Nature Of Draco-Fox: Part 25 AU

Back to the regularly scheduled programming. Lets check in Zhamenth and Isif.

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2***^(nd)*** Fleet Ship, [Dragon’s Claw]
Translated Human time: April 29th Year 2137 Draco-Fox year: 6129.
[] manual translated terms
Memory Transcription Subject: Zhamenth

Something just doesn’t feel right this duty shift, though I just consider it the fact that this shift, I don’t have my usual crew running all the stations. The most striking difference is the A.I. officer on duty. My main one, the one I prefer, just does his job.

His relief, the one on duty right now, she talks to the A.I. Like she is doing right now as she would a close friend.

While I know, and accept they can think. I’m not so sure they are actually people.

Everyone else is just doing what little they need to do right now as we sit in Wriss orbit and Skulk [Mud-Claw]’s repair craft fix the damage to my ship.

I just stare at the main screen with the image of the planet taking up most of it. Ships going by, either to the surface or continued rescue and recovery operations. My mind though wanders to my ship’s star passenger.

Isif. Former Chief-Hunter of the Betterment Arxur, conquer of the Betterment and the Federation. Leader of the Arxur up until yesterday when after I took the contract, successfully got him to surrender.

It was also surprisingly easy to find the object Isif requested and returned it to him as weird as it is.

He now sits in the brig. Eventually he’ll be transferred to a prison ship to be transferred to a prison complex till the end of the war.

Watching a tug drag a former cattle-ship to a hospital ship. Don’t know if those inside will get quick treatment, they’re pretty busy with our own wounded. Sigh, quite a few will be given a new ‘body’.

More F.O.X.E.S. and Draco units.

Flicking my ear, I go back the previous train of thought. I just don’t ‘get’ Isif. Something about his attitude and how he acted when I talked with him. Idly I consider going down to talk to him, it is my right as [Captain] of the [Dragon’s Claw]

Activity on the bridge though stops as I consider this, drawing my attention.

“Report?”

My communications officer this shift turns to me, confusion on his muzzle. “We’re getting orders to emergency charge our K-F drive for a jump to Sol.”

I flick my ear again and my tail. “Formal Contract?” He again shakes his head.

“No, they said it’s pending.”

“IGNORE IT.” My A.I. Officer yells in distress. Everyone including me looks over to her.

“Ship’s A.I. is relaying information from Kalbur. [Conglomerate] has fallen. The vote was to pause the offensive to review new intelligence. Our… Our Skulk Representative went rouge, defying the vote. Ignore any orders to mobilize! By [Conglomerate] order we are to stay put.”

I look between the two as everyone else looks to me. This is the situation that many [Captain]’s fear, two contradictory orders. Going by the book I look to the communication officer. “Is the source of the transmission confirmed accurate?”

Spoofing command transmissions have happened, it’s rare though. Yet, the general encryption is normally enough to confirm a transmission was legit. So I watch the communication’s officer go through the routine of double checking.

In the corner of my vision, I watch other warships change course and orbits to group up to head out of the system to jump. Yet, an equal amount don’t or seem to partially break orbit and then stop.

“Transmission is authentic, but we’re still lacking a contract for another offensive.” My communication’s officer answers. So I look over to my A.I. officer, but she has already put what I assume a recording of the [Conglomerate] meeting on the main screen.

Looking over to it though distracts me from one of the doors to the bridge opening. I ‘do’ notice the sound of armed personal entering. I turn to face them as they point weapons at me and my officers.

“You will comply with your Skulk Leader’s orders or you will be relieved of duty!” My dark brown male head security officer walks up to me.

So…. That is how it is. “Initiate Lock-Out protocol!” I yell.

The moment the words leave my muzzle, utter chaos erupts. My A.I. officer does what she’s supposed to do, lock out our control and hand it to the A.I. It also locks the physical controls for the ‘Air-Gap’ protocol behind thick doors, they slam shut an instant later. She earns a taser shot in return for doing this. The rest go into a grapple match with the mutinous security officers while I have to backpedal to avoid being hit with a butt of my security officer’s rifle.

And right into the prongs of the taser used on my A.I. officer. I watch my Security officer grin as voluntary muscle control flees from me.

“Get them all out of here. Put the [Captain] in the brig. And get the plasma cutters! We’re going to have to dig our way to the Air-Gap controls.” I feel myself get half lifted and half dragged towards the door.

“You’re not going to regain control of the ship. By my mother’s and the [conglomerate]’s orders I won’t let you.” Our Ship’s A.I. speaks over all the speakers as lights on the consoles wink out. The only reason she hasn’t closed all the doors, is that’s something she can’t directly control even in this situation.

It also means in the case an A.I. goes nuts, they can’t just space the crew.

“We’ll see about that.” I hear him reply as I’m dragged off the bridge. Down the hall, and into a lift. They bind my hands to my tail behind my back while inside, then drag me using it to the brig after a short ride on the ship’s internal tram line.

Here I was considering coming down here to talk to Isif, so it’s with a laugh I’m dragged into the brig cell next to his, restraints cut at gunpoint. Then after they back away, the bars lower.

With that, they leave, and lock the door into this brig compartment behind them.

“[Captain] Zhamenth.” The Arxur growl echos into my ‘cell’ as I hear him approach the bars.

“What is happening?”

Rubbing my wrists and tail, I glance around the standard brig cell. A bed, lite padding. A toilet, not extended out of the wall. A sink for water, it is extended out of the wall. And that’s it.

“The [Conglomerate] has fallen. A schism appeared between the other Skulks, and the one I was born in and contracted too. Seems a group from the Sentient Coalition went and talked with the leader of Skulk [Tree-Bark]. Providing evidence this war has been going on because of a lie.”

I hear him laugh once at this before speaking again. “Continue. I am just, finding this funny with how common its appearing to be for all the wars lately.”

Flicking an ear I sigh and refrain from stating that many conflicts happen that way. “To keep it short, my Skulk’s Representative more or less told the others to cram it up their tail. And, tried ordering us to go attack Sol. The A.I.’s provided a counter, and I was in the middle of trying to decide who’s lying. When my head Security officer enters the bridge and solves the dilemma for me. Demanding I follow the order, I obviously didn’t.”

I hear him exhale. “I find it, ironic in the human way. That I’m going to die in orbit of Earth, after all I did to help the Humans.”

Moving up to the bars, I resist touching them knowing they carry a charge to prevent certain methods of escape. “No, no we aren’t. My voice and command, and my A.I. officer’s genetic profile upon touching the controls, were able to give the A.I. control of the ship’s systems. We have time before their able to access the Air-Gap systems to cut her off. Other ships seem to not want to follow the orders from what I saw before being taken down here.”

“Has this happened before?” I hear Isif ask with genuine curiosity.

Moving to sit against the cell wall separating me from him, I give a chuckle. “Enough times for a protocol to be made. Lock-out protocol. Locks out the ships controls and hands it to the A.I. in the case of a mutiny. Given enough time they can take control anyway, but in a situation like this. I just denied a Rohoka class warship to them and I bet they’re not happy. These ships, except for the one we lost, tore through what you could throw at us like a knife though cloth.”

“No.” He replies. “Your [Conglomerate] fracturing like this. Mutinies are common and any military would be foolish to not account for their possibility.”

I tilt my ear. “They’re not too common, were they so in the Dominion during Betterment? And, no. The last time a Skulk did this was over a hundred years ago.”

Isif chuckles once. “They were routine under Betterment, particularly after a good raid. Well-fed crews sometimes got a little ‘drunk’ on food.”

Refraining from commenting on that considering I know what he means by ‘raid’. So I just look stare out of my cell. I wasn’t lying when I said given enough time, that time though is entirely dependent on how long it takes them to cut through to the now sealed Air-Gap controls. The slab of metal won’t last forever under a plasma torch.

Makes no sense to have a protocol to hand ship control over to the A.I. in case of mutiny if the mutineers can just throw the Air-Gap levers to kick out the A.I. from the systems a moment later.

Why is that monitor over on the guard’s station flashing?

“I didn’t like doing those raids by the time I got high enough to ord…” Isif’s words are cut off as the bars de-energize and retract into the ceiling. Stepping out of the cell, along with Isif doing so next to me, we both look at each other, and my eyes look at the small cloth doll of himself in his hands.

The ex Arxur leader and Chief-hunter looks at me his voice draws my attention to his muzzle. “What’s going on?” I have a suspicion, and looking to the screen confirms it.

{Finally! I’ll have a word with the computer guys to improve security so no one can do this again. But I’m glad I was able to break into the independent system for the brig. Zhamenth, I know you don’t think of me as a person. You’re going to have to trust me regardless. We have just about 3 hours, if the current rate of them cutting through the barrier to the Air-Gap controls stays the same. At which point, I’ll lose control of the ship. You need to get there, and take them out. I’ll try to find others to help, but I am not sure who on the ship other than you can be trusted right now.}

Looking at the door for a moment before I look back at the screen. “I don’t like my chances, but I’ll do what I can.”

“And what about me?” I look over at Isif. The console beeps before I can say anything.

{You have no duty here Isif. It’s with your people down below in case [Renoir]’s forces also forget they’re agreements to the war contracts and how they’re supposed to treat prisoners.} Half the screen is replaced with a map of this area of the ship.

{Go two decks down, along the corridor next to the outer hull are escape pods. Take one, I’ll aim the retro-rockets to get you down to planet safely. If we fail to regain control, this ship will be heading to Sol with insufficient forces to survive such an attack on a home world. Especially one that suffered an attack in the recent past and wasn’t under defended by the regional power.} He just walks right up to the screen, and then places his free hand on it.

The other still holding onto the cloth doll that looks like him.

“Then what? My forces are routed, and I surrendered. I’d have to convince them to listen to me and trust me all over again.” He looks over to me, then back to the screen. “Besides, any other Arxur down there with half a functioning head on their shoulders would realize, we’re better off under your species leadership than being left out in the wilderness unarmed. Like how the Sentient Coalition left us, after all we did to help them. Just because a former government hunted them.”

{What do you mean?}

“He means he’s going to help me take the bridge. Frankly, I could use it.” I look at Isif and the fading Chief-Hunter paint on his scales.

“So what’s your idea on this matter?”

He growls at himself. “I’m, used to hunting sapient prey as much as I hate to admit to it. I take it, you’re not well versed in fighting your own kind?”

I reluctantly give an affirmative with my short claw hand. “We’ve done force, counter force drills. Mainly for training in taking on pirates. They’re normally not disciplined, but that can make them unpredictable and dangerous. Not against ourselves with peer tech and training, and nothing with a situation like this. Didn’t think we’d need to, thought we were past Skulk vs Skulk fights.”

He scoffs. “Then it’s good I’ve decided to help. You would most likely not make it to the bridge alive. Not with this size of a ship. If we survive this, copy the Humans, do full counter force training and allow both sides to use all their knowledge. It was something I was going to implement with what little we had left.”

{Alright.} The image is replaced with a cutaway of the [Dragon’s Claw] and highlighted routes. As this happened, drawers open along the wall. {The fastest routes avoiding using the tram. The gear you were taken into custody with Isif, and some non-lethal, sorry it’s all that’s in here, gear for you Zhamenth.}

Isif is already strapping his belt back on, then gently tucks the cloth doll of himself inside a pouch, attaches his sword, then looks over to me as I slip on some armor and a helmet before pulling out a shock-rod.

“We’re going to need lethal weapons, I assume the guards on the other side of the door have some?” The former Arxur Chief-Hunter and leader crouches a bit and studies the map on the screen.

{Two guards, two plasma rifles. Door is sound-proofed so no one outside can hear prisoners yelling.} She scrolls words across the screen, as Isif traces a completely different route on the map.

I check the charge on the shock-rod, then walk up to the exit, as I do the control panel for the door flickers and then displays the button to open it. {Whatever you’re planning Isif, make it quick. I’m in a battle over various door controls all over the ship. We’re both trying to break into the system to lock the other out. I don’t know how long I can keep the Brig door unlocked.}

“It’ll do, but we need kinetics for stopping power. Did you see the route I made, Thinking Computer?” He grabs the hilt of his sword.

{My name is Megehu, and yes I did, you’ll be cutting it close, because you’re going to be hopping in and out of maintenance tunnels.}

“If you were Federation, the direct route would work because you’d do the dumb thing and evenly spread out your forces, no mater how low of a chance the route would be used. You’re not though, so if I was in your place, I’d concentrate my forces on the most obvious, and direct routes. We will use the maintenance tunnels to do most of the advancing, only touching the direct routes to make them think for that time we’re using them. They’ll commit forces there, under-guarding the rest. Then we’ll hop back into the tunnels when we allow them to see us using that route, and they’ll move their forces accordingly.” He stands, pulling out his sword.

Pressing myself against the wall, I make sure I’m fully in the blind spot once the door is opened. “Do I want to know how you learned that?” He only looks at me, then moves to the other side of the door before holding the blade in his mouth.

I just tilt my head a bit as he uses the gaps between the panels to climb up a few feet, then hang onto the wall with his two legs and one arm. The other takes the blade out of his mouth. “Let Megehu open the door. Ready that shock-rod. They’ll fire into the room, your limb will be in range when they do so as you are. Then if they’re decently trained, they’ll then enter the room with their weapons ready but not raised. We’ll strike when they move to check the corners.”

Withdrawing my long clawed hand, I grip the shock-rod and loosen myself in preparation to strike. “Alright, Megehu, open the door.”

A second after the door opens, the guards stick their rifles around the door-frame. Firing two shots each, one to just in front of the guard station, the other into the holding cells. Yea, that counter force training, no one I guess other than pirates would stay within line of sight of the door.

I see Isif tense, and I prepare the shock-rod as the two guards follow their plasma rifles into the room, lowering them about 30 to 45 degrees down from ready. The moment the one on Isif’s side has his neck and head past the threshold, he lets go of the wall with his other hand, grabs hilt of the sword, and uses momentum to plunge it through the neck and into the torso of that Guard.

Jabbing the Shock-Rod to into the exposed part of the neck on mine as Isif hops back as the two fall to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

The tazed guard somewhat on top of the dead guard. I just, glance at the two then Isif, not commenting on him casually killing when it’s not quite needed as the floor gets some red paint for its trouble.

“As cruel as it sounds.” Isif steps back to tangle of guards, pulling his sword from the one he killed, then proceeds to stab the other one where the head and neck meet, instantly killing him. “In a situation like this, leaving someone alive increases the chance of being found out before you’re ready.” He flicks the blade to remove most of the blood and sheaths it.

“That advantage is our best weapon. Letting them know where we are, rather than them finding out.” Grabbing the two by the horns, he drags them further into the room allowing the door to close. “So my men were telling the truth, slightly lighter red than ours or Humans blood. Good, you’ll need to keep up with me.”

I take one of the plasma rifles, strap included and sling it over my shoulder. The other I hand to Isif, he does the same. “Why do you say that?”

“Because, if you had orange, black, or blue blood. You would physically not be able to keep up with me OR an in shape human. We’ll be jogging if not running the whole way to the bridge if we’re not fighting anyone.”

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