Log Vaj 17617-2237

[Matthew Vaj]

Personal Log, Lt. Matthew Vaj, 2nd Flt, 4th Light Div, TSN Raven
Stardate 17617-2237

As much as I like the Raven, I still really miss the Phoenix. I’m surprised, though, that today I find that I miss the Orson even more. I haven’t given a lot of thought to my old crew in a long time, but the events of this duty shift gave me a lot to think about.

The shift began with the ONI meeting that I’ve grown accustomed to since I joined ONI. Lots of blahdeeblah briefings on new intel and such.

Following the meeting, I prepared for CIC duty for a mission for the first time. Our Denabite supply had been deteriorating in quantity due to use over time and in quality for reasons that have not yet been determined. It has been proposed that our extended exposure to certain anomalies in the Euphini Expanse may have contributed to its deterioration, which may have had an effect on the failure rate of various ship systems recently. In any case, it was important that we restock the ships with fresh, quality Denabite, so we were ordered to visit Victor Refinery in sector IX of the Atlantis system to resupply.

The trip to the Cerberus gate was uneventful, aside from a few pirates hanging about. Going through Cerberus, on the other hand, was something of a nightmare.
It was in sector III that we stumbled across a veritable invasion force. I remember seeing several command fleets heading for the various stations in the sector, especially Cerberus Command. I felt somewhat overwhelmed – this was supposed to be a simple resupply mission through TSN-controlled space, I shouldn’t have to worry about beating back waves of enemies determined to take out an important TSN base of operations! And yet, that’s what happened. I watched the fleet valiantly taking on hordes of enemies, and I was stuck in CIC. I had to watch, effectively helpless, while someone else made the engineering decisions on the Raven and Phoenix, my two homes in the fleet.

I remember the moment, carefully watching the progress of the battle, that I realized that Cerberus Command’s shields were down and that it was taking heavy damage. Hundreds of lives ended with each successive shot. And as I was on CIC duty, I felt responsible. But the fleet kept going, managed to hold their own, and prevented the destruction of any of the other stations in the sector. Technically, it was a victory. We continued on toward the Atlantis gate and reached Victor Refinery without any more issues, but the ghosts of Cerberus Command will haunt me ‘til my dying days.

The Orson has its own ghosts that haunt me, too, of course. But, oh, how I miss her! She’s such a beautiful ship! If a freighter could ever be called sleek, she could – she was built for speed, and that saved us many a time. But that part of my life is over.

Lt. Cmdr. Matsiyan took CIC for our next mission, while I returned to my beloved engineering station on the Raven. From Atlantis, we were ordered to rendezvous with a convoy of N’Tani ships which had a delegation of Zolmari aboard. Due to fears of compromised mission details from the takedown of Cerberus Command, the rendezvous was changed to meet in the Danae system after we completed an astronomic survey of the Waypoint 60 system. Shortly after the rendezvous, a huge fleet of Unukalhai warships entered the sector via jump gate. They weren’t just passing through, they knew something was up and wanted to end it. The terrible thing: Adele Mundy had taken the weapons station for the shift. I saw her face whiten and she clenched her jaw when she realized they were Unukalhai ships. At least in her usual capacity as comms officer she could do her best to limit the number of ships destroyed, but on weapons, her task was to deal as much damage to those ships as she could – knowing that her brother might be on board one of them.

I could empathize. The Orson was once a Unukalhai ship, until we decided to leave. Many of the Orson’s crew left friends and family among the Unuks when we defected. As far as I know, my Uncle Rex and his family are still major proponents of the USF, and at least two of his sons are serving on USF ships, and of course I’d rather they be safe. But I was never very close to Uncle Rex or his kids, and certainly not nearly as close to them as Adele probably was to her brother. I exchanged a grim glance with her, and tried to be supportive from across the bridge, but there’s not really that much anyone can do in a situation like that. I hoped Matsiyan was thinking about elephants. That would at least distract Adele a bit.

When we finally cleared the sector and I had time to think, I started thinking more about the crew of the Orson, and how we’d helped each other come to terms with our decision to defect, and how we’d supported each other during that awful period of avoiding the USF and trying to find a new home for ourselves.
That’s what I really loved about the Orson. Not so much the ship, it was the crew, the people who made up my family at the time, who I miss and appreciate. But as I said, that part of my life is over. I have a new home, a new family, and we’ll support each other when times are tough.

I don’t know yet whether Command will decide to rebuild Cerberus Command. That’s above my pay grade. I do know that the officers of the Terran Stellar Navy, 2nd Fleet, 4th Light Division are just normal people, with all the struggles and choices to face that are part of anyone’s life, and that we must support each other. Otherwise, what happened to Adele’s brother could just as easily happen to us.

• This topic was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Matthew Vaj. Reason: See Matsiyan's post

[Matsiyan]

// This is awesome. Thank you for creating an involving viewpoint and relating it to other RP. That weaving really deepens the experience.

Would you mind editing out the OOC comment and maybe putting it down here in the after comments? It’s a shame to break the flow.

My memories are fuzzy but I thought the engagement took place after the Denobite pickup?

Also, to minimize sandbox rework we may be assuming that the station systems went offline and its structure took damage with severe or almost total casualties, but that it can be repaired and reoccupied over the coming months.

Thanks again. I loved reading this.

[Matthew Vaj]

// Yep, you’re right. I’ll make those changes real quick….

[Adele Mundy]

//wonderful stuff! Thank you!

[Author]

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