Runeverse: The War for Supremacy

Moon, I-CA High Command Center.

“Status Report.”

Commanded a lady dressed in a white uniform adorned with two golden stars and two emblems fixed on each side of the shoulder, one depicting ‘I-CA’ and the other ‘CL’. She had an authoritative vibe, but her demeanour radiated peace and solemnity. 

“Reporting. We are ready, R-Ad. Valerie.” 

Rear Admiral Amelia Valerie or R-Ad. Valerie is a two-star I-CA Naval Command officer belonging to the Commercial League.

“Understood, Commander Casey. Begin alignment procedure.” 

Commander Casey, I-CA Naval Command officer under the direct supervision of R-Ad. Valerie saluted and instructed the officers seated on the seats in the command centre.

R-Ad. Valerie had her eyes glued to the huge screen in front of her. The bottom part depicted a mechanical device in the centre of a ring-shaped exterior which had three triangulation antennas on the top. Several of these structures seemed to be moving in a particular pattern aligning themselves, as seen on a graphical map on the huge screen.

“R-Ad. Valerie, alignment completed,” Commander Casey reported back.

“Understood Commander. May the universe have mercy on us. Initiate transmission procedure,” R-Ad. Valerie authorized.

With those words, the command centre reverberated with the echoes of mechanical clicks and voices. 

The real-time feed on the screen was changing rapidly. The antennas on the mechanical device unfurled themselves as energy started to gather in the centre of the device. Once enough energy was collected, a beam of light tore through the tangent of Earth and connected to the rear of the farthest devices. This light beam was amplified and launched from the top to the next device. This process continued until these mechanical devices aligned in a specific pattern. Finally, when the beam became thick enough, the last mechanical device propelled the beam into deep space in a specific direction.

 

“Reporting. Transmission successful. Awaiting reply. ETA 6 hours,” Commander Casey uttered.

“Understood Commander. I shall leave the deck in your hands,” R-Ad. Valerie instructed as she saluted.

Commander Casey responded as R-Ad. Valerie left the command deck.

On the observation corridor, R-Ad. Valerie gazed at the beautiful blue planet with flashes of purple. There existed a few large space stations located above the planet. These space stations were the symbol of might and power of the Inter-Continent Alliance or I-CA. Two of these space stations were manned by officers of the I-CA Naval Command, each belonging to a different division. The centermost space station was an autonomous defence system under the control of the only independent faction from the I-CA.

She sighed as her gaze landed on the third space station. Even now she wondered whether the decision taken by the I-CA Senate was right or wrong. She had decided to follow her heart, but some corner screamed that her decision might prove to be wrong in the future. 

[R-Ad. Valerie. Requested at the command centre.]

A voice from the communication relay brought her back to reality. She stood up, straightened the creases on her uniform and moved towards the command centre.

As she entered, Commander Casey started reporting.

“R-Ad. Valerie. There seems to be a situation. Sensors are receiving a pre-relay disturbance.” 

“The source?” asked R-Ad. Valerie.

“From the deep-space FOB. Estimated to be received within ten seconds,” Commander Casey replied.

“An early arrival, is it?” R-Ad. Valerie pondered.

As they were conversing, a huge levitating device above the Command Center started glowing with a pale blue light. The device was shaped like a cross with a cylindrical centre. After a few seconds, the plates covering the centre slid open and a thick beam of light crashed on the opposite side of the device from deep space. The device rotated at a slow pace and a thin beam of light left from the side opposite to the crash before landing on another device placed above the Command Center. 

“Commander, transmission received.” Another officer on the deck reported.

R-Ad. Valerie nodded and gestured to proceed. The officer decrypted the transmission under the Rear Admiral’s order and relayed the content on the screen. As everyone in the centre understood the content of the transmission, a pin-drop silence descended. After what seemed like an eternity, R-Ad. Valerie instructed.

“All hands, proceed with your work. The contents of the transmission are to remain confidential. Commander Casey to my office.” 

The command dragged everyone from their stupor as Commander and Rear Admiral disappeared from the centre.