eighteen months, and he was determined to enjoy it. So much so that he had booked himself into one of the top resorts on Planet Baden Baden for a fortnights R&R.
The liner he boarded on Planet Hamburg was insanely luxurious. Each thickly padded, leather covered, reclining seat was encased within a small cubicle of finest Stuttgart teak, polished to a lustrous golden sheen. The finest Bretonian scotch was served in delicate, hand carved crystal. Wines newly smuggled into Rheinland from Gallia were surreptitiously served to military officers and politicians alike. Wondrous foods from all across Sirius were constantly available from a buffet with stretched a full 30 feet in length. And the hostesses, he had never seen the like. Stunning, young, nubile ladies all, dressed in skin-tight clothing that showed every bump and curve of their bodies. He was, he decided, already in heaven, and settled back into his seat to enjoy the ride.
The trip to Baden Baden was leisurely and untroubled. When they arrived he was so drunk he had to be taken to his lodge on a trailer. He awoke several hours later upon silk sheets. I didn’t occur to him to think about who might have undressed him and got him into the bed. He didn’t care one jot. As he rose from the bed he was confronted by a glittering panoramic view across the most beautiful bay he’d ever seen. This was, he knew, just what he needed.
Alerted by a soft knock, he donned the cotton robe at the foot of the bed, and headed for the front door to the lodge. He paused, checking that the robe was fastened, and gently opened the door. Standing there smiling was a woman of exquisite beauty.
“Major Waap?” she queried, her voice instantly sparking an excitement deep within him.
“Yes Fraulein?” he responded, eyes travelling up and down her frame, as subtle scents teased his nostrils. He opened the door fully. “What can I d…………..”
He had no opportunity to finish the sentence. Her arm snapped forward with terrifying speed, and her fist slammed into his throat. As he choked and staggered backwards she followed him into the lodge. He stumbled, falling to the floor, his head smacking onto the slate floor. Stunned, he watched, terrified as she stepped close, straddling him. She bent close, a syringe in her hand, which she stabbed gently into his neck. The pain and panic receded, leaving a warm, comfortable sensation in its place. He smiled benignly at the new figure that crouched down next to him. The eyes of the figure glowed an opalescent purple hue, yet he continued smiling, lost in the colour. Even as creeping, grasping tendrils touched his lips, he remained unaware and uncaring.
The nomad slid quietly and untroubled into its new host.
Thorsten Waap struggled to hold onto his sense of self. He fought, and fought hard, against the presence that battered at his psyche. He was an officer of the Rheinwehr, and he would never willingly give in, but he understood now what it was to face overwhelming odds. The presence was unimaginably strong. He could feel his will seeping away, and it would be so much easier to just give in and cease to be. He was sure days had passed, but in reality it was only ten minutes since the woman had assaulted him. Within half an hour the last remnants of what had been Major Thorsten Waap had dispersed. At that moment he sat up.
**Success……..Host(new)satisfactory………risk(minimal)…….plans(proceed)faultlessly**
He kept a low profile for the next ten days, venturing out only when hunger dictated. He knew his mission was unlikely to succeed, but its necessity was paramount. Incursions into the home system by the human plague were becoming more frequent and vicious, and something was needed to stem the flow. That something had been identified as the RNC-Stahlauge.
The return trip to Hamburg was uneventful. The Wilde avoided interaction with the humans as best it could, clumsily deflecting any interest. It was frustrated. The switch to a new host was always unsettling, and it took time to gain the kind of control needed to pass as an officer of the Rheinwehr. It spent its time gradually regaining the kind control it had enjoyed over its pervious host. Memories directly related to the host's military life were dissected in minute detail. Affectations, demeanour and accent carefully studied. By the time the liner docked at Planet Hamburg, it felt confident in its disguise.
Major Waap boarded the Stahlauge the same day. His second in command welcomed him aboard
'Good to have you back, mein Kapitan! Our orders await you in your ready room, sir.' He snapped to attention, saluting crisply, a smile just touching the edges of his lips.
Waap searched his memories. He knew he'd made a mistake already. Despite all the time spent ensuring his actions would be believable, insufficient attention had been paid to the humans he interacted with on board his command. He returned the salute, as he retrieved the name of the officer.
'It is good to be back, '¦'¦Kurt. Gather the men. I will address them at 1400 hours.'
Hauptmann Kurt Vogel turned on his heel and headed along one of the corridors. Waap headed directly for the ready room, and the orders that awaited.
Waap nodded, relieved. The orders were exactly as had been described in the information passed on by their operative. The Stahlauge was to head for Omega space, primarily to gain operational testing, but also to counter the Hessian threat that bore down upon the mining fields of Omega-7. He checked the time, and then headed for the briefing room, where his command crew awaited him.
Entering the room, he surveyed the assembled men exactly as he knew he was expected to do. He paused slightly as his eyes passed first Kurt Vogel, and then on Leutnant Jan Frisk. Friends of his. A slight nod of the head to each of them satisfied social convention. Waap knew that these two would prove difficult. The concept of friendship sat uneasily - foreign. These two humans, more than any others, posed the primary threat to the mission's success. Something would have to be devised to remove them from the equation.
'Gentlemen, I shall keep this brief. We have our orders. We are to proceed directly for the Omegas for operational testing. We depart at 1100 hours tomorrow. With that in mind, I am cancelling shore leave for all personnel. Until that time, I will leave preparations in your capable hands. That is all.'
He stood, saluted the assembled officers, and left the room, heading directly back to his quarters.
Two hours later he called Vogel and Frisk to his ready room. They saluted smartly as they entered, then relaxed and draped themselves across two of the chairs, smiling at Waap. Waap kept his face stern, desperate to keep any sign of the anxiety he felt hidden.
'Kurt, Jan, forgive my forthrightness, but there is something I must ask of you, both as officers of the Rheinwehr, and as personal friends of mine.' He paused for breath, relieved to see their immediate attention. 'I have been given reason to believe that the Stahlauge is the target for an imminent Wilde attack. Information recently delivered to me by the Marinenachrichtendienst suggests the attack will take place in Stuttgart as we traverse the trade lane from Freiburg to Ulm Border Station.'
Waap pushed a pile of forged documentation towards the two men. He sipped a glass of water, watching the two humans in front of him while they read through the paperwork before them. Kurt Vogel was the first to speak.
'What do you need of us, mein Kapitan? You know already you have our unwavering loyalty.' Vogel's words were confirmed by a single nod from Frisk. Greatly relieved at their reactions, Waap continued.
'I need you both to travel there ahead of us. Take your Wraiths and get to the Karlsruhe. Once there seek out Major Jeske Vardogr. He will be able to assist you in preparing an ambush, should the Wilde indeed attempt to attack us. It is imperative you tell no-one aboard the Stahlauge of where you go. Our security may be breached, and we cannot allow ourselves to be compromised. Will you do this for your Kanzler? Will you do this for me?'
The two men looked at each other briefly, while Wapp studied them intently, trying to hear their body language, as the humans called it. Four years of close involvement with them and still it was a mystery that continued to evade comprehension. As the two humans turned their faces towards him, Waap was aware of his left foot tapping relentlessly on the floor. Suddenly he understood what had missed for so long. His foot became still, and he smiled at the humans opposite him.
'We will do as you ask, mein Kapitan.' came the response from Kurt Vogel. 'You can rely on us. It is an honour to serve under you, and to call you friend.'
Waap stood and extended his right hand towards the two men. 'The honour is mine.' he said, as he shook their hands. 'The risk you take will never be forgotten.'
Vogel and Frisk departed two hours later, ostensibly heading for Planet Stuttgart to prepare for the arrival of the Stahlauge.
By the time the Stahlauge departed the next day, they had jumped to the Stuttgart system and were attempting to contact the Battleship Karlsruhe to confirm docking rights. All their attempts failed.
'Jan, are you able to raise the Karlsruhe?' Vogel asked
'No. I'm just getting static. Does something here feel wrong to you too, Kurt?'
'Ja, it does indeed. Come on, let's head for the Karlsruhe. We might be able to find out what's going on.'
'Agreed. Engaging trade lane sequence now.'
The two vessels docked with the trade lane and rapidly accelerated. As they travelled the lane heading for Planet Stuttgart, they received a broken transmission.
''¦.yday! Mayday! This '¦'¦.'¦..ke Vardogr. I am und'¦'¦...tack! Sector delta 5 7, within the Ostne'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦..tiple vess'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦..gines heavily damaged. Mayday!'
'Jan, are you getting this transmission?'
'I am, Kurt. Do you think that's who we're meant to be coming to meet?'
'Damn! It's convenient that it occurs now, don't you think, considering we're unable to reach the Karlsruhe. Break from the lane, Jan, we have to investigate this. Drop a location beacon with our vector though, just in case.'
The two Wraiths fell out of the lane sequence, and a beacon dropped. Turning towards the Ostnebel, they entered the location co-ordinates and engaged their cruise engines. Before long the clouds of the Ostnebel enveloped them, and their scanning arrays struggled to penetrate more than two clicks ahead.
'Kurt, I've got a really bad feeling about this.'
'You still dropping those beacons, Jan? I want a fast way out of this if things get nasty.'
'Dropping them every eight clicks, Kurt. If we need to run, we've got a signpost showing the way. Trouble is they've only got a range of about five clicks in this soup.'
Some way behind them, well out of scanner range, two Wilde vessels followed the Wraiths, temporarily disabling each beacon they came across.
Aboard the Stahlauge, Thorsten Waap checked the time. Soon, he knew, he should receive news of the death of two friends.
Now deep within the Ostnebel, the two wraiths picked up a faint reading on their scanners. Two vessels, both military issue, one showing signs of heavy damage.
'Kurt! There, five clicks ahead. I think we've found what we're looking for.' The two ships dropped out of cruise. 'Two Wraiths, one out of bots and bats, and taking heavy damage. Database shows it to belong to Major Vardogr. The second Wraith is of an unknown configuration.'
'Charge your weapons, Jan. No rash moves. Keep scanning both vessels.'
'I'm getting some very weird readings from the second Wraith, Kurt. Energy spikes all over the place, organic components, unrecognised weapons signatures. Wait! Vardogr's ship is now showing no signs of damage. I'm getting exactly the same readings as from the unidentified vessel. Kurt, what the hell is going on?'
**Welcome(greetings)#..Presence(expected)overdue''¦yours#purpose'¦'¦'¦.destruction**
'Evasive manoeuvres!!' screamed Vogel. 'It's a trap! They're both Wilde!'
As the two officers broke formation, the Wilde vessels opened fire.
'Jan! Target Vardogr. There's just the two of them. If we can take one out quickly, we might get out of here.'
As the four vessels fought, the additional Wilde closed.
'Kurt, we've got more contacts incoming. I've lost contact with the last beacon, and we're being jammed. We need to run, Kurt. Now!'
'Agreed. Break and run. Good luck Jan.'
They engaged their cruise engines, expecting the Wilde to attempt to disrupt them, but the Wilde simply engaged their cruise engines as well, spreading out to cover as much space as possible. The two officers were forced back together, only one path available to them.
'We're being herded, Jan. Keep testing their coverage, try to find a way through.'
For twenty minutes they fled, attempting to evade the Wilde long enough for one of them to break free, but it was proving impossible. Then, suddenly, the clouds of the nebula cleared in front of them as they entered some kind of pocket.
'Kurt, the Wilde! They're dropping back!' shouted Frisk, a hysterical edge to the joy in his voice. 'Wait! What's that? Kurt, a station!'
Vogel looked out of his cockpit at the station ahead of them.
'That shouldn't be out here'¦'¦.. I'm getting no readings, Jan. We're still being jammed. Go evas'¦..'
The weapons systems of Darmstadt depot opened fire on the two wraiths. Before they could move, the first officers of the Rheinland Military to find the home base of the Landwirtrechtbewegung died.
Aboard the Stahlauge, Waap received the message he'd been anticipating.
**We(I)us'¦.success/termination'¦.targets>neutralised..#vicinity(matterbase)'¦.planning/execution{flawless}**
The Stahlauge made it to Planet Stuttgart without incident. Waap submitted a report on his missing crew members to the Karlsruhe. The bureaucracy of the military system would protect him from uncomfortable questions for more than sufficient time for the plan to have completed.
A temporary XO transferred across from the Karlsruhe within the hour. One Hauptmann Gregor Baum. Waap had researched what he could on the officer, and was pleased. Young, inexperienced, but clearly willing to follow orders without question, his new XO fitted the role perfectly. He had been suitably welcomed aboard, and was now coordinating their preparations for the final leg of the journey to Omega-7. Simple enough, but suitable for keeping him away from Waap, who wandered the ship, studying, noting, examining and formulating his plans.
When they finally moved away from the proximity of the Karlsruhe, and made way for the Omega-7 jump gate, Waap called a meeting. His new XO, Chief Engineer, Hauptmann Jarne Fokke, Navigational Officer, Hauptmann Kasima Malas and Security Chief, Hauptmann Katja Hock were contacted to attend. As they arrived in Waap's ready room, he studied them. Strange creatures they were. Capable of such single mindedness, loyalty and destruction, yet still comparatively weak. They were worth study, but only in isolation, where they could be controlled. Otherwise they were a plague, an infestation to be eradicated before they grew too powerful.
'Gentlemen, ladies, now we get to it. From here on we will be testing every facet of the capabilities of this vessel. There are several scenarios already planned, and I, myself, will be doing my part to throw some spanners into the works. You will notice unusual readings on your systems, irregularities that might otherwise be investigated. These are to be ignored. I will also be absent from the bridge during several key moments. This will allow an accurate assessment of how well you can coordinate your efforts.
Virtual simulations will commence in two hours. Once we have reached Freiburg we will be transitioning to live fire scenarios. These will continue until we reach Ulm. From there we jump to Omega-7, and then the fun begins. Be prepared. Be vigilant. Your opportunity to be noticed is upon you. Do you and your Kanzler proud, and you may find your own command in the near future. That is all.'
As Waap stood, his officers rose in unison and saluted, looks of anticipation and excitement painted across their faces. He returned the salute crisply as he exited the room, and headed for the bridge, the officers following in his wake. Crew members snapped to attention as they passed. The sense of purpose spread rapidly through the ship, and by the time Waap reached the bridge the tension was palpable. Waap took his chair and paused. The officers present waited. Waap could hear their breathing, felt their tension. Inside, he laughed. Little did they realise what was in store.
“Yellow Alert! All crew to battle stations. Fraulein Hock, engage security protocols. Fraulein Malas, set course for Freiburg station. Vector away from the trade lanes, full cruise.” Waap paused briefly to hear the acknowledgements before standing. “Herr Baum, you have the bridge.”
He saluted his crew and left the bridge, and headed for his quarters. Once there he seated himself and patiently waited for the manoeuvres to begin. Two hours later, as he felt the cruise engines disengage, he rose and headed out. He walked the many corridors of the Stahlauge, taking a roundabout way for environmental control. He sensed the roll of the vessel as thrusters were used. The manoeuvres had begun. The few crewmembers he saw acknowledged him as they hurried about their tasks. Reaching his destination, the doors hissed open at his approach. The single occupant snapped to attention as he saw Waap enter.
“Kapitan!”
“At ease, Feldwebel. You are relieved of your duties for ten minutes. Do not report my presence here. On your return, you are to resume your station. You are dismissed.”
“Yes, mein Kapitan!” The feldwebel saluted smartly and left, and Waap quickly got to work. First he set a cargo bay decompression simulation to occur. Next he reprogrammed the life support systems of the escape pods, and set a non-lethal level of 3-Metylfentanyl to be introduced to the air supply. This reprogramming he then set to be activated solely at an instruction to come from his command console on the captains’ chair on the bridge. Finally he set a hull breach decompression scenario to occur on decks two through six.
Finished, he left the control room and headed back for the bridge. The first combat exercise was being completed as he entered.
“Hauptmann Baum, report.”
“Kapitan. We have just neutralised two Hessian gunboats in a simulated attack. We suffered minor damage to the drive section when our shields were temporarily disabled. Zero casualties.”
“Very good, Hauptmann. I have the bridge. Hauptman Malas, resume our course for Freiburg……”
And so it continued, various simulated attacks by various configurations of Hessian, Unioner and Liberty Navy vessels. The ship and crew performed admirably, unfazed by any odds faced, retreating when necessary, pressing advantages when apparent. Even the decompression scenarios timed to occur in the midst of the most challenging fights failed to faze the crew. Waap alternated his presence between the bridge and his quarters, allowing his officers plenty of opportunity to perform both in his presence and without it.
Freiburg was reached in due time, where the crew took a few hours of R&R, before returning and the process began again as the Stahlauge headed for Ulm Border Station, and Omega-7 beyond.