Rebellion
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 9:50 pm
Footsteps echoed throughout the hall. A uniformed man soon appeared from the darkness at one end. He made his way across the patterned, tiled floor which was lined by huge columns of solid stone, no doubt from some exotic planet. They reached upwards, lost in darkness after reaching a height of twenty metres. The open space that ran the length of the hall was lit by a soft light that seemed to exist without a source, it was also lined by honour guards, four beneath each column, their faces masked by ornate helms that provided as much protection as a standard military helm despite their fashionable design.
They're heads never moved and they never acknowledged the proceedings going on before them in any way. Nonetheless, Hisao Nakai was sure that every eye was on him. After all, it was not often that a naval officer was summoned before the empress herself. He had never even had a direct order from her, let alone a summons.
The walk along the hall was needlessly long, assumedly to create a metaphorical separation of her highness from the real world as well as the physical one that was so commonly speculated to be out of fear. Hisao had counted 40 columns on one side of his long walk before he came to within earshot of the throne.
As he approached, about 20 honour guards appeared from the darkness each side of him and formed a defensive line before the steps that led up to the grand seat.
Instinctively, Hisao dropped to one knee, his eyes fixed on the tiles beneath him. He knew that even the slightest movement or sound would be considered a slight, or worse, a threat.
After a few moments of his silent worship, his ears were met by the sound of faint footsteps, the first sound he had heard since his own in more than hour.
A shadow appeared in his field of vision; someone had approached him from the throne and was now looking over him.
"Rise," a woman's voice commanded him.
Hisao did so, standing to attention. He knew not to make eye contact, so he simply stared straight ahead. He could however, see the woman in his peripheral vision. Her hair was big, and pink. She work a sleek, black outfit that had the feel of military efficiency and utility but at the same time was not like any uniform he had seen before and so had to be a custom made ensemble. The only skin he could see was that of her face.
The woman started walking in a circle around Hisao, starting to the left of him and moving anti-clockwise, inspecting him further. When she appeared to his right, she had removed her gloves. She stood in front of him; she was a few inches shorter than Hisao so his line of sight sat at the top of her head.
A flash of movement to Hisao's left, and his cheek suddenly burned with pain. The slap made his eye twitch, but he showed no further reaction. His discipline held through.
"This one's got some fight in him!" said the woman, loudly.
How she could get away with such lax vocal conduct in the presence of the empress could only be explained one way. This had to be the supreme executor. The empress' pet, or should that be the empress' right hand? Events in the throne room rarely reached the eyes and ears of anyone beyond its own confines, so it was difficult to know without reading into rumour and superstition. All Hisao had heard of the Supreme Executor was that she relayed all of the Empress' orders to the admiralty. The only thing the executor wasn't capable of was declaring war, peace or surrender. Hisao hadn't put much thought into the idea that the Supreme Executor was a woman, their strategies and policies always seemed too aggressive and brutal to have come from anywhere but the mind of a man.
"You may look upon me, if you wish."
Hisao hesitated a moment, unsure if it was a test of respect. His curiousity got the better of him however, and his eyes lowered onto the Executor's. They were golden, and filled with judgement and scrutiny. Every ounce of her concentration seemed to be on Hisao.
For some reason, Hisao's eyes kept their momentum and he found himself observing the entirety of the woman before him. Her hair was her most surprising trait, it was styled into drills. Bizzare. She stood with her hands on her hips and her boots were heeled. Hisao's eyes made their way back up to hers.
"Name, Rank and Assignment."
"Yes Ma'am. I am honoured to be Nakai, Hisao, Flight Lieutenant Second Class, currently assigned to the defensive wing of her excellency's flagship IKS Yamaku."
"Service Record.”
“Yes Ma’am. Graduated Yamaku Officer’s academy with honours in 2244, specialising in the command of light spacecraft, received the Azure Ribbon for my participation in the liberation of the capital city on Suzu Prime, was later promoted from Flight Officer to Flight Lieutenant after continued service of 2 years. Assigned to IKS Silence after a tour in the Orion Arm.”
A loud snap emanated from the top of the stairs, from the throne. The executor immediately spun on her heels and faced the sound.
Without turning around, she spoke with formality once again, “You have been summoned to her excellence. Do not look upon her and do no falter.” Her last words seemed almost like friendly advice, and Hisao did not intend to take such advice lightly.
The line of guards parted to allow the executor through, and Hisao followed matching the executor’s brisk pace. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Hisao noticed the executor’s fists clench. They remained clenched all the way to the top of the stairs, where she stopped and commanded Hisao once more.
“Kneel.”
He did so as best he could but kneeling on an incline of stairs wasn’t easy, he supposed that this effect was intentional, to make subjects ill of ease. The executor carried on to the plateau at the top of the stairs.
A few moments past, and with Hisao’s attention focused on the floor he couldn’t know what was happening above him.
“Rise. You may look upon her excellency.”
Hisao rose. He also looked, and saw the most powerful woman in existence. She was strangely beautiful, her hair was blue and short and she was dressed in a similar uniform to the executor, sleek and black. A band of clear glass covered her dark blue eyes, it seemed to be displaying some text, some kind of heads-up display. She was looking at him. At him. The empress was looking at him. More than that, she was judging him. Her look was not dissimilar from that of the Executor a few minutes ago, but it was more considerate than that harsh, militaristic evaluation.
“Do you know why you have been summoned before Her Excellency the Empress Shizune Hakamichi, Protector of the Milky Way, Ruler of the Known Universe and Grand Justice to all her peoples?”
“No, Supreme Executor. I was only told to meet at some coordinates under Her Excellency’s orders.”
“Do you want to know?”
Hisao looked the Executor in the eye. For a moment he feared punishment, but soon realised the two women in front of him were awaiting his answer.
“If Her Excellency wills it.”
“WAHAHA!~” The Supreme Executor was bent over in laughter. She turned to the Empress.
“You’d come all this way and be happy without knowing why?” Her eyes teared up.
“WAHAHA!~”
“Are you sure he’s the one, Shicchan? He doesn’t have any semblance of a spine.”
The Empress shot her an incredulous look, her eyes fuming. The sudden change in mood was disconcerting.
The Executor was oblivious to her disapproval, and seemed to find Hisao’s fealty more than hilarious.
Realising that the laughter was not going to stop any time soon, the Empress returned her attention to the confused soldier in front of her.
She uncrossed her legs and started moving her hands in sharp, direct movements. It was a few seconds before Hisao realised she was communicating in sign language. It was lucky that he had learnt it at the academy.
[She will regret this.] The Empress’ eyes looked in the direction of the Executor as she said so. Something told Hisao that this was a fundamental truth and was inevitable.
Hisao felt the bewilderment building up inside him. Here he was at the top of a marble staircase, on the most secure planet in the galaxy, looking at the woman it was all built to protect. Not only this, but the second most important person in the galaxy had the discipline and sense of humour of a child.
[I know you can sign. You may do it freely.]
Hisao immediately regretted letting his mind wander. Unexpected informality or no, he was still in the presence of his Protector and Ruler. The person he had sworn to give his life for should the need arise.
[What does your Excellency want of me?]
This brought a smile to the Empress’ lips. It wasn’t as though his life was a plaything and she was glad he was giving it up willingly. No, this was a smile as though she needed her soldiers’ homage to live, she drank it in.
[I’m sure you are aware of the rumours.] The Empress’ face became strained, Hisao was slowly getting used to seeing her as a person, someone who could be put under pressure, someone who could make mistakes. He would have trouble treating her as such, if it so happened that he was allowed to. [That there is a fleet massing just outside the 22nd Jump-point.]
Hisao had indeed heard the rumours. He doubted there was a member of the Imperial navy that hadn’t. The word on the grapevine was that a separatist group from the Orange Sector had gained enough support to attract smaller groups to their banner. The leader of the group had started gathering ships to him, not all combat capable but enough to draw the attention the local Warden. Enough to destroy trade route patrol vessels.
[I have, your highness.]
The Empress removed the tired expression from her face in what seemed like a practiced move.
[They’re true. Our latest reports say the rogue fleet has enough firepower to take the jump-point gateway station if they wanted. But that they’re biding their time, growing by at least 5% every week.] She now looked at Hisao with a look as if challenging him. [Can you think of why that might be?]
Hisao considered it carefully, [The only reason they would bide their time was if they were being stopped from taking the jump-point or if they needed the extra ships for some other purpose.]
The Empress approved of the answer, [Go on.]
[Assuming they want the extra ships, that would mean they’re after a bigger target than the 22nd Jump-point.]
[Naturally.]
[The 22nd Jump-point is one of the most heavily fortified, thanks to being the gateway to several separatist hotspots.] Hisao was now glad of the year he spent on the patrol fleet in the Orion Arm, he knew most of the important details of every jump-point in that region of space. [It doesn’t lead anywhere particularly interesting, no one wants live on the separatist’s doorstep.]
[Warmer.]
[The only place it does lead to is the 21st Jump-point, which connects to...]
The Empress’ smiled coolly. Hisao had jumped through her hoop.
Hisao wondered why he hadn’t realised this before. Perhaps it was the distance between the separatists and civilisation he had built up in his mind, but the truth was now as clear as day. [The separatists want to attack the senate? Are they insane?]
Empress Shizune tented her fingers, considering her strategy. Her smile told Hisao that it was flawless.
[Not insane, just smarter than usual.]
Hisao was suddenly aware that the Executor had been silent for some time, and was watching Hisao and the Empress converse in sign language. Hisao thought he caught her looking a little depressed before she caught him and quickly put on a proud smile.
She spoke and signed simultaneously. “Imagine their faces when they find out that Shicchan dissolved the senate weeks ago!”
Hisao couldn’t help but gasp. How could the news not possibly have spread? How could a building full of the galaxy’s most important political figures be muted so absolutely?
Shizune’s look of concern brought Hisao out of his disbelief. [I know it sounds bad, but they were holding me back.]
Hisao took this as an invitation to reply. [Does this mean that...] Hisao couldn’t quite fathom what he had just heard. [You two are the only ones ruling the galaxy right now?]
His question got an uneasy smile from the Empress and a forlorn gaze from the Executor. They really do have an immaturity to them.
Clarity dawned on the Executor’s face and she retorted, [All the more reason for you to serve your Empress in your utmost capacity!]
A short while later and Hisao was exiting the great, dark hall and into the Foyer of the Imperial palace. The honour guards opened the tall, wooden doors and Hisao walked out into the sunlit courtyard. The smaller star of the system was setting, just how much time had he spent in there? It was easy to lose track of seconds, minutes and hours when the image of a god-like being comes crashing down.
Even so, the Empress’ words rang as clear in his head as any High Admiral who had instructed him in the past. You will be given command of a Fleet Battle Group. Hisao boarded the small shuttle that would take him to one of the many orbital defence facilities. It took off and Hisao felt the familiar weight in his stomach as the acceleration compensators kicked in.
Take it to the Separatists. Hisao deactivated the shuttle’s window shutters and looked out into the void of space. As the shuttle gained speed, it came up on the orbital facility surprisingly quickly and passed it just as quickly.
“Excuse me, pilot. Are we not docking with the Station?” asked Hisao.
The pilot replied instantly, “I’ve got orders to take you directly to your command vessel. The IKS Australia, nice little frigate, you’ll like it.”
Hisao felt a blush appearing on his face, and was glad the pilot was focused on his dashboard. “Sorry, I’m not exactly briefed on my orders.”
“No problem at all, sir. They said you wouldn’t be clued in yet.”
Flight Lieutenant Nakia (or should that be Captain Nakai now?) was walking out of the shuttle and through the airlock in no time. The pilot turned to him as they disembarked.
“Sorry for the high g’s back there, sir. I was under strict orders to get you up here ASAP.” He said as he removed Hisao’s personal belongings from the storage compartment and placed them on a hovering luggage trolley. Hisao found himself marvelling at the expensive piece of bag transportation technology, he supposed that no expense would be spared on him from now on, or until he proved himself unworthy of the privilege and he had no intention of doing that.
As Hisao looked out of the viewing window in the corridor he found himself in, and out onto several foreign constellations. A huge battleship unexpectedly jumped into the system. He almost expected to be blown of his feet by a shockwave, but the only impact the ship’s arrival had on Hisao was forcing a surprised expression.
“Is that...?” he began, before being made speechless by the impressive capacity that the ship’s main guns had for destruction.
His pilot friend replied helpfully, “The IKS Cloud Pegasus? Yep. That’s the flagship for the new battle group that’s forming up. What’s the matter? You never seen a Fire-class Dreadnaught this close up?”
All Hisao could do was shake his head. Of course, he had served with fleets containing several fire-class ships and even docked his fighter in some of their several hangar bays. But he had never looked away from his flight controls long enough to take in the sheer...enormity...of everything about the ship’s design.
A new voice piped up behind him, “Captain Nakai? I’m here to escort you to the bridge.”
As Hisao followed this nameless Ensign to his new bridge, no, his first bridge, he remembered the Empress’ last words to him. Do not disappoint me.
Hello everyone who reads this. This story started off as the scene with Hisao walking down the dark hall just appearing in my head, I wrote it out and took it from there. Any and all comments would be much appreciated as this is the first bit of recreational writing I've ever submitted to public opinion, I've started about 3 other KS fan fictions but they all seem to die sooner or later. I have ideas for how this particular story could progress, but thought I'd give it to you guys for fun.
They're heads never moved and they never acknowledged the proceedings going on before them in any way. Nonetheless, Hisao Nakai was sure that every eye was on him. After all, it was not often that a naval officer was summoned before the empress herself. He had never even had a direct order from her, let alone a summons.
The walk along the hall was needlessly long, assumedly to create a metaphorical separation of her highness from the real world as well as the physical one that was so commonly speculated to be out of fear. Hisao had counted 40 columns on one side of his long walk before he came to within earshot of the throne.
As he approached, about 20 honour guards appeared from the darkness each side of him and formed a defensive line before the steps that led up to the grand seat.
Instinctively, Hisao dropped to one knee, his eyes fixed on the tiles beneath him. He knew that even the slightest movement or sound would be considered a slight, or worse, a threat.
After a few moments of his silent worship, his ears were met by the sound of faint footsteps, the first sound he had heard since his own in more than hour.
A shadow appeared in his field of vision; someone had approached him from the throne and was now looking over him.
"Rise," a woman's voice commanded him.
Hisao did so, standing to attention. He knew not to make eye contact, so he simply stared straight ahead. He could however, see the woman in his peripheral vision. Her hair was big, and pink. She work a sleek, black outfit that had the feel of military efficiency and utility but at the same time was not like any uniform he had seen before and so had to be a custom made ensemble. The only skin he could see was that of her face.
The woman started walking in a circle around Hisao, starting to the left of him and moving anti-clockwise, inspecting him further. When she appeared to his right, she had removed her gloves. She stood in front of him; she was a few inches shorter than Hisao so his line of sight sat at the top of her head.
A flash of movement to Hisao's left, and his cheek suddenly burned with pain. The slap made his eye twitch, but he showed no further reaction. His discipline held through.
"This one's got some fight in him!" said the woman, loudly.
How she could get away with such lax vocal conduct in the presence of the empress could only be explained one way. This had to be the supreme executor. The empress' pet, or should that be the empress' right hand? Events in the throne room rarely reached the eyes and ears of anyone beyond its own confines, so it was difficult to know without reading into rumour and superstition. All Hisao had heard of the Supreme Executor was that she relayed all of the Empress' orders to the admiralty. The only thing the executor wasn't capable of was declaring war, peace or surrender. Hisao hadn't put much thought into the idea that the Supreme Executor was a woman, their strategies and policies always seemed too aggressive and brutal to have come from anywhere but the mind of a man.
"You may look upon me, if you wish."
Hisao hesitated a moment, unsure if it was a test of respect. His curiousity got the better of him however, and his eyes lowered onto the Executor's. They were golden, and filled with judgement and scrutiny. Every ounce of her concentration seemed to be on Hisao.
For some reason, Hisao's eyes kept their momentum and he found himself observing the entirety of the woman before him. Her hair was her most surprising trait, it was styled into drills. Bizzare. She stood with her hands on her hips and her boots were heeled. Hisao's eyes made their way back up to hers.
"Name, Rank and Assignment."
"Yes Ma'am. I am honoured to be Nakai, Hisao, Flight Lieutenant Second Class, currently assigned to the defensive wing of her excellency's flagship IKS Yamaku."
"Service Record.”
“Yes Ma’am. Graduated Yamaku Officer’s academy with honours in 2244, specialising in the command of light spacecraft, received the Azure Ribbon for my participation in the liberation of the capital city on Suzu Prime, was later promoted from Flight Officer to Flight Lieutenant after continued service of 2 years. Assigned to IKS Silence after a tour in the Orion Arm.”
A loud snap emanated from the top of the stairs, from the throne. The executor immediately spun on her heels and faced the sound.
Without turning around, she spoke with formality once again, “You have been summoned to her excellence. Do not look upon her and do no falter.” Her last words seemed almost like friendly advice, and Hisao did not intend to take such advice lightly.
The line of guards parted to allow the executor through, and Hisao followed matching the executor’s brisk pace. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Hisao noticed the executor’s fists clench. They remained clenched all the way to the top of the stairs, where she stopped and commanded Hisao once more.
“Kneel.”
He did so as best he could but kneeling on an incline of stairs wasn’t easy, he supposed that this effect was intentional, to make subjects ill of ease. The executor carried on to the plateau at the top of the stairs.
A few moments past, and with Hisao’s attention focused on the floor he couldn’t know what was happening above him.
“Rise. You may look upon her excellency.”
Hisao rose. He also looked, and saw the most powerful woman in existence. She was strangely beautiful, her hair was blue and short and she was dressed in a similar uniform to the executor, sleek and black. A band of clear glass covered her dark blue eyes, it seemed to be displaying some text, some kind of heads-up display. She was looking at him. At him. The empress was looking at him. More than that, she was judging him. Her look was not dissimilar from that of the Executor a few minutes ago, but it was more considerate than that harsh, militaristic evaluation.
“Do you know why you have been summoned before Her Excellency the Empress Shizune Hakamichi, Protector of the Milky Way, Ruler of the Known Universe and Grand Justice to all her peoples?”
“No, Supreme Executor. I was only told to meet at some coordinates under Her Excellency’s orders.”
“Do you want to know?”
Hisao looked the Executor in the eye. For a moment he feared punishment, but soon realised the two women in front of him were awaiting his answer.
“If Her Excellency wills it.”
“WAHAHA!~” The Supreme Executor was bent over in laughter. She turned to the Empress.
“You’d come all this way and be happy without knowing why?” Her eyes teared up.
“WAHAHA!~”
“Are you sure he’s the one, Shicchan? He doesn’t have any semblance of a spine.”
The Empress shot her an incredulous look, her eyes fuming. The sudden change in mood was disconcerting.
The Executor was oblivious to her disapproval, and seemed to find Hisao’s fealty more than hilarious.
Realising that the laughter was not going to stop any time soon, the Empress returned her attention to the confused soldier in front of her.
She uncrossed her legs and started moving her hands in sharp, direct movements. It was a few seconds before Hisao realised she was communicating in sign language. It was lucky that he had learnt it at the academy.
[She will regret this.] The Empress’ eyes looked in the direction of the Executor as she said so. Something told Hisao that this was a fundamental truth and was inevitable.
Hisao felt the bewilderment building up inside him. Here he was at the top of a marble staircase, on the most secure planet in the galaxy, looking at the woman it was all built to protect. Not only this, but the second most important person in the galaxy had the discipline and sense of humour of a child.
[I know you can sign. You may do it freely.]
Hisao immediately regretted letting his mind wander. Unexpected informality or no, he was still in the presence of his Protector and Ruler. The person he had sworn to give his life for should the need arise.
[What does your Excellency want of me?]
This brought a smile to the Empress’ lips. It wasn’t as though his life was a plaything and she was glad he was giving it up willingly. No, this was a smile as though she needed her soldiers’ homage to live, she drank it in.
[I’m sure you are aware of the rumours.] The Empress’ face became strained, Hisao was slowly getting used to seeing her as a person, someone who could be put under pressure, someone who could make mistakes. He would have trouble treating her as such, if it so happened that he was allowed to. [That there is a fleet massing just outside the 22nd Jump-point.]
Hisao had indeed heard the rumours. He doubted there was a member of the Imperial navy that hadn’t. The word on the grapevine was that a separatist group from the Orange Sector had gained enough support to attract smaller groups to their banner. The leader of the group had started gathering ships to him, not all combat capable but enough to draw the attention the local Warden. Enough to destroy trade route patrol vessels.
[I have, your highness.]
The Empress removed the tired expression from her face in what seemed like a practiced move.
[They’re true. Our latest reports say the rogue fleet has enough firepower to take the jump-point gateway station if they wanted. But that they’re biding their time, growing by at least 5% every week.] She now looked at Hisao with a look as if challenging him. [Can you think of why that might be?]
Hisao considered it carefully, [The only reason they would bide their time was if they were being stopped from taking the jump-point or if they needed the extra ships for some other purpose.]
The Empress approved of the answer, [Go on.]
[Assuming they want the extra ships, that would mean they’re after a bigger target than the 22nd Jump-point.]
[Naturally.]
[The 22nd Jump-point is one of the most heavily fortified, thanks to being the gateway to several separatist hotspots.] Hisao was now glad of the year he spent on the patrol fleet in the Orion Arm, he knew most of the important details of every jump-point in that region of space. [It doesn’t lead anywhere particularly interesting, no one wants live on the separatist’s doorstep.]
[Warmer.]
[The only place it does lead to is the 21st Jump-point, which connects to...]
The Empress’ smiled coolly. Hisao had jumped through her hoop.
Hisao wondered why he hadn’t realised this before. Perhaps it was the distance between the separatists and civilisation he had built up in his mind, but the truth was now as clear as day. [The separatists want to attack the senate? Are they insane?]
Empress Shizune tented her fingers, considering her strategy. Her smile told Hisao that it was flawless.
[Not insane, just smarter than usual.]
Hisao was suddenly aware that the Executor had been silent for some time, and was watching Hisao and the Empress converse in sign language. Hisao thought he caught her looking a little depressed before she caught him and quickly put on a proud smile.
She spoke and signed simultaneously. “Imagine their faces when they find out that Shicchan dissolved the senate weeks ago!”
Hisao couldn’t help but gasp. How could the news not possibly have spread? How could a building full of the galaxy’s most important political figures be muted so absolutely?
Shizune’s look of concern brought Hisao out of his disbelief. [I know it sounds bad, but they were holding me back.]
Hisao took this as an invitation to reply. [Does this mean that...] Hisao couldn’t quite fathom what he had just heard. [You two are the only ones ruling the galaxy right now?]
His question got an uneasy smile from the Empress and a forlorn gaze from the Executor. They really do have an immaturity to them.
Clarity dawned on the Executor’s face and she retorted, [All the more reason for you to serve your Empress in your utmost capacity!]
A short while later and Hisao was exiting the great, dark hall and into the Foyer of the Imperial palace. The honour guards opened the tall, wooden doors and Hisao walked out into the sunlit courtyard. The smaller star of the system was setting, just how much time had he spent in there? It was easy to lose track of seconds, minutes and hours when the image of a god-like being comes crashing down.
Even so, the Empress’ words rang as clear in his head as any High Admiral who had instructed him in the past. You will be given command of a Fleet Battle Group. Hisao boarded the small shuttle that would take him to one of the many orbital defence facilities. It took off and Hisao felt the familiar weight in his stomach as the acceleration compensators kicked in.
Take it to the Separatists. Hisao deactivated the shuttle’s window shutters and looked out into the void of space. As the shuttle gained speed, it came up on the orbital facility surprisingly quickly and passed it just as quickly.
“Excuse me, pilot. Are we not docking with the Station?” asked Hisao.
The pilot replied instantly, “I’ve got orders to take you directly to your command vessel. The IKS Australia, nice little frigate, you’ll like it.”
Hisao felt a blush appearing on his face, and was glad the pilot was focused on his dashboard. “Sorry, I’m not exactly briefed on my orders.”
“No problem at all, sir. They said you wouldn’t be clued in yet.”
Flight Lieutenant Nakia (or should that be Captain Nakai now?) was walking out of the shuttle and through the airlock in no time. The pilot turned to him as they disembarked.
“Sorry for the high g’s back there, sir. I was under strict orders to get you up here ASAP.” He said as he removed Hisao’s personal belongings from the storage compartment and placed them on a hovering luggage trolley. Hisao found himself marvelling at the expensive piece of bag transportation technology, he supposed that no expense would be spared on him from now on, or until he proved himself unworthy of the privilege and he had no intention of doing that.
As Hisao looked out of the viewing window in the corridor he found himself in, and out onto several foreign constellations. A huge battleship unexpectedly jumped into the system. He almost expected to be blown of his feet by a shockwave, but the only impact the ship’s arrival had on Hisao was forcing a surprised expression.
“Is that...?” he began, before being made speechless by the impressive capacity that the ship’s main guns had for destruction.
His pilot friend replied helpfully, “The IKS Cloud Pegasus? Yep. That’s the flagship for the new battle group that’s forming up. What’s the matter? You never seen a Fire-class Dreadnaught this close up?”
All Hisao could do was shake his head. Of course, he had served with fleets containing several fire-class ships and even docked his fighter in some of their several hangar bays. But he had never looked away from his flight controls long enough to take in the sheer...enormity...of everything about the ship’s design.
A new voice piped up behind him, “Captain Nakai? I’m here to escort you to the bridge.”
As Hisao followed this nameless Ensign to his new bridge, no, his first bridge, he remembered the Empress’ last words to him. Do not disappoint me.
Hello everyone who reads this. This story started off as the scene with Hisao walking down the dark hall just appearing in my head, I wrote it out and took it from there. Any and all comments would be much appreciated as this is the first bit of recreational writing I've ever submitted to public opinion, I've started about 3 other KS fan fictions but they all seem to die sooner or later. I have ideas for how this particular story could progress, but thought I'd give it to you guys for fun.
