Ashes Snippet 4

 So, still plodding away with the video rendering, stealing time to render here and there. (30 minutes on the potty for 5 frames? Sure, why not?)

Anway, I have a problem to work out but otherwise, still rendering. Fun. I'm also still blocking Searching for a Needle and The Long Road Home. Also fun.

 

Oh, and Happy Birthday Jory!

 

On to the snippet!

Malice

 

Cast:

Sedrick Ramichov

Katya Ramichov: Wife of Sedrick.

Illya Ramichov: Six-year-old son of Katya and Sedrick.

Admiral Theodore Rico

Odette Tucket

Javier Jaberwoky: Family owns most of refineries.

Captain Ken Knowles "KK"

Valerian Pushkin

Hazel Takao

Midshipman Razer Ishmael

 

Horath

 

Sedrick smiled to himself as he looked out to the night sky and then up. He could just make out the faint glitter of the orbital warehouse. Beyond that he could imagine the glitter of the repair slip under construction. This was their time to shine.

His eyes fell to the city lights below and beyond. They spread out beyond to the curve of the planet. It was pretty, but he wanted more. Horath had always kept quiet. Now that was going to change … in time.

The reports had come in; the Federation was in full collapse. There was effectively no central government and no military. No law enforcement to oppose them.

Again, it was their time. Time to do more. Time to build his empire.

He'd wanted the Garth yard transported to Horath but the Tucket family had resisted. They had designated Garth as their little fiefdom to be, and he'd decided to let them have it. Their vision was so much smaller than his.

Other families had chosen the places they wanted to stake out. The Rico family wanted to build a navy. Other militant families were in agreement. He was in agreement. In order to fulfill his vision of an empire, he was going to need a navy.

Well, two navies, he thought, turning away and to the glass table near his chair. He poured himself a shot of vodka and then took a seat. He clipped his cigar, lit it, and then dipped the end in the vodka for a second before putting it back in his mouth to puff on it for a moment.

The taste was great. Even better when he considered the future.

He had already laid out his grand vision to the select few he trusted. They in turn had named their price to support it. He would need to set up a college eventually for the nobles to be. A parliament, that sort of thing. He sniffed, more in disdain over that than the fragrant smoke from the cigar.

If they only knew what he had planned …?

<<<*>>>

Admiral Theodore Rico nodded as he walked through the base. They were already drawing up plans for a space station of course, a command center for the navy he was going to build. Until then he had to use a campus on the ground.

He wore a snow white uniform, the only one in the navy at the moment. He loved gold braid and such but such things were for formal affairs. It was going to be a while before they commissioned their first proper warship so he would leave the formal uniform in his closet for formal dinners and the like.

Of which he was probably going to be enduring entirely too many of while they got their collective act together. Honestly, a spacer belonged in space. The sooner they got something, hell, at this point he'd take a cruiser as a temporary flagship, the better.

A Varbossa lad in a midshipman's uniform ran past him. He glared, making a note of the trespass. The young man needed to learn about protocol and manners. He made a mental note to have the academy look into that soon.

They were going to need everything. An academy, bases, written rules—the lists went on and on. It was daunting. One thing they were not going to abide by were A.I. He for one wouldn't allow them in the fleet. He couldn't and wouldn't trust them. The only person who ran his ships would be his officers and crew, not some jumped-up computer program.

He and the other families had insisted on splitting the navy into two parts. The first, the Battle Fleet, would protect Horath and eventually their empire. The other, the Gather Fleet would be the pirate fleet. The Gather Fleet would go out and play Q ship and pirate, tearing apart and picking the bones of the old Federation and bringing the booty back to Horath or to staging sites across the galaxy.

He was particularly looking forward to any military salvage they gathered for him and “his” navy. He knew he wasn't going to be able to keep his hands clean forever, but it was nice to pretend, at least for a while.

What was the term the Jabberwocky's had? Oh, yes, pre-salvage. He snorted at that idea. The joke was well known by pirate and mercenary clans.

Really, it was going to be years before they had a large enough navy to truly defend the star system effectively. They were going to have to be cautious as they felt their way across the galaxy, making contacts and taking command of the pirate enclaves and bases. They were going to have to have a solid battle line with fortresses and the like to protect Horath before the empire formally launched and the true conquest of the Federation began. He had faith in his people though. With order, discipline, and a healthy incentive, they'd get it done.

And if they didn't? Well, he'd be there to make sure they did. Even if he had to kick a few asses and make a few examples to get his point across.

<<<*>>>

The young woman smiled as she went through customs. Ships were moving in and out of Horath more frequently. It had been tricky to get a ticket. Horath seemed to be the place though to be in the sector at the moment.

“Name?” a bored customs agent asked. 'Hey, lady, name?” he demanded.

The woman shrugged internally. "Call me Hazel. Hazel Takeo …"

<<<*>>>