Aurelia Silvan stood and looked down at her engineer, who was in the crew pit, knee-deep in the wiring of the Aquilon's main computer system.
"Start it up." The engineer worked the console for a few minutes before he finally turned around, "done."
Aurelia looked up towards the bridge's main screen and said loudly; "Activate."
A small red light lit up above the ship's main screen as a computerized voice came from the speakers attached to the room's ceilings. "Artificial Intelligence Maitrise Program activated. Running diagnostic..."
Several minutes passed during which the speakers just repeated the same phrase once every minute.
Aurelia shot the engineer a questioning look to which he responded, "Just wait.."
"Maitrise Program activated. Begin system update. System Controller?"
A male voice came from the speaker; "Syn Ship Control Intelligence activated. How may I be of service?"
Aurelia smiled. One step closer to getting out of here. "Syn, you will handle all of the ship's functions from this point onward."
"Yes ma'am. Ma'am, a Ms. Lucile Montague in the cargo hold reports all supplies and equipment have been loaded."
"Good, time to see what you can do Syn." Aurelia smiled. "Head to Cortez first."
"Of course, detaching mooring lines." Aurelia could feel a slight tremble run through the ship as it detached from Bethlehem station. "Setting course for New York Jump Gate. May I ask what we are doing ma'am?" "You'll find out when we reach Cortez."
Aurelia nodded, "You performed better than I had hoped Syn. Your creators have really outdone themselves."
"Of course, I am the most advanced artifical intelligence in the galaxy."
She smiled and shook her head, "they even gave you an ego."
"It isn't ego, it's fact. Now, what is this 'surprise' of yours?"
"We're going to Orkney."
"That's all?" He sounded disappointed. "Very well madam, shall I set course for Coronado?"
"No, we'll be entering through Bretonia."
"We're... What? Why Bretonia? There is very high chance we would be detected by the Armed Forces, and they will surely take offense at a ship of this class flying through their space unannounced, especially during a war."
"I'm aware of that. Regardless, those are my orders."
"Yes ma'am... Setting course now. May I ask why we are inviting an attack by traveling through a house?"
"Yes, you may, and should, question those orders you don't understand. You're not a mindless robot... Wait, yes you are."
"Not funny."
"Anyway, there are two simple reasons. The first is that I don't want to have to deal with those pompous, superstitious fools in Baffin. The other is that I intend to give Bretonia a parting gift before we leave."
"Why even bother with Bretonia?"
"Because I owe them for all the headaches they've given me."
Syn's voice echoed from the speaker. "Beginning upload."
"How long will it take you?"
"Based on standard Bretonian computer specifications I would estimate at four minutes, six if I encounter incompatability issues between my systems and theirs."
"We probably don't have six minutes Syn.."
"Well... Shoot them? That's sure to distract them."
"You're brilliant Syn." Aurelia said sarcastically. "Signal me when you're finished."
Aurelia activated the comm channel to the Bretonian battleship that was hailing her. "This is Aurelia Silvan of the Zoner private yacht Arromanches, may I help you?"
A young man's face appeared on her console's screen before Syn transferred the image to the main display at the front of the bridge.
"This is the Deputy Captain, Commander Webb of the Armed Forces Battleship Majestic. You're pretty heavily armed for a privately-owned vessel Ms. Silvan."
"We live in a dangerous world."
"That we do, and a suspicious one as well. So I must ask what your business is here in Bretonia, and why you entered our nation with such a large vessel without permission."
"I am simply traveling through. There was an emergency at Freeport Ten, our northern-most station. We left as soon as possible. I believe that answered your second question as well."
"I sympathize with your situation, but as you know, there is a blockade in force in Leeds. We don't allow any ships to travel to northern Leeds or the Taus from Bretonia."
Aurelia adopted a placating tone. "Yes, I was hoping to obtain permission from Bretonia to travel through, due to he urgency of the situation."
The officer looked a bit skeptical at that. "I can forwawrd your request to my superiors, but I doubt it will be granted. Please hold while I contact them."
"Thank you commander." The comm console beeped as the connection was terminated.
"Virus uploaded ma'am. Assuming nothing befalls the ship's comm system, the breach should remain undetected for some time. The projected operational lifetime is three or four weeks. May I suggest we leave now?"
Aurelia sighed, "yes, yes, of course."
*** *** ***
Commander Webb swiveled around in the Captain's chair of the Majestic. "How long should we make them wait?"
Evyn Hunter looked down from the window, which showed a profile view of the Aquilon Carrier as it floated in space a thousand meters off the Majestic's bow. "A few minutes should be enough."
"Yes Captain... Captain, why did you have me hail them instead of conversing with them yourself?"
"Because if the people in that ship see a junior officer, rather than the ship's captain, they may be more liable to say something sloppy or do something foolish. Appearances are as important as reality, and the woman on that ship knows that lesson quite well."
Webb nodded, "I would guess that if they are engaged in illegal activity, they will try to make a break for it when we call them back and deny their request. I still don't understand why you don't want to send any of thise to High Command though."
Evyn shook her head. "Because they would refuse the request anyway. Besides, we have our orders; No one gets to the Taus through Leeds." Evyn looked back out of the window just in time to see a massive ball of white light come hurtling towards them. A second later everyone on the bridge was shielding their eyes as the mortar round hit the ship's shield, setting off an eye-dazzling explosion.
Evyn jumped forward and activated the ship's intercom system. "All hands to battle stations!" She switched the microphone off, "guess they aren't going to wait for us afterall." As the light cleared they looked back out the window, looking for the carrier, only to see the underside of it skimming over the top of the Majestic...
*** *** ***
"Syn, engage cruise engines after the second volley."
"Yes ma'am."
The ship rocked as another blast was fired by the mortar battery, followed shortly by the whine of the engines as they charged with energy and entered cruise speed.
"The Majestic is turning to follow us. Range, four point six K and rising."
"Good work Syn. Keep monitoring the Majestic, we'll try to lose it in Dundee. And keep checking the virus package, I want to know if it is working."
"Yes ma'am."
"I'm going to my cabin to send a message, tell me when we get to Orkney."
Aurelia leaned back in her small office chair, rhythmically tapping the arm rest with her fingernails, trying to think of how to begin...
"Zoners, and other Sirians this message is bound to reach, I wish to apologize to you, and to tell you what I've hidden for the last thirteen years." Aurelia smiled nervously, "it's ironic really, given what has been said about me these past few months since the schizm created by our two different ideals of what a Zoner is."
She let out a sigh of resignation, "I still can't think of how to say this, so I'll just be blunt with you. I'm a lie. You know me as Aurelia Silvan but my true name is Aurelia DeFrance. I'm the eldest daughter of King Louis DeFrance of the Gallic Royal Family. I'm sure many of you won't believe this, either because it sounds ludicrous or for a myriad of other reasons. Granted, a well-known Zoner leader isn't who I'd suspect of being part of the royality of a house monarchy. But then, that was the point."
She smiled mockingly, "I've been called the 'Queen of the Zoners' before, but Princess would be more appropriate. 'But why would a member of the Gallic royal family be in Sirius? And masquarading as a Zoner?' Well, that would be because, unlike other children of privilege, our future leaders aren't raised in plush palaces tutored and pampared by servants. How can a nation rely on someone to lead them after the King's passing if she has no idea what the real world is like? How could they rely on someone who has yet to live in the conditions the common person has to endure throughout their life?"
"A proper leader must be raised in conflict, even if it means their life is threatened from time to time." She laughed, "besides, it was quite amusing at times. Watching how you people argued and fought over the pettiest little things. It's a surpise Sirius hasn't devolved into total civil war already. So, were the accusations that I had lied to the Council of Zoners accurate? Well, yes, it would be, though not for the reasons the Alliance thought they were."
Aurelia dropped her smile and straightened her back. "If the Zoners are to live through what is to come they must change. You have spent more time quarraling with each other than fixing the problems that caused those arguments in the first place. You need to face the fact that the people of Sirius view you as a joke. A weak group of pacifists too afraid to defend themselves or enforce their own decisions if it means making someone angry with you. The galaxy is not a friendly place, and nothing will last if it isn't fully determined to survive no matter what it takes. This is a lesson the Zoners have yet to learn, and until they do they will forever be Sirius' punching bag. Take the last advice a liar has to offer you."
Aurelia stiffly walked to her chair on the bridge and fell into it with an exasperated sigh.
"That was highly amusing. Wonderful performance. If I had hands, I'd applaud you."
Aurelia glared at the floating camera that served Syn as an eye, "shut up."
Michal Lefevre, her engineer who was sitting at one of the consoles in the near-empty crew pit, started laughing. Aurelia turned her glare to the back of his head. "Why do I put up with you two?"
"Because without us you wouldn't be able to fly this ship?"
Aurelia turned her glare back to the camera and sat still for a few moments before resting her head in her hands. "Shut up."
Syn joined Michal in laughing at that.
"Well, maybe they'll actually consider what you said. Who knows, they may even improve."
Aurelia looked back up at Syn. "Are you kidding me?"
"Yeah.. Forget I said that. Well, at least you won't have as much political infighting when we get back to Gallia."
Aurelia felt like she had just bitten into an overripe apple. "No, I think we'll have more.."
Syn's floating 'eye' buzzed over to her. "Why is that?"
Michal spoke up, "Because Prince Josef doesn't actually know she, uhh.. Exists."
Syn's eye swiveled towards Michal, then back to Aurelia again. "What?"
Aurelia responded in a exhausted monotone. "My father moved me out of the palace right after Josef's birth. I was raised without the public knowing, or Josef, or Arielle. After I turned eighteen I was in Sirius until now. Josef was never told, as he may have let slip that he had another sister no one knew about. Up until now he believed himself to be Crown Prince, next in line to take my father's throne. Since I'm three years older than he, that position actually falls to me, and he won't like that."
"Your father never told your brother that you exist.. Well, this ought to be fun..."
Aurelia watched as the distant speck of light started growing larger and larger as the ship close closer. "Tell me when they start hailing us."
"They already are ma'am."
"Really? That was fast. Alright, put them through."
The console screen in front of her changed over to the view of a thickly-built man in a Council uniform. "This is Capitaine Moreau of the Council station Reunion. May I ask your business in Orkney?"
"This is Aurelia Silvan, Chairperson of the Council of Zoners. It's imperative that I reach Planet Quillan. I have information that I must deliver to your superiors in person."
The man gave her a questioning look, obviously not believing it. "I think you should tell me just what kind of information it is..."
Aurelia shook her head. "These communications aren't secure enough. Put it to your superiors, let them decide. If they won't allow me in, I'll come back the way I came and they can deal with the Royal Navy on their own."
Moreau gazed at her for a moment. "Fine, stay where you are or you will be fired upon."
The console in front of her beeped as the transmission was cut.
"Shall I commence with the shooting now?" Syn asked jokingly.
"Not this time.. Though the thought of putting a few holes in that station does sound appealing to me."
Another beep came from Aurelia's console. They can't have made a decision already.. Curious, she brought up the message. Instead of a communication from Reunion Station, it was a message sent by someone named Kashiwaba Tomoe;
' Wrote:
Aurelia arched an eyebrow. "Well, that was quick, I'll give her that.. Hopefully the Council doesn't get a copy of my message that fast."
"Is it wrong if I find this amusing?"
Aurelia was too busy trying to understand what was going on in this woman's head to look up. "No Syn, though I have to say, I'm quite surprised.. Anyway, I'll respond to this later, when I'm actually back in Gallia, behind our Navy's lines, not stuck here in Council space." She closed the message just as the console reported Reunion Station was hailing her again.
"Yes?"
"Our leaders at Quillan have decided to let you enter under heavy guard. Follow the ship in front of you and do not deviate from its course." With that the man ended the transmission abruptly.
"Well, he's a pleasant little man." Aurelia said sarcastically.
Outside of the ship several Council cruisers began surrounding the carrier. One in front, probably the one they were supposed to follow, one to each side, and one behind. In addition a dozen Council fighters started patrolling around the ship in circles. So accompanied, the Arromanches followed the foremost cruiser as it went to and entered the Languedoc jumphole.
"We'll be arriving at Planet Quillan in two minutes."
Aurelia stood up and gripped the railing in front of her. "Good. Michal, make sure everything is ready."
"Right... Goal; Blow up our own ship. New tactic to me.."
"We're just blowing off a portion of it, it's not like the ship will be destroyed. Syn, any word from DOS?"
"I got a small flash message from them stating they'll arrive at Nimes station about fifteen minutes from now."
"We can't hold off this force for fifteen minutes..."
"I know that.. Guess we'll just have to be really really lucky, won't we?"
"I'm scrapping you when we get to New Paris..."
"I love you too."
"Just get ready to hit them. Remember, we make the fighters scatter, then when they close back in to attack us, we trigger the explosives."
"Right. Twenty seconds to firing."
Aurelia gripped the railing tighter and tried to relax her thumping heart. Twenty seconds felt like twenty minutes and when the ship rocked from the blast of guns it made her jump in surprise, even though she knew it was coming. Since Syn was controlling all of the ship's controls, Aurelia just stood there and watched the events unfolding around them.
From what she could see through the forward window, the ship's primary guns began pummeling the cruiser in front, followed quickly by the ship's mortar cannon. The two side windows showed the carrier's battlerazors beginning firing at the two flanking cruisers while the Solaris turrets sprayed a net around the carrier, spooking the fighters out of range. What happened next was hidden by massive bright light as the ship's mortar volley hit the forward cruiser, which exploded, adding a yellow tint.
As the light faded away she could see the ship's primary weapons opening up on the flanking cruisers. One of them was hit directly in the engines, causing an explosion to send it tumbling through space. As she watched, Syn continued firing at it, demolishing the ship completely until nothing was left but twisted and blackened metal. To the left, the third cruiser had managed to get out of the accurate range of the carrier's weaponry, though heavily damaged, and was making a turn to come behind the carrier and join the fourth cruiser, which Syn had been unable to hit hard enough with the carrier's few rear-ward weapons to cause any serious damage.
As she watched the small screen relaying an image taken by the ship's rear camera she smiled. The kind of evil, satisfied smile you get when someone does just what you expected them to do.
"Detonating the explosives. Hold on..."
The explosion rocked the ship so badly that it nearly sent Aurelia over the railing into the crew pit. "Christ, Syn, why didn't you tell us it'd do that?!"
"I said hold on..."
Aurelia glared up at him, "you didn't say that tightly."
"Sorry... Detonating the bombs."
Aurelia turned her attention back to the rear video screen. The two large fins of armor that normally covered the ship's massive engine had been rigged with explosives and then blown off the ship. The two pieces were tumbling towards the Gallic force that was quickly chasing them, firing at the carrier's rear shields. Right as the Council's cruisers passed the debris, they both exploded, sending fighter-sized chunks of debris flying in all directions.
The cruiser damaged earlier when Syn first began firing was right next to one of the explosions. A piece of debris struck it right where the armor had been pierced by the carrier's weaponry and sheared it in half, spilling fluids and bodies into space. The last cruiser was further away and lucky enough not to get hit by any of the large pieces of debris, escaping with very little damaging, and returning to begin firing on the Arromanches with a vengeance.
Nearly half of the fighters had also been struck by the explosions, but the rest were already swarming over the carrier, bombarding its shields.
They spent several minutes trying to fend off the Council ships while heading towards Nimes station. When they finally reached it, the shields had already been drained away by the pursuing ships, and the cruiser and six additional fighters sent in by the station took advantage of it to pummel the Aquilon's weak bottom armor. Already several holes had been blasted into the ship's hull. Syn had the bridge blocked off with airtight doors to prevent the loss of oxygen.
"I can't keep this up."
A Council fighter came flying up towards the bridge, aiming to blast the window and open the room to space, but was hit by the carrier's two battlerazors before it could fire. What remained of the ship slammed into the bottom of the bridge tower, leaving a blackened gap in the ship's armor.
The ship's guns abruptly ceased firing. "I've lost connection to the turrets. Any commands I send don't make it through. The fighter that just hit severed the lines connecting the bridge to he rest of the ship."
"Aren't there backup lines?"
"Yes, but they were shorted out during the explosions that released the debris we used against the ships at Quillan."
The Council ships, seeing the carrier's guns stop firing, swarmed around it, rocking the ship as it blasted through the side armor.
Aurelia gritted her teeth. They've won this one...
"That may not be necessary. I just received another message from DOS. Two minutes until forces from the Carcassonne reach us."
"About damn time. Have Ms. Montague launch her fighter. She's to act as a diversion until Carcasonne's fighters reach us."
"Done."
"Now we just need to survive until they arrive."
"Their ships are already appearing on scanners. I'm picking up around two dozen heavy fighters. Once the Council's cruiser's scanners pick them up, they should retreat."
He was right. A few seconds later the cruisers started backing off, though they didn't stop firing on the carrier as they turned back towards Nimes. A moment later their fighters followed suit.
The bridge speakers crackled as a message came through the ship's comms. "Aurelia, I think this ship is a loss. Let me show you from the outside."
Lucile Montague sent a video feed to the ship's computer from her Eagle, showing a blackened and blasted hull that had been, until ten minutes ago, an Aquilon Carrier. Now it looked like something the Junkers would assemble from a cloud of debris.
Aurelia sighed, "looks like we won't be keeping this any longer. It's not even worth rebuilding at this point."
"Roughly a third of the ship's original hull has been blasted off by our own explosions and the Council vessels, and the engines are fluctuating wildly."
"Can we make it to Burgundy?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. If the engines explode, the rest of the ship will as well. Still, we can't just leave it here."
"Hmm.. Alright, start us towards the Battleship Carcassonne, slowly. We'll try to get this to Avalon Station. I don't want the Council to get this ship."
"What about the Navy's fighters?"
"They have orders to escort us to Dauphine. Then we'll make the rest of the trip on our own. They won't contact us, and we won't contact them. At least, that's what is supposed to happen, if Director d'Orleans set this up the way he said he would."
The Arromanches had been in orbit of Planet Nevers for nearly an hour before a shuttle was finally sent to transfer Aurelia and Lucile to Avallon Station, the Royal Navy's headquarters in the borderworlds. Michal stayed on board the Arromanches and worked on damage control. After they left the hanger, Syn moved the carrier a distance away in case the unstable engines were to explode. The Incendie, a Valor-class battleship, and her escorts remained on station four kilometers to the side, where it had been since they entered Burgundy.
The pilot and copilot, both agents of Direction d'Operations Speciales, Gallia's intelligence agency and secret police, were silent as they ferried her to Avallon. The shuttle landed in a small, private hanger separate from the station's main fighter bay. The rear hatch opened and the shuttle ramp lowered to the metal floor, bringing the smell of grease and oil. One of the DOS agents got up and led the two of them out to the brightly lit hanger. Arrayed in front of them were two men and a woman in heavily decorated uniforms. A fourth man was present at the end of the shuttle ramp who, unlike the others, Aurelia recognized. She strode down towards him, with Lucile at her side.
Director of Gallia's intelligence service, Adrien d'Orleans, the Margrave de Orleanais placed his hand over his abdomen and bowed slightly.. Very slightly. Aurelia nodded her head, also slightly, in return. The Margrave showed only as much respect as he had to, but it was obvious he didn't enjoy it. She turned her attention to the three military officers a few feet beyond him. One of the men and the woman watched her closely, with a look that was equal parts suspicion and curiosity. The second man, between the others, looked like he was trying to hold back a smile and his eyes kept flicking between Aurelia and Lucile.
Adrien d'Orleans turned so he could see both Aurelia and the others. "Allow me to introduce you to the Royal Navy's High Command, sans Colonel Josef Revenant, Duc deFrance." Adrien indicated the woman, on the left. "This is the Margrave du Ile de France, Grand Marshal Lilith LaCroix, leader of the Royal Navy. Next to her is the Margrave de Burgundy, General Bruce Montague, the Navy's second in command here in the border worlds." Aurelia cocked an eyebrow and glanced over at her bodyguard, Lucile Montague, who was smiling.
Adrien continued, "the one on the right is the Margrave de Dauphine, Colonel Blaise Mersenne." Aurelia inclined her head towards the three. Adrien then switched and introduced them to the officers. "Lucile Montague, a Knight of the Montague family." Lucile curtsied and received a nod from LaCroix and a smile from Bruce Montague.
An indignant tone crept into Adrien's voice. Aurelia imagined he'd feel like he was choking on these words. "And lastly, this is Crown Princess Aurelia DeFrance." Aurelia held back her grimace at his crudely worded introduction of her and instead gave the officers a confident smile, though confident wasn't how she'd describe herself at the moment.
All three officer's eyes widened simultaneously and an awkward silence fell over the room. The curiosity in LaCroix' eyes was replaced with shock, but the suspicion remained. None of the three spoke, and Aurelia likewise found herself tongue-tied, brain racing to think of something to say, until Bruce Montague said, "It is a pleasure to see that my sister has kept you safe, your majesty. Welcome home." As he bowed, Aurelia felt some of the tension fade away.
She inclined her head towards him, "She has been most helpful Margrave. I'm indebted to you for the service your family has provided for me and hope I can return the favor."
After another moment of hesitation, Blaise Mersenne likewise bowed, accompanied with a murmured "your Highness."
Lilith LaCroix held her gaze for another moment before saying plainly; "Welcome home.. Your Highness." Followed by a short curtsy. She carefully kept her voice emotionless. Aurelia imagined the woman's thoughts would be conflicting in this situation. On one hand, she had no idea who Aurelia was beyond her name. Questioning her loyalty would be natural, as well as her motives and desires.
At the same time, her appearance threw a switch on the situation regarding the royal family. With Prince Joseph no longer their heir to the throne, and an unknown being put in his place, someone the civilian population didn't yet trust, the royal family's stability was questionable. Aurelia had to be careful to watch for LaCroix attempting to gain more influence in order to take control after the King dies. She was no longer on the galactic political scene as a Zoner.
Now the game was much smaller, but much more serious, with drastic and lethal consequences.
(Kudos to the owners of the characters in this post for walking me through their character's reactions.)
![[Image: DFinal.png]](http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b328/Luciaden/DFinal.png)
![[Image: defrance.png]](http://i.imagehost.org/0485/defrance.png)