After The Fleet State's first victories against the common enemy of mankind, New Republic forces were rejoining near the human enclave on Makemake. The main fleet under command of me and Mei was merging with the battle group under command of Tachibana.
The Core Council, as it confirmed our return to Makemake, was trying to move The Order out of its previous phase of seclusion and isolation, into a phase of overperformance in key areas like raw resource processing and manufacturing in order to support our efforts. Their workshops and factories were coming back to life now that the danger had passed (at least for a while).
Ships in need of maintenance and repairs were being serviced by the sole space installation orbiting the dwarf planet. The pace was slow but steady.
"We definitely need those early warning satellites as soon as possible." I was telling The Council, still aboard Lodos. "We were a bit lucky last time, but the enemy might surprise us with a larger force the next time, and that would be our end."
"The Council assures you, we will have the first satellite ready by tomorrow – that is, tomorrow by Earth standarts of course." they replied.
"Alright, I have your word." I said. "Make sure to notify us before the deployment."
"We will make sure everything is in order." was the last sentence before the communications were cut.
"Sir, I had to cut it. We just got a transmission." Mei said, with her hands on the comms console. "Professor Kukulkan… wishes to meet with you, urgently. Very urgently."
"Connect me to him." I said, wondering why he wasn't with the rest of The Council. This was quite odd.
"Sir, he wants to see you face to face." Mei said. "Either aboard your ship, or down there on Makemake. It is likely that this is a… you know, a secret thing."
"Well then." I said. "Let him come aboard. If he needs a shuttle, just send a free one from The Fleet."
"Yes, sir." Mei said before turning back to the comms console. "Oh, and sir, Commander Tachibana wishes to come aboard as well."
"Well, just let him." I replied.
"Roger that." she said. "And…"
"And what?"
"The station commander we picked up near Neptune wants to talk to you as well."
"I guess we will start handing out party invitations to everyone soon." I said. "Well, let him come. Hopefully they won't bother us all at once."
"Sir, yes, sir." said Mei.
"Do you wish to speak to me too?"
"What? No." she said, completely confused.
"Alright, just making sure." I said.
"In fact…" she said. "I would like to talk to you about the last enemy engagement. I think that there has been a few tactical mistakes regarding this ship's use in the last battle. The term 'missile cruiser' has been a bit vague especially in the earlier Martian Navy, however this Alliance design really puts emphasis on long range engagements with little consideration for short-"
"Mei, please, not now!" I raised my voice a little. "There is quite a queue of problems in my head, yours are last in line."
Mei pouted and looked away, crossing her arms.
Commander Tachibana was the first one to come aboard Lodos, and first one to speak about the development of events unknown to me.
"In contrast to all your struggles against those motherships, we had quite a peaceful journey back to Makemake." he said. "I guess the AI made a mistake, assuming that all our remaining forces would be concentrated in one region. By sheer luck, however, we happened to split the fleet earlier and they simply didn't see us. We could safely make it back to protect Makemake."
"By sheer luck…" I repeated. "I hate the fact that luck was such a big factor here."
"Same." he said. "Anyway… We could use our free time here to process the recon data we've gathered earlier, especially with emphasis on that giant ship above Earth that was recently discovered."
"Anything interesting?"
"I don't know." he said. "Professor Kukulkan has been very secretive about the whole thing. When he thinks there is something worth mentioning, I would say that he will contact you in person."
"Right on point." I said.
"In what way?"
"Professor Kukulkan wanted to talk to me just recently." I said. "He said it was urgent, so… Figure it out for yourself."
"Fascinating."
"Sir, Professor Kukulkan's shuttle is approaching and is asking for permission to dock." Mei shouted towards us from the other side of the bridge.
"Let him in." I said. "Well, we shall continue later."
I left Tachibana on the bridge to see Professor Kukulkan on the shuttle bay. When I arrived, he was hastily walking to the inner decks to see me.
"Oh, there you are, commander." he said.
"Professor." I said. "I am already very interested in whatever it is you are about to say."
"God, well, honestly, I am too." he said. "But I want to talk in private, is that okay?"
"Sure." I said. "We can have some space in the crew habitation decks, most of which are out of service or empty right now."
We made it to one of the recreational areas aboard the ship, near the crew quarters. Those aboard Lodos were quite undersized and insufficient to say the least, even for a warship. I pulled over some chairs so we could sit across a small table with the professor.
"Well, professor… Let's talk business."
"Yes, of course." he said, taking out and powering up a hand-held device from his suit. "Look." he pointed at the device as it slid on the table towards me. On the device's screen, I could see the photos from the recon mission. I enlarged one of the photos that had the giant mysterious ship in frame.
"Yes, that ship." the professor said. "That thing has been my main concern during the brainstorming sessions."
"Any results?" I asked. "Any solid evidence towards something, or just speculations?"
"Oh, I do have solid leads." he said. "I think I've finally uncovered the purpose of this ship."