Art by Rain Elegy
Previous Chapter 18: Get Off the Table: hhtps://onthebeachatnightalone/2023/12/13/fiction-the-girassian-debacle-chapter-18-get-off-the-table/
Two hundred years before the events of our story, the alien Hidden arrive and shatter human history. From the time of their arrival a mysterious military order serve as their envoys to humankind. Concealed behind armor, these Emissaries police international and interplanetary affairs using Hidden technology and stop a war between Earth and its Mars colony. They also build an interstellar Portal between Mars and the star Girassia.
A rich planet, named after Girassia, serves as a conciliatory gift for humanity’s lost independence. But the Hidden’s hated proxies, suspected as traitorous humans, menace civilization by severely restricting use of the Portal. Ironically, these Emissaries allow Earth and Mars to build interplanetary navies while assisting the Girassians in constructing their own fleet.
The Emissaries plan to lead a task force of ships from Earth and Mars through the Portal to join with the Girassian fleet in joint exercises. While this plan inexplicably allows large military vessels through the Portal for the first time, the Earth’s Star Force welcomes it as an opportunity to assess the capabilities of its rivals. As Captain Anthony Maureau, of the London, brings his ship into Earth’s Alpha One Star Force Base, he finds he has been assigned to Earth’s Task Force Renewal leaving with the Emissaries. After their prolonged mission protecting shipping, this last minute assignment leaves little time for repairs and refitting and severely shortens the shore leave needed for his crew.
The London has engineering needs requiring time for repair. Despite obtaining clearance from the Operations Center, Maureau invokes the ire of Admiral Rankin’s bridge command when he cuts in front of Admiral Rankin’s flagship, the Poseidon, in queue to dock at Alpha One Base. The highly irregular maneuver done to gain precious time reinforces Rankin’s prejudice against Maureau as a reckless officer.
As the son of a leader in the United League of Earth’s Parliament, Maureau wonders if political considerations motivate the late assignment that puts his ship at a disadvantage in preparation for the task force mission. His suspicion this is just another sabotage of his career seems confirmed when the London is assigned a new model biodroid pilot that appears defective.
It names itself Yoshi and facilitates rapid repairs. Its efficiency decompresses the stressed crew. It also surprises the crew when on its test integration voyage it pilots the ship in a run to the moon that shatters the speed record for a Star Force ship.
Maureau’s late assignment was forced on Admiral Rankin by Senator Vastatis, founder of Matadi Advanced Aerospace Corporation. This company is working on a black project under Rankin’s sponsorship creating a stealth device for ships to elude detection by the Emissaries. They plan a secret deployment of the technology during the task force exercises. A successful operation will support Vastatis’s goal of establishing leverage for negotiations with the Emissaries to treat the League more as an equal.
Vastatis is having recurrent dreams in which he meets the politician, Rance Yeoman. A hate-filled demagogue, Yeoman meets Vastatis in person and shares he is having the same dreams and that they are communicating with one another in the dreams. They frequently encounter Maureau who interferes with the plans they are making for independence from the Emissaries. Yeoman convinces Vastatis that they have to ruin Maureau’s career by setting him up for a disastrous mistake during the joint exercises.
As the Task Force is leaving Earth, a collision takes place between the Poseidon and the Diomedes causing crippling damage to the Poseidon. In an irregular action for a ship’s captain, Maureau accompanies his marines in their extravehicular activity to assist Poseidon’s emergency spacewalk team. An explosion on Poseidon kills some of the emergency personnel and several marines. A concussive force hurls Maureau towards the space station. On London’s bridge, the executive officer, Commander Song, risks a collision with Alpha One Base when she relies on Yoshi to accelerate the London towards the station and intercept Maureau, stopping just short of a collision. She saves Maureau’s life but destroys her career by ignoring a direct order by Admiral Rankin to stop the dangerous maneuver.
Purportedly, Maureau’s conduct leads to the assignment of the London to the command of Captain Plotkin for a mysterious mission during the joint task force operations. Plotkin is less experienced than Maureau and this assignment adds insult to the injury of losing several marines. He is able to limit Song’s demotion, keeping her as Chief Security Officer. She replaces her rival, Lieutenant Commander Grey, while Grey is promoted as the new executive officer.
Vastatis delivers the Cloaking Mirror, covertly installing it on Captain Plotkin’s Chicago. It is successfully tested.
The Poseidon’s accident delays departure of Renewal. The Emissaries do not commit to postponing their departure from Mars. Despite the turmoil around Maureau, Rankin recognizes the London’s speed and assigns her to transport Senator Mitchell in time to negotiate with the Emissaries
Maureau returns to the bridge before he has recovered from his concussion, unsteady and indecisive. The routine transit changes when Yoshi identifies a nil-void, a pocket in space absent of gas and dust. Before establishing communication with Admiral Rankin, Maureau orders the London to explore the anomaly.
On approaching the nil-void, Yoshi discovers the London’s communications blocked by interference emanating from a “ghost” ship moving out of the nil-void. Acting outside of London’s mission parameters, Maureau advances to contact the vessel. He risks close contact and sends out a detachment of marines led by Song to examine the lifeless ship.
Communication reestablishes with the Emissary Portal Command. The nil-void and ghost ship are unknown phenomena. The ghost ship quivers with energy and shadow life forms exit it to envelop a marine just as a follows-up message warns the London to avoid the unknown vessel. The shadows swallow the marine into the ship that powers up to withdraw into the nil-void. Only a navigational maneuver by Yoshi saves the London from being dragged by the ghost ship into an alternative-universe. The Master of the Emissaries appears in transmission and, without explanation, informs Maureau he is to join a Convocation of the Emissaries upon his arrival at the Portal.
The loss of another crewman in the attack shakes up the crew. Maureau has engaged in an unauthorized and near-disastrous detour and agonizes over decisions leading to abandonment of a marine and the near loss of his ship. The London arrives at Portal City with enough time for Earth’s diplomat to meet with the Emissaries before the task force’s planned departure.
An exhausted and demoralized crew waits for shore leave. The real challenges have yet to begin for Captain Maureau. But before we attend to his meeting with the Emissaries….. Let’s Step Out, Chapter 19. summary here
On the Beach At Night Alone 