Novu Sol

Chapter 8

Ares Centios

The Buffer Zone

NSW Lunar Eclipse

Centios looked over the message on his terminal with a thoughtful expression.

A message from home had come in with a delivery of supplies and new personnel from the Central Buffer Zone Station. People often rotated between ships and the station out here to give them experience in a large range of jobs in a 'safe' place so they could find their strengths and work on improving their weaknesses. It was rare for people to ship out here en masse but sometimes smaller groups of people were sent with the supply ships that provided the station and it'd attached fleets with what it needed.

He had been given a batch of those people. Not a lot, only an Ensign and few enlisted, but they weren't Novu Sol citizens.

They were TriStar citizens and military personnel. This message explained that the TriStar Systems had been accepted to be trained by the Novu Sol Navy and some personnel were being taken aboard Novu ships for training purposes. Most had some experience, pretty much anyone who had been on a hyper capable ship had fought the pirates that had threatened the capital planet or at least worked on a ship for some period of time, but their actual ships were far behind Novu Sol standards in terms of hardware, software and capability.

Centos smiled a bit as he tapped a command to comm for the new arrivals into his cabin's terminal. It would do them well to serve on his ship, the best Novu Sol had to offer without going to the Test Yards themselves.

After a few minutes a young ensign shuffled in, he looked tired but presentable and the enlisted, two older men and a woman, looked nervous. They weren't used to being brought up in front of Admirals for much of anything. He studied them, their uniforms a light gray with rank markings or patches that were pitch black, making them stand out from their base fabric and he had to admit it made it easy to tell their ranks apart in a mere instant. Their salutes were crisp and close enough to Novu Sol salutes it didn't seem awkward to watch.

"I am sorry for summoning you like this, I know it's been a long day getting your bunk assignments settled and making sure you have jobs to do but I wanted to speak to you." Centios laced his fingers together, leaning back in his chair and let the silence draw for a moment. He saw the woman steal a nervous glance at her companions but everyone else remained at attention. "At ease." He said, a mild amusement in his voice. They relaxed at the command but remained attentive. Good.

"I have been reading the report about the attack on your capital and I have to commend your navy for managing to destroy the pirates, that took guts and skill." He looked at the Ensign. "Ensign Vance, I believe you were on one of the other destroyers for the battle were you not?"

"Yes Admiral." Vance responded. "It was not an easy fight."

"Battles rarely are." Centios agreed, his voice solemn. "Why did you come out here?"

Vance still looked nervous, his young age showing as he swallowed and shifted slightly, eyes flicking away before returning to him. "I volunteered to come out here because I wanted to learn from the best navy in space. What better place to learn than the place where Novu Sol sends its best ships?"

Centios looked at the enlisted. "Is it the same with you three?"

They nodded.

"That is good to hear." Centios said. "See this is the first time I believe any outsider had been allowed to serve in the Buffer Zone. Quite an achievement for all four of you. I do not know what you have heard about the Quarantine Zone or the AI or any rumors about this place," His voice got stern, cold, "And I do not want to hear that you are trying to spread rumors or lies. Facts and stories have grown in the telling and we have a very important job to do out here. We guard our planets from the menace that stalks the Old Sol Star System, we make sure the warning arrays stay functional but most importantly, we protect people from themselves."