M.J. Markgraf

BSE Chapter 4-63

When the collective arrived on the outskirts of the Shican system, they expected to find a sizable fleet. What they found was an entire invasion armada along with fixed installations.

“This did not spring up overnight over even over a month,” One said as he looked over the groups of shi...

BSE Chapter 4-62

By the time they broke orbit, the ships had been given clearance to depart. Alexander was certain nobody was happy with the arrangement, but he didn’t much care. His priority was to leave Sol as soon as possible to prevent another attack.

He did receive a few concerned calls from Councilo...

BSE Chapter 4-61

Alexander and his guards stepped outside after the sounds of the shuttle’s engines died down. He smiled as Yulia was jogging over to meet him, along with her guards and Dog. She seemed in high spirits and, going by the look on her face, had plenty to talk about.

“Alex!” she greeted hi...

BSE Chapter 4-60

“As you stated in your previous response, you were associated with Vice Admiral Fletcher. What sort of association was that?”

“That is not what I said,” Alexander responded.

“W-what? You just said so a few minutes ago,” the speaker stated indignantly.

Alexander sighe...

BSE Chapter 4-59

Alexander spent the rest of the day shuttling his bots down to begin construction. To say his activities sparked interest would be an understatement. Both construction zones generated quite a crowd as his bots quickly set about laying down the building outlines.

He didn’t have the same in...

BSE Chapter 4-58

Ezekiel stepped out of the bathroom after showering and dressing for the day, only to be met by the same shadowy man who worked for his father, and a very recognizable case. Doing his best not to appear surprised that the man had gotten into his hotel room, he sat on the couch across from him and...

BSE Chapter 4-57

After returning to the ship, Alexander needed something to take his mind off what happened in Arizona. At least that was his plan before his comm beeped.

He looked at it and grimaced. The STO finally called back and was waiting for a response. With a sigh, he headed for the bridge. He could...

BSE Chapter 4-56

“Alex, I’m glad you’re back. The STO has been contacting us every hour to try and reach you,” Vigbrand said as soon as Alexander stepped off the shuttle.

“They have?” he asked. “What did they want?”

“They want to schedule the inquiry as soon as possible. It seems som...

BSE Chapter 4-55

The Xin attacked STO space? Alexander hadn’t thought much about the Xin forces since leaving Unokane. Their attacks on the Asgardian border had continued but they had been pushed back thanks to his automated ships reaching the fleets and bolstering the Asgardian ranks.

Even the stealth sa...

Announcement!

Sorry to disappoint everyone, this is not another chapter. More disappointment to follow.

Starting next week and lasting for about a month, I will be reducing chapter output to 3 a week, Mon, Wed, Fri. I don't want to do that, but I find myself running out of time with the extra work I must...

BSE Chapter 4-54

Ezekiel glanced around to ensure nobody was following him before stepping into the alley. When he awoke, he found a note that had been slipped under his door with just an address and a time on it. He would have dismissed it if it hadn’t been for his family logo on the page.

His family’s...

BSE Chapter 4-53

Alexander was not at all surprised by Mr. Young’s reaction. It was pretty on par with how he expected most people to react upon seeing him for the first time.

Before they made it to the building entrance, the crowd and reporters had recovered from their shock as well, and Alexander caught...

BSE Chapter 4-52

Alexander deftly landed the shuttle in the assigned area. He had been surprised to learn the UEC headquarters were located where the UN had once been. He supposed there was some long-standing significance to having that as its location.

The land around the building wasn’t owned by the US ...

BSE Chapter 4-51

LOCATION: UNITED EARTH COUNCIL HEADQUARTERS

SYSTEM: SOL

DATE: 2403

“Do you know what this emergency session is about?” Frank Young asked in concern as he grabbed his jacket from his Vice Councilor and threw it on before hurrying toward the door. He was new to the council pos...

BSE Chapter 4-50

Alexander was able to learn quite a bit in the few days he spent at the archives. The information he transferred directly to his tablet gave a great deal of insight into what his diplomatic position allowed him to do.

He wasn’t exempt from laws, but there did need to be actual evidence to...

BSE Chapter 4-49

SYSTEM: SOL

DATE: 2403

Alexander had a surreal sense of déjà vu upon returning to a home he only vaguely recalled from half-fragmented memories. He once again wondered how he ended up inside a robot body on the far end of human-controlled space.

While he hadn’t pursued that ...

BSE Chapter 4-48

The first thing Alexander noticed once they undocked was that their shadow had vanished. That was less comforting than he hoped. He would have preferred to keep an eye on someone who might have nefarious intentions.

That being said, he wasn’t about to sit around and wait for them to pop b...

BSE Chapter 4-47

Alexander exited the hangar with his two guards, leaving Yulia behind. She hadn’t been happy about not getting to explore the new station, but after what Krieger told him about the system, he didn’t trust anyone in Epsilon Indi.

He also thought it was fishy for a company such as Gravita...

BSE Chapter 4-46

The fleet lined up to jump through the hypergate. This wasn’t the first time Alexander had gone through a hypergate, but it was the first chance he got to watch it happen in such detail.

The last time he had gone through one was aboard Zephyr. Alexander loved Jasper’s transport ship, bu...

BSE Chapter 4-45

Ganos City was a few hours away if Alexander traveled like a conventional flight route. He didn’t plan on wasting that much time though. One of his stipulations for meeting with the governor was the ability to transition using a quicker sub-orbital hop so he could take advantage of the shuttle'...

BSE Chapter 4-44

As the group entered a conference room, Mr. Baru was the first to speak. “I’ll be perfectly honest, Mr. Kane. Your arrival in Ganos has caused quite a stir.”

“It has?” Alexander asked in surprise. He knew that was the case in smaller systems, but he had assumed a system as busy as...

BSE Chapter 4-43

Before they left Varlen, Alexander had to declare his route. Civilian ships weren’t required to do that, but his ships were armed and fell into a grey area within STO law. The poor crew left behind to man the station while it was being decommissioned were just trying to cover their own asses. H...

BSE Chapter 4-42

Bonus chapter to celebrate hitting 200 chapters on RR. Enjoy!

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“This is unacceptable!” Willard screeched over the video call. “The orders specifically stated that you were allowed to bring a diplomati...

BSE Chapter 4-41

The party was over and Alexander left the apartment bright and early the next day while he let Yulia sleep in.

Before stepping out, he left a note for her to spend the rest of the day with her friends. He would pick her up when it was time to leave.

A little while later, Alexander str...

BSE Chapter 4-40

After tracking down Katalynn and returning to his office for a chat, Alexander asked, “Did you know how the Lokis function?”

“I did,” she admitted. “As do all Jarls. Even though they say they do it to grow trust, it tends to cause fewer Jarls to seek their service.”

“Gee...

BSE Chapter 4-39

Katalynn strode into Alexander’s workshop a few hours later. “You’re in luck, Jarl Kane. With a bit of physical persuasion, my people managed to convince the Loki aboard Valkyrie to come down and speak with you. He is in your office.”

Alexander winced at that. “Roughing the man up...

BSE Chapter 4-38

Two weeks later, the Asgardian delegation arrived. It consisted of Katalynn’s entire fleet, but only the Valkyrie would be accompanying Alexander on his trip to Sol.

Since he had been aware of their arrival, he had taken steps to ensure there was no knee-jerk reaction from the Blueridge.<...

BSE Chapter 4-37

“While I was impressed by the ship schematics, I’m rather looking forward to seeing the interior,” Krieger admitted from the copilot’s seat in the shuttle.

They weren’t alone on the flight up, there was a whole group in the back of the shuttle, but Alexander had chosen to fly it h...

BSE Chapter 4-36

Vice Admiral Ezekiel Willard thought he would finally get to leave the backwater system now that the Blueridge was repaired, but when he sent Captain Rhys to confirm what was taking so long, the man returned with upsetting news.

“What do you mean he doesn’t intend to leave for another t...

BSE Chapter 4-35

“More weapon testing?” Lucas asked in excitement. “It isn’t even my birthday.”

Before Alexander could comment, the younger man hurried off to grab another crate from the shuttle.

“Is he like this every time the pair of you come out here?” Krieger asked.

“Only whe...