by Jay Toney
"Red's image appeared on the main viewscreen. He was big and muscular in person. Large and strong enough to tear the average person in two. On the viewscreen, his size was magnified making him look even bigger and more intimidating. It was a good thing that I married his sister, and he liked me more than her last husband.
Amber's late husband, Stan, hung himself instead of facing Red in a duel. He considered suicide as being preferable to whatever Red would do to him. Red didn't like him. Stan was frail and a coward. Red was a mercenary, a smuggler, a weapons runner, and his sister's self-appointed protector. If Red got hold of Stan while still alive, he would have torn him apart with his bare hands. As it is, Amber had him buried in a secret location to protect his corpse.
"I don't have time to chat about the children. I'm about to be very busy."
"We haven't been able to make an identification on the ships yet. I've brought my ship to readiness just in case they cause trouble."
"Trouble they are. What is happening on our viewscreens is a clash between Alliance forces and those of the Crimson Tide."
"How were you able to identify them? We have better, more advanced sensors aboard the Persephone, and couldn't."
"Simple, I used my eyes. I couldn't make any sense of their transponder information so I magnified the view until I could see the ship's markings. The smaller fleet has the hammer and sickle logo of the Alliance on their hulls. The other fleet has flaming red skulls on their hulls. Sometimes the old ways work better than all of our fancy gadgetry."
"Sometimes the old ways get you shot down."
"It's not my fault that you painted your ship to look like the Ajax. Besides, I only fired a warning shot across your bow to get your attention."
"You got my attention. What do you think we should do?"
"As I see it we have two options. We can let them continue to let them fight it out, or we can pick a side and join the fight."
"Which side?"
"The side that doesn't fire on us."
"What if they both shoot at us?"
"We fire back. Your ship has already got its shields up. I think this is as good a time as any for a fleet-wide battle stations drill."
"Jewel, get our pilots to their Marauders. Have them standby to launch.
Where do you think you're going, Amber?"
"To my ship."
"No, you are not. You are grounded. Like Doc said before if you are too fat to wear your flight suit, you are too fat to fly."
"You're as bad as Doc!" Amber stormed off the bridge going down to our quarters.
"You shouldn't be so hard on her. It isn't her fault she is pregnant again," Persephone said.
"I know. It's my fault. If I didn't ignore Amber maybe she wouldn't have gotten pregnant. I'll try making it up to her after this is over."
"How did she get pregnant if you were ignoring her?" Nugget asked.
"We got careless, that's all."
"Something smells fishy about this."
"There is nothing to be suspicious about. The baby is ours. Doc and Miranda can verify that. I just got careless in my excitement, and her birth control implant was malfunctioning. Miranda has already replaced it. It won't happen again."
"That's because you aren't sleeping with Amber or Jewel. Astrea and I are having more sex than ever. I don't even have to change my form for her anymore."
I was curious. Initially, Nugget told me that Astrea liked him as he was until I found out otherwise. Now it seemed she couldn't get enough of him in his neutral form. "Who's forms were you taking?"
"Mostly Ares. Occasionally I would take Hades's form. She likes the bad boys. The worse they are, the more she likes them, and their muscles."
"I wouldn't be surprised if she moves in with you permanently, now that you are married to her."
"She already has. I have two droids cleaning up after her. She is a bigger slob than you and your lady friends. I might not have married her if I knew that in advance. I'll straighten her out though."
"How?"
"If she wants me, and she does, she will have to earn it by cleaning up after herself. I'll start small then gradually add more to her list of chores. She will learn how to be clean and neat like me."
"Theirs no chance of that happening. You better just get another droid and join the club."
"What about me? Who am I going to fly with? You've grounded my wingman."
"You can fly on Doc's wing."
"I guess that is better than not flying," Jewel pouted.
****
Our fleet approached the battle. The Crimson Tide ships turned away from the Alliance and maneuvered to join us. They took positions above and below the Prometheus and resumed firing on the Alliance ships. Our energy shields were much stronger than theirs and either absorbed or deflected the energy bolts fired at us.
Red and Beverly fired back with both a salvo of missiles and their energy weapons. The Prometheus wasn't in position to return fire, but the Crimson Tide vessels did, adding their firepower to ours. I gave the signal to launch, and both squadrons of Marauders took off from our shuttle bay, heading for the Alliance warships. Red and Beverly deployed their fighters. Red launched 48 Marauders, and Beverly launched 20 Vipers, 10 Keshian fighters and 10 Marauders.
The Alliance fleet turned and began running from our attack. Surrender wasn't an option they would accept. Our ships were easily able to stay with them and continue the attack while they ran for deep space and escape into hyperspace. I had a hard time believing that their ships were only capable of reaching .1c. They hadn't advanced much in the 4000 years since the war ended with them as the victors.
The first ship exploded, expanding into an enormous ball of plasma causing their other ships to rapidly change their course.
Our fighters swarmed the rearmost ship, firing their guns and missiles at the weak points of the ship, disabling its weapons turrets and point defense cannons. The captain made took a risky chance by trying to enter hyperspace long before reaching a jump point. The wreckage of his destroyer stretched across space for thousands of miles.
The last ship, a frigate, initiated self-destruction. The captain chose certain death, taking his secrets with him to death, rather than surrendering to us.
"Persephone, recall our fighters. The battle is over. We never even got a chance to find out what the fight was about."
"You will still get your chance. The Crimson Tide vessels are still with us."
"We will at least get one side of the story. Invite their captains over for a discussion, also have Red come aboard."
****
"You need to solve your problem soon. The longer you wait, the worse and the harder it will get."
"Ares, you scared the crap out of me. Make some noise when you arrive so I know that you are here."
"How about this: Boo."
"Very Funny. I need qualified captains to man the five patrol ships, the two scout ships, and the Prometheus. The two officers I promoted didn't even fire a single shot at the enemy. I also need a crew for it so we can use the ships docked to it."
"Perhaps I can help."
"Do you want the job of being the captain?"
"I'd be honored if I didn't have other duties. You have the right people to do what you need, just in the wrong place."
"What do you mean?"
"How were the scout ship captains before you promoted them to a joint command of the carrier?"
"They were competent and did an outstanding job. That's why I promoted them. I thought they could handle the job."
"Demote them back to their old positions. That takes care of two of your captains."
"I still need a captain for the carrier and patrol ships."
"It takes someone a little on the crazy side to command patrol ships. I think your Vorg friends can fill those positions nicely, especially Nord and Beck. I'm sure Nord can recommend a few of his friends for the remaining captains."
"I still need someone with command experience for the carr
ier. The person I promote has to be loyal. He must be capable of tactical and strategic planning."
"Someone who gets things done?"
"Precisely."
"How about a Keshian?"
"I don't think Nugget would do it. He likes the luxurious accommodations aboard the Persephone too much."
"I wasn't thinking about Nugget. I was thinking about Jazz and maybe some of his friends for command staff."
"A Keshian command staff would certainly get things done, but I might have to look the other way while he makes a few examples."
"See, all the right people in the wrong place."
"Beverly is going to be pissed when I take half her best pilots."
"She has enough new pilots waiting for a chance to get their own ships. She will get over it."
"Jewel, contact the Valkyrie. I need Jazz and his top 5 pilots to shuttle over. I also need Nord, Beck, and 8 of his craziest pilots to shuttle over. Don't tell them why yet, I don't want Beverly to find out until they are safe aboard here."
"Persephone send new orders to the Prometheus. Thank the captains for commanding the carrier. Their service there is no longer needed. They are to resume their former commands."
"Do you think they will be resentful of being demoted?"
"I believe that they will be grateful. Commanding the Prometheus was too much of a burden for them."
"Thank you, for your suggestions, Ares.
"It was my pleasure. Where is your sword? You will need it for your upcoming meeting. The sword is a symbol that commands respect."
"It's laying around somewhere. It may still be in an evidence locker, on the space station, in the Beta Equulei System. I never got the chance to get it back."
"Summon it."
"I don't know how."
"Yes, you do. All you have to do is remember how you felt when you killed the person in the karaoke bar who grabbed me."
"I wanted to kill the idiot. Only, I wanted to make him suffer a little before he died. It was over too fast."
"I knew you loved me. Now tell your sword."
It would be easier if I gave it a summoning name. I concentrated on my sword I could see the runes light up with blue fire in my mind. It wasn't enough. My summoning needed something more. I reached for its hilt and felt its handle in my hand. It still resisted. It wouldn't come to me until I called it by its proper name, not a name I gave it. It already chose a name for itself. "Fang, come to me!" The sword stopped resisting and appeared in my hand.
"You named your sword Fang?"
"Not exactly. It chose its own name. I felt it when I grabbed its handle. My sword was going to resist until I called it by its name." I fastened the scabbard to my belt.
"I thought you might have lost it someplace and didn't know how to summon it. I guess I was wrong."
****
The first order of business was getting the carrier situation under control. "Jazz, or should I call you Captain Jazz? I asked you here to offer you the position of Captain of the Prometheus. The five Keshians you brought with you are to be your command staff. Promote and assign them however you wish. I need someone capable of getting things done in charge."
"I don't know what to say. It is an honor, much more than I deserve."
"I know it is asking a lot from you, but you have all of the qualities I need for the person in charge."
"I accept but..."
"But nothing, the jobs yours. Good luck and try not to execute too many people, unless you absolutely have to. We will be working on getting you a full-time crew as soon as we can."
"I'll do my best."
"I know you will.
Nord, Beck, I have five patrol ships on the carrier that need captains and vice commanders. The job is yours and the rest of the Vorg you brought with you. You two will be in charge of all of the riders."
"Flying them won't be as fun as flying the Vipers."
"That depends on how you use them. They are just as fast as our fighters now, have bigger guns, and more powerful missiles for attacking capital ships. I think you might find them fun."
"Well if you put it that way, we accept."
"I'll see about finding crew for your ships as soon as I can. Have your stuff sent over to the Prometheus. It's your new home now."
****
"Gentlemen, be seated."
I introduced Nugget, Red, Persephone, Amber, Jewel and myself to the Captains of the Crimson Tide. In exchange Captain Lockwood, of the Daedalus, introduced the two other captains with him, Captain Morgan of the Hood and Captain Hansen of the Reliant.
I directed my questions to Captain Lockwood. He seemed to be the leader of the group. There was no way to sugar coat the questions I had. He didn't take offense when I said, "I thought the Crimson Tide and the Alliance had formed some sort of pact. Where we came from the union of your two groups was mutually beneficial. The Crimson Tide was no longer a small pirate organization. The Alliance helped build your fleet and military power. In exchange, the Alliance was able to grow their fleet with your support. What happened to change that?"
He laughed. "You all must not be from here." Here didn't mean from this star system. I was sure he meant this part of the galaxy, at the very least. "How did you come about getting the Prometheus? She was lost long ago. She was one of ours. What happened to her crew?"
"We found her drifting in deep space. All aboard were dead. I claimed the ship as legal salvage, and we gave the crew a proper funeral."
"I didn't mean to sound like we were trying to get her back. These things happen in war. It is obvious that you went to a great deal of expense refitting her. I never saw a ship that could move so fast. You all must have been traveling at near .2c. That's twice as fast as most of our ships.
The Prometheus was written off as lost long before I was born. She was lost nearly a thousand years ago. No one was ever able to find out what happened. I was only trying to make sure that the crew received their last rites. I would be interested in getting a copy of her logs though. Some of the information she collected may still be of use."
"There isn't much to tell. Her logs were erased by someone on board. When we found her all that remained of the crew was dust, bone fragments and fragments from their uniforms. At first, we thought it was a mass suicide, but found out it was murder. Someone poisoned the crew and then committed suicide. The captain was never able to finish his mission. Fifteen of its riders were never picked up.
Persephone, please make Captain Lockwood a copy of all the log information we were able to recover."
"I'll send it to his ship right away."
Captain Lockwood relaxed a little after this information, but he still wasn't quite ready to volunteer any useful information about himself and his companions. "Maybe you should tell me a little bit about yourselves. I've already figured out you are not from around here. Where did you come from?"
It couldn't hurt to answer him. It might even help with getting the answers I needed. "As you have guessed we are not from around here. We came through the wormhole from the Andromeda Galaxy. For the first 2000 years, our ancestors were at peace, colonizing different star systems.
For the last 2000 years, we have been at war with the Alliance. Each time we fought, they would agree to a treaty, claiming more of the free star systems for their own. War broke out between us about every hundred years.
My friends and I came from a star system bordering Alliance territory. My family has a history of interfering with the Alliance. I went a little too far. We had to flee our home, coming here to try to escape them and the Crimson Tide. In our star system I am wanted dead and have a bounty on my head large enough to ensure it happens.
Where we come from the Crimson Tide was a small pirate organization, hardly more than a nuisance. They joined forces with the Alliance. They are more organized and have modern military ships now. In exchange, they have become an extension of the Alliance Fleet."
"Is there any chance more will follow you through the wormhole
?"
"No. The wormhole collapsed shortly after we came through it. I thought it was stable. We were lucky to make it through it."
"The location of the wormhole has been forgotten for generations. We have been at war with the Alliance since the expansion. We are not Pirates and never were. We are mercenaries. Our outfit is the last group to openly oppose the Alliance. It sounds like they are the same here as they are where you all come from. Some things never change."
"I knew it. That symbol never made any sense belonging to pirates. It would make more sense if it was a bare skull or maybe some crossbones."
"Two of your ships have our symbol on them."
"The Victory and the Trident. They agreed to join our fleet in exchange for some upgrades, regular meals, and pay. There were others that joined us but decided to stay behind when we got to the wormhole. Hopefully, they didn't change their minds and enter the wormhole when it collapsed. If they did, there is no way to tell where they exited. They could have exited anywhere between the two galaxies."
"We haven't been paid for a long time, and sometimes food is scarce. We have been getting by on donations from our supporters. Things haven't been so good lately for us. The type of deal you made with our counterparts is the type of deal my people would jump at."
"I'll offer you the same deal. Food, pay, and upgrades for all of your ships, in exchange, you fight with us until we find the Sol system and Earth."
"On behalf of my team, I accept your terms."
"I need just one more thing, an oath." I drew my sword. Its runes lit up with blue fire. I used its razor sharp edge to slice open my palm. Captain Lockwood didn't hesitate. He carefully sliced open his palm and clasped my hand. "I swear on this oath to be loyal to you."
I released nanites into both of our wounds to close and heal them, before releasing my grip. "You need more men and women, people who can fight. I couldn't help but notice only half of your fleet engaged the Alliance."
"I've taken steps to ensure that won't happen again. You're right though. I can use more people to crew the patrol ships and the Prometheus."
"There is a space station orbiting the third planet of this system. Several members of our organization are stationed there. Now that the Alliance knows that we are here, they will be back. You will get more than enough volunteers there to fill any shortages you have. We're going to have to move our operations anyhow.
