The ship was now theirs. For a moment, the crew fascinated him with the almost mechanical precision with which they carried out his first official order as commander of the ship. As Raeth took the seat in the center of the command deck, his subordinates took theirs in an orderly fashion. The act involved moving their tail in the spot between seat and backrest, then sliding themselves forward by gripping their feet on the deck and pulling their legs backward.
"Is she ready, Freya?"
"Aye, sir," the young Orkeht girl replied.
Sliding forward on her seat in a fluid motion, she adjusted the console to the right position and angle to work with. The moment her fingers started to dance over the panel, playing the virtual controls that blinked and moved under her touch like an instrument, the ship seemed to feel it. A slight increase in the low frequency hum of the power distribution systems. A mild vibration through the deck under his feet as the powerful fusion engines initiated their final self-test and warmup cycle. A change in the values and blink frequency of the highlighted parts on the right secondary viewer, currently serving as system status display.
"Syrran, did docking C&C give us what we need?"
The large slate gray Goureg turned a few degrees on his seat to look over his enormous square shoulder. His long bulky legs stretched in a relaxed position, only the heels of his large feet touching the deck.
"Departure request was received, sir. Transmission coming in now."
"Put 'em through."
The seal of the Imperial Guard which the main viewer had been displaying up till then made place for the head of an officer from C&C. He greeted Raeth and his officers with a slight bow of his head before speaking. The control center was bustling with activity, filled with holographic displays and personnel operating them to keep the traffic around the enormous facility in order.
"Permission to undock granted, Myr'loa oh-five. Go out and earn her that name, Ginjha."
The corner of Raeth's beak curved into the beginning of a smile. From the corner of his eye he shot a glance at Jirro. The large Ryrjhii crossbreed had his eyes locked in front of him but Raeth was pretty sure he noticed his Kaedar was doing the same to him. One thing was certain; they were going to have a difference of opinion soon enough. He was in for quite a surprise.
"Don't expect her to return without one."
The officer flicked an ear, copying Raeth's faint smile and turning it into a mild grin.
"We won't let you. Nas ohvi Kirliya deh unar. Docking control out."
His face and the background of the busy control center switched to an aft view of the ship instead. A black sea with an irregular pattern of tiny stars, like beacons in the night. These marked the locations of other solar systems. Other worlds like theirs. Only different. Most of them never explored before. It was time to pay them a visit.
"Bridge to engineering."
Stretching his legs in front of him, popping a joint or two in the process, he only had to wait for a pair of ticks before the right secondary viewer displayed the head of his Chief Engineer. For a tick Majih's head seemed to float but then he realized it was that hovering drone of theirs. It stabilized its position and adjusted for Majih's, as the Talocaan Mantrin occupied one of the workstations. Sliding forward on his seat, adjusting the height and angle of the console to his physique, he replied as he tapped in a series of commands.
"Gimme a tick, sir. I believe she's ready to roar like you wanted to find out, starting... now."
"Syrran."
YOU ARE READING
Mantrin Imperial Guard - Pilot Episode - 001 Darkening Sky
Science-FictionJoin Raeth and his crew, Mantrins in service of their Empire, on their first mission. They have been selected and are equipped to respond quickly to handle the most unusual situations that might occur in a hostile galaxy. But can they also work toge...
