The Cold shoulder

Posted on Thu Apr 13th, 2023 @ 11:42am by Warrant Officer Gen'Terta CrystalCliff

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: ADCF Stars Eye
Timeline: 1 year ago.
818 words - 1.6 OF Standard Post Measure

The Deck Plating of the ACDF Stars Eye Thrummed with power as the Stations Massive Solar Collection array greedily Sucked up energy from 24 vulpeculae's upper Coronasphere, Flooding the stations energy reserves with more than enough power to Vent the insane temperatures of the star’s atmosphere away from the stations inner Hull. How ever even with the station operating at maximum capacity, the station was almost unbearably hot For Warrant officer Gen'Tetra Crystalcliff, and were it not for her Armors Cooling systems she'd have requested a Transfer off the solar bound station at the first opportunity. Her snow-white fur wavered as she marched through the concourse, her Armors cooling pack whirring quietly as she walked "And of course, the Opportunity to work on this Masterpiece of Arten Engineering. Her long white tail swayed slowly as she stepped through the Bulkhead door out of the Corridors and into the Stations primary subspace lab, wherein her view was Utterly Dominated by the Truly awe-inspiring sight of the pulsating purple light of the stations Primary Subspace Mirror, and the hundreds of thousands of Dilithium Crystals that made it up.

“It always just takes your breath away…doesn’t it?” came a quiet voice to her left. A voice that sent a shiver up through her tail and into her spine. While only slightly younger than herself, Ert’Therac Frostbay Had somehow managed to Secure the Rank of lieutenant commander in Record time. And while she couldn’t prove it, the fact that the young home world Male had shot so high through the ranks had always struck her as Home world Flexing its Influence over the Training academy’s selection boards.

"I don't know…" Gen'Tetra answered softly, looking down at the massive display panel before them. On one side was the Mirror itself, the other a series of diagrams showing off the incredibly complicated system of wiring and optical fibers that allowed the Mirror to function, letting the Crown jewel of the System peer into the void of space with resolution that other Quadrant powers could only dream of achieving. Of course, the Spy array had come with its own costs. The fact that only a tiny handful of Arten Warships were equipped with the vastly superior Matter/antimatter intermix Engines more commonly found on star ships throughout the galaxy had all but crippled the Confederacy defense fleets mobility, with most of their ships topping out at a maximum of warp five.

Ert'Therac looked up from his workstation, a small smile tugging at his muzzle. "You know, you've been here for months, and still haven't bothered to try the system out Warrant officer." he said with a teasing chuckle, his own tail swaying slowly back and forth.

Gen'Tetra let out an annoyed sigh. "I don't need to Try the system Sir, I'm just hear as a Scientist." she said as she walked to her station, the quiet whir of her armors cooling pumps breaking up the soft steps. “Mirror Control surface 33 is showing a .33% discrepancy in its Accuracy.”

Ert'Therac nodded approvingly. "That's Excellent!" he said, smiling broadly as he stood up from his station. "So what do we do?"

Gen'Tetra reached out and pressed a button on her console, bringing up the images of the mirror in question. "We Realign it To the rest of the sytem, Regulations say we're supposed to stay within .02 Variance."

"Then let's get started!" Ert'Therac exclaimed, stepping forward and gently taking hold of her shoulder. Gen'Tetra let out a soft whine as he pulled her close, his whiskers tickling her ears, "I know how much you love this system, and if." He didn't get to Finish his line as Gen'Tetra's armor plated elbow slammed into his gut with surprising force, dropping him to his knees with a groan.

"Get off me!" She Snarled as a few other officers started to glance up at the scene. "For the last Time I have No intention of courting with anyone here."
Ert'Therac looked up at her, rubbing his stomach where she'd hit him. "Well, I had hoped..."

"You are such a Jerk, You know that?" Gen'Tetra growled, stepping over his prone form and walking past him towards the exit, her tail Rigid as she walked, her ears flat to her skull.

"Mmm…well you're the one who flirted with me." Ert'Therac said through gritted teeth, rising to his feet and hurrying after her.

Gen'Tetra stopped in mid stride, looking back over her shoulder at the male, her dark green eyes burning with fury. "I have never, Flirted, with anyone." She said coldly.

"You did, with me, Didn't you? Just admit it," Ert'Therac said, stepping closer to her.

Gen'Tetra glanced around the lab, Glaring with frustration. "My Transfer orders will be filed within an hour," she snapped before stepping out of the lab.

Ert'Therac watched her go, His ears folding back as the depth of his mistake slowly sank in.