Rising moon

The fleet - such as it was - hung in space near the jump point. Officially, they were just scouting and exploration vessels, and indeed the few craft that had gathered were equipped as such. Of course, they were also human scouting and exploration vessels, and so were loaded to the brim with extra weapon systems well beyond what would be considered normal for the class and size of craft they happened to be.

One particular extra feature that all the starships deployed now had was humming irritably below the deck plates as ensign Rogers hurried through engineering to report the final checks had been done. The Steamtender modulators were being rolled out to human vessels faster and faster, and while some of these smaller ships still had issues fitting in sufficient power supplies to run them comfortably, the crew didn’t complain. Not after they’d seen what the shields those modulators made possible could do; it made the extra heat and tighter quarters an easy trade-off.

Turning a corner, Rogers scrambled up the ladder (no turbolifts in a tiny scout craft like this one, not for the short distance between main engineering on the lower deck and the bridge above) and came to a abrupt halt, saluting as the captain turned to look at him. Beard-hairs bristled as the man nodded to acknowledge the ensign’s presence. “Report.”

“Engineering reports all systems functional, sir; the repairs to number two reactor are stable and accounted for. We’re good to stay with the fleet.” Rogers did his best to look efficient - the message could have been sent by voice comms, but one of the captain’s peculiarities was insisting on runners during out-of-combat repairs. It was a side effect of the human fleet recruiting from both the military and civilian sectors - a lot of the captains had odd behaviours and rules like that.

The captain gave a nod - but didn’t dismiss him, instead asking a question. “Tell me, lad, you joined us after the Yuran scrap. Did you ever see the Solar Ascent up close?” The query came out of the blue, and Rogers shook his head which earned him a chuckle from the captain - and one muscular arm waving towards the main screen. “Stay on deck for a minute then, before you scurry back down to engineering. She’s due to drop out of the weave any moment now, and humanity’s flagship is truly something to behold.”

Dustin breathed a sigh of relief as Sola dropped back into normal space. While there’d been no sign of any reprisals from the Fractals for the destruction of their orbital platforms yet, it had been a nervous week’s backtracking to the meeting point that EarthGov had selected. They’d been lucky that a lot of the scouting vessels had been deployed to look into systems dotted around the path that Sola had taken into unknown space, as otherwise it would have been far longer before a fleet could have been assembled.

Judging by the stretching and shaking out of stiff arms and necks by the rest of the current bridge crew, he wasn’t alone in having been holding himself tense until they reached their allies. With that in mind, he stood up from his chair and walked over to the comms terminal, speaking as he went. “Alright everyone, take a minute. Emely, hail the fleet - let’s see what EarthGov’s given them in the way of briefing and start making plans.”

Ten minutes later, Dustin finished filling the assembled captains in on what exactly was happening. Between the circumspect nature of his request for backup - relying on prearranged codes Axworth had given him - and the fact that EarthGov hadn’t wanted to send too much over a channel the council could intercept, the officers of the fleet hadn’t known much other than the fact they’d be flying into potential danger, which they’d have worked out anyway by the fact that only vessels with functioning shields had gathered at the staging ground in this otherwise uninteresting system.

“So, the plan is pretty simple. We move in, find the control node and hit it hard. If the info we have is good, there should only be one orbital body in the system besides the star. The majority of the local Fractal fleet should still be chasing Sola’s ghost in another system as well - they can’t find routes through the weave like humans can. We hit them hard, fast, and get out.” Dustin concluded. One of the captains - a tough looking woman with white streaks running through her hair nodded before she spoke, saying what was on everyone else’s minds. “To confirm, if we get crippled, we blow the reactors right? Can’t risk any human falling into their hands with how well we can navigate the weave.”

The assembled officers glanced between one another, then all nodded. Dustin winced; he’d been hoping he wouldn’t have to give that particular order, but knew that strategically it was vital. They still didn’t know the full extent of the Fractal’s technology, but one thing had been made clear by everything the synthetic life had done so far - for all their abilities, they were unable to navigate the weave without biological templates to build from. Thus, while humans were eager to fight their foes, the risk of getting even a single human captured was terrifying.

After a little more discussion, Dustin gave his final orders. The entire fleet was to take eight hours to get ready, largely to allow Sammie time to sleep properly so that the flagship would have her pilot at her best. Once that was done, they would form up around Sola, and then Dustin and Sammie would find them a path through the weave to their target system. Given he’d be able to take a nap during the flight while his pilot did the hard work of following the thread, Dustin opted to take some of the downtime before the jump to pre-scout their potential routes, sitting in the warm otherness of the weave for over an hour considering what information he could get by just feeling the different threads leading in the direction of their target.

Pulling back from that strange other dimension sometime later, Dustin blinked as his eyes came back in to focus. What they mostly focused on as it happened was the fact that Sammie was straddling his lap, frowning at him. “Captain, flying is my job.” She said pointedly; he was glad the bridge was for once empty of junior crew - he’d ordered only essential stations be manned, which meant scanners and weapons. Meli and Yril’k watched impassively as his dark-skinned lover prodded him in the chest as she continued to scowl at him. “If you’re gonna make me sleep, you should be sleeping with me.” That earned a chuckle from Meli, and caused Sammie to pause, face-palm, and then add “not like that!”

Dustin got rather mixed messages at that point, as the pilot shifted her hips and ground her crotch on his rapidly expanding erection before swinging her leg up and over, climbing off him and offering a hand up out of his seat. “So, did you find me a route to take?” She asked, letting whatever sexual tension had been building between them dissipate as she stalked across the bridge to the pilot’s chair. Doing his best to focus on the mission and not on his pilot’s perky backside, Dustin coughed and replied. “Several. We’ve got another half hour or so before the jump, so plenty of time to get set up and comfortable before we fly.”

The rest of the senior staff gathered on the bridge as the last of that half hour ticked down. This was the beginning of something big; their first real fight back against the Fractals rather than just playing defence, and the entire crew knew it. Dustin watched as the markers of other ships in the fleet lit up on the viewscreen one after the other as each vessel chained their own weave drives to the signature of the Solar Ascent’s powerful engines. Flipping communications to speak to the entire fleet, Dustin gave his final orders before the jump.

“All ships, all crews. We’re going in dark here - we know there’s something hostile on the other side, but we don’t know what. Shields go up as soon as you re-enter normal space, ahead of any other priorities. I don’t intend to leave anyone behind on this one. We arrive, we hit them hard, we get out. You’ve gotten copies of the latest scouted routes from Sola - in the event an emergency retreat is called, get out by any route possible and regroup in Lieviran space.” He paused, then grinned. “Anything not part of the fleet at our destination is to be assumed hostile. When the lasers start flying, shoot first and don’t leave anything to question afterward.”

With a nod to Emely, Dustin leaned back in his seat as the weave-jump arms moved around his head. For this one - at least until they started the flight - he’d be helping Sammie to pick the route. Greyness washed over him - and then almost before he could recognize that he was in the weave he felt his lover’s presence meld into his own. They-he drifted to the lines he-they had already scouted for her-them to navigate. Warmth, comfort, excitement and the simmering rage against the beings that had hurt their friends washed around Dustin in that strange union of spirit - Sammie’s emotions laid bare as they moved to pick a suitable path.

One strand struck out to her-them as the best option. They-he agreed on it, hands and minds separating as one reached out to pluck the thread while the other drifted back towards real space. Dustin pushed his utter confidence in his lover’s ability out as hard as he could as they split, getting a final burst of joy in return before blinking as the weave-arms retracted from his head. Emely patted his hand as he sat up. “The fleet’s followed us in - less than a day until our first strike of this war” She said softly, Rye’s countdown predictor slowly starting to tick down from eleven hours on the screen behind her.