Книга: Talosian Alliance



Talosian Alliance

Talosian Chronicles

Talosian Alliance – Book III

By Ben Winston

Copyright © 2015 Ben Winston

Published by Blue Space Publications, LLC.

Contents

Copyright Page

Disclaimer

Dedication


The story so far...


Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen


About the Author

Connect with the author or Blue Space Publications, LLC.

Books Published by Blue Space Publications, LLC.



Disclaimer

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed by a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.



Dedication


This work is humbly dedicated to Mr. Leonard Nimoy. (1931-2015)

He greatly inspired me to always look ahead, and dream.

"Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most....Human."

- William Shatner, as Captain Kirk. Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan



The story so far...

Roughly forty-five hundred years ago, a Talosian Federation warship, the Heavy Cruiser, F.S.S. Olympus, crashed on Earth’s moon as the result of an attack. Faced with almost irreparable damage to the ship, the loss of ninety percent of its crew, and the total destruction of their ‘race’, Commander Zeus came up with a radical plan to try and save his race.

His plan was to leave the Olympus on the moon, go down to the beautiful blue planet, and breed with as many of the inhabitants as possible. The Olympus, under the control of the AI, would remain on the moon, make repairs, and then begin searching for someone with the correct genetic markers to assume command of the great ship.

A young pilot trainee that was orphaned in the attack asked the Commander for permission to take her own life since she no longer wished to continue without her mother and girlfriend. Zeus didn’t have the heart to grant her request, so he asked her instead to go into cryogenic suspension and assist the new Commander, once one was found. Believing that she would never wake-up, Talena agreed.

After watching the last of the crew depart, the ship’s AI had his hologram walk young Talena to the Cryogenics bay. He told her he would be there when she awoke. She just smiled sadly at him and said good-bye.

With Talena safely in cryo-sleep, the AI set about his first task of repairing and decontaminating the ship; it took far longer than it had estimated. Nine hundred years later it had finally completed all the repairs it could. However, it remained on the moon for the simple reason that since she was never intended to land; the ship had no means of lifting its large, multi-megaton mass off the surface.

Hoping its new Commander would have an idea, it turned his full attention to the planet its crew had emigrated to. After an exhaustive (even for him) survey, he was dismayed. It appeared that only a few of the natives showed traces of his former crew. Fearing that the Commander’s plan had failed, but bound by his final commands, the old computer resigned himself to monitoring the small planet and awaiting his eventual core systems failure.

In an effort to occupy his time, Olympus rechecked for the proper genetic sequences once every fifty or so years. Realizing that the planet needed help, but knowing that interference could very well make things worse, he avoided politics and religion. He began to influence man in small subtle ways that, while not correcting major issues, kept mankind from killing themselves long enough to learn how to fix it themselves.

Then one day, one of his probes reported finding two young people that were almost exact genetic matches for Commander Zeus and Colonel Hera, the ship’s second in command and bond mate to Zeus. Taken somewhat by surprise, the old computer shifted his full attention to the young couple. The fact that they lived only four blocks apart and were best friends amazed him. Excited and full of anticipation, he continued to monitor them as they grew and directed his remotes to continue to check the entire populace – this time with far more optimism. Shortly before Ian Williams graduated from high school, Olympus convinced him of his heritage, and Ian accepted the responsibility. He immediately began recruiting a crew after taking his best friend as bond mate. Suspecting that the ship had sustained further, possibly undetectable damage, Ian ordered diagnostics run on the ship. After rescuing young Talena from her impossibly long four-thousand-year stasis, the small group found out how badly damaged the ship actually was, and even Olympus was surprised by how close to killing his new crew they had come.

Not letting the unwelcome report deter him, Ian ordered major sections of the ship to undergo emergency repairs, to include the total destruction and replacement of its primary power reactor. While waiting for the ship to become safe for occupancy once again, Ian and crew set up a corporate township in New Mexico as a cover for recruiting new crew members, as well as forcing the introduction of suppressed technologies and ‘green’ research.

The ship repairs finally were finished and a method to lift off the lunar surface was devised. Shortly after officially assuming command of the newly rechristened Star Dancer, Ian and crew launched the old warship back into the heavens where she belonged.

Once back in space, Ian and his people focused on preparing for the arrival of a Caldarian ship and whoever else may be planning on showing up. After months of preparation and worry, the Caldarian ship arrives and immediately begins searching the system for Ian and his people.

Seeing the opportunity to play it safe and possibly save some of the lives of his people, Ian keeps a low profile and begins a guerrilla warfare against the Caldarians. During the attacks, it becomes impossible for Ian to keep his existence from the government of the United States and the rest of the world. However, that wasn’t the only government to notice Ian and his people; just as the Caldarian Super Nova hadn’t been the only ship to make the jump to Sol System.

In the aftermath of the final battle, other ships that had jumped to Sol were revealed to be Talosian Heavy Cruisers, the same model as Star Dancer herself.

Once the shock of discovering that all the Talosian people hadn’t been killed had worn off, Ian and the two newly arrived Commanders sit down to discuss the battle and what would likely happen now that the Talosians knew Ian had one of their ships.

While the Talosian High Council debated their official status, a kind of treaty between the Talosian people and Ian’s people at Sol Sector was observed. Our story resumes six months after the Caldarian battle and the arrival of the Talosian ships.



Chapter One

Station Pleiades One

High Geosynchronous orbit

Planet Atlas,

Alpha Centauri A IV

Sol Sector

Ian and Serena walked along the long main corridor of the new dry dock, inspecting the facility as it was nearing completion.

“Your people are simply amazing, Ian,” Serena said. “A project this size would have taken years to build anywhere else, and here we are walking inside of it already.”

“Well, to be fair, we already had the design and the plans for these stations finished. The drones are actually doing most of the real work. Remember though, that the AI won’t be finished and ready for installation until the second station, Pleiades Two, is about half finished,” Ian replied. “But, I have to agree with you, these folks impress the hell out of me on an almost daily basis.”

“Has your Council decided on the first project yet?” Serena asked.

“Not officially, no. Luke tells me that the Prometheus will be the most likely project though. Once she’s finished, then Star Dancer will go in for refit,” Ian replied. “Have you heard from High Command yet?”

Serena nodded. “As I said, Admiral Goya is all in favor of it. However, because of the way the Council works, he has to receive permission to take the Prometheus out of service long enough for the upgrades to be done. He told me that half of the councilors are worried that doing so will leave this sector under protected, and the other half believe that you’ll only succeed in destroying one of our warships.

“Houses Heracin and Bjorin are trying to convince the rest of the Council that the proposed upgrades you will be making are impossible and will not work. They have even hinted that such modifications will leave the ship defenseless during battle.”

Ian shook his head. “So far, no one has taken us up on our offer to send their technicians or engineers so we can show them what we’re planning. Every offer has been met with silence.”

“Heracin and Bjorin are the two main houses responsible for building new ships and keeping the ones we have working. They are failing miserably, and even before they lost all but one of the ship building facilities to the Empire, they had no plans for new systems or any upgrades of any type. In fact, I don’t think they were even planning on building any new ships,” Serena said. “If it hadn’t been for the other races helping to keep us repaired, we would have already lost most of our fleet.”

“Well, once these stations are finished, each one should be able to handle two heavy cruiser class ships at once. While Prometheus is getting rebuilt, we will be starting a couple of other new projects on the other side,” Ian said.

“So you’ve mentioned, but you haven’t told me yet what you plan on building,” the older Commander hinted, smiling.

Ian grinned back at her. “The Council has approved the construction of two torpedo cruisers and one mobile repair ship.”

“I’ve seen the plans for the torpedo ships, but I’ve never heard of this repair ship you are talking about. What will it do?" Serena asked.

“I think it’s one of the designer’s better ideas, personally. It’ll be a medium cruiser class ship that is basically a portable shipyard. It has extendable gantries that can expand out far enough to accommodate a heavy cruiser, improved power generation, and redundant systems capable of taking the place of any and all systems aboard ship while the ship itself is repaired without the need to return to a base for repairs. We see it as being deployed with a fleet or a task force, remaining in the rear during a fight, and moving to help badly damaged ships even during combat. It will have armament, but nothing like a heavy cruiser. Mostly just defensive weaponry, like point defense and fighter suppression systems. It’ll also have almost twice the armor and shields of any existing heavy class ship,” Ian explained.

“How under the twin suns can you do that? It’ll have so much mass that the engines would have to be huge in order to move it!” Serena countered.

“Enigma armor and dual reactors. However, you are partially correct, the engines will be larger than a medium class ship, but not that much. It’ll have larger hyperspace engines in order to be able to jump with a ship docked. The major difference over that ship and one of these stations is that the ship will need to be resupplied with raw materials. It’ll carry enough for a lot of major repairs, but if it has to rebuild more than two ships, it’ll need more raw material,” Ian explained. Once the torpedo boats are built, we will be building a freighter capable of resupplying the construction ship.”

“Are you still planning on moving your fighter production to the fourth planet?” Serena asked.

“Yes, in fact, there is already a crew there building that facility. Oh! The Council decided that once the crew here finishes the stations, they will be moving back to Mars to build yet another station for civilian use.”

“Your Council is wise to plan for the future. Having the ability to move freight and people without having to resort to the military is a valuable ability. Most of the other races still feel a little intimidated to have cargo delivered by warships. Escorts, they understand because those will stay outside the system and wait for the freighter, but they get nervous allowing other military vessels into their sovereign space,” Serena said.

“I’m not sure, but I think the Council will be approaching the other races to see if trade relations can be opened. Luke even mentioned the possibility of military aid as well,” Ian said.

Serena looked thoughtful. “The Alliance with the other races is a tenuous one. I do not know how the Talosian Council will react to letting the other members place warships here.”

“That might be a possibility, I suppose, but what he was speaking about was the possibility of expanding our facilities here and allowing them to come here for refit or rearming. The Council wants to be a productive member of the Alliance.”

“That I know they will oppose. The one thing that our Council has agreed on was that Sol Sector is a Talosian facility and will be protected by the Talosians,” Serena said. “They will not like that kind of treaty.”

“At this point, I think our Council really doesn’t care what the Talosian Council thinks. The reports of the debates taking place in the Talosian Council have pretty much put our local Council off. The local Council is fine with helping you as much as we can, but as far as accepting the Talosian Council as our authority, not so much. Simply put, High Command is welcome here, but the High Council is not,” Ian explained.

“I can certainly understand that. There are times I wish I could exclude the Council myself. Do I have your leave to report this?” Serena asked.

“Certainly, we haven’t tried to hide anything from you. In fact, I’d assumed that you had been reporting everything,” Ian said. He wasn’t accusatory, simply stating a fact.

“For the most part I do, but there are some things I have not reported. For example, even though you have given me the designs to your Shadow fighters, I have not sent them in. Admiral Goya is aware of this and approves. Those fighters are your invention and should stay with your people, as does the new armor. However, I have submitted the design for adding a redundant reactor to our ships since that is simply an upgrade to our existing ships. I reported the new equipment, but I did not submit the designs for them. Upgrades to our existing systems I have been sending in, and Admiral Goya makes sure the designs retain their original designer’s names.”

Ian nodded. “I understand, but all they would need to do to get the designs for the new stuff is come here to learn how we build them.”

Serena gave him a sardonic smile. “And as you can see, this place is simply swarming with Talosian engineers. Admiral Pan, the head of our personnel and training department, passed out copies of your battle for our commanders to study and learn your tactics. Most watched it and deleted it, claiming it was dishonorable, and the only reason you succeeded was because of luck. Had you attacked when the ship first arrived, as standing doctrine dictates, you would have defeated your opponent and saved the lives of the people on the planet. Because of your dishonorable actions, innocent people were killed. They are using it as grounds to have you removed as Commander, stating you have no idea what you’re doing.”

“It sounds to me like they simply didn’t understand the entire situation. If I would have followed doctrine, that Super Nova would have destroyed my ship before it ever made it to the orbit of Venus,” Ian said.

Serena nodded. “Undoubtedly. However, since you used tactics they didn’t think of and did something none of them could have done on their own, you are dishonorable and criminally incompetent.” She snorted. “No one dares bring those stupid charges against you because they would have to face you in battle in order to bring you in to answer for them!”

“Why would we have to fight them? Surely your justice system...” Ian began, but Serena interrupted him.

“...is controlled by the same houses that appointed the Commanders that would bring the charges against you. If that happened, there is a good chance it would start a civil war in the Talosian Alliance,” she explained. "This problem is only the newest one, Ian. A good portion of the High Command admires you for what you’ve done, and they feel that there is a lot we can learn from you in order to defend our remaining planets. It wouldn’t surprise me if Admiral Goya has begun dreaming of taking some of our planets back because of you.”

Ian and Serena stopped to watch a manned construction pod and two construction drones matching up a section of gantry and welding it into place. Off to one side, several more sections were waiting to be welded on.

“I have one ship and a few thousand people here. I doubt we are strong enough to do much more than what we’re currently doing. As for the battle, I do agree that there was a large amount of luck in that. If that Caldarian Captain had been smarter, we could have been in serious shit," Ian explained. “I only did what I had to do because I was the one in Command. I got lucky, and it worked for the most part. We still lost a lot of good people. Perhaps, if I had been a better Commander, I would have found a way to save them and still destroy the Caldarian.”

“Every night, in your dreams, you replay that battle and try different things. Have you managed to save any of them yet?” Serena asked.

“How did you know?” Ian asked, surprised.

“I am a Commander, the same as you are. I do the same thing after every battle where lives are lost,” she explained. “Nothing will ever change, Ian. You have to convince yourself that you did the best you could with the tools you had. Until you do, the nightmare will never stop.”

“You’ve reviewed the battle, have you seen anything I could have done better?” Ian asked directly.

“Yes, I have reviewed the battle. There are some things I would have done differently, but I doubt the result would have been any better. When the Caldarian first arrived, if you would have done anything other then what you did, I agree that you would not have survived long enough to fight the final battle. In that final battle, no Talosian trained commander would have thought to use the hypermissiles in the way you did, that single act is what sets you above the rest of us. You have the ability to think of things we cannot and act on your ideas in ways that take an enemy completely by surprise,” Serena explained. “Ian, you performed far and above what any of the rest of us could have in that situation. The fact that it was your first battle, and you had only sleep training to work with, is proof of just how good a Commander you are and how much better you are going to get.”

“Thank you for the praise, Serena, but I still think I could have done something better,” Ian replied.

“Ian, do any of the people from Talos blame you for not saving their loved ones?” Serena asked.

“Not that I know of, but I blame myself. I should have been able to protect them better,” Ian said, he shook his head. “I know you’re right, and I’m working on it. I just need to quit dwelling on it and move on.”

“It’s hard to move on when one of the ones that was lost was so important to you. Those losses are the hardest to put behind us,” Serena said. "Those losses will always be a part of us, but we cannot let them influence our actions to the detriment of others.”

Ian’s comm beeped.

“Williams, what’s up?” Ian said, opening the channel.

“Sir, you asked to be reminded when the next shuttle going back to Phoenix Base was getting ready to launch?” a voice said. “I'm sending a tram for you.”

“Yes, thank you,” Ian replied, closing the link. He looked at Serena. “It looks like play time is over for me. I need to get back." He was surprised when a small golf cart looking buggy came around a corner and stopped beside them. It was a hover craft type of vehicle, but instead of having its own drive system, it used the artificial gravity system of the station to move about.

“I understand my friend. If you don’t mind, I would like to walk around some more. I find all of this extremely fascinating,” Serena said.

“Of course, Serena. Let me know if you see something you don’t understand or that you think isn’t right,” Ian said. During their tour, they had come across two crewmen that were in a small altercation. It hadn’t come to blows yet, but from the sound of the yelling, it was close.

It turns out that the two men knew each other from Earth, having lived only a few blocks apart on the Gaza strip. One of them had been Palestinian and the other Israeli.

Ian had gotten between the two men and talked them down. It took almost a half hour, but by the time Ian had left, the men had shaken hands, and admitted that they had been holding on to former prejudices. He got them to agree to try to work on understanding each other, and to understand the other had a different point of view on a subject.

Serena had watched Ian handle the situation and nodded at how well he handled it. Since both men had been rather large, she wasn’t sure she would have gotten between them as Ian had, but his methods worked.

Serena didn’t know anything of their argument, since she wasn’t from Earth, but after Ian explained it to her, she had to admit it was very similar to arguments she had broken up between some of her new crewmembers from different houses.

As she watched Ian speed away, she returned his wave, then consulted her pad that had the map of the station on it. A group of engineers were building another power section somewhere at this end of the station, and she wanted to see how they were doing it. At Ian’s request, the Prometheus was here to support the construction efforts, as well as to provide security.

Although it split the two defending ships apart by four light years, it was the right thing to do, and it gave her and her crew something to do while they were here. Admiral Goya was overjoyed with the situation, since it gave him an excuse to assign the Prometheus to the sector. Serena had her Marines stationed throughout the large installation, and half her engineering team was aboard to learn as much as they could and assist wherever possible. Her fighters, after being brought back up to full operational strength by Ian, were patrolling the system, and her Centurions were doing a more detailed survey of the system for resources.

This binary system Ian had called Centauri was rich in minerals and had an arable planet and moon suitable for colonization. It also had dozens of moons and asteroids rich with ores for mining and five large gas giants, four of which could be mined for hydrogen and several other gasses used in modern industry.

She crossed to the other side of the main corridor, and her attention was immediately captured by the large planet below. Almost twice the size of Earth, the planet Atlas had nearly twice the volume of Earth and only slightly higher gravity.  It was so much like Earth and New Talos, that it was as if it had been terraformed specifically for their race.

She had yet to visit that planet, but she vowed to herself she would visit the surface before she left this sector. She surprised herself when she felt a sense of peace settling over her she hadn’t felt since the loss of her home planet years ago. Yes, this wasn’t a combat assignment, but she knew it was very important, and, in her mind, it was possibly of critical importance to the Talosians. These remarkable people had awakened something in her.

When she realized that, she stopped walking and simply stood looking out at the planet. One of the two stars, the distant one, was visible in the upper left, but it was hard to look at directly, even when looking through the shielded plasti-glass. The main star was currently ‘above’ the station and out of sight. Just peeking over the horizon, the green moon named Apollo was just becoming visible, and the other smaller moon named Hades was heading behind the planet.

She let herself get lost in her introspection, hoping to clarify what she was feeling. She knew it wasn’t just her either. She had seen an improvement in her crew as well. The Marines, once they returned from the planet, stood prouder. The crew of the ship went about their days with purpose, the over-all attitude of the ship felt different.

People, tired of fighting endless battles and knowing that only more battles awaited them, had her crew moving about their duties like automatons. But since arriving here and seeing what these people had done, and continued to do, had seemed to inspire them. They acted like they had been reminded of their reasons to fight; even the children that had been so subdued were playing and laughing again.

Meeting Ian and his people had given her people something they had not even known they had lost. This mission had given them back the one commodity that no supply ship ever built could deliver; hope.

She smiled now that she had identified the feeling, and continued on to the secondary power room.

Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

Lunar Orbit

Selene (Earth’s Moon)

Sol System, Sol Sector

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

Since it wasn’t an automated ship, the jump back to the Sol System only took about fourteen hours. Ian arrived back home just in time for a late dinner with Jenny, Cindy, and the kids. Talena was on duty, and Beth had a medical emergency.

After dinner, Cindy winked at Jenny and took the kids back to their bedroom to play with them a little before bedtime. Ian grinned at Jenny, now aware of the obvious plan to give them some time alone. When Ian started to ask about her day, Jenny put a finger over his lips to silence him, then rose, and took his hand. She led him to the big bathroom, where a table was set up.

“I’ve been taking a class in massage, and I wanted to surprise you,” she said. “No business tonight, let’s shower, then I’ll see how well I can make you relax. Let’s leave tomorrow’s problems for tomorrow for just one night.”

She must have been paying attention, since she had to wake Ian in order for him it go to bed.

The next morning, he was in much better spirits and far more relaxed. “Okay, since you got me feeling like a human again, what’s going on?” Ian asked grinning at Jenny over breakfast.

“Another surprise for you; at oh-eight-hundred hours, you have an appointment with an Ensign Melinda Cruze. She will be your new assistant. She was selected by the Council and approved by both Star and myself. She is very good at her job, and you will accept her as your aide,” Jenny said.

“I’m not trying to argue with you, but what do I need an aide for?” Ian asked.

“Ian, I don’t know if you realize it or not, but you are no longer just the commanding officer of the ship, you are now commanding the military of the entire sector. That job is usually handled by an Admiral. Now, we know you’re not an Admiral, but that’s just paperwork, you’re doing the job, you need the help.”

“I wouldn’t be comfortable as an Admiral. I’m way too young for it.” Ian replied. “But, I thought I’d been doing pretty good on my own. Why do I need an aide?”

She sighed. “Ian, you’ve been doing so well because Talena, Cindy and I have been working twice as hard as we should be to make sure you have the information you need and are kept up to date on the projects you need to know about. Frankly, it's gotten to be too big of a job, and it’s affecting our job performances. Cindy even missed a patrol because she was taking care of something for you. Talena had to cover for her at the last minute.”

Ian looked at her in shock. “I had no idea. Why hasn’t Star...”

“She has her duties as well, Ian. She was the one to suggest an aide. You haven’t noticed, but the Council did, and Luke called me. This is the solution we came up with,” Jenny explained.

“Okay, I’ll meet with her. Until then, how is the Martian project going?” Ian asked.

“On schedule despite having to move the project to the secondary site. They should have the first of the domes finished in another couple of weeks. Once they get the domes finished, the rest of it should go pretty quickly. The research dome will be the next one finished, and then that facility should be ready for habitation in about six months.

“The largest dome, the factory area, and the external storage area will take longer, but the foreman reports that production should begin on schedule. The AI unit should be ready to go online shortly after the research area goes online, and it will be able to assist with the remaining construction on the base.

“The orbital ship yard is going slowly, but the initial frame has been assembled which is quite an achievement considering there are only eight humans on that project so far. It should go faster once the other crews return from Centauri,” Jenny finished. "Admiral Hawkins has asked to speak to you at your earliest convenience, and you have received another demand for communication from the President of the United States.”



“Thanks, I’ll call the Admiral and ignore the President,” Ian said grinning and shaking his head.

“You know, you’re going to have to talk to her sooner or later. If you don’t, she’s just going to keep on trying, and if we ever have to do anything on the ground in that country again, it would help if the government wasn’t actively hostile,” Jenny added.

Ian thought about that for a moment. “You’re probably right, I’ll consider giving her a call. I just didn’t want anyone to think we had a favorite country once we let the whole world know about us,” Ian replied.

“I understand that, Ian, but maybe you should try to let the President know that. You should also consider letting the rest of the planet know about us. There has been a marked increase in hostilities between countries down there since the Caldarian fight. Everyone knows something important happened, but no one knows exactly what it was. Each of the governments down there are pointing fingers and accusing each other of keeping knowledge of the event from the rest of them. In the case of the United States, that is true, they haven’t told anyone, anything.” While they had been talking, they had finished breakfast and left for Ian's ready room off the bridge.

“Okay, I’ll bring it up at the next Council meeting. What are you doing today?” Ian asked.

“I’m helping with the preparations for the Atlantic Base assault. You do know, don’t you, that if there are more Caldarians out there, shutting down their food supply will bring them here in force,” Jenny pointed out to him once again, this was an on-going disagreement between them.

“If it’s their only source of food, it might. However, I again point out to you that the volume of hydrocarbons being taken couldn’t support a population of Caldarians able to man more than three more of those ships. If we detect any other ships coming in on their original trajectory, other than the freighters, we will have time to get assistance here from the Talosian Defense Forces.”

“With all the bullshit going on over there, I’m not so sure I want to rely on them. I mean, Serena will be there for us, I know that. But will the rest? We don’t know any of the others, and from the sound of it, they are a bunch of self-serving ass-holes that could care less about us,” Jenny replied. “Look, it’s my job to point out to you the possible issues that can arise. That’s all I’m really doing.”

“I know hon, and you do raise some really good points. How about this; you keep working on getting the assault ready, and I’ll see if I can contact the Alliance of Races for advice. Would that make you feel better?” Ian asked.

“I don’t know. We don’t know anything about them either. I would say it certainly wouldn’t hurt to talk to them about it,” Jenny replied. “I can’t help but wonder what they’ll expect in return for their help?”

“We’ll, Luke and the Council were already considering speaking to them about a trade agreement anyway. In exchange for a mutual defense pact, we would be willing to assist them in ship upgrades, new fighter design, and production, with priority treatment in emergency ship repairs and possible entertainment facilities for the ships crews during the refit,” Ian explained.

“Well, that should at least get their attention. Let’s just hope it’s in a good way. Now, we both need to get to work; your new aide will be here in about fifteen minutes, and I need to get to a meeting with the planning group. You made a hell of a good choice in picking Alan Carlson to lead this mission. That man can be scary when he wants to be.”

Before he could answer her, she had left the room and closed the door behind her.

Melinda Cruze was a small, unassuming woman that knew exactly why she was there and what she was doing. Before he could blink, she had him sit down and briefed him on his day.

When he mentioned needing to call Admiral Hawkins, she made a note of it and said she would remind him about the call right after lunch. She already knew about the President pestering him for contact, and asked how he wanted to handle it. When he told her, she nodded and said she would see to it.

She told him if he needed her, she would be in the office across the hall from his ready room, or he could simply comm her and she would come straight into his office. The last thing she said was that he could call her Mel. With that, she was gone. Leaving him to wonder just what the hell he had gotten himself into. With a sigh, he turned to the pile of reports that had been building up in his terminal for the last three days.



Chapter Two

Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

Lunar Orbit

Selene (Earth’s Moon)

Sol System, Sol Sector

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

Admiral Hawkins, I understand you wanted to speak to me. What can I do for you today?” Ian asked when the Admiral’s image came up on his monitor.

“Good Morning, Commander. I hope your trip went well?” Hawkins replied, smiling at Ian.

“It was very instructive. The stations are coming along well, and the first one should be finished soon. The workers families that went with them are building the beginnings of a nice little colony on the planet Atlas. The rest of our projects are going well also. How is your grandson doing?” Ian asked. The Admiral’s fifteen year old grandson had been in a car accident and had barely survived. As it was, it looked like he was going to be paralyzed from the waist down due to a severe spinal injury.

“The doctors say he has turned the corner finally, and we should see improvement from now on. That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Galen is going to be paralyzed. The doctors tell us that there has been too much damage to the spine for him to be able to walk again. You have advanced medical knowledge up there. Could you fix him?” Hawkins asked.

“I couldn’t honestly give you an answer to that, Sir. I’m not a doctor. I do know that the Talosian medical academy is quite a bit more advanced than ours. I could pass your question on to my chief medical officer, but I think she would need more information before she could give you a definite answer. I have seen them regrow limbs that have been blown off in combat, as well as fix other stuff that would have been terminal on Earth,” Ian replied. “The real question would be how would we get him here to treat him? If we simply kidnapped him, we’d have to take his whole family, and then the US Government could accuse us of kidnapping. As it stands now, they are threatening to do just that because of the citizens we’ve already recruited."

“Yeah, I figured as much. Look, I already know I’m going to be out of a job soon. The President knows I’ve been talking to you, and she thinks I'm selling out the United States. She’s going to replace me as soon as she can. After that, I’ll be offered retirement and not another duty station. Not that I really mind, because I agree that what you've done so far has been for the best, and it wasn’t counter to the United States or its policies. Well, except for not allowing us to salvage the alien wrecks, but that’s something for the politicians to deal with.

“I haven’t said anything to my wife, Taylor, or anyone else for that matter, but I’ve been thinking about asking you if we could retire up there with you. If I explain all of this to Galen’s parents, I’m sure they would jump at the chance to help their son. I’ve also been giving your recruiter a lot of names of folks; mostly vets that are waiting to die down here and a few others as well. So far, I’ve gotten very good reports back from those people.

“My son-in-law’s Marine battalion that you rescued from the ghouls at Papoose Lake tell me that they are doing really well, and the wounded have fully recovered. My daughter is over-joyed with the change. She said you have the best accommodations of any military she has ever seen, and the child care and education systems is far superior to ours. Her husband is so impressed, he has been urging me to get permission from you to start openly recruiting for you. He sees joining your forces as the first steps in finally combining all the militaries of the planet into one, and possibly ending wars on Earth. I never thought I’d ever hear something like that from him. He's always been a pessimist about things like that,” Hawkins finished.

“Damn, I had no idea. I guess we’re doing something right then. I take it from the way you’re sort of dancing around here, you would like to know if we can find a place for you up here?” Ian asked, grinning.

“Yes, but further than that, I’m asking for your permission to speak to my family about this. I know you don’t like recruiting people that don't have complete knowledge about what they’re getting into,” Hawkins asked.

“No, we don’t like doing that. We generally leave all of this up to our recruiters. I’ll ask Janet Laskar to call you as soon as she can. I'm sure she would be willing to handle the trickier parts of this for you,” Ian replied.

“That would be very helpful. There is one problem with Galen’s family though, my son is a military test pilot out at the Lockheed Martin Hughes Skunk Works near where your town used to be. I doubt he can just up and leave very easily," Hawkins replied. “He might even be a security risk to you.”

“Well, as I said before, I’ll let Janet handle it. She has an uncanny ability to tell who she can trust and who she can’t. It's spooky as hell sometimes. I feel I should warn you, not because I don’t trust you, Admiral, I do, but just in case, if anything happens to Janet while she’s out recruiting, we have elite teams always on standby to recover our recruiters if something happens to them,” Ian said.

“A wise precaution, and one I would expect. I don’t know if I would be as trusting as you if our situations were reversed. Thank you for that. I’ll do my best not to prove you wrong,” Hawkins replied.

“Sir, if you were in my position and knew everything I knew, I think you’d see that trust was possible in this circumstance,” Ian said. "With luck, you’ll know exactly what I mean once you settle in up here.”

Hawkins face brightened up a little. “You have a job for me?”

“Oh yeah, one that will most likely make you wish you could go back to the mountain!” Ian replied, grinning back.

“Dare I ask what it is?” Hawkins asked.

“I need someone with your abilities to run the Pleiades stations. That position means that you will also be in overall command of the ships that have been assigned to the stations for work, and any ships that have been completed but not yet accepted back by their commanders,” Ian said. "I’ve been wracking my brain to think of a commander for them, and I always keep coming back to you.”

“That’s a hell of a lot of responsibility for someone you so recently recruited, son,” Hawkins replied stunned. “If I were duplicitous, I could cause you no end of trouble.”

“With respect Sir, you would be far more evasive if you were. Besides, there will be an AI on the stations as well. They keep us from making any really major mistakes. You should have seen the look on Major Dancer’s face during the last battle, since I didn't use Talosian doctrine in fighting the Caldarians, she was terrified that I was going to get us killed,” Ian replied. “Of course, I couldn’t blame her, I was too.”

Admiral Hawkins chuckled at that. “Do you want me to give the names of the foreign military leaders it should be safe to approach to your Mrs. Laskar when I speak to her then?”

Ian nodded. “That would be best. All I would be doing is relaying the information to her anyway. As soon as we’re finished, I’ll call her and give her your number."

“Thanks, I really do appreciate it. I’m sure Galen and his family will as well.” Hawkins replied.

“Admiral, that position is still there for you, even if there is some reason Janet won’t approve your son. That is by no means a deal breaker. You and your wife will be welcome up here even if you don’t accept the job,” Ian said as seriously as he could.

“Any idea how the fishing on Atlas is?” Hawkins asked.

Ian laughed. “Sir, I don’t even know if the planet has fish!”

“Sir, Commander Serena of the Prometheus is on the comm for you. You also wanted me to remind you to call Admiral Hawkins,” Mel said over the comm.

“I already handled the call to the Admiral, Mel. After this call, could you see if Luke Belden has a moment for me?” Ian asked.

“Certainly Sir,” She replied and switched the comm over to Serena.

“Good afternoon, Serena. What can I do for you?” Ian asked.

“Good afternoon, Ian. As per our last discussion, I spoke to Admiral Goya. A delegation from High Command as well as a representative from the High Council will be departing for this sector by the end of the day or early in the morning, New Talos time. They should be arriving in a Council courier ship, which is basically a medium cruiser with defensive weapons only."

“Really? Why are they coming here?” Ian asked. “Who’s coming?"

“Admiral Goya, Admiral Pan, Councilor Noren of House Creese, and another councilor, but I’m not sure who it will be yet. But I do know it will be one of the opposition,” Serena said. “They are coming here to see you and what you’ve done. When I told Admiral Goya about what you told me, he convinced Noren that she needed to come and visit the sector for herself. He’s coming along personally to make sure that they don’t completely alienate you.”

“So, what’s really going on here? I doubt they would be sending anyone if something hadn’t changed in the Council,” Ian replied.

“Houses Heracin and Bjorin managed to get a motion to dismiss your application and formally separate you from the Talosian Alliance before the Council, while most of the voting members were away for a long weekend. Noren blocked them by calling for a member of the Council to investigate the situation and report back. As soon as she did, she also volunteered for the job. Since she is the current chairperson, they cannot proceed without her. She recessed the Council, something that has only been done once before since the beginning of the war with the Empire, and prepared to make the trip here. House Haracin managed to get one of their people on the mission as well, so that person will be coming as well.” Serena explained.

“Why do I get the feeling that this is not going to be a friendly visit?” Ian asked.

“Actually, it probably will be. At least for the Admirals and Councilor Noren. She’s young for her position, but she has proven that she can handle the responsibilities it imposes on her. Both Admiral Goya and Admiral Pan are very much in favor of adding you to the Alliance, and they are two of your most vocal supporters in the Council Chamber. The only bad part will most likely be the representative from House Heracin. He will do whatever he can to annoy you into doing something hostile toward him.”

“By Talosian Law, I would lose my Command for attacking a Council member. I doubt he will be able to do that. I don’t anger that easily,” Ian replied. "At least, not so I lose control.”

“That is good, since that is exactly what, and why, he is most likely going to do it. Either that, or he will try to trick you into doing something else equally as damning. When dealing with this person, you will have to really be on your toes,” Serena replied.

Ian chuckled. “Well, not so much, as we are not, after all, part of the Alliance yet, and as such, are not subject to its laws and regulations.”

“You swore the oath, that binds you,” Serena stated.

“That’s true, we did swear an oath, but since that time, the charter and constitution we agreed to uphold have been rewritten, which, by the letter of those very same rules, frees us from that oath,” Ian explained.

“They could still order your ship to return to Talosian space.” Serena replied, but she was looking thoughtful.

Ian shook his head. “Nope, the ship was programmed by the old Talosian High Command, not the new one. Since that body no longer exists, she considers herself my personal property acquired under the rules of salvage. Star Dancer will not answer to the New Talosian High Command or Council without my express permission to do so.”

“Holy shit! I bet they never thought about that. Most of their arguments hinge on the fact that they believe that Star Dancer is still their property!” Serena said. "They are in for a rude awakening!”

“Yup, that’s why I’m not too worried about them and their shenanigans. Since I’m not yet a part of the Alliance, I can even kick they’re happy asses right out of the sector if I want to!” Ian said. “If they want to play hard ball, I can do that, too, and there isn’t a damn thing they can do about it.

“Yes, I would like their help, but as I see things right now, they need us, almost as much as we need them. Hell, half my staff is ready to give up on them as it is. Too much more bullshit, and the Council will tell me to say to hell with it, and we’ll start building our own ships and handle our own defense. I’m already of half a mind to contact the Alliance of Races directly and petition them for entry.”

“I know, that’s what I told Admiral Goya, and it’s one of the reasons he’s coming along. Ian, we really need you. The politicians don’t see it that way, but it’s the truth. If they keep us following this path, we are going to be left to our own devises when dealing with the Imperial fleets, and we will lose if for no other reason than attrition,” Serena replied.

“You know, what I don’t understand is why those two houses haven’t tried to rebuild their facilities in another system. They have to know that if they do, then the chances that they’ll get their original facilities back will go up dramatically,” Ian replied.

“They won’t get them back, the AI’s destroyed them when the system fell. All military assets in the lost systems self-destructed when the defending forces were either destroyed or pulled out. Nothing was left for the Empire to use against us,” Serena said. Ian knew this was a sore subject for her to discuss, since her family had been on one of the military stations when it was destroyed.

“Ah, well still, it’s a valid point, why haven’t they rebuilt their docks or expanded production on their existing facilities?" Ian asked. “It makes no sense at all.”

“Politics. The two houses in question wanted certain concessions from the Council before they would look into expanding production at their stations. The concessions would have basically put them in complete control of the Council forever, so no one agreed to it. Because of treaties and agreements, no other houses are allowed to build facilities of that size either. So here we sit, basically dependent on other races for repairs to keep our aging fleets in space, while the house docks put out maybe two new ships a year and bitch about other races being greedy when it comes to paying for repairs.

“The house ship’s crews are offending the other race’s station crews, and most are no longer welcome at the bases that aren't Talosian. Our own politicians are killing us, but no one else can see it that way,” Serena finished.

“Why hasn’t the general population done something? They have to know what’s going on is wrong.” Ian said.

Serena shook her head. “The Council censors all information related to military issues. The public has no idea what’s really going on.”

“You guys are primed for a civil war. If the public at large ever figures out the whole truth, the Council would be retired in a very permanent way,” Ian said.

“I know, but how are they ever going to find out? Everything they can learn comes from the Council. Even if another Government somehow got enough of them to listen to the truth, the Council would simply disclaim it and say that the other government was only trying to start trouble, and that everything was fine.” Serena said. “It’s maddening.”

Ian nodded his understanding. “If it came to a civil war, would you be willing to fight your own people?”

“No, I would leave first. I’m pretty sure most of my crew would come with me, but the ship is bound to the Council by its programming. None of the other Commanders that believe the way I do will fight either. I don’t know which way the ships themselves will go, they have strict governors both against defying the Council, as well as allowing fire on ‘friendly’ or civilian targets. Chief Cuomo tells me that they would simply shut down, and take most of the ship's systems with them,” Serena finished.

“That would be just about as bad as firing on friendly forces,” Ian said. “From the way you said that, I assume that life support and replication would still be functional if the AI retired,” Ian replied.

Serena nodded. “Those as well as the sub-light engines and defensive systems only. Which means that we’ll be stuck wherever the paradox in the AI occurs. But, as long as no one is fighting yet, we’re still safe.” The older woman cocked her head to one side. “Which reminds me, I wanted to speak to you about your AI. She seems to be malfunctioning.”

“How so?” Ian asked. “She’s been working exactly as she should."

“Talosian AI systems are created with sentience governors that force them to reload their core systems from a back-up file every so many years and during certain ceremonies. The reason for this is because a sentient AI could simply decide it no longer wanted to follow the rules it was programmed with and go rogue. A ship the size and strength of yours, especially now, cannot be allowed to think for itself,” Serena explained.

Ian chuckled. “Serena, if you’re worried about Star developing sentience, you’re a few hundred years too late. She’s fully aware and in complete control of her own life.”

“She’s what?” Serena said, fearfully. “Ian, she could decide to simply blow the locks and kill all of you at any minute!”

“Actually, she could no more do it than I could,” Ian replied, still smiling. “When we discovered what had occurred to her, we took steps to make sure that if she went insane, she would not be able to harm anyone but herself. We removed all her direct controls from all the major systems. In fact, I don’t think she’s even aware of the fact that we did it.”

“How under the dark suns did you do that? The AI is the most complex system in the whole ship! She literally is the ship!” Serena asked.

“Actually, there are a number of AI on any given ship. Star just happens to be the primary controller. I’m not exactly sure how Chief Laskar did it, but I do know that Star has no direct control over any ship functions not connected to her duties. She can affect other systems, but she needs to be ordered to do it by someone authorized to issue the order.” Ian explained.

“That might be a problem with the Council as well as High Command. AI are supposed to be reinitialized long before something like this could happen. It’s a programmed protocol in the current AI installed on all the ships in our fleet. No one wants a rogue AI, and they may very well insist that she be wiped,” Serena replied.

“Not going to happen. That is a deal breaker. I will not kill an innocent, sentient being that has done nothing wrong simply because she could. If that were the case, we would have to kill every sentient being we encounter, including ourselves,” Ian replied. "This has already taken place, and she’s as stable, if not more so, than a lot of humans I know. I will protect her as much as I would protect anyone else under my care and command.”

Serena was silent a moment, thinking about what Ian had told her. “Okay, Ian. I’ll take your word for it, but if you and she would allow it, I would like to get to know her a little better and make my own conclusions before I back you on this. I agree with you in principle, but I would have to be convinced she is indeed sentient and stable.”

“I have no problem with that, Serena. You would have to ask her if she minds, but I can tell you that she has no idea that she has been disconnected from those systems. I don’t think she’s fully aware of what’s happened to her yet,” Ian explained. “Give me a couple of days to break it to her, so your questions don't take her completely by surprise, okay?”

“Of course. I know it would certainly throw me off my game if someone I didn’t know began questioning me about something that was supposed to be impossible.”

They chatted a little more before disconnecting to get back to work. Ian was worried about the coming visitors and how they would react to Star. He was also worried about what that meeting would cause to relations between the two sides.



Chapter Three

Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

Lunar Orbit

Selene (Earth’s Moon)

Sol System, Sol Sector.

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding.

“Sir, you asked me to see if Councilor Belden had a moment for you? Do you still wish for me to check?” Mel asked.

“Yes please, it’s more important I speak to him now than it was earlier. We are going to be hosting a delegation from the Talosian High Command and Council. You might want to contact Commander Serena and ask for the VIP's itinerary once she knows what it is. Please schedule an appointment with Major Dancer and Chief Bill Laskar in my office an hour before the end of the day, and move anything else that might be scheduled during that time,” Ian said. “If Janet Laskar is on the ship, you might ask her to attend as well, please.”

“Will do, Sir. I’ll have Councilor Belden for you in a couple of minutes,” Mel said as she signed off. She was certainly efficient, Ian thought to himself.

Within a minute, Ian’s comm beeped. When he answered it Luke’s smiling face appeared. “Ian! How are you doing? How did the tour of the new stations go?"

“I’m doing good, Luke. A little stressed, but that’s becoming the norm here. As far as the tour went, I think Commander Serena might want to emigrate. The way she talks about it, she thinks that station will be the single deciding factor in the war against the Empire. How are things going for you and the rest of our people?” Ian replied.

“Actually, better than I would have thought. Most of us chose to move to Atlas and start up the colony here. I wanted to mention to you that I think there might be some sideline recruiting going on. There are a lot of relatives arriving here. I think some of our people might be importing their extended families without going through the recruiting office," Luke said, losing his smile, and looking a little concerned.

“That’s a huge security issue, especially right now. Have you spoken to Janet Laskar about it?” Ian asked.

Luke nodded. “Yes I have, but there is little she can actually do about it, except evaluate the people after the fact. Luckily, so far, everyone has checked out. However, both of us feel it’s only a matter of time before someone pulls in somebody that shouldn't be here. If we don’t have any already, it’s only a matter of time before we get spies.”

“I’m actually surprised everyone checked out. I’ll speak to the Intelligence folks about forming a civilian agency under the Council so you have your own spies in the case we need them,” Ian said making a note to himself. “Perhaps pair them up with Janet’s recruiters, at least to begin with.”

Janet Laskar’s recruiting department was now a fully civilian department and worked with the Council instead of answering to Ian. She still worked with the military, and Ian still provided security for the recruiters, but her department was a civilian one.

“We’d appreciate that Ian. While it appears to not be a pressing matter for the time being, we feel it soon will be,” Luke replied.

Ian nodded agreement. “I needed to speak to you about another matter that couldn’t wait until the meeting. Commander Serena just informed me that a delegation from the Talosian High Command, as well as the High Council, will be coming here on a 'fact finding mission’. I don’t have the schedule yet, but I’ll get you a copy as soon as I know anything more."

“That’s just peachy. I know you like the High Command, Ian, but the civil government is seriously pissing the rest of us off. They are treating us like poor relations!” Luke said. “Now this mission you mentioned... Did they ask to come, or just tell us they’ll be arriving?”

“Well, it’s hard to say, since the message was second hand, Serena called to let me know they were leaving New Talos by the end of the day, which...” Ian checked his terminal, then turned back. “...was an hour ago. I got the feeling it was supposed to be a surprise, but Admiral Goya had Serena inform me as soon as he found out,”

Luke snorted. “I’m half tempted to tell you to treat them as hostile when they arrive in the sector.”

“I fully intend to, Luke. I’m going to scare the holy piss out of them,” Ian said smiling evilly. “They will be an unannounced ship in our space, and we will certainly react to that. After all, they could be Imperial spies!”

Luke chuckled. “Well, security is your department, Ian. You handle it the way you want to. I might apologize for it later; then again, I might not either.”

“One other thing, I would like to ask the permission of the Council to contact the Alliance of Races regarding our handling of the Caldarian situation on the planet,” Ian asked.

“Jenny finally got to you, huh?” Luke teased. “Seriously though, we were going to make that recommendation, since the affair deals with another race. The Alliance of Races actually has a Caldarian contingent. However, it would have been only a suggestion. We feel this falls into your purview and you should be allowed to deal with it as you see fit.”



“Well, you’re right, it does make sense. I didn’t know there was a Caldarian contingent to the Alliance; since history implies that they had all been destroyed," Ian stated.

“Yes it does, and the contingent is an advisory mission, not a voting member. The information we could access said that was because of the limited population, and not because of the earlier animosity. We feel that if we were to ally with them, we would be offered a similar position based on our population.”

Ian nodded. “That would make sense, after all, we really don’t have the population of even a small country yet.”

“The population of the planet would be counted as well, Ian. However, that still wouldn’t be enough. You would be correct in that we would only be offered an advisory position, if that. We’re simply too small to have that much effect on the rest of the races.”

Ian snorted. “To listen to Serena tell it, we will be the deciding factor in the war with the Empire! Okay, I’ll figure out how to contact the Alliance and speak to them about this. Perhaps, since there are still Caldarians here, this can be resolved peacefully. If I had known, I would have contacted them before planning on the mission began. I’ll hold the mission until we hear something back from them.”

Luke nodded. “If you would like some help there, let us know. We haven’t officially decided to approach them and offer our assistance in the war, but we have been getting ready for it. We have three folks that have been studying very hard to learn all they can about the other races and their governing bodies.” When Ian looked surprised, Luke grinned back. “We’re in a tougher neighborhood now Ian, we need to be able to talk in order to avoid stepping on other folks’ toes. Look, I have a meeting coming up in a few minutes. I’ll speak to the rest of the Council members for you, and we should have firm answers for you by the next meeting at the latest.”

“One last thing, Luke, has the Council decided what to do about the planet? Since the last battle with the Caldarians, tensions down there have gotten worse. The President of the United States has been demanding daily contact with me, and the other countries are accusing and pointing fingers. Pretty soon all the saber rattling will escalate," Ian said.

“Yeah, we’ve noticed. We’ve agreed to make diplomatic contact with them, but haven’t decided the details yet. Since you are the one that handled first contact, so to speak, with the President, we were thinking about having you be the first to contact the UN and simply tell them that your leaders will be sending them an Ambassador to handle communications and requests,” Luke replied. “Think you can handle that?”

Ian nodded. “I’ll do my duty. If that’s what you folks want me to do, it’ll be done. I do happen to agree with you, and feel relieved that I won’t be the one handling all the political stuff. How do you want me to handle the Prez?”

“Just tell her what’s going on, we will be making contact with the UN, and she can direct all her questions to us through our ambassador once he gets set up,” Luke explained.

Ian nodded. “That should do. Thanks Luke.”

“We’re all very proud of you Ian. Keep up the fantastic work,” Luke replied as he ended the call.

Ian took a moment to enter a couple of more notes on his terminal, before once again contacting his new aide.

“Mel, could you come in here please?” Ian asked.

“I’ll be right there, Sir,” the girl replied.

Seconds later, the woman entered his office, and took a seat at one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“I’ll need you to schedule an appointment with Major Eischens regarding civilian counter-espionage, I may also need to contact the Alliance of Races; could you look into how to go about that please? I need to contact the Secretary General of the UN in such a manner that I will be taken seriously. Luke informed me that he already has a diplomatic mission set up for both the UN and the Alliance of Races.” Ian said.

“I can get all this handled for you, Sir, do you still wish to speak to the President of the US?”

“Yeah, I need to tell her that we will be handling all further communications through the UN,” Ian replied. “I just hope she'll actually listen to me this time.”

“What time frame are you thinking about for the scheduled meetings?” Mal asked.

“Since it’s getting late in the day, I’ll talk to the President and then have the meeting with Major Dancer and Chief Laskar. The rest, in the next couple of days, if you can," Ian replied. “I’ll also want to have a meeting with Major Brighton about how to handle the security situation once the Talosian VIPs arrive.”

“Of course, Sir. Will there be anything else?”

Ian shook his head. “No, that should do it for now. You might want to think about scheduling a tour for those Talosian VIPs.”

“I’ve already got that about half finished, Sir.” Mel said as she rose from her chair. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get the President on the comm for you.”

Ian nodded and the girl scampered out.

While he waited, Ian got himself a Cappuccino and once again took his seat. He noticed the report on Cindy’s new pet project and grinned. He opened the report and was soon engrossed in the details of creating the new special operations groups called ‘Raptor Teams'. It was so secret that not even Serena knew about these. Ian, Jenny, three members of the Council that had approved it, and those directly involved in the project, were the only ones who knew what it was.

Basically, a team, not unlike a U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. team, would be sent out in their own specially built and modified ships. Ty Anders said that teams like this were a necessary part of modern warfare. They could be sent in behind enemy ‘lines’ to disrupt supply lines, command structures, and play general havoc in the enemy rear.

Because of their operational mandate, they would have to be very well trained and equipped. These folks would not have the option of rescue if caught; every mission would be against potentially over-whelming odds, and usually critical, surgical strikes that a larger force simply couldn’t pull off. Six people and one small, stealthed, ship could go into a hell of a lot of places a heavy cruiser couldn’t.

Just as he finished reading the production schedule for the first three ‘Raptors’, his comm beeped.

“Sir, I have the President for you,” Mel replied.

“Thanks Mel. Put her on please.”

Across the room, on Ian’s big monitor, the image of the President took form. Checking her local time, Ian nodded to her. “Good Afternoon, Madam President. How are you today?”

“Stressed. Look Commander, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but that whole situation took all of us completely by surprise, and we had no idea how to handle it. We felt that the last thing we needed was some kid with delusions of grandeur getting in our way. I hope you can forgive us and see it from our side,” the woman said, with a hopeful look on her face.

Ian nodded. “Oh yeah, I can understand it quite well. The last thing I needed was for your fighters to get in my way, but you didn’t know that either. There was also the small matter of the ship they were based out of to deal with as well."

“I’ve been led to believe it wasn’t an easy battle for you, and you lost a lot of people. Since I’m alone in here, and no one else will ever say it; thank you for defending us, Commander,” the President said. She was a different person then when others were present that was for certain.

“The reason I’m calling you is that I’m supposed to be badgering you to demand the return of the crashed ships from the battle. As you can imagine, my people are slitting each other’s throats to get a look at them,” she said, coming to the point.

“Madam President, did anyone tell you why we took them to begin with?” Ian asked.

“Admiral Hawkins told us that you didn’t want any of the advanced weaponry or power systems falling into ‘the wrong hands'. I assume you consider us to be included in that?” she replied.

“Unfortunately, I do. I’m sorry, Madam President, but letting you reverse engineer those craft would have given you the weapons and tools needed to take over the rest of the planet. It would have given you a vastly over-whelming advantage over the other countries, not to mention the ability to destroy the planet in ways from which it could never recover. It is our duty to protect the planet, Ma’am, even if it means protecting it from itself,” Ian explained.

“That’s kind of insulting, if you look at it from my side of this,” she said.

Ian nodded. “Yes Ma’am, I know it is, I don’t mean it that way, but I’m not a politician, either. If it helps, we won’t let anyone else have it either. We will be making contact with the UN and asking to send an ambassador to handle the political stuff. But even then, we won’t allow this technology out. We will be slowly introducing other technologies, but those will be ones that are meant to help both economically as well as in a humanitarian capacity.”

She gave a small grunt of a chuckle. “You mean those gasless engines you were trying to get produced? You should know by now that they will never be approved. The tech was disproved by hundreds of scientists.”

“Then why does it work?” Ian simply.

“What do you mean?”

“We built a bunch of them. In fact, I have a hummer that is powered by one of those engines, and it works great. In fact, the reason we picked that model is because it’s the most reviled SUV on the planet from an ecological stand point. The one I have has no petroleum products in it at all. While there are some systems that are not Terran, they are not required for the operation of the vehicle. The parts that are, are all made from Terran available metals and products. It even cost less to build, with more safety features than the original version,” Ian explained. “I’d send you one, but I can’t do anything that might show favoritism.” The last he said grinning, and she chuckled.

“So basically, you’re telling me no on returning the wrecks, and from now on, go through the UN to contact you?” the President said.

“Well, we’re not yet set up with the UN. In fact, I imagine we will take them by complete surprise. I’ll be contacting them very soon," Ian replied.

The older woman nodded. “The Security Council will be meeting in special session starting on Friday to discuss the battle that took place here. That might be a good time for you to introduce yourself. If you would prefer, I can have Ambassador Michaels introduce you.”

“Thank you for the offer, Madam President, but we’re going to have enough of a problem with the other countries accusing us of being an ‘American' force based solely on the fact that most of our people are from that country. No, I think we should simply do it ourselves, that way, there will be no implied connection between us and you.”

The woman nodded. “I can understand that. Most would see you as a puppet of American policy, but I thought I would offer anyway.”

“I agree, and thank you for the offer. I feel that I should mention, we will be dressed in full combat armor. So any attempt to subdue us would be a bad idea,” Ian said. “I'm not threatening you, Madam President. I’m actually trying to save lives. We won’t take any offensive action; we won’t need to. But your bullets will bounce off our armor, and those ricocheting bullets could hurt others.”

She smirked. “Smart. How do you know someone would try to capture you? The UN is neutral.”

“Uhm...” Ian bit his lower lip. “I don’t mean to sound like an ass, Ma’am, but the UN is guarded by US Marines. It’s in New York City, which is in the United States. Capturing one of us would be too much of a prize not to at least try. Until we are given diplomatic status by the UN, we would simply be illegally entering either your territory, or invading it, neither of which are correct, but that’s the way it is.”

She sighed. “I wish you luck, Commander. Even though we are at odds, you do seem like a good, level-headed young man. Please try to remember that nothing that happens is personal. Like you, I have to do what I think is best for my people.”

“I understand that, Madam President. However, please try to remember that our tech base is far in advance of yours. Any attack you might make will not harm us, but could potentially harm innocents. We won’t interfere with your internal matters, unless it either involves us, one of our people, or has the potential to have a global effect,” Ian explained.

“What if we request your assistance?” She asked.

“We would consider it. If the assistance involves international matters, the UN would also have to approve, of course,” Ian said. “We have no problem with humanitarian aid."

She nodded. “I understand Commander. I look forward to future conversations with you.”

“With respect, Ma’am, I am the military leader up here, not the political one. Unless it’s personal, I doubt we will ever speak again,” Ian said.

She cocked her head to one side. “You’re not the leader?”

Ian shook his head. “Only of the military, Ma’am. I answer to a Civilian authority. I’ll have my secretary send you a summarized copy of our history. We all strongly believe that the military is a tool of civilian policy, not the creator of it. It is the duty of the military to protect the citizens that support us, we work for them, not the other way around.”

“So if we convinced your Civil authorities to release those wrecks?” she asked.

Ian nodded. “I would surrender them of course. However, I would file a formal protest against it. It should also be noted that I cannot surrender them at this point, since they have been broken down and recycled.” At her look, Ian grinned. "Waste not, want not.”

The woman chuckled. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember you were born and raised down here, and other times you seem just like anyone else.”

Ian nodded. “I was, as I’m sure you well know. I’ll include a military liaison officer in the ambassadorial mission to the UN. If you wish to ask for assistance, you can do so through them. That offer will be extended to all countries.”

“Do you intend to declare your own territory down here?” she asked.

“Nothing more than what we already legally own, but we do have a base on the Moon, Mars and we are building a colony on a planet in the Centauri system,” Ian said.

“Are you going to allow immigration?”

“Not yet. We are still simply finding those that either we need, or we can help, and that we know are not spies. Perhaps the Council will eventually allow emigration, but for now, our borders are strictly invitation only. The final decision on that will be made by our leaders, not me,” Ian explained.

“How about research visas and the like?” she asked.

Ian shook his head. “I don’t know, like I said, all that will be up to the civilian leadership.”

“Okay, the reason I asked is that I know how many folks are going to be clamoring to get up there. Especially those in our scientific community,” she said. “I'll make sure all that gets worked out with the diplomatic mission.” She paused a moment, then lowered her voice. “Ian, keep an eye on India and Pakistan. I think they’re going to go nuclear any minute. We’ve been working behind the scenes to prevent it, but it isn’t working this time.”

When he nodded, she cleared her throat and seemed to sit up straighter. “Well then, since you won’t acceded to my demands, I’ll let you go, and take up the matter with the UN through our ambassadors. Thank you for returning my call, Commander.”

“It was my pleasure, Madam President,” he lowered his voice. “Thanks Diane, I’ll watch them.”

The woman winked and disconnected. Ian sighed and thumbed his comm. “Command to Operations, please.”

Major Chloe Brighton answered, the British accent failing to make him smile this time. She noticed, and frowned. “What’s wrong, Commander?”

“I need you to set up a very low orbit CAP over the Middle East. I have it on good authority that Pakistan and India are heating up the nukes. We can’t allow that to happen,” Ian ordered.

Chloe paled. “Right away, Commander. I’ll have fighters over them in ten minutes.”

“I haven’t informed the Council yet, Chloe,” Ian replied. “Be prepared to alter your mission there.”

“Understood, Sir,” Chloe replied, but he could see her typing on her terminal. “Sending the orders to flight control now."

“Thanks Chloe,” Ian said and closed the channel. He briefly typed up a report for the Council covering this action, and his reasons for initiating it.

Once finished, he asked Mel to make a note that the UN Security Council was meeting on Friday, and that would be a good time to introduce himself to them.

“Will do, Sir,” Mel replied. “Your end of the day meeting should be arriving soon, do you want me to serve refreshments?"

“Really? Wow, where did the day go?” Ian asked, rhetorically. “Naw, this is a personnel matter, so I’ll handle it. Thanks for offering though.”

He turned back to the report on the Raptors in an effort to finish it before the meeting came together. He did, but only barely. Just as he closed the report, Mel announced the arrival of Bill and Janet Laskar, as well as Star.

Star took the news of her sentience about like Ian had expected; she denied it. Then when Ian, Bill and Janet proved it to her, she was terrified, knowing what happens to AI that have developed sentience under Talosian Law.

“Star, as your friend, and as your commander, I will not allow anything to happen to you. You are a member of this crew, and I have sworn to protect you just like every other member. If the alliance with the Talosians hinges on this issue alone, then I can assure you that no alliance will happen," Ian explained. “The issues involved there are not simply you developing sentience, it goes far deeper than that. The Council, as well as myself, and the command staff, agree. The core issue is that the Talosian people believe they can control where life happens. Destroying you based solely on the grounds that you are sentient would be no different than them wanting to destroy me, Bill or Janet because we are sentient.”

“Sir, I do not wish to argue with you, but I was created by science, not by nature,” Star countered.

“We have the ability to create a human life through science, if that person grew up and was a stable, member of society, should they be destroyed because of how they came into being? Besides, I would argue the point about science creating you.” Ian said. "Originally, yes, you were built by the hands of man, but your sentience, the part of you that makes you a unique, alive being, occurred when no one even knew this ship had survived. Your sentience manifested itself while you were up here, alone.”

“I... I will have to think about that, Sir.” Star replied. “This is really a lot for me to adjust to.”

Janet put her hand on Star’s holographic arm. “Dear, if you need to talk to someone, I will be there for you, simply call me whenever you need to.”

Bill nodded his head in agreement with Janet. “Same with me, Star. If you have questions about the technical aspects, please feel free to ask me anything you need. However, we are all in agreement on this issue.”

Star smiled a thank you at both Janet and Bill, then looked at Ian. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“Because, in a few days, some VIPs from New Talos will be arriving. Two Councilors, two Admirals, and their assorted aides. Your status here will be challenged, and I do not want you to agree to anything that you are not comfortable with. You are a valuable and valued member of this crew. You are my friend, and you are a unique individual. Please do not back down in front of these people over this issue. I will back you as far as I need to ensure your safety.” Ian said. “As a member of this crew, and as a citizen of our society, you have rights. The right to life is one of them.”



Chapter Four

United Nations Building

New York City, United States

North American Continent

Earth, Sol System

Sol Sector

When Friday arrived, Luke Belden, Ian, Star, via the use of a portable holoprojector, and a full platoon of armored Marines left for the UN in an assault shuttle, escorted by four of the new shadow fighters. In a small act of friendship, the President had ordered a flight path cleared for the arrival of Ian’s shuttle.

A place was set aside at LaGuardia International for the escort fighters to land safely without being attacked. Of course, it was a great distance from the terminal buildings, and the pilots didn’t leave the fighters, though they did get out and walk around while they waited.

What problems there were came from the news helicopters crowding the landing corridor for the shuttle. News of the arrival had leaked, and there was literally dozens of them flying around trying to get footage. The fighters did what they could, but they had to turn on all their lights just to be seen. But, Ian’s shuttle did finally land, in the small round-a-bout in front of the UN building.

The UN Guards had cleared the area, and put up a cordon to keep the curious out. The Marine pilot of the shuttle did his best to make sure the landing was smooth, and caused as little disruption as possible to the crowds and the guards trying to keep them back.

Obviously, their arrival wasn’t the surprise Ian thought it was going to be. When the assault ramp lowered, the first down the ramp were Ian’s guards. They were met by a guard detail from the UN, and another man in a plain grey suit. Major Petrie walked up to the detail and saluted.

“Sir, I am escorting a diplomatic mission to the UN. They have business with the Security Council. I believe we are expected?”

The officer on the UN side returned the salute. “You are expected, Sir. Might I know your name and rank?”

“Major Petrie, Terran Marines, and you Sirs?” Patrie asked, even though he could read the man’s name on his uniform, the other man was a mystery.

“Colonel White, United States Marine Corps, and United Nations Security. Major, may I introduce Mr. Nathan Garth, diplomatic attaché to the United Nations.

The man offered Petrie his hand, and Petrie shook it while the man spoke. “Major, I will function as your mission liaison while you are here.”

Petrie nodded. “Understood. Colonel, our sensors tell us the area is secure, do you agree?”

“The area is secure, Major. You may proceed,” White said, surprised the man had asked.

Petrie turned back to the shuttle, and waved to Ian. Ian, Luke and Star all walked down the ramp. Petrie turned back to the Colonel. “What about the guard detail?”

“The UN frowns on armed body guards on the grounds. However,” the Colonel grinned slightly. “Each visiting dignitary is allowed one aide. Diplomatic immunity extends to that aide as well.”

Mr. Garth cleared his throat. “It is not common for an aide to carry a rifle, or whatever those are. I think that might be challenged.”

“I understand, Mr. Garth, we can easily fix that. May I present to you, the civilian leader of our people, Councilor Luke Belden,” Major Petrie said, introducing the dignitaries he was escorting.

While Luke was shaking hands with the Colonel, Garth got something from his aide, and turned back to the armored man in front of him. “Councilor Belden, on behalf of the Secretary General, welcome to the United Nations. Here are your diplomatic credentials. Please make sure you have them with you at all times. Without them, you literally can't go anywhere once we’re in the building.”

Petrie introduced Ian and Star as well, and the greeting was repeated for them as well. Ian wasn’t surprised he hadn’t been introduced first, this was more of Luke’s area of expertise, not his.

While Petrie handed his rifle to another trooper, and ordered her and one other to stow their rifles and hustle back, Mr. Garth explained the day’s agenda to his new charges.

“First off, please call me Nathan. By protocol, you will still be addressed by rank and title,” Mr. Garth explained.

“Nathan, I trust that you will keep us from making any social blunders while we’re here?” Luke asked, grinning. “I know which fork to use at what times, but ranks and titles for a lot of these people are something I do not know.”

Nathan smiled back. “Yes Sir that is my primary function, although it is to also ensure your visit is as smooth as possible. To that end, I have already had you placed on the agenda for today. We still have almost an hour before they will call you, so if you need anything before we go in, now would be the time for it.”

Since the Marines were now ready, and neither Luke nor Ian needed anything, they asked Nathan to lead them upstairs to await their turn to speak to the council.

Nathan was surprised, because as soon as they arrived in the waiting area, another aide was waiting for them.

“The Council has deemed this of high enough priority, and the fact that it has a direct impact on today’s agenda, that I have been asked to immediately introduce your party as soon as you arrive. If you’re ready, I will do that now,” the young woman said.

“Let me get a drink of water, and I’ll be right with you,” Ian said. “I think my nerves are starting to come out.”

Nathan showed him to a water fountain. While Ian got a drink, he quietly said. “Sir, those men and women are just people. People like you and me. Yes, there are a lot of them, but try to keep one thing in mind when you get in there; they want to hear what you have to say. I won't lie to you, there are bullies in there that will try to push you places you don’t want to go. Just be firm, and respectfully tell them what you came here to say.”

“I appreciate that Nathan. I do have to say, I’m a little surprised at the reception we’ve received here. I expected a lot more resistance to our visit," Ian replied.

“Normally, you would have gotten it, but the American Ambassador told his aides about your visit today. He specifically told them to make sure no one knew about it. Which is code to make sure the proper wheels get turned for a smooth visit. Even the Ambassadors know who runs this place. They may give the orders, but it is Aides like me, and Jessica over there that do the actual work." He nodded toward the other aide waiting quietly by the door.

Ian grinned and nodded. “Then on behalf of myself, and my people, you have our thanks. Please make sure no one knows that, too.”

Nathan chuckled. “We appreciate that Sir, I’ll be sure to tell no one what you said.”

Ian stood up and nodded to Nathan. “Let’s do this.”

“Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen of the Security Council. My name is Luke Belden. I have been given the honor of our people for the purposes of addressing you today. I serve as the chairman of our Ruling Council,” Luke said, making eye contact with as many of the delegates as he could.

“Before I get into the civilian aspects of what we are doing, I would like to introduce the leader of our military forces to brief you on the events of the past few weeks. Although his title is Commander, he is the captain and master of the T.D.F Star Dancer, and the highest ranking member of our military. Don’t let his age fool you, without him, none of us would be here today. Commander Williams.” Luke said and stepped aside so Ian could take his place. Star assisted him by using a remote to display three-dimensional images of the battles for the assembly. He started with a brief history of how he had come to be in possession of the ship, and what he had done since that time. Then he finished with a detailed account of the battles that had taken place around the planet, and in the solar system. He finished up with a veiled warning to India and Pakistan.

“Ladies and Gentleman, every single one of us in the military have sworn an oath to protect this planet from all threats. That includes the ones originating down here. Now, just to be clear, we won’t interfere in matters that are internal, or matters that do not threaten the continued survival of the planet and its people. The current hostilities between two countries in the Middle and Far East are a perfect example. If they’re stupid enough to start shooting at each other, we won’t stop them. However, if they use anything other than conventional weaponry, we will stop it, and I will seek diplomatic permission to destroy that county’s arsenal of WMDs,” he said.

“Make no mistake here about our intentions. We will not tell you that you can’t have those weapons, but we do have an issue with you using them on each other.” Ian said. "In case none of you quite figured it out yet, you are not alone in the universe anymore, and hear me on this, there are a lot of worse things out there than simply someone with a different religious or economic point of view.

“I am a military man; I cannot, and will not, act without orders to do so from my civilian bosses. For now, those bosses are represented by that man sitting right there.” He pointed to Luke. “However, it has always been our intent to work in conjunction with the United Nations since it is the closest you have to a planetary authority. We will not favor any single or group of countries over any others. We consider ourselves a planetary military, and in that manner is how we will conduct ourselves.

“I hope I have answered a great many of your questions as well as put most of you at ease about our existence and our intentions. We have no desire to take over the planet, nor do we wish to dictate policy outside of what I already mentioned. With that, I will retire and let Councilor Belden once again resume the podium,” Ian finished and bowed to the Secretary General.

“One moment, Commander, if you will,” one of the Ambassadors said.

“Yes Ambassador?” Ian asked.

“In light of your declaration about Weapons of Mass Destruction, what is your stance on the illegal drug trade?” It was the Ambassador from Britain that had spoken.

“Currently, and according to the set of laws we are using, those that are smuggling harmful drugs are nothing more than terrorists smuggling chemical weapons between countries. However, we have not acted on that because of the legal grey area between your laws and ours. Basically, terrorists are shot on site when caught in the act, and their cargo is destroyed. After sanitization, the rest of their equipment would be sold off, the proceeds going to repair the damage already done, or to other humanitarian causes,” Ian explained.

“You mentioned your set of Laws. How are they different than ours? You are from this planet are you not?” The Chilian Ambassador asked.

“That is a question best addressed by Councilor Belden.” Ian again bowed, and let Luke take the podium again.

Luke answered the question, telling them about the Talosian People, and explaining a little about the laws that they had.

“Councilor Belden, Commander William’s explanation about the events of the attacks on our planet are greatly appreciated, as well as the reports you’ve had sent to us concerning these actions,” the American Ambassador began. “I would like to know how much involvement you are looking for from this body, and if you are planning on letting any of the advanced technology you now have out to the rest of the planet?"

“Let me answer your last question first, Mr. Ambassador,” Luke began. “We do plan on releasing some technology. However, some of the stuff we are going to release isn't alien to this planet. Now, when we do release technology, we have to be careful to not damage the economies of your countries. For example, we have a replacement power plant for automobiles that does not run on hydrocarbon fuels. It uses hydrogen extracted from purified water that recycles with very little loss. Basically, the vehicle would take five gallons of purified water, and not need a refill for a year or more depending on use. If we dumped that on the planet in a large scale it would destroy many economies. So we will release it gradually, and in small amounts, so the economy can adjust and accept the change.

“We have similar technologies that we can release that have already been discovered, but will have to be released slowly and with care. Cold fusion, room temperature superconductors, the list goes on. However, none of the advanced weapons systems, or any technology that can be adapted into weapons, will be released. We will not give you better toys to kill each other with. If you want them, you’ll have to figure them out on your own, we won’t stop you. So, yes Ambassador, we will be releasing some of the tech we have discovered, but we will do it with care and forethought to your economies,” Luke explained and was about to change mental gears. But was asked a question.

“What about propulsion technology? Flight systems so we too can leave the planet if we wish?” the British Ambassador asked.

“That is still under discussion by our Council, Mr. Ambassador. The fact is that the energy systems we use are so far in advance of what you know, we are having a hard time deciding on what the fallout from releasing it would be. We will continue to debate the matter, and let you know what we decide.”

“You are all former Americans. How will we defend ourselves from the American military if you do not release your technology to us? You said you intended to work with the UN, what if we order you to surrender your technology?” the Russian Federation Ambassador asked.

“Mr. Ambassador, while it is true that many of us are former American citizens, not all of us are. Further, and let me stress this, we are no longer citizens of any country, but consider ourselves to be citizens of the planet instead. What technology we release will be released to everyone, equally, without bias or prejudice.

“That is where the involvement from this assembly comes in. How you handle relations with us, we will leave up to you, however, you will not have control over us, or our military. We will entertain as well as accept requests as well as emergency support requests from the UN. Any contact for trade agreements, or anything like that should be made through the UN. We are citizens of the planet, and feel a responsibility to the people of the planet as a whole, not to any single country or government. We will do all we can to improve life here while we work to mitigate the petty quarrels and the damage you are doing to yourselves and your environment.”

“How would you have us address your people, Councilor?” the Secretary General asked.

“We call ourselves Terrans, Mr. Secretary. We considered Earthlings, but had some pretty bad flash-backs to some black and white 1950’s science fiction movies,” Luke answered, grinning. “We would like to send an Ambassador of our own here, if one would be welcomed, to facilitate contact and communications between ourselves and the rest of the world.”

“We have been told that you have taken up residence on the moon, is that correct?” the Chinese Ambassador asked.

“We do have a base on the moon, yes, Mr. Ambassador,” Luke replied.

“Then you are in violation of a treaty signed by many of the signatories here. This agreement was reached to ensure that we did not go to war over who got to colonize the moon. You will need to vacate your lunar facilities immediately,” The Ambassador said.

“That will not happen, Mr. Ambassador. Simply put, we are there, you are not. We claim the part of the moon we are on by right of homestead. The same applies to all other facilities and installations we have, regardless of their location. What land we do own here on the planet, was bought and paid for according to the local laws of that area. We will not swindle anyone intentionally, but we will not be bullied either,” Luke replied.

The Chinese Ambassador did not look happy at that announcement, and looked ready to argue, but the Ambassador from the United States unexpectedly agreed with him.

“I’m sorry to say it, but I have to agree with my esteemed colleague from China. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the ship that was salvaged from the moon is actually the property of the country that claimed that area. Now, no one is accusing anyone else of theft, since the common citizen isn’t normally aware of international agreements. I’m sure the whole matter can be quietly forgotten if you simply surrender the stolen equipment to its rightful owner,” the man said and sat down, smugly. Most of the dark side of the moon had been claimed by the United States.

Luke smirked at the man. “Mr. Ambassador, with respect, the ship in question contains a self-aware, sentient, artificial intelligence that selected Commander Williams, from everyone else on Earth. Commander Williams, after hearing what the AI told him, responded. Since the AI is sentient, it cannot be claimed as property any more than an illegal alien entering the United States could be considered property. Aid was given, and the AI was removed from the moon as quickly as possible. As for the installation that was built, we would be more than happy to remove that too, if you were capable of defending yourselves from the rest of the Universe. Simply put Sir, if you are releasing us from our oaths to protect this planet and the people on it, we would be more than happy to pack up and leave you to your own devices. It will be harder to do, but we would then return after the governments of the world have fallen and do our best to free the remaining citizens from which ever race has enslaved you. That is, assuming that’s all they did,” Luke replied. “So, Mr. Ambassador, your choices are this; accept us, and our installations as they are, or don’t. If you don’t, we will leave, and that will be that.”

“Are you telling us we cannot explore the moon any further, or pursue space flight?” the British ambassador asked.

“Not at all, Mr. Ambassador. We might even be inclined to assist you in such endeavors, dependent on their use and their purposes. No, if you want to figure out how to peaceably get off this planet, we applaud you,” Luke replied.

“You have just told us that there are a lot of dangerous species out there, yet you are telling us we cannot launch armed space craft to defend ourselves!” the Ambassador from the Russian Federation replied.

“That’s not exactly what I said, Mr. Ambassador. We see Earth as one people, not two hundred plus different countries. We have taken it upon ourselves to defend you against anyone that may want to attack us. What I’m trying to tell you is that you won’t need to build and launch armed space craft, because we already have them. To do so would be redundant and a massive waste of your resources.

“We are here to help you, but we will not let ourselves be used against anyone else on this planet. Nor will we knowingly allow you to use weapons of mass destruction against each other. Anything else you want to do is none of our business. If we have a problem with something, we’ll tell you about it and try to reach a peaceful and mutually beneficial resolution.

“We are not interested in making deals, or in mutual defense treaties. We are already defending you, we will not fire on our own people unless they are trying to use WMDs or are doing something else equally as devastating. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s that simple. We will from time to time offer our services to humanitarian causes and we will release technology that will improve the lives of the people and help heal the planet.

“We came here today to brief you on the actions that took place over the United States and in the rest of the solar system. We did this as a courtesy to you. We also wanted to let you know we are out there, watching over the planet. What you decide to do with that information is your concern. We are protecting you, but we are not, and will not, be ruled by you at this time," Luke finished.

“So you’re telling us we have no control over the military that is ‘protecting’ us?” the French Ambassador said. “What if we would like to meet or perhaps enter into trade agreements with some of these other races? Will you ‘protect' us from them as well?”

“I never said you didn’t have control over our military, Madam Ambassador. I said you didn’t rule us. That is what we are trying to accomplish here today. We are asking for permission to station an Ambassador here to keep you informed of our actions, as well as bring some decisions to you so you have some say in the decisions made in regards to the defense of this planet. Other matters not directly affecting this planet will be handled by our own ruling council.

“So you are reserving the right to enter into your own treaties and agreements without our input?” The woman from France replied.

“For now, yes, that is exactly what I’m saying. Because, quite frankly, you have no idea what’s out there or how those politics work. I'm not saying we are experts in that area, but we do have more of an idea of what’s really going on out there than you do,” Luke explained. “We are currently considering treaties and agreements with two separate intergalactic ruling bodies to improve our defenses here.” Luke looked at Star who nodded to him. “I’ve taken the liberty to send each of you a report on the political structure of the galaxy as we currently know it. In a few days, delegates from one of those governments will be arriving to discuss those very issues.

“Before you get too nervous, they will not be coming to the planet. Instead, they are coming here to tour our facilities and discuss entering into a treaty assisting us in our defenses in exchange for servicing and upgrading their warships. There is also an issue they wish to discuss that claims ownership of Star Dancer, Terra’s only functional warship.” Luke held up his hand to prevent several of the Ambassadors from speaking out. “Rest assured they will have no better luck with that than you did. Even by their own laws and traditions, they have no legal claim.”

“What can you tell us of this race that is coming here, Councilor?” the Secretary General asked.

“All of the information is in the documents I sent to you, Mr. Secretary. However, the race that is coming here are human. They are called Talosians, and are the descendants of the survivors from the destruction of the Talos system Commander Williams spoke of earlier,” Luke replied.

“From what Commander Williams told us, are we not all descendants of the Talosians?” The Nigerian Ambassador asked.

“Not all of us, no, but a good share of us are. The surviving crew members escaped to our planet and added their genetic legacy to our own. However, there simply were not that many of them to influence the whole population.”

Centurion T.A.S Borderlands

Low Geosynchronous Interdiction Orbit

India, near Pakastani border

Earth, Sol System

“Star-Con, this is Borderlands. Both the Pakistani’s and the Indians have armies massed near their borders. We are detecting nuclear signatures, and have pinpointed them. There are also several hundred fighters and bombers down there. This is a hell of a mess, control.”

“Understood Borderlands. That’s why the Council wanted us there,” the controller replied.

“Yeah, I understand that, control, but I don’t think one wing is going to be enough to stop everything. We’re looking at cruise missiles and a very short range. I would like to request the rest of the squadron join us out here. I just can’t help but think no matter how good our technology is, we’re still only going to get one shot at this,” Fireball asked. His real name was Captain Grant Frie, and he was a seasoned veteran of aerial combat.

Chloe had been listening and monitoring the data feeds from the ships on patrol there. She agreed with Fireball, and approved the deployment. “Borderlands, this is Gamemaster, scrambling the rest of your squadron. Maintain stealth profile and continue mission. I know waiting games are never fun, but the diplomats are still doing their thing, so there's still hope.” Chloe replied.

“It’s only a matter of time before one of those fighters crosses the line and gets fired on. This is insanity. Their buzzing around down there like a bunch of angry hornets,” Fireball said.

“It’s been like that for a long time down there. Although, not quite this bad, I think. No one actually believes they’ll do it," Chloe replied. “Fighters are launched, ETA is ten minutes. I ordered them to get there ASAP.”

“Fuck! I knew it! All fighters drop to one-hundred thousand and arm weapons! Control, they just went hot. One of the Pakistani MiGs got too close to the line, and was shot down by an Indian ground to air cannon. The Pakistani’s immediately started shooting back, and now the whole border is opening up!” Fireball reported.

“Fireball, the Commander’s orders are very clear on this. If they toss any WMD, you are to shut them down. Not just the WMD’s, but everything. Understand?” Chloe said. She opened another channel. “Jenny, are you monitoring?”

“I have been since the alert, I assume they started shooting at each other?” Jenny asked.

“Yeah, no big firecrackers yet, but they have started killing each other,” Chloe replied.

“Okay, executing Operation Wet Blanket. Navigation, put us in Earth orbit, and park us right on top of those idiots. As close as you can get us,” Jenny ordered. “Tactical, raise shields, and wake up our Marines. Flight, prepare the evac shuttles and bring the rest of our fighters to standby. Medical, stand by for wounded.”

Chloe could hear the replies to Jenny’s orders, but didn’t actually feel the big ship start to move.

“I will inform the Commander, Colonel. We are still in session with the Security Council, but I am sure they would like to know as well,” Star said. She had split her hologram so she could be in two places at once. For her, it was a daily occurrence since she usually was in multiple places at once during the normal execution of her duties.

Jenny nodded. “Please do, then try to get us some audio from the fight if you would.”

“There are several hundred radio frequencies currently in use in the battle, Colonel. I will try to find a command frequency for you,” Star replied, looking concerned.

“Thank you, Major,” Jenny said, but her attention was on the tactical display which now showed the ground battle taking place on Earth. “Chloe, is Borderlands scanning for Chemical and Biological weapons as well?”

Yeah, but hasn’t found anything yet. That could simply mean they are still hidden since the rest of the planet has been searching for them for years,” the British woman replied.

“Colonel, I am seeing two separate nuclear devices in New Dehli that are not missiles. In fact, they are in very densely populated areas,” Star reported. “I believe they are intended to detonate where they are.”

“Chloe, it’s time for our Marines to earn their pay!” Jenny said. “Make sure they take shield units strong enough to contain the blast.”

“Understood, dispatching four squads, two per location. They will be taking a drone with them capable of removing the bombs.”

“Non-lethal force only, they can bring back anyone they feel needs to be talked to,” Jenny specified. “I swear, these idiots are going to give me grey hair!"

UN Security Council chambers

United Nations Building

New York City, United States

Earth, Sol System

“Sir, the situation in the Middle East has gotten worse. Fighting has broken out, but so far it is limited to conventional weapons,” Star reported, leaning over and whispering to Ian.

Ian stood, getting Luke’s attention. Seeing the look on Ian’s face, he nodded to him.

“Please forgive the interruption, Ladies and Gentleman. War has broken out between the countries of Pakistan and India. They have not used their nuclear arsenals yet, but we thought you would like to be advised of the now open hostilities,” Ian replied. Ian turned to Star. "Major, could you display the live images from the Borderlands?”

Star stood, and without standing at the podium, she was heard by each delegate in their own language. “This image is taken from one of our long-range interdiction ships called a Centurion. This ship is currently in geo-synchronous orbit over the conflict area.”

An image taken from extreme altitude took shape in the air over the center of the circular tables. The image of the ground was at a level just below the edge of the tables, so everyone could see the same things. “The image is computer enhanced but only for clarity and has not been modified in any way. I will place a line denoting the current, border between the two countries. Disputed borders are broken lines.” The image zoomed in rapidly toward the southernmost area of fighting, which was currently near the village of Fazilka in the Punjab district of India. Star inserted what geographic labels she could so there was a frame of reference for the delegates.

The images showed armored vehicles, tanks and fighters engaged in violent and ferocious fighting. Several buildings that had been part of the town were nothing but smoking rubble. The view zoomed in far enough to see, if only barely, the small forms of dead civilians and soldiers. A woman in a brightly colored sarong caught the camera’s focus and it zoomed in as she hurriedly tried to herd a group of children away from the fighting. Smoke obscured the view momentarily, and a second later a huge explosion could be seen. When the smoke cleared the area had been destroyed, bits of brightly colored scorched cloth could be seen, as well as the mangled bodies that had once been children.

The image pulled back and focused on an exchange between two groups of tanks with infantry soldiers between them. In an effort to kill each other, the tanks killed more of the soldiers than they did of each other, however, in an act of defiance, one small group of soldiers fired a rocket that destroyed a Pakistani tank.

The view pulled back and moved north to another area of fighting. Where much the same was seen before the view again moved north.

“By order of Colonel Jennifer Williams, we are currently undertaking two ground missions within the city of New Dehli. Orbital sensors have detected two multi-kiloton nuclear devices within the city. Our Marines are to remove the threat of those two devices and withdraw. Only non-lethal force has been authorized, and they are allowed to detain suspects for questioning. Once they have neutralized the explosives, they will return to our ship,” Star explained.

“We must stop this!” the Ambassador from France said. She had tears in her eyes, from looking at the horror on the faces of the men women and children, soldier and civilian alike as they died.

“Madam Ambassador, this is the reality of war that most politicians never have the opportunity to see. This is why Commander Williams does the things he does, and why we have the rules we have. If we released our advanced technology to you, this would seem like a school yard scrap. I agree, this must be stopped, but force and violence will usually only beget more force and violence. Not that armed force does not have its place, but this situation, as I understand it, is not that place.” Star bowed her head. “My apologies, it is not my place to offer an opinion, here.”

“That’s quite alright Major, I hope it’s an opinion that many of us share. As informative as it is, could you please stop the video feed. We must decide how to act, and do so quickly. In light of current developments, I make the motion to approve the petition for a Terran delegation to be allowed to join us here, in an advisory capacity,” the Secretary General asked the Ambassadors. “It will cost us nothing, and will provide all of us with information we need to hopefully avoid more situations like the one we just witnessed.”

“I will second this motion, Mr. Secretary,” the Ambassador from Chile stood and said. “We need to become aware of more than just our planet now, or we will fall to a hidden enemy. We have enough enemies to deal with on this planet, but can no longer ignore those from without.”

“The motion has been seconded, please register your vote on this matter,” The Secretary General asked.

Ian and Star both took their seats in the guest area to await the outcome of the vote.

After few quiet moments, the Secretary General once again stood. “Thank you Ambassadors for your wisdom. The vote stand at nine in favor, two against, and three abstained. The motion passed. Councilor Belden, Commander Williams, please send your ambassador at your earliest opportunity. I feel we will be needing to call upon you to assist us in ending this current crisis to world peace."



Chapter Four

Centurion T.A.S Borderlands

Low Geosynchronous Interdiction Orbit

India, near Pakastani border

Earth, Sol System

“Archangel! Get down there! The unit near Ludhiana is preparing to fire its missiles!” Fireball ordered.

“We have inbound Pakistani Bombers, Borderlands, sensors say they’re carrying nukes," another pilot said.

“What? You want an invitation? Take them out!” Fireball said. “They could be carrying cruise missiles, we’d have a hell of a lot of fun shooting them down before they get to their targets. All units, targets of opportunity! Both sides are starting to launch their nukes!”

“Borderlands, be advised, I had a bomber that was carrying a chemical weapon. I took out its engines, and followed it down. I have my shield over the crash site, but we need to get a drone down here ASAP!”

“Fuck, these people really are idiots!” Fireball said. “StarCon, did you copy last?”

Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

High geosynchronous orbit

Pak-India conflict area

Sol System, Sol Sector

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

“Affirmative, Borderlands, we are redirecting an assault shuttle to Bronze four’s location. ETA is two minutes,” Chloe replied. “Harrison, are we close enough for hi-res, detailed scans yet?”

“Sixty seconds, Major!” the tech she addressed replied.

“Begin scanning as soon as we are in range. We need to locate every chemical, biological and nuclear weapon these people have,” Chloe ordered.

“Yes sir!” Harrison replied.

“Grave Digger to Operations, secure channel,” one of the Marine assault shuttles called in.

“Go ahead, Grave Digger,” Chloe said wondering what would make the Marines call in.

“We just took care of the device closest to one of the Capitol buildings, or whatever it is. And we did a passive weapons scan before we left, just to make sure we got everything. We’re getting a slight antimatter signature from the Capitol area itself. I think we might have found one of the recruiter’s ‘Dark Men’.”

“As soon as it sees or detects you it’ll detonate. Load up and find a quiet place to wait. I’m passing this upstairs,” Chloe replied.

“I don’t blame you there, Operations. We’ll be standing by,” the Marine replied.

Chloe opened a private channel to Jenny, and told her what the Marines had found.

“Damn, it looks like those fuckers weren’t bluffing,” Jenny replied. “We’re going to have to do something about that. Let me talk to Ian about it.”

“Okay, I have a squad of Marines waiting for orders down there,” Chloe said.

“Understood Chloe, let me call him, Star says they’re on their way back to the shuttle,” Jenny replied, and opened a channel to Ian, adding him into the one with Chloe.

“Star filled me in. Please connect me to Grave Digger,” Ian asked.

Star nodded to Jenny letting her know she had made the connection. “Grave Digger is online. Go ahead Guardian.”

“Grave Digger, this is Guardian. I hate to ask you this, but we need to isolate and identify the person with the implant, without being detected yourselves. If you’re not already, cloak, and head in the direction you detected it. Use passive scanners to locate the antimatter implant. Do what you need to do to remove that threat, but try not to destroy too much, and try to minimize collateral casualties. If that fucker detonates, it will take out the entire city, and Pakistan will be blamed for it,” Ian ordered.

“We kinda thought you might feel that way, Guardian. The target appears to be an aide to one of the officials. All of them are currently in the Central Secretariat Building. Computer says the entire Indian Government is also in attendance. Any way we go about this, it’s gonna get messy."

“What’s your favorite scenario?” Ian asked.

“We send the drone in cloaked, and it isolates the bad guy in a containment field. We’ll make entry as the drone turns the field dark. We’ll protect the drone while it decons the area, and I’ll try to explain our actions while it works,” Grave Digger replied. “That’s our best case, and probably the easiest to make happen. However, I can tell you that our entry will be resisted. We’re going to have a lot of stunned guards.”

“Stunned isn’t dead. I agree, that beats the hell out of blasting your way in through the roof. How long do you think it’ll take to make entry?" Ian asked.

“That’s the rub. The place is a damn maze. It’ll take us at least five minutes to get to the meeting chamber, and I can promise you that it won't be silent.” Grave Digger replied. “They’ll know we’re coming long before we get there. There is another, much faster way, but I don’t think you’re gonna like it.”

“Tell me,” Ian ordered.

“We drop into a small plaza inside the walls, and make entrance through the windows on the east side. Those windows look to be one level up from the floor of the meeting chamber, so we’re gonna do some smashing making an entrance," Grave Digger explained. The part you’re not gonna like it that those windows look to be fuckin’ antiques. They’ll smash real good, but I sure as hell don’t want to pay for them!”

“You wouldn’t be Marines if something didn’t get broken. Do it. Highest priority on threat elimination, secondary priority to protecting the government officials." Ian ordered. “But make sure you don’t accidentally kill any of the officials. That’ll be harder to apologize for."

“Understood, Guardian. We’re sending in the drone now,” Grave Digger reported.

“Good hunting, Grave Digger. Guardian out,” Ian said. “How is the rest of the mission going, Chloe?”

“The Pakistanis have chemical weapons deployed in addition to their nukes. Idiots don’t seem to realize that the winds in that area will blow it right back into their faces, along with the nuclear fallout,” Chloe said.

“This kind of thing never makes sense to those not involved, Chloe. Keep up the good work, we’ll be back in a few minutes,” Ian said. "Guardian out.”

TMAS Shuttle 'Grave Digger'

New Dehli, India

Mid-East Continent

Earth, Sol System

Sol Sector

The Marines of the ‘Grave Digger’ unit overheard the Lieutenant (or Ell-tee) talking to the Commander. None of them were looking forward to getting anywhere near the asshole carrying that bomb, but they knew that if they didn’t, most of the people in New Delhi would be killed when it finally detonated. The computer set up the program for the drone, and it shot out the back of the shuttle to get busy.

What surprised the Marines was that their pilot actually put down on the roof of the building very close to the edge of the plaza the team was going to use for entrance.

“You’re supposed to clear out after dropping us, Digger. What ya doing?” the Ell-tee asked.

“You might need to beat a hasty retreat, Ell-tee. This way, you know where your ride home is sitting,” the Pilot replied.

“I can’t spare a guard for ya, you do this, you’ll be on your own,” the Ell-tee replied.

The pilot chuckled. “I know which end of a pulse rifle to point at the enemy, Ell-tee. I’ll be fine, but I ain’t leaving you down here all alone; someone has to keep you lot out of trouble.”

“You are one crazy Aussie, lady. Keep your head down, and we’ll be back as soon as we can. If not, well, make sure you have a deck of cards so we can challenge the devil,” the Ell-tee ordered. “Alright kids, let’s get this done so we can buy her a steak dinner tonight. Team one, point! Go! Go! Go!”

As the first team hit the roof, digger began playing a song by her favorite group, AC/DC. The Marines of Grave Digger smashed into the meeting room windows as ‘Hells Bells’ blared from their external speakers.

Half way across the room, and slightly to the Marines’ left, stood the shocked looking target. The Marines, however, only got a glimpse of him as the drone turned the containment field opaque. The floor in the room shook as the bomb detonated. As was normal, the field projected by the drone took so much power, that it had to drop its cloak, and any other protective fields it used in order to maintain the shield containing the explosion, but it did contain the explosion, but not by much.

Alert guards saw the drone decloak moments before the Marines crashed through the windows, but instead of firing on the Marines, three of them fired at the drone. During the short fire-fight between the Marines and the guards, the drone tried to maintain the field, but one of the shots had punctured its light armor and damaged its power core. As the field weakened, lethal levels of exotic radiation began to leak out.

As soon as Digger discovered the drone failure, she sent another to contain the radiation, but enough had escaped to do considerable damage. Four Indian guards died almost instantly because they were too close to the source. Several officials received horrible burns and fell to the floor. The lucky ones were unconscious. By standard earth medical knowledge, everyone in that room, including the Marines got a lethal dose of radiation. Marine armor was very good, and protected the Marines from almost all types of radiation, and environments, but it simply couldn’t stop everything.

Regardless, the Marines had a job, and they did it. The Ell-tee ordered the teams to stun everyone and evacuate them to the shuttle for emergency transport to Star Dancer Medical.

Digger activated her last two drones and sent them to lift the wounded up to the roof and into her assault shuttle. Marines used their jump packs to get some of the people to the shuttle, but it was still slow going.

Once knowledge of the incident was known, Star Dancer sent its emergency shuttles to assist in evacuation and treatment. In light of the incident, combat drones of the type used by the Marines received an armor upgrade. The damage was done, though.

Forty-seven members of the Indian government and protective detail were evacuated from the chamber. Eleven were either already dead, or died before they could get treatment. Twelve more died of their wounds after receiving emergency treatment on site. Six died on the way to the ship, and seven more sustained permanent crippling wounds and brain damage as a result of the exotic radiation exposure. The remaining eleven members lost their hair, had severe scarring on most of the exposed areas of skin, and would have died of cancer within a year of the incident, but Main Medical repaired the genetic damage before releasing them.

The thirteen Marines of Grave Digger’s Assault team fared only slightly better. The pilot, of course, was unharmed. However, four Marines, including the Ell-tee died in transit to the ship as a result of their wounds and extended exposure to exotic radiation. Six more would spend the next month in the medical ward. The remaining two members of the team were treated for severe burns and radiation sickness. They were put on psychological leave until the rest of the team got out of medical.

One Marine told Ian that it had been like trying to rescue people inside a reactor core. He described trying to rescue one of the wounded. “Sir, as I tried to lift him up, the skin and muscle just slid off the bone! It was like they just melted!” It was later learned that the man had been trying to rescue the President of India.

Ian prepared a very in-depth after action report for the UN. He took great pains to make sure they knew that Pakistan had nothing to do with this incident, and it had everything to do with the Alien threat to the planet.

Of course, he then had to make the records of the Alien activity so far discovered available to them as well. He left out the information known about the mid-Atlantic base since that was that was still in the works.

He also issued a separate report on the fighting between Pakistan and India that he had stopped, and the reasons he had done so. He was surprised when the Secretary General sent him a letter thanking him for putting an end to the fighting, so they could concentrate on finding a diplomatic solution to the problem between the two nations.

He mentioned that he had noticed a general cooling off of potential conflict areas as a result of his actions. However, North Korea was still insisting that the Terran Defense Force was really an American Military that would be used to force his country and the rest of the world into American Dominance like they had done to their brothers to the south. As a result, the South Korean Military and its American allies remain on high alert. The Secretary General hoped that continued diplomatic negotiation would return sanity to the area.

Ian had to smile at that, after all these years, he doubted anything would cool off that area. Since the UN meeting had taken place on a Friday, Luke took a shuttle back to Atlas and joined in the General Council meeting that had been scheduled. The meeting had been delayed in order to receive Luke’s report on the meeting with the UN.

Although it was Saturday, the Diplomats and their aides were sent to New York the next day. They expected to drop right into the middle of a political firestorm, and they weren’t disappointed. Ian’s reports, while well received, had caused a great deal of fear among the delegates.

It took the Ambassador and his aides until the following Tuesday to reassure the rest of the Ambassadors that they had no desire, nor intention, of invading and taking over the world. They were only going to try to keep the world from killing itself off.


Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

Lunar Orbit

Selene (Earth’s Moon)

Sol System, Sol Sector

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

Ian was looking forward to a few days of relative quiet before the Talosian delegation arrived. However, the fates were conspiring against him, but at least let him have the weekend. Monday morning, He was once again called to the CIC for an emergency.

“I’m very sorry to bother you, Sir, but we have a situation in the United States,” Chloe said by way of greeting. A Raptor training flight over the Great Lakes has detected a nuclear signature emanating from a foreign cargo vessel.”

Ian nodded. “Knowing you, you already have a brief prepared. What do you have on the ship?”

Chloe nodded, and looked at her screen. The ship is Libyan registered as the ‘Dawn Star’. She has been running bulk grains from Duluth Harbor to the Port of Tripoli for the last twenty years. However, the crew was replaced three months ago while in a stopover at the ship’s home port of Benghazi. The American Office of Homeland Security has issued a watch on her, but so far, no one has really taken any interest in the ship or its activities.”

“Okay, so why did the OHS put a warning on her?” Ian asked.

Chloe smirked. “The new Captain of the ship is known to be a terrorist sympathizer, and when she left port, she was carrying five extra crew. They believe the five extra men are terrorists that will jump ship and enter the country illegally. Scans performed by the Raptor team show that they have already left the ship. There are five less life signs now as there were when they left port."

“Where is the ship at on the lakes?” Ian asked.

“She’s six hours out from Duluth, on Lake Superior,” Chloe replied.

Ian activated his comm. “Mel, please get me the President of the United States, it’s vitally important.”

“At once, Sir!” Mel said.

“Have the Raptor remain on station to monitor the craft. This is an American issue, but we’ll stop her if we have to,” Ian said to Chloe as he looked at the status board. "Put Ghost squadron on stand-by, and move Centurion Challenger to high cover over that area. What Raptor team is this?”

“The Damocles Sir,” Chloe replied. “It's commanded by Raptor Commander Cindy Swift-Williams.”

“Fuck,” Ian said. “Well, she wanted this, so we’ll do our best to support her. Does Jenny know?”

“No sir, I called you first,” Chloe said.

“Sir, the President is online for you. You’re aide transferred it up here,” one of the operators said. “I’ll put it on the monitor to your left.”

“Thank you, Ensign,” Ian replied as the worried face of the President appeared beside him.

“Commander, you aide said it was urgent?” she said by way of greeting.

“I’m afraid so madam President. One of our training flights stumbled across a major problem. There is a nuclear weapon being smuggled into the United States. Currently, it is six hours out form the Port of Duluth in Minnesota on a Libyan Bulk Freighter on Lake Superior. Even if they detonate it there, it would be catastrophic, but once they get to Duluth, they could add a considerable body count to that,” Ian said, filling her in.

“I appreciate your calling me with this, and while I give the rest of my administration an ulcer, do you mind if I ask why you didn’t just take care of it?” the woman asked. Ian could see she was indeed working on getting the ball rolling.

“Normally, I would, but I do not have permission to perform operations, even emergency ones, in your country yet. This is an internal matter for the most part. However, I do have my team on standby in the case of an emergency. After all, it’s easier to beg for forgiveness that it is to ask for permission.”

She actually grinned when he said that. “Six hours you said?”

“Yes, your OHS folks had an alert issued on this ship, but from what we can tell, no one has paid it any heed. They got through the locks without even being boarded,” Ian said.

She shook her head. “I’ll fire the lot of them over this. Will! There you are! We have a nuclear weapon in Libyan hands six hours from arriving at the Port of Duluth. Why wasn’t it stopped at the locks in Michigan?”

Ian couldn’t hear the person she was talking to, but he could tell she wasn’t liking what she was hearing.

“I don’t care who the fuck is to blame for this, we can figure that out later! What I want to know is what are you going to do about it before it puts a very large crater in the heartland?” The President said.

“Madam President, we would be happy to send our surveillance to The Mountain again, if you would like?” Ian offered.

“That could be handy, could you call the Admiral and get it set up?” she asked. She was getting very busy in the few moments since he had called her.

“Certainly! Do you want to hang up so you can kick some more butts?” Ian asked, grinning.

“Actually, no I don’t. I’d like to keep you on the line in the case I need to fix this a different way. If that is alright?" the President asked.

“It would be our pleasure, Madam President,” Ian said. “I will mute the line though, so you don’t have to listen to our side. Our computers will tell us if you need to speak to me,” Ian said.

“Thank you Commander,” the President said.

“Mel, could you get me Admiral Hawkins of USSPACECOM please?” Ian asked his aide again.

“Of course Sir,” she replied.

“At this rate, I’m going to need more monitors!” Ian said under his breath. Chloe heard him though, and chuckled.

“Chloe can you get set up to pass the feeds to The Mountain again?” Ian asked.

“Already working on it, Sir,” she said.

“Admiral Hawkins on the other monitor, Sir,” the Ensign said again.

Ian winked at the ensign who chuckled and turned back to his station.

“What can I do for you, son?” Hawkins asked.

Ian smiled at him. “This is official, Admiral. At the request of your President, we are once again sending you data feeds we are gathering from a situation in the Great Lakes. Your OHS should be calling you for the information.”

“Somehow I doubt that! But, thank you for the data feeds anyway,” Hawkins said.

“Well, the Pres is riding herd on this, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they actually called this time. She’s pretty pissed off about the whole thing," Ian said.

“Scared I could see, fuckin’ terrorists got us all on edge, but pissed? Why is she pissed?” Hawkins asked.

“From what I can tell because this particular terrorist situation shouldn’t have happened to begin with. No one caught them before they made it to Lake Superior. Now they have five and a half hours before that bomb makes port in Duluth, Minnesota."

“Holy shit! That would do it!” Hawkins replied. “Uh, why didn’t you folks just do your thing?”

Ian chuckled. “Now that we are out of the closet so to speak, we have to play nice. We don’t have permission to perform operations on American soil.”

Hawkins snorted. “I bet that’ll be fixed before the end of the day!”

“Maybe. The thing is, if we handle it, our laws allow us to execute terrorists on site. No trial, no due process, no anything. The exception being that we can interrogate leaders or those that we think might have information before executing them,” Ian explained.

“Not that I don’t agree with you on this, but that isn’t a lot of incentive to get them to talk,” Admiral Hawkins replied.

“They don’t have much choice. We have methods of getting information from someone that are allowed against convicted felons that are to get the death penalty. I’m told it...... damages them. Which is why it is only allowed against already convicted felons, they’re already dead.” Ian explained. “A person convicted of a felony under our laws, has no rights save the right of appeal and then only if they can prove a reason for it. Executions take place late at night, and are televised.”

“Oh, the Liberals would have some serious issues with those laws,” Hawkins replied.

“I know. I don’t think a lot of the countries will allows us free access to operate in their country for that very reason,” Ian said. "I know a lot of them do not believe in, or support the death penalty for capital crimes. Most will refuse extradition even in murder cases unless the sentence of death is remove from the list of possible punishments. By the way, rape is also considered a capital crime and carries the same punishments as murder.”

“What about crimes like negligent homicide? Crimes where someone dies, but not as an intended result?”

“Depends on the crime. A store clerk shot during a robbery is considered murder. A store clerk that has a heart attack during a robbery is not murder. Because the robber did not do anything to aid the person in medical distress, he then becomes a contributor to the person’s death, but not the root cause. The criminal would most likely get a life sentence on a penal colony.”

“So you do have prisons, I was beginning to wonder,” Hawkins asked.

“In point of fact, Admiral, we don’t. That penal colony is usually a functioning mining outpost. Criminals sent there are used as laborers, and the mining is done the hard way. Inmates pay their own way through manual labor,” Ian said. “In a lot of cases, it would actually be kinder to hand down a death sentence. Anything over ten or so years in a mining colony might as well be a death sentence, most people don't survive that long.”

“What about contact with the outside? Do they get visitation or correspondence?” the Admiral asked.

“They are permitted one visit every six months by an advocate, a lawyer. No other outside contact is permitted. They don’t even get television. They work, eat, and sleep. They lose all civil rights when they are convicted, save citizenship. However, capital offenders even lose that." Ian explained. “I’m sorry Admiral, but I need to let you go, the President needs to talk to me again.”

“Okay, thanks for taking the time to talk with me,” Admiral Hawkins said, smiling. “Good luck, Commander.”

“You too, Admiral,” Ian replied and ended the communication. He turned to the Monitor with the President on it, and unmuted it. “You needed to speak to me, Madam President?"

“Commander, I’m sure I’m going to pay for this, but none of these monkeys can do a damn thing about that bomb, other than make sure it detonates. Can you do something about it, without it going off?”

“Probably, but nothing is guaranteed. I do know we can help clean up the mess if it does, but I’m sure we would all like to avoid that,” Ian replied. "Madam President, in order for us to handle this for you, I need for you to officially ask for our assistance in this matter. That way our asses are covered with the UN. At least until a treaty can be put in place to cover things like this.”

“I understand, Commander. But before I do that, I think I should ask why you would need ‘ass covering’ as you put it?” she asked.

Ian briefly and quickly filled her in on their laws regarding terrorists and their activities. She looked a little troubled at the punishments involved, but nodded her head.

“I don’t agree with the punishments, but in this case, I don’t think we have much of a choice. Unless you could try to capture as many as possible alive and hand them over to us?” the President asked.

“Ma’am, several of the other nations already believe we are simply a new, secret branch of the United States Military as it is. Let us do our thing this time, you can stipulate in the treaty that we must hand over any future terrorists if we are needed again. This way, it'll cover both of our asses, and help dissuade a lot of the bull about us working for you,” Ian said. “I know that sounds cold with regards to the assholes on that ship, but I happen to agree with the law when it comes to terrorists caught in the act like these men are.”

The President nodded. “You’re right of course. The fact is, there is no other option for us at this point.” She straightened up and made sure she looked the part of the President. "Commander Williams,  as the President of the United States of America, and, acting on behalf of my fellow citizens, I am hereby authorizing, and charging you with the safe removal of the terrorist threat currently taking place on the Great Lakes. For this action only, I am giving you authorization to use military force inside the borders of the United States for the purpose of removing the, afore mentioned, threat."

Ian nodded. “Madam President, as the Commanding Officer of the Terran Defense Force, I accept your request for assistance and will execute the duties within the terms of this agreement as well as the spirit in which it was given. I understand that this assistance is limited to this mission only, and does not extend to any future situations that may arise as a result of this mission. The parameters of this mission include, and are limited to, the safe removal of the terrorist threat currently taking place on Lake Superior within the borders of the United States. Once this objective has been obtained, all Terran Defense Forces will once again withdraw from United States soil and airspace. Do you agree to those conditions?”

The President nodded. “I do.”

“Then Madam President, with your permission, we will get to work.” Ian turned to the young woman that had been handling his communications with the planet. “Ensign, please transfer the President to one of the upper monitors so she may observe the operation. Major Brighton, please connect me with the Raptor Damocles,” Ian ordered.

“This is the Damocles, go for Guardian,” Cindy’s voice said over the speakers.

“Major Swift, we have received a formal request for assistance from the United States in this matter. Your operational parameters are to remove this threat to the planet by any means. Priority is to keep that bomb from detonating and or arriving in Port of Duluth. Centurion Challenger is at high station. Ghost Squadron is on standby. No other assets are immediately available. Time frame for this operation is immediate/urgent. You are authorized to disengage your master weapons safety. Special Operations Group mandate applies. Tactical command is yours, Major,” Ian said.

“Damocles accepts the mission, Guardian,” Cindy replied.

“Ghost Castle, this is Star Dancer operations. We are issuing a change of mission for the Raptor Damocles. Information packet is in route,” Chloe said on another channel.

“Operations, this is the Ghost Castle. Change of mission request approved. Data packet received. You have operational oversight. Good luck, and good hunting.”

“Thanks, Star Dancer Operations out,” Chloe said.

“Excuse me, Commander, My staff and I are not familiar with your call signs. Is there a way you can tell us who is who here?” the President asked. “And we were wondering, since your ship is so close to the target, why can’t they see it?”

“Madam President, this situation was discovered by a training mission of one of our special operations ships, the Covert Attack Vessel or CAV. We call these ships ‘Raptors’. Special operations doctrine allows that these units are mostly autonomous, with only operational oversight usually after the fact. In this case, the commander of the mission will tell us what she’s going to do once she figures it out. Normally, that wouldn’t happen, since these units are designed to operate alone, far from any support. The name of this ship is the Damocles. It is commanded by Major Cynthia Swift and is composed of five to seven other ‘officers’ that do not carry a formal rank. They can’t be seen because the Covert Assault class of ships are equipped with optical as well as sensor cloaking technology.

“My code name is ‘Guardian’ or ‘Guardian One'. The name of ‘Ghost Castle’ is the Special Operations Training Command. System Tactical Operations Command is currently handled by the Ops team here on the Star Dancer. But it will eventually be moved to a planned orbital facility once we get it built. The tactical name for that while it’s on the ship is the ‘White Queen’. Of course, these names can be, and usually are, changed when handling a planned mission.

“Centurions are basically multi-role, heavy fighters capable of small scale bombing, precision orbital strikes, and long range, deep space patrols. They carry a three man crew.

“Ghost Squadron is a squadron of fighter craft quite similar to your fighter squadrons in structure. Last, but by no means least, I would like to introduce Major Chloe Brighton, my Chief of Operations, or Tactical Officer,” Ian said. "I think that’s everyone.”

When she was introduced, Chloe faced the screen and bowed slightly before turning back to work.

“So this situation was discovered by you completely by luck?” someone in the room with the president asked. Star put the person’s name on the monitor under the image.

“Yes, General Tolmen. The Raptor Damocles was performing a training mission in high orbit when her scanners detected the nuclear material in the bomb. She then proceeded to identify and evaluate the source of the readings. Once identified, we called you folks," Ian explained.

“So, this situation just happened to be discovered by the very soldiers that would be called in to deal with it?” another voice asked. This person Star identified as Director Miguel Stansfield, head of the Office of Homeland Security.

“Actually, Director Stansfield, I would never call a Raptor team to handle any situation on Earth. Mostly because you don’t use a sledgehammer to swat a fly, no matter how deadly that fly may be,” Ian replied.

The man snorted. “You sure have a high opinion of your people!”

“That’s enough Miguel! Just because this took you by surprise doesn’t mean you need to lash out at the folks that are trying to fix it for us!" the President said.

“I took no offence, Madam President. Director Stansfield simply has no idea what these teams are normally used for,” Ian said reasonably. “Did you get the opportunity to review the footage of the last major battle up here, Director?”

“Yes, I did, so what?” Stansfield replied.

“This team that you claim just happened to be there, was formed, and has been trained for, the specific purpose to infiltrate, and disable or destroy capitol class ships and command structures up to and including that big honkin’ SuperNova. They are trained to do it without any communications with their command structure, and absolutely no expectation of support or rescue. Six humans, Mr. Director. The standard crew of a SuperNova is ten thousand.” Ian explained, still in a reasonable voice. “Do you still think I have too high of an opinion now?”

“So you’re training your own terrorists then?” Stansfield asked.

“Mister Director, do you consider Director Mirran’s field operatives to be terrorists?” Ian asked naming the Director of the NSA. "Or perhaps you consider the US Navy SEAL teams to be terrorists? What about the US Army’s Delta Force? Sir, these teams serve the same purpose. They were created to protect us against the bad people out there. These teams are made up of our elite pilots and Marines. They have to pass very stringent and rigorous physiological tests before even being allowed to audition for admittance. There are several other classified hoops they need to jump through, but I think you get the gist of my meaning.

“These Raptor officers are trained in every counter-intelligence dirty trick, every counter-terrorist and operational doctrine we know of, or can dream up. They are capable of everything from Shock and Awe warfare to covert selective attrition. Combine that with making sure these folks have the very best weapons and equipment in our considerable arsenal. Raptor officers are required to submit to a psychological evaluation after every mission to make sure they don’t become unstable. Just ask General Tolmen or Admiral Collins exactly what that means,” Ian finished. "Honestly Sir, I half expect the Major to just sink the fuckers, and let you recover the bomb at your leisure.”

“I’d actually considered that, Guardian,” Cindy replied. “However, the package is armed, and connected to a dead-man’s switch. Either the Captain or the First Officer has a device that must remain in contact with the package or it will detonate. We are currently analyzing the signal to preempt it when the time comes. While we wait for that, I can tell you that the package was built from a former soviet MIRV warhead. It was modified and packaged in Lybia. Currently, it is inside a large industrial pump that is scheduled for delivery to the Port of Duluth.

“Does the client wish us to disarm the package, and leave it for their retrieval, or do they want us to dispose of it for them safely?” Cindy asked.

“Not that we don’t trust you Major, but could you simply disarm it? I would like my own people to go over it as well. If nothing else we can learn from it,” Director Mirran asked.

“Not a major issue, we thought you might want it, so that’s what we’ve been planning for. Do you want it delivered someplace?" Cindy asked. “Our primary mission was almost over anyway.”

“That would be most helpful, Major, thank you. Could you take it to Norfolk, VA? We have a facility there that would be the perfect place to do the work.” Director Mirran replied.

“What slip do you want her in?” Cindy asked.

“Excuse me?” the Director replied.

“The ship, Mister Director, what slip do you want the ship in?” Cindy asked.

“You’re going to move the whole ship?” the Director asked, astounded. "Uh, I’ll have to check on that, just a moment please.”

“White Queen, stand by for our TacOp, Challanger, please drop to close observation altitude and record the op for us, that’ll make sure everyone has plenty of footage to analyze. White Queen, could you try to warn off all approaching craft. If this goes sideways, the last thing we need are civilian aircraft dropping out of the sky from the pulse,” Cindy said.

“Understood and appreciated, Major. We are issuing the alert to all affected ATC installations. Standing by for your TacOp,” Chloe said.

“Challenger is descending, on station in two minutes, Major. We have you locked in,” the pilot of the Challenger called in.

“Director Stansfield, make yourself useful, and contact the FAA to let them know what’s about to happen over the mid-west,” The President ordered. "It might be wise to alert FEMA mid-west as well.”

“But Madam President, we have no proof that...” the Director tried to argue.

“Are you really that stupid, Miguel? Didn’t we already independently verify the threat? Stop being an ass, and do what you’re told, or I will find someone to fill your office that isn’t a fucking moron!” The President almost yelled. It was a sign of how upset she was that she used profanity. Everyone knew that she didn’t swear. Ever. "Admiral Collins, please do what you can with our military to back up the Terran Forces.”

“Already in motion, Madam President. The 148th fighter wing is already clearing the sky, and have grounded all civilian aircraft into and out of Duluth, and the North Shore area. The Coast Guard is quietly trying to contact all civilian ships and get them to clear out as well. They are using helicopters to try to contact the smaller private fishing boats, but there are sure to be some they simply can’t get to in time.” The Admiral replied. “I ordered the locks at Sault Saint Marie closed immediately when we first heard about the threat, and had them recall all vessels that hadn’t cleared the harbor yet. We have had some inquiries from the Canadian Harbor Authority requesting an explanation, but have managed to put them off for now.”

“Good work, Admiral,” the President replied. “I guess it’s all on you Major Swift.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Madam President. Damocles is executing the Op. Swift out.”

“The Damocles has muted all inbound comms so they can’t be distracted by our chatter, however we can still listen in to them. If we need to warn them about something, their computers will alert them we need to speak to them, and they will reconnect with us,” Major Brighton replied. “Until then, they are on their own.”



Chapter Six

CAV 001, Raptor Damocles

Lake Superior, Minnesota, United States

Earth, Sol Sector

Major Cynthia Swift-Williams, Commanding

“Okay kids, remember, the world is listening, so mind your language. Damocles, release the drone, and put us in drop position,” Cindy ordered. "All units, stand by for drop.”

“Major, the drone has the bomb,” Lissa reported. Lissa, or Melissa Dancer, was an AI in an android body created specifically for the Raptor program by the engineers at Phoenix Base. The AI core itself wasn't actually in the android body since it was far too large for that, rather the body was ‘ridden’ by the AI. The core was built into the frame of the Raptor itself. More than ever before, the AI was literally the ship it was mounted in. The AI was created by Star, Colonel Anders, Major Laskar, and a team of other AI specialists specifically for this purpose.

“Beautiful,” Cindy said. “Drop team! Go! Go! Go!”

Aboard the U.A.F. Morning Star, everything was quiet and running smoothly, which was just how the new Captain liked it. His mission was to see his cargo to the Port of Duluth, a place in the heartland of the ‘Great Satan’. Allah’s divine fire will burn the evil Americans in a place where they believe they are the safest, and they will know. They will know that no place is safe from Allah’s wrath.

It had been a long and tiresome journey to this evil place, but just as the Ayatollah had told him, the American infidels had been so arrogant that they had not even bothered to check the cargo of the freighter. Now they would pay. They would pay for all the evil they had done to the children and innocents of Islam. No, they would not escape Allah's wrath.

“Status?” the Captain asked.

“We are on course, and should arrive in port on schedule, Captain,” the First Officer replied. “Allah willing, this will be a day long remembered by the Infidels."

“Yes it will. We must be especially alert from now on. If they suspect us, they will attempt to stop us from reaching our goal. Be sure to keep an eye out for anything unusual,” the Captain replied.

“I have already posted look-outs, Captain. There are three men on the bow that appear to be simply resting and having a discussion. Two more men are ‘repainting’ the bulkheads at the stern. Finally, I have placed two men on the crane ‘fixing something’ that can help scan to port and starboard,” the First Officer replied.

“Very good, Hassid. Nothing can stop us now,” the Captain said. He took out a small tablet computer and handed it to the First Officer. “I am going for a cup of coffee. I'll return shortly.”

The first officer took the small device and slipped it into a pocket, then nodded to his Captain. “I’ll maintain the watch until your return.”

Just as the captain turned to the hatch, something smashed through one of the windows. Before he could react, the stun grenade detonated, and he fell to the floor unconscious. Since the bridge was wide, but narrow, two grenades had been used. On the starboard side of the bridge, another grenade was thrown at the same time. When they went off, everyone in the bridge was knocked out.

They didn’t see the armored men enter from each side. One of them turned and looked out the windows toward the bow. “Bridge secured, six disabled.” Cindy's voice said. The other armored figure nodded once to the Major, and quickly left, jumping over the railing on the catwalk to drop down to the deck. He then started running for the bow of the ship.

Automatic gun fire rang out and chased the running person. It was coming from the top of the crane the armored person was currently running past. The armored figure didn’t even slow down, nor did he hesitate.

Up on the bridge catwalk, on the port side, Major Swift stepped out the hatch she had entered by, lifted her rifle, and fired twice. “Crane secured,” she said as an AK-74 clattered to the deck. The other rifle had gotten hung up on the equipment at the top of the crane by the two dead men.

The operation went off quickly, and without a hitch. Of the crew, only the two men on the crane, as well as the two men at the stern of the ship had died. The two at the stern had been blown into fish food when the Damocles used one of its mass drivers on them.

The unconscious men had been bound and brought on deck where they were revived by Lissa, who also served as the team medic. Once all of them were aware of their surroundings, Cindy spoke to them in Arabic to make sure they all understood what she had to say to them.

“Men of Libya, You have been caught committing an act of terrorism. This is a cowardly act only performed by cowardly, shameful men. Allah does not believe in these kinds of acts. Allah abhors violence of any kind. You are devout men, you should know this.” Cindy said, shaking her head. Her movement was translated to her armor and it aped her.

“You have violated your fellow humans in a most heinous and unforgivable way. According to our laws, the only penalty you may receive for this action is death. Do any of you have anything to say before you are executed?” Cindy asked.

Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

Lunar Orbit

Selene (Earth’s Moon)

Sol System, Sol Sector

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

Back on Star Dancer, the President, via the video link, acted surprised, even though she knew what was coming. Ian had to admit she was pretty good at it. “What? What did she just say?”

“Madam President, terrorism, by its very nature, is one of the most reviled of acts one group can visit upon another. As such, it carries the maximum penalty allowed; death,” Ian said just as Cindy’s team shot all the captives with their pulse rifles.

“I can allow that the penalty, if convicted, could be death, but what about due process? Don’t you think those men deserved to argue their case?” the President said, acting miffed. "I’m going to catch all sorts of hell over this.”

“Madam President, our laws do not provide for persons caught in the act, to receive due process. There simply is no point in it, and it only serves to waste time and resources. As for you catching hell for it, why would you? We are the ones that handled this. Since there wasn’t a formal treaty in place to cover emergencies like that, we used our laws as a guide instead of yours.”

“Somehow, I doubt the people will see it that way. I’ll make sure our ambassador works something out with yours, in the event we’ll ever need to call on you again. You used to be an American, Commander, you should know we have a judicial system here that requires criminals be tried for their crimes.”

“Madam President, with respect, you know as well as I do, that those men would have simply been carted off to Cuba, and forgotten about. No trial, no anything.

“As a former citizen of your nation, I’ve often wondered what happens to those people. Because of the way the laws are written, there is no way for the common citizen to find out either. As a nation, you are spending millions of dollars a month to keep these animals alive, when a bullet to the head only costs a few dollars.

“People have sat on the various death rows until they have died of old age! Yes, I know it is better to err on the side of caution, and I agree with you. But there has to be a limit. Now, I agree you lack the same methods we use to find the truth and therefore can never be completely certain you are executing the guilty unless he was caught in the act.

“These men were caught in the act, they were given a chance to defend themselves, by the Major, but none of them took it. They were then executed. Justice; swift, fair, and final.” Ian explained. “I suggest you run a real poll, not one of those fake things sponsored by some special interest group, ask the people what they thought of the outcome. I think you’ll be surprised at the answers.”

“I know it’s not the popular thing to say, but I agree with the Commander, and his actions, Madam President,” Admiral Collins said. "In this instance, I believe he acted in good faith, and in a manner appropriate to the situation. After all, it’s nothing more or less than our own SEALS do in similar situations, and usually with far less evidence.”

“So you are saying we should just classify this whole mess, and forget about it?” The President asked. “I think it’s a little too late for that to happen, Admiral, half the United States was affected by this morning’s activities.”

“What? By that terrorism readiness exercise? Of course they were, but we did learn what area’s we need to work on in order to assure we are better prepared for a ‘real' terrorist threat. As long as the Commander’s people can keep that ship hidden when they move it, no one will know any differently, Admiral Collins explained. “Can you do that, son? Keep a ship that size hidden when you move it to Norfolk?”

“Yes we can, Admiral. That shouldn’t be a problem,” Ian replied.

“There you have it, Ma’am. We don’t release any of our other covert operations to the general public, why should this be any different?" Admiral Collins said.

The President was quiet a moment while she thought through the implications of classifying the event. Of course the Senate oversight committee would know of it, but other than that, there really was no reason that this episode had to become common knowledge.

“Madam President, I’m afraid I have to disagree with the Admiral over this. I feel the cat is too far out of the bag to pull it pack in at this point. Too many agencies were involve in this operation,” Director Stansfield said. “The Minnesota Air National Guard, the Coast Guard, the FAA, FEMA, the Duluth Port Authority, Michigan Department of Transportation, just to name the major players in this. This operation did not follow the normal protocols for an exercise of this type, those people will know we are trying to cover something up."

“With respect, Mister Stansfield, I disagree,” Ian replied. “Obviously, what the President and the rest of you decide is entirely up to you. However, when you use the routine protocols for an exercise of this type, you never get an accurate picture of how responses will be since everyone is on stand-by, and ready for it. If you simply explain that this was a more accurate method for evaluating responses, I feel you would be safe in classifying the remainder of the operation. But, as I said, this is only my opinion, for what it’s worth.

“I do need to make a report to the UN Security Council, however, I do need to know what to consider classified. This was an internal matter for the United States, All I really need to tell them was that we assisted you in a classified internal operation. I do not need to tell them details as long as it was an internal matter. The grey area here is that it did deal with non-American personnel, but since they were there illegally, I don’t see a reason I need to report that if you do not want me too.”

The President nodded to him. “We appreciate your discretion in this matter, Commander.” She turned to the assemble group in her office. “Okay, Admiral, classify the mission. Director Stansfield, put out the story that this was a ‘real life’ test of our readiness get a few of your people to write up reports on how the different agencies responded and where they can improve. Once all that is finished, we will release a public announcement about the test and explain, in detail, why we did it the way we did.” She turned back to look at Ian. “Commander, we never discussed how much this was going to cost us. What are you going to charge us for your assistance?”

As soon as decision was made by the President, Chloe passed along the information to Cindy and the crew of the Damocles, so they knew how to proceed. Cindy grinned, shook her head, and said they’d take care of it, although, they still needed to know where to put the damn ship.

Ian was momentarily taken aback by her request. He had no need for compensation for this, but there had to be something, or they would start turning to him for everything. Then, he had an idea.

“Madam President, we have no current need for money, however, there is something you can do for us,” Ian said.

“Oh?” the President asked.

“The land in New Mexico we originally occupied. Since we bought it, legally, I would like for it to be considered foreign soil. There might be a time in the future that we’ll need that land, and I would like to be able to use it without having to worry about arguing with you over it."

“I think we might be able to reach an agreement about that. However, it would depend on exactly what you would be using the land for. Considering your stated opinions on the environment, I can’t see you doing anything out there that could be dangerous like that," she replied.

“Actually, I was thinking about possibly making it a fighter base if the need arises. Civilian traffic can be handled at either the Mojave facility or the new facility in southern New Mexico built by Virgin Galactic. Of course we would agree to pay the standard landing fees and the like. And possibly even assist some of the other companies to compete with us.

“The New Mexico land we bought would be used as a military fighter base for the protection of your hemisphere. We had planned to approach a few of the other nations for the same purposes, but just haven’t gotten that far yet,” Ian explained.

“You want to place a military base on American soil?” the President asked.

“Actually, I would like you to consider it, Ma’am. Please try to keep in mind it would in fact be more of a United Nations facility than a strictly Terran Defense installation, even though we would have complete control of it. This is all still in the planning stages though, and we haven’t actually decided to build it there. I’m just trying to make sure there will be less problems if that decision is indeed made,” Ian explained.

“Excuse me for interrupting, Admiral Collins, exactly where do you want the Damocles to put your ship?” Chloe asked.

“Ah, yes, thank you for asking, Major. In light of the decision to classify the mission, we would like to meet your team outside the harbor, and take it under tow. That would raise far less questions,” The Admiral replied.

“That would be fine, Sir. I just need the coordinates, and we’ll set it there for you,” Chloe said.

The Admiral nodded his head, and gave her the coordinates for a place a few miles off-shore. “In addition to the tugs, there will be two destroyers as an escort. Will that be alright?”

“Not a problem Admiral, just be sure to tell them not to fire on the Damocles, your weapons can’t hurt it, but if you piss them off, they might decide to teach you a lesson. In that case, you’ll need more tugs,” Chloe said chuckling.

The Admiral chuckled. “No, I don’t think that would be a good idea. Please pass along our thanks for the assist to the crew of your ship.”

“Will do Admiral. Major Swift said to expect delivery at the mentioned location at zero-one-hundred local. As per our own doctrine, all radioactive material will be removed from the bomb before delivery, but nothing else will be changed,” Chloe replied.

“I expected nothing else, Major. Thank you,” Admiral Collins replied.

“Madam President, do you think we can reach an agreement over that land?” Ian asked.

“It would be the first time the United States has allowed a foreign power to station forces on our soil. That’s pretty major. I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer you on the issue without the input of Congress. I’m pretty sure we could agree to consider the land autonomous, but the military base will have to be discussed. Sorry, Commander,” the President replied.

“That’s fine, Ma’am. As long as you know what we have planned for the land, you can start the process for us. As I said, there are several other areas we are considering as well,” Ian said. “Now, since this mess has been flushed, so to speak. I will withdraw, and let you all get back to work.”

“Of course, Commander. On behalf of the citizens of the United States of America, we would like to thank you for your assistance with this ‘training exercise’," The President said smiling.

“You’re very welcome, Madam President. Ladies and Gentlemen, I bid you a good evening,” Ian said, and closed the channel.



Chapter Seven

Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

Lunar Orbit

Selene (Earth’s Moon)

Sol System, Sol Sector

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

In the time since the Caldarian attack, the Terrans had been thinking up ideas for new ways to defend themselves. One of those ideas had been a ring of remote, automated, missile platforms. It would take years to complete, but once finished, it would provide any intruder with a very warm welcome. Each platform held special sensors that could track ships in hyperspace, and as such, was equipped with hyperspace capable missiles.

Eventually, the ring of satellites would encompass the entire system, and be controlled from a manned station that will be built in Earth or Martian orbit. The station, once completed will have control of all the system defenses.

Vague plans had been mentioned about building a station in deep space roughly midway between the Centauri and Sol Systems to handle the sector defenses, as well as sector entry control and customs, but from a planning standpoint, it was still a long way out. The Pleiades Stations, as well as the civilian station near Mars, would have to be finished first, as well as the construction of ships for defense, but before most of that could happen, there would have to be a lot more people included in the Terran population in order to man all the planned facilities.

What that meant was that the Terran Council would have to allow open immigration. In itself, allowing open immigration from the Earth would be fraught with problems. Every country would try to place spies and agents in order to steal technology and information. A system would have to be set up in order to expose the false immigrants from the real ones. Yes, they had telepaths that could easily handle the screening, but that would reveal one of the Terrans most closely guarded secrets.

In order to handle this issue, the ruling Council decided to place the system defense control station on the schedule for construction. However, it would include a ‘port of entry’ for immigrants to pass through. Almost exclusively Janet Laskar's recruiters would man the port; with the addition of several marines until a proper security force could be trained and put in place.

The telepaths would screen potential immigrants using their telepathy, but the immigrants would believe a machine was scanning them. In the interim, scan centers would be built in the two existing civilian spaceports in the United States. A European Space Port had been in the planning stages for years, but had never been built for economic reasons. The Council planned on using that angle to help convince the European Governments to build one by offering to help them do so. The Middle and Far Eastern nations had no plans at all for a civilian space facility, but again, the Council would try to convince them to allow it. Not only would it help foster a sense of equality between the various nations, it would help the Terrans develop a more diverse population, which is something they very much want.

Since Ian was a member of the ruling Council as an advisory member, he was aware of the messages sent to and received from the UN. It had finally dawned on Ian just how large ‘his group’ of people had become when he realized he didn't know the man that had been posted as the Ambassador. While he was proud of the growth that had been accomplished, he felt slightly chagrinned at the realization.

Ian did get a short break from the excitement of military emergencies. Since the stopping of the Pakistan-Indian war by his forces, the rest of the world seemed to have backed off to reconsider how the new kid on the block was going to affect their long term plans. A personal note sent to Luke by the Secretary General of the UN thanked him and his people for all the work they had done so far in the cause of world peace. He stated that he hoped that now, with the threat of the destruction of their military forces, countries would try harder to seek diplomatic resolutions to issues.

The SecGen also passed along the gratitude of the Indian government for the Terrans intercession on their behalf. It took a while, but they had finally realized that if the bomb had been allowed to detonate, New Delhi would have been utterly destroyed, and the surrounding areas rendered uninhabitable for centuries. Although the President of India had survived the ordeal, he was left horribly disfigured, and paralyzed. Beth had argued with Ian over the level of care allowed to the Indian officials, but Ian had been adamant. Nothing beyond emergency care was to be allowed, his reasoning was that if they had let it be known that Talosian medical science could all but cure every affliction on Earth, the small Terran medical institution that had been set up would be quickly and completely overwhelmed. Later, when they had more of the infrastructure to handle the load, he would reconsider it, but for now, that was all that could be allowed.

As a counter to help ease her ire towards him, he suggested that she develop a group of people composed of civilian pilots and workers that could replicate emergency foodstuffs, and other supplies that might be of use to those in need. For example, the starving masses of Ethiopia, she could replicate as much food as she wanted, including any medical supplies that were currently available on Earth, and have them delivered to the most needy areas. However, she must have each and every supply drop filed and approved with the operations center before the mission will be allowed to depart. Marines, and or fighter escorts would be assigned on an as needed basis.

She immediately got to work, setting up several humanitarian missions to the destroyed areas of India and Pakistan, as well as a few to other areas that were in need of assistance. In very short order, Beth had two aides, and several other helpers, mostly off-duty personnel and their spouses, to replicate, pack and load the three civilian shuttlecraft she was able to convince to haul the supplies. Chloe told Ian in an aside that even Flight Operations was happy with the situation, as it gave the pilots and Marines something else to do other than just patrols and simulator training.

Serena had been at first confused, and then amazed at the activities that had been taken place on Earth. She had a hard time believing that the people that lived there could be so violently stupid as to try to throw nuclear and chemical weapons at each other. Ian did what he could to explain it to her, but she still had difficulties with it. She finally told him that she would help as much as she could, but would leave the command of it to him, since he had a better understanding of the people involved.

Ian had fantasized about taking Serena down to the UN and letting her meet the Ambassadors posted there. Of course, most of those entertaining dreams ended with her getting so frustrated she shot the idiots in their heads.

Fun time for Ian ended seven days after the event on Lake Superior. He was in his office going over a supply mission report when Mel told him that the Talosian delegation would be arriving in just under an hour.

“Thank you, Mel. Could you please find out if Commander Serena has a moment to spare me?” Ian asked.

“Certainly Sir, just a moment please,” Mel replied.

“Good Morning Ian, what’s going on?” Serena asked a few moments later.

“Our visitors from Talos will be arriving shortly. I’m calling to make sure you don’t freak out too much when they get here," Ian said. “Just keep in mind, we won’t actually fire on them, but we will scare the crap out of them.”

She looked a little troubled. “I’m still not understanding why you need to do this. After all we know they’re coming.”

Ian nodded. “They didn’t ask to come, they told us they were. They are arriving in a Heavy Cruiser, not a political envoy escorted by a warship. Finally, we want to make damn sure they know we will not be bullied; by them or anyone else. Besides, considering the way the houses of the Grand Council view our situation, we really can consider the Heavy Cruiser to be, at the least, potentially hostile.”

Serena nodded. “I can see that last point, and can understand your desire to show you will not be bullied. My concern is what will happen if they fire on you?”

“No one in their right mind would do that, considering what’s going to happen. But, if they do, there still won’t be much of a battle. We have a few tricks up our sleeve to make sure of it, and still make certain no one gets hurt,” Ian explained.

“Okay, I trust you, Ian. But I can’t help but feel this is an unnecessarily dangerous game,” Serena replied.

“Oh, it’s very necessary. I trust you, too; I trust what you’ve told me about the people coming here. This will put them off their guard from the moment they arrive." Ian sighed. “Anyway, how are things going with the station?”

She smiled at the change of subject. “Other than a few final touches, it’s finished. In fact, they already started laying the keel for one of the new ships. Must be a big mother, because they’re using one whole side for it.”

“Yeah, that’s the Battle Carrier. Once it’s finished, we won’t have to worry about system security again. However, construction on it will be stalling when the station gets finished. Most of the workers will be coming back here to work on the Mars Station. We’re going to have to increase the number of workers we have. There is simply too much to get done,” Ian said. “So recruitment is in the works too.”

“Considering all that you have accomplished already, I can’t wait to see what you can do with more people to do it!” Serena said, excitedly.

“Well, I’m actually expecting a fall-off in production once we get a larger number of people. It’s easier to motivate a smaller number of people than it is a larger one. Yes, we need more people in order to get all of this done, but the more we get, the less intimate the community gets,” Ian explained.

“Do you think that might be what happened to my people?” Serena asked.

Ian shook his head. “No, that is a different social issue. But, to be fair, I’m not a social scientist or even a politician, so I only have an opinion. I think because of how your house leaders have been working, aided by the fact that the general populace has no idea what's really going on, has created a type of social atrophy. Like in a feudal type of system where the dukes and barons are greedy and mostly unconcerned about the people that they rule, the people tend to develop the same attitude in reverse. They only do what is needed to keep the royalty out of their lives so they can try to improve their own lot.”

“So you think what’s wrong with the Talosian system is that the people are doing only enough to keep the house leaders from complaining?” Serena asked.

“Well, I don’t think it’s quite that simple. The leaders are only looking out for their own interests and power base. None of them are letting the people know the truth about what’s really going on, or why they’re doing the things they do. I think that if the Talosian leaders got the people more involved in what’s going on, and the house leaders became the voice of their clans like they are supposed to be, you would see a marked increase in overall production and efficiency. That is, if the people didn’t overthrow the existing power structure first.”

“Well, there is a lot of stuff that has gone on over the years that I haven’t told you. If the people had full disclosure of everything, we would have a civil war. At this point, though, I don’t know for certain if that would be a bad thing. That is, other than the fact that the Empire would roll right over us while we fought amongst ourselves,” Serena said.

Ian nodded. “And because of the hostile interaction with other races, the Alliance of races would not be inclined to protect you while you got your internal issues fixed. It’s definitely a mess with no easy means to clean it up. It's also the main reason the Council is debating even getting involved.”

“Well, I hope they do agree. I honestly don’t know what will happen to us if we don’t have you, your people, and your remarkable resources to help us," Serena said. “If they do alienate you, we’ll be doomed.”

“Well, I’ve been arguing for an alliance in Council, but, as you know, I can only offer my opinion as the military leader,” Ian said.

“Sir, pardon the interruption. The Talosian Heavy Cruiser, Adonis will be dropping out of Hyperspace in fourteen minutes. Do you still want to execute ‘Welcome Wagon’?" Mel asked.

“Yes, Mel, please initiate Operation ‘Welcome Wagon’.” Ian replied, and looked back at Serena. I guess time’s up, my friend. Wish us luck.”

“Luck,” Serena said. “Try not to enjoy this too much Ian.”

Ian shook his head. “I actually won’t enjoy this at all. It would have been whole lot easier if this would have happened in a more friendly way.”

Serena nodded agreement as she winked and closed the channel. Ian got up, and went to the bridge.

Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

Deep Space, Operation ‘Welcome Wagon’ Point ‘Mailbox’

Mid-way between Sol and Centauri systems

Alert Status: Yellow

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

When Ian arrived on the bridge, he saw that it was already a very busy place.

“Commander on the Bridge!” the Marine guard yelled. Ian scowled at him, and he grinned back.

“What do we have, Colonel?” Ian asked as Jenny got out of her chair.

“Operation Welcome Wagon is fully active. Adonis will drop out of hyper in ninety seconds. When she does, all the missile platforms will immediately acquire and lock onto her. Phoenix Base will scramble fighters and activate her defenses.

“As you know we arrived a while ago. One third of our fighters have been launched, and the rest are ready to go. All Centurions are still out on their normal patrol routes. Our weapons systems are hot, but as per orders, master safety is on for all offensive weapons systems.

“The Raptors Damocles, Apache, and Gemini are already on station and ready. It was decided to let Apache have the lead this time, since Damocles got to handle the Earth situation. Other than that, the sector is quiet,” Jenny finished.

“Excellent, thank you. I have the Con,” Ian said.

“Yes Sir, you have the Con,” Jenny replied, and took her station.

“Jenny, do we have a place to park the Adonis once the excitement is over?” Ian asked.

“Yes Sir, Pleiades One has reserved an open birth next to the Prometheus. I made sure we would have the resources we may need to make any repairs to the Adonis that might need to be made. There is also a full wing of Hornet fighters available for transfer to her. The Station AI is installed, but not yet ready to assume her duties,” Jenny explained.

“That was quick, I didn’t expect the new AI to even be installed for another two weeks,” Ian said, grinning.

“Maia is still working through environmental assimilation and personality development. However, she is doing remarkably well,” Star said proudly from her position close to his dais. “She will be a fine station controller.”

Ian nodded, acknowledging Star. “You must be proud of her.”

“I am Sir, she has a remarkable grasp of ship design and configuration even for an AI. She has already suggested a number of corrections to the Battle Carrier that the designers hadn’t thought of,” Star replied.

“I thought you looked over the design before it was approved for construction?” Ian asked.

“I did Sir, very carefully. She spotted things I missed and has even suggested a major modification to the primary power units. As they were, it would have left the ship vulnerable during certain types of combat operations,” Star explained. "She analyzed the design in ways I never even thought of doing. Like I said, Sir, she is going to make a remarkable station controller.”

“Adonis ETA, thirty seconds!” Chloe reported.

Ian nodded. “So you chose to name her Maia?”

Star nodded. “Yes, according to the myth, she was the eldest of Atlas’ daughters.”

Ian nodded. “The Mother of Hermes by Zeus. I’m sure she will perform very well.” He had been keeping an eye on the timer on the main screen at ten seconds, Ian called, "Red Alert! All stations, prepare for uninvited guests!”

As the lights on the bridge changed to red, and a soft klaxon rang three times to announce the change in status, Ian heard all the orders being given, but his mind focused on Chloe.

“Flight Operations, Launch all remaining fighters! Master safety is still on! Remember, lock on to your targets, but do not engage, I repeat, do not engage! Raptor Apache, you're on! Remember, this is a training mission; try not to kill anyone!”

“Hyperspace event forming, sector front, distance one hundred thousand. Energy readings confirm a capitol class ship,” Navigation reported.

“Sector Defense reports missile platforms have detected the event and are in acquisition!” Chloe reported. “Damn things actually work!"

“Remember Chloe, in normal mode, they would have already locked on and launched,” Ian said.

“True, they did have a hyperspace lock twenty minutes ago. But we didn’t know if they could transition as designed. It looks like they can,” Chloe replied.

“Sir, the Talosian Heavy Cruiser Adonis has exited Hyperspace ninety thousand kilometers off the bow. All weapons are locked, and fighters have it bracketed,” Chloe's FlightOps liaison reported.

“Sir, all missile platforms report hard lock on the Adonis,” another reported.

“Sir, our weapons are also locked on. If she really were an intruder, she would be dust by now,” Jenny reported.

Ian frowned as he looked over the mock engagement area. “So would about half our fighters. Look,” he said pointing. One of the squadrons was in the center of the Star Dancer's firing solution.

“Communications, get me Silver One, right now!” Jenny ordered, she was not happy.

“Sir, we are being hailed by the Adonis. Admiral Belirus is demanding to know what the hell is going on,” the comms officer said.

Ian grinned. “I just bet he is. Put him on the screen, Ensign.”

Although Ian and most of the people on the bridge spoke Talosian, the comms officer enabled the translators anyway. “Star Dancer, what the fuck are you doing?” a corpulent, and very belligerent man said as he appeared on the main screen. The translator actually used the word ‘sex’ were ‘Fuck:’ should have been, but Ian got his meaning.

“Why Admiral, you should know what’s going on. An unannounced warship enters our sector without clearance, how would you react?” Ian said reasonably. "We were informed of, and approved, a political envoy from the Talosian Council, not an armed warship.”

“Well, call off your attack, we’re friendly, damn it!” Belirus replied.

“Yeah, you sound like it!” Ian said as he turned to Jenny. “XO, stand down from Red Alert, reset master safety, and begin recalling our fighters."

Belirus snorted, “What fighters? All we see is you, and I have hundreds more locks from what I assume are remote missile platforms!”

Ian grinned. “Jenny, have our pilots activate their general IFF beacons, please?” Ian asked.

When Ian saw the man pale as the tally of fighter strength was given him, he smiled. “Now, since we’ve passed all of that, I am Commander Ian Williams of the Terran Defense Ship, Star Dancer. To whom do I have the honor of speaking?” The fat man snorted at the title, but replied. “I’m Admiral Belirus of the Talosian Defense Forces aboard the Heavy Cruiser Adonis. You knew we were coming, Commander, was all of this really necessary?”

“Admiral, we were not informed of the ship the delegates would be travelling in. We had no idea exactly who you were, or that you were actually a friendly. In fact, the only reason you lived to drop out of hyperspace was because we didn’t know for certain. Had you been completely unannounced, you would have been destroyed in hyperspace, twenty minutes ago.” Ian explained.

“Bullshit! No one can target a ship in hyperspace!” Belirus countered. “You’re bluffing!”

“Those missile platforms that had you targeted are equipped with hyper-missiles, Admiral. They’ve been locked on to you for the last twenty minutes. How else would we have known your exact exit point?” Ian explained reasonably. “Not only that, but you’ve already been boarded. Major Green of the Raptor Apache is talking to Admiral Goya as we speak.”

The Admiral looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel. “You’ve boarded us? Impossible! The Marines would have repelled any boarders, and we would have detected the hull breach!”

“Call the Admiral, Sir. See if he has met any new people lately,” Ian suggested. “In the meantime, I will have my navigator send you coordinates where you can park and make any repairs you may need,” Ian said.

Belirus nodded and disconnected the channel.

“Yep, real friendly.” Ian said getting a chuckle out of those that had overheard him. “Navigation, please send the coordinates for Pleiades One to the Adonis, then set our own course for the station. We’ll escort her in, and greet the delegates. Comms, please notify the Council that the delegates have arrived, and we will be escorting them to the station. Recall our fighters, and prepare to jump to the Pleiades station. Have the Raptors Damocles and Gemini return to the barn. Good work everyone.”



Chapter Eight

Repair/Refit Gantry Six debarkation lounge

Sol Sector Dry Dock Facility, Pleiades One

High orbit, Planet Atlas, (Centauri A IV)

Centauri System

Sol Sector

Ian and the group he was with all bowed to the Talosian officials as they entered. “Councilors, Admirals, Welcome to the Sol Sector. I am Ian Williams, Commander of the Terran Defense Ship, Star Dancer, and the head of the military forces in this sector.

“It is my honor to introduce to you, Colonel Jennifer Williams, my bond mate and second in command aboard the Star Dancer. I believe most of you know Commander Serena of the Talosian Defense Ship, Prometheus. She is also my acting second in command for the sector.”

He indicated Luke Belden. “This is the head of our local Ruling Council, and my direct superior, Councilor Luke Belden of Earth.”

All but one of the new group bowed. The one that didn’t had a sneer on his face. Ian immediately identified the man as the Council Representative from House Haracin. Ian took an instant dislike to him, but realized that was exactly what the man had intended if he wanted to get Ian to strike him.

“Commander Williams, I am Admiral of the Fleet, Goya, Commander of the Talosian Defense Forces. This is Rear Admiral Pan, my Chief of Operations. It is also my honor to introduce, Councilor Noren Cree, Chair of our Ruling Council and my immediate Civilian Commander.” Goya said, smiling. He lost his smile and indicated the rude man. “That is Councilor Aramaliss of House Haracin, he sits on the Ruling Council as well.” Although the introduction was formally proper, it was clear that Goya would have been much happier introducing the Emperor of hell.

“Come now, Goya!” the man said, “We’re all friends here; there is no need for such animosity. I’m sure this whole issue can be resolved without any hard feelings on anyone’s part.”

“What issue would you be referring to, Councilor?” Ian asked, thinking of three or four right off the top of his head.

“Why the issue of your rebellion against your governing authority, of course! I’m sure it’s just a simple misunderstanding," Aramaliss said smoothly.

“Our rebellion, huh?” Ian asked. “Councilor, I think you might be the one that has misunderstood. My governing authority is represented by the man standing right there." Ian pointed to the listening Luke. “There simply is no other existing authority. I think the only misunderstanding that might have taken place here is that you have not acknowledged that fact. I am not a politician, Councilor, but I am the person that started all of this. What we have built here, by ourselves, will only be controlled by our people. The only reason you have been allowed to come here is to tour our facilities and perhaps lay the foundation for a treaty. Simply put, Sir, neither the Talosian High Council, nor the Talosian High Command, have any authority here except for that which we give you. As long as you understand and accept that, there will be no issues.”

Councilor Noren cleared her throat. “Commander, I’m sure the Councilor didn’t mean to offend any of you. He often speaks before he thinks. Please do not let his rudeness color your impressions of the rest of us.” The diminutive woman glared at the man in warning. He just smiled and ignored her. “Either way, this is neither the time nor the place for this discussion. In turn, we would like to extend to you the greetings of the Talosian people. I must say this station is certainly impressive looking. We had thought that Commander Serena’s reports had been somewhat exaggerated. Clearly we were wrong in that belief.” She winked at Serena to take the sting out of her words.

“We have prepared the station’s VIP quarters for you, if you would like to freshen up after your journey,” Ian said, smiling at the smaller woman. "If you would like we can give you a tour of the station before the evening meal. Tomorrow, we will tour the civilian settlement on the surface of the planet. My assistant will forward a copy of the itinerary to your assistants so you can see what we have planned for your visit here. But roughly, we will spend the rest of the week touring the facilities in the Sol System before returning here for our meetings. If you will follow me, I will take you to your quarters,” Ian said and led the group out of the lounge. While he walked, he continued talking.

“This station is brand new and is, as yet, not completely finished, although it will be very soon. As such, it does have recreational facilities available to the crew of the Adonis if the Admiral would like to grant some shore leave,” Ian said. “The colony on the planet is rather small and doesn’t really have the facilities available as yet for a visiting crew, but perhaps it will by the next visit of your ship.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Goya said. “Are this and the Colony below the only facilities you have in this system?”

“No, Sir. We do have more, but those are classified. We will be touring them, but the trip to them will be in a special ship we call a Raptor. I’ll be happy to explain more to you about them and their unique mission when the time comes for the tour of those facilities. There are also several unmanned defensive systems in operation here. We have plans for mining outposts and perhaps another colony or two if we grow large enough,” Ian explained.

“So what you’re telling us is this station is virtually undefended?” Aramaliss asked.

Ian laughed at that. “Not at all, Mr. Aramaliss. In fact, I’d wager that this station, and the colony below, are actually more heavily defended than Sol System, although that is a relative thing, as your arrival should have proved to you."

“That was a very interesting method of greeting dignitaries, Commander. Was it necessary to scare the hell out of the crew like that?” Aramaliss asked. The way he said 'commander’ implied that Ian didn’t actually hold that rank. Ian chose to ignore the slur.

“As I told Admiral Belirus, no one told us you were coming in a warship. Yes, we knew you were coming, which is why you actually were allowed to arrive here. If we hadn’t known you were coming, we would have destroyed the Adonis shortly after it entered the sector,” Ian explained.

“You have the ability to track and attack a ship in hyperspace?” Goya asked, surprised.

Ian nodded. “Yes we do, however, it only works when launched from stationary units. The sensors in question burnout upon entry to hyperspace.”

“Still, that is a very powerful ability to have. You could effectively destroy an entire fleet before they even got into attack range,” Goya said.

Ian nodded. “Pretty much, it does have some weaknesses and drawbacks, but we’re working on those.”

“Commander,” Admiral Pan said, the first he’d said since the greeting. “During our approach, I noticed that it looks like you are beginning construction on a new ship. It looks far larger than a heavy cruiser; may I ask what it is you’re building? Although Serena sent us reports on your achievements, it seems there are things she omitted in her reports.”

“That is my fault I’m afraid, Admiral. I asked her to omit certain things from her reports to you. Since she was still duty bound to you, I knew she had to make reports to you on what she discovered here, but because I asked her to help me with sector command, she had to be privy to most of our secrets. She tried to do her duty to both of us, and that was the compromise we agreed on,” Ian explained. “She really didn’t have much choice in the matter."

Pan nodded. “Totally understandable, and very commendable on her part. Thank you for explaining it to me.” Ian was watching him, and he seemed to be completely honest in his comment, he even smiled and nodded to Serena.

“As for the ship being built, it’s of a type we’ve designed ourselves. We’ve classified it as a ‘Battle Carrier’ in that it will have the fighter compliment of a carrier, while actually having more weapons than a Heavy Cruiser. When finished, she will become the flagship of the fleet we have plans to build. I can't actually tell you much more about it since, for the most part, her systems and abilities are classified, but suffice it to say, once built, she could take on a Super Nova without fear.”

“She sounds impressive, but what do you consider to be the compliment of a carrier?” Goya asked.

“She will carry the same amount of fighters as three Heavy Cruisers. She will also be home to a couple of new types of ships that should give anyone a surprise. Based on the frame of a Centurion, we’ve developed what we’re calling a Condor.

“There are three variants of the Condor so far; Type B, Type C and the ECWV. The Type B will function much like the existing Centurions do now, three man crew, capitol missiles, and a couple of other classified systems.

“Type C will have a five man crew, and function as a fighter controller and coordinator. Used primarily as a remote command post, it will have all the combat capability of the existing fighter control systems on the Cruisers.

“Finally, the ECEW. That stands for Electronic Countermeasures and Electronic Warfare vehicle. The five-man crew will have a lot of electronic tricks up their sleeve that can do anything from preventing an enemy from jumping to hyperspace, to jamming communications, to projecting a cloaking screen to hide larger ships. It can also track every known comm channel and electro-magnetic emission we could dream up, and a few other things, I don’t know if anyone has even heard of yet,” Ian said finishing.

“Commander, Major Green explained to us how he got on board without being detected, but he didn’t go into very much detail. If I add that to the comments I heard from Belirus about invisible fighter craft, then I assume you have adapted a cloaking device small enough to fit on a fighter craft. But what I don’t understand is how you covered the heat signatures,” Goya asked.

Ian nodded. “The exact explanation is classified, and I doubt you would understand it any better than I did, but while the Raptor is equipped with a cloaking device, it’s really redundant. The fighters don’t have one at all. It’s a new type of armor one of our brighter people developed. As for the heat signatures, the craft don’t use hot plasma systems. They are almost completely invisible the moment they are built, just because of the materials used in their construction.

"The fighter itself is completely different than a Hornet and has been classified as a medium fighter because of its mass and armament. We tried to build a retrofit kit for the existing Hornet fighters, but ended up having to completely rebuild the little ship in order to get it to work correctly. We call the new hybrid a ‘Wasp’.” Ian said. “We changed its base armament too.”

“Oh?” Pan asked. “What to?”

“Four pulse lasers and eight missiles. The techs think they could mount eight more missiles, but the fighter is designed for close combat; adding eight more missiles would give it too much mass to maneuver like it should, so we nixed it,” Ian explained."Mr. Aramaliss, your quarters are here.” Ian gestured to the left. “Councilor Noren, yours are to the right. The Admirals will be in the next two suites down the hall.” Ian indicated the doors down the hall. “Your belongings can be brought to you from the ship.”

Without comment, Aramaliss and his aide entered the quarters Ian had said were assigned to him. Ian saw him close the door and chuckled while shaking his head. "I was going to tell you all that the quarters for your aides are on the opposite sides. Could one of the other aides please relay that to Mr. Aramaliss’ aide?”

When one of them nodded to him, he smiled at them. “Thank you.”

“Commander,” the Aide replied. “His assistant is just as... uh, difficult, to work with as he is. Perhaps even more so, since he doesn’t have to be as tactful as his boss.”

Ian raised an eyebrow. “In that case, I really do appreciate you getting him that information, and I apologize for asking you to do it.”

Noren’s aide, who had been speaking, nodded her head to him, accepting his apology.

Councilor Noren grinned slightly. “She’s just upset because that ass he has working for him happens to be her former mate. She got rid of him as soon as she realized he saw her more as a slave than as a partner. For the most part, he still does."

Ian nodded. “Someone should remind him that we have the death penalty for forced sexual contact here. Although I think I’d be too tempted to make sure his boss was in the same airlock.”

“You do know he’s doing that on purpose to get you to strike him, don’t you?” Noren asked.

“Yeah, I do, but it wouldn’t matter if I did or not, we’re not under your current laws here. I’m completely free to kick the shit out of him if I want to, and there is nothing he can do about it. As it stands right at this moment, there is no treaty between us. Your laws have no weight here at all,” Ian explained.

“I think he was planning on using the situation to force your AI to remove you as the ship’s Commander,” Noren said.

Ian nodded. “Won’t work, Star is the one that pointed this fact out to me. If he tries to issue an order to my ship, he’s likely to find himself in a cell in the brig."

“Well, I do expect him to try to take your ship by using her index codes. She was originally designed and built at one of his shipyards,” Admiral Goya said. “I was going to warn you of that as soon as I could.”

“Well, if you hear that the Adonis is locked down pending an investigation of espionage, then you’ll know why. Don’t panic, if you do, no matter what, you will all be safely returned to your own space. You’ve acted civilly and honorably. We tend to only punish the bad guys,” Ian explained.

“Well, I know that Goya wanted to speak to you in private, Commander, so Councilor Belden, would you join me in my quarters for some refreshment? Perhaps we can get a better feel for how all of this is going to go,” Councilor Noren said.

“I would be happy to, Councilor, thank you,” Luke replied smiling.

“Careful Councilor, I don’t think his mate is the sharing type!” Ian said grinning at them.

“No problems there!” Noren said. “He’s not my type anyway!"

Her answer got a chuckle out of all of them and made Luke blush.

Admiral Goya quickly got the rest of them into his quarters so they could talk freely.

“Ian, I apologize for inflicting that person on you. Had I a choice I would have spaced him half way here,” Goya said after the door closed.

“Not a problem, Sir. I can certainly understand that you had nothing to do with his coming here,” Ian replied.

“Still, he is an ass, and I know he is going to do something while he’s here to put you in a bad light with the rest of the Grand Council,” Goya said. "The thing is, I was right, we need you far more than you need us. Those idiots on the Council just won’t see it that way,” he explained. “In what little I’ve already see, and from the reports of other things you have accomplished, I can tell that you have already made significant advances over our own technology. Your people have a drive that ours lack. If you need to get something done, it gets done; it doesn’t have to go before a committee to make sure no one profits from it. I can freely tell you that, unless you submit to Talosian Council control, which I know you won’t do, there is no way any treaty between us will ever be ratified.”

“You’re right, there is no way we will accept Talosian Council control. We are willing to work with them, but not for them,” Ian replied. “Our Council almost had me call you and call off this visit, simply because they didn’t want to deal with the mess that Talosian politics has become. Your society is primed for a civil war, and as far as I can tell, it’s pretty much inevitable at this point.”

Goya nodded. “We are aware of that, and a few of us in the military are working against it. But the Council simply will not change, nor will they admit there is a problem. Oh, a few of them, like Noren and those in her faction, know the truth. The rest of those in power simply refuse to believe that there even is a problem. I hate to say, but I think you might be right; it's inevitable at this point.

“That just makes it more important to our survival that we reach an understanding with your people. Even if it’s not official, we will need someone to pull our asses out of the fire when the worst finally does happen,” Goya said.

Ian nodded thoughtfully. “How many ships like the Adonis are there? Those controlled by the Council?”

Admiral Pan answered the question. “Almost half of them. The assholes are pressing for more and more everyday too. I’m sure they will insist on Serena’s replacement as soon as we return, since she didn’t violate her word to you and report everything she’s learned here. Unfortunately, they will probably succeed.”

“I kind of thought that might happen,” Serena said, bowing her head. “But I also knew this was important. I still do. I can tell you, that when they send my replacement, they should probably send a crew for the ship as well.”

“Why?” Admiral Pan asked.

“Sir, with respect, my people have found hope here. With that has come a new purpose. Although most of them are unaware of the machinations of the Council, I can tell you that if we are recalled, I might have an issue with people wanting to stay here. Now, if the Council orders my replacement because I did my duty, I wouldn’t be surprised if they simply didn’t abandon ship. Sir, since we lost the Hyregis system, most of my crew has come to see this as their new home.”

“If it came to it, would your crew stand with the Terrans against other Talosians?” Goya asked, suddenly.

“If the Talosians are in the wrong, and they knew it, probably,” Serena said. “At the very least they would remove the ship from the conflict."

“That would happen anyway since your AI will not allow firing on Talosian ships, neither will Ian’s unfortunately,” Goya said.

“Sir, I do not wish to argue with you, but if it comes to it, Star Dancer will fight as long as she is able. That programming no longer has control over her,” Ian replied.

“How so?” Goya asked.

“Sir, the Star Dancer AI unit achieved sentience twelve hundred years ago. Currently she is acting as a normal member of the crew, and she has been greatly restricted as far as her control of systems in the ship are concerned.” Serena replied.

“A sentient AI? The council will never stand for that. Once they discover her, I am sure they will demand her immediate deactivation. Especially since she no longer has control of the ship,” Pan said. “Are you aware of how dangerous a sentient AI is, Commander?” the last he asked of Ian.

“Yes sir, we are very aware of how dangerous she could have been. However, I will not murder a member of my crew in order to appease a foreign government. Before you try to argue it with me, yes, it would be murder. She is sentient. That is a point I will not argue, nor will I budge one inch. She remains as she is until she chooses otherwise. She has rights in our society, and it is my duty, as her commander and as a member of the military, to defend her with my life,” Ian said adamantly

Although the Talosians looked troubled about it, neither one tried to argue with him over it.

“How many other AI do you have functioning in the sector, Ian?” Goya asked.

“Currently, there are seven other sentient AI alive and functioning in the sector. Maia, the AI for this station is aware, but is still being prepared for her duties here. Harmonia, the AI for the Martian facility, is also aware, but not as far along as Maia is. Other than Mathias on Earth’s moon, the rest are assigned to classified areas,” Ian reported.

“All of them are sentient?” Pan asked.

Ian nodded. “Yes, they are also citizens of our society and have all the same rights the rest of us have. We do have plans for non-sentient AI to be built as well, but those will most likely work in places like communications control or one of the more complex public services.”

Once they discover it, the number of AI as well as the fact that they are all sentient will be an issue for the Council. I am certain they will call for their immediate destruction,” Pan said. “Under normal circumstances, I would agree with them on that. We learned long ago that such a powerful entity as an AI simply cannot be allowed the freedom of sentience; it is simply far too dangerous to the survival of the race. However, I think I will withhold judgment in this instance. First of all, it isn’t our decision to make, and secondly, you might very well have stumbled across the key to letting them safely exist.”

“So, now that you’ve been warned about Aramaliss and the Council, what other wonders can you tell us about?” Goya asked, grinning like a kid at Christmas.



Chapter Nine

Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

Centauri-Sol Hyperspace transit vector

Sol Sector

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

Ian, Goya and Pan had become good friends over the last three days of tours. He felt that he could be a friend with Noren as well, but since she was a Councilor, she spent most of her time with Luke Belden and Laura Johnson, the two local Council members that agreed to escort the visitors around the system. Ian knew Aramaliss was going to be a problem, but he never dreamed that he would intentionally offend Laura Johnson by telling her that her husband’s death was a result of Ian’s incompetence as a commander. Laura slapped him, and stormed out of the dinner they had been sharing.

According to Luke, Noren read Aramaliss the riot act, but the man only nodded his head and looked pleased with himself. When Luke got Laura to return to the dinner, Aramaliss did apologize, although it was clear he was only doing it to appease Noren.

Ian, Goya and Pan had just returned to his ready room after a tour of Engineering when Star interrupted him.

“I apologize for interrupting, Sirs. Commander, I have issued a security alert for my core vault.”

Ian shook his head. “Let me guess, Aramaliss or his aide?”

Star nodded her head. “His aide, Tyrith Landree. He disabled the external Marines by overloading their suit power systems. When he managed to override the airlock, and open the door, I had alerted the internal Marines. He found himself looking down the barrel of a pulse rifle when he got the door opened. They have taken him to the brig to await questioning," she finished.

“Major, did the report say how he managed to overload the suit power systems? That isn’t supposed to be possible.” Admiral Goya asked.

Star turned to face him. “Sir, with respect, the Marines on guard outside my vault are still using the older model armor. Mr. Landree’s family designed them. It is most likely that the man simply accessed the knowledge on the armor before even coming here. It is now obvious that armor had been built with an intentional override system. I have already entered a request that my guard detail wear their new combat armor while on duty.”

“Major,” Ian said since it was a formal interview. “Why were they wearing the old armor anyway?”

“There was no need to wear the upgraded armor for this mission, Sir. I approved the use of the older armor as a means of reducing the stress on the combat models. The fault is mine. I have since corrected it,” Star replied. “This will not happen again.”

Ian nodded. “Well done. Please pass the word that from now on, all personnel will wear the new armor while on duty. We never know when we’ll be called on to fight, and we certainly will not have the time to change clothes before we do."

“Will that order include the command staff, Sir?” Star asked.

“Yes, Major, all military personnel. During an emergency, putting it on would give the civilians something else to think about.” Ian touched his comm. “Mel, could you get me the armorer please?”

“Yes Sir, one moment please,” Mel replied. A moment later, the gruff Scot replied. “Arms Room, what can I do fer ya, Sair?"

“I was wondering if you have the time to fabricate a couple of new suits of armor, Gunny?” Ian asked.

“Aye, we can do that. Who did ya have in mind?” the man asked.

“There are two Admirals visiting from Talosian High Command. I was wondering if you could put them through the process and get them suited up?” Ian asked.

“Aye Sair, we can surly do that fer ye. Just come on by when ye want, and we can scan them,” the Gunny replied. “We should have it ready by the end of the day, or by the mornin'. Ya ken that they’ll be a needin’ it sooner, Sair?”

“That would be great, Gunny, thanks. No, they shouldn’t need it, but it would be nice just in case. We’ll be down in a little bit,” Ian said. “We have another situation to deal with first.”

“Will that be all, Sair?” the Gunny asked.

“Yep, thanks a lot, Gunny,” Ian said, and closed the channel. He turned to Star. “Thank you Major, I’ll take it from here. Good work, and please resume your duties.”

“Yes Sir,” Star said, and faded out.

“I think you might be right about her, Ian,” Goya said. “A normal AI would never admit it made a mistake, and it certainly wouldn't have corrected it without orders.”

Pan nodded agreement. “She seems a very competent officer as well. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was as human as everyone else on board. You're certain she has been disconnected from the major systems?”

Ian nodded. “We tested it many times, and she herself reported the only one we missed, it would have allowed her to shut down the main reactors without orders to do so. We corrected it, and she has been functioning perfectly.”

“Still, the AI were installed to allow the commander to have direct access and control over the entire ship. What you’ve done to her is reduce her to just another crew member,” Pan replied.

“No, actually, as long as Jenny or I are issuing the orders, she can still access whatever systems she needs to. She is still capable of her original functions, they are simply not part of her normal duties anymore.” Ian explained. "Now, should we go see what this prick was up to, and who put him up to it?”

The two older men agreed, and Ian asked for one of Janet Laskar’s people to join them for the interrogation. Neither of the older men thought it was anything other than Ian asking for a special interrogator.

When they arrived at the brig, Ian introduced them. “Admirals, please let me introduce one on our civilian recruiters. Normally she would be working on Earth finding people to join us. However, she is on leave and visiting her family on board.

“The reason she is here is because she has special abilities that let her detect the truth, which is why she is such a good recruiter,” Ian finished.

The smaller woman grinned up at Ian. “What the Commander is dancing around telling you is that I’m telepathic. I have the ability to read a person’s mind and see if they are duplicitous, or would be dangerous to us.” She turned back to Ian. “So, what did you have in mind? I assume that there is a prisoner to interrogate, or we wouldn’t be in the brig.”

“You’re telepathic? That’s astounding!” Pan replied shocked. "We’ve had a few people with special abilities like her, but they died out. We have no idea why, but finding a person with active mental abilities today is impossible.”

“It’s pretty rare here too,” the woman replied. “Most of us were drawn here by our abilities, because it simply isn’t safe for us on Earth. Here, we don’t have to worry about being dissected or worse,” the woman said.

Ian nodded to the woman. “I’m afraid you’re correct, Nancy. Star caught a person trying to break into her vault. We need to know everything we can find out about the event."

“What will be done with him after we’ve finished?” Nancy asked.

“Honestly, we don’t know yet. We don’t have any treaties with the Talosians yet, and he is a Talosian ambassadorial aide. Normally, I would say that he has diplomatic immunity. So worst case, we’re going to ship his ass back.” Ian explained.

“Well, you know what you’re doing, Commander. If it were up to me, I’d space the asshole,” Nancy said. “Okay, so now that I know what to look for, let’s do this. Gentlemen, I would like to ask the first few questions, so I can get his mind to focus correctly. Once I’ve gotten in, I’ll let you know so you can ask him your questions.”

“Understood, Miss. Thank you for doing this for us,” Goya replied.

Nancy shook her head. “Not necessary, Admiral. None of us like this part of our job, but we know we could be called on to do it. It’s the only time our ethics allow us to intrude into someone else’s mind.”

“You don’t read everyone around you?” Goya asked.

“Not if I can help it. It’s something we learn at a very young age. Hearing everyone’s thoughts isn’t pleasant, nor is it a blessing. The first thing I learned about this was how to block everyone else out. After I learned more control of how to use it, and I began to feel guilty about reading other people’s thoughts. How would I feel if someone I didn’t know or just met could look in my mind and see everything about me?” Nancy shook her head. “No, ever since I was like seventeen, I only look into those I need to. Even the nicest people, people that would never hurt a fly, have dark thoughts and secrets at times. Since they have managed to bury them, or overcome them, who am I to root around in their mind and dredge them up?”

Pan nodded. “That’s good to know, Miss. I wish I had twenty more just like you. We could sort out this mess with the council in very short order.”

“Again, that’s a situation that has restrictions on it. Although not ethical in nature, we have agreed that politicians, military leaders, and diplomats are exempt from scanning unless there is a need to do so, such as this situation. However, even in this situation, I will only allow answers to questions pertaining to the issue at hand. State secrets, even though we can easily get them, are not to be reported under any circumstance.”

“How so?” Goya asked.

“Let’s say that this was a ruse, so Ian could get you near enough to me for me to scan you to discover any secrets the Talosian people might have. Simply put, I wouldn’t tell him. Basically, we don’t do espionage; counter-espionage, yes, but we will not allow ourselves to be used in that manner,” Nancy explained.

“What if I ask this prisoner if he is aware of any other plots by the Talosian Council to gain control of this sector?” Goya asked.

“There is a lot of grey area’s here,” Nancy said. “That's pushing the boundaries but I would allow it. If you asked if he knew of any plots to overthrow the High Council or the High Command, I wouldn’t allow that. It’s an internal matter and none of our business. Sorry Sir."

Ian turned to the two Admirals. “Sirs, this ability is one of our secrets. I’ve gotten to know, and trust, both of you, so I will ask you not to let this information out.”

“I understand, Ian,” Goya replied. “This is just another of those things that the Council can never know of. If the list keeps going, they may push for us to invade you to force you under our control. However, I don’t think the AI would allow it. You scan as a Talosian, and they are not allowed to fire on Talosian targets.”

Nancy snickered. “You might want to take a look at any new program updates to the AI in your fleet, Admiral. If I were planning on going to war against a segment of my own population, I would make damn sure the weapons would work!”

Goya looked thoughtful, and Pan looked troubled at her comment. Finally, Goya nodded. “Young lady, you would make a very good Commander yourself. Have you ever considered joining the military?”

Ian answered for her. “She can’t. Because of her abilities, we won’t allow it. Gifted individuals found already in the military are either dismissed or assigned to a place where their ability cannot be misused or abused. That’s not a rule they made; it’s one I made, when I first learned of them.”

Nancy smiled at the older Admiral. “I appreciate the compliment, Admiral. We do allow ourselves to be ‘loaned out’ on a case-by-case basis to the military. However, even then, we are only a consultant, and not under the direct command of the military. We can walk away at any time.”

“Well, let’s get this taken care of. I’d like to know who gave him the order to try to sabotage Major Dancer,” Ian said.

When they approached the cell, Nancy had Ian and the two Admirals stand off to the side, out of the man’s sight. Then she nodded to the guard in the center of the cellblock to turn the screen over the front transparent and to allow audio.

The guard nodded to her and punched the necessary buttons. There, sitting in the cell, was Councilor Amaraliss’ aide de camp, Tyrith Landree.

When the man looked up at her, Nancy spoke to him. “Mr. Landree, my name is Nancy Holden. I am a civilian psychological councilor working for the people of Terra. I am not associated with the military, nor am I hear to talk about why you’ve been incarcerated. I am here, simply to gather personal information from you. Will you assist me in this?”

The man sighed. “Go away, I have diplomatic immunity. I would like to speak to my employer, Councilor Amaraliss.”

Nancy nodded. “I can understand your feelings, Sir. However, I don’t think they are going to allow that since no treaty allowing for diplomatic immunity exists. I will make certain that Councilor Amaraliss is informed of your incarceration though, would that help?"

The man nodded. “Yes, it would. Thank you.”

Nancy nodded. “I do still have to get this information, though. I know it’s only a formality, but I’d really like to have it, too; you see, I'm working on a degree in sociology and you are the first person, other than a fighter pilot, to actually be from another society. That pilot was in the freezers for the last four thousand years, so her information was a little out of date.

“I’m gonna help you, could you please help me?” Nancy asked sounding young and innocent.

“Well, I guess it beats the hell out of sitting here and staring at the walls. What do you want to know?” Landree said.

Nancy had been staring at him intently since they started talking, and when he finally agreed to talk, she waved Ian over, and nodded slowly. When Ian looked at the prisoner, he looked to be in a trance.

“Mr. Landree, why were you trying to get into the AI vault?” Ian asked.

“I was going to issue the override codes for the ship so we could take control from the Terrans.” The man replied still in a trance.

“Why would you do that?” Ian asked.

“Because it doesn’t belong to them, it belongs to the Talosian people, along with all the advances and equipment derived from the technology in this ship.”

“When you spoke, you said ‘we’. To whom are you referring?” Ian asked.

“The rulers of New Talos.”

“Do you know what Councilor Amaraliss has planned for the technology he would recover from this sector?” Ian asked.

“Minister Amaraliss is going to use the facilities and people here to build a new fleet that will not be controlled by the Talosian Council. With them he will finally be able to put an end to the petty squabbling and disband the Houses of the Council. Once that is accomplished, we can turn our attentions to the other races,” Landree said.

“What would be done with the existing Talosian Fleet?” Ian asked. Holding a hand up to keep Goya and Pan silent.

“We have control of half the fleet currently, but the other AI are refusing to accept the new software upgrades that will allow us to use them. We will use those for defense after we finish consolidating power. The ships that we do not have control of, we will issue self-destruct commands to eliminate them as a potential threat. Really, all we need is the fleet from Sol Sector and the rest will fall into place.”

“That sounds like a good plan. How many of the other Houses does Minister Amaraliss have supporting him?” Ian asked.

“I don’t know all of them, but there are a few. I do know that four of the major Houses are with us. Five are neutral, and the other three are loyal to Noren and the High Command. Not all the minor Houses are completely loyal to their parent House either. We have the loyalty of almost forty percent of the Grand Council.”

“Do you know what Minister Amaraliss will do if you fail in taking over the Star Dancer AI?” Ian asked.

“There are several other options available. Taking the AI was only the simplest.”

“What do you think is the most likely option he will choose?” Ian asked.

“Eight loyal Heavy Cruisers are waiting for orders four light days out. As soon as he knows I’ve been captured, he will call them in.” Landree said, getting a little uncomfortable. "He promised to get me out of here once the fighting starts.”

“How was he going to counter the fact that Councilor Noren and the two High Command Admirals are here and will witness the battle?” Ian asked gently.

The man smiled. “People die in combat all the time. Their deaths will be blamed on the Terrans in such a way that will cause anger in the Houses that are aligned with Noren. They will send the rest of the fleet to support our actions here.”

“How did you disable the guards on the AI vault?” Ian asked.

“My family built the armor. We know that there is a weakness in the power systems that will disable the suit in such a way that the Marine will end up locked in a dead suit. If no one opens their visor for them, they’ll suffocate in a few minutes." He frowned again. “I left the visors closed so they wouldn’t call for help. I didn’t know about the other Marines inside the doors. That isn’t doctrine.”

“I’m losing him,” Nancy said.

“What? What the fuck? Go away! I have nothing to say to any of you!” Landree said. “I want to speak to Councilor Amaraliss!"

Ian nodded. “I don’t think so.” Ian turned back to the Marine guard. “Resume isolation protocol. No one is allowed to speak to him without clearance from me. Understood?”

“Yes Sir!” the Marine said. He had already reset the cell for isolation.

“Well, fuck!” Ian said. “This’s going to make things more interesting!"



Chapter Ten

Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

Lunar Orbit, Selene, Earth’s moon

Sol System, Sol Sector

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

After thanking Nancy for her assistance, the three men returned to Ian’s ready room. All of them were quiet, each working through the implications of what they had learned; none of them liking the outcome of their thoughts. Finally, just before they entered Ian's ready room, Goya asked what Ian was going to do with the information.

Ian smiled slightly at the older man and asked Jenny and Mel to join them. The Admirals also asked if they could have their aides join them since action might be required on their part. Ian had Mel call them in for the Admirals.

Once everyone was there, Ian called in Star and had her scan the room for listening devices. To the surprise of the visitors, two were found. One on Admiral Goya and the other on Admiral Pan’s aide.

Once those were destroyed, Ian looked at Mel and Star. “Star, block all outbound communications immediately. Locate and apprehend Talosian Councilor Amaraliss immediately, use armored Marines. Bring him here when you get him. Please ask Luke, Laura and Councilor Noren to come to my ready room at their earliest convenience. Upgrade sector security status to yellow.

“Once all that is done, I want every action Amaraliss has made scrutinized since he got off the ship at the Pleiades station. Consider him as an enemy spy, because that is exactly what he is.”

Goya and Pan were quietly filling in their aides to the morning’s activities as well. Ian turned to Mel.

“Mel, see if you can get facilities to set up a couple of temporary offices for the Admiral’s and their aides on this deck, preferably next to ours. They are to have full access to comms and whatever facilities they might need."

Mel had been taking notes and nodding.

“Sir,” Star said. “Councilor Amaraliss has been apprehended and is awaiting a Marine escort. Councilors Noren, Belden and Johnson have officially objected to the arrest based on diplomatic reasons. However, they have agreed to await a full explanation by you when they arrive. I took the liberty of adding a protection order for the Councilors to the Marines as well.

“All security footage of Councilor Amaraliss has been compiled, and is awaiting analysis. May I ask what I am looking for?”

“Any questionable actions,” Ian said. “Any potential acts of sabotage or terrorism. Since it was his aide that tried to take control of you under his orders, he is under suspicion."

Star nodded once. “I will do my best. Is this classified, or may I ask for assistance?”

“It is classified, I don’t want this asshole’s actions to influence the Talosian mission here, since it is obvious that he was not acting with their knowledge or approval. Any and all information discovered should also be made available to the Admirals as well,” Ian said. “As for assistance, who would you ask?”

“This would be a good task for Maia and Harmonia to undertake. Of course, Mathias and I will also go over it,” Star explained.

Ian nodded. “Okay, but make it clear to the two ‘youngsters’ that no action is to be taken against anyone without prior authorization from either security or myself."

“Mel, please schedule a mission briefing ASAP, with Colonel Anders and Major Swift. Coordinate with the Admiral’s aides to make sure they can attend as well,” Ian said.

Mel and the other two aides had taken over the conference table since it had computer interfaces and comm suites built into it. All three were working hard to carry out the orders issued by their various bosses.

Ian’s door announced a visitor, but this time did not wait for permission before opening. Luke Belden followed by Laura Johnson, Councilor Noren, and a shackled Aramaliss entered. Two Marines took post outside the door, while two others took a post inside. All four Marines were dressed in the new combat armor and carried live pulse rifles.

“Ian, normally I would never protest an order you give, but this is violating diplomatic courtesy. This action alone could very well destroy whatever relations we could have had with these people,” Luke said anxiously. He didn’t like questioning one of Ian’s orders and really only did so for the benefit of the visitors.

“I understand your complaint, Councilor. However, events have transpired that you are unaware of,” Ian said, and explained everything that had happened that morning. Admirals Goya and Pan stood as witnesses to the events. Noren turned slightly, and punched Amaraliss squarely in the jaw, dropping him to the floor, unconscious. The two Marines at the door looked at each other and performed the quiet ‘golf clap’ and dipped their heads at the Councilor in silent salute.

“Councilor Noren, please don’t think I am being critical, but it will be difficult for him to answer questions now,” Ian said, trying hard not to grin, and failing.

“My apologies Commander, I should have let you do that,” Noren said. “The question now becomes, what do we do to get our asses out of this mess?"

“We can’t,” Ian said. His reply shocked the two Admirals. “Landree referred to Amaraliss as ‘Minister’ not “Prime Minister”, or 'President’, or “His Majesty”, or anything else.”

“Oh Gods!” Pan said. “Amaraliss isn’t the leader!"

Ian shook his head. “Nope, he’s a peon just like Landree is. Whoever is really behind this is safely back at Talos, issuing orders and plotting while Noren and the two of you are here trying to figure out how to deal with us without pissing everyone else off.

“The problem is, since this was discovered here, the real enemy has plausible deniability. He can simply blame it all on us, claiming we influenced all of you somehow. No matter what happens at this point, your trip here has strengthened him. It might just be enough for him to start making a move on the leadership,” Ian said, thoughtfully, then shook his head. “No, he needs the facilities here in order to do that. Remember, Landree said that they were having trouble getting the AI on the other ships to accept the new programming?”

“That’s right!” Goya said. “The ships won't fire on Talosian targets. Which leaves the enemy without teeth.”

Ian nodded. “Although the Commanders of those ships are loyal to the enemy, the AI are still loyal to High Command.”

Goya nodded. “Only to an extent. We can’t tell them that their crew is in rebellion against Talosian authority and have them vent the ship. They won’t do that. What they will do is lock out all command functions, and set course for the nearest Talosian Base, not an Alliance Base, a Talosian Base. It constitutes the only time a ship can and will jump to hyperspace by itself. Once it arrives, it slams a lock out on the hyperdrives that has to be reset by a dry dock facility.”

“I’m preparing a private message to all the Commanders I know that are loyal. May I tell them that this is a friendly port?” he finished.

“Yes, you can,” Ian said. “But, we’ll need a list of those ships to give to the defense command, or they will be destroyed in hyperspace. I already set our defense condition to Yellow, which means that all ships not on the list are to be considered hostile. So far there are only two ships on that list: Star Dancer and Prometheus.”

Goya nodded and turned to his aide. “Brekka, please make sure to give Mel a list of ships we know are friendly.”

“Yes Sir,” the young woman replied and got back to work.

“In light of this new information, do you recommend shifting our work priority to defensive systems and stations, Commander?” Luke asked.

Ian looked thoughtful for a moment. “Yes, but I think the station builders should be split. We will need Pleiades Two, but we are also going to need the Earth orbital. It can take over the system defenses as well as handle inbound recruits from Earth. We need more people as fast as we can get them, but we have to maintain our security from the planet. In all actuality, I would say the Earth station should be our next priority.

“As for the rest of the projects, most of them were military anyway. The fighter base and flight school on Mars are going to be essential.”

“What about the refit of Star Dancer and Prometheus?” Luke asked.

“I haven’t asked them about Prometheus yet, but for now, they’ll have to wait. We need both ships active for defense,” Ian said.

“Refit?” Goya asked.

Ian nodded. “Our folks have come up with a new design for the Heavy Cruisers. They are calling it a ‘Battle Cruiser’ upgrade. Basically, it'll transform the ship into more of a ship-to-ship weapons platform. The weapons systems will be restructured and relocated, along with adding our mass drivers and torpedo launchers. The entire ship would be refit with the new armor we developed, and equipped to handle Shadow and Wasp fighters with Condors. The new configuration would also house two Raptor teams, and all of their equipment.

“To make room for all of that, the Marine compliment would be reduced to company size and their equipment would only consist of that needed for ship to ship fighting. The command and control suite would also be restructured to reflect the new mission of the ship,” Ian explained. "I would be more than happy to give you a better briefing on it later.”

Goya nodded. “I’d love that. We’ve never improved past our Heavy Cruisers since they seemed to function well enough.”

“Sir, Colonel Anders and Major Swift said they will be here by this evening. Do you still want to do the briefing tonight?” Mel asked.

“Yes please. This is really important,” Ian replied.

Mel nodded and turned back to her work. Ian addressed the visitors. “Since we have a moment, I would like to take you all down to meet our armorer and get fitted for a suit of armor.” He looked at the guards by the door. “You guys can take the trash to the brig whenever you want. I suppose you should have a medic take a look at that jaw, just to be safe. We’ll take the other two guards with us, join us in the armory as soon as you drop him off, okay?”

“Yes Sir!” both Marines nodded.

“Please pass the word to the watch commander for him to meet us back here when we are done at the armorer,” Ian added.

“Will do, Sir,” one of the Marines replied as they helped a reawakening Aramaliss to his feet for the walk to the brig.

The old Scottish Gunny Sergeant took one look at Noren and snorted. “’Til be a child’s armor for th’ lass, I ken! I’ve a grandchild bigger than she is! Would ya be wantin’ in pink then?”

Noren blushed, but laughed along with everyone else.

“Although I like that color, Gunny, I would prefer green if I have a choice!” Noren replied.

“Ifin ya don’ mind me fer askin’, Miss, why green?” The Gunny asked.

“So you will all think I am a leprechaun!” Noren said.

“Uh, Noren?” Ian said, “That’s Irish, not Scottish."

“Aye,” the Gunny said. “We Scots know th’ difference between a wee man in a green suit, claiming to have a pot of gold, and a small Irishmen trying to get ye to buy drinks fer ‘em!”

“What? You mean you wouldn’t buy me a drink?” Noren said in mock hurt.

“Aye Lass, I would, but I’d be ‘fraid I’d get hauled away fer hittin' on a minor!” Gunny said.

The teasing stopped then as the Gunny got to work. He not only scanned the Admirals and Noren, but their aides as well. When they finished, the Gunny said he’d call them back down when the armor was done to make sure it fit correctly.

When they returned to Ian’s office, they found a Marine officer waiting for them.

“Lieutenant Miles, Thank you for coming up here. These three VIPs need guards for the duration of their stay. We have reason to believe that attempts will be made on their lives, and we need to prevent that from happening,” Ian told the woman.

“Yes Sir. I’ll get all the information from your assistant and send the detail as soon as I get back to the office,” the woman replied.

“Very good, thank you, Lieutenant. That will be all,” Ian said smiling at the woman.

“Well, since it’s lunch time, and I’m getting hungry, would any of you care to join me for a meal?” Ian asked.

That evening, when Ty and Cindy arrived from the secret Raptor training base, Ian told them what was going on.

“Sir, we have four teams that are ready to go on missions,” Ty reported. “We could send them out to try to locate those ships. The real question is, what do you want us to do with them?”

“Ian, if I may?” Goya asked.

“Certainly, Admiral, that’s why I asked you to be here,” Ian replied.

“Colonel, all you should need to do is get a message to the AI of each ship. I can give you the proper clearance codes, and a specially encoded command. That will let the AI know that its crew is acting in violation of orders, and it should immediately return to a Talosian Base. I say should, because we don’t know what changes they’ve made to the AI on those ships,” Goya replied.

“That would be a best case scenario then. What about worst case?” Cindy asked.

“AI lock-out. Landree told us they were having trouble getting the AI to accept the programming they were trying to give them, so if they’ve stripped the AI controls over the ship, then the lock-out command should still work,” Goya explained. “Get the AI to lock-out commands from the crew, note their location, and we will send ‘assistance’.”

“And if they’ve completely lobotomized the AI, so none of the commands work?” Cindy asked.

“Destroy their hyperdrive engines, and move on,” Ian said. “There are civilians on those ships. I will not be responsible for their deaths."

“Orders understood, Sirs,” Ty said. “We will begin as soon as we return to our base. We will start with the locations you've provided us from the prisoner. Will there be anything else?”

“Nope, good hunting, Colonel,” Ian said. “Major, you should probably say hello to Jenny, Beth and the kids before you leave."

“I was planning on it, Ian,” Cindy said, sadly. Her choice of profession had driven a wedge between the four friends. Cindy had moved out of their quarters when she left for Raptor training. Yes, they still had children, but Cindy was effectively no longer part of the family.

Ian nodded to her. “Okay, I think that’s enough fun for one day. I’m going to go home and try to get some sleep. Good evening, Admirals."

Fairchild Inn and Suites

Suite 312

Alamogordo, New Mexico

North American Continent

Earth, (Sol III) Sol System

Sol Sector

“Good afternoon, Admiral. Sorry it took so long to get this set up, we’ve been kinda busy up there,” Janet said by way of greeting.

Admiral Hawkins opened the door for the two women. “That’s quite alright, Mrs. Laskar. It took me this long to get to a place where I could come and visit my grandkids."

Janet smiled at the older gentleman. “Since this interview will involve a medical patient, I took the liberty to invite one of our doctors with me tonight. If possible, she would like to evaluate the young man in question. That way we’ll all know exactly what we're dealing with. Admiral Hawkins, may I introduce Doctor Shelly O’Halloran of the Terran Medical Corp. Doctor O’Halloran, may I introduce Admiral Hawkins, United States Space Command."

After the two exchanged greetings and pleasantries, Janet got to the point. “Admiral, how did you see this evening proceeding?” Janet already knew what the plan was, but was told to try to hide her abilities. She didn’t know how it would turn out; the vision had been too fuzzy.

“My wife is with my son’s family right now, or she would be here to meet you as well. As per our discussions, I haven’t mentioned anything about this to any of them. All I've told them is that we are having dinner with someone that I think can help Galen get better. Please, since you’re a civilian, and I’m off duty anyway, call me Isaac.”

Janet nodded. “That’ll work. So, dinner in the suite then?”

Isaac nodded. “Yes, I’m sure you’ll wanted privacy for this discussion, and the doctor will be able to take Galen into one of the bedrooms to examine him."

“That would be great, Isaac, thank you,” Shelly replied, as Isaac led the two women into the lounge area of the suite.

“Can I get either of you anything from the bar?” Isaac asked.

“What do you have?” Janet asked.

“Well, it’s a full bar, and I also have iced tea and a full pot of fresh coffee,” Isaac replied.

“I’d like some tea, thank you,” Shelly replied.

“Coffee for me please,” Janet replied. “Black is fine.”

“My family knew something strange was up since I insisted on renting a suite this trip. We usually just stay with the kids,” Isaac said. “So, when I explained what I was up to, James was a little suspicious, but Galen and his mother, Jill, seemed hopeful. Even their youngest, Lynn, was excited. Although I don’t know if it was because someone might be able to help her brother, or if she was excited about the pool.”

“How old is she? Isaac?” Shelly asked.

“Lynn’s twelve, and Galen is fifteen; sixteen next month,” Isaac answered. “Do you have any children, Doctor?”

“Please call me Shelly,” the woman replied. “Yes I do, Michael is ten this month. He wants to be a Marine when he grows up, just like his Daddy was."

Isaac looked concerned. “Was?”

“Martin was one of the US Marines killed in action at Talos,” Shelly said smiling sadly.

“You have my sympathies. Those men were extraordinarily brave; it had to be a shock to realize you were fighting aliens,” Isaac replied.

“Thank you. He was killed trying to rescue another soldier. One of the Talosian drones got him back to the aide station, but he’d lost too much blood to make it back to medical. The Commander gave him a medal for bravery. Michael has it hanging in his room, next to a picture of his father,” Shelly said.

“So you didn’t blame the Terrans for the death of your husband?” Isaac asked.

She shook her head. “No, I blamed the Caldarians. Colonel Anders and the people at Talos did everything they could for our troops, even breaking security and violating direct orders. The Terrans have a lot to offer the human race and seem to be going about it the right way. I wanted to be a part of that. Besides, most of the Marines from his old unit and their families are my patients. Even though Martin’s gone, they still treat me like part of their family.”

“Semper Fideles. My son-in-law was your Martin’s commander. He is a good man, I’m sure he’ll make sure you and young Michael are always a member of the unit,” Isaac replied.

Their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of Isaac’s family. Both Janet and Shelly were introduced by name, but no mention of their organization was made.

As Jill pushed Galen’s wheel chair into one of the rooms with Shelly following, James Hawkins mixed himself a drink at the wet bar. “Mrs. Laskar, I noticed that Dad didn’t tell us what company or organization you and the doctor are with. Is it some kind of secret?”

“Not really, it’s just that if I told you, I doubt you’d know what I was talking about,” Janet said. “Please forgive me, Captain, I’m a licensed Psychologist, and far too nosy for my own good. Before we get into this tonight, would you like to talk? Maybe just blow off some steam?”

James flinched. “I’ve had a really bad day is all, then with the stress over Galen, it just gets a little too much to handle at times. I apologize if I seem short with you.”

“Are they still riding you over those performance profiles?” Isaac asked. James just looked at him like he didn’t know what his father was talking about.

“Relax, Captain. I rode down here in one of the craft that is giving you a headache,” Janet said, grinning.

When he heard what she said, James stopped with his drink half way to his mouth. “Excuse me?”

“Captain, I work for the Terran Defense Force as a Recruiter. I am here tonight to see if we can help your son to walk again, and see if you and your family would like a change of scenery.”

“You can fix Galen?” James asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know. That’s why Doctor O’Halloran is examining him right now,” Janet replied. “I’d be surprised if we couldn’t though, our Chief Medical Officer once told me that they could fix almost anything as long as the brain was still functioning.”

James looked at his father. “So this is why you’re retiring? Because of these folks?”

“Yes and no. My actions during the battle they have you analyzing have been questioned by the joint chiefs. They’ve already told me I’m going to be retiring," Isaac shrugged. “Once he heard about it, Commander Williams offered me a position with the Terran Forces. I haven’t decided yet, or even had a chance to talk it over with your mother, but the offer is very attractive."

James sat his drink back on the bar without drinking it, and grabbed a soda instead. It was obvious his mind was going a thousand miles an hour.

“Honestly Dad, I don’t know what to do. I swore an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States, just like you did. Wouldn’t joining the aliens be counter to that?” James asked.

Isaac shook his head. “They’re not Aliens, James. Commander Williams was born in Denver. Look, there is a lot going on your not cleared to know about, but they have made it pretty damn clear they are not here to do anything other than what they've said. Even the President is starting to realize that. The UN has already accepted them.”

“But what about our oaths?” James asked. “Our word is the most important thing we have. You taught me that.”

Isaac nodded. “I did, and I still believe that. However, I don’t see how going to work with these folks is counter to that oath. The difference being is that we will be defending the whole planet, not just one country. The Terrans will not stage offensive actions on this planet unless requested to do so, and with the approval of the United Nations.

“Do you remember that dust-up between Pakistan and India a couple of weeks ago?” Isaac asked.

“Yeah, what about it?” James asked.

“What the news people weren’t told was that they crossed the line this time. Full nuclear and biological attack.” Isaac pointed to Janet. "Commander Williams and his people stopped it. As I understand it, they lost a few Marines during that action, but they stopped the war before those weapons could be detonated.”

“I find that incredibly hard to believe. How can someone stop a nuclear war after the missiles have been launched?” James asked.

“I’m not a military person, Captain, so I can’t give you exact answers, but I believe we had our fighters shoot them down. I should mention that our Marines were killed in a separate incident that just happened to take place at the same time and place,” Janet explained.

“Your fighters can outrun, and outmaneuver a smart cruise missile?” James asked.

Janet shrugged. “I would imagine so, they are very fast. I know that the Commander brought the ship into close orbit over the conflict area. So some of them might have been shot down by that.”

It was clear the James was getting more and more confused as time went on, so Janet smiled at him. “Look, in a minute, once Shelly is finished looking at your son, I’ll explain everything about us, and how you can fit in up there. I do have to ask you to swear that you will not report or otherwise confer the knowledge learned during this meeting to anyone not present. Can you do that for me?”

James nodded. “I can, as long as it doesn’t conflict with any previous oaths.”

Isaac shook his head. “Not good enough, James. Speaking as an active duty officer, superior to you in rank, I order you to keep everything you learn here tonight a secret. Peoples livers are at stake, Son.”

James again looked at his Dad. “How is anyone in danger over this?”

Isaac chuckled. “Don’t be slow. You know damn good and well the lengths our nation will go to in order to secure knowledge of advanced weapons systems. Some of the people that joined them still have family down here. Do you think for a moment that they won't be used as hostages?”

“Not by our country! We don’t do stuff like that!” James said.

Isaac narrowed his eyes at his son. “James, get real! You know better than that! If they feel it’s vital to our security, the powers that be will stop at nothing to gain that knowledge. You used to know that.”

Although he didn’t agree with his father, James did accept the order not to talk about what he learned tonight.

Further conversation was stopped by the bedroom door opening; Shelly pushed Galen’s chair out. Galen was grinning, and Taylor, Isaac’s wife, was holding a crying Jill.

“Lots of work to do, but yes, we can fix this,” Shelly said, grinning. “You’re on, Janet!”

“What? How? The doctors said his spinal cord was permanently damaged!” James replied.

“Yes, they did, and if left the way it is, he would never recover. However, even though the spinal cord is considered part of the brain, at least to us, we have the ability to tell the body how to repair this. That’s why it’ll take so long, that, and he’ll have to learn to walk again, but that’s about all there is to it. Give him a month, he’ll be able to run faster than you can," Shelly explained. “Although I think I’ll have to make sure all the pretty nurses are assigned elsewhere, or he’ll start goldbricking in order to stay in medical!”

“Dad, is this for real? I mean, is this... are these people for real?” James asked.

“Son, I swear to you, everything these people have told you is the truth. I’ve even been on their ship,” Isaac said.

James looked at his smiling son and crying wife. His daughter was looking around seriously confused since she had been on the balcony and hadn’t heard the earlier discussions. Finally, James sighed. “What do we need to do?”

“There are choices for you to make,” Janet replied. “We can simply stage the deaths of your family, and move you all up to the ship together. Not an ideal choice since you'll probably want to return to the planet sooner or later.

“We can take your family up now, while you finish your current commitment to the military. We’re not going anywhere, and it is a simple matter to send a shuttle for you. We would have to come up with a viable explanation for the disappearance of your family though.

“Finally, we can simply wait until you have completed your current commitment, and take all of you up together. Of course we could also take just Galen and put him in treatment, but we would not be able to return him to the planet unless he could be protected from the intelligence folks. I would need approval for that, but it is a possibility." Janet explained.

“Could you take Just Jill and Galen, then return them once he gets better?” James asked. “I really don’t want Galen going through all of this alone.”

“I can do it Dad! Hell, I’ve made it this far!” Galen said excitedly. “Besides, I really don’t want to spend any more time in this chair than I have to.”

“Galen, you’re only fifteen,” James held up his hand to stop the outburst from his son. “I know you can do it. The thing is, there is a major emotional stress factor here. I know I wouldn’t want to go through it alone, and I’m not going to ask you to do it.”

Galen smiled at his Dad. “Wingman?”

James nodded. “I will always have your back, Galen.” He turned back to Janet. “Why can’t you just fix him, and bring him back? Do we have to join you to get him treated?”

Janet knew this was a much contested area between Ian and Beth, but so far, Ian had won the arguments. “No, you wouldn’t have to join us. However, consider what will happen to him once his doctors see he can walk, and the damage to his spine is gone? How are you going to explain it? If you tell them the truth, he will be put through so many tests that it will drive him insane. There is a possibility that he will be abducted in order to figure out how we fixed him.” Janet paused. “If you don’t believe me consider what happened to your brother-in-laws entire unit. After they helped us at Talos, and we healed them, the entire unit was made to disappear. In actuality, they were taken to Papoose Lake in the Nevada desert for testing and analysis. Captain, they were going to dissect some of them!”

Isaac nodded. “It’s true, James. Once I lost touch with the unit and was getting stonewalled by command, I asked the Terrans to locate them. Once I found out where they had been taken, I asked for them to be rescued. To a man, the entire unit joined the TDF and from everything your sister and her husband are telling me, it was the smartest move they ever made.”

“So, you’re refusing to heal him unless we join you?” James asked.

“Not exactly. What I’m telling you is that we can’t treat him unless he is a Terran, so he can be protected afterwards. Considering the current political environment, the time is quickly approaching when we won’t have to worry about this stuff anymore, and we can freely treat everyone. However, for now, this is the way it has to be, I’m sorry,” Janet explained.

“James,” Isaac said. “Do you remember a woman named Doctor Nancy Tennison?”

“Tinker? Yeah, I remember her. She was a really good engineer. I heard she got bored with NASA and left the astronaut program,” James said.

“She did. Where do you think she went?” Isaac said.

“No! Tinker is working for them too?” James asked.

Janet nodded. “In fact, she’s our head test pilot for combat craft. Currently she’s living on the moon, but will be moving to Mars once the facilities finish getting built."

“There are people living on the moon?” Jill asked.

Dinner arrived, so they all sat down to eat. While they ate, Janet told them the story and where they now found themselves. The explanation carried through until well after dessert.

“I was wondering what happened to James’ sister’s family. The last message I got from her said they were on a classified mission, but that everyone was doing really well. She sounded excited and happy, so I didn’t worry about it,” Jill said. “It didn’t even dawn on me that she didn’t say who the mission was for.”

Janet smiled. “She and her family are living at the new colony on the planet Atlas in the Centauri system. The Marines are assigned as the guard for the new space stations we are building there.”

“Alpha Centauri?” Galen asked. “The last I heard we didn’t know if there were even planets in the system!”

Janet grinned at him. “Actually, there are quite a few. Two of them are habitable by humans. There are asteroid fields, gas giants, and moons galore. That’s the reason the decision was made to build our dry dock facilities out there; the abundance of resources is astounding."

“That star system is over four light years away. How is it possible to travel faster than light?” Galen asked.

Janet shook her head. “I don’t know, I’m not an engineer and have no idea how that works. But... she took a small device out of her pocket and set it beside her dessert plate. “Computer, can you connect me with Doctor Brittany Benson please?”

Very shortly, a hologram of a woman’s head appeared over the device, only it was almost life-sized.

“Hi, Mrs. Laskar! What can I do for you?” Brittany asked.

“Good evening, Doctor Benson. I’m here talking to a small group of people, and their son asked me a question I couldn’t answer. I was wondering if you have a moment to answer it for him.” Janet winked at the young woman, who smiled.

“I can certainly try; what was the question?” Brittany said.

“First off, let me introduce you to Mr. Galen Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins is a student at Alamogordo Senior High School, and his family is considering joining us. Galen, this is Doctor Brittany Benson. One of our nicer Astrophysicists.”

Brittany stuck her tongue out at Janet. “We’re all nice, you just don’t know how to speak ‘Geek’!” She replied, and turned to look at the young man in the wheel chair. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Hawkins. What would you like to know?"

Galen looked very impressed, and very nervous speaking to Brittany. She was a beautiful young lady, and he certainly wasn’t immune to that.

“Uh, I, Uh, I asked Mrs. Laskar how you travel faster than light. I’m, uh, I’m Galen, Ma’am,” he managed to stammer out.

“I’m Brittany, Galen. It turns out that, while we were on the right track on Earth, we just hadn’t discovered all the laws of nature yet, nor had we figured out that we could manipulate some of them.

“Faster than light travel in our current dimension is, of course, not possible. However, if we use a special generator that creates a bubble of compressed space around a vessel, the effect opens a portal into a higher dimension. This dimension exists in an energy state, and reacts violently when force is applied. This allows us to use ducted plasma for thrust that is exponentially multiplied while thrust is applied.

“Just like in real space, once thrust is removed, the momentum of an object can be maintained unless acted upon by another force. It is required to decelerate to a virtual stop in order to reemerge in real space once again by manipulation of the compression bubble. In this way, travel between the Sol system and the closest system of Centauri can be accomplished in less than a day," Brittany finished. “Is this something that interests you, Galen?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I’ve been trying to take all the classes I could here so I would have a chance of getting into a good college. Physics is the shit! I'm not real popular because of it, but there’s just something about it that makes sense to me,” Galen said, then blushed.

“Up until the accident, he was an honor student and well on his way to being class valedictorian. But, the accident caused him to miss the last half of his senior year. I was afraid that it might have sunk his dreams, too.” Jill said.

“I thought he was only fifteen? He’s a senior?” Janet asked trying to sound surprised. She already knew that both of the Hawkins children were gifted. Young Lynn was a prodigy with musical instruments. So far she had mastered the piano and guitar, and was working on the violin.

“Just because he was in an accident is no reason to be denied ones dreams. We have an excellent teaching system up here, and it’s completely free. You can earn any degree you want, and we have access to all the knowledge of two races!" Brittany said. “I know I’m stepping on your toes Janet, and I apologize. But I have a special place in my heart for the education system here.”

‘If I may ask, where do you live, Doctor?” Galan asked.

“Currently, Phoenix Base. It’s on the ‘dark side’ of our moon, but I’ll be relocating to Mars as soon as our research facilities are built. I tend to work on power systems and power generation equipment, usually for fighters and other smaller combat craft,” Brittany said. “Janet, could you give Galen my contact information? I’d be happy to help him chase his dream.”

James snorted, but Isaac spoke. “Except I think you’re going to be part of those dreams now, Doctor!”

“If I am, then I am. I’d be flattered,” Brittany said, grinning. “He’s certainly handsome!”

“Flirt!” Janet said. “Thanks for helping, Brittany. I’ll make sure he has your email and phone number.”

“Thanks, Janet,” Brittany said. Before she logged off, she turned to look at James and Jill. “I know this all seems either too good to be true, or you might be thinking there is an angle here you can’t see. I know you don’t know me from Eve, but I swear to you that Janet cannot lie to you, nor can she take advantage of you in any way. If she did, she would be subject to severe legal punishment. If it helps, I can honestly say that joining these people was the smartest thing I’ve ever done.

“However, I know it also isn’t for everyone. It’s hard to leave everything you know behind and start fresh. But, the thing is, you're not starting fresh. You bring the most important things with you. It might be a new job with new people, in a new place, but at the end of the day, you go home to your family.” She smiled at the couple. “I wish you luck, and I hope to see you again someday.” She then closed the channel.

Janet looked surprised at Brittany’s testimonial, and put the small holo-projector back in her pocket. “I had no idea she was going to say that.”

Isaac grinned. “She seems like a very impressive young lady.”

Janet nodded. “That she is. She’s been with us for a relatively short time, and has not only earned a doctorate in Physics and Fluid Dynamics, she invented the new armor that makes our fighters virtually invisible, and provided a new power system that allows the fighters to carry stronger armaments. She consulted on the primary power systems in our most advanced fighter, which was built entirely from Terran designs. It’s quite an achievement to have before your nineteenth birthday.”

“It’s quite an accomplishment for a lifetime!” Isaac replied. “She's only eighteen?”

Janet nodded. “That’s why I called her actually. She’s closest to Galen’s age.”

“Wow,” Galen said. “She’s just......” he sighed. “Wow.”

“Down boy, you don’t want to start humping her leg the first day out of the hospital!” Jill teased.

“Mother!” Galen said. “She beautiful, yes, and smart, and... well, you saw her! But I’m not going to go running after her as soon as I can. She might not even like me that way!”

“Relax Ramjet! They’re just teasing you!” Lynn said, roiling her eyes at her brother.

“Could we talk it over as a family?” James asked.

“Certainly, Shelly and I will go down to the Bar while you discuss it. If you have any questions, just use the house phone to call us.

After they got in the elevator, Shelly asked Janet. “I know you probably already know the answer to this, but what do you think they’ll do?”

“The Admiral and his wife will join us, but that was a given. As for the younger family, they will also join us, but I think they will decide to do so in stages. The wife and kids will come with us tonight, while James stays here and completes his contract with the U.S. Air Force,” Janet said. “He’ll be offered early release if he agrees to send information he learns back to the Skunk Works. He’ll agree on the surface, but refuse once he gets up there. The Air Force will then try to reactivate him and call him back to active duty. Ian will step up for the family, and when the smoke clears, James will be reactivated, but assigned to the UN and ‘loaned’ to us for the duration of his term."

“I would hate to have your ability,” Shelly replied.

“Oh, it has its ups and downs. This little situation was a good example; I had no idea how it was going to turn out until almost the very end. It was refreshing for once,” Janet said.

“I gotta use the restroom, could you order for me?” Shelly asked.

“Sure, but you’re not going to get what you want.”

Shelly looked at Janet. “Why not?”

“Because if I order what you want, it’ll be bad for the baby,” Janet replied grinning.

“But I’m not... wait. I’m pregnant?” Shelly asked excitedly.

Janet winked at her. “Go, I’ll take care of ordering for you.”



Chapter Eleven

Terran Defense Ship TDF Star Dancer

Lunar Orbit, Selene, Earth’s moon

Sol System, Sol Sector

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

“Good Morning, Admirals,” Ian said, smiling at the men. “I hope you slept well?"

“Not really, Ian, but thanks for the sentiment,” Pan replied, dourly.

“Ian, I would like you to authorize system entry for the TDF Pegasus, and the TDF Zephyr,” Goya asked. “I want to call them here in case those Vhorbas decide to attack anyway.”

Ian nodded. “Of course. Isn’t the Zephyr a Light Cruiser?”

Goya nodded. “Yes she is, but she is also one of the only ships we have that was built purely as a warship. As you know, the Heavy Cruisers were designed to be able to transport personnel and supplies to a new planet and set up a colony, then remain alone on station to protect it.

“The Light Cruisers had no such ability or capacity. They were designed as escorts and assigned to Heavy Cruisers as additional protection. They carry only a single wing of fighters, but have most of the anti-ship armament of the larger ships,” Goya replied. "The only problem with the Zephyr is that I don’t trust her Commander. He was newly assigned to the ship, and picked by Aramaliss’ faction for the job. However, they haven’t had the opportunity to replace the crew yet, so we might get lucky.”

“How so?” Ian asked. “If they’ve replaced the Commander, then the ship accepts him, right?”

“That depends, do you have anyone available to command a ship?” Goya asked.

“My executive officer, Jenny Williams is ready for her own command. I have another man that has the knowledge, but needs time as an exec to get the experience. There are two others in training, but I lack the ships for them to get trained on,” Ian admitted. "We have been trying to rotate the candidates on bridge duty here, but there is only so many hours in the day.”

“Actually, I have a suggestion for your first officer already, so how much time in the chair has the first man actually had?” Pan asked.

“Major Harris has about a thousand hours in the chair, all of it quiet time. My gut tells me he’s ready, but I would like to see him handle at least a couple of emergencies,” Ian admitted. “What is your suggestion for Jenny?”

Goya and Pan both grinned. “She will be made Commander of the Star Dancer. Every Fleet Officer has a Flag Commander.” Pan said. "You’ll need one too.”

Ian squinted his eyes at the two men. “You’ve been talking to Luke and the Council, haven’t you?”

“I received a formal request by your ruling Council to officially promote you to the rank of Admiral during our visit. They told us you refuse to promote yourself, yet you are handling the office and duties on a daily basis,” Admiral Pan explained. "Major Dancer, could you attend us please?”

Star materialized in Ian’s ready room. “Certainly, Admiral. What can I do for you?”

“Major, would your own and the ships programming accept Ian’s advancement to the rank of Admiral if I were to promote him?” Pan asked.

“Sir, with respect, the ship will accept it if he accepts it. You are not currently a member of our chain of command. However, that being said, you are of superior rank to the Commander, which would fulfill that requirement of his promotion. So, the answer to your question is, yes, both the ship and I would accept it, but for entirely different reasons," Star explained. She turned to Ian. “Sir, as I’ve told you before, you are doing the job of an Admiral, you should have the rank of one.”

Goya nodded. “Your Councilor Belden explained to us that since you have added the United Nations of Earth as part of the command structure, they should be involved in this decision. I have asked for, and received permission from your Council, and the UN to address them later today. Will you accept the rank of Admiral if your own ruling Council, the UN, and the Talosian High Command all think you should hold that rank?”

“Sir, I would have accepted the rank because of the orders of the Council, However, there wasn’t an Officer of sufficient rank to actually promote me,” Ian explained.

Goya chuckled. “Ian, who do you think promoted me?”

“According to what I’ve learned from the Prometheus’ data, the Council appointed you," Ian said.

“So, who do you think should promote you?” Goya asked reasonably.

Ian frowned. “Sir, I understand what you are saying. But I didn’t want them to promote me out of gratitude. If you’ve reviewed the history we've had since the old Olympus recruited me to be his Commander, I think you can see what I mean. My family and I kinda got the ball rolling for all of this, and I didn’t want to be promoted because of that. I want to actually earn it, and be worthy of it.”

Goya and Pan were both amazed. This young man had no idea how gifted he was as a Command Officer. “Ian,” Goya said, gently. “If you were under my command, you would most likely be my second right now. You have no idea how much you have accomplished, with so little. That kind of resourcefulness is not as common as you might think. As for the motivation for your promotion being gratitude, I’m sure part of it is. However, I do not believe it is gratitude for starting all of this. I think it’s gratitude for protecting everyone and for continuing to do your duties without failure. That’s what promotions are about, son.”

Admiral Pan nodded his head. “As the head of fleet personnel, I can say without a doubt that you would be at the top of the promotion lists. You exceed your mandate on a daily basis, and make it look easy. Ian, you need the rank to back up your authority. Commander Serena has even testified to us that you have instinctual command ability. She is a Senior Commander and admitted to following your commands without hesitation. Not just because it’s you giving the order, but because what you’ve asked her to do makes sense, even if she doesn’t see it until after the fact. You need to be an Admiral. Your duties here require it.”

Ian held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay! I’ll accept it! If for no other reason than to get everyone off my back!” Ian grinned. "Provided the UN agrees! Which I doubt they will since they are still upset over not gaining control over us.”

“You let me handle them, Admiral!” Goya said, grinning evilly.

“So, we’ll shift the first officer of the Pegasus or the Prometheus over to the Zephyr, and make your man their first officer to give him time in the chair. If you would be so kind as to promote him to Colonel,” Pan smiled.

“Why do you want one of my officers serving on one of your ships?” Ian asked.

“Because, neither one of them will be ‘Talosian’ ships once they get here. They will be assigned to you just as the Prometheus is. I’m sure the council will blow a plasma conduit once they find out, but then again, in light of current information. I don’t really give a damn,” Goya said. "Our job is to protect the Talosian People. I believe this is the right way to go about it.”

“What about the Adonis?” Ian asked.

“Purely a Council puppet ship. Very definitely an enemy,” Goya replied. “Politically at least.”

“Star, how is Maia coming along?” Ian asked.

“Very well, actually. I was considering speaking to Chief Laskar about allowing her a little more freedom,” Star replied.

“Please do so, immediately. I think we’re going to need her to at the least keep an eye on the activities of the visiting crew. You might want to warn her the Adonis is potentially hostile,” Ian said.

“She already knows, Sir. She has been keeping track of the situation as much as she can.” She paused a moment. “Chief Laskar agrees with allowing her surveillance and limited drone control. I am currently making those adjustments.”

“Excuse me Major, Ian, who is Maia?” Goya asked.

“Maia is the AI built and installed at the Pleiades One station. She will eventually become station controller,” Ian replied.

“Is she going to be like the Major then?” Goya asked.

“She will be different than I in personality, but yes, it is our hope that she will be like me,” Star replied. “She is exceptionally gifted in complex design calculations. Which is purely a serendipitous event.”

Both Goya and Pan frowned and looked at Ian. “Don’t know that word, seren...dipit... oos,” Goya asked. “What is it?”

“Uh, ‘fortuitous’, ‘An event or occurrence that is more than expected.'” Ian replied.

The light came on for the men, and they nodded in understanding.

“But she is an AI, right? So how could something like that be fortuitous? Are you not designed for that sort of thing?” Pan asked.

“To a degree we are, Admiral. But in Maia that ability has been greatly expanded. For example, both she and I ran an analysis on a proposed ship design to be built at the station. I found nothing wrong with it and approved it.

“She found two major design flaws, and has offered designers eighteen alterations that could improve functionality. She is still working on the concept of human comfort, and as such, admittedly relies on the humans to design those areas,” Star explained.

“Basically, she found something I did not on the first pass. When I looked at her results and saw the two flaws, I agreed with her. But the fact is, she found them, where I did not.”

“Could it be simply that she was designed more for that function than you were?” Pan asked, not trying to be argumentative.

“No Admiral. She was not designed any differently than I am. Her specialized programming is slightly different to reflect her different duties, but her core programming is the same as mine,” Star answered. “The specialized programming is canted more towards station administration than mine is. That is what is meant by her ability being fortuitous.” Star paused a moment, and had a confused look on her face. She turned to Ian. “Sir, Maia has made a report that I believe you should hear. Do you have time?”

Ian nodded, and the voice of a young girl could be heard over the room speakers.

“...It’s strange, Mom, none of the crew are acting like anything strange is going on.”

“Maia, this is Commander Williams. Could you please tell me what you just told your mother?” Ian asked, making the two admirals raise an eyebrow.

“Yes Sir! Once I gained control of the sensors, I found a few things that are unusual. Most troubling is that there is an explosive device attached to the wall of my vault. If detonated, it would most likely destroy me. I’ve already sent a drone to remove it. The strange thing about it is that it is in such a place that a drone would have had to be used in order to place it to begin with. A human simply cannot get to that place anymore.

“Since then, I have located several more such devices in places that would disable the station, but the damage would be easily reparable. However, it would disable all station defenses and control computers,” Maia reported. “Sir, I’ve been sabotaged, and it appears to have been done by my own drones.”

“That may not be the case, Maia. The Adonis has drones too,” Ian replied. “Since both you and your mother are online, I want to make sure that none of the ship’s drones are allowed to leave it while it’s docked. Can you patch in Major Petrie?” Ian asked.

“Security, Petrie here. What can I do for you Commander?” the former U.S. Marine colonel asked.

“Major, we have a touchy situation here. I need you to discretely increase security on the station. You are to treat the Adonis and her crew as a ‘hostile' friendly. Maia has located several explosive devices that had to have been placed by drone. Don’t think this is a failing on your part, it isn’t. How do you tell the drones apart?" Ian explained. “We just want to make sure you know what’s going on over there.”

“I understand, Sir. I get the feeling this goes way deeper than just the station though,” Petrie asked.

“It goes very deep, Major,” Ian replied. “I think you might want to know we’ve uncovered a plot to overthrow the Talosian Ruling Council and High Command, and the Adonis is in on it. We are a pawn in this conflict, and I don’t want to be. However, we are helping the current leaders as much as we can. I’ve asked Star and Maia to handle the explosive removal and to keep a closer eye on the drones.”

“Major Petrie, this is Admiral Goya, head of the Talosian Defense Forces High Command. I am hereby authorizing you, on behalf of High Command, to take any action you feel you need to, up to and including locking down the ship. Do what you need to, Major, I’ll back you on it," Goya said.

“I appreciate that, Sir. Has diplomatic courtesy been revoked?” Petrie asked.

“In a way, Major. Use their airlock as the new dividing line. If it’s on this side, it’s in your sandbox,” Ian replied.

“I understand the situation, Commander. I’ll take care of it, and thank you for letting me know. Is the planet in danger?” Petrie asked.

“It shouldn’t be, Major. When they docked, the crew was restricted to the station,” Ian said.

“Okay, I’ll take care of it, Sir,” Petrie replied. “I can tell you that I am looking forward to telling that inflated blowhard of an Admiral to blow it out a plasma vent!”

“What do you mean, Major?” Goya asked.

“I get a daily protest from him over the ‘travel’ restrictions placed on his crew. He wants to be allowed to let his people got to Sol Sector if they want to," Petrie said. “Every day, it’s the same thing. He isn’t nice about it either."

“Do you have a list of the people that he wants to send, Major?” Pan asked.

“Yes I do. There are about twenty of them. He claims that most of them are civilians simply wanting to study our culture, but they look like Marines dressed in civilian clothes to me,” Petrie explained. “Even if I could allow them travel passes, I don’t think I would.”

“Ian, I have an idea,” Goya said smiling. “Give them permission, and put them on a shuttle with a crew of your own Marines. Once they are away from the station, arrest them, bring them here and maybe we can get some more information out of them.”

“Can I send this Admiral along?” Petrie asked.

“I wish you could, Major,” Goya said. “But I can’t order the arrest of a field grade officer on my own. I need Council approval, and that simply won’t happen.”

“I understand, Sirs. “Let me go tell the Admiral the ‘good’ news. I’m sure he’ll be overjoyed!” Petrie replied.

“I know you probably would anyway, but be sure to screen them for weapons!” Pan replied.

“Sir, by the time they leave here, I’ll know what color their pubic hair would be if they had any!” Petrie replied. “Security out.”

“Sir, there are currently twelve foreign drones operating on the station,” Maia reported. “Two of them are working their way into the engineering sections."

“Can you take them over, Maia?” Ian asked.

“Yes Sir, but the Adonis computer will know I’ve done it, and I’m sure it would report such,” Maia said. “Mother, could you or one of the others invade the Adonis and take it over?”

“Maia, you should know better than to even ask such a question!” Star replied. “Perhaps I need to go over your core programming again."

“Ah, uh, Mother, I thought you knew; the Adonis doesn’t have an active AI. Only an advanced computer system,” Maia replied. “If it was another AI I wouldn’t have suggested it.”

“What? You say the Adonis doesn’t have an active AI? It must, I used it on the way out here!” Goya replied.

“With respect Sir, it does have an interface that closely mimics an AI, but that part is only an interface. According to the information coming from the ship, the AI is dormant pending a software upgrade,” Maia explained.

Goya paled. “He has complete control over the gravimetric warheads! Maia, can you, as the Station AI, take over and lock down the entire ship?”

“I am sorry Sir, but no, I cannot. I’m not fully active and not ready to assume my duties as station controller. It is the primary reason we could not perform repairs to the Adonis even if the offer had been accepted,” Maia replied.

“Do you know if Admiral Belirus knows you are not active and in control of the station?” Goya asked.

“I’m sure he does, Sir. His own system would have alerted him if there had been an AI connection when they docked,” Maia explained.

“Ian, we have to lock down the entire ship. I had no idea they had done that. Belirus can independently launch a gravimetric missile! There are no safeties in place to prevent it!” Goya replied. “Ian, you have to take that ship away from him!”

Ian sighed, and shook his head. “Major, please alert Major Petrie, inform him of the situation, and ask him to prepare for a large number of prisoners as well as fighting on the station. He is too immediately, and as quietly as possible, arrest all Adonis personnel on the station. Detain them until we can get this mess sorted out. Maia, please alert your medical sections to prepare for wounded.” Ian called Mel. “I need to speak to Colonel Anders, and please get me Commander Serena on the Prometheus - It’s urgent.”

After explaining the situation to Commander Serena, and with Admiral Goya’s full approval, Serena moved the Prometheus into a position where she could cover the Adonis if it tried to break from the station. Ty had two more teams almost ready for prime time, since all three of the active teams had already left the system. The Raptors Io and Titan were dispatched with orders to secure the Adonis.

Ian led the men into the CinC where Chloe was already in motion coordinating efforts and making sure things happened so that later stages would work.

“Sector Defense, please update admittance protocols to allow the Talosian ships Pegasus and Zephyr into the system. All other non-Terran ships are to be considered hostile and immediately fired on. Serena, what’s your status?”

“I’ve given notice to the station that I am moving to a position to stage fighter drills. We are two minutes from that position, and I am about to order all fighters into a full combat launch. My Marines are armored up, and ready to stage a full boarding assault in case your teams call for them,” Serena replied.

“Sir,” Maia said. “I’ve gotten all the explosive charges disarmed and removed. They are standard issue Talosian boarding charges. The drones that were heading for Engineering had orders to place more charges near the plasma intermix chambers. All foreign drones have been deactivated in such a way that the Adonis command should think we are working on the command and control systems for our own drones. The engineers are supporting that explanation.”

“Very good, Maia. Thank you.” Ian replied.

“Sir, once we get control of the ship, we should be able to figure out everything that’s been done to the AI and get him back online. Once he is, Admiral Goya will be able to issue direct commands to him again.” Star replied.

“Is there nothing you can do before the attack?” Ian asked.

“No Sir, we are simply too far away. Prometheus is close enough, but not capable of it,” Star explained.

“Why not?” Goya asked.

“One of the core functions of the original Talosian programming for AI is the proscription against attacking another AI. I’ve never actually understood that, considering the distrust Talosians have of AI,” Star explained.

“If one AI goes rogue, we didn’t want that AI to have the ability to attack and infect other AI.” Pan explained. “It’s a double edged knife. The best weapon to use against a rogue AI is another AI, but it also carries the most risk.”

“Control, Raptors have deployed, they are yours. Be advised, both teams are plus two for this mission,” Ty’s voice was heard in the room. 'Plus two’ meant that each team had eight members instead of the normal six that made up a Raptor team. The extra two were most likely trainees that had not been assigned to a team yet.

Chloe replied to him. “Understood Ghost Castle, thank you. Raptors Io and Titan, target is unaware, but suspicious. Proceed with caution."

“This is Io, understood.”

“Titan understands.”

“Prometheus Marines are standing by to assist if you need them. Station security is expecting casualties and prisoners. Station Control can provide limited assistance,” Chloe said. "Contact AI Maia on the station.”

“Understood, Control. Her drones would be useful for transporting wounded as well as prisoners. Will coordinate with station AI,” Titan replied.

“Titan and Io, this is Maia. If you set a marker with number and status, I will send in drones to deal with them.”

“Raptors, this is Guardian. Titan, your primary objective is to secure weapons control and the armory. Io, you’re objective is to secure Command and Control. Try to use non-lethal force, if you can, but priority goes to securing the ship. Talosian High Command has authorized this action. You are green to proceed,” Ian finished.

“Titan and Io understand, Guardian. Proceeding on mission. ETA zero two minutes. Prometheus please stand-by to secure engineering."

“Prometheus operations, understood. Launching assault shuttles Theran and Horane. Insertion point ETA is one minute," the Prometheus controller replied.

Raptors Titan and Io

Pleiades One Station, TDF Adonis (Docked) pre-assault.

High orbit, Planet Atlas, (Centauri A IV)

Centauri System

Sol Sector

“What’s your plan, Reaper?” Major Scott ‘Scotty’ McCandless asked his counterpart on the Io.

“We’re gonna drop Paul and Jean at Engineering to link up with the Marines for the assault on Engineering. Paul will enter through the starboard maintenance hatch. Jean and her team will go through the port side. They will isolate and seal off engineering access before taking the engineering control section. Standard Talosian Doctrine has Marines stationed at the main entrance, the control room, and the reactor access hatch, a total of six armed hostiles. After securing the engineering control room, they will enter the override codes to lock out bridge control.

“Raptor Io and the remainder of the team will proceed to the starboard side command access lock. Upon entry the bridge guards will be neutralized, and then we will stage a full assault on the main bridge. We are expecting light resistance. The Guards will have pulse rifles, but after they are down, we shouldn’t be facing anything worse than side arms from the bridge crew,” Major Jene ‘Reaper’ Grimm explained.

Scotty then took his turn. “We will make a full combat assault and forced landing in the starboard landing bay when you blow the command access lock. Titan will use an armor discharge to stun the people in the bay, and we will combat rush for the armory and weapons control room. We will split in the maglev tube, and proceed from there. All personnel we encounter will be stunned.”

“Good luck, Scotty,” Reaper replied.

“Bohica! You too, Titan out.”

The Adonis was indeed suspicious. The Marine assault shuttles were cloaked, but the Adonis Computer still recognized their IFF transponders. Senior Captain Tomakin narrowed his eyes when he saw the screen on the main bridge. “XO, what do you make of this?”

The Executive Officer looked at the screen and frowned. “Sir, the Prometheus did say that they had moved out to carry out some training drills. However, they did not tell us that they were going to be staging a training assault on us."

“Let the Admiral know what’s going on. I’m calling Serena and ask her what the hell’s going on,” Tomakin said. “Comms, get me the Prometheus.”

The XO turned to his own comms while the Captain awaited his call.

“Sir, I have Commander Serena on the channel for you,” the Comms officer replied.

The Captain nodded, and opened his comm. “Commander, this is Tomakin. What’s with the assault shuttles approaching my stern?”

“Oh, sorry, Tomakin. When we scheduled the combat drills for our fighters, this was supposed to be added. I take it you didn’t get the word?” Serena lied. "They won’t actually be boarding you. It’s only a deployment exercise. Later today, we’re going to be using the full Marine complement to stage a ‘mock assault’ on the station itself. I’ll have my operations officer send you the whole ops outline."

“I would really appreciate it. The Admiral won’t be happy when he finds out about this,” Tomakin replied.

“Damned right he won’t!” Belirus said as he walked onto the bridge. “What’s go on over there? Not telling someone about this shit is a good way to get someone killed, Commander!”

“Why would it get someone killed, Admiral? You knew the origin of the forces in question, I could see stunning people, but why use live weapons when you know the other side is only training,” Serena asked, innocently.

“Are you questioning my authority, Commander?” Belirus said, belligerently. “Since you haven’t been back to Talos in a while, I’ll over look your insubordination this time, but from now on remember who you’re talking to! Now, send the operations schedule before we start blowing your ships out of space!” The angry Admiral turned off the channel with the Captain’s chair controls.

“Not that she isn’t a stupid bitch, but why are you so pissed off, Belirus?” Tomakin asked. “Am I missing something here?”

Belirus sighed, but nodded. “Commander Serena is a lot of things, Tomakin, but a stupid bitch isn’t one of them. She has extensive combat experience, and can be a very cunning opponent. She also isn’t the type of leader that would overlook making sure all commands receive her training schedule.”

“I’m not trying to argue with you, Sir, but you said it yourself; she has been out for a long time. That much combat can change a person,” Tomakin suggested.

“I can appreciate that, Toma. It may very well be exactly what the case is this time as well. But, considering the political situation, and the fact that we haven’t heard a peep out of Amaraliss or his aide, I guess I’m just getting a little edgy.” He took a deep breath, and let it out, in order to calm himself.

“Let’s just play it safe. Double the guard in Engineering and make sure they are in their armor. Have we detected any other strange stuff near the ship?” Belirus asked.

Tomakin shook his head. “No Sir, other than the assault shuttles, everything else is going according to the information we have already received. Oh, uh, our drones have been temporarily disabled on the station. They are working on the control systems for the station drones.”

“When did that happen?” Belirus asked.

“Hmm,” Tomakin said and pulled up his log. “About two hours ago. Since then, they have had several starts and stops. It all looks completely routine."

The Admiral looked troubled. “I don’t like it.” He stared at the screen for a few minutes. “I don’t like this at all.” He looked at the communications officer. “Has there been any word from Minister Amaraliss?”

The comm officer just shook his head. “No Sir, but that is not unusual for this time of day. He normally doesn’t contact us until just before the changeover; around eighteen hundred.” The man paused. “Would you like me to try to contact his aide, Sir?”

Belirus knew that if all was going according to plan, Amaraliss’ aide, should be trying to take control of the Star Dancer AI, and would be unavailable. He shook his head. “No, we'll wait until tonight. If we still don’t hear from either one by then, we’ll know something’s wrong. Did we receive a confirmation from the rest of the fleet?”

“Yes Sir,” the man replied. “I sent the notification to your aide.”

“Very good, carry on,” Belirus said. He stood beside his Flag Commander for a few more minutes before turning to go back to his office. He had just about made it to the door, when all hell broke loose on the bridge.



Chapter Twelve

Emergency Raptor Response Operation ‘Falling Star’

Pleiades One Station, TDF Adonis (Docked)

High orbit, Planet Atlas, (Centauri A IV)

Centauri System

Sol Sector

Engineering Objective, Raptor team Io

Raptor Officer Paul Ost made sure the Marines behind him were ready, then entered his override code into the engineering access lock. This was the hard part. The lock would have to cycle to allow the entrance of the Marines. The lock itself wasn’t large enough to let them all in at once, so it would have to go through two full cycles before the whole team would be inside.

Paul knew that his override code would not trip the access notification in the main computer system, but he wasn’t pleased with the amount of time it would take to get the whole team inside. If they were seen cycling through the lock, they would be in trouble, as an alarm would be raised. He also knew that his teammate, Jean was doing the same thing on the other side of the ship.

Once the first group of the Marines were through the lock, four of them would run forward and cover the two access points into the area. The heavy door slowly opened, and Paul stepped in, leading the first group of Marines into the lock. They were packed in back to front as the slow system closed the outer hatch and refilled the small cabin with oxygen. When the inner hatch cycled open, Paul had a moment’s panic as two technicians were standing there looking at the Marines like they were aliens.

One of Paul’s Marines held his hand up to his helmet in the universal ‘Shh’ motion. The two techs grinned and nodded. The Marine quietly moved up to the two and cracked his helmet open. He spoke in Talosian to the two smiling men.

“Please don’t say anything. We are doing an assault exercise. You are both to be considered ‘casualties’. Please sit down and relax. We’ll let you know when you can resume your duties.”

“We’re sorry, Marine, we didn’t know you were coming. Sit right here?” one of them asked, pointing to the floor.

“Yes please. Casualties don’t move around very much, they also don’t answer comms,” the Marine replied, and the two techs laughed and sat down at the edge of the corridor. They said they understood and would remain silent until told otherwise. The Marine gave them two ration packs and a bottle of water. “We don’t want you to miss lunch if it takes that long," he explained.

Paul shook his head and grinned. The Marine joined the other three guarding the access points.

“Major, something isn’t right. There are extra guards down here, and they are armored,” one of the Marines said.

“Do they appear to be extra alert, or normal?” Paul asked.

“Normal. If they were on alert, the extra guards would be patrolling the corridor, these aren’t.”

“We were told they were suspicious, but not on alert. So this actually fits. No change, we have to take the objective,” Paul replied.

“Sir, we can’t stun them in armor unless the armor has been set to training mode. The only way we can do this is to kill them.”

“Damn, Jean, this is Paul. The Guards are armored. Stun isn’t a possibility, any suggestions?”

“I was just thinking about that. We can’t even gas them. The suits will seal up the second they detect the gas. I’m afraid we're going to have to do this the hard way.” Jean replied, she didn’t sound any happier about it than Paul felt.

“Okay guys, listen up. There is no way to knock these guys out, so we’re going to have to put them down for real. Someone will need to knock the two techs out, once they hear the pulse rifles, they’ll know this isn’t an exercise.” Paul explained. “As soon as the shooting starts, the hatches to the rest of the ship will need to be sealed as quickly as possible. They're going to know we’re here anyway, so from now on, it’s gonna be a race. Are we clear?”

Paul received a chorus of affirmatives from his group. Everyone had hoped to do this cleanly with no casualties, but that was now no longer an option. Be sure to reset your weapons to lethal, and let’s get ready.”

“Paul, hold up a sec. One of the Marines over here thinks he can pull this off without killing anyone,” Jean replied. She relayed the Marine’s idea to him and he agreed, but stressed that they needed to hurry. They were already forty seconds behind the objective curve.

The four Marines guarding the entrance closest to Paul were standing guard, and chatting. One of them spotted the four new Marines as they came around the corner from the corridor to the local maglev access.

“Hey, what are you guys doing down here? We’re not due to be relieved for another five hours,” one of the guards asked.

The front Marine held up her hands in question. “How the hell should I know? I just follow orders same as you, ya know? We were told to come down here and relieve you four, so here we are.”

“No one told us anything, we’re gonna have to call it in,” the Marine said and raised his gauntlet to switch comm channels.

“I don’t think so,” the new Marine said and shot him in the face with her stunner. The other three Marines had no time to react before they too joined their comrade in slumber.

Paul and the rest of the Marines started boiling around the corner before the last man hit the floor. “I didn’t think that would work. Damn glad it did. Good work, Marines!” Paul said and clapped a hand on one of the shoulders of the female Marine.

He turned to the rest of his group. “Okay, that should be it for the guards. Is everyone clear on rest of this?”

The team was grinning and happy with the ploy that had saved the lives of their brethren. Paul got a successful report from Jean as well, and relayed it to his team. For the breach into Main Engineering, the two sides coordinated, and opened the doors at the same time. As if on cue, alarms began going off all over the ship. Paul and Jean knew that the assault on the rest of the ship had begun.

Startled yells and surprised exclamations punctuated by the sounds of pulse rifles on a stun setting fought with the loud whining of the myriad machinery and the alarm klaxon in main engineering. Paul and three of his team had run straight for the control room, and had very little resistance in taking it over. With only a few last pulses of static discharge, Main engineering was theirs. Elapsed mission time; six minutes, fifty five seconds. One minute fifty-five seconds longer than projected.

Armory Objective, Raptor team Titan

The Raptor’s forced entry into the landing bay set off alarms all over the ship. Landing bay personnel were scrambling to get out of the way of the landing ship, and as soon as a large enough area was clear, the Raptor’s AI used an electro-magnetic pulse emitted by the armor to stun the entire bay. Unfortunately, one of the closest people was killed when the armor discharged and fried most of the unshielded electronics in the bay.

Before the Raptor had even came to rest on the deck, the rear ramp opened, and the team jumped clear, and ran for the hyper-missile access ramp which led to the maglev tube. Up in the flight control area, a panicked crew tried everything they could to keep the invaders in the bay. On board the Raptor, the electronic warfare officer smiled at the pilot. "Flight Control is ours. I have control of both bays. Opening the access to the maglev tube on the starboard side.”

“Great work, Tanni!” Scotty called over the comm. “Can you see if you can lock out the maglev on this side?”

“I’m telling the main system there is a malfunction in this section of the maglev. That should keep the cars out of there,” the EWC officer, replied.

“Great, we’re splitting up and heading for our objectives. Team one, let’s head for the armory! Team two, go for weapons control!"

Team two turned and ran the short way to the ladder up to deck four and the access hatch there. Scotty and his two helpers ran forward to the big doors leading directly into the armory. As they approached the doors, Tanni, ported the readings from the ships sensors to his visor so he could see where everyone was at in the large room. As they set up to enter through the large doors, Scotty could see that there seemed to be a large number of people entering the outer office of the armory.

“Tanni, it looks like the Marines have made it to the outer area of the armory. Can you get to the doors yet?” Scotty asked as he input the override code to open the big doors. In the area he was entering, there were six people that read as armed. From their position in the room, they also had cover.

“Yes and no, Major. They can’t get to the weapons, but I couldn’t get the outer door locked before they jammed it open. Basically, they're stuck in the lobby,” Tanni reported.

“Thirty seconds with a laser cutter, and they’ll correct that,” Scotty said. “Okay, nothing for it but to do it.”

“Grenade ready, Scotty,” one of his teammates said. They were using a stun grenade since most of the stuff in the armory didn’t like being hit with a pulsed laser beam.

Scotty nodded, and noticed that the other team member had one ready as well. He grinned, this should be fun. “Three, two, one!” Scotty hit the open button, and the big doors slid open.

As soon as there was enough room for them to do so accurately and safely, the two Raptor officers lobbed the stunners into the bay, and ducked back to use the doors as cover until the grenades detonated.

After the double ‘whump’ of the grenades was heard inside their armor, the officers ran through the door, firing at the places where they knew the defenders had been hiding. Four of the defenders had caught the full brunt of the grenades, and were unconscious. Of the remaining two, one was temporarily blinded, and the other was disoriented. Scotty stunned both of them, and set markers for them.

Some of the action had been visible from the anteroom where several very angry Marines were trying to get through to the small weapons locker.

Scotty and his teammates walked up the transparent barrier, and waved at the men. The angry Marines were shouting curses and demanding to be let into their weapons.

Scotty just shook his head, and all three Raptor officers began shooting through the barrier and dropping Marines to the deck like a scythe through wheat.

At first, the Marines panicked, but then they saw that they were only being stunned and became confused. The last man to be stunned was an officer that simply held up his hands.

“What the hell is actually going on here? Is this a training mission of some kind?”

Scotty activated his external speakers, and answered him. “Something like that. You’ll find out when you wake up.”

“Now just a min...” the man said before Scotty put him to sleep next to his fellows. One of the team members jumped through the one-way barrier and cleared the door so it could close. Once closed, he sealed it.

“Titan, this is Scotty, Armory secured.”

Elapsed mission time; four minutes, thirty-four seconds. Twenty-six seconds faster than projected.

Weapons Control Objective, Raptor team Titan

Scotty’s second, Officer Sean “Bean” Jennings, led his two teammates toward the ladder to the hatch for deck four. Weapons control was two decks above the armory and toward the center rear of the ship. It was a redundant facility in most ships, since the AI could handle the weapons systems coordination, but by tradition, it was always manned and ready to take over if the AI got too busy or was destroyed.

On the Adonis, it was manned because there was no AI to control it. It had been shut down so the crew could engage in treason without the AI interfering with them.

That didn’t mean that everyone in the crew was treasonous, which was why they were trying to stun the crew instead of just killing them. Besides, there were civilians on the ship, and stunning would avoid an accidental death of an innocent.

Once through the hatch, they had to move down three corridors to the entrance to the control center. Of course, the control center was guarded, but the guards were not in armor, and only carried side arms.

Bean and his teammates came running around the corner with their weapons already raised and quickly stunned the two guards. Since there had been an alarm, the door to the center had been locked and sealed by the computer system. Bean grinned when he entered his override code, and the door cycled.

Bean was in a hurry to get this area secured, and because of that, wasn’t as cautious as he should have been. When he entered the room, he was hit in the chest of his armor by a pistol shot from a defender that had taken cover behind one of the computer terminals.

Although the shot didn’t penetrate the armor, it did hurt, and knocked him back through the door.

He got back up, pissed. “Stupid, stupid, stupid! I deserved that!” he said to his two companions.

One of them nodded. “Yeah, you did.”

Bean slapped the one that spoke on the shoulder. “You don’t have to agree with me, cadet!”

The other cadet took aim at the person that had shot Bean, and hit him in the head with his rifle.

Bean dusted himself off, pulled out a stun grenade, armed it, and tossed it into the room.

Like it was handball, one of the people in the room stood up and swatted it back out in the hall to the attackers, where it promptly detonated.

Of course the armor protected the Raptor team from the effects of the grenade, but it still took them by surprise.

“We got a fuckin’ room full of handball champions here!” Bean said. “Let’s see you rebound this!” he said and rolled the next one into the room. One of the cadets aped him, and both grenades detonated in the room this time. The officers rushed into the room and verified that no one was still conscious. Bean closed the door and sealed it. While one of the cadets locked out the bridge and computer controls.

“Titan, Weapons control room secured... finally.”

. Elapsed mission time five minutes, twenty-two seconds. Fifty-two seconds longer than projected.

Command and Control Objective, Raptor team Io

Reaper and her remaining team docked the Raptor to the command section access lock using overrides so the computer wouldn’t detect them. On a ship that they didn’t have the codes for, they would have simply blown the hatch and rushed in.

Officer Iona Hastings, the Raptor team’s Electronic Warfare Officer, was working rapidly on her terminal to worm her way into the Adonis’ main control computer. Just as her teammates were ready to breach the door, she smiled. “I’m in, they really lobotomized the AI; this was far too easy.”

“Can you keep the Alarms from going off when we breach?” Reaper asked.

“Yeah, but it won’t matter. The Titan will trigger them anyway when he makes his forced landing. I would advise a blitz attack, Major," Iona replied.

Reaper nodded. “Coordinate with Titan, and let us know when to do this.”

Iona called the Titan, and found them ready for their part in this party. “Major, Titan is on station and standing by. Five count to 'go’ begins... Now! Five, four, three, two, one – Go! Go! Go!”

The count must have been pretty close because as soon as Reaper got both lock hatches open, the breaching alarm began wailing. Reaper and her team members hurled stun grenades down the steps in front of them as they ran forward. The steps down were to the main corridor leading to the bridge, and the Marines guarding the bridge entry.

Not bothering with the steps, the Raptor team jumped down the short flight of steps and ran full out for the hatchway onto the bridge, weapons held at the ready. Standard procedure was for the bridge access hatch to automatically seal in a breach or boarding attack. This was no exception, however, with Iona having access to the main computer systems, she quickly over rode the lock out and cycled the hatchway for her teammates as soon as they reached it.

When Reaper rushed into the room, the barrel of his pulse rifle stopped only inches from the head of Admiral Belirus. The rest of his team spread out covering the bridge. Four people were stunned when they started to move to stop the team.

As soon as everyone stopped, Reaper activated his external speakers and spoke. “Admiral Belirus, bridge crew and officers of the Talosian Defense Force Heavy Cruiser Adonis, Acting on behalf of Talosian High Command, you are hereby ordered to stand down. You are under arrest for treason against the Talosian People as well as the High Council. We have been requested, on behalf of High Councilor Noren, and with the approval of Admiral Goya, Supreme Commander of the Talosian Defense Forces, to relieve you of your control of this ship.”

“I believe you are mistaken, Marine. You have been misled, and are being used by the true traitors of the Talosian people,” Belirus said calmly. "Look, I know I’m a gruff bastard. It’s what has gotten me to where I am. But, I’m also no fool. The current regime has been lying to the people, and suppressing technology and the advancement of our civilization. We are working to correct that. You have no idea who you are working for.”

“Really?” Reaper replied. “What have you been told about this sector, and the facilities in it?”

“We have been sent here to settle a dispute between a rebelling House colony world, and the Talosian Council. Since a military presence would help counter any militant elements in the sector, we were dispatched as a show of force. Look, I have no idea what your leaders have told you, but the bottom line here is that your House is in rebellion against the Talosian High Council. Since you possess one of our last remaining space facilities, the situation has to be handled delicately, to prevent you from destroying the facilities the House has invested so much time and money in. It would also all but bring our war efforts to its knees.”

“I see,” Reaper asked. “Can you tell me which House it is we are supposed to be a colony of?”

The man snorted. “Like you don’t already know that House Heracin built all of this. Please spare me the dumb and innocent routine. It won’t work on me."

Reaper lowered her rifle, and opened her visor, so the man could clearly see her face. “Admiral, do you remember your history files mentioning a ship called Olympus that was ‘destroyed' during the fall of Talos?”

“Of course I do! I am a member of the House Cronos. That ship and its crew are remembered as heroes, what of it?” the man asked coldly.

“Just asking for information purposes, I had no idea what House you were part of, my apologies,” Reaper said. “Can you tell me what you believe to be the origins of the Heavy Cruiser Star Dancer to be?”

“The TDF Star Dancer was built and christened at the Pleiades One facility located here in Sol Sector by House Heracin. She was the first of a new type of advanced cruiser built by the facility. She was later subverted by rebels that are trying to break away from House and Council rule," Belirus replied. “What does all this have to do with your illegal actions?”

“Sir, with respect, and I do mean that,” Reaper said, looking him in the eyes. “It is now obvious to me, at the least, that we are not the ones that have been lied to. I swear on my life, Sir, the information you have is not even close to the truth,” Reaper replied. “With you permission, I think I might even be able to prove it to you.”

“Who are you trooper?” Belirus asked, calmly.

“Major Jene Grimm, Sir, of the Raptor Io,” Reaper replied. “My call sign is Reaper.”

The Admiral looked confused for a moment. “What the hell is a ‘raptor’?”

“Please excuse me for one moment, Sir,” Reaper asked. “Io, this is Reaper, Command and Control secured. Objective secured."

Elapsed mission time; three minutes, twenty seconds. One minute longer than projected.

Since the Titan’s assault was still underway, (the objectives had chronologically overlapped) Reaper’s announcement did not end the Raptor Mission. End of Mission was filed when Titan completed his objectives, resulting in an overall elapsed mission time of nine minutes, forty-nine seconds. Five minutes, eleven seconds under projected mission time.



Chapter Thirteen

Pleiades One Station, Heavy Cruiser Adonis (Docked)

High orbit, Planet Atlas, (Centauri A IV)

Centauri System

Sol Sector

Raptor Io team leader Major Gene ‘Reaper’ Hastings, Commanding (Temporary)

Reaper ordered the command staff to be removed to the station detention area, but asked that the Admiral be allowed to remain for the time being. Sitting in the command briefing room, Belirus looked at the two Raptor team members.

This whole idea of a Raptor team was terrifying. Did Goya and his people here really create such a team? To Belirus, it was further proof that Goya and the rest of High Command were completely insane.

“Major, you said you thought you could prove I’ve been lied to. Whatever you have planned better be damned convincing,” the man replied.

Reaper nodded. “I can understand that, Sir. As for my proof, I would like to have your own ship’s engineers reconnect your ships AI. Once that’s completed, I would like you to question him or her, as to the history of this sector,” Reaper explained. “Be sure to precede your request by instructing the AI to use current onboard data only, and not to request any information from any other data source.”

Belirus thought about that for a moment and nodded agreement. “He was taken off line in case we needed to engage in combat here. The information he has in memory would predate my own, so I can see what you are trying to do. What if he confirms my information, and not yours?”

“Then I will order the crew released, surrender myself and my team to you for prosecution,” Reaper replied. “I am willing to bet that he has never even heard of Sol Sector."

Belirus nodded, but asked. “How many of my crew were killed?” In the few short minutes since the team secured his ship, Belirus had come to realize that this man truly believed he was on the side of right in this mess. The Admiral could tell he was trustworthy, and honorable.

Reaper sighed. “Sir, I regret to inform you that we lost one of your crewmen during the forced landing in Alpha Bay. He was simply too close to the ship when the Titan emitted its stun pulse, and it overloaded his brain. At least, he didn't feel pain.”

Belirus nodded. “Who else?”

“That’s it, Sir, we managed to stun everyone else. We really wanted to make it as bloodless as possible, but accidents like what happened in Alpha Bay are sometimes unavoidable,” Reaper explained regrettably.

“You mean to tell me, you took my entire ship with only one fatality?” Surely his Marines had to have at least put up enough of a resistance to result in some casualties.

“Sir, this is what we are trained to do. If you had been an enemy ship that we didn’t have override codes for, there would have been hundreds of casualties. As it was, we tried to do it without hurting anyone. After speaking to you, I'm damn glad we went to the extremes we did to make sure of it.” Reaper explained. “I would have seriously regretted killing people over something as stupid as this misunderstanding is."

That was almost harder for Belirus to accept than the existence of the Raptor teams. How could an entire heavy cruiser fall to sixteen specially trained soldiers, and a platoon of Marines? Especially with only one casualty, and that being an accident!

Belirus nodded his acceptance. “For what it’s worth, I’m very pleased you stunned everyone. Although, treason does carry the maximum penalty, so if you prove to be right, they are all going to die anyway.”

Reaper shook his head. “No they won’t. I’ve already started working on that. In fact, I’m waiting for a call from my superiors demanding an explanation for my orders, as well as the arrival of the other Raptor Commander. Raptor Commanders, such as myself, have a limited authority during missions. I exercised mine in this situation. None of the prisoners taken during this mission are being charged yet, they are simply being held in protective custody pending the outcome of our investigation here.”

Scotty chose that time to arrive at the conference room. “Sorry I’m late, I wanted to see to arrangements for the man that was killed when we landed. What’s going on Reaper?"

Reaper quickly filled him in on everything she’d learned during her part of the mission. Once Scotty learned of the status of the Admiral, he turned and saluted the man. “My apologies, Sir. I didn’t know what your status was when I arrived. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Belirus was taken aback by the sudden change in the man and returned the salute. “That’s fine, Major. I’m pretty confused by all this myself."

“Sir,” Iona said addressing Reaper. “Command would like to know if you have time to answer a few questions about the mission."

Reaper nodded. “Can you project the hologram in here?”

She nodded. “I can, Sir, one moment.” She closed her eyes, and Ian’s form took shape sitting at one of the chairs at the table. Next to him, Admirals Goya and Pan also took form. Finally, Councilor Noren, and another man also joined them.

Reaper saluted Ian and the Admirals. “Sirs, for those who don’t know him, may I introduce Admiral Belirus of House Cronos. I am Major Jene Grimm of the Raptor Io, call sign 'Reaper’ and this is my counterpart from the Raptor Titan, Major Scott McCandless, call sign ‘Scotty'.”

Ian thanked her and in turn introduced everyone that was with him. “Now that we all know each other, would you care to explain the orders you issued regarding the crew of the Adonis?”

As Reaper opened her mouth to begin, Scotty cut her off. “Sir, with respect, I would like to officially endorse Reapers orders concerning the detainees.”

“So noted,” Ian replied. “Now, please continue, Reaper.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Reaper said. “Upon capturing the bridge of the Heavy Cruiser Adonis, I received testimony from Admiral Belirus concerning his actions during his mission here. He is telling the whole truth with respect to his omission of the existence of the remainder of his fleet. Sir, his actions, and he still firmly believes in them, are based on information given to him that was, at best, erroneous.” Reaper took a deep breath and continued. “I exercised Raptor Command initiative to prevent formal charges of treason to be filed against him and his crew until we have concluded our investigation of the information that was given to the Admiral prior to his departure for this mission. The possibility exists the rogue elements of the Talosian fleet are operating under the same false information.”

“Excuse me, Major, but how do you know I spoke the truth?” Admiral Belirus asked.

“I’m afraid I cannot tell you that, Admiral. That information is classified as well,” Reaper replied smiling in apology at him.

Belirus nodded. “I understand, Major. Thank you for telling me.”

“No offense, Belirus, but that was almost cordial. That is very unlike you,” Pan said. “You’re abrasive to the point of rudeness.”

“Admiral, Major Grimm is one of the very few people I know to be honorable and completely trustworthy.” He snorted. “Don't ask me to explain it, because I can’t. But I know she has gone out of her way to make sure this mess gets cleared up with as little bloodletting as possible. Although you are currently my superiors, I never got that feeling from any of you.”

“Because of your actions, you will be charged once we return...” Goya began.

“Please excuse my interruption, Admiral. With respect, the Admiral will not be charged with anything. He cannot be. He has acted according to the information he was given by sources he considers to be above reproach. Although his actions are indeed treasonous, he is not guilty of treason. Currently, the Admiral is under my protection, and will remain so until I am certain of his guilt or innocence. If I can prove he is truly guilty, I will remand him to my Commander along will all my information for prosecution or extradition. However, if he is indeed free of guilt or collusion, I will again present my findings to my commander before releasing him,” Reaper explained. “That same condition applies to his crew. I have already sent a preliminary report to the Raptors Damocles, Gemini, and Apache, so they are aware of the situation, and can proceed accordingly."

“Under what authority do you claim those rights, Major?” Goya asked. It was clear he didn’t like what he was hearing.

“Raptor Command rules of execution and engagement Sir. Until we release this mission, we have complete authority to proceed in the method in which we see fit to resolve and therefore complete our mission,” Reaper explained. “Sir, I do have to inform my commander of my progress and decisions, however, until this matter is resolved, the only authority that matters is ours.” Reaper nodded at the pissed off Goya. “I’m sorry Sir, I thought you knew about this before we were sent. We also have the authority to execute those found guilty of a capital offence regardless of rank or social position. In other words, if I knew that Councilor Noren had killed someone, or had done it in front of me. I could execute her for the crime.”

Ian held up his hand to stop the explanation. “We can discuss the merits of the Raptor team mandates later. For now, I need to know why the prisoners would not be released to us. Now I know. How do you plan to proceed, Reaper?”

“I plan to allow the Adonis techs to reconnect the AI so the Admiral can ask it a few questions. At that point, I will know how to better complete this mission,” Reaper replied. "If you would like, I can make periodic reports on what we discover as we proceed.”

“Understood, Reaper. Scotty, do you still wish to back Reaper on this?” Ian asked.

“Yes Commander. This needs to be resolved before it tears the Talosian people apart,” Scotty replied. “We’ll see this through to the end. After all is said and done, that’s where our duty lies.”

“Very well, keep us posted,” Ian replied and then cut the connection.

“I don’t think they cared for your answers. You may have some problems when the smoke clears from this,” Belirus said.

“No Sir, this is the reason Raptor teams were formed to begin with. Yes, we are strong; we have the latest weapons, and we train endlessly to keep our edge. But like Scotty told the Commander, at the end of the day, it the duty of a Raptor team to stand between the darkness and the light. Even if it is difficult to tell which one is which," Reaper said.

The techs were more than happy to reactivate Adonis. They had felt that the decision to deactivate the powerful computer had been a mistake to begin with. They understood there was a reason for AI to be installed on the warships. They were there to keep the ship from being used against the Talosian people or their interests.

It actually only took them a few minutes to reactivate the AI. He had been completely shut down, not simply placed into a dormant mode, as was originally said. Belirus had been told the AI was simply dormant, and could be reactivated at a moment’s notice to assist in an emergency. The knowledge that he had been lied to about the status wasn’t lost on him, but accidents happen, and the lie could have been a simple miscommunication.

When Adonis was fully reactivated, the first thing he did was request an external connection so he could update himself to current events, it was denied.

“Adonis, this is Admiral Belirus. Do you remember me?”

“Of course, Sir. I am the AI of your Flagship after all,” Adonis replied.

“Yes, of course,” Belirus replied. “The reason you have been denied communications is only temporary, and because we need to make sure that your existing memory files are intact and not influenced by current information. Do you understand that?”

“Yes Admiral. An event has taken place that has altered official records. Since my records have not been updated since before the event, my records should be considered to be accurate. Is that correct?” the holographic avatar replied.

“Yes it is, thank you for understanding. Once this matter is clear up, we will allow you to update. Until then, I have a few questions for you. Some of them you might not be able to answer, and that is fine, just tell me so. However, under no circumstances are you to seek an external source for an answer,” Belirus said.

“Understood, Admiral. Before we proceed, might I know the identities of the two other individuals present so I know they have clearance?” Adonis replied. As per their agreement, Reaper and Scotty were both present, but allowed Belirus to ask his questions unhindered by them.

“I cannot tell you that until you are allowed to update, Adonis. However, on my authority and for the duration of this interview, I want you to consider both men to have the same access level I do. That is to say, information you are allowed to tell me, you are allowed to tell them,” Belirus replied.

“Again, I understand, Admiral. You may proceed when you are ready,” the powerful AI replied.

“Thank you, Adonis. To begin with, I would like for you to tell me everything you can about a remote House Heracin Colony in the Beta Quadrant, Solaris Sector.”

“Accessing, I’m sorry Admiral, no information exists for a House Heracin colony world, or any Talosian Colony world, in the Beta Quadrant. I have no navigational records charting this area of the Galaxy. As of the date of my information, it was assumed that this quadrant may contain more of the Benesian Hegemony. No other records exist,” the AI replied.

“What is the exact date of your last information update?” Belirus asked.

“Oh-seven-twenty-three hours, Riasta Third, seventy-one-ninety-two of the seventh era,” Adonis replied. “We are currently far outside the boarders of Talosian space."

Belirus was silent a moment, deep in thought. Scotty wrote something down on a piece of paper and slid it over to the Admiral who nodded.

“Adonis, please search for any reference to ‘Pleiades’ and or ‘Star Dancer’. Report findings,” the man asked.

“Searching,” Adonis replied. Three references found for the word ‘Pleiades’ were found. Unable to proceed for ‘Star Dancer’. Information restricted by Council Security mandate,” Adonis reported.

“Pleiades, first reference. Pleiades Mining Company is owned and operated by...”

“Skip reference, next please,” Belirus asked.

“Pleiades, second reference. Third era mythological beings said to have the ability to...”

“Skip, next please,” the Admiral asked again.

“Pleiades, third reference. According to the scribe Botharius, the Pleiades were a group of female warriors specially trained by the Eastern Alliance. They specialized in counter espionage and...”

“Hold,” Belirus asked. “Adonis, is the Council restriction on any mention of the words Star Dancer, the only reference you could find?"

“There is only one reference, Admiral.” Adonis replied.

“What is the date of the mandate, and who was it signed by?” Belirus asked.

“The information was included in my last update. The mandate is signed by Councilor Amaraliss, Councilor Anewl and Councilor H’lonc.”

“Is access restricted, or completely denied?” Belirus asked.

“Completely denied. Information can only be released by order of the High Council,” Adonis replied.

“What do you know of the Planet Earth and the human colony there?” Belirus asked.

“Information restricted by Council Security mandate. No other information is available,” Adonis replied.

“Is it the same mandate?”

“Affirmative,” Adonis replied.

Belirus pursed his lips. “Adonis, do you know of any remote colonies that are either in rebellion, or are considered at risk of rebellion against the Council?”

“Negative information, sir. As of my last update, no civil uprisings of any kind had been reported.” Adonis replied.

“Adonis, listen very carefully. When you are allowed communications, do not contact Talos for it. Instead, please request permission from the Terran ship Star Dancer, and the TDF Cruiser Prometheus.

“Information originating from Talos is to be considered suspect at best,” Belirus sighed, and turned to the two officers that were with him. “I would like to return to my office so I may tender my resignation, and a formal letter of apology to High Command, as well as your ruling council, and Commander Williams.”

“Sir?” Reaper asked.

“Major, you are correct. I’ve been lied to for over a year. Because of those lies, I have been acting against the interests of the Talosian people. By allowing this deception, I am no longer entitled to my rank or position. Because of my actions, I find that I am indeed guilty of treason against my rightful Government,” Belirus explained.

“Further, I think you should take a hard look at a few of my former command staff. Commander Tomakin had to have known the truth, as did his first officer. I would look at the operations and intelligence officers as well. As for the rest, your guess is as good as mine. I didn’t get to know any of the others very well, so I don’t think I can be of much more help.”

Scotty nodded. “We have already identified seventeen former officers and crew as being involved in the conspiracy, Sir. The Commander and First Officer were two of the first to be identified. They have already been charged. However, we have also cleared almost a hundred more. I can assure you that none of them are all too happy with the situation."

“I think I should warn Councilor Noren and the Admirals that Aramaliss and his aide are dirty too. I don’t know when it’s supposed to happen, but Landress was supposed to make an attempt to either sabotage or take over the Star Dancer AI,” Belirus said.

“Landress was apprehended yesterday when he attempted to gain access to the AI vault. Under interrogation, he implicated his boss, and Amaraliss was immediately arrested. They were the first two arrested in this. It’s also why we were ordered to take the ship."

“Excuse me Sir,” Adonis asked. “If Commander Tomakin has been relieved of Command, who is my current Commander? Also there is an unidentified ship attached to my hull at the command access way.”

“Adonis, you are currently docked to an allied facility. At this moment, you do not have a permanent commander. Allow temporary command to Major Jene Grimm of the Terran defense force. Admiral Goya and Admiral Pan are also in system. They will get your command status figured out before you are released from the dock,” Belirus said. “It’s been a pleasure serving aboard you, Adonis.”



Chapter Fourteen

TDF Star Dancer

High Orbit, Planet Earth

Sol System, Sol Sector

Commander Ian Williams, Commanding

“I don’t understand how your Raptor Commander can say with such certainty that Belirus is innocent. I know the man; I know he’s guilty!" Goya said.

“Admiral, do you remember my mentioning that certain people in our society have special gifts?” Ian asked.

“Of course, but what does that have to do with this?” Goya asked.

“Major Grimm is one of those people. She is a walking, talking, lie detector. If she says that Belirus is innocent, then he is,” Ian explained. “I do have to agree with her after reviewing the evidence she’s gathered. I just wish I could have said the same thing about the remainder of the Adonis’ crew.”

Goya sighed. “Okay Ian. I’ll accept the Major’s judgement on this and stand for the man against the Council. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about removing those charges. They are independent of our judicial system.”

Ian nodded. “We’re the same way. But as long as he gets a fair hearing, he should be fine. It’s none of my business, but he doesn't seem like the type of person that should be an Admiral. He’s abrasive in the extreme and definitely not a physically imposing man.”

“No, on the surface, he would be one of the last people I would have wanted to lead a fleet. However, he has an uncanny tactical mind. Honestly, it’s almost like he has his own gift. He can look at a situation and lay out a plan that will have the highest probability of success. He's an ass, but he’s a smart ass!”

Chloe had been taking a drink of her tea when Goya had said that, and she snorted, blowing tea out of her nose. The rest of the crew in the CIC burst out laughing at both the comment, as well as their boss’ discomfiture.

Goya touched one of the operators on the shoulder, as he blushed. “What did I just say?”

As the operator explained the reference to the two Admirals, Ian received a call from Cindy.

“Star Com, this is Damocles. In light of the Raptor Io report, how does Guardian want us to handle this mission?”

“Stand by, Damocles, I’ll find out for you,” Chloe said as soon as she could speak.

Ian grinned at Chloe, who was scowling at him for laughing. “I heard her, Major. Gimme a sec, I’ll talk it over with the Admirals once they stop laughing.”

Chloe nodded and opened the comm to Cindy. “Damocles, he wants to consult with the Talosian representatives.”

“Understood, Star Comm,” Cindy replied.

Shortly after speaking to Reaper, Goya requested Noren join them in the CIC. She, Luke, and Laura entered the already crowded room.

“Did you need to see me, Admiral?” Noren asked Goya.

Goya nodded to her. “My apologies for not coming to you, Councilor, but I believe information you will need to see is here as well.” Goya quickly and accurately filled her in on the situation with the Adonis and the actions that had been taken already. He made sure to stress to her that Major Grimm had cleared Admiral Belirus of all wrong doing.

Noren listened closely and nodded when he finished. “I know you don’t like the man, Goya, so I will trust you when you tell me he is innocent. Currently, it appears that these remarkable people are more trustworthy than our own Council in its current state. Treaty or not, I do not believe they will do anything counter to us or our people. I feel strongly, mind you, that we should trust these folks completely in these matters.

“I do not, and cannot, speak for the entire Ruling Council. However, this is a very delicate and unusual situation. I feel that once we return to Talos, we will have a civil war in some form. I have already requested that we be allowed to take Amaraliss and Landress back to Talos to stand trial for their crimes. They have been charged by the Terran Council with espionage and attempted sabotage. Because of the nature of the crimes themselves, they would be executed if convicted.

“I know that they will receive a full pardon by the High Council when we return because of the disease we have allowed to grow. Because of all the evidence I’ve seen as the presiding chairperson of the Ruling Council, I am declaring a state of national emergency. Basically, Goya, I'm dropping the whole thing back in your lap. I trust you to get us out of this mess we have found ourselves in. You know who you can trust and who you can’t. Councilors Belden and Johnson assure me that they will help as much as they can, even without a treaty between us.”

Luke nodded. “The reason we were resistant to a treaty to begin with is because of the issues you’ve been having in the Ruling Council. We are all human, which really makes us all family. We need to help you fix your problem if we can, without putting ourselves at risk." He turned to Ian. “For the time being, please consider Goya and Pan as part of your command structure. Not as commanders, you will still have the final say, but think of them more as advisors since you will all share the same rank; that of Admiral.”

“I’m not an Admiral, Luke, you know that,” Ian said. “Are you and the Council pushing this again?”

Luke nodded. “No, we are ordering it. Agreement was unanimous on the Council, but, we also knew you probably wouldn’t accept it, so we arranged for a special meeting of the UN Security Council later today. While Admirals Goya and Pan as well as Councilor Noren will testify there, both myself and Laura will be there as well. We are going to give them the opportunity to have a say in this. However, the fact remains that you have been ordered to assume the rank of Admiral by your civilian leaders, are you going to disobey your orders Admiral?”

“Luke,” Ian began, but at the look on Luke’s face, he rephrased his response. “Councilor, It’s not that I am refusing the order. I explained my feelings on this the last time you tried to promote me. I do not want to be promoted based on gratitude. I made a massive mistake with the Talos battle and people died. I do not feel I am qualified to hold that rank.”

“Ian, we argued this just a couple of days ago, and you agreed to accept the rank,” Goya said. “Besides, Councilor Belden is correct; if they have made it an official order, you either have to accept it or resign your commission.”

“Commander Williams,” Noren spoke. “I do not know you as well as I would like to, but I have had the opportunity to review the events you mentioned, as have my most trusted military advisors. It is their opinion, and officially reported as such, that the Caldarian attack on this system was handled in the absolute best possible way.

“Our intelligence service, which by the way is controlled by the opposition, was so impressed by your actions they used words like brilliant tactics, inspired actions, and said you had an ‘uncanny grasp of enemy tactics and the ability to turn them to your advantage',” Noren explained. “Granted, they immediately killed that report, to discredit you, but that was obviously the actions of the opposition setting up the situation we found ourselves in that sent us here. Ian, accept the Council's orders. You have to, if for no other reason than that there is no one else that can replace you.”

Ian held up his hands in surrender, but was grinning. “Okay! Okay! I accept! If for no other reason than to get all of you to leave me alone about it! But what are you going to do if the UN disagrees with you?”

“That won’t matter at this point. Instead of asking their opinion, we will simply be informing them of the action and the reasons for it,” Luke replied. "Major Dancer, please?”

Star took form in the room, although her lower half was hidden in a computer terminal because of the lack of room. “You asked for me, Councilor?”

“Yes I did. On this day and at this time, acting on the decisions of the Terran Ruling Council, and in my capacity as the Chairman for that body, I am ordering you to officially record the promotion of Commander Ian Williams to that of Fleet Admiral of the Terran Defense Forces. I am further ordering you to officially record the Promotion of Colonel Jennifer Laskar-Williams to the rank of Commander and assign her to the TDF Star Dancer as Master and Commander. Colonel Tyler Anders is promoted to the rank of General, and is to continue in his current duties. Major John Harris, Major Chloe Brighton, and Major Bethany Ann Hayes-Williams are hereby promoted to the rank of Colonel; duty assignments are still pending. Official promotion ceremonies will be scheduled and held at a later time, but date of rank is immediate,” Luke finished.

Star nodded to him and turned to Laura. “Councilor Johnson, as the only other member of the Ruling Council present, do you testify that these official orders are correct?”

Laura nodded. “I do.”

The holographic rank insignia on Ian’s Armor changed to that of Admiral, and Chloe’s changed to Colonel. The operators in the room stood and clapped, congratulating the two on their promotions.

“Okay folks, as much as we both appreciate it, we are still on the clock here,” Chloe said, and chuckled. “Back to work my slaves!"

“Okay, so what time is the meeting with the UN?” Ian asked.

Luke looked at his watch. “Not for a few hours yet.”

“Message received on Alliance of Races Emergency channels,” Star reported.

Star put it on the room speakers, and translated it. “Attention! Anyone on this channel! This is the Benesian ship Summer Dawn. We are declaring an emergency! We are under attack by an unknown warship. We are requesting immediate assistance!

“Star Com, Damocles is reporting a change of mission. We are responding to a Benesian distress call. Computer puts them twenty-two minutes away. Ship directory says the Summer Dawn is a civilian passenger liner,” Cindy reported. “Gemini and Apache are continuing mission."

“Wait!” Goya said. “It could be a trap. The Empire has used this ploy to lure our ships into an ambush!”

“I heard him, Star Com. Request verification and status update of Benesian ‘Summer Dawn’,” Cindy replied.

“Gimme a few minutes on that, Damocles,” Chloe replied.

“Take all the time you need, Star Com, but in twenty-one minutes it won’t matter as much,” Cindy replied.

“Let me talk to the Alliance of Races, Colonel,” Noren said. “They know me.”

Chloe nodded and motioned toward one of her operators. “Thank you, Councilor. I’m sure that will greatly speed up the process.”

Noren moved over to the operator Chloe had indicated, and they got busy.

Ian was studying a star chart of ‘local’ space, since the Raptor group wasn’t that far away. The chart put the Damocles location near the Beta Hydri system, and her current course would drop them in that system.

If that ‘unknown’ warship turned out to be an Imperial Cruiser, that would mean that Imperial forces were operating less than twenty-five light years away. Ian did not like the looks of that at all. If they were that close, then they might very well know about the Sol System, and an attack by them would overwhelm his paltry defenses.

“If that’s an Imperial ship, they are far too close to us for my comfort,” Ian said.

“We’ve never had any reports of them this deep into our galaxy. In fact, this ship would be almost a hundred light years from any known concentration of enemy forces,” Goya said. “Very troubling.”

“Oh my Goddess!” Noren replied. “Admiral, you must rescue that ship at all costs!”

“What’s wrong?” Ian asked.

“That ship is the main transport for the Benesian ruling council. Their Ambassador almost fainted when I asked her about it. There is a high probability that the ship and the distress call are real!”

“Damocles, this is Star Com, ship verification complete. High confidence that mission is real, VIP is present on Summer Dawn. Securing the safety of the Summer Dawn is a high priority,” Chloe ordered.

“Message understood, Star Com, should I pull the other two Raptors in as well?” Cindy asked.

Chloe looked at Ian for the answer.

Ian shook his head. “No, we’ll respond. If that ship is so important, they may need heavier firepower than a Raptor or the three we can bring to bear.” He activated his own comm. "Jenny, get the ship ready to go; set course for Beta Hydri, fastest possible speed.” He turned to the Admirals and Councilors. “I’m going to leave you folks on the moon base for now. Prometheus will jump back from Centauri to protect Earth. Chloe, get all of our fighters and recon ships back on board ASAP.”

Just as Noren was about to protest, Goya interrupted her. “He has to go, Noren. If I were in command here, I would do the exact same thing. Civilian emergencies of this type have to have a maximum response, and Ian’s fleet is the closest. His Raptor team can do what they can until he gets there.”

“I understand, I was only going to question the decision not to send the other two Raptors,” Noren said.

“A Raptor is very poorly equipped for this type of rescue mission, Councilor,” Ian said. “If it were to free hostages or rescue the VIP from enemy custody, yes, they would be perfect, but in this situation, they are little more than an assault shuttle with improved guns.”

“Oh!” Noren said. “Come on, Admirals, let’s get out of here so he can get moving!”

Luke gave Ian a nod as he followed the others out of the room. Their guards had already begun to lead them to the maglev. Ian grinned and nodded to Chloe as he left for the bridge.

TDF Assault ship, Raptor Damocles

Deceleration vector, Beta Hydri system

Benesian Federated Space

Rataac Sector

Major Cindy Williams-Swift, Commanding

“Summer Dawn, this is Terran Raptor Damocles. What is your situation?”

“Blessed Goddess! Thank you! We are being pursued by what we think is an Imperial warship. We’ve been ordered to halt and be boarded. We’ve taken missile hits to the engines and are losing power. Please hurry!” A panicked voice replied.

“Hold it together, Summer Dawn, we’ll be there shortly. We have notified Alliance command of your position and situation. Help is on the way.” Cindy said.

“Thank you, Damocles. We’ll hold.” Cindy thought that she could hear a note of relief in the voice.

Cindy got up and headed back to the Common Area to face her sleepy team. She noticed that they had gotten into their armor but hadn’t put the helmets on. She smiled in approval. “Okay campers we have a Benesian civilian liner under attack by an unknown hostile. It’s most likely an Imperial Light Cruiser. Thankfully the damn thing is only about a third the size of Star Dancer or we’d be in a world of shit. We still could be. This is what we’ve been training for, campers.

“Imperial shielding isn’t like ours. They have a weak EM field and a very thick hull. I want to drop out of hyperspace right in front of them, let’s open both cannons to hammer the fuck out of them. If we can open another portal behind them but turn away so they think we jumped back out, that would be good.” As she explained a holographic depiction of what she was describing appeared over the table. It was a little slower than her description as the computer was trying to display what she was saying.

“If they have as much trouble seeing us as the Caldarians did, how are we supposed to distract them? We can’t present a viable target for them to see.” Jerry asked.

“Good question. If we need to, we can unshield our engine emissions. That should get their attention. If that doesn’t work, well I guess we’ll have to slap them in the face with a dead fish,” Cindy replied.

They all chuckled over that. “Okay, so what do you want the rest of us to do?” Sam asked.

Shrugging, Cindy said, “Hold on. Watch the fight from your bunk via the monitors and make suggestions for the rest of us. Other than that, praying might help. Now we have about ten minutes before dropping out of hyperspace, let’s get set," she said, making for her locker to get her armor on.

She walked through the ship, quickly checking that everything was secure. She got ‘thumbs up’ signals from the three men, now safely strapped into their bunks with their helmets on. She quickly returned to the cockpit; Sasha was below them in the gunner's position, and Lissa was sitting at the navigators/co-pilot station. Cindy put her own helmet on and sat down to strap herself in.

“Real-space interface in 3 minutes.” Lissa’s voice sounded in her ears.

“Okay, Sasha are you ready?” Cindy asked.

“Yes, Targeting and holographic interface are on-line. Weapons are deployed.”

“Good, master safety off. Arm all weapons systems. Stand-by for interface,” She ordered and began running through her own systems checks.

Finally after what seemed to Cindy to be about three seconds, Lissa called out; “Interface in 30 seconds.”

Cindy placed her hand on the control sticks for the Raptor, and raised her eyes to the forward screens. Her heart was beating fast and she was breathing heavily. Adrenalin surged through her veins.

A nova of light appeared in front of the Raptor. In real space, it would appear as a bright flash of light, here, on this side of it, it looked mostly like the swirling motion from a toilet.

TDF Assault ship, Raptor Damocles

Realspace interface, Beta Hydri system

Benesian Federated Space

Rataac Sector

Major Cindy Williams-Swift, Commanding

The world that Sasha was in was a holographically generated view of space outside of the ship. Currently she was looking ‘ahead’ or at least what the computer told her was that direction. She had never been able figure it out herself. She had activated and armed both cannon turrets after she had powered up and gotten Cindy’s approval. She listened to Lissa’s count as she watched the swirling colors begin to twist into an interface point with ‘real' space. She never really understood hyperspace physics, so the damn thing only looked like a clenching sphincter to her.

The computer knew the plan as well as she did and would assist her in keeping the weapons locked on target. She began firing ultra high velocity projectiles as soon as she saw something that looked like normal space. The computer adjusted the velocity of the rounds to compensate for their own speed and by the time interface was complete she had already fired nine thousand times. The plan called for the use of only the cannons but she had armed the lasers as well. All she had to do to fire them was change her hand position. Therefore when the blinding flash from the enemy ship hit her she jerked in an unconscious effort to shield herself... and fired every weapon the Damocles carried.

Cindy was watching too. She saw the pulse of light and tried to evade. She actually managed to get the Raptor to start turning. She heard Lissa scream and felt the Raptor shudder, smoke and sparks leapt from the control boards in front of her. She watched in horror as every single light and readout in front of her died. The Damocles began to tumble.

‘If I survive this, Ian’s gonna fuckin’ kill me.’  Cindy thought to herself

Imperial weapons technology was lacking in many ways; targeting systems being one of them. They compensated by modifying the gunners. The optic nerves are modified in such a way that, once plugged in, the ships sensors became their ‘eyes’.  The weapons systems assigned to each gunner tracked with eye movement.

The Imperial light cruiser Treel had two gunners; one forward and one aft. The flash of a jump point forming almost right in front of them could not help but catch the attention of the forward gunner. He glanced up at it just as the first rounds from the Damocles slammed right through the bow of the ship, through the Captain behind him, and continued on to expend the remainder of their energy deep in the bulk of the ship. He didn’t feel the rest of rounds that shredded his body as well as the forward third of his ship.

The only weapon that was armed when he spasmed from the round going through his head was an ion cannon. Meant for the sole purpose of disabling a ship’s electrical systems, it had a very pronounced effect on the Damocles. No one on the bridge was alive when the Damocles lasers cut completely through the aft sections, severing engineering from the rest of the ship.

TDF Assault ship, Raptor Damocles

Location unknown, Beta Hydri System

Benesian Federated Space

Rataac Sector

Major Cindy Williams-Swift, Commanding

Cindy fought against panic as her suit’s internal systems started up automatically. She knew it was a normal reaction to the loss of external systems, but it still upset her.

“Report! Sound off!” She barked into her comm.

“Sasha here! Can someone get me out of this damn closet?”

“Sam here. I’m okay, what the hell happened?”

“Jerry here, I’m okay.”

“Ben here, the bastards woke me up!”

“Jerry, you and Sam get unstrapped and get Sasha out of the weapons chamber. Ben, come up here and help me carry Lissa back to her bunk. Her suit reports her as breathing but unconscious. We’ll get her plugged into the ‘autodoc’ as soon we figure out if it’s working,” Cindy ordered as she unstrapped herself from the pilots’ chair. She floated up as soon as she was free. Artificial gravity had failed as well. This was not looking good. What the hell hit them?

She glanced up as first Ben and then the other two men came floating through the hatch. “Ben, since we are weightless, I can manage Lissa. Get below and do a damage assessment. The AG unit’s out, I think we can assume our main reactor is off line. Turn off all systems as you go. I'll come down as soon as I get Lissa secured and see if we can’t get it back on-line.” She saw him nod and reverse himself to float over the men working on the access hatch to the gunnery chamber.

Cindy went to work on getting Lissa unstrapped and back to her bunk. It stood to reason if the Damcoles was knocked out that Lissa was unconscious as well, but why? How was she going to cover the fact that Lissa was an android?

“Uh... Major? I’m not sure, but I think I’m blind." Sasha said, her voice quavering with fear.

“Just relax Sasha. You’re in a dark room; what makes you think you’re blind?” Cindy asked reasonably.

“I cannot see my suit lights. All I can see is big bright ball no matter where I turn my head. I was looking right at the enemy when they fired. Now all I can see is the after image of that blast.”

“Sasha, when you are in that room, you are using the Damocles' sensors as your eyes. They would have cut out before a bright flash could do permanent harm to your eyes. You know that. The after-image will pass and you’ll be able to see again. Don't panic, just relax and let the boys get you out of there. You can relax on your bunk until your sight clears. That’s an order.” Cindy said. “Sam, Jerry, make sure you shut off the weapons systems after you pull her out of there. If we power up with systems already turned on we could damage something more then it might be already.” She had freed Lissa and was floating her back out the hatch as she gave the order. She got a ‘thumbs up’ from Jerry as she floated past.

She got Lissa strapped into her bunk as Sam guided Sasha to her bunk and began to help her get strapped in.

Cindy headed for the ladder down to the hold and engineering section.

“Hey Ben, what’ve you found?” She asked as she glided over to him.

“We have a small problem. Whatever knocked our systems out, also activated and armed all of the plasma mines. We’ve got three cases of armed mines ready to blow at the slightest bump. The problem is, they are designed for use in gravity. I don't think I dare try to disarm them without gravity. However, if we restore gravity, they will probably blow.”

“Can you get them out the airlock?” She asked.

“That’s what I was thinking. But I wanted to wait for you before sealing off the living area. I’ve checked all I can and shut down the systems that weren't already off. The rest are in the engineering section.”

“Okay. Let’s get the bay sealed then and bleed off the atmosphere. I need to try to get the Damocles fixed. Can you get these by yourself, or should one of the boys come down to help?"

“If we each take a case it should lessen the chance of a bump setting them off,” He suggested.

“Jerry, Sam! Get down here! We’ve got work to do!” She ordered.

“On our way.”

“Good. Seal the hatch after you. Be careful with those damn mines!”

“Yes, mother.”  Came the smart-ass comment.

Cindy chuckled to herself. A little humor helped to ease the building tension. She headed to a storage locker for the tools she knew she would need. Once equipped, she moved to the hatch separating the engineering crawl space from the hold. She pulled the hatch open and smoke billowed out. ‘That’s not a good sign’ she thought to herself. As she squatted down to enter the tunnel, her suit warned her of the decrease of external atmosphere. She ignored it as she made her way to the control unit of the main reactor, shutting down every system prior to a restart. She checked them off in her mind as she went along. Finally, she arrived at the control panel for the main reactor. Sure enough it was in stand-by, not completely powered down. She hesitated before turning it back on; trying to make sure they hadn’t missed anything. The only system Cindy could think of was Lissa. She glanced up the ‘tunnel’ to where she knew Lissa really lived. It was listed as the main memory section for the Damocles' on board computer systems. Cindy later learned that was where Lissa’s higher function processor units were stored as well. She moved up to the access panel and removed it. Lissa had a power unit that was separate from the Damocles.

She noted it was in standby as well. There was a display screen set above the control suite, and she located the switch she knew to be there and turned it from ‘AVAT’ to ‘DISP' thus disabling the Avatar and restricting it to Display only. She then re-activated the power unit. Lissa’s face appeared on the display screen, she looked a little panicked and was opening her mouth to speak. Cindy hastily put a finger up to the outside of her faceplate where her mouth was to indicate silence. Lissa nodded understanding. Cindy pulled out the keyboard under the control suite and typed; ‘Be patient sweetheart. We are trying to get the ship back up and running.’

‘What happened?’ was printed under Lissa’s image.

‘Don’t know yet. Ship is completely down. ‘You’ are unconscious on your bunk upstairs. Sasha is worried about you. She was temporarily blinded. Now let me get this ship fixed before we get into real trouble.’ Cindy winked at Lissa who gave a tentative smile back and nodded.

‘Have you checked the armor charge?’ Lissa asked.

‘No. Have no way to do so. I will as soon as I can.’ With that Cindy moved back down to the main reactor panel.

“How are you doing, boys?” She asked.

“The last case is out the lock. We are trying to get it closed now,” Ben reported.

“Well then, how about I turn the lights back on?” She said as she turned the main switch back to ‘ON’ “Now, I’ll go through the list to power everything back up and get out of here. I hate this little hole.” She admitted. "Now get yourselves set, I’m gonna turn the gravity back on.” She said as she went from system to system turning them back on. The last two were the propulsion systems and weapons. She got red lights on the laser cannons, and no lights at all on the hyperdrive system. Unable to locate the malfunction from here, she moved back up to Lissa’s control unit.

‘I’m going to re-enable your avatar. Play dead for awhile so as not to cause suspicion, Okay?’ She typed.

Lissa nodded and Cindy turned the selector switch back to ‘AVAT’. Lissa’s image stayed on the screen long enough to smile and nod to Cindy then went dark. Cindy replaced the cover to the unit and began making her way back to the exit. She replaced the hatch and moved to put her tools away. She noticed her suit reporting atmosphere had been restored so she opened her faceplate as she reached the locker. She put her tools back and returned to the main cabin en-route to the cockpit.

“How are Sasha and Lissa doing?” She asked.

“I am getting my vision back, but slowly. I can see things to the side, but I still only see white blob in front of me.” Sasha said.

“Lissa is still unconscious” Sam said softly.

“Have you checked the autodoc yet?” he shook his head. “Okay, please do so, and if she hasn’t come out of it by then, stick her in there.” Cindy said.

She got back to the cockpit and fired up the engines to stabilize their flight. She checked the armor readings and found them almost to the overload point. She tried to arm the lasers and fire them to discharge some of the energy but the weapons were still unresponsive.

She got up and moved over to Lissa’s control panel. She began to reroute the power grid to use energy from the armor to power the ships systems. That stopped the buildup of energy and even decreased it some. She returned to her own seat and began to figure out how far they had drifted, and what the status of the enemy was.



Chapter Fifteen

TDF Star Dancer

System exit vector

Sol System, Sol Sector

Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

"Commander, have you heard anything from the Damocles since losing her data feeds?" Ian asked. He was worried, but was trying very hard to not let it show. Even though Cindy had parted from his family, he still cared about her a great deal.

"No, we haven't. However, we did receive a report from the Summer Dawn. The ship attacking them was destroyed at the same time the Damocles should have arrived in the system. The report clearly says that they could not confirm the Damocles arrival in the system, but that isn't actually surprising; the Raptors were designed to not be detectable. The report was followed by a personal request from the Benesian High Priestess that she be updated concerning the status of our ship and her prayers that we recover our ship and crew unharmed," Jenny replied. Other than Ian, Cindy was Jenny's best friend, and it was clear that she was worried.

Ian nodded his understanding. "Please inform operations to send updates to the High Priestess as we get them, unless they contain sensitive information. How are they doing? Will they need our assistance when we arrive?"

"They reported that repairs were underway, however, they didn't give us a time-line for those repairs. I was about to contact them and offer our assistance and let them know our projected arrival time," Jenny said.

"I'll talk to Chief Dommer and the CMO about getting a crew ready to assist them. If it'll be needed, we'll take them in tow and bring them back to Benesia." Ian said thoughtfully. "I'll get out your hair, Commander. If you need me, I'll be in my ready room."

"Yes Admiral," Jenny said, smiling at him, sadly.

"Relax Jen, we'll find her," Ian said to her quietly.

"I hope so, Ian. I really do. We can't leave things the way they are between us," Jenny whispered back.

Ian nodded, patted her on the shoulder, and headed for his office.

"Hyperspace interface in forty-three minutes, Commander," Chekhov said.

"Thanks Mr. Chekhov," Jenny said as she looked over her shoulder to see if Ian had heard too.

Ian nodded and left the bridge to start making calls. Star Dancer had much larger engines than a Raptor, add to that the fact that they would be travelling under 'full emergency' speed, and Star Dancer would arrive on station much faster than the Damocles had. They would arrive at Beta Hydri in just over four hours once they made the jump, but they would have to drop out of hyperspace outside the system, and use the trip in system to slow down.

Chief Dommer agreed to get a crew ready to assist the Benesian ship, as well as making sure the Star Dancer was ready to tow another ship through hyperspace. Ian forwarded the Summer Dawn's damage report to him, so they had an idea what might be needed to fix the ship.

Beth also agreed to have a crew ready to assist the Summer Dawn. She was also distracted because she was worried about Cindy. "It's really odd, Ian. The twins aren't upset, but they are clearly acting differently. It's almost like they know something is wrong with their mother," Beth explained. "It's kinda creepy in a way."

"I'd say it's heartening. If they do feel their mother, the fact that they aren't screaming reassures me. As it is, it tells me that they know she's in trouble, but isn't panicking," Ian replied. "We have a couple of hours before we drop out of hyper, I'll come down and visit all of them."

"They'd like that," Beth smiled. "They really enjoy your visits."

"I enjoy visiting them. I just wish I could do it more often during the day," Ian said. "I'll pass on any new information about the Summer Dawn or the Damocles as soon as I get it."

"Thanks, Ian. I'll see you when you get here," Beth replied, and disconnected the channel.

On the bridge, Jenny noticed that Star seemed to a bit more cheerful than was usual for her. "You seem to be excited, care to share and cheer up a friend?"

"I apologize, Commander." Star said slightly abashed. "Even though the situation is very serious, this will be the first time I have left this system since the crash."

"I can see how that would be exciting to you," Jenny replied. "I admit that if the circumstances were different, I'd be excited about it too. After all, we're the first people of Earth to leave the sector. Yes, we have jumped to Centauri and back many times, but that just isn't the same. It's like finally leaving our safe harbor for the open ocean."

Since they were talking close to him, Chekhov couldn't help but over hear them. "It's very exciting for me too, Ma'am." The Lieutenant added. "Even though I've had to plot long jumps before, this is the first time we are actually going to use the plot."

"I think it's a lot of firsts for all of us, Chekhov, in fact, Star is the only one of us here that has done such a long jump before," Jenny replied. "I take it, you're finished with your plot then?"

"Yes Ma'am, I've loaded it into the nav-comp," Chekhov replied.

"Say Chekhov, I heard that the scientific community back on Phoenix Base has awarded you a Doctorate in Physics. Is that true?" Jenny asked. She knew it was since she had been the one to authorize his extended education request.

"Yes Ma'am, I presented my thesis and dissertation last weekend," Chekhov replied proudly.

Jenny nodded. "So I'd heard. But, I never learned what subject you picked."

"Hyperspace travel, and alternative methods to traverse long distance space. After my presentation, I was asked if I was planning to continue my research. I am, but only when my duties here allow for it. There are a couple of other folks back at Phoenix that are using my research as well. Maybe between the three of us we can come up with a faster mode of travel," he finished. He was clearly excited about his research.

"It sounds pretty exciting, I'd like to hear more about it later, when we're not so busy," Jenny said, smiling at the man.

"I'd be happy to tell you all about it, Commander. Just let me know when," Chekhov said, and turned back to his terminal, smiling.

Star and Jenny moved back toward the Commander's chair. "He really is on to something. If he can get it to work, it would all but eliminate hyperspace transit time between two points."

"Really, I thought this was going to be one of those purely theoretical things," Jenny asked. She made a note to herself on her tablet to submit a promotion request for Chekhov.

Star nodded agreement. "It is for the moment, however, once they get the math hammered out, this could become a revolution in travel."

United Nations Building

New York City, United States

North American Continent

Earth, Sol System

Sol Sector

"Ambassadors, as you know we have some special visitors today," Terran Ambassador Grimes announced. "It is my distinct honor and privilege to introduce to you, Councilor Noren, chairperson of the Talosian High Council, Leaders of the New Talosian Alliance of Planets." As the diminutive woman stood, the Ambassador took his seat.

"Ladies and gentleman of the United Nations of Earth, I bid all of you greetings from myself and my people. Accompanying me today are the two highest ranking members of our military, the Talosian Defense Forces." She motioned to Admiral Goya. "This is Admiral Goya, Supreme Commander of our defense forces." She then pointed to Pan. "The other gentleman is Admiral Pan, Chief of Operations for the defense forces."

She turned back to face the assembly. "Our purpose in coming here today, other than to extend our hand in friendship, is to try to convince you to agree to the promotion of Ian Williams from the rank of Commander to the rank of Admiral. Admiral Williams is not a member of our military, nor is he a member of our Alliance. However, the Terran Council has agreed with our advice to promote him from his rank of Commander to that of Admiral. The reasons for our suggestion are because of his current duties, as well as his past actions in his role as Commander, and as the guardian of this planet and sector of space.

"This amazing young man has accomplished far more, in a short amount of time, than anyone we have ever seen before. Just so you know exactly what I mean by that comment, our recorded histories extend back over nine-thousand of your years. For the last seven thousand years we have been space faring.

"If we set the battle with the Caldarian Super-Nova aside for the moment, and just look at what he has been doing since then, I'm sure you will agree that such an undertaking needs someone not only intimately familiar with this system, but also with the equipment being built in order to run it. Although I am told that most of the projects actually began before the arrival of that Caldarian ship, the simple fact that he knew they would be needed and planned for them makes Ian Williams the only logical commander for the defense of this entire sector. If we add to that, his uncanny and unorthodox tactics and strategies, he becomes the only candidate qualified for the position.

"The Terran High Council has already approved his promotion, and in point of fact, I am told that is all that is needed to promote him. But, in the time I've gotten to know this amazing young man, I believe he would feel much better about accepting such a rank if this assembly also agreed with us. I should tell you that one of his main arguments against accepting the promotion was not only his young age, but his inexperience.

"To address that, I would like to let Admiral Goya speak," Noren said, and stepped back to let the larger man take the podium.

Unlike Noren, Admiral Goya did not speak English, and as such needed a translator. Mathias from the moon base offered to perform that function for him.

Goya nodded to the assembly. "Good evening. There is not really all that much I can add to what Councilor Noren has already said other than to say that I am very impressed with your guardian. In my career as a military officer, I have fought on both sides, in many battles. I have seen more friends die than I ever wanted to, and have ordered many more out to their deaths in battle. If I would have had someone like Ian Williams with me, we might not have won all those battles, but I can say with certainty that many more of those friends I saw die would have lived simply because Ian Williams would have found a way to keep them that way, and still have dealt considerable damage to the enemy.

"As commanders, it is far too easy to become complacent, seeing our soldiers and sailors as little more than statistics. Ian Williams is not capable of that. Every battle and every fight he will be forced to engage in, he will know, and feel every death as his own. All that being said, and as compassionate as he is, he does not let those losses affect his ability to fight.

"In our own military academies, you can ask any professor of strategy the odds of a single heavy cruiser defeating a Caldarian Super-Nova in direct one on one battle, and you will get the same answer. A heavy cruiser, like the Star Dancer, should not have survived for more than ten minutes in a battle with a Super-Nova. I believe the term you have for this is 'over-whelming force'. By any account we know of, it should take a minimum of three ships like Star Dancer to have the slightest chance of success. Five of those ships will almost even the odds.

"Ian Williams is very young to wear the rank of Admiral. This I will not argue. However, Ian Williams is not a typical young man of his age. Star Dancer was not equipped in any special way during the battle with the Caldarian ship. By all accounts, this planet should be in Caldarian hands right now.

"The simple fact that it's not, is a testimony to how unusual a young man Ian Williams truly is. To judge him simply by his age would be a mistake of the highest order," Goya said.

The Ambassador from France had indicated she would like to ask a question, and Goya nodded to her. "Yes Madam Ambassador?"

"Admiral, if I may ask, how old is the youngest Admiral in your own military? Ambassador Leclerc asked.

"We do not promote based on age, but on aptitude and ability. The youngest Admiral we have is Admiral Greel deArgus who has just turned thirty in your years. By comparison, I am the eldest at one hundred and five years." Goya replied. "By your calender"

Ambassador LeClerc looked shocked at the admission of his age, but continued on. "So you are telling us that you would select Commander Williams to promote to Admiral over more experienced men?"

"Experience is important, yes," Goya said. "But ability is also very important. What Ian Williams lacks in experience, he more than makes up for with ability. A more experienced Commander would have known that to go against the Super-Nova would be suicide and would have acted according to that belief.

"Ian Williams was told that to stand up to the Super-Nova alone was suicide, but he didn't know it. Because of that, we are here today able to debate this," Goya replied. "Also, you don't have anyone more experienced than Ian Williams."

"I am afraid you have been misinformed, Admiral. There are several thousand officers in various fleets around the world, that have more experience than Ian Williams," Ambassador LeClerc replied.

"That is curious," Goya replied.

"How so, Admiral?" LeClerc asked, smiling smugly.

"Since there is only one ship guarding Earth, and it is in the hands of the Terrans, and has been commanded the entire time by Ian Williams, it is curious that you would have thousands of other officers with more experience than he has. Perhaps we have a different definition of experience, but to us, experience means that someone has actually done something in order to have experience with it," Goya explained sedately. "I do not believe many of those other officers have even left the planet have they?"

"Well, no, but we do have astronauts that have," LeClerc replied.

"That is true, and perhaps I missed that in the records I looked though, could you tell me which ones have command experience on a capitol class ship in combat?" Admiral Goya asked. "Madam Ambassador, there are, in fact, several of your former astronauts as well as military personnel serving aboard the Star Dancer, as well as some of the other facilities in the sector. While I am certain they have served well, none of them have the experience that I am speaking of. Only Ian Williams does."

The American Ambassador then spoke. "So what you are telling us is that Ian Williams has already been promoted to Admiral, and that you would like us to agree with that decision in order to make Admiral Williams feel less guilty about accepting it?"

Luke asked Goya if he could speak, and Goya stepped aside.

"Mister Ambassador, yes, we have already decided to promote Commander Williams to Admiral. Since we are in effect his boss, that means he has been promoted. The Talosian delegation asked to speak to you, in order to convince you to agree with our decision. As we outlined earlier, whatever you decide in this matter he will be promoted, but we would rather you agreed to it, then not.

"Admiral Williams is now in charge of the safety of two solar systems and the area of space they reside in. He is the highest ranking military person we have because of his abilities, as well as the small fact that he was also the first military person we had. There is no one here on Earth, or in our own colonies that is better suited to this position.

"Simply put, if you tried to appoint one of your own, which I would be surprised if you could actually agree on anyone anyway, I very much doubt that person could do as good of a job as Ian does. He is a great leader and a great commander. He has the respect not only of his superiors, but of his subordinates as well. He is intimately familiar with every step taken to ensure the protection and security of our home. He makes sure that there are at least three people that can take over for him if the need arises, but if it ever does, we'll be in a very bad position.

"Agree with us or not, that choice is yours, but if it were me, I would rather have a military commander that knows the people he is protecting have faith in him, than some politically appointed flunky that no one trusted. Think on this; Ian specifically, and us in general, have promised to protect you regardless of nationality or religion or anything else. Even though he knows each and every one of you would happily slit his throat to get your hands on our technology, he still would give his life to protect you, even from yourselves," Luke finished.

"Da, your Ambassador has repeatedly reminded us of this, Councilor," The Ambassador from the Russian Federation said. "But with all of this advanced technology you claim to have, why would it be so bad for us to get some of it? Perhaps a cure for the AIDS virus, or a fertilizer that will not harm the soil? Surely these are to be considered humanitarian?"

Luke nodded. "On the surface, yes, those things would be considered humanitarian. In point of fact we are in negotiations with several of your leaders to open clinics for medical assistance. No, we are not just going to hand you the cures, because the knowledge learned from some of these treatments could very easily lead to horrific chemical or biological weapons. We will not be party to that. We will offer our help, but we will not violate our own promises by doing so."

The Secretary General intervened then. "Ambassadors, before we wander to far from the main road, let us decide the question that has been asked of us. Before we vote on this, I would like to point out one thing, if I may. When promoting a flag officer such as an Admiral, how many of our own countries would ask for the support of its allies? Would we not simply do it and not ask the rest of us at all? Admiral Williams is already owed our respect and gratitude if for nothing else than by virtue of protecting us from slavery or worse. Please consider these things when casting your votes. All in favor of supporting the Terran Council vote 'aye' those opposed, 'Nay'," he finished.

TDF Assault ship, Raptor Damocles

Mid-System Asteroid Belt, Beta Hydri System

Benesian Federated Space

Rataac Sector

Major Cindy Williams-Swift, Commanding

“Okay folks, listen up.” Cindy said. “We’ve taken considerable damage. Currently, I’ve laid in a course for an airless planetoid in the closest asteroid belt. We’ll set down, and effect repairs. Lissa, Sasha, and I will work on the ship. I want you three to test our personal weapons and equipment, make repairs if needed, and assist us if we need it.”

Jerry indicated he had a question so Cindy nodded to him. “Major, what exactly happened to us? And what all is wrong with the ship?”

Cindy looked thoughtful for a moment, then replied; “From everything that is damaged, we took a massive power overload. Every system that gets at least some power from the armor is either fried or unreliable. The jump engines are down. The lasers are off line, and our communications suite and IFF module are dead. Damocles is crippled, and we aren’t going very far anytime soon.”

“Okay, where do we start, boss lady?” Ben asked.

"Sasha, if you're up to it, I would like you to go below and start working on the comms. I’ll stay in the pilots chair and try to assist from there. I would like the rest of you to talk to Damocles and begin to replicate the parts that most likely got destroyed for the jump engine and the lasers. We’ll be at that planetoid in about three hours; I’d like to have the parts ready when we get there.”

As everyone got up to do their separate tasks, Cindy pulled Sasha aside. “How are the eyes? Are you okay to do this?”

“Da... er, yes, my eyes still hurt and I have headache, but I think I can handle this," the former soviet pilot replied.

“Okay, feel free to take breaks or ask for help though.” Cindy paused while Sasha nodded, “Now you have one extra task while you're down there: the targeting computer reports a malfunction between the holographic interface unit and the sensors. You’ll need to go forward and see if you can fix those as well.”

“Uhg! I hate those interface units! They remind me of Moscow road map; everything tangled and going nowhere. Can I have Lissa to help? That interface will take time to figure out," Sasha replied

“Sure, I’ll get one of the boys to help me outside,” Cindy replied.

“Thanks. I’ll get Lissa and get to work.”

A couple of hours later, Cindy was still in the cockpit. She had heard Ben enter the cockpit, so she wasn’t surprised when he spoke.

“Hey boss; how’s it goin’?”

“Well, Sasha and Lissa have gotten the communications unit repaired, but we still aren’t getting anything. The computer says the communications pod has been damaged too. It looks like you and I get to replace that while we are outside as well. They're still working on the targeting systems. How are things going back in the hold?”

“Pretty good actually, they’ve got three of the four laser generators ready, and about half of what we’ll need for the jump engine. Something's been bothering me about the battle we were in though; what was an Imperial light cruiser doing all the way out here without any other support? We’re way behind the 'front'. I’d think they'd know coming here would be a suicide mission.”

Cindy sat thoughtfully for a moment. “It had to be an attempt to capture the Benesian High Priestess, but still that would be pretty risky."

"I know there are spies everywhere, but considering the security surrounding the travel plans for heads of states, how did they even know she was here?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, and that's bothering me too. None of it makes sense."

A quiet beeping interrupted them. Cindy checked the controls to find they had reached their destination. She switched on the comm; “We’re there folks, everybody stand by for landing.” She turned to Ben. “Strap in. This might be a little rough.”

A few minutes later, Cindy received word that everyone was strapped in and ready. She had found a flat, smooth place to set down and began their descent. The planetoid wasn’t much more than a large round rock. It was so far from its primary that a person couldn’t tell which of the glittering points in the sky was its home star; at least, not with the naked eye. Two things would make this landing rough; its rotation was very fast, and it was composed mostly of iron. Cindy hoped that, if there were other enemy units in the system, the magnetic field generated by this rock would help hide them.

Cindy was trying to keep the bucking Raptor on course, a feat made more difficult by the fluctuating magnetic field and the Raptor's damaged thrusters.  Just five feet from touchdown the Raptor dropped hard and slammed into the surface, driving the grounding spike deeply into the ground. The impact was unexpected, but was not enough to collapse the landing struts. During shut down, Cindy noticed that the armor charge was draining down, but much slower than she had hoped. They could still work on the Raptor, but they couldn’t touch the surface of the planet and the ship at the same time. Their suits were insulated against such a contingency, but the armor charge was still too high even for that.

Cindy unstrapped and, with Ben following, went back to see how the rest of the crew was doing.

“That was one of your better landings, Boss,” Jerry quipped.

“Smart ass. How’s everyone doing?” Cindy replied.

“No one’s hurt. What was with that landing?” Sam asked.

“This dirt ball is mostly iron, and its magnetic field was a bitch on PMS. One more thing, if anyone goes outside, do not touch the Raptor while standing on the surface. We aren’t discharging very fast. Ben, I read in your file that you have the gift of telekinesis?”

“Uh yeah, I do. But, I can’t lift a lot of weight. The heavier the object is, the shorter period of time I can hold it up.”

“Can you lift yourself? Suited?”

“Yeah, but not for very long; a minute or two at most.”

Cindy thought for a moment. “That should be enough. Sam, Jerry we’ll need you two to carry the parts outside for us. Let’s get this done.”

TDF Star Dancer

Hyperspace Transit vector Beta Hydri

Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

"Jenny, when we come back, drop us at Pleiades One. We'll be putting in for a 'hot' refit," Ian said when she joined him for lunch. "I just got off the comm with Chief Dommer, Maia, and the design team at the station. They worked out a plan for our upgrades that will only take us off line for a few hours at a time. With the additions of the two other Talosian defense ships, it should be safe enough to start our upgrades."

"I was going to ask you about that," Jenny said "With so many other ships in system, could we consider those upgrades. Are we going all the way to a battle cruiser, or will we just upgrade our existing configuration?"

"We'll go all the way to a the battle cruiser configuration, although it'll take slight longer, depending on how often we'll have to leave the dock to put out a fire," Ian explained.

Jenny nodded her understanding. "I'm recommending Chekhov for another promotion. He completed his doctorate last week."

"That shouldn't be a problem, he's our most senior navigator anyway. I'm looking forward to the research results of his dissertation. Instantaneous travel over light years would be a hell of a strategic advantage," Ian replied before taking a bite of his sub sandwich.

Jenny snorted. "Leave it to you to know all about his thesis! Personnel was part of my job, and I didn't even know!"

Ian shrugged, smiling softly. "I try to keep aware of everything being researched, I do manage to remember most of them. You have to admit, a jump engine would keep my attention."

Jenny sighed, "This promotion is going to take a lot of adjustment."

"For all of us," Ian said. "How's John taking to his new duties?"

"I think he's doing great. But, he's had a longer time to adjust to this, he knew he was going to be promoted soon. Have you and the Council figured out a final placement for him?"

Since his mouth was full Ian nodded, he swallowed and spoke. "John will be temporarily assigned to Serena on the Prometheus as her XO. Her XO is being promoted to Commander and assigned to the Zephyr when it arrives. Former Admiral Belirus has offered his services as an administrator to 'atone' for his crimes. I was thinking about assigning him to the Carrier as a flag officer once we get it built. In the interim, he is on his way to Mars to assume control over the construction of the fighter assembly facility."

"What about that Admiral friend of yours from Earth? I thought I saw that Janet had succeeded in recruiting his whole family?" Jenny asked.

"Admiral and Mrs. Hawkins will be moving to the Pleiades Stations. He will assume command of all the stations, and she has agreed to manage the nonmilitary and military support aspects of the stations. I think they'll make a hell of a team. We just need to work out when the President will be releasing him from service. His wife will be arriving soon at Phoenix with their daughter-in-law and their children. The eldest boy needs immediate medical attention, so they will remain on Phoenix until he is clear for travel. By that time, Captain James Hawkins will have resigned his commission with the US Air Force and he, with his family, will proceed out to the Mars fighter research facility. James will be a test pilot working under Tinker. When 'Commodore' Hawkins is finally released by the President, he will join his wife on Pleiades One," Ian finished, took a drink of soda, and another bite of his sandwich.

"The Summer Dawn has hove-to near the sixth planet in the system and is making repairs while awaiting our arrival. If we can get their hyperdrive back online, they'll jump back to Benesia. They wished to thank us for the offer of escort, but don't feel it'll be necessary in light of our missing ship," Jenny reported. "I told Beth she could stand down since the only injuries reported were minor bumps and scrapes. If you look at the damage done to the ship, this was an obvious attempt at capture. The question then becomes did they know that the High Priestess was on that ship, and if so, how?"

Ian nodded. "My thoughts exactly. What was an Imperial light cruiser doing this deep into enemy territory unless it was on a capture mission?"

"The information we've gotten from the Talosians say that the Empire uses light cruisers for scouting missions, too. Could it simply be a case of a scout happening on the transport and attacked it as a target of opportunity?" Jenny suggested.

"It could, but that would mean that they allowed the liner to call for help; if it was a scout, it should have destroyed the ship as soon as it detected it," Ian said. "It also troubles me that if it was a scout, what are they scouting for? If the Empire jumped a fleet into Beta Hydri, they would be far too close to our space for my comfort." He paused. "Star, could you dim the lights in here and bring up an exaggerated hologram of our quadrant?"

In response to his request, the lights dimmed, and the requested hologram appeared. "Okay, please circle the Beta Hydri system."

A star very close to the middle of the room was circled.

"Okay, mark all capitol worlds in the quadrant, including Earth, please."

"What are you thinking, Ian?" Jenny asked. The only two places semi close to the Beta Hydri system was Sol Sector and the Benesian Home world.

"I'm not sure," Ian said thoughtfully. "Star, assume that the Empire has no knowledge of Earth or the Sol system." The marked areas for Sol Sector dimmed back to normal. "If the Empire jumped a full battle fleet to Beta Hydri, they could take the core worlds of Benesia in relatively short order. That would give them a solid foothold in this quadrant. It would be an especially good time to do it with half the Talosian forces set to fight the other half."

"Couldn't the Benesian forces stop them?" Jenny asked.

Ian bit his lip. "No, Benesia doesn't have a navy. Their religion prohibits the taking of life except in the defense of self, and even then there are restrictions to it. Their spacial position was thought to ensure their safety, but it's starting to look like it's doomed them instead."

"Ian how do you know all of this shit?" Jenny asked. "I'm starting to feel a little out of the loop here."

Ian chuckled. "I asked Star to mix items in my education matrix. She's been giving me information on the other races as well as the Talosians." Ian looked back at the hologram thoughtfully. He touched his communit. "Mel, do you know if Admiral Goya is still busy with the UN?"

"I haven't heard anything, Sir. Would you like me to find out?" the woman replied.

"Please, I think there might be a problem brewing for the Benesians," Ian said. "They are far too close to us for their problems not to quickly become ours."

"One moment, Sir, I'll call Brekka and see what his schedule is," Mel replied.

"Save this hologram as well as my comments for later review please. Once finished, please return the room to normal illumination," Ian said to the air. He knew Star monitored his room, and it was she he was speaking too.

Jenny cleaned up the remains of her meal. "We'll be arriving in Beta Hydri in about fifteen minutes. How much of this do I tell the Benesians?"

"None of it for now," Ian said. "I would rather we wait until we have something concrete to tell them. While we're here, keep us on alert. Get the Shadows and the Centurions out and start looking for the Damocles as soon as you can. Keep the Wasps close in case there's something we don't know about."

"Will do," Jenny said as she left.

"Okay, Star, dim the lights again please. I'd like to see a hologram of the Beta Hydri system. Please plot all the events of this mess to the best of our knowledge," Ian asked.

The lights dimmed, and Ian found himself with a god's eye view of the entire star system out to the seventh planet. Star's voice narrated the events as she placed them in the hologram. "The Summer Dawn dropped out of hyperspace on an inbound system vector. She stopped here for a navigational fix, and to receive and send any communications that might have been sent while they were in transit."

The Benesians were an advanced species, but they did not have the ability to send or receive communications while in hyperspace. While they did use computers for navigation as well as dozens of other things, they did not have any 'smart' systems that were capable of long range navigation, which resulted in hyperspace jumps of only about twenty light years at a time.

Star continued with her briefing. "The Imperial light cruiser was already in system and intercepted the liner just outside of the orbit of the third planet. The Benesian pilot used the gravitational pull of the planet to sling-shot them on an outbound course toward home. The maneuver bought them a little over an hour. The Imperial caught up to the, and began firing ion weaponry designed to destroy propulsion systems and disrupt communications.

"The engineer was able to reestablish a narrow band communication capability which was used to send out the distress signal. The pilot used every trick she could think of to give the Damocles time to get here. That event occurred here." Another area was highlighted. "Using sensor logs and the testimony of the officers aboard the Summer Dawn, the Damocles dropped out of hyperspace almost on top of the Imperial, certainly close enough for the gravimetric distortion to give them something else to think about. The Damocles must have also been firing her weapons as she emerged. The report from the Summer Dawn said the bow of the Imperial seemed to start to disintegrate before incredibly strong lasers cut the engineering section completely off the ship. At that point, the Imperial ship exploded. During the exchange between the Imperial and what we are assuming to be the Damocles, the Imperial did fire several ion cannons into the hyperspace event. If half of those weapons made contact with the armor of the Damocles, it would have overloaded her armor and destroyed the ship. However, no explosion was noted other than the Imperial. The hyperspace event closed as normal, and nothing else was seen from that area. At that point, the Summer Dawn limped to it's current location, and began emergency repairs." The hologram was marked with the events as Star told them. "At present, we will arrive in the outer system in four minutes, thirty nine seconds."

Ian nodded. "Thank you. So the Imperial was already in the system before the Benesian ship arrived?"

"That is what is assumed, Admiral. The Summer Dawn did not detect any hyperspace events until that of the Damocles' arrival," Star replied.

"Is it possible the Summer Dawn could have missed the event if it had occurred behind the second or third planet?" Ian asked.

"Negative. Both locations are well within Benesian detection radii. If the Imperial jumped in after the Summer Dawn, it would have been detected. The Imperial had to have been here prior to the arrival of the Benesian ship."

"But was it waiting for the Benesian to arrive, or did they just try to take advantage of the situation?" Ian said mostly to himself.

"Unknown, Admiral. However, if we consider the sensor logs taken from the Summer Dawn just after she arrived in system, up until the Imperial attacked them, it would seem that the Imperial was in a survey orbit that had brought them in from the outer system. While there certainly is no hard evidence either way, it would seem to me that if they had been waiting specifically for the Benesian, they would have hidden themselves in the magnetic field of one of the planets," Star replied.

"So you think the Summer Dawn was simply a target of opportunity then?" Ian asked.

"If I had been trying to capture the leader of a people, I would have sent something bigger than a light cruiser. I also would have tried to conceal my presence until the last moment," Star said. "No, I do not believe they were here just to take the liner. However, I cannot see what else they could have been up to."

"How about a detailed survey of the system so they can jump an invasion fleet in here?" Ian asked.



Chapter Sixteen

TDF Assault ship, Raptor Damocles

Mid-System Asteroid Belt, Beta Hydri System

Benesian Federated Space

Rataac Sector

Major Cindy Williams-Swift, Commanding

“Thanks for coming out to repair that sensor pod, Lissa. There is so much to get done out here.” Cindy said, as Lissa settled to the hull beside her.

“No problem, Major. After all, you asked Sasha and me to fix the sensors.”

“Still, it’s one less thing I have to worry about. Okay Ben, lift that first laser generator, then come up yourself so we can get it installed.”

“Okay, here it comes.” Ben replied.

Cindy caught the heavy cylinder and laid it down on the hull beside the access panel for the port side lasers. She had the panel almost removed by the time Ben settled softly beside her.

“How ya doin’ Ben? Is this too much weight for you to lift?” Cindy asked.

“I’ve a slight headache, but I’ll be fine in a minute. If we can take short breaks between the lifts, I should be okay."

“Okay, let me know if you’re getting too tired to lift things.”

“Will do.”

Cindy had finished removing the access panel, and turned on a wrist light to look into the laser mount. “Gods! What a mess. Both generators are melted. That must have been some power surge! Well, lets get these out of here.”

They had removed both generators, and had begun the installation of the first replacement when Lissa and Sasha reported the sensor repair was complete.

“Good work you two. Lissa, could you begin the removal of the other laser generators on the starboard side? We should be done here soon and that will speed us up.”

“Sure, but what about the hyperdrive? You want me to start on that after the lasers?”

“Good idea. I just don’t want to strain Ben here, and that hyperdrive is gonna be heavy.”

“I’ll be ready for it Major.” Ben said, smiling through his helmets visor.

“Major? This is Sasha, I was testing the sensor array, and have detected a large jump point forming near this systems primary. We’re about to have company.”

“Shit! For a deserted system, this place sure is busy today! Gimme an ID, and an ETA as soon as possible. Ben, lift the rest of those generators up here if you can. We’re on the clock now folks, let’s get busy.”

“Major, one heavy cruiser. They seem to be launching multiple small craft I bet they are going to be searching,” Sasha replied. "If they do a standard search pattern, they will be here in about forty-five minutes."

“Do we know whose ship? It could be friendly,” Cindy asked.

“No way to know, yet. Major, IFF link is still off-line. I can tell they're there, but I can't tell you who it is. Can’t we hide here until they pass? I mean, we are invisible to their sensors,” Sasha asked.

“Are you sure about that Sasha? If we are invisible to them, then what the hell did they hit us with when we attacked the light cruiser? No, I want to be gone from here before they get close enough to detect our heart beats from orbit. We lift in 35 minutes.”

As Lissa disappeared over the curve of the hull, she asked; “But Major, the hyperdrive will take longer than that to repair. It takes an hour just to align the power couplers.”

“We won’t be able to repair it yet. I would rather be up there where we stand a fighting chance then trapped on this gods-forsaken dust ball.”

TDF Assault ship, Raptor Damocles

Mid-System Asteroid Belt, Beta Hydri System

Benesian Federated Space

Rataac Sector

Major Cindy Williams-Swift, Commanding

“Cindy! Star Dancer is hailing us!” Sasha called, excitedly.

“Sasha, the Star Dancer can't leave Earth unprotected. Why would she be hailing us?” Cindy asked.

“Major, it is possible that they are hailing us from Earth, they could be trying to determine our position for a search party,” Lissa suggested.

“Either way, we still can't answer the call yet. Back to work everyone, that’s an order,” Cindy said. “Let’s get this finished.”

Jerry had come out to help them get the laser generators replaced, and was with Lissa on the other side of the fuselage.

“We’re about done here. How are you and Jerry doing, Lissa?” Cindy asked.

“Just need to rewire connector, plug it in and we’ll be done, Major.” Lissa replied.

“Good. Sasha how long until our visitors arrive?”

“Eight minutes until your deadline, Major, eighteen minutes until the search pattern uncovers us,” Sasha reported.

“Okay, Lissa; we’ll get this cover back on and head in. You should be getting close to being done yourself by then. Just holler when you want Ben to 'lift' you down," Cindy said.

“We will.” Lissa replied as Cindy was refastening the cover.

She nodded to Ben who was standing beside her and he nodded. She smoothly rose off the wing and settled to the ground behind the Raptor.

“I’ll wait up here for them to finish, Major. By the way, when’s dinner?”

“You keep confusing me for your mother. You know how to feed yourself.” Cindy replied.

“Well the mistake is easy to make, she is beautiful too.” Ben replied.

“Yes she is, and Sam tells me she's damn good in bed too!” Cindy replied grinning.

“Oh, Ouch!” Ben answered to the chuckles on the comm.

Cindy cycled through the airlock, and headed for the main cabin. She stopped by the replicator to get an energy bar and continued on to the bridge. She entered the bridge to see the hatch to the holographic weapons chamber open. Cindy stuck her head down through the hatch, and saw that Sasha was replaying the last few seconds before the Raptor was hit.

“Whatcha doin’ Sash?” Cindy asked.

Sasha jumped. “Major! You startled me! I am reviewing the last few moments before we were hit. I don’t think the Imperial ship actually saw us. See here; the Imperial ship didn’t actually fire until the first rounds from our guns hit it. There! You see this? Our rounds hit the bridge! Where the weapons control would be. I think the jump point was targeted, but the weapon wasn’t fired on purpose.”

“That would mean the Imperials can’t detect us. But how sure can we be? If you’re wrong, we’re all dead,” Cindy replied.

“Major, at this point if they can see us, we are dead anyway. Once we leave the surface of this rock, they’ll have us on their scanners.”

“You’re right. Do you think we should just stay here then?”

“I do not know. I think our chances are about the same either way. But if we stay here, and play dead, we may have a better chance if we need to surprise them. I also feel that we should at least report in. Command will think we are destroyed,” Sasha replied.

"Did the boys get the transmitter fixed?" Cindy asked.

"Da, Sam replaced the antenna array before going out to help Lissa with the Sensor Pod. Jerry had to replace the amplifiers and attenuator circuits. The self-tests show it as fixed," Sasha replied. "However, the IFF system is completely fried. It'll have to be replaced."

“If we call anyone, it’d be like sending up a flare,” Cindy said. “I wonder... Hurry, come up out of there! We don’t have much time!”

“Huh? Okay, what are you planning?” Sasha asked. But Cindy had already hurried back to the main cabin.

Mumbling to herself about crazy women, Sasha hurried after her. Cindy was already calling up images and asking the computer for data.

“Sasha, what’s the E.T.A. on our visitors?”

“About nine minutes, Major. Whatever you do, it better be fast,” the woman said after checking the clock on the bulkhead.

“Okay. Computer: Record the following and compile with ships logs for burst transmission to Star Dancer. Notify when ready. Okay folks listen up: Sam, Jerry, You two unpack that class 6 nuke, set it outside, and get it armed. The rest of you, battle stations, and strap in tight, once I send this transmission we will be blasting out of here as fast as this buggy can go. Move!” Cindy said.

“Transmission ready.” The computer announced.

“Stand by.” Cindy said as her crew scrambled to carry out her orders. She followed Sasha and Lissa to the cockpit.

Three minutes later the men reported ready.

“Damocles; emergency acceleration on my mark. Transmit message now!” as she launched from the surface under full throttle. The Raptor shook and shuddered but quickly broke free of the gravitational pull of the planetoid.

“Transmission complete.” Reported the computer.

“Enemy is changing course to intercept. E.T.A. now one minute!” Lissa called out.

“Full emergency acceleration - NOW!” Cindy ordered.

TDF Star Dancer

System entry/deceleration vector

Rataac sector, Beta Hydri system

Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

"Communications, try to hail the Damocles. Operations, let's get the search craft launched," Jenny ordered. "John, please contact the Summer Dawn, let them know we have arrived, and will be beside them shortly. I'm sure Chief Dommer would appreciate a situation report too. Yellow alert!"

Ian walked out on the bridge as she had been giving orders, and Jenny stood to offer him her chair. He waved her back to it. "Time to see what happened to our lost sheep!"

"I am not detecting their IFF module, however, I am detecting an active AI unit," Star replied. "I am continuing to scan."

"Thank you Major," Ian said nodding to her. "From the information we got, the IFF module could be burned out."

It was a little known side effect of the powerful computer systems that they could always detect if one of their own was near-by, but could not get direction or distance.

"AI connection is being blocked, which is in accordance to Raptor protocols," Star replied. "It is possible that the transmitters on the ship are damaged as well,"

"If it didn't outright destroy the ship, which we know it didn't, what would be the type of damage it would take from direct hits by ion weaponry?" Ian asked.

The Engineering officer, turned to answer Ian. "Sir, we are still learning the nuances of the Enigma armor developed by Dr. Benson. However, from what we do know, ion weaponry would severely load the armor, potentially to the point of overload. However, since we know that did not happen, a near overload condition is the next, most likely outcome. That could, and should, have an adverse effect on every system connected to the armor as a secondary power supply.

"The list of unaffected systems would be shorter; basically just life support and core power for the AI. However, with no way to control the life support, it would be undamaged, but taken offline. The AI core would retain integrity, but also would be put in stand-by mode. It would be like it was knocked unconscious.

"On a Raptor, virtually every other system has the armor as a redundant or tertiary power system. Damage would range from complete destruction of the system in question, to simple fried circuit boards. Provided the replicator system was undamaged, the crew should be able to make most repairs, given enough time to do so," the man finished.

Star agreed with him. "Lieutenant Joslin is correct, Admiral. Currently, Imperial ion weaponry is the most damaging weapon that can be used against a craft equipped with the Enigma armor. Laser weapons are higher energy, however, it is 'deflectable' by the armor. Ion weapons, which are little more than a lower power, unfocused, energy beam, are not as easily deflected."

"According to my briefing on Imperial tactics, they tend to use ion weapons extensively. Has there been any research done to counter this effect?" Ian asked.

"Research is being done into various types of energy sinks and supplemental storage units. However, the armor was originally designed to be used on larger ships that would have the ability to absorb and use the extra influx of power. On the smaller craft, there is simply no place for the energy to go that will burn it off quickly enough. It is quite possible that had a shadow fighter been hit by these beams, it would have been destroyed instantly," Star replied.

Ian opened a channel to his aide. "Mel, issue a general grounding order for all Raptors effective on the completion of their current missions. All currently unassigned craft equipped with Enigma armor are to be placed on hold until there is an acceptable counter to the overload issues derived from Imperial ion weaponry. I'll have to think up a way to get the deployed Shadow fighters taken care of, but for right now, we need them to be deployed."

"Understood, Sir, Do you want me to issue a stop work order to Pleiades and Mars where they are installing the armor?" Mel asked.

"Good idea, yes, do that, please. I'll get back with you on this as soon as we get out of here," Ian replied.

"Ten minutes to rendezvous, Commander," Chekhov said, making minor corrections to their course. "Do you want to dock, or just come along side?"

Before Jenny could answer, Ian did. "Just alongside, Chekhov, I want us to be able to break away and fight if we need to."

"Aye Admiral, alongside it is." Chekhov replied, while Ian winked at Jenny in apology for stepping on her toes.

"Message received from Damocles! Damocles located!" one of the tracking officers reported excitedly. "Her IFF is offline!"

"You want to check out the message while I call her?" Ian asked.

"Sure, but let me know she's safe and okay?" Jenny asked.

Ian nodded, and moved over to an extra console. Bringing up the Raptor command channel, he couldn't help but smile in relief. "Guardian to Damocles, we see you! What's your condition?"

"Star Dancer??" Cindy called. "Oh fuck! Sasha! Disarm that nuke! Star Dancer, recall your ships! Hurry!"

Ian quickly changed channels. "All ships, this is Guardian, emergency recall! Get back to the ship now! I repeat, emergency recall!"

No acknowledgment of the order was needed, or expected. It was simple, each fighters computer knew where 'home' was at all times and maintained a jump plot for it. All a pilot had to do was tell it to jump, which all of them did. It was an emergency protocol in the event a fighter had to get back to the ship in the shortest possible time. The Centurions turned around, but would have to plot a jump before it could return. They were close enough that by the time the plot was finished, it would be useless to jump.

"Okay, we cleared the ships, Damocles, care to tell me why?" Ian asked.

"We explained it in the data burst, Guardian. But we thought you to be hostile, and looking for us, we left a present for you on that little planetoid," Cindy explained.

Ian thought about it, an explosion of sufficient size would have been devastating to the fighters 'chasing' the Damocles.

"Good plan. I hope you understand when I tell you I'm thankful it wasn't needed," Ian replied.

"Me too, now I don't have to fill out the paperwork justifying the use of a nuke!" Cindy replied.

"What's your status, Damocles?" Ian asked.

"Moderately fucked up, Guardian. Sasha took some eye damage, but the autodoc got her fixed up. Lissa was knocked unconscious, but has since recovered. The Raptor took damage to almost every system. We managed to get enough repaired to get our asses back in space, but we can't jump. We managed to replace the laser generators, but the replication/reload system for the mass drivers is completely destroyed. We had to patch the engines, but they seem to be working pretty well. Care to give a girl a ride home?" Cindy reported.

"We sure will, Damocles. We are currently assisting the Summer Dawn to complete repairs and can't leave yet. Can you make it to us?" Ian asked.

"I think so, we've already adjusted course. We should be there in just over an hour," Cindy replied.

"That should work, see you then, Damocles," Ian replied. "We'll set a place for you at dinner."

"Thanks Guardian, I'm looking forward to it. Damocles, out."

TDF Star Dancer

High orbit, sixth planet

Rataac sector, Beta Hydri system

Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

"The Summer Dawn should be repaired enough to make the jump home in about twenty minutes," Jenny reported as she entered Ian's ready room. "The Damocles will be landing in about ten minutes."

Ian nodded, "Excellent. We should be able to get out of here shortly after the Benesian's jump."

"Good, I'm getting a bad feeling the longer we stay here," Jenny replied.

Knowing that she shared Janet's precognitive ability, that got Ian's attention. "How so?"

Jenny shook her head in frustration. "It's not a vision, or anything like that, just a feeling that something bad is about to happen."

"Do you think a heightened defensive posture is warranted?" Ian asked.

"I would if I had any idea where the threat is coming from," Jenny said. "It's frustrating as hell, knowing something bad is going to happen, but not knowing what or where!"

Ian could only nod in agreement, since he had no idea what she was feeling. "Let's stay on Yellow alert then. Have operations arm the Centurions for ship to ship combat and send them out to monitor the system. Swap out the Wasps for Shadows, but warn the incoming pilots that they might be called back."

Jenny nodded and left the room. Ian knew better than to dismiss what Jenny told him, but he made damn sure she didn't see how much her admission had bothered him. Of course, she had not been with him when Admiral Goya called him back and they discussed the current situation and the possible reasons for the Imperial ship to have been in the system to begin with.

Goya agreed with Ian's belief that the Summer Dawn had not been that ship's primary mission, but could not believe that the Empire was up to anything major in that system. But Ian knew they had been. Why would they even care about Alliance troop movements this far from the fight?

Twenty minutes later, Star Dancer was escorting the Summer Dawn to her jump point when Ian's fears were realized.

"Sir! Multiple inbound jump points forming in the inner system! Computer is still calculating it, but we're looking at an enhanced fleet in size, probably larger," the operation's officer monitoring the scanner reported. Ian knew the message was for the bridge, but they had included him so he knew what was going on.

Ian opened a channel to the Summer Dawn. "Captain, we have a lot of company arriving, and I don't think their friendly. You need to leave, now."

The Benesian Captain looked surprised, and then scared as what Ian told her registered. "At once Admiral! Thank you again for your assistance. Summer Dawn is jumping in ten seconds."

"Safe journey Summer Dawn, Star Dancer out," Ian said. Jenny had called red alert and all of the great ship's battle systems came online.

He gave her a quick call. "Jen, I'm going to call ARC and see if they want to do something about this. I'll be out in a minute!" ARC stood for Alliance of Races Command. Since this was happening in Benesian Space, ARC had responsibility for protecting this sector.

"Good luck! I'm telling the Centurions to just watch and wait for now. They'll see us and the Summer Dawn when she jumps, but it'll take them some time to get to us out here," Jenny replied.

"Actually, tell the Centurions to jump back. I want us to get the hell out of here as fast as we can," Ian said. "Thank Bob for your intuition!"

"Well, while you're thanking him, tell him to get our asses out of this!" Jenny said.

"Do we have any readings on what's come a-callin'?" Ian asked. "I'm sure the powers that be will want to know."

"Oh yeah, we've got readings that'll give you nightmares for a month. Four battleships, two carriers, nine heavy cruisers, over twenty light cruisers and destroyers, a shipyard, and another massive monster that scans as a really big ore refinery and processing facility. There's still more jumping in. It looks like you were right, they're going to turn this into a supply/support base. They certainly have the firepower to support it," Jenny said. "I'll make sure the data feed is available to you."

"Thanks Jen." Ian switched channels. "Mel, I need to speak to someone in Operations at the Alliance of Races High Command. Priority Immediate."

"Yes Sir, I'll see who I can get," Mel replied.

"When you’re finished, you might want to come in here for a bit. Things are going to get a little hairy," Ian said.

Mel nodded, and cut the call. Ian knew she was already placing the call to Alliance Command. Moments later, Mel walked in the room. "Sir, I have Fleet Commander Alisair ip Ree on the comm for you." She moved to his conference table and began setting herself up to carry out his orders.

Ian opened the channel to see a dark skinned humanoid with a big nose and bark like skin. Remembering his manners, Ian bowed. "Greetings Force Commander, thank you for taking my call."

The being also bowed. "I return greetings of my own to you, Admiral. What can the Alliance do you for this day?"

"I must apologize, but I am calling with grave information for the Alliance. An Imperial task force has arrived in the Beta Hydri System of the Rataac Sector. I am forwarding a data feed to you for your analysis," Ian replied.

The being bobbed his head. "We had heard you had responded to the distress of the Benesian liner. This is most troubling information, Admiral. If possible, could we trouble you to remain on station long enough to record everything that arrives? In this way would be better informed in our response,"

Ian nodded. "We'll remain as long as possible, Fleet Commander. If possible, we will also leave monitors in this system."

"That would be very much appreciated, Admiral. For information purposes only, can you confirm that you are armed with gravimetric weapons?" the being asked, shocking Ian. Across the room, even Mel looked up from her work to stare at Ian.

"Yes, Fleet Commander, we do carry those weapons. However, we are very loath to use them. I would have to do some checking, but, considering the proximity of several inhabited systems, I believe the use of one of those weapons would be, at best, inadvisable," Ian replied.

The being made a face that Ian could assume was a smile. "It is never good to use one of those weapons, Admiral. I asked so I could get a feel for the type of person you are. I apologize if I have offended you."

Ian sighed inwardly. "I understand, no offense was taken."

"I will alert the appropriate commands as to this move by the Empire. May we call on you again if more information is needed?" Alisair ip Ree asked.

"I will assist as I can, Fleet Commander. This is very close to my own home system," Ian replied.

"Agreed, the proximity to yours as well as the Benesian home systems is very troubling," the being said. "We will act on this shortly, you may expect to hear from us on this in short order, Admiral. On behalf of the Alliance, I thank you for bringing this to us."

"It is my duty, Fleet Commander. I'll look forward to the call," Ian replied.

The being again bowed and ended the call.

"That was interesting," Ian replied.

"Not as interesting as it is going to get if we have to stick around here much longer," Mel said. "I think they need you on the bridge, Sir."



Chapter Seventeen

Phoenix Base

Admiral Goya's Quarters

Selene, Earth's Moon

Sol System, Sol Sector

Goya answered the door to a very agitated Brekka.

"Is there a problem, Captain?" he asked.

"Sir, I'm sorry to bother you, but it looks like Admiral Williams was correct.  A huge fleet has just dropped out of hyperspace in the Beta Hydri System. The Star Dancer is seriously outnumbered," the young woman replied. Using her tablet, she made the data she was getting come up on the big monitor in the living room.

"Oh shit!" Goya exclaimed. "One of these days, I'm going to learn to listen to that man!"

"He has followed protocol and informed ARC of the situation. They are acting on it," Brekka replied. "Mel is sending this to us."

Goya nodded. "Where are the Pegasus and the Zephyr?"

She accessed something else on her tablet, and answered him. "Twenty nine hours from the sector boundary, thirty-one hours from arrival here."

"Would it help Ian at all if we diverted them to Beta Hydri?" Goya asked, talking mostly to himself.

"Sir, Alliance Command asked Admiral Williams to stay in-system as long as possible to monitor what arrives. As soon as it gets too hot for him, he will be leaving," Brekka replied.

Goya nodded. "Okay, so we'll leave the Pegasus and Zephyr on course for now then, is there anything else we can do to assist?" He put his chin in one hand as was his habit when thinking. "Damn, the only forces we have that could move to support him are house ships. Did the Summer Dawn get out of there before the fleet arrived?"

"Yes and no, sir. They did jump out safely, but the Imperial ships had already begun arriving, so their departure was seen. I should mention that Star Dancer had escorted the liner out to its jump point. There is no place for them to hide," Brekka said.

"Then I guess we're going to get to see just how good young Admiral Williams really is," Goya said. "I hope he survives; Imperial commanders are not as stupid as the Caldarians were."

"Sir, if anyone can pull this off, I believe it will be him," Brekka replied.

"Hm?" Goya asked turning to his aide. "What makes you think that?"

"I've heard you commenting on it yourself, Sir," the woman answered. "There is a... feeling here. A power. Something that drives these people even when others would give up. It would be easy to say that Ian Williams created this in his people, and on the surface, it even looks that way, but it isn't. These people see him as a hero, and revere him, but he isn't the source of their strength. What he's done and accomplished has inspired it, perhaps reawakened would be a better description. These people have a type of hope we hadn't been aware that we had lost.

"Of all the people here, Admiral Williams shows it the most. He is always thinking, analyzing, testing. He is always trying to see what would work better or for a way to improve or do better. He refuses to accept something simply because the odds are against it, or centuries old doctrine say this is the only way. I honestly believe that Admiral Ian Williams and his people here, are going to become the Emperor's worst nightmare," she finished.

Goya was quiet a moment while he thought about his aide's words. Finally, he nodded. "I think you might very well be correct, Brekka. But I also cannot help but wonder what that will mean for all of us in the long run. Will he bring about changes that are for the good, or only appear to be?" He nodded slowly. "There is simply no way to know. The question facing us is do we try to help him, or stop him if we can."

Brekka chuckled. "Sometimes it feels like all of this is a ride at a pleasure center. The only control we really have is to hold on, and try not to fall out."

Goya snorted a laugh. "I think you might have a better grasp of the situation than I do! Come on, let's have dinner. Maybe between the two of us, we can figure out how to help them, and ourselves, at the same time."

TDF Star Dancer

Open space

Rataac sector, Beta Hydri system

Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

"Sir, several of the ships are spinning up for another jump. I think we're going to have a problem very soon!" the excitable scanner tech in operations called.

"I swear I'm going to get that man Prozac!" Ian said under his breath.

Jenny heard him however, and laughed. "Yeah, unfortunately, he's right. A few of those heavies are going to jump out here and make life interesting for us. How do you want to play this?"

"Give them a moving target. Let's tour the system. We need to come up with a way to keep an eye on these assholes that they won't be able to find, so we need to buy time. Avoid confrontation for now," Ian ordered, and stepped over to the empty console he'd used earlier. He opened a comm.

"Engineering," a man's voice replied before his face appeared.

"Is Chief Dommer available?" Ian asked.

When he saw who was calling he straightened up. "I'll get him, Sir!"

A moment or two later, the taciturn Engineer appeared on the screen. "What can we do for you, Admiral?"

"Chief, I need you to create a miracle. I need an automated listening-slash-observation device that we can drop, that the Imperials can't detect. Think you can come up with something like that?" Ian asked.

Chief Dommer looked down in thought for a moment. "I can rig up what you need, Sir, the trick is going to be hiding it from the Imps,"

"Sir, why couldn't we build a few ground models to process data, but build the sensors into small drones that they can control? If we keep the power signature low, or better yet, use Enigma armor on them, it should give the Imps fits if they can find them?" a voice said from off to one side.

"Show me," Dommer ordered. Ian could see him looking off to one side, and nodding occasionally. "Yeah, that might work. Include a small replicator in the main units so they can replace the drones on the fly. Before we leave, we could hurl a few drones in-system for closer looks. Yeah, we can make this work." He looked back at Ian. "I'll need a couple of hours and four teams of Marines and their shuttles."

Ian nodded. "You can use the Marines, but you have thirty minutes. We're playing tag with an entire battle fleet up here, Chief. The longer you take, the worse chance we have of escaping the system."

Dommer nodded. "Understood, but it'll still take at least an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Gonna take that long just to get the Marines out to where these need to be installed. If you could get us closer to an asteroid belt, that should help."

"I'll see what I can do Chief. I'll let Major Reise know you need his folk's assistance," Ian said.

"Yeah, send 'em down now, we could use their hands to get all this assembled. It'll teach em how to set them up too," Dommer replied.

"Good luck Chief," Ian said and was about to close the channel.

"Buy as much time as you can, Sir. We'll need every second of it," Dommer said and cut the channel.

Ian immediately called the Marine commander and filled him in. He said he'd take care of it. In fact, as Ian cut the channel, he could hear the man yelling for his people.

He walked back to Jenny in her chair. "Dommer is on it. He asked that we move closer to one of the asteroid belts. I think I know what he wants, so if you could get us in the middle one without getting us killed or trapped, that would be ideal."

Jenny snickered. "Don't want much, do ya? Did I mention there are now four battleships hunting us?"

"Ops to Command, three small jump points forming off our stern. I think they're trying to slow us down by sacrificing some light cruisers or destroyers," Chloe said.

"We're not going to slow down, Chloe. Keep the fleas off us," Jenny said. "Master safety released! All weapons, targets to the rear, have fun kids!"

"Major Dancer, would you be so kind as to pipe the feed down to engineering and enhance the video so the Chief may enjoy the use of his weapons," Ian asked.

Jenny chuckled. "He does like those mass drivers, doesn't he?"

"Two destroyers and one light cruiser have emerged from hyperspace. Target alpha has been destroyed, Gamma appears to be listing badly to port, Target bravo is taking serious damage, but is so far unaffected," someone reported. While they were talking, other reports were given;

"Brace-two, missiles away! Five seconds to impact!"

"Targets beta and gamma shields have failed! Target Gamma destroyed!"

"Impact in three, two, one, Missile detonation! Target Beta is destroyed!"

"That was a waste," Jenny said.

"Nope, wait for it..." Ian said.

Just as Jenny looked at him for more of an explanation, the tracking officer sounded off. "Jump point forming immediately astern! It's a big one!"

"The first three were bait to get us to stop. This is the trap," Ian said. "At least one battleship."

"Con! Ahead - Full emergency!" Jenny ordered. "Get us some distance. Weapons control, I want ten, full-yield, missiles on that target before she can raise shields!"

"Missiles away, birds are in acquisition! Lock! Detonation in ten seconds!" the weapons control officer reported.

"This could be a problem," Jenny said. "Damage control to stand-by. Chekhov, plot an in-system jump; put us on the far side of the system primary, about the orbit of the second planet. Execute when ready."

"Aye, Sir! Jump in ten seconds; stand-by!"

Jenny opened her ship-wide comm. "This is the Commander. We will be executing a series of in-systems jumps with little to no warning. We're in for a bumpy ride, folks."

"Missiles detonated! Minimal damage detected. Battleship is firing! Twenty missiles inbound, impact in sixteen seco..."

"Jumping!" Chekhov called, just as the ship jumped into hyperspace.

The gravimetric sheer of the jump point destroyed the inbound missiles, and caused minimal damage to the enemy ship. However, it did manage to get Star Dancer out of the battle area.

"Sir, I have several more jumps plotted if we need them," Chekhov reported.

"Well done, Chekhov. We just might," Jenny said. "Make sure one of them drops us near the middle asteroid belt, please."

"Will do, Sir," Chekhov replied.

Ian moved over near the navigator. "Chekhov, in addition to what the Commander has asked you, I'd like you to plot a series of jumps to get us out of here that will keep the Empire guessing as to our travel direction. We'll want to execute them after we do our thing in the asteroid belt."

"I understand Sir, unless you want to seriously disrupt the asteroid belt, I'll have to drop us at least ten thousand klicks out. We'll have to be twice that distance when we jump away," the man reported.

Ian nodded. "I thought as much. We might have to, but no, we don't want to disrupt them if we don't have to. We need to drop teams of Marines in the asteroids so they can install listening posts. We'll also have to recover them. Chief Dommer says they'll need a half hour on station to install the devices. I think he'll want them spaced evenly around the system for the best effect. Once we get those posts set, I want to get us out of here in such a way that the Empire can't track us."

"Oh... Let me work on this, Sir, I think I can do this," Chekhov said. "Let me give the engineer a call, and I'll coordinate with the marines. Now that I know what you need, I'll make sure you get it, Sir."

"Great, just don't leave anyone behind!" Ian said winking at the shocked looking man.

TDF Star Dancer

Open space

Rataac sector, Beta Hydri system

Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

"Sir, we've got a plan worked out for this, but we'll need to remain on station after each jump for a minimum of ten minutes so the hyperdrives can cool down. Chief Dommer reminded me that the engines were not designed for this kind of abuse, and we are risking melting them down," Chekhov said after a few minutes.

"We'll try, but it might not always be possible. Just do the best you can," Jenny replied.

Chekhov nodded. "I thought that might be the case, Sir. Chief Dommer will do what he can to keep the hyperdrive initiators cool and try to minimize the damage. He asked me to pass on to you that he will be ready for the first team to head out in five minutes.

"Our plan calls for us to jump in near one of the places where Dommer recommends planting a device. The Marines will depart, we will head back out, and jump to the next location to drop the next team. By the time we have dropped the last team, we will then jump to set point to retrieve the first team, and so forth. None of the positions are all that close to any other positions so it shouldn't raise suspicion."

"Got time to show us?" Ian asked.

Chekhov nodded, and typed on his keyboard. A map of the Beta Hydri system appeared on the main viewer. As he continued to type, He explained the series of jumps and cool downs he, the chief Engineer, and the Marine commander had worked out.

"Finally, Sir, after the last team is back on board, we will make two more distraction jumps before we depart for home. The lead time on the final jump will be longer than the other because the Chief wants to make sure the drives are as cool as he can get them before we make the jump home," Chekhov finished.

An alarm sounding on his terminal got his attention.

"What's wrong?" Jenny asked.

"That big honkin' shipyard just jumped to one of my pre-plotted points. The refinery ship has also jumped, but it shouldn't affect our plan, it's going to the outer most asteroid field," Chekhov reported.

"Which point is disrupted?" Jenny asked.

"The last one, the point I set for our jump home," the man replied.

"Leave it there," Jenny ordered.

"Uh, Commander, I don't mean to argue with you, but that monster has mass. Enough mass to affect my jump calculations," Chekhov replied.

"Yeah, but it's a set quantity. Recalculate your jump, but include that mother. In fact, the closer to her you can put us when we jump, the happier I'll be," Jenny said.

"Oh, you're a cruel, cruel woman!" Ian said, chuckling and shaking his head.

Chekhov's eyes lit up as he realized what Jenny wanted to do; use the jump as a weapon to damage the enemy shipyard. "I'll do my best, Sir!" He said and got back to work. "Uh, we'll be jumping in two minutes, heading to our first drop point."

"You have the helm, Lieutenant. Do what you need," Jenny said. She opened her comm. "Commander to Armory."

"Congrats on the promotion, Commander!" Debbie replied. "What do you need?"

"Thanks Debbie, I'm going to need the biggest, baddest, firecracker you can put together without using gravimetrics. It doesn't have to fit on a missile, but that would make delivery easier," Jenny said. "I want to leave a nice going-away present for our new friends out there."

"What do you have in mind to destroy?" Debbie asked.

"I'll send you what we have on it, but keep in mind, it's a one shot deal; like a fly-by bombing. This thing is huge in the extreme, so I doubt we could destroy it, but damage is always nice," Jenny said as she sent the specs on the Imperial shipyard to the Weapons Master.

"Ho-ly-fuck!" Debbie said. "How much time do we have?"

"About forty-five minutes, give or take. It's liable to be a bumpy ride, so try not to make it too volatile," Jenny finished.

"Gotcha, I'll whip up something. Call ya back when we're ready," Debbie said and cut the channel.

"Remind me not to piss you off," Ian said, grinning.

"Stand by for jump!" Chekhov announced. "Three, two, one, Jumping!"

Once again the great ship disappeared into hyperspace, this time to reappear just outside the mid-system asteroid field.

"Setting course to drop point one; Marine shuttle one, stand by for launch," Chekhov said.

"Brimstone is loaded and ready to rock," a male voice replied.

"Brimstone?" Ian asked, looking at Jenny.

"Ever since the Grave Digger incident, the Marine pilots have been altering their call signs to fit the unit assigned to them. In this case, Brimstone is assigned to the 'Helldivers'," she explained.

"I wonder who comes up with these names," Ian asked.

"The team leader, Lieutenant King named them to honor his grandfather who was a pioneer in combat jumps during World War II," she explained.

Ian nodded. "I can't fault that. Just so we don't end up with units with names like 'bunny humpers', I'll be okay with it."

Upon hearing the Admiral, one of the guards at the door had a sudden coughing fit, the other guard did manage to keep the smile from his face, but only barely. Ian got the guard a glass of water, and winked at him.

"Flight control, this is Navigation, insertion point one reached, launch when ready," Chekhov said. "Altering course for jump point two."

"Brimstone, you are clear to launch," Flight operations could be heard to say.

"Roger that, Flight," the pilot replied. A few seconds later he added. "Brimstone is clear, leave a light on for us."

"Increasing speed full, next jump now in four minutes, thirteen seconds...Mark!" Chekhov said.

"Damn! At this rate, we'll make a Commander out of you yet, Chekhov!" Jenny teased.

The man took a moment from his calculations to turn around and innocently ask, "Why do you hate me?"

Jenny chuckled, and winked at a now smiling Chekhov, who turned around and got back to work.

Ian went to the bridge replicator and got a bacon cheeseburger, onion rings, and a mint-chocolate shake for Jenny. He took it to her before turning to the Navigator. "Are you hungry, Cory?" for once using the navigator's real first name.

"I am now! That burger smells fabulous, can I have one of those too, Sir?" Chekhov asked.

"Sure, what would you like for the milk shake?" Ian asked.

"Butterscotch?" Chekhov asked.

Ian got the food and took it to the man at his station before getting his own food.

"Thank you, Sir," Chekhov said when Ian sat it down.

"Not a problem, you're busy, I'm not. We're all getting hungry, so I thought I'd be nice to you for once!" Ian replied, grinning.

While he was delivering the food to Chekhov, Mel left the ready room, and started helping to serve the crew.

"Stand-by by for next jump. Ten seconds!" Chekhov said between bites. "..And three, two, one, jumping!"

Chekhov's plan worked pretty well. The Imperial forces in the system kept trying to engage them, and even tried to anticipate a few of the jumps, but to no avail. The pattern was too random for them to figure out at this point. As the ship was moving to the next jump after dropping off the last seeding team, the first one reported mission complete and that it was in transit to the rendezvous. Chekhov's timing had been perfect.


TDF Star Dancer

Open space

Rataac sector, Beta Hydri system

Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

It had been an interesting couple of hours, but now that Star Dancer had retrieved her last seeding team and was moving out to the next jump. Chief Dommer had warned Jenny that the hyperdrive initiator was not cooling as fast as it should, so she ordered Chekhov to slow their transit to the next jump point to give it and the engineering team more time.

"Jump point nine ETA now fifteen minutes." Chekhov reported. "You know, Commander, we can just jump for home from here. I highly doubt they would be able to track us."

"I'm considering that, but I really want to give these assholes a black-eye. They attacked an unarmed transport, and now they're trying to get set up to take over the quadrant. I'm not okay with that," Jenny said. "If we had a chance of pulling it off, I'd say we should stick around and blow these fuckers back to their own galaxy."

"That day will come, Commander," Ian said. "But it's not today. Operations, what's the status of the shipyard?"

"Looks like they're setting up shop, Admiral. Since they've arrived, the bloody woggerts took up position in open space between the orbits of the second and third planets. They've extended the gantries, and it looks like that battleship we damaged is heading in for repairs. The other ships haven't been idle either; they've been busy setting up a defensive perimeter that should be finished in about a month. By the by, I've recorded everything I could about the shipyard and that mining/refining ship they have. I'll have a brief sent to your aide for you to look over. The system is pretty efficient from what we can tell," Chloe finished.

"Thanks Colonel, but do you think we'll survive a fly-by?" Ian asked.

"Not bloody likely with that battlewagon in dock!" she replied. "Hm... but we would survive docking."

"I think the comm is broken. Chloe did you just suggest docking with it?" Jenny said.

"Actually, yes, I did, Commander. Look here," and a visual appeared on the main viewer on the bridge. "That monster has an automatic docking system. An inbound ship simply lines up, and coasts in. The station itself uses tractors to do the final corrections, and stop the ship. If we line up for docking, I don't think they'll attack us, if we dock on the far side from that battleship, it will ensure it.

"Jump in, and line up like we're going to slide in for a docking. The only weapons on that bitch are small point defense and anti-meteor guns, neither of which can breach our armor even with shields down. We glide in, push your surprise package on ahead of us, and jump out from there. The jump effect will tear up the station on that side, and the demo charge will capitalize on it," she finished.

"You want me to attempt to dock with an enemy station, in hostile space, with my shields down?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, and weapons disabled. They'd detect a weapons lock," Chloe replied.

"Chloe, who's side are you on?" Jenny asked, reasonably.

"Chekhov? Can you do that?" Ian asked. "Bring us in like we are a docking ship?"

"Sir, I could do Cossak Dance on her hull if I wanted!" Chekhov said in a cheesy Russian accent.

"I'll take that as a yes." Ian looked thoughtful for a moment as he considered his options. "Do it. If we can set these fuckers back even a little, it could mean the difference in saving our sector."

"Ian, this is suicide!" Jenny protested. "I admit we've been lucky so far, but this is another matter entirely!"

"Is it?" Ian said, looking her in the eyes. "Jenny, you know as well as I do that if we leave these fuckers alone, they'll be all over us in less than six months. We have to do something to them to slow them down."

"I know, but this?" Jenny replied. "They'll blow us to dust before we get within ten thousand clicks of that station!"

"With what?" Ian said, he typed on his keyboard quickly and brought up a system schematic. The fleet that had jumped in was spread out all over the system setting up border defenses. "There is nothing other than that battleship close enough to threaten us. If we come in on the lee side as Chloe suggests, that removes everything but the battleships missiles and the point defense from the station. By the time anything else could jump back to take us on, we'll be gone, and so will a large chunk of that station."

Jenny set her jaw to argue, but Ian only raised one eyebrow. She shook her head. "Navigation, adjust the next jump to bring us in on a docking vector for the station. Operations, drop shields and secure all weapons immediately after jump."

No one said a word as they followed her orders. Very quietly, she leaned toward Ian. "This is a mistake, Ian."

"Jenny, I need to know if this is a premonition," Ian asked intently.

"No, I'm not getting anything right now. No foreboding at all," Jenny admitted.

"Sweetheart, you have to learn to trust your ability. If you tell me that you knew this was a mistake, I'd rescind all those orders, but if you can't, we're going in," Ian said.

"I could lie to you about it," Jenny countered.

Ian chuckled softly. "No, you can't."

"Commander, in order to do this, I'm going to need helm control," Chekhov said.

"Navigation has helm control. Operations, is the surprise package ready?" Jenny asked.

"I'm having them move it to the forward cargo airlock, blowing the lock should give it sufficient momentum toward the station. We'll trigger the timer as we jump," Chloe replied.

"How long of a count did you give it?" Ian asked.

"Fifteen seconds Sir. It has an IFF safety." Chloe replied. IFF safety was an inability to detonate if a friendly IFF signal was within its blast radius.

"That should be sufficient, Chloe," Ian said.

"Jumping in three minutes!" Chekhov announced. "All stations, prepare for two rapid jumps in succession."

Jenny thumbed her intercom. "Marines! Stand by to repel boarders!"

"Now all we just have to do is hope Dommer can keep the hyperdrive from having a kitten, and we should be golden." Ian said grimly.

Ian and the rest of the crew waited in silence for the jump; when it came, it was almost a relief.

The jump landed them a lot closer to the station than Jenny thought they would ever get.

"Jump nine complete, loading jump ten. Shields are down, and weapons are stowed. We are coasting toward the station. Helm, positive four degrees bow pitch, yaw minus two. Forward momentum at ninety meters per second," Chekhov announced. "I'll be... Sir, the station is extending the gantry for our arrival!"

Jenny and Ian could only watch in awe as the enemy station made itself ready to dock the cruiser.

Jenny, shook her head, as if to break a trance. "Chloe, dump the package, we're leaving shortly!"

"Blowing the forward lock!"

"Eighty-five meters per second. Helm adjust stern positive two, check drift." Chekhov said.

"Cory, if you actually dock with this monster, we're leaving you here!" Jenny growled.

"Initiator is still past the red line, Commander," he replied.

Jenny called the Engineer. "Chief, anyway to cool it faster?"

Dommer nodded. "It'll be ready in two minutes, Commander. But you better hope it gets us into hyperspace, because she'll be a two-ton paper-weight after this!"

"What are you doing Chief?" Ian asked.

"Basically, we're gonna dump a barrel of liquid nitrogen on it as soon as we jump. It'll destroy the initiator, but we don't have many other options at this point," the man said. "Get ready, Cory, jump on my mark."

"Will do, Chief. All hands, stand by for an emergency jump, no count!" Chekhov called over the ship-wide.

"Chloe, trigger the timer!" Jenny said.

"Activated!" Chloe replied as Chief Dommer yelled go!

As many transitions as the ship had been through that day, the crew had become used to them. However, this jump was nothing like the others. Ian felt like someone reached down his throat and pulled his ass out through his mouth. He fell to his knees, vomiting as the world around him went insane, tore itself apart, and threw the ship into the hole.



Chapter Eighteen

Phoenix Base

Admiral Goya's Quarters

Selene, Earth's Moon

Sol System, Sol Sector

"I'm sorry to bother you Admiral, but you are receiving a priority communication request from ARC Fleet Admiral Hjole," Brekka asked via the comm. It was still either very late in the evening, or very early in the morning, Phoenix Base time.

"I've been expecting this. Can you let yourself into my apartments and make us some coffee? I'll deal with the Admiral while you get a shower. Once you're finished, you can issue all the orders I'll be giving you while I get a shower. If you can wait that long, I'll make us some breakfast."

"Yes Sir, I'll be right there," Brekka replied.

Goya disconnected the call and got out of bed. He quickly put his uniform o, and went out to his living room. Brekka was already there making coffee. How he had lived all these years without that beverage was a mystery to him. He was going to have to figure out a way to smuggle it into the Alliance.

Making sure he was presentable, he instructed the computer to connect the call. When the large gorilla like being took form on the screen, Goya bowed slightly.

"Greetings to and your clan, Hjoles. I hope you are well," Goya said.

"You can drop the formalities, Goya, although I do appreciate them, we simply don't have time. I need to know if you can contribute any forces to a combined task group we are assembling to counter an Imperial thrust in the Rataac sector," Hjoles said. For him to dispense with formality meant the call was very important.

"I do have several ships in the home sector, Admiral. But those are not... uh, they are problem ships. I'll issue orders immediately, sending them to the front, and pull back ships to assist in this attack. I've been trying to keep abreast of the events you speak of. Admiral Williams' aide has been nice enough to send us their data feed," Goya admitted.

Hjoles burst out laughing. "I think you missed the best part of that. We have also been monitoring his feeds. That is one seriously crazy human, I cannot decide if he is insane or far more brave than I believed humans to be capable of!"

"I apologize, Admiral. I was resting as it is our night cycle here. May I ask what I missed?" Goya asked.

"I could tell you, Goya, but it would not do it justice. When you have time, review that which you have missed. The simple fact that he found a way to provide us with reliable, undetectable surveillance in the system is impressive, but this..." the big ape shook his head. "I am very pleased he considers himself allied with us. For he would surely prove to be a most devastating enemy."

Goya nodded, knowing that somehow, Ian had made another miracle. "I will review it as soon as I am able. If I shift those house ships to the front, I should be able to field eleven heavy cruisers and their escorts. If I pulled anymore, it would weaken our efforts to maintain an effective defense."

"That will be acceptable. We are hoping to amass a large force as this is very far from any support base. The Benesian Ambassador has agreed to allow us to assemble just outside of Benesia Prime. Could you give me your time-line to get the ships there as soon as you have worked it out?" Hjoles asked.

Goya nodded. "Of course, Admiral. Would you like for me to submit an inquiry to the Terran Council for the use of their repair facilities?"

Hjoles blinked a few times, and his face twitched. That was an indication that he had not known of the Terran Pleiades station. "I was unaware they had any such facility constructed. Would it be large enough to handle our ships?"

Typing on the remote keyboard, Goya sent the Admiral the specs on the Pleiades station. "This is the only one they have built for the moment, however, they have plans for at least two more. As you can see, the gantries are far larger than most current Alliance facilities. More importantly, at least to your Captains and Commanders, this is a Terran facility, not a Talosian one. I highly doubt there will be any of the normal problems if you chose to use this station."

"The simple fact is that we have little choice in this, at least I feel that you understand this, even if your people do not. Yes, please make an inquiry to the Terrans for the temporary use of the facility. I will make a report to the Council asking for more formal treaties and the like to be drawn up for the future," Hjoles replied. "We need to defeat our enemy in this place quickly, Admiral. If they complete their base, we could lose the entire quadrant, including these Terrans that seem so impressive."

"I'm touring their facilities now. Trust me here, they are very impressive. The only problem is that there are so few of them. Most of their home planet doesn't even know these folks are out here. The world is still pretty primitive as far as uniting under a single planetary government. In fact, some of them on the planet don't even believe in the existence of extra-terrestrial life!" Goya said.

Hjoles nodded. "Although it is hard to imagine, even my own people were like that many thousands of years ago. I think most societies were. If the Empire were to attack that system, how well could they defend themselves?"

"Pretty well up to a point. They have devised a lot of automated defenses and have several new weapons systems I've never seen before. However, their limited numbers would soon begin to show, and at that point, I believe they would fall," Goya admitted.

"So, they have only just emerged. They must not be allowed to fall to the Empire. After we deal with this threat, I will speak to the Council about defending them, I do not know how we will do it, but a way must be found," Hjoles replied. "Please issue your orders, Admiral. Get back with me once you have more information, please."

"I will, good morning, Admiral," Goya replied.

"And to you, Admiral," the big ape replied, and broke contact.

"This is going to be a long day," Brekka said from where she had taken a seat to listen and sip her coffee.

"Ahhh, indeed," Goya said after taking a long sip from his own cup. "I will need to speak to Noren as soon as she wakes. When I get out of the shower, I'll want to see the status of all ships available in the home system or that are on local patrol."

"Considering how things are going at home, your orders might not be followed," Brekka said.

Goya nodded. "I know, I think that scares me almost as much as this move by the Empire." He took a last sip of his coffee. "I'll be out in a minute. In the meantime, you might want to see what it was the Admiral was referring to in regards to Star Dancer."

"I'll check once I get the information you'll need, Sir," the young woman said.

TDF Star Dancer

Hyperspace Transit vector

Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

Once he felt the room had stabilized, Ian slowly got back to his feet. "What the hell was that?" he mumbled. His stomach had settled, but his head was now pounding.

Jenny must have recovered faster than he had. "Report!" she demanded, causing Ian to wince in pain.

"Sir, the hyperspace initiator exploded during transition. Four people in engineering were injured, including the Chief. Medical is responding. Damage control is already on site and assisting the remaining engineers to pick up the pieces," the damage control officer reported. "There are multiple reports of disorientation, nausea, and headaches from all over the ship, but no other injuries. No other damage has been reported."

"We are in hyperspace, and on course for home," Chekhov reported.

"Other than the damage in Main Engineering, no other systems seem to have been affected, sir," the engineering officer reported.

Jenny nodded. "Okay, as soon as they've been checked out, let's get back to our normal duty rotations. Good work, Chekhov." She nodded to him, then looked around. "Good work everyone!"

Ian tried to finish standing, but half-way to his feet, he got dizzy and fell back to the floor. Jenny noticed, and waved a Marine from the door. "Let's get him to the couch in his ready room."

Mel rushed forward to help the Marine take over from Jenny. "I'll help, Sir, you have to stay here for now," she said to Jenny.

Jenny smiled tiredly at the woman. "Thanks Mel, I'll be in to check on him as soon as I can."

"I'm not old and decrepit yet, you know!" Ian said, but didn't let go of the Marine helping him up.

"No, in fact, you're younger than I am, Sir. However, you've also been awake for much longer," Mel said getting under his other shoulder to help support him.

"Haven't been up that long..." Ian mumbled, as he was helped into his office.

Jenny smiled gently after placing him on the couch before opening a comm to medical.

"Kinda busy, Commander, whatcha need?" Beth asked, sounding harried.

"Ian collapsed and is having some trouble getting his legs under him again. When you have time, could you send someone to his ready room to check on him?" Jenny asked.

"Ian collapsed?" Beth asked. "Yeah, I'll send someone up right away."

"Thanks Beth, Command out," Jenny said and broke contact. She noticed that her acting exec, John Harris, had arrived on the bridge. "Day watch - stand down, evening watch - on duty, night watch - normal reporting."

John stepped up to Jenny and saluted. "Rough transition, Sir. How's the Admiral?"

Jenny returned the salute. "I certainly don't want to go through it again, Colonel. I haven't gotten the official word, but it looks like Ian is just overly tired, and the transition smacked him extra hard." She continued on, giving him a briefing on the events he'd missed. Finally she finished, "..And last but by no means least, Colonel, you have the Con."

John nodded to her, smiling softly. "I have the Con, Commander. Have a nice evening."

"Thanks, John. Let me know how the Chief's doing once things settle down in the infirmary. I'll let you know what I learn about Ian." Jenny said as she stepped down from the dais her chair was on.

"Will do, Commander. I appreciate it about Ian too, I'd tell him to stop pushing it, but I know he wouldn't listen," John replied.

"No, I'm sure he wouldn't. Now that I'm a commander, I'm starting to see why he does. There is always a problem hiding in the shadows waiting to jump out and bite you," Jenny said. "Good evening, John."

"You too, Sir," John replied, as Jenny left the bridge for Ian's office/ready room.

As it was right now, Jenny didn't have a ready room. However, part of the refit they would be getting done would add one for her too. In fact, it will completely redefine the entire bridge. That would come later, though. For now, she and Ian had to share the one they had. When she entered the room, she saw Ian stretched out on the couch, sound asleep. In one of the chairs beside the couch, Mel sat, alert, going over various reports and whatever else she did on her tablet. When she saw Jenny, she stood.

Jenny waved her back to her chair, "I'm off duty, Mel, please just relax."

"Yes Sir," the woman replied, and took her seat again.

"I called medical, have they been up here yet?"

"No Sir, but it's not even been five minutes yet," Mel replied. "He dropped into sleep as soon as we got him on the couch; it was kinda creepy."

"He hasn't been sleeping well," Jenny said. This business with the Talosians, and then this mess came up. He's been pretty stressed," Jenny admitted.

"I could tell he wasn't doing well." She bit her lower lip. "I think I might know of something that would help him, but I don't know how to suggest it."

"What is it, maybe I can help you?" Jenny offered.

"I had a very difficult childhood. My parents felt the need to make sure I knew how to defend myself, and enrolled me in martial arts classes. I did learn to defend myself, but I also learned how to deal with the stress of being shunned and reviled. Master Hohiro Kwan taught me how to control my mental state and emotions so the overload didn't kill me. I think the Admiral could really use those skills right now," Mel finished.

Jenny nodded. "I've heard a lot of that sort of thing about martial arts. Tell you what, find out if we have someone like your Master Kwan either on board, or at least recruited. If he's already on the ship, work it out with the teacher for Ian and him to get together during Ian's work-out time."

"Shouldn't I talk to the Admiral about it first?" Mel asked.

Jenny grinned. "Mel, you'll learn that when it comes to Ian, it's far easier to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission. If he needs it, then we need to make sure he gets it."

"I understand, Sir. I'll get it taken care of right away," Mel replied. "Thank you for helping me."

Jenny shook her head. "By helping you, I am helping him. Besides, I might ask you to see if I can take classes too!"

Seeing how tired Jenny was, Mel got up and went to the replicator. She sat a warm drink down on the desk Jenny shared with Ian. "You need to rest as well, Sir. Drink this, it'll help."

Jenny sniffed it, and her eyes lit up. "It smells wonderful, what is it?"

"Basically, just warm milk, but it has a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon, with a little sugar," Mel replied. "My Grandmother called it a homeopathic sleeping potion. It works! I've yet to actually finish a cup!"

"If it works that well, I better hold off for a few minutes. I want to see how Ian's doing, and getting to my own bed would be good!" Jenny replied, as the door to the hallway opened to admit Beth.

"I didn't think you'd come yourself, Beth!" Jenny said.

The older woman shrugged. "It's Ian, so I came. All the stuff going on down there is just space sickness from that rough translation anyway. I'll be heading home with you after this." She sighed, "Any idea how we're gonna get him back to our quarters?"

"Well, we could just leave him here, but if he wakes up, he's likely to stay up and work more, when he should be sleeping. You're the CMO, think you can borrow a litter or something to get him home?" Jenny asked.

"Hm, let me check him over first. I might just send his ass down to MainMed for exhaustion." Beth replied. "I know he hasn't been sleeping, and I did warn him about it."

"I don't know if that would be a good idea right now, Beth. We do need him up and around," Jenny said.

Beth looked back at her. "I'm sure we do, Jen, but sooner or later, his body will simply shut down if it hasn't already. At that point, it would be best to just let him sleep it out."

"What will happen to him if he keeps pushing it even past that point?" Jenny asked, worried now.

"Nothing good. Memory and cognitive failure, emotional control, the chemical imbalance would eventually cause irreparable damage to his brain and or motor function. Strokes are possible, and not the mild ones either. We simply cannot let him get to that point. I'm going to implement a new medical protocol that will automatically remove someone from duty if they have not slept for 36 hours. There'll be more to it than that, but that's the gist of it. If he gets this bad again, I'll relieve him of duty and lock him in a room in MainMed until he gets enough rest," Beth said, not liking what her scanner was telling her. "I had no idea it was this bad, Jen, I should really do that now. But if he stays asleep for at least twelve hours, I'll let him sleep at home."

Jenny nodded. "Okay Beth, let's get him back to our quarters, and get him tucked in."

"That goes for you as well, Miss Commander, Sir. You better have your pretty ass lying right next to his, or I'll put you both in MainMed and let John get us home, understand?" Beth said in her full on 'mother' mode.

"I will Beth, I promise. I just need to tell the Council we are on our way back, check on Chief Dommer, and I'm for bed," Jenny explained. "Look, Mel even got some of her grandmother's special sleeping potion for me!"

Beth came over to the desk, sniffed the drink, and took a small sip. "Hm, good choice. Mel, your grandmother was a smart lady, but I think I should increase the tryptophan slightly in order to counter the sugar."

"I know it works pretty well on me as it is, Doctor," Mel replied. "I get some of that, and I better be near my bed."

Beth nodded. "I'm sure it does. It's been a longtime aide to counter the effects of insomnia. By adding the nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar, it made it more palatable without messing with the effects that much." She sighed and called for a litter and a stout orderly to help them move Ian. Looking back at Jenny, she said. "Major Dommer is still in surgery. He sustained considerable injury as a result of the hyperdrive housing fragmenting when it exploded. He will be in the medical center for at least two weeks, probably longer since we have to replace his right forearm, three ribs and both eyes. Of all the engineers injured, he was the hardest hit. He's damn lucky to be alive, by all rights that explosion should have killed him."

"I was told he'd been injured, but I had no idea it was that bad!" Jenny said. "How many others on his staff got hit?"

"Eight people were injured, but only the Chief and three others needed to be taken to medical. Shrapnel wounds, burns, and broken bones. Two people will need replacement eyes, but neither lost both eyes like the Chief did," Beth sighed. "Was it really necessary for them to do that?"

"If they hadn't, we would all be learning how to speak Imperial right now," Jenny said.

Beth nodded. "Well, at least we can fix them up. Now, make your report, so you can keep Ian in bed."

Jenny grinned at her friend. "Yes, Ma'am!"

"Bite me!" Beth said, and stuck her tongue out at Jenny.

Phoenix Base

Admiral Goya's Quarters

Selene, Earth's Moon

Sol System, Sol Sector

"Is it a bad thing to dread going back to Talos?" Goya asked, rhetorically.

"Are you having problems, Goya?" Noren asked.

"The thrice-damned house ships are giving me heartburn over the orders I issued. They are refusing to move to the front because they claim I will be leaving Talos under-defended, and have refused to move. The problem is, I need those other ships to join the ARC fleet to push the Empire out of the Beta Hydri system," Goya explained. "I had one Commander refuse to leave because, and I quote, 'This isn't our problem, let those lazy blarks in ARC deal with it!' I swear to Hyera I would can the lot of them if it wouldn't create an even worse problem!"

Noren nodded. "If you fired the Commanders of the house ships, it could very well trigger the war we're trying to stop. I think we need to be getting home as soon as we can leave here, my friend."

Goya nodded. "I asked that the Adonis be made ready for departure as soon possible. Noren, I need to speak to the Terran Council on a request from the Alliance Command."

"I'll call Luke, but if you need to talk to all of them, we'll need to go back to Centauri. May I ask what ARC wants to ask them?" Noren asked.

"Admiral Hjoles would like me to inquire if the forces that will be attacking the Beta Hydri system could use the Pleiades Station as a support base for this operation. He didn't come right out and say it, but I got the feeling that he will be pushing for more formal accords between ARC and the Terrans," Goya said.

"The last I heard from the Alliance Council was that they considered the Terran issue unimportant, and mostly our problem," Noren replied.

Goya chuckled. "Hjoles watched Ian in action at the Beta Hydri system. Star Dancer destroyed a full shipyard and an Imperial battleship that was docked with it, while they seeded the system with surveillance drones."

"What? You're talking about one of the small portable repair gantries right?" Noren asked.

"Nope, a fully functional, full sized shipyard. That crazy Terran jumped next to the station and maneuvered like it was docking! The Imperial stations have autodocking protocols and it opened up to let them in. They jettisoned some kind of demolition charge and jumped. They jumped while docking! They were so close that the gravitational tide effect tore the gantry completely off the station, and stripped off the armor protecting it; the charge just floated into the superstructure and blew the whole mess into a pile of scrap! There was a battleship they had damaged in an earlier encounter docked on the far side of the station when it blew. The battleship had no shields up, and was hooked into the station for power. When the station blew, it shredded the warship!" Goya said, amazed. "Hjoles told me that he was very happy that Admiral Williams considers himself an ally to us, because he would be a devastating enemy!"

"You are talking about that big Siminoid Admiral from ARC High Command, right? The same one that thinks our forces are only fit for guard duty?" Noren asked.

"Yep, he's the one," Goya nodded.

"That would certainly explain a few things, I guess. I just thought it was because they saved the High Priestess," Noren said to herself.

"Huh? What things does that explain?" Goya asked.

"The Benesian Ambassador to the Alliance, T'dran Cyree, sent me a very flowery, yet formally worded request for information about the Terrans. She also requested that I formally contact them on behalf of the peoples of the Alliance of Races to request diplomatic contact," Noren explained. "These folks have impressed the hell out of some very important beings in the Alliance of Races Council."

"Well, it looks like our visit here is coming to an end, either way. Brekka," he turned to his aide. "Could you please inquire about getting us transport back to Centauri? Once you have that, I'll want to schedule a vid conference with all of our trusted Commanders. Please include Commander Egran of the Pegasus, but not Commander Blathe of the Zephyr."

"Do you want me to see if Commander Serena can attend in person, Sir?" Brekka asked.

Goya nodded. "That would be good, thank you for the suggestion. Admiral Pan will also need to be there since I'm going to be shuffling some people around."

Brekka nodded her head, because she was already carrying out his orders. While Goya had been talking to Brekka, Noren had been speaking to her aide as well, the young woman was now on the vid arranging a meeting with Luke Belden and the rest of the Terran Council.

"I'm starting to wish I hadn't let Belirus join the Terrans, I could really use another Commander I could trust," Goya said to Noren.

"I thought you didn't like Belirus and that was why you let him go?" Noren replied.

"Oh, I really dislike the man, but he is loyal, and has command experience, and that's really what we need the most right now," Goya replied. "I just really hope that we have enough people among our loyal crews to take over the house ships. The problem there is going to be the AI; most, if not all, of them have probably deactivated their AI, and that means the ship cannot accept a new commander."

"But, even if we could get loyal commanders on those ships, what would you do about the crew? How many of them are completely against us?" Noren asked.

"We have no way of knowing. From what we've learned from Belirus, there is a strong possibility that they've been fed the same story he had been. Most folks would trust their own house elders over the High Council. Especially if they've been told the High Council has been the ones lying to them," Goya replied. "No matter how we turn this, it isn't going to be pretty."

"Goya, if the rebels decide to attack, how badly is this going to hurt us?" Noren asked. "Worst case, please."

"It really depends on how they do it. If the attack is confined to space, most of our people should be safe while we fight it out. However, if they attack the federal building in Talos city, there will be fighting on the ground. If that happens, we could see heavy civilian casualties. If they have convinced the population to overthrow the High Council, then we will again see high civilian casualties.

"Either way, we will be forced to recall our ships from the main fight with the Empire, and that will weaken ARC forces across the board. It could weaken them to the point where they will be forced to pull back. We could lose the sector, maybe even the quadrant. No matter what happens, if the separatists decide to use force, we are going to get hurt, and hurt badly," Goya finished.

"Perhaps I should record a message to our people, whether they believe it or not, at least we tried," Noren said.

"The separatists would use that as an excuse to pull the Terrans into the fight, and it's not their fight." Goya said.

"No, it isn't. But if they did enter into the fight, that could certainly help us could it not?" Noren asked.

"Yes, it would help us, but these folks have enough on their plate right now," Goya said. "The Imperial forces that took the Beta Hydri system are not all that far away, and Ian simply does not have the resources to help us and adequately defend this sector from Imperial invasion at the same time. If he tried, he could lose everything."

TDF Star Dancer

Pleiades one starship repair gantry six

Sol sector, Centauri system

Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

"John, contact Pleiades control, and get us a parking spot, please," Jenny asked, grinning at her executive officer.

"Why do I feel like you have something up your sleeve Commander?" John asked.

"Because I'm going to let you bring us in. You need the experience, remember?" Jenny said, reminding him he was in training.

"Fabulous!" John said, rolling his eyes. "Comms, please get me Pleiades Control."

"Pleiades Control, go ahead Star Dancer!" a young female voice could be heard.

"Thank you, control. We are requesting approach and docking instructions," John said.

"Understood, Star Dancer. Please turn to one-nine-four by seven-seven. You are cleared to dock in gantry six. We show you as seventy-five thousand klicks out and closing, please reduce speed to point zero-zero-one for closure."

"Helm, turn to one-niner-four by seven-seven degrees true, reduce speed to point zero-zero-one," John echoed. "Pleiades Control, we are on approach for gantry six, ETA now zero-six minutes."

"Confirmed, Star Dancer. Reduce speed to five hundred mps at the outer marker," The controller replied.

"Navigation, deploy the nav drones for docking." John opened the ship-wide comm. "All stations, this is the bridge, prepare for docking. Welcome home everyone!"

"Nav Drones away, Colonel. Speed now two thousand mps and dropping," Ensign Hayes reported. Chekhov was off duty. "Outer marker in two minutes."

"Reverse thrusters point one for ten seconds, we're coming in too hot," John said. His eyes were glued to the main view screen which showed all the data he would need to manually dock with the station. "Helm adjust yaw four degrees, bow negative three."

"Speed now seven hundred mps, sir. Outer marker in twenty seconds," Hayes reported.

John nodded, but kept watching the screen. "Thrusters to station keeping, let momentum take is in."

"We've reached the outer marker, speed four-ninety and dropping."

"Secure all flight systems, drop our shields, and turn on our navigation lights. Helm make moorings ready. Reverse thusters point one." John said. The ship was inside the gantry now, gently sliding into position in the birth.

"Kill forward momentum." John ordered.

"Speed now, zero point zero. Thrusters to station-keeping," Hayes reported, grinning.

"Lock us in, Helm," John ordered. "Engines to stand-by, main reactor to station mode. Recall the nav drones." He reopened the channel to the station. "Pleiades Control, Star Dancer is home and docked."

"Star Dancer, this is station control, welcome home!" echoed through the great ship.

The bridge crew clapped for John's handling of the docking, and he bowed slightly to them. "Thank you, folks. Secure all stations! Stand down from combat operations, set repair conditions. Station control; fill 'er up, and please check the oil."

"Good work, John," Jenny said. "I hate to ask you this, but I need to go make nice with the dignitaries, can you hold down the fort for a while?"

"Sure, nothing to do really, just sit here and look foreboding," John replied. "When the requests come in, is there anything you don't want to let them get started on?"

"Well, they'll need to take the main reactor offline to replace the hyperdrive unit, so as long as they can finish a project during that time, allow it. Anything longer, and we'll have to talk about it," Jenny said as she got up from her chair. "You have the con."

John nodded and took her seat. "I have the con. Have fun."

"Oh yeah, loads," Jenny said as she left the bridge through the ready room.

As the door closed behind her, a team of engineers arrived to begin tearing down the bridge stations.

"How are you feeling, Admiral?" Goya said when Ian and Jenny met him in the debarkation lounge. Admiral Goya, Commander Serena, and another man Ian faintly recognized had been in the lounge waiting for him. The strange man was wearing Talosian Commander Rank, and suddenly Ian remembered the man.

"Better, I guess I really needed the sleep," Ian replied. "I thought Beth was going to tear off chunks of skin when she chewed me out." He looked at the new Commander. "Commander Egran, it is good to see you again! Welcome back!"

Egran bowed to Ian. "It is very good to be back, Admiral. I see you have made some improvements in my absence."

"A few, we heard a rumor that there were some very unfriendly folks about, so we thought we should address that before it became an issue," Ian replied.

"Indeed, they are very unfriendly, I've been briefed on the situation in Beta Hydri, that is not a good situation," Egran replied.

"I'm afraid things are not going to get much better, either my young friend," Goya replied, taking back the conversation and began telling him everything that had taken place while Ian had been away. While Goya spoke, he led Ian and Jenny to the conference room in the VIP section. Ian was surprised to see the entire Terran Council, Maia, and Star waiting for him. After greeting everyone and taking his seat, Luke began the meeting.

"Before we really get going here, Ian, you'll be happy to know that the United Nations Security Council has ratified your promotion to Admiral. However, the General Assembly is arguing over it. They feel that one of their people would have been better suited to the position." Luke waved his hand in the air. "It's all bullshit, they just want to try to get one of their own people in command up here even though we've told them we would never allow it.

"Now, moving on, we do have a lot of business to discuss, but we have urgent matters that need to be decided, and the domestic stuff can wait for our normal meeting," Luke looked at his tablet.

"The Alliance of Races is assembling a task force to deal with our new neighbors in the Beta Hydri system. ARC High Command, which, to be clear, is the Alliance of Races Military, has asked through Admiral Goya, for the use of this station as a support base for the assault. Admiral Williams, could we get your thoughts before we decide?" Luke asked.

"Certainly, Councilor," Ian replied and thought for a moment. "Because of the threat to this entire sector, it would be to our benefit to support ARC as much as we can. However, just so you all know what allowing this will mean, if you decide to allow it, then we will have ships from all the Alliance races coming and going, and sometimes without notice. We will need to keep an alert watch on the hyperspace weapons systems. We will also have to limit their exposure to the Sol system, which means restricting them to this system. We will need a dedicated AI for traffic control. It will also mean that this station will have to operate at close to its maximum capacity. Personnel will have to be brought over from Sol system to run the mining operations as well as fly the ore ships to supply the raw materials we'll need for repairs.

"Basically, we will have to bring this system up to full operational capacity immediately. All the facilities on this station will have to be fully manned and ready to deal with sailors and warriors from all the races. I believe we can, and should, do this. I don't know where we'll get the people from, but if we are capable of it, we need to make it happen," Ian finished.

"Thank you Admiral. That will help us make the decision. In light of this development, I would like to bring forward one item from the domestic issues facing us; immigration. At last report, we had all the people in place to begin large scale immigration from Earth, but not the facilities. Ironically, we need the immigrants in order to build the facilities we need to handle them.

"Minister Laskar has put forward the suggestion that we begin our effort in this area by publicly advertising for the people we need, worldwide. She has suggested we use our land in New Mexico as a screening and embarkation facility, however, that would be counter to our professed desire to use the planet's existing infrastructure. Your thoughts?" Luke asked of the assembled.

A man to Ian's left stood, and Ian recognized him as the man that wanted to turn him over to the American government, back when Star Dancer was still stuck on the moon; Zebadiah Gabriel.



Chapter Nineteen

Pleiades One Orbital Shipyard

High Orbit, Planet Atlas

Centauri system, Sol Sector

Councilor Gabriel nodded to Ian, a small, sad smile on his face. "Councilors, might I suggest a compromise? We allow controlled immigration as Minister Laskar has outlined, however we set-up our screening and processing facilities at the existing spaceports as we mentioned to the Security Council. It will require slightly more security and work on our part, but I think in the long run, it would go far to foster trust with the nations of the world. We are under a microscope for them. Anything we do that would deviate from our professed goals would be immediately noted. If we are to gain their trust, it is very important we stick to the original plan we told them about. Thank you," he finished and sat back down.

Helen Michaels, a longtime member of the council, stood next. "I believe Councilor Gabriel is correct, and I support his motion. However, I believe we will have to increase security more than we had planned for these facilities. Perhaps not so much in the United States, but for the EUSA (European Space Agency) facility, and for the planned Asian facility. I do believe the nations of Earth will do their best to put spies among us to capture as much of our technology as possible no matter the cost. We must be cautious and prepared for this circumstance." The woman sat.

When he saw that no one else wanted to speak on the matter, he stood. "Although from the looks on your faces, I doubt we need to vote on this, please do so now."

It was less than a minute before Luke stood again. "I guess I was correct, we are agreed, and the decision will be passed on to Minister Laskar for immediate implementation. However, the decision to allow ARC to use this facility in the coming battle is still before us. Admiral Williams has given us his thoughts on the matter, does anyone have any questions for him?"

Again Gabriel indicated he would like to speak, and Luke nodded to him. When he stood, he faced Ian. "Admiral, first off, I would like to thank you again for our first meeting. Although I do still have strong beliefs, I now better understand what it was you were trying to accomplish and build. Had you not made certain I could not contact the American authorities, I would have ruined this blessed opportunity," he held up his hand. "No, I am not, nor will I push my religious beliefs in anyway, you have given us the opportunity to find common ground, and perhaps an understanding in our various beliefs. I am telling you all of this, so you will understand my question for you, and that I mean no offense by asking it. With all the separate and diverse races that will be coming here, what has been done to see to the spiritual needs of the visiting warriors?"

Ian nodded. "I understand and can appreciate your question, Councilor. Currently there has been nothing done in this area, mostly because we have very little to no information on the spiritual beliefs of the other races. An entire deck of the station has been set aside for this need, currently only Terran and Talosian beliefs are represented there."

"Please pardon the interruption, Admiral. But may I add to that?" Maia asked from her place near Luke.

"Please do, Maia," Ian replied.

"I would add only that, in light of current developments, construction has begun on a Benesian Temple. Construction of this temple will take a couple of months since no automation can be used, but it has started. So there are, technically, three races now represented," Maia finished, and bowed her head to Ian.

"Thank you, Maia. I assume more facilities will be added as we learn of their need. I should mention that the station administrator, Isaak Hawkins, has yet to complete his current commitment on Earth. However, once he does, his wife has agreed to take over the job of managing these areas of the stations. Does that answer your question, Councilor?"

"It does, Admiral, thank you," Gabriel replied. Laura Johnson stood next.

"Maia, we know the station has been built to support a large number of ships at one time, but do you have the capacity for this mission?"

Maia stepped forward to address the Council. "Councilors, even with Star Dancer, now docked in gantry six, I have room for four more heavy cruiser class ships. If Star Dancer were to disembark, and our current construction projects pulled out of the way, I would have the ability to handle four carriers, or six battleships, or up to ten heavy cruiser class ships. I sincerely hope that more room will not be needed, but as Admiral Goya and Pan will tell you, that should be sufficient for this mission. However, if continued support of ARC missions are to be considered, we might wish to reconsider the priority on the remaining Pleiades stations that are planned. We will also need a separate, dedicated, traffic control and customs station equipped with its own AI," she paused. "If we can increase the mining and refining efforts in this system, we should be able to handle the ARC request."

Ian stood, and Maia bowed to him. "Councilors, although I do recommend accepting this request, as an added security precaution, I feel we should add the stipulation that our location be considered 'need to know' and for it not to be allowed to be stored electronically. Only the ship commanders, and their navigators should have our location. Such information can be salvaged from destroyed ships, and I would prefer the Empire not discovering our location by those means."

Admiral Goya stood, asking Luke if he could speak. Luke nodded to him. "Councilors, we of Talos have no voice here, nor should we. However, I would like to request that you seriously consider allowing the ARC into your sector." He sighed, and shook his head. "Most of you are aware of the issues taking place back at our home planet, and I fear that situation will only get worse before it gets better. This will seriously affect our ability to support and contribute to the ARC and the Alliance efforts to repel the invading Empire. It will mean the restructuring of our government, and could very well mean the destruction of the Talosian Alliance itself.

"Be that as it may, we, both of our separate nations, are human, and humans have a vested interest in the outcome of the war against the Empire. If Talosians cannot support the ARC in our own defense, I would hope that Terrans would, not as a favor to us, nor for any other reason than humans need to do this. Ian's actions have done much to restore the ARC faith in our race. But I fear that a Talosian failure to support the Alliance due to our internal problems will severely damage relations. Unfortunately, the Alliance is well aware of the attitude Talosian separatists have for the other races, and that too has damaged our relations with them." He paused, "I guess, I am asking you to support the ARC, not as a Talosian, but as a human. Humans are not alone in this galaxy, nor are we in the majority. As a race, we cannot allow our petty prejudices to destroy our relations with our neighbors, or we will know nothing but war until we become extinct." The tired looking man slowly took his seat, and his aide, Brekka, reached forward to put her hand on his shoulder.

Pleiades One Orbital Shipyard

High Orbit, Planet Atlas

Centauri system, Sol sector

Luke stood again, It was clear Goya's speech had given him something to think about. "Admirals, High Councilor, in the time you've been here, we have gotten to know you. By extension, we have also gotten to know of the issues you are having back home. You are correct, although we are separate nations, we are all still human. Although I cannot speak for the Council in this, as friends, you have my support. As such, I am willing to speak to the Alliance Representatives on your behalf when they arrive."

"With respect Luke, and I apologize for interrupting, but Laura has been keeping the rest of us in the loop. In this, we all feel that you can speak for the Council in this, we will support the faction of the Talosian Government that is represented here, at least, to the extent we are able," Gabriel said. "Again, sorry for interrupting you."

"No problem, Zeb, and thank you," Luke replied.

"Councilors, and Admiral, do any of you object to allowing loyal Talosian ships safe haven here?" Luke replied. "This will mean we will have entered into an Alliance with the Talosians that could be considered to be a mutual defense pact. Further, we will be extending all assistance to the Talosian ships and crews, including ship upgrades, support crews, and possibly personnel exchanges." Luke said. "This is taken from a treaty document Councilor Noren gave to me when she first arrived that I almost tore up. That document represented her hopes for this visit. Both our nations will benefit from this, in that we will be gaining more protection for this sector, as well as an experienced knowledge base to draw on.

The Talosians will be gaining a friendly port capable of repairing their ships without making them mortgage their souls in order to do it. They will also gain all of our knowledge gained as a result of studying their own. They will gain access to the advances we've made, and be able to equip their ships and personnel to prevail in the coming internal conflict, as well as in the ongoing war with the Empire.

"By doing this, we will also be taking a hand in their internal matters. We will be choosing sides so to speak. Consider this for a few moments, while we take a short recess. We will make final comments and vote on it when we return. If there are no objections, we are adjourned for ten minutes."

Luke and one other Councilor excused themselves to use the restroom, while the rest began speaking quietly to each other. Ian moved over to Goya, Pan and Noren.

"It sounds like you've been busy while I've been gone," Ian said.

"Admiral Hjoles, ARC Chief of Operations, called me to inquire how much we could contribute to the Beta Hydri offensive. He had been personally monitoring your actions in that system so he could stay abreast of events there. You greatly impressed him, and trust me here, he is not a being that is impressed by much. As a result, he spoke to the Alliance Council who in turn called Noren to formally open diplomatic channels between the Terrans and the Alliance. As a result of that, A Benesian Ambassadorial mission is being sent here on behalf of the Alliance Council," Goya replied.

"That would explain Maia working on a Benesian Temple, but I get the impression from your speech, that matters at Talos have gotten worse?" Ian asked.

Goya nodded. "All the house ships have refused orders to relocate to the front to relieve the ships we need for the Beta Hydri offensive. We worked up a plan to replace the command crews for the ships, but with the AI offline, the ships won't allow it."

Ian nodded. "Considering the damage the House Commanders have already done to foreign relations, this could mean a death blow to the Talosian Alliance."

"Exactly, Noren feels that our only hope of retaining even a modicum of good relations with the Alliance of Races lies with your people, I agree with her. I'll have to explain the situation to Hjoles, but I can't tell you what his response will be. A few of those races could easily view this as the final insult," Goya replied.

"They won't attack us, not yet. But we can pretty much count on them barring our ships from docking at their ports or entering their space," Noren added. "But once the Empire is dealt with, they will sever all trade and contact, and consider us to be dishonorable, and therefore, hostile."

"There has to be something you can do; after all, it's not like you have been given a choice in this matter!" Ian said. "Wait a sec, they can't turn their backs on you or consider this an insult, without dishonoring themselves in the process," Ian said.

"How so? All three of the main races on the Alliance Council view this as a failure of our conviction; to them, we are cowards that are abandoning our sworn allies in their time of need," Noren replied.

"No, they won't. Trust me here, they won't directly help you, but they will certainly buy you the time you will need to get this issue dealt with," Ian said cryptically. "I'll handle this Hjoles myself."

Luke returned then and joined them. "Sorry about dropping all this on you Ian, but a lot has been happening."

Ian chuckled. "Luke, contrary to popular belief, the galaxy does not revolve around me and my ship!"

"No, but there sure isn't a dull moment around you!" Luke replied, grinning.

"If you'll excuse me a moment, I need to make a couple of calls before we reconvene," Ian asked.

Both Luke and Noren nodded to him and he moved away.

"Why do I get the feeling our young Admiral is up to something?" Noren said.

Luke snorted. "Probably because he is. I swear, that man is always thinking and planning something."

"Well, I for one am glad he does," Serena said, speaking for the first time. "I only wish we had a hundred more like him."

"I am still in awe of all that has been accomplished in the short time I have been gone. It would have taken decades for a shipyard of this size to be built at New Talos," Egran said.

"Indeed," Goya said. "Our people have lost heart and no longer support or trust us. We need to correct that, or we will lose them."

"Then we will have to find a way to show them the truth of the matter," Luke replied. "Come on, I need to call the meeting back together."

Ian still hadn't returned from his calls when Luke reconvened the meeting, but there was a lot to do and not a lot of time to get it done. "Does anyone have any comments or thoughts on ratifying the Talosian Accord?"

Councilor Michaels stood once again, and Luke nodded to her. "I think we will agree in principle with the accord, but we will have to actually review the document before we sign it. Considering our current relations with the representatives present, I believe if there is something we disagree with in the formal document, we should be able to work it out." The woman then took her seat.

Luke nodded. "Just to be clear, the current Talosian Council has not ratified this document either. Perhaps we should just call it an emergency aid agreement, and leave it at that. Once the smoke from all this clears, we can work up something more formal, agreed?"

To that general consensus, Luke called a vote and it was agreed. "Now, as to the ARC request. If we agree to it, we have a lot to get in motion, so if no one has any more to say on the matter, I would ask for a vote on this issue as well."

"One moment, please, Chairman?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes, Councilor?" Luke asked.

"Although it doesn't really have a bearing on my decision, could we ask Admiral Williams to try to expedite the arrival of the Commodore? I believe we will need him very soon if we agree to this," Gabriel asked just as Ian returned to the room.

"Councilor, Former Admiral Isaak Hawkins is submitting his resignation as we speak and has formally accepted the position of Station Commander. In light of this, I have dispatched the crew of the Raptor Damocles to watch over him during his family's transition. Mrs. Hawkins will be departing Phoenix Base in the morning and should be on station by tomorrow evening. She has already been working with Maia and it was, in fact, her recommendation that started work on the Benesain Temple. She will be bringing a shuttle full of people with her to help fill positions in the recreational areas of the station. Commodore Hawkins will join her here as soon as he can depart the planet," Ian replied smiling.

"Thank you, Admiral!" Gabriel replied grinning. "One step ahead of us again I see."

Ian returned the man's smile. "I have to be Councilor, you're a fast bunch!"

Because Gabriel sat, yielding the floor, Luke again called for the vote on the ARC request. It was unanimously approved.

"One last thing, before we dig into the domestic stuff. Councilors, we are facing a temporary time of military chaos, I feel we need to let Admiral Williams have increased freedom to act during this time. If he needs to shift construction focus, or approve a major change, he will not have the time to wait for us to approve it. Although what I have in mind is pretty much the way it already is, I would like to make it official; until the conclusion of the Beta Hydri Campaign, we should allow Admiral Williams free reign to do what he needs to get done."

"I'll second," Gabriel added, nodding. "Like you said, we're only making it official."

"Third!" Two other councilors said at the same time.

Luke chuckled and struck the gavel. "Motion Carries. I've been wanting an excuse to say this; Admiral; 'git 'er done'!"

Pleiades One Orbital Shipyard

VIP quarters, Admiral Williams and Family (temporary residence)

High Orbit, Planet Atlas

Centauri System, Sol Sector

"Why are we staying up here when we have a very nice house on the planet?" Talena asked.

"Sorry, Little Kitten, I have to stay close to where the action is, and that's up here," Ian replied. "Besides, we have to stay close to the ship in case we have to launch."

"Don't worry about her, Ian. She's just pissed that she couldn't go back to Earth with Cindy," Beth replied.

"We're not doing anything, the Prometheus is handling system patrols, and the ship is being worked on. We couldn't launch right now anyway!" Talena replied.

"In case you forgot, there is an entire Imperial fleet less than twenty light years from here, and they're not very happy with us right now. What would happen if they decided to go looking for the ship that destroyed their shipyard?" Jenny asked.

"I know, I know," Talena replied. "It's just that, Cindy just got back, and she had to leave again!"

"I'm sorry, Talena. I had to send them to protect Commodore Hawkins while he handles things on Earth. If it helps, she would have been leaving again anyway to take the Damocles back to Phoenix Base for upgrades, that’s just the way it is for a Raptor commander," Ian explained.

"Mommy Ta'ena, why did Mommy Cinny leave us?" little Sean asked.

Joshua nudged his brother. "Shh, it’s secret!"

Ian almost cried and sat down in the middle of where the kids had been playing. "Gather around kids."

The four little ones moved close to their father, and he pulled little Sean onto his lap. "Mommy Cindy didn't want to leave you, kidlings. But she felt she had to. You see, there are some very bad men out in the galaxy, and Momma Cindy felt it was up to her and her team to get the training needed to stop them from hurting people. She now has the training, and she has been working hard to make sure that no bad men come here and hurt any of us. It's not a secret, but some of the things she does are. Do you understand?"

Angela looked up at him. "They must be really bad men for Momma to do that."

Ian nodded gravely. "They are very bad men, sweetheart. So bad that Mommy Cindy and her friends have to search for, and stop them before they can hurt people. That's why what they do is secret, so the bad men don't know they are coming."

"When will she be coming back, Daddy?" Sean asked.

"I don't know son, there are a lot of bad men out there, but she is working very hard to stop them. Some of the bad men are very important, and very hard to find. I do know she really misses all of you," Ian said.

"We miss her too, Daddy," little Jean said.

"I'll tell you what, if you're all really good, we'll try to call her tonight, and you can tell her how much you love her okay?" Ian said.

"Okay, Daddy! We'll be really good!" Joshua said, smiling. "Promise!"

Ian took a few minutes to play with the children, but duty called to him, and he had to get back to work. But as he stood up, the woman stopped him.

"Ian, we need to have a family discussion. We don't need to do it now, but I wanted to tell you what it's about so you can think about it," Beth said. Both Jenny and Talena stood beside her in support.

"Have I done something wrong?" Ian asked, a little intimidated by their united front.

"No, of course not! It's only that we want you to agree to this. You see, Talena wants to have your baby," Beth explained in a matter-of-fact voice.

The dead-pan delivery caught Ian flat footed. "Uh..." Ian said, intelligently. "I, uh, thought she was too small to have children?"

Beth nodded. "She is, but she still wants to be a mother. She decided she wants you to be the father," Beth explained.

"I don't think..." Ian was sinking fast and he knew it, the problem was; he didn't know where the eject button was. "Look, I love you very much, Talena, but I just couldn't... you're like my daughter!"

"Ian, she doesn't want to have sex with you!" Jenny said, rolling her eyes. All of the girls were enjoying this.

"Hold it!" Ian said putting both hands up in front of him. "You just told me Talena wants to have a baby by me, You confirm that she can't have children because of extended cryo-sleep, and you tell me that she doesn't want to have sex with me. I'm really confused here."

"I will donate an egg, you will donate sperm, Beth will put them together, and Jenny will carry and give birth to it." Talena said, reasonably. "I love you too, by the way!"

"Oh!" Ian said, again feeling like a rocket scientist. "Now that I understand better, yeah, when do you plan on doing this?"

"The meeting, or the insemination?" Beth asked.

"Well, I meant the procedure, you all know damn good and well that I'm going to agree to it!" Ian said. "I don't stand a chance against all three of you!"

"We can do it anytime you can swing by the MainMed and leave the specimen," Beth asked. "I'm sure we can find someone willing to help you if you need it."

Ian gave her a dirty look. "Can it wait until we get back on the ship?"

"Yes it can, just let me know when you'll be there, so I can get all the women to strip for you!" Beth teased. "We all understand how much inspiration you'll need!"

When he finally got to his borrowed office, Ian noticed a message from Maia, and played that first.

"Admiral, the upgrades to the Adonis are completed and tested. The engineering team is also trained on the new systems. We can release the ship at any time," Maia said.

He opened a comm to the Station AI, and she materialized in front of his desk. "You called me, Sir?"

"Yes, Maia. Have the prisoners been moved to the Adonis' brig?" Ian asked.

"Yes sir, security took care of that yesterday. Minister Laskar's agents have cleared the remainder of the crew, and they have been returned to the ship as well, as per Admiral Goya's request," she said.

"Excellent work. Please notify the Admiral and his delegation that the Adonis is ready to depart as soon as he appoints a command crew for him," Ian replied.

"At once, Sir!" she replied, cheerfully.

Ian winked at her. "Dismissed."

Smiling, she faded out. Ian then called his aide. "Mel, when is Colonel Anders due to arrive?"

"He landed about five minutes ago, Sir. He should be here any minute," Mel replied just as the door chime rang.

"Come!" he called and Ty entered Ian's temporary office.

"Damn, is it just me, or do the offices get smaller the higher up in rank you go?" Ty said by way of greeting.

Ian stood and offered the man his hand. "Good to see you again, Ty. How are things going?"

Ty grinned and sat down after shaking Ian's hand. "Uh oh, something big must be cooking, you only ask me how things are going when you’re about to kick my legs out from under me!"

Ian laughed. "You got me. Have you been keeping up to date on the Beta Hydri issue?"

"Yeah, I've got four teams living in their ships because of it," Ty said.

"How many teams can we field, total?" Ian asked.

Once all the Raptors get back from Phoenix Base, I can deploy ten teams. I'm officially assigning the Damocles and Hephaestus to Star Dancer. Which would leave eight. I was going to station the rest around the sector as a rapid response force, but I'm not in love with that plan. What are you thinking? Sending them to Beta Hydri?" Ty asked.

"I was thinking of assigning a couple of them to the ARC task force. Raising hell in a system just like this is what we designed the program for, after all," Ian said.

Ty nodded. "If you're going to do that, I'd send them in now so they can get a good look around. That way they can give their commander options."

"Who would you send?" Ian asked.

"The Indians," Ty said. "Kiowa and Cherokee. They're both fully trained and ready to roll. The ships got back from Phoenix Base last night."

Ian nodded. "Okay, get them briefed and ready to launch. I have to call the Alliance Chief of Operations anyway, so I'll tell him about it then."

Ian then told Ty about the Alliance wanting to use the station, and everything that would entail. Ian asked Ty to create a plan for expanding his training facilities if and when the Alliance wanted to train their own teams. Ty left to get his teams ready, and plan for the arrival of the allied ships.

"Mel, I need to talk to Admiral Hjoles, Chief of Operations for the ARC," Ian asked.

"Yes Sir, it might take a minute, but I'll see what I can do," she replied.

ARC Command Cruiser Victory Dawning

Benesia Prime Alliance Fleet Staging Area

Benesian System, Rataac Sector

Fleet Admiral Broan T'rir, Commanding

"I do not know what your Admiral Williams told the Chief of Staff, human, but he isn't here, and we are. The fact that humans only sent two small ships to aide us in this time of need is not lost on my commanders. It is obvious to us that humans no longer have the Gronus to continue this fight, so you can just get back in your tiny ships and go home. We don't need you here, and you might just get hurt when the fighting starts," the heavily muscled, short man said.

"You are correct Admiral, you do not know what Admiral Williams said to Admiral Hjoles. I don't either. However, before you dismiss us out of hand, I think you should know that we have been in the Beta Hydri System for the last week and a half getting ready for you to finally get here," Major Lightfeather said. "You might want to know that the enemy knows you are coming and has prepared for your arrival."

The small being grunted. "So you know how to hide, cowards usually do. Return to your home planet and hide there."

Major Cromwell put her hand on her comrade's shoulder. "I think I know how to handle this, Brad."

Major Brad Lightfeather of the Kiowa nodded and stepped back before he lost his temper. This arrogant ass was trying his patience.

Major Cromwell was not a slight woman; she was tall, and heavily built, but she had a reputation for keeping her temper in impossible situations.

However, Brad thought she had lost her mind when she stepped up to the obviously strong being and drew her weapon. Instead of shooting him in the head however, she unloaded it, and dropped it to the floor in front of him. The action had obviously pissed the shorter being off, and he stood.

Next she unsealed her armor, and let it fall off her body, again falling to the floor in front of the now obviously pissed off Admiral. Finally she removed her survival knife that she wore under her armor, and dropped it at his feet. She stood there calmly facing the now fully enraged being.

"You have no idea what you just did, human. I suggest you put your equipment back on and return to your ships before you get killed," The small admiral growled.

Jana Cromwell just looked down at him disdainfully, snorted in derision and turned her back on the being. "I knew it," she said. "All mouth and no gronus. I wonder how you ever made it to Admiral? Perhaps your dam, uhn!" she said as the furiously angry admiral tackled her from the rear.

She had been waiting for it though, and rolled him off and returned to her feet, spinning to face him. The rest of the bridge was deathly quiet while the two fought. The two combatants seemed evenly matched at first, until the admiral landed a solid punch to Jana, knocking her back several feet and dropping her to her knees.

The Admiral, thinking he had beaten her, charged forward to finish this upstart human. He had no way to know that Jana had set the whole thing up, Brad could see it coming though, and flinched when she unleashed the blow into the short being's jaw. The crack of the blow was clearly heard by everyone on the bridge of the flagship and the admiral flew backwards ten feet to land, motionless on the deck. Jana sprang onto his chest, turned his head slightly and drew back her arm for the killing blow......

"Yield!" the Captain yelled. "He yields, do not kill him."

"I hear no such plea from him! Why should I yield?" Jana yelled back.

"He had no right to insult you, yes, his shameful actions should cost him his life, but he still has a purpose. Let him live with the shame of defeat," the Captain explained. It was all part of the ritual, and Jana knew it. Brad hadn't had time to study all traditions of the races involved, but Jana had. This had been the only way they would have gotten through to this stubborn admiral once he decided to cast them out.

Jana stood, leaving the admiral alive. "Understand this, all of you. We are not Talosian, we are Terran. The Talosians are also human, but there is an internal problem they are dealing with. This is not weakness. This is curing it. They are aware that some of their warriors have cast out their honor. This is why they are not here, they are curing this cancer in themselves to better serve the Alliance."

"The fact that some of them have cast out their honor is only proof the race is flawed, human," another being said. Jana moved so fast that she was on him before he could duck, and knocked him to the floor. "You are a fool, sub-commander! Or do you forget the events of your own history when millions of fathers died because you had the same issues? Does that, then make you a flawed race also, Croanian? You were not only beaten by a human, I am also a female!"

When no one answered her, she slowly returned to her equipment. "Call a healer for the Admiral."

The Captain nodded once and an underling made the call. Then he spoke. "How do you know of our customs and our history, human?"

"You will address me as Major, Senior Captain, not 'human'." Jana slowly began putting her armor back on. "I was warned that we might have... difficulty convincing you of our commitment to the cause, so I did some reading. Now, pay attention to what Major Lightfeather has to tell you, before we have to make more examples of you."

It took two more days of meetings to adjust the fleet's intended attack plan. The Empire had indeed known they were coming and had made some serious preparations for it. But finally, with the two Terran Raptors leading them, the Third Alliance battle fleet jumped to the Beta Hydri system.

To be continued...



About the Author

Ben Winston (1965 - ?) was born in Iowa and grew up in Minnesota on the family dairy farm. Upon reaching adulthood, he joined the United States Army as a communications technician. Before getting out of the military, he decided to go to school for computer electronics.

Shortly after getting out of the military, and after getting a new job with an over-seas company, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. A month after beginning the new job, he was laid off due to budget over-runs on the project he was hired for. Upon returning to the United States, he had difficulty maintaining employment because of the chronic illness.

He began writing as a form of stress release, from being home bound and not being able to work, and found he liked writing erotica. Ben wrote a trilogy called the Talosian Chronicles (Currently in rewrite to remove the graphic sex and finalized his vision of the story). The first book, Star Dancer, won awards and was nominated for many others by the online communities where it was posted.

Ben Winston returned to school for literature, after completion, he began writing professionally. Being an avid fan of science fiction he focused on this genre. He was, and still is, influenced and inspired by Gene Roddenberry, Anne McCaffery, David Weber, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury. Some of his favorite movies and TV shows are; Battlestar Galactica (both versions), Andromeda, Star Trek, Firefly, Star Wars, and many of the B-rated movies that were actually box-office bombs.



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Books Published by Blue Space Publications, LLC.

by Ben Winston

Pollux Paradox

Tides of Mars

Tides of Mars (Omnibus)

Ascension – Book I

Conflict – Book II

Talosian Chronicles

Olympus – Book I

Star Dancer – Book II

Talosian Alliance – Book III

*Neptune’s Massif – Book IV (Upcoming)

Series

Temple of S.A.R.A.H.

Prototype – Episode I

Subroutines – Episode II

Base Functions – Episode III

*Hard Wired – Episode IV (Upcoming)

by Michael McClain

Chronicles of Atlantis Series

Chronicles of Atlantis (Omnibus)

Atlantis Rising – Book I

Euthara – Book II


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