Warin
“The ‘Talon’, and ‘Umbrian Pride’ report main Jump Drives ready to jump Ser,” Commander Sigfred Otis reported from his communications station on the command deck of the ‘Ice Hammer’.
“Course confirmed?” Warin heard Ozma ask from across the central command console table in the middle of the command deck on the raised platform.
“Yes XO,” Commander Jewel reported. “All ships' navigations have been checked, double checked, and triple checked. Star charts showing green across the board,” she finished.
Warin looked at the display of the three frigates in holographic form projected about the central console. The three starships were in an ever so slight wedge formation with the ‘Ice Hammer’ in the middle. Warin didn’t pretend to understand the math that went into calculating a jump. He relied too much on computers and hoped that they were correct.
Commander Jewel and her department ensured that they wouldn’t jump into some star or planetary body. There were fail safes on all ships of course. Any gravity well would pull them out of FTL, but anything without one, or small enough to pull them out with no time to react could result in the death of everyone on board.
“Prepare to jump on the captain’s command,” Ozma said with a slight nod, and then looked to Warin.
It amused Warin that they each had their rank. Some of them, many of them had served in the Commonwealth Forces, local system forces, or other military units throughout Commonwealth Forces. Household troops of some lord or another, but others had no experience in the military at all. Some were at best rebels, and others bakers, students, lawyers, and even a priest.
They were many things, but they were united in a common hatred for the Fabian Order of Drala which they had spent the last year defeating throughout the Holderness Sector. They were not soldiers though, no more than he was a captain. The crew of the three frigates were warriors though. Fearsome and brave, and he trusted them with his life, and would wish for none other but them by his side in any fight to come, even if that battle was one of words.
Warin pushed aside the need to let out a sigh. One last jump, and they would reach the Holderness System. They had already traveled over three light years. It had been three hours since their last jump, and the Jump Drives were ready for another. On the edge of the Holderness System in some unnamed system of no value more than half a light year they waited for their drives to cool and jump again.
Warin had debated in his mind again and again changing course during that three hour window. Even splitting the jump into two. It was near the maximum range of their jump drives. It would show weakness though. A fear of returning to his home and greeting his father.
“Jump,” Warin said after a moment. He knew both Ozma and Beth had their eyes on him. Neither would blame him if he did change course. None would understand more than Ozma. Trusted Ozma who had been by his side since before he could remember.
The ‘Ice Hammer’, and it’s two sister frigates jumped throughout space into FTL, and arrived at the outer edge of the Holderness System. In the blink of an eye they had traveled more than half a light year. Warin stared at the central command table as his vision cleared from the Hyper Jump sickness. New information filled the large table as the ship's scanners and sensors displayed new readings from the system.
The command deck became a blaze with noise. Chatter and back and forth as communications came in throughout the ship, and the many command deck officers went about their normal duties. Warin could see hails coming in from standard system traffic controls that addressed them, and informed them which heading to take.
Warin remained silent as his crew performed their duties. There was no need for him to answer those hails. The crew knew what to do. They had all been briefed, and he could see officers responding to those hails informing the traffic control as to their intention in the system, and complying with their commands.
The holographic display over the command table changed as the information came in. The pings of the two sister frigates of his fleet. Followed by more pings of smaller and larger starships, civilian and military alike. There were dozens of starships. Many ships were in orbit of the system itself. Moons, planets, asteroids, and mann made structures.
Warin let out a sigh. It was good to be home.
The Command console displayed the pings of the system. A dozen planets stood large in orbit of the single star. Dozens of moons, and asteroids were intermixed throughout the system. The worlds of Holderness and Dark Depth were the only habitable planes, but several moons gave off habitable reading, although only one had truly been settled. Warin knew that the moon of Jarrow was only inhabited by several thousand people.
There were dozens of mann made objects throughout the system. Small stations in orbit around the worlds and moon, satellites, weapons, large sensor arrays, and other objects floated throughout the system. They paled in comparison to the large shipyard complex, and the two massive Star Fortresses.
The Star Fortress of Shieldgard stood large in the outer system, but it was dwarfed by the massive Star Fortress which stood guard over the world of Holderness. Warin stared at the image of Skyhold. His home, home of his ancestors, and one of, if not the greatest Star Fortress in the Dragon’s Head Nebula. Home to close to a million people who lived in the orbit of Holderness.
Near the Shieldgard Star Fortress on the edge of the system stood the last Fabian Jump Gate in northern Drala. The end of the line for the northern Fabian Gateway Network which allowed FTL travel for starships without Jump Drives, and faster travel than any Jump Drive in known space, although the Furse and Bataar were close to reaching the speeds of those gates which littered Fabian Space.
“I’ve never seen it in person,” Beth said from beside Warin as she brought the schematics of Skyhold up for a closer inspection in 3d view over the central command table. “Is it true it was built by the Tutha?”
Warin smiled. “That’s what they say,” he said as he thought of his home. That ancient fortress which had been built by the Tutha long before the Fabians had come and gone from the Dragon’s Head Nebula. Some said it’s core and oldest sections had been built by a long dead race of aliens, and the Tutha had merely fought it before his own ancestor had conquered it with just three starships thousands of years ago.
Warin had always liked those tales. Wished them to be true even. They were not though, he knew that. He had been to the middle of Skyhold. He had explored what must have been every inch of that structure as a child. It was no more alien on the inside than the outside. Still, they were good stories.
“Parts of it,” Warin finally responded to add more. “Legend says that it was built from some far older race of aliens,” he said and shared the legends. “The Fabians expanded it after they took it from the Tutha, and my ancestors expanded it when they conquered it after the Fabian Withdrawal. And my father has been rebuilding it since the Sack,” he said with a hint of bitterness.
“Aliens huh?” Beth asked half heartily as her hands and fingers moved to expand the display here and there as she studied the holographic display of Skyhold. “Wouldn’t that be something, an alien race that wasn’t just some myth and legend like the Skoll or Arcals,” she said lightly.
“They’re out there,” Warin told her. He might not have seen any, but he believed they were out there. Somewhere. Maybe in another galaxy, maybe in an unyet explored system. “12 hours to reach Skyhold at sub-light speeds,” he continued. “You will have plenty of time to learn the history and detail of Skyhold.” He saw he had already lost her as she studied those details projected by the holographic image. There were few structures like it in the Commonwealth of Drala, and he couldn’t blame her.
“Your father is inviting you, your wife, and senior staff to a feast to welcome you home to Skyhold.” Ozma told Warin, cutting in from the other side of the command table from her commanding position.
Warin nodded before he spoke. “Let's get more of the crews added to that feast. My father can stand to lose a few more credits. He is Lord of Holderness afterall,” Warin said with a sly grin. “Half the crew will never have seen such a feast as a feast my father throws.” Warin told Ozma who only nodded with a grin.
The System-lord of Holderness, Lord of Skyhold, but more important, the leading lord of the whole sector of Holderness. He was Lord of the sector in all but name. The four System-lords of the sector all swore loyalty to him, a fact which the Kings of the Commonwealth had often grumbled about but none had been strong enough to change that fact. The Lord’s of Holderness may no longer be kings, but they had ruled that sector of space for thousands of years.
Warin’s father was wealthy, and if one good thing came out of this meeting, it was that he could take advantage of that. Restock supplies, and treat his crews to more than he could offer them. They would feast like kings in the many halls of Skyhold, and he would try to get along with the father who had sought to outlaw him from the sector, but Beth was right. He hadn’t, and that had to mean something.
