Derelict, book 3 prologue.

It will be a short while before I post more chapters of Derelict 3. I'm in the process of completing the outline and likely won't dig into writing until next week, but I did draft a prologue back when I finished book 2. 

Transmission 2345k23u received...tagging intercept for storage. 

Warning, Storage is near capacity, priority categorization requires purging of memory 22345op6. Space now available, storing for future reference, categorization, historically important events in human space. 

Conflict, the importance of transmission 2345k23u is disputed. 

The conflict has been overridden, personal interaction with the subject has elevated the priority ranking of this series of intercepts. Intercepts have been collated based on timestamps. Intercepts read as follows. 

United States Naval Academy commencement speech by Admiral Falkoff, 22 May 2463:

While all of humanity knows of the great victory Earth’s forces achieved at Epsilon Prime three decades ago, we should be wary of the aftermath. For that one, brief, shining moment in our collective history, humanity stood together against a terrible foe. The so-called “Council” was destroyed to the last parasite and the races allied with them were broken and defeated, the combat power of our foe had been turned into space debris. Humanity stood as the most powerful race in the galaxy.

Did we capitalize on it like any of the other races would have? No. We squandered the victory and any advantage we had gained. Peace was offered, and lines were drawn. The galaxy was divided up and humanity voluntarily corralled itself into the territory it owned before the war started. We didn’t take any worlds from our foes, settling only for a small buffer zone around what we had previously controlled.

I know you’ve heard the arguments and the politicians would have you believe that the goblinoids, kobolds, gnomes, orcs, gnolls, and all the others that supported the council were victims as well. They would have us believe the others were held against their will, forced to create fleets, and invade our space by the parasites of the council. They forget that it was the unprovoked kobold attack on our survey team that started the conflict, an attack that was not perpetrated by any council influence. They forget the world's wiped clean of humanity in their ethnic cleansing. They forget the men and women who died to push us back from the brink of annihilation.

Our national alliance's strain and fracture, even now, the forces of the Russian Confederation and the South American Coalition are on the brink of a shooting war over a disputed system. Humanity was at its greatest when we worked together but if history is any guide, working together is something we don’t do very well. Instead, we fight among ourselves while our enemies recover from their losses and prepare new depredations.

Perhaps it is inevitable that we are fracturing again into our individual nations. While all humanity shares a common DNA, we do not share a common idea of how to live. I’m happy to let every nation organize itself in the way it thinks best for its people, but we should never lose sight of the dangers we face. We should always be ready to stand together again when the inevitable occurs.

You, ladies and gentlemen of the United States Navy, will be our bulwark during these changing times. Budgets will be cut, fleets reduced, and you will face the hundreds of other things that politicians do after a war. You can almost hear their drool hitting the floor as they salivate over plundering our military budget to buy more votes. Despite all their machinations, I have confidence that you will stand fast. You will do what our sailors have done since the 13th of October 1775, you will stand as the shield between the people of our nation and any threat that surfaces. You will stand as the shield for not just our nation, but for all of humanity.

I’m old and my time commanding the fleets is over. I pass the torch on, I pass it to your generation, confident you will uphold the values of our great nation. Remember your lessons here at the Academy, but most importantly, remember history. Conflict will come. The danger may appear from the races we have recently defeated, from within, or perhaps some other horror will spew forth to reveal itself from the darkness of space. Stand fast and keep your powder dry.

***

27 June 2463.

The Senate and House Armed Services Committee strongly encourage the Department of the Navy to immediately release Admiral Douglas Falkoff from service. While we will always hold his past contributions in high regard, the views he holds do not represent those of our nations. Peace, not antagonizing calls to war, represent the future of not just our nation but all of humanity.

***

14 November 2463.

Admiral Falkoff’s final log entry as captain of the USS Slater.

I suspected the Navy would kowtow to the politicians and I was right. They “strongly suggested” it was time for me to retire. While I hate to give the politicians the satisfaction, I am getting old and my wars have been fought. At the very least I was able to get them to approve and require the installation of the new Parasitic Suppression Units on all civilian and naval vessels. If there are any of the parasites still floating around space, they will not infect human ships. There was some argument over whether it might be beneficial to allow another human derelict to be created, but the process is too random and there is no guarantee that the next Derelict Core would be sane. So far, our odds at a sane derelict stand at 50/50 with a sample size of two. With that final action, I may have eliminated at least one of the threats to humanity.

Sadly, this will be my last day in command of the USS Slater. I know our battle record would have made our ship's namesake proud. Perhaps he’s still out there somewhere. I like to think that when humanity needs him, Commodore Slater and the Franklin will return, guns blazing, to pull us back once again from the brink. Godspeed and fair seas Slater, wherever you are