It had been a few hours since they had gotten underway. At the moment not much was going on, and that allowed Countryman to retreat to the relative privacy of his ready room for a very important chat. He had something in mind that would help him temporarily placate Williams which would give him a little breathing room, but if it was to work properly he could not be the one to propose it. He had noted her rather emotional bias against anyone cybernetically enhanced. It seemed she saw him and people like him as less than human. It was a belief that she wasn’t alone in, but it was a minority belief. One that was especially rare in the military as both the fleet and the marines recognized the advantages.

Neither group required their members to be enhanced, but they did recognize the advantages. Few people had enhancement to the degree that he did. Although there was a story behind his enhancement one that dated back to the beginning of modern cybernetics. It was on the eve of the third world war in fact. The war that left the colonies suddenly bereath of Earth’s support and guidance. It left a political vacuum that ultimately plunged the Colonies into war. It was the beginning of the Colonial Wars a series of violent space wars that lasted a century.

It was little surprise that happened after world war three. Over nine billion people were killed in the conflict. The devastation was widespread, entire countries were wiped off the map, and no major city survived the conflict. Only craters were to be found where once famous influential cities had once stood such as Rome, London, New York, Jerusalem, Tokyo, Washington all destroyed. Thankfully the weapons of choice for the Third World war weren’t nuclear weapons like all had feared during the cold war. No, by the time the war came around far more devastating weapons had been devised, that lacked the nasty drawback of fallout. These weapons were called Orbital Slammers, an early precursor to the modern particle cannon. They were large orbital weapons platforms that could vaporize cities with the equivalent of a two hundred megaton particle blast. That was twice as powerful as the most devastating nukes ever devised.

The story of how he ended up enhanced is related to how this devastating conflict actually kicked off. At the time, the world had been embroiled in intense political tensions between two major alliances. The Western Coalition, and the Eastern Alliance. It was during this period of high tension that the Star Tech Stations were first built. Although at that time only Star Techs One, Two, and Three were built. The others were built later. These stations were designed then for high energy research, to be more specific they were working with improving upon earlier research into antimatter. Due to the requirements of these new experiments, it was concluded that it would be safer to do this research in orbit.

However, the very existence of these stations became a source of contention. Some sources believed they were looking into antimatter to develop a new form of mega weapon, antimatter weaponry. Naturally, there were accidents aboard the stations, and one of them was particularly bad. It didn’t destroy the station, but numerous researchers were killed or wounded in the blast. He had been among the wounded, as he had been aboard that station when it happened.

His injuries had been rather severe, and to save his life they had turned to cybernetics. Countryman wasn’t the only one to be enhanced that day. They had replaced his ruined limbs and damaged organs with cybernetic devices. Over the years that followed he had enhanced, and upgraded the technology under his skin. He sighed that same set of injuries had also meant that he was not present when the war happened. Instead, he had been on Luna in the hospital recovering during the entire nine days of the Third World War.

Countryman put thoughts of all that aside and opened a channel. Moments later he was greeted by Reynolds's familiar face.  He smiled, “What can I do for you?”

“I was thinking it is about time we convene a second officers meeting. We have much to discuss. Speaking of that discussion, I have a proposal for you to make.”

He frowned, “You want me to propose an idea of yours? Why?”

Countryman sighed, “Short answer is politics.”

Reynolds scoffed, “I hate that game.”

“So do I, but unfortunately that game is already being played here. Unfortunately, I can’t just nip the problem in the bud, as people would react poorly to that without proper justification. Hence the game being played.”

Reynolds sighed, “I see. So I take it for some reason this proposal can’t come from you?”

Countryman nodded, “Williams would be why. She has this irrational distrust of me and people like me. Her opinion of you isn’t ideal, but the idea would be better received regardless if it came from you.”

Reynolds just shook his head, “I seriously hate this game, but it seems you know how to play it. Let's hear that proposal.”

Countryman smiled, “Well the politics thing is an occupational hazard. I’m afraid we will all have to learn the ropes soon now. It comes with the new territory. That brings me to my proposal. We have a surplus of officers with nothing to do. I propose that they be reformed into an advisory council that will meet regularly to debate fleet policy. We can debate what else they might do in the meeting proper, but I need you to put forward the initial bones of the idea.”

“I think we should at least have a proper idea of what they will be doing before we propose it in this meeting. Are they just a council of advisors or will they also act to implement policy?”

Countryman shifted in his seat, “Good questions. We are basically talking about creating a government of sorts. If we were building a colony this would be easy, but we aren’t. Not until we find a new world. In the meantime, our people look to the officers for guidance and leadership. That means we need to get our leadership in order.”

“I agree, and having a bunch of officers with nothing to do won’t work. From the sound of it, they will be managing the civilians then. That should also help with our workloads. Allow us to focus more on the normal duties of commanding a starship.”

“Exactly the point.”

He frowned, “So, may I ask how this would help with the Williams problem?”

“One she has nothing to really do. This would keep her busy, giving her less time to plot. Second, it will placate her somewhat since her biggest problem right now is that we didn’t give her a captaincy. I went and read her file. Honestly, she should have been an admiral by now, but she has been passed up for promotion thirteen times. A fact that hasn’t sat well with her at all. It explains some of her outbursts and her recent behavior. This isn’t my only solution for her. She gave me some ammunition recently that I plan to use to put her in a refresher course.”

Reynolds chuckled, “What did she do?”

“Seems she tried a probing question with my chief engineer earlier today. Richards put her on report for being rude, and lacking proper military discipline.”

“Ah, I see. Williams doesn’t sound ...”

“Very smart?  Seems to be that she is rather emotional. If she was thinking more clearly, she would be more of a threat than she is right now. I doubt she will keep making mistakes like that. She doesn’t strike me as that stupid.”

Reynolds replied, “hmm, she does seem rattled right now.”

“I figure she will calm down soon enough, but sooner or later she will try to mutiny. Preferably when she does it will be on our terms so we can control the damage and fallout. It sucks that we have to even think about this. We are on the brink of extinction and some people can’t help but play power games.”

“Yes, it is unfortunate. I agree we do need to make sure if a mutiny happens it will be on our terms.”

Countryman smiled, “Great. We can coordinate our efforts. The main thing is that we will need to keep an eye on Williams and anyone she recruits as well. We also need to ensure the loyalty of our marines and officers in key positions. That means enacting policies that keep them happy and earn their respect. I would suggest taking some time to talk to them. Making friends with a few of them and even solving their problems would go a long way. It will make it harder for her to gain allies, and solidify our own support. As a side benefit, this should also help with crew morale. The happier the people are, the better.”

Reynolds nodded, “Agreed.”

Not long after that, the two signed off. They come to a few agreements, but the upcoming meeting was where things would really happen. One thing was for sure, they would need to ensure internal stability if they were to have any chance of success. Williams and those like her would have to be dealt with, and if he played his cards right the damage she does will be minimal.

Three days later:

Countryman settled into his seat for this second meeting of officers. Around him everyone else was finding their seats, so he took the moment to order his thoughts. This meeting was very important for the future of his people. This meeting was to set in motion his plans for his admittedly small fleet. Three ships didn’t exactly constitute a fleet though more like a small task force. Although the label mattered not. What did matter is the issues they were here to discuss. As this discussion was going to shape their future. More hopefully it would proceed as planned and at least temporarily nip their stability problems in the bud. He doubted it would stop things merely act as a stopgap.

When everyone was settled he leaned forward and began the meeting, “Glad to see everyone here. Today we are here to discuss issues that went unresolved in the last meeting. The most important of which is the fact that we have a number of command-level officers with nothing to do. Any suggestions on what you can do to help the fleet?”

A number of suggestions were put forth right away. Including a suggestion from Williams. Just as the officers were starting to debate the suggestions. Reynolds put forth Countryman's idea. A more permanent advisory council.

The room went silent instantly, and soon it was actively being debated by the numerous officers at the meeting. They quickly and extensively debated the council and what duties it would have. The officers almost as fast had a general consensus on what such a council would do. Not just advising the senior captains leading the fleet, but also debating fleet policies. With approval from the senior captains, they would implement policies.

Williams frowned, “Interesting. This idea has some merit. I just have one question. How much autonomy will this council be given to complete its duties?”

Countryman internally smiled but kept a stoic expression on his face. Williams was biting. “Presumably enough to complete their duties.”

She nodded, “Who will be on the council?”

Reynold stated, “Command level officers mostly. Ones without duties elsewhere.”

It seemed to Countryman that things were going well. Sure putting Williams on this council would give her more power, but it would also place her in a position where he could better control her actions. That was what was important. Controlling her actions. It was all part of the game.

The Battlemaster felt pleased with the recent news. They had been able to locate and retrieve the parts they needed to fix their damaged cruiser’s propulsion manifold. Not without cost as he had lost a few skilled crewmen, and engineers. Losses he wasn’t pleased about, but overall they had come out ahead.

They were now able to get underway without having to abandon another ship. Something he was loathe to do. He stretched and made his way down the bridge. When suddenly the warrior monitoring the sensors looked up.

“Battlemaster. We have detected a few human ships”

He frowned, “Shields up. How long before they attack?”

The warrior gestured at his console, “Might be a while, I think it better you see this for yourself.”

He approached and looked over the warrior’s shoulder to study the console. It displayed tracking data, and sensor information on a small task force of human ships. The lead ship was identified as a battleship class unknown. That was worrisome for a number of reasons. Likely the ship class was new, and that meant possibly superior to previous battleships they had engaged. His engagement with their dreadnought during the Battle of Earth merely highlighted the problems they may face.

Human vessels tended to be larger, and carry more weaponry than their Cathamari counterparts. More troublesome was their incredible structural integrity and strong armor. They were able to take a beating, and live to tell about it. Worse their ships were often more agile, and maneuverable than Cathamari equivalents due to their advanced sublight engines. Victory against the Humans was largely a matter of achieving numerical superiority. Even with superiority in numbers, victory could not be assured without limiting their ability to maneuver, so as to force them into range. Catharmari weapons were thankfully superior to human weapons, and their torpedoes were quite effective at inflicting considerable damage to those sturdy hulls of theirs. That was if they could score enough hits, and the only way to do that was with heavy volley fire. It was the only way they could get enough torpedoes past those weird energy screens of theirs to have a meaningful effect. It would be so much easier if they could penetrate that armor of theirs with plasma cannons, but even the heavy cannons on his own ship couldn’t do that. At least not with their capital ships, or to be more specific any ship bigger than a destroyer. Something about their armor meant that the bigger a ship was, the harder it was to damage.

Thankfully the force spotted only had the one battleship. They had enough numbers even damaged as they were that they would be able to defend themselves. The other two ships appeared to be either destroyers or cruisers. They weren’t sure which yet, but if they were a cruiser they were a light cruiser. That would mean fighters, while destroyers would mean heavy torpedo armaments, and human torpedoes were not to be underestimated. They may lack the power of Cathamari plasma torpedoes, but they made up for it. They had the ability to bypass shields and were longer-ranged with superior guidance making them hard to avoid.

What made him blink though was the final item on their sensors. It was one of their cursed Battlestations, which they were towing through space. It was comical really, the Battleship was towing the station which was more than twice its size, and wasn’t even being slowed. They were moving on a course parallel to his own and moving twice as fast. He quickly began to do some calculations on the console and quickly determined that they be overtaken near the system’s asteroid belt, where the Humans had previously established a defensive perimeter, one that they had broken through nearly a year ago.

It was almost certain they would engage each other, and he was going to have to come up with a solution to that Battlestation. Those things were fucking nightmares to get past. Heavily armored, protected by energy screens, and outfitted with an insanely powerful antimatter particle beam weapon. Thankfully that weapon took several minutes to recharge or they never would have been able to breach the Lunar Perimeter.

The smart thing would be to avoid battle with that small force entirely. They appeared to be at full strength, and his own force was damaged. Most of them were low on torpedoes, and some of his ships no longer had shields. The grids had taken too much damage to function. Those shields were also their own best tactical advantage as human weapons struggled to penetrate them. In other words, the ships without shields would be little more than cannon fodder easily wiped out before they could have much of an impact on a battle. Unfortunately, the Human vessels were faster, and their sensors were comparable to his own. Since he could see them, they could no doubt see him. If they chose to engage they would be able to catch him./

He turned to the helm. Ordering them to adjust course, and hope the Humans were not interested in battle. Given the intensity of the battle at Earth he felt it was a good bet. Then an idea occurred to him. Together they didn’t stand much of a chance of fighting off those ships with them carrying around that battlestation, but if he split his forces there was a good chance at least some of them would make it out of the system. How many depends on whether or not there were more Human ships in the area. The Battlemaster was willing to bet that the answer was no. Idly some part of him wondered what they were planning to do with that station in the first place.