USD: 21 days after the battle of Dedia IV

Location: 92 Pegasi, Ackman Orbit, Asteroid Belt, A3123Y Orbital

Amy threw her shirt angrily at the wall as she undressed to prepare for a shower. The stupid council had wasted two hours of her time arguing over which one of them should be the new future Captain of the refurbished Destroyer sitting moored to the station.

Nevermind that Abbey would allow no one other than combat bots to crew the thing; something Amy whole-heartedly supported. It wasn’t that she thought there was no one among the council that could handle commanding a warship—she simply didn’t trust any of them with something as destructive as a warship yet.

A chime stopped her from loosening her pants belt and she grumbled loudly as she went to check the source. A scheduled vid call with the Portmaster of Ackman station was at the top of her schedule, and she let out a curse.

Rushing to grab her shirt and button it back up. Pulling on her jacket as she walked towards the vid screen, Amy took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down before answering the call. She didn’t want to show her frustration to the Portmaster, especially since she knew he was dealing with his own problems.

“Portmaster Whitely, it’s good to see you,” Amy said, forcing a smile as she sat down in front of the screen. “I apologize for the delay; I was dealing with some issues that came with the new council.”

“I can imagine, having worked with many of the independent in-system captains myself. I am not wholly sure about how much you’ve been leaning on them for guidance.”

“I’m not thrilled with how… demanding they can be. They helped save the station after the battle, and the crews have sped up repairs and operations massively, but…”

“Now they want a piece of the pie and become agitated if you don’t follow what they say. And they are all saying something different.”

“Yes, exactly.” Amy was surprised that the Portmaster knew exactly what was bothering her.

“But that’s not why I called. I wanted to discuss a proposal with you.”

“Of course,” Amy said, curious about what the Portmaster had in mind.

“Ms. Tanis, as you know, Ackman Station is older and has been suffering from degradation,” Portmaster Whitely said. “Starlight Revolution provided us some repair services in the past when you detached the old Manufactory. After a tour of the new section… it highlighted to me just how old the station is.”

Whitely paused as he considered his next words, “The cost to maintain Ackman Station has been increasing every year. With the loss of the miner’s traffic, I am afraid the station’s long-term life is in question. I would like to propose that Starlight Revolution takes up management of both stations, perhaps combining them into one complex that is wholly maintained with your technology.”

Amy paused for a moment, considering the proposal. On one hand, combining stations would cement their control of the system as the singular authority in 92 Pegasi.

But she wasn’t sure if she was ready to take on the responsibility of managing an entire population, especially when she was already having a headache dealing with the independent miner captains and their crews. Dealing with thousands of people instead of several hundred was a huge jump in potential headaches.

“I can offer you my legitimacy as the legal system administrator acknowledged by the interstellar law as well. There will be no need to deal with all the paperwork and politics of the IFRB. In return, I require that you agree to manage and take care of all the people on the station, whether you repair it and make use of it or recycle it would be for you to determine.”

Amy paused for a moment, considering the proposal. “I understand your reasoning, but what do you see as your future role in all this? I’m not sure if I’m ready to take on handling so many people. It seems like something one should work up towards… and I can’t just put you in charge of A31 and SR assets.”

Whitely nodded, “For some time I can offer my services and help with integration, but I am nearing the point where I would like to retire. It seems poetic that I train my replacement before doing so.”

Amy raised an eyebrow. “You’d consider me your replacement?”

The Portmaster smiled. “I also have a trained and talented team already in place that manages day-to-day operations. I imagine carrying them over and utilizing them will help integration efforts and management immensely.”

“That’s… I was just attempting to institute ‘departments’ of our own to hammer something like that out.”

Whitely nodded, “If it is in a nascent stage as I imagine, it shouldn’t be too hard to integrate these in with the existing ones on Ackman, and they would likely be of help to set up the transfer.”

Amy took a deep breath and settled her thoughts. She knew that combining the stations would be a huge undertaking, but she also knew that it could be very beneficial for both Ackman and A3123Y.

“Okay, Portmaster Whitely. I’m willing to discuss the idea further and see if we can come to an agreement.”

“Excellent. I’m glad to hear that, Ms. Tanis. I believe that together, we can make this happen and create a better future for everyone in the system.”

“So, what’s the next step, Portmaster Whitely?” Amy asked, leaning forward in her chair.

“First, we need to iron out the details of the agreement,” Portmaster Whitely said. “We’ll need to decide on things like how the stations will be managed, how resources will be allocated, and what the transition process will look like. It’s important that we come to a mutual understanding on these issues before moving forward.”

“I agree,” Amy said. “It’s crucial that we have a coherent plan in place before making any decisions. We don’t want to rush into this and end up causing more problems than we solve.”

“There is also the issue of the Corpo raiders that have been skulking around. Ackman has added some defense weaponry courtesy of your CEO, but I am under no illusion that we’d be able to do anything against even a frigate. It is one of my worries that the station will be attacked by them in order to recoup their losses.”

Amy nodded, understanding exactly how he would have that idea.

“They tried to do that to us before the battle. I haven’t seen any reports or signals showing they’ve robbed anyone, but if they remain here, they’ll eventually need resupplies. It’s one thing that has put everyone on edge. Most of the miners have been operating well within A31’s response range.”

“I understand that you’ve captured one of their destroyers and it is refurbished.”

Amy raised an eyebrow. “I… yes. That’s true. How do you know that?”

“I’ve been running this system for longer than you’ve been alive, young lady. Some of my relationships within your council go back almost as long.”

Amy swallowed as she read between the lines. Of course, someone was reporting everything back to the man. She didn’t like the thought, but it was probably inevitable.

Deciding not to hold a grudge, she nodded. “I was going to suggest that the destroyer take up patrols between the stations. It can possibly stay near Ackman since A31 itself is well protected. At least while we work out all the details.”

She took a breath before continuing. “We’ve also been working on converting two of the freighter hulls into actual frigates.”

The Portmaster’s eyes widened in surprise. “I didn’t realize you were already building warships. I guess this confirms that you don’t plan to surrender things to the Corpos or Solarians.”

Amy shook her head. “I thought that was obvious after the battle.”

He shook his head. “The rate of development is staggering, but what are you going to do when the IFRB grabs the ears of the factions and authorizes inner warships, or worse, a nanite intervention force?”

Amy glanced away, tension filling her as she considered the ramifications of sharing a critical part of the puzzle.

“Well, there’s something you need to know about A3123Y.”

A serious expression settled on her face. “It’s not just a station. A31 is an NAI. It’s part of Starlight Revolution and has been managing our production.”

When shock didn’t appear on his face, Amy frowned.

“I know,” Whitely finally said.

“What!?”

“Is the avatar Alex?” The Portmaster frowned as he reached up to stroke his chin, finally shaking his head. “No, I suppose not, since she left for Nu Crateris. I’m surprised that the princess made a sub-core already.”

Amy blinked, totally confused. “Princess? Alex is a princess?”

“I believe she is a runaway from the Imperium, possibly an uplifted child of Empress Psi.”

“I… she said nothing about that, but I’m not sure she would have if it didn’t come up. Can you please explain from the beginning?”

Whitely nodded. “When she first showed up at my station…”

USD: 27 days after the battle of Dedia IV

Location: Theta Corvi, IND Iron Horse

Alex stared blankly at the white sheets covering Elis’s legs as she sat beside the bed. She’d studied the lines of stitches for an hour. Losing herself in the useless study was less painful than remembering to blame herself for what had happened.

The guilt did not stop weighing heavily on her, and despite attempts by Sawet, Rick, and even Lieutenant Ferguson, she had returned to living in a depressed fog in the medbay, barely speaking to anyone.

All her previous hopes and dreams seemed like a terrible joke with her at the helm. She told herself everyone was better off without her messing things up again. At least the ones that she had not managed to get killed.

Sailors came and went from the medbay, but Alex didn’t pay any attention to them as the days came and went. Each day seemed to be worse as Elis failed to recover, and even the small hope presented by the doctor seemed useless. Alex didn’t even consider trying anything on her own.

At some point, she stopped eating herself. Warnings about nanite corruption and rampancy became more common, and she found herself forced to deal with multiple nose bleeds occurring at random. The feeling of being helpless and alone was overwhelming.

At some point, the nurse approached her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

“Alex. You need to take care of yourself. I didn’t know her, but I’m sure your sister would not like to see you like this. You need to be strong for her.”

Alex turned to look at the nurse, her eyes filled with tears.

USD: 35 days after the battle of Dedia IV

Location: 90 Pegasi, IND Iron Horse

Another week in a daze passed as Alex struggled. After several false starts, she fell into a more healthy daily routine of eating in the mess area and visiting the gym. The biggest change was the help she received from Lieutenant Ferguson.

He had given her a purpose: to repair the ship. She didn’t actually do anything major, and one use of nanites on a service conduit was enough to send her to the medbay.

One thing she had determined: the capacity of her nanites was directly related to her mental health and eating habits.

As she spent more time in the ship’s engineering workshop hand repairing various components, she became better at telling herself that Elis was being taken care of and that she didn’t have to stay by her side constantly.

She refused to consider sleeping somewhere else, though. And she continued to read entries from Star-Wiki to Elis every night. The database had an incredible array of folklore, fiction, and stories in addition to the more historical and encyclopedic information.

Alex had homed in on the fantasy section as an escape as much for herself as it was to try to stir Elis’s attention. Alex believed for sure that Elis could hear her while in the Coma. She continued describing the events of her day.

After finishing her shift one day, Alex sat beside Elis and popped on her datapad to find something to read. She’d already devoured an epic fantasy the day before, so she was feeling like trying a romance. Just as she browsed the list, the lighting in the medbay flashed from beige white to a slow flashing red.

|GENERAL QUARTERS|

|THIS IS NOT A DRILL|

|ACTION STATIONS|

Alex slid her datapad shut and put it in her pocket, looking at the flashing siren in shock. A realization smacked her hard; there was nothing she could do to protect Elis if the ship was destroyed.

A nurse was going between beds setting up pressurized containments for the few occupants in the medbay. Alex joined the running sailors in the corridors. She knew where the CIC was, even if she had never visited it.