The IEF Venture

Nilum

Nilum

The Wanderer Returned
Benefactor
“By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity.”
--Robert A. Heinlein.​

Manifest Destiny​

The sun shined bright and high above the Houston space port, it was a cloudless day, with bright blue skies and a compassionate heat that warmed the usually chilly days of January. Beneath the sun, the rays of light reflected off the bright white panels of a shuttle taking flight out into the skies. It left a smokeless trail of heat waves behind it, as it climbed out into the heavens and rapidly beyond the naked eye of men. The last anyone would see of it would be a singular dot, and then, nothingness. The hand of humanity, stretched out toward the skies.

Those aboard the shuttle would feel incredible G-Forces in the initial launch. The blue around them would rapidly begin to dwindle to a sea of stars over the course of eight minutes, and the G-Forces bleed off into weightlessness. Those aboard would be allowed a few minutes to float about in the cabin, as they sail through emptiness toward the USS Jefferson—currently on the sunny side of the planet in mid Earth orbit. It was the station responsible for production of the five ships. It stretched for a kilometer in width—a large station, only dwarfed by the station which those aboard the shuttle had trained aboard for the past two years.

The sun is briefly blocked as they pass underneath a large vessel... One that would take a crew of four hundred to man it. It is comprised out of well painted and decorated armour, smooth on the outside—though with lines between each outer panel that showed where it was joined together. The shuttle passes across a series of black letters painted onto the side of the vessel. They spelled out the future of those on board the shuttle.

IEF Venture – 001.

The first vessel set to construction. The first one funded, the first one named.

Alongside the IEF Venture, the shuttle was absolutely dwarfed in size. The pilot begins communicating and coordinating with the IEF Venture, moving his craft underneath the large vessel. There, a shuttle bay door opens, and allows the shuttle to silently drift inside. As the shuttle lands, the shuttle bay door closes. About thirty seconds pass, then the shuttle shakes a bit as its landing gear are clamped to the floor. The pilot unstraps himself from his seat and floats back to the rest of the shuttle’s occupants.

“Alright, this is your stop. You’re the last of the EF Detachment boys n’ girls, and... Robots, I guess.” The man had a thick Southern accent. “I’m gonna be one of your pilots, so I’ll be stickin’ around on the ship after I make a couple more trips. We’ll probably meet a few more times later, I’d imagine. Though, last trip I make, I won’t be in this ole’ girl—I’ll be in one of your new fangled landin’ craft. Heh... Sorry, gettin’ sentimental. Anyway, remember, there ain’t no gravity here in the shuttle bay. Float on over to one of the two corridors out of here, on the left or right side—either’ll get you there. Remember, painted arrows on the walls tell you where the floor is. Oh, and remember that y’all have to meet your EF Detachment Leader in the EF Gym. Y’all can ask the ship where to go if you get lost. Now I hate to be a bother, but... Would y’all kindly ‘git off my shuttle?”

Role Call​

Several minutes had passed since arriving on the ship. Enough time to get to their shared quarters, put away their things into a footlocker, and get to the EF Gym. It was a large ship, with multiple decks—all of which had to be traversed by stairs. All the while, across the ship, the type 1 AI that managed the life support was there—waiting over them, waiting for any command to be spoken into the intercom system. The magnetic plating beneath their feet took a bit of getting used to, it didn’t quite feel right for natural gravity. The artificial nature of it was omnipresently clear, and yet, totally invisible to the naked eye.

Every door they passed by was blast sealed, and took a full second or two to open—it was possible to environmentally isolate any room in the ship from the rest of the ship, and the way the door to the EF Gym hissed as it opened implied that it was atmospherically sealed at all times. Once inside the Gym, one would be greeted by the sight of a few plants—which helped to recycle the air and distract from the metallic walls, floor, and ceiling—and the sight of others who had gotten there.

Once everyone has arrived in the room, and the one hour time limit to arrive has expired, the short Irishman speaks. “I’m sure everyone here did their homework and read their orders and already knows who I am. Let’s pretend, for a moment, however, that some of you would be so disgraceful as to be totally unaware: I am Major Teague O’Connel. You can call me Major, or you can call me God—either works. I am your superior officer, and I will be the one to issue you your orders. From here on out, when you are not sleeping, you are in my domain. When you are not outside of this ship doing your duty, you will be inside this ship scrubbing bulkheads, training in the Gym, or simply jumping as high as you can simply because I want to see how far your ass can fly.”

He was in dress uniform, wearing his ranks proudly, and keeping his hands behind his back. He walks in front of each of them, and then looks them eye to eye, sharply. He starts with the first two, standing at the end of the line of the PFC’s—starting with the Sergeant. “Who are you, and what the fuck are you doing in my Gym, soldier?”

The Sergeant clears his throat. There was a scar running across it, starting from his Adam’s Apple and running its way across his vocal chords. He wore his dress uniform, untarnished, and well kept. “I am Sergeant Maitreya Sunder, sir. I am here to serve the IEF.” Teague taps his chin with his finger, and rolls his eyes. “Are yeh now?” Some of his accent slips in, and a momentary grin manages to catch the Sergeant off guard. Just as quickly as it appeared, the grin fades to a severe look. “You can run away from your parents all day, I don’t care. Just don’t lie to me.” The Sergeant looks down at the floor, and takes a deep breath. “Yes sir.”

The Major moves onto the next person in line—a Lance Corporal. A person simply one rank above all the PFC’s in the rest of the line. The Lance Corporal carried herself in a rather calm and reserved way, showing neither pride nor shame—a sort of cold, empty middle ground. She, too, wore her dress uniform, though she wore a red piece of cloth around her left forearm—an armband, with no particular insignia on it. Teague’s eyes momentarily glance toward it, before growing severe once more as he looks her in the eyes. “Who are you, and what the fuck are you doing in my gym, soldier?”

The Lance Corporal looks him back straight in the eyes. There was a moment of hesitation, as she seemed to gauge her response. “I am Lance Corporal Toyama Maeko.” She pauses again, glancing coldly toward the Sergeant, then back to the Major. “I am here to serve the IEF... And to bring my family honour in space after I brought them shame on Earth, sir.” The Major nods, a hint of a smile seems to be suppressed underneath his military discipline. “Good.”

He then moves down the line, asking each PFC these same two questions, one by one. The only question now is... How will they answer?
 
AVSTERE was one of the first to arrive on the shuttle pad. He had spent the previous few days saying his final goodbyes to his former squadmates, and so he had nothing left to do on the day of the departure. Most of his time was spent at parade attention off to the side of the pad, with what little gear he took with him packed neatly at his feet.

He would remain silent through most of the shuttle trip, occasionally taking glances out of the viewports to watch as the world faded into the void, and to behold the majesty that was the ship he would be serving on. When he laid eyes upon the marvel of technological engineering that was the first capital ship of the IEF, he only really had one thought about it: Beautiful.

Once aboard the ship, after having listened to their pilot's introductory speech, AVSTERE would make his way towards the barracks to deposit his belongings, making sure everything was neat and tidy, before making his way back out and to the gym. He had no trouble navigating the halls, since most splits in the paths were clearly labeled, and "getting lost wasn't part of his programming", as his creator had put it.

Once inside, he would stand at attention in front of the man that would be his CO, his posture as perfect as the Marine Force Recon emblem displayed proudly on the upper right corner of his breastplate, just behind and above the armour plating which was somewhat crudely imitating the EF dress blues. His gaze remained forward, perfectly professional, though that wasn't difficult for a military A.I. like him. When the shorter than average Major O'Connel stood in front of him and asked the questions, the A.I. simply continued to stare straight forward. "Advanced Stealth and Reconnaissance slash Scout, Model oh-thirty-two, Private First-Class, Designation: AVSTERE, Formerly Staff Sergeant John of the United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance, sir. I am here because I wish to serve my home planet in the expanse of space, because I was chosen to be the field test of the ASR/Sc line of A.I. frames, and because I wish to see the stars through the lens of a sniper rifle's scope, sir." The voice resounds, quite clearly artificial, with minimal inflection. Not monotone, but not exaggerated either, it simply sounded... Efficient.
 
Lev held his pad in his lap as he enjoyed the shuttle ride over, working on some differential equations to see if it was possible to minimise the static effect that caused people to feel that the gravity on the Venture was wrong, he'd been sent the information by the engineering team and the issue wasn't problematic so much as annoying. And while people would acclimatize over time it was still best if they could eliminate the issue. But it was clearly destined to be a long term project.

Leaning back his couch he closed his eyes and enjoyed the trip.

++++​

Finally he found himself in the Gym with the rest of his unit, the spacious area filled with the typical fitness equipment that would be so important to them, as yet Lev was still unsure whether the artificial nature of the gravity might not still retain some physionomic shortcomings so planned on keeping himself fit. “Who are you, and what the fuck are you doing in my gym, soldier?”

Lev blinked and looked down. Confronted with a dwarf of an irishman. He suppressed the urge to offer him a stack of telephone books to stand on so he could look him in the eye without risking repetitive strain injury to his eye muscles. He barely resisted the impulse to crouch down slightly too. "Lev Andropov as for what i'm doing here? I was told to come here. The equipment looks well fit out so maintaining a level of fitness should be easy enough."
 
The Houston hotel was hot and the air was so dry you could taste your saliva. The feeling of beads of sweat constantly trickling down Rhett's back was actually one of relief then of annoyance. He preferred the scorching heat, the pools of sweat building up on his face, under his eyes, behind his knees and under his arms. The musky scent made him nostalgic, it all reminded him of home, and of his time in the army. He preferred the climate of the oppressive heat and Houston was a nice change of pace from the places the IEF had sent him to in the last two years. He mainly did his training in Wales, with occasional trips to Normandy and then once to Russia which had left him irritable to say the least. All the cold, clouds, wind, and rain had left him feeling depressed as he constantly craved for the sun to beat down on him. He was happy then that his final interaction with earth before leaving it was that of a mop of wet sweaty hair in a muscle shirt and underwear, tinkering away at his mess of table that was covered in grease and scattered gun parts.

He didn't flinch when he heard the door open and the footsteps of a heavily built man waddle in, taking off his sunglasses and wiping away the grime that had collected in the bags under his eyes. He was a dull, boring man with sun burnt cheeks and short strawberry blond hair. Rhett didn't even bother to acknowledge his presence as he was working on making the trigger mechanism he had scrapped from some pistol even more sensitive.

"Still paranoid I'm gonna run off huh?" Rhett said condescendingly, taking a grease-stained rag and wiping his fingers with it.

"It's just a precaution, we put a lot of patience and energy into you and we don't want that investment going south at the last minute".

"How does it feel?" Rhett taunted "being a glorified babysitter?"

"Frankly I'd rather be the babysitter than the baby"

Rhett didn't say anything and his whole body seem to shrink as he focused more intently on his work at the table. The fat man smiled as he approached Rhett, looming over curiously at Rhett's task

"Them IEF boys are alright with you bringing all those weapon parts?" The man asked worriedly.

"Said it was fine as long as I didn't make explosives, which isn't my thing." Rhett still didn't look at the man, didn't even want to acknowledge his existence. He knew that if he just focused on his guns, the man would go away eventually. But the fat man had a trump card.

"We got in contact with your folks this morning. Figured they might wanna talk to ya before-

"Well that was a waste of time" Rhett chuckled as he finally got up and grabbed a clean rag off his nightstand and wiped the grease off his beard before finally looking at the man. Still as overweight as the day he interrogated Rhett in handcuffs. "They've had nothing to say to me since I left the army, and they've wanted nothing to do with me since India"

Rhett's casualness of his family abandoning him had frankly always stunned the man; he remembered that when a trial was still on the table for Rhett, his father didn't lift a finger to help him. He remembered the phone call he had made to the retired general and the one thing that always kept replaying in his mind was "let the boy rot". Though the fat man saw Rhett as a low cunning thug with a dangerous capacity for violence, even he felt bad for him in that circumstance. Yet Rhett brushed it off like it was nothing but a spat with some girl. Though what disturbed the man the most was that with all his years and experience in interrogation, he still couldn't decide if it was a facade or not.

"Listen, your visits are fun and all. But the IEF people are gonna pick me up in an hour. I gotta pack this up and shower." Rhett bluntly opened the door and gestured for the man to leave. The fat man smiled and obliged, but stopped short just at the entrance.

"Don't come back here" the man warned "Stay up there, where you belong."

"Get the fuck out of my room."
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After the initial take-off, Rhett slept through most of the trip to the IEF Venture. He had no desire to look out and see his home disappear, only to become an afterthought. Nor did he look out to the stars beyond and dream of the endless possibilities of his endeavors. He simply wanted to sleep and hug his two large, heavy duffel bag filled with broken guns and parts to make sure they didn't float away.

Rhett was happy to have his own bunk, his own room. It meant he could hog it all to himself as he emptied the contents of the two duffel backs onto the table. He frown as he looked at the trigger mechanism he had been tinkering with back on Houston. It still wasn't at the desired sensitivity; he wanted the wind to be able to set this damn thing off. Impractical, but a fun little experiment to work on.

Having his own room also meant he could turn the temperature to whatever he desired without some bunk mate bitching. He immediately set it up to 28 Celsius and closed his eyes and smiled as the heat blasted his body through his civies. Which reminded him to gear up in his IEF garb and hit the gym. It felt strange putting on those military trousers and tucking it into his boots again six years after his army days. He had become so accustom to wearing those tan uniforms of the Indian Police.

He stood at attention before the major like a good little soldier. His posture was perfect and had been drilled into him since he was a small child. Slouching meant running eight miles, doing the other boys laundry, cleaning the toilets, cutting wood in in the hot African sun, etc. Such harsh punishments produced good results.

Though the major looked at Rhett in the eyes, Rhett's dark blue eyes still stared straight ahead. His plain, but disciplined expression hid a violence that the Major was more than aware of.

"Private First Class Rhett Vorster, sir. I'm here to do my job, sir."
 
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Dmitri floated out of the shuttle together with the rest of the new arrivals, spinning slowly as he floated towards the corridors out of the hangar, taking in the sights. The ship itself was truly a sight to behold, and so far, the interior was not disappointing. He felt oddly eager, not having felt as excited as he was now since... His very first trip abroad.

He orientated himself according to the arrows on the wall, before thumping against the floor. The gravity was supposedly feeling odd, according to the others, but he didn't notice much of it. The carrier in his hand meowed uncomfortably though. He quickly made his way to the barracks, to store his baggage. He put the carrier on the bed, and opened the door, reaching in to pet the Russian Blue inside. "Do not worry, Nicholas. Once introductions are done, you shall be allowed to explore." He closed the door again, before heading for the gym.

He ended up on a line with the rest of them, wearing the IEF dress uniform he'd been given, listening as the Major moved down the line, towards him. He kept his optics forwards, even as the little man addressed him.

"T2-M80-DM17R1, Private First Class, designation Dmitri. Formerly Squad Support Unit of The Suhoputnye voyska Rossiyskoy Federatsii. I am here to provide ground support, to make sure that as many of us return home as possible, and to explore the unknown, sir." He stated in a deep tone, with a heavy Russian accent.
 
The presence of the German visibly made other privates upon the shuttle uneasy. There was something about his person that made the others unwilling to go near him. Frederick appeared a worm of a man, a supposedly esteemed diplomat that looks no older than 20, who did nothing but observe the other soldiers intently. He'd stare through his inexplicably light blue eyes, occasionally breaking the piercing line of vision to watch out for any incoming shuttles. Upon arrival at the IEF Venture, the German disappeared off to the barracks to drop off his duffel bag.
___

In the Gym with the rest of the soldiers, Frederick fell into position with the rest of them. He clearly wasn't the most built soldier of the lot. He looked as if he could be thrown like a football. He passed physical evaluation like the rest of them, though it didn't seem obvious at first glance. Standing stoic, he gazed forward, listening in on each question and response between the Major and the soldiers. Eventually, the question would fall upon him as the Major approached him. He spoke loud and concisely for the first time in what seemed a couple of days, the German undertone in his voice making itself present.

"Private First Class Frederick Gottsinn, sir. I am here to serve the IEF, and to fully establish ourselves as the leading power among the stars, sir."
 
Only two people were there at the spaceport to bid Cyrus farewell. His mother took some time off to fly out to America to wish her son well, and recite the usual parental platitudes of 'stay safe, eat well, we're proud of you' and so on. The other person was one of his American college buddies, not his closest friend, but one who lived close enough to make the trip to Houston. He half-jokingly asked him to name something after him and also wished him well. Cyrus looked down on the slowly shrinking blue ball he called home for what he expected would be the last time for a while, committing the picture to memory. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he looked away, hands quivering in excitement.

The next thing to dominate his view was the hull of his new home, with it's name emblazoned on the side. IEF Venture -001. The first, just as we shall be the first to venture where no person has before. An excited grin spread across his face at the thought. Stepping aboard the IEF Venture brought an even bigger smile to his face. “Woah, looks like I'm gonna have to earn my space legs,” he remarked amusedly.

He was lead to the gym and blinked when he saw Major O'Connel. He read the personnel briefings, but he apparently glazed over the height category. Still, this wasn't his first military rodeo, and so when the Major came to him, he stood stiff as a board and locked his eyes forward. “Sir, I am Private First Class Kourosh Darzi, sir. I...” he hesitated, unsure how to explain what he was doing here. I want to explore the stars. I want to seek glory on behalf of myself and on behalf of mankind. I want to experience the raw stink of possibility that other explorers must have felt. I want to help mankind experience new and amazing things so that we might grow as a result. “...I'm really excited to be here, sir.” He finished lamely. He internally panicked, worried the Major wouldn't accept such a vague answer and added, “I want to see of there's anything tastier out there than Europa's Space Fish, sir.”
 
It wasn’t that she was shy and that was why she wasn’t speaking to anyone on their way to their destination… it was more like she was mentally and physically exhausted and maybe a little bit apprehensive about everything. Schuyler stretched out her long limbs in her seat and made every attempt to keep from feeling sick thanks to the pressure being exerted upon her body. Reddish-lavender eyes remained closed and she hummed a tune that often popped into her head, though she had absolutely no recollection of where it came from. Running her fingers through her crimson locks, the telepath was very grateful when they finally reached their destination.

“’Bout time we got 'ere. Time ter explore before gettin' ter business. Or maybe business den exploring. Yeah... business before pleasure.” Moving out of the shuttle, she stretched out her body, grunting at the gravity on the vessel that was to be her home. Grasping her bag, she headed out after the others, glancing at the arrows before moving off to find the living quarters. Stepping into it, she placed her bag down in a locker, shutting and locking it, and for a moment just stood there staring at nothing. “Right.” Nodding a bit, the redhead moved back out and followed the arrows to the gym, glad she wasn’t too late. Stepping into the line, she pushed her shoulders back and stood at attention, waiting to be addressed.

“Private First Class Schuyler Callahan an’ I am ‘ere ter do what’s asked of me an’ add ter me shiny stuff collection. Otherwise, I’m ‘ere ter kick arse an’ chew bubblegum an’ I’m all out of bubblegum.” Schuyler didn’t know how stupid sayings like that got in her head or why she even said them out loud, but sometimes it happened, and unfortunately, that time was in front of the major. “Sir.” She added quite hastily.
 
While it wasn't her first foray into space, Viktoria still found herself sitting in the shuttle with her face nearly pressed against the window. She watched with a childish grin as the shuttle rocketed out of the atmosphere and Earth got further and further away. When the ride came to a halt and the shuttle doors opened, Viktoria got up from her seat and quickly gathered her things. Slinging a large olive drab bag over her shoulder and marching her way out of the shuttle; her boots landing solidly on the deck of the ship. Even with her training the artificial gravity felt odd to her. After making her way to her quarters, she packed her things away to the meticulous standards of the Russian Ground Forces. She quickly double checked that her bunk and belongings were stowed properly before then heading to the gym with the rest of the unit.

Viktoria stood about fairly relaxed waiting for the briefing to begin, but when the Major began speaking she snapped to attention. She stood with her arms crossed behind her and her feet shoulder width apart and stared straight forward. Not daring to look the Major in the eyes unless he initiated. As she listened to the Major give a rimming to the rest of the unit she found herself amused. She would do her best to not let it show. When the Major reached her, she spoke loudly and as clearly as her accent would allow her. "Private First Class Viktoria Grigoryeva Nikitovna. I am here to aid the Expeditionary Forces as combat engineer, sir!" She continued looking straight towards the wall in front of her the entire time.
 
Excitement, satisfaction, vindication, these were the emotions going through Judie's mind as she took the shuttle up to her new home for an unknown number of years. The Venture, her dream, the thing people told her wouldn't happen. Small minded gutter puss. When she had finally gotten the letter in her base in India she couldn't contain herself. Every member of that barracks got an earful of her rubbing it in the face of each person who had picked at her. She would relish those memories fondly on the rough ride up. Once out of orbit she'd take out her headphones and play her favorite music. Despite all the teasing it brought her she was listening to an ancient band called 'The Beatles'. Her father had named her for one of their songs, and he passed his love of their music on to her. She got to see him before heading off for training, along with the rest of her family before she left for her shuttle. She kept to herself mostly while the flight went up, closing her eyes and enjoying the music.

It wouldn't be until the shuttle shook with its landing in the ship that she'd snap from her thoughts. She'd draw the headphones off her head and look up at the pilot, listening to his briefing. It seemed pretty simple to her, and his accent was familiar. It made her think of home for a few moments before filing out with the rest of the recruits like her. She'd do a few little tricks on the way to one of the doors, not caring if it drew the attention of any of the others. When she did finally touch down she'd give a frown. 'Artificial gravity, bothersome.' She'd think to herself before shouldering her satchel further up her collar. She'd spend the time before the briefing working on some kind of fix for the strange feel.

When she'd finally end up in the line-up for role call she'd have a couple of new attachments to her uniform. Long, thin pieces of metal along the sleeves, down the back near the spine, and on the shoulders. She'd give her salute to the Major her salute when it was her turn, the pin on her collar signifying her service in India. "I'm Pvt. First Class Judie Bessil, Sir. I'm here because no one believed I could be, Sir, and speaking frankly Sir, fuck them." She'd state while she kept at attention. The entire time a small smile was crossing her lips. She was clearly proud to be here.
 
Keiichi sighed nervously, zipping the duffel bag after verifying its contents: some books, some clothes, emergency medical supplies, the traditional ones, in the unlikely event whatever the ship had didn't work. He glanced at his fellow astronauts, these would be the people that he would be in the company of for the next several years. Maintaining a working relationship was just as crucial as all the other drills and protocols they drilled into him during training. Frankly, he was nervous, but if anyone else on the shuttle was too, they did a hell of a good job hiding it.

*****

Abel had been a little nervous about leaving, about going to space once again… he had said goodbye to his family, the Ikanov, and even his ex had gone to see him off, what had been extremely nice of them.

The AI had taken some time to talk to his fluffy cat, Storm, who came with him to the shuttle, inside a light blue carrier. He had started meowing once they boarded, and the poor thing wouldn’t stop making noise even after Abel tried to calm him down… he looked towards the nearest person, flashing a nervous smile and chuckling softly. “heh… I’m so sorry, he’s usually quieter, I promise.”

*****

The tension was interrupted by a noise he had last expected to hear for a long time. He turned to the guy next to him, a short Caucasian male with eccentric coloured hair. On his lap was a carrier which was the source of the sound. He eyed it curiously for a moment before turning his attention to the owner.

“It’s alright, he’s probably as nervous as I am. But,” he furrowed his brow and pointed to the carrier, “I didn’t know pets were allowed on board. I am a medic, but I am no vet. Will he be alright on the Venture?”

****

Jared released a sigh as he looked down at his tablet, a simple still image of his family and himself, just a few hours ago. His father Regg, beside him, an inch or so taller than himself, black hair, thick beard, and a rather serious expression on his face, though you could see the smile bursting through his eyes. Regg had always had an odd sense of humour, pretending to be angry with his son for leaving for...forever, was just how he did things. His mother, Debbie, was of average height, standing before Jared, his hands upon her shoulders; nothing could hide the tears that streamed down her cheeks. Raine, his older sister was there with her husband Ira, and their twins of pink squirmingness. On the other side of Regg, was Anthony, Jared’s little brother.

Started out of his reminiscing by the sound of a feline, who was none too happy about its current situation, Jared closed the tablet, slid it into a pocket, and leaned forward over the two seats before him. He loomed over their shoulders, without intent...it was just hard not to loom when you were as big as Jared was. “Sedatives haven’t kicked in yet?” He know most pets were far from thrilled with flying, let alone being launched into space, and any time he had flown with Rusk, his old dog, Rusk was sedated before the flight to spare him the stress.

****

Abel scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed, about all the noise his pet was making. “I… I believe he’ll be alright, with or without sedatives, the last time we travelled like this he was, after all. So he probably just needs some more time to calm down. Don’t you darling?” he said the last sentence with a high pitched voice, the kind of voice one used to talk to a pup, or a kitten. “Also, I’m a medic as well! Abel Ikanov, type three AI. And you are…?” He asked, having to turn a couple of times to look at both of them.

****

Keiichi’s eyes widened slightly as the man, no, AI, did his little self introduction. “Eh? You’re an AI? That’s surprising. I couldn’t tell. And a medic too. That’s a happy coincidence.” He looked over the AI to the giant of a man that had inserted himself into the conversation. At first glance he looked very much the type of person to be in this kind of squadron; large, well-built, and an of confidence around him. He was easily the tallest person inside the shuttle.

He figured this was where he should start introducing himself, so he did. “Keiichi Tanaka. Nice to meet you guys.” He glimpsed a smile and a small wave. These two very different people, he wondered just how frequently he would be seeing them. Maybe they’d even be deployed together on a mission. No, that was unlikely. No squad needed two field medics. Still, “It’s good to hear there’s another field medic. It takes the pressure off, if you know what I mean. How about you?” he teased the larger man. “You a medic as well?”

****

Shaking his head, Jared smirked as he responded, “Nah, I was a Mountie back home.” He paused, their expressions reminding him of the fact that this was very much, a multi-national expedition “Canadian Police, the RCMP. I know basic first aid, and a lot about arctic survival, extreme cold scenarios.” He reached his right hand over the backs of the chairs for awkward handshaking, “I’m Jared Van Der Heyden, from Dawson City, Yukon. Far frigid north of Canada.” He smiled warmly, the grin cracking white through the thick beard.

Looking back to Abel, his expression grew mildly quizzical, “AI? Hunh, can’t say I would have guessed that, myself. Good to meet you Abel,” he turned to his other new comrade, “Keychi?” He pronounced it slower, with the upturn of note, identifying it as a question in itself, if he had gotten the pronunciation right.

****

“Right?” He agreed with the Canadian, “I don’t think I’ve seen such a detailed chassis before,” he noted, giving Abel another once over before turning his attention back to Jared. He shrugs nonchalantly at the attempt at his name. He certainly won’t be the last to have trouble with it. “Close enough. You can call me Ken if you think pronouncing it is too much of a hassle. Same goes to you too,” he gestured to the AI.

Keiichi tilted his head back to see how close they were to their destination. He could see the very visible and very large rectangle in the distance that was the IEF Venture. If he had to guess they were maybe around ten minutes from docking, yet he could clearly make out a number of details on the ship. He had seen glimpses of its construction during his time at the Hakimachi, but seeing it completed in all its glory was truly a sight.

“Amazing,” he muttered under his breath.

****

“I’ll call you Ken then. “ Abel answered, smiling proudly because of the compliments to his very well modeled human design.

The AI joined Ken, watching the huge ship in the distance and wondering how long it would take for them to dock, not long, or he hoped so. “Also, I’m from Russia, and Jared here is from… Canada, right?” He was pretty sure about having got it right. “Where are you from, if you don’t mind sharing?” He asked, looking towards Ken.

Meanwhile, Storm had stopped meowing.

****

He shook his head, at Keiichi’s offer to simplify his name to Ken, “Not a hassle, just a matter of learning.” He paused for a moment, “Keiichi...right?” It was something Jared had a bit of experience with, in dealing with the native Inuit, up in the north of Canada; there was history there, and names should be respected and honoured.

He paused and looked out of the view port, to see the bulk of the Venture. He sighed slightly as a wave of excitement and trepidation washed over him. Sitting back down in his seat, he leaned back, and resisted the urge to stretch, as invading the space of those beside him seemed, to be less than neighbourly.

****

Keiichi shifted back in his seat, wanting to do some final checks before they arrived. It’s not as if he could go back and retrieve anything he left behind, but just double checking where everything is would give him peace of mind. He did this while answering his comrades’ questions.

“Hmmm, yeah that’s about close enough,” he commented at Jared’s pronunciation of his name. “Japan. I’m the only Asian guy on this ship. It isn’t very surprising though, just an observation,” he added, sounding just a tad occupied as he unzipped and re-zipped his bag after quickly going through its contents. “We’re quite close. I hope I’ll see you two around the ship.”

****

Abel nodded “Same to you, guys, I hope we see each other around the ship.” The AI added with a grin on his face. He shifted a little, checking his cat was alright. He was good… poor Storm had had enough trouble already, he just hoped the animal got to relax once they went into the ship.

***

Keiichi stuffed the last of his things into the meager sized locker. He was to report to the gym in an hour. He still wasn't quite used to this chain of command stuff. He had zero military experience before joining the IEF. Anyone who took one look at him could tell he wasn't the soldier type, but he didn't sign up to be a soldier. He rubbed the top of his shaved head and closed his locker with a thud, wondering briefly if he had chewed more than he could swallow, but since when has it not been that way for him?

He made his way to the gym and was surprised to see he wasn't the last one there. Silently, he joined the ranks of the other astronauts. When everyone else had arrived, the man in front started to address them. It was an address he had heard plenty of times during his two year training session, by people just like him: pompous, loud, and brash. When the Major had finished his aggressive speech, his eyes narrowed as he spoke with a quiet authority, "Who are you, and what the fuck are you doing in my Gym, soldier?" Keiichi was sure he was the only one who swallowed his throat at that moment.

One by one, his fellow astronauts answered. First their superiors, then the other privates. His attention was drawn to the Lance Corporal, Toyama, was it? He heard of that name before. A short but high profile stint in the news, something about an investigation gone wrong. He didn't expect to meet such a person here of all places.

While he was mulling over those thoughts, he didn't realise the Major was already in front of him, giving a stare that was enough to kill. Even though they were around the same height, it felt very much like the Major was looking down on him.

His body shifted into action. Thanks from the two grueling years of training, his body automatically moved to accommodate the situation. Keiichi cleared his throat and stood at attention, answering with as much energy as he could muster, "Private First Class Keiichi Tanaka. I am here to explore the stars, sir." That sounded pretty good, at least, he thought it did.

****

After the awkwardness of getting disorientated momentarily during his transfer from the shuttle to the Venture itself, proper, Jared was glad of the return of gravity. Or the simulation of it. The slightly strange sensation of the electromag-gravity well was strangely, something he did easily overcome, and seem to forget about almost instantly.

In the quarters, he offloaded his duffel into his footlocker, without bothering to unpack quite yet, before heading to the gym itself. He fell in next to Keiichi, a familiar face, if just on short acquaintance. As the Major started the introductions, Jared listened, setting himself into an at-ease stance, absorbing the words of his comrades. As the Major passed Keiichi, and stood before Jared himself...Jared wasn’t sure quite how to respond immediately, keep staring straight ahead as you generally did when at-ease….or look down to the Major...who may not like being looked down upon by someone who was much taller? Jared looked down, meeting the Major’s eyes, “Private First Class Jared Van Der Heyden, Sir. I am here to protect and serve the IEF, and to challenge myself to explore what I am told to explore, sir.” His voice was deep and firm, confidence ringing through the truth of it.

****

When they finally got out of the shuttle and into the IEF Venture, Abel took hold of his carrier and waved his new friends, or well, at least acquaintances, goodbye. The AI jumped almost with elegance through the no gravity zone, but messed up the landing by tripping on his own foot and almost falling. He earned a disgusted and startled hiss from storm, to what he responded with a chuckle and a soft “sorry".

He roamed the halls a little first before going into one of their assigned rooms and choosing one of the bottom beds, putting the carrier on it and leaving the door open for the kitten to explore and take his time to get used to his new environment. Meanwhile, he put his stuff away and left the room, taking another chance to roam and visit a little bit of the big ship before going to the gym, where they had been told to go.

Once there, he made sure to become part of the line everyone else had formed, a tiny bit nervous about their instructor asking everyone questions. Some of the answers were nice, most of them. He noticed the fact that even though the man wasn’t very tall, seeing how almost everyone had to look down at him, he was still taller than Abel, who stood proud at his 5’5 feet, and didn’t have any wishes of being taller. And if he wanted to be taller… he could wear high heels anyways!

When it was his turn, he took a big gulp of air before answering the question.

“I’m Abel Ikanov, sir! I’m here to explore and serve!” The AI answered, standing his ground and looking directly towards the instructor.
 
“I want to see if there's anything tastier out there than Europa's Space Fish, sir.”
-“Cyrus” Kourosh Razi Darzi, Page 1.​

Dutybound​

The privates answer the question one by one. The Major reveals no strong opinions toward any of their responses, though the repeated uses of colourful language did seem to force him to suppress a wry grin. He finally finishes going down the line, and sighs as he takes a few steps from them all. He then turns, and starts pacing, slowly, up and down the line a few feet away—looking at them as he does, his eyes moving across them one by one. “I see that I have been sent a rowdy pack of vulgar boys and girls, and toasters. I hope you don’t act this way around the captain, or I’ll have to pretend to give a shit about it.”

Teague O’Connel then reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a stopwatch. It draws the attention of Maitreya, momentarily, before he pats his own pocket, and quietly exhales in relief. The Major continues speaking, as he stops pacing, and motions to the equipment around them all. “We will be spending the next two hours committing to drills. I’m sure that you passed the numerous exams prior to reaching this ship, but I was not there to personally witness your inevitable mediocrity. You will run when I tell you to run, jump when I tell you to jump, and work together to overcome larger obstacles. Simple, easy tasks. An hour from now, the ship will begin moving toward its destination, and then--”

The ship’s intercom lights up with a little static, the sounds of a young and inexperienced man speaking on it. “Uh... I found a cat wandering out near engineering. I think it came from the EF Area. Look I don’t really care, can someone just get their damn cat out of here?”

With irritation quietly entering his otherwise disciplined tone of voice, the Major glares between the cat owners of the group. “Those of you who brought a cat on board, go and deal with that first, and come back here after. The rest of you will work with me, then after our two hours, you will have the rest of the day to settle in. Keep in mind that ship time is now separate from that of Earth. Meet me in the briefing room, twenty three hours from now. Those of you without cats, stay, and line up in front of the climbing rope first. Those of you with cats, you are dismissed—if you aren’t back here within the hour, I will have it marked on your records.”

Episode One: Out There
((Coauthored with: @Kadaeux ))​

Twenty three hours passed with relative peace aboard the ship, though the senior officers seemed mostly preoccupied by other things. On multiple occasions, the otherwise astute Major could be seen staring at his stopwatch, his mind wandering elsewhere. Veterans of various conflicts on Earth could see it in his eyes—he knew something they all didn’t, and it was eating away at him. The entire time aboard the ship, there was no sight of the Captain. Even the other bridge staff did not see him, though knew he was aboard as he was issuing orders from his personal quarters. Rumours spread aboard the ship that a private transmission with a lot of data had been sent to the Captain, and that he was obsessively reviewing every detail.

Regardless, it wasn’t difficult to piece together that this was not a regular mission like the other vessels were receiving. There was something far more going on.

The night aboard the ship also passed with relative peace, though some crew members reported difficulty sleeping. The stress and excitement of finally achieving lifelong dreams, or of the nebulous unknown ahead, were getting to the generally novice crew.

The briefing room was a quiet, relatively small chamber. There were a few chairs lined up in rows and columns, simple foldable metal chairs without much comfort, but which were sturdy enough to support the heavier AI’s. In front of them was a television screen, built into the wall on their left—which allowed for extremely high resolutions. At the moment, it was blank, though power was running through it, as indicated by a green LED flashing underneath it. Inside the room was the Major, and oddly enough, the Captain of the ship himself.

It appeared that only some of the EF Detachment had been invited to the briefing. Only those who Teague O’Connel had gathered in the gym yesterday were there. Once everyone arrives, and all chairs are filled, he clears his throat and speaks. “What you are about to be presented with is classified information. If you share this with anyone before it has been declassified, you will summarily discharged from the IEF and charged with treason in the international courts. The Captain will be the one to give this briefing. Give him your attention.” He salutes the Captain, and then steps aside. The Captain salutes him back, and steps in to where Teague was once standing. His red eyes look over the room, as he seemed to gauge each of the privates in front of him, one by one. Teague turns on the wall-mounted television screen, while the Captain reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small controlling device for it. He pushes a button, and on the screen flickers to life the image of space, and stars—and something else entirely. A vague, rectangular shape.

“What you are seeing is probe data. This information is a couple weeks old. The decision was made to wait until one of our capital ships was online to investigate it proper,” the Captain begins saying, as he hits a button to enlarge the image. The object in question was brightly reflective. “It’s of an artificial design. Smaller than our vessel. It was at one point, sending out a signal. That signal stopped a few hours later. We managed to record it, and we have yet to fully decipher it, but we believe it was a distress signal, from an artificial intelligence... Specifically beamed toward our probe. We are not alone in the universe.”

He allows that statement to sink in. Toyama sits quietly, staring at the screen with confusion and curiosity, while Maitreya simply looked to the Captain to continue.

“Though the reflection from the object makes it difficult to see, we have discerned that in the last day or so, a second object has latched onto it—much smaller, comparable to our landing craft, if about twice the size. Shortly after the second object latched onto it, the distress signal stopped. So far, the second object has showed no interest in our probe... That we are aware of. This information a day old, and I only received it as we were departing from Earth.”

The Captain glances at the Major, who nods and steps forward. Teague begins speaking, keeping his chin up, his hands behind his back. “We will be dropping out of FTL near the objects. We will have a few minutes to prepare after FTL. You will all be divided into two teams. One led by Sergeant Sunder,” he motions to Maitreya, who nods affirmatively, “the other led by Lance Corporal Maeko.” Toyama at first seems almost absorbed in staring at the highly reflective object on the screen, before tearing herself away to look at the Major. She salutes him. “Yes sir!”

The Major looks to the Captain, and nods as he steps back once again. The Captain continues speaking. “If the object in question is a ship, with internal decks that we can discern, each team will be inserted at different angles. One will be inserted to try and find the bridge, while the other will be inserted to investigate the second object latched onto its hull. This could be anything—a search and rescue, a diplomacy mission, a combat mission... We cannot be certain. Remember, you are our front line. You are the first impressions of Humanity. This is very likely our first encounter with aliens, face to face... Do any of you have any questions before we proceed?”
 
Lev studied the image, for an object to have such a high reflective index meant that it would likely resist laser based weapons very well, especially if the property continued into the internals of the vessel. The fact it beamed a transmission specifically at them might indicate that any intelligence on board considered them a very real sense of help. And so he added that as one of his questions to be asked. That the other vessel had also latched on meant that it was possible the vessel simply beamed for help from anybody nearby. But still.

It was shiny. Lev wanted to get a really good look at it with the full suite of scientific tools that he possessed. "I have three questions captain. First, how did it beam a signal at us? I assume that with such a high reflective index it was unlikely to be a laser based communication, replying would be nigh impossible. Second, do we have any way of knowing if the vessel was simply beaming any ship it detected in range, thus leading to the second vessels arrival to render possible aid if we're being optimistic. And thirdly, I would like to be on the team to investigate the reflective vessel primarily, if it needs aid a scientific and engineering presence is more heavily needed there than on the other object, which may require a stronger security presence should they prove to be... less than friendly."
 
Dmitri spent most of the free time simply walking around the ship, mapping it out, to become a little familiar with it. From his experience, it was always better to do so before anything happened where he'd need to know it. It also helped that Nicholas enjoyed sitting on his shoulder as he walked about, allowing both their curiosities to be sated at once.

~~~~~

The presentation of their first mission, and what possibly was the first proper signs of sentient extra-terrestrial life. Sentient, space faring, and possibly with AI tech. Dmitri's curiosity only grew, as well as an odd feeling of... Optimism, for some reason that he could not understand.
That the vessel was sending out distress signals was not good, of course. But he assumed it would meant that they'd sent the signal out in every possible direction, which was probably what had allowed them to catch it. One man's disaster is another man's opportunity indeed.

Dmitri raised a hand, and asked a question as soon as he was given the word. "If this signal is sent by what you assume to be a artificial intelligence, does that mean that we, our own AIs can be part of the mission, without fear of revealing our existence to whoever we might meet? Or should we still take care to hide?" He asked, wishing to be sure.
 
AVSTERE snapped to attention with a sharp "Yes, Sir!", before simply stating something as an afterthought. "Respectfully, sir, a toaster is just a death ray with a low power output, sir."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The next twenty-three hours went by without much action for the AI. He spent most of the time in a "rest mode", though he had "awoken" to do a few things, such as introduce himself to the engineering team, who he was sure he would become familiar with over the course of the many missions to come.

AVSTERE found his way into the briefing room a solid 5 minutes before briefing was to take place. He gave a respectful salute to the two men inside the room. His optical sensors lingered on the captain of the IEF Venture for a few moments, his curiosity piqued by his respect for the man who didn't even officially exist before the Venture was built. However, despite his desire to know more about the ghost of a man, he was tactful enough to know the man's distrust of AI. He understands the unfortunate reality of the man's past, even though he doesn't condone it.

He took his seat to the rear of the room, preferring the humans take closer seats as he knew he could view the image closely no matter where he sat. During the presentation, he downloaded the image to study as his optical processes focused more on the speakers themselves. He had recognized the captain's earlier expression as one belonging to soldiers in the need-to-know, but he never could have guessed this sort of bombshell be dropped on them.

Humanity was no longer alone in the universe.

AVSTERE simply noted this as important information, and continued examining the photo. The object was unnaturally reflective, he noticed that much, but a question tugged in the back of his processor, one that he would pose when the time came: "Respectfully, sirs, what role could I partake in aside from Extra Vehicular Action?" His frame, as his superiors would know, was mostly designed for stealth in more natural environments, as well as elimination of priority targets at extreme range.
 
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As the briefing commenced, Frederick sat silently. As the captain spoke of the probe data and the foreign structure displayed in it, Frederick's eyes were not directed towards it, but rather at the captain. The news that humanity was not alone in the universe did not seem to shake him. It was only a matter of time that humanity realized the universe was not central to them.

That wasn't what Frederick was curious of, however. Perhaps it was a distress signal that it was broadcasting, but what danger was it in distress of, if any? If the distress signal was directly beamed towards an IEF probe, how could they assume that our probe would be of any help? He knew that this mission would be open-ended, to say the least. The second object's purpose was a complete mystery to him, though.

Unaware that he had been staring at the captain for most of the time, he finally spoke up with a question. "How can we affirm that this signal is a distress signal?" He took one glance to the reflective form in the probe data before looking back at the captain. "If it sent a direct signal to us in particular, how can we be sure that it was distress instead of some other type of communication towards us?"
 
Wishing she had brought a cat so that she could get out of the drills, Schuyler just made a face and did as was required. Thankful once the drills were over, she headed back to the sleeping quarters and coiled up onto her bunk, not in the mood to speak to anyone. She laid there a few minutes before sliding back down and grabbing her shower stuff, she made her way to get cleaned up, unable to even sleep. Sighing heavily, she washed up, deciding to explore the ship instead of rest. Once nice and clean from the head down to her painted toenails, she moved back to the sleeping quarters and stowed her stuff in her locker. Moving out into the hallways, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her pants and headed off.

"Twenty-three 'ours is quite a while. Oi figure oi 'av slept sum av it, which means oi 'av time ter explore de vessel." Mumbling to herself, Schuyler entertained herself quite a while before heading to the briefing room, not wanting to be late.

Finally able to place eyes on the captain, the redhead just studied him a moment, shrugging before sitting down in an empty chair, body not jiving on the hardness of the seat. Shifting her attention from the elusive male towards the television screen, she almost made a disgruntled comment about the shitty chairs, but left it alone. Something told the female, complaints and sarcasm wouldn’t be appreciated. Ignoring the threat, not really worried about spilling the beans to anyone, Schuyler stared at the shiny object that was suddenly on the screen.

“…Shiny…” She whispered, wanting to take it for her own collection despite how that just wasn’t possible. Suddenly excited about the prospect of going to find out more about what that shiny object was, Schuyler paid close attention to the instructions being given to them, not really caring about why it was giving out a signal nor why it stopped giving out said signal. As a few others asked questions, Schuyler couldn’t wait to get to both objects and explore them extensively. Finally, a reason to be part of the team.

“How soon 'til we git dere? Lookin' forward ter explorin' de objects.” Schuyler grinned, giving a thumb up.
 
Cyrus' eyes widened at the news that mankind was no longer alone in the universe. It made him nervous, to say the least. He had always dreamed that first contact would be with some benighted primitive species, not anything so advanced. “I have several questions, sir. First, what format or media did we receive the communications in? Second, how did we come to a conclusion that it was a distress call, and last, may I request a copy of whatever it transmitted? I doubt I can make much more headway than the other IEF scientists, but it'd give me somewhere to start if I have to try to communicate with... something.”
 
Rhett didn't say anything as he got to running drills. It was the usual: a couple of miles of running, followed by push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, etc. After the Major had had his fill of drills however, Rhett stayed in the gym for most of the day. Mostly just working with the free weights and the punching bag. He had never been a bulky man and he always made up for it by making sure his muscles had some serious power to them. He gripped the weights in his hand as he worked over the bag for an hour continuously. Whatever anxiety, fury or fears he had about his new job, his new life he forced them all onto that bag, where they would stay. It was only afterwards that he could retire to his bunk and be alone with his thoughts and his guns and still be at peace.

After changing out of his gym clothes which had been saturated with sweat. Rhett, strolled into the briefing room and took a seat and leaned back into it. The briefing itself was one those moments where Rhett recognized the importance of what was happening as a whole. It just wasn't so important to him personally. Alien life? Foreign space vessels? New and exciting A.I? Yes, it was all exciting and ground breaking but Rhett could not be bothered to care. He knew that there were plenty of people who could do the caring for him. Rhett just wanted do his job and hold his gun.

"Once we find an entrance into that thing" Rhett said casually "We should set up a perimeter around it and use it as our "home base", like as a jumping off point for the rest of that ship. We really shouldn't be randomly crawling around that place unless we have a safe zone we can fall back on. If we bring some smaller-grade automated turrets with some basic A.I. installed that should make the process much simpler and quicker"

He took a closer look at the object on the screen. It may have been smaller than their own ship but that didn't mean it wasn't going to be a massive pain in the ass to search and clear the entire place, especially since layout of the place could be completely foreign to any human design. He sighed, but what was really concerning was that other vessel that had landed on it. Searching and clearing that ship as well as the original one with such a small team was frankly out of the question in his opinion. But what made things tricky was what was inside that ship and whether they were looking for the same thing the IEF was. Chances were they wouldn't like the competition.

"We should also be mindful to bring rubber bullets with us, as well as our more...lethal options." He paused to let that sentence sink in for everyone else "That way, if we have to use force on the first alien life-form humanity has come across it might not have to be deadly." He took a look at the Captain and let out a small grin "Much easier for PR to spin it in our favor that way."
 
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