2952-12-04 – Tales from the Inbox: The Mission of Force 72 

As you probably know by now, Seventh Fleet has dispatched a task force into Kyaroh space to assist them in resisting the Incarnation offensive, and that force reached the Kyaroh world of Obzahi yesterday. A little math suggests that the force was dispatched days before we published the interview with Adviser Lved, otherwise it would never have reached such a remote location in time without going through Incarnation held regions. I learned that it was dispatched weeks ago, but obviously I do not know the precise date. 

What is curious to me is how the fleet knows the task force has arrived. Obviously we have no Hypercast relay connections built that far out, and they would be easily destroyed if we did. Perhaps this was merely the arranged date of rendezvous on station, and Admiral Abarca is merely banking on the fact that even if that fleet is days behind, no-one on this side of the lines can possibly know it for some time. 

What is interesting is that the force is led by a familiar face to this publication. When we talked to him last in October for the main vidcast, Samuel Bosch did not let on that he was already preparing for a behind the lines operation, but he certainly was. The leader of the Lost Squadrons is the logical choice to lead Force 72, obviously. His new command is centered around two of the fleet’s newest ships: the brand-new Farragut-class heavy cruisers Raymond Spruance and Isaac Macready. Neither of these vessels has been in service longer than a year and a half and they seem to have all of the fancy upgrades the Admiralty has devised to optimize its ships for this conflict. 

In addition to these two capital vessels, Force 72 is composed of at least three light cruisers and a dozen destroyers, plus frigates, cutters, and support vessels. Obviously the specific strength was not listed by the fleet’s announcement, but it is surprising that any vessels besides Bosch’s own Spruance were listed by name. 

I did ask Mr. Lved if he had any comment on the fleet’s announcement, and he said only that he was glad that this action was made public. 

With the last four feed items of the year, I did want to spend some time revisiting people who have made their mark on this publication over the years, both within military service and otherwise. When I suggested this idea to Nojus, he thought it very sensible, but he was less enthusiastic about my desire that he be the subject of the first of these entries. Nojus’s signature commentary has been absent from most of our feed items of late because he and I have been splitting up to cover multiple things at once – we are rarely both in the same place to jointly author each scheduled publication. 

Nevertheless, I was able to extract from him this very brief account of a recent adventure in his work behind the scenes for Cosmic Background. 

“Anyway, there I was, facing down a hellreaper...” Nojus swept one big hand through the air to imitate the scything claws of the notorious monster of Glitterwold. “With nothing but my camera drones and my multitool, as usual. I’d heard they were big, but let me tell you, they’re a lot bigger in person. And sharper.” 

The pretty brown-haired woman leaning on the bar next to him smiled, but something in her manner told Nojus she was not listening with her full attention. Perhaps she thought this was a mere tall tale, but Nojus, as a rule, never made up any of his adventures, nor exaggerated anything, because almost all of it was on the datasphere in full-capture. He was no stranger to poetical language, but exaggeration which could be disproved? That might ruin him. 

“I had planned to try to take it on, you know. I’ve killed bigger beasts with nothing but my trusty RSSM. I’d even got the right hunting tag in case I came across one.” This, too, was no lie. “But the moment I saw it clambering up over that ledge, I knew I wasn’t going to be killing it. Getting anywhere near it was suicide. So I started-” 

“Excuse me.” A smooth, elegant voice behind Nojus interrupted. 

Nojus turned around, and was surprised to meet the ruby-gemstone gaze of a Gilhedat female. He knew she was a female at first glance, even though his eyes scrambled to find any solid evidence of this; the species had none of the usual feminine or masculine features to go by.  

Others might be intimidated by those piercing eyes that seemed to see too much – thoughts and emotions, even – but this wasn’t Nojus’s first experience with the species. He had nothing to hide for the hyper-perceptive xeno to divine. Besides, as they went, this one wasn’t bad looking, and she was bound to be more interesting company than the brunette who couldn’t even pay attention for a short anecdote. “You are excused. Can I help you?” 

 “Am I mistaken in identifying the Nojus Brand?” The Gilhedat placed one golden hand on the bar, two fingers upraised toward the proprietor in a familiar way. The portly man picked up the signal immediately and scurried off into the back. 

“You are not mistaken.” Nojus bowed his head. “And you have the advantage over me, Councilor, since we have not met.” This title wasn’t much of a guess; nearly every Gilhedat one ran into in Sagittarius Gate was a member of the Grand Journey diplomatic corps. 

“I wonder if I do.” Her faceted eyes caught the dim light as she threw back her hood, revealing a smooth, bald golden head. Gilhedat were hairless; that was, as far as Nojus was concerned, the strangest thing about them. “My name is Nahsa. Perhaps you can assist me in something.” 

“Unfortunately, Nahsa, I’ve hung up my muddy boots.” Nojus shrugged, barely conscious of the fact that the audience of his interrupted story was getting up to leave. “No more hazard romps. At least until after this war is over, eh?” 

Nahsa smiled. It wasn’t a broad grin, just a little smirk, but it was enough to brighten the whole bar, if only for an instant, and only for Nojus himself. He wondered how much of that winning grin was calculated, and how much was spontaneous; he’d heard plenty about the Gilhedat councilor training to know that nothing they did was ever purely spontaneous. “You are precisely as you seem in the media, aren’t you?” 

“Never had the patience to be someone else for the cameras.” Nojus caught the bartender’s eyes as he returned, and gestured to the empty glass in front of himself. “I might turn it up a little sometimes, but who doesn’t?” 

“There is wisdom in that.” Nahsa leaned over and lowered her voice. “Are you read into the mission of the seventy-two?” 

Nojus frowned. He was, but that wasn’t something an alien representative should know about, nor something that should be discussed in so public a place. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Admirable.” Nahsa nodded. “I will say my piece, then, and let you be. The Grand Journey wishes to contribute diplomatically to the seventy-two operation. We need only some way to send word of our coming to those taking part.” 

Nahsa fell silent as the bartender placed a glass of something brilliantly green in front of her, then refilled Nojus’s whiskey. She and did not speak again until he had wandered off. “Convey this notice to someone who can make use of it. I will not be difficult for them to find.” 

Nojus shook his head. “I still don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Again, that is admirable.” Nahsa placed a hand on his arm for a moment. “Convey my message then to whoever you think it would be wise.” 

Nojus stared hard at the Gilhedat woman as she sipped her drink. As usual with her kind, she had a way of seeming unnaturally relaxed and tightly wound all at once, and that conveyed no useful information to him. “I can promise nothing.” 

“I did not ask for promises.” Nahsa arched one thin eyebrow. “But now my duty is complete, and I would like to hear what became of the slashing beast.” 

Despite himself, Nojus could only chuckle. “Well I do know something about that.” He arched his fingers back into an imitation of raking claws. “So when I saw it, I knew it was suicide to try to kill it, right?” He swiped at the air in pantomime of the monster’s fury. 

“As you said.” 

“But I couldn’t outrun it either, and it was mad as all hells. So I had to do some fast thinking.” Nojus kept his voice lower than before; this time, it was a story for a private audience. “So here’s what I came up with. Mind you, quick thinking isn’t usually sound thinking, so this is going to sound pretty stupid...”