User blog:I am that guy/Face to Face

- Baltic League Battleship Baltica -

Commodore Kaznizki had seen impressive sights before, sights that had left him stunned into momentary silence. Those included his first sight of the expansive Eris yards, the brilliant flashes of light as the Caelmare Expeditionary force entered hyperspace, and the friction-induced flames as the Carrier transports entered Caelmares' atmosphere. Each time, he paused and took the time it took to admire them. Now and the, he found himself replaying those instances in his head, standing his hairs on end all over again out of awe.

Now those very hairs were standing for a very different reason. It was one of shear shock and horror. Scarcely a few kilometers away from his fleet, faced an opposing armada. It wasn't that which had sparked his stunned reaction, it was the shear size of the ships before him. The two behemoths at the head of that fleets' line-of-battle had to double his own Balticas length, and God alone knew how many times more massive. Through his binoculars, he struggled to count the turrets lining the sides of those ships. An staff officer described them as "having more barrels than a porcupine has quills". Kaznizki found the comparison suitable.

He only wished that he could've identified the threats. Scans, both manual and computer, through the databases revealed nothing. Their profiles did remind him of dreadnoughts, if only on a much larger scale. But who were those people over there?

His thoughts cut off as a soft chime echoed through the quiet flag bridge. He turned to the source: it was the communications console. As the comm officer worked her computer, Kaznizki couldn't help but think maybe those mystery people were mind readers. He allowed himself a low snort of amusement at the thought. But any left quickly evaporated as the comm officer turned in his direction.

"We have an incoming signal from the lead ship of that fleet", she informed Kaznizki and the flag crew.

Kaznizki sighed, squared his shoulders, and turned to the large conference screen. "Put it through to the main screen". The formerly black screen lit with the image of a man in an unfamiliar uniform, in an equally unfamiliar bridge. He couldn't tell much by the picture, nor could he identify the look on the mans face. The one thing he did recognize was the obvious influence of contempt.

"Hello", Kaznizki started, forcing his voice level, "I am Commodore Marcus Kaznizki of the Baltic League. You people wouldn't have happened to have seen a battlescruier by the name of Vindicator, 'bout 550 meters long, around here? Have you?" He ended with an obviously bitter smile.

The stranger snorted loudly, contemptuously. "Yes", he began, "yes we have." The admission sent a new wave of silence through Balticas flag bridge, but the stranger seemed unfazed. "I am Rear Admiral Samuel Alexander of the Royal Manticoran Navy. I am speaking from the bridge of the mega-dreadnought HMS King Roger. You and your kind have invaded our home planet, intrude into our waters, your presence here on the planet your kind calls Caelmare is a threat to our culture and existence."

Kaznizki didn't know where to start: Manticore? Our kind? Invasion? Intrusions? Threats? What the hell is a mega-dreadnought? What was there to respond with?

He decided to go for broke. "Admiral, I can assure you the Baltic League does not wish to appear threatening to any culture or people. We are merely explorers, wishing to understand the worlds we land on. I can also assure you that any intrusions into your peoples' waters are purely done so with no knowledge they were claimed."

The man on the other end snorted even louder than before. "Don't give me the crap your old earth government orders you to tell in order to re-assure the 'indigenous'. My people, and our ancestors may have left old earth hoping to be free of its curroption, but we are not ignorant to events there, and elsewhere. We know full well that several governments - including your Baltic League - gave re-assurances, like the one you gave me, to the natives of New Earth. And when those natives prepared to defend themselves if the off-world ears got greedy, it was the opinion of at least one of those government to try to rid themselves of the pests. Does humanity even know how many hundreds of nukes were dropped on New Earth that day?"

Kaznizki felt paralyzed as he was forced to remember the day when several hundred nukes were dropped on various native settlements on New Earth. The man was right to, the natives had been getting ready to defend themselves, it was the Commonwealths early days. And the Batlic League was one of those who assured the natives they would be left alone, though they had strongly condemned the bombardment. But no one remembers stuff like that.

"It was after that day", the "Manticoran" continued, not letting Kaznizki have time to collect his thoughts, "when we realized that when the people of old earth discovered Manticore, the likelihood they would bring destruction was greater than peace. We are ready to defend the homes we have fought to establish here."

The sentences sent a chill through Balticas flag bridge. These people had shown they were willing to fire without warning, but to here the passion in which he justified the actions was something Kaznizki couldn't quite describe. He was sure there was nothing left which can shock more than he was now.

"Unfortunately, Commodore," man continued, "I am under direct orders from my Queen to eliminate any force that conducts an incursion into our waters, which is exactly what you've done."

Kaznizki physically felt the blood drain from his face. In one moment, composure collapsed and command instinct took over. He turned to the pale-faced comm officer and made a chopping motion with his hand, signaling for the channel to close. The last picture on the screen was of a smirking Rear Admiral Alexander.

"Commodore Kaznizki to all ships," he began as the flag bridge crew scurried to manage their duties, "break formation, scatter, and take evasive action. Reverse course and regroup at Hancock as soon as possible."

As he finished, he turned to face out the forward window, and saw the first torrent of cannon shells and missiles unleashed from the opposing fleet.