Blood Impulse

Part 11.2 - CORRUPT DREAM

Homebound Sector, Haven System, Base Oceana

She watched Admiral Gives stand by the windows of Base Oceana's conference room, calm as ever. It was easy to tell what held his attention. The Singularity lingered unusually close to Base Oceana, and as far as she could tell, his thoughts never wandered far from the old ship. The same was true physically. In the last two years, he and the Singularity had been in separate star systems only once, and even then, only for a few hours.

She had been observing and interfering amongst humanity for decades now. Most of them were simple creatures, driven by lust, power or pride. Admiral Gives was a strange case. She could never truly define his motivations in her research. Any opinions he held, he kept to himself. He spoke little unless he had something important to say – almost machine-like in regard to that and his total lack of outward emotion. Such a disposition was rare these days, perhaps even unique. It would have made him an ideal partner. Likely, he was one of very, very few who would have truly understood and respected her intentions.

But none of that meant anything now. The Steel Prince was meant to die today.

Where he stood, Admiral Gives was well aware of the fact he was being watched. He was very perceptive of such things, but simply chose to ignore it. He had enough enemies to know that his every move would be watched on Base Oceana, but he did not truly care. He just wanted a moment of peace on this damn space station. He just wanted to stare out at his ship because he rarely, so rarely, got to actually see her. It was the reality of ship command that he spent most of his time on board, working, unable to appreciate the ship in her full glory.

By mass and length, the primary measures of ship size, the Singularity was the largest ship in the UCSC fleet. When both ships flew in a lateral orientation, the Olympia was shorter in length but taller in height, so her volume capacity remained approximately equal to the Singularity's, though the old dreadnaught was generally considered to be larger.

The Singularity's longer, slender build harkened back to the old shipyards. Built and launched from a planetary gravity well, the old ship's vertical height had been maxed at what the shipyards' cranes and support structures could hold. The weight of added height would have been difficult to sustain, but adding length allowed more supports to be built in contact with the ground. It had not been nearly as important a constraint.

The Olympia, built in modern shipyards outside a gravity well, had been built without those height restrictions, but possessed a superstructure that was untested by gravity. Pieces of the Olympia's architecture had been left graceful and purposeless, while every contour of the Singularity's design held a critical function, not a line of engineering sketches wasted.

The Flagship Olympia was designed to be pretty – a tribute to the grace of the central planets. The Singularity, by comparison, was rather plain. No thought had been given to her aesthetics. She had been designed for functionality above all else, but that did not make her ugly. Even showing her age in fading paint and blemished armor, she was beautiful, and there was hell to pay if anyone said otherwise in Admiral Gives' presence.

General Clarke, among others, called him possessive when it came to the Singularity. Maybe Clarke was right, but Admiral Gives was always striving to protect a good ship and a good crew from the cruel nature of the worlds. At times, that made him ruthless and possessive. It made him a monster, but as he looked out the windows of the conference room, where his ship hung close, he regretted absolutely none of it.