2400.7.1

[dumbluck]

Thanks for "letting" me plagiarize the report form, Prophet. And of course, thank you SJ, my editor in chief. As always, feel free to leave any comments here.

Captain Terac Ir'Imal stood before his assembled officers.

"I'm just like all of you. We each have our own After-The-War stories. Mine is simply visible to the naked eye. The War left me as an amputee. Some of our younger crew members would probably think that having a cybernetic wing would be "hot", or whatever their slang is now. Personally, I'd give anything to have my wing back.

"When The War was over, I couldn't find work. No one wanted a burned out Military bela. You think you had it bad, at least you didn't have this badge of shame reminding potential employers what you were!" Terac shakes his right wing in at them. "Then my Disabled Vet checks stopped coming. I still remember that letter. 'The Ministry that provided you with economic subsidy has been eliminated.' Bah. The Society wanted to just forget about The War; to do that it had to forget about me, as well. And you, too. You all have stories similar to mine.

"Then two months ago, an old Naval buddy came looking for me. Hiriam was Captain of the Il'Ima, back in the day. He's telling me that the "new military" has a job for me. Suddenly the Society needs me again. Needs us again. Now, here we are in command of the "Defense". We are all cut from the same mold. We've all been tested in battle before. But the rest of the crew is younger, their naiveté untouched by combat. That will likely change sometime soon, what with new potential threats to the Society out there among the stars.

"The crew were barely familiar with the ships functions just a short month ago. I'm proud of each of you. You're rapidly whipping them into shape, but they aren't ready for combat yet and you know it. We're breaching the unexplored WarpPoint in 50 minutes; we know that the aliens are somewhere out beyond it. Watch the crew closely when we jump. If we jump into a combat situation, I need you all to keep your belas focused. Every bela on this ship has a job to do; keep them focused on their respective tasks, and we should be fine. We are the Society's largest Military vessel. We can handle any situation."

Captain Ir'Imal waited a moment to let that sink in, then said, "Report to your respective stations. Keep a cool head. Keep the crew focused. Dismissed."

Ir'Imal watched them file out of the small conference room. He was certain that each would do their best in the coming hour.

-----

SURVEY REPORT 
Date: 2401.5.995
System: Zezzis 
Reporter: Defense; Terac Ir'Imal, Captain

Stars: 1 
WarpPoints: 3 
Worlds: 9 (3 habitable)
Asteroids (#, coordinates): 1, (11,7) 
Storms (#, coordinates and effect): 1, (5,2) High energy 
fluctuations, no discernible effects. 

Enemy Colonies 
Zezzis IV - 1374M Nameless Horde 

Enemy Ships/Bases 
(@ 6,12) Aggravator 0003 (colony ship)

Defense sat alone on the Zezzis side of the warppoint as Ir'Imal skimmed through the report his first mate had written. The only alien ship in the system was what appeared to be something akin to the Belanai's own Short Haul class. It likely wasn't even armed, leaving no credible threats to the Defense here. Ir'Imal hit the transmit button, and wondered what his next assignment would be. He wasn't exactly sure whether he was relieved or disappointed that Defense had not been called to battle this day, but he was determined to make sure that his ship and his crew would be ready when that day came.