Clean-up and clearing out

Dustin couldn’t help but feel that the entire operation had been anticlimactic after the first engagement in the tunnelling supply shop. Yril’k and the Uil’l had rounded up the Durathisians and the mobsters on the island without taking a scratch, the gas processing facility and the Fractal mass that formed it’s core had been captured… It all seemed too easy somehow.

It probably didn’t help that aside from a few orders he’d been largely unnecessary in the entire affair. Yril’k, Defia and the local commanders could have handled everything themselves with little to no difficulty. All he’d really done was hover at the back and order one grenade to be thrown quicker than anyone else had.

Sighing, he lifted his heels from where he’d been resting them on his bunk and scrambled up off the floor. There was no sense in sulking about it, or in over-thinking things. Grabbing his jacket from where he’d tossed it on his desk, Dustin walked out into the ready room and smiled at the waiting crew.

“Alright, everyone. It looks like our business here is going to be concluded pretty soon; while the Durathisians aren’t talking, the Uil’l mob are singing like crazy. The defence minister already has teams going after the gasses they’d managed to ship out - Yril’k, you and Rye have the details on that I believe?” he said, gesturing for the two of them to fill in the rest of the senior staff as he slipped into his customary chair at the table.

Yril’k rose first, chitin clicking as she rested both hands in front of her. “We’k followed the tunnels’k after securing the production facility’k. They led to warehouses’k elsewhere in the same sector’k. From there, the Uil’l were’k able to trace’k shipments, and we believe we have secured’k all the remaining gas. There were some’k criminals running the warehouses’k but they were not a significant’k threat.”

As the insect woman took her seat again, Rye glanced up from the drone she was busily re-soldering. “Ya covered most of it, Yril’k. Only thing ya missed is that Defia helped me with some scanning again. We hooked into the local sensor grid; they usually use it to look for gas releases from volcanic activity, but it let us look for any other large concentrations we might have missed. We found two more spots that way, plus Sola’s sensors picked up a third on the surface of all places.”

Setting her soldering iron back in it’s holder, the bunny girl stretched. “Ya don’t need to worry about them tho. Locals nabbed the underground ones, and Sammie and me took care of the topside deposit.” Dustin frowned at that, glancing at his pilot. He’d not heard about that particular little incident.

Chewing on the end of one of her braids, Sammie glared at Rye before spitting her hair out and muttering “you weren’t supposed to tell Dustin about that…” Turning to him, the dark-skinned woman sighed. “We detected a facility built some way away from habitation, containing a bunch of gas. The Uil’l dislike operating outside their tunnels, so Rye and I sought permission to conduct a flyby and if necessary bombardment of the location.”

Tapping the console embedded in the table to bring up a hologram of a rather squat looking structure, Sammie continued. “Computer says the design of the building was Durathisian - apparently, they go all in on minimalism and utilitarian design for their industrial complexes. Anyway, Rye flew one of her drones over while I kept my fighter hovering just over the horizon.” Another tap of her finger and the screens around the table flickered to show a recording of the drone’s footage.

“Drone goes in, we can see that there’s more of the cylinders than the sensors had detected, estimate enough hydroxy to make a pretty big bang. Then that automated turret spots the drone and we lose the feed.” Sammie commented, Rye wincing as the turret swung around and the camera turned to static.

“I liked that drone. Shoulda swept for automated defences with Sola before we left, but it looked like one tiny warehouse so we thought what the hell,” the bunny girl observed. “Ya want me to bring up the nose camera while ya tell them what happened next, Sammie?”

The pilot nodded, turning back to Dustin as the video resumed from some distance away but closing fast on the complex. “Well, we’d identified a stockpile and hostiles, so I took the decision to go weapons hot. The turrets weren’t anything that looked too powerful, and Rye’s made a few… modifications, to my fighter since I’ve been aboard. We really weren’t in any danger, not really.”

As she spoke, the feed showed the complex approaching the camera at what had to be close to the maximum speed of the fighters in atmosphere. Just before arrival, the camera banked hard, the video shaking for a moment. “Gimmie a sec, I’ll get the other camera…” Rye muttered, tapping the tablet before the footage changed to show a view from under one wing, just before the banking turn.

Twin streaks of flame and smoke shot from the craft towards the complex, the turrets below not even able to register a threat before the missiles impacted. Fire lanced upward, followed by a secondary detonation that tore the building apart as the gas stocks caught. Rye scrubbed the footage forward, flicking between the two cameras rapidly. “After we’d hit them, Sammie turned around for another pass, but well…” The building was gone in the aftermath. Just a massive crater of torn metal and broken concrete remained.

Dustin sighed and shook his head. “Okay. First of all, good work for taking out the threat. But… I really would like to know before two of my senior officers decide to do bombing runs of enemy installations where we already know we’ve missed some of their defences in our initial threat analysis. I’m assuming at the least that you did run an initial threat analysis, Sammie?” At a embarrassed nod from his pilot, Dustin sank back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s something at least… Seriously though, even if you don’t think to ask me before doing something reckless like that because I’m your captain, think about the rest of us.”

The two women exchanged a worried glance as Dustin sat forward again, gesturing to Yril’k. “Remember how much we all worried when she took that blast that broke her exoskeleton? Think about what serious harm - or worse - to the two of you would do to the rest of us okay? It’s one thing when it’s a planned mission and we all know what we’re up against, another entirely when it’s just two of us going off half-cocked, alright?”

By this point, Sammie and Rye were both staring at the table, faces downcast. Meli rested a hand on Dustin’s arm. “I think that’s enough, Husband. They’ve got the message.”

Letting her mollify him, Dustin took a drink that Naera had gone to fetch him while he’d been dressing down the other two and took a deep sip, the heat of the mocha scorching his throat and helping him settle. “Alright,” he said at last, eyes drifting over the rest of the table. “Any other surprises? Or can we move forward to what we’re doing next?”

Nobody answered for a moment, then Emely leaned forward, tails twitching behind her. “What we’re doing next, or what we’re doing next?” She asked with one of the fox-like grins they’d all come to know and love.

Trea’k sighed and shook her head, one arm already moving to restrain Yril’k who’d taken that as a cue to leave. “Stay, please,” she said softly to her fellow Vex’ess, then addressed her lover directly. “Emely, while I’m sure we’re all aware of what we’re going to be doing next, as you put it…” her eyes flickered across to the frantically blushing face of Aricia for a moment before continuing “…what is more important is a clear plan to allow us time to do that. Beloved mate, what are our next steps?”

Dustin exhaled slowly. He could always rely on Trea’k to calm the others down when practicality had to take the fore. “Realistically, our next steps are a lot of time in space. It’s about a half-day flight to the jump point; Sammie, are you handling the launch or are you going to reward one of your juniors with the right to take us out of atmo?”

The pilot jumped at being suddenly addressed, still dealing with the previous telling off. “Yea… one of my juniors will be handling things. Emmz called in a favour to make sure I’m not ‘distracted’ for the next ten to twelve hours for her plans.”

Nodding, Dustin returned his attention to the rest of the group. “So, a half-day for our… party… and then we jump out. The flight to the Tho’unn throne world should take about three weeks - there’s a few systems we have to cross, but nothing of major interest. Once there… we’ll handle whatever happens. But we do have one other bit of onward planning to deal with. Bleu?”

The doctor flowed up out of her seat, before picking up her tablet and tapping it a few times. “Based on my estimates and the latest readings, by the time we arrive at the throne world you two - Meli and Trea’k - should have about three months or less to go. Dustin has suggested you should start thinking about where you want to be when you give birth.” Seemingly detecting Emely’s pout without looking in her direction, the medic added “that’d put you at about seven or eight months to go, Emmz. Be patient, I’m sure I’ve told you this already.”