From Darkness

[Rodent]

LEWIS

Reginald Lewis leaned against the side of his Guardian, head lowered and shoulders slumped. The adrenaline rush was wearing off, leaving only a seeping tiredness that found his way to his very bones. But he’d made it here, mostly in one piece. Not everyone was so lucky.

He raised his head, hearing quick footsteps coming towards him. It was not a man he recognized, although the Red and Blue uniform of the Bretonian Armed Forces ensured that he was a friendly face. He looked unwashed and tired, hair that might have been a brilliant chrome now a dusty brown-blonde.

“Commander Lewis?” He inquired softly. Soft traces of a New London accent underscored his words, and Lewis surmised that the officer was likely from a well established family...perhaps even nobility. His flinty face and hair lent some weight to that notion. If the nobles were being forced to take to arms… it was not a good situation.

“Lieutenant Commander Lewis. You are?” Lewis said, extending a hand. The Bretonian took him up on the offer, and his handshake was firm and confident.

“Captain Adrian Nelson. I’m in charge of Wikes Base as long as it’s still standing,” He said, leaning back and smiling faintly.

“It should stand a fair bit longer now that the supplies are in.” Lewis said, grinning back and gesturing to docking bays all around him. Wikes was underground as resistance bases were wont to do. Orbital bombardment was too great a concern. Said docking bays were filled with freighters, mostly Libertonian with an odd Camara or Bretonian freighter thrown into the mix. They brought much needed supplies to fuel the resistance. Armaments were the primary cargo on this shipment, but basic amenities like food and water were also being unloaded.

“Best thing to happen to us all month, Lewis. The damned Gallics don’t make it easy to get supplies down here and we were getting stretched to the wire,” Adrian said, nodding softly as he looked around.

“You can say that again…”

This was Lewis’ first escort mission to the besieged planet, and it had been pure nightmare fuel. It had started innocuously enough,from the Magellan system. Their orders were simple, to sneak under the Gallic dragnet and get to the planet’s surface. Contrary to his expectations, getting to Leeds had been the easy part. Apparently the Gallics were more interested in watching for large-scale attacks than monitoring for small fry like them.

As they began atmospheric entry, Lewis had been proven dead wrong. A maelstrom of fire engulfed them as anti-air batteries throughout the planet were alerted to their presence, missiles and shrapnel had turned the air around them into a death trap. Their only way out was to drop as fast as possible to get under Anti-Air coverage.

The entire ordeal had lasted less than fifteen seconds, Lewis realized with surprise. It had seemed far longer… they had lost more than half the convoy in the process. And it wasn’t over yet, for Gallic fighter squadrons had been mobilized to track them down and destroy them, and they had been forced to either avoid them or shoot them down.

By a stroke of luck, they had managed to end up fairly close to Wikes, and thus saved themselves.

“Now you know why they call it the ‘Death Drop’, Yank”, Adrian said, chuckling dryly. He clapped Lewis on the shoulder. “You saved our asses. For a few weeks, at least.”

“Doing what I can, Captain,” Lewis said, earnestly. This earned a shrug from the grizzled Bretonian officer.

“Gallics will be swarming around this area for a while, so you’re stuck here. Enjoy our hospitality and make yourself at home… such as it is,” he said, already walking away. Lewis didn’t press him, the man likely had a whole new slew of work to do with the new supplies. Distributing them properly would take time.

He made his way to the living quarters, a short walk and an elevator ride away. Wikes was all narrow corridors, dim lights and cramped spaces. He decided to find a secure terminal first, to key himself into the Naval network and confirm mission success. It did not take long, people around the base already seemed to have an idea of who he was, and gave him a fair deal of space.

Half an hour later, he’d finished filing his report. It could not be a long one, as he did not trust the security of any communication from Leeds. A basic confirmation of the drop was all he’d been able to file in. That being done, he was about to log off when a report caught his eye.

It was from Admiral Polstari, and the report was titled ‘Unexpected Events at Altona’. It was classified, but Lewis had limited access. Curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it…

“Dear god.”

Polstari was not known for understating a situation, but this certainly counted as one. A Naval attack on Altona, for an unstated objective had been ambushed by a large Rheinland fleet and completely outmaneuvered. The report did not list complete losses and details, and large portions of it were redacted or beyond his clearance, but if he was reading it right...this was the biggest loss Liberty had suffered at Rheinland’s hands in a long while. Not something they could afford at all.

Lewis vowed to find out more when he was back in Liberty Space.