Chapter 10. Head First into Hell
03 Oct 2020Black Llama
September 21, 3306Chelomey Orbital, Cubeo system
Wearing the best of her Imperial regalia, Aisling Duval rose from an ornate throne, clasped her hands and began speaking:
"Dearest friends, welcome to you all. You have proven yourselves in the face of great difficulty, and today in this ceremony we recognize your deeds with their just reward. Each and every one of you have rendered great services not only to the Empire, but to the cause of a greater Humankind which can, and will, enjoy ever greater Justice. Your actions are living proof that our ideals, our vision of a better Empire, will inevitably prevail over dark times."
She opened her arms, flashed her famous charming smile, and said "From the bottom of my heart, thank you friends, and congratulations." With that, her figure flickered and disappeared as the holographic display shut down.
As the image went out, the main lights in the hall turned on and an Imperial official stepped forward, flanked by a couple of clerks who were each balancing a number of velvet-lined boxes. I was standing, with a couple dozen other commanders, in a semicircle around the point where the image of the princess had appeared. The official stood near that point and loudly announced "Brave commanders, it is an honor for the Prismatic Imperium to welcome you all here. Our beloved Princess Aisling wishes she could have been here to personally bestow these awards, but matters of the utmost importance have unfortunately kept her away." After a brief pause, he continued: "You are all gathered here to receive the gratitude of the most generous Empire, for your bravery amidst the flames..." I closed my eyes and relived in my mind the images of the last days.
September 12, 3306
Near Muller Terminal, Rabh system
I dropped out of supercruise about 8 km away from the starport. I had chartered a Type-7 Transporter, which I had named the Exit Strategy, and packed it full of economy-class cabins and heatsink launchers to join the rescue effort. The desperate voice of the Imperial flight controller came over the comms system: "Attention commander! This station is under a state of emergency. Imperial Flight Operations cannot guarantee your safety. Proceed at your own risk!" Looking at the station, I saw things were as bad as people had told me back in Meene.
All over the outside of the starport I saw the telltale greenish marks of Thargoid attacks. But the Empire claimed that a Human terrorist group was behind the attacks. Is it possible that some Human faction has obtained some Thargoid weaponry, just as Ram Tah has been able to recreate Guardian weapons? Could this be in some way connected to the strange INRA data Maggie found on Hollis Gateway, which she tried to keep hidden from me, and which Tah was still trying to decode?
After a few runs I had extracted about a thousand refugees from the blazing inferno of the station. I was resting for a moment in the rescue ship's cantina, in the rotating section, sitting at a table with a drink. As I watched the many ships queueing to dock on the outside, my view was suddenly blocked and a voice said "You! You look like an idealist!"
I looked up. A girl in a bright red flightsuit stood on the other side of the small table, arms akimbo, smiling and staring straight at me.
I blinked a few times, thinking to myself "Here's a bad good judge of character". Without replying I finished my drink, stood up and headed for the door, but she jumped ahead and spread her arms to block my path.
"Matte kudasai! Commander! Thousands of people need your help!"
I was about to push her aside, but for some reason I didn't. I gestured towards the outside window. "Erm, hello, I'm already part of the rescue here."
"Not here!" She stamped a foot like an impatient child, then extended her left arm to point at the long queue of ships. "Plenty people helping here, no one is coming to help home! Will you help Princess Aisling?"
"Wait, where's 'home'?" I asked.
She immediately grabbed my right hand with both of hers, and bowed as she started shaking my hand with plenty of energy. "Much appreciated! Gabjaujis system needs assistance too!" She stood upright, let go of my hand and gave what she thought was some sort of military salute.
September 14, 3306
Near Tsiolkovsky Terminal, Gabjaujis system
A video message came in as soon as I dropped out of hyperspace: "Greetings, commanders! Thanks for assisting in hour of need!" It was that girl again. "I'm Knight Tania Rusetti, proud supporter of our beloved Princess Aisling and pilot of the nicest Courier in the galaxy, the Adesso è Fortuna. Please, make your way to rescue megaship orbiting Tsiolkovsky Terminal for instructions - our people need help!"
I set course directly towards Tsiolkovsky Terminal itself. The starport, an Orbis type, looked even worse than Muller Terminal did: the main habitat ring and one of the machinery rings had large segments missing, with spouts of flaming gas jetting out into space. I wondered how much longer the weakened structure of the rings could hold itself together under the stress of rotation.
Tania was right: the traffic in the station was much less than in Rabh. Well, I thought to myself as I maneuvered to dock, at least I won't be losing time bonuses by having to wait in line at the rescue ship. With my finger on the trigger of the heatsink launcher, I aligned my ship with the station's mail slot and flew into Hell once again.