The technicians wouldn't stop staring. It wasn't the brightest and best that were sent out here to compile data and operate the machinery of the outpost, the astronomers and politicians were all sitting comfortably at home reading the final reports. The folks who found themselves at Longstar didn't have any other prospects, or they wouldn't be here. To say they didn't get many visitors would be a joke, because in actuality they had never had one before Axar. Supply ships would infrequently bring the staples of life and little else, but that was the extent of actual human contact between the shift changes that happened every five years. They weren't completely cut off though, the dataweb reached most corners of the cluster, and the isolated crew had access to the latest entertainment and news, and a variety of virtual means for reaching out to civilization.
The handsome young officer with the big name was not virtual. He was larger than life and clearly agitated. He had blown into the control room like a cloud seething with lightning, looked around once, and stormed towards a woman with a vacant expression. She did a double-take when she saw his face, then stared in open awe at him.
"I'm Corporal Axar Zeskin." The woman nodded. Her mouth was hanging open."I need to make use of one of the lenses."
She had not stopped nodding. She cast a sidelong look at one of her colleagues.
"You're Axar Zeskin."
"Yes. And I need to make use of one of the worldside lenses. Now, please." Axar knew he hadn't the authority to order anyone around, but when his hackles were up, there were few people who dared argue with him. This saucer-eyed lot was no different. The woman he had approached was still nodding, lost in her shock and unable to process the situation. He held out his hand and she took it, a dazed smile. Clearly he had not been expected, but they all knew just exactly who he was. Everyone in the facility had quietly stopped working and locked on the the spectacle.
"Thank you." Axar said as he obliged the woman out of her seat and plopped down. This is where I control it?"
"Yes, sir. Input coordinates here and here, and um... this is the focus, if you turn this here it will adjust for noise, and k-keep an eye on this meter, because if you-"
He cleared his throat a little more aggressively than he'd intended, and he felt embarrassed when the scrawny woman winced noticeably. He took a breath and turned in the seat, looking up at the woman.
"I'm sorry. What's your name?"
"Oh. I'm Eggena sir. I mean... Axar." Eggena was trembling ever so slightly. She took a quick deep breath, and said, "I can't believe you're really here! I'm Team Axar all the way. Since forever."
There had been a consistent nuisance from various journalists, authors, and documentarians over the years, and the saga of the Zeskin boys was a popular topic, as was any gossip dealing with the Imperial Family. Their banishment had made the boys had made them the focus of burning scrutinization, and Griffin's antics had added fuel to the fire through the years. Each brother had a large following throughout the galaxy of die-hard supporters. Thousands of fan messages were sent to them every day, and the military had been forced to provide the trio with coded access to secure military networks in order to conduct official business with any efficiency. It was not entirely rare for Axar to encounter one of his fans on one of the unrestricted levels, but then that was one of the primary reasons he avoided those levels except when he visiting Griffin. He plastered on his best smile and stood.
"It's very nice to meet you Eggena, do you think you could help me try to find Griffin? I believe at the moment he is attempting to escape the system. There's not much time to spare."
Eggena jaw dropped and let out a strangled squeak. Someone shouted "Use the big table!" and suddenly everyone was moving, swept up in the thrill of excitement into an adjoining room. Axar hastened to follow, and entered the long rock chamber that served as the dining hall and rec room for the station just as the crowd hastily moved the books, trays, and clutter from a wide ovular table at one side of the space. A control screen illuminated at Eggena's touch, and after a succession of quick taps, a three-dimensional image of the flagship appeared above the table. The Vazanthia was not recreated in perfect detail, but captured the angles and general shape of the massive cruiser. She reached over the table and gestured with her fingers.
"Like this to zoom, this one changes the angle... or would you like me to...?"
"Yes, thanks. I'm looking for a search party. It'll be somewhere between Vazanthia and Fearthain."
"That's quite some distance. What are we looking for exactly?"
"My little brother has gone AWOL. Hopped out of the transport that was taking him to boot camp."
"I'm searching for Griffin frazzing Zeskin right now? You've got to be kidding me?! What happened?! Where did he go?!"
"That's what I'd like to know. Is there even anything in that area?"
The air above the holotable was filled with tiny specks in formation carrying out exercises and patrols, a wealth of commercial vessels varying greatly in size and design, personal and commercial yachts, and any number of satellites, data repeaters, and space ephemera. If Griffin had somehow met up with another ship, he might be long gone, but then space traffic control would have noticed a vessel stopping for a pick-up in the middle of nowhere. He searched the image for a clue.
"There's a lot of little stuff, but you can't get an image of anything in space smaller than 10 meters in space. Planetside you can see everything though."
Axar turned to Eggena, but she shrugged. Life on a rock was exceptionally boring, and if you were holding the galaxy's largest set of binoculars, you'd probably take a peek too.
"Is Griffin joining the Rebels?" A middle aged man with a dirty loose-fitting sweater asked. A murmur passed through the room, but all eyes stayed on him.
Axar was well aware of the scrutiny that his life would always be under. He had never noticed it on Xenith, but he'd been sheltered then. When your father was the man who moved worlds, people got to know your name. He had never appreciated the attention, not like his brothers had. Lozan was a natural showboat, employing his natural charisma to work for him from the first, and Griffin thrived on attention. Axar only wanted to be left alone, to pretend that he was just another one of the team. His mates had been good about it, quickly learning that he wanted to play well with others, and that he wasn't trying to steal anybody's thunder. Most of the time this illusion worked, and he was Ax, just another space marine fighting to make Mom proud. Other times, like this, everything came crashing down around him and he found himself sitting in the ruins of his own fate.
"Stop there. Go back. One more."
"Is this your search party?" The woman had been scrolling between groups of ships in the area he had indicated, and flipped back to give him a better look at what he'd glimpsed. Sure enough, it was a classic trapnet. The ships were spread out wide and cloaked, but Axar had entered his personal communications access code, and the beacons glowed bright with floating holographic text. The fighter ships formed a sphere around their target to prevent it from leaving, evenly interspersed with recon ships. The net shared tracking information, and as soon as the prey tried to run, the trap would simultaneously collapse in and shoot forward. Half of the shell darted in towards the target with force shields blasting before them, the others expanding the sphere to a position above the unfortunate victim and following in case it should break free of the snare. This trap was not yet in place. There were gaps in the formation, and batches of blips fizzled in from the edge of the holotable to fill them in. Griffin was still alive and he was about to be recaptured. Axar silently urged his brother to go quietly, then considered what might happen in real life. Any way it turned out, he was still a million miles away. He had not thought about where his own fate was leading him until he heard a flurry of activity in the control room and a short, bald man leaned in to the room.
"Egg, get back in here. We've got another incoming." With a pointed look at Axar, he scurried away, followed by his guide. Axar watched the incoming ships leisurely weave themselves into the net, then walked to the door that lead back into the control room. He paused before going through to straighten and tidy his uniform.
Whatever was coming, it was coming for him.
The handsome young officer with the big name was not virtual. He was larger than life and clearly agitated. He had blown into the control room like a cloud seething with lightning, looked around once, and stormed towards a woman with a vacant expression. She did a double-take when she saw his face, then stared in open awe at him.
"I'm Corporal Axar Zeskin." The woman nodded. Her mouth was hanging open."I need to make use of one of the lenses."
She had not stopped nodding. She cast a sidelong look at one of her colleagues.
"You're Axar Zeskin."
"Yes. And I need to make use of one of the worldside lenses. Now, please." Axar knew he hadn't the authority to order anyone around, but when his hackles were up, there were few people who dared argue with him. This saucer-eyed lot was no different. The woman he had approached was still nodding, lost in her shock and unable to process the situation. He held out his hand and she took it, a dazed smile. Clearly he had not been expected, but they all knew just exactly who he was. Everyone in the facility had quietly stopped working and locked on the the spectacle.
"Thank you." Axar said as he obliged the woman out of her seat and plopped down. This is where I control it?"
"Yes, sir. Input coordinates here and here, and um... this is the focus, if you turn this here it will adjust for noise, and k-keep an eye on this meter, because if you-"
He cleared his throat a little more aggressively than he'd intended, and he felt embarrassed when the scrawny woman winced noticeably. He took a breath and turned in the seat, looking up at the woman.
"I'm sorry. What's your name?"
"Oh. I'm Eggena sir. I mean... Axar." Eggena was trembling ever so slightly. She took a quick deep breath, and said, "I can't believe you're really here! I'm Team Axar all the way. Since forever."
There had been a consistent nuisance from various journalists, authors, and documentarians over the years, and the saga of the Zeskin boys was a popular topic, as was any gossip dealing with the Imperial Family. Their banishment had made the boys had made them the focus of burning scrutinization, and Griffin's antics had added fuel to the fire through the years. Each brother had a large following throughout the galaxy of die-hard supporters. Thousands of fan messages were sent to them every day, and the military had been forced to provide the trio with coded access to secure military networks in order to conduct official business with any efficiency. It was not entirely rare for Axar to encounter one of his fans on one of the unrestricted levels, but then that was one of the primary reasons he avoided those levels except when he visiting Griffin. He plastered on his best smile and stood.
"It's very nice to meet you Eggena, do you think you could help me try to find Griffin? I believe at the moment he is attempting to escape the system. There's not much time to spare."
Eggena jaw dropped and let out a strangled squeak. Someone shouted "Use the big table!" and suddenly everyone was moving, swept up in the thrill of excitement into an adjoining room. Axar hastened to follow, and entered the long rock chamber that served as the dining hall and rec room for the station just as the crowd hastily moved the books, trays, and clutter from a wide ovular table at one side of the space. A control screen illuminated at Eggena's touch, and after a succession of quick taps, a three-dimensional image of the flagship appeared above the table. The Vazanthia was not recreated in perfect detail, but captured the angles and general shape of the massive cruiser. She reached over the table and gestured with her fingers.
"Like this to zoom, this one changes the angle... or would you like me to...?"
"Yes, thanks. I'm looking for a search party. It'll be somewhere between Vazanthia and Fearthain."
"That's quite some distance. What are we looking for exactly?"
"My little brother has gone AWOL. Hopped out of the transport that was taking him to boot camp."
"I'm searching for Griffin frazzing Zeskin right now? You've got to be kidding me?! What happened?! Where did he go?!"
"That's what I'd like to know. Is there even anything in that area?"
The air above the holotable was filled with tiny specks in formation carrying out exercises and patrols, a wealth of commercial vessels varying greatly in size and design, personal and commercial yachts, and any number of satellites, data repeaters, and space ephemera. If Griffin had somehow met up with another ship, he might be long gone, but then space traffic control would have noticed a vessel stopping for a pick-up in the middle of nowhere. He searched the image for a clue.
"There's a lot of little stuff, but you can't get an image of anything in space smaller than 10 meters in space. Planetside you can see everything though."
Axar turned to Eggena, but she shrugged. Life on a rock was exceptionally boring, and if you were holding the galaxy's largest set of binoculars, you'd probably take a peek too.
"Is Griffin joining the Rebels?" A middle aged man with a dirty loose-fitting sweater asked. A murmur passed through the room, but all eyes stayed on him.
Axar was well aware of the scrutiny that his life would always be under. He had never noticed it on Xenith, but he'd been sheltered then. When your father was the man who moved worlds, people got to know your name. He had never appreciated the attention, not like his brothers had. Lozan was a natural showboat, employing his natural charisma to work for him from the first, and Griffin thrived on attention. Axar only wanted to be left alone, to pretend that he was just another one of the team. His mates had been good about it, quickly learning that he wanted to play well with others, and that he wasn't trying to steal anybody's thunder. Most of the time this illusion worked, and he was Ax, just another space marine fighting to make Mom proud. Other times, like this, everything came crashing down around him and he found himself sitting in the ruins of his own fate.
"Stop there. Go back. One more."
"Is this your search party?" The woman had been scrolling between groups of ships in the area he had indicated, and flipped back to give him a better look at what he'd glimpsed. Sure enough, it was a classic trapnet. The ships were spread out wide and cloaked, but Axar had entered his personal communications access code, and the beacons glowed bright with floating holographic text. The fighter ships formed a sphere around their target to prevent it from leaving, evenly interspersed with recon ships. The net shared tracking information, and as soon as the prey tried to run, the trap would simultaneously collapse in and shoot forward. Half of the shell darted in towards the target with force shields blasting before them, the others expanding the sphere to a position above the unfortunate victim and following in case it should break free of the snare. This trap was not yet in place. There were gaps in the formation, and batches of blips fizzled in from the edge of the holotable to fill them in. Griffin was still alive and he was about to be recaptured. Axar silently urged his brother to go quietly, then considered what might happen in real life. Any way it turned out, he was still a million miles away. He had not thought about where his own fate was leading him until he heard a flurry of activity in the control room and a short, bald man leaned in to the room.
"Egg, get back in here. We've got another incoming." With a pointed look at Axar, he scurried away, followed by his guide. Axar watched the incoming ships leisurely weave themselves into the net, then walked to the door that lead back into the control room. He paused before going through to straighten and tidy his uniform.
Whatever was coming, it was coming for him.
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