The Demands
[Unknown Time; Unknown Military Bar]
"Ladies, get some refreshments at the bar over there, I'll be with you as soon as I can." said Captain Jacob as he winked at the two with a smile.
The two girls just smiled and nodded, then they went to the bar.
"Captain Jacob Rym Raa? The wicked captain of the Oreon, that's your best candidate, Admiral Bird?" asked Dekkar, in a questioning tone.
"For friends, my name is Jacob and I'm the former Captain of the Oreon and the future Captain of the Hysperium" spoke Captain Jacob instead of Admiral Bird.
"It seems true that he has no manners. Is our situation so desperate that we have to resort to such people?" asked Dekkar in a depressed tone.
"Such People? If you mean one of the best Captains the Alliance Academy has ever graduated from, then I'm definitely your man!" Jacob replied as he drank some beer.
Dekkar said nothing and looked at Admiral Bird.
"Sigh. I'm desperately ok? There wasn't a single Captain who even gave me a second look when I offered to place the Anima on their ship as an adviser. I used every contact and every favor I had. But in the end everyone declined. I even lost some of my long good friends, only to end up being rejected by everyone." the admiral admitted frankly.
"Captain Jacob, is the only one who has shown even the slightest interest in the proposal and has organized this meeting to discuss the details with us." continued Admiral Bird.
"Well, what worth do the details which brought two people together have? Much more important are the reasons that keep them together, don't you agree, Admiral?" asked Captain Jacob.
"Yeah, I guess that's right. Sigh, Alright Captain, what do you want to know from us?" asked Admiral Bird as he and Dekkar looked at Captain Jacob.
"Know? I just want to know if you can meet my demands. Which will decide on whether our partnership as far as the Anima is concerned only has the remotest chance of success." Captain Jacob replied with a smile.
"Demands? What kind of demands?" asked Dekkar.
"That's easy to answer, Doctor Dekkar. You see, as the future Captain of the Hysperium, I have to sort out a few things on my own. This includes assembling the crew for my ship. But I don't want just any crew on my ship. I want the best. I want people in high positions who can think for themselves and are among the best at what they do." answered Captain John vigorously.
"You may not know, but the first mission for the Hysperium is arguably one of the longest and most secretive ever assigned. I can't give any details until I know if you will be part of this mission, but what I can tell you and what the Admiral also knows, is that this mission could be crucial on the war efforts and will be more than dangerous too. That's why I need a crew on board that has the right skills and that I can trust." Captain John explained as he looked at Dekkar while drinking something.
Meanwhile, Dekkar glanced at Admiral Bird, who just nodded.
"If this mission is as important as you described, then I don't understand why the Alliance doesn't provide you with an adequate crew. Why do you have to go about recruiting suitable members yourself?" asked Dekar while looking at Jacob.
"Hahaha, oh Doctor Dekkar, you've never been stationed on a military ship, have you? If only you knew the Alliance would never do such a thing. In a war where Warships are being annihilated like flies by the Anima, the crew chooses one of each ship's victory or death If the Alliance and the military were to divide the crew on the ships, there would be countless Captains who would not be willing to go into battle with an inferior crew, They would start a mutiny and they would accuse the military of advocating." Jacob replied.
"In the end, it always depends on the Captain of the ship, how he organizes his crew and deals with problems on it. This is exactly how the Admiral had to proceed in his time as Captain and that's exactly how I have to do it today, although my mission, which is important for the war, is also at the same time still secret. If the Alliance were to suddenly give me more privileges, that would mean more attention and who can say which ears would get wind of it." Jacob said as he took another one from his glass.
Afterwards, Dekkar just stayed silent and thought about what Jacob had said.
On the other hand, Admiral Bird only looked at Captain Jacob.
"Who do you need and how many? I'll tell you right now, if the person is above my pay grade, we won't come to an agreement." said Admiral Bird afterwards.
"Admiral, my demands are modest and, of course, perfectly reasonable." assured Captain Jacob.
"I only want a handful of people. Let's start with the first one, the head of the science station, for that I would appoint Doctor Dekkar. If Doctor Dekkar is going to come along on the trip to monitor the Anima anyway, then he should too hold an appropriate position." said Captain Jacob.
Meanwhile, Dekkar remained silent and just looked at the Captain.
"I will not stand up for you with the Admiral. I demand my peace and complete freedom in my own research with the Anima and any raw materials I need for it" Dekkar said after a few minutes.
"Of course, these demands are negotiable and I'm glad to have you on board, Doctor Dekkar." Captain Jacob replied as he nodded and looked at Dekkar.
"Alright, my second request is the Head Of Engineering, Miss Flown Peoil, a relatively young Sucrean who is fresh out of the Academy and has no experience at all. She has a bottemless talent for Technology and no one understands the design of the Hysperium's fusion core better then her, especially since she's one of the engineers building the ship." said Captain Jacob, afterwards.
"Mmm, I don't know this woman, but that should probably be possible, especially since the woman knowing that her career will be directly in charge of the entire engineroom of a ship, she will surely agree." answered Admiral Bird.
"Furthermore, I still need a proper Chief Of Security to ensure proper security aboard the ship, considering I will be having an Anima there. I therefore require the retired Captain Jack, who was also involved in capturing the Anima in the beginning, his successes speak for themselves and he has the most experience with the Anima that you want to use on my ship as an Advisor." said Captain Jacob afterwards.
"Jack? This is going to be difficult. He's got his own militia group now and won't like the thought of serving under anyone else. I know him very well and I'll tell you that unless he gets more advantages and receives some benefits in advance, he will not agree." replied Admiral Bird.
"That's no problem, just tell him my offer. Everything else is still negotiable between him and me, if he's interested he should get in touch with me." Captain Jacob answered calmly.
"Sigh. Alright, who else is there?" asked Admiral Bird as he looked at Captain Jacob.
"Oh, Admiral, don't be so hasty, there are still a handful of really special soldiers I want." Captain Jacob answered with a smile.
"Please, Captain Jacob Rym Raa, just speak frankly and directly, and simply name and section of the officers you want," said Doctor Dekkar, who was annoyed by all the fussing from the two military men.
"Hahaha. The Doctor's right, we're all busy men and have responsibilities to attend to. So I'll be brief." confessed Captain Jacob.
"I want my First Bridge Officer, Irom Harn the Zaurena. He's one of the best officers I can think of. His capailities to lead soldiers into battle is just magnificent and he would do wonders on my ship." explained Jacob.
"What? You want Harn to be your First Officer? He is being offered the opportunity to become a Captain himself, and with his extraordinary experience fighting the Anima on Praom 4, he's a war hero. Why would anyone like that be interested in you or in your mission?" asked Admiral Bird.
"That's easy, Zaurena have a tremendous hatred for the Anima. With an Anima on my ship, it will draw him like gnats to light. He will accept the position I offer and try to eliminate the Anima." replied the Captain.
"What!? That's out of the question. Our trade is based on using the Anima on your ship as an Advisor against the Anima, not killing it!" Dekkar replied as he looked at Captain Jacob.
"No one gets killed here. I won't let that happen, but if the Zaurena, who is seen as a hero to his people and the entire Alliance, can contain his hatred for the Anima on his own ship, then there could be great benefits to it. Changing the thinking of the Alliance and its residents to think differently about the Anima. Not as Monsters, but also as captives. More former Anima as advisors would then no longer be something of the impossible, but one with proof and future potential." explained Captain Jacob.
"Let alone he can channel his years of hatred towards the Anima and his anger that the Zaurena are known for." Dekkar replied with a cynical look.
Captain Jacob just smiled as he continued to drink his beer.
"Next on the list is Navigator Harona Kislea, she is a relatively unknown officer who I have had the pleasure of serving with in the past. She is perfect as a Navigator and with her in the boat you will never get lost." Jacob said with a smile as he looked back at the Admiral who just nodded.
"After that I want Communications Officer Oad Barbak and Helmsman Dexter Mullins." said the Captain afterwards.
The Admiral didn't react at first and just looked at the Captain.
"Oad Barbak, the officer who serves on my Flagship? You want him for your ship?" asked the Admiral.
"Him and Dexter Mullins, who is Second Mate also serving on your ship," Captain Jacob replied.
"You're going too far Captain. I can't just give you some of my best officers. How am I supposed to get replacements for them and why should they choose to serve you?" asked Admiral Bird.
"Admiral, I'm quite frank with you. I don't know. But what I do know is that I'm your only hope of supporting this little project of yours. So do all my requests, or choose not to, and say bye bye to your little Anima." the Captain replied as he stood up.
"I will be writing to you in a few days regarding any additional soldiers I may request. The ship is currently under construction and will not be operational for another two months, after which we will begin our mission immediately. That should be more than enough time to complete my demands, Admiral Bird." Captain Jacob replied as he paused.
"I wish you every success, Admiral, Doctor, we'll see each other on the day of our departure and Doctor don't forget to take the Anima with you. I'll be happy to make its acquaintance." said Captain Jacob as he nodded to both of them and then went to the bar where his two companions were waiting.
...
"An unconventional and cunning man. That we let a guy like that blackmail us. But in the end, although I hate to admit it, he's right. We need his support." said Dekkar as he looked at Admiral Bird.
"Sigh. It is precisely this cunning and unconventional but also risky acting that has brought him, in the four years he has served as a Warship Captain, his great list of achievements. He is smart and knows what he wants. That's also one of the main reasons why he was given control of the Hysperium and at the same time such a difficult secret and long mission," praised Admiral Bird.
"At the same time, I fear his own ambitions. I'm afraid the good Captain hasn't been really honest about his true intentions so far. But in the end, as you said, he's right, we have no choice but to accept his demands." added Admiral Bird.
"Sigh." the Admiral sighed
"By the way. Doctor Dekkar, I heard that you opened fire on the Commander Unit today? Why did you do that?" asked the Admiral.
"It was to confirm that there was a reason for the Unit to cooperate with us. It wants to live and as long as it follow our instructions, it will live. I wanted to make that clear by shooting at it. It dodged the shot that was aimed at her head, confirming my theory." explained Dekkar cold.
"Mhm... But what if she hadn't dodged or been too slow, then she would be dead now and our sacrifices so far would be worthless!" replied the Admiral.
"That's not what happened and it wouldn't have happened." replied Dekkar coldly.
"Sigh," the Admiral sighed as he shook his head at Dekkar's reply.