E:A Vol 6 Ch 1—October 15, 2120

October 15, 2120

Three days had passed since rebel Rayth attacked Earth. Five massive battlecruisers, along with fifty or so warships orbited Earth, occasionally firing on the planet, but seemingly not intent on destroying any more than they already had. They were waiting.

One of battlecruisers had teleported a personal cruiser aboard. On board the cruiser were the Raythian High Chancellor’s wife, Dr. Victoria Carson, and their twin children, Ky’nayth and Mik’kenna. It also held Lt. Col. Christopher Chapman, his wife, Alessa, their baby, Maressa, and Chris’ father, David Chapman. Ny’van, the Vice Chancellor of the Raythian Empire, Ja’val, the First Science Commander of the Empire, and Lutia, Ja’val’s wife, and their newborn son. Lastly, Amelia Bennett, fiancée of Dr. Becket McKenna, was also a passenger on the cruiser.

All were now prisoners of the rebels. Chris, Victoria, and the twins had been put into one cell deeper into the battlecruiser from the others who were held near the hangar into which their cruiser had been teleported. Koh’vash, Zy’nayth’s brother, who was thought to be dead, wanted to keep Victoria separated from the two Rayth, Ny’van and Ja’val, who accompanied her. Chris, having a wife, father, and baby, wouldn’t try anything that might endanger them, or so Koh’vash believed, so he was thrown in with Victoria and the twins. He had been knocked out and Victoria stunned while the two three-year-olds ran into a corner of the cell, trembling and hugging each other.

“Mommy!” Mik’kenna’s little, tear-filled voice filtered into Victoria’s head. Though she heard the voice, her head was buzzing from the aftermath of the Rayth stunner.

“Baby?” Victoria mumbled, lolling her head from side to side.

“Mommy, me and Sissy both here,” Ky’nayth said as he squeezed her hand. “We here. You be ‘kay. You be ‘kay. We right here.”

“Hey, you okay, Doc?” Chris asked, having awakened just a moment earlier. “Need you to wake up.”

Victoria shook her head as she pulled her hands away from her kids. She held her hands over her eyes to get used to the light, then rubbed her face to wake herself up. “Just need a minute,” she said, “so groggy.” Then she remembered what had just happened and bolted upright, seeing Chris first, and the knot and blood on his head from where one of the rebels had punched him.

“Oh Chris, your head! Here…”

“No, don’t worry about it. Can you get up?”

She nodded but was a bit wobbly as she sat up, “Ky, Kenna? You two okay? Come here, let me see,” she checked one twin then the other even though they said they hadn’t been touched. Then she pulled them both close and hugged them as she let the tears fall. “I love you,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Oh babies, I love you so much.”

“I remember check pulse,” Mik’kenna said. “Just like show me. I no find Uncle Chris pulse and thought he bad den realize I in wrong spot.” The girl wiped a tear away. “I so scared. I no has ‘nough nurse trainy. I just know pulse. Mommy, I so scared.”

Victoria drew back a little and looked into their bright blue eyes. “They didn’t hurt you, touch you, anything, did they? Tell me the truth.”

“No, dey just left us after they hurted you and Uncle Chris,” Ky’nayth said, snuggling closer to her again, not wanting to let go. “Dey leave us ‘lone.”

“Good, good,” Victoria said, kissing both of them. “Oh babies, I’m so sorry you’re so scared. I’d give anything for you to be home safe and sound.”

“Victoria, do you remember the way to the cruiser?” Chris asked, sitting on the floor, using a handkerchief to wipe the little bit of blood from his forehead.

Victoria thought about it. The path was pretty straight forward, though it seemed like they were miles from the hangar. “Yeah. What do you have in mind?”

“I’m gonna blow a hole in that wall,” he pointed to the right of the invisible plasma door. Soon as we’re clear, you and the twins run to the cruiser. Kenna give your mother the stunner,” he said, knowing that they’d planted a stunner on each of the twins in the back of their pants under their oversized fall jackets. “Victoria, don’t use it unless you have to, focus on running.”

“If we’ve gone into space, we can’t escape on my cruiser, it isn’t space-worthy.”

“Then we just have to take command of this ship,” Chris smiled as he began to unlace his boots.

“You sound like my husband. Only I’d believe he could do it,” she grinned.

“Oh, personal stab, I’m hurt,” he winked. “Okay, Ky, Kenna, do both of you remember how to get back to the cruiser in case your Mommy and I have to fight the bad guys?”

“Yes,” they said, clinging to their mother.

“Good. You heard the plan. I blow the wall and we run to the cruiser,” Chris said as he took off his boots and began loosening their heels. “No matter what happens, you have to get there. If I fall or your Mommy falls, you run as fast as your little legs will go. Get on that cruiser. I activated a distress beacon when we were teleported onto this ship. Your Daddy will find it. If I do this right, me and your mom will be right there with you, but like I said, if we get hurt, you keep going. Do not come back for us. Do not try to help us. Promise me.”

“Kay,” they both replied nervously. “Promise.”

“Good,” he said and let out a sigh. “We know your Daddy’s in the city-ship from Terra 2. We know he received Ny’van’s message that we were taken. And since we all turned on our comlinks and I tried to give him as much information as I could, he should have been able to pick up our position from all of those signals. We were only out for about ten or twelve minutes; he should be close. So, no matter what, get to that cruiser as fast as you can because that’s where your daddy is probably going to search for us first.”

“Daddy find us,” Mik’kenna nodded. “Daddy find us. He best.”

“Uh, Chris, how do you plan on blowing the door?” Victoria asked.

“Explosives,” he said, pulling out some clay from one boot heel and some sort of triggering device from the other.

She put a hand on his arm and stopped him. “We don’t know where the others are.”

“Dad will be doing the same thing,” Chris replied. “I just wish I had a way to contact him so we could time this better.”

“And if the rest of the group was split up into a bunch of groups?”

“We get you and the twins to the ship. If Dad and I have to look for the others, we will,” he said as he worked the clay in his hands. “Ny’van and Ja’val can handle themselves. I’m hoping they put all the humans together. Okay,” he got up and readied the explosive on the wall then went back over to his three prison mates, “There are two guards we need to take out when the door goes. I’ll try to tackle both of them, but if you can trip one, that would help.”

“Vice said we couldn’t take that many…listen, not to dismiss your abilities, but if he and Science,” Victoria used their titles, in case there were rebels listening in. Rayth did not give out their names so that it would be harder to track down any enemies. “If our Rayth friends have been taken somewhere else…you and your dad can’t handle the rebels if our Rayth friends said they couldn’t do it with the four of you.”

“They won’t expect us to get out so fast,” Chris said, “and they’ve probably left the hangar and gone back to their normal business.”

Victoria shook her head. “I can’t risk the kids. Unless I know the others got out, we can’t risk the twins or the babies.”

Mik’kenna lifted her right index finger, waving it back and forth. “Ssh,” she said. “Ssh.” Then she clamped her hands to her ears. “I hear you,” she whispered as she closed her eyes and scrunched up her nose. “I hear,” she said and began to cry. “I no know how send message. I no know!”

“I hear too!” Ky’nayth said and plopped down, hands over his own ears, head down.

Chris looked at Victoria, “Telepathy?”

Victoria nodded as she knelt, resting a hand on each of their shoulders, letting them know she was right there. She lowered her voice, looking back at Chris. “The kids are fast little runners, but they won’t be able to keep up. Can you carry them, both of them, and run?”

“Yeah, but…that means you’d have to be the shooter. Are you up for that?”

“It’s just stunning them, not like using bullets. For my children, yeah, I can do anything. You blow the door, then I’ll run out shooting. You grab the kids and follow. The guards will hesitate before shooting me, I hope. Koh’vash wants me alive. Gives me a little advantage.”

“All right. After you stun those two guards, disarm them,” Chris continued in a whisper, trying not to disturb the twins. “I’m going to keep running with the twins.”

“Stop,” Ky’nayth said, raising a little hand. “We trying to talk to Vice. We no know what doing, it take lots con-see-tration.”

“Is he with Dad and Lessa and the babies?” Chris asked.

“Dey all in same room,” Ky’nayth replied and fell quiet again. Chris and Victoria sat silently, allowing the twins to concentrate on their telepathy. Both kids could receive telepathic information readily enough, but sending was something neither was able to do. Ny’van and Ja’val worked out an easier way. Imagery. Ny’van would send the twins the information, the kids would each picture their response: a picture of them running or nodding, whatever was needed. Ja’val, meanwhile, would reach into their minds and pick up the images to help Ny’van confirm the response.

After almost twenty minutes, Mik’kenna began crying as she nodded. Ky’nayth followed suit.

“We be brave,” Ky’nayth said aloud as he pictured his father in his mind: the first thing he thought of that depicted the word “brave.” Then he looked at Chris. “You do your plan you has with Uncle David. They ready. They closer to cruiser. Uncle Vice looking in my head to see when you go. I picture things for him. Uncle Vice and Uncle Science run to draw fire. We has pick up aunts and babies. Uncle David stay with them till you come. We run fast.”

Suddenly Victoria heard Ny’van’s voice in her head. “I know this may give you a headache, forgive me. Your husband is near. The flagship is on its way. Your husband will keep the rebels occupied until the First Commander gets here with the flagship. We need to all be in one location or they can’t teleport us all off. The rebels have not realized their teleportation barrier is not online. They haven’t yet detected the cloaked flagship. We need everyone near the cruiser. Kol’non will lock on its transponder beacon and teleport everything in and around it. I will give you further instructions. We just have to hold out long enough for the First to get to us.”

Victoria was rubbing her temples. She didn’t handle telepathy well. “Tell your uncle I heard and will do.”

Mik’kenna closed her eyes in deep concentration and pictured her mother nodding.

“We are ready,” Ny’van said.

“Ky, keep your stunner hidden. We may need that secret weapon later,” Chris said. “You sure about this, Victoria?”

Her green eyes locked on his. “I can do this,” she said with fierce determination. “I run out, stun them, take their weapons, keep running and firing. Easy enough, right?”

He smiled and nodded, “Right. Two minutes. I want them to pass and head back towards the hangar. Maybe I can catch them with the explosion,” he said as he glanced out of the invisible plasma barrier. “They’re headed this way.”

“I wish I knew you had a plan. We could have all put explosives in our heels.”

“Only worked it out this morning. Then things went a little crazy,” he said as the two Rayth rebels walked past. Chris would wait for them on their return trip. It should be less than two minutes, if he timed it right.

“Chris, don’t try to save me. Get all the kids off this ship. Any cost, Chris. I’ll give my life for our family. My choice,” she added. “My choice. You get those babies and the twins and get them to safety.”

“Doc, you know we all love you. Just in case I can’t tell you that later.”

“And I love all of you back.” Victoria drew both of the twins into her arms, “I love you very, very much. Be brave and do as Uncle Chris and Vice and Science say. And if something bad happens to me, tell Daddy…” she smiled as tears made her green eyes twinkle, “Tell Daddy that he was my knight in shining armor. Chris can explain it to him.” She gave both of the twins kisses and repeated her love for them. “You are the bravest, smartest, most loving, and sweetest little kids a mommy could ever want and I love you more than anything in the whole universe.”

“I hate to break this up. Ready?” Chris asked as he ushered them to a corner.

“We run to cruiser. Mommy love us forever!” Mik’kenna nodded as they huddled together. Ny’van, reading Ky’nayth’s projected images, let the twins know he understood they were on their way. As soon as the sounds of the boots told Chris the two rebels were just outside, he covered Victoria and the twins as he hit the button on his watch. The wall beside door blew open.

Victoria, steeled with determination to save her children, sprang up and ran out as fast as she could, firing the stunner. The two guards had been hit with the explosion but she stunned them anyway. Chris, with a twin in each arm, bolted down the hallway. Victoria grabbed the stunners off the two downed rebels and followed. The rebels would only be unconscious for ten minutes, but that was more than enough time to get to the cruiser. Besides, these rebels were of little concern, it would be the hundreds that would file in around them, encompassing them, enveloping them as they neared the cruiser.

As they made their way to the last corridor leading to the hangar, they smelled the residue from another explosion. “Lessa!” Chris called out to his wife, “Come on. You okay, babe?”

“Yeah,” she said as she, Amelia, and Lutia came out with the babies. David took Ky’nayth from Chris who then exchanged Mik’kenna for Victoria’s stunner. Then they continued their run to the cruiser.

“This way,” Chris said, darting a bit to their left as they entered the wide open area where rebels, alerted to the escape were filing in from several corridors. Ny’van, using a stunner, was clearing a path for them as Ja’val tossed a stunner to Chris. Chris grabbed it, and now with two stunners, fired this way and that, covering Victoria and the others from behind while Ny’van and Ja’val kept the area free of rebels near the cruiser.

“Inside, inside,” Victoria said. Ny’van and Ja’val stunned the Rayth to either side of them as the kids ran for all their worth. David hefted each of them up into the cabin, followed by Lutia and Alessa as Victoria grabbed a stashed stunner from inside the cruiser and began firing at approaching rebels. “They’re in,” David said, “Get in there,” he nudged Victoria.

They went to the back of the cruiser where Victoria huddled around the twins and pulled them close. “It’s okay. We’re okay. Your uncles will keep us safe until Daddy gets here. You guys okay?” she looked at Alessa, Lutia, Amelia, and the babies.

“We’re fine,” Lutia said, holding baby Kel’lan close. “Fine. I just hope your husband hurries.”

“Here!” David yelled, tossing his son his prized crossbow as Amelia grabbed a stunner and went to his side, firing her stunner. She was terrified but she knew what was at stake. With each pulling of the trigger, she closed her eyes even though there was no kickback.

Chris darted to the back of the cruiser. He hit the button for the ladder and it uncurled allowing him to climb up on top of the vehicle. With his crossbow in hand, he took out one Rayth after another.

“Why not use all those guns we brought?” Amelia asked David.

Ja’val answered. “Stunners don’t run out of ammunition and they give us a wider range. Chris is a sharpshooter. He’s less likely to miss a target.”

Inside the cruiser, Alessa jumped at the sound of a stunner blast hitting the vehicle, “I don’t like this!”

“Keep your stunner pointed at the door,” David said to her as Victoria went to join the others in stunning rebels approaching the cruiser. “We just have to hold out long enough for the big guy to find us.”

“It’s been almost an hour since they took us!” Alessa cried, terrified. “He has to know where we are by now!”

“They have to make sure they can get us without getting themselves blown up,” Ja’val said.

Lutia and Alessa both sat with stunners facing the hatch. The babies were in their carriers on the floor. The twins sat with them as seven Jack Russell Terriers, the family’s pets, huddled around them, on alert, not sure what was going on. Everyone prayed that it wouldn’t be long before the flagship arrived and teleported them to safety.

Outside of the cruiser, Ny’van, Ja’val, Chris, Victoria, David, and Amelia were firing constantly, keeping the rebels back. When a rebel appeared with a drawn stunner, Chris’ crossbow made sure they went down, stayed down. It appeared that since the rebels were rushing in, they had neglected to carry stunners with them, but word was getting out and those coming in behind those already stunner, were armed.

What Victoria’s group hadn’t counted on, not even Ja’val, the First Science Commander, was a personal cloaking device. Koh’vash, equipped with one, slid up undetected next to Victoria who was just to the outside of the side hatch. His hand gripped her around the neck and sent her slamming into the floor where his boot made solid contact with her stomach. As she rolled onto her stomach, arms protecting the now-injured stomach, his boot smashed against her back. She didn’t need to hear the crack, she felt the ribs break. She screamed again, this time gurgling up blood.

Baxter and Celeste, Ky’nayth and Mik’kenna’s beloved dogs dove at the man, teeth bared. His faster-than-human reflexes grabbed each as they leapt, then hurled them against the side of the cruiser. He pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Victoria’s head, causing David and Amelia to immediately drop their weapons.

“First! Help dogs!” Victoria choked and gasped, hoping the First Science Commander heard her. “Please.” In her mind, she knew that the kids needed those dogs, especially if anything happened to her. Those dogs were their life line. She knew she had a pierced lung and several broken ribs. She also knew if Ny’van or Ja’val tried to heal her, they’d be killed.

“You expect a Rayth to heal a mutt?” Koh’vash asked. “The First Science Commander, none the less?”

Victoria could only nod as she choked up more blood then rested her head on the floor of the hangar.

Ja’val disregarded the Rayth guns pointed at him, but he did drop his stunner as he went to the two mounds of fur. He knew any attempt to get to Victoria would only get him killed. The dogs were safer. Koh’vash wanted Victoria alive, or so he believed. He wouldn’t kill her without making Zy’nayth witness it.

Ja’val also knew that Ky’nayth and Mik’kenna knew what had happened and heard the screams of their mother and the yelps of their dogs. He could sense their fear, now on the edge of terror. He also knew how much those dogs meant to them. Victoria would be spared until Zy’nayth arrived. The dogs were expendable as far as Koh’vash was concerned.

With a hand on each dog, Ja’val allowed his energy to sink into them. He was thankful both were still alive and decided that Celeste was in more danger than her brother, so he focused on stabilizing her. Ja’val positioned himself so that he could keep an eye on Victoria. He saw that Ny’van was in reaching distance of Victoria, and still held his stunner, but he wasn’t moving, at least not yet. Zy’nayth had to be close by now.

Koh’vash looked up at Chris on top of the cruiser. “Found this little gun your little ship. Best you come down from there Lt. Col. Chapman. Wouldn’t want to kill her. At least not yet.” With the gun still pointed at her, his boot made contact with Victoria’s stomach again. The sound produced another loud crack that caused everyone to wince. From inside the cruiser, the twins began to wail.

“Stop it! Leave my Mommy ‘lone!” Ky’nayth screamed.

Mik’kenna shouted, her hands over her ears. “You hurted Mommy, you hurted puppies! You evil puppy poisoner!”

Ja’val ordered them to stay put. Lutia and Alessa got down on the floor, their bodies surrounding the four children, and wrangled the other five dogs to them. They tried to comfort and quiet the twins but they too wanted to scream out to leave the poor woman alone.

Then Koh’vash called everyone out of the cruiser. “Chris, get down here and everyone get out of the cruiser now or Victoria is about to have a hole in her leg.” He tilted his head to the left. Chris’ eyes followed and saw several Rayth with Earth guns pointed towards his friends.

While Koh’vash continued to hold the gun on Victoria, the rest of the group was ushered out of the cruiser by the rebel Rayth warriors. Chris was last, dropping his crossbow to the floor before jumping down and standing by his wife. The twins stayed in the cruiser with the babies and dogs. Ny’van had telepathically instructed them to stay until ordered out. He hoped that Koh’vash would be too focused on Victoria to remember the twins.

“All of you have been nothing but a problem,” Koh’vash said, “So goodbye. Enjoy the afterlife. Victoria, you’ll be last. I want your husband to see your children and your lovely face enter oblivion. So which of your friends shall die first? Lutia, is it? How about you?”

Lutia neared her husband, her eyes pleading with Ja’val even as he still tried to save the dogs, at the same time calculating how fast he could get to Koh’vash to disarm him before the other Rayth started firing.

The sound of two wailing babies filled the air. Koh’vash seemed to growl before he yelled. “Where are those brats? Get the babies out here now!” he motioned to Amelia to get in the cruiser and get the babies. “I hate crying babies. They’re going to have to die first.”

“Leave them be,” Ja’val said. “They can’t hurt you.”

“I said now!” Koh’vash said as he moved the gun to now point at Lutia’s head.

“No shoot! We come out! No shoot!” Ky’nayth said leading his sister out. “We valley bull. Please no hurted no one. We valley bull to you.”

“Mommy!” Mik’kenna said, nearly sobbing, “Mommy!”

Victoria let out a scream. Blood spurted from her mouth. Koh’vash kicked her. The pain was overwhelming, sending Victoria into a semi-conscious state.

Her scream, however, provided enough of a distraction for Ky’nayth to hurry up behind Chris. The stunner the boy had in the back of his pants was slipped into Chris’ hand. Then Ky’nayth hugged his crying sister.

Chris didn’t hesitate, the stunner came forward and a blue glow encompassed Koh’vash as he fell to the floor. Before the body was halfway down, Chris shot three more times at the Rayth holding Earth weapons. He then dropped the stunner and grabbed his bow, determined to end Koh’vash once and for all, but before he could pull the trigger, he, the entire group, the personal cruiser, and numerous rebels were on board the Raythian flagship. This time the top warriors in Zy’nayth’s army surrounded them, not with stunners, but with deadly blasters. The rebels dropped their weapons.

Ny’van wasted no time in getting to Victoria. His hand went to her chest over her heart and his energy began to heal her. “Hold on, dear. I’ve got you.”

“Get them?” Zy’nayth asked Kol’non, his First Commander, who was hurrying across the hangar to his extended family.

“All of them,” he replied then paused. “And it looks like we got your brother. Victoria is injured, unsure of condition; Ny’van is tending to her.”

“I know,” Zy’nayth said. He and Ny’van began telepathically communicating the minute Zy’nayth was in range of his brother’s battlecruiser. Both Rayth were strong telepaths as was Ja’val. Ny’van kept Zy’nayth informed during their hour-long captivity, also gaining approval to involve the twins in the plan to slip the stunner to one of the men. Though Zy’nayth was reluctant, he knew that twins would not be seen as a threat and would follow any plan to the letter. He told Ny’van that he had permission but only if there was no other choice. Since the breakout worked, Ny’van didn’t tell the twins about the stunner until Koh’vash got to Victoria. It was only then that he instructed Ky’nayth to try and slip the stunner to him, Ja’val, or Chris. Chris happened to be closest. Victoria’s scream was also urged by Ny’van, though, as the mother of the twins, it was natural for her to do anything to save her children and screaming, though it was painful, was the least she could do.

While Kol’non and his men were crossing the enormous hangar to the family, Chris turned to find the twins crying, embracing each other.

“Your mother is going to be fine,” Chris said, kneeling down to embrace them, “and First Science is taking care of Baxter and Celeste. You did good. Dangerous, but you did good. Let’s let Vice heal your Mom a minute before you go to her, okay?”

The kids nodded and allowed themselves to be held close by Chris and David. The crying, sobbing, scared, and trembling, kids clung to the two men until Ja’val came over to tell them about the dogs.

“Baxter and Celeste will sleep for a while,” Ja’val said, “They may be a little nervous when they wake up. I sense them being very scared and they will still feel the residual effects from the pain. But they will be fine with lots of love and hugs and kisses. I put them in the cruiser. Let’s leave them there with the other dogs until they get these rebels out of here.”

The twins thanked him then Chris let them go to their mother. They trotted over opposite from where Ny’van was tending to her and both held her hand. Their touch seemed to rouse her out of her semi-conscious state. She turned and smiled, though tears were running down her cheeks.

“I’ll be okay,” she whispered. “Love you.”

“I need Ja’val here,” Zy’nayth said, over his comlink to Ja’val, Kol’non, and Ny’van. “Is he in any condition to help me?”

“Yes, sir,” Ja’val answered, “Need a minute with my wife, then I need to feed. Be there in five.”

Kol’non reached down handing the twins new comlinks. He put a new one on Victoria’s ear since she was in no condition to do it herself. Once they were all in place, Zy’nayth’s voice sounded in their ears. “Victoria, Ky’nayth, Mik’kenna, I am sorry I was delayed. I love you very much. I am sorry to say that I will not be able to see you until later. I love you very, very much. Victoria, my beloved, heal quickly.”

“Love you, Daddy!” the twins both shouted.

“Mommy really bad,” Mik’kenna said.

“Are you safe?” Victoria asked with a gasp as Ny’van continued his work on healing her.

“I am. You?” Zy’nayth asked as he dodged an incoming attack from the battlecruiser that just took their leader and a number of their crew.

“Vice doing a good job,” she said. “I’m sleepy.”

“Get some rest.”

“I love you very much.”

“And I love you. Vice will take good care of you. I am sorry I did not get here sooner to save you such pain.”

“It’s…” she paused, gasping for another breath, “Just get these guys.”

“I intend to.”

“Daddy get dem,” Mik’kenna cried. “They hurted Mommy bad and puppies. Daddy…” she began sobbing.

“It’s ‘kay Sissy, it over now,” Ky’nayth said, hugging her. “It ‘kay.”

“Ky’nayth, Mik’kenna, forgive me for not being there to help and comfort you. My heart is breaking for you and your mother.”

“No Daddy, no break heart,” Mik’kenna said. “Be strong. Find puppy poisoners!”

“I have found them. I need to find a way to capture them. I love you all. You should be safe on the flagship.”

“Kay. Love you,” Ky’nayth said. Mik’kenna repeated the sentiment.

Zy’nayth hated ending his call with his family, but he had to keep the enemies busy and away from the cloaked flagship. He adjusted his communication link then said, “Christopher, I will need you later. Get rest now while you can.”

“Yes, sir,” Chris said.

***

Victoria woke with the memory of pain running throughout her body. She was in a familiar bed. “Ky! Kenna!” she panicked, bolting upright, the blankets nearly tossed across the room.

“Hey, lay back down,” Becket said, grabbing the blankets, “Ky and Kenna are in their room sleeping.”

“Becket?”

“You’re in Zy’s chambers on the flagship. Remember? Kol’non teleported you out. Most of Terra 2 is now on this ship, they’re evacuating all 5,000 to this ship. Amelia is in with the kids. They’re not alone.”

“Chris? The others?”

“Everyone who was with you is safe, though Zy had Ja’val bridge over to the city-ship. Lutia is frantic.”

Victoria sighed, “I know how she feels. Oh! Baxter and Celeste? Please tell me they didn’t die!”

“They’re fine, at least physically. Ja’val healed them. They’re curled up with the twins. He said they might be a little jittery for a while, but I’m sure those two kids will take very good care of them.”

“Oh, thank God. If anything were to happen to those dogs, it would devastate the kids.”

“All are fine. Go back to sleep.”

“I…I need to be with the kids.”

“I’ll move them here,” Becket said. “Get back in bed.”

***

“Sir, it would appear as if our attempt has failed,” the assistant said to Algo, the supposed captain of a race he called the Alandrovians. “The ship from Terra 2 is easily handling the warships.”

“We have not failed yet. Those warships were not built to withstand any sort of fight. They were just to wreak havoc. The battlecruisers, however,” Algo let an evil grin fill his face, “if Zy’nayth attempts to destroy them, we will win. It will destroy that entire system—Zy’nayth with it.”

“And with the considerable damage already done to the Rayth military outposts here in Andromeda,” the assistant said, “not only will the rebels will be blamed, we can easily destroy the rest of the Rayth. With Zy’nayth dead, they have no one to lead them.”

“True. But until Zy’nayth is defeated, we will not make any further moves. Zy’nayth may yet win this battle, we must not be too hasty. If the rebels fail in Earth’s system, we will find another way to kill Zy’nayth…and all Rayth. Then we, my friend, will once again rule Andromeda.”

***

“Sir, we’ve confirmed the reports regarding the attacks on several Raythian outposts as well as their homeworld of Kiva,” First Officer Tel’lok Woltz said to his superior officer. “And there’s more. Perhaps Jil’ana should be here.”

“Has Prime Minister Ya’taka been informed?” the general answered.

“Not yet, sir. I know you wanted the intel first.”

The general tapped a button on his desk’s communications console. “Chief Science Officer, please join me and the First Officer in my office,” he said.

“On my way,” the female voice replied. Two minutes later the door to the general’s office opened.

“Sir?” she said, taking the offered seat.

“You heard about the attack on the Rayth?”

“Confirmed?” she looked at Tel’lok.

“Just got it in,” Tel’lok replied. “And, as I was just about to tell the general, the planet of Earthlings, the one they call Terra 2, was also hit. Not only that, our satellites picked up the city-ship that had been docked on Terra 2 heading to the Milky Way. It was followed by the Raythian flagship and one of their other main warships. I believe it was their Third Ship. Hard to tell when they don’t have outer markings.”

“Earth?” Jil’ana questioned.

“We don’t have any ships there to confirm, but that would be my guess,” General Karken’al replied. “If these reports are accurate as to the number of ships we assume are part of this hostile force, how’d they amass that many? It was my understanding that the Supreme Commander had brought the number of rebels down to just a few.”

“High Chancellor,” Jil’ana corrected, “he’s the High Chancellor now. Anyway, we haven’t noticed anything. But then we keep to the lesser traveled areas of the galaxy to avoid detection.”

“The rebels, as far as we’ve been able to determine, couldn’t have built those ships by themselves,” Karken’al said.

“Agreed,” Jil’ana replied.

“Then there is another advanced race of which we are unaware,” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The galaxy is pretty big and our science ships don’t traverse the whole of it,” Jil’ana replied. “There may be another advanced race out there that we haven’t encountered.”

“We’ve been sending out expeditions for ten thousand years. I can’t imagine we’ve missed an advanced race,” Karken’al said. “Rayth are the most advanced. Only a handful of human planets have achieved basic spaceflight. No one even comes close to Rayth tech. What have we missed?”

“I can dispatch some scouts,” Tel’lok said, “to areas we haven’t been near in a while.”

Karken’al nodded. “Prep them for long voyages. If questioned, they’re on some sort of scientific mission. Jil’ana can work up a plausible explanation. Meanwhile, I have a number of things that concerns me about this attack.

“First, a direct attack on Kiva, the Raythian homeworld, is not something a small rebel force would try. Not against the legendary Zy’nayth. Second, that means whoever’s behind this has a significant source of power, either in and of himself, or a backing force. Third, why didn’t our satellites detect the rebel warships? Jil’ana, our satellites around Jarstal and Kiva are in working order, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And they can detect a Rayth ship even when cloaked?”

“Yes, sir. I’m going back through the files at Tel’lok’s request. The fight around Kiva shows the Raythian flagship cloaking and decloaking as they entered and left FTL. We detected the ship in both states. The satellite’s sensor data aligns with the image data. Same for the Raythian Spacefleet ships in the area. I’ve only checked those around Kiva, I have not checked any of our other satellite intel yet, but in each instance where a Rayth warship was cloaked, we could detect it.”

“So, we’ve confirmed that our technology in detecting Rayth ships works, but now my fourth concern, we’re unable to detect these rebel ships,” Karken’al looked again at Jil’ana, “or did it show up on the sensors as something unknown and simply didn’t trigger an alert?”

“Nothing at all on the sensors until they decloaked,” Jil’ana said.

“Any attacks happen where we might have a science vessel that could pick up some debris so that we can analyze the technology?” This time the general was looking at his First Officer.

“A few, but there are Rayth warships there and the planets or outposts are all on high alert. I’ll try to find a less populace place where we might be able to pick something up.”

“I want to see the intel before we send anyone out,” Karken’al said. “As for scout ships, make sure one is headed to Earth.”

“With your permission, sir,” Jil’ana said, “I can attempt to break into the satellites the Rayth set up between Andromeda and the Milky Way. Might save us time and personnel. You’ve studied Zy’nayth’s history. If he’s protecting an area, and we know he’s protecting Earth if he sent the flagship there, sending a scout might be disastrous for us.”

“Hacking into the Rayth satellite system would be even worse,” Karken’al said. “You’re good, but we haven’t gone into their system in quite a long time. With heightened security in place after this attack, I’m not sure that even you could cover your trail. We don’t need to alert them to our presence. Anyway, a good crew can stay hidden in space. Besides, if they are detected, from what I know of Zy’nayth’s history, he doesn’t attack an unknown target. Rayth haven’t yet figured out how to detect our cloaks, so we have to trust that remains true. If they figured it out, then we have our cover story ready and hope Zy’nayth simply orders our scout to turn around.”

“Possibility to consider,” Tel’lok said, “if there are as many warships in the Milky Way as there were here, we estimate 500, Zy’nayth has only three ships to fight them off: the ship he took from Terra 2, his flagship, and his Third Ship. There’s a very real possibility that if we send in a scout, if Zy’nayth doesn’t find them, those with the unknown technology might. Also consider that Zy’nayth may not be able to handle all of those rebel ships with just the three at his disposal. Again, keeping in mind the unknown technology factor.”

“Point taken. However, have you thought about why Zy’nayth took that ship from Terra 2?” Karken’al asked his First Officer.

“It’s faster than any ship they have and he needed to get to Earth in a hurry,” Tel’lok replied. “And better shields than the Rayth have. Even if it is ten thousand years old.”

“Which means?” Karken’al smiled, trying to get his First Officer to see the entire picture.

Tel’lok let the right side of his mouth curl up in a half smile. He got it. “He distracts the rebels with the Terra 2 city-ship while the two Rayth warships attack. He can take more hits and maneuver out of the way faster.” He let his smile drop, “But if there are 500 ships there, he’d have to…”

Karken’al raised his hand, “He is good. Very good. Could he win in this scenario? Yes. I can see him coming out of it a victor if this unknown technology does not include a superior defense or offense array. Put that aside for now. Another concern I have is that the rebel ships in this area were too easily destroyed.” He flipped through various images on his tablet, “A single shot took many of these out. Zy’nayth would not head to Earth with what may be considered two of his best warships plus the Terra 2 ship just to handle things any of his basic warships could disable or destroy with one blast.”

“You think the rebels have another ship? Type of ship, I mean,” Jil’ana said motioning to the images on the general’s tablet, “something not made of paper?”

Karken’al nodded. “I can believe he’d take the Terra 2 ship to Earth, as you said, it’s faster than anything they have, and it could handle these rebel ships just as readily as his warships. He wouldn’t need to call in his flagship or Third Ship to accompany him. He has five powerful warships, stronger than anything else in his fleet, and he sends two of them to Earth along with the Terra 2 ship? I have to believe there’s something else going on there.”

“His wife and children,” Jil’ana said. “We don’t know where they are. She is from Earth, perhaps they were there and he’s throwing his best into the fray to rescue them.”

“Best warships and the Terra 2 ship diverted to a different galaxy when there are 500 enemy ships in Andromeda to be dealt with?” Karken’al raised an eyebrow.

“Which are only taking one hit to destroy,” Tel’lok said. “Not much of a fight here for the Raythian Spacefleet.”

“Which means?” Karken’al smiled.

“Something worse near Earth,” Jil’ana said. “Or he’s just really, really overdoing it to save his wife.”

“Zy’nayth is not one to overdo anything. He’s efficient. Every move that man makes is one of extreme, calculated efficiency. Whether he’s in hand-to-hand combat, flying a warship, or planning a battle, everything is analyzed down to the path of least resistance and for the optimal outcome. No, he’s not overdoing anything. There’s a threat to Earth. One unlike what we’re seeing here. All of that to say, we’ll send a scout but it must remain hidden at all costs. There is, I’m confident, enough of a threat that Zy’nayth may have a little trouble. Let’s stay out of the trouble and just monitor the situation.”

Karken’al turned his attention to Jil’ana. “Have you found out anything more about this serum?”

“They just distributed it on a planet called Tarnia. From what we’ve been able to uncover from tapping into their broadcasts, about half the population took it.”

“And you’re sure that Zy’nayth took it?”

“Yes. He’s made several speeches regarding the serum and that he had taken it,” Jil’ana said, “and that was before this first mass distribution on Tarnia. I can’t imagine him being so public about it and then not actually taking it himself.”

“Unless it’s some sort of ploy,” Tel’lok said. “Maybe he wants to make sure no one can rise up against him. Use this so-called serum to make potential enemies weaker than himself.”

“All Rayth are weaker than Zy’nayth,” Karken’al said. “Even if this is a ploy, what would it gain him? He’s the High Chancellor now and still the Supreme Commander of the Raythian Spacefleet and Army. What else does he have to gain?”

“Gain, probably nothing,” Tel’lok said. “He could lose everything.”

“Still doesn’t make sense,” Jil’ana said. “He’s a hero of the Rayth, a legend.” She shook her head, “Which brings us back to your concern about there being a more powerful organization behind the rebellion.”

“Tel’lok, now that I’ve thought about it,” Karken’al said. “Let’s keep the scout parties to just six ships. One to make its way towards Earth, the others to search areas we haven’t visited in a while. If there is a more powerful group out there, one more powerful that the Rayth, I don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. We’re in no position to fight. I want solid teams on this.”

“Portals on their vessels?” Tel’lok asked.

“Yes. I want them to be able to bridge to safety if the need arises. Also, if they need to be out there for extended periods, that will allow them to return home to visit with family and such. Slow and steady. We’ve overlooked something with these rebels. I’m not happy about that. And I’m not happy that we can’t detect these other ships.”

“How much of this do I pass along to Prime Minister Ya’taka?”

“I’ll talk to Ya’taka. But as far as anyone outside of this room knows, we’ll stick to the story that the Rayth were attacked, we don’t know by whom, but we’re investigating. No need to bother anyone with the details,” Karken’al said. “Once you have the scout crews assembled, the three of us will talk with them. For now, all they need to know is that it’s a long-term, highly sensitive mission, and they’ll report directly to me, Jil’ana, or yourself.”