![]() ![]() ![]() Lifelike sketches in charcoal, mostly of a strong, handsome woman with sad eyes and cool restraint. "Is it that painting you promised me?" She had posed for a few quick sketches in the nude during the last visit. She beamed with thoughts of their last time together, those sweet, aching moments. He looked older, grayer, but still gorgeous. Night would be dawn for her and months sped along to him in what were minutes to her. They had such a difficult time coordinating their communiqués. "I was just doing some late-night painting." I just wanted to touch base with you again. He had on a loose, white shirt, blue jeans, a smock stippled with paint, and wooden sandals. He was a tall, good-looking, middle-aged man with long, shaggy hair he wore in a ponytail. Ten minutes passed before he appeared in the blue pixellated glow of the holographic platform in front of her. ![]() She ordered the computer to connect his line. ![]() She had not seen or heard from him since her unexpected shore leave to the Transit Hub. Eventually, they found their destination in Willem. Unable to concentrate, she ordered a mug of matcha tea from her replicator, then sat down again. She remained at the bridge, just as her crew had, working long hours through their shifts, but even captains needed breaks.Īfter she showered, she took a fifteen-minute nap that left her feeling groggier and more irritated than before, got dressed, had a quick meal, then read up on status reports. As long as the Ro Kannan were intent on violating the NZ, IPSF had the authority to respond proportionately. Given the circumstances, Captain Kitano and her colleagues could not see any other way out of the crisis. But such measures would need to be backed up by more provocative actions, ones that even the joint chiefs were reluctant to entertain. The joint chiefs discussed whether to issue more stern warnings, such as firing CBDs (Cosmic Bomb Dusters) on the encroaching vessels. Her chief operations officer calculated that given the rate and speed of the vessels, they should arrive at vector 1.95e within the next forty-five minutes to an hour. By 11:30 hours, the armada breached the NZ and showed no signs of slowing down. Vice Admiral Lord Alwin of Varma had ordered the five vessels to send out warning signals to the armada, but they received no responses. Difficult to make an appropriate response when the enemy proved to be erratic and unpredictable every step of the way. But for the Ro Kannan, such tricks were their raison d'être, their many bags of tricks and mind games to keep the security forces ever on the alert. Masking their ships seemed almost beside the point. But the Ro Kannan had made their presence known to the five ISS security vessels deployed outside Ak Kan IV's orbit, a calling card to let them know in advance that they intended to retake the planet whether or not IPPA approved. Seventy-two hours had passed since the Ro Kannan General Armada went under cloak, though the ISS Verity still traced its progress through the radioactive exhaust energy the vessels spewed, traces that otherwise would not have been noticed outside the general, if albeit highly active, matter of interstellar space. The crisis along the 1.95e corridor had monopolized every waking moment of every member of her crew. ![]()
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