Beyond Light

A Leader.

John and Mike got off the Quokka and approached Admiral Frost among the black and white crowd. Everyone straightened and saluted, although John didn’t know if it was directed at him or the Royal Admiral. 

“Admiral Frost, sir,” John and Mike saluted him. 

“Commander Star, Ensign Sean,” William returned the salute. It felt weirdly good for John to be called simply commander. “I’m here to give you a basic tour through the ship. But before we start, why don’t you introduce yourself to your new crew?”

“Right now?” asked John. “I think it would be better if I do it once we are all inside.”

Admiral Frost took a step closer to him, but it was not in an aggressive way. It was as if he was going to tell him something secret. 

“Son, I’m not gonna lie to you. Just like us, every one of them is nervous about what may happen on the other side. The Eternity of Return outpowered this vessel hundreds of times, and look at what happened to him. You’re this people’s leader now. You should present yourself and boost their morale with some words. Always works.”

John looked at them. His new crew had broken their saluting stances, and although they looked energetic and excited, most of them wore expressions of shyness and uncertainty. Maybe the admiral was right. He walked to be below the cockpit of the Beyond Light. 

“Attention, everyone,” John raised his voice. Everyone centered their attention on him, straightening up again. He noticed some SSGs and SolOps, as well as various Novnatz he didn’t see before amidst the crowd. “Feel at ease. You might as well already heard of me, but I am going to present myself officially to you. I am Commander John Star from the Independent Nations Navy, and as per the directive of Project: BLACKCAT, your assigned commanding officer, captain of the INN Beyond Light. It’s going to be a pleasure to work with all of you.”

He nodded at the multitude gathered around him. They returned the nods and gently raised their hands, although they didn’t seem to move much. They were told to feel at ease, but it was natural for them to not act casually around their superiors. Mike and Admiral Frost stood before John like his bodyguards.

“I’m not going to lie to you. Our mission is not going to be an easy one. We don’t know much about what we’ll be facing on the other side. I bet you already saw the transmissions from the Eternity of Return. We are going to be outnumbered and outgunned by whoever those ships belong to. But that doesn’t mean it’s gonna be impossible. Luckily for us, we’re gonna count on the most advanced stealth ship ever built, as well as a crew made by the meanest motherfuckers this system has ever seen.”

Everyone chuckled and growled in motivation. Some traded nods and others slapped each other’s hands. John was not lying; Both INSU and PFSR had selected some of their best personnel to make the crew of the Beyond Light, which was already a marvel of engineering. Not only people with the best performance histories were selected, but also people who had their fair share of actual combat and special operations. 

“And unlike the unlucky Eternity of Return, we are going to be prepared. Our ship is equipped with the best stealth systems ever built and an improved EPAL compared to the Eternity of Return. But this is not going to be a mission of rivalry, keep that in mind. Our mission is a reconnaissance one. We’ll be there to give our pals a hand and discover what happened to them. If they are damaged they are going to need our help. They have families and friends expecting them to come back. I bet that more than one person present here knew someone aboard the dreadnought that’s now officially declared as Missing-In-Action. My own brother was there.”

They kept affirming with their heads and fixating their eyes on John. Admiral Frost smiled. One of the best strengths of the boy was his capabilities as a leader. On his charismatic words, more than respect, what he inspired was trust and understanding. 

He didn't have a problem granting his troops the morale and motivation they needed. William admired that. Anyone could be a boss and order others around under their command, but very few could be actual leaders. The young man was in the latter category.

“So, I tell you this,” continued John. “let’s work hard together on the other side to discover the truth. Not only for us, and not only even for the Eternity of Return but also for those who are home expecting us to come back with a smile on our faces. We’ll be ready to kick ass if those bastards dare to mess with us!”

They all clapped and whistled in admiration; some smiled while others did aggressive frowns, but they all shared the same bright inspiration in their eyes. John felt glad. As long as everyone worked together they would be fine.

He nodded at Admiral Frost, and along with Mike, they walked together to the airstair past the propulsors above. But before they entered, a raspy and deep voice stopped them. John turned his head around, and the person he desired to see the least was behind them, accompanied by two uniformed women.

The three turned around. John and Mike saluted the Fleet Admiral by obligation. “This is really how you speak to your subordinates, Star?” Hopkins took a step closer. “like they are some of your filthy friends from Titan?”

John’s blood began to get hotter. Admiral Frost stood straight, but not for respect. He looked directly at the fleet admiral, but he ignored him and took a step closer to face the commander. “This is all a mistake. Someone like you is going to send this mission to s**t, and you know it. You are worthless.”

John didn’t respond, but deep inside all he wanted was to make his punch a tight grip, and slam it in the middle of the man’s pink and flat face. 

“Hopkins,” spoke Admiral Frost. “he is not going to be under your command for this mission. Don’t disrespect him.”

“Of course,” Hopkins turned his head at him. “it’s you, Frost. Always defending those who are even more incompetent than you. Tell me something: why haven’t you retired already? you'd be making all of us a favor.”

“Incompetent? I am not the one who lost four heavy ships against a damaged battlecruiser and a light cruiser with her shields disabled and part of her hull gone, Fleet Admiral.”

The pink-faced man turned into the red-faced man. He showed his canines like a chimp and tried to raise his hand, but the two women accompanying him stepped ahead. As John suspected it, he was likely there to present them with those people but had taken advantage to show off how much he disliked them.

“Royal Admiral Frost, Commander John Star,” the first woman spoke in a Slavic accent. She had blonde hair tied on a loose tail and dressed in a uniform with a different design to John’s or Mike’s: a black skirt and jacket covered by thin, vertical crimson strips. On her chest, the seven-pointed star and the half circumference emblem of the URB were printed. “Katiya Ivanovich, supervision agent from the URB. I am going to be your designated supervisor representing the PFSR during your mission. My job is going to be to make sure you comply with the terms of the conjoint operation and you do not put at risk nor violate the interests of the PFSR. Nice to meet you.” 

She stretched her hand. John gripped it and looked at her pale blue eyes. His heart skipped a beat. There was something in her that intimidated him, in a way that made him feel oddly defensive yet dareful. 

“With your permission, I’ll be inside,” she released her hand from John’s grip and entered the stealther ship. 

John crossed looks with Mike; he raised his eyebrows and did a squeezed grin. The other woman, wearing a white and blue skirted uniform with the winged eye emblem of the ISI took a step ahead. She had black hair and a dark-skinned complexion. Middle-Eastern or Latino descent, perhaps?

“Commander John Star,” she spoke double louder than Katiya. “Supervision Agent from the ISI, Bella Diaz. I represent our own interests in this operation, and it’s in my job to make sure that you comply with the clauses of Project: BLACKCAT. I hope our work produces the best results.” 

She stretched her hand to John. There was something particular in her; there weren't the intimidating feelings of her URB counterpart, but John felt the hunch that she was the most choleric of the two. 

It could be his bias against the ISI, which made him feel dirty every time he thought about them, but something told him that he was better taking care of her, ironically more than the URB’s agent. He let her hand go, and she bypassed them to get inside, leaving them alone with Fleet Admiral Hopkins. 

“Speaking of incompetence,” remarked William Frost. “your two women got impatient that you didn’t present them first so they did it themselves, Fleet Admiral.”

Hopkins growled and pointed his black eyes at William, raising his fat index finger. “Don’t remember that I outrank you, Frost. I can charge you for insubordinate conduct. I can get you in a martial court and get you dishonorably discharged. Don’t forget that!”

“I am sure that the commander will also want to fill a report for disrespect to his persona. Project: BLACKCAT excludes him from the laws regarding the chain of command, Fleet Admiral. Think about it.”

The reddened man was about to speak again, but the voice of President O’Donnell sounded through his wristcom. “Fleet Admiral Hopkins, please report to the directive office immediately.”

“On my way, Mister President,” he responded, swirling his eyes. “This is all going to be a mess. You are going to fail. Mark my words, kid!” He pointed his finger at John and left, almost bumped with a pair of crewmen standing on the edge of the platform.

“Don’t let him intimidate you,” said William. “he’s just jealous because you won the vacant for this operation, not his candidate. Let’s go inside. There are some other crew members you still don’t know who you are going to work closely with you.”

Hopkins’ candidate. Who was Admiral Frost’s candidate, then? John thought about it and grinned. He was glad that the old man still thought about his old students and those under his command, even if he no longer was either.

“Damn, man,” cursed Mike. The three were already inside, getting disinfected in the airlock of the ship; a white room of aqua tiles that reflected the red lasers of the web. “Hopkins likes you less than a pain in the butt. I hope he doesn’t tell President O'Donnell something to get you discharged for this mission.”

“No,” said Admiral Frost. “Hopkins is an explosive man, but he’s not stupid. President O’Donnell has called his attention recently. He is aware that he doesn’t like you in the least.”

“Not gonna lie,” John took a deep breath. “saying something about my family or Titan really pushes my buttons. I was about to respond back at him.”

“...I would have paid to see that,” mocked Mike.

“Don’t be like him,” William said. “It’s not worth it. Want to insult him back? fulfill your mission. Ridicule him by coming victorious from Vita Nova.”

John nodded. He wished the Admiral could accompany him. The man was 10 times wiser than him and 5 times a better tactician. His advice would be invaluable. 

“I will,” he responded. “This goes for you too, admiral. I owe many to you.”

A slight grin formed on the lips of the white-haired man. He nodded back. 

“Disinfection Protocole complete,” a gravelly calm masculine voice spoke, having the insistent tone of a commercial actor, yet speaking monotonously artificial. “Welcome aboard the Beyond Light, gentlemen. Am I detecting a high quantity of sucrose?” John and William confusedly traded looks. 

“Oh well,” Mike spoke, uselessly hiding a chocolate bar under his shirt. “you got me this time, LIBRA. Did Yui tell you to examine me for contrabanded treats?”

“No, Mr. Sean. I’m just highly curious about human eating habits. You actively and immoderately consume items that are harmful to your organic systems.”

“Commander Star,” spoke Admiral Frost. “I present you with LIBRA, the Artificial Intelligence aboard the Beyond Light. He is a rather... eccentric one.”

“I’m not only eccentric, Mr. Frost,” responded LIBRA. “I am a highly modulated unit with a processing core capable of more than 16 trillion simultaneous processes. That’s 890 times more powerful than the most advanced personal computer. Hello, Mr. Star. I’m going to be under your command. May I recommend you some mint bubble gum?”

A mini white drone of three propulsors appeared through a small vent and levitated towards John. There was a small trail above it containing the longed packages. “...Thank you,” John awkwardly took one, trading looks with William and Mike. Mike extended his hand to steal one too.

“I am at your service. Please feel yourself at home. You are going to be here for at least three years. Even more, depending on how long your mission takes.”

The airlock’s gate to the interiors of the ship unlocked, releasing gas. “Oh man, we’re surely gonna have fun,” Mike excitedly said.

“Don’t even tell me,” said John. “Who’s that Yui, by the way? sounds like someone who follows orders by the book.”

“That kid?” chuckled Mike. “You must be kidding. She probably doesn’t even know how to brush her hair or tie her shoes correctly. She’s one of the guys at the lab and probably told LIBRA to inspect me because she probably wants some snacks for herself. Don’t worry, you’ll meet them all soon.”

The three entered the true interiors of the Beyond Light. If what Admiral Hopkins wanted was to make John feel bad, he failed. His enthusiasm for meeting his crew members, as well as the new ship at his command overrode any bitter feelings at that moment.