Chapter 3:
When Captain Anthony came to the command deck the next morning, he found Admiral Neher waiting for him. Admiral Neher was sitting in Anthony's command chair, and turned around when he heard Anthony come through the door. Anthony hated how Neher was flaunted his superiority whenever he could. He saluted Admiral Neher, but Neher didn't bother returning it. "There has been a change in plans, Captain Anthony," Admiral Neher said.
"What plans?" Anthony asked.
"Well, we were going to transport the cannon to Reach via a cargo ships, but there won't be any coming near this area for over a month," Admiral Neher replied, "We can't order one to come here faster, because it is a two month slipspace jump to Reach. So I decided to simply leave the cannon where it is, and have you take it there. You won't be missing anything here, seeing as Smith is going to get off at Reach, and take his research team will be coming with him."
"Do you think that the ship will be able to jump properly with the cannon attached?" Anthony asked. He knew that slipspace had strange properties, and didn't want to risk the Destiny getting damaged.
"Unlikely," Admiral Neher replied, "Smith assured me that that would be least of our worries."
"If that's the least of our worries, then what is the most?" Anthony asked, noticing how Neher looked nervous upon saying the word worries.
"Smith said that there are many things about the cannon he still does not understand," Admiral Neher said looking away for a moment, "He said that the cannon was attached to a large underground system of... structures. He doesn't know exactly what they did. His hypothesis is that they had some way of controlling and focusing the beam. In addition to that, there was a dome right near the base that contained a large amount a coolant material. Smith fears that without this massive coolant tank, the gun might overheat. We know that the gun works, but the question is if it will be as efficient as it should be. It’s none of your worries though."
"When do you want the ship to leave?" Anthony asked.
"Tomorrow morning," Admiral Neher said, "Smith needs to 'pack up some things'." Neher stood out of the chair and walked toward the door, "Have a good day, Captain Anthony."
"And you too, Admiral," Anthony replied.
"Oh, Anthony," Admiral Neher said when he reached the door, "When we get to Reach, you will be taking another research team back here to study the fixtures that used to be connected to the cannon. Plan on staying here for a while, because Smith said that there was a whole lot of work to be done down there." With that he walked out of the room.
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That night, Anthony stood on the observation deck, looking out across the planet. Adam, the navigations officer walked up next to him. "Isn't it a little late to be up, Captain?" he asked, "You need to get some rest."
"We got two months of cryo coming," Anthony replied with a grin, "I'm going to get all the rest I could ever want."
"Ya, ya," Adam said, looking out at what Anthony was looking at, "What do you find so interesting?"
"I'm just thinking," Anthony said, "There are only ten forunner excavations on the planet. I would have thought there would be more."
"Why?" Adam asked, "Most planets have about seven."
"The forunners used to live here," Anthony said, "I would imagine a planet where such a great civilization lived would be covered in buildings. But all we've found is a few structures. Do you think we're missing anything?"
"I guess you’re right," Adam replied, "There is so much we've learned from the forunners, it’s a little hard to believe that we're missing most of it. Good night Captain." Captain Anthony stayed there ten minutes after Adam left, then went to bed.
When life gives me lemons,
I make beef stew.
Gt: Mr Sticky100
New FF: The Final War
I would appreciate comments/critisism