Sabatine had never felt more exhausted in her life. Breaking that record was becoming a routine however and she rubbed her hands over gummy eyes as she finished the shut down sequence. The sudden silence as the roar of expelled plasma cut off was almost physically shocking. Not for the first time, or even the hundredth time, she cursed the name of Prince Kaiden Caladwarden. She had brought the Z-21 on a short hope through the matrix to an unnamed world that rejoiced in the simple alpha numeric M-X-2341 in a little under 2 days. It had been tricky with her new rig, designed for looks rather than efficiency, but even if she wasn't a brilliant astrogater, she was solidly competent. She glanced around the bridge at the exhausted faces of her few watch standers, all of whom had been needed to land the destroyer after the brutal chore of rerigging her. Fortunately the hard part was now over, and all they had to do was wait for Kaiden to arrive in the Vickie to take them on to the next phase of the plan.

"Open hatches, get some men out soonest to top off reaction mass," Sabatine ordered over the command net. M-X-2341 had a breathable atmosphere, though the air as very arid. It even had liquid water which allowed starships to refuel. Colonization had never been attempted however because the powerful magnetic storms which raged across it played hell with sensors of all kinds. Sabatine had bought them in to what had once, in the geological past, been a crater lake, but now was a dry sandy basin several kilometers across. The crew would have to deploy the drills to get down to the aquafir twenty meters or so below the sand, but that was easy work in close to the 1g that humans were designed to operate within.

With nothing pressing to do, Sabatine opened the ships log with a private thrill. Brought vessel from Delta 3-7 to M-X-2341 in a voyage of one day seven hours, fair conditions in the matrix with course attached. She appended the file with a few key strokes then allowed herself a few moments to savor something she had dreamed of since she was a small girl visiting the great naval base at Harbor 3 on Cinnabar. She flexed her fingers and added: Lt Sabatine Hickoring, Officer Commanding, RCS Z-21. If the ship survived operations and returned to Cinnibar some day, that entry would be copied to the Navy House records. Whatever else might happen, she would always be able to claim she commanded a ship in time of war, even if it was for a short hop from one no where to another. Her irritation with Kaiden dropped a grudging degree, given that he had made this possible.

"Orders Captain?" Creavy, the engineer and acting chief of ship asked. He was nervous, drafted from the Whitehall to a ship ten times its side, and suicidally short crewed, though she suspected he was the type that would be nervous no matter what was going on.

"Soon as we have topped off the tanks power everything down, fusion bottles to stand by," she replied. Already the steady thrum thrum thrum of pumps told her that water was coming aboard.

"Lets put her in moth balls and wait for Lieutenant Kaiden arrives to pick us up," she instructed, without another word she stood up and walked into the captains cabin, throwing herself down on the bed without even removing her boots. She was asleep in moments.

The Vickie jumped out of system without delay. Kaiden felt his plan going off without a hitch initially, which meant the gasket that would inevitably blow would be that much bigger, if his past luck was anything to go by. He'd gone off the map of his reality, having commandeered a vessel, both civilian in a sense, yet hostile in another. But Higgs and the rest had leapt to stations at his call and it appeared they had all settled into this new reality. More than likely as long as they were kept busy, it seemed business as usual to them. Kaiden often sneered at the aristocratic notion that the upper classes having the 'real' burdens of society, which was his main motivation for joining the military and insisting on no favors from his family. However, he did feel that might be an inkling of truth in his heart of hearts. The idea that all of this was happening on his command was...unsettling. The ship had roared internally before bursting out of their current location.

"Higgs, give us 5 degrees left of the current location of MX-2341's moon from our position." Kaiden remarked.

"Done, sir!" He cried. Kaiden swiveled his head to his right and saw Tilda amongst the men, shapely legs crossed on a chair and professional, albeit sly look in her eyes. Kaiden didn't have the time to pay too much attention to it and barked again.

"Steady as she goes, we want the Nestor to follow us without being left behind."

Tilda spun in her chair and rose, plucking the pen from behind her ear and approaching Kaiden. She wore a smart suit and a pencil skirt that hugged her form, but to Kaiden's chagrin she always wore clothing just professional enough to not warrant comment. She glided over and stood with him, flipping the cover off a small notepad. "Lieutenant Caladwarden, feel free to answer in your own time." She began as a disclaimer, before he complained now wasn't the time. "So how does it feel to be spear heading Cinnibar's efforts into a new galactic conflict?"

"Oh, it's thrilling. I've dreamed of this since I was a boy." He said, albeit sardonically.

"Can I quote you on that?" She asked neutrally.

"Absolutely not. Harwen! Bushman! Look lively!"

"Might I remind you, you're the one who brought me on here." She said.

"Might I remind you that many things have changed since then. You're quite lucky I did not leave you on the base." He admitted.

"And why didn't you?"

"Because I felt you would wait for this until after my shift." He said, using 'shift' as the layman might, unable to be humrously charming to an attractive woman, even when annoyed. She snickered, but added: "This is the greatest story in a century, I figured I would ask your thoughts as they were occurring."

"I will hold my 'thoughts' and when we reconvene with Lieutenant Hickoring, we can give a report together if she so wishes. Danzetti, realign us for entry!"

The image of Captain Micha’s face froze in a ricktus of fear and panic as it hung in holographic projection. Sabatine hated to admit it but you really had to hand it to Tilda. When the former (?) reporter had rather offhandedly offered to help prepare the footage for the drumhead court martial Sabatine had imagined it would be a simple presentation, instead Tilda had cut the footage taken from the Vickie’s bridge sensors together in a production worthy of a holofilm. Not coincidentally it also served to subtly highlight Kaiden’s bravery but any client would naturally seek to please her patron.

Kaiden, Sabatine and Lieutenant Rachet were sitting in console seats on the bridge of the Z-21, all wearing full dress whites with medal ribbons. In Rachet’s case these were somewhat tattered and ill tailored, having apparently lost weight since the last time they had been worn, and that last time some ways in the past. Captain Micha sat in a seat on the lower level of the bridge, unshaven and glowering. Though he had been given the opportunity to shave and dress formally, he had spurned the offer, another detail recorded by Tilda’s careful efforts.

“The prosecution rests,” Leyla Savachev declared, taking her own seat with a wave at the holo projection. It was, perhaps, not entirely proper for a warrant officer to serve as counsel, but all three commissioned Cinnabars, Ottis’ commission by courtesy didn’t count for this purpose, were required to make up the three member quorum for the court martial.

“Do you have any further remarks to offer in your defense Lieutenant?” Kaiden asked with cold formality. Technically speaking he outranked Micha now that the later had been stripped of his command.

“You will swing for this you bastards! Ill see each of your rotting bodies over a yard arm at Harbor Three!” Micha blustered. Sabatine rather sadly thought that if Micha had shown this kind of fire during action this court wouldn’t be necessary. Of course that didn’t mean he was right about the hanging. She felt her lips peel back slightly in something between a grin and a snarl. A great many things would have to go right if she was going to survive to face the hangman. Micha continued to rave but Tilda touched a control and engaged the privacy field around his station, effectively muting him behind a curtain of sound cancelation. She was damned good at this, the bitch.

“So noted,” Kaiden sighed. Sabatine didn’t know if he was as unconcerned with Micha’s threats as he appeared. The RCN took a jaundiced view of its officers committing mutiny, which might or might not be what they were doing, depending on the outcome of an inquiry back in Xenos. It was an open question as to whether his family name would help or hurt him in such a proceeding. The RCN prided itself on being above politics, but whether it would find it convenient to spare a Caladwarden or come down hard on him to make the point was difficult to say.

“Lieutenants, do either of you require time or additional material before rendering a verdict?” Kaiden asked.

“No sir,” they both replied in unison.

“Very well, Lieutenant Hickoring, your verdict on charges of neglect of duty to the Republic in time of war and cowardice in the face of the enemy?” Kaiden continued. Sabatine was technically Rachet’s senior on date of commission.

“Guilty on all counts Sir,” she responded formally. Kadien nodded his head.

“Lieutenant Rachet?” Kaiden asked, nodding his head at the gun boat captain. Rachet scratched as his close cropped hair in what Sabatine interpreted as a nervous habit. He had the look of a man in extreme discomfort, having not been present when Kaiden had removed Micha from command, he was now being asked to hitch his reputation to what might be ruled to be a mutiny. Much of the presentation that had been delivered today was aimed at him, as no court martial could be conducted without three captains present, a technicality, among an increasing list of technicalities, satisfied by Sabatine’s temporary command of Z-21. Rachet took a deep breath and cast a glance at the silently ranting Micha then straightened his shoulders.

“Guilty sir,” Rachet declared with a slightly pained look. Sabatine had reviewed Rachet’s record since the Whitehall had joined their nascent squadron. He was a son of minor nobility whose father had squandered most of a small family fortune on bad investments. He had, none the less, made his way in the RCN with little interest and no money, not the sign of a coward or incompetent.

“Guilty,” Kaiden said decisively. He crooked a finger at Tilda, who dropped the noise cancelation around Micha who cut off in mid expletive when sound from the outside reached him.

“Lieutenant Valten Micha,” Kadien began formally, “you have been found guilty of Cowardice in the Face of the Enemy by this court martial.”

“You have no authority to…” Kaiden silenced Micha with a raised finger. Sabatine was struck by how well he played the Cinnibar Noble though that shouldn’t have been a surprise.

“In recognition of the extraordinary circumstances, I have elected not to have you shot on your own quarterdeck, as has been done in the past,” he continued coldly. That shocked Micha as effectively as a glass of cold water to the face. He had been worried before, but now he was scared. It would have been an easy thing for Kaiden to have him disposed of out here where fewer questions might be asked.

“Clear the bridge,” Kaiden declared. There was a general rush for the door as spacers obeyed, piling out into the corridors beyond.

“Lieutenant, you will be transported to Cinnabar aboard the Nestor as Captain and Astrogator,” Kaiden continued coldly. Micha stared at him in shock. Sabatine could see the wheels turning behind his eyes, considering how he might be able to get the wheels of the Navy House bureaucracy moving behind the scenes.

“I’ll be sending a report on the situation here in a sealed fleet packet,” Kaiden told him. The packet was a solid state device sealed with encryption that could only be opened by Navy House. It would contain not only the report of what was going on, but a transcript of the court martial.

“I’ll see you hang, I swear I will,” Micha snarled hatefully.

“So long as it is after you get to Xenos and deliver the packet,” Kaiden responded.

Cousin Slade glanced back, somehow gauging Kaiden's approach before he even announced himself. He was sure he could see a small smile on his face, but it disappeared before Kaiden could be sure that was exactly what he had spotted. Slade turned to regard him, wearing the ostentatious uniform of an accomplished astronavigator. Kaiden felt... not inadequate, necessarily, but the 2nd class grey uniform of the cinnibar navy with black piping was not necessarily an outfit meant to inspire command, even if he had the emblem of fire lieutenant pinned at his breast.

"A fine assignment you have, from what my sources tell me. You'll do well, cousin." Slade congratulated him, placing a hand on Kaiden's shoulder. The prince gave him a handsome smile, but his heart was not in it. It had been too long since he had seen a member of his family, and even though Slade was his closest contact of the clan, he still felt his father's presence even here, hovering above them as if he could hear their every word.

"Thanks, but I've got a long way to go before I'm fit to brag." Kaiden remarked, the two standing side by side now, watching as the crew of the Destroyer dubbed the Troy was being re-outfitted with the latest armor plating. She floated on water, as the destroyer itself floated on a vast inland sea, water being the usual place for ships of the line to land and finish repairs. The plasma thrusters stripped atoms and voided them as ions to give thrust, and water was a perfect reaction mass to help the ships lift and settle down with minimum incident.

"Word of advice, cousin." Slade remarked, leaning in as if to speak some hushed conspiracy. "I know you're the type to want to prove yourself, but the military has no place for heroes. Particularly not when peace is so fragile. If you want to rise up the ranks quickly, keep your head down and do as you're told as quickly and efficiently as possible. They'll take note of good work, not audacity. The world is no longer a place for men of action, like those generals you're so fond of reading about. Trust me."

Kaiden thought back to that moment, a mere week before he was shipped off to the assignment that brought him back into contact with Sabatine Hickoring, the last person in the galaxy he had wanted to see. Life was full of ironies, he supposed. Kaiden stood up from his chair, turning to exit the chamber without engaging in any preamble with Sabatine, or Lieutenant Ratchet. The entire trial had soured his mood for the moment, and for a brief second he felt as he had then when he had met his cousin. Unsure of himself, defensive. He knew it would pass, but he couldn't shake it at the moment.

"First Lieutenant?" Sabatine asked, rising behind him.

"You've done well, Lieutenant. Get some rest. In 0600 hours we'll disembark, but for now, try and sleep." He said, not deigning to look at her. He stepped off the platform and out into the hall, indicating midshipman Otis, who was awaiting Kaiden at the designated spot. He saluted, but Kaiden waved it down. "Have you got the orders?"

"Aye, sir. They've been told to every crewman set to serve on the Nestor." Otis replied, an honest man if there ever was one. "We're all loyal to you, Lieutenant. Don't worry about us."

Kiaden smiled wanly, appreciative despite the situation. Micha was being given command, but the men were to follow him only so far as to get back to base with speed. Any action that could be deemed insubordination to what the small council of Lieutenants decided today, or any dishonesty on Micha's part, and the men would rally and protest. It was not much, and even with that caveat, it was a risky gamble. But thirty eye witnesses, or at least character witnesses, would be hard to dispute even without Kaiden there to see it through.

"You're a good man, and so are they. When this is all over, I'll buy everyone a round."

"The war or this engagement sir?" He asked.

"Let's find out together."