Chapter - 4: Rigel

Orion Prime,

It had been one month since the graduation ceremony, Zephyr's application for becoming a naval officer had been finalised recently, making him the youngest captain in Osean history, although he seemed to be quite happy about the occasion his mother expressed her disapproval of him joining the navy leading to multiple fights over the topic.

Today was the day Zephyr was supposed to be appointed by the Naval Command to finally command a ship although it was supposed to be a happy occasion he felt terrible after his squabble with his mother ended in her refusing to speak to him at all until he apologized to her for submitting his application to the agency without her consent.

He did feel that he might have been too hasty but still thought that he didn't make the wrong decision in the end, not wanting to waste any more time he decided it would be best if he left for the spaceport now.

...

The Central Spaceport on Orion was situated at the centre of the capital connecting the docks to the city with a massive space elevator allowing for rapid transit between the city and the ships, sadly the military docks were separated from the standard spaceport and required interplanetary transportation necessitating Zephyr to travel to the terrestrial Launch Station which was considerably slower and far less comfortable.

"God it's terrible!" Zephyr thought to himself as he boarded the launch shuttle wearing a bulky spacesuit feeling every little droplet of sweat on his skin rubbing into the suit and his breath making the visor foggy, although he understood it was necessary, it still felt quite uncomfortable.

The shuttle soon launched at tremendous speeds, allowing them to easily exit the gravity well within minutes and slowly adjust themselves to move towards the military construction yard near the planet's northern pole.

While travelling to the station Zephyr made up his mind and called his mother to apologize to her

"Hello Mom!" he said nervously, fearing she would end the call immediately.

"Yes, what is it Zephyr?"

"Nothing much I'm currently on my way to the spaceport for the final initiation so, I wanted to apologize for my behaviour"

"Zephyr I don't want your apology, what I truly want is that you to understand how I feel when you registered for the Navy without ever informing me!"

Luna was afraid of losing Zephyr to war, she had already lost her brother during the Morningstar Revolution, and she did not want her son to be anywhere near war but despite all her efforts Zephyr had simply ignored her will and registered for the navy, the most risk-prone branch of them all.

"Zephyr just promise me one thing, please don't leave me alone!" she said nearly in tears.

"I promise Mother I will never leave you alone, I know that I might not have chosen the safest path but deep in my heart I genuinely feel that this is my calling"

"Alright then best of luck on your first mission, may the stars guide your spirit!"

"Thank you Mom I'll see you soon"

Zephyr felt reassured after clearing up the misunderstanding with his mother with his mind clearer than ever he felt that he could accomplish anything.

Soon the ship arrived at the Polar Command and docked itself at the side of the station which served as the Osean Naval Headquarters.

Zephyr walked out into the bay and immediately began taking off his suit wanting to get out of it as soon as possible, the moment he opened his helmet he could breathe the stale air within the station which still felt a lot better than the suit

Soon an officer guided him towards the Vice Admiral's Chambers and left

Zephyr nervously knocked on the door "Knock! Knock! Knock!"

"Yes please enter!"

Entering the chamber Zephyr saw a well-built man in his late 50s with a short beard sitting behind a large wooden desk.

"Captain Zephyr Novastride reporting for duty Sir!" he said, saluting the vice admiral.

"Welcome, today will be your first assignment as a captain, correct?"

"Yes, Sir this is my first mission"

"Alright then here's your mission parameters" the vice admiral states while giving the mission file to Zephyr.

"Your mission will be to escort Ambassador Luna to aurous while ferrying Confidential cargo, Clear!"

"Yes Sir"

"Alright then report to the construction bay 3 "

Zephyr salutes the vice admiral again and walks out of the room in search of a guide who could lead him towards the construction bays.

Suddenly he heard a familiar dreadful voice approaching him " Zephyrrrr!"

He turns around to see Ayame running towards him at full sprint and quickly moves out of the way leading to her running into a wall.

"Owww! Zephyr why did you move out of the way?"

Ayame who hadn't recovered from the hit slowly stood up and whined

Zephyr looks at her and sighs "Ayame, why are you here?"

"Well guess what I got assigned together with you"

It took a second for Zephyr to truly process what Ayame had insinuated and his face immediately contorted into a scowl.

At a loss for words, he simply walked away from her.

"Zephyr wait Zephyrrrr!"

Ayame kept shouting at him but noticing that Zephyr was ignoring her she ended up following him.

...

Construction Bay,

The shipyard bustled with activity as workers went about their tasks, loud noises could be heard from the hundreds of Fabricators working on the various hulls while the chief engineer shouted out various orders for the workers to follow.

Ayame who had never seen the Orion Defense fleet docked at the station was awed by the Galactica, a massive battlecruiser which had fought in the morningstar Revolution it was commanded by Admiral Valentina who was hailed as the protector of Orion, due to her contributions during the revolution.

"Zephyr Admiral Valentina's ship is here, let's go take a look! !" she says, grabbing Zephyr's hand and dragging him towards the ship.

"Ayame wait for a second we're not supposed to go near Capital ships without permission"

Zephyr was also curious about the ship's presence but felt that they shouldn't disobey orders.

"Chill out nothing will happen we'll just take a peek and leave"

Within moments Ayame bumps into someone and staggers backwards.

"Oh, my who do we have here?" a blonde buxom lady with a thick Russian accent remarked looking towards Ayame and Zephyr.

Realizing who she bumped into, Ayame immediately salutes her.

"Forgive us fleet Admiral Valentina "

Valentina looks at the pair with great interest, especially at Zephyr who was trying to escape the situation.

"Boy you are the son of Vance are you not?" she says pointing towards Zephyr.

"Yes Mam Vance Novastride is my father"

Zephyr felt extremely intimidated by Valentina's omniscient gaze, silently evaluating his flaws.

"Don't be so agitated Mishka, I'm not your enemy!"

Valentina started laughing and ruffled his hair

"Well then follow me I'll take you to Vance"

The pair followed her towards the interior of the shipyard, finally stopping near the bridge of the Galactica where a tall silver-haired man was controlling drones to modify the ship's interior.

Valentina, noticing his absent-mindedness, shouted at him"Vance, your son's here!"

The shout startled the old man causing him to nearly fall off the side of the ship but he managed to regain his footing thanks to his drones.

"Admiral please refrain from shouting when I'm working on the ship"

"Well your boy's here so excuse me for shocking you"

Vance glances at Zephyr and Ayame with a warm expression and gets down from the bridge

"So you finally made it here!" he says with a hint of proudness in his voice as he gets down to hug him.

Noticing Ayame on the side he gestured for her to join in too and pulled both of them into a bear hug.

"So both of you are here for the ship right?"

Both of them nod with Ayame getting visibly excited about their ship.

"Alright then follow me!"Vance says, starting to walk towards the dimly lit end of the shipyard.

The group makes their way into the third construction bay as it lights up, finally laying their eyes on a Majestic Silver Vessel with the letter's "RIGEL" printed onto the lower starboard.

Rigel was an Assault Carrier co-developed by the OSSDF-UKSA joint Aeronautics Initiative for rapid insertion tactics using alcubierre hopping to achieve in-system jumps.

Zephyr and Ayame were astounded by the vessel's sheer size, although it was supposed to be a cruiser class, the vessel was much wider than most of its brethren due to the peculiar armament at the centre of the ship.

Vance moved towards the midsection of the ship followed closely by Zephyr and pointed towards the massive chamber at the centre and started explaining

"This is the culmination of our cooperation with the British, the 'Casaba Howitzer', It uses a "shaped charge" that directs the explosive force of the nuclear detonation and projects the energy of the explosion into the cone-shaped beam.

The result is a highly focused, high-velocity burst of energy which can tear through even nano-regenerating titanium -A armour of the American supercarriers."

Ayame eyes lit up with excitement as she looked at the ship with great interest.

"Uncle Vance, can we take a closer look at the Casaba Howitzer? I've read about it in some of my studies, but I've never seen one up close before."

Vance nodded with a smile. "Of course, Ayame. We can take a closer look at the Casaba Howitzer and I'll explain more about how it works."

Zephyr chimed in, "And while we're at it, can we check out the rest of the ship?

Vance nodded and led the group inside the ship, while walking Zephyr pulled Ayame to his side and asked her finally "What do you think of the Rigel?"

Ayame smiled eagerly "It's Amazing, I've never seen anything like it before even the American flagship the Enterprise didn't seem this out of the world"

Zephyr grinned. "I know the feeling. It's always exciting to see advanced technology in action."

While the two were conversing happily, the group soon reached the drive room of the ship

Vance gestured for them to come closer towards the drive chamber containing the twin alcubierre hyperlink drive

"This drive is the result of some of the brightest minds of Osea coming together to provide us with an edge over the Superpowers, it's the only drive in the galaxy which can perform intrasystem jumps, allowing us to quickly manoeuvre in real space!"

Valentina stopped Vance from elaborating any further stating "Let's not get into the nitty-gritty of the ship's Specifications and bore them to death."

Vance nodded with a chuckle. "You're right, Valentina. I sometimes get carried away with the technical details."

He then turned to Zephyr and Ayame. "But I hope you can appreciate the significance of what we have here.

The Rigel alongside these technological achievements is a testament to what we have achieved after the bloody aftermath of the Revolution."

Ayame and Zephyr saluted them "Yes we understand, And we're proud to be a part of this new era for Osea."

Vance smiled at the children. "Yes, it's a testament to the resilience of humanity. Even after the darkest moments, we can come together and build something better."

Valentina added, "And the Rigel is just the beginning. We have more joint initiatives in the works, and I do not doubt that they will lead to even greater advancements and discoveries."

As they continued their tour of the Rigel, the group couldn't help but feel a sense of hope and optimism for the future.

...

A Few Hours Later,

Zephyr had finally finished touring the ship, both his father and Admiral Valentina had left for their respective posts, and it was finally time for him to assume command of the Rigel.

He stood on the bridge of his new warship, his hand resting on the command console as he looked out at the vast expanse of space before him. This was his first time taking control of the ship, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and nervousness as he prepared to give the order to set sail.

He took a deep breath and spoke into the intercom, addressing the crew of the ship. "This is Captain Novastride. I want to welcome all of you aboard the OSS Rigel. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for all of us, and I am honoured to be leading this mission."

He paused for a moment, taking in the sight of the crew bustling around him as they prepared the ship for departure. "I know that some of you may be nervous or uncertain about me because of my age, but I want you to know that I have every bit of confidence in your abilities. So instead of believing in me believe in your skills, Together, we will navigate the challenges ahead and emerge victorious."

His father and Valentina were consecutively clapping and cheering him on alongside the rest of the staff for his maiden flight.

He turned to his first officer, Ayame his longtime childhood friend and a fellow graduate of the academy. "Lieutenant, take us out of the dock and prepare for the jump."

Ayame nodded and relayed the orders to the helm, and the ship began to move out of the dock, its plasma thrusters glowing brightly as they lit up to life in a ghostly blue firing up as they glided into space. Zephyr watched as the stars streaked past the viewports, a feeling of exhilaration building inside him.

As the ship prepared for the jump, he gave the order to engage the twin drive. The ship shook as space warped around it, and Zephyr felt a rush of adrenaline as he realized that he was now in control of one of the most advanced warships in the galaxy.

For the first time, he truly felt like a captain, a leader of men and women who had put their trust in him. And as the ship hurtled through space towards its destination, he knew that he was ready for whatever challenges lay ahead.

As the ship became a small blip in the vastness of space, Vance's smile widened watching the Rigel disappear into the distance, his heart swelled with pride and a touch of sadness as he looked in its direction, smiling.

His eyes watered seeing his child disappear into the stars, leaving him behind.

Vance had always known that his child was destined for great things, but seeing him take his first steps into the stars was a bittersweet moment.

As the tears welled up in his eyes, he couldn't help but reflect on the years of hard work and sacrifice that had led up to this moment. From the early days of the Independence Movements to the bloody aftermath of the revolution, he had seen it all and had done everything in his power to make this moment possible.

As he wiped away his tears and turned to leave the observation deck, Vance knew that his child was in good hands.

The crew of the Rigel was a highly skilled and dedicated team with Ayame as his First Officer, always there to support him in times of hardship and distress, he had every bit of confidence that they would navigate the challenges ahead and emerge victorious.

With a final glance back at the stars, Vance finally left the observation deck with a pained expression but truly felt joyful for Zephyr.

...

A Week Later,

OSS Rigel,

Captain's Quarters,

Zephyr was sitting on his chair as he contemplated the mission, they had been tasked to escort his mother from Earth to Aourus for an undisclosed task which he presumed had something to do with the Riders according to his conversation with his mother alongside the various empty hangar bays on the Rigel.

Though he was thoroughly disappointed by the lack of action in the week following the launch, he knew it was for the best but Zephyr felt bored out of his mind when suddenly a call came from the Bridge.

"Captain, this is the Bridge. First Officer Ayame is requesting your presence on the bridge."

"Understood I'll be there shortly!"

Zephyr sat up straight in his chair, feeling a sense of excitement and anticipation. Finally, some action.

He soon walked to the ship's lift and pressed the button for the bridge.

While waiting he pondered about what could have possibly occurred which might require his explicit presence on the bridge with his thoughts ranging from pirate attacks to a full-on alien invasion of human space.

The door opened to the bridge, with people scurrying about from one station to another to analyse the current situation.

Suddenly he heard Ayame's Voice "Captain we've detected a distress call from a nearby system, it seems to be a civilian Corvette affiliated with the Russian Federation."

Zephyr was intrigued by the presence of a civilian ship in the Outer Rings since the areas outside known colonial Systems or independent countries were widely regarded as No Man's Land due to lack of infrastructure and rampant piracy, generally, only large commercial fleets ever traversed the zones to reach their destinations ever so slightly faster.

"Lieutenant trace the signals and change our heading towards the system, the corvette might have run into an undiscovered nebulous magnetosphere"

Lieutenant Ayame nodded and quickly relayed the order to the helm. The ship's engines hummed to life as they changed course towards the distress signal.

Zephyr leaned forward in his chair, his mind racing with possibilities. He knew that the Outer Rings were a dangerous place, but he also knew that it was their duty to help anyone in need.

...

Soon Rigel warped into the unknown system a few thousand kilometres away from the signal.

"Keep a close eye on our scanners," he said, addressing the crew. "I don't want any surprises. And prepare a team to board the Corvette if necessary."

As the ship warped into the system, there were no environmental hazards but instead, a single corvette floated in darkness without any sign of life.

Zephyr felt a shiver run down his spine as the OSS Rigel approached the abandoned Corvette. He had expected to find survivors or some indication of what had happened, but the silence was deafening.

"Scan the Corvette for any signs of life," he ordered.

The ship's sensors hummed to life as they began scanning the abandoned vessel. But there was nothing. No life signs, no indication of what had happened.

Zephyr's mind raced with possibilities. Had the crew abandoned the ship? Were they attacked by pirates or some other hostile force? He knew that they had to investigate further, but he also knew that it was dangerous to send his crew into the unknown.

"Prepare a team to board the Corvette," he said. "But be careful. We don't know what we're dealing with."

The boarding team prepared to depart, their weapons at the ready as they approached the abandoned ship. Zephyr watched nervously from the bridge, his heart racing as he waited for any indication of what they might find.

After what felt like an eternity, the boarding team returned to the Rigel with a grim report. The Corvette had been attacked by a group of pirates, and the crew had been taken, hostage.

The boarding crew had brought back a recording from the ship, which Zephyr ordered to be played on the bridge.

"Hey, little military bitches if you want these fella's safe and sound bring us 100 million credits and leave them near the rock which you pricks call 'HX-005'"

Zephyr's fists clenched as he listened to the pirate's message. He couldn't believe that they would stoop so low as to take hostages and demand ransom. It was clear that they were dealing with a group of ruthless vagrants.

But Zephyr was determined to bring them to justice. He turned to his crew, his eyes blazing with determination.

"We're not going to let them get away with this," he said. "Prepare the ship for battle. We're going to take these pirates down and rescue those hostages."

He turned towards Ayame and spoke with a grin on his face "Lieutenant Ready the Howitzer, I want a surprise for those filthy pirates"

Ayame nodded and immediately ordered the preparation of the gun to give the scumbags a nasty gift.

Luckily enough they had managed to extract the approximate location of the pirate base from the Corvette's databases pointing them towards the system's seventh planet a supermassive gas giant.

But even after finding out that the station was near the gas giant, they were unable to pinpoint it using the Rigel's sensory array, which Ayame blamed upon the pirates hiding it within the hydrogen clouds.

Zephyr and Ayame stood side by side on the bridge of the Rigel, watching as the gas giant loomed closer. They knew that they were heading into dangerous territory, but they were determined to take down the pirate base and put an end to their nefarious activities.

As soon as they crossed the sixth planet alarms blared throughout the ship as the sensors picked up ships suddenly appearing from behind asteroids encircling their vessel.

Zephyr was flabbergasted by the appearance of the ships behind the Rigel, he had never fathomed a scenario in which the Rigel's sensory suite could miss anything with it being considered a scientific instrument due to its sheer precision, but these pirates who should have been a minor annoyance at best had managed to outmanoeuvre them.

"Sir Incoming Transmission from the pirate ships" a bridge officer reported.

Zephyr's heart sank as he heard the news. He knew that they were in trouble, surrounded by the pirates and their ships.

"Put it through," he said, his voice tense.

The pirate leader appeared on the screen, her face twisted into a sneer.

"Well, well, well," he said. "Looks like we've got ourselves a little boy. Seems like the Osean's put anyone in charge of their ships nowadays."

Zephyr was enraged he wasn't going to let these scumbags get the better of him.

"You won't get away with this," he said, his voice steady.

The pirate leader laughed her expression mocking him with every word. "We'll see about that. You're surrounded, Kiddo. Surrender now and we might let you live."

Zephyr knew that surrender was not an option. He had to protect his ship and his crew, no matter the cost.

"Prepare for battle," he ordered. "We're not going down without a fight."

Within seconds the Cruiser became battle ready as they charged up their UV lasers and shot at the poorly armed Pirate Frigate melting off what little armour it had and exposing the reactor inside the ship which immediately imploded due to pressure.

"Flank speed forward!" shouted Zephyr as they broke through the encirclement and rushed towards the pirate base.

The pirate ships soon gave chase firing their woefully outdated kinetic guns at the Rigel.

Ayame looked at the tactical screen and informed "Incoming Fire from 6 o clock!"

Zephyr with a smirk finally took out his hidden card and commanded " Activate Alcubierre Resonance"

The ship's warp drive soon turned on with loud shrieks and began distorting space around the ship blocking any kind of munition from ever contacting the ship's armour.

The pirates were astonished as every single of their shots simply bounced off the ship as if some kind of field prevented them from even scratching the ship.

The pirate leader was seething with anger, although she had perfectly ambushed the Osean warship they had managed to break through and were now heading towards their headquarters.

She soon ordered all of her remaining ships to fall back and protect the space station.

"I would rather die before letting those Osean runts touch the station!" she thought as she looked towards the ship.

Zephyr watched as the pirate ships fell behind, their weapons unable to penetrate the Rigel's Resonance Bubble. He knew that they had managed to escape the ambush, but he also knew that they couldn't let their guard down.

"Maintain course and speed," he ordered. "We need to make it to our destination."

The crew nodded, their eyes fixed on the tactical screen as they monitored the situation.

As they approached the pirate headquarters, Zephyr felt a sense of nervousness as it was his first time fighting an entire fleet by himself even if they were pirates.

"Prepare for battle," he ordered. "We're going in, use the hydrogen gases to mask our presence."

The crew sprang into action, their weapons at the ready as they prepared to engage the station. Zephyr watched as they approached the pirate station, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger.

And then, they appeared. A group of pirate cruisers led by a battered battleship emerged from the shadows, their weapons trained on the Rigel.

Zephyr felt his heart racing as he gave the order to engage. The ship's arsenal fired, the sound of the cannons and missiles echoing through the void of space as they targeted the pirate vessels.

Zephyr was disgusted to look at the massive 3 km monstrosity that was the pirate battleship, it had random pieces of metal welded together roughly on the body of the ship with rust caked on top of what was left of its original body giving it very Frankenstein like look.

"Launch swarmers overwhelm that decrepit ship's CIWS and follow up with a barrage from our autocannons" he ordered with a grim determination.

The crew quickly sprang into action, launching a swarm of small missiles to overwhelm the pirate battleship's point defences. As soon as the missiles weaved through layers upon layers of outdated flak batteries and destroyed them, the Rigel's 120 cm autocannons opened fire, their powerful rounds piercing through the ship's armour like a hot knife through butter.

The battleship tried retaliating by shooting its spinally mounted MAC but before it could charge up its first shot its reactor exploded in bright yellow crippling the pirate fleet's formation and disabling nearby warships with an EMP.

Zephyr watched with satisfaction as the pirate ships lost their flagship and scattered in fear being slowly picked out by the Rigel's relentless assault.

Ayame gleefully walked close to Zephyrs with a grin. "Well done, Zephyr! That was quite a fight."

Zephyr smiled back at her, feeling a sense of pride in his crew and their accomplishments. "Thank you, Ayame. I couldn't have done it without you and the rest of the crew."

"Now onto our real objective," he said directing the ship to get ready to board the pirate station.

...

Inside the station,

She was running like anything, those little runts had ruined everything, and now her sister with the rest of the refugees from fēi mǎ zuò had nowhere to run to, she dreaded their fate if the Chinese authorities ever caught hold of them.

"Those little bitches from that accursed country fucked up everything I had built over the years just for some shitty slavers whom we had captured."

She finally reached the command room of the station and ordered"Open a channel to the Osean ship."

The communications officer quickly complied, opening a channel to the Rigel. The woman took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions as she spoke.

"This is Zhi Wu the commander of the pirate station. I wish to speak with the captain of the Osean ship."

Zephyr raised an eyebrow, surprised to hear from the commander of the pirate station. He nodded to Ayame, who opened a channel to the station.

"This is Captain Zephyr of the OSS Rigel. What do you want?" he asked his voice ice cold.

Zhi Wu hesitated but took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "I...I want to negotiate.

Zephyr's surprise was evident on his face as he looked at Zhi Wu. She was much younger than he had expected, and her appearance was not exactly what he had imagined a pirate commander to look like.

Where he had expected an old, rough and hardened pirate, he found himself face to face with a petite black-haired Asian woman, no older than himself.

She looked up at him with a mix of fear and defiance in her eyes. "I know we attacked your ship and the civilian Corvette. But that Corvette was capturing refugees and sending them back to the Chinese and we assumed you were part of their entourage," she said, her voice low with a hint of anger.

"Please, Captain, I beg of you to spare the refugees at the very least."

Zephyr's expression softened slightly as he listened to Zhi Wu's plea. He knew that the situation was complicated, but he couldn't simply ignore the fact that the pirates had attacked his ship and the civilian Corvette.

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke. "I understand your concerns, Commander. But I can't simply overlook the fact that you and your crew assaulted an official vessel of the Russian Federation, no matter its purpose.

However, I'm willing to consider your offer to negotiate. What do you propose?"

Zhi Wu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his reply, she had made up her mind to commit a suicide attack if he rejected her plea.

She quickly composed herself, knowing this was her only shot at saving her crew and the refugees under her care. "I propose that we surrender and turn ourselves over to your authorities. In exchange, you spare the lives of my crew and let the refugees go free."

Zephyr considered her proposal, his eyes scanning the pirate station for any signs of resistance. He knew that the situation was delicate with Osea's reputation at stake if he messed up, but he also knew that he couldn't simply let the pirates go free.

After what seemed like forever he came to a decision and spoke "I accept your proposal, Zhi Wu, you are to be handed over to relevant authorities and we will be confiscating and or destroying any weaponry or contraband found on the station."

Zhi Wu nodded, her expression solemn knowing that the only end for her path was execution. "I understand, Captain. We will cooperate fully with you."

Zephyr nodded in return, relieved that the conflict ended without the need for further bloodshed.

He soon ordered his crew to prepare to board the station and escort Zhi Wu and her lackeys onto the brig of the Rigel.

...

TBC