The Black

Director Johansen settled into his private viewing room, absently perusing the data scrolling past his fingertips. Several months had passed since the first “Gate” tests. One of the scientists had decided to remember the cult classic science fiction series from the heyday of Terra’s “science fiction” craze, and it had taken entirely too much of Bjorn’s force of stature to prevent the floating ring outside Ceres from being dubbed the “Stargate”. The move had not been without its casualties, and the compromise had been made. The rings would be named for the young man who survived stumbling upon this new technology. Thus the “Warrensgate” was born; which, to the horror of the young lieutenant, was immediately shortened to the “Wargate” by almost all involved.

Bjorn shifted his attention to the control room, watching the young man busy himself with the preoperational checks. This was to be the 14th test between the Ceres and Phobos gates. After the revelations of the first test, solid spheres of titanium of increasing masses were sent through the rings. Warren’s mate had stumbled upon the possible linchpin, but Warren had run with the concept. Using the calculated mass spheres, the optimal mass for gate transit was both discovered and fine-tuned, and today’s test was to be the proof of concept to determine viability. A second freighter was set to be the test subject, and this one was slightly newer, designed to make use of the Higgs Bosun mass regulating generator.

The control room stations began their callouts, slowly working their way through each system as Warren, now leading his first test himself, scanned with practiced eye and listened with practiced ear as the Rings were carefully brought online. Bjorn Johansen flicked his screen’s feed over to the external camera’s just in time to witness the rings flaring to life once again, and its event horizon threw shimmering reflections across the hull of the freighter poised to step into the unknown.

Warren rattled off a series of commands and final checks. The gate’s cooling systems had been severely beefed up, and the thermal numbers were high but stable. Satisfied, he turned to the newest member of the Control room team, and Jezzaria nodded as he gave her the command. She had earned this position throughout the series of tests, and now activated the freighter Higgs field. She bent to her control, slowly feeding in control inputs to lower the freighter’s mass down to the predetermined number. Data scrolled across Johansen’s screens as the freighters systems came to life and stabilized, and soon enough the command was given to begin the test. The freighter began to surge forward, accelerating to the minimum velocity necessary for a standard slipspace jump. It reached the desired velocity just before its bow disappeared into the event horizon. As in the first test, Jez lost command of the freighter. This was now considered normal however, and everyone relaxed slightly, awaiting news from Phobus.

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Jezzaria settled back into her chair. She was still wearing her wing harness to keep her wings neatly folded behind her, but she no longer struggled to walk and work in Ceres gravity. She had done her part, and the excited anticipation of the wait was thick enough to taste as the control room collectively held its proverbial breath. She shut down a few of the functions of console as the rings themselves were shut down from the other side. This was the sign of arrival, as they had learned early on that premature shutdown could result in a violent reaction that had nearly destroyed the Ceres ring during one of the orb tests. Warren was feet away, playing the part of test lead; and she resisted the urge to go to him. Seeing him in command, even of just one test bothered her in all the right ways. He caught her gaze after a moment and gave her a wink just before the initial data packet from Phobos reached them.

“Data received. It has a cover video Lieutenant.” Called out one of the personnel.

“Play it.” Ordered Warren, and the wall-sized screens came alive with the recorded feed of the Phobos Ring. The video played from just before the prow of the freighter emerged, soon to be followed by the rest of the vessel; and a few shouts were heard as the vessel appeared to be unharmed in the recording.

“Lieutenant. The Data has arrived. Prelim reports that the Hull temperature is on the higher end, but within parameters. Control was reestablished from the freighter almost immediately.” One of the scientists reported.

“Chono sync data?” Warren asked quickly. The first freighter had been badly damaged, but its onboard computer had been able to log the transit. From this they learned that from the perspective of the vessel, travel was near instantaneous, and with a more scientifically accurate logging of the rings activations this second test would tell them what the difference between ship time, and real space time would be.

“Lieutenant… The rings report a real space transit time of .015 seconds. Ship transit time was .0029.” Came the awed response.

“Jesus… that’s.. Log everything. Shut down all systems then go to lunch. It will take 4 hours for the data to be decompiled fully. We return here at 1400.” Warren called out. Quickly flicking through his own console as he followed began the ordered task for himself.

Professionalism ruled, as the data was yet to determine the actual level of success or failure, and Director Johansen stood to leave for his next appointment. No one noticed the twitch on the corners of his mouth as a smile struggled for freedom.

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A familiar vessel flashed into Delmar space, broadcasting its security code as it glided past Port Royal station. Its obsidian black vessel, a much smaller version of the one Aiericastum had used to prevent the Inquisitorum Fleet’s assault, was tracked by Port Royal’s sensors as it made its move for Delmar’s orbit. Philip Kenye studied the ship as it passed, contemplating the repercussions of this arrival as the familiar security code flashed across his pad. “Notify the Ambassador. Our special guest has made her arrival.”

“Message sent, sir.” Came a reply from the communications station. “The ambassador confirmed receipt.”

“Very good.” Philip stated before returning to his previous work. The refugee crisis created by the Vorath Invasion was being coordinated, in no small part, by Ami in her role as both Saurian Ambassador and Storied Legend as Coordinator of the GHO. The Massive Saurian was a magician with logistics and was quickly rivalling General William Tunner’s Berlin Air lift in efficiency and success. Sol, while unwilling to go to war, had rattled the sabers of Humanitarian aid; and the first food laden cargo ships had begun to arrive. Humanity’s civil war had left its survivors with a surplus of food stuffs that had quickly been compiled into categories and marked for shipping, and the majority of the Terran Slip Drive freighters had been bent to this new purpose.

“Sir, Star Duster reports she is on initial departure.” came the call from communications.

“Tristen’s boat…” Philip mused, “They must be just out of refit. Flight plan?”

“They report Sol bound. The request a maximum velocity jump clearance.” Came the reply.

“Joining the effort then. Clear them with my complements.” Philip stated. Turning his attention to the optical sensors trained on the Human style freighter with a Delmar captain. The vessel was burning hard for the jump point, preparing for the mad dash to The Sol system to pick up desperately needed cargo.

“God speed.” Philip mumbled under his breath as the freighter flashed into slip-space.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Cory settled into his office chair with a heavy sigh just as the chime rang, “Enter” he called, and the sliding door opened to see Patrick, his chief engineer step into his office. “What’s the word, Red.” Cory waved Patrick into a chair.

“Everything mostly checks out. We should be good to do for the foreseeable future.” Patrick stated, handing over the data pad he had been tapping at when he arrived.

“Mostly?” Cory asked with a contemplative expression as he began scanning through the report. Not really seeing anything of note, he set it down and returned his focus to the Human siting patiently across from him.

“it’s a little warble in the Thermal bank during the activation phase, near the end of your PAC burn. It might be what caused that instability you found during our sea trials. We just never pushed the PAC to her limits then. I would refrain on doing too many more full capacity burns until I crack open the banks to take a closer look” Patrick explained, drawing Cory’s attention to a small section of the report.

“Which we are definitely not doing while in theatre” Cory mused, eliciting a confirming nod from Patrick. “What do you think our safe maximum could be for now.”

“I think we could safely do a burn 70 percent of what we fired during your little drive by” Patrick smirked at the mild glare Cory gave him. “Either way, we can compensate with the rotary mag on the 1005, and we haven’t even touched our missile complement yet. We are still in excellent shape.”

“Good, any injuries from your section? Jackie reported a couple of personnel came to her with minor injuries.” Cory asked. The worst injury appeared to be a broken arm from one of the damage control crew who were not properly strapped in during their sidestep burn.

“None, Cap. We can strap into our consoles, so we didn’t have to move the entire fight.” Patrick confirmed.

“Good. In the morning, we will be visited by R’Cari and Sombra. We have a few spare missiles from our previous mission, and we will be resupplying them. Admiral Stevens needs us to monitor the incoming Vorath fleet on long-range. The Destroyers are too busy providing fire control, but we will be getting 4 Raptor’s and a supply shuttle with their ordinance in the next 12 hours. We are to interdict and delay, minimal risk only.” Cory stated heavily. “I’ll have to double berth them, and they will have to void walk to get to their vessels.”

“The added support will be worth it. I guess it’s time to play privateer. I’ll tell the crews.” Patrick stood, “You comin’ to movie night?”

“I’ll be there, Jackie adores this “The Lord of the Rings” film. She still won’t tell me what its about.” Cory groaned.

“Oh, I’m not spoiling that one for you. She picked a good series to introduce you to Human ‘fantasy’. See ya after supper.” Patrick’s amusement danced across his face as he turned toward the door.

“I’m glad I can amuse you, Red. Dismissed.” Chuckled Cory as he stood himself. He headed for the mess hall with his friend. Both were meeting their mates for food before movie night started.

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Jacob slowly scrolled through the latest reports from the massive humanitarian crisis. This war was swallowing lives at a rate that dwarfed the GSW. Entire planets were being swallowed by a menace that was bent on genocide for the weak, and enslavement of those strong enough to be considered useful. As he continued to read, an old familiar feeling began to worm its way into the light of consciousness, but he pushed it away firmly as Hera slipped into their room. “Hey purdy.” He whispered, standing slowly, and pulling her into a quick kiss.

“Hey,” her voice was a suave on the emotions from moments ago as she kissed him back. Pulling back just far enough to look him in the eyes she paused, seemingly searching for his soul. “What is it.” She purred.

“Am I that easy to read?” Jacob just watched her, amused at the feeling that she was searching his soul.

“I may have yet to claimed you Captain Irving, but I know you. I haven’t seen that look since the Pirate Boarding.” Hera scolded lightly, “What is it.” She repeated.

Jacob gave up, sighing heavily as he pulled her into a more comforting embrace, “Just the war. Its... getting to me... Like how I felt, before the ambush…”

“I was wondering about that. You’ve been more... intense than usual these past months. You want to get involved.” Hera’s quiet observation made him stiffen slightly.

“I guess I am really that easy for you to read.” He chuckled after a min. “Part of me definitely does. A big part of me definitely does…”

“But?” Hera smiled even as her eyes bored into his. There was no hiding anything from her.

“I don’t want to drag Traveler, or you into it. Back then, I was much younger, and had less to lose.” Jake admitted.

“So, what are we going to do. I was a naval officer, after all. If you are in, so am I.” Hera pulled away from him, “Common, dinner is ready. Momma and Pappa are waiting. Mamma tried out making ‘spaghetti’. She’s apparently been picking Martin’s brain.”

Jacob could only laugh and follow Hera down to the dining room to find a positively titanic bowl of premixed noodles and sauce, punctuated with meat balls scattered about the top. While not exactly what Human Spaghetti was usually presented, all the components appeared to be in place, “Looks good.” He said, giving Hera’s mother a quick hug and nodding to her father.

“Sit, it’s getting cold.” The older Delmar man said as the massive bowl made its way around the table. Jacob suppressed a raised eyebrow at the tone of Hera’s father as they began to eat. Hera’s mother wanted to know about Traveler’s preparations. Like many of the nonslip-capable freighters, she was being filled with the emergency supplies already delivered. Once full, she would be making a circuit to the refugee settlements and colonies that were cropping up all around this side of the warzones encroaching battle lines. Her father simply ate in silence, openly regarding Jacob more than usual. The two of them had never become close, and that left them with a sense of “mutual respect” for the Soldiers they were. Jacob just shrugged it off, unsure of what more he could do. He took another bite of the strangely presented, but excellent spaghetti.

“So, when is your departure date. Hera says you are almost finished taking cargo.” Jacob looked up in mild surprise as Hera’s father spoke to him.

“One week. The loadmaster tells me we should be properly balanced by then.” Jake stated between bites, “We will be doing a round-robin route for the moment. Ami’s assistant is sending me the exact details tomorrow.”

“I see,” The older Delmar stated, taking deliberate time in finishing another bite of dinner, “Then I guess Sylia and I owe you two our decision.” Prallus’ tone drew the women from their conversation as Sylia looked over at her husband.

“Prallus, are you sure?” Her tone was one of caution as she laid a hand lightly as if to calm him. “There is still time.”

“A week is not going to make any difference in this matter.” Prallus’ tone was hard… final, and he turned to bore his eyes into Jacob, “I do not like that You are not Delmar, even if it appears that our two species are compatible with the claiming.” He started, “I think all of this between the Delmar and Humanity is moving too quickly… too aggressively, and I have read much of your past. Humanity has severely dark portions of their heritage.”

Sylia opened her mouth to speak out but was silenced with a look, “I do not take my daughters future lightly, and I will be allowed to finish.” Prallus continued, “Jacob. Your people are dangerous. Dangerous enough to fight off both the Inquisitorum and the Vorath. That alone terrifies me, but…” Hera’s father took a long breath.

“Pappa….” Hera cried out softly, but Prallus held up a hand.

After a moment he continued, “I must also temper how I feel about your people with you as an individual. I have seen how you treat my daughter, I have seen her trust in you as a captain, and as a potential mate. I cannot deny that. Jacob Irving, we will never be friends; but I must trust my daughter in this. Because of that trust, I approve of your match. Do not prove my decision a mistake, Jacob.”

“Thank you, Sir. I’m honored.” Jacob’s formal seated bow was interrupted by the impact of Hera pulling towards him with shaking hands and ragged breathing, as she hugged him tightly.

“Thank you, Pappa…” She whispered over His shoulder to Prallus as she clung to Jake.

___________________________________________________________________________

Warren and Jezzaria were sitting together with the entire analysis crew. All hands were present, either in the flesh or over Conference Coms as they sifted the data set from the latest test of the Warrensgate. The Freighter had indeed survived the trip between Ceres and Phobos, and the data was quickly revealed just how successful the jump was.

“Do we have the food stuffs report?” Johansen asked from his chair at the head of the table. It was not often he got to participate this intimately with his team, and he relished every opportunity he was given.

“Here, Director.” Klaus, now effectively his second in command, sent the data over to him from his own pad. “It appears that one jump give about double the total rad count of one trip from Sol to Delmar. Properly sealed, there should be no issue with transitting perishables.”

“Are we saying what I think we are saying? If we can do this... it changes everything.” Warren was half speaking to himself, half posing the question to the group. Looking up, he spoke up fully as his thought matured, “If we build one of these on the other side of the galaxy… It becomes a weak point… a way for our enemies to make it to earth quickly…”

The room sobered for a moment as scientists were reminded of the real-world repercussions associated with ground breaking innovations, and the room remained silent for several moments. “I.. I don’t think we have a choice.” It was Jezzaria that spoke first. She straightened as all eyes turned to her, and Warren had to hide a smile as his angel showed herself the daughter of a planetary leader. She met each of their gazes confidently. “The war is the very reason we need this technology. Right now, we have a bottleneck in the supply department. We need arms, and sustenance to keep people alive faster and in more quantities than we can provide for much longer. Being able to bring refugees to Sol, as you did with my people, will be invaluable. Furthermore, there are so many uninhabited worlds between Delmar and Sol. we can use those “deathworlds” to save lives, I believe it is worth the risk.” She finished, folding her hands and simply waiting for the reply.

“It is a valid argument. We need this to save more lives in the medium and long term.” Director Johansen spoke into the silence. “I will be recalling Excelsior in the next check in transmission to them. They are close enough to make it back in a timely manner. Our task, and I believe Warren will agree with me on this, is to design as many fail safes into this system as possible. Jezz here has an invaluable point, but the adverse is also true. We cannot allow this gate system to fall into enemy hands, giving themselves a doorway to our cradle.” He turned to Jezz and Warren. “Warren, you and Jezz will be overseeing the Ring construction in Signus, and I want you to coordinate with Captain Yasushi to find two more gate locations near quality colony worlds.” He turned to the rest of the team, both present and virtual, “The rest of you. I want designs on my table within the month. I need a minimum of 4 different Warrensgate designs that focus on reliability, security, and ease of assembly and repair.” Johansen took a deep breath and visibly stretched, “I think that is enough for today. We will reconvene upon Excelsiors return to make final decisions.”

With that, everyone stood. And quietly filed out of the conference room. Teams quickly formed as the Scientist turned the design requirements into a competition. Warren and Jezz soon found themselves alone as they wandered the small plant laden “enrichment space” that was along their walk toward their quarters. Jezz kept her head down, walking along Warren in silence. Working up the courage, she finally spoke to her mate, “Im sorry.”

“What, wait, why?” Warren immediately turned to look at her as she sat down on a bench. “What’s wrong?”

Jezz steeled herself for what was to come, “I… I went against you… publically… You must be..”

“Stop.” Warren stated gently.

But I..” Jezz was physically halted a second time as Warren put a finger on her lips, then followed it with a peck on her forehead. “You’re not angry?” she said once he released her.

“Angel, you are mixing up your culture with mine. I know I have leaned into the Dominate/submissive aspects of your people’s gender relationships; I won’t say I don’t enjoy it because I do.” He began, “But that is only just between the two of us. When we are working together, you will always be my equal. Never worry about disagreeing with me in public. I might get annoyed, because who doesn’t hate being proved wrong, but I’ll never be angry because you ‘Defied me’.”

“But what about us putting up a unified position. We are one.” Jezz asked softly, clearly not completely convinced.

Warren nodded in understanding. “Let me put it this way. You have strengths and points of view I do not. You are the daughter of, by all surviving records, a wise, well liked planetary political leader. You were groomed to see a different picture than I grew up viewing. By contrast, I am a scientist first, and a military officer second. Simply put, I will be blind to some aspects of a situation that you may see all too clearly. If we are one, and I am the head, how can I make the correct decision if I ignore half of the thought processes involved.”

Jezz took a moment then nodded slowly. Warren continued, “In a workplace. All of us are individuals making up one department, with Bjorn as the head. For you to stay silent for my sake damages the thought process of the whole department.”

“I… hadn’t thought of it that way.” Jezz admitted after a moment.

“I know. The way Humans do things professionally is very different from how you were raised.” Warren scooped her up and pulled her to his chest, “Now, as your mate,” he let his dominant voice creep into his tone, “No more worrying about my ego. It can survive a few scratches.”

Jezz looked up at him just in time to catch a peck on the lips, “Ok... I’ll try.” She said finally. “Now take me home, you know what the tone does to me.” she coo’d up at him, gently kissing along his neck as she spoke.