E:A Vol 6 Ch 5—October 20, 2120

October 20, 2120

“We’ve cleared the infirmary, the waiting area, and the pharmacy of debris. Still need to deal with the triage and operating rooms,” Col. John Hagen said. It was the evening of October 20, two days after cleanup began. Zy’nayth wanted the team leaders, plus Ja’val, Kol’non, and Ny’van, to meet over dinner each night to check progress and determine if changes need to be made in priorities. Since he was making the rounds in Andromeda, he figured this was the best way for him to keep on top of what was happening with the city-ship.

Meeting over dinner also meant time he could be with his family even if listening to the reports. Plus, it gave the twins an opportunity to see how he handled the complexities of such a situation. Sadly, they were not rare; there was always some disaster somewhere in his vast galactic empire. Knowing how to prioritize repairs and allocate manpower was essential. The kids were interested, but they were also typical three-year-olds and not always attentive. But any exposure to such discussions, Zy’nayth knew, would benefit them when they took over the empire.

“And we’ve started clearing a path to the med storage area,” John continued. “We could probably get in by climbing over the debris, but it would be pretty dangerous. It’ll take us most of tomorrow to get the debris out of there.”

“I am glad you did not attempt to crawl over the debris. You have made much more progress than expected.” Zy’nayth helped his daughter reach her drink then turned to Becket. “How is the equipment?”

“A lot of damage. A few of the larger items may just need some of Simon’s attention, but our main scanner needs to be replaced. Most of the more sensitive equipment is unsalvageable. I’m not sure about the Mythican equipment. First Science already said he’d look at it or send someone to.”

“What about medications?” Victoria asked. “The main storage area?”

“Only one cabinet wasn’t knocked over; thankfully it was filled with most of our medications.” Zy’nayth could tell the doctor was tired. His Scottish accent was thicker than normal. He made a mental note as the Chief Medical Officer continued. “Everything else is strewn across the place. I have teams B and C cataloging and boxing everything. I’ll compare it with the last inventory taken—which should have been the night before the attack. It shouldn’t take long to figure out what equipment we need to replace, scalpels, needles, and such, so I want the main storage area cleaned up first. Already told John. I assume it’ll take a while to get the larger lab equipment replaced; I just want all the little stuff ready to go the minute we get the main equipment.”

“After my food run in the morning, I could help for a little while,” Victoria said. “Whatever you need. Alan and his team are doing a fantastic job.” She lifted her fork, “Who would have expected homemade egg noodles. This is so good. Anyway, I can help out after my run.”

“May take you up on that. I’ll definitely need you to help with the inventory the secure area with the controlled medications; there’s only a few of us with clearance for that.”

“Will you need hazmat suits for that area?” Vince asked. “Isn’t that also where the samples of the Gyhan virus are stored?”

“I have my suit, and I checked it over today,” Becket replied. “When John gets to the sealed door, I’ll go in alone. The few diseases that were new to us, those samples in our strongest safe. Even if it broke, we have antidotes. But it’ll be best to not infect anyone. I really don’t think there’ll be an issue. Science has scanned the wall integrity and the double-doored entrance to make sure everything is still sealed. The only issue may be if several vials of different diseases have been broken and created an entirely new disease. But, as I said, those vials are in the strongest safe Earth can make. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“But you won’t know about the vials inside of the safe,” Vince said. “That worries me.”

“They’re packed in sort of a foamy rubber case. Unless the safe broke and the vials came out of that case, we’d have an issue. Like I said, I’m not too worried about it. They chance of that happening is low.”

“When you go to enter,” Zy’nayth said, “let me know. I will make sure there is a Rayth nearby should you find that the safe and case did not protect the samples and your suit is not of assistance.”

Becket nodded, “I will, thank you.”

“Maybe you be there,” Mik’kenna looked up at her father. “Uncle Becket may need special Rayth healy and you best.” The girl glanced at Ja’val, Ny’van, Kol’non, “No ‘fence.”

Zy’nayth smiled and kissed the top of her head. “If my schedule allows, I will. But I have a very talented Science crew who can heal as well as I can.”

Vince finished his bite of stroganoff then looked at Becket. “Do you think you can get an equipment list by tomorrow? I mean the larger equipment. The sooner we get that ordered, the better. It shouldn’t take long to get the smaller items. But the big stuff will have to go through HQ.”

“Only what’s in the main infirmary. I can’t get you the other items for the surgical areas until John’s team gets us in those areas. But HQ? I thought we’d be going directly to the manufacturers. Do you think they’ll want us going back to Terra 2…Andromeda…after all of this? I mean, are they still willing to invest and fund our little Expedition? I thought they wouldn’t send us food because we supposedly caused this destruction.”

“All indications are yes, the Expedition will continue,” Vince replied. “They are concerned, however, that there aren’t any bridge portals. They haven’t been able to dig deep enough at Central Command to see if it survived. Obviously, they don’t know about the one here and as far as they know, our E:A team will be hitching a ride with the High Chancellor even if we have to tow the city-ship back.”

“We may be able to help with finding out about Central Command’s portal,” Ja’val said, “but whatever we move may mean that they cannot search for…” he stopped and glanced at the kids, not wanting to mention the dead bodies that might be found, “those who might have been caught there.”

“We can scan for the bridge’s exotic construction materials or power source first, can we not?” Zy’nayth said.

“I can do that, but I won’t be able to tell if it’s in one piece or operational. You know we have to do actual tests to make sure everything’s functioning. But yes, I can scan for pellite and gravarium.”

“Do that,” Zy’nayth said, “and have one of your men go through our list of other bridges on the planet to see which one would be easiest for extraction. It may be best to go that route. Simon, how are things looking regarding the operation of the control room equipment?”

“System checks all show everything is operational, at least those areas where there’s still power. I implemented Science’s program before we bridged out, so we’ll have a much more detailed report tomorrow night, I think. There’s some equipment that’s been damaged, most of it is stuff we brought in from Earth. The ancient Mythican equipment seems to have stood up quite well. First Science is going to go over it when he comes to inspect the Mythican medical items. Teams B and C will be running checks on the electrical system. One quick test that I ran shows that there is decreased power to the…well, on Terra 2 it would be the southwest quadrant of the city, however, it could be the workstation itself, not the electrical.”

“My program should help determine which,” Ja’val said.

“Estimated time to determine any issues with the electrical?”

“Probably a week. The program he’s running is just checking systems’ operational status,” Ja’val said, “if it’s not getting power, it will be noted, but to check the entire city-ships electrical status will take three days. I don’t like running simultaneous status programs. Things can sometimes get a little muddy, especially since there’s Mythican, Raythian, and Earth tech all involved.”

Becket, Simon, and Ja’val wrapped up their comments, then Vince asked Steve Kessler the status of the Terra 2 mainland area.

“A mess. Warmer than here though,” Steve smiled. “The big buildings will definitely have to come down. We’re still shoring things up so Nelson and Hank can see if there’s any undamaged equipment or anything they can keep. As for Med 2, the structure is badly damaged, and we think it’ll have to come down and be rebuilt, Jack’s team will assess it more thoroughly tomorrow, they were focused on the Ag and Botany buildings. I think there may be some things in there that are salvageable. I’ll need Becket or someone to check it out. On another similar note, I also think we should have a doctor and nurse with us. Someone might step on a nail. There’s so much debris, chances of injury are high; I’d like immediate medical care available until we can get them bridged back here. There are Rayth are in and out, helping, but I’d prefer to have someone with us continuously.”

“Probably best to do that with your city-ship crew as well,” Vince nodded to John. “Becket can you get three shifts for each location set up?”

“No problem,” Becket said.

Steve continued his report. “Our large field was only slightly damaged. The good news is that I think we’ll have some fresh fruits and veggies. Dr. Wells doesn’t think we need to worry about harvesting anything soon, at least not for a month or so.”

“Make sure the farm crew let’s Alan know what he can expect,” Vince said.

Steve nodded as he took a drink, then continued. “Since we’re going to have to rebuild, we’ve asked Nichols, Castor, and Wells what they’d like to do differently this time around.”

“I am encouraged with this news about the farm,” Zy’nayth said. “Vince, start to think about what you will need in terms of people to harvest crops. Steve, make sure Dr. Nichols also notes what seeds or saplings he will need to replenish his supplies.”

“Already on his list.”

“I have a question about the mainland,” John said, “since temps are dipping here, could we bridge some people there to live for the duration?”

“No bathrooms, well, just the one in MedBay 2 and the portal building; certainly not enough to handle that many people,” Chris said immediately.

“It also wouldn’t be fair to those stuck here in the cold,” Kaven added. “People are handling things okay now, but toss in that some are on the nice comfy mainland while others are stuck here, animosity will creep up. If some start living, or even just sleeping on Terra 2 while others are here in the cold, that will get problematic.”

Vince nodded, “I agree. Let’s keep things on an even playing ground as much as we can.”

“Mommy,” Mik’kenna said, “I cold.”

“Sorry sweetie,” Victoria said, “Let’s get you and Ky inside. I’ll get your trays. Can you carry your own drinks?”

The kids nodded and took their drinks into the study right inside the patio doors, Victoria, with Janice’s help following with their trays.

Zy’nayth turned to the general. “Vince, how are your teams doing?”

“So far, so good. I’ve got a little semblance of an office in the barn. I have teams helping with kitchen clean up, yard clean up, patrolling the perimeter, cleaning the bathrooms, washing sleeping bags and blankets. We’ve taken over two of the outside shower/laundry stalls just for that so that at least everyone has a clean sleeping bag and blanket every other night. Another team to help keep the snack tables and potato bar going. If you haven’t noticed, Alan’s team has added pots of soup to that. They’re cranking out the food. Anyway, I’m not being strict on anything, I know there are many people in shock and need to do their own thing for a bit. Oh, Pastor Jacob, requested a room to use for counseling. The loft in the barn is free, but not very private. I was thinking that the study could be used for that once now that Becket has his things out of there.”

“Certainly,” Victoria said, sitting back down at the picnic table. “Like I said when this started, anything you guys need to do to help our people, go right ahead.”

“I also thought we could move Jacob and Julia in there. They’re in that small guestroom, but this way, they’re not taking up two spaces,” Vince said.

“Go right ahead,” Victoria waved off his remark with her hand. “I mean it, you don’t need my permission, unless you plan on taking my books, in which case, I’ll sic my husband on you.”

Vince roared with laughter and nodded. “Not going to touch the books. I promise. Other than keeping people busy, I’m talking with the president and trying to get things a little more organized,” Vince said. “David, that leaves your report.”

“Not much to report. Clothes have been ordered and I have a couple of people helping me with a distribution plan for those. Pickup is scheduled for Tuesday, then we’ll distribute on Wednesday. One thing I’ve been doing is seeing how people felt regarding expanding the house even further. I know the High Chancellor has been talking about a new addition, and people are willing to help. I know there’s plenty on your plate, High Chancellor, but if you happen to have schematics, we can have Chris make some runs for materials to get that new addition built.”

“I would like to wait,” Zy’nayth said. “I have plans ready and Victoria has approved the layout, but I want to keep people focused on…”

“Sir,” David said, “they want to do it to repay you for all you’re doing for them.” David waved towards the sea of tents, “That you’re doing out of your own finances, not our military funds, not your government’s funds, but your personal bank account.”

“We will discuss this later,” Zy’nayth said firmly. “I appreciate their willingness, but if the mainland is not as badly damaged as we first thought, I would rather get things up and running there as soon as possible. Once we see the reports at the end of the week, we can readdress this. I do not want to overwork anyone. This was traumatic for everyone and is not something easily overcome. After ten thousand years of war, I can tell you that every battle is traumatic. Also consider the noise level. People have a hard time sleeping with the general noise of the area, let alone if we start a major construction project.”

“On the one hand, working on the suite around the clock would be noisome for those sleeping, on the other,” David said, “the sooner we get it done, we could more people out of the cold. I’m just talking about a frame, like the suite over the garage, nothing more than that.”

“I say we get it built asap,” Vince said, “I can talk to Burgeon about what we’ll need for the foundation and such. High Chancellor, it will keep people busy and, as David said, get more people out of the cold.”

“There is one more thing that concerns me,” Zy’nayth sighed, “We have yet to confirm that the city-ship saboteur was working in collusion with a human from your expedition. If they were, it is possible that they are here; I do not want them building my wife’s house.”

Victoria ran her fingers through her hair, “Totally forgot about that.”

“For all we know, if there was a human counterpart to the Rayth saboteur, they could be one of the deceased,” Vince said, “But perhaps now is a good time to delicately ask some questions. And since we’re all living in very close quarters, we can definitely keep our ears open.”

Lutia let out a yawn, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. “Sorry.”

“Science, I think we have covered anything that you are, or need to be, involved in, so you and Lutia can return to the flagship and make it an early night,” Zy’nayth said.

“I’d appreciate that,” Lutia said, “Kel’lan’s been a little fussy today.”

“I can take him tonight,” Victoria said. “Let you guys get a good night of sleep. Same for Maressa, if you two want a little alone time.”

“I’d love a little alone time, but I’m in a tent with these guys and she’s in the master bedroom, remember?” Chris smiled.

“Oh yeah.” Victoria turned to her husband, “Any reason we couldn’t put them in some quarters on the flagship?”

“I’d rather stay down here,” Alessa said, “I’m your backup, remember? I need to be here. And like Kaven said, we don’t want to stir people up by thinking we’re getting preferential treatment. I mean, I already feel bad that I’m in the nice warm house.”

“I think this just reinforces the fact that we need to make sure the electrical is working on the city-ship, then start clearing the way to personal quarters,” John said.

“If there is a hull breach, or a very thin area that may result in a hull breach while we are working, that could be catastrophic for anyone living on the ship,” Zy’nayth said.

“I have an idea,” Simon spoke up, “why not land her? If we settle her on a lake or even the Pacific, we wouldn’t have to worry about a hull breach in the dead of space.”

Zy’nayth looked at Vince, “I have thought about doing just that, but I am just unsure how the people of this world would react. I do not want people trying to get near the city-ship. I assume people would try to get to the ship.”

“You bet your sweet behind they would,” Chris said.

Zy’nayth raised an eyebrow at the odd phrase then turned to Ja’val who was leaving with his wife but suggested that they could keep the city-ship cloaked.

“Could run into airspace issues,” John said. “I can just see a big jetliner ramming into an invisible ship parked on the Pacific or something.”

“Guys,” Chris grinned, “we’ve been using Antarctica as a cover story, why not land her there? If we need to work on the outside of the ship, we’ll figure something out.”

Vince nodded, “Not a bad idea.”

“I will keep it in mind,” Zy’nayth said, “but let First Science make sure she can land and take off again. Science, after we get the electrical and engines checked, run tests to that end. Meanwhile, Vince can find a place to park her. And John may have to adjust his teams to clear out a habitable space within the city-ship before progressing to other areas.”

“Uh, also,” Chris said, “we have to think about how to get food to and from it, plus the lack of bathrooms until we get more areas opened up. Things like that. We could shuttle people in to sleep for the night, but there are only a few bathrooms on that main control room floor.”

“I understand,” Zy’nayth said, “I do not wish to be hasty and have someone hurt because of trying to get people out of the cold. But in order to keep morale up, is there anything else we can do?” He looked at Ja’val and Lutia, “You two go or you will end up being dragged into more conversations.”

Lutia smiled and tugged on her husband’s arm, “Thanks.”

“I’ll be by to pick up Kel’lan when we’re done here,” Victoria promised.

“Actually, you should go as well. The children are tired, and I know that you are as well. I can fill you in when I return.”

“You sure?”

Vince waved her off, “Like your husband said, go.”

She kissed Zy’nayth’s cheek then went to get the kids, hoping they’d finished eating their dinner. Meanwhile, the others continued their discussion.

“I think warmth will become the biggest morale issue,” John said. “Getting people out of here into a different setting will help, plus making them feel useful. We have a ton of work for our military, and once we get to the labs, the scientists, but what about our maintenance staff or department assistants? They’re helping mostly with Vince’s project to keep this estate looking somewhat nice, but, let’s face it, they’re stuck cleaning bathrooms and doing laundry. I’m sure they’d want to do something more. As we start rotating people around, that’ll help, especially once we can start sending larger groups to the mainland to work—they’ll have a warm shift to look forward to.”

“Another option,” Vince said, “is Central Command. I can contact General Price and see if he could use some daily crews. It’ll be a tad bit warmer, hard work, but warmer than here in Montana, and we could probably get a military transport cruiser to use. That would save on bridge portal usage since we can only bridge so many people at a time. And if some of our less physically fit people want to help on the mainland, they could clean up the smaller debris.”

“Wait, you can call General Price? Ken lived through that?” John asked.

“Was on vacation with his wife in Hawaii. Thirtieth anniversary.”

John smiled, “Good. At least we know the person in charge. I like this idea. One of those transports can carry what, 100 to 150? Granted they’ll be packed in like sardines, but it’s only about a fifteen-minute flight, if that.”

“I also like the idea,” Zy’nayth said. “I, however, would like to talk to the president first. There is a matter I need to discuss with him. Can you arrange that?”

Vince nodded. “I’ll call him tonight if it’s not too late and set up a time.”

“Meanwhile, go ahead and contact General Price. If he wants the workers, we need the transport. Christopher, once Vince has made the arrangements, and we ask for volunteers, would you be willing to oversee the crew rotation for this? It will allow you to stay here, perhaps be the transport pilot, and you would not be far from your wife and child for long.”

“We’ll also need a check out and check in process. Make sure we get back everyone we send over,” Vince said.

“Be happy to take care of all of that,” Chris replied. “Vince, mind if I tap into Major Walsh to help out?”

“He’s our backup, go ahead.”

“We also need to consider food, lunches, for those who will be traveling to work,” David said. “Alan’s team is able to handle the couple dozen for each shift going to the city-ship or Terra 2, but if we’re sending 150 per shift to Colorado each day, that’s a lot of brown bags.”

“When I talk to Ken,” Vince said, “I’ll see what they’re setup is. Maybe they have food trucks come in.”

“If they don’t,” Chris said, “Alan and his team are already making stuff in bulk, why not just load it onto Victoria’s transport, and I can shuttle it down? Or someone could. Get a couple of people to be the food runners for each shift. Load up the food, shuttle down, set up a couple of tables, everyone serves themselves.”

“That could work,” Vince said, “but let me check with Ken, and if we need to take our own food, I’ll talk to Alan. We’ll figure something out.”

“Becket, other than help with getting the infirmary and MedBase 2 set up, is there anything else you need?” Zy’nayth asked.

“Right now, no. The equipment will be the big thing. Medicine shouldn’t be an issue, at least not right away. Like I said, that temp infirmary is suiting our needs.”

“I just had a thought. If we do not get the city-ship in a condition to allow people to move back in, what do you think about allowing those not on duty to be on my flagship,” Zy’nayth said. “The issue is much the same as every other consideration: no food on the flagship so it would only be a place for them to be when off-duty. With only one bridge portal, transferring that many people will be time consuming, and they would have to sleep in a hangar bay. I am not sure if they would prefer seeing the mountains or benachti walls.”

“I can start asking around,” Vince said. “The weather is still quite nice during the day, it’s just getting a bit cold at night. The tents and sleeping bags are warm and we have the campfires going all over the estate. What about your perimeter barrier? Is it possible to somehow make it keep the cold air out?”

With a smile, Zy’nayth shook his head, “It would make things significantly better down here, but no, unfortunately, it cannot do that.”

“This is another reason it might be prudent to build another indoor area where people can be out of the cold. I’ll start asking around about staying on the flagship or building…” Vince stopped mid-sentence and turned to Zy’nayth, “If we got the shuttles out of the hangar, we could have our people bunk down in the shuttle bay. That area wasn’t too badly damaged, at least no hull breach.”

“Still have the issue with food,” Chris said. “No mess hall, only a few bathrooms.”

“Hear me out,” Vince said. “I’m talking just a place to sleep or hang out if you’re not busy on one of the teams. If the High Chancellor allows it, we can park the shuttles on his flagship and keep two here to transport food and people to and from the city-ship. We wouldn’t be limited to the bridge portal or the flagship’s teleporter. And…the people might feel a little more at ease than they would on the Raythian flagship.”

“We’re gonna need time to get to the mess hall,” John said. “And once we get there, it’s going to take time to get it up to snuff. So it’s either that or the infirmary. And to be honest, we haven’t really looked to see how bad the shuttle bay is. When we last used a shuttle to take a nap, Well, I knew we took more hits. I never paid attention to the hangar. No hull breach, I just confined the area. It might be worse than we think. Do we focus on the infirmary, mess, or the shuttle bay?”

“Let’s check the status of the shuttle bay in the morning. The infirmary is still priority number one,” Vince said. “We can shuttle up food from here. It’s not convenient for Alan and his team but if we can get people out of the cold, that will help.”

“Also take into consideration that if you put people in the shuttle bay, those who are not on duty may start to wander around the city-ship. It will be harder to keep them isolated and thus increase the chance of someone getting injured.” Zy’nayth sighed, “That is why I proposed the idea of having them on my flagship. They are less likely to roam around, plus, my warriors would not allow it. But I also do not want them to feel like prisoners.”

“We could merge the two ideas,” Kol’non suggested. “Move the shuttles to the flagship, and use them to transport people to and from here and there. You wouldn’t have to worry about them if they were on the city-ship, and with being able to come down on a shuttle, they wouldn’t feel like prisoners on our ship.”

“That might work, if the High Chancellor’s okay with the idea,” Vince said.

“I think that is a good compromise, but it will depend on what you find in the shuttle bay. For now, I think we are finished for the day. Vince, shall we meet tomorrow morning, perhaps before lunch? I am taking care of a few things on the flagship in the morning, then I am off to Kiva until after lunch.”

“How does 10:30 sound?” Vince said. “That’ll give me time to make a few calls and I’ll try to set up the call with the president for 10:30.”

Zy’nayth nodded and the group disbanded, some to do a little more work before calling it a day, others to make their way through the 5,000 people to see how everyone was getting along. Zy’nayth returned to the flagship where Victoria was sitting in bed, the kids with her, each taking turns helping baby Kel’lan with his bottle.

“When you are done with Kel’lan, would you like to play a game or two?” he said to the twins.

“Can we play Yahtzee?” Ky’nayth asked.

“We can,” he smiled. “Mik’kenna, is that what you want to play?”

She nodded. “We checkered last night. Mommy, I think Kel’lan done.”

Victoria took the bottle and the baby, “Can you guys set up the game at the kitchen table?”

“You play too, Mommy,” Ky’nayth said.

“I will,” she smiled, “but I need to change Kel’lan’s diaper and put him down for the night. Which one of you wants to give up your bed for the night? I need to turn one of them into a crib for the little guy.”

“I stay with Sissy,” Ky’nayth said.

Victoria tended to the baby, thankful that turning the twins’ beds into cribs was as simple as pushing one button. She made sure Kel’lan was snuggled down, then joined her family for a game of Yahtzee. After a couple of rounds, Zy’nayth said that he wanted to talk to them. They gathered in the main room, half living area, half bedroom.

The kids climbed up on the bed to either side of their mother. Zy’nayth sat across from them.

“Ky’nayth, Mik’kenna,” he began and looked at the dogs, each settled with its guardian, “and Baxter and Celeste, you have been very brave, but I wish to apologize.” He switched positions so that he was sitting cross-legged. “Children, I need you to know that I made the decision to send you into harm’s way. Ny’van and Ja’val were in telepathic contact with me when you were on the rebel Rayth ship. We tried to find a way to keep you safe, but we needed all of you together. Thankfully, Christopher and David already had a part of a plan to get you out of the cells.

“I thought Kol’non would be in the area by the time you returned to the cruiser, but they were hiding far out of the system. It took him a bit longer to get to us. When Ny’van told me what Koh’vash was doing to your mother, I calculated the time remaining for Kol’non to arrive. It was too close to hope he would arrive in time to save your mother. Then Ja’val told me about Lutia and the threat against her and Kel’lan. Ny’van was telling both of you the plan to get the hidden stunner to one of the men. It was only to be a backup plan, but I…I knew that if you did not act right then, Lutia and baby Kel’lan would die.

“Ky’nayth, Mik’kenna, I told them to have you risk your lives to save everyone. It was not Ny’van or Ja’val. I was the one who purposely put you in danger,” tears ran down Zy’nayth’s cheeks as he spoke. He wiped them away with a hand as he continued to talk. “Your father is responsible. Had things not gone well, and you two were injured or…” he drew a breath, closed his eyes, and let the tears fall, “or been killed. It would have been my fault.” His head was bowed, the tears streaming out, unhindered. After a sniffle, he looked up at his two most precious possessions, “I hope you can forgive me for what I did. I hope your mother can forgive me for doing it.”

Mik’kenna crawled over to him, giving him a hug and kiss. “I forgive you. You has no choice. Dey was gonna hurted Kel’lan really bad and Aunt Lutia. Mommy was badded hurted and puppies ‘most dead. I scared. I really scared but Bubby and I ‘gree to do it and it all okay.”

Ky’nayth was now hugging his father, forgiving him. He repeated his sister’s sentiments. “There no choice. You tratty-gize and dat was only solution.” He sat back and looked up, his brilliant blue eyes looking into his father’s watery silver orbs. “Sides, what else we do? I no plan but now everyone in danger and hurted. I is your son. I is warrior in trainy. I has to ‘tect family. It da rules.”

Mik’kenna nodded. “Bubby did good with ‘tecting us. He so brave!”

“Both of you are very brave,” Zy’nayth said and drew them into his embrace and held them tight. “I love you so much. Do you truly forgive me?”

“Course. You do right thing,” Mik’kenna said. “We pray and God keep us safe and Bubby got stunner to Uncle Chris. No one saw. God ‘tect Bubby who ‘tect family. It all work just right.”

With both of them in his arms, he let out a sigh of relief.  “Thank you. Please know, that I did not want to do it. Not in a million years would I have imagined giving permission for what happened.”

“I hope it least dat long ‘fore we has to do ‘gain. I be shaking dat long,” Mik’kenna said then gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. “Love you, Daddy. But I no want to be scared no more.”

Ky’nayth hugged his father, and held on tight. “I scared. I need more trainy. We do dat when we get home. Kay?”

“Agreed. Both of you.”

“Love you, Daddy. You best Daddy ever,” Ky’nayth said, his little tears wetting his father’s shirt as he rested his head on his shoulder. “I has bad dreams sometimes ‘bout it.”

“Oh no. Mik’kenna, do you?”

The girl nodded. “Just sometimes.”

Zy’nayth looked at his wife, “And you?”

“No idea. I’m too tired to dream, I think,” she smiled.

“Do you, my beloved, forgive me for what I did?”

“They take after their daddy,” she smiled and kissed him. “But I don’t ever want you to even suggest they do something like that again. You and Ny’van both. And Ja’val. The risk was too great.”

“Ny’van and Ja’val assured me that they would stop the children if it looked unfavorable.” He sighed, “I did not wish to put them in harm’s way. But it was the only way to keep them from being shot and you being killed. Please, Victoria, forgive me.”

“Oh Zy, I forgive you. It saved our family, but please, next time think of another way.”

“I will do my best. I cannot promise more.”

“Zy,” her voice was soft, “I love you. I’ve been a little mad about what happened, but I understand. But you, High Chancellor Zy’nayth, I still love. I love you very, very deeply.” She leaned over the kids and gave him a tender kiss filled with all of the passion in her soul. When she pulled back, she gave each of the twins a kiss on the top of their heads. “You two want to stay in here with me and Daddy tonight so Kel’lan doesn’t bother you?”

“Yeah!” they both shouted.

Okay, go get your jammies on, try not to wake Kel’lan.

***

“Our scout ship to Earth arrived an hour ago,” First Officer Tel’lok said, “and these, sir, are the images they sent back. They’re staying hidden, out of scanner range, so until the Rayth leave the area, we won’t know the extent of the damage.”

General Karken’al looked at the images of the blue planet on Tel’lok’s computer tablet. “The images don’t tell us much. Too far away.”

“Switch to thermal,” Jil’ana, the Chief Science Officer said as she stepped behind the general to look at the images.

Karken’al did as instructed and then turned to her. “So all of the landmass is basically scorched?”

“No, uh, sorry. Probably residual heat from industry, vehicles, and such. May I?”

He handed her the tablet and she clicked through the digital files, applying various filters that had all be used when the images were taken. “Here,” she set the tablet on the desk. “Still a bit small, but it looks like these areas were hit with…that’s not fiarvinite or pellite trace signatures. Not sure what that is…unknown energy. I’d have to check my files. But whatever it is, isn’t from Earth.”

“Are you certain?” Karken’al asked. “They do have atom bombs now.”

“Would leave an entirely different spectrum…no, these aren’t from nuclear weapons. And I know pellite and fiarvinite weapons spectrums well enough. This isn’t either of them.” She reached down and tapped a few more filters. “Though there is trace amounts of fiarvinite. It wasn’t the main energy source of the weapons, though. I’m certain on that.”

Karken’al moved to a different image, this one of the Pacific, near Japan. He was about to flip to the next image when Jil’ana put her hand on his wrist to stop him. “That’s pellite. No dilution of other energy. Straight pellite weapon. What’s it on, though? Scans couldn’t see down under the water, not this far out.”

Without asking, she picked up the tablet and tried to enhance the image, caught up in the puzzle. Tel’lok and Karken’al shared a knowing glance. Jil’ana would figure it out, of that they had no doubt. “Debris. Probably from a jet. Hard to tell, but that material is benachti. Yup, definitely a downed jet.” She squinted at the screen, “I can’t wait until we can get in there…oh, here, look at this,” she set the tablet down and pointed. “This area that looks like there’s some sort of line on the lens. Very faint. See it?”

Karken’al pointed to the screen, “This is the debris, right? So this, yes, I see it now, this line?”

“Yeah,” she said, “that’s fiarvinite energy. Probably the beginning of a teleportation beam.”

“That would make sense. Rayth would not want to leave remnants of advanced tech on Earth,” Karken’al said, “so they teleport up the debris. But they have ships that use both pellite and fiarvinite?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” she replied, “keep flipping through. Tel’lok, did they get pictures of the space around Earth?”

“I believe so. I haven’t looked at more than the first few images.”

Karken’al called up a list of images, showing thumbnails of what was in the file. Halfway through the list, the blue planet was only partially seen, the rest was black. He tapped on the first image, bringing up the photo. It was an area of space between Earth and its moon.

“That’s a Mythican ship,” Karken’al said, “which explains the pellite.”

“That’s the ship from what the Earthlings call Terra 2,” Jil’ana said. “The one we believe the High Chancellor took.” She crossed her arms, “And we know he sent his flagship that way, or we’re fairly certain he did, and his Third Ship. That would explain the fiarvinite.”

Tel’lok let out a gasp, “Warships. Look at all of those warships! That’s…North America, right?”

“Looks like it,” Jil’ana pointed and nodded, “And that’s the Pacific Ocean. Can you flip to thermal again?”

Karken’al did so and smiled. “Well, they’re disabled. No heat coming from the engines. They’re adrift. This one, have either of you seen a ship design like that? That’s not Raythian or Mythican”

Both Tel’lok and Jil’ana shook their heads.

“Not disabled,” Jil’ana pointed to the middle of the ship. “Engines are running. Wow. That’s a lot of heat. Also a very odd placement of the engines…that means piping the energy to the thrusters…never mind.”

“The question is who won?” Karken’al set the tablet on his desk. “I’m assuming these boxy ships are part of the rebels’ fleet, and we know the Terra 2 ship is still functioning, at least it appears the engines are hot. So, did the rebels win and capture the Terra 2 ship, or did Zy’nayth win and capture these…four, five rebel ships after disabling the smaller Raythian warships?”

“Sorry, can I?” Jil’ana said again, reaching for the tablet. Karken’al looked at Tel’lok and rolled his eyes as he handed the tablet to Jil’ana who wasn’t paying attention to him, her eyes locked on the screen. “Okay, this is interesting. I can see pellite energy strikes on the big ships but none are near the engines. Not even close. They’re either stem or stern. That’s odd. The smaller ships all had their engines disabled, why not these battlecruisers?”

“Better shielding? Reflected the strikes?” Tel’lok suggested as Jil’ana set the tablet back on the desk.

“Would have seen some trace energy signatures, maybe,” she shook her head.

Karken’al listened as the two of them tossed ideas back and forth. He flipped through several more images. “The Terra 2 ship took a lot of damage,” he said, then pushed the tablet aside and motioned for the two of them to take the seats across from his desk. “No, if Zy’nayth was at the helm of that Terra 2 ship, he wouldn’t toy with the enemy and allow his ship to take that much damage in the process.”

“Weapons malfunction or he wasn’t in the chair,” Tel’lok suggested.

“If your weapons malfunctioned, what would you do?” Karken’al looked at his First Officer. “Stay and take the hits or run?”

“He could have stayed if his wife was on Earth. He stayed to try and protect her.”

“Which wouldn’t do him much good if he got blown up.” Karken’al turned his seat away from them and looked out of the window behind his desk, gazing out at the stars as his ship traveled through space. “No. If he lost weapons and his wife was planet-side, he’d leave the Mythican ship as a decoy and teleport down to the planet to get her. Jil’ana, did you notice anything out about those weapons’ damage on the rebel ships?”

“Just that they were stem and stern. Why?”

He turned back to them, “No fiarvinite energy signatures. The Raythian flagship either wasn’t there or wasn’t firing.”

“It was there, or the Third Ship was, we saw the teleporter signature,” Tel’lok said.

“Right. So why wasn’t it firing? Even if the Mythican ship had weapons issues, the Rayth command ships could have fired.” He stood and began to pace, “Zy’nayth wanted his ships hidden. The debris had pellite energy signatures on it, not fiarvinite. That means only the Mythican ship was engaged in battle. The only fiarvinite energy signature we’ve seen, in our short examination, was the teleportation signal. Check those small warships, I’m going to make a guess that they were disabled by pellite weapons. You won’t find one with a fiarvinite energy burn on it.”

Jil’ana sat back in her seat and began flipping through the images. Assigning different filters as she went.

“I can see him keeping the command ships hidden, pull them out for a final surprise attack,” Tel’lok said, “but if he had weapons issues, why not call them in to handle those big battleships?”

“One possibility, the Raythian shields couldn’t withstand the unknown weapons on those battlecruisers. Jil’ana doesn’t know what it is, at least not yet, so we can assume that maybe Zy’nayth figured it out. We can’t see all of the damage on the Mythican ship, but it was heavy. That means whatever weapon and energy source those battleships are using got through Mythican shields.”

“Shields on a ten-thousand-year-old ship,” Tel’lok said, “something’s bound to get through sooner or later.”

“Those shields are still better than what’s on the Raythian flagship,” Karken’al said. “Jil’ana has often told us that.”

“You’re right, not seeing any fiarvinite scars on the other warships,” she said, “and yes, as far as I’m able to determine, even that old shielding system is better than anything the Rayth have. They need pellite to make theirs stronger. They’ve never been able to refine it properly to build better defenses or engines.”

“And they don’t have access to any,” Tel’lok said.

“They have some sources, only a few, and very small deposits,” Jil’ana said. “It’s also why they can’t build bridge portals and instead just take them from deserted planets.” She let out a sigh as she set the tablet on the desk and rubbed her cheeks with her hands to get the blood flowing. “Okay, so we’ve established that the battleships have weapons that can break through old Mythican shields. You said that was onepossibility. Do you have another?”

“Second possibility is that blowing the engines would have been catastrophic,” Karken’al stopped his pacing and walked over to the front of his desk, leaning against it with his arms folded across his chest as he looked down at the two officers. “Or his wife and children had been taken and was on one of those ships.”

“If she was on one, he wouldn’t fire on them. He’d be negotiating,” Jil’ana said. “Could be one reason they didn’t fire at the engines. Wife and kids are trapped near the engines.”

“Rayth don’t like people checking out their technology. If Victoria was freed, she’d remembered some information about those engines and tell her husband. And rumor has it that the twins have photographic memories. If they have been kidnapped and are on those ships, I don’t think they were kept near an engine. And if not at the center, they’d be stem or stern. Zy’nayth wouldn’t fire anywhere near where his wife and children were located, would he?”

“So he didn’t fire at the engines because that energy they’re using is more destructive than our weapons,” Tel’lok said.

“Exactly,” Karken’al said with a smile. “That leaves us with an unknown energy source that can break through Mythican shields, a legendary warrior and pilot who is not firing at the engines of the enemy battleships, and the reason…the only reason I can come up with is that if the engines blew, the energy released in the explosion would decimate the area, including the Mythican ship and, perhaps even Earth.”

“That’s a pretty big ‘if’ you’re reaching for,” Tel’lok said.

Karken’al nodded as he went back to his seat. “Jil’ana, dig through those images, see what you can come up with. I want to know what type of fuel that battleship is using. Remember, I don’t want your science team working on it. This little project is off the record. Tel’lok, see if the scouting ship can determine who won the fight. They are to remain hidden, so they have to do the best they can at long range.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Keep me up to date. For now, there’s nothing else we can do.”