Blue Nova

Chapter 6

Zoe woke to the sound of rain hitting against her bedroom window, she rubbed her eye's and stretched. She sat up and swung her legs down the side of the bed, she stood up and walked towards her window to see what this day would bring. The dawn was starting to break, she could see the glow of Big Ben's digital clock face breaking through the cold, wet London morning. She stumbled her way into the bathroom, she flicked on the light and looked at herself in the mirror. Suddenly her cat Tiddles jumped up into the counter, "Jesus Christ Tiddles, you scared me" she said as she jumped out of her skin. Tiddles sat down beside the sink and started to licked his paw. Zoe stepped out of the shower and started to dry herself, but she stopped and looked at herself in the mirror again. In the reflection she could see her uniform hanging up on her wardrobe door, her brand new captains uniform. Its royal blue fresh and new, her gold pits shining from her epaulettes. This was the day she had been waiting for since she had became captain, the four long months since the attack on the space station had been long and hard. All the studying maps and books had paid off, today she would get command of her very own ship.

She placed a small bowl of food down for Tiddles in the kitchen and left her apartment. She ran down the stairs and out onto the cold wet London street, she freshly polished jack boots shining on her feet. She pressed her watch and a holographic umbrella appeared above her head, it came from her epaulettes of her trench coat. She marched on towards the bus stop on Fleet street with a spring in her step. As she waited for the bus she watched people come and go, robot police officers patrolled down the street. A large screen on the bus stop was showing recruitment adverts for the legion academy. She smiled when a picture of her father appeared as a hero of the legion and will always be remembered. He had died 15 years ago when Zoe was 5 in a fishing trip accident in the Scottish highlands, his body was never found. Zoe missed him a lot but she knew that he would be proud of him for getting this far in the legion and following in his footsteps. A bright red double decker bus approached the bus stop, she blue light glowing from its hover thrusters. She climbed the stairs to the top deck and sat at the front seat of the bus, as she looked out the window at the rainy London street she watched as people walked by on their way to work. She was on her way to Westminster, the headquarters of the united legion of planets.

The bus came to a stop at parliament square, Zoe stepped off the bus, the towering brown  building of Westminster casted a shadow over the square. Legion flags and banners blew in the wind as the rain pelted down around them. The robot police presence had increased around the building since the attack on the space station a few months ago. They checked papers of people coming and going around the square, screens around the square still showed headlines depicted the attack and for people to be careful. Zoe took a deep breath and started to make her way to the gates of the headquarters. A robot police officer asked for her papers, she hesitated as she had never really been asked them before by a robot. As she handed them over, the robot looked her up and down as if judging her as if she and everyone was a union spy. "Enter captain, thank you for your papers" said the officer, "thank you" Zoe said shakenly. She entered the entrance hall, portraits and status cast shadows in the hall. "Zoe" shouted Major Furbar. "Uncle Walter" replied Zoe, and they hugged a warm feeling came over her as if her mum was hugging her, he was her brother after all. "The committee are waiting you upstairs, captain Conway" he said with a smile, "Your mother would be so proud of you kid". "What was she like" asked Zoe, "when I look at you kid, I see her" said Furbar, "you have her eye's, her heart and enough love to fill the galaxy". He looked into her eye's and smiled, "anyway, lets get you up to the committee" he sniffed.

They made their way up the grand staircase in front of them, a statue of Winston Churchill towered at the tower. They walked along a long corridor, Zoe looked out of the window at the wet street below. The nerves started to set in now as they approached a large set of heavy oak doors at the far end of the hall. They opened as they got closer and they entered. A large table sat the the end of the room. 5 people sat along one side of it, Director Chang sat in the middle. On his left side say rear admiral George Ashcroft, commander of the Navy, general Simon Fitzgerald, commander of the legions ground forces. On his right sat Dr. Hans Wolff, head of the legions science program and colonel Sarah Power, commander of the legion security division. Furbar and Zoe marched up to the table, their feet slammed to attention and they both saluted. "Captain Conway, thank you for joining us today" said director Chang "we are here to offer you, your very own ship and your crew". "Captain Conway", asked colonel Power, "can you think of any reason that you should not be given this posting". "No ma'am" replied Zoe, "then captain Conway, you may now leave this building and travel to the space dock on the moon to meet your ship" said rear admiral Ashcroft, "may god travel with you and keep you safe, and may you protect and serve all that the legion stands for throughout the galaxy". "Thank you sir, I wont let you down" said Zoe. She saluted and turned and marched out of the room with Furbar in tow.

Major Furbar took her to the landing pad behind the building that was built over the Thames. "Be careful kid" said Furbar, "if you need anything, just call". "I think I can handle myself sir" said Zoe with a smile. Furbar giggled and looked as her as if he could see his sister looking back at him. Zoe climbed into the shuttle waiting for her, its thrusters burst to life and started to lift off the ground. She looked out the window to see her uncle saluting back at her, she returned the salute and looked at the lowering London skyline. A feeling overcame her, like the one before she left for the station, she didn't know when or if she would ever see her beloved home city again. The shuttle blasted towards the atmosphere and very soon the shuttled blasted into space, the curve of her Earth looked as beautiful as always. "We are arriving at the space dock captain" said the pilot, Zoe looked out of the window. The magnificent size of the space dock was staggering, battle cruisers and destroyed where docked in different places. Space fighters flew around the dock, shuttles came and went from the ships to the dock itself, it was like a small city just floating in space. This dock held the biggest and most powerful ships in the legions galactic fleet. She noticed a dock with the name plate for a ship that wasn't there, it was her fathers old ship, the Oasis. "Where could it be" she thought. The Oasis had been retired from service a few years ago and was through a refit to be a legion space outpost at another part of the galaxy, but it wasn't due to be completed for a few more years. Then out of the darkness of space came her ship, it's brand new steel hull glistened in the star light. It's four nebular thrusters glinted behind it. Its rectangle nose stood proud against the dock. As she got closer its name plate came into view. She had made it to her own ship, she was about to board it for herself and take command of the Legions newest and most finest fighting ship the ULPS Blue Nova.