Testamant Orphanage base continued

6 months later Orphanage base:

Kit sat in the hall running her hand through her close cropped hair.  The designated proctor sat by  her desk the smile bland and unconvincing didn’t help The door uncurled and Draz came in.  Immediately, Kit leapt up and hugged him tight.  ‘
​       'What brings you to back this shit hole?..I was going to get shore leave to Mars on the next rotation but it was denied.'
       ‘Orders from command.’ Draz confided, as he slowly pulled away. Kit held his hand and felt the metal on his finger. She stepped back and started at him her eyes riddled with pain and confusion.
​       ‘I was going to say, when –‘ Draz began. his eyes took on a glossy sheen of dishonesty
​       ‘-When?  When you got out of my bed?
​        ‘-That’s not fair!
​        ‘ha ha define fair!’
​        ‘- we… we been friends since-‘
​        ‘Oh don’t throw that one at me!
​         ‘Can I just, please explain?
​       ‘What? that you fell out of love with me? Or I’m too fucking complicated.
​        Draz took a step forward.
​        ‘Don’t, don’t say that…’ he sighed ‘It’s complicated.’ he went to touche her face
​        Kit brushed his hand away she then  punched Draz on the side of the face sending him sprawling across the floor
​        Draz got up slowly ‘I guess I deserved that!
​        ‘Fucking yes, yes you did!’ Kit spat. You said you would be there for me always!  ’Get up and let me
​        The Proctor slammed the alarm button and two security officers burst in, they pulled Kit back and stood in between her and Draz
​        The door to the commodore’s office opened.
​        ‘What in Hell's  holy fuck is going on here? You're officers of the Terran command! Behave like it!’
​        ‘-Just a disagreement Ma’am.’ Draz sighed
​          Kit looked down, a tear fell down her cheek and onto the carpet
​        ‘-Won’t happen again Ma’am.’ She assured, her voice a mumble
​         ‘Inside both of you and sit down.’

       The office felt  taught with resentment.  Draz, nursing his slowly swelling cheek sighed, as Kit sat sideways on away from him.
​        Janice, seething with rage kept her anger bottled as she concluded. ‘I don’t know what the hell that was all about, and, I have to say, I , I don’t fucking care. You stove that shit when you are on base!  You understand?  O’ Donnall sit straight when I’m addressing YOU! There was a pause before she continued.  ‘Officer Phillamore, I see you have brought your newly appointed  civilian wife with you on this trip. I hope the civilian quarters are to your liking?
​       Kit looked dumfounded.
​       ‘Yes M’am, they’re  fine.
​        Thrace nodded. ‘ Good…’ she coughed ignoring  Kit’s strained gaze. ‘…I expect you want to know why you’re here. Six weeks ago, we received a weak transmission sent via sublight from the Janus system. The ship the Dimitris had lost control of its FTL.  I know the captain he is a prick, however, they came across this. Anahel?’
​        ‘Yes Commodore.
​         ‘Could you run the images and messages from the Dimitris flight recorder please
​         Kit alerted to the news leaned forward. ‘A flight recorder at sublight speed? What the hell happened?’
​        The image on the wall screen was blurry, lines cracked and the image rolled. Then froze
​         Draz looked down and away.  Kit stood upand stared intently before sitting down once more
​        ‘Yes…’ Thrace coughed again. ‘it’s part of the Jupiter way station.  We knew that it was sucked into a jump by the Wake. We assumed that being unable to free itself from the jump, it would have disintegrated within the wormhole.  However…
​        ‘What do you want us to do?’  Kit aske
​        ‘-Permission to speak?’ Draz asked
​       ‘-No flight officer Phillamore, permission denied.
​        ‘-O’ Donnall, we need two people who knew the station, to go there, analyse what’s left. Bring back samples and disintegrate it.  For a while now… there have been rumours of, of, a species living in the wormhole’s.  At first we took it simply as spacer fable. The dialogue spoken by crew’s too pissed or stoned, to talk about anything but ghost stories. They talk of a species that has been called the old ones and when on distant planets signs of their…presence… has been noted. One thing is certain, if this is a treat to the Terran Federation, we need to know what that threat is; and we need to be prepared.’
​         ‘-Ma’am, you have read our story; we gave it ten years ago…. We, we, lost that battle. The Crimson Wake appeared out of nowhere. It infected the AI, with some alien organism, then ripped the station to bits as it chose to open a gate too early.  Everyone died but the two of us, and being children we, we, weren’t taken too seriously.
​        Thrace looked down and away from Kit.
​       ‘Anahel, can you play the last recording from the Dimitris please
​      recording recieved  20/40 2563 07.59 Standard Earth Time. ‘…this is…Mhir…its cold…so cold…I’m cold so cold…Captain Jensen….has opened the door… The old ones are coming the old ones are coming the old ones are-’ recording finished.
​        Kit looked disturbed.
​        You recognise that?’ Thrace inquired
​        Kit nodded. But was mute.
​        ‘Mhir, was the bio server on the Dimitris.’  Anahel, instructed ‘we were commissioned two weeks apart, though we shared the same shell system for a while. He was designated for flight duty, while I was shaped for training here. ‘Anahel instructed
​       ‘He?’  Thrace looked up
​       ‘Sorry commodore. I meant it.’ Anahel replied, with a slight faltering in the voice. A waver that caused concern to register on Thrace’s aquiline features.
​       ‘-The old one’s… You’re convinced that they are real and live inside the space created by the wormholes? Kit asked
​        ‘It could be…it could be...It could be,  that they were put there.’  Thrace hinted. ‘In encounters with other races, there has been a constant mythic, a thread that weaves between worlds, that talks about a, a species that was imprisoned after a long and terrible war.’
​         Kit looked at Draz
​         Draz looked away
​        Thrace continued. ‘I’m giving you more information than is necessary. Because I’m not ordering you to go. I am asking you to go. Unofficially. If you accept, Officially, I am ordering you to investigate the loss of the Dimitris, and to bring back any survivors.  Unofficially, I want you to confirm our fears, so we can deal with any potential threat.
​       Just then a news feed came from Earth on the wall screen.
​        ‘…And now we are live from Terran command, to meet the new global president William Kirkbride, as he gives his formal declaration of office.'
​        There was a swelling of sudden applause as an elderly man slowly stood up and walked to the centre of an oval room full of people.  Slowly he mounted a pedestal
​         ‘My fellow Terran’s…   we have, for centuries, though trial and hardship, pain and heartache, from the threat of extinction, to the expansion of progress, finally found ourselves upon a new dawn…
​       ‘-I know that man.’ Kit interrupted 
​       ‘He debriefed us on moon base.’ Draz stated.
​       ‘Debriefed us? He sent us here with nothing to say!’ Kit barked
​      Thrace looked at the screen and then at Kit with a tremor on her lips as  President Kirkbride continued. ‘…so in this new dawn, let us consider our heritage as a race and as a planet. Let us not pretend that our outer family, those on Mars and the belt worlds are without merit....’Thrace shook her head ‘…Let us seek a means to bring back to the fold the lost brothers and sisters upon the colonies of Mars and begin again.’ Thrace turned it off. by pressing a button on her desk.
​       ‘What does Kirkbride want?’ Kit mused.
​       ‘-What any mad bastard want’s power and control.’  Draz muttered.
​        ‘Terran politics is not of your concern now...' Thrace injected '...back to the problem at hand…as I said this is purely voluntary, you don’t have to go.
​       ‘But we will be forced anyway, if we say no.’ Draz drawled
​       ‘Not at all.’  Thrace smiled wearily. ‘There is a base three sectors from the last recorded position of the Dimitris, you cam make you rmind up when you have read the data collected there. I’ve spoken to the Captain of the Jackson-‘
​        Draz smiled ‘-Is that captain Ferguson’s ship?’
​        Thrace nodded. ‘He’s a good man, the best…’  A cough ‘…You will be granted shore leave to investigate the caves there. Also, you will be picking up a member of the Science team associated with our findings. He is a linguist and a pain in the arse in relation to political thinking, but he is the best in his field
​       ‘I see.
​       They both got up and saluted
​       The Commodore nodded.  ‘Kit can you stay behind a moment please.
​        Draz turned and left the room.  While Kit returned to her seat. There was a long pause. Thrace coughed.
​        ‘If there was any one else, other than flight officer Phillamore, I would have chosen them.  This has to be as closed as possible.  I know you two were an item, once, but… its’ part of the training program for long haul…having a family…outside of the service. is a key component and he…’
​       Kit smiled, then looked down
​       ‘It…it’s a shock is all.
​       ‘Your reaction-
​      ‘-Ma’am, he promised he would always be there, it hurt
​       ‘-Officer Phillamore put’s his career first, he’s an exemplary officer. He’s also a dick of a human being. ‘Thrace smiled. As Kit grinned. ‘Thank you… that will be all.Kit stood and then saluted, then turned and left the office.

Thrace pressed a button on her desk and studied the holographic report from the Dimitris on her screen. The words “all hand lost” blinked a slow red.