Francescan War Chronicles 1: Space Knight Denxeiter

by C. K. Pershing

  Valisia was standing there with hand raised about to knock again. Feln shook his head with a smile. Of course it wouldn’t be Aaltskog. She wouldn’t knock— she’d just come in.

  Valisia cocked her head slightly at his smile before saluting. “Captain?”

  Feln awkwardly returned her salute. “Hello Lieutenant, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

  “I’m sorry to intrude, sir, but I was told I could find my sister here…”

  “Yes Val, I’m here,” Katashka called from inside.

  Valisia looked at Feln questioningly for a moment before he stepped aside and invited her in. Unlike Feln, whose feet were still bare and had mussed hair, Katashka had somehow managed to pull on her stockings and boots, and even brush her hair. Feln suddenly felt very obvious in what he had been doing in comparison to Katashka who looked all business.

  “So what do you want?” Katashka asked her sister.

  “Well, uh…” Valisia looked around as her nostrils pricked slightly, no doubt catching the smell of sex and sweat that Katashka and Feln had produced minutes ago. The reprocessed air filters on the Tannhauser were efficient, but not that efficient to erase any evidence so quickly. Not to mention the evidence staining Feln’s bed. These thoughts flew through Feln’s head in milliseconds before Katashka said, “Yes Val, we were having sex. Now stop looking like a scared kid and get on with it or I’m gonna tear his clothes off and get back to where we left off before you showed up.”

  “Alright, alright! Geez, it’s not like I was acting like some gaping yokel.”

  “I know. After all, you’ve had more guys than me. Even a couple gang bangs since you don’t have to be as selective as me.”

  “That’s right, so lay off!” Valisia said before obviously remembering Feln was behind her. Her back suddenly grew rigid and Feln could tell she wanted to look over her shoulder at him, but dared not— almost like a child afraid to look behind at a sound and acknowledge the boogeyman that made it.

  “Uh, I’ll just go and wait in Aaltskog’s room,” Feln ventured.

  “No, it’s okay,” Valisia said, finally turning to look at him. He felt bad for her, not only having to live in Katashka’s shadow as a Space Knight, but also having to be more responsible with her day to day life. He got the distinct impression that Valisia had likely always been more of a somber child, but the event of Katashka’s Blessing had made her even more so.

  Valisia continued, “You probably need to hear this too, Captain.” She looked around as if trying to find a place to sit. Feln duly pulled out the seat at his desk and offered it to her. She nodded her thanks and said to Katashka, “Well, it seems that Admiral Lenz hasn’t been very happy with your behavior.”

  “This works on the assumption that I care.”

  “Well, yes, he knows he can’t do anything to you. But I, on the other hand, am regular Navy, and he can do something to me.”

  Katashka shot up off the edge of the bed where she’d been sitting. “What? What did he do? I’ll kill him!”

  “Calm down, calm down… It might be a blessing in disguise.” Valisia looked back and forth between Katashka and Feln. “He told me that since you want to spend so much time on the Tannhauser, he’d make it easier on you and station me over here. In his words, ‘It will give her less of a reason to spend any more time on my ship than necessary since she can visit you on the Tannhauser’.”

  Katashka visibly relaxed. “Well, I must admit, he did kind of do me a favor. The only reason I’m still there at all is because we don’t have enough room for two Hyper Battle Machines over here.” She sat back down. “No, the more I think about it, I’m okay with it.”

  “Well I’m glad you are, because I’m not sure I am,” Valisia said sourly.

  “You’ve got a pretty good team over there, don’t you?” Feln asked.

  “Yes I do. I’ve been on the Uhlinder since the very beginning of my piloting career. I’ve got a good crew chief and people to work on my Alden who can take it apart and put it back together again with their eyes closed.” She looked hard at Katashka, “I was on the Uhlinder before you were. Admiral Lenz can get annoying at times— I was the one who called him a stick in the mud— but he isn’t so bad. When we talked, he was friendly enough.”

  Katashka started to say something, but Valisia cut her off. “Then you breezed in and as always, didn’t take anything seriously. Your crap started reflecting badly on me and it got harder and harder to make excuses.” She glanced over at Feln before looking back at Katashka and continuing. “I’m honestly surprised you haven't used Imperial Prerogative sooner. When you did use it to support the captain here, I agreed with you. But come on, you’ve practically been holding it over Admiral Lenz’s head since you arrived on his ship. Keeping that unspoken threat like a loaded gun on the table doesn’t do any good for crew solidarity.”

  Katashka’s mouth, still open from when she started to talk, closed and she looked down at the floor. Valisia looked hard at Katashka before turning to Feln. “Captain, please forgive my outburst. I know it’s very unprofessional to bring family matters into a work setting. I swear it just suddenly came out.”

  Feln shook his head and smiled, “No, it’s okay. Besides, this is hardly a ‘work setting’.”

  Katashka pushed herself off of Feln’s bed and stalked silently past Valisia without a look back. Feln reached out to touch her hand lightly as she passed, but she didn’t react. She opened the door and quietly closed it behind her.

  Valisia shook her head and laughed ruefully, “Well there she goes. Off to pout as always. Heaven forbid someone calls her out on her how she acts. Especially someone she’s hurting with that behavior.”

  “What will she do?” Feln asked.

  “She’ll go back to the Uhlinder, yell at Keith for a while, poor guy, then she’ll sulk in her room. Basically the same thing she’s always done.”

  “You don’t think she’ll go after Lenz?”

  “No, because she knows deep down that this is her fault. I’ve been telling her something like this was going to happen for a long time and she’d always blow me off. Well, it finally did happen and she can’t say I didn’t warn her.” Valisia looked at the ceiling before shaking her head again.

  “Will she be alright? Should I go after her?” Feln asked.

  “She’ll be fine. Don’t go after her. If you do, it’ll feed into the little pity party she’s currently giving herself. Don’t worry, she’ll be back on your doorstep tomorrow like nothing happened and you guys can get right back to what you were doing before I showed up. Sorry about that, by the way.”

  Feln let out his breath with a laugh, “Ah, don’t worry about it. Lucky for you, we managed to get in some fun first.”

  She licked her lips slightly and also laughed. “I can imagine.” She stood. “Well, I’d better get going. I have to settle into my new quarters here and get to know the maintenance personnel and other pilots here. I’ve already reported my transfer to Captain Larkin and Admiral Kesh, but I need to get a rapport going with the people I’ll be seeing day to day.” She stood and saluted. “With your leave Captain.”

  He returned her salute. “For what it’s worth, the Tannhauser is a great ship with a wonderful crew. I’m sure you’ll be happy here.”

  “‘I’m sure I will.”

  “Do you need directions to the hangar?”

  “No sir, I’ve already studied the deck plans of the Tannhauser since our fleets joined. I think I can find my way.” With a slight bow she turned to go.

  Feln couldn’t help but smile. Katashka had even predicted Valisia’s memorization of the ship’s plans and she was right. Truly these two sisters really knew each other well. Feln, who was an only child, had always found siblings interesting in how well they could sometimes understand one another. He suddenly thought of something and called out to Valisia before she got too far away.

  “Lieutenant!”

  She turned. “Yes sir?”

  “You said someone
told you that Katashka was in my quarters. Do you remember who it was?”

  “Of course sir, it was your Companion.”

  Feln choked. Great, so Aaltskog already knew. She must have been behind them and caught a glimpse as they went into his quarters. But Katashka didn’t pick up any flashes of anger from Aaltskog— strange considering how powerfully the previous emotions came to her. Was the first time a fluke? Or maybe Katashka and Feln’s own sexual longings blocked out Aaltskog’s feelings…

  Valisia was still standing there waiting. Feln waved, “Oh, sorry! Thanks for your help.” She bowed again and was about to turn just as the red alert klaxon sounded and the red warning lights started to flash.

  Captain Larkin’s voice came over the intercom. “Attention, enemy fleet sighted. All crew to battle stations.”

  Feln shared a look with Valisia before she ran down the hallway toward the hangar. He was about to go too before suddenly realizing his feet were still bare and he didn’t have his hat. He ran into his quarters, plopped the hat on his head and tucked his boots under his arm before running back out. He could put the boots on while Denxeiter was going through its final launch prep.

  Damn, he hoped he’d be able to have a long talk with Aaltskog before another battle. Well, then I better make sure I don’t die so we can talk afterwards.

  Chapter Nine

  Feln arrived in the hangar to find the service crew just finishing their tasks and going through their final pre-launch checklists. He looked around for Aaltskog, but didn’t see her. Since the fleet was in a constant state of battle readiness, Denxeiter would be kept in standby mode for quick launch, so Aaltskog wouldn’t have to take the added time to perform an Awakening before each mission. Even so, a Companion was still needed to keep the Hyper Battle Machine’s main computer functioning efficiently, or there would start to be performance degradation similar to a human who hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

  Feln signaled a passing crew member and called, “Where’s Aaltskog?” The man answered by pointing up and hurriedly got back to work, but not before glancing at Feln’s bare feet and the boots he still held under his arm. With a groan he quickly pulled his boots on and leapt upward in the low gravity pulling himself along Denxeiter’s body until the got to the chest area. Aaltskog was sitting on Denxeiter’s shoulder, her head pressed against the robot’s helmet.

  Feln walked over and crouched in front of her. “Hey, I need to get going. I’m sorry.” He was expecting to see tears coming out from under her hair, and was surprised to see none. Even so… “Are you alright?”

  She sat up straight, “Yeah. I’m just trying to understand what he’s thinking. He’s still giving off feelings like he senses danger.”

  “Well, yeah, that’s why I need to launch.”

  “No, it’s more than just an enemy being here. It’s something deeper than that. He didn’t feel right just before they attacked the first time… Well now it’s something more.”

  “Okay, I’ll keep it in mind.” He took her hand and stood her up— he had to do all the work because she seemed like dead weight. “It’s a good thing you’re so light and the gravity’s so weak,” he murmured.

  “And that you’re so strong. I bet your new girlfriend appreciated that.”

  “Oh dammit. Listen darling, I’m sorry and we need to talk, but now’s not the time.”

  “I know. ‘The Companion obeys and wishes the Space Knight a good hunt while achieving new heights of heroism’.” She hadn’t recited that old service line since his first mission and despite the meaning of the words, her usage of them now stung.

  She clicked her heels together and gave a smart curtsy before stepping off Denxeiter’s chest backwards and falling straight down. Feln watched as she righted herself at the very last moment and landed perfectly before she stalked out of the hangar. Feln looked back at Denxeiter to see the massive eyes staring at him. They slowly lifted and began scanning some unseen horizon. “Well, this is all very comforting,” Feln said before climbing into the cockpit.

  A few minutes later, Denxeiter was in the airspace over the Tannhauser with Feln looking toward the reported location of the enemy. Since the Tannhauser and Uhlinder were near the rear echelons of the combined fleet and closest to the colony at planet side, he couldn’t see the enemy or even most of his own fleet.

  He could make out the Uhlinder’s flight wings buzzing around the large carrier, but didn’t see Ganxeiter anywhere. Surely Katashka must have made it back to the ship and launched. He looked over at the Tannhauser’s own circling flight wing and spotted Valisia’s Alden among the other machines assigned to the carrier.

  Lieutenant Hoff’s Alden broke off from the group and came over. Feln was glad Hoff had survived. A few of his fellow pilots had been killed or missing so it was good to see the sunny young pilot alive and well.

  “Hey Captain, how’re you doing?”

  “Ah, it’s been a rough day.”

  Hoff coughed. “So I heard.”

  “Ship gossip’s reliable as always, huh?”

  “Yes sir.” Hoff smiled. “It keeps things interesting.”

  “You don’t find all this…” Feln swept Denxeiter’s arm across the horizon. “interesting?”

  “Oh I do, I do. It’s just ship gossip isn’t as dangerous. Or at least not usually.”

  Thinking about Aaltskog’s temper and the argument between the Nonn sisters, Feln said, “Truer words were never spoken.” Glancing at Valisia’s robot, he asked, “So how’s Lieutenant (jg) Nonn working out?”

  “So far, so good. She’s obviously talented and we’re lucky to have her. The Uhlinder’s loss is our gain, I say.”

  Feln nodded. “I agree. Hey, have you seen her sister?”

  “Yeah, what a knockout! And really wild! I’m envious, sir, even though she’d probably break me in half.”

  Feln almost asked just how much Hoff knew before saying, “Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, have you seen her sister anywhere out here in Ganxeiter?”

  Hoff’s face reddened. “Oh! Oh, sorry, sir… No, I haven’t seen her.”

  “Okay, I’m gonna try to find her. See ya later Lieutenant.”

  Hoff, face still red, wordlessly saluted and his image flicked off Feln’s screen. Feln shook his head with a quiet laugh and headed toward the Tannhauser’s bridge. Kesh’s image appeared and Feln said, “Admiral, I’m going to go on a sweep and try to find Space Knight Nonn. I’d like to know the whereabouts of the other Hyper Battle Machine in the area.”

  “As would I,” Kesh agreed. “Be careful Captain. The enemy have been silent so far and haven’t answered any hails over our extended communications network. The other shoe will likely drop any minute.”

  “Aye sir,” Feln said before heading off. As he flew farther from the planet and thus the fleet’s inner core, the Tannhauser disappeared from his rear view into the gas and debris as other ships came into view from his front. Receiving identification pings from the ships and communications boosters as he went along, he was soon at the outer edge of the spherical formation of the fleet. Heavy and medium cruisers hung still in space, while light cruisers and destroyers slowly moved between them. Corvettes zipped along even more quickly between the larger ships. In the distance facing the Francescan ships, Feln could barely make out the enemy ships through the haze.

  He traveled along the line of cruisers, but when he didn’t see Ganxeiter anywhere, he was about to turn back when he heard a familiar voice say, “Captain Koenig!” He stopped and looked around. The person calling to him had to have been close considering the environment, but apparently wasn’t close enough to send a visual hail. “Over here, sir!” As he looked around some more, he saw the flashing signal light on a small ship.

  He flew toward the ship and recognized it as the Artemis. Almost as soon as he recognized the ship, Commander Achren’s face appeared on his screen. She was just as otherworldly and compelling as he remembered and her bright green eyes shone happily.

/>   “Captain, I’m so happy you made it back safely!” she said. She absently tugged at the Jammer around her neck that was supposed to keep in check her Nymph glamor that attracted others. Feln had found that even with the Jammer, he could’t help but be attracted to her. Maybe it had something to do with his Blessed physiology that his body would be attracted only to those people he could safely have a relationship with?

  “You too,” Feln said. “I’m sorry that I just jetted off like that after giving you that order to fire, but I didn’t want to risk anyone else. And hey, thanks for leaving the navigation beacon. That was a big help getting back.”

  Achren’s smile grew bigger. “Oh, I’m so happy sir!” But her smile faded as her eyes followed something to Denxeiter’s side. At that moment, a green arrow appeared on Feln’s screen pointing right. He turned to see Ganxeiter shimmer into view next to him.

  He almost jumped. “Gah! Katashka, where’d you come from?”

  Katashka’s image appeared on screen next to Achren’s. “Miss me?” she asked with a smile.

  Achren saluted. “Space Knight Nonn, it’s good to meet you. I’m—”

  “The Nymph who killed my fellow fleet mates,” Katashka finished Achren’s sentence.

  Achren’s friendly expression darkened. “That was an accident.” Achren also seemed to suddenly remember that although Katashka was a Space Knight, she was still only a lieutenant, and although out of the normal command structure, carried a lower rank than hers. “And I sincerely hope, Lieutenant, that you haven’t been using such boorish behavior on Captain Koenig for giving the order to fire.”

  Katashka blinked and stared at Achren. Feln realized he was holding his breath as he watched the two women on his screen. “Katashka,” he began when she suddenly burst into laughter.