Terran Resistance

Alex Chou's Log for: 1/8/2352 23:16

We just arrived at the Crimean System. This is where the rendezvous is supposed to occur. So far our luck has held and no Vinak have followed us this far into the string of dead systems. We're still half a day from the planet, or rather, moon, where we are supposed to meet. Thankfully, It looks like we're going to be about a day early. The crew could probably use an entire day of stressless waiting. I'm sure once we have a new commander and some new crew he'll be putting us to round-the-clock work. New COs love testing their crew. It's a tactic to build comradery amongst the crew. Force them to achieve something they thought wasn't possible.

I was thinking about the fact that I'll soon have to report everything that's happened to a superior officer, I figured it's time to start covering my ass. I had 8 of the 9 dumb crewman released from the brig. They're going to be serving food and cleaning in addition to their normal duties. That made Quid and Miller happy since at least they got their crewman back.

The one I didn't let out was Peter Romanov. Since he instigated the entire fight, and was the dumbfart who hit me, he needed a harsher punishment. I told him I'd let him out if he agreed to a 1 paygrade demotion. I don't have the authority to demote him without him agreeing to it. Unfortunately, he knew it and used that to be a pain in my butt. "Bloody hell Chou, you aren't going to be in command forever. Once we get a real Captain, I'll be outta here." I walked out of there and left him in his cell. He's right. Another tactic for new COs is giving past jerks a chance to shine. Why is it that the people who are the biggest pains in the butt also have to be the smartest?

System Command: End log.

Alex Chou's Log for: 1/7/2352 21:33

I slept well last night for the first time in a while. No Vinak battlecruisers have found us in this dead system.

A couple days ago I asked Ensign Creyer if he'd been monitoring the civilian communications. After I asked he froze and got wide-eyed and replied, "N-No Sir."
I couldn't help but smile. "It's alright Creyer, I never asked you too. I just thought that you might have."
"No sir, I haven't. Would you like me to start?" He asked.
"Yes, I'd like to know what's going on." I told him. Fast forward to less than 2 days later and Creyer sent me a whole report on Earthen events. I like over achievers:

The Vinak ambassador known as Jonas has named himself "Governor", but has left the current human government in place. Politically, the Assembly, Prime Minister, and President retain their current power; however, Jonas retains the right to veto any laws or actions as well as unilaterally pass decrees on his sole authority. His first decree was that he ordered the Assembly to bring human law into compliance with Vinak law. Jonas acknowledged this would be a multi-year process. He also stated the Assembly is to begin immediately. Many in the Human government resigned in protest including the President, some cabinet members, and many in the assembly. Jonas approved Special elections to be...

Blah Blah Blah... Wow this thing report goes on forever. Skipping ahead.

Another decree by Jonas was many infrastructure changes to be implemented. Most organized law enforcement will be dismantled except the most local organizations. All Earth Based, Star System Wide, or Planet wide law enforcement organizations are to be dismantled and resources directed to more local organizations. Planetary and interspacial level security and law enforcement will now be handled by the Vinak. Those security forces will...

blah blah blah, skipping ahead again...

All human communication systems, both military, governmental, and civilian are to be dismantled. They will all be replaced with Vinak communication equipment. This equipment will be provided by Vinak authorities as it becomes available.

I find that pretty funny. One of the few technical advantages humans had over the Vinak was our efficient communications network: Near instantaneous communication with low power requirements. Instead of absorbing that technology and utilizing the existing network, they're going to dismantle it.

As this dismantling progresses it will make it harder and harder for me to monitor events. Even now as I was compiling this report, I noted several well-known news agencies and other services were no longer available.

Creyer makes a good point, that could get problematic if we don't know what's going on on Earth or the other rocks inhabited by humans. Oh well, once we reach the rendezvous point I can let the next Captain of this ship worry about it.

System Command: End Log

Alex Chou's Log for: 1/7/2352 03:23

I am awesome. This ship is pretty good too, but I am awesome. Our escape from the Volga System was a picture of perfection. There we were heading full speed to the Aquarius warp point and only one Vinak ship guarding it. Lee and Steele maneuvered our ship so that our cannons were aimed right at it. We went from stealth mode to battle mode and fired the cannons. Whoever was monitoring tactical on that Vinak ship probably didn't even have time so sound the alarm. The high power lasers tore through the Vinak ship's hull destroying it.

I'm sure some of the other Vinak ships started chasing us, but we slipped though the warp point too quickly to know. Once we were in the Aquarius system we activated our stealth and headed for the next warp point. We didn't need to activate our stealth though. We left the system 20 minutes later and still no Vinak ships had followed us into the system. We left the Aquarius system and have now entered the Chateau system. We're heading right now to the next warp point.

The Chateau is just another dead system. After being here for an hour with no sign of the Vinak, I took the ship off of alert. By now, I was feeling pretty good with my commanding. That is until Steele brought be back to reality. She wanted to know what to do with the crewman we had in the brig. I told her to let them rot while I think about it.

System Command: End Log.

Alex Chou's Log for: 1/6/2352 20:08

As I was saying before. My last conversation with Romanov should've been the end of my headache with Basic Crew Services. Instead, a few hours later Acting Ensign Chavez was on the line with the Command Center. "Captain, I think you should come down here... and fast", he said.

"Where's 'here', Chavez"?

"BCS office. Things-"

I interrupted him, "Is Peter Romanov there?"

"Yeah, he-"

I interrupted him again, "I'll be right there. Chou out". I looked at Miller, get a security detail together and then double time it to the Basic Crew Services office.

He told me, "Yes Sir", but I didn't have time to try and correct him again. I turned down the power on my boots then ran the half kilometer to the BCS office. Just as I feared, 2 of my Petty Officers were screaming at each other. Each of them had their subordinates standing behind them egging 'em on, 3 for Romanov and 4 for Kramble,. Joan Kramble and Peter Romanov were standing less than a few centimetres from each other. To his credit, Chavez, was trying to calm everyone down.

"What is the problem here?" I yelled it so loud I surprised myself.

Kramble pointed to Romanov, "This dumb animal won't let me do my job."

"You lazy ass people aren't doing any work", Romanov snapped back. That must have gotten under the skin of Kramble and her crew because they started yelling back.

"Stop!" I yelled out. I then looked at Romanov and scolded, "Petty Officer Romanov, return to your quarters." He looked me in the eye. He took a step towards me. He was testing me. "I don't think you heard me, crewman. I said, return to your quarters."

"Yes Sir." He said with a sneer. Then looking back at Kramble as he turned to leave her, "you bitch, I'll be back."

"Go to hell you ape. I ain't never fixing that pipe now." Kramble snapped back. That's when all hell broke loose.

Romanov took a swing at her and their 2 groups went at it. Luckily, that's when Chief Miller showed up with 2 guys. We pulled a couple people off of each other then I got in between Romanov and Kramble. That was a mistake. Romanov was still swinging at Kramble and instead it landed on my noise. After I got punched everyone stopped. As dumb as those crewman were, they were smart enough to know that the Jig is up when an officer gets hurt. "Miller, will you please escort 9 of the dumbest crewman I have ever met to the brig. Chavez, help him out."

I could really use 9 crew members, but I'd rather make do without them. In less than 2 hours we're going to be running another warp point, but I will not allow infighting on the ship.

System Command: End log.

Alex Chou's Log for: 1/6/2352 20:03

I can't believe this. I should be worried about dodging Vinak patrols instead I'm dodging punches from my fellow shipmates.

The last battle broke more than our Active Camo and weapons. Some of our basic life systems like water, waste, and heat were damaged. From the moment I started looking into the problems with Basic Crew Services I regretted not deciding to ignore it. First, after looking at all of the complaints I contacted the Petty Officer in charge of it, Joan Kramble . When I asked her what the problem was she whined that she didn't have a high enough rank to do her job. She was replacing a Chief Petty Officer. That is one of the most common tactics people use to try and squeeze out an undeserved promotion. Instead of offering a promotion, I told her that she'd have to deal. I then asked if she could use more people. She told me that she was already borrowing some people while they try and get a hold of the situation. I asked her if there was anything that I could do to help. She told me, "Yeah, tell all those overgrown babies to quit their whining and just grab an extra blanket if their cold. Kramble Out." I was beginning to like her.

That's when I contacted the people who were filing the most complaints. Most went well except for one hot head, Peter Romanov. He's a Petty Officer , though I may decide to bust him down to Shipmate. "Patience? How can you tell us to be patience when our goddamn bunks smell like shit? The waste disposal next to us isn't working and the smell is terrible."

"You could always change bunks. We've got a lot open", I suggested.

"Bloody Hell. Why should I and my bunk mates move because some lazy ass shipmates don't wanna fix anything smelly. You can tell Kramble I said that, too!"

"Petty Officer Romanov", I started using what I call my, 'jerk Officer voice', "If you don't want to change bunks, and would instead like to keep the attitude, I can always find you temporary quarters in the brig. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir! Yes Sir." He snapped back just as his training taught him to do.

"Now, either find different quarters or deal with the smell until it can be taken care of by BCS." I ordered.

"Yes Sir."

"Chou out"

That should've been the end of it... Aw crap. My noise is bleeding again.

System Command: End log.

Alex Chou's Log for: 1/6/2352 4:03

Well, I didn't have to wake up Dr. Moore. Dr... um... I already forgot his name. Well anyway's Dr. Whats-his-face was in the infirmary. He gave me some meds to take a chem nap and told me to follow up with Dr. Moore sometime tomorrow. The Meds worked just as they're supposed too. I got 2 hours of sleep and yet I feel like I've had 8 or more. The problem is is that it isn't even close to morning yet.

To pass some time I pulled up a tactical view of the Volga System on my PID. To be honest, after seeing it on the main view in the Command Center, it's just not the same. Now that I've used the larger view the tiny interface of my PID just isn't as fun.

Maybe I should just get up and go to the Command Center. Looking at my messages, it looks like there's already a lot of things on my "to-do" list. I always knew that being an officer meant having to resolve issues among your subordinates, but I didn't realize how much worse it gets the further up the command chain you go. Look at this message. Some shipmate is complaining that the Engineering department, Basic Crew Services , is ignoring his repair requests. I'm looking at the repair requests for that department and it shows that they are pretty busy. It looks like more than one person is complaining. There's several complaints in fact. I guess that's not really surprising. That department is in charge of the most visible services: water, plumbing, heating, etc. Yeah, I may as well get up and go.

System Command: End Log

Alex Chou's Log for: 1/5/2352 23:53

I can't believe this. Here I am again unable to get any sleep. It's almost midnight and I still haven't slept a wink. Instead, my mind has been wandering from random thought to random thought. I've been wondering about what's happening on Earth and all the other Human planets now that the Vinak are in complete control. I'm especially interested in what's going on in my home planet of Mars. I should have Comm monitor communications to get an idea of what's going on.

I've also been thinking about how many forces we're going to find at the rendezvous point. If I had to guess it's going to mostly be fighters, and some freighters. Maybe a few BattleCruisers that the HAF hid away. Right now I'm assuming there will be plenty of high ranking officers there trained in... in... whatever the hell they're planning to do to "free the human race". If that is the case I'll be relieved of command quickly. A ship this large is never commanded by a lowly lieutenant, not even a 1st lieutenant as great as myself.

Too be honest though, the one thing I've been thinking about most is Shipmate Elizabeth Carlyle. I kept wondering about her accident, what happened. I've reread the report of what happened. Then I started to wonder about her herself. I loaded her file into my PID. It feels strange to do so. I feel like a stalker. Apparently she was a recent draftee from Earth and only 19 when it happened. Unlike most draftees she filed no motions to be excused. She was smart too. She scored an unheard of 97% on her advanced aptitude test. She was originally an aid in the infirmary, but I transferred her to be a technician. She was of only a few nurses aids that also had technical training. Who would've thought extra training would lead to their death?

Why can't I sleep? I'm waking up Dr. Moore. See if he can give me a drug that'll knock me out. I'm not going 2 nights withough sleep.

System Command: End Log

Alex Chou's Log for: 1/5/2352 7:58

I didn't get any sleep last night. Even after my room was cleaned up I still couldn't get back to sleep. My alarm went off at 0600. I forced myself into my magnetic boats. I cleaned myself up and put on my uniform. Then, with a few minutes to spare I decided to lay back down for a minute. In a blink of an eye that one minute became an hour.

When I woke up, my PID was blaring telling me I had someone trying to contact me. I picked it up and read that it was the Command Center. I hit the answer button and said, "This is lieutenant Chou." Then, Ensign Ronald Creyer, the comm officer(see, I'm starting to learn their names), his face appeared on my screen.

"Captain, you asked to be notified when we're approaching the Vinak patrol routes", he said flatly with his eyes staring off to the side. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was reading that sentence.
"Yes. And?" I replied quickly. I sounded more annoyed than I meant too.
"Well... um... w-w-we have." He stammered.
"Oh... right", I tried to sound apologetic, "I'll be in the command center shortly. Chou out."

I dashed out of my room. On my way a bad thought crossed my mind. Did I put a stutterer on the Communications station? Half way to the Command Center I had to stop and tighten my boots. Right before getting to the Command Center I slowed my pace to a casual walk. As soon as I walked in, I started playing Captain.

"Quid, what's the status of the Active Camo?" I asked.
"All panels installed and functioning."
I turned my attention to the scanners station where I stuck now acting Ensign Chavez. "Chavez, monitor those Vinak patrols. I want to know the moment that any of them does anything to indicate we've been detected."
"Like what?" he asked.
I felt like I was getting on a role and was annoyed by the interruption. I purposely let it show in my voice. "Come on, Chavez, you know the answer to that", I chastised, " A large number of additional ships appear, ships leaving their patrol route without being replaced would be another, Or any Vinak vessel abruptly changing their heading to head in our direction would all be signs that we've been detected."
"Yes Sir, of course sir!" he responded.

I then finally turned to the Helm Station where I put a 2nd lieutenant named Cheng Lee. "Lee, make sure to keep our maneuvers to a minimum. If we do get detected, it'll most likely be from someone catching a glimpse of a thruster burn."
"Yes, of course. I'm well trained on how to fly silently", he said while nodding.
"Good!" I responded. "Then we'll be out of this system in no time."

I went over to the center command station and brought up a tactical view of the entire system. Planets, moons, ships, and all. It was about this time that my rough night was starting to catch up with me. My eyes were feeling strained as I studied the routes of the Vinak patrols. Before I knew it, Steele had snuck up next to me.

"Chou, are you alright?", she whispered.
"Huh? Yeah. Why?" I asked.
"You look tired. Plus you showed up in the Command Center later than you normally do." she said, still whispering. I think she was trying to be diplomatic for once. It caught me a little off guard. Before the 2 of us became the highest ranking officers on the ship I'd known her only to be blunt and stubborn.
"I'm fine, just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." I said trying to match her whisper.
"Carlyle?" she asked. I noticed Quid's head perk up when that name was mentioned.
"Yeah, that was part of it. Just felt ill was all." Her head tilted to the side.
"Ill?"
"Steele," I quit whispering, "I'm fine. Go back to your station and double, triple, then quadrapole check our weapons. We'll need them all if we're detected before getting out of this system."
She sighed, turned, then stomped away to her station. I guess I pissed her off, but I don't know why.

At one point during the day we were less than 2 megameters of a Vinak patrol. We weren't detected. After that i started to relax. I even left the Command Center early to enjoy a large meal before bed. I have a lot of sleep to catch up on.

System Command: End Log

Alex Chou's Log for: 1/5/2352 2:52

What a fucking night and it's not even over yet. As if the news about losing another shipmate wasn't bad enough. My stomach flu from earlier has gone into after-burn mode. First I puked. Which I had never done while in space. It was... not something I want to do again. First, I didn't have enough time to make it to the bathrooms. So, I used a bag. Well, it's hard to aim at 0 g. Not everything made it in the bag. So then I tried to capture it in the bag. Instead, more of my innards escaped the bag then made it in. So, I had to tie that off and get another bag to get the rest. The second bag was working better since it was empty. However, after I got about half of my escaped stomach contents captured, the bag caught the corner of my brother's picture frame. The frame didn't have a lot of magnetic power holding it to my desk so the picture frame went flying across the room and the glass shattered when it hit the wall. So now, at this point It's the middle of the god damn night, I'm still feeling nauseas, and I have a room full of floating puke mixed with shards of glass.

Instead of trying to gather it I decided it's time to stand aside and let a machine clean up my mess. I'm having the room de-crompressed. Once all the air is sucked out, all of my floating problems will become the air filtration system's problem. Right now, as I record this, I'm actually just outside of my room waiting for the decompression\re-compression process to finish. With any luck I can still get a couple hours of sleep before morning.

One more random thought. I really wish I would've thought to put on my uniform before starting the decrompression process. Somehow it feels demeaning for the ship's Acting Captain to be standing in the corridor in his PJs.

System Command: End Log

Alex Chou's Log for: 1/5/2352 0:32

I was woken up a few minutes ago by Dr. Moore. Carlyle has died. I thanked the doc for letting me know.

Hm... I thought I'd have more to say than that. After I rinse out the leftover taste of vomit, I'm going to see if I can get some more sleep before morning.

System Command: End log