Naleena received a page on her omni-tool from Councilor Tevos.
Naleena:
You might want to head to Concourse C at your earliest convenience. Your ship is departing the Dionesa Nebula and will be arriving shortly.
Councilor Tevos
The Janiri approached the mass relay of the Picus System in the Dionesa Nebula deep within Asari space. Its maiden voyage was to The Citadel. The Janiri was named after Athame’s guide who brought enlightenment to Thessia. Commander Alana Selani watched as her pilot, Quitius Jorril guided it to the relay.
“Relay coordinates are locked; awaiting transit connection; we have a lock, Commander.” Jorril said. Jorril was a Turian with white facial markings, and he was highly disciplined having learned his skills in the Turian Navy aboard the cruiser, Tiberius.
There was a moment of vertigo as the ship made the transition from normal space into relay transit. Within moments the Janiri emerged from the relay in the Serpent Nebula.
“Velocity .5 c, drift 1000 km,” Navigator Darya Abrasimova said. Darya was young, and a recent graduate from the Systems Alliance Academy. She was handpicked by Admiral Hackett for this assignment. A highly skilled technician, she had light brown hair and brown eyes.
“Excellent,” Selani said, “Take her in.”
“This is the C.S.V. Janiri to Citadel flight control: Requesting permission to dock,” Jorril said.
“We have you locked. Permission granted. Proceed to docking bay C-1,” the flight controller said.
The ship soared through the outer edge of The Citadel. The view was breathtaking on the bridge screen as it slowed on its approach to the docking bay. People on the Citadel pointed at the ship as it passed. They had never seen anything of its design before. The fore of the ship passed through the kinetic barrier and the docking clamps locked the ship in place.
Naleena waited at the Gate C-1. Commander Selani emerged from the spaceway.
“Commander,” Naleena said and they shook hands.
“Naleena, come aboard, please. Let me give you a tour of the ship,” Commander Selani said and the two of them entered the spaceway and boarded the Janiri through the front portside airlock.
“As you can see the bridge is not located here because we felt the extreme fore of the ship would be vulnerable and since we don’t use windows for flight, there was no reason to expose a vital area to danger,” she said as they turned right and walked toward the central area of the ship. “The Janiri is a destroyer class. It is larger than a frigate yet much smaller than a cruiser, but make no mistake. It has the firepower to hold its own. It is equipped with UV Gardian Laser turrets on each side, and aft, and our main gun is a Turian developed spinal mounted Thanix Cannon which fires molten uranium, tungsten, and iron suspended in an electromagnetic field powered by element zero. We can fire it once every five seconds. This is a larger version than the one being retrofitted on frigates and gives this ship the fire power somewhere in between that of a cruiser and a dreadnought. Hopefully we never have to use it.
“The crew we’re passing monitor the exterior space weather conditions, and changes in environmental systems. They make adjustments using our state of the art Virtual Intelligence, an Armali Systems Model 3430.”
“That is going to be changed when we get to Illium,” Naleena said.
“But, Ma’am. It’s the latest design,” Selani protested.
“I have a preference for a Synthetic Insights model, and I’m sure you will, too. It is faster, and can operate the ships systems as well. If it is compatible, the 3430 might be cannibalized for extended processing power. Otherwise it will be used as a backup.” Naleena said.
“But Synthetic Insights is under Council investigation at the moment for illegal AI research.” Selani said, “You might want to reconsider.”
“The unit is in my shuttle and has been operating well for the past three years. I have constantly upgraded it, and it was one that could be used in a much larger ship. All that is needed is more memory and additional processors,” Naleena said.
“As you wish,” Selani sighed, and they entered a large central room. “This area is the CIC and Bridge. It houses helm, navigation, and our command center. It is the hub of the ship.”
“What if the ship is boarded?” Naleena asked.
“The hatch on the port side goes to corridor that leads aft to an armory where the bridge crew could quickly grab assault weapons to defend the area,” Selani replied, “Also through the hatch is access to the conference room. The hatch on the starboard side opens to a corridor that leads aft to the science lab, and also connects to the conference room. The conference room is in the center. The two hatches next to the elevators lead to stairs. The one on the right leads to the upper deck – your quarters, and mine on the opposite side. The one on the left leads to the lower decks.”
“Let’s head downstairs.”
Commander Selani led Naleena downstairs to Deck 3, the Crew Deck. “This is where the main wardroom is located along with med-bay and the living quarters for the entire crew. Your team will be housed here as well,” she said, “Officers and your team will have rooms along the perimeter with view ports, and enlisted crew are on the interior. The quarters are generous in size: 3.5 x 4 meters. This is not a luxury liner. There is a library and common area.”
“But the corridors are decorative, and nicely lit. A pleasant change from a Turian military vessel.” Naleena commented.
The next deck was a high security area of the ship. Selani entered a passcode and retinal scan. The hatch opened.
“This is Deck 4: Engineering; Main Battery; and VI Core.” Selani said.
A crewman opened a door from Engineering and nearly ran into them. “Pardon me, Ma’am,” he said and stood at attention.
“At ease. Hans Steiner, this is Naleena T’sarius. She’s the Spectre I briefed the crew about,” Selani said, “Hans is one of our engineering techs.”
“One of my duties is to keep the main battery calibrated, and run computer simulations.” Hans said, “My supervisor, Han’Breizh vas Janiri nar Qwib Qwib, the ship’s Chief Engineer is through that door, if you’d like to speak to him.”
“A Quarian engineer?” Naleena asked.
“Fantastic resume. The Matriarch had him transferred to this ship. The man is a genius. He served on the Quarian heavy cruiser, Neema before he was recruited,” Selani praised him, and then continued. “Deck 5 is the Cargo Deck and Main Armory and locker room. Deck 6 is the Shuttle Bay. We can head back up unless you want to see them. Our Quartermaster maintains the armor and weapons in the secure area on the next deck. He’s a Turian, Taran Parnos.”
“I’ll take time to meet the crew later,” Naleena replied, “Let’s head back up to the main deck.”
They called the elevator. Selani continued. “One last thing. I was notified that there are a few crew members that we’ll be getting for our security. It seems that the commandos that were stationed on Duellos guarding the train didn’t have an assignment. They were assigned here. All twelve of them. That will our needs.”
“I never met them. But that’s good news. Commandos are a welcome addition.” Naleena said.
“You were on Duellos, right?” Selani asked.
“But I was not part of any mission involving a train.” Naleena said. “Here we are back at the main deck. Thank you for the tour, Commander. I have further business on the Citadel, and I have to transport my shuttle from the Audron. Make sure there’s room in the Shuttle Bay for it, and have the Quartermaster arrange for my things to be brought from the Audron up to my quarters.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Naleena smiled as she left the Janiri. The ship was perfect for a long mission: civilian comfort with military design.
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