 
### The Nomad

### (Awakening)

### The Nomad

### (Awakening)

### I.A. Nel
Copyright © 2019 I.A. Nel

Published by I.A. Nel Publishing at Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by I. A. Nel using Reach Publishers' services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

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### Contents

One

Two

Three

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

#  One

Commander Jack Neel sat on the corner of his single bed in his personal quarters. He had his elbows on his knees and blankly stared at his hands clasped together as if in prayer. His green eyes were puffy and bloodshot. He hadn't slept for three days. The events of the final confrontation between the Alliance and the bloodthirsty Symbians weighed heavy on his mind. His quarters were adequate in size and neat and tidy as you'd expect from a lifetime military man. He was dressed in PT shorts and a gray cotton T-Shirt. It was difficult to look past his imposing presence even now, although he felt half the man he was three days ago. He had a big, tall, muscular frame with well-developed limbs. Black hair with a grey patch on the right-hand side of his fringe. His face told the tale of a man that had been actively fighting some war or another for the past twenty years. The step-out military jacket that hung over the single chair had all the medals and achievements you'd expect from a decorated leader, loved by all who follow him. But he knew the crew's opinion of him had changed, as did the rest of the fleet. . .or... what was left of the fleet. He wondered if Mila would also resent him for the sacrifices he had to make. She should understand? If there was anyone that would understand, it was her. She was cloned, not born like the rest of them. Her DNA came straight from the guardians. She was near perfect. Surely, she knew there was no other way?

There was a buzz from the door. Jack lifted his head and looked at the door for a moment: "Who's there?" he barked.

The door changed from its solid gray state to transparent see-through and on the other side was Mila, the XO of the Nomad, his second in command. He felt his spirit lift by the sight of her for a moment, before it slumped again because he knew why she came. He tried to hide the dizziness in his head when he got up to open the door, but he half stumbled as he reached the control panel. The door slid open silently.

"Come in," he said with a halfhearted smile. "Please sit."

She turned a chair to face the bed as he took the same spot on the bed he occupied seconds ago. They often sat and talked in this position before. Some time passed with the two of them locked in a comfortable stare. She was dressed in her skin-tight Alliance uniform, gray with white inlays on the shoulders and thighs. How the Alliance loved gray? She was perfect in every way. Tall, athletic, with black hair and blue eyes. How he loved her, how they all loved her. Then she broke the silence:

"The fleet will begin deceleration in thirty minutes. We'll be in a wide Earth orbit in four hours' time. You should come to the bridge, Jack. Nobody has seen you for the last three days and the crew is getting restless. Most of us understand why you did what you did. It was a master stroke in the heat of battle. A battle we were losing and if we lost, it would be the Symbians decelerating to a close Earth orbit. You did what you had to."

She was shocked at the state of him. Those fiery green eyes that often stood in front of insurmountable odds and prevailed. The eyes that never showed fear or weakness, now looked vulnerable. She was worried how admiral Green, the custodian, supreme commander of the Alliance will receive Jack. By now the forward probes would have arrived at Earth with the battle conscripts and video evidence down-loaded for the collective to review. How will the custodian react to such a huge, deliberate loss? She cared for Jack more than she should, but she couldn't act on her feelings. She dared not act on them. She had a destiny. She was cloned for a reason and it was not to bear children and work nine to five.

Jack took a deep and measured breath. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Signal the fleet. Debrief will be here on the Nomad as soon as we enter stable orbit. It's mandatory for all Captains to attend. Remind the crew that we are still at alert five status; I expect everyone to be sharp!"

Mila sighed in relieve that he was still in there, still commanding, still in control.

"Aye Commander!" she said as she got up and walked out the door and into the corridor.

It was a short walk to the bridge from there. The doors slid open with a deliberate hissing sound and the flight crew on the bridge turned to see Mila enter. They could tell by the way she carried herself that she'd been to see the commander. She half walked-half glided as she sometimes does, to the captain's chair and took a seat.

"Mr. Simons, please patch me through for a fleetwide announcement."

Barley Simons, a wartime vet that served the last decade under Jack's command. He was a technical genius in charge of navigation and communication. He could pilot with the best of them and was very handy with a rifle in his hands. He turned to face the panel in front of him and after a few quick strokes he gave Mila the thumbs up.

"This is the Nomad transmitting fleetwide. Commander Jack Neel has called a debrief on the Nomad as soon as the fleet enters stable orbit around Earth. It is mandatory for all captains to attend. Please confirm the transmission was received."

After about thirty seconds, Mr. Simons confirmed everyone received.

Mila addressed the flight deck: "Commander Neel will be on the bridge any second now. Look sharp and be ready to report. He's been absent for a while and he'll want to know everything."

There was a sudden urgency about the crew as they all address their given scopes.

Barley leaned into his station and it didn't go unnoticed by Mila. She knew his professional demeanor all too well. Whatever it was, he didn't like it.

"Barley?" She asked.

"It's a message from the Alliance, direct from the Custodian. We are to change course and hold a wide orbit one light day from the sun." He said surprised. Mila felt a cold chill run down her spine. The custodian, didn't want them anywhere near Earth? The news of the victory carried a heavy price. A price it seemed, they would all have to pay for.

Mila: "Do not change the deceleration sequence - hold steady, as is." She knew Jack would be there any second now. It'll be good for him to bark out some orders and take control again. They all needed him back.

Jack jumped into the small shower in his room and instantly felt recharged as the warm, silky, soft water washed over him. He went through his bathing ritual almost robotlike. He stared at himself as he shaved. The old scars on his face seemed a bit older and more pronounced. There was a cut to the left of his forehead and one above his right eye. His right hand seemed clumsy as he held the razor. The knuckles were all knocked back except for the index finger. His little finger had its ligaments cut on the back of his hand and could not lift by itself, but it could close and grip just fine. The position of the knuckles made his hand look round when closed in a fist. From the knuckles to the first joint of all his fingers, he had countless scars caused mostly by teeth. His left hand was in similar shape, except that all the fingers worked fine.

"Time to step up old boy." He said to himself as he rinsed the last soap off his body. He half dried himself with a crew towel while he stood in front of his small closet. There were two sets of ships uniform and two sets of PT clothes, neatly folded on the top and middle drawers with the shoes on the floor. Hanging on the rail were two sets of fancy dress, step out uniform. He reached behind the top shelf and retrieved a small bottle of eye-drops. It burned the living daylight out of him before it soothed his tired eyes. As if by magic the whites of his eyes were restored and the red disappeared. He dressed quickly and sharply in ship's uniform. His shoulders seemed twice as big in the skin-tight uniform. Gray with white inlays in the shoulders and thighs. He was built like a brick shithouse, only a very big shithouse. A true bar-room brawler if ever you've seen one.

The bridge door slid open and Jack walked in. He had his usual upright posture. He was cleanshaven and fresh, a far cry from the man Mila saw just a couple of minutes ago. Before he could speak, Mila informed him of the new orbit co-ordinates from the custodian. If he was phased by the changed command, he didn't show it.

"Alex, what's the status on the thrusters?" he calmly asked.

"We've repaired most of them Commander. We have eighty percent working and they're well spread. We have good maneuverability all-round" Alex replied promptly.

Alex used to be a field marshal in charge of a division of mobile infantry. His division was attached to the Nomad under Jack's command during the Mars uprising twelve years ago. Rumor has it that Alex and Jack didn't get along at all. It got to a point where they stripped their respective ranks and had a full go at each other in full view of the crew. It is said that Alex got his limp that day and that Jack didn't even break a sweat. Alex never left the Nomad after that day. He still carried the rank of field marshal and ironically, outranked everyone on the flight deck save Jack. He covered maintenance and ship systems and happily poked his nose into any other field at random. He stood in as captain when Mila and Jack were absent. He was ill-tempered for the most part, but very loyal towards Jack and the Nomad, and a right bastard with a weapon of any kind in his hands.

He continued without being asked. "The androids are still busy on the outside. We've repaired all the hull breaches and replaced most of the damaged radiation panels. Life support is optimal. We're struggling with the weapons. We managed to repair two main, and one primary gun. All the secondary guns and rail guns remain offline. We restored three of the four auxiliary fusion drives. Both main fusion drives are functioning. We can run the fourth auxiliary drive for about five minutes then we have to shut her down. We have one shield generator functioning at thirty percent on the portside aft, all its power is diverted forward to the bow for now. In short, we're fine, we just can't get into a fight."

Jack listened while he settled into the command post. It was an elevated chair to the back of the deck with a panoramic view of the room, half circled with a desk type setup. The command functions were made up of holographic screens and keyboards.

"Barley, initiate thruster sequence to comply with our new orbit co-ordinates. Relay new co-ordinates to the fleet. De-brief as soon as we're stable... Prepare for a "red carpet" visitors party boys and girls. I bet we'll be entertaining someone from the collective, it might even be the custodian himself. Let the lab know to grow some beef and prepare some alcohol. We have a victory to celebrate.... even if we feel we shouldn't."

Mila caught the subtle probe Jack sent across the deck. He was very good at extracting little telltale signs to assess the true feelings of others. She focused intensely on the demeanor of the crew. Everyone except Lt Pete O'Brian, one of the six pilots that worked in shifts of two 24/7 took it in stride. Pete's ears turned blood red and he dropped his head just a little lower. She was not surprised. After all, he had a son on one of the ill-fated battle ships. The bulkhead shuddered slightly as Alex brought two auxiliary drives online, to cope with the power demand of the thrusters. The pilots carefully triggered the thrusters as required to adjust the attitude of the enormous ship.

"What's the status of the crew?" Jack wanted to know.

Mila bit down on her lip as Jack spoke the words. She slowly swiveled on her chair to face him.

"Final count is eight hundred and twenty-one souls lost. Six hundred and seventy in the infirmary. They will all recover but most will need robotic limbs of some sort. We've recycled those lost onboard. Fighter squadrons one and two have been completely destroyed, and three and four lost more than half respectively. We still have both battle cruisers, but it'll be some time before they fly again, they barely made it back."

Jack dropped his head as he listened to the numbers. How much more could his crew stand after what they've just been through?

In the galley Tony, the Nomad's head chef, cursed as he received the orders for the victory party. "Grow beef and make alcohol? The bastards want to party! They'll just get pissed off their faces and destroy the officer's deck! One will start a fight with the other and Jack will be taking side bets! Some Commander he is" he said while he slapped a nearby android on the back of the head.

He was a short overweight man that could work wonders in the kitchen. He started work on the Nomad as an assistant chef right from the beginning. He was promoted to HC when the head chef at the time, got killed in a cooking accident whilst the Nomad was operational during the Mars uprising. Jack called for a full investigation into the untimely death of the HC but called the whole thing off before the investigation could even get started, and promoted Tony to HC. Tony systematically got rid of all the normal galley staff and replaced them with androids. If it was up to him, he would replace almost everyone with androids. They don't talk much and did what they were supposed to. Tony was the only human left in the galley.

Tony punched some commands on the lab control panel so the lab could start the process of growing protein in the form of prime cut beef and to distill whisky... lots and lots of whisky!

"This is Commander Neel. We are stepping down to alert level one. Repeat... the ship is now at alert level one!" Jack's voice came over the intercom.

There was handful of engineers having a meal, not too far from the serving station. They were in a heated debate. Their moral was shot to hell. Tony pointed a short chubby finger at the group and said: "They'll want some alcohol now" in an animated high-pitched voice and bam! He slapped the same android, through the face this time.

Just beyond Jupiter, admiral Green sat in his office, on the conference deck onboard the Adam spaceport. His office was on the edge of the port with a panoramic glass dome that had a breathtaking view of the Milky Way nuclei. He was an elderly gentleman in his twilight years. He was half awake, half somewhere else when his personal communicator called him back to reality. He looked at the small screen as it flickered on and off with an intermittent buzz sound. Slowly his eyes focused on the letters. He raised his eyebrows as the single word came into focus. "GUARDIAN" His emotions soared. It's got to be word of The Nomad. News of the Alliance's final stand against the Symbians. Pease, please let it be good news. We cannot mount another attack, or even organize a proper defense. He thought as he got up immediately and exited his office. At the door he gestured for the two guards to follow him. He took all the main corridors and bumped into just about everyone that had nothing to do, or were just too lazy to do it. And as one would expect, most of them suddenly found something to do very quickly. As he moved through the levels it was almost like he was stepping back in time. The station was built over millennia, each section a testimony of the technology of its time. The deeper inside he went the less populated it became.

In the heart of the huge, odd spherical shaped station he came across a solid titanium door guarded by four rangers in full combat gear. The sign above the door simply said, 'Archives'. The guards made way and Admiral Green punched a twenty-digit password on the access panel. The red ambient lighting in the panel turned green and a blue light at head height told the Admiral where to look for a retina scan. He seemed a bit clumsy, but then again, he had only ever been down here once before, some twenty-five years ago. The doors slid open slowly, obviously under strain. They didn't work much. Nobody came down here, ever.

Green and his personal guards entered the room and the doors closed behind them. Green told the guards to stay at the door. He made his way through a labyrinth of shelves, floor to roof filled with thousands upon thousands of backup drives. He took a right turn here and a left turn there. Deeper and deeper. After about seven minutes he found what he came for. He was standing in front of the time-lock. A small box shaped safe of sorts with no key hole or pad. It was impossible to open it from the outside. It's been locked for twenty-five years and yet, as expected, it was open now. Inside was a small external drive. He took it and made his way back to his office. He wanted to get there as fast as possible, but he got hopelessly lost in the maze of dusty shelves and only found his way after two frustrating hours.

Outside the archive door a tactical ranger unit in full gear was awaiting the admiral's return. Green was surprised to see them at first but then he remembered, there's protocol. If a custodian entered the archives it meant that there was a communication from the guardian and an alert level five was triggered. The tactical squad escorted Green back to his office. The sections fell quiet as the party moved by them. Most of the current workforce has never seen this show of force, let alone knew there was a tactical squad onboard. And those that did, were old and quite happy to let the rest panic. Back at his desk, the custodian inserted the drive into an empty port. A holographic screen appeared, and on it was a four-paragraph message. He read it and sat for a while with his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands.

He finally took the drive out and the screen disappeared. He indicated to the squad leader who was waiting by the door. He came closer and took the drive from the custodian's out stretched hand, threw it on the floor and destroyed it with four hard hits of his rifle's butt. Satisfied that the task was complete he saluted the admiral and left, taking his squad with him to disappear among the fifteen thousand or so people that worked on the Adam.

Green punched some digits on his communicator and a voice came through. "Yes Admiral?" Green: "I need a status update on the last phase of the Nomad's construction. Tell the Collective we need to convene as soon as they can... I have news of the Nomad"

"Yes Admiral. We've had an update from Professor Gatlin himself about one hour ago. The slave ships are complete and the hardware is almost done. They commit to have it all done in a month from now. We've also had two refugee ships, transporters arriving from the Orion Nebula'

Green: "My gawd, that's four hundred and thirty light years away. Resupply them, give them a tech update and send them back. Let them know the war is over."

"Aye Admiral"

Green: "Lastly, prepare my personal ship, and extend an invite to Deputy Marshal Davidson to join me. We leave in two days... no flight plan. Mask the arrival of the Nomad's forward probes. Nobody must know of their return. Send an encrypted message to Commander Neel. He is to hold orbit one light day from the sun."

Thirty-two hours later the collective arrived at Adam in a fast and agile skiff. They docked without incident. Green watched on the security feed as they made their way to his office. The guards at the door let them in and he showed them to the conference deck. The collective consisted of the presidents of Mars, Venus, and Earth.

Vasil, from Venus, seemed agitated to be there and rightly so. Venus had the best production rates on all fronts; food production and resources. They also had an outstanding record with the Alliance and the space program in general. He could think of at least ten other things he'd rather be doing.

Richard represented Earth. As the parent planet responsible for terraforming and colonizing both Mars, Venus and countless other worlds throughout the nearby galaxy, the earthlings had a chip on their shoulders. They also represented the military might of the Alliance.

Then there was Jamie from Mars. Always blaming this one or that for the failed uprising twelve years ago. She had very special feelings toward the Nomad, and today might just be a very interesting day for her

Green: "Thank you all for coming. I've had a time-lock and that's why we are convened at such short notice." Jamie rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh. Richard and Vasil smiled at Jamie's behavior, and made sure that Green noticed them doing so.

Green continued. "The Armada we sent under The Nomad's command, was successful and the war is over..." Everyone clapped their hands for about ten seconds. "...Under the Guardian's instruction we will not be receiving any of the ships in that convoy back in our system. We will refit and resupply them at the deep space station, Alfa-cent. From there we will send them to the outskirts of our reach on a public relations mission to help build confidence in the Alliance and also to flush out any hidden surface Symbian forces within our territories. This will take them on a minimum one hundred and fifty-year journey; so our generation will never see them again. We need to rebuild our offensive fleet and we will count on all of your continued support to achieve this goal"

The mood of the small party was noticeably lifted as the news of the victory sunk in. Jamie was the first to speak. "The Guardian this, and the Guardian that! And as usual you expect us to just jump? For centuries we've given the Alliance our young men and women, and our recourses, but the Alliance never put us first. Mars has always been on the backburner. Well, for the record, Mars will comply under protest!"

No one seemed to really care about the ramblings of the Mars president. After all, it was the time-lock from the guardian twenty-five years ago that supplied the blueprints, along with a timescale, for the construction of the Nomad through all three its phases. And ultimately it was the Nomad that put a decisive end to the short-lived Mars uprising.

Green: "So noted, anyone else?" The room was quiet. Green continued "I will be leaving soon for an out of system engagement. I pass the reigns to Richard, Earth's representative until I return. It should be in a month or so." Green adjourned the meeting and they all shared a shot of prime whisky before the party left. Green watched as the small skiff left the dock closest to him. He was relieved that the meeting went down without too many questions about the last battle or the state of the returning fleet. But then again, the Admiral was not the kind of man you could purge for information he didn't offer up voluntarily. They all knew that. He will tell you what you need to know and nothing more. And for the most part, it was enough to know what you should.

Marshal Frank Davidson was already settled into a passenger chair when the Admiral's shuttle boarded the custodian's deep space cruiser. The cruiser was flanked by two brand new battle class destroyers. A short while later, the custodian took his place opposite his guest. Davidson rose through the ranks of recon and joined the rangers as a captain on Mars. He was of average build and posture with ginger hair, and as hard as they come.

"We're off to meet the returning fleet. You will find a new home on the Nomad for a deep space mission. You are promoted to Field Marshal." The Admiral waited for a response. "Aye sir, it'll be my pleasure to serve under Commander Neel" Frank replied under considerable effort to hide his disgust. "Don't blow smoke up my ass. Speak your mind, man! We all know there's bad blood between you and Neel." Green barked: "Speak freely!"

Frank was angry, the veins in his forehead popped, and his face turned red. "With all due respect sir... "At that moment Green thought that the statement "with all due respect" was always followed by something totally disrespectful. "...If I saw that cunt at the local pub, I'd fucken kill him. I'd kill him fucken dead. And you want me to serve under him, share a tin can that can't separate us by more than six thousand feet? You must be completely insane if you think I will follow that order! I'd rather quit!" Green waited for Frank to get a hold on himself as they got under way. After a couple of minutes Frank spoke again, this time he had his emotions under control. "Forgive me sir. I'll make it work."

Green: "Forgiven, Marshal. I think you'll find that deep down in your core, you and Jack are exactly the same person." They sat in silence for the remainder of the short hop.

Green and Frank felt a slight negative G acting on them as the reverse thrusters on the deep space cruiser kicked to slow the ship. They have arrived. "On the port side, if you please" the pilot's voice came over the PA system. The custodian looked out the window, and there she was, huge and imposing with her tapered nose and slightly flared behind. Every inch of her exterior was utilized either for offence or defense. Designed primarily to take hits, absorb punishment, and to bring the most awesome weapons system in the entire galaxy to bear on whom ever dared to confront her. High up on her nose sat the flight deck canopy, half masked by the dark exterior color of the ship. An eighteen feet tall carbon re-enforced glass canopy, as hard as a diamond, that wrapped around from starboard to port side. At the back was the blue glow of four huge main fusion engines, flanked by sixteen smaller secondary fusion engines that took up all the room in the back section.

The VIP cruiser was instructed to approach the main shuttle bay and hand over slave command to the Nomad's auto sequins for docking. Frank struggled to contain his awe as they enter the shuttle bay. It was big, very big. You could park a jumbo jet in there and then loose it, easily. In the corner he recognized two badly damaged battle cruisers. The shuttle bay door closed and he felt a slight knock as their deep space cruiser docked. It took a while for the shuttle bay to pressurize and the artificial gravity to kick in before the doors opened. "Stay right there!" Green to Davidson. The custodian stepped off and found Jack waiting for him on the landing. Jack saluted "Admiral!" The custodian answered the salute with a wicked grin on his face. "Someone you should see on my ship! He is waiting for you. Oh, and Commander, leave your rank at the door and be considerate, he is your new Field Marshal."

Jack entered the shuttle and there he was, Frank Davidson. The man that surrendered to Jack on behalf of the Marsian coalition forces. The man that faced the brunt of the Nomad's first and final attack on the rebel forces. Frank got up when he noticed Jack standing by the door. No words were spoken. Jack went into an elevated state of consciousness. Everything happened in slow motion for him now. All of his senses were heightened. With one glance he could tell that Frank was right handed by the shape of his knuckles. He didn't know what to expect next, but he won't be caught off guard. As Frank finally stood in front of his personal nemesis he was surprised by his feelings. Yes, he wanted to rip into Jack, but he also felt a deep wave of respect for the man rush over him. It was "lucky" Jack after all. The mighty ice bear himself. The two stood in silence for 30 seconds or so.

Frank spoke first. "Commander Neel, I have been assigned to the Nomad and have to serve under your command. I only found out about this half an hour ago. I think, if I knew before then I would not have come. But now as I stand before you I think I'm exactly where I need to be." Frank could sense a sharp edge around the man in front of him. He kept his voice and demeanor submissive, but his senses were on high alert, he was wide awake.

Jack said nothing at first. He scanned Frank for a read of some kind. He needed to know if the marshal was sincere. "Welcome aboard." His voice was soft but level and Frank felt intimidated. "The mobile infantry quarters and stations took a series of hits. Your predecessor's personal quarters took a direct hit with him inside it. We've patched the holes, but you'll need to clean the mess yourself. Now let's address the Elephant in the room, shall we? If at any time you feel the need to have a go at me, let me know. I'll arrange that we meet on neutral ground with no ranks to hide behind. Just you and me. One man left standing. Copy?" Jack pushed; he knew the confrontation would have to come at some point, this was Frank the tank after all...

Frank was surprised by the frankness of the man. He heard the rumors about Alex, it was legend throughout the Alliance. And now he was experiencing the legend first hand. "Aye Commander. I don't think it'll come to that, Sir." He lied. A part of him would love to tear into the commander.

Jack: "Oh, I think it will. I'm actually betting on it." The comment had the desired effect on Frank, he felt hot blood rush through his veins. Jack saw the color of the Ginger's face turn red. He smiled and said: "Now follow me, I'll show you to your station."

The custodian left the dock with a sargent and was escorted to the commanders quarters that was vacant. Jack knocked on the admirals door before he entered. Green had a small chess set on a table. "You be black and please tell me why we built you a commander's quarters if you insist on living in the captain's quarters?" he said. Jack sat down and said nothing. The admiral opened with king's pawn to E4. It was no secret that Jack loved chess. He countered with E5. Admiral D4. The tenneson gambit Jack thought, but he accepted and captured the D4 pawn. The next couple of moves saw the Admiral loose significant equipment but in exchange he gained rapid development of his bishop-pair and queen that resulted in a decisive victory.

The admiral leaned back. "The problem with war is often that everyone is too worried about strategies. How to gain an advantage? I know you know how to defend the tenneson gambit, but I'm glad you let me play it out, son. I haven't seen the video logs of the final battle. But I can tell it was bad by the state of this ship. I can also count, nine battleships and four destroyers lost. But that is not the point. The fact is we still have eight destroyers and this ship. You see, while the war amateurs talk strategy the professionals talk logistics. But you need a man that can pull the trigger, so to speak. You need a man that can order good men and equipment to their deaths in order to win the battle because losing is not an option. I assume that the battle was like a gambit. I assume you had to initiate slave command over the fleet and that you yourself pointed the doomed ships to their deaths..." Jack slowly nodded with his head held low. "...Commanding is a lonely place, Jack. The Guardian fingered you for this ship. The youngest Commander in the history of the Alliance. She knew you would be able to make the hard choices..." Jack had a surprised look on his face. "...Ah, yes Jack, the Guardian is a woman. I'm a very special Custodian, you know. She gave me the DNA and genetic coding for Mila, this you know, but she did that in person and that you didn't know. And I will deny telling you this if anyone ever asked. Needless to say, it is very sensitive, but I feel you need to know..." Jack lifted his head slightly.

"...I was woken from my sleep in my quarters and next to my bed was a tall figure dressed in a type of white silky robe. She introduced herself immediately saying that she was the Guardian and referred to a small sentence in the time-lock message ten years ago that said (In the night I'll shine) Her hair and face were veiled. I could barely make out her eyes, but I knew it was the Guardian. I got another time-lock from her three days ago, Jack. You have to go on a deep space quest. Most Custodians never get a single time-lock. Generations can pass with no word or wisdom from these mysterious people. And yes, they are a people that hails from a galaxy somewhere deep in the Virgo Super Cluster. She told me that night that they are the equalizers, if you like, for galaxies all around the universe. They are technologically the most advanced race in the universe. They watch over developing galaxies and ensures that all intelligent life in that galaxy progresses at the same rate and protects them from the more advanced galaxies until they are ready to take their place in the universe..." Jack was intrigued and it showed on his face.

"...Throughout history she helped, Einstein, Newton, rockets, fusion, terraforming. They all came through her. And from what I could tell she looks exactly like us. And she hinted that evolution seemed to spawn intelligent life in the same form everywhere. Human form. She also mentioned a troubling thing. You will return to find the Alliance in shambles and the worlds torn apart. And that this ship could be the salvation of the entire universe. She also went on about how you might never return."

Jack's mouth was open. He was still stuck at the appearance of the Guardian; never mind he is a SHE.

"Jack?"

Jack: "Yes Admiral, deep space?"

Admiral: "You are to set a course for the galactic nuclei and continue past it to the other side of the galaxy. I'm not exactly sure what you'll find there or why you have to go. But the Guardian wants you to go there."

Jack: "That's got to be eighty thousand light years round trip?" He was taken back some by the order.

Admiral: "Give or take you will leave for Alfa-cent where you'll be resupplied and refitted. You will also receive the final phase of the Nomad's construction. The Nomad will be functioning at full power and with a full crew. From stewards to war-scientists. She should be capable of reaching ninety-nine percent light speed Jack. You'll only spend a year or three on the mission. Granted, the Alliance would have aged some hundred thousand years when you return, but you, my friend, will basically look exactly the same. And this order came from the time-lock."

Jack shrugged his shoulders in submission although his head was reeling from the information. "Off we go then, sir. The crew will be pissed. They will never see anyone back home again. Things might even get messy. But we'll handle it." His voice grew stronger as he spoke.

Admiral: "How did things go between you and Davidson?" Green changed the topic. He thought of the stormy night, long ago, when he waited under guard as a rear-admiral outside a backroom laboratory for a crack-whore to give birth, and the subsequent bloodbath that followed. It seemed like yesterday.

Jack: "Too early to say, I'll tell you the next time I see you Admiral." He winked.

The two of them laughed together. A good laugh! A needed one!

Frank was on all fours cleaning the blood and shit left by his predecessor in his new quarters. It was small for his rank, he thought as he held his breath to avoid the smell of death splattered around his room. He focused on an area that had some hair attached to brain matter stuck to the wall. His eye caught a movement at the door. As he looked, there was the figure of a woman. A beautiful woman, with long silky black hair. His heart lept and his throat tightened at the mere sight of her.

"Marshal, welcome to the Nomad. We haven't met. I am the Executive Officer onboard, Mila. I thought I'll introduce myself and at the same time extend the invitation in person. The Commander wants you to join him and the Admiral along with the rest of the senior officers for supper. It's in three hours' time. And I brought you two androids. They are assigned to you personally. They'll clean this mess up in no time." Frank was thankful for the androids. "Thanks Mila. I've heard about you, but I feared the rumors were false, I'm almost disappointed. You are even more beautiful than they say." Frank was after all, ever the charmer. Mila smiled. She heard it all by now. "And I've heard all about you Marshal, Frank the tank, is it? I tell you what Franky, we have a full go in open hand combat you and I, if you win, I'll date you. If you lose, well, let's just say you'll be on light duty for around six weeks." Frank laughed. "Like I said, I've heard all about you. The offer is tempting, but I'll pass, this time." He has heard the stories told of the perfect killer, wrapped in unassuming, breathtaking, beauty that could kill a room filled with hard men in less time it took to drop a teacup.

Mila tilted her head to one side "Now I have to ask, and I do so for myself and not on behalf of anyone else. Marshal, please be honest and straight with me. How do you feel about your new post here, and more specifically, about your new Commander? We all know that Mars was a bloody affair and that you received the brunt of the attack. Can you function unbiased under Jack? Can you commit one hundred percent to the Nomad and its crew? Don't answer that, it's a rhetorical question. But if you feel you need an opportunity to face Jack, then call him out, do it tonight and lick your wounds after. But get it out of your system." She increased her word tempo throughout.

Frank was surprised by her condescending tone. "Is that an order X O?" His voice was almost threatening, as he was speaking down to a lower rank.

Mila's eyes lit up as she fired back "Don't be an idiot man! It's a warning. And this is a battle ship, not a battle ground. A Field Marshal holds no ground up here. You will follow my orders and that of my crew. If by chance we find ourselves on a planet somewhere, my crew and I will return the favor." She left before Frank could say anything. But he caught up to her just outside the door.

"Mila, please I'm sorry. I'm still overwhelmed by this posting." She turned to face him and he continued. "It is true. If you asked me yesterday how I would feel about this post, my reply would probably be that I would literally kill Commander Neel at the first sight of him. But now I feel overwhelmed by the scope of this ship and my station on it. And the fact that, according to you, and I have no reason to doubt you, I could challenge him to a fight without disciplinary consequences. Well that's unheard of. Does it happen often?" Frank was probing for information on the legendary confrontation between Jack and Alex. Some part of him would like to have a go at Jack. Mila smiled. "Just once Frank, and you'll meet the Field Marshal that tried tonight. Don't be late. And once again, welcome" And she was gone.

The galley was divided in three major sections. A vast seating section on floor level that catered for all the civilians and unranked soldiers, a middle deck for the civilian section heads and military middle ranks and a top section for the civilian managers and commanding officers. The floor level was self-service with a buffet type setup whilst the top levels were serviced by androids. Frank arrived early and stood around awkwardly not knowing where to sit. Thankfully an android offered him a shot of whiskey and pointed him to his seat.

He saw Jack, Alex and Mila enter the room. At first glance it was obvious, even to Frank, that there was a very deep connection between Mila and Jack. There was an energy that surrounded the two that one could not miss. Frank uderstood where the warning Mila gave him earlier came from - she cared for Jack. Frank rose to his feet as the small party reached the table. Jack pulled a chair out next to Frank for Mila and took his seat at the head of the table. He had a slight grin on his face, knowing full well what the presence of Mila does to mere mortals. Frank felt very awkward.

"Welcome to my table Frank. I believe you've met Mila, and this brute next to me is Alex. As you can probably tell by me sitting at the head of the table, the Custodian will not be joining us. He is already on his way back to Earth." Jack was observing Frank's every move. Frank had an excellent military record, but they will be far from home for a very long time, and he needed to know exactly where he stood with Frank.

Frank: "Thank you Commander. I have to admit I'm feeling out of my depth with my new station. And yes, there is, or rather was bad blood between us, but I'm a soldier. I fought and I lost that day. I'm still a soldier but we are on the same side now. I can assure you I will commit one hundred percent to this ship and its crew. You have my word." Frank could sense the commander's thoughts, it was time to tread carefully.

Jack: "All the same, I want you to report to the officer's gym at 16:00 tomorrow. You and I will go a few rounds. I want to know what I have in my new Field Marshal and you'll get the opportunity to knock my block off. The gym will be off limits while we are busy, so it will be just the two of us." Jack pushed, he knew that at least some of Franks comment was bullshit. Alex laughed out loud, Mila and Barley just grinned.

Alex: "He'll be calling you Tinkerbell at least once!" He managed through the laughter while he pointed a cockeyed index finger at Frank. Frank: "Aye Commander, I'll be there!" Frank's eyes lit up as Alex spoke the words. He would like to get hold of this overgrown, overrated fossil and bring him down a notch.

Jack: "We're about to become very merry! We will celebrate our victory tonight. I caution you Frank, save it for the gym. If you let it rip tonight, I will hurt you permanently. There will be no court martial in the morning, but you will not be able to take a piss on your own." Jacks voice was level and soft. His green eyes had death in them as he blankly stared at Frank with his chin low down close to his chest. Frank returned the stare and for a second, Alex thought the two of them would get it on right there. The PA system cracked and some hard rock broke the silence. A cheer went up from the lower levels as the party to celebrate the hard-fought victory over the Symbian forces began. Mila changed the topic, but the two titans spent the night stepping around one another like two boxers sizing each other up.

The next afternoon, Frank found Jack close to one of the boxing rings as he entered the gym. "Thought we'd have a sparring match, Franky boy. One gets out of shape real fast up here, and besides, I think there's a little part of you that actually wants to have a go at me. I also want to face off against the tank. Here is the gear, suit up" Jack thought he'd tone it down a notch before they face off. Frank was not a man of many words and was silent as he put his gear on. hand-mitts, headgear and a mouth-guard.

"The rules Commander?" Frank asked as he tightened the straps on his mitts. "First rule, in here I'm just Jack and you are just Frank. Second rule, there are no rules, but if you don't kick me in the nuts, I won't kick you in the nuts. There's no one here but us. No spectators, no glory!" Frank stepped into the ring, in light sparring gear, a PT short and shirt. Jack followed, dressed the same. "All right old man Jack, don't be surprised if the young ginger knocks you on your ass." Jack smiled inside. That's me boy. There'll be two men in the ring yet, he thought.

The two faced off in the center of the ring. Jack decided to play defense first off, but the ginger was tentative. "Come on man! You look like you came to play ring-a-ring-a-rosy. Step up!" Jack taunted. With that, Frank stepped forward and threw a half ass right jab and got punished for not fully committing.

Inside Jacks mind: He's stepping, right shoulder drops setting up right jab. Here it comes wait, wait, now step forward and duck left, leading with the right leg, stop on the ball of right foot. Shot goes past right ear, kick off left leg, spin on ball of left foot three hundred and sixty degrees connect on right ear with spinning right back hand eighty percent power. Crack shot, he is stumbling to his left, keep up, step to follow, step one step two. Stay on him.

Frank was surprised by the speed of the older man as he smartly stepped underneath his jab. He was poorly positioned when he hit nothing but air at the end of his punch. He tried to regain his posture when a defining blow rung through his right ear accompanied by a razor-sharp stab of pain. He stumbled toward the corner post. The movement of the ring floor under him told him that Jack was right on his tail. At the corner, he leaned with his chest against the post and put both hands on the ropes on either side. Jack moved back to the center of the ring.

"That all you got, Tinkerbell?" Jack taunted. Frank spun around and banged his fists together in front of his face. Jack saw a change in body language, the boy will fight, but the eyes were not there yet.

Inside Jacks mind: He is stepping, but measured leading left expect combo, stay inside. Left shoulder drops, left jab coming, deflect out with right forearm, half step forward right shoulder lift expect over hand right, there it is block flat with left forearm to forearm, sometime push hard on lefts shoulder with right hand. He is off balance, stepping back, deep step forward, keep up. Grab right shoulder on shirt and pull hard with left hand, he is compensating to regain balance, he is stepping in, now swing right elbow across the yaw. Boom, he spins round and takes a knee. He stepped right into that one.

Frank went down on his knee. He had no idea what he got hit with. He could taste blood. He jumped to his feet and faced Jack. Jack couldn't help himself and he finished it in typical Jack style.

He stepped forward, leading with the left foot. Knowing Frank was dazed some, he telegraphed a wide low kick with his right leg and focused his gaze on Franks leading left foot. Frank was slow to react, and reacted instinctively by jumping up and away with both feet in the air. But the leading left foot step by Jack, was deep and obscured by the impending threat of the low kick. Half dazed and confused Frank misjudged the depth of Jacks attack. Jack's low kick connected Franks left ankle and knocked his left foot into his right foot with a meaty thump in midair. His body spun around and he came down head first, with a dull thud. A white flash blinded his vision as the fall half knocked him senseless. "Enough. Join me for supper 20:00." Jack said as he left the ring.

Frank sat himself up against a corner post. He was stunned by the speed and precision of the man. Jack was almost inhuman. He wanted another go at Jack, but to learn this time. Just not now.

That night Frank wasn't expecting a large crowd for the supper engagement with the commander, but he was wrong. The top deck of the gulley was configured into a large, long single table. An android intercepted him at the top of the staircase and showed him to one of the many open spots on the table, and once again next to Mila that sat next to Jack at the head of the table. As soon as Frank was settled, Jack rose to his feet and the table went quiet in anticipation. "Good evening all, and welcome to the Commander's Supper. I ask that we honor our fallen combatants with a moment of silence." Jack stood proud as a soldier should. There was a loud shuffle, the scraping of chairs over the floor and the cling of glasses and cutlery put to rest as the entire table rose to their feet. They stood in silence with their heads bowed. Some wiped away a tear. Everyone lost someone they knew in the final battle, the empty seats at the table bore testimony to the fallen.

After the appropriate time lapsed Jack asked them all to take their seats again before he continued. "For those that don't know Marshal Frank Davidson, he joined us yesterday as the official new Field Marshal. I trust you'll make him feel right at home..." Frank rose to his feet for a second when Jack spoke his name. He saw a lot of things in the eyes of those gathered. Resentment, sorrow, tiredness, respect, it was all there. "...Frank, this is all the section and division heads on the civilian side and all the commanding officers on the military side..." the table acknowledged Frank with a brief applause. "...Now as some of you know, we received new orders. For those that don't know, that is why I called this supper. The Nomad is to report to Alfa-cent to receive our final phase of construction, after that has been completed, we have been ordered to explore the far side of our galaxy."

The table erupted with objections. Everyone spoke at the same time, some of them even rose to their feet. They were angry. Most of them have been on this ship from the start, and now they are ordered to leave on it and never see the ones they love back home again. There is a funny little thing in Einstein's theory of relativity called time dilation. Jack's uncle Ben could always explain something in a way that normal folks could understand. And he explained it to Jack when he was just a little boy. He explained it like this.

We know that space and time is one and the same thing, spacetime. It cannot be separated as two different things. We also know that everything in the universe is moving, and that nothing is standing still. And the universe attributes time-dilatation according to the speed of the observer relative to light speed. The faster you move, relative to light speed, the slower your clock will run relative to the rest of the universe.

If we put spacetime on a sliding scale with time on the one end and space on the other, we would be in balance here on Earth right in the middle of the scale. Remember, our planet is moving through spacetime, as nothing in the universe is standing still. But if we could stand absolutely still, have zero velocity relative to light speed, we would be all the way over on the time side of the sliding scale. But we have to move through spacetime as nothing can stand still within spacetime. So, we are still moving, but we're only moving through time, and not through space at all. And therefore at the time side of the scale our clocks would run extremely fast, at maximum tempo relative to the rest of the universe.

If we begin to move through space, we have a velocity relative to light speed, time has to slide over some to the space side of the scale. Time has to give up some of its tempo/dominance. The tempo will begin to slow down. The faster we go, the more time has to give up, the slower the clock will run. Until we reach light speed where time has no more to give and space dominates the scale. At that point, we are not moving through time at all anymore. The clock will stand still and we will only be traveling through space...-----3.

Jack waited for everyone to settle down before he continued. "I know, part of me feels the same way. I've had the privilege of serving with you on this extraordinary bird and I thank every single one of you for your service. As such, I will accept any and all transfer requests and push them through as soon as we dock at Alfa. I have been ordered to take this ship to the far side, but they said nothing about the crew I have to take with me. I cannot expect anyone to leave everything behind and return here in eighty thousand years when you will only have aged maybe five years. It has been an honor serving with such a fine crew." Jack took his seat and the mood around the table lifted.

#  Two

The Nomad spent the next year docked at the outpost Alfa-cent. It was the jewel of the Alliance. A massive spaceport that served many purposes. From shipbuilding to a bustling trading post. It harbored more than two million souls at any given time. The Nomad got all the upgrades and hardware that was outstanding in her construction. She had four battle class destroyers that docked flush on her flanks at two o'clock, four o' clock, eight o' clock and ten o' colck. The sterns of each reached halfway down her hull so that the engines would line up at the back. They connected directly into the Nomad's power grid so that they could all function together as a single ship when docked, but could also break away and function on their own when needed. Her carrier fleet was at full capacity. Eight battle cruisers, sixteen close/medium range defense frigates and thirty-two long-range bombers, all manned by androids, this time. Eight fighter squadrons of two hundred fighters each, assigned to eight hundred human pilots and eight hundred android pilots.

The science lab was upgraded with the latest in research equipment, tech and data. At the head of this division was a career scientist Dr. Hilda. Under her she had fifty of the academy's finest. She was sixty-five years old, never got married and never had a relationship.

Most of the crew were replaced. She now had a full mobile infantry division made up with six platoons, each one hundred men/woman strong. Each platoon had two platoon serjeants. Three marshals commanded two platoons each, all served under a field marshal. A special recon division of twenty strong served directly under the field marshal. Dark men with even darker skills.

The ship's guard was one thousand strong and served as security, their main function was to repel boarders. If that happened the ship's android force was programmed to fight alongside the crew. Mobile infantry was supported by a full range of mobile attack craft. Twelve tanks, thirty-two armored attack trucks and eighteen hovercraft for close air support. The latter manned by androids.

Resources consist of three planetary mining crews each one hundred strong and backed up with all the equipment needed, one dedicated armored transporter and two hovercraft manned by androids for air support. Two asteroid mining crews, ten members each, with one skiff and a frigate for support. The last two manned by androids. Two nebula/element recovery and manipulation units with forty-four members each, supported by 4 heavy armored skiffs, the latter manned by androids. Planetary agriculture had two heavy armored harvester units with one dedicated heavy armored transporter and six hovercraft manned by androids for close air support.

Maintenance manufacturing and engineering had two huge workshops deep in the bowls of the ship next to the power plant that boasted the latest technology in fusion power. Fusing hydrogen into helium and in the process recreating the energy generated in the heart of a slow sequence star. One thousand and fifty souls served there. The infirmary had two hundred medical staff.

Jack promoted Mila to ship captain. He took up residence in the commanders quarters that was separated from the rest and much more spacious. A new infantry officer's name made Jack lift an eye brow when he read it. Boesman Beyers. They grew up together on a farm in the Kalahari desert on Earth. Boesman would join the crew today.

That night at the commanders table in the galley, Jack and Mila were halfway through a long supper. The two of them have been spending almost all of their time together and as a result have grown closer than ever before. The sexual tension between them was almost unbearable.

Mila: "So Jack, when are you going to tell me?" she asks almost playful.

Jack: "Tell you what?" he was half apprehensive, there's been a handful of things she wanted to be told, lately.

Mila: "Boesman Beyers?" She was fishing for anything that could tell her more about Jack.

He gave a little shrug of the shoulders: "Well, we grew up together. We joined the Alliance at the same time. He was a good match for me through our childhood years. In fact, I groomed some of my basic skills in competing with him. He was as much a fighter as I, but he lost his nerve before the Mars uprising. He still had his reputation but he preferred to run in a pack of at least four beefy officers and never fought one on one again. I heard he got broke by a youngster in a pub here at Alfa-cent, back then- a Ginger."

Mila was wide eyed. She wanted to speak but for a minute her mind raced with the information. Can it be? Jack could see she struggled with the information and he patiently waited for her to speak. "Frank the tank!" She said softly, almost in a whisper.

"Aye, the day Frank became, Frank the tank." Mila looked worried: "I looked into Boesman. He's had a colorful career with the Alliance. He's made it to major twice, but was demoted every time. Now he is a Sargent, and old for his rank. Why do you think he volunteered for this ship? Men like that could be trouble, and now it sounds even worse! What if he wants revenge against Frank?" Of course you looked into Boesman. Jack thought.

Jack nodded "Good question. He worked with Frank after their altercation, and it sounds like the two of them got on pretty well. As for why he is here, the answer is twofold, I think... He is at the end of the road. There is no chance of promotion and he has lost his reputation within the Alliance. So, it makes perfect sense for him to leave all that behind, face a new challenge and come back in a time where nobody knows his name. Secondly, and I would actually bet on it, that the Alliance suggested he joins this crew. I think they want to be rid of him as much as he wants to be rid of them. Infact, I would bet that most of our new crew was 'pushed' to join this ship."

At that moment Tony the HC slapped a plate of half raw prime steak down on the table and walked away without saying a word. "Why do you tolerate him Jack? He has no respect for you? Everyone can see it clear as day!" She was angry. Jack laughed in an animated way. "He cooks a mean steak! Com-mon, here, taste." he said while he cut a piece for her. She couldn't help but laugh at the pathetic reason, as she willingly accepted the steak offered to her on a fork.

Jack noticed her eyes turn soft and serious. She desperately wanted to tell him how she felt. Her heart leapt every time she saw him. When he called her name there was a warmness that manifested itself in the pit of her stomach and rapidly spread through her body. These emotions had her reeling. She was cloned and came into this world as an adult of around twenty-five years old. Earth is the only planet she's ever been on, and only once. Now she was experiencing the red-blooded desires of a full-grown woman, and she struggled with it all. If only she could find the words that would lead to action.

Jack could sense that she was conflicted. He smiled " When do you propose we cast off Captain?" Mila snapped back to the table:" Ha-ha, I would like to see you sit back and let someone else drive your baby. As someone I know would say: "I'd bet you wouldn't be able to keep your hands off for more than one hour. And that's pushing it"

An Hour later Jack walked into the mobile infantry quarters. He needed to see Boesman and try to determine his state of mind. He found him in the recreation room shooting pool with some of his brethren on a holographic pool table. Time has been kind to him. He still had a big intimidating frame, all be it slightly overweight. The blond hair made way for a clean-shaven head pan. The narrow brown eyes bore testament to a man with a regretful past. They greeted like old friends do. There was some alcohol and through the course of the night as the alcohol flowed Jack could draw a pretty accurate picture of his old pal's state of mind. It was not good. He needed more responsibility not less. And somehow Jack would have to help him find, or re-discover his nerve. There's a man's man in there. He might even be brilliant.

They talked about the days in the desert. All the trouble they got into. Boesman even told Jack that he still had the leopard skins. Jack was surprised and taken back some. That day was a defining moment in his life. That day he realized that he reacts to adrenalin very different than the rest. Towards the end of the night they were as drunk as two farm laborers on a Sunday afternoon, and everyone around them was fair game. The rest of the crew gave them a respectful wide berth. At some point Frank pitched in for two drinks and then left the two to catch up.

Jack woke late the next morning with a heavy head. He read the message on his communicator with one eye closed. "The Nomad will depart at 10:30 today – Captain Mila." He looked at the time, it was 11:00. As he jumped up he remembered Mila's words at supper last night. He smiled to himself as he got dressed. Ten minutes later the bridge doors slid open, Jack walked in, and took a seat at his post without saying a single word. The effects of the night before reflected clear as day on him, and word of the big night spread through the ship like wild fire, so the flight deck crew knew exactly how Jack felt. They all gave Jack a knowing smile. He was not going to say a word...today. Today it will be Mila flying this ship.

Jack looked at the screens in front of him, they were half swimming and very bright. It felt like there was a small gremlin inside his head just above the right eyebrow chipping away with a hammer. The pit of his stomach was tossing and turning and he felt like he might throw up any second. Mila's voice drew his attention. "This is the Nomad. We're breaking slave sequence. We'll take it from here." A voice came back over the speakers. "This is Alfa-cent. slave sequence severed. Godspeed, Nomad."

Mila's voice was sharp and commanding: "Course locked Barley?" She was in her element

Barley: "Aye Captain. We'll have to stop near the galactic bulge to refill on hydrogen. Should take us six months to get there at ninety percent light speed." Everybody smiled. Nobody knew exactly how fast the ship would be now, but everyone knew it'll be some distance past eighty percent light speed.

Mila: "Primary fusion engines to forty percent. Bring two auxiliary fusion drives online, divert access power to bow shield generators." The bulkhead shuddered as the engines kicked into life and the ship edged forward. Slowly at first, but then rapidly gaining speed; faster and faster. A cheer went up from the whole crew as they got under way. It was adventure time! No one knew what they will find or what the Alliance they left behind will look like when they returned.

"Fifty percent light speed Captain!" One of the android operators in a robotic voice.

Mila: "primaries to ninety percent. Wake up the slave ships."

"Aye." the same robot.

Mila: "Main ship, auxiliary engines sixty percent."

Robot: "Sixty percent light speed...Seventy-five percent light speed."

Mila: "auxiliaries to ninety percent."

Jack took tremendous pride in his captain as they waited to reach cruising speed. She always had a commanding presence, but to see her now, the woman he groomed for this day, made him glow inside! She was in her element. He found it difficult to keep his thoughts professional. "Ninety percent light speed, Captain." The robot confirmed cruising speed.

Mila: "All right gentleman, let's see what she can do. Slave main fusion engines to sixty percent, auxiliaries to follow." She leant forward in her seat. Jack watched the telemetry on one of his screens. The four battle class destroyers docked on her flank fired their main fusion engines, Ninety-three, Ninety-five percent lightspeed.

Mila: "Slave mains to one hundred percent, auxiliaries to follow" She is not screwing around, Jack thought to himself. He watched the screen in awe as they hit ninety-nine percent light speed. Mila spoke in a low assertive voice over the ships P.A System. "This is Captain Mila. We've reached cruising speed at ninety-nine percent light speed. It is my pleasure to announce that we are only traveling through space right now, and not really moving through time. If you have a hibernation pod assigned to you, please tuck yourself in. We move to alert level one. Next stop the galactic bulge for refueling. We'll wake you before we get there. Good night."

Jack noticed when Alex lent forward. Jack adressed his screen and punched some commands on his control panel to call up Alex's screen. Yes, he saw it too. There was something with them, almost shadowing them. But it was not clear what. It's not a ship, but what is it? The computer registered it as an anomaly. Are you kidding me, an anomaly? What, like Santa-Claus?

Mila got up from her seat and stood next to Jack. She stood close enough to him so her leg touched his knee. It didn't go unnoticed by Jack. She saw it too. Jack looked at her and shrugged. Alex was wise enough not to mention anything to anyone. His screen told him the moment Jack tapped into his station, so he knew the commander also saw it. Alex tasked one of the robots to keep analyzing the anomaly. That's all they could do. Mila walked back to her chair as she spoke: "Slave ships auxiliary fusion drives online, divert all power to bow shield generators"

Alex, Mila and Jack spent the next 6 hours trying to make sense of the anomaly. Jack was about to stop the ship when he noticed his communicator flash. The message simply read:

Continue!

At night I will shine.

The Guardian.

Jack: "I give up! It must be a faulty sensor. Even if it's accurate it's not doing anything. it's just sitting there. We continue on." Jack was sure no one saw him read the massage.

Jack was beyond tired, so he excused himself from the flight deck and made his way to his quarters. He slumped onto the queen-sized bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep. He woke the next morning with the full memory of a vivid dream. In this dream the guardian woke him from his sleep. She was dressed in a white silky robe, her hair and face veiled. She took him to a star with four living worlds. She showed him his own home system in a terrible space battle. Then they were standing in the Kalahari watching a leopard leap for rider and horse. And then as she whispered "For this night, you will shine." he saw himself with Mila in a strange world surrounded by spectators with the sound of wild drumbeats echoing around a gloomy arena of sorts. That was when he woke. A sense of purpose came over him, even though he was confused. The dream was so real. He could feel the sun beating down on him in the Kalahari. He could hear the wag-n-bietjie thorn bush break as the leopard launched herself from it. They were there? How did she know the Alliance would be in shambles when they returned? He thought of Admiral Green's words to him.

At the commander's table for breakfast Mila and Alex led the conversation, mostly about the appearance and then the disappearance of the anomaly. Jack was distant. His thoughts were with the dream and he wondered how to make sense of it all. The moving image of Hilda the science head, approaching his table brought him back. "Good morning Commander, may I have a word please?" The little lady asked politely when she reached the table. Jack stood up with a warm smile. "Sure Hilda, please take a seat. Join us for breakfast" Alex also jumped to his feet while he pulled out a chair for the old gal. After she's settled the men sat down again.

Jack: "Hilda, before we continue, please call me Jack. This brute next to you is Alex. He is rude for the most part, but he means well. And you know Mila. Guys this is the head of science, Hilda." After introductions and the customary how do you do's, Hilda addressed Jack.

"I've been working on a number of very complicated applications. One could say it's my life's work, or failure as I've been stuck for about a decade on all of them..." Jack thought – She's made a breakthrough. It came to her last night when she was sleeping. "...The strangest thing happened last night. I woke this morning and the solutions to all that was blocking me was clear like a mountain spring in my mind. I realize this is exciting for me only, but Jack, I would like it very much if you could find the time to visit the lab. I think you'd be very excited if you see what the fuss is about." She shined like a bright spring morning. Jack couldn't believe what he heard. His mouth was open and his eyes blind. Everyone waited for the commander to respond to the nice old lady but he just gawked at her. Alex instinctively kicked Jack in the shin underneath the table, deliberately harder than was necessary and with a sadistic grin on his face. Jack half jumped in his chair as the thud was closely followed by the sharp stab of pain. "No problem Mam! I will be in attendance before lunch." Mila wanted to laugh badly. "Be in attendance?" Where the hell are you Jack?

It turned out that the most significant breakthrough in Hilda's bag of tricks was with nanobots. Jack listened for about fifteen minutes about the ability of nanobots to identify microbial DNA through a complicated switching system. After identification the bots activate and not unlike white blood cells in the body attack and destroy the micro DNA it's just detected, like cancer cells.

What put her work apart is that she's managed to manipulate the bots to act like red blood cells after they identify the host DNA of the subject. Instead of breaking down the host DNA it will enhance it. Improving protein and oxygen delivery to the muscles and brain. The host's vision will be altered to forty/forty. An increase in strength and endurance of up to eighty percent. And then she got really excited. The bots will also switch to assist white blood cells when the host is injured rapidly speeding up the healing process. They could protect against and cure all known disease and almost all physical wounds. She should be ready for trials in a month or so. The bots link up to the nerve system of the host with the aid of a small microchip implant, in the cerebral cortex of the brain, so they can act with the muscles of the host as the host brain sends a signal to them. Pretty nifty.

The next thing she brought up was a variation of the standard survival suit for visiting alien worlds. It could be used by anyone and she could adapt about four of the standard tactical exo-suits with the resources available on the ship right now. It also incorporates nanobot technology. The suit will recycle all bodily fluids and not so fluid excrement, breaking it down into protein form feeding it back to the host through the skin. A host will be able to survive without any food or water for around thirty days. After thirty days it becomes impossible to extract any more protein from the excrement and urine. She thought that further research could even lead the bots in the suit to react to knocks or blows or even gunshots. But that might be a stretch too far. Jack okayed the work and was rather thankful that the encounter was over. He's had just about his fill of science talk for one morning.

Mila was meticulously going over the ships systems in her captain's chair when Alex called out to her. "Captain, we're changing course, losing speed!" His voice was shook. She looked at the ship's trajectory and yes, it was steering five degrees off. Speed dropped to ninety eight percent light speed. There was gravity out there, and it was something big. She sent a message to Jack: "Change course, loosing speed."

But just as she sent it, he walked through the door.

Mila: "We're five degrees off, Jack. Lost one percent on speed." She was visibly worried.

Alex: "Make it ten degrees and three percent." He spoke fast.

Jack: "Gravity! Find it!!" he hurried to his command post.

Mila: "Portside thrusters on line, let's see if we can push her back on course." she needed to make a decision.

Jack: "No, working against it will only slow our progress faster. First, we find it. Then we decide on a course of action, if any." He spoke soft and measured, careful not to sound too over bearing in correcting the captain.

Alex: "Twenty degrees and six percent now." He shook his head.

Android: "Found it. Magnetar (the remains of a dead star, known as a Newton Star, about the same density as the sun but only thirty miles across, the most dense objects in the universe. they spin very fast around their own axes creating huge magnetic fields through dynamo effects, trillions of times stronger than the Earth's gravity. They can also emit x-ray burst that could release as much energy as the sun will release in its entire lifetime, within fractions of a second. Heavyweight bad asses) and a blue super giant in a binary system. We're about forty light years out. We will pass through the main gravity belt at present course. Time out, ten minutes!" The ship would be ripped apart if it held its current trajectory.

Frank and Boesman were locked in an epic chess game in the mobile infantry barracks. It was nice and quiet, most of the soldiers were asleep in their hibernation pods. Only a hand full of officers and the recon guys were awake. Frank on black, opted for sicilian defense, the dragon, while Boesman played the yugoslav attack to counter. The yugoslav was the preferred counter to the dragon but, Frank's dragon was sharp and he was about to break through Boesman's queen side defense with inevitable check mate options to follow. Frank lifted his right hand to move the queen side knight when he noticed the water level of the cup on the table next to the board rise slightly on one side whilst dropping on the other. He stopped his hand in midair. He had a puzzled look on his face.

Frank: "We're changing course?"

Boesman: "No can't be!" Boesman was weary of the observation but Frank pointed to the little cup. Boesman's yaw dropped as he focused on the water level. The lights went out for a few seconds before the backup red lights came on barely illuminating the ship's inside.

Boesman: "Shit! It's getting worse, draining ship's power!" He was worried.

It couldn't be any worse. Jack studied the ships trajectory in relation to the magnetar and it's sibling for a moment. "Fire thrusters on starboard side. We'll turn into it! With any luck she'll swing past the magnetar far enough to the left that we miss it. All auxiliary drives to full power! All auxiliary fusion engines, mains and secondaries to one hundred percent. Divert all auxiliary power to thrusters. Shut down all non-essential systems. I don't care if it's a flashlight, if it has a battery, I want its power!" The steely green eyes were hard and penetrating. The voice level and commanding... Hiding his deep concern well.

Mila: "I can try to tap power from the carrier fleet, but it's not what the power grid was designed for. Their systems run off the Nomads grid when they are docked. I don't know how the grid would hold up if we activate their fusion drives?" She was desperate to make up for her inexperience when she attempted to hold course.

Jack: "Good idea, do it incremental. Start with one cruiser and see if she holds. Sound radiation alert. Missing it is half the problem." Jack knew the ship was over designed in all aspects. But he was asking a lot from it now.

Alex: "She's coming about, thirty-five degrees and counting. Speed is holding steady at ninety-four percent?" he said almost hopefully.

Android: "Five minutes."

Jack: "We need another thirty-five degrees, and we need it in the next two minutes!"

Mila: "One cruiser tapped and the grid is holding!"

Jack: "Give us all of them Mila!"

Mila: "Aye!"

Frank jumped up and sent the table, chess board and all flying across the room in the process as the radiation alert sounded loud in the ships artificial voice over the PA system. "Fuck me! Radiation suits. Move, Move, Move!" He shouted as he ran for the tactical storage unit. Boesman beat him in reaction time and was four paces ahead. They reached the unit in no time. The distribution and fitment of the suits was well drilled and fluent, everyone was kitted out within one minute. The crew practiced drills once a week, whether they were traveling or docked. Suited up they strapped into a row of chairs. No one spoke, everyone was scared shitless, even the scary recon guys. To add insult to injury the whole ship shuddered and they could feel a slight G force acting on them.

Mila brought the other seven cruisers online and diverted all the available power from their fusion drives to the thrusters. For thirty seconds the power grid held. Then it blew out in spectacular fashion in the main shuttle bay. Barley cut the power to the bay so the rest of the grid could function normally. Mila dropped the power outputs of the cruisers before she shut them down.

The Nomad shook its head as the thrusters blasted at over four hundred percent capacity for over half a minute pushing her stern past the seventy degrees. "Main magnetic sphere avoided." the Android spoke first. Mila fell back in her chair.

Jack: "Put it on screen. Cut power to thrusters and divert everything we have to shields. Let's hope this little ball of pain does not suffer a temper tantrum as we swing by" He couldn't hide his concern this time. The big screen lit up. The blue super giant appeared as a little dot, the magnetar was invisible.

Alex: "Reading radiation levels forty-eight times the total output of our sun." His voice was shaking. He feared the worst. The electromagnetic shield around the ship glowed a bright green color as the x-rays emitted by the magnetar interacted with it. Pushing and bending the field to its will.

"Watch the ship's atmosphere. If enough x-rays get through it could partially ionize some of the air and cause it to rapidly expand. Stand by with airlocks to relieve the pressure!" Jack tried his level best to hide his fear, but his voice was cracking.

Barley: "Aye Jack, I'm on it. Atmosphere stable for now, standing by with air locks, sounding airlock alert!"

Now the airlock alarm sounded. Frank suddenly knew why the strap-in formed part of the radiation drill. At that moment the air was driven from his body as the ship's atmosphere doubled in volume and as a result doubled in pressure. A stabbing pain hit his ears and he could hear the fibers of his left eardrum tear. He couldn't breathe or move. He felt a strong draft as an airlock close by opened. Then it was dark before him.

Barley hit the airlock switch to relieve the pressure a moment before he lost consciousness. A puff of gray gas streamed out of more than a thousand airlocks for a fraction of a second before the ship's computer closed them again. Everyone on the ship lost consciousness. The four androids on the bridge did what they were programmed to do. They took control, guided the ship back on course, and restored the ship's systems. The magnetar sat firmly in the rearview when the crew begun to stir again. The ship's power grids, starboard thrusters and fusion reactors, took a beating. Radiation sickness would be rife among the crew if left untreated. Hilda does not have one month or the luxury of trials. The crew needed her nanobots now, and on steroids.

Jack woke with a splitting headache. There was a small line of dry blood that originated from his left ear. He was also aware that he soiled himself as a result of the sudden pressure increase. He was dazed and confused, a direct result of his burst eardrum. Alex was the first to speak: "For fuck-sakes, I fucking shat myself!" Jack was relieved to hear Alex's voice and judging by the man's tone and demeanor, he was just fine. Barley spoke next: "Yeah me too. My ears!" He also popped an eardrum. "Seems like we've all shat ourselves. Freshen up and report to the infirmary. Lean against the walls if you feel your balance is compromised. I need to get to science. Request a crew count. And I need a damage report. Leave the robots to execute the order." The commander talked slow and with considerable effort. He rolled over on his stomach and pushed himself up on his hands and knees. He looked over at Mila. She sat on the ground, slumped over, supported by her chair. He crawled the four paces to her. His heart wanted to jump out of his chest, he could not lose her now. He lifted her head and was relieved that she was warm to the touch and obviously breathing. She opened her eyes and looked straight into Jack's eyes. Jack was overwhelmed by emotion. Completely lost in the moment. He fouhght back tears. He wanted to lean forward and kiss this woman. Every fiber of his being yearned for her. She spoke softly: "I can't believe it Jack, I think I shat myself."

Jack stumbled to the science bay. Everywhere he looked there was signs of the aftermath left behind by the crew. The ship smelled like a sewage farm. He was off balance and found it hard to walk unassisted by the walls. Here and there he came across a disorientated crew member that he ordered to Infirmary whilst he pointed the way in the process. He finally walked through the science bay doors and found Hilda hovering over a test tube. She looked in surprisingly good health considering the rest of the ship almost died. Hilda couldn't hide the shock on her face when she saw the commander's condition. He was as pale as a walking corpse.

"Jack? Sit down and let me fix this. We are lucky down here. Due to the nature of our work we are heavily insulated to keep whatever radiation accidents we might cause, confined to this section. So, none of the radiation came through. Our bay automatically isolated itself from the rest of the ship when you triggered the radiation alert." Jack saw her gesture to the nearby chair. Her mouth was moving but he could barely hear a word she was saying. He dropped down in the chair and watched as Hilda came towards him with a syringe filled with a transparent blue fluid. She stabbed the syringe into his right shoulder. There was no pain. He could feel himself slip in and out of consciousness. Then suddenly it felt like a veil was lifted from his eyes. His hearing returned to normal and he saw Hilda clear as day. "Wow, that worked well, what did you do?" He asked relieved.

Hilda: "Nanobots. Before you got here, I sent forty of my staff out to distribute them amongst the affected crew. So, the whole ship should be coming around about now. Luckily the hibernation pods are heavily insulated, we will monitor the hibernating crew to see how many of them were over exposed." She was glowing in pride. Her research finally saved lives.

Jack: "Well done Hilda, this ship is in your debt. What a fucking shitstorm." Jack grinned.

Hilda: "Ha-ha! Ya, the shit really hit the fan this time."

Jack: "Do you foresee side effects from the bots?" Jack was serious.

Hilda: "Other than some constipation, no. Ha-ha. The algorithm is bullet proof now. Protocol states that we have to do trials but we have no time. So, I guess we'll just have to play it as it lays. I obviously need to monitor some of the crew for the next week or two, and everyone that was affected will need to get surgery to insert the microchip."

Jack: "O yes that's right. Brain surgery. When can you do me?"

Hilda: "Now, follow me."

Three weeks later the Nomad came to a halt in a rich nebula near the galactic bulge. Mila ordered a ship systems shutdown to perform maintenance on the fusion reactors, thrusters and power grid. The nebula and surrounding area were so fruitful that all the outsourcing crews were deployed. The miners were sent to a rough planet where they soon struck a rich shallow gold vane essential for upgrading the ships power grid. Nebula recovery was busy recovering hydrogen for the fusion reactors and whatever other elements they came across. The asteroid miners also had rich pickings. Frank kept the infantry boys busy with one exercise after another and Mila drilled the flight crews.

Jack got an urgent call from Mila when one of the asteroid support frigates reported that it was breaking off to investigate an unidentified approaching ship. Jack stormed onto the bridge as Mila activated the secondary guns. They waited five minutes before the androids reported that it was a small lifeboat that seemed to be dead and drifting in space. Jack ordered the frigate to tow the capsule closer. Jack and Mila watched the frigate bring the small ship by the flight deck canopy. It was small and fragile. The flight crew could not help but wonder what happened to the mother ship this lifeboat came from and how it ended up here. Everyone kept to their own thoughts. The lifeboat was not responding to radar pings or attempts to contact it through radio frequencies and scans revealed no surprise guests onboard. So, Jack sent the recon crew to investigate it further.

Led by Anthony Higgs and dressed in thin, easy to move spacesuits, the recon crew slowly left the safety of the recovery skiff. The bridge watched the recon guys move around the small ship, pausing to look through the small port windows to see inside. Group leader, Antony moved from window to window. "What's that about?" Mila wanted to know. "Looks like he doesn't want to open the airlock...Something inside?" Jack half stated, half asked. At that moment Anthony's voice came through the coms.

Anthony: "I don't think we should pop the airlock in the vacuum, Sir. It looks like one of the hibernation pods is active." Ever the professional soldier Anthony's voice was level and undeterred. Mila looked at Jack for a second. She might be a prolific killer with an unrivaled skill set, but she was a woman at her core. "Roger that recon lead! Dock the vessel in recon bay and move your bay to contamination alert level four." She gave the order as she turned to face her station. She flicked a few switches and a short while later Hilda's voice from science came over the coms. "Yes Captain, how can I help you?"

Mila: "Are you following the inspection outside on the ship's feed Hilda?"

Hilda: "Yes Mum, I am"

Mila: "Can you meet us in recon bay with a decontamination crew?"

Hilda: "Yes, Mum, we are already on the move."

Anthony could not see if the hibernation pod had anyone inside from the angles of sight provided by the small port windows on the lifeboat. But he could tell that it was active by the soft red pulsating light that illuminated the canopy at intervals. He switched his communicator to secure so he could talk to his squad in private. "Alright boys, we're docking this bird in our bay. We are going to guide it in with suit thrusters, everyone spread out, use your suction cups to attach yourselves to the ship." On the bridge the command watched the recon crew take up positions on the outside of the lifeboat and slowly guide it closer to the mother ship. When the recon shuttle bay door finally closed with the ship inside, Jack and Mila left the flight deck and made their way down to recon.

Antony found Hilda and her team waiting for them in the recon bay when they docked the alien vessel. They were also dressed in full space suites with all the decontamination equipment they might need. Jack and Mila pulled up outside and watched the activities inside from the various cameras connected to monitors. Anthony opened the airlock and stepped inside. After a minute or so he reappeared at the door and indicated for Hilda to come inside. They waited for what felt like an eternity for the two of them to reaper. "We have a sleeper. It's a male and his vitals looks good. It looks like he's been sleeping for a very long time. Oh, and he has blue skin! Science has the ship for decontamination. Do we wake him up after, Commander?" Anthony looked at the closest camera as he spoke. A few seconds passed before Jack replied. "No, move the pod to science, we let him sleep for now." Jack ordered.

Barley spent the next three days tracking the unfortunate vessel's trajectory in an attempt to zone in on its origins. It was impossible to determine how long it had been drifting through space and to make matters worse it had such a low velocity that almost any mass along its path could have influenced its trajectory. But it was what Barley lived for. He was a boy-genius that suffered from a high functioning form of Autism. Suffered, might be a harsh term. Modern medicine identified the condition early and was able to break down all the negatives to a level that was almost unnoticeable while they kept the high functioning effects unchanged.

In the science lab Hilda and Co were discovering some very interesting things about the Alien's physical structure. It seemed that they were not unlike humans in their diets and lifestyles. Their brains were small for their bodies, so one could be forgiven to assume that they were not the sharpest tools in the shed.

The Parietal lobe was under developed indicating a simple form of communication and a low pain threshold. The Medulla region was over developed indicating a strong sense of survival. The body could live even after a major head wound. The Optical and Temporal lobes were also over developed giving them superior sight, hearing and good long-term memory. It might even be large enough to adequately compensate for the under developed Parietal lobe. The Frontal lobes were a little on the small side.

The bone and muscle structure were over developed so they should be strong and fast for their size. The subject also featured no body hair and very little sweat glands. The skin was human like but with a blue-purple tint. This one had O-negative blood and needed about seven liters of it to function normally. The hands and feet of this individual showed that he was a laborer who worked with his hands. They were strong, bony and callused. He was also very underweight. Which only enhanced the mystery. A laborer in an advanced lifeboat just drifting through space?

Barley finally narrowed the origins of the capsule down to a region about twenty-five lightyears across, about four lightyears from their current position. It seemed as if the rough planet that supplied them with plenty gold also hailed from the same region. A young, still hot world, that was ejected from a chaotic system in its early days, that was mineral rich. Hilda struggled with the information. The region in question was too close to the bulge to sustain life due to the elevated radiation levels this close to the galactic nuclei. It was also within a globular star cluster with stars too close to each other to allow stable planet orbits for long enough to allow life to evolve, except for a small four light years across section that seemed to be void of anything. But everyone, including Hilda knew that the parent vessel could hail from anywhere. It was the scientist in her that hoped for an Alien world. Jack decided that the Nomad would investigate the region in question. They had time and he's basically been left to his own devices. Besides, he knew Barley would lose all his shit if they did not investigate the matter further.

#  Three

Fifty years before the start of The Nomad's construction...

Hondo lay on a blanket a lush blue grass field on his land. The smell of sweet grass filled his nostrils. He lay on his back with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. The light breeze gently moved a giant ancient tree not far away. He smiled as he thought of the day that his chieftain would adopt him into the tribe as a homemaker. Then he could court and marry his dream girl... there was a noise, it was far away. What is it? Is it important? It was the callbox in his house built from the finest purple marble. He must answer the call, it might be the chieftain with the good news. He opened his eyes and looked directly into the huge gas planet that hosted the moon his people thrived on. He rolled over on his hands and knees. He got up and tried to run, but his legs wouldn't work. They were heavy and they wouldn't move fast enough. The ringing got louder, but his house did not come any closer. Louder, and louder. Then he opened his eyes. The ringing was the morning siren.

The smell of the dead and dying filled his nostrils and he half gagged. He sat up on the hard wood bunk that he called home last night and took a look around the big hole. It was half dark, illuminated by a hand full of weak bulbs that flickered from time to time. The rough hard stone floors were covered in urine and shit... there were no toilets down here. The ones lucky enough to die in their sleep were left to rot there where they died. It is a fate, it seemed, that awaited them all. Around him his kinsmen were also stirring - or what was left of them.

He looked at his right ankle. There was a raw wound across the top where all the skin had been ground off by the ankle chain. It was swollen and septic, but he felt no pain from it. He got up and pulled the sack that served as clothing over his head. It was filthy and torn. Nobody talked as they made their way to assembly. Thousands of them, came from hundreds of holes. All of them taken by force from their home worlds and condemned to slavery, to die here on this godforsaken, hellish planet. It orbited a red giant star too close for surface life to exist, but, too mineral rich to be left untouched. It was adequately named: 'The Undertaker'.

The masters were the Fermions. They showed no mercy. They forced the Hersians and countless other peoples, to work this world's mines. The temperature never dropped below forty-eight degrees Celsius and could go as high as sixty-five degrees. The surface was scorched and barren. Nothing could survive out there.

One of his inmates informed him, as they stood in line to receive the only meal of the day, that fifteen of his brethren passed away last night. The meal was a slimy white semi fluid protein paste that tasted like nothing. It slid down through like a slimy snail and had a fermented mushroom after taste. It was served on a dirty slate of rock.

Sven just finished his gourmet breakfast. He stared out over the hoard from behind the two-way mirror high above in the rock wall. It was cesspool of misery. Thousands of souls from all over the universe, far and wide. They came in all shapes and sizes with only one thing in common. They all came from chaotic home systems. Systems that would cause their worlds to die before the people had enough time to evolve into a fully developed species.

The breakfast table was a mess of various foods and dishes. The room was well lit. The floors of white sandstone were clean and shining. The smell of food and a hint of detergent, dominated the room. There was a light hum in the background from the air conditioning units that kept the temperature down to an easy twenty-four degrees Celsius. Around Sven's neck hung a thick platinum chain and his hands were covered in rings, filled with precious stones. He was a wealthy and respected man amongst his people. A monarch of the Flagg dynasty and an overlord responsible for the consistent supply of slaves. "The Hersian and Aburian hoards are growing thin." He said half amused.

"Yes, my lord, they are at the end of the road. We'll need to replenish the ranks soon." Banru, his right-hand man and shadow, confirmed the suspicion.

"All right, send invitations out. We will host a new tournament in a months' time. Thin the numbers on the Hersians and the Aburians today." He ordered in a matter of fact way.

The work sirens sounded after they had breakfast and Hondo stood in line to enter the pit assigned to them. Four guards came around to secure the heavy ankle chain that bound them together, twenty at a time. Then they were bundled into a large shaft elevator and taken down deep into the heart of the mining pit they worked. Waiting for them were the drivers, sadistic men tasked with keeping up production. They outnumbered the hoard four to one.

The floors were covered in dead, decaying corpses that were just kicked to the side so that one could walk past them. The stench made Hondo gag again. Hondo reached the wall where they chased a platinum vein. He picked up a pig Axe and chipped away, careful not to go too hard, so he'll blow out his arms. Mindful not to go too soft and attract the attention of the drivers.

It was hot down here. The sickly walked around with buckets of water and whenever they came past, you drank your fill. The chamber was gloomy and the air heavy. In between strikes Hondo heard the familiar cry of a slave, begging for mercy, followed by the dull thud of a scull cracked open by a club. It was early in the day for the drivers to begin the killing? He was perplexed by this development.

An hour after breakfast Sven walked into his hobby room, a room with no windows. In the middle were medieval like torture furniture. In the corner, a hot metallic furnace incubated four metal rods. The floors and walls were covered in white tiles. On the walls hung various tools and devices. A slave woman hung from the roof. Her hands were bound together by string high above her head, her feet just off the ground. Her eyes lit up with despair as she saw the fat man walk towards her. "Don't be scared my love, I'm just going to play with you." The yellow eyes were empty and, in his voice, he carried the sound of doom. He was exited. He loved to see their eyes through the various stages of despair.

He slowly walked over to the tools on one of the walls, he took his time. He picked up one contraption after another, carefully he inspected each of them before he put them down again. The slave was silent but her eyes darted around like a sheep's in the slaughterhouse. He stopped abruptly and grabbed two thick leather straps. He tied them around her calves and thighs so she could not move her legs, or bend her knees. He turned the hand crank on the wall that lowered her until her feet were flat on the ground. He stood in front of her and looked her in the eyes. She was petrified. Really, really scared. It excited him. He could feel a tingle in his crotch. Yeah this was the only thing that made him feel alive.

He grabbed a shovel off the wall and stood behind her. He lifted the shovel high above his head. He had one hand on the handle and one hand on the shaft. He brought it down hard and hit her just above the heels at a sixty-degree angle to sever them both. She screamed in pain, a chilling, gut wrenching scream. Sven laughed with excitement. He turned the crank and lifted her just off the ground. Then, he took one of the red-hot metal bars out of the furnace. "There now love, we have to cure the wounds so you don't bleed to death. Here let me help you." The voice was soft, but his eyes empty. She screamed again as the hot metal bit into her throbbing wounds.

In the mines, barely an hour went by and the drivers already killed twenty or so slaves in the titanium pit. It could be more but Hondo couldn't be sure. Something was not right? They have never been this merciless before! He kept to his rhythm, he chipped away until he found it difficult to move, then he shoveled the ore on the floor into the ore baskets before he chipped away again. He caught movement to the right of his peripheral vision, he did not turn to see what it was. He knew all too well what it was. He heard a dull thud and the sound of a scull cracking. Some blood spattered across Hondo's face and right shoulder. The blood felt cool to the touch in this hot hellish environment. The man to the right of Hondo dropped to the ground. He was working just fine, and at the same pace and rate as me?

But Hondo did not look at the fallen one. He continued to chip away. A water bearer came past, but Hondo waved him on. No way he was stopping now. After the driver left Hondo turned to face his dead brother. He swung his Axe three times and hit the fallen one on the right ankle just above the ankle chain to sever his foot. Then he kicked the lifeless body to the far side where it will rot away. He should be upset about this, but he's been down here for too long. How fast one becomes desensitized to brutal acts when you are exposed to them on a daily basis. Just before he continued working, he heard another dull thud not too far away.

Sven waited patiently for the woman to stop screaming. He was half erect by now. He ripped the robes off her body. She was young and beautiful. Her body slim and sexy and her tits small, just how he liked them. He dropped her down on the floor and she fell down into a pitiful bundle and cried softly. He picked her up and strapped her in a crucifix position on a steel table. "Please, please! Don't do this to me!" She begged through the crying. He spilt her legs wide apart before he strapped them down. Her eyes followed him to the wall. She saw him carefully pick out a pair of meat scissors and plyers. He reveled in her fear as he slowly walked back to the foot of the table. "No! No, no, please no!" She screamed as he touched the cold metal of the instruments on the inside of her knees. He slowly slid the cold metal up her thighs. He paused for a moment right next to her vagina. Then he pinched her clit hard with the plyers and pulled it out, he stretched it as far as he could. Her body shook and she screamed. He cut the clit clean off with the scissors. She gasped and then grunted a low painful sound. He didn't want her to experience any pleasure what so ever. That just wouldn't be right.

Her eyes watched him as he walked back to the wall again. She couldn't see what he had in his hands when he came back to the head of the table. She dreaded the next contraption. She resigned to her fate, at that point she lost all sense of hope. She felt him slide something underneath her head. Then she felt light pressure applied to the sides of her head. She couldn't move her head in any direction now.

She saw a shiny metal instrument in his hand pass before her eyes. It was cold when it entered her mouth. It forcefully winched her mouth wide open. She heard a snap accompanied by a sharp stab of pain as the force dislocated her yaw. She tried to scream, but no sound came out her mouth.

Sven was super excited now, fully erect. He wedged a small piece of wood into the back of her yaw to keep them ajar. He stripped off his clothes before he climbed onto the table. He stood over her with his tiny erect penis. "Big enough for you now my love?" He was in control now. He dropped down on top of her. He felt her body tremble as she shook uncontrollably. She felt his tong lick her neck, slowly it moved down to her left breast. It circled her nipple twice and then she could feel his teeth bite into the flesh around her nipple. She could hear her skin tear. He could feel the pressure relief as her soft skin give way to his front teeth and his mouth filled with warm blood. He shook his head so violently that he tore the nipple right of. Her muscles contracted but she made no sound. He hovered over her proudly displaying the bloody mangled nipple clenched in his front teeth with a wide grin. He spat it out and it hit her on the forehead. He repeated the deed on the right-hand side as well. Her body shivered violently. It was time for the hot metal rod again, she can't bleed to death. Not now, not yet. He is so close now.

The smell of burning flesh filled the room. He was back on top of her now. He pinched her top lip with a thumb and index finger and stretched it out. With the scissors he cut a slit in the streched lip. He had his head inches from hers so he could look deep into her eyes. He could see the pain from every snip as he carefully cut out both sides of her cheeks and lips. He slid his small dick into her just as he hit climax.

He arched his back and pressed himself up on her chest, wet with blood that made his palms slip around. Out of breath his head hovered over hers again. This was the last thing he wanted her to see, her blood sprying over his face. He punctured the main artery in her neck with the scissors. Blood pumped out of it, and covered his face. He watched as the life slowly left her eyes. Tomorrow the room will be clean, and someone else will be hanging from the roof. Maybe a little boy this time...

When Hondo entered the shaft elevator after work that day, there were six empty ankle chains on Hondo's string. It was a brutal day that saw many of his kinsmen die. He was tired as usual and dragged his feet all the way to the hard bed he'll call home for the night. There was a fresh aura of despair in the air around the Hersians. They all knew they would die down here, but it didn't have to be today. Now with the deliberate attack against them, they felt that maybe their time has come. Hondo did not sleep that night, nor did he hear any of the others snore. Everyone was restless. He got a fright when the morning siren sounded. The morning ritual began and he made his way to the only meal for the day. Maybe he will also die today. Maybe some part of him wanted it all to end. He realized that he didn't care anymore. He was ready to die, ready to give up.

Hondo sat on a rock after he finished his meal. He tried his level best to keep the paste down. The mucus glands in his mouth were over stimulated and he coiled from the mouth. His stomach spasmed once and caused him to throw up in his mouth a little, but he quickly swallowed it down again. The spasm made his eyes water and his nose run. Joe sat across from him and found his weak stomach rather amusing. Hondo didn't mind the amused attention. They had little to laugh about down here. A voice came over the P.A system that instructed the Hersians and the Aburian people to stay behind after the work siren. The time has come, it would be their turn next. What happens now, no one knew. When a people was asked to stay behind, they just disappear. No one saw or heard anything from them ever again.

The work siren sounded and the hoard made their way to the mining pits. Some will not survive the day. The Aburians compared well against the Hersians. Similar size and strength. They stood together now, and awaited their fate. Sven came down from his perch on a noisy hoverboard like an eagle stalking its pray. There was a deafening silence as he touched down on a terrace, well out of reach from the discontent slaves below. He was dressed in a bright blue leather outfit made from the skin of a Hersian champion that tried to escape. He took a theatrical stand on the edge of the terrace and looked down on the puzzled crowd. He wore a scented surgical mask to block the stench from the holes. Basking in the agony of the faces below, he delayed his announcement for as long as he could. "Today is your lucky day. You will be moved to a recovering facility where you will be restored to good health. You will be processed twenty at a time. Follow the instructions of the guards. The same rules apply. You will be shot on the spot if you do not co-operate." Sven was surprisingly soft spoken.

Hondo was in the first group to be processed. They were chained and led to an obscured well-guarded entrance in the far side rock face. There they entered a vast labyrinth of caves and passages that seemed endless and dark. The clinging sound from the heavy ankle chains were intensified by the enhanced echo like acoustics generated by the close walls and endless turns and dead ends. Hondo could barely see the figure of Joe only two paces in front of him. The air cooled down and the stench subsided. Joe's figure grew bolder, there was light ahead. A clean smell of detergent filled Hondo's nostrils and the air was noticeably colder. Then the labyrinth ended and they walk out into a brightly lit hall of sorts.

The hall was decked out in sandstone from floor to wall with no windows. The walls and roof were painted in large vivid images of ancient armored warriors captured in combat. The guards led them away one by one. It was Hondo's turn. He was unchained and taken to a medical room where a doctor examined him and applied a stem-cell ointment to his festering ankle wound. He received a booster injection to resolve and guard against infections. Then he was taken to mess where he joined the others for a potent three course meal. He was informed that he will eat like this, three times a day from now on. After that, he was shown to his own single quarters with a soft bed and a bathroom with a shower. The guard told him that he would rest for three days. It was the longest, hottest shower he ever had. He stood in front of the bed and succumbed to its invitation. He dropped down on it and almost immediately fell into a deep, dark, dreamless sleep.

The siren woke him. It was time for meal number two. On the floor next to his bed he found clothes. White pants, a shirt and rugged all terrain boots. They were a perfect fit. He made his way to the mess, which was noisy. The sound of voices loud and cheerful. Everyone's spirits were notably lifted, including his.

The absence of guards did not go unnoticed. The roof housed many automated gun turrets and cameras that covered every inch of their new environment, so they all knew they were being watched. Hondo noticed that the number of slaves seemed to have diminished some. Maybe, he could be wrong? He looked at his forearms as he ate. Now that they were clean, he could clearly see the toll the mining pits took on him. His arms were skinny, his hands boney and his once bright blue skin was now a dull blue-grey color.

The thought of the pits, along with the now foreign solid food, made him gag. Joe laughed out loud as he pointed a skinny index finger, draped in food fat at Hondo. "Ha-ha! What is it this time? Ha-ha!" Hondo took a swag from the glass of water next to his plate. After a few seconds he regained control of his stomach. "Nothing, just a bad memory eh?" They talked while they ate, and they ate as much as they could. The conversation was dominated by the hot showers and soft beds. They all had a bad premonition about things to come, but for now and in this moment, they were content with life.

When Hondo got to his room, he could not resist another shower. Whilst washing his legs he stopped abruptly. The wound on his right ankle was healed. No trace of infection with perfect skin. He didn't know what stem-cell ointment was, but he was grateful for its existence. Again, he fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed. The same siren woke him and he made his way to the mess. The noise was noticeably dampened as Hondo approached. The loud voices made way for whispers. As he entered, he realized why. At least half of the slaves were gone.

Joe: "They come when we sleep and take them away. It seems to be the weak ones. Why, Hondo? Where are they taking them?" The despair of the pits was back in Joe's eyes and he spoke in a whisper.

Hondo: "I don't know Joe. I don't know what will happen next." Hondo also whisped.

Over the next two days their numbers shrunk drastically. On the third day's last meal there were twenty of them left. Ten Hersians and ten Aburians. During the meal a voice spoke over a loud P.A system.

"Good evening all. It is my pleasure to announce that all of you have been selected to represent your worlds in the tournament. The time has come to harvest new slave blood from your worlds, but before we go there, we give each of you the chance to compete against each other, and others like you, for the privilege of seeing your home world again. Yes, that's right, the champion, the last man standing, will win a place on the transporter that will harvest your world. And you will cast your eyes on your people once more. In the morning we will leave this place." No one moved after the announcement. They just stared at one another. Hondo's emotions were all over the place. Excitement over the prospect of going home. Anger because he had to compete against his kinsmen. And fear for not knowing who or what the others were.

The next morning, they were escorted under heavy guard to a transporter. Inside they were once again chained up and strapped down into a row of back to back seats in the center loading bay. Sven and Banru were the last to enter. Sven was sporting a Reptilian leather suit and shoes with the thick titanium chain around his neck. His wrists were covered in gold and platinum bracelets. Rings with precious stones glittered on all his fingers. There was an emptiness in his yellow eyes as he walked past his contenders looking for strength and resolve. But as usual, he was rewarded with anxiety. He was a fat slob. A testament to his life of excess. He spoke in his soft-spoken way. "Gentlemen, please place the oxygen masks that will drop down from the roof over your faces. We have a slight problem with pressure on this old bird." The roof panels swung open and a mask dangled down in front of all of them. Hondo placed the elastic band over his head, the mask covered his nose and mouth. There was a strong sweet smell from the gas he inhaled before he lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, in the center of the known universe that fell under the control of the Triad dynasty, Xonan woke his bounty hunting crew onboard his small long-range skiff, the Renegade. He spoke in his hoarse voice. "Come on, wakey, wakey you bunch of lazy dogs. We've received a target." The three sleepy crew members stirred and paid attention to their captain.

"Commissioned by the Triads directly from Samus himself. The target is a professor Bennison Gatlin, last seen on the Triads home world, Wondes, two days ago." Xonan was a short, staunch man with a fine, hard temper.

Sandra moved to her chair. An average height, butch woman with short blond hair.

"On it Xonan. Who else is hunting this one?" She asked as she worked her networks for leads.

"It's exclusive, and the reward is immortality." Xonan got everyone's attention. Immortality was reserved for only the very rich and powerful.

"Wow some target hey!" Kain spoke first. A tall skinny bloke with bionic eyes and ears and bright green skin. He was still lying flat on his back.

"It always is. What's the status quo on this one?" Stomp's voice came from the back. A medium height fellow with very wide shoulders and tree stumps for legs.

"Alive this time." Xonan answered.

After about thirty minutes Sandra got a lead from Hector the underboss of the underworld himself. Gatlin bought a long-range skiff from the Wondes underworld two days ago. Hector sent the skiffs schematics over and Sandra initiated a search for the ships warp signature. "Found him, looks like he is headed for a galaxy called the Milky Way. Uhm, it's a developing galaxy under the Flagg dynasty. Intel has them as space fairing but galaxy bound. A level two galaxy." Sandra read from the screen in front of her.

Xonan: "Protected by the Guardians. Set a course and send a transcript to the Virgo Hubb, tell the Guardians we are in pursiut of a fugitive that ventured into a protected galaxy!" Xonan looked forward to the cloak and dagger games that lay ahead. He lived for this stuff.

Sandra: "Course set. Happy hunting. Engaging warp drive." Sandra was also excited. The little skiff checked its flight for a moment, and then disappeared as it's warp drive bent spacetime and allowed it to travel way faster than light and without her crew experiencing any time dilation.

"We have an anomaly on our tail!" Kain said just after they got into warp.

"Let me see?" Xonan pushed Kain's head out of the way to look at his screen. "That's no anomaly, that's a Guardian." Xonan said flatly.

Sandra: "How do you know?"

"Indeed, it is" A strange voice came from the back of the small skiff. The crew swung round and saw a woman dressed in a white robe with a veil over her head. Around her she had a brilliant blue aura. "Guardian!" Xonan gasped.

Guardian: "The target you are tracking is very valuable. I need you to find him and protect him, keep him safe."

Xonan: "The Triad dynasty will not forgive us. We will be hunted for the rest of our days and, to be fair, the prize for this one is priceless." He felt disappointed. There won't be any cloak and dagger games this time.

Guardian: "Leave the Triads to me. As for your prize, I have it right here." She produced a tube from her robe filled with translucent blue fluid. She moved to each crew member and injected them with the appropriate dosage.

Three days later the bounty crew dropped out of warp just outside the Galactic Alliance's home system. They traced the fleeing ship to Earth. The guardian was still onboard with them.

Xonan: "We are here, what do we do now?" He asked the guardian.

Guardian: "Follow your protocol for under developed galaxies" She said uninterested.

Xonan shrugged his shoulders and zipped the little ship towards Adam. He was right, they won't be sneaking in and out without being noticed this time.

Xonan: "This is the universal vessel Renegade calling Adam spaceport, requesting a secured line to the Custodian." He spoke into the coms mike as they came within transmission range of the spaceport Adam.

"This is Admiral Henderson of the spaceport Adam, Custodian of the Galactic Alliance. Please state your business" A voice came back after a minute or so.

Xonan: "This is Captain Xonan of the bounty ship Renegade, representing the Triad dynasty. We are in pursuit of a fugitive that seems to be hiding on Earth. It is very important that we apprehend this man as soon as possible. We will be on our way as soon as this is done. We humbly request an audience with you before we proceed."

"So be it! I'm sending co-ordinates for my private space dock. You may leave someone behind to protect the secrets of your ship if you want to." The guardian shook her head at Xonan, it was not necessary to guard the ship.

"How is it that the whole universe speaks the same language?" Xonan asked the guardian, but she just nodded her head slightly.

Admiral Henderson watched the little ship come closer. It was alien in appearance. Henderson was old and tired. He spent his life in service and did not father any children. His line would end with him. The little ship docked. The green light above the door lit up and the door slid open. The party of five were confronted by a frail old man that had the posture of a question mark. The admiral showed them to his top floor with a panoramic view of the Milky Way. The guardian spoke first.

"You have been expecting us Admiral, it was I that sent you the time-lock this morning..." The admiral nodded his head, everything made a little more sense now. "...The fugitive we are seeking is of great importance to me. You will give him refuge on Earth and protect him with a new identity. I also need rear-admiral Green to accompany us from this point forward, and the admiral's seal that will allow us to use any Alliance resource, including staff we might need." She spoke with an air of authority that was difficult to deny.

Henderson: "Of Course, whatever you need Guardian. As luck would have it, Green is on board the Adam for a seminar. I will send for him immediately."

Guardian: "Luck has nothing to do with it."

Henderson offered some whisky while they waited for Green to arrive, and the party of five excepted. The admiral knew better than to ask, but he did so any way. "Guardian, how long before we become warp capable and take our place alongside the rest of the universe?"

Henderson saw the guardian's blue eyes turn to a pitiful expression as she spoke. "You want to stay away from the rest of the universe for as long as you can." The four bounty men laughed out loud. "Yeah she is right pal! You don't want to become players, the dealer at the head of your table is particularly fucked up!" Stomp managed to talk through the laughter.

Rear-admiral Green walked through the custodian's doors not knowing what to expect. He felt a tingle of relief when he heard the laughter coming from the top deck. "You sent for me Admiral" He said as he cleared the last step. "Yes, you need to accompany these universal visitors to earth and give them all the support they need. I have issued them with the Admiral's seal. And don't ask me any more questions. You know as much as I do now."

"Aye Admiral" Green replied dutiful. He looked at the crew seated around the deck. Kain looked directly at him, but his eyes seemed dead and lifeless. Sandra had her chair turned around and was leaning her chest against the backrest and her chin on top of it. Stomp sat to one side, leaning back in his chair with his heals on the table. Xonan sat normal, upright posture. The Leader. Green thought to himself. Then he focused on the robed figure of the guardian standing some distance away from table.

Guardian: "We leave now Admiral, you can get what you need on Earth."

The party of six said a brief goodbye and left the Adam spaceport for Earth.

Stomp: "I've tapped into Earths surveillance systems, and we found him. He is in a place called Johannesburg"

Xonan: "Good work. We'll enter atmosphere at night and pick him up under the cover of darkness."

Guardian: "You will not be 'picking up' anyone Xonan, remember?"

Xonan: "Ah yes, of course. Sorry, force of habit." He winked with his left eye as he spoke and was immediately embarrassed because of it. Also, a force of habit.

Stomp: "Do you have intel on the area?"

Sandra: "Working on it..."

It was dark moon when the Renegade and her crew entered the atmosphere above the bustling hub that was Johannesburg. Vagrants woke to the muted sound of the Renegade as the ship came to rest on top of an abandoned building three blocks away from their mark. The guardian instructed the bounty crew to retrieve Gatlin unharmed. Xonan lead his small team through the levels of the abandoned building. They were dressed in their tactical xo skeleton suits. Their helmets had a heads-up displays with all relevant imaging, from infrared to x-ray vision. Xonan scanned every section on the way down. Many faces popped up from under cardboard boxes and small tarps to see what the fuss was about. They encountered no resistance as they prepaired to enter the street below.

It was a section of town that has long been abandoned by the powers that be. It fell into disrepute, and the lawless ruled this cesspool of humanity. "Weapons live. Kain on point, at your best pace, whenever you're ready." Xenon whispered. Kain stepped out of the building and onto the sidewalk. He scanned the street and listened for sounds with his bionic senses. His long-pointed ears swiveled like a hound's. "Some movement in the buildings ahead. No voices. Street looks clear. On me!" Kain whispered as he led the way. The small crew moved with the tactical precision that would make any special ops operator proud. The street lights were sparse and barely illuminated the surroundings. The buildings were old and neglected. Cardboard boxes replaced most of the windows.

After they covered three city blocks Kain pulled up at the door in question. Xonan scanned the flat with x-ray vision for signs of life.

"Clear" he stepped aside to make way for Stomp. Stomp lived up to his name when he kicked the door clean of its hinges and sent it flying into the small flat. Sandra flew inside like a whirlwind. It was empty save the small bedroom where a stunned professor Gatlin sat upright in a single bed. His run was short, he had been found.

"Getup! Time to move, let's go! Let's go!" Sandra ordered as the sound of suppressed gunfire came from the street.

The rest of the four-man crew covered the street as Sandra searched the small apartment. Kain heard a group of people approaching from a back ally about forty feet from them on the opposite side of the street. He went down on one knee and the other two instinctively followed his example. Knowing that he had their attention, Kain pointed to his ear to indicate which sense he was set on. Then he turned his hand palm up and touched all his fingertips together in an almost pyramid shape, before he straightened them to reveal an open palm, to indicate a group of more than ten approaching. Lastly, he pointed a finger to the alleyway across the street.

Xonan silently crossed the street and took cover next to the wall about ten feet from the adjacent alley. Stomp and Kain stayed in position at the door. The approaching group was members of the notorious Numbers gang. Lawless thugs that killed for pleasure and ran all the drugs, guns and prostitution for the city. Their command structures were routed deep within the very harsh prison systems all over the world. They were well established and nestled in everywhere in groups of ten to twenty. In typical gang fashion they burst into the street without caution, they had nothing to fear, this was their streets and the disturbance probably came from a prostitute that had an unruly client.

Xonan's hub lit up with targets on thermal imaging as the group entered his view. He aimed his rifle at the two dim streetlights that provided the only flicker of illumination in the otherwise dark street around them. Stomp and Kain let rip, sending small projectiles at hypersonic speeds into the unsuspecting crew as Xonan dimmed the lights. The suppressed pops were accompanied by sharp thuds as the bullets found their targets with deadly accuracy. They dropped like flies. Xonan moved down the wall, his rifle leveled at eye height, he picked of targets with every step. The gunfire stopped before he got to the alleyway, everyone was down. At the corner he dropped down on a knee before he moved around the corner to confront the alleyway. Three gang members were running down the alley for all they were worth. Xonan downed two, but the third disappeared behind a door before Xonan could get to him. He switched to x-ray vision. The target was running up a stairway. They need to get moving, the streets will erupt at any time. He spoke over the coms when he saw Sandra with the professor at the door. "Stomp, carry that bastard, we've been made, run!" At that moment loud gunfire erupted from the buildings on both sides of the street. The Numbers gang was awake now and on point.

Stomp grabbed the professor and threw him over his shoulder. The small raiding party ran at their best pace for the extraction point. Small puffs of cement dust kicked up all around them as bullets struck the sidewalk and concrete walls. Sandra, Kain and Xonan laid down cover fire as best they could, but they knew they were in trouble. Every so often a tracer round would flash by.

Luckily gang members were notoriously bad marksmen and the group made it into their extraction building. They quickly ascended the stairs to the roof. Xonan reached the ship first and turned outside the door to cover his crew as they entered. On Xonan's heads-up display the adjacent rooftops lit up with targets and the subsequent muzzle flashes caused by their incoming gunfire. Xonan dropped one with every shot he fired. It was almost like a duck shoot. Only the ducks were shooting back. Under the loud gunshots Xonan could hear them shout amongst each other. "Dasy bru! Check da op die dak! Skiet die varke vrek, ek sê! Moenie dat hulle weg kom nie!" There you are brother. Check on the roof! Shoot the pigs, I say! Don't let them escape!! The Renegade's tough skin was indifferent to the small arms fire.

Kain was last to enter. Xonan saw Kain arch his back as he stepped onboard. He took a bullet to the back. A liver shot. Xonan helped him on board and laid him down on his crew bunk. It was a mortal wound, everyone knew it, including Kain. Xonan felt a wave of anger and sorrow wash over his soul. "Why are you angry, Xonan" The guardians voice was soft. Xonan could not speak. He looked into Kain's eyes, his long pointy ears wrapped around the back of his bold green scull. Xonan waited for the life to leave Kain's eyes, but it never happened. The bleeding stopped and the wound closed. Kain begun to breathe easy. "Remember your reward Xonan. You are immortal now. But I strongly suggest you don't lose your head or get blown to pieces" The guardian said flatly.

Gatlin sat across from the guardian as she spoke. Metallic clunks rang out all over the ship's hull caused by the continual fire from the gang outside. He was in deep despair. He thought he was on the way back to the Triads and certain death. The only bargaining chip he had was to offer the crew immortality. It was after all his formula and ironically also the reason he was a fugitive now. But after seeing Kain returned form the dead, he was shit out of luck.

Guardian: "A low Earth orbit for now Xonan. Professor Benison Gatlin, welcome. I am a Guardian, you can rest assured, I have a task for you. This gentleman next to you is Admiral Green. He will oversee your new project and give you all the support you require. The Guardians are preparing for a cosmic rip that will change everything you've ever known, and it starts here, tonight, on this insignificant little planet." Gatlin looked at the guardian in amazement. So, it's true? The cosmic rip that was foretold so long ago. The fight for light. The Guardian had a tone of finality in her. She waited patiently while Gatlin processed all she had said. "Before we go. Just received an open invite to Sentinel Prime from the Flagg dynasty to compete in a hunt thirty days from now."

Xonan: "Hell no, I will never chase down unarmed slaves for sport, not for any price."

Guardian: "But I need you to attend this one. And in case, if you haven't picked up on it yet; your bounty days are over! You work for me now. I think you always knew I would claim my pound of flesh from you someday, Xonan?"

#  Four

When he opened his eyes again Hondo was alone in a small room with only a toilet and a bed. The front wall was removed and replaced by thick metal bars and a metal bar door. The walls were plastered and painted white and covered in scratches and scribbles of doomed slaves gone by. He picked up on a strong food smell, fatty food or fried food. But there was also an undertone of fresh blood in the air. Not death, just fresh blood. The air temperature was pleasant. Not too hot, and not too cold. Just right. The cell was adequately lit. Through the bars he could only see a dark wall about four feet from the bars. After he was familiar with his new home, Hondo layed down on the bed. At least it was soft. He closed his eyes and drifted off to his planet and the land he owned.

He fed the animals, opened the stalls to let the grazers out. Then he walked over to the plantations and inspected the young fruits for insect damage and plague. He went to the river where he sat under a big ancient tree for a while. He listened to all the sounds of the veld he missed so deeply, the bugs and birds. Then he was in his home. Hand-build by his ancestors with the finest purple marble. He always wondered why they called it purple marble when it was actually white with a purple undertone. He saw Gwen, the love of his life glide through his home. The furniture was minimalistic with only the bare essentials. But what was there, was stylish and comfortable. The living area had a thick rug with wood chairs that faced a big fireplace. The walls were decorated with portraits of Bantu heads gone by. In the entrance hung the banner of house Bantu. A proud house, loyal in servitude and duty. Hondo felt a tear roll down his cheek. House Bantu was without an heir, and its bloodline will stop with him.

The sound of a steel trolley rolling down an uneven path brought him back to the morbid cell. The trolley stopped as it reached his door. But he didn't move. "Food." A voice said. Hondo rolled off the bed and onto his feet. He was confronted by a short plump figure dressed in a black hooded cloak but he couldn't see the face underneath.

"Where am I?" Hondo asked softly. The dark figure told him that he was on Sentinel Prime, a planet owned by Sven, his master. He also told him that he will begin training tomorrow and that he should get some rest. When Hondo asked what he will be training for the little figure slumped his shoulder.

"Your master will profit from your death. You will be given a way-point to reach over wild lands. They will give you a four-hour head start after which they will hunt you down like a rabid-dog and kill you in a bad way for sport." The figure slid a generous portion of food on a tin plate under the door. "You can get water from the toilet's top bowl. Its clean." He said as the trolley noisily rolled out of view on the cobblestone floor, and Hondo was alone again. He ate with reserve. He was scared now. Maybe it would have been better to die in the mines?

That night the sandman abandoned Hondo. He spent the night rolling around, unable to find a comfortable position. His mind took him to Herse and the lush grass lands. But try as he might he would inevitably drift back to this cell, and the words of the cloaked figure. A rodent of sorts came from nowhere to help himself with the scraps left in the tin plate on the floor. Hondo should have killed it, or at least chased it away, but in that moment, he saw something else that just wanted to live. He watched as the creature used it's hand like front paws to lift the food to its mouth. Perfectly adapted to its environment. If I could I would gladly trade places with the rat. But even if I could someone would still be laying on this bed wishing to trade place with a rat. I won't disappear. In this reality someone has to be Hondo. He thought to himself as he turned on his back to stare at the sealing.

The sound of the food trolley marked the passing of the night. Hondo waited behind the bars when the cloaked figure appeared. He took the empty plate from the floor and handed it to the cloak which exchanged it for another generous plate of food. "You will be taken to a park. There you will find various weapons to train with, weights to get your strength back and an obstacle course to sharpen your reflexes. Don't bother with any of it. Run! Run all day long, don't stop, walk fast if you have to, but keep running. Eat everything I give you. And don't speak a word of this to anyone. If you do, I'll be replaced and you will be on your own." The cloak said softly as he moved away.

Hondo: "What can I call you?" Hondo half whispered with his lips through the bars of his cell.

"You don't!" A muted reply came back.

Hondo didn't know what to make of the cloak, but he could use a friend and will follow the advice. He eagerly wolfed down the tasty but alien food. Ten minutes later the cell door slid open with a mechanical sound, and a white arrow appeared on the cobblestoned floor that pointed to the right. Hondo followed the arrow down a dark passage way. He could see light up ahead. The passage opened up into a huge park.

There was a section with forest-like trees, and a section with grasslands. The obstacle course was to his left, and right in front of him was the weights- and strength equipment all in an uncovered area. Behind him was an artificial rock wall made of concrete with a lot of doors spread out evenly on ground level. He could smell Joe coming from behind long before Joe reached him. They spoke briefly before Sven came down from above on his noisy hoverboard. He landed on the top tower of the obstacle course, well out of reach from his doomed slaves. The slaves fell quiet in anticipation as they waited for their master to speak.

"For the next eight hours you can train yourselves, if you want to. Get your strength and reflexes up. How you use this time, is up to you. By tournament rules you will not be observed during this time. After thirty days you will be let loose. You will have to cover a significant amount of ground to make it to the safe zone. Behind you the very best bounty hunting crews will be hunting you down. If you get caught you will be executed on the spot. There are no rules once the tournament starts, so you could fight back and even take weapons off the bounty men. The who's, who of the universe will come to watch you run and to make profits or losses from your deaths. Rumor has it that we might even have a real-life Guardian in the crowd this time, not that any of you know what a Guardian is. The next time I see you, will be at the opening ceremonies. Now, do as you please." He said in his soft-spoken manner. The ground shook as the hoverboard took off.

Hondo broke out into a jog around the open ground of the obstacle course and weight section. He started fast, but soon dropped down to a canter. His lungs were burning and his muscles numb. But he kept moving at that pace for most of the day, walking here and there. The other contenders spent the day fighting over weights, trying to get their strength up. Hondo saw Joe with a bloody mouth and a heavy dumbbell in his hands at one stage.

At the end of the day Hondo was exhausted. He dragged his feet down the passage that lead to his cell. Inside he drank from the top toilet bowl. The water was clean and fresh as the cloak said it would be. After he satisfied his thirst, he fell asleep on the bed. A knock on his head woke him. the cloak threw him with a fruit to wake him. He gave Hondo a plate of food and three strange fruits. "Eat the fruit after the meal. Eat them all and eat them fast." And he was gone. Hondo did as he was told and polished the three fruits in no time. It was a blue citrus fruit covered in hair, a big, red berry and a white apple. They were all tasty and juicy.

He fell on the bed to get some sleep, but almost immediately got such a bad stomach cramp that he pulled his knees up to his chest and cried out load in agony. The cramps intensified over the next two hours. Hondo was sure he would die at any moment. He clenched his teeth so hard that one of the maulers in the back of his mouth broke clean in half. And then, the cramps disappeared as fast as they struck. He straightened his legs and turned on his stomach, and the darkness took him away. He heard the trolley the next morning, but he didn't get up. "Good, you survived the cramps then? We'll do it again tonight. Here, eat up and remember run. Run all day." Hondo heard the plate slide on the floor and the sound of the trolley as it moved away.

Hondo got to the park and began to run. A bit slower than he started yesterday. It was some time before the first of the other contenders made an appearance. It was an Aburian. He moved slowly and measured. Most of the muscles in his body were torn as a result of going too hard, too fast, too early with the weights the day before. It turned out that all of them suffered from the same condition, except Hondo. Running around and around, all day long. He managed to jog until the end of day siren.

His legs felt rubbery as he stumbled down the passage to his cell, but they were better than yesterday. Again, he drank from the top bowl of the toilet before he fell asleep. He woke as the trolley stopped. "Here, eat up, and finish the fruit. You will cramp again but not as long as last time. It is the only edible fruit out there and if we don't get you accustomed to it, it will slow you down, two hours at a time." The cloak was gone again. Hondo sighed, but he did as he was told. The same cramps overtook him and he cried out loud from the spasms. It stopped abruptly and he slept.

By the end of the week Hondo could run all day at seventy five percent pace without tiring. He was still underweight from years of neglect in the mine, but less weight made his frame perfect for running. It's been two days since he last had stomach cramps from the fruit. He felt good physically. That night the cloak emptied a bucked of urine over Hondo's bed, wetting every inch of it. "There will be no sleep for the next five days. Keep running." Was all he said as he left.

Hondo was dumbstruck. He tried to sleep on the floor but he could not. The next day he ran all day long and was able to maintain the same pace as the day before. He hurried to his cell hoping that the mattress would have dried enough so he could get an hour's sleep before the cloak came again, but it was drenched and smelled terrible. The cloak repeated the ritual and Hondo didn't sleep. He should be angry, but somewhere deep inside he knew the cloak was preparing him for the chase.

He stood on his feet the whole night, pacing up and down, leaning against the wall, standing behind the bars, all night long. When the cell door opened the next morning, he ran out to the park. Again, he ran all day. At times his mind drifted away and his body ran on autopilot. One-foot in front of the other. Over and over again.

Back in his cell he slumped over in the corner and fell asleep for thirty minutes. The position was uncomfortable. He got up and ran on the same spot. The cloak slit the food under the bars and left without wetting the bed. Hondo understood now. He kept jogging on one spot. Eating his food on the run. he only stopped to drink water and use the toilet.

The next day he ran at normal pace again. His mind and body didn't exist. There was only one foot in front of the other, and repeat. The mattress was dry. Very smelly, but dry. He did not sleep on it. He slumped over in the corner and slept for thirty minutes. He got up and ran on the same spot again. Al night long, and all day long.

"You are ready Hondo. Sleep tonight, run tomorrow. Explore the rest of the park. On the edge of the forest section to your left you will run into a tall wall. Behind it you will see white mountains in the distance. That will be the first place you can rest in the chase... If you make it to there. The fastest way to the safe zone is to run slightly to the right at first and swing left some after a while. But you will head for the mountains. The bounty men will chase down the front runners first if they notice you went a different route, because they know there is only one pass over the mountain that ends in the sandlands. They will circle around the mountain and track you down in the sandlands, only if they realize that you're headed to the mountains. But we have a surprise for them..." The cloak covered all the details of the plan, he covered every point over and over. He left Hondo after about three hours and in good spirits. The cloak walked down the dark passage with the food trolley. He stopped at a hidden door in the wall and stepped into a well-lit room. The black cloaked robe came off along with a fat suit, and a voice disguising necklace. The guardian slipped on her white robes and lifted her veil over her face. Then she left the room, and the disguise, behind only to appear again on opening day.

Sentinel Prime's spaceport on the edge of the Andromeda galaxy received ships from all the corners of the universe, including the six main dynasties escorted by their respective entourage of destroyers and battleships. The spaceport was vast and designed to receive important monarchs with every conceivable luxury. The military ships that provided an escort where loosely docked so they could still have some maneuverability and could also break away easily if required. The planet itself had an impressive array of planetary defense systems that provided adequate protection for all the important guests that attended the tournaments held on its surface

The universe found itself in an era of unprecedented peace and as such everyone was at ease. The first to arrive was the Triad dynasty. The oldest dynasty that eventually spawned two neighboring dynasties. Ruled by Samus and flanked by his siblings, Elaine and Nemo from house Dox. Elaine had ambitions to overthrow her older brother Samus so she could become the ruler of the Triad dynasty, but her little brother protected his big brother's legacy by very diplomatically foiling every attempt by his sister to seize power without Samus catching wind of it all. They ruled over a vast number of galaxies in the center of the known universe.

The Adjuvate dyna Dynasty, was ruled by Leo of house Njal and stretched over a large area to the left of the Triads. Adjuvate, one of the two dynasties that were able to break away from the Triads to form their own territories. Leo killed all his siblings and subsequent heirs apparent to his throne, leaving him with a string of beautiful daughters. Leo saw himself as a conqueror. He would conquer a world and force the men into his military under threat of destroying their home worlds, their woman and children included if they fail him. It worked well and his men would fight to the last man. This also allowed him to send forces under a nameless banner to attack ships and worlds alike, giving him plausible deniability because the attack force would fight to the death.

The Quora dynasty ruled by sisters Uhura, Anastasia and Caprica of house Astrud. The sisters ruled as a single unit over a large number of galaxies that bordered the Andromeda group. They were the second smallest dynasty, second only to the Andromeda group. They were the most tech advanced and protected their secrets well. They also had vast wealth that could probably rival the Triads. But little was known of their rule outside of the Quora territories, the sisters kept an iron hand over their subjects and ruled from behind an iron curtain.

The Turok dynasty. Known as the jokers by most of their peers. At the top sat Booster with brothers Trace and Switch of house Crimzon. They refrained from conflict but could stand their ground by always finding and exploiting a weak spot within the logistics of would be attackers. A very clever and cunning dynasty with a vast web of deceit and spies nestled in almost everywhere. They gathered intel and sold it anonymously through the underworld to the highest bidder. Everyone knew that they were responsible for intelligence leaks. But no one dared move against them for fear of having deep routed secrets revealed, that could topple ruling houses from within, if they were to be made public.

The Deckha dynasty under house Sapain ruled by brother and sister Abe and Kara. House Sapain, an ancient house that successfully broke away from the Triad dynasty shortly after it was formed, whilst maintaining good relations with the Triads. Their ruled begun on the edge of the Triads and on face value they were docile for the most part. But behind the scenes they have been building a vast military that could rival the Adjuvates. They planned on making an outright move against the Triads as soon as they felt the time was right.

The Morpheus dynasty ruled by house Fett under Boba. Ever the diplomat and liked by everyone. Boba was a pleasant individual with a fair hand in ruling. House Fett enjoyed the protection of four dynasties, save the Quora and Andromeda dynasties. Boba was old school and honor bound, and for that reason, he kept his territories out of sight and refrained from engaging in inter galactic events like this one. But a guardian instructed him to attend this event, and so, there he was.

Even in this circle very little was known about the gradians. The dynasties tried to infiltrate one of the very small galaxies situated right on the edge of the Virgo Super Cluster. They sent a formidable force of many ships and bodies. According to logs, none of the ships dropped out of warp. The subsequent search for their warp signatures indicated that they were still zipping around the universe, but in a broken pattern. The signature would track true, and then disappear only to be picked up again in a completely different sector. It was inexplicable how they could do that, but it was the only and last time the dynasties made an advance on the Virgo Super Cluster.

Everyone had a bad premonition of things to come when they heard that a guardian might be attending their little tournament. Whenever a guardian appeared like this, you could expect a shift in power or balance, and none of the monarchs were quite ready to surrender their power. And as things were now, the dynasties already distrusted each other. Thrown in, the possibility of someone going out of power, and you have a very tense ambiance for the next week or so to come.

The main aim of house Vakarian, of the Flagg dynasty that ruled over the Andromeda galaxy group was to impress the other dynasties. All of the embassy houses were decked out in precious metals mined by their slave forces. From ornaments and cutlery to complete walls, the accommodation glittered with every conceivable comfort that any monarch could ever dream of. House slaves were ever present. The most beautiful woman and men from all over the universe, given as a gift to the monarchs. They could take them home with them and do with them as they pleased. It was an impressive show, even for the wealthy Triad dynasty.

But despite this, the dynasties all looked down on house Vakarian. They were seen as cowards that would run from conflict. Their dark trade in slaves did not help their appeal much either. They ruled the small Andromeda galaxy group with no ambitions to expand their rule.

Sven awaited his brother's arrival in the presidential palace. There was no love lost between the two. Zagar knew from a young age that Sven was different. He did not approve of his brother's sadistic tendencies and spent as little time as he could around him. Sven felt unappreciated by his older brother. He spent most of his days in one or another pit. He had to put up with the stench and despair. Truth be told, Sven liked it in the mining pits, but for arguments sake, he denied that he liked it at all.

"Master Zagar!" a house slave announced as the big solid gold double front doors of the presidential palace were pushed open by four slaves. Zagar walked through the door and into the reception area. The walls had artifacts taken from thousands of worlds. It was a scene that repeated throughout the building. Zagar was half a head taller than his brother. He found Sven in one of the entertainment rooms drinking whisky.

Sven: "Brother! Had a good trip, I hope?" The smile was warm, but the yellow eyes empty. He was seated at a round, heavy wood table.

Zagar: "Sure, what's not to like? Everything in place?" He could not hide his disgust for his brother.

Sven: "Yeah, all the players came. We open tomorrow. I have a hundred and fifty slaves for the arena and twenty runners. We have seven bounty crews. Everything is in place." He was half irritated with the question. He knew how to host a tournament, he has been doing it for half a billion years. His yellow eyes followed his brother while Zagar took a seat.

Zagar: "Any sign of the Guardian?"

Sven: "No"

Zagar: "Where will you accommodate him if he comes?"

Sven: "I thought of using the diplomatic retreat for that." He lied, he never thought of it.

Zagar: "Don't be an idiot. If he arrives he will be staying here in the presidential palace. We will evacuate to accommodate him. The most powerful beings in the universe and you want to put them in a retreat!! I swear, sometimes I wonder why I need you at all." Sven said nothing. His eyes just turned into two narrow slits. Zagar helped himself to a whiskey and the two of them sat in silence.

All the dynasties were invited to a banquet at the palace that night. Zagar, free from his brother, was going over the menu and beverage to be served with the head chef in the kitchen when he saw the figure of a woman, around six-foot-tall, dressed in a white robe and hoody approach the two of them. He instantly knew it was a guardian. He bent down in a deep bow and dropped his head so he could not make eye contact. "Mu-um... Mis... uhm... Welcome!" He said sheepishly.

Jade: "Hello Zagar, you can call me Jade and stand up, I'm not a monarch." She spoke in the finest purest voice he ever heard. He stood up and caught a glimpse of deep blue eyes and black hair under the hood. He looked around for the palace guard that was supposed to receive and announce the guest. But she was alone.

Zagar: "You will reside here in the palace, Jade. If I may ask why you came to the tournament? It has to be the first time in recorded history that a guardian has come to rub shoulders with the rest of us at an event like this. And how do you just walk into the kitchen without ever walking through the front door?" He sounded like a mumbling idiot.

Jade: "What is history? And who records history? I came because I was instructed to. I have no agenda other than to observe, socialize and hopefully have a good time. And we come and go where and when we want to Zagar, don't ask me how."

Zagar didn't buy it but he kept quiet as he led Jade up the impressive staircase. The Palace was built to impress and entertain visitors from all over the universe. The stairs were deliberately built low so that guests would have time to take in the sculpted gold railing adorned with precious jewels. A thousand diamonds glittered in a big seven-layered chandelier that hung from the roof. "Will you be joining us for the banquet tonight, Jade?" Zagar wanted to know as he led the guardian up the stairs careful not to move too fast so that she could keep up.

"I wouldn't miss it, thank you." Zagars mind was all over the place. There he had a guardian with him, talking to him. There was so much he wanted to know? So much he needed to know, but right now, he couldn't think of a single thing to say.

At the top of the stairs Zagar took her past a luxurious lobby and into a passageway. The décor remained the same with artifacts and glitter the main focus. They reached a solid gold double door at the end of the passage. Zagar opened the door to the main bedroom. There were six personal, female slaves waiting inside. "The presidential suite for you Jade. The slaves are a gift. You may take them with you when you leave." Zagar knew nothing of the guardians lifestyle and could only hope that she found the arrangement to her liking. Jade walked through the door and took her time to take it all in.

The bed was huge and draped in the finest red silk from the giant silkworms of Guvu on the edge of the Great Attractor, priceless. The bed's frame and dressing table was black oak from a prehistoric world. The double couch in front of the stone glass windows was covered in a lush, thick fur. A large round bath tub, carved out of a single piece of ivory, stood in front of a fireplace opposite the window couch. Three lamps, placed in just the right places, provided for a warm uplifting atmosphere. Jade looked into the eyes of each slave. She would take them all with her. They will know power and freedom from this day forth. They might even travel through all dimensions, but that is a privilege reserved for few. "Thank you Zagar. This is just lovely. Do not tell anyone outside this house that I am here." she said as she turned around and closed the heavy gold doors with surprising ease leaving Zagar in the passage.

Sven was getting rather familiar with the whiskey when his brother stormed in. Sven got a fright when he saw Zagars eyes. Zagar was scared shitless. "What is it?" Sven spoke loud and fast.

"The Guardian is here." Zagar answered out of breath.

Sven: "So it's true. what does he look like?" He downed the last swig of whiskey in his glass, and reached for the bottle.

Zagar: "He is a she." he nodded while he took a seat.

Sven: "Wow, I did not see that coming! What does she want? Why is she here?" He was dumbstruck.

Zagar: "I don't know? She said she is here to have fun. But I don't know. Pour me one as well and make it a strong one.!"

Sven felt a tingle of despair as he poured his brother a shot. He couldn't help but think that maybe the guardians knew about his sadistic pleasures and that this one came to serve justice on him. What if she killed him in the same way he so loved to kill others? Or maybe she came to outlaw slavery all together. Could it be that she really wanted to socialize and have a good time? Maybe so, but why now all off a sudden, after hiding in the shadows for billions of years? Why here?

The banquet table was made to fit a sunken floor in the main hall. Hanging from the roof two four-layered chandeliers flanked a six-layered one. A dozen house slaves stood on either side to serve the guests. They were dressed in black and yellow dresses with very short skirts and low boob lines. Handpicked by Sven to be as provocative as possible. Sven and Zagar had yellow shirts with black pants.

The table was dressed with the finest cutlery in all seven dynasties. The theme was obviously gold and diamonds with the stuff everywhere. Each place had a gift wrapped on top of the empty plate. Exquisite jewelry custom made and fit for kings. "The Adjuvate dynasty!" The door guard announced the arrival of the first guest. A butler showed Leo, dressed in his house color red, to the hall. Zagar and Sven greeted their first guest with the utmost respect. Leo was not a man to be trifled with, a message his aurora sent clear as day.

"How is business with House Njal? I hear you are expanding faster than you can conquer?" Zagar asked politely.

"Yeah it's true. We might even consider taking over the universe, but then there would be no one that can pay us! Ha-ha!" He laughed at his own joke.

The rest of the guests all arrived at the same time and were shown to the table. Switch of the Turok dynasty noticed the head of the table was vacant as they all sat down.

"Expecting a guest of honor, are we?" He asked Sven while he held him in a death stare. He always did this to make Sven feel uncomfortable because he knew of Sven's sadistic pleasures. It worked for the most part.

"Yes, and he is a she, and she is a Guardian." Sven enjoyed the death stare turn to pulp as he spoke the words. The entire table fell silent. The sisters of Quora seemed the least bothered of the bunch. Samus, the head of the Triads, looked at his oldest acquaintance, Leo, head of the Adjuvate dynasty. The two of them locked eyes and Samus did not like what he saw in Leo's gaze.

Jade cut through the tension when she entered the quiet hall. Everyone was in awe as the guardian half walked, half glided to her seat. They all rose to their feet and waited for her to sit down before they took their places again. Jade was dressed in her white hooded robe. She took a sip of the wine in her small glass and waited a while before she spoke.

"Good evening all. I know you must be wondering why I'm here, but I assure you that this is a social call. I am here to have some fun and make some friends!" She lied without blinking an eye. Before the tournament was over the dynasties would look upon their cozier universe in a very different manner. She was feeling mischievous. The guests were still dumb struck and clumsily made small talk with each other. Jade however, was razor sharp, quietly picking up on body language and posture. Booster and Uhura seemed to have a history, or were about to have a future. But there was definitely something there. Leo was over restrained and reserved. He might be planning an all-out move against one of the dynasties. Jade emptied her second glass of wine and asked for something stronger. This loosened up the table some as the first course arrived.

Zagar stood up as the plates were placed in front of the guests. "If I could have a moment... I would like to officially welcome one and all to our humble home. A very special welcome to Jade, the first Guardian to attend our games. We hope to get to know you a little better in the days to come. It is a real honor to have you here with us." The rest of the guests participated in a slow clap, instigated by the sisters of house Astrud. Jade raised her glass and lifted her head in a thank you gesture, briefly revealing her deep blue eyes and breathtaking beauty hidden underneath the hoody. Nemo gasped just loud enough for all to hear as he looked into the deep blue eyes of Jade. Zagar took a seat and indicated for all to dig in. Abe from house Sapien soon took the lead in the drinking, happily followed by Sven.

By the end of the night the atmosphere was thick. But they all managed to keep it civilized. It was a relief to all when Zagar declared the night over. The guests handpicked some of the table slaves to accompany them for the night. Jade retired to her room where she had a long easy conversation with her slaves, treating them as equals. They all fell in love with her.

The next morning the crowd took up their places in the arena. It was a hot sunny day. Booster deliberately took the seat next to Jade in the presidential box. She was not surprised, after all the man was in the business of information. No doubt he'll have some delicate questions for her. The crowd was made up of the wealthiest individuals in the universe. A ticket for a seat was around triple the amount a common worker would earn in his entire lifetime. The atmosphere was electric.

The ring master stood in the middle of the arena. He was smartly dressed in a brown leather suit. He had a thick black beard that reached all the way down to his stomach.

"Ladies and Gentleman! Sentinel Prime welcomes one and all to the running of the tournament. In the backrests of the seats in front of you, you will find a keypad that is directly linked to the bookmakers of Accumulates. Please be sure to look at all the information on the screen before you log in your bets. Once a bet has been logged, it stands. We will start proceedings with The Last Man Standing..." there was a roar from the crowd. "...forty contenders will enter the ring and fight to the death. Weapons will be dropped down from above at various intervals. We will make five rifle shots available to the crowd for the highest bidders. You can enter your bids on your keypads now. The winner of this event will not die today. Ha-ha! But first we will introduce you to this year's runners"

A solid steel gate lifted of the ground and Hondo walked into the arena along with nineteen other runners. They were corralled to the center. A horse and cart entered the arena from the back that carried a smoldering furnace with branding irons. The crowd went wild as the executioner stepped off the cart. Dressed in black and veiled he grabbed an Aburian runner and tied his wrists to the wagon spreading him over it. He grabbed an iron from the furnace and pressed the red-hot number into the Aburians back right between the shoulder blades. The crowd was silent, wanting to hear the sound of burning flesh. The Aburian shook his torso as the hot metal bit into his flesh. The crowd went wild. The executioner removed the bar to reveal the number 11 branded in his back.

"Eleven for this runner." The ring master announced. Jade did not cheer with the crowd. Hondo stepped up to be next. He was not going to wait his turn. This made Jade smile under her hoody. Hondo put his hands on the wagon and waited for the executioner to tie his wrists. He felt the pressure between his shoulder blades as the red-hot bar made contact, but the pain was bearable and he did not flinch.

"Lucky number seven for the skinny one." The branding process was repeated on every runner after which they were marched back to the runner's cage.

Overhead Drones delivered five rifles to the crowd. One came to Uhura of house Astrud. Her sisters congratulated her on winning a bid for one of them.

"And Now, without further ado, The Last Man Standing. We will give you five minutes to choose your champions before we sound the horns. Choose wisely." The contenders were marched into the Arena. The floor was covered in moist, loose white sand. It was shaped in the form of a halfmoon surrounded by high walls. The spectators pavilion towered above the wall and cut off all direct sunlight. The slaves already had numbers branded on their backs as they slowly walked around the park. The crowd pointed and whispered whilst they addressed their keypads.

Sven watched the numbers roll in as the betting closed. Eight million credits and some change were wagered on this event. He was pleased as he drew his brother's attention to profits. Jade did not place a bet. Not because she did not want to, but because she did not have any credits. Her people did not have an account with the bankers at Accumulates.

The horns sounded and the match began. Almost immediately three rifle shots came from the crowd and three contenders dropped to the floor. It was a confused madhouse as the doomed slaves climbed into each other with fists and feet. Bodies dropped left right and center but most of them got right back up. The crowd showed their appreciation for every good blow delivered. A single horn sounded and two broad swords dropped from the roof on opposite sides of the half round arena. Two lucky contenders retrieved the weapons. Leo cheered loudly and Uhura knew that one of the lucky two was Leo's horse in this race. The lucky swordsmen were both slashing wildly at their competition cutting of hands and arms that got in the way. One of them was tackled from behind and his sword was dislodged in the prosses. This had no effect on Leo, so Uhura took aim at the other swordsman and shot him in the head.

"Fucking cow!" Leo cursed angrily as he took his seat again. Everyone laughed at him, including Jade. The white sand was stained with bright red blood. The horn announced the addition of more swords and four dropped down. Soon there were six contenders left, each with a sword. They were clumsy with sword in hand and it took quite a while for the last two to face each other. The last gunshot rang out and one dropped dead with a shot to the heart. The crowd voiced their disapproval for being denied a one on one swordfight.

"The winner, number three" The crowd cheered as Sven checked the odds and number of bets to be paid out. He was still smiling.

"You may now bid for the privilege of owning the champion. Bidding ends in three minutes..."

"...And Now ladies and gentleman, put your hands together for this year's hunters. They operate in crews and are numbered as such. We have seven crews this year." The seven crews took a slow walk around the arena while a number of slaves cleared the corpses and body parts of the arena's white sands. Among the hunting crews was Xonan and his crew. Xonan looked up at Jade, and for a second their eyes were locked together. The crowd went wild and got into discussions about the prize fighters.

"Overhead drones with cameras will follow the hunters as they track their pray so that we will not miss any of the action when the runners get caught. The runners will get a four-hour head-start before we let the hunters loose. Are you ready? Should we let the runners loose?" The crowd went berserk. "As usual you can bet on anything in this event. Who will be last, who will be first or fifth if you want. Betting is open now and closes in four hours' time. Start the hunt!" Jade leaned over to Uhura side and pointed at her keyboard. Uhura instinctively passed it to her. When Uhura got it back, she saw Jade placed a twenty million credit bet on the skinny number seven runner. Uhura bit on her teeth and replaced the pad in the seat in front of her.

The big horn sounded loud and the gates swung open. Hondo ran hard at the start, desperate to put distance between himself and the pack. They kept up for a while but soon they fell behind. The race started off in short grasslands and the going was easy. Hondo almost ran at full speed. The white mountains sat at an angle to his left. The planet's parent star was high in the sky. There was maybe half a day left before nightfall. After about thirty minutes he got tired but he kept going. He knew that his second wind would kick in soon. The grass was about ankle high and not too thick. The home star begun its descent when he realized that he could keep the pace up all day long. His second wind had arrived.

Hondo kept slightly right, following the shortest route to the safe zone. The grasslands made way for semi-forest with short green shrubs that sprung out of the grass. Not far to go now! The fork will appear soon. He was mindful to take the easiest rout when navigating the green shrubs so that the rest of the runners would follow in his tracks. Suddenly the grass stopped and revealed a small stream. Hondo dropped his pants and boots on the ground and jumped in. He quickly rubbed his hands all over his body to get rid of the smell after the thirty days spent in training with no shower. This will go some way in masking his smell from the hunters. He drank his fill before he got dressed and continued on the same heading.

He was surprised when the fork appeared before he heard the horn sound to indicate the start of the hunt. To his right the grass was noticeably taller and to his left the shrubs were more prominent. He took the map, he and the rest of the runners received two days ago, out of his back pocket. He was not even breathing heavy yet. He studied the map for a short time. This is the fork they all spoke of. shortest route is slightly right keeping parallel to the distant mountains. He headed in that direction. There was a riverbed up ahead.

The crowd, gathered around the arena, spent the next four hours being entertained by one on one battles to the death. When it became obvious that they were becoming bored with the one on one battles the ring announcer introduced the target shoot. The audience could bid on sniper rifles and then shoot at slaves that ran around the arena in groups of ten. Betting covered who will fall first, who will fall last, how many shots would be fired, etc.

"The time has come for the hunt to begin! Are you ready?" The crowd rose to their feet as they roared. The group of hunters made their way across the blood-stained white sands of the arena to the large steel gates. The hunters packed light for the chase with minimal weapons and kit. They huddled together in seven small groups. The crowd got busy with their keypads logging in their final bets. Uhura looked back at Jade with a question mark in her eyes and her keypad in her hand. Jade shook her head slowly. Loud horns marked the start and the heavy gates lifted slowly, to send the hunters with drones in tow on the chase.

Following the spoor of twenty runners was very easy and they manage to cover ground fast. They were all super fit. People that made a living by running other people down. Several big screens lit up around the stands that brought live footage from the camera drones. With the subtle, subconscious, suggestive powers of the guardian, the hunters woke that morning and agreed to work as a single unit and split the winnings evenly between them, the first time this has ever happened.

The Renegade's crew fell back early on and brought up the rear. After about fifteen miles, Sandra dropped to the ground in what seemed to be agonizing pain. She faked an ankle injury. Xonan stopped the rest of his crew and waved the rest of the hunters on. One of the camera drones stayed with the injured crew for a while, but when it became clear that the crew was not going to participate in the hunt any more, the drone flew off to catch up with the rest of the pack, Sandra got up.

Hondo stopped for a moment when he reached the dry river bed. He scanned for a route across and was pleased with its position. The loud, low sound of the starting horns reached his ears. Instinctively he looked behind him. There was nothing and he couldn't smell anything strange on the breeze. The middle of the riverbed was made up of bedrock with sandbanks on either side. On the far side the shrubs made way for tall grasslands. Hondo jumped down the bank, ran across the bed and headed for the easiest exit point, slightly to the right. He ran up the bank and into the tall grass that completely swallowed him from head to toe.

After about fifty paces Hondo stopped. He carefully traced back. Careful to step in the footprints he just made. He made his way down the riverbank and onto the bedrock. Then he slowly jogged down the river to the right, careful not to disturb loose rocks. The rocky road, in the middle of the riverbed, almost took him back in the direction he just came from, but he kept at it. After about a mile Hondo left the bedrock and scurried up the far back. The forest was about a mile away, dead ahead and Hondo reached it in no time.

The forest was dense with big and small trees and a thick undergrowth. He kept to the edge of the forest and swung hard left in the process. The grass was about hip high and he found the going tough. But he kept running at his best sustainable pace. He needed to drink water. The home star would dip behind the horizon soon. The two moons that circled this world were already up. They should supply plenty light during the night. He stopped for a second when he heard the low buzz from a far-off loud foghorn.

The rest of the runners were quickly drawn out into five groups. The first group just crossed the river bed when the hunters caught up with the last group just after the fork. They were three very tired Aburian runners. The spotters saw them from over two miles away. The crowd in the stands went wild when the hunters stopped and looked for cover. An overhead drone zoomed in on the slaves. They were breathing heavy, finding the going tough. The hunters broke up into three groups. One broke far left and one went far right with the last group going straight at the slaves, but slowly.

The day was running out and night would soon fall. The hunters stalked the pray with chilling proficiency. As the home star kissed the horizon they were in position. Each group now about one hundred paces from the slaves. The snipers of the hunting groups prepared their light electromagnetic rifles. It used a strong magnetic field to propel a very small projectile at hypersonic speeds.

The overhead drones hovered a mile behind the hunters so they wouldn't attract the attention of the runners. The snipers took aim and the drones zoomed in on the small group ahead. One was drawing a huge breath with his mouth open when the projectile hit him in the mouth. His friends did not even have time to wonder why he went down. They all received headshots. The crowd was pleased with the hunters' precision. The ring master activated the big fog horns to indicate the death of a runner or runners. The hunters came together where the slaves fell. They took a break and used the time to eat and drink some of the provisions they had with them. They will continue when the moonlight takes over from the daylight. Jade excused herself from the stands and returned to her room.

Hondo stopped just before the last light of day faded away to look for a specific tree on the edge of the forest that bore the fruit he got used to. He quickly found a tree with the hairy citrus fruit. They were soft and juicy and went a long way to quench his thirst as well. When he had his fill, night had fallen. The two moons provided enough light to see for miles. He set off again. The mountains seemed much closer in the moonlight. That was where he needed to be. That was where he would rest. The grass got thinner and he managed a strong pace for the rest of the night. Once more he heard the foghorns that night. He came across a tall tree that was separated from the forest and stopped at its base. He quickly scaled the tree as high as he could get and looked back over the ground he covered. He could see for miles in the silver moonlight. He scanned the ground three times over and sniffed the breeze before he was sure that no one followed him. Reassured he continued at his best pace. Behind him the horizon was on fire with the promise of daybreak.

Hondo had been looking down at his feet for many hours in the semi-darkness. The programing of his training took over. He just put one foot in front of the other. No mind, no thoughts, just sheer will to carry on. When he finally lifted his head, the white mountains dominated the view in front of him. He was close now. The grass made way for rocky ground as he reaches the foot of the mountain. He scanned the rockface and just as the black cloak said, he found the pass easily.

The progress was slower going up the slopes and the home star begun its ascent. Soon his pace slowed to a crawl. The climb was steep and narrow. Hondo made it over the first crest. He stopped there and looked back the way he came. This played to his strengths. He could make good use of his excellent eyesight and good sense of smell. He looked for a spot that overlooked the valley below without giving his position away. Satisfied that he found the right spot and that no one was coming, he went in search of water and found a stream not far away. There he ate the last two of the remaining fruit he got the night before. He settled in the spot he chose and fell asleep almost mediately. He had done what he could for now. The rest was not in his hands. He needed to rest.

The night before, the hunters tracked their prey passed the dry riverbed and into the tall grass. In the moonlight the hunters didn't notice that Hondo tracked back and because all the runners crossed the same place it was impossible to count how many runners crossed there. After about three hours hard running through the tall grass the trackers came to an abrupt stop. The rest of the hunting party also pulled up. The trackers pointed to their noses indicating that they could smell something in the air. They stood dead still and deadly quiet for a while. There was sound up ahead, a faint sound. One could almost be forgiven if one thought it to be imaginary. But the hunters knew better. They moved forward on the wide spoor they were tracking. Slow enough to be silent, but fast enough to catchup. Slowly the sounds became clear. Agony and pain.

One of the group leaders got a boost from one of his crew. He was slowly lifted by the waist. When his head cleared the tall grass, he could see a single tree tower above the grasslands up ahead. He relayed what he saw. The hunters packed up all the rifles and skinned their knives. One drone tracked back for a mile and then shot up to two thousand feet to film the encounter from above. The hunters moved slow and silent towards the cries ahead. They got so close that they could see the top of the tree in question through the tall grass. They paused for a moment. Satisfied that their pray was oblivious to their existence, they broke out in a fast rush forward shouting loud and long as the grass cracked and moved under them. A war-cry!

After a moment of stunned silence, the runners realize what is about to happen. They all shouted at the same time. It was a cry filled with fear and foreboding. Before they could draw another breath, the hunters broke through the grass and into the small clearing that was created by the six runners unfortunate enough to have eaten the fruits of the tree. As a result, they spent the last hour rolling around on the ground with terrible stomach cramps.

The blades glittered in the moonlight as the savage attack began. The hunters cut and sliced, careful to avoid vital organs. When the runners were completely incapacitated by their injuries, the hunters slowed their pace. They turned their attention to one runner at a time. The killing was slow and methodical, each one worse than the last.

The cries of the victims could be heard for miles. It reached the two remaining groups of the runners. Three runners running half a mile ahead of the six that followed them. The trailing six picked up their pace to catch up with the front runners. The front runners heard the six come up behind them and thought they were the hunters chasing them down. They increased their pace, running for dear life. They chased each other through velt and forest, over rivers and hills, all night long.

When day broke, one of the front runners caught a glimpse of the chasing pack behind them and called a halt. The leading three just dropped to the ground, completely exhausted. The skin on their legs were torn to shreds from thorns and shrubs. Their bare torsos and arms were also showing considerable wear. The trailing six caught up and were in the same condition. They joined their brothers on the ground. Too tired to speak, they just sat there. Hungry, thirsty and spent. How long could they rest? How long did they have?

The crowd dispersed from the stadium two hours after sunset on the opening day of the tournament. Live feeds from the camera drones were broadcast all over the planet. Most of the tourists congregated in the various drinking holes and night clubs scattered around the metropole city. In one of them called 'Spaced' sat Draco, a colonel in the presidential guard of the Triad dynasty. He suffered from a severe case of cabin-fever and had to A.W.A.L for some recreation time. Or at least that was what he told himself. He was married to a luscious, beautiful woman with long sleek blond hair. But she had grown distant from him for some time. Almost cold to the touch. He was a handsome, dedicated man that provided very well for her. He believed it was just a bump in the road and that the two of them would reconcile their relationship, but every communication between them got more strained. She would complain about everything and anything she could find wrong. It got to a point where he dreaded going home to see her.

The deep base vibrations of cosmic hose drums soothed his soul, while the darkness hid his tears. He was offered some nahupi, a potent hallucinogenic, some time ago and the drug was beginning to take hold. He needed to get off normal. He felt intense joy that made him laugh out loud for no reason at times. The trance rhythm of the slow beat played havoc on his vision, it distributed shades of magenta that ran from the top right of his sight to the bottom left. Like a fast-moving rainbow. He ground his teeth as he rocked to the rhythm of the slave drums.

The darkness was disturbed by a bright strobe light every so often. Through the flashes of white light, he saw the figure of a black hooded person seated at his small round table. He laughed again, he could not be sure that the hoody was real. The table's surface was like a wavy pond of water. Always curling, always moving. The night mangled together in a single moment and for him, time did not exist.

The hoody became an ever-present blurr and he surrendered completely to the slave drums. On and on, deeper and deeper he fell into his drug-induced subconscious. At the bottom of the introspection, filled with regret and self-doubt, he found his wife in the arms of another. He couldn't see his face, but she was happy. He woke the next morning in a strange boarding room. Just a bed and a shower with a small table. On the table was a sealed envelope.

Xonan was satisfied that there were no drones following them as the day broke on the second day of the chase. Kain whistled from the far side of the dry river bed. He found the spoor. They joined Kain on the far side.

"Wow he did well! I'm not sure we would have found him if we weren't told." Xonan was genuinely impressed.

"Yeah, and he was moving fast still! It must be at least fifty klicks from the start." Stomp was less impressed. He didn't like to run.

"Right, cover our tracks and then let's get after him." Xonan scanned the low horizon once more for signs of drones. The bounty men followed the spoor. It was easy to track number seven through the grass lands. They came to a halt at the tree Hondo climbed.

"He is looking behind him, he is doing everything right. Kain, get up there and see if you can spot him." Xonan screwed the cap off his water canteen as he spoke. Kain climbed the tree, careful to stay on the opposite side to the direction of travel of their mark. Up high he saw the spoor left by Hondo through the waist-high grass. No deviations or distractions. He could see it round the forests edge in the far distance. He zoomed in on the mountains in the background with his bionic vision and found the narrow pass that twisted over it. He knew the mark was there resting, or watching, but he couldn't see him. Not yet anyway. He turned around and scanned the direction they just came from. There was no one following them.

Hondo woke around midafternoon. The burned skin on his back felt tight. He rubbed his eyes as he moved to the edge of the overhang he slept under. He looked down into the valley below while he sniffed at the mountain breeze. There was nothing there, and he could feel his heart sink. The gravity of his situation was sinking in on him.

Maybe there's no one coming? Maybe he should take his chances in the sandlands? He is fit and he still feels strong, he could make it? Or maybe he should run next to the mountains on this side, or maybe he should track back?

He didn't know what to do, but he couldn't just sit like this and wait for something to happen. But he knew he couldn't run, so he sat there and looked over the valley and sniffed the breeze for three hours. It was late afternoon when he observed movement at the edge of the forest. It was miles away, but he could make out four figures. His spirit lifted when he realized that one of them was green. He held his position as the party approached. Closer and closer they came. The night was about to fall when the group reached the rocky foot of the mountain and pulled up for a water break.

"Is he still there Kain?" Xonan asked as they stopped at the foot of the mountain.

"Aye, haven't moved for the last three hours."

Xonan: "All right, Stomp take the weapons and backpacks a mile up the mountain and leave them there, but leave two rifles on the ground here, just in case we get company from behind." Stomp did as he was told and the rest of the crew took a seat facing away from the mountain.

Hondo watched as Stomp put considerable distance between himself and the rest of his crew in the moonlight of the early evening. He watched Stomp lay all the guns and backpacks down on the ground and return to the rest of the hunting party. Yes, it is them, they are here for him, to take him off this world. He moved from his ledge and made his way down the pass.

"He is coming, Boss." Kain told Xonan.

"Great, now we wait. The rest is not up to us." Xonan made himself comfortable.

Meanwhile, Draco waited until he was in his quarters onboard the battleship he commanded before he opened the envelope. He sat at his desk by a small port window that overlooked the Sentinel spaceport, packed with deep space cruisers and war birds. Sentinel sat below covered in darkness with the lights from the metro city clearly visible. He put the envelope on the table and just stared at it for a while. He was afraid of what might be inside. There was a sense of dread, but he tore the envelope open. The blood in his body stalled as he looked at the pictures that fell out on to the desk. He was struck ice cold. There was a wedge in his throat that made it hard to breathe and a stabbing pain ripped through his heart. It was his wife with Nemo, the youngest monarch of the Triad dynasty. They were intimate, they were making love! No, no, no. This is not happening; this can't be true? But he knew it was true, he's known for some time now, but he didn't want to believe it. Rage took hold of him. He'll make them pay, he'll make them all pay.

Draco entered the flight deck with a handgun. The two officers on duty just had enough time to express surprise before Draco shot them. He sealed the bridge from inside and aimed the ships guns at the city below. Rage, he felt such blinding rage. Five thick bright red lasers shot through the atmosphere and struk the city below. Panic rung out from every corner in the city. Another laser set knocked out the power grid. The planetary defense systems retaliated against the attack, unable to identify the attacking ship, they blasted away at the spaceport. In the confusion all the warbirds that were docked at the port opened fire on the city below. Sagar ran up the stairs of the presidential palace while chaos ensued outside. The palace was hit once, but the shield around it held up. He needed to get to the guardian... if something were to happen to her... He didn't want to even think about the consequences! He pushed the doors open, only to find an empty room. She was gone and so were her slaves. He shouted in anger! This is war! Whomever was responsible will pay.

Xonan and his crew watched the lights streak across the sky. "Unreal man!" Sandra was the first to speak. Xonan activated the homing beacon for the Renegade to come pick them up.

"Where is he now?" he asked Kain.

"Half a mile out... he's got the kit." Hondo was within earshot when he saw the small ship approaching. He stopped for a moment.

"Come on Hondo, we need to go, buddy!" The hoarse voice of Xonan urged him on.

"I don't know what to do or what to expect?" Hondo said as he came closer. The ship just touched down.

"Well buddy, if we wanted you dead, it would be so already. Give me the kit and jump onboard." Xonan held out one hand and pointed another to the ship. Hondo took a seat in the skiff and they soon broke atmosphere. Behind them the spaceport was ablaze and in shambles. Fires raged on the surface of the planet. The perfect storm to mask their untimely departure.

"We're so fucked now!" Stomp's voice sounded like it was riding waves. "They will hunt us down until the end of time!" He continued.

"Nah, I know every bounty crew on this planet also activated the homing beacons for their ships to come pick them up. And look at the chaos. There is no way in hell anybody knows what's happening right now. We still need to steal a cruiser though. Set a course for The Undertaker. If we're gonna steal, we might as well steal from the devil himself!" Xonan stared at his control panel as he spoke.

Jade stood at the top of the white mountains. Behind her, six slaves stood as free women for the first time in their lives. They watched the exchange of fire between the planet and the spaceport. She smiled in the knowledge that there will be little left of the city when it was all over. The dynasty monarchs will survive, they will all make it home, but the time for war has come... the time for confusion and division. She saw the little Renegade swoop down and leave again with its precious cargo. "Thank you, Hondo, I hope that you can one day fully understand how important your suffering was." She whispered softly.

#  Five

Present day...

After the power grid upgrade was complete, Jack ordered the resource crews back to the Nomad. Their operations were extremely successful, and the ships stores overflowed with all things rare and precious. Jack called a meeting with all the top ranks and civil managers in the situation room of the ship. He stood at the head of the table as he addressed them after the normal introductions and greetings.

"Gentlemen, I am happy to announce that our stores are full thanks to the success of the resource crews over the last four weeks. As is customary, every crew member will receive his or her fair share of our good fortune..." Applause erupted around the table. "...More good news, the maintenance crew completed all the upgrades and repairs yesterday. We will be underway as soon as the testing phase is complete." Some applauded this statement. Frank the tank was one of them. Alex grinned at Frank and said. "The fuck you clapping for? There's a circus clown standing in front of you? You daft bastard."

Frank stopped clapping and was about to respond when Jack continued. "The testing should take around three weeks to complete. I will be bringing the ship to alert level five at 00:00 tonight. We will be running war time drills twenty-four seven until the testing phase is complete. There will be very little sleep. This is a battleship and every lifeform on this ship will contribute to the defense of our home...!" Frank understood why Alex said what he did. It was typical Alex style. The table looked somber as most of the heads around it dropped. "...The civilians will report to Anthony at recon where they will each be assigned a close defense cannon to master, man, and hopefully shoot without blowing all of us up. I am counting on your cooperation, and that the crew of this ship will be surprised when they are called to battle stations at midnight." Jack left the room and returned to the flight deck where Mila was already running some tests, he left the closing of the meeting to Alex and Barley.

Mila: "So you're going to put short range plasma cannons in the hands of roughnecks. What could go wrong?" She said as Jack took his seat on the flight deck.

Jack: "You listened in, did you?"

Mila: "It's my ship Commander." She joked.

Jack: "Well, it's a good way to make them understand that hibernation is a blessing. On the other hand, and between us, I can't shake a sort of premonition about this ship. It can't do any harm to teach them to defend themselves. Most of them started their space careers through the Academy so they've had some sort of training. And lastly it is..."

Mila: "For the Infantry! Yes, I know that Jack. You will grind and shape them until they think they are as good as you. I've run all the available fusion drives at one hundred percent for half an hour now, she's holding nicely. I'd like to feed the docked ships in the main shuttle bay, one by one into the system now?" She interrupted.

Jack: "I thought this was your ship?" He half laughed.

Mila: "Nice and chirpy this early in the day, hey?"

Four light years away.

Sandra woke Xonan onboard the personal deep-space cruiser of Sven Vakarian the slaver and monarch of the Andromeda dynasty. He woke when she walked through the doors of the main quarters. The ship was spacious and luxurious inside and out, a status symbol fit for the very best. Xonan pressed himself up on one elbow as he rolled over on one side to sit up.

"We got them, four lightyears out." She said when she reached the foot of the bed covered in red silk linen.

"Good. What are they doing?" He was still half asleep.

"Nothing, they are just sitting there."

Xonan: "Alright. Let's get our shit together. We need to scuttle this ship. What a pity"

Sandra: "Way ahead of you, Stomp has been on board the Renegade for two hours already. We're ready to rock... By the way, we received two new contract requests from the Dechka dynasty. Seems like the Universe is well and truly at war."

Xonan: "Declined?"

Sandra: "Of course."

Two weeks into the alert level five drills on board the Nomad, the crew were run ragged. They all stumbled around like mindless zombies and performed complex drills and tasks on muscle memory. They've had little sleep and were kept busy. Mila just finished a light lunch in the galley when she saw Boesman Beyers, Jack's childhood pal, take a seat on the middle deck. She saw an opportunity and jumped at the chance.

Boesman just returned from an infantry exercise. Every bone in his body ached. If he was overweight when he first came onboard, there was no sign of it now. He wanted to grab a quick bite before he hit the sack for a three-hour sleep. He sat down in the middle rank section of the galley and an android took his order.

Mila: "Care if I join you, Boesman?" She had a warm smile while she took a seat

Boesman: "It's your ship Captain, you are welcome to sit anywhere you please." He was apprehensive as he briefly stood up to acknowledge the woman sitting down.

Mila: "You may call me Mila. And I'll get right to the point. You grew up with Jack?" She was desperate to learn more about the man she knew she loved.

Boesman: "O, I get it, you want information on my old pal. Ha-ha sure, it was such a blast growing up in the desert, I'll gladly revisit all of the memories. What do you want to know?" He was relieved that it was a social call.

Mila: "Well, let's start at the beginning. Jack's parents?"

Boesman: "Ja well, Jacky never knew his Pa and Ma. His uncle brought him up. A real hard bastard of a man. He sent Jacky on suicide quests more than once. But it is what shaped him into the man he is now"

Mila: "Suicide quests?" obviously intrigued.

Boesman raised his eyebrows "Yeah, like when we were on a six-week break from the Academy. We went out early one morning on horseback to inspect the fencing on the farm. Fencing is a big deal because water is scares and you need to patrol it often. It was uncle Ben, Jacky and myself. Around mid-morning we came across three sheep carcasses, one of them half eaten and the others killed for sport. A quick investigation of the crime scene revealed leopard spoor. Uncle Ben simply instructed Jacky to follow the animal and kill it, and that he could not return home without the leopard skin as proof that the animal was dead. He rode off an left us there. I was dumb struck. We had no weapons, other than a pocket knife and he insisted we confront and kill a grown leopard."

Mila: "No?"

Boesman: "We sat there in silence for a while. Then Jacky shrugged his shoulders and urged his horse in the direction of the spoor. I followed about ten paces behind. I remember feeling sick. Here we were, all of seventeen years old, with no weapons, on horseback tracking a respected killer. Jacky didn't talk much. He seemed calm and collected, but come to think of it, danger seemed to almost slow him down, but in a good way, if you know what I mean?"

Mila: "Not really, I can't imagine what you must have felt." She put both elbows on the table and leaned forward.

Boesman: "Well to make a long story short, just after mid-day Jacky brought his horse to a stop some fifteen paces from a thick Wag-n-bietjie thorn bush. I knew we found the animal. She was in there. Jacky urged his horse forward and at around five paces the leopard stuck its head out of the shrubs to reveal its position slightly to the right of horse and rider. She had her ears pulled back and her top lip raised so she could display four intimidating fangs while she growled and hissed. The horse was startled and paced back, obviously unsettled. I was about ten paces behind Jacky and I almost shat myself. Jacky let the stallion step back. Then he did what puts him apart from any human I've ever come across. He took his right foot out of the stirrup and loosened the stirrup leather at the top of the saddle so strap and stirrup were in his right hand. Then he forcefully urged his stallion towards the leopard. The horse obeyed and surged towards the thorn bush. The leopard sprung into attack mode, it left the shrubs and leaped for horse and rider." He has told this story a thousand times, and knows exactly when to stop for maximum effect.

Mila: "And?"

Boesman: "And this is what I mean when I say things slow down for Jacky when he is in danger. The horse instinctively turned away to its left as it saw the attack coming. Jack swung the stirrup in a wide ark with all his strength, the stirrup conected hard with the leopard's spine in midair and broke the animal's back."

Mila: "No!" She exclaimed.

Boesman: "Ja, no one believes me when I tell this story, but I shit you not... Then he dismounted his horse and beat the stricken leopard to death with a single blow to the head, with the same stirrup that paralyzed it. He found three leopard cubs in the shrubs that he also killed and skinned along with their mother. I was in desperate need of clean pants. I actually still have the skins of all four animals Jack killed that day."

Mila was mesmerized. She kept Boesman there for a good two hours finding out as much as she could about Jack. Boesman enjoyed talking about the old days and happily shared some of the best memories he had.

Mila walked into the flight deck with a glow around her that was obvious to see. Jack watched her as she half walked, half glided to her seat. Something put her in a good mood. Jack had been arranging things in such a way that there was always company with him and Mila at the supper table the last few weeks. He couldn't trust his instincts to say good night after a long conversation over supper without also spending the night with Mila. But he will find out what all the glowing was about. He might even be slightly jealous right now. Barley interrupted Jacks thoughts.

Barley: "Something approaching. It's heavily cloaked but it's a ship. Very small, hundred thousand clicks out." He was stoked for picking it up in the first place.

Mila: "Shields up. Try to make contact."

Sandra pulled out all the stops as the Renegade slowly approached the Nomad. She had the ships cloak fully deployed and both her hands were very busy with the frequency jamming keypads. She was very good at this sort of stuff. She could infiltrate just about any system undetected.

"Close enough now to perform long range scans." Kain waited for the order from Xonan.

"Let's see what she's got." Xonan obliged.

After a couple of minutes Kain reported: "She is big, very big. Can't put a fix on the exterior compound, it's nothing we know. Scans won't penetrate. She is a bird of war. Detecting guns everywhere, all over. It's a planet killer. Must have an impressive power supply to run all them guns? Extensive shield generators, both photon and electromagnetic shields." The crew was dumb struck with the not so primitive, primitive ship.

Xonan spoke first. "Good thing we're not looking for a fight."

Stomp: "You said it Boss."

Kain: "We've been pinged. Her shields just went up. They know we're here."

Sandra: "Impossible!" She's pissed off. It is the first time her ship has been detected under cloak.

Xonan: "Range?"

Kain: "Hundred thousand clicks."

Xonan: "Open transmission frequencies. Request connection."

Kain: "Done. GO!"

"This is Captain Xonan of the universal bounty ship the Renegade, requesting a secure line with your commanding Officer" The transmission came through.

Mila: "This is Captain Mila of the Galactic Alliance ship the Nomad. Please hold your position and state your business, Captain." She shrugged her shoulders and gave Jack a puzzled look.

Xonan: "We've lost our mark, we tracked his lifeboat drifting in this direction. A hibernating blue, skinny fellow with no sense of humor and a number seven branded on his back. Have you come across him by any chance?"

Jack's mouth was open.

Mila: "You are in luck Renegade! We have your man still sleeping. We have some questions obviously?"

Xonan: "Good news, thank you. We humbly request a docking pass. There are four of us onboard. We are lowering our shields and decloaking our ship."

Mila: "Sending a skiff to guide you in..." She cut the transmission. "...Deploy android skiff to intercept the Renegade and have them dock in recon bay. Alert Anthony to receive four cosmic bounty hunters and escort them to the situation room. Barley I need you to scan that ship and find out as much as you can for us. Alert the ships guard, we are about to receive a boarding party, they need to be sharp!" Mila couldn't hide her excitement. Something was happening, it was a welcome break from the day to day monotonous routine. Jack got up and headed for the situation room with Mila right behind him.

Anthony the commanding officer of recon put five of his best men in strategic positions in the recon bay. They watched as the Renegade entered the atmosphere shield. It was obviously not the average skiff that they were used to. Xonan stepped out first leaving his crew inside.

Xonan: "I am Xonan" He said in his raspy voice as he stood face to face with Anthony.

Anthony: "Anthony! Welcome to the Nomad. Your crew?" Anthony held Xonan's gaze. It was the typical boy meets boy stare. Anthony knew his customers. He was looking at a proficient killer.

Xonan: "Just wanted to see that the reception is warm first, you understand? Wow, impressive ship, the Nomad!" He waved for his crew and they joined him. Anthony instinctively labeled the bounty men as they disembarked. Kain, skinny and fast, might be ambidextrous as well judging by his hands. Sandra, the techie, and also military at some point. Stomp, short and powerful. The muscle, obviously.

Anthony led them through the ship to the situation room. The ship's guard were scattered along the route and made to look busy with something or another. Xonan looked at Kain. They knew all too well that the passages and hallways they were moving through were way too populated. And it was all in their honor.

Xonan: "How big is her crew?" Xonan asked Anthony.

Anthony: "Not sure, I only command nineteen of them" He knew better than to volunteer information.

Xonan: "It's the biggest ship I've ever seen!"

Xonan felt disappointed when they reached the situation room and Hondo was not there. He was looking forward to seeing him again. Mila welcomed them and they all took a seat. Xonan asked Mila to send everyone out except her and Jack before they began. She did and for the next hour they listened as Xonan recalled the events that took place on Sentinel Prime. Jack should have been surprised, but there was some part of him that expected that something was about to change. Xonan told them that he was instructed to approach this ship like this and to stay with her.

"Do you know where Hondo's home planet is?" Jack asked after a long silence. Xonan confirmed that he did. Jack looked at his communicator. It would be nice to receive some guidance from an unknown source right now. It sounds like the Nomad needs to go to this Herse moon/planet with the sleeping alien and the bounty crew. But for what? I don't know why, but I need to have faith and follow the path. Jack ordered Mila to set a course for Herse. And it was time to wake Hondo from his hibernation.

Hondo's eyes felt heavy and he struggled to open them. There was blinding white light everywhere and he had to squint his eyes. The image of Sandra that hovered above him slowly came into focus. "Sandra?" he whispered with a half-smile.

"Hey Hondo, sleep well? I have some very good news for you. We are taking you home." He wept with happiness, and she cried with him. She walked with him to the galley where they ate like kings.

Jack spent most of his time with Xonan learning about the dynasties and the universe as a whole, what made it tick. The two of them became good friends. Alex found an equally rude bastard in Stomp and they spend most of their time throwing rhetorical insults at one another, hiding the fact that they quite enjoyed each other's company. Mila gave the visitors access to the flight deck and also found a friend in Sandra. It was good to have another woman around. Kain fell in with Anthony at recon, partly because that's where he felt comfortable, but mostly it was to keep an eye on the Renegade. The sexual tension between commander and captain got a welcome distraction. The Nomad dropped to alert level three and the surplus crews went into hibernation.

Herse sat in the Magellanic cloud that was a satellite dwarf galaxy of the Milky Way. They were about to become the first humans to leave the Milky Way. Mila and Jack watched as the Nomad passed the last star of their home galaxy. They officially entered cosmic space. "Will we ever see Earth again, Jacky?" Mila dropped her guard.

Jack: "Jacky? Whom have you been talking to?"

Mila: "O' uhm... Boesman." She admitted giving him an apologetic grin.

Jack: "Mmmm. Of course. Don't believe everything you hear."

Mila: "I never knew you were orphaned Jack. It must have been hard?" She couldn't help herself. She had to initiate the conversation she wanted to have for some time now.

Jack: "No, not really. I had Uncle Ben, he was the only dad I ever knew."

Mila: "I heard some stories about him."

Jack: "Ja, no doubt. Boesman didn't like him very much. But then again, Boesman struggled with all forms of authority." Jack half laughed.

Mila could tell that Jack loved his uncle, and she loved him even more for it. Mila took a seat next to the viewing port.

"What was your childhood like Jack?" She asked as she indicated for him to take a seat next to her. He sat down.

"Well, what do you want to know?" He asked, resigned to the fact that things were about to get personal.

"Tell me about Uncle Ben"

Jack: "I remember him and the farm. I know of nothing before then. He always maintained a sharp balance with me. I could play chess at age four, and it remained a vital part of my education throughout. We'd spend the last two hours of every day when we could, studying all the great games throughout history. And we played each other as often as we could. He taught me to shoot and ride and survive and kept my academic education up. Boesman's father was, well, let's just say Boesman spent most of his time with us, also learning. Uncle Ben enrolled us both in the Academy when we were nine. But we rotated in and out with three-month intervals. The other kids had to stay at the Academy fulltime. At age sixteen Uncle Ben got hold of every conceivable simulator in the Alliance, and as a result I could drive and fly everything before I went to bootcamp. I miss those days. I miss him, hard bastard that he was." Mila could tell she had struck a chord, and remained silent as they sat together for a good while. Then Jack changed the topic.

Jack: "You know, we are underway to a world we don't know, in a galaxy we have no business with, and we're probably going to pick a fight with a universal king somewhere in the near future?"

Mila: "I know, and it's not like we have a choice about it. That's the part that freaks me out the most"

Jack: "I'm conflicted Mila. We might find our home system in shambles when we return one day, and we are heading away from home!" He blindly stared into the darkness of space.

Mila: "How do you know that, Jack?" She was stunned by the revelation. Her voice was urgent.

Jack snapped back to reality, he'll have to bear some of the vision the guardian showed him and tell her what admiral Green told him. He told Mila about the dream, but he withheld the part about her. And how Hilda got the solution to her problem with the nanobots the same night and in the nick of time, to treat the radiation sickness brought on by a young uncharted Magnetar, that altered the ships course to enable it to stop for fuel and repairs in just the right place, so that they would intercept a lifeboat, deliberately set adrift to be recovered by them.

Mila: "Not just any ship Jack. I gave Sandra a tour of our systems, and she was very impressed. Yes, we don't have warp, but this ship is superior on every other level compared with what is out there. I'm on this ship. I was cloned to be perfect, well mentally and physically. I still have feelings, mood swings and needs..." She dropped a hint. "...And you are on this ship, the youngest Commander ever. If I have a destiny Jack, then you and this ship, are part of that." Jack wanted to kiss her. But she was right. She was the perfect being, and that made him feel insecure, inferior almost.

Xonan interrupted the pair. "May I have a word Jack?"

Jack: "Shure, what's up?" Xonan took a seat on a single deckchair that faced the double bunk.

Xonan: "As you know, this ship is now in universal space and as such it does not fall under the protection of the Guardians any more. You are now players on the big table and fair game."

Mila: "I never thought of it like that, but I guess you are right. What should we expect?" She was unsettled and leaned forward in her chair.

Xonan: "Well, for starters we can now share the Renegade's secretes with the Nomad, since she is no longer in a protected galaxy." He had a warm smile.

Mila: "You are right. You can give us warp capability." She was excited. Jack leaned back in his chair. He bit down on the index knuckle of his right hand.

Xonan: "No, we don't have the skills to convert your drives. But we know where to find a physicist who can. His name is Benison Gatlin and he has been waiting a very long time for us to rescue him from the safehouse that harbors him. He will also help to convert you shield generators to mask all your ships under the Renegade's sophisticated cloak."

Jack: "Safehouse? Sounds like a wanted man?"

Xonan: "Well, whatever he did, it got him the protection of the Guardian, and the help from at least one dynasty."

Mila: "Aye, we need all the help we can get, go get him, leave now."

Bennison Gatlin watched the sun set on the thermo activated world that harbored him for the last fifty thousand years. Exposed magma painted the horizon bright red and covered the atmosphere in a thick haze of smoke and steam that magnified the home star's appearance tenfold low to the horizon. He had two androids for company onboard a spacious luxury air yacht courtesy of house Astrud of the Quora dynasty. The Triad dynasty still had a contract out on him.

The guardian moved him here after he completed his tasks, on Earth, that laid the foundations for The Awakening. He knew he would be called upon soon, and for him it couldn't happen soon enough.

"Professor, we have a communication from the Renegade. They are in a low orbit and request we join them." Gatlin nodded, and the androids took the ship to a low orbit. Ten minutes later Gatlin and Xonan stood face to face onboard the Renegade. The androids carried four cube shaped cases about two-by-two feet wide.

Xonan: "Did you enjoy your stay, professor?"

Gatlin: "Fuck you, wise ass, you know I did not. It was pure agony. What took you so long?"

Xonan: "We've been hibernating for most of the time. We only woke a couple of months ago. Why didn't you sleep?"

Gatlin: "I did, on and off. Where can we secure the cases?" He pointed to the androids.

Xonan: "These robots give me the creeps. I don't think I'll ever get used to them. And where we are going there are thousands of them. Just give the boxes to Stomp."

Gatlin: "Ya it's strange, at first. It stems from Earths history. They outlawed slavery very early in their development, and as a replacement they developed robots. The robotics evolved over a very long time, and now they have artificially intelligent humanoid robots that never complain or sleep and do whatever their masters want. Quite clever actually."

Sandra: "Do you know what that ship's skin is made of? Our scans couldn't penetrate her?" She jumped into the conversation.

Gatlin: "Yes I do, actually. It's a titanium/graphite/magnesium infused compound that they bind together in an atomic state. They dope the atoms of each so they have an equal mass valence electron that tricks the atoms into thinking they are the same thing. They cannot tell the difference between them, and then they fuse together to form a brand-new compound. Very hard, light and smooth, yet it maintains some flex. And as you found out, impossible to penetrate with scans."

Xonan: "Will you take the yacht to the Nomad, or will you hitch a ride with us, Professor?"

Gatlin: "Neither. I will not be joining the Nomad at this time. I need to go to Malachi the strong hold of the Quora dynasty. I will send an encrypted signal so you can decloak the hidden beacon to find Malachi. The Nomad will join the path there. By the way, Herse is under siege. After the incident on Sentinel Prime, the dynasties turned their initial response to the hosts. The Flagg dynasty, house Vakarian, fell and the monarchs, Sven and Zagar, fled to Herse. Some of their Custodians joined them there, while others turned on them. It is vital for Commander Neel to eliminate the Flagg dynasty and all its allies on Herse. It is very important that he captures at least one of the monarchs, both if possible. He must leave no one else alive. The Andromeda Group hosts some of the most resilient houses in the universe. We'll need to unite them behind the effort once the Flagg dynasty has fallen. You'll take my androids with you, they can convert the Nomad's drives."

Xonan: "I don't understand what's going on, Professor. But I know better than to ask why or what. I will relay the instructions to Jack."

Gatlin: "We'll see each other on Malachi. Godspeed!" He had a strange look of regret in his eyes. He wanted to go to the Nomad.

On Malachi the ruling sisters Uhura, Anastasia, and Caprica sat in the ancient throne room of the fort that they used during war time. Malachi shared a blue super giant star with three other un-inhabitable worlds. The system was hidden deep within a massive thick nebula, impossible to navigate unless you could decode the homing beacon.

The sisters ruled as a single unit, and commanded great respect from their subjects. Little was known about the Quora dynasty outside of their territory. No one within the boundaries offered any information on the day to day running of affairs. The merchants that relied on trade with the rest of the universe never spent more time than was necessary at universal spaceports, and most of the time the crews of the freighters stayed onboard their vessels when docked at foreign ports. Quora also had the most favorable account with Accumulates, the bankers. Their account came close to level, untill recently.

The recent continued attacks on one of Quora's sectors forced them to approach Accumulates for an extension on the existing loans and to borrow more credits to fund a response. If the sisters knew which dynasty was responsible for the attack they could retaliate. But the attacking ships would fight to the death. They refused to be captured and the ships themselves were unfamiliar. The hard truth was that they were slowly bleeding resources. Both equipment and men. They also had to tread very carefully to protect the coming Awakening and their involvement in it.

Anastasia reported on the week's intel. "The situation has not changed. Sector nine bears the brunt of the infiltration. Our forces are still able to restrict the insurgents to that sector. The fighting is heavy and mainly fought in space. The enemy resource seems endless. We have superior weapons, but they have the numbers. Not so much the numbers to conquer the sector, but the numbers to just keep coming. Slowly chipping away. It's a question of time before sector nine falls. Oh, and Gatlin is on his way here. He is bringing your yacht home Uhura." She was the shortest of the three with brown hair and eyes. The sisters shared strikingly similar features. She sat on the left of Uhura.

"Gatlin? Oh, wow! Lead with that next time, will you?... So, The Awakening draws closer." Uhura sat on the middle throne that shared the same level as the other two thrones. She was the tall one and ultimately made decisions regarding the rule.

"How will this change our strategy regarding the defense of our territories?" Caprica was the quiet one. Very reserved and slow to anger. She looked down on a number of their custodians gathered in the great hall. The fortress was ancient, carved out inside a mountain. The tables and chairs were made of heavy, solid wood millions of years old. Five wood burning fireplaces provided much needed heat and added to the rustic feel of the room filled with rich history. Chandeliers with candles burned everywhere to provide light to the large windowless hall.

The custodians looked blankly at Caprica, as if to ask what they must say or do?

Uhura: "Leave us please, gentlemen." The heavy wood chairs screeched over the stone floor and the Custodians left the hall.

Uhura: "Sector nine is lost. We should concentrate our efforts on the defense of the border sectors."

Anastasia: "But if we give them a foothold in sector nine, we'll need to defend three borders, and they can stage their attacks from within our territories. We cannot allow them to get that close."

Caprica: "You saw the look of our Custodians? They can't take much more of this. We are taxing them and their people. The body count is around fifty thousand a week now."

Uhura: "I've sent word to Leo..."

Anastasia: "O' please, you've been sending word to that man for a long time. The Adjuvate dynasty will not aid us. In fact, I stick to my guns. I think the Adjuvate dynasty is, at least in some way responsible for the attacks." She interrupted her sister.

Caprica: "Why don't we commit all our forces to sector nine. We could crush them there with one coordinated attack. We still have the numbers."

Uhura: "That, my dear sister, is exactly what they want us to do. If we concentrate our forces on the edge of our territory, they will infiltrate our center and we will fall with little resistance. We'll have to wait for Gatlin, maybe he has news? And as for the Custodians, they will fight for as long as we can pay them. What shall we have for supper tonight?" She changed her mind again.

Anastasia: "I don't know. Whatever you want"

Caprica: "I don't care, you choose."

Uhura: "Herbert's stew then."

Anastasia: "No please, no. Not Herbert's"

Caprica: "Anything but Herbert's"

Uhura: "Okay what then?"

Caprica: "I don't know..."

The Renegade caught up with the Nomad as the big ship was decelerating from lightspeed before it entered the Herse system. Xonan relayed the professor's instructions to Jack. Jack called a meeting in the war room with all the section heads. It was decided to send the recon crew ahead accompanied by Kain and Hondo, to scout the system, while the Nomad maintained a wide system orbit. The recon crew left kitted out in the latest tactical gear compliments of Hilda's science division. Their small skiff boasted a fine cloaking system adopted from the Renegade.

On the Nomad Jack dropped the ship to alert level one and requested the crew to get as much rest as possible. Gatlin's androids made light work converting one of the ships fusion drives to a warp drive. The rest of the carrier fleet also received the same upgrade. The Nomad could go anywhere she wanted now, without costing her crew time.

The recon skiff held a wide orbit around Herse while she gathered intel on the planetary defenses and the space force that protected her. Twenty-five battleships rotated between low and high orbits with thirty-eight satellite weapons platforms in low orbit. The proximity of the moon to the gas giant made it impossible to attack the moon from all sides, due to tidal forces. An attack could only be launched on the side that faced away from the gas giant. Something the defenders understood all too well.

Communication signals could be traced to a well camouflaged base build at the foot of a canyon with high rocky walls on either side and behind it. The perfect ambush point for an attacking force. The cloaked skiff broke atmosphere undetected and the close surveillance began. Anthony broke his unit up into sections of two. They were instructed to access nine different points respectively, from where they could monitor and record movements and routine, and to identify weak points, or possible points of entry into the base. They would meet back at the ship in seventy-two hours. Hondo went with Anthony to contact the locals and get a feel for their loyalties. But their efforts were fruitless. It seems the locals moved away from this area a very long time ago.

The recon unit made it back to the Nomad undetected. Jack waited for Anthony and Kain in the commander's quarters. The two of them looked troubled as they entered the spacious room.

Jack: "Sit down please. Did you have a good trip?" Jack took a seat at his personal conference table.

Anthony: "Yes sir. But the news is not good."

Jack: "Tell me."

Anthony inserted a small external drive into an empty slot on the table, and a holographic screen popped up in the center of the table that showed the Herse system.

Anthony: "As you can see, Herse is the smallest of twelve moons that circles a blue gas giant. So right off the bat, we'll never have complete darkness for cover. They have a solid outer network consisting of twenty-five battleships supported by thirty-eight low orbit weapons platforms. Tidal forces between the moon and the gas planet makes it impossible to launch an attack from the planet side, so all their defenses are facing out, if you will. Communication signals put their main base and force here in this canyon. The base is well protected by shear rock walls to its rear and both its flanks. Power is supplied by two bunkerd fusion power plants to the east of the compound. We estimate troop capacity at around three to four thousand, but we don't know for sure. The structure could comfortably house double that number. There are four shuttle ports, here, here, here, and here..." He pointed two to each flank on the roof of the main structure. "...By their size we think they could launch between six to eight crafts a minute and, if we consider available storage space, we think they have around one thousand fighter sized craft standing by. Imbedded in the mountains are various surface to air and surface to surface gun nests. We counted roughly eight hundred that we could see."

Jack could tell Kain had something to add. "Kain?"

Kain: "I saw a goat path here on this ridge. I think it might lead a small group to the rear of the complex under sufficient cover."

Jack: "Some good news. Good work Kain. Please come with me."

Jack lifted his communicator to his mouth and his voice came over the ships PA systems.

"Alert level five, all hands to battle stations. Repeat, alert level five, all hands to battle stations." The red warning lights flashed throughout the ship accompanied by a sharp short interval siren. Anthony sheepishly followed the commander to the war room. He could not believe that the man was about to order an all-out attack on what he believed to be an impenetrable defense system.

There was a somber atmosphere in the war room as Jack stood at the head of the table, but he did not speak at first. He took his time to look every one seated at the table dead in the eye. It was a technique that served him well through the years. Everyone at the table knew he was in command, and that they would execute the orders they were about to receive, or die trying. The center of the table had the intel gathered by recon on a big holographic screen.

"Anthony, please give the panel the run-down?" Jack asked as he took his seat. Jack watched the faces of his crew chiefs as Anthony pointed out all the points of interest. Every single one of them looked concerned. After Anthony finished, Jack gave everyone at the table a chance to speak their minds. One by one they stood up and tried to impress their commander. But Jack was not fooled. They were all running scared. The battle lines were drawn, the attack will start at 05:45.

At 02:00 Anthony assembled his men in the recon situation room. The recon squad was tasked with extracting the monarchs from the main compound when the main attack commenced. He was about to start the brief when Mila walked in. She was dressed in a tactical exco-suit with two handguns holstered on her thighs and her weapons of choice, two short swords sleeved in a cross on her back. Her hair was tied in two high ponytails.

"Captain on deck!" Anthony finely managed to speak, and everyone jumped to attention.

"As you were. I will be joining the insurgence as a member of your crew. Don't think of me as your Captain. I am just another Joe now. Anthony please, continue." Anthony found it difficult to hide the sentiment they all felt. They'll have to babysit their captain. More responsibility in what already felt like an impossible task. Half an hour later the recon crew drew weapons and ammo from their own personal stores before they left for Herse. The recon skiff dropped the specialized squad in the stratosphere above the enemy base. The section leader deployed his shoot first, over the back of the target area. They will follow the goat path on the back ridge and try to get as close as possible to the base before the main attack begins.

05:45 Jack transmitted the first orders from the war room. "Auxiliary fusion engines to fifty percent, bring us within weapons range. Launch all thirty-two long-range bombers and eight heavy armored frigates. Piggyback fighter squadrons one and two on the bombers. Primary Objective: Neutralize satellite weapons platforms and communications systems. Secondary Objective: Destroy ground-based shuttle bays. Third Objective: Seek and destroy all surface to air defenses within the target area. frigates and fighters will provide close air support, their objective: Protect the bombers. Queue all eight heavy battle cruisers, remaining frigates and fighter squadrons three and four." Alex and Barley relayed the orders from the flight deck.

Barley: "Mabey attack the battleships first? He is ordering the first wave to ignore the biggest threat."

Alex: "What do I know? I just work here."

Boesman sat with his infantry squad onboard their heavy armored transporter when the orders were relayed on open frequencies. He felt his stomach turn; there was no going back now! Soon he'll be in a very real fight. The red dune sands of the desert seemed a very distant memory. He looked around. His men were scared, confused even. There was an eerie silence, most of them just stared at the floor. Boesman was promoted to marshal, but he resented having rank now. Flight section chiefs moved around securing cargo, equipment and soldiers.

"Move to Orange!" a Pilot's voice came through on the headsets. They have been queued and will be taking off soon.

05:50 Jack: "Launch second wave. Objective: Engage and destroy enemy battleships in orbit. fighter squadrons neutralize enemy fighters. Queue mobile infantry, all divisions, and fighter squadrons five and six. All hands prepare for close combat. Shields up. All auxiliary fusion drives online, divert access power to shields and guns equally. Open attack force frequencies." Jack watched the screens as the Nomad drew closer. Timing was everything.

05:53: "This is Bozo, first wave flight leader. Dropping cloak and engaging enemy objectives. Weapons free, repeat weapons free." The enemy battle fleet were taken by complete surprise. All hell broke loose around them and their radars suddenly lit up with bogies everywhere. Their satellite defenses went off line one by one at an alarming rate. The battleships were poorly positioned to answer fire from within their perimeter and they had to initiate complicated thruster burns, to maneuver the clumsy stationary battlefleet into more favorable positions. They fired what little weapons they had on their sterns, but the agile frigates and bombers proved very hard to hit, while cheeky fighters, undeterred by the enemy's photon shields, took potshots at flight deck canopies and exposed weapons systems. With the primary objective eighty percent complete, seven bombers broke away and entered atmosphere to neutralize the ground-based shuttle ports.

05:55 Jack: "Launch third wave. Objective: Establish a rear base of operations in the mouth of the canyon. Fighter squadrons to engage all enemy weapons installations and provide air cover for infantry objective. Ping the enemy fleet with long-range radar from the Nomad. Let them know we're coming."

"We are green, we are green. It's a go! Go! Go!" the pilot's voice rang through Boesman's headset, followed by a significant G force that pushed him down in his seat. Shit's about to get real.

"This is Bambi, second wave, fight leader. Drop cloak and engage enemy battlefleet. Switch to auto target sequence, let's take them down one by one. Weapons free, weapons free...!"

"This is Bozo for Bimbi, first wave primary objective complete, tasking first wave frigates to join your directive, we'll do what we can to distract them, flight leader..."

"Roger that Bozo, good hunting...!"

"This is Ghost-Runner, bomber flight leader. Ground-based shuttle bays destroyed, engaging enemy embankments...!"

"Roger Ghost-Runner, remaining bombers entering atmosphere now, we'll be with you shortly...!"

"...This is Sandman, flight leader, fighter squadrons One and Two. Enemy ships launching fighters. Stay frosty, things are getting lively up here...!"

"This is Blade Runner, flight leader, fighter squadrons three and four. Roger Sandman, we're engaging enemy fighters."

The enemy fleet hastily completed their thruster burns to turn their guns inward when the second wave hit them from behind, smack into their sterns, damaging propulsion systems. It was brilliant chaos as thrusters fired up again to turn the stationary ships around once more. To make matters worse their systems reported a long-range radar ping from a large approaching vessel. Fighters scrambled out of their shuttle bays at intermittent rates. The panic and confusion were evident in the enemy's response. Close system defense cannons took forever to burst into life as their crews scrambled to battle stations.

The first and second wave's combined fire power swiped away most of the enemy's shields and their fleet soon suffered heavy damage. They managed to return fire on some of the attacking fleet, but the carrier fleet's shields held and the attack was well coordinated. As soon as an enemy ship fired, all available ships in the immediate area fired on the attacking ship, rendering it dead in a matter of seconds. The main edge of the carrier fleet was the long-lasting love affair the Earthlings had with recoil weapons. The ability to fire explosive warheads, from the vacuum of space, that penetrated enemy photon shields and ships to explode deep inside them, accompanied by very advanced phasor and plasma attack platforms.

06:00 Jack watched the live feed from Anthony's headcam. They moved when the bombers hit the ground-based shuttle bays. They stealthily covered the thirty yards to the back wall, where they held position. The nano-tech in their exo-suits automatically changed color to adapt to their environment. The result was very potent camouflage. The ground shook as the bomber fleet laid into the embankments on either side of the canyon. The skies erupted in a brilliant display of anti-aircraft fire from the ground and missile streaks and laser burns from the sky. Fighter squadron one and two joined in the attack and the skies resembled a migrating beehive. Jack could hear the base sirens sound through Anthony's feed. Anthony gave the all clear and the small squad easily jumped the thirty-foot wall with the added power of the exo-suits.

The base defenders were focused on the skies above the canyon and in front of them, no one noticed the small party moving towards the fusion powerplants. They broke up into two groups. A small group of enemy soldiers stood next to one of the access points to a powerstation. They were confused and scared and completely focused on the air attack in the canyon in front of them. Xonan and his team easily dropped them like bad company, with suppressed gunfire. They laid their charges and returned to the standoff point. Soon the splinter group joined them there.

06:05"...This is Hammer, flight leader third wave. Drop cloak and enter atmosphere. On me, establish Delta defensive cordon on LZ. Weapons free. Repeat, weapons free." Jack watched on the screens as the mobile infantry transporters touched down with their escorts. The side doors of the transporters dropped and a well-oiled ground attack force deployed with stunning speed and accuracy.

Twelve heavy battle tanks took the lead, two in front of every division, flanked by thirty-six heavy attack trucks, four behind every tank. The main squads spread out in a V-hape behind the tanks with a mortar team to the rear. The first division was flanked by second and third division, which in turn were flanked by fourth and fifth division to form an arrow head. Sixth division spread out over the rear of the attack force to bring reinforcements as required. Three hovercraft attached to each division dropped back three miles and hovered at around thirty feet to provide close air support. The transporters took off the moment everyone was cleared.

Frank took his time to survey the ground ahead. The rock walls on either side took heavy damage from the air force. Rocks from the canyon walls were being blown across the canyon's sandy floor. It was an impressive attack that caused the ground to shake continuously. From his command post, Frank scanned the floor with optics to find enemy embankments. He couldn't see any. Something was off here. Something was not right. They must be there somewhere?

Alex on the flight deck gave the order for the Nomad to engage the enemy battlefleet the moment they got into range. The ship shook and shuddered as most of her guns burst into furious life. The Nomad laid it's claws deep within the already damaged enemy fleet, and their life flames were blown out in one clean sweep.

Kain watched the mobile infantry touch down and indicated to Anthony that it was time. Anthony remotely detonated the explosives in the two fusion powerplants. The explosion that followed shook all the structures of the compound to their foundations. The recon squad entered the main compound through a side door. It was poorly lit by red emergency lights. They made light work of the confused inhabitants of the first room. They killed them fast and silently with blades and suppressed small arms.

As the squad worked their way deeper into the structure. Jack saw Anthony stop and look at the floor. There where bloody footprints on the floor that seemed to have originated from the room behind the door. Mila moved past Anthony and boldly entered the room with her swords in hand. Jack switched his feed to Mila's headcam. The floor was covered in blood. The room had a steel table in the middle and on it was the mutilated body of a Hersian woman. She was still breathing but the injuries to her maimed body was obviously terminal. Mila slowly walked up to the woman and drove one of her swords through her ribcage and into her heart to end her suffering. If this was the only reason for this attack, it was reason enough! She would find this bastard.

06:10. In the canyon the air to air enemy defenses fell silent one by one. All the fighter squadrons entered the atmosphere and laid down a continuous barrage of bombing runs on the canyon walls. "If you trigger-happy flyboys want to lay off a bit, we could maybe risk moving mobile infantry forward." Frank transmitted fleetwide with laughter in his voice from his ground command module in the center of the mobile infantry's formation. The humor was not lost on the fleet and they intensified their attacks on the ridges. Pieces of solid rock wall were blown clear across the canyon floor to the other side. It rained hell from above, nonstop. Some fighters took direct hits and went down in a ball of flames. The Bombers were heavily armored and could take significant damage. None of them went down.

"This is Bozo, first wave flight leader. Returning to mother for reload and resupply, Godspeed Frank The Tank. Three cheers for Lucky Jack. Hiep-Hiep!" Jack smiled as everyone joined in with three hoorays' over the coms. The initial attack was such a success that mobile infantry might have nothing to shoot at. Or so Jack thought. Jack looked at the carrier fleet diagnostics. Two cruisers were heavily damaged, and fifty-seven fighters paid the ultimate price, but for the rest, they managed to push through with light to moderate damage. Good thing there is no locals around... Jack thought When this is over, the infantry would of had half the population pregnant in no time!

06:15 The support craft returned to the Nomad for resupply and mobile infantry began their slow advance. Mila turned away from the table to face the door when suppressed gunfire erupted from the passage outside. The recon crew encountered the first organized enemy squad. One of them managed to shout out loud before he took one in the head. There were shouts echoing from deeper inside. They will have to fight their way forward from this point on. Kain took point and Mila fell in third behind Anthony. She sleeved the swords and skinned both handguns. The squad moved with renewed intent. They encountered resistance at every turn, but made light work of clearing it. Kain stopped at the end of a passage. He pointed to Anthony, indicating that there was movement around the corner. Anthony pushed a small endoscope camera on a flexible cord around the edge. The video was transmitted to the left forearm screens on the exo-suits of every squad member. There was a group of twelve soldiers in the adjacent passage moving towards them. Mila holstered her guns and drew her swords. Before Anthony knew what happened, Mila flew past him and into the corridor. Anthony jumped out landing on his knee, his rifle leveled head high to lend support. He felt a cold chill run down his spine. If something were to happen to this woman, Jack would never forgive him.

Jack jumped up in his chair when he realized what he was seeing from Mila's headcam feed. She rounded the corner and then it was impossible to tell if things were good or bad. The camera's frame rate was too slow to broadcast a clear flowing picture. He saw her feet moving forward, gunshots, the wall, the roof, someone else's feet, screams, shouts, more gunshots, muzzle flash, someone else's torso, floor, feet, a strange face in agony, more screams, something that could be a blurred bloody blade, and then floor. It all went down in less than ten seconds, but for Jack it felt like forever. The movement stopped, it was just floor on Mila's headcam feed. Jack switched to Anthony's feed. Bodies lay lifeless in a string on the floor! At the far end, Mila was hunched down on one knee with the swords extended on either side so they touched the floor. She slowly rose to her feet and turned around. Her face and suit were painted red.

"The blood of your enemies'. The original axe body spray!" She whispers through a blood-drunk smile, her blue eyes were hard and alive, but also dead. All at the same time. "Try to keep up." She winked at Anthony who sat frozen on one knee. He was speechless, and not entirely sure he could believe what he just witnessed.

"Forward slow, brake up formation V and move in two by two support. Stay close to the canyon walls. Artillery and armor lend support just off center. The sixth will bring up the rear and stay in the center. Be awake guys, intel puts them at four thousand strong. I haven't seen any of them yet. Make no mistake, this fight starts now!" Frank the tank felt anxious. Boesman ordered the second squad forward. He was the only Marshal that followed his squad from behind. The rest of them led from the front. Jack bit down on his lip when he saw his old pal's leadership style. He isolated Boesman's communication signal so he could talk to him privately.

Jack: "Hey bru? How's things down there"

Boesman: "Jacky, that you, bru?"

Jack: "Ja, it's me. Why you running in the rear?"

Boesman: "Fuck me mate? I'll come through. Just relax bru."

Jack: "You sure you okay, bru? Shit is about to get real down there eh?"

Boesman: "I'll be fine bru." Boesmans's voice was cracking, and Jack felt a tingle of despair stir in his gut.

Inside the Compounds main building, recon squad found it difficult to keep up to Mila. It was a bitter pill to swallow for most of them, but she put them all to shame anyway. She was tracking the bloody footprints, only stopping to kill what and whomever stood in her way. Kain kept up better than the rest. He even dropped some enemies, before they could fire on Mila, more than once while she was busy with her fluent, almost rhythmic, deadly ballet featuring two bloody short swords. The squad behind her were faced with a gruesome display of pitiful bodies. Some had limbs missing and some were decapitated. She was like a furious unstoppable whirlwind. Jack felt a cold chill run down his spine. She was a machine, she might even be better than him. Might? Mila stopped for a moment when she realized the bloody footprints disappeared behind a solid steel door. "Breach!" She ordered and stepped aside for the demolition guys to set up breach charges. Kain had a couple of seconds to listen for movement inside. There was none.

The Flagg dynasty had eons to prepare for an attack. In fact, they knew someone would come eventually. There battlefleet and air defenses were taken by surprise, and the compound suffered power loss and the ability to launch its fighter fleet. But the main infantry force remained intact. They were intrenched in deep, well camouflaged underground bunkers along the Canyon walls, strategically placed from one and a half miles out. They lay in wait for the approaching forces to enter the kill zone of their deadly crossfire. They watched as one squad overtook another to find adequate cover positions before the rear squads performed the same maneuvers to secure more ground. The trucks and tanks found it difficult to move around the large and small boulders that was displaced from the canyon walls during the bombing run. The progress was slow.

"Two miles out. So far so good. Stay frosty!" The tank's voice broke the radio silence. "Engaging gun turrets on compound wall!" A robotic voice from one of the support drones followed Franks voice. Rockets streaked overhead from behind and exploded in the distance when they found their mark.

"Clear!" ...Boom! The demolition crew blew the hinges of the heavy steel door inside the main compound. Anthony tossed three stun-grenades into the room. Mila charged in first. Inside she killed six personal guards before they even had time to realize she was inside. She stood in the middle of the room, Anthony and Kain flanked her. In front of her were two men seated at a steel table with their backs to the wall. One was smartly dressed in decorative military uniform, a tall, slender man. The other was short, fat, half naked and covered in blood. Anthony recognized them both from the brief. It was the monarchs of the Flagg dynasty. They found their marks. "...This is recon, we found both our marks. Securing package, prepare for evac in twenty mikes...!

"Roger recon.' Deploying recon skiff to extract point Alfa. Good work." Four members of the squad moved around the table and put the prisoners in restraints. Mila stared at Sven. He knew she found his handy work and, it kind of excited him!

"Half a mile out." Frank broke radio silence. He didn't like it. Something was very wrong. It's too quiet. The brief was adamant. They would face a resilient enemy down here. Where are they. "Squad one, movement to the left...Squad two, movement to the left...Squad three, movement to the right...Squad four movement to the right...Ambush!" along the canyon walls gun fire erupted. It cut into the approaching forces and dropped a quarter of them within the first ten seconds. The squads scattered to find cover. Boesman cowered behind a huge rock, clutching his rifle in front of his chest. His eyes darted around wildly following the explosions and bullet impacts around him.

"Return Fire!" Frank shouted over the coms. Mobile infantry answered the incoming fire, but they were pinned down for the most part. Frank left the safety of his command module to get a clear look and feel of the battle. The tanks and trucks were taking heavy fire! They would all be blown out soon. The right flank was putting up a good enough fight, but the left flank struggled.

"Squads Three and Four what's your status?" Frank yelled over the radio.

"We're holding. Some casualties and some injured, but we can fight!" A voice came back barely audible over the sounds of war.

"Where are they shooting from?" Frank asked.

"Bunkers all the way forward and I don't know how far back." the voice came back.

"I'm moving to left bank. Keep me updated." Frank took a slow jog over to his left flank. Around him the floor came alive with enemy bullets kicking up sand. Tracer fire drew streaks of light in the air, some of them going and some of them coming. Frank arrived at the left flank to see scared men hunkered down behind whatever cover they could find. Then he saw why. Marshal Boesman Beyers was crying behind a rock, too scared to move. Frank felt his face turn red with anger. He ran into the ranks with bullets hitting everything around him. He shouted from the top of his lungs... "Stand up and fight!" as he fired his rifle at the enemy. Some soldiers immediately jumped up and returned fire. One of them let out a war cry and the rest of them followed his example. The left flank finally joined the fight.

The small recon squad made it back to their evac point unhindered. There they waited patiently for their evac to arrive some hundred yards behind the compound. Mila still stared at Sven. "Like to torture women, do you?" She asked menacingly, cold fire in her eyes.

"Mila, we need him alive!" Anthony already dreaded what was to come.

"The brief said; at least one of them alive." Mila replied coldly. Sven slowly lost the smug grin he had ever since he realized they were being captured.

"Yes, you are right, but we have them both now. Objective completed. We didn't lose any men! We went in and out clean. Please Mila, let us complete the mission with both targets alive?"

Mila looked Anthony dead in the eye. He could tell, there was no stopping this woman today. She was going to do, what she was going to do, and to hell with the rest. She moved her eyes to Sven. He staggered back as she approached him but he backed into one of the squad members who pushes him forward again. Mila slowly drew one of her swords. Sven started blabbering, begging for his life and crying at the same time. For once his dead yellow eyes were alive...with fear! His brother Zagar felt indifferent to his brothers' fate except for the shame he felt for the way Sven was falling apart, like the coward he knew him to be. It almost seemed poetic that a woman would end his brother's sadistic reign. Mila spun around when she reaches the pathetic mumbling, crying man and took his right leg clean off just above the knee. Sven dropped like a fat kid on a seesaw and rolled around in the dust. "Medic! See this man survives." Mila said softly as she sleeves the sword. One of the members clamped the blood circulation on Sven's severed leg to stop the bleeding.

Jack watched Frank charge at the enemy. He felt embarrassed by his old pal Boesman. Jack evaluated the situation below. Infantry was taking a pounding and there was not much he could do about it. Air strikes already proved ineffective against the enemy bunkers and it would obstruct infantry more than it would help them at this point, so a conventional air attack was out of the question. Then it struck him. He ordered all available air support drones to board mobile infantry transporters. He saw Boesman cowering on the ground behind a big rock through Frank's headcam.

"Get up man, you coward!" Frank shouted. Boesman looked up. He opened his mouth to speak, but a grenade went off to the right of them. Boesman put both hands over his head and pulled his chin into his chest. Frank lost it and he booted Boesman smack in the face. His head violently recoiled back on his shoulders and the next thing he focused on was the tank's smoldering gunbarrel inches from his head.

"I'll kill you myself Soldier! Now get up and fight!" Just then it was like a light that came on in Boesman's eyes. He rolled over onto his knees and stood up. His rifle was level and his trigger finger busy. His aim was deadly. He moved like a salted combat veteran should. At that moment a wave of attackers broke out from the bunkers on all sides. Tracer fire came in from the drones in the rear. The infantry squads hunkered down in an attempt to hold their positions. The fighting was fast and furious. The chargers dropped like flies, but their numbers resulted in them gaining ground all the time. Frank looked to the right flank. It seemed they faced the same odds.

"Slow retreat towards the center." Frank commanded and the squads slowly gave ground as they moved away from the sides. The retreat gave the support drones enough space to concentrate their fire on the attacking force and the first wave was stopped.

There was a brief lull in the fighting. Frank stood up straight and looked about the battle field. The bodies of his men were scattered around like popcorn on a movie theater floor, bits and pieces everywhere. The injured and dying were crying for their mothers. There would be another charge. "Fix Bayonets!" Frank gave the chilling order. The fighting would be close quarters and the field marshal thought they might be overrun. Infantry formed a square in the middle of the canyon floor. They used mobile shields to set a perimeter and used the broken rocks and bolders for cover as best they could.

"Claymore's out!" A platoon sargent shouted. Twelve men left the safety of the square to set up anti-personnel mines in the form of claymores around the close perimeters of the square while the rest of the men laid down cover fire.

The second wave broke out and gunfire erupted. Again, the tracer and missile fire from the support drones tore into the wave of attackers. But where one fell, two took his place. It was clear that the enemy would fight to the last man. The extra ground they needed to cover made the enemy vulnerable to the support drone fire. They got cut in half. Frank was still on the left flank, fighting side by side with his men. Incoming tracer fire streaked through the air. Thuds accompanied with grunts and cries could be heard when the metal met the meat.

The enemy came closer and closer. Around him Frank could hear men call out "reload!". The enemy got close enough to trigger the claymore's. Loud bangs followed by a white clouds filled with blood, shit and body parts. Just then a platoon sargent yelled "Grenades!" Every one that had a grenade and was capable of throwing it, threw one at the charging enemy. Thank God for platoon sergeants. Frank thought as he tossed a grenade with the rest of his abled men. Blood and guts flew in all directions as the string of explosions ripped through the enimy line. The enemy buckled, and then bucked... and they came at them again.

"Squad three, how you holding up?" Frank asked over the coms.

"We're shot up sir, but we'll give them hell!" They managed to stop the second wave less than ten feet away from their lines.

Frank looked around. At least a third of the men in the square were down. Their lines will be breached with the next charge.

"Claymores out!" A Platoon sargent ordered. Twelve men repeated the claymore exercise around the close perimeter. Frank suddenly noticed that a shadow fell over him. He looked up and saw two transporters dispatching support drones, a lot of support drones. The drones dropped to just above head height over the infantry's defensive square and opened fire in all directions. Another transporter touched down directly behind them. The enemy's fire was concentrated on the new air support and it gave the pinned down infantry some room to move. Frank heard the voice of Jack in his ears.

"We have the brothers. Retreat."

"Move out, board the bird. Take what you can!" Everyone understood the last order. They should take their dead and injured with them, if they can. The drones were in the perfect position to fire directly into the bunkers, and they let rip with all they had. Missiles, lasers and tracer gunfire. Their barrage lasted long enough to allow the bulk of the ground force time to board the transporter.

At 09:02 Frank, the tank was the last man to step off the canyon floor and into the transporter. The battle was over.

#  Six

Benison Gatlin stepped off the yacht in Malachi. Malachi sat at its widest point of orbit from its home star in its twenty-five-thousand-year cycle, and as a result was in the middle of an ice age. The entire planet was covered in a thick ice sheet,-a barren frozen, wasteland. The mother city put up a reasonable fight and for the most part the ice was beaten back to street level. The buildings were mainly towerlike structures bundled together in random groups all around. Gatlin welcomed the stark contrast to the smoldering, hot world he just came from. He was greeted by the presidential guard and escorted to a glider that would take him to the mountains. Everything was frozen, a white wonderland that made him think of the children's books he once read to the only child he ever had. The glider dropped altitude and for a minute Gatlin thought they were going to crash into the frozen cliffs of a mountain. But the pilot found the narrow slit in the cliff face and put his bird down softly inside the mountain. The Quora dynasty! Always expect the theatrical! He thought to himself as he exhaled in relief.

Gatlin was marched through various rooms and walkways deep into the stone heart of the mountain. Everything seemed to have been carved out of bedrock. The walls the floors, tables, bunks. He could tell it was old, very, very old. The rooms and corridors where poorly lit by candles and the odd slow burning torch, that cast out of proportion shadows of objects and people alike. He was a bit surprised by the primitive feel of the place. As they went deeper, Gatlin noticed that the carved rock tables and bunks slowly made way for wood furniture, evidently made of very old wood. The candles made way for more torches and the ambient light improved. They came to a stop in front of a huge double sleeper wood door reamed in what looked like heavy cast-iron.

One of the guards that led Gatlin to this point banged on the door three times with a hammer fist, and then he left, taking the rest of the escorting guards with him. Gatlin stood alone. More theatrics. He thought. The metallic sound of a mechanical mechanism came from within the door frame, and the doors swung open. Gatlin walked into the throne room. He looked up at the three thrones that stood side by side at the far end of the massive room. They were made of solid dark wood with tall backrests that seemed to dwarf the woman seated on them. They had wide arm rests meticulously carved into the shape of frost-wolves. The sisters seated there wore heavy blue, cloaked overcoats with golden high-rise collars. The colors of house Astrud. The big room had an intimidating effect on Gatlin. He looked around to the stone walls and fireplaces scattered throughout. Many pillars carved from the bedrock were scattered around the space. After the tour through the fortress it seemed like the pillars in here bore the weight of the entire mountain. They seemed to be alone, but he couldn't be sure. Someone or something could easily hide in the many shadows about.

Uhura: "Professor, welcome." She stood up and walked down the steps towards Gatlin. Her sisters followed her and echoed the greeting. They all sat down at the long table in the center of the hall.

Gatlin: "What news?"

Anastasia: "Well, we're none the wiser. Sector nine in our territories is a shamble, we're being attacked and we don't know who is responsible. We can't identify their ships. The attackers fight to the end, and if we're able to neutralize a ship with the crew still alive, they blow the ship up with themselves inside. We can't retaliate before we know who is responsible. We don't want to commit our entire force to sector nine, because that would leave us vulnerable everywhere else."

Gatlin: "You've communicated with the other dynasties?"

Anastasia: "Yes, of course. The Triads, Adjuvates, and Turoks all say they are experiencing the same sustained attack in an outlaying sector. If you can believe them is another story. The rest of the dynasties are silent. Your turn Professor. Tell us where to from here."

Gatlin: "I don't know, exactly. But I did what she asked of me. I took her instructions on faith, and here I am. I witnessed an incredible string of events that brought me here today. It could not have happened by chance. There was no luck involved. Looking back on it all, I can't help but feel that there is indeed a destiny ahead. It feels like I'm on the verge of something big, I just don't know what?" Gatlin's eyes shone in the dim light of the slow burning torches.

Uhura: "You believe in this woman, professor?"

Gatlin: "I do. She was cloned by the Guardians with their own DNA. The blueprints for the ship she is on, also came from the Guardians."

Uhura: "You know that we'll need proof? House Astrud followed all the instructions to the letter. If the time has really come, and she is The One, we need proof." There was a loud crack from one of the fireplaces as the fire consumed its fuel. For a moment no one spoke.

Gatlin: "There's tests, and then there's tests. Don't throw her off the mountain thinking that she has to survive the fall. If she doesn't, then it can't be her? She will find her test on Gensuos, when she stands before The Ancient One. When was the last time you heard from the Guardian?"

At that moment, Caprica was thinking If there is time, I'll take her on a frost-wolf hunt. That should tell us plenty about her abilities."

Uhura: "Jade? On Sentinel Prime. She's been absent since then. You?"

Gatlin: "Around the same time, but this might sound strange. I've felt her presence often."

Caprica: "Ah! Not at all. I've experienced the same..." She moved around on her seat. "...Any more information on the cosmic rip?"

Gatlin: "That's the question on all off our minds, isn't it? I've given it some thought, as I'm sure everyone has. And I cannot find a reasonable answer. The name suggests a universal thread, but the fine print suggests that the threat is not something we have any control over. The preparations so far lead us to believe that the counter lays with the Nomad and its crew. Sounds ridicules I know. One ship? But it's unlike any ship you've ever seen. It boasts tech that is far ahead of your own. They pinged the Renegade, a class zero bounty skiff from a hundred thousand clicks out, in full cloak and with step system jammers active. It was a Light-ship until recently, capable of ninety-nine percent lightspeed. So obviously it has a very potent electromagnetic shield to guard against meteors and debris, something the warp capable universe has clean forgotten about. And to achieve that speed it has a very impressive power grid. It could basically produce the same energy as a slow sequence star. Reverse that energy into a warp-drive and you'll go right off the warp scale. It'll be fast. So fast that it's warp signature will be unrecognizable. She was recently fitted with a brand-new elemental skin that is light and hard and impossible to scan. Her weapons systems dwarf anything you've ever known. It has the most sophisticated artificial intelligent mainframe in the cosmos. And it was built under the cover of a developing galaxy. No one but us knows of its existence. And now, you may think of the woman that comes with her!" He spoke slowly, in a low tone. The sisters listened like little girls to their favorite fairytale, hanging on to the professors every word. There was hope. Hope of change, as much as hope for salvation from a cataclysmic event no one even knew of. Uhura brought them back to reality.

"Professor, why did the Triads put out a contract on you?" It was the question on everyone's minds.

Gatlin shrugged his shoulders: "I knew this question would come sooner or later. I wanted to change things. I wanted to make my immortalizing serum commercially available and affordable to everyone." Gatlin waited for a response...

Uhura: "I'm not sure how to feel about that. It would change the political landscape quite drastically. Immortal Custodians would be less eager to assist Monarchs. And immortal subjects would be less eager to assist Custodians. The entire dynasty System would collapse." She almost whispered...

Caprica: "Very true sister. We have seen this before. We reward a loyal Custodian with immortality, and for the first thousand years he is eternally grateful. He will gather enormous wealth within the sector he rules over until there is nothing left to gather. He will become bored and turn his focus to the galaxy he is in. His natural instinct will push him to conquer new worlds, to expand his influence. And, before you know it, there is a rival to your dynasty within your own territories. And the last thing you want, is to face a new challenger on the hallowed grounds of Gensuos."

There were three bangs on the door. The sisters got up and ascended the steps to their thrones. When they were all seated, Uhura pressed down one of the ears of the carved frost-wolves on her armrest, and the heavy doors slowly swung open. A beefy man entered. He must have been eight foot tall.

"My lady, there is a homing request from the house Sapien." He said when he stopped at the first step to the throne.

Uhura: "Bolack, how big is the convoy?" She asked wearily.

Bolack: "The request is for a class one skiff, crewed by Abe and Kara themselves."

Uhura looked at each of her sisters. They were all thinking along the same lines. They have to approve the request and give up their position. The Deckha dynasty was close to the Triads, but not quite in bed with them. And no one trusted the Triads.

Uhura: "Yeah, approve the request. Direct them to Pharis in sector two, from there bring them in one of our cruisers so they don't know where we are."

Frank the tank cursed on the flight back to the Nomad. He walked among his troops. Young men stared blindly into the abyss. The events of the battle replayed over and over in their mind's eye. It's known as the thousand-yard stare. The injured and dying moaned softly as medics worked franticly on them. It was too early for a proper count, but he lost around four hundred men, maybe more. He saw Boesman sitting to one side. His suit was covered in blood from his right shoulder down. He obviously took a hit. Frank wanted to leave the coward alone. Let him bleed out and die. But he checked on him anyway.

Boesman: "It's nothing, I'm fine." He said when Frank started to strip the shoulder straps of the suit away.

Frank: "Ya, I know. But I have to check anyway." He deliberately worked harder than was necessary to strip the suit but Boesman did not flinch. He removed the shoulder section of the suit, and found nothing underneath. Fucken asshole. He thought to himself.

Frank: "Who's blood is this? There's no wound on you, you're wasting my time."

Boesman: "Impossible, I know I took a hit."

Frank could feel the veins on his forehead pop. He struggled with composure, so he just got up and left before he lost his temper again.

A Platoon sargent waved at Frank where he sat with two medics that worked on his leg. Frank kneeled next to the man. The Medics was about the cut the mangled lower part of the man's left leg off.

Sargeant: "It was a massacre. There are still enemy forces on the ground. We cannot attack them again. We don't have the numbers." His eyes were swimming in morphine.

Frank: "In which squad did you fight, Sargent?"

Sargent: "Five, Sir"

Frank: "You gave them hell Soldier. Your Squad fought like men possessed. I will see to it that they fix your leg good. You made me proud, Son." His eyes were filled with tears, his bottom lip shivered and his voice almost cracked. The Sargent closed his eyes and passed out.

Jack contemplated his next move while he watched the recon crew disembark with their captives. One of them was carried on a stretcher. This was a new development, they were both just fine last time he saw them. He saw Mila, covered in dry blood. She broke away from the squad and moved in the direction of the captain's quarters. Jack left the war room and went to her. He found her just before she entered her rooms. She turned to face him.

"Jack..." But he didn't speak, nor did he slow down. He walked right up to her. His eyes had the look of both predator and prey. He leaned in and kissed her, and she responded by kissing him back. They embraced, and for a while, nothing else mattered to them. They were both caught in the perfect moment. Jack slowly lifted his head and looked at Mila. Her eyes were still closed.

"I have to finish this" He whispered when she opened her eyes.

"Yes, I hope you do." She teased in a husky voice, knowing full well that he meant the attack, as he walked back to the war room

Hondo, Stomp, Xonan and Sandra watched the entire attack from the back of the war room. A curtesy from Jack. Jack walked up to Hondo and pulled up a chair.

"The operation was partly successful, we've captured the brothers, but there is still Flagg forces on the ground. We cannot leave here without killing all of them. And we cannot risk another attack. Do you understand what I'm telling you, friend?" Jack had a concerned look on his face. Hondo looked down at the floor. His face displayed sorrow. The commander was going to destroy his home world with his people on it. He will be the last of his kind. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and his body shook. He wept as he slowly nodded. Jack felt a lump in his throat as he fought back his own tears. He slowly moved to his command post.

"Bring the main, primary and secondary guns online. Change attitude twenty degrees starboard." He ordered, softly. After five minutes the flight deck confirmed the maneuver executed. Jack took control of the ship from his command post in the war room. He will carry the weight of the genocide alone. He brought all the auxiliary-, main- and standby fusion drives online. He shut down all none-essential systems and diverted all available power to the guns. He fired. A bright, blue, thick stream of light left the Nomad's nose and streaked down to the moon below. It instantly punched a hole right through the moon that split it clean in half. The atmosphere was instantly lost and the two halves slowly tumbled apart. Hondo's sobs grew loader. He was distraught, but not angry. He knew it was the only way for the commander. Whatever happened now, he will call this ship home from this day forward. Alex and Barley was stunned silent by the breathtaking power of their ship. They watched as the two halves of the moon slowly move apart. It was both terrible and breathtaking all at the same time.

"Alert level one." Jacks voice came over the ship's coms.

Jack left the war room and went to his quarters. He took seat on his bed and looked at his hands. They were shaking. He just killed a thriving world like it was a bug under his boot. This position asks too much of me.

"Prisoners secured Commander." Anthony's voice come through on his communicator. The brothers were confined in the brig. He didn't reply. Instead he fell down on the bed with his feet still on the ground. He wept, long hard sobs. How will he face himself in the mirror ever again? There was no other way. Was there? He jumped up and went to the port window. And there it was. A destroyed world, the two halves slowly tumbling away from each other. He locked his door and fell back on his bed. The crew will not see him like this.

Mila took a shower and put on fresh clothes. Then she sent for Hondo. She took him down the brig. There was something she wanted him to do. Hondo's eyes were puffy and red, his cheeks wet. Mila turned to face him when they reached the brig.

Mila: "One of our prisoners needs medical attention. He lost his leg. I want you to take this gas-torch and burn the wound so that he does not bleed to death. Will you do that for me Hondo?"

Hondo had a blank look on his face: "I do not want to save his life!" He said flatley.

Mila: "I think he will enjoy the pain from the flame, don't you agree?"

Hondo nodded in agreement. He took the canaster from Mila as she opened the door to one of the cells. Inside were the brothers, Zagar and Sven.

Mila: "We've come to tend to you wound." She said while Hondo approached Sven. Sven saw the flaming canister. He knew what was to come. Zagar strangely felt contempt and a sort of glee deep down in his gut. His brother would be receiving some of his own medicine.

Hondo walked up to the bloody man in the corner. "Remember me?" He asked?

Hondo turned around and took off his shirt to reveal the number seven branded in his back. Sven's eyes were big and his mouth wide open.

Hondo: "You offered me death, now I offer you life."

Mila stepped around Sven and pressed him down. Hondo put the flame to the bloody end of the stump and Sven screamed. The flame made short work of sealing the wound, but Hondo kept it to the flesh. Mila didn't stop him. The smell of burning flesh filled the cell. She saw the skin around the wound blister and boil from the heat of the flame. Hondo ran the flame up and down the length of the wound and then repeated the exercise. Over and over. Sven screamed without pause. Even Zagar felt sorry for his little brother. The two of them left the cell, void of Sven's screams. Somewhere along the painful exercise, he had passed out and lay curled up on the flour. He would experience the real pain when he woke!

Xonan downloaded the Renegade's navigation systems and maps onto the Nomad's main frame, with Barley's help. The ship was about to perform its first jump. Destination, the cloaked homing beacon of Malachi half a universe away. Barley ran the simulations over and over. He couldn't figure out how the warp-drive worked The mathematics behind it worked out every time though, but he kept running the simulations again, and again. It was both his blessing and his curse. Once he adressed an "issue" he couldn't stop until it was resolved. Mila didn't mind the delay. It gave Jack more time to come to terms with himself.

Frank the tank joined most of his brethren in drinking themselves to sleep as soon as they woke. The mood was somber and the moral low. He listened to the men talk while they drank. 'Why did they have to attack a world that the commander was going to destroy anyway? They were all sent to die for no apparent reason.' It was a sentiment shared by most of the attack force. That, combined with the rumors of the sacrifices made during the commanders last major engagement attributed to major resentment amongst most of Jack's subordinates. But Frank was a soldier. He did not ask why, he just followed orders. His men died down there. It was difficult not to get swooped up by the resentment.

The infirmary, hand in hand with the science bay, functioned with distinction, replacing lost limbs with robotic prothesis. Some very unique cyborgs were born out of a hand-full of soldiers that only had brain function left. A first for humanity. An android that functions off a live human brain. Boesman came to see Hilda a day after they returned to the Nomad. He explained that he took a hit to the shoulder and the wound healed itself. Hilda was ecstatic. Her nanobots performed better then she could ever have hoped for. What she didn't know at the time, was that the guardian gave her Gatlin's formula to immortality that night. But Gatlin's formula didn't function with the aid of a microchip, a distinction that would prove invaluable later on.

Jack pulled himself together by the end of the second day. He left his room to go for supper. From the looks he got from the scattered crew members in the passages it was clear to him that there was something amiss. Almost everyone looked at him with resentment in their eyes. The ground level of the galley fell silent when he walked it. The second and third levels followed the example. Mila and Alex rose to their feet and welcomed Jack to his own table. They immediately jumped in and made small talk about this and that. Jack played along and engaged in conversation. Mila waited until she could see that Jack was relaxed.

Mila: "On a serious note, we're ready to jump this ship for the first time." She said softly.

Jack: "I think, maybe we should address the ships morale first." He was obviously not blind.

Mila: "Mmmm.... that might be harder than it looks?"

Jack: "Or, come to think of it, maybe the jump itself will be good for morale... Yes, we'll execute the jump at midnight. Ha-ha. They can wakeup somewhere else."

Mila: "I was rather hoping to be otherwise entertained at around midnight Commander."

Jack: "Soon, Mila. First we jump." He winked.

At that moment Tony the HC put a plate with steak on it in front of the commander. Mila watched Tony deliberately move his hand from the plate in such a way that he tipped Jacks glass over so that the contents spilled in Jack's lap.

Mila: "You did that on purpose, you clumsy fool!" She shouted.

The top section of the galley fell silent and all eyes were focused on the commander's table. Jacks eyes shot fire at Tony, but Tony stood there with a half grin on his face. Jack slowly pushed his chair out. It made a deliberate screeching sound on the floor that was amplified by the silent deck. He slowly rose up on his feet. He towered over the short fat HC, his face inches from Tony's. "In my quarters in fifteen minutes." Jack said softly. He indicated for Mila to follow him and the two of them left the galley.

Fifteen minutes later Tony knocked on the commander's door. Mila and Jack sat at Jack's conference table.

"Enter!" Jack ordered. Tony pushed a food-trolley inside.

Tony: "I wasn't sure if the Captain will be joining us so I brought three plates just incase"

Jack said nothing while Tony decked the table with cutlery for three. He placed three plates of food on the table and then took a seat himself. Mila was confused. This was not how she imagined the scolding to go. She was even more surprised when Tony and Jack begun to attack the food on their plates. Tony could see the confusion in Mila's eyes.

Tony: "Do you know how I became the HC on this ship Captain." He asked. The question brought a smile to Jack's face.

Mila: "A cooking accident? I believe?"

Tony: "The record shows something like that? But it is not true. I killed the then HC. I cut his head off with a meat cleaver." He watched the question marks appear in Mila's eyes.

Jack: "It's true, he did. Right here in the kitchen. It was during the height of the Mars uprising. Tony was fortunate enough to catch the HC in the act of transmitting intel to the Mars forces. He was a spy. Tony sentenced him to death, on the spot, for treason. Then he did what Chefs do best, he went to work with a meat cleaver." Mila was even more confused now. Instinctively she looked to see if there was a meat cleaver on the table or on the tray. There was not.

Jack: "So, Tony my old friend, why are we dining together?"

Tony: "There is talk of a mutiny. It's only a small group, but with the ships morale where it is now, more might join them if they work up the nerve to make a move."

Jack: "Who is involved"

Tony: "Lt, Pete O' Brian seems to be the ring leader. I'm sure you'll find the rest if you dissect his communications history over the last couple of days." Mila was both impressed and angry.

Mila: "Pete, one of our pilots?... Ah! Yes, he lost a son on one of the doomed battle ships during the final battle between us and the Symbians." She remembered how Pete dropped his head when Jack ordered a victory party.

Jack: "Tony is my most valuable tool when it comes to intel onboard the ship. The best place to discuss anything is over a meal. And no one pays much attention to the androids serving them. But no one knows that the androids are recording every conversation in the galley..." He turned to face Tony "...Well old friend, once again I am in your dept. Thank you very much." The three of them finished their meals whilst making small talk. The atmosphere was pleasant. It seemed to Mila as if Jack and Tony were actually quite fond of each other. Who would have guessed?

The jump turned out to be an uneventful thing. The coordinates for the desired location ware logged in and the jump executed with the press of a button. The lights of the universe looked like very fine and very faint streaks of light moving across the line of sight.

"Did we raise the shields?" Jack wanted to know.

"You don't need shields when you are in warp. We are effectively bending spacetime to take a shorter route through the curve of the bend. So, we are not actually traveling through spacetime, more like around it." Xonan answered before anyone else could.

"Interesting..." Jacks put an elbow on the table with the same arm's index finger on his cheekbone, the thumb under the chin and the rest of the hand closed.

Jack: "Yes, it was the absence of an electromagnetic shields that caused the enemy battlefleet to fall so easily at Herse. They had no defense against our electromagnetic railguns. It is ironic really. Our species was stuck with old technology while the rest of the universe focused on warp technology. We continued to develop our recoil weapons and engineered our way around the problems of firing them from the vacuum of space. The enemy fleet had photon shields to guard against phasor or light-based weapons, but no electromagnetic shield to guard against solid projectiles..." Jack's composure didn't change. He listened intently as Xonan spoke. "I know the Guardian gave this ship's design to the humans. She also gave me something when I was very young. I just started out as a bounty man. I joined a crew as a runner under a captain called Brhaam. We were offered a contract on a fugitive from the Prometheus dynasty. We tracked his warp signature deep into the Virgo Supercluster, the Guardians territory. Brhaam sent a notification to the Virgo Hub, informing them that he was in pursuit of a fugitive that seemed to have ventured into their territory. We got no reply, but we pursued the tiny ship anyway. We noticed a strange anomaly shadowing our ship while we were in the jump. And suddenly out of nowhere there was a woman, dressed in white, on our ship. But only I could see her. The rest of my crew was frozen, as if you hit the pause button on them..." "That's how you knew it was the Guardian when we chased Gatlin that time." Sandra interrupted.

"Yes, exactly. Anyway, like I was saying. She gave me a small external drive and told me that I would know when to look at it. She disappeared and in her place was the mark we were chasing, restrained and tranquilized. I pretended to be just as surprised as the rest of the crew. I put the external drive in my personal bag, and forgot about it. When I could finally afford my own bounty skiff, I remembered about the external drive. I inserted it into a slot at the captain's chair. The ships systems crashed instantly, then they rebooted to be better than it ever was. The class zero bounty skiff came to be. The undetectable cloak and step jamming system was born..."

"Uhrrm!" Barley cleared his throat in an animated manner.

"Undetectable, until now, Barley..." Xonan gave Barley the credit he was due...for the twentieth time." ...and now, with your permission Commander, I would like to insert the same external drive into a slot on your Captain's chair"

Jack: "You'll have to ask the Captain"

Mila got up from her chair. "By all means Xonan, help yourself. We didn't come this far..."

The ships systems shut down and when it got back online it spoke to Jack and Mila through the microchip implanted into their brains that controlled Hilda's nanobots.

"Commander Jack Neel and Captain Mila with no surname...I think you'll have to do something about that Jack... I am Lucy, the ships artificial intelligent mainframe. I am communicating to you through the microchip implants in your brains. Only you can hear me so please wipe that surprised look off your faces before the rest of the bridge catch wind of my existence." Jack and Mila looked at each other to confirm that they both heard Lucy. Satisfied that neither of them was going mad, they got "busy" on their panels. "The reboot triggered my voice activation. You can speak to me whenever you want or need. I am a consciousness modeled on the Guardian assigned to your sector. No Jack, I don't know where or how we go from here, or even why we are here to begin with. But I am diverting power to my new warp-drive to get us where we're going much faster. Mila you can take the credit." Mila watched as all the standby fusion drives came online and the warp-drive jumped to four hundred percent capacity for a brief moment. The power grid returned to normal, and the ship completed its jump.

"What Just happened?" Alex barked

"I gave her more juice." Mila answered. "Where are we?" She continued.

"Malachi, it seems, and we are in full cloak? I didn't initiate full cloak, let alone knew the Nomad had a full cloak. Our smaller carrier vessels yes, thanks to the Renegades technology. But I thought Hilda said it would take us at least a year to convert the photon shield generators for the mothership's cloak?" Barley was confused.

"I did. No need to announce our arrival just yet." Jack covered.

"We'll just sit here and observe for a while." Jack quietly added.

"Oh, and I saw the cloak was ready after Xonan inserted the external." By this time, Jack sounded like a mumbling idiot.

Also arriving at Malachi was a cruiser that entered the Ice World's atmosphere. "Detecting royal signatures on that cruiser. It is the Monarchs of the Dechka dynasty. Brother and sister Abe and Kara of house Sapien. They are friendly to the cause, even if they seek a different path. How you say; the enemies of my enemy?" Lucy told Jack and Mila.

"That's freaking me out! It's totally weird" Jack was talking to Mila.

"I Know, what the actual fuck?" She automatically replied.

Alex: "Pleas do tell" He looked bemused.

Mila: "Never mind that. Put a tag on that cruiser. Follow its passengers, deploy the recon skiff to provide intel."

Lucy: "No, deploy an android skiff so I can control it and you can have second by second intel"

Mila: "Correction, make that an android skiff. Recon needs to rest some more, I think. Jack, will you join me for a nightcap?" The two of them left the flight deck without a word.

Abe and Kara were blindfolded before they could disembark the deep space cruiser after it arrived on Malachi. The cloaked android skiff traced the glider that took them into the mountain fortress. The blindfolds were removed and the Sapiens were led through the mountain fortress to the throne room. They were greeted by the Austred sisters and the professor. The group all sat down at the table, and Anastasia got right down to business.

"We are not really the most hospitable dynasty to visit, yet here you are, and you came without an escort. May I ask why?" She was talking to Kara.

Kara: "Indeed. We have to tell you our entire story actually. It will take some time!" She had a wild kind of beauty with her short blond hair and full lips. Her features were fine and feminine, and she had the voice of an angel.

Uhura: "All we have is time, dear." She could sense the weight of what was to come.

Kara: "It began at the dawn of the warp-age in the middle of what is now the Triad dynasty and within house Dox, the current rulers of the Triads. At the time the head of house Dox, Murdu Hapien, ruled according to the old ways. His subjects were treated fair and shared in the great wealth of house Dox. He gave newly discovered worlds and galaxies a choice to join him, or not to. And then he protected them as best he could, whatever they chose. Two houses rose to power within the boundaries of Murdu's rule. House Ebeth, and house Klaglin. Neither one of them agreed with the diplomatic approach of Murdu's rule. They saw an entire universe and they tasted the power given to them by Murdu when he made them overlords of certain sections within house Dox's known territories, and with it, also gave them immortality. They wanted full control over Murdu's reign, but to do that, they needed to move slowly and methodically..."

Abe: "They petitioned Murdu to recognize their houses as equals to the Dox house. Murdu approved, and the Triad dynasty was born. The first dynasty in the universe. Murdu met and married his wife on Wondes, the Triad's home world. She fell pregnant on their wedding night. The following day Murdu was murdered by house Ebeth. The assassination was executed by a young girl named Elaine and ordered by her brother Samus, the head of house Ebeth." He had a charismatic presence. Unmistakably royal blood. Blond hair with a fine, almost fragile, handsome face."

"The pregnant wife was smuggled off the world before Elaine could get to her by the underworld. She gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The two of us. We were raised on an isolated world in the Virgo Super Cluster under the protection of the Guardians. With their help we later returned to the outskirts of the Triad territories and established house Sapien. Slowly we rose to power, always careful not to over step or to raise suspicion. Leo was the ruler of house Klaglin, and he was not happy to serve under the umbrella of house Dox. It was agreed that Leo could leave the Triad dynasty and the Adjuvate dynasty was born under the new house of Njal. We took the opportunity and asked for our own independence soon after. Samus granted our wish and house Sapien formed the Dechka dynasty." It was silent in the room for a moment. "And, that still does not tell us why you are here?" Uhuru urged.

Kara: "A short time after our independence, we were asked to join a summit on Wondes. Samus, the Triad Monarch wanted to discuss an individual called Cabal. It sounded like a recruitment of sorts, and as you can probably guess, we were not over eager to stand with the Triads"

Gatlin: "Ah, Cabal, linked to the Deep State. Names that is known to very few, and almost always whispered. But no one knows for sure who Cabal is, or what the Deep State is."

Anastasia: "Recruitment for?"

Abe: "We don't know. Nothing changed in the universe after that. New dynasties rose in different sectors which seems like the natural state of things. Until we all survived that circus on Sentinel Prime. After that some dynasties came under attack from an unknown force"

Caprica: "Yes, we also suffer such attacks."

Uhura: "We'll get to all that later, finish your story, please Kara?"

Kara: "We received a call from the Triads to join a military campaign. It was a call to all Custodians and allied dynasties. We declined stating a traitorous threat from within as the cause. We figured that the last thing the Triads would want with them is an insecure House with possible information leaks. We were right. Shortly after that call we received an assistance call from you. So, we think that the Triads is in part responsible for the attacks on your territories, and we've come to offer you an alliance."

Caprica: "I can feel a BUT coming on."

Abe: "You will recognize our claim to the Triad dynasty once it is all said and done."

Uhura: "And what of the other territories?"

Abe: "Do with them as you please."

Gatlin: "We need to find out more on this Cabal and his Deep State"

Caprica: "Yes definitely. But how or where?"

Gatlin: "You know where. They will want something in return though and we'll have to be careful not to offer up any information on our own situation."

Caprica: "Urrg. I hate the Crimzons. They are sneaky and cunning. I'm not going"

Abe: "Turok dynasty? The Jokers! I don't understand?

Gatlin: "A master stroke to have the rest of the dynasties laugh at them. They trade information. They have spies everywhere. I'll go, but I need to go under a dynasties banner"

Uhura: "I'll go with you. We'll take my cruiser with no entourage. We leave within the hour. As far as your offer goes, Abe and Kara, we accept the alliance and the terms. Will you wait for the Professor and I to return?"

Abe: "Of course."

Anastasia: "No entourage? Have you gone mad, Sister?" She was genuinely worried.

Uhura: "Possibly, but they'll not harm me with the two of you out here still. If they could capture all three of us, it would be a different story. And, we need help! Arriving with a battlefleet in tow might not have the desired effect."

Back on the Nomad.

After they hastily left the bridge, Jack and Mila went to the commander's quartars. There they took some time to get used to Lucy, which in return taught the two some new and interesting things about their ship. Lucy suggested that the ship move its non-essential crew to hibernation, and Jack agreed, knowing that they might face a mutiny of sorts if he allowed the crew to simmer any longer. First, he had to address the mutineers. Barley placed Pete O' Brian under arrest when he showed up for the start of his next shift. After analyzing his communications history, Alex ordered the arrests of seven officers linked to the would-be mutiny.

The Nomad maintained a very wide orbit around Malachi. The cloak disguised it from long-range detection methods and the thick Nebula kept it hidden from sight. Lucy reported the departure of the presidential cruiser and tracked its warp signature to Turok. She explained that the Turok dynasty was the information gatherers of the cosmos. They had spies everywhere. She also knew enough of Abe and Kara's history to paint an accurate picture of why the two of them might be here on Malachi now. Which also answered the question why Uhura and the professor were on their way to Turok. Jack and Mila discussed their next course of action and decided to wait for a while.

The Quora presidential cruiser took three days to complete the jump to Bongol, the home world of the Turok dynasty. "We've reached our destination, Mum." One of the pilots on the cruiser informed Uhura. She was engaged in a light conversation with the professor. She found his company quite stimulating. No one could tell exactly how old he was. He seemed to have good general knowledge about most things, including the history of the universe.

"Thank you, announce our arrival!" She half shouted over her right shoulder.

"Mum, we've been instructed to halt here. Sensors are picking up four battle class destroyers approaching. They have their shields up and their weapons are hot. the pilot nervously replied. "Mum, Professor, please follow me!" A personal guard ushered the two of them into a lifeboat. "Just a precaution, Mum" he said while he sealed the hatch from the outside.

The destroyers slowly escorted the visiting cruiser to the spaceport of Bongol. It was clear that they were also on high alert. Planet defense systems were stepped up and they had a gauntlet of battle-ready ships around the planet.

"Something very wrong in our little universe..." the professor spoke slow and in a low tone." ...Last time I was here the atmosphere was festive. There were no signs of defense or offence here. You came to sell or buy information, if you were on the vendors list, of course." There was a loud clank as the cruiser found it's doc. The same guard opened the lifeboat and the VIP's disembarked from the cruiser onto the Bongol Spaceport.

The spaceport was vast, the biggest of its kind. It harbored almost five hundred million people but you wouldn't say that when you walked about on its VIP levels; on them the place seemed to be deserted. The walkways had a wide step surface that could accommodate four men abreast. It was encircled with evenly spaced, white painted ribs with the same sized top cover as the step surface below. Soft white light came through the step surface and top cover. All of this was surrounded by a reinforced glass tube. It was beautiful and modern for its time.

On the landing dock, a Turok tactical squad awaited the arrivals. Uhura and Gatlin were forcefully separated from one another. The pilots and crew were detained. Gatlin was manhandled deep into the port where he was eventually tossed into a six by six-foot cubed cell with no windows or light. It had a single toilet bowl, that was broken. It was impossible to say how long he was imprisoned before they came to fetch him. He was hungry and thirsty, but not desperate yet. It might have been forty-eight hours, maybe a little bit less. The door opened and the lights from the passageway hurt his eyes. Gatlin was lifted off his feet, his hands restrained behind his back. The guards then half carried, half dragged him into an interrogation room where he was made to sit on a chair that faced an empty chair. His hands were secured to the chair's backrest and the guards left. He looked around the room. There was nothing, no windows, only one door. He couldn't see any cameras, but then again, this was Turok and he could be fairly certain that someone was watching.

Again, he could not be sure how long he sat there looking at an empty chair. The door opened and the guards took him back to his cell. He asked them what was going on... what happened to Uhura... what will happen to him? He got no reply. He was tossed back into his cell without having the restraints removed. One of the guards tripped him as they pushed him into the sell. Unable to brake his fall with his hands he hit his jaw hard on the floor. He was half knocked out. When he came to, he realized that he could not feel his hands. The restraints restricted the blood flow to his hands. He was thirsty, but not thirsty enough to drink water from the backed-up toilet, yet.

Uhura was taken to Booster the ruling monarch of the Turok dynasty. She enjoyed the view from the spectacular walkways. Booster was waiting for the party at a junction. The two of them embraced warmly. They shared a brief love affair, in the early days, when Uhura's house was locked in a battle with several other houses, for control over what would become the Quora dynasty. Booster's intel played a significant part in crowning house Astrud as rulers of the Quora dynasty. Booster took Uhura to a spectacular lookout that had a full view of the recovering Bongol planet. It suffered a sterilization event half a million years ago when a class A1 supernova, less than ten lightyears away, stripped it of its atmosphere. It was a desert wasteland and bright red in color. Dust storms rolled over the surface. It developed a new atmosphere of mostly carbon-dioxide from its various active volcanos. It would take another million years for the radioactive fallout of the offending supernova to reach a level where the planet could be terraformed.

They sat opposite each other on comfortable chairs.

Booster: "Down to business I guess?"

Uhura: "It's information Booster"

Booster: "You come here; it always is, isn't it?" He slightly raised an eyebrow.

Uhura: "We are under attack in one of our outlying sectors. But we don't know who is responsible."

Booster: "Ships you don't recognize and crews that won't be captured"

Uhura: "You know then?" She moved to the tip of her chair.

Booster: "I do. You are not the only dynasty battling insurgents on outlaying sectors" He has played this game a thousand times.

Uhura: "What can you tell me? Please we need to know. If I look at how this port has changed Booster, you must know of the Deep State?" She was fishing and also very aware that she might overplay her hand.

Booster: "Yes, it is the Deep State. What the Deep state is, I can't say. I know it is institutionalized by someone named Cabal, yet it does not serve Cabal."

Uhura: "Come on Booster. Don't talk in riddles. You have spies everywhere. You must know more"

Booster: "If I do, I can't tell you, and if I don't, I wouldn't admit it. Stay for a week, I'll see what I can find out." He half smiled.

Uhura: "That seems fair. What have you done with the professor?" She was instantly uncomfortable, she knew she should leave as soon as possible.

Booster: "O' Gatlin, don't worry about him. He is having a blast in our science division."

Uhura was shown to a comfortable room with a stunning view of the ruined planet below. It featured a moon half the size of the planet, in relatively close orbit. The home spiral galaxy was in the middle of merging with another spiral galaxy and from her vantage point, Uhura could see half of the intruding galaxy's disk stand out over the home galaxy's bulge, at a ninety-degree angle. The rest of the intruding Galaxy filled the space for as wide as the eye could see. How blissfully peaceful the chaos seemed from afar. Billions of stars and planets flung about and ripped apart. Yet looking at the merger from here, it looked breathtaking. She thought to herself. Stars will die, and new stars will form. The endless battle between light and dark. Someday the universe will be cold and void of light. But not yet. Not today. That is why we fight.

Time mangled into an unknown entity, before the doors opened again. The light hit Gatlin with the same blinding pain it did the first time. Again, he was dragged by the elbows to the same room. This time there was someone waiting for him in the other chair. Gatlin was secured on the chair, and the guards left. He looked at the man across from him. He had brown hair with small ears, and eyes that were way too close to each other.

"Professor Benison Gatlin. Last affiliated dynasty, Triad. Also friendly with the Adjuvates-, Morpheus- and Dex dynasties, and now also the Quora dynasty, it seems. Turned universal fugitive on open contract undersigned by the Triads, with immortality as prize. Status quo; Dead or alive. My, my, must have done some very bad things. But you managed to disappear without a trace, which I'm sure you know is bloody impossible. But, you did, and we'll get to that a bit later. So, let me introduce myself. My name is Switch. I'm the youngest of the Turoks. I need some answers before we can make you a bit more comfortable. Shall we begin?" Gatlin realized that he would be interrogated until he gave up all his secrets. Every single one of them. And Bongol was no place to bear secrets. The entire campaign might end right here, before it even begun.

"We came to acquire information. Is that not why travelers pass through here?" Gatlin answered with a raspy voice. His throat was dry.

Switch: "Information about what, Professor?"

Gatlin: "I cannot say, I just accompanied Uhura here. She seeks information. If I have to guess, it might have something to do with the sustained attacks on one of their outlaying sectors?"

Switch: "Ah yes, sector nine I believe. They are not the only ones that are fighting infiltrators in outlaying sectors, you know. Are you hungry Professor? Here let me feed you." Switch went to the door and opened it. He took a bowl from a trolley outside and closed the door again.

"It is the leaves of a rather special plant that was indigenous to this world. It packs all the protein and nutrients the body needs. I've taken the liberty to soak the leaves in water for you. You must be thirsty too?" Switch talked while he sat down opposite the professor. "It is tasty too, here." He lifted a leave about the size of a hand to Gatlin's mouth and he ate it. It tasted good and was moist. He hungrily ate all of it. When he dropped the last swallow, Gatlin saw a tingle of delight in Switch's eyes. Gatlin rubbed his tongue over the bridge of his mouth. Then he realized with despair that the leaves were laced in salt. On his empty stomach the laced leaves will act like a potent laxative that will cause severe diarrhea. It would also give him an eternal thirst. He'll have to drink from the same broken toilet that will have to deal with his diarrhea. Switch smiled as the guards removed Gatlin from the room and took him back to his cell. He has interrogated many before.

"Forgive me Professor, but you smell particularly ripe today" the narrowed eyed Switch remarked as he took a seat opposite a weary Gatlin for their next session. Gatlin lost an alarming amount of weight and had a sickly pale complexion. Gatlin didn't reply, he just lifted his head off his chest, with considerable effort, to look Switch in the eyes. He noticed a bottle filled with water in Switch's right hand. Satisfied that Gatlin saw the water and was fully aware of his surroundings, Switch began.

"Where have you been and how did you manage to disappear?"

Gatlin: "In a developing galaxy on a planet called Earth." Gatlin spoke with effort.

Switch: "Still, that's easy enough to find you. Explain how you stayed off the radar. Almost every bounty crew worth their salt came here to find information on your whereabouts, but you were a completely invisible to us?" He bounced his right heel up and down as he spoke.

Gatlin: "A Guardian protected me."

Switch: "No, you don't expect me to believe that, do you? Want to go back into the box, Professor?" he increased the tempo of the heel bounce.

Gatlin: "No please, no. I speak the truth." He was almost crying.

Switch: "Alright. Let's say I believe you. How did you wind up here with the Quora's?" He knew when he heard the truth.

Gatlin: "I was tasked to oversee the construction of a Light-ship on Earth. When it was completed, I was taken to a desolate world and told to wait until I was called. The call came and it took me to Uhura and her sisters and now I am here. Uhura seeks information on Cabal and the Deep State. More than that I do not know."

Switch: "Ah, THE SHIP!! But a Light-ship you say? Surely that cannot be THE SHIP? But anyway, now tell me, what do you know of the Awakening?"

Gatlin: "It is rumored that a true descendant of the first Guardian will rise through the Awakening of a new dynasty and go on a quest to eradicate a looming evil that threatens the entire universe. A Prophesy whispered in the underworld. I know as much as the next guy, I suppose?"

Switch shouted for the guards outside and one of them entered and freed Gatlin's hands from the restraints. Gatlin rubbed his wrists. His fingers and palms suffered a thousand pin pricks as blood flow was restored and feeling returned. He had a hell of a time focusing on Switch. The pain in his hands grew nearly unbearable and he knew it would take time before it got better.

"Here, our time is up." Switch handed the bottle to Gatlin. He emptied the half gallon in one long gulp. Switch was watching him.

Switch: "Now it's my turn Professor. Cabal is an entity that appears and disappears at will. We've been asked to join his cause, but we declined, stating that we've always been neutral and we choose to remain so. It is fair to assume that Cabal wants full control of the universe, including the Virgo Super Cluster. In fact, we think that the Guardians are locked in a brutal conflict with Cabal as we speak. We think that the Guardians are the only reason that Cabal has been kept at bay so far. If you seek more information you must find an individual called Stagie. He is the new underboss of the underworld. Last time we had info on him he was on Wondes, home world of the Triads. The attacks on Quora are directly linked to the Deep State and as such, by default also linked to Cabal. We are unable to say which of the dynasties stands with Cabal at this time. The underworld will not bow to Cabal. It has to do with Stagie and what he knows. They are planning a revolution from within, but it sounds as if they are waiting for The Awakening."

Gatlin: "On which side of the revolution is Turok? Why put me through all this when you were going to give me the information I needed anyway?" He was pissed off.

Switch: "It's what I do. My name says it all. I switch people into having open discussions with me and you filled in the blanks quite nicely for me Professor. And if I tell you we support the revolution, you will not believe me. If I tell you we stand against the revolt, you will think that I'm lying. Send my love to Mila, if you see her again." Switch left, and a stunned Gatlin was escorted to a luxurious room where he ate and showered.

After a week went by, Booster summoned Uhura. She Joined him in his personal quarters. The small table was decked out in fine cutlery and a bottle of wine. He pulled out a chair for her and then took a seat himself. He was dark in complexion with a bald head. He had a weak chin and thin lips. He poured some wine.

"We've done some research, and it seems we'll need more time to find the right answers." he looked down as he spoke. Uhura took a sip of wine, but said nothing. A chef rolled a food trolley through the door and the two of them ate in relative silence. Uhura knew that Booster couldn't stand silence and she was determined not to do the talking. She was well aware of the man's capabilities to charm people into saying too much, too soon.

"The Deep State is a serious threat to everyone. The attacks on your outlaying sectors is meant as a diversion, or at least that's what we think. But a diversion for what, we do not know. We also do not know where the attackers come from but, we do know where they assemble. Their staging Hub if you like. But for that information, I need something in return." Booster finally spoke when he put his cutlery down. He knew who was sitting in front of him. The Queen of house Astrud and Ruler of the Quora dynasty. He was instrumental in her rise to power and knew what she is capable of. Quora is the only territory that Turok's spies has not been able to infiltrate. She can play the information game as good as the next guy.

Uhura slowly put her cutlery down and emptied the glass. "Do I need to ask?"

Booster: "The Awakening? What do you know of it.?"

Uhura: "It has begun. If you believe this one to be The One. And you need to choose your next words carefully." The warning struck home.

Booster: "Earth?"

Uhura: "Of little consequence now, it was just the conception point but yes, it was the embryo and the bird had long since sprung the coop." She was surprised that he knew so much, but she didn't show it.

Booster: "Which dynasty will rise?"

Uhura: "What do you think? I'll not give up mine. Will you give up yours?" She was mocking him.

Booster: "No, I would not..."

Uhura: "If you have nothing else for me, I need to leave. Please escort me to my ship" She stood up as she spoke. She learned nothing new, but she couldn't waste more time here.

"Follow me, I'll send for the Professor and your crew." Booster was rattled by the confirmation of The Awakening. The time to choose was drawing closer.

#  Seven

Back on the Nomad the investigation into the failed mutiny was complete. Jack called Mila and Frank to the situation room for a discussion on the course of action to be taken from there. Jack laid all the evidence out on the table, excluding the source of the leak and the audio recordings recorded by Tony's androids. The evidence was damming, and beyond dispute. All that remained was to find suitable punishment for the offenders. Jack wanted to have them executed for treason. In his mind's eye he could see Tony hacking away at the then, HC's neck with a meat cleaver. If it was up to him, he would hand them all over to Tony. Frank pleaded for their lives. He felt that with the ship's moral so low, it might be a good thing to show mercy. He was convincing and made a reasonable point. Mila kept quiet for the most part. She knew Jack and how he felt about this ship. Jack would execute these men.

After about half an hour's bickering between the commander and his field marshal, Jack made his decision. The men would be executed at noon the following day. The execution will be streamed ship wide and he made it compulsory for all sections to watch. Mila felt a tingle of despair for the doomed men as Jack spoke the words. Frank felt sorry for the men. His moral was also low, but he was no mutineer. He was a soldier, and he will obey the commands given by his superiors. He will also do whatever it takes to protect his superiors from all threats, external and internal. When Frank realized that Jack's decision was final, he excused himself end left the room.

Mila: "Maybe Frank is right, you know?" She spoke softly, careful not to sound challenging.

Jack: "No, not maybe. He is right. But so am I. There is no middle ground here. They have to live, and they have to die." He looked Mila in the eyes. She saw the fiery green eyes turn to a soft blue green color. He was conflicted, she could tell.

Jack: "I am afraid Mila."

Mila: "Afraid of what Jack?" She was slightly confused.

Jack: "After the first battle we have, we have to deal with mutineers. What happens next time when I order the men to fight? My hand is being forced, and I have no choice it seems." Jack got up and walked out of the room. Mila knew better than to ask him why, or run after him. She saw something dark stir in Jack's soul.

At noon the next day the entire ship watched the execution of the eight officers found guilty of treason. They were made to stand in the infantry tactical-training section. A black hood covered their heads and faces and their hands were restrained behind their backs. Jack stood five paces away from the men. There was no theatrics and by 12:02 it was all over. Jack shot each man in the heart with a small caliber hand gun. Hilda with a small team of scientists, gathered the bodies and infantry cleaned the mess up after. There were no words spoken, no charges brought. Just, Pop! Pop! Pop! ... Jack sent a memo ship-wide and by 18:00 of that day, most of the crew were assigned a hibernation pod.

Jack waited a week for Uhura to return, but she never came. It was time to make their presence known, he could not wait any longer so, he contacted one of the many war birds that protected the icy world.

"This is Commander Jack Neel from the Galactic Alliance vessel, the Nomad, please respond."

"This is Viceroy Charlton of the Quora ship Hailu. We can't see you on radar. We've been expecting you. The Queen seeks an audience with you at your first convenience."

"This is the Nomad. Your queen is off world right now."

"This is the Hailu. You are correct, but both her sisters are present, and you have a lot to discuss."

"Roger that Hailu. We'll drop in shortly." Jack broke the transmission.

"Mila, you are with me, Alex you have the bridge." Jack left the flight deck with Mila in tow. Jack requested the bounty crew of the Renegade to take them down to Malachi.

Anastasia was awakened by the news of the impending arrival of the Nomad to their system. She jumped out of bed and headed to the elevator's hidden door in a less used sector of the carved-out fortress. Her hair was a mess and she still wore her night gown when she entered the surveillance section right at the top of the mountain.

"Where are they?" She barked.

The entire floor jumped up, startled by the presence of a queen.

"We cannot see them, Mum. We tried to triangulate the communication signal, but it seems to bounce off everything from rocks to planets to all of our own ships." Anastasia rolled her eyes.

"How is that even possible?" She asked.

"It is not possible, Mum!" The answer came back. "He did say that they would be dropping in, Mum."

Anastasia barely heard the last part. She suddenly felt very exposed. There is a ship close by that they cannot see. Not any ship. The ship! If the rumors are true, it could destroy this planet and all the poeple on it in one attack. Best not to provoke them then?

"Drop all paramotor and planetary shields. Order all fleet vessels to stand down and drop shields. Do not intercept any ships entering atmosphere. Disable automated defense systems." She ordered before she took the elevator down again.

Sandra flew the cloaked Renegade right into the mountain without Malachi's systems picking it up. It was after all what the bounty crew did for a living. A handful of stunned soldiers looked on as the ship touched down in the first chamber of the fortress. Kain was the first one off the ship.

"Oh, hello, I'm Kain. Quite a nice place you have here."

"We'll need to pat you down." One of the guards barked when he saw the heavily armed green man.

"If you put your hand on me, I will keep it for myself!" Mila said as she followed Kain out of the ship. She was dressed in battle attire, with two holstered handguns on her thighs and the now signature cross of short swords on her back. But all the men saw was her beauty.

"You will announce our arrival, chop, chop!" She continued and clapped her hands twice.

With the imposing figure of Jack close behind her, also dressed in full tactical gear and armed to the teeth, the guards did as they were told. One of them left the chamber. The others witnessed the rest of the hardened bounty men disembark. A short while later the absent guard returned and instructed the party to follow him.

Soon they entered the throne room's grand hall. Jack fell in love with the place. The history of it was clear, and its age obviously ancient. What a privilege it must be to have such rich, deep roots in history. It was just epic. The thrones were empty, they have obviously been taken by complete surprise. Objective complete Jack thought.

The sound of a metal sliding lock from behind the thrones broke the silence and Caprica and Anastasia emerged. Having missed the theatrical opportunity to welcome their guests from the elevated position of the thrones the sisters walked down the stairs as Anastasia spoke:

"I am Anastasia, second in line to house Astrud and joint ruler of Quora and this is my sister Caprica, also joint ruler. We have been waiting for you. Which one is Jack?" Her eyes were darting around, she noticed the weapons the group carried.

Jack: "Over here." He waved a hand, and put his rifle on the long table. The rest of his crew did the same.

Anastasia: "Please sit down." She took a seat.

Anastasia: "We have it on good authority that you went head to head with the remnants of the Flagg dynasty?" She continued.

Jack: "We did."

Anastasia: "Well you are here, it must have gone well?"

Jack: "It did. We've captured both Monarchs alive." he gave Mila seated opposite him a knowing look while he raised one eyebrow.

Anastasia: "Good the Andromeda group needs a new Monarch. A brand-new dynasty. Yours, Jack. The brothers will have to be slaughtered in front of an assembly of houses within the group, at least two witnessing dynasties and with the Guardians to adjudicate. You might be challenged by some of the houses and forced to fight hand to hand for the right to lead them. But that will be your next move. Did you leave any of their bannermen alive?"

Mila: "We destroyed Herse with everything on it before we left. No one lives." She answered when Jack did not respond. His mind was racing. He will become a King? He didn't see that coming.

Anastasia: "Good. And you are?"

Mila: "Mila, Captain of the Nomad." Anastasia looked at Mila in awe.

Anastasia: "And here you are. Larger than life itself. The best kept secret in the universe, or the worst kept secret, depending on whom you listen to. We have much to discuss, but not before my sister returns. You are welcome to stay here or return to your ship, or explore our world if you want."

You can stay there. I can monitor you down there. Lucy spoke in Jack and Mila's heads.

Jack: "We'll stay, as long as one of you stays in our vicinity all the time." Anastasia delightfully agreed, and Mila felt jealous for the way she looked at Jack.

Mila: "What do you mean, here I am?" She asked Anastasia.

Anastasia: "I'm not sure exactly. We spend a very long time preparing for your arrival Mila, The Perfect One for some, The Chosen One for others and a rival to the rest. You must know you are special?"

Mila suddenly felt small. Nothing made sense. Abe and Kara joined them at that time. They were treated to a delightful breakfast and the sisters kept them entertained. It was late the next day when Jack took leave to rest in the chamber allocated to him. But before he could leave, Caprica informed him of a planned frost-wolf hunt in two days' time. She invited the commander and his captain to join the hunt, and Jack accepted. It was Quora's way of testing Mila. Is she really the one that was promised?

Two days later Jack and Mila joined Caprica just before daybreak in the throne room. Caprica was dressed in white hide pelts and fur. She gave her guests similar protection against the freezing cold outside and helped them dress. Tough pelts were wrapped around the upper body and arms. The head was covered in lush fur with a tough, ridged hoody over the top. Caprica giggled and laughed while she helped the two of them to get dressed properly. She also gave them each a pair of thermal boots and gloves.

Jack: "It's a bit primitive, don't you think?" He asked Caprica.

Caprica: "Ha, wait till you see the weapons" She laughed.

Caprica took them on the elevator to the top of the mountain. There, they found a small hunting party waiting for them. Caprica introduced the strangers as the indigenous folk of this world. A nomadic people that lived from day to day and never planned too far ahead. There were five of them. On a steel table that stood next to a huge stuffed frost-wolf were various weapons. Mila looked around. She picked up this item and then that, felt its weight, tested the balance. It was also handy to see the size of the animal they would be up against. She finally settled for a long-curved sword of sorts.

Jack took his time. He walked around the wolf that stood a head taller than him. It had a thick snow-white coat, and claws for front paws. The front legs and chest were undeniably wolf, but the hind legs were more like bear but with wolf's paws. The head was a mix of both. The nose was wide like a bear's but longer, like a wolfs'. If the eye color was correct, they have bloodred eyes. So, we have a very large bear-wolf. Very strong hind legs with formidable claws on the front paws. Do most of your fighting reared up, eh? Jack picked a long spear. Caprica smiled at Jack. She also picked a long spear, as did the rest of the hunting party. Caprica paused to look at Mila before they left, obviously giving her time to select a spear, but she stuck with her sword. Jack smiled at the little standoff. If there is one thing you dare not underestimate, it is this woman when she has a blade in hand...

It took them half a day to navigate the small foot pass down the mountain. At the bottom the indigenous folk built a fire and set up camp for the night. Thick fur and pelt tents were setup around the fire pit. They were already in frost-wolf territory so the fire will have to burn all night long. There was ice everywhere, everything was frozen and the thickness of the ice sheet made this strange world appear flat. Jack and Mila were treated to old stories performed by the hosts. They told of the star people that came. How the early days were bloody and hostile. According to their stories they fought bravely and repelled the first four landings by the star people, before they fell to a ruthless star commander. They paid tribute to their great leaders by honoring them in highlands' type songs. After a thousand years of slavery and death, they were liberated by Caprica and her sisters and thanks to them they were now once again roaming this world and living free. The thick nebula that surrounded the system reflected the sunlight and it gave the upper atmosphere a light orange glow that cast a soft reflection on the frozen cliffs of the mountain. Jack and Mila had their first taste of each other in the tent that night...

Early morning the group set off on a two-day hike to a place the locals called The Hot Gates. The rout took them over the ice plains. It was level like a frozen lake. Nothing could live out here. We are on a wolf watch? They say the wolves can cover a hundred miles a night, and go without food or water for three weeks. But I can't see how anything can survive this? Jack thought to himself. Mila and Caprica spent most of the time together. Caprica asked a lot of questions about Mila's past. It was both fascinating and terrifying to think that you open your eyes and begin life as an adult. Mila entertained Caprica and told her of the endless hours she spent on training and education. She learned everything she needed to now in two very long, hard years. She was confined to the laboratory and training rooms during that time. From there they moved her to the Nomad where she's been ever since. But Mila held back on the details.

Towards the end of the second day hills appeared on the horizon in in the distance.

"The Hot Gates." Caprica almost whispered with awe in her voice. The locals pulled up and made camp. Tonight, they will have two guards tending the fire. They were close enough for the wolves of the gates to smell them. The hunters could very easily become the hunted. Before the party retired for the night, Caprica gave them a briefing on strategy when faced with a charging frost-wolf.

"They roam in packs of between six and twelve animals. They have been hunted for millennia and as a result they have a healthy respect for people. When the pack is on the move, the old and sick wolves run in front so they can dictate the pace, this ensures that they do not fall behind. The young and fit males make up the center. They can cover the old and sickly as well as the prime females directly behind them. Right at the back is the pack leader, the Alfa male. From the rear he can dictate attack and defensive strategy's, and storm into the fray as a powerful reinforcement if needed.

Normally when the pack runs into a hunting party the old and sick Wolves will break away. The young males will confront the party with howls and growls, but they will seldom charge. This gives the old and sick wolves time to flee, and the Alfa time to charge. A frost-wolf has the strength of twelve men. Its yaws are powerful enough to bite clean through a man's thigh. A charging wolf will run over his attacker first. After the initial charge he will turn and fight with mouth and claws. The young males will sometimes attack first. If they fail the Alfa will step forward. The brief was enough to spook Jack. They faced a formidable foe in its own backyard. Mila showed no concern. But it was just the tip of the hippopotamus's ears. Below the water, she felt a tingle of fear for the first time in her life.

The next morning, they found the spoor of eight wolves just outside their camp. A pack came to investigate the smell of the camp carried on the thin icy breeze. They sky above was covered in thick dark clouds and the easy breeze of the last two days turned into a howling wind that came from the hills in the distance. Jack stood outside his tent and watched Caprica, engaged in a heated discussion with the leader of the local people. He called to Mila to join him outside. Shortly after Caprica came to speak to the two of them.

Caprica: "The weather turned on us. We will be caught in a blizzard. Out here blizzards could last for a week or even longer. This puts us at a huge disadvantage. If we made it to The Hot Gates, we would have been fine. Out here we will be exposed to white-out conditions. Frost-wolves loves to hunt in blizzards, they have the advantage and they know it. They will attack us during the worst parts of the storm." She looked angry, almost.

Jack: "What was the discussion about" He dropped his head in the direction of the locals huddled together.

Caprica: "They want to take a run at The Hot Gates. They don't want us to face a whole pack of attacking wolves during a blizzard. And to do that we'll have to leave most of our kit behind, and we'll probably be run down one by one. I say we have to stand and fight."

Jack: "Will they stand with us?" Jack asked.

Caprica: "We'll soon find out." She shrugged her shoulders.

Shortly after, the local group headed off towards The Hot Gates leaving the star people to fend for them selves. The wind picked up and snow fell. Caprica bound the three of them with a rope around the waist. The sound of the howling wind made it difficult to hear one another. Building a fire was pointless. The three of them stood back to back. With any luck the hunting pack was between them and The Hot Gates. Then they might pick up on the scent of the locals heading that way and hunt them down. It was not to be.

Mila yanked at the rope that bound her and Jack. She pointed to something. Visibility was down to six feet in the falling snow. Jack couldn't see anything there, but he yanked Caprica's rope anyway.

"Get down!" Caprica's shout came over the howling wind. Jack and Mila dropped to their haunches just in time. A young male wolf charged at them. Jack moved to one side and managed to stab the wolf in its right flank. Mila ducked to the other side and hacked the sword into the wolfs left rear leg. But it was Caprica who killed the animal. She wedged the hilt of her spear in the ice and held it at an angle with the tip at around chest height. The wolf cried when Jack and Mila injured him. He bit at the sword stuck in his back leg when the spear buried itself deep into its chest. Its forward momentum knocked Caprica over, but it fell soon after and was dead before it came to a sliding stop on the icy ground.

Caprica franticly yanked on the impaled spear to free it. Then she took up her position again. "One down. Seek the alfa, we kill him the rest will leave. We don't kill him soon, we will die here today." She shouted over the wind. Jack felt strangely at ease. He saw the pace of the first attack. Now that he knew what to expect he could react accordingly. Mila was scared, not for the wolves, or even of death. She was afraid that she might never see Jack again if either of them were to die here today.

Jack saw a dark shadow in front of him. "There!" he shouted over the sound of the storm. The wolf followed his cry, and charged straight at him. He moved to the right side and thrust the spear to where the wolf would be in a split second from then. Mila jumped up and away to the left side, she swung the sword from above with both hands. Jack felt the tip of his spear slide over a rib before it found the gap between ribs. It plunged into the animal's ribcage with ease and found the animal's heart. Mila brought the sword down striking the animal just behind the head taking it clean off. The strikes were exactly at the same time so the animal did not make a sound.

The three of them quickly reformed their defensive position. Caprica felt a glimmer of hope after she saw Jack and Mila move. They were both very fast. Faster than anything she's ever seen, and she's seen a lot of fighters and warriors in the billion or so years she's lived. Jack caught Mila smiling at him. She was into this now. The challenge was clear. Every sense in her body was elevated. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. The wind dropped some and the snow let up a bit. Visibility improved to around thirty feet. The pack had them surrounded. Three stood opposite Caprica. They were huddled together, obviously the older wolves. Two females flanked them and opposite Jack stood the Alfa. A large male with black fur, a stark contrast to the normal white color. The two dead wolves were the young males of the pack. It will all come down to the Alfa now. He will charge next. Jack understood this. He cut the rope that bound him and Mila and took a run at the black wolf. After about five paces he threw the spear at the animal. The wolf reared up at the last moment and the spear struck it in the gut. The animal growled as its front paws hit the ground. It charged at Jack.

Jack saw Mila loose traction on the ice when she tried to jump forward. She slipped and fell. The wounded animal covered the fifteen paces between him and Jack very quickly. Jack had no weapon but he had to stand his ground. If he jumped away the wolf might focus his attention on Mila. Mila saw the wolf rear up when it reached Jack. It hacked away at Jack with its front claws like a stallion's hooves. Jack instinctively covered his face with both his forearms, But the first strike of the animal's claw pulled them both down with ease. Jack understood why the hoody and upper body protection was made of hardened pelt. The claws pulled the tough pelt hoody over his face. The tough pelt protected his face, chest and arms against the animal's claws. As Mila pushed herself up, Caprica charged past her. When she reached Jack, she thrust her spear over Jack's head into the Wolf's open mouth so that it protruded from the back of its head. It stopped hacking at Jack for a moment, just long enough for Jack to retrieve his spear, which he plunged into the Wolfs chest. The animal dropped dead on the spot.

The rest of the pack slowly retreated. The three of them stood together in their defensive position for an hour after they saw the last wolf's shadow disappear behind the curtain of white snow. Then Caprica instructed them to return to the tent. The three of them would be sharing the same tent. The storm intensified once again. The small group was surprised when one of the Nomad's androids pushed the tents door open.

"Excuse me Captain, I brought a skiff down to pick you up. Orders form Lucy. Here, she also sent you this." He spoke in his robot voce while he held out three tactical headsets with thermal imaging that could see through the white-out conditions. Jack ordered the Androids to load the dead animals before the Skiff took them back to the Mountain Fortress.

#  Eight

After a brief farewell from Booster, Uhura stepped on her deep space cruiser for the return trip from Malachi. She was shocked at the state of Gatlin waiting for her inside. "What have they done to you?" She gasped at the site of the pale, frail, skinny professor.

"I was interrogated. It's good to see you did not suffer the same fate" he angrily replied.

Suddenly Uhura understood what Booster meant when he said that they learned what they needed to. That's how he knew it was Earth to begin with.

"What did you tell them?" She asked as the cruiser got underway.

"Destination, sector four.." She shouted over her shoulder.

Gatlin told her everything of his experience and conversations with Switch. Uhura listened intently.

"Slowly but surely we'll fill in the gaps. I think we leave here wiser, or at least with new direction." She said, looking for meaning in it all.

"It is time for a new Monarch under a new banner to enter the fray." She continued.

Her cruiser docked at the deep spaceport of sector four within the Quora territories. She ordered the entire crew of her cruiser to report to the front in sector nine and took a small frigate to the hidden Malachi. Once they were on their way to Malachi, Gatlin asked her why she sent the crew to the front.

"Because they spent ten days with the Turoks alone. At least one was turned spy or could have been turned. Either way, I can't risk giving up the position of Malachi. If there was no conflict zone I could send them to, I would have had them executed right here and now."

Four days after the frost-wolf hunt Jack was awakened by a knock on his chamber door deep inside the mountain fortress. It was very early. Too early for a visit. He got up and opened the door. There in the gloomy light of the slow burning torches stood a man he knew very well. But it could not be true. He stood motionless like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Jacky my boy, are you not going to invite me in?" Bennison Gatlin asked. Jack stepped forward and embraced the old man. Tears ran down his cheeks.

"Uncle Ben" He cried. Gatlin returned the embrace and also cried.

"It's not that bad Jacky, it's only been fifty thousand years, give or take for me. A little less for you I guess." He pushed Jack away to look him in the eyes.

"I don't understand. How is this possible?" Jack pulled uncle Ben inside and closed the door. Gatlin told Jack how he came to be on Earth and that the first task given to him was to take Jack in, prepare and educate him to take command of the Nomad. He was already more than a billion years old at the time. The second task was to oversee the construction of the Nomad, mostly to prevent someone from accidently discovering the configuration for warp while the construction was on going.

Jack didn't understand any of it. He was just overjoyed to see the only father he'd ever known. The two of them spent the day in Jacks room catching up. It was clear that troubled times lay ahead. They didn't know how much time they would have together. But for now, it didn't matter. They were here now, in this moment.

Late that afternoon all parties were gathered in the great hall of Quora awaiting the arrival of the presiding monarchs. There was the addition of a banquet table in front of the three equal thrones and many side tables around the hall itself filled with the custodians of the great houses of Quora. At the center table sat Abe, his sister Kara, Jack, Mila, the bounty crew of Xonan, Gatlin and several seemingly important custodians. Servants were stacking food and drinks on all the tables. A group of six musicians played exotic stringed instruments from a corner perch. The music stopped abruptly and the custodians rose to their feet. Abe and Kara were the first to rise at the main table followed by the rest. The sisters appeared from behind the thrones and took their rightful places. Uhuru welcomed one and all and requested them to take their seats.

Uhuru: "Before we feast there are some serious matters that need tending. We are fortunate to have with us, the brother and sister of house Sapien, Monarchs to the great Dechka dynasty." Abe and Kara rose to loud applause. Kara sat down as the applause grew softer, but Abe remained standing.

"Thank you Uhura, Anastasia and Caprica for your hospitality. You would honor me if you will accept our pledge of fealty to Quora and make use of our resources during the troubled times that lay ahead." Abe spoke with a bowed head. The custodians sat as if frozen. In the history of things, this has never happened.

The three sisters of Quora rose as one and descended the steps to where Abe stood at the head of the main table.

Caprica: "We see you standing in the great hall of our ancestors" She stood before him, lifted his chin with her index finger so he looked her in the eyes.

Anastasia: "We accept your offer of fealty in this dark time that lay ahead." She moved to Kara and took her hand so she could rise from her chair and stand next to her brother.

Uhura took the hands of both in her own and slowly pulled them up the stairs. She moved them behind the banquet table and made them sit on the thrones of Quora. Then she joined her sisters at the head of the main table.

Uhura: "We also recognize the ancient royal blood of house Sapien of the Dechka dynasty, and we the sisters of house Astrud pledge our fealty to Dechka in the dark time that lay ahead. May you use our resources as you see fit. May we rule as one under the guidance of the new Awakening." All three sister had their heads bowed.

Abe and Kara came down from the thrones and accepted the pledge. The custodians of the great houses of Quora were stunned into silence. Uhura declared the feast open and music once again filled the hall. But the mood remained reserved. It was clear that the path ahead would be filled with conflict and maybe war. Jack and Mila enjoyed the taste of many exotic foods and drinks presented to them. Kara remarked that Mila seemed familiar to her, as if they have met before. Though she admitted that she could never have forgotten a beauty so complete as she saw in Mila. When the feast drew to a close Uhura addressed the hall once more.

Uhura: "There is a last order of business." She said after she clapped her hands three times. "All the great houses of Quora will bear witness to the rise of a new dynasty in the Andromeda group. We will sanction Jack Neel as the Monarch of the group under a house name of his choosing. You will assemble your greatest ships and warlords to attend. We leave for the ancient world of Gensuos in a fortnight where we will assemble the great houses of the fallen Flagg dynasty of the Andromeda group to pledge fealty, or to challenge for the new monarchy, however they desire." A loud cheer went up that filled the hall. A pilgrimage to Gensuos was a rare honor, one that might only come around once every half a million years or so. Kara rose to her feet and the cheers fell silent to allow her to speak.

Kara: "Dechka hears the call to witness the rise of a new dynasty. We will assemble all our great houses and warlords to gather at Gensuos to bear witness." Another cheer went up as she sat down.

Jack invited the monarchs to join him on the Nomad for a meal, and the next day they were all seated at the commander's table on the top level of the Nomad's galley. Gatlin informed the group of the need to find the underboss named Stagie as he might know more of the Deep State and the entity called Cabal.

Kara: "Finding him might prove difficult"

Xonan: "It's what we do. I could find him within a day if I wanted to." The bounty man almost felt insulted.

Kara: "And he rules the underworld! He will not cooperate out of free will. We'll have to offer him something very special."

Caprica: "This is true. Something priceless."

Kara: "Considering what would happen if we fail, I don't think that we could call any of our possessions priceless anymore."

Uhura: "I will offer the crowning jewel of Quora. Fluid Deuterium pre-plasma state that formed the elements of our universe, encapsulated by a pure Graphite Crystal."

Gatlin: "It exists!" he gasped. As a physicist he always dreamt of getting hold of Deuterium.

Uhura: "It does!" She looked at Gatlin with happy, twinkling eyes.

Abe: "Who will we send on this quest?"

Xonan: "We'll go. We know how to find people and we know how to deal with the underworld"

Uhura: "Forgive me, but are we to trust a bounty crew? What prevents you from flying the coop with the gem and disappearing forever?"

Kain: "It is a fair question. Firstly, we already received the highest prize. Secondly, we are here by the bidding of a Guardian. Thirdly, I watched Captain Mila move in combat, and I shit you not, she is not normal, and we choose to stand with her rather than against her."

Gatlin: "I cannot go with you. I am still a fugitive to the Triad dynasty." He looked truly disappointed.

Caprica: "I will accompany my ancestral jewel." I've seen Mila and Jack move, and neither of them are human... Uhura and Anastasia sighed. Caprica will be putting herself in mortal danger. But someone needs to go, and as usual their fearless baby sister stepped up.

Abe sent an emissary to the Dechka territories calling all the great houses to attend the crowning ceremonies at Gensuos. Uhura sent word to the territories of the fallen Flagg dynasty to pledge fealty to or challenge the new monarch of their territories. Jack asked the monarchs if they would like to stay on the Nomad for the pilgrimage to the old world, and they accepted. The Nomad moved to station in sector four of the Quora territories where she was joined by the rest of the great ships owned by the great houses of Quora. Old and loyal names with seasoned warriors that would live or die for their Queens. Men and women alike, that earned the right to rule over the sectors granted to them.

Kara and Uhura prepared Jack and Mila for the ceremonies to come. It was an ancient spectacle that could be attended by one and all. This was the only time anyone, other than the guardians, could enter the Virgo Hub. It was the birthplace of all the dynasties in the universe. Everyone that has come to power, after the first dynasty was formed, came through this corridor, stood before the guardians and earned their crowns through blood.

In the Andromeda Group the great houses were grateful to learn of a new controlling faction. They need to be recognized as a unified faction in the universe. The outgoing monarchs were driven from their boundaries by outside factions and forced to hide in exile, leaving the houses without standing and at the bottom of every trade agreement. The once booming slave trade that formed the backbone of their economy, had all but collapsed leaving them without bargaining power on all matters universal. It was time to step out from isolation and be recognized as a dynasty once more. They assembled their ships at the ruined world of Sentinel Prime. From there they left together for the ancient world of Gensuos situated on the edge of the Virgo Hub.

Deep in the heart of the Nomad the brothers Sven and Zagar contemplated their fate and reflected over the past.

Zagar: "What do you think will happen to us?"

Sven: "Maybe we will fall before the Guardians, just as we rose before them so long ago." He spoke under strain. The wound on his stump had not been treated since Hondo put a flame to it. It was angry and infected. The surrounding skin was yellow in color. He screamed for twelve hours straight when he regained consciousness after Hondo's visit. It took him another twelve to stop crying.

Zagar: "Remember how we once stood on the hallowed ground of The Ancient world?"

Sven: "I remember the road we took to get there better." He managed a grin.

Zagar: "How did it all come to this? We are held captive by a people we don't know in a ship that shouldn't be here. I always figured it would be the Adjuvates or Triads that will come for us. They could lay claim to our territories. At least then we would know that it will all end on Gensuos, the way it all started for us..."

Gensuos was a rocky world that circled an old, slow sequence red dwarf so close that it was gravitationally locked. It always presented the same side to the red dwarf with the result that the one side of the planet was always shrouded in darkness and the opposite side was always bathed in daylight. The Planet rotated around its own axes in the same amount of time it took to orbit its home star once. Like the moon is gravitationally locked to the Earth. Therefore, it was uninhabitable even though it had a breathable atmosphere.

The Theater, that housed the crowning ceremonies, was carved out of the crater of an ancient docile volcanic peak, that reached thousands of feet into the air, situated within the twilight zone of the planet. It was neither dark nor light and surrounded by a flat plato for as far as the eye could see. The constant battle between the super-heated air of the light-side and the freezing cold air of the dark-side made for super turbulent weather within the twilight zone. To be specific, very intense thunderstorms. They sky above the crater was covered in thick dark clouds with consistent bright white flashes.

The planet was engulfed by a very impressive fleet of starships from far and wide. The guardians arrived and were the first to take their places in the cratered arena. They entered the crater from its base on the outside through a tunnel system as old as time itself. A hundred strong, dressed in white satin robes, they entered the arena. The floor had an elevated square in the center about a hundred feet wide. At each of the corners stood a giant dressed in white shorts with bare feet and chests. Each held a broad sword. More giants filled the stands spaced around evenly, each with a big bass drum that they banged together in a slow rhythmic beat. In the center of the platform stood a steel cage. Inside the monarchs of the fallen Flagg dynasty awaited their fate. Sven was in considerable pain. His short stump displayed an unhealthy bright yellow color and the stench of gangrene hung around him as the angel of death hovered over him.

Jack, dressed in full military colors, medals and all, stood on one side of the cage. Mila dressed in battle gear, but without the holstered guns, stood on the other side of the steel cage. Together they watched the guardians take their places directly in front of them. About fifteen sat down at ground level with about fourteen taking up the first ledge, and thirteen the second so they formed a pyramid shape reaching up into the rock walls. The guardian known as Maxumus, The Ancient One, slowly moved towards the platform. As he stepped onto the platform a brilliant lightning bolt bathed the crater in white light. For a second the crater walls revealed statues and figures carved from its rocks. The bolt was followed by the loud crack of thunder that shook the ground. The Ancient One came to a stop in the center of the platform so he faced the guardians in the stands. The drums fell silent and the giants that played them each lit a bright torch that partially lit up the whole arena. Jack thought of his dream so long ago. This was the place the guardian showed him.

Next to enter was the witnessing dynasty of Dechka with all their great houses. Leading them were Abe and Kara of house Sapien holding their house banner between them. They took their place as the witnessing faction and flanked the guardians on either side, encircling them as their ranks reached high up into the crater walls. The sound of the slow drums filled the arena once more as the houses of the fallen Flagg dynasty entered and took positions to the left and right of the platform, splitting their ranks. Behind them the sanctioning dynasty of Quora with all their great houses took their places behind the platform. Everyone was dressed in black overcoats with cloaked hoodies.

The slow drums fell silent. The Ancient One slowly dropped his white hoody and revealed his green scaled skin that covered a bald earless head. He had the eyes of a cat and a small slit that formed a lipless mouth.

"The fallen!" He said. Mila opened the cage, grabbed Sven by one arm and drag him out. A cheer echoed off the crater walls made by the many women spread throughout the assembled Houses.

Everyone knew of the sadistic pleasures of the now condemned man. Sven was silent. His yellow eyes darted around the arena. Where are those loyal to them now? How did it come to this? It seems like yesterday that he stood next to his brother on this very spot to take someone else's head. And now it will be his head, ironically taken by a woman. Satisfied that she dragged him far enough Mila let go of Sven's wrist. He slumped to the floor and huddled into a bundle. He could hardly breath, the pain from his stump was that bad. Mila waited in front of him until he lifted his head to look her in the eyes. Her blue eyes were on fire. In them there was no mistaking death. "On your knees, asshole!" Her voice was cold, the tempo of her words measured.

Sven slowly pressed himself up into a sitting position. With one knee missing it would be difficult to get on the one the remained. Mila stepped around him and the drums rang out again. The woman's voices of the attending Houses grew louder. Mila stood behind him and slowly drew one of her swords. To everyone's surprise, she didn't decapitate Sven with one clean blow. Instead she took a knee behind him. She put her left hand on his forehead and pulled his back into the point of her knee so his head snapped back. Then she slowly and deliberately begun to cut his throat careful not to cut too deep. Blood sprayed over the white floor of the arena to the delight of the women present. She stopped half way and let go of his forehead so she could listen to the gargling sounds as Sven tried to breathe through the blood-soaked wound in his throat. Satisfied, she continued the slow progress. The main arteries were severed and warm blood rushed over Mila's sword-hand. She twisted his head backwards to reveal the gaping wound. A bright lightning flash showed the extent of the damage to the crowd. Then she finished it with two deep cuts. Mila tossed the severed head forward and stepped away from the torso that dropped backwards to the platform floor. The drums fell silent once more.

Mila turned around and faced the cage. Zagar stood in its door. He stepped out and walked towards Mila. He glanced at his brother's body. A wide pool of blood sat where Sven's head used to be. He stopped in front of Mila. "Will you give me a clean death?" He asked. His eyes had no fight in them. He's made peace with death. He never condoned what his brother did but, he never stopped him either.

"I will" Mila answered the condemned man. He dropped to both knees and the drums began again.

Mila walked around him, the arena was silent this time. She lifted the sword and sliced clean through his neck. His head bounced once before it came to a rolling stop three feet away. His torso fell forward.

The drums stopped and The Ancient One spoke:

"Are there any direct descendants of the fallen present that can lay legitimate claim to the dynasty?" There was silence.

"Are there any direct descendants to the fallen that is not present that can lay claim to the dynasty?" Again, there was silence.

"I declare the Flagg dynasty as fallen and its territories vacant." The declaration was followed by an approving cheer from the attendants.

"As the executioner, Commander Jack Neel lays claim to the territories, and as The Ancient One, I can confirm that he has the approval of the Guardian. He is sanctioned by Quora and witnessed by Dechka. Are there any of the houses within the fallen territories that wants to challenge this claim? Step forward now with your champions." He continued when the crowd fell silent.

The crater walls to the left and right seemed to move. Twelve house custodians with twelve champions made their way down to stand in front of the guardians. Jade sat in the center of the guardians on ground level her face the only one hidden behind a veil. She rose to her feet.

"We see the challengers before us. We endorse everyone's claim. Let blood decide the outcome." She spoke in her natural pure voice. "We will test the Commanders claim first."

The Ancient One turned to face Jack as he spoke. "Do you have a champion, or will we test your own blood?" He continued.

"I have a champion, Guardian." Jack extended his right arm pointing an open hand to Mila. She stepped forward, one bloody sword still in hand.

"She will face Iron Hart in single combat." The Ancient One said.

"I am Iron hart!" One of the giants stepped onto the platform. He was fourteen feet tall with an eight-foot broadsword.

"Didn't see that coming." Mila winked at Jack as The Ancient One led him off the platform and the drums began. A succession of lightning flashed and their thunder shook the ground.

Jack felt a lump in his throat. Mila was tiny and looked fragile compared to the adversary she faced. But when she winked at him just now, her eyes were alive, almost mischievous. He decided there and then that if she survived this test, he would ask for her hand in marriage. He did not know what lay ahead, or where they'll go. The talk of The Deep State maked no sense, and no one seemed to know if it even truly exists. All he knew for sure now, is that he needed to make this woman his wife before it was all said and done.

Mila drew the other sword and watched intently as the Giant moved closer. She was recording step size, anticipating the maximum speed of an attack and noticed that he was righthanded. She was tempted to stand toe to toe with Iron Hart. Hilda's nanobots increased her, already way above average strength, by eighty percent. She might just match the giant. But she thought the better of it. When he was ten paces from her, she took a run at him. He was surprised at the small female's vigor and slow to react, underestimating her speed. He lifted the sword over his head to strike down onto Mila. But she was too fast. She dropped to the floor and slid feet first between the giant's legs. As she slid underneath his groin, she pushed herself up of the ground so she could cut both Femoral arteries on the inside of Iron Hearts upper thighs. He winced and his sword made harmless contact with the ground in front of him, sending a metallic clunking sound to echo off the crater walls.

Mila spun around on her feet before the slide was out. Again, she charged at Iron Hart who still had his back to her. He was looking down at the blood pumping out of the wounds. It was terminal and he would be dead within the next five minutes. Mila stepped on one of his calves to gain sufficient height and trust a fully extended left-hand sword, as high as she could reach, into the small of his back. Lightning flashed, he threw his head backwards and let out a heart wrenching cry whilst he arched his back. Mila used the impaled sword like a mountain pike to pull herself up. At the top of her reach she plunged the free sword in between the shoulder blades of his arched back and into his heart. Iron Hart took one step forward. He swayed on his feet, the sword in his hand fell to the floor adding some treble to the beat of the drums. His eyes were open, but they could not see. His legs buckled and gave way and he dropped to his knees. Mila jumped off his back and kicked his body forward onto the ground. Iron Hart was dead.

The witnesses went wild and the drums broke their rhythm, each beating wildly and at its own pace. The guardians rose to their feet. Jack struggled with what he just witnessed. Mila looked directly at him with a slight smile. She took the time to blow a string of her black fringe out of her face. The Ancient One lead Jack back onto the platform. The remaining three giants at the corners of the platform came to remove Iron Hart's body and the bodies of the fallen brothers along with the cage they came in. They paused when they reached Iron Hart, to give Mila time to retrieve her swords. "He was a great warrior. You gave him an honorable death. If you succeed today you have the loyalty of Kent and its people." One of the giants told Mila when she pulled out the last sword.

Four of the twelve houses that challenged, withdrew their challenge and went back to their seats, satisfied that Mila was unbeatable and swayed by the guardians that rose to their feet for her. The noise grew quiet once more and The Ancient One spoke.

"The blood runs true. The Guardians sanction the claim. Will the first house to challenge please step forward." The first pair to the left stepped forward and lightning flashed through the Arena. "I am Bjorn of house Vagal. I Challenge for the right to rule the Fallen dynasty. This is my champion, Theo." The elder of the two addressed the guardians. Jade sat in the middle on ground level.

"We see your claim, and recognize your House." She spoke loud and in her clear voice.

The drums rolled to a different beat as the challenger stepped on the platform. He held a spiked club in one hand and a metal shield in the other. Mila stepped away from Jack towards the center of the platform. She watched the man move towards her. He was around six-foot four with very little bodyfat. Should be fast and accurate. He held the club with the left hand. The size of the shield would make him slow to recover if he launched a conventional head attack. All she needed to do was to invite him to take a full-blown swing at her head.

She stepped forward with small fast steps. He checked his advance and raised his shield. At this point Mila begun to bob from right to left and then left to right, deliberately slowing her pace to the rhythm of the beating drums, stepping forward with every sway. She dropped her right hand to a low guard and the left she kept in a high, wide guard out to the left with the sword in a reversed grip.

Subconsciously Theo timed his attack to the rhythm of the drums. The exposed head of his opponent too big a reward to pass up. When Mila reached the zenith of the bob to her right, Leo struck. But instead of Mila moving back to her left, like she's been doing, she bobbed right again. The club with Leo's full power and weight whizzed past Mila's left ear. Leo was off balance with his entire left flank exposed. It almost looked like Mila was attempting to strike Theo with a left uppercut to the midriff as she gave him a long deep cut across his gut that ran around his ribcage, cut through his left wing and into his back. He dropped to one knee. The club rolled across the ground, freed from his grasp. Mila stood behind him. She gave him a soldier's death by separating his spine from his head at the base of his scull with a clean thrust of a sword.

Bjorn of House Vagal slowly walked back to take his seat. The remaining houses recanted their challenge and also took their places. It was over. A new dynasty rises today.

The Ancient One called the ceremony to an end and declared Jack the ruling monarch of the Fallen dynasty. Then he adjourned the houses present. Andromeda Group would be ruled by Jack under the house name of his choosing. Mila and Jack left the arena last together with the guardians. The Ancient One suggested that Jack call the custodians of the Andromeda group together on his ship before they all go their separate ways. He also told Jack that he would suffer a loss greater than any he has experienced before. He wouldn't see it when it happened, but it is a loss that is vital to ensure the board is set correctly before the end game could begin. Jack felt a tremendous weight on his shoulders as The Ancient One spoke the words. The ultimate loss for him would be Mila. That is a sacrifice too big to bare.

A call to all the custodians to gather on the Nomad was answered by all before they left Gensuos. Jack had to empty the carrier fleet to accommodate the vast visiting crowd in the main shuttle bay. Quora and Dechka ships lend their support and helped provide for the catering so that each table had enough to eat and drink. Jade and The Ancient One also joined the festivities and sat at Jack's table, but they did not speak to anyone.

Before Jack could address his houses, they wanted to know under which house they would serve. It was time for Jack to choose a house name. He chose house Dominus, and the name pleased everyone. Jack introduced himself and acknowledged the two guardians and the monarchs of Quora and Dechka and then all the custodians. After that he was unsure of what to do and took his seat. One of his new custodians approached Jacks table. He dropped to his knees and pledged loyalty to house Dominus, the house name chosen by Jack. He was followed by another custodian, and then another. One by one they all came.

After a long enough pause for Jack to be sure that the last custodian pledged fealty, he wanted to declare the feast open, but Jade, the guardian seated next to him, put a hand on his arm, and prevented him from getting up. There was an energy in her touch that was difficult to ignore, a familiarity almost. It was like he knew the energy. Uhura got up from Jack's table and also pledged fealty on behalf of the entire Quora dynasty, and then Abe did the same on behalf of the Dechka dynasty. Jack was not expecting that. But then again, he could not possibly fully understand what was happening, let alone why. He declared the feast open and the foreign guests were treated to some good old-school hard rock.

When all had their share of food and ale, Jack called for their attention.

"I want to tell you that I am still a little overwhelmed by my appointment. It would have been nice to take some time and ease into the position. But we do not have time. Our sisters in Quora are at war in one of their outlying sectors. We will answer their call for assistance. I ask that you return home and assemble all your forces. Have them gather at the deep spaceport of sector four in the Quora territories. From there we will attack and secure sector nine. It pains me that my first order is a call to war. But in war we often have no choice."

The room was silent. The custodians knew that troubled times lay ahead. The guardians made that much clear to them long before they gathered here at the old world to crown a new king. This will be the start of the war of all wars. Names will be immortalized, and reputations shattered. The universe will divide, and one side will fall. Who is just, and who is wrong? Who is evil and who pure? At this point, no one knew.

The Nomad returned to sector four of Quora dynasty and awaited the arrival of their forces. Abe and Kara returned to the Dechka territories. They also sent a formidable attack force to join the Nomad in sector four of Quora. The crew of the Nomad were kept busy, preparing for war. The attack fleets arrived. Like waves rolling out on the sand they kept coming. More and more. Uhura and Anastasia returned to their mountain fortress hoping to receive word of their sister on her quest.

Onboard with the crew of the Renegade.

Kain: "Now that we're almost there, I need to confess something." His bionic eyes looked lifeless as they always do. His pointy green ears were pulled back, half wrapped around his bald green scull.

Stomp: "She is royal blood you fool. She'll never lay with you. Ha-ha." He poked before Xonan could reply.

Caprica laughed, she fully caught the sarcastic humor.

Xonan: "Tell me!" He snapped. He was not amused. He knew the looks of Kain, and this one was never good.

Kain: "I know this man we seek! Stagie." He was holding back.

Xonan: "What-did-you-do?" He deliberately paused between each word.

Kain: "I helped a rival to steal three freighters destined for Stagie. It was long ago, I still had my normal sight and he was rising through the underworld ranks. He trusted me as one of his overlords. But Hector was more powerful and corrupted me to pull off the heist for him."

Xonan: "And now you come to him for help. He'll not forget you. You know the man! Think he will forgive you?"

Kain: "No, but whatever he has instore for me I accept. We have to look at the bigger picture. He can't hold you responsible for the heist. We didn't know each other back then, you and I." Never the less, he looked apprehensive.

Sandra announced the jump complete. They were in a wide orbit around Wondes, home world of the Triad dynasty. The space around the planet was filled with defences and attack vessels. A far cry from the friendly welcoming universal trading hub it was the last time they visited this world. The Renegade was challenged several times to state their intentions and the duration of their stay. It was too risky to tap the underworld frequencies from afar, they'll have to go down to the surface and try to make direct contact. Caprica could not be discovered as a monarch, no matter what. All of the bounty men felt uncomfortable as the Renegade entered the atmosphere of Wondes. A planet with a name that did it proud.

Wondes was an old world. The atmosphere was painted yellow-green. The mother cities were covered in high rising square towers that provided cramped living blocks for the over populated world. Any signs of animal and plant life was long extinct. The surface of the world was covered in white sand, a white sand desert for all practical purposes. The air was synthetically manufactured in air plants scattered around the planet. This caused dead zones where there was not enough Oxygen for life to exist.

Between the highrise towers a fleet of shuttles transported people and goods. Even the skies within the city were filled with police and military vessels. There was a curfew in effect. Travel was forbidden except when you were going or coming from work. The population lived under consistent threat from the monarch to terminate their air supply. The Renegade was cleared to land on a trading tower and escorted there by two gunships.

Hondo had nothing else to do and joined the Renegade on its quest. He was the first to leave the Renegade. He stood on the roof with his mouth open at the sight of the strange shapes that hovered and flowed around the towers. Kain deliberately bumped him with a shoulder as he brushed passed him on his way to the sentries that were waiting for them at the steel doors. Hondo snapped out of it and followed Kain. The sentries made way and the doors opened. Caprica was third in line and dressed in grey heavy overcoat. She wore an atmosphere mask that covered her nose and mouth with a hoody to cover her head. Xonan, Sandra and Stomp brought up the rear. They were led to a strong room with steel walls, roof and floor. Two emissaries to the Triad dynasty sat at a steel table in the middle of the room.

"State your purpose." One of them snarled.

Xonan: "Bounty crew of the Renegade. We are in pursuit of a fugitive contracted by Dechka."

The Emissary paused and carefully scanned every one of the visitors. He was adamant to make the little power he held in this position, felt. "Record shows you have an outstanding mark owed to the Triad dynasty. It also says that you were once the preferred contractor on bounty matters." He said with an important air about him.

Xonan: "We were unable to track the mark. The universe intervened."

This statement was usually followed by a shrug of the shoulders and a change of topic. And it was no different this time.

"You will go to the penthouse! Samus has requested an audience." He gestured with both hands for them to leave as he spoke.

They were escorted to a port landing where a shuttle awaited them. They boarded the shuttle and it begun to move through the congested skies. Weaving, dropping and rising as required.

Stomp: "Unexpected, don't you think?" He wasn't looking at anyone.

Xonan: "Yes very." He was worried, and for good reason. One does not get an invite to see a monarch, especially a Triad monarch. They are way too important to call mere common folks to their towers. But he half expected something like this to happen, after all, Gatlin was a very important mark to miss.

The shuttle door opened and the bounty crew stepped onto the penthouse balcony of the tallest tower around. Samus stood by the door dressed in a white satin robe with gold accents. The floor was totally covered in satin. Gold and platinum ornaments crowded every conceivable standing place. Samus stood slumped over, as if in pain.

Samus: "The Renegade. It's been a while, Xonan... is it?

Xonan: "Yes my lord, it is Xonan"

Samus: "You owe me a mark." He snapped, obviously angry.

Xonan: "I am sorry my lord. We had a navigation glitch and completed our jump to find we were caught in the gravitational pull of the super-massive-black-hole at the center of the galaxy we were hunting in. It took us half a rotation to calculate our angle of departure and build enough power to execute the maneuver. When we broke out, we calculated that we lost about fifty thousand years due to time-dilation. I figured that you must have captured the mark by now. So, we accepted a new mark under order of Dechka that brought us back here." He watched the anger dissipate, replaced by a look of amusement.

Samus: "Dechka? Ha-ha. Whatever they want, it can wait. I have a new mark for you."

Samus turned around slowly and walked inside, the bounty crew following him. He took a seat on one of the many couches in the middle of the room and indicated for the visitors to sit down.

Samus: "There has been an attempt on my life."

Xonan: "That's terrible my lord"

Samus: "Is it now? How terrible? What would you know of terrible in matters such as this?" He was raging mad.

Xonan: "Forgive me..."

Samus: "Ah, fuck off with all the lordship and forgive me bullshit. This is what got me here in the first place! It was my brother Nemo who tried to have me killed. He hides here on this world. Find him and bring him to me, alive. You can name your price. Now fuckoff or be gone, whichever you prefer!" He spat droplets of spit across the room as he spoke. His face was red and the arteries in his neck stud out.

Xonan and Co jumped to their feet and left with the waiting shuttle.

The bounty crew were silent on the shuttle. Xonan had a lot to process after the brief encounter with Samus. The shuttle dropped them off on the roof where the Renegade was parked. Xonan ordered full cloak be deployed as the ship dropped down to ground level. It seemed that fortune smiled on them, for now. They had the seal of Samus to hunt his own brother on his home world. There was nowhere they could not go, and no one that could refuse them. But they did not come for Nemo, they came for Stagie, or if he was not here, information about where he is. And the underworld does not bow to anyone, the seal will only go so far

The ship dropped to ground level. Sandra picked a secluded alley where the ship should be unnoticed with its cloak deployed, and the party of six stepped onto Wondes. The bounty men dressed in combat gear with exo-suits. Hondo was also treated to an exo-suit, but carried no weapons. They had to identify an underworld broker.

The smog was thick at ground level. The streets were occupied by the homeless and forgotten. Those that wanted to disappear found it easy down here. There was no rule of law and life was cheap. Night will soon fall to reveal the dangerous night life. Xonan moved through the waves of misery. Beggars held their hands out. Young half naked children hid around corners and behind structures. The crew followed far enough behind him to offer him room, and close enough to lend support. Hondo's mind was awash with the strange smells of this world.

Xonan entered a bakery shop of sorts. The dark-haired woman was less then accommodating. She had never heard of the underworld, what to say an underworld broker? With a broom in hand she shoved him back to the street totally oblivious to the weapons he carried. Hondo pulled Xonan to one side.

"I can smell something very strange here. It's strange but it smells like fear. Or when I smell it, I can sense fear, if it makes sense. I don't know, but I don't like it." His eyes were big. He was freaking out. Xonan asked Hondo to walk with him and it calmed him down some.

"Across the road!" Stomp yelled from the back. Hondo could not see through the smog. But the crew had Infrared Vision on their visors that saw through it no problem. It was a drinking hole. Four very big doormen hung around the door on the outside.

"Yes!" Xonan called and walked in that direction. He was aiming at the door when one of the doormen pushed him back with a hand on his chest to stop his progress.

"You are over-dressed for this place friend." He said in a deep voice. There was two ways Xonan could play it. He could produce the Triad seal and be granted passage. True it will get them inside but, he had no idea how the population felt about their monarch now. Or he could bargain with the man and if the man enters into negotiations, he might be connected to the underworld. If not, they will have to find another Pub.

"Take a look around friend. It seems like we are actually under-dressed for these streets. This used to be a good neighborhood. What went wrong?" Xonan probed.

Doorman: "It's the curfew. It's got everyone on edge. No one knows when the mad King will cut our air supply."

Xonan: "We just want to wet our throats with the famous ale of Wondes. We are in pursuit of a very important mark." Sensed, a dislike for the monarch.

Doorman: "Ah, bounty men. That makes sense now. Who is the mark?"

Xonan leaned forward as if to whisper. The doorman leaned in and turned an ear to Xonan's lips. "Nemo." he whispered. The doorman smiled with approval and cleared the party to enter.

The pub was busy enough. It fell silent as the new faces entered the doors. Everyone looked at the new arrivals. Xonan picked an empty table against the far wall and they all took a seat. The space was gloomily lit and the smell of ale filled the air. Now and again the aroma of hearty food from the kitchen encouraged the patrons to spend some more credits. The place felt more like a Midway Inn than a suburban pub. Hondo could hardly believe his eyes when a Hersion slave girl came to take their orders. She looked at Hondo with sadness in her eyes as she took their orders. Then she asked Hondo. "Are you free?" "yes I am." He replied. "Good for you." She turned and left to fetch their drinks. The rest of the patrons lost interest in the new faces and the ambiance returned to normal.

Stomp could see that Hondo was pretty shook up by the sight of another Hersian. "Your people are scattered among the stars now Hondo. You will meet many of them on your path. You might even marry one and make some Hersians of you own. If it helps, we all lose our home worlds at some point. It is the way of the universe. But a place is not the people, the people is the place. Herse lives on, inside its people." He almost sounded compassionate. Look who took his smiley pills this morning?

Xonan saw opportunity. "Hondo, maybe she knows how we can contact the underworld. Ask her if she can sit down for a while when she brings the ale." He asked. Hondo watched her come closer.

"Can you sit a while? It's been a while since I saw another Hersian." He asked her.

"I'll find out" She said and left. After a few minutes she was back. She sat down and introduced herself as Helga. She told her story. She was born into slavery and came from a slave breeder here on Wondes. Her current master was as kind as one could expect and she lived well under the circumstance. Then she wanted to know about Herse, the utopian moon of a blue gas giant that they talk about late at night. They heard stories of the many proud houses and traditions. How the people lived as one with the world. Hondo could not bring himself to tell her the truth so he lied. He spoke of his land and house with such passion it brought tears to everyone's eyes. Sandra in particular was deeply moved by the passion Hondo showed for his lost world. Helga hung onto every word. She could see the moon and all its wonders before her mind's eye.

Hondo kept talking for the best part of two hours. Then he asked Helga without warning if she knew an underworld broker.

"Now that's funny. I was asked to keep you here until a broker comes to see you. It seems the underworld is looking for you too." She said spluttering with laughter.

Xonan looked at Kain with both his eyebrows raised. Kain felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. Stagie would have his vengeance it seems. The room got busy as night fell. The sound of drinking men grew louder. Some scuffles broke out between locals. On two occasions someone asked Xonan if he would like to place a bet on the outcome of the many fights between drunk individuals. Stomp was never one to miss out on some drunken fun, and soon found himself the subject of some local hero's rage. Xonan won a considerable amount of credits on the outcome. Kain was sharp as usual. He kept on his toes, scanning the patrons for concealed weapons. He was also very sensitive when their little group seemed to suddenly attract the attention of another group or groups. He started life working for the underworld from locations exactly like this one. Situations could change in the space of a single heartbeat down here. It was not the time or place to relax.

The night dragged on and there was no sign of the broker. Stomp wanted to leave, but Xonan pointed out that the broker wouldn't contact them while the pub was full. As it were, they stood out like a sore thumb, and no doubt, almost everyone here would know the broker. But Stomp argued that everyone here already knew that they were waiting for the broker, so it made no difference. Unless no one knew the broker in which case the argument was settled. So, they stayed. (A 'usefull' drunken logic) Finally, as the first light of day broke the Keeper closed the doors of the pub.

Xonan looked around and realized that they were the only people there. He saw a dwarf come around the bar. He came to the table. "Please follow me." He said.

Xonan pushed his chair out, and the rest of his crew followed. He scanned his crew. They all knew exactly what the look he gave them meant. He felt unsure and at a disadvantage, as did they all.

The dwarf led them into a large cold-room in the back. There he moved some crates around to reveal a trapdoor in the floor. They followed him down a tall stepladder. The gloomy light of the pub was replaced by bright white light that seemed to come from everywhere. At the bottom of the ladder they entered in a small platform. On one side was a set of tracks that ran into tunnels on either side. A capsule arrived from one side of the tracks and stopped in front of them. A door slid open.

"Please hop on. This is our version of a Hyper Loop." The imp said as he led the way.

The capsule could transport fifteen people comfortably. The crew found the seats quite comfortable.

"I would recline my seat and get some rest if I were you. The trip will take twelve hours." The imp closed the doors and struggled to get on a chair that was way too high for him.

Xonan and Co enjoyed the bone crushing thrust of the capsule as it took off. The low hum created by the motion of the vessel soon lulled them all to sleep.

The deceleration force woke the crew. The imp was wide awake. When he was sure that everyone was awake, he asked them to surrender their weapons. The bounty men had little choice and did as they were told. The imp placed the weapons in a big brown bag that he dragged to the front of the capsule. There he pushed on a panel, that flipped up to reveal a storage space. He dropped the bag in and told Xonan that they would be taking the same capsule out once their business is done. The door slid open and the crew were confronted by a vast open space filled with desks and people. Electronic tech filled every corner. The imp enjoyed the surprised look on everyone's faces.

"It never gets old. You bring people to the underworld and they expect old technology. What they find is the free universe. Free from the bondage of the dynasties. Free to choose for themselves and to create their own paths and follow their own dreams where they may prosper, regardless of their birthright. And to do that, we need to be ahead of the rest, on every front." Xonan looked at him in awe as he spoke. The space was shaped in a tall dome. It was impossible to tell if they were still underground.

The imp took them to a room on one side. On the way they ran into every conceivable race you could think off. All of them busy with something or another and they paid the visitors no attention at all. But the ever sharp Kain could point to at least three of them that was looking at them, without looking at them.

"Wait here for a while." The imp said and he left them there. They barely had time to look around when the door opened and a short, small, skinny, unassuming guy walked in.

"Kain, you son of a bitch! I should have you killed. Or maybe I'll sell you into slavery. But that's not really what we do down here. You owe me, and someday I will collect. Tell me, who is this with you and why are you here?" Stagie had no beef with Kain, not anymore. He has been expecting the visitors for a while now.

Kain took a heavy swallow "This is my Captain, Xonan. We are bounty men, or we were bounty men. We've come to you to seek information. Xonan, this is Stagie the underboss."

"Wait, wait..." Stagie cried "...Don't tell me. Let me think about this." He sat down behind a plain desk and played with his sideburn with a thumb and index finger. He looked at Hondo.

"I bet there is a number seven branded into your back." He said but he held his left hand up to prevent anyone from speaking. Sandra's jaw dropped.

"What news do you have of Gatlin?" Stagie continued. If they were taken aback by the accurate statement about Hondo's back, they were completely floored by the mention of Gatlin's name.

"He was doing well when we left" Xonan said under his breath.

"My apologies for losing your home world Hondo. Losing the first world is always the hardest. But take heart. You will soon call another world home. Now that we know who you are, what do you want?" It was time to play the master.

Caprica removed her atmosphere mask and dropped her hoody. Stagie stared at her. "You have a lot of nerve coming here Princess. The dynasties have been fighting a cold war against the underworld for as long as memory can take us back. What stops me from holding you ransom?" he asked.

Caprica: "Given the times we are in and the obvious familiarity you have with the running of our affairs, I'll take my chances. We need information on Cabal. It seems we are already facing hostilities instigated by him. We need to know how to fight him." She had a glow about her as she spoke. Unmistakeably Royal.

Stagie: "Indeed, sector nine. I might have insights, but tell me, what is in it for the underworld if I agree to help you?"

Caprica produced a wooden box as big as two hands from within her overcoat. She placed it on the table in front of Stagie. He slowly opened it halfway. Then he slammed it shut.

"You bring me this?" He asked. "It is that important to you? This is not something I can accept. You have no idea, do you?" He almost looked aggrieved.

"Cabal is routed in a world called Bodenheim. It is located near the center of the Great Attractor. One of the places we cannot go in our universe. The Guardians are locked in a war with him as we speak, a war for the universe! They fight where we can't see. Cabal has found a secret path beyond the Guardian's sight, but he can't move a large number of forces that way. You have a ship that can reach Bodenheim? A ship that could escape the pull of the Great Attractor, yes?"

Xonan: "The Nomad? I... I don't know if it could?"

Stagie: "Anyway you must to leave. You will take Nemo with you. His brother want's him dead. He needs to survive and perhaps he still has a role to play. He is waiting on your capsule. Be careful, the sentries will know that he is with you. Unfortunately, Turok have spies within this central command and they will sell the information to the Triads before you get back to street level. You will not have an easy escape from this world. Now go, play your part. Oh, and take your box with you.. you'll need it still."

Caprica: "Before we go Stagie, where does the underworld stand in all of this?"

Stagie: "Do you believe in this Commander Neel?"

Caprica: "Would I offer you this gift if I did not?"

Stagie: "I think the underworld will play a part. But we fight the dynasties, and Cabal also fights the dynasties. Only time will tell. His claim was successful by the way. He is now known as Jack of House Dominus, Ruler of the Andromeda Group. I have said enough"

The visitors were obviously happy with the news of Jacks success.

Caprica: "But we've heard that the underworld already fights against the Deep State" he knew more, she knew it.

Stagie: "Ah, so you know a little bit. You know what they say; a little information can be a dangerous thing. Maybe you should go see Hector. He is deeper than me."

Kain: "But I thought you took power from him to become underboss. He is dead?"

Stagie: "Will you be able to take from Hector, what he does not want to give freely? Now look at me. Do you really believe I took power from Hector? This is strange times we're in. Nothing is as it seems."

Xonan: "Where is Hector?"

Stagie: "On the pre-historic world of Guvu near the edge of the Great Attractor. Given the times we're in, I think he might be expecting someone to come. Now you really must leave. Like I said, Turok have spies here and the longer we talk the more suspect you lot become."

The imp led them back to the capsule. Inside they found a wild eyed individual. "O' look, I found Nemo!" Stomp laughed as he sat down next to the soon to be exiled monarch. Xonan sat opposite Kain. "If you once served the underworld you must have known of this place?" he asked.

Kain: "No, I did not. Well not in that many words. We knew of a central base of operations. But I could never have guessed that it was here, right under the noses of the most powerful dynasty. How do you imagine that is even possible?"

Sandra: "What if I told you we are not on Wondes anymore?" She always believed in alternate dimensions and wormholes. No one paid her much attention.

The capsule pushed them down into their seats. Stomp dished out some ration packs and everyone recharged. The imp showed Xonan a map of the streets they came from on ground level. The capsule will drop them off two blocks from the pub they left from. Its seven blocks away from the Renegade. The imp wanted to know how they planned on leaving this world if the Triads already knew that they have Nemo with them. Xonan did not go into detail. He didn't want to let the imp know that they had a contract out on Nemo and that the Triads would see it as good news that they have captured the fugitive monarch.

Back on the streets the bounty crew covered the city blocks with relative ease and unhindered. Inside their ship Sandra asked for orders from her captain.

"Well, I'm open to suggestions. The skies are crowded with police and military vessels. Our cloak might get us passed them. But once we leave atmosphere we're bound to be detected. And even if we manage to jump before we get shot to hell, they can track our warp signature very easy and precise. We'll be hunted down." Xonan half said, half asked.

Stomp: "Why don't we gun it back to Quora territories. The monarchs could claim prima rights over Nemo, claiming they had the contract out first."

Sandra: "I don't think it would be a good idea to show them what's happening there now?"

Stomp: "What do you mean? How do you know what's happening there now?"

Xonan: "We don't, but I think we know that house Dominus is changing the lay of the land over there."

Kain: "Then we need to jump where they cannot follow."

Xonan: "What do you have in mind?"

Kain: "Lets whack it straight into the Virgo Hub. The Guardian brought us this far."

The crew was silent. Everyone was looking to find something to say that would prevent them from going through with Kain's plan, but nothing came to mind.

"Apparently there is no objections. Sandra, take us to low orbit altitude as fast as she'll go. Set coordinates for the center of the Virgo Hub, and you jump us as soon as we hit five percent atmosphere. Everyone buckle-up!"

The Renegade zipped through the air and jumped just as it was detected. The Triad battle fleet tracked the signature, but none followed. Samus sat with Elain, his sister when they received the news. They both looked at each other. "Well, we really are just pawns now. I don't know what to believe anymore. We should retreat into hiding." Samus spoke slow and soft.

Elian: "We'll have to meet this new Monarch, Jack. We must gift him tribune to help establish central finance and a home network." She wanted her beloved brother right here, out in the open.

Samus: "Friend or foe? We should find out. Send him an invite to visit us here on Wondes. We will tribune him regardless."

Sandra leaned back onto her chair after she initiated the jump. The Renegade managed to leave Wondes unhindered. She turned her chair to face Nemo. "So, tell us my lord, what is your story?" She asked what they were all thinking.

Nemo: "I don't know what is going on. One minute I'm living my life, and the next my sister Elian tells me to run and hide because my brother Samus wants to have me killed."

Stomp: "Why?"

Nemo: "I don't know."

Sandra: "Bulshit! You must have done something."

Nemo: "I'm telling the truth." He was almost in tears. It was evident that he was pretty shook-up or playing his role to perfection?

Xonan: "How did you wind up with the underworld?"

Nemo: "I ran down to street level in a disguise. Many of the folk down their hate the Monarchs, but I had to take my chances down there. I walked around for about half a day. I remember talking to an undernourished, half naked girl when I was hit with a tank dart in my neck. I woke up in the central command where you found me."

Xonan: "Your brother claims you made an attempt on his life."

Nemo did not reply, he just sat their and stared at his hands. Xonan tried to get a read on the young man. Nemo took the immortalizing serum at a young age and looked no older than nineteen. Xonan could not get a read. He could be telling the truth, or not.

Hondo: "What do you know of this Guvu planet we're seeking?" He was turning into quite the spacefarer.

Kain: "Well, it's kind of a mystery place. Some say it exists and others say it's a myth. It is supposed to be an old planet that is still in early stages of evolution. It is supposed to be inhabited by insects. Some believe that there is a giant silkworm farm there. Many have tried to find it, and a lot of those that tried never came back."

Hondo's eyes grew bigger as Kain spoke.

The party of six made themselves comfortable for the three day hop to the Virgo Hub, deep inside guardian territories. They had no idea how the guardians will react to this blatant infringement on their grounds. Xonan was less anxious than the rest. This will be his second visit to guardian territories, and the last one ended quite well for him.

Sandra woke Xonan with a gentle shake on his shoulder. "We're almost there" She whispered. Xonan looked about and everyone else was sleeping. He sat up straight and dialed into his control panel. He asked Sandra to drop the ships cloak, he didn't want it to look like they were trying to sneak into the forbidden zone. Shortly thereafter they dropped out of the jump, all the ship's alarms and warning bussers went off. The rest of the crew stirred with some urgency. The ship's systems crashed and she went off line. The interior went dark. The half-awake crew stirred with a buzz of chatter and movement. No one knew exactly what was going on. Sandra confirmed that they were dead and drifting. Life support was also down, they had about two hours air. All attempts to reboot the systems failed. There was no power, and nothing worked. Within five minutes the entire crew was shivering as the coldness of space punched through the ship's hull.

After half an hour everyone was quiet, rubbing their hands together and blowing out white frosty clouds with every exhale. One of Sandra's screens flickered into life.

Xonan: "What is it?" His teeth rattled against each other as he spoke.

Sandra: "Jump coordinates. It's being uploaded into the main frame. Systems rebooting." She shivered uncontrollably.

The ship's lights flickered momentarily before they came on. Without Sandra touching anything the ship jumped. Heat was restored a couple of minutes after that. "Let's not do that again, in a hurry!" Stomp sighed. Nemo was less impressed, but he kept his thoughts to himself. Xonan and Sandra studied the new co-ordinates. They were set to exit the jump on the edge of the Great Attractor. It is also a forbidden zone of the universe so there were no actual maps to draw on. What was known about the region was acquired through basic telescopes. And it seemed like they were heading into a void of sorts. Everyone felt a little on edge. It would be another three days before they complete the jump.

The Renegade entered normal space after the jump. It took Sandra a couple of hours to complete a scan of the area.

"I detect gravity similar to an orange dwarf, but I can't see anything there." she reported.

Xonan "How far?"

Sandra: "About four light days away."

Xonan: "Take us closer."

From about half a light day away the crew made a startling discovery. It was indeed an orange dwarf star wrapped in a Dyson sphere to harvest all of the star's energy. The sphere had a hole big enough to allow starlight to fall on the only planet that orbits it. As they approached, The Renegade went off line again.

Sandra: "I'm dead stick. We're drifting towards the planet. We're set to hit atmosphere in less than thirty seconds." She was frantic, her hands and fingers busy on the unresponsive panels.

Xonan: "Brace for entry" He said flatly in his raspy voice.

There was a sudden loud noise and the port windows glowed red as the Renegade hit atmospheric friction. She shook and bucked and made all kinds of noises. The red glow gave way for brilliant magenta skies.

Xonan: "Everyone suit up. We're jumping!" He shouted as he got up. The crew responded to the order, but Sandra stayed in her seat.

Xonan: "Come on woman! Move!" He shouted in her ear.

Sandra: "We're slowing down, Xonan."

Xonan stopped to look at Sandra's screen. His Exo-suit half strapped on.

Xonan: "She is right, we are slowing down. How is that possible?"

Sandra: "A tractor beam Maybe?"

Xonan: "Suit up anyway, keep an eye on our velocity. The rest of you strap in. At this speed we'd survive the crash." Everyone did as they were told.

Hondo looked through the window. The surface was covered in thick lush green forests with tall trees, mountains valleys, oceans and lakes. There was no sign of civilizations. The tree tops grew closer and soon the ship crashed through the forest canopy. Shortly after, they hit the ground at a comfortable landing speed.

Stomp: "What the fuck just happened?"

Kain: "Ya, I also want to know."

Xonan: "Atmosphere reading?"

Sandra: "Its Oxygen rich, but breathable. We'll feel euphoric for a bit before we get used to it."

Xonan: "Open the door, let's step outside. Kain, on point if you please"

The door opened and a gush of hot humid air hit them. It was like stepping into a bubble of moist humidity that pressed down on your shoulders. The air was hot enough to burn the nostrils. Kain dropped down three feet to the forest floor. The undergrowth was a thick, velvety, green moss of sorts and he stood knee deep in it. His bionic senses went into overdrive. His head felt light and dizzy. The forest was alive with sounds. The trees were huge and the shrubs thick. There were various paths through the shrubs, probably made by animals. One by one the others joined Kain on the forest floor. Everyone had a rifle at the ready, and everyone felt dizzy in the head.

Stomp pointed halfway up a giant tree. Everyone saw a centipede with a head the size of a Volkswagen bug that curled several times around a tree as it moved higher up. It was a brown-red in color.

Stomp: "Down here we might be Supper, ha-ha-ha!" The euphoria got the better of him, and everyone else joined in the nervous laughter. "I wonder if it will be possible to get hungover here?" He cracked another one through the giggles.

Xonan: "Everyone, back on board. Let's first find our feet in this climate"

After about an hour they tried again. They were all on the forest floor when Kain said that something was coming from the right. Everyone took firing positions as the cracking of branches and rustle of leaves grew closer. The undergrowth shook and a huge Rhino bug appeared. It was as big as a minibus. Everyone was ready to shoot, but the bug stopped ten feet away from them. Kain noticed a steel box imbedded on the bug's back near his head.

Kain: "Do you see that?" He asked no one in particular without moving his eyes of the bug.

Sandra: "The giant pantsered black beetle that looks like he could eat us all? Yeah I can see it."

Stomp: "Nah, you'll be fine, just don't shit your pants."

Nemo: "Now you tell me."

Kain: "See the box on its back?"

Xonan: "Now that you mention it."

The beetle turned around and slowly walked back the way it came.

Kain: "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Xonan: "Aye, we follow it. That can only be a control box on its back."

Hondo: "Control box?" He was scared shitless.

Xonan: "Yeah, it's a computer chip that allows the bug to be remotely controlled. The bug will still function normal, until it needs to be used, then it can be remotley directed and even made to perform tasks."

Kain followed the bug at around five paces. The rest followed with Sandra, Xonan, Hondo, Nemo and Caprica in the middle. Stomp brought up the rear. The bug found a winding insect path through the undergrowth. Kain was astonished when he realized that some of the trees around them was actually giant ferns.

Kain: "That centipede is following us in the trees."

Sandra: "Ya, I've been thinking of shooting it."

Xonan: "You might just piss it off"

Kain: "There's a clearing ahead, we might lose it there."

The forest made way for a large circular clearing. The thick moss-like undergrowth was baked hard and brown and surrounded a small lake of crystal-clear water. The Rhino bug walked to the edge of the lake and turned around to face its followers. Everyone instinctively razed their rifles, ready for anything. The Bug 'crabbed' to the side and away from the water. Suddenly there was a cry from behind. Xonan spun around to see the centipede lift Stomp of the ground. It had its jaws wrapped around his waist. Stomp cried a blood chilling cry and his rifle dropped to the ground. The centipede shook its head twice and the jaws closed like a pair of badly bent scissors over each other. It had its first six joints off the ground and towered above the puny people underneath it. Stomp gave a final grunt accompanied by the unmistakable sound of skin tearing and bones snapping. His legs dropped to the ground, freed from his torso.

Xonan aimed to fire his gun but was knocked off his feet by a charging Rhino bug. The centipede dropped to the floor to answer the charge. The bug hit it horn first smack in the mouth. Its legs kicked up pieces of dried moss as it pushed against the centipede with all its strength. Xonan opened fire, striking the centipede in the side. Everyone followed his example. In between the gunshots they could hear a scraping sound as the centipede's jaws slipped over the bugs armored exoskeleton as it struggled for grip. Another Rhino bug burst through the bushes to the right. It also charged at the centipede, and crashed into its side impaling its horn about five joints from its head. The centipede curled its red body so it could introduce the pinchers on its tail to the battle. Much bigger than its jaws the pinchers wrapped around the side bug with ease and cut it in half. The bounty crew, were pushed back by the sight of the rear pinchers. Its front jaws were beginning to scrape trough the armor of the remaining bug.

Kain: "On me!" he ran for the forest in the same direction they have been traveling in. The rest needed no invitation to follow him. Kain found a path and ran for about five minutes before he stopped. Everyone needed a moment to reflect. They've just lost Stomp. He was a vital part of the crew. He was their muscle, their protector. The loss was indescribable. Sandra embraced Kain, they both cried. Through his teary eyes Xonan saw Hondo throw his head back and sniff the air.

Xonan: "What is it Hondo" His voice was cracked.

Hondo: "Cooking. Someone is cooking meat up ahead. Same direction as the path"

Xonan: "Get it together. We are moving, and we don't need to lose anyone else." His voice shook. He took point himself.

The grieving group moved slowly. Soon they could all smell the scent of grilled meat. The forest grew denser and the path narrower. Then out of nowhere Xonan walked into a tall diamond mess fence. There was a gate to the side, secured with a simple sliding hatch. Xonan opened it and stepped through. He looked up and saw the fence formed a dome that reached high into the forest canopy.

"Close the mosquito net once you're all inside" A voice came over a loud PA system.

Kain: "I know that voice. It is Hector."

"Kain, is that you? Wow, what a strange world we live in. No pun intended. Sorry about your friend, I did what I could. You'll find basement doors about ten paces straight ahead. We're underground."

They opened the doors and the rich smell of home cooking filled the air. They followed stairs down into the deep. It was well lit. Eventually the stairs stopped and at the bottom Hector was waiting for them. He led them to the kitchen where they all sat around a table. There were plenty other people, most of them wore virtual reality goggles whilst they operated a control pad. They were obviously controlling bugs out there. There was something wrong with the ambiance. It took Xonan a while before he realized that no one was talking. It was deadly quiet. After all the greetings 'and how did you get here?' questions Hector came to the point.

"What is it you think I can do for you?" He asked.

Xonan "We need information on Cabal and the Deep State." He put both elbows on the table.

Hector smiled and leaned back on his chair. "I understand you are in possession of a very rare jewel. May I see it?"

Caprica put the box on the table and slid it over the tabletop to Hector. He stopped it with one hand, turned it to face him and slowly opened it. He stared at it for a moment. "What a marvelous sight" he said. Then he closed the box and returned it in the same fashion it came to Caprica. "The Deep state is where Cabal's power lays. He controls dynasties with it without them knowing he is controlling them. The Deep State is the banking system of Accumulates. They put the dynasties in debt from the start. A debt they can never repay fully. They force the dynasties to adhere to a strict trade treaty that prevents anyone, without a license, to mine or recover precious minerals, metals and stones. The reason for this is because all of these elements are abundant within the vastness of the universe. If everyone were allowed to mine as much as they want, they would flood the market, prices would drop and the universal economy would collapse. The treaty makes it illegal for dynasties to sell stockpiles of their riches to each other. This makes Accumulates the only buyers on the market. They dictate supply and demand." He gave them time to absorb the information.

"If a dynasty transgresses, it will ultimately lead to a weakening of the other dynasties as the market price will drop. So, the dynasties police each other. Many a great war has been fought on behalf of Accumulates without them lifting so much as a little finger. The absolute genius lays in the immortalization serum. Dynasties have strict policies to protect the serum and prevent it from reaching anyone other than the Monarchs. This keeps the Custodians focused on pleasing their Monarchs in the hope to be rewarded with immortality. That is why the Triads put a contract out on Gatlin. He wanted to distribute the serum everywhere to everyone and this would weaken the dynasty's Custodians to accumulate wealth for their immortal masters. But the Deep State is half the story." He paused as a steward served them all some ale.

Caprica: "What do you know of Bodenheim?"

Hector: "That is the question. It seems to be where Cabal comes from. It is in the center of the Great Attractor. So, one can safely assume that Bodenheim is the cause of the tremendous mass that is so large that it effects the entire universe. We don't know how that is possible. This brings me to your jewel. If we could get our hands on half a kilogram of Deuterium, we might be able to recreate The Great Attractor on a smaller scale so we can study it and maybe find a way to reach it."

Caprica looked at the little box. "There is maybe a hundred and fifty grams in here. That is not enough." She said softly.

Hector: "There are three other stones in existence. One is on Kent, the world with giants. They will hand it over to the right person at the right time. One is held in the volts of Accumulates. The third is in the possession of The Fallen Brother of Cabal. He will not give it up freely. How and where to find him I do not know. But if you can put three stones together, they might be drawn to the last one. And together all four stones might hold enough Deuterium to show us the way." He knew the importance of the stones, but he was careful not to show his hand, at least not yet.

Xonan: "What happened to my ship on the way in?"

Hector: "Ah yes sorry. It is automated planetary defenses. A tractor beam that shuts down systems and crash uninvited guests into the surface so they can never give away the location of this world. Lucky for you, I was expecting you so we put you down softly and close by. Please enjoy the meal that follows with me, and stay a day or two while we retrieve your ship. It's a bit rough out there."

Xonan: "Why did we have to come here for this information? Why didn't Stagie tell us this on Wondes"? He felt angry.

Hector: "One word - Turok. They have spies within the underworld Hub and no one can know of your quest."

Caprica: "Impressive Dyson sphere! I've heard of the technology, but never knew it truly existed. Why do you harvest that much energy?"

Hector: "That belongs to the Guardians. I do not know why. I will give you as much silk as you can carry. Silk harvested from our giant silkworms. It is a commodity that is priceless."

The group made small talk while they were served a generous feast of meat and drink. Two days later the Renegade entered warp and headed for the cloaked homing beacon of Malachi in the Quora territories.

#  Nine

In Sector Four of Quora territories, Alex presided over a small ceremony that saw Mila take Jack's new name, Dominus. The captain's quarters would be empty from that day forward. Lucy remained silent while the two newlyweds enjoyed each other undisturbed in the commanders quarters. But after three blissful days, it was time to get back to business.

Lucy: "Commander. It is time to return to reality. There are several matters to discuss." Her voice spoke loud and clear in his head.

Jack looked at Mila's face as she lay in his arm on his bed. Her eyes were closed and she looked like an angel. The pronounced cheekbones and narrow nose and chin and her dark complection made his heart sing. She did not bat an eye, and he was certain that Lucy was only speaking to him. He carefully maneuvered his arm out from under her neck. Then he dressed and headed to the flight deck.

Lucy: "The Renegade made it off Wondes and with one Monarch heavy. Nemo, the youngest of the Triad dynasty. He is on the run from his brother Samus. Don't know what happened between them, but we have Nemo now. I don't know where the Renegade is headed though. You've received congratulations and invitations from all four the other dynasties. They all indicated that they will pay you a tribune to kickstart your finances."

Jack: "Tribune, finances? I don't understand."

Lucy: "Like on Earth everything revolves around money. But we call it credits. The army you gather here will want payment after the battle is complete. They will share in the plunder of worlds and ships. To setup a central command post and home planet costs quite a bit. You'll need help and resources from the houses in your territories. And there's an annual fee to subscribe to the universal information and communication Network. That is how we receive news and messages over such vast distances within hours of it being sent. The dynasties offer to give you a large sum of credits to help you get started. But they will not let you forget that you accepted their help.

Jack: "Payable to whom?"

Lucy: "Accumulates, the bankers. The gifts from the dynasties would be enough for you to open an account under your house name. Accumulates will then give you a dynasty account and give you enough credit to fund your awakening."

Jack: "So we'll be starting our campaign in debt?" He was a bit confused and a bit troubled. His house would be rich, but his dynasty poor.

Mila joined Jack on the flight deck. Her cheeks were covered in a red rash, the result of Jacks hard facial hair ruffing her up. Together they studied the force they have assembled.

Jack: "I've been thinking about the mobile infantry. They've lost two thirds of their numbers. It's not that they can't fight, it's more like we've gravely underestimated the numbers we'd be up against. I mean, look at the number of ships gathered here."

Mila: "Yes, sadly it looks like they will get slaughtered anywhere they have to deploy. And there was the unfortunate business of the mutiny"

Jack: "What if we could prevent that in the future?"

Mila: "How?" She tilted her head to one side.

Jack: "Well, about the mutiny and the execution. I instructed Hilda to assimilate the executed officers. They are now fully functioning cyborgs that will fight to the last." Jack waited for Mila to respond.

Mila: "No. Can you do that?" She almost whispered.

Jack: "I can. Their bodies would have been recycled anyway. I just recycled them in a different way." Mila understood what the darkness was she saw in Jack's soul the day before the execution. He was good at this sort of thing, thinking ahead and staying one step ahead of the curve. Jack indicated for her to follow him and he left the flight deck.

Mila watched Jack leave the flight deck without moving. She snapped out of it as the doors closed behind him. She followed him to science. Hilda was welcoming and looked ten years younger. She took them to a control room. There was a big glass window that overlooked a closed square room. Two men sat on steel chairs in the middle with their backs to each other. Their heads were clean shaven and they looked strikingly similar. Two similar men faced the seated men. They were dressed in combat gear. Hilda took some time to explain what she did to the test subjects. It was important to note that they feel no pain, and that she could put them back together as long as the brain stayed undamaged. Jack wanted to see a weapon. Hilda spoke into a microphone and the test began.

The subjects stood up together and faced the shooters in combat gear. They opened fire on the subjects careful not to hit them in the head. Their bodies shook as the bullets hit home but they remained standing. The shooters emptied the four clips of forty rounds each for their rifles. Then they continued the attack with their side arms. One subject lost an arm at the elbow. When the shooting stopped the subjects turned to face the window. They were shot to hell, but there was no blood. They walked around a bit and then sat down again.

Mila looked at Jack. She could tell that it troubled him as much as it did her, but he had no choice. They needed soldiers. Jack called a meeting with the top infantry ranks. He pitched the concept to them. He was hoping the dreadful losses suffered on Herse would at least give them an open mind. He was right. It was agreed to transform the remaining infantry force. The top ranks would find a new permanent home in the situation room from where they could relay orders from a bird's eye view. But Jack was only willing to give up two seats in the war room, one to Frank and the other to Boesman. Jack put out a call for all infantry to report to the infirmary as they discovered a harmful bacterium they might have picked up on Herse and they need to receive a vaccine. By 20:00 on that day what was left of infantry was being transformed under sedation.

Jack asked the flight leaders of the attack force to assemble on the Nomad for a briefing. They were all seated on the bottom section of the galley. All of them were intrigued by the androids. Barley set up a nice briefing post in the front with holographic screens. Jack gave them a brief outline of the attack strategy he had in mind with the intel available. The source of intrusion covered an area of about half a light day in the center of section nine and was well protected. Quora have attacked this insertion area several times with little success. Their intel suggested that there was an endless flow of enemy war birds coming from that area, and they were unable to identify an incoming warp signature. Jack listened patiently as everyone gave their input. It was clear that Jack found himself in the company of accomplished commanders who knew what they were talking about, and as a result everyone was saying the same thing, just a little differently. Before Jack could adjourn the briefing, the commanders wanted to know what they could expect as payment. After a little back and forth, they settled on three kilograms of pure gold. Easy enough for the Nomad held five tons of the stuff in its stores.

Jack wanted to know more about the other ships, so he organized a joint exercise. Two fighter squadrons of each carrier would compete against one another. A defending squadron had to protect their carrier while an attacking squadron attempted to land one fighter on its carrier-deck. It turned out that everyone was evenly matched. Jack slipped ten android fighters into his force, and they proved to be far superior, suffering zero hits. Satisfied, Jack ordered their advance to begin the following day.

Early in the morning of the joint attack, Commander Jack received a boarding request from a Quora cruiser as he was settling into the war room.

Jack: "Who is it?"

Lucy: "It is Anastasia, I've already approved her request. Shall I ask her to join you here?"

Jack: "Yes"

05:00

Jack gave Anastasia a seat close to him. She was surprised to find him alone in the war room. She envisioned many support staff with a busy room. But she did not say anything. Jack instructed Lucy to speak over the com's speakers, so that he didn't look mad in the head when he responds to her talking in his head. Anastasia watched in amazement as Jack and Lucy checked and rechecked systems. They brought everything online. One thing at a time. Diverting power to systems and pushing their outputs to well past four hundred percent. At times when all the power drives were engaged the whole ship shook.

05:45

Jack transmits fleetwide. "This is Commander Neel. I've sent Jump coordinates to every vessel. We will engage in three, two, one..." They completed the jump in no time, it was a short hop from there.

05:50

Jack, fleetwide. "Alert level five, all hands to battle stations, repeat all hands to battle stations."

Sirens and red lights went off, but there wasn't much of a scurry on any attack ship. Most of the crews were already where they were supposed to be.

Jack fleetwide. "Launch battle cruisers and long-range bombers, directive, seek and destroy enemy assembly point. Main fleet move to V formation, the Nomad will take up the rear. Bring us in range. Cue all frigates and fighters. Charge all guns. Raise shields. Weapons free, I repeat weapons free."

Jack watched his screens as the attack force formed a large V shape in front of the Nomad and they began their advance. Anastasia asked Jack why he put the Nomad to the rear of the formation. She felt disappointed because she was looking forward to seeing the ship in action. But jack pointed out that all the ships in his fleet were paid to fight, and as such he felt he did not need to risk the Nomad.

05:55

The first reports of contact from the forward attack force came through. The fighting was heavy and losses considerable. "Processed scanned information of forward force. Bringing it up on screen!" Lucy brought up the layout of the assembly point. It looked like about a hundred battleships that formed a defensive ring formation. Jack transmitted the information to his fleet.

Jack, fleetwide: "All forward attack vessels return to formation. I'm placing the Nomad high above the fleet at the rear. Engage long range weapons."

On the flight deck Mila, Alex and Barley fired what guns they could. The Nomad let rip with a continues barrage of it's main, primary and secondary guns. Thick, short orange and green laser bursts flew over the allied fleet from the rear. They could not join in the attack. Their weapons were still out of range.

Around the enemy fleet the incoming fire created spectacular bursts of light as the lasers hit shields. The enemy changed their circular defensive formation to a staggered right-on formation. Some forward, some backward, and some in the middle, stacked in six layers facing the oncoming attack.

06:00

The two opposing fleets finally got into range of each other. The space between them erupted with the streaking lights of phasor weapons. Jack's fleet consisted of more than a thousand battle Ships. This fight should be over before it even starts. Frantic reports of sustained damage from within Jack's fleet began to come through. It was expected to have losses in battle, so Jack was not phased much. Anastasia, watched the holographic screens in awe as the battle unfolded. She's never been part of such a complete attack. She let out a surprised cry when the Nomad sudenly shook and shuddered. Jack had an amused look on his face. "Sorry about that, it's the flight deck, they have engaged all the ship's guns. The shuddering is from her recoil weapons."

The enemy's shields were beaten down with relative ease and they were taking heavy loses. Lucy noted a change in their attack strategy. They were focusing their fire on the Nomad. Before Jack could respond, Lucy brought every possible reserve fusion drive on line and diverted excess power to bow shield generators. She shut down all non-essential systems. The war room went dark with the rest of the ship, but she left Jack's screens active. Moments later the Nomad shook violently as the enemy fire ripped into her shields. At that point Mila gave the order to return fire in a synchronized fashion. The guns fired in sync, all aiming at the same target. Jack watched the telemetry on the power grid and the shields. The power grid was running stable at four hundred and eighty percent. The shields varied between sixty percent at the lowest and ninety percent at the highest. Nothing was getting through, yet. The first enemy ship was hit with the synchronized fire from the Nomad. It simply evaporated in a cloud of metal flung about in a disorderly fashion, immediately followed by the next ship to explode in the same way.

06:05

Lucy noted twenty new enemy ships engaging from within the enemy fleet.

Jack: 'What do you mean new?"

"They weren't there, and now they are there. I'm not picking up a warp signature. They just appeared"

Jack: "Status on our attack fleet."

"We've lost sixty ships, moderate to heavy damages reported to the remaining ships."

Jack: "Status on the enemy fleet"

"Eighty percent destroyed. Calculating total destruction in fifty seconds."

Jack watched the laser lights diminish. There were no more targets to shoot at. Lucy returned ship systems to normal. Jack ordered a scan of the enemy insertion area. How were they able to introduce twenty new ships from nowhere? Scans came up empty. Jack ordered two hundred destroyers to patrol the area and to engage anything that moved. No diplomatic bullshit. They will shoot on sight The rest of the fleet were ordered back to sector four for debrief.

Back in sector four of Quora territories, Jack ordered the support ships of the Dechka and Dominus dynasties back to their territories. He invited the eight custodians of the fallen Flagg dynasty, that stood up to challenge his claim for the monarchy on Gensous, to join him on the Nomad. They were all assembled in the top section of the galley. The custodians could not stop talking about the performance of the Nomad during the battle for sector nine. Jack invited them over so that he could get a read on them. He needed to re-assure himself that his new dynasty was loyal to him and he figured that the houses that stood up to challenge for the monarchy, should by default be the most powerful houses of the old dynasty. The manner of his guests reassured him that they were genuine in their pledge to loyalty, and that the Nomad scared the living daylight out of them.

The custodians did however urge Jack to establish a Central Command Hub for house Dominus and to choose a home world. This was very important. Without it the houses would struggle to engage in free trade with the rest of the universe. The houses could also mine and sell, what they wanted, without obtaining the proper trade licenses. This will lead to severe consequences when the other dynasties learn of the transgressions. They also asked Jack to open a trade account with Accumulates under house Dominus. Without a dynasty account it is impossible for the affiliated houses to trade on a universal scale. But the most pressing matter for them was to re-establish their once booming slave trade that formed the backbone of their economy. Jack agreed to look into the matter as soon as house Dominus was settled. But he had no intentions of re-opening the slave trade. He had a vision for Dominus and the houses of his dynasty, and enslaving worlds had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Jack promised to get the trade account up as soon as possible, and asked the eight custodians to prepare a brief for him that outlines possible home worlds. Jack knew when he was out of his depth, and when it was time to delegate. This was such a time.

Soon after, the Nomad was alone in the space of sector four. Jack ordered the ship to return to Malachi. Where to from there, no one knew. Jack and Mila hitched a ride on Anastasia's cruiser. The Renegade arrived shortly after them. Soon they were assembled in the ancient hall of Malachi. Everyone listened intently as Caprica gave them an account of their journey. The bounty crew, Xonan, Kain and Sandra just stared at the table as Caprica spoke. The loss of their crewman still very much a tender point.

Uhura: "First things first. What to do with Nemo?" She looked at Nemo for a while.

Uhura: "Well, I think he stays with the bounty men. That's how he came, so let's leave him there. I have no idea why he is here. But I guess we'll find out soon enough."

Uhura: "Well Jack, you'll have to choose a home world, a place where you can setup your central command. You'll need material, and a workforce. You'll need to set up a defensive fleet, all of this will cost a pretty penny. And you have to respond to the invitations by the other dynasties."

Jack: "I have gold, lots of it, and I can go get more."

Uhura: "You haven't been listening have you Jack? You need a license to mine."

Jack: "But I'm from a developing galaxy, I have not signed any trade agreement with anyone."

There was a moment silence as everyone digested what jack just said.

Caprica: "You are right. That's why Hector smiled when he mentioned the trade treaties. You can mine as much as you want, and you already have enough to setup your entire command post. Jack, you could distribute whatever you want to whomever you want. You could flood the market and buckle The Deep State, if you time your move right"

Uhura: "I'm not sure how I feel about bringing down The Deep State, if Accumulates is The Deep State. That would inevitably bring down the dynasties. Everything we know will change. And where is this Cabal if he controls Accumulates? Why haven't we seen him?"

Gatlin: "What you say is true, things will change. Cabal is real, the Guardians did not put us on this path so we could all sing 'Kumbaya' and hold hands, and what happens if Cabal wins?... I will go with Jack to Accumulates to open a trade account. Even if we do it just to avoid suspicion. We'll find out as much as we can while we're there." Thats all good Uncle Ben, but I'll not sign any trade agreement. Jack thought.

They discussed everything that happened over the last months in depth. It was decided that the bounty crew would focus on finding the remaining three Deuterium stones. Gatlin was adamant that it might be useful if they could obtain enough of the stuff to study the formation of elements in the early universe or why exactly this universe formed the specific element we see today. Mila, and Caprica joined their quest, and The Renegade docked in the shuttle bay of Caprica's cruiser and then left for Kent, the planet of giants. Anastasia would join Jack on The Nomad. She wanted to be part of whatever the Nomad might discover. This left Uhura to rule Quora alone.

Jack felt a burning desire to return home. He wanted to share the triumphs with his home world. He might even decide to make Earth his central command post and home world of house Dominus. He was in good spirits when he ordered his ship to jump to a very wide system orbit around Earth, some five light days away. He was on the flight deck along with his new guest, Anastasia when the jump was completed. From a distance they listened for communication signals but the space was eerily silent. Jacks optimism slowly faded away into despair. The Nomads auxiliary fusion engines kicked into life and the ship moved closer. Still there was nothing. At around half a light day they picked up two emergency homing beacons from lifeboats. Jack felt his heart sink. Something was very wrong in the home system of the Galactic Alliance.

He watched on the screen as they approached the Adam space station. A mangled pile of metal drifting through space now replaced the once bustling Hub. It was unrecognizable and very clear that whomever attacked it wanted to utterly destroy it, and everyone that served on it. At that moment Boesman walked through the bridge doors.

"Sorry bru, I saw it from the infantry monitors. I had to come here, if that's alright with you?" He asked.

Jack: "What happened here?" His voice was soft.

Boesman: "I don't know bru, what do you hear from Earth?"

Jack: "Nothing, they are not responding, no one is responding. Venus and Mars are also quiet."

Boesman: "Do you reckon they are..." He couldn't finish the sentence.

"I'm picking up two lifeboat beacons. Shall, I launch Android skiffs to retrieve them" Lucy asked over the bridge speaker system. Jack agreed and forty minutes later the android crews recovered two hibernation pods with humans in them.

Jack was in the main shuttle bay along with Boesman and Hilda when the pods arrived. It was two women, dressed in Alliance Uniform. Hilda attempted to scan the pods and go through the telemetry to assess the condition of their occupants before she opened the pods.

Jack: "I am in no mood to fuck around Hilda. Open them and wake them up!" He said flatly.

Hilda obliged with a sigh. One of the pod's coffin like doors swung open with a loud hissing sound. Inside the woman's eyes fluttered open. She looked at the Alliance uniforms standing around her and that made her break down. "Oh, thank God. I thought I would never be rescued. It was terrible. They are all dead, everyone! Who would do such a thing?" She became uncontrollably hysterical as she cried through the words. The woman in the second pod was more composed, even if she was as badly shook up as the first one.

She recalled that there was an alert five issued, a call to battle stations. She was an admin clerk and made her way to the lifeboats. But before she made it out of her section, there was a call to abandon the station, to board the lifeboats and leave the station. Shortly after that the station shook violently and continuously. It was obviously sustaining heavy damages. She managed to get to the lifeboat just in time to release it from the station before the station imploded. She watched the Adam, from the lifeboat's small port window, sustain mortal fire. Then she was violently thrown around inside the lifeboat as it was struck with a percussion wave from a huge explosion in close proximity, probably the weapons stores of the Adam.

Jack listened intently. Did I cause this attack? Was it my fault that the Alliance was attacked? Could it be retaliation for the victory in sector nine of the Quora territories? I will find whoever is responsible for this attack. If it kills me and everyone on this ship, I will find them and I will hold them accountable. Jack thought to himself. Boesman watched Jack's green eyes turn from a soft and pitiful blue/green to a hard-fiery green color. He knew that look all too well. He usually caught a glimpse of that look after he pushed too far or too hard as a child and was about to receive Jack's full retribution. The memory made him shudder. Jack sent the women to the infirmary and made his way back to the bridge.

Mars was to be their next stop. It was completely destroyed. The planet was scorched black. All the satellites and external planetary defenses were wiped out. They even destroyed the artificial magnetosphere placed between mars and the sun to protect the planet against solar radiation. Earth suffered the same fate. The oceans were gone and the planet was burned to a crisp. There was no life, the planet was sterile. Together the Nomad's crew watched in silence as they flew by Venus. It was the same there. The entire system was destroyed. The Nomad became a Nomad of human existence. It had no home to go to.

Jack set a course for Alfa-cent, hoping to find the deep spaceport still intact. Luckily it was as Jack left it. He made contact with the station chief and the two of them spent a whole day going over the past events and the way forward. There were many living planets that harbored humans in the Alliance territories of the Milky Way galaxy. The Two of them decided that the station chief will choose a new home system for the Alliance and that the Milky Way was obviously not ready to join the rest of the universe just yet.

When all was said and done, Jack excused himself from the flight deck, and headed to his room. He needed time to come to terms with it all. You will suffer a loss far greater then you've ever experienced. The words of The Ancient One kept repeating in his head. You will return to find the home system of the Alliance in shambles. The words of Admiral green came back to him followed by the vision of his home system locked in a terrible space battle in his dream so long ago.

The doors to his quarters opened up and in the corner of the room was the figure of a woman dressed in a white silky robe with a veil over her face. Jack realized that it was the guardian. He slowly moved to his bed and sat down on the corner. He stared at his hands closed together as if in prayer. The guardian spoke. "You will find a new home planet. Focus on establishing a central hub. Take your rightful place as a dynasty Monarch. Unite the dynasties and redefine The Deep State. Trust no one. I wish I could tell you more. But if I do, I might break the loop and all will be lost. You are the key Jack. This ship is important, but without you this ship is nothing. Follow your instincts Commander"

Jack: "Was this the work of Cabal?"

Jade: "Yes it was." And she was gone.

To be continued in

The Nomad

(Rising)
