It took two more jumps to get to Delta-3-7. Kaiden had a cold sweat for the entire trip, or at least that's how he would remember the journey. It was absolutely miraculous that Herculaneum had gone under attack while they were gone, much less were in Alliance hands before they had even returned. Kaiden had heard strange rumors about jumpspace, where time became disjointed and unreliable, and though he knew it wasn't the case, he certainly felt like the prelude to the war and its first offensive had past him by below his notice. 

"Bushman, Harwen, go help lower the sails." Kaiden ordered. Higgs would have done so but he was busy on the aft. The Vickie wasn't nearly as poor off as the K-21 Kaiden had given Sabatine, but twenty odd crew still gave everyone a bit more work on their hands. They gave curt salutes and hustled out of the bridge to the main deck.

"Are we absolutely, crystal clear, that K-21 is clear for us?" Kaiden asked, his gaze swiveling to Howarth with a stern countenance. Nothing was Howarth's fault, but Kaiden felt either sick or angry at anything in his vision. "How's the Vickie?"

"Yes Captain. All signals clear! We were a bit slow on the uptake with a few kinks on the engine, but Colby and Randals got it fixed before the second jump. We'll sail in smoothly from here on." He explained just when the K-21 made visibility. 

[hr] 

"Sir, might I suggest-" 

"No, you may not." Kaiden warned Tilda, and the woman blanched at the uninhibitedly threatening look he gave her. His eyes lingered for a few moment, in no mood to flirt or be questioned with. The blonde woman closed her mouth and nodded, turning about face and walking away. Kaiden closed the door behind him. 

Delta-3-7 was an old mining outpost, quietly commandeered by the Republic a score of years previously and reorganized into an outpost for military applications due to the increasing mobilization of the government. The Bureau of Ordinance had nestled itself there snugly. Once the Vickie and K-21 had arrived, the RCS Whitehall, a refitted sloop, had been at dock for repairs. Kaiden had hailed the Captain, a one Timothy Rachet personally, to his relief finding the ship had been dealt a damn bad one by a few scattered asteroids. Captain Rachet had little news to provide the Vickie, instead desperately asking Kaiden for a briefing. In true military fashion, Kaiden kept it short but grim, and then told Rachet he would contact him later once he reconvened with his officers. 

"You do a hell of a good job," Kaiden said to Sabatine, who had been waiting in the room for his arrival. The lunar facility had seen a flurry of activity in recent months, but there was still plenty of room for Republic personnel. He didn't trust the skittering agents from the Bureau of Ordinance lurking around every corner, however. The organization did good work and he would normally be keen to speak to a representative, but there seemed to be little oversight at Delta-3-7. His grandfather once told him, 'every spoke in the wheel is important, but a wandering spoke means a broken wheel.' Kaiden took a breath, crossing his arms. "That being said, how the hell did they move that fast?"