Vagrant: A Wanderer's Story

[Cmdr Nova]

2004-04-22

Bah, I'm turning this into an open notepad kinda thing for me.

Just fragments.

-----

I'm still alive.

Vagrant

A Wanderer's Story

I'm bored and I've been wanting to do some BC RP/Fan Fiction for a while now. This'll no doubt get put on hold indefinitely eventually, but it's worth a shot.

I'm extremely rusty. And I'm also a much different writer than I was two/three years ago.

-----

(RP)

November 20, 3011

GCV-Supremacy, Docked at Orion

Centris Orbit

Oi. Wether he liked to admit it or not, Alec Nova enjoyed the feeling of being on the bridge again. On his bridge again, of his ship, commanding his crew. This wasn't the same ship--it had been scuttled after major damage on patrol when an Insurgent "surprise" came along--but a Violon Carrier. Continuing Nova's special lust for the absolute fastest ship of it's class. Ahh... His ship. Supremacy. Home. Again.

However, things were different this time than the last time he'd been aboard this--or any--command vessel. Times had changed. He had, too.

-----

Two years ago, he'd decided that space was getting too quiet for his attention span. He'd just joined the Orion Fleet months prior (post-Golgotha [into The Fire]), but just as easily as he came, he went. [*1] He was one hell of a strategist (and a crack-ace pilot to boot), and he was totally fearless in the heat of battle. As a commander, he was quick, decisive, and unconventional--which occasionally got him heat from the brass. His crew was closely-knit, his command was lenient but effective; almost as if he still felt himself as a freelance mercenary. In any case, he got the job done when he needed to, just as he always had. But.. the neverending patrols wouldn't satisfy him. Not with an entire universe out there, just waiting to be seen.

He spent eight years as a mercenary and got nowhere with that, though he had some cheap thrills. He spent a year with GALCOM and didn't think it was him. He lusted for combat, but there was none to be found. So he just surrendered to reality and settled down a bit. Tried journalism. Didn't feel like dealing with the shit of the world, though he did enjoy writing and photography. Tried engineering and physics, however it became even more boring than a fringe patrol operation.

Space called for him, and he lusted for it. And thus he went back out as a mercenary, once again. There was nothing better to do where he was, he might as well just drift until he found something he'd enjoy.

Some time passed, and Orion Fleet once again, called. He was one of their better men, they'd said. An up-and-coming star of the Fleet. They needed people like him. The more he ignored it, the more urgent their requests seemed. Desperate, mayhaps? Probably. Enlistment had been on the decline since there hadn't been any threatening skirmishes on the front. Patrols and immensely long outings at space were also becoming unpopular. The morale of the younger GALCOM men (the bulk of the non-command) had gone into a "bleh" mode.

It is also ironic that Nova had found a steady girlfriend during his time off. She was maybe the one thing keeping him sane while seemingly nothing of importance was going on in the universe. She was about his height, had beautiful long brown hair, and the most gorgeous face... A nice, cute, smart girl. Earth born and raised.

Reality continually got in the way--space is so vast, and he'd just gotten the luck of having the majority of his mercenary contracts on the outer fringes of the Terran quad. But he and she persisted and they'd been together for almost the entire time since he'd gone back into civilian life.

But that call from Orion. Something bothered him about the sheer quietness from the front. He either smelled Gammulan encroachment, or that was just his own mind bullshitting him into it. Maybe the thrill of adrenaline got to him. And oh, Lord, oh, that thrill would definitely get to him.

-----

He opened up the commlink. "Alright. This is Nova." He glanced around, making sure he was being heard--in the ship, and beyond. "You know, I really don't like hard-lined classical speeches. They're impersonal and boring, don't you think? Lemme start with a story, then.

"Years ago, I became a mercenary to find my own direction. You've heard that story, no doubt. I repeated the same a couple years ago, when I left this ship. There hasn't been any major Terran-Gammulan conflict since God knows when, but on second thought, that just makes it even more likely that something bad's bound to happen one of these days.

"The Insurgency? Oh yeah, we're still fighting them, but it's the same old thing. It's not much of a fight anyways--we both know better and hold back to keep an eye on the Gamms.

"Who's keeping that eye out? Oh, we all know we have those special-intelligence operations going on constantly. Right? Well, we want more than infiltration. We want defense more than in our territory. We nearly lost Pixan-Lennen few years back, which would've practically laid bare the entire Sol system. What good does that intelligence warning give us if we can't use it early enough?

"Which brings me to the point here. Er... Ah, um, yes. 'Search and destroy.' Three words that encompass a vague command. 'Patrol.' 'Explore.' Frankly, it's all vague and almost insane to simply say that. But that's practically the mission of the Supremacy Battle Group. We're a small battle group and we simply go around and we serve as 1) reconnaissance, 2) exploration of unknown territory, 3) we try to find any and all hidden enemy advantages (i.e. technologies or scientific knowledge like wormholes), and 4) strategic first-warning/first-strike. I tend to like number 4 the most, though that's probably gonna be the least used of our operations. They're coming? Chances are, we're already there, and we've got them in their territory, not letting them have a first stab at ours. You've gotta be fast, you've gotta be strong, you've gotta be persistent... And well, you've gotta be flat out psycho to do it, 'but at all costs, we must prevent any and all infiltration of Terran territory,' or so the doctrine says.

"Get used to the other fleets right now--throw out any rivalries you have. We need all the friends we can get. Non-GALCOM personnel, too, for that matter. We'll be working closely with a variety of organizations in and out of GALCOM.

"I can't tell you where this is gonna take us, because frankly, I haven't received those orders yet." He chuckles a bit. "But yeah, this is kind of an experiment. Our orders are vague now, but maybe we'll develop into a mold of sorts eventually. We'll have to see where it all takes us.

"In any case, I am proud to say that the Supremacy Battle Group is, as of this day, active."

Heh Alec, you're full of it, he thinks to himself. You could just as well fit right in with the propagandist types, you know?

Well, you know, his other half replies to himself. I was in the ACADEMY teaching this stuff for a little bit. I've been hanging out with the fanatics too much.

He looks at the nearest computer console, and amidst all the cheering and clapping taking place from Orion Starstation, he eyes a familiar face.

*sigh* It's Nami. The entire weight of the ship seemed to dive itself right into his heart right then and there. Nami, Nami, Nami... Just her name... It carried so much weight. Damnit.

He knows she can see him. Everyone at the station bay is watching the screen. With a short hesitation, he presses his index and middle fingers to his lips and then to the screen, where he sees her standing.

Why did I even do this...? he asks himself, questioning his very own motives for agreeing to leave.

Because you're such a ****ing guy, his other half responds. It's the thrill. The adrenaline. Remember?

Heh... I'm gonna lose my sanity in less than a week.

A week? I'm surprised you didn't lose it all just now.

Shut it up. Shut it up you...

With this, the GCV-Supremacy made final preparations for launch.

---------------

[*1] - Nova joined Orion after Golgotha because Blades liked his style, his charisma, his potential. He liked what he saw, and wanted that in the fleet.

(/RP)

I'm bound to flip back and forth between flashback/backstory and present sections the more I write.

I like this already. Ahh... it's been so long.

Over and out. (God, I miss saying that so much.)

[ 04-22-2004, 11:49 PM: Message edited by: Cmdr Nova ]

[Cmdr Nova]

[RP]

October 8, 302x

Unknown Ship

Deep Space, Terran Quadrant

A small, insignificant craft makes its way through the void. Its crew consists of only one man.

Alec Nova. Alone. In the middle of nowhere. Once again.

He listens patiently to a news broadcast regarding last night's Gammulan attack on Terran forces near Polaris.

"It's all changed," he rambles out loud to himself. "And yet, nothing's different, is it? They push, we push back. But they're getting closer. We're sinking deeper. We're losing it. I'm losing it. No wait, I've already lost it... We lost it. I lost it..."

He pauses for a minute, then clenches his teeth down, as if bracing himself for the imminent arrival of piercing pain.

"Yozora."

Years had passed since his last combat foray. And yet, a thousand burning images flood his mind as if it all happeened today.

[/RP]

I'm ashamed I can't keep my own word when I say I wish to kinda RP here on my own.

Things have changed since Alec Nova has been around. Blades is gone, and time has taken its toll on countless others. I've been thinking of an RP context to put this all into. If you can disregard the first post to this thread, maybe I can make a little something happen here. Though I doubt I'll ever attain the glory that people had in the old days, it's worth a shot.

I miss Orion Fleet dearly. Though I randomly came across retired Cmdr. Akuma Minako some time ago online. (It's a small world, and DeviantART is a big population center of the online world.) Apparently she's on a trip to Japan, God bless her.

Aside from randomly running into her DA site and hearing from some people from time to time on AIM and lurking around here on and off, I've been out of it. It feels weird because I really just can't stand leaving this place. Every time I realize how long I'm gone, I feel worse about it. Heh.

Leave me on the inactive list, but FYI, I'm around.

Nova, over and out.