Risen: Niekro's War

Putting the Action into Action Plan

"Ares, get me Twitch," I said as I stepped out of C and C, Naveaia on my hip and the twins in our shadow. Then I was turning to Naveaia, a forestalling hand stopping her commentary before it could start.

"Yeah, I already know you have doubts about Twitch and her wraiths, Naveaia," I said as she closed her mouth and frowned at my hand instead. "But her crew is already set up for what I want to do next."

"Which is what, exactly?" she asked, her tone decidedly frosty. She obviously didn't like me shushing her. Whatever; if the universe stopped every time I put somebody's nose out of joint, nothing would ever get done. She was just going to have to put her big drake pants on and deal with it.

However, I had also learned that an informed Naveaia was one that was far more useful than one in the dark. So: 

"I want to see that battle field for myself," I said. "Maybe get some data that Jjorak didn't have the time to gather. A piece of one of those giant newcomers' ships would be a nice start. So if I'm going to comb through a debris field for clues, I'm going to need somebody who's done it before. And that would be the wraiths." 

Any further discussion was paused as we stepped around a corner and into the Core Conduit, which connected the Operations section of Oblivion to every other section. That made it one of the busiest corridors in the station. Instantly we were surrounded, not only by other Risen, but by Nor'kani, avatar Risen, and a number of living members of several of the avatar races that had joined us at FBO as well. 

But not for long. As we began slipping our way through the crush, already conspicuous with a drake in human form and two vesari in tow, a square jawed Nor'kani officer happened to glance my way. Recognition was instant.

"Supreme Commander on deck!" he barked in a bold, parade ground voice that swept down the corridor. In its shadow the crowd parted Red Sea style before Moses as every person in uniform crisply saluted. 

"Damn N'vorn and their need for military protocol," I growled as I found myself returning hundreds of salutes. Still, it Was nice to not need to rub elbows in the crush that was the Conduit. 

Of course having a passage opened for me didn't make the twins that thrilled, since it made me into a clearly visible target. Not that anyone here would take a shot at me. The twins, however, took their jobs as bodyguards pretty seriously even if I didn't. They spent the whole traverse with hands on weapons and staring with cold vesari eyes at every person they thought was standing or walking to close. Considering their newfound reputation for fierceness in battle, those glares served to widen the passage by nearly a pace as we moved down the corridor.

Finally we reached the cross corridor I wanted and we took a hard left out of the Conduit and into relatively clear space. It was the perfect point for Ares to get back to me, his voice modulated for my juggernaut hearing alone.

"I have Commander Twitch for you, sir," the AI indicated in his quiet, even voice. I nodded. 

"Patch her through." There was a slight pause, then: 

"Hey boss man," came the familiar tones of my Wraith commander. "You caught me in the middle of analyzing the most recent Alex Project data stream. What's up?" 

"I need you to drop everything and prep a core team for a hard recon into a velkin debris field some 3200 light years from here," I tersely directed. "Jjorak ran into a shit storm several quandrants over that raised some pretty serious questions and I want to take a closer look at what got left behind." 

"If it's a gobby debris field, then Jjorak must've been smashing out another fleet. But the good admiral has got the skills to make it look routine. He's never been outclassed or outgunned. What happened?" Twitch asked, a puzzled note in her voice.