French Stories and a Tiny Smile

It was the first time. The first time in weeks, no, in months. The adjudant looked very carefully. Yes, there it was! A smile! A small smile, tiny. But it was there. Lieutenant Commander Nadège Devereaux smiled. The adjudant was intrigued.

“You’re smiling,” he said to show his amazement.
“Yes,” replied Devereaux. “Finally again.”
“So the message you received is positive?”
“Absolutely. That’s a response from Division Y-128. They say they have re-established connections.”
“That means …” the adjudant began.
“Yes,” interrupted Devereaux. “Our department is back online too. We can send messages. The warriors have returned.

Photo by Alexandre Debiève on Unsplash

And the Water full of Starfish

Being back in the water felt good. Nat Anders relaxed for the first time in weeks. Even if the situation in which the solar system found itself was anything but relaxed. In addition to the warlike atmosphere, the outbreak of this virus from Earth had now also been added. But Nat was back on Aquamarinon, and that mattered to her right now. It was her moment. Even if Aquamarinon wasn’t actually her home planet.

(c) ASTROCOHORS Command

But Aquamarinon, now that she was aware of her true nature, was the closest thing to home. She still wondered when and how it had happened. Why was she one of Aquamarinon? How did she come to earth? And why had it been kept a secret from her?

No, she said to herself sternly as she drifted through the blue waters. No questions! Not now. The universe was a swirling mess. No questions. Not now. Just rest. Nat knew her colleagues were still busy with different things. The attack on the perimeter of ASTROCOHORS had left deep scars. Everything was still not back on track. Nevertheless, she had been given rest. She liked that. These colleagues were very friendly. She had had that feeling from the start. Since joining the team, everyone has cared a lot for her.

Her colleagues gave Nat a moment to relax. Everyone knew that it would be different very soon. But what would she expect. Scurra, behaving more and more like a dictator, gave more and more insane orders. He was just about to destroy democracy on his planet. Was that it?

And then this outside invasion. An armada that was about to completely seal off the solar system from outside influences. Were the intelligence agencies right that this invasion was from the Usovai’i? Was it something to do with the thing that Nat and her friends witnessed some time ago? The space tunnel? Was that it?

Oh no, more questions. It wasn’t the time for questions. But she noticed that the relaxation did not want to come completely. Whenever she tried to empty her mind, new questions always came up. It was just so busy. Scurra, the Usovai’i and ASTROCOHORS. And the virus. So much.

The ocean of Aquamarinon. Infinite. And the water full of starfish.

Report on a Chronicle

A wise Master.

Report from Commander Zomm Arrghl

Chronicles are an important thing. They tell us stories from the past. Things that have happened in the past. And we have to learn from these events, otherwise we are doomed to repeat them. The chronicles of SIDUS BELLA are therefore also important, because they tell us about a great galactic war. It was a shame when the alien forces disconnected from the Chronicle database. We were able to restore it. The connection is there, but the battle is far from over.

Report from the BATTLEFRONT

Insurrection

Report from Fulmen Grancolline

A fight is never a cause for joy. When it comes to war, it means that all logical arguments have failed. It shouldn’t get that far. We didn’t want this fight. But the Praetor Scurra and his armies force us to do so. From Cybernia we lead the resistance against the fighters who keep trying to take the area of Azerim. The fight is far from over. And not all allies are liberated yet. Only then will we be able to act with power. But we won a stage – we struck down one of the bosses.

Report on CHEZ FRASHOKERETI

Jigsaw Puzzle

Reported by Dozon Rasun

It’s still incredibly exhausting. We managed to get the CHEZ FRASHOKERETI department up and running again, but not completely. The fight against the enemy is difficult. That wears people down. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle with too many pieces. And then there is always the fear that an action will not work. We don’t know what the enemy is planning next. Will he close our channels again? Stop communication? Recharge the Ift? I dont know. But at least the department is back. Everything else has to be shown.

Report on CLEF, PEN AND BRUSH

Brush on Water Color

Reported by Jena Leyre, Officer of the USS BOURGOGNE

Tired. I am tired. The fight is exhausting and I have no idea whether it’s even worth fighting. The Ift gives us big problems, but now we have also been able to reconnect the artistic department CLEF, PEN AND BRUSH to the communication. What are we actually doing here? The Praetor of Lokubani is getting lost in omnipotence fantasies and the future looks really bleak. Perhaps it is all the more important that art stay alive in these times. And I hope we can do our little bit to help.

Report on ASTROCOHORS ACADEMY

Academy Graduation

Report by Lieutenant Commander Emile Lecreux, Chief Science Officer of the USS BOURGOGNE and Professor Ostap Yefimov, Curator of the ASTROCOHORS ACADEMY

The operations of the ASTROCOHORS Academy were also affected during the attacks by the Foreign Power and the activation of the Ift. Professor Yefimov and I are still trying to make the lesson possible. In the current circumstances, however, that is extremely difficult. Part is already up and running again, we don’t know when we will have finished the task. Until then, the academy continues with reduced capacity.

Report on ASTROCOHORS EMBASSY

Abuse of power comes at no surprise.

Reporting: Pierre Bourdain, Head of Diplomatics, USS BOURGOGNE

We had the task of getting the ASTROCOHORS CLUB embassy going again. In the course of the attack by the unknown enemy, various communication channels were affected. I want to make it clear here what part my team had in the whole matter, so that we can now announce that everything is as it was before.
The members of my team that I would like to highlight in particular are:

  • Nellie Bloomberg
  • William Cantor
  • Dominique Mozarella

Hopefully, if there are still problems we will be able to resolve them quickly. At the moment everything is going according to plan.

Beware of the Gifts

Lieutenant Commander Harry Trost standing on the wreck of his shuttle.

Lieutenant Commander Harry Trost looked around. That had just gone well again. But there would have been a catastrophe by a hair’s breadth. Trost stood on the wreckage of his shuttle. The shuttle should have taken him to a secret meeting. Nothing will come of it now. Well.

Lieutenant Commander Harry Trost standing on the wreck of his shuttle.
Photo by Zach Castillo on Unsplash

He looked strange with the shorts and white shirt. But actually he should have been incognito. The meeting. Yes. That was the mistake the BOURGOGNE officers had made. You shouldn’t have gotten into it. Indeed, after all the difficulties, it sounded like a gift that the crew of a fast cruiser of the Praetor Scurra’s army wanted to defer to ASTROCOHORS. The people at BOURGOGNE accepted it.
Harry scratched his head. How did this Latin saying go? “Timeo danae, et dona ferentes”, or something. Beware of the Danaers, even if they bring presents. With these words Laocoon, the high priest of the city of Troy, is said to have warned the Trojans about the wooden horse that the Greeks had left behind after their apparent escape. The Trojans did not listen to him and needed the wooden horse to go to their city. And that night Odysseus and his companions, who had hidden in the horse, came out and Troy was conquered.
That was how it was for BOURGOGNE. They wanted success so badly that they became carefree. As a result, they were ambushed by the Lokubami.
Trost pulled out his communicator. He heard white noise on the radio. Yes, that’s what he thought. The ift was active again. Communication was disrupted. Although Scurra seemed to be losing the support of his people, he carried out his plan steadfastly.
“Lieutenant Commander Trost,” came a voice suddenly over the radio. “Can you hear me?”
Trost was excited. “Yes, yes!” He called out loud. “I hear you! BOURGOGNE, are you all right?”
“Not everything,” was the answer. “We suffered severe damage. There was a widespread attack, including on ASTROCOHORS’ communications systems. We have to try to fix that. How is your shuttle in condition, Commander?”
“Shuttle down,” replied Trost. “I cannot start.”
“Got it. Stay where you are, we’ll send someone to pick you up. And then we have to take care of communication.”