VC Chapter 41-A New Beginning

Sector 2100

Planet 2101

January 28, 2052

Charlie walked into a large assembly hall seated by lots of soldiers as he walked to the stage in his ceremonial uniform.

“Quiet down.” Tarbuck shouted as he stood on the stage beside several other Admirals.

“A few days ago...we faced a force that threatened to tear us from the core. A force so formidable that nearly brought us to extinction. A force of uncivilized men with desires of galactic conquest at the expense of others.” Charlie spoke as he read his sheet of paper.

The crowd was silent as the soldiers listened attentively from the Admiral. It was so terribly quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

“Many of our friends, allies, and families gave the ultimate sacrifice to preserve peace. We are forever in their debt for what they died fighting for. I know this is a tough time for all of us. We were beat and we lost our homes.” Charlie took a deep breath and scanned the crowd.

Vorzer, Parks, and the VEGA crew stood at the very back row with melancholic faces. Wicker was seated beside Franklin who appeared to have a broken arm. Jaimes looked at Charlie and nodded at him to continue on.

“From this battle, we gained new allies who fought with us to the very end. The Myrmidons and the VEGA corporation fought alongside us with honour and valour. I personally give my sincere thanks and deepest condolences for the sacrifices they made.” Charlie looked at Stella seated in the second row who was holding Dimitris' hand.

Charlie flipped his piece of paper and then paused as his mind flashed back to the battle.

“Charlie?” Owens walked beside Charlie and whispered in his ear.

“Oh, sorry. Today we will be renaming a Revelation cruiser to NB Pride to honour those who gave their lives to that were proud to be a NB member. Also, a monument will be built in the heart of NB listing the names of all the men and women so that the tales of heroics will be passed on for generations to come.” Charlie pointed at miniature structure on the stage as few soldiers pulled the curtains.

“You did well.” Owens walked up beside Charlie and patted him on the shoulder.

“Thanks.” Charlie retired from the microphones.

“Now, this new sector is our home. We will grow and become stronger than before so that there will be peace once again.” Owens spoke into the microphones.

After the assembly was over, Vorzer walked out of the hall and went to board his ship when Charlie caught up to him.

“I know this is bad timing, but a huge majority of our ships are gone. We're running low on defences, think Rumblelow could provide some ships?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah sure. I'll go ask Rumblelow.” Vorzer nodded and walked into his ship.

Vorzer made his way into the empty cruiser and turned on the hologram transmission.

“Yes Commander Vorzer?” Rumblelow's hologram appeared.

“NB has moved into sector 2100. Do you think we can get more ships for them?” Vorzer reported.

“Of course. Good work Vorzer, Rumblelow out.” Rumblelow ended the trasmission.

* * *

Rumblelow shut off the hologram transmitter and walked towards a guarded elevator. He went inside and scanned his eyes on a retinal scanner.

“Vice President Betram Rumblelow” the scanner greeted.

He pressed a button and the walls of the elevator opened up revealing a small corridor leading to a door. He inputted several codes on the access panel and the door hissed open. The room was dimly lit, but the ship models and books were visible in the cabinets. The centre of the room was a neat table and a large chair with its seated back facing to the door.

“What can I do for you Rumblelow?” a silhouette of a figure spoke from the chair hidden in the shadows.

“Everything is going as planned sir.” Rumblelow looked at the chair.

“Good. Anything else?” the figure spoke.

“Can we give NB more ships?” Rumblelow eyed the ship models in the cabinets.

“Do what you need to do to complete your task.” the figure replied cooly.

“Yes Mr. President.” Rumblelow acknowledged.

 “Good, that will be all.” the figure dismissed.