The ships of the Second Fleet – the Halcyon carrier Scintilata, and the Radiance battleship Resplendia – were never meant for the front-line. From construction, they were to be used guarding the core worlds from incursions by the empire’s more-aggressive neighbors. The Second Fleet became the deployment of choice among those with political aspirations, drawing the children of influential families and graduates of the Orestes Academy, fulfilling the mandatory imperial service requirement in a prestigious main battle fleet without the risk of serving in the First Expeditionary.

It was the Second Fleet’s political value that caused both Sean Kleypas – second son of interplanetary trader Dirk Kleypas – and Acacia Lassiter – oldest daughter of High Council member Symea Lassiter – to request it for their assignment when they enlisted. This is their story.


    “And you promise you’ll be careful?” Sean’s mother asked.
Sean nodded. “Yes, mother, I will. Don’t worry – the fleet is supported by a Transcencia starbase, so even if an enemy fleet were foolish enough to attack us and strong enough to get past the colony on Pegasus, they’d still drop out of phase space and be destroyed by a,” Sean paused for emphasis, then finished forcefully, “hail of asteroids.” He stopped again, smiling. “The worst that can happen is a training accident, and then I’d have a nice scar to talk about at your dinner parties for years to come.”
“She’s going to worry about you hurting yourself in a training accident for months now,” Dirk, Sean’s father, whispered, “though whether her concern is more for you or her dinner guests I can’t quite say.” He smiled at his son, proud of the boy. Dirk had served in the earliest days of the empire, aboard the frigate Illuminator: It seemed a distant memory when the ship type was so new that they were still able to name the individual craft for its type.
“Well, let her worry about that rather than about Andrew,” Sean replied quietly. “If she spends too much longer fearing that her first son will die in combat, someone will die – whether it will be you, her, or an innocent bystander only the Unity knows.” He smiled back at his father, raising the eyebrow his mother couldn’t see.
“I saw that look,” his mother said. Sean might have been mistaken. “What are you two saying about me? Don’t make me rip it out of your head,” she said warningly to Dirk.
Her husband sighed theatrically and looked at the ceiling. “Unity, why have you cursed me with such a psionically-talented wife? Can’t a man have any secrets?” He looked back to his wife. “We were discussing how each of our sons was born to fight his own battles, and how you will undoubtedly drive everyone here to distraction by caring for and worrying after each of them the entire time they’re gone.” He put up a finger and pointed at her didactically. “And now is not the time to start talking about how dangerous it is for Andrew to be piloting the anima – Sean has to leave in a minute, so say goodbye."
His mother shook her head gently, then went to hug her son. “May the Unity watch over you and grant you a swift return. I’ll write, and if they let you receive packages I’ll probably send you food constantly.”
Sean smiled and hugged his mother back. “From what I hear about fleet food, that would be much appreciated. I’ll keep in touch; promise me you won’t worry?” He felt his mother’s head nod on his chest. Finally, they broke their embrace and Sean turned to Dirk.
“Sean, I have every confidence in you. Do us proud,” his father said, extending his arm for a farewell handshake. Sean again returned the gesture, then turned and left the house, duffel with his personal items in hand, walking towards the local shuttle station.

//
    “Your mother wanted to be here,” Jana said apologetically to Acacia in the home entryway. The chamber soared some 35 feet into the air, a gleaming reminder of the frequency with which some of the most important members of the Unity walked through, on their way to visit her mother.
    Acacia grunted noncommittally. “I’m sure.” She rolled her eyes, wanting to be far from here. Jana was perfectly pleasant, but she could be a bit wearing and Acacia was tired of the servant’s apologizing. Her mother didn’t want to be here – at least, not enough to tear herself away from her work. Truth be told, Acacia didn’t much care. Symea had always put the government first, claiming to have dedicated her life to the Unity, but Acacia knew the truth was that her mother had dedicated her life to her political career. Even having a daughter had been a political act – publicity when she needed it most, the chance to show that she would commit everything she had, including her own body, to the Unity. Acacia didn’t begrudge her mother that, she knew her mother too well and indeed even empathized somewhat, but it did make Jana’s platitudes ring very hollow. “I think I’ll wait outside,” she said finally to the serving girl. “It’s a beautiful day, and the last time I’ll be breathing unfiltered air.”
    “Of course, Miss Acacia. I’ll have your bags loaded into the shuttle when it arrives.” Acacia stepped outside and looked around. Today was the next step in following her mother’s footsteps: After her tour, she would return and declare herself fully committed to expanding the Unity’s influence, to “saving” the alien and merchant-controlled worlds, then take her place in the psiocracy. She smiled a bit at the thought, mentally pushing the door open in front of her and stepping out onto the balcony.

//

The anima-controlled orbital shuttle had military clearance, which was a polite way of saying it could wherever it pleased. Sean remembered hearing his father complain every time a trade ship had been held in port to clear the phase lanes for military traffic – he laughed softly at the irony of now being on the opposite side of the rule.
    “What?” the girl across from him asked. He looked up, slightly startled – he hadn’t realized anyone had been paying attention to him. There was a moment’s awkward silence as he looked her over – blond hair, shoulder-length, blue eyes looking at him with genuine interest, head tilted to one side in curiosity. He decided to explain since she seemed legitimately curious.
    “My father is a trader,” he explained, “So I’m used to disliking the fleet’s precedence in traffic routing. Ironic that I’m now getting the benefit of it.” He paused, then added, “It’s not that funny, I guess, when you say it out loud.”
    “No, it is rather ironic.” Her expression shifted from a confused frown to a more welcoming small smile. “A trader, you say? One I might have heard of?”
    Sean sighed – it always came to this at some point or another. Even in the Second Fleet, he’d probably get a reputation for being an heir, born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Still, he couldn’t lie – not when he was soon to have his name printed on his chest. “Probably – Dirk Kleypas.” He sighed again, making evident his reluctance to disclose the information.
    Acacia’s smile broadened. “Really? Thank the Unity: It’s a relief to know there’s some truth to the Second Fleet’s reputation. I’m Acacia Lassiter. Yes, daughter of the council member.”
    Now Sean was surprised. “The Acacia Lassiter?” He definitely knew who she was: She’d been very well known among those who went to parties at the Academy. She’d been privately tutored, but was invited to everything regardless. Allegedly she had political aspirations as big as her mother’s – he second-guessed his original interpretation that she was interested in him: She probably had mastered that expression and seemed interested in everyone. “I, ummm… it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
    She laughed lightly. “A pleasure to meet you too, Sean Kleypas. So, where are you assigned?”
    He grimaced a bit. “Logistics. Of course. Not the post I wanted, though; I tried for Command with a Navigation focus, but getting those positions is near-impossible, even with good enough aptitude scores. Guessing you got your first choice.”
    She nodded. “Yes, though I’d like to think it wasn’t just because of my mother. I’m Command, with a Fire Control focus. When we get aboard, don’t report to Logistics just yet – I’ll get you into Navigation.”
    Sean laughed and shook his head. “You can make a call and get it all resolved just like that? Don’t get my hopes up.” He paused, thinking. “If you succeed, though, I owe you something. Logistics just doesn’t interest me that much. I know I should do it, but at the same time I feel like it’s dull work and it won’t help me much after I leave the service.”
    Acacia shrugged a bit in the crash harness. “I’m a politician in training – owe me a favor and we’ll call it even.” Sean laughed at that, eliciting another smile from her. “It could be good for you business-wise to have contacts in the Logistics division, but I see your point. And it might even be better to talk to the actual combat officers – they’re the ones who reach high-enough ranks to make purchasing decisions, so knowing them and how they think could be your best preparation for later in life.”