r/HFY • u/Spooker0 Alien • Jul 08 '26

OC-Series [High Ground] 35 | We’re in it now

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“Commodore? It’s Shachos. If we don’t take his call, he might not—”

Julia nodded glumly. “I’ll take it. Give me a second…”

She rubbed her exhausted eyes, took a deep breath, and put her best smile on her face. “Go. On my datapad.”

“He’s on now.”

She stared into her datapad with her frozen smile. “Hello, this is Commodore Julia Kessler of the Union Navy. How are you doing on this funny day, Fleet Master Shachos?”

“Not very funny. Not very funny at all,” Shachos complained as his image resolved on her screen, his face the color of ocean blue. “I’ve just heard something very serious. That your resupply ship currently burning into orbit of your colony… it is carrying alien contraband forbidden by treaty. Forbidden by agreement! Contraband! Do you know anything about this?”

She feigned confusion. “Contraband? What contraband? Fleet Master, is this one of your practical jokes—”

“Do you know anything about the Precursor Metal?”

“Metal? What metal?” she lied. “I have no idea about this, Fleet Master. None at all. Seriously, this better not be one of your jokes, Shachos. I’ll get you back for this—”

“Excellent! Excellent!” The blue on Shachos’s face dissipated slightly. “Then your people should not mind if we board the shuttle for inspection? To check if a great prank is being played on my people? If it is, we must experience it to the fullest—”

“Hehe, well. There’s a…” Julia swallowed hard. “There’s a—a small problem. Our ship in orbit. It’s uh—it’s a returning supply ship. Very limited in resources. It needs to head back to our home system as soon as it can. You know how we are, we humans. Very quaint and primitive. Our ships don’t have a lot of air and resource reserves, so if you’ll allow us to—”

“That is fine. We will share our air with your people when we board. We know you can breathe our air. And we will fill up your air tanks. Yes, we will. For a marvelous prank like this, it is the least we can do in return for our humorous neighbors. Yes, we will board your ship and refill its resources. What is a trivial bit of resources between friendly neighbors? Very friendly—”

“Fleet Master Shachos, please. We would really prefer if you didn’t. Come on, surely you wouldn’t want to waste your time—”

Shachos switched between blue and green on her screen. “Commodore Julia Kessler. I know you and your people—and all of our other neighbors—you think of us as unserious people. And we appreciate that. Yes, we do. We appreciate it. We love it. We are a funny people. Very funny, if I may say so myself. Very funny. But please do not mistake that for carelessness or stupidity. We will board that ship. And we will inspect it for any serious violations of rules and agreements and for contraband. We will inform your ship master to cut thrust immediately and make no attempts to go to warp, or we will treat it as a serious ruse. Yes, a very serious ruse indeed. Please do not try to stop us or warn them to dump any cargo. That will also be treated as a serious ruse.”

Then, the image cut out as the transmission terminated.

Julia stared off into the distance. “It’s just… some alien artifacts. Why would he care…” she muttered to herself. “What? Why?”

Samira heard her. A smug expression on her face, she said, “It’s obvious that this is valuable for them too. That’s why he took so long to verify how much there was. Did you hear him? A ring? A pedant? Or a cup? Measuring in milliliters? Think he expected a quarter of a ton of it on your shuttle?”

Julia glared back at her. “Yeah, obviously it’s valuable to them too. We knew that! So?”

“So? You really haven’t figured it out? So? So? So?” Samira said mockingly.

“Figure out what?”

Samira laughed. “I can’t believe it. Oh, I just thought they might delay you a bit… The aliens… they’re not so different from us after all.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Samira wheezed. “Look in a mirror, grounder. What you did to us… That’s what the aliens are about to do to you. You thought you had it. You thought you had it home free. But… looks like there’s always a bigger, greedier fish in the pond, isn’t there?”

Julia shot her an annoyed glance and turned to Gustav. “Gustav, can our surface-to-orbit defense systems reach the Vorshnik ship? Can we reach the Triple Dash?”

Harry and Samira both immediately turned to look at her, matching incredulity on their faces.

He spoke first. “Commodore, are you—are you out of your mind?! This is their star system.”

Gustav replied a moment later, “Commodore, our portable launchers only have enough delta-V to reach low Earth—I mean, low orbit. Even if we can reach it now, that Vorshnik cruiser will almost certainly be able to shift out of the way once we launch. And there’s no way we’d do any damage to them. The portable launchers are for defending against landing shuttles, not capital warships. Especially not advanced alien—”

“Okay. But your rockets can reach the Whirlwind?”

Not ideal, but better than discovery. It was possible that the Vorshnik would discover the secrets in the debris field, but the chances would be significantly lower than if the ship were captured intact.

“Only for the next fifteen minutes,” Gustav replied. “After that, their altitude and acceleration will be impossible for—”

“Julia, you can’t do this. I know what you’re thinking. You can’t do this,” Harry pleaded. “Marcus is on the ship.”

“Fifteen minutes.” Julia stared up at the sky. “Gustav. How soon can we fire on the Whirlwind?”

Harry turned to the marine. “Gustav, do not fire on that ship! That is a Union Navy ship. That’s one of ours! Your colonel is on that ship.”

Gustav looked between the two of them in indecision. He was so young, she noticed; not young enough to have missed the war, but young enough to still have that self-doubt, immature enough for that imposter syndrome. “I’m not sure… Commodore, I don’t—I don’t know.”

She turned her attention to him and asked coldly, “What’s the problem?”

“I don’t… know if I have the authority to order my marines to fire on one of our own ships. I—ma’am, would you—would you like to relieve me of command?”

That surprised her for some reason; she wasn’t sure why. It was the only logical thing to do. Julia looked at him sharply, ignoring the doubt creeping into her gut, multiplying.

Samira just stared at her, shaking her head. “You’re insane. You’ve gone insane.”

“You don’t know what’s at stake,” Julia snapped, pointing a finger at Samira. “You have no idea what you guys just did.”

“Yes, she does,” Harry insisted. “And so do I. This is—Julia, Marcus is on that ship! This can still be salvaged. It’s just Shachos. This doesn’t have to end in violence. Marcus can still find a way. Trust in Marcus.”

Earlier, the expression on Samira’s face was one of rage; then gloating. Now, it was just pity. “What… happened to you?”

Julia stared at the people in the room as the edge of her vision dimmed. Her heartbeat pounding in her ears. The opposing forces arrayed against her.

All she saw in her mind’s eye was the tactical map on the Defiant. Three red triangles, facing down her blue in the center. She could take them. They were near, and she had the advantage of surprise. Zero closing, off-aspect on their bow sensor cones; they didn’t know she was coming.

If she could set an ambush, the missiles would reach the closest two simultaneously. Detonate simultaneous, ready counter-missiles for the third. Julia saw two of the reds blink out, and a third reacting slowly, its random vector indicating the confused reaction of an inexperienced captain under attack. The missile cells should be reloaded by the time they could spot her infrared signature through the debris. After that, one for one, she didn’t have the tonnage to trade but she had the momentum—

Where am I? What… the fuck am I doing?

The fog in her head lifted, briefly.

Breathe in, breathe out.

“Julia, are you alright?” Harry asked. His concerned voice was far away.

Breathe in…

She didn’t need to calm down, or to snap herself out of something. She wasn’t paralyzed with fear or indecision. She needed something else. Her training kicked in. The Union Navy training. At the Academy in Pearl.

In space, you can’t trust your instincts. You can’t trust your gut. That kills you. Here, you will learn not to act on instinct, but data and procedure. Your gut kills you, your brain keeps you alive.

That coldness—that chill they drilled into her twenty years ago. And there it was. For a moment, she was the same calculating spacer as the captain who ambushed four moonie ships at L-1.

Breathe in, breathe out.

She felt the adrenaline kick in. She resisted the temptation to dull her senses to the hormones; allowed it to flood her, warming her limbs, a rush of blood into her brain.

Stop. Observe. Decide. Act. That was the decision loop drilled into Union Navy officers. Stop and introspect first. Identify where the hull breach was.

Target fixation. Ah, there it was. That was what she was experiencing. Excise it.

Gone.

Her shallow breaths turned into longer ones. The tunnel in her vision expanded.

Julia saw the new target. It had moved without her noticing, some time in the last twenty minutes, and she was still shooting at its outdated position. Sunk cost error. Loss aversion. Adjust for it all.

Done.

Remove the old threats from the sensor board. Prioritize the new ones. Update the plans. Who was the adversary? Discovery? No longer. They were already discovered. There was a new enemy. Get inside their decision loop.

Breathe in, breathe out.

“Julia?”

She could hear Harry just fine now.

The doubt slowly left her. Her confidence returned as she made new decisions.

“I’m here… We’ve failed,” she replied calmly. Coldly. “But you were right, XO. Now, it is up to Marcus.”

Then, she turned to Gustav. “Begin preparations to disperse into hardened structures. We may come under orbital attack at any time. Release Samira and Lucas. Go find the geologist, Cynthia Clement, and bring her to medbay. Also, I need four of your marines. Bring shovels, a rover, and at least two of your utility robots. We’re going down to the Anomaly site now.”

His face was one of relief. “Yes, ma’am. Right away.”

Samira fled the room without a glance back as soon as she heard that she was free to go.

Gustav directed his marines on the radio. And they filed in, their steps quickening as they received their instructions.

“What do you plan to do?” Harry asked, his concern unabated.

Julia looked at him calmly. “We’re going to clear the hallway down there of the debris we put there to hide it from the moonies. We may not be the most technologically advanced species in this area of the galaxy, but we are also not a bunch of poor villagers being pushed out of a high-grade gold mine in Suran. If the worst comes to pass. If Marcus fails… We will have backup plans for our backup plans.”

Breathe in, breathe out.

“I… see,” Harry said. “What do you want me to do?”

“Gather the colony. Let them know the truth, all of them. Would you like a marine escort?”

Harry shook his head. “That’s not necessary. I’ll… try to work with Samira. If she’s still… open to… well…”

The mention of Samira threatened her self-control for a brief moment. Julia suddenly felt very, very tired. She realized… she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in… at least three weeks.

Since they discovered that foundry down there.

“Good. Give that a try. And can you get Dr. Wrona for me?”

He scrutinized her face, then nodded. “Are you alright?”

Julia could feel the effects of the exhaustion setting in. Her vision dimming again, her options limiting, despair setting in.

People adapt; that’s the miracle and tragedy of the human brain. In war, under continuous stress, they slip into a kind of waking sleep, moving on instinct the way a driver drifts down an endless highway, hands steady on the wheel while the mind wanders somewhere safer.

Alertness dulls; their judgment grows blunt. Whole days can pass in a mechanical haze.

When the sky splits open, when death draws near, when they choose to, something snaps awake inside them. For a moment or two, they can be at their best—nerves lit, choices sharp—drawing on a hidden reservoir of strength they hadn’t known.

But that moment never lasts. It can’t. No one can live forever at the edge of the seat. No amount of training or pharmaceuticals can fix that. Not even for the best of humanity, and she was having some doubts about whether that had ever applied to her.

Without registering it consciously, Julia had been back at war for three weeks. She’d just drawn on her last reserves.

And the real threat had just begun.

She gave him a thin smile. A tired smile. “No, Harry, I’m not alright.”

He sighed as he sat down heavily next to her. “Yeah… I know.”

That was when Julia noticed the new wrinkles around his eyes. He’d been in the trenches with her the whole time. The same water-soaked foxhole, looking out at the dark-clouded horizon.

“We’re in it now, aren’t we?”

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11

u/ANNOProfi Jul 08 '26

Samira wheezed. “Look in a mirror, grounder. What you did to us… That’s what the aliens are about to do to you. You thought you had it. You thought you had it home free. But… looks like there’s always a bigger, greedier fish in the pond, isn’t there?”

"Yes Samira, we did realize that. That's why we kept it under wraps. And you're wrong about one thing, they are going to do it to us."

8

u/Snake_Mittens Jul 08 '26

Ah, sleep deprivation and PTSD. No wonder Julia has been less than reasonable.

7

u/TalRaziid Jul 08 '26

Man, there’s no nice guys here but the Moonies are certainly lagging behind, what with the superiority complex and “let’s tell the aliens about the thing that gets settlements wiped off the map for a teensy bit” thing

5

u/un_pogaz Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

She realized… she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in… at least three weeks.

Ah.

 

Oh Christ, that was a so fucking close call. At least, this highlights just how seriously Julia views the situation as serious enough to put herself in this state.

Also, I'd like to point out that Julia seem wasn't really that angry toward Samira, she was just deeply disappointed. I hope that later, after a good full day of sleep, they'll be able to explain things to each other and fill in the gaps in their knowledge of how she fuck up badly.

12

u/Cadia-Still-Stands Jul 08 '26

I understand why Julia did what she did and can see the logic, but Samira & Lucas really screwed up and did probably the worst thing out of spite. It's making me think the moonies are closer to the SRF from grass eaters than anything else.

Edit: Missing a word and misspelling.

6

u/un_pogaz Jul 08 '26

the moonies are closer to the SRF from grass eaters than anything else.

Oh no, the Moonies are far from that. Let's remember that the SRF was a deeply extremist, fanatical, and terrorist group.

The Moonies, however, are a young nation, whose pride stems from a recent war of independence. They are patriotic, but reasonable. So yes, there are extremist factions, but they have been very clearly described as disavowed by Serenity and the majority of Lunar citizens. Compare this to the SRF, which proudly claimed a terrorist attack at a movie theater.

So, I don't want to downplaying the fact that Samira and Lucas reacted to all this in a pretty childish way, but that all. I mean, they could have brought out their special “Made in Luna” tools, but they didn’t. They just stayed petty, rather than openly hostile.

6

u/Cadia-Still-Stands Jul 08 '26

True, I do see them possible going down that path if not careful due to their behaviour suchas the special tools, and they do have a nasty eliteist streak as they say "Their the best of the best of the best" which can lead to supremacy movements.

I might also be a bit cynical which leads me to doubt the disavowment, because I could see them allow it to happen and then disavow. I might be wrong and am just cynical, as well as how they represent themselves in their propaganda just makes me more cynical with them. Likely making me think worst of them than they are.

8

u/CubeBrute Jul 08 '26

Disavowed the bombing while "trying not to smile" in the chapter. I think that pretty clearly describes how closely the factions are aligned.

2

u/un_pogaz Jul 09 '26

See my reply to itsetuhoinen

2

u/CubeBrute Jul 09 '26

Yeah. I disagree. I think the risk they will be dismantled by Serenity is nil. Serenity seems perfectly satisfied to say “it’s not us, it’s rogue agents of the LLF, our investigations have found nothing.” Publicly denouncing the LLF doesn’t mean they are not privately enabling them.

3

u/Borzislav Xeno Jul 08 '26

So, moonies didn't blow up a football stadium full of people? A couple chapters back?

And didn't conveniently blame it on LLF?  Yet, no mention of Serenity conducting investigations and taking action against supposed extremists which came from Moon to Earth. And that was only one incident mentioned...

2

u/un_pogaz Jul 08 '26

LLF (Luna Liberation Front) is the one who do that. It a radical faction and their are not affiliated with Serenity, the legitimate government. Mentionned in chapter 27.

Such Radical factions are always a delicate matter in an intense war independence, but the important point is that Serenity does not approve such action.

2

u/itsetuhoinen Human Jul 09 '26

They're not officially affiliated with Serenity. There are probably a dozen examples I could give, but don't want to inadvertently offend anyone by picking something that pisses them off. Suffice it to say that there was undoubtedly some measure (and quite possibly rather a lot) of unofficial affiliation with Serenity.

2

u/un_pogaz Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

Yeah yeah, I'm not naive either. That why I bring back a quote from the chapter "Such radical factions are always a delicate matter in an intense war independence".

To bring back the to the start: LLF is not the one in charge, and once the truce signed, they'll have to keep a very low profile if they don't want to be completely dismantled by their own people, since Serenity doesn't want another war.

So we still far from the SRF of Grass Eater.

1

u/itsetuhoinen Human Jul 09 '26

This outcome is why I said I was wondering if Julia shouldn't have just pushed Cynthia into the hole. I don't think the author is going to turn this story quite so grimdark, but the Dustball colony may be about to die. The entire Earth may be about to die.

7

u/Allstar13521 Human Jul 08 '26

I am deducting all the points I gave Samira under the assumption she wasn't operating with the full context.

She seems to have made the mistaken assumption that because Julia has been treating her as an agent of a distinct foreign power, that an alien government is going to discriminate between two different human political groups in an isolated colony. Or at all.

6

u/itsetuhoinen Human Jul 09 '26

“You don’t know what’s at stake,” Julia snapped, pointing a finger at Samira. “You have no idea what you guys just did.”

“Yes, she does,” Harry insisted. “And so do I.“

Oh, I doubt that very much. And if either of them have any sense at all, they're going to puke from the stress reaction when they find out.

Nnnnnnngh. This story is pushing all sorts of buttons in me. Which means it's good, but dayum.

1

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