Correspondence
© 2021 by Walter Reimer


Thumbnail art by  rabbi-tom



ConfedCiviNet
955417HUF6671
From: 1872900 D’Estcourt, Meredith
To: KSI198275555 G’Raf, Varan

The heading showed that the message was definitely from Meredith, the vir was pleased to note, and raised an eyebrow at the long string of ID codes and approvals. All three of the messages had been cleared by the Colonial government’s intelligence, as well as Imperial Security and Military Intelligence, and there was a routing suffix that indicated that her mail had gone to the Kith first before being redirected.

Varan had known from the beginning of their relationship that there would be no way of keeping it secret. Still, her correspondence with the mare had been going through an increasing number of paws and hands.

It made her wish that the two could be in the same room again, with no one else to see or hear.

Hello, my beloved! I’m hoping that you are well, and that you found the healing you needed with your family.
That reminds me. You’ve met my family, and I would really like to meet yours sometime, maybe after all of this nonsense is over. Your mother would probably insist on embarrassing you by showing me your baby pictures.

The vir had to chuckle at the memory of that evening. Meredith had indeed been very pretty when she was a filly.

The rest of the message included mention of Faraway, but only a mention, and Varan guessed that the mare was being deliberately evasive in order to avoid violating any security regulations. Clever of her, which was one reason that the vir liked her so much.

The message also included a game module, which Varan set aside for later inspection. They were on the last level, and things were going to be even more bizarre. Meredith’s second letter related how, in the course of her scouting the level, she’d encountered a realm populated by anthro elephants.

We need to be very careful here, beloved, Meredith said. There’s something odd about them.

‘Odd?’

She didn’t doubt that for a fraction.

The mare’s third message made Varan’s fingerclaws peek out of their sheathes, and she read it more closely.

It was a battleship, but they weren’t interested in shooting, so Danyell told us, provided that we simply opened our cargo doors and let them help themselves. So we did what she said, but it was a hard thing to stand by while the Confedders basically took half our cargo. The ensign that they sent over to us at least had the grace to look ashamed about it.
As soon as they inphased and were away, Commodore Bury sent off a contact report. We’d heard, of course, that the Confed had tried to attack the Imperial home system. Having a damaged Wargod-class show up was confirmation, of a sort. I know you’re probably itching for a chance to get back to the Kith and get into the fighting again. Please, please take care of yourself, lir demef.
I love you.
Merry

Message Ends
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Varan sat back from her padd, mentally chiding herself for not letting Meredith know that she was no longer assigned to command of the smaller patrol cruiser. Aka, she’d correct that oversight as quickly as she possibly could.

In addition to the personal correspondence from Meredith, there had been some letters from her mother and older sister. Her mother had been concerned for her safety; Verit expressed similar sentiments, but also added her hopes that Varan could find a good kam or vir that she could settle down with. After all, she was very happily mated to Dorval, and Vorun was looking forward to more grandchildren.

Varan had to laugh at that.

There were several messages for her from the Fleet, mostly notices and advisories about the tactical and strategic situation in the combat zone. There was one short note letting her know that all her crew would be aboard within two days, and the Bōank would be ready for action after that date.

The final message came from Admiral k’Jan, part of a long, multi-part message. The division that her ship was a part of was being broken up as two more fleets were activated. The vir’s ears went up as she read:

The following ships of the 119th Cruiser Division will become part of the 13th Fleet: AZBi 93755, 94010, 94153, 94327, 94661, 94756 . . .

Varan reread the dispatch. AZB 94661 was her ship, the Bōank, and she bared her teeth at the thought of reentering combat. The message included files describing the staging area and available hyperspace routes. The order concluded by stating that her ship would leave the station and rendezvous with the newly-constituted fleet immediately after the last crewmember was aboard.

The tip of her tail reached out and brushed the intercom. “Command Center.”

“Th’Ner, Ma’am.”

“Advise the Operations Division to let either of us know the subfraction that the last of the crew are aboard,” Varan said. “I want to be clear of the dock and underway at that moment,” and she transferred the rendezvous order to his repeater screen.

The kam read over the order and smiled. “As you order, Ma’am.”