Blood on the Horizon
- Chapter 6 -[]
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Preparing getting Underway[]
"Five more," I said to myself as I struggled to pull myself up the bar, my arms shaking as sweat dripped down my armpits and down my side.
"One," I grunted as my chin went above the bar.
"Two," I exhaled, my arms and chest burning as I lowered myself.
Taking a deep breath, I pumped out the last three before letting go of the bar, holding my hands over my head as I gasped for breath.
"Okay, that's done for the day," I grabbed my notebook and checked today's workout off of the list.
Taking a moment to stretch, I considered the last few months.
I had figured out how to deploy the solar sail over the last month and a half, and the Manassas was currently building up a charge for the K-F drive and Lithium-Fusion batteries.
"And once I figure out this math I'll be able to start moving back to civilization," I muttered. "Just got to have a plan first."
Grabbing a towel, I wiped the sweat off of my face before laying it over my shoulder.
"Now I get to study again," I raised a fist in the air. "Yay."
Entering into the Armory[]
"Okay, that's enough studying for the day," I pushed the textbook away and glanced at the piles of finished books.
"Another month and I should be good to at least understand the engineer's notes," I put my notebook away before heading for the door. "But that's for later."
Entering the shipboard armory, I stared for a minute before wiping the drool from the corner of my mouth. This was a gun lover's dream come true, I had ballistic weapons on one wall, lasers on another, grenades and body armor on shelves, and a closed sealed door for specialist weapons in the back.
Grinning, I stepped forward and grabbed one of the laser rifles, hefting the weapon to get a feel for the weight.
"This thing was definitely not designed for sustained use. I grunted as I shouldered the weapon and peered down the scope. "This thing is hefty."
Setting the rifle down, I moved over and did the same with a handgun and one of the ballistic rifles, "I'm definitely keeping these," I pocketed a laser pistol before looking at the doors in the back of the armory. "Now, let's see what you're hiding behind here."
I used Captain Cromwell's credentials on the door and it slid open with a sharp "hiss!" revealing something that I had not expected to see on this ship.
"It's no Mjolnir," I said as I touched the suit. "But you don't get much better than this."
Getting a Plan put together[]
A few weeks later…
"I need a plan," I muttered as I looked at the star charts. "What are my options?" I mused as I thought out loud.
"Draconis Combine," I glanced at the red section of the map. "It's the closest to me, but I'm not Viking or Japanese enough to fit in."
"Lyran Commonwealth," I mused. "I like you, but I'm not sure exactly how I'd fit in. I'm as like to shoot someone for trying to play games and being corrupt as I am to prosper."
"Free Worlds League," I hummed. "Civil War-O-Clock doesn't sound very fun."
"I'm not a communist," I look at the green markings on the map. "And I'm definitely not British or French enough to fit in with the Federated Suns."
"The Periphery might have some decent options, but the Taurians are just about the only ones who I could stand living with long term," I sighed. "Whelp, this sucks." I navigated the map over to the Taurian Concordat's border with the Fedsuns before pausing as a handful of stars appeared with an Alpha-Numeric code. "Hello there," I wrote down the star coordinates. "Let's see what you're hiding now, shall we?"
I spent days combing through Captain Cromwell's journal as well as the journals of the others who had died on the Manassas, trying to figure out exactly what those coordinates were referencing before giving it up as a lost cause until I had finished learning how to use the K-F Drive.
"One thing at a time, Mark," I said as I dove back into the books, trying to make sure that I did it right instead of fast. If I ever wanted to get back to a place with people again then I was going to need to need to do this the right way instead of the fast way. The fast way might lead to more issues like the ones the original crew had, and I had no intention of ending up like them.