TNS Chapter 41 Preview (Patreon)

Chapter 41 will release on Monday May 29th at 0800 MST. Thank you so much for your support, and I hope you enjoy this preview.

Chapter 41

Subject: Ship-Head Uleena

Species: Urakari

Description: Reptilian humanoid, no tail. 5'3" (1.6 m) avg height. 135 lbs (61 kg) avg weight. 105 year life expectancy.

Ship: RSV Lowelana {Fights with Honor}

Location: Sol

"It's been more than three hours, ship-head. When can we stand down?" asked Kriin.

"We'll be able to stand down when they tell us to stand down, sister," replied Kraan in my stead.

Kriin made a face and hissed softly at him. This playful exchange did a lot to ease the tension that had settled over the bridge as time had dragged on. It even got a smile out of Liwna.

It was still unnerving to be on standby so long after the battle had ended, though. I'd asked for an explanation but received no response, which indicated something was happening or had happened. The OU had consistently increased their numbers with each wave, so I desperately hoped it wasn't going to be another attack. Maybe we'd received orders from the Republic to go home. One could dream.

A soft bing from my terminal nearly made me jump. All heads turned to me as I opened the message, desperate to know if we were in the clear. I nibbled my tongue as I softly pressed the notification to open the message.

--

Ship-Head Uleena

RSV Lowelana and her crew are to stand down but remain in a state of readiness. You are summoned to meet with Admiral Heckett and myself. A guide will meet you in the bay.

Fleet Leader Onaya

--

I looked around at the faces of my bridge crew. They were all hoping I would be giving the order to stand down, to tell them we were in the clear. The anticipation was brutal, and I found myself considering a little prank. If I were to simply say that the message was nothing, the looks of disappointment would be pretty great. Although, the fleet leader wouldn't appreciate waiting...

"Stand down, but stay ready," I said and then sighed audibly, "I'm off to meet with command."

"You have my sympathies, sir," Liwna said.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad, ship-head. Maybe they want to give you a medal," Kraan said cheerily.

"Don't get your hopes up, sir. We didn't really do anything medal-worthy. But maybe we'll get to see one of the planets we've been protecting," Kriin said excitedly.

"That's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is 'one of the planets we put at risk'," Kraan replied with air quotes.

"That's rich, coming from the cloaca that put the planets at risk in the first place!"

"Hey! I was following procedure! Why don't you..."

"That's enough," I interrupted, trying to keep a straight face. "I'll go find out what they want. You just stay ready for our next move."