New Elysium: Breakout

No Terms Part 45

*Dedicated to taivaan_sininen and Ashabellanar4life for the help on descriptions(which I'm sure still need work) on what my ships look like.*

Ember hesitated as she watched the others leave her ship. Get on the Aphelion, Red had told her. She'd been prepared to do just that, walking around her own ship, maybe I'll go ahead and dock it in the Aphelion.

...and yet Ember as she stood in the near-empty vessel hesitated. Her new uniform was a drastic change the black pants, with the bright blue bent bars that symbolized New Elysium made her want to do more than run to the other ship and hide.  She clenched her fists and paused as she reached out and made sure there were no other people on board The Ember. She didn't need another person to actually fly herself, normally she preferred a copilot. But if Red wasn't currently available she didn't want anyone else to sit in his chair. 

Sorry, Red.

He was going to be angry with her, but she hoped he would understand. She was built for this and she was choosing to fly.

So far they'd only managed to attach the mounts to her hull, and one rail gun.  It was better than nothing. Ember felt the ship attach itself to her lower spine and the surge of adrenaline that always came with it as it powered her. She would always be attached to this vessel. It would be her home, her bed, her sanctuary and eventually her death. 

The only thing missing was having her copilot.

She let the cable shift her up through the doors into her chamber. The doors over her head opened up and she vaguely recalled opening her eyes in this very room to Red's worried face before she vomited almost on top of it. 

She smiled grimly at the memory as she stretched out her hands and feet and let the interface fully connect with her. There was no one else inside, so she locked the doors. 

She cycled through the various viewpoints outside of the ship making sure it was all clear before returning to her favorite, the one right in front that most resembled what she'd be seeing if this was truly her body. It opened up to the vastness of space being cut into by the brightness of the star New Elysium encircled. She didn't have a name for it yet. 

She turned to view the Aphelion from her vantage point. It was huge, resembling a large marine sea creature from ancient earth. Somewhere on that ship, Red was at work. He'd have to give her a guided tour, and he'd probably demand that she dock there. Maybe she would at some point. 

Nine hours, that's all they would have to prepare. That was not enough time to attach another rail gun, apparently... Ember sniffed. She didn't need another one. She tested the one they'd already attached pleased to find that moved with just a thought. 

####

Red still stood on the bridge of the Aphelion, but to him, it was like hovering right out there in the edge of the vast expanse of space. Once he had fully interfaced with the ship, the control consoles and the entire vessel around him had turned translucent and disappeared, and he now found himself projected hundreds of kilometers above the fleet. He moved his hands in a circle and the Aphelion moved between his hands like a miniature toy he could play with. He studied it for a moment from every angle. 

"...a general must acquaint himself thoroughly with the terrain...before he can march his army through it."*

It wasn't the same as physical terrain but to Red, the concept was similar. Every vessel had its strengths and its weaknesses. His job was to know them all and use them accordingly.