Dawn of the Final Frontier

Chapter 3: Off to War

        James stepped off the elevator, towards the conference room. At the end of the corridor, he could see his guards at the door, their rifles in their standard "at attention" position. When he reached them, they quickly stopped him.

        "We've neutralized the 2 guards, sir. Their captain is in hysterics, but he can still be negotiated with."

        "Acknowledged," James replied. He stepped into the room.

        The alien had his head on the table, his arms crossed on his lap. The two dead aliens were on the floor, stripped of their armor and weapons. The weapons were on the table, the armor were outside. James would send those to be evaluated later, for right now he was interested in the alien captain. He sat down in a chair.

        "Captain Haridee, why did your ships fire on us?!" James demanded.

        The sobbing from Haridee became audible.

        "Answer me, damnit!" James said, rising from his chair.

        "I ordered them to not fire before left. Why did they not listen?!" Haridee whimpered.

        James grabbed Haridee by his armor's collar, and picked him up with all his might. Haridee's face revealed a liquid coming from his eyes equivalent to human tears, and it was obvious Haridee was in despair. 

        "I told them, James. They did not listen, unfortunately. They did not want to make peace. Now you face the might of the Ardwunmar." He closed his eyes.

        James put Haridee down, contemplating. 

        "What weapons do your ships use, and are there more of those types of ships?"

    "Why, we use concentrated Plasma beams. Extremely high temperature mixed with concentration leads to extreme effectiveness."

        "Are there more?" James asked after Haridee ignored his question the first time.

        "More? Why, of course there are more. Those were only scout vessels, lightly armed at best. Although all of our ships share the same hull, each one is configured differently. Our main Warships are armed to the teeth with Plasma turrets"

        James swore. If there were more powerful ships than those, then they were in big trouble.

        "Although," Haridee continued, "considering you destroyed those three ships with ease, using your technology, I say you have a good chance of facing my empire's armada. That is, of course, if you have more of these vessels somewhere."

        "Of course, if we had more." James said glumly. he considered shooting Haridee right then and there, but he was much too valuable to be wasted for petty vengeance.

        He walked up to a guard. "Put him in the brig. Do not treat him too much like a prisoner but keep an eye on him.

        "Aye aye, sir!" The guard responded, waved over 2 of his squadmates, and took away Haridee. 

        James headed back to the bridge. Once there, he sat in his captain's chair, rubbing his temples. His head hurt greatly, and he had sweat quite a bit. 

        "Mark, what are our orders now?" James said frustratedly. 

        "Contacting the TNC now sir," Mark said

        James looked out into the starry field on his viewscreen, rubbing his temple as Mark cheerfully hummed the tune of "The British Grenadiers". The bridge officers casually manned their posts.

        "Our orders, sir, are to simply head back to Earth, and regroup." Mark said minutes later.

        "Acknowledged. Mizushima, plot a course back to Earth. Johnson, keep those weapons hot while we're leaving. Who knows if they could bring more ships." James ordered, watching as the crew began attending to their normal duties. 

        James got up, and went to his quarters at the far corner of the room. Inside was the standard Oak desk, a shelf, a cushioned chair, and the box of Jame's belongings. He went to the box, taking out what little things he had. His computer, a toy model of a Minerva-class destroyer, which was one of the earlier designs of space warships, and a picture of his sister Eileen. His twin, to be exact, she was just like him. Stubborn, strict, and had a very soft spot for Space.

        Space, to both of them, was fascinating. From the way stars are formed to the intricate formation of galaxies, they both loved it. They both wanted to be astronauts as children, but as they grew, and space technology and exploration expanded, they both narrowed down their dreams. Eileen wished to be a Space Engineer, while James had wanted to be a Spaceship pilot. Now, here he was, the Captain of a massive Space Warship.

        Eileen had also gotten her wish. She had become an engineer. She helped build space stations. However, her dream had abrubtly ended eighteen years ago, when she was caught in a explosion on a space station that was under construction. Twenty-Seven others suffered the same fate. The space station was even named after her, the Space Port Eileen, because she had detected the explosion causing error, and not only told the station to evacuate, but also stayed behind with the other 27 engineers to delay the accident, to ensure the safety of the other workers.

        Back then, he was just a mere Ensign, aboard the ESS Lundenburg, as a replacement for an ill Lieutenant. The only reason he made it to Captain was because the ship had been caught in a skirmish between Earth and Mars ships. The captain of the Lundenburg had been knocked unconscious. James was the only one that had gone to the advanced Command-And-Lead class back at the academy and passed. He took command, and disabled 2 ships. The bridge crew couldn't believe his talent.

        Still, James did not go a day without thinking about that day he had recieved the letter about the death of his sister. 

        James set the things out neatly on the desk, and put the picture in the drawer of the desk. He sat down, resting his eyes.

        "We have arrived at Earth, sir," Mark said, "And we have new orders from Command."

        James opened his eyes, "Very well. Put them on my computer, I'll be ready within the hour," He paused, "And get the lights when you leave."

        "Aye." Mark said, leaving James to his nap.