Novu Sol Star System

Novu Sol

Genesis City

Jack Perez had seen large cities before. The capital cities of Callisas-3 and Uno-3 paled in comparison to Genesis City. The city where the heart of the Stellar Democracy beat, it was almost too big, sky and spacescrapers growing out of the ground in majestic splendor, their sides unmarred by advertisements or wear, some of them gleamed, others hid behind draped greenery like they were shy children.

The embassy from the TriStar Systems was a part of a larger building along the coastline of the New Atlantic Ocean, with a view of the rolling blue water that rivaled anything he had seen before. As he looked out the office window he could see the somewhat menacing form of Freedom Spire looming in the distance, where the President lived and the government of the Stellar Democracy ran the star nation.

He honestly never thought he would ever get to visit Novu Sol, the generally accepted ‘center’ of humanity’s settled worlds. Jack had always been busy with work, loyal to the TriStar Systems and Callisas, never considering venturing far from either. But now that he was here he felt overwhelmed. There were over a trillion people living and working in this city alone and yet the way the traffic grid was designed and the city laid out, it looked almost calm from his new office. A strange dichotomy.

A knock on his office door made him shake his head. “Enter!” He called.

The door opened to reveal his new secretary, Surya’s old one, and she smiled brightly at him. “Hello Ambassador, just popping in to remind you that your meeting with the President is in an hour.”

“Please Miss…” he trailed off and the woman smiled.

“Ms. Tiffany Delegro, I have a name tag I can wear if it would help.” She gave him a small curtsy.

Jack shook his head with a smile. “No, I’ll remember, still getting used to the new job. Thank you Ms. Delegro.”

The secretary left and Jack turned back to look at Freedom Spire.

An hour later Jack was being ushered into a grand-looking office with a large desk, data chips and various information pads scattered over the desk in neat groups. The carpet was thick, walls painted in a gorgeous blue and the window behind the desk had an even grander view of Genesis City than he had at the Embassy.

The man that ran the Stellar Democracy was a man of average height with eyes that were too green to be completely natural, with sandy blonde hair that was going gray in places no doubt due to the stress of his job. President Trevor Desar stood and walked around the desk, smiling genially and they shook hands.

“Ambassador Perez! It's nice to finally meet you, I am Trevor Desar, how are you settling in?” He motioned over to a set of couches where some glasses of water were waiting on a coffee table. “Come! Sit down, you must be busy taking over the role from Surya, how is she anyways?”

“Surya is fine, just had some family business to attend to back in the TriStar Systems.” Jack answered as he sat down, “And I have been settling in just fine Mr. President, Novu Sol is a beautiful planet.”

“Please, call me Trevor when we aren’t in front of the media or at a formal dinner.” The President chuckled. “I know I ran for the title, but sometimes the Mr. Presidents get laid on a bit thick.”

“Can I stick with Mr. Desar for now?” Jack asked and the president gave a theatrical sigh.

“You may, Ambassador Perez.” Desar sat back with his glass of water. “Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

“Of course not, I am here to be of service to you as much as my nation.”

Desar took a drink of his water, “I got an initial report from our ambassador in the TriStar Systems, but I want to hear it from you. Why did Their Majesty kick your people out?”

Jack sighed and looked away. He didn’t want to have to explain this again, nor did he want to tell the truth. He was sure the President would love it due to his rejection of The Admiral as a training option, but he still has killed a close friendship with what he had said. “It’s not something I like to dwell on Mr. Desar.”

Desar looked confused. “Is it just because you got accepted to train with our Navy and they didn’t? I can understand being bitter about that.”

“No, it’s not that.” Jack felt his stomach turn, once again in front of a leader trying to explain his actions. He knew Desar wasn’t going to do anything to him, but he couldn’t help but see Their Majesty sitting behind their desk, face carved from stone as they told him to leave. “Look Mr. President, I don’t know if you know, but Their Majesty and I were lifelong friends, I knew them before they took the throne and dropped their name. The disagreement was over the training, but I did also insult them and I know them well enough that I am well aware I hurt their feelings when I did that.”

The President gave a nod, at least he appeared sympathetic. “Then if it's a lifelong friendship, that should have given you more leeway. Among my friends, at least in private, we can sling a few insults around and still be friends at the end of the night.”

Perez had been about to answer when the door to the office opened behind him. Startled, he turned around to see an Admiral standing there in what he assumed was one of the less formal uniforms of the navy. His eyes first caught on the starburst, then to the gray kitten standing on her shoulder, a harness fit snug around it's body connected to a leash Admiral Julia Vales was holding.

“Oh damn,” the woman in charge of the entire Novu Navy said. “I’m sorry Mr. President, I’ll come back in a few minutes, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No please, come in.” Desar waved her into the room, “I was just doing a meet and greet with the new TriStar Ambassador. Mr. Perez, this is Admiral Julia Vales, Julia, this is Ambassador Jack Perez.”

Vales carefully crossed the distance and reached up to grab the kitten on her shoulder and hold the squirming cat in her arms. “Not the best first impression is it?” She scratched the cat’s ears. “This here is Bulkhead LVI, the heir to the Novu Navy’s current top Mouser. I have to get him used to people, as he’s more of an educational tool and Academy pet than a shipboard cat.”

Perez had never been well-versed on naval affairs. He understood it vaguely, but he always had to ask about certain things. Like this. “A Mouser? What is that?”

“Exactly as the name suggests. It's what we call the breed of cats we use aboard ships to control pests like mice.” Vales put the cat down and he began to wander, trailing his leash behind him. “I thought the TriStar Navy had Naval Mousers as well?”

“I don’t mean to sound rude Admiral Vales, but understanding how the navy does things is far beyond me at times. I am just an ambassador and a civilian, I tend to lean hard on others when it comes to military matters.” Jack said, somewhat grateful for the distraction.

“To be fair to Mr. Perez here,” Desar grinned, oddly boyish for a man of his stature, at Vales, “and his nation didn’t have much of a navy, so the concept of Naval Mousers are small, while to you, they are an intricate part of life.”

Vales sat down on the couch next to the president, “Of course, we did actually have to give the TriStar Navy some of our cats for their new ships. It's simple really. Ships often have pest problems, a breed of cats designed for ships worked out best.”

Jack watched as the cat slunk around the desk. “That is interesting Admiral, are they for sale?”

“Oh heavens no.” Vales laughed. “Naval Mousers are way too specialized to just be sold to anyone. Their intelligence levels are off the charts, their activity level could probably wear out a marine. They would be utterly neglected in any home that left them alone in a single housing unit, so we only use them on military ships and stations, where the training and hunting can keep them occupied. Trust me, I had a retired one with a missing leg back when I first got a steady desk job and even being old and three legged she would run me ragged!”

They all laughed and Jack felt a bit more at ease. Perhaps being Ambassador to Novu Sol wasn’t going to be that bad.

“So Ambassador, can you tell me why you were kicked out of the Empire?” Desar asked again, Vales did not seem surprised by the question and he shrugged.

“I said I didn’t want my nation trained by a nation that used a murderer to train their own navy.” Those weren’t the exact words, but it was close enough for his purposes.

“You actually told the Monarch that?” Vales seemed surprised.

“Right to their face.”

“Thank God.” Vales seemed relieved. “I assumed by the fact that your nation got through our selection process at all meant you were unlikely to turn to Desson, but it's good to hear that some people have a head on their shoulders. Who would want to risk that threat in their orbit?”

Jack nodded. “Yes Ma’am. I don’t get it either.”

Vales sat forward, her eyes intent on him. “Since you were close friends with Their Majesty, do you think you can tell me why they hired her? How often does she visit them? How much do they pay?”

“Admiral, I was a close friend, but also an Ambassador. I did not need to interact with Desson whenever she was there so I rarely even knew anything about her. I do remember Their Majesty complaining once about the costs involved, but it was around the time the Callisas government does an annual budgeting review so I could have misheard.”

Desar sighed. “Well I can’t blame you for getting excited Julia.” He sat back as the kitten jumped up onto his lap, immediately curling up in a ball in his lap.

“It's always one forward, two back with Desson.” She replied with a sour expression.

Jack looked between them, a bit curious now. “Can I ask a question which may or may not be totally appropriate? If it's classified, you can always say no.”

“Depends on the question.” Desar said, eyeing him as he stroked the cat on his lap.

“Why haven’t you been able to pin down Desson yet? Like you know she likes to go to Callisas, your navy is the strongest in space as far as I’m aware, you built the ship she uses, you should have every advantage.”

The two Novu Solarians exchanged glances before Vales sighed and spoke. “I like this old metaphor for the situation. Yes we do have the most powerful navy in space and Desson is one person, but that's the exact problem. Novu Sol is armed with a sledgehammer, and Desson is the fly. We swing and not only are we likely to miss, but we also will inflict collateral damage. Does that make sense?”

Jack shrugged, “I’m not sure. Is collateral damage like destroyed space stations and burned cities? Like Foundation?”

Desar flinched a little at the mention of the former capital city of Centurion-IV. Vales shook her head. “Yes and no. We are well aware that if we manage to corner Desson in orbit or on a planet it's likely not to go well, but It's more along the political lines. Imagine… oh Trevor I’m pulling a blank, we’ve gone over this, can you explain?”

Desar nodded. “It's simple, due to the choices others have made, most people only tolerate us. If we send a fleet, not some thinly disguised escort, a true war fleet, to capture Desson, it is going to read like we are declaring war. It won’t matter if we don’t want to fight if someone else fires the first shots. Novu Sol doesn’t want war, and taking over and incorporating those planets? Too much of a time and money sink. Taxes and fees will have to rise, trade goes down as the barriers of nationality between goods and services are removed.”

“And people would start having an arms race if we moved to any sort of war footing. It's easier to keep the masses calm than to calm them down.” Vales explained, reaching over to rub the cat’s chin while it purred loudly.

“I never thought of it that way.” Jack said. “I was often on the same planet as her. Never had any close encounters, she’s definitely not the social type, but damn it must be frustrating to have that hanging over your heads when all you want to do is help.”

Vales smiled sadly. “That is why I am eternally grateful I was able to help set up the training plan for the TriStar Systems. My navy hasn’t trained a navy since… what? Admiral Vex had the starburst?”

“It was before Desson, and my own time in office, I remember that.” Desar replied before he waved the hand not currently engaged in petting the cat. “Long story short Ambassador. We are glad you are here, glad the TriStar Systems trusts us and very glad to be of service.”

“Thank you Mr. President.” Jack smiled, he felt relieved that the President and the Admiral were obviously good people. He had been afraid that maybe he had made a mistake. He didn’t trust the Novu ambassador’s opinions on Callisas, but the actual leaders of the Stellar Democracy had their heads on straight.

“I really should get going. I want to expose Mr. Lil’ Bulkhead here,” Vales scooped up the kitten, who protested with a loud mew. “To a classroom full of teenagers over at the Academy. It was nice meeting you Mr. Perez.”

“Wait Admiral, before you go, one more thing.” Jack said as Vales began to walk to the door. She stopped and turned, cradling the cat in her arms.

“Yes?”

“How does the training look from your end? I thought the new navy you helped my nation build looked very nice, but I am not a naval officer.”

Vales smiled. “Your people are doing wonderful, most of them are naturals and everyone has been adjusting to the new technology and tactics well. The set we sent out to the Buffer Zone is due to go home soon, Centos says the Ensign Vance your navy sent out there is soaking up the materials faster than he can teach the kid. And, even better, we decided around a month ago that to send most of your newer ships out for escort duty in the Confederacy. We moved one of our fleets into the TriStars to compensate for the loss of protection, but while sims are all well and good, to truly break in a new warship, it had to be tested against an enemy.”

Jack felt a nervous twinge in his stomach. “You… sent most of our navy away?”

Vales chuckled. “Not without an entire Novu fleet coming in to reinforce the TriStars while they are gone. Do not worry, the Novu Navy will not allow any harm to come to your worlds! We will make sure of that.” She looked up at the clock on the wall and grimaced as she let Bulkhead scramble back onto her shoulder. “I really do have to get going now. It was nice meeting you Ambassador.”

He watched her go and Desar patted him on the shoulder. “She means what she says. We would never allow any harm to come to your nation while we protect it. We always keep promises like that.”

Jack blinked and looked back at Desar. “Of course Mr. President.”

“I thought you said you would call me Mr. Desar.” The president said with a grin.

“Uh, of course Mr. Desar. Habits as an Ambassador. You understand.” He said, feeling off-kilter, like he had just been told something too important for the casual way it had been delivered. “I should get back to my office if there is nothing else. Paperwork to do, things to oversee, all the usual Ambassadorial things.”

“Of course Ambassador.”