SHIFT
Xing woke up in a
clone.
Jin's adamant that I'll "get used to it"
but I don't see how. This disjointed feeling is my brain rebelling at an
obviously unnatural process.
Xing usually reacted
poorly to a clone jump, but this time was worse than usual. The destroyed body
had several high-grade neural augmentations that acted to improve Xing's focus
and reactions.
I hate waking up as a slow shadow of my self.
Xing took a few
stumbling steps around his Captain's Quarters. The sound of the warning Klaxons
was still fresh in his mind.
"Takara!"
Where was she? Takara knew to meet me after any jump
to a fresh clone.
Xing moved to his
captain's chair--a large leather affair. He considered searching for Takara but
sat instead. He leaned over the arm of the chair as his stomach roiled. After
Xing's first jump, he'd made sure to order clones prepared with an empty stomach.
Xing sighed.
It's still not as bad as that first time.
●
● ●
Xing grew up on
Clellinon VII and, like the rest of the alPatar clan, joined the Federal
Military on the day he came of age. The alPatars have long been a military
family, but it was only recently that they've made the jump to being Capsuleers.
Xing's brother Jin and their cousins—Amita & Hajeesh—were the first.
Jin, Amita &
Hajeesh had all been granted immortality together and about 20 years sooner
than anyone had expected. Either of these apart would be rare but both together
meant something big had happened. Xing had searched through transmissions but
found no public mention of a "special service" they performed for the
High Command. He even went so far as to call in a favor from Azotte, his
contact in the Federal Intelligence Office, but still found nothing.
Xing wouldn't have
been so intent on finding out what happened except that Jin refused to say anything on the subject. He'd have expected
that from Amita and Hajeesh—they were generally close-mouthed about
everything—but he and Jin shared everything.
Xing was considering
his next step when a communication from Jin came in.
"Are you ready
for your final exam?" Jin asked.
"As ready as
I'll ever be." Xing replied. "What's your ETA?"
Xing was currently
orbiting Clellinon III as he waited for Jin to show up. The past two
weeks—Xing's first as a Capsuleer—had been non-stop drills and simulations.
Xing had heard stories from Jin & Amita about their first months as
Capsuleers. They'd had no training and lacked mentors to guide their first
steps. Xing was again reminded at just how much he owed his older brother. Not
just for the training, but for even becoming a Capsuleer.
As soon as the first
alPatars had become Capsuleers they worked tirelessly to attain enough
influence to refer and recommend other members of the alPatar clan for
immortality. Some will cry "Nepotism!" but the alPatars rarely trust
anyone outside the family to guard their backs. In the course of just a few
years the first three had added another dozen family members to the ranks.
Whatever service Jin, Amita & Hajeesh may have
performed, there's nothing so terrible that it's not balanced out by granting
immortality to the family.
"I'm exiting
warp to your position now." Jin said.
A moment later Jin's
Vexor class cruiser sped in from somewhere near the sun and decelerated to a
stop near Xing's Catalyst class destroyer.
"Do you have
our coordinates?" Xing asked.
"Yes, but give
me a few minutes to double-check their position."
Xing saw some probes
pop up on his overview before they sped off toward the last known location of
the Serpentis Outpost.
Earlier in the week
Jin was running Xing through drills using the new probes and probe launcher
they'd received from the Sisters of Eve. They were both a little surprised to
find a Serpentis Outpost in this system as it's heavily patrolled by the
Federation Navy. They'd both served a term in the Navy so were familiar with
these types of installations. The standard Navy protocol was to warp in an
overwhelming force from all 6 cardinal directions with squads focusing on the
most dangerous targets first. Even with such precautions, the Navy still
occasionally lost ships.
Xing had wanted to
report the outpost to the Navy, but Jin saw this as an opportunity. Jin had
decided that clearing the outpost would be Xing's final exam.
The probes briefly
flashed on Xing's overview before returning to Jin's ship.
"Just as we
left it; there are only a handful of frigates in this outpost. I'm sending you
the coordinates now."
Xing entered the
coordinates and started to align his ship to warp to the hostile outpost.
"Remember your
training and you'll do fine. I know at first it's strange to think that your single ship can do what
would take a small Navy fleet; but as a Capsuleer you act as a force
multiplier."
Xing had heard this
all before and it was starting to make sense. When he started training with Jin
he had assumed that his 10 years fighting Serpentis attacks with the Federation
military would give him a leg up. He had since learned that was not the case.
Commanding a ship from an isolated pod uses an entirely different set of skills
than commanding a ship from the bridge. His whole mindset needed to adjust. An
adjustment that was somewhat unpleasant.
"Thanks,"
Xing said, "I remember. I worked with my chief engineer, Takara, for the
past 8 hours making sure this ship was in the best possible shape to take out
these hostile forces."
"Good. And to reiterate: I'll be warping in with you, but I'm not going to intervene
unless it's absolutely necessary. You need to learn the full capabilities of
your ship, and that won't happen if you're relying on me."
The brothers had
argued long and hard about this. Xing said they should go in together to
minimize the chance of casualties. Working with his crew to outfit his ship had
taught Xing to value their expertise. They finally reached the compromise where
Jin would be present in his cruiser to help if needed.
"Alright, we're
both aligned and at speed. Initiate warp on my mark."
It was a short
battle that went as Jin had predicted. The advantage a Capsuleer has over a
standard crew is incredible. Xing's ship made quick work of the Serpentis
frigates. It was almost as if they melted under the power of his blasters.
When it was finished
Xing looked over the status of his ship and saw that his shields and armor were
both gone. The last frigate had even managed to get a shot through to the hull
itself.
"Well, that was
closer than I'd have preferred, Jin. But I think I understand why you say we're
'force multipliers'. The Navy would have needed at least a dozen ships to
ensure they suffered no losses against this force."
"Can you send
over a few of your maintenance drones while I look through the wrecks for
anything we might salvage?"
Now that the fight
was over Xing's mind was back to the other problem. What 'service' could Jin have
performed that he refuses to speak of? He was so preoccupied that
he didn't realize until it was too late that Jin hadn't sent maintenance
drones. He'd sent combat drones.
Xing's ship was
already defenseless and Jin's drones tore it to shreds.
Xing was
dumbfounded. Why had Jin attacked me?
Had he been thinking clearly he'd have immediately warped back to the station
in his pod, but he just sat there until Jin destroyed that too.
SHIFT
Xing woke up in a
clone.
His confusion
with Jin's actions and the effects of the jump nearly incapacitated him. He
stumbled toward the sink but vomited down his front.
Why was there even food in this stomach?
He fell to the
ground and crawled to his chair. He climbed in slowly and sat there shaking.
Xing's mind was so troubled he didn't even notice when Jin arrived.
Jin walked over and
crouched down in front of his brother.
He put his hand on
Xing's and said, "I know what you're feeling. I know you're upset. But
this was a lesson you had to learn. As a Capsuleer your ship will be destroyed.
Your pod will be destroyed. You are
immortal now and you need to shake your fear of death."
"While we were
training I saw you making the same mistakes I made during my first months. You
grew close to your crew and were unwilling to take chances."
Oh god! The crew!
That realization
showed clearly on Xing's face.
"I lost some
highly talented crew members when I lost my first ship. I tried to spare you
some of that at least. Before we set out I ordered Takara to remain behind and
I drilled your crew on escape procedures. I recommend you do this again in the
future, but the choice is yours." Jin finished.
Xing was overcome
with relief. The crew was safe.
●
● ●
For Xing, that first
jump was only a month in the past but he was starting to see Jin's purpose for
that 'test'. There is a certain strength in fearlessness; even though
Capsuleers are immortal, he had still feared death.
"Takara!"
Xing shouted.
"I'm here, Xing." Takara said as she entered the Captain's quarters. "Sorry for the delay, this jump was pretty unexpected. What happened? Weren't you supposed to be mining?
How was your pod destroyed?"
"There's an
alliance in the north that's making a market play in blue ice. I'd heard
rumblings of this but I didn't expect action on this scale. They're suiciding
ships to destroy ice miners just to manipulate prices."
"That's
horrible!"
"You're right. But it's not exactly surprising, either."
Xing sighed as he
thought about all those meaningless deaths just so that some Capsuleers in the
north can turn a profit.
"And can you
please be sure the families of my crew are taken care of?" Xing asked.
"Of course. And
on the bright side, your younger sister has been accepted into the Capsuleer ranks based
on your recommendation."
"That's
fantastic!"
"Will you be
running the same training that Jin did for you?" Takara asked.
"Of course. And
as much as I hated it, I'll give Kamla the same final exam. When she arrives be
sure to wish her luck. She'll need all she can get."
