

The Key

By Brian Fisher

Copyright 2011 Brian Fisher

Smashwords Edition

Second Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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 recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return toSmashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Epilogue

Author's Notes

Chapter 1

"If you are playing this, then I am already dead." Raul stood before her on an outcropping of rock, overlooking the deep blue waters of an ocean. There was a sadness in his dark brown eyes that the hologram could not fully convey. "I don't have many regrets from my life. Most of the ones that I do have are petty." The hologram sighed. Holographic sunlight filtered through the hologram, giving it an ethereal, angelic presence. "What I regret the most is that I never did something while I was alive that I feel that I have to do now, or I will never be at peace." Raul shimmered slightly as his eyes fixed on T'Sula. "I love you T'Sula Mir. I always have."

She closed her eyes as Raul spoke, wishing that when she opened them again, he would be standing in place of the hologram. She could always count on Raul to be there when she needed him most. He had been a good friend, and she had thought that someday he might be something more. Now it was too late. He was gone.

"There, I said it." Raul continued. "I wish that I could have had the courage to tell you before."

"Me too." T'Sula whispered as the hologram faded into the mist that drifted over the holographic ocean. She quietly said her good-byes to Raul, and dried the tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. Raul had been a good friend, and a trusted colleague. T'Sula knew that she had to let go. If she couldn't do that, then she would be lost.

The wind carried the smell of the ocean as it tossed T'Sula's shoulder length, black hair. She smiled, and breathed deep, as the sun set over the ocean, turning the sky purple and pink. T'Sula sat on a high outcropping of rock that had withstood millennia of waves endlessly crashing against it just as they were today. T'Sula admired the majesty and beauty around her. Trees and scrub grew aplenty here, except on the rocks, where nothing could stand against the wind and ocean for long. She knew of the power inherent in nature. Her Bakeeron heritage mandated that.

A tear gently rolled down her cheek as she stood, and turned her back on the ocean. T'Sula reached her hand into the pocket of her dark blue jump suit, and pulled out a tiny black chip, no larger than her thumb nail. She held the chip between her thumb and first two fingers, and quickly snapped the chip, ending her time in the holo-tank.

She stepped out of the tank, and into a clean, well lit, white room. Holo-tanks lined the walls and a cluster of computer terminals sat in the center. Each terminal was being monitored by an Olcai. Their smooth, shiny black skin stood in sharp contrast to the bright white of the hotel uniforms.

"Ms. Mir, I hope that you enjoyed your session." one of the Olcai looked at her with one of its bulbous brown eyes. Try as she might, T'Sula still could not tell the difference between the males and females.

"Yes, the session was very relaxing. Thank you." T'Sula smiled, running her fingers through her hair. Lying had never been her strong point, but she didn't feel the need to expose herself to a stranger.

"Excellent. I hope that you enjoy the rest of your stay with us." the Olcai said as it looked back at its terminal. T'Sula smiled at the little creature, then quickly left for someplace more relaxing.

The hallway was clean and sparsely decorated. On the walls were holographic images of various worlds. The swamps of Olcaina seemed to be a favorite, followed by the lush mountains and forests of Bakesh.

T'Sula smiled a sad smile at the memory of her home world. She watched as the hologram of the Grand Forest of P'Kare, near the Temple of the Wind, changed through the seasons. Leaves turned color, and dropped to the ground before the first snow gently frosted the forest. A few small animals finished their preparations for the winter, and disappeared from sight. The picture felt like a piece of home, in the midst of an artificial world. It was a bright star shining in an infinite ocean of black.

T'Sula continued to walk. Her mind raced along, uninhibited by conscious thought. She needed the time to think, to decompress. She would have preferred any number of worlds to escape to other than Olcai, but Olcai had been the closest peaceful refuge available. The manufactured, artificial world scared her in ways that she didn't care to admit. There was a quality to the planet, to the entirety of it, which in its own way was contrary to the natural order of things. Still, T'Sula decided to take refuge, and rest in any way that she could.

The vast city gradually disappeared with each of her footsteps, to be replaced by the ocean vista. It wasn't an ocean like any other planet would have. This one covered all of Olcai, except for the six cities that were tethered, equidistant from one another, and the numerous atmosphere generators that stretched from the water to the sky. There was no land on this planet, only the metal skeleton that held the giant construct together, and the water that had been melted from ice floating in the nearby solar system.

Her mind still swam with thoughts and memories as T'Sula gazed out at the horizon. She found a place to sit, and decided to swim. She stripped out of her jumpsuit, revealing a modest, black one-piece swimsuit, and headed for the water. The swimsuit covered her well, showing her trim, athletic figure, and hiding the scars that defined her life. Oblivious to the attention she attracted from the handful of men that she passed, T'Sula dove into the ocean.

The water was warm and clear, allowing T'Sula to see the base of the city. Thousands of lighted windows sparkled like stars in the water. The city was as deep as it was tall, culminating in a massive, self lighted shaft that ran to the very center of Olcai.

T'Sula pulled a small rebreather from a hidden pocket in her swimsuit, and placed it between her lips. The water felt good as she swam, as if the mere touch of the liquid against her skin could wash away the troubles in her heart and mind. She tried desperately to clear her mind of those that she had lost. Raul was still there with her, as was Jason McWilliams, and Nom. The first two she wanted to keep with her, if only as memories. However, she was relieved that Nom was dead. No, she thought, death was much too good for him.

Faces of the innocents came to her, and left her as she swam. Hundreds of faces blurred together, merging into one monstrous form that threatened to break her mind and body. T'Sula forced herself to focus on the monster. Deep in the ocean of Olcai, she wrestled with the creation. As she fought, it began to take shape. First the body defined, and then the face. T'Sula nearly screamed as she looked into her own eyes.

Alien sea creatures swam past her as she wrestled with her demons, the innocents that she could not save or protect. The struggle was long and intense, but finally T'Sula did not have to fight any more.

T'Sula was exhausted when she finally pulled herself out of the water. She quietly retrieved her clothes, and found a place to sit until she was dry. Hunger pangs eventually caught her attention, so she dressed and made her way back into the heart of the city.

It took T'Sula a few minutes to reach the lift that took her to the open-air food court. From her seat, she could see the city sprawling in all directions, and ending in the all-encompassing ocean. Dozens of restaurants and vendors served all types of food, to any of the races that T'Sula could see. There were Caldonians clamoring for the various fruits at one of the smaller vendors, and a few Malgar waiting to be served at one of the pricier restaurants. T'Sula paused and took a deep breath, savoring the smells coming from the different cuisine. Her stomach started to growl, so she walked over to a vacant table, and sat down.

"Please place you order when you are ready." scrolled through the air in front of her, in a dozen languages. She ordered Earth style vegetable lasagna, with a cappuccino, and quietly waited for her food.

Her life had become a maze filled with mist. It was a conundrum, a question with no answer. 'Why go on? Why fight only to lose everything and everyone?' the questions ran rampant through her mind, allowing no thought, only a desperate frustration.

She had heard that time would heal her wounds, but maybe time would not even tell. Her heart ached in so many places and so many ways that she could not shut it out. Nothing made sense any more. Why should she risk her life only to lose those that she loved? First her parents and now Raul. The Ta'Reeth, in one way or another had taken them all.

The tears almost fell and her hands began to shake before she pressed them firmly against the tabletop. She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath.

T'Sula opened her eyes and breathed. She was doing all that she could do, taking life one precious breathe at a time.

Chapter 2

The air felt cool against her skin as she waited for the scanners to finish their cycle. She knew, of course that the scans were necessary, just a simple precaution against weapons and diseases being brought to Olcai from elsewhere in the galaxy. Kamira fidgeted a little as she watched the indicator lights slowly change from red to green. When the green light finally became a steady glow, the airlock opened, and Kamira Nor stepped into the sunshine.

The blue and green jewels that lined the subtle ridges along the crest of her ears and along the ridges of her nose sparkled brilliantly in the sunshine. It had been a long time since she had not heard the low whine of air purifiers and starship engines, and the comparative silence of the port almost overwhelmed her as she walked through the customs terminal. It felt odd to her to be going through Customs, masquerading as a tourist, especially when she had a job to do. There was nothing relaxing about her visit to the tourist planet, but the Olcai had made their position clear. There was to be no military presence on their planet what so ever. With that in mind, her mission was going to be just that much harder.

"Welcome to Olcai, the vacation Capitol of the known universe." a bored looking Olcai said as Kamira handed over her identification. The Olcai looked over her papers and quietly passed them back. "Enjoy your stay Ms. Nor."

Kamira quickly collected her passport, and left the customs station to gather her bags. She smiled and shook her head as she walked. The customs agent had not asked the age old question of 'Business or pleasure?', and that nagged at Kamira, deep in the back of her mind. She decided that everyone who came to Olcai was here for pleasure, so why ask in the first place.

The baggage claim and terminals seemed sparse for a planet known for tourism and luxury. It was simple and clean. White walls and floors showed no sign of the thousands of people that passed through every day. Only a few holograms adorned the walls, and most of them were simply signs telling people what to do, or where to go. Kamira quickly found her bags, picked them up, and left for her hotel.

People of all races crowded the massive open air walkways that ran in every direction away from the port. Towering cityscape covered the horizon, giving no sign of the giant ocean that was Olcai. A few small taxis hovered near the port, but far enough away that they didn't hinder the pedestrians.

Kamira walked over to a small, blue taxi that reminded her of a large flying insect. She placed her bags in the cargo bed that was nestled behind two comfortable looking cloth seats, and climbed in. The straps rose out of the seat as the cushions formed to her thin body, and tightly embraced her.

"Destination please." the computerized voice came from a tiny speaker in the center of the contoured dash board.

"The Hotel Pantheon please." Kamira replied as she settled back against the seat, and the taxi rose into the air. As she rose above the buildings, Kamira could see past the city, to the endless ocean. It had a deep blue color that reminded her of the sky over Bakesh. The ocean stretched to the horizon without being touched by anything but the sky. Kamira closed her eyes and thought of her husband and the quirky smile that he had used when last she had seen him. 'This is going to work.' he had assured her, but the look in his eyes begged her to hurry. She closed her eyes and thought about the things that she needed to do. First she would check in at the hotel and have some lunch, and then she would find the ones that she needed to talk to. Hopefully they would listen.

"Please be advised that we will be landing momentarily at the Hotel Pantheon. Thank you for using Air Cab Services, and have a wonderful stay." the computer interrupted her thoughts. She opened her eyes as the taxi landed. The hotel was enormous. It stretched high enough into the sky, that Kamira thought that it might block the sun. Only after looking for the end of the giant building, did she realize that the Hotel Pantheon wrapped around the courtyard that she had landed in. Green grass and trees decorated the expansive courtyard, trying and failing to provide a natural feel in an artificial place.

Kamira stepped out of the taxi and collected her bags. As soon as she stepped away the taxi sped into the air, leaving her in the courtyard.

"Welcome to the Hotel Pantheon. How may I be of service?" a uniformed Olcai called from behind her. It blinked its large, round eyes as it waited for Kamira's answer.

"I have a reservation here." Kamira said, turning to find who the voice belonged to. She looked down at the diminutive alien and smiled. Its onyx black skin glistened in the sunlight, lending the Olcai a perpetually wet appearance.

"Excellent. Please place your thumb on the screen, and I will be happy to escort you to your suite, or I can arrange to have your bags taken to your suite and you will be free to come and go as you choose." It held out a small black pad with a blue screen on the top.

Kamira placed her thumb on the screen. "I think I'll have you take my bags, and I'm going to get some lunch. I'm starving." she smiled.

"Thank you for your cooperation Ms. Nor. Your suite is number 2347." the Olcai put the pad away. "There is a food court near here that serves excellent cuisine. Have a pleasant stay." the Olcai pointed her in the right direction, and then took her bags to her suite. Kamira turned toward the gilded doors that dominated the courtyard, and went in search of a decent restaurant.

She walked quickly through the doors, already thinking, planning her agenda. First she would eat, and then she would find the city center and look for a representative that she could actually talk to. She moved quickly but her instincts told her that this was going to take some time. Time was a luxury that Kamira feared she did not have.

Potted trees and marble statues from Olcai's finest artists lined the halls of the hotel. The streets were filled with people of all races. Massive, silver skinned Malgars lumbered along, deceptively agile for their size. A few humans walked here and there, darting between a myriad of shops and eateries, while dark skinned Caldonians strolled down the walkways, and the Olcai tried desperately to serve them all.

Kamira eased herself into the throng of people. The pace was quick, and it did not take long before she found what she had been looking for. Dozens of restaurants ringed the open expanse of tables. The number of choices for food was staggering. Here in one place, you could have anything from across the galaxy.

The intoxicating aromas of exotic spices, mixed with fruits and meat wafted into the air. Small tables dotted the open expanse of the courtyard. A few of the tables on the other side were empty, but most had patrons either savoring a delicious meal, or engaged in an unknown conversation. Kamira picked her way through the maze, toward an open table when something caught her eye.

A single familiar face rose to the surface in a sea of strangers. Sitting alone at a table was a woman that she had not seen in a long time.

Chapter 3

The Resistance Star Ship Redemption hung motionless in the blackness of space above the blue gem that was Olcai. Her elongated hull was smooth, except for a few bulbous protrusions scattered over the surface of the ship, and the mighty engines in the rear. She had a powerful presence that belied her elegant shape. Black burn marks marred her otherwise tan hull. Small spidery repair drones skittered across the hull, repairing the battle damage. The drones were built in modular sections with a large rectangular body that housed the Matter Reclamation Unit that the drones used to repair the ship. A series of appendages were attached at each corner of the body, allowing the drones to perform whatever tasks were needed.

Captain Jason McWilliams stood up behind his desk, and stretched. His dark gray uniform clung to his body, showing a few dark patches of sweat. He had been sitting for what seemed like an eternity, and the muscles of his large frame were starting to protest. Jason's mind reeled with casualty reports, repair deadlines, missing his wife, and progress reports. Nothing was simple anymore. Each and every detail needed his attention and there wasn't enough time in the day to accomplish everything.

"Angel, give me an update on the repairs." he told the AI as he ran his hand over his face. Dark red stubble had started to grow on his chin, and it annoyed him. There had barely been enough time for him to sleep and shower, let alone other niceties like shaving and eating.

"Captain, the repairs are proceeding as scheduled. The repairs would go faster if our Chief Engineer were still on board." the voice came from the hologram of a petite, red haired woman dressed in a form fitting black jumpsuit. The look in her eyes made Jason wince. Though she was only a hologram, he still did not want to face her anger.

"Point taken." Jason paced around his ready room. The ache in his muscles started to fade as he moved. "How are the repairs to the hyper-drive stabilizer coming?"

"The repairs will take approximately two more days." Angel softened her tone slightly. "Captain, as the Executive Officer, it is my duty to point out a lapse in judgment by the Captain, and I believe that Sending Commander Nor down to the planet, was a mistake."

"I understand that Angel, but as you pointed out before, it is the Captains prerogative to place personnel where they are needed, and right now Commander Nor is needed on Olcai. We agreed that Kamira had the highest chance of success in gaining the materials we need from the Olcai." he smiled at the memory he had of Kamira, standing next to him in the Temple of the Wind, her hands clasped firmly in his as the High Priest read their marriage vows. At that moment though, he wished that the Olcai weren't so firmly committed to being anti-military.

"Yes Sir. Unfortunately Commander Nor is the logical choice." Angel looked away from her Captain. "Sir, a problem has just been reported with the shield generators. It appears that they were damaged more severely than the initial inspections indicated. Repair estimates are now twenty seven hours."

"Great. Weapons are off line, and we have no shields. Not to mention that our hyper-drive is malfunctioning." Jason scowled, and slammed a fist onto his desk. In his experience things generally got worse before they got better. His gut told him that this would be no exception. Why did he feel that he had gone from the frying pan, and into the fire?

Jason took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled slowly before he sat down at his desk. "Alright Angel, we need to reprioritize the repairs. Stop work on the more trivial repairs, and use those assets to assist in the higher priority tasks. After one problem is fixed, go to the next one."

"Yes sir. The most trivial repairs have been completed. I have already allocated the drones for the most efficient use." Angel smiled a tight lipped smile that could have been mistaken for a grimace.

"How are the Marines?" he had been meaning to go down to sickbay, but the constant barrage of problems had kept him chained to his office.

"The last one was cleared for duty twenty minutes ago Sir." Angel studied her Captain as she spoke. "I believe that Major Narja has the battalion assisting with repairs."

Jason thought about the Major, and how he had performed at the Battle of Bakesh. Narja was the definition of a Marine's Marine. He was formidable, adaptable, and above all, dependable. Jason didn't actually know what he would do without the Caldonian.

"Thank you." Jason forced himself to focus on the reports that littered his desk. He sat there for a moment before he dismissed Angel, and picked up a report on the progress of the hull repairs.

After the artificial intelligence departed, Jason sighed and ran his hand through his unruly red hair. His ship had taken a beating in the Battle of Bakesh. The smoke had barely cleared from the battle and already the news and fame was spreading throughout the galaxy. Even the High Command was treating him differently.

In reality, the Hero of Bakesh was nothing more than a desperate man trying to make things right.

Chapter 4

T'Sula Mir fidgeted as she waited for her lunch to arrive. She hadn't realized just how hungry she actually was. She looked around the food court, hoping to catch a glimpse of her server with a tray of food. Her eyes passed the door leading out of the kitchen, and swept over the remainder of the courtyard. Not finding anything, she rested her chin on her hand and sighed.

"Praise the Gods, I never thought to see you here." a familiar voice called from the side of her table.

T'Sula brushed her hair out of her eyes as she looked toward the voice. "Oh my." was all she could say when she took in the sight. Standing barely a meter away was a petite young Bakeeron woman with dark brown hair, and jewels adorning her ears and nose. She wore a light colored robe and sandals that looked to be incredibly comfortable.

"Long time, no see." Kamira smiled. "Can I join you?"

"Of course! I'm sorry, I guess I... How have you been?" T'Sula stammered as she stood up and hugged her cousin. "It's been so long."

"Five years." Kamira told her, pulling out the other chair at the table. "What's good here?"

"I ordered the vegetable lasagna. Don't ask me how anything is, because I really don't have a clue." T'Sula beamed. "My lunch should be here any minute." T'Sula looked around again for her server.

"Lasagna sounds too big." Kamira looked at the menu. "I think I'll try tomato soup. I've heard that it's delicious." she said as she placed here order with the computer.

T'Sula could not stop staring at her cousin. The jewels sparkled in the sunlight, and seemed to shine through Kamira's eyes. "When did you get married, and why didn't you invite me?" her smile showed that her vacation had just gotten better than she had ever expected. "I want to know all the details, and I do mean all of them."

"Well, he's a Starship Captain." Kamira started. Her smile grew wider and her eyes brightened as if they could outshine the sun.

"I apologize for the intrusion, but which one of you ordered the lasagna?" an Olcai asked as T'Sula motioned for the server to bring her the food. "I am truly sorry. We are understaffed today." the Olcai placed its hand on T'Sula's.

"Ow." T'Sula jerked her hand away, seeing a red spot on the back of hand. "What did you do?"

"I apologize. Please enjoy your lunch." the Olcai bowed and hurried away.

"Did you see that? He, she, or whatever gender they are, left a red mark on my hand." T'Sula showed her hand to Kamira.

"I don't think that the Olcai have a gender." Kamira smiled. "You'll be alright."

"I know. I'm just a little irritated." T'Sula took a bite of her lunch. "At least the food's good." She tried to relax and enjoy her unexpected visitor. Never had she imagined that she would find Kamira, without having to track her down. After everything that had happened lately, finally there was something to smile about.

"A Starship Captain huh?" T'Sula took another bite of her lasagna. "Is he cute?"

"A human Starship Captain." Kamira told her, blushing a little. "I know, you probably don't approve, but I love him. And yes, he is cute. In a bull in a China shop sort of way."

T'Sula paused, letting the smile drop from her face. "Actually, I do approve. I've had a few human friends, and I think that the right one is the right one. No matter what race they are. It doesn't matter where someone comes from, or what they look like. What matters, is who they are inside." she sipped her cappuccino. "I met a human a few years ago, and I think that he and I could have had a relationship. If I could see him again, I would probably, I don't know what would happen." T'Sula sighed. "I miss the way he made me laugh." The memory made her smile. "Raul used to joke around a lot. When we went on missions together, he always found a way to cook some exotic meal for us. That's how I found lasagna, Raul made it for me." She took a bite of her lunch.

"Well, if you see him, let me check him out. I want to make sure that my cousin is in good hands." Kamira smiled and looked around.

"You won't. He's dead." T'Sula closed her eyes as Raul's memory came rushing back.

"I'm sorry T'Sula, I didn't know." Kamira apologized.

"It's alright Kam." T'Sula sighed. "He died on my last mission. The Ta'Reeth killed him." A tear rolled gently down her cheek.

Smoke filled the sky as a loud roar filled the food court. Intricately carved statues toppled from rooftops high above the food court and crashed to the ground. Shards of stone exploded from the once beautiful statues, and ripped into people and shop fronts. The ground shook hard enough to topple tables and shatter windows, as an explosion ripped through the front of the restaurant that T'Sula had ordered from. Debris shot out, away from the restaurant, and imbedded in the walls of the other side of the food court. A hundred people died instantly, either from the flames, or the flying debris.

"Get down!" T'Sula ordered. She dove to ground, away from the screaming crowd. "Are you alright?" she asked as Kamira dove beside her.

"I'm fine." Kamira covered her ears, trying to block out the screaming of the other patrons. "What's going on?"

"Seems like a bomb of some sort." T'Sula surveyed the scene. People ran in all directions, screaming and bloody. Smoke and debris surrounded the restaurant. Bodies from a dozen different races littered the food court. "Come on. Let's see if we can help anyone." T'Sula pushed herself to her feet, and then helped Kamira before running toward an injured Caldonian.

The Caldonian moaned and thrashed as T'Sula searched her from head to toe for wounds. T'Sula gently touched and probed as she searched, and found a shard of glass protruding from the victims back, just under the ribs. Fearful that removing the glass may cause more damage, T'Sula ripped a length of fabric from the woman's tunic. She then wrapped it around the victims' stomach, and used the remainder of the makeshift bandage to tie the glass securely in place, so that it would not move and cause a fatal wound.

T'Sula glanced over at Kamira. Her cousin was tying a tourniquet around the stump of a Bakeeron mans arm. Gods how she had changed. She was no longer the little girl she remembered, but a grown woman in her own right. T'Sula blinked away her musings and focused on the chaos at hand. The Caldonian would live until she could get proper medical attention.

T'Sula Mir forced herself to her feet and went to the next casualty. She found a severely burned Olcai writhing on the ground. The alien's skin had blistered instantly from the heat of the blast. "Help me." It cried with blood spurting from its mouth. It was the Olcai that had served her lunch.

"Help is on the way." T'Sula tried to comfort the dying Olcai. The blood on its chin had escaped its blistered lungs. She watched helplessly as the small alien convulsed one last time and died. T'Sula held a ragged breath for a moment, and then searched for someone else that she could help.

Chapter 5

"Captain, there has been a disturbance on the planet." Angel appeared in Captain McWilliams' ready room, her face stern and her voice urgent. "It appears that a bomb has exploded in a restaurant."

"Show me." he watched as a hologram appeared above his desk. It showed smoke billowing from the front of a ruined building. People wandered around in front of the restaurant, confused and injured. Bodies were strewn across the ground like broken dolls suffering the wrath of a child. "Magnify the image." he ordered. Instantly the image grew larger, and the details sharpened. He could see faces in the crowd. Faces stained with anguish, soot and blood. Law enforcement robots and medical drones tried to gather and tend to the wounded without much success.

"Angel, contact the local authorities, and offer our assistance." Jason told the AI as the hologram of Olcai cut out. He drummed his fingers against the top of his desk. During his time as Captain, Jason had grown accustomed to Angel's nearly instantaneous responses, and having to wait on her was never a good sign.

"I am unable to comply Captain. The transmission has been blocked." Angel replied after a few moments. "Sir, I am receiving an audio only signal. Would you like to hear it Sir?"

"Put it through." Jason told her as he settled back into his chair. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end at the sound of the voice. There was a menace to it that he had hoped that he would never have to face. There would be no reasoning with the person behind the voice. No, the time for that was long gone.

"This is a warning. You have until noon tomorrow to provide that which was stolen from us. No one will enter or leave Olcai. Any deviance will result in death. Submit now and bow before your Ta'Reeth masters." a garbled voice resonated through the room.

Jason rested his head in his hands. "Angel, our schedule has just been shot to hell. We need to be combat ready in twelve hours or less."

"Understood Sir. I am adjusting the work load accordingly." Angel watched her Captain with interest. She knew the threat that they now faced, and was wary of what she knew must come.

"Also, I need any information on the Ta'Reeth, and the lunatic support groups that they have." Jason sighed. Memories ran rampant through his mind. The fleet of organic ships that filled the sky over Bakesh, intent on nothing more than domination and destruction haunted his dreams, and nearly every waking moment. That is what a conflict with the Ta'Reeth amounted to. Either you were crushed under their feet, or you became a slave to the whim your new master's. Most people chose to die. He had seen it too many times, had felt the terror race through his body too often to let these monsters crush another planet, another Earth.

"Angel, put me through to Command." he ordered, then sat back in his chair. Fatigue flooded through his body borne by a stress that only a commanding officer could know. A moment later the hologram of Olcai was replaced with the image of an old, dignified Malgar. His features were sharp, giving his gray skin an edge that no other species could achieve. The insignia on his uniform identified him as an Admiral.

"Captain McWilliams, I hope that this is important." Admiral Ansyns voice rumbled over the speakers.

"Admiral, I'm sending a file to you. You should be receiving it momentarily." Captain McWilliams touched a button on his keyboard and waited for a response from the Admiral. He watched as the Malgar played the scene from Olcai. His eyes grew hard as the scene came to an end and the bodiless voice spoke.

"Captain, this is a serious matter. I know the condition that your ship is in, but we can't send any reinforcements right now. We're spread too thin, and we simply can't spare any ships. I'm sorry." Admiral Ansyn sighed. "You'll have to handle the situation as best as you can."

"Understood sir." Jason grimaced. He had expected as much. "I would appreciate any assistance that you can provide." It took considerable effort to hold his temper in check. Eviscerating the Admiral with the words and thoughts that he wanted so desperately to use would serve no purpose. No, he told himself, holding his tongue was the best thing for him to do.

"I will do what I can Captain, but right now it isn't much." the Admiral shook his head and smiled a thin smile. "The Hero of Bakesh should be able to handle something like this by himself. Ansyn out."

Jason watched in frustration as the Admiral signed off and disappeared. He touched a button on his desk, and brought the destruction of Olcai back into view. This time he did the work himself, without the aid of Angel. Jason studied the image for a few minutes, and then magnified the crowd of injured people. Many of them would be scarred for life. He knew from experience that the worst scars were the ones that he could not see in the hologram. The worst scars were the ones that these people would carry inside themselves for the rest of their lives.

Jason watched as the police tried to assist the injured, and to keep the semblance of peace. His breath caught in his throat when he saw two women among the people, trying to help how and where they could. Sitting up straight, Jason magnified the women. He let out a breath that he had not realized that he was holding when his wife's face came into focus. She was clearly scared, but at least she wasn't injured in any other way. Kamira said something that he couldn't understand, and then he saw the other woman's face. It was T'Sula Mir.

A tight smile crossed his lips. The last time he had seen her, they had worked together to save his city. A million people owed their lives to T'Sula, and he owed her a debt himself. Jason relaxed ever so slightly. Kamira's chances had just improved tenfold.

Home Station was a mining colony, set high in the atmosphere of a gas giant. The city floated in the sky, harvesting gasses and shipping them throughout the galaxy. It seemed like an eternity since he had been the Constable there, in the seemingly safe confines of Home Station. He had thought that the city was safe, until T'Sula Mir had arrived and woke him from his dream.

His world, his existence was now entirely different. Marriage and command of a starship were things that had never been meant for Jason McWilliams, yet both had happened. Fate had a cruel sense of humor. A man had to become more than the sum of his experiences, or die.

"Angel move us into the debris field. I want us to be hidden, but close enough to monitor Olcai." Jason instructed the A.I.

"Yes sir." was the only reply that Angel gave, as Redemption began to slip quietly through space. With her mighty engines under repair, Angel relied entirely on the ships thrusters to move into the protection of the debris field.

Jason studied a hologram of Olcai and the surrounding star system. There were only a handful of planets, and all but Olcai could never support life. He highlighted the images of a dozen starships that were in the system. Each of the ships readily identified themselves as luxury transports, and freely gave crew and passenger manifests.

It took Jason only a moment to check the ships and personnel for links to the different fringe groups that supported the Ta'Reeth. Everything came back clean. He weighed his options, then after explaining why, he asked the ships Captains to leave the system.

In only a few moments, Redemption was the only starship left near Olcai.

Chapter 6

The blast had been much larger than T'Sula had realized. The beautiful glass and stone from the front of the restaurants had become shrapnel, lacerating and bludgeoning hundreds of people in the blink of an eye. Many of the wounded were unconscious and bleeding heavily, leaving only a handful of people, most of whom were dazed by the blast themselves, to care for them.

Sirens pierced the smoke filled air as T'Sula Mir tended to yet another victim. Her hands had long since gone slick with the blood of innocents. The carnage from the simple, but powerful bomb forced her to recall her training. The explosion had ripped apart a peaceful afternoon, free from the savagery of fighting a brutal war. T'Sula had thought, had hoped that she had found a brief respite from fighting for survival. After all, survival was all that anyone could hope for. Survival meant more than riches, more than fame, and more than any other thing, except freedom.

Freedom was the one thing that could not exist in the galaxy. Freedom from fear was a luxury that not even the wealthiest denizens on any of the worlds knew. There was always fear. Fear of the Ta'Reeth, and fear of the extremist factions that supported them. They had taken the galaxy by force and either killed or enslaved everyone and everything in their path. T'Sula could not understand them. She only knew that they were the enemy and that was purpose enough for her.

No one knew where the Ta'Reeth came from, or why they did what they did, moving from one star system to the next and conquering each one as they moved through the galaxy. They had come from nowhere. The first planet to fall had once been the mightiest. Earth had been first, followed by all of her colonies. Now her people were little more than refugees. Only a handful of worlds were left free now, but it was only a matter of time before they too fell to the Ta'Reeth. Nothing could oppose them for long. It was all that anyone could do to slip away and survive for another day.

T'Sula worked diligently as she tried to help those that she could. She knelt next to a wounded Olcai. Its eyes were glazed over and it was showing signs of shock.

"Where does it hurt the worst?" she asked, not expecting a reply. "I'm here to help you. I need to check you for injuries. Please don't be alarmed." T'Sula gently ran her hands over the Olcai, searching for anything that was wrong. She found a broken leg and numerous abrasions, but nothing more.

"You'll be alright." T'Sula told the little alien as she made a splint and secured it to the broken leg. After the leg was splinted, she raised unbroken leg, bending it at the knee, and treated the Olcai for shock.

Near the Olcai lay a young Bakeeron man, his face a mask of blood and pain. T'Sula quietly knelt beside him and started to check him for injuries. Blood soaked his clothes and stained the ground. T'Sula brushed back his blood matted hair and found the carotid artery. She gently placed two fingers against his neck and searched for a pulse. After searching for what seemed an eternity, she found that he had no pulse. She closed her eyes, fighting back an angry scream, and then gently closed the dead man's eyes.

"T'Sula, come here for a moment." Kamira straightened herself after kneeling next to a wounded Malgar. The man had his own silver blood oozing from a wound near his temple.

"What is it?" T'Sula asked, wiping blood and grime from her hands as she stood. She sighed, forcing herself not to look at the dead man at her feet. How many people had to die? Millions had died already throughout the galaxy and more would soon follow. It seemed inevitable, and it weighed heavily on T'Sula's heart. She forced the thoughts from her mind, and focused on helping the people around her. There were so many wounded, and so few people that could help. Any second that her thoughts wandered, another innocent person could die.

"I need help moving this man." Kamira pointed to the massive Malgar. He easily massed more than both of the Bakeeron women combined. "He's going to need proper medical attention. If we could move him to the aid station, he may live." Kamira motioned toward a tent that had been erected on the far side of the courtyard. The station consisted of little more than a tent filled with a few tables and well intentioned volunteers that did triage and applied a few bandages. Proper medical facilities around the city were preparing to receive the massive influx of patients, and ambulances were supposedly on their way.

"Commander Mir, Commander Nor, please come with Me." a large, blue police drone interrupted as it descended from above. Red and blue lights, mounted on either side of its head, flashed as it stopped and hovered a meter above the ground. Its bright blue body glistened in the sun while the women struggled to move the unconscious Malgar.

"Sure, we'll come with you. After we get this man some medical attention." T'Sula looked angrily at the drone. She hoisted one of the Malgars arms over her shoulder and struggled to move him.

"Allow me." the police drone said in a deep monotone as it landed in front of them. The drone reached out its arms, and gently took the man from T'Sula and Kamira. "Follow me." it ordered as it took to the air, hovering just above their heads, before it flew to the aid station. T'Sula and Kamira followed close behind, picking their way through the wounded and dead.

Moans from injured men and women laid siege to T'Sula's ears on the walk to the aid station. She closed her eyes and tried unsuccessfully to shut out the all too familiar sound. Her heart broke with each new cry for mercy until tears rolled freely down her cheeks.

The women watched quietly as the drone landed and placed the injured Malgar on a stretcher. T'Sula shook her head slightly as the antigravity units on the stretcher groaned under the strain of the Malgar's bulk. The drone paused for a moment, and then led the women away from the aid station. T'Sula and Kamira paused before following the drone, and looked back at the carnage.

Without saying a word, T'Sula placed a hand on Kamira's shoulder, then followed the police drone away from the chaos.

Makeshift barriers surrounded the entrance to one of the small shops located at the far end of the pavilion. A pair of drones stood watch, one on each side of a single wooden door. A freshly painted sign, labeling the shop as 'Dursa's Caldonian Eatery' hung above the entry.

Chapter 7

Smoke choked the air like an ominous cloud, obscuring the Wraith's view of the beautiful chaos below. He clung effortlessly to the side of the burning building, high above the courtyard and invisible to the naked eye. No one knew that he was there, watching the wonderful, beautiful destruction, the parade of death that it had given to the undeserving cretins below. It made no noise as it moved slowly down the wall to the courtyard. A Caldonian male almost bumped into him as he neared the ground, but his reflexes were a gift to which he had grown accustomed.

The scent of charred flesh permeated the air. The Wraith reveled in the majesty of the destruction. There was power in the taking of lives, but not enough to sate a growing appetite. Wounded vermin lay strewn across the ground with others wasting their time and energy in futile attempts at salvation. Perfect chaos displayed its glorious majesty amid the throng of putrid infidels.

The Wraith quietly slipped through the mass of denizens, and into the protection of the shadows. With the attention of the police fixed on the bombing, he was free to further his own agenda.

Walking quickly toward the ocean he smiled to himself. He may have lost the item, but vengeance had a sweet flavor. These creatures, these unworthy Olcai would pay most dearly for his humiliation, stealing away the treasure that he had secured for his masters. As dearly as Olcai would pay, it was nothing compared to what he was going to do to her.

She had discovered his plans for his salvation. His efforts had been in vain. She had found him and fought him, then left him to die. Little did she know that vengeance was his. His masters, the Ta'Reeth, had found him and given him new life, a new purpose. Service to them was salvation, and he served well.

The gentle ocean breeze let the Wraith know that he was not far from the edge of the city. He kept to the shadows, staying out of the path of people rushing to the city center. They were presumably intent on assisting the worthless souls at the courtyard. A complete waste of time.

Buildings grew shorter as he approached the ocean. The great blue expanse covered the entire planet, except for the six cities. The Olcai had placed each city on each side of an invisible box, then filled it with water and formed it into a sphere.

Standing on the precipice of the city, the ocean spread out in front of him. A thousand meters straight down from where he stood, the water churned against the ancient wall of the city.

The Wraith quietly lowered himself over the side and began to climb down the wall. Years of exposure to the sea air had pitted and colored the wall a mottled brown. He climbed until he reached an open hanger near the lapping waves.

The hanger was old and large enough to comfortably hold a medium sized freighter. Inside the hanger was empty except for a few crates of various sizes, shapes and colors that lined the walls. At the far end of the hanger was a door.

His suit performed well, clinging to the outer wall, and then to the hanger ceiling before he dropped gracefully to the floor. Most of the light in the hanger came from outside. A few lights flickered here and there, but mostly the hanger had to be used for storage.

A slight swagger entered his step as he walked to the door. His confidence ran high after the bombing. He had successfully planted the bomb and no one had seen him. The infidel thief was dead and he had taken its life. Unfortunately, he had not been able to retrieve what had been stolen, but that problem would be remedied soon enough.

He reached the door and pressed the pressure plate. The door silently swung open, revealing a long, deserted hallway. A few doors lined the hall. The rooms behind them were filled with boxes and crates and little more. The hall stretched into the distance until he could not see the end.

The Wraith traveled in silence and unseen well beyond sight of the door. He would enjoy watching the Olcai suffer. It was their destiny to suffer. They had built this monstrosity, this mechanical planet. The masters had told him this.

Two silhouettes began to take shape in the distance. First they developed legs, then arms, and finally each formed a head. They were rather short, suggesting that the forms belonged to a pair of Olcai standing guard.

The Wraith slowed almost to a stop, studying the silhouettes. Each form possessed a weapon. From the distance they looked to be carrying an archaic projectile weapon. The weapons consisted of a metal barrel and a composite stock that would fit neatly into the pocket of the shoulder.

He crept to the left wall, since the right held a door, and climbed up to the ceiling. Only a sight shimmer of darkness showed his passing as he crawled past the guards, and dropped silently to floor behind them. He then reached out and placed a hand on the chin of each guard, and violently pulled his hands back. An audible crack resounded through the otherwise silent corridor. The guards' bodies faced forward with their lifeless eyes looking straight at the Wraith before he released them and watched them crumple to the floor.

Death was an experience not to be wasted. He savored the thrill of extinguishing life, it filled his empty soul. He did not fear death. His masters had taught him that death was but another chance to serve them, whether in dying or in taking a life that was not his. No remorse or feeling, save for the joy of service to the Ta'Reeth entered him anymore. They had seen to that, as well as to other things.

He breathed deeply then turned to the door. It opened easily with the use of the pressure plate imbedded in the wall to the right. A simple, round room lay beyond. Tools hung on hooks lining the wall, at a height low enough for an Olcai to easily reach. In the center of the otherwise open floor was a mechanical lift that stood nearly as tall as he did. The old, iron sides of the lift were pitted and rusted with age.

The Wraith stepped into the open lift. Solid walls with snaking slots cut in them matched the floor and ceiling. Black fabric straps snaked through the floor and walls to wrap around him and fasten him in place. Once he was secure, the lift slowly dropped, clanking and screeching through the floor. It clanked downward until it was clear of the floor, and then shook to a stop. A heavy metal door slid into position and sealed the hole left in the floor by the lift.

A powerful blast of air, one that would have torn the Wraith free of the lift had he not been strapped in place, rocketed the lift toward the center of Olcai. It gained velocity at an astounding rate. Air ripped past the projectile, threatening to tear free anything that it touched. Moments stretched into eternity as the lift sped downward. No light reflected off the solitary lift, none could enter the enclosed maintenance shaft.

The lift began to slow as it approached the core. Air cushioned the descent before the lift clanked to a jarring stop. A large door slid away and the lift moved again. The lift dropped a few meters, and then settled to the floor. After it stopped moving, the straps released the Wraith and disappeared into the slots in the walls, ceiling, and floor.

When the lift doors opened, the Wraith stepped out of the confining space, and into a room filled with computers and workstations. It only took a moment for him to cross the room and access one of the computers. The computers were simple, nearly archaic. He worked quickly, separating the security protocols from the rest of the systems. Once he had the security system separated, he set the diagnostic program to run. He hoped that would take over an hour to run.

The Wraith stepped away from the computer and headed for a door located on the far wall. He pressed the pressure plate and quickly stepped through the open door. On the other side of the door another lift stood waiting. This lift had no walls, only a railing that stood waist high, and wrapped all the way around. Two gray composite rails, one on either side of the lift, descended to the giant sphere a thousand meters below.

It was simple enough to climb over the side if the lift. The climb to the sphere was easy and passed quickly. He reached the sphere and smiled to himself. Retribution would be swift for the Olcai, and he was more than happy to provide it.

There was barely space to maneuver across the surface of the sphere which was covered in a series of tubing, dials, cables, and valves. Each set of tubes and cables connected to the next, creating a circuit that encompassed the entire sphere. The Wraith dug into a pocket and removed a clear, membranous sack filled with a gelatinous substance.

He placed the sack on a valve, and then broke it open. The gel oozed down the valve until it touched the threads of the pipe. It paused, and then squeezed onto the threads, and into the valve. He smiled and moved to another valve and repeated what he had just done. After finishing with the second valve, the Wraith returned to the rails and began his ascent to the surface.

Chapter 8

The shop was clean and nearly empty. A few old fashioned paintings of various landscapes hung on the otherwise unadorned white walls. Most of the paintings were pastels in broad, impressionist strokes. A few of the pieces were different. The scenes of the Caldon Lava Fields radiated a powerful, darker energy that was captured by the highly detailed brush strokes of the Caldonian renaissance. The lava seemed to radiate heat as it cooled and was formed into homes for the Caldonians.

Old style lights, decorated with multi-colored glass panels, hung from the ceiling giving ample light for the customers that frequented the quaint restaurant. Booths with simple rectangular tables and red padded benches ran the length of the walls. In the center of the cafe sat a round table with a dour looking Olcai as its only occupant.

"Thank you for coming. Please join me for a drink." the Olcai casually motioned for them to sit. "I am Commissioner Valche."

"To what do we owe the honor Commissioner?" T'Sula asked as she pulled out a chair. Kamira quietly sat beside her, watching the door.

"What would you like to drink?" The diminutive alien looked at them, ignoring the question. Valche's uniform was a dull gray, with a simple gold braid around the right wrist. There were no visible pockets or fastening devices of any kind on the uniform.

"Water will be fine." Kamira said without taking her eyes from the door.

"Water please." T'Sula echoed before she glanced at her cousin. Kamira shook her head slightly and then glanced around the room.

The Commissioner motioned for a server to bring the water, and looked at T'Sula. "What do you know about what happened here today, Commander Mir?" the small alien sighed.

"I can only guess at this point." T'Sula sipped her water. "Unless there's something that I don't know, I would say it was a threat of some sort."

"Commander Nor, what do you think?" the Olcai asked before looking at her.

"I don't know anything about these things. I'm an engineer, not a police officer." she shook her head. "What I do know is that my ship is in orbit, and in need of repair. A lot of innocent people were hurt today, and someone needs to pay it. Redemption can help, but we need access to the raw materials in the debris field."

"Commander Nor, I am a peace officer, not a diplomat. Therefore I am not authorized to grant that request. However, I will do what I can to get the authorization that you need for your ship." Commissioner Valche sighed. "Ladies, what I am about to show you is sensitive information. Please do not discuss this with anyone." a dark shroud dropped from the ceiling, closing the table off from all outside sources. A hologram came up from the center of the small table, casting an ethereal glow on their faces.

T'Sula saw herself sitting at a small table in the food court. People milled about, without any discernable destination. She watched as Kamira walked up to her table, and spoke to her for the first time in years. They waited for their food, and she watched the server as it touched her hand. Everything seemed normal, until the explosion ripped the peaceful atmosphere apart.

Immediately after the explosion, the hologram stopped. A voice cut into the silence. It was altered, probably from some form of electronic device covering the actual voice. "This is a warning. You have until noon tomorrow to return that which was stolen from us. No one will enter or leave Olcai. Any deviance will result in death. Submit now and bow before your Ta'Reeth masters." the voice echoed in T'Sula's mind, moving her at her core.

"So, the Ta'Reeth are taking responsibility for the bombing?" T'Sula asked.

"No." Commissioner Valche moved in its seat. "Whoever is responsible for the bombing has some sort of ties to them, but they have not taken responsibility for it."

"They said that something was stolen from them, and they want it back. Obviously it's important, otherwise, why resort to bombing?" Kamira interrupted.

"Are you sure you aren't a police officer, Commander?" Valche asked. "You are correct. Something was taken, and they want it back. The problem is that we have no idea what it is."

"All right Commissioner." T'Sula placed her hands on the table and rubbing the red spot on her hand. "What do you want from us? You command the police, so I don't see what you could need from me or Kamira." her voice grew a little cold. "You obviously did a background check on us before you had us brought here, and I don't particularly appreciate that. If you want something from me, ask me for it. Otherwise, I'm leaving."

"Very well then Commander Mir. I would like for both of you to assist in the investigation." Commissioner Valche matched T'Sula's tone. "Both you and Commander Nor are veterans. You have both survived conflicts with the Ta'Reeth, which as you know, is a rare thing. I need you to help Olcai to survive this. My officers are little more than hotel security guards, and are not equipped to deal with this situation."

"O.K." Kamira sighed. "I need to contact my ship. After that I'll be free to do as I need to. Besides, whoever did this needs to pay. I'm in."

"Commander, I do not believe that will be possible for some time. Communication channels have been severed and we have not been able to reestablish them." Valche blinked rapidly in frustration.

"Fine. I'm in. I just have one question." T'Sula glanced at her cousin.

"And what would that be?" Commissioner Valche cocked one bulbous eye at her.

"Are you a man or a woman?" T'Sula asked with a cold smile as Kamira almost fell out her chair.

"I am neither." Commissioner Valche looked slightly angry. "I believe that we have work to do."

Kamira picked herself up off the floor, and quickly ran her hands over her robes to smooth them out. She glanced at T'Sula and quietly shook her head. T'Sula shrugged, as a slight smile crept across her lips.

"If the two of you are through joking at my expense, I suggest that we begin our investigation." Commissioner Valche walked towards the rear of the small eatery.

"Of course Sir, ah, Ma'am, um, I mean, Commissioner." T'Sula stammered, trying to keep a straight face before Kamira punched her in the shoulder. "Ow." T'Sula whispered, rubbing her shoulder.

Commissioner Valche disappeared through a set of white double doors at the rear of the restaurant.

Chapter 9

Captain Jason McWilliams strode through the corridors of his ship. Men and women of the various races that made up his crew quickly stepped to the side to let the man pass. Repairs were behind schedule, and Jason was mad. Communications had been cut off from Olcai, and his wife was on the surface.

A set of large, armored doors parted in front of him, and Captain McWilliams stepped into the armory. "Major Narja, a moment please." he waited as a large Caldonian stood, and handed the weapon that he had been working on to another marine.

"On my way sir." the Major's leathery skin glistened in the light as he walked toward the Captain. "What can I do for you Captain?" his voice was crisp and respectful.

"Walk with me." Jason said as he turned and walked out of the armory. The Major quickly followed him into the corridor. "How long have we been together Major?"

"I came on board shortly before the Battle of Bakesh, Sir." Major Narja straightened his immaculate black uniform as he walked. The dark color of the uniform accented his leathery tan skin.

Minutes passed in silence as the two men walked through the ship. Crewmembers let them pass without a word. Repair drones of all shapes and sizes ignored them as they went about the repairs to the ship. Most of the corridors had been repaired, but a few still had burn marks and other scars.

"Captain, I have an update on the repairs." Angel said as she appeared in front of them.

"Is it vital to our survival Angel?" Jason almost scowled. Darkness seemed to radiate from his eyes. He was focused on a mission and any deviation was simply not acceptable.

"No Sir. It is about the progress on the fluctuation in the environmental system." the A.I. informed them.

"Then it can wait." Jason's voice turned icy, and he walked through the hologram. Angel flickered then solidified before she nodded and disappeared. Jason stopped in front of a door, and paused before opening it. "Care to join me in the gym Major?"

"Of course Sir." Major Narja paused for a moment. "Sir, may I ask why you asked me to the Gym?"

"I'll explain inside." a cold smile crept across the Captain's face as both men entered the Gym.

Inside, the gymnasium was large. Exercise equipment lined the walls, and an expansive open area dominated the room. In the center were two lines, approximately a meter apart. Jason took off his boots, and stood at one line while he waited for Narja to do the same.

"Is this wise Sir?" Narja stepped to his line.

"I'll be fine Major." Captain McWilliams bowed in respect to his opponent. "Don't hold back."

"Yes Sir." Narja bowed in respect and assumed a ready position. His body was relaxed, with his feet firmly planted in the deck, and his fists in a guard position in front of his chest. "When you are ready Sir."

Jason rotated his neck, working out the kinks, and limbering up his body. The room seemed to expand before him, and to cease to exist at the same time as he focused on the Major. He closed his fists. Placing most of his weight on his back leg, keeping it slightly bent, Jason brought his front foot back so that it nearly touched the back one at a ninety degree angle. Slowly he let out a breath, and nodded to his opponent.

Narja attacked with blinding speed. He swept in, and threw a powerful snap kick straight at Jason's chest. Jason quickly side stepped, barely avoiding a crushed rib cage. The Major spun on his front foot, sending a quick sidekick that connected with the Captains hip. Jason absorbed the impact, and fired back with a roundhouse kick, aimed at the Major's head.

The Captain's foot grazed the top of the Major's head. Jason kept his balance after Narja landed a punch to his leg. Discipline kept both fighters in check as they squared off again, each searching the other for weaknesses.

After a brief stalemate, Jason shot in, with a low sweep, sending Narja crashing to the floor. The Major rolled to the side, barely missing a knee to the abdomen. Narja was on his feet in a split second, and attacking Jason with a series devastating blows. Jason countered by closing the distance between them, taking away Narja's striking ability. Now within arm's length, Jason grabbed Narja's head with both hands, holding the Major in one place. With his hands firmly on the Major's head, Jason pounded the Caldonians ribs with thundering blows from his knees.

Pain never entered Major Narja's eyes. He simply took hold of the Captain's head and rammed his forehead straight into the other man's nose. Feeling the bone shatter under the immense impact, Narja watched as Captain McWilliams crumpled to the floor.

"Sir, are you alright?" Narja knelt beside his commanding officer.

"Ouch." the Captain touched his shattered nose. "Nice head butt."

"Thank you Sir." Major Narja extended a helping hand. "Sir, you need medical attention, as do I."

"Right, but first Narja, I need your help." Jason gingerly touched his nose again. "I need you to plan for the invasion, and defense of Olcai. Just in case."

"Understood Sir." Narja paused before they walked out the door. "Sir, this is the first time that you have used my name, without any title. I respect you for that, and I also consider you my friend." without saying another word, the two men walked to the sickbay.

Chapter 10

Screams pierced the smoke filled air. A hundred voices cried out as one with a single message. Help us, please help us. T'Sula ran through the streets frantically searching for the people connected to the screams.

Buildings erupted in flame and debris as she ran. The beautiful craftsmanship of the ancient buildings was reduced to embers and rubble in moments. Her lungs burned from the smoke and heat, but T'Sula pushed on relentlessly. Innocent people were dying and it was her call to save them.

A large sandstone home on her right exploded in flame. The door flew out into the street, barely missing T'Sula. From inside the burning house came a wail, a desperate cry for help. T'Sula froze in her tracks. The cry was distinct, much too desperate for an adult. The cry was a child's. The cry was a baby's.

T'Sula bolted for the door. Flames licked at her clothes and skin as she dove to the floor. The heat blistered her skin instantly. She could barely see as she crawled towards the crying. Sweat and tears mixed with smoke and grime as it ran into T'Sula's eyes. The crying was growing gradually closer until her fingertips brushed something soft and warm. It was much too large to be a child. Soft fabric became damp and sticky with cooling blood.

T'Sula quickly searched the body for a pulse, but found none, only a bloody mass instead of a woman's chest. T'Sula forced herself not to pull away, but to continue to search for the screaming child.

Tucked protectively against the woman's side was the reason for her life, and her last act as a mother. Wrapped in a damp cloth lay a screaming child. T'Sula grabbed the baby and crawled for the door. She kept below the smoke where she could breathe and see. She crawled out the door and tumbled, coughing into the street. The wind picked up to nearly a howl, blowing dust, smoke and debris in all directions. T'Sula glanced up and saw a ship hovering a meter above the ground.

It was a small ship, barely large enough to hold the fifty people onboard. The hatch was open with a familiar figure standing inside. Raul held tight to the ship with one hand, and reached for her with the other.

T'Sula picked herself up off the ground, making sure to keep the baby tight against her chest, and ran for the ship.

"Hurry. We can't set down." Raul called over the whine of the ship's engines. He grabbed T'Sula's hand and pulled her onboard as the ship started to rise into the air.

"Who's this?" Raul asked, pointing to the baby.

"Her name is Mekala." a baritone voice came into the airlock. "Unfortunately, she's my spawn."

"Hello Nom." T'Sula turned to look at the man coming towards them. He was slight of build, and decidedly shifty looking.

"I see that you found my wife." a sneer crossed his face. "Each time that I think of her, it gets me right here." he patted his chest then produced a pistol. "It's too bad the spawn survived."

"No need to act rash." Raul stepped forward slowly, making no quick movements.

"Shut up." Nom looked at Raul, then shot him in the chest. Raul's chest exploded in a mist of blood as he fell to the deck.

"No!" T'Sula screamed. Rage filled her being, threatening to burn through her and incinerate anything that she touched. T'Sula held Mekala tightly, and focused on Nom. She spun quickly and placed a powerful roundhouse kick on the right side of his head, sending him crashing into the bulkhead and the pistol flying out into the sky.

"You bastard. Raul was a good man." she fought to keep the tears out of her eyes. Stepping behind Nom, she kicked him towards the open hatch. "Now, Mekala will never know her mother or you." she spun on her back foot for power and placed a side kick into Nom's chest, breaking a number of ribs. Screaming in agony, he fell backward grasping for a handhold, and through the hatch into the open air.

T'Sula knelt next to Raul. She gently touched his face and cried. He reached up, and grasped her shoulder.

"Wake up." Raul shook her hard. "T'Sula, you need to wake up." Kamira's voice came from Raul's lips. T'Sula opened her eyes to see her cousin sitting in the darkness, on a cot next to her.

T'Sula ran her fingers through her disheveled hair as she sat up. Blood and grime covered her clothes. She sighed, and stood up to stretch.

"I'm sorry Kam." a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Bad dream?" Kamira asked, not wanting to pry.

"It was like reliving Raul's death all over again." T'Sula sighed. "I was hoping that I would be able to accept it and move on, but it's so hard."

"I can't tell you how to deal with loss like this." Kamira took T'Sula's hand in hers. "What I can tell you is that I love you, and you are always welcome on Redemption."

"Thank you Kam." T'Sula pulled her cousin into an embrace and held her tightly for a moment. "Let's get this attack figured out so that we can get on with our lives."

"Alright." Kamira replied before she stood up and walked to the work station. "Let's do this."

"Kam, can you go over the sensor data from the restaurant?" T'Sula stood and walked over to the small work station.

"I don't know how much there is, but I'll go over everything I can find." Kamira sipped her cup of coffee. It was starting to get cold, but it was wet, and that's all that mattered.

"Make sure you look at everything, including any data coming from outside." T'Sula started to pace around the small room. It was dimly lit, and sparsely furnished. A small square window high on the back wall let in a trickle of light. Overall, it was barely sufficient for two people to work in. "Where's your ship?"

"In orbit. Why?" Kamira looked puzzled. The dim light gave her features a haunting glow. Her confusion gave way to anxiety. "I haven't been in contact since before the bombing." panic crept into her eyes.

"Relax. We'll establish contact, you can report in, and we'll find out if they have any information from their sensors." T'Sula calmly told her cousin. She hoped that they would find something useful, but refused to get her hopes up. It seemed to her that every time something happened to her, things just went from bad to worse. Especially when the Ta'Reeth were involved.

A knock at the door echoed through the tiny room, startling the two women.

"Come in." Kamira said almost without thinking, and went back to work studying data.

A small, tired looking Olcai entered the room. It wore the same basic uniform that Commissioner Valche had worn, except that this one had obviously been worn for a while.

"Commanders, I apologize for disturbing you, but we have uncovered something that you should see." it shuffled its bare, webbed feet. "If you would please come with me, I will be most happy to escort you to the crime scene."

T'Sula stopped pacing the room, and stood in front of the officer. "You look familiar. Have we met before?" she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"No Commander. We have never met." the little alien hung its head.

"What's your name?" T'Sula tapped her chin with her right index finger.

"Lieutenant Valche, Commander." the Lieutenant shuffled its feet as it backed away from T'Sula.

"Lieutenant Valche, as in Commissioner Valche?" T'Sula arched an eyebrow. "It's no wonder you look familiar. The Family resemblance is remarkable."

"No, Commander, there is no 'family resemblance.'" the Lieutenant sighed, and looked up for the first time. "Commissioner Valche and I are from the same Origin. The only difference between us is age. We are exact duplicates of Valche, the Survivor."

"No wonder everyone looks so much alike." Kamira looked up from her terminal. "You're all clones of the Olcaina survivors."

"Yes, Commander, there are only six different Olcai, not the thousands that you see." Lieutenant Valche looked at Kamira. "It has been this way since we built Olcai." The Lieutenant smiled slightly. "Will you please come with me Commanders? I believe that what we have found could be quite important."

T'Sula looked at Kamira, and shrugged her shoulders. "Lead the way Lieutenant." she said, turning to follow the security officer out the door.

Twilight had come swiftly, casting a dim, pink light over the cloudless horizon. Lamps started to flicker on as the trio walked through the deserted streets. The police had enacted a curfew, claiming that it was for the protection of everyone that they stay indoors, until all matters pertaining to the bombing were concluded.

They were nearly to the bombsite, before the silence finally overwhelmed Kamira.

"Lieutenant Valche, how was Olcai built?" she asked. "I mean, how is it that a race could build an entire planet, but not save the one that they lived on? It doesn't seem possible that anyone could have the technology to construct a planet. It's hard enough to build a space station." Kamira wrung her hands as she talked. "How long did it take? How did you choose the location? Why this location? Why not just move to another planet?"

T'Sula shook her head and smirked. "Kam, I think you'll have time later to ask all of your questions."

"Commander Nor, have you ever asked why Olcai is neutral?" the lieutenant stopped and fixed Kamira with a penetrating look. "Olcaina was destroyed in a civil war that engulfed my people for over a hundred years. The Technologist and Deist factions ruled the planet and never stopped fighting each other. Eventually only six of us remained." Valche sighed. "The six survivors were able to convert an old space station into the basis of a new, peaceful world. Now we are neutral in all disputes. My people died once, and will not do so again."

"That is fascinating." Kamira stood and stared at the lieutenant for a moment, then regained her composure.

"Lieutenant, it's been my experience that the neutral parties are usually the first to die." T'Sula told the lieutenant bluntly.

Lieutenant Valche grimaced. "Commander Nor, Commander Mir, if you will please put these on, we may proceed." Lieutenant Valche produced two apparatuses. Each one had a belt, gloves, and a re-breathing mask.

T'Sula took one of the proffered protective suits, and quickly adjusted the mask to fit. She put the belt and gloves on before she pushed the small green button on the belt. A flexible forcefield hummed to life around her. She looked over at Kamira and watched as she helped the Lieutenant adjust its mask.

"Thank you for your help Commander." Lieutenant Valche looked uncomfortable with anything close to its face. "Please follow me, and be careful. Due to structural stresses, this section of the city is no longer stable."

Chapter 11

Occupying the center of the small, sparsely furnished room was a worn, but sturdy aluminum composite desk. Major Narja sat quietly in the comfortable gray chair tucked neatly behind the desk. His large frame made for a tight, but comfortable fit. Pictures of a few different worlds hung on the plain white walls. Lava flowed freely down a dark Caldonian mountainside in a hologram that dominated the wall behind the Major's desk. The frame on the opposite wall held a still photograph of a lone space station, floating in the colorful abyss of the Zaphacia nebula.

Narja hardly moved, save for the gentle rise and fall of his chest. His ribs ached slightly, but were mending nicely after his impromptu sparring match with the Captain. He generally healed quickly, especially with proper medical treatment.

There were a few veterans in his battalion, but most of his marines were young and green. He had trained them well. P.T. started at 0600 and consisted of basic muscular and cardiovascular fitness then moved on to include hand to hand combat. After P.T. was over and everyone was ready for the rest of the day, it was time for weapons training and combat situations.

Every day was the same. He pushed his marines until they broke. When they broke, he put them back together and pushed them some more. His marines were the best and they knew it. Uncommon valor seemed to be standard issue with his unit.

Captain McWilliams rarely made requests of anyone. The fact that he had made a request of Narja, had taken him by surprise, let alone the nature of the request. One simply did not make plans to invade a planet, and if they did, there would have to be an excellent reason for it.

Olcai was an artificial, and that made things much more difficult. One mistake and the entire world could be destroyed. Then there was the threat from the terrorists. What more did they have in store? Could they be planning the destruction of Olcai? Was it their plan for someone to intervene?

Major Narja took a deep, cleansing breath, and closed his eyes. After a moment of meditation, he opened his eyes, and turned to his computer terminal.

"Angel, this is Major Narja." he waited patiently for a response.

"Hello Major. How are your ribs?" Angel asked without appearing. "What can I do for you?"

"My ribs are fine Angel. I need you to find some information for me, and I need it as soon as you find it." Narja tapped his fingers against the top of his desk. "I need to know everything about Olcai's defenses, and a copy of the blueprints for the planet itself."

"Will there be anything else Major?"

"Yes. I need a wire frame model of Olcai." Narja stood and walked to the other side of his desk. The lights dimmed as a large wire frame model of the planet filled the open space in the office.

In the center of the model a series of spheres, one inside the next, formed the core. Six massive struts, spaced equidistant around the core, supported the six different cities. Interspersed between the cities were smaller structures that housed the atmosphere and gravity generators.

"Angel, decrease magnification and display the planetary defenses." the Major watched silently as the orbital defense platforms appeared around the planet. A bright blue dot appeared near the center of one of the cities.

"What is the blue dot for?" Narja pointed at the hologram.

"Major, the blue dot indicates the control center for the defenses." Angel appeared next to the model. She wore a thin smile that threatened to crack at any moment.

"The defense platforms aren't automated?" Narja cocked an eyebrow in surprise.

"No, they are controlled by a central computer. Once activated and the transponder codes are entered into the computer, the platforms will eliminate all hostile forces." Angel shook her head slightly as she walked over to Narja. "Any successful campaign involving Olcai, will gain control of the central computer."

Narja let out a deep breath. "Thank you Angel, that will be all." he forced himself to smile.

Angel paused.

"Yes?" Major Narja asked quietly.

"Major, the defense platforms will not fire until they are activated from the surface." Angel's eyes hardened as she looked at him. "Someone has to be in control of the computer for that to happen."

"Let's just hope that we get control first." Narja sighed and turned his attention back to the hologram.

Chapter 12

Perched high on a wall, the Wraith surveyed the scene below. Darkness and deep shadows covered the city, creating images from nothing. The air was still, leaving little chance of scent giving away its presence. Nothing traveled the streets below, save for a handful of security drones roaming here and there. A few lighted windows dotted the cityscape on an otherwise consuming night.

The Wraith crawled quickly down the wall until it could easily leap, undetected, to the next building. Flickering shadows followed the creature as it flitted through the oppressive darkness. A deep, lustful growl escaped its lips as the intoxicating scent of blood nearly overwhelmed it. The carnage from the bomb was near enough that he could taste the death that lingered tantalizingly in the air.

Rubble still littered the food court. The last of the wounded had been moved hours ago, but a few of the dead still remained. A handful of small, gray drones tended to the bodies before they were loaded into a large, black air car. Once it was full, the air car flew into the air and disappeared.

With the drones' attention on their work, the Wraith crawled across the face of the ruined restaurant, and through the opening that had once housed the door. The floor was covered in debris, so the Wraith kept to the safety of the blackened ceiling. A small amount of soot clung to the Wraith as it crawled to a vantage point where it could survey the entire eatery.

The blast had buckled the walls then blistered them by the incredible heat. Embers still glowed hot around the room, making the Wraith sweat ever so slightly as it searched for its prize. A few pieces of debris near the far wall burst into flames, flickered, and died out.

The prize had to be here, somewhere. It was nearly indestructible, so the bomb could not have realistically harmed it. The memory of the explosion caused a smile to cross its pale, cracked lips. The chaos had been rejuvenating, even gratifying to watch. It was an injustice that such beautiful destruction was wasted on these unworthy maggots.

The Wraith searched through the remains of the restaurant, finding nothing. A tiny red dot flashed in its eye, indicating that the prize was near. Muffled voices came from the front of the ruined building. Three different voices came closer to where it was hiding, deep in the shadows of the ceiling.

Silently it watched as two Bakeeron women, one in a jumpsuit, the other in robes and one small Olcai in a security uniform, walked nearer to its position. They approached slowly, as if looking for something.

"Commanders, what we found is over here. There is always some sort of residue left over from explosions, and this one was no different." the little Olcai droned. "The interesting thing about this residue though, is that it is entirely organic."

"No chemicals then?" the Bakeeron wearing the jumpsuit asked. She glanced at the Olcai and continued looking about the room.

"No. Everything was completely organic in origin." the Olcai scanned the residue with a pocket scanner and showed the results to the women.

"Well, it definitely looks like the type of weapon that the Ta'Reeth would use." the other woman looked restless and out of place in her flowing robes. She wandered a bit, poking and prodding at different pieces of debris. "How do we know what these people want?"

"What do you mean Commander?" Lieutenant Valche blinked in response.

"What I mean, is that we don't have a clue as to what was stolen from the Ta'Reeth. Why bomb a restaurant anyway?" Kamira sighed. "What's the connection?"

'What's the connection?' echoed inside its mind. 'What was stolen?' A small cloud of charred dust fell onto the shoulder of the Olcai Lieutenant, as the Wraith moved across the ceiling to a better vantage point.

"I don't know what the connection is." T'Sula said as she absent mindedly scratched her hand. "If we can figure out what was stolen, then maybe we can piece this thing together."

"Commanders, I have something else to show you." Lieutenant Valche motioned for the two women to look at the scanner one more time. T'Sula walked over, and stood next to the Lieutenant. Kamira adjusted her robes as she came closer. The two women gazed down at the screen.

On the tiny screen a man sized heat signature crouched on the ceiling. Below the picture, the Lieutenant had typed 'We are not alone.'

Chapter 13

"Captain, we have a problem." Angel reported as she materialized in the Captain's ready room. The room was small. A hand full of pictures dotted the sparse walls, giving a hint of color to the otherwise drab surroundings.

"What is it Angel?" Captain McWilliams looked up from a hologram of Olcai. The planet slowly revolved on its axis as it floated above the cluttered desk. The different layers of Olcai faded out of existence until only a wire frame model displaying the cities and the core remained. The Olcaina debris field appeared at the edge of the hologram, with a small red dot blinking ominously.

"Captain, my sensors have detected an anomaly near the Olcaina debris field. It appears to be organic in origin Sir." Angel shimmered slightly as she moved closer to the model of Olcai. Her long crimson hair drifted behind her like silk on a gentle breeze.

"Are we finished with the repairs yet?" Jason asked. A deep sigh escaped his tightly drawn lips.

"No Sir." Angel clasped her hands in front of her. "We are at eighty-six percent. Repairs are proceeding on schedule."

"Get the long range sensors fully operational. Until then, monitor the anomaly the best that you can. Inform me of any changes." Jason ran his hand over his face, wincing as he touched the white bandage that covered his nose. "Launch two fighter squadrons. I want one squadron to form a defensive perimeter around Redemption, and the other to investigate the anomaly."

"Yes, Sir." Angel replied. She faded slightly, and then reappeared.

Jason touched the communications panel on his desk. "Major Narja, please report to my ready room." he said, before he looked up at Angel. "Angel, we need to have this ship in fighting trim. Get the weapons, shields, and engines on line."

"Yes Sir. Is there anything else Captain?"

"No, that will be all." Captain McWilliams returned to studying the hologram as he waited for Major Narja to arrive.

Jason sat motionless in the old brown leather chair that sat behind his desk. The tiny hologram spun lazily in air, a scant six inches above the cluttered oak surface.

Pale blue lights flashed intermittently across the base of the hologram, calling Jason into the past. Bakesh beckoned in the lights.

"Angel, auxiliary power to the shields!" Jason yelled a he pulled the onyx visor down into position. Every system aboard Redemption crashed into the Captain's mind. His very thoughts became instant action as the ship twisted through space. Ta'Reeth ships swarmed around Redemption, belching liquid fire that pounded into her shields.

Redemption retaliated against the assault with a merciless barrage from her particle cannons. A hundred Ta'Reeth fighters evaporated instantly in space as if they were water and not flesh and bone. Fragments of the fighters pelted the shields as three Ta'Reeth cruisers came into range. Their hulls were black and twisted, leaving a nightmare in the minds of those who looked upon them.

"Captain?" Angel's voice slipped into Jason's thoughts.

"I know Angel. We have three heavy cruisers off the starboard bow." His own thoughts reverberated in the distance between man and machine. Redemption reacted quicker than Jason's own reflexes, diving and turning to use Bakesh's lowest moon as a shield. Flames licked at Redemption's weakened shields as the ship entered Bakesh's uppermost atmosphere. Her hull began to glow, and blister from the heat. Repair drones automatically began repairing the damage, only to melt into slag.

"Captain, hull temperatures are at unacceptable levels. Interior temperatures are climbing rapidly."

Redemption clawed her way out of the atmosphere, and around the dark side of the moon. She approached the Ta'Reeth cruisers from behind and below. Her cannons ripped into the drive sections of the enemy ships. Shards of bone hammered Redemptions shields and hull as the cruisers erupted into twin balls of blood and flame.

Jason gasped and sat straight in his chair. Wet palm prints stained his trouser legs as he fought with his racing heart. He took a deep breath and quietly focused his mind. Major Narja would arrive soon, and he needed to be focused. Only intelligence coupled with decisive action could bring Kamira back.

Chapter 14

T'Sula Mir separated herself from the others. Her senses expanded and sharpened to take in every minute detail. The air from her re-breather was thick, heavy with oxygen. Her pupils dilated to let in more light. Blood rushed to her limbs, loosening her muscles. The crunch of the debris under her boots thundered in her ears.

"I think we've seen all that we need to for now." Kamira spoke up, interrupting T'Sula's thoughts.

"There's one more thing I'd like to check before we go." T'Sula mumbled. She walked briskly, but tried not to show her apprehension as she walked toward the intruder. She could not see it, except for what she had seen on the Lieutenant's screen.

Walking past a charred table, she brushed her hand across the top, collecting soot as she went. Her fingers raked a broken board, covered with charred debris.

"Well, I guess I was wrong." T'Sula said. She grabbed the board, and hurled it in the direction of the intruder. The board flew through the air, and struck the wall, shattering into dozens of pieces. Dust and soot flew in all directions, outlining the shape of a man, crouched against the ceiling.

T'Sula instinctively moved into a defensive stance, one foot behind the other, forming an L. She raised her fists to a guard position in front of her chest, as the intruder gracefully dropped to the floor. Black soot clung to it like a shell of dust over a glass ball. It left footprints on the floor as it walked toward T'Sula. She flexed her fists in anticipation, waiting and watching the invisible intruder. Time seemed to stand still, rooting her in place, telling her that she needed to be here, now, in this moment. T'Sula's breath caught in her throat when the soot covered shape stopped less than a step in front of her.

"T'Sula, run!" Kamira yelled from behind her.

"No." T'Sula replied, not taking her eyes from the apparition. In less time than it takes to blink, the apparition darted to the side, away from T'Sula. Not thinking, her leg shot out in a vicious round house, catching the intruder in the chest. The impact shuddered through its body, sending it flying backward, into a charred table. Splintered, charred wood sailed into the air as the table broke and crashed to the floor. The air swirled with a cloud of dust around the apparition as it climbed to its feet. It stalked menacingly toward T'Sula.

The dim lights that the police had set up for the investigation seemed to grow weaker as the apparition approached. T'Sula stood, ready to fight, waiting for the next move. It continued to walk toward her, never stopping, never changing direction. It walked past a supporting pillar that had survived the blast from the bomb. Not breaking stride when it came abreast of the pillar, its arm shot out in a powerful back-hand, snapping the pillar in two.

Continuing forward, the intruder came in front of T'Sula one more time. A step away from her, it leapt into the air, easily avoiding contact with T'Sula, and landing behind Lieutenant Valche.

"Look out!" Kamira screamed, reaching for the Lieutenant. But it was too late. The apparition grabbed the Lieutenant by its head, and easily lifted Valche into the air. A loud, sickening snap echoed through the rubble, as the apparition snapped the Lieutenant's neck. Valche twitched in the air before the intruder dropped the body to the floor, and vanished into the night.

Kamira reached Valche's body, almost as it hit the floor. T'Sula skidded to a stop by her side. Neither spoke as Kamira gently closed Valche's eyes. She looked up, catching T'Sula's gaze. Unspoken, the past filled the void between the women. Memories of innocence lost, and dreams never to be fulfilled passed from them in the fleeting moment.

"I guess you were wrong after all." Kamira's voice was barely above a whisper. "What did any of this prove?" Her voice wavered as she fought to keep her temper under control. "Now the Lieutenant is dead, and we have nothing to show for it!"

"You're wrong Kam." T'Sula sighed. "I didn't want Lieutenant Valche to die, but we do have something to show for coming here." her voice and eyes showed none of the resolve that she felt in her heart. Killing was wrong. Nevertheless, sometimes the war spilled over onto the innocents. Innocence was fleeting, and T'Sula could barely remember when she still possessed that most elusive of qualities.

"And what is it that we now have, that we didn't before?" Kamira picked up the data pad that Valche had been holding. Her tone was cold, accusing. She had seen too much death and suffering, and it was long past time to end it.

"We know that the perpetrator is still here, and we know that the Ta'Reeth are involved." T'Sula pointed to the picture of the intruder that was still on the screen of the data pad. "What we don't know is why they did it, and what they were looking for."

Chapter 15

'That one is dangerous.' he told himself as he climbed higher into the night. The darkness of night was a friend of sorts, helping to protect him, but never asking anything in return. His chest ached as he crawled over the ledge, and onto a rooftop high above the city. A light wind had picked up, blowing away any trace of the dust and soot that had clung to it.

The woman had the capsule. There could be no doubt of that. She had the radiation signature, and a will to fight. Retrieving the capsule was going to be difficult, but possibly rewarding.

Her face was disturbingly familiar. What was her name? She was Bakeeron, and an attractive one at that. Not that any of that mattered of course. Who was she? She was someone formidable. That was certain. The name, her name was there, at the edge of his mind, taunting him, waiting to be drug into the light.

T'Sula. T'Sula Mir. That was her name. That was the name of the enemy.

A small shelter rose above the roofline, silhouetted in the night sky. Straight metal sides and a slanted roof separated the designer from the builders of Olcai, with its flowing lines and graceful buildings. The door was slim, just wide enough for one to slip through. Inside, the shelter was clean and spartan, barely large enough for a full-grown human to stretch out in.

The Wraith closed the door and deactivated the stealth function of his suit. Annoying and troubling as it was, the suit had its benefits and needed to recharge. He needed to tend the wounds he had sustained in the brief fight. Two broken ribs and a fractured collarbone needed repaired before he could continue with his mission. He felt no pain, at least not anymore. The masters had seen to that. Pain could end the mission, and that was unacceptable. No matter the cost, the mission had to proceed.

Slowly, he peeled off the valuable suit, and laid it on the floor beside the wall. It felt good to be rid of the infernal machine, at least until it was needed again. In the far corner sat a small reptile, curled against itself in an effort to stay warm in the night. He reached over and gently stroked the spine of the small creature.

"Wake up. You are needed." He watched the little creature raise its head and blink its eyes. A forked tongue snaked out from between two long fangs. The creature stood and stretched its short legs before it reached out and sank its fangs deep into the outstretched arm of its master, then curled up and went back to sleep.

Feeling the healing power of the venom course through his body, the Wraith massaged the small bite on his arm and sank back against the wall, waiting for the broken bones to knit together. Sleep came quickly, but not death. Never that most revered and blessed of events. It was not his duty to meet the gods, only to send others to that joyous reunion.

Blistering hot air rushed past his body, ripping at his clothes, threatening to rend him limb from limb. Excruciatingly bright light seared his eyes as he fell. The giant metal beast roared defiantly as it clawed higher into the sky, speeding away from him faster and faster.

The metal beast disappeared from sight a moment before the pain began. By rights the impact should have killed him. The will of the gods is always difficult to understand, much less predetermine. They had purpose for this undesirable wretch, and that was enough. Their will was now his mission.

Cold water burned his skin, followed by the pain of striking the hard lake bottom. The warmth of his blood seeped into the icy water. Ice filled his burning lunges as he slowly floated to the surface. Dark, misshapen faces welcomed him wordlessly. They said nothing, but merely pulled him from the lake, and breathed life and purpose back into his broken body and torn soul.

The first days were difficult, with his body mending. Bones knitted easily when broken, but when shattered they took more time. His saviors, his gods, these Ta'Reeth masters, removed from him the barrier of pain. Pain could no longer rule him, but it would remind him of its presence when needed. Pain was not a master, but a trusted friend.

Repairing the soul required more than simply fixing a broken toy. Simply remove the weaknesses and you make a stronger unit. He no longer had a need for the weaknesses that others possessed. The masters had tested him, and he had succeeded, and success had been sweet.

A thin smile crept across his cracked lips as the memories came to him. The invasion had just begun. Misshapen black Ta'Reeth fighters streaked across the sky. Globs of molten green fire rained down upon the unprotected village. His heart pounded as he raced into his home. Benalla had left the back entrance open. Stupid woman. She had always been too trusting.

Smoke began to curl up the walls. Flames licked the furniture and artwork near a gaping hole in the floor. The heat was stifling, oppressive. He could hear the baby coughing as she started to cry.

"Nom?" Benalla yelled what had once been his name. "Where are you? I need you. Mekala needs you." she began to cry. "Help us."

Smoke stung his eyes and burned at his nostrils. "I'm here. Follow my voice." he called, reassuring his wife. He could hear her coughing as she stumbled toward him.

"Thank the gods you're alive." Benalla cried, wrapping one arm around him, the other clutching her child. "I was worried about you. I came back in looking for you."

"It's alright. You don't need to worry anymore." he soothed her, stroking her hair. "I've found a way out of here."

"That's wonderful. Mekala will finally be safe." she smiled. A tear rolled down her soot stained cheek.

"Of course she will." he lied. As she leaned against him in love and trust, he drove his hunting knife repeatedly into her heart. Her dead eyes accused him of the ultimate betrayal as she fell lifeless to the burning floor. Without shedding a tear, or listening to the screams of his infant daughter, he walked out of the burning house and toward his glorious fate. He had a starship to catch.

Chapter 16

Redemption's corridors were filled with crewmembers hustling to and from the various stations throughout the ship. Major Narja walked quickly, dodging machinery, and repair drones along the way. An air of urgency flooded through the ship like a narcotic coursing through an addict's veins.

Time seemed to be in short supply lately. Terrorists on the planet below, problems with repairs to the ship, and who knew what else was going to happen, all with Redemption caught in the middle. Her crew was strong, but they were tired. The Battle of Bakesh had been brutal. Hundreds of his marines were dead. Redemption had fared no better.

The summons had come by normal channels. Narja had been tending to his duties, tending to the needs of his marines.

The turbo lift quickly took Major Narja to the bridge. A handful of officers were at their stations, monitoring every aspect of operations on board the mighty ship. A Caldonian pilot sat at her station, her leathery hands placed on the cold silver console before her. The silvery metal glistened in the light as it worked its way up her arms to the elbow. Next to the Caldonian sat a large Malgar. His massive body dwarfed the navigators console in front of him. The dull gray of his skin contrasted the tan leather of the pilot's. A human weapons officer sat near the Captain's chair, monitoring the progress of the repairs to the defensive systems.

"Major, the Captain is waiting for you." Angel appeared in front of Narja. She wore a hard expression on her slender face. "You may enter."

"Thank you Angel." Major Narja told the hologram as he placed his hand on the pressure plate to announce himself, and open the door to the Captain's ready room.

Narja entered quickly, and saluted. "Major Narja reporting as ordered Sir."

"Major, please have a seat." Captain McWilliams stood, returned the salute, and motioned toward a chair. "We need to advance our plans for Olcai. I don't think that we have much time left."

"Sir?" Narja looked at his Captain as he sat down in the plush, leather chair.

Jason sat behind his desk, and drummed his fingers on the polished wood. "Angel found something in the debris field. We believe that it is a Ta'Reeth satellite. Unfortunately we don't know what it's doing, but whatever it is, it can't be good."

A moment passed as Narja thought about the Ta'Reeth, and the destruction that inevitably followed in their wake. Entire worlds had been laid to waste. Whole populations were slaughtered or enslaved at the whim of the invaders. No one was safe from the terror of the Ta'Reeth. His own family had tried to fight them, but to no avail. They had simply sent wave upon wave of genetically engineered warriors against the meager defenses of the Caldonian outpost, until nothing was left. His Mother had managed to place her baby in a small escape pod, and send it floating away with the wreckage of the space station, only for it to be picked up by a slave trader in the Malgari system.

Hatred flowed into Narja's eyes. "When do you want the marines ready Sir?"

"Two hours." Captain McWilliams looked at Narja. "I want your men ready to do whatever it takes to defend those people."

"Yes Sir." Steel entered the Major's voice. "We will be sir. You have my word on it."

"That's good enough for me Narja. You have a lot to do. Dismissed." Jason stood, and saluted. Major Narja returned the salute, and quickly left the ready room.

His mind swam with implications of his actions to come. He made a list of things to be done, and in what order to do them, before he even left the bridge. His marines were going to be tested again. Their metal would be placed in the fire of battle once more to defend a people that could not do so for themselves. Men and women of different races were going to die together, not knowing or caring about the difference in their heritage. Caldonians were going to die for humans, and bakeerons were going to give their lives defending malgars. In battle the color of one's skin does not matter, only the bonds of brotherhood, and the cause for which one lays down his life.

The turbo lift sped through the ship. Inside, Narja accessed his personal com link. "All marine officers report to the briefing room." he ordered as the doors of the turbo lift released him into the corridor. Aside from a few repair drones, the corridor was virtually empty. Narja wasted no time as he walked to the briefing room.

"Attention!" one of his Lieutenants yelled as the Major walked into the room.

"As you were." Major Narja ordered, and waited for the other officers to sit back in their seats before he continued. He quickly walked to the front of the room, and activated the holo-projector.

"Gentlemen, you all know that something is happening on the planet below." Narja scrolled through the files in his database. "You may not know exactly what is happening, but rest assured that it is serious." He paused long enough to look each of the officers in their eyes. "It is serious enough that Captain McWilliams wants us to be ready to land in two hours."

Narja found the file he had been looking for, and activated it. A hologram of Olcai filled the space over the table that dominated the center of the room. "Here is what we are going to do." Narja said as he outlined his plan.

Chapter 17

Lieutenant Valche's body lay on a hastily assembled white table in the Commissioner's office. The Lieutenant's head lay at an unnatural position. An Olcai medical technician examined the body, taking careful note of the smallest details.

"The neck was broken, severing the spinal cord, just below the skull. Death was instant, causing the victim no pain." the technician paused before looking at the Commissioner. "There is an unusual radiation here. It is very faint, but it is here none the less."

"What do you mean 'unusual radiation'?" Commissioner Valche asked, moving around T'Sula.

"My instruments are picking up an ambient radiation that should not be here." the technician took the pad that it had used, and started moving around the room. It paused in front of T'Sula. "Commander, it seems that the radiation is coming from you. To be more specific, it's coming from your hand."

"My hand?" T'Sula blinked and looked at the red spot on the back of her hand.

"The server at the restaurant." Kamira blurted out. Her eyes went wide at the thought of the implications. The bombing of the restaurant, all of the deaths that had come since, and the invisible killer that had taken the Lieutenant all of it could have been avoided, and lives could have been saved.

"What are you talking about Kam?" T'Sula asked, rubbing the back of her hand.

"T'Sula, you have what they want." Kamira stepped forward and took T'Sula's hand in hers. "Think about it. Just after the server put this mark on you, the restaurant that you ordered from was bombed. There has to be a connection." she sighed. "That thing was looking for you."

"Oh boy. Well, let's see if you're right Kam." T'Sula freed herself from Kamira, and held out her hand to the med. tech. "Scan me."

"Yes ma'am." the technician slowly scanned T'Sula's hand. "Commander Mir, there's an artificial object imbedded in your hand. You wouldn't be able to see it without a scanner. The one that I have is barely registering the object." the tech looked at T'Sula. "I would suggest that we remove the object, and find out what it is. If we go to the medical station, we should be able to remove it for you."

"This is interesting." Commissioner Valche interjected. "Commander, I hope that you will cooperate with us." Valche looked sadly at T'Sula. "Whatever is in your hand, has wrought hell upon us, and I, for one, would like to know why."

The world seemed to weigh down upon T'Sula. The walls started to creep closer, driving out the breathable air. Her head swam as she thought about the possibilities of what she carried. Only something truly profound could cause this destruction and death. Why would anyone willingly cause this much pain? So much anguish over such a small thing.

T'Sula glanced around the room. The Olcai simply stared at her, their massive, dark eyes unblinking. What could they be thinking? Kamira sighed and looked away, not willing to hold her gaze. T'Sula looked at her hand, and walked out the door. She didn't utter a word, she simply left.

Twilight light washed over her, bathing her in the beauty of Olcai. Her heart raced as she walked purposefully through the streets. T'Sula watched the people around her, praying to herself that she was simply experiencing a horrible dream. Just the day before the streets had been bustling, crowded with eager tourists going from shop to shop, hoping to find the perfect souvenir. A few men and women of a dozen different races still clung to the streets, or possibly to the remnants of a shattered dream. Their faces were tight, hollow. They trudged out of one store front, and into another.

The day swiftly disappeared behind a thick blanket of starry night. T'Sula kept walking, searching for a sign that everything would be alright. A brisk breeze picked up, followed by a short, cold rain. T'Sula pulled her arms close to her chest, and continued on until she reached the edge of the city, and could walk no farther.

She faced a wall. It was short, only a couple of meters in height, and a smooth cream color that reminded her of the gentle spring mornings of her childhood. T'Sula reached for the top of the wall, letting the texture of it caress her skin before she hoisted herself up. Once atop the wall, she sat comfortably and dangled her feet over the far side.

The gentle scent of the ocean greeted her on the breeze. Tears welled up in her eyes. Memories washed gently over her, trying desperately to take her away to a different time and place. Faces of friends and family smiled in her mind's eye, and then faded away into the darkness that shrouded everything. She watched helplessly as the Ta'Reeth came into her home. She watched her mother and father struggling for their lives, then crumbling into the ashes of her home, and her innocence.

T'Sula wiped away her tears. She glanced down at her hand, and lightly rubbed the tiny red spot. It didn't hurt, not physically anyway. How many people had died, were dying, because of her? No, she chided herself. It wasn't her fault. She was responsible for the consequences of her own actions, not the actions of others.

Silently T'Sula cursed her limitations, her inability to cure the galaxy of its cancer as she stared out at the vast, open ocean. It was immense and powerful, and it was manufactured. The entire world of Olcai was an affront to her beliefs, but she had wanted to see it. The balance of nature was not possible in an artificial world. Out of balance, everything dies. Men, women, trees, even the planet itself suffers and eventually dies. Was it possible to kill a construction? When out of balance even a planet will grow a tumor, whether it loses its atmosphere or suffers from the 'greenhouse effect', it inevitably dies from its own form of cancer.

T'Sula sighed, steadying herself. Night passed into the early hours of morning before she moved. The way back to the Commissioner's office was quiet as the city began to wake, its denizens stirring to greet the day.

As she approached the office, she saw Kamira standing outside. Her cousin looked comfortable in her flowing robes. The light colors accented her dark hair. Kamira leaned against the wall, and watched T'Sula approach.

"I wondered when you'd come back." she pushed herself gently away from the wall to face T'Sula. "The Commissioner's worried. Anyway, everybody's inside."

"Yeah, I thought you'd be waiting for me." T'Sula paused. "Kam, why me? Why does it always happen to me?" she willed her cousin to look at her.

"I don't know T'Sula." Kamira stepped closer to her cousin. As she did, the years seemed to strip away, leaving the two women as young girls, best friends confiding their secrets in one another and no one else. "You have a strength that I don't have. You are the one that I always turned to when I needed help. Maybe it's destiny. Maybe it isn't. I don't know. I do think that the Olcai need us. They need you T'Sula. I think everyone does."

T'Sula looked at her best friend, bewildered for a brief moment, then realizing that Kamira was no longer a little girl, but a woman that had her own strengths and abilities. "Alright, let's get this over with." she sighed. "I'm tired Kam. I don't want to fight anymore. I'm sick of watching people die, and not being able to stop it."

"I couldn't agree more." Kamira replied as she opened the door for T'Sula.

"Let's find out what this thing is." T'Sula told Commissioner Valche as she walked through the door. "There's been too much death already. I want to finish this." silence swept through the office, as if death itself had paid a visit. No one uttered a word as the Olcai med tech stepped forward and ushered T'Sula and Kamira out the door.

Dawn broke over the cityscape, casting odd shadows over the small group as they walked to the medical station. The curfew was still in effect, so the streets were clear of any traffic. A light breeze tried to wash away the debris and horrors from the day before. Rubble was still strewn across the pavilion from the blast that had rocked the city. Blood stained the streets where the triage centers had been. The patients had long since been moved into a portable med station. All of the hospitals were now overflowing with wounded and traumatized patients.

The medical station dominated the park near the hotel. Large prefabricated walls supported the cloth roof. Sterilization field generators hummed loudly as the small group neared the makeshift hospital. The smells of blood, disinfectant, and urine dominated the sterilized air, and threatened to turn T'Sula's stomach. She watched nurses hurry from bed to bed, trying to ease the suffering of others. Her heart ached to help in any way that she could, but she stopped, knowing that the best thing that she could do was to find out why this had happened and bring those responsible to justice.

The medical technician led the others through the station, dodging doctors and nurses as they cared for the injured. As they walked, Kamira saw the malgar that she and T'Sula had helped. He lay on a reinforced bed, with intravenous feeds running to his massive arms, and monitors flashing readouts over his head. She grimaced at the thought that this man would have died if it had not been for her, and her cousin.

"If you will please wait in here for a moment, I will get the authorization to remove the object from your hand." the technician left T'Sula and Kamira in a small room filled with various medical instruments. An ample amount of light came from the overhead lamp, showing the room in sharp detail. Most of the instruments looked to be outdated, but still functional. It was a condition that would not have been tolerated on a starship.

"So, tell me more about this husband of yours." T'Sula smiled. "I want to know all about him."

"Well, he's interesting, and a little stubborn." Kamira chuckled, shaking her head. "You know, you do have a way of distracting me when I need it most. Thank you."

"Seriously, I want to know." T'Sula's smile reached her eyes. "Besides, it is a good distraction."

"He's kind of complicated." Kamira said just before the technician opened the door.

"Commanders, this is Doctor Nadich. The doctor has agreed to do the operation for you." it entered and closed the door behind them.

Without saying a word, Dr. Nadich started arranging various instruments on the table. The small Olcai took a small, clear patch out of one of the drawers, and placed it over the red spot on the back of T'Sula's hand. A moment later, her hand was numb and the doctor started to work.

Dr. Nadich quickly extracted the tiny object, and placed it in a self-sealing dish before handing it to T'Sula. The dish was small, and its circular shape fit comfortably in T'Sula's hand. The Doctor left the room without saying a word, leaving T'Sula and Kamira standing alone with the technician.

"Not much for bedside manner, huh?" T'Sula remarked.

"Dr. Nadich felt that being here was wasting valuable time that could be better spent healing the injured." the technician replied before leading the women out of the medical station.

Chapter 18

Time almost stood still, framing the moment that the Masters would arrive. Daylight broke silently over Olcai and wrapped itself around the Wraith. He stood alone atop the city, hidden in plain sight. The message he had sent had been brief and simple. 'It is here.' was all he needed to say. The Masters would take care of the rest.

A cold smile crossed his pale lips. It was time now. No tears filled his eyes, nor feeling enter his heart. It was time to bring retribution to T'Sula Mir. How fortunate could he be? She, the bringer of hope was now within his grasp. The Masters had finally granted him vengeance.

A light breeze brought the scent of the people, a people ripe for the picking. The Wraith's smile turned to a sneer as he turned and headed for the lower levels of the city. Time was short, and he had much to do. The Bakeeron would pay for her treachery. She would pay dearly.

People from around the galaxy chased away the fog of sleep in the city streets far below. Restaurants opened their doors for business, and coffee shops lured in waking patrons with intoxicating aromas as the light of day crested over the tranquil oceans. There was a silent voice among the people. No sound was needed to speak of the lingering fear of another attack.

The Wraith watched intently while he scaled down the side of the skyscraper. There was a sweet taste of terror in the air. It was almost as if these pathetic creatures knew that something was happening. Yet there was nothing that could stop what was coming. No force, real or believed in, had the mite to stop his Ta'Reeth masters.

He breathed deep, as he mingled among those insignificant beings. The scent of their fear was a pungent, intoxicating aroma to be savored. He reveled in the fact that soon these people were going to die.

The Wraith slipped silently between the people of the crowded streets. Soon he found a young Caldonian man. He was young and strong, undoubtedly thinking of himself as a warrior. In the space of a few breaths, the Caldonian found himself lying on his back, suffocating, with his throat crushed.

It was too easy. These pathetic people deserved to die, and the more excruciatingly the better.

Chapter 19

Near the edge of the Olcai debris field, a small black satellite hung motionless in space. The remnants of a once proud planet danced around it, helping it fade into space like a speck of dust floating in a dark room. It had been waiting for its signal to come, its chance to do its duty so that it could return to the Gods. Finally, the signal did arrive and the blessed moment would come soon, the moment when it would die, but only after it had transmitted whatever information had been sent its way. The data package had been small, almost insignificant, but that did not matter. The small satellite had done its job, and soon its masters would release it to be with the Gods. That was simply the way of things, and it desperately wanted that blessed release.

Time nearly stood still in Olcai space. Redemption stood as a solitary sentry orbiting the artificial planet. Space extended from that point, to all directions with nothing in the way, except for the debris field. Outside the debris field, several large flashes of light burst from the depths of space, leaving an armada of Ta'Reeth war ships. Moments after the ships arrived, a tiny explosion of bone and flesh signaled the end of the small satellite.

Specks of darkness flashed around the mammoth ships. Gnarled and twisted arms curled out of the hulls of the ships, wrapping around each other and the hulls. Fighters tore away from the hulls then launched into space. A perimeter of fighters swarmed each ship, and then the armada, as the invaders set course for Olcai.

Larger craft broke away from the hulls of the mammoth ships, and sped toward the planet. Great spiraling clouds of blood flowed away from the ships as the landing craft broke free. A thin skin quickly covered the wound as the ships started to grow more landing craft in the place of the old ones. As fighters sped into space, more were grown to replace the old ones. The smaller ships grew quickly, and the process repeated itself until the space surrounding the Ta'Reeth armada was filled with fighters, and the sky over Olcai was covered in landing craft.

Contrails filled the sky over Olcai. Heavy weapons platforms erupted with barrages of laser cannon fire, exploding the ships that they came in contact with. Ta'Reeth gunners responded with plasma cannons belching fire, and decimating the planetary defenses. The landers broke through the planetary defenses, and streaked toward the floating cities below. Each lander carried two dozen soldiers, intent on nothing more than carrying out their Master's orders.

"Red alert! All crewmembers man your battle stations!" the Captain's voice thundered over the intercom. "This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill." Redemption's crew scrambled through the ship, dodging each other with practiced grace. As the crew ran to their stations, reinforced bulkheads dropped into place, compartmentalizing and sealing each section.

Captain McWilliams stepped out of his ready room, and onto the bridge. He strode over to the Captain's chair, and sat down. "Status report." he said as a compartment opened in the side of his chair. Silently, a helmet with an onyx black visor lifted to his side.

"Captain, we are not combat ready." Angel told her Captain as she appeared at his side. Her jumpsuit had been replaced with formfitting, gray and black urban camouflage.

"Angel, keep the repairs going, but we have problems." Captain McWilliams placed the helmet on his head.

The bridge hummed with activity as the crewmembers powered up their stations, and readied for battle.

"Major Narja, our plans have been changed a little." Captain McWilliams spoke into his com unit. "We need to gain cooperation from the planetary defenses. Without them, we're dead in space."

"Understood Sir." the reply came quickly through the com. Both the Major and the Captain knew that they would most likely never see each other alive again.

"Major, you may launch when ready." Jason checked over his ship's status reports, not at all liking what he saw. His weapons, shields, and engines were in no condition for a fight of this magnitude. They would be lucky to live through this.

"Captain, we are beginning the launch sequence now." Major Narja's voice came through the intercom.

"Angel, launch all fighters. I want them to form a perimeter around the ship." the Captain ordered.

Redemption responded to the threat as well as she could. Fighters streamed out of the hanger bays, followed by the blunt, boxy landing crafts. The fighters formed a defensive perimeter, as the Marines headed for the planet. The space around Redemption came alive with ships crisscrossing within the perimeter, anticipating an attack.

Ovoid in shape, and flat on top and bottom, like a flattened teardrop, the fighters were excellent in space as well as in the atmosphere. Veteran pilots manned the sleek fighters. The shields, weapons and engines melded together with the pilots through the Cognizance Helmets, linking pilot to ship at the speed of thought. Manual controls provided a reliable backup, but were hardly used.

Chapter 20

T'Sula watched in horror as the sky darkened with Ta'Reeth landing crafts. Each craft looked slightly different, though all were blocky, and ungainly, but effective none the less. The ships hurled toward the cities, not slowing before they crashed into the pristine surfaces.

The city shook under the devastating impact of the landers. As the ships slammed to the ground, they burst open, each releasing dozens of hulking Ta'Reeth soldiers upon the defenseless people. The Ta'Reeth were double the size of a man, with a mottled dark gray and black exoskeleton for armor. Bone spikes protruded at the knees, elbows, shoulders, and shins. Four large, black eyes sat equidistant around the crown of the head. Two narrow slits that served as a nose were in the center of their faces, above the vacant space where the mouth should have been. Each one carried a plasma cannon in its right hand, ready to dispense excruciating death at a moment's notice.

"Run!" T'Sula yelled to the crowd of people that stood and watched as if transfixed by the sheer power being displayed.

Buildings swayed, the ground rippled, and the ocean exploded into a cloud of blue haze. "T'Sula, we need to get to the Commissioner. Valche can help..." Kamira started before being knocked flat on her back by a massive explosion that did its best to level the city.

"That was no lander." T'Sula looked around as she climbed to her feet. She couldn't help but smirk as she watched Ta'Reeth soldiers struggle to pick themselves up from the trembling ground. "You're right Kam. We need to get to the Commissioner now."

Buildings crumbled from the impact of plasma cannon fire, and crashing landers as the women raced toward the city center. Time seemed to slow as they ran. Life almost stood still for T'Sula. In her pocket she carried a secret that she herself did not know. She only possessed the knowledge that what she had was of tremendous value to the Ta'Reeth, the probable reason for the invasion, and she could not allow them to have it. It was war, and even the price of her life was insignificant compared to the freedom that the galaxy might someday obtain.

The city suddenly lurched to one side, throwing T'Sula and Kamira sprawling. "What was that?" T'Sula asked, picking herself up off the ground.

"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that that huge explosion damaged the planet's superstructure." Kamira replied, dusting herself off.

A burst from a plasma cannon ripped through the air, just above their heads, and slammed into a building, showering red hot rubble into the street. Smoke billowed from the gaping hole that was left in the side of the building. Kamira sidestepped, barely avoiding a smoldering stone that would have neatly removed her left leg. T'Sula was not so lucky. She screamed as a superheated shard of metal pierced her right shoulder, dropping her to her knees. The jagged shard buried its point deep in her shoulder, and stuck out the back. Blood and flesh sizzled against the burning metal.

"T'Sula!" Kamira screamed, reaching for her cousin. She helped T'Sula to her feet an instant before a ball of plasma impacted where T'Sula had been kneeling. "Can you run?" Kamira asked.

"Yeah. Just keep this away from the Ta'Reeth." T'Sula grimaced, handing Kamira the tiny object that had been removed from her hand. "Don't let me slow you down. If I fall behind, keep running and don't look back."

"Fine." Kamira scowled. "Run." she shoved T'Sula forward. "I won't look back. I'll be right behind you, now go!" tears streamed down her face. She watched T'Sula for a split second, and then quickly followed. Debris and bodies littered the streets. Massive cracks formed across the roadways, blocking the route to the city center.

T'Sula skidded to a stop at the edge of massive crack in the street. "We can't cross this Kam." she shook her head. The crevasse starred back, daring anyone to try to cross it. "If it's this bad on the surface, it has to be worse below."

"Probably, but there shouldn't be any Ta'Reeth down there." Kamira peered into the crevasse. Broken pipes hissed and popped, releasing steam into the air. Severed cables crackled with electricity, leaving scorch marks on the cracked and crumbling walls. Pieces of rubble fell into the crevasse. "That's a long a way down."

People of all of the different races ran in confusion while the Ta'Reeth killed at will. Handheld plasma cannons incinerated their targets. A Caldonian burst into flames as she ran screaming past T'Sula, and plummeted into the depths of the crevasse. Air traffic had been light, but what there was now crashed to the chaotic city streets.

"We need to get off the street. Come on." Kamira took T'Sula by the hand and led her into a nearby building. Dim light shone through the open doorway, revealing the remnants of a middle class hotel. A large wooden desk covered in dust and debris, sat at the far end of the foyer. Comfortable looking chairs surrounded a cluttered table that was nearly knee height.

"Oh Gods!" T'Sula exclaimed, collapsing against the desk. Blood ran freely down her back and right arm.

"Stay put for a second. I'll try to find a first aid kit." Kamira quickly circled to the other side of the desk. She swept books and tablets to the floor in her hasty search, before she found a first aid kit buried at the back of a drawer. "Got one." she quickly set the first aid kit on the desk, and opened it. Inside was the normal array of items. Anesthetics, various pills, spray bandages, and antiseptics filled the kit.

"T'Sula, this is going to hurt. I'm sorry." Kamira walked around the desk to her cousin. She took out one of the anesthetic hyper sprays, and pressed it against T'Sula's wounded shoulder, releasing the powerful painkillers into her system. After a brief moment, Kamira grabbed the shard of metal, and pulled it out of T'Sula's shoulder. The shard was covered in blood, and bits of flesh clung to the tiny barbs that ran along its half meter length. Kamira then washed the wound out with an antiseptic.

"Ahh!" T'Sula screamed, collapsing to the floor. Blood pooled by her side. Kamira quickly sprayed a thick bandage over T'Sula's shoulder, and helped her to her feet. She then placed the bottle of spray bandage in the folds of her robes.

"Take two of these; they'll help you with the pain, and loss of blood." Kamira gave her cousin a couple of pills, and pulled her towards a door at the rear of the foyer. T'Sula popped the pills into her mouth, chewed them, and swallowed them without saying a word.

The hallway beyond the foyer held little interest for the women as they quickly passed through it. Only the air car that they could see through the open doorway at the end of the hall held their attention. It looked small, but large enough to hold two people. From a distance the little red car seemed to be in good repair, but as with anything else, appearances could be deceiving.

A loud crash echoed through the hall as the women reached the far end. The sound of a heavy wooden object splintering against a wall reached their ears a moment before a ball of hot plasma destroyed the wall next to them. T'Sula grabbed Kamira and threw her into the air car, then flung herself into the car beside her.

"I hope you can hotwire this thing." T'Sula mumbled, pulling herself upright.

"I'm already on it." Kamira replied, pulling a fistful of wires out from under the dash. She tore open a couple of wires, and twisted them together. A moment later the car was off the ground, and racing out the open garage door, and into the daylight.

Ta'Reeth landers were still streaking through the atmosphere, and crashing to the surface. No other air cars could be seen. Once they reached altitude, Kamira steered for the city center, and the Commissioner's office.

"How's your shoulder holding up?" Kamira asked.

"Could be better." T'Sula forced a smile. "Some vacation, huh?" she looked over the side of the car at the ground below. People were dying by the thousands, and not for any discernable reason. Ta'Reeth soldiers took lives at will, as if life were something to be thrown away recklessly. It was as if life was a meaningless, trivial item that could be easily replaced. A tear rolled down her bloodstained cheek. Her mind raced back to her childhood, and the last time that she had seen her parents alive. It was her fourth birthday. Her mother had fixed her favorite dinner of fruit salad in a sweet cream. Father had just returned home from work, and wished her a happy birthday, when the Ta'Reeth came. There had been no warning. One moment they were eating dinner, and the next, her parents were dead. They had barely had time to hide T'Sula before the Ta'Reeth burst through the door.

"I can see the city center." Kamira spoke up, interrupting T'Sula's thoughts. "Oh no." smoke curled out from beneath the air car. "Come on you piece of junk!" she yelled as the car quickly lost altitude, and crashed into the street below.

Chapter 21

Major Narja secured the restraints that held him in place. The lander bucked slightly as it left the hanger bay, and entered the cold vacuum of space. He quietly ran a second diagnostic on his armor. All of the carefully laid plans had been discarded as soon as the Ta'Reeth had arrived, but that was life. All battle plans are ruined when the fighting starts, so why should this be any different?

The lander was basically a large armored box with engines. Thick ablative armor offered protection from the cold depths of space. Electromagnetic shielding protected the hull from quite a bit of the punishment that inevitably accompanies an assault landing. The crew consisted of a pilot, copilot, and crew chief. During combat operations, the crew chief doubled as a gunner, laying down suppression fire with the landers' heavy cannons.

Each lander carried a platoon of forty heavily armored marines. With four platoons per company, and six companies to a battalion, Redemptions' Marines made for a small invasion force. Well trained, and properly equipped, the Marines valiantly fought to balance their lack of numbers with skill, and bravery.

The Marines all took special pride in their armor. Most armors were decorated according to the Marine that used it. The humans liked to name their armor, as if it would give it life, or protect them from serious harm. Names like 'Death Machine,' or 'Frag Killer' were popular. The Bakeerons seemed to prefer to paint natural murals on their suits of armor. Many of them had chosen murals of lightning flashing over a windswept valley, with fearsome rock formations towering on either side. Even the Caldonians painted their armor. The Lava Fields of Caldon were quite popular. Even Major Narja painted his, except he preferred a simple gray and black camouflage pattern, which allowed him to blend into most environments.

As the landers glided through space, the battle for Olcai raged around them. Fighters whipped around each other like angry insects trying to kill one another. The Ta'Reeth fighters sliced through space, like shards of razor sharp bone exploding from a crushed skull. Green plasma streaked through space, and slammed into the shields of a nearby fighter. The shields sparked, and started to sizzle as the plasma clung to it, draining its power. With the shields gone, the fighter was helpless when the Ta'Reeth fighters came in for the kill.

"Hold on. Things are going to get a little rough." the pilot's voice crackled over the intercom. The lander shuddered under the impact of plasma cannons. Marines held on to the restraints holding them in place. "Seal your suits. We're going to have a hull breach in about ten seconds!" panic never entered the pilot's voice as the lander raced through space, and into the upper atmosphere of Olcai.

The lander shook horribly, then a section of the hull ripped open, taking two Marines with it into the atmosphere. "Major, I can't hold this ship in trim. We need to affect an emergency evacuation." the pilot told Major Narja through his personal com channel. His voice shook with the strain of flying the wounded lander.

"Marines, we are effecting an emergency evaluation. You know your mission. Carry out your assignments." Narja ordered just before the hull opened, and sucked the marines into the cold air. Tiny explosives removed the restraints from the rest of the harnesses, allowing the Marines to gain control of their descent.

Thrusters fired, slowing Narja's fall. He stayed upright due to the gyros in his armor. The sky around him filled with smoke as a Ta'Reeth lander plummeted past him. Narja aimed his descent at the nearest Ta'Reeth lander, and accelerated toward the ungainly craft. Two seconds passed before he slammed into the roof of the alien ship. He quickly retrieved his weapon from its storage position on his armor.

Narja took pride in his weapons. This particular one was his own design. It was a fully automatic, belt fed, miniature railgun, firing nine hundred rounds per minute. Each projectile housed a small, but effective high explosive. Not that the explosive was needed in the hypersonic projectiles. Careful to keep his balance, Narja fired a three round burst into the hull. Bone fragments exploded into the air, followed by a stream of hot, red blood. He reached to the compartment located at the small of his back, and removed an anti-armor mine. Narja secured his weapon before he set the delay on the mine for five seconds, jammed the mine into the oozing wound, and leapt toward the nearest Ta'Reeth lander.

As Narja flew through the air, the mine exploded, sending shards of blistering hot metal ripping through the lander, and everything inside the tiny ship was quickly torn to pieces. The next ship came quickly, almost making him miss his target. As it was, the impact knocked his breath from his chest, and caused stars to float before his eyes. Narja forced himself to climb to the top of the hull.

Once on top, Narja fired another three round burst into the hull, and prepared to set another mine. The lander bucked wildly, almost throwing him over the side, sending the mine hurling into the air. Narja grasped the edge of the hole that he had just blasted into the hull, stopping himself a split second before he tumbled into thin air. With his free hand he secured his weapon, then grabbed the edge with both hands, and started to pull himself up. Still bucking, the lander tried violently to throw him off. Narja took a hand away from his handhold long enough to prepare and set another mine. Once the mine was in place, he let go of the ship, and fell through the air.

The blast ripped the lander to shreds, and sent a small shockwave towards Narja. He braced himself for impact, and was sent tumbling through the sky. Freefall did not last long. Narja quickly righted himself, aimed for another lander, and ignited his thrusters. The distance closed rapidly, barely allowing Narja enough time to think.

He alighted on top of the speeding lander, and quickly fired a three round burst into the armored skin of the alien ship. Instead of immediately placing a mine in the wound, Narja broke off a large piece of bone. He then reached behind his head, and placed the fragment in his suit's Matter Reclamation Unit. The unit closed quickly, and tore the bone down to the molecular level. MRU's had become standard issue on battle armor. They broke down any suitable matter, and reformed it into what was needed. As long as the computer had the proper specifications, anything could be manufactured in a short time.

Narja needed fuel. His thrusters were nearly depleted, and the planet was approaching fast. With the fuel being made by the MRU, Narja prepared to set another mine. The gloves of his armor were covered in thick Ta'Reeth blood. The mine slipped in his fingers, nearly falling over the side of the ship. He caught the mine, and forced it into the wounded hull.

A moment later, the mine exploded. Narja fell over the edge, and into blackness as unconsciousness claimed him.

Chapter 22

Captain Jason McWilliams paced the bridge, if only in his mind. Ta'Reeth warships filled the Olcai system, leaving his ship and his crew with no route for escape. Not that escape had entered his mind. His wife, his chief engineer was trapped on the planet below, and had not been in contact since before the bombing.

"Captain, the fighters are losing ground." Angel appeared in front of the Captain's chair. "What are your orders sir?"

"Angel, what is our status?" Captain McWilliams asked without looking up from his holographic display.

"Captain we are ready to engage the enemy. The last of the repairs were completed two minutes ago." Angel scowled. "Sir there has been no contact from the landers."

"Why was I not informed immediately about the repairs?" Jason scowled.

"Captain, I am not certain. However this is probably not the time to address the issue." Angel paused, uncertain how to proceed.

"You're right Angel. This isn't the time." Jason sighed. "Show me the fighters."

Angel disappeared, and was replaced by a view of the surrounding space. Redemption hung motionless, her sculpted hull surrounded by a swarm of fighters, both her own and Ta'Reeth. Between the planet and the debris field sat an armada of Ta'Reeth warships, ranging in size from a light cruiser, to the heavy battleships. Each one looked slightly different from the next, but all were dark and organic with no smooth lines, but jagged black bone protruding from every direction.

Jason studied the hologram intently. The Ta'Reeth capital ships had not moved since entering the system. They simply held position in space, as if waiting for something.

"Angel, show me the activity on the planet." Jason ran his hand across his face. "Why aren't those ships moving into position to engage us?"

The hologram disappeared then refocused into a picture of Olcai. Ta'Reeth landers rained down upon the surface of the planet like hailstones. A few Resistance landers came into view. Every one showed heavy battle damage, as the valiant crews fought to land the wounded ships. One lander streaked by, expelling armored marines into the atmosphere moments before the ship itself exploded.

"My god. That's too many landers for such a small planet." Jason's brow furrowed. "This isn't right."

"Captain, according to my calculations, the Ta'Reeth have launched enough landers to conquer seven planets with the population of Olcai. I do believe that this is called 'overkill' sir." Angel's voice came from nowhere.

"Open fire on the landers!" Jason ordered. The weapon's officer answered with an immediate salvo from all of Redemptions particle cannons. Iron particles erupted from the cannons at the speed of light, obliterating the forty Ta'Reeth landers that were targeted.

"Keep firing!" Jason commanded as Angel reappeared next to him.

"Captain, would you care to explain?" she quietly asked.

"Angel, that armada is linked to the terrorist attack. All of those ships are waiting for whatever the terrorists are after, and those landers are headed to the surface to ensure that they get what they want." Jason sat back in his chair, and put his helmet on. "Why didn't I see it before?"

Redemption continued to fire on the landers, with an occasional fighter thrown into the mix.

"Captain, the Ta'Reeth capital ships are moving into position to engage us." Angel informed her commanding officer.

"I hate it when I'm right." Jason muttered. "Weapon's Officer, target the largest Ta'Reeth ship with all heavy weapons. Open fire the moment that they are within firing range."

"Yes sir." the officer replied. Particle beam emitters shifted to track the Ta'Reeth battleship. Heavy railguns moved into position to fire the four hundred kilogram high explosives into the armored targets on the far side of the planet.

"Continue to fire on the landers. When those are gone, help out our fighters." Captain McWilliams pulled down the onyx visor in his helmet, and was rewarded with instant access to every system onboard his ship.

"Pilot, you had better be at your best, or we are all dead." a grim smile crept across Jason's face. "It's time to make these bastards pay." Angel grimaced at the thought of what her Captain had in mind. "Make directly for the Ta'Reeth flagship. Best speed."

Redemption quickly picked up velocity. She left her fighters behind, swooping and diving at Ta'Reeth ships, stabbing them with particle cannons and automatic railguns. Her pilot maneuvered the massive ship like a fighter, weaving in and out of a dogfight.

The distance closed quickly, and Redemption opened fire on the lead Ta'Reeth ship. Each of her forty particle cannons tore into the hull of the enemy ship at a hundred rounds per minute. The particle beams fired at a slower cyclic rate, but left great furrows in the enemy hull. Twenty of her heavy railguns fired a devastating four hundred kilogram high explosive into the Ta'Reeth battleship once a second.

The entire Ta'Reeth armada raked Redemption with heavy weapons fire. Plasma cannons ripped away her shields, and tore smoldering holes in her hull as she passed through the thick of the armada. Redemption shuddered under the impact of multiple hits from plasma cannons. The green plasma clung to the remnants of the invisible shields as they flickered, and died.

"Release the repair drones." Jason ordered as he checked the status of his ship. "Angel, have they launched any more landers?"

"No sir, but you have managed to attract all of their attention." Angel flickered into focus next to the Captain's chair. "Sir, we are affecting emergency repairs. It would be in our best interest to stay out of weapons range for the moment Captain."

"Let's keep their attention on us. I just hope that we can buy enough time." Jason said through clenched teeth.

The Ta'Reeth ships broke formation, keeping the flagship at the center, and the cruisers racing to surround Redemption. Charred bone trailed in their wake as they sped away from the massive battleship. The cruisers engulfed Redemption, covering her fore and aft, top and bottom.

"Evasive action!" Jason's knuckles turned white as he gripped the arm rests of his chair. "Angel, recall the fighters. Helm, get us into the debris field as soon as the fighters are aboard."

"Yes sir." came the taught reply.

Excruciating minutes passed as Redemption recalled her fighters. "Sir, the fighters are aboard." Angel flickered next to the Captain's chair.

Redemption twisted and bucked, avoiding as many plasma cannon blasts as she could. Running the gauntlet again, she broke through the sphere of Ta'Reeth ships. Her weapons belched waves of destruction as she went, crippling the enemies closest to her.

Time and space seemed to freeze as the Ta'Reeth vessels turned and gave pursuit. Redemption sped toward the Olcaina Debris Field, firing at her pursuers as she went. Continent sized chunks of rock and frozen soil drifted lazily about as Redemption came to a stop behind a rock the size of a large city.

Long, strenuous moments stretched and faded into memory. Nothing happened. Jason checked his sensors, a puzzled look on his face. No pursuit followed, not even a stray fighter.

"Angel, redirect the repair drones to the most critical areas." Jason scratched his chin lightly. "Get me Commander Sanchez. I'll meet him in the briefing room in ten minutes."

"Yes sir." Angel replied.

"Angel?" Jason asked a thousand questions with his eyes, never letting them touch his lips.

"Yes Captain?" her reply was almost instant.

"What is it that they're after on the surface?" he asked, not entirely certain that he wanted to know the answer.

"From what I have deduced, they want information sir." Angel replied. "Or at least whatever is carrying that information."

"Explain." Jason ordered as he stepped into the lift. The doors closed silently behind him, and then the lift whisked him away into the depths of the ship.

"Sir, when I was investigating the terrorist attack, I found something." Angel appeared beside the Captain. "There was a distinct radiation signal near the explosion. The signal has been erratic in its movements, but the Ta'Reeth seem to be following it."

"So, if we can mimic the radiation signature, we might be able to draw them off." Jason closed his eyes in thought. "Angel, launch a dozen repair drones into the debris field. I want them programmed to build automated heavy railguns on the debris."

"Wouldn't we have to mask the other signature?" Angel asked her Captain.

"No, I don't think so." Jason paused. "I just want to confuse them, and get them to come after us instead of Olcai." a faint gleam entered his eyes. The beginnings of a better battle plan started to take shape.

"Captain, the repair drones have been launched." the A.I. reported. "What do you want me to do with the fake radiation signature?"

"Let it run loose on the ship, just like it's doing planet side." Jason smiled slightly at the thought of confusing his enemies, and then stepped into the briefing room.

"Alright Javier, this is what I'm thinking for your fighters." Captain McWilliams began. "Let's even the odds."

Chapter 23

Lieutenant Wesley Martin watched as Redemption sped away toward the Ta'Reeth armada. A brief second was all he could spare before the frags were on him again. His fighter was one of the few that remained fully functional. The numbers had never been in their favor, but courage, skill, and tenacity often countered mere numbers. Most of the fighters had sustained significant damage and were dropping like flies to the voracious attacks from the Ta'Reeth.

Two of the coal black shards of bone that were the Ta'Reeth fighters vectored in on his tail. White hot balls of plasma erupted from the dual cannons grown into the stub wings on the sides of the alien fighters. Wesley swooped down and away, barely avoiding the deadly plasma. The two frags followed, with plasma cannons peppering the space behind Wesley's fighter.

"Wind three; this is Wind two, come in Wind three." Wesley sent over the wing's frequency. He never actually spoke or moved during flight. Every action was simply a thought, with no time wasting movements required. The pilot simply had to lie down on the fighter, and the hull sealed over the top of them, like a liquid metal, then hardened until it was time to open again. It protected them, and provided life support while being lightweight and durable.

Wind three disappeared in a mass of green plasma.

Lieutenant Martin saw an opening. He immediately dropped velocity, and fell behind the trailing Ta'Reeth fighters. Peppering one with his railguns until it erupted into a storm of flesh. He lost track of the other, which ultimately cost him his life. Less than a second after killing the frag, its wing mate ruptured Wesley's hull, and exposed his body to the merciless vacuum of space.

Wind Squadron fought hard to survive. Her pilots made the invaders pay dearly for the loss of each of their comrades.

At the edge of the system, a small ship reverted to normal space. It was larger than a fighter, with enough space to hold a small crew. Powerful engines protruded from the aft of the sleek little ship. From the look of her design she was definitely a ship of war.

A moment after returning to normal space, the ship's engines roared to life, hurling the ship towards Olcai.

Chapter 24

Kamira opened her eyes. Blood ran freely from a gash on her forehead and into her eyes. She hurt. Her entire body ached from the crash.

Still slumped against the destroyed control console, Kamira ripped a length of cloth from her robe. She groaned as she sat upright. Taking the strip of fabric in both hands, she tied it tight around her head, bandaging the wound on her forehead and stanching the flow of blood. Gingerly, she wiped the blood from her face. Once she could see clearly, Kamira started to check the rest of her body for injuries. She started at the top of her head and using her hands, she quickly worked her way down to her feet. Finding only bruises, albeit deep ones, she let out the breath that she had not realized that she had been holding.

"T'Sula!" Kamira screamed, remembering her cousin. She looked at the seat next to her. It brought tears to her eyes. The seat held her cousin's crumpled, twisted body against the shattered windscreen. Shards of glass penetrated T'Sula's body in so many places that Kamira didn't try to count.

She and T'Sula had been closer than cousins since childhood. Memories flooded her mind. Kamira lost herself in the midst of chaos and heart wrenching memories.

It had been an oppressively hot summer. The biteflies were particularly bad that year. At least seven children had been hospitalized by bites. Kamira had coerced T'Sula into stealing away, and hiking to their favorite swimming hole. She had packed a lunch as well as any five year old could do, and they set off.

They hiked well past lunch time before reaching the tunnel that led to the swimming hole. The tunnel was relatively short, and it wasn't long before they sat down to eat. The sweet dates tasted exquisite with the fresh, cold water from the river that fed the underground lake. A natural skylight lit the large cavern enough to see by, and give the appearance of perpetual evening.

Water tag usually required a few more people than just a seven year old and a five year old, but the girls made due. They didn't notice as the sun slipped past the horizon, and the thick blanket of night fell across Bakesh. The cool water and long day finally overcame Kamira. Far out in the middle, at the deepest part of the lake, her tired arms and legs grew heavier until she could not move.

She tried to float, but even that was too much. Slowly she started to sink. The only other memory she had of that night, was seeing T'Sula's bright red swimsuit before her eyes shut completely. Early the next morning Kamira awoke to T'Sula sitting by her bed. She gave her a stone, and told her that it was from the bottom of the lake.

The concussion from a nearby explosion brought her back to the awful present. It brought her back to the time where she had failed T'Sula, and her cousin had died for it. Tears continued to roll down Kamira's cheeks as she freed herself from the wreckage. Her body ached. It hurt to breath. Everything hurt, even her hair. A couple of vertebrae in her back cracked and popped as she tried to stand. Her head throbbed hard enough to bring her to her knees. Nausea caused her to retch.

"Oh, Gods." she muttered as she climbed back to her feet, and wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her robe. A Ta'Reeth lander slammed into a nearby building, showering Kamira with rubble. Ta'Reeth soldiers erupted from the remains of the building as Kamira ran for her life.

Chapter 25

Nom watched from his vantage point, high on the top of the tallest building, as the landers rained down upon the city. A deep breath filled its lungs. He had not claimed his rightful victory. The package was still in the possession of the enemy, and not within his grasp. Now the Masters were here to repair the mistakes that he had made.

Activating the chameleonic ability of his suit, Nom walked to the edge of the roof. The great building swayed erratically as he walked. From the precipice, the destruction on the streets below looked to be little more than an abstract painting from a different time. A tiny red dot appeared in front of his eyes, marking the location of the package. The dot marked a spot on the other side of a great crevasse that had opened and threatened to tear the city apart.

He stepped back a few paces, enough to gather some speed, then ran towards the edge and leapt over the side. Moments passed quickly as he hurled through the air. Gravity finally caught up with momentum, and carried him to a nearby rooftop. He landed neatly in a crouch, and then sprinted for the other end of the roof, avoiding the various structures that resided there. Without stopping, he again launched into the air.

Superhuman agility was an asset not to be taken lightly. One of the Ta'Reeth landers streaked past, trailing smoke and debris in its wake. Using deliberate movements, Nom landed on the falling ship, ran across the top of the hull, and leapt into the air on the other side.

The next building was considerably shorter than the previous ones. Massive cracks ran from the street to the rooftop. Metal beams protruded through gigantic holes in the roof. Nom alighted near the edge of the crumbling roof, poised to spring in any direction. Smoke swirled around the invisible figure, threatening to reveal its presence.

Quickly he scanned the rooftop. A frightened rodent scurried into a small hole in the distance, leaving a trail of crumbs behind. Finding nothing else, Nom rose from his crouch. The roof started to crumble under his weight as he carefully walked towards his destination. The building swayed violently from side to side, toppling the few structures that had been left standing. Halfway across the roof, a metal storage shed collapsed leaving a giant hole directly in Nom's path.

A quick step and a bound allowed Nom to clear the hole, and continue to the other side. Once at the far wall, he paused. There were no more buildings between him and the crevasse. The crevasse stared back like a giant maw, craving to be fed.

The air smelled of smoke and burnt flesh as he knelt and started to climb down the wall. He quickly placed one hand in front of the other as he climbed downward. Reaching ground level, Nom easily slipped from the side of the building to the street. Rubble littered the streets. Bodies lay in heaps scattered across the ground. Flies had already started to gather around the carrion. Obviously the glorious end had not greeted the infidels well.

The crevasse loomed larger on the ground. Nom crept back, away from the giant crack in the planet. Taking a running start, he hurled himself into the crevasse. Darkness engulfed him as he plummeted into the depths of the city's underground. After falling for a short time, he managed to grab hold of a loose cable, and swing safely to the other side of the crevasse.

The climb to the top was simple. A plethora of handholds and footholds presented themselves in the forms of cracks, broken pipes, and structural supports. Near the edge of the far side of the crevasse sat the wreckage of a small, red air car. The windscreen was shattered with specks of blood spattered across it. Oil spilled out from under the car, making a small lake underneath.

Soldiers poured out of a nearby lander. A squad of soldiers headed for the air car, and formed a perimeter around it.

Nom quickly looked around. The signal was coming from the air car. He quickly made his way to the car. Getting through the perimeter proved to be simple enough. Invisibility had its benefits, especially when stealth was required. Inside the car was a woman's body; bloody, twisted and pinned against the windscreen. It was the dangerous one from the bomb site. Here she was, as worthy of an adversary as the infidels could produce, and she appeared to be dead. It was a pity. She could have provided the glorious end that he so desired.

"Show yourself." The words thundered inside his mind. Nom glanced towards the perimeter of soldiers. One of them aimed its plasma cannon in the direction of the car.

A soft sigh escaped his lips. Nom quietly disengaged the chameleonic function of the dreaded suit. "This is my prisoner. Do not interfere." the words spilled out of his mouth, but seemed to originate from somewhere else. A breath caught in his throat for a heartbeat before the soldier lowered its weapon.

"Of course Wraith. The woman is dead anyway." the words came effortlessly into his mind.

"No. She is not dead, just severely wounded." Nom stared at the soldier with cold blue eyes. "Get her out of there, and give her to me." he commanded and then stepped aside and watched the soldiers rip the car apart with ease.

Chapter 26

Air whipped past Narja with incredible speed. His limp body was protected by his armor. With a gasp, he opened his eyes, wondering where he was. Flickers of memories flashed through his mind until he locked onto the fleeting memory of an explosion. Consciousness took hold a moment before Narja slammed into the ocean. Blue water engulfed the armored figure.

The armor's computer automatically ran a system wide diagnostic. Each system was working within specified parameters. Narja activated his thrusters, and rocketed out of the ocean. He raised high above the water, and headed for the city. Smoke rose in the distance, just this side of the horizon. Fish and other aquatic creatures leapt out of the water as Narja flew towards the city.

He accessed a map of Olcai, and designated the right city. The map appeared in front of his eyes in a three dimensional image. Important offices and buildings appeared colored red against the blue background of the rest of the map. A list of the important offices floated above each of the buildings that housed them. Narja found the Bureau of Planetary Defense and vectored in on it.

The city approached quickly. Buildings smoldered from the assault. People ran in terror from place to place without any discernable destination.

"Form a perimeter. Do not fire until I give the command." came over his communication link.

Narja triangulated the com signal. It was coming from courtyard not too far ahead.

The courtyard consisted of a large open space surrounded by tall buildings. Any statues or trees that had once existed had been toppled earlier in the assault. A few low rising walls were scattered almost haphazardly throughout the expanse of the once serene courtyard. In the middle of the opening was a platoon of Marines, surrounded on all sides by several companies of Ta'Reeth.

Major Narja alighted on the roof of one of the taller buildings. The ornate architecture flowed seamlessly from the ground level, to the roof, and into the sky. He scanned the other buildings, checking for Ta'Reeth in elevated positions. A frightened Olcai ran through the thirteenth floor of an adjacent building, and then there was nothing. The other buildings were quiet, still as a tomb.

Narja selected an armor mounted, belt fed, and fully automatic thirty millimeter grenade launcher firing high explosive anti-personnel grenades from his inventory. The weapon came to bear as he input a firing solution into the computer.

"Marines, take cover." Narja ordered his men over the com link then opened fire on the Ta'Reeth. He could barely feel the gentle rocking of his armor as the grenade launcher rained death upon the enemy soldiers below. The thum-thum-thum rhythm of the grenade launcher continued to decimate the Ta'Reeth until less than half of the enemy remained.

The rounds counter quickly scrolled down to zero. Narja slung his weapon, and then picked up some debris to put in his reclamation unit.

'Proximity alert. Proximity alert...' the computer interrupted his thoughts. Narja turned to investigate as a hot ball of plasma ripped through the air where he had just been standing.

Spinning around to face his enemy, Narja grabbed his assault rifle. Plasma superheated the air and roof around him. A shot came close enough to blister the paint on his armor. Narja brought his rifle to bear on the Ta'Reeth, and loosed a three round burst into its chest.

The first round from the railgun cracked the exoskeletal armor. The second broke through into the soft tissue, while the third ripped apart organs and nearly came out the back. Narja walked closer to the wounded alien as it fell to its knees, and then collapsed to the roof. Thick blood pooled around its chest.

Its right hand moved, almost a twitch at first, then a steady, slow motion toward Narja. The hand lifted off the roof, palm facing out, toward the Major. In the center of the palm was a gland, a hole that devoured whatever it touched.

Narja stood, weapon trained on the Ta'Reeth, unable to move. He watched the alien climb to its feet. Its chest, still torn open, heaved under the strain. The creature stood straight. Sinew writhed then took shape inside the open chest cavity. The heart and lungs repaired themselves before the exoskeleton resealed itself, and the healing process was complete.

The Ta'Reeth stood motionless, watching Narja. If the Ta'Reeth had had a mouth, it would have screamed.

It lunged at Narja. Instinctively he squeezed off a three round burst, catching the Ta'Reeth in the head. It died before it hit the roof.

Narja picked up some debris and filled his reclamation unit, ordering it to resupply his grenades. He walked back to the edge of the roof, and looked down at the chaos below. The bodies of Marines and Ta'Reeth alike lay strewn throughout the courtyard. The fighting had degenerated to a primal hand to hand mockery of honor. Training and discipline was nowhere to be found. Anything that could be used as a weapon was being used as a weapon. The perimeter defense was gone. There was no possible way that he could fire any weapon from his position and not risk hitting his own men.

Quietly Narja secured his weapons. He bit back a curse, holding his anger in check. His men, his Marines were getting themselves killed because they had lost their discipline. The discipline that he had worked so hard to instill in them was gone. The mission was not being accomplished, and that was not acceptable.

Narja stepped off the building and ignited his thrusters. The battle had sprawled out with the thick of it right in front of him. Once he touched down, Narja accessed his weapons again. Two heavy pistols appeared, one in each hand. They worked the same as his assault rifle, just a little smaller and better for close quarters.

A hulking Ta'Reeth blocked Narja's path. It turned to bring its plasma cannon to bear, but not before Narja drilled two smoking holes in the back of its head. Narja stepped over the corpse, deeper into the fight. The Ta'Reeth outnumbered the Marines by more than two to one. The Major strode through the battle, killing Ta'Reeth at will.

"Marines, aim for the head. They can regenerate anything else. If you don't hit 'em in the head, all you're going to do is piss 'em off." Narja called over his com link.

"Welcome back Sir." an unidentified Marine replied.

Blood covered his armor. Narja's pistols kept hammering away at the enemy until there were no more bullets. Ta'Reeth soldiers surrounded him on all sides, cutting off his routes of escape. The circle closed in around him. Narja holstered his pistols, locking them in place.

A grim smile crossed Narja's cracked lips. He slowly reached into a cargo compartment as the Ta'Reeth drew closer. Their eyes never wavered from their victim.

The enemy was almost within arm's reach, their plasma cannons held on target, yet oddly silent.

"Go to hell." Narja muttered as he dropped a grenade and activated his thrusters.

"Marines, rendezvous at grid 946273." he called as the grenade exploded, shredding the Ta'Reeth.

Chapter 27

"Angel, I need an update on those repairs." Captain McWilliams shifted in his seat.

"The repairs are still in progress sir." the hologram flickered slightly then solidified next to the Captain. "Shields are holding at sixty-three percent. The damage to the hull has been repaired. Captain there has still not been any contact from the surface."

"Understood. What are the frags doing?" Jason rubbed his stubble covered chin.

"Frags sir?" Angel looked puzzled.

"The Ta'Reeth." he shook his head.

"Oh." Angel shimmered slightly. "The frags are 'licking their wounds' sir. The same as we are." Angel grimaced. "Sir, the Ta'Reeth are active again. It appears that they are losing interest in us and moving back to Olcai."

"Well, we can't let that happen. Helm, take us between the armada and the planet. I want to be there yesterday." Jason clenched his jaw. Redemption's engines fired, glowing bright as the ship accelerated towards the planet. "Weapons Officer, activate the nuclear ordinance."

"Yes sir." the weapons officer replied crisply.

"Captain the Ta'Reeth are moving to intercept with their cruisers. The battleships are continuing as before." Angels face showed no expression as she told her captain.

"Ready all weapons." Captain McWilliams replied. Redemption hurled through space directly at the Ta'Reeth cruisers. The distance between the ships closed rapidly. Redemption's shields glowed blue in the darkness of space.

Dozens of fighters erupted from the spiraling arms of the Ta'Reeth ships. Once free of the mother ship, the fighters streaked towards Redemption, firing on her before they reached optimal weapons range.

Blasts from plasma cannons spattered against Redemption's shields as she raced for Olcai. Her particle cannons dispatched the fighters methodically and then worked on the cruisers. As the distance closed she brought heavier weapons to bear on the enemy ships.

The first Ta'Reeth cruiser opened fire on Redemption. Massive plasma cannons hurled balls of fire at the mighty ship. Plasma cascaded over Redemptions shields, eating away the valuable protective layer.

"Captain the shields are failing. They are at fifty eight percent and dropping." Angel informed her Captain.

"Thank you Angel." Jason kept his eyes transfixed on the three dimensional display of the battle. Redemption sprinted between four Ta'Reeth cruisers, taking damage from all sides. Her particle beam tore massive furrows in the enemy cruisers from nearly point blank range.

"Weapons officer, target the week points on those cruisers and fire the nuclear ordinance." Captain McWilliams ordered, his face grim.

The weapons officer targeted the wounds left from the particle beams. A moment later four nuclear weapons launched from the railguns.

Redemption sped past the cruisers as the nukes found their targets. The warheads slammed into the Ta'Reeth ships at nearly the speed of light, and penetrated deep into the ships before they exploded in a furious cascade of light. Chunks of charred hull pounded Redemptions shields.

"Captain the Ta'Reeth have launched more fighters." Angel paced the bridge. Her ethereal form glided across the deck inspecting the different crew stations. "Sir, we are in no condition to fight those battleships."

"Tell me something I don't know." Jason replied as he studied the enemy ships.

"Alright. I am detecting an unusual energy signature from the Ta'Reeth flagship. It is unlike anything I have encountered before."

"How long has it been there?" Captain McWilliams asked.

"It showed up exactly two point one seconds ago Captain." Angel paused near the weapons console. "This is troubling sir." she looked at the Captain, her expression befuddled.

"Captain!" Angel yelled a split second before the ship trembled from an enormous impact. Bulkheads began to buckle. The screech of ripping metal tore through the ship.

"Evasive action!" Captain McWilliams ordered at the top of his lungs. Redemption lurched heavily to starboard.

"Captain we don't have enough power to break free." Angel reported. "If we do not break free in two minutes, we will die."

"What is that thing, and where is it coming from?" Jason asked.

Chapter 28

Wind buffeted the tiny ship as it slipped into the atmosphere. Smoke filled the sky. The ship descended quickly and searched for a clear space to land.

At the far edge of the city, just above the lapping waves of the ocean was a hanger. It sat open, completely deserted. A few large rusted crates were scattered about the floor, but they left ample room to land the small ship. A wrecked cargo hauler sat in the far corner, never to fly again. Lights that were imbedded in the ceiling flickered on and off sporadically, never in the same pattern.

The ship hovered for a moment in the center of the hanger then lowered its landing gear and settled easily on its three feet. A hatch on the side of the ship spiraled open. After a brief moment, a ramp extended out, then lowered the end to the floor.

In the center of the hatch appeared a mammoth creature, easily twice the size of a man. It walked on all fours and was covered in thick rust brown fur. The eyes, set deep in the feline face, seemed to glow a bright yellow in the semi darkness. Paws the size of a man's head connected the powerful legs and shoulders to the ground.

The cat's grace and agility belied its size as it loped down the ramp. Upon reaching the bottom, the cat pawed a few discarded items, and then sat patiently at the base of the ramp. A low growl rumbled out of the deepest part of the cat's throat.

"Brutus you can wait for one more minute. I'll be right there." the deep baritone voice came from the airlock on the other side of the hatch. A couple of loud monotone chirps came from the hatch a moment before Corin Dante stepped out of his ship.

He wore a tattered, but repaired olive drab jump suit and a pair of worn old boots. A pistol belt, holding a heavy pistol, hung crooked across his slender hips. Dark hair and a fierce smile dominated his sharp eyes and hawk like features. His lightly tanned skin made his age difficult to determine.

"All right Brutus, let's do this." he said to the cat as he walked down the ramp. When he reached the end the ramp, it lifted and retracted into the ship. The large cat quickly fell into step next to Corin as he walked across the hanger toward an open door at the far end.

The air in the hanger was cool with a touch salt from the vast ocean just outside the door. Darkness greeted Corin on the other side of the door. He closed his eyes and quietly accessed one of his cybernetic implants. Instantly a green tinted low light amplified image of the corridor appeared before him. Half a dozen doors hung ajar on either side of the hallway. Most of the rooms looked to be offices of one sort or another.

Corin gripped the handle of his pistol. The grip felt cool against his sweaty palm.

"Brutus, stay alert." Corin cautiously made his way down the hall. The moist air from the failing air circulators caused his jumpsuit to stick to his back. A faint blue light flashed in the distance, as a live wire arced against grounded metal. Brutus growled.

"What is it buddy?" Corin drew his pistol from its holster. Corin instinctively scanned the hallway, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing showed in his display.

Brutus crouched, ready to spring in any direction. The muscles in his powerful shoulders tensed. His ears flattened back against his massive skull. A faint clicking noise started in the ceiling, approaching them from the far end of the hall. Corin braced him against the wall, and tracked the noise with his pistol. The hair on the back of Brutus' neck stood on end.

The clicking overhead stopped, barely a meter from Corin. His muscles started to ache from keeping his aim steady on the noise in the ceiling. The sound of rending metal filled the hallway. Brutus spun to face the new threat coming from behind. A gash had been ripped in the wall opposite Corin, only a handful of meters away. The rip started at the floor and was nearly a meter and a half high. Bright red reptilian eyes peered out of the gash.

Brutus stepped cautiously toward the eyes. They blinked as the cat came closer. Brutus stopped a few meters away from the rip in the wall. A loud, high-pitched shriek erupted from the ceiling, less than a meter from Corin. The metal ceiling buckled, then shredded before a creature dropped to the floor. Corin fired as the ceiling shredded, but missed the creature as it fell.

Bright red eyes, set deep in the reptilian face, just above the snout, focused on Corin. The creature stood on two legs, with two muscular arms that ended in clawed hands. Short, powerful hind legs ended in large three toed feet with massive, razor sharp claws. Long curved fangs lined the jaws, both upper and lower, with the lower jaw split lengthwise down the middle. Large nostrils sniffed the air, as if testing for fear.

Corin steadied his aim and fired again as the second hunter burst through the wall. His second shot burst through the center of the hunter's chest, leaving a gaping hole. The creature staggered, and then regained its balance. Sinew and bone coalesced out of nothingness and healed the wound in the space of a breath.

"Oh no." Corin whispered. The creature reared back its head. Rows of razor sharp teeth lined the upper jaw. The bottom jaw split in two, revealing more teeth as the hunter screamed.

Mouth open, the beast charged Corin. The hunter's hands slashed through the air. The dewclaw from its right hand shot out and grazed Corin's upper arm as he dove out of the way. He rolled into a crouch and fired at the charging beast. His shot penetrated the hunter in the roof of the mouth and exploded out the back of its head. Blood and brain matter splattered the hallway before the hunter fell lifeless to the floor.

Brutus snarled at the Ta'Reeth hunter. The smaller creature snapped its three jaws open and closed repeatedly. Its gaze never left the big cat as they circled each other in the corridor.

The hunter leapt, talons outstretched at the cat. Brutus sidestepped, barely avoiding the vicious attack. A massive paw slashed out, threatening to crush whatever it met. The hunter dodged to the side, slashing the meat on Brutus' left ribs. Brutus yelped in pain.

"Brutus, move so that I can shoot that thing!" Corin yelled.

A vicious snarl erupted from the massive cat as Brutus bared his fangs. He circled the hunter, searching for an opening. The hunter glanced at Corin. Brutus lunged at the beast, and with one powerful swipe, separated the creature's head from its shoulders. The head cracked against the far wall while the body crumpled to the floor.

"Come on buddy, let's get out of here." Corin said as he gently started cleaning the big cats wound.

Chapter 29

T'Sula Mir awoke screaming from the raging fire that coursed through her broken body. She fought through the pain as she tested the bonds that held her, hands and feet, bound by time tested leather to a crumbling wall somewhere in the depths of Olcai. Warmth, not that of the shattered puzzle box of her body, but of something else, entered and radiated from her leg, helping to fit the pieces back together. Slowly, T'Sula opened her eyes to see a small creature removing its fangs from her calf.

Near the far wall, a dim dust covered light hung on a frayed cord, as it swung in rhythm with the raging battle on the surface. The movement of the light cast dancing shadows across the room, giving depth to the entirety of T'Sula's new world. There was no door that she could see, only crumbling walls and a floor littered with a broken table, and the debris that came from years of neglect.

Feeling a sense of urgency and a surge of strength, T'Sula tested her bonds again. The aged leather gave a little, but still refused to break.

"Why do you resist?" a pleasant voice came out of the darkness. "Why do you not welcome the embrace of death?" the voice continued. "I have watched you, here on this abomination of a planet." the voice was closer than it had been a moment before. "Though I confess that you do intrigue me. You are better than them, yet you try to help and protect them. Why bother?"

"You and I are not as different as you might think." the voice stopped in front of her. The darkness shimmered and then materialized into the form of a man. He stood slightly shorter than T'Sula, with a medium build. The man was completely covered in a fabric that glistened in the darkness with energy all its own.

"We are nothing alike." T'Sula forced her voice to work. She tested her bonds. Her throat was dry, making her voice crack as she spoke.

"You waste your time T'Sula." he shook his head. Taking two fingers, he pressed them behind his right ear. The glimmering fabric made a popping noise, as it rolled itself down to the collar.

T'Sula gasped when she saw him. His hair was the same unruly black mess that she remembered. A scar, that she had given him, ran from the corner of his right eye, down his cheek to the corner of his mouth. The subtle ridges along the bridge of his nose and the gentle point of his ears clearly marked him as a Bakeeron.

"Hello Nom." T'Sula managed. "I thought you were dead."

A sickening smile crossed his face. "I was dead. I seem to remember that you went out of your way to kill me." Nom licked his cracked lips. He reached out and grabbed her face in hand, and squeezed. "You failed to kill me then, just as you will fail to stop me now. You are a failure." he spat the words at her as if they alone could kill her.

"Give me the information that you are hiding." he hissed through clenched teeth as he released his grip.

"No. I can't give you what I don't have." T'Sula smiled mockingly at him. "Besides, I wouldn't give it to you if I had it."

"Give it to me now!" he screamed as he slammed his fist into T'Sula's stomach. T'Sula convulsed, and then vomited blood, barely missing Nom.

"You certainly have a way with women." T'Sula ignored the pain, as she sneered at Nom. "I don't have what you want. I lost it before I wrecked the air car."

"You lie." Nom backhanded T'Sula across the face. Her head snapped to the side. She took a deep breath, then looked Nom in the eye and spat in his face.

He reared back and punched T'Sula hard enough to crack her mending ribs. "If you don't have it, then tell me where it is!" Nom screamed.

"No." T'Sula coughed. "You can beat me as much as you want. I won't tell you anything."

Nom screeched in frustration, and pounded his fist repeatedly into the wall next to T'Sula.

"You have to beat up on an injured, restrained woman? You're pathetic Nom." T'Sula laughed. "What are your Masters going to do? Spank you for being pathetic?"

"My Masters gave me life from death. A death that you gave Me." he hissed. Her grabbed T'Sula by the hair, and slammed her head against the wall.

"Give me the chance, I'll do it again." T'Sula grinned with blood dripping from her broken lips.

Nom drew close, their faces nearly touching. His once bright eyes were now alive only with hatred. His breath stank of death.

"You will die painfully as I extract the truth from your mind. I will enjoy this." he whispered.

T'Sula closed her eyes and drove her forehead into Nom's nose. He stepped back, holding his face.

"You will suffer for this!" he screamed, and pounded wildly at T'Sula and the wall with both fists. T'Sula flinched away from the blows and felt the wall crack near her right hand. She forced all of her strength into her arm, and broke free of the wall. She swung her fist in a wide arc, catching Nom on the side of his jaw. He staggered back, dazed for only a moment, giving T'Sula barely had enough time to free her other hand before Nom attacked again. She blocked a frantic punch with her right arm, while holding onto the left restraint for stability. Straight from the block, T'Sula backhanded Nom across the face.

Nom spun around and delivered a devastating back kick into T'Sula's stomach. She doubled over, nearly losing her grip on the restraint as she reached down and frantically tried to unbuckle the restraint on her left ankle, leaving only her right ankle strapped to the wall.

Bent over, T'Sula's back was too vulnerable a target. Nom exploited the moment, and drove a powerful hammer blow into T'Sula's back, dropping her to the floor. He then grabbed her and tore her away from the wall, snapping the leather strap under the immense strain. Nom picked T'Sula up, off the floor, and hurled her across the room.
T'Sula slammed into the far wall, her broken body crumpling to the floor before she lost consciousness. She twitched slightly as she finally came to rest near the broken down table. Underneath the table, the small animal cowered as she collapsed to the floor. Its eyes darted back and forth about the room. It hesitated for several moments before touching T'Sula's fingers with its nose. When she didn't move, it crawled to her arm and sank its fangs deep into the tissue.

T'Sula gasped as the healing warmth started at the animal bite and spread rapidly through her body. Her cracked ribs healed in the space of a heartbeat. The deep bruises covering her body disappeared. She felt tired, but refreshed.

"Stop that you insignificant little traitor!" Nom yelled at the animal as he tried to kick it, but the creature scurried under the old table before he could connect.

"Now, as for you," he turned his attention back to T'Sula. "You will either tell me where it is, or you will die." Nom struck at T'Sula with a vicious kick.

T'Sula blocked the kick, and spun around on the floor, powering her legs through Nom's, and toppling him to the floor. She sprang to her feet, ready to fight. Her arms hung loose from the shoulders, with her hands in front of her chest. She kept her knees slightly bent, ready to move in any direction. T'Sula was light on her feet, and her eyes were locked on her adversary.

Nom quickly stood; his feet shoulder width apart with the right slightly behind the left. His fists were held in front of him, just below his chin. His intense gaze never left T'Sula Mir.

Nom moved first. A quick jab with his left missed T'Sula as she sidestepped to the right. Punching hard with his right, Nom over extended. T'Sula grabbed his wrist and pulled sharply. Her knee drove deep into his ribs before she drove an elbow into the back of his head.

Nom freed his wrist then leapt up the wall. He crouched on the wall, sneering at T'Sula as the fabric of his suit covered his face. The fabric sealed itself at the back of his head, a moment before he disappeared into the darkness.

"Coward." T'Sula muttered. She closed her eyes and focused on her other senses. The floor was cool under her bare feet. A soft whimper came from under the table. T'Sula knelt next to the table.

"You should probably stay hidden." she whispered to the cowering little animal. It blinked at her and moaned softly when she gently scratched it behind its tufted ears.

The hairs on the back of T'Sula's neck moved with the brush of air. She ducked, barely missing the deadly kick that was aimed at her head. Her right leg shot out behind her, catching Nom in the groin. He doubled over then collapsed to his knees, sending a small cloud of dust into the air. T'Sula quickly stood and walked over to the dusty silhouette.

She found his face then reached behind his ear and pressed the tiny button to release the suit. The fabric rolled down into the collar, revealing Nom's face. Pain and anger filled his eyes.

"You deserve worse than this." T'Sula told him just before she snapped his neck.

T'Sula turned toward the table and knelt down. She stretched out her hand and waited for the little creature to come to her. The animal sniffed at hand, then turned and scurried away.

"Have it your way." she smiled sadly as she looked for the door.

Chapter 30

Kamira ran until her chest hurt and her lungs burned. Her dark tresses and robes flew behind her as she ran past people that were screaming for help or mercy. Her heart ached to stop and help, even though she knew that she couldn't.

Central Hall loomed in front of her like a monolith amid the destruction. The giant building swayed like a man that had too much to drink. Plasma ripped through the air all around, and exploded like a fountain of fire against an invisible wall that surrounded Central Hall. As she neared the forcefield, Kamira picked her way through the debris from a Ta'Reeth lander that lay scattered and burning in the once beautiful city center.

A single, dour looking Olcai stood, watching the carnage from behind the forcefield. Its once immaculate uniform was now in tatters. Kamira approached the invisible barrier, stopping just short of touching it.

"Commander Nor, it is good to see you alive. Where is your friend, Commander Mir?" Commissioner Valche forced the words to come out.

"T'Sula's dead." Kamira fought to keep back the tears as anger and deep sadness crept into her voice.

"That is most unfortunate. She was the one that was better equipped to deal with this situation." Valche sighed. "Although I fear that we all will join her soon."

"You're optimistic." Kamira scowled. The forcefield shuddered from the impact from a series of plasma cannons that were close enough to singe Kamira's hair. "Valche, I think that there may be a bomb near the core of the planet."

"You are perceptive Commander. Our sensors found it just before the invasion began. It is located near the core, at our most sacred site." Valche smiled a sad smile. "We are all going to die. It is inevitable."

"Valche, shut up." Kamira snarled. "I may be able to help. I just need to find the bomb."

"Go to the planets core. Once you are there, you will know where to look." Valche shrugged helplessly.

"How do I get there?" Kamira started to get angry. "How do I get to the core?"

"Go down. Go to the lowest level of the city. At the lowest point you will find a door. The passage beyond will take you to the core." Valche fixed its gaze on Kamira. "The core is sacred to us. Please protect it." Valche then turned and walked away.

"Valche, how do I get there?" she yelled after the Commissioner. "How do I get to the lower levels?" Kamira tried in vain to get the Commissioner's attention, and then finally gave up.

"This is madness." she muttered to herself as she turned back to the chaos and ran toward it.

Time passed quickly as she ran. Dodging falling bodies as she went, Kamira forced herself into the heart of the chaos. Lumbering Ta'Reeth soldiers crushed and killed anything in their path. Men and women of all races pleaded for mercy and died.

Still Kamira ran. She ran until there was no place left to run, no place to go but down. The giant crevasse loomed in front of her, not a meter from her feet. Quietly she cursed the fact that she was still wearing a long, flowing robe instead of something more practical, like T'Sula's ever present jumpsuits.

Kamira looked down into the depths of Olcai as the street began to crumble under her feet. She took a deep breath, and then started her descent into the darkness. Decent handholds and footholds were rare, forcing her to grip jagged metal and cables with her bare hands. The metal from ripped walls and broken superstructure tore at Kamira as she climbed. Her robe, stained and tattered, clung to her sweaty body like a second skin. Cuts and bruises on her hands and feet made climbing much more difficult as she resolutely pressed on, forcing herself deeper into the dark abyss.

The darkness grew closer and heavier as Kamira descended into the crevasse. A few sparks of light, nothing more than a live wire sparking against a ground, gave limited details of her surroundings, and Kamira was thankful to be spared the gruesome images being burned into her memory. Touch and sound quickly became the predominant senses that she relied on, as the smell of burnt metals overpowered the odors of mildew and decay.

Kamira heard the faint sound of something hard clicking against a solid metal surface as she finally reached the bottom of the crevasse. As the noise grew louder, Kamira cautiously listened, straining to find where the noise was coming from. After a handful of minutes, she found a door hanging ajar in a broken frame. She opened it and quickly stepped through.

Kamira took a deep, unsteady breath, eager to be rid of the unnerving clicking, and turned around. She stopped short as her forehead brushed against the nose of a gigantic cat.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Kamira could not see the man that spoke because of the gleaming fangs just inches from her eyes.

Chapter 31

Narja checked his scanners, and then alighted on the roof. In peaceful times, the view would have been beautiful, a serene canvas given life with the vibrant colors of the city. However, now was not that time. The remnants of his battalion landed and quickly secured the roof. He quietly knelt down, picked up a couple of pieces of rubble and placed them in his MRU.

"Captain, front and center." the Major ordered.

"Sir, the Captain is dead. No Lieutenants either sir. I'm the Second Platoon's Platoon Sergeant Sir. Ranking NCO." a large Malgar approached and saluted.

"Very well Sergeant. You know the drill." Narja surveyed the marines. They were battered and tired, but they would hold on. They had to; there simply was no other choice.

"Yes Sir." was all that the Malgar said.

"Marines, listen up while you replenish your supplies." Major Narja commanded. "Our mission is to secure the planetary defense network. Failure is not an option. Redemption is outnumbered and out gunned. We can level the playing field." Narja paced the rooftop, looking each marine in the eye.

"Olcai may be a peaceful planet, but the Olcai did install a powerful defensive grid in orbit around the planet. After activation, the grid can lock on to any point in this system with fourteen synchronized particle beams." he took a position near the middle of his troops. "Our friends need us. That building is our destination." Narja pointed at a tall, beautifully constructed building with a shimmering forcefield around it.

"Let's move out." Narja ignited his thrusters. He didn't need to check if his men were with him. They were there, flying in a tight formation and ready to do whatever the mission required. The roof fell behind rapidly as the Marines clawed for sky.

Chaos ruled the city streets below. Buildings and bodies alike burned, filling the air with a foul, black smoke that threatened to choke away the light. Nothing was safe from the onslaught. Men, women, and children of every race, creed, and age struggled desperately to save themselves and their loved ones, and failed.

The Marines cleared the roof of a tall building, fully revealing Central Hall. A horde of Ta'Reeth soldiers, nearly twice the number of the Marines, began to hammer against the forcefield. Plasma ripped into the energy barrier from every direction. Helpless people on the inside ran here and there as Ta'Reeth soldiers poured out of the dying building, and proceeded to rip them limb from limb.

Major Narja aimed his grenade launcher at the enemy and fired. His opening salvo was immediately followed by a salvo from the platoon. White-hot shrapnel ripped into the Ta'Reeth, wounding most, and killing a few. The Ta'Reeth responded instinctively with a storm of superheated plasma shredding the heart of the platoon of Marines. The Marines landed quickly, assisting those that they could, and letting go those that were beyond their reach.

"Delta formation, second rank armed with grenade launchers. First rank, ready your assault rifles." Major Narja commanded, taking a frontal position and readying his own weapons. "Fire at will." He ordered, as he opened fire.

"Aim for the head, we don't want to kill everything twice." Narja told his troops, squeezing off a three round burst into the face of an enemy soldier. "Stay together and move as a unit."

The second rank loosed a volley of grenades into the heart of the enemy. Multiple explosions ripped into the enemy rear, tearing the Ta'Reeth apart, and sending others smashing to the ground. They retaliated with a devastating salvo of their own.

A dozen marines went down. Each one effecting emergency repairs to his or her armor, hurrying to get back in the fight with their comrades. The holes left by the fallen were instantly filled, leaving no weaknesses in the line. The Marines worked as a well-maintained unit, efficiently killing everything in its path. Marines fell, wounded or dead, but the platoon pressed on, the mission being more important than any one person. Major Narja led his soldiers, fighting and killing better than the others, his skill and discipline unmatched.

Enemy resistance was strong, decimating the platoon before all of the Ta'Reeth at the forcefield were dead.

"Platoon Sergeant, form a perimeter, using the barrier as a backstop. Place the strongest on the perimeter. Bring the wounded inside, and effect resupply and repair. Inform me when you are done." the Major ordered before he tended to his own needs.

"Yes Sir." the large Malgar platoon sergeant replied, saluted and went about his orders. His solid black armor faded into the enveloping darkness as he went to direct his marines.

Narja filled his reclamation unit, instructing it to resupply his ammunition and fuel. He ran a thorough systems check before he started assisting the wounded. Several of the wounded suffered from various degrees of burns, both plasma and electrical. A few of the fallen Marines would not survive without emergency surgery, but most would live. Simple spray bandages and pain killers were used on most of the wounds, although some did require blood agents to stop the bleeding. Broken bones were splinted using the Marine's armor.

"Sir, the perimeter has been secured. All wounded have been brought to the interior, and are being cared for. Resupply and repair is currently under way." the massive Platoon Sergeant saluted as he delivered his report. "Major, do you have any further orders?"

"At ease Sergeant." Major Narja returned the salute. The Sergeant relaxed, feet slightly more than shoulder width apart, and hands clasped behind his back.

"We need to get through that forcefield, and we need to do it immediately. Do you have any ideas?" Narja stared at the enemy on the other side of the barrier. They were close enough to see, but not to kill.

"Sir, it may be possible to use electronic force feedback to disrupt the forcefield emitters. That may buy us enough time to get the men through." the Platoon Sergeant followed his Commander's gaze. "Then we can kill them."

"Make it happen Sergeant. Dismissed." he returned the NCO's salute and went back to caring for the wounded.

Bodies of all known races lay in pieces, giving warning to anyone unfortunate enough to gaze upon Central Hall. Narja watched helplessly as an Olcai, dressed in a tattered gray uniform, died slowly and painfully. The Ta'Reeth seemed to enjoy peeling the skin slowly from the helpless Olcai.

Anger filled his mind. Revenge forced his heart to beat louder and harder. Hatred fueled the drive for revenge, a retribution that was due to come, and he would deliver like an angel of death. The Ta'Reeth must be held accountable for the atrocities that they had wrought upon the galaxy. Judge, jury and executioner now became one man.

"Major, we're ready." the Platoon Sergeant broke into his thoughts. The man's steel gray skin shone through his tinted faceplate. "We used the MRU's to replicate a half dozen forcefield generators. They're linked together sequentially to give a greater output, so if one fails Sir, we're in trouble."

"Understood." Narja watched the Ta'Reeth on the other side of the forcefield as they prepared a defensive perimeter. Reinforced concrete had been piled in a row, nearly as high as a man was tall, and stretching the length of Central Hall. The enemy occupied several floors of the giant building, giving them multiple elevated positions, in any of which, they could place a sniper or heavy automatic weapons. He grimaced at the thought of sending the remnants of this platoon into the maw of an entrenched company. Every fiber of his being told him not to go.

"Sergeant, form the platoon." the Major ordered.

"Yes Sir." he spun on his heels. "Platoon, fall in!" a moment later the platoon of tired, battle weary Marines stood rank and file with only an invisible barrier between them, and the hated Ta'Reeth.

"Sir, the platoon is formed." he did a crisp about face and waited for his Command Officer. Narja walked up to the Platoon Sergeant, saluted, and assumed command of the formation.

"At ease." he commanded, allowing them to relax a bit. "I'm not going to lie to you. Many of us are about to die." he paused. "You can see the enemy, and you can see their defenses. But what you cannot see is right here in your hearts."

"You are Marines. I have trained you to be the best, and you are. No one can take that away." the Major turned and looked at the enemy. "Let's make the Ta'Reeth pay for the pain they've caused."

Narja turned and faced his marines. "Lock and load."

The platoon locked and loaded their weapons, making ready yet again, for combat.

"We now move into the maw, and spit in death's face!" Major Narja raised his assault rifle. "Move out!"

Men and women marched side by side toward the waiting enemy. Electricity filled the air as the forcefield flickered then died. White-hot plasma rained down on the platoon and splashed over their personal shields.

"Break into fire teams. First squad, Alpha team with me." Narja ordered. The platoon instantly broke into two fire teams per squad. Narja's team broke to the right and went airborne. Each member of the five-man team linked their computers to the Major's, giving him weapons control.

Alpha Team opened fire with four assault rifles and two grenade launchers, raining bullets and high explosives down on the heads of the Ta'Reeth. Hypersonic projectiles ripped into the bone armor of the enemy while the grenades shattered barriers and removed limbs.

The Ta'Reeth responded, sending hundreds of balls of plasma into the air. Two marines from Alpha Team crashed to the ground, taking away two assault rifles.

Alpha Team landed near the large double doors that opened into Central Hall. The team formed a perimeter around the doors. The heavy, carved wood was singed from the heat of Ta'Reeth plasma. Narja quickly checked the doors, and found them locked.

Narja removed a mine from his dispenser and placed it in the center of the doors. He set the timer then stepped away. A moment later the charge went off, sending the massive doors hurtling through the inside corridor, and Alpha Team was inside Central Hall.

Smoke filled the air. The vague shapes of Ta'Reeth soldiers flitted through the smoke. Several of the hulking beings moved forward, faster than one would think possible for a creature of their mass.

A smaller shadow flashed through the smoke, ethereal, moving from shadow to shadow. A light breeze drifted through the doorway, clearing the smoke. When the smoke cleared, a woman stood alone amidst the bodies of four Ta'Reeth soldiers. Her long dark hair hung loosely about her shoulders. The ripped and blood stained jump suit had lost most of its color to grime and blood. Ridged and slightly pointed ears peeked out from under her hair.

"Major, we need to move." the woman rasped.

"Identify yourself." Major Narja leveled his rifle at her.

"Commander T'Sula Mir, United Resistance Special Operations Command." she walked towards an open staircase. "We need to go. Now."

"Follow me." Major Narja pushed past her into the staircase. T'Sula found herself in the middle of the fire team as they raced through the building. Resistance was surprisingly light as they raced from floor to floor.

Narja reached the top floor and kicked in the door. He was greeted by a volley of Ta'Reeth plasma ripping into his shields.

Two of the Marines rushed forward and pulled their commander to safety.

"Well Major, that wasn't the brightest thing you've done." T'Sula checked Narja over. "Caldonians are generally smarter than that."

"Commander, if we don't get into the room at the end of this hallway, and activate the planetary defense grid, we're all going to die anyway." Narja looked her in the eyes.

"Major, we have hostiles approaching from the rear." One of the Marines broke in.

"Great." Narja muttered under his breath. He checked his shields and his weapons. "Marines, we're going to take this hall. Move out."

The fire team grenadiers launched fragmentation grenades into the hallway. As soon as they exploded, the Marines stepped into the hall, firing at anything that moved. Hypersonic projectiles tore into bone and flesh, ripping apart living tissue. Ta'Reeth soldiers came into the hall from behind closed doors. White-hot projectiles slammed into the electromagnetic shields that protected the Marine's armor. Shields crackled and died. Armor blistered, cooking the Marines inside. Several Marines fell to the floor, dead before they stopped moving.

T'Sula dashed into the hallway and grabbed a fallen Marine's rifle. She hefted it to her shoulder, aimed at the nearest enemy and fired. She continued to fire until no Ta'Reeth were left standing. The Major and two Marines stood next to T'Sula.

"You two, guard the rear." Narja pointed to his men. "Commander, I could use your help getting this door open."

"Absolutely." T'Sula checked her weapon. "I could use some more rounds." she patted her weapon for emphasis.

T'Sula touched the door. A faint tingling sensation ran down her arm. "It's protected by a forcefield." She found a touchpad hidden on the right side of the door. The cover came off quickly, exposing the wires and components beneath.

"I thought it might be." Narja snarled. "Can you make it work?"

"I'm not sure." T'Sula jumped back as a large spark erupted out of where she was working. She fanned the smoke away only to see a melted mess. "The pad was rigged. I can't do anything here." she pounded a fist into the wall.

"Hold on for a second." T'Sula touched the wall. "Give me a mine." she held out a hand.

"What?" Narja asked.

"Give me a mine!" T'Sula shook her hand for emphasis. Narja handed her a mine. She took the mine and placed it on the wall, next to the open touchpad. Ducking out of the way, T'Sula covered her ears. The mine exploded, sending a shower if dust and sparks into the air. She uncovered her ears and peered at the hole in the wall. It was large enough for an armored Marine to walk through, but just barely. She hauled herself to her feet and stepped aside as Narja went through the hole. T'Sula went through next, followed quickly by the other two Marines.

A bank of computers sat in the center of the room with a clear screen that ran from the top of the computers to the ceiling. No windows adorned the walls, leaving artificial lights to provide the meager, faltering illumination.

The three Marines established a perimeter, piling metal cabinets and furniture in front of the hole in the wall, while T'Sula searched the computers for the activation switch. She found it quickly, on the far side near the floor. T'Sula turned the computers on and stood up.

"Commander, keep your head down please." Major Narja fired into the hallway. Plasma burned into the makeshift barrier, while the staccato bursts from the assault rifles ripped into the bone armor of the Ta'Reeth soldiers coming down the hall.

T'Sula ducked behind the bank of computers. She found a gray control pad that fit easily in her palm. She activated the touch screen and watched the battle unfolding in space. Bold red letters flashed across the screen reading: 'IDENTIFY FRIEND OR FOE.'

"Major, I need the transponder code for your ship!" T'Sula yelled over the fire fight.

"Understood." Narja called back.

T'Sula darted out from behind the computers. Keeping low, she ran to Narja. She looked over his armor, found the auxiliary data port, and plugged the touchpad into it. The screen blanked momentarily then came back on.

'TARGET IDENTIFIED' flashed across the screen. 'ENABLE?'

T'Sula enabled the orbiting weapons platforms and ordered them to fire a moment before the two Marines collapsed to the floor, their bodies smoking. She picked up one of the assault rifles and assumed a firing position next to the major before unleashing a barrage of death upon her enemies.

Chapter 32

The ear-splitting scream of ripping metal screeched throughout Redemption as her hull plates buckled and twisted under the immense strain of the Ta'Reeth weapon. Her powerful engines strained to the breaking point in an effort to tear free, threatening to rip Redemption to pieces as they surged against the impossible force that held her still.

"Captain, if we don't shut down the engines, they will overload." Angel flickered in cadence with the whine of the engines, growing bright then dimming by the Captain's side.

"Foresight doesn't do you any good if you're dead." Captain McWilliams checked his readings. "Fire all weapons at that thing." he ordered. Particle cannons fired, followed by particle beams and railguns. Redemption continued to fire as several hundred rounds erupted from her weapons systems, each aimed at the heart of the enemy. Everything disappeared into the black hole at the end of the Ta'Reeth ship, never touching the twisted and scarred hull.

"Fire the nuclear ordinance." Jason watched as a half dozen nuclear warheads exploded in the mouth of the Ta'Reeth weapon, and disappeared inside of it, without any discernable effect.

"Captain, I'm detecting..." Angel started to say as Olcai's fourteen orbital weapons platforms fired simultaneously. The particle beams slammed into the Ta'Reeth battleship amidships, sending flame and hull plating erupting into space as the vortex surged and died.

Redemption surged forward before her engines overloaded, throwing the crew against bulkheads as a child would throw an unwanted, broken toy.

"Status report!" Captain McWilliams shook the stars out of his eyes, and wiped the blood from his forehead as he picked himself up off the deck. The bridge crew steadied themselves one by one, each pulling themselves back into a position to fight.

"Captain, we are free of the Ta'Reeth weapon. Olcai's orbital weapons platforms are active and have disabled the Ta'Reeth battleship. They are engaging the rest of the armada." Angel shimmered and then disappeared completely, leaving only her voice. "We have sustained significant damage sir. Our engines are off line. Shields are non operational, and the forward weapons are not responding. There are hull breeches on decks four through seven, and eleven through sixteen. The affected decks have been sealed off sir. We are also experiencing fluctuations in our power grid. Repair drones have been dispatched to shields, engines, and weapons."

"Use the thrusters to turn us broadside." Jason ordered as he adjusted his onyx visor. Redemption turned slowly, a wounded beast trying to move, bringing her available weapons to bear on the enemy ship.

"Fire at will."

"Yes sir." the weapons officer curtly replied before firing a salvo at the wounded ship. Particle beams cut through space before slashing deep into the wounded heart of the enemy. The beams tore through armored hull and into the unprotected corridors of the Ta'Reeth ship, incinerating everything it touched. Soldiers and technicians alike exploded into a bloody mist as the particle beams and railguns reached for the heart of the living ship.

The great black spirals that covered the hull writhed like the tentacles of a giant sea creature. Sections of the arms cracked and finally broke open, releasing hundreds of fresh star fighters into space. Hundreds of the tiny black specks swarmed towards Redemption. She sat motionless in space with her shields gone and her defenses all but exhausted, her particle cannons tracked the fighters as best they could, killing maybe one out of three.

Needles of coal black bone danced around Redemption, stabbing her with the venom of searing plasma. The globules burned into the ship's ablative armor, threatening to expose her crew to the frozen vacuum of space. The fighters moved quickly, taking advantage of the wounded areas of the ship, quickly turning Redemption's hull into an unrecognizable mass of twisted, burnt metal.

"Captain, the Ta'Reeth battleship is regenerating itself." Angel's voice fluctuated in pitch from alto to bass as she informed the Captain of the problem. Olcai's weapons cycled and fired again, ripping a hole deep into the enemy ship. Blood and sinew vaporized from the heat of the planet's particle beams.

"Get the engines working!" Jason yelled and slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair. Without shields, weapons, or engines, he knew that his ship and crew were going to die very soon. Even with Olcai's weapons platforms in operation, without Redemption being able to function, death was a certainty.

"Captain the engines are now at thirty percent." Angel's proclamation came none too soon, as the Ta'Reeth fighters intensified their attack, and the battleship began to move.

"Target that monster with the nuclear weapons. Helm bring us to a safe distance." the Captain ordered as the ship began to move. The enemy fighters mercilessly pounded away at Redemptions hull. Great chunks of armor melted from the punishment of the Ta'Reeth plasma cannons. The onslaught melted the armor, and fused several particle cannons and particle beam emitters into massive lumps of slag.

Dozens of fighters swarmed around Redemption, firing mercilessly on her bow, blowing fighter sized holes in her unprotected hull, and sucking hundreds of her crew into space. Still, Redemption began to accelerate, crushing a handful of fighters that refused to move out of the way. Her weapons continued to fire on the Ta'Reeth battleship, and as many fighters as they could, as she clawed for the all important distance between them.

Redemption raced toward a safe distance, so that she could use her nuclear weapons and not be killed in the explosion. The Ta'Reeth fighters accelerated to match Redemption's speed, and unleashed a maelstrom of plasma on the failing ship. Two of the bone armored fighters came around and faced Redemption, attacking directly at the bridge. Hundreds of balls of superheated plasma tore away the ships armor before the two fighters slammed into the bridge. The bridge crew died instantly in the explosion, except for the Captain. A bright blue forcefield snapped instantly into place and protected him from being crushed by the fighters or pulled into the vacuum of space.

Jason knew that his bridge crew had felt no pain. They died so fast, that there was nothing to feel. Whether it was the crush of the fighters, the explosions, or the cold vacuum of space that killed them, it didn't actually matter. They were dead.

Jason forced himself to access Redemptions systems through his visor. Most of his options were gone. Power was failing. Angel was off line, and his engines were now gone.

Silently, Captain McWilliams realized that he had no options left. Before he could convince himself that there was another way, he accessed his weapons systems. Fortunately, one was still available. It took Jason a moment to analyze his sensor data, and aim his weapons. If Angel was available, she could have done it all in the space of a thought, but she was not there.

Gently, Jason nudged his thrusters enough to line up his shot and then fired. Four nuclear warheads screamed out of Redemption's heavy railguns in quick succession, and slammed into the Ta'Reeth battleship, just as its gravity well generator came online.

The gravity well swelled at the bow of the ship, just as the ship erupted in a blinding galaxy of light. Shockwaves shot away from the center of the ship, destroying the remnants of the Ta'Reeth armada and throwing Redemption like a rag doll. Redemption slammed into the shockwaves, crushing and twisting on impact as she hurled headlong across the Olcai system. The battered ship finally came to rest just inside the Olcaina debris field.

Chapter 33

Corin leveled his pistol at the back of the woman's head. She was pretty, much prettier than any woman he had seen in a very long time. She was sweaty and bleeding in places, but still intoxicatingly beautiful. He drew close enough to her that he could whisper, and tell from her scent of exotic spices that she was indeed, a Bakeeron, but not the one he was looking for.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, brushing the pistol's barrel against her hair.

Kamira started to turn to look him in the eye. The thought of being held captive by anyone, regardless of the situation, angered her to the point that she struggled to hold her temper in check. She was short on time and patience, making it that much harder for her to think clearly.

"Don't move, unless you have a death wish." His voice had an edge to it as he gently pressed the muzzle of his pistol against the back of her head. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I am Commander Kamira Nor, Chief Engineer of the star ship Redemption. There is a bomb at the heart of this planet, and I need to disarm it." Kamira growled, her heart racing, as she tried to think of what to do. Nothing came to her mind, so she decided to trust her fate.

"Commander, huh?" Corin lowered his pistol. "Then you should know better than to be down here by yourself."

"What are you doing down here alone then?" Kamira turned and looked him in the eye. Her gaze would have burned holes in ion nitrided carbon steel, but Corin ignored it.

"I'm not alone. I have him." he said, gesturing toward the Sand Panther. "This is Brutus. I'm Corin." Corin ran a hand over his face as he let a series of thoughts run through his mind, then holstered his pistol. "If there really is a bomb, like you say, then we're all dead if you fail. Let's go." he gestured for Kamira to lead the way.

"Just like that?" Kamira asked, not entirely sure what to make of this man.

"Just like that Commander." Corin waited for Kamira to start walking then fell in step behind her, with Brutus bringing up the rear.

The lights faded quickly, and then finally gave out as they traveled deeper into the bowels of the ravaged city. There was nothing here that had been left untouched by the battle being fought above. Every wall, every door, showed its age and damage in ways that left no doubt about its condition. Massive cracks formed in the center of the passageway floors, and along the creases of the ceilings, making Kamira wary of the entire city coming down on top of them.

Left in the darkness, Kamira started to stumble before Corin reached into his pocket and retrieved a pair of night vision glasses, and handed them to Kamira.

"Thank you." she said thankfully, putting the glasses on. "What brings you to Olcai? This isn't exactly the best time to be here you know."

"I'm here looking for someone." Corin replied after a moment of thought.

"Who?" Kamira asked without turning around.

"She's a Bakeeron, like you." His voice carried none of the apprehension that he felt about disclosing anything about his mission. What could he be thinking?

"Really? What's her name?" Kamira tried hard not to show this man any of her suspicions, or give him any reason to turn from a potential ally into a hardened enemy.

"It's not important right now." Corin dismissed Kamira's probing. "Let's just take care of that bomb. Then we can worry about other things."

"I was just curious, that's all." Kamira shrugged. "Maybe I know her. There really aren't that many Bakeerons around here."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks." Corin replied absently, keeping his eyes open and a hand on his pistol.

"There should be a door at the deepest part of the city." Kamira said quietly, not entirely sure what to make of her traveling companions.

"Sounds a little ominous don't you think?" Corin turned to check on Brutus. The big cat paid little attention to Corin, as his eyes swept the corridors, methodically looking for the Ta'Reeth.

"Yes, well that's what I was told." Kamira's voice grew colder. "At least I'm not arbitrarily pointing guns at people."

"Yeah, well it's kept me alive this long." Corin smirked. "The way things are, I'm surprised that you're still breathing."

"T'Sula would have said the same thing." Kamira mumbled under her breath.

"Sounds like a smart woman." Corin stepped through an open doorway.

"How did you know that T'Sula's a woman?" Kamira stopped suddenly and spun around to face Corin.

Corin paused. "Just a guess, from ah, the name." he stammered.

Brutus snarled from deep inside, interrupting Kamira's thoughts. He barred his fangs and claws as he slowly scanned the corridor.

"What is it?" Corin asked the giant feline in hushed tones. Brutus glanced down the corridor from where they had come, hunching his powerful shoulders, ready for an attack.

Corin listened intently."I don't hear anything buddy." he whispered.

"What's going on?" Kamira asked quietly.

"Brutus sensed something, now shut up." Corin whispered back. He blinked his eyes and accessed the microprocessor imbedded in his skull behind his right ear. Corin winced as his hearing intensified to superhuman levels.

"Don't tell me to shut up." Kamira whispered.

"Ow. Not so loud." Corin covered his ears. "Get down!" he yelled as he threw himself over the top of Kamira, knocking her to the floor. Brutus bounded over them, and leapt to the side, an instant before a ball of plasma burned into the wall behind them.

Corin looked around, finding himself in a large room, with only the one door. "We're dead." he mumbled, then covered his ears in pain before he disengaged the microprocessor.

"Not yet." Kamira said, scrambling to her feet. She ran over to the door and slammed her hand down on the pressure plate, closing the door. Picking up a shard of metal from the floor, Kamira quickly pried the pressure plate open. She reached into her robes, and pulled out the bottle of spray bandage. Smoke poured out of the opening as Kamira sprayed a thick layer of spray bandage over the processors and wires. Satisfied with her handiwork, Kamira turned to survey her new surroundings.

"That should hold them for a little while." she said, as she walked past Corin.

"Yeah, but for how long?" Corin stood and dusted himself off. "Let's barricade the door with something big and heavy."

Dust fell from the cracks in the ceiling and walls covering the tables, laden with various instruments that lined the walls of the circular room. Cracks ran along the walls in a spider web, and spread to the ceiling, gradually growing larger every time the room shook. Recessed in the center of the floor was a large round door, unadorned with artistry or markings of any kind.

Kamira walked to the center of the room. She knelt down and touched the cold metal surface. "We go down."

Corin joined her near the door. "How do you open it?"

"Stand back." Kamira walked to a table with only a handful of instruments on it. The instruments themselves were old and nondescript, leaving Kamira with the feeling that this room had not been used in a very long time. On the wall behind the table was a simple pressure plate with a circle in the center. She reached up and pushed the plate. A gentle whir filled the room as the circular door smoothly slid away, revealing a deep black hole.

"That's not good." Corin peered over the edge into endless darkness. The sheer walls of an enormous tube stretched farther than he could see. "How are we supposed to get down?"

"What?" Kamira asked, stepping to Corin's side. She peered cautiously into the depths, nearly falling when something in the corridor began pounding relentlessly against the door.

The pounding stopped, and the center of the door began to glow a dull red, growing quickly to an almost blinding white, before melting into a smoldering puddle on the floor. As soon as the center of the door melted away, Ta'Reeth plasma cannons roared to life, aimed at Kamira and Corin, incinerating whatever they touched.

"I told you it wouldn't hold!" Corin yelled before jumping into the abyss. Brutus followed, bounding over Kamira and into the hole.

Kamira closed her eyes and stepped over the edge. She fell into the darkness and slowly came to a stop. Opening her eyes, she looked around. She floated in the black abyss. No light filtered in and nothing touched her skin.

"Is anybody there? Am I dead?" Corin's voice came from nearby.

"No, you're not dead. Not yet anyway." Kamira responded, her voice a little brittle. She could hear Brutus growling in the dark.

A pale blue stream of light shimmered in the distance. It danced momentarily then snaked through the darkness, stopping a few meters from Kamira. A bioluminescent eel floated in the water on the other side of a transparent wall. The faint light reflected off the wall showing its true shape. Kamira, Corin, and Brutus floated in a clear tube, running from the hull of the city, all of the way to the center of the planet.

"I think I see something." Corin pointed to the edge of the light. At the edge of the darkness, the light caressed the molded shape of a cargo transport unit.

Kamira moved her arms and kicked her legs in a futile attempt to move to the transport. Corin fished around in a cargo pocket before attaching a small cylinder over the muzzle of his pistol. Taking careful aim, he fired a shot at the edge of the transport. A faint ping resounded through the tube letting them all know that he had hit his mark. A moment later Corin began to move. He moved slowly at first, and then picked up speed as the tiny line retracted and coiled inside the cylinder on his pistol.

The transport, roughly oblong in shape, stretched from nearly one side of tunnel to the other. A bank of computer panels lined one side. In the center, a flat expanse with slots cut diagonally across it, dominated the otherwise empty deck.

Corin bent his knees, absorbing the impact as he contacted the transport. He grabbed the console as he skidded across the deck, keeping himself from careening over the edge and back into the abyss. Fumbling in the darkness, he managed to activate the computer and power up the transport unit. Aside from the lights on the console, the only illumination came from the pale blue running lights along the edge of the transport. Small black straps snaked out of the slots nearest his feet and fastened themselves around his ankles.

"Hold on you two. I'm on my way." Small thrusters fired momentarily, aligning the transport, and sending the craft toward Kamira.

Kamira watched as the transport came closer. It slowed, and finally came to a stop just before she made contact. Her feet touched the deck and were immediately wrapped in black bands. Brutus floated nearby, moving his giant paws through the air as if he could swim in it.

"Hold on pal." Corin consoled the big cat. Moments later, Brutus stood secured to the deck by black bands wrapped tightly around his legs.

"Here we go." Corin took a deep breath and started the descent to the core.

The transport sped through the transparent shaft, dropping to the center of the planet. The meager light from the computer console and running lights could not adequately penetrate the darkness, leaving its passengers in a shroud of darkness and silence.

A light blossomed in the distance, like a flower opening to greet the day. Brilliant white light speared the oppressing darkness, blinding the passengers on the transport. The blazing green of plasma cannon fire burst out of the blinding white before it tore into the underbelly of the transport.

"Where did that come from?" Corin asked, clutching the controls as the transport pitched wildly to the side, slamming hard into the transparent wall. Kamira picked herself up off the deck, grimacing as she held her knee.

"Are you alright?" Corin asked Kamira.

"I'll be fine. How's Brutus?" Kamira said, looking over at the massive feline.

"He's alright. Brace yourselves." Corin shouted a second before another volley of plasma ripped into the transport. Pieces of blackened thrusters and hull fragments exploded from the hull and careened off the inside of the shaft, clattering into the distance.

The enemy fire became heavier the closer they came to the core. The transport shuddered violently then veered sharply, slamming into the wall again. Giant cracks snaked out from the point of impact, reaching farther than either Corin or Kamira could possibly see. The cracks widened in the transparent barrier, they kept growing until icy water began to spray into the tube.

"Oh gods! We have to hurry!" Kamira yelled as she worked frantically to free her ensnared feet.

"Hold on." Corin called to her while he worked frantically at the transport controls. The transport thrusters sputtered. The thrusters that were still intact came hesitantly to life. Corin quickly backed the craft away from the wall and aimed it towards the light of the core.

"If this doesn't kill us, you can thank me later." he said before he ignited the thrusters. Plasma fire poured out of the opening, ripping the transport to shreds. Thrusters tore away from the main body of the craft, sending it spinning on three axes. Brutus howled, Kamira vomited and Corin closed his eyes as the transport burst through the opening at the end of the tunnel. It crashed to the ground and came to rest with the deck facing up. Miraculously, all aboard were safe.

"That's the last time I let you drive." Kamira complained, fighting with her restraints.

"Hey, you're alive aren't you?" Corin managed to release the straps from around his ankles. He hurried over to Kamira and helped her release herself and Brutus. Brutus stood up, flexed his paws and licked Corin's face. Kamira balanced herself against the wreckage and walked to the edge. She peered over the side, and then lowered herself the two meters to the floor. Corin followed suit before Brutus leapt easily from the deck to the floor.

"They must have known that someone would come." Corin said, pointing to several Ta'Reeth arms and legs sticking out from underneath the wrecked transport.

"Yeah, well, if you put a bomb at the heart of a planet, you might place a few guards there too." Kamira muttered as she walked around the expansive room. White unadorned walls curved to a clear domed ceiling. Through the ceiling, she could see a vast array of sea creatures moving in the darkness, just beyond the reach of the light. A circular door, much like the one they came through before, dominated the center of the room.

"This room must be a loading dock for the transport." Corin looked around.

"Why do you say that?" Kamira asked. She glanced up at the hole in the ceiling that they had just come through. The door had sealed behind them, but was not holding out the rush of water from the shattered access tube.

"Because there's nothing else here." Corin walked to the door in the center of the room. "What you're looking for is down there." he said, pointing down.

"Stand back. We don't have much time." Kamira pointed to the leaking ceiling as she strode to a console imbedded in the wall. She touched the screen and scanned through the menu that appeared there. Finding the option that she wanted, Kamira accessed it.

The door quietly slid down half a meter and then slid open. Corin peered over the edge to find a large mechanical lift that rested just below the opening.

"Well, are you coming?" Corin asked just after jumping down onto the lift.

Kamira shook her head slightly, and eased herself onto the lift. She stepped to the side, making room for Brutus to drop down.

"Please keep all appendages inside the lift at all times." Corin smirked, and pressed the control pad. The lift smoothly dropped toward the center of the core.

Heavy beams made out of a dark gray composite crossed in a giant latticework, giving strength to the core. The core itself was enormous. Between the outer shell and the core, there was enough space to build several starships the size of Redemption, and still have all of the lifts and support structure for Olcai itself. Five other lifts ran in different directions, equidistant from each other, and intersecting at the center of the planet.

"Those other lifts must run to the other five cities." Kamira muttered.

"Probably, but why?" Corin asked.

"I don't know for sure. If I had to guess, I would say that it probably has to do with the cloning operation." Kamira peered over the side. A massive, spherical chamber loomed ominously ahead.

The center of the core, the very heart of Olcai, was a gigantic metal sphere, bristling with cables and supports that hung suspended at the very center of the planet. It occurred to Kamira, as they approached, that this place was older than she could fathom, and possibly more advanced than anything she had ever seen. This place was born from the death of Olcaina, and the need to give the people of Olcai a home, a place to be. This place, this core was indeed the alpha and the omega for the Olcai.

The lift slowed as it approached the core. A large circular door slid open, allowing the lift to enter. Inside the chamber, thousands lights flickered to life. The lift gently came to rest on a massive, rectangular platform near the center of the sphere, unsupported by trusses and cables. Kamira stepped off the lift, followed by Brutus, and finally Corin. Free of its passengers, the lift retreated from the sphere, with the door closing behind it.

Lining the inside of the chamber, with no space left uncovered, were coal black capsules. The capsules were roughly the size of a person, with a clear lid that allowed viewing of what was inside. Inside the capsules, featureless Olcai faces stared out at the world with unseeing eyes.

"Oh my god." Corin muttered in astonishment. "This place is a giant cloning chamber."

"It's more than that. This place is sacred. It's the end of their old world, and the beginning of everything else." Kamira looked at him. "This is literally the center of their world, the center of their existence."

"O.K., great history lesson. Now, where's the bomb?" Corin looked over the side.

"I don't know." Kamira slammed her hand down on the railing in sudden frustration. She knew that there was no possible way of searching the entire core, and no time to do it.

Corin blinked and accessed one of his implants. Opening his eyes, he scanned the sphere.

"What is that?" Kamira asked, pointing up. A dark section of the core shimmered slightly.

"I'm not sure." Corin focused on the section where Kamira pointed. "It looks like a forcefield. I'm not positive, but it looks like something blew a hole in the wall."

"I don't see any trace of a bomb." Kamira stared at the shimmering darkness.

"Hold on. Let's take a closer look." Corin accessed a computer terminal in the center of the platform, and smoothly guided it over to the hole in the wall.

Kamira reached out and touched a capsule as the platform stopped. She traced her fingers along the obsidian contours. The transparent cover allowed her to see an unborn Olcai resting peacefully, its smooth black skin a stark contrast to the milky white fluids surrounding it. She looked at the creature, with its innocence and potential, and quietly wondered what kind of world it would be born into.

She paused for a moment longer, chastising herself for calling the unborn Olcai a creature, instead of person. As she gazed at the clone, an oily brown substance seeped into the nutrient bath, covering everything it touched. The Olcai began to thrash wildly, its mouth opening and closing, forming words that it would never say and no one would ever hear.

Kamira gasped in shock, and then ran to the next capsule and the next after that. Each one was the same. Unborn Olcai writhed in pain, thrashing in a futile attempt to ward off an unstoppable attacker.

"I wonder if they know that they are going to die." Kamira wiped a tear from her cheek.

"What are you talking about?" Corin asked.

"I can't stop this bomb." Kamira looked at him and shook her head. "It's a Ta'Reeth weapon. It's biological not technological. There's nothing I can do."

"Great." Corin slammed his hand down on the console. "We're dead."

"Hold on." Kamira ran to the computer, knocking Corin out of the way. Her hands flew over the screen, barely touching it to access what she needed.

"We may be dead, but there are millions of others that we might be able to save." Sweat beaded on her brow as she worked, frantically digging deeper into the database.

"What are you doing?" Corin blinked his eyes, disengaging his enhanced vision.

"Simple. I'm instructing the individual cities to activate their emergency protocols. Each city was built with an emergency biosphere. That should protect them from the loss of atmosphere." Kamira's fingers paused for a second then continued to fly over the screen. "When the gravity fails and the supports are destroyed, the cities should act as life rafts until help can arrive."

"Slow down. What do you mean the gravity is going to fail?" Corin's mouth dropped open. "The supports are going to be destroyed? What are you talking about?"

"Corin, this planet is going to explode. These clones are the bomb." Kamira stopped working on the computer and faced him. "We are going to die. When this bomb goes off, we can't get away from it. It's going to vaporize us, the core, and flash boil billions of gallons of water." she took a deep breath. "I have been able to activate the emergency protocols of every city, except the one that we came from. That city has sustained too much damage. They'll be lucky to survive the blast, let alone everything else."

"We are not going to die. Not today." Corin grimaced as he closed his eyes. There was a look of determination on his face that Kamira was not going to question.

"What are you doing?" Kamira finally dared to ask.

"Shut up. I need to concentrate." Corin snapped. His hands clinched into fists so tight that blood trickled down his fingers. "Come on. Come on." he whispered.

The clone capsules turned brown on the inside then started to shake. The clones themselves were no longer visible in fetid nutrient bath. A few thousand of the clones thrashed into view, each of them bloated and disfigured in pain as the Ta'Reeth agent devastated their bodies, turning them into an agent of destruction.

"Stand back!" Corin yelled over the din. A loud explosion rocked the core, breaking a handful of cloning capsules loose from their fittings. The forcefield flickered and died. Water rushed in through the ruptured wall, quickly filling the bottom of the core with cold, dark ocean water.

Precious seconds passed by as a ship eased through the ruptured core, coming to stop, and hovering barely a meter from the platform. A small hatch opened on its side, allowing Brutus to leap from the platform, and into the airlock. Corin quickly followed the big cat.

"Are you coming or what?" Corin asked, extending a hand to help Kamira.

"Of course I'm coming." she whispered in his ear as she scrambled aboard and the airlock closed behind her.

A door opened at the other end of the airlock, and Brutus and Corin stepped quickly through.

"There's an extra seat in the crew station." Corin said just before the door slammed closed, locking Kamira in the airlock.

"What are you doing?" she screamed, pounding her fists against the airlock door.

"It wasn't me." Corin paused long enough to check a monitor imbedded in the bulkhead. "The computer says that its reading some kind of radiation on you, and won't let you come any farther than the airlock." he let out a deep breath that he had not realized he had been holding. "Sit tight. I'm going to get us out of this."

Corin ran to the crew station, threw himself into the pilot's seat, and kicked in the engines. Vengeance roared to life. The engines pushed the ship through the ruptured core and into the depths of the ocean. Dark blue water rushed past the hull, threatening to tear the little ship apart. Vengeance rushed through the waters and exploded out of the water and straight into the sky.

"Kamira, I'm picking up a strange reading. The computer has located a radiation signature that matches yours exactly. I'm going to check it out. It'll only take a second." Corin called into the intercom.

A moment later, the ship hovered next to a tall building with a hole blown in the side. The airlock opened, and two figures hastily climbed aboard.

"I thought you were dead." Kamira cried as she threw her arms around her cousin. The airlock closed and the ship raced for the stars as the planet exploded in a fiery display of molten metal and steam.

Chapter 34

Unable to move, the pain flowed freely through Jason's body and mind. He knew instinctively that he was still alive, but something, everything, was wrong. There was no light to see, and no sound to hear. Everything was gone, as if he were trapped inside a sealed tomb.

Where was he? What happened? Why couldn't he hear Angel? The questions forced their way past the pain, into the center of his thoughts. Slowly, Jason was able to answer the questions. He was still on Redemption, and they had just been through a horrific battle. However, he should still be able to contact Angel, unless she was off line.

The thought of Angel being out of commission sent a wave of terrifying realizations through his mind. With Angel down, they were defenseless. Without her, life support could not function, and with Kamira gone as well, they had no way of repairing the ship. With everything tied in to the A.I., the sensors were gone, and they had no idea what was going on around them. In that moment, Jason knew that without Angel, they were all going to die.

Jason forced himself to think. He couldn't see, hear, or move. Why? Why couldn't he do any of those things? There had to be a reason. He chased his memories of the battle in an effort to find his answer.

The memories were still fresh in his mind. Fighting the Ta'Reeth warships, and winning, and then there was their secret weapon. The sheer power the Ta'Reeth had managed to harness and deploy against Redemption defied logic. How had they done it? What was the nature of such a thing? It had every characteristic of a black hole, a collapsed star, and yet the Ta'Reeth had been able to turn it into a weapon that they could control.

Jason remembered having witnessed the brutal death of his bridge crew. One moment they were there, and the next they were dead, crushed by two Ta'Reeth fighters as they sacrificed themselves in a kamikaze attack. The attack had worked. Those two fighters killed his bridge crew, and forced Jason to use his personal link with Angel to destroy that terrible weapon. He had accessed every computer system that he needed with his mind. His thoughts had become the actions that killed that monster of a ship.

The computer, Angel, was down and his mind still directly connected, via his helmet, to her. That was why he was unable to move, why he could not hear, or see. Jason's mind raced in the void, desperately trying to cope with his situation, trying to find a solution that would grant him access to his own body. In the void, there were no reference points, nothing in which he could orient himself so that he could find his way. In the silent blackness, Jason began to panic. His heart started to race, to beat wildly and uninhibited.

The pounding of his own heart reached into the void, a single desperate lifeline that Jason could take hold of. It was a tenuous thread, one that threatened to break the moment that he allowed his mind to wander even the slightest bit. Still, he kept his focus on the beating of his heart.

The moments stretched into long, arduous minutes as Jason reconnected his mind and body. The thudding of his heart slowly evened, and eventually slowed as his concentration became absolute. Soon, he was able to lift his arms, and remove the helmet that had kept him locked away in the void that exists between life and death.

The sight that greeted Jason nearly overwhelmed him. The pale blue flickering of the forcefield washed the bridge in an ethereal light that tried and failed to hide the grotesque carnage. Redemption's bridge was now a tomb. Before the battle Redemption had been a working, disciplined fighting machine, and now it was a frozen crater filled with the desecrated remains of the enemy and friends alike.

Jason closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself a precious few seconds to say goodbye to the men and women that had lost their lives under his command. The ship and her crew had done their jobs, they had fought well and they deserved more gratitude and recognition than they were likely to receive.

When he opened his eyes again, Jason was ready. Through sheer force of will, he leveraged his battered frame out of the captain's chair, and stumbled to a locker located at the rear of the bridge. With the power being out, he was forced to pry the door open. Hanging inside the locker was a series of emergency environmental suits. They were bulky and durable, designed for use in extremely inhospitable situations.

Jason pulled down the nearest suit, and climbed into it. It was self-adjusting, having been designed to fit the widest range of sizes possible. The suit clicked and whirred as it adjusted to fit the Captain's two-meter tall, muscular frame, until it finally sealed and he was ready to do what he needed.

Bringing the suit's computer online, Jason checked the status of the suit, and how much time he had on the rebreather. His seals looked to be good, and the air supply was at acceptable levels, but that still didn't leave him much time. He had only sixty minutes to make his way back to engineering, diagnose the problem with the computer, and get it restarted before he was out of air.

Taking a deep breath, Jason turned back to the forcefield that had kept him safe from the Ta'Reeth attack. With the computer down, the turbo lifts were out of the question. The turbo lifts were the only way to and from the bridge, and with the main computer not functioning, the bridge was now an island that no one could get to. His only chance to reach engineering in time was to go out on the hull, find an airlock, and manually open it.

The forcefield shimmered blue against the star pricked backdrop of space. There were no weaknesses in the barrier, having its own computer processing and power supply, just in case the main computer actually failed at a critical moment. Jason was grateful for the foresight of Redemption's designers, but now the redundant systems were more of a hindrance than a benefit. He needed to find a way through, or around the forcefield, and he had to do it quickly.

Minutes ticked inexorably by as Jason searched for a way to circumvent the forcefield. Every time he managed to break through a weakened section hull, the forcefield snapped into place before he could get through. Ten minutes had passed, and he still had nothing to show for his efforts. Frustrated, Jason kicked at a bulkhead, and was surprised when the bulkhead fell away, revealing the forcefield generator.

At around a meter square, the generator was surprisingly small. There were no wires or connections of any kind running into or out of the gray and black composite box, only a bright blue light that steadily flashed on its side gave any indication that anything was happening.

Taking a shard of metal from the wreckage, Jason wedged it into the seam of the box. He worked at it for a moment before he was rewarded with the side of the generator coming off. Inside the generator, a series of processors, lenses, and power supplies ran in sequence to generate the forcefield. Taking careful aim, Jason thrust his shard of metal into one of the lenses, and missed. The shard rebounded off the hardened lens, and directly into one of the processors. The metal connected the positive and negative terminals, shorting out the entire system in a magnificent display of smoke and sparks. The sparks were still flying when the forcefield gave out.

The fire from the forcefield generator died, and debris ripped at his environmental suit as it flew by. Jason grabbed frantically at the bulkhead as the atmosphere exploded out of the ruined bridge, in a desperate attempt to not be sucked out into space. His initial attempt failed, but he caught hold of one of the Ta'Reeth fighters as he slipped by.

The air lasted for only a moment before it was gone, and Jason was able to reorient himself to continue with his mission. He activated the magnets in his boots, and let his feet settle to the deck. Once he was standing free of any supports, it was only a matter of moments before the Captain was walking on the hull of his crippled ship.

The damage to the bridge was nothing. Redemption had managed to shield her crew from the worst of the battle. Her once pristine hull now bore a patchwork of scars and damage that only a ship of her caliber could have withstood. Great rends in her hull reached from the lowest point of her keel, up and across the mighty ship, making her hull resemble a broken egg.

Jason closed his eyes against the overwhelming nausea that threatened to cripple him and his mission. He stood alone on the hull of his ship, seeing with his own eyes the full extent of the damage. Her hull was crushed, broken against the very asteroid that had stopped the ship from careening through endless space. The flicker of forcefields dotted the hull, while other wounds were left open to the cold reality of space. Thick sections of Redemptions ablative armor curled away from the hull like the monstrous peaks of a charred mountain range.

Jason reminded himself that he was the Captain of this ship. The responsibility to keep the crew and ship safe rested with him and him alone. He had never asked to be Captain, but he was the Captain and that was what mattered right then. He had to keep going.

Time was slipping quickly away as Jason picked his way through the razor sharp forest of shattered hull. He avoided as much of the damage as he could, but quickly found that there was no way to go but through it. The route that he chose eventually brought him to the edge of a precipice, a chasm covered with the flickering blue sheen of a forcefield.

He looked left, then right, trying to find the limit of the chasm. There was no end to in sight. Without the metal in the hull, the magnets in Jason's boots could not find purchase, and he would float away, never to be of help to anyone again. The chasm was too wide for him to cross, and he did not have enough time to go back and find another way.

Jason looked down at the forcefield, refusing to give up. On the other side of the barrier, in the pale blue light, he could see things. There were a handful of bodies, burned and broken beyond his recognition. Parts of machinery floated amongst the dead crewmembers, bumping into them, and both flying away in different directions. This gave him an idea.

There was no gravity in this section of the ship. Jason waited patiently for a moment, until a large piece of bulkhead floated near the forcefield. He waited until it was close enough, and then placed his left foot against the barrier. As he had hoped, the magnets in his boot attracted the piece of metal, and stayed in place on the other side of the forcefield. The grip was tenuous, but still, it held.

Taking a deep breath, Jason stood on the bulkhead fragment, and pushed off from the hull. The ride started out smooth, with the forcefield providing little resistance, while giving Jason the bit of help that he needed. A rhythm slowly developed; a gentle give and take of the forcefield and the magnets as he slid across the invisible barrier. As he went, the rhythm grew more pronounced, more violent the closer that came to the other side.

Jason crouched down as far as he could manage, trying keep his balance. He was just past the half waypoint when all forward progress stopped. Something was wrong. Jason managed to kneel down on the forcefield, without losing his balance. He touched the shimmering barrier with his hand, and found it to be softer than he had expected.

Gently, Jason placed both hands against the forcefield, and pushed. He started to row with his hands, before the forcefield began to pulse. It grew bright and strong, then dimmed to the point that it was barely there, before growing strong again. The flat surface of the forcefield started to twist and deform as Jason came close to the other side of the chasm.

Jason could see, almost touch the hull at the far side. He was going to make it, if only the forcefield would hold for another moment. He reached out in anticipation, in the eagerness of feeling the sold metal hull beneath his feet. In that instant, the forcefield failed. It twisted and bucked, throwing Jason away from the stars, and down into the chasm.

Jason careened past the ruined bodies of his crewmembers, and the debris from his broken ship. He fell deeper into the darkness, barely able to see the remnants of Olcai through the failing forcefield. He continued to fall deeper into the ship, until finally he struck the bottom.

The force of the impact drove the air from Jason's lungs. Millions of brilliant stars danced across his vision as Jason fought to stay conscious. He had to keep going. Nothing could stop him, too much depended on him getting the computer running again.

Jason's feet caught on something as he drifted up. He turned on the small lamps located on his helmet, and looked at his feet.

Lodged between a bulkhead and a piece of equipment, was the body of an unfortunate crewmember. Jason's feet had caught in the Bakeeron's arms. It occurred to him then, that it didn't matter what race someone was, or where they were from. In death, everyone was the same.

Reaching down, Jason gently freed himself from the corpse's grasp, and placed his feet against the bulkhead. Once his feet were firmly in place, he looked around. Whatever had happened here had happened fast. Death had come quickly to the men and women that had worked here.

Halfway up the wall was a door. Jason picked his way along the bulkhead, carefully avoiding the sharp edges of the broken decks and shattered equipment. The going was difficult, but he finally arrived at the door.

With no power to open the door, Jason opened a small access panel located on the wall next to it. Inside the panel was a small wheel with a knob on it. Jason took the wheel, and turned. He kept turning the wheel until the door had opened wide enough for him to step through.

There was gravity, but little else on the other side. Jason stepped into the deserted corridor and deactivated his boots. He could not be sure if there was still breathable air, so he kept his suit intact as he ran down the corridor to the sealed door at the far end.

He knew where he was now. The door at the end of the corridor opened into engineering, not too far from his destination. He knew now that the damage to his ship had been far more extensive than he had imagined. It may not be possible to repair Redemption. Without Angel, it wouldn't be possible at all.

Jason checked his timer as he ran. Heavier breathing, no matter the reason for the exertion, used oxygen at a faster rate. The numbers flashed on his counter, and it wasn't good. He had ten minutes left before he was out of air. After that, he was probably going to die from asphyxiation.

So be it. If it cost Jason his life to save the lives of his crew, then that was what he was going to do.

The door at the end of the corridor proved no more troublesome than the one before. It opened smoothly with the use of the emergency access panel. Jason paused for just a moment, trying to slow his racing heart, before he stepped through the door, and into engineering.

Engineering was dark as well, with no way for light to seep in from outside. Jason's lights played across the expansive chamber, slowly taking in the details. There were crewmembers in here, but from the way they were laying, they were either dead, or unconscious. In the center of the chamber, rising four full decks above, and silent, was Angel.

Jason checked the computer core for any obvious signs of damage. There were no signs of debris, no burn marks, no damage of any kind. Still, Angel showed no signs of life at all.

Finally, Jason turned his attention away from the core. Lining the far wall, reaching the height and width of the entire chamber, was a bank of redundant circuit breakers and line conditioners. Halfway up, he found the problem. There, in the center, a dozen breakers were tripped.

Jason found a moveable ladder, with the top of it attached to runners along the wall, and moved it into place. He climbed quickly and threw all of the breakers that he could reach. He was forced to climb down, reposition the ladder and climb up again. The climb became harder as he went. His air supply grew thin, and then gave out as he reached the top. Reaching out, Jason managed to throw the final breaker before he collapsed.

The computer core came to life as Jason fell. Brilliant blue lines of power coursed through transparent veins that covered Angel like fine lace.

Chapter 35

"Kam, thank the Gods you're safe." T'Sula pulled her cousin into a tight embrace. The fears of the last couple of days seeped away from her as she hugged the only surviving member of her family close to her chest.

"T'Sula, I can't believe it." Kamira tried to hold the tears back. "I thought you were dead."

"I almost was." T'Sula pulled herself back so that she could look at Kamira, and smiled sadly. The fact that Kamira was safe, and that they were together brought her peace to her heart, but deep inside she knew that the peace could never last. She kept the details of what had actually happened sealed tightly inside her mind. The things that Nom had done, the fact that he had survived their first encounter troubled her in ways that she could never articulate.

"You look like crap." T'Sula grinned as she teased her cousin.

"Thanks. You too." Kamira smiled. "I've got so much to tell you." The tears started to come now, streaking down her cheeks until they fell freely to the deck. "I thought you were gone..."

"Commanders, I regret interrupting your reunion, but why are we still in the airlock?" Narja's voice boomed in the tight space. His armor and weapons were scorched and pitted from the battle, but still fully functional.

"Oh, Kam, this is Major Narja." T'Sula pointed to the hulking Caldonian. "Major, this is Kamira Nor, my cousin."

"Major, it's nice to see you." Kamira smiled as she looked around the airlock. "I wish that we were back on Redemption, instead of here."

"Commander, it is good to see you as well. Your husband will be pleased that you are safe." Narja glanced over at Kamira. "Do you know why we are still in the airlock?"

"Well, Major, I can answer that." Corin interrupted from the other side of the forcefield. Brutus stood by his side; his eyes never left the newcomers.

"You are still in the airlock, because I will not allow a fully armed and armored individual any further inside my ship. You're lucky that I allowed you to come this far." Corin sighed, not entirely sure how to proceed. Kamira and T'Sula factored well into his plans, but Narja was a wild card that he was not ready to deal with just yet. "Commander Nor here, has been cleared to enter, but Commander Mir, on the other hand, has not."

"And you are?" T'Sula looked at Corin with interest. He had the look of a man that had seen his share of difficulties, and somehow come out the other side in one piece. Whoever this man was, he could be either a potent ally, or a dangerous threat. Either way, T'Sula was not sure if she could trust him. The fact that she was essentially a captive meant that she probably couldn't trust him at all, but she decided to see how things went.

"T'Sula, this is Corin Dante." Kamira ventured quietly. "He's the one that saved us from Olcai. Like I said, there's a lot that I want to talk to you about."

"Thank you Kamira." Corin grimaced. This was not going to go the way that he wanted things to go. If he didn't do something quickly, none of them would cooperate. "Alright, Major, I'm going to have to ask you to disarm, only then you will be allowed to leave the airlock."

"I will not disarm." Narja declared after a moment's thought, bringing his assault rifle to bear. "That is asking too much, with no reason to trust you. Return us to Redemption, or I will consider you and this ship my current target."

"Major, I am not threatening you. Put the weapons down, or I will be forced to do something unpleasant. I don't want to hurt you." Corin blinked rapidly as he spoke, accessing his implanted remote controls. He knew that he had just lost control of the situation, and now if he didn't act quickly and decisively, he could lose his ship as well.

"A Marine never relinquishes his weapon to the enemy." Narja snarled. "Take us to Redemption."

"I don't have time for this." Corin cursed under his breath. "You leave me no choice." As he spoke, two force fields snapped into place, one on either side of T'Sula. One forcefield separated her from Kamira, while the other separated her from Narja and the airlock. With the forcefield in place, the airlock opened, and Narja was ejected into the vacuum of space.

T'Sula tried to reach for Narja, but the forcefield stood in the way. She screamed his name in defiance as the airlock closed and the forcefield disappeared. Slowly, she turned and faced Corin Dante. Obviously, she could not trust her safety or Kamira's to him. She would find a way to escape, and she vowed to herself that she would make him pay.

"Kamira, please come with me. I need your assistance." Corin offered her his hand as the forcefield between them disappeared. Stunned, Kamira left without comment, leaving T'Sula behind in the airlock. "I'm leaving a forcefield in place until you can be cleared for entry into the ship. I need to speak with you Commander, but I think that will have to wait."

"Let me out!" T'Sula snarled as she launched a series of devastating kicks at the forcefield. The barrier sizzled, then threatened to fade, but held under the barrage. "When I get out, I'm going to rip your head off." she promised under her breath.

When Corin and Kamira were finally out of sight, T'Sula forced herself to sit in the middle of the airlock and close her eyes. Meticulously, T'Sula sat down, and crossed her legs, one foot resting on top of the opposite knee, with the other under. She rested her hands, with her thumb touching her middle finger, palm up on top of her knees, and then closed her eyes. Clearing her mind proved too difficult, so she focused on her breathing. As she focused on her breathing, the pounding of her heart gradually slowed to a gentle rhythm and the fog of her emotions began to lift. Her mind began to clear, wiping away her anger and the vicious thoughts of retribution toward Corin Dante, and focus on the issues that confronted her. She was still confined in the airlock, but with a clear mind, she would find a way out.

Corin had mentioned needing to talk to her. What was it that he needed to talk to her about? Why was she unable to get clearance to leave the airlock? What did he need with Kamira? Why did Kamira seem to trust this man? Should she trust him? The questions began to tumble through her mind like a whirlwind. As quickly as she could dismiss one question, another took its place in an endless stream of unsolvable problems. In the end, T'Sula realized that everything she was worrying about came down to a single question.

Could she trust Corin Dante?

The man had saved her from Olcai. He had saved Kamira as well. She wanted to be able to trust the man, but could not bring herself to do it. She had known him for less than ten minutes, and he had launched a trusted comrade into space. She wanted desperately to beat him until he begged her to stop. He would have to answer for what he had done, just as she would have to be responsible for her own actions and thoughts.

Still frustrated, T'Sula rose from her position on the floor, and started to pace the confines of the airlock. It was a tight space, only a few square meters, and she found herself occasionally brushing against the cold bulkheads. It was quiet, almost unnervingly so, and it started to irritate T'Sula even more.

It took her considerable effort not to scream in frustration. She stopped her pacing, and thought of the teachings that she had learned in what seemed to be another life. Her teacher, Ch'Lan, had taught her so many things, and the one thing that continually escaped her, was patience. Striking at the forcefield was a foolish display that would not accomplish anything. There had to be another way, a way that would actually help her to attain her freedom.

She didn't trust Corin Dante, but even worse than that, she didn't trust herself.

Chapter 36

Narja kept hold of his rifle as he tumbled out of the airlock, sucked into the merciless void. He tumbled head over heels for a handful of seconds, until he could fire his thrusters and regain control. His armor kept him safe from the vacuum and radiation of space, but even the armor would eventually reach its limits and fail.

Narja checked his sensors and found that Corin Dante's' ship was fading into the distance, but still within range. He didn't hesitate as he brought his rifle up, and aimed at the ship. It took only a moment to access what he wanted from the weapon, and fired. The recoil sent him tumbling again, but his sensors showed that he had hit his mark.

The tracking beacon was in place.

Foul tasting bile started to rise in his throat as Narja fired his thrusters again, stopping the spinning. He calmly accessed his communications unit and locked on to the tracking beacon's signal. It was a short-range unit, and did not have the power required for what he needed. Still, it was his only link to serving his Captain, and completing his mission.

Narja worked quickly, never hesitating or giving a second thought to what he was doing. He was facing his target, watching it grow smaller and smaller, until it finally disappeared in a flash of light. As soon as the ship was gone, he quietly said his farewells, and diverted all of his armor's power into his communications unit, and a low power beacon, so that someone might find his body.

With his life support shut off, Narja waited in the depths of space to die. He didn't want to die, but he prayed that when the end did finally come, that he would be together with her again. With Prinelle.

The things that he had gone through, the things that he had done to get back to her...

Tears ran freely down Narja's weathered face. She was the only thing in his life that he had ever wanted. Life was cruel that way, never allowing the chance to be truly happy, or at peace for more than a moment, before reality inevitably comes crashing through, ripping it all away. At least now, he could be at peace.

He was happy once. Back when he held Prinelle in his arms. Back before she died.

Narja closed his eyes, and allowed the memories to take him away.

It had happened years ago, back in the time when he had felt himself to be invincible. They were in the Academy together, Senior Cadets when they met. Hundreds of training missions together, and countless more hours studying and confiding in each other had taken them from being friends, to so much more than that.

He had been away, training, when he received the news. The Ta'Reeth had struck a violent blow against the Caldonian home world, and Prinelle had died in the fighting. More than three hundred thousand, mostly civilians, had been killed in just under four hours. It was the darkest day in Caldon's storied history, and he had not been there when he was needed most.

Still, none of it prepared him for what had happened next.

"Get away from me Lieutenant." Narja growled as Marjak came closer. The Lieutenant's sneer told Narja all he needed to know about the other man's intentions.

Lieutenant Marjak was slightly older than Narja, but only by a couple of years, and slender, especially when compared to Narja's heavily muscled bulk. He wore his black and gold uniform neatly pressed, and highly shined. He was not the type of man that Narja could respect. They had known each other for a handful of years now, and Narja had to watch as Marjak continued to advance, but only at the considerable expense of others.

"Cadet, are you threatening your superior officer?" Marjak taunted as he came closer. He swaggered a bit as he walked, showing Narja that he had something special in mind. "You know, I loved her first." he whispered into Narja's ear.

"Lieutenant, you were never good enough for her." Narja snarled, testing the strength of the chains that held him. He had crossed Marjak earlier, letting him know that his tactics were foolish, and only going to get people killed.

"That doesn't matter now that Prinelle is dead." Marjak waited and made certain that his words had their desired effect. He watched the color drain from Narja's face, and the shock manifest itself in his eyes. "Oh, you hadn't heard that the Ta'Reeth struck Caldon? Well, best you hear it now. She died in the attack, and you Narja, are being sold, by me, into slavery."

Narja tried to rise, but was met with the full force of a charged animal prod that Marjak produced from nowhere. Agonizing pain burned through every nerve ending and synapse in his body as he fought through the paralysis. Narja forced himself back to his feet, and spat in Marjak's face.

Casually, Marjak hit Narja with the animal prod again, and motioned for someone unseen to come to his side from out of the shadows. The man was tall and thin, remaining mostly hidden within the folds of his dark cloak.

"Be careful with this one." Marjak told the other man. "I'm not sure that you can fully break him."

"Don't worry." the other man smiled. "He's destined for the fight pits on the Valla moons. He won't live long."

"Good." Marjak smiled as he stunned Narja again. The fires of pain raged through Narja's body as he finally succumbed to the darkness.

Chapter 37

"What do you want with T'Sula?" Kamira asked, looking up from her work. She was hard at work adjusting the shield harmonic regulators when the thought crossed her mind. Corin had asked her to help him with readying his ship for the fight that he knew was coming, and she had accepted on the condition that she would be able to contact Redemption as soon as they were out of hyperspace.

"It's kind of complicated really." Corin grunted as he pulled himself out from under the shield generator. "I need her help, and she's actually the only person that can do what I need."

"You know her reputation as well as I do, probably better." He sat up, wiping his hands on his trousers as he looked at Kamira. "Everybody in the circles that I've been traveling in knows who T'Sula Mir is, and what she's capable of. They're all scared of her."

"What circles are you talking about?" she turned her full attention on him, quietly resolving that if he was going to hurt her cousin in any way, she would make him pay in ways that he couldn't begin to fathom.

"Look, Kamira, I know you mean well, but there are a few things here that you don't want to know." Corin got up and paced around the shield generator for a moment before settling on a console across from Kamira.

"Try me." Kamira glared at him, willing him to do what she asked. "I'm the only family T'Sula has left, so you had better come out with it."

"Alright." Corin let out a deep sigh as he began to talk. It wasn't easy, or simple, but he started at the beginning, back when he first came across Brutus.

Corin Dante stood at the edge of a precipice, looking out over the rocky wasteland that was his prison. He was a thin man of barely twenty. Despite the warmth in the air, Corin pulled his tattered, loose fitting black jumpsuit close about his wiry frame. Dawn was breaking over the eastern horizon, chasing the night shadows into their daytime hideaways. Soon the sun would be overhead, relentlessly scorching the rock and everything that dared brave the hostility of the daylight. He faced east, almost directly into the sun, daring it to rise and burn him.

Memories skittered through Corin's mind, reminding him of the path that led him here to Darwin, and refusing to be locked away. Faces both laughing and scornful watched him in his mind's eye as he turned away from the cliff and began the trek to the bottom. Carefully picking his way through the sand and rock, Corin passed quickly down the narrow trail.

Hardy scrub and brush sprouted from the ground giving a bit of sanctuary to the insects and small animals that inhabited the wasteland. A myriad of colors from tans to the faintest green dotted the sun-bleached canvas. The light grew brighter, nearly blinding Corin as he trekked east, the same as he had the previous day, and the day before that. He trekked as he would until he either died, or found escape from this ruined planet.

Mixed sporadically throughout the landscape was dead, cancerous land. The dead spots were barren, even for a desert. They stretched for leagues in every direction, allowing nothing to grow. Corin moved quickly, avoiding these poisonous lands as if the mere sight of them could kill.

He walked constantly until the sun passed the horizon directly behind him. There was little cover, and no food or water. His tongue had begun to swell from dehydration and his stomach ached from lack of food. Still, Corin continued deep into the night until he fell to his knees, unable to move another step. There he wavered and collapsed.

Darkness swarmed over him, rushing past his beaten body, imbedding itself in his mind and consuming his psyche. "Turn us in? You're going to pay Dante. I won't kill ya. Not here anyway, not yet." The voice, Malek's voice, kept hammering inside his head. His body ached, wracked with pain from exhaustion and old wounds. His ribs burned, borne of a fire deep inside that could not be extinguished.

Corin screamed as he scrambled to his feet. Not yet fully awake, he stumbled backward, tripping over loose rock and fell hard against the ground. Gingerly he rolled to his side and forced himself up, shutting away the pain that coursed through his body.

Darwin's twin moons shone clear and bright in the night sky, giving nearly as much light as the dawn. Corin stood for a moment and then began walking east, not for much purpose other than habit and something to do. The day wore on towards afternoon and the terrain began to change. The passage grew more difficult and the colors drained away, turning from sun-bleached tan to sickly gray.

Corin searched the horizon for any sign of life. There was none. The dead land stretched farther than he could see in all directions. Unwilling to return from where he came, Corin ventured forth into the nightmare.

The pungent stench of death and decay assaulted him, forcing the air from his lungs, threatening to overwhelm him and bring him down into a place where the living were not allowed. Dead scrub brush crumbled to putrid dust as Corin trudged forward, striving to reach the far horizon. A handful of bloated, rotting carcasses sprawled near a festering watering hole.

Corin covered his mouth as he passed the body of a female Sand Panther, rotting and grotesque. In life, the cat would easily dwarf a man, its muscles sleek and powerful.

Despite his thirst Corin refused to bring the rancid water to his parched lips. Muscles cramping, and eyes yellowed from lack of water, he walked away from the watering hole. He was barely out of sight of the lake of poison when he heard it. At first, he wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him, or if the solitude had finally overwhelmed him. But no, the sound was real.

In the near distance, it was there. A soft, barely audible cry reached his ears. The voice was not human, but animal. Corin paused, and then thinking better of it, he continued on.

A few heartbeats later, Corin heard the cry again. It was not feral, or primal, but anguished, almost pleading. Corin shook his head, chastising himself for the foolish actions that inevitably create more trouble than he would prefer. Still questioning himself, he walked towards the cry.

The animal lay only a few dozen meters from Corin. It was a small Sand Panther, no more than a few months old. Its dark tan coat was matted in filth, and the cat's breathing was ragged and labored.

He approached slowly, keeping steady and making no sudden movements. When the cat didn't respond, Corin moved closer until he could place his hand gently on the animal's mussel. When it stirred, he gently stroked the cat's ears until its eyes labored open and fixed on him. Pain registered in the cat's eyes before they closed again.

Not knowing why, Corin reached down and hoisted the young cat onto his shoulders. Silently Corin started walking again. He continued east until the scorching sun began to set. As darkness approached, his stride faltered, and he collapsed with the cat on top of him. Neither man nor animal moved for some time.

The heat from the day began to fade and the small bundle of filthy tan fur started to move. Ever so gently, the cat nuzzled Corin's cheek. Tentatively, a swollen pink tongue licked at Corin. Finally, he stirred and forced himself up.

With the cat on his shoulders, he continued into the night. Approaching midnight, the land started to change. Bushes started to show life, and the stench of death began to fade. Corin stumbled and was forced to sit. He eased the cat from his shoulders and stretched his aching muscles. He lay back against a large rock and rested. Soon a fitful sleep claimed him.

Dawn arrived with a whisper of what the day would bring. Wind hurled sand, brush, and small stones at the stirring forms of Corin and the little Sand Panther. Corin shielded his eyes and peered into the fury of the oncoming storm. He was far from the heart of the storm, yet already bleeding from the flying debris. The winds were fierce, hurling massive boulders hundreds of meters into the air, to come crashing down with devastating force.

Corin hefted the cat onto his shoulders and tried to run. The cat's weight bore him down quickly, but he struggled relentlessly back to his feet. Even with his tremendous effort, Corin could not out run the storm. The wind picked Corin up and hurled him and his charge a dozen meters before slamming them mercilessly into the unforgiving ground. Corin felt his bones crack from the impact. A blanket of stars covered his eyes as boulders and stones crashed to the ground all around his supine form.

Blindly, Corin felt for his companion. Finding the cat next to him, he started to rise. A giant boulder whistled as it flew past, then hammered the ground, then with an audible crack, it disappeared. Corin grabbed the Sand Panther and raced for the gaping hole in the ground. The storm's fury grew as he ran, pelting him with sand and stone. The whistling of projectiles screamed in his ears as he ran and dove into the hole.

Corin fell for a few moments through the black abyss, then crashed into something hard, and began to slide. He slid, picking up speed, and then dropped again into the darkness. His fall was short, but the impact from his landing caused the stars to dance before his eyes, and then forced him to lose consciousness.

When he awoke, the storm had passed and daylight crept like a thief through the hole in the sky. Battered, bruised, and broken, Corin tried to sit up, gasping in pain as he went. The light was dim, but enough to see by. The hole in the sky was actually a ruined ceiling high above. A few meters from where he stood lay his feline companion alive, but barely. A couple dozen starships of different shapes and sizes stood throughout the cavernous room. The ships were in various states of disrepair, some were aged and broken down, while others were barely a pile of scrap.

Corin managed to walk over to the cat, and gently stroked the animal's ears, wondering why it was that he felt the need to help the injured feline. He closed his eyes against his own pain, shook his head, and walked away to explore his new surroundings.

Set deep against the far wall was a door. Above the door, a faded red cross was emblazoned on the peeling white paint. Corin hastened his step, hoping that there would be something of value hidden beyond.

The door stood slightly ajar, and was difficult to open. Beyond the door was a long hallway devoid of light. Heedless of any danger, Corin pressed on. His eyes adjusted quickly to the dark, easily finding the shapes of more doors along the otherwise deserted hall.

Corin went to the first door. It opened with little effort to a small room filled with large boxes. He quickly made his way from door to door, until he found what he was looking for. Set against the far wall of the last room was a large bed. It looked uncomfortable, but it wasn't for sleeping anyway. Surrounding the bed was a series of monitors, controls, and an independent power supply.

A light layer of dust covered the apparatus, but it easily wiped clean. Corin pressed the power button, and was rewarded with lights and a low beep. After a moment of hums and vibrations from inside the machine, a small screen flashed to life in front of his eyes.

It read: DIAGNOSTICS COMPLETE. DIO-BED OPERATING WITHIN NORMAL PARAMETERS.

Corin smiled. A measure of hope had returned to his life, giving him purpose once again. He turned slowly and walked out of the room and down the hall. The daylight had faded to twilight when he reached the hanger. Quickening his step, Corin reached the cat. Its ragged breaths were labored and growing farther and farther between. He gingerly picked the cat up in his arms and hurried back to the Dio-Bed.

The bed was humming quietly as Corin set the wounded animal on its working surface, and pressed the start button. He wasn't sure how the machine worked, other than force fields and forced bioelectrical manipulation. Corin stepped away from the machine. There was nothing more that he could do for the Sand Panther anyway. Either the cat would heal, or it would die. Only the machine could save it now.

Corin sank to the floor against the wall next to the Dio-Bed. He closed his eyes and let his chin lower to his chest. Sleep would not take him, no matter how he tried. His mind warred against itself, battling for reason and purpose. Why did he fight to save the cat? What was he going to do when he was finally able to get his hands on the vermin that put him here? What was he doing on this wreck of a planet?

He knew the answer to the last question but not the first, or the second. Something inexplicable had drawn him to the stricken animal and try as he did, he couldn't understand why that bothered him. Was it fate, or perhaps a conscience that he wasn't sure he even had? Corin decided not to dwell on the questions, but instead to do something constructive.

Painfully he forced himself to his feet. The Dio-Bed was still working on its patient, so Corin wandered off in search of something to occupy his mind and time. He took his time exploring, wandering through the dark. It occurred to Corin that he was in a military base of some kind that had been hastily abandoned for one reason or another.

Corin searched the first level of the sprawling underground base. He found a few items of interest, but nothing of real use that would help him affect an escape or sustain life.

Weary from lack of sustenance Corin returned to the Dio-Bed. The machine had run its cycle and opened to release the cat. The animal dropped gracefully to the floor and stood looking at Corin. Its eyes no longer burned with pain, but something else entirely. Silently it padded over to its savior, and nuzzled his hand.

"Looks like I'm going to have to come up with a name for you if you keep that up." Corin gently scratched the cat behind his ears. "I think Brutus might fit pretty well." He patted Brutus' head, and then walked over to the Dio-Bed controls. He quickly activated them, and lay down on the cold, hard bed.

Corin tried to relax as the machine began to work. At first he felt the pressure of the micro forcefields snapping into place about him, and the surge of power as the machine adjusted and manipulated his bioelectricity. His breathing slowed, and his eyes grew heavy. Sleep would soon come.

Corin breathed a deep sigh of relief, which he hadn't realized he had been holding, as a deep, silent slumber overtook him. Minutes stretched into hours, and into the next day before he opened his eyes. Hunger rampaged through his empty gullet. Suppressing the growl in his stomach as he sat up, Corin swung his feet over the side of the bed.

He heard the soft padding of feet before he laid eyes upon Brutus. The cat stopped near the Dio-Bed, and looked patiently up at Corin. The filth was gone from his fur, replaced by a healthier, if dull sheen.

"Alright, let's see if we can find something to eat around this place." Corin muttered, sliding off the bed, and starting towards the open door. He didn't bother to look behind him as he walked. He knew that Brutus was there. For better or for worse, the cat was with him.

The darkness stretched into infinity, pierced only by the hole in the ceiling far above the hanger floor. Corin's eyes quickly grew accustomed to the ever present twilight in the hanger as he searched for a source of nourishment. The thin source of daylight gave way to night, and still there was no food.

Frustration and fatigue finally forced Corin to rest. He crawled into the seat of an old fighter, and leaned his head against the aged seat. Closing his eyes, he sighed, and then opened them again. When he opened his eyes, he caught the feint outline of a hand held light. Smiling to himself at his good fortune, he reached out and turned it on. His smile broadened as a bright beam shot forth, piercing the gloom.

Reenergized, Corin scrambled down out of the fighter and renewed his search. Near the back of the hanger, in a dark, secluded room, he found it. Nestled along the far wall sat a Matter Reclamation Unit. It was large, blocky, and showing its age, but it looked to be in good repair. Corin searched out the power supply and switched the unit on. Nothing happened. The power was dead.

Frustrated, Corin tried again, but to no avail. He looked over the unit again, hoping that he had simply missed something. He hadn't. Angry, he kicked a nearby cabinet. It clanged and rattled like there was something inside. Corin knelt down and opened the door. Inside the cabinet was an old military style hand-crank power generator.

Corin pulled the generator out and plugged in the MRU. As he started to crank, the power indicator came up. He continued until the battery was full, and then went back to the MRU. After hooking up the generator, the MRU quietly ran a diagnostic, and then indicated that it was operating within normal parameters.

Corin glanced around the room for something to put into the machine. A piece of metal, about the length of his arm and half as wide, lay against the far wall. Corin hefted it, and placed it inside the MRU. He closed and sealed the door, then scrolled through a drop down menu, found what he needed, and pressed start.

A handful of breaths passed as the MRU broke down the metal, and reassembled the molecules into what Corin needed. When it finished, he opened the door. Inside sat two metal bowls filled with a steaming pink nutritional paste. Corin pulled out a bowl and set it on the floor, then took the other for himself.

Brutus padded over to the bowl on the floor, sniffed it, and then quickly devoured his meal. Corin ate quickly, and then placed both bowls in the MRU, along with some debris he had found on the floor. He scrolled through the drop down menu, input what he wanted, and waited for the machine to accomplish the task. When it was finished, Corin removed two containers of cool water. Taking one for himself, he set the other on the floor for Brutus, and sighed as he enjoyed the refreshing, life giving liquid.

Corin closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. He looked at his companion and wondered at his situation. The improbability of it did not waste itself on a closed mind. Life from the near certainty of death, companionship out of abject isolation, and possibility in spite of desperation seemed unlikely or impossible, but here they were. He was alive, Brutus stood by his side, and there was the possibility of escape.

Finishing off his water, Corin wiped his lips and set out to find a ship. He searched the upper level of the hanger and found nothing new, so he moved to the lower levels. Corin examined each level as he went. The first couple of levels were hangers filled with ships that would never fly again. As he penetrated deeper into the base, the ships grew fewer, until there was only one.

Deep underground, at the lowest hanger level, Corin beheld a ship. Aside from the dust and debris scattered about, it looked to be in pristine condition. He approached quickly, curbing his enthusiasm as he went. The ship was larger than a fighter, almost the size of a small freighter or transport. Roughly triangular, its lines flowed smoothly from the nose, out through the stubby wings, and back to the powerful engines. In all, the ship was a mixture of grace, and brute force.

He knew immediately that this was the ship he had been looking for. As he drew closer, he realized that what he was looking at was nothing other than an escort class vessel; a small ship designed safely take convoys across vast expanses of space, protecting them from whomever, and whatever they came across. Whatever it took, this was now his ship.

Corin walked up the ramp and opened a small hatch on the side of the ship. Pale light glowed inside the airlock, lightly illuminating the gray composite bulkheads that ran the length of the airlock and corridors. Traction plating of the same material covered the deck, while conduits of various colors and sizes ran in all directions overhead. The air was stale and chill inside the ship, but Corin continued on.

"Come on Brutus; let's see what we can find in here." Corin patted Brutus on the head then walked deeper into the ship. Together they explored from nose to tail, in all compartments, and each deck.

In the engine room, Corin found a problem. A high-pressure coolant pipe had ruptured and coated a control panel with coolant, shorting out the electronics. Dust mixed with coolant covered the blackened console in a thick green paste.

Corin swore under his breath as he wiped off the console. Looking around, he spotted a tool locker along the far wall. Crossing the room quickly, he opened the locker door, and was rewarded with tools of all shapes and sizes neatly arrayed inside the locker. Taking the wrenches that he needed, Corin went back to the console and opened it up.

The motherboard was a study in charcoal. Corin reached in and worked the ruined parts loose, then set them on the deck at his feet.

"Well Brutus, so much for the gift horse." he sighed and looked around the engine room once more. Corin paused as he gazed at the ruptured pipe. His mind worked over the problems before him. He was stranded on a dead planet, and the people that put him there had designs on his existence. None of this was acceptable. He would have to find the answer, or the answer would have to present itself.

Corin massaged his temples as he began to walk. The dim lights guided his feet in no particular direction. He meandered out of engineering, and down a wide corridor with open doorways along both sides. Faint sounds, almost too quiet for Corin to hear, chirped and beeped from out of an open door ahead of him on the left. Corin quickened his pace and burst through the door. His eyes grew wide, and a smile erupted across his weathered face.

Covering the wall in front of him, sat a Reclamation Unit with its flashing lights indicating that it was fully operational. The MRU gleamed in the dim light, practically begging Corin to use it. It was a newer, larger model than the unit upstairs, with a self-contained continual power source built in. Corin strode quickly to the control panel located on the right side of the machine, and with a touch, activated it.

Drop down menus appeared on the large, dusty screen. Corin scrolled through the menu until he found the engineering section. Choosing that one, he searched through the seemingly endless list of parts until he found the items that he was looking for. A replacement computer board, coolant pipe, and a few containers of coolant later Corin was on his way back to the engine room.

The repairs went quickly, and before long Corin was running diagnostics on the ship. Engines, flight controls, environmental systems, navigation, and weapons all appeared to be in working order.

Corin sat in the black, formfitting pilot's seat, looking out into the dark hanger, his feet resting on a console. "Who do you think owns this ship?" he asked Brutus, scratching the cat behind the ears. Brutus simply stared back at him and purred.

Standing up, Corin brushed off his tattered, grimy jumpsuit. "Come on." he motioned for Brutus to follow. The two walked through the ship, and out into the hanger. Picking up a light, Corin started to search for any signs of life that he might have missed.

The corridors were dark, save for the piercing light that Corin carried. Dust drifted in his wake, marking his passage. He traversed the passages quickly, until he found it.

Brutus snarled, raising his hackles as he entered the room. Crumpled in the far corner of the deserted supply room lay the remnants of a man. Blood had soaked into his shredded flight suit and long ago dried against the dust-covered wounds.

"Come on Brutus, let's go." Corin turned and walked back to the ship. He climbed into the pilot's seat, strapped in, and began his pre-flight checks. The computer sped through the checks, and indicated that the ship's systems were functioning within parameters. Corin fired the engines and raised the ship off the deck. He smoothly guided the vessel out into the scorching sunlight, and up, out of the atmosphere to freedom.

The ship erupted from the scorched prison beneath, and into the vast emptiness of space. Corin sat back in his seat and relaxed, if only for a moment. His time on Darwin had been relatively brief, but its impact would haunt him forever. He would have his vengeance. There was no question in his mind about that.

Corin checked through his ships stores, an oversight that he chided himself for. Things were in order, but his raw materials were lacking. Still there was enough food and fuel for him to get away from Darwin. Reviewing the star charts, Corin selected a system neighboring this death stricken pit and input the coordinates.

He would have his vengeance on Malek soon enough. Now, it was time to find the one person in the galaxy that Malek was afraid of. It was time to find T'Sula Mir.

Kamira watched silently as Corin stood and again wiped his hands on his trousers. She didn't know exactly what had transpired between Corin and the man named Malek. But, she had heard T'Sula mention him before, and it was never pleasant. She also understood what Corin had gone through to find her cousin.

Without saying another word, Corin Dante left to speak with T'Sula Mir.

Chapter 38

T'Sula watched warily as Corin came into view. He had a look of trepidation on his face, an expression that he did not wear well. She didn't know why he had come, but that didn't really matter. Whatever the reason was that he was there, she would be ready.

"Commander," Corin came to a stop just on the other side of the invisible barrier. He sighed, stuck his hands deep into his pants pockets, and finally forced himself to look at T'Sula. Even though she was covered in bruises, grime, and blood, he found himself attracted to her raw beauty. "Your scans came back negative for harmful radiation."

"Oh, well, that's good." T'Sula didn't even try to hide her sarcasm. "Let me out."

"Listen, I ah, I came down here to talk to you about something." Corin stammered. He didn't know why he was so nervous around this woman, but he was. It didn't make any sense to him, she was behind a forcefield, and unable to touch him in any way, yet he was a step away from becoming a nervous wreck. "There's something that I need to talk to you about."

"You said that already." T'Sula crossed her arms in front of her chest and stepped up to the forcefield. He was nervous about something, and she wanted to know what it was. "Why did you check me for radiation?"

"Well, the scans that the ship ran of you, automatically of course, picked up trace amounts of this radiation." Corin paused for a moment, forcing himself not to look at the woman in the airlock. He already wished that he could have met her under any other circumstances. "Anyway, Kamira had the same radiation signature, but yours..."

"Your radiation was ten times stronger." Corin finally finished.

"I'm cleared to come into the ship though, right?" T'Sula glared at Corin. He didn't make any sense to her, but right now she just wanted to get out of her confinement. Any retribution would probably have to wait.

"Yeah, you're cleared to come into the ship." Corin smiled slightly. "Can I trust you Commander?"

"Can you trust me?" T'Sula laughed. "What do you think? You've kept me confined in an airlock! You launched Major Narja into space, you scanned me without my permission, and you took Kamira who knows where... I don't have any reason to trust you!" T'Sula fumed. She let her anger slip through the barrier that she had fought so hard to construct. "You want to know if you can trust me? I don't believe this."

"Trust me?" Corin shot back. "I didn't have to take you away from Olcai! I could have left you there to blow up with the rest of the planet! Would you have liked that?"

"Of course not." T'Sula replied after taking a moment to calm down. "Look, things have been a bit rough lately." She stopped herself from saying anymore about her feelings and state of mind to a man that she didn't really know.

"T'Sula, the only reason that you're still in here, is because of that radiation signature." Corin paced absently about the corridor. "I couldn't let you wander around the ship without knowing if you were a danger to everybody aboard. I'm sorry."

"I think that the best way for you to apologize, would be to let me out of here." T'Sula smiled at Corin again. Something about him began to work its way through her defenses. She still didn't trust him, and felt obligated to enact some form of retribution for Narja, but her resolve had started to erode slightly after having talked to the man. "Some fresh clothes, a shower, and some food wouldn't hurt either."

"I think that I can accommodate you." Corin sighed, relieved that he finally had an avenue of communication with the one woman that, for some reason fate had drawn them together. He needed her, and whether or not she knew it, she needed him as well.

"What's your connection with the cat?" T'Sula nodded to Brutus as he padded up to Corin.

"Brutus?" Corin asked as he scratched the Sand Panther behind the ears. "We're family. All that I've got left."

"That's the way with Kam and me." T'Sula offered before she could stop herself.

"That's what she said too." Corin glanced up at T'Sula as he dropped the forcefield. He watched her carefully as she stepped out of the airlock for the first time. She walked up to Brutus and gently scratched him behind his ears, after she let him sniff her hand.

"He's not so bad." she grinned and looked at Corin. "You said something about clothes and a shower."

"Come on." Corin motioned for her to follow, and headed down the corridor. He tried hard not to show his apprehension. He knew that she wanted to hurt him, and that greeting Brutus was more than just saying hello to the big cat. She was letting him know that she could play along, but she was still just biding her time.

They walked quickly down the barren corridors, Corin in the lead, and Brutus in the rear. He glanced back occasionally to see T'Sula taking notice of everything. He doubted that there was a single detail that she would have missed.

"Is this an escort ship?" T'Sula asked quietly. "It looks pretty straight forward. Clean, efficient, and I'm guessing pretty good in a fight."

"Yeah, actually. How'd you guess?" Corin played along, his suspicions confirmed.

"Well, it's small, but a lot bigger than a fighter, probably about the size of a small freighter. And normally, a civilian ship has more in the way of comforts. You know, things like carpeting, or just having the overhead conduits covered up, that sort of thing." T'Sula continued looking around, liking the things that she saw. She decided that if she were to have her own ship, it would be something like this one. "What's the ships name?"

"I call her Vengeance." Corin stopped in front of an open door. He waited patiently for T'Sula, and then stepped into the room behind her, leaving Brutus in the corridor.

"You can use these quarters." Corin let her walk around and get comfortable before he continued. "The shower's through that door over there and there's a MRU down the way that you can use. I'll be on the bridge, with Kamira, if you need anything."

"Corin?" T'Sula ventured as he turned to leave.

"What is it T'Sula?" Corin turned to face her again. The sound of her voice calling his name aroused parts of him deep inside, that he had nearly forgotten existed.

"Thank you for helping us." she closed her eyes for a moment, warring with herself over what she was doing. "You were there to help when we needed you. Thank you."

Corin watched T'Sula struggle within herself. He knew that she was angry with him, and that she needed to resolve things on her own. Only then would he be able to approach her with what he needed. He would have to be patient and bide his time.

"You're welcome." Corin gave T'Sula a small, reassuring smile. "After you've cleaned up, I'll get you something to eat." he grinned again, and then walked out the door.

T'Sula waited until Corin was gone, and then looked around the room. It was comfortable enough, with a bed nestled against the far wall, and locker built into the wall next to it. It was a small room, spartan in its amenities, but it would do. At least it had its own bathroom and shower.

When she decided she had waited long enough for Corin to be gone, T'Sula left her quarters, and went down the corridor to the MRU. The room itself seemed to have only one purpose, and that being to house the massive Matter Reclamation Unit. The unit stood against the back wall, silently flashing its indicators, showing that it was fully stocked and ready for use.

It didn't take long for T'Sula to find the menu that she needed for new clothes. She would have preferred something different, possibly something more flattering, but finally decided that a simple jumpsuit was probably her best choice. She chose a dark blue for the jumpsuit, and black for her boots. Everything else was just comfortable white cotton.

After she had the clothing that she needed, T'Sula input specific instructions for one more item. Nothing in the database that resembled what she wanted. She had to assemble it from scratch. It took the MRU several minutes to create what she wanted, but in the end, she had it.

Ch'Lan had forced T'Sula to memorize the specifications for her body armor as part of her training, and she had never forgotten it. The result was a highly durable polycarbonate armor that fit and functioned like a second skin, and was nearly invisible to both the naked eye, and most scanners. T'Sula had used the armor so many times, that she had long since lost count.

T'Sula folded her things, and took them back to her quarters. She showered quickly, not allowing herself the luxury of soaking in the heat and comfort of the shower, then dressed and headed for the bridge. It wasn't that she was overly anxious to face Corin again, but at the same time, he did intrigue her.

Anxious for a bit of food, T'Sula hurried through the well lit corridors that led to the bridge. Her stomach growled and reminded her that she had not eaten in quite some time. She reached the door that opened to the bridge, the place where Kamira and Corin waited for her, when the ship lurched suddenly, throwing T'Sula against the bulkhead, and everything went dark.

Chapter 39

Angel stood before her Captain, shimmering like her namesake in the relative darkness. She knew what Captain McWilliams had done, and what he had risked to bring her out of stasis. Now, it was her job to ensure that her Captain and crew were able to function. It was her job to repair herself so that they could live.

"How long will it take?" Captain McWilliams asked quietly. He knew how extensive the damage was, and that most of his crew was dead.

"Life support will be restored to most of the ship momentarily. Emergency force fields are still in place." Angel glanced at her Captain, truly seeing him for perhaps the first time. Something seemed different to her. Maybe it was what he had been through, or maybe it was Angel herself. In either case, she felt closer to the man than she ever had. "I am activating all repair drones Sir. The first thing that needs done is to straighten the superstructure, and seal all hull breaches. After that is accomplished, we can repair the other systems. Is this satisfactory Captain?"

"While the drones are doing that, the crew can tend to the wounded." Jason thought about the dead crewmembers that he had encountered as he tried to reach Engineering, vowing to himself that their deaths would not be in vain. "I need to be with the crew, Angel. We also need to mount a search for any surviving Marines and fighters. Launch shuttles as soon as possible. Keep me informed of the progress.

"I will Sir." Angel looked from her Captain, to herself, the massive collection of circuits and algorithms towering meters above her Captain's head, wishing that she were flesh and bone. "Captain, we have been able to launch two shuttles. They were undamaged, and the crews already aboard. They are commencing search and rescue operations."

"Thank you Angel." Jason breathed a small sigh of relief as he stepped out of Engineering. The ship beyond was a mix of destruction and hope. Bulkheads and conduits were buckled and ruptured, making passage without an environment suit impossible. Beyond the wreckage, crew members were working to help their injured comrades and make repairs to the ship.

Jason helped when and where he could as he worked his way through the heart of Redemption. He took heart in the way that his crew worked together, no matter where they came from, or what they looked like. In the end, they were all brothers and sisters, all children of Redemption.

After several hours of working to help the injured and assist in repairs, Jason finally returned to the destroyed bridge and solace of his ready room. The room was a disaster. His desk lay toppled in the far corner, the remaining furniture was scattered haphazardly across the room, making it nearly impossible to reach the wall that had been ripped away, leaving a flickering blue forcefield in its place with stars shining on the other side. Jason immediately felt that his personal sanctuary mirrored the rest of his ship.

Jason picked his way through his ready room. Bracing himself against the bulkhead and deck, Jason righted his desk. He leaned heavily against the polished top and activated the holographic projector. After a moment of adjusting the settings on the projector, an image of Redemption came to life above his desk, covered in glowing red icons that indicated the damage to the ship.

"Angel, give me a report on the search." Jason stopped and stared at the place where a wall used to be. The bright blue forcefield flickered as pieces of debris bounced off it, and flew away into space. Watching the debris reinforced to him, just how lucky he had been when he crossed Redemption's broken hull in his quest to restart Angel. How close had he actually come to being lost himself? He quickly decided that he did not want to know.

"Captain, we have located a handful of fighters and one Marine so far." Angel's voice crackled, faded, and strengthened again.

"Very well." Jason sighed. "Bring them aboard as soon as possible. Make sure that a thorough triage is done on all of the wounded."

"Yes sir." Angel paused. "Captain, the Marine is Major Narja."

Jason looked up in surprise. Of all of the Marines that he had sent down to Olcai, Narja was the one that was irreplaceable, the one that he depended on the most. "Get him aboard now." he took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. "Angel, establish communications with the Major please."

"Yes Sir." Angel paused. Silence hung palpable in the air. "Captain, there is no response. It is possible that his communications unit is not functioning."

"Understood. Continue trying to raise him, and let me know as soon as contact has been established." Jason turned and gazed at the stars beyond his shattered ship. Chaos greeted him in the dark expanse, waiting to consume him the moment he faltered. "Thank you Angel. That will be all for now." he said without looking, knowing that the AI would be gone.

Jason turned, and exited the ready room. What remained of the bridge was completely deserted, only the faint glimmer of a forcefield illuminated the destruction. The bridge crew was gone, killed during the battle; their stations obliterated by a Kamikaze attack. He alone had been lucky. The emergency forcefield had snapped into place an instant before he would have been either crushed or sucked out into the vacuum of space. They had won the fight, but does anyone ever actually win, or do they simply survive? He didn't know anymore.

Silently Jason chided himself for allowing Kam to go down to Olcai. He should have gone himself or sent someone else. It was his fault that she was gone, missing somewhere out of his reach or dead. Jason walked around the ruined bridge, his bridge, inspecting the damage, looking at where his crew had last been alive. In the darkened silence of the bridge, Jason fell to his knees. With his head in his hands, he cursed himself as he shed his first tears in many years. Anger coursed through his body in waves, threatening to swallow him whole. He clenched his fists until his knuckles were bone white and his arms shook violently. Roaring with pure rage, Jason slowly climbed to his feet, his anger and guilt galvanizing him.

"Angel, patch me through to the crew." Jason commanded, closing his eyes despite the darkness. He took a deep, steadying breath as he heard the communications system come alive. "This is the Captain. Your performance is to be commended, your sacrifices though extreme, will be felt throughout the galaxy. Because of you, the people of Olcai still have a fighting chance. They are out there, alive on those floating cities because of us, because of our fighters, our Marines, our sacrifices. You have done your duty, and done it well." Jason paused for a moment to gather his thoughts."But our job is not done. Redemption needs us. Repair crews need to work hard, but most of all they need to be smart. More casualties won't help us. I know that I can count on each member of this crew, and you can count on me."

"With all of us working together, we will defeat the Ta'Reeth. We will take this war to them. Keep up the good work." Jason sighed as he severed the link. He meant what he said, and what he hadn't. This was a good crew. Probably better than he deserved. His mind swam in a torrent of guilt and accusations. A decent Captain would never have sent his Chief Engineer to the surface, alone, when the ship needed them so desperately.

"Captain." Angel's voice came quietly from behind him.

"What is it Angel?" Jason's voice was raw from emotion.

"We have been able to retrieve Major Narja. He will be aboard shortly." the AI could feel the difference in her captain. "We will be operational again Sir. And we will find your wife."

"Thank you. Will you be taking Narja to the Infirmary?" Jason asked as he made his way to the lift.

"Yes Sir. The Major should be there by time you arrive"

Captain McWilliams entered the lift. The small chamber resembled the carnage on the bridge. It was operational, but barely. His ride lasted only a few moments before grinding to a stop.

The lift doors hesitated before they ground open, and Captain McWilliams stepped out into chaos. Smells of burnt metal and charred flesh permeated the stale air. Bulkheads were blistered, broken and barely holding together. Crewmembers hurried from place to place, desperately trying to repair the wounded ship.

Keeping his face as passive as he could manage, Jason silently chided himself all over again. He should never have sent Kamira to Olcai. If she were here, with him, things would be different. Everything would be better.

Jason kept to himself as he walked to the Infirmary. He acknowledged the crew as he passed, but little more. His senior Marine, his friend, was alive in the sickbay. At least that is what he told himself. It was more than he had hoped for when he had sent them out. So many had left, and only one returned.

Pausing before the Infirmary doors, Jason did his best to steady his nerves. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect inside, he just knew that it couldn't be very good. There was a man inside, not just any man, but one with whom he had entrusted his life, and the life of his wife. Narja was a man to whom the Captain owed much.

Forcing himself to enter, Jason opened the doors and walked through. Bodies lay everywhere. Emergency Medical Technicians scrambled about doing triage, and helping those that they could. The whirlwind of activity stunned the Captain. He had known that there were casualties, and he had known the numbers, but he was still unprepared for this. The stench of blood mixed with waste and disinfectant permeated everything.

Moans came from all directions as Jason looked around. He recognized a few faces, even recalling their names occasionally, but he could not find the Major. Finally, in an act of desperation, he grabbed a medic by the arm. "Where is Major Narja?" he asked as calmly as he could manage. Without saying a word, the medic simply pointed towards the rear of the Infirmary. She pointed to the area designated for immediate intensive care.

Barely stopping to thank the young woman, Jason released her and made his way to the ICU. It took only a few moments more for the Captain to reach his destination, and the point in which he could go no further. The Intensive Care Unit was sealed hermetically, blocking access from the rest of the Infirmary. Nothing could go in or out without shutting down the containment system.

Jason took a deep breath, held it for a count of ten, and then called for Angel. Almost instantly, the AI responded with her hologram standing next to the Captain.

"How is he?" Jason asked, already knowing that the prognosis could not be good.

"Captain, for an unknown reason, Major Narja turned off his life support system. His suit was damaged during the battle, and was leaking atmosphere when we found him. He is suffering from extreme oxygen deprivation, vertigo, and radiation sickness." Angel kept her voice low as she spoke. "Frankly Sir, he is lucky to be alive."

"Understood." Jason nodded. "Why would he turn off his life support?" he spoke aloud, though asking himself the question more than anyone else.

"Captain, as I stated, it is unknown why the Major took the actions that he did." Angel flickered slightly as she turned to face her Commander. "It may be possible to deduce his motives by examining his armor."

"Yeah." Jason sighed. "As usual, you beat me to the punch." He ran his hand over his face, wincing at the touch of bruises that he hadn't known existed. "Where is the Major's armor Angel?"

"I have secreted it away for you sir. It is in hanger bay three." her eyes bored into his soul as the hologram stood before him. She wasn't human, not even close, but her mere presence brought forth a sincerity, a power that Jason McWilliams could scarcely grasp.

"Thank you Angel, I will meet you there shortly." he spoke the words to the AI, and then turned his attention to the ICU. "Hang in there Major. I still want my rematch."

Chaos reigned in the Infirmary as the Captain checked on the wounded. He stayed long enough to offer hope to those that he could, but not long enough to be in the way of their care. Fresh anger poured through his veins as he left his wounded crew. Hundreds of men and women from races across known space lay dead and dying on his ship, in his care.

Plans and agendas began springing into his mind as he made his was to hanger bay three. Questions kept forcing themselves to the forefront of his thoughts, demanding to answers at all costs. Why did Narja turn off his life support? Why did the Ta'Reeth invade Olcai? What were they after? Where was Kamira? What was his role to play in all of this?

By the time he reached the hanger bay, Jason was at a dead sprint. It seemed that he could not reach his destination fast enough to silence his demons, his own thoughts, no matter how fast he ran. Nearly out of breath, he finally reached his destination.

The hanger was massive, easily large enough to hold half a dozen medium transports. Yet the inside of the bay was covered end to end in wreckage. Jason couldn't tell what it was all from, but he surmised that most of it was from Redemption and her fighters. He could make out the distinct shapes of a few ships, but none of them would ever fly again.

"Captain." Angel said quietly as she appeared beside him. "This way please."

Jason simply followed the hologram. She was easy to look at after all, with her athletic build and fiery red hair. He grimaced inwardly and shook his head. His wife was one of the most beautiful women, from a race known for their exquisite beauty, and yet here he was watching a hologram. Jason knew deep in his soul that he could only love Kamira, and that he wanted no other.

After winding through a maze of wreckage and debris, Angel finally came to a stop. The armor lay on the deck, battered but whole. Dents and burns marred the armor but it was nothing that would keep it from functioning.

"I don't get it." Jason knelt down and began to examine the machinery. He opened the compartment that housed the onboard computer. "If there's anything, it'll be in here." he muttered.

The Captain's hand stopped just before he powered up the unit. "What the...?" he asked, taking notice of a tiny green flashing light on the heads up display.

"Angel, what's running on this unit?" his voice wavered slightly.

"Only the communications system Sir." Angel cocked her head questioningly at her Captain.

"That doesn't make any sense." Jason looked at the AI. "Didn't you say that system wasn't functioning?"

"I did say that it was possible. I was unable to establish contact with the Major's communication system." her brow furrowed. "That should not be possible since it is obviously working."

"Angel, I want to know what this unit is doing, and whom it's doing it with." Jason stood, brushing his hands against his pants. If he wasn't confused already, he was now. Narja's actions continued to elude him, leading him somewhere he wasn't at all sure that he could follow.

A handful of moments passed before Angel spoke. "Captain, it appears that the communications unit is in a receive only mode. It is also amplified using all of the suit's available power, including life support." Angel showed her Captain a power flow chart indicating to him what she had just said.

"OK." Jason started to pace back and forth absently. "The next question is 'What is it receiving?'"

"That seems to be a bit elusive sir." Angel blinked her emerald green eyes, computing the different possibilities. "It has no text or context Captain, merely a unidirectional transmission."

"A unidirectional transmission with no text or context?" Jason paused in mid stride. "He's a genius." Jason spun to face the hologram so fast he nearly fell.

Angel stood silently in front of her Captain and simply looked at him, waiting for his explanation.

"It's a homing beacon." for the first time since the battle, the faintest spark lit in Jason McWilliams eyes. "Angel, track the source of that transmission, and inform me of what you find."

"Yes Sir." the AI replied as her Captain headed out to assist his crew in any repairs that he could.

Chapter 40

T'Sula picked herself up, and looked down the darkened corridor. Lights began to slowly flicker back to life, again showing her the spartan, gray interior of the little ship. She had no idea what had happened, why she had been thrown against the bulkhead, but figured that if she needed to know, Kamira or Corin would tell her. Either way, she was expected on the bridge.

T'Sula stepped over to the door that opened onto the bridge. She didn't know exactly what to expect on the other side, other than the fact that Corin was in there, waiting for her. The man infuriated her like no one else could, but she felt inexplicably drawn to him also. A touch of anxiety threatened to overtake her, just as it did every time that she knew there was going to be a confrontation. If she wasn't careful, by keeping her temper contained, there was definitely going to be a confrontation.

It took T'Sula a moment to focus and calm her nerves. In the deep recesses of her mind, apart from the anxiety and fears, she wondered about Kamira. Where was she? Not knowing burned at T'Sula's heart, prompting her to take some sort of action.

T'Sula knew that thinking about her cousin right then, would only hurt her mission, her ability to act freely and unencumbered by emotion or active thought. She knew from experience that she could probably find Kam after dealing with Corin, so she reluctantly pushed her out of her mind.

T'Sula held her breath as she activated the pressure plate and watched as the door slid open. She took in every detail in an instant. Both Kamira and Corin were present, but there was absolutely no sign of the giant panther. The bridge was moderately small, but functional. The decor was as she expected, a basic metallic gray with the only highlights being the lighted computer terminals. Corin Dante sat in the commanding position of the Captain's chair, with all of the subordinate positions arrayed in front of him. T'Sula was quietly impressed. It was a very efficient design.

Seated at the engineering station was her cousin, actively pouring through readouts. Sweat beaded across Kamira's brow, and began to run down her cheeks. She held a look of concentration on her face that T'Sula had rarely seen outside of dire circumstances. Kamira looked tired and bruised, but in all she was unharmed and healthy.

"Corin, we need to set down now. The Hyper-drive Synchronization Unit went out. That's why we had to drop out of hyperspace. If we don't get the engines synchronized, the harmonic imbalance will rip us apart." T'Sula heard the words come from Kamira, but could not believe her eyes or ears. "I'm not sure that I can fix this out here."

"I'm working on it." Corin Dante replied crisply to the engineer. His own eyes were riveted to the display of star charts floating in front of him.

T'Sula stood anchored in place by shock. Kamira was working with the enemy. Her own blood had betrayed her. Was Kamira now the enemy also, or was she compromised in some way? Why would Kam cooperate with this man? No, there had to be a reason behind Kamira's actions. T'Sula simply had no idea what those reasons were.

"Welcome Commander. I hope that you found the accommodations satisfactory." the sound of Corin's voice brought T'Sula back to the present. "If you would please find a seat and strap in, without trying to maim me of course, it would be appreciated." The sincerity in his tone surprised T'Sula. She tried, but could find no malice in his voice or actions.

"Where's your cat?" T'Sula asked as she walked over to the station by Kamira and sat down. T'Sula sank back into the comfortably worn seat, strapped in, and quietly listened to what was going on around her. She kept her eyes open as well as her ears, hoping to make sense of the new circumstances. Questions came quickly, with no answers readily available. She would simply have to wait.

"Brutus is fine. Don't worry about him." Corin sighed. "Kam, once we set down, how long will it take you to repair the damage?" His clear voice cut neatly through the low din of the starship's bridge.

"Well, first I'll have to see just how bad the damage is." Kamira sighed as she looked up from her readouts. "From what I can tell from here, it's pretty extensive. It'll probably take at least a couple of days, maybe a couple of weeks. It's hard to tell."

"What's wrong?" T'Sula asked Kam as quietly as she could manage.

"We took a lot of damage when Olcai exploded. There are a number of stress fractures in the superstructure, which is throwing us way out of trim, a lot of hull damage, and some of the power couplings over loaded. It also looks like a back-feed loop overloaded the synchronizers." Kamira looked directly at T'Sula. "Then there's the damage that you caused."

"Me?" T'Sula recoiled into herself. "What kind of damage did I do?"

"One more of your kicks, and you would have broken through that forcefield." Kamira frowned. "You overloaded a few of the power couplings on the forcefield generator."

"What did you expect me to do? Sit back and be a good prisoner?" T'Sula nearly let her temper get the best of her. She didn't know why Kamira was responding the way she was. She did not want to fight with her, especially in front of Corin.

"Well, you could always just say 'Thank you for saving my life.' and 'No I'm not going to try to kill you, or destroy your ship.' Sometimes, thinking before you act is a good thing!" Kam's glare burned into her cousin, threatening to ignite her into an inferno of blind rage. "You owe Corin an apology."

"You're attacking me? Apologize? For what?" T'Sula roared. Her tenuous grasp on her temper slipped away. "You're the one that's helping the man who not only imprisoned me, but launched Major Narja into space." T'Sula unstrapped and stood up, glowering at Kamira. "Not to mention, the last time I saw you was before we crashed that air car. You left me for dead! I woke up to Nom trying to kill me!" T'Sula screamed at her cousin. "You left me for dead!"

"What was I supposed to do T'Sula? There was an invasion going on! I thought that you were dead! I had to save my own life!" Kamira matched T'Sula in volume and tone. Her hands began to tremble and tears welled up in her eyes. "I was actually happy that you were alive..."

"Girls, as much as I don't want to be here for this..." Corin began, completely unsure of what to do. He had seen women fight before, but did not want to see these two fight each other. Not when there were Ta'Reeth and the Regiment to fight instead.

"Shut up!" T'Sula and Kamira screamed at Corin in unison. Kamira unstrapped and stood. In an instant, the two women were barely centimeters apart, glaring at each other. Each clenched their fists, waiting for the other to flinch.

"You left me for dead Kam." T'Sula whispered, and backed down, not willing to hurt her only living relative.

"I didn't have any choice T'Sula." the tears started to flow down Kamira's cheeks. "You were dead. I had to keep that, that thing away from them. You told me to. I thought that you were dead." Kamira shrank away from her cousin, the fight no longer in her. "How did you survive?"

"I barely survived, thanks to Nom." T'Sula tried to hide her revulsion, but failed.

"Who's this Nom guy?" Corin asked, glancing up from his star charts.

"He's the one that was responsible for destroying Olcai." T'Sula sighed, the memory of her time with Nom still fresh in her mind.

"I thought that the Ta'Reeth destroyed Olcai." Kamira ventured.

"Nom was a Ta'Reeth agent." T'Sula tried to rub the strain out of her eyes. "I've actually fought him, and killed him a couple of times now."

"You killed him a couple of times?" Corin couldn't help but stare, mouth agape, at T'Sula. "You can't be serious. Dead is dead. There's no coming back from it."

"Actually, I am serious. It seems that the Ta'Reeth have found a way to allow their puppets to regenerate like they do." T'Sula looked squarely at Corin for the first time since stepping onto the bridge. "The first time I killed him, I dropped him out of a starship that was a couple hundred meters in the air. That was on Pharnex Six." She kept her gaze on Corin, studying him as she spoke. "I also killed him about two hours before Olcai exploded."

"How did you kill him this time?" Corin smirked. He had heard about the Ta'Reeth being able to heal their wounds faster than anything else could possibly do, but being able to give that ability to someone else? It didn't seem possible.

"Snapped his neck." T'Sula said dismissively. "He put up a fight, like the last time. We're all better off with him dead."

"So you say. You think everybody would be better off if I were dead." Corin didn't know why he was sparring with T'Sula over this. Nom meant absolutely nothing to him anyway. He finally realized that if T'Sula didn't want to kill him, he'd have thought that she was extremely attractive when she was angry. As long as she wasn't angry with him anyway.

"Look, I don't know much about you, but I do know what he was like." T'Sula sat back down in her seat. "On Pharnex, he made a deal with the Ta'Reeth. Sold out the entire colony to them. After that, he killed his wife, set his house on fire, left his infant daughter in the house to burn, and assisted in the invasion of the colony. That's not even covering what he did to me, and to Olcai, so yeah, I'd say he deserved to die. Wouldn't you?"

"Well, when you put it that way, sure, I guess so." Corin forced himself not to look at T'Sula. She was the single most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Unfortunately, he knew that she wanted to kill him.

"Alright, now that we're done with that, let's get this hunk of crap on the ground so that I can fix it. Then we can get back to Redemption." Kamira interjected, leaving no room for any argument.

Corin simply turned back to his charts, not telling the two women that his itinerary did not coincide with their plans. Captain McWilliams and Redemption would certainly interfere with what he needed to do.

"Here, I found one." Corin said, pulling up a star chart on the navigation screens. "This little planet should be just fine for what we need."

T'Sula and Kamira both studied the chart. It was indeed a small planet, almost a planetoid. At least it had a breathable atmosphere and plenty of natural resources. From the readings on the chart, it was uninhabited, and therefore, theoretically safe.

"And Kam, it's not that far away." Corin allowed himself half of a smile. He had his prize, and someone to repair his ship. Sometimes things worked out in his favor. Now he just had to wait.

Chapter 41

Captain Jason McWilliams lay on his back, elbow deep in repairing a computer terminal. Changing circuit boards and relays kept him busy, and therefore kept his mind off Major Narja, off Olcai, and off Kamira. The Major at least seemed to be making decent progress. As for the rest, Jason had no idea. The sensors still could not give an accurate reading of Olcai, and Kamira still was beyond his reach.

"Captain, there is a communiqué for you from the Admiralty." Angel's voice startled her Captain into banging his head as he crawled out from under the console.

"Thank you Angel, I'll take it in my ready room." Jason stood, wiped his hands on his pants, and quickly left the bridge. He had been able to make a handful of repairs to the bridge, but there remained a lot of work left to do. Redemption needed a space dock, but that was a distant dream and nothing more.

Jason's ready room had become a staging area for repairs to the bridge, so parts lay everywhere. A small red light flashed lazily on Jason's communication console. He wasn't looking forward to speaking with the Admiralty anytime soon. They seemed to always want something that he wasn't ready to give.

Taking a moment to breathe and prepare for the inevitable, Jason activated the communication link. It took a moment before the image of a man in an Admiral's uniform hovered a scant few centimeters above Jason's cluttered desk. He was tall and thin, with graying hair and gaunt skin stretched across his high cheekbones.

"Captain McWilliams, I am Rear Admiral Nigel Andrew West the Third, of the Fleet Support Group. You can call me Admiral West." the man in the hologram sneered. "My group and I will be arriving at Olcai within the hour to clean up your failure. Make ready. Rear Admiral Nigel Andrew West the Third, out."

"Admiral." was all Captain McWilliams said as he watched the hologram disappear. This was not going to be pleasant.

"Angel, please prepare a reception for the Admiral." Jason sighed. He had heard rumors about Admiral West, and none of them were good.

"Of course Captain. Is there anything else sir?" Angel asked without showing her face.

"Yes, actually there is." Jason paused, running a hand over his weary face. "I need you to bring up and review my ownership documents for Redemption. And I also want to see my Commission papers."

"Understood sir." Angel replied softly. "I will have those momentarily."

With a heavy sigh, Captain Jason McWilliams sank back into the welcoming softness of his chair. He hadn't realized just how tired he had become. Just before the exhaustion claimed him, he recalled the incident a few years back, when he was still a Constable, which changed his life forever.

He had been working late in his office on Home Station, when a security alert flashed across his computer. There was activity in cargo bay twelve. Jason thought for a moment. Cargo bay twelve had been locked down earlier in the day for repairs, and the maintenance crews had all gone home for the evening. Something was not right.

Jason made a quick check to make sure that he was properly armed, and left his office. Things had a way of going awry on Home Station, and he needed to make sure that he was prepared. "Lt. Monroe, meet me at cargo bay twelve in ten minutes." he called to his second in command.

"Yes sir. Ten minutes." the crisp reply came as Constable Jason McWilliams jogged down the vacant corridors. Cargo bay twelve was three levels down, and near the other side of the mammoth mining station. As he ran, Jason rehearsed his plan in his mind. Lt. Monroe was the best man he had, and would make an excellent backup.

A few minutes later, Jason arrived at cargo bay twelve, sweaty but not exhausted. Lt. Monroe stood calmly waiting by the door to the cargo bay. He was young, a handful of years younger than Jason, and in excellent physical condition, probably from his years of Greco-Roman wrestling.

"What's going on Sir?" the Lieutenant asked.

"I got an alert from inside." Jason checked his pistol again. "Shouldn't be anybody in there. Maintenance closed it down earlier today for repairs." He looked at his Lt. "You ready to go in and find out what's going on?"

"You know it sir." Monroe smiled. "Should we knock?"

"Nah." Jason replied as he overrode the security lock. "That would take the fun out of it." the door slid silently open and Jason stepped inside with his weapon at the ready. It was dark in the cargo bay, save for a few work lights at the far end. Small crates and a handful of large cargo containers sat in the middle of the otherwise empty bay.

Nothing moved as the two peace officers quickly secured the area. Soon, the two men met at the far side of the bay, near the work lights.

"Something's not right here." Jason whispered to his partner. Instantly the overhead lights flashed on, and dozens of armed men swarmed the two officers.

"Thanks for the tip Monroe." the surliest looking of the intruders yelled out as he rushed in. "This 'Constable' of yours has been a pain to those of us in the Regiment for a while now."

"My pleasure, just keep the money coming." Lt. Monroe said as he leveled his pistol at the back of Jason's head. "Constable, if you would relinquish your weapon please."

Jason slowly placed his pistol on the deck, never taking his eyes from the men surrounding him. "Why John?" were the only words he could manage before Lieutenant John Monroe slammed the grip of his pistol into the back of Jason's head.

He remembered his head feeling as if it was going to explode into a million pieces. The blood had matted into his red hair, giving it an odd shade of crimson. Jason finally opened his eyes to see that he was in an airlock. Someone had been kind enough to put an environment suit on him, but he didn't have high hopes that it would work very well.

No one spoke a word to him before they simply opened the airlock, and he was sucked out into space. It wasn't empty space, but still, it was going to kill him. A rainbow of gasses swirled around him as he tumbled, helpless toward his death.

"This is Constable Jason McWilliams of Home Station. I am in extreme duress. Please send help." Jason called out to anyone that might possibly be able to hear him. He glanced down at the readouts for his suit. There was just enough oxygen for five more minutes, and then he would die.

Jason refused to fight the inevitable. Struggling was useless, and would only hasten his death, so he closed his eyes away from the beautiful array of deadly gasses swirling around him. He simply tumbled through space, remembering those that he had left behind.

Minutes passed in silence as Jason's breathing grew labored. His oxygen was quickly running out. Blackness crept in around the edges of his sight, until all was dark. He never felt the impact his suit made against the hull of the ship. He didn't see the massive doors smoothly slide open, or the nearly invisible woman standing on the hanger deck, waiting for him.

Painfully, Jason opened his eyes to see a blinding white light. "Am I dead?" he rasped. The air blazed hot in his lungs, forcing him to gasp as the life-giving element rushed into his body.

"No, you are not dead." the words came from the shimmering, ethereal woman standing next to him. "Are you Constable Jason McWilliams?" she asked coolly.

"Yes." was the only word he could manage. His body burned from lack of oxygen.

"Do you claim salvage rights?" she pressed.

"Salvage rights to what?" He forced the words out. Salvaging anything was the furthest thing from his mind. The fact that he was alive rebounded throughout his consciousness, leaving no room for any other thought.

"Redemption." was all that she said.

"Yes, I want redemption." a tear started to fall down his cheek. "I want redemption." He needed redemption for his failure as Constable of Home Station, redemption for all of the innocent people that were going to be hurt by the Regiment and the Ta'Reeth. He wanted so much more than just redemption. He wanted revenge.

"Excellent." she shimmered as she spoke. "Transferring ownership of Earth Coalition Defense Fleet Ship Redemption to Jason McWilliams, in accordance with Earth Coalition Revised Salvage Code 349 paragraph 1257."

"What is going on?" Jason managed, struggling to his feet. The world tilted violently as he tried to stand. He forced himself to focus on a single point on the wall far in front of him, anything that would keep him from falling over.

"You have just assumed ownership and command of Redemption, an Odin class assault cruiser." the ethereal woman glanced in Jason's direction.

"Wow." Jason grabbed his head in an attempt to stop his world from spinning. "And you are?" he asked.

"I am Angel. I am Redemption." she replied.

"I don't understand." He looked at her quizzically.

"I am the ships Artificial Intelligence, Captain." she shimmered slightly as she walked toward Jason. You need medical attention. Please follow me."

Jason followed Angel deeper into the ship. They changed levels, and finally came to Sickbay. He had never seen anything like it in his life. The equipment was pristine, and beyond the capabilities of anything on Home Station.

"How old is this ship?" Jason asked. "I mean, if I can claim salvage rights to it."

"Redemption has been at strategic automated station keeping, for the Reserve Fleet, for the last one hundred seventy-five years." Angel replied. "I have not received an annual update for the last one hundred and fifty years."

"That's because the Earth Coalition was defeated by the Ta'Reeth right about that time." Jason climbed onto a DioBed and lay down.

"That would explain a lot." Angel watched her new Captain as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Angel stood in silence beside her Captain's desk in his ready room. She watched him sleep for the first time since arriving at Olcai. She hadn't told him, but she had been monitoring his biosigns for some time, and was relieved that he was finally getting some rest. Unfortunately, she had to wake him for the arrival of Admiral West.

"Sir, the Admiral is here. Your presence is required." was all that Angel needed to say before Jason was awake again.

Chapter 42

The planet looked serene from space. Lush green jungles and vivid blue oceans covered the planet. The jungles were thickest around the equator, and thinning down to the northern and southern polar caps.

T'Sula watched the viewer intently, longing for the feel of soil under her feet, and the fresh air in her lungs. She braced herself as she heard Corin say, "This is going to be a rough landing, so be prepared." Her straps were tight, and she was as secure as she could get.

Vengeance slipped through space and entered the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Seconds passed without incident while the ship sank deeper towards the lush green planet.

"Corin, the hull is starting to get too hot." Kamira's voice rang through the tiny bridge like a bell. "We need to reduce the friction."

"Alright, hold on." Corin strained against the controls, bringing the ship into a better trim for the descent. The stringers and longerons screamed under the immense strain, before some of them finally snapped.

"Temperature is stabilizing." the Engineer reported, the relief audible in her voice. "We will be out of the rough stuff in thirty seconds." Kam watched as a console shook loose next to her.

"Alright, we're almost through." Corin began just as the power died on the bridge. Vengeance began to spin wildly out of control, blind and falling faster and faster. It took mere seconds for the ship to reach terminal velocity. Only her engines could now keep them alive.

Striving to hold back the panic, Kamira worked in the dark. She unstrapped herself, and crawled under her console. Yanking free the access panel, her hands flew across the exposed wires and circuits of her broken console.

"Get me power!" Corin yelled, a hint of panic tinged his voice.

"I'm working on it!" Kamira yelled back. A spark flew from her console an instant before the power was restored. The bridge was in shambles. Consoles lay strewn about the deck, cables dangled and sparked as they swung wildly about the bridge.

"Brace yourselves!" T'Sula yelled. She was looking at the sporadic images on the main viewer. Without drawing any notice, T'Sula activated a program on her armor. Instantly she was completely covered in the durable polycarbonate armor. Not even her eyes were unprotected.

Massive mountains covered in lush green vegetation loomed ahead. Giant trees that were larger around than the ship was long covered the beautiful landscape.

"Oh, this is going to hurt." Corin muttered, straining to keep the nose of his ship up for a belly landing.

Vengeance tore mercilessly through kilometers of trees, leaving charred parts and debris in her wake. Smoke and fire followed the crippled ship, before she finally lurched to a stop. A trough of burning, ruined greenery scarred the otherwise pristine landscape, forever marking the passage of the little ship.

There was no noise when T'Sula finally opened her eyes. Everything was dark, save for the sporadic blue spark of bare wires arcing against a ground. She could move, but barely. Her restraints had held her firm against her seat, but the seat now pressed against her shattered console.

It seemed that she had activated her armor just in time. T'Sula was pinned, but she was uninjured. She fumbled in the dark for a moment, and then finally her fingers found the catch on her restraint harness. Deftly, she released her restraints, and wriggled free of her temporary prison.

After her eyes adjusted to the darkness, T'Sula stood and looked around the bridge. It was as she had feared. The ship had not survived. Bulkheads were buckled. The deck was just as bad. Every monitor was shattered, and all of the instruments that she could see were destroyed.

In the center of the bridge, Corin lay unmoving in his seat. It took T'Sula only a moment to check him and see that he would be alright; at least he would be until she killed him.

T'Sula gasped and spun on her heals to find Kamira. Her cousin lay sprawled across a broken console on the other side of the bridge. Kamira's arms hung limp with her fingers slightly twitching. Her body was slashed and torn in too many places to count. A steady trickle of blood dripped from her hair onto the deck. Kamira was dying.

T'Sula knew instinctively that Kamira had multiple fractures and internal injuries. That was the only possible result of her body position. Quickly and methodically T'Sula checked her cousin. Her years of training took over as she ran her hands over Kamira's broken body. Kamira's heartbeat was weak and sporadic, but it was there. She was still alive.

Corin groaned, interrupting T'Sula's thoughts. "Where is your Emergency Medical Kit?" T'Sula asked, striding over to the wounded man.

"It should be by the door." Corin sat up and quickly examined himself. Nothing was broken, only deeply bruised. "How's Kam?" he managed to get out before he saw her draped across the console.

"T'Sula, there's a DioBed with an independent power supply by Engineering. We should get her there." Corin stumbled to his feet and made his way to Kamira.

"If we move her right now, she'll probably die." T'Sula's voice was cold, devoid of feeling. She forced herself to focus on finding the med kit. If only she could find that kit, she might be able to save her cousin's life. She might be able to save her family.

T'Sula's hand found the medical kit exactly where Corin said it would be.

"How's Brutus?" Corin asked just before the med kit came flying at his head.

"How's your cat?!" T'Sula screamed. "I don't care one bit about your cat! My cousin is lying at your side, dying, and you want to know about a cat?" T'Sula forced herself to regain a small measure of composure as she stalked toward Corin.

As calmly as she could manage, T'Sula grabbed Corin by his throat, and lifted him free of the deck. Her stare burned into his soul with a passion that even T'Sula did not know. "You get this straight right now. If she dies, I will kill you very slowly." T'Sula dropped Corin to the deck and watched as he gasped for air. Only anger showed through her eyes. "Now, get that DioBed ready for Kamira, or you will never see that cat again."

Corin nodded, and without speaking, left the bridge. T'Sula didn't watch him go. She had seen the concern and fear in his eyes. She dismissed her would be captor and turned to the task at hand. Kamira had to be stabilized before she could be moved. After that was done, then she could worry about other things.

T'Sula located the med kit that she had flung in a fit of rage. She chastised herself for her actions, and then moved on. First T'Sula gave her cousin an injection to stabilize her heart rate, and then she worked to stop the bleeding.

Kamira had multiple wounds. There was a gash across her scalp that was bleeding profusely, but other than that it was superficial. Both of her arms were broken in multiple places, as well as one leg. T'Sula expertly splinted the fractures and then found the worst injuries of all.

Kamira was bleeding internally. There was nothing else that T'Sula could do with a mere emergency medical kit. She had to get Kam to the DioBed. Her fingers expertly found a number of pressure points that T'Sula hoped would help. She pressed hard against the points, and started to look for something that she could use as a stretcher.

T'Sula searched around the shattered bridge. Debris lay everywhere. It took her only a few moments to find what she was looking for. A bulkhead had come loose in the crash. T'Sula struggled as she drug the heavy sheet of metal over to her cousin. As gently as she could, T'Sula laid Kamira on the makeshift stretcher and bound her tight.

T'Sula strained against the drag. The weight of the bulkhead and Kamira combined was too much. She couldn't move it. She tried again, straining every muscle in her body, and yet it still would not move.

"You get that side, I'll get this one." Corin said, gently pushing T'Sula over. She glared at him, but relented. Together they strained against the weight, and in silence drug Kamira out of the Bridge, and down to the waiting DioBed.

Corin worked the controls as T'Sula cut Kamira free of the drag. With Corin lifting her feet, and T'Sula her head and shoulders, they gently placed Kamira on the bed. T'Sula couldn't bear to speak as she watched the machine begin its work. Finally, she turned to Corin. "I'll go find your cat." was all that she could manage.

The ship was dark throughout, with debris littering the decks. T'Sula carefully picked her way through the ship, being careful not to injure or jeopardize herself as she searched for the giant feline. She moved quickly but forced herself not to hurry. The last time that she had seen Brutus, they had just met, and the last thing that she wanted was to run headlong into an angry, injured Sand Panther.

Vengeances' damage was staggering. Corin was going to need a complete refit in order to be space worthy again. T'Sula wondered to herself just how much of this damage was her fault. Was she responsible for Kamira's condition, or was it simply a coincidence?

T'Sula forced her thoughts and feelings away, and concentrated on what she was doing. The corridors looked vaguely familiar to her as she passed through them. She had been through these same passages only a short time before, but now they were almost unrecognizable.

T'Sula stopped dead in her tracks. The door leading to the room with the Matter Reclamation Unit stood ajar. From deep inside the room came the faint mewling of an animal. Brutus had to be inside, and he was most likely hurt. Cautiously, T'Sula peered into the room. Brutus lay against the far bulkhead, pinned in place by the toppled MRU.

Brutus' head came up as T'Sula entered the room. His mewling instantly turned into a deep, threatening growl. He barred his gleaming white fangs as she drew cautiously nearer. The tiny green and red lights on the MRU cast an eerie hue on the giant tan animal.

"I'm not here to hurt you." T'Sula whispered, inching closer. "I'm going to help you. I'm not going to hurt you Brutus." she kept her voice low with her movements slow and smooth.

The big cat watched her intently, and slowly his growl died out to silence. T'Sula slowly reached out her hand, palm down, toward the cat. He studied her for a moment, and then sniffed her hand. Satisfied, Brutus gently licked the back of T'Sula's hand. She let him do this for a moment, and then lightly scratched behind his big, furry ears.

"All right, let's see if we can get you out of this mess." T'Sula told the cat as she got to her feet. Her eyes were adjusted to the darkness by now, so seeing was not a problem. The room was a complete wreck. Nothing had come through the crash unscathed. The massive MRU that had previously been secured to the deck was now on the other side of the room and leaning against the wall.

T'Sula tentatively pushed and pulled at different places along the unit. Nothing worked. There was nothing of sufficient size to use as a lever, and T'Sula was not strong enough to move the machine by herself.

With a sigh, she turned back to the cat. "I'll be right back. I'm going to get some help." she patted Brutus on the head and quickly left. It didn't take long for T'Sula to reach Corin. He was where she had left him, still watching over Kamira.

"I need you to come with me." T'Sula forced herself to speak to Corin. The words came hard, almost stopping in her throat. There was something about this man. She wanted to hurt him, and completely open herself up to him at the same time. He was infuriating and completely endearing all rolled into one package. She hated not knowing what it was that she felt.

"Lead on." Corin said, turning to look at T'Sula for the first time. He understood part of why she wanted to kill him; he would probably feel the same way in her position. Deep in his heart he wanted to tell her why, but he knew that there was no chance of her understanding. He just had to find the right time, the right place, to talk to her. Maybe then T'Sula would understand. Maybe then she would stop hating him.

Corin followed T'Sula through the darkened ship, picking his way through the carnage. He grimaced to himself at the thought of it. If Vengeance would ever fly again, she would never be the same.

Brutus continued to mewl after T'Sula left. His voice was strong, but pleading. The cries reached Corin's ears as they drew nearer. "How is he?" Corin asked quietly.

"He's fine. He's just pinned between a bulkhead and the MRU." T'Sula replied without looking back.

"Good." Corin paused as he stumbled over some debris. "That MRU's pretty big. Do you think we can move it?"

"I think so, as long as we can find something to use as a pry bar." T'Sula stopped and looked directly at Corin. "What do you want with me?"

"Are you sure you want to ask that right now?" Corin had a difficult time hiding his shock. His mind reeled at the question. He wanted to tell her. There were so many reasons to simply open up and talk, and so many reasons not to. Silently Corin waged a vicious battle inside himself. Should he talk to T'Sula, or should he keep quiet?

"Now's as good a time as any." T'Sula shrugged. "Brutus is trapped, but ok. Kamira is not going anywhere. It's just you and me. Talk."

"Alright." Corin blew out a deep breath. He was ready for this, or at least he kept telling himself so. "I, ah, need your help." he began.

"You need my help. You have a funny way of asking." T'Sula turned back towards the waiting Brutus. "Keep talking. We'll help the cat while you explain."

Corin stayed silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts while he helped T'Sula search for something to use to move the MRU. After a short search, they came across a longeron protruding for a bulkhead. Together Corin and T'Sula worked it free and carried it into the room where Brutus lay pinned.

"Are you familiar with a group called 'the Regiment'?" Corin ventured as he helped T'Sula wedge the longeron between the MRU and the wall.

"Yes, I am." T'Sula said with a grunt. "They're really disturbed people that don't care who they hurt." she finished placing the makeshift pry bar, and motioned for Corin to help maneuver it.

"Yeah, that's them." Corin grunted as he pushed on the longeron. "They think that I'm bringing you to them, and I have no intention of doing it."

"They what?" T'Sula exclaimed, letting go of the pry bar. Without her added pressure, the bar swung back, barely missing Corin's face. "You captured me for the Regiment?" Her face grew redder by the second. Rage filled T'Sula like a flooding river threatening to break the dam of her control.

"No!" Corin yelled, ducking to miss the pry bar. As he ducked, T'Sula launched a powerful knee thrust into Corin's face, shattering his nose. She followed instantly with an elbow between his shoulder blades.

"I didn't capture you for the Regiment!" Corin roared. He rolled quickly to his left, avoiding a stomp to the back of his head. As he rolled, he picked up a meter long piece of cable, and swung it at T'Sula's legs.

The cable wrapped around T'Sula's ankles and took her to the deck with a thud. She brushed her legs free of the cable and shot back to her feet. "Then why did you capture me?" she hissed as she launched into another attack. Her front snap kick resulted in a Pak Sao from Corin, catching T'Sula by surprise.

Recovering from her blocked kick, T'Sula attacked again. She faked a roundhouse kick to Corin's head, then dropped down and swept his legs out from under him. With Corin flat on his back, T'Sula leapt on top of him, pinning his shoulders with her knees.

Both T'Sula Mir and Corin Dante ignored the escalating growl from Brutus, their attention focused completely on each other. "I need your help to take those bastards down, T'Sula." Corin ventured, calling her by her first name, hoping to ease her rage.

"You have my attention." T'Sula fought hard to hide the smile that inevitably crept to her face. She had enjoyed this. She had enjoyed it a lot.

Chapter 43

A primal, blood-searing scream ripped out of Nom's throat. He writhed in delicious agony as his bones cracked and knit back together. The air burned as it filled his lungs again, breath after torturous breath. Life was still his, his to use to serve his masters.

Nom crawled to his feet and looked around. His lair was ruined. The walls were buckled, ripped, and charred. Great rifts had been torn open in the floor and ceiling, as if a giant had picked up the world, and cracked it like an egg. The little creature that had been with him was gone, apparently crushed in some explosion. No matter, he would serve his masters anyway.

He checked his suit, and turned on the invisibility feature. It was again time for him to serve the Masters. They knew he had failed. This was his opportunity, his one chance to redeem himself. He had to find T'Sula Mir, retrieve the package from her, and kill her at all cost. She had to die. The last part he would savor. Extinguishing her life would be almost as sweet as finally being released from his own.

Nom picked his way around the debris and found his exit. It occurred to him that his bomb had failed. There should not have been anything left of this wretched planet, and yet there was. Something had gone wrong. Someone was going to pay for this. They were going to pay dearly.

A sinister smile crawled across his pale, sickened face. He would redeem himself to the Ta'Reeth. Yes, he would, and all of the pathetic, insignificant people that tried to stop him were going to suffer first, and then they would all die.

Chapter 44

Captain McWilliams quickly ran his fingers through his shock of red hair, and fussed with his uniform. Admiral West's shuttle was on final approach, and he wanted to look halfway presentable. The Admiral had a well-deserved reputation as a tyrannical perfectionist, and he wanted to make this as easy as possible. Jason knew that he was doomed. Everything was in the best shape that he could manage, but it still was not going to be enough.

Jason held his breath as the shuttle landed in the hanger bay. Technically it was newer than any of Redemptions shuttles, but the Admiral's vessel was far less sophisticated. It's boxy, utilitarian shape seemed out of place in Redemption's busy, streamlined hanger.

Silence hung in the air as the shuttle's door slid open. Admiral West stood in the door for a moment, surveying his new surroundings, before stepping down out of the shuttle. He sneered distastefully as he looked past Jason at the chaos beyond.

"Admiral, welcome aboard." Captain McWilliams stepped forward, reaching out his hand in welcome. "Your arrival is well timed, and much needed."

"Of course it is." Admiral West stepped up to Jason and weakly shook his hand. His grip was soft, that of someone accustomed to sitting behind a desk, never having to lift a finger to do any sort of manual labor. He smiled mockingly at Jason, before moving on. "Olcai and her people are in need of help Captain. What are you doing about it?"

"Well Admiral, we have a couple of shuttles doing recon of the area. Other than that, we have our hands full here." Captain McWilliams fell into step beside the Admiral. "If you'd like, I can give you a short tour of the ship, and you can see the damage for yourself."

The Admiral turned to his aide, ignoring the Captain. "Commander, launch our own squadron to recon the area, inform me of the progress." Without waiting for a response, he turned back to Jason. "Captain, you may proceed with your little tour."

"Yes Sir." Jason motioned for the Admiral to follow. "As you can see, we're really busy with repairs. All of the hanger bays have been turned into staging areas for parts. Our medical staff is swamped with casualties, but they're good, and making a lot of headway."

"I'd like to speak with your Chief Engineer, so that I can get a more accurate estimate for repairs." Admiral West interrupted as they stepped out of the hanger.

"That's not possible." Jason turned to look the Admiral in the eyes. "My Chief Engineer is currently missing. She was on Olcai getting clearance for us to use the debris field for raw materials, when the attack began, and we haven't heard from her since."

"Then your Engineer is most likely dead. Serves you right for sending one of your most valuable crewmembers down to do your dirty work." Admiral West sneered at Jason. "A worthy commanding officer would not have done that."

"Admiral, if you insist on rebuking me in front of my crew, I will be forced to ask you to leave." Jason glared at the other man, wanting to put him flat on his back. "My Chief Engineer was the logical choice to send to the surface. She is also my wife."

"Yet another of your mistakes. Am I to understand that you lost your entire compliment of Marines as well?" Admiral West continued without looking at the Captain.

"No, Admiral. Major Narja survived." Jason answered guardedly. A handful of different scenarios entered his mind, none of them entirely good. Why did the Admiral want to question his senior officers? What were this man's motives? Could he be trusted? Jason didn't think so. No, the best course of action was to play everything as close to his chest as possible.

"Well, I'd say it was stupid on your part to trust the defense of an entire planet to a Caldonian." Admiral West scoffed. "And only a Major at that."

Jason led the Admiral through the ship, showing him some of the worst of the damage. He tried to ignore the Admiral's comments, but found it harder and harder to do. Narja was one of the best men that Jason had ever known, and not speaking up to defend him in any circumstance, made Jason feel like a coward.

Finally, after covering most of the ship, and Jason reaching the limits of his tolerance, they arrived at Sickbay. Casualties lay in rows, nearly stacked one on top of the next, lining the walls. The technicians paused momentarily when the senior officers walked in, then continued about their business. Quietly, Jason led Admiral West to the back of Sickbay.

"Major Narja is in here, quarantined." the Captain didn't bother to look at the other man. He knew that there would be nothing but contempt on his face. Contempt for what, he wasn't entirely sure, but it was undoubtedly there.

"Well Captain, this is nothing more than one more case of your ineptitude. These Marines, your Marines, died because of you." Jason could hear the hatred in the Admiral's voice. "You do not deserve to command a ship such as this. Therefore, I am relieving you of command, and transferring my flag to Redemption, effective immediately."

"I don't think so." Jason turned and faced his accuser. "You have no authority here, other than what I give you." He stepped closer to the Admiral. He could see the bewilderment in the other man's eyes. "You are going to leave my ship now Admiral. You are going to do so without any further incident."

"Insubordination is punishable by death, Captain." the Admiral actually smiled as he pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Jason. His eyes were wide and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the weapon.

Jason whipped his left arm into the pistol, knocking it away, then kicked the Admiral in the groin. He kept his grip firm on the Admiral's wrist as he wrenched his arm around, and rode Admiral West down to the deck, driving his face into the plating. Jason rammed his knee into the back of the other man's neck, and held it there while he pried the pistol from his limp fingers.

Captain McWilliams drove the muzzle of the pistol deep into the Admiral's temple. "Now, you are going to do exactly as I tell you. You are leaving my ship, and not coming back. The Olcai need the help of the Resistance, therefore you are going to provide them with what they need." Jason drove his knee deeper into his neck. "Any attempt to resist, and I am going to kill you."

"This is insubordination. I am Admiral Nigel Andrew West the third! I order you to release me and hand over your ship at once." the Admiral whimpered.

"Nothin' doin'. Redemption is my personal property, not yours. Get up." Jason kept the pistol firmly planted against the Admiral's temple as he wrenched up on the man's arm, forcing him to his feet. "Order your men to stand down."

Admiral West glanced up at his entourage. "Stand down. Do what he says." fear permeated his eyes and his voice waivered as he spoke.

"Good. Now move. Angel, disable the Admirals shuttle. Leave only basic life support functioning." Jason ordered, moving the Admiral and his entourage out of Sickbay and towards the hanger.

"Yes Captain, it will be a pleasure." Angel appeared beside Jason for the first time since Admiral West had arrived.

"Angel, prepare to move us into the debris field as soon as the shuttle is launched." Jason shoved the Admiral forward, forcing him to move faster.

"What are you going to do with us?" Admiral West's voice cracked when he spoke. "How are we supposed to help the Olcai?"

"First, your Captains will be able to figure things out without you for awhile. Second, I'm going to do to you what should have been done a long time ago. Don't worry; you'll probably live through it."

The hanger bay was deserted as Captain McWilliams and his party entered, save for a single repair drone that was exiting the shuttle.

"Men..." Admiral West began but never finished, as Jason slammed the butt of his pistol into the base of his skull. Jason kept the Admiral upright, with the pistol barrel pressed against the man's skull. He was careful to keep his eyes on the others as they tried to circle him.

"This is your one and only chance to keep your Admiral alive. Get in the shuttle, all except you." he said, nodding to one of the nearest of the Admiral's entourage. "You're going to carry this worthless piece of crap."

Jason let go of Admiral West, letting him fall to the deck with a thud, while keeping his weapon trained on the others. He distanced himself as best he could so that none of them could try to grab him before they got on the shuttle. As soon as they were aboard, he ordered the repair drone to seal the hatch.

Satisfied, Captain McWilliams left the hanger. "Angel, are we moving yet?" he asked the A.I.

"Yes Sir, we are currently maneuvering into the debris field." the reply was almost instant. "Captain, the other ships are changing course to intercept."

"Good. Recall our shuttles, launch the Admiral's shuttle, and put me through to the Resistance ships." Jason began to run. He deftly picked his way through and around the crew as he ran. "This is Captain McWilliams of the starship Redemption. Admiral West and party tried to forcibly take command of this vessel. They have been detained and set loose in their shuttle. The shuttle is disabled, but life support is fully functioning. Any attempt to follow or contact Redemption or her shuttles, will be viewed as hostile. Angel, send the recording from Sickbay. Redemption out."

Jason skidded to a halt when he came to the bridge. Beyond these doors was the heart of his ship. It was the place where he made his most critical decisions, and held most of his biggest fears. He opened the doors and stepped into the darkness. Jason could hear the drones working and could see movement backlit by the hundreds of stars that shone through the hole where the crew stations had once been.

Captain McWilliams quickly made his way to his chair. He activated the compartment that held his Cognicence Helmet. The door slid open, but the helmet didn't rise. Jason shrugged, knelt down, and retrieved the helmet. Without a second thought, he placed it on his head, not allowing the memories or fear of his last encounter to paralyze him from taking action.

After a moment, he slid the visor into place and was rewarded with access to every system on the ship. What he saw was not good. Shields were off line. Every weapons system needed repair, and worked only minimally. The Engines seemed to be the only bright spot. They at least were coming online. If you could call fifty percent power online.

A tiny red blip caught Jason's attention. Redemption's sensors were actually working, and they showed that the Resistance ships were closing in on him. Apparently, they hadn't cared much for Admiral West, and had left him to drift in order to pursue Redemption.

Jason checked the status on the repair drones that he had launched earlier. They were working in perfect order. Small miracles were still miracles. Without thinking twice, he activated the drones and their remote weapons systems. It took only a second to reconfigure the IFF systems to show only Redemption as friendly.

"Angel, do you still have that signal?" Jason asked as Redemption came to a stop in the middle of the new defensive perimeter.

"Yes Sir, I do still have the signal." Angel's reply came quickly. "Captain, Major Narja is starting to wake up. He should be fully coherent soon."

"Thank you Angel. Please let me know as soon as we are fully operational." Jason studied his sensor readings. Admiral West's shuttle was still tumbling towards the remains of Olcai, and his ships had come just inside the edge of the debris field, but no further. Wearily, Jason removed his helmet, and went into his ready room, hoping for some rest.

Chapter 45

Kamira slept. Her body ached with an unquenchable fire as the DioBed methodically repaired her injuries. She was restless, trying to turn to get comfortable, but was held fast inside the machine by protective force fields.

As she slept, she dreamed.

She dreamed of T'Sula and her childhood, she dreamed of Redemption, but most of all she dreamed of Jason. Her Husband was strong, defiant, and willing to do what was needed to make things right. It was because of a hundred different reasons like these that she loved him as she had never loved anyone else.

She was the new Chief Engineer of the Starship Redemption, the first for the ship's new Captain. Kamira had never been a Chief Engineer before. She always thought of herself as just an Engineer with a gift that allowed her to understand and repair any machine. It had surprised her when Captain McWilliams had offered the position to her, but she took it eagerly, and decided not to look back.

A new Engineer, a new Captain, and an old ship. Granted, Redemption was technologically beyond anything that Kamira had ever worked on, but the ship was nearly two centuries old, and that had presented its own set of problems. Redemption was a war ship from the old Earth Coalition, back before Earth had fallen to the Ta'Reeth. It seemed impossible, but it was real.

Redemption's capabilities were greater than any other ship in the Resistance. She was faster, stronger, and more agile, but her greatest asset was that Redemption was the only known ship that had Artificial Intelligence. Kamira was still a little uneasy about talking to Angel. She knew that Angel was just a sophisticated computer program, but she seemed so real, so tangible.

All of this, and Captain Jason McWilliams, the most incredible man Kamira had ever laid eyes on, had picked her to be his Chief Engineer.

She had just finished her shift in Engineering. Tired, not physically, but mentally, Kamira had taken a minute to change, and was headed for the gym. A good, hard workout was exactly what she needed to relax, and at this late of an hour, she should have the gym to herself.

The door slid open and Kamira stepped inside. It was quiet in the gym, no whirring of machines, or clanking exercise equipment, but she was not alone. In the far corner, on the mats, was the one man that she needed to get out of her mind. She watched as Jason McWilliams worked fluidly through a few martial arts forms that she was not familiar with. It was a strong, aggressive art, and very direct. The movements were powerful and fast with a surprising aesthetic quality in the spinning kicks.

Kamira tried to avoid the Captain's attention. She wasn't sure if she simply didn't want to distract him, or if she just wanted to keep to herself. Heading for an open spot along the far wall, she started to limber up. Her muscles were tight at first, but she was quickly able to execute her flips and high kicks with ease.

By the time Kamira reached the wall, she was ready. She paused and took a few more minutes to stretch properly before she stepped onto the mat. Keeping to the far side, away from the Captain, Kamira methodically worked through her first two forms. She could feel her heart pumping the blood through her body, loosening and strengthening her muscles. As she progressed, she began to move faster, until her hands and feet blurred gracefully through the air as she danced across the mats.

"Impressive Commander." the Captain's voice cut neatly through the silence. "Which art is that?" he asked, standing and watching Kamira.

"Aichi Te Do." Kamira stopped to look at Jason, and take a breath. She was breathing harder than she would like, but not enough for anyone else to notice.

"Never heard of it." Jason smiled. Kamira was impressively graceful, and that surprised him. "Is that a Bakeeron martial art?"

"It is." Kamira smiled shyly, her cheeks turning embarrassingly red. "Which art were you practicing?"

"Oh, ah Taekwondo." Jason fidgeted a little. "I'm only a Brown belt, and not very good at that." he had always liked what he saw in his Engineer, he just hadn't realized how much he liked it until now. "So, ah, where did you learn Aichi Te Do?" he stammered.

"I learned it from my cousin T'Sula about ten years ago." Kamira took the time to stretch some more.

"T'Sula huh?" Jason looked puzzled. "Is that a common name on Bakesh?"

"No." Kamira stood up and flexed her back. "Sula is, but the 'T' is more of a moniker for achievement. I only know one person named T'Sula, and that's my cousin, T'Sula Mir."

"T'Sula Mir is your cousin?" Jason could not hide his astonishment.

"You know her?" Kamira was surprised, but tried to hide it.

"Yeah, I do." Jason quickly gathered his composure. "We worked together a couple of years ago, back on Home Station."

"Wait a minute." Kamira smirked. "You're the Constable that she kneed in the groin!" she tried, but could not hold back her laughter. The thought of T'Sula dropping Jason to his knees in pain forced her to smile.

"Yeah, that was me." Jason now looked very uncomfortable. "I still need to thank her for that." he said sarcastically. "Hey, um, do you want to spar? I mean nothing hard, just a little freeform, light touch?"

"Alright." Kamira smiled at him. "I'd like that." She slid her right foot back and rolled her hips slightly forward into a left fighting stance. Jason slid his left foot back, moving into a right modified fighting stance. They faced each other in a closed fighting position.

They slowly circled each other, searching for an opening. Jason jabbed tentatively with his right, probing Kamira's defense. She blocked with her left as she stepped in close. Placing her right leg behind his left, Kamira gently pushed. Jason fell backwards, taking Kamira with him.

"I told you I wasn't very good." Jason said, smiling, as Kamira landed on top of him.

"You're better than you give yourself credit for." she smiled back, blushing. "Care to go again?"

"I kind of like it right here." Jason slipped his arms gently around her.

"I, ah, I, um, I like you to." Kamira stammered as she turned a bright shade of red. The words were out of her mouth before she could even think of stopping them. Her cheeks burned, and she felt slightly nauseous. This was exactly what she had wanted, and tried to avoid. She wanted to hide. In her entire life, she had never been this embarrassed, or this exited.

Before Kamira knew what was happening, she found herself pressing her lips against her Captain's. She liked the way it felt, the way she felt. She closed her eyes, and gave herself over to the moment.

"Captain, if I may interrupt, there is a situation that requires your attention." Angel's voice broke the silence.

"What is it Angel?" Jason reluctantly asked.

"Sir, we will be arriving at Bakesh within the hour. Unfortunately, the system is overrun with Ta'Reeth ships." Angel disappeared and replaced her image with one of Bakesh. Swarming through the system were a half dozen Ta'Reeth light cruisers. The ships surrounded the planet and her moons, destroying anything that dared to move.

"All stop!" Jason ordered, dragging himself and Kamira to their feet.

"What do they want with Bakesh?" Kamira asked, not entirely sure that she really wanted to know. It was her home, and she felt the need to defend it, but she knew that Redemption was only one ship, not six.

"I don't know, but we're going to do something about it." Jason studied the hologram for a few moments. "It's a trap." he muttered, running a hand over his chin. "They're waiting for someone, or something."

"Who?" Kamira asked, getting closer to the hologram. "They could be waiting for anybody. Bakesh is right on a major route from Caldon to any number of other planets."

"Whoever it's for, we're going to spring it." Jason looked Kamira in the eyes. "I really want to have some more one on one time with you. But, I think that's going to have to wait."

"I'd like that a lot." Kamira smiled, and leaned in to kiss him. As she leaned closer, her eyes grew wide. Jason's face began to twist, and contort until she was no longer looking at her husband, but at Corin Dante.

"It's time to wake up." was all that Corin said before everything went black.

Chapter 46

"So, what did you have in mind?" T'Sula asked as she helped Corin to his feet. She had enjoyed knocking him around a little. It felt good to relieve some of her stress, even if she had been holding back. Of course, she realized that Corin had been holding back as well.

T'Sula walked over to where the makeshift pry bar lay and picked it up. She hefted the tool easily, and glanced over at Corin. It was not easy to put her suspicions out of her mind, but what he was saying was actually making sense. If they could work together, they might be able to cripple the Regiment from the inside. She hated the Regiment. She hated them almost as much as she hated the Ta'Reeth.

"I need you, so that I can get them to drop their guard. They put out a hit on you, and I told them that I'd bring you in." Corin wiped the blood from his nose as he helped T'Sula with the pry bar. "That's one of the reasons I need your help."

"One of the reasons?" T'Sula heaved against the pry bar. The MRU began to move, but still not enough for Brutus to break free.

T'Sula kept her thoughts tightly sealed inside her mind. She realized that Corin actually believed that between the two of them, they could bring down the single biggest threat, with the exception of the Ta'Reeth, that the galaxy knew. She knew her own capabilities, and started to wonder about those of Corin Dante. He had lasted longer than most people would have against her, and he had tracked her to Olcai. Who was this man?

"Yeah, one of the reasons." Corin put all of his weight into the bar, getting the MRU to move a little more. "Come on Brutus." he grunted. "The other one is that I can't take them on alone and win." Slowly the massive cat began to rise, to push against his prison.

"Come on!" Corin yelled as Brutus stood and the MRU rocked back onto its base, leaving the cat free. Corin let out a sigh and looked at T'Sula.

"So, are you in?" he smiled disarmingly at her in the darkness, hoping that she would trust him. If she chose not to, he was in a lot of trouble.

"What assurances do I have that you're telling me the truth?" T'Sula tossed the pry bar to the deck and squaring herself to Corin. "If you're lying to me, that's just one more reason for me to hate you." she stared at him for a moment, then turned her attention to the Reclamation Unit. "Is this thing still working?" she asked, slapping it lightly.

"Hey, you broke enough stuff around here." Corin scratched Brutus behind the ears. "Let's get some food, then we can figure out what all's working and what's not." Corin started towards the door. "Come with me."

Feeling his way through the darkness, Corin led T'Sula and Brutus down the corridor. "I don't have a huge variety, but there are some emergency rations down this way." Corin's mind raced as he walked. Was he insane? Spilling his plans to T'Sula Mir was not the brightest thing he had done recently. She was the most dangerous person he had ever met, and he was just rambling on about his plans to double cross the Regiment? This had disaster written all over it.

"Hamburger steak alright with you?" he asked her as he forged ahead, picking his way through the wreckage.

"No." T'Sula replied from behind him in the darkness. "I'm a vegetarian."

"Great." Corin muttered under his breath.

"And I heard you." T'Sula called back.

Corin grimaced. Was there any way not to anger this woman anymore than he already had? As much as he did not want to admit it, he needed her in more ways than he knew. "We're almost there." Corin called back to T'Sula. "Hey, I see a light."

"Well, this isn't good." Corin growled as they entered the room. The light came from a meter wide gash in the hull that stretched from the deck, upward at a jagged angle, to the ceiling and beyond. Bits of rubble combined with shattered tree branches littered the deck, interspersed with the remnants of whatever had been in the room in the first place. Nothing had survived.

"No, but it could have been a lot worse." T'Sula stepped up beside him. "At least we're all still alive." she glanced quickly around the room. "There's supposed to be food in here? Looks to me like it's all ruined." she pointed to the crushed containers and scorched machinery scattered throughout the room.

"Yep, it looks like we're out of luck on this one." Corin walked over and sifted through a pile of debris. "Everything that was in here is gone."

"Well, we need to look around outside anyway." T'Sula headed back out the door. "We might as well scout for some fresh food while we're at it." she looked back over her shoulder. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah." Corin stood up and followed T'Sula out into the corridor. They waited for Brutus to follow, and then Corin led the way to the nearest hatch.

Without power, Corin had to crank the hatch open. After a couple of minutes of work, they breathed the hot, humid jungle air. T'Sula's armor and jumpsuit were instantly soaked through. Brutus growled in protest to the heat, and then simply leapt down from the ship. Even Corin began to sweat profusely as he climbed down to the ground.

"Armor huh? I figured as much." Corin muttered as he watched T'Sula drop gracefully to the ground. "Makes sense though."

T'Sula ignored Corin. She watched Brutus snarl and pace around the tiny clearing in which they stood. He grew more agitated as he paced.

"Something's wrong Corin." she looked around the clearing. There was nothing that she could see, and nothing that she could smell or feel. She just watched Brutus, and knew that the cat could sense something that she could not.

T'Sula stepped closer to the ship, hoping to fade into the shadows.

"Hold it right there Commander."A familiar voice called to T'Sula from beyond the trees. "Stay where I can see you." there was a rustling noise as the vegetation parted and armed men walked out of the jungle. "Dante, call off that blasted cat before I shoot it."

The man speaking stepped into the light and T'Sula recognized him instantly. Malek sneered at T'Sula. "I should have put you down years ago. Actually, I thought I had."

"Malek." T'Sula spat. "I haven't killed you yet?" Anger flooded into her eyes. T'Sula forced herself to relax, as every muscle, every fiber in her body tensed with hatred.

"Well, now that we're all acquainted, let's get this over with." Corin stepped over to T'Sula. He slipped his arm around her waist, discreetly slipping a knife into her pocket. "This isn't in the plans. Play along." he whispered into her ear.

"Get your hands off me!" T'Sula yelled shoving Corin to the ground. She sized up the Regiment. They were too heavily armed for them to fight in the open. Silently, T'Sula berated herself for letting them get the upper hand. She should have seen it.

Corin dodged as Malek shot at his feet. "Ah ah Dante. None of your tricks now. Understand?" Corin clenched his jaw and nodded. This was not going to plan.

"You've got what you wanted Malek, now I want my money." Corin dusted himself off as he stood. He closed his eyes for a second, and using his implants, checked on the status of Vengeances' weapons. He might get one or two shots, if he was lucky. How had these bastards gotten here so quickly? These weren't even the right coordinates for the rendezvous. Something was seriously wrong. They must have been tracking him all along.

"Come here Commander, and don't try anything stupid." Malek leveled his rifle at T'Sula. "We've got something special in mind for you." something in his smile sickened T'Sula. She wanted desperately to run.

T'Sula slowly walked forward, stopping in front of Malek. She kept quiet, not daring to speak. She closed her eyes as Malek ran a scanner over her. 'I hope I can trust Corin.' ran endlessly through her mind.

"Yeah, she's the one." Malek turned back to his men, smiled, and then slammed the stock of his rifle into T'Sula's face. Her head rocked back with an audible crack as she crumpled instantly to the ground. Malek removed a set of shackles from his belt and placed them on T'Sula's wrists. He then ordered two of his men to pick her up.

"What are you doing?" Corin yelled. He hid his panic as well as he could manage. "Where's my money?" He tried to think of something that would stall Malek, and failed. If he tried to shoot now, he'd kill T'Sula, along with Malek and his goons. "We had a deal Malek!"

"Deal's off Dante. You never reached the rendezvous." Malek motioned for his men to retreat. "Good luck with your ship. Don't even think of trying to follow." Corin could hear them laughing as they disappeared into the jungle.

A few minutes later Corin watched as a small Ta'Reeth ship tore through the sky, and out into space.

"Don't worry; I'm going to do a lot more than just follow you." Corin promised. A mix a sorrow and anger filled his heart. T'Sula had finally trusted him, and he failed.

"Come on Brutus, we've got a lot to do." He watched for a moment as the big cat paced angrily back and forth. Corin shook his head. T'Sula had only been with them a short time, and now Brutus wanted to protect her. Corin turned his back on the big cat and climbed back into his ship.

Even in the darkness, it was easy for him to find the DioBed. Kamira hadn't been in it very long, but it was going to have to do. He checked to make sure that her readings were stable before he cancelled the session.

"It's time to wake up." Corin told his friend, pulling her gently upright. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Jason?" she asked.

"No Kam, its Corin." he hadn't wanted things to happen this way, but now there was no choice. "I need your help. T'Sula needs your help."

"What happened?" Kamira asked, brushing the sleep from her eyes.

"We crashed, and T'Sula has been taken prisoner by a man named Malek. He's with the Regiment." Corin quickly told Kamira everything, leaving no secrets.
"Wow." Kam breathed deep for the first time since waking. She winced and clutched her ribs. "I could use some more time in the DioBed Corin."

"I know. I'm sorry." he focused on the task at hand. "The ship is in pretty bad shape Kam. I can't fix it by myself."

"O.K. The first thing we need is power, and then we need a detailed analysis of the damage." Kamira groaned. "Can you do that while I get back in the DioBed?"

"Yes." Corin helped Kamira lie back down. "I can do that." he said as he activated the machine.

Chapter 47

The dead littered the cityscape, bringing a twisted smile to Nom's face. He wandered through the carnage, searching for a way to bring about his own salvation. What had once been a thriving tourist destination was now nothing more than a grotesque example of brute force.

The explosion had been tremendous. Meter thick metal walls crumpled like sheets of notebook paper. Buildings that had once reached the sky were now shattered and crumbling into dust. It was amazing that anything had survived.

Nom paused briefly in his search to savor the final breath of a crushed Malgar, his grey skin ripped and stained with his dark blood. Death was a sweet release, and one day the Masters would grant him his. Until that day, he would savor the death of others. He was sworn to serve the Ta'Reeth, to bring about their glorious reign.

It was still unknown to Nom how these people had survived his bomb. The explosion should have been enough to vaporize this disgusting machine of a planet. Someone must have tampered with it after he had set it. That was the only explanation that came to his mind. He would find out who had done this, and bring them his retribution. That would be a marvelous day indeed.

His wanderings brought Nom deeper into the core of the wreckage, deep beneath the surface. Pale emergency lights lined the passageways, allowing Nom to travel without using the different features in his suit. There was no need to continue using the cloaking feature, since he was the only one still alive in the depths of the city.

Stopping to investigate some wreckage, Nom was thrown from his feet. Dazed, he picked himself up and looked around. Something had happened. Something had slammed into the wreckage. Still deeper in the core, he found it. It was fairly large and boxy. Upon closer inspection, he discovered what it was. It was a shuttle. As he came closer, Nom found the hatch to the shuttle, and it was welded shut.

Cautious now, Nom activated his cloak. He slowly drew closer to the shuttle. It was Resistance by design, and had been well maintained. There were no signs as to why it had crashed, except the inexplicably welded door. Either no one was supposed to get in, or something was not supposed to get out.

Why was this shuttle here? Was there anyone left onboard? Could he use it to find T'Sula Mir? She had to die; she had to pay for his failure. What would his Masters think? Was he capable of making this thing his own? How would he kill the ones left inside? The last thought sent waves of joy cascading throughout his body.

Nom carefully approached the shuttle. The cursed thing had sustained some damage from the crash but it seemed insignificant to him. As he drew closer, he began to hear a buzzing coming from inside the craft. The noise grew louder the closer he got, until the incessant buzz became unbearable.

Enraged from the buzzing, Nom screamed and attacked the shuttle. He slammed into it with his body and with his hands and feet until he could not move any more. Then he saw it, a breach in the hull. It was a small breach, approximately half a meter in length, and only a few centimeters wide. Yet, there it was.

The buzzing continued as Nom found a piece of metal and wedged it into the breach. He pressed with his entire weight against it, and was rewarded with the hull ripping a little more. He continued to work on enlarging the breach, all the while silently cursing the buzzing in his head.

Soon, the hole was large enough for Nom to squeeze through. It was nearly dark inside the shuttle, and cramped. Pieces of equipment were lying everywhere, with a few men thrown in for good measure. Nom picked his way through the wreckage, looking closely to see if anyone was alive. If they were fortunate enough to be breathing, he simply placed his foot on their throats, and pressed until their pathetic little lives were snuffed from existence. Still, the infernal buzzing persisted.

Nom searched the shuttle for more victims. Finally he found one lying face down near the back of the shuttle. He was tall and thin, with a fresh wound on the back of his head. Curious, Nom leaned in closer. The man had been struck in the back of the head with something hard. Cautiously, he rolled the man over.

His next victim was an Admiral. Maybe he would allow this one to live. Maybe Nom could find a use for an Admiral.

Finally, the infernal buzzing ceased.

Chapter 48

"Redemption, come in please." the message came across Angel's communications system, bringing her instantly to alert. She called up a series of sub-routines automatically attempting positive identification of the voice on the other end.

"This is Redemption, go ahead." she replied. It was an encoded signal without an identifier, leaving Angel still searching for identification.

"Angel, this is Commander Nor. Is the Captain available?" the voice on the other side indeed sounded like her Chief Engineer, but Angel was still uncertain.

"If you are indeed Commander Nor, then you wouldn't mind answering a few questions." Angel quickly calculated a number of questions that Kamira would know.

"Go ahead, just make it quick. I don't have a whole lot of time." Kamira sighed.

"Commander, how long have you been a crew member on Redemption?"

"I've been aboard Redemption since shortly before the Battle of Bakesh." Kamira answered quickly. "I really need to talk to Jason. Please put him on."

"Commander, what is your relationship with the Captain?" Angel persisted.

"He is my Captain, and my Husband. Put him on Angel." Kamira began to get impatient.

"Not until I am satisfied. What is your role aboard Redemption?" the voice print identification came in with a positive I.D. on Kamira. Angel kept questioning her, as she was beginning to enjoy tormenting the Commander.

"I am the Chief Engineer. Now put me through to the Captain you over built computer core!" Kamira yelled, her anger finally coming to bear.

"Commander, I am pleased to find that you are yourself. If you can wait for a moment, I will wake your husband for you." Angel smiled to herself. She found it puzzling that she had enjoyed teasing Commander Nor, but decided to keep the changes that she had been experiencing to herself.

"Thank you Angel." Kamira regained her composure as Angel went silent.

A few moments passed as Angel watched her Captain. Watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest gave her yet another new sensation. Logic could not explain or quantify what she felt. She knew what she was, and that Captain Jason McWilliams was human, a married human. She knew that those facts could never change the way that she felt about the man. She knew, beyond any doubt, that if anyone were to hurt him, she would wipe them from existence.

"Captain, I have an important message for you." Angel appeared beside the cot that he had set up in his ready room. She watched patiently as he gradually stirred and woke up.

"Huh?" Jason grumbled, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Who is it?" he sat up and stretched, trying to stifle a yawn as he did so. His hair was wild, and there was dark red stubble across his cheeks and chin.

"It's your wife sir." Angel stated as plainly as she could. She knew that he would be excited to here from Kamira, and wished that it was her instead.

"What? Put her through!" Jason practically leapt to his feet and nearly tripped. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying futilely to straighten it. Realizing that it was a lost cause, he gave up.

"Jason?" Kamira's voice came over the com. Her voice was disembodied for a moment, before Angel disappeared, letting Kamira's form take her place.

"Yeah Kam, are you alright? Where are you? Who are you with? Are you hurt?" the questions tumbled uninhibited from Jason's mouth, without bothering to let his brain filter them out. He had wanted to talk to his wife for so long now, and this was his chance.

"I'm o.k. Are you o.k.?" Kamira kept her voice as level as she could, trying desperately not to breakdown and cry.

"I'm alright. Redemption got hit pretty bad though. We're still making repairs. Where are you?" Jason regained his composure. He wanted to reach through space and hold his wife tight, so that she could never be pulled away from him again.

"I don't know exactly where I am, but we crashed and I'm trying to make repairs." she steeled herself for the multitude of questions that she knew would follow.

"Who is 'we'?" Jason asked quietly. He knew that T'Sula was there somewhere, but he didn't know who else would be.

"Well, it's me, Corin Dante, and Brutus. T'Sula had been here, but she was taken by the Regiment." Kam paused, fixing Jason with a steady gaze. "I'm going to need some schematics from Angel."

"She'll give you anything you need Kam. I'm familiar with everybody you named, except Brutus. Who's he?" Jason asked. T'Sula he knew, Corin he had come across while doing an investigation, but he had no idea who Brutus was.

"Brutus is Corin's cat." Kamira kept a straight face, not telling Jason about his size. In truth, Brutus belonged to no one. A Darwinian Sand Panther went and did as they saw fit. Brutus simply wanted to be with Corin Dante.

"Oh. Okay." Jason said simply, stifling a yawn. "Do you trust Corin Dante?" he asked. From what he had seen, he wasn't sure if he trusted him at all.

"Jason, Corin saved my life. He saved T'Sula's life, and he helped me reprogram the force fields around Olcai's core. So in effect, he also helped to save Olcai." Kamira started to yell at her husband, then stopped herself. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. Jason, I love you." she began to cry, letting the tears flow that she had been holding back.

"I love you too Kam." Jason took a deep breath before continuing. "I thought that maybe you had something to do with saving Olcai. You did real good honey. Look, if you trust this Corin, then I will too." Jason rubbed his eyes. He was still tired, but there was no possible way that he was going back to sleep now. "I know how to find where you are. Major Narja placed a homing device on your ship, and we should be able to track it. We just haven't been in any condition to go get you."

"How is Narja?" Kamira asked, managing to stop the flow of tears. She wanted this war to be over so badly. It was all that anyone could remember. Always fighting, never anything else.

"He'll be alright." Jason paused for a moment. "Wait a second, did you mention the Regiment?"

"I did. They have T'Sula." Kamira glanced away, looking at something that Jason could not see. There was pain in her voice, an anger that could barely be contained. "We have to get her back."

"We'll get her back. I promise." Jason held back his feelings, his thoughts about the Regiment and the Ta'Reeth. If they had T'Sula Mir, they were in for a whole new world of trouble. He just wanted a front row seat. "T'Sula can take care of herself Kam. We have to trust her in that."

"I know, it's just that I don't think we have much time." Kamira fixed her husband with a steady gaze. "She has what they want. She's carrying the reason that they destroyed Olcai, Jason. It's not a something, it's her. Whatever it is, it's inside her."

"Oh my God." Jason sat stunned. He knew that they had been after something, he just hadn't known what. T'Sula was in trouble, she was in big trouble. "I'll be there as soon as possible, until then just do what you can."

"I will. Please hurry." Kamira looked slightly relieved as she shimmered above Jason's desk.

"Angel, I need you to give Kamira your full cooperation." Jason told the A.I. without taking his eyes off his wife. "What is our status?"

"Sir we will be operational in approximately an hour. Any repairs not completed by that time can be done en route." Angel reported.

"Excellent. Did you hear that Kam?" Jason asked his wife. Finally, he would be on the move again.

"I did. That's good. Listen, I'm sending you a data package. Make sure that you check it out. It's important. I'd really like to talk some more, but I have a lot of work to do." Kamira glanced up at Jason, not allowing herself to be overwhelmed by her emotions again. "I've already downloaded what I need from Angel. Thank you. I love you, and I'll see you soon." Kamira said as she severed the connection.

Jason sat silently at his desk, stunned. There were so many things that he had wanted to tell Kamira, and had not gotten the chance. He still had so much to do before Redemption would actually be ready for a fight, and there was no way of knowing how long he actually had. The Resistance hadn't made a serious move yet, and the Regiment was now involved. What was it that T'Sula had anyway?

Not wanting to be caught off guard again, Jason willed himself into action. After all, he was still a Starship Captain. He accessed the data package that Kamira had sent and quietly reviewed its contents.

It was still dark when Jason entered the bridge. The repairs were nearly complete, but he could still hear the drones working.

"Captain?" the voice from the darkness startled Jason. He thought that he recognized it, but it sounded strained.

"Narja?" he asked tentatively, turning to see where the voice had come from.

Chapter 49

Corin Dante knelt in the middle of the cargo bay. He had finally found the last faulty power connection. Carefully, he removed the faulty terminal, plugged in the new one that he had been carrying, and restored power to his ship. Lights came on throughout Vengeance, finally showing just how bad things actually were. The damage was staggering. He had known that it would be bad, but seeing it in the light gave it a completely new dimension. They were in trouble. There was no possible way that he was going to be able to help T'Sula. Still, he had to do what he could. After all, it was his fault that she was in the position that she was.

"Well, now that we've got power, let's get the rest of this thing running." Kamira said, walking up behind Corin. "I already checked on the Reclamation Unit. It seems to be working just fine, so I'm going to start getting a couple of things ready."

"Wow, I didn't realize that you were out of the DioBed yet." Corin turned to face her. She seemed so confident that they could repair the ship. "Are you feeling better?"

"Oh, yeah I'll be alright." Kamira blushed slightly. "Thanks. Where's Brutus?" she looked disheveled but whole. Her eyes were bright and her voice was strong.

"You know, that's a good question." Corin sighed. "I haven't seen him in a few hours." Corin noticed that Kamira had exchanged her tattered robes for a new, form fitting blue jumpsuit. "What is it with you two and jumpsuits?"

"Us two?" Kamira arched an eyebrow at Corin.

"You and T'Sula." he replied, picking up his gear.

"They're functional." Kam cocked her head at him. 'He notices what I wear?' she thought. "And they're comfortable." Kamira added, a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I figured it was something like that." Corin smiled. "Unless you need me for something, I think I'll go make sure that Brutus hasn't gotten himself into any trouble." Corin made sure that he had all of his equipment and left.

'He noticed that I changed clothes?' Kamira blushed again, then headed back to her makeshift work area. She didn't have much to work with, but she would make do with what she had.

Corin quickly stowed his gear in his quarters. They were spartan, but that was fine with him. He set his gear on the deck, and then kicked the pile of clothes away from his closet. Inside, the closet was a mess. All of his belongings had come loose and fallen to the floor in the crash. Corin sighed and began to rifle through the pile.

It took him a couple of minutes before he found what he was looking for. Sitting at the bottom of the pile was a metal footlocker, sealed and capable of withstanding almost anything, including zero atmospheres.

Corin unlocked the footlocker and reached inside. He withdrew his two pistols, a belt to attach everything to, a small first aid kit, and the Bullwhip that had belonged to his Grandfather. After looking at his weapons for a minute, he stood and fastened the belt around his waist. The pistols slipped smoothly into the holsters, where their familiar imprint held them fast. There was a small pouch on the back that was just the right size for the first aid kit, and a tie on the left side for the whip.

Corin pulled out his pistols and checked them over. They were a matching set of semi-automatic, hand held railguns. High powered, and deadly accurate, the pistols had built in auto reloaders in the grips. Corin slipped the weapons back into their holsters, and then tied down the holsters around his legs. Now he was ready to go out and look for Brutus.

Time, or at least Corin's perception of it, slowed as he left his ship. The confines of the vessel were familiar, and mostly safe, but now he had to leave that safety for a much more dangerous place. An unknown jungle was never where you wanted to find yourself.

The heat hit Corin instantly. Inside the ship, even without power, had been reasonably cool due to the protection from the sunlight. Outside however, was a drastic change that nearly dropped Corin to his knees. He staggered for a moment, and reoriented himself. He had been in hot climates before, so it took him only a few minutes to acclimate.

Refocused, and wary of the heat, Corin searched for signs of Brutus. The big cat was deceptively agile, and left barely any signs of his passage. Corin however knew what to look for.

Finally, he found what he sought. At the edge of the clearing were a couple of bent branches that were missing some leaves. Corin methodically inspected the area and decided that Brutus had indeed been through there. Beyond the branches were more signs of the cat's passage.

Corin followed the signs for what seemed like hours, until he came upon something unexpected. Tucked in neatly against the mountainside, was a village. It was an eclectic mixture of high tech equipment and local materials. The village hadn't been there long, only a year or two at the most.

An uneasy feeling crept over Corin as he came closer to the village. Something was definitely wrong. There were signs of life everywhere, but he had yet to see a person. Doors stood half open, with lights on inside, yet there was no noise, and no one in sight.

Corin's pistols slid smoothly and silently out of their holsters. Creeping cautiously forward, he took the safeties off. He came up to an open door and stopped. Placing his back against the wall, Corin took a deep breath. It was now or never. He needed to know what was happening here. He needed to know where the people were, why they were nowhere in sight.

In the instant before barging in through the open door, he heard it. A faint scraping of claws against rock sent chills up his spine. Corin looked up just in time to see a Ta'Reeth hunter leap from the stone roof above his head. He dropped and rolled out of the creatures range, firing wildly as he went.

Scrambling to his feet, Corin kept his weapons trained on the hunter. This one was slightly different from the ones he had run into on Olcai. Those hunters weren't armored. This one was. It stood only a meter and a half high, with powerful hind legs, and short muscular forearms. Razor sharp claws tipped each toe and finger. The beast's head was an armored triangular plate with deep-set black eyes that darted back and forth, in search of its prey. Its jaw split at the chin, opening to the left and right while being hinged in the back allowing it to open and snap shut with razor sharp teeth designed to shred.

There was no time to react before the beast was on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Corin twisted and dodged, desperate to avoid those teeth and claws. Laying flat on his back, Corin managed to wedge his feet between himself and the hunter's chest. He pushed up hard, and blasted the creature in the head with both pistols. He watched as the head exploded in a shower of bone and gray matter, then stood and checked himself for wounds.

His wounds were surprisingly light. A few cuts here and there, and more than a few bruises, but he would live. He just wanted to find Brutus and get back to the ship.

Corin brushed off what he could of the debris, and started looking for Brutus again. He kept his weapons at the ready, wary of another attack. As he moved through the village, nothing moved, nothing made a sound. The buildings sat open, allowing Corin to see inside. Everything was well taken care of.

He came across the largest building in the village. Corin froze in his tracks. The inside was bathed in blood. In the silence, he heard a sound. He heard Brutus growling. His heart raced. There had to be more Ta'Reeth around. In all of his experience, they had never hunted alone. Brutus' growling grew louder as Corin scanned the area, looking for any sign of the hunters. Finding none, he moved inside.

The building must have been the Town Hall. It was easily the largest, most ornate structure in the village with carvings adorning the walls and the otherwise bare support beams. Corin moved cautiously into the building, stepping over body parts, and trying not to slip in the blood.

Bright lights cast haunting shadows across the bodies. There had to be nearly a hundred men and women of a dozen different races scattered across the meeting hall. Something had come in here when they were together and defenseless. Corin could only imagine what had really happened. The village was dead. The buildings were left in the kind of shape that belied the carnage he saw before him. Had they all gathered here hoping for safety in numbers, or had they not known that anything was happening? He didn't know, and dared not let himself dwell on the thoughts either.

Nestled in the wall at the far end of the great room was a set of double doors that sat ajar. No light spilled out through the crack, only the low rumble of Brutus growling.

Corin gave up on stealth and caution. He started to run, jumping over bodies and furniture as he went. He skidded to a halt just outside the door, nearly falling as he did. The growl grew in volume and intensity. Now it was nearly a howl.

The door was actually cool to Corin's touch as he slowly pushed it open. With barely enough room to squeeze through, he entered the darkness. A wave of nausea swept over him as the smell of fresh blood permeated the air.

Corin's eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. Brutus was crouched near the back of the room, ready to lunge at any second. His head and eyes followed Corin, intently watching every move.

"Please don't hurt us." a woman's voice called from behind the big cat. There was terror in her voice, pleading for salvation.

"I'm not going to hurt anyone." Corin called out as calmly as he could manage. "What happened here?" he asked, coming close enough to see whom he was talking to. She was tall and thin, with straw colored hair. The woman trembled as she stepped forward, holding a small child.

Corin saw a blur of movement as Brutus lunged past him, then felt a crippling pain in his shoulder. He looked down to see a thick thread piercing his body and running straight into the woman's chest. She fell forward, into his arms as the thread ripped out, nearly dropping him to his knees.

"Mekala." was the only sound she made before she died. Corin turned, bewildered when he heard the scuffle behind him. Brutus had pinned a Ta'Reeth hunter. Its body lay limp under his paws. A long tendon stretched from one of its outstretched fingers, and ended in a bloody talon. The Sand Panther looked at his friend, and then dropped the hunters severed heads from his jaws.

"The kid!" Corin exclaimed, and turned over the dead woman. He felt the pain of her death, and could not help himself in caring for the child. He carefully took the child from her protective embrace and peeled back the blanket. He looked into the eyes of a small Bakeeron girl. She had to be no more than two years old. Her dark hair clung to her angelic face, belying the fear that was painfully evident.

Not sure what he needed to do, Corin picked up the girl. "Mekala, huh?" he winced at the pain in his shoulder. "Looks like you're coming with me little one." he was surprised when Mekala reached up and grabbed him, holding him tight as she trembled, too scared to cry.

"You're going to be alright." he tried to comfort the girl. "Do you see Brutus over there? The big fuzzy kitty? He's coming with us too. We won't let anybody hurt you." Corin surprised himself when he actually meant what he said. He gently rocked her back and forth as he and Brutus quickly made their way out of the town hall.

Corin held Mekala as best he could with his good arm. She wriggled a little, but held as still as could be expected. Mekala held Corin as tight as she could and buried her face in his shoulder.

The light had begun to fade when Corin emerged from the building. He looked over his shoulder to make sure that Brutus was still with him, and then headed towards his ship. They traveled as quickly as they could manage, not wanting to be caught in the jungle at night. The going was rough and Corin had to stop to adjust how he held Mekala. He used her blanket, and his whip to fashion a sling to hold her tight to his chest.

With Mekala secure, Corin began to run. He tried not to jostle her as he ran. The hair on the back of his neck bristled at the noises coming from the jungle. There was no way to know how many Ta'Reeth were out there, or where they were. Corin knew that with Mekala strapped to his chest, and his wounded shoulder, he was relying entirely on Brutus for protection.

Brutus and Corin were running at full speed when they broke into the clearing. Kamira was standing between them and Vengeance. Beside her was a monster.

Chapter 50

_Mist clung to the lush, green foliage of the mountains like a gossamer veil, shutting away the deep valleys below. The morning sun eased over the horizon, bathing the world in a soft light. Sturdy, single level wooden buildings dotted the rugged mountain peaks, just below the tree line._

Sula Mir sat cross-legged in the cool grass with an easy smile resting on her young face. Life was simple for her in the mountains of Bakesh. Since so few people bothered her after her parents died, she did what she needed, and in turn, didn't needlessly bother anyone else. Most of the people simply didn't know what to do with her, so they just tolerated Sula's existence. Her early morning excursions were her only escape.

A light breeze blew in from the other mountains, carrying with it the scent of smoke. Sula squinted, searching for where the smoke had come from. Then she saw it. The settlement two peaks away blazed brightly, every building engulfed in flames.

Sula jumped to her feet and ran back inside the village. A few lights burning in windows dotted the streets in the morning light. Her lungs burned as she ran. She flew past homes and shops, barely glancing at them before stopping at the village center.

Standing in front of the open village square, blocking her entrance to the town hall, was a group of men and women that she knew were not to be trusted. Each of them looked tired and covered in soot.

An older man stepped forward. Sula recognized him instantly as Malek. "Morning Sula. Going somewhere?" he sneered.

"Yes actually. I was going to warn everyone about the fire, but there's no need is there?" Sula glanced about, looking for an escape and found none.

"Perceptive aren't we?" Malek's face cracked with a sickening smile. "No, there is no need. Fighting the Regiment is useless. Let our enemies die in their sleep." he glanced at his comrades.

Sula read the treachery in his eyes. Seeing her chance, she ran. The freedom of the empty streets loomed in front of her. Breathing hard, she raced ahead. Searing hot fire exploded from her right leg followed by the sharp crack of a rifle.

Rock bit sharply into her hands and arms as she collapsed to the hard ground. Sula screamed a warning to the town, but her voice was overpowered by the staccato bursts of automatic weapons fire. In the cool morning air, everyone she saw every day died.

Tears flowed from her eyes, threatening to drown the rage that burned deep in Sula's heart. Her home was gone, her safe haven shattered. Furious, Sula struggled to her feet. The pain in her leg shot searing bolts of agony through her body. She stubbornly clutched her thigh and staggered on.

"Going somewhere?" she heard the whisper in her ear, followed by the working of a bolt. "Turn around. Slowly."

Sula turned, keeping her movements smooth and cautious, until she stood face to face with Malek. His countenance burned with deceit and anger.

"I told you that fighting us was useless." he sneered. "Join us, and I'll let you live."

"I'll fight you with my dying breath." Sula glared then spat in his face.

"So be it." was all Malek said before slamming his rifle butt into Sula's face.

Pain coursed through Sula's entire body as she woke. Her nerve endings blazed with white-hot agony. Smoke burned her eyes and filled her lungs. Bright orange and red flames cavorted up the walls and across the carved wooden beams that held the cathedral ceiling. Sula's skin blistered then burned like the charred paint on the walls.

She forced herself to crawl for a gaping hole in the nearest wall. Blood and sweat flowed into her eyes. Wooden rafters fell burning to the floor, narrowly missing Sula as she crawled.

As she drew closer to the crumbling wall, a breath of fresh air kissed her blistered skin before it was crushed in the heat. Gasping in pain, Sula drug herself through the hole and onto the wilting grass on the other side. She forced herself away from the building before she collapsed in exhaustion.

Sula lay gasping until her head cleared. Gingerly, she forced herself to her feet. Horror met her eyes and ripped at her heart as she surveyed the carnage. Bodies lay strewn about the streets and every building was set ablaze. Everyone was dead. Women, children, old, and young had all left to meet the gods.

Tears, fueled by rage, welled up in Sula's eyes. There would be retribution, and she would bring it.

Days passed into weeks as Sula labored to find and bury the dead. Slowly her wounds began to heal and her strength returned.

The dead were buried and the fires had gone cold before Sula stopped to face her grief. Her food had been meager, but now was gone. Time stood still for the briefest of moments as she steeled herself against the world. There was nothing left to support her or hold her back. Her life was fully hers now, to do with as she wanted.

After Sula had collected herself, she found herself walking towards the dark valleys below. She didn't know what waited for her below the misted tree line. No one she had known went there.

There was no trail leading her, only a desire to leave her past behind, and a burning rage that fueled her every step. The sun disappeared as she sank deeper into the mists. All sense of day or night blurred together until Sula moved solely by feel. Her fingertips clung tenuously to the rock face as she moved steadily down.

Scrub trees grew sporadically on the mountainside. When she found one in her path, Sula took rest and refuge before moving on. As she rested, stray slivers of light broke through the mists to reveal the lush, green valley floor a thousand meters below.

Sula gazed at the depths for as long as the light allowed, then continued her decent. She moved slowly, cautiously searching for the next toehold or handhold. The air grew thicker as she went, helping her lungs and muscles.

A scant few meters away from the safety of the next tree, Sula's toehold broke loose. Her fingertips grazed the bark of the tree as she skidded past. Bits of rock and dirt stung her eyes, and filled her mouth as she careened helplessly down the mountainside.

Sula gritted her teeth as she started tumbling. Bumps and bruises grew into lacerations and broken bones, before she crashed into a small thicket of brush and trees. She lay against the trees in agony before she eventually lost consciousness.

The abyss was absolute. No light or sound touched Sula. Her mind raced, trying desperately to find substance. Screams erupted silently from her lips. She thrashed violently against the abyss, and still nothing touched her torn flesh. After what must have been an eternity, a calming voice touched her mind saying only "Rest child. You are safe."

Reluctantly, Sula opened her eyes. Waves of pain washed over her body. Flickering candlelight cast a golden glow across the tiny room. A single wooden chair sat next to the small, wooden end table that held the candle.

"You are exceptionally lucky my dear." the tenor voice from the darkness fit perfectly with the old man near the door. He was dressed in simple monk's robes, ankle length, woven dark brown cotton with a braided tie about his waist. He was slight of build with thick gray hair. "Rest for now. When you're stronger, we'll talk again."

Sula closed her eyes as the old monk closed the door.

Daylight sifted through the window and woke Sula with its touch. A bowl of porridge sat next to the candle on the table. No one else was in the room, so Sula forced herself up. There were bandages wrapped about her chest, ribs, arms and legs, restricting her movements. Sula's head throbbed as she gently swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Grateful for the robe hanging on a simple hook by the bed, Sula slipped it on while she made her way to the table and eased herself into the chair. The porridge was still warm but didn't have much taste. She didn't care. It was food, so she ate it. Sula leaned back in the chair, closed her eyes and sighed.

A soft knock at the door roused Sula from her temporary respite. "Are you decent child?" the soft tenor voice gently sliced through the silence.

"Yes, please come in." Sula managed to keep most of the pain from her voice. She smiled a little as the door opened and the old monk walked in. He was dressed the same as before, with a look of concern on his weathered face.

"What brings you to us?" he asked gently as he glided across the room to Sula.

"I don't know." she sighed, lightly rubbing the delicate ridges that ran from just below her hairline to the bridge of her nose. "Have you ever heard of the Regiment?" Sula surprised herself by asking the question.

"Of course." the old man smirked slightly. "They are not to be trusted or trifled with." the set of his eyes softened as he spoke. "Are they the reason that you are here?"

"They killed everyone in my village and left me to die." Sula clenched her jaw. "I want them dead." her anger consumed her, leaving no room for love, despair, or compassion.

"Come with me child. You must heal. You must get rid of your hatred before it destroys you." the old monk helped Sula to her feet and out the door.

The hallway outside was well lit and spartan. Hewn stone walls ran for a distance in both directions. Guiding her gently to the left, the monk could feel Sula struggle along, despite her pain.

"I am Ch'Lan, Abbot of the Monastery of the Mountain Winds." Ch'Lan paused to look at Sula. "What may I call you my dear?"

"I'm Sula Mir, an orphan." Sula glanced at the Abbot and then looked away. "Thank you for your help Abbot Ch'Lan."

Saying nothing more, Ch'Lan led Sula deeper into the monastery. Soon they came to a large, well-lit room. It was adorned with a few wall hangings, a single bed, and a couple of sturdy looking chairs. Each of the wall hangings depicted the five elements (earth, air, water, fire, and soul) both separate and united.

Sula turned slowly, taking in her surroundings. "These are your quarters, for as long as you need them Sula." Ch'Lan watched the girl relax slightly before he continued. "We have yet to commence with your healing. Come."

Ch'Lan left the room with Sula close behind. They hadn't gone far before entering a courtyard, bright with sunlight and well kept. At the center of the courtyard, inlaid in the brick was a symbol. It was easily three meters across and divided into five equal and interlocking segments. In each segment was another symbol, symbolizing the five different elements. Stone for earth, wind for air, a river for water, flame for fire, and a tree for soul.

"Here is where we will begin." Ch'Lan said as he turned to face Sula. "You must first relax your mind. Let it flow unhindered with what you're doing. Breathe deeply, into your stomach. This energizes the body and lets they energy flow." Ch'Lan demonstrated what he was saying, until Sula was able to fluidly follow his instructions.

"Now place your feet slightly more than shoulder width apart." he waited patiently as Sula followed his instructions. "Now bend your knees, and roll your hips forward. This will put your back in the proper alignment."

Sula did as she was instructed; fighting through the pain that coursed through her body. She could feel warmth, energy flowing along avenues in her being, racing to her injuries and slamming to a halt. Screaming, Sula collapsed in pain. She cradled her arms and legs, and held her ribs, trying desperately to get it to stop.

"Breath child." Ch'Lan whispered in her ear as he helped her to her feet. Calmly, he placed his hands on her back and closed his eyes. Breathing deep, he slowly moved his hands across her back, drawing the pain out.

Ch'Lan opened his eyes, and moved in front of Sula. "Sit with me Sula, please." With that he sat cross-legged in front of her and waited for her to sit. Sula gingerly sat and crossed her legs. Together they closed their eyes and sat in silence until the quilt of darkness had wrapped the monastery in its folds.

Sula awoke the next morning feeling her aches and pains a little less than the day before. She quickly bathed, dressed and found her way to the communal dining hall. The monks were already eating and quietly discussing the events for the day to come. Quietly she gathered her bowl of porridge and found a seat on the floor near Abbot Ch'Lan.

"Good morning Sula. I am pleased to see that you found us." Ch'Lan smiled.

"Thank you Abbot, it is good to see you again." Sula smile back. "Hunger has a way of persuading people."

"I have a few chores for you to do before we continue your healing." Ch'Lan paused to take a bite of his breakfast. "I'm sure that they won't take too long."

"Of course. I will do my best." Sula stifled a grimace by taking a hasty bite of porridge.

After breakfast ended, Sula found herself sweeping the courtyard. She methodically worked her way back and forth, from one end to the other. The midday meal came and went long before she was finished. Upon the completion of her task, she found Abbot Ch'Lan waiting for her near the great symbol.

"Each day we will begin by repeating what we learned the day prior. Follow me Sula." Ch'Lan said as he began the exercises. Sula took a deep breath and copied the Abbot's movements. She let her mind flow with the energy of her body, letting go of the pain, releasing if only for a moment, the torment of her past.

Days passed into months as Sula practiced and honed her skills with Ch'Lan. Her body healed and strengthened more than she would have dreamed. Her scars were slowly disappearing into her tanned skin.

On a particularly cold winter day, Sula finished her chores, and found Abbot Ch'Lan in his normal place in the courtyard. "I am ready Abbot, to resume my healing." Sula said respectfully as she approached her friend and mentor.

"Not today Sula." Ch'Lan faced her, his expression somber. "Your body is healed. Today we do something else." He began to walk, not looking to see Sula following. "When you came to us, it was the result of an attack on your village. Tell me Sula, what do you think of the men and women that did this to you?"

"I try not to Abbot." Sula paused to think a bit more. "When I do think of them, I have mixed emotions. Anger, frustration, despair, but mostly I feel pity for them. I pity them because they are severely misguided, and they hurt people that don't deserve what is done to them."

"What would you do if you were able to face these people again?" the Abbot continued to walk. They passed out of the monastery, and began to climb a steep mountain trail. "Would you exact vengeance, or would you not act?"

"That is not an easy question to answer." Sula picked her way along the trail behind the old man. "I think that initially I would want revenge, but in the end I would really want justice. Revenge is too self serving, while justice is honorable, and serves everyone, not just yourself."

"Would you hurt them?" Ch'Lan stopped at a grove of trees.

"Not intentionally. I would act to protect myself. I would try not to hurt them, but in some cases, that might be inevitable." Sula studied the trees for a moment. They clung to the mountainside, offering shade and a bit of shelter from the elements.

"Very well Sula." Ch'Lan turned to face his pupil. "I will train you further. You will learn the art of Aichi Te Do. From this moment forward you will be known as T'Sula Mir. You have earned, and will continue to earn this title. Bear it with honor, my student."

T'Sula bowed deeply. "This is an honor, Master." In silent contemplation, T'Sula followed her Master back to the monastery.

As T'Sula walked, her world changed. The mountains morphed into walls, and Ch'Lan disappeared. In his place was Malek, not her mentor, but her enemy.

Chapter 51

Nom squatted near the Admiral. He cocked his head as he pondered the man before him, wondering to himself how a ranking officer had come to this pit of disgusting overuse of putrid technology. Simply breathing the air and feeling the pulse of the superstructure made him want to vomit.

"What brings you to me?" Nom asked quietly, not daring to touch his new prize. "How will you serve me?" he watched the man stir fitfully. Yes, there was a torment to this one. Nom smiled to himself. He would enjoy dissecting the mind of this man, and using it for his whim.

"What is it that you seek?" Nom asked, just slightly louder than a whisper. Silently he moved to the other side of the Admiral, not wanting him to be able to focus on one point. "You seek vengeance? Restitution maybe?" Nom cackled lightly as he spoke. He delighted in the thought of breaking this symbol of authority.

"Who's there?" Admiral West asked, his eyes opening for the first time. His head hurt, his world spun out of control, and now he heard voices coming from nowhere. It must have been his imagination, or possibly the pain talking, as there was no reply to his query.

Nom watched the Admiral in silence for several minutes before he continued. "What do you want?" he whispered like a soft breeze. A plan began to form in his mind. This would be fun, tormenting this pitiful creature. He grinned to himself, pleased with what he had done, with what he thought. Yes, he was going to enjoy this.

"Whoever is there, this is Admiral Nigel West. I demand that you answer me and show yourself!" the Admiral screeched into the darkness. He rose to his feet, spinning around as he did so, searching desperately for the source of the voice.

"What's inside your head Admiral?" Nom cackled in the abyss. He disengaged his cloak as he launched himself at the helpless man. He tore at him mercilessly, continually smashing the Admirals head against the cold, hard floor.

Admiral West tried futilely to fight back. His meager strength quickly left him at the mercy of the much stronger foe. He was unconscious when Nom succeeded in cracking his skull like an egg.

Nom giggled when he saw the blood pouring from the top and back of the Admiral's head. The ecstasy of the moment filled him like a rushing river. Taking the other man's head in his hands, he squeezed, and then gently pulled his hands, and the skull apart.

Smiling, Nom peered inside the crack. Taking a finger, he playfully poked the thin veneer covering the Admiral's brain. The thin membrane stuck to his finger, stretching and sucking away from Admiral West's grey matter.

Thinking for a moment, Nom removed a small creature from the pocket at his waist, and placed it in the crack. Taking another creature from another pocket, Nom pressed it to his victim's neck. He then dropped the other man to the floor and watched as his wounds healed.

Yes, he was enjoying this. His Masters would see his victory yet. With his new toy, he would be able to track down and find T'Sula Mir. He would be able to finally kill her, put her out of his misery. Yes, it would be bliss, Nom thought as a smile crept across his face.

Nom sat in the silent abyss studying his new toy. The Admiral lay unconscious, propped against his wrecked shuttle as he healed. The symbiote that Nom had implanted in the man's mind was growing, getting stronger with each of the Admiral's heartbeats. Soon it would be strong enough for Nom to control the man with only a thought. This Admiral West would become the ultimate remotely controlled device for Nom to do with as he pleased.

There was much for Nom to do while the Admiral slept. Carefully he picked through the bodies of the men he had killed. Surely, there was a suitable one among them. Finally, he settled on two. One was the right size, and the other the correct rank.

Nom removed the uniforms from the bodies, and laying them side by side, he meticulously exchanged all of the decorations and insignias, so that the uniform he needed was now the right rank for his new task. When he was done, he quickly removed the bodies, taking them deeper into the ruins of Olcai, before he simply dropped them and walked away.

Cloaked in shadows, Nom removed his cloaking suit and dressed in his new uniform. It was the proper size, but he chaffed at the thought of wearing it. He hated what it stood for. The Resistance fought his masters, trying to kill them with every tick of the clock. This was unacceptable. The Resistance had to die. If he couldn't accomplish his dream of killing T'Sula Mir, at least he would be able to hurt or kill the Resistance. There was a measure of consolation in that at least.

Nom forced himself to sink into his new identity and walked over to the Admiral. Kneeling down, he gently shook his 'superior' officer. He held his revulsion in check, knowing that his control over the man was not yet absolute.

"Admiral, are you alright?" he asked gently. Sitting back, Nom watched as the other man stirred. His mind began to race, plotting and planning his moves. Biding his time would be inherently difficult, but worth every moment.

"Who's there?" Admiral West opened his eyes. Pain ravaged his senses and mind, leaving him open to suggestion, even without the creature imbedded beneath his skull. Slowly he pushed himself into a sitting position, stretching his aching muscles as he moved. He wasn't sure where he was, or why he was there. The only thing that he knew was that Captain McWilliams was responsible.

"Are you alright Sir?" Nom asked, keeping a mock sincerity in his voice that he could not feel.

"I'll be fine Captain. Where are we?" the Admiral fussed with his uniform as he struggled to his feet. He vaguely recognized Nom, but did not know from where.

"We're in the remnants of Olcai Sir." the truth felt strange to Nom. It hadn't always been that way, but now the truth was anathema to him. What was truth anyway? It seemed to Nom that truth depended on one's perspective more than anything else.

"Wonderful. Contact my ship, they'll send a shuttle for us." Admiral West started to pace in the darkness. There was something wrong. Who was this man? Where were his escorts? He absently began to scratch his scalp. When did he get an itchy scalp?

"It's no use Admiral; the communications equipment has been destroyed. I think that we should move on and find another means of escape." Nom suggested, emphasizing the thoughts through his new link with the Admiral.

"Never mind Captain. The communications gear was destroyed anyway. Let's move on and see what we can find." Admiral West looked into the distance with vacant eyes as he spoke.

Bringing his puppet with him, Nom ventured into the wreckage of Olcai.

Chapter 52

"Narja?" Jason asked quietly, hardly believing that the Major could be out of sickbay, and standing on the bridge. Cautiously, he stepped forward, daring himself to believe that his friend was indeed there.

"Yes, my friend." Narja replied quietly. There was something different in his voice. It held a pain that ran so deep that only Narja could understand. "Captain, I must apologize to you for my failure. I was not able to bring your wife back to Redemption."

He stepped toward his Captain. "I am sorry. I must not fail in this. I will find your wife, and retrieve her. It is my obligation Sir."

"Narja," Jason paused. "Because of your actions, we know where she is. I've actually talked to her. You don't need to do any more." Jason reached out, and placed his hand on his friend's massive shoulder. He could feel the depth of Narja's pain, and his resolve to make things right.

"I owe you everything. We all do."

"Captain, I need to do this for myself as well." Narja paused long enough to steel his resolve before he continued. "I lost my family to the Ta'Reeth. I cannot idly stand by, and watch that happen to my friends."

"You won't have to. We're going after her." Jason smiled confidently at the Major.

"Thank you Sir." Narja relaxed enough that Jason began to understand the weight that his friend carried. "There was someone else there that we need to find as well."

The mere thought of failing a comrade in arms was unbearable, and Narja needed desperately to do something about it. "There was a Bakeeron woman, a Commander T'Sula Mir, of the Resistance Special Operations Command. She was taken with Commander Nor, Sir. She would be a valuable asset to this crew."

"I know her." Jason sighed. "She was captured by the Regiment after you were ejected from the ship." Jason waited until Narja was looking him in the face before he continued. "T'Sula is carrying the reason that Olcai was attacked."

The realization of the Captain's words quickly seeped into Narja's mind. If what Commander Mir had was worth destroying a planet, then she was in a lot of trouble. She was a very capable, formidable woman but maybe this would be too much even for her. Narja didn't have many friends, but he counted T'Sula Mir as one. The friends that he did have, he would protect with his life.

"When do we leave Captain?" the Major asked. He knew that all of his Marines were dead, but he could not allow that to stop him. There would be time later to mourn, but now was the time to act.

"We will be underway in just under an hour. Maybe you should get some rest." Jason clapped his friend gently on the back, and started moving toward the lift.

"Of course Sir. I will go to my quarters and try to rest." Narja stepped into the light for the first time. He was healing, but his skin was sallow, and the stress showed in his dark eyes.

When Jason turned back to the bridge, Narja was gone. Kamira still needed his help. Unfortunately, his bridge crew had been killed in the battle, leaving him only the helmet, and a handful of raw crewmembers, to run the bridge. The neural link was effective enough, but it was beginning to take its toll on him. He could feel it.

Slowly Jason paced the bridge. He stopped at each station, tracing it with his fingers, memorizing the slightest details. Who could replace his crew? The weight of command bore relentlessly down on him. He knew what he had to do, but not how to do it.

"Captain, we have movement from the Resistance ships." Angel broke the silence, saving her Captain from his ever darkening thoughts. Her ethereal form floated in the darkness. "They have penetrated the debris field."

"Show me." Jason ordered. He watched as the hologram changed into a picture of space filled with giant pieces of rubble. He studied the picture, manipulating it so that he could find the smallest details that he needed to see. The Resistance ships had indeed entered his sanctuary. They moved slowly, methodically searching for a hole in his defenses, and finding none. Their fighters probed ahead of the larger ships, weaving an intricate pattern through the colossal chunks of destroyed planet.

Jason watched the people, that only a short time ago, he had trusted. "Angel, do we still have access to their communications?" he asked the A.I., without taking his eyes from the hologram. Why were they so set on coming after him anyway? Shouldn't they be searching for Admiral West, or at least helping the Olcai survivors?

"No sir, they have changed their codes." Angel replied. "I can break the codes though. Would you like me to do that Captain?"

"I would. Thank you Angel." Jason continued to study the other ships. There was something wrong, but he had no idea what it was. He was left alone with his thoughts for a few moments before Angel came back to him.

"Captain, I believe that I have something that you should hear." Angel informed her Captain.

"Put it through." Jason waited as the image before him changed from the debris field, to the images of three Resistance Captains. One was a dark haired human woman, with smooth ebony skin. The second was a large Malgar male with a small round speaker imbedded into his metallic throat. Third was a middle aged, human male with black hair and bronze skin.

The hologram showed each Captain sitting in a different ready room, decorated to suit the tastes of the occupant. The Malgar sat in front of wall with only a few accoutrements, showing the classics of the Malgar renaissance. Behind the woman was a large tapestry filled with animals and vivid colors. It was the other man that really caught Jason's attention. Behind him hung a series of heavily stylized paintings, depicting ancient forms of hand-to-hand combat.

"Shall we begin?" the woman broke the silence. Her posture showed confidence, but her eyes and voice showed something else, something deeper and harder to define.

"Go ahead Sierra." the human man sat back in his chair, drumming his fingers against his desk. "Let's get this over with."

"Thank you, Quin. What about you, Dunsyn?" Sierra asked the Malgar.

"This had better not be a waste of my time." Dunsyn spoke, moving his mouth, but the words came from the speaker in his throat. Jason looked closer at the speaker, and found traces of scar tissue surrounding the instrument. Jason wanted nothing to do with anything that could have injured a Malgar in such a fashion.

"Alright." Sierra Jones sighed. "I called this meeting, so I'll begin." she fidgeted slightly, settling deeper into her chair. "We all saw the footage from Redemption. I had my people verify it. I'm convinced that it was not staged."

"Me too." Dunsyn admitted. "However, I am not presently dispositioned to ally myself with Captain McWilliams."

"I can't say that I'm convinced either." Quin leaned forward, placing his hands on his desk. "Until a decision is made though, we can't lean too far in any direction. I never liked Admiral West, but the fact remains that he is my Commanding Officer. Are you prepared for mutiny? I'm not."

"Captain Kim, we're not talking about mutiny." Captain Sierra Jones fixed her long time friend with a look that he was all too familiar with. "We're questioning whether or not Admiral West is fit for command, and whether or not to approach Captain McWilliams about the incidents that have occurred at Olcai. Like it or not, the Admiral was completely out of line. Not to mention the fact that McWilliams' ownership of Redemption is valid, and well documented. Even if someone wanted to take the ship away from him, he owns it, keel to stern."

"We don't need to cover this ground again. You're right about McWilliams, and Redemption. But, it seems to me that we are already approaching Captain McWilliams, just by entering the debris field. He must be watching us." Dunsyn interjected. "We should use extreme caution when dealing with Jason McWilliams. He isn't a formally trained starship Captain, like we are. There's no telling how he will respond to any overtures."

Jason watched the proceedings, unsure of how he should respond. He didn't know these Captains. None of them knew what he did. They had no idea why Olcai was attacked, or what was actually happening. Sometimes action was required with only a modicum of thought. Jason hoped that his plan was not going to backfire. Without any further waiting, Jason acted. He adjusted the transceiver so that he could talk to the other captains.

"Captains, this is Captain Jason McWilliams of the starship Redemption." he paused for a moment, seeing the shock on their faces. "I have been listening to your conversation. Please forgive me for that transgression, but I needed to know if you have the same ideals as I do. And I think that you do."

"You were eavesdropping?" Captain Jones interjected. "I'm not so sure that we can trust you, Captain." her voice dropped to an icy tone, matching the cold fury in her eyes.

"Captain, whether you trust me or not, everyone needs your help. If the Ta'Reeth are doing what I think they are, we need all the help we can get." Jason tried to placate the other Captains.

"Captain, why should we trust you? Assaulting a senior officer, and eavesdropping, are not efficient ways to gain anyone's trust." Captain Dunsyn interjected, his annoyance carried through in his metallic voice.

"I can't give you a single reason to trust me. If I were in your position, I wouldn't be too quick to trust me either." Captain McWilliams clasped his hands in front of his face, hoping that he could break through to common ground with his peers. "What I can give you, is some information. Then you can decide for yourselves."

"We're listening." Captain Kim focused on Jason. There was an intensity about the man that Jason found unsettling, and oddly reassuring at the same time. "I sincerely hope that whatever you have is really good."

"I'm going to get straight to the chase here." Jason knew that he needed to persuade them now, or he wouldn't have a chance of convincing these three Captains of what he needed. "The Ta'Reeth attacked Olcai for information. It was in a delivery device, and is now implanted inside Commander T'Sula Mir of the Resistance Special Operations Group. The Regiment has her, and has probably turned her over to the Ta'Reeth by now."

"And how did you get this information?" Captain Jones sounded skeptical.

"My wife was with her. She contacted me with the information." Jason hoped that coming out with pure honesty would help him here. He knew that the higher the rank one attains, the more political the arena, but time to play those games was a commodity that was in increasingly short supply.

"Do you know what the information is, Captain?" Dunsyn asked. "If it is the reason that Olcai was destroyed, it must be of paramount importance."

"Unfortunately I don't know what it is. I do know however, that they captured her very recently, and I also have a trajectory for their ship." Jason smiled as the other Captains leaned in toward him. He knew that he had them.

"Alright." Captain Kim was the first to speak. "What do you need from us?"

"You're all in agreement then?" Jason waited for their responses. One by one, they each nodded. "Alright then, the three of you come with me, and the rest of your fleet stays here to help Olcai. We leave in ten minutes."

"Captain McWilliams, where are they headed?" Captain Kim asked before anyone could sign off.

Jason paused for a moment, weighing the results of his answer. Finally, the truth won out.

"Home." was all he said before severing the connection.

Chapter 53

"Kamira, get down!" Corin yelled as he skidded to a halt. With his good hand, he drew his pistol and aimed at the monster. The beast towered over Kamira. Standing more than three meters high, it had six long legs, and long, powerful tentacles reaching out of its gaping mouth.

"What?" Kamira asked in confusion. "No! Don't shoot!" she screamed as she realized what was happening. Dropping the tools she had been carrying, she ran towards Corin. "Don't shoot! It's a repair drone, not a Ta'Reeth!"

"A what?" Corin asked, lowering his weapon. He was breathing hard, and starting to get light headed. "Repair drone?" he asked, starting to sway.

"Corin!" Kamira reached him as his knees began to buckle. She grabbed him, and eased him to the ground when she noticed his wounded shoulder, and the bundle tied around his chest. "What in heaven's name is this?" she asked, peaking into the blanket.

"Nonono!" Mekala screamed, and buried her face deeper into Corin's chest. She squirmed, gripping him tighter and tighter, until he reached up with his good arm, and held her tight.

"Sshh. It's alright Mekala. Kamira's a friend. She won't hurt you." his voice wavered as he spoke. The pain in his shoulder grew worse, causing him to wince. He had lost a lot of blood, but he hadn't noticed until he had stopped moving. The adrenaline rush had been intense, fueling Corin's flight, until now, when there was no more need to run.

"A kid?" Kamira asked, too shocked to say anymore. She simply stared at the child, a Bakeeron child, tied to Corin's chest. Her eyes went wide as Corin fell limp to the ground.

"Corin? Corin!" she yelled, gently shaking him, trying to wake him. "Oh no." She muttered to herself. Grabbing Corin under the arms, Kamira drug him closer to the ship. "Come on!" she yelled in desperation, dropping her charge to the ground. When he fell, Corin rolled slightly, revealing the first aid kit on the back of his belt. Kamira saw the kit, and instantly dug into it.

First, she removed the spray bandage, and coated Corin's shoulder with it. Next she found a hyper spray that gently stimulated his system, bringing Corin back to the edge of consciousness.

"Come on, we've got to get you to the DioBed." Kam whispered, helping Corin to his feet. He was unsteady, but slowly they made their way into the ship, leaving Brutus to guard the entrance. The corridors were lit and still littered with debris. Mekala made little snuffling noises as they went, reminding the adults that she was still there.

"Where did you find the kid?" Kamira finally found her voice to ask the questions that had been banging around inside her mind. "How old is she? Where are her parents? Was there anyone else out there?" the questions tumbled out of her mouth before Corin could answer any of them.

"There was a small village where I found Brutus." Corin grunted, forcing the words to come out. "I don't know how old she is, or who her parents were." He stopped, letting his words hang in the silence, not wanting to explain anymore.

"Were?" Kamira felt the weight of Corin's words, and the ones that he had left unspoken.

"Yeah, were." Corin forced his eyes to find Kamira's. "Everyone else is dead. The Ta'Reeth were there. Brutus and I got into a fight with a couple of Hunters."

Kamira simply stared first at Corin, and then at Mekala. This girl was the only survivor of a Ta'Reeth attack. Her entire family was gone, dead. The horrors that must be hidden behind those gentle eyes had to be more than anyone her age could possibly cope with.

Finally, Kamira was able to get Corin the help that he needed. The DioBed was running, and she had a lot of work to do. She was carrying the girl now, not sure of what she should do with her. Kamira closed her eyes, forcing herself to think as she turned and started to walk away from Corin.

"No no no! Me down!" Mekala screamed, pounding her tiny fists against Kamira's chest. Reluctantly, Kamira set the little girl down. She watched in awe as Mekala ran over to the DioBed and placed her hands against the cool metal sides.

"Be o.k.?" Mekala asked Kamira without looking.

"Yes. Corin will be fine." she told the little girl, holding back a few tears, and wondering how much Mekala actually understood.

"O.k. Me here." she said, sitting down within arm's reach of the machine. Mekala sat there, unmoving, watching the lights lazily flash for long moments before Kamira could pull herself away and get back to work. It amazed her that a child so young could care so much for someone that they had only just met.

Kamira smiled to herself as she walked away. She left Mekala with Corin, trusting that she would be fine. Focusing on work was going to be difficult at best. Jason, T'Sula, Corin, and now Mekala all demanded her thoughts. She knew there was nothing that she could do to help any of them, except to repair this ship to the best of her ability. That was exactly what she intended to do.

Walking down a cluttered corridor, Kamira pulled a data pad out of her pocket. Quietly she scrolled through the list of things that needed done. It was a long list, almost unmanageable. The drone could do most of the heavy repairs, so she set different priorities for herself and for the robot.

She had tested the drone on a section of the hull while Corin was gone. Things had gone well. Well enough at least, that she felt confident that she would in fact be able to get the ship back into space. Getting Vengeance back into the battle was going to take some special attention though.

The engines were underpowered, the shielding seriously needed help, and Corin's weapons needed an upgrade. Sighing, Kamira got back to work. She decided that she would come back soon, and check on Corin and Mekala, but for now, she had too much to do.

It wasn't long before Kamira saw Brutus. He was still standing guard, eyeing the repair drone as it methodically worked on the hull. Kamira watched her creation for a moment, and then retreated to engineering.

Corin was lucky in one respect. Even though his engines were drastically underpowered, Kamira knew several ways to modify them.

She began to work. The engines were simple enough. She needed to fabricate some replacement parts, but mostly the engines required adjustments in the programs that ran them. With the higher power output of the engines, the flight profile needed revamped. Kamira easily lost herself in her work, allowing time to disappear like morning mist.

After she finished with the engines, Kamira moved on to the flight controls and thrusters. She quickly tore them apart and began to inspect them. She was elbow deep in transducers and encoders. She had lost track of time while repairing one of the main maneuvering thrusters. The transducers had burned out when the power had gone out, and the thrusters had crumpled upon impact. Nothing seemed to have survived the crash unscathed.

She worked quickly and methodically, losing herself in what she was doing. Her data pad began to beep and vibrate beside her, breaking her concentration. A little frustrated, Kamira picked the pad up and looked at it. Her blood froze in her veins. She had been sure to repair the sensors first, and now her foresight was paying off. The Ta'Reeth were coming. In fact, they would be landing in mere minutes.

It was a single ship, but it was still more than enough to finish them off. She began to panic.

"Oh crap." Kamira muttered. "Alright, think Kam, think." she picked up her pad again. "What would T'Sula do? Crap! What would Jason do?" she frantically tried to think. Finally, she looked down at her data pad, and started to scroll through the menus. It was time for her to stop wondering what others would do, and start doing for herself.

After a couple of tries, Kamira found what she needed. Diagnostics for the entire ship appeared on her screen. Engines were working well enough for now, thrusters were off line, the hull was fractured, weapons were all but useless, and the shields were nonexistent.

The shields were off line? Kamira thought to herself. Taking a chance, she ran a more thorough diagnostic. The program ran quickly, taking only a few seconds, before reporting that a couple of the relays had been fused.

Kamira located the relays on the schematics, and then ran out of the compartment that she had been working in, picking up a couple of tools along the way. It was only a few meters down the corridor, Kamira skidded to a halt.

Setting her tools down, she ripped open the access panel and started separating relays. Deep in the back of the compartment, behind various arrays of conduits, transducers, and terminals, she found what she was looking for. The relays for the shields and the engines sat next to each other, only a scant few centimeters apart.

Picking up her tools, Kamira took a deep breath. "I hope this works." she said to herself as she spliced the relays together. The engines required more power, so there was the possibility that this was literally going to blow up in her face.

When her work didn't explode, Kamira smiled to herself and ran a diagnostic. The shields were working now. They were working at a hundred and fifty percent. She accessed the sensors with her data pad just as the entire ship shuddered under the impact of a Ta'Reeth lander.

The screen on her data pad lit up with incoming landers. The Ta'Reeth ships streaked through the air, smoking as they went. Massive landers, larger than the ones used on Olcai, slammed into the ground, breaking open amid great clouds of dust, smoke and debris.

When the smoke cleared enough for Kam to see, Ta'Reeth soldiers strode into view. Each of the soldiers carried the standard plasma cannons attached to their arms, and stood over two meters tall. They didn't flinch as other landers crashed to the planet's surface; they simply opened fire on her ship.

Kamira watched, as more landers came streaking down. Some of them hit her shielding, while others crashed nearby. Dozens of Ta'Reeth soldiers surrounded the wounded ship, constantly firing their cannons against her shields.

Not all of the Ta'Reeth were mere soldiers. For every six soldiers, there was a carrier, a mammoth beast standing four meters high. It stood on six clawed legs, and had pincers that protruded out of the front of its armored body. The body consisted of a crab-like shell and head. On the beasts back were six large bumps that grew and cracked open periodically, releasing a newly born Ta'Reeth soldier. Once released from its birthing chamber, the new soldiers jumped down from the carrier's back, ready for combat.

The carriers lumbered up to the shields, and proceeded to pound their massive pincers against the invisible barrier. Before long, Kamira could no longer count the Ta'Reeth.

Kamira remembered to check on her repair drone. She quickly reviewed its status on her data pad. It had finished the repairs on one section of the hull only moments ago, and was waiting for new instructions. She thought quickly and programmed it for what she needed.

By her calculations, she should have just enough time to check on Corin and Mekala, enroot to her new destination. She ran quickly through the debris littered corridors, hoping that everything was going to be alright.

When Kam opened the door, she could not have expected what she saw. Mekala still sat on the floor by the DioBed. The little girl looked in Kamira's direction when she came in, then went back to looking at the lights. Mekala knew that Kamira was in the room, but had decided that her attentions were better served watching Corin's DioBed. For being only two years old, Mekala seemed unflappable.

Kamira shook her head, and then closed the door. When she turned to go, she stopped in her tracks. Brutus sat in the corridor, watching her.

"Brutus, you startled me." Kamira barely stopped herself from screaming. "Corin and Mekala are both in this room." she pointed to the door behind her. "Don't let anyone in other than me. Do you understand?"

She didn't know why, but she felt that the giant feline was smarter than he was given credit. She was surprised when she realized that she actually expected him to understand her.

Brutus made no sound. He simply stood and nudged Kamira out of his way. When he was satisfied that she was far enough away, he turned his back to the door and sat down in front of it, blocking it entirely.

"I knew it." Kamira smiled at Brutus, and then ran off down the corridor. She stopped only when she reached her destination. It seemed to be just another section of corridor, until Kamira looked up. In the ceiling, there was now a hole just large enough for a person to climb through it.

Kamira stepped back from the hole and checked her data pad. She watched out of the corner of her eye as a ladder slid down from the ceiling and locked into place. The drone was done with this job. Before pocketing the data pad, Kamira programmed a list of jobs into the repair drone.

When she was done programming, Kamira climbed the ladder. Reaching the top, she closed and sealed the hatch behind her. She then strapped herself into the seat and activated the dual Gatling railguns.

Kamira checked her readouts. The turret was working fine and targeting systems read within parameters. She took a deep, steadying breathe, and then Kamira engaged the enemy.

Chapter 54

T'Sula heaved against her restraints. She was secured at the wrists, and that tie was fastened to the floor by a meter long length of heavy cord. Her dimly lit prison revealed few other details. Walls of a kind that she had never seen before surrounded her. They were not made of wood, metal, or plaster, but rather a thick membrane that pulsed as if it were alive.

The one other feature that was unmistakable was Malek. He stood halfway across the expansive cell, smiling at T'Sula. He had changed little over the years. His hair had thinned a bit, and streaks of gray shot through his once black beard. There were a few extra pounds around his midsection, but he was fit enough to fight if he needed.

T'Sula glared at Malek, wishing that she could kill him with a mere glance. Taking a deep breath, T'Sula forced herself to relax. She remembered her training with Ch'Lan. She was never to kill in anger. If she was to kill Malek, it would have to be the way that things had to go, or else she was nothing more than a murderer. The mere thought of that was reprehensible. She was better than that. She was better than him. She had to be.

T'Sula forced herself to think of something else. She had to trust Corin. She had to trust that he would keep his word, his end of the bargain. She actually believed that he would come for her. What was it about him anyway? Could he be trusted? Why did she want so badly to trust him, to believe in him?

"Now that you're awake, we can begin." Malek called to her mockingly. T'Sula refocused her attention on him, her tormentor. He strode purposefully toward her, keeping his hands hidden behind his back. "I'll wager that you are wondering what I want with you. Rest assured, I don't want you." his breath stank as he inched close to her face. "I only want what's inside you."

"Touch me, and I'll kill you." T'Sula sneered at Malek, her anger threatening to overwhelm her. Being this close to the man made her skin crawl. T'Sula wanted desperately to hurt him. She wanted to hurt him in ways that he could never recover from. Still, her self-control would not allow her to kill him where he stood. She kept reminding herself that she was better than that. She was better than him.

"Come now, without me, you wouldn't be what you are now." Malek smiled a humorless smile. "You must realize that."

T'Sula had enough. Before she could stop herself, she kicked Malek in the groin, re-chambered her leg, then snap kicked him in the face. His head rocked back with an audible crack, then he dropped, limp to the floor. Instantly T'Sula was in motion, searching Malek for the keys to her restraints. It took only a moment before she found the keys, tucked neatly inside a pocket on the leg of his trousers.

Taking the keys in hand, T'Sula unlocked her wrists and bolted for the door. She took the first step, and then fell hard to the deck.

"You'll have to do better than that." Malek sneered as he pulled on T'Sula's ankle.

T'Sula looked at Malek, and then smashed her free foot directly into his nose. The impact shattered the bone and sent blood spraying across the floor. Malek screamed in shock and pain, releasing his grip on T'Sula's leg. She shot to her feet, keeping a safe distance from her adversary.

Malek took his time as he hauled his bulky frame off the deck. T'Sula watched in awe as Malek's nose healed in the time it took him to stand. It was time for her not to hold back. She warily gauged her adversary, now knowing that she was going to have to use lethal force to stop him.

"You're a dead woman!" Malek screamed at T'Sula, and then rushed her. Before she could sidestep him, Malek tackled T'Sula. She moved with the force of his blow, rolling back onto her shoulders as she hit the floor. Thrusting up with her hips and legs, she threw Malek off her, and sprang to her feet, ready to fight.

Malek landed, stunned, on his back. Growling, he rose quickly, and charged T'Sula again. This time he hit her low. T'Sula spread her legs out into a sprawl, and leaned all of her weight onto the back of Malek's neck. The force of her weight drove him into the deck. Keeping him pinned, T'Sula began to pound her fists into the back of head and neck.

Not giving up, Malek struggled against T'Sula's weight. Making sure to keep Malek pinned as she rotated to his side, she grabbed his right arm with both of her hands, and was able to wrap her legs across his neck and chest. T'Sula tightened her grip on Malek's arm as he struggled, and wrenched back with all of her strength.

Almost instantly, the tendons in Malek's arm snapped, followed by the crack of his elbow and shoulder ripping out of socket. When she felt the damage being done, T'Sula released her arm bar, and moved to her enemy's head. She picked him up slightly, placing one hand on his chin, and the other at the base of his skull. In one violent motion, T'Sula twisted, snapping Malek's neck.

T'Sula stood and looked down at her tormentor. He had been responsible for so many deaths, so much pain. Was it her responsibility, her right to be his executioner? She could never be certain. Too much had transpired in her life to be certain of anything. She was tired of fighting, tired of constantly being on the move, and tired of being an agent of death.

"Cease your aggressions and comply." the words surprised T'Sula as they thundered inside her mind. There was no sound, only the words in her mind. She felt something move behind her. Slowly, T'Sula turned and came face to face with a Ta'Reeth. She had not seen, or heard the creature come into her cell. She was too intent on fighting Malek to notice what had been happening around her, and now she had to pay the price.

The Ta'Reeth looked her straight in the eyes. It was unlike any Ta'Reeth that she had ever seen. Large, deep set black eyes watched, and gauged her every move. The creature looked vaguely human in build and body type, except there was no mouth. Unlike most other Ta'Reeth, this one was not entirely covered in bone. The armor covered the vital areas, and little more. Smooth gray skin covered the creature, giving it a slightly wet look.

"Come with me." the creature spoke directly into T'Sula's thoughts as it turned away from her.

"No." T'Sula stood her ground. As soon as the word was out of her mouth, the Ta'Reeth spun on its heel, bringing a vicious back-fist aimed at T'Sula's head. She immediately blocked with both of her arms, only to be kicked in the stomach. The force of the kick knocked the breath out of T'Sula's lungs and doubled her over. She recovered quickly enough to barely avoid a double hammer fist to the back of her head.

Stepping back, T'Sula recovered her senses, and gave herself space to work. This creature was faster, stronger, and more skilled than Malek. She would have to be careful. T'Sula sank into a fighting stance, keeping most of her weight on her back foot, and her arms guarding her chest.

"Comply now." again the words resounded inside of her mind. T'Sula focused her thoughts, forcing the creature out of her head. The effort almost cost T'Sula her life. As she concentrated, the Ta'Reeth attacked. She moved back slightly as the talons on the tips of the Ta'Reeth's fingers slashed dangerously close to her throat.

T'Sula's attention came instantly back to the fight. She moved back, away from her attacker, trying to find an opening. As she moved, the creature flawlessly mirrored her movements, almost before she made them. Seeing an opening, T'Sula jabbed with her left, and followed with a right hook. The creature blocked the jab, and evaded the right hook, grabbing T'Sula by the arm and throwing her to the ground.

Momentarily stunned, T'Sula scrambled to her feet. She began her attack instantly. Combinations of powerful kicks, feints, blocks, and punches came at the Ta'Reeth with blinding speed. Every strike was either blocked, or simply evaded. Nothing that T'Sula tried worked.

"Enough!" T'Sula heard Malek scream from behind her. The fighting ground to a halt as Malek stepped forward, keeping his pistol trained on T'Sula. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He had healed once again, showing no signs that he should in fact be dead.

"You will submit, or you will die right now." Malek growled in T'Sula's ear, jamming the barrel of his pistol into her temple.

T'Sula glanced at Malek, then at the Ta'Reeth. In that instant, something happened that had never happened before. T'Sula Mir entered the state of Mushin, the level of martial arts mastery of mind no mind, the state of being in which one does not actively think about what they are doing. The body simply acts, unencumbered by conscious thought.

T'Sula spun on her heel, grabbing Malek by the wrist, and crushing his elbow with a palm-heel strike. At the same instant, she struck out at the Ta'Reeth with a powerful sidekick. Wrenching Malek's arm around to his back, she sent him sprawling into her other assailant.

Time seemed to stop as the door opened and a dozen more Ta'Reeth flooded into the chamber. They split into two squads, six in each, flanking the room. She faced the new threat, keeping herself in a side stance, with hidden hand. Reaching into her pocket, T'Sula pulled out the knife that Corin had slipped to her when she had gone with Malek. She flicked the button on the handle, and was rewarded with a gleaming steel blade the length of her palm. The knife felt good, natural in her hand. She deftly spun it, so that the blade was coming out of the hammer side of her fist.

She knew that she could not afford to become surrounded. Each of the new combatants was armed with plasma cannons grafted to its arm. Though they were not the same as the other Ta'Reeth in the room, they were still dangerous. These Ta'Reeth were similar to the others that she had fought on Olcai. Black and gray exoskeletal armor covered their powerful, two-meter tall frames. Four bulbous, black eyes sat equidistant around their mouthless heads.

T'Sula engaged her first opponent. She stepped into her sidekick, adding exponential power to her attack. Her kick landed just below the eye of the first Ta'Reeth, sending it crashing into the wall. Before it could recover, T'Sula drove her knife deep into its eye. The Ta'Reeth quivered, and died before it slumped to the floor.

Yanking her knife free, T'Sula spun and engaged her next adversary. Her enemy had barely enough time to aim its plasma cannon at her, before T'Sula knocked it away. With its core exposed, T'Sula closed the distance. She stepped in close, striking upward, driving her knife through the chin, and into the brain stem.

Pulling her blade free as she moved, T'Sula hurled the body into her next target. The impact sent the shot from the plasma cannon wide, incinerating one of its own. Struggling to free itself from the corpse of its comrade, the Ta'Reeth was helpless against T'Sula's attack. She simply stepped over and stomped the base of its skull, severing the spinal cord from the brain stem.

Blasts from plasma cannons began to burn across the room, leaving blistered, wounded flesh covering the living walls. T'Sula dodged the projectiles effortlessly as she raced to her next assailant. The Ta'Reeth had taken a kneeling position, in order to better stabilize its cannon. This left it unable to move quickly enough before T'Sula was upon it.

Without breaking stride, T'Sula raced over the top of the Ta'Reeth. She sent a vicious elbow down upon the top of its head, forcing the spinal column up into the brain. The creature didn't react. It simply fell on its side, dead.

As she ran, T'Sula hefted her knife, and threw it. The blade sank up to the handle in the eye of another Ta'Reeth. She kept running as she grabbed the knife, and pulled it free. One side of the room was now clear of Ta'Reeth, save for the bodies. Half of her attackers were dead, and she felt no remorse. She stayed in Mushin as she moved through the enemy, not daring to stop. Any hesitation and T'Sula would die.

T'Sula ducked under a blast of plasma, sliding into her next target. As she slid, she scissored her legs, taking the Ta'Reeth down with a thud. It hit the ground, and instantly T'Sula used a knife-edge strike, to crush the creature's brain stem.

She rolled free of the body and hurled her knife. The blade sank deep into the face of the next Ta'Reeth, wounding it, but not killing the beast. T'Sula rolled up underneath the wounded Ta'Reeth. Driving up with her legs, T'Sula grabbed its plasma cannon, and pulled down as she drove through the elbow with her shoulder.

As she snapped the Ta'Reeth's elbow, T'Sula thrust her hip into the creature and threw it to the ground. Keeping her hold on the arm, T'Sula forced an arm bar. She then chambered her foot and thrust it hard against the chin of her foe, snapping its neck with a sickening crack.

Glancing up, she saw Malek standing over her. She threw herself clear of the body, sweeping her legs past Malek's, knocking him to the ground. As he hit the ground, T'Sula grabbed his legs and rolled his feet to his ears. Taking her knee, she thrust it into the small of his back again and again, stopping only when she heard a rewarding crunch.

Looking up from Malek, T'Sula saw that she was surrounded. There was no hope of escaping unscathed. Eight Ta'Reeth lay dead, the other four stood above her, ready to dispense her death.

"You are the key. You will submit." a familiar voice resounded inside T'Sula's head, threatening to break her out of Mushin. "There is a plan for you. You have no choice."

T'Sula noticed the walls coalescing, growing thicker by the moment. Her lungs began to burn as the air grew thinner. One by one, she forced the unwanted thoughts out of her mind, clearing away the distractions. It was as Ch'Lan had told her so long ago. Only with a clear mind could she function as she needed to combat these monsters. Only with a clear mind could she be who and what she truly was. She was a warrior, one of the few people that could do what was needed.

T'Sula let the thin air fill her lungs. In a burst of speed, she dove for her blade. Freeing it from its prison of flesh, she quickly found it a new home, and then another as she effortlessly dispatched the four remaining Ta'Reeth soldiers. They fell quickly and silently to the floor, never to move again. She paused only for a moment before she turned to face her final adversary, the first Ta'Reeth that had entered her cell, her prison, her momentary world.

It looked at her with those dispassionate, black eyes. In that moment, T'Sula found pity for the creature. For the first time, she realized that it would never feel anything. There would never be joy, passion, or even sorrow in its life. This being knew only one thing, and that was to obey. Obedience was this creature's entire existence.

"You are needed by the Masters. You are the key. Obey." the Ta'Reeth looked at T'Sula. Its eyes conveyed nothing, other than an untapped intelligence, a potential that could never be fulfilled.

She braced herself for what she knew must come. More fighting, unneeded bloodshed, pain that could have been avoided, would inevitably unleash itself here and now. Finally, she understood her Master's teachings. Life did not have to be this way. There were other options, but now it was too late for her, and for this unfortunate creature.

In a blur of motion, both T'Sula and the Ta'Reeth sprang into action. The creature advanced, its claws whipping through the air in front of it, threatening to shred anything they touched. T'Sula grounded her energies, and then filled herself again. She smoothly parried away the dangerous claws, and struck her adversary.

She screamed as her palm struck the creature just below the eyes. Every muscle, every fiber of her being clenched at the same time, sending all of her considerable power through the palm of her hand and into the Ta'Reeth's body. The force of the blow rippled through its face, deep into the brain, and out the back of its head. Skin, bone, and flesh exploded against the wall as T'Sula's final assailant crumpled to the floor.

T'Sula Mir sank to her knees in exhausted despair. She looked around the blood-covered room, and saw not only dead Ta'Reeth, but her family and friends that had lost their lives in this war. The air still burned her lungs as she sat there, waiting for the oxygen to be gone. She had never wanted to fight this war. She never had a choice. How many people had to die before this madness was finally over?

She had been only a little girl when the Ta'Reeth had come. She remembered watching them from her hiding place. Her father was the first to die, followed by her older brother, and finally they killed her mother. Tears began to flow freely from her eyes as she remembered them. None of them had given her up, and all of them had known where she was. Why had they come? T'Sula would never know. She had resigned herself to that fact.

Why did death follow her like a shadow? She hated herself for that. Fighting and killing was not what she wanted. She wanted a family, a husband and children, not to be the bringer of death and destruction. She wanted love, to be loved, and to give it freely. She wanted to not be afraid to care for someone else.

They had called her 'the key'. The key to what? She kept asking herself. Whatever it was, T'Sula could not allow them, the Ta'Reeth, to have it.

Silently T'Sula resigned herself to her fate. She opened her jumpsuit, and her armor just enough, then plunged her knife deep into her heart.

T'Sula Mir cried as she waited for the dark oblivion to come.

Chapter 55

Admiral West tentatively stepped forward into the ruined corridor. The emergency lights had started to fade; making it was dark enough that he could barely see the debris littered passageway. He walked forward, having never been there before, but knowing that he was going the right way. The voice inside his head told him so.

He pulled his uniform jacket close about his thin body, in a futile attempt to ward off the growing cold. 'Just keep moving you worthless bag of meat.' the voice kept telling him. He didn't know why he listened to it, he just did. It had never steered him wrong anyway, so why not listen to it? The voice was always right, always there. Never question the voice.

Steadily, he kept moving deeper into the darkness. Wasn't there someone with him? Yes, the Captain. His new aide. What was his name again? Oh yes, Captain Nom Gar. Yes, that was the man's name. He'd been with him for years, hadn't he?

'Walk!' the voice yelled at him from inside his mind.

"No! I must think!" Admiral West screamed into the darkness. "You must allow me to think!"

"I must do nothing." Nom sneered at the Admiral. "You must do as I say!" he screamed as he struck the Admiral in the back of the knees, dropping him to the floor. Nom raised his fists, and hammered them down against the side of the other man's head. "You will do as I command, and nothing more!"

"I am an Admiral." Admiral West whimpered as he curled up into a fetal position and cradled his head. He looked up at Nom in confusion as his eyes began to tear. "I am an Admiral." he cried.

"You are nothing." Nom laughed as he pounded his boot into the back of Admiral West's head. He continued to kick long after the other man had lost consciousness, and his head snapped back and forth with each monstrous blow.

Finally, Nom ceased his attack, and used one of his Ta'Reeth creatures to heal his victim. As much as he hated Admiral West, and what the man represented, he was of no use if he was dead. Nom waited for the Admiral's skull to knit back together, and the effects of his beating to disappear before he woke him, and continued deeper into the ruins of Olcai.

The endless darkened corridors finally gave way to a small, dimly lit room filled with junk. After seemingly endless hours in the dark, the dim light threatened to blind the two men as they entered the room. Refuse and debris of all kinds were piled high, almost reaching the ceiling. 'What you seek is here.' the voice said, crashing into the Admiral's thoughts, throwing his own out of the way like a broken utensil.

"What could possibly be here?" Admiral West muttered a little too loudly, fearing that Captain Gar might hear him, and cause the Captain to punish him.

'The way out.' came the silent reply. 'What else do you think it could be, you putrid excuse for a servant?' the voice was always condescending, bordering on belligerent, but he had come to trust it, to rely on its wisdom.

"Captain Gar, could you help me for a moment, please." Admiral West requested. He could have ordered the Captain to help, but had not, in fear of offending the man.

It occurred to the Admiral that something was not right. Why was he concerned with offending Captain Gar? No one ranking below him deserved his attention. Only Captain Gar, and the voice, deserved his respect. Nobody else could ever be as good, or deserve his trust, like Captain Gar and the voice. This puzzled him, but he shook it off as inconsequential and continued on.

"What can I help you with Sir?" Nom asked his puppet. He was careful to keep the sound and image of respect; otherwise, the Admiral might become wary.

"Captain, I think that there may be something here that we can use to escape this dreadful place. I would appreciate it if you would help me find it." Admiral West said as he began to search through the debris. He wasn't at all sure what he was looking for, but the voice told him that it was here, and that was good enough for him.

"What am I looking for Sir?" Nom asked. He knew what he would find, but there was still the need for the Admiral to think that he was the one in charge, and the one to save them.

"I'm not sure yet. I just have this feeling that there's something here." Admiral West dug deeper into the piles of debris. He kept digging, sifting through the trash, looking for something, anything that may help him.

Hours passed as the two men searched until finally, they found it. The Admiral stopped in his tracks when he finished clearing away a pile of discarded Cloning Pods. He stood on the bare floor, looking at a hatch. The tiny hatch lay recessed into the floor, with a mechanical latch set in the middle of it.

Tentatively, he took hold of the latch and turned the handle. A soft click sounded beneath the floor, and the hatch popped open, revealing a ladder. 'Go down.' the voice called in the silence of the Admiral's mind.

Following the directives of the voice, Admiral West climbed down the ladder, without looking back to see if Captain Gar was behind him. The ladder ran down a narrow shaft that was just big enough for the Admiral to squeeze through. There were no lights or sounds in the shaft, only the echoing of footsteps on the metal rungs of the ladder.

Minutes passed ominously by as the two men descended into the darkness. They exchanged no words as they went, and none were needed. The voice was not calling out to the Admiral, but he knew it was still there, a reassuring presence in the suffocating solitude.

After long minutes of descending the ladder, an opening appeared below the Admirals feet. It was a small hanger, just large enough to house the long-range shuttle inside it. A smile crept across Admiral West's face at the sight of a ship.

Admiral West's eyes swept over the shuttle. It was small, barely large enough to hold two people, but it would do. A single, powerful engine protruded from the rear, marking the vessel as a long-range courier, capable of faster than light travel. There weren't many accommodations built into the shuttle, only the crew station and a small cargo hold were needed for the ship to accomplish its mission. Its lines were rather blunt, but not entirely lacking an aesthetic quality that appealed to the Admiral.

Admiral West ran his hands over the hull of the little ship, pressing close to it, so that Captain Gar could squeeze by in the cramped hanger. He watched the Captain as he began to ready the ship for flight. The other man seemed to know what he was doing with the shuttle, as if he were intimately familiar with its design.

"Get in the shuttle moron!" the voice screamed inside his head.

Without hesitation, Admiral West opened the shuttle's hatch and climbed in. Finally, he would be free of the pathetic planet. Finally, he would be able to exact his revenge on Jason McWilliams.

Chapter 56

Kamira Nor unleashed the full fury of hell upon the Ta'Reeth. Her dual Gatling railguns tore gaping holes in the armor of the Ta'Reeth carriers, crippling the giant beasts. The wounds closed quickly, and the creatures continued their relentless assault.

The carriers were heavily armored, but the infantry were not. Kamira's barrage of fire ripped through the soldier's chests, leaving nothing above the waist. She continued to fire, despite the warnings that flashed before her. She was quickly running out of ammunition, and if she wasn't careful, the weapons system was going to overheat.

Glancing down at her displays, Kamira grimaced. Her shields were still holding, but losing power quickly. Her ammunition was starting to run low, the guns were running too hot, and the Ta'Reeth continued to advance. Where was Jason? She thought to herself.

When she looked up, she had her answer. The ship shook violently from the impact of heavy particle beams, as they obliterated the enemy from above. Kamira Nor held a front row seat as she witnessed the manifestation of Ragnarok.

"You o.k. down there?" her husband's voice rang clear over the intercom.

"It's about time you got here." Kamira forced back the tears. It had been too long since she had seen her husband, held him in her arms. Now, he was here. He was finally here to rescue her, to bring salvation.

"It's good to hear you too. I'm sending down a rescue crew. Hold on." She could hear the relief in Jason's voice.

"O.k., could you have Angel send down a couple of her repair drones? The ship down here still needs a lot of work." she forced herself to speak, still struggling to hold her emotions in check. It had been a long fight, one that had taken a heavy toll, and Kamira was ready for it to be over.

"Angel's sending down three drones. Will that be enough?" Jason asked. His voice carried an urgency that she hadn't heard before.

"Yeah, three drones will be fine. I assume there's a shuttle coming too?" Kamira sighed, realizing just how tired she actually was. She felt it deep in her bones, even in her soul. There seemed to be no end to the fight. Fighting begat more fighting in an endless war with no victor, only more casualties.

"Yeah, the rescue crew's bringing a small shuttle. Should be enough for everybody." Jason's voice was clear, not showing any remorse for the hordes of Ta'Reeth that he had just destroyed.

"You might want to a bigger shuttle." Kamira smiled at the thought of Brutus in a small vessel.

"It's just you, Corin Dante, the kid, and the cat right?" Jason asked, the puzzlement evident in his voice.

"Yes, but Brutus is kind of a big cat. Just trust me on this." Kamira unbuckled herself from the turret, and climbed down. Whether Corin was ready or not, she needed to wake him up.

"O.k. I'll send a bigger shuttle. See you soon." Jason called to Kamira as she jogged down the corridor.

Brutus looked like a giant immovable statue, guarding the door to some fantastic treasure. He peered out of the corner of his eye at Kamira as she came near him. His steady gaze caught every detail, watchful for anything that might be out of place.

"Brutus, I need to see Corin. Can I go in?" Kamira felt odd asking the cat for entrance, or asking him anything at all for that matter. There was intelligence in Brutus' eyes that was as undeniable as the laws of physics, yet she could not explain it either. How was it possible that a mere feline could understand her?

Kamira smiled softly as Brutus simply nodded his massive head, and then moved to the side of the door. She patted him on the side as she passed, and pressed her hand against the pressure plate. The door slid silently aside, and Kamira stepped into another world.

Inside the room, Mekala lay sleeping on the floor next to the DioBed. Corin was awake, his legs dangling over the side of the machine. A smile was on his face as he watched the little girl sleep.

"She refused to leave you, you know." Kamira said softly, not wanting to wake Mekala.

"I see. She's something else, isn't she?" he sighed. "I mean, the things that she's been through. Her entire world is gone, and the only people she has right now are absolute strangers."

"She has you." Kam walked over to her friend. "She made sure of that." she said, leaning against the DioBed. "Jason's here with Redemption. They're sending down a crew to help us."

"This ought to be fun." Corin grumbled as he jumped down from his perch. "I'm glad that they're here to help, but I'm not exactly fond of cops."

"He's not a cop anymore, Corin." Kamira stared in disbelief at her friend. She had known him only a short time, but she had come to trust him. There weren't very many people that Kamira actually trusted, but Corin was one of them. The fact that Corin didn't want to meet her husband, hurt her more than she had thought possible.

"Any particular reason that you don't like cops?" Kam turned to follow Corin.

"Hey, you know, I haven't always been on the straight and narrow road." Corin turned back and faced Kamira. "Sometimes you have to do things that the 'moral majority' doesn't agree with. I've been there Kamira. How do you think I got mixed up with the Regiment anyway?"

"I don't know what happened in your past Corin. What I do know, is that you are a good person." Kam stepped closer to her friend. Her thoughts and feelings mixed until she did not know what to do. "I trust you." she said, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight.

"Kam, you don't want to trust me. I'm not a good person." Corin pulled himself out of her embrace. It felt good to be held by her, but he knew that it was wrong. It was a betrayal of her husband and a betrayal of his conscience. Corin surprised himself when he realized that it would also betray T'Sula.

"There are things about me..." he began, and then stopped when he heard Mekala stir. Corin looked at the little girl. Strange feelings entered his heart. She had just now come into his life, but already commanded so much from him. He didn't mind it. Actually, Corin wanted to give Mekala everything, and ask for nothing in return.

"Daddy." Mekala squirmed, fixing her gaze on Corin. She scrambled to her feet and ran, arms outstretched, to the only man in the room. "Up. Up you." she cried when she reached Corin.

Without hesitation, Corin reached down and picked Mekala up. Somehow, in this insane world, he had become a father. He wasn't ready for this challenge. Corin was ready to face the Ta'Reeth, or fight T'Sula Mir, but the thought of raising a child scared him to no end. How was he supposed to provide for her, to keep her safe, to make sure that she was taken care of? Corin had absolutely no idea.

"Well, you can tell yourself whatever you want Corin, but I'm not the only one that thinks you're a good person." Kamira smiled, placing a gentle hand on Mekala's back. The girl fidgeted a little, and then hugged Corin even closer.

"The repair drones are going to be here any minute, so I've got some work to get done." Kamira sighed quietly to herself. "The shuttle will be here pretty soon too, so you might want to get a few things together for going up to Redemption."

"Yeah, I will, just give me a minute here with Mekala." Corin held back the tears that threatened to pour forth. He hadn't realized just how empty he had been, until this little bundle of feelings had thrust herself into his life.

"Take your time." Kamira quickly excused herself from the room, and forced herself to focus on work. Her feelings still were a jumbled mess. She missed Jason fiercely, but there were also feelings for Corin that she refused to admit. He was a friend, and that was all.

Carnage met Kamira's eyes when she stepped out of the ship. Pieces of smoldering Ta'Reeth lay strewn across the forested mountainside, like the remnants of an unwanted meal from out of an infant's mouth. She watched as three of Redemption's repair drones landed only a few meters away. Kamira took out her data pad, and quickly downloaded her instructions to the machines. When she was done with that, she slaved her drone to the other three, and instructed them to begin their work.

Kamira calculated the amount of time that the drones would require for the repairs and upgrades. She wanted to be able to tell Corin any of the details that he inevitably was going to ask. Any time that they spent here, no matter why, was keeping them from tracking T'Sula. Having four drones to work with was going to speed things up immensely, but Kamira was still impatient to get back into space and find her cousin.

Dust flared up, and debris flew into the air as a shuttle settled to the ground. It was slightly larger and boxier than a simple personnel carrier. Large barn style doors dominated the rear of the craft, with a ramp that lowered to the ground to facilitate easier loading of cargo. Short, stub wings protruded from midway up the sides, studded with an impressive array of armaments. Sitting just above the rounded nose of the craft was the crew station, wrapped in a dark, armored view screen.

Aft of the crew station was a small door that hissed open as two crewmen stepped out into this new world. Their uniforms were clean and sharply pressed, until they reached the humid jungle air, and then they were instantly damp with sweat. The crewmen paused, and searched the area, until their eyes fell upon Kamira striding toward them.

"Commander." the taller of the two crewmen addressed his superior as he snapped to attention.

"At ease." Kamira was still uncomfortable with the military terminology, but knew that she had to use it when protocol dictated it. "Where's the rest of the team?"

"Ma'am, the Captain said that you had no need for an actual rescue team, so he sent us to bring everyone up to Redemption." Kamira watched the man fidget and glance to his partner. She didn't like nervous people. They usually tried to hide something, or had another unfortunate reason for acting as they did. Either way, she didn't like it.

"Is there something wrong crewman?" Kamira stepped in closer, knowing that she was only going to make the man even more nervous.

"No, Ma'am. I mean, yes ma'am." he paused, closing his eyes for a second. "Ma'am, I don't feel comfortable here, with all of these Ta'Reeth, ma'am."

"None of us do." Kam looked sternly at the man. She could feel some sympathy for him, but she could not get past his nervous behavior. "That's all the more reason for us to get moving, don't you think?"

"Yes ma'am." the crewman said without having to think about it.

"Good. Now wait here, I'll be right back." she turned quickly and headed back to Vengeance. It was only going to take a few moments to get everyone aboard the shuttle, and then she would finally be able to see Jason. Her pace quickened at the thought of her husband. She so desperately wanted to be with him, and to forget the moment that she had wanted to be held by Corin.

Kamira chastised herself for her weakness. She was married. She loved her husband. He was the only man for her. She knew that without any doubt, without a question. Why had she embraced this other man? This man that she trusted, but hardly knew? Why did she feel drawn to him? What was wrong with her? Kamira questioned herself endlessly inside the confines of her mind, where it was safe, where no one could hear her angrily berating herself.

Before she knew it, Kamira was standing in the same room as Corin Dante. He stood there, looking at her while holding Mekala, and not saying a word. There were so many things that they each wanted to say, needed to say, but could not.

"I think that I'm in love with T'Sula." Corin finally broke the silence. It felt good to hear the words that had been with him for so long now. He didn't know why he said them here, to Kamira, but he did. The truth was now out in the open.

"Excuse me?" Kamira asked Corin, unable to form any other words. His declaration had caught her off guard, unprepared for something of that magnitude. Corin was in love with T'Sula? She wanted to kill him, not love him. The thought of this was absolutely preposterous.

"I love T'Sula, Kam." Corin smiled and sighed softly. "She makes me feel complete." the sincerity in his face kept Kamira riveted to hear what he had to say. "I can't explain it any more than you can."

"No. No, no, no!" Kamira yelled. "This isn't happening. You have no idea what you're saying, and this isn't happening. She wants to kill you Corin!" She put her hand to her face in desperation. "We have to go. The shuttle's here. We have to go." frustrated, Kamira turned and walked out of the room, not turning back to see if Corin was following.

Brutus watched Kamira storm out of the room and into the corridor. He cocked his head at Corin who followed close behind her, clearly stunned by whatever had happened.

"She's not going to kill me Kam." Corin called ahead. "We talked about that before the Regiment came. She's not going to kill me."

"You don't know her as well as I do Corin. You've spent a couple of days with her. I've known her since I was born." Kamira stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned to look Corin in the eyes. "Once she sets out to do something, there is no force in the universe that is going to stop her. I love you Corin. You're like a, I don't know, like a brother to me. T'Sula's my cousin. I don't want either one of you to get hurt." Kamira forced the words out. She felt closer to Corin than she would ever admit, but now he knew most of what she felt. "You can't have a relationship with T'Sula. I forbid it." she screamed in his face, then stormed away.

"You can't tell me that Kamira." Corin motioned for Brutus to come with them. He paused only long enough to make sure that the big cat was moving, before he tried to catch up with Kamira. He stopped himself just short of running; the constant weight of Mekala reminded him that she was there, dependant on him.

"I forbid it Corin!" Kamira screamed as he drew closer. She never turned to look at him as they boarded the shuttle. She ignored the crewmen's reactions to the tiny group, and to Brutus, keeping her own company in the solitude of her mind.

Corin busied himself with taking care of Mekala and Brutus, before he sat down and strapped himself into his seat. He kept quiet during the ascent to Redemption. His thoughts wandered from his friends, to his ship, and back again before they finally rested on what he needed to accomplish. Life had never been easy or simple for Corin, and now his life was even more complicated than usual. The love of one woman, coupled with the fury of another, was enough to complicate things for any man.

It took only minutes for the shuttle to reach Redemption. The giant ship orbited high above the jungle planet, resting amid the debris of a Ta'Reeth vessel. Her elegant lines belied the sheer power that lay beneath her skin. Corin knew instinctively by looking at Redemption that the ship was powerful. Yet she seemed serene as she floated in space.

Seeing Redemption like this, for the first time, reminded Corin of when he had first laid eyes on his ship, Vengeance. The memories were bitter sweet, as most of them were. Still, he had no time for remembrance. There was too much that needed done.

The shuttle eased into a mammoth hanger bay littered with debris. When its doors opened, Captain Jason McWilliams was standing there, waiting to embrace his wife.

Chapter 57

Narja lay on his bunk, trying to sleep. He had told the Captain that he would try to rest, but that task was proving to be even more difficult than he had thought. The Battle for Olcai played constantly in his thoughts. The faces of his Marines came and went in an endless stream, each of them telling him something different.

Finally, Narja resigned himself to getting up and getting on with his life. It was strange for him being alive. He had thought that when he was blown out of that airlock, that he was dead. He had consoled himself in the fact that he had done his duty to the best of his ability, and decided that he could indeed die with honor.

The problem with living is that you always have to deal with the consequences of any action that affects you. Major Narja had to deal with losing all of his Marines. They had fought well and he was proud of everyone one of them. Each had known the odds before they had even boarded the shuttles, and yet they had all gone anyway.

A verse from an ancient poem came to Narja's mind. The Charge of the Light Brigade had always been one of his favorites. 'Mine is not to question why. Mine is but to do and die.' The verse had never seemed as appropriate as it did now.

A small holocube sat idly on the top shelf of his wall locker. It had been a long enough time since Narja had viewed the contents of the cube that a thin layer of dust had settled on its polished surface.

Taking the cube in his hand, Narja gently pushed the tiny button on its side. It hummed for a moment, and then burst into a display of rainbow colored lights, before the image coalesced into his mother. The lava flows of Caldon boiled in the background, casting a gentle glow across her loving face.

Narja found comfort and resolve in his mother's image. She had always been there to care for him, and help him with whatever he needed. To his shame, he had been light-years away, and unable to return home and help her when the Ta'Reeth had come.

He had found her body, broken and shamed some time later. Right then, before he buried his mother, Narja vowed that he would fight and do everything that he could to see that no one ever had to lose a loved one to the Ta'Reeth again.

Narja pressed the button again, and watched the image change from his mother, to Prinelle. Aside from his mother, she was the only woman that he had ever loved, and she too was gone. The Ta'Reeth had a lot to answer for in Narja's life, and he vowed that they would be held responsible.

He couldn't help but stare longingly at the picture of Prinelle. It had been taken the night that he had escorted her to the Academy's formal Ball. She, like him, had spent numerous hours preparing her silver, black, and gold uniform, until everything shone with perfect clarity. There were no smudges, or defects of any kind to be found, and she looked perfect. He remembered that night for all that it was, and all of the promises that it held. He missed her so much, that he couldn't help but still feel the pain.

Reluctantly, Narja pressed the button on the side of the holocube, and gently placed it back on the shelf. He knew what he had to do. There were no more Marines under his command, but that didn't change the fact that he was one, and it was his duty to make certain that all preparations were made to engage the enemy.

With the memories of his mother and his marines, but most of all Prinelle in mind, Narja left his quarters and headed for the armory. As he expected, the corridors were sparsely populated. Most of the crew were either getting some much needed rest and relaxation, or were on duty.

The armory was a tomb. The armors and weapons were all gone, except for Narja's personal equipment. His armor stood alone at the far end of the armory, like a sentry keeping silent watch over its fallen comrades. Dented and torn, this mechanical extension of himself had saved his life a hundred times over.

Setting his sentiments aside, Narja began to disassemble his armor. He meticulously inspected every piece. Replacing what he needed to, he began to rebuild the armor. Narja focused intensely on what he was doing; shutting out any thought other than the task he was performing.

When he finished repairing his armor, Major Narja turned his attention to the others. All of his marines were gone, but he still needed armors for their replacements. He programmed the computer for what he wanted, and then pulled out his bayonet.

Finding a seat on the floor, Narja waited for each of the new armors to be completed. As he waited, he slowly drew his bayonet across his sharpening stone. There were other ways to sharpen knives, but he liked the edge that his old sharpening stone put on the polished steel. Sometimes newer wasn't better, it was just newer.

By the time that the last armor was ready, Narja's bayonet was sharper than a razor, and ready for use. He carefully placed his bayonet back in its scabbard, and cleaned his stone before inspecting the new armors. Only when each new piece was fully inspected, did Narja return to his quarters and finally fall asleep.

Chapter 58

Nom sat quietly in the cramped seat behind the Admiral. He detested the man before him, but he was needed. Need often outweighs want, and so it was here. Nom yearned to simply reach forward, and squeeze the life out of this pompous, egotistical shell of a man. Restraint wasn't easy, but he knew that the rewards would be more than enough compensation.

The shuttle was deceptively small. It was fitted with high efficiency, long-range engines that required more space than one would initially think. Comfort was a luxury on this ship. The spartan accoutrements were functional, but that was all.

The close proximity to the Admiral, and the technological confines of the shuttle were quickly wearing on Nom. He fidgeted constantly in a futile effort to get comfortable, or at least tolerate his circumstances. Soon, it would be over though.

Admiral West's ship loomed in the vast darkness, at the heart of frenzied activity. Lesser vessels darted back and forth carrying supplies and people to the various remnants of Olcai. The shuttle wove effortlessly amongst the other traffic, gaining little to no notice. Coming closer to the command ship, the challenge was finally issued.

"Unidentified craft, state your identification and purpose or be fired upon." the voice that came over the speaker was young, but forceful.

"This is Admiral Nigel Andrew West the third. I demand access to my ship." Admiral West sneered at the communications system.

"Understood Admiral. Crystal skull." the voice answered, leaving the challenge open.

"Stonehenge." Admiral West responded after he reclaimed his composure. He reminded himself that the man on the other end was simply doing his job. Soon he would be back aboard his own ship, under his own command.

"Thank you sir. Please stand by while we bring you aboard." Nom listened as the exchange ended. He was grateful that he wouldn't have to endure the shuttle for much longer. Still, there was much that he had to do.

It took only a few minutes for the shuttle to be brought aboard. Nom waited quietly while his puppet disembarked first, and then followed behind. There was a lot of activity in the hanger, with work crews scrambling here and there, performing any number of tasks best left to underlings. They were presumably trying to save the pathetic Olcai. Let them waste their time and energy.

Nom's attention snapped back to Admiral West. He was standing in front of a senior officer, barely a hands breadth from the younger man's face.

"Where are the other ships Captain?" Admiral West screamed.

"They left with Redemption sir." the other man answered. His face was flushed with a mix of anger and fear.

"Don't just stand there! Track them! Find them! Hunt those treasonous bastards down, before I kill you!" Admiral West screamed. He grabbed the younger man by the front of his uniform, and shoved him as hard as he could manage. The Captain scrambled off, never looking back.

Nom smiled to himself. He hadn't forced the Admiral to act this way, he had done it on his own. Using this creature was going to be very enjoyable.

"Admiral, who is this?" another of the junior officers stepped forward with a data pad in hand, and pointed toward Nom. The Admiral's actions didn't seem to affect him at all as he gazed over at Nom. He was young and thin, eager to do whatever the Admiral directed.

"Never mind, Lieutenant. Captain Gar is none of your concern." Admiral West glowered at the younger man, oblivious that he had answered the Lieutenant's query.

"Yes Sir." the Lieutenant thought for a moment. "Sir, should I set up quarters for the Captain?"

"I said, he is none of your concern, you insignificant coward!" the Admiral screamed as he backhanded the Lieutenant across the face.

Nom watched the proceedings excitedly, pacing back and forth, until he could stand it no longer. Giving in to his impulses, he rushed forward, and grabbed the young Lieutenant by the throat, and slowly squeezed, crushing the life out of him. He smiled wickedly as the Lieutenant's eyes faded, and turned grey.

"Let go of him!" another nameless crewman yelled at Nom, hammering him in the back with a massive spanner wrench. Nom staggered forward, dropping the dead Lieutenant, and turned to face his assailant. He was a large man, wearing coveralls, and covered in different shades grease. He was stout, but he moved quicker than his size would suggest.

The man charged at Nom again, swinging the wrench at his head. Nom easily dodged the blow, grabbing the man's wrist and yanking the wrench free. He held the wrench in both hands as he attacked, swinging wildly. His first strike crushed the other man's knee, leaving him unable to move, or defend himself. With several sharp, powerful blows, Nom beat the mechanic until his face was a single, vacant, bloody stain.

Killing gave him immeasurable pleasure, and Nom could not contain himself. He glanced over at Admiral West, and found the man staring blindly into space. Smiling wildly with glee, Nom set out to find the rest of the crew.

Chapter 59

"Kam." Jason smiled, watching his wife exit the shuttle. It seemed like forever since he had seen her last. She moved with the grace of a dancer, gliding across the deck toward him.

Halfway to her husband, Kamira stopped and looked back at the shuttle. Stepping out of the craft was a younger man that had to be Corin Dante, carrying a small girl. He looked tired, but strong and confident as he walked up to Kamira. There was a look of concern on his face. Jason thought he knew why it was there, but wasn't entirely sure.

Together, Kamira and Corin walked up to Jason. With a smile on her face and tears in her eyes, Kamira embraced her husband. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight before gently kissing her.

"Welcome home." Jason whispered into Kamira's ear as they broke away to look at each other. She looked tired, but relieved to be back on Redemption. However his wife looked, Jason was glad to have her back at his side.

"It feels like forever since we've been together." Kamira wiped absently at the tears on her cheek. "There's still so much we need to do."

"You're preaching to the choir." Jason smiled. He knew that Kamira was right. There was still so much to do before he could really show Kamira just how much he missed her. "Who's this?"

"Jason, this is Corin Dante." Kamira gestured between the two men. "Corin, this is my husband, Jason McWilliams, Captain of Redemption." She stepped back as soon as she finished the introductions, hoping that the two men would at least tolerate each other. Kamira knew that Jason didn't trust Corin, and that Corin didn't trust anyone.

"I don't know whether to thank you or shoot you." Jason said, extending his hand.

"I would prefer not to be shot." Corin gave a half smile as he grasped the other man's outstretched hand. "Besides, if you shot me, we wouldn't be able to help each other find our missing friend."

Releasing Jason's grip, Corin glanced back to the shuttle. Brutus appeared in the doorway and ambled over to his friends. "Not to mention, Brutus might take offense to you shooting me."

"What in the name of God is that?" Jason stared at Brutus. He had never seen an animal like him before. A cat the size of a Clydesdale, with silky tan fur stared at him, watching his every move. Only when Brutus was certain that Corin was not in any danger did he relax.

"That sir is a Darwinian Sand Panther." Angel said flatly, as she appeared beside her Captain. "They are highly intelligent and very lethal. It is in your best interest not to make him mad."

"I did tell you that Brutus was a big cat." Kamira interjected with a wry smile.

"Yeah, this is Brutus. He goes everywhere I go. Now can we get down to business, or are we going to leave T'Sula out there to die?" Corin glanced back and forth between Kamira and Jason. He knew that he was pushing, but felt that it was needed.

"Alright. What have we got?" Jason stared at Corin. His ire quickly came to the boiling point, but he managed to keep it in check. He thought that if Corin hadn't been holding a child, he would have hit him, despite the impending threat of the monster feline.

"Not much Sir. The signature of the Ta'Reeth vessel carrying Commander Mir is all but gone. It's simply been too long since it left." Angel informed her Captain. "I'm not sure that I can adequately track it."

"Then it's a good thing that I planted a tracking device on T'Sula." Corin said, shifting Mekala to his other arm. His gaze took in the spectacle of the hanger. His friend, Kamira, together with her husband after so long, and this ship that was the pride of the Resistance, was a lot to take in. He kept his face plain, showing no reaction to his news, as he judged the others around him.

Jason stared in disbelief at Corin. He had only just met this man, and already he knew that there was more to him than he could initially fathom. Any mistakes and Corin Dante would be able to exploit them in ways that Jason didn't want to even think about. If Corin was in fact telling the truth about his exploits.

Somehow, Corin had escaped an exploding planet, and along the way saved his wife and her cousin, while ejecting a combat armored and armed Marine Major from his ship. This man was either a worthy adversary, or a powerful ally.

"Tracking device?" Captain McWilliams ventured. "Would you mind giving us the signature, so that we can track it?"

"Of course." Corin glanced down at Mekala. "But first, I need to make sure that everyone is being taken care of. Then I'll give it to you."

"Angel, please make sure that our guests are comfortable. I want fresh clothes, beds, the whole deal." Jason turned back to look at Corin. "After you get cleaned up, I'd like for everyone to join me for dinner, in my private dining room."

"Thank you Captain." Corin replied, uncertain how to express the gratitude he felt. It had been a very long time since anyone had shown him any hospitality.

"You're welcome." Jason turned to Angel again. "As soon as we can bring Mr. Dante's ship aboard, I want it done. We can effect repairs enroot. That is, if it's alright with Mr. Dante."

"It's o.k. with me." Corin shrugged. "Let's get underway, and get T'Sula back."

"Fine." Jason almost turned to leave with Kamira in tow. "But before we can go anywhere, we need to know where to go. I need the signature for the tracking device."

Corin took a deep breath. Finding T'Sula was his responsibility, not Jason McWilliams'. He gritted his teeth, then dug in his pocket and pulled out a tiny cylinder. He held it out on the palm of his hand and showed it to the Captain.

"The frequency matches this. You should be able to get a good reading on it anywhere within thirty light-years." everyone within sight of Corin's hand turned and watched as the indicator lazily flashed a dull red.

"Angel?" Jason asked the A.I., and then indicated the device.

"One moment Captain." Angel paused as she scanned the tracking device. "He's telling the truth. I have analyzed the tracking signature and am currently searching ..." her expression went momentarily blank. "I have located the signature Sir. Setting course. Shall I leave orbit?"

"No. Bring Corin's ship onboard first, and then engage the new course." Jason glanced about the faces of his comrades. "We're about to go after the Ta'Reeth. Get ready."

"Angel, how long before Vengeance is onboard?" Kamira asked, breaking the silence.

"Vengeance will be in Hanger Bay three in approximately twenty five minutes Commander." Angel turned to Corin. "Is that satisfactory?"

"Yeah. It is. Could you let me know when it's aboard?" Corin stared at the hologram. He had known about Angel, but actually interacting with her was a new experience for him. She was there. He could see her, and he could hear her, but he wasn't sure if he could touch her.

"I will." Angel answered before turning her attention back to her Captain. "Sir, the others are here."

"Thank you. Please have them meet us in my dining room." Jason sighed. Things were starting to fall into place. He just had to make certain that the timing was right. Keeping his timetable in mind, Jason turned to the others. "Alright, we don't have a lot of time people, so please make it quick."

Angel led Corin and Mekala while Kamira went with Jason. Brutus waited for a moment before he followed Corin down the now cramped corridors. Redemption's crew scattered at the sight of the big cat, diving into open doors in the hope of not angering the feline.

"Captain Dante, your ship should be operational soon." Angel spoke as she led him to his new quarters. "I hope that our repairs are to your standard."

"I'm sure they will be." Corin was only partially paying attention to what the Hologram was saying. He inspected Redemption with his ocular implants as they went, learning more about the ship with each passing step.

"Captain Dante, I would appreciate it if you would not use your implants while onboard. They are beginning to interfere with my security protocols." Angel had stopped in front of Corin, blocking his path. She fixed him with a stern look and planted her hands on her hips.

"Really? You're that sensitive?" Corin almost smiled. "I had no idea. Yeah, I'll turn them off for now."

"Thank you. Now, let's proceed. Shall we?" Angel turned and led the way once more. "You will need to keep Brutus on a short leash while on board. My crew is not reacting well to his presence."

It wasn't much further before Angel stopped and opened a door. She didn't wait for Corin before she stepped inside. Corin followed and set Mekala down. The room was large enough for two beds and dressing stations, with just enough room left over for Brutus to lie comfortably on the floor. Tucked between the two dressing stations was the door to the shower.

"You will find clean clothes in the drawers." Angel told them as she readied to leave. "If you have any problems or questions, just ask for me."

"I do have one question." Corin stopped the Hologram. "How real are you?"

"I'm as real as I need to be." Angel answered, placing her hand firmly on Corin's shoulder. "Your ship will be onboard in ten minutes. You should be getting cleaned up for dinner."

"Yeah, thanks." Corin looked down at his shoulder as Angel disappeared. "That's weird." he muttered under his breath, rubbing the spot where Angel's hand had been.

Corin turned to find Mekala. The girl had wandered over to the beds, and was climbing up on the one to the right. She giggled as she leapt up, and bounced on the bed, sending the pillows flying in all directions. Not satisfied with only the pillows flying off, she jumped again and again, until the bed was a complete disaster. Only when the bed was in complete disarray did she jump down, and begin again on the other bed.

"How am I going to get you cleaned up little one?" Corin picked Mekala up and gave her a light hug.

"Bath!" she screamed with a smile on her face. "Bath!"

"O.k. a bath it is." Corin grimaced to himself. He had no idea what he was going to do. There had never been a need for him to learn how to bathe a child before, and he was not ready to do it now.

"I hope you know what to do, because I don't." He smiled as best he could, taking the girl into the showers. He hoped that there would be some kind of tub to use, but seeing as Redemption was a war ship; he had little hope for such amenities.

He was right. There was no tub, only a commode, a shower, and an over sized sink.

"Well, the sink it is." Corin actually smiled though. This was a new challenge for him, but it was one that he wouldn't have given to anyone else. "Do you know what we need Mekala?"

"Soap!" she squealed in excitement. "Soap!"

"O.k., we have soap." Corin took a fresh bar of soap out of the shower. "What else?"

"Water?" Mekala asked quietly.

Corin turned the water on in the sink, checked the temperature, and let the basin fill. "Do you know what else?" he asked her gently.

"Me don't know." Mekala looked dejected for not knowing what else she needed. "Sorry."

"It's o.k. You don't have anything to be sorry about. You're a big help." Corin gently squeezed her, giving her a hug. "We need a wash cloth, and a towel. Can you find them?"

Mekala's eyes lit up as she spotted the wash cloth and towel hanging on a rack. She nearly fell out of Corin's arms, trying to get the last two items she needed for her bath. Corin set her down, and she scrambled over to retrieve the items.

"Bath time!" She squealed as she handed the towel and wash cloth to Corin. He felt his connection with Mekala growing deeper by the second, and it scared him. How was he going to make sure that she was safe? How was he going to take care of her? He had no idea.

Corin helped Mekala out of her torn clothes, and into the bath. He tried to be gentle, and make the bath fun for her, while he kept it short. When she was done, he gently dried her off, and dressed her in new clothes. He stumbled through as best he could, then quickly showered and dressed.

When Corin stepped out of the shower, Mekala was playing with Brutus. She had climbed onto the cat's back, and to Corin's amazement, was gently tugging on his ears. Brutus twitched his ears, shook his head, and glared at Corin before simply lying there, and letting Mekala know when he had had enough.

Corin shook his head, and then called for Angel.

"What can I do for you?" Angel asked, materializing in the center of the room.

"We're ready." Corin sighed. "I was hoping that you could guide us to where we need to go."

"Of course. Follow me." Angel motioned for Corin to follow, and quickly exited the room.

The walk was brief and silent. Corin carried Mekala, and Brutus followed behind. Corin's mind raced in the silence. He wondered about T'Sula, and his ship. He worried about what was happening, and he worried about Mekala's safety. By the time they reached the dining room, his nerves were shot.

Angel opened the door and admitted Corin, Mekala, and Brutus. Jason welcomed them with a smile and introduced the others sitting at the table.

"I'm glad that everyone could make it tonight." Jason smiled. "Unfortunately this will be a working dinner. We have a lot of work to do, and not much time to do it."

Chapter 60

_Cold, black space surrounded her, blanketing her nearly naked form in oblivion. She wore only tatters of cloth covering her upper torso and from her waist to her mid thigh. Stars burned bright, faded, then died before her eyes. Planets formed and dissipated in a mere breath. Time both stopped and raced, simultaneously competing with itself for the sole purpose of competing. Reality itself warped in her mind, shaping everything and nothing._

She could hear a voice in the depths of her mind. It was both familiar and unknown. She didn't know why it was there, it just was. The words and the meaning thereof were alien to her. They simply said, "This is why."

Nothing made sense. How could she be in the depths of space, completely unprotected? How could she be alive? The last thing that she remembered was dying.

Was this Nirvana? Was this Summerland? It didn't seem possible. She knew that she was alive. She didn't know how or why she knew it, but she did.

She had a name. She was T'Sula Mir. Of that much she was certain. She was alive, and she was T'Sula Mir.

T'Sula gazed at the stars with her naked eyes. The light began to blur as she started to speed through space and time. She traveled through the burning center of white-hot stars. T'Sula crashed through a planet's molten core as she sped along her path. Comets flashed by, dusting her with their tails. Still she sped, never wavering until she came at last to her destination.

It was a beautiful world, green and blue with lush white clouds floating lazily in a vast sky. She traveled that world in the blink of an eye. Massive continents flashed beneath her, followed by gigantic oceans. High snow capped mountains caught her breath as she flew past them. This was a truly beautiful world.

People began to move on the ground beneath her. She watched as they grew, matured, and shaped their world. They built homes and farms, raising families along the way. Eventually the people grew bolder and began to form massive armies.

The armies marched across the land, killing and conquering until they no longer had anywhere to go. Hundreds of millions of men and women died in the useless wars that ravaged this world.

Still, there were heroes amongst them. Great warriors the likes of which few ever see. Their names were foreign to her, their stories unknown. Captivated, T'Sula continued to watch.

Giant steel beasts began to roam the waters and the land. The technology of war had outpaced the social skills of these people, threatening to overwhelm them.

One nation became the single most powerful of them all, controlling the economy, the military might, and the other governments. T'Sula saw that the people of that nation grew weary of the fighting, the death, and the financial burden of it all.

The people listened to the corrupt politicians, and the religious leaders. No more would they send their sons and daughters to war. No, it was beneath them. There would have to be another option, something that allowed them to wage their battles, but not have to fight them. It was time for a slave army. An army of beings bred to fight.

She watched a small group of scientists as they began to work, deep under a mountain. They harvested creatures from across the globe, and under the seas. Taking each of these unfortunate specimens, they began to experiment. They crossbred them, and they spliced their genes, eventually creating a monster.

T'Sula gasped when she recognized their creation. It was the first Ta'Reeth. A nearly unstoppable killing machine, a soldier without any remorse or values, it operated simply on orders and instinct.

Pleased with their work, the scientists unleashed their creation upon the world. It proved to be unstoppable. The creature started evolving faster than they had foreseen. Before they knew what had happened, the slave was now the master. Only a scant few escaped to the stars.

It wasn't the politician, the scientist, or even the soldier that paid the heaviest price. It was the infant that paid for its parent's decisions. It was the infant that inherited the ravaged world, and the decimated people.

T'Sula knew then what she had to do. She saw where her fate led. It was her destiny to right that choice made so long ago. She had to go to that alien place. Her fate lay buried deep in that mountain. She had to go to the place called Colorado.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she fought to control her emotions. The vision blurred and faded, changing scope and content. The planet and the stars disappeared, only to be replaced by a memory. It was a strong memory, one of her life at the monastery.

She remembered her Master. Ch'Lan had always been good to her. He was kind. There were always expectations, but he was constantly there to make sure that she had what she needed. T'Sula had always found a measure of comfort in her memories of Ch'Lan.

"Push yourself. Only by removing your physical weakness can you learn what I have to teach." T'Sula kept her eyes focused on her target as Ch'Lan spoke. She dared not look at her Master as she worked through her form. Her attention was absolute. Nothing entered her mind but her target and her teacher.

"Remember, there is no first strike. When you must strike, do so in such a manner that a second strike is not needed. If one is needed, then you have already failed." his words reached more than her ears. They began to slowly sink deep into the T'Sula's heart.

"This is not a sport, or a game that you are playing." Ch'Lan forced T'Sula to look at him when she completed her form. "The only trophy that you will win is your life. Focus. Get it right. Start over." he commanded.

Sweat poured from every pore in her body as she began the form for the hundredth time that day. Her feet glided across the smooth stone of the courtyard. Energy pulsed through her body, surging with each punch and kick. T'Sula's movements gradually became easier, more fluid as she practiced. The moves became engrained in her muscle memory so that she no longer had to think about what she was doing.

"No. You still are trying too hard. Do not force the movements. Let them flow like a river without a dam." Ch'Lan chided her again. Stopping T'Sula, and then showing her the combination of moves that he wanted. The combinations always blocked first, and then followed with a series of strikes to multiple opponents, with steps and feints in the mix. "Never force your actions. Let the Universal Spirit flow freely through you. Only then will you be truly in harmony with the Universe."

"Master, I don't understand." T'Sula pondered Ch'Lan's words for a moment before she continued. "How can I willfully make my own actions, and still allow myself to be a vessel of the Universal Spirit?"

"Sit." Ch'Lan instructed, himself taking a place on the smooth stone. He sat cross-legged facing his student, and waited for her to settle in.

"Everything is possible because of the Universal Spirit. Some people call it God. Others have unique names for it. What you call it doesn't matter." He paused, letting his words rest in the air for a few heartbeats before he pressed on. "You cannot force it. If you try to force it, it will simply cut itself off from you. Open yourself willingly, and the Spirit will act through you, but only if you are truly open and ready. Allow yourself to be this. Train hard, keep peace in your heart, and never strike in anger."

"But Master, aren't you training me to fight? These punches and kicks are designed to injure and kill. How is that peace?" confusion was evident in her voice. T'Sula looked desperately to her teacher, hoping that he would have the guidance that she wanted, that she needed. She had seen so much pain in her life, and now that she had a direction, she needed to know that it was the right one. She needed to know that with her new skills, she would be able to make a difference.

"There is an old maxim that says 'If you seek to know peace, you must first know war.'" Ch'Lan quietly stood and waited for T'Sula to follow. "No one hates war more than a soldier. It is time to rest now. I will see you tomorrow. Sleep well."

T'Sula watched her Master leave. His words had not fallen on deaf ears. She had heard everything that he had said, but she did not understand it. Why would a soldier hate war? Wasn't war the purpose of being a soldier? How could one hate their own purpose? How could anyone know peace through war? These things made no sense to her as she sat in silent meditation.

The night darkened before T'Sula arose from her meditation. Ch'Lan had been right about one thing at least. It was time to rest. T'Sula quietly walked to her quarters, bathed and dressed for bed. The questions never left her mind.

She rose early in the morning, dressed for the day, and began her chores without a word. Taking care of the courtyard was an honor for her. It was where she trained and learned the most important lessons of her young life. Sweeping and cleaning it was a small price to pay.

As day broke over the monastery, T'Sula finished her chores and went to the dining hall for breakfast. Quietly she took her seat among the monks. Hundreds of men and women filled the hall, each keeping their thoughts quietly contained inside the confines of their own minds.

The smell of grains and fruit wafted through the dining hall as a troop of monks methodically served each of their comrades. T'Sula and the others waited respectfully until all were served, before they devoured their morning meal. Full and satisfied, each of the monks bussed their own places, and began the tasks for the remainder of the day.

T'Sula had made sure that her chores were complete before she ate, so that she could spend the day training. She hurried from the dining hall to the courtyard, eager to learn. What she found when she got there, was not what she had expected.

Arranged throughout the courtyard were a series of bricks standing on end. She watched as her Master, standing at the south end, bowed deeply to the north. He then stepped up onto the nearest bricks and began to move.

Ch'Lan stepped fluidly from brick to brick as he moved through an advanced form, using what T'Sula recognized as a Bo staff. As he went the bricks never wavered, and he never fell. Ch'Lan worked from south to north and east to west without toppling a brick, or missing a step.

T'Sula stood watching her Master in awe. She had never seen him display his ability in such a blatant manner. It was usually his quiet mannerisms and humility that showed through, instead of his physical prowess. She wondered to herself why he was showing her this, and then figured that he must have his reasons.

When Ch'Lan was finished, T'Sula quietly walked over to her Master, and greeted him with a deep bow. She had always respected him, and nothing would ever change that. He had been there when she needed someone the most. Respect was the least that she could give.

"Good morning T'Sula." Ch'Lan said, returning her bow.

"Good morning Master." a soft smile crossed her lips as she replied, raising from her bow.

"It is now your turn to practice on the bricks. The same form that you were doing yesterday, you will perform today." he pointed to the south end of the courtyard. "You will begin at the south, and go north. When you reach the north end, you will go south. Do not waiver, or topple a brick. If you do, you will begin again at the beginning."

She was ready, eager for her training. Even though she was ready, uncertainty revealed itself to her Master through her eyes. There was a fear there. The fear of failing. Failure had never been an option for T'Sula, but the fear of it was a constant companion.

"You must not question yourself. You will fail at times, and at others, you will succeed." Ch'Lan tried to reassure her as she stepped up on the bricks.

"I'll try Master." she said as she readied herself. T'Sula closed her eyes, and focused on her objective. She then opened her eyes and stepped. Picking up her foot, she immediately fell to the ground, hard.

Picking herself up, T'Sula put the bricks back in place. She moved back to the starting position, and began again. Again she fell. For most of the day, T'Sula repeatedly fell and started over. She worked through her mid-day and evening meals without notice. Occasionally she would succeed in moving across a few bricks, but inevitably, she would fall and start over.

"Stop trying, and just do it." Ch'Lan kept his voice level as he helped T'Sula to her feet. She was slow to get up, but she never wavered in her determination.

"I don't understand Master." T'Sula fought to keep the frustration from her voice. "How can I stop trying, and still accomplish this?" She tried to understand, to comprehend what she was being taught, but still failed.

"Sometimes when you try too hard, or focus too much, it gets in the way." his words were soothing as they reached his pupils ears. It was a truth that he had struggled to learn so long ago.

"Begin again, but this time, with these." Ch'Lan handed T'Sula a matching set of broad swords. The swords had gleaming steel blades, with polished gold pommels, and the hilts wrapped in brown leather. "Use the same form."

T'Sula looked at the swords in her hands. She felt their weight and balance. Without thinking about it, T'Sula started her form. She moved easily across the bricks. Before she knew it, she had worked her way across the bricks and back without falling.

"You were right Master. I am sorry for doubting you." T'Sula lowered her head in shame as she addressed Ch'Lan. She knew that she should never have doubted her teacher. He was the Master, not her.

"You did well child." Ch'Lan smiled slightly. It had taken her only a day to work the bricks. He hadn't been able to move across them for much longer than that. It had taken him closer to a month actually.

"Thank you..." T'Sula began, but was cut off by the screeching of aircraft, streaking through the sky overhead.

"Follow me." Ch'Lan ordered. His expression lost all semblance of civility. "Those are Regiment ships." he muttered, running toward the center of the courtyard. Raising his staff over his head, he rammed the tip of it deep into the hole in the center of the carved stone.

"What's going on?" T'Sula asked, drawing alongside of her teacher. She watched in shock as one of the stones dropped slightly, then slid away to reveal a passage, a hole that dropped away into the depths.

"I'll explain on the way. For now, just keep up with me." Ch'Lan spoke over his shoulder as he bolted for the passage. T'Sula managed to secure her swords to her back as she ran. Ch'Lan simply carried his staff in his hand, as if it was just another part of him. Teacher and student reached the passage just as the ships returned, and began to rain destruction down upon the monastery.

Fastened into the stone wall, was a metal ladder that ran farther than the light allowed to see. There was no hesitation as Ch'Lan and T'Sula climbed down as quickly as they could. Minutes passed in silence while they went deeper and deeper into the ground. Finally, it was Ch'Lan that broke the silence.

"Not everything is as it seems here, T'Sula." his voice showed no signs of exertion. "The Regiment has wanted to find us for some time now, and destroy us if they can."

T'Sula looked into the darkness, and found a glimmer of hope. In the distance, there was a pale blue light. It was small, but steady, and that gave her hope against the oppressive darkness.

"Don't they want to destroy everyone?" she asked before she remembered whom she was talking to.

"They do, but they want us more." Ch'Lan climbed off the ladder and stepped into the light. They were now in a tunnel, lit with blue and white lights running along the edges of the floor. It wasn't a long tunnel, maybe a dozen meters. At the other end was a door.

The door was large and heavy, being made of metal, and held in place with a heavy electronic lock. Ch'Lan walked purposefully forward and entered a code into the key pad. The door was surprisingly quiet as it slid open, revealing a room filled with computers and military personnel.

"They want the Resistance dead, Lieutenant." Ch'Lan said, glancing back at his student. "Before we continue, always remember two things. Remember who you are, and that you are always my student."

T'Sula gazed at her Master. He was there, and then he was gone. "I am T'Sula Mir." she quietly repeated to herself over and over, steadily building to a crescendo.

"I am T'Sula Mir!" She roared, as her eyes snapped open.

Her eyes fell heavily upon the Ta'Reeth that surrounded her. She was lying on her back, restrained to a table at her waist, wrists, and ankles.

"I am T'Sula Mir!" she yelled again. The Ta'Reeth recoiled at the venom in her voice. They had seen her in action, and had no desire to inflict their own demise.

T'Sula pulled against her restraints, testing them for weaknesses. Finding none, she relaxed her muscles and started thinking of other means of escape. With each escape that she tried, her restraints tightened as she moved, and relaxed when she held still.

"It's pointless for you to continue like this." Malek's voice came from just beyond T'Sula's sight. "We're not here to hurt you."

T'Sula strained to look at Malek. She turned her head as far as she could manage, before the cords attached to her temples stopped her. She pulled harder, until the cords started to rip away from her skull.

"You might want to stop before you hurt yourself." Malek stepped forward so that T'Sula could see him. He smiled a smile that sent waves of revulsion through her. "Go back to sleep now. Sweet dreams."

T'Sula fell back against the table, instantly unconscious. Torrents of memories tumbled unbidden across the landscape of her mind, causing her to question the very reality of her existence. Still she held fast to one thing. She remembered that she was T'Sula Mir.

Chapter 61

Jason McWilliams faced a room filled with anxious people. Captains Kim, Dunsyn, and Jones sat at the far end of the table, each wearing their silver and red dress uniforms. Kamira sat at his side, looking tired, but elegant in her own neatly pressed uniform. Next to Kamira, Major Narja had settled in, quietly waiting for everything to begin. Across from Narja was Corin Dante.

Corin seemed uncomfortable in his surroundings. Mekala, on the other hand, had made herself at home in her highchair, with Brutus sitting by her side.

Jason looked around the room. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, in an effort to help settle his nerves, before he started to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for meeting with me tonight." he began. "I know that some of you are taking quite a risk by being here. Captains, thank you for taking that risk."

Pausing, Jason fixed Corin with a stern look before he finally continued. "Mr. Dante, we...I owe you a debt of gratitude." He smiled wryly. "However, if you think of blowing Major Narja out of an airlock again, there's no place that you'll ever be able to hide."

Jason watched as Corin's expression stayed neutral. The man was steady, not betraying his thoughts or emotions. Jason wondered about his potential ally. Would he be worth the trouble, or would he abandon them in a fight?

"Anyway, let's get down to business. We've got a lot to do." Jason sat down next to his wife. "Angel's been able to project the course of the Ta'Reeth ship that we're following."

Jason waited, and made sure that everyone was paying close attention before he continued. "It's headed for Earth."

"Earth?" Captain Sierra Jones was the first to break the silence. The look of disbelief did not sit well on her fine features. "You can't be serious. Earth is nothing more than a fairytale. It was the first to fall, and it's gone. There's nothing that anyone of us can do about it."

"Well, if that's the way you feel, there's the door." Jason glared at Captain Jones and pointed to the door. "As for me, I intend to go to Earth, and make these bastards pay."

Silence fell like an invisible shroud over the dining room. Jason knew that he needed Captain Jones, and her comrades, if his gambit was going to work. He feared that he may have gone too far. Jason waited and watched, hoping to see a sign of support.

"I'm in." Corin spoke up. As he spoke, he glanced around the room, and in turn, looking everyone in the eye. When he looked at Captain McWilliams, the two men understood.

"If there's even the slightest chance of ending this, then we owe it to ourselves, to everyone, to take the chance." he looked at Mekala and tussled her hair.

"Look, I want Earth back as much as anybody, but I'm not convinced that this isn't suicide." Captain Kim interjected. He leaned forward and focused intently on Jason. "I want to know how you plan to pull this little stunt off."

"It isn't suicide." Jason stood again, keeping his temper under control. He started to pace the room as steaming hot plates of food were brought in. "We have to hit them hard, fast, and we have to do it in coordinated stages. Keep them off balance."

"That's going to be very difficult with only four ships." Captain Dunsyn kept his steely eyes on Jason. His powerful frame tensed as he waited for Jason to respond.

"No one said anything about this being easy, Captain. It just needs to be done." Jason stopped behind Dunsyn, and looked at Kamira. "This is the right thing to do people, and it's our job to figure out how to make it happen."

"Is it?" Kamira focused on her husband. "Is it our job to figure it all out? What about T'Sula? How does she fit in here?"

"That's a good question Kam." Jason walked back over to his seat and sat down."T'Sula is definitely an 'x' factor here. However she fits in, it's important. But, right now, we can't afford to make our plans contingent on her."

"Why don't we look at what we do know?" Captain Kim asked, shoveling his food around his plate with his fork. "We know that we're seriously overmatched here. Even with all of our planning, if we don't get a lot of help, we're dead. Where are we going to get more ships and men?"

"Quin's right. Where are we going to get help?" Captain Jones took a drink of her water, and then set the cup back down.

"I think that you can help us with that one." Jason grinned. He had anticipated most of these questions, and prepared for them. "What we need to do, is get the rest of the Fleet on board. I'd like to have you, Captain Jones, ask the Admiralty for assistance. Can you do that?"

"Why don't you ask them?" Sierra Jones hated talking to the Admiralty, almost as much as she hated the Ta'Reeth. "You're the 'Hero of Bakesh.' You should be asking. Not me."

"I just assaulted an Admiral, and resigned my Commission. Remember?" Jason started to smile, but thought better of it. He needed these people, so it was probably best not to provoke them.

"Alright. I'll do it." Sierra sighed. If there was a chance of ending this war, then she owed it to herself to take it, no matter the cost.

"Excellent. That should get us more fire power." Jason said before he stuffed a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"That still won't be enough." Narja spoke for the first time. "We don't have any ground forces Sir. We need Marines."

"Is there anything that you could help us with on that?" Kamira asked her friend. There were so many questions that she wanted to ask Narja, but restrained herself. There was something different about him, in his eyes, but she didn't know what it was. "Everybody's stretched so thin, the Resistance really doesn't have many people to send."

"I might have someone who can help, but I am not sure if it is worth it." Narja shook his head. It had been a long time since he had spoken with Maruk, but there was still hope that he would be the man that Narja remembered.

"Narja, I need you to convince whoever it is to help us. We're on a very tight schedule here." Captain McWilliams wished that he could simply snap his fingers, and be done with the war, but he knew that would never be the case. Wars were fought when there was no other choice, just as he had no choices now. As long as there was free will, there would always be conflict. Free will was one of the few things that Jason McWilliams was willing to fight for, no matter the cost.

"I understand Sir. You can count on me to do my best." Narja stopped himself from saying more. He wanted to lash out at the man across from him, not his Captain. This man, this Corin Dante had tried to kill him, and nearly succeeded. No, fighting him now was detrimental. There would be a time and place to deal with Corin Dante.

"Thank you Major. That's all I can ask." Jason wondered who this other person was, but refused to ask his friend in a room full of strangers.

"O.k., so maybe get lucky and someone will lend us helping hand. Can we trust them?" Captain Quinlan Kim dared to ask the question that others would not. His gaze shifted from Captain McWilliams, to Major Narja and back again. He knew of and respected both of these men, but was not prepared to risk his crew and his ship on happenstance.

"Major, would you care to answer this one?" Captain McWilliams cocked an eyebrow at his friend. In their time together the possibility that Narja had other loyalties had never occurred to him. Even if he did indeed have other loyalties, the Major had always placed the interests of Redemption ahead of his own.

"I would prefer to leave it alone Captain. However, if you insist, then I must." Narja fidgeted with his nearly untouched plate of Caldonian Firebird steak. "Angel, please display the file on Maruk the Vigilante."

The lights dimmed and the image of a large Caldonian, covered head to toe, in matte black body armor, appeared above the center of the table. The weapons bristling from every conceivable place on his muscular body, failed to match the ferocity of his leathery face.

"This is Maruk the Vigilante, my uncle." Narja waited for the murmuring to subside before he continued. "Maruk is the Commanding Officer of a militia group called the Patriots of Caldon. He should be able to help us with troops and ships, if he's in the mood to."

"I've heard of the Patriots of Caldon." Dunsyn let a stern expression settle across his gray face. "They have a reputation for ruthless conduct. I'm not sure that we can trust them."

"Trust them or not, it doesn't sound like we have much choice." Corin helped Mekala with her bananas. "We need the troops and the ships. So, we'll have to deal with anyone that's willing to help us. We might as well start with him."

"I hate to say it, but I agree with him." Captain Jones sighed. "It's on short notice, and we need all the help we can get."

"Beggars can't be choosers." Captain Kim added. "What do we have to offer these people in exchange for their service?"

"Other than the end of the war?" Jason paused to take a drink. "Nothing. At best, maybe some assistance of some kind, or the promise of a better future. I really don't know."

"If Maruk agrees to help, it shouldn't cost anything." Narja finally began to eat his dinner. "I will, however, need to address him in person."

"I'll take you." Corin offered. "I need to take Mekala some place safe anyway." he smiled gently at the girl. "I can't allow her to be in the middle of this. She wouldn't survive it."

"Spoken like a true father." Jason smiled warmly at Corin and Mekala. They had been together for such a short time, but they were now a family. Father and Daughter, together against the universe. From what Jason could see, neither would want it any other way.

"That brings us to our next point. Angel, will you please show us the Earth solar system?" Jason waited as the image of Maruk was replaced by planets of various sizes and colors orbiting a bright yellow star.

"This is our target." Jason manipulated a set of controls by his hand. The third planet from the star glowed brighter than the rest. It was blue and green, holding great landmasses and massive oceans. White and gray clouds drifted lazily across an otherwise vacant sky.

"Don't be deceived. Earth is the main Ta'Reeth stronghold." Jason focused intently on the hologram. "This is not going to be easy."

"Instead of an all out assault, wouldn't it be easier to make a surgical strike?" Corin studied the hologram, and didn't like what he saw. "We don't have the fire power to count on, and we don't have the personnel. Why not set out our objectives, then put all of our effort into a strike that won't cost us as much?"

"I've thought about that, and to an extent it makes sense. Unfortunately, that won't win us the war." Jason turned to face Corin. "What I was thinking, is to employ you in a surgical strike. Once we locate T'Sula, it'll be your job to get her. Your ship is smaller and more maneuverable, so you'll be able to get into some tighter places where we can't."

"Alright. That does make some sense." Corin grinned at the prospect of rescuing T'Sula Mir. "I'd like to make a request then. For the mission of course."

"Go ahead." Jason didn't know what to expect, but decided to hear him out anyway.

"I want to take Major Narja with me." Corin heard the words come out of his mouth before he truly realized that he had said them. He had no reason to believe that the Major would ever trust him or work with him, but he felt that the man would be a valuable asset when trying to find T'Sula.

"You're kidding right?" Captain McWilliams laughed. "There's no way I'm going to send my senior Marine with you on a mission like this. You tried to kill him! You blew him out of an airlock." Jason's anger started to get the better of him before Kamira settled him down by gently placing her hand on his arm.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Corin casually took a sip of tea. "If the situations were reversed, you would have done the same thing. Would you allow a fully armored and armed marine, one that you don't know, to run loose on your ship? I don't think so."

"That doesn't change the facts Corin." Jason sneered. He no longer felt the need to hide his distrust for this man. It was true that he had saved his wife's life, but his gratitude could only go so far.

"You're right. It doesn't change the facts, just the interpretation of them. I wasn't trying to be malicious. It was an act of calculated self-preservation. I weighed the facts and acted." Corin glared at Captain McWilliams. How could this man judge him like this? Taking a moment to think, Corin shifted his gaze to Narja. "Major, I should be apologizing to you. I'm sorry for my actions. You did not deserve what I did to you."

Narja listened to Corin's words before he said a word. A thousand retorts had flooded his mind in the time since he had been floating in space. At first, he had wanted to kill the man responsible, but upon hearing him speak, and listening to what he had to say, Narja was no longer sure how to respond.

"There is no apology necessary. You did what you thought was best at the time." Narja sighed, settling his gaze on Corin. "I no longer hold any ill will against you. It is actually because of you that Commander Nor, Commander Mir, and myself are alive. Commander Mir is an honored and respected colleague of mine, and I would be proud to help in her rescue if my Captain will allow it."

Jason groaned. He didn't want to put Narja in harm's way again. He didn't want to let him off his ship. Yet there didn't seem to be many options. If the Major wanted, he could simply resign his Commission and go with Corin anyway.

"Alright. I'll allow it." Jason finally spoke. "I don't like it, but I'll allow it."

"Thank you Captain." Corin smiled.

"Don't thank me. Thank Major Narja." Jason scowled. His plans were changing already, and he was trying to work with them. He just hoped that the end result was the same as what he had envisioned.

"Could someone remind me why we're scrambling to do this now?" Captain Kim asked under his breath.

"Daddy, more food pease!" Mekala squealed, throwing her plate across the table at Captain Kim.

"Never mind. I get the point." Quin muttered, taking Mekala's plate out of his lap.

Chapter 62

Corin carried Mekala on his hip as he walked through his ship. Kamira had told him about the changes that she had put into the rebuild, and he wasn't sure if he liked them or not. Of course, the added weapons would be useful, and the larger, more powerful engines could definitely come in handy. He just wished that she had talked to him about it before she had done it.

"Are you ready for departure?" Major Narja's voice came from behind Corin.

"Almost. I'm just doing a quick walk through." Corin glanced down at Mekala. She was yawning, and trying to bury her face in his shoulder. "Would you like to see what your room looks like Mekala? I had it built just for you."

The little girl looked up at Corin, and squealed in delight. Corin looked back at Narja and motioned for him to follow. They walked in silence for a few minutes, until the trio arrived at Mekala's room. Happy chants of "My room, my room, my room..." echoed in Corin's ears long after he opened the door and let everyone in.

Pink and purple walls decorated with pictures of animals surrounded the otherwise spartan room. There was a comfortable, child size bed and a handful of toys that sat against the far bulkhead, leaving ample space for Mekala to play.

The little girl giggled and squealed in delight when she saw her own space. She scrambled down out of Corin's arms, and ran over to inspect the toys before she pounced onto the bed.

"I think she likes it." Narja grinned as he watched Mekala. He didn't have any children of his own, but found that he did enjoy watching this one.

"Before the two of you leave, I want to talk to you." Kamira called from down the corridor. She was dressed in her uniform instead of the robes and jumpsuits that Corin had grown accustomed to. There was a sense of determined urgency in her stride.

"You should have asked me before you made all of these modifications." Corin growled.

"Yeah, next time I'm saving your life, I'll remember to ask you first." Kamira smiled. "I need to speak with both of you before you leave, Corin."

"Go ahead." Corin glanced back at Mekala. The girl had crawled onto the bed with several of her stuffed animals, and quickly fallen to sleep.

"Alright. Listen, I know that there's a lot of tension between you, even if you don't. If you guys want to fight, go ahead. Just do it after everything is all said and done. Then you can kill each other. Not before. Understand?" the words tumbled out of her mouth before she stopped herself.

"Yeah, well I did want to address that. In private of course." Corin sheepishly looked at Kamira and Narja. "Besides, I didn't think that right now was a good time."

"Actually, I had similar thoughts as Corin." Narja smiled wanly. "I had thought that while we were underway to Caldon, we might be able to come to an understanding of each other."

"Oh. In that case, never mind." Kamira turned slightly red in her cheeks. "I, uh, actually had something else for you. Here."

Corin reached out and took the small black device from Kamira's hand. It didn't look like much, but if Kamira made a special effort to give it to him, then it must be important.

"In an emergency, download that into your MRU." Kamira shoved her hands into her trouser pockets. "I have to go now. Good luck." she turned and left quickly, not allowing herself to linger.

As Kamira left, Corin watched, wondering why she was so awkward. He realized that loved her, but not as a lover. What he felt was a brother's love for his sister.

"She is married to my Commanding Officer, Mr. Dante." Narja's gravelly voice intruded on Corin's thoughts.

"I know. She's a friend, nothing more, nothing less." Corin smiled in spite of himself. Maybe in a different time, or a different place they could have been something more, but not now, and not here. "Have you found your quarters yet Major?"

"No, I haven't." Narja forced himself to smile as pleasantly as he could manage. This man had tried to kill him not so long ago, and now they were together on a mission to Caldon, his home. "Would you please show me where it is, so that I may stow my bags?"

"Sure. It's actually right over here. Second door on the right." Corin pointed down the corridor. "It's a small ship, so everybody's pretty close together. Take your time. I'm going to get us underway, so I'll see you later."

"Thank you." Narja said, turning toward his quarters. He opened the door to reveal comfortable, but small accommodations. The room had all of the things that he required. There was a bed along the far wall, a small dresser, a closet, and even his own shower.

Narja tossed his bags on the bed, and then left. He felt the engines come to life as he walked down the corridor. A few moments later, Vengeance rose to the air and slid smoothly into space.

When Narja found the bridge, Corin was effortlessly piloting his ship away from Redemption. The view screen was divided into different sections. One screen showed Redemption quickly fading away to nothing. Another showed the sensor readings in a real time display, while yet another showed where they were going. The one screen that surprised Narja the most was the one that showed Mekala peacefully sleeping on her bed.

"How long before we reach Caldon?" Narja asked, sitting down at an empty console.

"Once we hit hyperspace, a couple of days. You might as well get comfortable." Corin input the coordinates for Caldon. "It'll be a couple of minutes before we can go to hyperspace. Were your quarters alright?"

"They were. Thank you." Narja smiled thinly. "You are going the wrong way."

"No. Caldon is this way. That's what the star charts show." Corin flushed. How dare this man question his ability, especially on this ship.

"You misunderstand." Narja turned to face Corin. "Maruk has a network of hyperspace conduits. One of them is near here. If you will allow me access to the sensors, I can find it for you, and cut our travel time by more than half."

"By all means." He hadn't realized that the Caldonians had that kind of technology. Corin quickly transferred authorization for Narja to use the sensors. He watched Narja quietly, recording everything that the other man was searching for.

"It is here, where this gravimetric anomaly is. The anomaly actually hides the conduit." Narja smiled proudly. It had been years since he had helped his uncle construct the conduits, but he had remembered everything.

Corin laid in the coordinates and engaged the engines. Vengeance slipped through space with the power and grace of a Darwinian Sand Panther. Corin smiled to himself at the way his ship was handling. It seemed that Kamira had been right after all.

Brilliant white lights flashed and danced around Vengeance as the ship reached the coordinates. Corin decided to trust in Narja, and pressed on. In an instant, everything was gone, and Vengeance entered the swirling nothingness of the hyperspace conduit.

Corin checked his sensor readouts for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Again, they said the same thing: he was in a hyperspace conduit, traveling much faster than his ship could have done by itself.

"I've heard about the possibilities of hyperspace conduits before, but I always thought that they were nothing more than a myth. This is amazing." Corin stared at his passenger. The possibility occurred to him that Narja may be much more than he appeared.

"This is a technology that we Caldonians keep as a closely guarded secret. For obvious reasons of course." Narja quietly studied the other man. He didn't trust him, and he needed to know how Corin was going to react to different situations.

"Do you realize what the Resistance could do with this?" Corin's head swam with the possibilities. Reaction times to crisis could be drastically cut. Lives could be saved, or battles won simply because of the logistical advantages of these conduits.

"I do realize what you are saying..." Narja began before alarms sounded and red lights flashed across the data screens. "We have company."

"Got it." Corin instantly focused on his readouts. He touched a couple of controls on his console, and an image appeared on the main viewer.

A large ship was coming up fast from the stern. The swirling lights of the conduit danced across the matte black and dark grey camouflage hull. Vengeance's computer rendered the image as best as it could with the limited information available.

"It's a Caldonian Marauder. Don't do anything to provoke them." Narja said through gritted teeth. He had wanted to approach the Patriots on his own terms; instead, they were forcing his hand.

"Unidentified vessel, you are trespassing in Caldonian territory. Prepare for boarding. Any resistance and you will be destroyed." a stern baritone voice exploded over the communications system. "You have ten seconds to comply."

Corin thumbed a switch on his communications unit. "This is Corin Dante of the starship Vengeance. We mean no aggressions toward you. What are your instructions?"

Corin and Narja watched in silence as a small craft detached itself from the Caldonian ship. It was roughly rectangular in shape, with rounded edges, and powerful engines protruding from the rear. The hull and markings on the craft matched its mother ship perfectly.

Placing the ship on autopilot, Corin got up, motioning for Narja to follow. It took the men only a couple of minutes to reach the cargo bay, where they found Brutus constantly pacing the open expanse. Brutus' eyes locked immediately on Narja as he entered the cargo bay. The cat made no moves toward the Caldonian, but followed his every move.

"It's o.k. Brutus. Narja isn't going to hurt us." Corin stepped forward toward his friend. "I need to ask you to do something very important for me."

Corin waited until he was certain that he had Brutus' full attention. "I need you to watch over Mekala. Will you do that for me?"

Brutus gazed through Corin for a moment, then turned and walked out of the cargo bay. He walked quickly, never looking back to see if the two men were following. The cat simply walked straight to the little girl's room and firmly pressed his nose against the pressure plate near the door. When the door slid open, Brutus walked in to see Mekala sleeping peacefully. Once he was satisfied, he turned to face the door, and sat down, blocking any entry.

"That's one smart pet you've got there." Narja said, shaking his head at Corin as Mekala's door closed and locked.

"No. Brutus isn't a pet. He's family." Corin didn't bother to look at Narja as he spoke. He simply walked off toward the airlock. "Let's go greet our guests."

Chapter 63

Kamira rolled over for what must have been the hundredth time. It didn't matter what she did, there was no comfortable position to sleep in. Maybe it was thoughts of T'Sula, or Corin, or maybe it was her thoughts of Jason that kept her awake. In the end, it really didn't matter why she couldn't sleep. The fact remained that she was wide awake.

She watched her husband as he slept. Jason was snoring a little, but that wasn't what was keeping her awake. A tear rolled down her cheek as she realized that she had come so close to defiling her marriage, and Corin had had the restraint to keep their friendship plutonic. In doing so, he had protected not only himself, but also her, her husband, and her marriage. She loved him for that. She loved him more than she would ever let anyone know.

Kamira pushed the thoughts of her friends and family out of her mind, and tried to focus on a bigger problem. She had seen some of the data from the battle over Olcai, and it was bothering her. Redemption should have been able to withstand the onslaught from the Ta'Reeth, possibly even from their gravity well generator. She had seen her ship do that before. Something was wrong. She just didn't know how to fix it.

Frustrated, Kamira threw off her covers and got up. The oversized red flannel shirt that she had worn for a nightgown clung lightly to her body as she walked over to her computer station. She tried to be quiet, so that she wouldn't wake her husband. He had fought hard to save not only her life, but the lives of everyone on Olcai. Jason had earned a rest, and she was going to do her best to give it to him.

Kamira quickly ran her fingers through her tangled mess of hair as she sat down at her terminal. "Angel, I need to see all of the data from the battle." Kamira whispered. Almost instantly, a hologram of Redemption appeared above the desk. Streams of ship's data streamed by the three dimensional model. As the battle progressed, she could see the damage inflicted on her ship.

"Angel, what caused this damage?" Kamira asked when she saw Redemption slowly being ripped apart.

"That was caused by an artificial gravity well generated by a Ta'Reeth ship." Angel's voice came to her from the dark.

"Alright. We can't allow this to happen again." Kamira thought for a moment. "Angel, run a simulation. I want you to augment the shields, by running them through the hyper-drive. See what that would do against this gravity well generator."

"Understood. One moment please." Angel reset the hologram and began the simulation.

Kamira watched the simulation unfold. Redemption withstood the gravity well for a few more seconds, but it still wasn't enough. Redemption's bow was still destroyed, along with the forward third of the ship.

"O.k., that didn't work." Kamira muttered to herself. She started to think about another alternative as she got up, and went over to the food station.

The menu gave off a pale blue light as she scrolled through it. Finally, she found what she was looking for. She had recently acquired a taste for tea. It wasn't simply any tea, but a tea from old earth. Kamira had to have Goji Berry Pomegranate Green Tea with just a touch of honey, nothing else would suffice.

Once she had her cup of tea, Kamira wandered back to her computer. She savored the gentle aroma as she took a sip, letting the subtle amounts of caffeine seep into her body. Her mind was awash with possible ideas for combating the gravity well generator. It was a formidable weapon, and if she failed, she knew in her gut that she, along with her entire family, would die.

"Alright Angel, what if we put all available power into the shields?" Kamira asked sipping at her tea. She had given up trying to sleep, and figured that the caffeine might help her to clear her head enough to solve this problem.

"It will have no affect Commander." Angel's voice was soft, as if the A.I. could feel her desperation. "I simply do not have enough power to withstand the gravity well on my own, for more than a few seconds."

"Power. More power." Kamira whispered to herself. "We need an energy source. An energy source with as much power as a black hole. Hmm."

Kamira stared into the darkness. Her husband was out there, lying in their bed, waiting for her. She owed it to him to find an answer. She owed it to herself to find an answer.

"Wait a second. Angel, would it be possible to siphon the energy from the gravity well?" Kamira could barely keep her voice down. She felt that she was close to finding the answer to her problem. She could feel it.

"I could reconfigure my matter gathering arrays to collect pure energy." Angel replied. "They would probably burn out within a couple of minutes, but that may be enough to drain the gravity well generator of energy."

"If we could redirect the energy into different systems, like weapons, and shields, we may be able to bleed it off as quickly as we absorb it." Kamira pursed her lips in concentration. She knew that she was onto something. She just needed to find a way to make it work. "What would we have to do to make this possible?"

"Commander, the amounts of power that you are talking about, will burn out every circuit on the ship. It's too much." Angel's voice quietly reminded Kamira of the immense amount of power that they were dealing with. "It's not only the power generated by the gravity well generator, Commander. It's also the gravity itself."

"Angel, just how much gravity are we talking about?" Kamira ventured. She had a rough idea of the amount of force that she was dealing with, but she needed to hear it from Angel.

"Commander, the Ta'Reeth have been able to create, and sustain a black hole on scale with a collapsed yellow star." Angel waited for Kamira to respond before she continued. When she didn't, the A.I. pressed on. "It won't simply be a case of redirecting the energy."

Kamira frowned as she absently drummed her fingers on the desk. She was so close; she knew that there had to be a way to make this work. There had to be.

"Alright, let's run this simulation." Kamira thought for a moment more. "Run the primary circuits, along with the first stage backups, on the matter gathering arrays, and all affected systems. We run a triple redundant system, so we'll still have a back up if those burn out. Channel all of the incoming power into shields, weapons, and thrusters."

"Yes Ma'am." Angel said as she began the new simulation.

Kamira watched intently as the simulation unfolded before her eyes. She could see the Ta'Reeth cruiser unleash its terrible weapon on Redemption. The hologram of her ship floated lazily above the desk, flickering as the simulation continued to run. After ten minutes, Kamira double checked the readings. Everything was right, and the simulation was running in real time.

"Angel, I think that we've got some work to do." Kamira smiled. She couldn't contain her excitement any longer.

"Kam?" Jason's groggy voice came from the bedroom. "What's going on? Are you o.k.?"

"Honey, come here! I have to show you this." Kamira practically screamed. She waited until Jason was almost to the computer station before she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his muscular torso.

"What is all this?" Jason asked, seeing the hologram of Redemption floating above the desk.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came over here, and started working on a way to beat that gravity well generator. Here look at this." Kamira showed him her new figures. "If we reconfigure our matter gathering arrays, we can siphon off the energy of the gravity well, and use it against the Ta'Reeth!"

"You're kidding me right?" Jason instantly lost any indication of being tired. His wife had found a way to guarantee his complete attention, no matter how tired he was. He took his time and carefully reviewed Kamira's data.

"Kam, you're a genius, and I love you." His smile was infectious as he pulled his wife close and kissed her. "You may have just saved all of us."

Chapter 64

T'Sula opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, but she could still see Malek grinning triumphantly at her. His cracked, yellow teeth showed bits of his previous meals decaying slowly in his mouth. She realized that she was still restrained, but she didn't know how or where. What she did know, was that if Malek was smiling, something was wrong.

"Welcome my dear." Malek's breathe reeked of unknown foods having been eaten countless hours before. "Today, you are going to make history."

She didn't know what he was talking about, nor did she want to. T'Sula discreetly tested her bonds and discovered them to be unbreakable. Thick, living shackles held her tightly at nearly every joint. She quickly found that there was no hope of escaping, not that she had anywhere to run to.

"Would you like to know how you're going to make history, T'Sula? I would be more than happy to tell you." Malek sneered, drawing close enough to touch her with his nose. "You have a rare honor. You have been selected to be sacrificed to the First Ta'Reeth."

T'Sula tried not to breathe. Malek had to be lying to her. Why would the Ta'Reeth have spent so much energy to bring her here, just to make her a sacrifice? No, Malek was wrong. She was not a sacrifice. She couldn't be.

Unable to break her bonds, T'Sula waited, biding her time until the moment was right. Her vision was clearing up now, and she could see that she was no longer being held in the same room that she had been. This one was much smaller, and seemed to be in motion.

"Don't fret." Malek laughed. "We're almost there."

T'Sula remained silent. She kept her eyes on Malek, watching his every move. There were too many reasons for her to hate this man, but she couldn't do that anymore. T'Sula had no compassion for Malek, but when she forced herself to name what she felt, she found that it was not hate, but pity.

T'Sula glanced past Malek when she felt the motion stop. A portal behind him opened to reveal a bright, blue sky. A powerful Ta'Reeth, the likes of which she had never seen before, stood beyond the portal, seemingly in mid air. Its blue grey skin shimmered as it stepped forward with the grace of a warrior, and took hold of T'Sula's restraints.

The warrior effortlessly maneuvered T'Sula onto a living, wingless platform hovering effortlessly in the sky. The platform was only large enough for only the two passengers, yet it was completely stable.

"I will not fall. You will, if you do not do as I say." the creature looked at T'Sula as it spoke. Its voice was deep, heavy with untold emotion.

"Do not resist me." with those words, it reached forward and released T'Sula's bonds. "Place your feet behind mine, and hold tightly to my waist."

T'Sula looked up at the two meter tall creature, standing only centimeters away from her, and quietly did as she was told. Behind the Ta'Reeth, she saw Malek watching her from inside a pod that hung suspended below the belly of a Ta'Reeth ship. "What's your name?" she asked impulsively, not sure if she would get a response.

She watched the Ta'Reeth while it pondered her question. This one was different from the others. It could speak, and it actually had a mouth, and a face with nearly human features. T'Sula decided that this Ta'Reeth was not merely another soldier or drone. Not at all. This one was different.

"I do not have a name." the creature looked at her. Its dark blue eyes spoke volumes that its words had not.

T'Sula decided not to press the issue. There were answers that she needed, but she wasn't sure if this creature could provide them. She resigned herself to that possibility as she gently rubbed her raw wrists.

Mountains dominated the landscape as far as T'Sula could see. They were old mountains, massive and rugged. Trees covered their sides, up until the point where only scrub could survive. She watched the mountains fly by, and wondered how a race as brutal as the Ta'Reeth could have come from such a beautiful place.

"What's that over there?" T'Sula asked, pointing to the top of the highest mountain. The remains of an old structure stood there, surrounded by a flat area that could not have been natural.

Without saying a word, her captor gently guided the flying creature over to the top of the mountain. T'Sula felt a slight jolt as the creature gently landed on its armored underbelly. She waited patiently for the Ta'Reeth to disembark, before stepping to the ground.

The air was chill, but not cold. T'Sula smiled, closed her eyes, and turned into the light wind, letting it caress her cheeks. It had been years since she had walked on mountaintops, and she wanted to savor the moment. Quietly, she opened her eyes and began to explore. The building was in ruins. Time and weather had ravaged its walls, breaking it down nearly to its foundation.

T'Sula wandered aimlessly around the building until she came to the remnants of an ancient sign. Kneeling down, she carefully brushed away at the dirt and rock that covered the faded words.

"What does it say?" T'Sula flinched at the question. She hadn't expected the Ta'Reeth to be standing behind her, let alone asking her questions.

"It says 'Pikes Peak'." T'Sula read the sign, then stood and faced her captor. "Can you read it?"

"No." the Ta'Reeth shook its head. "I cannot."

The Ta'Reeth glanced at the sign, and then abruptly turned away from it. It walked out to the edge of the mountaintop, and stopped. A vast plain spread out beyond the foot of the great mountain. Minutes passed in silence before the warrior spoke again.

"This place used to be the home of our creators." It finally turned to face T'Sula. "Now everything and everyone lives to serve the First."

"Why?" T'Sula stepped up beside the Ta'Reeth. "It sounds to me like you have no choice."

"There is no 'choice'. There is only the will of the First, and nothing else. As far as I know, I am the only Ta'Reeth to ever break away." It sighed heavily. It kept its gaze on the far horizon as it spoke. "There are not even any names, or designations, except for the First. I do not even have a name!"

T'Sula could feel the rage building inside this creature. She gently put her hand on its muscular arm as she spoke. "You seem to like this mountain, so I'm going to call you Pike."

"Thank you T'Sula Mir." Pike turned to face her. "Yes, I know who you are. You are feared by my people. Any Ta'Reeth that faces you in combat knows beforehand that they are already dead."

"Yet they come for me anyway." T'Sula whispered more to herself than to Pike. "I'm so tired of fighting."

"You offer them a release that they can't attain any other way." Pike took hold of T'Sula's hand. "That's the only way that they can escape the First. You honor them."

"I just want to put an end to this war. It's gone on long enough." T'Sula stepped back from the edge. "Too many innocents have died."

"All of my people, except for the First, are innocent. If you truly mean to end this, then..." Pike stopped as it saw something out of the corner of its eye. "Run!"

T'Sula and Pike ran toward the flying disk. Staccato bursts of green fire slammed mercilessly into the ground where they had been standing. The old sign and everything around it exploded into a cloud of shrapnel.

Two small Ta'Reeth ships streaked past, barely a meter above T'Sula's head. Pike covered T'Sula with its bulk, momentarily pinning her to the ground. "When we get airborne, hold on tight." Pike whispered into T'Sula's ear.

Scrambling over rocks and debris as they ran, T'Sula and Pike dove onto the flying disk. Instantly they were in motion, skimming the ground as they accelerated down the mountainside. They reached the tree line quickly, but the fighters stayed close behind, relentlessly blistering their path with molten plasma. The armored underbelly of the flying disk protected them from the rocks and boulders, but nothing stopped the tree branches and scrub from slashing at their unprotected bodies.

Pike wove the tiny craft through the trees in a futile effort to evade the ships. Bursts of plasma erupted all around them, sending debris and shrapnel in every direction. Both T'Sula and Pike were bleeding profusely from various wounds across their bodies.

"Pike, I'm slipping!" T'Sula screamed into the roaring wind. Her knuckles had long since turned white from her grip on the flying disk. Still they sped on, reaching for the draws at the foot of the mountain.

T'Sula tried to regain her grip, and failed. She tumbled off the back of the disk, barely missing Pike's outstretched hand as she fell. Striking the ground with an audible crack of her bones, T'Sula crashed against boulders and giant trees before she finally came to a stop. Her eyes were open, and her body lay limp against a boulder when Pike finally found her.

Pike gently checked for T'Sula's vital signs. They were weak, but they were there. She was covered in her own blood, with compound fractures on her legs and arms. By the way that she was breathing, Pike guessed that most of her ribs were broken.

"Uhn." T'Sula groaned, unable to utter anything else.

"Don't try to move. You are badly injured." Pike placed a gentle hand on her cheek. "I do not have the knowledge to help you, and you cannot be allowed to die before you complete your destiny."

"There is only one thing that I can think to do." Pike stepped away from T'Sula and grabbed a small, sharp stone. Picking up the stone, Pike quickly gashed its forearm. Blood began to run freely from the wound, and down Pike's powerful arm.

"This will hurt." Pike said as it took hold of T'Sula's arm and covered her wounds with Ta'Reeth blood. Moments passed as T'Sula writhed in pain. Her head snapped back and her eyes glazed, with her mouth open in a perpetual silent scream.

Pike watched as T'Sula's bones reset and knit together, all before her open wounds closed, and began to heal. After a few short minutes, T'Sula lay against the rocks, exhausted but whole. Her eyes closed and her body went limp.

Checking for T'Sula's pulse, Pike picked her up and began to run. The tree tops swayed in the wind as the fighters continually whipped by, relentlessly searching for their prey. Pike ran down the mountain, to where the trees grew thicker.

"Put me down." T'Sula whispered. "I can run now."
"Are you certain?" Pike asked, still running hard.

"Put me down Pike." T'Sula insisted. "We can travel faster if I run."

Reluctantly, Pike stopped and set T'Sula down. They waited for a brief moment, and then continued to run. T'Sula's strength returned to her quickly as she ran. There was something different about her now. She felt stronger and faster than she ever had before, and it scared her.

T'Sula decided to test herself. She ran faster, passing Pike. Ravines and boulders no longer posed an obstacle. Instead of going around or climbing through, she simply jumped over, or leapt up, never stumbling or losing her balance as she did so.

Finally, after running for over an hour, they could no longer see or hear the fighters overhead. T'Sula glanced over at Pike, and pointed toward a cave.

Nodding in agreement, Pike stopped running, and walked with T'Sula to the mouth of the cave. It wasn't very large, just big enough for two or three people to step in out of the weather. Together they sat on the cave floor, facing one another.

"Thank you for helping me Pike." T'Sula smiled softly. "I owe you."

"Don't thank me. I did not do this for you. I did it for my people." Pike drew a heavy breath. "You have a destiny to fulfill, and you could not accomplish that in the state that you were in."

"Yeah, well, thank you anyway." T'Sula smiled and then grew serious. "What do you know about what brings me here?"

The Ta'Reeth warrior sat in silence for a while before speaking. When Pike finally spoke, it was deliberate and cautious.

"Our destinies, yours and mine, are intertwined, T'Sula Mir. I must accomplish my destiny, so that you may accomplish yours." Pike leaned back against the wall of the cave. "You are here to save my people, and as a result, the universe."

T'Sula studied Pike. Pike's mannerisms were nothing like what she expected to find in a Ta'Reeth warrior. There was something about the Ta'Reeth that she couldn't quite figure out. Why was Pike actually helping her? What was the catch? There was always a catch.

"If you truly are going to face the First, you must not do it alone. You would never survive." Pike recaptured T'Sula's attention. "To the South West there is a giant crack in the ground. Go to the bottom of it, near the river. Show this, and you will find the help that you need."

Pike handed T'Sula small round stone. She held the cool rock in her hands, and idly turned it over. There were markings etched into the other side. They were two simple, straight lines, connected in the center. It was rudimentary a cross, similar to the ones that she had seen when she studied the Templars of ancient earth.

"It is time to go now T'Sula. I cannot go with you, but you must hurry." Pike stood, and pulled T'Sula to her feet. "Good bye."

Without saying anything else, T'Sula left the cave.

Chapter 65

Corin waited for the airlock to open. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets, trying to hide his fidgeting from the Major. It was disconcerting, watching as a potential enemy docked with his ship. So many things could go wrong that it nearly made his head spin.

"What is taking them so long?" Corin wondered aloud.

"I don't know." Narja replied quietly. He had been discreetly watching the other man, and did not want to make him even more nervous than he already was. When people became nervous, they tended to do stupid things, and Narja could not afford that here.

Finally, the airlock opened and a diminutive Caldonian woman stepped out. She wore form fitting dark green armor, engraved with twin golden Firebirds and trimmed in onyx. Her bald scalp shined against fierce, deep set black eyes.

She smiled broadly as her eyes settled on Narja. Ignoring Corin completely, she strode over to the Major. She walked slowly around him, inspecting every detail.

"What brings a Traitor back to Caldon?" Her voice flowed like honey. "Your Uncle will be very pleased with me today."

"I thought that you were dead Prinelle." Narja looked down at the woman.

"Don't presume that you know me anymore, Narja!" she screamed into his face. "You left, and time doesn't stop!"

"I thought that you died." Narja spoke softly.

"Shut up!" she screamed, throwing a spinning heal kick into Narja's temple. She watched in fury as Narja crumpled to the deck. Her anger temporarily sated, she turned to Corin. "Explain why you are harboring a traitor, and trespassing in Caldonian space."

Corin caught movements out of the corner of his eye. Six heavily armed Caldonian men stepped out of the airlock. How was he supposed to do anything without provoking this woman? It seemed that she already knew Narja, and wanted nothing more than to kill him. Corin tried to focus by taking a deep breath, but failed.

"Speak up before I decide to make this ship my own." Prinelle glowered.

"We're here to talk to a guy named Maruk, in an effort to end this war." Corin blurted. He realized instantly that he had over played his hand.

"You think that Maruk can end this war?" Prinelle laughed. "What kind of moron are you? He doesn't care about you, or your war."

"He will." Narja grumbled. The Major cracked his neck as he stood. "Ending this war will end the threat to Caldon."

"I think that Maruk can help put an end to the war." Corin regained his composure. Why did he always open his mouth before thinking? "If you'll give us a chance, we'll explain. But we don't have a lot of time."

"Alright. Explain." Prinelle motioned for Corin to lead her away from the airlock. "Secure the ship." She ordered her team as she walked away.

Corin kept his thoughts to himself while he walked. The threat of being a prisoner on his own ship did not sit well with him, but he decided to play along for the good of the mission. He led Narja and Prinelle through the corridors to a room not far from the bridge.

The room was simple, barely having the amenities to accommodate the three occupants. A large rectangular metal table with four reasonably comfortable looking chairs dominated the center of the room. In the center of the table sat a small holographic projector.

"We don't have much time, so listen up." Corin activated the projector, then sat down in one of the chairs. He waited as the lights dimmed, and the projector came on line. Soon an image of the Milky Way filled the room.

Corin zoomed in on one of the arms of the swirling galaxy. Tiny red dots of light grew, and turned into stars with planets dancing about them. Most of the solar systems stayed red, with only a few of them turning green.

"The red systems are controlled by the Ta'Reeth. The green ones are controlled by Caldon, Malgar, or the Resistance." Corin manipulated his controls. Bright blue lines appeared between the planets. "These blue lines represent the recognized space lanes. As you can see, and well know, Caldon is at the heart of everything."

"So what? We can defend ourselves." Prinelle crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. She looked defiantly across the table at Narja. "Not that anyone here would care, but Caldon can take care of itself."

"Caldon may not be as self sufficient as you think." Narja growled back at Prinelle. "It is always a good idea to keep allies."

"Take a look at this one." Corin interjected. He highlighted one of Caldon's space lanes.

"What about it? That lane hasn't been used in years. It's too heavily guarded." Prinelle's voice trailed off. She turned her focus from the hologram to Corin and again to Narja.

"That space lane leads directly to a planet called Earth." Narja leveled his gaze at Prinelle. "Earth is the heart of the Ta'Reeth."

"Exactly." Corin spoke up. "We're part of a task force that is going to attack Earth. With any luck, we'll bring a quick end to this war."

"So, you want our help because..." Prinelle tried to hide the fact that she was not a tactician. She tried hard, and was a good soldier, but when faced with strategies and tactics, she failed miserably.

"We need ships and manpower." Narja stated bluntly.

"That's above my grade." Prinelle sighed. "Only Maruk can make that decision."

"So, are you going to help us, or are you going to get in the way?" Corin asked, feeling the need to press the issue. "We don't have time to mess around."

"I'll help." she said after only a moment's consideration. "On one condition."

"And that would be?" Corin asked, shutting down the hologram.

"I want..." Prinelle started to speak. The lights flashed red and sirens sounded throughout the ship.

"Lieutenant Prinelle, we have a situation!" one of the Caldonian troops screamed into his communications unit. "Requesting immediate backup!"

"Looks like they're, oh crap!" Corin sprinted out of the room. Narja toppled his chair as he leapt up and followed Corin out the door. Both men were sprinting down the corridor before Prinelle was able to reach the door.

Corin skidded around the corner, coming face to face with a nightmare. Three of the Caldonians lay sprawled across the corridor, while Brutus pinned two more with his massive paws, his fangs bared just centimeters from their fear struck faces. The last Caldonian huddled in a corner, shaking so badly that his drawn weapon had as much chance of hitting Brutus as it did of disabling the ship's engines.

"Stand down!" Corin yelled as he ran toward Brutus. The big cat flicked his tail in anger, and glanced over at Corin. "Put that weapon away!" he yelled at the dazed Caldonian in the corner.

"What's going on here?" Prinelle asked, walking up Corin.

"It looks like your men tried to force their way into my daughter's quarters." Corin turned on the Lieutenant. "This is my ship, not your personal playground!"

"This ship is under Patriot control." Prinelle glared at Corin. "It became that way when I boarded it."

"My ship." Corin snarled. "Brutus." Corin kept his eyes fixed on Lieutenant Prinelle as Brutus turned his rumbling snarl on her. The color faded from Prinelle's face as she quickly stepped back, desperately trying to get away from Brutus.

"Your ship. Your ship." she stammered. "Men, disengage."

"Thank you Lieutenant. Now if you'll excuse me, I think that you woke my daughter." Corin patted Brutus on the head, opened the door, and stepped through the open doorway.

A moment later, he emerged carrying a crying Mekala. Corin took the child over to Brutus and let her pet his dark fur. Mekala stopped crying as Brutus gently licked her cheek.

"What was your condition Lieutenant?" Corin asked, glancing over at Prinelle.

"I ask that you turn Narja over to me." Prinelle stepped forward, fussing with her armor.

"He's not a prisoner." Corin looked at the Major. The man was virtually unreadable. "And I will not allow him to be taken as a prisoner."

"I never said that he was." Prinelle turned and looked at Narja. "He's of a personal interest to me Captain, nothing more."

"Major?" Corin asked. He had never understood Caldonians, or women of any race for that matter.

"I will allow it, if it will serve the mission." Narja braced himself for the repercussions that he knew were inevitable.

"Fine." Corin frowned as he readjusted his hold on Mekala. "I don't care, as long as it doesn't interfere with my mission. Either of you get in my way, and you'll be breathing space."

Corin kept Mekala on his hip, and stormed past Narja and Prinelle. He didn't know what the Caldonians were playing at, and he wasn't sure that he liked it.

He walked fast, talking to his daughter as he went. The bridge was only a few minutes away, and he needed to put some space between himself and his new guests. Lieutenant Prinelle had promised to help the mission, but what could she possibly do? After all, she was only a Lieutenant.

The bridge was quiet when Corin set Mekala down and let her run. There wasn't much that she could get into on the bridge. He had made sure of that when Kamira was completing the repairs. He watched the girl for a moment then checked his readings.

"We're going to be coming out of this conduit in a couple of minutes. You guys might want to come to the bridge." Corin settled into his seat and readied himself. There was always a twinge on the back of his neck whenever he was coming out of hyperspace, and this time was no different.

Minutes passed as Mekala explored the bridge as only a toddler can. Finally, the door swished open and Narja walked in, followed by Prinelle. They walked over to two empty consoles and quietly sat down, not looking at each other or Corin as they did so. Mekala smiled and ran up to Narja, scrambling into his lap.

"Hello, little one." Narja grinned at the little girl. "I see that you're feeling better."

"Soft!" Mekala squealed, squirming slightly until she was satisfied.

"Alright, people. We're coming out of hyperspace in three, two, one, and now." Corin took hold of the controls as soon as Vengeance dropped out of the conduit.

Brilliant white light flashed all around the ship as it reentered normal space. Instantly, alarms sounded and red lights began to flash. The view screen snapped on, revealing a real time display of the chaos around them. Hundreds of Ta'Reeth and Caldonian ships filled the system, each side exchanging deadly barrages with the other. A list scrolled down the side of the screen labeling ships as either friend or foe.

"Lieutenant, man the shields and sensors. Major, strap Mekala in, and man the weapons!" Corin banked the ship into evasive maneuvers, barely avoiding a Ta'Reeth fighter as it opened fire. Ta'Reeth ships swarmed the area, ranging in size from a small fighter, to a gargantuan ship of the line. The ship of the line had the same design as the smaller battleships, only it was significantly larger and much more powerful.

At the center of the chaos was a Caldonian Battle Station. It was a massive structure, with dark colored armor, devoid of any purpose other than war. The station's diamond shape distracted Corin from the stations immense size, allowing him to focus on the heavily armored hull that was bristling with weapons and shield generators at every conceivable point.

Corin wove his ship through the enemy with practiced grace. The shield enhancements that Kamira had insisted upon paid off handsomely as the Ta'Reeth ships continuously belched plasma against them, without seriously damaging the ship or its shields. Major Narja systematically targeted, and destroyed the smaller Ta'Reeth vessels that came into range.

"Lieutenant, I need you to find Maruk. Tell him our intentions, and then get that shuttle of yours off my ship." Corin commanded. He flew in close to one of the Battleships, allowing Narja to rake its hull with heavy weapons fire. Vengeance flew in, darting and dodging quicker than the Ta'Reeth could track and fire, and then was gone out of their range.

"Captain, I don't know where he'll be." Prinelle looked up from her console.

"Then find him!" Corin growled. He accelerated toward the space station. Ta'Reeth ships unleashed barrage after merciless barrage on the massive structure. Its shields waivered and bolts of plasma broke through to the hull before the shields reappeared. Sporadic fires flashed briefly in the cold vacuum of space, extinguishing the lives of the brave souls that staffed the space station.

As Vengeance drew closer, the Ta'Reeth ships grew more violent in their attacks, pummeling the little ship as it tried to evade the worst of the battle. Her weapons lanced out, wounding the capital ships, and turning the fighters into clouds of blood and sinew.

"Captain, I've found Maruk." Lieutenant Prinelle announced, breaking into Corin's concentration. "He's on the Command Deck of the space station."

Corin dove in close to one of the Ta'Reeth battleships, allowing Narja to rake the vessel from nearly point blank range. Plumes of blood and burned armor erupted into space behind Vengeance. Pulling away from the battleship, Vengeance plunged through a wall of Ta'Reeth fighters. They ripped into her shields, threatening to break through. Narja coolly targeted one fighter after another, sending each one to oblivion.

"Unidentified vessel, this is Maruk the Vigilante." Maruk's image appeared in the corner of the view screen. "Identify yourself and your intentions, or be counted with the enemy."

"Lieutenant!" Corin yelled, banking into another evasive maneuver. The maneuver brought Vengeance's particle cannons to bear on yet another Ta'Reeth, and Major Narja took full advantage of the opportunity. Vengeance's weapons danced across the hull of the enemy ship, leaving a trail of destruction behind.

"The message is sent!" Prinelle announced, then immediately returned to her console. She began monitoring the sensors, identifying friends, and calling out potential targets. Carefully, they worked their way closer to the battle station.

A Ta'Reeth ship of the line lay dead ahead, relentlessly pounding the station. Hundreds of plasma cannons fired continuously, steadily eating away at the Caldonian shields. Both Caldonian and Ta'Reeth fighters swarmed around the massive ship, in a game of tag without any winners.

Again, Corin brought Vengeance in as close as he could. He sped across the hull, dodging giant bone protrusions and enemy fighters. He was too close for the mother ship's heavy weapons to be effective, so he worried only about the fighters. Coming around to the port side, Vengeance veered wildly, barely missing a tower of black bone the size of a house.

"What was that?" Corin yelled. He instantly ran a diagnostic with his implants, and found nothing wrong.

"That was a gravity well." Prinelle said, double-checking her sensors.

"What?" Corin looked at the view screen. "Oh my God."

On the view screen, the Caldonian space station's shields failed. He watched in horror as the nearest point of the station began to stretch into a needle thin point. The station stretched, and elongated before parts of it broke away, and disappeared inside the Ta'Reeth ship.

"Show me that gravity well!" Corin swung Vengeance around on its axis and sped to the point on his readouts that showed the gravity generator. He oriented the ship so that every weapon could come to bear. Narja unleashed every weapon at his disposal upon the target, trying desperately to break through its armor.

Finally, after arduous moments, the armor cracked. Narja ignored the fact that the gravity well was destroyed and continued to fire until Vengeance's weapons erupted out the other side of the Ta'Reeth ship. The heat and intensity from the particle cannons and railguns cauterized the wound, leaving a gaping hole through the center of the dying ship.

"Incoming!" Prinelle shouted. An entire squadron of Ta'Reeth fighters was coming in hot and fast in a flanking formation. She braced herself for impact and glanced over at Corin's daughter. The girl sat strapped into her seat, paralyzed with fear.

"Hold on!" Corin grimaced, and then threw his ship into a steep dive, taking Vengeance down through the heart of the wounded vessel. The shields ravaged the cauterized sides of the wound, ripping them open as the ship raced to avoid the fighters that followed right behind. Plasma bolts tore savagely at Vengeance's shields. Blood from the ripped walls sizzled against the shields, until the burnt crust crumbled away into the void.

"Major, release a full spread of mines on my mark." Corin didn't dare to take his eyes off of the tunnel for fear of crashing. "Mark."

"Mines away." Narja replied coolly. "Detonation is in five, four, three, two, one, and now."

Vengeance shot through the other side of the ship the same instant as the mines exploded. The Ta'Reeth vessel burst open like an over pressurized can, erupting burnt flesh as if it were confetti. When Corin finally allowed himself to look at the view screen, the ship was gone.

"Report!" Corin ordered. He looked over at his daughter and wanted to cry. She was alive, but ghost white, and trembling. He wished that there was some place that he could take her out of harm's way, but he knew that no such place existed anymore.

"Shields are holding at seventy-two percent and rising. No hull breaches or discernible damage." Lieutenant Prinelle reported. She kept her voice level and crisp, not wanting to show any of her nerves.

"Weapons systems are fully functional." Narja turned to face Corin. "Where did you get this ship?"

"Thank Kamira." Corin smiled to himself. He knew that he owed her more than he could possibly repay.

"Incoming! I count two, no three..." Prinelle began then stopped. Her face paled as she checked her sensors again. Slowly a thin smile spread across her face. "I count four hundred and seventy-three Caldonian warships that have just arrived."

Corin watched the view screen as the Ta'Reeth fleet disappeared one ship at a time. The Caldonians now outnumbered them by nearly ten to one.

With the safety of his ship no longer in jeopardy, Corin went over to Mekala. He unstrapped the girl and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I love you sweetheart." He whispered into her ear. "I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise."

"Daddy." Mekala cried, wrapping her arms around Corin's neck.

"It's alright now." Corin let a few tears flow freely down his cheek. He had to find a way to keep her safe, to keep Mekala out of the fighting. There had to be some answer.

"Corin Dante. I see that you have brought my wayward nephew home. Thank you." Corin looked up at the view screen. Maruk dominated the image. In the background was a charred operations room, filled with activity. "It seems that I have a lot to thank you for. You saved us today. Now, I owe you."

"Warlord, have you been able to view the data pack that we sent to you?" Corin stood, keeping Mekala tight to his chest.

"Some of it." Maruk frowned. "Do you place your trust in this Jason McWilliams?"

Corin paused and thought for a moment before he replied. "Yes. I do."

"Then upon completion of this mission, my debt to you will be repaid." Maruk leaned back in his seat. "There is something else. I am bestowing on the four of you the Order of Caldon. Wear it well. Lieutenant Prinelle, I am assigning you to be with your betrothed. I will be at the rendezvous point at the required time. Until then, good bye my friends."

Corin stared at the blank view screen. The Order of Caldon? He had heard of it, but had no idea what it meant. The four of us? Bewildered, he looked around the bridge. There was no one else there, only Narja, Prinelle, himself, and Mekala.

"So, where am I taking you Lieutenant? Where's this 'betrothed' of yours?" Corin half smiled at the woman.

"I'm staying right here, with Narja." she let a thin smile cross her lips as she answered. "Shall we set a course for the rendezvous point Captain?"

"Narja? O.k., ah yeah, let's go join Redemption." Corin's mind wandered through the events of the past few days, as Vengeance slipped into hyperspace.

Chapter 66

Captain Quinlan Kim sat in his ready room, drumming his fingers against the top of his desk. Patience had never been one of his strong suits, and today was no different. Sierra Jones and Dunsyn were supposed to be here with him, but they were late. They were always late.

Finally, Quin got up and went to the center of his ready room. It was the largest open space that he could carve out, and he was thankful to have it. Quin took a deep breath and loosened up his joints and muscles. Turning to face his desk, he stood at attention, then bowed and stepped into a ready stance.

Effortlessly, Quin began to move. His hands and feet flowed smoothly as he moved through the tenth Taeguk poomse of Taekwondo. His mind cleared as he moved, unifying with his body, until there was no conscious thought.

"I never understood why men think that they have to use their hands to fight." Captain Sierra Jones' voice cut through the silence like a knife. "I say just get a big gun, shoot 'em and be done with it."

Quin finished his poomse, and turned to face his friend. "I guess that some of us like to think that we're bettering ourselves when we practice."

"Yeah, well, I don't think you're that good in the first place." Sierra smiled.

"Thanks a lot." Quin looked back at the door. "Where's Dun?"

"He'll be along in a minute." Sierra made herself comfortable in one of the chairs by the desk. "I actually asked him to come a little late. I wanted to discuss a couple of things with you in private."

"This can't be good." Quin muttered as he sat down in his chair. In all the time that he had known Sierra Jones, it was never a good sign when she wanted to talk in private.

"Quin, before we talk to Admiral Wright, we need to have everything in order." Sierra fixed him with her patented 'I've already thought this through, so shut up and listen' look.

"That makes sense, but I thought that we already had everything in order." Quin asked, truly perplexed.

"Almost." Sierra smiled. "We don't have a backup plan, do we?"

"No, I don't suppose so." Quin thought that he knew where this was headed, and didn't entirely like it.

"If things go sour, we need something to fall back on. Admiral Wright is going to expect at least that much before he concedes to do anything." She fidgeted in her chair, trying to get a little more comfortable. "Can we count on the Caldonians? What if they don't show up?"

"Then we still have to accomplish our mission." Quin focused intently on his friend. "Between our ships, Redemption, and this Corin Dante, we should be able to do what we need to, whether the Caldonians help or not."

"I believe that would be a suicidal endeavor." Dunsyn rumbled from the door. "That is why I have contacted Malgar, and asked for their help as well."

"Malgar?" Quin asked. "They're too far away. They'd never get here in time."

"Malgar Prime is too far away." Dunsyn conceded as he sat down. "However Makduran is not. The Malgar outpost there has agreed to send their fleet, minus a reserve detachment to guard Makduran."

"Does McWilliams know about this?" Captain Jones asked, cocking an eyebrow at the other Captain.

"I have not had the opportunity to discuss this with Captain McWilliams." Captain Dunsyn turned his chair so that he could comfortably look at both of his friends at the same time. "I had thought that I would inform him at the same time we brief him about Admiral Wright's decision."

"Alright, let's get this over with." Captain Kim sighed as he opened a secure channel to the Admiral. Admiral Wright's stern face appeared above the desk. His chiseled features showed the years of a hard, disciplined life.

"Captain Kim, this is a surprise." Admiral Benjamin Wright smiled. The blinding white of his smile contrasted sharply with his charcoal complexion. "I see that Captain Jones and Captain Dunsyn are with you. What's going on Quin?"

"Sir, we've got an issue that needs your attention." Sierra Jones spoke up. "A couple of issues really."

"Go ahead." Admiral Wright leaned forward. His muscles strained the seams of his uniform as he moved.

"Admiral, we're involved in a plan to assault Earth. Captain Jason McWilliams is the architect. We have support from Malgar, and we believe that we also have support from Caldon." Captain Kim paused for a moment and focused on the hologram. "Can we count on your support also Sir?"

"Well, Captain, as you know we're spread awfully thin. We've got ships involved in conflicts across the galaxy." Admiral Wright stroked his clean-shaven chin. "Why should I pull ships out of action, and send their crews to an almost certain death?"

"Captain McWilliams believes that a successful assault on Earth would cripple the Ta'Reeth, and bring about an end to the war Sir." Captain Jones turned her attention to the hologram.

"That's what Captain McWilliams thinks." Admiral Wright faced Sierra. "I want to know what the three of you think."

"If there is any way to bring an end to this war, I think that we need to pursue it Sir." Captain Kim said after a moment's thought. "I think that no matter what, we are looking at the loss of thousands of lives, but bringing an end to the war will actually save more lives than it will cost."

"I concur with Captain Kim, Admiral." Dunsyn spoke for the first time. "However, I have my reservations about Captain McWilliams, and his ability to command this operation. An Admiral should be in charge here Sir. Not a rogue Captain."

"Yes, but the entire operation is his idea." Captain Kim interjected. "Captain McWilliams is the 'Hero of Bakesh' after all."

"Let's not fight each other here." Admiral Wright's baritone broke through the tension. "I happen to agree with Captain McWilliams. Earth is the lynch pin for the Ta'Reeth, and a strategic strike against Earth, if it is powerful enough, could very well speed the end of this war."

Seemingly endless minutes passed before the Admiral continued. "I will do what I can, and send as many ships, and Marines, as possible. Have a good day Captains, and good luck."

Captain Jones sat looking at Captain Kim. Silence hung in the air like a dense, impenetrable fog.

"Well, I suppose that's it then." Sierra finally stood and looked at her friends. "To the end."

"To the end." Quin stood and joined her.

"To the end, my friends." Dunsyn smiled sadly as the three friends clasped hands, and then left for their own ships.

Chapter 67

"Get in there!" Kamira yelled as she tried in vain to replace a stubborn transformer rectifier. She muttered a few obscenities under her breath as she pulled the rectifier out of its socket yet again. Kamira shined her pen light into the hole and checked the splines. After she checked the socket, Kamira checked the transformer rectifier itself. Everything looked as it should, but no matter what she did, she could not get the parts to fit together.

"Want some help?" Jason called from behind her. He had been watching her for a few minutes now, waiting for the right time to interrupt his wife.

"Sure. I can't seem to get this thing aligned so it'll fit right. It goes in part way, then hangs up, and I just can't seem to put it in right. It's so frustrating!" Kamira wiped her hands on her trousers. Her knees cracked as she stood and moved out of the way.

"Let me try." Jason knelt down and picked up the transformer rectifier. Turning it over in his hands, he lined up the notches on the transformer rectifier with the slots in the opening, checked to make sure the splines were right, and slid it easily in place.

"There you go." Jason smiled, trying not to tease Kamira too much.

"I don't believe it. That stubborn pile of junk..." Kamira started to ramble, and then stopped. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Jason stood and turned to his wife. "How's everything going with the shield refit?"

"I've got a couple more frequency modulators to rework, but after that, it'll be done." Kamira wiped some sweat from her brow. "I have hit one snag though."

"Yeah? What's that?" Jason asked as he helped Kamira replace the panel that covered where she was working.

"Well, I've been trying to adapt this new shield technology to the other ships, and I can't." she waited for a moment before she continued. "Everything I've tried in simulations either overloads the power matrix, crashes the computer core, or both. Redemption is the only ship in the fleet that is capable of handling this upgrade."

"That's good to know." Jason sighed and leaned back against the bulkhead. He looked over at Kamira, studying her. This woman that he had married was truly amazing. She was beyond beautiful, and she was smart. But there was something else that attracted him to her. There was something beyond any rational explanation about Kam that drew him to her like gravity.

"Captain, you have an incoming message." Angel appeared beside Kamira, delivered her message, and then disappeared.

"Thank you Angel. Please put it through." Jason closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind and focus on being the Captain of a starship.

"Captain McWilliams, I'm Admiral Benjamin Wright. Is this a bad time?" Admiral Wright's voice rumbled like a rockslide. The man was enormous. Angel had replaced her image with the Admiral's. Power radiated from the man's muscular two-meter tall frame.

"Admiral, it's a pleasure to meet you. This is Commander Kamira Nor, my chief engineer, and my wife." Jason motioned toward Kamira. "What can I do for you Sir?"

"For starters, I wish that you had come to me instead of sending intermediaries to ask for my assistance." the Admiral's expression turned stern as he spoke. "I am however granting your request. You will be receiving a troop carrier with a battalion of marines, and fighter pilots. I'm not sure exactly how many ships I can send, but I'll send what I can."

"Thank you Sir. Anything that you can do is appreciated." Jason started to walk. Talking to the Admiral was necessary, but he still had things that he needed to do. He glanced back to see that Kamira was following him, and turned his attention back to the hologram.

"Don't thank me just yet Captain." the hologram floated alongside Jason as he passed through the bowels of the ship. "There seems to be a bit of a controversy about you."

"Really? What would that be Admiral?" Jason asked, not totally surprised.

"Well, there are certain factions that question your ability to command." Admiral Wright raised his hand trying to placate Jason. "I am not questioning your ability. What I want to know is how did it feel to knock that pompous bastard on his ass?"

Jason stopped in mid stride. Of all the things that he had expected to be asked, this was not one of them. He thought for a few moments before he dared to answer.

"It felt great Admiral." Jason half smiled as he answered. It had felt good to hit Admiral West. It felt good enough that it almost scared him.

"I figured that it might. Never liked him anyway." Admiral Wright chuckled. "I just wish that I could have done it instead."

Jason shook his head and looked back at his wife. He had never dealt with Admiral Wright before, but he was beginning to like the man.

"Anyway Captain, we need to get back to business. The Admiralty has decided that an Admiral needs to lead this mission." Admiral Wright waited for Captain McWilliams to respond, and when he didn't, he continued. "I can't be there, and neither can the rest of the Admiralty. That's why we have decided to promote you."

Jason's head whipped around to face the hologram. His face went pale, and his jaw dropped. "I, ah, I, ah...thank you sir." Jason stammered.

"It's quite alright. Congratulations Admiral McWilliams." Admiral Wright smiled a thin smile. "I don't envy you, and your first mission as an Admiral. Good luck Jason."

"Thank you Admiral." Jason swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'll do my best."

"I know you will. Wright out." Admiral Wright's image disappeared, leaving Jason alone in the corridor with Kamira.

"Admiral Jason McWilliams." Kamira whispered, easing up beside Jason. "Sounds impressive."

Jason didn't speak for awhile. He simply put his arm around Kamira, and stared down the deserted corridor. The importance of the coming battle came crashing down on Jason's mind and soul. Everything depended on him. He was the commanding officer of the single greatest invasion fleet in the history of mankind. There was nothing in his life that could possibly have prepared him for this.

"Let's walk a little, shall we?" Jason quietly asked his wife.

She nodded quietly, and let Jason lead. There was so much to do, so much that needed their attention, but a few minutes of quiet time couldn't hurt. Alone with each other, Jason and Kamira quietly reassured one another, that no matter what happened, there was someone there to believe in.

Chapter 68

The ancient streets lay deserted as night continued to fall. These ruins had once been a city with over a million people. Now, only a few broken buildings and the remnants of the roadways remained.

T'Sula glanced around the corner of a collapsed brick building. There was nothing to be seen, except for a couple of large rats that stopped for a moment to look at her, and then hurried across the broken road. Cautiously, T'Sula stepped out of her hiding place, and ventured across the road.

There was nothing useful left here, only rats and insects that she couldn't identify. Still, T'Sula kept walking and searching. This was an alien world, the world of the Ta'Reeth, where the unknown lurked behind every crumbling wall.

There was something about this city that called to her as she walked the deserted streets. She looked in the vacant windows and the dark holes where doors should have been, wondering about the people that used to live there. Were they trying to destroy everything, or were they simply misguided in their attempts to do something right when they created the Ta'Reeth? She had to believe that they were innocent, that they had tried to do their best and make a better world.

T'Sula paused and looked at a sign in the fading light. It was large, and rectangular with words and an arrow on it. The color had long since faded away to someone else's memory, but the outline of the words remained. She recognized 'Fort Carson' as some sort of military installation, and decided to follow the arrow. Maybe she could use something there.

The night was quiet and chill as T'Sula walked. Nothing stirred in the brush as she left the relative security of the ruined city. Not wanting to be caught in the open, T'Sula began to jog. She steadily increased her pace until she was sprinting across the open mountain plateau.

In the distance, just at the edge of her sight, T'Sula saw an old archway spanning the width of the road. A thin smile spread across T'Sula's lips as she pushed herself to run even faster. She had left the city ruins only a few minutes before, and now was nearing her destination.

T'Sula passed through the arch and ran by the tiny brick building on the right, when chaos erupted around her. She skidded to a stop as men dressed in dark clothes and covered in black grease, so that nothing of them showed in the darkness, surrounded her. Each of the men brandished crude cudgels in one hand, and knives in the other. They moved as one, stepping counterclockwise in a circle, cutting off any attempt at escape.

Staying in constant motion, T'Sula studied her attackers. They were human men, but nearly feral, and with a pack mentality. It was true that they were safer in a group, but this seemed to T'Sula more like a hunting party than anything else.

"I don't want to hurt you. Please let me go." T'Sula called out.

"The beast speaks." one of the men laughed in the darkness. "Hurt us? I don't think so. Time to die."

The first man charged at T'Sula with his cudgel raised high. She neatly sidestepped his attack, and spun into turning kick that impacted the back of his head. He tumbled unconscious, into another attacker.

"I'm not a beast. I'm a woman, a Bakeeron woman." T'Sula tried again to talk to the group of men.

"Never heard of 'Bakeeron'." another man called from the dark.

"Look, you idiots are attracting too much attention. Do you really want to fight me, or the Ta'Reeth?" T'Sula yelled as she sent another unconscious man tumbling into his comrades. "Don't do this."

T'Sula glanced back and forth between three of the men as they closed on her at the same time. They cautiously stepped closer, keeping their cudgels and knives ready. Each of them checked their range constantly, trying to force T'Sula towards one or the other of their comrades.

The first of the three came into range with his cudgel, and swung at T'Sula's head, following the strike with spinning knife attack. T'Sula dodged the cudgel, and closed the distance with the man, to get inside the arc of his blade. She blocked his strike at the wrist, hard enough to dislodge his knife.

Taking control of the man's wrist, T'Sula wrenched his arm around so that his wrist jammed into the small of his back. Using him as a shield, she picked up the fallen knife, and pressed the crude blade to his throat. She cautiously maneuvered her way out of the ring of men.

"Stop, I don't want to hurt you." T'Sula spoke loud enough for all of them to hear.

A high pitched whistle pierced the night as the small brick building burst into shrapnel and flames. T'Sula watched the men that surrounded her. They never panicked. Keeping their emotions and fears in check, they turned their backs on T'Sula, and watched the darkness around them.

T'Sula released the man that she held hostage, and gave him back his knife. She turned her attention away from the men, and focused on the darkness beyond their circle. There was movement there.

The small brick building burned bright in the night, its flickering light made it harder to see as the Ta'Reeth emerged from the darkness. There were two dozen Ta'Reeth. Each of them tall and powerful, with weapons attached to their left arms and claws on their right.

"Remember why we fight, Brothers!" a man near T'Sula yelled. He was rewarded with a resonating chant of 'Hooah' that sounded into the night.

T'Sula glanced at the men around her. They weren't feral animals. That had been nothing more than an image, a lie. These men were more than that.

The chant grew in power just before the Ta'Reeth opened fire. Green balls of plasma tore through the night. Men dove instinctively away from the burning projectiles. Plasma impacted near some of the men, setting fire to the brush, and splashing onto their greased skin. The men sneered at the Ta'Reeth, and casually brushed the plasma from their unharmed flesh.

Aided by the fires, the group of men charged the Ta'Reeth, their cudgels and knives expertly finding the weaknesses in the enemies' armor. Outnumbered nearly two to one, they fought bravely, but it was a losing battle.

T'Sula watched the fighting for a moment. These men were not after her. They were here for the Ta'Reeth. What were they fighting for? What were they protecting? She decided that the only way to know the answers to her questions was to join the fight. She didn't want to kill anymore. There had been enough death from her hands already.

Reluctantly, T'Sula moved forward. She promised herself that she wouldn't allow herself the luxury of thought during this battle. No, there would be enough remorse afterward, and she couldn't afford to think while the battle was raging.

T'Sula's senses expanded to include everything that was happening, while her conscious mind withdrew into the safety of itself. She stepped up to the first Ta'Reeth that came into her path. Her hands shot out, as she kicked its legs out from under it. She grabbed the creature's head, and in one smooth, quick motion, snapped its powerful neck.

Before the Ta'Reeth fell lifelessly to the ground, T'Sula moved toward her next adversary. The Ta'Reeth warrior aimed its plasma cannon at her and fired. She sidestepped the projectile, and closed the distance with her foe. Using a crescent kick, she blocked the weapon, and trapped the Ta'Reeth's arm.

Keeping her leg locked against the Ta'Reeth, T'Sula jumped up and kicked the warrior in the back of its head. Her foot crushed her victim's skull, killing it instantly. The Ta'Reeth fell, entangling T'Sula as it twitched on the ground.

T'Sula struggled to free herself from the corpse. She looked up to see another Ta'Reeth nearly upon her, with its plasma cannon at the ready. Violently, she kicked at the dead warrior until she was able to wriggle free.

The Ta'Reeth stopped just out of T'Sula's range and fired. T'Sula rolled toward the warrior, barely avoiding the plasma bolt. She kicked at its legs, knocking the creature to the ground. T'Sula scrambled to her feet. She started to move for the Ta'Reeth's head, when one of the men brought his cudgel down upon the creature's face with incredible force.

"Thank you." T'Sula whispered before selecting her next target. The man nodded his silent acknowledgement before he engaged another Ta'Reeth.

Rain began to fall as T'Sula fought. She saw a man struggling with a Ta'Reeth, barely ten meters away. She sprinted towards them, leaping into the air, and driving her foot into the base of the Ta'Reeth's skull. She landed in a crouch, ready to engage the next enemy.

Madness swirled around her, taking lives with every passing second. The bodies of both men, and Ta'Reeth piled high on the wet ground. Of the two dozen Ta'Reeth, only a few remained. T'Sula moved quickly, not taking anything for granted. She darted from Ta'Reeth to Ta'Reeth, dispatching them with only a modicum of effort.

The small group of men had fought well in a coordinated effort, but their numbers were dangerously thin. Most of them were wounded, but they still fought until the enemy was defeated. When the fighting was over, a grave silence hung in the chill night air.

"You said that you didn't want to hurt us, Bakeeron. Now I believe you." the man that had used his cudgel to help T'Sula, walked forward. "Engaging you was foolish."

"I'm sorry for you losses tonight." T'Sula sighed. "I'm trying to end this war, not kill more innocent people." she looked up to see a man that seeing through his eyes, she knew that he understood.

"What war? This is survival. What you saw here tonight is our life." the man sighed heavily. "This is all we know."

"The Ta'Reeth have done this to every star that you can see in the sky." T'Sula stepped closer to the man. "I'm here for everyone out there, and for you too."

"How can I help you?" he asked.

"I need to go southwest of here." T'Sula brushed her hair out of her eyes. "There's a giant canyon there. At the bottom of the canyon is something I need."

"The Grand Canyon." the man nodded. "I don't know what it is that you need, but if you're on foot, it'll be a long time before you get there. Follow the road up the hill over there." he pointed into the darkness. "At the top of the hill you'll find an old airfield. Look through the main hanger. You will find what you are looking for."

"Thank you." T'Sula looked in the direction that he had pointed. "What do I owe you?"

"Only your name, and the freedom of my people." he smiled.

"I'm Commander T'Sula Mir of the Resistance Special Operations Command. And you are?" T'Sula reached out her hand.

"Justo Saint Germain. It's an honor Commander." Justo smiled and took T'Sula's hand in friendship. "Good luck T'Sula Mir, for all of us."

"Justo, thank you, and be careful." T'Sula turned and disappeared into the night.

Chapter 69

Major Narja sat in his quarters, staring across the room at Prinelle. She had gone to Corin's MRU and fabricated a few sets of clothes, before changing out of her armor. She now wore a pair of loose fitting, emerald green pants, with a matching top that had gold embroidery around the neckline, and matching shoes.

Narja closed his eyes and tried to focus his thoughts, but found himself unable to do so. So many things had happened since he had been a young man on Caldon. The loss of his Mother to the Ta'Reeth, joining with Captain McWilliams, the battles of Bakesh and Olcai, and a multitude of things that he wasn't prepared to talk about yet. His list of things kept growing, and yet here sat the one woman that he had wanted to share his life with. She was the one that he had believed for so long to be dead, yet here she was.

"What?" Prinelle finally asked. "You've been sitting there, staring at me for almost an hour. What is it?"

"What happened to you?" Narja forced the words to come out of his mouth. "I thought that you were dead."

"I almost was." Prinelle sighed. "There was an attack while you were away. I think you were training or something, but, anyway, the Ta'Reeth came. They destroyed everything, ships, shuttles, over half of the station. Everything." Prinelle stopped, her voice choked with tears as she glared at Narja. "You weren't there Narja! You never came back to see if I was dead or not! You never came back!"

"I couldn't." Narja cast his gaze gown at the deck. He closed his eyes to hold back the tears and rage.

"The only reason that I survived, is because of Maruk." Prinelle got to her feet, and stormed over to Narja. She jammed her finger into his chest as she screamed. "He saved my life Narja! Not you. I've got the scars to prove it!"

"So do I." Narja stood and ripped his shirt open, letting the clothe fall to the floor. "I was sold to a slave trader by my commanding officer! I spent years surviving the fight pits on the Valla moons. Every day, I had to fight to the death, just to live."

His gaze bored holes into Prinelle. The rage and fury flowed freely as he pointed to his back.

"Look at them!" He yelled. "Look at them!"

Prinelle's eyes softened as she saw her betrothed's scars. Her fingers gently traced the marks left by the whips and blades that covered his muscular back.

"I wasn't there, because I couldn't be." Narja sobbed as he turned to face Prinelle. "When Marjak sold me, I was told that you had died in the attack. The memory of you, and thoughts of my Mother, kept me alive for two years Prinelle. Two years, before I could escape, only to be told again that both of you were dead."

Tears rolled freely down Narja's cheeks as he placed his hands on Prinelle's shoulders. He trembled as he looked her in the eyes. Her face was soft, almost apologetic for the accusations that had so recently flowed so freely.

"I didn't come for you because I was imprisoned in a slave camp, Prinelle." Narja sneered at Prinelle. "What's your excuse? Why didn't you come for me? Why didn't you let me know that you were alive, Prinelle? Why?"

Shaking, Prinelle stepped away from Narja. He hadn't hurt her, and she did not feel that he would, but still she stepped away. She kept quiet as she walked around the small room, pretending to look at the handful of decorations hanging on the otherwise barren walls.

"Do you know what it's like to be abandoned by the one person that you were supposed to be able count on for everything for the rest of your life?" Prinelle finally turned to look at Narja. Pain filled her eyes, and overflowed with tears. "There is no place in our culture for the abandoned, Narja. Either you have a place, or you don't. If you don't, then you don't exist."

Slowly, Prinelle approached her betrothed. She reached out and gently took his hands. "I am sorry for what happened to you, for the lies that you heard, and the pain that you had to bear." She reached up, and pressed her hand against his cheek. "My life was no easier than yours. You thought that I was dead, and I believed that you had abandoned me. It sounds to me, that someone was trying to keep us apart. It wasn't me Narja. I would never do that to you, to us."

"I never abandoned you." Narja gently stroked her cheek. His words hung in the air for a moment, and then Narja wrapped his arms around Prinelle, and pulled her close. "I never will abandon you."

Prinelle closed her eyes and sank into Narja's massive chest. Even with her anger, she had longed for this moment. She breathed him in, letting him wash away the pain. Slowly, she looked up, pressing her lips to his. "Make me your wife." she whispered.

"I never stopped loving you." Narja whispered, pulling Prinelle closer. He caressed her, feeling the scars on her back and shoulders, and the supple curves of her body. "I want you to be my bride."

"Sorry to interrupt the two of you, but we're going to be dropping out of hyperspace." Corin's voice broke into the room. "We should be reaching the rendezvous point in about twenty minutes."

"Thank you Corin." Narja's husky voice reverberated through the intercom. He and Prinelle held each other for a few precious moments longer, and then reluctantly parted. Narja gazed deep into Prinelle's eyes.

"I owe you an apology." his voice was soft as he spoke, as if he would hurt her with his voice.

"No, you don't." Prinelle slowly backed away. "You don't owe me anything."

"Prinelle, I should never have raised my voice to you. You don't deserve my anger." Narja cast his gaze away from Prinelle. "You are better than that, better than me. I am sorry for hurting you."

"Narja, stop. Stop it right now." Prinelle stepped forward, and wrapped her arms around Narja. "If we are going to make a life together, then we need to start anew. We need to put the past in the past and forgive each other. I forgive you." she forced Narja to look at her. "I forgive you Narja. Can you forgive me?"

"I do." Narja pulled her tight and held her for as long as he dared. Time nearly stopped as they embraced each other, longing for nothing more than to be together.

"It's time to go to the bridge." Prinelle murmured as she pulled herself away from Narja's embrace. She walked over and opened a drawer. Pulling out a new shirt, she tossed it to her love. "We need to go."

Narja quickly replaced the torn shirt with the fresh one, and escorted Prinelle to the bridge. They held hands as they walked in silence, preferring simply to be near one another.

On the bridge, Corin sat peacefully in his chair, watching as Mekala played with Brutus. The little girl looked up as Narja and Prinelle walked onto the bridge. She left the big cat, and ran over to Narja. Wrapping her tiny arms around his legs, she hugged the Caldonian, and then looked over at Prinelle. She grinned and wrapped her arms around Prinelle's legs in a tight embrace.

"I'm afraid that my miniature security system over there is a little hug happy right now." Corin grinned as he pointed to Mekala. "Anyway, we're coming out of hyperspace in a minute, so let's be on our toes."

Prinelle bent down and picked Mekala up. She carried the little girl over to one of the seats and strapped her in. The seat quickly formed to Mekala's tiny body, securing her against anything that might happen.

Satisfied that Mekala was safe, Prinelle found a seat next to Narja and strapped herself in. Again, the seats formed to fit whoever was sitting in them. Prinelle glanced over to see Narja looking at her. She smiled and blushed before turning to look at Corin, who had been watching her the whole time.

"Alright, look alive." Corin took hold of the controls, ready for whatever awaited them in real space. Brilliant white light flashed, encompassing all of existence, as Vengeance burst out of the hyperspace conduit. Red strobe lights instantly began flashing and deafening sirens roared over the intercom.

"Status!" Corin yelled as he checked his sensors. The coordinates were right for the rendezvous, but something was wrong. There were too many ships, and only four of them registered as friendly.

"Shields are up!" Prinelle reported. Terror filled her eyes, and then drained away at the sight of Narja sitting next to her.

"Weapons are online." Narja coolly adjusted his readouts. "Targeting computer indicates three hundred and forty-five bogies, and is ready to lock onto the nearest target."

"Standby. Don't lock on to anything just yet." Corin flew an oblique route, bringing his ship out of danger. "Before we fire at anything, I want to know who we're shooting at. Prinelle, contact Redemption and find out exactly what is going on. Major, please find out who those ships belong to."

Neither Narja nor Prinelle said anything. They simply did as they were asked. Tense silence hung thick on the bridge as they worked. A thin bead of sweat trickled slowly down Corin's brow as he piloted Vengeance around the hoard of ships. There were so many configurations that he had never seen before.

Near the center of the hoard sat Redemption, with three Resistance cruisers close by. The ships ranged in size from heavy battle cruisers and fleet tenders, to escort ships near the size of Vengeance. Each of the vessels looked similar in design. They all had powerful engines in the rear with bloated waistlines and blunt noses, bristling with various weapons pods and sensors.

"Corin, these are Malgar ships." Narja finally reported. "The insignia near the nose gives them away."

"Insignia?" Corin selected one of the heavy cruisers, and enlarged the image on the main view screen. Emblazoned in platinum and gold, near the nose of the ship, was comet struck through with a sword. "Wow, this thing's old. Will it still be worth anything in a fight?"

"Redemption is much older than any other ship here, Corin." Narja pointed out. "Besides, how dead is dead? Whether it's an old weapon or a new weapon, dead is dead."

"Good point. I'll have to remember that one." Corin grimaced. He shook his head in dismay, and glanced over at his daughter. She sat in her chair, silently staring at the ships on the view screen.

"Corin, Redemption says that they have a hanger bay waiting for us." Prinelle looked up at her new friend and wondered what lay ahead.

Chapter 70

Jason stood with Kamira, watching as Vengeance settled neatly on its landing gear. He was glad to see them returning so quickly, but somehow it seemed too fast. It hadn't been all that long ago that Corin and Narja had left on their mission to Caldon, only to return so quickly with a battered ship. Life rarely happened with quick, clean results, and Jason trusted his instincts that this would be no different.

"Are you insane?" Kamira bellowed as Corin sauntered down the ramp of his ship, holding Mekala. "What is she doing here, Corin? I thought that you were going to find a safe place to take her! She can't be here right now! It's too dangerous!"

"Hi. It's nice to see you too Kamira." Corin smiled as nicely as he could manage. "Oh, and by the way, there is no safe place to take her."

"Corin, Mekala will be safe with me, if you will allow it." Prinelle said softly as she came up beside him.

"And you are?" Kamira asked pointedly. Her scowl threatened to burn a hole in Prinelle's forehead, before she turned her attentions back to Corin. "We're about to go into the biggest battle that any of us have ever seen, and you bring a two year old into it? Are you stupid?"

"You will not address a member of the Order of Caldon in such a manner." Prinelle stepped between Corin and Kamira. Her expression hardened as she focused on Kamira. "You will apologize, or you will be dealt with."

Jason glanced between his wife and the Caldonian woman. He barely noticed as Narja approached, and stood close to the other woman. Looking at Corin, Jason nodded toward a nearby shuttle.

"You know, Kamira has a point. What is Mekala doing here?" Jason asked Corin while they slipped away from the women.

"I was going to ask Maruk if she could stay with them. I thought that maybe she would be safe there." Corin adjusted his hold on his daughter. "When we got there, the Ta'Reeth were everywhere."

"Really?" Jason leaned against the shuttle. "That's not good. How many died?"

"I don't know." Corin set the squirming Mekala down. Once she was on the deck, she ran directly to Narja and demanded that he pick her up. "What I do know, is they've got a weapon that I've never seen before. It acts like a gravity well. Maybe some kind of gravity well generator."

"I was afraid of that." Jason sighed. "I, I mean we ran into one at Olcai. Kam's figured out a way to adjust Redemption's shields to counteract it, but it only works for Redemption. No other ship could handle it in the simulations."

"We took it out." Corin stated bluntly.

"How'd you do that?" Jason's attention quickly shifted over to Kamira's screaming voice, then back to Corin.

"It's vulnerable right at the base. We blasted away at it until the armor cracked, then killed the ship." Corin sighed as he leaned back against the shuttle. "That thing practically destroyed an entire Battle Station. It just, I don't know, that's so much power."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Jason knew all too well what the weapon was capable of. "Are the Caldonians sending anything?"

"Maruk said that he owed us for saving his people. He'll be here. I just don't know what he'll be able to send." Corin shrugged, then backpedaled as Kamira came storming toward him.

"You cannot put that girl in danger!" Kamira screamed at the top of her lungs. "I forbid it!"

"Mekala is going to be safe with Prinelle." Corin tried to placate her.

"Prinelle, who's Prinelle?" Kamira screamed.

"The woman that you were just yelling at. You know, the Caldonian standing over there." Corin pointed to Prinelle, who had turned her back on Kamira, and was now talking to Narja.

"She won't be safe anywhere around here. You know that." Kamira's tone changed slightly as she started to calm down. "You can't put her in danger."

"What would you have me do Kam, launch her into space?" Corin started to raise his voice. "I don't have anywhere to send her! The only choice I have is to do the best that I can. If something happens to Mekala, then it's going to happen to me too, and that's final."

"You arrogant prick! I'm just trying to look out for Mekala!" Kamira screamed at Corin. She clenched her fists in an attempt to stop herself from screaming anymore.

"Both of you, stop!" Jason thundered. "Kam, there's nothing else that Corin can do. Corin, don't yell at my wife."

Angel appeared in front of Jason. Her flame red hair hung loose about her shoulders, contrasting with her pale skin, and gray camouflage.

"Admiral, I have detected an unauthorized sensor sweep." she kept her tone crisp, capturing everyone's attention. "It originated outside of the fleet perimeter."

"Red alert. All hands to battle stations. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill." Jason turned and headed for the bridge. Alarms sounded throughout the ship, accompanied by Jason's voice and flashing red lights. Redemption's crew instantly dropped what they were doing, and ran to their assigned areas.

"Corin, your station is your ship. Any questions?" Admiral McWilliams called to Corin without looking.

"Yeah, can I have Major Narja? He's a great tactical officer." Corin ran to catch up with the Admiral.

"Major, do you have a problem with that?" Jason never stopped moving toward the bridge.

"No Sir, I don't." Narja replied quickly from just behind the Admiral.

Jason stopped and turned on his heel, bringing the others to a halt. "Alright. Your mission is twofold. I want you to locate the ship that did the sensor sweep, and get the information back to me. Angel will provide you with the details you need. When you're done with that, get T'Sula Mir, and bring her back in one piece. Make it happen."

Corin and Narja glanced at each other, and then back at the Admiral. "Yes Sir." was all that they could manage before Jason was on the move again.

"Angel, patch me through to the Malgar fleet." Admiral McWilliams moved quickly through the corridors of his ship. Crewmembers ran here and there in a desperate rush to get to battle stations.

"Comrades in arms, this is Admiral Jason McWilliams. Just a few moments ago, there was an unauthorized sensor sweep of our fleet." Jason paused as the news sank in. "We are in a position to change the course of history. What we do here and now will affect the lives of every living being in the galaxy for the rest of time. Battle is imminent. Lives will be saved and lost on both sides. Let's make sure that they lose more than we do."

"We do have allies my friends. Unfortunately, they have yet to arrive." Jason weighed the risks of giving away too much information before he continued. "The Resistance is sending what they can. Our allies, the Caldonians, will do what they can. For now, it is only us. We are the ones that will take up the fight. We are the ones that will face the brute force of the Ta'Reeth, and we will be victorious!"

Jason hadn't realized that he had stopped moving. He stood in the center of a corridor, with a handful of crewmen that had been listening to his speech. Movement caught Jason's attention out of the corner of his eye. Kamira stepped forward, and led the crewmen as she began to chant his name.

"My friends, it is time now." Jason stood a little taller. "It is time to end this war!" a raucous shout erupted throughout the ships, reverberating through the comm. system and back into the corridors.

Regaining his composure, Jason made his way to the nearest turbo lift, and headed for the bridge. He glanced over at Kamira and Angel, both his wife and the Hologram kept silent as they watched Jason truly become an Admiral.

"Angel, I need you to patch me through to Captains Kim, Jones, and Dunsyn. I need it now please." serenity fell across his face, encompassing his entire being. There was something more that he was responsible for now. He had to be greater than the sum of his parts. He needed to be capable of handling the daunting task at hand.

"Sir, the Captains are waiting." Angel's voice was soft and solemn.

"Thank you Angel." Jason quickly collected his thoughts before he spoke. "Captains, thank you for your efforts, and support in this mission. I have something of the utmost importance that I need to ask the three of you to do."

"Go ahead Admiral." Captain Sierra Jones' voice was unmistakable.

"Alright. I need the three of you to stay here and wait for our allies. I'm taking the rest of the fleet, and commencing with the assault. The Resistance and the Caldonians are on their way." Jason sighed. His plans were all but useless now. As far as anyone knew, the Ta'Reeth knew everything. They now knew the number and size of the ships in the fleet, where they were, and where they came from. "If I fail, the task falls to you. Are there any questions?"

"No Sir." Captain Kim spoke up. "By the way Admiral, congratulations on your promotion."

"Thank you. Everyone is counting on you. Good luck, and watch out for one another." Jason grimaced as he severed the connection. "Angel, relay to all ships that we leave in ten minutes."

"Yes Sir. The message has been received by all ships." Angel's reply was nearly instantaneous.

"Good. Has Corin left yet?" Jason asked as the turbo lift stopped and the doors opened onto the bridge.

"Vengeance is clearing the hanger bay now Admiral." the AI walked alongside her commander, as he quickly inspected the bridge. The bridge crew looked calm, but ready as they came past, waiting for the order to move out.

Jason found his seat and made himself comfortable. He waited while Kamira found her station and sat down. The Admiral looked out over the bridge one last time, before he gave the order that would send hundreds of thousands of men and women, from more races and creeds than he could count, into the horrors of battle.

"Move out." Admiral McWilliams gave the order, and watched as white lights swirled and flashed around his ship as it entered hyperspace.

Chapter 71

Dawn broke over the mountains, bringing with it an end to the rain. T'Sula lifted her face to the new sunlight, savoring the warmth that it brought. She had traveled all night, and was near her destination.

Having just crested the hill, T'Sula could now see the old airfield with its handful of buildings jutting out of the mountain plain. The hangers were showing their age and disrepair. The tower had long since fallen in on itself, leaving only a pile of rubble in its place. On either side of the tower were ancient aircraft hangers, and on the side opposite the old road were the remnants of the airfield itself.

Rusted hulks of old flying craft littered the broken shell of the onetime heliport and airstrip. Whatever had happened here had happened before the birds could leave the ground. Ancient ground vehicles sat in heaps around the hangers, where their former owners had left them.

T'Sula cautiously investigated the different buildings, searching for what Justo had said was here. She entered the first of the hangers. Its massive doors had long ago succumb to the ravages of time and elements, and fallen to the ground.

Inside the hanger lay an array of equipment that hadn't been functional in well over a hundred years. Parts from vehicles of all shapes and sizes were scattered throughout the hanger, as if a child had thrown their toys and never put them away. The offices and rooms that lined the walls of the hanger were no different.

T'Sula left the ruined hanger and quickly walked to next. There were three in all, with the center hanger constructed out of brick. The brick being stronger, fared better over time, leaving the center hanger in better repair than its unfortunate counterparts.

There was a door located at the south end of the long, brick building. T'Sula opened it with a creak and stepped inside. Unlike the previous hanger, this one still held its giant doors, and the interior of the building had seen a few repairs over the years. Remnants of a handful of machines dotted the inside of the cavernous building, leaving the impression that they were being used for parts.

T'Sula picked her way through the hanger. Recessed into the far wall was a small door, just large enough for a man. She tried to open it, and found that it wouldn't budge. She didn't know what it was that she was actually looking for, but felt that it was worth a little more time to find it. T'Sula stepped back from the door and looked around. Breaking down the door would take some effort, but it did seem possible.

Out of the corner of her eye, T'Sula glimpsed another door. This one was set in the wall to her right, and not along the wall that she was facing. There was a clear path along the wall, so she trotted over to the other door. This door opened easily. On the other side was a small hallway with a staircase off to the left. T'Sula had just gained the top stair when the stench overcame her. There was a sickly sweet smell of rotting meat, accompanied by the biting acid of a decayed corpse.

T'Sula covered her mouth and nose as best she could, and proceeded down the long, narrow hall. Open doors lined the right side of the hall, leading into large open rooms that were covered in bodies. Men, women, and children were strewn haphazardly across the floors, instead of lying in the graves that they deserved.

The taste of bile filled T'Sula's mouth and throat as she started to run for the far end of the hall. Luckily the door stood ajar, and offered no resistance as she burst through it.

Holding on to the railing, T'Sula doubled over and vomited. She hadn't eaten anything for a few days, and was surprised when there was actually something for her stomach to empty. Still, she wiped her mouth, and forced herself to press on. The dead here were not her concern. They belonged to Justo Saint Germain, not T'Sula Mir.

T'Sula held tight to the rail as she crept down to the ground floor. At her left sat a pair of doors that held no lock. She walked up to the doors, and looked through the window. Cracking open the door, she peeked inside.

On the other side of the door was a Conex, large enough to hold several small vehicles. Beyond the Conex sat a hulking Ta'Reeth carrier.

The carrier rose up on its powerful legs and charged at T'Sula. She slammed the door shut, and ran through the short hallway behind her. The hall ended abruptly as it intersected with a larger hallway that ran perpendicular to it. T'Sula skidded around the corner to the right, and started running again.

Six Ta'Reeth warriors poured into the hallway behind her, and another six came from a doorway in front of her, effectively cutting off her retreat. They were built similar to the others that she had faced, except that these had no plasma cannons. Instead, there were talons protruding out of the ends of their long fingers. Without slowing, T'Sula launched herself into the Ta'Reeth before her.

Leaping up, she drove a knee deep into the chest of one of her attackers. T'Sula grabbed hold of its head, and rode the creature down, crushing the back of its skull against the concrete floor. Before she could disengage herself, another Ta'Reeth kicked at her from the side.

T'Sula rolled with the force of the blow. She kept rolling until she kicked out at the side of the knee of the nearest Ta'Reeth. Her kick landed with a snap of tendons and ligaments, sending one of her assailants toppling to the ground. Grasping the creatures head with both hands, T'Sula cleanly snapped its neck.

With two opponents down, T'Sula scrambled to her feet. Ten Ta'Reeth still faced her. The Ta'Reeth probed her defenses, slashing and jabbing, as they tried to drive her into a corner.

T'Sula wearily stepped back in an attempt to distance herself from her enemies. Slowly, the noose of the Ta'Reeth closed around her. Her escape route cut off, T'Sula found the second doorway that the Ta'Reeth had used to engage her. She slipped through, and found herself facing a cage to her front, and an armored door a few meters to her right.

The Ta'Reeth stormed through the door behind T'Sula, slashing and clawing as they fought to overtake her. T'Sula screamed as one of the Ta'Reeth managed to slash her back from her shoulder to her hip.

Angry and hurt, T'Sula turned and grabbed the nearest Ta'Reeth. She rolled onto her back, and using her legs, thrust the creature up, and against the armored door. Springing to her feet, T'Sula stepped into a spinning back kick that crushed the Ta'Reeth's armored chest.

Another Ta'Reeth rushed forward with its talons flashing through the air. T'Sula dodged the razor sharp claws, and used the creature's momentum against itself. She grabbed the Ta'Reeth, and spun it headlong into the door. The impact forced the hinges to crack. Before the creature could react, T'Sula kicked it in the face, snapping its neck, and sending it crashing through the armored door.

On the other side of the door was a small room filled with weapons. A thick layer of dust covered the otherwise pristine firearms. Assault rifles lined three of the walls, with pistols lining the other. In the center of the room sat two small crates, next to on old tripod mounted railgun.

T'Sula saw the contents of the armory, and sprinted into it. She grabbed a rifle off the wall as she ran, and quickly checked it over. The power supply still held a charge, and there was still matter in the rifle's MRU.

Shouldering the rifle, T'Sula stepped forward and opened fire. With each squeeze of the trigger, microscopic iron particles erupted from the barrel at nearly the speed of light. Each of the Ta'Reeth warriors crumpled to the floor as their heads disappeared in clouds of red vapor.

After dispatching all of the enemy, T'Sula turned her attention to the armory. She strapped the rifle to her back, then quickly found a belt with a holster and placed it around her waist. Next, she took one of the pistols from the rack, inspected it, and shoved it into the holster. Nearly satisfied, T'Sula opened up the crates in the center of the room.

Laid neatly in the crates were rows and rows of bayonets. T'Sula smiled as she pulled the first gleaming blade free of its scabbard. The blades had been properly cared for, and after all of these years, were still combat worthy. She selected two of the bayonets, then another pistol with a holster, and fastened them to her belt. One pistol rested on each hip, with a bayonet scabbard tied below it on each of her thighs.

T'Sula eyed the tripod-mounted railgun as she thought about the Ta'Reeth carrier, then dismissed the thoughts of trying to move the weapon by herself. Unslinging the assault rifle, T'Sula brought the rifle stock up to her shoulder, and stepping over the pile of bodies, left the armory.

She retraced the route that had taken her away from the stairs, methodically clearing any danger. T'Sula readied herself to face the massive creature on the other side of the wall. Taking a deep breath, T'Sula steadied herself, and kicked the door open. She burst through the door with her weapon up and searching for the Ta'Reeth carrier. The Conex blocked her view of the hanger, so T'Sula cautiously moved past it. She slipped by the edge of the Conex, turning the corner quickly, and coming face to face with the monster.

Before T'Sula could squeeze the trigger, the Ta'Reeth carrier lashed out at her with the back of its massive pincers. T'Sula grunted as she slammed into the brick wall behind her. Blackness crept in around the edges of her sight as the Ta'Reeth advanced. Its pincers grazed the side of T'Sula's face as she jumped out of the way.

T'Sula leapt clear of the attack, bringing her rifle to bear on her aggressor. Squeezing the trigger, T'Sula fired at the Ta'Reeth's head. The shots that were killing the soldiers were doing nothing more than ricocheting off the carrier's heavily armored body. Still, she kept firing as she moved, trying to gain an advantage.

The carrier turned and faced T'Sula. It blinked its large black eyes at her, and then scrambled across the smooth concrete on its six monstrous legs as it attacked. Two heavy pincers swung sharply across its body as it ran, forcing T'Sula to dive out of the way. As she dove, the creature kicked at her with its powerful legs, grazing T'Sula's wounded back.

Hitting the floor hard with her shoulder, T'Sula rolled away from the Ta'Reeth. She brought her weapon up, and fired at the beast's underbelly as she rolled. Her barrage struck the creature at the upper leg joints, cracking the armor. She fired again at the same spot, but the beast had already healed.

Angered, the Ta'Reeth kicked T'Sula. The blow caught her in the stomach, knocking the breath from her lungs, and sending her skidding and tumbling across the floor. She lost hold of her weapon as she tumbled, and finally came to rest against a broken old workbench. T'Sula covered her head with her arms an instant before the tools and parts on the bench came crashing down on top of her.

T'Sula picked herself up and pushed through the pain as she healed. Blood covered her face, stomach, arms, legs, and back. She wiped the blood from her eyes in time to see her rifle being crushed by the heavy feet of the Ta'Reeth. T'Sula grimaced, and then slowly smiled as a plan came to her mind.

Drawing one of her pistols, and a bayonet, T'Sula charged the enemy. She fired at the creature's underbelly as fast as she could pull the trigger. The Ta'Reeth flinched and reared back at the ferocity of her attack. T'Sula saw the opening that she needed, and made her move. She set her pistol's power supply on overload, and ran the bayonet through the trigger guard.

Before the Ta'Reeth could react, T'Sula drove the bayonet as deep as she could into one of the creatures upper leg joints. When that was done, she ran as far and as fast as she could. T'Sula tried to reach the safety of the Conex, but never made it.

The blast picked T'Sula up, and hurled her against the hard steel wall of the Conex. She lay against the cold concrete floor for a moment as her broken bones knit back in place, then groaned as she pushed herself back to her feet. She drew her other pistol as she walked back to the writhing Ta'Reeth.

The blast had not killed the beast. Half of it body was gone, and the other half crippled. It slipped upon the bloody floor as it struggled to turn and face T'Sula.

With no emotions showing on her bloodied face, T'Sula fired relentlessly into the Ta'Reeth. She could see it slowly healing from the massive wounds, and refused to let this creature return to slaughter more innocent lives. T'Sula drew closer, firing at point blank range, until the armor on the creature's forehead cracked.

T'Sula set her pistol's power supply on overload, and ran her other bayonet through the trigger guard. She brought her fists back, ready to drive the bomb home, when she felt a hard clamp across her ankles. She glanced down, and saw the Ta'Reeth's pincer clamped across her legs.

T'Sula snarled at the beast and thrust herself forward. As she moved, the Ta'Reeth hurled her away. T'Sula flew through the air and struck a heavy steel rafter as her overloaded pistol exploded.

Smoke curled out of the crater in the center of the hanger floor. T'Sula Mir crawled forward on her hands and knees, making sure that her enemy was indeed dead. She hadn't been sure if she had managed to plant her bomb, but now she was. Nothing remained of the hulking Ta'Reeth but a smoking crater.

Satisfied that there was no immediate danger, T'Sula allowed her eyes to close for a moment as she rested. She couldn't sleep, but lying down on the cold, hard floor felt good to her aching body.

When she could no longer allow herself to lay still, T'Sula forced herself to her feet. She slowly walked back to the armory and selected new weapons. With a rifle, two pistols, and two bayonets strapped to her body, T'Sula walked back to the hanger. She took her rifle and shot the lock on the Conex, and opened the doors.

Inside the giant storage container sat a nicely preserved hover cycle. T'Sula grinned as she ran her hands over the sleek machine. Its paint had faded a little, but she could still read 'Buell' emblazoned across the blue and black power cell.

T'Sula flicked the power switch, and was rewarded with the bike easily rising off the ground. She maneuvered the vehicle out through the hallways, and through the nearest set of doors that led outside. The bike was outfitted with an array of instruments, including a compass. T'Sula climbed on the bike, admiring the craftsmanship, and sped off, heading southwest.

Chapter 72

Corin paced the bridge. They had tracked the ship that had scanned the fleet, but now, it was nowhere to be found. Now he was waiting, waiting as Prinelle and Narja ran sensor sweeps of the deserted star system that they had been led to. As he waited, his thoughts roamed, never staying in one place for too long. There were two constants to his thinking though. Mekala, and T'Sula, were in every corner of his mind. The two Bakeerons dominated everything from his thoughts on food, T'Sula being a vegetarian, to where to go if they lived through the coming fight.

"Corin?" Prinelle's voice drifted past his rambling thoughts and into his conscious mind.

"Uh, yeah, Prinelle, what is it?" Corin asked once he was able to collect his thoughts.

"I'm getting a strange reading from this moon." Prinelle indicated a small moon orbiting a dead planet. Neither the planet nor the moon seemed to be anything other than large chunks of rock floating in space. The planet had shown some signs of previous life, but the inhabitants had been dead for well over a thousand years.

"Get some more in-depth scans. I'm bringing us in closer." Corin said as he brought Vengeance into a close orbit of the moon. The surface of the moon was scarred from thousands of years of impacts from debris and meteorites. Its once vibrant brown and green was now a washed out tan and gray. "Scan both the moon and the planet. Let's make sure that our first scans weren't wrong."

Prinelle and Narja worked together running different scans of both heavenly bodies. The planet below had once supported a thriving society, but something had gone terribly wrong a long time ago. There was evidence of a war that consumed the entire world. No continent had survived unscathed. Giant cities once capable of housing hundreds of millions of inhabitants were now nothing more than crumbling relics of a bygone people. There was still a thin atmosphere, but it was toxic to anything that could breathe. The trace elements in the air would instantly burn the lungs of any person, or the leaves of any plant.

"I think I've found something." Narja said, turning to Corin. "On the moon, here." he pointed to a section of the moon, near the northern polar ice cap. Narja enhanced the resolution of the image and put it on the main view screen.

"What is that?" Corin asked as Narja highlighted, enlarged, and enhanced the image again. In the center of the screen appeared a large metal object engraved with strange symbols, and covered in a thick layer of dust.

"I believe that is a door." Prinelle remarked wryly.

"A door?" Corin looked back at her. "How big is it?"

"According to my readings, it measures just over four hundred meters." Narja's voice trailed off as he spoke. The sheer size of the doors seemed like an omen of things to come.

"Four hundred meters?" Corin asked in astonishment. His mind swam at the possible implications that this find could bring. "Enlarge and enhance the image again please."

Corin studied the markings on the door as they grew larger and clearer. The markings were in sets, each set being different from the next. It took a moment before his eyes locked in on one set of markings.

"These aren't some strange alien markings." Corin muttered. "They're human."

"Human?" Narja questioned. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. There's English, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, and a bunch of others that I don't recognize, but it's human." Corin rambled. His excitement grew as he spoke. "It says that this is an Earth Coalition base."

"I hate to interrupt this moment of glee, but according to my readings, whatever scanned the fleet is inside this moon." Prinelle reminded Corin and Narja of their mission. "Should I contact Redemption?"

"No." Corin thought for a moment. "I want to be absolutely sure of what we have here, before we send anything."

Corin brought Vengeance to a halt, barely fifty meters above the mammoth door. He didn't have to wait long before his entire ship was encased in a scanner beam. Moments later, the space doors began to open, and Vengeance slipped inside.

Nothing could have prepared them for what lay on the other side. Row upon row, and layer upon layer of unfinished starships filled the entirety of the hollowed out moon. Giant drones, much like the one that sat in Vengeance's cargo hold, lay motionless amid the thousands of starship hulls. Vengeance flew swiftly between the ships, searching for the signature of the ship that had scanned the fleet.

"I think I've got something." Prinelle highlighted a ship on the view screen. "Ten kilometers in, two up, at one o'clock."

"That looks like a finished ship." Corin studied the readouts. "And it's much newer than the rest."

"It's identifying itself as the Dauntless, Admiral West's flag ship." Narja looked puzzled. "I don't like this. Something is very wrong."

"Why would a resistance ship be in here? How did they even know about this place?" Prinelle dared to ask the question that was on everyone's minds.

"I don't know." Narja looked over at his betrothed. "The other question is why aren't there any life signs?"

"No life signs?" Corin double-checked the readings. "That ship is supposed to have over five hundred crewmen. Where are they?" A cold chill ran down his spine. If this ghost ship scanned the fleet, how did it do it? Why was it here? Where was the crew? There had to be some rational explanation.

Corin found an empty dock near the Dauntless, and set Vengeance down. The air outside the ship was thin, but breathable with an acceptable pressure index that did not require an environment suit. He gathered his weapons from his quarters, and headed for the airlock.

"Alright, Major, I'd like for you to accompany me. We'll take Brutus with us and leave Prinelle here with Mekala." Corin turned to his friends. "Prinelle, I've got a sub-dermal link that will allow us to stay in touch. Any questions?"

"No questions. Just let me know what you find." Prinelle told Corin, and then turned to Narja. "I'm not going to lose you again. Be careful."

"I will." Narja pulled Prinelle into a tight embrace. "Lock the ship down after we leave."

"Time to go." Corin handed Mekala over to Prinelle and walked down the ramp. Brutus and Narja followed behind him into the cool, dry air.

Pale yellow lights fell listlessly onto the cold metal deck. The shipyard was an open expanse of darkness and machinery. Each dock had a separate alcove with a few benches, tables, and tools, but nothing more. Catwalks and lifts connected all the docks, with stairs imbedded against the steel gray walls.

Corin walked over to the railing. Darkness greeted him as he looked down into the abyss. Nothing other than the immediate area was lit, so any further inspection was out of the question.

"Corin, when we get to the Dauntless, I should take the lead." Narja said as he came alongside Corin.

"Yeah, o.k." Corin realized that Narja was actually making sense, even though he could not abandon the feeling that something was very wrong. They continued on the darkness, letting the pale lights come alive as they went. The lights illuminated the passage just enough that Corin and Narja could see a pile of something unidentifiable and grotesque in the distance.

"What is that?" Corin asked Narja as they drew closer.

"I'm not sure, but I think that we should check it out." Narja's voice betrayed his growing apprehension.

Neither spoke as they quickened their pace. As they came closer, the details became more distinct, and the familiar smell of death greeted them.

Lying on the floor was a pile of unidentifiable remains with an Admiral's rank insignia resting neatly on top of it.

"Prinelle, how are things going back there?" Corin asked without any preamble. He tried not to let his emotions show through in his voice, in an effort not to scare Mekala. "Do you have the ship locked down yet?"

"I'm working on it. There seems to be a problem with one of the door mechanisms. It won't shut." Prinelle grumbled.

"Keep working on it. I'll be there in a minute." Corin sighed, and then turned to Narja. "One of the airlock doors is having a problem. We need to go back, and get it sealed before we go any further."

Corin, Brutus, and Narja quickly ran back to Vengeance. Time seemed to slow as they drew closer to the little ship. Things looked to be alright, but there was something that was definitely wrong. The airlock door was open, and the sound of screaming came from just inside.

Narja bolted through the airlock with Corin on his heels. Inside the second door, Prinelle lay crumpled on the deck. Standing over her was a Bakeeron man in a Resistance Captain's uniform. The look in his eyes, and the smile on his face stopped Corin and Narja in their tracks.

Corin reached for one of his pistols as Narja checked to see if Prinelle was alive.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." the man sneered at Corin. "This little thing isn't worth all of you dying." he held Mekala before him like a shield.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Corin kept his eyes on the intruder. He blinked quickly to access the ship's internal sensors. Prinelle would actually live if they could get her to the DioBed in time.

"It doesn't matter who I am." The Bakeeron started to laugh. "But you can call me Nom."

"Alright Nom, what do you want?" Corin checked his sensors again to make sure that Brutus was just outside.

"Right now, I want your ship. The Dauntless is simply too much for one man to crew." Nom chuckled. "This little ship however, will do just fine. Yes, just fine. Give it to me."

"No." Corin stepped forward. "You invade my ship, assault my crew, and take my daughter as a hostage? I don't think I'll be cooperating with you very much. Put her down."

"Your daughter?" Nom's laughter grew to near hysterics. "Your daughter? I don't think so."

"This spawn is mine!" Nom screamed, pulling out a knife and pressing it to Mekala's neck. "My wife gave birth to her! I killed the bitch for it! She's mine!"

"Daddy!" Mekala cried as Nom burst past Corin and was away before Brutus could react.

"Narja, there's a DioBed down that corridor waiting for Prinelle. Take care of her. I'm going after Mekala." Corin pointed quickly before running out the airlock.

As he ran, Corin activated a series of his implants. He was able to adjust his eyesight for the low light levels, and supplement them with his ships sensors. Brutus' footprints glowed a dull red in Corin's eyes. Mingled with the cat prints were a smaller set, belonging to Nom.

Racing up the stairs on the other side of Vengeance's alcove, Corin drew his pistols. There would not be any excuses this time for not having his weapons ready. He quickly crested the first flight of stairs and found only more footprints leading to yet another set of stairs.

Racing across the open alcove, Corin took the steps two at a time. At the top, he saw a large mass lying by the stairs. As he came closer, he saw that it was Brutus breathing heavily.

Corin glanced out of the corner of his eye at Brutus as he passed. The cat lay on his side, bleeding from several open stab wounds. It tore at his heart, but there was nothing that Corin could do for him right now. Not if he wanted to save Mekala.

"Put her down, and I won't kill you." Corin bellowed as he stepped out onto the platform. He kept his pistols trained on the man's head, trying not to listen to his daughter screaming. "Put her down now."

"Why would I do that?" Nom sneered. "I've been trying to kill this little spawn of mine for quite some time now. I don't think I'm going to simply put her down. No, I think that you need to put your weapons down, or I'm going kill the little vermin." He pressed his knife deeper into Mekala's neck, drawing a trickle of blood.

"Hurt her, and you die." Corin growled, slowly inching forward, while keeping his pistols trained on Nom. His pulse raced as he thought of how he could save his daughter from this madman.

"Aw, you've developed feelings for this pathetic thing. Too bad." Nom laughed as he casually held Mekala over the railing, and over the deep chasm beyond.

"Daddy!" Mekala cried. Tears streamed down her face as she trembled with fear.

"Put the weapons down, or I drop her." Nom turned serious.

"Alright, I'm setting the pistols down." Corin said as calmly as he could manage. Very slowly, he placed the pistols on the floor by his feet.

"Kick them over the edge. Now." Nom ordered. He watched as Corin did as he was told. The weapons slid smoothly across the floor, and disappeared into the abyss.

"Good boy." Nom sneered at Corin. "By the way, never give up your weapons." He laughed as he dropped Mekala over the railing.

"No!" Corin screamed. Mekala fell as Brutus rushed past and leapt over the railing. In one brief moment, Corin lost everything, everyone that he held dear. Mekala's screams filled the air as she fell, and then abruptly stopped.

"Now, it's your turn." Nom growled, stepping menacingly closer to Corin. Bloodlust filled Nom's eyes as he licked his cracked lips. "After I kill you, I'm going to take your ship, and I'm going to find, and kill T'Sula Mir too."

"I don't think so." Corin uncurled his whip. "You're going to pay for your crimes, and then, I'm going to kill you."

"What, with that rope?" Nom mocked Corin as he circled him, looking for an opening.

"Yeah, with my rope." Corin looked at his whip and smiled. The weapon was old, a family heirloom, but it was well made, and well taken care of. Corin's earliest memories were of his father teaching him the proper uses of the ancient weapon. He still practiced the whip in the cargo bay, and meticulously cared for the braided leather.

"This will be too easy." Nom laughed an instant before Corin unleashed the fury of his bullwhip. The tip of the weapon snaked out, and broke the sound barrier as it crashed into Nom's face. His nose erupted in a cascading shower blood, skin, and bone.

Before Nom could react, Corin struck again. The tip of his whip slashed across Nom's neck, severing his esophagus and vocal cords. As Nom fell to his knees, Corin used the whip, and eviscerated his enemy's groin with another supersonic attack.

"You'll have to do better than that." Nom laughed, rising to his feet. The blood had already stopped flowing, and his wounds healed. Blood dripped from his smile as he stepped toward Corin.

Corin lashed out again, lacerating Nom's ear. Cautiously, Corin circled his enemy looking for another opening. Finally, he found one. Almost instantly, the tip of Corin's whip pierced Nom's eye, driving deep into the socket. Nom twitched from the impact and grabbed the whip.

"No more." Nom growled, pulling hard on the whip.

Instead of pulling against his enemy, Corin ran forward, using the pommel of his whip, he smashed it against the side of Nom's head. The impact stunned the Bakeeron long enough for Corin to wrap the braided leather cord around the other man's neck. He stepped behind Nom and pulled back as hard as he could.

Nom grunted in surprise, and pushed back with his legs. He drove Corin back, slamming him hard against the railing. His elbows drove back, repeatedly hammering Corin's ribs.

"You're going to die the same way you killed my daughter." Corin sneered, keeping his hold on Nom as he reached back with his free hand. Gripping the railing, Corin threw himself backward, taking his daughter's killer with him. As he flew backwards, Corin kept hold his whip and pulled.

Corin could hear the maniacal laughter stop as Nom's head came away from his body. He looked down as his dead enemy continued to fall into the blackness of the hollowed out moon. Painfully, Corin pulled himself over the railing, and sat down with his back to it.

He sat there with his head in hands as he cried. Mekala was gone. Brutus was gone. In one moment, they were ripped from his life.

Corin started as he felt a gentle touch on the back of his neck. He turned to see Mekala, held firmly in Brutus' powerful jaws as the cat clamored laboriously over the top of the railing. Wounded and exhausted, Brutus collapsed at Corin's feet.

Wiping tears from his eyes, Corin pulled Mekala close to his chest and held her tight. After too few heartbeats, Corin released his daughter and checked on Brutus. The Sand Panther lay at his feet, not moving.

Brutus' eyes glazed over, and his breathing was labored. His wounds still seeped blood, some of it the deep red from his arteries. He turned his massive head and looked directly at Corin. They were more than simply traveling companions or even friends. Corin, Brutus, and now Mekala were a family. Nothing could ever change that.

Corin reached into one of the pouches on his belt and removed a can of spray bandages with a coagulating agent in it. He carefully sprayed each of Brutus' wounds, and then gave him a mild sedative to slow his racing heartbeat. Corin and Mekala sat by Brutus' side, stroking his fur while they waited for Vengeance to come.

Chapter 73

Brilliant white lights erupted at the outer edges of Earth's solar system, leaving nearly four hundred Malgar starships in their wake. They were slightly older, and rugged by design, but in keeping with the Malgar people, they were all fit to fight. The ships formed tight battle groups of a dozen ships apiece, with each battle group holding a specific position in the concave wall of ships that started advancing toward Earth.

Admiral Jason McWilliams paced Redemption's bridge as he checked his sensor reports. Every ship in the fleet had successfully made the jump, except for the three that he had left behind. It was in the three Resistance Captains commanding those ships, that Jason had left the fate of everyone if he failed.

He hadn't wanted to jump prematurely, but sometimes the best of plans could not be followed. Admiral Wright and Maruk had both promised to send whatever ships and crews they could, but his hand had been forced. Corin was still searching for the ship that had scanned his fleet, and as far as he knew, the Ta'Reeth were already waiting for him to come. No, he reminded himself, the element of surprise was one of his greatest allies in this mission, and he had done what he needed to. Launching early was his only real choice.

Redemption's position rightfully put her at the spearhead of the fleet. Inside her sculpted hull, she held a level of technology and raw power that no other ship had, and the combination made her invaluable. Her weapons and sensors were vitally important, but the greatest technological edge that she had, was Angel. Angel had more computing power at her disposal than a half dozen Malgar ships combined. In the event that her crew was incapacitated, she could even take Redemption through the battle herself.

"Admiral." Angel materialized beside her commander, dressed in camouflage fatigues.

"What is it Angel?" Jason glanced over at the hologram. So many things needed his attention right then that he didn't want to be disturbed without good reason.

"Admiral, I don't understand something." Angel began, her red hair glimmering in the bridge lights. "My sensor readings indicate that there are only one hundred Ta'Reeth warships in the system. There should be much more than that."

"You think that they're up to something?" Admiral McWilliams gave Angel his full attention. If she was right, there was definitely something wrong.

"I don't know what to think, other than to inform you of the discrepancy. My programming shouldn't allow for anything else, but yes, I think that they're up to something." Angel looked away from Jason, as if she were ashamed. Angel had run a hundred diagnostic sub-routines on herself over the last few days, and she knew that there was nothing wrong, but still she felt as if there were. Personal growth had always been a part of her programming, but the way that she felt now, was something entirely new. She didn't want anything to happen to any of her crew, but if something did happen, and her Captain was killed, she was afraid that she may never be able to function properly again.

"Me too." Jason frowned, not seeing the way that Angel looked at him. He knew that being a battlefield commander was about being able to adapt to changing circumstances, but he didn't want his crew to be killed in the process. "Let's go spring their trap, but keep your eyes open."

Jason watched as the view screen filled with planets. The gasses of Saturn and Jupiter swirled in an endless dance of colors, with Saturn's rings constantly moving to music all their own. From the blue of Neptune to the deep red of Mars, with the spectrum of colors filled between, Jason's attention drifted away from the coming battle. Finally, Jason's gaze fell upon Earth. Earth was the crown jewel of this solar system. The third planet held white clouds dancing in deep blue skies, backed by green lands and crystal blue oceans.

"It really is a beautiful world, isn't it?" Jason commented to Angel.

"The whole system is." Angel whispered in return. "Sir, I have a reading on the Ta'Reeth defenses."

"Show me." Admiral McWilliams watched a hologram appear before him. The core of the system, with the sun at the center, turned slowly on its axis. Each of the planets moved in its own orbit, at its own time. A hundred Ta'Reeth ships, highlighted in red, were making their way toward the fleet.

The ships were different in size, and varied in shape. Each of the ships was dark in color, and protected by thick bone for a hull. The larger ships had massive, twisted spikes protruding from their hulls like giant gnarled trees. Imbedded in the hulls, between the spines, were large, powerful plasma cannons.

As troubling as the ships were, the red specs orbiting each of the inner planets were more so. Earth and its moon had several hundred orbiting weapons systems. Mars, Venus, and Mercury had them too. The fleet had to pass by Jupiter and Saturn, each of them having nearly three hundred orbital platforms apiece.

Jason zoomed in on Jupiter, near the Great Eye. Now he saw why the gas giant had such heavy defenses. Much like Home Station, there was a mining facility for the heavy gasses, floating in the upper atmosphere. Saturn had one as well.

Something closer to Earth caught Jason's attention. Floating between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter was a ring of asteroids, right where there should have been another planet. Had the asteroid belt been a planet at one time? Whether it had been a planet or not, the asteroid belt was going to be a tactical challenge. There were too many obstacles, and too many places to hide.

"Angel, I want a hundred drones ready to deploy as soon as possible." Jason ordered, shutting down the hologram of the solar system. "Make sure that we replace as many as we need for a full compliment."

"Understood sir. They will be ready in approximately forty minutes." Angel didn't question the Admiral, she simply followed her orders. Angel looked past the prow of the ship for a brief moment, then turned and faced the Admiral. "Sir, the Ta'Reeth have launched fighters. My sensors indicate that there are ten thousand, sir. They will be in attack range in six minutes."

"Thank you Angel. Tell the fleet to raise shields. Alpha and Bravo wings are to launch the first sortie of fighters on my command. The fighters are to remain within the protective perimeter, and are not to engage the enemy until I tell them otherwise." Jason sighed heavily, and sat in his chair. Ten thousand enemy fighters were headed his way, with who knew how many more to come. "Angel, activate the fire control link."

"Yes sir. As I advised you before, when this link is active, I cannot have my hologram running." Angel nodded to the Admiral, and then disappeared.

Sighing, Jason turned to his bridge crew. Normally, Angel would interface and assume the roles of the bridge crew. With the fire control link active, the weapons of every ship in the fleet were now being controlled from the weapons station on his bridge.

Jason knew each member of his bridge crew. Normally, Narja would be there for weapons and security, but now there was a young Malgar by the name of Lieutenant Runnz. At the helm sat Lieutenant Aubrey Campbell, and sitting next to her at communications was Ensign Markus Priest. Kamira's station was linked to the bridge, but was actually in engineering. From there, in an emergency, Kamira could run every function of the command crew.

"Lieutenant Runnz, give me an update." Admiral McWilliams forced himself to stay in his chair. He wanted to be doing anything other than what was required of him right then, but he knew that there was no one else to do it. Only Redemption could lead this fight, and Redemption answered to him. "Alpha and Bravo wings are to launch their fighters now. Their mission is to neutralize those orbital platforms."

Time seemed to move excruciatingly slow as Jason waited for his fleet to launch the first wave of fighters. The larger, more powerful, capital ships were set to engage in a devastating exchange in which the outcome could not be predetermined. The only certainty was that people would die. There was no other choice than to follow the only constant in the universe: No one escapes life alive.

"Admiral, Alpha and Bravo wings have successfully launched the first sorties. They are en route to Saturn. The Ta'Reeth fighters will be within weapons range in two minutes." the young Malgar's voice rumbled like a boulder crashing against a steel plate. He wore an onyx visor over his eyes that showed him all of the information that he needed, and gauntlets on his hands that controlled the weapons systems. All of the weapons in the fleet were slaved to his controls.

"Ensign Priest, keep all channels open. Inform me immediately of any priority messages." Jason tried unsuccessfully to settle comfortably into his seat. The Ta'Reeth had something planned; he knew that much, but what it was still eluded him.

"Yes Sir." Ensign Priest replied without taking his blue eyes away from his console. It was a simple, elegantly designed station with system readouts and communications relays imbedded in the polished composites.

"Lieutenant Campbell, I expect your usual level of excellence." Jason smiled at the attractive blonde. He liked the Lieutenant, but he also knew that his wife was the smartest, most attractive woman he had ever laid eyes upon.

"Of course Admiral." Lieutenant Campbell smiled back, and sank her hands into the glistening liquid metal of her flight controls. The silvery liquid crept up her arms, past the elbow, and connected itself to her nerve endings. The slightest twitch from the Lieutenant, and Redemption responded.

In the moments before a storm, the weather seems the calmest. War is no different. Uncomfortable silence permeated Redemption's bridge and crew until the enemy arrived. Hundreds of plasma bolts slammed against the ship's shields, shattering the quiet reverence for the carnage that was now upon them.

"Lieutenant Runnz, fire at will." Admiral McWilliams gave the order. Seconds later, the Ta'Reeth fighters began to evaporate by the hundreds. Redemption's fire control computer locked on to several hundred targets at once, and systematically eliminated them. Particle cannons and railguns ripped mercilessly through the Ta'Reeth hulls, killing the fighters instantly.

The Ta'Reeth fighters stood no chance against the combined, coordinated firepower of the invading fleet. Ten thousand Ta'Reeth fighters died as Redemption, and her partners continued inexorably toward Earth.

As they neared Saturn, the planetary defenses came alive. Hundreds of heavy orbital platforms began spewing plasma at the Malgar ships. The cannons hammered at the ship's shields, constantly tearing away the precious barriers. As the orbital cannons fired, the Ta'Reeth cruisers engaged the fleet.

Massive, gnarled hulls wove their paths through the dark blanket of space, trying to find a way past the killing field. As they came, the ships launched another wave of fighters. Several thousand of the fighters stayed to fight the capital ships, while the rest went in search of the Malgari fighters that hunted the orbital platforms.

"Ensign Priest, inform the fighter squadron commanders that they are being followed by enemy fighters. Neutralize the platforms, and engage the fighters if necessary. The Ta'Reeth capital ships are secondary." Admiral McWilliams grimaced at the thought of sending these men and women to their deaths, but he knew that sometimes sacrifices had to be made. That was only one of the many burdens that a commander had to bear. "They are free to engage at will."

"Yes sir." the ensign quickly sent the order, and quickly continued to monitor his station. Jason admired the young man's professionalism. He hoped that the Ensign, as well as the rest of his crew, would make it through the battle alive.

"Lieutenant Runnz, clear a path to Earth." Jason could feel the victory at the edge of his grasp. It was almost a tangible thing, so sweet that he longed for it, yearning for the inevitable end, and the ensuing glory.

Ta'Reeth cruisers crumbled under the combined might of the fleet. One after another, they fell and began to retreat. Slowly, the cruisers backed away from Saturn, bringing the fleet closer to Earth and deeper into the deadly grasp of the orbital platforms. The Ta'Reeth fought for every inch that they gave, requiring a heavy price for the conquest of Earth.

The sleek Malgari fighters methodically attacked the orbital weapons platforms around Saturn. The giant planet's weapons reached out, spearing numerous Malgari cruisers. Their defenses weakened, then finally the shields failed, and the ships died in great fountains of fire. Seeing a hole in the wall, the Ta'Reeth poured as much firepower as they could into the wound.

"Return fire!" Jason screamed as he watched the edges of his fleet begin to fray. "Charlie and Delta wings, launch sorties one and two! Target those orbital platforms! Seal that hole!"

"Sorties away Admiral." Ensign Priest reported. Hundreds of fighters streamed out of the cruisers, and straight for the massive weapons systems that were raining death on the fleet. "Sir, ships are moving into position to fill the gap."

Admiral McWilliams watched the view screen and the sensor readouts. The Ta'Reeth fleet was being ripped apart, but they had taken nearly forty of his ships with them. He knew instinctively that he had pressed too hard. The men and women on those ships had died because of him, and his choices. Even though his fleet was adjusting to the losses, he feared that it might not be enough.

"Incoming!" Lieutenant Runnz's voice boomed throughout the bridge. "We're being flanked sir!" the Lieutenant's voice wavered slightly. "I'm reading a thousand ships, that's five hundred ships a side Admiral."

Jason turned his attention to a hologram of the battle. Lieutenant Runnz was right. Dropping out of hyperspace were a thousand Ta'Reeth ships. Mostly, they were heavy cruisers, but there were also several hundred battleships coming to kill the intruders.

"Angel, target the hundred closest Ta'Reeth ships, and launch the drones at them." Jason watched as the enemy fell upon his fleet with devastating force. The ships at the edges of his fleet fought valiantly, but in the end, they still died within moments. The Ta'Reeth wasted no time in their killing spree. Once one Malgari ship was gone, they moved immediately to the next. "I want fifty drones on each side. Make it happen."

"Drones away Admiral" Angel's voice came from nowhere as Redemption shuddered under the impact of hundreds of plasma bolts.

The drones raced through the black expanse of space, dodging the friendly ships, before crashing into the exposed hulls of the Ta'Reeth vessels. Immediately they began ripping into the armored bone hulls, and started to process the material. The parts came together quickly, and soon each drone had built a particle cannon on the hull of its target ship. Once the cannons were finished, they became active, and started to acquire Ta'Reeth targets before they opened fire. With the first hundred cannons active, the drones moved on to build more.

"Return individual fire controls now!" Jason ordered. The Lieutenant was right. Ta'Reeth cruisers were bearing down on the fleet, with five hundred capital ships on each side. Hundreds of gnarled heavy cruisers poured salvo after salvo of burning hot plasma into the shields and hulls of Jason's fleet. The ships out on the flanks erupted in gouts of fire as they absorbed the punishment from the enemy.

"Launch all fighters." Jason ordered as he checked his sensors. "Alpha and Bravo wings, engage the enemy on the port side. Charlie and Delta wings, engage on the starboard side. Stay in your battle groups. Watch each other's backs."

Hundreds of fighters streamed out of the ships. The sleek and powerful fighters formed into squadrons and attacked the larger Ta'Reeth cruisers. Jogging in and out of the twisted spires, the fighters unleashed a maelstrom of missiles and particle cannons upon the enemy, in a desperate attempt to even the odds.

As the fleet shifted position, the Ta'Reeth ships pushed forward and broke through the lines. They infiltrated, and swiftly surrounded the Malgari vessels, outnumbering them now by three to one. The battle groups fought hard, killing as many Ta'Reeth ships as they possibly could before they succumbed to the flames themselves.

With the fleet overrun, Redemption found herself surrounded.

"Take evasive action! Flight pattern lima seven." Jason called out to his helmsman. He gripped the arms of his chair as Redemption wove her way between two Ta'Reeth battleships. She was faster, and more maneuverable than the Ta'Reeth, but the two battleships had her outgunned. Redemption's heavy railguns pounded each of the battleships as she raced between them, never presenting a stable target to her enemy. Lieutenant Runnz kept every particle beam, railgun, and ion cannon firing until Redemption was clear.

"Status report." Jason unclenched his hands. It had only taken a few moments to pass between, and kill the two Battleships, but time has a way of slowing down in intense situations.

"Admiral, our shields are at ninety-six percent and climbing." Angel showed a hologram of the battle. Ever so slowly, the numbers were beginning to even out. The remote particle cannons fired endlessly into the enemy ranks, and the Malgari crews were making the Ta'Reeth pay a high price for every ship that they destroyed.

"This isn't right." Jason studied the hologram intently. "No, something isn't right. They're holding back."

"Disengage! All ships, disengage! Lieutenant Campbell, flank speed." Jason yelled as he checked his readouts. "Get the fleet into that asteroid belt."

As Redemption began to move, ten more Ta'Reeth ships dropped out of hyperspace. The ships were larger and more robust than the ones already in the fight. A crown of enormous, gnarled arms reached forward from the bow of the ships, with a swirling void in the center. Each of vessels instantly focused on the nearest Malgari ship, and pulled it into the void.

"Ensign Priest, all available fighters are to attack the base of the gravity well generators." Admiral McWilliams pursed his lips. Command was never easy, and now he had to risk everything, or lose it all.

"Lieutenant Campbell, attack speed to the nearest Ta'Reeth gravity well ship." Jason turned his attention to his link with Kamira. "Kam, I hope your stuff works. We're about ready to test it out. Activate the shield modifications."

"Yes Sir." came his wife's swift reply as Kamira activated what she hoped would save their lives. "Modifications are online."

At Lieutenant Campbell's control, Redemption sped back through space, towards the Ta'Reeth fleet. She wove past the lighter of the enemy ships, ripping into their hulls as she did. Her own fleet passed by swiftly, in an effort to evade the new Ta'Reeth super weapons.

Redemption reached the nearest of the ships, only to find yet another of her own fleet caught in the grip of the black hole. The hull of the Malgar ship stretched and twisted in the intense gravity, then disappeared into the void before Redemption could attempt to save them. No sooner was the Malgari ship destroyed, than the powerful Ta'Reeth focused on Redemption.

In the center of the void, all light died. All things elongated, twisted, crumpled, and died as it became yet another victim of the black hole. All things, except the starship Redemption. Her modified shields absorbed the incredible energy, and then used it to strengthen her shields, weapons, and structural integrity.

"Lieutenant Runnz, rip that ship apart." Jason sneered. He wanted desperately to turn every Ta'Reeth ship into a smoking wreck, even if he had to do it by hand. "Kam, keep me updated."

"Jason, our shields look good. Power levels are stable, we're doing fine." Kamira reported. Even though the situation was dire, the fact that her modifications were working, made her smile.

Redemption sat comfortably in the grip of the void. Her shields held strong, and proved nearly invulnerable, due to the influx of raw power. From inside the safety of the shields, Redemption fired salvo after deadly salvo into the ranks of enemy ships.

Ta'Reeth cruisers began to surround Redemption. Their heavy plasma cannons relentlessly pounded her shields, with no discernible effect. The cruisers came first, and then each of the gravity well generators came to bear.

"Admiral, we are..." Angel appeared next to Jason. She wavered in the light as she brightened in intensity. "...surrounded by..."

"Admiral, we've got a problem." Kamira called to the bridge, breaking through Angel's static filled hologram.

"...over a hundred enemy vessels." Angel finally finished. Her confused and angry look said more than the words that she could no longer form.

"What is it?" Jason knew that anytime Kamira did not call him by name, it was serious. "There's something wrong with Angel."

"I know. Look, when I designed the shield modifications, I designed them for facing one black hole. Not ten." Kamira rubbed her temples as she spoke, trying desperately to come up with a solution. "We can't disperse the energy of ten gravity well generators."

"What do you mean we can't disperse the energy?" Jason focused intently on his link to engineering. "What is it, the shields will fail? We'll get sucked into a black hole? What?"

"Boom." Kamira leveled her gaze at Jason.

"Boom?" Jason's eyes went wide.

"Unless I can find a way to release it, yeah." Kamira nodded.

"How long do we have?" Jason asked quietly.

"I don't know. We don't have the power to break free, and we can't shunt the power somewhere else." Kamira pursed her lips, and looked off to the side of her display. "Unless... I need to take over control of the ship from down here. I'll explain later, if this works."

"Alright, I'm transferring the controls." Jason took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. He trusted Kamira more than he trusted anyone else, but he still didn't like relinquishing control of his ship to her. "I hope whatever you're up to works."

"Yeah, me too. Love ya. Bye." Kamira started working before Jason was gone.

Helpless, Jason studied his bridge crew. They were good, better than he actually expected. He hadn't asked for any of this, but fate was rarely one to take requests.

The Ta'Reeth continued their onslaught. Ignoring the other ships that Redemption had come with, nearly half of the enemy fleet was trying to annihilate Redemption.

Without warning, Redemption's shields collapsed. They crushed against her sculpted hull, and then burst outward. The energy of ten black holes erupted from Redemption, and crashed through the Ta'Reeth fleet like a tsunami over rice paper.

With her energy gone and her systems overloaded, Redemption hung dead in space.

Chapter 74

The night air was crisp and cool as T'Sula rode. It was quiet at night without the sounds of the animals or birds, with only the quiet humming of her hovercycle to keep her company. The solitude could have been irritating, but instead of letting it bother her, T'Sula found herself thinking about why she was there.

She knew the facts, but she also wondered why. What was her purpose? Why her? In the end, T'Sula decided that it didn't matter who had brought her or how she had gotten there. The fact remained that she was there, and there were important things that she needed to do.

Her legs and back began to ache after riding for several hours without stopping. Finally, she gave in and stopped the bike. It had been years since she had ridden a bike for so long, but this one was a good machine. It was well made, and the ride was smooth.

After sitting for so long, the ground felt good under T'Sula's feet. She walked around for a couple of minutes, stretching her aching muscles before she headed back to her bike. The sky was unusually clear, allowing her to see countless stars, and the traces of a few planets in the sky.

As T'Sula gazed at the stars, a massive explosion ripped through the heavens. Brilliant blue fire, tinged with flecks of green and red, blossomed in the sky. T'Sula watched silently as the fires bloomed and died. She knew instinctively that either Corin, or Kamira, was coming for her. There simply was no other explanation.

Her resolution to take what she had started and see it through to the end, grew infinitely stronger at the sight of the fire in space. Whether it was Corin or Kamira out there, made little difference to T'Sula. She would not have their efforts and sacrifices be in vain.

The Buell came to life just as it should. T'Sula settled into the seat, and cracked the throttle. She wasn't entirely familiar with the velocity measurements. Kilometers she knew, but this vehicle's primary increment was in miles per hour.

The needle on the gauge climbed smoothly, and quickly passed into triple digits as T'Sula raced through the night. Dawn approached all too soon for T'Sula, for with it came a new set of threats. At night, it was easier to go unnoticed by the enemy. Daylight made it easier to see, but stealth was nearly impossible.

She turned off the bike's night vision system, and prepared herself for what she knew lay ahead. So much had already happened since she had seen Kamira on Olcai. It seemed like only a faint dream, or a distant memory, even though it was only a few days ago. Kamira, and Narja, and Corin, they all had become important to her in their own ways. Kam, of course, was her cousin. Narja was an honorable comrade in arms.

Corin though, was something else entirely. Corin Dante was an enigma that T'Sula could hardly define. The man was insufferable, but had managed to endear himself to T'Sula, to make her trust him with her life. She trusted him enough, that she let him turn her over to Malek, and in turn to the Ta'Reeth.

T'Sula saw a small recess in the side of a hill not far ahead. She eased the bike to a gentle stop, and pushed the vehicle into the recess. When she turned off the key, it settled quietly to the ground.

Darkness would have been preferable for avoiding the Ta'Reeth, but time was in short supply. She remembered what Pike had told her. She wished that Pike were here with her now. T'Sula resigned herself to completing this mission by herself. This way at least, no one else would get killed.

The canyon wasn't far from where T'Sula stashed the bike. The Grand Canyon itself seemed to drop away from the face of the Earth, diving deep into the realm of the nether. She liked the rugged landscape, with its deep browns and massive rock formations. When she looked closely, she could see the different ages and types of stone in the incredible formations. It was like nothing else that T'Sula Mir had ever seen.

T'Sula walked quickly, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. Even in the morning sun, with keeping low and to the rocks and scrub, T'Sula managed to reach the canyon walls undetected.

What she saw made her stop and want to cry. Even in its present state, there was no denying the majesty of the place. The massive mountain canyons of Bakesh were nothing compared to the one before her. She instantly understood why this one had been named the 'Grand Canyon'.

T'Sula wished that she could have seen this place in its pristine, unmolested state.

Straddling the canyon some distance away, was an enormous bowl. It was supported by a pair of bone girders on either side, and large enough to support a several thousand people. The canyon walls were lined with massive ribs that ran from the river far below, to the rim, giving the giant canyon the semblance of a massive, mutated carcass. The paces between the ribs were covered with cells, from the top to the bottom, and as far as the eyes could see. They were just large enough for a fully grown man to stand in, and were supported on the bottom and sides by thick the gray bone. A thin veil of skin covered each of the cells, giving the occupants a small measure of privacy.

Inside the cells were men and women of various ages, but all were human. At least, they used to be. Each of the prisoners bore some deformity or another. Some of them had grotesque limbs grafted onto their bodies, while others looked as if they had been bred with a specific, unidentified task in mind. No matter what had been done to them, they all had one thing in common. That thing was pain.

T'Sula forced the unfortunate beings out of her mind. She had a mission to complete, and nothing was going to stand in her way. Not Corin. Not the Ta'Reeth, nothing.

It took T'Sula a few minutes of searching, but she found a small recess in the canyon wall that would be suitable for free climbing. She made sure that her footing was secure and that her hand holds were stable, and then started down.

The rock bit into her hands as she climbed, giving her a small connection with the canyon itself. The feeling that the course stone engendered in her surprised her. She knew that no matter what happened, she would always be connected to this amazing place, as if by simply touching the walls of this gorge, she was leaving a piece of herself within it.

T'Sula forced herself to push any thoughts, except for focusing on what she was doing, out of her mind. Cautiously, she worked her way down the canyon wall. Periodically, she stopped to make certain that she hadn't been discovered, and then continued her descent.

The closer that she came to the river below, the more she noticed the smell. At one time, this place had been clean and beautiful. Now there were well over a million people held captive along the canyon walls, and the once clean river was now an open sewer.

The trek was arduous and time consuming, but eventually she reached the bottom. T'Sula tried to cover her mouth and nose to block the smell, but nothing that she did worked. Finally, she gave up and suffered through the stench.

At the bottom of the canyon, just above the roaring waters of the river, was a slim walkway. It too was made of bone, thick and stable. T'Sula held tightly to the railing as she walked.

The walkway brought her close enough to the cells that she could clearly see inside. She looked into the first one that she came to, and immediately regretted it. Inside the cell was Malek. His eyes, ears and hands had been removed, only to be replaced with organic mechanisms that she could not begin to understand.

T'Sula jumped back as Malek turned and approached the front of his cell. A grotesque sneer covered what was left of his face. Even through the veil, T'Sula could see the stains of his teeth, and the torment of his ravaged body.

"I know it's you T'Sula Mir! I know it's you!" he howled as T'Sula ran past.

Remembering Pike and his words, T'Sula slowed to a walk and reached into her pocket. Here at the bottom of the canyon she would find the help that she needed. She pulled out the carved stone that Pike had given her, and held it out so that it could be seen. She continued forward, searching for anything that could help.

"What are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?" a strange voice called to her from a nearby cell. "Get in here before they find you."

T'Sula quickly turned and went over to the cell. There, standing on the other side of the translucent barrier was a bald old man in rags. He stood just under two meters tall, and looked to be in fair health. There was an energy about him that could not be denied. He manipulated something that T'Sula couldn't see on the back side of the barrier, then motioned her to step through.

The thin membrane opened just enough for T'Sula to step through, then quickly closed again. Not knowing what else to do, she held out the stone for the old man to see. He looked it over, smiled, then focused intently on T'Sula.

The old man's crystal blue eyes bored into T'Sula's consciousness, straight to her soul.

"It picked a pretty one." He smiled, and motioned for T'Sula to follow him deeper into the cell. As they went deeper, the cell grew larger. Inside, the cell was adorned with a few crude amenities.

"Why am I here?" T'Sula forced herself to ask, not really believing that this old man could know the answer.

The old man sighed as he turned back to face T'Sula. The smile was gone, replaced with a look that was filled with pain, anger, and frustration.

"Immortality is a curse." he finally said. "And a gift." he moved around the cell as he spoke to her. "It is a gift that only God has the wisdom and compassion to wield."

"It should never be thrust upon a lesser being!" he spun on his heel, turning to face T'Sula. The old man moved better than she had thought possible for someone of his advanced age. "Anything less than a God is too fallible. They cannot handle the power or consequences of immortality."

"Why are you telling me this?" T'Sula asked after a long moment of silence. There were other questions that she wanted to ask, but resigned herself to just the one.

"What you have inside of you my dear is the key." he stepped forward and took her hand. He held a tiny blade, and pricked her palm. He took the few drops of blood, and put it in a tiny dish. "The reason that you are here, the reason for your entire journey, is that in your blood is the antidote, the genome sequence that will stop the Ta'Reeth ability to heal. It's a series of lightly irradiated genes that are coded, so that put in the proper sequence, it produces the genome."

T'Sula sat back on her heels, stunned. It all came crashing down upon her. The Ta'Reeth wanted her because of this. If the wrong people were to find her, the consequences were unfathomable. What was inside her was nothing less than the key to destroying an entire race. The weapons that could be fashioned from her blood would be able change the balance of power, and bring the Ta'Reeth to their knees.

"The Olcai needed to find someone capable of bringing the code to me, so they picked you. You T'Sula Mir, are the key to the survival of the universe." he smiled a thin smile, then laughed with a high pitched wheeze.

"The Olcai? How are they involved?" T'Sula looked at the old man in confusion. They had been part of this all along? "Wait, how did you know my name? Who are you?"

"Surprised, I see." the old man shook his head in dismay to see how little people really knew about others. "The Olcai are a very old people, T'Sula, older than even you Bakeerons. They are old, and very skilled. Don't underestimate them."

"How do you know my name?" T'Sula pressed. Was there anyone on this planet that didn't know who she was? If the First Ta'Reeth knew, she would have no chance at all.

"I made it my business to know." he smiled, hiding the things that he knew, and the things that he didn't.

T'Sula quietly sank back into herself. So much had happened, and here was still so much that needed to be done. She looked deep inside herself, and wondered if she had the strength to see it through. There were hundreds of billions of people, more than she could imagine, and they all depended on her to succeed. What she chose to do now, would inevitably affect all of the people for the rest of time, and she knew it.

"Will this genome put an end to the war? Will it stop the killing?" she asked quietly. The implications of the old man's words weighed heavily upon her. Everything that had happened to her since she set foot on Olcai had been orchestrated to this end.

"That is up to you." the smile disappeared from his face. "The First will never stop. The only way to stop the war, to stop the killing, is to kill the First Ta'Reeth."

T'Sula watched the old man in silence. In some way, she had known that it would come to this. The only way to achieve peace was to fight for it. She knew that she had to fight the First. There was no other way.

"What are its weaknesses?" T'Sula finally asked.

"There aren't any." the old man sighed. "As with any of the Ta'Reeth, if you destroy its brain, it will die. However, the First has over three hundred years of combat experience, and can read your mind."

"What are you going to do with the genome?" T'Sula wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to know, but she asked anyway. Ignorance was indeed bliss; however, she knew that she couldn't afford the luxury.

"I'm going to make things right." the old man replied dismissively.

"Fair enough. How do you know so much about it?" T'Sula got to her feet. She stopped and turned to face the old man before she left. The fact that the old man hadn't told her who he was, yet he knew so much, was not lost to her.

"I'm the one that is responsible for this glorious disaster." he hung his head as he spoke. "Where are you going child?"

"I'm going to finish this." T'Sula told him as she stepped out of the cell.

Chapter 75

Vengeance slipped quietly out of hyperspace, at the edge of chaos. Nearly five hundred Ta'Reeth warships drifted helpless and out of control. Their heavily armored hulls were cracked and broken open, as if they had been crushed with a giant mallet.

Corin wove his ship carefully through the debris, searching for signs of life, and finding none. He checked his sensors repeatedly, in hope of finding Redemption as he made his way deeper into the carnage.

"Major, how's it going down there?" Corin asked as he narrowly avoided contact with a severed spar, careening wildly away from a nearby cruiser.

"Prinelle is awake now." Corin could hear the relief in the other man's voice. He hadn't said anything, but Corin knew that losing Prinelle again would destroy Narja completely. "Brutus is still in the DioBed, with your daughter at his side."

"Thank you for keeping an eye on them." Corin sighed. He wished that he could be there with his family, but knew that he was needed right where he was. It surprised him that he had actually included Prinelle and Narja as family in his thoughts. "When you get a minute, I could use you up here."

"I understand." Narja paused before he spoke again. "I'll be there in a moment."

Corin turned his attention back to the graveyard of ships. Something incredibly powerful had done this. The knowledge that something that wielded this kind of power even existed sent a chill down his spine. Deep in the recesses of his mind, Corin pictured some massive, all-powerful being taking these vessels, and crushing them in his hands, before casting them away like the ruined hulks that they were.

"What happened here?" Narja asked as he stepped onto the bridge. His eyes drifted across the destruction on display before him. In all of his years of fighting, he had never seen anything on such a scale. Hundreds of thousands of lives had been lost, and he was looking at the horrific results.

"I don't know." Corin shook his head. "Would you please contact Redemption? I'm going to run a few more sensor scans as we go."

Narja nodded as he sat down at the communications station and started working. He forced himself to focus on the console, instead of the view screen. What he saw there was the enemy, but death was still death, no matter what race or creed you came from.

Corin flew in close to one of the Ta'Reeth cruisers. The great spires that dotted the hull of the ship were cracked and bleeding. The blood froze the instant that it met the cold vacuum of space, only to be broken away by fresh blood, and frozen all over again.

He watched closely as the great ship bled over and over again. Puzzled, he replayed the image. The ship bled, froze, and bled again.

"Oh, my God." Corin muttered.

"What is it?" Narja looked at his friend.

"Watch this." Corin pointed to the view screen, and played the sequence again for Narja. "Do you see it?"

"See what?" Narja squinted at the screen. "The bleeding?"

"Partly." Corin ran his hand over his face. "Look closely. It's healing itself. These ships aren't dead." He pointed at the replay again, and magnified the image. As it played, the crack grew smaller each time the ship bled.

"Have you been able to reach Redemption yet?" Corin asked while he recorded the data on the Ta'Reeth ships.

"No, I haven't." Narja reluctantly sat back in his seat. He quickly started working again, trying to contact his ship.

"Don't bother contacting Redemption. Instead, send this data package to Captain Kim, and tell him that we're doing what we can." Corin's voice stopped Narja cold, and brought his eyes to the view screen. "Tell him to send reinforcements now."

In the center of Hell, lay Redemption, her hull crushed and scarred. No lights shone in her portholes, and precious oxygen spouted like geysers from a hundred separate wounds. The mighty ship listed badly to port, and started to tumble.

Around Redemption were the remains of hundreds of Ta'Reeth cruisers and fighters. Each of the enemy ships was mangled beyond clear recognition. Only the bone hulls identified them as Ta'Reeth, and the amount of wreckage gave an indication as to the class of vessel. These ships, unlike the ones farther out, were dead.

Corin carefully picked his way through the wreckage. He flew around Redemption, carefully running a thorough scan of the ship, before finally docking Vengeance amidships.

"Alright Narja, we've got a lot to do, and no time to do it." He motioned for the Caldonian to come with him. "We've got rescue gear in the cargo bay, and environmental suits near the airlock. Let's go."

The two men didn't bother speaking as they ran to the cargo bay. They already knew what they had to do. They took lights, a few tools, and a portable power supply out of a locker, and hurried back to the airlock. When they reached the airlock, Narja left Prinelle a short message, then climbed into his suit.

The suits were old and bulky, but they served their purpose well. Corin and Narja quickly checked each other's suits, and then opened the airlock. On the other side was a short passageway, and then Redemption's hull.

Vengeance's airlock opened without any problems, but Redemption's airlock was another issue. The armored hull around the airlock was badly creased, jamming the door shut. With the power out, Corin tried to use a hand crank to open the malfunctioning airlock. He strained hard, putting all of his weight against the handle, but it would not move at all.

"We'll have to try a different one." Corin's voice sounded hollow over the suit's communications system. "There's one aft of here. We'll go out through Vengeance's hatch."

"Are there life signs aboard Redemption?" Narja asked, picking up the portable power unit. The tone of his voice betrayed the thoughts and emotions that he tried to hide.

"I couldn't get a definitive number, but yeah." Corin grunted. "Did you get the data package off to Captain Kim?"

"I did, and it was marked as being received." Narja grunted as he hauled the rescue equipment down the corridor. Time, it seemed, was always in increasingly short supply as the two men hurried through the ship.

"Good." Corin sighed as he opened the airlock, and stepped out onto Redemption's hull. His magnetic boots gently pulled against the battered metal as he walked. Redemption continued to spin and tumble through the heart of the debris field, threatening to dislodge both Corin and Narja.

"Keep your eyes on the hull, so that you don't get disoriented." Narja called to Corin, reminding himself as much as the other man. If either of them came away from Redemption, there would be no saving them, and the mission would be lost.

The access hatch lay recessed into the hull, with a manual release next to it. The handle for the release was a simple tee shape that was just under half of a meter in length. Corin grabbed the handle with both hands, and heaved. Slowly, the hatch ground open.

Narja shone his light inside the darkened hatch. Inside was a small compartment that was barely large enough to fit the two men and their equipment. Cautiously, they dropped into the compartment, and closed the hatch.

Corin and Narja quickly searched for the next hatch. It was larger than the previous one, and on a bulkhead that ran perpendicular to the hull. Another handle was recessed into the bulkhead next to the hatch. With a little effort, Corin was able to open it.

When they stepped through the hatch, everything was dark. Their environmental suits muted the sounds coming from the darkness. Corin glanced down at the readouts on his arm. There was breathable atmosphere in the ship, but it was growing thinner by the minute.

"We should probably keep our suits on." Corin spoke to Narja through the intercom.

"Agreed, but we need to get to engineering." Narja pointed his light ahead. "If we can help get the power back, they'll be able to start repairs."

"What was that?" Corin started as something brushed his shoulder. He spun quickly, nearly falling down. Floating near his shoulder was nothing more than a section of bulkhead, with a piece of power conduit seared to it.

"It's nothing." Narja continued ahead. "Follow me."

"Yeah, no problem." Corin muttered. He considered turning off his light, and using his implants, but thought better of the idea. The implants worked well enough, but after a while they began to hurt when he used them too much.

With Narja leading, the trek to engineering did not take long at all. He led Corin along the outer corridors, avoiding possible encounters with the crew, and then took a series of empty corridors toward the heart of the ship.

When they reached engineering the doors were closed, but not sealed and easy enough to open. Stepping through the door, Corin could hear muffled voices and sounds that he couldn't identify coming from the darkness. He glanced down at his readout, and saw that the atmosphere was safe before he opened his face shield.

"Alright, you had better answer me! Who's got those blasted lights?" Kamira yelled from the darkness. "You'd better get them over here on the double, or you're going on report!"

"Alright already. Stop yelling at me." Corin retorted sarcastically.

"Who is that?" Kamira yelled back. "You had better answer me!"

"Corin Dante." He replied. "And Major Narja. Would you like some help?" he shone his light to where Kamira's voice had come from. She looked furious, floating helplessly in mid air.

"Give me a hand, please." Kamira asked quietly as she stretched out her hand toward the light.

Corin and Narja both helped to steady Kamira. Without the artificial gravity, she still floated, but with their help, she was able to move around.

"What happened here?" Corin finally asked. He used his light to look around. Tools and parts floated throughout engineering, as did the unfortunate crew.

"I think we blew out just about every power coupling and relay on the ship." Kamira took Corin's light away from him, and began her own inspection. "We don't have anything. No communications, power, computer support, nothing. I can't even run an MRU."

"Well, we noticed that you've got around a hundred hull breaches too." Corin grimaced. The ship had taken more of a beating than he had first thought, and from the carnage outside, he thought that it had to have been a tough fight.

"We brought you a portable power unit." Narja interjected as he showed the unit to Kamira.

"That's good. We can hook that up to one of our MRUs, and at least get started on something." Kam sighed. "I can't even run a repair drone. They all run off Angel. Until we get the core up and running again, we're in deep trouble."

"What about that thing in my cargo bay?" Corin asked hopefully.

"What thing?" Kamira looked at Corin.

"You know, that drone you built when we crashed. It's in my cargo bay, and I've got a working MRU." Corin motioned toward Vengeance.

"You are a genius." Kamira smiled. "I can use that drone independent of Angel. It's slow, but it'll still work."

"I should probably find out what kind of assistance the Admiral needs." Narja handed the power unit to Corin. "I will be in contact with you shortly." without saying anything else, Narja left Engineering.

"Alright, let's get this thing plugged in." Kamira indicated the power unit. "The MRU is over here." she pushed off a nearby cabinet, and soared over to the MRU with Corin's light in hand.

Corin sighed and activated his implants. Engineering lit up as if it were daylight. His implants scanned the visible spectrum, and a few others, picking up every detail. The damage that he saw with his implants was staggering. Nothing had escaped unscathed.

Once Corin reached the MRU, it took only a couple of seconds to connect the power unit, and get the MRU running again. He watched silently as Kamira keyed a series of commands into the system. As he watched, Corin disconnected the auxiliary communications unit from the arm of his suit, and handed it to Kamira.

"This will let you talk to Narja, me, or Vengeance. I'll have Narja leave his with Jason, so that you'll have a link with him too." Corin stopped and thought about what he should say next. "I should get that drone out for you."

"Corin." Kamira said quietly as he turned to leave.

"Yeah Kam?" He stopped and looked back at her. She reminded him of T'Sula, of all the things that he wanted.

"Don't let her down." Kamira forced the tears not to come. "Go get her Corin."

"I will." Corin willed the words out of his mouth, and then quickly left engineering.

Corin backtracked the route that he and Narja had taken. His thoughts raced as he sealed his suit, and entered the airlock. Hard vacuum greeted him before he managed to clear his mind, and bring his thoughts back to the tasks before him.

The crew of Redemption was counting on him. Mekala was counting on him, as were T'Sula, Prinelle, and Narja. He focused his eyes on his ship, and placing one foot in front of the other, walked back to Vengeance. Everything in his universe counted on him, on his ability to see things through.

The weight of his thoughts nearly crushed him.

Corin finally reached the airlock, when something in the Ta'Reeth wreckage caught his attention. Near the edge of the wreckage, something moved. It was small, much smaller than Redemption or Vengeance, yet it was bigger than a man. Corin paused, and watched as whatever it was flitted back and forth through the debris.

He closed his eyes and accessed Vengeance's sensors. After a moment of searching, he found it. There, at the edge of the wreckage, was a Ta'Reeth fighter.

Silently, Corin cursed. The fighter could only be doing one thing. It was sending reconnaissance data back to its fleet.

"We've got problems." Corin spoke without preamble into his communications unit.

"What kind of problems?" it was Admiral McWilliams coming over his system now.

"We've just been reconned by a Ta'Reeth fighter. Did Narja tell you what we found?" Corin found a new sense of urgency and hurried into his ship.

"Yeah, they're healing. We don't have much time." Jason sounded tired. "Oh, Corin?"

"Yeah?" Corin asked as he sealed the airlock and turned off his gravity boots.

"Welcome back." Jason kept as much out of his voice as he could manage. The man had managed to give him and his crew a glimmer of hope yet again, and Jason had no idea how he would ever repay him

"Thanks." Corin started to run. The cargo bay wasn't far, but running in an environment suit tired him quickly. When he reached the cargo bay, Corin's chest was heaving badly.

Sitting in a heap near the far wall was the drone. Corin walked over to the drone as fast as his labored breathing would allow. He removed the data pad that was attached to the drone, and powered up the machine. It cycled through a brief systems check, and then stood on its powerful legs.

The deck shook as the drone walked over to the cargo bay door. Corin followed the drone. When he reached the door, he sealed his suit and opened the cargo bay. As the doors quietly slid open, a shimmering forcefield snapped into place, keeping the ships atmosphere intact. With the doors fully open, Corin and the drone stepped out onto Redemption's hull.

"I'm programming this thing to detect and repair all of the hull breaches. Any objections?" Corin asked as he finished and initiated the program.

"That sounds like a good place to start." Kamira replied.

"Alright, I'm going to close up here, and check on Mekala." the words had barely come out of Corin's mouth when the Ta'Reeth struck.

A dozen fighters strafed Redemption, coming from the stern, in a tight formation, ripping massive holes in Redemption's already fractured hull. After strafing Redemption, the fighters turned, and attacked again. They came in closer, with their plasma cannons firing as fast as they could. Redemption's hull burst open from the strain, venting precious atmosphere into space.

Immediately behind the fighters, came a squadron of shuttles. They were larger, and bulkier than the thin shards of serrated bone that preceded them. The shuttles streaked in, and slammed into Redemption's hull with enough force to send shockwaves across the mighty ship.

Once settled, the shuttles broke open, releasing a dozen warriors apiece. The warriors were heavier than the ones that Corin had seen before, and the exposure to space did not seem to affect them at all. These Ta'Reeth had small, efficient looking cannons on each forearm, and long razor sharp claws at the tips of their fingers.

"We're being boarded!" Corin yelled into his communications unit. He ran back into Vengeance, and closed the cargo bay doors, allowing the drone to continue its work. Stripping out of his environment suit as he ran, Corin used his implants to initialize his shields and weapons systems.

"Narja, I could really use you right now." Corin called out as Vengeance's twin Gatling railguns came to life. He climbed into the turret and strapped himself in. Targeting the shuttles, Corin opened fire. The armor on the Ta'Reeth ships was thick and heavy, but gave way to the barrage of hyper-accelerated iron particles.

"I can't help you right now Corin. We're being boarded." Narja's terse reply came swiftly.

"Yeah, I'm trying to prevent that." Corin grimaced as he obliterated another shuttle. Sweat formed on his brow and began to drip down his face as he continued to fight against the Ta'Reeth.

The fighters came around again, but instead of targeting Redemption, they fired on Vengeance. The smaller ship rocked violently under the impact of the Plasma cannons, but her shields held. Corin ignored the fighters, steadily blasting away at the shuttles and warriors. If he could buy enough time, maybe Kamira could get Angel back online.

"Corin, incoming!" Prinelle's voice rang clear over the intercom. "I'm reading two more flights of fighters, with shuttles behind."

"Keep me posted." Corin swore under his breath. "Admiral, how's it coming down there?"

"We're a little busy." Jason grunted. "Should have power back in a couple of minutes."

The next wave of fighters streaked in, strafing Redemption and Vengeance. Corin did what he could, and destroyed a handful of shuttles before they could land. He continued to shred the shuttles and fighters as fast as he could, but the Ta'Reeth still managed to board Redemption.

"Where are those reinforcements?" Corin screamed into his com unit.

"Right here." Captain Kim's voice rang in his ears.

Corin looked up just as a hundred Resistance and Caldonian cruisers broke through the shroud of debris. Sleek fighters streamed out of the giant ships hulls, followed by several dozen shuttles.

"Redemption's being boarded. They have no power, or Marines." Corin quickly reported to Captain Kim.

"Good copy. We're taking care of that now." Captain Kim replied. "The rest of the fleet is unable to attend. They're busy with the rest of the Ta'Reeth fleet."

"Understood. Admiral, did you copy that?" Corin lit up another fighter.

"Tell Quin to hurry up and get his rear over here." as Jason spoke, Redemption's power flickered, faded, and then came fully to life. Her weapons systems roared into activity, instantly vaporizing dozens of Ta'Reeth ships. The tumbling slowed, and then came to a stop as Redemption fired her thrusters.

The Resistance shuttles landed on Redemption's hull, and quickly released their Marines. The troops were swift and efficient as they entered the ship, killing any Ta'Reeth that came in view.

A few minutes passed before Corin stopped firing. The fighters were gone, and no more enemy shuttles came to land. He checked his sensors, and they showed that he was right. The fight was over, for now anyway.

"Captain Dante, please detach from my hull. You are welcome to land in landing bay three." Angel's voice sounded strained, but it was still good to hear.

Corin was relieved to climb out of the turret. To him, it meant that his family was safe for just a little while longer. It took him a moment to reach the bridge, but when he did, Mekala greeted him, with Brutus right behind her. Prinelle was seated at her station with a resigned smile on her face.

"Feeling better?" Corin asked the Caldonian.

"Yes. Thank you." Prinelle sank into her chair. "Are we going to go get this T'Sula Mir now?"

"I think it's time to." Corin sat in his seat, and quickly detached his ship from Redemption. Landing bay three was only a moment away, but it seemed like an eternity. Vengeance's thrusters fired smoothly as Corin slipped around Redemption, and into the landing bay.

Narja, Kamira, and Jason were waiting for them. Each of them looked weary, but whole. Kamira grinned as Corin walked down the ramp carrying Mekala, followed by Prinelle and Brutus.

"Corin, thank you." Jason stepped forward with his hand outstretched. "If it wasn't for you, all of you, we would all be dead."

Corin took the Admiral's hand, and firmly shook it. He couldn't find any words, so he simply nodded.

"I still need to get T'Sula." Corin whispered. "Can I take the Major with me? He's a good man."

"Narja?" Jason glanced over at his friend. He didn't want to send him out again so soon, but he knew that if he stopped him, there would be more damage to his friend than he would ever fully realize.

"I will return soon Sir." Major Narja smiled and joined his fiancé as they returned to Vengeance. They waved as the hatch closed, and Vengeance left for Earth.

Chapter 76

The sun bore down on T'Sula, threatening to blister her skin, and steal away the water in her body as she climbed the canyon wall. Dust choked her breathing, and rocks bit into her unprotected hands as she pushed herself higher. The edge of the canyon loomed just ahead, barely thirty meters away, when she saw them.

T'Sula looked up, straining her neck as she did so. Standing in her path was a squad of Ta'Reeth. They had come to the edge of the canyon, and they were looking out over the vast expanse.

As quickly as she could manage, T'Sula worked her way to her right, trying to reach a deep rend in the wall. She reached for another handhold, when her footing crumbled out from under her. Rock slashed into her arms, legs, and hands as she slid down the canyon wall, desperately clawing for anything to stop her descent.

T'Sula fell for a handful of minutes before she felt her feet strike something firm, and then it too gave way. She fell a few more meters, and then abruptly stopped. She lay still for a moment, too stunned to move. As she opened her eyes, she saw a creature standing over her. It had a woman's face and slight build, with thick black scales covering her body and needle like spines protruding from her shins and forearms.

The woman fixed T'Sula with an intense gaze that though it was fearsome, showed a warmth and beauty that T'Sula did not expect.

"You should not be here." the woman whispered. "It is not safe for people like you."

"It's not safe for anyone." T'Sula replied quietly as she climbed warily to her feet. She watched as the other woman stepped back, keeping a safe distance away from her. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"It's not me that I'm worried about." she watched T'Sula with her crimson eyes. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me. I promise." T'Sula smiled. "What's your name?"

"Gabrielle." the other woman smiled and started to relax. "What's yours?"

"T'Sula." T'Sula stepped forward. "My name is T'Sula Mir."

"Mir?" Gabrielle laughed lightly. "Your name literally means peace. Are you here for peace?"

"My name means peace? I didn't know that." T'Sula shook her head at the irony. She was named for peace, but all that she had ever known was war. "Since you asked, yes, I am here for peace."

"And how, exactly are you going to bring about peace, T'Sula Mir. You're just one person." Gabrielle asked quietly as she started looking outside of her cell.

"Sometimes one person is all that it takes." T'Sula turned and followed Gabrielle with her eyes. "If I can find a way to stop the First, then peace will have a chance."

Gabrielle continued to search the sky and rocks surrounding her prison for something that T'Sula could not see or hear. She moved quickly now from side to side, and searched from the opaque floor to the ripped ceiling.

"If you don't do as I say right now, you won't ever get the chance for peace." Gabrielle turned and faced T'Sula with a quickness that even she found impressive. "Don't question me. Just do what I say."

T'Sula studied the other woman for an instant before she nodded her compliance. She had come this far on her instincts, luck, and unforeseen allies. Now was not the time to question. It was the time to act.

"Take your blades and cut through the wall. We need to get into that crack, and we need to do it quickly." Gabrielle sounded calm as T'Sula drew her bayonets and sliced through the membrane that served as a wall. Without talking, both women took hold of the rock face, and quickly climbed into the crack.

"Deeper, all the way to the back." Gabrielle quietly urged.

T'Sula did as she was told and squeezed as far back into the crack as she could. She braced herself against the rocks, so that she wouldn't have to hold her own weight, and waited for more instructions. She could smell the rocks, the dirt, and the spice of the scrub that was hardy enough to survive here. It served to remind her of her home on Bakesh and the mountains near the monastery.

"Don't be alarmed. I won't hurt you." Gabrielle whispered as she pressed close to T'Sula, covering her with her own body. Slowly, her onyx scales faded, turning the same dark brown as the surrounding rocks. As Gabrielle's color changed, her sent drifted from a deep musk, to the dry earthiness of the rock and scrub.

T'Sula waited for long moments in quiet astonishment before she heard it. At first, T'Sula couldn't identify the quiet clicking sounds that came from the canyon, and then she saw them. Clinging to the canyon walls, were dozens of Ta'Reeth with long spidery legs that easily gripped the jagged rocks.

The Ta'Reeth skittered back and forth across the canyon walls, methodically probing each and every crevice, looking for her. They were small creatures, only about half the size of a man, but they were quick, and their razor sharp pincers flashed through the air with blinding speed.

T'Sula forced herself to stay calm as half a dozen of the creatures came probing into the darkness. She watched as they probed closer, coming within centimeters of her and Gabrielle. The creatures stopped, and stared at the women, with their black, compound eyes, before they turned and left to search somewhere else.

"Climb. Now." Gabrielle insisted quietly. "We don't have much time."

"What?" T'Sula asked as she started to climb. She knew that she probably shouldn't be asking too many questions right then, but she felt that she needed to know what was going on.

"You'll see." was all that the other woman offered before the fighters struck. The ships vectored in, keeping a tight formation as they wove through the massive canyon, before finally unleashing a devastating barrage of plasma on the place where T'Sula and Gabrielle had been only moments before. The canyon itself shuddered from the impact and devastation wrought by the three Ta'Reeth ships. Vegetation erupted in small gouts of flame, and rock boiled, then slid down the canyon wall, incinerating everything in its path.

T'Sula did her best to shield herself from the heat and falling rocks as she climbed higher and higher. She didn't look back for fear that the destruction, and loss of life, would be too much to bear. As she climbed, her resolution grew ever stronger that she needed to bring the First to justice of some kind. She had to stop the killing. She had to stop the war, no matter what the cost was.

Long minutes passed before the Ta'Reeth fighters ceased their barrage on the canyon wall. When they were finished, thousands were dead, and the Grand Canyon was forever changed, forever scarred by the incendiary hate of the First.

Long after the fighters had left, T'Sula and Gabrielle reached the rim of the canyon. The light began to fade as the women hauled themselves, battered and exhausted, out of canyon and to the relative safety of the nearby rock formations. Neither spoke as they lay back against the still warm earth and waited for night to fully fall.

"Why did you help me?" T'Sula finally ventured. She had asked herself the question a hundred times during the climb out of the canyon, but never once gave the question a voice.

"I thought that if there was anyone that could possibly help us, it was probably you." Gabrielle replied out of growing darkness. "After all, you are the only one that has ever made it this far. It seemed like the right thing to do."

"Fair enough." T'Sula leaned back and closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the sounds of this foreign world.

"Why aren't you scared of me?" Gabrielle asked quietly. "I'm a monster."

"No, you're not." T'Sula replied. She looked purposefully over at the woman that had just helped her. "Monsters don't help people when they need it. They willfully hurt others, and have no remorse for their actions. They don't care about anyone, or anything other than themselves. You are not a monster."

"Thank you T'Sula Mir." Gabrielle whispered before she stood, and looked out of the rocks, toward the darkened canyon. "We should be going. If we stay here any longer, they will find us."

"Alright. I've got to get something off my bike." T'Sula stood and stretched. The short rest had been good for her. Her cuts and bruises were gone, and she actually felt refreshed enough to begin again.

T'Sula kept to the deep shadows as she led the way from their hiding place, to the place where she had hidden the Buell. She had hidden it well, and the bike was unmolested when she opened the contoured saddlebags, and pulled out the modest array of rations and tools.

"What are you doing?" Gabrielle asked, studying the equipment that T'Sula had neatly arranged on the ground.

"I have to go back." T'Sula laid her rifle down, and then pulled out her pistols. Setting one down, she took the other and disassembled it, methodically inspecting it for any damage, before cleaning the parts and putting the weapon back together. "Do you know where I can find the First?"

"The First never leaves the Arena." Gabrielle knelt in front of T'Sula. "If you are going to do what I think you are, you won't survive it. The Arena is held above the canyon, and guarded at all times. No non Ta'Reeth has ever been there and lived to tell about it."

"I know that I won't live through it." T'Sula stated bluntly as she rose to her feet. The moonlight played over her beautiful features, hiding her concerns, and giving more weight to her words. "I have something that I need you to do for me, Gabrielle. I need you to take this talisman north." She reached into her pocket, and pulled out the stone that Pike had given her. She felt the marks etched in it, as she caressed it with her fingers, before she placed it in Gabrielle's hand. "Take it north, to the tallest mountain, and give it to the Ta'Reeth named Pike. Tell Pike what has happened here. Can you do that for me?"

"I can help you here, but I will do as you ask." Gabrielle turned to go, then stopped and looked back at T'Sula. "Be careful. I will be sad if you die."

"Thank you for your help, and please be careful." T'Sula glanced up, only to see that she was alone. With only herself to rely on, T'Sula ate some of the rations, and finished cleaning her weapons. When she was done, she cleaned up and stowed everything that she didn't need in the saddlebags.

After she sealed the saddlebags, and secured the Buell, T'Sula ensured that she had everything she needed and set out. It was fully dark now, so keeping hidden was a simple matter of staying out of the moonlight as much as possible.

She moved quickly and silently, slipping from one shadow to the next. Her target loomed in the distance, straddling the massive canyon on four immense legs that anchored into the rock with feet that stretched a full fifty meters across. The legs themselves spanned thirty meters, and were encased in thick grey bone. At the center of the canyon was the arena itself, easily five hundred meters long, and every bit as wide. The bowl of the arena was as dark as the legs that supported it, and nearly two hundred meters deep.

T'Sula kept to the shadows as she crept ever closer to the arena. The darkness became complete, and started to fade into daybreak before T'Sula reached the nearest part of the mammoth creature. When she came close enough to touch it, she saw that in true Ta'Reeth fashion, the arena was indeed alive. Constantly growing and evolving, the arena fed itself from the nutrients of the earth, and the water from the river far below.

Before she thought better of her actions, T'Sula climbed atop the giant foot, and walked out onto the leg. The wind started to blow as she moved forward. She refused to allow herself to look down as she unslung her rifle, and started to run. Her path was a constant climb, continually arching toward the center, toward the heart of the arena.

The pale morning light silhouetted T'Sula against the sky as she sprinted the last few miles of her journey. Eventually, the Ta'Reeth sentries found her, and flooded into T'Sula's path. They blocked her way with their bodies, and brought their weapons to bear. Arm mounted plasma cannons belched fire at T'Sula as she ran through the early morning light.

Without even thinking about her actions, T'Sula brought her rifle up to her shoulder, and acquired her first target. Her aim was steady as she ran, firing a three round burst into the head of each of her targets. One by one they fell, until there was only a single sentry left standing. The distance was too short to use her rifle, so T'Sula closed the distance even more. She kept running straight at the Ta'Reeth, and finally, at full speed, she took her rifle stock and butt stroked the sentry in the face. The creature's head snapped back with a sickening crack. It was dead before its knees buckled, and it fell to the river below.

Now that she had been found, time was shorter than ever. She knew that in mere moments, the entire arena was going to be bristling with Ta'Reeth, and her chances of success had gone from slim, to non-existent. If she didn't find the First in a matter of minutes, everything would be over, and she would have failed.

T'Sula growled at herself for thinking such things, and pushed herself that much harder. She quickly slung her rifle over her shoulder, and started to climb the side of the arena. The bone was rough, and had a fair amount of holds that allowed her to climb quickly. She lost herself to the climb, thinking of nothing other than reaching the top as fast as she could.

What T'Sula saw when she reached the top of the arena stopped her in her tracks. Several hundred thousand Ta'Reeth filled the bowl of the arena. Each of them stood, staring at her.

Slowly, T'Sula pulled her rifle sling off her shoulder. She checked to see how many rounds she still had, and brought the weapon up to her shoulder. She didn't have nearly enough rounds to stand and fight, but that didn't matter anymore. It wasn't the fact that she was going to die this morning. It wasn't even the thoughts of revenge and justice that had driven her for so long that allowed her to act. Someone had to stop the First. Someone had to step forward, after all of these years, and all of the pain, to force the fighting to finally end.

T'Sula flipped a switch on the side of her weapon, and brought the enhanced optics online. She methodically swept the weapon back and forth, quickly covering the entirety of the arena. As she moved, the computer in the rifle recorded every Ta'Reeth present. She kept the weapon trained on the enemy as she ran a quick search for the First. Nothing showed on the computer.

Finally, T'Sula lowered her weapon. She took a deep breath, and then screamed as loud as she could. "I am here to challenge the First Ta'Reeth! Show yourself!"

She waited for a moment, preparing to yell again.

The arena shook as every voice Ta'Reeth thundered in unison. "Who are you, to come to my home and challenge me?"

"I am T'Sula Mir! I challenge you!" T'Sula screamed back. "Quit hiding behind your drones!"

"I do not hide." the voice that came from behind her was strong and steady, confident beyond anything that T'Sula had ever encountered. "You will pay for your impertinence."

T'Sula turned to face the voice, not sure what she would find. As she turned, she brought her rifle up, and blocked the back fist that would have shattered her temple. The force of the strike bent the weapon nearly in half, rendering it useless. T'Sula moved with the force of the blow, spinning into a back kick that sent the First hurling backwards.

As the First fell, T'Sula set her ruined rifle on overload, and hurled it into the crowd of Ta'Reeth. The weapon flew out into the expanse, and exploded in a brilliant flash, taking hundreds of Ta'Reeth soldiers with it into the either.

"You will die for that!" the First howled, scrambling to its feet. Glistening talons flashed out of its fingertips, as the Ta'Reeth leader began to circle T'Sula. It watched her every move as they mirrored each other, searching for any weakness to exploit.

T'Sula kept her distance from the First, feinting jabs and kicks, measuring her opponent's reactions to her every move. The creature that she now faced had more combat experience than any other being in the galaxy, but she could not allow that to hinder her thoughts and actions. She had to prevail here, now. If she failed, now there would be nothing to stop the Ta'Reeth from conquering the galaxy. She had to stop the First. She had to give the Ta'Reeth the freedom to choose not to fight.

T'Sula and the First continued to circle each other, like two ends of the same rod, connected but never touching. T'Sula's right hand drifted down to the pistol strapped to her thigh, lightly touching the weapon, but not grasping it, not yet. Her eyes stayed fixed on her opponent, watching to see what the creature would do. She was aware of her surroundings, and of the Ta'Reeth that were watching them, but she was still unprepared for the arena to move beneath her.

The bone surface beneath her feet was still there, and still as hard as she expected, but it pitched heavily to the right, then even harder back to the left. The movement continued, and intensified, nearly throwing T'Sula to her back. She spread her stance slightly, compensating for the motion, and that was when the First struck.

The Ta'Reeth leader was fast, much faster than T'Sula had expected. Its talons slashed in, striking her faster than she could dodge, ripping into her ribs with a fiery pain that left her breathless. Before she could twist away, the First pressed the attack, ravaging her wounded ribs with a bone cracking series of kicks.

Bolts of white-hot pain shot through her body, starting at her lacerated side, and burying its blistering tips in the center of her brain. T'Sula could feel her strength being leached away by the poison that had entered her body. She fought through the pain as she stepped closer to the First in an effort to stop the relentless pounding to her ribs, and give her body a chance to heal.

T'Sula wrapped her arms behind the First's neck, and slammed her knee into the creature's groin as hard as she manage. She steadied herself slightly, and then raised her knee again and again, until finally the First's armor cracked, and blood began to trickle out of the wound. She ignored the constant barrage of strikes that battered every part of her body. She refused to release herself to the bloodlust that started to burn deep inside. The pain from her ribs was gone, and all that she could feel was the need to defeat her foe.

T'Sula raised her knee, to strike again, but the First was ready. With a powerful heave, the Ta'Reeth wrenched T'Sula away, and thrust her to the edge of the arena. The arena bucked and jolted as T'Sula slid, headlong toward the edge. The rough bone bit deeply into her skin, lacerating her body before she slid to a stop.

The jolting motion of the arena caused T'Sula to grab hold of the rough bone surface, keeping herself from tumbling over the side. She forced herself to look down, to gain strength from what she saw, knowing that she would see the defiled canyon, with the ruined waters far below.

What she saw, was not what she expected. Instead of the canyon and river, there was the dry, rugged terrain that she had crossed not so long ago. From the corner of her eye, T'Sula could see motion. The arena was indeed a living creature, and it was walking north. It was going the way that she had come.

With T'Sula momentarily distracted, the First struck again. First came the knee strikes to the back, and the talons that ripped into her muscles, and then the armored fists began to pound the back of her head.

"You would challenge me?" the Ta'Reeth mocked her as it drove her face into the bone plate that covered the mammoth creature on which they rode. "I know who you are T'Sula Mir. You are nothing! Nothing more than a speck of dust, compared to the entirety of me."

"Funny, I'd never even heard of you until recently." T'Sula sneered as she twisted her body around and faced the First. Her face was a mask of blood, her nose and cheekbones were shattered. She grunted hard as she thrust her hips up, dislodging the First from her chest. Through sheer force of will, T'Sula brought her legs up, and managed to wrap her feet around the First's head. She used her weight, and considerable strength to bring her feet crashing back down to the deck. The First fell backward, with its head rebounding off the armor plate.

T'Sula took advantage of the freedom, and scrambled to her feet in time to see a familiar starship streak through the sky with two Ta'Reeth fighters close on its tail. Seeing Vengeance coming for her fueled her in ways that she hadn't believed were possible. Corin was coming for her. He was here. If she could only find a way to defeat the First, anything was achievable.

He had come for her.

T'Sula ignored the debilitating pain of her mending body. She stepped forward as the First rose to its feet. The Ta'Reeth began to advance, but T'Sula snapped a front push kick into its lead knee, instantly snapping the kneecap. She chambered her leg, and as The First stumbled forward, T'Sula crushed the creature's face with a powerful sidekick. As she kicked, she drew her bayonet, and spinning out of the kick, she used her momentum and thrust the blade through the thin armor under the creatures chin, burying the steel deep in the Ta'Reeth's brain.

"Your reign of terror is over." T'Sula Mir sneered at the First as its body crumpled to the deck, never to rise again. She turned, and looked out over the expanse of the arena. The rolling motion of the giant creature came to a stop, and all noise ceased. Hundreds of thousands of Ta'Reeth warriors faced her in silence, and then fell to their knees.

A single warrior rose from the ranks and came forward.

"You have defeated the First of us." the warrior knelt at T'Sula's feet. "My people are yours to command, my Queen."

EPILOGUE

T'Sula watched as Corin's ship settled gently to the ground. The ship was battered, but it was still a welcome sight. She watched from the distance as the hatch opened, and Corin strode confidently out. Behind him was a Caldonian that T'Sula wasn't sure that she would ever see again.

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and then stepped out of the rocks. She walked quickly, but forced herself not to run. There were so many things that she wanted to tell Corin, so many things that had happened, that T'Sula didn't know where to begin.

The distance disappeared quicker than T'Sula was prepared for, and before she knew it, she was standing mere centimeters away from the man that haunted her dreams.

"You came for me." She managed to say before she wrapped her arms around Corin. She pulled him close, and sank into his embrace.

"I told you I would." Corin grinned. "Besides, I was worried about you."

T'Sula couldn't stop herself from gazing deep into Corin's eyes. She stood there, lost to everything else, and didn't notice the Caldonian woman, or the Bakeeron girl that came to stand beside Corin and Narja.

"T'Sula!" Mekala squealed in delight, as she jumped down from Prinelle's arms.

"What?" T'Sula brought herself back to the here and now, releasing Corin. "Mekala?" She asked as she reached down, and picked the girl up, taking her into a tight embrace.

"Where did you come from?" Tears started to fall freely from T'Sula's eyes. "I've missed you."

"I guess you two have already met." Corin shook his head, completely bewildered. How could T'Sula and Mekala know each other? "Anyway, ah, T'Sula this is Prinelle. Prinelle, this is T'Sula Mir."

"I've heard much about you, Commander." Prinelle said, stepping forward and taking T'Sula's hand.

"I hope it's all been good." T'Sula smiled at the other woman. She didn't know why, but she immediately liked Prinelle. "It is nice to meet you."

"Major, I'm happy to see you again." T'Sula turned her attention to Narja, as Mekala hugged her tightly about the neck.

"Commander, the pleasure is mine." Narja shifted a bit, looking very uncomfortable. "We should not be exposing ourselves like this. Especially on enemy land."

"It's all right." T'Sula reassured her comrade. "The war is over."

"How can the war be over? The fighting continues, just as it always has. There's been no treaty, no cease fire, nothing." Prinelle's questions brought everyone's attention to T'Sula, as if she would have the answers. "How can we be standing here, on Earth, without the Ta'Reeth swarming us? We were fighting two fighters, and then they simply broke away. Why?"

T'Sula took her time, gauging the expressions of Corin, Narja, and Prinelle. What she had done, and what she had to say had the potential to change everything. She wanted desperately to be just any other woman. She wanted to be with Corin, but she knew that what she had to tell him would make that dream impossible.

She didn't want any of the responsibilities that she now had. She wanted to give them to someone, anyone else. There had to be another person that was better suited to govern the Ta'Reeth than her. There had to be some other way.

Deep in her heart, T'Sula cried. She knew that there could be no easy answer to the problems that she faced. There was no other person to take her place. She had to face the fact that she was Queen of the Ta'Reeth, ruler of the most powerful faction in the galaxy.

T'Sula gently handed Mekala over to Corin. Taking her time, she made sure that she had everyone's full attention before she spoke.

"I am now Queen of the Ta'Reeth." T'Sula Mir paused, and breathed before she continued. "The war is over."

###

Thank you for taking the time to read 'The Key'. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. T'Sula's adventures will continue, as will the adventures of the other characters that you met (and and a few that you haven't), so please watch for more of their story to unfold. Until then, please be happy and safe.

Connect with me online:

 Twitter

 Facebook

Sincerely,

Brian

P.S.: Here's a little something extra (in rough draft form) from my upcoming novel 'The Choice' to tide you over.

The Choice

Chapter 1

Corin Dante sat quietly on an outcropping of rock, overlooking the breathtaking mountains of Colorado at sunrise. Far below, set deep between the mountains, near their base, his ship waited for him with his friends and daughter sleeping inside. He had woken early and set out on his own in an effort to see what his real home world was actually like. His family hadn't set foot on Earth for several hundred years, and none of them had ever known the rugged majesty that stood before him, undeniable, right now.

The air was crisp, with a slight hint of the modest rain that had fallen the night before. The trees below him swayed gently in the breeze, their branches and leaves rustling in the otherwise silent morning. Corin watched the dance of the trees, lost in his thoughts and concerns. He was a father now, and with Mekala to look after, he was no longer responsible only to himself. T'Sula was another matter entirely. She was in his mind, constantly distracting his thoughts from where they needed to be. Something had to be done. His thoughts of her were always there, waiting at the edges of his mind for the right moment to betray him.

The sound of the wind in the trees continued, but something else had joined with it. Someone was coming.

Corin dropped his gaze from the sky, to the ground below. There, his eyes fell across T'Sula's raven black locks as she casually picked her way up the mountainside. She had cleaned up, and changed out of her typical jump suit and into a light colored, flowing Bakeeron robe with laced leather sandals. At first glance Corin thought that T'Sula looked nice, but considering the terrain and time of day, her wardrobe choice didn't make much sense.

"Mind if I join you?" T'Sula asked as she came close enough to Corin that when the breeze blew just right, he could smell her perfume. At first he couldn't place the scent, and then it came to him. Lavender. The scent was lavender, with a hint of vanilla.

"It's a free world." Corin grinned. Whatever T'Sula was up to, she had put extra effort into looking and smelling very nice.

"It is now anyway." T'Sula whispered as she sat down next to Corin. She settled in quickly, leaning back and gazing out at the mountains. "This place reminds me of home."

"I didn't grow up with mountains." Corin said quietly. He looked over at T'Sula, letting his eyes drink in her exquisite beauty. Just by looking at her, especially now, you would never know that she was the single most formidable woman he had ever met.

"Where did you grow up?" T'Sula met Corin's gaze with a smile.

"All over really." Corin sighed. "I can remember this farm planet that we lived on for a while. Life was alright. It was hard work, but it was good, you know? After the Ta'Reeth came there, my family moved to a space station between Caldon and Makduran. The place was literally in the middle of nowhere."

"You moved around a lot then?" T'Sula asked him, trying not to be too intrusive.

"For awhile we did." Corin looked away from T'Sula, gazing back out over the mountains. "After my Mom died, my Dad took a job on a cargo ship that made its rounds to any place you can think of." He wasn't entirely sure what to say next. Should he ask her about her childhood, or should he just spill his guts, and tell her everything about him?

"So, what are you going to do now that the war's over?" T'Sula asked, saving Corin from himself.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Besides, there hasn't been a treaty or anything formal signed. Not even a cease fire agreement." Corin looked back at T'Sula. "The war's not actually over yet. What are you going to do?"

T'Sula sat quietly, studying Corin. She knew that he was right, even though she didn't want to admit it. She had focused so much on the end of the war that she had forgotten that there had to be something after the end. Life had to go on. She had done what she had set out to do, and now life had to continue.

"It's not so simple for me." T'Sula sighed and looked away from Corin. She forced herself to look at anything else, as long as she didn't have to look at him. Thoughts of Corin, and the promise of a future together had sustained her when everything else had failed, and now that dream scared her more than she had thought possible. "What I want, and what I have to do don't necessarily coincide."

"What are you saying?" Corin gently put his hand on T'Sula's shoulder. He was surprised to feel her tremble at his touch. Something was wrong, and she either couldn't talk to him, or she didn't want to tell him about it. "T'Sula, talk to me."

When T'Sula finally turned to face Corin, tears ran freely down her cheeks, and her voice trembled with emotions that ran very deep. "I don't want to be Queen. I want my own life, not some title or responsibility for a group of people that I spent my entire life hating. It's not fair! None of them have ever even thought for themselves!"

"What would you do with your own life?" Corin put his arm around her and pulled her close. "What would you choose for yourself?"

"I want a family. I want to settle down some place quiet." T'Sula allowed herself to sink into Corin's shoulder, drawing in his warmth as she put her arms around his waist. "I want to never have to fight again."

"Honey, you can make that happen, if you can work things right." Corin waited for T'Sula's rebuke for calling her 'honey', but it never came. "You're in a position to change everything. Only you can do it, and I'll stand by you no matter what."

"I know, it's just that I, I just..." T'Sula took a deep breath before she forced herself to continue. "I just don't know if I can do this."

"Alright, let's take a look at this, and break it down." Corin glanced down at his watch, noticing that the dawn was beginning to slip away into full daylight, and that Mekala would be up soon. "We need to get you some help. We need people who really know the Ta'Reeth, and that we can trust, to advise you."

"I already have a few people in mind." T'Sula sat up and looked earnestly at Corin. She believed what he said about not leaving her, especially now that she saw him in a different light. He was many things, but in his own way he was an honorable man, and he would stand by his word. She knew that even with all of the things that had happened between them in such a short period of time, she loved him. Maybe that was part of the problem.

"I want the Ta'Reeth named Pike, Gabrielle, and Justo Saint Germain. Those three should be able to give decent council. We should be able to find them around the city that's at the foot of Pike's Peak." T'Sula carefully extracted herself from Corin, smiling sadly as she stood. She wasn't sure what she had planned to say to him this morning, but she knew, she felt that whatever it was was immaterial now. He had pledged to stand by her, no matter what, and that was good enough for her. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No. Have you?" Corin asked as he stood and dusted himself off. He still wasn't sure why T'Sula had come to him this morning, and it bothered him that she hadn't actually said. Either way, she had come to him, and it felt good to know that simple fact.

"No, I thought that I might wait until everybody was up." T'Sula started picking her way down the mountainside. "Anyway, we've got a lot to do today. I was thinking that after breakfast we might go to Pike's Peak, and start looking for Pike."

"What's so important about this 'Pike'?" Corin asked, following T'Sula.

"You'll see. It's actually hard to explain." T'Sula grinned back at Corin. "Gabrielle's the same way."

"If you say so." Corin said as he came alongside T'Sula. She had chosen an easy trail to follow, with little in the way to obstruct their passage. They stayed quiet as they walked, each enjoying the serenity of the mountains, and the presence of the other. Neither noticed the movement on the surrounding mountainside, as a handful of Ta'Reeth slipped from tree, to rock, to shadow, and back again.

"I don't understand something." Corin finally broke the silence.

"What's that?" T'Sula cocked an eyebrow at Corin.

"Well, I don't understand how the Ta'Reeth never had any free will." He kept pace with T'Sula, and tried to make certain that his thoughts and questions were coherent not only to himself, but to T'Sula as well. "I mean, every one of them is an individual, right? So how could they not be able to think for themselves?"

T'Sula caught a glimpse of movement from out of the corner of her eye as she stopped and turned to face Corin. She knew that she had a detail of guards around her, but as of yet they had not been seen. Her thoughts jumbled as she tried to sort through them to find the answers that she knew were there, hidden somewhere inside her mind. She wanted to give Corin the best, most honest answer that she could. He deserved that much.

"Corin, the Ta'Reeth were bred with telepathic abilities and controls built into their minds." T'Sula took another moment to focus her thoughts before she continued. "I'm not sure how this was done, but the First was able to control each one of them, as if they were nothing more than a puppet, or an extension of the First's body."

"So, how are they functioning now? If they were controlled like that, wouldn't they shut down after the First died?" Corin noticed the flicker of a warning coming from his cerebral implants. Something was watching them, very closely. He casually rested his hand on the pistol that he wore slung low across his hip, and activated his link with Vengeance.

"I can't pretend to know all of the answers, Corin." T'Sula sighed. He had a point, but how could she make him see that the Ta'Reeth weren't actually bad. Everything had been because of the will of the First.

"I understand the theory that they were all being controlled. I get that. It's just that..."Corin's pistol slid easily out of its holster and into his hand as he placed himself between T'Sula and another crash that came just inside the tree line. There was movement now, shapeless forms bursting from the shadows, and then disappearing again just as quickly as they had materialized.

Corin scanned the tree line, searching for movement, and any creature that he might recognize. Minutes passed quickly, with nothing happening. A thin line of sweat started to trickle down the middle of Corin's back as searched. Still, nothing moved.

"Come on. Let's go." T'Sula whispered to Corin. There was something out there, but she hoped that her guards had been able to take care of the situation. For all that she knew, the disturbance could have been an animal of some kind. Possibly a large cat or one of the bears that she had heard about. There was no way to know for sure.

"Alright." Corin sighed as he holstered his pistol. He didn't tell T'Sula, but he kept his implants running with enhanced sensory options, and his remote link with his ship fully operational. As they began to walk again, Corin adjusted his sensory options, setting them on a higher sensitivity rating. Everything was much sharper now. He could see the heat signatures radiating from T'Sula, and the creatures that were roaming the mountains. The sounds from the squirrels scampering through the trees came to him in waves that he quickly sorted through, telling himself that these were not the sounds that he was searching for.

Time passed more slowly as they walked. Each of them scanned the mountainside for things that shouldn't be there. Both T'Sula and Corin let their training and experience dictate their actions. Years of training and fighting had kept each of them alive in the worst of situations, and they both found a measure of comfort in the fact that the other was with them.

The bright morning sun shone through the canopy of trees as Corin and T'Sula stepped into a small clearing. The ground was reasonably flat, with large sun baked rocks dominating the center of the clearing, and a ring of old trees on the outside. As they approached the center, Corin's sensors went crazy.

Corin pulled his pistol free as he gently pushed T'Sula toward the rocks, keeping himself between her and the dozens of Ta'Reeth that appeared in the clearing. As he moved, he used his remote link, and brought Vengeance to full power. The Ta'Reeth moved into the clearing, forming two concentric rings, just within the perimeter. The hunters that filled the outer ring faced the center of the clearing. Their short, muscular bodies were poised to attack in any direction. Razor sharp teeth lined their gaping maws, watering for the taste of flesh.

The hunters slowly circled the clearing, constantly looking and probing for a weakness that they could exploit in the inner ring of defenders. The Ta'Reeth that formed the inner circle looked nothing like the hunters. They stood upright like a man, standing just shy of two meters tall with slender, muscular bodies that were hardened by years of combat and training. T'Sula's guards moved effortlessly across the uneven mountainside, mirroring the movements of those that would have them die.

An ear-splitting shriek filled the air as the hunters lunged for the guards. Their lower jaws split wide, showing row upon row of razor sharp teeth as the hunters ripped mercilessly into the other Ta'Reeth. The guards struck back, even as the hunters slashed at them with elongated talons. One on one, the guards might have been able to repel the assault, but the hunters outnumbered them by three to one. Six guards fell within a minute.

Corin leveled his pistol, and aimed at the nearest assailant. He knew where to aim, how to kill these beasts, but he waited. He waited for a clear shot, so that he would not risk hitting any of T'Sula's guards. The guard nearest him fell backward with a hunter clawing at its chest. Without any more hesitation, Corin fired. As the hunters head disintegrated, he tracked another target.

"Run my Queen!" the guard screamed as another hunter ripped into its body.

Corin shot another hunter, opening a small hole in their shrinking circle of safety. He grabbed T'Sula's hand, and ran. They didn't look back as they ran down the mountain trail to the next clearing. The sounds of the struggle receded quickly into the distance, to be replaced by the hum of starship engines. Vengeance settled in the clearing, and Corin and T'Sula climbed aboard.

Chapter 2

Charred wreckage floated through space, filling the Caldonian star system from its core, all the way past its inhabited planets, and out to the very brink of the void. Organic and composite hull material, titanium weapons housings, men and women of different races, all joined together in death, floated through the abyss. Hundreds of ships, many of them Ta'Reeth, but quite a few Caldonian as well, had perished here. Somehow the space station had survived, though it too was heavily damaged.

Weaving its path carefully through the wreckage, in a way as to not attract attention, was a single ship, smaller than an escort, but larger than a fighter. It was black, and sleek in profile, lending it the look of a small predator ready to strike in any direction, at any time. There were no visible markings, and no viewports to be seen, save for a single forward view screen that allowed the crew to see out, but none to see in.

Bregan Arot kept a steady hand on the controls of his ship as he gently guided the Adu'Raq Long Range Stealth Fighter through the sensor sweeps, and safely into the stations blind spot before settling against the battered hull of the space station. It had taken him nearly a week to select this spot, and the slightest twitch in the wrong direction would jeopardize his mission. When the elegant and deadly little ship finally settled, he activated the magnetic locks, securing his ship in place.

After he set the security protocols, and activated the ships chameleonic armor plating, Bregan quickly gathered his tools and went to the airlock nestled in the belly of his ship. He double checked the seal, and then opened the airlock. On the other side of the door was the hull of the space station. He ran a quick test on the tortured surface, selected the proper tools, and then set about cutting it open. Normally the task would only take a few minutes, but the Caldonians tended to use a tougher, denser blend of poly-carbons in their hull plating, making the task of cutting through it undetected take considerably longer. Simply blasting a hole through the hull seemed simple enough, but Bregan couldn't allow the chance that it would set off any alarms or attract unwanted attention, so he settled in and waited for his plasma cutter to do its job.

This was a simple mission, just like any of the hundreds before it. His instructions had been simple enough; go in, do the job, and get out without anyone knowing that he had been there. He knew his job, and he was good at it. Every member of the Adu'Raq was. They had to be.

The plasma cutter finally completed its cycle, and Bregan readied himself for the task of removing the section of hull. He fastened a pair of small anti gravity pods to the metal and flicked them on. Normally, he would have simply removed the section by hand, and let it drop to the deck, but the denser metals also weighed a lot more, so he had no choice but to use the antigravity pods. With the pods working well within their efficiency range, the section of hull slid easily away from the space station. Bregan gently set the massive piece of metal on the deck, collected his tools, and stepped through the hull.

On the other side of the hull was a section of the station that no one had ever set foot in, except for when the station had been built. He didn't step right into the station proper, but instead he entered the space between the twin armored hulls, with just enough room for him to drag his equipment along.

Taking only a moment to orient himself with the station alignment, Bregan activated his ocular implants. He had allowed himself only a handful of modifications, but upgrading his eyes and ears had been the first and most valuable of them. Few creatures could see in the dark as well as he did, and that made most of them easy prey.

Bregan moved swift and silent along the inner hull, not stopping until he was over a kilometer from his ship. He braced himself between the hulls, securing his bag of tools to a nearby support beam. Moments later, he removed a handheld computer from his bag and linked with the onboard systems of his ship. As he expected, his security protocols had been effective; everything was safe and he now had a link that was overriding the stations security feeds, making him virtually invisible.

He would have smiled at the fact that everything was going as he planned, but that would have been the sign of an amateur. Once he was certain that the stations security systems were rendered useless, Bregan started to work. He set up his plasma cutter, and started its cycle, watching his monitor intently the whole time. It wasn't that he expected anyone to find him; it was simply his training taking over and making him cautious.

Once the plasma cutter finished its cycle, Bregan attached his antigravity pods to the section of hull, and quickly removed it. The piece of hull plating was small, barely large enough for Bregan to squeeze through the hole, but it still weighed several hundred kilos. Using a set of portable magnetic locks, Bregan secured the piece of plating to the hull and gathered his tools before he stepped inside.

Darkness shielded Bregan as he double checked his location. He had studied the stations blueprints extensively and knew precisely where he was, but caution was always a valuable ally in his line of work. Especially when you were an unwanted guest on a Caldonian battle station. He was right. Four kilometers in from his present location were the power core, the engineering complex, and every other system that was needed to run a space station.

Bregan checked his scanners, making certain that there wasn't going to be any unwanted company, and carefully maneuvered the hull plating back into place, setting the antigravity pods on remote so that he could access them from inside the station. Judging from the amount of damage he had seen along his path, several lacerations in the hull, and scorch marks that stained the striated metal, most of the stations crew had to be otherwise occupied, either tending the wounded or repairing the station itself.

Keeping to the darkness of the shadows, Bregan crept silently forward, carefully avoiding any that came within his path. He worked methodically, stopping first in the Engineering complex. Ensuring that he hadn't been noticed, Bregan reached into his bag and removed a small black box. Still out of sight of the Caldonians working in the area, he slipped past an open access panel, and never breaking stride, he swiftly dropped the box inside then disappeared back into the void.

Bregan worked his way through the station, placing black boxes in several different locations, far apart from each other. His training served him well, allowing him to disappear in plain sight, and being the only human on a space station filled with battle hardened Caldonians, the skill came in useful indeed.

The shadows consumed Bregan and his movements so much so, that he didn't register even on his own security readouts. He was a ghost that moved among the living, doing what he desired, never drawing attention from anyone. Bregan moved swiftly through the station as he deposited his wares in all areas, in conduits, behind open access panels, in every system that the station had until he had only one left. This one he reserved for the Command Center, his hardest target yet. If he was successful, he would have control of the entire station, and its systems, but most importantly he would have the communications relays and backlogs. He would have every word and data package, sent or received, since the station was first commissioned.

For the last package to be properly located, it needed to be inside the Command Centers mainframe. It was a daunting task, but Bregan reveled in the challenge. He recalled the schematics and blue prints of the station, as if they were before his eyes at that very moment. Located between decks, directly beneath the Command Center, with only one way in or out, and guarded by an array of electronic barriers that augmented the six roving guards, was the Mainframe. The guards were always within sight of at least two of their comrades, and their vital signs were monitored at all times by a seventh guard in the Command Center itself.

A direct assault was suicide, so Bregan had to find another way. He had studied the station relentlessly when he accepted this assignment, forming his plans long before he ever arrived in Caldonian space. He was an Adu'Raq, and that meant that he was the best at what he did. His Adu'Raq brethren demanded no less.

It took Bregan several hours to make his way, undetected, to the junction were he would do his work. He was a level below the Mainframe, and nearly a kilometer away, but this was the best route for him to take for his mission. Directly over his head was a ventilation duct that ran beneath the Mainframe itself. Undoubtedly it was protected by various arrays of sensor suites, but it was nothing that Bregan couldn't handle. He quickly slipped his tool bag from his shoulder, and pulled out a small scanner. He was right. There were several sensors aimed right at his point of entry.

"You there! What are you doing?" the deep baritone voice startled Bregan. He spun around quickly, loosing a pair of throwing knives and darting towards his target before the blades buried themselves in the throat of the mountainous Caldonian. He reached the dead man before the body crumpled, catching him so as to not make a sound. Bregan silently berated himself for being careless as he pulled the knives free and wiped them on the dead man's tunic. He was careful not to nick the carotid artery; for fear that the blood would leave a trace.

Bregan took hold of the body and managed to drag it out of sight, and stuffed it in a storage locker before another threat came along. When he was satisfied that the body wouldn't be discovered until after he was finished, Bregan returned to what he had been doing. He activated the function on his suit that allowed him to climb the wall, and cling effortlessly to the ceiling. Taking a small wrench out of his tool kit, Bregan carefully removed the fasteners that held the grating in place that was barring his entry to the ventilation system. He kept hold of the grating, lest it fall and attract unwanted attention, and slipped quietly inside the ventilation duct before carefully reinstalling the grating and fasteners. When he was done, there was no trace that he had ever been there.

Taking only a moment to get reasonably comfortable in the confines of the ventilation duct, Bregan pressed on with his mission. He activated his scanners, searching for the security systems that he knew were there, and when he found them, he quickly bypassed them, preventing anyone from spying on him as he worked. Minutes passed quickly as he crawled closer to the Mainframe, careful to not make any sound louder that a faint whisper. Sound carries, and in a hollow metal tube, sounds echo and convey farther than most would realize, building upon themselves until inevitably they are heard.

Finally, Bregan came to a stop beneath the Mainframe. He rolled over, loosening his pack and reaching inside. What he held in his hand looked similar to the black modules that he had placed throughout the station, but this one was slightly different. It was a little bit bigger, with short, knobby protrusions on all sides. Bregan hefted the module in his hand, feeling the weight of the device, then placed it firmly on the roof of the ventilation duct, making certain that it stayed in place. Once the device was placed, he pressed a hidden button on its side to turn it on, then crawled away down the duct in the opposite direction as to where he had come.

Several kilometers from where he had planted the last device, Bregan finally stopped. He checked his sensor readings, then removed a screen and slithered out of the ventilation system. Bregan wondered how long it would take for the Caldonians to find the body as he quickly set the screen back in place. When he was satisfied with his work, he checked his sensors yet again, and then set off for his ship.

Keeping to the back passageways and shadows, Bregan covered the short distance to his ship quickly. When he reached his point of entry, the room was dark and unmolested. He had been the only one there for a very long time. He inventoried his wares quickly before he opened the hole in the hull and stepped through. Once he was between the massive twin hulls, Bregan set the hull plating back in place and methodically welded it shut. Killing one person during an assignment was one thing. Killing thousands through negligence was something else entirely.

Bregan packed his tools yet again, and crawled between the hulls, back to his ship. Once he was back aboard the Phantom Rapier, he quickly set the hull plating in position, welding it in place so that it would hold even against an assault. When he was finished, Bregan sealed the air lock, and made his way to the crew station. Layer upon layer of monitors and controls filled every conceivable surface, each running its own program or function as the Phantom Rapier downloaded hundreds of thousands of terabytes of information from every computer system on the station, and stored it for easy access later.

Easing himself into his seat, Bregan relaxed slightly. His mission wasn't quite finished, but he had successfully completed the most dangerous part with only one mistake. He had hoped to accomplish what he needed to do without any bloodshed, but what was done was done and he could no more bring the Caldonian back to life than he could travel backwards through time. Such was the life that he led. Mistakes and oversights usually resulted in death, either your own, or that of some innocent bystander that was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sighing, Bregan touched the hidden stud behind his ear and waited as the mask that covered his face popped and hissed as it slowly withdrew into the collar of his onyx body armor. Bregan ran his hands over his face, and his fingers through his short cropped blonde hair. He looked at his reflection in the vast star field that shone through the front view screen of his ship. He wasn't a handsome man, but neither was he ugly. Bregan had always thought of himself as astonishingly plain, and that had served him well over the years. Aside from his piercing blue eyes, he looked haggard; tired from the strain of life, but ready to do whatever he needed in order to survive.

He tried not to dwell on the failures of the day. Too much negative thinking wasn't good for anyone, and it never helped to resolve any deficiencies. Neither was being overly optimistic very productive. Actions based in rational thinking paid off, and that was how he liked it. With those thoughts in mind, Bregan began to work.

His mind raced ahead of his actions as he activated a series of computer programs that sorted through the enormous amounts of information that he was taking from the Caldonians. The programs were set to translate and decode the various types of files, and to alert him when they found ones that were encrypted. Hours passed slowly by as Bregan waited. He finally rose from his seat and went to his quarters where he bathed and dressed in fresh clothes before he found something to eat and went back to work.

When Bregan finally returned to his work station, there were several priority files that had been tagged for him to look over. Grinning to himself, Bregan opened the first one.

###
