Fiction:Realities Altered/Dysnomia/Naval Tradition

The onset of dystopia in Andromeda did not spare the TIAF's Andromeda colonies either, leaving the once-pristine worlds a charred island isolated from the rest of the Federation. Yet, against all odds, the colonies have survived. They have fared better than most in this dark era, but it is a far cry from their glory days at the height of the New Dawn 100 years earlier. The surviving planets have managed to keep in a fragile union held together only by the false hope that the Federation will come to rescue them, though many know their brethren in Bunsen have long since left them for dead in the ruins of Andromeda.

Many have been stranded in Andromeda away from their homes in Bunsen. Some have since perished, while some still cling to the past to avoid facing the grim future ahead. Others have accepted that grim future and have made new lives for themselves in this radically different Andromeda. Some still cling to the ideals of the Federation and some have abandoned them and adapted to their new life, in the hopes of getting the chance to live for one more day.

Old Friends
A run-down station orbiting Stafamur, a TIAF planet whose surface had been deeply scarred in the countless encounters with demons, lowered the shields over its cargo bay as a great Rigel-class destroyer approached it. You didn't see too many Rigel-classes floating around these days - not after the local Assault Armada and Domestic Defense regiments had begun to grapple with the concept of resource shortages - so it was fairly easy to tell who it was and what business they had if one showed up at your doorstep.

Space Traffic Controller - This is Stafamur Station to- -bzzt- clear to proceed -bzzt- docking bay.

Both the station and the ship's communications arrays were in sorry state. The ship's captain muttered to the first officer as the transmission cut out.

????? - ''Remind me to get that fixed, Mirra. We should have enough money after this trip to buy some new equipment.''

The ship lined up its cargo bay with the station's cargo bay, and the few engineers left on the station began to work on unloading the cargo. The ship's captain beamed aboard the station and monitored the process from the small cafe that overlooked the cargo bay - these days, you could never be too careful. The captain ordered a cup of coffee. Thankfully, coffee machines these days still worked quickly, though the coffee tasted terrible - you just had to make do with these things.

????? - Grr, I remember when we had quality coffee grinds, not this stuff that tastes like that Kraw vzak shit. ?????? - Funny, I don't remember you being a coffee drinker.

The captain gagged a little on the coffee as a light blue reptilian figure, in a TIAF military uniform from the long-past New Dawn era, stepped out of the shadows and walked up next to the captain's table. The captain paused for a moment to wipe her beak clean of any coffee she might have spat out.

????? - ''Well, I'll be damned. Adrian Basshu. You're still alive.'' Basshu - I'm tougher than you think, Lady Tzena. Tzena - ''Don't you have some demons you ought to be killing? You know, that whole "defending the Federation" bullshit?'' Basshu - ''Well, it seems those demons have relented a little bit in the past few days. I'm sure they'll be back soon, it's not like them to just suddenly leave us be... But I had some spare time on my hands and heard an old friend of mine would be pulling into this station.'' Tzena - ''Oh, don't flatter me. How could you still call me a friend after all that crap that happened when Andromeda went to shit?'' Basshu - ''Stop beating yourself up about that. No one could really do anything against hordes of demons using only a single fleet. In fact, the fact that you survived that is something.'' Tzena - ''Millions of good men perished. I don't know if I'm lucky to be a survivor.'' Basshu - You certainly didn't feel that way after we got our asses handed to ourselves after the Andromeda War- Tzena - ''That's different. At least when we were killing those overweight salamanders we had a worthwhile cause in mind. The demons? Merely staving off the inevitable. Lee, Piett, McCoy... I lost a lot of good soldiers in the 7th Regiment because of it.''

Tzena silently took a sip of her coffee and forced it down.

Tzena - ''Listen, if you came to try to recruit me back into the defense program, it's not happening. We all know we're stuck here for the rest of our lives, I'm not going to risk my life to fight for a fake cause. Times have changed, I've adapted.'' Basshu - ''They say you're running freight trips using the USS Victory now? Working for that shady Lothnia Freight Company?'' Tzena - ''They pay well. And "shady" is a relative term these days.'' Basshu - I imagine you've gotten to see what the rest of this crapsack galaxy looks like today first-hand. Tzena - I don't imagine it's too different from Vanexia when I torched that place to the ground.

The two of them laughed a little bit at the joke. Even with 100 more years, Tzena still had a strong contempt for the Andromedans, probably reinforced by their total and utter collapse.

Tzena - Well, actually, they haven't sent me too far yet, though now that I've got some experience in trading they're willing to send me out into the galaxy. Basshu - ''My friends tell me you joined up some five years ago. Had some trouble with your early clients?'' Tzena - Gah, you know me far too well.

Tzena took another sip of her coffee and gagged a bit upon discovering that some of the coffee grounds had found their way into her beverage.

Basshu - I know you well enough to say that you drinking coffee is pretty unusual, let alone the shitty coffee that gets distributed throughout the colonies now. Tzena - ''It makes me feel better. If only I could get some hands on some grinds from back in Bunsen...'' Basshu - I know how you feel, my lady.

Tzena began to feel nostalgic but then held a resolute expression as she finished the rest of the coffee in a single chug. Her communications device also relayed a signal telling her the ship was ready for departure. She quickly got up and made her way to the exit.

Tzena - ''Well, what do you know. Time to go.'' Basshu - Lady Tzena- Tzena - I'm sure I'll be seeing you again some time soon- Basshu - ''But what if I don't see you again? If this is the last time I'm seeing you, I'd at least want to say a proper goodbye.''

Tzena stopped in her tracks and turned to face an anxious Basshu.

Basshu - ''I want to wish you well on your journeys. We may not meet again, but I hope that we can meet again. I'll always be here in the colonies for you, since you are, have been, and always be my Lady.'' Tzena - ''...Thank you. You are the greatest friend a person like me could have.''

The two embraced each other one last time before Tzena signaled the order to be beamed back to her ship. As she dematerialized, Tzena shot in one last goodbye before she reappeared on the bridge of the Victory.

Tzena - So long, old friend.

Tzena bore a melancholy expression as she rematerialized on the bridge, her bridge officers watching. Most of them were unfamiliar with this emotion on their captain's face, but were familiar with the emotion nonetheless.

First Officer Mirra - Something bothering you, Admiral? Tzena - ''It's nothing. Let's get ready to set out. Meada, start up the engines.'' Mirra - ''Er, Admiral, I received a transmission while you were gone. Apparently the Lothnia Company wants to have a word with you personally before we head off on this journey.''

Tzena huffed as she heard the news. This was an unpleasant surprise.

Tzena - ''Fine. I guess we have no choice. Meada, we're taking a slight detour to Tholassia, we have some old "friends" to see.''