Novu Sol

Chapter 10

Solarian-Free Trade Route
Deep Space
TMS Jatz

Francis Fitzkeller sat in his office off the bridge, sipping a cup of tea as he watched the timer projected onto his wall turn from its normal blue to a blinking yellow, warning him that it was close to the time they would be exiting the Trade Route and should go to the bridge. He didn't need to, where the convoy was heading was perfectly safe, but he couldn't just brush off his job or hide in his office all day.

His ship Jatz was one of 4 cruisers and 4 destroyers selected for merchantmen escort duty, taking the hyperspace Trade Routes to the Stellar Democracy and splitting off a few charges there, then heading to The Nation of the Free to transit out to the Confederacy. He stood, brushing wrinkles out of his working uniform and walked out onto the bridge.

"How are things looking Lieutenant Nami?" He asked, a very young woman sitting in the command chair, her dark skin pale and sweat beading on her forehead. Francis put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay? Do you need to go to sickbay?"

Lieutenant Nami swallowed and wiped at her forehead, Francis looked around and saw most of the bridge crew quietly doing their duty, very pointedly ignoring the person who was supposed to be holding the watch. "Captain, Sir, I'm sorry I just..."

He placed a finger on his lips. "Listen Lieutenant, I understand you are nervous and very unused to being this far from home but you cannot let that show to the crew. It reflects badly on you and if word gets around you'll lose the faith of those under you." It felt odd to kneel down next to the command seat like a parent comforting a small child, but Nami had been a brilliant student in the academy if a bit shy and reserved. He wanted to nurture that into an officer Callisas would be proud of, not one that would flop and be drummed out of the service. "Remember, while The Nation of the Free is a bit... chaotic, they know better than to attack guarded merchants or our naval vessels."

"They aren't our allies though." Nami said, distracted from her nerves now that she was focusing on something else. "And they have so few laws, a very wealthy system, what's stopping them?"

"Self preservation helps."  Francis tapped a command into the chair and a hologram of most of human space sprang up front of them. "See here?" He pointed in at the single star labeled 'Nation of the Free.' "They only have one star system and while the Trade Route does provide them with an impressive economy, we still have more people in uniform to strike back if they make trouble."

She made a noncommittal noise and nervously dry washed her hands in her lap.

"Okay, fess up Lieutenant, what's bothering you?" Francis added a touch of command to his question. She might be young, but she was an adult, she shouldn't be acting like this even if she wasn't the most confident of personality types.

Nami looked around and bent her head closer to her Captain. "Sir, I'm afraid of going down to the planet."

Francis blinked in surprise. This was not what he had expected to be bothering the Lieutenant so much especially since... "but you signed up for a day down on the surface, I approved the list since we have to stay with the merchants that are just laying over here to transfer cargo. Why did you sign up if you're scared?"

Nami looked around again and Francis hit a command button, a sound-dampening force field shimmered into place around them.

"There, now they can't hear us or read our lips."

She let out the breath she's been holding. "Sir, I've never actually been anywhere except Callisas and my home planet of Centro. Callisas is a well developed, well policed world, with low crime rates. Centro is a cold backwater with a million permanent citizens scattered around the planet. Neither of them come close to matching the sheer madness of the tales I've heard from some of the older chiefs who have been here." She shuttered. "It's scary. I'm qualified in a sidearm, and there's obviously no law against it there, but I just," she shifted uncomfortably. "I'm afraid I'll take something illegal or get into trouble and die."