It was a bad day to be stuck on an asteroid at the edge of the star system, and Axar's mood had not improved upon hearing about Griffin. The projection of Axar's old pal Murg flickered and froze momentarily. The outpost was nearly was far away as the holographic data would travel before degrading too much to be worth it. Murg shrugged his oversize shoulders and looked sympathetic. The young man was Cantonius, and had a vestigial ridge that rose across his shoulders and peaked behind his head. Once Murg had fully matured, it would grow ridges and harden like armor. The remnant of his ancestors' exoskeleton made some of his movements look awkward and somewhat comical to humans, but nothing was funny today.
"Sorry Ax, that's all I know. My cousin Tom was flying the shuttle and told me as soon as he got the chance. You know Griff, I'm sure he just decided he'd rather take a walk than join the army today. He'll pop up in another airlock before long, you'll see."
"Yeah... Thanks Murg."
"Hang in there buddy, I'll call again if I hear anything else, ok?"
"Send out a repeater, I don't know where I'll be. You're a good monster, Murg. Zeskin Out."
Axar Zeskin smashed his fist into a wall panel, and a sound like distant thunder filled the small empty ship. Why hadn't he fought harder to be there today? He didn't even know why he'd been sent out here to the edge. Maybe someone had wanted this kind of thing to happen. It's not like Griffin had a lot of friends in the service. It seemed like his little brother was close to some of the civvies that lived aboard Vazanthia, but Axar admitted to himself that he wasn't really around enough to know for sure. He had meant to be there today though. He'd been there for all the other birthdays, even after Mom. This one was the big one. Time was up for Griffin's rebellious youth. It was going to be hard, but it was for the best in the end. Axar knew if Griffin could see what it was like to be part of a family again, to belong to something, that he'd come around. Now he wasn't sure he'd ever see him again.
His guilt turned to anger without him noticing. Why had they sent him away, all alone and with no mission parameters? Never one to waste time, Axar punched in a private channel to central command and stepped back into the circle on the floor. Anything inside the circle would be holographically projected to the other end of the channel, and he'd see whomever was inside the circle on the other side. A faintly glowing cylinder of blue light rose before him while he waited for the call to go through. There was just enough room behind the two pairs of seats in the cockpit to house the holocommunicator. The ship was a cargo shuttle was barely 10 meters long, used to move good things that came in small packages. It was fast, and could go a long long way, but it had minimal defenses, designed to work as part of a caravan rather than defend itself entirely. He was positioned on a particularly large asteroid that had passed too close to the local star, Xenith, and been captured by its gravity many eons ago. Now it hung at the edge of the planetary system, slowly traveling in a great orbit that encompassed the entire planetary system. There was the Capitol, the Garden World Xanthia, that his father was still terraforming, much to the dismay of its residents; a large jungle moon orbited it, owned by the RGF for training it's millions of soldiers; two gas giants with extensive mining operations and accompanying moon colonies; 3 more smaller planets on the outskirts of the system; and several military stations scattered throughout it all in an immense network that protected the capitol world of Lord Zeskin's Empire; Finally there was Longstar Deep Observation Outpost, as desolate and distant a location as has ever been known. Two monitoring platforms had been built into the chunk of ice and stone, one to look out across the infinite abyss, and one to keep an eye on things happening at home. He had not been instructed to make use of either telescope, however. He had only been told to post here and stay put.
"Sorry Ax, that's all I know. My cousin Tom was flying the shuttle and told me as soon as he got the chance. You know Griff, I'm sure he just decided he'd rather take a walk than join the army today. He'll pop up in another airlock before long, you'll see."
"Yeah... Thanks Murg."
"Hang in there buddy, I'll call again if I hear anything else, ok?"
"Send out a repeater, I don't know where I'll be. You're a good monster, Murg. Zeskin Out."
Axar Zeskin smashed his fist into a wall panel, and a sound like distant thunder filled the small empty ship. Why hadn't he fought harder to be there today? He didn't even know why he'd been sent out here to the edge. Maybe someone had wanted this kind of thing to happen. It's not like Griffin had a lot of friends in the service. It seemed like his little brother was close to some of the civvies that lived aboard Vazanthia, but Axar admitted to himself that he wasn't really around enough to know for sure. He had meant to be there today though. He'd been there for all the other birthdays, even after Mom. This one was the big one. Time was up for Griffin's rebellious youth. It was going to be hard, but it was for the best in the end. Axar knew if Griffin could see what it was like to be part of a family again, to belong to something, that he'd come around. Now he wasn't sure he'd ever see him again.
His guilt turned to anger without him noticing. Why had they sent him away, all alone and with no mission parameters? Never one to waste time, Axar punched in a private channel to central command and stepped back into the circle on the floor. Anything inside the circle would be holographically projected to the other end of the channel, and he'd see whomever was inside the circle on the other side. A faintly glowing cylinder of blue light rose before him while he waited for the call to go through. There was just enough room behind the two pairs of seats in the cockpit to house the holocommunicator. The ship was a cargo shuttle was barely 10 meters long, used to move good things that came in small packages. It was fast, and could go a long long way, but it had minimal defenses, designed to work as part of a caravan rather than defend itself entirely. He was positioned on a particularly large asteroid that had passed too close to the local star, Xenith, and been captured by its gravity many eons ago. Now it hung at the edge of the planetary system, slowly traveling in a great orbit that encompassed the entire planetary system. There was the Capitol, the Garden World Xanthia, that his father was still terraforming, much to the dismay of its residents; a large jungle moon orbited it, owned by the RGF for training it's millions of soldiers; two gas giants with extensive mining operations and accompanying moon colonies; 3 more smaller planets on the outskirts of the system; and several military stations scattered throughout it all in an immense network that protected the capitol world of Lord Zeskin's Empire; Finally there was Longstar Deep Observation Outpost, as desolate and distant a location as has ever been known. Two monitoring platforms had been built into the chunk of ice and stone, one to look out across the infinite abyss, and one to keep an eye on things happening at home. He had not been instructed to make use of either telescope, however. He had only been told to post here and stay put.
A high pitched beep broke the quiet, and the blue light fizzled into the shape of an middle aged man with grey at his temples, and an expectant look on his face. The new admiral's bars looked good on him, and his uniform was impeccable. Burke looked every bit the new poster boy for RGF Command. Normally, he might have commented on his old friend's new position, but the look on the admiral's face was clear. He was taking his job very seriously.
"Corporal Zeskin. I presume you're calling about your brother?"
"Permission to speak freely sir?"
"Denied, Corporal. What's done is done."
Axar's tenuous hold on his emotions burst loose. It was all he could do to keep from lunging out of the circle on the floor to strangle the blue glowing image of his mentor.
"Dammit, Burke! How can you say that to me?!, I-"
"Corporal! Remember who you're talking to. We're looking for him, obviously. Lozan knows."
"Lozan is stuck where he is, he can't do anything. Let me come back, I'll-"
"You're stuck where you are too. As you have been told before, your mission is vital. Lozan has assigned someone in his command to head up the search for Griffin. Sit tight, Axar. Don't do anything foolish."
"I won't abandon my post, Admiral. I just want you to help me figure out what is happening. Why am I out here sitting on a rock in the dark? I could have helped him. It could have gone down differently."
The Admiral's hologram rubbed his forehead in a gesture that Axar knew to mean the old man was holding his game face on. Jonas Burke had been his instructor in military strategy soon after Axar's arrival. He had seen something of himself in the boy, and had taken Axar under his wing. He had been a quiet supporter of Axar's military career, never coaxing or prodding but giving him the advantage of a life's worth of military experience. Admiral Burke had been Captain Burke then, but the coincidence of Rear-Admiral Trusk's untimely death and Burke's daring accomplishment of a dangerous and well-publicized mission. The old man raised his head and locked gazes with Axar.
"You know how this works, kid. You're supposed to be there, so you're there. When you're supposed to know why, you'll know why. We'll talk after. Burke out."
The hologram froze in place for a moment, then flickered away leaving only an empty dark space in the corner of his cabin. Axar couldn't hold it against Burke, not really. He did understand how the military works, thanks to him. There might be a good reason for him to be out here, even how it could be better if he didn't know why, but it was killing him to sit around. He felt his frustrated anger bubbling up again, but there was no way to vent it out here, really nothing he could actually do. Nothing. He focused on the word and closed his eyes. Standing in place, he let his head tilt back just as he had been taught, so that he was facing towards the ceiling of his shuttle, the direction of the distant Xenith. He focused on his breathing, and tried to forget everything else. It didn't work for long, it never did, but he was at least able to unclench his fists. There were indentations in his palms where his fingernails had dug into his flesh. Axar knew he couldn't sit in the shuttle and wait for news without losing his mind. He hadn't been been given any tasks to complete once he'd arrived at Longstar, but he hadn't been told not to do anything, either. It was time to pay a visit to one of the observation platforms.
"Corporal Zeskin. I presume you're calling about your brother?"
"Permission to speak freely sir?"
"Denied, Corporal. What's done is done."
Axar's tenuous hold on his emotions burst loose. It was all he could do to keep from lunging out of the circle on the floor to strangle the blue glowing image of his mentor.
"Dammit, Burke! How can you say that to me?!, I-"
"Corporal! Remember who you're talking to. We're looking for him, obviously. Lozan knows."
"Lozan is stuck where he is, he can't do anything. Let me come back, I'll-"
"You're stuck where you are too. As you have been told before, your mission is vital. Lozan has assigned someone in his command to head up the search for Griffin. Sit tight, Axar. Don't do anything foolish."
"I won't abandon my post, Admiral. I just want you to help me figure out what is happening. Why am I out here sitting on a rock in the dark? I could have helped him. It could have gone down differently."
The Admiral's hologram rubbed his forehead in a gesture that Axar knew to mean the old man was holding his game face on. Jonas Burke had been his instructor in military strategy soon after Axar's arrival. He had seen something of himself in the boy, and had taken Axar under his wing. He had been a quiet supporter of Axar's military career, never coaxing or prodding but giving him the advantage of a life's worth of military experience. Admiral Burke had been Captain Burke then, but the coincidence of Rear-Admiral Trusk's untimely death and Burke's daring accomplishment of a dangerous and well-publicized mission. The old man raised his head and locked gazes with Axar.
"You know how this works, kid. You're supposed to be there, so you're there. When you're supposed to know why, you'll know why. We'll talk after. Burke out."
The hologram froze in place for a moment, then flickered away leaving only an empty dark space in the corner of his cabin. Axar couldn't hold it against Burke, not really. He did understand how the military works, thanks to him. There might be a good reason for him to be out here, even how it could be better if he didn't know why, but it was killing him to sit around. He felt his frustrated anger bubbling up again, but there was no way to vent it out here, really nothing he could actually do. Nothing. He focused on the word and closed his eyes. Standing in place, he let his head tilt back just as he had been taught, so that he was facing towards the ceiling of his shuttle, the direction of the distant Xenith. He focused on his breathing, and tried to forget everything else. It didn't work for long, it never did, but he was at least able to unclench his fists. There were indentations in his palms where his fingernails had dug into his flesh. Axar knew he couldn't sit in the shuttle and wait for news without losing his mind. He hadn't been been given any tasks to complete once he'd arrived at Longstar, but he hadn't been told not to do anything, either. It was time to pay a visit to one of the observation platforms.
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