Beyond The Frontier

Chapter 5

Mission Time/Day 2 15:00

"USCS Harvard to USS Freedom Star, requesting permission to dock on approach."

"USCS Harvard permission granted. Welcome back to the mothership."

The science frigate approached the super carrier as it's docking bay opened up, allowing the smaller ship to glide inside and dock. They'd spent over an hour studying the remains of a derelict Japanese battleship with no official registration across any known fleet records. It was literally a ghost ship.

However they managed to find an identification on the card that belonged to the ship's Captain.

Juzo Okita of the battleship JS Yamato.

Of all the known Musashi class battleships made by Japan, none of them were given the designation of Yamato. Fortunately they received answers from the ship's flight recorder, but it wasn't anything good for the Americans.

Apparently the Yamato, along with several other ships, had been constructed in a top secret project covered by a mass colonization project. The vessel's mission was to venture towards the anomaly and retrieve it before any of the other major nations, granting Japan dominance over the human race. The fleet the Yamato was assigned to was launched just 2 years ago.

However they were not alone.

During a refueling run near an ice field, the fleet had come under attack by another fleet of human warships that had somehow approached undetected. A Japanese carrier and several escorts were able to warp out, but half the fleet, including the Yamato had been destroyed. The identity of who attacked the Japanese was not mentioned in the data, however the missile recovered from the wreck did provide answers.

It was an unknown model, however it was marked with the logo of a Saudi Arabian arms manufacturer company.

The Saudi Arabians were a neutral nation in the realm of space, having half as many planets as the US. They made a lot of income by focusing on exporting raw materials, which countries like the US has purchased from them, and were known to use those funds in developing large megastructures such as space elevators and an in progress ring world. However they lacked a sizable naval force in space, according to official records. So they too must've secretly built a fleet none of the major powers were aware of and sent them out to retrieve the anomaly.

This news did not bode well for the crew as they were now aware of two new adversaries who had a major head start against them, or worse either has arrived at the anomaly already. Their entire mission could've been over before it even begun.

But it would not stop them from continuing on.

If the Saudis and Japanese were fighting against one another, than they likely must've crippled one another's efforts to reach the anomaly.

There was still hope for an American victory.

Then there was Beauty. The borzoi brought on board had woken up and was checked by medical staff. Though the facilities were intended to work with humans specifically, the dog was cleared of any ailments and wouldn't pose any threat to the crew. It's name tag read Asmai, which translated to Morning Beauty in Japanese. Corporal Jackson, the marine now charged with taking care of the dog, renamed it Beauty to give it a shorter English name. However while medical staff were checking Beauty for any ailments they came to another shocking discovery. Not only was Beauty female, but she was also pregnant.

Why someone brought a pregnant dog on a warship in the middle of uncharted space was beyond knowing, however it brought up some concerns regarding the health of the pups. Stasis sleep has never been tested with pregnant individuals, so it was unknown if there were any health risks to the unborn pups or Beauty.