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"Aye, aye, sir." Both men stood, snapped to attention and saluted.
Ezra groaned as he stood and saluted the two men. "Dismissed and carry out your orders."
Both men turned and left his ready room. Ezra collapsed back into his desk chair, brought his hands up to his face and scrubbed them over his face and through his hair. He then cradled his head in his hands as his elbow rested on the desk. He was suddenly exhausted. He closed his eyes and listened to his ship. He could hear the engine noise as thrust was applied. He could even hear the whine of the hyperdrive engines. He hoped that Admiral Cook was still close to Aldebaran. He really needed to talk to him before he went off to meet a bunch of aliens.
Chapter 19
The sixteen days to Aldebaran V was the longest transit Ezra had ever experienced. Again, half the crew, a different half, was in hibernation. Ezra saw a lot of Connor MacDonald on the bridge as he and Eric Nolan set up the trip to Atlas. There were also days he didn't see Eric on the bridge. Not that he was really needed, his second could handle the routine stuff.
"Captain," Candle Steel said softly.
"Yes, Mister Steel."
"Commander's MacDonald and Nolan wish to see you in your conference room."
"Thank you, Mister Steel. Beckett, you have the conn."
"Aye, aye sir," Commander Beckett replied moving to the Captain's chair as Ezra vacated it.
Both Connor and Eric were waiting for him when he entered the conference room. They both stood when he walked in. Ezra waved his hand, indicating them back to their seats. Ezra took the seat left for him between the two men.
"What do you have for me gentlemen?"
"After further study of the situation, Connor and I have come up with an optimal plot to Atlas and back." Eric started.
"One that will not only save us fuel but get us to Atlas in a third of the normal time." Connor continued.
"And our return trip to Aldebaran in two-thirds of the time." Eric finished.
"And how much fuel will we have left?" Ezra asked.
"Our tanks will be a third full or two-thirds empty, depending on how you want to look at it."
"Very good, very good indeed. Write it up, plot it and send it to my terminal. Just in case the Admiral is in port," Ezra said smiling at the two men. "And thank you."
"You are very welcome sir," Connor said.
Ezra looked at the two men for a moment, then rose and exited the room very quickly avoiding the pesky formalities that always surrounded his leaving a room. As he walked down the corridor, he could swear he heard the two men chuckling.
As it happened, the Mauthe Doog was still in orbit as Warrior dropped out of hyperspace and it's sensors swept the system for bogies.
"Sir Mauthe Doog is in system," Ensign Carlson called out.
"Thank you Mister Carlson, I see them. Comms, let them know we're here."
"Aye, aye sir," Comms responded.
Warrior One settled into an orbit around Aldebaran V, just three kilometers from the Mauthe Doog.
"Admiral Cook has signaled, he is on his way over. Shuttle inbound. Arrival, five minutes."
"Thank you Comms," Ezra replied. "Commander Beckett you have the conn."
"Aye, Aye sir."
Ezra left the bridge and hurried to the shuttle bay. He stood waiting. Five minutes to the second the Admirals gig arrived. Two minutes later the Admiral and Ezra were greeting each other.
"My boy, what are you doing back so soon? Did something happen to your ship?"
"No sir, nothing wrong with Warrior that refuel and rearm won't cure. And maybe a little patching up."
"Tell me," the Admiral prompted.
"Let's get settled in the conference room first sir. I have two profound things to tell you about our last mission."
The two walked in silence to the Captain's conference room, just abaft the bridge. Once settled in his seat, Admiral Cook looked at Ezra, impatience making his body shake.
"Sir, our mission to hit the Gar at Algenib VI was a success. We not only hit VI but we also were able to hit V as the planets were aligned in such a way that our trajectory took us past both."
"Why are you so low on fuel, as if I didn't know? And why are you needing rearming?"
"Sir... when we arrived in system there was a battle already taking place... "
"We had no ships scheduled to hit Algenib but yours."
"I know sir, that's why we were surprised by what we found. An alien race was attacking the Gar on both planets. As we finished our first pass, I made the decision to make another."
"Well done, catch them with their pants down?"
"No, just busy with someone else. As we arrived back on a reverse course, I decided to hit the planets with every missile we had left."
"Ah, was that wise? What if the aliens were hostile?"
"They weren't, as a matter of fact, they lost two ships protecting our tail. As we passed each planet I threw ten thousand missiles at each. Algenib V took the pounding, but Algenib VI was not as fortunate."
"What do you mean, Ezra?"
"Algenib VI is no more."
"What?"
"As we were leaving the system, the planet blew up."
"Holy... "
"Exactly. But that is only secondary to what else I have to tell you."
"What could be more important than blowing up a planet?"
"Allies."
"What?"
Ezra took a computer storage device from his pocket and handed it to the Admiral.
"That sir is the history of the K'lar."
"You communicated with them?"
"No, they with us. They sent this burst transmission as we were leaving the system. Comms didn't translate their language until we were about an hour out. As we left the system, the K'lar ships were dropping into hyperspace. So there was no reason to go back. On that device is the history of the K'lar and all the comm chatter we picked up during our encounter at Algenib. There is also a message, requesting us to meet them to talk about an alliance against the Gar."
"I'm speechless," Admiral Cook admitted.
"I suggest you read the history, then the message. In the meantime, I would like to refuel and rearm."
"Yes, of course, of course," Milford Cook waved Ezra out of the conference room as he slipped the storage device into the terminal in the table. "Go, I'll read up on our first friendly contact."
"Aye, aye, sir."
Chapter 20
Two days later, Admiral Cook and Ezra, along with Commanders MacDonald, Nolan and Becket were in Warrior's command conference room. Also present were Major Owens, Candle Steel, and Lieutenant Commander Sean O'Connor. At the head of the table, Ezra was fiddling with the display system and having trouble with it.
"Candle, get this thing working right," Ezra told the android.
"Aye, aye, sir," Candle responded bending over the device.
Turning a dial here and pressing a button there, Candle aligned the field to display the area of space in the presentation.
"There you are sir," Candle said stepping back.
"Thank you, Candle. As you all can see, that is Atlas, a magnitude three-point six-one star in the Pleiades Cluster. The coordinates are in the dataset. It is four hundred plus light years from Aldebaran. Normally, it would take one hundred forty-four days in hyperspace to reach Atlas. We have fifty days. My engineer and navigator have worked out a plan that will put us there in forty days. Of course, that means our return trip will take approximately ninety days."
"Sir, again, Commander Nolan and I have found a way to halve our return trip and shave off another five days of the trip out," Commander MacDonald interrupted.
"You have?" Admiral Cook asked.
"Yes, sir. Warrior is equipped with four aft storage bays that can be converted to haul liquid that can be pumped anywhere on the ship it's needed. With those bays full of fuel, we can double our capacity. Of course, it will necessitate that a third of the crew either be placed in hibernation for the duration of the mission or offloaded."
Everyone present looked at Connor. Ezra had a hard time finding his voice. Admiral Cook just looked blankly at the man.
"Do you have any question, sir?" Connor asked Ezra.
"No Commander, not at this time. Put yours and Commander Nolan's plan into operation. I want to leave Aldebaran within a day, with you permission Admiral."
"Of course. Captain Nichols, this is my formal notification that I will be transferring my flag to Warrior One."
"Aye, aye sir," Ezra replied, a smile cracking his face.
"What are you smiling about Captain?"
"I knew you would want to come along," Ezra said chuckling.
"Continue with your briefing Captain."
"Yes, sir. Major, your Marines will also be coming with us. In fact, I am requesting we borrow another heavy weapons platoon from the Mauthe Doog."
"Aye, aye sir," Laff responded smiling.
"Of course Captain," Admiral Cook said. "But may I ask why?"
"I plan on hosting the aliens aboard Warrior and want enough... armed personnel to do the job."
"I see. I'll order the transfers myself. Now, what part of the crew are you transferring off?"
"None. We'll put them into hibernation for the duration."
"Ah, good idea. Then if you need... "
"Exactly, sir," Ezra responded. "Anything else?"
No one spoke up. Ezra nodded.
"Very well, carry out your assignments," Ezra said.
Everyone stood, snapped to attention, then turned and left the room. Ezra sat watching. Admiral Cook was the last to leave. At the doorway, he turned and looked back at Ezra. Nodding, he continued on his way to delegate those items on his to-do list.
Chapter 21
For the next fifteen hours, the space around Warrior was a beehive of activity. Tankers from the surface of Aldebaran V slowly cuddled up to Warrior to offload their cargo of fuel into the cargo bays. Other ships coupled to ports to re-supply Warrior with missiles expended at Algenib. Shuttles ferried over the Admiral and the Marines from the Mauthe Doog.
During this time Ezra was asleep, leaving all the routine things to Commander Beckett and Candle. When everything was ready to go, Candle opened the door to Ezra's in-port cabin.
"Sir, it's time," Candle said softly, knowing the Captain would hear him.
"Very well, Mister Steel. Notify all departments, we depart in two hours."
"Aye, aye sir," Candle replied, stepped back and closed the door.
Ezra sat up, swung his legs over the edge of the bed and put his face in his hands. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stood and dressed. He was suddenly hungry and headed off to the mess hall.
A fully rested and nourished Captain Ezra Nichols now sat in the Captain's chair on the bridge of his ship, Warrior One. Smiling, he watched all his people going about their business to get Warrior underway. Behind him to his left, was a newly installed couch in which the Admiral now sat. Facing him were a myriad of screens and consoles. Standing just behind the Admiral was his command android Shaffer Steel. Ezra smiled to himself as he scanned his screens and board. His gaze then shifted back to his bridge crew.
"Helm take us out of orbit, heading one-five-seven declination three."
"Aye, aye sir."
Ezra watched as the stars slid across the main screen until the Pleiades Cluster was centered on the display. Looking at his board, Ezra saw the acceleration meter start to climb. They were accelerating at ten gravities, if it wasn't for the inertial dampeners, the entire crew, including the androids, would have been crushed. As he watched, the acceleration meter climbed to and held steady at twenty-two gravities. Their speed was still only a small fraction of light, but would soon be approaching the ten percent mark.
"Helm, standby to make the jump to hyperspace," Ezra called out.
"Aye, aye sir."
"Plot, let me know when we are clear of the system," Ezra ordered.
"Aye, aye sir."
Commander Nolan stood at his console. All bridge officers had the choice to sit or stand, except the androids, at their consoles. Eric Nolan watched the display in front of him. On it was a graphic representation of the Aldebaran solar system with a tiny dot crawling toward the northern edge. The dot crept closer and closer as he watched. As it crossed the outer edge, he spoke.
"System out, Captain," he said.
"Thank you, Commander. Helm, jump," Ezra said softly.
"Aye, aye, sir. All hands prepare for jump," Helm said on the ship-wide comm-system. "Jump."
The screens on the bridge blanked as the ship lurched into hyperspace.
"Sensors, I want full sweeps. Countermeasures, Weapons, keep everything hot. Comms, listen for anything."
"Aye, aye sir," all three replied at once.
Ezra smiled as he rose. Looking around he caught the Admiral's eye and nodded.
"Mister Quinn you have the conn," Ezra said loudly.
"Aye, aye sir," Commander Quinn replied.
The Admiral also stood, motioned to his android to remain and followed Ezra off the bridge.
For the next twenty-five days, Warrior settled into a routine. A routine it had experienced many times in the past. Only there was excitement this time. For this time, they were going farther away from home than they had ever gone before and they were alone. And this loneliness heightened the excitement. For man was an explorer.
"It's too bad the Mauthe Doog couldn't join us," Ezra told the Admiral one night as they sat at the dining table.
"It's too bad the whole Fleet couldn't join us," the Admiral responded.
"Indeed," was Ezra's answer.
Every evening the two men dined together. Every night the conversation turned to the conversation of regret. Then it was the night before they would drop out of hyperspace.
"Tomorrow will be an exciting day," Ezra said as he sipped his wine.
"Yes, it will," the Admiral replied.
"I am wondering if Atlas is their homeworld or just a place they chose to meet us for this first time?"
"I too have been wondering that, Ezra. And either way, it falls will be exciting and wondrous."
"Yes, it will. To tomorrow," Ezra held up his glass up in a toast.
"To tomorrow," the Admiral replied clicking his glass to Ezra's.
Both men drank, then went back to eating.
Chapter 22
Ezra sat on his couch waiting, watching as the seconds ticked down. The Admiral was on his couch watching his screens. Their screens were suddenly alive with stars as Warrior dropped out of hyperspace just outside of the Atlas system. Scans started to return data and it was displayed on the main screen as Ezra watched.
"Contact, ten ships, in orbit around the fourth planet of the system," Ensign Carlson said calmly.
"Very well. Plot time to rendezvous?" Ezra asked.
"Two hours at present speed," Commander Nolan answered.
"Contact, ten ships closing from aft," Ensign Carlson shouted. "Weapons are hot!"
"Countermeasures?" Ezra shouted.
"Online," Lieutenant Byers said in a loud calm voice.
"Shields?"
"Shields are up," Sean O'Connor said from the engineering console.
"Very good. Helm, continue on course. Comm, let them know who we are. Transmit the message."
"Aye, aye sir," both men said in unison.
"Message sent," Ensign Flannery said.
"Very well, let me know if there is a response."
"Aye, aye sir," Flannery said.
"Sir, contacts to the rear are slowing," Carlson said.
"Very good," Ezra responded.
Warrior glided on toward the fourth planet. For the next hour and a half, no other words were spoken on the bridge. Every station watched, listened or felt the ship as it slid down system toward its destination. All the while Warrior was slowing. When they arrived at the fourth planet the ship dropped into orbit. Ten alien ships faced them. The ships they faced were small, destroyer class or possibly frigate class. All of them would fit in the shuttle bays of Warrior One.
"Comm, any word?" Ezra asked.
"Not a peep sir."
"Sir, a small craft has detached from the lead ship. It is headed our way," Ensign Carlson called out.
"Very well. Comm, direct the craft to our topside shuttle bay."
"Aye, aye sir," Ensign Flannery replied.
"Commander Beckett you have the conn. Mister Steel you're with me. Mister Flannery, have Major Owens and two of his Marines join me in the shuttle bay. Admiral, if you would join me?"
"Aye, aye sir," Flannery responded.
"Of course... I wouldn't miss this for the world," Admiral Cook said rising from his couch.
Ezra, along with Admiral Cook, hurried off the bridge, Candle, and Shaffer, the Admirals command android, close on their heels.
"Candle have our best linguist meet us in the shuttle bay."
"Aye, aye sir," Candle responded without losing a step.
They arrived outside the bay just as Major Owens and Commander Quinlan arrived. Commander Quinlan held a device in his hands which he protected with his body.
"What have you there Commander?" Ezra asked.
"A translator. We hope it will translate K'lar into English and vice-versa."
Ezra nodded. The Admiral raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Major, you are here... just in case. You will behave as an honor guard. Is that clear?"
"Aye, aye sir."
"Good. Well, I guess we should meet our visitors," Ezra said, "unless you have something to add Admiral?"
"No, you seem to have things well in hand, Captain."
Smiling, Ezra nodded to the rating at the shuttle bay door. "Open it up, sailor."
"Aye, aye sir."
When the door opened, they all stepped into the bay. As they watched, the large outside doors slid open. Outside waited the small K'lar craft. The ship was small. It held two K'lar that they could see. A pilot and co-pilot were seated looking out of the windscreen. The craft may have held six more at the most. As the craft moved forward into the bay the artificial gravity slowly started to pull it down to what was the deck of the bay.
Once all the way in, the craft was resting on the deck. Ezra led the group to the side of the craft where they could see a hatch. It was five minutes before the hatch opened and a delegation of K'lar stepped out. There were five of them. All of them were six inches taller than Ezra, who was the tallest present of the humans. Looking up, he nodded at the K'lar that stood before him.
"May I welcome you aboard Warrior," Ezra said.
Almost instantly, Commander Quinlan's translation device squawked at all of them. Ezra turned to look at the device. The K'lar gasped as they looked at the device in Quinlan's hands. The lead K'lar made some noises that sounded a lot like the noise that came from the device.
"Amazing. I am most impressed with this species. First, they destroy a planet of the *&()&^*&^. And now they have the ability to translate our language. Impressive."
The lead K'lar looked at the device, then to Ezra, then back to the device.
"I am Ezra Nichols. I am Captain of this vessel. It is called Warrior One."
The device translated his words. The lead K'lar then spoke, the device translating as he did.
"I am S'mere. I am... leader of the K'lar fleet here around... " The box made an unintelligible noise. The leader looked at the device as it translated his words.
"It is a pleasure to meet you S'mere. This," Ezra said, pointing to Admiral Cook, "is Admiral Milford Cook, my superior officer. He commands the Fleet to which my ship is attached."
"I am pleased to meet you," S'mere said.
"And I you," Admiral Cook said from Ezra's side.
"Would you and your delegation care to take a tour of Warrior One?" Ezra said.
S'mere took a step back, shock registering on his face.
"Quinlan!" Ezra growled.
"That might not have translated properly sir," Commander Quinlan said.
The box translated Quinlan's words. S'mere relaxed, nodding. Quinlan did something to the device. Words. K'lar words appeared in the air over the device. S'mere gasped again, yet looked intently at the words. Nodding he smiled or at least what Ezra thought was a smile.
