Chương 159: Nova Wars - Chapter 130

By installing this equipment or allowing it to be installed, those who use said equipment are liable for all events and actions taken by themselves and others. In no case shall BobCo be held liable for any events, real or imagined, that happen or do not happen. - Part of the 14, 582 page terms and services for use for a BobCo standard productforge. Commodore Navelu'uee had been aboard ships moving through Transit Space before. Usually they were quiet, almost hushed.

Down in the engineering spaces there might be noises, but she was a commander, a Ship's Captain, from a long line of Ship's Officers. Not the kind of officer that wandered around with a tool belt and grease matting their fur. No, she came from the distinguished type with the perfect uniform, the properly applied glimmerdust and vanity dust/powder, and the aura of command that others only wished they could put forth. Which meant that she was completely thrown by the primates.

She had stopped by one of the physical exercise areas, looking for Technical Sergeant Treston. She had expected light calisthenics and other low impact that toned the muscles, got rid of extra fat, and kept one fit. What she saw was Technical Sergeant Treston standing behind a thick metal bar. He was wearing shorts, socks, shoes, a sleeveless shirt, and thick leather belt around his waist. The sleeveless shirt showed off how thick his chest muscles were, how thick his arms were, and how thick the Terran's neck was.

Around him was gathered troops that she had met the day before. They were all cheering as she wove her way through the exercise area. She stepped up right as he clapped his hands together, causing puffs of white powder, then squatted down to the grab the bar. It was when he stood back up that she realized that the bar had large round plates on either side. The cheering got louder as he stood there for a moment, holding it up.

When he dropped it and stepped back, covered in sweat, some of the other troops stepped forward to clap him on the back. TS Treston held one fist over his head. Right before Nav stepped forward to ask Treston what he was doing one of the troops grabbed her arm.

"Woah," the Terran said, pulling her backwards. The grip on her arm was intense, crushing, and the sheer raw strength in the motion of pulling her back made her blink rapidly.

"You aren't wearing an armband," the person holding her said.

"You almost walked into a grav field. You probably wouldn't do well in five gees."

"Five what?" Nav asked. She tried to stop, tried to pull away, but the Terran just kept dragging her.

"Five earth standard gravities," the Terran looked back then forward.

"Five point five or maybe even six gravities to you. That means you'd go from weighing fifty kilos to weighing three hundred kilos. Probably snap your bones just trying to hold up your own weight." That made her eyes open wide. She glanced back at TS Treston, who was watching as a plate was put on each side, adding more weight to the bar. The Terran pulling her stopped, grabbing a bracelet from a peg on the wall where some hung down. He put it on her wrist and she felt a light tingling.

"What is that?" she asked, finally managing to pull her arm away.

"Localized G-field. Will keep your bones from breaking if you wander into a high-G field," the Terran said. He shook his head, his bald scalp gleaming even though there was a slightly shadow from dark hair.

"You have to be more careful, Commodore, there are a thousand ways to die aboard ship and all of them will hurt terribly the entire time." She wanted to snap at him, tell him that she knew that fact, she was a ship commander after all. Then she realized she'd almost stepped into a field of increased gravity six times what she had grown up on. Her bones would have snapped and her collapse would have driven the jagged ends and splinters into her vital organs.

She would have gurgled away her last moments as a collapsed puddle of meat and bone flinders.

"Thank you," Nav said, swallowing down her feeling of superiority.

"Of course, Commodore," the Terran said. He gave one of those teeth exposed expressions of pleasure that made Nav want to run.

"Shall we?" he turned and gave a half-bow and a sweep of his arm, indicating a path back to TS Treston.

"After you, Technician," Nav said, doing her best to sound nasally and stuff.

"As an officer, I need guidance anywhere that doesn't lead to medals or accolades or a way to make the ship's company more miserable." The Terran did a double-take then laughed.

"Almost had me, Commodore." Nav felt pleased with herself. She had studied lemur humor and found it to be strange and confusing. It was often self-mocking, or criticized and mocked those who should be able mocking. There were even memes about the High Lord Knight, commander of the vessel and Ring Breaker pilot, most of which Nav didn't understand but seemed to have a high approval rating.

Nav had quickly realized that if a being couldn't make fun of themselves or see the humor in themselves through the eyes of others they would be accused of having a branch of wood jammed into their rectum and along their spine. Just the accusation of 'having a stick up your ass' seemed to be a terrible thing. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. She followed the Terran back to where TS Treston was lifting it again, obviously straining.

"How much weight?" she asked.

"Three hundred twenty kilos in five G," someone said.

"Why?" Nav asked.

"Repetition strengthens our muscles. Strong body, strong mind. Strong mind, strong body," another said.

"Takes muscle to pack around some of our tools. Grav-field assist is sometimes more trouble than its worth and you need sheer muscle," another added.

"And chrome and bioware are shortcuts that remove part of the body and maim the spirit." Nav didn't frown, just nodded. The idea of intense body integrity belief resonated with her. The idea of having parts of her body replaced with artificial replacements repulsed her, made her almost physically nauseous. She didn't want to admit it, but the words of the prophets about body integrity resonated with her. fifty years old... She knew why. She wasn't stupid.

She knew that someone had reached inside of her and sentenced her to die without even malevolence or anger. They'd just done it because they could. They'd violated her in a way that made her sick. And, she was slowly coming to realize, made her angry. They had killed her. Killed her mother. Her grandmother. Every one of the decorated female Dra. Falten in her family line for thousands of years. Her line was unbroken since before space travel.

Her family had served the Imperial Throne since before the Unification War. One of her ancestors had flown a glider during that war. And in return for loyalty, for undying loyalty, what did her family receive? Death. She closed her eyes as Treston grabbed the bar and straightened up again to the cheers of the male and female Terrans around him. She took the four deep breaths the informative visual media had told her to perform when she was angry or stressed.

"Are you all right, Commodore?" someone asked her. She opened her eyes, looking to the voice. She realized that she had forgotten her eyepiece and had her implant off when she realized she had no idea who was speaking. They didn't have on rank or nametags.

"Yes, yes. Just thinking," she said. The other person nodded.

"All right," they pointed at Treston.

"He'll be done in a little bit. If you would like, I can tell him that you were looking for him."

"Thank you," Nav said. She turned and started making her way out of the exercise area.

"Commodore Navelu'uee!" the raised voice took her by surprise as she was walking the straight line for the exit. Nav stopped and turned around. A lemur was hurrying up to her, covered in sweat and their pale pinkish skin flushed slightly. The body type showed Nav that it was a female.

"Yes?" Nav asked. The human stopped and wiped off their brow. There was so much liquid on their skin that it completely coated the human female's forearm.

"Whew. Should have grabbed my towel," she said. She grinned.

"Anyway... if you don't mind me asking, what brought you to the gym?"

"I was looking for Sergeant Treston," Nav said. She shook her head.

"No reason. I just grew tired of sitting in my stateroom staring at the wall." The female's grin got wider.

"The gym's a good place to do something else," she waved.

"Do your people put a high value on physical fitness?"

"For the menial caste. It's about aesthetics and appearance for the most part for the higher caste," Nav said. fifty years...

"Raw physical strength isn't as prized as it was before mechanization and the industrial age," Nav continued, pushing the thought away.

"It seems like a waste of energy. Calories and nutrition." The Terran shook her head.

"No. You feel better, your body runs at a more optimized state, you're healthier," she laughed.

"My people, we're still really close to our hunter-gatherer roots. Only twenty or thirty thousand years, so not really all that long."

"Forty-thousand years ago my people were debating on whether or not space flight should be attempted," Nav admitted.

"From what I've learned, the fact that we didn't invent the radio until later is probably why a giant killer robot starship didn't wipe us out." The female nodded.

"Long Dark species. Yeah. Could have happened easily," the female waved.

"Hey, if you want, we can have the medical section send over exercises for you to do while we talk." Nav stood there for a long second, wavering. She wanted to. She was growing lonely in the cabin, being the only Dra. Falten on the ship. But at the same time, she was not supposed to mingle overmuch with the lemurs so that she didn't dishonor the Empress and fifty years Nav straightened up.

"How do you say it? I'd love to." 0-0-0-0-0 The female lemur, one Technical Officer Grade Two Saileog Braiche, had chatted with her the entire time she had waited for the medical section to come up with safe exercises, while they had exercised, and while they had gone to the dining facility for a snack. Nav was even in possession of a new diet. She had talked to a 'nutritionist' as well as one of the medical technicians about how she was now going to live longer than fifty years old.

She sat on the couch in the stateroom, staring at the glass topped coffee table in front of her. She had a new diet. New exercises. TO2 Braiche has slapped her (gently) on the back and told her all she needed now was a new attitude and everything would be 'roses and peach cobbler.' She couldn't lift the sheer obnoxious weight that TO2 Braiche could, but then, she wasn't a lemur with single direction muscles and bones made of dense calcium. Nav also knew other Dra.

Falten would take a pain reliever to get rid of the soreness of the muscles, but apparently that was part of the deal to the Terrans. That sore muscles were proof of a good workout and were somehow enjoyed. She had promised herself that she would learn to enjoy the sore muscles. The clock chimed and Nav stood up, checking her clothing real quick. She was almost to the door when the lights flashed and there was a slight tone to let her know someone was at the door.

When the door opened TO2 Braiche stood there, dressed in nice clothing. She wore a thick white robe over the top of the clothing, the robe held closed with a red belt that was tied in front of her.

"Are you sure it is all right for me to accompany you?" Nav asked. Braiche nodded.

"Of course."

"What if I decide I'm not that interested?" Nav asked. She stepped into the corridor and the door wooshed shut behind her.

"Then you aren't. Nobody's going to force you, Nav," Braiche stated. It was 'evening' on board the ship, but it was still as buys as ever as the pair moved through the corridors. The chamber was larger than Nav had expected. It was brightly lit where she had expected candles and maybe even torches or a stone edged pit with a fire inside. There were over a score of other people in the chamber, most of them wearing heavy white robes with a hood that hid their head but left their faces bare.

Nav had learned that black was for males and red was for females. Warsteel and blood.

"Let's sit down," Braiche said. She sat on one of the polished and lacquered wooden benches. Nav just nodded, joining her. A male human was moving toward the lectern at the front of the chamber. They touched me, twisted me. They killed me. They violated me. Nav sat stone faced during the sermon. I will hate them forever for that.