[crizza]

All right, my little project...please excuse my bad english^^
The fiction is setting in the Blue Planet universe and it still needs a name...so here we go:

Chapter 1 - Three Kings

Vasuda System
June, 11th 2387

Three kings, that’s how they called them. Although consisting of two Capella era ships, they were considered the best ships in the vasudan Medjai and object of vasudan pride.
Cheops, Mykerinos and Chepren, named after the tree Pyramids build in a long forgotten age on Terra. A Hatshepsut, a Sobek and one of the new Petbe class corvettes forming a lightning strike unit. But what troubled the vasudans the most, was the commanding officer of the Cheops, a terran in his mid thirties, so far one of a few remaining terrans in vasudan fleets.
Only his good relationship with Supreme Admiral Khu has granted him command, so the people kept saying, while others called him the Admirals hound of war.
“Home, sweet home gentlemen, finally.”
The Vasudans on the bridge of the Cheops eyed him warily. Vice Admiral Christopher Schulz was known for his strange sense of humor and while some of the bridge crew having served with the Terran since he was transferred to the vasudan navy, the concept of sarcasm was still utterly alien to them.
“With all due respect Sir, how can you call this scorched rock home?”
Captain Tura’Mun prowled the space of the bridge as usual, being the XO he saw it as his personal duty, to ensure everything was all right and for most of the time speaker of the crew.
The vasudans had accepted the terran as a curio and in fact as the one leading them, since the three kings were formed.
“Irony Captain…I was referring to the Imperial Vasuda Shipyards…although I’m not quite sure why we are ordered to return…we’re just fine…”
The Admiral was standing between his vasudan crew, which all dwarfed him by at least a full foot.
“Perhaps the Cheops will finally get the latest upgrades Sir and…”
Whatever Captain Tura’Mun was about to say, he was interrupted by his commanding officer who darted over the bridge and looked up at him with slitted eyes.
“I don’t want to hear about this anymore! The Cheops is one of the best ships in the fleet and if she get’s these upgrades, we will be down to 4 wings of strike craft…and for what? Two new reactors and a meaner punch?! This is ridiculous!”
It was no secret that the Vice Admiral and Supreme Admiral Khu had clashed numerous times over the latest upgrades for Hatshepsut destroyers.
While the Vice Admiral stated, that this would indeed make sense for Hatshepsut serving in battle groups and not for a small task force like the kings, which needed the fighter complement of the Cheops, Supreme Admiral Khu had simply pulled rank and ordered the three ships back.

And now everyone aboard the ships could see the shipyard growing, while there were the usual defense forces approaching them.
Already a squadron of Horus fighters flew alongside them and had hailed them.
Nothing uncommon the Vice Admiral thought.
The Imperial Vasuda Shipyard was the single most biggest shipyard in the whole GTVA and while the Cheops herself was a sight to behold, there were several ships moored at the installation, which were bigger then herself.
The sound of the Vice Admirals lighter cut through the uncomfortable silence, as he lighted a cigarette and the blue haze dispersed.
“Sir, we’re getting hailed by his Excellency, Supreme Admiral Khu, he demands your immediate presence aboard the shipyard.”
Christopher merely nodded, he had expected this since they had left subspace fifteen minutes ago.
“You know Tura’Mun; I wonder if the old one will ever leave the shipyard again…is my fighter ready?”
The Captain shrugged before checking something on a screen.
“He has no need to leave the station, he is the Emperors proxy and you’ll do well to remember this. And yes, your fighter is fuelled and ready to go.”
Several deck hands had turned to the Vice Admiral and saluted him, although his style of command was considered lax if not in combat.
“Then Captain Tura’Mun you’ll have the bridge, bring her home safely!”
With this, Christopher left the bridge and several of the Vasudans stiffened, because the Captain was known as a vicious dog, if the Vice Admiral wasn’t present.


The fighter was as misplaced in the hangar as his pilot was in the vasudan battle groups.
Painted dead black, the old Apollo-class fighter was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A gift from Supreme Admiral Khu, its pilot had spend almost seven years getting all the necessary parts ranging from new engines to state of the art targeting processors and so on.
The result was an old fighter ready to serve again, albeit it had never seen combat in the last nine years. It’s pilot simply disliked slow lumbering transports or shuttles, so he used it to travel small distances with this fighter.
Chief engineer Tar’Ket loved this old ship like he loved his twelve children and whenever the Cheops didn’t need his attention, he was screwing around with the Apollo.
“How is our old lady today Chief?”
Startled, the vasudan turned, looked around and then downwards, before starting to smile.
“Vice Admiral, she’s just fine, the new thrusters are finally working without a quirk sir. So gliding should be possible.”
Chris nodded in agreement, the process of rebuilding the old fighter would have been impossible without Tar’Ket a and in fact, since he had commanded one of the last Typhons, the vasudan was his chief engineer. Thanks to his lovingly care, the Cheops was never in need of long stops in dry dock.
“Thank you Tar, I don’t know, what I would do without you.”
The old vasudan shrugged, while walking away.
“Most likely commandeering one of these ugly Pharaohs…”
The dry chuckle of the vasudans laugh faded away as he made for the hangar exit and it was then that Chris realized the silence in the hangar bay.
Otherwise a hub of activity and noise, it was completely deserted, with fighters and bombers sitting in their holding clamps, it almost seemed they were an honor guard and the Vice Admiral asked himself if this would be the last time he was launching from a hangar of that size, while boarding the cockpit.

Five minutes later he had cleared the hangar and was flying towards the shipyards.
There they were, the new Pharaoh-class carriers which had demoted the Hatshepsut to mere destroyer duties. Sure, ships like the Cheops were older than most of their terran counterparts, but the life prolonging retrofits kept them up to date and with two additionally beam cannons; they were more than ready to deliver a heavy pounding.
Was it a coincidence, that of the five Pharaohs on his sensors only four were known to him, while the fifth didn’t even had a name, but otherwise looked battle ready?
He frowned, for him and vasudans like Tar’Ket or Tura’Mun the Hatshepsut were the best ships of the GTVA, but that was once thought about the Typhon as well.
Ship design today was all about a way to combat the Shivans, the huge form of the Apophis on the other side of the shipyard was a testament to that, but such a ship was well out of his league.
This brought him back to Khu… The Supreme Admiral was old even for vasudan standards and was the closest advisor of the emperor as well as the highest ranking officer in the whole GTVA. He had always failed to understand why Khu had chosen him as his protégée and whenever he asked, the old vasudan eluded him, so he had quit trying.
“Vice Admiral Schulz, you are clear to enter hangar bay twelve.”
Over the years he had grown quite used to the sound of vasudan intercom chatter and had even tried to speak their language but spectacularly failed.
“Acknowledged Shipyard Control, good to be back.”


Half an hour later he sat opposite to his mentor, supreme Admiral Khu.
The years and the rift between terrans and vasudans had weight heavily upon him.
When he had first met him, the old vasudan was a sight to behold, towering even over the tallest vasudan, but now old age and political bickering in the Security Council as well as in the Medjai had taken its toll. He was bent over and had to use a walking cane, while having become a heavy smoker, a habit he had adopted from the young terran.
After the usual small talk and a glass of vasudan whisky, Chris thought it was time for the pressing matters.
“Your Excellency, what is the reason you called us back?”
Khu sat upon one of the huge beanbags while smoking his water pipe and looked upon Christopher through blood-shot eyes. When he started to speak, his voice was cracking, but there was still a hint of the thunderous sound he once possessed.
“You eluded me long enough young one…the Cheops will get her upgrades… and there are other things to talk about…”
He fetched an sheet of paper from under the table and placed it on top of it.
“This is from the hotshot Steele…he wants you to join him on his crusade…”
He let his sentence hang in the air while sucking in a deep breath of smoke.
“What do you think young one?”
With trembling hands he took the letter and read it.
“I never thought that this would happen…there are people calling me a traitor…and…”
The soft chuckle of Khu was interrupted by a coughing fit.
“Are you all right Sir?”
The vasudan waved him of, summoning him to go on.
“I don’t know if I really am ready to fight fellow terrans…”

The terran flinched as the fist of Khu banged upon the table.
“Nonsense…how many brushfires have you crushed and how many terrans have you killed?! You are an Vice Admiral of the GTVA and…still you have clear conscience…”
It was odd to see Khu smile, but it was still calming.
“So, what’s your advise?”
The vasudan simply shrugged and took another breath of the pipe.
“No young one…I have no advice at all…I have fought your species on two several occasions…and I won’t do it again…”
They both were lost in their thoughts for several minutes until Christopher sighed and sipped at his drink.
“I don’t buy the reasons…These Buntus put up a hell of a fight…so how can the Assembly still say they put the defense of Sol in jeopardy?”
Now Khu straightened himself a bit and grabbed one of the little meat cakes.
“’Cause they simply want the system, no matter the cost…and Steele hopes, that by pulling you on his side… this will cause an avalanche…”
Chris almost choked on his whisky, which force a huge smile upon the face of the Supreme Admiral.
“Exactly young one…he needs the Medjai to finish this once and for all, but through this, it is him and Toqueville who risking everything…and the Emperor is about to lose his patience…you know what this means…until now, only myself and a few members of the Medjai could calm him…”
Again silence descended upon both of them, while Chris emptied his glass and Khu chewed his cake. However, it was the terran who broke the silence after he helped himself to another glass.
“So…what do you want me to do? I know full well that the three kings are your executioners…do you want me to eliminate Steele and Toqueville?”
The laughter of Khu proved him wrong and he felt quite stupid. Of course this was not an option, the outcome would be a civil war and…
“You know Christopher…the Medjai thought about this…chances to kill both of them and win a war are good, but not in the Interest of Khonsu… we will take a different approach and that’s when I present my ace in the hole.…”

All the sudden Christopher felt uncomfortable and skidded upon his beanbag, while a cold shiver crept down his back.
“Exactly… the Emperor has agreed…the time for war is nigh, but the UEF will still have a chance… you know, just before the Orestes was send through the node, his highness learned about the impending invasion, while some of the Medjai took this as a form of betrayal, Khonsu did nothing.
Now we will grant them our support…”
Christopher didn’t like the smile of Khu at all, but he had no choice…
Over 19 years ago, Khu hat vouched for him, while Admiral Petrach was all to happy to get rid of the commander of his elite squadron…now it seemed it was time to repay his debt to the vasudans…

[IronBeer]

Your English isn't too bad, I can easily understand the points you're making, and boy, the points they are..... It's refreshing to see some fiction focusing on the V in the GTVA, and working political in-fighting into the already compelling BPverse is a pretty nifty move. I'm interested to see where you're going with this tale, and will be watching...

[InfinitySquared]

Awesome story you've got going! I hope you'll post more.

[crizza]

So, a rather small update, but with this, I finish chapter one...if you read carefully, you can get the name of the upcoming chapter

“So…Steele…Will he relieve Severanti?”
He had met Admiral Severanti once while accompanying the Supreme Admiral to a meeting concerning containment strategies of a future shivan invasion.
He had liked the man, always cool and guarded, while Steele…
“Indeed, it is said, that after receiving the news about Steele being his backup…he loosed his temper and…well…you can imagine what happened.”
With a sigh, Christopher lighted a cigarette.

The mood was finally relaxed, after both he and Khu had smoked a vasudan herb…
“So…what if I agree to Steeles proposal?”
Khu shrugged. After eighteen years of living with the vasudans, he was used to their gesture, but he smiled nonetheless as he remembered how irritating it was in the beginning.
“You would get most likely one of those shiny new cruisers or corvettes… You must remember one thing young one…”
Slowly Khu bend forward, as he did always when he was about to speak about something, not everyone needed to hear.
“He’s a killer…he wants the spoils of war…if Steele defeats the UEF…who do you think will become the new head of terran fleet command?”
It was no secret that the Supreme Admiral disapproved the style of command of Steele, but as of now, there was little to no cooperation between terran and vasudan fleet elements.

“So…you can support him and by doing that, you can rebuild your reputation and become so much more than …how do they call you? My…hound of war?”
Again Khu chuckled, he enjoyed making fun of Christopher.
“Yeah, they call me like this…but I have the feeling that by joining Steele, I’ll trade one master for another.”
Khu raised an eyebrow and looked puzzled at his protégé, who in turn started laughing.
“Got you old man. No, too be honest, I enjoy living with your people, so why should I return to my own kindred who are bent on reclaiming a world, which doesn’t want to be reclaimed?
And still there is this question…”
The Admiral sighed and the terran could feel the temperature dropping…

“Since you won’t quit asking for the rest of my lifetime…”
The old vasudan gazed straight through him, a habit when he remembered long forgotten times.
“What do you know about my line?”
Chris looked into his glass while thinking about the question.
“Your line was once considered to be very uncommon for vasudans…but when the terran vasudan war started…well, your line was present in every major engagement until…”
All the sudden he stopped and looked at Khu again, who in turn nodded.
“Indeed young one…during the terran vasudan war I lost my father, my brothers and sisters as well as three sons…”
It was no secret that the Supreme Admiral had lost much in the great conflicts of the past.
Being bonded to three female vasudans, his line was once one of the strongest, but his losses continued.
“I’m the great Supreme Admiral Khu…the single most powerful descendant my line has ever known…”
A single tear appeared in the corner of Khus left eye and slowly rolled down his cheek.
“But this is the very reason why all of my children chose to serve in the navy, essentially serving as strike-craft pilots or commander of cruisers and the like…”
Chris was embarrassed and played with his glass while listening to his master.
“Three sons in the terran vasudan war…a son and two daughters against the shivans, another two during operation Templar, four I lost to the Hades Rebellion, two to the NTF…and one when we lost Capella…”
The Terran dared not to say anything or create any sound. He had known about the huge losses, but not that his tutor had lost every offspring to war.

“How…can you still keep my around when my kind has killed nine of your children…I mean…”
Painfully slow, the vasudan raised a hand.
“You know that my people believe their dead relatives and ancestors to float around…as you once said it… I’m not as broken as you might think…actually Karem, the son who died with Capella…he was quite cheerfully and seeing this young terran celebrating the sacrifice of thousands of terrans and vasudans…Karem would’ve approved…that’s why I vouched for you, when Petrarch wanted you off his ship…”
That was a fairly big revelation, but also a sign of thrust between the two of them.
“I kept you around, because I read your certificate of conduct and despite your burst of…your inadequate behavior, you’re none the less performed exceptional good during the war.
I needed someone I could trust and you never failed me. “
All the sudden Chris could feel his cheeks becoming hot and he knew he blushed.
“ I am honored Sir and for this alone, I won’t follow Steele.”
Khu nodded and it seemed that his old body straightened a bit.
“Well…but for the time being, you won’t return to Sol, his Highness is about to offer the service of one logistic ship as well as an escort in form of the GVD Shepseskaf… we will see how this turns out…”
Once again he read the message of Steele, how he buttered Khu up, the praise for believing in the other terran, something about that it is time for the Vice Admiral to return to his people…
While shaking his head he scrunched the paper up.
“So, what do I do until the Cheops upgrades are finished? Having small talk with you?”
Khu shot him a dark glance.
“One could think, that you’re not enjoying my company…So I’ll send you to the single most dangerous place is the known galaxy…the jester wants to meet the executioner…you will accompany me to Aldebaran…”
Dumbstruck and with is mouth with open, all he could do was to watch the old vasudan literally exploding with laughter…