Dev Charles's Solo Adventure | The Castillon Arc

[Captain Charles]

The Average Morning | Day In A Life Three​ Charles | Captain’s Quarters | Stryker II: He was awake by 0600, it wasn’t the exception it was the rule, a habit he carried over from the academy. Their quarters were still dark. That was okay, he had set the day cycle to begin at 0612, a minute after she would awake. He was on his back. His arm was wrapped around her, his hand resting on her shoulder. She was on her side against him, her head on his chest, her arm across him, her hand resting on his heart. Their legs were tangled together somewhere beneath the sheets. Her breathing was slow and even against his chest. He glanced over to look at her face. It looked like she had found the safest, most comfortable spot in the galaxy. She always looked like that. The arm was still the problem. He began his extraction technique. The one he had been working on for months. It involved a methodical series of steps starting with the legs and ending with her arm across his chest. It was that arm that caused the most trouble. He untangled his legs first. That was the easy part. She shifted slightly but didn’t do anything else. Good, onto the next step. Next was his arm around her. He moved slowly but deliberately, taking his hand off her shoulder, and sliding his arm out and around from under her. She slid her hand down, still subconscious, grabbing his arm. He sighed. This is what made step three so difficult. Her head was still on his chest. That was fine, but the arm, it acted like a tripwire. Whenever he tried to move she reacted instantly tightening her embrace and forcing him to stop moving. He tried again. He failed again. He gave up. It was like this almost every morning. Him getting up early, trying to get out and failing and then eventually accepting the fact that he would have to wait until she got up. He had compensated for this by moving the morning brief to 0700 instead of its original time of 0630 (which was when before she moved aboard). He lay there watching the time. Six more minutes. He could wait. He looked at her, the time, the water heater, the pantry with the tea and crackers. He felt her legs moving, intertwining with his again. Six minutes passed. Finally she stirred. Her eyes opened slowly. She smiled. She always smiled. “Good morning honey.” she murmured still half asleep. Hannah | Her and Charles’s Quarters | Stryker II: “Good morning.” he replied. He was fully awake like usual. She felt the warmth of him before anything else. The specific warmth of someone who had been beside her all night. She was still half asleep when she felt him shift. The lights flicked on. It was time. She let him go. She always let him go at this point. She knew the routine. She lay there, watching him as he disappeared behind the door to the bathroom. The shower system activating soon afterward. She rolled over onto his side. It was still warm. She would stay there for another fifteen minutes. Charles | Captain’s Quarters | Stryker II: He was done showering. Actually he was done with a lot of things. He had showered, brushed his teeth, shaved and combed his hair. He had stepped out of the shower, towel around his waist. He tossed his used underwear into the laundry basket before heading towards the closet where his uniform awaited. He put on fresh undergarments first before putting on his blouse. It was on its hanger in its usual spot the pants right next to it. He put on his uniform in the same order every morning. The one he was taught at the academy. Once he finished putting on his uniform, socks included he would make his wife some tea. The armor and boots could wait. He only put them on right before he left. He turned towards the pantry looking at his wife. “You gonna get up?” he asked jokingly. He knew she wouldn’t until after the tea was made. “No thank you. I like it right here.” she replied. He made the tea. Two cups, hers slightly cooler. He didn’t bother measuring the temperature. He had done this so many times that he could tell just by looking at it. He opened the pantry for the crackers, arranging them on the tray before setting it down on the desk. He looked at her. She was still lying on her side, eyes locked on him. “Tea is ready.” he announced. Hannah | Her and Charles’s Quarters | Stryker II: She got out of bed immediately crossing over to the desk where her tea awaited. She picked up her cup and took a sip, leaning against him afterward. She grabbed a cracker. He put his arm around her. He was standing facing the artificial view port which was projecting the space around them. They stood there for awhile. Sipping tea and eating crackers until he finished his cup. “I gotta get going.” he said, checking the time. She stepped back reluctantly. “I know.” she replied softly. She watched him put on his boots and armor. She handed him the helmet herself. “I’ll see you later!” he said, before kissing her and opening the hatch. She kissed him back, holding it for a second longer than necessary. He would be back, she told herself. He always came back. Then she let him go.

 

[Captain Charles]

Daily Activities | Day In A Life Four​

Charles | Briefing Room | Stryker II:
He arrived at the briefing room at 0658. Two minutes early. He was always two minutes early. Everyone else was already filing in. The displays already showing the captains and senior officers of the other 33 ships of First Scouting Squadron.

He felt the datapad buzz as he stepped in. It was the 0700 ping.

“Have a great day honey!” came his wife’s message.

He smiled. Then replied instantly.

“You too.”

He put the datapad back in his pocket. Then took his chair at the front of the room.

The meeting was the usual. Reports from last night. Status checks from all the ships and fighter squadrons. The Plan of the Day brief. All was normal and ended on schedule.

He checked datapad as he left. A single notification was present. It was a heart.

Charles | The Mess | Stryker II:
The mess was less busy than usual. That was good, less waiting for him. Charles had walked from the briefing room to the mess with his senior officers chatting along the way. They got in line with everyone else catching salutes as they did. They saluted back and said their greetings before grabbing their food and heading to the table.

The table was long enough for all of them. It always was, Tarris had arranged for the table with the same precision he arranged everything else. Nobody had asked him to. It was simply correct when they arrived.

Charles sat at the head. Holt to his right, datapad face down beside his tray. Voss was to his left, already halfway through his food with the focused efficiency of a Marine Commander who treated meals as logistics problems to be solved.

The bridge crew filled in around them. Lucan was talking to Varren about something navigational that nobody else was following, Malren eating in silence with the specific focused quality of someone running tactical assessments even during breakfast, Ferrin already on his second cup of caf and talking to Castor about something in the comm traffic from last night.

The department heads took the middle section: Sorn with the grease still on his hands from an early engineering check, Tarris straightening his tray twice before sitting, Krenn eating with the methodical care of someone who had opinions about nutritional content, Talven reviewing something on his datapad that was definitely logistics related. Edric was at the end watching a clip of a live fire exercise.

Slasher and Bruiser were at the end. They were arguing about something like always.

“No! I’m telling you the best reversal is the Rolling Reversal!” yelled Slasher loud enough for the rest of the table to hear.

“And I’m telling you its not!” yelled Bruiser in response. Everyone stopped talking, now tuned into the entertainment in front of them.

Charles sighed. The twins were at it again. They were younger than him, both were twenty, yet around each other they acted like they were half that age.

They were his best pilots though by a significant margin. He remembered meeting them for the first time when they were assigned to him. The instructor had warned him saying that they were the best in their class but always argued. He didn’t regret picking them. In fact he was glad he did despite their constant bickering.

He raised his hand.

“Can we not argue during breakfast?” he said loudly, interrupting their argument.

They froze, turning to look at him.

“Sorry sir.” they said simultaneously. Then turned to glare at each other as they returned to their food.

The table returned to normal. Holt and Edric logged something in their datapads. They finished eating then headed up to the bridge together.

Charles | The Bridge | Stryker II:
Hannah was waiting for them. She always waited for them. She was sitting on the arm rest of his command chair waving as the party entered the bridge.

Voss nudged him.

“Get going boss. We don’t need babysitting towards our stations.”

He looked back at his senior officers before heading over to her. They nodded. Then scattered towards their respective stations.

He reached his command chair.

“Didn’t realize my chair had a guardian.” he said jokingly before sitting down.

“It does now.” she replied simply. She moved to his lap.

“Don’t you have work to do?” he asked, gesturing towards her station just behind his command chair.

“I finished it all which means I have time to do this.” she replied, nuzzling into his shoulder.

“Alright.” he said, looking at his personal display.

ATLAS and ATHENA were giving him real time updates, nothing was amiss as expected. He looked up and out the viewport at the blankness of space. This patrol route wasn't very active, he didn’t mind, people who were the most bloodthirsty were the first to get killed. The people who approached it with pragmatism and ruthless efficiency and logic were the ones who prevailed.

It didn’t mean they were going to see no action though. Nobody could ever be fully certain on that. Who knows maybe they’d spot a pirate convoy or something like that.

She was half asleep now. Her breathing becoming steadier as her eyes drifted closed.

“When do you want to get dinner tonight?” she murmured.

He was about to respond when Castor reported.

“Sir, pirate convoy detected, bearing 095, speed point 3.”

“Sound Action Stations.” replied Charles calmly.

The alarms began to blare.

Hannah jerked up from her slumber. She looked at him, her eyes wild with panic.

“Charles, what is going on!?” she demanded, latching on to him.

“Pirate convoy, nothing we can’t deal with.” he replied. He checked the tactical display. Good, the pirates weren't on to them yet. The Stryker II’s long range sensors did their job perfectly.

He could feel his wife burying her head into his chest, her heart rate climbing.

Malren and Edric were already coordinating, swinging the Stryker II’s main battery to bear. The squadron’s cruisers were doing the same, bringing their heavy turbolasers on to target. The Strangler (the Interdictor Cruiser) activated its gravity generators. The frigates moving into screening positions.

“All ships you may fire when ready.” ordered Charles.

He watched the first salvo. A pirate corvette was hit by a bolt from the Stryker II’s main battery. It was vaporized in a cloud of fire and smoke.

He looked down at his wife who was now staring at the cloud of debris. More and more hits were registering. The Reprisal scored hits soon after on a pirate frigate. It exploded into flames.

The pirates were scrambling now, charging forward in a desperate counter attack.

It only helped the squadron.

The Bullet Class Frigates and the shorter ranged weapons of the larger ships of First Scouting Squadron opened fire. Proton torpedoes cast white trails behind them as they swarmed towards their targets.

One by one the enemy ships were destroyed with mechanical precision until only the transports were left. They sent the surrender signal.

The battle barely took fifteen minutes. No friendly casualties. He looked down at Hannah. Her mouth hung open in muted horror.

“Close the range and prepare for boarding action.” he ordered.

“Aye sir.” replied Voss before heading down towards the Hangar to organize his Marines.

"They were people," she said quietly. "On those ships."

It wasn’t accusatory, just a person processing a slaughter for the first time.

“The price of every victory.” he replied. “Eventually you get used to it.”

“I don’t want to get used to it…I don’t want you to get used to it.” she said softly. “I don’t want to lose you to it.”

She pressed her face on his chest.

“You won’t.” he replied. “My peace was made when Banks died.”

They were silent for awhile.

The boarding operation went without a hitch. The illegal cargo was destroyed, the ships scuttled, and the pirates brought aboard as prisoners. They would be brought to Mahporeem for their punishment.

“Can we head back to the Quarters?” she asked finally.

“Yeah, the battle is over anyways.” he got up, carrying her as she clung to him.

Holt, set course for Mahporeem!” he called over to his XO.

He carried her back to their quarters.

 

[Captain Charles]

Afternoon Time | Day In A Life Five​

Hannah | Her and Charles’s Quarters | Stryker II:
She was reading a book, more specifically one of Charles’s old textbooks. She had found his collection a while ago at the back of the closet and had commandeered them. He didn’t make any comment.

She was at her favorite reading spot. A giant beanbag she had brought from Castillon. She placed it behind the desk on the carpet her husband installed. Speaking of her husband, she couldn't help but steal glances at him occasionally.

He wasn't doing anything specific. Just the specific focus of a man that was trying to figure out prisoner logistics. He was wearing his pajamas, his uniform having long been put away back into their normal spot.

“Almost done?” she asked hopefully.

“Almost.” he replied, still focused on his datapad. “Just gotta fill out this final form anddd there we go.”

He set down his datapad. She snapped the book shut.

“Want to play a game?” she asked standing up to cross over to him.

“Sure.” he replied, reaching for the Dejarik board and pieces.

She sat on the other chair at the desk, helping him set up the pieces.

“You can go first.” he said. It was his way of making it more fair.

Usually she went with whatever looked good. But she had just read the tactical theory section, and was about to put it to use. She made her move.

He raised his eyebrow.

“Good move.” he said flatly.

She smiled. His praise didn’t come lightly, especially when it came to games like this.

It took him a moment longer than usual to make his move. But only a moment. A couple of moves later she was back on the defensive.

“It was a good attempt.” he said. “But I’m afraid it is time for me to end this game.”

She looked at the board. He was right, there was no way she could win this.

She sighed.

“I concede.” she said finally.

She watched as he reset the board.

“Again?” he asked.

She looked at him. She knew he wanted to play again, but she had better ideas.

“Let’s go to the gym.” she said cheerfully. “I want to see if I can do a pull up today.”

“I was going to go later but okay.” he replied.

They changed into their gym clothes. Hers were infrequently used, she preferred walks. She remembered when he first ordered them.

“Command is going to be confused about this.” he had muttered. “Female clothes for an all male squadron.”

She had laughed and said “Thank you.”

They left for the gym.

Hannah | The Gym | Stryker II:
The gym was enormous, at least to her. It was one of many gyms scattered around the ship. Charles had explained that he always used this one because it was the closest.

Hype music was playing in the background. There were at least a hundred people here, using the various machines, free weights or the indoor track in the back.

She suddenly felt very shy. She hid behind her husband.

“Don’t be shy.” he said quietly. “You know these guys already.”

“I know but…This is different.” she replied.

“Come on, it gets easier when you start.” he said, walking towards the pull up bar.

“Wait!” she exclaimed quietly.

She quickly followed. Mostly because she had no choice.

They passed a couple of the crew who said their greetings or dapped Charles up. She looked down at the ground. She could feel them glancing at her.

They reached the pull up bar. She looked up. The bar was right there. Charles was rummaging through his bag for his weight belt.

“Stay right here.” he said. “I’m going to grab a plate real quick.”

He left to a nearby weight rack.

She was alone. She looked around. For the most part everyone had returned to their normal activities and weren't paying attention to her.

A Sergeant passed by and offered her a word of encouragement.

Then Charles came back.

“Ready to try that pull up?” he asked encouragingly.

She nodded.

She tried, REALLY tried. But a pull up was much harder than it looked. She only got about halfway up until she felt his hands on her waist pushing her up the rest of the way.

She savored the moment when her chin cleared the bar. He let her back down gently.

“That counts.” she said.

“Almost.” he replied kindly.

She looked at him.

She looked at the bar.

She had feelings about "almost."

“Next time.” she said defiantly.

He smiled then got started with his workout.

She followed him around the gym for about an hour watching him hit his sets and log them methodically. Even exercise is a science to him, she thought with a smile. She had a good time.

They were leaving the gym when Slasher and Bruiser were just about to walk in.

“Good workout sir?” asked Bruiser.

“About to get that cardio in?” added Slasher.

She felt her face burn, she knew what he was implying.

“Not today.” replied Charles, none the wiser. “I did a sprint day yesterday so in terms of cardio its recovery day for me.”

Slasher blinked.

Bruiser had decided that the door was very interesting all of a sudden.

She grabbed her husband’s arm.

“Have a good workout gentlemen.” she said quickly, before dragging him away and back towards their Quarters. She would have to explain that joke to him later.

The twins watched them go.

Bruiser turned to Slasher.

“Recovery day.” he said flatly.

“Recovery day.” Slasher repeated back.

They went into the gym.

Charles | MIN Vengeance FSS-2:
It wasn’t even an inspection even though it was technically logged as one. He visited a ship everyday. It was his way of staying in touch with the rest of the squadron and allowed the brotherhood to thrive.

They arrived onboard Kelven' s shuttle. The Vengeance's Captain and all available crew were gathered in the hangar waiting to meet them. There was no elaborate ceremony, they were all friends here.

“Welcome aboard sir!” said the Captain dapping up Charles with a smile before rendering a quick salute.

“Thank you for having us.” he replied, returning it. He looked around at the gathered crew. All eyes were on his wife who was already shrinking behind him.

“Ah, it seems the “Real XO” joined you today.” said the Captain jokingly.

Charles looked at her. She was gripping his sleeve looking at the ground.

“Honey, say hi.” he said nudging her forward.

She yelped.

“We don’t bite.” said the Vengeance's Captain, a warm smile on his face.

She looked at him. Then at the gathered men. Then back at him.

“Sorry, I’m better one on one.” she said shyly barely meeting his eyes.

“Don’t worry.” replied the Captain. “We know a lot about you already. We know what you mean to Charles. Why don’t we show you two around.”

Charles watched as his wife physically relaxed. She fell back towards him. He put his arm around her shoulders.

“Let’s go say hi to everyone else.” he said, heading towards the gathered crew. She looked mortified, but only for a second. They spent their time greeting everyone else.

They eventually left the hangar, following the Captain to the bridge. Everyone had pointed out The Shirt and how it was awesome that she actually wore The Shirt all the time. They said their greetings to everyone on the Bridge.

Charles then talked to the Vengeance’s Senior Officers on military matters, status checks, supply, training, etc. The Captain then led them around the ship after that. They viewed the Mess and got some food with some of the crew. They visited the medical bay, gun positions, etc. It was a full blown visit. By the time they were done it was already late in the afternoon.

Kelven had taken them back. It was a quiet trip. Hannah rested her head on his shoulder. When they got back to their Quarters she collapsed onto the beanbag.

“I’m exhausted.” she said, adding an exaggerated sigh.

“Oh come on, didn’t you have to deal with social situations when you were an Ambassador?” he replied.

“Yeah, but I was ready and there weren’t nearly as many people.”

“They are brothers, think of them like our extended family.”

She looked at him.

“Charles, I have four friends.”

“And now you have 70,687 more. I would vouch that they are just as reliable if not more.”

Hannah | Her and Charles’s Quarters | Stryker II:
She was too tired to laugh or to argue further.

“I’m glad that I do.” she said finally.

“You will always have somebody here. I will look out for you. We all will look out for you.” he said confidently.

She looked at him.

“You better.” she said quietly.

She smiled.

She knew she was home.

She closed her eyes. The last thing she felt was him picking her up and carrying her to the rack.