Next Colony: Mutiny Chapter 8, Page 5

famigliacurione (70)in #nextcolony • 5 years ago (edited)

As the Explorer I landed in the Shipyard of Starbase Genesis5, Jack Steel hid within its inner compartments, and waited for the right moment. Explorers, being unmanned vessels, draw little attention from the Shipyard crew, once they have landed. Dressed in civilian clothing, and being fairly unrecognizable to the Genesis5 crew, Jack easily slipped through the security and made his way to the Base.

Having identical blueprints, all of the Genesis Starbases are clones of one another, making Jack's movement effortless and unnoticeable. Knowing that the Chief was now a Commodore, his quarters would be found just beyond the Control Room. The only danger was the risk that one the higher ranking Officers would recognize him. Fortunately, today was a lucky day for our fugitive hero. Not knowing what to expect, Jack took a deep breath and touched the panel beside the door. Without hesitation, the command to enter was given and the door zipped open.

Come in Mr. Steel, I'm preparing a cup a green tea for you. Lemon, ginger and brown sugar, correct?

Chief???!!! How the hell did you know I was here?!!! I hate when you do that! You make me feel utterly predictable! The exact opposite of what I'm trying to do!

Calm down, son, it's not that you are predictable; it's just that you are predictable to me.

I don't find that at all amusing! What if someone else knows? And alerts the Admiral?

Don't worry, no one else knows, otherwise you would have been arrested on the landing pad. Besides, from what I understand... you're the Admiral!

Please wipe that smirk off of your face, Chief! I'm in deep trouble here!

Oh, don't be silly, my boy; most of the galaxy sees you as a hero! Do you really think Admiral Curione would risk punishing you, and bringing on the wrath of not only the Genesis Starfleet, but most likely, even other Starfleets.

But Admiral Curione has cut off all communications, and moved his entire fleet to Genesis2? It's obvious to me that from there, he plans to move to Genesis16, and hunt me and my supporters down!

What an interesting imagination you have, Mr. Steel. I'm quite enjoying this paranoiac drama of yours!

What are you saying, Chief, that I'm not going to be arrested for mutiny?

Of course not! Admiral Curione will ultimately demote himself to a Captain, or a Commodore, and give command of his fleet to you. Do you really believe that Mr. Curione would really go to war against his own people?! He, too, was extremely unhappy with all of this secrecy. In all honesty, you've done him a favor by declassifying the Project NextColony files. His silence for the moment, serves simply to study how the rest of the galaxy leaders will respond. The moving of the fleet is to protect you! You must bare in mind that other Admirals and Clan Leaders may have wanted to keep this information top secret.

Never thought of it that way! So what's your assessment of the situation, Chief? What are you hearing?

Well, for starters, your actions have accelerated the onset of the Yamato Revolution. The Legendary Planets are already beginning to activate the blueprints.

But that was not supposed to happen until a month from now?!

Moves create countermoves, Mr. Steel. The declassifying of Project NextColony has everyone preparing for the Nemesis Season. The first Season of the Yamato Wars! The scientific community is releasing never before seen technologies; not even I understand them. Starbases are being disintegrated into STARDUST for the upgrading of the Yamato Warships, leaving many planets across the Alpha Galaxy abandoned. Entire Starbases are also disappearing from the Alpha Galaxy, and Respawning on another planet in Beta Galaxy 1/1.

What?! How is that possible?! Entire Starbases?!

That's correct, Mr. Steel. Apparently, this STARDUST is more powerful than we could have ever imagined. With only 1,000 units of STARDUST, an entire Starbase can be Respawned to another galaxy. This is beyond science fiction!

You mean to tell me that we can teleport this Starbase to another galaxy?!

Not quite, Mr. Steel; only Starbases on Alpha Planets.

Like Starbase Genesis1?!

Precisely!

Well, I knew talking to you would undoubtedly be a mind-bender! I don't know if I can handle any more!

Oh, please, sure you can. Besides, I love filling you head with these novelties.

So there's more?!

Indeed! The codes for never before seen Laser Blueprints are being transmitted throughout space. The only way to access these codes is through our Explorers.

I'm not following you, Chief!

Our Explorers have been upgraded with two new functions. If an Explore Mission does not find a planet, and is not lost, it has a 10% probability of collecting STARDUST. With that STARDUST on board, we can generate a random band of frequencies that can capture the code of Laser Blueprints, as well as the monster vessel Transporter III.

This means that the Explore Missions now have a greater priority!

True! So choose wisely where you plan to explore.

Glad you brought that up, Chief! I've reactivated Operation Epsilon Corridor!

But that's not possible, Mr. Steel! We need to first reach the Epsilon Ring!

We have! I received a request from Commodore Tinari Onay to join the Genesis Starfleet, and I accepted. Starbase Genesis999 is already in the Epsilon Ring!