After the door opening, I took the time to look inside. I was astounded by the luxurious marble on the floor and the paintings on the walls. She has an even better cabin than me. Specially processed marble cost quite a lot, and you need to donate to the military if you want the authorization to customize your cabin.
"She's definitely from an aristocratic family if she can pay for these decorations. Alyn, where does she come from?" I inquired.
"We don't have any pieces of information in the database, she's probably a highborn aristocrat. Only they can hide their personal information in military files. "
"Yes, she's probably the youngest child who needs to make her mandatory military service to gain fame and status. Yet, this is weird. Why did she choose to take part in this mission? It will take at least 30 years before we come back. In addition, even if she's an office worker, this is a dangerous and secret assignment. I hope she's not a spy from the Conglomerate."
"It is unlikely that she's a spy from the Conglomerate. This is too blatant. She's surely a kid from a wealthy family who seeks fame for herself. Anyway, Drake, I can't remotely open her cryo-pod. You need to take the first on your right, the blue door."
If that's the case, I don't need to worry. I went and opened the door. This room is a simplistic one. I can only see a cryo-pod in a 3 out of 3 meters room. The button for deactivating the cryo-pod is situated on its right side. After approaching, I peeked at the machine's window. A beautiful blue-haired young adult with an aquiline nose, long eyelashes, and soft brown eyebrows. She's certainly one of the first princess' fangirl, only they dye their hair the same color as the royal family.
I pressed the release button and I heard a soft sound. The cryo-pod opened while I took a step back. I didn't want to startle her. The cryo-pod opened and gave way to the beauty. She fluttered her eyelashes and opened her eyes. After noticing me, she made a startled face and tried to stand up.
"Admiral," she stammered with a military greeting consisting of a fist to the heart.
"At ease Lieutenant-Commander."
"Why are you in my room, Admiral? Has a problem occurred during the trip?" she inquired with a crystal-clear voice.
"I'll answer later. First, you should tidy yourself up. Put on your military uniform, and we'll talk when you're in a good shape. I'll wait for you in my cabin."
Her eyebrows were furrowed, and you could see on her face that she was curious about this sudden meeting. But her face quickly turned to green, and she ran to her toilet. I was able to hear the noise of vomiting while I was returning to my place. 5 minutes later, a refreshed Sylviane pressed the doorbell.
"Commander, consultant Sylviane is waiting for your permission to enter. "
"Open the door, Alyn."
Sylviane entered my room. She seemed surprised by the wood on the floor, but this is cheaper than your marble, you know!
"Sit in front of my desk please, I need to update you about our predicament. And you should be sitting down because you'll be having a hard time," I ordered her.
"Yes, sir" she nodded and sited herself in front of my desk.
I activated the terminal and projected Alyn's report about the accident.
"As you can see, we are the last two members of the expedition, excluding Alyn. We encountered an asteroid field and lost the whole crew situated in the cryo bay. In addition to these losses, we don't possess any form of armor or engines, so we can't move if we don't want to blow up the ship. We also lost contact with Capital for at least 10 years, in short, we're alone. On the bright side, we've arrived at our destination. We can survey this system's planets and search for available and usable materials. I know that's a hard pill to swallow, but I need you in the right state of mind if we want a good emergency plan. We have much to do and if the reactor stop working for whatever reason, we're going to die and Alyn will be in a passive state for as long as you can imagine."
I observed her expressions while I was talking. She went from surprise to grief to sadness. I'm sad too, but we need to save ourselves if we don't want them to die in vain. We'll shed tears when we'll visit them in the cemetery.
"Miss Sylviane, I can give you medication to calm you down if you want. I have some in reserve," Alyn proposed.
"No, thank you. I'll try to be at my best in the shortest time," she responded.
"I'm sorry to ask you this. I understand how horrible this can be. Sadly, we need to make countermeasures as soon as possible, or we will fail this mission."
"I… I understand Admiral," she affirmed trying to stifle her cries.
I waited 2 minutes for her to calm down before querying her about her strange information sheet.
"I need to know more about you, your cabin is an expensive one that no officer can afford and there is no mention of your family name. Furthermore, this is your first assignment, and you're dispatched for a special mission as an officer. Quite impossible without an aristocratic background. You represent a liability, but I'll give you a choice considering your outstanding grades during your university time. The first choice, this is a bad dream. You return to your cryo-pod, and I'll wake you up at the end of the mission, whether this is a success or a failure. The second choice, you become my second in command, and help us succeed," I explained to her with a serious voice.
"Don't insult my integrity, I'm first and foremost a soldier under your order. I'll not shirk off my responsibilities, especially in time of need," she answered with the same tone as mine.
I can see the determination in her pink eyes. This is what I wanted to hear. We'll need a good consultant if we don't want to overlook our actions and opportunities. Even if she doesn't have practical experience, she's a great asset for the mission and I need a helping hand.
"Good! Given this dangerous and urgent situation, I declare the state of crisis and take command of all the operations as the highest grade present on board. "
"Admiral Drake, according to the Imperial Regulation, you're promoted to the post of Military Governor of Thetis' system. Given our circumstances, the lack of communication from a long time with Capital's HQ, and the fact that we are currently in a newly reclaimed space, the Imperial Regulation orders you to take control of the system and planets with intelligent lifeforms to extend the Empire's power. You are authorized to use any means you consider necessary. Your actions will be judged by a military tribunal at the end of your mission and after reestablishing contact with the Capital. This is effective immediately. Congratulation for your promotion, your Excellency," explained Alyn with great care.
"Congratulation Governor Drake!" interjected Sylviane after standing up and making a salute.
"Thank you, I hereby promote consultant Sylviane to the rank of First Advisor and Alyn will serve as my right hand."
Sylviane was flabbergasted, everyone would treat as a joke a newly recruited officer who would become a superior officer on her first operation. She calmed herself and thanked me with a bow, but I managed to see her sneaky smile before she wipes it out of her face.
"I'll be your shadow and act as you see fit, Governor Drake. As we always did before." Alyn added with a slightly excited voice.
"Excuse me, your Excellency, may I ask some questions?" Inquired Sylviane.
"We are only 3 here, Advisor, you can drop the grade and call me Drake, I would like to call you Sylviane too if possible. You may ask what's on your mind."
"And you can call me Alyn, the most advanced AI in the entire Empire," Alyn chimed in.
"Many thanks, call me Sylviane. Are you the same Blake as Commander Blake who overturned a rebel government in less than one year after being ambushed with your entire unit? Rumors say that you lived 3 months alone in the wild before organizing the resistance and taking back the armory and the spaceport. This was taught as a great success in my strategy classes alongside other model operations," she asked with stars in her eyes.
"Yes, I am, This is how I was promoted as an admiral for my outstanding military services. But don't blindly trust the rumors and the official report, there's a lot of embellishment for propaganda purposes. We'll talk about it later if you're still interested. Furthermore, they do not speak about Alyn once in the reports," I corrected.
"Yes, we did it together as a team. Actually, there are many reports where I don't appear, despite my contributions, since I'm considered a mere AI." Alyn stressed.
"As you can hear it, she's way more than just an AI. You need to consider her as a person, and a frightfully smart girl at that. I would not be alive without her help," I explained. "That's why I understand that we are in this operation, now I want you to explain to me how you were able to enlist on the latest autonomous battleship for a secret assignment as a freshly graduate."
Sylviane made an embarrassed face and took her time to develop her response. You could see that she was worried because of her furrowed brows. Just to be on the safe side, I asked in my mind if Alyn could activate the lie detector.
"Detector activated, I'll notify you if she lies," answered Alyn using our personal channel.
As soon as Alyn finished her sentence, Sylviane opened her mouth.
"I'm from one of the higher aristocratic houses but as the youngest child, I need to accomplish my own goals if I want to live the life I dream of. Then I enrolled in the university and strived to graduate first in classes. Moreover, I couldn't stay on my home planet because of personal reasons. My father, knowing my circumstances, applied in my stead for this operation using our status and my grades. That's why my cabin is so lavish, consider it a parting gift from my father. I apologize for these shady arrangements, but I bear no harm. I'm here to help you to the fullest of my abilities." Sylviane said with a nervous voice.
"She answered truthfully, she's honest."
Sylviane looked at me while biting her lower lip. She was getting nervous but she held my gaze. After a little while, I smiled.
"Great, I and Alyn trust you, " she exhaled with a hint of pleasure on her face.
"I must insist that we risk dying here. We got no support, few supplies and we are only three people in this system. The communication has stopped with Capital so something must have happened on their side. The mission was too significant to fall into enemy hands. In case of defeat against an exterior force, all the documents and communication arrays must be destroyed. This is what likely happened. Worst case scenario, we'll die here without accomplishing anything. In the best-case scenario, only the communication networks are destroyed and the Empire is still alive and thriving. In both cases, we need to focus on our operation," I stressed with a grim face.
I don't want to say it in a too direct way to her but the only reason why we lost our communication with the Capital's HQ is a loss caused by a surprise attack. Besides, the communication should be reactivated after more than 10 years, therefore it is likely that we're lost alone in a corner of the galaxy at 15 light-years away from our home.
"What the Governor is trying to say is that we're probably alone and there's no reason to return to the Empire because it is likely destroyed," insisted Alyn.
I turned my gaze toward Sylviane expecting a nervous breakdown caused by this chain of bad news. However, she looked calm and resigned, like she expected this outcome. Maybe she's internalizing her emotions? I'm still calm since I'm pretty much alone since my childhood except for Alyn and the Emperor personally explained to me what I should prioritize in case of his disappearance during the 15 years of travel during a secret meeting about this operation.
"My father explained to me what to do considering this possibility. I was aware that there was a high likelihood of this case since the journey takes 15 years only for the first trip. This is still hard to believe for me, but I was mentally prepared at home for months about lots of different problems that could appear during our mission. Nevertheless, this is too sudden for me." she mumbled.
"Take your time, this is a lot of bad news to hear. In any case, remember that our priority is still the accomplishment of our mission. If we succeed, I'll return to the Empire because I received a special request from the Emperor. If you want, you could come back home with me."
"Why would you go back to the Empire if it is destroyed?" she wondered.
"It cost me nothing to explain to you since we're the only survivors. As you know, the Emperor has a lot of children, one of them suffers from a birth defect. She can only live to her 60 and can't use anti-aging treatment. In exchange for the post of Admiral on this ship, I needed to come back with results about the new energy on this planet. Alyn will try to experiment and document the effects of this energy used in the purpose of curing this congenital illness." I answered back.
"If the Emperor is dead, you don't need to go back. Nobody will know about your agreement and you can just freely live. Why would you waste your efforts for a lost cause?" Sylviane was carefully eyeing me after elaborating her answer. I guess she's probing my personality, I have nothing to hide. It's for the best if your subordinates know what they can expect from you in a dire time.
"I owe him a debt of gratitude, he helped me a lot with a specific issue between me and a political officer in the army. Additionally, I don't go back on my commitments. Also, his daughter is too pitiful, my brother had a terminal illness too so I understand why he would do anything to help his child."
As soon as I explained my choice, Sylviane sported a smile with some tears in her eyes.
"You're a real patriot, I understand why you were made Admiral so soon. There are few as honest and valuable as you. I'm glad to serve under you. I hope that we'll be able to save the Emperor's daughter," she exclaimed with glee written all over her face.
"That's Drake... Governor Drake for you! Since day one he keeps his promises and his integrity." Alyn expressed with delight.
"Thank both of you, I'm going to blush... hahaha. Now that we know more about each other and we're clear about our goals, we need to make preparations and military strategies. Alyn shows us the data collected during the past 6 months about Thetis' system, especially the gaseous planet and its two moons. The inhabited one is one of our top priorities." I ordered.
We need to plan for the future and set our targets and purposes in this newly created imperial sector.