Amongst the large and empty expanse of space, a large silvery ship was hurling through space, its sweeping curves and graceful contours, designed not only to minimize atmospheric resistance during planetary entry but also to disperse the stresses of interstellar travel making it seem like a silver fish swimming through calm waters.
The CCS Faylor was a premier people carrier between the Faylan and Aurora systems and served the safest and relatively affordable option to make the approximately 14 Lumins between the two systems even though it takes 4 days of non-stop cruising at maximum speed.
In one of the 2nd class boxes, a young man with black hair wearing a clean and sharp blue uniform was sitting silently while staring at the window display. The singular blue star on his chest coupled with the red and yellow flag on his right shoulder marked him as a young Lieutenant in the League Navy.
Archer couldn't help but marvel at the deep and serene darkness of the space around him as he thought of just how far he has come from home. The queasy feeling in his stomach had subsided slightly over the last 4 days he spent on this ship, but the incredulous nature of it all is still fresh on his mind.
5 days ago, he received his dispatch orders, not to some administrative office like he always expected and planned, but to the 7th Fleet as a tactical officer. On that same day, he was told by liaison officer at the academy that his order was accurate and that there is nothing to be done. The next morning, he was on the CCS Faylor, heading to the furthest system in the League, Aurora.
No time to call someone, no time to complain, no time to even process. Within a single day, all Archer managed to accomplish was say goodbye to his parents and buy a pass to Aurora. It did cross his mind that this was all by design, discombobulate him and rush him into not having time to protest and make noise. But it's more likely that whoever sent the order just didn't care.
Suddenly, the door to Archer's box slid open. Archer was immediately roused from his revelry as he instinctively turned his head to look at the suited conductor now standing at the door. The conductor quickly nodded her head and spoke with a respectful voice:
"Sir. We just received word that we will rendezvous with the LNS Tame. We are expecting them in 10 minutes and hope that you'll be ready to join them then."
Archer stared at her for a second before standing up and speaking:
"Thank you, ma'am. I'll be ready then."
Archer's tall frame and medium build coupled with his manner of speaking gave him the air of a farmer. But the blue naval uniform also added a layer of elegance that could only be described as oddly fitting. It was almost as if he was the embodiment of the gentleman farmers old.
The conductor gave him a warm smile before pressing the button on the door to close. Archer stared at the closed door some more before sighing and shaking his head in resignation. There is no turning back anymore.
Archer reached under his seat for the hardcase suite case his mother bought him 4 years ago when he was getting ready to head to the Institute. It was embossed with what at the time was a lovely message from his mother but was dripping with almost catastrophic irony now:
"Shoot for the stars Archer."
15 minutes later, Archer was standing on one of the docking ports of the Faylor. The conductor was standing next to him while tinkering on her wrist communicator as she spoke:
"Apologies Sir. We're having issues docking with LNS Tame. It seems that she's having a hard time matching our cruising speed for the docking lock to take. Our captain is reducing our speed now to match hers."
Archer couldn't hide the frown forming on his face as he asked:
"I believe the LNS Tame is a Type II Escort Class ship. It should have no issues getting to speed. Did your captain say anything about what's causing this?"
The conductor simply shook her head and spoke without looking up from her communicator:
"Am not sure sir. We do this kind of operation with the Tame multiple times a year, this is the first time we're seeing this. It might just be that their SF modulator needs some maintenance."
The conductor's words did not do much to ease Archer's worry, but a sudden jolt through the docking port seemed to interrupt his next words as the speakers in the docking port boomed:
"Docking Lock Established. Please Stand Clear of the Overhead Doors"
Archer steadied himself as he stood staring at the slowly rolling overhead door. Beyond the door, he could see three sets of feet, one set in what seemed like officer blue and the other two sets black.
A few seconds later, the overhead door was fully rolled and beyond it stood two men in the black enlisted uniforms and a woman in blue. Archer could see the two blue stars on her chest so he immediately set his suitcase down and approached the door before saluting and speaking in a calm but respectful voice:
"Good evening, Ma'am. Lieutenant Chase reporting as ordered."
The woman had a reddish-brown hair tied the navy regulation tight bun. She seemed a foot or so shorter than both of the enlisted soldiers behind her, but her stern blue eyes and somber expression exuded an air of authority that made one no dare disregard her.
The officer steeled her eyes at Archer for a second before returning his salute and speaking in a monotone voice:
" I am Lt. Commander Naimes of the 14th combat wing of the 7th Fleet. I will be taking you to rendezvous with the LNS Charger to meet with Wing Commander Fauls. Let's head out."
Naimes immediately turned around and walked back to her ship. The two soldiers behind her wore helpless smiles, but they both saluted Archer and they walked towards him.
Archer was flabbergasted by the awkward interaction, but before he could process it, one of the enlisted men took his suitcase while the other shot him a smile as he spoke:
"Right this way sir."
"Thank you"
That was all archer could say as he walked behind the soldier carrying his case. The "goodbyes and have a save trip" from the conductor behind him didn't even reach his ears before the Tame's port door sealed and the shaking of the Tame brought him back to reality.
"Sir, the Lt. Commander is waiting for you in the command room. Right this way please"
Archer looked around the drap interior of the Tame that seemed to be more bare than steel factory with pipes and vents crisscrossing all over the not so tall roof. He immediately nodded as he spoke:
"Please lead the way. Thank you."
The soldier seemed delighted at Archer's polite words as he immediately started speaking with a cheerful voice:
"You're welcome, Sir. Let me take the chance to give you a quick tour of our beautiful ship here. The LNS Tame is a Type 2 tactical scout in the 14th combat wing. Commanded by Lt. Commander Neela Naimes."
Archer noted the officer's name before nodding to the soldier indicating for him to continue:
'Our ship has a crew complement of 10 souls plus our commander and we're equipped for long range and medium range scouting, although we used to only operate within the Aurora system."
Archer and the soldier continued down a long hallway with 3 doors on each side. At the end of the 60 ft hall, Archer spotted a large metal door with a red flashing light above it and the word BRIDGE typed across the door.
The entire ship couldn't have been more than 150 ft long which is normal for a ship of this class, but archer was still surprised as he kept looking around.
"These 5 sets rooms are the off-call rooms. We typically operate at 50% capacity at 12-hour shift when on board, so these rooms serve as sleeping quarters for the off shift."
"How about long term scouting missions?"
Archer asked as he looked at the 5 doors on the left.
"Good question sir, for long distance scouting missions, we operate at 33% capacity and have shits every 8 hours. That's only for this ship though, Lt. Commander Naimes is very strict about not overworking the crew unless necessary. I've heard of officers who do the maximum 18 hour shifts all the time. It really makes you wonder where they find mor...."
The soldier paused for a second as he realized he was talking to another officer. Archer immediately looked at at the soldier with a wide toothy grin as he spoke in a jokey manner:
"Don't you know, the navy produces their own moron officers. How else will they maintain the good fight against common sense."
The soldier was slightly taken back before bursting out in laughter.
"Tell me about it sir. But they do seem to get a good one occasionally. Here we are sir, the command room, your suitcase has been stowed and someone will get it for you when you disembark. It was nice meeting you sir, hopefully we'll talk again soon."
"Good to meet you too. Thank you for the tour."
The soldier saluted Archer before turning around and walking down the hallway. Archer couldn't help but feel a bit of warmth towards the soldier as he reminded him of his brother Wil. Wil also seemed constantly befuddled by the stupidity of the navy's officers during his time there. It was to the point that when Archer first told him about his plan to commission as an officer, Wil's response was to ask if Archer couldn't think of a easier way to lose brain cell, he even offered to give Archer a concussion and make him as smart as any officer he's ever met.
Archer shook his head in amusement before turning towards the command room door. He composed himself for a second, straightened his uniform and pressed the doorbell on the side of the door.
A few seconds later, the same monotone voice of Lt. Commander Naimes came through the door:
"Enter."