Life2.0 - An "Of Unity" Narrative (Completed)

[HistoryDude]

This battle is looking like it's going to be one for the ages.

How were (most of) the Praetorians convinced to betray Appia by Septima?

Will we get to see some more of Appia's dueling skills during the battle?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

This battle is looking like it's going to be one for the ages.

How were (most of) the Praetorians convinced to betray Appia by Septima?

As happened throughout the history of the Praetorian Guard in OTL history, Septima paid more than Appia.

Will we get to see some more of Appia's dueling skills during the battle?

Possibly. Neither side knows exactly what the other is bringing:

Septima knows what Appia's fleet can do, but suffers a critical lack of intel on what Life2.0 has, let alone what the Holocron is bringing. She also has the problem of a trillion furious Kyaese on The Infinite Wheel/Cybrex Beta; how much of a garrison does she leave behind to counter the inevitable Kyaese revolutionaries? Her biggest strength is her economy is in the best position right now, and therefore she can afford to hire mercenaries that give her flexibility and added strength. The downside is just like Appia, Sharpbeak's involvement on the opposite side means she pays extremely high fees. Septima's question is does she attack while Appia waits for reinforcement, or does she quell Kyaese dissent and fortify the Ring World against attack by Appia, Naomi and Sharpbeak.

Likewise, Naomi's only information what Septima has is based on the now out of date Prikki Sentry Array data, and of those ships, a critical factor is how much will Septima gamble on dealing with a possible Kyaese uprising; the Kyaese are Grepp's third boat in a storm, but they are also the one he knows the least about what they have. Naomi assumes Septima will study how Gaius and Gnaea lost and therefore Naomi's assumption is Septima will plan her battle on the assumption that she's going to be boarded. Naomi therefore would pick not to fight a boarding battle.

Tryykad however fully intends to hunt Septima down and kill her personally; it's not enough for him to just destroy Septima's fleet and assume she's dead in the wreckage somewhere. A million Kyaese friendlies attempting to board the enemy severely compromises how Naomi and Appia fight.

Appia has a better idea of what Septima could have, as Appia has the opportunity to know what MSI built vessels Septima has and what mercenaries she has, but, Appia has limited monies and a lot to deal with in domestic issues.

Sharpbeak has his fleet travelling from the next nearest Gateway via the Hyperlanes, and has joined up with more of his ships from his nebula system. He can't arrive in time to aid Appia and Naomi against Septima, but he does mean Septima must act quickly and with strength against Appia now if she goes on the offensive.

It is interesting times ahead.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"T-220 Hours, Part 1"
5th Daas, 10 (2189)
Appia Flavonius​

I look at my opposite. "You know, you do still have an aluring shape."

Naomi laughs. "Is there a woman you wouldn't flirt with?"

I smile. "That would be telling." I sigh. "Anyway, I didn't call you up to flirt-"

"Good. You know my husband and I could share you as a snack now."

I laugh. "I'll pass on that. No, I've got an idea to run by you. I've got quite a severe problem in that I've had to institute strict rationing of food in order to make it through the food crisis that Septima's bribery of Gateway Command has caused. Naturally, this is quite bad for morale. I can't do bread, which means I need to do circuses."

"What do you have in mind?"

"A grand celebration, for the first night you guys are here."

She frowns. "Seems risky. Septima will probably be well on her way."

I nod. "I totally understand. Why it's only one night. From a military perspective, it definitely isn't ideal. But, as said, I have a morale crisis ongoing. I need to have something for people to look forward to. I'm sure your people would appreciate that too."

She pauses. "Life2.0's people are in fairly good spirit for going to deal with Septima, but it would be nice to have something else to look forward to."

"So, I was thinking of maybe a grand state dance - something a bit different, that none of us have done before."

She smiles. "Who's panties are you trying to get into by having a long, slow romantic dance with them?"

I laugh. "I'm not trying to get into anyone's panties. I promise. I'm not even going to ask for a partner. I'm just going to preside."

"Really?"

I sigh. "Naomi, please. I've given up on dating for now - I want to get MSI through the present crisis, then get the MSI/Life2.0 merger complete. If nothing else, I've come to realise that my position is one where I can only have unequal relationships with undesirable power imbalances, and the proper way to respond is to set aside my own personal desires for the sake of my nation."

Her head tilts. "You've really changed."

I smile. "I'm doing my best to be a better person."

She leans back in her chair. "I'll tell the others, and see what they think. But we'll probably go for that."

I take a deep breath, then look at the man to my right. "There's one last thing. Marcus? Would you like to meet Naomi?"

He carefully walks into view. Naomi's eyes practically explode. "Dad?"

 

[Macavity116]

Naomi's Appia's out here dropping bombshells like it's the end of World War 2.

The state dinner/ball idea feels like the final moment of calm before the bodycount skyrockets.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"T-220 Hours, Part 2"
5th Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity​

"Dad?"

I rush over. I want to see my grandfather.

I stop still.

I can't look away from his maskless face.

He's looking at me.

Mum's Dad is an Olinbar. My eyes run over the bald blue skin over and over again.

Dad comes over, and rests a hand on my shoulder. "She makes sense once you understand."

I think back.

Mum's always believed that Olinbari could be better. Now I see why. She was brought up by a Reformer.

Mum points at us. "Buri, my husband. Rivkah, our adopted daughter." She bends down as Ruki scampers up her. "Ruki, our biological son."

He smiles. "You've done well Naomi. I'm proud of you."

I keep staring at him. "How? I've seen Mum's genome, she isn't a hybrid."

"Not a hybrid. IVF. Caeso paid."

"Caeso?"

He nods. "Caeso Canius, Atalyah's owner."

"How? Why?"

"I worked for Caeso. And I loved her, but there was no legal way for an Olinbar to marry a Human. Caeso found a workaround by having me become an Indentured Asset and put me to working with Atalyah. Naomi and Thando were two of five embryos Atalyah had implanted, but only they survived."

"So you and Atalyah convinced Caeso to be a Reformer?"

"Yes. And eventually, after I persuaded Atalyah that it was worth the risk, we began freeing Indentured Assets. Caeso covered for us, knowing if we got caught, he'd be considered an accomplice."

Mum speaks. "And then it went wrong."

He nods. A tear falls. "When Atalyah tried to set Thando free... It was a bad day. Atalyah was executed, Naomi taken away, Caeso was forced into surrendering me into custody. Eventually I was released, but I had nothing. I couldn't get in touch with Caeso again, he had lost his governance position and I didn't know where he was. I ended up on the streets of Brigantia. I began being a representative of Indentured Assets, campaigning for reform of worker practices, tried to change the system from within by encouraging mutually agreeable settlements."

"And then?"

"Grepp-Schnepp Rikki."

Mum frowns. "He never once mentioned you to me or Rivkah."

He shrugs. "I told him not to. I was worried that you'd risk everything on a mad gamble to find me. Besides, he had his reasons not to say too."

I scowl. "Boats and storms again. How big is his fleet?"

"He is a Prikki of many fingers."

"Is Septima one of his?"

"Nope. She was approached, but refused. So he hooked Skrand and the Kyaese up instead. Anyway, Gnaea put reform on the agenda, and I was put on one of the consultation panels. Gnaea didn't last all that long, and Appia put me on her staff-"

"Naomi, I swear I knew nothing until he approached me this morning."

"-and yes, when Appia announced that Life2.0 were coming to help us defend Brigantia from Septima's attempted extortion, I decided to tell you directly. We'd probably have met at the conference eventually, I was running out of excuses as to why I couldn't come."

"And Marcus what?"

"Marcus Aurelius."

"Like the emperor?"

He shakes his head. "No link. His philosophy is interesting though."

Appia looks at him. "Let's not take the reforms that far."

Mum giggles. "So, what do you think of my family Dad?"

"I can't wait to meet you all properly."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Naomi's Appia's out here dropping bombshells like it's the end of World War 2.

Marcus has probably bettered Appia's though.

The state dinner/ball idea feels like the final moment of calm before the bodycount skyrockets.

It is.

 

[HistoryDude]

Appia is being pragmatic here - how long will she remain single?

Naomi was raised by an Olinbar? That's new.

Why did it take Appia so long to meet Marcus? Was he deliberately hiding from her?

What was Appia's initial reaction to learning that Naomi and Thando's father was an Olinbar?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Appia is being pragmatic here - how long will she remain single?

She expects that she'll have to wait until she stops being CEO.

Naomi was raised by an Olinbar? That's new.

It's been foreshadowed though.

Why did it take Appia so long to meet Marcus? Was he deliberately hiding from her?

The wait is in regards of Marcus revealing he's Naomi's father, and avoiding going to the conference in case he was recognised; Gnaea and Appia know his work, and he's one reason why the Indentured Assets on Brigantia haven't tried to rebel.

What was Appia's initial reaction to learning that Naomi and Thando's father was an Olinbar?

Shock.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"T-185 Hours"
7th Daas, 10 (2189)
Elizabeth Herminton​

I look out the window of the shuttle as we approach to rendevous with Life2.0's fleet.

It's... Chaotic. There's vessels liberated from half a dozen fleets, and then there's their own vessels. You can easily tell those thanks to the immense discs at the back.

I think about what I'm getting myself into.

Septima despises the Companionship Asset system. She ridiculed Appia for having me around. Said it makes the Olinbari weak. As the electromagnets kick in to draw the shuttle into the hangar bay, the pilot switches off artificial gravity. I float by the window feeling really bad at both ends. microgravity doesn't agree with me. As soon as the shuttle lands, there's sirens - I watch all of Life2.0's people move to the floor. I look around the shuttle as the pilot frantically yells and points to the floor.

I move just in time, as I'm slammed to the deck. I guess we're accelerating again.

I see Sophia approach. She wears a crimson dress and cape atop a skintone-matching compression suit. Parazonium on her hip. Pistols too. I get out the shuttle. "Elizabeth Herminton reporting for duty."

Her dress ends above the knees. "Welcome to the Scarlets."

"Do I get a number?"

She smiles. "Once you are through training. We have a week to get you ready. Still got Appia's pistols?"

I spread my legs to show the bulge in my flightsuit's inner thigh. "I returned the biometric one."

"Do you think Appia wonders if you wear it there?"

"She doesn't. I told her I would."

"I see. Come with me."

I follow her into the ship. "I've been on a recruitment spree for new Scarlets. You're one of fifty two volunteers joining us from Brigantia."

"I would have thought more."

She looks at me. "Come next week, we're at battle readiness. Kind of puts people off joining. We don't have much time."

Sophia shows me a bunk with a white skintight compression suit and two dresses on it. One blue, one silver. "The dresses are not the official uniform, but just a little extra we Scarlets have. Blue is for naval marines, silver for infantry. Frankly, we're all doing both for now, but eventually once I have enough Scarlets to run dedicated groups, I will."

"I think I look better in blue."

She smiles. "Get dressed, then back out the door and turn right."

As she walks out, I get a final question. "When do I get a skintone matching suit like yours?"

She looks back. "Once you are finished training."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"T-184 Hours"
7th Daas, 10 (2189)
Elizabeth Herminton​

I'm the last lady into the briefing room. Most of us are wearing blue dresses atop our white compression suits. A Black wolf and a human woman stand with Sophia. She steps forward after I sit. "Ladies, I want to clarify something. Does anyone wonder why an Olinbar woman leads this formation?"

A good thirty women raise their hands.

"And how many question why I should be allowed to lead?"

Only a few women raise their hands this time.

"Thank you for your honesty. Will you allow me to explain who I am, and why I am here?"

There's nods. I'm curious too.

Sophia gestures to the Human. "This is Clarissa. She's one of the original Scarlets. The first time she saw me, she held a gun to my head."

She smiles wistfully. "And said you've hired your last woman."

"That too. But the other women in Gaius Licenius's collection of Companionship Assets explained I was one of them. And then she put a gun in my hand as we got the other Companionship Assets off the Flagship. Me and her boarded the last shuttle away. I joined the Scarlets soon after. Back then we were Scarlet One's personal bodyguard. I've fought Praetorians beside the other Scarlets, and Scarlet Leader and Scarlet One picked me to lead. Like all of you, I've been raped dozens of times a day. How many people in this room had their virginities auctioned?"

A lot of the room raise their hands. Including the black wolf.

"And how many of you were under 16 years old at the time?"

Wolf's hand is still up.

"How many people were taken from their spouses?"

More hands.

"How many people suffered depression?"

The black wolf raises her claws first. Other people join after her.

"Contemplated suicide?"

The wolf keeps her hand raised. Others join her.

"Attempted suicide?"

Wolf still has her hand raised. It takes a lot longer for other women to join her. Sophia looks at the wolf. "What did you do?"

Only now do I recognise the voice. "The first time was throwing myself out a window. The catch-fields stopped me."

Sophia closes her eyes. "who here has hired a Companionship Asset?"

She's the only one with her hand raised.

"My name is Sophia Dexcius. Like most Olinbari, I was introduced to Companionship Assets from a young age. My first sexual experience was with a Companionship Asset. I never thought anything of it until Gaius Licenius had me arrested for my brother's debts. I couldn't pay, and I was thrown in with other Companionship Assets, intending to execute me if my brother Hortensus wasn't found. Hortensus of course, was definitely gone."

The black wolf takes off her dress. Underneath, all she is wearing is a belt, a pistol and parazonium. "I am Naomi Of Unity. Hortensus kept me tied to a wall for months on end. Before that I was used at the docks, and before that a toy of the high society Olinbari. I killed Hortensus Dexcius. Crushed his testicles and then cut his throat."

Sophia looks at each of us. "Ladies, MSI used us as all kinds of horrible things. You wear Diplomatic White. This is because a Companionship Asset's start in life is in teaching Olinbari how they should be in a world where they reign. Then things start to get grey as we are moved into sexual slavery."

The wolf steps forward. "And eventually, we wear crimson."

Sophia nods. "Ladies, the Scarlets began as Unity's most elite combat formation. We are not here to be meek and mild little sex toys any more. We are here to fight for freedom and survival." She looks at every one of us. "We have just over seven days to get you prepared to fight."

 

[HistoryDude]

Is Naomi going to help with the training?

If Septima hates Companionship Assets, why wasn't she a Reformer before Appia assumed leadership of MSI? For that matter, does her stance cause friction with her Traditionalist allies?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Is Naomi going to help with the training?

Yes.

If Septima hates Companionship Assets, why wasn't she a Reformer before Appia assumed leadership of MSI? For that matter, does her stance cause friction with her Traditionalist allies?

Because Reformers generally want better conditions for the Indentured Assets. Which is the last thing Septima could be accused of; she is why the Kyaese are on Livestock living standards. To Septima, Appia is an example of the corrosion that has set in, akin to a cancer, a gangrene that needs to be amputated to facilitate treatment to restore MSI to being a true power.

Septima would "reform" the Companionship Asset system by culling the Olinbari who used them and changing the Companionship Assets themselves into breeding stock for more slaves.

She's an extremist, but from her perspective, the fall of MSI to Life2.0 is emblematic of the need for Septima's kind of reform.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"T-182 Hours"
7th Daas, 10 (2189)
Elizabeth Herminton​

Naomi's voice comes through the speakers. "Ladies, we don't have much time before we go into battle. Back on Unity, we had centrifuges big enough to host a training battle on, and us Scarlets trained at 3g or more. We can't do that here, and we'll have to settle for the fleet's acceleration. What we are going to do now is put each of you through a simulation, and see your pre-training baseline for how you respond to a combat scenario designed to test and quantify your performance so that we can isolate the areas to improve that we can fix in the time available."

I think of Appia slipping her hand in her dress to give me the gun on my thigh. I close my eyes. Naomi counts down. On one, I open.

My cubicle has become a really cramped chamber. Fluid is filling in, mask on my face. It feels horrible as pipeworks attach to the bowel openings in my compression suit and oh God that hurts! Oh that feels horrible... It's pushing in... It's pushing me open. Oh that's horrible...

Naomi's voice fills the comm link. "Scarlet One to all. Ladies, what we do today is for our right to live, for the common cause of all sophonts to live free. For a world without rape. We fight too for those still in shackles within MSI, and especially our Kyaese friends locked in the vicious grasp of Septima Severus. I'm proud of each and every one of you, and no matter what happens, I love you all." There's a pause. Fluid holds my body straight. Heart is going crazy as I realise I'm about to get fired out a cannon. "Let fall the Rain."

My head feels in my feet, and then the scream of the rocket drowns out mine.

---

I resume consciousness, heart beating a million times a second. I freeze. I don't know how to do anything. The screen in front of me lists some instructions. Naomis's voice comes on. "Breathe ladies, it's just the adrenaline shot we give you to wake you after you black out. It will wear off. Breathe in. Breathe out."

She repeats. I follow. Eventually I work out how to disconnect myself, and the chamber opens. I carefully look out while my hand goes to my thigh and I... Realise it is a simulation and I don't have her gun. I pick up the weapons and equipment in the door, then get out.

I'm on a ship, in a corridor. So it's a boarding action. I grip my gun very tightly.

"Pause simulation. Ok Ladies, that was the beginning. We fire you out a cannon and ignite a rocket to close the distance. In real life, your bowels will have emptied themselves down the pipe that pushed into you. Sorry about that... Trust me, it's better than the alternative, as otherwise it explodes out of you and it goes absolutely everwhere... The pipe in the butt is much better. You are not in immediate danger in the simulation as we'd get no useful data if you get knocked out at this point. Future runs of this will have enemies at this point though, because it does happen that some enemies survive the breach and we'll prepare you for it. On my sensors, I'm seeing that not everyone who has gotten out of their SODS Rocket has taken all their equipment, I'm pinging those of you who have missed bits now-" No ping here. I feel quite relieved. "-and after we unpause, I want you to converge on my position. Unpause simulation."

Knowing I'm not about to be attacked, I flop down on the rocket and catch my breath. My HUD highlights Naomi, and I...

I eventually get up after reconsidering some life choices. This is going to be a long week.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"T-176 Hours"
8th Daas, 10 (2189)
Ruki Of Unity​

I look around the table at those present physically and via hologram. Settle on Rivkah. "So, as instructed I have been snooping through the Chisudai's financial transaction history for Septima, and I've found something."

Appia tilts her head. "Go on?"

"Well, one of our biggest difficulties is that we have no up to date intel on what Septima has or doesn't have in terms of ships, so, I decided to track her purchase and consignment history. I've been tracking lots of variables since Appia persuaded the Chisudai that Septima was a criminal and therefore her financial accounts were property of the state, and we got the outside-MSI data to look through."

I look at the display.

"On the left is BranCo All-Animal Feedstock. They are the main supplier of food for her Kyaese; they account for 92% of her expenditures on food, with the remaining 8% being reservations for emergency supply through other MegaCorps. They own a series of habitats that are used for growing basic crops in environmentally controlled conditions at accelerated rates; gigatons of crops grown per month are processed and distributed. On the right is Septima's own exchange where she sells contracts to buy Kyaese products."

Tryykad looks at me. "How does this tell us about her fleet?"

"I'm getting to that. I hypothesised that her fleet is necessarily going to be dominated by freight. Most of her own trades on the exchange are securing feed prices months to years in advance; this is fairly normal of course thanks to lead times on the growth and processing of crops into feed. What gets interesting, and disturbing, is that a small percentage of her contracts for two weeks ago have been liquidated; the change in her contractual obligations to buy feed have dropped for the next year, then there's a build back up to traditional levels back up to the farthest futures BranCo offer."

The next display cross-references the amount of food not bought with a typical Kyaese diet.

Mum and Appia gulp. Tryykad looks at the display, then makes a very bad noise.

I spell it out for the others. "What this means is Septima has not purchased the food for ten million Kyaese, while planning for their replacements feed. I don't like thinking about this."

 

[HistoryDude]

Elizabeth seems to have regrets. Let's hope that she pushes through...

Septima is planning to... get rid of the Kyaese, then? Can Life 2.0 attack her in time to stop that?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Elizabeth will push through. Naomi knows that she has to give these girls a realistic understanding of what they will face and train them in a week, so she throws them in the deep end while jumping in with them.

The Kyaese homeworld is a Ringworld (specifically, Cybrex Beta; the one revealed by the Cybrex if the Contingency defeat 20% of a galaxy) and the resulting Kyaese population is well into the trillions. So, the Kyaese involved are a very small percentage, and Septima intends to replace them.

The implication Ruki draws is that Septima has purged ten million Kyaese ahead of the confrontation with Appia and Life2.0.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"T-174 Hours"
8th Daas, 10 (2189)
Elizabeth Herminton​

I find Naomi in the showers afterwards, blow-drying her fur down. We're a little late after her son's interruption. "Naomi... Could the anal tubes be redesigned? That hurt so much."

Other women gather. Many nod. One woman stands by me. "Oui, ce'st terrible."

Naomi puts the hairdryer down. "Ok ladies, please come here."

We gather. "Me and my Buri were the first people to get shot out of one of these things. And we found out the hard way - it was all down our legs and up our backs. I had to shave Buri, it was that bad... After the Flagship battle, we began testing for systems that fix the issue. I know it's not very good, but it's better than the alternatives."

Another woman frowns. "It grabs your hips and rams up the ass. I kind of figured that we wouldn't be getting that any more now."

I look at Naomi. "Does it really have to be that bad?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking about quitting."

"Whoever designed it was definitely a man."

Naomi lets us all speak before she replies. "Ladies, please. I want to explain. Long or short explanation?"

I look at her. "Long."

"Ok. As I was saying, Buri and I tested all the designs we came up with, and there's been half a dozen redesigns; we've tried suction cups, self-inserted tubes, expanding tubes, lubricated tubes... Some of the testing incidents were really quite bad. We found it had to stretch you, otherwise under accelerations experienced in the fast launches it blasts around the tube. It has to be high friction otherwise it comes out under the forces involved. We couldn't use suction cups because of insufficient pressure differences, there were limits on flexibility as what works on a pressurised suit doesn't work on the compression suits we use... Lots of problems. Changing the design to solve these issues, led to needing to solve more issues that came up, and by the time we had a comfortable interface that worked effectively it massed more than 50kg. Which being a rocket meant a lot of consequences for the design of the rocket, as the whole rocket gets changed to match the new dry mass, and it ended up being a 20% bigger rocket thanks to a bigger rocket motor and more fuel tanks and the armour to go with that. Which then had to lead adjustments to the decoys, and the launching systems, and those affect the ships we're launching from... In the end, I had a choice to make. We could pay a mass penalty that by the time it's all worked through costs hundreds of tonnes - dry mass - per launching ship and have a penetration that's almost as nice as my husband, or just get rammed in one more time."

"So we get grabbed and rammed."

She nods. "Yes." She looks at each of us. "Ladies, I totally understand where you are coming from. But practical reality dictates our options. I explain all of this because I want to train you to be the leaders of the future, as we Companionship Assets can bridge the divide better than anyone, and I believe in you. One day, when you have command, you'll have to balance the demands of the mission, the technological capability we have and the people who will get the job done and systems analysis like this is something you will have to think through." She leans on a wall. "I know the subject matter isn't something we want to think about. But, I do want you to take this as a learning experience for the careers ahead of you. Now, we finish showering, then off to your quarters and rest up, and we'll go over your performances once we've analysed the data."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"T-172 Hours"
8th Daas, 10 (2189)
Mei Hua​

Osshi and I missed the hatching. We knew it was soon, but...

We come back to our quarters to find a little lizard the size of my hand sleeping next to a cracked egg. Blue scales, with spines on his back. Osshi kisses me before picking the hatchling up. "That's our little hatchling." Osshi checks them over. "We have a son."

I cradle our baby as Osshi wraps his arms around me. The baby awakes. Makes noises as he wriggles and looks at me cross-eyed. Yawns. Clings to me, humming... I cry with joy. Knowing that he's got the same enhancements as Ruki, I recite the blessing that has welcomed hundreds of thousands since Naomi started it. "Welcome to the worlds, my little one. You will know love, and you will know hate. You will know joy, and you will know pain. But you will forever be, our Zhao Qing Lung."

My little blue dragon wraps himself around my wrist as I take him to the kitchen, and place him on a plate of nuts and berries. I look back at Osshi. We have a celebration to plan.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"T-117 Hours"
11th Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity​

I look out the window. Everything seems stationary, yet... "Five megametres per second."

Mum nods.

We float.

"Remember when we were in the shuttle above Unity together?"

She smiles. "Yes. That was only around eight thousand metres per second."

"It's crazy to think we're going so fast we'd cross a planet in four seconds."

"And now we'll start slowing down again."

I feel the silence. For five days the distant thunder of the shock of the blasts as the Titan fires them out and they explode against the tension structure of the puller-plate has rumbled through the whole fleet. Each one releasing as much energy as pre-FTL mankind in one hit harnessed in all their powerplants combined.

Now? All we feel is a very gentle tugging to the left as the reactionless drives on board the Holocron's Titan pull the whole fleet around. A few hours time and we'll begin decelerating from close to 2% of the speed of light. Slightly quicker this time around; there's a lot of wet mass burned now, several refuellers have already been abandoned to continue their journeys into interstellar space.

"Mum."

"Yes?"

"If you were Septima, how would you stop us?"

"Find something we value, then point a gun at it, and hope we don't value her death over whatever she threatens."

"Appia?"

"Yes, the Praetorians were probably supposed to capture her and legitimise a regime change from her. But Appia has hidden depths... It would be trivial to threaten the Kyaese. But there are downsides for her."

"Yeah, she can't endanger her economy by risking all the Kyaese. So who else could she threaten?"

"The other homeworlds. But the possibility of reprisals is part of why I sent Vaki out on the mission to take those who wanted to go home, home; I hoped to use them to warn their homeworlds before it was too late."

"Then there's Unity. But, we left some pretty good defences on Unity."

"And the Holocron is still there. I have a feeling Unity will be very different when we see it again."

Her face is thoughtful. No, hopeful. "Mum?"

"While we were in the vats, the Holocron showed us some of his ideas. He intends to make Unity into a Gaia world."

"Aren't those like, myth? How can a planet be perfectly habitable for everyone?"

"Shared consciousness between an inner planetary computer and the flora and fauna, crust made of Utility Sand... All designed to live in harmony with our descendants. It's a very interesting idea."

I turn back to the window. "First we need to deal with Septima."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"T-113 Hours"
12th Daas, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity​

Li thumps the table as my brother arrives. "Welcome Ruki, would you like to share the results of your analysis?"

Ruki puts a tablet on the table. "I believe I have come to a conclusion on Septima's likely strategy. My analysis has considered four key evidence avenues - MSI's retained information, publicly available data, psychological evaluation of Septima, and Skrand Sharpbeak's contacts within the Kyaese. My conclusion is Septima is on her way to attempt to reach Brigantia before we do. This list here is of her known owned outright or through alternative financing or ownership mediums of freight, totalling one type five freighter, four thousand type four freighters, twenty eight thousand type three freighters, thirty five thousand type two freighters, and ten thousand type one freighters."

I interrupt. "What does that actually mean?"

"Her total shipping capability is equivalent to two billion tons of freight shipped."

"And the types of freighter?"

He looks around the room. "Type one is analogous to man with van, type two analogous to articulated tractor unit plus trailer, type three analogous to trains, type four comparable to the biggest container ships of Earth's oceans. Type five Humans haven't yet built freighters big enough to have an analogy to, but they start at kilometres long. The type five is used on long duration contracts that haul bulk Minerals to The Infinite Wheel on a yearly basis out of Arishkan territory, where it currently is. The type fours are ships that are also used for bulk deliveries to The Infinite Wheel, and go to numerous trading partners. The type threes are the ones that actually attract our interest, as these medium sized freighters are used on her export trade routes selling Kyaese products and for hauling in foodstock for Kyaese. The type twos and type ones are dominantly used for transiting resources around the Infinite wheel from collection hubs serviced by vactrains between barn complexes up to the central starbase distribution node and linked Mega Shipyard."

"So she can build a fleet?"

"The Mega Shipyard handles maintenance and repair of the type three fleet, and is pretty much always full. But in principle it allows for the construction of even colossal capital ships. No, her ship construction facilities are in the nearby systems, with the bulk of her ship construction taking place in the Kwilias star system, where she owns Equatorial Shipyards around two molten planets that are being steadily torn apart from tidal interactions thanks to the uncomfortably close host red dwarf."

"Is that good?"

"In principle, she has the facilities to have sixteen ships under construction."

I look at Appia first. "How many ships could that be if she switched to warship production as soon as we took out Gnaea?"

"Two or three batches of Corvettes. Maybe two Destroyers. One batch of shoddy Cruisers."

Tryykad looks at Appia. "We know she's culled ten million Kyaese. How many of these type three freighters would that free up? Enough to convert them into carriers or something?"

Ruki shakes his head. "One. Two at a push - by my estimates, it takes three days production for ten million Kyaese to fill a type three freighter with eggs. The push to two comes from the other Kyaese products, as disease control means it would be inadvisable to mix them onto the same freighters. It's why she has so few type four and type fives, even with more than a trillion Kyaese she just doesn't get the eggs to make the large ships viable."

Mum interrupts now. "Ruki, Rivkah and I were discussing the possibility of Septima taking hostages a few hours ago, and talking about this makes me wonder - what if they weren't fitted with eggs, but live Kyaese?"

Ruki looks at Tryykad. Then thinks. "That would need at least a hundred freighters. Unless she crammed Kyaese in, then maybe a few less."

Mum looks at Appia. "How many type three size freighters could she build in the time since we took out Gnaea?"

Appia looks up. "Well, freighters are big of course, but they are also fairly straightforward compared to warships. If the parts were being mass produced..." Her face goes a very light blue. "If she was really keen, a hundred freighters might be doable."

Tryykad growls. "That Bitch."

The Holocron frowns. "Appia, would MSI fire on a fleet of freighters using Kyaese as hostages?"

Appia snorts. "Of course we'll shoot them down. We already know she isn't feeding these Kyaese who are either culled or on the freighters heading for the Gateway as we speak, Ruki has established that. She has to think of what stops MSI fro-" Her eyes go wide. "-from stopping the freighters."