It finally happened. The final push to end the war. The result of years of work, strategies and bloodshed finally bore fruit to the grand conclusion of the Gallic War. A sense of unease was in the atmosphere of most active Royal Navy personnel, and the crew of RNS Belisama were no different. Having been stationed in Tau-23 to ensure a secure supply flow while the majority of the Navy was fighting in New London was a curse to some, and a relief to others. Nearly every crewman was observing news channels in their off-time, waiting to get the newest updates from the comms officers, who kept tabs on the New London effort.
To their dismay, the fall of Bethany was only the first of a string of bad news to arrive. The Beauvray was next. Then La Cendre, and quickly after came the Cestres. The news of the breakthrough being a success was followed by a very bitter note of significant losses of their colleagues, friends and family. The worst, however, was still yet to come. While everyone else was paying attention to the war and heavy losses seemingly leading towards an unacceptable conclusion, this is something that nobody could've expected.
Claire was in her makeshift office onboard the Belisama when she received a notification from one of her trusted aides. She read through the foreboding text before being led to news being broadcasted all over Gallia over all channels, be that royalist or Council operated. Warships, bearing the insignia of the Council, fast-approaching Planet New Paris with only a minuscule defensive force to answer them shown on display. The woman grabbed her head, sitting and staring in disbelief. This couldn't possibly be right.
As it turns out, it was.
"Non, non, non, non..." the woman spoke to herself frantically. Her mind went racing. What just happened? Gallia can't fall. What happened to the other systems? Orleanais? This is being broadcasted live, with no chance of getting anywhere close to the Core Systems from Tau-23 before it would be over. At the same time, this is likely being viewed by the entire crew of Belisama, what would happen to the morale of the ship? Nausea set in from the amount of anxiety she felt, sitting immobile at the desk.
Another notification. The aide requested to meet, and advised he's heading to the office immediately.
Not long after, the heavy door leading to the office slid open. A young man dressed in an official's uniform hastily entered the room with visible concern on his face.
"Your esteemed highness, forgive me for the abrupt intrusion." he bowed, before springing back up. It was clear that he was in quite a rush to get here. "I've confirmed that the broadcast isn't just Council propaganda. There were recent reports of highly increased sightings of Council ships just prior to what we're seeing now. My lady, we need to consult with Cpt. Dumont to plan our next steps. I have a feeling the capitaine may be inclined to act... rashly."
Claire nodded and sat for a few seconds, attempting to regain composure before standing up. Resuming her dignified composure, she followed the man back through the door and towards the bridge. Only the ticking of support systems and footsteps echoed as they progressed through the claustrophobic hallway.
Meanwhile on the bridge, tensions were already high. Capitaine Renaud Roch Dumont was already arguing with the chief navigation officer over the route back to the Core Systems, and, just as the officer responds to the capitaine's question, the man is grabbed by the collar. "What do you mean it's impossible? Do you not understand in what situation we're currently in?! If the Council takes over before we arrive, we're dead anyway!" he shouted at the officer, before releasing his collar. "Figure it out. In the meantime, set course towards Languedoc." Dumont spoke, observing the man returning to his position, clearly disturbed by his superior's actions. Nobody dared to mention that leaving the ship's position meant going against the orders of the Marechal, leaving the supply lines vulnerable.
The capitaine sat back down on his chair, waiting for the ship to begin moving.
It was at this time Claire and her aide arrived at the bridge. They promptly approached the captain, who was tapping his fingers on the chair impatiently.
"Capitaine, we need to talk." the woman spoke to the captain with a sense of urgency.
"While I usually have the time to spare for chatter with you, my lady, now is not the time. We're in the middle of setting course back to Ile-de-France." Renaud retorted, reclining further on his chair. "It would be best for you to return to your office."
"I'm going to overlook your treatment of a member of DeFrance this time, capitaine. We will not be leaving until we receive word from the Marechal on what the next course of action is. I have no doubt that there's a contingency plan already in motion." the young aide replied, taking control of the conversation. While certainly not as experienced, he was clearly gifted with abilities one would expect from a royal aide.
Dumont smashed his fist on the armrest, clearly still holding pent up anger over his 'discussion' with the navigation officer. "You insolent fool. The Roi is in danger, and you want us to twiddle our thumbs?!" he pointed at the man, raising his voice. "I don't care what the girl thinks, and neither do I care about you. You are on one of the Roi's warships, which I am in command of. I respond to the Roi, not to a bunch of incompetent children."
Claire was speechless. She didn't expect this reply from him, given the pleasantries they've shared between themselves before. Renaud was certainly an experienced captain with undeniable achievements, however he was always pleasant to converse with during silent times onboard the ship.
"Get them out of the bridge. We don't need distractions." barked Renaud as he motioned the nearby guards to take action.
"I'll make sure the Marechal hears of this, capitaine. These are your last days on this ship!" the aide said as the guards shoved him towards the exit of the bridge, escorting him out alongside Claire.
Renaud sighed as the door behind him closed. Perhaps he overreacted, he thought. Nevertheless, it had to be done - every second matters, and interruptions such as that were very unwelcome. To think that that boy had the audacity to offer not to spring to the Roi's aid is baffling. Even if it truly was his last day on the Belisama, he wouldn't do the ship or its crew shame by standing idle in dire times.
"Ridiculous." he muttered to himself. "Now, back to business. Lieutenant Moreau, how long until the ship is en-route? What is the estimated time of arrival?"
"Engines are powered and cruise mode is charging, capitaine." the navigations officer responded.
"Unfortunately, our fuel reserves weren't topped up as the ship wasn't intended to move long distances anytime soon, and as we're about to navigate the asteroid field at high speed, our fuel consumption will be very high. We would have to find a source of fuel along the route, and wait for that to be transferred. In addition, we don't have intel of the status of other systems on our route - there could very well be a Council ambush waiting for us." Moreau paused, knowing his superior will not want to hear his next sentence. "In an ideal scenario, it would take at least a day to arrive."
Dumont groaned, rubbing his forehead as he thought for a way to solve the situation. Moreau was right. Even if all the cards played in their favour, they would never make it in time and would meet the sight of Council forces orbiting New Paris. The Belisama was specialised for anti-capital combat, and wouldn't be able to withstand bomber wings. Yet, there wasn't an alternative.
"Engage cruise engines when charged."
The gravity felt wonky as the ship burst into full speed. Claire was already back in her office by the time the ship went into cruise. She sat by the port-side window expressionless, pondering how this could've happened in the first place.
"Hey Léon, do you think Orleans is in the same state?" she asked her aide, who was tapping away at a console.
He didn't respond to the question, keeping a grim expression on his face. Instead, he opened up a CNS article and began reading an excerpt from it, mentioning that the majority of Council forces came from the Orleanais jump gate.
Silence befell the room again, That confirmed it - Orleanais was most probably under Council control. She put her head on the window sill and covered it with her arms, as if hiding her inability to cope.
"Capitaine!" a junior officer called out as the unnerving silence in the bridge finally dispersed.
"I've just done the calculations. It would be better for us to take the route through the relatively unknown Tau-37. The route would be slightly shorter, and we could request IDF Shipping personnel from La Charite Spaceport deliver the fuel to us en-route in the next system, Tau-53." the woman continued after a pause. "The only concern is that our maps of Tau-37 are quite old and likely outdated. However, the Council or Maquis would never expect us to come from the Kusari route, and this would solve our fuel crisis. We may encounter some pirate elements on the way, but they wouldn't be able to get through our shielding or get in our way."
Renaud raised his eyebrows as the solution finally came to him. Half of the officers in the room expected the capitaine to have another explosive episode, but this suggestion genuinely pleased him. This is what he was looking for.
"Magnifique, officière! I'll make sure your quick thinking is known to the Marechal. Redirect the ship to the suggested route as soon as possible. We're not giving up yet!" the capitaine ordered, hoping his renewed optimism would have inspired the rest of the bridge.
It didn't seem to work.
Léon noticed the stars rotating through the window, partially blocked by the sad sight of Claire slumping down on the sill.
"Your highness, I don't mean to interrupt, but it appears we're changing course. Has the capitaine came back to his senses?" he asked rhetorically.
The woman lifted her head, staring into the changing view as the ship rotated to correct its route.
"I don't know, Léon, but it doesn't seem like we'll get to know, either. I can't believe I'm feeling like a prisoner in my own Kingdom's ship... I would do anything to be back on Orleans." she remarked dejectedly.
"Well, the capitaine isn't the only person I've been speaking with. Let me see if I can do some information gathering." the man said, turning his attention back to the console in front of him. He had built quite a few contacts during his time on the ship, primarily officers that would be high enough on the need-to-know list to ease their concerns.
Minutes turned to hours as the ship slowly trudged through the asteroid field, engines roaring to avoid large asteroids along the way. The constant, almost monotone sound of thrusters was bizarrely relaxing, drowning out worry as time went on. Judging from the time it's taken, they should already be close to Tau-37.
Léon's console screen popped out a new window, a message has been received from one of the officers on the bridge. He quickly skims through the contents, learning of the current situation at hand. It sure paid to be in the service of a DeFrance - so many people go out of their way just to earn the noble's favour, he thought.
The man looked over to Claire, who was still slumped over the sill and hasn't moved for quite some time. It was probably best to keep this to himself, for now. It was good to hear that the Capitaine hasn't completely lost it, although his absolutely atrocious attitude isn't going to be forgotten.
Another message alert pops up on the console, Sighing, Léon once again opens to read its contents, but all that comes out is a garbled mess. This message was circulated through the ship, it wasn't meant for his eyes only. Strange, he thought. Must be an automated system going haywire as the sender didn't appear to show up.
"Attention! Wormhole docking process has been started. Please return to your posts." the intercomm sounded, repeating the message three times before the ship shook and a myriad of lights sped by through the window. Wormhole travel was always chaotic, but the riding the wave was much smoother in bigger ships (as they had bigger gravity generators). It didn't take long for the ship to be spat out, the feeling of inertia returning as the generators struggled to keep steady during rapid deceleration.
"Attention! This is Capitaine Dumont. We are now in the Tau-37 system and plotting course towards the Kusari entrance to Gallia. Stand by as we may encounter pira-" the intercomm cut off as the emergency lights went off and an alarm started blaring. Claire jumped back in shock from her half-asleep state and fell over, much to the concern (and amusement) of Léon. Her heart felt like it was about to explode out of her chest as she wildly looked around before focusing her attention on Leon.
"Léon! What's going on? Why is there an alarm?" she looked at her aide sitting by the console who looked just as clueless as she was. He tried to see if there were any emergency messages, but none were issued. The capitaine's channel was busy, and now from experience, he knew that sending messages to that man was pointless.
"I don't know, your highness! We need to get in touch with the capitaine. Please stay here!" he shouted over the alarms before standing up and quickly moving towards the door. Claire watched as the man rushed out of the office, turning towards the bridge as the sliding door closed behind him.
Wasting no time, she quickly got back up and ran up to the console, trying to contact any personnel for information.
It didn't seem like anyone was currently active, and nobody was available to be on-call. "Merde.." she thought to herself, quickly typing up a text message indicating that she's going to the bridge, and asking for a message back as soon as they've read it.
Claire prepared herself mentally, staring at the screen for a few seconds. With a sigh, she stood up, and started moving towards the corridor. With the alarm constantly drilling into her head, there's no point sitting around.
The hallways were surprisingly empty. She could swear she heard clattering and noises coming from nearby rooms, but the alarm made them indiscernible. She saw personnel running in the distance, but neither did they cross paths or did they move towards the bridge. It didn't take very long before she was standing before the entrance to the bridge.
Swiping her card to unlock the door, the sight the door unveiled was shocking. Léon, Dumont and a few officers located at the far end of the bridge were in a standoff with a group of crew members, both sides shooting at each other. A few bodies were strewn across the bridge, blood pooling around them. The heavy door's sliding has attracted the attention of the majority of the room, much to Claire's dismay.
"Duchesse! Run!" Léon shouted.
Claire stood there, like a deer in headlights. Seeing the opportunity, one of the crewmen rushed over to her standing by the doorway and took her as a shield. "You really are a blessing, aren't you? Resist and you're dead." he quickly whispered into the woman's ear.
"Cease fire and drop your weapons, or the Duchesse will be the next one bleeding out!" he yelled towards the group at the far end of the bridge. The shooting promptly stopped.
"I told her to stay put! What was she thinking?!" Léon remarked, frustrated.
"That girl is nothing but trouble... It doesn't seem we have much of a choice." he said, slowly raising his arms up and gesturing the surviving officers to do the same.
A few minutes passed as they subdued and tied the rest of the officers on the bridge. The Council agents turned off the ship alarm, having seized control of the bridge completely.
"Renaud, what is this?" Claire whispered to the captain next to her. They were both tied with their arms behind their back, kneeling on the floor.
"Council operatives and people they've convinced to work with them." he replied. "They want to commandeer the ship and use it to aid in the capture of New Paris instead." He gestured to the dead body of the chief navigations officer near the doorway. "He let them in, I believe he was an undercover supporter. The first one I've shot."
"Duchesse, what are you doing here? I asked you to stay in the office!" Léon asked the woman, raising his voice.
"Hey you. No talking, or I'll silence you myself. Permanently." one of the crew members asked, the same one who took Claire hostage.
"I hope you know what you're doing, because you're one a one-way ticket to a guillotine. You can't take a DeFrance hostage and expect to live long after." Léon replied threateningly.
The man came up to the aide, drawing his gun. "Oh, really? Who do you think will have control of the guillotines in a few days?" he asked smugly as he inspected the gun. "I'm going to get a massive reward for capturing such a high profile target, and you're going to be cemented as a failure who can't do his one job right."
The Council agent shifted his attention to the woman close to Léon, pointing his weapon towards her. "And you, 'Claire Sophie DeFrance d'Orléans' was it? I'd love to shoot you and get one step closer towards ending the DeFrance symbol of multi-century oppression completely." he said, lowering his gun. "But I'm above that. You'll be much more useful on display for the Republique to see, proof that the Council has finally restored freedom to Gallia."
Claire hung her head, embarrassed by the prospect of being under control of a terrorist. She noticed the man raise his weapon again, this time directing it back to the aide. She turned her head to look at Léon, who was in the middle of attempting to cut his bindings with a knife behind him. All the other Council personnel were busy with the ship's systems, trying to get the ship to start moving again. It was now or never.
"However, I'm not against making an example of you. You've shot a few of my close friends, threatened me, and now you're trying to escape?" he said as he aimed at the aide's head. "What are you thinking?"
Léon managed to cut his tie by the time the man finished his sentence. He sprung forward to grapple the terrorist with the intention of wrestling the gun away from him and using him as a shield, but the man was smart enough to back away a second before.
The familiar, deafening sound of a gunshot echoed through the room once more. Léon fell to the floor, lifeless.
"Léon!" Claire screamed after witnessing the act, looking in disbelief.
"Anyone else want to try resisting, while we're at it?" he shouted at the rest of the captives.
And so the ship continued its course towards Ile de France, now with different intentions. An hour later, the now-Council-controlled destroyer had reached Tau-53, however not all was calm. With panic over communications and Council operatives attempting to use the on-board announcer system to shout orders to lay down arms and cease fighting, it was clear that combat was still happening throughout the ship, and not in the Council's favour. The Conceillard behind the comms console was frequently grunting in frustration, with static or silence becoming increasingly more common as he attempted to check in with his colleagues.
The rest of the captives, the survivors of the firefight including the captain and duchess, were huddled into a corner. No-one dared attract their captor's attention, lest they wanted to share Léon's fate. Claire in particular could barely get a hold of herself, still whimpering after seeing her aide and friend murdered.
Just a few minutes after the ship had plotted course in the Tau-53 system, the metal door leading to the exit of the bridge slid open.
A man in officer uniform came forward, followed by a group of 4-5 soldiers in full Marine gear, most likely taken from the armoury as soon as the fighting started. They took cover immediately, and set their gun sights on the Council operatives further in the bridge.
"Conseillards! Halt this ship immediately, and surrender. You may still live before we bring you to the Guillotines in New Paris." he announced, attracting everyone's attention. The man glimpsed across the room, seeing bodies littered in one corner, captives in the other. The captain caught his eye. "Well capitaine, I expect a promotion!" he said, before ducking in reflex as a shot went flying directly at him.
The rest of the terrorists quickly drew their guns, taking cover. It didn't take long for shots to start flying once again throughout the bridge, making the captive technical engineer nearly weep at the amount of work he will be looking forward to after all of this is over.
Given the sheer advantage the royalists had with full combat gear from the armoury, the combat didn't last long. The last few were well entrenched, so one of the soldiers decided to grab a grenade and quickly toss it at their cover.
"You idiots! We still need to fly this ship!" the capitaine yelled to no avail, as a loud bang quickly put the last of the Council operatives to rest.
It's been sometime after a communique between Claire Sophie DeFrance de Orleanais and Dona Enma a group of Outcast fighters shown up in the vicinity of RNS Belisama. They appeared rather suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere. If they had hostile intentions, they would already have a chance to approach the attack vector. But instead, most of them would start making circles around gallic destroyer... which shown rather low activity across the board. Kind of reminding of a ghostship, like the ones at the graveyard at Siniestre Cloud in Alpha.
Enma would engage in a radio chatter, figuring out how to land on this thing. She had a weird feeling about this, obviously assisting Claire now will have rather serious consequences. But in the end, she was working at her power and influence to do what she wants, not minding the public opinion. The truth is, she could easily stick up as ruling power at Malta for years and years, but Outcasts are really not much for her in the end.
Once she started the docking procedure, she thought about how many people died because of the family she's about to help. Thought about it with an amused smile and satisfaction. There's not a lot of empathy towards the most population of Sirius, in fact, it's quite the opposite. If Malta will burn the next day, only people dependent on Cardamine will shed a tear. Most will rejoice. She likes Claire as one of the symbols of power and people she's hating dying en masse. It would be a pity if something happens to her. Maybe they will get along in the end, who knows?
With a deep sigh, she observes as always incredibly slow docking protocols working. Her nails would drum at the control panel as she thought on how to greet everyone or something. En kind of hates all the waiting before important meetings, hopefully, she will be met by Claire herself without needing to wait even more at the ship itself. It may get her excessively nervous and somehow rude at the meeting itself.
Watching into the small mirror and fixing her hair after her style is destroyed with helmet, before preparing to go down into a small hangar. Wiking to herself before pressing a button that would unlock the ship and service brings the ladder. Getting off the ship by the ladder, she sees a group of people meeting her. Due to rather poor eyesight, she has to get closer to watch who they are. Colors and outlines of Kingdom's uniform are of crouse visible, but it's not much surprise considering she's at Royal Navy destroyer.
She's wearing excessively stylish Outcast pilot uniform, with her family insignia. In her hands, there is only a tablet with an attached stylus, obviously, there are some interesting documents uploaded. For now, it looks like she's here for negotiations, looking quite firm and confident. It wouldn't be a lie to say that she's enjoying herself. With a hooked one-sided smile and rather calm and a little bit arrogant look of her eyes.
Right before approaching people, she looks around. Nothing special so far, though it's her first time at Royal Navy destroyer. Looks like it's hard to make hangars to look any original. At least it won't be boring, or at least she hopes so. Loyola is here to legitimately help and make a friend. But despite her honest intentions, she would rather not overcommit and this time she would like it to be more of fair trade.
Claire stood by along with Renaud as the woman approached. Guards were scattered here and there, and everyone was evidently on edge. Nobody expected to be dealing with the Outcasts, and it seemed like pulling at straws to even consider them as people who would help in their dire situation. Claire barely managed to get through to the captain in order to convince him not to shoot ships they had been shooting ever since the Belisama was deployed to Tau-23.
"Welcome aboard the Belisama, Outcast." the capitaine said as soon as the woman was close enough. "I trust the fact that you've brought so many ships here is for support, and not for something else, oui?" as he shared an "I told you so" look to Claire who was standing next to him.
Shrugging off his look, Claire decided to break the unfriendly note. "Enma Loyola, this meeting is long overdue."
Enma got closer just to see very tensed face expressions. Looks like no one really wants her here and to some degree, it's shaking her confidence. Without making it too visible she would take a deep breath to cope with stress. Greeting them without a bow or any gestures.
— Votre Altesse, messieurs les officiers...
She did attempt on their language, hoping for it not to sound too broken. The most decorated guy among meeting officer delegation looks like a ship captain, asked her a question in a passive-aggressive manner. En turns her head a little to the side, making up a truly incredible sarcastic smile directed at the guy. Drilling him down with a look, she takes some pause, but still managing to reply before Claire steps in.
— If I had bad intentions, would I land alone? I don't mind you asking me a lot of questions, I understand you have many. But please, let them make just a little bit of sense... Oh, and for you, I am Dona Enma.
Paying back an asshole what he deserved she would turn her head at Claire as she stepped in to ease up the tensions. Enma takes a few seconds more to come back from verbal combat mode before speaking to the princess. She then would slightly bow her head a little to the side before speaking.
— It's an honor to meet you. Pardon moi if I made you wait, trust me, we got here as soon as we could. Thankfully we did not have any incidents along the way.
She would take a closer look at Claire's face, comparing her to Charlotte. She indeed looks younger and less experienced, maybe even softer. For what it's worth, this girl now is not ready to rule anything major. Not without a lot of training and experience to come.
— If I am honest this hangar is looking too dark and grim to discuss your bright future, your highness. And if it would be possible, I would like some warm drink, It's been a long way.