1 Back In Business

"What a long day..." I said as I stepped into my little apartment, and yawned. The lights automatically turned on, and the door closed and locked itself behind me. It was late at night, and I was sleepy.

I was very tired, returning from my volunteer duty as a civilian security officer. The Martian streets were full of protestors today, who demanded President Melik's resignation. The increasing authoritarianism of the new government was the cause of this recent civil unrest. Thinking of it, I didn't really enjoy the new government either; but as a member of the security forces, it was my duty to contain the aggression.

I wanted to glance at the news before I went to sleep.

'Date: MJD 217297

BREAKING NEWS - Turkey, Ukraine, Korea and Japan Leaves Federation!

- Today at UTC 14:05; the New Republic of Turkey, Federation of Ukraine and Crimea, United Korea and the State of Japan officially left the Atlantic-Pacific Federation. Turkish and Korean governments made the following joint statement:

"The new war-readiness policy of Atlantic-Pacific Federation has been enacted without a democratic voting session, and puts an unacceptable weight on the shoulders of our people and our industries. We will not allow our nations to become the slaves of a cold war; and thus, our countries will no longer support the efforts of The Federation. As of now, The Federal Army is given one month to prepare for transfer and leave our lands. Likewise, the assets of our space navies are no longer a part of the Federal Navy. We condemn The Federation, and hope the governing bodies learn from their mistakes and pay more attention to the warnings of humanitarian foundations."

North American Union, South American Confederation and New European Union condemned this statement; whereas The Alliance of Asian Nations stated it's support for the four countries. The Southern Commonwealth, Ukraine and Japan are expected to make official statements at a later date. READ MORE...'

I had fallen asleep before I knew it.

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*knock knock*

"...hmmmphh..."

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

I jumped out of my bed.

"Who is it in the middle of the night?" I sighed. I put on my regular clothes and answered the door. There were two Navy cadets in front of me.

"Eh?" I said in a sleepy voice, and barely remembered to salute them.

"Lieutenant Kagan, the Grand Admiral Rashid requested you to pack your belongings and report to the Navy headquarters by 0400 local time." one of the cadets stated.

"Understood." I said. "What is going on?" I asked just afterwards. This was unusual, in case of a 'call to arms', they could handle it just by calling me instead of sending cadets to my home.

"We don't really know sir, it would be better if you asked the admiral yourself. We've just been given order to find you." the cadet explained.

"Understood." I repeated. "I will be there."

"Have a nice flight, sir." the cadets said and left. I closed the door.

Although I was a Navy officer, it has been a few years since I've actually served in the Navy. The most recent space warfare had happened about 150 years ago, during the Martian Civil War; and since then, most Navy personnel was assigned to ground force duties instead, where they were actually needed. The modern space navies were more of a way to show off the technological and military developments of factions; it was truly a cold war.

The sentence 'Pack your belongings.' meant that I was probably going to be assigned to a warship. With the excitement of the idea; I got some clothes, personal hygiene products and everything I could fit in my trunk. The Navy provided some of these stuff itself, but they generally weren't high quality products.

I left my small apartment and jumped into my rover to drive to the nearby Intersol station. Intersol was originally a Mars based spaceship manufacturer, but they also operated some private starports around Mars. Their service was really good and their ships were comfortable; this is why it was my preferred company to fly with. The socialist Martian government had tired to nationalize the company, but the company had resisted by threatening the government with economic difficulties and the possibility of defecting to an Earth faction. So, the government had cut the chase many years ago, and Intersol remained as one of the only private enterprises on planet Mars.

I had to find a shuttle to fly me near the famous mountain Olympus Mons, where the Navy headquarters were located. Luckily, I caught a shuttle just before it's departure and bought a ticket. Since it was the middle of the night, short range flights were mostly empty.

The shuttle landed at a civilian Olympus starport. I got off the shuttle and walked the rest of the way to the headquarters.

I went to see the Grand Admiral as soon as I arrived. The Grand Admiral was the highest rank in the Navy; and at any given time, there was only a single Grand Admiral. Along with his admirals, he would command the entire Navy and also serve as a military advisor to the president of the People's Republic of Mars.

I knocked on the door, and was cleared to enter his room. We saluted each other as soon as I stepped inside. In his room, there was a civilian man sitting in silence. Grand Admiral Rashid turned to him.

"If you excuse us..." he said.

"Of course." said the man and left the room. I closed the door.

"You have asked for me, Admiral." I said.

"Yes." he said. "Great news, you are getting back to your Navy duties. We've assigned you to the light carrier/missile cruiser Lodos. I heard you actually served in that ship before."

"Yes, sir. It was my last Navy duty before I was assigned to the ground forces." I said.

"Good, good; you are familiar with the ship then. A shuttle will lift-off to bring you to your ship at 0600 HQ local. When you get there, report to Real Admiral Tachibana, who is in command of the vessel." he said.

"Understood, sir!" I said.

"But, as you can understand, it is not my job to assign lieutenants to their ships; there are more than thousands of lieutenants in the Navy. So, let's come to the actual reason I called you here..." he spoke.

"I was just about to ask." I said.

"Earlier this morning, a few of our high-ranking officers have been assasinated at their homes. Admiral Vladimir, Admiral Wang, Vice Admiral Clara and Rear Admiral Frank has been killed." he said.

"This is horrible news." I said.

"Exactly." he said, and continued. "We have no evidence, but we are positive that the Federation agents are in action; which, in turn, means that the war may be closer than we expected. All other high-rankers have been warned, and I will issue an official 'Call to Arms' today, at 0800 HQ local."

"Are we going to war?" I said. "This is insane. We won't stand a chance against The Federation!"

"It is not our duty to decide for or against the war. As Navy members, we get the orders, and we use our recources to carry them out, Lieutenant." he said. "Or, shall I call you 'Lieutenant Commander'?"

"Sir?"

"Long story short, we are desparately in need of commanding officers." he said. "Our Navy has been rotting in orbital shipyards for years, and no one knows how to handle a warship anymore. We need talented people like you to take the Navy in their hands. Rear Admiral Tachibana has personally requested your reassignment to the ship to serve as his XO. You will be his right-hand officer."

"I'm... I'm honored, sir!" I said. He approached me and shook my hand.

"Here is your Lieutenant Commander pin. It will look good on your uniform." he said. "Any questions?"

"No, sir! I will not fail you." I said.

"I hope so. You are dismissed, don't miss your flight." he said. I saluted him and got out of the room. As I was making my way to the naval spaceport, my heart was beating rapidly. I was now a lieutenant commander, and the XO of a Navy warship.

Not a bad start to the day...