The Black

Mac stepped past Siccuro into the Captain’s cabin. It was spartan, but the impression of Generational History lay about its modest space. The captain turned from his workstation and offered Mac a seat with a wave of a hand, "Thank you Icario, Sicurro. That will be all". There was the barest hesitation from the chief of security; but Doc, simply nodded and withdrew from the cabin.

"So, I guess that makes us even, Code or not" sighed Cpt Silu.

"I don't see it that way Captian M.." Silu interrupted Mac, "Lt Mackenzie, simply captain, or Cpt Silu will due, my first name is a traditional one held by the captain of this vessel since her launching. It has been in my family for 12 generations..." then Silu chuckled "and I hate it".

Mac suppressed his own amusement, "Well then Captain Silu, to my friends, I'm Mac. but I suspect we have a bit more on the table right now."

"Indeed, Namely how you simultaneously disappeared from our sensors almost the Moment you left the Hanger, yet sank two pirate Barges and 5 fighters... without so much as a scratch, or return fire."- Cpt Silu stated, equal parts Incredulous and Interested.

Mac Pondered his next words carefully. He had seen the level of tech on the pirate ships.. no armor, limited shield, with an almost 100 percent energy-based weapons... and plasma at that... something terra and Mars had abandoned due to projectile velocity and stabilization issues. "Captain, you put me in a... precarious situation... I know my life is in your debt, whatever the last few events have shown. I can give you some answers, but know that much of what you ask is of a nature I have sworn an Oath to protect. In my Military, it’s called 'classified: top secret' and it is the highest magnitude of secrecy we have. Having said that, I may be required to paint with.. broader strokes in some areas. If you can accept that I may tell you that I cannot answer that question or divulge any further details; I will try to answer what I can."

Silu Leaned back in his chair, hands steepled in thought for a full 'minute', "I'm not sure if I am happy about that, but I am willing to accept these premises, for now. Where shall we begin?"

Mac nodded, "Everything I told you before is true. But there is a a bit more. I guess I will start at the beginning. You know my name. However, what you may not know is that Concord and I go back almost 8 years and a War of... almost extinction between two factions of my species. To understand this, you need to understand Earth, or Terra as we call her now, our home world and cradle of our species. About 34 ish of your 'years' ago a large group of our species decided that Terra was no longer for them, they felt life there... stagnant. Universal Basic Income combined with cracking the resources of our asteroid belt had made living and providing too easy for them. So, they procured funding and struck out for Terra's closest Neighbor, Mars. Over the next 23 years, these settlers slowly formed Mars to their will, Terraforming under Bio Domes while slowly seeding the rest of the planet to accept life... and more importantly, becoming Disillusioned with the Terran Federation. This came to a head where it would ultimately end, CenterPoint Station. the Halfway stop between Terra and Mars. and the Seat of the TF Legislative body. Mars Declared her Independence that day including the confiscation of all Terran/ Militia/ and First Responder Assets on Mars. Terra was Infuriated, well, most of Terra, the USA was heavily amused, but outvoted when war was declared by the TF. In the end Enough American Naval Assets had been confiscated to at least secure the United States participation. The TF needed their ships. They had the biggest Navy. Everyone thought it would be easy.... We were wrong... Mars was ready, she was the one who first introduced the class of ship Concord draws her design from. More importantly, Mars introduced Stealth Tech...BUT, they made a mistake. One of Mars's first engagements had several of their pilots died due to brain embolisms known as 'strokes' to my people, essentially, they pushed too hard and to fast in space combat and bled to death through their brains. The recovery of these Vehicles was... gory... but now Terra had these new ships, and the Key to Stealth Tech, and more importantly Cerebral Scan technology. See, Mars had been working on more efficiently using automation to progress their terraforming process, but they found out that automation wasn't what they needed at all. you see, my species consciously only uses about 10-15 percent of our total brain capacity. Mar's greatest minds managed to... unlock the mind. At first it was used to allow Terra-formers and Industrialists to Manage multiple Manufacturing Drones and Terraforming Bots at once from one location, massively increasing Mar's Productiveness; and massively increasing here Navy's effectiveness in both Capital Ship control. and Fighters…."

A massive Growl interrupted Mac's story.. "My apologies Captain, but i have not eaten in quite some time.."

Silu broke from his seating position, like a Prize fighter shaking a punch, "Right, we have been a bit busy of late" he leaned over to his console and pushed a couple of buttons "Mess this is the captain, have to two of everything on the menu sent to my cabin."

"My thanks, Captain. Now, With Terra knowing how far she was behind, she started upgrading her industry for the first time in 3 centuries. Concord is the third Generation of TALON if you will." Mac took a deep breath, "Her name was inherited from Her Mars Captured Siblings. Terra Took what Mars had been using as a carrier-based escort fighter, and they duplicated it for their first two models. The design for the third generation TALON turned her into a 'Fleet Escort and Deep Space Interception and Interdiction Fighter'..." mac chuckled after that one "you can see why 'FEDSIIF' never managed to beat TALON in the naming scheme."

Mac pauses his story as the Food was Delivered. "Ah yes, Thank you Philios. Now, we were not sure what your species is capable or required to eat, but I had brought a bit of everything. Our Race, The Delmarcian's Evolved as Plant biased omnivores. We do consume some meat, much to the horror of some other races, but we do not require it in large quantities. Our race also learned how to clone meat many generations ago, allowing us to streamline our production considerably. There are some races that prefer the meat of a living being, and worse yet, some prefer the meat of The Sapient... but we are not among them." Silo Explained as a Venerable banquet was laid out before the two of them."

Mac Nodded, "In honesty, I am a bit relieved. Our species share the Omnivore trait. However, Humanity evolved into persistence hunters, and our bodies work best with a significant Protein intake. That said, Humans are a diverse bunch, we long figured out how to safely eat diets both Heavy in meat, and with No meat at all. I can’t deny a propensity for a juicy cut of perfectly cooked steak, but I have been in space almost my whole adult life, I can eat just about anything. For us Humans, 'if it tastes funny, don’t eat it' can serve us well, in a pinch. May I?"

Cpt Silu nodded, waving to the platters in between them. "Please, we can finish when we have both been satisfied."

Mac and the dapper captain finished quickly, Mac setting aside a few pieces but generally commenting on the palatability of the options at hand. before long, both were re-ensconced in their chairs. Mac Swirled a tumbler of something smokey produced from under the Captain’s desk. It wasn't as strong as whiskey, but it was nicely balanced with a strong but not unpleasant Earthy undertone. "Oh, this is good.”

“So, we were talking about your vessel. Concord was it?” Silu asked, he was nursing his own amber filled Crystal tumbler.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you what she is capable of, or what some of what she is armed with.” Mackenzie paused, staring down into his drink before continuing, “I can say this. She is so much more than just a fighter. She was my Home for the better part of 7 years, well myself and Clint's homes. At home, this is public knowledge, but the 3rd Generation Talons, such as Concord, were the first-generation tandem Deep Space Fighters equipped with Cerebral Scanning. the 1st Generations were extremely simple hacks, allowing our pilots added abilities in their carrier-based fighters. 2nd Generation was... brutal... we tried to do what Mars had done. Predictably, our pilots overexerted themselves. you see, when you are linked up to your ship, you can FEEL what she is capable of. She is more an extension of your will than a tool in your hands. Our single seat Gen 2's often created an invincibility syndrome in the pilot. Many who pushed their craft far past what their bodies could withstand never came home. It’s the reason I almost died today. The first of the biggest changes between the 2nd Gen and the 3rd Gen TALONS were the SGES's, or 'sustained G-force Exo-Suits'. These suits less dulled the pilots link to the craft, but biologically monitored and manipulated the Human body through pressure to bring the pilot up to the Capabilities of their TALONS. This also allowed us to unlock orders of magnitude more of the Human brain to conscious use through ship interface. This came at a severe cost. The second major change came in the use of two crewman. It took 3 years to fully integrate a pilot and weapons officer to their ship. Any faster, and the training could create significant brain damage and incapacitate both crew members. This happened a few times, often killing at least one of pair that pushed past their limits. Once integrated, No ship can integrate with another Human pilot; and a pilot who has lost his ship, while still connected, often was never fit to fly again. I’ve known many of my contemporaries who felt every part of their partners death. Most never recovered. The rare ones who could, had to take another 3 years to 'bond' with a new TALON, and a new partner. Second, we learned through Generation 2’s that single piloted craft over saturated the pilot’s ability to think, causing errors in judgement, and fatal mistakes due to cockpit resource management failures. In short, Gen3 Talons; while they can be single piloted; are only done so in an emergency with an automated 'weapons system officer' computer helping take up the workload. Both the pilot and the WSO must go through 'the bonding' together and end up sharing more through the ship than most people ever tell their closest lovers in a lifetime."

“You mentioned your partner. Why is he not with you?” Silu asked carefully.

Mac took a deep breath, "my brother from another Mother, Clint Stevens, he was brother in every way but blood, and in some ways closer. we survived 3 years of the hellish training during 'the bonding' and we fought, slept, ate, and shit, bled and killed together in Concord for the better part of 5 years before the wars end. In the end we survived, our race backed away from the cliff of extinction... why, I'm not ready to tell that story. It’s been 5 years since that day, and I'm still not ready to talk about it with someone who wasn't there. Sufficed to say, Terra and Mars Reconciled, half of each planet’s population was obliterated, and a mutual aid treaty had been put in place to help both planets recover. Clint chose to get out of the cockpit. His passion was not in flying itself as mine was.”

Mac took a pull from his glass before continuing. “In that time, LEAP was created. I spent the next 5 years with that Organization. Our goal, get Humanity out of the Sol system. We needed to stretch our legs, 'Explore new worlds, to boldly go' as it were. Humanity has out-grown her cradle, It is expand or die for us." Mac suppressed a chuckle "I was to be the first step in that process, a New Star Drive, the 'Slip-space Jump Drive' SJD, a nice name, but we all just called it the slip-space drive. I pulled the lever and ended up here."

Silu gazed at this “human” in front of him. Siccurro had come to him while Mackenzie was in the infirmary. The Veteran of multiple peace keeping missions under Unity command had voiced his concerns. Under the circumstances, they were not unwarranted. Silu had agreed. Mackenzie would have to be watched closely. “Mackenzie, I must ask this. What are your plans going forward.”

Mac leaned forward and met the captain’s gaze levelly "I know what I am about to ask… You do not know me, and the picture I have painted of my race is, grim. I have nowhere to go. I don't even know where to go If I had the means. Concord Ejected the drive that got me here during the test flight.... striking out on my own is suicide.” Mac seemed to straighten in his chair, clearly having made a decision. “If you will permit me. I offer my services, and my... expertise to you, Your ship, and your people for so long as I am able, or until I find a way home. You are good people, I have seen enough death, Horror, and Evil out in the Black to see this. You were attacked for doing nothing more than bringing in relief supplies, Lost men, and had the world of a wonderful young woman shattered with her first experience with death. *Mac raised his glass* I could do worse. "

Silu sat in silence for a moment, "I will need to give this some thought. I hope you understand that I cannot make a decision of this magnitude without consideration.” Mac nodded slowly, before slumping back into his chair and draining his glass. Silu quirked an eyebrow. Mackenzie seemed much older, in a sad resigned way. “If I may ask, you do not look far along in years, how long do your species tend to live".

Mac pondered that for a moment, "With our modern medicine capabilities, I think our current average is between 115-125 years of age. The age we are considered to have started our adult lives is roughly 16ish of your 'years', 18 by ours. I am currently 25ish of your years old."

Silu sat up in shock, "You went to war as a child!?!"

Mac nodded, "The war had been going on for years Captain... there were allowances made as my training would take a minimum of 3 years. I did not see true combat until after I attained adulthood. They were desperate times... So, enough abou..."

A *knock* came from the door, and a muffled voice spoke through "Sir, final docking has been initiated at the Orbital Distribution Platform, the GHO has sent a representative."

"GHO?" inquired Mac.

"Galactic Health Organization. They are overseeing the Delivery of Supplies. at least I don't have to deal with a middleman this time... I hope. Lt Mac, I feel I owe you more than just asking questions. Doctor Icario Has recommended you to light duty and rest until the offload is complete, which should take several 'days'. I will happily answer any questions you might have once we are under way again. The Corporal here will see you to temporary quarters while more permanent accommodations are arranged. "

"Sounds fair enough Captain, I could use a shower and a good sack out... sorry, sleep… a good sleep. Until next time. " Replied Mac, who then turned and followed the Corporal down the hall.